#like I just imagine she like dressing up both casual and fancy

[misconceivedcapricorn]

DAY 27: TALIA

Decided to draw two Talias! First one is how I usually design her and the second is the more accurate version I did via how she usually appears via musical

[andyoullhearitagain]

Top Ten Least Bad Outfits in TNG

I'm gonna be honest and say that the non-uniform outfits in TNG are not my favorite costume design in the world, but there are some looks that stick with me:

10. That Girl Who Kissed Data That One Time's Outfit:

I can never decide if I like this look or I think it's ugly, but I love the pants and tall boots combo. Her blouse is bad and the bouclé jacket is both too heavy and too fussy for this outfit, but I love the belt and suspenders combo, and the chevron embossing on the suspenders. This costume and all the others except #9 is a Robert Blackman design.

9. This Jumpsuit On That Girl From "The Dauphin":

This is the only William Ware Theiss design on this list. I love his TOS stuff but most of his TNG designs leave me cold 🤷‍♀️. But I love this is extremely 80s jumpsuit. Love the pretty drape, love the ruching on the sleeves, love the harem pants silhouette. Only note is that the whole bodice should be a structured corset bodice instead of the kind of odd structured panel it has now.

8. Picard's Shorty Pyjama Set:

TNG is absolutely full of the strangest pyjama choices you can imagine and Picard is no exception but I love this bold look. Would kill for this pyjama set. He also takes a work zoom wearing this one time which is insane.

7. Data's 1890's Looks But Specifically This One With The Shirtsleeves And The Blue Shirt:

The best part of "Time's Arrow" is that Data isn't a fish out of water in the 1890s, he's absolutely killing it, and I love that the only real Casual Data look we get is this one. I prefer the blue shirt to the pink because Data should really wear more blue, it's a nice contrast with yellow. Please also note his emerald watch fob, which was 0% necessary to blend in, he's just having fun with it.

6. 12 Year Old Keiko's Linen Overalls:

The paperbag waist! The bow! The little bows at the shirt cuffs! I can understand why she replicated a miniature copy of this outfit.

5. Beverly and Guinan's Dixon Hill Holodeck Costumes:

I'm counting these as one because they're essentially the same design in different color pallets but what color paletts! Bev is pulling off the very difficult pink+red+red hair and the mint green on Guinan is 🤌. I particularly love how Guinan's hat is so 1940s yet also echos the silhouette of her usual costume.

4. Deanna's Teal Dress:

Like all of you I prefer Deanna in the uniform, but this dress slays, ok? The space age asymmetrical neckline. The drop waist. The structured bodice. The slit almost all the way to the hip. And of course the matching tights and shoes CANNOT BE BEATEN. Also one time I saw a dude on a Star Trek forum call this a "ballgown" which baffles me to this day, this is clearly a slightly fancy day dress.

3. Picard's 1890s Look:

You'd think Picard would go full posh in the 1890s but instead he gives us this working-class Shakespearean director look and he 👏 looks 👏 incredible 👏. Way to mix textures, Jean-Luc.

2. Lore's Turtleneck and Giant Vest:

You and I know that Lore stole these clothes from the Pakleds because we pay a lot of attention to Star Trek costumes, but to a normal viewer Lore shows up and this is just his outfit!! It's giving, like, space-age goblincore and it's incredible. I want wear this oufit every day. I want to make a little doll Lore wearing this outfit to express my love for it. It's only not #1 because the pants are too orange and a strange weave.

Deanna's Ancient West Holodeck Outfit:

Deanna!!! The pants! The hat! The calico! She looks 10/10 hot in this outfit. For sure the superior version of this is before she gives her neckerchief to Worf (it really benefits from that cool highlight) but either way this is the best anyone's ever looked on that holodeck.

[vax-merstappen]

feelings (ln4)

my fist lando fic! lmk if you enjoy!

summary: in which lando clearly has feelings for you but will not confess, no matter how many plans you and your friends come up with.

warning: some swearing, lando being an idiot

Ever since you had been invited to join Quadrant by your best friend Ria, you had become increasingly close with the rest of the group. Niran was the first one you got close to, him welcoming you into the group with open arms and listening to all your content ideas. Soon after, you got close to Max, Aarav, and Steve, the boys always making sure you felt like a part of the group. Lando, with his busy schedule, took longer for you to get to know and have in your life.

But when you and Lando finally hit it off, you couldn't imagine what your life had been like before him. You found yourself watching Formula 1 races more often and wearing various pieces of merch sent to you by Lando himself. Occasionally, you would find yourself with a text from him, asking how your day had been or wondering if you would be free to grab dinner while he was in town for a few days.

But soon the tone began to change. You spent many late nights at his apartment, laughing over inside jokes. The random gifts from countries around the world kept appearing more often. Your phone calls got longer and longer until neither of you wanted to hang up.

It seemed like Lando Norris was into you.

You decided to ask Ria about it one day. After all, she had known the man longer than you.

"Hey, do you think Lando is into me?"

Ria gave you a shocked look. "Did you only now just pick up on it?"

"Yeah...?"

"He thought you were hot before you even joined Quadrant. He was avoiding getting to know you because he was intimidated by you at the start. But clearly that has changed."

"Yeah, now he's made it obvious."

"Has he confessed to liking you?"

"Not yet. But i really don't feel like he will any time soon. I mean, there have been so many opportunities when I've been alone with him at his house. And when we've gotten dinner. Or when he's driven me home."

Ria smiled. "Then we'll have to make him confess. Give him an opportunity he can't pass up."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

---

You had asked Lando to a fancy restaurant in London and reserved a private table with help from Ria, whose family knew the owners. Lando had picked you up in his McLaren, dressed up in a suit. If you hadn't found him attractive before, this would have done the trick.

Dinner was delicious and you enjoyed the flavors while having casual conversation. You laughed over stories from his previous race weekend while you caught him up on the antics going on with the Quadrant group.

"This sure is a nice restaurant, what made you want to dine somewhere special tonight?" he asked.

You could have told him, but you wanted him to confess first.

"Oh, you know. To celebrate someone very special to me being home for once."

"Am I special to you?"

"Yes, Lando. You mean a lot to me."

You held eye contact in the awkward silence that followed. "Stop getting all sentimental on me!" he exclaimed. "You gonna start crying?"

"I might if I have to put up with you for too much longer, let's get the check," you replied, rolling your eyes before laughing.

It seemed like this plan wasn't going to work.

---

Niran sighed dramatically. "So you told him he meant a lot to you and he told you to stop being sentimental? That man is an idiot!"

"I know, right? Any ideas on how we can get him to confess?"

"Easy. Quadrant truth or drink hot sauce video. We ask him point blank if he likes you and he has to answer."

You agreed to Niran's idea and you both got to work writing the questions. A few days later, when Lando was available for the shoot, you had set up in the studio with you three and Ria. The questions started simple.

"So do you watch all of Lando's races?" Ria asked you.

"Of course I do! Wouldn't want to miss one."

You saw Lando smile at your response out of the corner of your eye. Just more evidence the man had fallen for you. You looked at your next question for Niran.

"Have you ever ghosted someone?"

"I have. She wasn't too happy about that one," Niran said.

Niran looked at you for a few seconds as he picked up the next question card. You gave a barely perceptible smile and nod to indicate that you wanted to go along with the plan.

"Lando, do you like y/n?"

Lando's gaze flicked to you before he burst out into laughter. "What kind of question is that? Of course I like y/n! They are a great friend."

Clearly, the question hadn't been worded correctly. Or Lando was finding a way out of admitting his feelings. When you watched the video back before it went out to the internet, you noticed that Lando blushed when Niran asked the question. He fidgeted with his shirt sleeve while he answered, unlike in any of the other questions. He knew the implications and what Niran was getting at. Clearly you would have to try something else.

---

"So you think he does like me?"

Max Fewtrell turned in his chair to face you. "I don't think he likes you. I know he likes you. The man has been down bad ever since he met you. I've never seen him look at anybody else the way he looks at you, like you're the only person he can see."

"But how do I get him to say so?"

Max sat there in silence for a few seconds.

"We're going to make you into Lando Norris' dream girl. He won't be able to resist you."

"What exactly does that entail?"

Apparently, it entailed a full day of spending time with Lando. The day would start with you taking him on a trip to Top Golf, where you would show off that you knew how to hit a golf ball. Next was inviting Lando over to your house for dinner. It would be a home cooked meal of microwave chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, two foods Lando adored but did not eat often. For dessert, it would be ice cream sundaes, a notorious favorite of Lando's. Activities for the night included Mario Kart and sitting together on the couch and watch episodes of Money Heist, one of his favorite shows.

Max said that if he didn't confess his feelings by the end of this night, the man truly was beyond hope.

It was a long day full of activities Lando loved, but surely this would do the trick that nothing else had. You started by going to Top Golf as planned. Little did Lando know, but you had practiced a bit before the trip so that your golfing skills would be attractive to Lando.

"Woah, you can really hit a golf ball!" Lando exclaimed, watching as you swung.

"What, you thought I would be bad?"

"Of course not, I just hoped I might be able to impress you."

You smiled, sensing that you were one step closer to getting Lando to ask you out. Even though golfing may not have been your favorite thing in the world, it was having the intended effect.

Next of course was the dinner. You drove Lando back to your place and led him inside. Of course he had been over a few times before, but this time felt different somehow.

"So what's for dinner?" he asked, interrupting your thoughts.

"I thought we could do something easy, like chicken nuggets and mac and cheese."

"Oh my god! Are you a picky eater too? I never noticed before."

You nodded. "Yeah, I mean I like a lot of foods but there are many I don't like as well."

"How were we not friends sooner?"

You tried not to let any emotions show that he had again called you his friend, but the night was not beyond saving yet. There were still four more stages to the grand plan Max had made.

When you brought out the ice cream sundaes, you could sense his heart starting to melt just like the treat in the bowls. The looks he gave you were different now, like he couldn't take his gaze away from you. And to be fair, you couldn't stop looking at his freckles and his blueish eyes.

"Want to play Mario Kart?" you asked nonchalantly, as if the night hadn't been planned from the start.

"You know I love beating you at video games."

You rolled your eyes. "You say that like I didn't win 5-0 last time we played."

"Oh you're in for it now!"

The competition was close, you winning the first two rounds and Lando winning the next two. In a close battle for victory, you got a red shell that sent Lando spinning and you passing him to claim first place.

"So who's beating who at video games now?" you asked tauntingly.

"It wasn't fair, I got distracted," he whined.

"By what?"

"You."

You couldn't help but blush. "What did I do to distract you?"

"You were shouting at me the whole race, how could I tune that out?" he laughed. A slight wave of disappointment passed through you.

"Want to watch TV?" you asked.

"What show?"

"Money heist? I've been watching that lately."

"Oh my god that's one of my favorite shows! How did you not tell me that you were watching it?"

"I guess it slipped my mind."

You sat next to each other on your small couch, legs pressed up against each other due to how close together you were sitting. It seemed like the night was a waste. You had done all of Lando's favorite things and still he couldn't bring himself to tell you his feelings. Maybe he just wasn't into you? Even though his friends had all reassured you that the signs were there, doubt started to creep in.

You were three episodes in and all of your hope was gone.

"I think I'm going to head home after this one," Lando said. "But thanks for having me over, I had a real good time."

"I did too, Lando."

The credits rolled and you turned off the TV. Lando got up from the couch and you felt cold where the physical contact with him had disappeared. The opportunity was closing fast.

"Lando, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"I...do yo...have you..."

"Just spit it out."

"Do you have feelings for me? Like more than friends kind of feelings?"

Lando was silent for a moment. "Yeah. I have for a long time and I just didn't know how to let you know. Didn't want to ruin our friendship."

You sighed dramatically. "Are you fucking kidding me, Lando Norris? I took you on a date at a fancy restaurant?"

"Oh my god, that's what that was all about?"

"And then I had Niran ask you if you liked me? And you called me a great friend?"

"Well I couldn't just say it to Niran could I?"

"I was right there! And then this whole night I've been waiting for you to ask me out. You were just going to leave!"

"Ok maybe that one is my fault."

"Lando Norris you are completely oblivious!"

"I know I'm so sorry I didn't-"

You silence him with a kiss on his lips. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I love you. Even if you can be oblivious."

Lando looked at you before pulling you in for another kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow. Let me take you on a proper date for once, one that I'll actually realize is a date."

"I can't wait."

---

"So you had to confess to him?" Max asked incredulously. "That man is worse than I ever thought."

"Yeah, he was just going to leave without saying anything."

"Jesus Christ."

You laughed. "But at least it's over now, you don't have to watch us pine for each other anymore."

Max rolled his eyes. "But now I have to deal with you being all sappy together. I don't know what's worse."

"Well I can tell you which option I prefer."

[harunovella]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ love language (verse iv); s.g.

synopsis: you and gojo go on your first double date... or is it really? content: canon divergence (teen!gojo era), fem!reader, hopeless romantic gojo, best bros satoru and suguru bickering as always, gojo may have had a 'help I've fallen on your boobs and I can't get up' moment, bestie shoko, not beta read (sorry for any errors!) note: another addition to my gojo anthology series! this one was sm fun to write, I love writing gojo and geto being nothing but idiots tbh... wanna be tagged? lmk in the replies!

"A dinner? A fancy dinner?" Shoko asked as you nodded. "What's a bunch of sixteen year olds gonna do at a fancy dinner?" She raised a brow in confusion. Ever since being paired by Yaga with Shoko, the two of you have grown quite close. You were more than thankful, as much as you loved your own little trio (including Nanami and Haibara), it was nice to have a friend that wasn't... well, a male. 

Not that there was something wrong with that, you saw Nanami like a sort of twin—though you were a bit more on the social side—he got along with you the most. Then there was Haibara, who was an absolute sweetheart and a gem, the energy both you and your blond twin needed. However, seeing as Ieiri was your senior, there was quite a lot to learn from her—outside from the jujutsu world. 

There was also Geto and Gojo... Geto was an interesting person to be around. He had dark humor but also was nothing but kind to you. Gojo, on the other hand...

"A double date?!" Satoru exclaimed as he was alone with Suguru after you invited the two young men to the dinner you told Shoko about. 

Arching an eyebrow, Suguru crossed his arms. "Who said this is a double date? In your delusional world, you're dating our little junior when she only sees you as a friend—"

"That's a lie!" Gojo snapped, earning a snicker from his best friend. "I'll have you know we get along very well, we hangout a lot! And— and we have a lot of fun conversations!"

"Sounds fun," Geto said sarcastically. "We all know you're madly in love with her. However, we have no idea how she feels about you."

"Then explain the double date, huh?" Gojo was now the one to cross his arms, tapping his foot. "You and Shoko, me and my mochi?"

Sighing, Suguru pinched the bridge of his nose. "Again, not a double date. It's four friends going to a nice restaurant to support one of our friend's family members. Nothing more, nothing less," he explained, only for everything to go into one ear and out the other for the white haired boy before him. 

Satoru was in his own world, delusional as always, eyes sparkling at the thought of you in a cute dress. Heels or no heels, makeup or not, he just couldn't help but fantasize about how beautiful you were going to look tonight!

"Earth to Satoru?" Geto waved his hand in front of his best friend, only to laugh. "Thinking about how cute she'll look tonight, huh?"

"Yeah..." Gojo nodded, a face of pure ecstasy, as if he were about to drool. 

"Maybe I'll swap dates, you can have Shoko, I'll have our beautiful—"

"No!" Satoru shouted, instantly jumping Suguru. "She's my date for the night!"

"Good luck with that, if you look like an idiot right now thinking about her, just imagine you tonight!" Suguru laughed as he shoved Satoru off of him. "You're gonna look like a complete idiot!"

