#joe is VERY concerned about pants being there as a whole

[zestyderg]

Yep ok the brain worms took over and doodled some patrol team with baby nightcrawler "Pants" (no one had a better name)

Why does this exist??? Uh good question

Oh yeah and bonus design attempt at adult Dino and Dina because why not

[songbirdseung]

angry angel / park jongseong

synopsis: you say I deserve better but what could be better than you?

pairing: jay x reader, grumpy x sunshine

warnings: arguments, hinting at a breakup, angtsy (cause that's all i know) but still fluff in the end, lmk if i missed anything

wc: 3k

You always wondered why he told you to keep the key to the padlock when you both pushed the latch of the lock that is supposed to symbolize unbreakable love. Wasn't the whole purpose of the love locks being to throw the key into the water to show that the love lock would be bound to the railing, just like how you two were to each other?

When you started dating Park Jongseong, all you friends questioned your taste and judged your decision-making skills. Since you two were the complete opposites, it didn't seem right for little miss sunshine to pair up with Mr. grumpy pants.

But something about that serious and nonchalant behavior, you saw a gentleman and a committed lover. To which he was, he was no lovey dovey prince charming. But you were so attracted and drawn to the person he was. You were just hoping that one day, you'll get to the bright side of Park Jongseong, the cute and soft side.

For Jay, his friends felt the same. They were always expecting Jay to settle down with someone who was like him, so when you walked in the room holding his hand; let's just say shock was an understatement. When they were told, they were going to meet his girlfriend, they thought a sophisticated, old money kind of vibe, laid back woman would show up. But there you were with your bubbly and friendly personality.

Nonetheless, they loved and adored you. It was something they definitely teased Jay about once he arrived back to the house after dropping you back home.

Jake, Heeseung, and Sunghoon are lounging on the couch, chatting and laughing. Jay enters, looking a bit flustered but trying to maintain his usual composed demeanor.

Grinning mischievously "Well, well, well, look who's back from his romantic rendezvous." Jake says. Jay raises an eyebrow "Very funny, Jake. Can we not start this?"

"Oh, come on, Jay. Don't be such a killjoy. We're just curious about your date with YN."

"Yeah, we're dying to know how Mr. Serious managed to snag such a bubbly girl like her." Hearing this from Sunghoon, Jay sighs "She's not that bubbly.

"Oh, really? Because when she walked in here earlier, she practically lit up the room with her energy."

"Yeah, and compared to her, you look like you're about to give a lecture on quantum physics."

Jay was used it, but he did share the same thought on how he managed to start a relationship with you and why were you both so attracted to one another.

But that did not change the fact that he did love you and did do things that you never expected from him.

Every morning, you wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of Jay bustling around the kitchen. Despite his grumpy demeanor before his first cup of joe, he always manages to make you a perfect cup, just the way you like it. As you sip your coffee, Jay places a gentle kiss on your forehead, mumbling a sleepy "Good morning, beautiful" before heading off to tackle the day.

Or after a long day at work, you come home exhausted and stressed. Jay, despite being equally drained from his own day, immediately springs into action. He starts preparing your favorite comfort food, humming a tune to himself as he works. As you sit down to eat, he listens intently to your day, offering words of encouragement and support, reminding you how capable you are even when you feel overwhelmed.

Even that one evening, you're feeling particularly down about a personal setback. Jay, knowing how much you love spending time outdoors, suggests taking a spontaneous evening walk together. Despite his initial reluctance, he puts aside his own concerns to focus on cheering you up. As you stroll through the park hand in hand, he shares stories and jokes, doing his best to bring a smile to your face.

But the funny thing was in public, you two weren't even seen as a couple since both of your aesthetics don't even blend. A few to mention; You and Jay decide to grab dinner at a trendy restaurant downtown. As you walk in, Jay, dressed in his usual business casual attire, heads straight for the bar while you, in your bright and colorful ensemble, take a moment to admire the decor. As you wait for your table, you catch the curious glances of other patrons.

"Excuse me, are you waiting for someone?"

"Oh, yes, my boyfriend. He went to grab us some drinks."

Jay returns with drinks and wraps an arm around your waist, prompting surprised murmurs and raised eyebrows from nearby diners.

Then, at a friend's party, you and Jay arrive separately due to conflicting schedules. You, in your vibrant and flowery dress, mingle with the guests, while Jay, in his usual attire and his blazer hangs back near the snack table. Throughout the evening, friends and acquaintances approach you.

"Hey there! I didn't know you were single! You're always out and about on your own."

"Actually, I'm here with Jay. He's around here somewhere."

Also, during a weekend shopping trip, you and Jay browse through stores at opposite ends of the mall. As you peruse the racks of colorful dresses, you overhear nearby shoppers speculating about your relationship status.

"Look at her, all dressed up and shopping alone. Must be single."

"Actually, I'm here with my boyfriend. He's probably browsing in a different section." Jay unexpectedly appears by your side, pulls you into his arms for a quick kiss.

Over the years, they created countless memories together, each moment etched into the fabric of their shared history. You two explored the city's hidden gems, from markets to serene parks, finding beauty in the ordinary and joy in each other's company. Jay, with his practical nature, was always there to ground you when your dreams soared too high, while you, with your boundless optimism, infused Jay's world with color and light.

The love you had for one another was not without its challenges, of course. There were moments of doubt and uncertainty, times when you and he clashed and disagreed. But through it all, you both remained steadfast in their commitment to each other, weathering the storms of life with unwavering strength and resilience.

As the chatter and laughter filled the air at their friend's get-together, Jay found himself engaged in a conversation with Jake, one of his closest friends. They stood by the drinks table, sipping on their beers as they caught up on each other's lives.

"So, how's work been treating you lately?" Jake asked, leaning in with genuine interest.

"It's been alright, you know, the usual grind," Jay replied, his attention momentarily diverted by the sight of you across the room, deep in conversation with another guest.

Jake noticed the shift in Jay's demeanor and followed his gaze. "Hey, everything okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Jay muttered, his eyes still fixed on Yn and the other man, who seemed to be hitting it off effortlessly.

Jake raised an eyebrow, sensing his friend's unease. "You sure about that? You seem a little distracted."

Jay sighed, torn between wanting to trust Yn and the gnawing feeling of insecurity creeping into his mind. "I don't know, man. It's just… seeing her talking to that guy over there, they seem to have so much in common, you know? They're laughing and joking like old friends."

Jake nodded in understanding, placing a reassuring hand on Jay's shoulder. "I get it, but you gotta remember, Yn chose you for a reason. You two have something special that goes beyond shared interests. Trust in your connection, mate."

Jay nodded slowly, his thoughts swirling as he tried to shake off the nagging doubts clouding his mind. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Jake. I needed to hear that."

As the day rolled on, the group migrated to Heeseung's place for some video game fun. Jay settled in next to you, eager to spend more time together after the earlier bout of insecurity. However, his hopes were quickly dashed when you turned to Sunoo, suggesting to team up for Mario Kart.

Confusion and hurt flickered across Jay's face as he struggled to comprehend your unexpected choice. He had been looking forward to bonding with you, but now it seemed like you had other plans.

"You sure you want to team up with Sunoo?" Jay asked, trying to keep his tone light despite the turmoil brewing inside him.

You glanced at Jay, her expression guarded. "Well, you never really cared for video games, Jay. I figured you wouldn't want to play with me anyway," she replied.

Jay's heart sank at your words, the sting of jealousy and insecurity gnawing at him from within. He wanted to protest, to assure you that he did want to play with you, but the words caught in his throat, drowned out by the weight of his emotions.

With a forced smile, Jay simply nodded, his silence betraying the turmoil raging beneath the surface. As you and Sunoo dove into the game together, laughter and joy filling the room, Jay couldn't shake the feeling of being left out, of being replaced by someone who shared your interests more closely.

As the game progressed, Jay's thoughts spiraled, his jealousy and insecurity consuming him from within. He watched you and Sunoo's playful banter, their shared excitement over each victory, and felt a pang of longing for the connection they seemed to share.

But amidst the turmoil, a small voice in Jay's mind reminded him of the strength of his bond with you, of the countless moments they had shared together, each one a testament to their love and commitment to each other.

As the evening drew to a close and it was time to say their goodbyes, Jay watched you flit from friend to friend, your infectious laughter and warm hugs filling the room. He couldn't help but marvel at how effortlessly you connected with others, a social butterfly in her element.

Meanwhile, Jay lingered on the outskirts of the group, his own circle of friends much smaller in comparison. He had always been more reserved, more comfortable in the company of a select few rather than a bustling crowd. And yet, seeing you thrive in the midst of so many people, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of inadequacy creeping into his thoughts.

As you bid farewell to each of her friends, Jay's gaze lingered on your interactions, he noticed your exchange with Sunoo. You two made plans to meet up again tomorrow, a casual invitation that seemed to hang in the air between them.

Soon after, you walk up to him. "Ready to go, baby?" taking a hold of his hands and placing them around her waist, then proceeding to place her hands round his neck pulling him closer. "Yeah, let's head home."

As they made their way home in silence, Jay couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled over him like a heavy cloak. He longed to voice his concerns, to express the insecurity gnawing at him from within, but the words remained trapped in his throat, unsaid and unresolved.

Deep down, Jay knew that his feelings stemmed not from any fault of your, but from his own struggles with self-doubt and insecurity. He knew that you loved him for who he was, differences and all, and yet, the fear of losing her to someone more like her lingered in the recesses of his mind, a nagging doubt that refused to be silenced.

"Hey, Yn," Jay began, his voice hesitant yet determined, "what are your plans for tomorrow?"

You turned to him "Oh, I'm going go-carting and to this cute arcade cafe with Sunoo," you replied, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

"Why not with me?" Jay blurted out before he could stop himself, his words tinged with a hint of desperation.

Your expression softened, a flicker of understanding crossing your features. "Well, you mentioned before that you weren't interested in doing those things," you explained gently, reaching out to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

Jay felt a wave of remorse wash over him at her words, a bitter taste of regret flooding his senses. "I… I know," Jay murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry, Yn. I shouldn't have said that. I… I regret it now."

Yn offered him a sympathetic smile, her eyes soft with understanding. "It's okay, Jay." Jay took a deep breath and mustered up a small smile. "Just… be safe tomorrow, okay? And have fun," he said, his words laced with genuine warmth and sincerity.

You nodded, returning his smile with one of your own. "I will. Thank you, Jay," you replied, voice filled with affection.

As the weeks passed by, Jay couldn't shake the growing unease that settled in the pit of his stomach. He watched from the sidelines as you and Sunoo grew closer, bond seemingly strengthening with each passing day. They laughed together, shared inside jokes, and spent more time together than Jay and you did. And with each passing moment, Jay felt the distance between them widening, a gaping chasm that threatened to swallow him whole.

Unable to bear the weight of his doubts any longer, Jay knew he had to confront you about the growing rift between them. He waited for the perfect moment, a quiet evening at home when the world seemed to stand still around them.

"Yn, can we talk?" Jay asked, his voice trembling with uncertainty as he watched her from across the room.

You glanced up from her book, sensing the gravity of Jay's words. "Of course, Jay. What's on your mind?" you replied, setting the book aside and giving him your full attention.

Taking a deep breath, Jay sat down beside you, his heart heavy with the weight of his words. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and… I don't think this is working anymore," he began, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your eyes widened in shock, a flicker of hurt flashing across your features. "What do you mean?" you asked, voice barely a whisper.

"I mean… I think we should break up," Jay admitted, his words hanging in the air between them like a heavy cloud.

But before he could say anything more, you reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm, touch a comforting anchor in the storm of his emotions.

"No, Jay," you said firmly "We're not breaking up until you tell me what's really going on."

Jay swallowed hard, the lump in his throat making it difficult to speak. "I just… I feel like you deserve better," he confessed, his voice barely audible.

Your brows furrowed in confusion, your eyes searching his face for answers. "Better? What are you talking about, Jay?"

"You deserve someone who's like you," Jay continued, his words tumbling out in a rush. "Someone who shares your interests, your personality… Someone who can make you happy in a way that I can't."

But before he could say anything more, you cut him off.

"Why can't you be that 'better' man for me, Jay?" you asked, "Why do you think I need someone who's exactly like me? I fell in love with you, not some carbon copy of myself."

Jay blinked in surprise, taken aback by your words. He had never considered that he could be enough for you, just as he was.

As you and Jay sat together, enveloped in the warmth of your embrace, you felt a rush of emotions wash over you. With a deep breath, you took Jay's hands in yours, your gaze locking with his as you poured your heart out.

"Jay, I want you to know that I've always tried my best to support you and your interests," you began, your voice filled with sincerity. "I may not share all of them, but I've put in effort to understand and appreciate the things you love. Remember when I spent hours learning about vintage cars just so I could have meaningful conversations with you? Or the time I surprised you with tickets to that basketball game, even though sports aren't really my thing?"

Jay's eyes softened as he listened to your words, a flicker of realization dawning in his eyes. He had never fully appreciated the lengths you went to in order to connect with him, to bridge the gap between your differences and find common ground.

"And it's not just about the big gestures," you continued, your voice growing more earnest with each word. "It's the little things too, like making your favorite meal even when I'm tired, or watching that action movie marathon with you even though I prefer rom-coms. I've done all of that because I love you, Jay, and because I believe in us."

"I'm sorry, Yn," Jay whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "I've been so blind to everything you've done for me, so focused on my own insecurities that I failed to see the love and effort you've poured into our relationship."

As the tender moment between you and Jay lingered, a playful glint sparked in your eyes, and a mischievous grin spread across your face. "You know, Jay," you teased, your voice filled with playful banter, "I was just thinking about heading to that tower where we placed our love lock. Maybe I'll grab the key, just to keep you on your toes."

Jay's eyes widened in mock horror, a playful gasp escaping his lips. "You wouldn't dare!" he exclaimed, his tone mockingly dramatic.

You laughed, the sound echoing through the room like music to Jay's ears. "Oh, you know me, Jay. I'm full of surprises," you replied, a twinkle of mischief dancing in your eyes.

As the laughter subsided, curiosity sparked in your mind, and you turned to Jay with a quizzical expression. "Speaking of the love lock," you began, "why did you tell me to keep the key instead of throwing it into the water like you're supposed to?"

Jay's gaze softened as he looked at you, a fond smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, Yn," he began, his voice tinged with warmth, "I wanted us to have a reminder of our love, something tangible that we could hold onto, even when times get tough."

You nodded in understanding, touched by Jay's sentiment. "That's sweet, Jay," you replied, your voice soft with emotion. "I'm glad we have that reminder, especially on days like today when we need it the most."

With a gentle sigh, Jay pulled you closer, his arms wrapping around you in a comforting embrace. "Me too, Yn," he murmured, pressing a tender kiss to your forehead. "Me too."

As you continued to bask in the warmth of your embrace with Jay, a playful glint still dancing in your eyes, you couldn't resist teasing him a little more. "You know, Jay," you teased, your voice laced with amusement, "you were actually kind of cute when you were jealous of Sunoo."

Jay's eyes widened in surprise, his cheeks flushing slightly at your words. "Wait, you knew I was jealous?" he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

You chuckled softly, reaching up to gently stroke his cheek. "Of course I did, Jay," you replied, your tone affectionate. "You weren't as good at hiding it as you thought you were."

Jay shook his head in disbelief, a sheepish smile spreading across his face. "I guess I need to work on my poker face," he admitted, his voice tinged with self-deprecation.

With a soft giggle, you leaned in to press a tender kiss to Jay's lips, your heart swelling with love for the man beside you. "Don't worry, Jay," you reassured him, your voice filled with warmth. "I love you just the way you are, jealousy and all."

As Jay's arms tightened around you, holding you close as if afraid to let go, you couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude for the love you shared. "And besides," you continued, your voice growing more serious, "why would I ever want to end our two-year relationship over something as silly as jealousy? We've been through so much together, Jay, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."

With a tender smile, Jay pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead, his love for you shining brightly in his eyes. "Neither would I, Yn," he murmured, his voice filled with sincerity. "Neither would I." And as you melted into his embrace, the doubts and insecurities that had once plagued you melting away, you knew that as long as you had each other, you could weather any storm that came your way. For in each other's arms, you had found your home, your sanctuary, your forever.

[bisluthq]

Obviously Taylor has dated her fair share of people (which there should be no shame in), but based on her lyrics these are the relationships that seemed to be the most meaningful to her:

1. Drew Dunlap AKA 1st Boyfriend AKA Mr. Tim McGraw/Our Song/Fifteen (kinda)/Midnight Rain (probably) and a bunch of others

Was (in her mind) her first boyfriend!

Had her first kiss, first date, and first.. whatever else with

Mentions in multiple songs that she thought she was gonna/wanted to marry him

Based on Midnight Rain he seems to represent the idea of what could've been if she hadn't pursued a music career (or I guess succeeded in having a music career, since if she hadn't wanted to be a musician she wouldn't have moved to Nashville)

Has always described him as being super nice

Dated him for like a year

2. Joe Jonas AKA Disney's Resident Virginal Fuckboi AKA Mr. Perfectly Fine (and like SO many others)

In all her songs about him she says that she thought they were gonna be together forever because he... told her that they were gonna be together forever

Was clearly VERY hurt by the whole Joe thing. Back in the day she said it was her first true heartbreak (though it obviously paled in comparison to what was to come)

Did not get over it for a WHILE (6 months gone and I'm still reaching... Etc)

She also referred to him as her first love in the original Speak Now album booklet which I don't think was entirely accurate but girlie was trying to tell a story

"he will try to take away my pain, and he just might make me smile but the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead"

3. John Mayer AKA Sleazy Douchebag AKA Mr. Dear John (and co)

She has SO many lyrics about how she just loved. Him. So. Damn. Much (also this is outside of a musical context but she also said she loved him in interviews so..)

For better or for worse (definitely worse) it had a VERY big impact on her

Threw all logic out the window in the relationship and chose to actively ignore every red flag, or better yet turn them into little quirks (for example: the 2nd verse of Superman)

"don't forget where I'll be. Right here wishing the flowers were from you, wishing the card was from you, wishing the call was from you" (poor TL)

Wrote "I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how/I'd lay my armour down if you'd say you'd rather love than fight" AFTER writing dear john

"I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us, how we met and the Sparks flew instantly"

4. Jake Gyllenhaal AKA Indie Douchebag AKA Mr. All Too Well (and basically all of Red, and honestly also probably elements of 1989)

Fell HARD and FAST

Was like *romantic?

