#i don't usually make formal posts like this i'm nervous

[shellsinadune]

How I clean myself while chronically ill

For reference: My main disabilities related to hygiene are POTS, ME/CFS (moderate-severe), and cognitive/executive functioning disabilities (due to ME/CFS, autism, and a dissociative disorder). This is not universal, it's just how I do it. You might or might not find this helpful, I've just found that it is for me specifically.

So, you've recently found yourself unable to shower the way you usually do. You've just been finding yourself overwhelmed every time you think about getting in, even with a shower chair. That's rough, buddy. Fortunately, you're not the only one, and while I am by no means an expert, I have experience with this. So here's how I do it, free for you to adapt as you like.

Are you ready? OK, let's begin.

[TL;DR: Use shower wipes, micellar water, and a fine toothed comb to keep your body as clean as possible without needing to get out of bed or using water. This contains a list of what I use, steps for ordering things, and a completely opinion-based section on haircare. The most important point is to use different wipes for the following: (1) torso, (2) left arm, (3) right arm, (4) left leg, (5) right leg, (6) genitalia and butt - front to back.]

Editing to add something I forgot, but it's important enough to put above the read more: make sure to seal your wipes and put your caps back on. Just spilled the micellar water on my bed.

Step 1: The Supplies

Shower wipes. Getting specific ones for showering (brand doesn't matter) is preferred, but any body safe wipe will do. Make sure at least one type is antibacterial, though.

Deodorant. I recommend nuud because I don't do this whole thing every day and this one works for up to a week (depending on what I'm doing), but again, use whatever works.

Micellar water. Any kind, as long as your skin likes it.

Cotton pads. If you're more able to do things like laundry and don't have memory problems that might cause you to forget them in the washing machine and run out, use reusable ones, but I use disposable.

Moisturiser. Again, whichever you want. (At this point, add whatever other skincare items you like to use, I just want this to be over as quickly as possible.)

A fine toothed comb. Ideally a wooden louse/nit comb if you can find one. (Only applies if you want to follow Step 4.)

Any extras. For me, that's lip balm, lotion, wide nail clippers, and antibacterial hand wipes.

Bonus round for doing this in bed: a container to put all this in, a rubbish bin near your bed that you can reach while sitting in it.

Step 2: Cleansing

(It doesn't matter whether you do face or body first. I do body first, so that's the order I'm writing this in.)

Get the shower wipes out and open the container. If it helps to get them all out at the same time, take out 6. One is for your torso and neck, one is for each arm (do the actual arms first, then focus on the armpits), one is for each leg, and one is for your genitals and butt (in that order, wipe front to back). It's going to be a wipe-down, obviously, but try and be as thorough as possible. For me, the armpits are the biggest issue, so I hold the wipe on for up to a minute each before scrubbing until there's no smell.

I use two cotton pads for my face and neck, one for the left side and one for the right. Really, this one is just washing your face so it's up to you how you do it, but make sure to get behind the ears (I always forget with the shower wipes).

Step 3: The Leave-Ons

(For this one, order does matter, but only if you use the same deodorant as me.)

Do the rest of your facial skincare routine. For me, that's just moisturiser and lip balm, but if you want to use other stuff that's your prerogative.

I don't use lotion every time I do this because mine is really thick, but I always move my joints around with their full range of motion to see if anywhere feels tight and use it if I need to. This saves on energy.

Deodorant is always the last thing I put on because it's a finger-applied product. Ignore that if you use something else.

[Step 3.5: Get Dressed]

Step 4: Hair (or, the opinion piece)

This is probably the most out-there advice I have. If your hair is unrelaxed type 4, sorry, I can't help you.

So I'm describing a product-free method that was used in the middle ages to keep hair clean(er). If your hair is long, you might want to have hairbands, bobby pins if you want, and, if we're being really historically accurate, some kind of cap made out of cotton or linen. I don't use any of those, though, and it works, but mine is short so I have no idea how your hair will react. I don't do this often, only twice a week after at least two weeks have passed since washing my hair. Do this as often as your energy and comfort permit.

Take the comb and brush each piece of hair from directly at the scalp to the very ends in one motion. This takes the oils away from the scalp and gives moisture to the ends at the same time, so unless you have very dry hair, you won't have to use conditioner. It also exfoliates the scalp, if that's something you care about. Do this for 15 minutes or as long as you have the energy for it. (Fun fact: this practice is where the idea that 'brushing your hair with 100 strokes a day makes it silky and smooth' comes from.)

For long hair: braid/plait it to avoid tangling. If you want to put it up, pin it to your head in whatever configuration you want.

The cap lifts things like sweat off your head and makes sure dust and stuff doesn't get on your hair, which keeps it cleaner. A completely optional step, but it's nice so I thought I'd include it anyways.

My hair is type 3a, so I know this sounds very counterintuitive to a lot of type 3 people, but we aren't going for looks, we're going for feeling cleaner (for me, it kind of just goes wavy, not frizzy at all, but I do wait a while before doing it). This is based off a European practice (AKA designed for white people's hair), so if you know of a different way to keep hair clean that works better for your hair, do that instead.

I don't use dry shampoo because it's messy, and honestly unless I'm doing the above, I just wait until I'm well enough to shower.

The End

OK, so that's how I do hygiene. If you're going to take away anything from this post, please let it be the areas of the body each shower wipe should cover. Any less than that (at a stretch you could combine the leg ones) and you could be at risk of getting germs where they shouldn't be or just wiping them around without cleaning them.

Happy not-showering! I hope the rest of your day goes well.

[pedge-stuff]

God I just thought about an idea for pedro and reader, reading your last post...

They are in a relationship and live together. The reader is also an actress. She asks pedro to practice her lines with her. In the play, she is having a really long line, breaking up with the person ans leaving them... pedro can't continue... at night in bed they are cuddling and pedro talks about how he hated the feeling or the thought of the reader ever leaving

(changed this slightly, hope that is OK...)

bad acting (pedro pascal x gn/m!reader)

a/n: same vague universe as “marked,“ per usual.

thanks, as always, for everything.

(also I did that thing where I didn't save this on drafts fast enough and the whole fucking thing deleted so you could say im LIVID sorry if this rewrite felt rushed.)

summary: things get a little... too real.

—————————————————————————

"You can't laugh."

"I'm not gonna laugh!"

Pedro hands you his iPad, script loaded on the screen. "I'm serious," you warn him, "you had to stop last time, the acting was so bad."

"Just read the sides, baby."

You know he isn't nervous about the audition— if he was, he sure as shit wouldn't be practicing with you. Those rehearsals are reserved for his coach, or someone who can actually talk him through the scene. This was just a formality, a quick read-through for some anthological TV show about people in failing marriages. Season 2 of Oscar's old Amazon thing. With the audition being on Zoom tomorrow, the whole process feels fairly relaxed.

"Should I read it in a lady voice? Will that set the scene?"

"Please don't."

"Scottish accent?"

"Babe."

"Hmm." You clear your throat loudly, for dramatic effect. Across the room, feet propped on the desk, Pedro rolls his eyes. He's got his cheaters on, but no script— the audition's supposed to be off-book. "From the first page?"

"You're stalling."

"Ugh. Ok. Here we go." Leaning forward, you scroll to the highlighted text on the iPad. "Stop, David. You don't know what you're talking about."

Pedro's posture straightens; ever the professional, it's like watching a switch flip. The humored lines beside his eyes, little crows feet that crinkle when he looks at you, disappear completely. His brow furrows, gaze darkens.

"Of course I do, dammit. I'm done with this, all of this. It's like living in a mausoleum, Emma. I'd rather. Do you remember what love even feels like? Because I look at you, and I just... don't, anymore."

"You don't mean that."

"I do! I'm so tired of this. Life with you is joyless. Every day, I come home from work and just sit in the goddamn driveway because I don't want to come in the house. It's hard to be in the same room as you. I can't bring her back, Emma, and I miss her and I'm sorry she's dead. But it isn't my fucking fault and I wish you'd stop pretending it was."

His voice cracks, just a little. You frown as he grabs the glass of water beside him, pausing to wait, but he motions for you to continue.

"That's cruel," you read, "and you know it. That's not fair."

"None of this is fair!" Pedro exclaims. "That's the whole point. It's not fair that our daughter is dead while the girl who was driving got to walk away clean. Life isn't fucking fair. But it's life. And you've sucked all the light out of mine. I can't stand you, anymore, I'm sorry. I just can't. It's not that we can't make it work, it's that I don't want to make it work. If I never see you again, it'll be too soon. Jesus christ, I hate every part of this."

"Are you done? Have you gotten it all off your chest?"

"Don't placate me! This isn't one of your stupid therapy sessions, Emma, you can't fix this with a breathing worksheet and a roleplaying exercise. Be fucking serious. Every day I wake up and I wish I'd never met you. At least then, she wouldn't be dead, because she'd never have existed. And maybe I'd known some goddamn peace."

The page ends there, and you glance up. Pedro has his head in his hands, eyes closed.

"That was good," you offer tentatively, searching for some kind of sign as to what his next move is. He's gracious about work stuff, but you're always a little afraid of mucking up his process.

When he looks up, his eyes are glossy. "Yeah," Pedro says, croakily, clearing his throat quietly before rising from the chair. He takes the iPad back, wordlessly, shuttering the case over the screen.

"Wanna do it again? You were spot-on, Pedge, but we can go over it again if you want to."

"No," he says quickly. "No, I'm good. I'm fine. It's on Zoom, it'll be easy. I'm fine."

Weird. Just a little. Before you can dwell on his sudden cageyness, he's up, headed for the door.

"I'm gonna walk the dogs. We can catch up on Bake-Off, when I get back?"

Pedro leaves before you can answer.

— — — 

No sooner have the leashes been hung back by the door, than Pedro is beside you on the couch, all hands and light touches. It's as if he can't bear to lost contact. You allow him to reposition you, reaching a hand around your waist as you reach for the remote.

"Good walk?"

He hums, tugging you against him. Settles, finally, once you're half-reclined, back against his chest, arm around your middle. You fiddle with the edge of his sleeve as the bakers fumble their way through the signature challenge.

It's not that the clinginess bothers you— he's like this sometimes, when he's just returned home, or you've arrived in LA, or met somewhere in the middle. Every separation leaves him want for touch. It's the one thing you can't give him, while you're apart.

But he's been home a couple weeks now, in between reshoots for a new project. Been home all day, in fact, in an orbit around you while you attempted to work from home. (A little too close, frankly, but you can't really complain.)

"You okay?" You whisper, as the timer runs down on the technical bake.

No answer. Just a tightened grip on your waist, and a firm kiss to the top of your head.

— — — 

It isn't until later, in bed and half-asleep, that you pinpoint the source of the tension.

You'd have thought he was already asleep, save for the soft carding of his fingers through the baby hairs at the nape of your neck. Deep, even breaths tickle your forehead; he's curled around you, arm draped over your back. Had positioned himself this way silently, looking a little silly brooding in his Muppet-patterned pj pants.

"We're never reading lines again," Pedro whispers into the darkness.

"Was the acting that bad?"

Your attempt for levity falls flat. He is quiet, long enough for you roll backwards slightly, to get a better look at his face. A deep-set frown has taken root.

"No, it..." He tugs you closer again, tucking your head beneath his chin. If he weren't so sad, you'd call uncle for claustrophobia; your nose is squished into his jugular. But you lay still, waiting for him to continue.

"It felt too real," Pedro concedes. He inhales sharply, and you can feel it against your own chest.

The kiss you press to the hollow of his throat, doesn't feel good enough. You wiggle, tilting your head to press one against his toothpaste-tasting lips. Whiskers tickle the corner of your mouth.

"Baby, I know you were... pretending." A thin line between placating him and treading on his professionalism. "If our pretend daughter died in a car crash, I know you wouldn't divorce me for being too sad."

"It's not funny." With a groan, he kisses you again, resting his forehead against yours. "I hated saying that stuff to you. Felt too real."

The bone-crushing spooning is making a little more sense, now.

"I love you, but you're a sap."

"Hmph."

You smile into the next kiss. "A very sweet sap, though."

[silawastaken]

this is just a little yap because I don't know really who to talk to about something like this so I'm screaming into the void instead, feel free to ignore <3

today i finally got pain medication that should help with the chronic pain I've been dealing with for roughly three years. I'm very obviously not upset about that fact, I am incredibly relieved actually and I'm really excited to see how I feel tomorrow after it hopefully begins to take affect.

However, this just feels very anti-climactic. I'm unsure how to word it (hence my unusually pretentious way of wording my sentences, I think it's a defence mechanism in response to the vulnerability-- detaching myself through the use of formal language), but it feels as though there should be... more?

I think this is rooted in a few different places, somewhere between the sense of loneliness I have yet to address since my mum moved out, and my need to prove that I am actually sick. Usually through every step of this my mother has been there, not neccassarily to 'hold my hand', as I first thought to put it, but as an observer. She was at least there for it. Through all the things I have tried.

Now, it's just like it's a normal night. I've talked about it a lot, persistent in my attempts to share how excited/nervous I am out the possibility of what a new medication may cause-- both in terms of pain relief and in terms of side affects and how my mental health may improve/worsen (at least if it worsens y'all can get some of the GOOD Dazai angst lmao) as a result.

But everyone else has something more important to do. It feels childish to ask my dad to just sit with me while I take it, I'm 15 so I should be able to do this by myself but there's just nobody there. Nobody's here while I try it, nobody will be there if it makes me feel sick or tired and I doubt I'll be asked how I feel in the morning. It goes past the medication, deeper than I could ever hope to pick apart in a tumblr vent post but this just to happens to be the catalyst for all the Feelings to start building up. I don't want to call my mother so she can sit on the other end of a phone line not paying attention for three minutes while I take medication that really isn't a big deal to anyone but me.

There's just normally somebody there and there isn't this time. There hasn't been for more than a year now but it's just different this time. Uhmmm anyway vent over I am now going to stop being a baby and take my meds 👍 I'm going to have some apple juice with them :3

[belong2human-kind]

Sabezra week!!

My sabezra Mission fic is finally ready to be posted 🥺 I'm sorry for taking it so long! I'm still finishing the 2nd part to try to post it today because it fits today's prompt (kiss)!! Thank you for all the kindness and encouragement, I adore you guys 🌻 hope you enjoy, and you can contact me anytime for anything! Good reading 🤍

Pairing: Sabine and Ezra

Tags: Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus (mentioned), Hera Syndulla (mentioned), Jacen Syndulla (mentioned), Ahsoka Tano (mentioned), Leia Solo (mentioned), General Thrawn (mention), Emperor Palpatine (mention), Future AU, Grown Up Sabine and Ezra, Canonically accurate (I tried my best 🤍), New Republic, New Republic challenges, Slow rising of the First Order, Jedi, Remaining Jedis, Siths

TRIGGER WARNING: h4r4ssm3nt at the end 😩 sorry, contact me if you need anything 🌻

The Fallen Empire's Ball

The evening was beautiful at Naboo. Ezra watched the sun setting through the window of their small ship, that him and Sabine were using to accomplish their mission: they were going to attend a secret Imperial ball to celebrate the fallen Empire's day, occasionally, Ezra's birthday. Although they were landed not so far away from the city, where the event would occur, they were also close to the planet natural landscape, a beautiful jungle spreading in the background hills and a very vivid green grassy field surrounding the ship. Ezra was all dressed up for the event, just waiting for Sabine for them to leave. She usually wouldn't take long to get ready, but since they had to wear different clothes and be irrecognizable to the eyes of the guards, he assumed she wanted to look really different.

—I'm not exactly a "dress-type-of-girl" —Sabine said, making her presence notable for her crew partner. —But I'd say that this one fits me well. —She grins, all confident.