"You're not discreet..." Geto mumbled towards Gojo as the young man sat beside you, cheek pressed in the palm of his hand as he ever so casually gazed at you. You were in the middle of a conversation with Shoko, something about a movie you both recently had seen together. Too lost in your discussion, laughing and enjoying the evening as Suguru watched his best friend look like he was in a trance. "You are literally staring..." Furrowing his eyebrows as a look of slight disgust took over his face, Suguru kicked Satoru. 

"Shh," Gojo brushed off, kicking him back. 

"You're lucky she's in her own world with Shoko to even hear us," Geto kicked again, feeling his best friend constantly kick back. Gojo was too focused on you to even pay him any mind.

The restaurant, although fancy, was quite lively and practically filled to the brim. The reservations were endless and everyone that came and went looked like they came from money. Satoru and Suguru wore similar suits, solely because they bought them last minute and ended up with the same look (Satoru was NOT happy, but Suguru found it very funny). Shoko, after seeing them, called them tweedledee and tweedledum... You, on the other, found it cute. 

Cute... Gojo kept hearing your words echo in his head. You thought he, himself, was cute?! Forget Suguru, you said he was cute! He couldn't help but indulge in it as he gazed at you practically the whole dinner. For a split second, he did acknowledge the fact that you looked beyond gorgeous. In a white, fitted dress, hugging your curves with a sweetheart neckline... It was safe to say his mind was split in two. In particular, the two brain cells he had. Half of his mind was floating in the clouds of your compliment while the other half was focused on the top of your breasts (practically where his eyes kept falling to). He was... somewhat of a gentleman, he just couldn't help that dirty side of him. You were beautiful! He wanted you!

In his defense, he was used to seeing you in your uniform jacket, skirt, and tights... the times you weren't, you were always dressed cute and comfortable. Never had he seen you like this, curves and all. 

Reaching over the table and yanking on Gojo's hair, Geto stifled a laugh as his best friend snapped his head and growled. "Rude, I was busy!" He hissed, reaching over and tugging on the bangs that hung over the dark haired young man's forehead. 

Caught up with your conversation with Shoko (and not entirely hearing the commotion beside you with all the various voices around you in the restaurant) a sudden gasp left the brunette as she watched it all happen before her in slow motion. Gojo and Geto shoved one another, completely forgetting where they were as others nearby watched in confusion. 

From one second to the next, you were knocked off your chair, head thudding with the ground as a body collapsed against you. Various gasps and whispers were heard as you winced. Blinking a few times and trying to sit up, you felt a pressure against your chest. Both Shoko and Suguru (who was pulled to his feet by Shoko), stared at the disaster before them. Satoru, with his face planted against your chest, as you stared at him, wide eyed. 

"Satoru!" Shoko exclaimed, smacking his head as he lifted it, staring at you with a shared blush, before both of his friends yanked him up. 

"I— I am so sorry!" He exclaimed, reaching for your hand to help you up as you looked stunned. 

"God, you two are so immature. Before we get kicked out, take her home and I'll handle this," Shoko tsked as you blinked, only to snap out of your daze. 

"It's— It's okay! I'll handle this! I invited you all—"

"No, you hit your head hard, let me handle this. Dummie over here will take you," Shoko kicked Satoru's calf. "Go. Now."

Without second thinking his actions, Gojo took your hand and lead you out. Both of you ignored the displeased stares and gossip that spread over the four kids who "shouldn't have been allowed into a restaurant like this in the first place." 

Walking out, Satoru stopped in his tracks before turning to face you. "I'm so sorry about... my face being in your... Anyway, are you okay?" He asked, using his free hand to gently touch the back of your head. "There's no bump, but, are you alright?"

"I— It's okay, I'm not hurt," you swore as you nodded your head, looking up at him with your doe eyes. Gojo swore his heart grew two times its size. "I promise," you softly smiled. 

Nodding, a small smile grew on the young man's lips. He couldn't help but gaze at you, softness in his eyes as he kept his hand on the back of your head. Silence weaved its way between the two of you. Nothing uncomfortable. You stood there for what felt like hours, looking at one another and nearly forgetting what you were doing or where you were. 

The sound of honking snapped the two of you out of it as you realized you were out in the open, with people walking by and cars driving along. 

Clearing his throat, Satoru lowered his hand from your head and kept his other in yours. "Let's get you home, yeah?"

tag list: @bakananya @strangehuman101 @thirtykiwis @sillygoosegoose (some of u I sadly couldn't tag!)

[strawberryfairi]

TR Guys + Their Types | HCS

Ran, Baji, Rindou, Hanma 💖 pt 1

⚜️Content: Black Girl Edition🤎 What I could see the guys' types being

RAN

~ I feel like he loves a fashionable girl, specifically that like rich girl style (loves to wear heels, dresses, sun hats, etc). ~ Loves a confident, self-assured woman (I could see him loving a woman that gives off Jessica Rabbit vibes, both style and attitude).

~Definitely loves the hard to get type (not PLAYING hard to get but she just literally is hard to get).

~She'll love luxurious things (vacations, restaurants, etc) and will never say no when he offers her one of those types of experiences. ~She'd also be very kind, maybe even mellow personality wise. Like she's very poised, calm, and well-spoken for sure.

~He'd love a talented woman too! I feel like he'd be shook at a vocalist! That speakeasy, jazz standard vocalist type vibe. A smooth, sultry voice (I imagine her singing Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered by Ella Fitzgerald and Ran's just watching like omg...I'm sat🧎🏻).

~Likes a girl that really likes to nap, and do homey activities! Spending quality time together being inside the house is a must or him! For example: Going out to dinner together somewhere beautiful and expensive then come home and just chill and cuddle together with a movie on until y'all fall asleep!

~I could see him absolutely LOVING and OBSESSING over a big afro! Like imagine this look: A gorgeous yellow sundress, white heels, and that gorgeous afro she created out of a braid out, picked out to perfection and framing her face elegantly. Again...he's sat🧎🏻

BAJI

~I could kind of see two different types of girls for Baji so Imma split this one:

TYPE 1:

~ PATIENT...as a mf! Like, she is not out here getting pissed about every little thing. It takes her a lot of pushing before she'd ever get as mad as Baji does about certain things.

~ She's soft spoken (not necessarily like a meek voice but just calm) yet confident, and has no problem correcting or telling anyone off, she's just not going about it like Baji.

~Very compassionate and values family (this goes for type 2 as well). Baji cares DEEPLY for his mom so naturally I feel like he'd gravitate towards a family girl.

~Definitely loves animals for sure. Like just any animal she's cool with, and they're cool with her. (Them adventurous type girls that'll ride elephants and like...idk touch a shark lol. That ain't me chile)

~I could lowkey see that like chill sense of style for her too. Like not nothing fancy with Ran but more everyday/cute casual wear.

~I think Baji would like (in either type) a locs goddess type of girl. Like something about a girl with locs for my boy Keisuke....he's sat 🧎🏻.

TYPE 2:

~ ZERO PATIENCE....like none. If she's set off all hell is breakin' lose chile. It's every natural disaster happening at the same time if someone makes them BOTH mad (just run...).

~Values family for sure.

~Loud, animated personality! The type of girl where you hear her before you see her coming.

~Does not like animals like that, but is willing to let him show her and maybe warm her up to different kinds of animals.

~I think he'd like the streetwear kinda style. The kind where she can dress it up or down depending on the day or outing, like maybe she'll add in some heels to jazz up the fit, you feel me?

RINDOU

~Like Ran, I think he'd love a talented woman! Art, music, etc, he'd really like that kind of thing!

~I could see Rin liking a cutesy girl for him! Like pink, skirts, just the stereotypical girly things.

~I think he'd love natural hair so much! Like he'd love to just sit and learn how she does it. She'd be the type to do her hair herself.

~He'd like a girl he can share memes and music playlists with!

~Will love a girl that likes to go out, and be taken out to dinners, clubs, etc. Just texts/calls her outta nowhere like "Get dressed nice babe, I'm taking you out"

~Likes a girl with a warm, velvety, low voice. That deep tone that comes across naturally sensual for no reason.

~I think he'd also like the kind of girl that acts a bit bratty just so he can put her in her place (if you know what I'm sayin' sksksksk)

~Since he's all flexible and whatnot, on his elastigirl type beat, he'd definitely like a girl that would be open to learning about stretches and workouts and things! Would for sure like a lil workout buddy.

~He'd like a girl that's good at communicating and being perceptive of other people.

HANMA

~I feel like Shuji likes a girl that acts like she doesn't like his corny jokes, slight chaos, and flirting but really does

~He'll like a funny girl for sure! Not necessarily cracking jokes 24/7, but she has a sense of humor!

~I think he'd like a girl that' loves adventures too. Hanma likes spontaneity so he'd probably gravitate towards a girl that loves doing random things out of the blue!

~Likes an "angelic" kind of girl. Super sweet, kind of innocent, super kind, and just not violent and crazy like him. Definitely can see him with a girl that'll reign that craziness on in (Like, "We can have fun but we ain't bouta be on all dat...")

~I feel like he'd like though, a bad biddie type of girl too. Like she intimidates guys that see her because she looks so beautiful. Comes across scary gorgeous but she's really not like that at all if they get the chance to know her.

~When it comes to her hair, I could see her being a versatile baddie. She'll be natural, wear wigs, get braids/locs, you just never know! She gon' eat whatever style she feels like at any given time!

~I feel like this will also play into her style too. Like she's the kinda girl that will be giving classy baddy one time, casual one day and streetwear another but she absolutely slays each and every aesthetic like it's her main one!

[dollsofthewest]

AG Cowgirl Outfits

Following in the footsteps of @enby-dollhouse and @doll-collecting-aerialist, who did posts on the variety of ballerina and tennis outfits respectively, I wanted to do my take on a section of AG outfits I love: cowgirls! Saddle up and let's head out!

Rootin', Tootin' Cowgirl (1998)

Okay, so maybe this is the outfit that inspired me to do this post in the first place. This is adorable. It's rootin'. It's tootin'. I love the bright blue color. It's advertised as a Halloween costume, but doubles just fine as a fancy rodeo outfit. I do like the idea that you can be the sheriff, or the bandit, or both at the same time! And lest we forget to mention that black cat trick-r-treat bucket!!

Molly's Dude Ranch Outfit (2004)

Is anybody doing it like Miss Molly? This outfit was not connected with any book but released as part of a "Summer Fun" collection. I like to imagine Molly went to a dude ranch near Yellowstone National Park, or maybe somewhere along her Route 66 Adventure. It's cute and pretty authentic to rodeo shows. Also, look at her little canteen!

Nicki's Ranch Outfit (2007)

Most cowgirls don't wear the fancy rodeo costumes like a lot of people think: those are for the shows and fairs! During her daily work, Nicki wears her own pink version of modern jeans, chaps, and boots. And of course her staw hat to protect her from the sun.

Rustic Ranch Outfit (2008)

Another practical outfit; it may look impractical to wear a skirt but I've seen girls who prefer it, if they are riding side-saddle. The vest is kind've plain, but it comes with a horse-themed scrapbook and a (faux) leather Western Hat.

Western Riding Outfit (2010)

Definitely a casual pick for our cowgirl. Fit for farm or school, everybody knows exactly what animal is this American Girl's favorite. Like Nicki, this girl wears a straw hat, but she'll need sunblock if she's going to ride all day with those short sleeves and skirt!

Western Plaid Outfit (2014)

I like to think of this as Abercrombie Horse Girl. I'm not sure how practical that dress is for horse riding, and I'm a bit worried about those loose band around her boots. Still, this girl has something not previously seen, even with Nicki, and that's the very important helmet! Always wear a helmet while horse riding!!

Pretty Pink Riding Outfit (2014)

Sold at the same time as the previous one, so you could choose which outfit you wanted with your life-saving helmet. This girl is wearing what I liked to call Gucci Horse Girl.

Blue-Ribbon Riding Outfit (1998)

I forgot this one so I'm adding it here to show you what I would consider an Ideal Horse Riding outfit. Helmet: check! Proper boots: check! The coat even comes with functional pockets and inner thigh padding. She certainly gets the blue ribbon from me for best dressed!

Maryellen's Cowgirl Outfit (2022)

Ah, a return to classics! This is about as stereotypical "cowgirl" as you can get. As far as I'm aware, this is meant to be her Halloween costume, which tracks with how popular cowgirls & cowboys were during the 1950s. Lookin' cute, Miss Maryellen!

Lila's Horseback Riding Outfit (2024)

I think when Glen Campbell sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" he wasn't talking about this. Still, maybe this is what horse girls these days wear? It's a shame to see a modern girl without a helmet, but you can't deny this fits Miss Lila's style to a tee!

What is your favorite AG cowgirl/horse-riding outfit? What would you like to see made in the future?

[kaybreezy3000]

This one is a little season 4 short story I dreamed up before the real season came out. It gives us an alternate ending and a look inside Five's world both before he jumped to the apocalypse and post season 3.

~~~~~~~~It all begins and ends with Five....

(Rated Teen and Up or General. 10,409 words)(alt season 4 story with ending, reader insert style that allows anyone to be the 'you' character,-as a potential friend to Five or whatever you want to imagine, meant to be sad and sweet.)

warnings: mild description/mention of child abuse, and signs of panic attack, potential trigger by mention of bombing a building

tags: anarchist Number Five, Hero Number Five, ideas from the Gene and Jean script release but not based on what really happened, whump, fluff, trauma, heartbreak, love, revenge, forgiveness, Mr. Pennycrumb, all the Hargreeves and some of our new character mentions from season 4 but not as the show had them because this was written before it came out, Five deserves better, Klaus is awesome, You x Five, Five is amazing and with this one you get to imagine yourself a part of his story/future 👍

He Who Holds The Power

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

From across the table, the couple staring back at Five took a drink from their coffees at the same time.

Five’s lips turned up ever so slightly as he swallowed down the warmth from his own caffeinated beverage. “Jean was it?” he questioned, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, I’m Jean and this is my husband Gene,” the woman replied while the man next to her intently watched him with bright blue eyes that filled his otherwise aged face with youthful looking excitement.

They were nervous, and rightly so. They were finally meeting the mysterious person who had hired them five years ago to hunt down things that shouldn’t exist but did. 

Shifting forward, Five set his empty cup down between them, then casually pulled up the cuff of his dress shirt and glanced at his wrist, noting the time before he raised a brow. “Do you have it?”

“We do,” the man said, passing him a folder.

Five opened the manila file. 

His breath caught in his throat.

Staring back at him were six masked children, all decked out in matching academy uniforms as they proudly stood there with the Eiffel Tower behind them.

Five had seen plenty of evidence already, but this was the nail in the coffin. This was all the proof he needed to verify he was right and he was justified in what he was about to do.

The date on the newspaper clipping was from early April of 2001. 

It was only five months after The Umbrella Academy’s infamous bank job.

They were only twelve years old.

He had lived a lifetime since then, but the memories of that day, and what happened to him after it, hit Five in waves of near crippling anxiety. As if the world was out to get him, it was all made worse by the hateful looking woman who had just walked by with the little yelping dog that she just zapped into submission through the shock collar that looked like it was choking the life out of him.

She looked too much like The Handler, with her fancy dress and spiked heels, and those blood red lips forming a wicked grin. Her sick satisfaction over the animal’s paralyzing fear was exactly how Five’s ex-boss looked at him as she heartlessly manipulated him into doing her bidding.

His fingers curled as his body tensed.

He forced his eyes back to the article with the faded image of his family.

He had looked about as smug as a kid could at the press conference that cold day, and he was, but not long after that, Five would find out how foolish he was to think that by merely doing his best and putting on a show for the press that he could trick his father and himself that he was good enough.

“How is this stuff possible,” Jean questioned with her eyes darting from the stained article Five had just laid down, to his hand retreating under the table where they couldn’t see it trembling.

Pushing aside all that, Five flatly said, “It doesn’t matter.”

Gene didn’t like that. 

“What?” he angrily barked. “We have been searching high and low for this stuff and we have given you tons of proof that this shit is real. That kid in front looks a lot like you,” he pointed at Five in the picture, “and that girl looks like the actress from the VHS tapes we gave you! Something is not right here!”

“It never was,” Five stoically replied while promptly pushing out his chair.

Not waiting for them to argue with him further, he left them and the paper on the table that showed evidence of his past that wasn’t supposed to exist anymore. The envelope full of money he’d dropped next to the file should be enough to quiet them. Not that it would matter.

Time was up.

Five was done sitting around playing Reginald’s victim. 

Five’s fingers gently cradled the detonator in his pants pocket as he walked down the busy sidewalk with his eyes aimed at the tallest building on the horizon-the one that was adorned with huge letters spelling out the last name he had once called his own.

Reginald had erased Number Five Hargreeves and left him with almost nothing. Five had tried to move on and take his second chance for what it was, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t escape his thoughts of retribution.

In trying to reclaim something he’d lost and couldn’t figure out how to repair, Five was finally going to erase the father that had never loved him.

