#like maybe she was overcompensating and decided to date the first guy who gave her the time of day but

[tayloralisonswift]

the biggest piece of evidence that taylor is straight is matty healy. like dating some loser when you’re way out of his league, going around acting like you’re being burned at the stake because people think he’s a loser, declaring that you love him largely to spite everyone around you, letting him treat you like shit and then he ghosts you, is peak straight girl behavior. she probably watched the take me to church mv and thought “oh that’s me and my boyfriend”. sorry

[drabbles-of-writing]

You Call That Advice?

AO3

second owl fight attack! This one’s prompt was “Hunter and King helping Luz ask Amity out”

Summary: Hunter and King, upon learning that Luz had yet to have an 'official' date with Amity, decide it's now their job to help Luz ask her out, as all good brothers should. It goes about as well as one would expect.

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

“Why do you guys look like you’re scheming, and will I regret it if I get involved?”

Luz looked up from her scroll, which Hunter was willing to bet they’d just found in the trash and pieced together to try and work, since her phone didn’t pair with any other scrolls, laying on her back and looking like a dejected puppy.

King, meanwhile, was laying across one of Luz’s abundance of pillows, with a handful of messy papers sprawled out before him. He only looked up for a moment before going back to writing down gibberish.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping Lilith cleaning up the old Castle?” Luz raised a brow, allowing her woeful expression to slip for just a moment.

“I annoyed her enough to let me leave early. I got nothing in my old room worth keeping, anyway.” He shrugged, wandering in. “Everything I liked got burnt to a crisp.”

“That’s kinda sad.” Luz grimaced. “I should beat up the person who did that.” 

“We established this long before Belos threw you face-first into the dirt, but thanks for the effort.”

“Hey, I won!”

Hunter kicked out his foot, rolling Luz off of her back and onto her front, face squished into the wooden floor. She grumbled as he chuckled, shaking his head.

“But, seriously, what are you two doing?”

“I’m helping Luz text Amity.” King said simply, not even looking up.

“Do you not know how to use a scroll?” Hunter snorted, sitting down on crossed legs.

“Course I do!” Luz huffed, giving him a glare before rolling onto her side and lifting her scroll, giving it such a pathetically sad look. “I’m just trying to ask her on a date, that's all.”

“You never went on a date until now?” Hunter scrunched up his face. “I would’ve thought you’d have the whole disgusting bouquet of roses with candlelight's by, like, day three."

“There was a lot going on!” Luz dropped her scroll on the floor beside her and waved her hands in the air. “Does running a rebellion and toppling a tyrannical government count as a date?” She asked, looking towards Hunter.

“They do not.” He said matter-of-factly, and Luz let out a pained groan.

“Not to worry, I’ve got it covered!” King said, raising one of the sheets of paper he was working on with pride.

Hunter took it before Luz could, reading it over for a moment before giving the demon a deadpan stare. He held it for a moment before looking down at Luz, with an expression of disappointment, but certainly not surprised.

“Are you seriously this worked up over asking her on a date? She's your girlfriend."

“It's a very reasonable anxiety!” Luz protested.

“You don’t even know where the date would be!”

“You do better, then!” Luz scoffed, sitting upright and snatching the paper out of Hunter’s hands. She peered at it for a moment before grimacing and setting it aside. “Yeah, I think that’s a little too aggressive.”

“Everyone likes an assertive partner.” King insisted before Hunter lightly shoved him over.

“At least figure out where the date would be, first. If you ask and she says yes, you’re going to start panicking because you have to think up a place last-minute.” He said.

“Oh!” Luz snapped her fingers. “The Grom tree! It’s still off by the cliff, really pretty place.”

“Going to pretend I know what you’re talking about, but sure, let’s go with that.” Hunter shrugged. “There, now you can stress for the next five hours on sending a text.”

“Like you would know how stressful this is,” Luz huffed, raising her scroll again and frowning at it. “I know for a fact you’ve never been on a date before.”

“You don’t know what my life was like before you.”

“I know it was really, really depressing.”

Hunter felt around for a moment before he found one of Luz’s pillows strewn about and whacked her in the face with it. She squawked and fell back, attempting to yank the pillow from his grasp.

“Hello? This is serious business!” King huffed, waving his little claws around and somehow managing to get the two to stop. “We gotta figure out how to ask the right way, this is a delicate process.”

“Luz could insult Amity to her face and she’d still go on a date with her.” Hunter snorted, ignoring Luz’s outcry of “I would never!” beside him. “And how come you asked for his help?” He added, gesturing towards King. “He’s, like, five.”

“I am almost nine!”

“Close enough.”

“He insisted on helping, and I was not gonna go to Eda for this, I’d never hear the end of it.” Luz grumbled. “And Raine would use their dates with Eda as reference and then it’ll just turn into a whole scene of them reminiscing and me asking a million questions.”

“Love the self-awareness,” Hunter teased, reaching for her scroll. “Here, lemme see.”

“I would rather die,” Luz hissed, kicking at his chest to fend him off. 

“That can still be arranged.”

“Just tell her,” King said, ignoring their bickering as he pulled himself up onto Luz’s other knee. “That you’re gonna have a date by the Grom tree. Ooo, maybe make it a picnic!”

“It’s asking for a date, not telling her to a date.” Hunter huffed, giving up on snatching the phone from Luz. “Do something flashy." He said, waving a hand around as he spoke. "Say something like; if you, by chance, are interested, I would be delighted to take you out for a meal by the Grom tree at, like, seven. I don’t know when your bedtimes are.” He shrugged.

“We don’t have bedtimes,” King scoffed. “And now you just sound like you’re overcompensating.”

“Wow, that’s a big word for you.” Hunter grinned. “Has someone been looking at a thesaurus recently?”

King squeaked angrily and launched himself at Hunter, beginning to scurry up his shirt until Hunter managed to grab him by the tail and yank him off, holding him at arms length as he dangled in the air.

“Maybe I should just send a bunch of emojis.” Luz said thoughtfully, ignoring the fighting going on beside her.

“What the hell is an emoji?” Hunter raised a brow until King managed to wiggle upright and promptly bit his hand.

Hunter yelped and dropped the demon on his head, clutching at his hand, which wasn’t even bleeding, as he glared at King attempting to get back to his feet.

“Oh you little bi--”

“Do not swear at King!” Luz warned, pointing an accusatory finger.

“He bit me!” Hunter complained.

“And you deserved it!” King shot back, scuttling behind Luz and sticking his tongue out.

“Both of you are useless.” Luz groaned, flopping back onto her pillows, barely managing to not squish King.

“Wait, wait! Send her a text that just says to meet at the Grom tree, six o’clock, sharp.” King said, shaking her. “She’ll like a mystery.”

“That makes it sound like she’s gonna murder her.” Hunter rolled his eyes. “That girl’s a romantic if I’ve ever seen one, which suits this dork perfectly, as painful as that is for me to say.” He fake-gagged as he pushed at Luz’s knee, who gave a weak kick in response. “Make it something from a trashy novel. Like; ‘I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to be allowed to take you on an outing, of which--”

“Now who’s been reading a thesaurus?” King said, smug as Hunter cut off and glowered at him.

“I’m going to punt you through a window.” He threatened, pointing a finger. “I’m going to roll you up into a tiny ball and kick you so hard that there’s going to be a permanent indent in your body.”

“My dad could beat you up for that.”

“Guys,” Luz whined.

“Why are we even considering advice from him?” King pointed at Hunter. “Doesn’t he hate Amity?”

“First of all, it’s a mutual hatred.” Hunter said matter-of-factly. “Second of all, just because I don’t like Amity doesn’t mean I’m not going to offer assistance to Luz. This is the most fun I’ve had all day.”

“Do you even like girls?” Luz puffed, raising her head to squint at him.

“Please tell me I never gave you the impression that I did."

“See? My point exactly.” King said proudly, crossing his little arms. 

“It wasn’t,” Hunter sighed, ears flicking back.

“I’m going for it.” Luz said, lifting her scroll and beginning to type.

“Wh-wait, what are you typing?” Hunter jerked around, trying to peek over as King scrambled up Luz’s back. “Is it one of my ideas? It’s gotta be one of mine.”

“It is not!” King snapped, attempting a swing that Hunter shrugged off, King almost swinging too hard and falling off.

“I really just want you two to stop talking,” Luz sighed, showing Hunter what she had said as King craned his neck to see.

You up for a picnic by the Grom tree? 

Luz had only just sent it, but they could already see that Amity was beginning to type a response.

“You didn’t even tell her it was a date.” King pointed out, and Luz hurriedly began typing again as Hunter snorted at her.

As, like, a date.

“Smooth,” Hunter drawled, getting an elbow to the side for his troubles.

Barely a few moments after Luz sent her second message, the icon showing that Amity was typing vanished.

They waited for a few moments, seeing no icon pop up again. Luz lowered it to her lap and stared off at the wall with a horrified expression.

“I ruined it,” She whispered. 

“Oh hush, you’re fine.” Hunter pushed at her head, almost sending her to the floor as King hopped off.

“Should’ve gone with my idea,” King tsked as Hunter peeled the scroll from Luz’s hands, who didn’t have enough time to react as he scanned over their messages.

“Is Amity’s contact seriously just a bunch of hearts?” Hunter scoffed, giving Luz a dry look.

“You don’t get to judge, you don’t even know what emojis are.” Luz muttered, weakly reaching for her scroll back.

“Yeah? These are emotes.” Hunter raised a brow, eyes squinting.

“Hunter, lo juro por Dios--”

There was a chiming ding from Luz’s scroll, and Hunter immediately held out a hand and pressed it to Luz’s face to keep her from snatching the scroll back as he read over the newest message. King climbed onto his shoulder to get a look, too.

“Don’t you dare respond for me, Hunter I will end you--”

“Relax, lovergirl. She said yes.” Hunter chuffed, handing her the scroll that she all but ripped out of his grip.

Luz read the text, then read it a few more times for good measure. It was a simple Yes! What time? and the other two thought that alone might cause Luz to crash.

“Hey, Luz,” King said as Hunter snapped in her face. “Are you still with us?”

“The time, Luz. You need to set a time.” Hunter stressed.

“Time! Right, yes! A time!” Luz jerked, blushing as she quickly began typing again. “The afternoon is a good time for a picnic, right?”

“You went in this on your own, you're leaving it on your own.” Hunter raised his hands, palms up.

“Some help you are.” Luz muttered.

“You didn’t even use my ideas! And they were great!” King whined, slumping dramatically until he ended up slipping right off Hunter’s shoulder and clunking onto the floor.

“My entertainment here is done.” Hunter said, giving a mock salute as he pushed himself upright. “Thank you for giving me a reason to be ignoring any and all calls.”

“I thought you said you annoyed Lilith into letting you leave?” King looked up from the floor, eyes narrowed.

“I mean, technically, she just told me to leave her alone.” He said, giving a shrug as he put his hands in his pockets. “She didn’t say how.”

“She’s going to actually kill you one day, you know that?” Luz spared looking up from her phone, giving him an unamused stare.

“And it’ll be my greatest accomplishment.” Hunter grinned back.

King and Luz squinted at him for a moment, sharing a quick glance with each other.

“Do you need to call your--”

“No, I do not need to call my therapist, thank you.” Hunter grumbled, ears pressing back in embarrassment as stormed towards the door. “Good luck with the date, or whatever.”

“I appreciate the support!” Luz called, already going back to typing on her scroll.

King looked over at her scroll, head resting on her shoulder as he watched what she was saying. Hunter paused in the doorway for just a moment, one ear pricked.

“What does ‘mi corazón’ mean--?”

“Nothing, stop looking!” Luz squeaked, yanking the scroll out of King’s view, face immediately flushing.

