#no regrets even if i have a looooong way to go now to finish

[tobebrutal]

still one of the best decisions i've ever made :)))

[cosmictyto]

💛⚔️ Villain Ambrosius AU - Tarnished Gold ⚔️🖤

I’ve listened to Will Wood’s “Vampire Culture” one too many times while stuck in the Nimona hyperfixation pit + after seeing some villain Amb fanart floating around, so enjoy these sloppy, partially finished mad ramblings edited/stylized a bit to (try and) make them a little more interesting to read. Also, you're all more than welcome to add on/ask any questions! I'll get to them when I can.

Just a heads up, this is looooong. Simply because ya girl’s a wordy bitch.

Basically, the point of this AU can be boiled down to “What if Ambrosius knew Ballister was innocent AND Nimona got to him first?” Kinda a role swap, but kinda its own thing at the same time? Idfk.

On the night of the knighting ceremony, as they’re both suiting up, Ballister verbally mentions his sword feeling off to Ambrosius. But neither of them have time to investigate that further.

The knighting ceremony goes just as horribly as it did in the movie. The queen is dead, Ballister’s lost his arm, and though they couldn’t exactly find Ballister’s body, he’s presumed dead. Lambasted as a traitor to the kingdom, but also treated as a sort of boogeyman since no one REALLY knows if he’s dead in that "I heard he's dead!" "Well, I heard he's still alive!" kind of way.

Ambrosius, meanwhile, is left completely crushed. Simultaneously being praised by some for “disarming the traitor” and mocked by others for being so close to that same traitor. For not recognizing the signs earlier. For not stopping him before their queen was killed. And though the Director reassures him that he’s done well as Gloreth’s descendant and that this will all fade as nothing more than a bad memory… he knows. Ballister didn’t do it. He KNEW something was wrong with his sword. And deep down he knew that his boyfriend was innocent. So he confronts the squire, sees the footage, and leaves with his whole world rocked.

Needless to say, the proof of ACTUAL INTENTIONAL regicide, treason, and corruption within the system, the same one he’s a literal living symbol of, isn’t on his mind at the moment. Just what he did to Bal. So full of regret and guilt. (At best, he mutilated the love of his life out of instinct which is still horrible!!) Normally when he wanted time alone to think he’d go to the top of the Glorodome. But, that spot hurt too much right now. That's where he and Bal first became friends. So, that same night, he went to the next-best place, Gloreth’s statue.

It’s late at night (he hasn’t been able to sleep much lately anyway,) and he’s sitting at the edge of that massive golden sword. Legs dangling as he stares at the ground. He’s normally not much of a drinker, usually too risky. But tonight he makes an exception. Before, everything felt manageable. The inherent weight he bore being Gloreth’s descendant, the press and citizenry looking up to him to be this bastion of goodness and pure heroism, internal familial pressures over how he should act, look, and think… with Bal at his back, he could handle it. But that stability’s gone now. And the only other person he could possibly lean on, the Director, was responsible for his lover’s death. Now, more than ever, he feels like he’s on the verge of collapsing under the weight this kingdom’s placed on his shoulders…

And then someone happens to come along.

Even despite everything, despite all the hurt this one person’s been responsible for… Nimona still carries fondness for Gloreth. And some nights, when she can’t sleep and she feels like howling at the moon, she’ll go to her old friend’s statue… tonight was one of those nights. And who does she happen to find? Her great-great-great-great… however many more, great grandkid. And he’s not looking too hot. A part of her knows she’s got no real obligation to help him, she's never talked to any of the Golden-groin brats before. But... she's had plenty of moments where she wished she had someone talk her down from doing something stupid, and she's feeling kinda sentimental n' sappy... so she strikes up a conversation.

He’s (reasonably) startled by this teen who just showed up out of nowhere. On a statue that requires a hoverbike to get to, no less. But he’s also drunk enough that he’s not as concerned as he maybe should be. One thing leads to another, and he just lets loose. Like, completely vents everything stored in him. (And, yes, “Arm chopping is not a love language!!!” Is thrown in there.)

Nims is just kinda in shock. In all those stupid commercials and interviews he seems so calm and put-together. Perfect, even. But, he's actually kind of a wreck. And now he’s unraveling real fast and is a bit too wobbly to be up this high- So she talks him down a bit. Calms him. Eventually asks, “If you never had any of this stupid “Gloreth” stuff pushed on you, who would you be? What’d you want to do?”

That legitimately stumps and breaks him. He’s thought about how nice it’d be to have this pressure off of his back. Where he could be his own person and not “the descendant of Gloreth.” But he never ONCE considered what a world like that would really look like. All he’s ever known was THIS. Being a knight, being a symbol and not a real person… there’s really only one thing he could actually say.

“Um… My hair wouldn’t be blond..? Y’know, it’s funny, this isn’t even my natural color. They make me bleach it so that I… that I can look more like her…”

And it’s at that point that Nimona decides right then and there, if she couldn’t get the kingdom to change its mind, she’ll at least get through to Gloreth's heir. Break at least one cycle. (And totally not because she feels the teensiest bit regretful he's been put in this position, naaah, nothing like that.~) She coaxes him down from that statue, and the two of them proceed to do nothing but get into mischief…

“~Blood… didn’t they want your blood? So why apologize for being blue and cold?~”

Specifically, the kind that you don’t remember until well after you wake up. All Ambrosius knows is that he’s in some strange dim dreary place and someone’s cooking something. Oh, it’s just Bal. He usually handles any meals since he doesn’t burn them like he does… but, as he’s snuggling back into the couch, he realizes there’s the sound of a girl humming? What? He sits up. Aaaand she’s there? The girl from the statue? He tries to blow some of his unkempt hair out of his face, and-... he freezes. Grabs his phone, ignores the many, many missed calls and news notifications, opens his camera app, and… black. His hair is black. Why is it black?! It’s not supposed to be-! He NEEDS to be blond! And-!

“Mornin’, sleeping beauty!~ Not gonna lie, never knew a fancy-pants knight like yourself could cut loose like that... Hm? Oh! Right, the hair! You were telling me all about how much you hated bleaching it last night. Sooo, we dyed it! Eventually, you can cut all the dyed stuff off and just leave it your real color if you want. But, for now? Bye-bye, blondie! Like it?~”

No. No he does not. He’s basically having an anxiety attack over the unsanctioned change. Then he gets a notification on his phone and starts reading the news articles. All about HIM, a “mystery girl,” and several animals going wild throughout the kingdom.

“Dude, chill. What’s done is done. We got a little crazy, you saw some pink elephants, and we dyed your hair. So what?”

“So what?! What do you MEAN “So what?!?” I’m a DESCENDANT of GLORETH! I-I can’t be doing things like that! Or be seen like this, or-!”

“Woah WOAH! Hey, look at me. Breathe. You wanna really know why you asked me to dye your hair? YOU said it was so you could be free."

“Free..?”

“Yeah! From now on? You don’t have to live by their stupid rules and expectations. You don't have to be like her, you can be YOU! You can do whatever the hell you want, whenever you want! Wanna change your name? Do it! Wanna go break stuff? Hell yeah! Want a piercing or tattoo? I can give you some. I know how! You wanna make those bastards pay for what they did to you and your boyfriend? I'm more than happy bring the matches and help you burn that bitch to the ground!~"

From that point, things just click. His whole life, the Director… no, the whole INSTITUTE forged him into nothing more than a gilded sword. One that they turned on the person he loved most. The ONE thing in his life that he chose and stuck by… and the system he was supposed to symbolize MADE him kill the love of his life… and he didn’t have to play by their rules anymore. Thus starting his fall into "Villainy."

“~Blood, didn’t they want your blood? So don’t apologize for being blue and cold…~”

Slight time skip!~

Truth was? Ballister was still alive. Heavily wounded, dazed and confused at how everything went so wrong, but alive...

Ballister's story continues as it did in the movie. Months later after the knighting, he's being hunted by the law with Sir Thoddeus Sureblade as the captain of the guard. In the meantime, he's built himself an arm and is still aiming to prove his innocence... Except his attempts to find Ambrosius, or convince the Director that he was set up, are a complete failure. Like in the movie, he's arrested and thrown in the dungeon... Except with no one to break him out. According to whispered gossip from the guards who bring him food, Ambrosius has been missing for a while, now. A fact that would not be revealed to the public anytime soon...

"It's only culture! It's only CULTURE!! It's only- Culture's not your friend..!"

At least, not until an individual in scuffed black-and-rose-gold colored armor (?) shows up with... a bear, or a tiger, and a wolf, and horse, and... even a rhinoceros?! The two of them running through the halls. Breaking things, lighting stuff on fire, and spraying paint on the walls (along with the floor, ceiling, and any statues,) and scrapping with any knights they come across. They'd already uploaded that clip of the Director swapping those swords. This? This was a diversion to keep the Institute from possibly removing or censoring that clip before the public got to see it. And Ambrosius LOVED it! He got to be loud! To make a mess! He finally got to punch Todd in his stupid dude-bro face! When you've kept someone shackled their whole lives, and then take those harnesses and leashes off? The freedom's enough to make ‘em go a just a teensy bit crazy. More than anything, since everything that happened the night of their knighting? He felt alive.

"Hey, fuck your culture! I ain't got no culture! It's only culture and it's more afraid of you than you're of it!"

During the assault, just as things are starting to get dicey for Nims and Brose, they do something so that the power ends up cutting out. Freeing Ballister and giving him his chance to escape, and... for a moment Ballister sees him. His Rose, ebony-haired with cuffs and studs on his ears. Riding on the unsaddled back of a raspberry-pink horse. A can of neon spray-paint in one hand, a sword in the other, a whole squad of knights behind him… and for a moment they lock eyes. Ambrosius’ world just comes crashing down, trying to stop and turn Nims around (Who refuses. ‘Cause, y’know, the bunch of knights behind them?!) she shifts into an ostrich to get a boost of speed, and the two just ride off with Ambrosius staring wide-eyed… looking like he saw a ghost… meanwhile, Ballister’s wondering just what the hell’d happened since the ceremony, and just -what- his boyfriend’s been hanging out with.

From this point my plot-related notes are thinner/less thought out. But here they are anyway:

- Ballister’s still firmly stuck in the Institute’s brainwashing since he’s had absolutely no time hanging out with Nimona to influence that. He’s seen the footage, but still believes that the fault solely lies with the Director specifically. That the Institute as a concept can still be preserved. A part of him hopes that by capturing this pink monster he might be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the kingdom. Prove his loyalty as a knight. (And conveniently finally meet with his boyfriend who’s apparently lost his damn mind?! Or... or has been corrupted by this thing?) So, while on the run from Todd and the other knights, he’s also trying to track down Ambrosius + Nimona and stop them from inciting a rebellion. Because all he knows is that this isn’t the man he fell in love with. (I won't lie, the Ballister side of things feels pretty shaky. I need more time to sit and stew on it.)

- If we’re using D&D alignment charts as a reference, Ambrosius is basically going from lawful-good to chaotic-good. Identity crisis and shift to anarchy aside, he genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Especially not the general populous. Yes, he happened to be raised to be a “hero of the realm” but, at his core, he’s still a good guy. Any acts of arson, destruction, or anything of the like are done with the knowledge that the spaces have been cleared out as best they can, first. And he doesn't even want to kill his fellow knights because he knows that, ultimately? They've all been forced through the same system. Children thrown into a mold to be forged into weapons. He’ll fight them. But, he doesn’t fight to kill… that being said, he doesn’t necessarily stray from violence, either.

- At some point I do see Ballister and Ambrosius getting into a fight. But, of course, Ballister’s the top of their class. No matter how hard they both sparred or competed against each other, Bal’d always managed to come out on top. In everything. So Rose is, of course, disarmed and thrown to the ground. A sword pointed at him as he looks up at the man he loves-.

“What, do you think this is some kind of a game?! You and that… that thing are tearing this kingdom apart! I… I don’t even recognize you anymore… what happened, Ambrosius?!”

“What happened? She set me free, Bal. And if you can’t see that this is who I really am, deep down..? Then you never really knew me at all…”

More miscellaneous/fun notes:

- It’s less boss/henchman in this AU. Instead, Rose and Nims 100% have a brother/sister dynamic. They bicker and tease when they’re together. But, the moment the other’s in trouble, it’s strict “No one messes with ‘em except me!” vibes. Who’s the older and who’s the younger sibling changes depending on the moment.

- Ambrosius always liked rock music. His parents and the Director always disapproved because it was “noise unbefitting of a Goldenloin” (ie. It wasn’t classical or opera therefore it was “wrong.”) but he always listened to it in private or with Ballister. So when Nims played some stuff and she caught Rose singing along to all the words? That earned instant respect points for him.

- These two also share one braincell between them at any given time. How they haven’t gotten caught is a damn miracle. Like, seriously, these two are goofballs. The moment he saw Nimona change into a shark? Oh, he totally stuck his head in her mouth. He never thought once about how “the wings” would be too noticeable. And when Nims brought up the plan to wreck the Institute? Eloquently putting it as: “We break-in, we break some stuff, smash some helmets, something-something-something, we win!~” He could only reply with a nod and, “Alright, sounds good!” And when they're playing a board game and she's going on some tangent? He's laughing his ass off. The only other person he's been this dorky around was Ballister.

- Once it clicked that he could swear?! And no one would get mad at him or clutch some pearls?! Nimona had to give him a crash-course because he was using it a bit too much. And it just kinda sounded ridiculous. Like giving a tween free rein to swear.

- He also went more crazy with his appearance. He was already used to the idea of makeup (Gloreth forbid her ancestors ever had *gasp* acne!!!) Eyes? Lined and smokey. Often with dark or fun colors. Nails? Painted. 24/7. Fingers adorned with a buncha rings. Lots of layered necklaces and bracelets. Plus silky black shirts with low necklines. And he did get his ears pierced. Both lobes, a couple in the helix of one ear, and one on an eyebrow. All of which was done courtesy of Nimona. (Needless to say, Ballister was shook the first time he got a good look at him.)

- He is still a Ballister Simp. Always gonna be his number one fan. At first, he tried to convince Ballister to join him and Nimona, but Bal wouldn’t listen. Their relationship doesn’t start to fracture until Ballister starts actively hunting them both down for the sake of capturing her. Because, while Ambrosius adores Ballister, and wants nothing more than to be with him… Nimona’s been the only one to help him see the truth. To help free him of all his expectations, she’s been there when he was at his lowest. She’s his friend. And he’s not willing to sacrifice her just so that he can go back to being the “Descendant of Gloreth” with Ballister. So, though it hurts, he still loves Bal. But he’s always waiting for the moment his lover admits he’s wrong about this.

