#idk what i can bribe people with but yes please

[reicraft]

Golden Mangos

Aphrodite!Fem!Reader x Travis Stoll

Summary: after a certain incident you can’t help but start liking mangos a bit more, and maybe a certain camper as well.

Contains: fluff, characters can be ooc, usual Stoll sibling antics, some swearing, kind of cringe lines ngl

A/N: I love this small prank the stolls pull on the Aphrodite cabin and it inspired me to write this fic. Hope you guys like it. Reqs are open <3. Also I hate mangos idk what demon possessed to write a character that loves them.

Word Count: 2.5k

If there is one thing your cabin mates knew about you, it is your strong affinity for mangos–or, as Drew likes to call it ‘an extreme obsession’. Another fact was that, for some odd reason, camp didn't have mangos. Well not least you bribed a Dementer kid to grow some or got a Hermes child to bring you one from the outside. Sometimes, you would even go back home during winter break just to be able to enjoy some sweet mangos, even if they weren’t in season. Your dad always spoiled you rotten with everything, from actual mangos to mango lip gloss. So, it came to your sibling's surprise that there you were eating half a mango for breakfast. Lost in your world without a care for the burning eyes watching you. 

“How exactly did you get that?” asked Piper, munching on  her bowl of strawberries, “One of the boys from cabin 4” You replied oh so casually.

 “Y/N, you can't just use your charmspeak casually,” complained Mitchell. Unlike Piper and Drew, you tended to use your charmspeak for more trivial things. If your mother gave you a gift, it was to be used, and maybe you did use it for small things like getting out of archery or another serving of strawberry shortcake. Maybe it wasn't the best use of such power, but it came in handy, overall being blessed with beauty had its perks. 

“It's fine I was just craving some. Plus the Hermes kids haven't made their trip yet, so something had to be done,” you said, cleaning off the dripping juice. It might have been the best mango you have eaten if it weren't for your siblings shooting daggers at you. “Well, at least I'm not using my charmspeak to manipulate a cabin,” you continued. 

“It's been months, let it go, please,” said Drew, now getting slightly annoyed by you. But who could blame you? You were slightly annoyed at this conversation yourself. Couldn't a girl enjoy her mango in peace?

“Anyways we have archery practice, so don't charmspeak your way out,” said Piper, looking directly at you.

“Hey, it was like three times, I was tired,” you defended yourself, putting your hands up. Despite the occasional squabbles, you did love all your siblings. Yes, maybe you had petty fights like Valentina stealing Drew's crop top or Mitchell using Noah’s cologne. But nothing extreme. At the end of the day, the power of gossip and love united, making you a happy little family. 

So as you all enjoyed your archery class led by Kayla from the Apollo cabin, playfully pointing arrows at each other and cheering Lacy on as she hit a bullseye, you failed (more like didn't expect) to notice two mops of curly brown ran past you, making a beeline for a certain pink cabin tip-toeing in and out, leaving the object in their hands giggling at their prank. 

So, as your cabin finished the lesson and made your way for a quick break, you didn't expect to see a golden mango with ‘for the hottest’ written on it.

“Aw, I love it when people leave things for me,” said Drew, picking up said mango ready to add it to her infinite collection of love letters 

“Well it doesn't say for who it is,” said Mitchell. 

“Maybe it's for me,” said another one of your siblings. 

“I'm the hottest I don't know what you're talking about” interjected your sister.

“I was told I rival my mom's beauty,” you added.

 “She's OUR mother too,” started Piper. 

Your banter slowly turned into actual fighting, screams echoing outside the cabin as glass bottles shattered. 

“That was my only bottle left, you bitch” screamed Drew as Valentina threw her perfume to the ground. It didn't stop there, as shoes and  clothes flew out the window, landing in the mud

 “Mom gave me that belt, Mitchell,” cried one of your brothers, as said belt was now covered in gross mud, lost forever.

 “Oh my gods, why could you cut up my Miu Miu sweater? that was expensive,” you sobbed as one of your sisters started cutting up clothes nearby. 

Safe to say, the cabin was no longer the organized place that always got a 5, it looked worse than the Hermes cabin, with tattered clothes mixed with spilled makeup and perfume covering the floor. 

“What in gods name is this?” You all looked like deers caught in headlights once Chiron stepped foot in the cabin.

 “They started it,” everyone said simultaneously, pointing in different directions.

“Actually, I believe I found the perpetrators outside. Still, kitchen duty for all,” he said, galloping outside as said perpetrators peeked into the cabin 

“We did well with this one, Trav,” said conner snickering. 

“You'll pay for this Stolls'' screeched Drew. Suddenly, seventeen angry children of Aphrodite ran towards the siblings. Yes they had pulled hair and spills all over their clothes, but they didn't care about appearances at the moment, especially you, who would waste such a good mango just like that, plus you were still mad about your sweater, you had planned on wearing it for the bonfire later.

 Fortunately, some form of revenge was taken as pasty white foundation appeared on Travis's face, making him look like a clown, and Connor’s clothes instantly shrunk two sizes smaller. You would say he was rocking the crop top, but it honestly just looked funny. 

All of the cabin stood there in a circle, scowls on their faces and some laughing at the sight, as you broke through your teared-up sweater still in hand.

 “Nemesis is a bitch I guess” said one of your sisters as you threw your sweater at Travis's face. “You're lucky we’re being nice to both of you,” you said, quickly storming off back to your cabin. Now who was going to clean all of this up?

It took most of the cabin all day until dinner to clean up all the broken glass and fabric left on the floor, as well as clean some of the muddy designer shoes. 

“I'm sorry Y/N. I know you loved that sweater,” said your sister. It was more than just an extremely expensive sweater to you, your father had gifted it to you as a birthday present. It wasn't often you got to see him only during winter break on occasion. It was a small piece that tied you back home, and now it was destroyed.  

“It's fine. Maybe I could get a new one” you lied through your teeth. Even a new sweater couldn't replace the damage done, and you swore upon your mother and Nemesis that you would get your revenge on the Stolls. Maybe you could make them fall in love with a frog or cause someone to break their heart. Anything at the moment seemed like a better revenge than their permanent makeup and clothing curse placed by your siblings. You were just so mad you couldn’t fathom it all. 

It all just got you in a terrible mood. You were sure your anger and bitterness could turn the campfire black. And there you were, getting ready for said campfire with no sweater on, and your favorite mango balm was also a small victim of your sibling's anger. You sat at dinner sulking, not speaking to anyone, trying to eat your mango, thinking it could cheer you up but it didn’t. It just made you angrier at the Stolls, especially Travis with his cheeky smile as you threw him your destroyed sweater. Granted, it might have been the clown makeup, but still. 

And you continued to sulk during the campfire, not singing along and sitting slightly apart from your siblings. Most of them had made amends at this point, but you just acted like it. Who could blame you for being petty? It was only justified. You were so entranced in your own emotions that you failed to see the person sitting next to you, yet the small gift placed on your lap didn’t go unnoticed.

 “I heard from Gwen about your sweater,” he said, looking down at the floor “I’m sorry about the whole ordeal, really.” 

You sighed as you looked towards him “Travis you know I can’t get that makeup off of you,” you said. You were sure whatever this gift was it was probably bribery, and your anger couldn’t let you see past that. 

“Maybe you should open it first. I kind of left camp for this and paid for it,” he said, finally looking back at you. You tried your best not to laugh at his face, but he did look ridiculous with the clown makeup.

 You opened the gift carefully, revealing a pink sweater almost exactly like the one you lost. You gasped as you looked back at Travis, “I know it’s not Moo Moo.” 

“Miu Miu,” you corrected. 

“Yeah that. But still I wanted to replace it. I know it doesn’t have the same meaning, I'm sorry, really,” his apology seemed sincere, and you couldn’t dictate lies between his words. 

“Thanks, but what about the rest of the things my siblings lost?” You weren’t wrong. If he wanted to apologize, he should’ve been replacing all the things lost in this ‘prank.’ 

“Well, it’s not like they like mangos,” he said ever so casually, confusing you.

“Excuse me?” 

“Yeah, you know there’s only one person in that cabin that likes mangos. It was a golden mango,” he got up and just left, winking at you as you stayed there processing his words. You would’ve laughed at his face, but even with the gods awful makeup, he looked cute, and you could almost feel your heart skip a beat as to what he was insinuating. But still, you didn’t understand what exactly he was trying to tell you. He left you there dumbfounded, trying to understand your feelings at that moment.

Being a daughter of Aphrodite, you could be pretty oblivious when it came to your feelings. You knew instantly if someone had a crush on another person, yet you couldn't understand why your heart beated so fast around the Hermes boy. You chalked it up to the ridiculous makeup he had, considering you found clowns creepy, but it still felt different. Suddenly, you didn't feel like skipping archery class anymore if it meant the Hermes cabin was going to be there, or putting a little bit more effort into your appearance each morning. You even wore your pink sweater religiously, as if it was the only item of clothing you owned. 

Your siblings were not as oblivious as you, they knew about the secret glances during breakfast or how your voice went up an octave when you spoke to him. But in true aphrodite cabin style, they watched from afar, seeing a love story form right before their eyes. And it wasn't hard to push you guys together, you seemed to always unconsciously follow him around, excusing it by saying you wanted to be more involved in camp. 

“Y/N could you take over arts and crafts for me today? I’m kind of busy with some other things,” asked Mitchell. He was free, but you did need to know that, and being the understanding sister that you were, you agreed. But your dear brother forgot to mention one slight detail: it was all the younger campers, which you couldn't stand sometimes, and that it was an arts and crafts session with the Hermes cabin.

 So, it came as a surprise to see a familiar mop of curls sitting at a separate table from the rest of the campers, making his own friendship bracelets. And it seemed to be a surprise to Travis too, fixing his hair and discreetly checking his breath once he caught a glimpse of you. 

“I thought Mitchell was helping today,” he said, pulling the chair next to him. You sat down fixing your hair too. 

“Actually, he is busy today, so I'm covering,” you explained, avoiding his eyes. His clown makeup long gone, you finally were able to appreciate his blue eyes and elvish features.

 “I’m glad you like the sweater,” he said, breaking the silence between you too. You had forgotten you were wearing it; it was muscle memory at this point. 

“Yeah, it's nice. Thank you so much,” you said, trying to hide the blush creeping on your face.

 “I'm glad you like it. I had to play poker with some of my siblings to buy it,” he said, and as your mouth dropped, Hermes boy’s were known for shoplifting once in a while, and you had assumed that was the case. But with the simple fact he went through all that trouble to get you a sweater made your heart flutter, you couldn't ignore it anymore: you had a crush on Travis Stoll and he had a crush on you. 

You kind of knew about the boy's feelings, being one of the many gifts blessed upon you by your mother. Yet for a whole month, you were in denial of your feelings. How could you like someone who played such a prank on you and your siblings? Or who always had a stupid smirk on his face to pair up with his cocky personality? Yet, you couldn't help it, your heart secretly longed for him. 

“You didn't have to go through so much trouble for a sweater, you know,” you said, grabbing some thread to make your bracelet.

“I know, but I wanted to make things right,” he said smiling at you. 

"You should've replaced Mitchells cologne, aren't you guys friends?” you said, not looking at how his smile slowly faded. 

“We are friends, but I wanted to make things right with you,” you couldn't help but smile at his words as butterflies started to form in your stomach.

“Why with me though?” Travis groaned, running his hand over his face. “I thought you were a daughter of Aphrodite” he said, with slight annoyance laced in his words 

“I am, but that still doesn't answer my question,” You finally looked up at him holding back from laughing in his face.

 “Because you're you, and I… don't you get it Y/N?” he said, stumbling over his words.

“Gods don't make me spell it out, this is so embarrassing,” the young campers long forgotten as they left both of you alone. “I like you. Gods, the mango was meant for you, there's only one person in that cabin that eats mangos like she can't live without them,” he spilled out, feeling a weight lift off his chest 

“I knew,” you said. You couldn't help but smile, it was only you ever wanted to hear from him, ever since he sat next you at that campfire.

“You knew!?” 

“Trav I can sense when someone has a crush, I just wanted you to say it,” now it was his time to blush at the sound of his name leaving your lips. 

“And I guess the feelings are reciprocated” you finished off, looking directly into his eyes. 

“So, will you go out on a date with me?” he asked, smiling so wide it hurt his cheeks. 

“If there's going to be mangos, then yes I would love to go on a date with you,” you responded. It felt like time stopped, and it was only you and Travis in that moment, looking at each other's eyes stuck in your bubble of love. 

[szilverer]

so, after a timely realization post-hallowmas,

reisz has officially joined the great hellbound railway's board! 🥳

...although. they did not think they'd be put in a position of power when they decided to invest contributing money from the sidelines. what do you mean reisz is on equal grounds with all these important people.? was it really that much money???

liveblog rambling about latest developments under the cut lol

wait, but the last i've updated of them they were still slowly dipping their toes into seeking and peckish enough to eat an entire clown car's worth of people! well, to sum it up, every addict has a wake-up call moment and reisz' came after the unexpectedly disturbing nightmare that left a little gift on their skin. reisz was not pleased by this in the slightest, but it's not like they immediately recognized it for what it was. they wanted to believe it was just a particular dream phenomenon, yeah, surely they'd be able to sneak away from it in parabola as always.

(this was when i realized the surprise benefit that was marrying them to edward-- i can use him as a plot device LMFAO. aight eddie i bet ya dont wanna become a widow while that moonmilk is still lingering so your job now is infodumping your clueless spouse every now and then. hence: )

after a little kidnapping, a frenzied feast of rubbery lumps and a bit of denial, reisz gets so goddamn pissed at the prospect of forever staining all their shirts (and their ivory gowl!!!) with blood that they quit seeking outright.

SIGHS.

so. that was that.

alas, after stitching themself up, reisz took up on an old invitation to concord square where some ppl (for some reason??) wanted to handle them the Jack case. considering reisz had already freed london of a menace of a man, sure, let's do it again.

it was there that they came across an invitation to the railway venture. once again, barely reading the details, they went headfirst into it. scrip? ya want scrip? i can get scrip stat. no idk what scrip is but i got it by accident when i sold some lab reports. hahaha yes im joking of course! of course.

reisz sacrifices 3 of their headless skeleton friends to the bone market the very next day (these being their first skelly dealings in that market ever...) and heads to the board. there were faces both old and new.

HAL - acquaintances, hadnt seen him in a while but had good times drinking before. fun company. alright.

The Efficient Commissioner - never seen before. (me, player: HIIIII HELLO FINALLYYYYYYY)

the board has reisz recommend choose a third member (why.) they only heard of Jenny way back in the waswood, and the last time they saw Feducci they had hacked him to pieces after a shared gaze of profound understanding that reisz didnt wanna think about, so... Jovial Contrarian my lad. come on over! we always chat at parties anyway!

reisz was immediately forced to go excavating to pay a bribe. off to a great start there. then the deviless reisz duped months ago invited herself over to the board and they sincerely hoped she had forgotten all that stuff about the stones.

finally, the church meddles in, and they have to choose between... a bishop they never heard about and the dean of xenotheology. they chose the dean solely bc she reminded them of Dr. Vaughan. (no, the bishop that edward kidnapped was never an option. he's one of the handful of people that know about the whole marriage thing so no way.)

this entire thing had barely started and it had already begun to give them a headache. reisz goes to sleep tired as all hell and is woken up at an equally unholy hour:

(cue me screaming bc i FINALLY get to meet this absolute celebrity. furnace the woman that you are. shes SUCH an interesting character right off the bat.)

reisz is not even close to being a political person -- they've been a red player through and through -- so they didnt particularly like the idea of being the bridge between the board and the union. it was to their relief that this furnace person seemed quite level-headed and someone they could personally get along. some good news, at least? (i am also very 👀 at the possibility of reisz actually giving a damn about a political faction in the future. lets see!)

now all the bureaucracy was out of the way, and the GHR can finally start laying the actual track! surely the other members are gonna make the arrangements soon, right?

...right...?

[sadlynotthevoid]

Has anyone read "Becoming popular through the "All Villains" variety show" (link to english ttl here)? Because it's fcking hilarious.

Anyways, I love the concept of a show were all the participants are hated infamous people who got invitations to said show based only on how much they're disliked. I also love how the audience gets so inverted on them, despite how they were watching just to laugh at them at first.

And that made thought, what about a modern fantasy lcf au where ogCale gets selected to go to a show like that one without his knowledge?

The world would be more like lcf/pre-war tboah world, but with more technology and entertaiment culture on it. Like, magic just dance, arcades for all kind of races, various magical music related devices (not, it's not me wanting ogCale to dance, shut up), economic versions of record tools, etc.

And the audience of that program would be not only ordinary people, but higher beings too. I was thinking of gods, but you can put constellations if you want too (i know little to nothing about orv, so, it's up to you). I was thinking that the interaction with the audience would work kinda like that, floating messages and stuff.

The selection of the participants would be:

Half of them are chosen by voting of that world's habitants. That's how ogCale got selected. Some people (dirty nobles) thought it would be funny to watch him make a fool of himself, the rest (normal people) jumped on board because curiosity or for fun and giggles.

The other half are voted by higher beings and habitants from other worlds that have access to the show and system for whatever reason. Adin is one of them. In part because they want him to suffer, in part because they want people from there to TAKE A DAMN HINT.

Idk about the others participants, maybe some ocs, maybe other characters. Some of them actual bad guys, some of them not (that) bad.

Some shenanigans we could have

•The show requires their participants to live there until the end of the season. So, Cale draggs Hans to stay with him because he needs a babysitter for his cats. Cue, Hans, On, and Hong mocking Cale everytime they appear.

•At the presentation of the participants, Cale, face in blank, stares at the camera with the most dead gaze, and says "I was brought here against my will", takes a sip of a bottle, "basically abducted" completely calm. He's drinking tea, btw. He doesn't drink irresponsiblely infront of his kids.

•The host of the show trying to convince Cale to try whatever challenge they have to do. He goes from reasoning to pleading to bribing him, because Cale won't try it unless he thinks it's fun or he can get something out of it.

•In this AU, Bassen was already named official heir of the count title and Cale had taken care of his corrupted relatives some time before the start of the show. So, he doesn't need to act like trash anymore. He didn't say anything tho. He's just doing whatever he wants, but he's kind of a loner by habit. It's difficult for him to low his guard around people (besides the kids and maybe his siblings). However, as a result, whenever something is happening, he's just commenting the wildest or sassiest things from the side. Or the front. Doesn't matter what's happening, he states facts as makes observations as if he wasn't involved whe he pretty much is.

•*Wild poisonous lizard monster appears from nowhere*

The other participants: *panic, fight, fly response*

Cale: oh, look, it's prince Adin's cousin.

The host, from the safety: ooh, you seem to have quiet a problem there.

Cale: yeah, they have two poisonous reptiles now.

•Cale's bs detector went off from the very first moment he saw Adin. He doesn't know what's up with that guy but he doesn't like it. He tries to avoid him at all cost and pulls the petiest shit towards him at the same time.

•Adin: Nice to meet you. I'm—

Cale: —going back to the other side? Yes, please do that.

•Everyone noted that the trashy young master dislikes Prince Adin, but no one knows why. So they start making up theories and trying to reunite hints from their interactions. The most popular ones are A) the childhood friends-to enemies one, B) the one about them being love rivals for Prince Valetino's hand, and C) the one about them being rivals for Prince Alberu's love.

•When the host asked about the matter, Cale response was—

Cale: hm? Oh, he just buzzes my bs detector.

Host: I— what?

Cale: My bullshit detector. Have you ever met someone and just, immediately realized that everything that comes from their mouth is *beeep*? That you must not trust on them, no matter what? That's it.

Host:...I see. Out of curiosity, how precise is your, uhm, "bs detector"?

Cale: it has never been wrong. There was this time—

•The Soo's are part of the "habitants from other world" group. Choi Jung Soo is the most active one out of the three.

•Cjs outted himself as Choi Han's nephew by accident. Cale's instant remark— "Choi Han, come pick up your kid". He knew cjs was an adult.

•Venion ended up as one of the program's contestants due to some anonymous people spamming votes to mess with him. Just kidding. The culprits are the Henituse siblings + Hans. Bassen was mad at him, so Cale suggested it. Lily joined because "it's not fair that they have fun without her". Hans recorded everything for later.

•Alberu likes to watch the show to distress.

---------

That's all what I have for now. Feel free to add more or write it.

[sheldoney]

my muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / canon inspired

is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK

is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK

is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK

were they relevant to the main story?  YES / NO

were they relevant to the main character?  YES / NO / IDK

are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / IDK

how’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD/ NEUTRAL

how strictly do you follow canon?

i cherry pick. i don't acknowledge anything that happened after season 5 because i don't like shamy in any capacity. i tried to like it but i really feel it is a shitty relationship. i mean he was forced to like her and bribed with a dirty sock to go out with her and she forces herself on him and looks uncomfortable and need i go on? there are some other things in the show i don't agree with. they never acknowledge that sheldon is neurodivergent which he is so that was really shitty but it's my comfort show and sheldon is so loveable and my bb.