Hunter cackled loudly, one hand braced on the doorframe. He got a pillow thrown full-force at his head, but it was worth it.

[stilesgivesmefeels]

@firstdegreefangirl I am totally hooked on Chenford now!  I have watched the entirety of Seasons 1-2 and the start of Season 3.  I am now rewatching season 1.  And I’ve binged on fics!

And there are so many fic ideas that I want to see for Lucy and Tim now.

Like Lucy’s birthday: She’s been Tim’s rookie for almost a year and we haven’t seen her birthday.  So I am just imagining the angst potential.  Maybe her birthday was right at the beginning of being a rookie so she obviously didn’t have a party or anything because they were all studying and working their asses off.  Perhaps then Nolan’s end of season 2 total fuck-up derailed the next plans to celebrate.  So Lucy has had two birthdays (turned 28 at the beginning and then turned 29) without really doing anything and now she is about to be 30!  But at this point she doesn’t want to celebrate.  She’s turning 30 and single and spends all of her time at work.  And, also? It kind of seems like everyone has totally forgotten that Lucy is even a person who has birthdays.  

Angela’s birthday? Drinks at the bar with Wesley and the crew.

Nolan’s birthday? Dinner party at his house with everyone.

Jackson’s birthday? Private party at a restaurant that Sterling rented out.

Tim’s birthday? Dodger’s game with hotdogs and beer.

Sgt. Grey’s birthday? Family and LAPD picnic.

Even Harper had a birthday drink with everyone.

But Lucy? Nothing for two years.  She debates about whether to say anything to anyone for her 30th.  Ultimately she decides that what she wants is to be with her friends even if they don’t know the real occasion.  She plans a dinner at a restaurant and makes up an excuse of having won a contest for a free dinner to get them all there.  It’s not technically on her birthday, rather it’s the night before because they have the next day (her actual birthday) off.  

But then Angela is due ANY MINUTE NOW and put on bedrest so she and Wesley are out.  Henry, Abigail, and Abigail’s parents are coming into town so Nolan is going to miss the dinner in order to meet his son’s future in-laws for the first time.  Jackson, Harper, and Sgt, Grey have a case that goes belly-up and they will probably be working all night.  

She loves them all and will miss them.  But the most important to be there was Tim.  They’ve been...flirty? At least it feels flirty to her?  She thinks so.  The thought of having dinner in a fancy restaurant jut her and Tim?  The butterflies!

And then Rachel comes into town for a conference.  And she calls Tim to meet up but only has that night free.  WHO AGREES TO GO instead of Lucy’s “fancy free dinner.”  But we can’t be mad at Rachel!  Because she made plans to have an early breakfast with Lucy on her birthday before her conference. She and Tim have talked but haven’t visited.  And they both needs some closure.  She didn’t know that Tim was missing out on Lucy’s birthday dinner plans.

But Tim didn’t know that everyone else had already cancelled.  He didn’t think it would be a big deal and even thought that he’d maybe meet up with them all for dessert or drinks later.  He sends her a text to say that he’ll meet up late.

Tim, buddy.  Seriously.  Think this through.  Your thoughts are still about meeting up with Lucy even after having dinner with your ex who you loved??? What does that tell you, my friend?

Anyway...back to Lucy.  Sitting at the table (which was switched from her original reservation for a large group to an intimate table for two.). Alone.  And watching the condensation on her water glass drip down as the minutes pass.  And then gets a text that he’ll be late.  So she waits.  And waits.  Not realizing that late means...not coming.  And as the time passes she starts to get more and more nervous, feeling exposed alone in public still gets to her.  And her emotions are heightened to begin with. 

Meanwhile, Tim and Rachel meet up to talk.  To have face-to-face closure goodbyes.  And Tim is realizing that it really is closure.  He’ll always appreciate the time that they spent together but he doesn’t have the same tug on his heart anymore.  As they are saying goodnight (good-bye), Rachel makes a comment on Lucy’s birthday and how she can’t believe that Lucy agreed to get up early on her 30th birthday.

Tim’s face drops.  Her birthday??? He had no fucking clue.  Jesus.  What a total fuck-up.  Lucy is his rookie.  HIS rookie even if she is a full-fledged officer and has been for almost a year.  His friend.  His...flirty-partner?

He’s so fucking mad at himself.  He tries calling her but it goes straight to voicemail.  Lucy didn’t want to sit and see the blank screen of her phone any longer.  Even though she never never NEVER turns off her phone ever since being kidnapped.  And even before then part of Officer Bradford’s rules were yo are always reachable.  But now? She just can’t do it.  She needs time to herself to nurse her heartbreak.

Tim is furious at himself and now he’s also a little scared.  But forcing himself to stay calm as he drives (speeds) to the restaurant.  He calls Angela on the way and that’s when he learns that she was put on emergency bedrest so she and Wesley aren’t there.  Calls Jackson who is at the station doing paperwork for their case they just closed.  He’s confused.  He thought that Lucy was going to totally reschedule since Tim was going to be the only one there.  Lucy had maybe led Jackson to thinking that so he wouldn’t find out about her crush on Tim.  Jackson knows that Nolan also had to cancel.  

Tim arrives at the restaurant in what is most definitely NOT a panic.  He’s just outwardly and actively concerned.  When he gets to the restaurant the hostess is not impressed.  She watched that poor woman (our dear Lucy) sit and wait at that table alone.  ALONE.  She left alone as well.  Tim is fucking pissed (again mostly at himself but that’s how he shows his outward concern). So where the fuck is Lucy?

He’s tries her apartment next.  No one answers the door so he helpfully lets himself in (picks the lock; Jackson and Lucy need to really work on their security for fuck’s sake).

No Lucy at the apartment either.  WHERE THE FUCK IS LUCY?

In the meantime, Lucy is getting ready to drown her sorrows with ice cream and dog cuddles.  Tim gave her a key and the alarm code to be able to spend time with Kojo.  (Uh-huh, sure.  The dog.  That’s why.  Whatever you need to tell yourself, Tim.). What Lucy doesn’t know is that Tim’s alarm system alerts him to every time her code is used. He absolutely knows every time she goes to spend time with Kojo. He kinda likes knowing that she feels so comfortable at his house.  (Clues, Tim.  So many clues to your feelings.)

He rushes over to his house and find her in the backyard with Kojo at her feet and a pint of ice cream on the table.  She’s so embarrassed when he shows up and tries to leave thinking that Tim must be there with Rachel.  She’s absolutely kicking herself for showing up at Tim’s when he had a date.  

Tim is feeling the biggest sense of relief.  This is where he and Lucy should have been all along.  

Cue confessions.  And kisses.  And sexy times.  

And the following year?  Big dinner party to celebrate Lucy’s birthday.  And her engagement.

Other fics that should exist:

Angela’s wedding! Everyone has a date for the wedding except for Lucy and Tim.  Lucy’s feeling all right about it thought because she has a plan.  A plan to ask Tim to be her date.  Except when she works up the nerve to ask him while they are in the shop one day, Tim says that he already has a date.

Readers? Tim does not have a date.  But he worries that he’s getting too close to Lucy.  That she’s not enough of his Boot and more like...a friend that he wants to kiss? It’s very difficult for him. So he makes a snap decision to be More Professional.

But then Lucy starts talking about dating again.  The firefighter didn’t work out.  But she’s talking about dating apps?  He hates this.

He hates it even more when she starts going out on a date.  Every.  Single. Night.  Every night after shift and every night on their days off, Lucy has a date with a different guy.

And it’s driving him fucking crazy,

But Lucy is determined to find a date for Angela’s wedding.  She cannot be the only single one there.  

Just imagine the tension in their shop for the three weeks leading up to the wedding.  Lucy talking about her dates constantly.  Definitely overcompensating for the fact that she asked Tim to be her date and he said no.  So if she stops talking about her new-found dating then she will have to think about the object mortification and humiliation of Tim turning her down.

OMG SHE WANTS TO DIE OF SHAME JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.

So she talks about her dates.  And maybe makes up a few of them.  

Tim is totally miserable.  He hates hearing about her dates.  But also he cannot let her stop talking to him about these dates.  Because what if something goes wrong? What if she needs him and he stops her from telling him? He just has to sit there and be miserable.

A misery of his own making.  Because Lucy asked him out for a date for Angela’s wedding.  Which is three days BEFORE her tenure as rookie is over.  And he can’t date his rookie.  And he wants to date Lucy.  If he goes on a date with her, it won’t be platonic.  Instead of telling her all this, he blurted out a “no” and she shut down.  

And then the wedding arrives.  Turns out none of Lucy’s dates were plus-one worthy.  And Tim never even tried to get a date even though he told her he had one.

He’s doing okay with maintaining distance until one of Angela’s brothers starts hitting on Lucy right in front of him.  

(Angela maybe ~m a y b e~ said something about Lucy to one of her brother’s who is a total flirt and never serious.  Perfect for making a certain best friend of hers jealous.  She knows what’s good for him.)

Tim cuts in on a dance with Lucy.  

It’s slow and sweet and sexy.  BUT STILL THREE DAYS BEFORE SHE IS NO LONGER HIS ROOKIE.

He still leaves alone at the end of the night.  But not before a promise to her.  A promise that in three days HE is going to be the one to ask her a question.  A date question.  

Lucy can’t wait.  

Oh!  Another idea:

What if Isabel comes back and decides that she wants Tim back? She’s been sober for a year and it’s time.

Just as Lucy and Tim were maybe becoming Lucy-and-Tim.

She’s seen how Tim is about Isabel.  She knows that she can’t compete with that.  

Tim, of course, uses this time to realize how serious he is about Lucy and that things are truly over, for good, with Isabel.

The Obvious Fic Idea:

Rosalind has more than one protege and they are clearly after Lucy.  

Enter the Protector Tim.  And having to stay at her place.  And that couch just doesn’t look comfortable.  Soooooooo....

And I have more fic ideas I want to see.  So thanks for the new ship! I love imagining these scenarios.

[pyrefell]

Headcanons for some of the boys? Namely horrorfell, underswap and underfell?

you let me off my child leash and i honestly wasn’t even really sure where to even start here, so you get some pretty general headcanons. i have a lot to say about underfell and horrorfell,,,

UNDERSWAP:

IN ALL HONESTY, Underswap is currently one of my least developed AU interpretations. I'm still just really indecisive. BUT! I do have some stuff that I'm fairly set on.

Papyrus:

Never really grew out of the shyness he had as a babybones, he’s always had a much more outgoing brother to hide behind. 

He's the one that designed the puzzles in Snowdin! Puzzles are still one of his special interests in this AU. (Sans gets really excited to tell anyone that asks that his Very Cool little brother designed them.) 

He's fairly low to mid (but consistent) energy. He tries (and usually succeeds) to act all chill but he gets really excited about some things and can reach True Papyrus levels of loud. 

He and Undyne are still friends in this AU! He doesn't go to see her super often because. Hotland. But when they are together, it's pretty chaotic. They like to design things a la Mickey's Dick Smasher. 

Man, he's sure been feeling a lot of deja vu lately. Huh, wonder what that's all about. :)

Sans:

He’s still the Judge! And he's still the one that has to deal with the ever shifting and resetting timeline. It's...really starting to take a toll on him, but what's the point in telling anyone? They won't remember and besides, who's going to believe him anyways? 

He was always fairly outgoing and bubbly but he took on an even more bubbly persona kind of unconsciously to overcompensate for and hide how Tired he is now. 

Sans is just about the opposite of his brother energywise. He's full of energy for short bursts and then he sleeps for hours. He's started sleeping more since everything with the timeline started. It's not the best sleep but he’s just...so tired nowadays. 

Still completely willing to eat condiments for a joke (or a """joke"""). He eats mayonnaise by the handful. Does it mostly to embarrass (and disgust) Papyrus. 