~~~

Not long before this, across town, with a heaviness tugging at what was left of his cold heart, the heavy door thumped closed behind Reginald at what was once The Umbrella Academy. Though parts of the exterior were in horrible states of disrepair, burnt and bashed by the spray of angry graffiti, the main stones holding together the building stood as they always had, but the home of the once famous children that were born with superhuman powers was now nothing more than another one of his many derelict properties.

Reginald had left it to rot and had taken the world for himself, and he’d done so by using them in the worst way, stripping them of the gifts inside them to fuel his machine that rebooted life on his terms.

He should have been happy with the result. He had gotten everything back that he’d always wanted, but inside, behind those walls that no one was allowed, a life from another time sat silently covered in dust and it told another story nobody else knew.

Ironically, all Reginald cared about always turned out empty.

The Umbrella Academy may not have existed in this timeline but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still there, just like his regret.

Those around him didn’t realize it, but many things were hiding just beneath the surface.

His expensive dress shoes left ghosts of his presence across the once sparkling black and white marble checkering of the foyer at the old manor. His cane tapped along, its echo hollow.

Reginald tiredly climbed the grand staircase, then slowly walked the quiet upper hall, past his children’s closed bedroom doors, heading towards the viewing room.

At a darkly paneled wooden wall, he stopped.

He glanced behind him at the settee where Grace had once sat to recharge. He could almost see her sitting a few feet away, staring off into space, blissfully incapable of truly understanding the dire situation at hand.

Flickers of another face, the same as hers, only animated with life and love, begged him for the truth he wouldn’t give. She was just another mistake haunting him.

He could have found some semblance of peace and maybe even true happiness in those he’d hurt, but like so many times Reginald couldn’t see what was in front of him, he hadn’t realized that until it was too late.

Despairingly, Reginald looked away, opening the hidden paneled door he’d felt drawn to that morning, then he shut himself inside its secret darkness.

The dimly yellowed light from the small desk lamp turned on, the chain slipping from Reginald’s fingers as his weight fell into the familiarity of his old chair. Stuck somewhere in the memories of his past, he clicked on the monitor in front of him.

His eyes fell from the surveillance screen that was playing the live news, moving across the small workspace. The pages of his detailed notes, files filled with medical records, and all the numerous journals about his children from the years he had spent with them all lay there before him.

More than ever, he wondered if he could have done things another way.

Reginald Hargreeves knew all too well the power of love and relationships of the heart, but he also knew that they could be wiped out of existence in the blink of an eye by an ugly twist of fate.

By what he could see, in this case, that ugly twist was the world’s end, again.

He’d seen the signs. Clues of his charade were all around them, buried in boxes of seemingly useless junk put in the trash as someone emptied a musty basement or sold as seemingly worthless treasures on the streets for a small fortune to those who knew.

Yes, there were those that had formed conspiracy theories about him and who claimed they were living in a false existence. They were anarchist radicals, but they weren’t wrong.

Reginald also knew his machine that had been holding this all together was failing.

The end had always loomed, and he’d thought he’d finally beaten it even though he’d done so by failing the ones he himself created and had once dared to call his own. He stole away their chance at a normal life with parents that loved them, then he made them nothing more than his adopted wards. They were his dream of a future, but he was no father to them.

“It has been said that a man who has been through bitter experiences and traveled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.” Reginald laughed bitterly. “Sadly, not true,” he said, mocking the line he’d just quoted from The Odyssey.

The faraway sound of a determined voice calling out to him, then perfectly reciting Homer in ancient Greek suddenly caused his chest to ache.

Thinking of his wayward son that had rightly lost faith in him and then tragically became lost in time, only to suffer so much more horribly because of it, Reginald looked up at the screen again, looking at the backdrop of Paris with the glitching pulsation of reality starting to reveal the truth. A thick cloud of digitized blackness began to descend over the Eiffel tower and all around it.

He’d prevented nothing and he had caused all of this in his inability to let go of a past that was no more.

Abigail…

He’d done it all for her when really, what they’d had was gone a long time ago, he just couldn’t accept it.

A broken heart was a powerful thing. It could alter everything, and he did. He’d destroyed his children's trust in him and in each other. In his blindness, he was the one that set off this chain of catastrophic events.

It was the biggest mistake he’d ever made. He wished he could turn back time. That was why he’d come to the place where he’d messed things up so badly. This was where it happened.

Reginald clicked off the channel filled with blaring sirens and blurred pixelations from the distortion of time as it crashed.

No one was safe.

It would be happening outside his doors soon enough.

Once again, he stared blankly at the black screen.

He pushed himself up from his chair, ready to return to his tower and wait for the end, but then his weary eyes came back to the tall shelf next to him. It held dozens and dozens of videos from experiments performed on his children. His index finger slowly ran over the titles and the dates, stopping on one.

In bold black ink it read:

April 3rd, 2001 Corrective Training-Post Paris Incident (Subject: Number Five) Speed and Precision Exercise

He pulled the tape away from the many others and stuck it in, making the monitor light up with an old video that showed a day he'd rather not remember.