Kept crawling his way back

Kept letting him crawl his way back

Wrote (in her own words) an entire album about it

"I never saw you coming and I'll never be the same"

"you're my Achilles heel"

Literally redefined her perception of love

Taylor at TIFF when talking about All Too Well "I don't see myself continuing to make stuff about extreme guttural heartbreak at your most formative age, that debilitates you emotionally for years, and you have to develop a scar tissue to move on with your life, and write a novel about, cause you're still..." (also it is things like this that make me mildly concerned about the fact that she's never gone to therapy)

We're meeting each other's families within less than 3 months (which I know is a Jake staple but still, Jesus)

"I used to think that we were forever and I used to say never say never"

5. Harry Styles AKA Teenage Boy who can't keep it in his pants (who would've thought???) AKA Mr. Out Of The Woods (and like others but DEFINITELY that one)

Knew it wasn't going to last but still seemed to enjoy it while it lasted

Put up with all that fangirl shit

Seemed to find it inspirational, if only aesthetically

Only person on this list that she seemingly didn't think she would end up with (though she apparently thought he may interrupt her wedding???)

We're apparently on-and-off for ages

Was a key player in sending her into one of many Identity Crisis'

6. Joe Alwyn AKA Golden Boy AKA Mr. 50-something songs (or something like that)

Was with him for 6 years

Very clearly thought he was the love of her life

Once again redefined her perception of love ("I once believed love would be burning red but it's golden" which I know is like a general concept but she applies red to Jake and gold to Joe for the most part)

I really don't think I should have to explain this one. She literally did it herself

Obviously we can't know for sure, but let me know if you agree or disagree. (Also sorry this is so long. I have a lot of thoughts and I don't know where else to put them xx)

I think you’re missing Calvin. I don’t like Calvin erasure lol. I know she didn’t write much about it and I think that’s where the idea that it wasn’t significant stems from but like I think that was a far more defining relationship than like Haylor tbh. He was the first boyfriend she lived with. I think there were very serious plans in place for them. It just started to suck at the end. But I think if he sucked just slightly less and if that time period sucked slightly less, she’d have married him tbh. She’s referring to him as the “good husband” in songs so like… she did think that was very serious. I also think that’s sorta why there weren’t that many songs. It was all just fine and then it sucked and none of it was crazy inspiring but it was also obviously super deep.

[worlds-largest-juice-container]

SOMEONE SAID YES, RELEASE THE INFODUMP

The Vagrant

Protagonist, real name Miguel. He is in denial about the flash, wanting to return to a time with his girlfriend Beatrice. He used to just mope and lounge around, getting into knife fights to pass the time, but after hearing about time dilation, he packed up his stuff and started searching for a place to go back to before the flash. Ended things on a low note with his GF before the flash, so he wants to at least apologize. Is Nameless because he doesn’t view his current reality as his real one, and thinks it's worthless to try to form connections in post-flash Olathe if he’s going to return to pre-flash. Addicted to joy, has big hallucinations from it. He’s shirtless (obvs) and has tan skin, short, puffy hair and a serious gaze (dark, Brad-like eyes). Wears blue pants and is rather fit, but not big muscular.

Plays with a knife combo, focused on damage and defending his party members with +cover where he takes damage but +guard on self and other defense style things.

The Star

Party member 1. Real name, Ulysses Utensils, the pop idol from Nern’s story. Very popular pre-flash, huge spike post-flash, due to his attractiveness. Looks similar to the teen mag in pointless, but slightly older cause, y’know, time. He used to sing, perform, and generally entertain people all over Olathe, until the fame caused him to turn to drugs, and his fans generally sucking led to him wanting to cast off his fame and become a regular person. He feels like he’s never truly lived because his whole life he’s been on stage. He is indifferent towards the flash, as while it sucks that it happened, it brought him both good and bad. NOT a joy addict, just painkillers and booze. Cares deeply about Miguel, and tries to quietly dissuade him from his cause, wanting to keep him grounded in the real world. Follows Miguel out of concern and affection, scared for Miguel’s wellbeing and also mayyyybe a little bit of a crush (???)

Does not deal damage in his moveset, focused entirely on debuffs/buffs. Can shift the tide of the battle by either endorsing an ally (small heal, atk bonus, def bonus but more likely to get hit, buff is called +spotlight) or by besmirching an enemy (agi debuff, def debuff, can cause crying and also lowers sp) other moves are bigger heals (stuff like a pretty smile to keep party members motivated) self defense stuff (+hide, maybe a counterattack like in vegaful) and silly little debuffs on enemies like Joel can do in pointless.

The Content

Party member 2. Real name, unknown, tells people to call him “Ol’ Joe”. No one calls him that. Teammates call him “the big guy” enemies often call him “Punchy guy”. Was a prominent scientist before the flash, did NOT work with yado. He predicted a white flash type event, though he could not deduce its origin (didn’t know if it was manmade or not.) After flash, he lost it all, as scientific advancement was essentially useless with a lot of tech out and society collapsing. As he ventured through the apocalypse, he found he liked his life more than pre-flash. A LOT more. Became a brawler type guy, winning fights for prize money, but he never pursued fame or power, simply content to live the life of a random fighter. Doesn’t care about being known, he just wants to have fun with his friends (Miguel and Ulysses) Follows Miguel because he likes him, and enjoys the fights, exploration, and drama along the way. Tall, dark skinned, big beard and long hair. Big ol' blue coat but no shirt. Strongman type build (think sisyphus ultrakill)

Fights how you’d expect a guy called “Punchy guy” To fight. Arnold shpitz style boxing, but with a good bit of grappling too. Laser focused on damage, tank of the party. Can grab an enemy as a human shield and either throw, beat, or just hold them.

*trembling and foaming at the mouth* h ey does anyone wanna hear about my lisa oc's and their planned mechanics as party members and their roles within the larger context of why the planned game is called lisa: the nameless

[macdennisofficial]

any big predictions for s16

Whole season analysis incoming!!! Big wrinkly brain predictions that WILL happen mark my fucking words below!

First episode: The Gang Does Edibles for the first time. "wait a minute macdennisofficial," you say, "they smoked weed before and also crack and sniff glue??" Exactly. They ain't done edibles before.

So you know Frank is like I did Columbian bam bam with Vietnamese sweatshop kids and Dee and Dennis are like "we were legit crackheads before" and Charlie is like "haha I do inhalants so much I built up a tolerance to mustard gas" and Mac is like I am a drug dealer hello ??? They are all like "we are not pussies when it comes to weed we have taken fat ass bong rips so many times" so they just. Dump. Like a whole gallon of weed in the brownie mix. And then between the five of them eat the whole fucking pan to prove how not pussy they are.

Anyway so two hours later Dee "these edibles ain't shit" Reynolds is screaming hysterically and shitting her pants while clinging to the rooftop and staring at the sky, Frank is furiously fucking a rotisserie chicken while listening to sixties war protest rock and seeing colours and having Rambo First Blood flashbacks, Charlie sees everything like a cartoon and is a Disney prince(ss?) who can control rats and pigeons with his singing voice and also hallucinates a musical with the Gang, Mac literally sees God and speaks to him and fucks him. He just fucks God. Full penetration. And God is gay btw and played by Ryan Reynolds. In real life Mac is actually just like lying on the pool table staring at the ceiling light. With this huge stoner boner. Dennis is like weeping in the bathroom because Rick Astley is playing on the jukebox and it's so fucking beautiful and decides he wants to become an artist because the yuck puddle is so beautiful and he wants to commemorate it and it is talking to him

They all manage to meet at some point and talk to each other and hallucinate Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque shit together. Oompa Loompas look like Frank's sweatshop children and they sing "oompa loompa doopity doo what the fuck is wrong with all of you"

Episode two: They are discussing Kanye and how they need to separate the art from the artist because they voted for him but they can't support him now that he says all this anti Semitic stuff lately because they might get cancelled for liking him so they just cut all the pictures of Kanye out of the albums and posters and stuff they own and replace it with pictures of Pepperjack. This is especially important they vocally distance themselves from Kanye because Wolf Cola has used him for promotional ads. So they also have to cut ties with him professionally. It's all very selfish because they're concerned about their image.

Episode three: They make fun of Dee for calling herself a feminist even though she never passes the Bechdel test and they argue about how to pronounce it properly. She says she will pass it by the end of the day and she fails constantly but at the end of the episode she finds the Waitress and they talk about something other than men. She is excited and then Charlie is like; "What's her name? It only counts if you know her name." She doesn't know her name. It is titled Dee Fails the Bechdel Test. It is a Chardee themed episode, but they don't kiss or anything.

Episode four: We see the Gang's exploits from someone else's perspective. It is their fucking stalker. They have a stalker and they dont even know it. I mean this is like Joe from You styled narration and everything. The stalker has like Pepe Sylvia style pics on their wall connecting them to various crimes and shit in Philly and it's all true btw but the stalker gets arrested for stalking and attempting assassination (yeah, like an actual attempt at murder) and the Gang is like; "Who the fuck even are you?" despite this stalker being in their bar every day for like years. It is a fun episode because we see them in many mid-scheme situations with like no context.

Episode five: They try to reboot The Nightman Cometh because the find out they have fans because Artemis posted it online and there is fanfic and meta. The reboot is complete and utter SHIT so the fans hate them now lmfao

Episode six: Someone approaches them to say "hey this bar should be a reality series" and they accept but they all agree they should be less problematic because they don't wanna piss off the producers and then the producers are like "actually Mac you're not gay you're bi because it's Not In to be monosexual anymore also uhm you can joke about being into men but you can only ever on screen be with a woman mmkay but lets queerbair you with Dennis." They like insist he hooks up with Dee lmfao and Mac and Dee are FURIOUS. This is like a total commentary on the way television and movies are produced now where the actual writers have little control and the company micromanages their entire lives all for ad revenue and product placement and tiktok soundbites. Anyway they try to go along with it and film thr Pilot just for the studio to say that it was all meant to be a tax write off so their show gets pulled before even being and blacklisted from Streaming Services despite all the work they did and there are jokes about shitty graphics and crap pay.

Episode seven is kind of a part two of the previous episode because Frank buys out the streaming service and calls it like Wolf Soda Streams. They can post all their shitty movies on it and their reality series and also The Nightman Cometh (the original and reboot). Frank accidentally uploads several sex tapes of him and Artemis instead so it crashes and burns and ends up being more lucrative as a tax write off. The employees of the company he bought out all lost their jobs and end up homeless in the alley with Cricket. They all say; "Those fuckers ruined my life!" and he just stares at them and goes; "First time?"

Episode eight: Dennis starts dating a woman who looks and acts exactly like Mac. And literally everybody sees it EXCEPT Mac and Dennis. She's even Mac's cousin. But Mac and Dennis are idiots. And just don't see it. And everybody is like wtf come on. In the end this woman leaves Dennis because she realizes she's a lesbian.

Episode nine: Finally Mac dates a man and Dennis is motherfucking livid. He assumes it's the envy of being single and being dumped a week prior but we all know the truth. Everyone knows the truth. Except Mac. This boyfriend is also played by Ryan Reynolds and as a callback to the season premiere someone says he has the body of God. Anyway the jealousy and envy is eating Dennis up inside until the episode ends with Dennis screaming like a psychopathic madman in the rain while staring at Mac and Ryan Reynolds through a window holding an axe.

Episode ten: This is shot like a horror movie a la The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre. It's like a typical slasher movie with Dennis as the bad guy and everyone hiding from him and he's going after Ryan Reynolds. It's terrifying and all that. Scary shit like wtf this might be too dark for an Always Sunny episode except they pull it off super well and there is humor and stuff. There are lots of Dennis screaming hilarious shit like I HAVE THE RAGE OF A THOUSAND SPURNED LOVERS SPILLING SEED OVER CIGARETTE BURNED PICTURES OF THEIR EXES! Just when he corners Ryan Reynolds and screams at him "MAC IS MINE" with the ax raised the scene cuts to them all still in the bar fucked up on edibles in the very first episode. They've finally sobered up and make a comment about how the past few hours seemed like weeks or whatever and how they hallucinated some crazy shit and then Dennis walks over to Mac and just fucking kisses him on the mouth, and Mac reciprocates and the rest of the gang make gagging noises and call them slurs. The end

[yelenasdog]

heavy is the head that wears the crown (mob!arvin russell x fem! pastor’s daughter! reader)

genre: angst+fluff

summary: arvin had always heard the saying “heavy is the head that wears the crown” but never truly understood what it meant. not until now

words: 4.06k

warnings: since this is based off of a tdatt, family death, mentions of death, mentions of mobs, kissing, marriage, murder, smoking, suicide, cancer and i think that’s it. it’s also kinda melodramatic, and i haven’t watched tdalt in a while so a lot could be plot inaccurate also idk anything abt the mob or mafia so like dont k*ll me thx i just like joe pesci

a/n: first, i owe the amazing concept of mob!arv to @kelieah ! so go follow her for more mob!arvin goodness!! basically i’m obsessed w 90s mob movies and watched goodfellas and casino and few too many times lately and oops here we r! i tried to write this from the narrator in tdatt’s view, so if u wanna read it like that then cool! btw the pic w the dress is just an idea of the dress reader is wearing not what she looks like! ok enjoy i’ll stop rambling

·。·。·。

“So, Arvin. I was told you paint houses? That true?”

Arvin hesitated, opening his mouth and closing it again. He wasn’t a painter, no, he killed people. For a price, that is.

But rather than saying no, the jab in his side from his uncle told him to answer otherwise.

“Yes, sir. It is.”

The Pastor nodded, taking a drag from his cigar, imported all the way from Cuba. He then placed what was left of the long stick in the crystal tray in front of him, the tapping of it on the reflective surface seeming almost deafening.

“Can all your family be traced down to one place, son?”

Arvin gulped, avoiding his eyes, darting his own around the heavily decorated room. Another jab to his side. He winced, meeting the older man’s eyes. He may not know much about the life he was about to enter, but he knew enough about what that meant.

“Yes, sir. They can be, minus my father and my mother. They’re gone.”

Not even a full beat of silence later, the Pastor spoke.

“How’d he die?”

Arvin was taken aback, though he knew that question was coming. His jaw clenched, as did his fist by his side. If the Pastor noticed, he didn’t speak on it, barely lifting his eyes from the document resting on his desk.

“Suicide, after the war.”

“And your mother?”

He took his lip in between his teeth, feeling the skin break, the tears well in his eyes for reasons he would excuse as the pain he was inflicting.

“Cancer. It happened when I was young, I didn’t barely even know her.”

The pastor looked up, slimming his eyes. This time he did notice the glimmering droplets, welling up in his chestnut colored eyes, threatening to fall. He appreciated the boy’s attempt to keep his emotions in check in front of his would be superior, leaning back into his chair.

“It’s alright, boy. You’re allowed to cry, it was your mother.” His southern accent was thick like molasses, his words drawing out. Arvin still felt that it wasn’t acceptable, though, so he only sniffled and directed his chin further up towards the ceiling. He stood there for a while, nerves running through his every cell. It was electric, like white lighting making its way through his veins at a painstakingly slow pace.

“Right then.”

The pastor stood, walking towards Arvin and his uncle. His expensive loafers tapped along the cold floor as he went, the sound pestering to the ears of Arvin, taunting him. He reached a soft hand out, which the boy standing opposite to him gladly took. He observed how the Pastor’s hand was without scars, calluses. Anything that would point to evidence of him being a killer, doing his own dirty work (or “the Lord’s work” as he liked to put it).

“Welcome to the family, son.”

And as Arvin smiled widely and shook his hand with an iron grip, he began to wonder what his new life would entail doing the “Lord’s work”.

He thought he had a pretty good idea, but boy, was he wrong.

“So, how’d it go?”

It was later, and Arvin was sitting with one his most favorite people, Y/n. The pair were resting in an open field, the wildflowers around her just almost competing with the beauty she held. He bashfully looked to the dirt under his shoes, noticing how only inches away, her hands picked at the damp grass.

“Went well, I think. He told me I’m ‘part of the family now’.”

She smiled at him, and in that moment with her hair so widely astray, and wearing that pale blue dress he adored so much, Arvin’s heart felt a certain emotion he hadn’t necessarily felt for someone at this multitude before. He had felt it for Lenora, his mother, his aunt and uncle. But it was different, then. Because now as he sat with her by his side, his love for her was realized at its full potential.

She began to ramble on, congratulating him on becoming a member of her father’s so called “family”, telling him how proud she was. He couldn’t keep focused on the sweet words that were falling from her lips like honey, though, as he was too caught up in his own head, his own thoughts.

“Arv?” She asked, voice laced with slight concern, but mostly with curiosity.

“Sorry, darlin’. Just thinking.”

She blushes, it’s the first time he’s called her that before. She tries to carry on conversation, though with her heart beating through that pretty dress of her’s, it was a bit difficult.

“About what?” She questioned, doing her very best not to pry too far, to be invasive in the very reserved Arvin’s mind.

Truthfully? He was promising himself that he would marry her one day, make her his wife. But telling her that he was only thinking “‘bout the future” would have to do. I mean, truthfully, he really was!

So he answered her, and she was content with said answer, abandoning the subject and returning to many praises for Arv. The standards for the “family” were high, and though she believed in him fiercely, she knew that at his core Arvin was the sweetest soul she’d ever met, and she was skeptical he could put that aside to do whatever the job would require.

“Arvin?”

He looked up, and she nearly lost her breath. It was Arvin’s sunkissed skin, tanned from working under the hot sun, the beams beating down on him. Or perhaps it was the freckles that lightly dusted his crooked nose, like a constellation from the cosmos above. Maybe even it was the mop that sat on his head, the color all the same of those sweet brown eyes of his. Whatever it was, she felt it could only mean one thing.

Y/n Y/l/n was confident she loved Arvin Russell.

“Hmm?” He asked, tilting his head like a confused canine. Adorably endearing, she thought.

And though she had much to say, she was afraid that if he were the dog in question, then the puppy had got her tongue, so to say.

“Y/n/n?” The boy said, nudging her with his elbow, making a melodious giggle erupt from her chest. “What, cat got your tongue?” Arvin teased, and she only shook her head and smiled, as he had no idea how correct he really was.

“You could say that.”

The two shared laughs over the exchange, and at some point (neither of them are quite sure when, how, or who leaned in first), their lips connected in a short and sweet kiss. It seemed that it only lasted for a moment, and as soon as they pulled apart, Arvin and Y/n both were dying for more.

But they resisted, Arvin reaching out a cautious hand to entangle with hers. She bashfully grinned, as did he (though he did his best to resist).

“Y/n, I really like you.” He had said, his thumb running small circles upon her skin. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you like me too.”  He laughed, nervous notes to the sound.

“And well, I was wondering if you’d like to be my girlfr-”

And with a light groan, Y/n had wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing both of them to the ground. She connected their lips, the kiss so oddly blunt, an attack on his lips that he had no plan of fighting off. His hands found her hair, and her’s moved to the sides of his face, holding him so tightly, as if she was afraid he would let go.

“Yes.” She pulled away panting, her lips swollen, his flushed. “Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend, Arvin.”

They smiled as bright as the setting sun above them, and Arvin pulled her close as she buried her face in the warm crook of his neck. They stayed like that ‘till the sun went down and the stars came out of hiding, the cool summer breeze blowing around them. They both still felt it, then, the love they had only just began to realize was there. And they would continue to feel it for years to come.