Genuinely enraged by people who think he's young. Sure, he may be only a few inches over 5', but he's a Wide Boy. And not a naïve child, he's the older brother, thank you very much. Haven't you heard his voice? What kid has a voice that deep? 

UNDERFELL: 

One general headcanon I have is that they both have DT in their systems. Gaster gave them injections when they were still very young babybones in the sterile lab and they’d started mysteriously falling down. He’s not really a bad guy there, he wanted to save them. Of course, it’s probably got it’s side effects, right? After all the Bromalgamate and Comic Papyrus exist. :)

Their relationship is...strained. They definitely still love each other and would fight to the death for the other but they don't really talk. They both blame each other for how the other turned out, how they act.

Papyrus:

He’s blind in his scarred socket! He first got the wound when he was still pretty little and because he and Sans were still living out on the streets, he wasn’t able to get any real kind of medical care. It’s still pretty fragile but there’s really not a whole lot that can be done anymore. 

He can cook! Like, really well, actually. Grillby taught him when he was younger. He’s particularly good at cooking with whatever’s already in the house. 

I think he still wants to believe everyone can change and be good if they try. Though, whether he actually believes that anymore is kind of debatable. And I  think that he doesn’t really enjoy all the fighting. He doesn’t take any real pride or joy in what he's become. He really wanted (and still wants) to actually protect monsters. 

There's a square of fabric on his scarf that's from a well-loved blanket he'd had as a babybones. It still brings him some semblance of comfort when he needs it. 

He's well aware of timelines. Well okay, 'well aware' isn't exactly the right way to put it. He can't put a name to what's happening, why he can remember things that haven't happened yet or have happened at all. He at one point attempted to keep a journal about it all but it was gone the next reset. He'd like to talk to Sans about it, but given how their relationship is... 

Sans:

He’s got 3 golden teeth, he got hit pretty good almost directly on those teeth around the same time Papyrus got his scar. They were really loose after that but didn’t actually come out until later. 

Most still see him as free EXP. He doesn't get attacked as much anymore but the times he has, he's been able to suffice on just dodging until Papyrus shows up. He could just as easily fight back, but he's decided there could be some benefit to hiding what he can do for just a bit longer. Besides, he'd rather not place any more targets on their backs. 

He knows how to sew! He learned completely out of necessity when they were both young. They only had so many pieces of clothes, after all. He's the one who sewed the little square of Papyrus's blanket into his scarf. 

King of eavesdropping. Despite his stature (and who his brother is for that matter), he's surprisingly good at going unnoticed. He tends to play like he's completely shitfaced and passed out at Grillby's, just in case someone lets something slip. 

They both blame themselves for how the other turned out but Sans has it bad. He's supposed to be the older brother, right? He was supposed to keep Papyrus safe and stars, did he do a shit job at it, even if there were some things he just couldn't do anything about. 

HORRORFELL: 

OKAY SO, my Horrorfell doesn't start the same way the normal Horrortale AU starts. The short version is that Frisk doesn't fall until YEARS after they normally would have and they fall with Aliza. The Famine devastated the Underground. Frisk's left to try and figure out why they didn't fall when they should have and why they can't remember anything that happened during those years between. They have to balance keeping themselves and Aliza alive and trying to get through to at least Sans, who, while his memory is terrible he knows he's supposed to be pissed at them. They left the Underground to rot. I think that's all y'all really need lmao. I'm definitely going to write about Horrorfell, in fact I've already started something about it

ANYWAYS! On to the headcanons for the Boys. These two are so ride or die now it’s almost unreal. They’ve had a lot of time to air out their grievances and have the years worth of fights with each other. They work together so much better now and it comes in handy for both protecting each other and hunting. They're the most efficient and successful hunters in the Underground. 

Papyrus:

He’s effectively completely blind at this point. He needs coke bottle lenses to see. He ends up completely depending on his hearing and sense of smell when he's hunting. Despite his failing eyesight, he remains the best chef in Snowdin after Grillby's disappearance. He's always sure to use as much as he possibly can. 

His new stature has made it incredibly difficult to get into most buildings. He often ends up walking on all fours and his magic's started to adjust his body for that. He doesn’t recognize himself so much anymore. 

While Sans was comatose, Papyrus spent his time trying to ration out food, attempting to keep the peace for the denizens of Snowdin and caring for Sans. He'd continued to cut his own rations not only for the rest of Snowdin but for Sans too when he hopefully wakes up. 

He'd managed his way out to the rest of the Underground with his own brand of 'shortcut' earlier on despite the lockdown in Snowdin. Some say they'd seen him but no one's really sure if that's true and if it is, how did he get out? Can he do it again and maybe talk some sense into the Empress? They used to be friends, right? 

His memory is also not very good. He and Sans keep a big whiteboard in the kitchen with pertinent information and there's a calendar in every room with all the past dates marked off, just in case someone forgets. 

Sans:

The reason why the hole in his skull is so big and leads into his nasal cavity is because of preexisting cracks. Undyne really didn't mean to hit him! Really, she didn't... 

The selfish part of him almost wishes the DT in him hadn't kept him around, but he can't bring himself to really want that. He can't leave Papyrus alone, especially not now. 

His relationship with Frisk is...tense to say the least. When he first saw them, he didn't fully process who they were but he felt nothing but rage. He doesn't really believe what Frisk's saying when they claim they can't remember anything. Their relationship could absolutely mend, there's just so many roadblocks at the start. 

Seeing as he can't reliably use his shortcuts anymore, he's not as efficient a hunter as he could be. But that doesn't mean he isn't extremely deadly. The brothers are revered for the effectiveness, after all. 

He's developed some pretty nasty coping habits, most of which involve some kind of self harm either intentional or not. Papyrus tries his best to limit it, but he's not the best either.

[clueless-content-creator]

A Coffee Date In Autumn

Genre: Pure fluff, Slight Angst

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x Female Reader

Word Count: 936 words

Suggested Songs: Coffee, Miss Right, Like, 134340 – BTS

As you walk along the pathway, the crunches of fallen leaves sound underneath your feet. After a little walk, you finally entered the nearest café, and the bell above the door rang. You received a warm welcome from the baristas that were currently working at the place. You sat down at a table by the shop’s window, then taking out your phone from your pocket, and looked down at it seeing that your blind date was now twenty minutes late. You started to worry, overcompensate even. Why is he late? Does he not want to meet up? Is he even coming? Here's a little backstory to the situation you're currently in. Autumn, your best friend, had set you up with one of her good guy friends, Jaehyun. She said that he is sweet, caring, and very easy-going, sometimes sensitive too. She also said he has a big build with muscles but a soft, gentle aura. You were completely baffled at how she described him, big build with muscles but a soft personality? Like what!? How is that even possible? But her response was; “It’s possible alright.” She told you to not act weird and to just be yourself, but you couldn't take her seriously. So here you are, sitting at a table for two, with a Pumpkin Spice Latte in your hands, looking outside seeing couples walking hand-in-hand up and down the sidewalk together. You felt a little envious to be fully honest so you decided to text Autumn asking where he was. But...she hasn’t replied yet. Jaehyun was now thirty-five minutes late, with no sign of him coming any time soon either. Suddenly, the bell of the café door rang. You turned your head so fast that you swore you got whiplash. You were hoping it was him, but instead, you just saw another couple. But right behind them was hands-down the most handsome guy you’ve ever seen. He fit Autumn’s description so well, you almost couldn’t believe he was real. Even though his hair was a bit disheveled and his clothes were a little messy, you couldn’t help but stare. His eyes searched the whole room until they finally met yours. He fixed his hair and straightened up his shirt, he then began to walk over to you. You felt as though your heart was going to jump out of your chest, the heat starting to rise in your cheeks. You quickly look away before he spoke, “Excuse me, are you Y/n?” He asked, extending his hand to you. You almost fainted at the way he asked, his voice is so calm and sweet just like honey. “Uh- Y-yes, yes I’m Y/n. Are you Jaehyun?” He nodded before smiling sweetly at you as you both (awkwardly) shook hands. He took the seat in front of you and sat down, before speaking again, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/n!” He smiled, making you feel like you were close to fainting. “I’m so sorry that I’m about half an hour late. My good friend, Doyoung, was holding me back and asking a lot of questions, and I mean A LOT of questions.” He chuckled, “And the traffic coming here was also pretty bad too. My phone died too so I couldn’t text or call you to say I was coming..” Jaehyun awkwardly scratched the back of his head making you chuckle at his cute gesture, “It’s alright. Do you want anything to drink?” He looked down at the menu before looking back up at you and answering, “A café americano, please. And I can go order it if you want-” You cut him off, “I can do it.” You smiled and walked up to the counter, waiting to place your order. Right as you went to give the cashier your card to pay- Jaehyun came up and gave his card instead. He cheekily smiled at you, “Coming right up!” The barista enthusiastically replied. You turned to him and glared at him only to see his adorable smile once again, “What? I couldn’t let you pay on the first date, also knowing that you were paying for MY drink.” He smirked at you. You playfully scoffed and before you, both walked back to the table. He then started to ask questions about you since Autumn didn’t say much about you. “You’re an only child? Me too!” You smiled at the excitement in his eyes. “So, what’s your favorite flower?” “Roses, I think they're so pretty!” I replied. “And your favorite book?” I asked, seeing his eyes light up. “It’s Courage to be Disliked.” “Really? I love that book too!” After a good conversation and getting to know his likes and dislikes, he asked, “Can I get your number? I’d like to meet up again if you don’t mind.” You nodded and gave him your number. “Maybe our next date will be winter-themed!” You smiled mischievously. “Who said that there will be a second date?” He looked at you with wide eyes, “Ah- I’m sorry I-I shouldn’t have assumed-“ You reached up to kiss his cheek, he blushed as you did so. “I was just joking!” You giggled, seeing the pink tint on his cheeks. “Of course, I’d like to go on a second date with you! We could drink hot chocolate while we are cuddled up by the fireplace after we play in the snow!” He gasped, “We could make snow angels!” You chuckled lightly at the excitement in his eyes. “It’s a deal! I love hot chocolate.” He smiled in return, feeling like this was the beginning of a happy relationship.

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 64

The State Of Our Love-Sick Idiots

Summary: In which Brain and Skuld talk about jealousy. Word Count: 1,719 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

Brain hated the cross house classes with a burning passion. Most of the time, they were very disorganized- you'd have students paired up with those three or more years below them, you hardly ever got to choose who you worked with, and -possibly the worst offender- there was still only one teacher supervising the whole mess. It would probably help if these dates were actually known to the students beforehand, instead of everyone walking into class to find it far more crowded than usual. That was one thing Brain hoped to fix once he graduated and took up Ava's internship offer; cross house classes either needed a major overhaul, or complete removal.

“Alright everyone,” the science teacher, Mr. Rourke called out once everyone was settled, “As you all know by now, we're having a cross house science class today. So, please, members of Leopardus, play nice with the members of Unicornis, and vice versa. Alright? We don't need to see a repeat of the Vesuvius accident.”

A few students (mostly stemming from Leopardus) let out a round of snickers at this. Hearing it made Mr. Rourke shake his head and give an exasperated sigh.

“To prevent some of this,” he went on, “I have assigned you all a partner and a table to sit at. You can not ask for a change of partner or seating.”

“This ought to be good.” Brain mumbled under his breath as he gently tilted his fedora down over his eyes a bit. The murmurs from around him were also coming to this conclusion as well.

Mr. Rourke only waited for most of the murmurs to die down before reading through his list. Brain was only half listening to the teacher, more or less preparing to move from his spot when he was called. Eventually, Mr. Rourke called out, “Skuld Niyati, your partner is Brain Renzhen. The two of you will use station number six.”