"It's always Number Five. He was always the key to everything, and I broke him," he whispered with his eyes glued to the small boy who was angrily staring back at him from the screen.

~~~

Using the skills he’d learned in his years as an indentured assassin, Five had done it. The explosives were all set and placed precisely where they needed to be to take Reginald’s Tower of infinite power to the ground. It was just a matter of time, and he would get his confirmation that the building had been cleared due to the fire alarms he’d hacked into and programmed to go off.

Potential casualties were a thing Five would need to add to the blood already drenching his hands. His conscience was unbearably heavy, that was nothing new, but he justified delivering even more death with the knowledge that most of the occupants of the building would be cleared of the tower, as well as the area around it due to simultaneous warnings going off in all the nearby buildings.

Quick enough, what Five had done was easily going to be seen as a false alarm, and that was intentional. Due to safety compliance rules and insurance reasons, people would still be forced to evacuate, but it was well known that Reginald and his wife rarely left the protection of his imposing skyscraper.

They would be right where Five wanted them to be.

As Five sat on a park bench in the spot he had chosen to view the glory of his efforts, he thought again of that article and his family.

He hadn’t seen any of his family members in years, but just as it was in the apocalypse, he could almost hear Diego’s voice as if he was right there, saying something dumb or bitching about the reporters that headlined Five and Luther and not him. His knife throwing brother’s heroics that day were worthy of note, but like so often in their life, the things they did right did not get them the recognition they had so badly craved.

As annoyed as Five was by Diego at times, he never felt that he deserved the punishments he received. None of them did.

Five wanted to protect them. But the truth was, he couldn’t protect them. He couldn’t even protect himself and that was never more apparent than after Paris.

On that a chilly Monday morning in April of 2001, Five and his siblings were all up before sunrise, scrambling to make it downstairs for inspection before their dad got there.

Only the night before, they had just got back from France, having completed their most recent mission. They were all a bit jet lagged and worked up still, bickering and carrying on the way only a pack of twelve years could at 5:30 am. As they thundered down the stairs, Luther and Diego were going on about who stopped the terrorists, both sure that they were the hero in the story.

The truth was nobody had individually done it, but that never stopped them from each trying to take all the credit. As a team, albeit a not very coordinated one, they took down a group that had threatened to bomb several famous landmarks, one being the Eiffel Tower.

Prior to the Umbrella Academy’s arrival in the city of light, these terrorists had been carrying out these types of attacks all over Europe for months, and it was all over the news. The agencies in place trying to stop them were no closer to doing so, and it was gaining more and more worldwide attention by the day.

When Reginald heard about the imminent threat going on overseas, he immediately loaded his academy on his private jet and set off to save the day. At first, the authorities were against sharing information with him or letting a group of superpowered kids near that kind of trouble. But when the first bombs went off outside at the Place Dauphine, injuring dozens, and killing eight, they were more interested in what he and his infamous Umbrella Academy had to offer.

As Reginald worked with the local law enforcement to pinpoint where the terrorist group was based, another bombing happened. That time it was on a sightseeing boat floating down the Seine. The Hargreeves were nearby, so Reginald was able to quickly get his team there. They did what they could to help get survivors to safety and even managed to gather some evidence that ultimately helped track down who built the bomb. Things were coming together, and it was just a matter of time before they were caught. A day later, before they could set off the next round of bombs, Reginald received intel that allowed him to intercept them before they got to their target.

As a vehicle full of explosives tore towards the Arc De Triomphe, the six extraordinary children were positioned and ready with their dad on the mics watching from above. They spotted the van trying to pull out from a side street. Luther immediately moved in and blocked its path, using his enormous strength to shift parked cars across their exit. Unfortunately, this caused them to deviate onto the narrow sidewalk to get around it.

Allison and Klaus were already trying to clear the area of civilians when the van came speeding in their direction. Five had seen it coming and managed to teleport from his position in time to move them, just missing getting plowed over.

Reginald’s screaming rattled their ears. It was nearly deafening and completely garbled. Diego improvised by hitting the driver in the neck with one of his knives as the van tore past him. All at once the vehicle started to lose control, swerving at a breakneck speed across the lanes as the driver bled out.

Reginald barked at Five to get in there and stop the van, so he jumped again, with his goal to land inside the moving target and take the wheel.

He missed.

Five had never been able to blink on or into a moving target and he shouldn’t have been surprised that he failed, and neither should the alien who had ordered him to do it.

The young boy landed on the road right in front of the van. He saw his life pass before his eyes just as Luther slammed into him, knocking him down to the cement before blocking the van from splattering his small body across the pavement. The vehicle smashed into his brother’s shoulder, coming to a metal bending screeched halt.

Five rolled back away from the wreckage, staggering to his bloodied knees as he watched in shock as Luther tried to untangle himself from the bent hood. That was when they heard Reginald ordering Ben to move in.

From Five’s vantage point, he could still see movement inside the van. There was someone else inside other than the dead driver. He blinked, landing next to the man inside who appeared to be desperately trying to set a bomb off even while he was still inside with it.

He looked over at the dark-haired boy in disbelief, his hand reaching for the gun strapped to his vest. With little to work with, Five charged at him before he could shoot, knocking him back against the side of the van. Thankfully, the gun sprang loose from his hand, clattering across the floor. The guy had at least a hundred and fifty or more pounds on Five, and was clearly trained in combat, so his effort, though carried out skillfully, didn’t take him out, it only pissed him off. He quickly turned the tables on the dazed teleporter, throwing him back like he was nothing.

Five went airborne, then landed and tripped backwards right over the bomb. The next thing he knew, the man had the gun pointed at his head. Before he could pull the trigger, using the same trick he’d done with the stapler during the bank job, Five teleported the deadly weapon away.

Just then the back doors of the van flew off. Luther had torn them off, and the moment Five saw Ben set up beside him, he got the hell out of there, blinking himself back out onto the road behind them.

Their dad yelled orders for Ben to unleash The Horror.

Seconds passed…

The terrorist, though taken completely off guard by all this, pounced for the bomb again.

Ben hadn’t moved; it was like he was paralyzed.

Completely out of breath, Diego suddenly rounded the corner, skidding to a stop alongside Five. He had a knife at the ready and instantly sent it sailing towards the persistent and apparently suicidal criminal, landing it deep in the center of his chest. The guy fell to his knees, gasping as he clutched at the blade as his blood quickly drenched his shirt.

That pretty much ended that.

Fortunately, before he died, Allison was able to rumor him into giving up where his accomplices were hiding. After that, the authorities were able to take them down before they could carry out another attack.

It was a success. No one else was killed or hurt.

After, Reginald had his children carry out interviews and partake in the usual media events that followed any mission they were ordered to take. They did as was expected of them, smiled for the cameras, and answered the questions carefully, just the way he would have wanted them to.

On the flight home, Reginald didn’t say a word.

Now, as they stood behind their chairs and his coldly calculating eyes fell over them, Five couldn’t escape the sinking feeling growing in his gut.

After a silent breakfast, before he could leave with the others to attend classes, Reginald abruptly pulled him aside. Five was quickly informed that he was of the opinion their mission was hardly a success, and each of them required aggressive corrective training to make sure it never happened again. As such, he would not be joining the others.

In his naively young mind, Five mused that his father must have liked him the most because he was the lucky one who got to be ‘corrected’ first.

Wide eyed, his siblings all watched him go. Five squared his shoulders as he dutifully walked behind his father, not willing to show his growing unease.

The Monocle had a specific exercise area for Five back in one of the old factory buildings that made up his city block. It was made up of three mostly empty floors that were exposed by a large open galley in the middle. To Five, it was clear what he intended to do with him. That place, and the things that happened there, were nothing new. He used to do bad things to him there all the time. It had just been a while since they’d played that game, so the timing of it seemed suspect.

The boy couldn’t escape the thought that maybe this time he should simply say no, no more, but he didn’t. Refusing to do what his dad wanted or even arguing would send Reginald into a fit of rage, so that was out of the question unless he wanted to start a war with him, which he didn’t. That was far from what Five really wanted from him.

Once Reginald had led his son to the secluded end of his property, well away from the others, the boy resentfully stood there with his wrists willingly exposed because he knew the drill. Reginald unkindly looked down at Five before wordlessly slapping on the two cuffs specifically made for him that acted as a sort of shock collar like a dog would wear. If Five missed a mark by even an inch, he would be punished for it. The targets were wired, and only landing on top of them perfectly stopped the cuffs from zapping him less than a second later.

To Five, this whole song and dance had always felt like a sick game of Operation, or maybe Battleship, only instead of a silly little rubber band or a marked ill-fated ship, he was the one destined to snap or sink to the depths of his own personal hell. That type of training could have been done without the cuffs, but the Hargreeves children’s award-winning dad of the Year always felt that without them, there was nothing at stake, nothing driving this most defiant son to do better.

The truth was it only drove Five to hate him. Over time, he had gotten better. Reginald’s Number Five grew more apt at wielding his power and then he wasn’t subject to that particular form of punishment; not so often anyway.

Reginald set his tea down and made himself comfortable at a small desk in the center of the lower level. He took a moment to look over his notes as his son obediently stood there waiting for him to start.

Five’s thoughts moved at the speed of light, but it felt like he was always waiting. Waiting for something to change, waiting for him to be good enough. Waiting for his father to see him.

It never came.

Once again, he was stuck, waiting for his mercy, for Reginald to see him as something other than a tool to achieve his ends. Five may have been a genius but that didn’t matter. He was so alone and powerless, which in his brilliant mind seemed counterintuitive to what his father was trying to achieve which only made him even more confused.

“It’s time to begin,” Reginald announced without so much as looking at his son as he stared at him down, wondering the reason for his cold indifference and why he didn’t care about them.

Five wanted to stop feeling this; he wanted it not to matter, but it did, it always had, and that was the problem. He needed to stop caring, but he just couldn’t, so he waited, and as always, he tried harder to prove him wrong.

‘I am worth something,’ the boy kept mentally repeating. All he had to do to make things better was to make Reginald see it! Then everything would be okay-he’d finally be able to know what it meant to be happy.

Reginald hit the timer, activating the system while at the same time barking out a slew of coordinates to specific locations. Five blinked as fast as possible to each, and of course, none of them were easy and most he couldn’t see ahead of time, which made landing them harder.

Sometimes it would be three floors up above, or on top of a narrow ledge or precariously placed on some other obstacle Reginald had created for him, with nothing more than a few measly inches to land. Five quickly noticed there were marks everywhere. He couldn’t begin to count them because there were so many. That was out of the ordinary, even for The Monocle, so he knew this was going to be bad.

Five’s mind played games with him, singing imaginary taunts in his father’s cruel voice. ‘Welcome back home, son. I am going to sip tea while I enjoy watching your mind shatter.’

At least Five was on it that day. He completed each order without a single shock until nearing over an hour of jumps, which was a new record. Unfortunately for him, at that point he was drained, sweat drenched, and dizzy, having lost count of how many times he had blinked. He knew he couldn’t get the precision required for what he was doing anymore. That was evident by his shaking hands and the stars at the edges of his vision.

Even though he started to protest, Reginald kept him at it, saying he needed to get better, figure out how to land on moving targets, and learn to go past his limits, because someday he would have no other choice and it would be a matter of life and death for everyone.

Five fought back.

He started to make more and more errors, and the shocks became more and more frequent and stronger each time. Normally, that type of exercise was an hour max, but that time was different for a reason. Reginald wanted to see him fail. It was becoming more and more apparent that his collapse was the point all along. His father wanted to prove to him that he wasn’t as strong as he pretended to be.

Five’s anger and desire to prove Reginald wrong were the only things fueling him in their sick game. That was until he finally crumpled to the ground nearing the end of the second hour.

The boy crashed to the floor after an especially bad jump, missing the precariously placed mark completely. He helplessly fell from an open ledge down to the unforgiving tiles over twenty feet below. He landed hard, the whole left side of his body taking the brunt of it. His head bounced once with an excruciating thwack. Then his dad proceeded to let the cuffs shock him back into consciousness until he was folding in on himself, unable to do anything other than tremor violently as his entire body spasmed.

When Reginald finally turned it off manually, Five could hardly make a sound or move. The mad man that owned him didn’t so much as bother to tap him with his shoe as he laid helplessly in his own drool at his feet, with blood-stained tears streaming down his face. Reginald simply announced, ‘We are done.”

Then he left his son there, broken and alone.

When Five finally made it to his knees, he lost what little contents his stomach still had in it, and then he ended up back on the tiled floor with another thwack of his head against the hard surface.

He lay there too exhausted and dizzy to move or save himself, that was until Grace came to his rescue. Then, when she tried to move him, the sudden disorienting movement and sheer searing pain of it caused Five to pass out. When he woke up an undetermined amount of time later, he was in the infirmary, and it was with his dad standing over him as he lay on one of Grace’s operating tables.

Five was unable to move, but he didn’t know why.

His eyes wildly darted around him as he fell into an all-out panic. He was attached to an IV and it was administering fluids into his right arm. Some type of bandage was on his head, concealing what felt like had to be a hole the size of the Grand Canyon based on how horrible it felt. His current mental state was not good, and he was having a hard time remembering what had happened. He vaguely remembered hitting his head.

‘Was I training?’ he innocently wondered. ‘Did I pass out and fall down the stairs again because I wasn’t eating enough to power my jumps, or was it...’

Five was visibly confused and terrified, but his father only looked down at him hatefully.

Five had to look away from him because it was only adding to how much he hurt everywhere. He looked to his right instead. The sun was low, indicated by how little light was entering through the small stained-glass window above the tall storage cabinets where his mom kept her supplies. Grace was standing there in her operating gown, a heartbreaking look on her normally comforting face.

When Five heard the main doors open and close, he reluctantly turned back. To add to his confusion, his sister was there, standing next to their dad. Before he could so much as ask what was going on, Reginald played his next card, one he wouldn’t have guessed the old monster had in him, and that was saying a lot since the boy already knew that Reginald was the devil incarnate.

“Do it,” he ordered, not taking his eyes off his questioning eyes.

Allison looked like she had been crying. Five’s heart began racing faster as she looked back at their dad, looking completely horrified by whatever Reginald was asking her to do. Then she looked right at him.

“I heard a rumor you couldn’t speak,” she said, her voice trembling as new tears ran down her face. Automatically, Five’s eyes locked on hers in that familiar memorizing trance only her powers could induce on her victims.

It was done; he couldn’t speak a word, not until she said he could.

After that, Five spent the next three days in the infirmary, unable to speak about what had happened or make one word of complaint, not that anyone came to visit him anyway. He had suffered a severe concussion and he had broken his left clavicle. He had also fractured the tibia in his left leg.

On the fourth day, just before dinner, Grace helped him get vertical and assisted him as he dressed. Then, he was told to go straight to dinner. He managed to stumble in on crutches, though it hurt like hell because of shoulder, and he was late, a fact immediately pointed out by Reginald.

Five all but fell into his chair next to Klaus and Luther, looking as bad as he felt, and unable to respond to their questioning stares other than to glare at their father with his hate filled eyes. Reginald merely looked back impassively for a moment before going back to his papers in front of him.

The second Five entered the room, he could tell they all wanted to say something, but one very clear look at the imposing man that owned them, and they didn’t make a peep. Instead, they looked down at their food. Allison kept her head down the entire time, unable to meet his eyes at all.

Everyone else, for the most part, looked stunned and very scared. Even though their dad had done that type of training with Five more times than he could count, none of them knew exactly what they did in their private time. Five never told them what Reginald did to him, and it had never gone that far before. Even without an explanation, they knew something bad had happened because it was written all over his broken body, not just all over his pitifully pale face.

That night, Klaus and Ben came to Five’s room, long after they should have been asleep. He was able to write down what happened to him even though he was hardly strong enough to do so without visibly shaking. They already knew what Allison had done because she had told Luther before she hysterically locked herself in her room. He then told Ben. Allison also warned them they were not to intervene, or Reginald would make her do worse.

Sitting on his park bench, looking back on all of it, Five figured that, all and all that particular training session wasn’t one of his best. Worse, the others didn’t get away unscathed.

When Reginald was done with him, Five learned later that he had moved on to each of them. His taste for suffering must not have been quenched, because he spent the rest of his days that week tormenting the rest of his children, and each was treated to Allison’s special kind of gag order, either before or after, depending on which made the most sense.

Reginald was trying to make the point that real soldiers were not to be heard but to listen, to take orders and comply. He was tired of their complaining and their arguing and their many mistakes. He made it clear he felt that they had it too easy, and it was getting in the way of their development. These sessions were meant to throw their individual deficiencies in their faces but as young and emotionally stunted as Five still was, he saw that all it had done was make them more isolated from each other, feeding the numbness growing inside.

In comparison to his experience with Reginald, Klause’s time in his company was pretty tame compared to his usual in that he was merely forced to take a field trip for a day to the city’s busiest morgue. There, Klaus was put front and center with untold amounts of corpses, both fresh in and refrigerated. Five never heard how many ghosts were there, because by the time Klaus was allowed to leave and come home, he looked horrified and exhausted. His nerves were a complete mess, and being rumored into quiet submission after entering the house did nothing to hide how he really felt.

The idea of that venture was that Klaus may be able to relay information about the deaths of homicide victims or even important messages to loved ones from people who’d passed unexpectedly. Five had mused at the time that Reginald maybe did have a soul because that was actually not a horrible way for Klaus to use his power. But Klaus wanted nothing to do with it, even if it was for a good cause.

Later, Five learned that Klaus did have several success stories from the day, but the price he’d paid for it was evident the moment he walked in the door. He looked more disturbed than they had ever seen him. After that day, Klaus turned to things heavier than alcohol to dull the voices that followed him home and ceaselessly tormented him.

Later that week, the Hargreeves children were all called out to the courtyard after lunch to witness Diego and Luther fight. They were forced to battle it out until both were beyond bloody and bruised. Diego took it like his father knew he would, but Reginald was using his son’s desire for approval and acknowledgement against him in the lowest way.

The sheer force of Luther’s hits, even when he was holding back, were something no one could take for hours and hours on end without excessive damage. Luther wasn’t allowed to use all his strength on Diego, or it would have killed him, but it was during this fight that Diego received the long scar along his temple that he would always bear.

Luther, though built like shit-house ton of bricks, was not impenetrable either. Diego, being allowed to use any projectile he could see, inflicted his fair share of damage. Neither did anything life-threatening to the other, as that was explicitly prohibited, but Luther had to have stitches in numerous places, and he would have several hidden scars to show for it on his otherwise perfect poster boy skin.

Diego’s nose was broken as well as several of his fingers on both hands. He had numerous broken ribs, a minor hip fracture that gave him a limp for a long time after, and his throwing arm was in a sling, fractured in three places.

Afterwards, though they were both rumored not to speak, just like he and Klaus had been, Five didn’t think they would have, not to each other anyway.

The sad thing was, before that, they actually had gotten along ok-not great, but ok.

When it was Ben’s turn on Saturday, he spent a beautiful spring morning riding upstate to a farm, listening to their dad berate him for his inability to handle The Horror’s rath. He was continually reminded how weak he was and that the only way he would become stronger was to take control of the darkness within him and own it.

“You are the killer. You are the one in control,” Reginald had told him.

“Our Ben was not a killer,” Five sadly whispered as he looked down at the pigeons gathering in the grass in front of him.

Ben may have killed more people than any of them at that point, but it wasn’t really him, it was the thing they called ‘The Horror,’ hence why he was so messed up. He never wanted any part of that life and the last thing he wanted was to take ownership of it.

Unfortunately, his field trip to the farm wasn’t to learn about the dairy industry. It was to learn how to be a one man, or better put, one eldritch tentacle baring slaughter machine. He was forced to unleash the monster inside him, over and over, letting it decimate anything alive in its path, which In that case was several head of cattle destined for the meat market anyway, but still awful to say the least.

Ben was still a mess when he got home that night. He had been carelessly hosed off and left with traces of blood on his otherwise caulk white skin. He was put on a piece of plastic in the backseat of the car on the way home, like he was some kind of filth not good enough to touch the smooth leather of Reginald’s Rolls. When his siblings saw him, his jet-black hair was clumped in a gore of sticky redness and his clothing still bore the evidence of how gruesome his day had been. Once he was stripped, Grace threw his academy uniform away.

Too bad the memories weren’t as easy to dispose of.

Ben was speechless after that, even before Allison needlessly rumored him. The only reason they all knew the details of what happened to Ben was because Vanya overheard Reginald talking to Pogo and Grace about it. The whole thing left him in an almost catatonic state. Seeing that he was unable to function normally, Ben was put under watch by Grace and excused temporarily from daily activities, spending the next two days alone in his room.

Though Allison usually got away with almost anything and she was rarely on their father’s radar when it came to anything, that time proved she was not immune to his madness. Though she may have felt she had Reginald wrapped around her pretty painted fingernails, she quickly realized she was not the one calling the shots.

It was obvious she was devastated about having to rumor them into silent submission. None of the traumatized children blamed her, but it hurt anyway. Five was bitter but he had understood. It was no wonder she normally refused to use her power unless Reginald forced her to. Taking someone’s will away from them was not a good feeling from either side of the situation and it was hard not to feel some anger at her about it.

For a long time after, Five couldn’t be in the same room with Allison without hearing her voice stripping him of the right to use his own mind the way he wanted, and that resulted in fear and mistrust that couldn’t be fixed while they were under that roof.

To him, it felt like the man that called himself their father wanted them to loathe each other as much as they hated him, because that was basically what he’d caused. They could scarcely look at one another when it was all done.

Even without words, it was clear everyone was in shock over what had happened. They were looking for someone to blame and not just their dad. To add insult to injury, quite literally, they couldn’t talk to each other about it when they were each in their worst time of need.

They went through the next week without one word of complaint because they couldn’t. Until then, Five wasn’t sure if Reginald could get Allison to rumor them like that permanently, but if he could have, he knew that he would, so at least he had that to cling to but it did little to ease how heartbroken and hateful he felt.

How they felt and what they needed did not matter to their father.

They had seen the truth. They were nothing to him and never were.

~~~

Feeling slightly off from thinking about the tragedy of that week, Five looked up, finally noticing that there was a little boy coming along the shady path he was sitting along. As if energized even more by Five’s eyes landing on him, the excited puppy the child was trying to hold back suddenly broke free of his hold, sprinting for the park bench.

“Woah there, buddy,” Five laughed as the golden ball of fur aggressively leapt up with its fuzzy paws landing on his knees so it could lick his face. Within seconds, Five’s once pristine wool pants were covered in slobber and dirt.

“Mr. Pennycrumb likes you,” the boy laughed, while scrambling around on the ground, trying to get his hands on the leash.

Just as Five was going to stand up to escape his new friend’s overly affectionate greeting, you came running up to them. “I am so sorry!” you cried as you jumped in to help get a handle on the wild pup.

Once you got the small dog pulled in tight at your heel, Five got to his feet. “It’s okay,” he assured while brushing himself off.

When he looked at the boy, the child staring up at him said, “This is my babysitter. We get to hangout while my mommy is at work. She has to work three jobs ever since the mean monster she called cancer took my daddy away.”

“I am sorry,” Five quietly replied, not sure how to respond to someone so young or to something so awful.

You looked even more embarrassed as you quickly tried to change the subject, “Really. I’m so sorry about your suit. It looks like I owe you a new pair of pants.” Your eyes flickered downwards, taking in the damage. When you looked back up, you added, “Obviously my little guy is very social. Having a four-legged beast is great, but a bit much sometimes. He's up for adoption if you're interested?” you laughed.

You reached down, petting your foster dog, then did the same to the giggling kid, ruffling his fluff of hair. Your smile faded just a little as your eyes returned to the serious looking young man who was curiously studying you.

“Not my nephew here. He is social too, but I didn’t mean to say that he’s a four-legged beast,” you corrected, followed by another laugh that touched something inside Five, making his face animate with a spark of life.

His dimple deepened.

“This kiddo is bit much too, but I love him so, so much and we’d be out here doing this together even if I wasn’t his mom’s go to babysitter,” you rambled, flustered by the way Five was looking at you through the curtain of hair that had fallen over his kind but calculating eyes.

“Don’t worry. I get it, and you don’t owe me new pants. I don’t mind getting a little dirty every now and then. Sometimes I quite enjoy it, and this is turning into one of those times since it meant that I got to meet this little guy, and his very nice companions," Five smoothly replied, and your cheeks glowed even brighter.

Just as you were about to say something, your nephew interrupted.

“You looked lonely. That’s why Mr. Pennycrumb came over to say hi,” he cutely pointed out, then surprised Five even more when he added, “Want to go for a walk with us?”

Five’s mouth opened but nothing came out at first.

Suddenly feeling like he needed to do something with his hands, he tucked them in his pockets and rocked back in his shiny shoes. Of course, that did not help him feel like he was successfully playing off his normal guy act, especially considering his left hand was sitting right next to a button that was about to destroy the city’s largest building.

“I…uhmmm. I would love to, but I have a prior engagement I need to attend to,” he finally replied with his cool green eyes moving between the expectant little boy and you.

Five almost never engaged in conversations that weren’t required of him. When he did, they were never like this. This felt different. All this from a chance encounter and a conversation with real people that were nothing but kind to him.

It felt…good.

Five hadn’t felt the glimmer of hope, or met anyone that didn't have an ulterior motive, or experienced the surprise of something that wasn’t catastrophic in…

He couldn’t remember.

Clearing your throat, you looked back at him while putting a hand on your nephew’s shoulder. Five knew that meant you were leaving, but he found that he desperately didn’t want you to.

He wanted to go on that walk, if only to have a taste of something positive and not so isolating for once.

Five’s brows furrowed as he glanced at the skyline where Reginald’s building stood as if taunting him. When he looked back at you standing between him and what he felt was preventing him from moving on, something in him fractured, but it was the exact opposite of feeling like something inside of him was broken.   