- Speaking of Nimona’s and Ambrosius’ friendship… she’s in an awkward spot. Because, especially now with all those prissy-noble-layers stripped away… she sees so much of Gloreth in Ambrosius. In his smile, how confident every step is, that glimmer in his eye when he’s about to do something rebellious, even the way his eyes crinkle and his lips get tight when he’s mad. In so many ways he’s absolutely his own person… but it’s like she got her best friend back. And maybe that’s why she stayed and talked with him. Because she saw a chance to try again…

(Psst, you seriously read this far down? Thanks a ton! Have a cookie.~ 🍪 )

[honeyau]

3.1) Mixed Berry Tart

Whatever the situation had been back at the cafe has long since left Kat’s mind once she’d received the tart. Instead and begrudgingly so, all she can think about is her roommate and his spell of depression..

And how she wants it over with so that she can be the one to go back to mulling in sadness. Death of a partner versus forced separation from family.. Kat isn’t competitive but with Ijsbrand it’s difficult not to be an ass to him one way or another.

The space they share is quaint and small. A single room, both Kat and Ijsbrand have to share the bed if they wish to rest at all for she doesn’t even have a couch and the floor is hard and feels constantly cold. So.. to find Ijsbrand curled up in those shared sheets smearing tears and snot only has Kat huffing and nearly regretting trying to gift him something.. Instead, she feels she should be scolding him.

“Get up.” Ordering him around is easier, though. “It’s past noon and you still stink of last night.”

“Nng..” Ijsbrand whines, burying his face in a tear-soaked pillow.. Kat holds back her urge to rip it out from under him.

“I brought you dessert for breakfast, if that is incentive.” She holds up the small catering box, that in itself familiar enough by now for ijsbrand to know where it’s from..

“…I’m going to get fat..”

A roll of the eyes. “I am already there and I assure you, it is not that bad. Now come on, this is my day off and I must clean up your mess.”

“You don’t /have/ to do anything..” Nonetheless, Ijsbrand listens and begins to crawl himself out from the wrinkled sheets.. He feels grateful that she has not yet ripped open the curtains for the natural light from the main room is enough to have him squinting. “At least.. Let me help.”

A looooong stretch as he comes to his feet, Ijsbrand yawns and stiffles back the tears that remain before the interruption.. Sniffle, sniffle..

The moment he has finished with his adjustment to standing, Kat shoves the box in his hands and bonks her hip into him in hopes it will move him. And it most certainly does and luckily so for Kat begins to bulldoze her way through the sheets, ripping and bundling them all up as she goes down the mattress.

“You can make the bed once I clean it. But for now, get those tears dried up and eat some sugar. That will give you /something/ at least.” She begins to rip apart the sheets and luckily Ijs keeps to the side for otherwise he’d be bulldozed by her swift work.

“Mmh..” a slow backup to give her more space, he knows better than to keep standing flabbergasted by her actions. “Uhm.. thank you, Kat..”

“Just go. Oh, and Ijsbrand?”

“Yes..?”

“Be sure to use headphone if you are going to listen to him again.”

[killing-all-joy]

The World Is Ugly

I went “screw it” and decided to hop on the songfic train because this idea has been in my head for a looooong time. Finally finished it! This is a bit of a style divergence but I think it turned out nice so I hope you like it!

Pairing: Prinxiety

Word count: 7,127

Warnings: anxiety, mentions of murder

Virgil chewed on his thumbnail, staring at his phone in thought. He knew he had to tell Roman somehow, he just didn't know how. He had never been good at expressing intimate emotions.

Normally, Virgil would be incredibly anxious about telling his crush he liked him or he would ignore the feelings altogether, but this was different. Roman was different.

Why? Many reasons.

Virgil had known Roman for many years. They met in college and hated each other. However, they were friends with some of the same people and were forced to be around each other. They both had refused to sacrifice their friendships in the name of hating someone.

Over time, they stopped hating each other. Roman apologized for the names and the insults and Virgil apologized for his insults and cynicism towards Roman's creations.

Virgil eventually fell in love with Roman. When he realized it, it was like someone had yanked back a curtain over his feelings, but looking back, he found that the falling-in-love part was slow and gradual.

Now, it haunted his every waking minute.

Roman wasn't just like every other crush. Virgil had been in love with Roman for three years at this point and the feelings didn't seem to be fading in any sense. Roman had been Virgil's light and love for three years and Virgil had yet to find something about him that made him disappointed.

Patton was nice. Kind, sweet, enthusiastic; he was Virgil's best friend. But he could also be overwhelming, overbearing, strict, and too parental. Virgil loved Patton an incredible amount, but Virgil was sometimes too fragile to be fully comfortable in his presence.

Logan was smart. He was reliable, logical, honest, and gave very good advice. He was grounding, down-to-earth, and highly intelligent. However, Logan's wonderful qualities came with a side dish of coldness, occasional detachment and insensitivity, and bluntness. While this was often fine and sometimes even refreshing, it could sometimes be hard to deal with when Virgil wasn’t prepared for it. Logan and Virgil's friendship was very close and healthy, but Virgil couldn’t often deal with him for an extended period of time when Virgil wasn’t at his best.

But Roman...

Roman was perfect.

Yes, he could be arrogant and insensitive and harsh, but none of this deterred Virgil from extended interactions with him. To him, it just completed the puzzle that was Roman.

Roman was always perfect to Virgil. No part of his personality made Virgil not want to be around him. Virgil never had to twist the image of his princely friend to make him his ideal partner in his mind. No part of Roman's personality ever made Virgil wish he wasn't in his presence. At least, not after they became friends. His "flaws" just made him a better person in Virgil's eyes.

Virgil was mean. He was sarcastic, rude, blunt, pretty dumb, and constantly anxious. He was dark and brooding and incredibly pessimistic.

Virgil was a mess.

So, he obviously wasn't telling Roman because he thought the flawless man would like him back. But if it wasn't that, what was the point?

Because there were too many sleepless nights.

Too many evenings spent drying each other's tears.

Roman was sensitive, insecure; too sensitive of the opinions of others, too dependent on their approval. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and not everyone was wary of this, causing Roman frequent pain. Virgil had spent many evenings either on his or Roman's bed, hands on his talented friend's face as his thumbs cleaned away an endless stream of tears caused by events and people that would never be worth a second of Roman's time.

Virgil was almost certain he had more shirts that had been stained by Roman's snot and wasted saltwater than he had shirts that never had been cried on.

These nights, they made Virgil want to scoop up the princelike actor and hold him closer than the boundaries of their friendship would ever permit them to and whisper sweet nothings in his ear that would mainly just remind him of how loved he was. How loved he was by Virgil.

Virgil also wanted to apologize.

A week before, he, a singer-songwriter, returned from a particularly angering meeting with his manager. Roman tried to help him and cheer him up, but instead Virgil pushed him away by saying harsh things he didn't mean.

Of course, their friendship was too important to be on hold for a whole week, so Virgil had apologized the following day, but the musician could still tell that Roman was confused and not fully over it. He was no longer angry, but the pain hadn't left completely.

But Virgil couldn't explain his anger without also explaining that he was in love with him.

Roman had just been too nice, looking too pretty, and with brown irises that somehow seemed more entrancing than normal on that night. Virgil had wanted nothing more than to drown in the stage actor's arms. Roman had suggested ice cream, a movie (at home or at the cinema), or pizza if he hadn't already had dinner. Virgil had looked at his outstretched arms with want and longing. But he knew he couldn't play, tempt, or tease his heart like so and had declined rudely, faking irritation and anger. However, now he was faced with regret.

Virgil couldn't be fully honest with Roman if he didn't tell him about his feelings for him. It had been three years, but this dance could go on no longer. It made sense that if Virgil couldn't get over the theatric man in three years, he should face rejection in the eyes so that the romantic feelings would pass quicker. He should have told him long ago, but this was a good opportunity.

Yes, it was possible for him to wait for Roman's hurt and confusion to go away, but Virgil didn't want Roman to take any more actions (like not seeking Virgil's comfort when he required it, which had happened the night before this one) that would hurt him. It wasn't like telling Roman was a new concept for Virgil to mull over. A part of him had known for a long while now that telling Roman would eventually make getting over him easier. However, the possibility of Roman being disgusted and ending their friendship wasn't low. That was the driving force of Virgil’s hesitancy to enlighten Roman of the romantic inclinations he had for him. Virgil valued Roman's friendship, and would choose his platonic presence over his absence at any second.

But he couldn't lie any longer.

Roman had gone to Patton instead of Virgil last night when he learned that his ex-boyfriend (who ended their relationship five months before) had been cheating when they were together. Roman didn't still have romantic feelings for his former flame, but knowing that he cheated hurt him. He was lied to, betrayed; there was no way to tell if his ex ever loved him. That hurts even if there's no longer romance there.

Of course, Virgil learned this from a concerned Patton and not the actor himself.

All three involved in this event were troubled. Patton, for his friends' happiness (since Virgil and Roman made each other happy), Roman because he was confused and hurt, and Virgil, who wished Roman was comfortable with him again.

Virgil figured he only had one thing to do. Confess, and end the confusion.

Confess, and possibly end their friendship forever.

Virgil wished there was another way out.

But Roman was confused, hurt, and in a bad place. Virgil had tried everything in an effort to get over Roman, but nothing worked in the slightest. The singer knew it was past time that he confess.

So he stared at Roman's contact, the handsome face of his profile picture staring back. Roman was simply 'Roman' in Virgil's phone; he didn't put any cute nicknames in case Roman saw.

He brainstormed as hard as he could for a way to tell Roman he loved him romantically.

He didn't want to be too straightforward. Saying a blunt "I am romantically in love with you" was too scary to type out and send. And, he also had a shred of decency to not say something so important through text.

What did Virgil know best? Music.

He pulled up Spotify.

He went to his music, thinking through all the love songs he'd written about and for Roman (Roman didn't know of course). Virgil had his thumb over a particularly emotional and descriptive song, but paused.

If Virgil just sent him his song, Roman would think that he wanted an opinion on it, or that Virgil was reminiscing on works past. If Virgil sent a caption saying "this was about you", then the moment would be ruined, the text would feel too real and to-the-point, and he would be undermining his efforts to not say something monumental through text. No, he had to choose a song that would leave no room for confusion and no need for clarification.

What did Roman associate Virgil with, musically?

Emo music. Panic! At The Disco. Fall Out Boy.

My Chemical Romance.

Virgil would call the last his native tongue if he were able. It felt like such, each song seeming like it came from home or somewhere similar. It made sense for Virgil to communicate with something so dear to his heart. His friends were well acquainted with his love for the band. All his close friends, at one time or another, had been interrupted by Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge when they wanted to talk to Virgil. It told them he wasn't doing too well and needed time away from people and worldly responsibilities.

Which song, was the question.

MCR didn't have too many love songs; at least, they had a much lower percentage than many other bands. Also, a lot of those songs that you thought might be romantic could easily be interpreted differently. This made it a bit difficult for Virgil to find a song by them that encompassed his emotions, announced a repeat of his apology, and was clearly romantic.

He ran through the romantic MCR songs on speed-run in his head, paying close attention to the lyrics. His mind stopped when his brain fluttered to Conventional Weapons; more specifically, The World Is Ugly. He ran through the lyrics in his head, the tone, how clear the romance was.

He couldn't help but think no song described what he was feeling more.

The love, the apologeticness, the hatred of the world. Virgil knew how evil and ugly the world was. Is. But Roman...Roman was a star, shining in complete darkness without pause. Even when day came to hide the star's light and the two weren't in the other's presence, Virgil knew he was still there. Roman’s light wasn't like the sun which could blind or burn you, but like the stars in the sky that were bright, in a place far away, and at heights Virgil could only dream of reaching.

The lyrics made it clear that Virgil was using this song to communicate something—that something being love.

His finger shakily tapped his phone, pressing the share button and clicking on Roman's contact. He bit his lip, every brain cell except the one controlling his present actions screaming at him to reconsider, to protect their friendship and his heart. But this time, he ignored his anxiety.

He pressed send.

That was it. The text was sent. All he could do now was wait or regret.

A drop of blood slid down his chin from the lip he was biting too hard.

Roman opened his text messages reflexively. Virgil had a special text tone and Roman was conditioned to get excited when he heard it. He was almost always happy when Virgil sought out his company. Virgil's communication in any form was something he saw as a treat.

Virgil's feelings were no longer a secret.

---

Now, this was where the 'almost' came in. His argument with Virgil the week before made him anxious about what the text held. Was it a confession of hatred? Worse?

The app loaded to show a link to Spotify. He raised an eyebrow, plugging in his earbuds and shifting his position on his bed. He clicked the link and put in the earbuds as the song loaded and started.

Roman, an acquaintance of the emo for over five years at this point, and a friend for four of those years, knew his fair share of MCR. No, he did not know every song they ever created, but he knew a lot. This seemed to be one of the many he'd never heard. It was titled 'The World Is Ugly', a title he found unfamiliar and unsurprising for Virgil's music taste.

It wasn't nearly as intense as the ones that prompted him to lack interest in the band. He could hear the lyrics clearly.

As he started listening to the song that was sent without a caption, he realized that Virgil must have meant this as a way to communicate something. He decided to pay close attention to the lyrics for this reason alone.

The first verse seemed to have reassuring and protective elements, and a theme of unity between two people.

The chorus came, and he couldn't help but be taken aback by "but you're beautiful to me". At first, he thought it must be something Virgil didn't mean to convey, a lyric that didn't quite fit with everything else he was trying to tell Roman.

But the second chorus came after the second verse and Roman concluded that the song was a love song. It couldn't be anything else. To Roman, "but I wanted you to know” gave off the idea that if there was anything the singer wanted the audience to know, it was the next sentence (which included the line he was so confused about earlier). His mind almost came to the conclusion Virgil was trying to tell Roman that exact sentence...when he finally noticed that the chorus contained an apology.

Virgil already apologized.

Roman considered this, but a voice in his head told him that Roman hadn't accepted his apology—and acted like he hadn't.

Patton must have told him about last night.

He almost cursed Patton in his head, but concluded that Patton was worried because Roman often went to Virgil for the kind of thing he had gone to Patton for. Patton was concerned and probably wanted to make sure the two of them were okay.

By the end of the song, Roman knew what Virgil was trying to tell him. It threw him into a trance. He knew why Virgil sent this to him, and why he was so off-putting that night.

Virgil was in love with him.

Or so it seemed.

To be honest, Roman didn't want to believe it. Virgil being in love with him changed his whole world view.