Like when Arvin would get back from a job, sometimes with blood splattered on his crisp white shirts, his dirty work getting, well, dirty. She would slowly peel it from his body, taking care to make sure he wasn’t hurt. She would do her best to wash the crimson stains from the fabric, sighing if it was seeming to be of no use. Arvin would come up behind her where she was working at the sink, wrapping his strong arms around her middle and resting his head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Arv,” she would start, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, “damn thing won’t budge.” Arvin would just chuckle, reaching up a gentle hand, gentle only for her, to tuck the hair behind her ear, quietly speaking.

“Well I think it looks pretty good, darlin’. It’ll do just fine.” He would spin her around to face him, and pepper small kisses on her skin, smiling at her reaction. And if he was hurt, she would take care to use a warm washcloth, wiping the scarlet splatters from his creamy complexion. 

The juxtaposition of the shades was always bewildering for her, oddly beautiful in a way. She never said so, though, only muttering praises of how proud she was, how strong he is, things like that. And Arvin would watch her, honey colored eyes following her as she moved about to fix him right up. No pain would have any real effect on him, not when she was there to reassure him, make him whole again.

As Arvin moved up in their small town world, in the “family”, he remained just as kind, just as gentle. Nothing really changed, no, only the lines on his forehead deepening and the crows feet becoming darker when he smiled; And Y/n’s role, as well. She stopped cleaning him up, stopped trying to rid his shirts of bloody reminders of his living. Arvin seemed to no longer be “painting walls’, but rather making sure jobs were done, everyone was staying in their places.

And things led to another, and all of a sudden Y/n and Arvin were moving into a big house, bigger than Arvin had ever even been in before. Deals and arrangements were made, settlements too.

One regular Tuesday, Arvin came home from what Y/n could tell had been a long, long, day. He was exhausted, but had this unmistakable look of excitement and joy plastered to his face. He had come in bursting through the door, not even taking off his hat or overcoat before making his way over to Y/n and kissing her silly.

“Well hello to you, too, Arv.” She laughed, amusement and curiosity both equally swirling around in her brain, wondering what could possibly have inspired this behavior.

“Things are happening, sweetheart, good, good things.” He took her hands in his, briefly shaking them before planting a kiss to them and walking away, a big smile on his face. And truth be told, not that she would admit it, it scared the Hell outta her. She wasn’t quite sure as to why, but something was itching at her brain, warning her that whatever was brewing wasn't a good thing. But nevertheless, she maintained her grin, painted lips never faltering.

The next day, when the “good things” were supposed to be happening, Arvin was seriously wondering why on God’s green Earth he had expected this to be easy.

“Come again, son?”

Arvin swallowed, shifting on his feet. He mentally scolded himself for ending up in this position again, standing in front of the Pastor’s desk, all kinds of confused. But it had to be this way, it was for the best, he knew. The sun shone through the window above the desk in front of him, right into his eyes, nearly blinding him. The Pastor didn’t really care, though.

“I’m asking for your blessing to ask Y/n’s hand in marriage, sir.”

The older man slowly nodded in understanding, taking a long drag from the expensive cigar between his fat fingers, the gold ring on his pinky also shining brightly under the harsh sun’s light.

“I just thought that after our arrangement-”

“Arvin, I don’t regret making you an heir, I don’t.” He stated, blowing out a long stream of smoke. “Hell, I can feel something big and bad coming, boy, you understand? I know God’s will is holding out on us, on this family. But it’s running thin.”

The young man clenched his jaw, internally cringing on what that might mean to the family, for the family, what it meant for Y/n. He bit his tongue, feeling the iron seep onto his taste buds.

“And I know those damn Teagardins are plotting, they’re plotting for our downfall. Making you next in line is something they won’t see coming, and I trust it’ll stay that way. But I don’t quite understand

“Well I love your daughter, I love her so much that it hurts. And if worst comes to worst…” he stopped, his bottom lip wavering for a moment, trying to carefully dance around the different outcomes of this conversation. “I feel I’ll be better able to protect her if we’re married, if she’s truly mine.” That part might have been a lie. Y/n has never been his, never would be. She was her own person, outside Arvin, outside the family. It was what he loved about her above all else.

The Pastor was quiet for a moment contemplating his response, calculating it.

“Would you die for her?”

“Yes.” The answer came without thought, it was automatic for Arvin.

The Pastor smiled widely, lifting his arms.

“So, when’s the wedding, Arv?

Turns out, it was exactly a year, a month, and 6 days until Y/n and Arvin would tie the knot. Arvin had spent time, waiting to find the perfect moment to ask her the big question. He had decided on a night where the moon was bright and the sky was clear. They sat together in what they had donned “their” field, the greenery around them rustling in the wind. Though he was nervous, he had delivered a stunning speech that had taken poor Y/n’s heart by force. It ended up with both of them crying like babies and a shiny ring on Y/n’s finger.

The wedding itself had taken place on a beautiful summer’s day, and Y/n had worn a pretty white dress that had made Arvin almost faint when he saw her, standing there on her father’s arm. She was all decked out in the most expensive diamonds and pearls, courtesy of her father, making her shine like a crystal of sorts.

It was the best night of her life, Arv’s too. But the joy they had felt must have an inevitable end, as the worst night (Arvin’s too) was soon to follow.

It had been an ambush, the death of the Y/l/n family. The death toll had managed to wrack up every member immediate member of the esteemed mob family, including the Pastor, his wife, and their two sons. A bomb planted in the trunk of their Cadillac that had gone off, placed there by who knows. 

When Arvin had heard, his immediate reaction was to thank God that Y/n had decided to stay with him that day, to go lay in the fields just the two of them. Immediately after she had been told, she had fallen into Arvin, her entire body weight being put into his arms. Sobs wracked through her frame, her tears dampening Arvin’s yellow button up.

Once she had “come to”, Y/n had grown to be furious rather than sad. As when you look at the lineage of her family, look at the ranks of the mob and who’s to rise to power when the one in front of them dies, well Arvin was right after Y/n’s big brother, Jamie.

And Y/n had loved her big brother, she had loved him very much and would like to believe that Arvin, her sweet, sweet Arvin, would never do anything of that multitude just to satiate his hunger and appetite for power. The hunger for power she wasn’t even aware he possessed. But how in the Hell was she even supposed to be sure?

“I want to believe you, Arv, I do. But I can’t! It don’t make any damn sense, Arvin!”

“You really think that low of me, Y/n/n?”

Y/n had been shouting, trying to confront him for a crime he hadn’t committed. But Arvin was calm as he spoke, his eyes only watering and his voice only bordering on wavering. Y/n reached a trembling hand to her scalp, pulling lightly on her roots. The tears slipping down her face were hot and salty and she hated it so much.

“What else am I supposed to think?” She lifted an arm, sniffling before putting her other one on her waist, the blue of her dress, the same dress Arvin adored so much, just barely matching what was to become of her mood. She was started to regress, the red hot anger from before transforming to a stormy blue of unsure waters.

“My whole family is dead, and it just so happened that you asked me to stay with you the day they died! My whole family is dead!” She screamed, her voice a crescendo of sorts. “And everyone is clean, Arv, except you. You got the motive, you got the alibi, I’ll give you that much.” She paused, briefly wiping her nose and looking to the blank wall to the left of her father’s office. “It’s funny;” she dryly chuckled, and Arvin looked up.

“You went from doing my daddy’s dirty work to gettin’ some poor bastard to do your own. Ironic isn’t it?”  

Arvin stepped towards her, pain twisting his insides up to see his best girl afraid of him, cowering away from his touch.

“You still have me, Y/n. I’m your family.”

She looked to her feet and back to him, shaking her head.

“No, Arv. You’re not. And you will be sorry for what you did to him, to all of them. You will be.” She said, walking away with her heels clicking heavily on the wooden floors. Arvin stood still for a while, not quite sure where to go next. But it dawned on him as the stained glass shone down on his feet in the most poetic manner, that he was already there.

So he dragged his feet along with him, breaths ragged and short, his head slowly tilting up towards the glorious light. He only had to go a few feet, before he sat down in the old leather chair, the only emotions he felt being those of an imposter. He thought back to all the nervous conversations he’d had with the pastor while he was sitting in that chair, a trembling Arvin usually standing opposite, awaiting instruction.

He darted his eyes across the mahogany surface in front of him, looking at all the various things that he only could associate with Y/n’s father. His valued cigar box, the crystalline tray that rested next to it. (He swore he could still smell the fresh smoke, wafting from the little dish.) He opened it, the latch clinking before his hand reached in and his fingers clasped around one of the thick rolls of tobacco. Before he could light it, he felt overwhelmed all of a sudden, and dropped it back into the box, slamming the lid.

He laid back, resting his weary head. Arvin took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling through his mouth, before falling into a not so peaceful slumber.

He was only woken minutes later, Joseph, Y/n’s uncle, wanting to know if Arvin had seen her lately. He shook his head, muttering an annoyed “No”. Joseph got the idea relatively quickly, exiting the room. He heard the chapel’s doors close, taking that as his queue to leave once he saw the time. So he grabbed his hat and his coat, leaving the office and making his way through the dimly lit space. His attention was caught, though, by the cross by the front pews, so beautifully shining. Arvin put down his things, and walked over to the pew, sitting down on the uncomfortable hardwood. He bowed his head, putting his interlocked fingers utop the surface in front of him.

He hadn’t done this in awhile, this whole praying thing. It seemed naive in his way of life, with the things that happened around him, the people lost. But nonetheless, if ever, now was a good time to try.

“Heavenly Father, I, I, uh, I need to talk to you. To, uh, set the record straight.” His hands were sweaty, tears welling in his eyes.

“Y/n, she’s- well she’s the love of my life, God, and I don’t think she loves me anymore. Hell, she wants me dead. But I don’t blame her, I couldn’t ever. Not after...” he paused, his bottom lip shaking, “Not if she thinks I killed her family. But I didn’t, Father, I didn’t and I could never. But she don’t see that. I need her to see that.” He raised his voice, the bitter droplets rolling down his reddened cheeks, hitting his shoes.

“I can’t live without her, I won’t. So I guess I’m askin’ you a favor, Lord. Just… let her know I didn’t do it, that I would never hurt her.” His voice cracked, his words barely audible, not that whoever was listening cared.

“That I love her so much.”

Arvin muttered something of an “Amen”, and then just sat there for he wasn’t sure how long. His silence was interrupted by a mellow and raw voice, cutting through the silence like the sharpest dagger.

“It was the Teagardin family. I just found out.”

Arvin stood and turned so fast he dizzied himself, having to hold onto the back of the pew for stability. His bottom lip quivered, his flushed features gaining a confused look.

“Y/n/n? How long you been there?” He questioned, not bothering to wipe his eyes. She shifted from one foot to the other, fumbling with her hands.

“Long enough.”

There was a mutual understanding at her few words from the two of them, and an apology within them all the same. Her eyes were bloodshot, her nose runny and her overall appearance disheveled. Despite that, just the fact that she was there, to him, made her the most beautiful girl in the world. 

Arvin could tell she was holding herself back, her emotions, too, as she started to speak, barely able to get through a sentence as she rambled about how she shouldn’t have assumed things, and that it wasn’t right of her to accuse her beloved of something so dire. But none of it mattered to Arvin as he strode towards her, her words only ceasing when he finally wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry, Arv.” She sobbed, gripping onto him for dear life. That was all she said, repeating it over and over again with the exception of “I love you” also being reiterated. 

Her husband spoke over her hushed tone, saying “It’s alright, doll, I know. You were right to think that, it’s not your fault. It was never your fault.” They continued that way for some time until they both regained their bearings, Arvin wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking down the front stairs of the chapel. 

“Let’s go home, sweet girl.” He had said, so they did. Arvin kissed the side of her head, regarding once more how he loved her, before starting the ride home, his hand on her thigh the whole time, not wanting to let her go for even a second.

His mind was plagued with thoughts of the past, and he remembered an old saying he had heard long ago. What was it? Ah, you know what they say.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

·。·。·。

how we feeling folks did we like? gimme feedback if u wanna! mwah love u, take care of urself

 xx hj

[you-can-call-me-wanda]

What Have I Done?

Pairing: Sid Vicious x Reader

A/N: You asked for more Sex Pistols and you shall receive

The first time he met you, you had both been drunk.

It was after some gig and every punk in the city seemed to be hanging out, partying and drinking. The night was almost over when he noticed you in the corner of the room with a red plastic cup as your only company. You were attractive, a little blurry, but definitely attractive. So, Sid being Sid (and fairly intoxicated), went up to you to say hello and see if he could get in your pants.

“Hey,” he said, slurring slightly as he sidled up next you. “Whatcha doing all alone over here?”

It was clear immediately what he was up to and clear immediately that you weren’t too interested.

“Piss off,” you mumbled.

Sid was not the first guy to hit on you on that night and you were in a pretty shitty mood after your mates had up and left you all alone to go shoot up or something of the like. Besides, it was clear this idiot had had too much to drink or snort or both.

Now normally Sid would take the hint and move on to someone else, someone more up for going down, but there was something about you that kept him standing beside you. He couldn’t quite place his finger on what it was exactly, but he knew it was having an effect on him.

“You alright?” he asked, shifting tone completely to one of concern. All traces of flirtation left his voice. Something about you wanted him to make sure you were alright. It was a strange feeling, caring for a stranger in that way.

You leaned back against the wall. All the drinks you’d had were catching up with you and you were tired. You rubbed your temples as you felt a headache coming on.

“I’m fine,” you said, not understanding why this guy was still talking to you. You thought you had made it obvious you weren’t interested. “I just need to get back to my flat.”

“Let me walk with you,” Sid said, surprising both of you.

Sid had no idea what he was doing or why. Normally these conversations went one of two ways: go up and shoot your shot, get turned down, and walk away, or go up and shoot your shot then get to fucking. He never asked to escort someone home for fuck’s sake, especially someone who’d just rejected him. What was he doing?

“I’m really not interested,” you said, trying to spell it out for him that you would not be sleeping with him tonight.

“I know,” he responded. “I just think you could use the company.”

His words intrigued you and you regarded the boy in front of you with interest now. He was definitely a bit peculiar. He was dressed in tight leather trousers and a flowy blouse and, most bizarrely, donned a pair of worn-out flip flops on his feet which showed off his brightly painted toenails. Very peculiar indeed, but something about the earnest way he was looking at you made you want to keep talking to him.

“Alright,” you said. “You can walk with me.”

The London streets were dark and almost empty as the two of you made the trek back to your flat. Sid had introduced himself to you by this point and was rambling on about his mates and his mum and David Bowie. You listened half-heartedly, throwing in the occasional comment or nodding. You were more focused on getting home and getting some much-needed sleep.

“This is me,” you said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of your building. “It was nice meeting you Sid.”

“Oh,” he said, looking a little crestfallen at the prospect of you leaving. “It was nice meeting you too.”

“Bye,” you said, turning to walk to your building. Once you reached the front door, you heard him call out to you.

“(Y/N)?”

You turned back to face him with a raised brow.

“Can I see you again sometime?” he asked, looking hopeful.

You gave him a tired smile.

“I’m sure I’ll see you around,” you said, before spinning on your heel and entering the building, leaving Sid standing out on the pavement looking at the now closed door with a frown on his face.

****

He searched for you everywhere. Okay, maybe not everywhere, but it felt like everywhere to Sid. He couldn’t get you off his mind. The way the sides of your mouth had quirked up when he’d said something particularly dumb and the way your jeans had stretched around your thighs left him wanting more of you. He wanted to see you again. He wanted to know you.

And although he had been somewhat hammered that night, he remembered you and your short conversation with him well. Which was why, now, he was scouring the city’s record stores, searching for you. He remembered some offhand comment you had made about working in one and what a drag it could be. You hadn’t said which store you worked in though, which made finding you a difficult task.

It appeared some higher power was on his side though because at the sixth store Sid entered that fateful Sunday, only two days after he’d first met you, you were there.

You were stood behind the counter and took no notice of him as he entered the shop. You were too busy fiddling with the register.

“Hi,” Sid said, feeling a tad intimidated now that he found you. He had spent so much time thinking about when he was going to see you next, he had spent no time preparing for what he would say to you.

Your head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Sid was pleased to see some recognition on your face. He had been worried you wouldn’t remember him.

“Hi,” you said, looking a little confused to see him. “It’s um, Joe, right?” you asked, taking a stab at what the near stranger’s name was.

“Sid,” he corrected.

You winced, feeling bad.

“Sid, right,” you said. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” you said, trying to relieve some of the odd tension in the air.

Sid actually looked embarrassed at your words which surprised you a bit. Actually, this whole encounter was surprising. You hadn’t really expected to see him again ever. You had chalked up the other night to a combination of intoxication and Sid just being genuinely weird.

“Well, I had to find you,” Sid admitted, pushing down his nerves and approaching the counter. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“Me?” you asked, pointing to your chest. “I can’t believe you even remember me. I thought you were pissed.”

“I was, but I couldn’t forget a face like yours if I wanted to,” Sid said, leaning against the counter with his hip in an attempt to act suave.

“Oh, that’s what this is,” you said, crossing your arms across your chest. He was hitting on you. Again.

“I’m not trying to- well, actually maybe I am,” he said. “I just- would you like to go on a date with me sometime?”

“A date?” At least he wasn’t just trying to get laid. Or maybe he was.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “With me.”

“I don’t even know you,” you replied.

“Then get to know me,” he pressed. “You might like me if you give me a chance.”

“I never said I didn’t like you,” you said, softening up. Sid was kind of cute and you remembered taking a liking to his goofy personality the other night.

“Then let me take you to dinner.”

You continued to stare at him blankly.

“It’s just dinner, I swear,” he added. He crossed his fingers across his heart in an ‘x’ motion.

“Fine,” you relented, grabbing a scrap piece of paper, and scribbling your digits down. “Pick me up at eight tonight.”

“Really?” he asked excited. He took the number from you and gazed down at it with a smile.

“Really,” you laughed. “Now let me get back to work. I’ll see you at eight.”

“You won’t be sorry!” he called over his shoulder as he retreated out of the shop, bumping into the door frame on his way out.

Jesus, you thought shaking your head after him. What have I done?

[anoutlandishfanfic]

The Alaskan Endeavor: Ch2 - Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

So, again, this chapter update (can I call them PUPdates? they’re now PUPDATES) is in celebration of another race that finished up yesterday morning -- the Kuskokwim 300 aka The Kusko300, which is one of if not THE most competitive middle distance race in Western Alaska. We’ll get to the pups and more about racing in the next chapter but HERE WE HAVE THE MEETING Y’ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

You can find chapter one here or over at AO3!!

Claire That evening

The Murray’s residence wasn’t far from my flat above the Abernathy’s garage — nothing in this tiny hamlet was — and I decided to walk the four blocks, taking in a remarkable summer’s evening.

Joe had warned me that the shift in daylight hours was more extreme here in Kozebue — twenty-six miles above the Arctic Circle — than where we’d reconnected on Kodiak Island… and I had to admit he was right. I’d made good use of the black out curtains that were installed in the bedroom, shutting out the sun that insisted on shining well into the night and starting up again ungodly early in the morning. I knew I’d have no trouble making my way back on foot after dinner.