“Well…” you started. “If you change your mind about those pants or the walk in the park, we’ll be strolling by here about the same time tomorrow.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Five said, dropping his head to the side while giving you another small smile.

As you turned and left him standing there, Five was unable to stop smiling.

He took his hand from his pocket, looking down at his palm where the electronic device lay waiting.

Killing Reginald would only prove that he was right.

Five was not weak and never was and he wasn't broken.

He pried the casing open and pulled at the wires under the button that could have activated the bombs.  

The switch was dead, but Five wasn’t. Somehow, while lost in his crushing hatred and near debilitating loneliness he’d forgotten that. In his fight to end his father, he’d accidentally given up on himself.

But Five Hargreeves was not a quitter.

Chucking the broken trigger in the bushes, he started to head back the way he’d entered the park.

That was the moment when the sapphire canvas above him started to falter.

The many colors of blue and white and gray in the clouds suddenly scattered into millions of floating dots, rapidly separating in a way that was not at all natural. The phenomenon of pixelating pulsations quickly swallowed the long needle piercing the sky above the massive glass covered pillar bearing Reginald’s name.

As the top of the building where he and his reclusive wife resided was obliterated, a glittering dust of marigold colored rain began to fall over the park, blowing in the rush of wind before dusting Five’s hair in its otherworldly magic.

The site was almost just like when Reginald had drained them, only happening in reverse. The sensation of first bone chilling ice, then scorching heat began crawling under Five’s skin.

Reacting to the intense pain that felt like it was tearing him apart, Five dropped to his knees, his hands clawing at his body as he screamed.

A fire of blue light engulfed him as his powers violently reclaimed him. Within seconds, Five was filled with an ethereal glow that radiated from his eyes and his fingertips, making him look like a wingless archangel in a tailored business suit.

Then, the world as Five had come to know it evaporated, the ground bearing his weight, slipped away into the bottomless depths of time and space as he fell.

~~~

In the beginning, there was nothing. That was the way it always was. Just emptiness and possibilities, and the one who could not only manipulate time and space but could also create it.

It all started with a boy, only that boy didn’t know it until just now, when life and all material things were gone and his consciousness was all that was left.

Like Reginald had said, it was always Five.

Suspended in a vast swirl of everything that ever was and ever would be, grasping at the fibers of light flashing past him, Five began pulling with invisible hands, starting the unimaginable task of piecing together something better for all of them.

~~~

Much, much later, or six years later, but actually the exact same day it was, but back in their original timeline, but also not, depending on how you wanted to look at things and wrap your head around the fact that time only seems to be linear, Number Five Hargreeves set his coffee cup down on the table between him and his ghost whispering brother.

He was at the same coffee shop he’d been at that fateful morning in another timeline and in another time that he’d filed away among many others that were left behind closed doors inside the vast hallways of his mind.

“Oh, come on Five,” Klaus moaned. “I just got here. I thought we were hanging out today. I even told the rest of the family that we’d meet up with them later. Diego and Lila’s little brat rat is dying to see her favorite uncle Fivey.”

After looking down at his wrist bearing his Umbrella Academy tattoo, taking stock of the time, Five rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed. “Klaus, we were supposed to hangout and have breakfast, but you showed up an hour later. I have already eaten. I bought you your favorite smoothie and a bagel, so that’s going to have to be good enough because I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Where?”

“None of your business.”

“I know you. You’re up to something,” he accused.

Musing over what Klaus would say if he told him where he was going, Five got up, his hand coming to his throat to straighten his tie.

Five knew that he painted an odd picture. One of a just turned nineteen-year-old, dressed like he wanted to take on the wolves of Wall Street, but as silly as his choice of attire may have been being he had no intention of doing that, this was him and always would be. A nice suit meant you weren’t messing around, and he wasn’t anymore. Besides, it wasn’t like the world didn’t know about his crazy life story, or the fact that he wasn’t exactly the young man he appeared to be.

Thanks to having the rug pulled out from under him, or better put, reality as he had known it, Five was seeing things from a much different perspective.

Looking back on it, he still couldn’t stop kicking himself for not putting it together when he saw the other ancient version of himself laying in a diaper in that hyperbaric chamber in The Commission’s paradox proof bunker.

Now it all made sense how he had become the founder.

“Whatever,” Klaus muttered, pretending to grumble when Five didn’t take the bait and tell him what he was up to. “At least you’re finally an official grown up again and you sometimes get out of your apartment and mingle with the rest of the world every now and then. But still, buddy. Reading is fun and Dolores is great and all, but you need to spread those cute little wings of yours and fly. There are tons of other real flesh and blood birdies out there looking to strike up titillating conversations with the right dove, and you sir are all sorts of ripe with things you can use to bore people. Things like how you mastered traversing the bend in the time helix or other confusing stuff like that you like to go on and on about.”

“Shut up, Klaus,” Five dryly retorted as his fingers threaded back through his strands of hair that were hanging every which way, making him look every bit his outwardly young age.

“Go. Off with you then, young man,” Klaus teased. “Next time, it’s my plan for our date day and you are meeting me to get our nails done and then we are going out salsa dancing with Diego and Lila and Sloane and Luther. We need to show them how the better Hargreeves do their damn thing.”

“I don’t dance,” Five huffed as his fingers curled around the bready treat hidden in his pocket.

“Yes, you do,” Klaus laughed, to which Five gave him a quick scowl that just as quickly turned into a smirk because they had gotten exceptionally plastered at Klaus’s apartment only a week ago, and he’d made a total ass of himself dancing in a hula skirt and sombrero on the coffee table. When Klaus and Viktor and then Luther joined him, it was too much and the flimsy piece of Ikea furniture exploded, leaving them in a heap on the shag carpet.

Yes, things were different this time around, just as Five had hoped they’d be after he’d brought them all back to the day of Reginald’s funeral, and then proceeded to avoid all the mistakes he and they had made after it.

It didn’t mean that all the bad things didn’t happen in the years before this. It meant they got a second chance while all knowing everything that they had known about the original run through when they’d been brought back together and then messed it all up.

Miraculously, Five wasn’t just a time traveler with trigger finger you didn’t want pointed at you. He could create time, and that is how he saved the world and brought everyone back, but he did not rewrite like Reginald had tried to do.

He was smarter than that. 

No one can erase the past. It will always be there one way or another. The only thing you can do is learn from it and he did.

“I’ll see you all later?” Five softly offered, before turning to head out the door.

“You better,” Klaus said, calling after him with an outpouring of brotherly love.

The bell on the door chimed as Five walked out into the bright morning sun.

The sidewalk was packed like it always was that time of day and that was why Five almost didn’t see him. 

Reginald wasn’t dressed in his usual fine wool suit of tightly woven tweeds and righteousness. The familiar posture and weakened step aided by his cane appeared in Five’s periphery and the next thing he knew, he was looking into the eyes of someone that wasn’t supposed to be there but was.

To all the others, the eccentric inventor Sir Reginald Hargreeves had died, just as he originally did. But that ruse was a necessary end, just like it was originally intended to be the first time and Five didn’t alter that on purpose.

He knew their adoptive father was more than just the monster he appeared to be. Reginald had been wrong for what he’d done to them, but like him, he’d been desperate and he’d paid for his mistakes, over and over. 

Now, as time had intended it, Five was in a place to do something about that.

Having real power had nothing to do with ruling others or having superpowers. It was in not succumbing to the demons inside you.

Real power happens in making the right choices.

Knowing that he had made the right choice, Five nodded ever so slightly, and in doing so, he received a silent bow in return from the lonely creature passing him by.

It wasn’t over for Reginald yet, and it was far from over for Five. With his excitement building and aware that he needed to move faster, Five pulled at the power simmering just beneath his skin, throwing open a portal.

Less than a second later, he reappeared, stepping out onto a shady pathway in the park.

Eyeing his favorite bench, with sweaty hands hidden in his pockets, he sat down.

As he was looking out, his eyes seeing a ghostly mixture of realities twisting through his memories, he heard the small voice of a boy, calling out to the dog that had just broken off its leash.

It was happening almost the same as the first time.

Mr. Pennycrumb raced across the grass, kicking up the pigeons that were nibbling on the bread Five had thrown down for them.

Reaching the young man on the bench that he’d chosen as his newest friend, the puppy jumped up, paws digging into Five’s thighs as he assaulted his face with his wet tongue.

“Hey, buddy,” Five whispered as the little boy came running over with you behind him.

After slipping the yellow lab a doggie biscuit that he’d purchased that morning at the doggie bakery, Five looked up.

“I am so sorry!” you breathed as you frantically kneeled down to get your hands on the dog’s collar. “Oh my gosh, your pants!” you gasped while also trying to brush off the mud covering Five’s knees.

Realizing what you were doing after it was too late, you pulled your hand back. Your face got even redder when Five merely raised a brow at you and smiled.

“Oh my God, I shouldn’t have done tha- I just- Well, shit,” you moaned, giving into your embarrassment.

“It’s okay,” Five calmly assured. “I don’t mind getting pawed at by the wild animals roaming the park.”

You burst out laughing, your hands flying up to cover your mouth.

“Mr. Pennycrumb and my babysitter seem to really like you, Mister,” the little boy said while giggling. “Do you want to come for a walk with us since you are just sitting here all alone now that your bird friends are gone?”

“My schedule is open so I suppose I could do that,” Five returned. “But only if your babysitter wants me to…”

“Absolutely, you should totally come with us,” you quickly replied. “Please, let me pay for some new pants. I know a decent men’s store off 48th street and we are heading that way. This little fluff head just ruined your pants, so it’s the least I can do,” you added while looking only slightly less mortified.

“How about I let you buy me a coffee and I buy you and the kid a treat and we skip the new pants,” Five countered. “If after our walk, you aren't sick of me and still want to get me out of these dirty things, I can probably find a way to accommodate that while also coming up with something else fun for us to do together."

You had no clue what to say to that, your baffled expression only made Five look all the more thrilled.

"I mean, maybe we can take this kid and the pup swimming. I have two nieces that I know would love to join us and I don't need a suit for that," he clarified followed by a chuckle.

The look in your wide eyes said it all. You were as amused by Five’s odd but funny comments as he was by your kindhearted smile and fidgety ways.

Just then, the little boy’s mom and dad came strolling along, their faces showing humorously shocked levels of concern when they saw all the mud staining the lap of Five’s three-piece suit.

The boy’s father glanced at his wife just before they reached them, mouthing, “Is that who I think it is?”

It was the time of truth.

Hoping for the best, Five extended his hand to you as you stood there stunned, all of a sudden realizing who he was.

 “Five Hargreeves, and you are?”

Visibly shaking your head as you looked him up and down, you reached out, lacing your fingers between his. Giving Five your name, you then introduced your family.

From there, the walk Five had been waiting for finally happened. He finally had people in his life who wanted nothing from him other his friendship.

With a world that wasn’t on the verge of falling apart, Five was about to get what he deserved all along.

Happiness.

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

Thank you for reading this. ❤️ I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have read my original Five Centric 3-part series, and the parts of this one that were describing what happened to Five and his family after the Paris mission seemed familiar, you are not wrong. 😂👍 I have been wasting my time going back to re-edit my older works and I came across a chapter in 'Number Five and the Girl' that covered that sad memory for him. I love anything whumpy and I felt that part had it in a way that touched on something for all of them. I enjoyed revisiting it, and I hoped you would find something of value in it too.  That story goes down much different than this one, but I couldn't help borrowing some of that to turn into something new that tickled our brains with some of the stuff the show has been putting out there lately to get us excited.

Long live TUA and the people who keep the fandom fun. 🤗

Link to my A03 home page

Link to my other art and story posts on Tumblr

Link to my story and art quick link master list

[laylarevengers]

dress. manjiro sano x fem! reader. series. angst —> happy ending. tomen —> bonten. this is long. last part!! (slightly suggestive.)

part one. part two.

kakucho, a well-dressed man, poured a generous amount of fancy champagne into your glass, which made you feel out of place in your casual attire. as a doctor, you had a well-paid job, but your busy schedule offered you little time to indulge in luxuries. kakucho’s question caught you off guard, "you knew mikey?" you hesitated to respond, unsure of what to say. koko, noticing your hesitation had intervened, "stop instigating. she’s already sitting with a bunch of criminals, let her be. if you want to know something, go ask the boss yourself."

“ask me what?”

the scene was reminiscent of a sudden jolt, like a whiplash, as everyone in the room rose quickly to greet him. sanzu was quick to curse under his breath, expressing his frustration at the early arrival that wasn't expected for another week. as he spoke, the sound of his voice was both familiar and yet different, with a new depth and gruffness that seemed to come with adulthood and perhaps even a hint of criminality. the sound of his voice echoed in your ears, stirring up memories and emotions from the past.

rindou greeted his boss with a wave of his hand, a hint of amusement apparent in his tone. "hey, boss. when were you going to tell us about your romantic exploits?" he teased, patting manjiro’s shoulders. you couldn't see manjiro’s face due to sanzu and koko standing between you, but you could imagine his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion as he responded with a childish "huh?" It was a moment that made you want to laugh to yourself and think, ‘wow, some things never change.’

as manjiro stood in the room, his gaze wandered between rindou and sanzu. he seemed to be in a hurry, but rindou’s presence was not helping his mood. frustrated, he pushed rindou away, who responded by giving him the finger. manjiro then approached Sanzu, his eyes filled with irritation and fatigue. his voice was low and quiet, but the tension in his words was palpable. "what are you hiding?" he demanded, his tone making it clear that he was not pleased.

"ran got hurt," sanzu replied in a hushed tone. "i had to seek help from someone who was smart enough not to report it to the authorities." sanzu glanced at koko, who seemed to understand his cue to move away. meanwhile, manjiro found you standing up, your arms crossed and your face serious. you had enough time to pull yourself together upon seeing him for the first time in years, but manjiro didn't. his eyes widened in surprise, and the glare he directed at sanzu spelled out a clear message of anger and a desire for retaliation.

as you approached manjiro, you couldn't help but notice the tense atmosphere. with a deep breath, you spoke up, "you should tell your men to be careful." the utterance was perhaps ill-advised, but you couldn't help yourself. manjiro’s gaze fixed on you, scanning you up and down as he tried to comprehend what was happening. you quickly crouched down, picking up your bag, and nodded at sanzu. "i’ll leave. mouth’s shut. don’t want any trouble." you raised your arms in surrender, hoping to defuse the situation. your attempt at sarcasm didn't go unnoticed, and it elicited a laugh from rindou. despite the brief moment of levity, you couldn't shake the feeling that things could turn ugly at any moment.

manjiro’s sudden question, "when did you arrive?" caught you off guard just as you were about to leave. it tugged at your heartstrings, as it had been so long since he had spoken directly to you. you didn't let on the impact it had on you, and neither did he, but deep down, you both knew. glancing back at everyone, you nonchalantly replied, "around four."

manjiro’s sudden outburst of "fuck" caught everyone's attention, leaving them confused. he turned to sanzu and began to criticize him for his occasional stupidity. as you turned around to see what was happening, you saw ran barely able to stand and still half asleep. you immediately urged her to go back to sleep, fearing that she might hurt herself more. it was as if there were two different versions of you - one who was angelic and protective while dealing with his executives, and another who was cold and harsh while talking to manjiro.