To Roman, Virgil was the moon. Roman could always reach Virgil if he so chose, but he wasn't always present in person. He shone brightly to Roman, so bright. Not a light that made Roman shy away from and curse at, but a welcomed, beautiful light that made everything better when it was the dead of night and nothing else made sense. Virgil, for all of their friendship, was so close. He was who he was closest with. But, despite this, he was just out of reach. He couldn't hold him, touch him, speak to him in all the ways he wanted to. There was a boundary between them that made it so all that Roman wanted with Virgil was more than all that he got. He had gotten used to that. The moment he realized he wanted Virgil closer than he would ever be able to have him, he knew it would never be able to happen. Virgil didn't feel the same way.

Or, he thought that, at least.

But now, Virgil was telling him through My Chemical Romance that he did, in fact, feel the same. That he didn't mean to hurt him and he was so terribly sorry. That to Virgil, Roman was the only beauty in the ugliness of the world.

How long had Virgil felt this way? He’d had many boyfriends in the time they'd known each other. Many times where Virgil saw a man and couldn't help but be gay.

Then again, so had Roman.

Roman, despite having feelings for Virgil for a long time, dated. He'd had a few boyfriends throughout the time they'd been friends, all of them mainly in an effort to get over Virgil and because Roman thought they were cute. Maybe Virgil had done the same. Or, he could have been confused.

But the song didn't sound confused.

No, Virgil likely knew very well that he was head over heels for Roman. He had sent a single song with no caption or warning beforehand. It was clear that this was something that had been coming for a long time. Virgil was likely guilty about the fight and decided to enlighten Roman of his feelings for him.

Virgil loved him. Him.

Roman couldn't help but be surprised.

If Virgil liked anyone in their friend group, he'd think it would be Patton. He and Virgil were extremely close; best friends, if you will. (Roman was occasionally jealous of this because his closest friend was Virgil, but that was a topic for another time.) Patton was kind and sweet and cute and talented. He was a fantastic person who complimented Virgil in beautiful ways.

Virgil was also one to respect a great mind. Logan seemed more likely a love interest than Roman in the actor's eyes. Smart, interesting, logical, good with Virgil's panic attacks. The two of them would make sense. But it wasn't Logan. Or Patton.

It was Roman.

If he weren’t so emotionally drained and tired, he would squeal. Virgil was in love with him. Roman, the dramatic stage actor, the man who acted almost too much like a real-life prince.

Virgil was in love with him.

How would he respond?

Roman's eyes widened and he looked back at his phone, screen now dark. He unlocked his phone and stared at his conversation with Virgil. The text had been marked as read so Virgil must have known he'd seen it. He had to figure out how to reply.

Did Virgil want something to happen between them?

Roman didn't know.

Virgil sent the message as a text and didn’t include a caption. That could have been a way to say "I'm in love with you but I don't want anything to happen", since he wasn’t actually including anything that spoke of a desire to be with Roman romantically. However, it could just be that Virgil was an extremely anxious person and didn’t think he would be able to admit his feelings during an in-person interaction. If Virgil had been harboring feelings for an extended period, then it could be hard for him to say something directly to Roman after such a long time of keeping his feelings hidden.

A part of Roman figured that Virgil wasn't thinking ahead of this moment.

Virgil, as previously described, was anxious. He didn't seem like the type to expect or have intentions for their relationship after an admission like this. Virgil was the type of person to admit to romantic feelings and then spend every second following worrying over ruined friendships, offending someone, being mocked, getting insulted, and/or his feelings not being returned.

So, Roman concluded that Virgil wasn't conveying his intentions in this text. All he was saying was that he had feelings for him. Nothing more, nothing less.

'Nothing more'. 'Nothing more'?

Roman couldn't imagine what 'more' could possibly mean.

Virgil was in love with him.

'Love'. Something that seems so simple and sweet when you first hear it described as a young child, but something that grows to be meaningful, confusing, and complicated as you start to get older. And this love...this love was life-changing.

This was a love that had been burning for who knows how long, but that could have changed anything and everything had it been revealed sooner.

How many occasions were there where could Roman have said everything on his mind and Virgil would accept it, welcoming all his feelings? How many people did Roman date to get over Virgil that he didn't have to? How many nights in front of Virgil's door did he spend considering telling Virgil everything he felt before deciding against doing so were there? How many sleepless nights spent dreaming about what it would be like to be with him romantically did he entertain? All those things he might not have experienced at the extent he did if he'd gathered and exercised the courage Virgil currently seemed to possess...

Virgil watched as the text was marked as read. No response.

He supposed it was time for some courage of his own.

---

Virgil couldn't say with honesty that he expected anything different.

Roman was this marvelous, talented actor and Virgil was so not his type...

They were friends, though, and that mattered to Virgil. Their friendship meant the world and more to him. Maybe Virgil couldn't have his heart, hand, or lips—but he felt like he was the luckiest of people to be able to say Roman held him in positive regards. Their friendship was...

...their friendship.

Something Virgil was realizing with wide eyes and a sweater-pawed hand over his open mouth was ruined.

Sure, he considered this happening earlier, but he couldn't say he fully comprehended what it meant.

Roman, the light of his life...

...gone.

Or, at least, out of his life.

Sure, it was a friendship built on the ruins of malice, originally fueled not by each other but by mutual friends, and sustained by lies and obscurances of the truth committed by Virgil in an attempt to hide his true feelings. But it was still friendship. A friendship that meant more than anything else he had. A friendship he wasn’t sure he could deal with losing.

And he’d thrown it all away in one fell swoop. No more watching Roman’s plays at the theater, no more Disney marathons to fill the days off, no more meals of Roman’s signature chicken risotto made for his or one of their friend’s birthdays. The special comfort (whether it be after a series of panic attacks or a few angering minor inconveniences), the unique understanding Roman held and the techniques he used to make Virgil feel better during those terrifyingly vulnerable nights they shared was something that Virgil treasured beyond all else but still couldn’t fully comprehend the sacrality of. Those such nights would never again come to fruition.

Virgil wanted to yell. He wanted to scream, cry, throw the empty mug sitting three feet away on his nightstand at the wall. He didn’t, though, and he knew why. He didn’t...couldn’t regret sending Roman the text. Virgil knew he had to get over him, and that he had lied for too long. Roman deserved to know, no matter the consequences. Virgil loved Roman with all his heart, so it overwhelmed him with guilt to know he lied for such a long time. Virgil had been cruel to Roman that night the week before and he deserved to know why, even if it hurt their friendship. Maybe if he didn’t send the text things would eventually return to how they were and their relationship would continue as it always had with limited emotional complications, but Virgil would have to live day-in and day-out knowing that he was keeping information from Roman that after all these years of omitting information, his friend deserved to know.

Because there were so many nights of intimacy: of sobbing into the other’s chest with the lights out, or hands of varying temperatures drying tears, or screaming about a failed romantic relationship or the tragedy of infidelity in the aforementioned—ones that were too sacred to bring up during the day, too fragile that the moments would be shattered if they were approached with the attitude the two carried during a day of normalcy. Those nights meant more to Virgil than he let on. But the days after, he couldn’t help but feel guilty—like he’d taken something he didn’t pay for. He felt romantically for someone who didn’t return the feelings, and still allowing those moments of closeness to come to be felt like he was engaging in manipulation. He couldn’t help but entertain the nagging voice in the back of his mind that was convinced he was somehow violating Roman.

At least, with things the way they were now, Virgil would no longer have to deal with the guilt.

That didn't deter his ruthless anxiety, though. His thoughts were screaming about how everything with Roman was ruined, that all his other friends would leave him too, that Virgil would be miserable forever because he had lost the light in his life who was sometimes his sole reason for going. His hands were sweating and shaking violently. His phone almost fell from his hands at the instability. It was only fair for Roman to know, but gosh, did it hurt.

He steadied the phone in his hands and stared at the screen. His conversation with Roman was on his screen, staring back at him almost teasingly, torturously. It was like the phone or the app itself knew that this would be the last time he’d look at this texting conversation as someone who was still a friend of Roman. Soon, Roman would finally reply, and sever all ties. While Virgil was usually thankful he was someone who thought of all possible outcomes to a situation so that it was rare that an event caught him by surprise, in this situation, it only made it worse. He was sure it would probably be like suffering through heartbreak twice. The prediction beforehand, and then the real thing sometime later. He was experiencing the first right now, and the second had yet to come.

He knew that Heartbreak Number Two would feel worse.

Sure, he was feeling horrible presently, but he knew that the prediction wouldn’t be like the rejection. This heartbreak started with courage, then denial, then a realization that started to make Virgil’s hands shake and his heart beat uncontrollably. However, this was also a waiting game. When would he get rejected? 

If Roman did end up waiting for a long time before delivering his rejection to Virgil, the pain would stretch out over a long time. If he waited for an extremely long time, the pain would slowly start to dull into a passive dread, with occasional spikes of anxiety. If Roman told him soon, Virgil would have less time to prepare for the rejection, so the pain would be much worse in the moment. Ultimately, the first was the worst. Extended emotional pain was not something Virgil needed, to say the least.

The text could come at any time, when it would send was not up to him. Virgil's fate and feelings were now in Roman's hands.

All Virgil wanted to do at this point was put his phone away, drench his face in ice water, and sleep for a thousand years. Neither of those things seemed to be possible, however, since Virgil could rarely seem to sleep for longer than seven hours and he currently couldn’t bring himself to put his phone down. His hands refused to let go of the instrument of his demise.

There were two warring thoughts of ‘is losing Roman really worth losing the ache in your heart?’ and ‘he deserves to know the truth’ circling in his mind. He tried to attach himself to the second thought in hopes of rationalizing losing the greatest person in his life. It was hard, though. What would Virgil do after this? Would he leave the friendship group? Or would things just be an awkward form of normal?

He was startled out of his thoughts by a quiet but concerning sound. When Virgil replayed the sound in his mind, it sounded like the clicking of a lock. The door to Virgil’s bedroom was ajar, so the door getting locked or unlocked was obviously the door to his apartment. Virgil distinctly remembered locking his front door.

Someone was breaking in.

Only four people had the keys to Virgil’s house. Virgil himself, for obvious reasons. Patton, Virgil’s best friend. That was a no-brainer; Patton and Virgil had keys to the other’s apartment because they often hung out in each other’s apartments without any warning or planning beforehand. Roman, after many instances of banging on the door at eleven at night because he had a terrible day and needed comfort but was also waking the neighbors with his loud knocking. Finally, Logan—the most recent person to receive a key (about six months back) after a harrowing experience of Virgil needing Logan’s specific comfort during a panic attack and Logan being unable to enter the apartment. Right now, it was late. Very, very late. Patton and Logan would be asleep. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t go to Virgil. He knew this. It wouldn’t be—could it be Roman?

No, no. Roman was too mad or disgusted or annoyed with him to seek his company at this late hour. Someone must have been breaking in.

The door opened. Virgil heard it; the loud creak he made sure to keep in the door’s design so he’d always be privy to an unplanned entry into his apartment. However, he soon realized he wouldn’t need that auditory warning of someone else’s presence.

He heard the footsteps.

They were fast, loud, and terrifying. What kind of burglar walks that quickly and obviously? A terrible one. Or, one confident in their ability to overpower whatever opposing forces they may meet in the home of their victim.

Virgil wanted to run to his closet and grab his broom. Truly, he did. But he was frozen in fear on his bed, phone tight in his hands, knuckles white, and eyes unblinking. He couldn’t move.

Virgil’s door was ajar. Opened enough for any unwelcome visitor to see that there was someone inside. If it was a robbery, the intruder could easily be armed and dangerous. Would Virgil die tonight?

The footsteps were approaching his room. Quickly, and without going anywhere else in the apartment. Virgil was suddenly worried that the intruder wasn’t a robber or a burglar, and instead, someone out to get him instead of his possessions. Virgil wasn’t sure if the change in his assessment of the situation scared him as much as it should have. The rapid change in train of thought from ‘Roman’ to ‘intruder’ wasn’t allowing the subsequent panic accompanying both of those thoughts to do much catching up.

The door to his room slammed open. Virgil was thrown back an inch from the force the intruder had placed on the door. This person was not concerned about noise. Virgil’s door was already ajar, why would they…

Virgil’s thoughts stopped when his eyes focused on the person now in his bedroom. His phone slipped from his fingers and onto the bed, not that Virgil cared to divert any attention to it.

Roman.

Not normal Roman, either. His eyes were wide, his hair was mussed, he was out of breath, and he was still holding the keys to Virgil’s apartment (which were on the same keyring as his car and house keys). Virgil, for all that he knew about his good friend, could not decipher the look on Roman’s face. It seemed a bit stressed, but not in a bad way. He had been running his hands through his hair, so a lot was obviously on his mind. Virgil almost wanted to say he was shocked, but it wasn’t quite like that. Almost like...he had been shocked a few minutes back and was coming to terms with what shocked him...which made sense. Virgil had told him he loved him. That must have been shocking. The lack of any other emotions like disgust or anger was what confused Virgil.

Virgil couldn’t help but be shocked too. What was Roman doing here? Virgil had confessed. Now it was time for him to hate Virgil for his feelings and ban him from the friend group.

Wait…

The keys were still in Roman’s hand. Maybe...maybe Roman was here to return Virgil’s keys. Maybe he was here to sever all ties with him. Return Virgil’s keys, take the keys to his apartment from Virgil, tell him their friendship was over…

Roman could be here to yell at him. Virgil had kept this from him for too long. Roman might have been here to scream that he deserved to know earlier. He’d be in the right, too, since Virgil agreed. One final scolding of his actions before Roman was out of his life forever.

But did those assumptions match the look on Roman’s face? Severing ties with someone you hate should have no lingering shock, and yelling should show more obvious negative emotions than Roman was currently displaying. Roman should look disgusted, irate, and probably betrayed as well. While Roman was a fantastic actor who could pull off hiding such things, Virgil didn’t think he’d try to hide emotions like that in the present situation.

Virgil was shocked too. He thought Roman would at least let some time pass before ending all pleasant connections with Virgil. He thought he’d take time to think and mull over what Virgil’s confession meant.

He hadn’t. This terrified Virgil. Had he come to a conclusion of hatred that quickly? Was Virgil that in the wrong? Virgil was mortified...what did that mean for Roman’s next actions?

But, again, Roman didn’t look angry. He had to be, Virgil knew it, but it wasn’t obvious on his features. So, that assumption couldn’t be taken as reality.

Virgil sat in awe at his current situation. Roman was here, probably to yell or scold him, but was silent so far. None of the conclusions Virgil had come to seemed to so far seemed to have enough evidential basis to be taken as truth. So, Virgil pressed pause on the speculation and let the only expression of his thoughts and emotions be surprise.