Brain smirked. There was no accident that he and Skuld had been paired together. Despite the rather few cross house classes the five have had so far, the teachers seemed to purposely place the Dandelions with each other when the time came. He had a theory that it was done out of spite; from what he understood, Ava had dropped the concept of a student council on the other teachers and headmasters the same day they were formed. Communication was also an issue that needed to be addressed at Daybreak Academy, apparently.

When Brain got over to the right table, Skuld already had their science tools out and was cleaning off the graduated cylinder with a dry cloth.

“Need any help with that?” Brain asked as he took a seat next to her.

Skuld shook her head before moving her notebook over in his direction. “Can you write down the ingredient list and the initial hypothesis? I'm just about done cleaning everything off.”

Brain grinned and gave her a nod before turning his attention to the ingredients she had laid out. In a smooth, careful handwriting he wrote down everything they had; a 10 milliliter graduated cylinder, a bottle of universal indicator, a small container containing sodium carbonate, a bottle of white vinegar, a glass beaker, and a cup filled with what he assumed was water.

“Any ideas on our hypothesis?” he then asked her, using his pencil to tilt his fedora up a bit.

“Based on the fact we're using a universal indicator, we're testing for pH balance.” Skuld told him. “Both the water, vinegar, and sodium carbonate will have a reaction when introduced to the indicator. Theoretically, when the three are mixed they will become a homogeneous mixture, but with the indicator it will likely show their different pH balances instead.”

“Love it when a girl talks science to me.” Brain teased as he wrote down Skuld's theory. “Too bad at this point, you're in little sister territory.”

“I assure you, the feeling's mutual.” Skuld smirked. “Would you like to mix the indicator, water, and vinegar together? I'll do the stuff in the beaker.”

“A dangerous job, but I think I can manage it.”

Skuld let out a bemused snort of her own before opening up the sodium carbonate jar. Brain's grin did not waver as he took the universal indicator and an eyedropper to start filling up the graduated cylinder.

“So,” the young man mused as he mentally counted out 15 drops of the indicator, “How's our love-sick leader doing when he's not swapping air with his girlfriend?”

“They don't 'swap air' as often as you think they do, first of all.” she told him, a certain edge to her voice indicating that he needed to watch what he was saying. “Second, he's slowly coming off that honeymoon high. It's still a pain in the butt to get him to focus when Anora's in the room though.”

“Do you not have any jealousy toward them?” Brain continued to probe “Especially Ephemer? Weren't you two an item for a hot second two years ago?”

Skuld snorted. “Two years ago.” she reiterated. “Besides, it was totally one-sided. Ephemer overcompensated a lot just because he thought that's what you're supposed to do when you date.”

“Weren't you mad when he said he wanted to cut it off, though?” Brain continued to press. “There's no way you two just walked out of that all sunshine and rainbows and with no hard feelings.”

“Sure.” she agreed with a shrug. “But seeing how he reacts just when Anora breathes is enough for me to realize that he didn't love me like that. And that's fine; it was something new for both of us.”

“It can't be that easy.”

Skuld set her beaker down for a moment to give Brain a long, curious look. He stared right back at her until she resumed her business. In a voice that was almost mocking, she asked him, “Are you jealous?”

Brain paused. He turned to Skuld with a raised eyebrow and a darkened glare.

“And what, Miss Niyati, do I have to be jealous over?” he questioned, his voice possibly just as dark as the look he was giving her. But Skuld didn't answer him- instead giving a small roll of her shoulder before returning to their experiment. Brain glared at her for a bit longer before continuing his mission as well; now using a separate eyedropper to add three drops of vinegar to the indicator and water mix.

It took a bit of stirring for the solution to become a light red. Brain made note of the change on the notebook. Skuld took the notebook not long after and wrote down that her solution was still clear.

“Now we just need to combine the mixtures into the cylinder.” Brain said out loud as he looked back over the instructions. “You want me to do it, or do you want to?”

“I can.” Skuld offered. “I think I have a clean eyedropper over here anyway.”

Brain nodded as he watched her get the eyedropper and gave it a tentative wipe down with a dry cloth.

“What did you ever see in Ephemer?” Brain asked as Skuld filled an eyedropper with the sodium carbonate solution. His only answer at first was a small shrug before she squeezed the dropper's contents into the graduated cylinder.

“He was my friend.” she told him. “But if I had to, I'd almost date him again. I liked having someone kind and friendly as a partner- maybe even a bit of harmless unpredictability thrown in for good mix.”

“So you do still love him?”

“I didn't say that.” she informed him- sounding more like she was correcting him. “I'm just saying that he's the type of guy I'd go for again.”

Brain only half registered that the sodium carbonate solution became a deep purple in the vinegar and indicator mix- Skuld was the first to react when she pulled the notebook toward her to write down the changes. She picked up the cylinder and gently swirled it a bit to give it a little agitation for good measure. Now all the duo could do was wait for the solution to settle, creating a rainbow in the graduated cylinder.

Skuld smiled at the result before casually turning to Brain.

“You know,” she mused, placing her hand under her chin, “She does like you.”

“And that doesn't mean I have to like her.” came the immediate, almost automatic, reply.

“Let me rephrase that,” the young woman clarified as she placed both hands on the table and carefully straightened her back, “She respects you. Has since the trip back from the beach. Thing is, she won't tell us why.”

“She's a selective mute, Skuld; she barely tells anyone anything.”

“Would you just listen?” she asked him, adding in an impatient huff to show her point. “Whether you like her or not, she likes you. The girl doesn't know anyone besides us, the headmasters, and her study group. It takes her a very long time to get out of this comfort zone bubble she's created. But, since she seems to have taken a shine to you, don't be too surprised when she tries to talk to you. If she does, hear her out. What's the worse that could happen?”

Brain looked Skuld over, unsure on whether he should be amused by her suggestion or annoyed.

“So I take it Ephemer isn't the type to get jealous?” he wondered. At this, Skuld immediately let out an unflattering snort.

“Of course he is!” she even snickered. “But that shouldn't stop her from broadening her horizons. Look, she may never talk to you, but if she does, all I ask is for you to hear her out. She's a good kid and with or without Ephemer she needs to grow a bit more. I trust you to help her with that, that's all.”

For a long time, Brain didn't know how to take this information. So Skuld wanted him to listen to Anora? What was that supposed to mean? How could Skuld tell who Anora liked or didn't like when they were barely friends themselves? A thoughtful sigh escaped Brain's lips before deciding to shrug it off. Anora was an odd one, that's for sure, and he was never going to get roped up in her business. Ever.

[demoncryptspanties]

Time after time

Part 6

Masterlist, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 

A/N: Sorry this is a day late I didn't realise the time x. Also, thank you so much for the support. This part is a little short but next week is the last part x. I hope you enjoy xx. 

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

The first time he spoke to you after was 3 months later, Sabrina and the aunties kept with their weekly talks, but Ambrose had given you the space you wanted. You hadn’t been expecting it, you wanted to say at all but that was a lie. You also wanted to pretend that you weren’t waiting for it. Your conversation was short and polite. The how are you’s and what have you been up to. It was shallow talk, neither of you really cared that much. It was much of the same for both of you. You could also feel it, the difference in the way he spoke to you. The distance, the sadness. It was like with every word he said there was a deeper meaning, something that he wanted to say but didn’t.  

You didn’t talk about each other, the letter, or the box. You both wanted to but neither of you would let it ever get to that point, so you overcompensated with other deeper talks of conversation. Your parents, his uncle, Rome. He understood your feelings for everything but what he wanted to know, deep in his heart. You managed to get back to some sort of normality, your monthly talks became once a week and when you came to visit it was the same as before. Except whatever was left unsaid felt like it needed to stay that way. You were comfortable, as was he.  

Developments that did happen included Jude taking over the coven back home. His father had passed down the responsibility to him deeming him ready. The two for you had kept in touch, one would call you good friends, but you hadn’t seen him since you had left. His first act was to pardon both your sister and yourself which you thanked him for, you still decided not to see either of your parents. They were no longer a significant part of your life and you were okay with that. Everything seemed to be looking up. 

Ambrose’s kimonos that you kept were still an odd sort of comfort for you but once they stopped smelling like him, you began to wear them as if they were yours. That didn’t stop Selene from sleeping in them, or you finding her nestled in the sleeve of one now and again but you didn’t think too much of it.   You also had the pleasure of watching Sabrina grow up, becoming a young lady you admired deeply, she had the stubbornness of a bull which constantly got her into trouble, but you didn’t mind. She had to learn to pick her battles and over the course of the years, she became better at it. She knew just about the bare minimum to do with your relationship with her cousin. She saw you as family and that was enough for her. 

You hadn’t heard from Ambrose for a week, then two weeks and then three. It was then that you decided to call him, but he didn’t pick up or call you back at all. At first, you assumed that it was because of something to do with the failed dark baptism you had heard about from an extremely disappointed Zelda, but when it was clear that it had nothing to do with that you began to worry. It wasn’t like him to not share things with you, more so for him to completely block you out. You assumed that you had passed that stage where it was just awkward, where you only talked about shallow things but apparently not. The aunties had almost outright refused to say anything, saying that it was for him to tell you which led you to Sabrina.  

She had called you, initially to talk about something to do with Harvey and her dark baptism but stopped herself when you asked about Ambrose. She could tell you were worried but didn’t say much over the phone just something about a sleep demon that had rocked him and the boy he was dating. Now this boy, Luke was a surprise to you. Not that Ambrose had owed you an explanation because you knew you weren’t entitled to one but not calling for over a month because of trauma and a new guy made you think a little deeper about your relationship. 

You immediately made plans to visit under the guise that Sabrina had been getting into so much trouble that it seemed imperative that you came down. The journey itself took you 2 days since you took a pit stop at your sister who was staying a town over. There was really no reason for you to stay there but she opened the door and welcomed you anyways. Her, her girlfriend Ariana and you had an awkward dinner. That was the first time you had met her and your unwillingness to talk about yourself, perhaps due to not trusting her at all meant that it went almost silently until she started to talk about herself to fill the silence. It wasn’t that she rubbed you the wrong way but more of this was the first of Angelicas partners that you had met, be that purely accidentally. 

You got there the next day at a shorter time than expected, you were originally supposed to get there in the late evening but, you didn’t. You didn’t bother to knock or anything and went straight to Sabrina’s room, she was doing something on the floor. She made a small effort to hide what she was doing but, in the state, you were in, you didn’t exactly care. Your feelings had had time to ferment meaning that what started off as concern became a mild annoyance and eventually slight anger. You were being irrational; it probably didn’t matter all that much, but it also could. 

“Y/N, I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until the evening.” Her tone wasn’t exactly surprised, she wasn’t even looking at you, still tinkering with whatever was in front of her.  

“Yeah well, I thought I could do the journey faster.” You had a scowl on your face but sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed.  

“Well, shall I give you an overview of Luke.” Her eyebrows were raised a sly smirk on her face. She was scheming, you knew it, but you played right into it anyways. 

“Please, would I like him?” That seemed doubtful, you didn’t even like the thought of him. It wasn’t jealousy you were feeling or even annoyance. You hadn’t even met him, but he was rubbing you the wrong way.  

“No. Probably not. I haven’t seen him much, but he seems good for Ambrose. He’s getting out more. Sort of. He has some connection with the high priest, maybe his sentence will get overturned.” She said that in a playful tone. You weren’t sure why, but she wanted a reaction out of you.  

“Wait, he astral projected. Does he know how dangerous that is, how stupid that is? He could have – like – died.” He never made that effort with you. He hadn’t even mentioned it, not once.  

Sabrina huffed but didn’t say anything in response, she instead tried to steer the conversation away from this, “Also, I am the one taking care of the queen of the feast.” 