—Sabine! You're....

And she did look different. Ezra looked around and the moment his eyes met her, his mouth dropped open as his eyebrows raised up, in complete awe. He had never seen her so different, and although he found her pretty for the moment his eyes fell on her, for the first time, he couldn't find words to describe how much beautiful she was looking right now. Sabine wore a long black slit dress, with a V-neck cleavage, that could show her thigh and leg as she walked, but kept hidden when she would stay still. Her shoulders had shiny shoulder-pads, that were part of her dress, with long loose and open sleeves falling from them. In her waist, a black and gold belt defined even more her body. Black lace-up wedge shoes were on her feet, making her stand at the same height as Ezra, like she once did in the past.

—Wow...

This was the only thing he could say, maybe without realizing that he was thinking out loud and she could hear it. His reaction was priceless to her, and she held strong to not laugh. Her eyes ran up and down on his suit, checking out on him. Ezra wore a gray formal long shirt, with buttons that crossed his chest and ended in his neck; black pants and black boots. Some of his buttons were still unbuttoned. His suit was still a little messy, but sure fitted his features, making him look quite enchanting. He was still so entranced by her looks that didn't even noticed the  mandalorian's eyes moving around him. She noticed how badly he was staring at her and let out a silent laugh.

— Ezra... you're staring a little more than usual. Are you even there anymore?

She joked at him in an amused tone, making the Jedi wake from his thoughts and reunite words again, embarrassed.

—...Yeah. I think we should get going.

He shook his head, looking away. Little did he notice Sabine's side grin and how she bit her lip, quickly. "This night will surely be fun" She thought.

—You don't want to say anything? The last time I saw you staring like this was when we first met. And once you started talking, you never stopped. –She joked, teasing him. —Why so quiet now, Jedi?

Ezra blushed a little nervous from her teasing, rubbing the back of his neck. He was used to having conversations similar to this, with them teasing on each other, but lately she had been more active and the one that would initiate. She had already lived enough with him to know exactly what that neck rubbing meant, and she was enjoying herself in the scene. Ezra was always very smug about his self, all confident flirty and teaser since when they were kids, always poking at her with some cheesy compliments on her looks and abilities. He would still be convinced, even more now she'd say, after that he had actually grown up to the point of being more prettier than he already was while young and taller than her, but sometimes, sometimes, Sabine could get her puffed up charming partner in crime to get really embarrassed, and oh, how she loved that.

—Well, you look very different. The bad guys sure won't recognize you.

He said nervously, babbling without thinking to much about what he was saying. "What in the actual galaxy are you saying?? " He thought. Sabine smiled curious, raising an eyebrow.

—How different? —She kept teasing him, in a slightly amused tone.

—Okay, I think that didn't sound how I intended, but, what I mean is, you... you look stunningly pretty.

Ezra said, gazing at her with his big dark blue eyes, as dark as Lothal sky when the night falls in. She got caught off her guard by the way he looked at her and how innocent and genuine he sounded while complimenting her, that her face felt warmer and her chest seemed to skip a beat. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth slightly opened due to the surprise, for a curt period of time, seconds that felt like forever for her. She was used to having Ezra nervous around her, but sometimes her confidence would fail her and ruin her composure around him. This was one of this times.

—Thank you. —She said, softly. —You also look very great.

He seemed to try to contain a goofy smile. Wasn't really working.

—I always try my best!

He gave her an embarrassed smile by her compliment, that warmed up her belly from its cuteness. 

—So... we're ready to go? —He said, trying to focus on the mission.

—Not yet, someone needs to fix their suit.

—But you're already outstanding just like this, what do you need to change?

She looked down while walking towards him, trying to not get affected again by another compliment. As she looked up again, making contact with him and more close than usual, Ezra's eyes wided open due to her proximity. She tugged his suit down a few times, straighting it and making even more smooth. It was also some opportunity to touch on him, and since she discovered and accepted that her feelings towards him had changed from crew partner and best friend to something else, something more different and intense from the love she had already grew for him, she wouldn't miss a single discreetly opportunity to touch on him. He had noticed, but didn't really connected the dots of what that really meant. Sabine also started closing the buttons he had forgotten to button up. His suit had its buttons crossed over his chest and meeting its end on his neck, on the collar. She didn't need to tip toe due to her wedge shoes, making her face a little closer to his. Ezra was in a mix of feelings that made him indecisively look at her, admiring her face and look away in shyness, simultaneously, and this behavior only stopped when she finished fixing him.

—All ready to go.

She said, looking at his deep blue eyes without breaking contact. Lately, she had been done that a lot, and even though Ezra always had flirted with her, he would totally break and freeze when she seemed to correspond him, or play his game, leading him to be either speechless or to gibberish.

Sometimes he would play off as confident and tease her back again (which she really loved, but not as much as she loved when she could leave him completely speechless) but internally he would be always panicking at her investments.

—So... shall we go or we gonna keep here, staring at each other? —She said in a teasing tone, making Ezra come back to reality, waking up from his thoughts while openly staring at her face and fiery eyes. She left out a small laugh of amusement when he just shook his head and broke contact.

—Yeah... let's go to this Imperial Meeting.

Sabine received a noble title for all her efforts to help defend the rebellion, and was invited to work for the republic during the first years of its installation, building new ship designs, what she gladly accepted, but in her free time, she would stay on Lothal, taking care of the victims the empire left behind, kids that were in need and specially: her people. She sheltered mandalorians, devastated survivors of the purge, in Lothal, like Lothal people welcomed her and made her one of them. Lothal was a second home now, and although she lived all those years in Ezra's tower, she did received her family in Lothal, helping them get a home in her now planet, like she would do to all the lothalians in need, and everyone else too. Most of her time would be dedicated to rebuilding Lothal, painting and giving life again to its communities, but every time she would dedicate time to repaint a little of his tower. For years, she believed that they wouldn't see each other again, so that was her way of making his image present, there had paintings of the crew and specially Ezra in all the walls. When they found each other, they were more close than ever, even though they had been so much time apart. Ahsoka knew that wherever Ezra was now, Sabine wouldn't be too far away. She started teaching art to younglings in Lothal, and also history of art, war and the galaxy, the history she knew so well. She would teach them self defense too. Ezra was huge guardian to his planet now, considerated a hero for his people and even other planets. It was weird being an unknown abandoned kid in the streets, growing alone, then being a missed hero of hundreds of planets that knew his name, history and admired him.

He started teaching Lothal sensitive kids, just like Kanan before him, Jacen was one of them. Although Jedi were supposed to have total control of their emotions, sometimes he would got a little emotional of how much his padawan resembled his father whom Ezra missed so much. Ezra and Sabine worked together, sometimes back with their original crew, to help the Republic fight the remaining cells of the Empire that were spread across the galaxy and still keeping populations slaved by its ideology. Always together, fighting together, like the partners in crime they were. They would be daily updated about any civils that needed support and resources, distributing food, water, supplies and offering shelter and protection for those in need, filling them with hope for this new amazing free future that was closer than ever for them. Now, they wouldn't need to steal the food to give them to the people, they had back up from the Republic and lots of planets too. Sometimes, only sometimes, when they would be in a planet too much concentrated with the remains of the empire controlling all the resources, than they would steal from the empire one more time, but it didn't bother them two, actually they would really enjoy themselves for doing it, joking around just like the old times. Most of the times, they would capture the bad guys and arrest them, taking them to the republic order, only a few times they would manage to escape this amazing duo. They were like Kanan and Hera, but with something they couldn't accomplish: freedom. They were free to stop and simply live a normal life if they wanted, they weren't fighting for their lives anymore, because they needed to survive, they were only fighting for the ones that still needed to fight against the empire but yet they couldn't. The empire had fallen, they were free and Ezra's old loved crew and family was only making sure that everyone would have the opportunity to live as free as they wanted, like them could. Like Kanan and Hera couldn't. So much had already changed, and yet so much continued the same.

Their friendship grew stronger, day by day, and it took Sabine some reluctant times to recognize that her feelings towards Ezra had changed, and as the time passed by his side, the more intense she would feel. They were so close now, it was almost impossible to deny it that Ezra was the closest person she had, the one she would trust her life with closed eyes, and the one person that patiently made his way into her life, her head and thoughts, making her being able to trust again. And sure, the past made her dirty, her past made it rough to deeply believe in someone's true intentions, but if there was someone that she would trust to never betray and let her down, that person was Ezra. And sometimes, she would be scared of how much power he held against her, knowing her so intimately, all her flaws, insecurities and fears, he could tear her apart. And yet, she knew that he wouldn't. Ezra had always liked her, since the first minute she really got the loth boy captived by her humor, boldness and her beauty. Deadly beautiful, and the fact that she was so dangerous and self confident only made her more attractive and pretty. She also was intrigued by his courage and bravery since the beginning, and time made her admiration towards him grow: at first he seemed like a flirty annoying kid, but Sabine started realizing that, as annoying as he sounded, his compliments on her held pureness, he really would mean it when he said he found her pretty or her art amazing. He was a silly ingenue boy, one that she started having around to tease at. Then... he suddenly grew up. He wasn't a kid anymore, he was... Ezra Bridger. The Loth-Cat, the Padawan, the patient friend and the best partner in crime Sabine could have asked for. It took a long time to mature and figure out these feelings, but now that they were reunited again, everything seemed worthy.

The young adults arrived at the place, an old, huge mansion not too close to the center of the city and not too far away either. The location was sort of discrete, but still very appropriate for a huge celebration, simply, but fancy one. Ezra opened the door for her, making a gentle gesture and offering his hands to her.

—Ladies first!

Sabine grinned, grabbing his hands and leaving the small ship they used to get there.

—So... this is the place. Quite nice I'd say, if I didn't know the purpose of it. –Sabine said, glancing at her small device, taking some notes.

Ezra looked around, with all the people very well dressed up to the conference. They were celebrating the empire's day, but under the pretext of "a famous naboo old senator's birthday party". Since the rebellion, they always had infiltrated people, double agents helping them, and now they worked for the republic, discovering this kind of meetings to celebrate the fallen empire, looking for any clues about what Ezra, Sabine, Ahsoka and Leia suspected. They knew that these conferences would happen annually, in different locations and different dates. This one happening on Naboo in Ezra's birthday wasn't by accident, it had a whole meaning behind it: Naboo was the home planet of the emperor, almost destroyed after his death. This was by far the most "obvious" reunion after the New Republic being successfully installed in Naboo. It also contained separatist people and the ones that didn't really wanted to stay in a Republic and had been benefitted at the Empire era, or at least the ones that were neutral during Imperial times. Sabine could recognize a few faces, and just by some looking around she could tell that that public was heavily composed by aristocratics, nobility and royalty people from Naboo, and very powerful leaders from other systems too. She left out a concerned sigh, calling out Ezra's attention.

—Everything's alright?

—Yeah, I just really don't love this fancy atmosphere going on here.

—Well, you're Clan were also noble on Mandalore, I thought you would be used to the feeling... —The man teases.

Sabine roll her eyes, giving him a slightly elbow poke on his arm.

— It's completely different.

—Your mom is a Condess! How's that any different Bine? Or should I call you... Lady Wren? —Another teasing at her, now with a bow in reverence. Sabine tried to contain her smile as she also got annoyed by his teasing, but hearing he calling her like that, all charming, surely didn't help her keep her posture. "Damn it Ezra! Why you had to be so cute? That's low!" She thought.

—Shut up! —She said with her teeth closed. —They are NOT supposed to know our real names....

—Oh, I see.. Okay, don't you worry about that! I will come up with some nice names for us!

—Yeah, I'm counting on that... because surely they won't be buying Jabba The Hut or Dev Morgan anymore. —She crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

—Maybe Lando Calrissan? —He joked laughing.

Sabine sighs. "How can he be so silly and how can I adore so much?" this thought occurred in her mind.

—Focus on the mission, Ezra. We might not be fighting the whole empire like in the past, we might have much more support now but it's still dangerous, you know, these are still the bad guys who wants us dead. — She whispered to him as she got close, adjusting her hair behind her ear. She was still with her hair longer than usual, and now exhibiting her natural hair color, a dark tone of brown, contrasting nicely with her light makeup and glowing up with her fiery sunset eyes. Ezra had to make a huge effort to not get lost on them, and today it was more difficult to concentrate.

—I thought we shouldn't go by our real names, lady... how should I call you? Any Mando cool name on your mind, milady?

Rolling her eyes out of his sight, Sabine's fingers rested on her chin, thoughtfully.

— Hmmm... Kayla Lark?

—Oh, I like that. You're as much good as me when it comes to creating names. —He messed around with her again.

—Yeah, sure... What about you?

—I'll be Caleb Blaine for today. –Ezra smiled proud of his new name creation.

—Alriight, now, we go to the hard part: convincing the guards and blending in with those guys. Do you remember the code to enter the event?

The lady threw back her hair, adjusting it, also soothing her dress, and after this, one more time she suddenly approached her mission partner, straighting his suits again, gently tugging it down. Ezra was in a good confident mood, but yet he was never prepared for her abruptly touching on him, so he would be shortly out of words. Sabine noticed every single one of these times and oh, how she loved them. A smirk was formed in the corners of her mouth,

—Yeah... I, uh...no?

A sigh was left out by her, staring into his eyes.

— May the present be grateful for its past, the one who brought us all here today.

—Wow, why does it always have to be those long difficult sentences?

—They are also undercover, Ez. –She whispers, as the two of them started walking towards the reception.

— Caleb, you mean.

She raised an eyebrow while smiling a provocative smile at him.

— Your names, please. —A man who seemed to be doing the security and controlling the entrance asked.

—Oh yeah, uh, we are Caleb Lark and Kayla Blaine. We are here to enjoy the celebration.

Ezra babbled as he scratched the back of his neck, nervous, and Sabine almost face slapped in front of the guard, begging for him to buy in their new names.

—I see... your names aren't on the expected guests list...

—Well, I guess we should be going then? What a shame, I thought it was important to celebrate and be grateful for our past. After all, it was what brought us all here today, isn't it?

Sabine started intensely at the guard, waiting for the approval, that soon came. He made a reverence with a head bow, putting his hand at his forehead, then opening the way for them to to pass it.

—Wow.. you're really good at this! Almost seems like you had acess to his mind, are you a jedi Sabine?

—Kayla Blaine, Mr Lark. —She winked at him, smiling from the corner of her lips, with a slight confident grin.

The two of them walked in, arriving in a huge saloon, full of tables organized in the corners of the room, and a huge empty space in the middle, now filled with a lot of citizens. Classic music from Naboo was being played as a background sound. Lot of them didn't seem to be from Naboo, some seemed species from distant systems. "Now this could mean that they all crossed different, distant places of the galaxy to come to this conference, and judging by the number of people in this room... I think we should worry and report this to Ahsoka as soon as possible.." Sabine thought, while looking around the room, concerned and concentrated.

—What now? We split? —Ezra interrupted her thoughts.

—Yeah... we should.

—Right. Take care and stay safe!

—...You too Ezra. —She said sweetly, almost in a whisper, after he had already stepped a little. —Try not making anything amazing and heroically but also... stupid and dangerous again..

Sabine murmured when he was no more to be caught in her eyesight. She sighed, stepping further in that crowded room.