It would still be broad daylight.

I rounded the final corner and scanned the lane for my destination…

“It’s a blue house with white trim… second on the left,” Joe’s wife Gail had easily informed me, for the Abernathy’s and the Murray’s were old friends.

Gail’s eyes had held the same suspicious twinkle that Jenny’s had when she’d invited me for dinner and I had a sinking suspicion that I was about to be set up on a blind date, hosted by Jenny Murray herself. My new patient had mentioned she had a brother when she was in earlier and if I were the betting sort, I’d place my life savings on him being the man in question.

How on earth did you let yourself get roped into this, Beauchamp? I sighed ruefully to myself as I spotted the abode.

Crossing the street, I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady my pounding heart as I got closer to the Murray’s front door. It was no use, of course, for it had firmly lodged itself in my throat about a block and a half back, and I was left trembling slightly as I mounted the front steps.

Wiping sweaty palms on my pants, I lifted my hand and knocked. Once — twice — three times.

… Jamie

“Can you get that?” Jenny shouted from the kitchen, the usual clamor of my nieces and nephew interfering but not obscuring her words.

Passing the youngest back to her father, I stood and answered, “Aye, I’ve got it!”

I wiped at the deposit of crumbs that wee Katie had left behind on my shirtfront, tugging at the hem in an attempt to flatten out the wrinkles pressed into it by the same. I shook my head and gave it up, knowing it was useless and that it shouldn’t really matter anyway.

Rolling my eyes at the ridiculous concern for my own appearance, I turned into the front hall and padded quickly down the plush rug to the door.

I turned the knob and pulled — then stopped dead as the door opened.

Christ, she was beautiful.

Her pale cheeks were slightly flushed, which made the small smattering of freckles across her nose stand out like brilliant stars. The curls were coming out of a plait that was draped over one shoulder and it gave her a delightfully adventurous air. She was a brunette like Jenny, but not nearly quite so dark. The light streaming in from behind her set brilliant copper highlights aglow as she flipped the thick queue away, making it disappear behind her.

One perfectly arched brow rose in question of me — and I knew I was staring — but the ability to form coherent speech left me entirely as her eyes locked on to mine.

Brown would be a woefully inaccurate word to describe such a hue as hers. They were rich like a fine whisky, a deep amber that all at once soothed and pierced your soul.

Pull yerself together, you clotheid.

I cleared my throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure and took a step back, sweeping a hand to usher her in.

“You, ah, must be Dr Claire,” I stammered, my lips still not completely able to do my bidding. “I’m Jamie, Jenny’s brother.”

Comprehension lit her eyes and she chuckled softly.

God, that sound.

It sent shockwaves up and down my spine and stood the hair on the back of my neck on end.

What I wouldn’t do to make her laugh like that again.

“Tell me, Jamie,” she kept her voice low, a conspiratorial gleam sneaking into her eyes. “Have Jenny and Gail been playing matchmaker with us?”

Raking a hand through my hair, I confessed dryly, “They’ve been trying to set me up for years.”

She tipped her head back and laughed outright and freely at my confirmation, commenting, “I thought so, but then I’d only met your sister this morning.”

“I’ve known her my whole life,” I grinned back at her. “Once Jen gets an idea in her head, it’s best to let her have at it ‘til it peters out on its own... unless it involves that wee fiend of hers.”

Delicate, slender fingers lifted to her lips as the color deepened in her cheeks, amusement still high in her voice, “Are you talking about Roger?”

“Right! Yes!” It was my turn to laugh. “You’ve met the numpty yourself.”

She grinned, “I’ve had the pleasure, yes.”

“Did she tell you he’s a service dog drop out?” I shook my head in mock derision.

Her eyes grew as big as saucers, nearly dropping the bag in her hand as she burst, “No!!”

“Oh, aye!” I scoffed, but my smile crept back in and betrayed my amusement at the whole ordeal.

“Too friendly… and easily distracted.”

“Are you two done bletherin’ out here?” My brother in law Ian stuck his head into the hallway, succinctly interrupting us with a knowing look.

“The food’s gettin’ cold!”

… Claire

Tucked between Jamie and his seven year old namesake, dinner was far from a dull affair. Jenny proved to be a remarkable cook and the table conversation ranged in topics from a nuanced detail of racing — that is, mushing — to my favorite animal.

“Do you mean in general,” I tested the waters, assembling another forkful of roast and potatoes, “or in a specific class or order?”

The little boy’s eyes lit up and I knew I’d found a topic that he particularly enjoyed… which was a stroke of luck for me, being that animals and their care was my field of expertise.

Thank God it wasn’t dinosaurs.

“Mammals!” He eagerly narrowed the field, then zeroed in even further, “What’s your favorite African mammal?!”

“Oh, that’s easy! A giraffe!” I supplied, my smile matching his. “I got to see them in the wild, you know… in Tanzania.”

This caught the attention of the rest of the table and began to field questions left and right about my time on the Serengeti. I didn't mind, as they were happy memories, and soon won over both the younger Jamie and his five year old sister Maggie with tales of elephants and zebras and all of the animals they’d only read about in books or seen on television.

“Did you see any lions?” Little Maggie’s voice dropped into what I supposed was her version of a whisper — as if one were right beside us — and she nearly vibrated with excitement as she asked again, “Did you see any lions, Dr Claire?!”

I heard Jamie, the elder and my supposed date for the evening, chuckle beside me and I wondered just what sort of mischief this little one could get into when she set her mind to it.

“I did see lions too, Maggie,” I assured her, taking on her affected stage whisper. “We went in a truck at night and had big flashlights and saw them getting a drink of water.”

“Dey sirsty,” two year old Katie informed the table proudly, making all of the adults grin.

I bit my lip to keep from chuckling at her innocent attempt at being involved in the conversation, but agreed, “They get very thirsty.”

“How’d ye wind up in Alaska, then?”

This turn in conversation came from Jamie’s father, an older man by the name of Brian.

“I went to university with Joe Abernathy in Seattle,” I supplied. “We went separate ways after graduation but I ran into him again when I was visiting my uncle on Kodiak Island… Joe offered me a position at his clinic and I couldn’t refuse.”

“He’s done a lot of good wi’ that practice of his,” Brian commented. “Been a dream of his for some time now.”

Nodding, I smiled at the memory of Joe’s eager rants and rails, “He spoke quite a bit about it in school. I knew how much it meant to him and was eager to help him in his cause.”

“He almost worked himself to death before you came along,” Jenny snorted, then shot me an apologetic look. “Bein’ the only vet in the Northwest Borough made for long hours an’ no rest.”

“That’s why I wanted to come… to ease the burden a bit.”

“Well, then you’re a saint, Dr Claire,” she sighed, surmising with a shake of her head.

“No,” I assured her quietly. “I’m just plain old Claire Beauchamp.”

… Jamie. After Dinner.

“Wait just a minute,” I protested. “You walked here?!”

We were at the front door again, this time in full control of my faculties, but the woman before me was quickly turning out to be more of an complexity than I ever imagined possible.

Her brow furrowed at this, as if she hadn’t thought of the incongruity of her walking the mile from the Abernathy’s to here on foot.

“Yes… why?”

“Well, it’s… it’s just that…'' I stammered, flummoxed. “Don’t you have somethin’ to drive?”

“Of course,” she looked at me as if I’d sprouted five heads from my shoulders. “I have a perfectly good vehicle, but why drive it four blocks when it’s beautiful outside and I can walk?”

I opened my mouth to respond to this and found I didn’t have a reasonable answer. She found great amusement in this and crossed her arms, waiting for me to respond.

Shaking my head, I gave it up and couldn’t help but smile as I offered to walk her home.

This took her by complete surprise and her jaw dropped, “Why?!”

“Well,” I pulled at the back of my neck, trying to come up with something and shrugged helplessly, “like you said… it’s a beautiful evening.”

Her brows nearly rose to her hairline, not buying this for one moment.

“Look, it’s the polite thing to do, aye? I know you live at the Abernathy’s because Joe told me… I’ll leave just as soon as you’ve made it to the front door, I promise,” I insisted. “Nothin more.”

She contemplated this, then clarified, “Just a walk?”

I dropped my hands, swinging my hands away from my sides in a clearing motion and then against them again with a soft pat.

“Just a walk.”

[p-artsypants]

The Ghost of Smokey Joe (2)

Autumn Serenade

Adrien Agreste was acting bizarre. Stilted body language, plastic smile, and he seemed to have forgotten how close they were. Before she can get the truth out of him, Marinette finds herself as the sole heir to the Gabriel brand and the mansion, following the murder-suicide of both Adrien and Gabriel Agreste. The mystery continues as Tikki explains that Adrien was Chat Noir...but if Adrien is six feet under, why is Chat Noir still running around?

Ao3 | FF.net

--

Many hours later, the door clicked closed, and Marinette sat up straight in attention. “Adrien?”

“No girl, just me,” said Alya. “Did you sleep at the table all night?”

Sunlight poured in the window. 

“I guess I did.” Marinette rubbed at her eye, smearing her mascara. “What time is it?” 

“Morning time. Almost 8. I’m surprised Sunshine isn’t still here. I have expected to catch you both cuddling on the couch together. Did you just…fall asleep at the table?” 

Marinette didn’t answer, her eyes welling up with tears. 

“Marinette?”

“He bailed on me. Ghosted me. Not even a text.” 

“He what!?” She shrieked. “Why that dumb little—“ Alya whipped out her phone, and called someone, putting them on speaker. 

“He didn’t answer me, Alya, don’t even try.” 

Instead, Nino’s voice spoke over the line. “What did you forget?”

“I didn’t forget anything! It was that Best Man of yours!” 

“Adrien? What did stuffed-with-fluff forget?”

“He forgot Marinette!” 

“Marinette? He ghosted her!?” 

“Yes! He never showed! And he’s not answering any calls, so you better get a good excuse from him! He better be dead or in the hospital, or I’ll put him there!” 

“Alya…” Marinette said weakly. “I’m sure he has a good excuse…” 

“I’ll call him,” Nino promised. “I’ll figure this all out. He’s a good boy, I know he wouldn’t just…not call.” 

“I want to believe that too,” Alya said with pain in her voice. 

Then, Marinette’s phone rang, and she hurriedly answered it, not looking at the number. “Hello?”

“Hello Miss Dupain-Cheng,” said Nathalie.

“Oh, good morning.” 

“I’m calling to inform you that next week, you’ll be working from the office all week. Mr. Agreste is…feeling unwell.” 

“Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know. By chance, is Adrien there?”

“No.” And without anything else, Nathalie hung up. 

“Rude,” Marinette muttered to herself. “Something smells fishy.” 

Nino called back a minute later. “I can’t get a hold of Adrien either. He’s not answering his phone.” 

Alya frowned, arms crossed. “Fishy indeed.” 

“Well, he can’t avoid me forever. I am Gabriel’s intern, so I’ll corner him sometime.” Then a horrible realization came over Marinette. “Oh god, he didn’t actually ask me out!” 

“What? Did you daydream this whole thing?!”

“No! He asked me if I wanted to have dinner, and he said he had something important he wanted to tell me! But he never clarified that it was a date! I kissed his cheek! What if he panicked!? Alya, this is my fault!” 

Nino laughed from the other end of the line. “Dude, this is so not your fault. It sounded like a date to me. He still owes you an explanation. Regardless of what type. Don’t blame yourself.” 

“Nino’s got it right, Marinette. You didn’t do anything wrong. When he stops being such a butthead, he’ll come groveling. I promise.” 

“Yeah, well, we can only hope.” 

Through the trees

Comes Autumn with her serenade

Melodies

The sweetest music ever played

Autumn kisses we knew

Are beautiful souvenirs

A whole week of silence was torture. Marinette continued to go to work, and put on her big girl pants and acted like everything was fine. Gabriel only communicated to her through emails, and she was unanimously thrust into the leadership role in his absence. 

It was frustrating, annoying, and stressful, since she was not prepared to become CEO overnight. By the end of the week, she had run herself ragged. Fueled by coffee and fear of failure, she wrapped up her last project for the evening, and went back to the apartment. 

There, blessedly, Alya and Nino greeted her with hugs and leftovers. 

“Rough day?”

“Rough week! Mr. Agreste has been basically AWOL, and I’m the one filling in! He doesn’t answer my phone calls or texts, and answers my emails an hour after the fact. I’m exhausted!”

“And Nathalie didn’t say anything to you?” 

“Nope, she’s sealed up tight. Apparently, Gabriel is sick. But I can’t get any news about Adrien. Honestly, I’m about one mental breakdown away from breaking down the gates and demanding answers.” 

Alya chuckled. “No need to be so drastic, Marinette. Maybe both of them got the flu, and Nathalie is forbidding them from doing anything but resting. You know how strict she is.” 

Marinette kicked off her shoes and leaned her head back on the couch. “I know, I know, and you’re probably right. It might be best if I come up with a plan in case this ever happens again. Specifically Gabriel getting sick, not Adrien being a coward.” 

“It’s weird though,” Said Nino. “Adrien’s always been overly considerate. Even after all this time, he still asks too many questions about social faux pas. For him to just ghost you, for a whole week even; it’s concerning.” 

Marinette had tried not to think like that. Adrien being awkward and scared was so much easier to stomach than something tragic befalling him. 

And yet, if it had, wouldn’t she know by now? 

She took out her phone, and called Nathalie, much to the curious gazes of Nino and Alya. 

“Hello Marinette.” The woman greeted, as stoic as ever. “I was under the impression that you were done for the night.” 

“I am. I just...haven’t heard from Adrien all week.” 

“With Gabriel ill, Adrien has been busy, much like you. It wouldn’t surprise me that social calls would fall to the wayside.” 

“I was just...worried. Is he there?” 

“Yes. He’s fine.” 

“Can I talk to him?” 

“He’s asleep. He’s had a hard week. You’ll see him Monday, as Mr. Agreste wants you working at the manor.” 

“Oh, okay then. I guess...thank you, Nathalie.” 

“You're welcome.” The call ended. 

“So he’s not dead in a ditch.” Marinette announced. “Nathalie said he’s asleep. And I’ll see him Monday.” 

Nino frowned, though he didn’t say anything. 

It was just...odd.

As I pause to recall

The leaves seem to fall like tears

Silver stars

Were clinging to an Autumn sky

Monday morning, Marinette went over to the mansion. She rang the bell, and the gates opened. She crossed the quiet drive, the gates shutting behind her, and approached the door. 

There was usually someone there to open it to greet her, whether it was Nathalie or the Gorilla. Not this time. 

Marinette took hold of the handle and opened it herself, for the first time ever. She didn’t think they would mind, if the gate opened. 

“Hello?” She called. “Nathalie?” 

The lights in the foyer were off. And despite the large windows beside her, dark shadows hung in the corners like cobwebs. 

The house felt empty. Cold, and dark. The manor had always been cold, of course. It was picture perfect, sterile and modern minimal. But today it felt worse. Noticeably worse. 

If this is what it felt like at night when she went home, it was no wonder Adrien hated it here. 

The doors to Gabriel’s office were closed, and she approached, knocking gently. 

“Come in.” Said Nathalie’s voice. 

She was at her desk, but Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. “Good morning,” she greeted.

“G-good morning.” Marinette nodded. “I’m just letting you know I’m here. You usually greet me at the door so...” 

“You’ve been here long enough, I didn’t think such formalities were necessary.” 

“They aren’t! It’s fine, totally fine. Just...unexpected is all. Is Gabriel still ill?” 

“A bit. He may come down, but he may not. I will field all questions.” 

“Okay,” she nodded. She prepared to leave, but asked. “Is Adrien home?” 

“He’s working in his room. He’s very busy.” 

Marinette just nodded, and went to her own office down the hall.

It was a smaller room, used to belong to Emilie. Gabriel was very specific about how things were kept. The desk was Marinette’s, but everything else was Emilie’s. The bureau in the corner, the little settee, the curtains, it was all her design. Emilie had good taste, thankfully, and so the room was fine the way it was. 

Even with the light off, this room didn’t have that oppressive weight in it. 

She could relax, however slightly, and get to work. 

It was hard to concentrate on work when all she wanted to do was storm upstairs and demand answers from Adrien. At this point, she definitely felt like she deserved them. Date or not, she deserved a little closure as to what had happened, and why he had never followed up. 

In all likeliness, it would probably just be, “my phone died, and then I forgot to text you back.” 

But Nino’s comment about Adrien’s extreme consciousness really nagged at her. 

Before she knew it, it was time for her lunch break, and she took her sack lunch with her to Gabriel’s office. 

He still hadn’t come down, but Nathalie was there. 

“Nathalie? I’m taking my lunch now. Do you think I could visit Adrien?” 

The woman stopped her work and screwed up her lips, an expression Marinette had never seen on her before. She seemed to be thinking much too hard. 

“I will go see if he is able to handle company.” 

“Tell him I don’t want to bother him, and we don’t have to talk. I just want company.” 

Nathalie nodded, and stepped out of the room. Marinette followed across the foyer, before Nathalie harshly told her, “wait here.” 

She ascended the stairs to Adrien’s room. 

Love was ours

Until October wandered by

Let the years come and go

I'll still feel the glow

That time cannot fade

When I hear

That lovely Autumn serenade

Marinette never had to wait. Since working in the same house, they had developed a pretty open door policy. He was allowed in her office anytime, and likewise, she was allowed in his room, though she usually knocked first. Young men and all. 

But this was the first time anything like this happened. Was Nathalie just paranoid about her getting sick too? Or her getting Adrien sick?

Was Adrien still ignoring her, and let Nathalie in on it? 

What had she done to warrant this reaction? 

Finally, Nathalie came out of the room. 

“Adrien can see you for a little bit. But he’s busy, so try not to distract him.” Her tone was stern, in a way that made Marinette instinctively curl into herself. A sternness like she was in trouble. 

Seriously, what did she do?!

She climbed the stairs, and approached the door, knocking slightly. “Adrien?” 

“Please come in,” his voice called back. 

When she entered, she noticed the lights were out. He sat in his computer chair, facing her completely, sitting rigidly, and smiling. 

It was the fakest smile she’d ever seen. 

She sighed. “Relax. I’m not mad.” 

He blinked. “You…aren’t?” 

“I mean, I’m a little confused. Why didn’t you show?” 

He frowned. “I’m sorry, I think I’m the one that’s confused. What are you talking about?” 

She scoffed. “Last week? We were going to have dinner? You never showed or called?” 

“Oh. I…forgot.” 

“It was your idea!” 

“I…was sick. And I fell asleep. Yes. What day?” 

“Friday night.” 

His eyes widened. “Oh yes. That is exactly what happened.” 

She sighed as she sank into his couch, and opened her lunch. “I understand. I really do, but next time, could you return my calls? I spent a whole week in silence from you.” 

“Nathalie confiscated my phone.” 

This made her chuckle. “Okay, that’s an ironclad excuse.” 