SELL YOUR MUSE! aka try to list everything which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals

sheldon is a god. nuff said.

now the OPPOSITE. list everything why your muse might not be so interesting (even if you don’t agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?)

he can be a real asshole.

what inspired you to rp your muse?

my friend made me. i do what she says because she roleplays one hell of a joker. (nolan's joker) then she made me roleplay nolan's joker. IDK WHAT IM DOING WITH HIM. but i think i handle sheldon better and harley. ooh yeah and eric draven. (original of course)

what keeps your inspiration going?

hes my bb boy and no one else can understand him the way that i can because we are very similar. i also watch too much big bang theory for my own good.

some more personal questions for the mun. give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

do you think you give your character justice?   YES / NO / SOMETIMES

do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO / SOMETIMES

do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO / SOMETIMES

do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO / SOMETIMES

are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO / IDK

are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / SOMETIMES

are you a sensitive person?   YES / NO / SOMETIMES

do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

if i ask for it, but he's my character and i fear rejection so i simply don't ask for it which is why anon is off. anon is also off because i get some weird asks from shamy fanatics.

do you like questions which help you explore your character?

yes

if someone disagrees with a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

sure.

if someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

um, they can find another sheldon lol

if someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

well this is my sheldon portrayal and this is my blog so they can just leave or unfollow or whatever. lol

are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

please let me know if i screw up on my grammar lol. that's really embarrassing.

do you think you are easy going as a mun?

very.

tagging: @qu-tipie, @merveiilles, @sacredpyre, @darehearts, @danversiism, @hexsreality, @dgrayd, @wiitchcat and whoever else would like to do this!

[fairlyqualityanon]

who're your pred/prey crushes ?

totally not collecting blorbos like trading cards shhh - 🪀

Oooooof.wav

There's a ton... I'll try to organize them. Let's start with ones I've written in some form or another.

Pred - TFA Starscream (so close with that guess lmao), anyway I've got this story I've been poking at since literally 2010 (@/wolvesinstarryskies is so supportive 💖 ) and it's gotten me through some really tough times, and yes there's a vore AU... also he's how I found out about vore to begin with (long story, it's over on my Tumblr RP blog)😳, really he's just a dick to his prey and will let them go after thoroughly messing with their head unless you can come up with some bribe worthy of Future Leader Of The Decepticons

Pred - Obey Me! Mammon, idk he threatens to eat the MC and I went "YES PLEASE", I have more fun flustering him when he's a pred than when he's prey 😼

Pred - Obey Me! Beel, it's literally canon and he's a precious boy and going hungry sucks and I'd be perfectly happy to help him not be starving 🥺 I don't care if he eats regular food at the same time as long as I'm safe

Prey - Obey Me! Lucifer (yes really), because that mans is going to take a break whether he wants to or not and I think Diavolo/Barbatos would see the humor in MC taking things into their own hands (my MC's strongest/most-expressed Sin is Pride plus she ain't afraid of this old man 😤)

Switch - Deltarune Spamton, I think he'd be easier to pay to be prey than pred, and I have a thing for robots meaning SNEO defaults to pred and I will immediately yeet myself into whatever fuel container said robopred uses no questions asked 😅

Newest obsession is Solo Leveling (IncredibleEdibleCalico actually did a piece ages back) and I only remembered after watching S1 of the anime and starting the manhwa. I mistakenly bought the books and comic (Vol 1-8) but regret neither purchase. Soooo good! 😍 Anyway here they are in super rough descending order of crush level.

Sung Jinwoo - Pred, I don't know how to put it into words, he just oozes soft pred vibes where tf did he even get that rune stone??? 🤔 maybe he saves someone from a Dungeon and discovers vore is actually pretty neat, he's comically oblivious at times and cares for his minions as people ugh the glowy eye affect it makes me weak

Woo Jinchul - Switch, professional, dry sense of humor, looked Death in the eye and only flinched when he saw the Apocalypse ahead, incredibly smart and intuitive, he's my Guilty Pleasure on this list 👮‍♂️

Song Chi-Yul - Pred, I lied here's another Guilty Pleasure, I actually literally cried at the end of the manhwa, he's only a C-rank mage but teaches swordsmanship to S-ranks, tried to save Jinwoo and Joohee but was talked out of it and regrets it to this day, he is classy and I just want to spend time with him🫡

Baek Yoonho - Prey (yes really), idk something about him makes me want to aggressively demonstrate affection, don't ever tease him about it because despite being the weakest Korean S-rank Hunter HE IS STILL AN S RANK and will cut a bitch (he was ready to beat the crap out of Hwang Dongsoo for strangling his lower-ranked guildmate edit that guildmate isn't even a Hunter and that is not a Hunter you want on your bad side srsly just Do Not The Thing)😼

Choi Jong-In - Pred, he's canonically a bit of a shit-talker and gives me OM! Diavolo vibes and I love me some playful banter with preds what is it with me and people with a red theme?? 😧

Son Kihoon - Switch, he's a sweetheart and I want to snuggle him three different ways, he cares for his strike squad and was willing to set aside a chance for tremendous personal glory as well as sacrifice his whole team to keep a literal army of High Orcs from destroying a few cities 🫂

Go Gunhee - Pred, he's a total badass who gave his all to keep Hunters from basically forming a Might Makes Right society also I have a Thing for older men I am not ashamed to admit it, Song-san is up there for a reason, the man is a Gigachad who outright rigs Hunters Association assignments to keep the D- and E-ranks as safe as possible 🙇‍♀️

Yoo Jinho - Prey, because he's just a sof' boi and must be protected at all costs, maybe he'd find it interesting and like that he was sought out for him and not just because he's Ahjin Guild's vice/Jinwoo's friend 😋

I started Stardew Valley 7/14 so there's gonna be some of that eventually my askbox is open 📨 if anyone wants to gush over their own vore crushes.

Can't forget Horizon Zero Dawn! the events of the Gemini Quest are NOT canon I refuse don't even @ me I WILL die on that hill 🔪

Kotallo - Switch, he's definitely my favorite character and I just love him so dang much, he's a fearsome warrior even without that arm and a brilliant strategist and completely loyal to the good of the Tenakth tribe as a whole, having no other ambition save serving his Chief... but I also want him to sit and relax, maybe having a stomach all to himself will give him a new perspective or insight ⚔️

Milvund - Pred, I did his miniquest back when my computer couldn't run HFW for more than 5-10 minutes but he's so precious and I'm betting would be very hesitant yet also so caring just let me comfort him 😭

Racking my brain for any other major fandoms but I can't come up with any for the life of me so have a bonus Pred TFA Cliffjumper because I have an active thread with him. ... Maybe jjks? I'd have to twist canon in knots to make Sukuna a safe pred, and there's a couple others but I haven't even finished S2 of the anime and a bunch of them are minors soooo...

>>; So much time in TFA focused on That One Smug Bastard and now I'm like "how do with other 'Cons??"

[noisyballofvoidmuffin]

I just finished the second season of Good Omens and that was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever watched. That said, I must go on a rant. (/pos)

Ok, unlike the first season, I've had a couple moments where I was feeling second hand stress and had to pause before resuming my watch. Which just means it was very well written, directed, and acted out (!!!), but man 😭

Ok so spoilers ahead from now on. This rant is vaguely structured but mostly chaos bc I'm writing my thoughts as I think them. This is your last warning to avoid spoilers.

Won't check if anyone's still reading bc I'm mostly writing this for myself, so. I'm kind of like Agnes that way. I publish my thoughts just for the free copy of the book.

Anyhow, yes.

The way Aziraphale's behaviour so dramatically changes the moment he's no longer bound by heaven's rules, already seen on the bench scene at the end of season 1 is so??? Goodness, like, it becomes so obvious that Aziraphale had to control himself so many times so as to not get in trouble with heaven.

He lies, doesn't just avoid answering questions like Gabriel did. He tempts people, or perhaps it may be better said that he manages to persuade them very well, but he managed to get everyone to come to the meeting he planned. He bribes some of them, too.

I honestly don't believe any angels are going to fall. Or at least there's no plan for them to be up until now (end of s2). There's no word (in the series) of any Angels falling since the original war. So far at least. Don't think heaven wants any of their angels falling. Aziraphale would've likely fallen twice over if that were the case.

I absolutely dislike Metatron btw. Don't get me wrong, he is doing his job just fine in the narrative, more than such. But somehow during the series I had the feeling that Heaven was a greater evil/threat than Hell ever was and Metatron is just the icing on the cake.

The moment his facial expression dropped before following Aziraphale out of the bookshop just oooooh [seething, subdued adoration for how brilliant that tip off was].

Another thing I immediately had to glare at was when Aziraphale got into the elevator with him and his shoulders dropped. As if he wasn't sure Azi (getting tired of writing out his entire name :')) would get in with him. As if he was unsure.

Also, what's up with all the angels talking about the Great plan? It's not the ineffable plan, they won't call it that, their behaviour sure points towards that. The angels under Gabriel didn't seem to know the answer to Aziraphale's question about whether the two were the same thing. Metatron was much more secure in his wording. I suspect he's not actually acting out on God's will. At least not just that.

Metatron also didn't seem at all surprised at Crowley not taking up the offer to become an Angel again. He didn't react on it at all actually. And again, he said he met him. He said he remembers him and his questions. I presume he's at fault for Crowley's fall.

The angels seem to be so blindly obedient to the Metatron. So trusting.

Yes, a second Prince of Heaven falling would point out the issue in heaven. Even more so than, idk, the fact that an unknown but probably huge amount of Angels fell in the first place.

Talking of which, there was an actively decreasing amount of warrior demons. Where/Why/How was that happening? What were they dying to? If not dying, what were they doing?

Heaven is also rather empty from what it seems. Could be on purpose of course. But, egh. Logistics.

Also, Aziraphale. You lovable DUMBASS. Crowley is the one demon who likely knows best why neither Heaven nor Hell are good sides to be on.

Why did you get on that damned elevator after hearing there would be a second attempt at Armageddon???

Didn't you literally fight to stop the first one??? Okay sure, perhaps it was bc you think you can make a change but come. On.

Onto the acting, because I am not over it. Not at all.

The way the expressions and tones of voice, and the inflection, and just qjfkgkkbmamfvn

If you can't tell that kiss killed me inside. Both before and after.

Perhaps I am heavily biased towards the theories I've read before watching the series but come. ONNNN!!

Back to the series, i have seen someone point out how it seems to be from the pov of Aziraphale, as shown by the diary/journal entries we seen. I won't get too into that, but I do hope we get some of Crowley's perspective of some stuff next season.

Kind of funny how both heaven and hell seem to demand unquestioned obedience from their people. And that neither of their highest in command (God/Satan) are the ones to actually run things.

I've ran out of juice, might continue this rant another time but.. Idk

Feel free to add onto anything I might've mentioned on this. Do keep in mind to keep spoilers under a read more if you do please.

[mettasing]

got a review for my grad paper yesterday & it completely crushed me. like yeah, i am a sensitive person when it comes to writing style, because i consider it as an integral part of me, and i'm trying to be civilised about my shortcomings. but there was no point to go about it as unprofessional – and i consider caps, way too many question marks (and also totally ignoring context in favour of semantics), constantly demanding, demeaning wording unprofessional – about it as they did. it doesn't look like a review, but it does look as direct malice or an invitation for a bribe (to make matters worse – i've never seen corruption here, so i don't know for certain). or cinemasins draft, idk – here, it's the best way to describe it. besides, for our defence (ah, yes, it's tomorrow – so i certainly didn't need a grammar check) speech we need questions from reviewers. i haven't got any.

i got into a scandal because i tried to tell a family member about it and started crying. there's so much pent up shit within me, and no matter how frequent my outbursts are, i can't get it out – i don't want to bother my friends, same with teachers (plus they don't really care about my well-being and they shouldn't really, they're busy as it is), i can't afford a good therapist, time and money-wise, and... well. of course i've received a well-earned feedback. why constantly point out (with intention of humiliation) my need for institualisation, saying shit like you're clinically insane, you're uhhh "autistic" (okay? for crying because you are hurt???), you won't do well in life, you'll throw tantrums at your defence and bang your head against the wall, etc., but don't do shit with it? i thought i can share my feelings in this house – at least, that's what i've heard, loud and clear, because i'm also a recluse who doesn't tell anything. i don't fuck with mixed messages. my head still hurts.

speaking of fucking. i may not use my diploma, i may not live long, happy, fulfilling life – but as long as i won't throw myself into a river, i'll live. 7am rn, working on my defence speech, also need a presentation. i'm tired of trying, giving all i've got and getting hit in my face. so instead of pulling hair from my scalp, worrying about pleasing people for whom i'll never be good enough, i'll try to get hit on tonite🧚🏽‍♀️✨✨✨✨

[ducky-died-inside]

Hello there, Ducky! I hope you’re doing well. May I suggest Varian with a Gender Neutral s/o who is a pirate? Like idk how to expand ahh like just a funky pirate s/o that sings him sea shanties and brings gifts from far away places? Much obliged, stay safe!! Feel free to delete this req if you’d like

The Wellerman: Varian x GN Pirate Reader

Summary: Headcanons for if you were a pirate and Varian's s/o

Genre: mostly fluff with a bit of angst

Notes: I love sea shanties so yes. Also I'm just doing headcanons for this bc I tried writing a fic but my motivation and inspiration dried up. Reader is 21 and Varian is 20.

Warnings: bit of blood and small stab wound, cursing

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

He absolutely LOVES your voice, no matter what you think about it

He will beg you to sing any songs you learned from sailing or other pirates

His favorite is the Wellerman (this is my favorite and I'm definitely projecting shhhh)

"Please, Y/N! You like singing it, I like hearing it, it all works out!

"Fine, but this is the last time today."

"Yay!"

There once was a ship that put to sea...

You steal little things that remind you of him while on your travels

It's mostly rare chemicals and shit that he mentions in passing

You remember everything he needs

He never once gives you any lists of stuff, but you come home with a big ass bag full of stuff for him every time

"Y/N, this is too much."

"Nonsense! You said you needed all this shit so I got it for you!"

"...did you pay for any of it?"

"...maybe, maybe not. You can't prove anything!"

"Babes, you know I love it when you get me alchemy stuff, but can you at least try to pay for it?"

"...with money I've stolen or..."

"Oh my god. You're impossible."

"You know you love me!"

The first thing you ever bought with your own money was new alchemy beakers for him

You also find little things for Rapunzel to bribe her into letting you date Varian

Eugene and Lance tell you stories about their thieving days and you take notes on what got them caught

You eventually win Ruddiger and Max over using stolen apples

Varian demands you come back every time you get injured so he can take care of you, and while he wouldn't know if you didn't, it goves you an excuse to come back to visit

"Babes, I get that it's dangerous on the high seas, but how the fuck do you get so injured? It's almost like you do it on purpose..."

"Well, you're not really wrong there..."

"Y/N! THAT'S NOT GOOD!"

"Whaaaaat? It gives me an excuse to come back and see your handsome face."

"And while I love seeing you, there has to be a different way."

"This is nothing. This stab wound is practically nothing compared to what I've had to deal with before. Besides..."

"Let me guess, I should see the other guy? Also, that isn't comforting or surprising in the slightest and I can't decide which is worse."

"Ding ding ding! I'll be fine! 'Tis but a scratch."

"Not just a scratch. Your shirt is covered in dried blood."

"Most of it isn't mine..."

"Y/N!"

Cassandra joined your crew at one point while on her travels

You noticed her name was familiar from Varian's stories about her, but didn't question it

Cassandra's a common enough name, right? She wasn't the same one who kidnapped your partner and almost killed him?

To be fair, you almost had the first time you guys met

He had seen your sword and wanted to get a closer look

He had barely put a finger on it before you had shoved him against the wall and put it against his neck.

He was down bad immediately.

"No one touches my fucking sword except me or the people who get it in the gut. Got it?"

"L-loud and clear."

"Alright. Can I buy you a drink? That got a little out of hand there."

"That would be nice."

She caught you writing a letter to Varian one time and you guys found out how you know about her

"Whoa, what's that?"

"Believe it or not, Cassandra, but it's a letter. For someone really important to me."

"Oh do tell. Who is so special that they've got the mighty Captain Y/N blushing like a small child?"

"First, I'm blushing like a Captain. Second, if you really need to know, his name is Varian."

"Oh my god, wait. Varian?"

"Yeah?"

"Kinda short, black hair with a blue stripe in the bangs, raccoon with him all the time, absolutely loves alchemy?"

"Wait, do you know him?!"

"Know him? I almost killed that little shit!"

"Wait a minute, YOU'RE THAT CASSANDRA?!"

"HE TALKS ABOUT ME?!"

"He said something about a kidnapping some years back. Said you were a great friend until you got corrupted and then un-corrupted."

"Huh. Would've expected a worse report from him."

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

That's all for now! I'll add more if I think of them!

Taglist: @ask-qiqi @kxgaminerin @nocturne-the-raven

[stormblessed95]

So you don’t have to publish this if you don’t feel comfortable, but I kinda wanted your opinion on this.

It may sound dramatic, but I haven’t been able to call myself an army since the news of the World Cup came out. I am so incredibly disappointed in bts and bighit.

When I got into bts they brought me so much comfort and helped me through some tough times. I enjoyed their music and was always very proud of the message they tried to share with the world. Yes, some of their older content is uncomfortable to watch for the casual misogyny and homophobia, but as a queer woman I perfectly understand internalized homophobia and misogyny and I wouldn’t want to be judged for what I said or did in 2014. They had shown they had grown and learned. They always spoke up against people in power abusing it and about social justice.

So what happened? Did they became worldwide stars and decided “who cares about our message anymore! Let’s support a tournament that is basically a celebrations of the violation of human rights?”

Supporting the World Cup is basically saying they don’t care that over 6000 people died building the stadiums. They don’t care that lgbtq people die in that country. They don’t care about women and women’s rights.

This is not the bts I thought I knew, and I’m talking about all of them because if the other six were strongly opposed to this, I honestly doubt jungkook would be flying over there right now. But here we are.

I mean I could even understand that it’s a huge honor for a South Korean to sing for the first time at a World Cup opening ceremony, but let’s not forget that SK with Japan hosted the 2002 World Cup (and that was a mess as well, just google about the referee Moreno and bribes about that World Cup).

Idk I think they really fucked up this time. And if they have no qualms to stand up for human rights violations, than I don’t think I can call myself their fan. I’m also disappointed in armies (on twitter mostly) that have been insulting anyone who pointed out how this is a very poor decision that does not reflect well on bts’s character and morals. You may disagree, but you can’t deny the facts.

I read dualipa’s reaction (who I don’t follow and don’t know anything about) about being rumored to sing and the World Cup, and I can’t help but wish that had been bts answer as well.

Hi. So I'm not going to tell you how to feel. Your feelings and concerns are valid and they are your own. What you choose to do based on how you feel is also totally and completely up to you. Your choice/feelings aren't wrong either way you feel about. Nor do i want to dismiss all the issues and valid crisitisms surrounding the world cup and Qatar. So please know that its okay to be upset about it. And I don't want to bring up past controversies either but idk if you were around in 2019 or if you feel like this is any different than the issues surrounding their choice to perform in Saudi Arabia?

For background if you werent aware of the issues they faced for the decison to hold that concert, ill give an overview:

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman took the throne in 2015, and he has since been making efforts to make the country more moderate and less conservative with several reforms. According to Wikipedia, some of those reforms would be: "regulations restricting the powers of the religious police, the removal of the ban on female drivers in June 2018, and weakening the male-guardianship system in August 2019. Other cultural developments under his reign include the first Saudi public concerts by a female singer, the first Saudi sports stadium to admit women, and an increased presence of women in the workforce." Regardless Saudi Arabia is still quite a bit most other countries in terms of human rights. Its bombings and attacks in Yemen have led to mass famines and deaths, and the Saudi government has been criticized for detaining and torturing human rights activists and LGBTQ people. Women also still don’t have most of the rights they should, and still require a male family member’s permission before doing things like traveling or getting a passport among other things. The Prince and the Gov there have also been heavily critized for their actions being more performantive and less about actually pushing forward more human rights. I don't know much more, so I don't want to speak to heavily on either country (SA or Qatar).

In an effort to be more modern and open, they invited many artists to perform. Among those artists were BTS and they accepted. You mentioned Dua Lipa refusing Qatar performance, so I'll also mention Nikki Minaj refused to perform in Saudi Arabia for similar reasons, citing women's treatment in the country as her reason. Regardless of her close friendships with pedophiles and rapists, she was lauded for the decision as a morally righteous one by many people. Dua Lipa's stance on Qatar is just as morally questionable as being performative based on where else she choices to perform. But that's stuff (for both Nikki and Dua Lipa) that you can look up for yourselves if you want.

BTS were questioned about this decision too actually and in an interview stated: “I wouldn’t say the decision it was easy,” Namjoon said. Jimin added: “But we were officially invited. It’s been a while since we’ve performed in the Middle East – I guess the last time was 2015 in Dubai. To put it simply, if there’s a place where people want to see us, we’ll go there. That’s how we feel.”