The love of his life was in his bedroom. For what? Virgil was uncertain.

They stared into each other’s eyes. Both were full of shock, just different kinds of it. Virgil was surprised Roman was in his room—not exactly a positive kind of surprise either. Roman’s shock, while clearly something that was at its climax minutes back, was still showing on his features. A type of shock that, unlike Virgil’s, was indecipherable when it came to whether it was a good shock or a bad shock.

Virgil didn’t know how long they were still and staring. It could have been fifteen seconds; it also could have been fifteen minutes. While it was probably around two minutes, time passed differently when Virgil’s green and purple eyes were locked with Roman’s brown eyes.

Virgil knew he wasn’t just showing surprise. There was no way the fear wasn’t seeping into his expression as well. He didn’t try to stop it because he knew that if he did try, he would fail. Virgil wished he knew what Roman was thinking—wished he knew whether he should be scared or not. Roman didn’t look scared, not like Virgil did. Maybe Roman hadn’t noticed. Virgil was able to tell with bitter realization that he was more scared now than when he thought there was someone in his house trying to kill him. Sure, he’d been relieved at first, but that didn’t last for more than a second. Whatever Roman was here to do seemed worse than anything a malicious stranger could potentially have in mind.

Roman finally moved. He took a step and a half towards the bed, towards Virgil.

Virgil flinched back, right arm darting behind him and holding him up in a position that made it easy for him to leap off the bed. Roman stopped his approach.

Virgil didn’t mean to flinch, but he was too deep in his surprise and fear to do anything else. When he noticed his own movement, he was overwhelmed with regret. He wanted to get this interaction over with. Creating drama by showing his current fear of Roman wasn’t going to help with that.

Roman suddenly showed emotion other than shock on his face. His eyes started to burn with sympathy and guilt, something that confused Virgil to no end. If anything, Roman should have become angrier. Why was he showing guilt at someone he should be hating?

Roman dropped his keys. The clinking that sounded as they fell on the hardwood floor didn’t elicit any reaction from either of them. They continued to keep eye contact.

After a moment free of any movement, Roman started to approach Virgil again, this time slower and much more careful, like one approaches a terrified animal in the forest. Roman was clearly a bit hurt by Virgil’s flinching, but his present focus seemed to be on the fear that Virgil would do it again—or worse, run away. His steps were slow and quiet. His posture was a bit crouched, probably as an effort to seem less threatening.

Virgil’s teeth clenched. He didn’t want to flinch again since Roman hadn’t actually done anything to imply that he would hurt Virgil, and also because flinching would only complicate things further. Nonetheless, Virgil was scared of what Roman was preparing to do. While Virgil rarely addressed it, he’d always found Roman to be scarier than the average person. He was tall, fairly muscular, and had a temper that could do some damage when Roman wanted it to. His strength was scary and his words were scarier; he reminded Virgil of Janus in that he was good at knowing precisely what to say to bring someone emotional agony. Any preparation for being hurt by Roman was useless; he knew Virgil better than Virgil would like to admit, making it that much easier for Roman to hurt him.

Roman’s left hand reached towards him. Virgil would have flinched if his hand was in a position to strike. It wasn’t, though—it was mirroring the scared animal in the forest analogy; the extended arm was almost serving as a gesture of peace, a white flag. Virgil thought that Roman was offering Virgil his hand to take and he intended to move away, but he didn’t need to. Instead, Roman’s hand gently rested on his upper right side. His eyes looked like he was asking for permission, if his touch was okay, but Virgil could not respond. His eyes stayed on him with surprise and fear.

This touch was too gentle to be malicious. That fact was clear to Virgil, so he couldn’t jump off the bed and escape without feeling guilty. Virgil didn’t necessarily want the touch either; he didn’t dislike Roman’s hand being there, but it felt wrong, like it shouldn’t be happening. And with all the common sense Virgil had, it shouldn’t. Virgil didn’t expect Roman to touch him, even after he unexpectedly broke in. But if he did, Virgil wouldn’t expect the touch to be anything but hostile. Virgil almost hoped his confusion showed in his eyes.

Roman’s right hand reached out as well. Faster than the left had, but still moving at a careful pace. This arm went around Virgil’s waist. Then, Roman started to almost pick him up and lead him to the edge of the bed. Virgil was simultaneously terrified and embarrassed at being carried, so before Roman could properly pick him up, Virgil moved himself to the edge of the bed.

Roman’s lips twisted into what looked like one of Roman’s subtle but encouraging smiles, which again bewildered Virgil. The arm around his waist retreated and rested just above Virgil’s hip. Roman guided Virgil to his feet.

Roman clearly wanted Virgil at the same level as him—standing up. Out of context, that made sense. Virgil had shown fear of Roman, so if Roman didn’t want Virgil to feel inferior at the moment, leaving him sitting wasn’t exactly a good idea. What perplexed Virgil was that in this situation, it made sense for Roman to keep a high ground and a dominating stance. He must’ve been (he had to be) mad at Virgil. Even though that conclusion was growing less and less probable through Roman’s every action, it was the only thought keeping Virgil sane.

Roman’s left hand moved from Virgil’s side to rest on his cheek. Virgil froze, thinking he was about to be hit for a split second but was again proven wrong. Roman’s thumb brushed under Virgil’s eye—Virgil would say it was loving but that was preposterous. Virgil wanted to close his eyes, to bask in the feeling of being touched like this (no one was ever this sweet and gentle with him in a manner that would be considered romantic out of context), but he was too preoccupied and scared and surprised and confused and-

“Virgil,” said Roman. It was quiet, tender, and held more love than Virgil believed to be possible. “Virgil, mi luna.”

Virgil had no idea what that meant. He didn’t think he wanted to know.

“I love you too.”

Virgil inhaled sharply. Not too loud (he didn’t want to ruin the delicacy of the moment), but it was still audible.

Roman loved him too. Roman returned his feelings.

That didn’t make sense. Not in the slightest. Roman had shown no interest; Virgil was positive there was no reciprocation of his feelings…

But that didn’t matter now. He had to reply.

He saw Roman start to move in closer, slowly, allowing Virgil time to object. Virgil didn’t, letting the gravitational pull of Roman’s lips allow Virgil to reciprocate Roman’s intentions to kiss.

“May I kiss you, moonlight?” Roman murmured.

“Yes,” whispered Virgil, voice practically silent.

Roman’s lips met his—first, a gentle and unsure brush of lips, but then a firmer and more intent kiss. It was gentle, caring, but most of all, it was full of love.

He smiled against Roman’s lips. Roman smiled too and kissed him deeper.