"if only you guys weren't so fucking noisy," ran exclaimed, glancing at everyone except for you. manjiro noticed your hand resting on ran’s shoulder and interjected, "you can't just walk away. if you had been more cautious, you would have noticed those bastards watching your every move." he directed his words towards sanzu. "why do you think i arrived early? he’s targeting all of our crucial areas and eliminating our comrades." as manjiro carried on, you couldn't help but feel perplexed. who is this person he's referring to? what have you gotten yourself involved in? and what has jiro gotten himself into?

on the morning after, you found yourself waking up in a lavishly furnished bedroom located in a luxurious penthouse. as you tried to piece together the events of the previous night, manjiro, a person you thought you knew, kept talking in a language that you struggled to comprehend. despite the euphuism barrier, it was clear that all the executives present in the room were in agreement about not leaving you alone.

from what you understand, you have always beena prey, right from your days in toman, where you have been since the very beginning. It seems like you have been used as a pawn to get into manjiro’s head. however, you are not sure if this is the reason why he left and started bonten. you are also unsure if it would have been better if you had gone away with him, where you would be safe by his side. you didn't know. the uncertainty of the situation is making you feel helpless since, you truly, genuinely and irrocevbely do not know anything.

yet you woke up in manjiro’s home and you’ll get your answers.

you pounded your hands on the pristine kitchen counter, exclaiming, "what on earth is happening?" manjiro appeared caught off guard, yet he nonchalantly proceeded to light his cigarette. it felt strange witnessing him engage in such behavior. although both of you had once indulged in rebellious acts of smoking and underage drinking, this situation seemed different. it appeared to be a lasting issue, not just a passing phase. as he gazed into your eyes, a wave of emotions overwhelmed you, and tears threatened to spill.

he inquired, "what are you trying to say?" you were seething with frustration, overflowing with anger. swiftly, you grabbed the cigarette from his lips and extinguished it on the pristine white marble of the countertop. weary, he glanced at the mark left behind, then met your gaze once again. with a fiery determination, you stormed around the barrier of the counter and positioned yourself directly in front of manjiro, who sat on a stool. your faces were now inches apart.

it was impossible to recognize him. absolutely impossible. even if you stared at him for hours, there was something different about him. the beautiful blonde hair that you used to play with was gone, and his boyish smile, the one that always made you smile back, seemed to have vanished for years. and his eyes, oh, manjiro’s eyes. they were always dark and almost devoid of emotion, but you loved them, adored them. yet now, they appeared completely emotionless. he had bags under his eyes, and he looked so thin that it was impossible not to worry.

“it’s as if you're intentionally avoiding my forgiveness. it’s as if you couldn't care less," you were aware that you were burdening him, provoking him. however, you needed reassurance. the fear and disapproval evident in his eyes confirmed something, "i do care. all i do is care about you. don’t. don’t say i don't." you scoffed at his response. you didn't attempt to argue with him when he walked away twelve years ago, so why now? it it a result of pent-up anger?

“if i was in danger from some crazy motherfuckers all those years then why was i not living here, hm? why was i not by your side like i always used to be?”

“because it’s—“

"—‘it’s better this way.’ go fuck yourself, manjiro!" you said with a bitter tone. you had never spoken to him like this before, not in such a serious manner. "i’ve waited for so many years, and you've never once approached me. all i got was some lousy flowers on my birthday and crazy fucking sanzu following me everywhere!" deep down, he knew you were lying. he had gotten you wisterias, your favorite flowers, and you really liked sanzu, but that wasn't the point at this moment. he allowed you to vent, just like before. you were furious with him, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, as if he was fifteen again, standing next to his motorcycle while you sat on it, wearing his tomen jacket on your shoulders.

“i can't believe it... you never even said "i love you" back when you left! It haunted me every single day. why couldn't you say it? don’t you love me anymore?" manjiro closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh in response to your words. you looked so familiar, with your messy hair from just waking up and the way you were arguing with him. it reminded him of all those old bickering sessions you used to have. suddenly, he gently cupped your face, causing your words to fade away on your tongue.

his eyes darted back and forth between your gaze and your lips, repeatedly, as he uttered those three words, "i love you." your lips brushed for a moment before you withdrew and playfully punched his shoulder. "you can't just say that now and expect me to forget everything," you said. he shook his head, "no, i don't expect forgiveness. I just wanted you to know." you muttered a curse under your breath and tugged him closer by his black shirt. clothes were discarded, and the intensity quickly escalated, yet it felt like pure perfection. things had changed, manjiro had changed, but then again, maybe he hadn't.

the way he held your hand the whole time, the way he whispers sweet nothings like he isn’t a maniacal criminal, the way he refuses to let your mind wander and focus on anything that’s not him, the way he doesn’t let himself feel too good until you have. everything was the same, but it just was not, and maybe that was okay.

it all felt right when you agreed to accompany him to some work party. you wore a dress so similar to the one you wore during your first date, only more mature in its design and on your features. you were foolish to come back into this life. but it was manjiro. you’d always choose manjiro sano even if it meant having your comely dress on the floor and the risk of being his girl again. but you were taking the chance because something told you he won’t leave this time.

and you were right. he redeemed himself. you forgave him. things sometimes got rocky, but he didn’t run away this time and that was all you wanted.

[florsial]

Hey bestie I’m trial and erroring a Rabastan design and I’m struggling so what does he look/dress like in your gorgeous mind because no one gets him like you do

Hello :D and thank youu <3333

Okay, I have been thinking about his appearance from time to time. the main consistent detail is that he isn't very "sleazy" in looks. He's pretty put together. He is wearing an expensive suit, maybe a couple buttons undone, and a loose tie with those shiny black loafers, but overall he's pretty clean. His most casual would be dress pants and button up that's kinda undone.

(HIS FANCY STYLE GETS REGULUS SO GIDDY!!! Like if you ever saw those photos of someone standing on their s/o feet THATS SO THEMMM)

I've been torn over having him with long hair or short hair. But in the end, shorter hair is more fitting for him, I think. In a way that expresses that he doesn't have the luxury of keeping his hair long like Rodolphus if he's constantly fighting for something. So I imagine something like the short wavy hair you see when you search it up on Pinterest for men (don't ask me how I know that). When I first sketched him out, I gave him long hair but it didn't fit.

I couldn't find a proper description in the HP wiki nor do I remember what he is described as in the books when he first shows up. Only that is a thin man. So I think his face is slightly sunken in and his entire body is pretty lanky. And he's pretty tall (HEIGHT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND REGULUS HEIGHT DIFFERENCE!!). His hair and eyes are both pretty dark and his skin is a little tan since I actually see him as a very outdoorsy person and amazing, like, really smooth without blemishes (for some reason).

(Pandora starts breaking out when she hit puberty and she contemplates torturing Rabastan's skincare out of him) (he has none)

Don't take this as seriously, but I picture something like Victor from The Corpse Bride (I've never seen that movie honestly) but yk, just for fun lol.

He doesn't have this overly messy style because he's like this black sheep (Like Sirius or Barty) because of his mother's family influence. With his maternal (a side branch from Averys), he's very well dressed and groomed, they made sure of that! The Avery side of his family loves him, though it's partly because Rabastan looks/acts more like his mother.

This brings up another thing that is: he is very much a jewelry person. His suits, expensive but plain, are often decorated and slightly weighted down by layered necklaces with heavier stones and real metals and his fingers are more cold than warm by silver rings. He got his ear pierced at a young age and has so many passed down from his mother, like all his other jewelry. In a way, all of that seems almost like armor that covers/protects him.

Side note: HE WOULD'VE WIPED THE FUCKING FLOOR WITH THOSE SILVER FINGER GUARDS!

He would've HATED cheap jewelry and when mood rings were released in 1975, he choked when he saw Sirius wearing one for the first time. Rodolphus and Regulus almost called a healer because he was turning blue. (Sirius bought more out of spite after that)

Modern Au Rabastan would have a Rolex collection. I said what I said.

I know I bring up suits when wizarding folk don't wear that so, his robes are often plainer (compared to Rodolphus, keep that in mind) but still pretty expensive looking with complex embroidery. His more extravagant robes came from his mother (since I don't think that size mattered all that much between men and women or boys and girls). Cliche moment, but his clothes were very much darker in color, but not always black. More like a darker purple or a darker blue or green, I'm thinking something like what you would get when you use velvet, how colors are almost really shiny or almost black.

I can also see him using makeup! Though very light I think he's very open and knowledgeable about a lot of things since he was basically treated as a doll by his mother's twin sister :D

[fanficshiddles]

Eternally Mine, Chapter 2

‘God, I don’t know why I’m so nervous!’ Louise laughed while Claire did her make-up for her.

‘Don’t worry, I felt the same on my first date with Loki. You’ll be absolutely fine though.’ Claire assured her sister.

Louise was round at Claire and Loki’s place, they were getting ready for their double date. Chris had asked Loki and Claire advice on asking Louise out the weekend after Loki’s birthday. He knew that she might be anxious about going alone with him, so Claire came up with the idea for a double date.

‘I wonder why he’s into me, I mean… he could have anyone!’ Louise said quietly while Claire finished off putting on some eyeliner to her.

‘Hey, don’t say that about yourself.’ Claire scolded. ‘You’re stunning, you know I’ve always been envy of your looks.’

‘You’re just saying that.’ Louise argued.

‘I’m not! Now, shut up and do my make-up for me.’ Claire said as she nudged her off the chair, making Louise laugh.

-

‘What if I can’t control myself around her.’ Chris said worriedly as he paced back and fore while buttoning up his white shirt. He was wearing black suit trousers with the white shirt, he had a black suit jacket to go over the top.

‘You will, you’re strong willed. If I managed to resist Claire for so long, you’ll manage to resist Louise.’ Loki assured him.

Loki was round at Chris’ place, waiting for him to get ready before they went to pick up Claire and Louise.

‘Tie or no tie?’ Chris asked as he held up a black tie.

‘No tie. It’s fancy casual.’ Loki said after pondering a moment. He was wearing a blue shirt with black trousers, no suit jacket though.

‘How do you cope with the urge to feed from Claire?’ Chris huffed.

‘Well, it got easier over time the more I spent with her. Just touching her helped a little. Though it wasn’t till I fed from her the first time that it got it out of my system. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to feed from her every chance I can, but it’s a manageable thirst. Getting used to being around her scent will take time.’

‘Her scent just drives me wild.’ Chris admitted. ‘I don’t want to spook her though.’

‘You won’t. Just be yourself…’ Loki then pulled a face. ‘Well, to an extent.’

Chris narrowed his eyes at him briefly.

-

‘Which one should I wear?’ Louise asked as she held up two dresses she'd brought with her, one was black with short sleeves and a low-ish neckline. The other was a dark blue long sleeve dress, though it was knee length too.

‘Hmm. I think the black one.’ Claire decided on.

‘Black one it is.’ Louise nodded and pulled it on.

Claire rummaged through her wardrobe and decided on a plum-coloured dress, it was a low neckline as well though had half length sleeves and went down to just above her ankles.

‘The guys won’t know what to do with us, we are smoking.’ Louise giggled when they both stood together, looking in the mirror.

‘That’s the spirit!’ Claire cheered.

‘I can’t believe you have a vampire boyfriend and I’m away to go on a date with one… Just like we imagined when we were young.’ Louise laughed.

‘I know, dreams can come true.’ Claire smiled.

-

‘I can’t believe after searching for so many years, I’ve found my soulmate.’ Chris sighed as he and Loki had a quick drink before leaving.

‘I guess it sometimes just takes time.’ Loki shrugged.

‘Should I tell her that she’s my soulmate?’ Chris asked.

Loki hummed and tilted his head back and fore in thought. ‘Not sure. It’s down to you, really. I didn’t tell Claire for a while, because I didn’t want her to feel like she had to be with me. I wanted her to be with me because she wanted to.’

Chris nodded. ‘That makes sense. I’ll do the same, I think. I don’t want her to feel pressured into anything.’

Loki was rather surprised, yet pleased, at how Chris was being with the whole thing. He had half expected him to try and pounce on Louise, but he seemed to really care for her already. The instinct of wanting to look after and protect his soulmate had kicked in and was very strong.

‘Yeah, might need to wait a while before you get freaky in the bedroom. I remember some of the kinky shit you’re into, she’d run a mile.’ Loki teased.

Chris smirked. ‘Oh, don’t worry. I’ll wait until she’s on her knees begging me to take her.’

Loki face-palmed.

-

‘Chris might seem a bit rough around the edges, he is more… feral with his vampire instincts. Though he is a sweet guy to those he cares about, I really think he’ll be good for you.’ Claire told Louise.

‘You’re speaking as if it’s already a done deal that he will want to date me properly.’ Louise laughed.

‘Well…’ Claire almost spilled about being his soulmate, then thought again about it incase Chris didn’t want her to know just yet. ‘of course it’s a done deal, look at you! Plus, he will fall in love with your personality too once he gets to know you.’

‘Well, let’s just see how tonight goes.’ Louise smiled. ‘Oh, by the way. I’ve noticed bats hanging around my place lately… Is that Loki?’

Claire’s eyes widened slightly. ‘Ah… that… could be Chris. I know he followed your taxi home the night of Loki’s birthday, to make sure you got home safely. Loki did it with me too, he’d sometimes just come and check that everything was ok at my place.’

‘Really?’ Louise asked, eyes widening.

Claire got a little worried that she would freak out at that, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

‘That’s so sweet!’ She squealed like a giddy schoolgirl.

While Claire and Louise waited for Loki and Chris to come collect them, they had a couple of drinks downstairs.

‘I love that you guys have a vampire cat.’ Louise said with a smile as she stroked Bat, who was lying on the rug on front of the fire place.

‘She’s the best.’ Claire grinned.

Bat made a chirping noise in response, making Louise laugh. Bat then shot up and ran over towards the window, she jumped up onto the window ledge to look out of the window. She turned to look at the girls and meowed again.

‘Here’s our dates.’ Claire winked at Louise.

Louise was so excited to see Chris again, her stomach was in knots but she was more excited than nervous.

They grabbed their coats just as Loki opened the door.

‘My ladies… Your ride is here.’ He called with a big smile.

Claire giggled as they kissed, then they made their way down to the car. Chris got out and opened the back door for Louise, his heart began to race as she came closer. He noticed her cheeks turned pink again when she looked at him, unable to keep eye contact.

Her smell hit him like a brick, god she smelled so delectable to him.

Louise had forgotten just how tall and broad that Chris was, he was like a giant. Though the sweet smile on his face made her heart melt. She couldn’t get over how handsome he was.

‘You look stunning, Louise.’ Chris said when she reached him.

‘Thank you.’ She bushed even harder. ‘You look really handsome.’ She said shyly, making him smile widely.

Chris couldn’t resist picking up her hand and kissing the back of it again, she got the same tingling feeling as she did the last time. He then motioned to the car, Louise slipped into the back seat and Chris closed the door behind her. He practically jogged round to the other side of the car to get in the back seat with her.

Loki and Claire shook their heads with a smile. Loki opened the passenger door for Claire and helped her in.

‘Why thank you, kind sir.’ She grinned at him.

Loki winked at her as he closed the door, then walked round the car to get in the driver’s side. The plan was to drive to the restaurant, then they’d get a taxi back. He’d get his car tomorrow.

‘How are things going at the school? Claire was telling me about a couple of the students going a bit rogue this week and getting hurt?’ Louise asked Chris.

‘Yes, things are a little tense unfortunately. Some of the students just coming of age, getting used to their new instincts are struggling. I try to help them, to direct them in the right way’

Loki coughed at that. Chris clenched his jaw slightly and glared at the back of Loki’s head.

‘I try to direct them in a safe way to carry out their natural instincts, but these few decided they knew better and went off without guidance, getting themselves into a bit of trouble.’ He continued.

‘In what way are they in trouble?’ Louise asked curiously. She was fascinated with the vampire’s lives.

‘They’re trying to go after hunters, as there’s been a bit of an influx of them lately in the city. The students think they can take them on, getting their fill at the same time as doing good. But they’re too young and inexperienced, too hot-headed. One was badly injured the other night.’

‘Not like it’s the first bunch of hot-headed vampires we’ve had to deal with.’ Loki uttered.

‘Yes, thanks brother for your input.’ Chris growled at him.

Louise had to hold back a laugh, she found it quite amusing the way the brothers bickered. It had been the same at Loki’s party. Claire had filled her in about them both, a bit about their history together and how they both had different views of what was right and wrong.