Many fans stuck up for BTS during this and said that this performance was for their fans, not for the Saudi government. Which is what their reasoning was. They weren't promoting the governments actions or laws or decisions. They weren't supporting it. They were going to see their fans and share love and music with the world. Both BTS and their staff was also praised for being very considerate of Saudi Arabia's cultural customs and giving space to them and following them when they could (such as not wearing gold jewelry, not showing skin during performances they otherwise do, like Serendipity, pausing rehearsals for muslism prayer times, etc)

Similarly again, just more recently in 2022, BTS were invited by the President of the United States to speak at the White House. And they accepted and went, with little criticism in that aspect. Regardless of the fact that the US is steadily stripping human rights away from people more and more, with endless human rights violations and imperialism over the past few years. With children being taken from parents at the border and put in cages, with POC being murdered by the policing force constantly, with LGBTQ people in fear of their basic human rights being taken away, with women's rights to their own bodily autonomy being argued over daily and taken away in many places in the country. They came to speak specifically about one issue, one problem, that they and many of their fans relate to and face. Anti Asian hate crimes. So they accepted. That's not them promoting and accepting and being okay with everything else.

And yes, BTS are known for talking about controversial topics about their own country in their lyrics. Standing up for people and being willing to criticize their Gov and laws at times, this does not make them politicians or responsible for making a statement over everything. That hasn't changed. Their stance on things or how they feel about it. At least, not that I can tell. I don't know Jungkook's or BTS' motivations behind accepting to do a performance at the World Cup or to do a song for them (because they did release a new verison of Yet To Come specifically for Qatar World Cup promotions). Maybe they will make a statement at some point. Maybe they won't unless asked about it. Maybe they just wanted to do something extra for their fans and found this to be a big opportunity to do so. Maybe they are bigger fans of Soccer/Football then we thought and so they were excited about that portion of this as well. We know they like Messi they've said so. They've had multiple good interactions with Son Heungmin, who is a soccer player for South Korea. We also know Korea will be playing in the World Cup to, so maybe they were asked to represent their country more at the World Cup. And they accepted. Similarly to how they accepted to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo with their free Yet To Come concert held in Busan. Despite the issues with that and with South Koreas own issues with government and laws that are heavily conservative against LGBTQ people and woman as well.

So I guess, my point is, we don't know why they accepted. Even if it's as simple as it's a huge opportunity and they just wanted to... I don't think it changes how they've made it clear that they stand in support of queer people, of women, of love. How they really value their fans and people and want the world to be a better place. They just spoke about all these values at the UN recently as well. So no, I don't think world wide fame changed that for them.

BTS are human. They are not perfect. They will make mistakes and will and can grow from the choices they make. You also, as a fan, do not have to like or agree with everything they do. You aren't even necessarily SUPPOSED to. They aren't God's. They shouldn't be placed on a pedestal of beings who can do no wrong. You will then be disappointed. You are allowed to not like this choice or to think it's a bad one. But I don't think this choice means they are supporting the fucked up violations of human rights that are present there nor do i think this choice is indicative of them not being or no longer being good people. And I think saying that this is them supporting those policies is not fact, as anon stated, but opinion. And you are entitled to your opinion and to your feelings over the matter as well. But these are mine and if you are upset solely about one thing with one place they've traveled to, but not the others, that's something that might be cause for some inner reflection as well.

[atherix]

You and I are about to discover the depths of the tumblr askbox my dear. This is being written in a word doc because I want to know exactly how much screaming I did. I have the story open in another tab.

Dear reader please know I liveblogged my screaming in Atherix’s dms. In my defense they kept sending me screenshots that were HARMING me!

With that out of the way – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

SDLGAKDFHLADFH. DFALKHDFH. ERLKHSTHAEOTHGLKRF,ZFGALDFG!!!!!!

OKAY SO LIKE FIRST OF FUCKING ALL THE GREENHOUSE IS EVERYTHING TO ME AND IF WE DON’T GET TO SEE SCAR’S FINISHED GREENHOUSE I WILL RIOT WITH A PITCHFORK! A PITCHFORK ARE YOU HEARING ME! ‘Are you trying to bribe him into moving in here’ YES! YES! IT WOULD SOLVE SO MANY ISSUES! I DON’T CARE THAT IT WOULD ALSO MAKE ISSUES SHUT UP, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, I NEED TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES SLDFHSKK!!!! GOD and the fact that Grian is acknowledging that they’d all prefer if Tubbo just stayed and didn’t go out and get himself into danger AFTER THE!! WHAT – 15 CHAPTERS OF TUBBO AND SCAR? IM MELTING OVER HERE OH MY GOD. AND GRIAN JUST WANTS TO NOT BE ALONE WHEN HE SLEEPS ALGKF MY BOY. MY LITTLE MAN. I AM SLAMMING MY FIST INTO THE TABLE

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy and Cleo? And the whole Council? AND GETTING TO MEET XISUMA, MY OTHER MAN? AKLJASDKFJG AHHHHH yes. I deserve this. This is a treat for Me Specifically. But the BIRD and the fact that Mumbo has to officially Declare Himself and that Cleo wants to emet with him before he does that and THEYRE BRINGING BDUBS I AM FEELING THINGS!!!!! I AM IN MY EMOTIONS!!!!!! SHAKING THEM IN A MASON JAR THEY’RE MATES YOUR HONOR AND CLEO EVEN INVITED MUMBO TO BRING HIS MATE IM AHHHH I am IN my EMOTIONS. Also grian calling Mumbo ‘my lord’ and mumbo just going ‘Ah yes hm.’ HELLOOOOOOOOOO. BACK in my emotions I am. Smirking. At the wall. And I love Cleo so much. I continue to love Cleo. These are loving Cleo Hours. They respect that Mumbo has a Mate and a Territory and just lsdkgadfgkldafgldkfdgklkldfkgdflgkdfg feeling things I am.

ANDS THEN GRIAN CALLS THEM A FAMILY ASDLKGDAFKLG I AM FEELING THINGS AGAIN. He doesn’t wanna abandoned the greenhouse but he recognizes that this is important and then points out that scar should be there and oh my gooooooooooooood. The way the three of them interact with each other is everything to me thank yoooooou.

‘Something clicks, but he isn’t sure what.’ IM NOT SURE WHAT CLICKED EITHER GRIAN BUT SOMETHING SURE FUCKING CLICKED OH MY GOD.

AND THEN BLONDIE ARRIVES ON THE SCENE, THE THING IVE BEEN GOING FERAL OVER THIS ENTIRE TIME! AND YOU KNOW WHAT! IM STILL GOING FERAL OVER IT! God I HATE her but I LOVE her ya feel. She’s a FANTASTIC villain. Like listen I love me someone I can never forgive. You have given me that.

God GRIAN jumping in front of Mumbo and taking the brunt of the attack is MELTING my BRAIN they LOVE EACH OTHER YOUR HONOR!!!! And then you go back to like, the first story of this series and you’re like “Dhow did we get here” BUT GOD IM GLAD WE DID. God and he dropped his bow. God and he doesn’t have his dagger. DGLK Dammit. And Blondie calling Mumbos MATES a bloodbank hey maam have you considered some people just love their loved ones. And shes just. Playing w her food. Call Mumbo a fake vampire [FUCK YOU HES SO STRONG], licking her lips around grians blood. I am feeling things about this encounter.

FUCKING GET HER MUMBO!!! The way he uses his shadows is SO cool oh my god. Also Grian is a MESS I cannot imagine the whole of the backyard doesn’t reek of blood. The amount of blood he’s losing must be extensive. AND THEN SHE CAN TELEPORT???? OH SHIT

The ‘Vampire who is Enraged and Protective Becoming More and More Inhuman’ is by far and large one of my favorite vampire tropes, idk if you could tell given that everytime Mumbo goes feral so do I, but ldgakdfg I have been given a silver platter. AND SHES GOT GRIAN AAAAH The way you describe teleporting reminds me a lot of this dumb sci fi show I used to watch in the 2000s that I could not even NAME anymore but no one in the show liked teleporting because they felt ‘unreal’ for a bit after they came back.

ALSO ‘Did mumbo watch anna die like this’ YOU CANT FUICKING DO THAT OT ME ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON????? EXCUSE ME???????? WE ARE GONNA HAVE A TALK, MY LITTLE HEART. AGH. CLUTCHING MY CHEST AND COLLAPSING But also holy SHIT it is a miracle Grian didn’t accidentally activate his glyph [unless. He did. And scar has been listening.] w his blood because I can’t imagine he isn’t just covered in his own blood at this point tbh.

THERE IT IS. THERE’S MY MUMBO GOING FERAL. MWAH MWAH MWAH. I LOVE HIM, LOOK AT HIM GO! HE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT HIS OWN HEALTH AND SAFETY ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS GETTING GRIAN AWAY FROM HER MWAAAAH. THE BIGGEST KISS.

I mean yeah. He got injured for his efforts. But LOOK at him GO. AND THEN GRIAN IS JUST LIKE ‘Yeah Im gonna fuck her up – oh shit wheres my dagger’ IS JUST THE ICING ON THE CAKE. HONEST TO GOD IT’S A MIRACLE THESE TWO ARENT DEAD. God and Grian is just SITTING there making BIRD noises because his MATE is DYING in his ARMS I am in a GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS.

Leave it to Grian to say something to recklessly dumb as someone is dying in his arms btw. Oh my god. ‘what if she rips off my face’ WELL GRIAN HAVE YOU TRIED NOT STARING DEATH DOWN AND GRINNING AT IT OH MY GOD.

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR TUBBO EVERYONE. LOOK AT MY BOY GO! LOOK AT HIM GO! GOD! HES SO GOOD AND SMART AND AH! CLAY TABLETS W HOLY RUNES! And FINALLY grian thinks about the godling thing for longer than a 2 second dismissal HOLY FUCK I was really starting to worry something fried his brain. The pure Panic of this realization though because its not something that he wants but its something that he needs in the moment and sldfgkdfal.

God and this touching Grumbo moment of just. Grian letting Mumbo feed off him. Maybe one day Mumbo will get to feed off his mates in a time where he doesn’t absolutely devastatingly have to. But it’s touching nonetheless because Grian trusts Mumbo so much and he doing it – they’re both doing it- to protect TUBBO they aren’t even really thinking about their own safety at the moment just the safety of their son no I don’t care that they aren’t quite there yet shut up. And then grian Knows exactly why scar reacted the way he did and suddenly mumbo Understands why everyone’s freaking out about grians blood and they don’t even have a moment to PROCESS it because TUBBO IS IN DANGER-

God and Mumbo is so smart to rely on his shadows like that but I am very worried that Blondie heals so much faster than Mumbo does and I don’t have any theories yet aside from the fact that shes a born vampire and not a turned and that simply does not feel correct so I am DEEPLY worried about what it could possibly be but Tubbo running to them and HIDING behind them distracted me enough that I don’t even have any other Theories because AH TUBBO I LOVE YOU. And the fact that shes still stronger than Mumbo, which like duh mumbo is injured but. I am feeling things about Mumbo, the man who was strong enough to be a threatening menace laying prone on the floor and recovering from his wounds that like, Doc kept his distance, not being strong enough to keep blondie back even with godling blood in his veins is fglasdfgk.

AND THEN THERY’RE IN SCARS LIVING ROOM BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY SAFE PLACE MUMBO COULD THINK TO TAKE THEM AND MUMBO IS RECOVERING SOMEWHAT BUT GRIAN IS STILL BLEEDING PROFUSELY AND POOR TUBBO, WHO WASN’T EXACTLY EXPECTING A VAMPIRE FIGHT [Or at least it doesn’t seem like he was expecting one but oh shit oh shit blondies seen tubbo oh wait OH SHIT. ATHERIX. WAIT A MINUTE GET BACK HERE. EXCUSE ME BLONDIE HAS SEEN TUBBO I AM SHAKING YOU BY YOUR SHOULDERS OH NO I GET IT NOW. NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO KNOW WHY IM FREAKING OUT BC ~SPOILERS~ BUT I GET IT NOW AND I AM SHAKING YOU LIKE A RAGDOLL

God and the fact that they don’t call Scar like right away after making him PROMISE he would CALL if he got in DANGER I am smacking them w a rolled up newspaper even though Grian is covered in blood I am. Smack. Smack Smack.

I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER I AM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH

Also for those keeping up, here’s the page and word count for this in Microsoft Word:

This is so long I have my inbox opened in two windows on two different screens LMAO-

I sure as shit did and I'll KEEP doing it too, trust me once I get to a certain scene in the next chapter which dear readers I restarted bc I decided I didn't like the pov I chose hjkfsdjk I am showing you something that is going to SEND YOU-

Ahem. Anyway- HFCSJKCFKLSJLKFJLKFS BY THE WAY THIS MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS AND POTENTIAL SPOILERS SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-

I'D SAY GET THE PITCHFORK READY BUT I ASSURE YOU INSTEAD THAT YOU WILL GET TO SEE THE GREENHOUSE AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS THIS VAMPIRE HAS TOO MUCH MONEY AND NOT ENOUGH SENSE ABOUT HIMSELF HIS MATES DESERVE THE BEST LEMME TELL YA. hjdaskjfdsjk WHAT ISSUES WOULD BE MADE HMHMM?? I SEE ONLY POSITIVES :)) hjkfdlkgfjkfdk YES they just want the boy to be safe and nearby <3 AND YEAH GRIAN DOESN'T WANNA SLEEP ALONE BUT EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN AT NIGHT IN BOATEM SO HE CAN'T JUST CHANGE HIS SCHEDULE PLUS THAT WOULD MEAN SCAR BEING ALONE DURING THE DAY AND JUST HJSJKHFSJKDSKJF so many problems to sort out <3 <3

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS CLEO AND BDUBS AND XISUMA ARE COMING TO TOWN <3 Because Mumbo has to do Politics now hjkfsdjkfgdsjk YEAH bc the Council wants to keep an eye on Covens <3 THEY ARE MATES I LOVE THEM SO MUCH Cledubs my belOVED <3 Haha ngl out of all the Coven Lords Cleo probably has the biggest First Ring they deserve the best harem mates <3 But BDubs is their ride or die, their second in command, their First Mate and just <3 I love they hhhfdhj THE LORD'S MATES ARE basically on the same level as the Lord themself, first ring/inner circle and over everyone except the Lord themself and having say in how the Coven is run, their the Lord's partners in both love and leadership <3 It's hjfredjksdk to NOT invite Mumbo's mate(s) would be so RUDE <3 haha and yes smirk, smirk as Grian finds another way to wind Mumbo up HJKGFSJKFHSJK- Cleo has so much respect which is wicked considering they and Mumbo don't have the best track record but we shall be addressing that soon hmhmm <3

THEY A FAMILY and it's such a Big Thing for him to let himself think because I mean the last people he considered family. Well. <3 YEAH he's like "I'd LIKE to keep doing this it would be a nice surprise for Scar but on the other hand I think he might should maybe be involved so-" jkfdslkfdskj I love them so much. Mind you next chapter they're all gonna be forced to confront some Issues they need to sort out but <3 They're so good together I love them <3

HAHAHAHA :)) HMHMMM LET'S SEE Scar establishes that Boatem has lots of inherent magic, has been touched by the Pantheons of the Void and therefore boosts/strengthens magic from the Pantheons of the Void... like Death, the Pantheon over the Vampires.......... unlike Fae, which exists on another plane of existence and has therefore never touched Boatem.................... hm hm hmmmmm-

BLONDIIIEEEE let me tell you I fuckin' LOVE Blondie she's so fun to write she's so unhinged and dramatic and her dramatism and attitude towards life in general is her hubris and so often the reason she fucking LOSES because she's so STRONG if she was serious even ONE MORE SECOND LONGER than she always is they would all be DEAD like- like she. She is so strong and unhinged and has NO moral compass, NO redeeming qualities. Just. If she stopped talking for once she'd win. So I wonder how Mumbo, Grian, Scar & Co will win now that she's done talking. Hmm-

Grian, knowing Mumbo can heal magically: NOOOOO!!!! But yes how PROTECTIVE they are of each other I am just <3<3<3 They love each other so much I am just hjfjkdsk <3 SO MUCH has changed over the last ~150k words I am At A Loss at how we got here and I wrote the damn thing HJFSJJKDSJK Yep. He dropped his bow, lost his dagger and his sword is just sitting in his old bedroom, the one he stayed in before moving into Mumbo's room <3 I'm sure that's not gonna come back to bite him hjkfslkfdsjk EXACTLY SHE'S PLAYING WITH THEM YOU GET IT HJDAJKFSHJ the fact that she got a taste of Scar AND Grian's blood before Mumbo did just hjfsdjkfhjdsjk ALSO YEAH BLOODBANK Mumbo has never been so offended <3

I LOVE Mumbo's shadow magic and I love that I get to explore more of it now >:3 And yeah Grian is just. His arms are Ribbons hfjksdjfkgsdhk not really but you know what I mean. He has been Tenderized and Chomped kjJFHSKJ he is going off PURE ADRENALINE and magic cough AND YEAH TELEPORTATION IS HER UNIQUE MAGIC R I P </3

YES I fucking LOVE that trope, too. Like if you're gonna make inhuman characters, have fun with it. Go all out. Remind people they're not human >:D Admittedly the Transforming Into a Monstrous Form thing is probably exclusive to Born Vampires (because Turned Vampires were once human and retain their human form, while Born Vampires were never even human to begin with) BUT you can still show a vampire becoming Less Human in not-so-obvious/literal ways <3 And y'know, maybe they do get a LITTLE bit of that Monstrous Transformation thing going on, even if it's not as... dichotomic or blatant <3 I just can't imagine teleporting could ever be a pleasant feeling honestly <3 I have no idea what show you're talking about but that is WILD <3 Trippy and concerning which is lowkey what I was going for haha <3

HAHA I DID THAT AND I WALKED AWAY I DROPPED IT ON YOU WITH A :) AND WALKED AWAY HAHA- Haha well. :) Do we. Do we remember that, uhh, that Scar. Reworked Grian's glyph. And it might be a uhhhh certain unique special glyph. :) Grian's arms shredded and bleeding profusely..... Would be uhhhh kinda hard not to get blood on the back of his hand right?? Right??? So I wonder. If that is so. If that is so. What is happening... that Scar couldn't answer or come running to help. I mean- surely there was plenty of time during that fight for a teleportation glyph to be made :) Assuming of course. Of course. That Scar doesn't already have glyphs set up. So. So why. Hmm :)

HE JUST WANTS TO SAVE AND PROTECT GRIAN HIS MATE ONE OF THE LOVES OF HIS LIFE I AM HJJDSJHFDSJ yeah he got impaled by Vampire Claws and she twisted her claws, salt in the wound honestly, legit nearly gutted him. BUT HE TRIIEEDDDD-

Grian just instinctively reaching for his dagger just to remember it's gone and just JKFSHJKFSJKFSJK THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE NOT DEAD IS BECAUSE BLONDIE'S HUBRIS IS SO FUCKING BIG. Grian making distressed bird sounds is everything to me I am just he is so I love him so much hjfdsklfgdskj AND YOU KNOW. IN THE BACK OF HIS MIND. HE IS THINKING ABOUT THAT NIGHTMARE.

Grian's self preservation is not the best, this man fought gods and won he speaks without thinking and stares Death in the eye and says "I'm a god killer" and just HJFSJKSDJKSL GRIIAAANNNN-

YESSSS TUBBO TO THE RESCUE. Funny tho. Why is he visiting the manor...... and how did he get inside....... when Grian and Mumbo keep the doors locked and just shadow-walked out and in..... and Blondie just teleported...... hmhmm :3 HE IS SUCH A GOOD SMART BOY LOOK AT HIM GO HE IS SO BRAVE mind you he expected Blondie to die after being hit by the tablet BUT STILL- Grian REALLY doesn't want this he has been in denial for about 50k+ words now <3 But now he must acknowledge it because it is becoming Important. And now we get to have fun exploring it >:D

Grian, literally fuckin bleeding out: Trust me Mumbo I definitely won't die from this Mumbo, injured and dying and running on instinct: Seems legit And then somehow Grian manages to actually NOT DIE, miracle of miracles. Of course I wonder why this is hm? :) But fear thee not, for one day... one day the circumstances will be different and it will not be because he Needs To but because they Want To and it will be brilliant. Yes there will be biting/blood drinking for pleasure no I don't take criticism it's a VAMPIRE FIC what did you EXPECT- YES PROTECT TUBBO. Even if they didn't adore the kid, him being Scar's kid- their mate's kid- means he's basically theirs too so <3 Well as far as Mumbo's "Coven=Family" instinct that he's dealing with for the first time ever is concerned lmao. And ofc Grian has Flock Mentality so- YES them Understanding now, Grian doesn't need Scar to explain and Mumbo now sees why every Vampire who has ever gotten a taste of Grian's blood ever has stopped in their tracks cuz HOOOOO BOY that is some Unawakened Magic there- AND YEAH NO TIME TO EVEN SIT AND THINK ABOUT IT JUST. GOTTA FIGHT.