Virgil couldn’t say he wasn’t still baffled by everything going on in the present. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t happy about the way things turned out.

~~~ ☪ ~~~

“Earth is ugly,” said the stars to the moon. “It does not deserve your light.”

“Maybe so,” replied the moon. “But have you considered that you are too far away to see its beauty?”

~

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account @justanotherhumanstuff @neo-neo-neo @fander-fic-recs

~

I know that little bit at the end is a bit extra and unnecessary, but I thought it up one time and it has some ‘deeper’ meaning I liked as well as relation to the metaphors in the story. I deeply considered not posting this one because of how different it is to the usual and the minimal dialogue, but I sent it to a beta who loved it! I’ve been stirring in the idea of Virgil confessing with this song for probably 6+ months and only decided to start writing it in October. It might be bad but I hope you enjoyed! I’ve been working on this on and off for months so I really hope it’s good.

[woodstockbtswriter]

Voyagers

Genre: Fluff/Headcanon

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader (Female)

Summary: A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join BTS on a Bon Voyage adventure leads to once-in-a-lifetime love.

Warning(s): Some mentions of physical intimacy, but nothing detailed or graphic.

Author’s Note: So... this is it. This is the end. And as promised, it is looooong. You might want to find some snacks and a comfy spot before we get started. I probably could have broken this up into 3 or 4 more parts but, here it is. Please note, my SMAU Sentimental and my drabble Love both fit into this part, and I’ve added links where they should be read.

I can’t believe how far we’ve come! This story is my baby, and I’m so immensely grateful for all the love and support it has received! As relieved as I am to finish it, it is hard to let go, so it’s entirely possible that I may write some bonus chapters in the future. Although, I tried to fit so much into this epilogue, I’m not sure what’s left to say! So anyway, for the last time, please, PLEASE enjoy! 💕

GIF Credit: MONOSUGA

Masterlist

Epilogue

Leaving New Zealand

Yoongi promised he’d take care of everything, and he meant it

You learned that maybe an hour after he snuck out of your room, when one of the producers stopped you as you were lugging your suitcase down the hall

You recognized him as the same producer who’d requested you spend less time with Yoongi, and you worried you were in trouble

But to your astonishment, he apologized for suggesting anything, saying it was never his intention to make things difficult for you and he meant no disrespect

He then informed you that he personally made all the arrangements for you to fly to Korea with the boys instead of returning home

And as he bowed and wished you all the best, you realized Yoongi must have spoken with him

You were touched that he kept his word, and made sure to thank him as soon as you found him out in the main area of the house

All the members and the crew were bustling about the living room and kitchen, hurrying to pack up and clear out

But you dared to give Yoongi a quick, grateful hug, and a blush spread across his cheeks

Hoseok noticed and froze in his tracks, shooting you a look

So you guessed it was as good a time as any to let the other boys know you’d be joining them on their flight home

(Though you’d have to wait until you were all alone to tell them exactly why)

They were all happy and excited, but none more than Hoseok

He scooped you up in his arms and twirled you around, squealing

And when he set you back down, he whispered in your ear that he wanted to hear all the details later

With a laugh, you promised to tell him everything as soon as you got the chance

Not much later, everyone was all loaded up, and you made your way to the airport

Leaving New Zealand was bittersweet

Your week there with the boys had been one of the best of your life

But you were excited to have another whole week with Yoongi

And you were particularly looking forward to more privacy

Though you knew it wouldn’t be much more

The Bangtan boys were constantly in the public eye

And that meant that - even though filming for Bon Voyage was over - you and Yoongi still had to maintain some distance when you weren’t alone

That much was apparent the moment you arrived at the airport in Christchurch

Yoongi had held your hand the whole drive, but released it before exiting the vehicle and didn’t take it again

But you still sat next to each other on the plane, and enjoyed talking and watching movies together during the long flight

And everything about it just felt so comfortable and normal and… right

That is, until you ultimately arrived at the Incheon airport, and the reality of dating an idol became even clearer

Dozens of paparazzi and fans were gathered, obviously aware that BTS was due to return that day

The crowd fluttered to life as soon as your group came around the corner, cameras flashing and girls calling out

And when they caught sight of you with the members, they became even more frantic

But Yoongi subtly kept you close behind him, shielding you from the mob as best he could

And the other boys formed a circle around you until you made it out of the airport and into a waiting car

Then when you were safely behind tinted windows, Yoongi finally took your hand again

And he expressed his regret that you had to endure that scene, seeming worried that you’d have second thoughts

But you reassured him that you could handle the craziness, and promised him that he was worth it to you

He was visibly relieved when you said that

With a smile and a squeeze of your hand, he assured you he would look out for you

And promised that you were worth it to him, too

First Night in Seoul

When you arrived at their luxury apartment in the heart of Seoul, Yoongi and the boys gave you the grand tour first thing

It was a little surreal to actually be there when you’d only ever seen it in videos

But you noticed how much more relaxed the boys seemed the moment they walked in the door, and could tell how happy they were to be home

And you felt instantly at home, too

Which was a good thing, because Yoongi informed you that you would be staying at their apartment with them all week

You would have been more than happy with a hotel room, you told him, your mouth hanging open

You would have even taken a bunk in a hostel, as long as you were close to him

But Yoongi insisted, saying you could stay in his room, and he’d sleep on the couch

Or you could share his bed, he mumbled so only you could hear, if that was what you were most comfortable with

With a suppressed smile, you told him you’d think about it, and you resumed your tour of the apartment feeling unreasonably flushed

After you’d seen the whole apartment, the boys ordered dinner (Jimin’s treat, of course)

And as everyone tucked in, Namjoon raised his glass

He proposed a celebratory toast, to a successful Bon Voyage, to returning home, to you - their new friend

And to Yoongi-hyung falling in love

The other members cheered enthusiastically in agreement, tapping their glasses together

Which caused you to grin, and Yoongi to groan

Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jungkook wasted no time recounting their version of events, filling Jin and Jimin in on anything they might have missed

And you happily supplied any further details they lacked, like the fact that you and Yoongi were now officially together

All the boys teased Yoongi mercilessly for being so soft

And Yoongi was a grumbling, blushing mess all the while

But you could feel the love behind their mocking

And they made sure you knew - despite their joking - how truly happy they all were for both of you

By the time dinner was over, everyone was exhausted and ready to call it a night

You hadn’t given a lot of thought to the sleeping arrangements since Yoongi first mentioned them

But as he made up his bed for you with clean sheets and extra pillows, you knew you didn’t want to sleep in his room without him

And when you asked him to stay, Yoongi needed no convincing

He quickly slipped beneath the covers with you, hugging you tightly against his body and pressing kisses to the back of your neck and into your hair

And that was how you spent the whole night, curled up together, sleeping blissfully

And though you’d be lying if you said the idea of doing something other than sleeping never crossed your mind…

Just being able to spend the night together without any fear of being caught in the morning was enough

For the time being, anway

Boyfriend/Girlfriend

Your extra week with Yoongi in Korea, like your week in New Zealand, was one you’d never forget

The boys had full schedules, consisting of everything from rehearsals to filming to recording to appearances, but Yoongi continued to keep his promise

He arranged for you to accompany them to everything, so you were able to spend a lot of time all together

And you naturally continued to grow closer and closer to all of the boys

Especially Hoseok

He remained your biggest ally and most trusted confidant, and you quickly became best friends

Those hours of downtime in dressing rooms were some of the most fun of your week

They were also some of the longest, as you spent many of them waiting on the boys to fulfil their responsibilities

But their staff members were very accommodating - having been instructed to respect and protect you - and you even made friends with a few of the the stylists

When the guys didn’t have obligations, Yoongi spent every waking (and non-waking) moment with you

On the second day of your stay, Yoongi gave you a private tour of Genius Lab

At first, he seemed shy and self-conscious about showing you such an important part of his life

But when he sat in front of his computer, Yoongi casually pulled you down to sit with him, reaching his arms around you and resting his chin on your shoulder as he played you a couple of beats

And next thing you knew you were turned around on his lap, exchanging heated kisses as Yoongi leaned back in his office chair

Eventually, you forced yourselves to leave the studio

But not before Yoongi gave you the passcode, and told you to feel free to use it anytime

Which you did, every chance you got

You loved to see him in his element, and were content to just sit and listen to him work for hours

You’d thumb through his Ikea catalogs while you listened, nodding along to his beats

And you often brought him coffee or lunch, to keep his energy up

On the third day, you found time to play some one-on-one basketball

Which Yoongi let you win

And you let him think he let you win

You also cooked dinner together a few nights

Stole a nap together more than once

Binge-watched The Lord of the Rings together

And spent every night secure in each other’s arms

Yoongi may have been worried he couldn’t be the kind of boyfriend you wanted

But he was

He absolutely was

Completely unlike his cold, unfeeling, disinterested, tough-guy persona, he was nothing but soft and caring with you

Just as you’d always known he would be

And the first time he referred to you as his girlfriend - on the fourth day, when he told Jin to stop bothering you with his dad jokes - it made your heart skip a beat

You still had to be mindful in public and around cameras, but it wasn’t as bad as you thought, and it got easier every day

In fact, Yoongi found it remarkable how well - and how quickly - you were able to adapt to his chaotic life

Last Night in Seoul

Before you knew it, it was your final night in Korea

As you as laid together in Yoongi’s bed - after having shared your last meal with all the members - your head and heart were both fit to burst

You couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to Yoongi in the morning

Especially without telling him you loved him

And when Yoongi kissed you slowly and deeply...

After his eyes caressed your face as he told you how breathtakingly beautiful you are…

You were overcome by the desire to show him - physically - how much you loved him

Your hands fumbled to grasp his shirt, and pull it up over his head

But Yoongi stopped you as soon as he realized your intent

“Not like this,” He said

Not rushed

Not urgent

Not desperate

As much as he wanted you - and he wanted you very much - he didn’t want to take this step just because you were leaving the next day and felt like you were out of time

He wanted to wait until the moment was right

When he could take his time with you, and treat you the way you deserved to be treated

You couldn’t help but be disappointed by his response

But deep down you appreciated how much he respected you, and you knew he was right

So you only stayed up talking that night

And as hard as it was, you refrained from ever blurting out, “I love you”

Because you wanted to wait for the right moment, too

“Home” At Last

Leaving Korea the next morning was one of the hardest things you ever had to do

But you managed to save your tears until after you hugged all the boys, kissed Yoongi, and climbed into the car that would take you to the airport

Before you left, Yoongi bought a return ticket for you to visit again the next month

And you promised each other to keep in constant contact until then

But as the driver pulled away from the boys’ apartment complex and you waved to each other until you were out of sight…

You felt like you were leaving half of yourself behind

Sentimental 

When you were finally home, it seemed as though you had been gone much longer than 2 weeks

And, if you were honest, it didn’t really feel like home anymore

You tried to return to your normal routine, to immerse yourself in your work that you loved

But now that you knew what it was like to have Yoongi in your life, normal life felt…

Empty without him

You kept in touch and communicated through texts and calls everyday

Any spare minute Yoongi could find in his hectic schedule, he would video chat with you

He always made time for you, and always made an effort to be open and vulnerable with you

And though he rarely said it in so many words, you could tell he missed you just as much as you missed him

Hearing Yoongi’s deep voice and seeing his handsome face always put you at ease

But no call was ever long enough

And after one particularly brief conversation, you idly began researching how to apply for a visa

You also hated not saying “I love you” every time you said goodbye

But you didn’t want the first time you told Yoongi to be over the phone

So you made up your mind that the next time you saw him, you would tell him no matter what 

Firsts

Finally, after what felt like a never-ending month, you found yourself back in Yoongi’s studio

And in his arms - where you’d been longing to be - as he played a new song for you

It was softer and more melodic than his usual style

He sang along to the music, his voice smooth and low, and you quickly realized…

It was a love song

And when the last notes faded out, he admitted that he wrote it for you

With tears brimming in your eyes, you couldn’t contain yourself any longer

Your words spilling out of you, you told Yoongi you loved the song

And you loved him

So, so much

Yoongi wiped your tears with a soft smirk

That’s what he was going to say

You stole the words right out of his mouth, he teased you

You chuckled, apologizing, but Yoongi shook his head

And as he kissed you tenderly, he said he loved you

So, so much

He’d been falling for you all along, he told you, but when you left last month…

He immediately noticed how empty his studio, his bed, his life, and his heart, felt without you

And that was when he realized he was completely in love with you

It was impossible to describe how you felt hearing Yoongi speak those 3 little words

Finally being able to say those 3 little words to him felt almost as good

And you looked forward to saying - and hearing - them often from then on out

For the rest of the day, Yoongi could hardly keep his hands off of you

And later that night, he did more than say “I love you”

Though he did say it, over and over

But he also showed you how much he loved you

Physically, for the first time

And contrary to most fanfiction you’d come across, Yoongi was not rough

In reality, he was gentle and sweet and soft and caring and loving and patient and giving and...

Perfect

Everything about that night was perfect

And more than worth the wait

Yoongi marveled at and worshiped every inch of you

He made you feel so loved

And beautiful 

And good

More than once

You didn’t take a single moment of the experience for granted

You were mindful to appreciate every detail, to admire everything about Yoongi

And you made sure he felt just as loved - and as good - as you did

That visit was a turning point for your relationship

Yoongi had made it clear - in more ways than one - that any fear he may have felt about falling in love was long gone

And when you returned home, your mind was made up

So you secretly began applying for a work visa in earnest

Because seeing the man you loved so infrequently was only getting harder and harder to bear

Bon Voyage On Air

The next time you visited Yoongi was another month later

And your season of Bon Voyage premiered that same week

So with plenty of snacks and drinks, you gathered in the dorm living room with all the boys and watched the first episode together

Seeing the footage of your incredible journey brought back so many feelings and memories, and it was so fun to reminisce with everyone

But you noticed the editors made suggestive comments every time you and Yoongi were on screen together

Nothing obvious, just subtle little remarks about how cute you were around each other and how fond you seemed to be of one another

You hoped it wouldn’t be enough to make viewers suspect anything about the true nature of your relationship

But the other members noticed, and it was enough for them to tease you and Yoongi

A few weeks later, after several episodes of Bon Voyage had aired, it came to your attention that ARMY had picked up on the chemistry between you and Yoongi

Speculation as to whether you were dating was all over the internet

A lot of fans eagerly shipped you together

As Yoongi had predicted, they found you very likeable, and it was easy to see how well you got along

But there were also plenty of “fans” who had some not very nice things to say about you

Yoongi comforted you when you saw some of the negative comments, and begged you to not worry about any of it

He assured you that things would blow over

And if they didn’t…

Well, you’d deal with that when the time came

The Holiday Season

The next month, BTS had several appearances scheduled in the U.S., so Yoongi arranged for you to meet up with them

One event was a Christmas concert, and you agreed to exchange gifts afterwards because you wouldn't be able to be together Christmas day

You gave Yoongi an authentic chef’s coat with his name embroidered, and a certificate for a couples cooking class

Both of which he moaned and grumbled about

But you knew by the way his eyes twinkled that he was touched, and that he secretly loved his gift

Yoongi gave you a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind light fixture he’d commissioned from a local artist in Seoul

And when you opened the box, you found yourself doing something you never imagined you would do:

Crying over a lamp

Yoongi looked scared when he saw the tears running down your cheeks

But when you managed to articulate that they were happy tears and you loved your present, he grinned and you pulled him into a crushing hug

The week between Christmas and New Year’s, you received word that your work visa had finally been approved

BTS was going to perform in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, so you planned tell Yoongi the good news then

You had to wait behind the scenes while he and the boys were onstage during the countdown

But Yoongi kissed you the moment they returned to the dressing room

And when you told him that you were moving to Korea, he was so stunned he didn’t know what to say

The other members reacted so enthusiastically to your announcement - jumping, dancing, and shouting - that you wouldn’t have heard Yoongi speak anyway