Some time passed, and she was already getting tired of elegantly agreeing with strangers, just to try to listen to some mistakes some of them would accidentally slip on the conversation, or some code that could go unnoticed. She was alert, but getting more and more bored as time passed by. Ezra was nowhere to be seen, and although she did receive some intense interested looks on her, she would just walk by. She started noticing some inquietude somewhere near the door. The mandalorian couldn't hear correctly what that was about, but she presumed that it could be about them two, and she started moving around the huge saloon, starting random conversations with young people around her: some young females, in beautiful dresses, some of them happening to be very revealing of their bodies. These young women would be usually around one man, or more, some also younger, some very old and very well dressed, like their clothes had gold and precious metal and stones on it. These ones were probably very powerful ones. These ones would be crowding the ladies, giving them dirty looks. She wondered if all these ladies were there by themselves or out of their freewill, as slaves. Some of them did seem uncomfortable with all the lack of space and the looks, but some seemed to enjoy all the stares and the attention, and some would almost crawl into the powerful men's chests. For a moment, Sabine got herself wondering if Ezra had found one of this girls, if one of them would be throwing themselves all at him like some of them where. Well, Ezra certainly wasn't a rich old man that they could be interested, or a young socialite dude, but he surely could easily be passed as one. And he was very charming. Very easy on the eye. And today he was quite... enchanting. A little more enchanting, Sabine thought. She could feel her face and arms heat, but she didn't need to hide it. He wasn't there, anyways. But she really wanted him to be.

A bump from someone from behind her made the lady disconnect from her thoughts. She apologized, looking backwards.

—Don't worry, I'm the one who should apologize...

A tall, brunette near-human Mirialan man, stood up there, catching his eyes all upon Sabine. She felt really intimidated.

—There's no need. —She said, sounding a little more harsh than she intended.

—What's up, sweetie? Why so scared? I don't bite... unless you ask me for it. —The male grabbed Sabine's hand, pulling her closer. Her smile quickly closed to a disgusted look as the dude pressed his lips against the mandalorian's hand. —I'm Eriik Davon, pleased to meet such a beautiful lady. What's your name, sweetheart?

— I think I should just get going, I'm here with someone.

She shouted, as she tried to take away her hand from his and break contact, but as she turned her back, he grabbed her hand stronger, pulling her back to his front. He tightly held her back and hand, making the woman eyes wide open.

—Don't turn your back on me, love. I loved your face, but I don't like stubborness, if you know what I mean...

—Let. Go. Of me. I said I'm here with someone.

At this point, some people were already staring at them, but doing absolutely nothing to stop this harassment. Some males even left out laughs.

— Oh I don't see anyone here with you, so I think... I think you might be just confused, baby. Don't you think?

As he managed to stare deeply into her eyes, she went a little pale, repeating his last words.

—...I might be.

—See? I'm always correct. Now, why don't you tell me your name, gracious thing?

Sabine closed her eyes, struggling to get out of his manipulation. She already knew what was happening, she lived close to a jedi, she knew what force users could do with others mind. And she also knew that this kind of usage of the force was not from the Jedi. She thought to not reveal too much.

—Kayla... Blaine...

—Delightful! What do you think about us grabbing a drink and enjoying the party without more complications, Kayla?

Resisting was really difficult, but she stood reluctant, trying to remember things Ezra and Kanan taught her.

—I... no...

— What did you say to me? —The man's face writhe  in anger. He held her more strongly after this, but she kept fighting.

—No... shut up!

Sabine reunited all her strength to pull her hand out of his, and as she managed to get out, she twisted his arm, that made him and everyone look shocked at their directions. All the room's attention were on them now. She breathed heavily, looking angrily at the Mirialan. He composed himself again, and started slowly walking towards her, with people opening up the way for him. All the laugh had been gone and now a deadly silence filled the area of the saloon they were.

—You're kriffing bastard, I'll make you regret the day you learned the word no!

Sabine stood there, quietly, ready for a hand to hand fighting, when Ezra pushed the public that circled them two, stepping in the middle of Eriik and Sabine.

—Wow wow wow, do we have a problem, sir?

Ezra looked directly into the man's eyes, and then at Sabine. They exchanged little eye contact for a moment, after he looked up for the guy again.

—Get out of my way, boy. I want the girl, don't make me step on you. These are just new shoes, I'd hate to have your blood on them. –He warned but the jedi ignored.

—What are you doing to her? She's with me. I don't think she is interested in going with you.

He said it trying as much as he could to not sound too much harsh, just annoying, changing the focus of the man from Sabine to him instead. He knew that it was a dark force user standing right there and seeking for his partner's blood.

—Oh yeah? You think? What are you, her little brother? Her representative?

—I'm her... husband. I don't think that you would like messing up with us.

Sabine eyes wided open. That was something she wasn't expecting to hear, but it made a different reaction on her senses.

—Her husband? Don't crap on me, she came here alone.

—No, we got here together, the guards saw both of us. I'm Caleb Blaine.

— You're lying. I know who you are, I heared the people here talking. You're not Caleb Blaine. —Ezra swallowed dry, slowly putting his hands on his pockets, looking for his saber. Sabine had her hands close to her upper thigh, where she had a discrete support to hold her a small pistol. —You're Caleb Lark. Cut off your talk and get the Kriff out of my way already.

Ezra and Sabine almost left out a group relieved sigh after hearing his words.

—Well, I'm not lying! I am her husband, but I got her last name as a middle one, as she refused to use mine. She's a stubborn one, very proud... —He teased at her winking, making she do one the biggest eye rolls he had seen. —Isn't this the truth, my dear?

Ezra approached on her, standing by her side. She then grabbed his arm, going with him in this staging.

—Yes, darling. —She said with a little uncomfortable smile, more from the danger they were, but quite enjoying the situation.

Ezra never loses a chance to tease her, and even now, almost being caught in a room filled with Empire supporters, he was still intending to provoke her, specially now that he was the responsible for getting her out of trouble, or at least, was what he thought. He kissed her cheek, squeezing her tightly in a lateral hug, in front of the man. Sabine got surprised, and her face blushed, but only the people looking directly at her could notice this. She cursed him at her mind for that, but if she had to admit, she really appreciated.

—So... we're good?

—Whatever. 

The dude puffed, leaving and pushing people aside. He had lost respect and that made him pretty mad, but since he "lost", he wasn't so threatening anymore. Lots of comments were whispered, in different languages. Sabine could understand some of them, and when she did, she pulled Ezra by his hands, getting away from that area, getting into another one that was connected by the greater hall, that would giving into many smaller rooms. They left trying to caught the least attention as possible, since their situation wasn't really one of the bests right now.

Part two is coming soon!! It's almost done! Also, I'm finishing a drawing for this scene of the ball (and more too👀) so you'll get to see Sabine's dress and Ezra's suit!! When the part two gets ready, I'll post the link here and when the drawing gets ready I'll change the bottom photo! Have you missed seen this two go undercover? Are you ready for the next part? I'm almost sure this will certainly be Ezra's best birthday 👀

I hope you guys enjoy🤍 thanks again for all the kindness, support and patience. I adore you all, stay safe guys🌻

[emeritus-fuckers]

match up event open again? I'd love to participate •w•

1 - Identity: I'm a woman (I doubt that, so I would say I'm gender neutral). I am straight, even if people always say that I look like a lesbian (wtf?).

2 - Who do I like: Papas

3 - What do I look like: I am 6ft, a thin body, and a pale white skin. I have a long blonde hair that goes past my waist, dark blue eyes, and I always look angry bcs of my relaxed expression. I usually wear loose-fitting sweats because I get uncomfortable "showing" my body in skin-tight clothes. On more formal occasions, I do wear tight clothes (not without overthinking about wearing more comfortable ones).

4 - What's my personality: I am very quiet and I always try to be invisible (mostly because I don't like my height), I don't enjoy having to talk to a lot of people, I hate making birthday parties because I don't enjoy too much attention on me. And going to crowded places doesn't suit me. I am very clingy, my love languages are quality time and physical touch, but I just show this to people who I really feel comfortable, and, now, it's just with my mom.

5 - My interest: I love reading fanfics and writing them. I love watching streamers playing funny or horror games, and I love to play them too (even if I literally jump from my seat when something is following me).

6 - Trivia: I love birds. They're so cute, I can't. I enjoy playing volleyball and wasting my energy running as fast as I can. I get flustered easily, all my face turns red with just talking to someone strange.

Well, I hope I didn't write too much =w=

This post is part of the 1000 followers match up event. Entries for the event are now closed.

Your match is...Papa Emeritus IV

He fell for you from the moment he first saw you. He just couldn't tear his gaze away from you.

You spoke a few times, mainly when you were both looking to get a new game from the clergy's collection. You kept meeting in the horror section.

He knew you were quiet and he sensed you didn't like crowded places or too much attention. So when he asked you out it was evening time at the Ministry, and the sun had just started to set. He found you reading a fanfic sat on a bench in the cloisters.

He sat down next to you "I umm, how to say, I would like it if we could go on a date sì?" He shifted a little. "But I would understand if you said no. But I was thinking, we could play some horror games together?" He made a few nervous rat noise "But I jump at them a lot."

Sometimes you sit in the garden together and while you watch the birds he is watching his rats. He got Primo and the Ghouls to build them an outdoor enclosure. Copia suprised you one time by brinigng bird food along. This meant you got to see loads of them and really close up.

If he sees you getting flustered, he notices your face turning red at the first flush, he'll come over to you and he'll talk to whoever it is. This is when you see Papa Emeritus IV, he very confidently deals with the situation, excuses both of you, and makes sure you are okay.

He and the Ghouls love playing volleyball with you! It gets a little competitive between the Ghouls but it's all good natured. Copia will use any excuse to come over to you and give you a kiss, it's very cute. You do a good shot he's there, win the game and he'll gather you up in his arms twirl you around and then kiss you.

~

Written by Nyx

[jammie-time]

Warning. Action post contains: a mental/psychotic break/could consider it a manic episode as well, also implications of harming ones self

This is also past tense. This isn't a current event.

-------

You were living you were happy, you were finally able to communicate with everyone and make new friends, just being a part of a group that you liked and even liked you a bit too.

First meetings and meeting people from the past.... It was all too sweet. Then something all too heavy fell on you.

~~~

"I know HE told me not to tell you, and I- fuck."

Prince suddenly called you and wanted to meet up, was weird cause usually it ain't that big a deal for him to just come unannounced, you're always too welcoming of his presence, he's your best friend after all.

When he finally came he sat you down across from him, and it was all..... Formal... Was getting you real nervous. You had every right to be by the end though.

Prince spilled something fierce at you. About a plan that him and your ancestor had in store with many others. But the problem was....

It was requested that you were to no know of it.

"Why" you asked. Could barely look in Prince's eyes, your voice was unusually monotone and stiff, which was always a bad sign for the trolls close to you. Who've seen the horrors that you're capable...

Prince was silent for a long bit before he explained. "The Grand Highblood,,, Kurloz,,,, He said.. You're too unstable to know any details...-"

Your mind trailed off, everything Prince had to say was a blur. "That's it-?" Was all you thought before you threw the table up in the air and on to floor behind you.

"FUCK-!" Prince fell to the ground from surprise, his agitation was apparent until he looked up at you to see red eyes fill of anger and tears. You couldn't tell what he was feeling when looking up at you for you were blind with rage. "Get out." This was not only a statement, it was a warning as well. "Get the fuck out."

Prince sat still for a moment before backing up slowly, his hands in your view, and getting out the hive. He was cautious, could tell that much.

You suddenly hissed and grabbed at your head shaking.

.............

The loudness that began within your pan was too much to bare.....

~~~

Your hive was a mess when you finally came to your senses and for the first time, when your anger took over in such a way....... You not only destroyed yourself and your part of the hive..... But your ancestors part as well, where he would stay when visiting you.

When the anger finally fell you were filled with sadness. For how long? You weren't sure but all you really did during this perigees long episode of depression was text Prince "sOrRy" before turning off your mobile husk.

You understand many things, things that people don't really get yet or be assuming you don't know a thing about it, sometimes you don't know nothing, and that's all fine too.

This plan, this beautiful but horrifying plan, was something you KNEW you could never participate in. But to keep it from you all together with the assumption that you ain't ready, you're unstable, and that you just wouldn't understand.

When in reality you aware of everything and why this shit needs to happen and you're just as aware of you were to participate you could lead to their downfall.

But to keep it from you for so long.... With such humiliating.... Could even go as far and objectifying reasoning...... Wasn't acceptable, not for you atleast.

The sadness stayed with you, random bursts of anger coming occasionally, and you'd even wish for your best friend to be here. But you know it's better for him too not be.

"I'm all too burdensome, been too aware of it for too long...." You push on your belly in a pained way before losing your consciousness.

___

You woke up.... In your cupe? Weren't you like not in here. You crawled out and then seeing Prince sitting in the reclining chair, sleeping. He was cleanest thing in in the block, everything covered in your blood, dirt and other things, just laying there, as sturdy as he always is. You could tell he picked some stuff up and cleaned the area he decided to lounge in.

You went right back down in the cupe.

The tears want to come down, you think you're all dried out. "Why do everyone gotta treat me so kindly after hurting me so bad, I don't get it, don't get it at all..."

You held your head in your hands, conflicting emotions running over you again.

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile --Ch. 10/Short

Peeps, I have a migraine, but I really want to post this you guys as I do every Saturday. So, I'm not putting the energy into doing my usual formatting, but I promise the chapter is just a great as always. (I wrote it long before the migraine hit this morning, and @avellanas-nutty-empire edits make it 10x better)

So, without further delay, Chapter 10 and Short 10; all in one post!

(Will be posted to AO3 later; I don't have the focus to work on the html tags for all the italics)

Professor Dantlion looked like an average demon; cheerful, friendly, plain brown hair and eyes, and seemed approachable enough - if it wasn't for the fact he was the teacher's supervisor and had a dark aura just…hanging around him. 

Or maybe that was your own paranoia. 

"I had a meeting with Lord Sullivan," He started after formalities. "And it seems you were never actually initiated as Babyls Faculty." 

You blinked, confused. Sullivan hadn't mentioned anything about being 'initated' when he announced he found a job for you. What did that even entail?

"Oh, don't worry!" He tried to reassure, seeing your face pale.  "We're not as archaic as Jackapo's initiations. No blood rituals or life-or-death fights."

"Oh, okay," You squeaked. Your thoughts hadn't even drifted towards it being that dark or gruesome. 

"I know you're not technically a teacher, but Lord Sullivan asked for me to be your supervisor, so we'll be taking you out to the Brawl Inn tonight."

"Wait, what?" 

----

"It'll be fun, sweetheart," Sullivan tried to reassure you when you ran to his office after Dali left the library.

You however, were not reassured. You continued to pace the span of his office.

"Fun? I-I’ve never had fun at any after work gathering in my life. All my coworkers are demons while I am human, or have you forgotten?! Then you add alcohol into the mix which only spells certain disaster! I still can't remember much from that one drink at Walter Park! And that was one! With just Balam and Kalego! God, what if Raim and Momonoki finally corner me for girl talk?"

"There's no need for such language," Sullivan chimed, sounding vaguely disapproving - though you didn't really hear him. 

"What if my drunk ass admits everything? Can you imagine how bad that could end; not just about me and Balam, I mean everything, dad! The fact I'm human, or that Iruma's human! It could not only end with my death, but his too, and--" 

Sullivan stopped your frantic pacing with a gentle hand on your shoulder, his dark eyes meeting yours from behind his glasses. 

"Nothing is going to happen, my dear. You'll be safe. I not only trust you, but the other staff as well. You'll see how devoted the teachers are, and the fact that Dali accepted you as one of his own proves that he believes you are worth this honor."

You took a few deep breaths; hoping, wishing what he said was true. Sullivan knew them best, he knew what was at stake. You could trust him on this at least, right? 

"And I just love it when you call me dad!" Sullivan broke the moment as he quickly pulled you into a hug with a happy squeal. "You really do see me as your father, just like Iruma sees me as his grandfather! Oh, I'm just so happy!" 