He smiled, again, so fake. 

“So what did you want to tell me?”

“Tell you? I was under the impression that you wanted to talk to me.” 

“Well yeah, but on Friday. You asked me to dinner and said you wanted to tell me something.” 

He spun around in his chair to look at his computer. He scrolled through a document, and then turned back to her. “I don’t remember, I’m afraid. This past week has been…a bit fuzzy, to tell you the truth.” 

“What were you sick with?” 

His eye twitched. “Uh, cancer.” 

“WHAT?!” 

“Too severe? Strep throat then. Pneumonia. Bronchitis.” 

“You could just say you don’t know instead of giving me a heart attack, you know.” 

“Apologies.” 

“Why are you talking like that?” 

“Talking how so?” 

“Like, really proper.” 

“Is it not how I usually talk?” 

“Not when we’re alone…” 

He screwed up his lips. “Hmm. My bad. Too many period dramas while I was sick, I suppose.” 

She laughed. “Oh my gosh, like when we binged Sherlock together, and we couldn’t stop talking with British accents?!”

He grinned. “Precisely. Just like that.” 

“Man, had I known you were sick, I would have brought you some soup and given you company.” 

“Nathalie wouldn’t have let you.” 

“I know. It just kills me to think that you were alone all week.” 

“It kills you?” He looked horrified. 

“Yeah…I know you get lonely…sorry, I’m prying again.” 

He shook his head. “Just…the phrasing caught me off guard.” 

Marinette noticed from the moment she walked in, he had only once glanced at his computer. She was being a distraction, just like Nathalie had asked her not to. 

“Well, I heard you were busy, so I’ll finish my lunch in my office. But, we’re good right?” 

“What?” 

“Like, you aren’t mad at me for anything? I didn’t do anything wrong?” 

“No, you did nothing wrong. We’re great friends.” 

“Good!” 

Something was wrong. 

Love was ours

Until October wandered by

Let the years come and go

I'll still feel the glow

That time cannot fade

When I hear

That lovely Autumn serenade

She walked to him and kissed his temple, like he always appreciated, and she spared a glance at the computer screen. 

She only got a glimpse of the first line. 

‘Your name is Adrien Agreste.’

--

I can’t guarantee prompt updates for a little bit. I have some logistics to figure out, but I have a few chapters ready, so I figured I’d start posting! All the chapter titles are songs from my spooky halloween playlist that inspired this fic (and their lyrics will be in the chapters)! You can find that playlist here. The playlist will be updated as the fic goes on.

I hope to post the last chapter on Halloween!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Ok here’s a Re-Request for the hallucinations reader! Since you wanted something specific, how about Void with the hallucinations and they get it just like how Sara did when she got joe, it starts with a happy memory of the two, and the reader goes “well it doesn’t matter I’m dead” I think it would be some good angst with the reader all like “Utsuro that important huh?”, you can do it when ever you feel like it! Thank you ✨💕💗💓

Here you go! Sorry for the long wait! ^^

..........

Hajime

Training with Hajime was always a favorite pastime of yours. In fact..you seem to be just as good as him.

“Wow..I’m just about to fall over here, [y/n].” Hajime holds the punching bag, feeling you take heavy swings at it, but after a while he peeks around it. “...hey, do you need a break?”

“A break? Eh..I’m alright. I can do this all day!”

“You can say that now. But you should still rest even if-”

“Why would I need rest if I’m already dead?”

“...huh?”

Suddenly he sees your body change into a red, demonic entity--with black eyes and a toothy grin before you swing your boxing glove at him.

His glasses shatter as he’s hit right in the face, knocking him to the ground. He feels hot blood pouring down his cheeks. “A-Ah! What the-?!”

“I died because you wanted to meet your precious “savior”. Bet you felt really good about killing Yuri, too, huh?”

He’s horrified. How did you know of Void’s goal??

But regardless, you were strangling him now--punching him again just to see him bleed. All while he struggles and begs you to stop.

Then...he wakes up in a cold sweat, panting like he just ran a marathon.

The nightmares of your death never stop. But even during the day he can still see your demonic form everywhere he looked, always taunting him.

Iroha

You two are just happily painting together, critiquing each other’s work (though you don’t go too harsh lest you make the painter cry).

“I’m glad we get to do this more often!” She smiles. “Honestly..I-I’m..happy being with you, [y/n].”

“Yeah, but you know what would be even better?”

“What?” She perks up, her smile growing, but your next words completely shattered the peaceful moment.

“If I never died.”

“...n-no...c-c’mon, [y/n]..I didn’t...I didn’t mean it...” Iroha looks down at her sketchbook, startled to see the scenery she painted turn all bloody instead.

“You can’t look away from the truth, Iroha. Hey.....look at me.”

She nervously glances back up and screams upon seeing your demonic form, sporting the wounds that were inflicted on you during your death.

“Was it worth it, sweetheart? Was it worth meeting--?”

“Iroha...Iroha! What’s wrong?!”

Then she sees Emma’s hands reach out to her, bringing her back to reality. “Iroha, dear..it’s me,” the actress soothes. “What happened? Why did you scream?”

Iroha can barely see your grinning form in the mirror, which makes her shiver. But despite the tears she just brushes off Emma’s concerns.

“N-Nothing..I..thought i saw something..”

Nikei

“Can you help me with a headline for this week’s paper, [y/n]?” Nikei asks as you two sit at an outdoor café.

“Hmm, I might have an idea for you.”

“Oh! Already? I never even told you what the scoop was...but alright!” With the click of his pen, he eagerly awaits your opinion. “Well? What is it?”

“You really want my opinion?”

“Of course!”

“...but why would opinions of the dead matter?”

Suddenly Nikei looks up and finds himself in a darkened void, with just you and him. And he grimly remembers being the “mastermind” of the plot that ended with your death.

But he’s confused--is he dreaming or hallucinating? Or was this Mikado's trick?

You snatch his hat and pen, mocking him as you write an imaginary headline about your death, which leaves him shocked and quite shaken.

“S/o..I-I..I’m sorry. But if you had only stayed out of the way-!!!”

“Of course..you blame everyone but yourself. You take it allllll out on the others..but you’re just an insecure lowlife..”

Emma

Together you’re both just walking on the beach, glad to get away from society.

“I’m honestly glad you’re here, [y/n]..” The actress sighs. “Without you around I’d probably go mad..”

“Well..how are you now that I’m already dead?”

“....come again?” She looks at you, only to see your eyes blacken and the world around you two distort.

“Seems you’ve gone mad enough to make up some silly scenario like this....did you really think it’ll help you forget what you did?”

Emma freezes up. She remembers witnessing your death. She was in shock the whole trial and was a suspect for quite some time.

She can only stare in horror as you taunted her. It felt like she was in a horror movie but...it was very real.

By the time the hallucinations fade, someone finds her in absolute hysterics, and they take her to Kokoro in an effort to calm her down.

But she keeps chanting "all my fault" the whole time.

[lucinations]

you – Vivianne Miedema x Reader

prompt: You know maybe a fluff angst imagine ? (Viv ofc)

a/n: okay this is sort of angsty? idk I’m rubbish at angst but here ya’ll go this took forever to write there are SO MANY EMOTIONS 

“Come on girls, my grandmother can run faster than that,” joked our coach, Joe, as I ran to intercept a ball for what felt like the 50th time.

“That’s some fit grandma,” I grumbled under my breath, passing it to Daan, and there was a breathless chuckle to my left.

“Bloody hate running,” Viv grumbled, and I nodded. There was a sharp whistle sound and the players stopped running.

“Alright girls, blue team wins. See you all tomorrow, bright and early for game day,” Joe called, and we stopped running, slowly making our way over to the bench for a drink.

“You alright?” Viv asked me as I panted, reaching for my kitbag.

“Give me a sec,” I said, reaching into the side pocket, pulling out my inhaler and giving it a shake. I took a deep puff, holding my breath.

“That bad huh?” Viv asked, and I nodded, smiling as much as I could with my mouth closed.

Slowly, after a sec I let out my breath.

“You’ve done that a lot lately,” Viv said, raising an eyebrow, “You sure you’re alright?”

“Fine,” I said, dropping the inhaler back into my bag and ignoring her worried glance, “Stop worrying, mum,”  

She gave me an unimpressed look. “Excuse me for caring about you,”

I smiled slightly at that, feeling my stomach make a few giddying flips.

“Wow? Is that genuine affection in your voice?” I asked sarcastically, “Didn’t know you were capable of that,”

There was laughter from the other girls, and Viv shook her head, leaning over the kitbag to punch me on the shoulder.

As the rest of the group filed towards the changing room and I followed suit, she sidled up to me.

“I was going to ask,” she said, falling into step next to me, “Did you want to come over this weekend? Lisa’s going up to Scotland to visit her parents, and I want someone to yell at the TV with when football is on,”

I had to fight the urge to smile as my heart thumped in my chest.

“Er. . .I was actually headed into London for a shop and dinner on Saturday,”

“Oh. . .dinner? You got a hot date or something?” she joked, and I smiled.

“Nah, just by myself,” I said, and she raised her eyebrows.

“You go to dinner by yourself?” she asked me, and I nodded.

“Sure,” I said, shrugging, “Not always someone available when I want fish and chips,”

“Look no further,” she said, “You mind if I tag along?” she asked, and I raised my eyebrows, surprised as we went into the changing room.

“I mean. . . sure, yeah,” I said, smiling.

“I’ll pick you up? We both know you can’t drive in London to save your life,” she said with a laugh, and I frowned as I stuffed the remainder of my clothes into my kitbag.

“Sounds good,” I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice, “Malin? Let’s go? See you later, guys,”

There was a chorus of ‘Byes’ as I stepped out of the changing room, bag slung over my shoulder and a smile spread over my face, followed by Malin. Since we lived so close to each other, we tended to carpool to trainings and games.  My heart felt like it had grown wings that were violently fluttering in my chest, and the more I thought about the fact I’d be spending the majority of my weekend with Viv, the more my stomach did giddy flips.

“Be careful,” Malin said from next to me.

“Hm?” I asked, pulled out of my daydream.

“With Viv, I mean,” she said, as we stepped out of the compound and walked towards the car park.

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown, fishing around for my keys.

“She’s already got someone, Y/N” she said, “Don’t let yourself fall into that trap,”

“What are you talking about?” I asked with a chuckle, unlocking the car and opening the driver’s side door while Malin went around to sit in the passenger’s seat.

“I see the way you look at her, Y/N. I might be new to this team, but I’m not blind. How long have you been in love with her?”

since I met her for the first time last year. 1 year, 20 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes.

“In love?” I asked incredulously, starting the car, “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m not,” Malin said seriously, “You talk about her all the time, and the smile you get on your face when she talks to you Y/N. . .”

She gave me a pitiful look, and I could feel the dread filling me up like a rising tide as we drove.

I let out a sigh. “Is it that obvious?”

“No,” Malin admitted, “But I’ve come to know you pretty well, and I’m pretty observant. So, how long?”

“Long enough,” I said with another sigh, “I’m pretty sick of it if I’m honest,”

“I can imagine,” Malin said, “You’re only hurting yourself though, you know, by hanging around her,”

“Can’t exactly avoid her,” I said, and Malin raised her eyebrows.

“Maybe not, but I don’t think spending your weekend with her is a good idea,” she said, and I bit my lip. I knew she was right.

The truth was, I couldn’t stay away from Viv. I liked her so much it hurt, and watching her love someone else was equally painful, but so far I had consoled myself with the time spent as her friend.

“I’ll be okay. I just have to wait it out, it’ll pass,” I said, and Malin sighed.

“I hope, for your sake, that you’re right,”

* * * * * *

I hated being wrong.

2 years, 120 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes

“Y/N?” Viv’s voice snapped me out of my daydream, “Are you even listening to me?”

“Hm?” I asked, and she smiled as our eyes met.

“Who are you daydreaming about? You’re like a lovesick puppy lately,” she asked me.

You, my brain said.

“No one,” I replied, as the sounds of the restaurant returned to me. We had gone out for dinner with Malin and Lisa, and the four of us were sitting in our favorite sushi restaurant in SoHo.  

Liar, my brain snorted.

“Fine fine, if you won’t tell me I’ll just have to find out on my own,” she said cheekily.

I love you, my brain screamed.

“Please don’t,” I told her semi-seriously, reaching for another piece of sushi.

“We actually invited you both to dinner to tell you something. . .” Lisa said, and Viv smiled so broadly it basically covered half her face.

“What?” I said with a chuckle, and when I looked up from my plate of sushi, Viv was holding out her hand across the table.

There, barely a meter from my face, sitting, glittering on Viv’s finger as if it was taunting me, was an engagement ring.

“Oh my god!” Malin said with an incredulous laugh, as Lisa laughed at the shocked expression on her face, “Congratulations guys,”

I could feel Viv’s eyes on my face, and I looked up to meet her eye. She looked expectant, eyes sparkling with excitement and happiness. Malin glanced over at me worriedly.

It felt like somebody had punched me in the face as my breath left me.

“Y/N! Say something!” Viv said with an anxious chuckle, and I had to shake myself out of my shock.

“Gosh. . .” I said, breathlessly, “Wow. . .guys, congratulations!” I managed to bring out, and Viv smiled brightly, chuckling.

“You froze there for second,” she said, and I gave her a watery smile.

“Yeah,” I said, with a weak chuckle.

“I was going to ask you to be my best man. . .well, best woman,” Viv said, and the fist that was closing around my heart tightened.  

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

Malin’s hand squeezed mine under the table.

“I. . .yeah, gosh. . .of course!” I brought out, and my voice was trembling, making Viv frown lightly.

“So when are you planning it for?” Malin asked Lisa, and their conversation fell away as my vision tunnelled. Viv leaned over the table with concern in her eyes.

“Hey, you alright?” she asked, and I nodded. I could feel the tears filling my eyes as I avoided Viv’s gaze.

I desperately tried to control my breath and my facial expressions as my emotions threatened to burst out of me.

“Yeah. . .just hot in here, isn’t it. . .just a sec–”

The sound of my chair grating backwards interrupted my stuttering, and I stood up.

I didn’t even glance back as I headed straight for the bathroom, my heart thumping in my chest and the blood rushing deafeningly in my ears.

I barely made it to the stall and locked the door before the tears spilled from my eyes and my body started to shake with sobs. It felt like every neuron in my body had been set on fire, as white-hot tendrils of pain coursed from my chest, my heart, to the rest of my body. I put a hand on my heaving chest as I started to sob, tears rolling down my cheeks.

She’s engaged.

The words thumped through my brain, like a siren at full volume in my head.

A knock at the stall door made me jump, as I struggled to bring in breaths.

“Y/N?” came Malin’s distinct accent, and I unlocked the door, swinging it open to reveal me sitting on the upturned toilet seat, face red and puffy and wet with tears.

She pulled me up and crushed me into a hug, and a renewed bout of tears steamed down my face.

“I can’t watch her marry someone else, Mal, I just can’t,” I said in between sobs.

“Then don’t,” Malin said quietly, holding me tight.

When we pulled away, I nodded, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears off my face.

“You’re right,”

* * * * *

“Do you think I should wear a suit? I mean, we could both wear a dress but I’m not sure I want the whole hassle of wearing one. . . .what do you think?”

I was sat at Viv and Lisa’s dinner table, staring down at the wedding catalogue open in front of me on the table. I wasn’t looking at it really, and I had tuned out Viv’s question.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N? Are you even listening to me?” Viv’s voice shook me out of my daze, and I looked up at her, eyes focusing on her. She was standing on the opposite side of the islands, hands on her hips and giving me a chastising look. She was wearing her favorite pair of grey sweatpants and plain white t-shirt. Her hair was up in her usual bun, the one I loved so much on her. 

It physically hurt to look at her.

“Hm? A dress? Not very you, is it?” I said, and she frowned.

“Yeah. . .What’s wrong? You’ve been off since the restaurant two weeks ago,” she asked, “You’ve been failing me in your best woman duties,” she joked.

Tell her.  

“I’m alright Viv,” I assured her, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

“You’re still my best friend Y/N, I know when you’re fibbing,” she replied, “Are you okay?”

No.

“No,” I said with a sigh, closing the magazine in front of me. The smiling bride on the cover taunted me.

“Okay. . . Want to tell what’s going on?” she asked, taking a few steps towards me and sitting down on the barstool to my left, so she was facing me.

“I–“

My throat felt like it was closing up. I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t tell her.

You have to.  

“Hey,” she said softly, seeing the anxiety in my face and putting a hand on my knee, “Whatever it is, Y/N, you can tell me,”

The sudden contact startled me, and I stood up from the chair, putting some distance between me and her.

“I can’t come to your wedding,” I said hastily, going to stand on the opposite sideof the kitchen island and Viv frowned.

“What?” she asked, stunned, “Why not? Are you busy that day?”

“No–”

“ ‘Cause we could always find a way to–”

“I can’t come to your wedding because I’m in love with you,”

The words were out of my mouth before I could even stop them. It felt like they had been sitting at the back of my throat for a long time, waiting impatiently for the moment they could tumble out. I could feel my heart thumping threefold in my chest, could hear the blood roaring in my ears and the anticipation running through my veins.

The expression on Viv’s face was the equivalent of someone that had just been punched in the face.

“I– What? ” she asked, and the shock in her voice wasn’t hard to miss.

I looked straight at her.

“I have been in love with you for the past 2 years and–”, I steeled myself with another breath. “–I can’t watch you marry someone else, Vivianne, I just can’t,”

When Viv said nothing, I went on.

“It would break me, into a million pieces, and–” I said, my voice catching in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes, “–and I don’t think–. . . I don’t think anybody could put me back together again,”

The silence that followed was deafening. We looked at each other, her blue eyes staring into mine.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, hoarsely.

“I couldn’t,” I said sadly, “You were with someone and we both know neither of us are that kind of person,”

“You didn’t even give us a chance,” she said quietly. Her eyes were swimming with tears. “You didn’t even think about the possibility that we could be–”

“Be what?” I asked her, shaking my head, “Lisa makes you so happy, Viv, I see it every day. You are my best friend, and your happiness was so important to me,”

“And what about yours?” Viv said, standing up, “We could’ve been happy, could’ve been something–. . .but you didn’t even try, you. . . you gave up before it even started,”

I gave her a sad smile. “It’s okay, Viv–”

“No, it isn’t!” she shouted, taking several steps forward, and I was startled by the pain in her voice, “You are so important to me, don’t you understand that? I love you, for god’s sake and I–, I can’t lose you,”

Another silence. Her words sunk in, and several tears fell down my face.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, “I really am, but I can’t do this. I can’t be around you right now,”

She sniffed, wiping tears from her face. “I understand,”

Then, in two strides, she was standing in front of me, and she pulled me into a hug. She had done it so many times before, but the emotion in this one made my heart clench. I drank her in, her smell, he warmth, the way her arms felt wrapped around me, holding me. When we pulled away from each other, one of her hands grabbed mine, and we stood facing each other. Her face was inches from mine, breath fanning my face.