But you could see the tears gathering in his eyes, and they - along with his gummy smile - told you everything he couldn’t say

Moving to South Korea

Over the next month, you happily packed up your entire life and moved to Seoul

Though you didn’t have an apartment lined up yet, you did manage to find an amazing job opportunity with a local interior design company

But all of the guys urged you to not to wait any longer, because they’d be releasing their new album soon and would be busier than ever

They were only too happy to let you stay with them until you found your own place

You didn’t want to take advantage of their hospitality but, once again, Yoongi promised he’d take care of everything

It was only when you were standing inside an empty but beautiful, luxury apartment in an upscale neighborhood not far from the dorms, that you realized how he intended to keep his promise

Yoongi explained that even though all 7 boys chose to still live together, several of them actually owned their own homes

They kept them mostly as investments, but they occasionally came in handy

Like now, when you needed a place to live

The apartment you were in was Yoongi’s private suite

And he wanted you to have it

You tried to decline, saying he was being way too generous and you couldn’t accept

But he insisted

He wanted you close by, he wanted you to be somewhere safe

And he liked the idea of sharing his home with you

But if it would make you feel better, he smirked, he could always charge you rent

You were still hesitant

But then he showed you around the place, pointing out his favorite architectural details, telling you about his plans for its design, and asking you for your professional opinion...

And he was just so cute and eager you couldn’t refuse

So you moved in right away, and you and Yoongi thoroughly enjoyed working together to pick all the paint colors, the furniture, the decorations, and - especially - the light fixtures

As always, you were a great team

Your Christmas present was the perfect final, finishing touch to your new home

And though Yoongi maintained his main residence with the other members…

He probably spent more time at your place than at the dorms 

Isolated Together

The next few months were hectic, for you and the boys

You were adjusting to living and working in a new city, and they were gone a lot to promote their new album (which you loved)

But you were so proud of them, and remained their biggest fan, always cheering them on and supporting them

And Yoongi never failed to make time for you

Whether it was by sharing a cup of coffee, a meal, or the couch while you watched a show

Yoongi always took the time to remind you how much he loved you

So you never once regretted your decision to move to Korea

Then a global pandemic turned life upside down

All the members were deeply disappointed when they had to cancel their world tour, and you were heartbroken for them

You knew better than most how hard they’d been preparing for it

But they stayed positive, and took advantage of the unexpected extra time, relaxing and trying new hobbies while in isolation

You were able to work remotely during that time, and stayed at the dorms with Yoongi and the boys

And you cherished the opportunity to be together even more often

You spent a lot of time in Yoongi’s studio as he put the finishing touches on his mixtape

But you also enjoyed several leisure activities together

Like painting

And playing video games (You dominated Mario Kart, but he was the surprising champion of Just Dance)

You even convinced Yoongi to sew a few throw pillows with you for your couch

Then as the release date for Yoongi’s mixtape approached, you accompanied him to the set of the music video for his first single

And your jaw dropped when you saw him in his costume

He looked amazing

Amazingly hot

Because he’d dyed his hair black a few days prior and you missed his light-colored locks, seeing Yoongi in a long blonde wig was particularly…

Exciting

And you may have bribed the costume department to let him keep the outfit

Your relationship progressed a lot in those months, and you grew to understand and respect each other on a deeper level

Though some couples naturally got on each other’s nerves the more time they spent together, the opposite was true for you and Yoongi

Sure, you disagreed occasionally, but you never fought

Yoongi was infinitely patient with you, and often told you that you had calming effect on him

Your personalities were just so compatible, and things only got easier and better the longer you were together 

And as it became increasingly apparent how well both of you - together, as a couple - worked…

It became harder and harder to imagine your lives without one another 

The Secret’s Out

After Yoongi’s mixtape was released and saw much success, you were ridiculously proud of him

You blasted his songs every chance you got, and constantly showered him with praise

But with so much media attention focused on Yoongi, ARMY once again started getting suspicious about your relationship

Rumors about you moving to Korea had been circulating for a while

And despite taking extra care to stay off camera whenever one of the boys went live, it somehow got out that you were in quarantine with them

What’s more, it wasn’t hard for ARMY to notice how happy Yoongi had been

Eventually, it got to the point where management felt like they needed to be involved

The higher ups at Big Hit wanted to deny everything, and were sure they could convince the public that you were just a friend - to all the members

But after some long talks and careful consideration, you and Yoongi decided that you didn’t want to deny or hide anything anymore

You knew how you felt about each other, and you knew it wasn’t going to change

You were in each other’s lives for good

So the company released a statement confirming your relationship, saying you’d been together since Bon Voyage wrapped

And the internet exploded

A K-Pop idol publicly dating someone was highly unprecedented

But to your relief, the majority of ARMYs were supportive

And they advocated that if Yoongi was happy, everyone should be happy for him

Of course there were still others who felt you didn’t deserve him, or that Yoongi should leave the group

But together you were able to disregard any hate, and just enjoy being with each other openly

A little while later, after the initial shock of your relationship announcement had worn off, the Bon Voyage producers contacted you

Due to the ongoing pandemic, they’d made some adjustments to the show’s format

They’d decided to film in an isolated location in Korea instead of traveling outside the country, and they changed the name to In the Soop

And since you and Yoongi were public now, and because your inclusion in the previous season had been such a success…

They invited you to join BTS for another adventure

Love

Previous

Taglist: @bucky-thorin-winchester​ @yvemoon​ @serpentiinequeen​ @neilpoetssociety​ @narcissism-iskey​ @kaitswrld

[mylovelies-docx]

Kid Krow - Heather

Chapter two is here! I’m going to try and post updates on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays until it’s finished!

The angst train is beginning its looooong journey, so be prepared!

Feedback is always appreciated, and my inbox is open for questions or comments.

Trigger warnings for this chapter: angst, pining, jealousy, hurt, sadness, allusions to smexy times, friendship. (Zorii is a good buddy)

Tagging the ones that liked the last post: @lil-lex1​  @star-hoes​ @greendagger15​

Word count: 3k

Link to the song inspo! x

Everyone had been drinking heavily by this point. Poe had his arm slung over your shoulders, drawing you into his heat to ward off the chilly night. Everyone was celebrating the success of your last mission.

It was successful in terms that nobody was injured. The exchange, on the other hand, could have gone better. But when your friends get the urge to party, there really is no stopping them.

You were the pilot of this little group that made up your circle of friends. Poe had taught you everything he knew about flying, and you had the patience that went along with being friends with a very… Poe… type of person. Therefore, you were the best pilot the group had. You could sit in the pilot’s chair all day waiting on the others to come back from their rendezvous with criminals and politicians alike, and be perfectly happy reading stories on your holopad.

You and Poe had been with the Kijimi Spice Runners for more than a few years now, ever since he had turned 16 and pestered you until you went along with his little escape plan. Everyone in your squadron was a decent being – as decent as smugglers and criminals can be, anyway – and you and Zorii were the best of friends when Poe wasn’t busy shoving his tongue down her throat. 

And sometimes even when he was.

It killed whatever was left of your heart every time they wandered away from the group, running off the make out and fuck the adrenaline still thrumming through his veins out after a successful drop. But Zorii wasn’t drawing him away at the moment, so your heart was safe.

For now.

You were gazing up at Poe, enraptured in the way he was telling the story of one of your many adventures before joining up with the Spice runners of Kijimi. Your fellow runners were all laughing boisterously at your expense, as Poe was describing the time you wiped out in a pile of Bantha dung after trying unsuccessfully to tip one over while it slept. 

You were laughing along because it was hilarious in retrospect, but you still shoved at Poe’s chest in defense of your younger self. He laughed harder, bringing himself back towards you and placing you directly against his chest with both arms draped over you, cradling you against him. (x)

His touch was more intoxicating than the Alderaan Ruge Liquor someone had stolen for tonight from the depths of a collector’s cellar.

You shivered at the delicious feeling of Poe surrounding you. You lived for moments like this, where you were both safe and happy and together. Poe’s laughter faded and he glanced down at you, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you cold?” he asks, his hands now rubbing up and down your arms. You blushed, unable to bring yourself to admit that it was more a shiver of pleasure than from the cold.

“Just a little, but I’m alright,” you said, smiling up at him.

“Well, we can’t have that.��� Poe released you and started taking some of his layers off. Even with the fire you were all gathered around, multiple layers were necessary.

“Poe, no! Put your clothes back on,” you giggled, pretending to peek through the fingers you had placed over your eyes in mock chastity. Your flush building as he removed one of his sweaters and his undershirt rode up enough to expose a strip of tan skin.

“Nonsense, my princess is cold and I’ve got plenty of clothes to share.” Poe grinned, tugging his freshly removed sweater over your head and smoothing the hair away from your face where his actions had mussed it. “Besides: it looks better on you, anyway.”

You hugged your arms around yourself as you watched Poe zip up his outer layers. Your heart was full to bursting in your chest, and you couldn’t keep the smile off your face.

Once Poe was situated again, you clung back onto him. You wrapped your hands around his arm and tucked them up where his arm met his chest. You gave your fingers a little wiggle and looked up at Poe, a mischievous grin on your lips. Poe’s face was playfully stern.

“Don’t even think about it, (Y/N). You know what will happen,” Poe warned.

“I’m not doin’ anything,'' you shrugged, looking away. Poe didn’t believe you, so he took your hands away from him and gripped them in his own, rubbing them gently to keep them warm.

You were in a great mood, enjoying the evening with friends and getting progressively more intoxicated.

“What a sight for sore eyes!” came Zalos’s bellow from beside you. He was gesturing for Zorii to come closer to the fire and join in on the fun you were all having. She had just come from talking with another group of Spice runners at the party, all of them watching her go and murmuring appreciatively to each other. Whatever deal she had just struck was going to do great things for your little troop.

“No thanks, I think I’m going to head to my quarters; big day and all,” Zorii threw a meaningful look Poe’s way and walked off towards the ship.

You watched his eyes as she walked by. There was a hunger in them that hadn’t been there before. You knew what was coming next.

“I think she’s right; I think I’m going to pack it in for the night, too.” Poe released your hands and gave you a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

With a small wave and a smile on his face, he rushed after Zorii. Off to offer his warmth to her for the night and well into the morning.

“About time,” Arle muttered, taking another swig of liquor, “they’ve been dancing around each other for weeks now.”

“I wouldn’t call it dancin’ as much as foreplay. It’s always hotter when you’ve gotta work for it,” you said, pretending that your heart wasn’t breaking. “She’s had him mesmerized for a while now. I’m just surprised it took you all this long to find out they were together.” You upended your glass and downed the last of your drink. You stalked over to the bottle for a refill – you’d be needing it tonight. “I thought you three were more observant than that?” you teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mille groused.

“Good for them, though. Someone on this team needs a little action,” Arle mentioned, quickly looking to and dropping Mille’s gaze. Looks like Poe and Zorii weren’t the only ones that would be coupling up for the night.

“You’re all weak-willed; sex is the antithesis to rational thought. It drives you all mad with desire and detracts from what’s really important,” Zalos ranted, not for the first time.

“We can’t all be as lucky as you, Zal. Us lesser creatures crave a sweet release every now and again,” you joked. If you could have been as uninterested in relationships as Zalos was, you wouldn’t be in the situation you were now. You could be genuinely happy for Poe and Zorii, your two best friends, for finding joy in each other.

“I’ll teach you anything you want to know, little one. It’s all about meditation,” Zalos supplied, bringing his hands together in an imitation of a meditative position.

You chuckled and took a deep gulp of the Alderaanian liquor, hoping it would provide a deep enough sleep that you wouldn’t hear Poe’s moans through the walls tonight.

_____

“I don’t want to know,” you chuckled. 

You were nursing a killer headache, and the stars shooting by the transparisteel were making you nauseous. Zorii was as composed and pretty as ever, having not taken part in the flowing alcohol last night.

Why would he ever kiss me when I’m not even half as pretty as she is? you wondered to yourself. You turned your neck so that your head was lying against the pilot’s chair, providing an unimpeded view of Zorii in her morning-after glow.

“All I’m saying is that you need to find someone that can do that to you; I promise you won’t regret it.” Zorii looked at you with a devilishly satisfied smile. You rolled your eyes at her antics, having already planned on finding someone to spend a few hours with at the next fuel stop.

“I don’t need to know how good of a lover my best friend is, thank you very much. I’m perfectly content not to know.” Because if you knew how much you were missing out on, you’d feel even worse than you already did.

“Fine; it’s your loss. I’m just trying to give you some new things to try out.” Zorii smiled into her caf, happy that she had made you squirm. She thought that you were anticipating trying out whatever she had been explaining, but you had tuned her out when the thoughts of Poe grinding into you from that angle left you hot and unable to focus on what else she was saying.

“Whatever,” you joked good naturedly, “just try to keep it down next time, yeah? Even in a liquor induced coma, I could hear you guys.” You had woken up to Poe’s groans echoing in your ears; both from the quarters next to yours and from inside your dream.

“Okay, princess. We’ll try not to mess with your beauty sleep,” she grinned.

“That’s all I ask.” 

The conversation ended.

You both sat there staring as the stars passed by. You couldn’t focus on any one thought for long, so you were glad Zorii was tuned in enough to notice your inability to function that morning. She just provided the silent company you craved.

After a while, the quiet was broken when the cockpit door hissed open. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw Poe walking in. You threw him a tired smile and looked back out the windscreen.

Poe sauntered up between the chairs, ruffling your hair and placing a kiss on Zorii’s lips. He squatted down between the two of you.

“So, where are we heading, princess?” he questioned.

“Wherever Mille tells me to go; it’s their turn to pick the destination.” You explained. Mille hadn’t woken up yet, being a notoriously late sleeper. You’re sure it didn’t help that Arle and they had left the fire together last night, either.

“Sounds like a plan.” Poe turned to Zorii, some clothing in hand. “I thought you would be a little cold, so I brought you my sweater,” he said, pulling it open and placing it over her head, much the same as he did for you last night.

You sucked in a quiet breath, trying not to flinch. It was the same sweater you were given last night.

 “And who says I wanted this?” Zorri snarked, hands on her hips and a faux-affronted expression on her face.

“I say you wanted this,” Poe returns. He placed a kiss on her forehead and threw you a wink, then strolled back out of the cockpit with  a smile on his face.

“What a sap,” you commented. You don’t think she noticed the sadness that lingered in your expression after Poe gave her his sweater. You grew colder at the knowledge that Poe cared for her just as much, if not more, than he did for you. 

You definitely knew that he cared about her in a different way than he did you.

“Yeah…” she breathed. She fisted her hands in the sweater and pulled it up to her nose, taking in the smell of Poe.

The sweater he had given you last night had been spread out on your cot, infusing the blankets with his scent. A terrible way of trying to get over your crush, but one of the only ways you could stand not having him there. It’s excruciating that Poe had taken it from you to give to her.

He must like the thoughts of her in his sweater more than he cared about your feelings on the matter. But you had told him you were over it, so over it you pretended to be.

The last time you and Poe had gone off alone together had not gone your way, and you needed to keep the promise you made to him that day.

“When we stop for fuel, do you think you can stall every one for a couple of hours?” you asked Zorii.

“Oh yeah? Did I give you some ideas?” she teased, reaching out her arm to pinch your cheek.

“And so what if you did?” you smacked her hand away and rubbed your cheek. “It’s been a while since I was off the ship and having some fun away from you nerfherders.” Your tone was playful and you threw a knowing look her way.

“You know it’s not me keeping you from having fun; I encourage you as much as I can. I think Poe’s just jealous that when you’re gone you give me control and not him.”

Zorii was right, but it hurt to think that the only reason Poe didn’t want you to be with somebody else was because you didn’t give him the pilot’s chair. It had started out as a joke, you giving Zorii – arguably the worst pilot out of all of you – control while giving Poe your stuck-out tongue. 

You liked when he begged you to stay, begged you to keep everyone up in the air and on the way to the next Spice drop. But you only gave him a cheeky smile and a promise of being back after a few hours. Sometimes you told him about your plans to find someone just to see if he was jealous for a different reason when you got back late.

He never was.

____

You were sat with your feet propped on the console, careful to avoid pressing any buttons. You had a leather bound tome on your lap, enjoying the story’s plot. The main character reminded you of Poe: brave, brash, and beautiful. You were so enthralled that you didn’t hear the chatter of the trade end, so when you resurfaced at the next chapter you were at a loss as to why everyone was laughing amongst themselves.