Haha if you look closely you'll see Mumbo and Blondie do very different things after Blondie is injured and Mumbo drinks Grian's blood... Don't worry there's no grand conspiracy <3 BUT YES TUBBO HIDING because he knows they'll protect him <3 JKJSJKFSJKSDK YEAH Mumbo is so strong and she just. She just claws right through his magic shadows. THE SHADOWS THAT CRUSHED HER SISTER MIGHT I ADD. SO UH. YEAH. Take that how you will-

IT WAS THE ONLY OTHER SAFE PLACE MUMBO COULD THINK OF I AM <3 Hahaha Tubbo Tubbo... <3 NOW he's gotta help get them (mainly Grian) healed up and just <3 AND HAHAHAHAHAHHAJGFSHJDJKASA YOU SEE IT. THE VISION. THE FUTURE THAT NO ONE BUT YOU KNOWS >:D YOU GET IT NOW and I am ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED AHAHAHAHAHA <3 Now here's the question.... in Blondie's enraged and inhuman state, did she recognize the magic he used? |D Did she put together, in the seconds between getting attacked and attacking, just who he is hmmm? |D

HYPOCRITES IN LOVE HAHA but the question is, will Scar have a RIGHT to be pissed about them not calling? :) Frankly knowing what I know and that no one else does, I think Tubbo's the only one with the right to be angry <3 I think, you know, that maybe he deserves to go off on all their overprotective asses about how they need to learn to be more open and vulnerable with each other and be able to ask for help when they need it or you know trust each other to be able to handle things and not try to choose for each other what is and isn't okay for them to do/face and. And. You know. :) Hmhmm

THE NEXT CHAPTER IS COMING SLOWLY BUT AS YOU KNOW I HAVE BEEN PLAYING SO MUCH MC SAVE ME

This novel has been brought to you by StitchTheseWords and Atherix.

[charliedawn]

If not a request then just your opinion: I had this vision where penny and five(maybe pennywise) pretend to be children to get a discount at a fast food restaurant for the slashers’ dinner. Idk why but the nurse would totally bribe them to do it so they can get a discount and cheaper prices for things like movies and food. For example in my twin children younger than 12 get a cheaper price for tickets so my mom would lie about our age to get cheap tickets since we were short.

If not it’s alright since it was a funny idea. Also I hope you have a great day or night dear author!

You had come up with a plan to get discounts on meals for the slashers by pretending you were their mother and you were all out for dinner. Pennywise and Penny were skeptical at first and Five unnerved that you would actually ask him, but still tempted as you said you would owe him a favor in the future. Penny was easy to convince as he was excited to go out. However, some of the customers looked at you weird when he starting digging his teeth in the table and licking himself...even some of the people present got suspicious when he asked his chicken...raw.

Waiter *turning towards you* : "Hum...Are you sure it is safe for your child to be eating raw food ?"

Nurse *laughs awkwardly* : "As long as he doesn't see you as part of the menu ? You don't have to worry.."

Penny *suddenly stops eating and turns his head backwards to stare at the waiter with a creepy smile* : "Wait...He isn't ?"

Waiter *slowly backs away while Penny keeps staring at him with drool running down his chin*

Pennywise ? It's wasn't so easy...

Pennywise *screaming* : "Not in a million years !"

Nurse *sighs* : "Please ?"

Pennywise *shakes his head vividly*

Nurse *smiles and ask tentatively* : "You could play the brat ?"

Pennywise *arks an eyebrow before leaning forward with renewed interest* : "....Go on ?"

He was eventually convinced when you told him that he could play pranks on the waiters and make them chase him around, as long as he wouldn't injure or kill them. Pennywise quickly got entertained by the idea and suddenly transformed into a younger version of himself with a suitcase full of paper bullets and different nerf guns. Yup. Too bad for the waiters..

Waiter n1 : "Catch him !"

Waiter n2 : "I'M TRYING !"

Pennywise *uses a blowpipe to shoot paper bullets at them* : "I LOVE THIS !"

Waiter n1 : "What kind of brat is that ?!"

Nurse *smiles" : "Mine..And be careful. He likes fire."

Waiter n2's eyes widened when he saw Pennywise set fire to one of the window's curtains.

Waiter n2 : "You little...!"

Five was insulted at first, but finally agreed when you said you would pay for his coffee. However, when the waitress arrived and saw him in his little uniform, she couldn't help but smile at the adorable little boy and act as if Five was like any normal child.

"And what will the young man have ?"

It took all of his willpower not to yell at the waitress that he was a perfectly grown man or even answer her as passively as possible.

"Coffee."

She smiled before taking his order and ruffling his hair playfully.

"Aww...Isn't he a cute little gentleman ?"

You were about to warn her that this wasn't really a good idea when Five gave her his best poker face before asking as emotionlessly as possible.

"Do you like your hand ?"

The waitress laughed nervously, sensing the sudden tension in the air before replying, uncertain.

"Hum..Yes ?"

Five then smiled widely before threatening her.

"Then get it off my head this instant."

She quickly did before almost running back to the kitchen.

Nurse *sighs* : "Did you really have to say that ?"

Five *keep smiling at you* : "Yes. Yes, I did."

At the end, you had to call Michael for help after Penny almost ate the arm of a waiter, Pennywise set fire to the place, Five creeped everyone out and..Let's say...child services were called. Michael couldn't believe his eyes when he arrived and saw the state of the place, with half of the restaurant in ruins and the staff traumatized with three little goblins staring at them as if they were a three-course meal...

"....What happened ?", he thought.

You sighed in defeat at his shocked expression before patting his torso compassionately, knowing he would have to get the children and you would have to take care of the restaurant not suing the hospital and convince the child services that the children were perfectly fine, more than fine actually.

"Good luck."

Michael sighed before walking towards the three of them with a resolute pace..This was going to be a long day..As if they could sense they were in trouble, the three of them scattered and Michael ran after them. Yup. This was going to be a long day..

[lawisnotmocked]

Hello sir. You will probably either find this deeply offensive or hilarious but lately I have an obsession with the character of Javert as I recently watched the 2012 Les Mis because “oh the memes about it back in the day were classic.” Yes I am serious sometimes I watch movies just because I liked a YTP of it. Then I find out that in addition to being perfect meme fodder, Javert has a weird one-sided (??) pseudo enemies to loves dynamic with the loaf of bread guy (I did not know his name until like three days ago to me he was always just the guy who sang “I stole a loaf of bread.”)These types of characters who give vibes like they’re lgbt, have dog or cat-like qualities, and are overly dramatic typically become my Blorbos (a similar example would be majima from RGG who’s also a crazy dog-like man who attacks his crush.) SO what I am requesting is could you please give me your crack headcanons about Javert? Like funny shit about Javert. If you have recommends for crack fics about Javert I’d appreciate it, bonus points if any of the headcanons/fics are Valvert cuz idk I just find them really funny together. Prob mostly because of the memes not gonna lie. If you could also educate me on Valjean and Javert’s mannerisms in the Brick I would be most appreciative because to be totally real with u… I’m so sorry but I don’t wanna read or watch parts that are not about him or loaf guy 😬 (ya I kno shame on me and all that…) but I need to know more about how they act so I can make hideous crack fics of my own. Thank u 🙏🐶

First of all anon how does it feel to be the funniest person on the internet this is the best ask I’ve ever received :’3

Even without crack headcanons brick Javert is just absolutely hilarious as a character?? I feel like a lot of adaptations try to take him too seriously and like yeah he does have a serious and tragic aspect to his character but he’s also a very fruity drama queen who has like 0 awareness of his surroundings, acts like a feral dog on crack and has this weird magic power that allows him to know people’s real identity no matter how well disguised they are. (I maintain that les mis does have a form of magic system in the brick but it’s more like mundane mostly useless superpowers?? Like super strength that just makes you a little bit more strong that an average person, or really good instincts or something. Anyway lol)

Some Actual Canon Facts about Javert from the brick are:

- Is implied to have the soul of a dog

- Bares all of his teeth when he smiles

- Fucking hates reading but does it anyway

- Keeps a snuffbox on him at all times and snorts snuff after he feels like an arrest has gone well

- Dissociates for a solid 5 minutes and misses the entirety of a conversation bc someone said something he didn’t agree with

- I know the ‘you need to punish me Mr Mayor’ scene is in the movie but it’s so much funnier in the brick :’3

- Accidentally sets his coat on fire by standing too close to the stove

- Announces himself to Thenardier’s criminal gang who he’s about to arrest by making a stupid joke

- Tells Thenardier that he can shoot him if he wants because the gun will just misfire. Thenardier shoots him and the gun misfires.

- Doesn’t really have any friends and his coworkers don’t like him either because he doesn’t take bribes and refuses to work with criminals to catch other criminals

- There’s an entire Code Of Symbolism in the brick thats purpose is to represent how horny Javert is, which I wrote about here along with some other Javert related stuff

This man is just a fucking disaster honestly :’3 I headcanon that’s he’s ADHD, autistic, severely depressed and probably has some form of childhood PTSD?? But I’ve also seen other people headcanon that he has BPD or OCD and honestly all of them are good hcs because he’s absolutely neurodivergent.

I absolutely understand not wanting to read the whole brick if you only care about two of the characters lol, but the Hapgood English translation of the brick is public domain so I’ve linked a couple of Javert chapters you might find funny!

Javert’s introduction | punish me mr mayor | Javert lends Marius two pistols he never gets back and burns his coat on the stove | Javert arrests Thenardier and tells him to shoot him

Brick Valjean is also a chaotic bitch but he’s less camp and more like a cryptid with PTSD. Off the top of my head he:

- Sews money into the inside of his coat when Cosette is young

- Keeps the rest of his money buried in the woods

- Accidentally convinces some townspeople that he’s the devil by sneaking around said woods

- Stuffs his pockets with wigs and disguises in case he ever needs to make a quick getaway

- Someone tries to rob him and he tackles them to the ground then lectures them on how they should let god into their heart and stop stealing

- Holds a hot poker against his arm when Thenardier tries to extort him for money to intimidate him

- He just really loves Cosette this isn’t a funny or anything he just really loves his daughter and wants the best for her

In the brick Javert also doesn’t even actively seek out Valjean?? They go years without thinking about each other then they run into each other again in the weirdest circumstances and go ‘omg not this weirdo again 🙄’

As for my own favourite crack headcanons :3c

- Modern au Javert is a furry. His fursona is a wolfdog called Orion :-)

- [NSFW] He’s unironically into vore

- He wants a fursuit very badly but he can’t afford it until he’s dating Valjean and Valjean buys him one

- Valjean doesn’t get it but he’s glad his partner is happy :-)

- [NSFW] In my ideal Javert lives modern au he quits the police, goes to therapy and joins a kink group because I think he’d thrive in that environment 😌

- Valjean has like 5 fake driver’s licenses

- Javert will literally comment on how hot he finds a man and still doesn’t realise he’s gay until he makes out with Valjean. Thinks he’s straight even though he’s never been attracted to a woman before. Is literally that unaware of his own feelings.

- Valjean has no fashion sense. He dresses so bad that it comes full circle and it looks like his outfit clashes intentionally. Cosette is horrified.

- Javert is awful to watch movies with, especially detective movies, because he talks the whole time and points out all the inaccuracies

- Valjean never makes eye contact. Javert makes too much very intense eye contact.

- No one invites them to events because they’re awful together. Javert shit talks people’s outfits or decor very loudly to Valjean and Valjean hates socialising and doesn’t want to be there

I don’t think I know any good crack fic bc I mostly just read angst lol uwu’’ but if anyone has any suggestions pls feel free to add them!! I’ll add links if I think of anything though 😌

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 309: Gotta Go My Own Way

Previously on BnHA: Muscular was all “well if it isn’t the protagonist on his solo journey of self-discovery, for some reason I’m unironically glad I get to fight you!” Deku was all “hey Muscular before I finish kicking your ass would you please take a moment to answer these two survey questions? Question one, do you regret being a total piece of shit? And question two, if you could do anything at all in the world other than being a total piece of shit, would you?” Muscular was all, “pfft, no and no.” Deku was all, “thanks buddy, your feedback helps make me a better hero, here’s a coupon for fifteen percent off your next ass-whooping.” Then he whooped his ass.

Today on BnHA: Deku is all “what up All Might can you believe you’ve been here this entire time?” All Might is all “I sure can since that’s literally my catch phrase, anyway how are your magic movie 1 gauntlets holding up?” Deku is all “they’re holding up fine, how are Hawks, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist doing?” Hawks, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist are all “we, your fellow co-conspirators, are also doing fine, thanks for asking!” Flashback!Deku is all “anyway so I secretly have All Might’s quirk and the most dangerous people in the world are after me, so sorry mom but that’s why I’m dropping out of school.” Inko is all “I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT” while totally accepting it. All Might is all “I GUESS WE’LL JUST HAVE TO GO ALONG WITH IT SINCE I DON’T FEEL LIKE TRYING TO STOP HIM.” Hawks, Jeanist, and Endeavor, as previously mentioned, are all “yeah that sounds like a good plan”, and Gran is all “see ya kid, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” So basically everyone in the entire world has suddenly teamed up with Deku to defeat AFO, except for the one person whose entire foreshadowed endgame is “teaming up with Deku to defeat AFO.” O Kacchan where art thou.

dear tumblr image limit: okay look. you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. but just as an experiment, I’m gonna try writing this recap with as few images as possible and we’ll see how it goes

(ETA: spoilers for how it went: it didn’t, lol.)

oh my god WHY ARE WE OPENING WITH MORE KETSUBUTSU ACADEMY KIDS.ffs we’d better at least finally get some Ms. Joke content out of this

(ETA: seriously who do I have to bribe.)

so these two KB kids who no one cares about are watching Deku leap away from the scene after dispatching Muscular. but more importantly wtf is this chapter title omg. “I can’t stay being a child” so that’s how it is huh. we’re gonna have feels and we’re going to like them. well then

oh my god he’s hauling Muscular away dhfksklfkh okay this is gonna have to be our first image because I can’t fucking help myself. look at this

just. Deku is so tiny and he’s carting away this massive unconscious lump of a man like it’s nothing why is this so funny to me. it’s like when people buy furniture, and they don’t want to pay extra for delivery and so they’re like, “I can definitely fit this king-sized mattress in the back of my compact sedan if I fold the fucking seat down, idk.” and they refuse to be talked out of it, and the next thing you know you’re watching them drive home with their open trunk door haphazardly tied down with bungee cords, and somehow it fucking works. because it turns out the compact sedan has super strength

anyway for SOME REASON now Horikoshi is all “have fun with that Deku, meanwhile we now return you to your regularly scheduled SHINDOU CONTENT” whyyyyyy

look at this. we’re really using up a whole fucking entire page on everyone arguing over who gets the honor of carrying Shindou

love how the civilians are all, “shit lol is this actually our fault?? quick, how do we play this off all casual like we were the reasonable parties here all along”

turns out all it took to finally get them to listen was making them watch while a kid got his insides ground into a pulp because of their stupidity!! what a heartwarming conclusion to this little standoff

anyways THANK GOD we’re cutting back to Deku now!! well actually we’re cutting back to Muscular who is being dropped off at the police precinct, good bye and good riddance lol

so Deku’s leaving him there and bounding away and okjdlSKFJLKJDSL OH MY GOD

no fucking way. no fucking way this little jaunt is All Might-sanctioned and approved. are you serious?? then who else is in on this?? what the hell is going on

so All Might is just WAITING FOR HIM IN AN ALLEY FFF WHO ARE YOU, JIM GORDON. or would Alfred be a better analogy here?? but like, Alfred if he ditched the suit for a moto jacket and shades

this new ensemble of All Might’s may or may not severely impact my ability to take this forthcoming conversation seriously; please stand by

also, quite the spectacular landing there, Deku. seriously lol what was that

“HOW ARE YOUR LIMBS” “THANKS TO YOU THEY’RE COMPLETELY FINE” I’M SORRY WHAT

LOL WHAT. “THANKS TO THE POWER OF THESE MAGIC GLOVES” OH I SEE THAT EXPLAINS IT

are these the same gauntlets from the first movie, then? well that’s all well and good, except that now there’s going to be more Deku Discourse than fucking ever lol. so if it’s all the same to you guys, I’m gonna once again go ahead and declare this week’s post a discourse-free zone, at least when it comes to the specific discourse of Deku’s merits as a MC, and the impact that him kicking ass and having working arms has on said merits. this has been something of a low mental energy week for me, so I’d rather reserve the energy I do have for more fun topics, such as All Might’s bitchin’ leather jacket

anyway so All Might’s saying that the gauntlets will help reinforce Deku’s arms, but they can’t withstand OFA at 100%. so basically it’s a support item designed to maintain the status quo lol. we’re basically in the same situation we were before, arm-capability-wise

homg All Might’s getting a call. time to see who else is in on Operation: Deku Alone?? or not so alone for that matter

omg

HI HAWKS, WHERE ARE YOUR WINGS

(ETA: seriously are they really gone for good?? why would he even be back on active duty then?? does he have his own American ex-boyfriend who can hook him up with exclusive support items?? dammit Horikoshi we want answers.)

looks like Jeanist and Endeavor are teaming up as well, just like they said they would. I would gladly follow this trio around all day long tbh

is this the same giant villain from the very first chapter??

looks like it to me, and it would tie in with that callback from the end of chapter 306. we all thought that was Muscular, but maybe it was this guy, and Deku left these three to deal with him while he ran off to take Muscular down

oh my god now Deku is running off again just like that

kids these days

ffffff I have not had nearly enough sleep to follow along with whatever tf Hawks is talking about here sob

like, is he trying to say that All Might is keeping Deku’s whereabouts unknown to anyone except for him?? in order to keep him safe?? but Hawks is pointing out that that’s a bad strategy and probably won’t do shit against AFO and it’s better if he lets Deku work with the rest of them?

(ETA: so @hanashimas​’ translation makes a lot more sense -- it’s not All Might who’s being overprotective, but Deku. in other words he’s trying not to drag All Might into his battles. and in addition Hawks is saying that their strategy is to take the offensive and go after AFO themselves rather than wait for him to come to them. which I’m not too sure about myself, but that’s another topic for another day.)

btw I can’t help thinking how much better this entire conversation would be if All Might was still wearing his sunglasses. put them back on my dude. it’s not too late. embrace your inner badass

DKLJSLDKFJL FLASHBACK ALERT, FUCKING FINALLY

“turns out, we were just trying to scare you straight. fuck lot of good that did though lol”

also what is this. one true love: the hospital bed. is that a scanlator joke or is Horikoshi actually that funny omg

SKLJDFLJLK

ITSA ME!! omg I love this hospital so much. though it’s sure not helping me in my quest to try and keep this post below ten images. I’m already up to eleven haha r.i.p. to me if tumblr doesn’t get its shit together

whaaaaaat, so he’s saying that Deku’s injuries were external (i.e. Tomura beating the shit out of him) rather than internal this time?? whaaaaat. excuse me but that’s some bullshit lmao. believe me, I was there

okay now he’s going on to explain that Deku’s “internal structure” seems to have been protected from the inside and out, and the corresponding panel seems to be implying that using Blackwhip as a brace paid off. huh

and also that his body is just stronger now?? so I guess he’s better able to withstand the quirk after an additional year of training?? I’M NOT SURE IF I BUY ANY OF THIS LOL but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief

OH MY GOD RED ALERT, INKO IS ASKING ALL MIGHT TO EXPLAIN WTAF DEKU’S QUIRK IS, IS IT FINALLY THAT TIME OMGGGG

SO HE’S EXPLAINING IT TO HER OFF-SCREEN, AND INKO IS JUST LIKE

I GUESS THAT’S FAIR LOL. IT’S TRUE INKO I’M SO SORRY, YOUR SON IS A PROGATONIST R.I.P.

AHHKKJH DEKU ANGST IS IT FINALLY THAT TIME OMGGGGGG

what is this soft pop beat that’s suddenly being pumped in over the speakers. I’VE GOT TO MOVE ON~ AND BE WHO~ I~ AM~~~, I JUST DON’T BELONG HERE, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAAAAAAAND. also, follow-up question, when is Kacchan finally going to come back so he can jump in with the “WHAT ABOUT US~~~” bridge, huh. come the fuck on, Horikoshi

lmao All Might jesus christ

but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision...

anyway, yes!! finally that sweet, sweet “I don’t want to put anyone else in danger” angst!!

mmm that’s good angst Brent. Kacchan with center panel honors as usual, you love to see it. anyways though who do I have to yell at to get Deku a goddamn HUG around here seriously

so Inko is of course reacting with panic, and sensibly saying that she doesn’t approve of Deku’s “RUN AWAY AND FIGHT THE BAD GUYS ALL ON MY OWN, DON’T WORRY MOM I’LL JUST GET STRONGER, EASY AS PIE, IT’S A FOOLPROOF STRATEGY” plan

son of a bitch this manipulative green asshole is really gonna sit here and smile fondly at his mom and try to convince her that he’s Not A Little Kid Anymore. the hell you’re not mister

y'all are really just gonna sit there and let him talk you into this?? surely it can’t be that easy??