"Really?" You half-heartedly complained at the sudden change of topic as well as mood, though you didn't fight the embrace. Sullivan's open paternal affection would always be something you secretly cherished. 

And maybe a change is what you needed.

"Absolutely, my sweet little princess! You two mean so much to me! And I would never, ever, put you in a situation you couldn't handle." 

With a groan, you wrapped your arms around his slender frame and allowed yourself to relax and accept the comfort he offered. Because considering how much he fussed over Iruma, and in a way yourself as well, you had to admit you had to believe him. Which meant you weren't getting out of the initiation, no matter how nervous you were.

But, if other teachers were going to be there… would Balam be there too? You knew he would protect you, but you also worried about everything else that came with being around him. 

----

"Kalego!"

The demon in question looked up from his book to Balam, who looked as excited as he sounded. Which - considering the giant demon had been distracted from his grading by his phone, Kalego presumed it was something you had done or said; per the norm, nowadays. 

"Hmm?"  Kalego grunted in acknowledgement as he continued his work. Spending the evening with Balam holed up in the Prep room sounded much more appealing than attending the teachers' celebration for another successful Harvest Festival. Calming instrumental music was drifting from the radio, and he had found a rather interesting blend of wine to sip on after sharing a decent meal with one of the few people in the Netherworld that didn't annoy him.

Even if Balam's interest was focused on you to the point Kalego doubted the other demon realized how much his time was spent either talking to, or about you. But he was such a love-sick hellhound that even Kalego couldn't be annoyed by his antics. It was as adorable as it was pitiful, even to him. 

And to be completely fair, he did enjoy seeing his comrade happy. You were rather close to being added to the short list of people Kalego could tolerate after work too. 

As soon as he figured out the conundrum that surrounded you and your son. 

"Dali is going to be her supervisor," Balam explained, furiously typing on the small keyboard of his phone. "And he plans on formally initiating her into her role as Librarian tonight."

That caught Kalego's full attention. Not only did Sullivan relinquish that kind of authority over his daughter, but also allowed Dali to oversee your rite? That was a surprising turn of events. He had figured the chairdemon would have insisted on having that privilege for himself. But… 

"Tonight?" Kalego asked with a frown. "Aren't the other teachers celebrating the end of the Harvest Festival?" 

Balam's excitement faded, and Kalego could almost see the forlorn expression behind his mask as Balam's broad shoulders slumped. "I know you didn't want to go, but…"

No, he hadn't. Kalego hated social events with a passion. And Balam had reluctantly decided to stay with him versus attending the event, mainly because of his own social awkwardness. But now that Balam knew you would be there, and the fact it would also be your initiation rite…

The taller demon gave Kalego a pleading look, silently begging for him to change his mind. Kalego cursed internally. Devi, he didn't have a choice at this point. 

"I suppose we should go then," He conceded with an aggrieved sigh. "Even if just to protect your future intended from the rest of the faculty." 

The tease caused Balam to blush heavily, far too flustered to even stammer a defense. What Balam saw in you, Kalego couldn't understand himself. But the fact he was interested in you, inherently meant to Kalego you were worth protecting - if even just for Balam's sake. 

Why the demon couldn't find someone who could protect themself was beyond him. And why you were so weak compared to your father and son, Kalego was determined to figure out. 

-----

Brawl Inn was a small building in the wasteland not far from the town of Babyls. You dismounted Podargos, giving the nightmare a loving pat on the muzzle before tying her to the fence where there was fresh water and feed (fresh ground meat and other things you did not wish to think about) already set out by the Inn staff. 

Sullivan assured you no matter what state you were in later, Podargos would get you home. And you had to believe him, she always seemed gentle and sure of herself. She was the first you had ridden, and never needed any correction as soon as you told her 'home.' 

Still, your nerves twisted your stomach as you stood outside - trying to psych yourself up. 

This wasn't going to be like back in the human realm. Your demonic coworkers were far better than your human ones had been. Oddly enough, they weren't as vicious or cutthroat, or prone to backstabbing. You vaguely remembered Kalego's comment that forcing others to drink was against their rules. 

You didn't know if that meant subtle challenges as well or not, but it was still reassuring. 

Yet here you were, unable to open the door and enter. You could hear boisterous talking and laughter coming from inside. 

Was Balam already here? He said he could have escorted you, but admitted he also had to convince Kalego to attend, so you had reassured him you could manage. You imagined he was going to have a hard enough time with Kalego. 

The sound of flapping wings caught your attention, and you looked up in time to see Kalego and Balam arrive. Seeing a demon's wings was always a shock, considering most of the time they were hidden, and you couldn't resist a moment to study the two's own pair. Kalego's was dark and glossy skin, large yet lithe. They were a pair from a typical legend, whereas Balam's… 

Were dark green feathers, with a span that was nearly as long as he was tall. You knew you had seen them before in the chaos of Walter park, but you hadn't been able to appreciate them. 

Granted, you couldn't exactly appreciate them now either; because as soon as the two landed, their wings folded back into virtual non-existence. 

"You weren't waiting for us, were you?" Balam asked after greeting you cheerfully by name. 

"No, I, um, just got here," You explained awkwardly. It wasn't quite a lie, you hoped only a few minutes had passed while you were having a moment. 

"Let's get this over with," Kalego sighed, pushing past you towards the door. Balam's arm wrapped around your mid back, providing warmth and safety that you had unknowingly needed. The confidence you needed to face the rest of the staff seemed to flow from him into you.

If he was here, you knew you would be safe. 

Inside the bar was dark with just a few candles lit to offer a trace amount of light. You pressed closer to Balam's arm - some instinctual part of you terrified as a robed figure stepped out of the shadows and held out a hand towards you. "Welcome, you who strive to fill the role of the Librarian of Babyls…"

"Must you really be so dramatic?" Kalego growled, interrupting the deep voice. "Seriously, Dali, she's already worked in the library for a few months." 

There was a pout on Dali's face as he pulled back his hood. "It's tradition, Kalego. I thought you of all demons would respect that." 

"There's hardly a need for theatrics with this one," Kalego shot back, gesturing sharply to you. "At this point it's a mere formality." 

"You're just jealous you didn't get the role to scare her." Robin stepped out of the gloom, pointing an accusing finger at Kalego. "Or you would have jumped at the chance!" 

Kalego huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't be ridiculous."

Someone grumbled about the effect being ruined, and with a snap the lights flared to life. More of the teachers lowered their hoods and chimed their own thoughts of how things should have went.  

"Are they always like this?" You whispered as the argument--bickering, really-- continued. 

"Well, not usually…" Balam admitted quietly. "But typically one is initiated when they first start. You're a bit of a special case." 

"Can we just hurry up and get this over with?" Elder Morax complained rather loudly. "I thought the main event tonight would be celebrating!"

Dali sighed, conceding he had lost. "Very well. Please, step forward." He gestured to you, and Balam's protective touch became a gentle nudge forward. 

You hesitantly stepped towards Dali and a dark crimson circle flared to life with dark symbols carving themselves into the stone floor. The magic was near palpable, making the hair at the nape of your neck raise as your heart quickened. 

"The teacher of Babyls is a sacred role," Dali started, his usual demeanor shifting into one far more serious. "As is the role of Librarian. To guide and guard the treasure of Babyls, its students, is the highest honor. Do you pledge your life to protect them above all else from the enemies that may target our treasure?"

This wasn't some meaningless pledge. You could feel the magic waiting for your answer, to make sure that you held true to it if you swore. Not just Iruma and his classmates, but all the students. 

It made you hesitate and think - was this really what you wanted to do? You highly doubted you could just up and quit after an oath like this. 

Hell, it was better than the fishery. And you had to admit; while the Misfit class held a special place in your heart, you were fond of all the students. Being a librarian at Babyls? There could be worse fates.

"I swear," You answered, meeting Dali's eyes firmly, and instantly felt the magic snap into place. The odd sensation took your breath away as the symbols flared a fiery red beneath you. There was a strange notion that maybe you hadn't sold your soul to Sullivan after all…

But instead hd just signed it over to Babyls. 

A thunderous applause broke out from the surrounding teachers as the circle faded into nothing, and before you could blink, Balam had swung you off your feet, lifting you until you were sitting on his shoulders. You clutched to him, stunned by the sudden change as you looked down at everyone.

Smiling. Cheering. Even Kalego had a faint smile on his face. 

You knew you had made the right choice. 

----

You may have had limited experience with human coworkers, but your demon peers were nothing like the human counterparts. Where you had been defensive around your previous coworkers, feeling as if you had to constantly prove yourself and be on guard, here you didn't. 

They easily accepted the fact you didn't want any alcohol, and in fact had many recommendations on non-alcoholic drinks instead. Despite being new and a bit of an outsider, you didn't feel excluded. 

Actually, quite the opposite. In a blur of events, you had been dragged from Balam's side to a seperate table across the large room, where most of the female teachers had gathered. Not just Raim and Momonoki; but Suzy, Furcus, and Tsumuru too. 

"We actually have a full table now!" Tsumuru cheered, being echoed by the others. 

"I have to admit, I do love what you've done with the library," Furcus admitted, the older woman smiling softly at you, looking rather tired. "Through the years, no one's really paid much attention to the organization of it."

"A lot of the students have enjoyed the new study spaces," Tsumuru added, making you flush from the attention. "I've even seen an increase in grades, which I can't contribute to anything else but the library's renovation. I was so excited when Dali said you were being initiated! I can only imagine how you'll help in the future!" 

"Those cubbies also make for good make-out spots," Raim added with a wink, making you flush even more. "Or have you and Balam found that out already?"

"W-we aren't courting, despite what the rumors say," You stated with a bit of a stammer, deciding there was no way to avoid the topic - so you were going to face it head on. With blunt honesty. 

"What?!" 

It wasn't just Raim and Momonoki giving you incredulous looks as you had expected - it was all of them. Even perpetually calm Suzy and Furcus looked surprised.

"No, that's just not possible!" Momonoki protested. "J-just look at you two! It's obvious!"

"It's more obvious than her crush on Kalego," Suzy chimed, gesturing to the blue-haired teacher who blushed yet nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! How are you two not courting?" 

You rubbed your face, willing the burning sensation to fade from your face. "Look, it's… it's like this. We fell into an easy friendship--camaraderie," You corrected, seeing their odd looks, "...because of mutual interests. And his skinship is a perfect match for my own…issues. But that isn't to say we're romantically interested in each other."

Raim frowned and leaned on the table, "I am a succubus, remember? I can literally taste the attraction between you, so don't give me that devibullshit." 

Wait. Could Succubi do that? 

The others were nodding, so you had to assume they could, and that Raim wasn't lying. 

"I mean, I-I am kinda… interested… in him…" You admitted, casting a glance to the table across the room where the other staff were. They were by far louder, so you doubted that anyone else could overhear the infamous Girl Talk you had been dreading. 

Yet almost sensing you were looking at him, Balam shifted to look at you - head tilted to express his concern. You smiled slightly and gave a small wave, letting him know you were fine.

Even if you were internally dying of embarrassment. 

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and returned your small wave before his attention was caught by Robin invading Kalego's space once more. 

"Are you telling me - that you two are mutually interested in each other, but not courting?!" Raim virtually seethed. "Have you even said anything?!"

You blinked, startled by the severe expression on her face. You had no idea she - or the others - had been so invested in the relationship between you and Balam. 

"I haven't done this before, okay?!" You shot back after a moment, put on the defensive by her tone. "This is unfamiliar territory for me!"

"But, Iruma is your son," Furcus added, a frown gracing her face. "You can't have children without mating."

"T-that, was…" You trailed off, fear flooding through your mind as you worried about being caught in your lie. You had built a backstory, but hadn't quite explained it to Iruma - and you weren't sure what he had said about the matter. What if he had said something that would contradict you? What if it planted seeds of doubt in their minds? 

Devi, if only adoptions were normal in the Netherworld. But you had seen it yourself at Walter Park; most demons were demonish in that aspect. 

"Is the rumor of his father true?" Tsumuru asked as your pause became stagnant.  "He's really not present?" 

"It was one of those… unintended things," You awkwardly excused, not completely sure how deep a hole you were digging yourself. But surely demons had one-night stands? And maybe decided to keep any child conceived afterwards? 

"I've had plenty of those," Raim sighed dreamily, destroying any doubt. "Though, you know there are plenty of… remedies for afterwards."

You shrugged your shoulders, "Yeah, but… Iruma's one of the best things in my life so I don't regret anything."

"While that is adorable," Momonoki interjected. "Our main concern should be that our dear librarian hasn't courted before, and we all know Balam hasn't either. They're both helpless! We need to help them!"

Raim hummed, "You just want a real-life romance novel to play out before your eyes, don't you?" 

The other demon turned a bright shade of pink. 

"That is totally besides the point!"

"You guys," You whined. "It really isn't that big of a deal. Balam and I…we'll figure it out."

Suzy patted your hand reassuringly. "I'm sure you will. But if you ever need some advice, feel free to ask. I courted many a demon back in my day before deciding to pledge my life to Babyls." 

Raim nodded, "Absolutely. I would be happy in giving you a few pointers and tips on seduction. Together, we could have that giant of a demon wrapped around your finger." She smirked while twirling her own hair around her graceful fingers, making you blush deeper.

Furcus snorted, "You say that as if he isn't already." 

Tsumuru nodded, "You don't have to be a master at psychiatry like myself to know he has it bad." 

"And," Raim continued in a staged whisper, leaning over the table closer to you. "Once he's wrapped around your finger, you can finally wrap yourself around--" 

---

The evening became livelier as Robin and Dali pulled out games like Bingo and Charades, along with some Netherworld games you had no name for but ended up laughing until your ribs hurt. 

Partly just because of the anitics of the others as they drank more and more while you stayed sober. But, you had a feeling you would have ended up having a good time regardless. It truly was nothing like your previous experiences; you were thoroughly enjoying yourself. 

To probably no one's surprise, you ended up once more next to Balam; and all too aware of the 'supportive' gestures from your female colleagues, ranging from subtle thumbs up and winks to awkward gestures that you had no idea what they meant - but seemed vulgar anyways. 

You could only pray Balam hadn't noticed them or the fact you would suddenly pull his attention elsewhere in an attempt to keep him from noticing. If he had, he kept silent and just rolled with your antics while helping you with the games you were unfamiliar with. 

While also more or less compelling Kalego to participate as well, which made you giggle as the other demon grumbled half-heartedly. Having fun and being happy filled you with a sort of boldness, leading you to tease Kalego. 

Kalego would take it in stride and subtly return the teasing with light-hearted taunts. Which - judging by Balam's excited reactions as the two of you bantered back and forth - meant Kalego had officially accepted you into the fold. 

--

"Is it really okay to leave Robin with everyone?" You asked hours later as you left with Balam and Kalego. At least half a dozen of the other teachers were passed out inside the inn, and you felt guilty at Kalego's offhand comment about it being the newbie’s responsibility to get them all home. 

"He arranged it and allowed Dali to partake as well," Kalego replied with a snort. "He needs to take responsibility for his actions." 

"Considering most of them live in the teachers' dorms, he won't have that much difficulty," Balam assured, his hand combing through your hair thoughtlessly. "Are you okay with returning home?" 

The nightmare in question - still patiently waiting at her post - snorted and pawed a hoof as if insulted by Balam's implication.

"Podargos will make sure I get home safe and sound," You said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Dad and Opera trained her well." 

Yet despite the reassurance, Balam seemed reluctant to let you go. His hand brushed your cheek softly as he held your gaze. Was his thoughts wandering the same path yours now wandered, thinking of the possibility of a romantic relationship. Or had the wine he and Kalego been sharing still affecting him? 