Her statement did as intended and you completely changed your tone, “well I guess that’s good. Why haven’t they got rid of that, Jude did the moment he took over as high priest. It's outdated and sexist. Also, that is cannibalism and aren’t we supposed to be a dying breed or something.”  

There was a noise from upstairs that stopped the two of you. You two shared a look and got up to see what the fuss was about. It was a shock, to say the least. “Ambrose,” you both said at the same time. Your head was spinning, not because of what was happening, well definitely because of what was happening.

 You and the girl in the middle shared a look which made you raise an eyebrow.   “Sabrina, Y/N” You both looked at each other a little stunned. Sabrina had an exchange with the boy you assumed was Nicholas while you and Ambrose still stared at each other. Neither of you knew where to go from here, he looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. It was only when the girl in the middle said something that you snapped out of wherever your mind went. 

“Well, Sabrina you are welcome to join us, get in or get out. That invitation extends to your pretty friend,” You narrowed your eyes seemingly considering it for a minute. You cleared your throat, “long journey, maybe another time.” You followed Sabrina out. The peach walls of your room offering you no comfort. The colour seemed duller; the room emptier. You had no right to be upset, you had not exactly been a saint but there was nothing significant, nothing more than a hook-up. You thought about the other guy that must have been Luke and fell asleep, missing the dinner and the reveal about Prudence not that you cared about strangers.  

The next morning gave you, your first formal meeting with Luke. It wasn’t unpleasant. He was happy. You told yourself that’s what mattered. It was awkward though. You assumed it was because he felt outnumbered by the number of women in the room and the snake that seemed to appear out of nowhere every couple of minutes to hiss at him. You had no malicious feelings, or at least you thought you didn’t, but Selene must have picked up on something though she, of course, had a mind of her own. The two of them didn’t say much despite your prompting and Luke left too quickly.  

You retreated to your room, Sabrina going about her business as well as the aunties. Ambrose entered your room without warning a sheepish smile on his face. 

“So, Luke what do you think.” He chewed lightly on his lip, this was important to him, you decided at that moment.  

“What am I supposed to think, I didn’t even know he existed since you decided to leave me hanging for a month,” you answered curtly. He started to walk towards you but decided against it. 

“I’m sorry. I should have said something. I guess I thought you wouldn’t approve.” His voice was just above a whisper, it was a lie. Sort of, there was something more, you didn’t push it.  

“I don’t understand why my approval is needed. Although I assumed you weren’t talking to me because of something to do with that sleep demon.” He swallowed hard at the mention of the demon. It wasn’t the time for it, it was making him too uncomfortable so you changed the subject before he could answer. “I didn’t know that you were so into orgies how was that.” You raised your eyebrow and then turned around searching through your trunk and unpacking your clothes. 

“Your opinion matters to me.” There was a slight pause before he continued, “the orgy wasn’t planned Y/N.” he sighed and stretched moving forward to help you unpack. 

“If he makes you happy.” You said nothing more than that, the two of you unpacking and then him leaving. 

The rest of the day was uneventful save for the evening. It seemed to be just before the feast and everyone was getting ready, save for Ambrose and yourself. Luke had appeared to stay with Ambrose for a while but needed to leave. Somehow you had found yourself alone in the kitchen with him the two of you sitting in an awkward silence before he decided to break it. 

“So, you and Ambrose, what’s the history like there.” He seemed sincere, innocent if you weren’t looking that hard but you were. You were fishing for something which was still unclear. He clearly was as well. 

  “We dated for a while; we obviously no longer are.” He frowned at you and his face went darker. 

“I’m assuming that means there’s nothing unresolved or anything. No – problems.” His eyebrows were raised, and he was looking at you very intently. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Although I care about him a lot. I will make you wish you were dead if you hurt him.” You looked at him straight in the eyes, him holding your stare. 

“That won’t be a problem.” he smiled lightly to himself before continuing, “Just don’t.” He stopped himself, instead smiling darkly at you. It would seem like a polite conversation to anyone walking past.  

“What is that supposed to mean,” Your teeth were gritted, he was still fishing but you wouldn’t give in. You could play coy, you did it well.  

“Exactly that,” the tension in the room was thick but luckily Ambrose chose that exact moment to come in a bid farewell to Luke. He gave you both a smile and left.  

You left everyone to their own devices for the remainder of the evening having a quick conversation with Angelica before feeling surprisingly groggy. The coffee you had didn’t stop the grogginess and instead, you felt fainter and sluggish. It seemed that nothing could stem the issue and you fell asleep quite suddenly in the corner of your bed.  

The next day was odd you walked downstairs in the morning to eat something but struggled to stay awake. Luke, of course, was there again; he threw you a sly smile only noticed by yourself and took his place – your place - by Ambrose. “Good morning Y/N, you seem a little sleepy,” Luke said from his spot opposite you. His coyness was back again, the smile turned to a smirk and he raised his eyebrows.  

“Yes, well I’ve been busy. It has taken a lot out of me.” You said over your cup of tea. 

“Well, there’s always a spell for that. Extremely simple you must know it.” You hummed in response not really registering what he was saying. 

“So, what subjects did you do while in England?” He asked almost sincerely. “Potions, Healing, conjuring and of course the writing course. It’s where I met Ambrose.” You looked him in the eye there seemed to be a glint in them, you were missing something important.  

“Well, they, of course, are rather easy, brilliant for assisting your husband I suppose. Perhaps only useful in those areas.” There was a cough from Ambrose himself and you gritted your teeth. Selene who was rather comfortable around your wrist hissed loudly, slowly uncoiling herself from your arm. Nobody seemed to notice her, too engrossed in what your reaction would be.  

Hilda sensed what was about to happen and suggested another coffee for you and a spell to stem how tired you were. You nodded at her gladly, letting out a breath and clenching your teeth. Selene recoiling herself. She said that she needed to get prepared and would perform the spell the next day, leaving you to spend the rest of the day sleeping.  

For some reason even with the coffee, you had and a spell by Hilda you were groggy. More than groggy, it felt as if you were running on three hours sleep when in reality you had spent the majority of yesterday asleep. The most logical explanation would be that someone had hexed you and with your encounters with Luke that was probably what happened. 

You really didn’t want to not like him, and he and Ambrose seemed happy but something about him threw you off. Perhaps it was the throw away comment about your studies and skills but that was only one incident right.

[heavymetalhexcode]

Paladin Character Analysis

Here I am once again where I should be doing something productive yet thinking about Voltron. I am hyped for season 5! The thing on my mind today is an analysis of the Voltron crew’s personalities, largely viewed through the ways I can relate to them (or not). Each character is very archetypal, but I think the show does a reasonable job of throwing in a bit more complexity, allowing a lot of very different people to see different qualities that they admire or possess. That's how people decide they like fictional characters, after all. I've ordered this list roughly in order of how much I identify with or think I understand each person.

More after the cut. Much more.

Lance

Water. This is my element. It ebbs and flows, displaying equal gentleness and strength as befits the situation, and Lance has proven he is a versatile member of the team. The scene where he told Coran he misses rain really stuck with me – rain on the roof is possibly the most relaxing sound I can think of.

He's fun and lighthearted, often cracking jokes and trying to make the others smile. I find humor is often the best way for me to deal with stress or grief. Immediately upon coming out of the cryo pod, he makes a joke about Allura asking him on a date – and yes, I do believe that was a joke -- which shifts the tone of the conversation away from grievous injury. In the space mall, he jumps to help Pidge find the money for the game console so they could have something fun to do in the Castle. The blue lion is probably the most welcoming and friendly of the bunch, something that I strive to be despite being kind of terrible at dealing with people, and I'm sure that my first flight in a lion would have looked a lot like his. Despite putting up a front of confidence and cheer, he's insecure about his role on the team. It's only after he receives explicit recognition from his idol Shiro that he begins to feel confident in his skills. Even then he still has doubts, so much so that he offers to step aside for Allura.

Overcompensating. Absolutely. He likes girls, sure, but he's also way too overt about it. It's possible that he really is just that flirty, but I think he's overplaying it to draw attention away from something else, either intentionally or not. It could be that he's still figuring out or uncomfortable with his sexuality (there's just enough Klance chemistry that I would believe it if the show went that way), but it might just be that he's being loud, boisterous, and obnoxious to draw attention away from the fact that he's not always a carefree party boy. It's hard to say right now, but I bet we'll be getting some clues down the line. Personally I like the idea of a bi character on Voltron, and Lance fits the mold for someone still in the closet.

Lance's self-care routine is an awesome inversion of typical gender roles.  I think he and Hunk (cooking) are the only ones we've seen with noteworthy feminine-coded interests, and you know who's not about that "girly" life? Pidge! Allura is more typically effeminate than Pidge, which is fine, but I love that not being the only kind of femininity we see on the crew. It can be hard for a guy to accept having feminine interests, and Lance being comfortable doing so shows that either a) he really cares about making a good impression and strives to be well groomed or b) he don't give a shit what you think and will pamper himself if he wants. Possibly both.

Pidge

Nature! Technology! It seems conflicted! I'm a computer scientist who loves to unplug for a few days and go hiking or whatever. These two seemingly opposite interests in a person can absolutely blend, and it was great to see her realize that on Olkarion.

Machines > people. One of the primary reasons I decided to become a programmer, and I'm pretty sure the same is at least partly true for Pidge. She was a misfit at school because she was driven to learn (and possibly some other stuff), made fun of for her intelligence, and appears to have withdrawn from people to work on computers. I didn't have to deal with a lot of that, and I'm very thankful for the environment I had in my schools growing up. She needed the team to help draw her out of her shell, and now her friends are a surrogate family. Apparently, a lot of people like to characterize her as ace because she's a nerd, and while I agree with the ace bit, I argue it's actually the other way around.  Computers don't ostracize you because they don't understand you. Computers won't mock you or tell you that you just "haven't found the right person yet." I know some ace folks who have told me what it's like to grow up with that crap, and I'm not surprised Pidge gave up on people. I also headcanon her as trans, which is yet another possible source of social issues. That bathroom moment at the mall? Very telling.

The way she reacts to alien technology may look over the top, but let me tell you, an elegantly written algorithm is one of the most beautiful things in the universe. AI is exciting! The materials are exciting! There's so much shiny technology to explore out there!

Shiro

He is in his 30s. I will fight you. I know it's only supposed to be an age gap of a few years, but his appearance, behavior, and voice all make me believe he is older than canon. 

Good lord, this man needs a therapist! Shiro is so busy supporting the rest of the team and helping them through the zillion difficult situations this war has gotten them into that he hasn't taken time to deal with his own demons. He needs that. He's put things behind him, sure, and we're not seeing his PTSD so much anymore, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. He managed to shove it all away in a corner and stop looking at it. It'll be interesting to see what Sendak's return does to his mental health. Poor Space Dad.

Shiro is my favorite paladin. Hands down. I'm very drawn to dad figures, and he's attractive to boot. He's confident, a quick thinker, and does a remarkable job keeping emotions in check and leading with logic without being perfect. We get to see that even he has his limits with Slav and Sendak. He supports his team, knows their strengths, and doesn't force anyone to do things they don't want to. We've seen gallows humor from him as well as bad sound effects, and when he thinks he might die, he names his replacement to be sure that the team won't feel lost when he's gone. I'm also pretty sure he and I handle emotional stress in similar ways: poorly.