“Viv. . .” I said, a she leaned forward.

“Shush,” she said, before her lips met mine.

She kissed me and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be, her hand resting below my ear, thumb caressing my cheek.

When she pulled away, it felt like taking a breath of fresh air. I took a step back, my lips still tingling and the salty taste of tears lingering.

“I really hope you’re happy Viv,” I said sadly, and she smiled through a renewed bout of tears, “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

She nodded, and with a a last smile, I turned away from her and strode out of the kitchen, away from her, away from my anguish and my feelings and ready to start over.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Apartment AU Masterpost:

-Everyone lives in an apartment complex.

-Xisuma as landlord? Or just a really well looked up to person in the complex. Whichever works for you!

-Pranks all the time. Everyone's constantly pranking each other.

-Everyone has 'normal people jobs.' Perhaps Joe is an English teacher? (Cleo's also a teacher. (Irl.) Omg, what if they teach at the same school?) Maybe Bdubs is a professional interior designer? Maybe Cub builds computers? Go nuts, get creative.

-Actually, screw it. Bdubs works at IKEA.

-Everyone meets up every Friday night to go to the pub or go bowling or just do something together.

-They have a discord server because of course they do.

-European Hermits are early-birds, American hermits are night-owls. (This is the only way I can think to portray timezones and waking hours when everyone's living in the same building.)

-They all still love minecraft, don't worry.

-Keralis has so many books his flat is basically a library. He lets people come in and borrow books for a small fee.

-Tinfoilchef is a bit of a shut in but everyone makes an effort to include him.

-Etho would also be a cryptid like Xisuma. Like, we've seen Xisuma's whole body other than his face but the best we know about Etho is that: 1. He exists and 2. From the, like, one single real life photo he's shared, he broke a headset. Also, 3. Allegedly, he's buff. Otherwise; Beef and Etho invite Pause (who lives elsewhere,) over at random intervals to [play ctm maps] and do god knows what. Bdoubs works at IKEA but is the person to make the room displays, y'know.

-Scar sells dice and other tabletop rpg supplies that he designs. His shop is magiccrystals. com

-Cub and Scar made business with the guy who runs the fight club. They get half of the profits and everyone’s always wondering how those two can always afford the most expensive Christmas gifts for everyone.

-Mumbo could be an engineer or work on a STEM field, and he works on some really important and impressive projects and that would explain his polish person, Exept, when it comes to helping another hermit to change a lightbulb or fix a microwave he is an absolute disaster.

-Grian owns a parrot that knows everyones' names and faces and greets them when they come in.

-Scar's apartment has a balcony filled with plants and he has to bring them inside for the winter. (I'm assuming that all 4 seasons happen) Even without the balcony plants, his place is still full of indoor plants including his favorite venus flytrap. There is always a plant knocked over from Jellie's shenanigans. Jellie is supposed to stay in his apartment, however she keeps on getting out somehow, even getting to Xisuma's apartment occasionally.

-There's a grassy patch out back that acts as a backyard, but Stress has effectively taken it over. Perfect for flowers of all colors in the spring and summer, and during the winter you KNOW she’s building an ice castle from which to throw snowball at all her friends.

-Beef and, when he’s visiting, Pause get a lot of questions about Etho (since unlike X who gets one tightlipped visitor in shape of his brother Etho gets two that are willing to be vague) however they charge a fee for people to guess. They’d never actually sell him out but the guesses are always something technical related so there’s not much of a risk, he actually works as a botanist/gardener.

-Iskall is extremely good at ice hockey and, as resident Canadians, Etho and Beef have played with him. However Iskall only knows that he’s played with Beef because both beef and etho refuse to tell him who in the rink was Etho when they played.

-The only person who’s seen Xisuma's face is Keralis.

-Nobody knows what Grian does for a job. Like, when they think they've figured it out what he does, they're thrown through a loop again because he does a lot of odd jobs. Need help with a pet? Grian can help! Rip on your clothes? Don't worry, Grian knows how to fix it! Ect.

-Grian's an assassin. Iskall will make assassin jokes and Grian, without looking up from his coffee will go: "that's not how that works!" And then go back to being quiet. Everyone's like ????

-I love the idea of Grian knowing all these cool facts and when anyone acts he says 'it's because of his job,' and they still can't figure out what he does. He keeps correcting Iskall on assassin facts but they're all just like 'oh Grian sure must love those types of movies, huh.'

-Cleo teaches Joe's kid. (That means she teaches either year 2 or year 3? // 1st grade or 2nd grade?)

-Grian's family is in the mafia but he mostly just vibes. Sure, he works with the mafia, but he keeps his regular life away from work and none of the hermits (besides False because she saved the Mafia boss) know. Imagine boss looking at False and going, 'oh hey, you're already protected.' False is confused and says 'what?' But the Mafia Boss has already left.

-Etho is always in full kakashi cosplay.

-Honorary hermits apartment au: zloy and pixl have a radio show but also act as private investigators. Falsie hires them to investigate how she got the protection of the mafia. On their investigation they start asking Elybeat (that lives on a building right next to the hermits) about weird behaviors that he might have seen. Ely just goes ‘all of what they do is weird. I’ve recorded weird stuff they say and remixed it. They though it was funny and put the remixes as their elevator music.'

-Everyone thinks Etho is an assassin, but really, he's a horticulturist/botanist. He doesn't bother to correct them cause it means he doesn't get pranked, (or, as often.) Maybe someone finds out eventually? I don't know who. Maybe Doc and they keep it hush hush cause they think it's funny or something. || Maybe Bdubs finds out, (because I think he's seen Naruto?? Swear I saw a Twitter post where he recognized a Naruto joke) and he's the only one that recognizes that Etho's dressed like Kakashi and NOT an assassin. (That's lowkey a joke though.)

-Someone warns Grian against parking euro because they think Etho's an assassin and Grian just kinda goes: "alright then." Knowing that there's no way Etho is an assassin, but also realising how the hermits view that profession, he most likely starts feeling kinda bad.

-Beef used to be a car photographer and Mumbo takes photographs as a sideline when he was in college. They would occasionally chat about their past experience in the photography field and sometimes gush about cars.

-Hermit Challenges was actually a truth or dare game among the hermits. Mumbo was basically delirious from lack of sleep to explain his absolute gremlin energy. Mumbo dares Grian to steal front doors before passing out and everyone decided that was the end of that game. No one thought Grian would do the dare. A week later, everyone but Etho and Xisuma were missing their front doors (including Grian.) He stuck them in his bathroom so no one immediately saw the doors.

-As already established, Joe constantly hangs at Keralis's library. Let's say he also has a hobby for writing, and one time he was asking to himself how *insert really specific murder scene* would work in real life. Grian or Doc then overheard him and answers him in a also very specific way, he thanks them with 0 concerns and continues with his writing.

-Etho has been an assassin but it was many years ago, and retired to care for plants. (As you do.) He got hired by The Goatfather but intentionally botched the killings because, 'hey now those two are friends >:(' He and Bdubs still have the endrod game but it involves the whole apartment building and several discord messages going "located" or "flashlight on the move.'

-Stress paints all the hermit's door and puts their names on them. (-🌿)

-The organisization Grian works for is called "The Watchers!" They text him in riddles of what his missions are. This is so that if anyone peaks at his phone, they don't understand immediately!

-What if in YHS happen because of grian family and Sam is from an other family who does not support the grain family. So grian will not bring up high school and school and when joe and Cleo talk about there student grian sometimes cringes remember what happened in high school. (-🌿)

-Grian and Mumbo's hobbits holes were two cupboards they found on their respective apartments and decided to make a room out of them and named them their hobbit holes after they found out they both had them (-🐿️)

-What if it's a really old apartment and the 'hobbit holes' actually connect to each others apartment. (-🐺)

-Mumbo has these periods when he overworks like crazy and when they're over - he sleeps for like 24-36 hours straight. Everybody knows about this and help him if he falls asleep in random plaxes around the apartment. Mumbo once fell asleep right before his door and Grian tried to help him get inside while mumbling. Guess which remix were aded to the elevator music next week.

-Whenever anyone is annoyed or upset, grian sometimes pops his head up from his book and goes "who do I need to kill?" No one takes him seriously though he *would* kill for any of his friends.

-People who have left the server work nearby but have moved to new apartments. (For example, Welsknight works at a nearby food truck) (-☘️)

-With the Grian being a spy you get several oints where he thinks he's been found out but no one puts the and two together. They're all like: "Grian just likes action movies I guess."

-Scar's "wizard robe" is a bathrobe he owns. One day he forgets to change and just walks out in a bathrobe and no pants.

-Since Cleo teaches Joe's kid, maybe that extends to all the hermits' kids? Like the ones that have them, like not at the same time but at some point you know?

-I don't think I saw any regarding headgames, but I could've missed it. Anyways, what if Cleo wanted to make a big Scrapbook in her free time of all her friends, so she asks everybody to try and get pictures. So the PVP heads are candid photos, and the tradeable one are like selfies or group pictures. The other heads could just be a requirement for the picture like have a sheep in the picture. And maybe she gives the winners dinner payed by her or something.

-On the head cannon that hermits that aren’t on the server work nearby, Biffa is the actual mayor.

-Are mobs (and half mobs by extension) still a thing in apartment au? Cause if not I propose that Jevin just has cloob blue dyed hair and a bunch of blue tattoos.

-XB bakes a lot and always shares the food he makes with the others. They adore his cookies. Scar really wants to make some cookies in the shapes of disney characters with him, but he's too shy to ask. (-nameless anon)

-Perhaps Mumbo and Iskall are also protected by the mafia because of grian (perhaps scar is too) They and False have a 'we are protected and have no idea why' group (-Frost Anon)

-Imagine the hermits want to throw a nice party but X and Etho were kinda like “yeah no i’ll pass” so they make it a masquerade so that they can come- and then the whole night no one knows who anyone really is, but still has a really good time.

-Grian wanted a pet parrot, but felt like he would be terrible at taking care of one so he has toy parrots instead, those that have pre made phrases and such, and he is proud of his toy parrot pets. (-🐿️)

-Xisuma hosts a podcast! That's where all of his Xisuma speaks content ends up coming from. (-🇵🇭)

-Etho has a secret food blog called "Cooking With Etho" (based on the actual cooking with Etho segment in usually his modded stuff.) He also knows that there's hermits that either: have no idea how to cook properly or can't cook real meals due to their work. To help with this, sometimes he leaves finished meals or recipes with them (outside their doors or somehow in their fridge) and no one knows who does it prompting the theory of a self care ghost haunting the building.

(All of those in red were from Anons!)

-Joe works as a LAMP Developer.

-False has an assortment of swords, knives, etc. She even had a bow! She also has a dummy to practice fighting on.

(-@unpredictable-pancake.)

-Stress is a wedding designer. (-@the-angry-numel.)

-Iskall also works at IKEA with Bdubs. (-@mandatedempathy.)

-There's a local club that's basically fight club a few people are in. False, Iskall and a couple others are in.

-Hypno is kind of a bit of a loner. Everyone on the floor considers him a friend but he doesn't really have a best friend. He just does his own thing and people usually let him do that. He's fine with it.

-XB and Joe spend a lot of time at Keralis' library house just reading the books. Keralis usually charges every except those two because 1. They're there so often and 2. They're basically his room mates at this point. (-@tomcatacaphe.)

-Ren works at a bar as a bartender or musician. (-@friendlyneighbourhoodpieceoftrash.)

-Building on the last thing with Ren as a musician or working at a bar, he works at a bar as a server but does live music on weekends. It's the bar/pub/restaurant that the hermits sometimes hang out at together.

-I can see Grian working at a pet shop but also on the side of the mafia because of YHS. Or at least he used to be involved with the mafia.

-Beef once had to cart Etho off to the hospital for a chemical burn and explain to the other tenants that the explosion heard suspiciously close by wasn’t mafia activity. Etho is just an idiot with a hobby of making homemade fireworks.

-(-@limelocked.)

-False is the chief of police for the town they live in. Iskall is a hired assassin who normally gets employed by the mysterious figure GOATfather. Doc is the GOATfather, head of the mafia. Falsie is trying to hunt down these two as well as any others associated with them. The nHo is part of the mafia. Falsie has no idea any of them are in the mafia and they refuse to kill her because she has become such a close friend to them.

-Maybe Grian is a spy instead of an assassin? The group the Watchers is a government policing organization bent on trying to crack down on mob activity in the area.

(-@creator0fchaos.)

-The elevator music is hermitgang and remixes. -(@lookitsspacekween.)

-Zedaph is a game show host. Tango makes cartoons. (-@aphion-and-on.)

-Come on, let Iskall play ice hockey! Maybe not professionally if it doesn't work for the AU but he's v good at least. (-@automnalsaffron.)

-Grian maybe works at an animal shelter or an animal rehabilitation center. So everyone who has a pet usually comes to him for help if their pet is sick or injured. (-@vahco.)

-Grian has a safe full of guns, all the Hermits know about it but think they're fake. (-@xxpzmistxx)

-X never comes out of his room so no one’s seen his face. The only way he communicates is via text, Discord, and an intercom right by his door. He almost always gets groceries whenever the hermits are busy and therefore have no time to go out- but the hermits know he’s a real person because sometimes they hear guitar solos coming from his room.

-Hypno is a voice actor!

-Joe and Cleo often go home at the same time, and all the way it's almost always Cleo complaining about her students being bratty and the likes (Bonus points if Joe carpools with Cleo, who owns a car.)

-False unknowingly helps the boss of the mafia after seeing him wounded on a street one day, earning her their protection.

-As a callback to Season 6, Stress became a cat lady for a bit while False became a dog lady. As an added bonus: Cleo became nuts when Cub decided to gift her with spiders for her birthday or some other event.

-Mumbo still sidelines as a cameraman/film director for short documentaries and comedy sketches where he often invites Zed and his buddy Jack to act maybe?

-The first time X was proven to be an actual person was when the girls temporarily kicked the boys out to have the apartment all to themselves for a girls’ night which prompted the boys to have their own boys’ night. X was wearing his grey helmet that night so his face was still obscured tho, and from that day forward they always had a weekly girls’ night and boys’ night alternating on which group gets to have the apartment to themselves.

-False may seem like she can take a shot or two, but in reality she’s very lightweight and easily drunk, and is always the first one wasted. She becomes a flirty drunk who flirts with everyone and everything when she’s tipsy, an angry drunk the more she drinks and eventually a sad drunk before passing out. Cleo and Stress, her drinking buddies, always find amusement in this.

-As a callback to Xb living a thousand blocks away from society in s7, maybe he lives at the highest floor where not many (if not no one) occupies?

(-@heyitsroby.)

-Civil War started because they used to get groceries delivered to their doors and Grian started stealing them when they were left in the doorstep. Everyone stole each others groceries until one day they went into teamss of one side vs the other side of the corridor to the other until Grian stole so many groceries Dic was like 'Dammit!' He started going to the store to get groceries instead of getting them delivered to his door after that. (-@sayeshaa1108.)

-Regarding apartment au: Zedaph is similar to miu iruma from danganronpa: making the weirdest inventions and coaxing the other hermits into doing weird things for science. (-@oh-hecc-im-stupid.)

-Idk if Doc has a profession yet in the apartment au, but it just struck me- what if he owned a private casino?? Cause of s7? Just a thought! (-@853dragons.)

-Cleo really enjoys doing miniature diorama scenes. Like the tiny dudes from "Night at The Museum". She's like crazy good at it, and Joe will sometimes base his poems and stories off of her dioramas. Also maybe Joe has published a book of poems and short stories? (-@lynxes15.)

-Doc works as a social engineer and part time mafia boss. He rarely shows up for game nights. However, when he does, nobody else stands a chance.

-Tango, Impulse and Zedaph go over to each other's rooms so often they practically live together in an apartment room 3X bigger than everyone else.

(-@trashedeggnog.)

LINK TO NEXT POST: https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/617640752709861376/apartmentau-masterpost-2-link-to-previous-the

Posts with TW:

Guns, Gangs, Getting Shot. Don't read if you can't handle this topics.

-Everyone finds out Grian is an assassin/mafia boss because someone from a different gang (*cough cough* sam gladiator *cough cough*) found out where he lives and tried to murder him. Queue epic gun fight scene. If you want some angst, Grian gets shot a couple of times in the fight but didn’t realize it because of the adrenaline and passes out. (-Anon.)

-Imagine someone like, finding Grian's guns and weapons and just being :0 and Grian is a little nervous. But then the other hermit just think the guns are cool (it's probably either etho or doc) and they're just gushing over how cool the guns are. Grian is relieved. (-Anon.)

-iJevin owns at least one gun. He's not in the mafia or a cop or anything, it's just cool and legal so he as one. He's the constant counter for the other gun owning hermits who have them for more mafia related purposes (context: jevin owns at least one gun irl) (-Anon.)

[chocolatte-and-despair]

The unsolved case of Iris Tyson

It’s always tragic hearing about someone ending up dead. But it’s even more tragic when the culprit is never found, and the family of the victim never gets the closure that they deserve. Today, we’re talking about one of those cases. Today, we’re talking about the unsolved case of Iris Tyson.

The reason why I decided to focus on Iris’ case is because of the little to no coverage that her case has gotten, and I believe that it’s only right to spread the word at least a little bit.

Iris, a 23-year-old woman, was an only child, but her family was big, her having a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was loved by everyone, and people said that she had a magnetic personality. Iris adored singing and never shied away from entertaining people with her singing.

Iris at the time of her going missing was unemployed but she always wanted to become a veterinarian. She also loved her cat, Yum-Yum, like her own daughter.

Iris was someone who preferred being at home over going outside with friends or going on trips. Iris and one of her friends were planning on going on a trip to Florida Keys, but Iris canceled the trip after she realized that she wouldn’t want to be away from home for so long.

From what I found while looking around, there is a Facebook group dedicated to her memory and some of her cousins have made tributes on YouTube of her best photos. That is enough to show that she is missed. It’s heartbreaking that her family has not found closure just yet.

The day of the accident was Mother’s Day, May 8, 2011. The location that this took place in was South Philadelphia and from reports, this happened around 1 PM.

It was Mother’s Day and Iris wanted to get her mother, Kelly, a surprise mother’s day’s gift. The gift was going to be a mother’s day’s card. Iris told her father about her plan, and he happily agreed with keeping it a secret from Kelly. Before Iris could slip away, Kelly caught her and asked where she was going. Kelly explains that she’s going to run to the grocery store and will be back “in a little bit”. That was the last thing that Kelly told her family before disappearing.

Seeing as this happened a lot of times, her family had no reason to suspect that something might happen. She usually took the Pathway on Oregon Avenue, which was only a few blocks away from where they lived. They had no reason to think that something bad would happen on that very day. Ironically so, the day was beautiful, as if trying to mask the tragedy that is going to happen not too long after.

It didn’t take long for her family to start getting worried about Iris. It was around 3 PM when this happened. Iris was a responsible person and she had made plans to be back and have dinner with her mother. By 6 PM, the family was frantic, and they filed a missing person’s report. Fearing that something horrible happened to Iris, they reported the disappearance of their daughter to Philadelphia’s police department.