(Granted, for as much as they both drank, you were surprised they were seemingly unaffected.)

Everyone seemed so sure that Balam held such romantic feelings for you that it filled you with hope - but at the same time, you were still so lost on what to do next. Was it unfair of you to wait for him to make that next move, or was he waiting for you? 

Devi, he'd probably end up waiting forever if he was. You don't know if you possessed the boldness to take that next step without his lead. 

"Shichiro," Kalego called, interrupting the moment. "Shall I leave you two alone? I would like to be home before dawn." 

"Still feeling that last glass, Kalego?" You couldn't help but tease despite the warmth spreading across your cheeks and his implication. Or, at least the one your mind readily supplied. 

His eyes narrowed slightly, though you hoped it was in good humor. "I applaud the fact you restrained yourself from drinking all night. I hate to see what the school would be like if everyone witnessed you crawling into Shichiro’s lap to sleep." 

"You two…" Balam sighed as you seethed in embarrassment as the dark-haired demon smirked. 

Fine, two could play at that game. "Well," you drawled as you turned back to Balam. "Since Kalego apparently needs help finding his way home--"

"I do not--" Kalego hissed, though your attention was once more captured by Balam as you reached up and patted Balam's cheek without thinking.

The giant demon quickly bent down so you could reach easier, and - well, the temptation to run your fingers through his hair was too much for you to resist. 

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" You finished softly as your heart thumped in your chest. Just a few small strokes and Balam's eyes had fluttered shut as he leaned more into your touch. He looked so happy, so content, so utterly cute, you gave into impulse and leaned in closer to press a quick kiss to his cheek. 

"Goodnight, Shichiro." You whispered as you pulled away before nodding at the other demon. "Kalego." 

Kalego returned your nod, but you didn't dare look back at Balam to see his reaction. You instead turned to Podargos, somehow managing to undo the knot keeping her tethered with shaky hands before pulling yourself up in the saddle. 

She was already galloping when you heard the flutter of wings unfurling and the two presumably taking their leave as well. You gripped the reins tightly, grinning to yourself as the wind whipped around you. You did it! You initiated affection with Balam, and now all you could do was pray it hadn't been too subtle of a hint. Because damn, your heart was hammering heavily enough as it was. 

Short Ten

Silence hung over the two demons as they flew, though Kalego knew it wouldn't last for very long. Before they reached the first trees of the forest, Balam finally broke the silence with a whisper "She kissed me…"

Kalego sighed, "I saw." He was happy for him, truly was. But why did you have to finally end Shichiro's doubts tonight? He was already mentally worn out from a long week, plus the hours of forced social interaction.  

He wanted to go home, have a long hot shower, and sleep. That is all he wanted at this point. 

"And called me Shichiro!" Balam's awed whisper turned into giddiness, and Kalego could easily imagine his companion blushing furiously despite the sky dark, moons barely providing any light. There were only two demons (himself and Opera, of course) outside his family that called Balam by his given name. Everyone else was too terrified of the gentle giant to take such liberties. 

"I was there for that as well," unfortunately, Kalego added mentally. He was actually surprised it took you this long, to be honest. After all, you had the whole Misfit class calling you mom now - if rumors proved correct. He had figured you had been using Shichiro in private for weeks now. 

Apparently not. 

A flap of feathered wings and Balam was gliding next to Kalego, the tips of his wings about brushing his. "Thank you, Kalego, for changing your mind." 

Part of his aggravation faded away, and Kalego nodded slightly. "It wasn't too terrible, I suppose." The finest wine money could buy, all from the Chair demon's own account. The food was surprisingly decent for a dive bar, and there had been a few amusing moments.

The moment of peace shortly faded as Balam all but giggled. "I can't believe she actually kissed me!" 

Kalego decided he should have taken a bottle of wine home with him after all. 

Hell, if he was going to endure this… "So, what are you going to give her as an offering when you ask her to court?" 

There was a flutter of wings as Balam faltered mid air with a choked noise, making Kalego smirk. 

-----

Opera calmly poured Lord Sullivan's tea, though their mind was full of unrest. You and Iruma had become close, and they acknowledged both of you as members of the Sullivan family, and therefore under their protection. 

"Not to question your decision..." Opera started as they finished. "But is it wise to have her sworn in as a Babyls teacher?" A human under the Oath of Babyls? Old, ancient magic that bound a teacher to the school and their duties -  how would it react to a human? Would it be the same, or cause you to suffer? 

"You said it yourself," Lord Sullivan stated calmly as he picked up his tea cup. "Evil is stirring, even here at Babyls. Iruma will be well protected between his ring and his classmates, though I plan to ask Barbatos Bachinko to continue to tutor him. However, my dear daughter does not have his power or allies. Even if she becomes Balam's intended, the Oath will force him to put the students before her. But, if she is sworn in as a sort-of teacher…"

"Then the others will see her as one of them, even if her identity is revealed," Opera finished as they realized Sullivan's true intent. "They will be more inclined to protect her as well." 

Sullivan nodded before smiling, "Plus, she really is as antisocial as Kalego. She could stand to use a few more-- what do they call them? Friends? Humans are social creatures after all…" 

[r0-boat]

Keep reading to wish Ro a happy birthday

....

....

* you awake in a field full of wildflowers.*

???

Odd, this isn't like a normal Ro boat post

Usually Ro gets straight into the smut. With mediocre writing and 100 spelling mistakes because she's too scared and a virgin to write normal sfw.

The sun felt good on your skin and the breeze felt nice and refreshing You turn your head nothing but flowers.... until Something catches your eye in the distance, you could just barely make it out when you squint.Why not? you thought before toward the figure.

A young woman with they/them energy. Her figure wasn't all the way there, you had to rub your eyes before her figure just seemed to take a shape more palatable for your comfort. it wasn't until she noticed your presence and turned around where you saw a mask covering the face.

A wooden carved mask that love to vaguely like a sheep.

She spoke in the Forbidden undertale language that you can somehow understand.

"Oh?...Um Hello,... h-how did you get here?"

...

"Y-you wanted to wish me a happy birthday?!"

... "Oh...T-thank you..."

...

*you turn on your heel to be on your way before the masked person stops you*

"Wait!"

" you somehow time and space to get here I should offer you something in return..."

*you hear boss music*

...."fight you? Lolol no!"

* Boss music stops*

" I'm just a porn writer on the internet I can't pull some freaky Sans bullshit"

" I'm not going to punish you for your sins."

"no matter how much sin I've seen"

" but I'm not going to let you leave and Empty handed...

Ah! I've mentioned him a few times i do have another Oc... only for this one special day you can meet him... "

" but I warn you I made him in high school as much as I love him he's very close to me and probably super cringe"

....

"No... No Nsfw you sicko" She joked "just a date"

"If this is not what you want click off right now... If So.... I'll take you to him! HERE! WE! GOOOO"!

*she makes and ultra Worm hole before pushing you inside*

Dinner date with Luca

The city, bustling with people going to lunch or work or whatever destination they were going to. You? A date. You had never seen his face before but the two of you agreed to meet up at the park.

The park was mostly empty understandable since it is a Monday, except for a man sitting on the bench he looked well dressed exceptionally dressed some would say a little overdressed. His hair was long jet black and slicked back but the main thing you noticed was his eye, a piercing cobalt blue. He sat there patiently as if he was waiting for somebody.

Your eyes Met. Giving you a small smile and a wave.

He stands up stretching before making his way over. " Excuse me? My apologies if I'm too forward but are you my date today"

He looks at your formal casual clothing letting out a sigh and a nervous chuckle " Oh goodness me I overdressed... Haha... oh well, when heard I was going to be with somebody as stunning as you, I knew I had to look my best!"

He holds his arm out " Don't worry about a thing today, I scheduled a reservation at a restaurant for the both of us"

You hesitated at first before wrapping your hand around his arm.

The two of you walk side by side as he led the way to your destination occasionally looking down at you and smiling. Odd he seemed so... Happy so expressive. "Oh?" Slipped from his lips when you stop suddenly he watched your eyes light up that's something in the window a pastry oh it looks so good but it seemed to be from one of those fancy schmancy pay $100 for a singular cake pastry.

"Do you like that?" He whispers into your ear as smooth buttery voice sending chills down your spine. " I could get that for you it's not too much money."

Your eyes widen shaking your head.

However your date doubles down "hahaha! No, no I insist" you try to stop him but he's already walking inside the bakery.

You watch him in the window the woman at the counter her eyes widened her cheeks dusted pink. You can just barely hear their conversation but the woman at the counter seemed really happy.

Your date points out a cake in the display case the same one you were looking at before. The total is $150. Oh God that's so much. You saw your date pull out his wallet from his back pocket as he pulled out his Platinum Card an $100 bill slips out of his wallet.

He lets out what you assume is a laugh his hand rubbing the back of his head, he bends down to pick up the bill and slides it forward before swiping his card.

"Keep it... you seemed upset."

He waves that the woman at the counter and leaves the shop.

He hands you the box with the slice of cake, you are... well words can't describe how you feel right now he basically just spent $200 on a slice of cake.

" I'll carry this for you, after our humble little dinner date I'll give this back to you"

Why does he seem so unfazed?!

My man... did you just get a date with the 1%???

You take his arm and nod. Your date smiles happily letting your hand wrap around his arm.

The front part of the restaurant looked clean and prestigious, yet simple, hell the name of the restaurant even had a fancy cursive lettering. Whatever awaited inside terrified you somehow.

Your date held open the door for you letting you walk inside with a big smile. So polite. The first thing you saw was the opened bar and some of the patrons. you felt under dressed compared to older nicer and no doubt extremely wealthy people.

The waiter noticed him "Ah Mr.Okazaki you're a little early but we have your seat, follow me"

Not going to lie this place is kind of freaking you out it looks like something out of a Pinterest picture.

Your date pulls out your chair first, letting you sit down before setting himself.

" I apologize if this isn't up to your standards, I go to this place a lot so it's the only thing I can think of"

The person was too stunned to speak

' my standards?! He is worried about my standards?!'

Honestly you don't think this is a "humble little date"

Your date picks up the menu opening it he looks so you took a peek at the menu, good fucking-

$105 for three course meal?! You slowly close the menu, looking up at your date who seems to be concentrated on the menu in front of him his hand on his face as if he was deep thought,

You spoke up braking his concentration,

"What's your name, I haven't gotten it when we met"

His eyes widely looking up at you,

"W-what is it?" You say in a low voice not wanting to draw attention.

" nothing it's just your voice is beautiful, my name is Luca"

Luca notices your discomfort he frowns "ah, I understand now..." He gets up from his seat walking over to your side sitting next to you opening your menu "we can order together how about that?" He spoke in a hushed tone that was somewhat calming.

"Do you like sea food? If not I'll eat it,

His finger moves to the appetizers section

"Does the Rainbow Crudo sound good?"

You read the the description skipping the things you don't understand like what a 'Hamachi' is , or a Lemongrass Ponzu...Vietnamese Caramel Popcorn the hell?

Luca sees your confused look. And moves on to the next thing

" A roasted beet and fig salad? Made with arugula and kale topped with delicately grated haystack goat cheese and drizzled with Cherry Guanciale Vinaigrette"

His voice dances over every word with grace, as if he has studied this menu for years, he doesn't studder or pause for a moment. You could listen to him read a phone book.

It's not what you were choosing, you just wanted to hear him talk more. He speaks with such elegance, his voice sounds warm, refined and oddly comforting.

"Luca I think ill take Marinated Grilled Shrimp"

He smiles "Of course my love"

You feel warmth rush to your cheeks, with that cute smile and heavenly voice.... He's dangerous... And he doesn't realize it.

Luca's finger moves down the menu to the main course, "Do you like duck?" reading the first thing listed.

" I've never had it." You respond you don't feel as anxious as you were before, people in the restaurant were staring but you didn't care and he didn't either it was just the two of you enjoying your day together.

" it's pan seared duck Breast with Apple and Salsify Slaw, and- oh...?" He stops over a word he had a look of confusion on his face

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah it's just, I don't recognize that word"

The word his finger rests under Au Jus. Your instincts trigger and you pull out your phone typing in the words in Google, and reading the results.

"It's a French culinary term, meaning with juice "

" ah, that makes sense my French is a little rusty."

You poke his shoulder giving him a smirk

" I thought you knew everything~"

Lucas snorts letting out a chuckle " whatever give you that idea?"

Lucas stayed beside you through the entire dinner enjoying your reactions as you tried the new food he has ordered for you. You had to hold back your shock and somewhat disappointment at the portion sizes.

The air outside was chilly so he lend you his coat before opening the door for you.

" today was nice" you said sure it was a bumpy first start he did kind of overwhelm you for a bit but he was a really sweet man, you still don't know how you feel about him paying for the entire meal and giving you an expensive gift.

Luca smile "I'm glad you liked it, I had a good time"

"I have to go, I have somebody picking me" you said holding back your disappointment. You hand his jacket back to him.

His smile drops just a little, ah must his time with you have to end so soon?"Keep it, it's cold today...." Luca drops completely pausing for just a moment "W-will I see you again? I would love to take you on another date."

" Oh yea? Where to next, your private yacht?" You joke.

" Oh heavens no, the weather is much too cold for boating."

He pulls out his phone probably to call up a ride.

What.

" I have to go now, be safe, people get kind of unruly this late"

You feel a slight pain in your heart you don't really want to leave him do you? You just met him though... But if you leave now... Will Ro ever take you back to him?

Luca waves his goodbyes. But not before giving you a kiss on the forehead.

Your heart flutters, fingers feeling the spot where his lips touched

You can still see him... technically the day doesn't really end until 12:00... you have a choice...

Will you run after him?

[hyvcklvr]

I accidentally posted the request so I had to delete it, sorry! But I took a screenshot beforehand

North$ide (f)

Title: North$ide Pairing: Jeong Jaehyun x reader Genre: fluff

I'm sorry I was late with this! I hope you like it~~

Requests open, check out my song request event~ -----------------------------------------------------------------

Jaehyun wasn't exactly shy. Even though he was new to the school, and the place, he fit in pretty easily. He had overall good grades, was smart, and confident and not to mention, quite good looking. He was a regular high school student. But he became a completely different person in front of you.

Ever since he came to the school he had had his eyes on you, and you had too, for you had taken a different kind of interest in him. Usually you wouldn't fall for somebody you barely knew, but Jaehyun sparked a different kind of interest in you.

He had talked to you before, his voice confident and unwavering, but you could see his ears turning red whenever you were around him. It was so cute, how he tried hard to not be obvious but you already knew, that he got nervous around you because he had taken a liking in you.

Jaehyun wasn't all that bad in flirting, but you weren't one to give in quickly either. And as days passed by, so did the game between you two. Jaehyun would pass by the hallway, ignoring the shrieks from all the other girls who found him ever so attractive, giving you a wink as you stood there by your locker tongue poking against your inner cheek, fighting the urge to smile. He would stop by between classes, and after school ended, just to say a few cheeky lines, before giving you that signature grin, and leaving.

It even surprised you, how his demeanor completely changed around you, from being a polite and formal student to being a flirty and cocky teenager. You didn't want to admit it, but you liked how you were the only girl he gave this kind of attention too.

School had ended, and you were walking home by yourself, when you felt someone put an arm around your shoulder. You looked beside you to see Jaehyun smiling and whistling to himself.

“Yo Jeong- what do you think you're doing? I don't remember telling you that we were close enough for you to put your hand around my shoulder.” You said, giving him a teasing grin.

He looked disappointed but immediately withdrew his hands from your shoulder, always respecting your limits. You two walked in silence until Jaehyun let out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh come on. You know I like you but you keep teasing me.” He whined, and you looked at him, seeing his lips form a pout.