She’d thought a lot about Chris and how he was known for feeding from innocent humans. Though she had decided that until he gave her a reason to be scared of him, she wouldn’t let that information cloud her judgement of him. At the end of the day, vampires were vastly different to humans, she knew that they needed blood to survive. They had to get it one way or another, and Chris was an original vampire, after all.

Claire had been quite surprised how accepting of him Louise had been when she filled her in.

‘It must be scary knowing there’s hunters about?’ Louise asked.

Loki and Claire nodded.

‘Nothing we can’t handle, they’re more an annoyance than anything.’ Chris said, slightly boasting.

Loki rolled his eyes.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Chris was ever the gentleman still, opening the door for Louise and pulling her chair out, then tucking it in for her. Loki did the same for Claire, not wanting to be upstaged by his brother.

Loki sat next to Claire, Louise was opposite Claire with Chris next to her. Louise noticed that Chris slid his chair slightly over so he was quite close to her, which made her heart feel fuzzy.

‘I bet I know what you’re going to get.’ Claire grinned at Louise.

Louise raised an eyebrow at her. ‘What?’

‘Spaghetti meatballs, that’s your favourite.’ Claire said confidently.

‘Oh.’ Louise laughed a little. ‘Actually, the salad looks quite good.’ She said quietly.

Claire frowned, she knew that Louise wasn’t fond of salad. Loki instinctively picked up on something when Claire gave him a look. So Loki dragged Chris up to the bar so they could order their drinks, then they’d go back to order the food once they’d decided on it.

‘Sis, you don’t need to worry about what you’re eating anymore. I know you don’t like salad.’ Claire said knowingly.

Louise let out a big breath and ran a hand down her face. ‘You’re right… I guess I just fell into old ways.’ She said quietly.

‘Chris isn’t like him. He won’t control what you eat, you can eat like a pig and Chris won’t care. Loki would kick his ass if he did, but he won’t. You should see the amount of food they end up eating. I swear Loki is trying to put weight on me, too. I’m heavier than I used to be.’ Claire laughed.

Louise laughed too. When the guys returned with drinks, they both noticed that Louise looked visibly more relaxed. She did end up going for meatballs and spaghetti.

‘Good choice. If it didn’t have garlic, I’d be going for that too.’ Chris said when she had decided.

‘Oh yeah, you guys can’t have garlic, can you?’ Louise asked.

‘We can, in small amounts. Though it does still cause stomach aches even on a small level.’ Chris explained.

‘Doesn’t stop Loki. He just stinks out the bathroom afterwards.’ Claire said as she pulled a face.

Louise laughed and Chris chuckled, Loki glared at Claire and squeezed her thigh under the table with a growl. ‘You’re so in trouble later.’

‘I sure hope so.’ Claire giggled.

The conversation between the four was kept light and fun. Chris and Loki bickered, like typical brothers. Even Claire and Louise had a few fun sisterly bickers together too, though not as harsh as the brothers.

When they were finished for the evening, Chris helped Louise with her coat and couldn’t resist letting his hands linger for a little on her shoulders, that she didn’t fail to notice.

She was staying the night at Loki and Claire’s, to save getting a taxi back home since she didn’t have work the following morning.

Chris said he would just fly home, to save a taxi going there and then to Loki’s. So they said their goodbyes outside.

‘Are you going to be around tomorrow morning?’ Louise asked, hopeful.

Chris’ face lit up at the fact she was hoping to see him more before heading home. He looked at Loki and Claire. ‘Well, if I’m invited, I wouldn’t say no to breakfast?’

‘Of course, you’re welcome.’ Claire nodded.

Loki sighed dramatically. ‘I suppose I could put on some extra bacon and sausages.’

‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.’ Chris grinned at Louise.

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

since i decided i wanted to make Reed a butch lesbian, because not enough butches, i started thinking about Doom, even though this is a Spider-Man AU and Doom probably won't even show up, but, you know, I got carried away by a wave of lesbianism and wanting to draw fancy dresses

(crops below the readmore cause this pic ended up a big sketch dump)

I wanted Doom to be... like....... kind of glamorous but also versatile... it seemed like the right choice since regular doom is himself very vain etc. so i thought she ought to also be vain and gorgeous, and vary the way she dresses between things like tailored three piece suits with long coats, and evening gowns, and of course the armor.

adding the pic again just to refresh—

it was interesting to think about how a female doom might present herself differently, and take influence from various comics and other sources (thinking about the gold mask dr. doom wore in a specific comic for example). The one eye thing just kind of occurred to me while I was drawing and I decided to run with it—one thing was for sure though, i wanted her to be stacked. big tits and big biceps. i figured with her face all fucked up she might still want to draw attention to her impeccable cleavage also so i put some gold glitter on her tits in that velvet gown.

obviously the armor is exactly the same as male doom cause, well, idk if you know this, but large round breastplates fit boobs also.

i think that doom being a lesbian would really make the stuff with valeria's namesake/doom's first love extra crazy though like... god... i'm thinking about it...

anyway a little bit of doomreed, who am i to say no to bitter gay exes—and a college photo of the trio. reed is very tall, and ben and victoria are... well i guess victoria counts as slightly tall and ben counts as average. but next to tall lanky butch reed they both look short. i was trying to channel a very specific kind of "photos of butch lesbians from the 80s and 90s" vibe for Reed with the short broad tie and the high waisted slacks and men's haircut, and i think i got that. ben looks kind of generic but it's like. one of those things. it's jeans and a t-shirt, that shit has looked the same for like 50 years. maybe i should've tucked his shirt into his jeans or something, higher waist... lol

obv posted this pic higher up but i was thinking about clothes and how to differentiate reed from the other menswear-heavy characters (like peter, and octavius) and thinking about some outfits i've seen reed actually wear in comics, and aside from the F4 costume, which i'd imagine reed wears the most often—for regular clothes the kind of slouchy casual, slightly outdated look seemed like it was just the right style... like she probably wears ties sometimes still but mostly only if she's gotta go to something formal, you know?

and as you can see, sue is 5'6"

anyway i knew for sure i wanted Reed to be very masculine, a very specific kind of butch. basically taking reed's handsome DILF/absent-minded professor aura and transposing that onto a lesbian who still calls herself "Mr."

basically she looks exactly the same but with a slight modification to her figure. lmao. she's the kind of butch who gets asked if she's a man or a woman in public a lot. well. not anymore i guess, if the fantastic four are celebrities (though maybe in a weirder more invasive way...)

anyway,

lost in the sauce (butches)

[dracarialove]

📄 Posting my finished fics here, too 📄

*Check the 'shadow's heart' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 9: Commitment]

Shadow rolled the long sleeves of his teal-green shirt up to his elbows as he left the bathroom, bright red eyes landing on the beautiful lady facing the window of their hotel room.

She primped curved locks and studied her makeup in the reflection, her figure poised in a navy-blue calf-length cami dress and black heels. And when he approached closely enough to catch her eye, Rouge turned around, immediately looking the hedgehog up and down.

"Mm, you look incredible," she said, eyes glimmering under cyan-painted lids. She stepped towards him and her gloved fingers slipped around the silver silk of his necktie, adjusting it and curling red lips into a sly smile. "Can't wait to tear this off you later."

She winked at him and the Ultimate Lifeform chuckled at her flirting, slipping his hand onto her lower back to escort her out. They visited the city again for a fine-dining experience, being seated in a room where roses and peonies bloomed in ornamented arrangements hanging on the dark walls.

Shadow stared at his date while she ordered wine for them to share, memorizing her elegant beauty before they were given menus to look over. He saw all the effort that went into her appearance – the attention to detail in making sure her lips shimmered just the right amount, that her dress fit her perfectly, that she hadn't a hair out of place.

Though wearing a tie was a good start, he held the belief that he couldn't compete with just how good she looked all the time. Glancing at the bat over his menu, Shadow was eager to make her his fiancée. It was killing him to wait.

When the waiter returned with their wine, Rouge seemed to perk up a little more excitedly than she already was. Charming as always, she commented, "Now it's officially a fancy dinner. And what great timing you have, coming back right when we've made up our minds."

The vested jaguar smiled humbly, opening the bottle for them. "Thank you. You're ready to order, then?"

"Yes," she said, turning her attention back to the list. "I'd like the red snapper with the side salad."

Shadow added, "And I'll have the lamb stew."

"Very good." He looked between the both of them. "Would you like any other drinks with that?"

"I think we're fine, right?" Rouge asked her boyfriend with a graceful hand gesture.

"Yes, the wine is enough."

The waiter nodded and smiled again. "I'll be back with your meals, then. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, sweetie," the woman said casually, and grabbed the wine bottle to fill their glasses halfway while she spoke. "Shadow, you are just the most darling guy to take me out like this, you know that? And not just to dinner, I mean this whole trip."

A deeper, more sincere smile spread on her face and she seemed to blush a little, resting the bottle on the table and staring a bit coyly at her cup. "I always wanted a man who cared this much."

The speedster was softened by her words and the genuine emotion in her expression. He smiled back and lifted his cup to her. "Then it's a good thing I found you. I can't imagine experiencing this if I hadn't."

She lifted her glass, as well, and clinked it against his before they took a swig. Over the course of their dinner, Shadow found himself more and more entranced by her, letting Rouge lead the conversation and getting lost in her eyes while she told stories.

He didn't understand what he'd heard from some unsatisfied couples – that the love fades, or that the passion disappears after the honeymoon phase. He hadn't felt that way at any point and couldn't imagine it happening now.

They were certainly content in their relationship, comfortable and happy with the direction their lives had taken. But complacence wasn't something he experienced, and now, sharing a table with Rouge and listening to her tales, he had the inkling that he was falling even more deeply in love with her.

The way her face lit up when she gesticulated to enhance her retelling of a memory; the sparkle her eyes gained when she stared at him for long enough; the confidence he felt being loved and desired by someone like her; it was everything he wanted and more.

He knew there would be a right moment for the talk, but not during dinner. Their meal together would be a romantic one, the second half of which was Shadow's turn to tell stories.

Those of the interesting and funny variety were few with him, but he had some instances of shenanigans to reminisce about, harkening back to his time working at the coffee shop.

Rouge listened, as he had, and when they were sufficiently filled with food and wine, the couple left to walk the streets once again. It was dark out, the sidewalks illuminated by streetlights and the businesses that remained open.

"Do you have room for dessert?" asked the hedgehog, spotting an ice cream parlor down the road.

"Hmm, I think so! A milkshake would be nice."

So, they went inside, patronizing the establishment right before they closed, and walking out with the treats of their choice. Rouge had a vanilla milkshake with little bits of strawberries mixed in, while her lover had a big scoop of black cherry ice cream on a waffle cone.

They walked a little longer, enjoying the crisp night air and the faintly busy sounds of the city at a less crowded hour, not talking much but enjoying each other's company all the same. Then, looking around at the area ahead, the bat's eyes trailed up one of the decently tall buildings and she got an idea.

She pointed up to it while looking over at the quiet lifeform. "Hey, babe, you wanna gaze out over the city?"

Shadow followed the direction of her pointing finger, then nodded. "Sure. It must be pretty colorful in a place like this."

"That's exactly what I was thinking! Come on."

She hopped off the ground to hover in the air, dropping her arm down so Shadow could grab on. His free hand gripped her wrist, and hers grabbed his, then the winged woman lifted her beau off the ground to fly them both up to the rooftop of the nearby building.

And when she was able to see above it, the brightness of the city was apparent. It really was colorful, the night lightened by glowing hues of rainbow colors from the different attractions beckoning people to occupy their business.

"Wow," Rouge uttered in awe, her eyes twinkling. "It's like a hundred gemstones glittering in the dark!"

Shadow didn't care as much for the lights as she did, but the colors were still nice to look at, and he cared more that his partner found it pretty. They landed on the flattened slate and approached one side of the raised barrier that lined the roof.

Leaning their elbows on it, the couple went back to enjoying their ice cream while staring at the different attractions, some of whose signs they could still read clearly – namely, the casinos and nightclubs.

As the seconds passed by, Shadow felt the pertinent moment getting closer, his gut instinct telling him that this tranquil, secluded place would be the best spot to have that important conversation. So, he savored the moments before that, sharing glances with his lover until the ice cream was gone.

And when he looked down at the empty wafer cone in his hand, he felt he'd lost his appetite, and knew it was time. He placed the cone on the raised stone and then hoisted himself up, gaining Rouge's attention as he sat on the edge of the structure.

"Oh, we're sitting now?" she said teasingly, then set aside her cup and positioned herself beside him.

"Yeah, we've been on our feet enough these last few days, I think." He smiled at her and the bat wrapped her arm around his, then gave him a peck on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.

In truth, the Ultimate Lifeform had no worry for their feet, or how much they'd been walking; they both had more than enough endurance to handle traveling on foot, and Rouge even hovered every now and then.

Really, he felt his thinking skills were a little better when he was sitting on the edge of a rooftop, his legs dangling over the side. It was something he'd done often at his old apartment, sitting on the roof and just thinking for an hour before bed.

He hadn't done that since moving in with Rouge, so replicating it now activated those memories and the thought-stirring nature of the night air surrounding the city.

Except this time, he wasn't alone. He had a woman by his side, a beautiful one; one he loved so much that the introspection of it was daunting. Because the last time he'd cared about a girl, he'd gotten hurt.

Although it was different with Rouge, the fear of loss was very much still present, and he was still reminded of the painful ache he'd felt before he met her.

With romantic feelings now thrown into the mix, how much would it hurt to lose her, too? He thought he'd done away with those frets, but they kept coming back.

It irritated him to know his concerns still had some sort of power over him. But he had to stop letting those troubles resurface. He knew it would psyche him out of getting things done if he didn't take control.

And Shadow the Hedgehog was rarely a quitter, determined to overcome the lingering worries from his past now that he had a duty to someone again. He'd done well for two years – he wasn't going to be beaten now.

"Rouge... love..." he started, his gentle voice soaking into the night. It came out weaker than he wanted, so he swallowed to push back the unease still threatening him.

Rouge's head shifted a little, but didn't leave him. He could guess she was now looking at him. "Yeah?"

He pulled in a breath and let it out softly. "I have a secret to tell you... and before I do, I'm sorry I haven't said it sooner."

Now the weight of her head did leave his shoulder, and his gaze caught her cautious expression when her posture straightened. Their arms were still enwrapped, so he rested his other hand on hers and looked earnestly into teal eyes. Her worried demeanor dared to strike more hesitance into the hedgehog's heart, but he forced himself to speak again.

"I've told you about how I came to exist. You know that I'm an artificial being; that as organic as I feel, I was created with certain features and abilities that change how I live."

The bat nodded, her voice coming out a bit somberly. "Right, things like godly strength and chaos power. What about it?"

"Well... I also told you that... my body won't deteriorate like a normal Mobian's as I get older."

"Shadow, what are you talking about?" Her gaze scanned over his figure. "Is something wrong?"

His mouth tightened into a tense line and he squeezed her hand. 'Just say it...'

"Rouge," he said firmly, "I understated my lifespan... greatly. I won't ever get old... I was created to be immortal."

Shadow expected her to gasp, but it seemed like she'd stopped breathing instead – he could no longer hear her quietly anxious exhales in the still air, only his own. Her eyes never left him, and slowly, her lips parted.

"You're immortal...?" she nearly whispered.

The fear he saw in her eyes made the lifeform want to reassure her that everything would be okay. But he knew the thoughts going through her mind were all the valid reasons he'd imagined for her to worry over.

It was written on her shock-stricken face that questions about their future were forming as he'd predicted they would. He hadn't planned exactly what to say next. Instead, in that moment, he caught the urge to pull her into a hug, doing so with a shaky breath and embracing her tightly.

"I'm sorry. I should've been honest from the start. But I couldn't..."