On the subject of stress as relates to shipping, I have thoughts. Shiro is hurting hard, and he needs someone he feels close enough to that he can confide his pain in them. I've been in a similar situation (to a lesser degree), pushing things away and bottling emotions up until it did very bad things for me. It took the kind of trust I could only form with my SO to start learning how to lean on someone else, and even now, years later and in a much better place, I can only think of three people I consider confidants. (Yes, I am absolutely projecting here, but) I wouldn't be surprised if Shiro has similar difficulties opening up. There isn't anyone he feels comfortable talking to yet, and he might need a stronger bond than the one between friends and teammates before he can. Unfortunately for our black paladin, I have a hard time picturing him with anyone currently available. The age/maturity gap that I can't get over immediately rules out the younger paladins. Besides, they're his kids. If Shiro is going to get into a relationship, he needs someone who can give him the kind of support he extends to everyone else, not someone who looks up to him like a father figure. Next choice? Allura, but they're both too focused on the war. They've got bigger things to worry about than dating, and neither will probably even think about such things until after they've won. Maybe a someday option, but not now. Coran? Just... no. Despite needing a deeper relationship in a bad way, I think Shiro is too private, focused, and traumatized right now to even think about it.

Can I just say I love watching him fight? It's beautiful. He's very fast, fluid, and in the other guy's face. Always very well animated, too.

Hunk

I love Hunk. Dude's awesome. He reminds me a lot of my sister: obsessed with food, just wants to be comfy, a little high strung when things don't go according to plan. No wonder he and Lance are bros. Not a lot of character depth for him yet, which makes me sad. Seems like Hunk is mostly played for laughs, so I appreciate that he was suspicious of Rolo and Nyma instead of any of the others. Of course, Hunk is also pretty stable as a person, so he's not in need of as much growth as the rest of the paladins. He's a solid grounding presence (ha ha) for them.

Keith

Keith is... difficult. I have a hard time getting into his head. He's a rebel; I'm not really. His anger is hot; I think mine is cold. He needs to figure out his family to know who he is; I couldn't do that until I got away from mine. He obviously cares about his teammates, and they're probably the closest thing to a functional family he's ever had. I wish we had gotten to see him struggle and grow more in a leadership role. While he is too reckless to be a good leader, the consequences of those disastrous first missions should have helped him do better. Instead there was an irritating time skip and OH YEAH KEITH'S TOTES IN THE BLADE. I wish that time had been handled better.

That said, he's doing well in the Blade. I like him there. There's more room for personal responsibility and the snap decision making that he likes to do. It's letting him stay in his comfort zone instead of pushing him to improve like leading Voltron would have, so pros and cons, but that was not a role that suited him. He'll find opportunities that are better for him. Even after real Shiro comes back and they beat the stuffing out of Kuron, I think staying with Marmora would be better for Keith.

Allura

I WISH SHE HAD MORE DEVELOPMENT. This gal kicks ass. I love her. She's not your standard princess in some ways, but she's also been their magic plot device more than once. Alteans are chameleons? Let's see that referenced again, please! The Balmera thing? Sweet, but I wish we knew more about that too. Is that a royal thing only? Could Coran do a ceremony? Probably not to save the whole creature, but I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do it on a smaller scale. Haggar/Honerva does magic stuff, too, which either tells us magic isn't just a royal thing or it's a result of messing with quintessence. Hard to say.

The mice? Much Disney princess. Such wow. Useful little buggers, though.

She really is the heart of Voltron, and she's the commander of the war effort as well. Devoted as hell. She killed her dad a second time for the war. She got (partly) over her Galra grudge for the war. She's been a diplomat, a support pilot, and a paladin for the war. Allura is cool.

Coran

He's the goofy uncle whose prime function is watching out for Allura. Flair for the dramatic. Not really much to say here. Nice 'stache.

[acavatica]

Animorphs October: 06 First Date

“You know, usually when two guys are in the same bathroom stall, it’s for more fun reasons than the eternal struggle against the button fly,” Marco said. He glanced up at Ax, who was doing a great job pretending the ceiling tiles were at least as fascinating as last year’s Farmer’s Almanac. Marco went back to work on the remaining four buttons. “Why did Rachel even buy you pants with a button fly? No, never mind. I know she did it specifically to annoy me.”

“I don’t understand. Sssstan-duh.”

“This is what humans call a cockblock. A very literal execution of the concept,” Marco said. “Which is ironic, because I would not be getting so up close and personal on our first date if not for this button situation. I’m a gentleman.”

Ax furrowed his brow and puffed out a small sigh. “I believe I now understand even less. If that was an attempt at an ex-ks-ks-planation, I’m afraid you should continue to search for a more appropriate vocation. Vo-kay-shun.”

Marco snorted and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it and stop fidgeting.”

Ax held his breath and looked back up at the ceiling.

Ax had had to leave in the middle of dinner to demorph. After asking for more of those heavenly cheddar biscuits two times, Marco had decided he should probably go check on him. He’d made a lot of progress after two years of trial and error with “the illogical human convention of clothing,” but even Ax had his limits. A button fly was already advanced-level illogical clothing, even without the added complication of Ax’s Andalite claustrophobia in a bathroom stall.

Marco finished buttoning Ax’s pants and gave him a once-over. If Rachel could be counted on for one thing, it was that she was ready for a fight, no questions asked. If she could be counted on for one more thing, it was that she was going to pick out a great date outfit. The first time Marco had seen Ax tonight, he’d felt like the breath had been knocked out of him.

Now Ax was looking down at Marco, his eyes on Marco’s hands, which still lingered at Ax’s waist. Marco grinned at the way Ax flushed and chewed his lip. Slowly and carefully, he buttoned Ax’s shirt buttons, starting from the bottom. He left two unbuttoned and ran the shirt lapels between his fingers, straightening them. He could tell it was expensive. Another thing Rachel could be counted on for. Marco tugged gently on Ax’s fancy lapels, pulling his face down closer. He froze at the sound of the bathroom door opening and swore under his breath.

“You okay in there?” Marco recognized their server’s voice because she had given him a total of twelve cheddar biscuits. She probably thought they were trying to dine and dash. Not that Marco had never thought of enjoying a complimentary roll or chips and then leaving, but his dad actually had credit now.

“We need no assistance! Stents!” Ax stated authoritatively. Marco ground his forehead into Ax’s sternum. At least the shirt was soft, and at this distance Marco could really appreciate the fine pattern in the weave. He could probably come up with some way to make fun of Rachel to let her know he noticed by Monday.

“Listen, I don’t get paid enough to deal with this,” she said, her voice strained. “I just need to know if I should seat someone at your table or not.”

“No, we’re done in here,” Marco said quickly. “I promise we intend to tip generously. Just please leave and pretend this didn’t happen.”

The server sighed loudly, but Marco heard her shut the door behind her. Marco sighed and leaned back into the stall door. Ax was frowning. “I am sorry --”

Marco put his hand up. “Don’t, dude. This was my idea. Let’s just get back to our table before she tells a manager or calls the cops.”

“Have we broken the law?” Ax asked as Marco led him by the hand back to their table.

“Only laws of decency,” Marco said, settling back into the booth and stirring his raspberry lemonade with his straw. “At least I think.”

Marco opened the heavy menu again, scanning the entrees and trying not to worry about the prices. His dad had handed over his credit card and said I’m not giving you a limit, but I trust you not to overdo it. Marco’s life had done such a 180 in the last two years. He’d gone from having no money and barely having a dad, to being better off than ever with an overcompensating, trying-too-hard dad. He’d gone from having a dead mom to having a stepmom-slash-wannabe-tutor who wasn’t great at the whole “respecting his boundaries” thing and a real mom who was an alien slave. He’d gone from having the normal kind of shitty life to having to make the conscious choice, every moment, not to start running and never stop.

He looked up at Ax. He’d gone from having a pathetic crush on his best friend to having a hot-but-bizarre, literal space alien boyfriend. So at least some things were looking up, sometimes, kind of.

“What were you thinking?” he said. “My dad and I usually get the big combo meal and split it but, uh, you know. Order whatever you want.”

“I have not tried most of this food. Foo-duh. Duh,” Ax answered, looking down at the menu like normal people would have looked at calculus problems. “What is a langostino? Lan-go-steee-no.”

“It’s not a real lobster. If you really wanna relive old times, get this.” Marco reached over and pointed at the picture of the whole lobster on Ax’s menu. Ax’s eyes went wide in recognition. Marco grinned and looked Ax in the eye. “They kill it for you here.”

“Humans are horrible,” Ax said, wrinkling his nose and lips in a way Marco thought was really cute until he realized it was Cassie’s “changing bandages” face.

“Well if you’re not getting it, I am.” Marco set his menu down. “How else will we know it’s a special occasion?”

“I don’t know,” Ax said, his mouth full of cheddar biscuit. “My date idea -- aye-dee-uhh, dee uhhh -- was scary movies and snacks. Snacksuh. Snax.”

Marco rolled his eyes. “That’s not a date, that’s a Tuesday.”

“Why do humans think they must be less comfortable and experience more stress to have a ‘good time’?” Ax did finger quotes and Marco almost spat out his lemonade.

“It’s the human condition, Ax-man. Maybe someday your people will study us. Hopefully not the dissecting kind of study.”

“No, I believe that is your specialty, if this menu and my firsthand experience are any indication,” Ax said, muffled by the whole biscuit he’d just shoved into his mouth. Ax looked like a hamster storing food in its cheek pouches when the server came to take their order.

Dinner passed fairly uneventfully. Ax had been spending enough time in public with Marco that it’d been awhile since Marco had to give him an “act normal” lecture. Marco could tell Ax was on his best behavior. If he was totally honest, he thought he could tell Ax was on edge. Maybe Marco had overemphasized the importance of the human ritual of the first date. At this point, Marco felt like he knew a lot about Ax. He wasn’t afraid of a lot of things. Why would he be, when he could outrun, outsmart, and outfight almost anyone? But Marco knew he was afraid of being alone and Marco knew he was afraid of disappointing people.

Marco transferred his bag of leftovers to his other hand and took Ax’s in his. Ax was looking up at the pink and purple clouds of the sunset, but Marco watched a smile spread across his lips. The falling light illuminated his hair like a halo, highlighting the reddish undertones in his brown hair and skin. Marco had always thought Ax was pretty, but he seemed even prettier now that Marco didn’t have to hide that he thought so.

“You wanna take a walk through the botanical garden?” Marco asked. They were walking leisurely in no specific direction, but it was only a short detour off Ortega. “How much time do you have?”

“Approximately seventy-six of your minutes,” Ax said. “I like the botanical garden. Cassie has taken me there. There are many unique species of flowers and trees. Yoo-neek tr-tr-treee-zuh.”

Marco tried to hide his disappointment that their first date wouldn’t be Ax’s first time there. “Well, I think I can show you a better time than Cassie.”

“I hope so,” Ax said seriously. “A duck took my churro.”

Marco led them to the park. It was tiny, but it had lots of walking paths, lots of little nooks to duck into, and enough plants that even nature freaks like Cassie were into it. Marco’s mom had been into it too, which is how he knew about it. He’d avoided it for the two years he thought she was dead. It was one of the only good things about finding out she was actually worse than dead. At least now he didn’t have to add twenty minutes to his walk to school to avoid one city block.

He’d actually always fantasized about bringing a date to this park. In his fantasies, the date had always either been a hot girl or Jake. Technically, Ax was something like three-quarters that, give or take, so Marco had to count this as a success.

Ax reached out with his free hand and ran his fingertips over the Braille letters underneath the sign for the sensory garden. Marco raised a brow and pulled at Ax’s other hand. He didn’t want to get into this again.

“No, I like this part,” Ax said obstinately. He pulled Marco in the other direction and Marco was compelled to move forward. He yanked his hand away and crossed his arms, but followed. Nothing pissed him off more than people moving him without his permission because he was small.

Ax was taking his time, touching all the differently-textured plants almost like a ritual. Marco groaned internally that maybe it was and Ax was going to waste all his morph time here instead of where Marco wanted him to go.

Marco decided he felt like gambling. “You know this part of the park is for people with disabilities, right?”