You smiled at his words and stopped in your tracks, turning to face him. You gave him a light peck in the cheek, watching him as his face turned pale and his eyes widened, and patted his head, before saying,

“Who knows, if you don't stop trying, I might make you mine.”

Masterlist

[47-reasons-to-thirst]

Thos popped into my head this morning and wouldn't leave.

47 having to bring his group (Diana, Olivia, Lucas) to his friend's (reader) house, and reader not knowing he's a hitman yet (he's just Tobias, Corporate Liquidator). The others are just like 👀 you gotta tell her because he's so clearly into them.

47's 'friends' urge Honesty

The agent couldn't decide if he should wear a tie. He looked fine in the dress shirt, and even that may be to much. This was far from a formal event but he wanted to look nice.

"47," He heard. He didn't turn around as they entered his room though. He still couldn't decide on the tie. " Should I bring anything?"

"I don't know, Lucas." He answered, taking off another tie with a sigh, "I suppose if you want to, she wouldn't really mind."

"....Are you okay?" Lucas couldn't hold back his amusement, leaning in the doorway to 47's room, "You seem nervous."

"I'm just not sure what to wear."

"It's dinner. You don't have to look too nice. Don't want to be the only one in a suit." Lucas chuckled, but 47 kept switching between ties. The man rolled his eyes, coming up behind him and looking in the mirror with him. "You really want to look good for this... they must be something."

"You'll get along well once you meet them. I've... told them a little about you, Olivia and Diana.... Which reminds me," He turned to Lucas, his usual seriousness present but a hint of embarrassment alongside. " I need you to follow my lead tonight, naturally."

"Yeah- Wait hold on," Lucas was prepared to agree, but caught the intention at the last minute. "....They don't know about us? About you? About What you do?"

"None of it-"

"How long have you been talking and seeing each other?" Lucas quizzed. He didn't get an answer but that didn't stop him, "... they're important enough that you want us to meet them and like them... but they don't know your trade?"

"It's complicated."

"Doesn't have to be." He said with a shrug, "... I'll play along but... consider telling them."

Diana was dress fairly casual, along with Olivia and Lucas. Though he did fit in, he couldn't help but think he should have put on a tie to see you. They arrived at your home, greeted warmly with a big smile. Diana's heart melted and she shot the assassin a knowing look.

"Toby! You brought your friends after all!"

"Of course," He began, "I thought about it and I figured if you wanted to meet them I could oblige."

"It's lovely to meet you, s/o," Diana went for the handshake as she entered, smelling dinner almost immediately. "Thank you so much for inviting us into your home. 47 ha-"

"Dinner smells amazing, S/o," It was unusual for 47 to interrupt anyone, especially Diana. She didn't take it personally and immediately know what this was about. You didn't know. "Let me help you set the table."

"You're so sweet." You smiled, "But I already set the table. You caught me at a bad time, I was walking to the bathroom when I heard the bell, I'll be right back. Please, make yourselves at home." You had to hurry out of there as you led them to the living room but they didn't mind.

"...I'm surprised, 47." Diana said out loud, not caring if anyone heard. He was certain you were out of range by now, but not confident. "You always talk about S/O... but you haven't opened up to them?"

"I expected Lucas to think that way, but you're normally more judicious, Diana. It's not safe for them to know-"

"I would have agreed with you a few years ago, yes... but this is Post -Providence, 47... You don't have to hide from them. If you want to be close to someone it would be better for them to be in the know." He was quiet. Thinking about that up until you returned. Out of respect, his company played along...

Dinner was homemade and comfy, a sense of warmth overtaking everyone as you ate and talked. You laughed together, having a good time and shooting glances at the handsome man you'd been calling 'friend' for some time. Hopefully, that would change soon.

"So, How was work today, Toby?" You asked. Used to this, he didn't miss a beat.

"Taxing. Then again, my line of work isn't easy on anyone."

"Corporate Liquidation is a nasty business." Diana added, trying to help. 47 appreciated the move. The hitman put his hand on yours as he continued to talk about work, a move that everyone at the table noticed.

"You live such an exciting life!" You commented, "My job isn't nearly as interesting."

"Every job has it's ups and downs, Don't be discouraged." With that, Lucas got an idea. He pursed his lips and held back a laugh.

"...You know what job sounds fun," Lucas stated, prepped to rock the boat. "Being an Assassin." Lucas had NEVER seen 47 caught of guard. The hitman was silent. Diana held her lips tight, not approving of the bold move but not discouraging it. "How wild of a life must that be?"

"What would that even be like," You pondered, "Killing for hire. That has to take an emotional toll on you."

"Maybe, Maybe not," Lucas continued to tease, ignoring the stare down from across the table. "I mean, depends who you're killing."

"That's true, I guess." You started, "I'd be a terrible assassin. I'm not sneaky or good at planning ahead."

"I'm terrible at planning ahead," Lucas added, "But I think i'd be a great assassin.... Toby, what about you? Do You think you'd be a good assassin?" 47 didn't answer. Diana couldn't keep her chuckle hidden anymore. Olivia, who had be quiet, followed Grey's lead.

"I can't imagine being an assassin... but the idea of dating one sounds more my speed."

"Definitely," You agreed. Lucas waggled with brow in 47's direction, "That sounds so romantic. Dating a cold blooded killer and you and only you can warm their cold heart."

"That sounds like a romance novel."

"So?" You and Olivia continued to joke about that. 47 took in a deep breath, recalculating. "Diana, what do you think?"

"Oh, um," She struggled with the question, making sure to not look at either killer in the room, "Well... I... can see how it would be romantic."

"I know if I was an assassin," Lucas began fervently. 47 was already on edge. "and I was in love with a civilian. I would tell them my entire sordid history. If we have as deep of a connection as I hope, it should end well, right?"

"We should collectively write a book." You took it all as hypothetical, and 47 looked to Diana, possibly for help. Oh, but he would receive none on this day.

"I think that would be cute.... Could you imagine dating someone with such a life? How often do you think they'd be gone? The secret meet ups and hushed meetings. It sounds so romantic. Don't you agree, Tobias?"

"I don't know." His lame answer got a chuckle out of you, at least. His friends were staring him down. "...But... S/o... may I speak to you outside for a minute..."

[kyuus4ku]

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗧

yosano akiko

genre: drabble ; fluff

warnings: none

word count: 1K

a/n: take this as my first drabble🧐 not that proud of it -_-

"I have to tell you something."

"Usually, you don't have to make an announcement before you speak," she said before munching on what remained of her sandwich, "makes it sound formal that way."

A smile tugged at her lips as she chewed, her magenta-tinged eyes locked on yours, making your heart stutter for the right rhythm as your thoughts tried to catch up to the moment's speed.

You couldn't believe you were even contemplating on actually going through with this.

Was telling her about the dream you had last night really a smart idea?

"I'm serious."

"Y/n, by saying that, you're making me incapable of taking you seriously," she sniggered in amusement, a faint tint of mischief glowing from her face as she finished what was left of her sandwich.

You thought back to when you decided to tell her about the damned dream during lunchtime, and suddenly felt the urge to crash your forehead against the wall... repeatedly... until consciousness was nothing but a stranger to you.

If this went wrong, you'd have to stick around for the rest of the day to deal with how awkward it'd potentially become.

If this went wrong— if she misunderstood, or if she'd be able to explicate your feelings without having you confess them to her yourself.

If she didn't like you the way you liked her.

"You know what? Forget it," you raised your hands in surrender and put them on the table to get yourself up from your seat, but she stopped you by gripping your forearm firmly.

As dumb as it sounded, it felt like your infatuation for her was rejuvenated back to fresh vitality at her touch.

Even her grip was gentle, and the smile she still had latched onto her lips wasn't going to make falling out of love for her any easier.

"Wuss," she remarked in a domineering tone, raising an eyebrow and narrowing her eyes in evident attempts to intimidate you. You groaned and slumped back in your seat, crossing your arms in a mulish attitude.

"I'm not a wuss," you grumbled stubbornly.

"You sure sound like one," she sipped on her iced tea with dignity, that stupidly charming smile still bolted to her lips, "Come on, prove me wrong."

You sighed deeply, shaking off the inapt nerves which dented every inch of your ego. You then mustered up the courage to say what you didn't really want to say.

"I had a dream about you."

"Uh huh," she nodded, eyes glimmering with intrigue and anticipation.

"We kissed," you admitted, completely disappointing the side of you that wanted to piece together a whole dramatic build-up before you reached that part of the dream.

You knew that your feelings were going to swallow you whole if you didn't get them off your chest, but you didn't expect yourself to be that desperate.

Regret started to root its cause into the walls of your bones the minute you saw her expression fade into the finest type of indiscernibility.

Then, the most irresistible smile pulled at the corner of her pretty lips.

"That's it?" she laced her fingers together, her elbows planting themselves on the table as she leaned forward to fix her eyes on yours, "The person I know would've added flair to their story before getting to the climax."

"I panicked!" you whined in frustration as you buried your face in your hands, rubbing your eyes as a flustered grin shone through your lips. She couldn't help but laugh at how unbelievably nervous you were getting.

She got out of her seat and traced her steps toward where you were sitting. She sat on the edge of the table, her purple irises brighter than ever as her gaze fixed itself on you with what anyone but you could perceive as affection.

"What made us kiss?" she crossed her arms coolly, "It can't be only because I'm incredibly alluring, right?"

You clicked your tongue and rolled your eyes at her burst of self-approval— the type of reaction she always adored.

"So... we were running away from something..." you poked at your chin as you tried to recall every detail, "Some kind of monster..."

"Monster?"

"Yeah, my subconscious is hella creative," you winked at her with pride, "Anyways, I got really riled up because I hate being chased."

"Being chased? Really?"

"Yes. I get really... defensive," you ignored her snort of ridicule and went on, "So when we managed to get a place to hide, I started babbling a lot of words and pacing around frantically. You tried to calm me down but I refused to stay still. So... one thing led to another... you gave up and pulled me into a kiss."

Time hung on your words as the moment froze in silence. You expected her to brush it off and leave the room, and honestly, that would've been a hundred times better than being told "Sorry, I don't really think of you that way."

But what she said and did next didn't really match up to your predictions.

"Was I a good kisser?" you could've sworn her face was a little farther from yours just a few seconds ago. You got out of your seat and backed away slightly, wondering if you were reading her body language wrong or not.

"Yeah, well... I was better," you shrugged smugly, smirking as you did so. She stretched her arms to place her palms flat on the table, supporting her figure as she leaned back with her head tilted in what you interpreted as enticement.

"Really?" a tut of skepticism reached your ears. She looked around the room and then back at you.

"Prove it."

All the gears in your brain clicked. You stepped forward, held the sides of her face softly, and kissed her.

You felt her lips stretch into a blissful smile as your lips connected. The two of you were sent to seventh heaven as electrifying sparks of restless elation galvanized you both into an unwillingness to pull away.

"Hm," you heard her hum as she pulled away, piercing your gaze with the purple stars in her eyes as her finger caressed the side of your face gently. You smiled at her, not realising how unsteady your breathing was.

"Point taken," she sang out quietly, pulling you by the collar to meet you in a kiss once again.

taglist: @pompompurin1028 @hanazou @shamelesspastawobblerland @hanges-gf @whorefordazai

comment under here if you wanna be a part of my taglist!

a/n: ehh i'm not rlly gonna be active on most of my socials for a little while, and most of my posts/reblogs will be queued. i won't be gone for long hehe and i won't stop writing— just gonna be a little ia in terms of interactions 😴 mwah ty for reading!

fun fact: i rlly did dream about kissing a girl <3

[hobipaint]

Wishes

summary: The neighbourhood had known for ages that the quaint cafe you work in is in its last stages - maybe serving the last drink you made amidst its old walls as they spoke. Still, you held onto a hope - a wish, if you may - that the cafe would be revived, its days of glory not as numbered as others thought they would be. All that changed, though, when a certain checkered shirt man ordered a caramel iced coffee - slightly salty, slightly bitter, all too sweet.  

↳ pairing: seokjin x female reader

↳ genres: angst, fluff, strangers to enemies to lovers

↳ word count (teaser): 311 words

↳ disclaimers: pg13! for the teaser, warnings for fic to be updated

coming soon!

this amazing banner is made by @kookdiaries, thank you so much val!! and as usual, I was hyped by @kookiestarlight while writing this because she's just that. darn. amazing.

"So, Y/N," he spoke, hands gently tugging at the cuffs of his shirt, voice seeping through the cracks in your tired demeanor like balm to your hurt. "Are you sure you want this?" 

"Yup." The balm was washed away with ice cold water, splurging on the pain that flowed through your veins. "I'm sure." 

Seokjin sighed exasperatedly. "Look, Y/N," he began, tone as weary as yours, "you're not understanding." 

You scoffed. "I'm not understanding? Me?" You turned away cynically, tongue digging into the hollow of your cheek. "Look, Mr. Kim"- you ignored his wince at your formal address - "I am the owner and heir of this cafe. If there is anyone who understands this place, it will be me." 

He leaned back from the table, eyes carefully studying the wooden intricacies that decorated the surface. "Doesn't explain your continuous losses, Y/N," he murmured. 

You felt your heart burn - how dare he, this outsider, come and try and explain your scenario to you? "Look, don't try to stick your nose where you don't have any business. Don't do it." 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing in exhaustion. "This is my business too, and you know that. Your losses can be converted to gains if you simply let me buy the place, refurbish it and start a bakery - which is what the people want too!" he groaned, posture annoyingly straight as he tried his best to convince you. "You're not helping yourself by being obstinate." 

"I'm not being obstinate," you begin, but you shut your mouth - you were being obstinate. Just a tad bit, though. "I'm simply not wanting to part with my shop because it's making losses." 

The man in front of you sighed heavily - probably the hundredth time in this hour itself. "You're going to regret this, Y/N." 

"You wish," you scoff right back. 

a/n: I have no clue why I'm this nervous before posting it -_- but I hope this was likeable!! I'll be posting the full fic mostly in the next week, once I feel it is complete enough :) thank you for reading! love, hazel 💞

@taejinnies - di, here's the gift!! akzkwkzn ik ik self promo much but I tried my best for this! (I tried to get the whole fic done on time but i am a clown, so enjoy the teaser for now! (pls or I'll actually sob.))