OH MY GOD

THE FEELS oh my god oh my god. BUT ALSO YOU’RE SERIOUSLY JUST GOING TO COLLAPSE INTO HIS ARMS SOBBING AND LET HIM DO WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANTS LKJLJLFK. WHERE ARE ALL THE STRICT PARENTS AT?? AIZAWA, GANG ORCA, MITSUKI, SOMEONE PLEASE COME AND TELL DEKU TO SIT HIS ASS THE FUCK DOWN. NOW LISTEN HERE YOUNG MAN!!

“EVEN IF I TRY TO STOP YOU YOU’LL STILL LEAVE” WELL SURE, IF BY “TRY TO STOP HIM” YOU MEAN POLITELY TRY TO TALK HIM OUT OF IT FOR THREE SECONDS. HE’S SIXTEEN WTF WHEN DID HE BECOME THE BOSS OF YOU ALL. SOMEONE NEEDS TO COME AND TELL HIM HE’S GROUNDED

anyway sob so that’s the story of how Deku talked his parents into letting him drop out of school, and even convinced All Might to be his own personal Guy In The Chair. holy shit. this kid really went and rolled a nat 20 and the rest of them had no choice but to fold without argument

meanwhile here’s a panel of Best Jeanist trying to braid his phone into his hair just cuz

I’m dying to know which part of his language he considers to be crude here. you literally didn’t even use a contraction my guy

so now flashback!Deku is talking to Gran in the dark, and Gran is all “can you believe I’m not fucking dead yet lol that’s too funny. anyway, you sure I can’t interest you in killing Tomura after all?? no?? okay then here’s my cape.” truly a heartwarming scene

I’m kind of torn here tbh. on the one hand, my adhd ass wasn’t all that interested in sitting down and having an extended scene between these two when there’s so much else that I want to get to. but on the other hand, even I can admit that cramming this entire reunion into a single page seems just a BIT rushed. idk. like maybe someone can let Horikoshi know it’s a marathon and not a race. Deku didn’t even get any dialogue here, some of us want to know his thoughts!! but anyway

AND JUST LIKE THAT?!

how did all four of them let him con them into this. I literally just watched it happen and I still can’t figure out how. “I GUESS THIS SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT IS OUR LEADER NOW” ffflfjf. when Aizawa finds out he’s gonna go apeshit. AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON BAKUGOU KATSUKI, WHO I HAVE BEEN ASSURED DOES IN FACT STILL EXIST. WHAT ABOUT USSSSS, WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH. WHAT ABOUT TRUST???! YOU KNOW I NEVER WANTED TO HURT YOUUUUU

btw lol don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying this, and I’m honestly glad Deku’s not alone because that would suck for him! but that said, Hawks and Jeanist have lost any credibility they might have once had as far as being The Responsible Ones, and as for All Might and Endeavor, fucking hell lol. everyone just deposited all of their fucks in a bank somewhere for safekeeping and decided to never look back. godspeed you mad lads

[johnnycranes]

“I need you to pretend we’re dating”

Micah x F!Reader

But it’s the 1800s so “we’re together” instead of dating i guess lmao. This was supposed to be a short fic, how in the world it reached over 2k words idk. 

Anyway I’ve missed writing for Micah so here’s my attempt at a comeback. Prompt masterlist here.

Rating: T with just a splash of M but nothing too crazy. 

Micah x F!Reader

Karen finally convinced Arthur to let you and her go back to Valentine after what happened the last time the blonde woman visited. 

‘Course, this time Karen decided to bring Sean along. The Irishman just happened to be free when Arthur said he’d be too busy himself, taking care of something for Dutch. 

So here you were, in the Valentine saloon with the two lovebirds. You knew you should’ve stayed at camp and shared stories with Tilly and Mary-Beth but noooo, Miss Jones just had to bribe you with a free drink and a “I heard a real interestin’ lead the last time we was here!” 

Karen and Sean were off by the piano, singin some tune while you were trying to scout any leads from the drunks by the bar.

You were about to ask the bartender for another drink when one of the locals, breath reeking of alcohol, placed an arm around you. 

"Well hellooooo there, beautiful. I ain't seen you 'round here before." he said, his words slurred and voice a little too loud from where he was. 

You smiled politely as you could back at him, tried to put distance between you two, but his arm felt like lead on your shoulders. "Just passin' through, mister. Here with a few friends." you pointed towards Karen and Sean, who, unfortunately, weren't looking at anyone but themselves. 

And apparently the man with you picked up on it as well. 

He chuckled. "Awww, there there, sweetheart. Seems your friends ain't leavin anytime soon. Why don't I keep ya company instead, hmm?" 

As much as you wanted to slap the man or kick him where it hurts the most, Dutch specifically requested that there be no more rowdy bar fights after all the trouble the gang caused in town already. 

Smile unwavering, you tried to look around for anything or anyone to help you get rid of the local. 

So when you heard the saloon doors swing open and saw Mr. Micah Bell III himself enter, you prayed he was sober and in a good enough mood to help you out. You were always one of the friendlier people towards him in camp, so hopefully that little friendship meant something. 

"Oh, there he is!" You yelled, looking at Micah. This distracted the local enough so he could loosen his hold on you and you slipped out, making your way to the blonde cowboy. 

He looked surprised to see you, even more so when you put your arms around him, leaning your head near his.

You felt him tense up and had a feeling he was going to push you away so you knew you had to say something quickly. "I'll wash your clothes and sew 'em for a week if you please just pretend we're together. Feller by the bar's tryna do more than just buy me a drink." you said by his ear. 

You could sense he was processing what you just told him. But suddenly his arms were around you and he pushed you away just enough to place a kiss on your cheek. 

You look up at him, even more shocked when you see the unmistakable smug grin on his face. 

"I was only gone a few minutes, darlin'. Didn't think you'd miss me that much." he said in a surprisingly sweet voice that didn't sound at all like the tough gunslinger you knew him to be. He placed his arm around you and started walking up to the bar. 

Not missing a beat and thankful that he seemed to be ok with playing along, you wrapped one arm around his waist and placed a hand on his chest. "You know me, just can't get enough of ya."

You both stopped by bar, Micah tipping his hat to the bartender and signalling for two more bottles. 

Unfortunately, the man who was harassing you hadn't left. "She with you, mister?" he asked rather blatantly, turning towards Micah. 

The blonde tightened his grip on you. "That is correct. Ain't I just the luckiest feller?" he actually tapped your nose with a finger. Seems Hosea has some competition in acting.

And you couldn't help but blush when his voice became just a bit huskier at the end there. The poor local didn’t seem to be giving up though. 

“Really now? ‘Cuz the little lady told me she came with just those two.” he said, pointing to Sean and Karen who were giggling about something or other.

Man, they really did have eyes for only each other, especially when they were both drunk.

Micah let go of you and you were quick to shove down the disappointment you felt, no longer in his arms. He was surprisingly warm.

Micah stood in front of you, blocking you from the drunk local. 

“Not that it ain’t any of your business, feller, but I passed by the gun store, left my woman with our two friends over there.” He glanced back at you. “Startin’ to think that was a bad idea.” 

You smiled sheepishly, knowing Micah meant to tell you that it was your fault for not thinking about how drinking with Karen and Sean was going to be anything but good. 

“I’m sorry, love.” You said, and you swore you saw Micah’s cheeks turn red from calling him love. “I leave ‘em for 5 seconds and suddenly they think they’re the only people in the world or somethin’.”

Micah laughed and you felt heat pool in your stomach from the sound. “Quite all right. I know you can handle yourself.” 

The local scoffed. “Actually mister, who knows what woulda happened to the girl if I hadn’t shown up.” the man said rather smugly.

“She woulda finished her damn drink in peace, that’s what.” Micah growled.

And it really did seem like the feller had a death wish because the next thing she knew, he was leaning towards Micah, glaring at him. “We was just about to have a lovely evening if you hadn’t shown up.” 

Micah barked out a laugh, obviously not intimidated by the other guy’s rather poor show of masculinity. “That’s real funny, friend. Cuz I reckon that’s my line, not yours.”

“Listen yo-” 

Before the man could finish talking, you heard Karen Jones squeal, saw Sean Macguire break a bottle on top of some poor feller’s head, and then the whole saloon was in an uproar.

Micah took the opportunity to punch the drunk man square in the jaw. It was no secret he wasn’t the toughest fighter among Dutch’s boys, but his ‘opponent’ was drunk enough that he went down without much of a fight, knocked out from all the alcohol. 

Micah took a swig of his whiskey, placed a few coins on the bar, then grabbed your hand, guiding you around the chaos until you finally got out of the saloon. 

“Well, that ain’t what I had in mind when I got to town, but that was fun.” he laughed, adjusting his hat. 

You couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Trust me, weren’t what I expected either.”

You looked down and saw you were still holding hands. You hesitantly let go, remembering how all this craziness started. 

“Thanks, Mr. Bell. I was tryna avoid another bar fight but it seemed Sean had other plans.” 

He smirked. “Well I can’t blame the boy. He only wanted to help his woman. ‘Case ya forgot, I did the exact same thing.”

You grinned, not sure if your cheeks were warm from the alcohol or from his charming words.

Probably both.

“Yes, and as promised, you’ll get clean and sewn clothes for a week, no more waiting for Ms. Grimshaw gives it to one of us girls.” 

Micah chuckled lowly, moving closer to you and you forgot how intimidating he could be. “As lovely as that sounds, miss, I actually had another... reward in mind.”

He leaned towards you and you could feel his breath touch your skin. You unconsciously licked your lips. “And what is it?” you asked, surprised at how small your voice sounded.

He grinned. “Oh, somethin’ we’ll both enjoy, I assure you.” 

You felt his fingers gently tilt your chin up and you didn’t stop him. You closed your eyes and thought you felt the prickle of his moustache on your face-

Before two familiar laughs and the saloon doors swinging open hit your ears. You jumped back and saw Micah do just about the same, only much more subtle, slowly backing away from you and adjusting his hat. 

Sean and Karen all but stumbled out of the bar, the Irishman still holding a bottle in his hand as he kept an arm around his woman.

“Micah you bastard, what the hell you doin’ here then?” Sean said, his accent thicker now that he was drunk.

Micah scoffed. “Savin’ Miss (Y/N) here, I reckon.” he said, tilting his head towards you. “Now I ain’t no stranger to a bit of fun at the saloon either but what do you suppose Dutch’ll think if anythin’ happened to these fine ladies?”

Sean laughed, almost falling over if Karen hadn’t steadied him. “Since when did you care about anyone other than yourself?”

Micah stomped towards the younger man. “Easy there, cowpoke. Don’t think I wo-”

You stepped in front of Micah, placing your hands on his chest. He looked down at you. “It’s fine, Micah. The idiot’s drunk.”

“Hey!” Karen yelled. “He ain’t an idiot.”

Sean leaned his head on her. “Aww Miss Jones you do-”

“He’s my idiot.” She finished. “Now, I don’t fancy headin’ back to camp just yet. Stole enough money from one of the fellers in the saloon to afford a bath and a decent room at the hotel.” Karen faced you. “You gonna be okay gettin’ back yourself? Or I do have some leftover for another room if ya want.”

Sean took one last swig before dropping the bottle on the ground. “Hey, I ain’t drunk enough that I can’t bring Miss (Y/N) back to camp meself.”

“You Irish fool, the room’s fer us!” she yelled.

Sean blinked before going “Oooohhh” and you laughed when you heard Micah mutter  “They’re both morons.”

You smiled at the other woman. “I’ll be fine. Mr. Bell can bring me back.” you looked at the blonde man and saw him shrug. Karen however wasn’t convinced, as she glared at Micah.

“Don’t you try anythin’ now or I’m tellin’ Arthur and kickin' your ass myself.” she said.

Micah waved his hands mockingly. “Oh I’m shakin, Miss Jones.” he brought them back down. “We’ll be fine. Now you two get the hell outta here before Mr. Macguire pukes all over the damn ground.”

Karen told you to take care before guiding a giggling Sean towards the hotel. 

Once they were inside the building, Micah faced you. “The hell were ya thinkin? Hanging around those two drunk idiots?” 

You shrugged. “Hey I was bored, ok? And Karen offered free drinks.” 

Micah huffed.  

Part of you was buzzing to continue what Sean and Karen interrupted between you and Micah. You rarely interacted with the blonde cowboy whenever he was in camp, but you knew you were friendlier towards him than most of the others.

He’s flirted, or tried to flirt with every girl in camp already so you weren't surprised at him trying to kiss you.

But dammit you really wanted him to.

He coughed, more to get your attention than anything else. “So… if you’re done here darlin’, we better get back to camp.” 

You felt yourself blush hearing him call you darlin’ again. You also almost laughed at his complete personality change. First he was a charming and dashing cowboy, next he was growling at Sean and now he looked a little nervous and unsure. It was kind of endearing. 

Feeling like a little girl too afraid to talk to the boy she was sweet on, you actually tucked your hair behind your ear, trying to avoid his gaze. “Actually I… I ain’t exactly lookin’ forward to headin’ back just yet.”

Micah’s expression looked guarded and you weren’t sure what he was thinking. “What did you have in mind?”

You blamed the alcohol for wanting to grab his head and kiss him senseless then and there. 

So you did.

Your lips were on his and you felt him go stiff before relaxing and kissing you back with just as much force, his hands going to either side of your face. You felt the rough texture of his beard and moustache on your skin, tickling you yet he couldn’t get enough of him.

It didn’t take long for Micah to take charge as he bit your lower lip gently, you opened your mouth just a bit but it was enough to allow Micah's tongue entry. You moaned against him and Micah was the first to break the kiss, letting you breathe while he placed some more open mouthed-kisses on your jaw and neck.

“Been wantin’ to do that for a while now.” he whispered against you.

You laughed breathlessly. “Reckon Sean and Karen killed the mood earlier. Glad I went for it, anyway.”

“Oh so am I sweetheart, so am I. Weren’t sure when the next opportunity was gonna present itself.”

You smirked as Micah finally stopped kissing you, and looked at you with those beautiful blue eyes of his. “Who knew all it took was a drunk cowboy to get us together, hmm?”

Micah brushed your hair out of your face and, in the most un-Micah way you’ve seen him be, placed a soft kiss on your forehead. “The man was a pathetic loser but I made sure to give him somethin’ as thanks.”

You looked up at him, brows furrowed. “You did?”

He grinned before he placed his arms around you and guided you towards Baylock. “Yep! Was about to break a bottle on his head, good thing I didn't, he can have the free whiskey as thanks.”

You couldn’t help but laugh.

The next morning at camp, John yelled at Sean for the… mess that was left in his tent. Sean tried to defend himself saying “Excuse me sir but Miss Jones and I had a lovely evenin’ at the Saints Hotel back in town.” John wasn’t having it though, unconvinced and already asked Ms. Grimshaw to just burn the sheets while he goes and gets some new ones. 

As Sean grumbled on about how he didn’t do anything for once, Micah approached him, with a shit-eating grin on his face. You were close enough that you could hear what he said. “Awww, don’t be so sour, cowpoke. I reckon you should be more careful, like (Y/N) and I were last night. No one knows a thing.”

Micah walked away, hands on his gun belt and a swagger in his step. You waited about five seconds before-

“MICAH BELL YOU OILY TURD!”

You made a note to yourself that next time maybe make sure John’s tent is immaculately clean afterwards.

Or get a room in town.

[matbaerzal]

Then I Met You | M. Barzal

A/N: IT’S FINALLY HEREEE!! Thank you for being patient, and please, PLEASE let me know what you think!! 🥺❤️ (playlist + pinterest) Songs mentioned, in order of appearance: IDK You Yet - Alexander 23  IDK You Yet (Live on Piano) - Alexander 23  Favorite T-Shirt (Acoustic) - Jake Scott

Summary: Mat is a musician living in New York. He’s got a regular spot playing at the café underneath his apartment. Then, one night, you walk into his life. Warnings: a little bit of swearing, alcohol mentions, lots of fluff.. BARZY PLAYING GUITAR AND PIANO!! (There’s also two different perspectives in this: Yours and Mat’s) Words: 13,8K Copyright © @matbaerzal 2020 All Rights Reserved Tagging: @tkachukme @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 @thirteenisles @zuucc @captainkreider  @tysojost @generallybarzy @yeeehaw-hockey @kerwritesthings @suchalilyofthevalley @softboybarzal @josty @itrocksmysocks @patricksharp @broadstbroskis @laurenairay @charlie-theangelwrites @sorryjustafangirl @konecny-s @canadianheaters​ @folkloreflyers​ @shawnsreputation​ 

Your usual cafe is only a few seconds from your apartment. Your usual cafe makes your coffee perfectly and has the best sweets to go with it. Your usual cafe is the perfect environment to do study in - it’s comfortable, predictable, safe. 

So why you took a different turn this Thursday morning and headed for another cafe down the street, you had no idea. You’d walked past it countless times, always thinking to yourself that you should check it out one day, but you never had. 

Until now.

Walking in, feeling the warmth, was an instant relief. Then you took in the scenery as you unwrapped the scarf around your neck before brushing off some snow from your coat. It was cozy, with a mix of old furniture that would not have worked if it was placed in any other space.

As you took in the exposed brick behind the bar counter, the art and the old guitars hanging on the sidewalls, and the piano that was standing on what could only be a stage, you wondered why you’d never gone in before now. 

The young barista, Lucy - you read her name tag, gives you a warm smile as you walk over. “Hey, what can I get you?” she says as you glance over at the handwritten chalkboard menu behind her. “I’ll have a double latte” you glance over at the baked goods, “and a cinnamon bun, please” you decide. 

She nods, “are you staying in, or taking it with you?” she asks as she lifts the glass food cover. “Staying in” you smile before looking around to find a place to sit. She puts the cinnamon bun on a small plate before entering your items on the till, as you pay you make sure to leave a little tip.

“I’ll bring the coffee over when it’s done,” she tells you, you thank her as you take your plate, finding a table near the window with a big chair that almost looks too comfortable. Carefully putting the plate down as you sit down before sliding your bag off your shoulder, setting it next to the chair. 

You set the plate to the side, making room for your computer and book. Just as you’ve set everything up, Lucy comes over with your coffee, you thank her again as you reach out for it. You scootch your book over a little to make room for the cup, the table barely fitting everything you brought with you. 

You hum in content as you take the first sip - smiling as your eyes scan the room. You look over at the couple of friends trying to keep their laughter down at the opposite side of the room. The middle-aged man reading the newspaper a couple of tables over, the grey dog laying by his legs. And the lady ordering her coffee before heading off to work. 

Taking another sip you shift your focus back to your schoolwork in front of you, sighing as you put the cup down before opening the book. You absentmindedly rip a piece off the cinnamon bun, only to put the book down for a bigger piece when you taste it. Now you’re definitely kicking yourself for not coming here sooner. 

You sit there for hours, watching people come and go, the pages on your document filling with notes, your cup emptying - stretching your legs as you order another one, and another one. 

The last cup you order, you notice you can’t keep your focus on the pages you’re reading anymore, deciding to bookmark it to take a break. You put your items back in your bag, taking your time to finish the last half of your cup as you watch the strangers around you. 

The middle-aged man with the dog is still there, his paper now folded by the table as he finishes eating the cake he ordered earlier. His dog perks up as he slowly gets up from his seat when he’s done. He takes the plate, lifting it over to the bar counter - giving it to Lucy who takes it from him with a smile, telling him he doesn’t have to keep doing that. 

You gather he’s a regular as he walks back to his table calling for his dog and putting his jacket back on. He grabs the leash and picks up the newspaper. He smiles at you as he walks past you, turning to Lucy, lifting the newspaper to wave goodbye to her. 

Something slips out of his paper as he lifts his hand, making you call after him as you stand up. Picking up what looks like some sort of flyer, you stretch your hand out to give it to him. He looks at your face, then back at the flyer, “that’s alright, you can keep that” he says with a polite smile before turning back around and continuing out the door before you can say anything. 

Confusion takes over as the bell over the door rings when it closes again. You sit back down before you really look at the flyer. 

Mat Barzal: Live Friday night at the Blackbird Café 9:00-10:30 PM Get your tickets online or at our venue

You hum to yourself, taking the last cold sip of your coffee before putting the flyer in your bag, making a note to ask your roommate, Olivia, if she has plans tomorrow night - intrigued to see this cozy cafe turn into something else. You slide your jacket back on, wrapping your scarf around your neck. After picking up your bag you take your cup and give it to Lucy who thanks you. You ask her if there are any tickets left for the concert and her face lights up a little. 

“Yeah, do you want to buy a ticket?” she says.

“Actually, could I book a table? And I’ll get the tickets online - so, if my roommate wants to come along, she can- “ you trail off, noticing your own rambling.

“Yes, of course. Is that table ok?” she points to a small table a couple of rows from the stage, near the wall. You nod, and she writes down your details. “Perfect, I’ll see you tomorrow” she smiles, “yeah, have a nice day,” you say before bracing yourself for the cold air as you open the door.