Like in many cases, the police did not do much initially. As in many cases where an adult disappears, they said to the family that because the person is an adult, they could have simply left on their own or they are doing something without telling the family. That usually happens in cases like these. At times, police take weeks before taking an adult’s missing case seriously, and that minimalizes the chances of finding the person still alive or find the person at all.

After realizing that the police were not going to do anything to help the family, Iris’ family and friends got to work trying to search for the missing woman. Family and friends went around posting missing person posters, and her parents drove around the neighborhood’s streets in search of their missing daughter. Sadly, everything was in vain, as they found no trace of the poor girl.

People who knew Iris knew that she would never go missing without telling her family or friends about her whereabouts. She was a good and diligent person who was very close to her family and had no history of trying to run away from home. She was especially close with her mother, Kelly.

Iris’ parents, Joe, and Kelly did everything they could to try and spread awareness about the disappearance of their daughter. They took interviews with several reporters, but those interviews were never aired live. Joe and Kelly were very frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the police and local news media.

After a week of relentless searching for Iris, the family received a call that no family wants to get. The police reported that a body was found in an overgrown, grassy Point Breeze lot on Sunday morning. The police say that Iris died from blunt force trauma to the head, which was ruled out to be a homicide. Joe went to identify the body and confirmed that it’s Iris, based on the butterfly tattoo that the body had.

The body was found by someone who was collecting bottles near an abandoned area. When family and friends heard that, they said confidently that Iris was not the type of person that would go to places like that. She was a responsible and clever young woman and knew to avoid places like that. Her family and friends were sure that she was abducted and brought there by force.

The coroner’s office determined that Iris died from blunt force to her head. And even if when her body was found her pants were removed, there were no signs of sexual assault or a robbery. As of right now, detectives are not sure about the motive or reason behind this murder.

This case left a lot of questions in the minds of the policemen. A spokesperson of the police force said that there were many questions left unanswered. They didn’t know if the murder was committed in the overgrown lot, or if it happened somewhere else and the body was simply dropped off at the location. Police say that they believe Iris’ body was dropped off there hours after her disappearance.

To say the least, it was almost too much for the family to handle, knowing that their daughter was so close to home without them knowing that or being able to help.

Because of the Police’s lack of initial involvement and concern about Iris’ missing status, they were forced to hurry by trying to understand what happened and create a timeline. So, based on the witness report, Iris was heading towards the Oregon Plaza shopping center, but there are no reports of her ever arriving there. Last, she has been seen at the intersection of 4th and Ritner.

As protocol, the police interviewed the family to try and figure out if anyone might have a motive to kill Iris, but her family and friends were confused, and nobody came to mind. Iris was known as a very sweet person, who was generally beloved by everyone. It seemed like an impossible thought to them that anyone would want to murder Iris.

Iris also didn’t seem to know anyone in the area where she was found dead. The area was generally deserted too, as most homes were abandoned. It’s still a mystery to the detectives on why Iris was even there in the first place.

Sadly, like many other cases, Iris’ case didn’t get much publicity when it first happened. Not even when her body was found did the reporters find this case interesting enough to write anything about it. That reduced the family’s chance to get the world about the tragedy that struck them, and to maybe catch the killer.

The family was desperate for any information, and in September of that year, started to offer a 2,000$ reward to anyone who was able to provide any information about the case. But nobody came forward.

In a last-ditch effort, the family rose the reward money for any information to 3,500$ in October, but that also didn’t get any attention, and nobody sent any information.

Kelly went to the press, while addressing the murderer. She explains that they took her daughter and best friend away but that they were willing to forgive them if they came out and allowed the family to find closure. That still didn’t bear any fruits for the family and to this day, the case remains unsolved.

In 2017, reporters interview Joe, and the man says that time didn’t heal the wounds that Iris’ murder caused the whole family, and they think of her every day, hoping that one day justice will be served and that Iris’ could finally be put to rest.

If you have any information about Iris’s murder, please contact the Citizens Crime Commission of the Delaware Valley at 215–546–8477. You may remain anonymous. Do NOT prank call this number. This situation is not a joke and should be taken seriously.

My opinions about this case:

Iris was clearly a good person who didn’t deserve this. She had a loving family and a bright future before her. She was kind and generally beloved. A truly good person. It’s rare to meet people like that nowadays and it’s a tragedy that we lost her.

Her family still has an active facebook group, missing her disappearance. It’s clear that the family loved Iris and that it hurts to them that her killer couldn’t be caught. That she still hasn’t been put to rest.

I partially blame the police for their lack of involvement in the beginning. It’s sad but this is how a lot of cases of adults going missing are handled. If the police would have listened to the family originally, they might have caught the killer or at least found the body sooner.

All I can hope for is that the family finds justice soon and that Iris is finally able to know that she has been avenged and that nobody else is going to have the same fate as her.

Source Materials:

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Facebook group

[firefliesintheskyline]

(Me, prompting myself under the shower : What if we take the popular “person A is drunk and asks person B to be their partner, person B laughs and answers by saying they are married already (without saying they are actually married to person A) and person A pouts” and add “what person B doesn’t know is that person A sees them interact with person C and thinks they are the significant other”)

So, I guess… enjoy???

(Now on AO3 !)

INTOXICATED (Nicky x Joe + the Immortal Family)

Their last mission in France had been extremely successful, so Andy wasn't entirely surprised to find 2 cases of champagne in front of their safe house. She had to admit that, while at first she had been very reluctant to give Copley the address, taking the risk to share the information had paid off nicely more than once. He also really didn’t need to know that this was only one of the half dozen properties they had in Paris and its surroundings.

“Well, I guess we are in for a big celebration tonight!” Quynh was enthusiastically emptying the first box and passing the bottles over to Booker, while Nile and Joe were already heading to the kitchen to get some glasses.

“Don’t start moping, Nicky,” Andy gave him her signature half smile, “you don’t have to drink, if you don’t want to.”

Nicky looked almost offended by her suggestion.

“Just because I have a very low tolerance, it doesn’t mean I have to refrain from alcohol entirely, Andromache.”

She shrugged, completely unbothered.

“If you say so.”

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

From her spot on the sofa, Andy let out a self-satisfied smirk when she noticed that Nicky was curled up into the armchair, looking comfortable and completely gone.

“Hush, love,” Quynh pinched her very lightly on the arm, “stop making fun of him. After all, you where the one who instigated the drinking.”

Andy gave her a pointed look. “I merely told him that he didn’t have to, if he didn’t want to.”

“Because you knew exactly what his reaction would be,” Quynh retorted, looking back at Nicky with fondness in her eyes, “I still don’t get how he could be the fiercest warrior in the room and yet be totally unaware of the tricks you play on him.”

“I didn’t play any trick,” Andy shook her head, “and you know it. He knows it. Nicky has been too tense lately, and I need him to loosen up a little.” She got up, heading for the kitchen to refill her empty glass. “And you can call him the 'fiercest warrior in the room’ only once I’m gone from this world.”

Quynh laughed quietly and scooped closer to Nile, who was lazily trying to engage Booker into an art debate. The frenchman was mostly content to listen, while resisting the urge to drift off to sleep.

Joe, who was sitting right next to him, was about to pitch in as well, when suddenly Nicky decided to get up from the armchair and drop himself unceremoniously into his partner’s lap.

“Hi.”

The room went quiet for about half a minute, before Nile tactfully started talking again, soon followed by both Booker and Quynh. However, it didn’t stop them from taking turns to glance back at the couple every once in a while.

“Well, hi to you.” Joe wasn’t used to Nicky being openly affectionate in front of their family, and wasn’t sure if he should indulge in this. He didn’t want Nicky to feel mortified the next morning. Still, he put his hands very lightly on each side of Nicky’s waist. “Do you want to go to bed?”

Nicky tilted his head on the side a little, looking at him with lust. “Would you care to join me?”

Joe was a little flushed by the situation, but couldn’t help the soft smile that escaped his lips. “I have to say, your proposition sounds extremely appealing, but if you think you can get my pants off of me that easily…” he trailed off, winking.

Now it was Nicky’s turn to feel embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “You are very handsome. And I want you. Very much. And I think your body wants me too. So, if you accept to be my lover, I can bed you and make sweet love to you. Or rough love. Both. I think I would enjoy both very much.”

It took Joe a whole minute to register all the words that came out of Nicky’s mouth. His Nicky, who was always shy with words (but never with gestures), who took months to actually voice his love for Joe at the beginning of their shared journey, but was now apparently propositioning him in the middle of a room full of people.

The same Nicky who, in the meantime, was getting worried by the lack of response. “Please be assured that this wouldn’t be a one time occurrence, I wouldn’t dare deflower your body without promptly making an honest man out of you…"

At which point Joe couldn’t help it and burst into laughter. “Well, that is very noble of you,” he said, and then, just because he wanted to see how far he could push it, “but unfortunately I’m already united in wedlock.”

The color drained entirely from Nicky’s face, making it very clear that this was not the answer he was expecting. Joe immediately regretted his words, and was about to add more concerning the obvious piece of information that Nicky was missing, when he got distracted by Booker, who was laughing hard at one of Nile’s joke, squeezing Joe’s arm with both of his hands in the process and putting his forehead on his shoulder. “Did you hear it? Man, that was hilarious.”

Joe faintly registered that Nicky was moving from his lap and slopingly getting up, but didn’t want to be rude to the rest of his family. “I’m sorry, I was not listening, would you mind repeating it?”

While Booker was making himself more comfortable into his side, Joe vaguely noticed Nicky leaving the room, but decided to stay and listen to Nile before following him and explain the misunderstanding. Or at least that was the intention, spoiled completely by Nicky who came back in the room almost in a rush and vehemently slapped Booker with a glove.

For the second time of the night, the room went very, very quiet.

“I demand satisfaction!,” Nicky exclaimed in a loud voice, slurring only slightly and making sure that the attention of everyone was on him, “this man has been distracted in frivolous conversation for the entire night, and when I decided to make a move on his beloved, only then he reminded himself of his duty as a husband! But tonight, we will end this,” he said, his fierce eyes on Booker, “I challenge you to a duel.”

Nile was, surprisingly, the first one to break the silence. “Is this a regular thing?” she said, uncertain on how she should feel about the whole situation.

“No, it is not.” The mischievous light in Andy’s eyes was unmistakable. “Ladies, let’s go get the popcorns, we can’t miss this for anything in the world.”

“Boss, you can’t be serious,” Booker called after her, but was clearly ignored. He straightened himself up. “Nicky, come on, I’m n—“

“Not. Another. Word.” Nicky looked at him pointedly in the eyes, before dropping on one knee and taking Joe’s hands in his. “You have to forgive me, I have acted out of pride, without even asking in which direction your heart was pointing…"

“You. It was pointing at you. Tonight, tomorrow, always. I would always choose you,” Joe didn’t hesitate for a single moment, and was rewarded by Nicky’s beautiful smile.

“Well, let the challenge begin!” Nicky pointed at his sword and at Joe’s scimitar, set on the wall on a corner of the room. “We have the weapons, now we just need some… space.”

“I’m glad our backyard is huge,” Quynh took the blades and started walking outside, “chop chop guys, we don’t have all night! Some of us want to use the early morning hours for better activities.” She winked at Andy, while Nile was rolling her eyes, clearly over their not-so-subtle flirting.

They were followed by Nicky and Joe, while Booker was contemplating the idea of making a run for it and loose himself in the Parisian night. He shook the thought out of his head and joined the rest of them outside, aware of the fact that sometimes his family could be too goddamn much.

“It’s going to be a duel to first blood! Since, well, death wouldn’t stick anyway…” Quynh clapped her hands, excitedly, “good luck to the contenders!” she yelled, before going to sit next to Andy and starting to eat the popcorns with way too much enthusiasm.

Nicky was about to reach for the sword, but Joe pushed the scimitar in his hands instead. “A token of love,” he whispered tenderly, before giving Nicky a light kiss on the cheek.

Booker took the sword and sent a clearly exasperated look in their direction, but couldn’t help the little smile on his lips. He really did admire the lengths these two would go to keep their love alive, he just wished they didn’t need to involve the entire family on a regular basis.

Andy gave the signal, and soon enough they started to fight. In a normal situation, Nicky would have had the upper hand, but he was still heavily inebriated, and only his consummated skills as a warrior made it seem like he was doing perfectly fine. He shielded himself from a couple of blows and was about to strike, but he got distracted by Joe’s anxious stare and tight grip on Nile. That was all Booker needed to make a cut on his forearm.

Cheers erupted from both Quynh and Andy, who run to Booker and started clapping on his shoulders, while Joe rushed on Nicky’s side. “My love, are you alright? I should have not given you the scimitar, not after you had so much alcohol…”

Nicky put a hand on Joe's cheek, stroking him softly. “Don’t you worry for me, vita mia. The only thing that makes me sad is to be parted from you.”

“No one will ever part us, hayati. I belong by your side.”

“Even if I lost to him?” At Joe’s strong nod, Nicky pushed the issue further. “You would leave your husband for me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Nicky looked triumphant, and pulled Joe in a fierce kiss, before taking his hand and walking back into the house, leaving the others behind.

“I say one week.”

Nile, who had been distracted by Nicky and Joe’s epic act of love, turned her head at the other three people left there, looking utterly confused.

“What are you guys talking about?”

They completely ignored her.

“Very optimistic of you, Booker. A month,” Andy smirked, looking entirely confident.

“Oh please, Andy! It’s wasn’t that bad,” Quynh was shaking her head, clearly unimpressed, “I’m not even sure it’s going to last more than 24 hours.”

Andy started laughing very loudly. “None of you has known Nicky for as long as I did. He has a serious problem with holding grudges.”

“Guys,” Nile tried again, “what are you betting on?”

Booker took pity on her. “How long before we’ll have to leave them alone in the house to avoid the noises of celebratory sex."

“I’m pretty sure they are doing... ‘that’ right as we speak?” Nile loved her new family, she really did, but she still wasn’t comfortable with the amount of intimate information that were often shared as an off-hand comment.

“Definitely not,” Andy was looking straight at her, “Joe would never take advantage of a drunk Nicky. Even if I honestly doubt Nicky would have any objection.”

Nile shrugged, “Well, then tomorrow morning.”

“That’s when Nicky is going to wake up and remember.”

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

Joe was awakened by the morning sun, and he stirred lazily while keeping his eyes shut. He didn’t remember the last time he had been in such a good mood right at the beginning of the day. After the duel, he and Nicky had sat on the bed for a long time, making out like a couple of teenagers, until Nicky had wanted to push it a little further and Joe had gently stopped him, pressing him to lay down on the bed. They had lazily curled into each other and had been fast asleep only moments later.

But now they were both sober, and Joe was very well intentioned to take his sweet time and make love to the perfect, gorgeous man who was laying by his side.

Except Nicky was not by his side, and suddenly Joe realized that his arms were empty. He moved his hand up and down the other side of the bed, until his fingers brushed along other fingers. He tried to reach for them, but after a gentle squeeze, the other hand left his. He opened his eyes.

His Nicky was looking at him with something that looked like… disappointment.

“Nicolò, come back to bed.”

There was no answer. No reaction.

“Light of my eyes, moon of my life, can you tell me what is wrong?”

Nicky kept glaring at him, much to Joe’s dismay.

“Tell me again how you would leave your husband… in a heartbeat?” Nicky’s statement was followed by a heavy sigh, and a shake of the head. “I didn’t think you such a cruel man, Yusuf.”

Joe’s eyes widened, in alarm. “Nicky, I was talking about… him! Not you! And even by intending you as my husband, which was by the way absolutely not what was happening, I would have still left you… for you!” Joe knew he was making absolutely no sense, but he had just woken up. And he and mornings didn’t necessarily get along.

Nicky shook his head again, clearly dismissive. “I’m deeply hurt, my heart. Someone bats their eyes at you and suddenly you forget all about your husband.”

“You were batting your eyes at me, not just… someone!” Joe was slightly starting to panic. “I wouldn’t notice anyone else if they tried to bat their eyes at me!”

“If you say so.” Nicky got up from the bed, and only then Joe noticed that he was already dressed up. “I’m taking a walk with Nile. Let’s see if when I come back, you’re going to be here, or if you have just decided to run away and leave your husband in a heartbeat.”

Nicky exited the room without another word, content to just leave a loudly groaning Joe on the bed. He made it to the kitchen, where Andy was drinking her coffee.

“How long?”

“A month.”

“Never going to happen,” Nicky was fighting the urge to smile, “I am merely trying to make a point. My instincts are already screaming in protest."

Andy rolled her eyes.

“Fine. But at least wait more than a week, I don’t want to lose to /Booker/.”

“I said this morning,” Nile approached Nicky and touched him lightly on the arm, “and by the look of it, it feels like that’s what you want to go for.”

“My dear, dear Nile,” Nicky covered her hand with his own, “let’s go quickly buy you something with the money that our brothers and sisters are going to owe you.”

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

(originally written for @percivlgraves birthday

(Notes:

1) this is my first fanfiction in almost seven years, hopefully it’s not too bad;

2) this is my first fanfiction in english E V E R, please don’t be too harsh, I swear I’ll try to improve!!)

[mythgirlimagines]

Talentswap Tuesday is today! Please keep your eyes peeled, or she just might jump out from the shadows to give you an impromptu makeover! It’s Myth, the Former Ultimate Makeup Artist!

————————-——————————

BACKSTORY AND TALENT

When you first of her talent, you would assume Myth to be some kind of Marylin Monroe-esque social media influencer. But despite Myth’s skill in standard makeup application, Myth’s speciality lies in horror and special effects. Able to turn a person from a beauty to a beast, Myth’s makeup skills are praised by both the horror fanatic crowd and the beautician crowd. As the third daughter to an American horror movie actor and a Ukrainian beautician, Myth’s talent manages to consist of the best of both worlds. Starting out as a humble assistant at some of her father‘s movie shoots, eventually Myth garnered internet fame for her tutorials on how to give yourself extra eyes or how to turn into a vampire. She still hasn’t lost any of her spooky and impish charm, even as an adult and chaperone of Hope’s Peak’s annual Kibo-Con field trip.

——————————————————-

RELATIONSHIP

Wyre Anon, Former Ultimate Storyteller

Folks come far and wide to hear Wyre’s macabre tales that can leave even the strongest of bodyguards shaking in their boots. Myth and Wyre knew each other ever since they were little, having bonded over their shared love of horror and the macabre. And you can bet your bottom dollar that their relationship is still going strong to this very day. Myth regularly helps Wyre with their makeup to up the horror factor, usually making Wyre resemble an oni or a dragon. This fearsome duo just love teaming up to scare the other Anons. 

Outfit: White face paint with black circles around their eyes and cracks painted into their face, a large purple cape held together with a skull design, a black vest and red ascot over a white dress shirt, brown pants, black heeled boots.