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a commonplace book

6pm, sunday, sept 12, 2021

what, again? i hear you cry. yeah, me too. this is a quick a roundup after the zeroth week of the term which is promising to be the most chaotic yet.

reading finished watership down! i get the reputation that this book has now, for making cute woodland creatures dark and dramatic-- but it was the mythological/linguistic/poetic stuff that i liked the most. the lapine vocab just always ended up...sounding and tasting very satisfying, good mouth feel. and at last section with the assault on efrafra was so stressful-- and the various twist endings!-- and i was glad to realize that i'd gotten personally invested in a couple of characters; seeing bigwig in the epilogue, having grown old, having survived, hit me hard.

i also finished the chosen and the beautiful, and turned around and have told everyone i talk to about it. i've also picked up aliette de bodard's in the vanisher's palace, and it has been reminding me incessantly about the d*sney film raya and the last dragon, which i watched a little bit of on the plane to nyc. like!! the world building, the dragons, the post-apoc setting, the big gay energy. this novel seems to only have characters who use she or they pronouns, and they address pronouns in some interesting ways too, to convey formality, register, intimacy between characters, etc. i wish the overall writing style was less variable though-- the geometry of the titular palace is meant to be anti-geometric, nausea-inducing, dizzying, and sometimes the jumps from scene to scene almost mirror that?

listening this is my memo to myself to click on my mutuals' music links more often. i took a chance on @girlfriendsofthegalaxy's cowboy-joke post of miya folick's "stop talking (about that boy)" and then spent a solid week on a miya folick kick, just listening to her same album premonitions. i don't know if i can shoehorn my dnd character's backstory into the lyrics of "deadbody", but something about the righteous fury in her voice, it really does feel like faertrin, and in my head it's an anthem for my weird little man. please listen to it for its own sake, though, the video makes it clear that it's really about domestic violence vel sim, not dnd revolutionaries.

watching nothing quite like getting to the end of the timeskip in the untamed in grand style, with lotus root and rib soup made by the inimitable @pep-squad-lizzie, a heartbreaking montero powerpoint by @dimir-charmer, dessert by @hematiterings, and emperor's smile by me, after nearly eight months of working on this show together. y'all. the catharsis. i can start posting things from my drafts folder now that Certain Characters are dead, thank god, i only have uhhhhh 1k drafts or so.

playing my dnd campaign one resumes tomorrow! they're all coming over to my back porch, for my first time hosting after being in this group for more than a year! i'm feeling extremely normal about this!

making a housemate and i threw some brownies together last night, while keeping out of the way as an outgoing housemate moved out-- it went fairly quickly, wasn't nearly as tense as i was afraid it was, and we sent them away with a mushy brownie piece each. phew.

working on in a rare moment of only having one (more or less) project to work on, i actually sent my prof a draft outline of the paper the same week i had planned to, as well as the updated draft of the intro essay with all the changes she asked for. now to...outline a diss proposal..........spent thursday being back in an academic library for the first time since march 2020, which was fine, even mildly comical as i watched new students try to navigate the stacks elevators, it was very like 'well this is business as usual and not even that nostalgic' up until i stepped into one of the classrooms in this particular niche topic-specific library on campus, which just looked so...hopeful and nervous and expectant, with its carefully marked seats and hand sanitizers. when will there be an in-person palaeography class in there again? not this fall. but the room is ready. :')

[sunflowerim]

I LOVE YOU 3000!

-PART 23

Weekend 1

Louis opened the door to an extremely handsome Harry Styles holding two boxes of pizza in his hand and a nervous smile playing on his lips. His sunglasses were set in his hair and his dimples popped up as soon as he saw Louis.

"Hi."

"Hey Harry, come in."

Louis opened the door wider to let Harry come in. Harry moved inside and put his shoes in the rack by the door and looked at Louis with a questioning gaze. Louis was confused for a second before he saw Harry holding up the pizza boxes.

"Oh, just leave them on the kitchen counter", Louis said pointing across the room.

He brought pizza.

"You have a nice apartment", Harry said looking around him.

"Ha thanks. I hope you didn't have trouble finding the apartment."

"No, not at all-- Hey I hope this isn't too awkward", Harry added after a pause.

"Well it was when you suggested the plan, but you're here now, so I suppose we should get on with it."

"I guess we should."

Harry smiled and hoped that it hid all the traces of nervousness he was feeling. Was this a date? Did Louis think it was a date? Definitely no. He wasn't even on board with the idea initially. But Harry is here. He's going to watch a movie with a man he's low-key attracted too. He was too confused and his feelings were all over the place and he could only hope he didn't end up making a fool of himself.

"Well make yourself comfortable on the couch while I heat the pizzas". Louis' voice brought Harry out of his reverie and he nodded and made his way towards the couch.

Harry could hear Louis scuttle about in the kitchen as he flopped down on the couch and took in the sight around him. The apartment was decorated with fairy lights and it moved something in Harry. He smiled despite himself. A projector had been set up on the coffee table in front of him and the white screen lay a few feet away. He assumed that the television was behind it. He looked to his left to find a neatly stacked bookshelf, with fairy lights hanging off it. Beside was a small bed with blankets and curtains hung in front of the the setup with a circular table next to it. It must be Louis' reading nook. A bookworm too. Louis is full of little surprises. Overall the apartment looked so cozy that it made Harry comfortable at once. This looked like a home, a proper one, where someone could live happily, unlike his unnecessarily large one.

Soon enough Louis was standing in front of him setting the pizza boxes down on the coffee table. Before Harry could say something Louis was off again, returning this time with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Ah drinks.

Truth be told, Louis hadn't been able to resist the idea of movie, pizza and wine combo, drunken awkwardness be damned.

Louis sat across from Harry and was thinking about what to say when Harry said, "do you mind if I get some water?"

"Yeah sure it's in the fridge."

As Harry walked towards the kitchen, Louis took the moment to calm himself down. He should be regretting his decision to agree with Harry in the first place, but he was kinda glad Harry was here. I mean they could at least be friends. With that thought we stood up to put the dvd on the set everything up.

Back in the kitchen, Harry was trying to do the same thing. He'd never been this nervous around someone. He quickly opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. He was about to close the door when his eyes fell on a huge stash of chocolates. Harry could feel the nervousness melt in him. This was so cute. After having some water, and putting the bottle back in the fridge, he noticed a box of dog treats on the kitchen counter. Louis has a dog too! This man cannot get any cuter.

Harry walked back to the living room to see that Louis had set everything up and the movie intro started playing. The sight looked so endearing that Harry couldn't help click a picture.

Harry went back to where he was sitting, putting a careful distance between him and Louis. Harry started first.

"You have a dog?"

Louis paused the movie.

"Oh yeah. Cliff. He's asleep right now."

"Well I hope to meet him before I go."

"Sure, he'll be up soon anyway. I took him for a long run today so he's probably more tired than usual."

"How insensitive."

"Pardon me if I want to keep my dog fit and healthy."

"Ah, you're a good dad."

"I am."

Both of them smiled as a silence settled between them. Louis broke it.

"I don't know what kind of movies you usually watch but this is a bit different. You gotta focus initially so you completely get it."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Yeah, you're gonna love it. I'm actually excited."

Harry couldn't stop himself from getting endeared by how Louis was smiling so hard that the skin beside his eye was all crinkled.

The butterflies in his stomach were going crazy.

He kept looking as Louis pulled out his phone and clicked a picture of the pizza and wine on the table. Louis took a quick picture and looked at Harry.

"Do you mind if I mention your name in a tweet?"

"No. I don't mind."

"Cool."

He waited as Louis posted the picture on twitter and then checked his phone. A smile spread on his lips as he saw the tweet.

"Let's get back to the movie, shall we?", Louis asked putting his phone down and nodded with a smile.

The next 2 hours were pretty intense. Harry hadn't touched the pizza after one slice and was only occasionally sipping wine from his class which Louis quietly kept filling while happily gobbling down his pizza. Louis was thoroughly amused by Harry's reactions to various parts of the movie and kept thinking about how this is what he had felt too while watching 'Iron Man' for the first time as a 13 year old. And Louis would never admit that he kept glancing at Harry, every time something exciting happened.

The movie was about to end and Harry was staring wide eyed at the screen. Louis got back to the movie to catch the last scene, his favourite one,

"Truth is... I am Iron Man."

Louis turned his head sideways when he heard a sharp intake of breath. Harry's jaws had dropped, mouth forming an 'o' and he was staring wildly at the screen.

"Wtf just happened. He admitted!! He admitted HE was Iron Man. OH MY GOD."

"Yes Harold, he did. And that's how began one of the greatest movie franchise."

"No shit."

"Haha, are you okay."

"No, I'm shook. And hungry. God why didn't I eat the pizzas."

"Have at them. I'll go check on Cliff."

"Yweah", Harry managed to say with mouthful of pizza.

Louis smiled and walked towards the end of the hall where Cliff was sound asleep. He knelt down beside Clifford's rug and scratched behind his ear. Clifford stirred a little and then slowly opened his and soon enough jumped on Louis.

From the living room, Harry could hear happy "woofs" and a short yelp mixed with laughter which sounded like Louis'. Harry turned around just in time to see Louis walking in and a very excited Clifford at his feet. Clifford soon ran towards Harry and stopped at his feet. Harry extended one of his hands for Clifford to shake raised another one to pet him. Clifford sniffed at Harry's hands, gave a loud bark and walked away. Harry stared in dismay and Louis couldn't help laughing.

"Don't worry. It's probably the pizza."

"Huh?"

"Your hand. It smells like pizza. And I've noticed on multiple occasions that he doesn't like the smell of pizza sauce."

"Oh my bad, I'll quickly wash my hands."

Harry reached out to grab the empty boxes but Louis stopped him.

"Leave them to me."

Harry stood up and went to wash his hands in the kitchen sink, while Louis put the empty boxes in the trash.

As Harry was wiping his hands, Louis handed him a bowl of treats to offer to Clifford as a sign of peace.

Harry cautiously made his way across the room where Clifford had settled happily in front of the reading corner and was chewing a ball.

"Clifford hey, look what got for you."

The familiar smell of treats seemed to interest Clifford and he sniffed Harry's extended hand.

This time he let out a soft bark and started wagging his tail happily as Harry fed him the treats.

Louis watched as Harry played and talked with Clifford and petted him. It was an adorable sight. Well Clifford's always been a friendly dog and he certainly made Harry happy today.

Harry turned back to see Louis already looking at him and smiled softly as he got up from his crouched position.

"Well I suppose I should leave now" Harry said, still smiling softly.

"I guess." Louis hoped his voice didn't reveal the twinge of sadness he was feeling at Harry's departure.

"I had fun today."

"Me too."

"You're a good host."

"I've been told likewise."

"So, I'll see you next week?"

"Yeah definitely."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Harry proceeded towards the door, Louis following close behind. Harry stopped right in front of the door and turned around, "Louis can I text you on iMessage from now? Twitter feels too formal."

"Harry, you've been to my house. We just watched a movie together. Yes, you can text me on iMessage", Louis laughed.

"Cool." Harry turned towards the door again.

Louis held the door for Harry and just when he was about to close it,

"And Lou-"

"Yeah?"

"Blue suits you."

"Oh-", Louis' cheeks heated up, "thanks."

"Bye," Harry smiled.

"Bye," Louis replied and closed the door behind him hoping that Harry hadn't seen the blush on his face.

But Harry had, and his butterflies were happy.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

INTRO

[ya-girl-mc]

Lips on Lips

Character: Kageyama Tobio × Fem Reader

Concept: Kageyama being the awkward babie that he is, has no idea how to kiss. Luckily, his girl's there to help him out (wholesome fluff!!)

A/N: So hiii,,, I finally took the plunge and decided to post my first fic here. Idk if anyone will actually read or like it, but I rly enjoyed writing this one 😅 so hope u will too

☆☆A mostly self-indulgent Haikyuu!! Fanfiction☆☆

The ringing of the school bell signifying the end of final period had always been a highlight for the students of Karasuno High. Excited chatters filled the hallways as students pooled out of their classrooms, eager to pursue after-school activities with some making a beeline towards the exits.

As soon as the bell rang, Kageyama would usually head straight to the gym for volleyball practice, racing occasionally with Hinata as the 'quick-attack' duo turned every mundane activity into an opportunity to best the other. However, with club activities cancelled for the day, Kageyama had but one destination.

Completely oblivious to the wistful stares he got from some of the female students, his attention was fixated on only one of them as she made her way out of the classroom, her expression brightening as soon as she set her eyes on him.

His girlfriend.

Him and Y/N had known each other since middle school. What had formerly been the latter's unrequited love had now blossomed into a romantic relationship, with Kageyama eventually finding himself enamored by her as they reached high school. A couple of weeks have passed since then and everything was going great, if he could say so himself. Despite his intimidating demeanor, Kageyama did his utmost best to keep her happy, however, given his track record of social interactions, he was initially convinced that he would jeopardize their relationship. But, with Y/N’s assurance to accept him for who he is, his worries eventually dissipated.

Kageyama allowed himself the most subtle of smiles as she made her way to where he stood, looking up at him with bright eyes that he had come to adore. Completely unaware of the stares the other students threw their way, the couple continued to gaze at each other. "Tobio! No practice today?" She asked as she smiled at him.

"No, the gym's being cleaned. So, I was wondering..." He trailed off, fidgeting ever so slightly. "Do you want to go and hang out somewhere?"

At that exact moment, Hinata joined the forming group of interlopers as he witnessed his intimidating partner and sworn rival interact fondly with his significant other. Pretty soon, Tanaka and Nishinoya came across the crowd, easily spotting their tangerine-haired teammate. "What's up, Shoyo?" Nishinoya inquired.

Nodding in acknowledgement at his senpais, Hinata gestured to the couple. "It seems like Kageyama's asking her out on a date."

Tanaka let out an exasperated sigh. "It's still amazing that THAT guy managed to get a girlfriend before we did."

Sympathizing with his teammate, Nishinoya placed his hand atop Tanaka's shoulder. "And it seems like it just made his popularity shoot up. How unfair the world we live in is."

Shifting their attention back to the couple, Y/N happily responded to Kageyama's invitation. "Sure! How about at my house? My parents are out working so we'd have the house to ourselves the entire afternoon."

At her rather bold suggestion, jaws dropped in disbelief and with Kageyama completely unaware of its implications, nonchalantly accepted her invitation. "Sounds great."

Gleefully responding to his concurrence, Y/N excused herself and headed to the restroom, paying no attention to the incredulous stares that followed her. As soon as she was out of earshot, Hinata and Nishinoya scrambled towards him.

"KAGEYAMAAA!" Yelling in chorus, the duo tackled him as Tanaka proceeded to disperse the crowd.

Kageyama steadied his footing at the sudden attack, shooting his teammates an irked expression. "What was that for?"

Tanaka soon joined the trio and placed his arm around Kageyama's shoulder. "I can't believe it. Our Kageyama's finally entering the ultimate stage of manhood."

Puzzled by the sentiment, Kageyama jumped in surprise as Nishinoya slapped his lower back, his expression donning that of a proud father. "While we still can't stomach the idea of you getting there first, we salute you, comrade."

"What are you all getting so worked up about?"

Hinata gave his partner a knowing look. "You're about to hang out in a very private place with someone you're in a relationship with, it's basically a perfect situation to do THAT."

It suddenly dawned on Kageyama, his eyes widening as he began to panic, the trio watching him in disbelief. "Seriously, Baka-yama?!" Hinata exclaimed. "We both may be volleyball idiots but I can't believe that I know about more stuff in that area than you."

"Dumbass, don't compare me with the likes of you!" He growled as he harshly pinched Hinata's cheeks. In a state of uncharacteristic panic, Kageyama began pacing back and forth. "W-what should I do? It's not my intention to do THAT, it's way too early!"

"Let this senpai give you some wisdom." Nishinoya slapped Kageyama's shoulder, stilling his movements. "Listen, nothing good will come out of overthinking matters. You both just started dating after all, just trust your gut and let things flow naturally."

"Nishinoya-san..." Kageyama trailed off in thought as he digested the advice his senpai gave him.

"Noya-san SO COOL!" Hinata and Tanaka fawned over him in admiration.

At that moment, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi passed by the group. Without ceasing his stride, Tsukishima let out a lengthy sigh. "Nishinoya-san, you say that but got no experience to back it up."

Something snapped in Nishinoya as the cold, hard, and undeniable truth was given to him straight. "Ha? The hell did you say? Tsukishima, you bastard!" Nishinoya attempted to lunge at him, however, the trio scrambled to hold the seething libero back. Yamaguchi waved sheepishly at his teammates as Tsukishima held up a peace sign with his fingers which only seemed to rile up Nishinoya more.

Just then, Y/N emerged from the restroom and took in the shenanigans unfolding before her, amused yet relieved at the thought of Kageyama finally finding people he could feel comfortable with. It was a stark difference from how he was back in middle school as his peers isolated the so-called "King". Despite his reputation, Y/N saw through Kageyama and witnessed a sensitive yet unwavering person beneath. It was what drew her to him in the first place.