The Blackbird Café

Mat wakes up late Friday morning with a headache - groaning as he glances over at the clock. He wants to let sleep take over his body again, but the ache in his empty stomach and the dull pain in his head wouldn’t have let him. 

He lifts the covers, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he sits up, rolling his shoulders before getting up. He cranes his neck from side to side, breathing out as he hears the bones pop. He pulls on a pair of sweats, moving quickly to find socks to warm his feet from the cold floor. 

He pulls on a hoodie as he walks out of his room, walking straight to his door to put on some shoes. He didn’t bother putting on a jacket, even though the air in the hallway is even colder than his apartment. There's a hurry in his steps as he walks down the stairs to the tiny lobby. As he walks out the door he instinctively wraps his arms around himself, huffing out as the cold air hits him.

He doesn’t waste time walking to the next door over. The familiar noise of the bell over the door comforts him - his headache lifting a bit already. 

“Hey, Lucy” the sleep is still evident in his voice as he closes the door quickly behind him. She perks up when she sees him, instantly starting to make his usual coffee as she greets him, “Mat’s here” she says, quickly peeking her head into the kitchen. 

Mat sits down on a barstool by the counter, gladly taking the plain black coffee from Lucy when she hands it to him. “You’re late today” she points out. Mat takes a sip of his coffee, nodding as he hums - “couldn’t sleep” 

Lucy raises her brow for him to elaborate, there aren’t too many people in the café so she has time to talk to him, and her dad isn’t around to scold her for taking a break. 

“I woke up in the middle of the night, and-” he pauses unsure of where to start. “So there’s this song I’ve been writing, and I’ve been stuck on it for the longest time” he takes another sip of his coffee. “And then it just came to me, and I couldn’t sleep until I’d written it all down and finished it, you know”

“So, there’s a new song in your set tonight?” Lucy hopes. It’s not that his current set was bad, not at all. But, having heard the same songs for months on end, the thought of a fresh song excited her. “Oh, I don’t know about that” Mat averts her eyes, his voice low and void of confidence. 

“Mat, please, I’m sure it’s great” she tries to encourage him, but he’s still not sure. “I’ll give you free coffee for a month” she tries to bribe him, but he scoffs - “I barely pay for them as is” 

“I’ll think about it,” he says after a moment, and the sheer joy on her face is enough to convince him - but he won’t tell her that she’s won just yet.

Lucy’s like a little sister to Mat - her dad, Daniel, owns the café and the two apartments above it. That’s how he landed a spot to play every first Friday of the month at the café. Daniel helped him move into his current apartment, and when he saw all the instruments he asked Mat to play him a couple of songs. That was almost three years ago, and Mat was still here. 

He was beyond grateful for what Daniel did for him, he was sure he wouldn’t still be in New York if it wasn’t for him and this café. If Mat ever struggled to make ends meet, Daniel would help him out any way he could. Whether that was giving him a couple of shifts at the café or hooking him up with various bands in need of a substitute guitarist, pianist, or back-up singer. 

But Mat had hoped he’d have gotten further by now.

Sure, he was living off of his music by now. He was able to pay rent and stock the fridge with the money he made off of writing songs. But he didn’t want to write meaningless songs for other artists to fill out a blank spot on their album. 

Mat wanted to be on stage, performing his own songs, the ones he didn’t have it in him to sell. And once a month, he had a chance to do just that, and he loved it - he really did. But lately, something just felt off. Like he was missing something - something he couldn’t put his finger on. 

And last night when he wrote that song, well, he hadn’t felt that alive in a long time. 

The thought of performing it scared him a little, but if it meant he got to feel that way again, and if it made Lucy happy, he knew needed to do it. 

----

You were going to be late. 

Not that you were too surprised, Olivia had a special talent for being late to any occasion. She’d started getting ready two hours before you had to leave, but somehow, despite insisting she’d make it in time, the concert had now already started. 

When she finally comes out of her room you shoot up from your spot on the couch, turning the TV off before going straight to the hallway. You see her stop abruptly, her thinking face on, and you hold your hand up before she can even say anything. “No, nope-” you put on a stern voice. “Whatever you think you’ve forgotten, I swear I have it in my purse” you grab her arm and pull her with you.

“Ok, ok I’m coming” she laughs.

Luckily her habit of always being late also meant that she was a fast walker, and you were at the café in no time. You could see that it was full, the only free table was the one you booked the day before.

As Olivia opens the door, a strange feeling washes over you - almost as if you were nervous. But before you can dwell on it, his voice pulls you in. 

As one of the stage lights hits you, you can barely see the man standing on stage, but you swear you see him looking at you. You try to brush it off - it’s just because you walked in during his song. After you’ve sneaked past a couple of bodies to get to your table by the wall, you look up at the stage again and notice the whole room has gone silent. 

No guitar, his voice quiet.

A breath catches in your throat - you hadn’t been able to take a proper look earlier, too embarrassed that you were late, but now you see him, really see him. 

And he’s looking right at you.

You’re completely frozen in your spot, you don’t even register Olivia tugging at your sleeve to get you to sit down. It’s his tousled hair, his parted lips, and his eyes - his eyes. You’re compelled to walk closer, just to be able to find out what color they are, but you stay still. Though, even from where you’re standing you can see there’s a sadness hidden deep behind them.

Mat had grown tired of the lyrics to his songs a long time ago, as if the more he sang them the more the meaning behind the words faded away. Before last night he’d been in a rut and hadn’t written anything for months. He tried his best to pour his soul into them anyway, but even he knew that his eyes didn’t shine the way they used to when he sang those same old songs.

He’d glanced over at Lucy in the crowd before he began playing his new song, and taken a deep breath before he started picking on the strings, and there was a sense of relief that washed over him. That feeling he felt last night came back, it wasn’t as strong but it was in his fingertips as his music filled the room.

He’d felt every word deep in his bones when he wrote them down on the paper. It was like something took over and wrote it for him - an unknown muse had inspired him. He couldn’t quite understand it, but whoever they were he longed to find them.

Then, you walked in. 

He didn’t see you at first, his eyes glued to the guitar, but as the bell over the door rang, he’d lifted his eyes. And the whole world stopped - the words slipping from his mind as your beauty blinded him.

He’s desperate to see your eyes, but as quickly as he gets a glimpse they’re gone - focused elsewhere as you rush to find your seat. Just as you’re about to sit down, you look up at him again.

A breath catches in his throat, and he’s consumed by you. Suddenly the words of his song make sense, and as he looks into your eyes they start to come back to him. 

When his fingers pluck on the strings again and his voice fills the room again, it’s as if you can breathe again. The words seep into your soul, and you feel them in every bone of your body. His eyes never leave yours as he finishes the song.

How can you miss someone you've never met? 'Cause I need you now but I don't know you yet

It’s like you and he are the only people in the room, it’s not until you hear people clapping that the world fades back into view. Olivia touches your shoulder, making you tear your eyes away from him, grounding you. Your body is flushed with warmth, it’s almost overwhelming. 

“Is it just me or is he staring at you?” Olivia says, you bite your lip looking back at him. His eyes are still on you, but you swear you see him blush before he averts his eyes to his guitar. He clears his throat, his voice is almost shy as he introduces the next song. You look back at Olivia again to answer, but you find yourself speechless. You’re left looking at her with your mouth agape, unable to put words to whatever it is you’re feeling.  “He’s cute” she winks at you, and finally you scoff out a breath - “yeah”. 

He continues his set, but you can’t quite shake the feeling that his words were meant for you. And you know that’s crazy, you’ve never met him before, never even seen him. Because if you had seen him, you would have remembered. Your breath hitches in your throat every time his eyes drift back to you. 

You take a deep breath as he finishes his last song, thanking the crowd as he lifts the guitar strap over his head. As he’s setting his guitar down you recognize Lucy as she comes up to hug him, the man sitting with her follows, patting him on the shoulders with a proud smile on his face. You can’t hear what Mat’s saying but you’re pretty sure he nudges his head towards you.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom before we leave” you hear Olivia say, and you were hit with the reality that you’d agreed to go to the library tomorrow morning to study. Then, he’s walking your way, his eyes on the floor before he lifts his head, meeting your eyes again. 

“Hey,” he says breathlessly. 

“Hi,” your voice matches his, and strangely, it feels like you’re greeting an old friend.

“Can I sit?”

You nod, and he pulls up a chair. “You were-, that was great” you don’t know what else to say. He smiles, running his fingers through his hair and you wonder what it would feel like. Now that he’s closer you notice his eyes are hazel, and even in the dim light, you drown in them.

“Thanks,” he smiles.

“I’m Mat, by the way” he reaches his hand out for you to take. You give him your name, biting your lip as you take his hand. His hand wraps around yours and you feel his calloused fingertips against your skin. 

“At the risk of being forward, I was wondering if you wanted to have a drink with me” 

Your face falls and his confidence falters for a moment before you speak up. “I would love to, but I have an early morning and it’s getting late” you’re afraid it sounds like a silly excuse, but you can tell he doesn’t see it that way. Still, you’re quick to add, “but I’m free tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah?” his eyes light up and you nod.

“Wanna meet me here? at 5 - or whenever you’re free” he rambles. There’s a slight blush on his cheeks and you bite your lip before you ignore his question.

“Do you have a pen and some paper?” you ask.

He’s caught off guard, but he’s quick to reach into his jacket, pulling a small notebook and a pen from his pocket before flipping through the pages to find you a blank one. Your curiosity peaks as you get a glimpse of his scribbles, but you don’t act on the urge to check as he hands it to you. Holding back a smirk, you write down your number. Just in time, Olivia comes up next to you, her eyes drifting between the two of you as she introduces herself to Mat, who’s desperately waiting for an answer to his question. 

“Are you ready to go?” she asks you, “yeah,” you say as you sign your name under your number in Mat’s book. 

You slide the book over to him again, still open on the page you wrote in. As he turns it around to see what you wrote you pull on your jacket. 

He looks up at you as you stand up, and just as he’s about to say you still haven't answered his question, you say, “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”. You feel your heart beating in your chest, and you’re surprised you managed to say it so smoothly. You’re surprised you’re able to stand as he smiles at you, your legs weakening at the look he gives you. You bite your lip as you wait for him to speak.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow” 

Smiling at him, you resist the urge to stay as you follow Olivia out the door. You give him one last look as you walk out the door, only to find him still looking at you.

It’s Olivia’s squeal that turns your head again, and you panic to silence her, rushing her down the sidewalk. 

“The look he was giving you, oh my gooood” she practically screams, “the look you were giving him too, for that matter” she lowers her voice as she nudges your shoulder. 

Despite the cold air, your cheeks feel warm as you laugh at her.

You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, taking it out to check who’s messaged you this late. It’s an unknown number, but he’s signed his name at the bottom and you can’t help but squeal yourself as you show it to Olivia.

Unknown Number: How do you like your coffee? - Mat x

The first date

Mat’s nervous.

Not in the way he was when he performed his new song. Not in the way he feels when he’s about to go on a first date even - because it feels bigger than that somehow. Usually, before a date, he’s not too afraid of fucking things up, because he knows it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t work out. But now, for some reason, he knows that if he doesn’t do it right, he’ll be missing out on something big - something important.

He’s been down in the café for half an hour already and it’s still another half hour until you’d agreed to meet. Every time the bell over the door rings he turns his head to check if it’s you, but there’s no way you’d show up so early. Lucy doesn’t know whether to laugh at him or to pat him on the shoulder, she’s never seen him so nervous. Fidgeting with his fingers, asking her if he looks alright, trying to check his reflection in the shiny coffee machine across the bar. 

He checks the time once more and sighs out, he swore time was moving slower. “Can you make that coffee now?” he asks Lucy again as if you’d magically appear in front of him when everything was ready.

He’d asked Lucy to make sure there were a couple of cinnamon buns left and he wanted you to have your favorite coffee ready for when you arrived. You’d told him you were studying today and guessed you’d be tired, so he just wanted things to be perfect. 

“Mat,” Lucy chuckles at him, and he raises his brow at her.

“You know if I make it now it’ll be cold by the time-“ her voice trails off as her eyes look behind him. “Never mind” she mumbles as she starts making the coffees with a smirk on her face - his eyebrows furrow in confusion. That is until he hears the bell above the door ring and he turns around to see you walk in.

You were early, maybe even embarrassingly so.

You’d gotten ready as soon as you got back from the library and you simply couldn’t wait any longer. You’d tried to sit down on the couch next to Olivia, but you kept checking the time, fidgeting around, and sighing out loud - “Just go” she had laughed at you.

So 20 minutes before you’d agreed to meet up you walk into the café, hoping to grab a coffee before Mat shows up to wake yourself up a little. Only to see him already sitting by the bar, his head turning as he hears you enter.

“Hey,” he shoots up from his seat, a nervous smile on his face matching your own.

“Hi” you breathe out, relieved to be out of the cold and happily surprised that he’s already there. 

“You’re early,” he thinks out loud, his eyes drifting over your face, trying to memorize your features now that he’s seeing you in the daylight. Without a second thought, he greets you with a hug, and it’s too short for your liking. You fight the urge to hold on, the brief whiff of his perfume intoxicates you and you want nothing more than to stay wrapped up in his warm embrace. You have to shake your head to rid yourself of your thoughts, you’d only just met this man and you already felt butterflies going wild in your stomach just looking at him, surely that couldn’t be normal.

“So are you” you point out with a small laugh - looking at him just in time to see him blush. “I uh- I live close by” he scratches the back of his neck and Lucy scoffs with a playful roll of her eyes. He glances over at her, with a warning glare, though just as playful as her eye-roll. She slides over your coffees, giving you a warm smile as Mat takes them and walks over to a table with two very comfortable looking chairs. 

“I live right upstairs, actually” he motions his head to the ceiling. He gently sets your cups down as you both take a seat at table 13.

“So you’re here often, then” you smile.

“You could say that” he chuckles, “I’ve never seen you in here though, I mean, before yesterday” he continues.

“Yeah, I came in here for the first time earlier this week, and someone gave me your flyer and, well” you trail off.

“It was Barry” you hear Lucy speak up, a confused laugh leaving you as you turn to look at her for a second. 

“Of course it was,” Mat says back to her.

“He’s one of the regulars” Mat explains, but it doesn’t answer your internal question - why is it obvious that he’d give it to you? Mat senses your confusion and blushes again before he speaks up.

“Barry’s always telling people about my Friday night shows,” he says bashfully. 

“Well, I’m glad he did” you bite your lip, your eyes shying away from his for just a moment.

Time passes as the two of you fall into conversation. Your cups empty, only to be replaced by new ones as he tells you about where he’s from. How he’d moved from Vancouver to New York five years ago into a tiny shared apartment with barely enough space for everyone who lived there. The 3 other guys in his apartment started out as strangers, but were now some of his closest friends. They were also musicians, so they’d quickly bonded when they started playing together here and there. 

And he gets lost in your voice as you tell him about yourself, the smile on your lips, your laugh, the way you don’t know what to do with your hands as you tell him a story about when you and Olivia had to run for your lives to catch the last train home a few years ago - it all drew him that much closer to you. 

You lose yourself in his eyes as he looks intently into yours whilst you tell him the stories - it’s not until Lucy comes over with some food for the both of you that you realize how quickly time has passed.

“How did you two meet?” you ask as Lucy sets a couple of cinnamon rolls on the table for you. Lucy’s about to speak when someone walks over to the bar to order something, “I’ve gotta-” she motions towards the bar and you nod understandingly.

“It’s pretty funny actually” Mat speaks, drawing your attention back towards him. He explains that the owner of the café and his apartment is Lucy’s dad and that they both helped him move in. 

“I’d been living in this shitty apartment, you know, and it was already furnished, so I didn’t really have a lot of stuff. I had to buy a bunch of furniture when I moved out. Dan and I were scratching our heads trying to figure out how to assemble it all, and Lucy-” he nudges his head in her direction, you’re hanging onto his every word even as he laughs through them. “The IKEA genius, saved the day when she came home from school. It’s pretty funny actually - I would’ve had to sleep on the floor if it wasn’t for her”

The café has filled up with people by now, and Lucy’s heading home as coffee orders are swapped out with beer and martinis. With the noise around you, it was getting harder to hear each other, and your chairs were moving closer and closer together as time passed. 

For the first time since Lucy came to the table, you check the time again. Your eyelids were getting heavy, and even though you didn’t want to leave, you had to admit you were getting tired. Mat reads you, leaning over “c’mon, I’ll walk you home” he offers.

You think of him walking you all the way home only to walk back here again in the cold alone - and no matter how much you wanted more time with him, you didn't want to feel like he had to.

“Mat, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to-” 

“Please, I want to” he doesn’t want the date to end either, he rarely ever feels so comfortable around someone so fast as he does with you. Whenever that happens and whoever it’s happened with before, they’ve always ended up being important to him. And he didn’t care if he had to walk a few blocks away and then back again in the cold if it meant he got to spend just a few more minutes with you.

“Thank you” You give him a soft smile, putting on your jacket and following his lead out of the café. He opens the door for you and you wait a moment for him to step next to you before you continue down the street.

A comfortable silence falls between the two of you, the distant noises of a Saturday night is the only thing filling the cold air. As you meet a couple going the opposite way, Mat steps closer to you to let them pass and you feel his hand brush against yours. Your cheeks warm at the feeling as you look down at your hands, his touch feels electric and it sets off a spark in your body. The other couple has passed you by now but he doesn’t step away, instead, his fingers search for yours. His touch is a question and you answer it by intertwining your fingers with his.

You look up at him to see him looking at you, biting his lips, his cheeks rosy as he squeezes your hand as if to say thank you. 

Once you see your apartment building you’re almost tempted to walk around in a circle, to draw out the time, but you come to a stop outside your door with a bittersweet feeling.

“When can I see you again?” he instantly asks once he realizes you’ve arrived.

“I’m free on Wednesday” you’d checked your schedule before the date, hoping that it would go well. But really, he’d blown past every expectation and you felt like a teenager, wanting to skip out on your classes so you could see him sooner.

“Meet me at the café again? I’ll be around there all day, so come whenever you want” he rambles.

“Okay,” you smile, squeezing his hand hoping it reassures him.

You take the smallest step backward, reluctant to go into your building, your fingers slide from his just the tiniest bit before he grasps them again. He’s pulling you to him, carefully, testing the waters. “I had a really great time tonight” he murmurs, and your breath hitches in your throat at how close he is now.

“Me too” you find your voice, eyes dropping to his parted lips as he leans a little closer. Your free hand finds his waist, as his moves to cup your cheek. You close your eyes and shy away from the cold touch with a small laugh. 

“That’s cold” you hum.

“Sorry” his voice is soft as he lets out a small chuckle and you lean into his touch again as you open your eyes. He’s looking at your lips, and he really, really wants to kiss you right now.

“Then kiss me,” you say and he realizes he said it out loud.

His forehead presses against yours, your cold noses touch, eyes fluttering shut. You feel his breath as his lips brush against yours and you grip his waist, bringing him closer, his lips finally against yours. 

That spark in your body ignites and the fire warms you up from within as your lips move together. And you kiss and kiss and kiss until you run out of air and wide smiles take over your faces. His nose nudges against yours and you give his lips another peck before leaning back in his embrace.

“Let me know when you’re back home?” Your question warms his heart and he nods - ”I will” he promises, pressing his lips against your one final time, savoring it before he lets you go. His hand lingers in yours as he slowly steps back the way you came, and they stay intertwined until the distance between you pulls them apart. 

He keeps walking backward, his eyes on yours as you huff out a laugh when he stumbles a little. He turns around then and gives you one last soft smile over his shoulder as you walk up to your entrance.

You start getting ready for bed the moment you get in, Olivia is already in her room, but you have no doubt she’ll ask you about your night the moment she sees you. Your night plays over and over in your head on a loop and it’s a movie you’ll never get tired of seeing. 

Mat’s damn near skipping on his way home, wearing a smile he knows must look ridiculous to anyone passing, but he still feels your touch on his hand, on his lips and it’s all he can think about.  

Your phone buzzes just as you come out of your bathroom, and you check the message just as you hear Olivia's bedroom door open, peeking her head out with a tired but expectant look on her face. You reread the message with a smile on your face as you nudge your head towards the couch as if to tell her “you’re gonna want to sit down for this one.”

Mat: I’m home Mat: Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday x

The second date

He hasn’t left your mind, not for a day, an hour, or a minute. 

You were one step away from drawing silly doodles in your textbook about him in your classes, and it was painfully obvious to you how fast you’d connected. 

What didn’t help is that he was texting you, every day. 

Because you hadn’t left his mind either.

When he was listening to music he wanted to know what music you listened to. When he was watching a movie he wanted to know if you’d watched it or if you’d like it. When the sunshine poured in through his window he wondered what you’d look like covered in the golden light.

The café was quiet this early on a Wednesday, Mat had been keeping Lucy company since they opened, writing songs on the bar as she cleaned the coffee machine 5 times just to have something to do.