Anon Scar, Ultimate Jazz Singer

With her proficient skill at both vocals and instruments, Anon Scar, also known by her stage name “Guardian of Soul”, managed to revitalize the jazz genre. You’d think that with her whole demon motif along with her cool and calm behavior on stage, Scar would be able to handle Myth’s horror. But all of that talk of demons and curses is merely a facade, concealing an easily-frazzled and heavily concerned mom friend. Myth loves drawing wounds on herself and pretending to be hurt around Scar, just to see Scar’s facade break.

Outfit: A black vest with a white music note design on the back over a white tank top, black pants, black fingerless gloves, a microphone around her right ear, the scarf and boots from her original design.

Fusion Anon, Ultimate Forensic Sociologist

An expert on human behaviors, body language and social interactions, Fusion possesses an uncanny intuition and can read people like a book, making him a tough nut to crack for the more deceptive and manipulative students. Despite his creepy intuition, Fusion remains a kind-hearted, almost paternal, young man. Myth was thinking that if Fusion wasn’t so kind-hearted and she touched up on his makeup, his freakish intuition and his freakishly thin and tall body would make him the perfect horror movie monster. 

Outfit: An oversized dark blue trench coat, an equally large red scarf that covers his mouth, the pants, shoes and glasses from his original design. 

Fusion Anon II, Ultimate Beatboxer

Conquering rap battles after rap battles, Fusion II is famous for both her epic beatboxing skills and the equally epic roasts of her opponents. But similar to Scar, Fusion II‘s sarcastic and flippant demeanour is merely a facade. Deep down, Fusion II is a massive nerd, particularly for literature and poetry. This love for the written word can be found in many lyrics of her rap songs. Myth finds Fusion II to be a fun person to scare, especially when the beatboxer is in the middle of one of her breakdancing sessions. 

Outfit: A white jumpsuit that is undone at her waist revealing her red tanktop and fake gold heart necklace underneath, blue and white sneakers, black fingerless gloves, a couple of piercings in her ears, a red cap worn backwards, sunglasses from her original design.

Just Anon, Ultimate Seer

Ever since he was little, Janon has been having weird prophetic dreams and Janon felt the urge to draw them in his dream journal. Sleeping and drawing are about the only two things that Janon really puts effort into. Janon sleeps a lot to maximize the number of prophecies he can see, and he can get really grouchy if someone wakes him up in the middle of his dreams. As much as Janon tries to put up the image of a stoic emo, his ridiculous fashion sense and adorable appearance makes Janon Myth‘s number one teasing target.

Outfit: Back-length hair that he didn’t bother to cut with a couples of pencils stuck in, a pink ski cap with bunny ears, a white mask with a cat mouth and whiskers on them, a yellow raincoat, galaxy leggings, nothing on his feet.

Sparkle Anon, Former Ultimate Linguist

Coming from an influential family known for their international branches, Sparkle has a penchant for traveling and managed to pick up languages left and right. Currently speaking 14 languages at a native level, Sparkle has a loud, bombastic and dramatic personality. And that loud, bombastic and dramatic personality makes really great reactions to Myth’s jumpscares, along with the added bonus of hearing Sparkle curse in different languages. Sparkle would let Myth touch up on her makeup as long as Myth promises not to put gory details on the linguist’s face.

Outfit: A brown vest over a long-sleeved blue dress shirt, a brown skirt, grey nylons, black heels, a large cape with a map of the word on it, blue pauldrons. 

Egg Anon, Former Ultimate Barista, and Wet Sock Anon, Former Ultimate Perfumer

With the twin’s love for the cursed and macabre, Myth got along with them like a house on fire. Myth regularly hangs out with Egg at their coffee house and exchange their regular cursed inside jokes over a nice cup of joe. Wet Sock, despite their bitter personality, produces some of the best-smelling and luxurious perfume in the known world. Wet Sock’s and Myth’s shared love of cosmetics makes them quite the cursed duo. Both of them may have growing feelings for Myth and they usually fight over her, much to Myth’s amusement.

Egg’s Outfit: A white polo shirt, a green apron, black pants and brown loafers.

Wet Sock’s Outfit: A white polo shirt, a black vest, black pants and brown loafers.

Curious Anon, Jr. Ultimate Fencer

Being raised by a prestigious family of fencers, Curious managed to dominate fencing tournaments despite their height and age. Curious is loyal, stalwart and above all else, chivalrous. Said chivalry earned them tons of admirers in their old private school. Similar to Fusion, Curious is also a tough nut to crack, for Curious just has this constant poker face, no matter what horrifying imagery Myth throws at them. But Myth is a determined little lass and will find a way to scare Curious, or she will die trying.

Outfit: Hair in a small ponytail, red and white jacket over a red vest and green tie over a white dress shirt, cream pants, black boots and gloves, always has their trusty rapier on their person.

Anon Nerd, Former Ultimate Lucky Student

Having been admitted to Hope’s Peak via a mere lottery, Anon Nerd has a foul mouth and an equally foul temper, which very clearly came from the poor hand in life that his bad luck gave him. Nerd doesn’t really have anything to his name apart from being part of his school‘s debate club and getting into screaming matches against 13 year olds online. Because of Nerd’s easily-enraged and overreacting personality, Myth finds Nerd in particular to be a fascinating subject to scare. Nerd’s blushy face is just so darn adorable!

Outfit: A black hoodie hood-up, black sweatpants, white socks, grey flip flops.

Eldritch Anon, Ultimate Crime Novelist

Famous for both his graphic and suspenseful novels and his general evasiveness about his personal information, it truly was a wonder that Myth‘s favorite crime novels were written by not only a Hope’s Peak student, but also someone who is 5 years her junior. Myth regularly tries to socialize with her hero in literature, but despite writing graphic crime novels, Eldritch is cowardly and runs away screaming at the slightest chance of danger. Myth’s generally creepy behavior and interests doesn’t really help matters.

Outfit: Longer hair in a ponytail, a dark purple vest with an orange question mark on the lapel over a long white dress shirt, an orange cravat, grey pants, black socks, black slip-on shoes.

Dream Anon, Ultimate Lighting Designer

Dream has become famous for catapulting her school’s theater club to stardom with her amazing light displays. Dream and Myth both have careers centered around show business, they both admire Eldritch Anon and his novels, and they both have outgoing and childish personalities. But a certain quality about Dream prevents Myth from putting her on her list of friends: Dream is a fashion disaster! Myth always tries to give Dream a makeover and a tirade about how crocs are evil, but everything goes in one ear and comes out the other. 

Outfit: A blue headband, part of her hair is put into a small sidetail with a green scrunchie, her hair is dyed a rainbow of colors, a black tanktop, a black, white, and pink jacket draped over her shoulders, various fake gold jewelry, orange headphones, white jorts, a blue and purple stocking on her left leg and a green and yellow stocking on her right leg, red crocs.

Iris Anon, Ultimate Jack-Of-All-Trades

Unlike other Ultimates with a clear-cut talent, Iris has mastered a ton of talents but not to the point of Ultimate status. Iris’s unorthodox Ultimate makes her an enigma amongst the other Ultimates. Despite not knowing what her plans are for the future, Iris is determined to make the most of the vast array of skills she mastered. Iris is very optimistic, able to see the good in even the worst and cursed of monsters. Myth admires Iris’s determination and Myth regularly uses Iris as her pranking accomplice. 

Outfit: A grey beanie cap with a dark blue star design, a green flannel jacket over a white t-shirt, a gold coin necklace, light blue jorts, white socks and green loafers with white soles, glasses and bandages from her original design. 

Purple Anon, Ultimate Toxicologist

As the scion of an influential family in the science field, Purple Anon is hailed as a prodigy in the field of toxicology. Because of Purple’s upbringing, her vocabulary is both old-fashioned and heavily uses scientific jargon, which makes her speech very hard to decipher by the Anons, with a couple of exceptions. Purple has a timid and easy-to-startle personality, usually hiding behind her good friend, Fusion. Myth regularly consults Purple on any new makeup products, to make sure that the makeup isn’t toxic or an allergen.

This series centers around the gremlin make-up artist trying her best to scare her conmates, but eventually, she opens up to others and proves to be a bit of a cinnamon roll. 

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PERSONALITY

Having been surrounded by horror for the majority of her life, MakeupArtist!Myth is unfazed at the prospect of horror and revels in the macabre and unnerving. Despite regularly getting kicks from scaring her fellow Anons, MakeupArtist!Myth has a surprisingly kind-hearted personality despite her impish and devious first impression, and can dial back her horror for people like Eldritch and Purple. MakeupArtist!Myth is a massive fashion police towards the other Anons, particularly towards LightingDesigner!Dream.  ——————————————————-

APPEARANCE

MakeupArtist!Myth wears her dyed purple hair in two space buns that she keeps up with blue scrunchies with yellow stars on them. She also wears an oversized grey and black sweater, dark blue short overalls, white gyaru-style socks, and black Mary Janes. Holding up her shorts is a belt that holds a bunch of makeup supplies. MakeupArtist!Myth has the same glasses from her original design, which frame her adorable dot eyes with elaborately designed eyeshadow.  ——————————————————-

I hope you like this Tuesday’s Talentswap! I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! By the way, I’d totally recommend “Danganronpa: The Wolf’s Game”, if you want to see another Killing Game with an Ultimate Linguist as the protagonist! I wonder how Wolf Game’s Ultimate Linguist would interact with your Ultimate Linguist!

-Fusion Anon

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Dang I would so like to be this good at makeup XD Wyre and I actually have a friend who’s super good with horror makeup

[fandomdancer]

Print list #1 Fluff 32 & 50 with Talia & Sherloque please?

Here is #32, Make a Wish. #50 is coming later!

I haven’t written for Sherloque in well over a year so...sorry if this is awful...

__________________________________________

(c. December 2018, Season 5)

               Tally curled up against the edge of the seating couch in the center of Jitters. She rather loved the cozy addition to the coffee shop, and was grateful for any time she could spend on it. Jitters was quiet right now, the lunch hour just winding down and the baristas scurrying about cleaning up and restocking. The sun poured through the windows, warming the shop, and Tally’s toes tapped unconsciously to the music pumping through her headphones. She took a sip of her pumpkin spice latte and picked up her tablet, ready to start another round of research on Cicada.

               “Bonjour, petit alouette.”

               The distinctive French voice got around her music (as it always did), and Tally’s heart beat a little faster as she looked up to see Sherloque standing before her. As usual, the tall detective wore his brown pants and button up black shirt with the green/navy waistcoat fastened securely around his chest. His grey blazer hung open on his shoulders, and his black fedora hid his brown curls. Tally gave him a little smile. “Bonjour, Sherloque. Que fais-tu?”

               “Ah. I am working.” He gestured to the tablet in his hand.

               Tally raised her tablet. “So am I. Cicada?”

               “Non. A side project. No charge.” A little twinkle glimmered in his eye. “We are all surprised, yes, by the arrival of Miss Nora?”

               Tally nodded, though her stomach still curled at the memory of the sheer hatred in Nora’s voice when she had addressed Tally last. “It’s way cool to see Barry and Iris’s kid, but we don’t really have a good track record with visitors from the future.” If only I could get her to tell me what she thinks I did…maybe I can figure out where this ‘Overdose’ came from…

               Sherloque didn’t say anything and she looked up to see him tilting his head curiously at her, silently urging her to continue. Instead, she found herself staring at him just a little more. There had been a time when a Wells tilting his head would have triggered memories of Ren, harsh enough that she would have to look away. Now…all she could think of was how attractive it made Sherloque look, that detective brain latching on to a curiosity she had unknowingly laid out in front of him.

               “We don’t get a lot of visitors from the future,” she elaborated, “but the ones we have gotten generally don’t bring good news. Thawne, of course. We had a magician last year, Abra Kadabra…full of nothing but arrogance and dislike. He was from the 64th century. And Nora…”

               “Has brought Cicada.” Sherloque sat down on the couch beside her, gently setting down his teacup and saucer on the coffee table in front of them. “And something else too…something personal, dare I ask?”

               Tally shifted position, turning towards him. “She was nice enough at Joe’s place but when we were alone…she called me a name I’ve never heard before, and told me that…that in the future I was responsible for…killing a whole lot of people.” Her eyes slid away as she spoke, anxiety and guilt for something she hadn’t even done still weighing on her shoulders. She absently set down her latte.

               Alarm and concern warred on Sherloque’s face as he leaned towards her. “You believe her?”

               “She’s from the future.”

               “Ah, but is the future set? Or is the timeline…malleable?”

               They had spent much of the previous year working on answering that very question and honestly, Tally still didn’t know what they had found out. Iris had been stabbed but it hadn’t been Iris, and H.R. had pointed a gun at Savitar from the roof, but it hadn’t been H.R.. The scene had played out the way Barry had seen, but the wrong people had died. Was the future set?

               She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

               “This is not something to worry about. You are not a killer. You do not think about killing these people. The idea, it makes you sick. You cannot even smell your coffee.” He gestured to her latte on the coffee table before focusing his eyes on hers again. “What Nora knows, what Nora sees, it is in her time, not this one. You are not a killer, petit alouette.”

               Tally couldn’t help but smile at the nickname, nor could she stop the blush crawling into her cheeks. She knew he would see it, and she dearly hoped he would not comment on it. To try and hide her reddening cheeks, she murmured: “Thanks, Sherloque,” and quickly reached for her drink. In her haste, her hand knocked over the salt shaker on the table, spilling salt. “Oh, crap!”

               “What? It is a spill, we get the napkin here…” Sherloque reached for the napkin dispenser but Tally was already grabbing a pinch of the salt and throwing it over her left shoulder. Sherloque stared at her, clearly surprised and confused, before continuing. “What is this, you throw?” He imitated her tossing the salt over her shoulder.

               “It’s bad luck,” Tally said. “It’s just…” She felt suddenly embarrassed, blushing for a whole other reason now. “You spill salt, it’s bad luck. You cancel it out by throwing some over your left shoulder.”

               “Ah, it is bad luck on this Earth! Well. Let me tell you a secret. On my Earth, it is time to make a wish.”

               Tally blinked. “What?”

               “Make a wish,” Sherloque smiled. He took a pinch of the salt and tossed it out into the room, briefly shutting his eyes before looking back to her. “Your turn.”

               “Like when you lose an eyelash,” Tally said. “You make a wish and blow it away.”

               Sherloque gestured. Tally leaned forward and picked up a pinch of salt, then shut her eyes, her mind spinning through a dozen thoughts before landing on one simple desire. She tossed the salt into the room as well.

               “Now we clean up the salt, but we do not throw it away. It goes outside to help carry our wishes.” Sherloque swept the salt into a pile, moved it into his hand, and then shook some of it into hers. “I will go first so no one takes our seat. That would be bad luck, yes?”

               “This is such a ritual!” Tally laughed.

               “Spilling salt is no simple matter.”

               They took turns dumping the salt out of her hands, earning curious looks from the baristas as they left and reentered the store, and by the time they sat back down Tally had forgotten all about Nora. She leaned against the back of the couch, propping her head up in her hand, and smiled at the detective sipping his tea beside her. When he had finished lingering over the flavor, he settled in the seat and looked at her, his blue eyes vibrant in his tan face and his thin lips stretched in an inviting smile. Her heart rate picked up again as she thought about her wish, and she swallowed.

               “What was your wish, petit alouette?” he asked.

               Was he reading her mind? Was that how he was such a good detective? Tally blinked. “What?”

               “Your wish.”

               “You don’t tell people your wish! That stops it from coming true!”

               He raised an eyebrow. “And how can a wish come true with only one person believing in it?”

               He had a point, but Tally still wasn’t sure how to tell him without setting the room on fire from humiliation. “What was yours, then? You wished first.”

               “You spilled the salt. It is your wish that is important.”

               “Oh, stop trying to trick me.” Tally tried to sound annoyed but the grin on his face was infectious and she could not resist the urge to giggle at the silliness of the whole moment. Had he set all of this up to distract her from Nora, Overdose, and Cicada? Or was this just a quirky setup of life in all its randomosity? “You first.”

               “Very well. I wished…” he trailed off dramatically before winking, “…to see you smile.”

               Oh. Well. Tally ducked her head. “That wasn’t your wish. You’re just being a flirt.”

               “You don’t know if it was my wish or not.”

               “Isn’t it bad luck to lie about a wish?”

               “You hurt me!” He lay a hand on his heart, looking mock-stung, and Tally laughed again.

               “You’re just trying to manipulate me into telling you my wish.”

               “And it is working. You are going to tell me.”

               Tally raised an eyebrow. “Where are you getting that idea?”

               Sherloque looked her over, his eyes dancing and that damning little smile on his lips. Then, to her surprise, he leaned over to her, closing the distance between them considerably. His eyes flicked to her lips as she parted them unconsciously and she swallowed quickly, suddenly aware that she had no desire to move even though everything inside of her thought t would be a very good idea to do so.

               “You want to,” he said, his voice a low, inviting purr, sending shivers through her body and pleasant sensations through her abdomen. No matter what Earth he was from or what name he had, Harrison Wells had a voice that weakened her defenses. Ren had had it too, and she could remember him using it on her to great effect.

               But the face in front of her was…for once…not Ren’s. It belonged to Sherloque Wells. She could look at his face…and not see her dead fiancé.

               “You are curious,” he continued, captivating her. “We are from two different worlds and this is a superstition from mine. You want to because you wonder if it is real even though it is not from your Earth. Come on, petit alouette. Tell me what it is you wished.”

               “For a chance,” Tally breathed. No hesitation, his blue eyes held hers and his voice coaxed the words out of her throat.

               “A chance for what?” he asked, his voice no less enticing but now just as soft.

               “Just a chance.” He could not seduce out of her what was not there. Give me a chance, she had thought, and even as she had blown the salt away she realized she hadn’t quite known what she was asking for. It had been a simple desire, a chance. An option. Give me the option.

               But this close to him, with the warmth of the room and the thick smell of the coffee and the thumping beat of music in the background, she had a feeling she knew exactly what she was asking for. The question was, was he good enough to figure it out?

               The silence between them worked as a magnet, drawing them closer and closer...

               A violent vibration tore through the air as Tally’s cell phone skittered across the coffee table. The two of them jumped, looking down at it, and Tally grabbed it on reflex, hitting the ‘accept’ button. “Y-Yeah? What?”

               “Ah…you okay, gurl?”

               Cisco. Tally exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Yeah, yeah. You started me. I was…reading.”

               A slight pause, then: “Uh-huh. Well. Is Sherlock with you?”

               “Loque!” Sherloque said loudly. Tally did a double take. How did he hear that? Her phone wasn’t on speaker!

               “Ask me if I care!” Cisco shouted back over the phone.

               “Cisco,” Tally complained.

               “Sorry. So. He’s there with you and we need the two of you back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Can you get here fast please?’

               Tally nodded before remembering she wasn’t on video chat. “Yes. We’ll be right there.”

Translations:

Bonjour: hello, good day

Petit alouette: little lark

Que fais-tu?: What are you doing?

Non: No