Rouge didn't hesitate to hug him back, the pair sitting in silence for a minute. She was picking through the thoughts that whirled in her head, trying to focus on the ones that really mattered. And he gave her as much time as she needed, afraid to speak again first for fear of falling apart.

"So... you'll outlive me, right?"

Shadow didn't want to say yes; didn't even want to nod. His arms squeezed her tighter and his face nestled into her hair. Another minute passed, then the bat started to pull back from his grasp.

"Baby," she spoke tenderly, meeting his eyes again once they were face-to-face. His looked sad, but still a little hopeful. "I still love you... is that what you were worried about?"

An uneasy swallow fell down the dark man's throat. "Well, I was worried that... you would be afraid. Too afraid to..."

His eyes dropped from hers as he trailed off, holding her gloved hands and running his thumbs over each one. He recognized that it was to calm himself more than anything.

Though not immediately brushing aside the news, Rouge didn't seem as panicky as he expected anyone would be. She didn't say anything for a few tense beats, and when he looked back up, her expression was surprisingly firm.

"There's very little in this world that scares me, Shadow." Her eyes twinkled with unwavering certainty. "If anyone can handle an immortal partner... it's me."

The woman's maroon-colored lips curled and she raised a hand to cup his cheek, making Shadow smile in return. His eyes closed and he slowly leaned his forehead to rest against hers, then asked with less hesitation, "Don't you have questions? You can't really be this calm, can you?"

A sweet chuckle permeated the air between them. "We make our own destiny, sweetheart. You and me... we adapt when things get tricky."

His head pulled back so he could look her in the eyes as she continued, "And we learn to navigate unclear paths. So that's what we'll do. The questions can come later."

"It's possible I'll live forever... that's not daunting to you?"

She then broke eye contact to gaze over the city, taking in a thoughtful breath and letting it out in a deep sigh. Her shoulders raised gingerly in a brief shrug before she answered, "Maybe a little... if I think about it alone."

Teal eyes met him again, and her smile remained. "But I'm not alone! I'm with you, and... you're on my side." She grabbed one of his hands with both of hers and pulled it close, squeezing lovingly. "So, if you thought that would send me running, you were wrong! I'm not going anywhere."

Shadow's confidence was whole again at Rouge's words. She was true to her determined spirit, not giving up on him – just as he'd been told. He inched closer. "Neither am I. As long as we're breathing, I'll be here."

She glanced at his lips, leaning in slowly. "Even if we can't spend eternity together... we'll make the most of the time we have."

They kissed, their devotion blessing the night air where they sat. The secluded rooftop over the glitzy vacation city would be marked in their memories as the place where they reaffirmed their commitment even in the face of an existential quandary.

But it wasn't the place where Shadow would make her his fiancée. The ring, he knew, had to shine as brightly as his love for the enchanting bat when the moment came. So, with the passionate seal of loyal lips, the evening ended there.

Before it got too dark, they headed back to the hotel to sleep off the outing. Their figures rested peacefully entwined throughout the night, and when it was morning, the hedgehog woke his lover with a room-service breakfast.

"Mm, best vacation ever," said Rouge through a bite of scone. "Seriously, I wish we could do stuff like this every day!"

"Hah, well... I can always make you breakfast in bed, you know," her man offered, pouring a cup of coffee.

"Knock yourself out, handsome," she bantered with a wink. "But I mean... we're just so busy at home! Imagine if we could both just be served every day?"

"Hm, it might be glamorous for a time... but it also might make us lazy."

Rouge sighed, "Maybe so," then her face lit up with an idea. "Hey, let's go to the beach after this! It's just about the best time to sunbathe."

A smile crept across Shadow's muzzle as he thought about the little black box sitting in his bag. "Sounds perfect."

[kate-bishops-waifu]

WLWweek day 3, @rexscanonwife

"After Work."

A/N: Okay this one's really quick and self indulgent. I cannot help wanting Kate to think I'm just the prettiest girl ever. Even if it's not really true, but also what if she was obsessed with me? But also I feel silly now so here is my silly little day 3 fic-

“You’re staring.” Ophelia ever so slightly smudged a bit of eyeliner in the corner of her eye.

“It’s been FORTY minutes,” Kate whined. She was laying on their bed, watching Ophelia in the vanity mirror with her head in her arms.

“Well it wouldn’t have taken forty minutes if you didn’t mess it up,”

Kate pouted.

“Just because it took you two minutes to get ready doesn’t mean I can get ready so fast.”

Kate looked down at her suit and shrugged, kicking her boots in the air.

“Okaaay done,” Ophelia capped her eyeliner, examining her work.

“Finally,” Kate hopped off the bed, running a hand through her hair, and winking at Ophelia in the mirror.

Ophelia hopped out of the chair, ready to run out the door, but Kate caught her. Stepping in Ophelia’s ways she put both hands on her hips, holding her in place so she could take in the loose black dress Ophelia was wearing.

“Hey,” Kate looked down the dress, not a hint of shame in her eyes.

“We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now,” Ophelia giggled. Kate could still make her blush with a glance. Which was a little embarrassing.

For a moment they stood there, Ophelia feeling a bit like a slab of meat.

“Kate.” She had to raise her voice to get her to respond.

“What? Yeah, right, let’s go.” Kate grabbed Ophelia’s hand, marching to the door, “Be good Lucky, I’ll bring you home a slice of pizza,”

‘Kate we really can’t keep-” Ophelia yelped, Kate had swung open the door and standing on the other side looking mildly surprised was Clint.

“Clint! Hi. What- what are you doing here?” Kate leaned a hand on the doorframe, doing her best to be casual.

Clint furrowed his brow, eyeing Ophelia. “That tracker arrow stopped a few hours ago.”

Kate’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Give me two minutes, I’ll get my stuff!” and took off, back up the stairs.

For a moment Ophelia and Clint stood there awkwardly. “You’re fancy,”

Ophelia looked down at herself, “Yes.”

There was a loud thud, making Ophelia jump. She whipped around and there was Kate, zipping up her Hawkeye jacket, balancing her bow and quiver on one arm. “Did you just jump from the loft!”

Kate smiled guiltily, her leather belt in her teeth. Suit zipped, and all her gear balanced in one arm she kissed Ophelia on the mouth and bounded out the door, waving. Clint bade his farewell and followed her.

Ophelia wrapped her arms around her stomach, watching Kate’s overexcited gait as she walked away. She took a deep breath of fresh night air, and closed the door, a smile passing her lips.

Lucky barked, lifting his head from Ophelia’s lap. Ophelia looked up from her book, the door knob turned and she hopped up, dropping the book with little care on the coffee table, running to the door. She caught Kate just as she got through the door, too nervous to jump she wrapped her arms around Kate’s neck, squeezing her tight.

“Heyyyy, sorry, we kinda got caught.”

“What? You got caught, how?”

“My fault, it’s fine. We’re out now, and I think we’ve just about got our guy. Sorry I was gone so long, and. . . missed our dinner.” Kate swallowed, realizing how ridiculous she had been. “I should have said something, at least a little. I mean imagine if the last time you saw me was when I was abandoning a date,” Kate giggled nervously, holding on a little tighter.

Ophelia shook her head in Kate’s neck and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay, you’re here, and look mostly intact.”

Kate made a face, “Did you get food?”

Ophelia smiled looking rather smug, “I got your favorite pizza, all your snacks, and that one whine that doesn’t taste awful. Also,” She was barely containing her excitement when she pointed to the couch where she had strung up fairy lights and layed out as many pillows and blankets in a sort of fancy looking pillow fort in front of the tv. “See?” She beamed.

Kate was staring at her, a dopey smile spread across her lips made her look sort of drunk.

“Is it okay? I had this plan B set up, I usually have one when we go out,”

“You’re still in your dress,” Kate said.

Ophelia nodded, “Well, technically I changed last night but, I am.” She fiddled with her fingers a moment, her cheeks turning red, “You look tired, I don’t want to make you, it’s fine if you just want to go to bed, really. We can do this tomorrow night, I just wanted to do something for you.”

“This is so cool,” Kate kissed Ophelia’s cheek, “I’m gonna take a shower so I don’t smell like a dead raccoon, I’ll be fifteen minutes,” she kissed Ophelia’s cheek again, “You’re the coolest,” and ran up stairs, tossing her bow on the table,

“A princess does not place her weapons on the table.” Ophelia did her best impression of a bad Scottish accent.

“Muuuum, it’s just my Booow,” Kate whined as she disappeared into the loft.

Ophelia giggled, and sat down in their little nest, queuing Kate’s favorite film as Lucky settled down next to her.

[galactic-pirates]

7 and 17 for the fandom ask game, for your choice of Myka Bering, Helena Wells, or both!

7) Is there a piece of clothing you think Myka is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

I like their Warehouse 2 outfit (combats and t-shirt). It’s a good middle ground between more professional attire (often a t-shirt but tailored slacks) and the mission leather from episode 3 was it? The one with the guillotine. Anyway the combats and t-shirt look comfortable and are practical.

I suppose this is why I like it for them. But I do also think Myka would like it. I think she likes her more ‘traditional’ federal agent outfit as kind of armor? Like she puts it on and she’s at work. The more casual mission outfit doesn’t have that but then the Warehouse is more of a family/place to call home than just a job. I think it fits her personality. Like maybe a callback to some awkward teenage years kind of comfort. I think Myka has grown more comfortable with her femininity as she has got older but I think she still likes to be judged as a person, not on her looks. I don’t know if that makes sense?

17) What's a book, movie, or show you think Myka would like?

Myka is obviously all about the books. I mean it’s pretty canon that she likes the classics but I also feel like she likes to read widely so she’ll hit up the bestseller lists etc.

That’s a pretty boring answer though. I don’t think she gets a lot of time to watch TV/movies because what time she has, she would usually choose to read a book. However she has to have at least one ‘guilty pleasure’ show. Given that she knew Pete’s redshirt reference and her age, and also the awkwardness I headcanon for her teenage years. I feel like Star Trek is something she wouldn’t admit to watching, but would find comfort in. Like before the warehouse, it was a world that imagined a future where being different was ok. So I guess in some ways why I like Trek 😛

7) Is there a piece of clothing you think Helena is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

I think Helena would appreciate a lot of ‘modern fashion’ because of how free it is in comparison to the 19th century. She wore trousers back then but not all the time. I feel like she would like to deliberately do the different thing now. Like wear a suit to a fancy party rather than a dress (you can see this if you look up Hustle photos btw, Jaime wore a tux once and a suit a couple of times). But obviously Helena is very comfortable with her feminine wiles and more than happy to make them work for her, so there tends to be a subtle sexuality to all her outfits it feels.

Anyway I think her favourite might be the painted on jeans, and loose cotton shirt, as she has worn variations of that quite a lot.

17) What's a book, movie, or show you think Helena would like?

I feel like Helena isn’t much of a media fan. I just can’t see her sitting still long enough to really get into anything. She likes to do. Attention span is short unless she is hyper focused on an invention/case. I think she would definitely want to watch the big cultural heavy hitters - like Star Wars movies and the like. And I think she would be impressed by the special effects. I can see her wanting to have a go herself and maybe making a short 5 minute film or something. (Also maybe she would want to make a lightsaber, and Claudia is definitely not helping).

[obsoleteozymandias]

Hiya!! I am writing your Match Up on my account right now. Hopefully it will be done sometime tonight or tomorrow! I would like to see what you would match me up for yourself!

I would like a Hazbin Hotel match up if you are doing those at all, if not then Imma go with the good ol' safety of Baldurs gate 3.

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Looks: I am quite short 4'11 I get picked on for it regularly. I dark red hair and grey eyes. My skin tone is very pale (I need sun). I am curvy and I mostly wear a business casual look since I work 90% of the time.

Personality: I am a girly girl in look but a tomboy at heart. I get down and dirty with my cousins and friends. I like to go to rodeos and the bar. I love to help others and be a voice for those who don't have one. ( I work with severely mentally ill people) I am an extrovert and love to talk talk talk. If I am in a serious situation I will drop everything to help the person that needs it.

Likes: books, writing, winter sun, the moon, nature, animals, sarcasm, witty banter

Dislikes: inconsiderate people, being sticky, trains, mushrooms

I just recently graduated with my bachelors in psychology and I work in the field now so one could say I must be a little crazy myself!

Thank you so much!

(for some reason Grammarly doesn't work on the asks tab and I am so sorry if there is a lot of mistakes)

Sorry this took so long queen! I’m so so so happy with what you wrote! Please send me any other requests if you have them :) 

== Baldur’s Gate 3 ==>

I match you up with…

Karlach 

You two are kindred spirits. The instant you meet you get on like a house on fire, and so when you announce to others that you’re dating, there’s absolutely no surprise there. 

She loves the way you dress, first of all. I imagine she’s got a soft spot (read: she’s got a thing) for more fancy kinds of dress. 

What drives her even more crazy, however, is the fact that you get down and dirty while dressed like that!

She’ll be thinking about the way you look for a looooong time, and flushing like a mess all the while. 

You two go to rodeos and bars together as dates, and almost always end up stumbling home in the early hours, weak from laughter and hanging onto one another (assuming she’s had her engine fixed up). 

She’ll totally try to impress you by doing one of those bull riding machines that throws you around, and will absolutely be catapulted into the nearest table. But she can’t even be embarrassed - she’s laughing too hard. And so are you. 

That’s one important part of your relationship: you both feel comfortable being yourselves around eachother, whether that means being a rowdy tomboy or simply letting yourself be vulnerable and laughing at your mistakes. 

She’s also madly in love with your desire to help others. She wants to do as much good as she can, and seeing the same desires in you makes her heart swell with affection. 

Whenever she can, she’s touching you in some way. She’ll hold your hand or kiss your cheek, but whatever it is, she never wants to be away from you or forget how lovely your hands feel intertwined with hers. 

You two are a match made in heaven (Avernus? Hell? Who cares, you're in love). 

[leggerefiore]

This came to me last night in the weird sleep limbo where you’re trying to fall asleep, but you’re not QUIET there yet.

But just imagine being rich af. And by rich, I’m talking “fuck you I’m gonna buy the entire government just so I can make your BS illegal” rich. But you don’t dress or look like it at all, and you never really talk about it because it doesn’t occur to you that it’s not normal to be able to fly to Kalos and have a month long shopping spree on a whim. You prefer to wear comfy things like hoodies and sweatpants when out and about, so unless someone is familiar with you and your family personally, there’s nothing that indicates you’re rich whatsoever. It actually takes a few months of dating before either of the Submas realize just how fucking loaded you are, and it’s only because after a dinner date one night you casually decided to tip the waitress her entire fucking college tuition because you liked how nice she was. It obviously caused a bit of a scene as the waitress proceeded to cry and thank you profusely while the Submas look on in absolute bewilderment that you can just so casually drop several tens of thousands of dollars on a whim.

You have to sit down and explain to them the extent of your finances after that, and even then they don’t really believe you until you take them to your “real house”; AKA a huge ass mansion in the swankiest part of Nimbasa city. It’s a complete culture shock to put it lightly, to suddenly have such a wealthy significant other. Ingo is very bashful about you paying for anything because he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s taking advantage of your relationship. Emmet is more upset however that you had access to extremely fancy chocolate and sweets this ENTIRE time, and didn’t share with him lol.

Djsjfjd

Ingo suddenly feels like this is Too Much for him. He's one of two funny train men in the Nimbasa subway, why like him? He also really does 100% really oppose you paying for anything, since he is terrified he'll seem like he's using you for his wealth. He would also probably end up grounding you on accident and making you understand less fortunate people.

Emmet probably also has a moment of denying your ability to pay for him anything until you do offer to get him the expensive chocolate. Then he is Okay with it in certain circumstances.

Both whine if you try to take them on trips with you since they're so busy, though. Even if they want to see the apparent hell that is a Kalosian subway or the rail system of Galar, they're too busy.

Also, what if you just bought the Gear Station, lmao?