You’d let him know you’d be there around 12, right in time for lunch. You took your time in the morning, deciding to do some reading for one of your classes, but ending up reading the same sentence three times because your mind was elsewhere. Each time you finished a paragraph you’d check the time to see if you should leave soon.

A few minutes after 11:30 you decided to just go, going to the bathroom to check your appearance one last time before heading to the door. You don’t even put on your jacket properly before leaving, locking the door before heading down the stairs - clumsily sliding your arms into the sleeves on your way down to the exit. The air was colder than you expected and for a second you debate going back up for a scarf, but you decide against it, wrapping your arms around yourself instead. 

Mat’s filled up more pages than he can count in his notebook since your date, and he’s so wrapped up in it that he doesn’t even notice the time passing him by - doesn’t register the rare few times the bell over the door rings and doesn’t realize you’ve arrived until he hears your voice.

“Hey” you breathe out, making his head shoot up. Lucy greets you before he finds his voice, offering you a coffee as he takes you in. 

“Hi” he finally says, writing one last thing in his book before marking his page and closing it. 

Lucy turns around to make your coffee as he stands up. You’re about to shrug your jacket off when he steps to you, cupping your cheeks gently before kissing you. Though he caught you by surprise, you don’t hesitate to kiss him back, your hands sliding up to his shoulders. 

It’s when Lucy clears her throat that he pulls away, a blush on his cheeks as he avoids her eyes, scratching his neck. You’re left with warm cheeks and goosebumps, speechless - having to shake yourself out of it before taking your coffee from Lucy, a small embarrassed “thank you,” leaving you. 

The two of you order food before sitting down at the same table you sat at on Saturday, his hand finding yours across the table. Before lunch, you catch up on the little things you hadn’t already spoken about over text since last time. By the time food comes he mentions that he’d spoken to his family the night before and you notice the tiniest hint of sadness in his tone.

“Do you miss them?” you ask, feeling a bit stupid, of course he misses them.

“Yeah” he sighs.

“I talk to them a lot though, but it’s not the same. I’m super happy that they call me when they get together, but I just feel like I’m missing out on their lives sometimes” he pauses for a moment, “I’m super grateful for FaceTime, don’t get me wrong” he laughs a humorless laugh, “but it’s not the same at all, you know?” 

You squeeze his hand - “it’s like they’re with you, but not really” you say, and he knows you understand what he means as he looks into your eyes. 

“I don’t know what I would do without Dan and Lucy, to be honest - probably drift away” he smiles, glancing over at Lucy who was now cleaning the fridge doors. And you hum, “my roommate is my anchor” you laugh.

“Yeah?” he asks, a small smile on his face

“She’s a pain sometimes, but I’d be lost without her”

“Any friend you live with is a pain sometimes” he laughs, thinking back to when he lived with his friends. Sure, they were loud and way too messy, but sometimes he missed having someone around to keep him company. He used to go to Daniel’s for dinner a lot, but he’d been so busy lately and Mat didn’t want to impose.

The bell over the door rings again, making you both look over. A man walks in, waving casually at Mat before doing a double-take, turning to walk over to your table. 

He speaks your name enthusiastically and you’re confused as to who this man is and why he knows your name. He holds his hand out to you and now that he’s closer you think you might recognize him from the concert, if you were to guess you’d say that this is-

“I’m Daniel, so nice to meet you” he smiles, shaking your hand. 

“Nice to meet you too” you smile back, feeling slightly accomplished that you’d guessed right. 

He looks between the two of you, “I’ve got to work a little, but you two have a lovely date.”

He walks over to Lucy and you hear them talking about getting some things from storage before his voice picks up again. “Mat, can you keep an eye on the bar for me? Call me if anyone comes in?” 

“Of course” Mat smiles.

You’re left alone in the café as they walk into the kitchen. There seems to be something on Mat’s mind and before you can ask him, he’s standing up, pulling you with him.

You’d taken his breath away when he first saw you, but being around you now, he felt like he could truly breathe. Like that first breath of fresh air after being stuck inside a stuffy room, or a cool breeze on a hot day. He felt like he could be himself completely, he could tell you his highs and lows without filtering out any details, and you’d listen to him.

“Can I play you something?” he asks, walking you over to the piano.

As he sits down, he makes room for you on the bench too - patting the spot to urge you to sit down. 

“One of your songs?” you hope.

“Yeah, it’s uh- the one I was playing when you walked in on Friday” 

A shiver runs down your spine as you think back to it. And you're left with your mouth gaping as he continues to speak.

“I’d written it the night before, and I didn’t know why or who it was about. When you walked in it was like I found the missing puzzle piece, and fuck- it sounds weird but-”

You kiss him.

Threading your fingers through his hair on instinct, as he hums into the kiss.

“I’ve felt those words in my bones since I heard you sing them, Mat. Please, sing it to me again” you murmur against his lips. 

His lips find yours again, softly, before he speaks - “okay” 

You lean your head on his shoulder as his fingers brush over the keys on the piano.

Closing your eyes as the first note fills the room, his voice finds its way into your soul as he opens his heart to you, for you. You meet his eyes for a moment seeing his emotions painted on them, hearing them laced into the words, hiding between each note. He knows you’re the one the song is about, he knew the moment he saw you, but he’s finally admitted it to himself. And the way you look at him only confirms it. Since he met you his chest hasn’t felt so heavy, his morning headaches were gone, they’d been replaced by you - images of your face, the memory of your voice, your laugh, they all played through in his mind. Grounding him.

A Home

My muse ❤️: My place at 5 tomorrow?

He’d been staring at the text you sent him yesterday for who knows how long. It’s been four days since he saw you last, four days since he sang to you, four days since he kissed you. He’d walked you home that day too, held your hand again, drawn out your goodbye as he pressed his lips to yours again and again.

He’d opened up to you last time, with the smallest fear that it was too much, that he’d scare you away. He was left in awe to see you inviting him into your space now. He’d typed out several replies yesterday before finally settling on one. 

I’ll see you then! Need me to bring anything? x

My muse ❤️:  No, don’t worry x

You’d answered him straight away, but now that he was searching for any type of clue in your previous messages he still had no idea what you’d planned for him. Locking his phone and looking back into the mirror he hoped the casual outfit he’d gone for was appropriate for whatever occasion. He runs his fingers through his hair a few more times before walking out of his bathroom to get a jacket before making his way over to your place. He follows his mom's advice and stops to get you something, even though you said he didn’t have to.

You’d been a bit bold inviting two people you barely knew into your home, but the short amount of time you’d now spent with Lucy and Daniel had shown you how good they were. When you’d walked into the café the other day asking if they had time for dinner anytime soon they’d been nothing but polite and eager to find a day that fit. As Lucy got someone to cover her shift, Sunday worked out perfectly. 

Biting your lip, you hope Mat will like the surprise you planned for him. 

When you saw how much he missed his family and felt how much it was affecting him, you just wanted to do something to show him that you cared. And you thought inviting his little world into yours would at least be a good place to start.

Dinner was just about ready. Daniel and Lucy had both politely offered to help and even though you insisted they didn’t have to, they didn’t listen. Lucy prepared the side salad, Daniel prepped the vegetables, while you prepared the meat, and Olivia had made some dessert earlier in the day so she was currently sitting drinking some wine by the dining table. You had all finished in no time, and now you were just waiting for the vegetables to finish cooking - and for Mat to show up.

Just a few moments after your doorbell rang, the timer for the oven went off too, as if on cue. Daniel winked at you as he went to the door, pressing the button to open the door downstairs before waiting for Mat by the door. You quickly got the vegetables out of the oven so you could catch Mat’s reaction when he saw Daniel opening your door.

He barely even gets to knock once before Daniel opens the door - the confused look on his face is priceless. Everyone else comes into his view and he’s not sure where to look, he’s never seen your apartment before, and to see two very familiar faces standing in it threw him off, but he couldn’t be happier. 

“Dan- What are you two doing here?” he laughs, looking between Daniel and Lucy, before giving them both a quick hug with one arm. You notice he’s holding something behind his back with his other hand as you step towards them.

“Same as you,” Daniel replies.

He greets Olivia quickly too before you reach them. Everyone else moves back towards the kitchen as you step over to Mat, soft smiles on each of your faces. He reveals a paper bag with some flowers sticking out, holding it out for you in the space between your bodies. At first, you think it’s a bouquet, but you soon realize as you take it in your hands that it’s a potted plant.

You meet his eyes, you’re about to thank him when he pulls you in by your waist for a kiss. It’s short and sweet but it still makes your head spin, “they’re hydrangeas” he nods his head towards the flowers. “Thank you, they’re lovely” you kiss his cheek before stepping away from him - another kiss on his soft lips might have sent you spiraling.

“Please come in, take a seat” you smile, gesturing towards the table that was now set and ready for you all to eat as the others had made everything ready while the two of you were in your sweet little bubble. 

You put the flowerpot in the kitchen, admiring his choice for a moment - wondering how he picked just the right colors to go with your apartment. 

“Get over here, we’re hungry” Olivia urges you, tapping her fingers at the table. “For someone who’s late to everything, you sure are impatient” you tease her as you make your way to the table, sitting down next to Mat. 

“Hey, I was early to this” she argues.

You’re about to open your mouth when Lucy speaks up - “you live here” 

The whole table, including Olivia, break out a laugh and you smile at Lucy, “I was just about to say that”

You all settle down and start passing the food around to each other, keeping the small talk up as you all eat, your plates emptying slowly.

Mat takes a moment to take in the scene before him, how comfortable Lucy seemed talking to you and Olivia, how you genuinely laughed at one of Daniel’s awful jokes, how you all forgot to eat because you were too busy getting to know each other. He’s broken out of his thought as your hand comes to rest on his thigh. 

“Hey, you alright?” you speak so only he can hear, your eyes intently watching him. He takes your hand in his, raising it to his lips with a soft smile as he presses a kiss to your knuckles. 

“I’m perfect - this is perfect”

Without even realizing, you’d reminded him that he has a family here in New York too, and now it has grown to fit you and Olivia. And as he sat at your dining table next to you he felt like he was home.

The Weekend

Friday

The next couple of weeks flew by, and you and Mat spent as much time together as you could. You’d gone for walks, had dinner together a few more times, you’d spent the day with him studying at table 13 while he wrote songs - your feet next to his thighs in his chair, his hand coming down to rub your leg comfortingly whenever she heard you sigh deeply or saw you tense up.

A month has gone by since you first met him and Mat has another show tonight. After a day of classes, you were finally free to go get ready, pull on your favorite outfit, and pack an overnight bag.

The bag was open, standing on your bed - empty. You’d gone through all your drawers, and you had no idea what to bring. Nothing felt right, and you couldn’t really afford to go and buy something either. You were about to spend the weekend at his place, and if that wasn’t enough on its own, his old roommates were coming over on Saturday.

As if Olivia could sense your troubles from the other room, she comes in and plops down on the bed next to the bag, eyeing it. 

“Pack that set, you know, the one with the-” 

“Isn’t it a bit much?”

She laughs, “I don’t think he’ll complain - but pack a back-up too, then, if it eases your mind”

She got up and started going through your stuff, picking out a couple of items and throwing them haphazardly on your bed. You rushed over, glaring at her as you picked up whatever she threw, folding it nicely again before packing it in your bag.

Mat was pacing in his room.

Not because he was nervous about adding a few new songs in his set tonight - No, he felt perfectly confident about them. And not because you were meeting his friends either, he knew they’d love you. But you were spending the weekend at his place, and while you’d been to his place before, you’d never stayed over. 

He’d cleaned and tidied, then cleaned some more, remade his bed about ten times. He knew his buddies would note that it was uncharacteristically clean - he could hear their chirps in his head already. But, now he was running out of time. You’d be at his place any second now, to leave your bags there before you headed down to the café.

His eyes scanned his room one more time before he sighs out, putting his hands on his waist, running his fingers through his hair before pulling himself away and into the living room to wait for you. 

He doesn’t have to wait long, but it feels like forever as his eyes are glued to the clock. He shoots up the second his doorbell rings, and runs out his door and down the stairs to meet you. 

The second you’re in his view his whole body relaxes, breath evening out, but his heartbeat picks up. He’s dragging you in before you can even say anything - his hand on your cheek as he leads your lips to his in a kiss that makes you drop your bags on the floor, your arms going around his neck, fingers finding his hair. He smiles, breaking away - bumping his nose against yours softly. 

“Hi,” you say in unison. 

Your fingers linger in his hair as you lean back to look at him, “you nervous for tonight?” you ask.

“For the concert?” he asks, a small laugh huffing out.

You nod, watching him intently as he leans into your touch.

“No, not for that” his words make you furrow your brows, a smile still present on your lips

“What do you mean, not for that?”

He glances down at your overnight bags, giving himself away.

“Me too, a little bit” you admit.

“I don’t even know why, you just- It’s like I feel everything so much more when I’m with you, and sometimes when you look at me I can’t even think straight, but it’s also like I’ve never seen so clearly, never been more sure at the same ti-”

You can’t help but kiss him. 

The way his brows move and how he pouts his lips slightly when he’s not sure what to say before he rambles on, too cute to resist. He hums into the kiss, pulling you closer again, breaking away with a slightly embarrassed laugh.

“You’re like never not on my mind, Barzy”

He kisses you again before he moves to grab your bags for you, a clever look in his eyes as he opens his mouth - “you should be the songwriter, not me” he teases, 

You bump your hip against his, rolling your eyes, making him stumble a bit - playfully giving you glare before walking up the stairs. “I personally think Never Not On My Mind would be a great song” you argue playfully. 

He has just enough time to show you around his apartment before the two of you have to go down to the café to meet Daniel and Lucy. He grabs his guitar in one hand, intertwining his fingers with yours with the other.

There’s already a fair few people there as you enter, the lot of them all greeting Mat and he awkwardly raises his guitar to greet them back, refusing to let go of your hand. 

He only lets go as you get to your table, greeting Daniel and Lucy properly with a hug as you do the same. He gives you one last kiss before he gets up on stage to set up and start his soundcheck. 

In the corner of your eye, you see Daniel looking at you, you can’t quite read his look, so you raise a brow and hum quizzically. 

“He looks happy” Daniel nudges his head towards Mat, making you look over at him. As if he senses you looking at him he lifts his head and meets your eyes, a few strands of hair covering his forehead.

“You both do” he continues.

So much has changed in a month and you’re looking at him with new eyes. And he’s looking back at you with a new set of eyes himself. You’d never felt like you were strangers, and to think that a month ago you didn’t even know of him seemed crazy to you both. But, here you were - not thinking straight, but still seeing so clearly.

Mat was excited. Not just to play his new songs, but he felt like his old songs had been given new life, and he was itching to start plucking at the strings on his guitar - to let the words flow into the room, to finally play them to you properly. 

He’d shared snippets with you, sending you short audio files or snaps of him singing, showing you lyrics as he wrote them down in his book. But they were small puzzle pieces and you had no idea what the puzzle looked like. 

You’d lost yourself in the music last time, but this time - you found yourself. Small hints of you and him scattered around in his words. It’s all a whirlwind in your head until he plays the final note of the final song and the room erupts in applause. 

The rest of the world fades out again as soon it faded in when he strides over to you, wrapping his arms around you, spinning you around - a surprised laugh leaving you. 

You stay with Daniel and Lucy for a while after, and you watch him with proud eyes as people come up to him, telling him how much they liked his show. Barry, from your first day in the café, comes up saying he was going to tell everyone he knew about the new songs. You both listen intently as he goes on about the chord progressions and the symbolism in the lyrics. 

When your eyelids start feeling heavy, you leave and Lucy comes with as Daniel stays to help close up. You say goodnight to Lucy with tired voices, Mat makes sure she gets home safe even though she lives only seconds away in the same building. 

As you get ready for bed, the two nervous people from earlier seem like a distant memory. You move around each other like it’s second nature. Sharing smiles in his bathroom mirror as you brush your teeth side by side, hips bumping into each other playfully. Toothpaste dribbling down his chin as he tries not to laugh, making you spit out into the sink, doubling down in laughter. 

Your heartbeat rises as you step into his bedroom, your movements slow as you start to undress. Eyes glued on each other as you take this next step in your relationship. As each layer is peeled off, and your skin is almost bare apart from your underwear, you freeze - taking a moment to really see one another.

Goosebumps form on your arms as the chilly air of his room brushes against your skin. As your arms wrap around yourself to stay warm, he steps closer to you, his hands sliding up from your elbows to your shoulders - his touch warming you instantly. You loosen your arms, fingertips curiously moving across his bare chest, eyes dancing across his skin. 

Your lips meet his as your bodies tangle together, breaths mixing, fingers exploring, hearts melting. You fall into the softness of his bedsheets - your body on fire under his touch, his skin burning from yours. 

As you drift away wrapped up in each other, sleep taking over your bodies, you’ve never been more content. 

Saturday

You drift in and out of sleep in the morning, his arm draped over your waist, keeping you in bed. When you wake up completely, you still stay - basking in the feeling of the warm skin of his chest against your back, his breath on your neck, your fingers tracing patterns on his arm. 

He groans in protest when you move, trying to keep you still, but you manage to turn in his arms to face him. His eyes are still closed, breath still heavy as your fingertips trace his pink lips. The move to his nose, moving over his profile as you admire his sleeping form. It’s when you run your fingers through his hair that he nuzzles into your touch -  finally stirring from his sleep.

His eyes are still closed as he drags you on top of him, “let’s just stay here, yeah?” his groggy voice sends shivers through your body and you can’t protest - sighing as his lips kiss down your neck.

You don’t get out of bed until your stomachs beg you to, and it’s a slow morning on the couch as you wait for his friends to come over. 

Mat’s hesitant to move as his doorbell rings, but you urge him to go open and let them in. You follow after him, a few steps behind as he lets them in.

Anthony, Jordan, and Anders all walk in with smirks on their faces as they scan the room. They look back at Mat and before they can even open their mouths he speaks up - “don’t even say it” he warns, making them chuckle.

“Love what you’ve done with the place” Jordan teases.

“Yeah, so clean,” Anders adds.

“And tidy,” Anthony nods, snickering.

Their eyes then fall on you as Anders speaks your name - “nice to finally meet you” they all agree, patting Mat on his shoulder as they walk into his apartment. They all introduce themselves to you and you repeat their familiar names in your head, trying to connect them to their unfamiliar faces. If it weren’t for Mat’s hand on the small of your back you know you’d feel a bit overwhelmed. 

Before you know it you’re gathered around Mat’s living room table, filling your stomachs with the pizza you ordered, the boys trying not to talk through their chewing as they catch up by telling you all sorts of stories, mostly embarrassing ones on Mat’s behalf. 

Mat doesn’t mind though as he laughs along, even adding details that the guys forgot with a loud cackle.

You clear the pizza boxes away as the guys find their instruments, and you beam at the thought of getting to be a fly on the wall as they play after having heard Mat talk about it so much. Though as you sit down, they don’t go into a world of your own as you’d expected, you’re pulled into it as they start with a “guess the song” game for you.

Anthony starts off by playing a familiar bass line on his acoustic bass guitar, that you recognize instantly, “oh! Another one bites the dust” the words stumble out of your lips, making Mat chuckle at your eagerness 

When Anders gives you a beat on his cajón you have no idea what he’s playing, but as soon as Jordan joins in you can’t help but snort out a laugh as you recognize the melody to Wonderwall - and they laugh as you try to speak up through your laugh.

It’s Mat’s turn and he smiles at you before he starts strumming his guitar, you look around and everyone’s brows are furrowed at first, but it doesn’t take long for the others to pick up what song it is. You’re still lost, however, racking your brain to try to figure it out, you know you’ve heard it and you swear the answer is on the tip of your tongue. When Mat gives you another look, you know what to guess - although you’re not certain.  

“Are you- is this Nickelback?” you laugh, squinting your eyes at him, making Mat stop altogether, giving you an amused look. 

“Yes, this is Nickelback” his serious expression makes you snort out another laugh, having too fun to even care about how it’s the second snort-laugh of the night, but probably not the last.

“I’m a Nickelback fan and I’m proud of it, babe,” he says straight-faced, before starting the song again, his movements exaggerated as he starts singing too. 

As you try to hold your laugh everyone else jumps in singing the lyrics to Rockstar to you. As the chorus comes near you decide to say fuck it, and belt out the lyrics with them - cheers going around the room before the song continues.

You’re out of breath by the time the song finishes and your face hurts from smiling so much, stomach aches from laughing. Mat sets down his guitar next to him, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him - kissing the side of your head. 

You brush your hand up his side, the fabric of his t-shirt moving as your fingers move underneath it, tickling his skin, but he doesn’t shy away from your touch as you move your head to kiss the first spot of his skin you can see - a shiver running down his spine as your lips touch the nape of his neck. 

He wants to play that moment on a loop on his head, but Anthony laughing at something Jordan said drags him out of it - “I’ll never forget when you sang that at karaoke that one night”

“Not my best performance” Mat laughs.

“I beg to differ” Anthony chirps.