“Did I miss something?” you asked, hand to the comm link in your ear. “I wanna be in on the joke.”

“It’s nothing, princess; we were just wondering why you zoned out on us,” Poe replied. You could hear the smile in his voice. “Another one of your stories take you away from us?”

“Of course. None of you are heroic enough to prevent an extinction-level event. You’re actually quite boring in comparison,” you said airily, grinning through your lie. They were some of the best people you knew-- illegal activities aside-- and they knew that.

“Okay, little book-worm.” Zorii was chuckling at the exchange. “We’re heading into the next cantina we find; are you going to join us this time?” she asked sarcastically, already knowing your answer.

“And waste what precious little alone time I have? Not a chance, Rii. You guys have fun out there, but I’m staying right here.” You made yourself more comfortable in your chair, preparing for at least a few more hours of immersion. 

They heard you wiggling around, and laughed at your refusal to join them once again.

“It didn’t sound like you wanted to be alone the other night,” Poe said slyly. “We all heard you and that bounty hunter outside of the ship; you seemed to be enjoying their company.” Poe was chuckling to himself. “What was that? The fifth one in the last few weeks?”

Everyone was laughing and joking along, but you were horrified to know that they had all heard you. That Poe had heard you. And that he thought the way in which you had decided to keep your promise was a joke to be laughed at.

“Shut it,” you growled. Everyone was still having fun and chatting back and forth, but Poe went silent.

You heard music in the background, signaling that they had finally made it to a cantina. You were relieved that the conversation was ending and that you had time to calm your anger before they came back. 

You said goodbye to the group and started removing your comm link when Poe’s voice came over the private channel.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he apologized, sighing heavily into the line. “That was uncalled for; I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“No,” you said, rage and hurt evident in your voice, “you shouldn’t have.”

“I know you’re trying to work through some things--” he began, but you cut him off.

“Seriously, Poe: don’t mention it. I’m working through it and making progress, so you don’t have to worry.” Your anger was morphing into a melancholy ache that was burning a hole in the middle of your chest.

“I’m always going to worry about you, (Y/N), that’s what friends do.” Poe was trying so hard to apologize, but everything he said was only making it worse.

“I know,” you choked, “just try not to mention my little indiscretion again, yeah?” 

“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Poe joked, trying to console you.

Poe, please stop laughing at me, you begged internally.

You stared up at the controls above your head, willing the burning behind your eyes to go away. You needed a subject change and to get Poe to leave you alone for right now.

“Hey, could you bring me back some food? I’m not in the mood for anything we have onboard.” 

“Yeah, sure. The usual?” Poe asked, thankfully having taken the hint and backing off.

“You know it.” You forced a neutral tone to your voice, hoping to get him off the line quickly. “But no rush; you guys enjoy yourselves. I’ll just be here.”

“Okay, (Y/N), we’ll see you soon.”

“Okay.” 

You ended the link and tried to go back to your story, but the male lead reminded you too much of Poe again and you had to put it away.

[thotsforvillainrights]

~Pivitol~

Summary: You spend most of the day mulling over the curious case of the first text message and Yuko decides to step in and help. Meanwhile on Kai’s end, he is relieved yet worried about what may seem to be his very first date.

Chapter: 7

Warnings: None

When you arrived back at your apartment, you had butterflies in your tummy for the first time in a long time. You clutched your phone to your chest and spun for a second before realizing you looked kinda silly. Still...you were happy to have seen him after such a long time. You were worried about Over-KAI! Kai, Kai, Kai! His name ran through your head long after you had laid down for rest. He was on your mind when you woke up as well. The only downside was that there was not a single call or text from him since you had given him your number yesterday. You sighed and checked your empty notifications again, then you got ready for work. On the way there you debated whether or not to send the first message, but you didn’t want to seem too desperate for interaction. It wasn’t like you two were officially dating or anything. But still...

Even throughout your work day, the energy around you had seemed off. Yuko sensed your distress and invited you to lunch with her. At lunch, you checked your phone excitedly when you received a text notification. Sadly it just turned out to be family checking up on you. You sighed and put your phone up before groaning at the face Yuko was making at you. “Before you ask, I am okay. I’m just distracted is all.” You lied to her but she saw right through that in an instance. “Bullshit. You’ve been checking your phone all day. Either somebody you love is in the hospital, or you’re waiting to hear back from a boyfriend or girlfriend.” 

“He’s not my boyfriend, OOOP!” You quickly covered you mouth but Yuko’s smirk had indicated that it was too late. “Ah ha! I knew something was up with you when you clocked in this morning. You’re dating somebody and they’re stressing you out!” You quickly shook your head at her. “No, it’s not that! It’s just...well, I met this guy and I really started to like him more and more. We’re not dating, but we hung out yesterday and I gave him my number finally.” You explained to her. She nodded and took a sip of her drink. “Well what does he look like? I’m curious.” You smiled shyly at her and looked away as you explained his appearance. “He’s a little tall, but not too much. He always dresses so nicely when I see him. He is always in a suit of some kind. He wears this ugly ass green and purple jacket sometimes though. He always has a mask on since he’s like a germaphobe. One of his masks is a regular black medical mask, but my favorite mask is this gold ornate bird beak. He has some weird eyebrows, but he makes up for it with these beautiful golden eyes and looooong bottom lashes. God he’s just so damn beautiful to me. His body is an amazing build, and his voice is so hot. Plus he’s super cute when he tries to hide the way he blushes around me.”

“Wow...” Yuko paused. “He sounds hot a hell. I can see why you’d be nervous. So what’s the deal with texting him again?” 

“I’m scared to send the first text.”

“Pssshhhhh! Girl/Boy/Hun you better send that text message! He’s probably as shy as yo are. I mean, you’re really attractive too. He’s just waiting for the right time. Take control of the situation, don’t be meek! Here, lemme see your phone.” You handed Yuko the phone and instantly regretted it when she began to type. “Wait Yuko, don’t!” It was too late. She sent the text message and handed you the phone back. You groaned and put the phone in your pocket, too scared to see the damage at the moment. “Let’s just finish lunch and get back to work.” You quickly picked up your food and began to eat.

Meanwhile Kai heard his phone buzz on the desk in front of him. He quickly reached out and smiled widely when he realized it was a text from you. 

He already felt his day dramatically becoming better, but now there was one more issue...

How would he reply? He didn’t want to seem to urgent, or too sudden. He also didn’t want to use the wrong words. If he just put a single word response, then he might not seem excited enough. If he replied with too many words, then he’d seem too excited. He started to freak out a little bit, and scratched the hives forming on his arm when suddenly there was a knock at his office door. “Enter.” He called out in slight annoyance. He relaxed a little when it was just Chrono coming through the doorway. “Hey boss, I have the recent numbers that Irinaki calculated for the annual tax-Whoa, what’s wrong with you man?” He tilted his head as the way Kai was strangely gripping the phone. “I...Here. Don’t talk about this to anyone, ESPECIALLY not Pops but...I don’t know how to respond to this.” He passed the phone to Chrono. Hari read the text and chuckled a little. “You don’t know how to respond? Well, do you wanna go or not?” He asked Overhaul. Kai nodded and looked in horror as Hari shrugged and typed a response. “There you go. Good luck man.” Then he jetted out of Kai’s office before he could be held accountable for the text he sent. 

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

TIp Jar: https://cash.app/$YuTakeyama

[bokuranofandom]

Bokura no Kiseki - chapter 96 text translation by Nanami

Okay I must say that volume 22 is keeping on surprising me. Last chapter we finally (after four volumes...) ended looooong Wednesday and we’re finally on 6th June, Thursday (happy birthday, Teshimano!). It started with Minami getting his old scar back, and then the promised talk between Abe and Watanabe. To be frank, I wasn’t really enthusiastic about it. I was expecting short chapter and big bomb for next chapter (it will be last chapter of volume 22). Oh how wrong I was...!

(well, spoilers ahead!)

Part 1: Minami dealing with scars... of the past

Looks like Minami hadn’t had any sleep at all (he was lying down in his school clothes on his bed lol) and in the early morning, he was thinking about Zeze lying to him and “not remembering”. And thus getting his old scar back... this one seems to be almost the same as the one he got in first volumes, and of course band-aid is a-must. Haha reminds me of good old days when thanks to this band-aid it was easier to tell them apart. And it’s scary, as Veronica got it right before she died. Why Minami covers it? He’s not concerned about questions of his classmates... but because seeing it reminds him of circumstances of how he got it. And he remembers it right now. The fierce fight in the underground room. Personally, I still doubt Lucas aimed at the princess... I believe she just jumped in the bullet’s way, aimed at Glen and Vince. Then again, we got one more piece of that memory (and Eugene’s face full of emotions -- I want to know what he was thinking back then so badly!). All Minami remembers is that after Veronica reflected the magic back at Lucas (and it wasn’t a deadly blow yet!) the fierce battle ensued (between whom?!) but he remembers it just faintly... and next he remembers is bloody mess of Lucas (dying here, definitely in worse shape than right after Veronica reflected his magic - who did this to him I wonder?), Eugene gone, Glen with stab injury and no Veronica’s earring (he had it on earlier so he really lost it in the fight), in other corner of the room, Vince dead. First, Veronica checked whether Vince was still alive, then she grabbed his sword in a fury, wanting to destroy the magic stone (so it means Veronica learned somewhere what is was). Then noticing Glen briefly. And instead of treating his wounds... our little princess, out to destroy her husbando... but Eugene already fled. I was really in awe, seeing Veronica dragging that heavy sword and yelling at Eugene in pure rage, wanting to murder him. Just after that, she regained her senses and decided to evacuate. But the princess regretted not killing Eugene back then... and promising she will do it for sure this time. Meaning, finishing off Zeze. Minami came back to his senses, terrified by the intensity of Veronica’s emotions, trying to get a hold on himself.

Part 2: Abe and Watanabe

Actually, nothing better than soccer club trio! Nanaura (traitor), Abe (mocking traitor’s son) and Watanabe (real traitor’s son). And to think they were such a good friends, until the past came back at them... Anyway, it’s good to see Abe back to normal. He even smiled! That’s such a relief. Watanabe surprised me too, because I was sure the main point will be revealing his identity to Abe, but he didn’t even do that. Not yet. 

Part 3: Before lessons

Enomoto and Kikuchi are absent because they are terrified of what happened to Teshimano... is that really it? I always found Kikuchi suspicious and not much about Enomoto is known. And to wear down high-ranked priest (Ootomo) and a knight (Teshimano) I suspect more than one person is necessary... My guess is at least one of them is working with Nishina (willingly or unwillingly) and they run out of mana so they stayed home. Or maybe they are part of back-up Nishina’s plan for later... Better prepare, Ooki. Minami is letting others know they are going to gather after school and do the rest of exam. Minami also decides to talk to Zeze. And maaan, he is in really foul mood. It seeps through his voice. He doesn’t confront Zeze about lying... he joins his lie to check how far he will spun it. We learn that Zeze doesn’t remember any magic... or so he says. But I don’t believe it somehow. And Zeze is perceptive... he spots Minami’s new band-aid right away. This chapter, we don’t see Zeze’s inner thoughts... but he surely realized shift in Minami’s mood and should be scared for life lol. On another note, I’m so happy to see Teshimano just hanging out with Zeze casually.

Part 4: Minami and Watanabe

Right before confronting Nishina, quick step back to Minami and Watanabe talking, thinking what they should do about Nishina. Watanabe surely has a good heart and wants to give Nishina chance to explain himself (what a change! not long ago Watanabe refused to share his identity with anyone, especially Nishina and now... surely Ashley talking through him). Minami explains they can’t, they have to drag Nishina through it. He’s willing to listen to Nishina, but he prepared for each of strategies Nishina may try to explain himself. And he guessed it just right, as we will see...

Part 5: confronting Nishina in front of everyone

So there are everyone with past life from their class, aside from Kikuchi and Enomoto. Nishina is using the strategy foreseen by Minami... and he’s left speechless when confronted directly with Watanabe (reactions of some people here suggest they might be his accomplices too). Who are you, Nishina?! If it was any other manga, I’d wait for a short pause and hysterical laugh of “bad-ass” who was caught on his lie. Not in this manga though. Nishina just calmly took the situation in and... admit that he is not Ashley. Nanaura turned pale. His reactions are more than anything to confirm that it was his “mastermind” and that he is scared shitless. Actually, I’m not sure if Nanaura is scared because of Nishina’s identity being destroyed, or learning that the one he stabbed with a knife was... Ashley. Someone he respected. And he always feared that knight coming back, to take revenge on him... and here he is, right in front of him. Okay, so Nishina is going to step two, predicted by Minami. If identity is revealed, he tries to argue he can’t just reveal his true identity like this. Lucas’ name didn’t appear yet even once... and right when Minami is right about to mention him, Nishina stops him. WEIRD. Nishina takes off his glasses (even more weird) and comes closer to Minami... step three predicted by Minami. So he’s willing to talk, but he can’t do this in front of everyone due to reasons.

Nishina admits seeing “accidentally” Watanabe being stabbed... but he wasn’t Cotton nor “that other guy”. So, who? Conrad, watching from the tower? (irony, I don’t think so) or some coward hidden somewhere? I don’t buy it. He has to be Lucas. Ootomo unconsciously sense Lucas aura in him, Zeze also thinks he’s annoying just like Lucas was. And I’m fine with that! Foreshadowing was nice, now I need answers. I bet Kumeta-sensei won’t let him be just a guy to hate, oh no. There’s also easily readable in Japanese change in Nishina’s speak, when he talks to Minami on the last page. The heavy rain probably makes it hard to hear for others... Nishina is not talking to “Minami”... he’s appealing to Veronica. He’s using “anata” and calls him by “Veronica” name, even adds “oujo” after a bit of pause. And while “oujo” translates the same as “hime” (meaning - princess), it’s unfortunate, because in this manga, as far as I remember only PRIESTS use “oujo” when referring to our princess.

Also, the way Nishina says “If it’s you, then surely you will come to my aid”... it is a bit surprising, just how confident he seems. Just as if there was a situation in the past with princess helping... his past self. It was done several times the same way, especially with Hiroki-Glen stuff. So I think we might highly expect next chapter starting with retrospection of Nishina’s true identity. Anyway, next chapter is the last of this volume. It can mean some HUGE cliffhanger... so yeah, I can’t wait!

[kieren-fucking-walker]

Hi! I wanted to do some more reccing for @dghdafeedbackfest​, but it’s been a hella busy day for me and I couldn’t possibly give anyone the recs they truly deserve, so I watched Queer Eye and decided I’d try my hand at doing self recs instead?

Again this is something I’m kinda scared of doing but I’m too tired to regret it right now so I’m giving a limited amount of less popular fics of mine that I’m really proud of, and some you may not have known I wrote. 

Fics I’m proud of in no particular order: 

To Know the Parts of Me by Name - Rated: T, WC: 31k (total)  Summary: A series of stories looking at the different people Dirk has been in his lifetime, and how they are all a part of him even if he tries to keep them separate. The culmination of all of these stories will hopefully in some way resemble a character study of one Dirk Gently. Note: Some of the first fics I published for this fandom, but still some of my favourites ever. If you like The Only Way Out is Through, then you’ll likely like these because that fic started as a continuation of this series before I decided to change some things. Some heavy stuff here, and it’s all one story but it’s in a series for reasons that are probably obvious. I think part 2 might be one of my favourite things I’ve ever written. 

Mouth to Mouth - Rated: T, WC: 797

Summary: They're quick. They’re sweet. They're gentle. They're desperate. They're heavy. A promise made, a promise kept. A simple gesture for the same three words that can never be taken away. Prompt fill for: If you're still taking Brotzly prompts: What are their kisses like? Note: Super short but one I really liked writing. I’ve got a few of what I call “poetic bullshit” fics around, but this was the first time I tried blending my poetry in with my fic writing and I think it was a mild success? It makes me happy to re-read it either way.  Leave What’s Heavy Behind - Rated: G , WC: 5k

Summary: A semi-poetic semi-character study of one Todd Brotzman, the lies he tells himself, and the truths Dirk Gently knows. Note: This fic took me a looooong time to write. More so than the majority of my longer fics. It’s one I wrote in pieces and then lovingly stitched together, and I felt a rush of catharsis releasing it into the world. I just... I love Todd Brotzman, and here’s the fic to prove it.  Fics you may not have known I wrote:  I have multiple AO3 accounts for organisational reasons that probably only make sense to me, and while they’re in no way a secret I know people are unlikely to make the connection. I would ask however, due to the nature of these fics, that if you’re under 18 you do not read them. I can’t stop you, but there are plenty of authors who don’t mind you reading that you can go read, and I don’t consent to you doing it. Violating that consent isn’t a good thing to do.

Over, Under, Around, and Through. - Rated: E, WC: 14.8k

Summary: ‘“Todd,” better late than never he supposes, closing the space between them and reaching out to cup his jaw, “darling.” Todd’s eyes flutter shut and Dirk can feel where his breath shudders out of him, a little of the tension in his shoulders dissipating with the contact. They stay there for a while, Dirk brushing his thumb over Todd's cheek, skin rasping against stubble until he leans into the gesture willingly.’ It's just some very emotional non-boring sex porn. With feelings. Note: I had to blink a few times when I read that word count, but yes I wrote about 14 thousand words of kinky emotional sex? It’s the first one I’ve posted to this account, but there’s more on the way when I get to finishing it. I have a lot of feelings about these two exploring non-boring sex as it were, what that might look like, and how it helps them develop both as people and as a relationship. This is the first of that I guess. 