Ax, carefully rubbing a leaf between the fingers on his left hand, turned his head to look sharply at Marco. “I do. Cassie explained it to me when she brought me here.”

“And you like it?” Marco felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff. His heart was racing and there was no way to know if it was from excitement or anxiety. Everything felt the same now, anyway.

Ax frowned and all Marco could think was how pretty his lips were and how much he wanted to kiss them, if Ax would just cooperate. “If my people had different attitudes, this garden has a very appealing concept. The mixed textures and vibrant colors are very Andalite. I wish it were possible for me to come here in my natural body. My usual sense of touch is much more refined than a human’s.”

“Ax. Are you finally admitting Andalites are wrong about something?” Marco said, stunned.

“Marco. You are a brilliant tactician.”

“What’s your point?”

“I am just surprised that the same person can be so competent at battle strategy and also so absolutely lacking in interpersonal tact,” Ax said dryly. He added, under his breath, “It is almost impressive.”

A light feeling fluttered up from low in Marco’s stomach up to his chest, making him sigh deeply. He took Ax’s hand again and walked backward toward where he wanted to take him. “Come with me.”

Ax didn’t protest, and instead he squeezed Marco’s hand as he followed. Marco led Ax down a winding path that led almost to the edge of the man made pond in the middle of the park. He picked a bench that was at the furthest point between two streetlights, shrouded by long fronds of some big plant with red bunches of flowers. The dim lights shimmered off the light ripples in the water. The spot he’d chosen was right in front of a cluster of lily pads. In the faint light of the waning sunset, they were almost indistinguishable from the reflections of the palms, creating an illusion that the sky was full of flowers.

“I like this park,” Ax said, his voice almost a whisper. “These floating plants remind me of my home.”

Marco set his leftovers down next to the bench and pulled Ax down almost into his lap. Marco leaned forward, bracing himself on the bench with one hand. He put a knee on either side of Ax’s leg and pushed gently on Ax’s chest until he could climb over him enough to kiss him. Ax kissed back immediately and pulled Marco in deeper with a hand on the back of his neck. Marco felt like he was melting from the inside out and let his body settle on top of Ax.

This was their first date but it definitely wasn’t their first kiss. If you looked up the word “oral fixation” in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Ax’s human morph off to the side. Ax had become a very experienced kisser in the couple months they’d been doing whatever it was that two child soldiers do when they pretend to be normal kids who kiss sometimes. They kissed a lot. Ax wasn’t just into fun mouth experiences, though. Ax was tuned into Marco’s responses like he’d been trained to monitor the sensor array that was the small sounds Marco made and the way he gasped and went still when Ax did something right. This was a kid who apparently slept through all his classes but not his practicals.

Marco put one hand on Ax’s cheek and the other he buried in Ax’s soft, coily hair. At the touch, Ax moaned into his mouth. He nibbled at Marco’s lower lip and thrust his tongue deeper. The sounds of crickets, frogs, birds, water, everything around them was all drowned out by the pulse Marco could feel through his whole body and their rough breaths. Every inch of Marco’s skin was alight and Ax’s fingertips felt like they could have traced a burn into him. Ax’s hand stopped at Marco’s hip, pulling him closer. Ax shifted, moving his knee up so that his thigh pressed between Marco’s legs. Marco gasped, tightened his hand in Ax’s hair, and buried his face in the crook of Ax’s neck.

Click!

There was a blinding flash and Marco was on his feet, one arm blocking the light from his face, his other hand a fist. His heart was pounding in his throat and his body went from overheated to ice cold. He blinked into the light, trying to make out what had… interrupted their makeout.

“What are you kids doing?” The beam of light lowered and Marco was able to take in the broad man and his black uniform. A cop. Not a Hork-Bajir. Not Visser Three. A fucking cop. Not that he couldn’t be a Controller. Not that he wasn’t dangerous even if he wasn’t.

“We are on a date. Day-tuh,” Ax explained. “This is an outing between two people who share mutual romantic interest. Ssstuh. We are both male, which is a source of friction in your society. Tee. Sci-eh-tee. However, we are just trying to have a good time. We are both young and restless.”

“God,” Marco couldn’t help but whisper. He pulled his numb hands down his face before holding them up where the cop could see them. His mouth was suddenly dry. He ran his tongue over his teeth and swallowed. “Officer. Sir. We were just about to go home. Can… can we leave?”

The officer squinted at Ax and frowned. He shined his light directly in Ax’s eyes, which made him flinch and made Marco have to swallow the fire in his throat. “Are you high?”

“No, sir,” Marco answered quickly before Ax could make it worse, keeping his tone even despite his body feeling like it was about to shake apart. “English isn’t his first language. Please, we need to get home, my dad’s expecting us.”

“Where do you live?”

Marco took a deep breath. His mom had grown up in a police state and she hadn’t left her son with nothing. “Are we being detained, officer?” he said carefully, like he had practiced it. Because he had, when he was eight years old.

The cop clicked his flashlight back off and waved it toward the park’s exit. “You’re free to go. But keep that --” He gestured up and down at them with the flashlight. “In private from now on.”

Marco grabbed Ax by the wrist and walked rapidly away, checking over his shoulder until the cop started walking in the other direction. Marco was panting by the time they reached the park exit. His ears were ringing. His eyes were burning. He felt like screaming.

“Are you okay?” Ax asked.

Marco tightened his hand around Ax’s wrist until the skin surrounding his grip turned white. “No, I’m not fucking okay, Ax! I go out with you all the time and you could get us killed every single time. Even if that cop was one hundred percent grade A, Yeerk-free human, we’re two gay brown kids and he’s a cop. You’ve got to learn when to keep your mouth shut!”

Ax blinked blankly at Marco like he’d just watched him kick Nora’s fucking dog across the room. Immediately, Marco’s stomach dropped and he felt like he was crashing in on himself. He let Ax go.

“Dude. Sorry. I’m sorry.” Marco sat down, right there on the sidewalk, and put his head between his knees. He tried to catch his breath. “And I forgot my fucking linguine.”

Ax hesitated, then sat down next to Marco. He didn’t touch him, and Marco was grateful. “I put forth substantial effort,” Ax said finally. “But I believe this date has been what humans call a ‘clusterfuck.’”

Marco looked up at Ax, his mouth hanging open. Like a reflex, a laugh came out of his chest. It was followed by another, until he was cackling helplessly, burying his face into the stupidly soft sleeve of Ax’s shirt. When he was finally able to calm down and sit back up, Ax’s shirt was wet. If Ax noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Marco rubbed roughly at his eyes with the heel of his palm and sniffed. “You gotta be short on time now, huh?”

“Yes,” Ax said. “I only have seventeen of your minutes left in this morph.”

“They’re everyone’s minutes,” Marco said. “You wanna come to my house, reset your time, have some snacks, watch some scary movies?”

“It is not Tuesday,” Ax teased.

“Don’t make me admit you were right all along,” Marco said, letting Ax pull him to his feet.

“Unlike humans,” Ax said, in his usual imperious tone, “Andalites do not seek constant validation.”

Marco rolled his eyes and slipped his hand back into Ax’s as they walked home.

[shinobicyrus]

“No Reservations”

So like. 

Tucker got it. There was no good time to break up with somebody, but that didn’t mean that it still didn’t need to happen. Sometimes it was mutual: a lack of chemistry, incompatible lives. LaTonya had been sharp enough to realize that Tucker had been hiding something and wasn’t being one-hundred percent honest with her which, yeah, he couldn’t blame her for that. It wasn’t like he could explain that he was covering for his half-ghost best friend who moonlighted as a superhero. He lied to Danny about that one- dude didn’t deserve feeling guilty about it.

A few times it had been totally his fault. Tucker was man enough to admit it. He could be selfish and insensitive at the worst times. The hearts of nice, awesome girls that didn’t deserve it had gotten broken, and he didn’t tell Sam or Danny about it because even years later he was still ashamed with himself. 

Once and a while it just had to happen, no if ands or buts. Jackilyn had it in her head that Sam of all people was trying to “steal” Tuck away from her and demanded he end their friendship. Maybe it was a little rude to laugh in her face about Sam trying to steal him, nevermind cheat on Danny, but yeah hahahahaha good one Jacki don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 

Or there was Anita, who up and asked his best friend’s clone-sis to stop “making her uncomfortable” by just snuggling with her girlfriend and Tucker honestly never expected to get hugged by Valerie of all people after throwing his very recent Ex out of the apartment in front of everybody. 

Penny, though? Penny he hadn’t seen coming.

He got it, he really did. If things weren’t working out, you had to strike a balance between doing it delicately but also not dragging it out. With Valentine’s was less than a month away, Penny had done the right thing and ripped that band-aid right off. 

It just really, really sucked to be the band-aid.

By this point Danny and him had themselves a post-breakup tradition (always Tucker’s break-ups, of course) of stocking up on snacks and booze, then holing up in the apartment so they could spend the night getting drunk and talking about feelings while playing video games. Then Tucker rode out the emotional hangover that was the rest of January binging on pirated Stargate Atlantis episodes on his hard-drive because Netflix betrayed him. Netflix was a lot like his love life. There was a ‘chill’ joke somewhere in there that he honestly didn’t have the energy to come up with.

Whatever, he could deal. Not like it was the first time he’d been dumped. Definitely won’t be the last; Tucker liked to talk a good game but deep down he knew the score. 

God, couldn’t Penny had pulled the rug out from under him before he’d gotten those reservations a month in advance? He’d scored a nice table at like, the third snazziest restaurant in town for Valentines. Sure, maybe it was a tad overcompensating because he sensed there was some distance growing between them- talk about seeing the warning signs too late. 

He gave the table to Danny and Sam. No sense in a nice romantic dinner to go to waste -even if Sam could probably make two phone calls and get a table at the fanciest gourmet place in the state, if she wanted. 

Most of Tucker’s relationships, even the serious ones, never managed to last more than a few months, and the timing meant that Tucker had a lot more experience spending Valentine’s Day single than with a date. He totally had this covered. 

“What do you mean you can’t make the raid either?” Tucker paced around his room while he talked on his phone. “Come on man, there’s no way just nine of us can tackle the Temple of Amaat- we’ll get trounced! We need our epic tank-mage-rogue trio to-” He stopped pacing. “Seriously? You’re spending Valentine’s with Dee and Pocket? In real life? At the same time? And they’re...okay with that? Huh. Dee’s idea? Yeah that sounds like them. Well okay, dude, can’t really argue with that: Baes Before Raids.” He listened to Sherry’s reply. “I’ll hold you to that, dude. Next week then, have fun. Yeah, you too.” 

He hung up and sighed. Great. Not only were his plans shot, but now he owed Sam a Level 63 Infernal Battleaxe. One of these days he’s gonna learn to stop betting on relationships- he always got it wrong. 

As if having your Legends of Destinyscape Valentine’s plans fall through wasn’t evidence enough. Tucker didn’t know how bad he should feel that so many people in his clan had to cancel because of date plans. Just goes to show that even MMORPG nerds find happiness. 

Down the hallway he heard a knock on the apartment door. “Yo Daaannny! Door!” Waited for a response- only heard more knocking. Tucker snorted. Probably too busy getting ready for his big romantic night out. “Fiiiine, I’ll get it!” He made his way down the hall, grumbling on his way to the door. Danny was probably fussing over his outfit for dinner with-

“...Sam?” Tucker blinked. He’d been under the impression that Danny would be flying off to meet Sam at the restaurant, not her showing up at their door dressed in torn jeans and a Widowmaker tee-shirt. 

“Hey Tuck,” Sam shouldered past, arms full of reusable shopping bags. “Sorry if I scuffed your door with my boots, couldn’t get my hands free.”

“Uh...it’s fine.” He shut the door as she set her bags down in the kitchenette. “Are you...going out in that?”