It gets late quicker than you want it to, and before you know it you’re hugging Mat’s friends goodbye, wishing them safe travels home. You start to tidy, but Mat brushes your hands away, pulling you to him - “we’ll worry about that tomorrow” he says before lifting you, wrapping your legs around his waist, capturing your lips as he carries you to his bed. 

Sunday

On Sunday Mat wakes up before the sun - if he’d been alone he would have shot up out of bed and grabbed his guitar frantically before the lyrics from his dream slipped out of his mind. But you’re here, and he doesn’t want to wake you, and he knows that all he has to do if he forgets the words is to look at you and they’ll come back to him. So he carefully raises your arm around his waist and sneaks out of bed, his feet padding across his floor to grab his guitar and notebook. He gently sits down at the edge of the bed - laying his phone next to him to record.

You’re woken up as the first light of the day peeks through his windows, bed sheets wrapped around you like a warm hug, his t-shirt soft against your skin.

It’s the sound of his soft humming and the gentle strums of his guitar that wakes you, and you stay quiet as you glance at him sitting on the edge of his bed. You try to piece together what he’s singing, but it’s too hushed - as if he didn’t want you to hear. Your curiosity gets the best of you as you fold away his sheets to sneak up to him, resting your chin on his shoulder, making him stop altogether to look at you - turning slightly to get a better view.

“‘Morning” he smiles.

“How long have you been awake?”

He huffs, squinting his eyes, “uuuh, not sure - you sleep well, baby?”

You nod, leaning in to kiss his lips, humming into the kiss, treading your fingers into his hair. You kiss his cheek before making yourself comfortable behind him.

“What are you writing about?” your eyes scan the scribbles in his notebook.

“You,” 

Your heart swells, hiding your face in his neck - “me?” 

His hand softly urges you to look at him again, “I’m always writing about you.”

A breath hitches in your throat, his eyes never wavering from yours. “Play it for me?” you kiss the spot where his shoulder meets his neck. He nods as you nuzzle into his neck, taking a breath as his fingers find the right grip.

I've been sittin' here, tryna figure out What did I do right to be with you right now?

Worlds Colliding

My Love 💕: I’ll pick you up at 6 x

You checked his text for the tenth time, to be absolutely sure of when he was coming. 

“Breathe” Olivia laughs out, looking at you bouncing your leg, your shoulders tense as your nervousness consumes you. 

Mat’s arriving in 5 minutes.

Mat’s arriving in 5 minutes and you’re going to a restaurant.

Mat’s arriving in 5 minutes and you’re going to a restaurant with his mom and dad and sister, where you would have dinner with his mom and dad and sister. 

This was big, and no matter how many times Mat reassured you that his family would like you, it didn’t ease your mind all too much. Before you can even fill your lungs with air, the doorbell rings and you look over at Olivia desperately, desperate for your nerves to ease, desperate to crawl into a hole and hide. 

Of course he’s early. 

“Breathe,” she says again, “they are going to love you, you have nothing to worry about”.

You focus all you can on taking one deep breath before standing up, taking another deep breath before you make your way to the door.

Mat stands outside your door, Liana pokes his side in excitement as they wait for you. She jumps when the door cracks open and pushes her brother aside to hug you, which you welcome without a second thought. And just like that, your nerves are gone, his parents meet you with warm hugs too before Mat can even speak up to introduce you all. 

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, we’ve heard a lot about you” his mom, Nadia, beams and his dad, Mike, nods along. “He doesn’t shut up about you” his sister pipes in, hoping to make him blush, but he just smiles and nods to confirm when you look at him. You smile warmly at him, taking his hand that he offers before turning back towards his family - “I’ve heard so much about you too, feels like I already know you”. He squeezes your hand, “should we get going?” 

There’s a chorus of you all agreeing and Mat kisses you softly - you don’t notice his mom emotionally clutching her chest at the sight, pulling herself together as Mat starts leading the way as his sister asks about the menu. 

Before you know it you’re sat around a table, eyes scanning the menu for what to eat as you make conversation.

“We’re sad we couldn’t come to catch one of his shows, hearing his new songs over the phone isn’t quite the same as hearing them in person,” his dad says.

“And there are a lot of them too,” his mom adds, with a gleam in her eye.

“I think he’s found some inspiration” his sister, sitting next to you, bumps her shoulder softly against yours. 

“You could say that” there’s a gleam in Mat’s eyes when he focuses on you.

As you get to know them more you see little pieces from his family that Mat has brought with him to New York - his dad’s competitiveness, his mom’s kindness, and his sister’s ambition. Your heart warms, seeing Mat around his family, so much love in his eyes. You’d always understood why he missed his family, but seeing first hand how close they all were you had to keep yourself from getting lost in a bittersweet feeling - focusing on here and now instead. 

“He was so energetic as a kid - when he was seven months old he was running around the house, and we had to cut bedsheets and tie them around him” Nadia looks at her son fondly, as he shrugs, scratching his neck as he laughs.

“Once he got a little keyboard for his birthday it all changed though - he was still energetic, don’t get me wrong, but he put all his energy into music,” Mike tells you.

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen the garage band photos” you laugh, looking at Liana.

“Oh, he told you how he made me stand there, singing back-up as our neighbors walked past”

“Made you, eh?” Mat scoffs out a laugh, “pretty sure you liked the attention more than I did” 

She pokes her tongue out at him and he returns the favor. 

The conversation shifts as Mat asks how things are at home, and they all update him on all the small and big changes that have happened since he was last there. This store closed, this store opened, their neighbor got a small dog, so and so got married. They explain who’s who to you as they go along talking about life in Coquitlam.

“You should come visit sometime,” Liana exclaims.

“Mat usually comes home around May, you’re more than welcome to come with” his mom adds.

“You’ve got finals in May, no?” Mat asks, and you nod.

“Yeah, so we’d have to come after those” his hand rubs your shoulder as he looks at you - “if you want to of course”

“I’d love to” you squeeze Mat’s thigh before turning towards his family - “we’ll definitely come to visit after my finals”

You all walk slowly on the way home, planning out the rest of their week here. When you reach your door they all give you and Mat some space, because even though you’re going to see each other tomorrow, kiss each other tomorrow, you can never get enough.

You spend the rest of the night talking to Olivia about them - and they spend the rest of theirs talking about you. 

“Then I Met You”

Mat had written so many songs, he had enough for a whole album and then some. He’d filled out his notebook and then another one and another one. He’d gotten some help from Anthony, Jordan, and Anders - recording demos whenever you were busy. They were helping him out tonight for his Friday night show too, and you had no idea.

He wanted to surprise you. 

You’d already heard most of the songs, he couldn’t help himself there, but he’d managed to keep a couple to himself. And you’d only heard the others when it was just him and his guitar - which never failed to give you goosebumps and it never felt like anything was missing to you. But with the help of his friends, every feeling in the songs had been amplified, and he couldn’t wait to play them for you.

You and Olivia were meeting him at the café, you’d been busy studying all day - now currently rushing to be there early even though Lucy and Daniel were holding seats for you at the front. Olivia had surprised you as she was ready to leave only a second after you were, seeming just as eager to get there as you - you were too rushed to notice the secretive smile on her face.

Mat’s setting up the stage when you get there, but your attention is pulled away from him as you hear a familiar voice yell your name. Olivia is already on her way over to your table as you turn your head towards the noise. 

Mat’s head picks up, just in time to see you hug Anthony, a surprised but pleased look on your face as you notice Jordan and Anders too. “What are you guys doing here?” 

“At the bar? Getting drinks” 

“In general? We’re playing” Anders points towards Mat, a drink in both his hands.

“What?” you smile, looking over at Mat, who’s got a smirk on his face which only widens when you make your way over. 

Only then do you notice how the stage is set up with more instruments than usual - “You’re getting the band back together?”

He laughs, “surprise” his words end up sounding like a question as he drops what he’s doing to meet you with a kiss.

Olivia comes up and introduces herself to the other guys, and you overhear her talking about how hard it was for her to keep this secret from you. “Makes sense now” you muse and Mat raises his brows as he takes a sip from the drink Anders brought him. “I was a bit suspicious of how early Olivia was ready to leave” you add and Mat has to stop himself from laughing mid-sip.

You give him one more kiss for good luck and sit down at your table with Lucy, Daniel, and Olivia. You all make small talk until you hear Mat’s signature the-show’s-about-to-start throat clear, watching the lights in the café dim a little. 

“We’ve got a couple more people on stage tonight, if you didn’t notice” the crowd laughs at his silly joke. As he introduces everyone it takes you back to the evening in the living room, how carefree he seems, comfortable - made for this. And they haven’t even started yet. 

“We’ve got a whole new set tonight, and I hope you’ll like it - This first song is called Table 13” he turns his head towards you, winking. Your cheeks flush with warmth as a few eyes drift towards you - as if they didn’t all know that you were dating.

“It’s about someone very dear to me, well they’re all about her, but this one’s about our first date” he starts strumming and the rest of the band joins in. You’re left speechless as the set goes on, every song you hear is your new favorite. You’re in awe of him and his talent, and he can’t take his eyes off of you.

He feels alive, on fire - as long as he feels like this whenever he’s playing, he doesn't care anymore, he doesn’t feel stuck anymore. He could play in this café for the rest of his life as long as you were there with him - he doesn’t need the label and the fame and the tour, he just needs you. 

You hadn’t fixed him, but you’d given him the tools to do it himself and stood by his side while he did so. 

The set is a journey - the story of you and Mat. The band is one with the music and they’re dragging you all with them. Images of your time together flash vividly through your mind as Mat sings the words that are meant for you and you only, and he’s glowing. 

After the last note on the last song the crowd breaks out in applause, the rest of the band comes to the front of the stage to thank the crowd. But Mat’s eyes stay on yours as you stand up with the rest of the crowd. 

In that moment your hearts pour out and melt together into one.

He can’t wait any longer, stepping off the stage, wrapping his arms around you, laughing into your lips as the cheers grow when he kisses you, you don’t care how sweaty his neck is as you grab him to keep him there just a little longer. 

As always, you all stay behind, moving a table and some chairs over to yours to fit the whole band. Mat’s mid-story when Barry comes over to the table, a stranger standing next to him. Mat stands up to meet them both.

“Great show as always, Mathew” he shakes his hand.

“Thank you” Mat smiles

“I want you to meet my friend, Gwen,” Barry continues.

“Loved the show- you don’t happen to have any demos?”

Mat nods, “yeah, we- uh- we have some demos” he briefly looks over at the band. He's a little confused, his mind wants to travel to a hopeful place, but he doesn’t quite let it just yet. 

“Great!” Gwen reaches into her purse, pulling out a business card. “Why don’t you contact me, I might know some people who’ll be interested in hearing it” there’s a gleam in her eye as she hands the card over to Mat

Without even looking at the card Mat says, “Thank you, absolutely I will”

“Enjoy the rest of your night” Barry winks at him before they both make their way out.

You’re quick to jump out of your seat, going over to your boyfriend who’s stuck in his spot, staring down at the card in his hand. He almost can’t believe what he’s seeing, but as you stand next to him, your hand wrapping around his bicep you mumble the words on the card, he knows it’s real. 

Someone from a record company had seen the show.

Someone from a record company had seen the show and they wanted him to contact them so they could hear his demos.

“Baby, I’m so proud of you” your voice shakes him out of his own head. And he’s a little overwhelmed as he looks over at you. 

“None of this- I swear, none of this would be possible without you.” he rushes, pressing his lips hard against yours. You wrap your arms over his shoulders and he presses his forehead against yours, noses brushing against each other. As you tug on his hair at the nape of his neck he leans back, needing to get something off his chest.

“I felt stuck and then I met you and you broke me loose. I was longing for something-, someone and then I met you” he catches his breath, his thumb caressing your cheek as he looks ardently into your eyes - “I love you- so much”

Your eyes tear up, and you don’t hesitate to say, “I love you more”

“Not possible” he laughs, leaning in again.

Epilogue

His hand is in yours as you walk down the broad hallway, following a man in a snapback. The noise around you, though muffled, is loud and a bit overwhelming. Your hearts are racing as you get closer and closer, the noise growing louder and louder.

Everyone you pass, reach their hand out and Mat bumps his fist against theirs as he passes, a small laugh leaving him. 

You follow the snapback man and walk through an open door, the noise is almost too loud for you to hear each other now, but as he embraces you in a hug, his lips to your ear, you hear him loud and clear.

“I love you most”

“I love you mostest” you giggle.

You hold on to him still as you give him his good luck kiss, before he and his band are rushed out onto the stage. Tens of thousands of screams grow even louder as they come into their view.

He starts plucking on his guitar, his eyes scanning the crowd as he takes it all in with a deep breath. He turns his head to find you again, and the noise of the crowd fades away when he sees you. 

Then it’s as if you’re back in the café, just the two of you. 

The smile you share is like a secret you share that no one else knows - I love you, I’m so proud of you.

[rottingsparrow]

Part 6! Of rereading Lore Olympus. Ep 51-60

On these next few parts i really just kept ranting oops. Also I just keep getting busier and forgetting to read more, but I haven't caught up with what I've read yet and that's the only thing keeping me going. Does anyone read these? Last part:

Ep 51

“What about my brother” artemis please its kinda clear at this point

So did hermes question anything or

“ i have no right to be jealous” yeah also theyre just friends dude

“Oh but hermes liked persephone” no hes a gay man argue with the wall(/j)

Why they got eels

I love how tall and slender hecate is seeing as like eventually everyone dissolves into one shape

Yes im over exaggerating what about it

Who are the fire people i love them

Bro imagine dying and like “finally free from this hell where i have to work all the time” only to be put to work when you die

“Everyone should get a fair trial with the king of the underworld” i agree but wouldnt that take forever too like there are so many deaths all the time

I literally get so tired of hades in this episode mfer has such a lack of control in his emotions

like . are you physically unable to have a conversation with her without losing it so you gotta ice her out??

“I cant accept gifts from employees” i mean yeah if they are trying to bribe you its just fuckin food man

Also this part minthe keep it in ur pants ur at work

Ep 52

Wow all women hate persephone bc shes so gorgeous so they treat her bad and like make out with her crush

My point got lost there but you get what i mean like women cant just exist they either are used to compare persephone and show how good she is or uplift her

Im not saying you cant have mean women please do but the way it all comes together just. :/

Persephone is like trying to hard to be nice and friendly and hades just kinda sits there like an idiot smh

Hermes my beloved

I want bakalava now

How would she have a driver's license demeter kept her in the mortal realm you think she would let her get that

Why do they want a car thanatos you have wings my guy

I mean. Did you die hades?

Also smth to ask before hand lmao thats on you

Hecate, agent of chaos, my wife, my everything, my-

Ep 53

I know hecate has reasons to do things but i like to believe she doesnt and she does what she wants

Theres no way minthe sounds happy on the phone when she knows its just hecate

Nah nvm shes probably scared of her

How. how does anything get done at this place

Hades can you. Can you treat her like a friend or even a worker instead of a crush its not that hard youre a big guy

I love the eels

The moment when the artstyle changes randomly and you have to get adjusted to a new one

Hecate is now a different shade of blue what

Fuck you hades putting all your emotions on a 19 y/o

Unfortunately he does treat her like any other of his employees hes just. A shitty boss

“Oh no she thinks im mad at her” yeah dude ur acting like a dick

Sorry this just pisses me off

“Shes like me” she just like me fr

Why is the building confusing what do they gain from that

Its actually so rachel doesnt have to remember the layout

Ep 54

“Is she angry” no shes tired wtf do you think

I know rachel tried so hard on the “please dont grab me” panel girl was sweating

Personally id just leave if i was the reporter but ig he needs smth

Asking for a statement isnt the bad thing its the grabbing and like pressuring yknow

Do they have close ties

I know its supposed to be casual but i wouldnt hold my mothers friend/ business partner. Whatever their lie was, like that

Idk how i would actually im going to be thinking of that

I do like how she has a trigger but im gonna be real i dont think its ever brought up again

Sure you could say she is just good at avoiding it but idk

“I dont always get to do what i want” you literally do unless it doesnt help the story

Rereading has made me see how many things are in place for the story that disappear when not needed

“Man im a lousy tour guide” and a lousy boss :D

I do just want to make sure you guys know how much i hate hades as a boss

Ep 55

Its a lobby. Thats funny ill laugh at that

“That not exactly what we do here” what do you do

I havent read greek mythology in so long

“They may become hysterical” please explain psyche i saw i reply talking about how we didnt see her reactions to phone

They were so right that mustve been fucking bonkers

How do they ease them into it? Do they go through all the years of technological advancements just quickly??

Who is hecate talking to

Let her get the jacket make hades pay the designer to make another one

Also only 3? Like 20 id get but 3? Nah

“Why is she employed here?” you were there yesterday minthe remember she got an introduction

I think hades needs an HR department yknow what

“ a coveted position” PLEASE JUST EXPLAIN THE JOBS AND THE WORK LADDER

I agree with hecate except no one treats it like a work place

Not even you really lmao

If they are scared of her why would they go bitch to her esp if they know she doesnt care

Small medium cause shes so petite but she has curves bc shes gorgeous and-

Rachel smythe sniped me :/

How did she put that on

Ep 56

Whose the green person in the back poseidon idk

Also glasses again :)

“Stop staring at me with them big ol eyes”

Yes i already made the joke its funny tho

meg/persophone is my otp /j

Seriously its already more healthy than hades gotta be honest

So nice of her to let her borrow it how is she gonna return it. They talked more im sure but its funny to think that she actually doesnt know who meg is

Why does his hair get longer in the mortal realm get up

Omg does he have extensions that would be so funny

“I have to have control” yeah you do its gross

I love persephone fury look tho

Wait why did her hair grow

I get like thats the style in that time or whatever but

“I for one find you terrifying” is such a cute line not gonna lie

Persephone why do you look like youre trying to kiss him

“How can she be doing better than me” because zeus is married

I feel like thats obvious

Blue nymph obviously evil she has to be shes a woman and-

But also i forgot her name. Tha. no uh

Its thetis :)

Ep 57

“My visions arent always correct. But they are most of the time” is such a sloppy line

Omg i forgot that hera was the reporter

Also idk how her visions work but couldnt it have been literally anyone? How does she think shell narrow it down

Persephone you are wearing a skirt thing be careful

Also. dont push off people chest just generally

Her hair got much longer but i can excuse this one bc shes using her powers and they tend to coincide

“I gotta inspect that volcano” yep. Sure is a volcano

“But once they die theyre all in service to the underworld for the rest of the eternity” is there a way to die after death bc that sounds awful

Ok but why do they have to wait how does that earn you money

Like no i get the like immediate ride for a obol or whatever but why 100 years. You lose out on so many laborers for a while that way

I love Styx hand in marriage

Haha why is she bald in the last panel

Ep 58

“Reminds me of a younger me” is supposed be like a red flag but was zeus not chill during his formative years

Why does he get so mad a her vision genuinely

Also like why he get mad about her guessing apollo

I know i know “reputation ruined and so is ours” people change yknow also i do second guess your ability to choose olympians

Spit on him queen

This is one of the spots where i feel like rachel was just pushing to make zeus a bad guy. Not like a dick but actually antagonistic qualities

“I prefer the financial benefits of ongoing unpaid labor” haha so funny /s go fuck yourself

Yeah theyre dead and have nothing else to do but damn

“Why would my mom hide it from me” i mean. Thats fair but youre the one that calls her like hovering so i doubt she wants people trying to sex you

I mean fertility doesnt have to mean sex its more than that also one second

Nvm i googled it i was gonna say hestia was a goddess of fertility but shes the goddess of home a stuff my bad

Arnold reaction meme

Oh why is it dangerous

No i know why lmao

Persephones jaw goes from ) to ] in a matter of seconds

“Just stay away from tower 4 until we get to the” THE WHAT??? THE WHAT

Thats not a joke the sentence ends there

“OH you said yes!’ to you helping her like friends do

Ok but how will he know its her

Ep 59

Yes persephone you communicate clearly!! Be healthy!!

I love the flower nymphs personally i know everyone says we dont see persephone be close with them but its the little things i think

“I literally have no idea why you want to be here” me either hades

Haha flower nymphs are dumb! Village people! Haha racism

No i know thats not what shes saying but the racism of nymphs is overlooked

Me, everytime she was handed something pomegranates: :OOOO ITS THE!! ITS THE THING

No minthe has a right to be upset id be pissed if id have to change someones entire schedule

Not the snapchat filter

Why is his name big spenda thats so funny

Ep 60

As someone who has been jealous before i have to say this isnt healthy

Like duh but so intense for someone you barely know

Hades, watching her in silence: wtf is happening

Im glad she realizes its unhealthy

Ok i know i said they dont ever bring up the “any time any place” question but they do here which reminds me that that deal should no longer exist now that hes her boss

I dont think hooking up is bad esp when they werent in a relationship tbh

Like now she is in a relationship so yeah its bad

I love snarky chat that is the most real thing in this comic

“ we need to do smth about persephone” or yall could do your jobs. Kooky idea i know

She is still flirting with thanatos which is bad

Yknow assuming the boundaries her and hades set was monogamy and no flirting

And yeah hes flirting too thats also bad