Shaking her head at how sentimental she had gotten, she approached the group and cleared her throat to catch their attention. She had become accustomed to the rowdiness of the volleyball team, especially with the uproar they caused when Kageyama formally introduced her to them. "Hi Hinata, Nishinoya-senpai, and Tanaka-senpai. Mind if I steal Tobio away?"

"Y/N-chan!" Hinata greeted cheerfully, letting go of Nishinoya's arm to push Kageyama towards her. "Sure, he's all yours."

He stumbled a bit as Y/N held his arm to steady him, giggling at the dagger-like glare he shot his partner. "Since when were you on a first name basis with her, dumbass?"

"Well then, we're off!" She chimed and pulled Kageyama away before he made any attempt to lunge at Hinata, waving gleefully at his teammates. "See you around!"

Bowing slightly at his senpais and shooting one last threatening glare at Hinata, Kageyama let Y/N lead him to the exits. Looking back once more, his expression turned to that of disdain at the enthusiastic thumbs-up his teammates gave him.

Once the couple was out of earshot, Nishinoya let out a whistle. "Damn, she's got Kageyama wrapped around her finger, huh? He better treasure her 'cause a girl like that's a keeper."

Nodding in agreement, the three of them fondly watched the retreating couple, silently cheering their setter on for what's to come.

*****

"Pardon the intrusion!" Kageyama rigidly yelled to no one in particular as Y/N ushered him into her empty home. Settling himself down on the living room sofa while she headed to the kitchen, Kageyama tightly clasped his hands on his lap, not daring to move a single muscle.

To say that he was nervous was an understatement. He never felt this much nervousness before, not even during official matches as it only exhilarated him. But then, having devoted most of his life to volleyball, the dynamics of dating was somewhat uncharted territory for him.

Calm down, calm down. You're both alone in her home, with nothing to disturb you. It's just like what that idiot said, it's the ideal set-up for THAT. Is Y/N even aware? She invited me here so does that mean she wants to do...THAT?! Since when has she been that straight forward? And is she expecting me to initiate something?

Wait, don't get too ahead, that may not be her intention and maybe it's just that Tanaka-san, Nishinoya-san, and Hinata's minds are in the gutter and I'm letting them get to me. But what if she really wants to go THERE? Shit...I don't know what to do! Maybe I should look it up and do some research while she's-

"Tobio," Y/N’s sudden voice roused him from his spiraling thoughts as he flinched in surprise, nearly toppling the contents of the tray in her hands. "Hey! Geez, why are you so jumpy?" Setting down the tray of snacks on the table, she sat down next to him, and - to Kageyama's relief - allotted a reasonable distance between them as he definitely didn't want her finding out that he was on the verge of losing it.

But then again, this was his girlfriend. With a seemingly uncanny ability to see through his stoic persona, she just simply knew how to read and handle him. "So you're nervous, huh?"

Kageyama's eyes widened as he felt himself starting to sweat. "N-no, I'm not," he stuttered, practically giving himself away.

Letting out a nervous chuckle herself, Y/N placed her hands atop her lap, her posture stiffening. "Uh...well to be honest, I invited you here not with the purest of intentions."

Kageyama felt himself freeze, his face burning at her revelation. He kept his gaze trained on hers as he mustered up the courage to say something, anything.

Shit, so she definitely wants to do THAT.

As Kageyama kept staring at her dubiously, Y/N eventually caught on to what has rendered him speechless. Reevaluating her words, it was her turn to become flustered as she realized that they were barreling towards a huge misunderstanding. "N-no! Not THAT impure! Geez, it's way too soon for that! Ugh, how do I say this..."

Kageyama couldn't help but audibly sigh in relief, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. But if it's not about that, what's got her so bothered?

Keen on finding out the answer, he looked at her expectantly, watching as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Glancing momentarily at Kageyama, her cheeks burned as she forced herself to elaborate on her woes. "Well, it's just that we've been dating for a few weeks now and all we've done is hold hands."

As she fidgeted uncomfortably, Kageyama was intrigued as he prompted her to continue. "What do you mean?"

Okay Y/N, so far so good. This has been bothering you for some time now, just say it!

Tightening her grip on the hem of her skirt, she couldn't bring herself to look at Kageyama as she turned away, hiding her flustered expression from view. "I mean we haven't...k-kissed yet. So I was kind of overthinking lately that maybe...you didn't want to do that with me...?"

There! I finally said it, all that practice in front of the mirror seemed to pay off! But why isn't he saying anything?

As silence engulfed the room, Y/N subtly peered at Kageyama, taken aback at the aghast expression on his face. "Idiot! Why would you think that?"

"Hey!"

Sighing in defeat, Kageyama eventually felt his cheeks heating up once more as he turned away, hiding his face in his hands. He couldn't help but feel guilty since his girlfriend was compelled to harbor those thoughts...well...because of him. After pausing momentarily, it was his turn to shy away. "S-sorry. It's not you, I promise. I've never been in a relationship before so I have no idea how to...k-kiss. And, I was afraid that if I try to do it and I do it wrong...you might not like me anymore."

There! You finally said it, Tobio - albeit quite lamely.

At his unexpected confession, it was Y/N's turn to gape at him as she processed his words.

The hell? What the hell was that cuteness?!

Kageyama usually carried himself with confidence and a subtle tinge of superiority. Seeing this whole new side of him was pretty bad for her heart, as her pride also swelled at the thought that she was one of the few people able to witness this endearing side of him. "Awww, Tobio!" Y/N swooned, scooching closer as she gave him a sideways-hug. Kageyama jumped at the sudden contact as he looked down at his girlfriend, his cheeks seeming to grow even warmer. "That awkwardness of yours is what makes you so adorable!"

"A-adorable?!" He reiterated aghastly.

She put a little distance between them once more which allowed her eyes to met his. "Yeah, I said what I said. So what if you don't know how to kiss? That won't change my feelings for you. I told you, right? That I'll always like you."

It was still pretty amazing how much her words affected him as he felt his insecurities gradually crumble away. Unable to find the right words, Kageyama wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close instead, hoping that that simple gesture was more than enough to convey his feelings.

After a few moments of tranquil silence, Y/N pulled back from the hug and faced him, her cheeks donning a bright shade of pink. "Say, Tobio…w-would you like to try to kiss?"

Gulping audibly, Kageyama shifted to mirror her sitting position. "O-okay." Completely at a loss at what to do, he shut his eyes tightly. With lips subtly pursed, he awaited for the much-anticipated contact, but instead, Y/N's giggling caused his eyes to fly open. "Why are you laughing?!"

"You're too adorable! Geez what am I going to do with you?" She tried to say through her laughter, stopping as soon as she noticed the irked expression he threw her.

Now that's just unfair. He's even cuter!

Clearing her throat, Y/N decided to take matters into her own hands. She scooted closer to him and recounting on all the "research" she's done, she clasped both of his hands in hers. "Where do you want to touch me?" Letting out a shaky breath, she guided his hands towards her face. "Here?" Following suit, Kageyama then found his hands on either side of her waist in one smooth motion. "Or here?"

His hands were shaking pretty badly due to nervousness, and while he was sure she could notice, she didn't pay it any attention. "T-the face," he managed to reply, gently cradling her face in his hands as the space in-between them decreased.

His hands were huge and warm against her cheeks as she leaned into its warmth. Fixating her eyes on his, Y/N proceeded to instruct him. "Now, let's try moving our faces closer until our lips touch. And close your eyes, idiot!"

Both of their hearts were going haywire as the distance between them decreased. Y/N’s eyes have fluttered close and Kageyama followed suit, steeling himself as he awaited for contact. With their lips mere centimeters away, Kageyama felt his nose bump against hers and he drew back in a panic, blushing furiously as he did. "I-I'm sorry, I messed up!"

Ugh, I swear to God this cuteness of his will definitely be the death of me someday!

Refraining herself from giggling at his embarrassed state, Y/N took his hands and placed them once more on either side of her face. "Let's try again, and uh, let's move our heads in the opposite direction. I'll go left, you go right."

Unable to speak as the nerves began building up once more, he simply nodded, the atmosphere suddenly shifting as they locked gazes. Little by little, their faces drew closer and closer, and Kageyama took the opportunity to admire her features amid their current proximity. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her cheeks faintly tinted, and her lips parted slightly as they anticipated his. At that moment, he found her utterly captivating and his eyes fluttered close. With all the courage he could muster, he finally pressed his lips on hers.

The contact was subtle, featherlight, and only lasted a second, but it was more than enough to send their hearts into overdrive. He slowly drew back and found her staring at him with wide eyes, her breathing hitching as she finally came into terms with reality.

H-he actually did it...we kissed. We finally kissed. All those shoujo manga describing the thrill of the first kiss - it comes nothing close to actually experiencing it for yourself.

Mirroring her flustered state, Kageyama slightly increased the distance between them, his eyes darting away from hers. "H-how was that?"

Dropping his hands from her face, Y/N's fingers lightly grazed the spot where his lips met hers, recounting on the enthralling sensation. "My heart feels like it's about to explode."

"Same here," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, still quite embarrassed.

"Uhm, can we do it a bit harder?" She requested in a voice so soft he almost didn't catch it. But he did hear, and his heart began racing uncontrollably as a result. Y/N sensed what she assumed was his apprehension and chuckled awkwardly, berating herself for being a bit too wanton. "Is that a weird thing to ask?"

"It's not." Kageyama's reply was a bit too immediate in an attempt to reassure her, but he once more found himself spiraling internally.

Letting out a sigh of relief and with every ounce of confidence she could muster, Y/N wrapped her arms around Kageyama's neck and pulled him towards her, their faces in such close proximity. Too surprised to respond, he simply stared back at her, his hands naturally finding their way around her waist. Her breath tickled his lips, whispering ever so slightly against them. "Follow my lead."

Their lips met once again, but it was different from the one they shared earlier. With an increase in pressure, he could feel just how soft her lips were, and pretty soon, he felt them moving against his. His heart literally close to bursting, he recalled the advice Nishinoya shared with him.

Trust my gut, huh?

Finally letting go of all of his inhibitions, he allowed his lips to move against hers naturally, his eyes fluttering shut as he reveled in the sensations. It was unbelievably sweet yet exhilarating at the same time, both of them losing themselves into the kiss. Neither wanted the moment to end but Y/N was the first to pull away as she panted slightly. Eyes fluttering open, they both smiled sheepishly, their foreheads pressing against each other. "So, how was it?"

"Better, I liked the second one better," Kageyama stated, no longer feeling as much embarrassed as he did earlier. "Where did you learn to do that?"

At his inquiry, Y/N drew back slightly and dropped her gaze, fidgeting once more. "Uh...research?" Her vague answer seemed a bit suspicious, and with Kageyama shooting her an inquisitive look, she groaned and buried her face in a pillow. "Fine! I read a lot of shoujo manga, okay? You happy?!"

"Pfftt," Kageyama couldn't help but sputter out and pretty soon, he was laughing uncontrollably as he clutched his stomach.

Too annoyed by his mirth to swoon over how adorable Kageyama was when he laughed like this, she grabbed the pillow and began hitting him. "So what of it?! The kiss turned out fine didn't it? Stupid Tobio! Idiot! Idiot!" All of a sudden, Kageyama stilled her movements as he leaned over and pecked her lips, both of them blushing profusely at the sudden gesture.

"Hey Y/N, I'd like it if maybe we practice some more?"

"You sneaky little..." Still slightly reeling from his surprise attack, Y/N looked away in embarrassment. "I'd have no problems with that...I guess."

And with that, the rest of their afternoon was filled with banter, laughs, and with a few stolen kisses here and there.

[eugesounds]

Chadwick Murray

I don't have quite the history with Chadwick as most of the other guys in Bastards of Soul. I came to the band first as a fan, popping in to see them at Twilight Lounge in what may have been their first ever show. I was hooked by the sound and mesmerized by Wick's performance.

Lady Sax and I went to see Bastards at the Box Garden at Legacy Hall a few months later, and they were getting tighter and tighter. I remember formally meeting Chadwick afterwards and he was, as you might imagine, a delight. I'm sure he had no idea who I was, but he graciously spent a few minutes chatting with us as if we were long time friends.

It was a few months later that Danny Balis sent me a message on a Wednesday and asked if I was available to play a show on Saturday. I play with Bastards drummer Matt Trimble in a band called Captain and Camille and Danny had heard me at a few assorted gigs around town. He said that he had some other leads but was just "covering his ass" and thought he'd reach out.

To say I was excited would be an understatement. But by the very next morning Danny had messaged back and said that they "had this show covered" and my heart sank. Luckily my level-headed better half (Gracie) reminded me that "everything happens for a reason" and said "wasn't it nice that they thought of you at all"? And as fate would have it, later that day Danny messaged back and said "you're on if you can still make it".

The gig was in Fort Worth at the Ridglea Theater in their "Ridglea Room" which is designed for "mid-sized shows, corporate events and private parties". I was nervous, excited, and up for the challenge of basically sight-reading classic soul tunes and a few originals with the band. Luckily for me, trumpeter (at that time) Jeremy Sinclair did a good job of steering me through the charts and the show came off pretty well. I vividly remember Chadwick very kindly giving me props and even encouraging me to solo a few times that night.

I had no idea that Wick had never been a vocalist or a front man before. But by the time we played the Double Wide in Dallas just a few months later, he was well on his way to coming into his own as a leader, showman, and killer singer. He absolutely commanded the audience that night, leading everyone like a master of ceremonies through a sweaty, powerful mix of originals and classic soul.

If you've ever seen a Bastards show you know that there's very little "down-time" or chit chat between songs. The set typically starts with a high intensity intro that leads Chadwick on and he takes it from there, pouring it out for an hour and a half or more on most nights. I am usually wiped out afterward and I'm just sitting in back playing horn. I can only imagine how Wick would be feeling.

After one of our shows I mentioned to Gracie that I thought it might be good to write an original instrumental that would give Chadwick a chance to cool down, wipe the sweat off his face, and grab a drink if he needed it. And what came out of that was BBQ in Paris. I don't think I ever told Wick that it was written specifically for that reason, but I was really happy that the guys liked the tune enough to record it and include it in the set at most shows.

One of my favorite memories of Chadwick is from the day we filmed the performance part of the Waiting Time video. He looked so cool, so happy, and he absolutely killed every take (and there were about 50 of them!). The shot at the top of this post is from that video. It's during the outro of the tune where I'm playing a solo and Wick has turned his face toward the bell of my horn. It reminds me of the many times that he would turn and smile at the horn section during a show, imploring us, cheering us on, or simply giving us his inimitable "hell yeah" look of confidence and approval.

As fate would have it, the final show with Wick was at the same Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth where I had played my first Bastards show. Only this time the band was playing the "bigger", theater room, with its "state-of-art sound system, two private bar/concession areas, and both 'auditorium style' and vintage balcony seating".

Lines formed early at the door and Chadwick was in a great mood. We talked about his impending fatherhood and how excited he was that baby Lennox was on the way. And he sounded terrific as always, powering his way through the evening and basking in the love he was receiving from the full house. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks later he would be gone as there was no doubt that his future seemed so very bright.

I know Chadwick's incredible spirit endures, not only on the tracks of Bastards first album Spinnin', but also on a second album that was completed just weeks before he passed. And of course through his son Lennox who will no doubt inherit his dad's grace and endearing demeanor. It's easy to see in the response to his passing that Wick was loved and admired by many. He was a gentleman and a sweetheart and he is already sorely missed.

If you'd like to help Chadwick's wife Hannah and baby Lennox, please visit the Chadwick Murray Memorial Fund. Thank you in advance.