“Nope.”

“Hey Sam,” Danny appeared in the hallway. 

Tucker threw up his arms. Oh, now he shows up....also dressed in jeans and his laziest lazy-weekend NASA shirt. “Is seven years like the point in the relationship where the romance fades and you stop caring about dressing up?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam gleefully accepted a peck from Danny and slapped his butt. “I love these jeans.”

“It’s nearly seven!” Tucker checked his phone. “I know Danny can fly you, but between getting dressed aren’t you cutting it a little close?”

Sam turned around and started pulling out snacks out of her bags and arranging them on the counter. “Oh, we decided not to go out.”

“What? But it’s Valentine’s Day!”

“Riiight,” she looked over her shoulder to roll his eyes at him. “Because I’m so into manufactured corporate holidays that enforce narrow, traditional relationships.” 

“We gave the table you gave us to Val and Danielle,” Danny explained. 

“Danielle’s going to be eating at the third fanciest gourmet restaurant in the state. Danielle.”

Danny grinned. “We told them to send us Snaps.”

“But what about your guys’ night?” Tucker demanded. 

Sam turned around holding a bottle of expensive wine and a huge bag of chex mix. “We found better plans.”

Tucker sort of...stared at her numbly. His head churned, dissecting, rearranging, and sorting through those four simple words but it kept not making sense. He looked to Danny for some kind of explanation, but his roommate was pulling out a ridiculous amount of candy from Sam’s bag, including some of Tucker’s favorite sour candies that most stores didn’t carry. 

Wait. Did. Was she saying. 

“You guys want to spend your Valentine’s Day...with me?”

“Took him a second,” Danny said. 

“With me.”

Sam shrugged, mouth curving slyly. “Well...I might have had some forewarning that your raid plans would fall through, so I acted accordingly.”

“Kurt told you.”

“You owe me an Cleaver of Khaos, btw. Don’t think I forgot.”

Tucker watched Danny cart the junk food haul over to the coffee-table in front of the TV. “This is...really okay?”

“Tuck,” Sam put down the wine and put a hand on his shoulder. “What do you think we’d rather do more? Eat out at some stuffy restaurant where everyone would look at us funny, or here with you ruining expensive wine with cheap ass candy?”

“I...” His throat felt raw and tight, like he was trying to swallow something thick and painful. “I don’t know what to say,” He managed to croak. 

“Say you wanna stay up with us all night having a Marvel movie marathon.”

He chuckled, trying not the sniffle. “Are you gonna spend the whole time complaining about Black Widow not getting her own movie?”

“You know you’d prefer it over Scarlett’s Ghost in the Shell movie.”

“...yeah okay that’s legit.” Tucker said. “I’m...I’m gonna run to my room and grab my portable hard drive.” And totally not cry a little where no one can see. 

“Okay, we’ll set up out here.”

It was like they were stupid kids again, all crowded on the same couch with no sense of propriety, not caring about the horrible mess of crumbs and wrappers littered around them. That was tomorrow’s problem. Well...later in the day. Somewhere lost in the chronology between Iron Man 2 and Winter Soldier it had stopped being Valentine’s, but here Tucker was, his best friend dozing on his shoulder and his other best friend sprawled across both of their laps.

“Tuck?” She asked, a little drowsily. The second bottle of wine was mostly empty and was probably somewhere on the floor with the first.

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re a great guy, right?”

Shrugging would have thrown Danny’s head off him, so he didn’t do it. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes you’re great or sometimes you know?”

“Yes.”

She adjusted her position so her face was pillowed on his lap. Jacki would have flipped her shit at the sight of it. “I actually liked Penny.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“She wasn’t as cute as LaTonya.”

Tucker snorted a laugh. “She noticed. Said you kept staring at her chest.”

“I wasn’t staring. I wasn’t wearing my boots and she was tall, okay?”

The both of them snickered at that, careful to keep their volume low enough to not wake Danny.

“I know it always sounds stupid and hypocritical coming from me or Danny, but you know you don’t have to rush, right? It’s okay to be single for a while, too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tucker said tiredly. The soft light from the TV played shadows over the creases of the blanket covering them. “It just...it just gets a little lonely sometimes, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Sam said. “But you’re not lonely right now, are  you?”

“Nah,” Tucker burrowed a little deeper into the blanket, pressing closer to them. “I think I’m pretty good right now.”

[graceivers]

Review #24 - The Substitute

The Substitute Author: Denise Grover Swank Genre: Contemporary Romance Rating: ★★★★ Recommendation: give it a shot; once was enough Summary: Somehow, Megan Vandemeer finds herself flying home solo for her wedding without telling her entire family that she already broke up with the fiancé. Enter Josh McMillan—out to save his family company with no plan whatsoever. Then Megan falls into his lap and so does his plan, which somehow includes pretending to be that fiancé.

Female Lead: Overall, I enjoyed Megan as the female lead. Should she have told her family that she broke up with her fiancé? Yes. Did I buy her reasons for not doing so? Yeah, actually, I did. I understood and sympathized with her reluctance given the amount of pressure that had been put on her. She’s significantly undervalued in her family, especially by her mother. I mean, Megan has a career all of her own making; she’s pretty stable financially, mentally, socially; she’s made it on her own. Swank downplays Megan’s independence to highlight the relationship she has with her mother, but it should not be overlooked. Megan has a mind of her own; she can make her own decisions (even when she doesn’t make them). Everyone makes mistakes, including Megan, but this girl deserves a break and definitely deserves happiness.

The one thing that slightly erred me about Megan—and Josh kind of as well, though I’ll get to that later—is her lack of conviction and determination in breaking up the engagement when Josh is pretending to her fiancé, Jay. Unlike Josh, she didn’t really have a reason to go along with the fake engagement any longer than she had to. And because she didn’t know Josh’s motives until the end, I thought Megan should’ve been a little more proactive and pushed for the breakup. Did I buy that she liked being with Josh for that time? Yes. Did I think that was enough for her to continue their ridiculous charade? No. But, alas, it’s fiction… Male Lead: I liked Josh as much as I liked Megan. He’s trying his best to do right for his family company and its employees. And though it might have been anger and revenge that first motivated him to get on a plane and spy and/or confront the people that have made his life difficult, he’s kind of the sweetheart that can’t help but swoop in and save the day for Megan. Well, even his intentions with Megan weren’t all that honorable at first, but he got there. I love that even in the short of amount of time that he knew Megan and got to spend with her, he was the one that really saw her and appreciated her for who she genuinely was. He understood her needs; he understood her.

I guess Josh gets a pass for putting off the breakup of the fake engagement given that he needed to stay connected with Megan’s family for business reasons. Likewise, I felt his feelings were much more convincing than Megan’s were. Maybe that was because Megan had a lot going on in dealing directly with her family and the wedding plans while Josh only had to play along. Regardless, Josh showed up when necessary—standing up for Megan, being incredibly accommodating and sweet to her, and yeah, falling her for. Plot & Writing: The Substitute is full-on fake dating trope. There were some good and great parts about the plot, and then there was one maybe not so believable part. Let’s review.

The good? All the wedding details and pre-wedding activities. This is the stuff of dreams for me. Given that Swank set the story less than a week before the big wedding, we were given a heavy dose of everything wedding, which also included a lot of engagement activities since Megan’s family had never met her fiancé—Jay or Josh. Still, the author utilized these events to her advantage to both move the plot along as well as display some character revealing information and relationship growth. Megan trying on both wedding dresses for Josh was a highlight for me not only because I got wedding stuff to geek out over, but also because it showcased the kind of relationship the couple had. And then of course there were a bunch of little places where Josh kept doing things like kissing Megan to shut her up in front of suspicious parties. Pure fake dating trope stuff right there, but it’s still amazing because as those moments accumulate, Swank unravels the feelings Megan and Josh have for each other. When it’s done right like this, it’s what makes fake dating trope so appealing.

The bad? Well, it’s not really that horrible, but the timing is definitely something to talk about. There were literally four days between the moment Megan and Josh met on the airplane to the wedding day—where they decided to actually get married. Do I believe they fell in love with each other in four days so much so that they agreed to marry each other and that when their marriage license was mailed to confirm their legal fate they were kind of more than okay with it? Meh, maybe not. But then again, do I believe that when Megan’s mother directly asked her daughter why she wouldn’t want the marriage annulled when she hardly knew Josh that Megan’s simple answer would suffice? Maybe. Megan literally says, “Because I love him… I don’t know. I just do.” Normally, this answer is not enough. But actually? The power of these words are in fact in its simplicity. She just knows. That’s what it comes down to. And really, isn’t that the purest and most powerful form of love there is? You don’t need to write an essay that’s Tolstoy long; you don’t need to make some PowerPoint presentation to justify your argument; you don’t need to know all the answers. You just know. It is, and that’s all there is. Is four days generally fast? Yes. But this is fiction, after all. And there’s the hopeless romantic in me that says who cares. If you know, you know.

But despite the fact that the book spans four days, Swank did a good job of pacing everything. I was still conscious of the fact that Megan and Josh hadn’t known each other even a full week before falling in love and deciding to get married, but nothing was rushed. Feelings and sex developed at a good speed between the two. Everyone’s reactions were appropriate no matter how extreme or odd. That made everything all the more believable, which was necessary to sell the essence of the story and the main relationship. Secondary Characters & Plots: Geez, these secondary characters. First of all, MEGAN’S MOTHER. Mother from hell, seriously. Controlling, demanding, manipulative, and far too concerned about appearances over the overall and genuine well-being and happiness of her children, especially Megan. Yes, Swank gave us a reason for her overbearing and meddling ways and strive for perfection, and yes, it made sense to a point. But that’s exactly. It made sense TO A POINT. This woman went way beyond that point, and even if her intentions were because she cared about and loved her daughter, clearly she should’ve opened her eyes a little more and seen that she had been making Megan miserable for a long, long time based on what she thought would help her daughter and her image in the long run. This woman was trying to overcompensate and her relationship with Megan suffered because of it.

Megan’s grandma was disturbingly funny. Libby, one of her best friends, was a little too flimsy for me, though at least she was relatively supportive of Megan. Blair, the other best friend, was far too critical and hard for me, but her attitude and behavior were also justifiable given what she’s been through personally. Yet still, Megan clearly needed people on her side though she was blundering her way through those days, and Blair wasn’t much help for someone considered to be one of her best friends. Noah, Josh’s brother, was… whatever. And go away, the real Jay Connors. No one wants you around. Bye.

I don’t know whether to consider Josh’s company’s problem a main plot or a side plot because it kind of had elements of both, but either way, it was adequately resolved. Favorite Part(s): I kind of already mentioned it, but Megan trying on both wedding dresses in front of Josh. The one her mother picked out—again, over the top and not Megan’s style because her mother totally commandeered all the wedding planning and went behind Megan’s back in doing so. But then Megan is allowed to try on the dress that she originally picked, and you could practically feel how beautiful the moment was coming off the pages of the book. You knew then that she was beautiful, that Josh thought she was beautiful, that Josh loved her, and no matter how the book turned out, at least Megan got that one moment of wearing the wedding dress she wanted in front of the guy she more or less wanted to marry.

AND THEN JOSH GOES AND BUYS IT FOR HER SO SHE CAN WEAR IT DOWN THE AISLE. Thank you Lord and Swank for giving me Josh, the sweetheart, and that beautiful moment. Final Thoughts: The Substitute was nice. Not exceptional necessarily but not dreadful or dragging. It was above average. You get your healthy dose of a fake relationship trope; you get good wedding detail stuff; you get a relationship that is more believable than not, actually. I’d generally recommend this. It was free off of the iBooks store too, so that helped. A little comedic, a lot sweet, and enjoyable overall.