and now for something you can’t take back -  Rated: E, WC: 13.6k

Summary: He's insane. He's insane, and he's creepy, and just because he sounds like Dirk, and looks like Dirk, and can do all the things Dirk does but with a little more accuracy and a hundred percent more violence, it doesn't mean he's not insane. So Todd does what any sane person would do, and punches him in the face. Then he crawls into bed with him. This is set in a Dark!Dirk AU where Dirk has been swapped with his alternate universe self. Our Dirk remains trapped with his own weird and rather unsettling version of Todd, and our Todd is stuck trying to switch them back before this rather unhinged version of Dirk actually kills him. Or sacrifices him to the will of the universe, whatever the fuck that means. Note: You might remember a while ago I promised a dark!dirk au and never delivered. Well, I kinda did, it’s just that I threw it on my experimental fic account where I put things I’m not sure I’m gonna finish and then delete them when I inevitably don’t and the guilt is too much. This fic is dark, that’s the point of it, for a lot of people it just won’t be your thing and that’s absolutely fine! But I wanted to write something as a bit of an experiment to see what would happen if I tried to write Dirk where he wasn’t in any way a good person, so I could see what character traits he’d keep and if I could make him in any way recognisable. There’s a few fics in this au posted here, but this is the first part I wrote as a way to work out how I’d handle this character if I ever did write the hella long au idea I have for it, and it was a very interesting and challenging thing to write.  Anyway that’s all from me, the likelihood of me ever doing this again is so tiny this is probably all I’ll ever post about it, however I do have 25 DGHDA fics posted at the moment so if you ever did want to give any of them a shot that’d be cool of you! Thanks for reading <3

[lauvwithfreckles]

Stray kids reaction

So, this was requested a looooong time ago, but I didn’t have time to finish it until now better late than never

I’m sorry if there’s any misspelling, English isn’t my first language.

———————————————————————

“Can you do one where they had a heated argument where their s/o started to get violent ( he/she would like push or idk hit them ) and immediately regrets it”

I hope you like it.

———————————————————————

Chan had been staying late in the studio all week. You were worried about him and you decided to go talk to him. When you arrived at the studio, Chan was working on the songs of the new album on the computer and he didn’t realize that you had entered. You asked him how he was and he simply ignored you so you raised your voice so that Chan would listen to you. He turned around annoyed, asking what you wanted. You could not stand the situation anymore and you shouted at him. You told him that you only went there to see how he was doing and he responded by shouting as well. As a reflex act you gave him a slap. He could not believe what you had done and neither could you. You started crying and it was at that moment that Chan realized it. He realized that you had gone there because you cared about him and he just didn’t pay attention to you. He didn’t care about the fact that you just slapped him, he only cared that you were crying, because of him. In a moment, he was already embracing you strongly. You apologized and he apologized again for having been absent those days. Chan gave you a little kiss and said that, as a reward, he would spend all day with you. Both of you went to the apartment and spent the day watching movies hugged on the couch and laughing at the comments of the guys especially the comments of disgust of Jeongin.

Minho/ LeeKnow: let's be honest, he is an alien so the reason for your discussion would have been a bit strange. You would be talking about something and you didn’t agree, so you got angry. There was a moment in the discussion where you could not take the situation any longer. You would get up from the couch hitting Minho on the way to the door. When you realize what happened you turned around to look at him and start apologizing, your anger was gone in an instant. He, as if you had never argued, said he was fine and that you hadn’t hit him hard. Minho simply decided to get up from where he was sitting, to stand in front of you and give you a cute kiss on the cheek, smiling. After he left, you didn’t know what had happened, you didn’t even remember the reason for the discussion.

Changbin seems to be a tough guy with the “I love black” thing, but he is a person as tender as a stuffed animal who can be hurt by bad words or bad gestures. Therefore, when you argued and you pushed him hard with the shoulder to go straight to your room, he didn’t know what to do. His eyes had been wet instantly and he stayed where he was until he started to hear sobs coming from your room. He stood in front of the door and asked you with a sweet voice if you would let him in. Instantly you opened the door and hugged him tightly apologizing for what you have did. Changbin told you, with a tear falling from his eye, that everything was fine. He made you promise that you would not do something like that again, and then he kissed you on the forehead.

Hyunjin: you had talked to go see a movie together, as good friends you were; the bad thing was that he saw you as something more than a friend (and he didn’t know that his feelings were reciprocated, which made him hesitate to declare his feelings for you). But today was going to be different, he was going to declared his love at the end of the movie. All that changed when he saw that someone was flirting with you. He began to get angry like never before and approached where you were. Hyunjin took you tightly by the wrist and he led you to a corner where there was no one. He began to ask you with an authoritative tone why you were with that person. You got a little angry because he wasn’t the one to throw anything on you. He would not let you talk, he was blind because of jealousy, so you could not think of anything else but to slap him. You instantly regretted it, he was shocked. You apologized and explained the situation telling him that he was a relative of yours. He was red both from the shame and from the slap you had given him. He apologized for being such a fool and, after apologizing to him for having left his cheek red, he accepted your apology and he gave you a quick kiss on the lips. You didn’t expected that, but you gave him another kiss back and you grabbed his hand, directing you happily towards the cinema.

Jisung/Han: I don’t know why you could have gotten mad at this adorable squirrel, what I do know is that he would never hit you and neither would you. You were an adorable couple, with few problems to discuss. So, when you had some discussion, there were just a few sharp looks from both of you or there could even be a scream, but there would never be any type of hitting in your discussions. You would always solve your problems like a mature couple and you would end up smiling and laughing as if nothing had happened.

Felix and you would be an adorable couple. You didn’t use to argue and the times you argued were only for contrary ideas that you both had and that you ended up solving easily. But there was a discussion that had become a bit intense. He had seen you kissing a boy and, although it was only a kiss on the cheek, he had become very jealous although he didn’t usually be like that because he didn’t know that boy was your brother. He decided not to talk to you for the rest of the day and you thought you had done something wrong, so you decided to ask him. When you asked him, he answered you in a bad way. He told you to go ask the boy with whom he had seen you instead of asking him. At that moment you understood everything and you laughed softly, which made Felix flinch a little and get up sharply from the sofa on which he was sitting. This produced a slight clash between you both and made you fall to the ground hitting your butt slightly. At that moment Felix realized that he had been a little abrupt and his face changed to a calmer one and he let you explain yourself. When he knew that the boy was your older brother, he felt very ashamed and told you he was sorry. You just smiled softly and, with your hand on his cheek, you told him that everything was fine. You also told Felix not to get so jealous again without reason. He nodded with his eyes down and you gave him a peck on the lips, which made him happy.

Seungmin & Jeongin/IN: These two babies wouldn’t even be able to argue with their couple. They are simply two cute guys like the rest of skz who would treat their beloved one with love and affection. In case they argued with their partner, they would be sad for the rest of the day thinking about how to fix what happened. Seungmin would probably buy you your favorite food and a small bouquet of flowers as an apology. Jeongin would ask the rest of the members what to do and he would end up making a fort made of cushions in the living room probably with Chan’s help with some popcorn and sweets to watch your favorite movie and cuddling under a soft blanket.

[nin-jay-go]

Hey I updated Shadows of Envy

Chapter One 

Tagged on my blog as either Shadows of Envy or ekau 3!

Contains no romantic pairings aside from Pixane and hinted Geode (esp here)

The living room was still alive with the sounds of discussion, though mostly from Jay and Cole’s playful banter. Lloyd had seemingly just finished his comic book, and with a quick goodbye to the boys on the couch, he left for bed. It was late, anyways, probably around 10 or 11 at night. Perfect for bedtime.

Footsteps made their way to the living room, drawing their attention. Cole glanced over to investigate only to see Kai making his way through the living room to the bedrooms. He seemed to stare at them all oddly, yet when he met Cole’s gaze, it melted back normal.

“Oh, hey Kai!” Jay leaned back towards him, “where were you all day?”

The red ninja shrugged. “Just doing some late night training,” he replied. “Can’t get out of shape, y’know?” He looked around the room. “Where’s Llo- I mean, everyone else? Are they all asleep?”

“Yea, they’re all actually getting sleep,” Jay chuckled, “unlike us.” Telltale shadows showed under his eyes, but they were to be expected since he, well, never sleeps. He can stay up all night without issue and be fine all day. How Arid boiled with envy.

“And I, uh, can’t really sleep all that well anymore?” Cole said. “Since, uh, I’m kinda dead?” Lucky.

“Well, you two night owls stay up as looooong as you want, but I’m gonna hit the hay,” ‘Kai’ began to leave to the bedrooms. “Crashed myself completely during training, gotta relax a tad.” He easily sauntered out of the room. “Night, losers.” “Night!” “Nighto, Kai!” As he left the living room, he heard the farewells of his friends. They’re only saying that to pretend they don’t hate me, Arid’s internal monologue interjected, but I know they do. They’re just trying to not show it. He scoffed to himself. In the room they all shared on the Bounty was darkness. The lights were off and Nya, Zane, and now Lloyd were asleep in their beds.

Lloyd. The Green Ninja. The Golden Ninja. Everyone loved him. He saved the world many times and everyone praised him for it. I should’ve been the green ninja. I trained for it so much and got nothing out of it when he, a child, got to save the world and be rewarded for it. If anyone in the room was still awake, they’d probably be terrified of the cold, vengeful glare on Kai’s face, marred by red eyes glowing black from the shadows surrounding them.

What no one had noticed was that ‘Kai’ no longer had a shadow.

Kai’s shadow, or more appropriately, the real Kai, was still down in the forest, stewing in the shades of the trees. How DARE Arid just… walk off with his body like that!? That was so wrong of him to do, and Kai was going to get it back.

“But how?” he wondered aloud. He clearly couldn’t leave the shadows, since the light would hurt him. Kai plopped down into a criss-cross position, although it wasn’t entirely visible to even himself. His legs were almost gone, just a slight shade darker than the forest floor.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Kai’s mind. He had escaped from Arid once. How did he do that? One moment he was affixed to his body’s legs, the next he was in the trees. All he did was want to leave the proximity…

Maybe that was it. Standing back up, he stared at the opposite side of the clearing. The trees there gave as much shadowy coverage as anything else here, so if Kai just… thought… himself to the other side, maybe it would work? He closed his eyes, imagined the shade, and thought ‘I want to go there.’

A strange sensation overtook his body, or whatever his form was right now. A rushing feeling, almost as if the particles of his body were rearranging to another location without him walking there. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the side of the clearing he had just been, marked by a few mushrooms at the trees’ base.

“YEA BABY!!” Kai pumped his fist excitedly into the air. He thought of something… and for once, it actually worked! Well would you look at that! With this newfound knowledge, Kai closed his eyes again and imagined the storage closet of the Bounty, knowing that it would more than likely be closed and dark. After a few minutes, it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

Opening his eyes, he found himself nowhere near the closet, or the Bounty, for that matter. He was still in the forest, and still alone. Glaring up at the floating ship he now calls home, he tried to reason with himself as to what went wrong. Was he too far away? Could he not… teleport like that, and he could only do it to nearby places, or was it…

Kai looked back up the the Bounty. It floated like any other flying ship, with a long anchor tying it to the ground. Onboard, however, he saw something that might help. A barrel holding lots of spare swords for training that was usually uncovered. He focused really hard on that barrel, feeling his particles again flutter. Everything went dark for a split second, and the next thing he knew, he was in the barrel with about five swords slicing cleanly through his form. He yelped, then shut his mouth immediately. What if someone heard? Oh, who was he kidding, of course someone heard that.

Strangely enough, the swords didn’t hurt. His limbs seemed to warp around them, not allowing them to attach themselves to his arms. Kai waved his arm through a sword curiously, which simply ghosted through it, leaving wisps of slightly darker shadow in its wake.

Enough with swords and barrels; Kai needed to get out. Once again he tried to poof to the closet, only for it to not work again. The hypothesis proved true: he can only teleport to what he can see directly, or move around freely in darkness. Thankfully, the barrel seemed to be in a shaded part of the training deck, so he carefully poked his head out to check for moonlight, before the rest of his body followed. All the lights inside were out aside from the living room light, where Jay, Cole, and Lloyd probably still were.

Picking the closest dark room he saw through the windows, Kai found himself in the kitchen. Here he walked around freely, staying clear of the windows showing light in. The burning really hurt and he wasn’t stupid enough to try it again. He followed his route from earlier, where he was practicing his sword tricks, until he came across the storage closet. Kai sent it a murderous glance, or at least what he thought was one. Did he even have a face anymore?

Past the storage closet he saw light. The living room. Kai walked up closer to it, as close as he dared to go, to investigate. There he saw Cole floating lazily in the air, all alone. Perfect.

“Hey! Hey Cole!! Look over here!!!” Kai yelled at him. “Cole!!! I’m! Over! Here!” With each word he moved his arms and jumped around, tried to make noise so that the ghost would look over and see him. Tried to being the key word. Cole didn’t notice him in the slightest and instead of making noise when his feet met the floor, he was as silent as a feather. Pounding the wall did nothing; it made the same sound as hitting a mattress.

Now Kai was getting frustrated. “COLE!!! OVER HERE!!!!!!! LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!” He yelled as loud as he could, because what if Arid was here and could hear? Still, he was impatient, and impatience waits not for caution. He poofed to random shadowy points of the room to try and grab his attention, but nothing worked. Back in the doorway, he tried a last ditch resort. He stuck his hand into the artificial light.

The searing pain that danced across his fingers was horrible, Kai could almost hear them hiss and fizzle. He drew them back gingerly, already regretting his decision as he hissed himself.

Somehow, this worked. Cole’s head abruptly snapped up, and he was on his feet and levitating a pillow in his hands as best as he could. “Who’s there?!” Cole yelled out. As he scanned the room, his eyes met Kai’s. Yet as relief filled the red ninja’s eyes, the black ninja wasn’t satiated. “Who- what the- what the fuck is that?!?” He tossed the pillow at Kai with surprising force, who ducked out of the way.

“AHH- COLE STOP!” At this, Cole froze. He walked over to Kai, who straightened back up and stared at the ghost.

“How do you know my name?” He asked in an even tone. Kai gave a nervous chuckle.

“Do you not recognize me? Dude, I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past, like, 5 minutes maybe? Do your ears need to be cleaned?”

Cole just looked even more confused. “How should I recognize uh… whatever you are? WHOever you are?”

Kai frowned. “Dude it’s me, Kai.” Doubt seeped into Cole’s face, to which Kai quickly raised his hands in confusion. “Do I not look like myself or something? I mean, I KNOW I’m like, a shadow right now or something like that, but don’t you recognize me at all?”

The black ninja squinted at him. “You’re literally a slightly darker silhouette with two glowing red dots on your face. I don’t think Kai looks, or ever looked, like that. Plus,” he jerked his thumb over to the corridor to the bedrooms, “I just saw Kai go bed. Seemed pretty tired from training on his own.”

“That wasn’t me,” the real Kai protested, “That was NOT me, Cole.” “Then explain who that was, if you’re the real Kai.” “That’s my shadow possessing me.” A raised eyebrow. “Look, I don’t know how else to tell you that you guys are probably in danger, because that. Was. Not. Me.” His voice took on a dangerous note at the end, and Cole seemed visually disturbed.

After a bit, Cole glared up at Kai. “Ok then, if you’re the real Kai, then tell me.” He leaned in closer. “What is… my favorite ice cream flavor.”

“Usually whatever Jay picks-” Kai muttered under his breath, “-I mean, uh, you usually go for, uh…” Was this a trick question? Cole either picked rocky road or whatever Jay had whenever they went out for ice cream, but as for what his actual favorite was…

“You never chose one, I don’t think, so you went with the, insert sarcasm here, oh so amazing choice of ice cream cake. Even though ice cream cake is like, many different flavors-” “But I chose it because it was cake and I love cake more than ice cream! Well, loved…” Cole’s gaze turned melancholy before he looked back at Kai. “But that was the right answer, so I guess I’ll take your word for it. Now Cole looked at him more, bewildered than anything. “What the hell happened to you, Kai?”

“It’s uh,” the shadow laughed nervously, “a long story. You’re gonna have to turn off the lights for this.”

[exoparkchanyeogiwa]

Silver Tongue (Part I)

(Pic is not mine)

' "OW!" He screamed, his hand flying up to inspect his burning lips, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!?!" '

This was the last straw.

You had forgiven him for trashing your apartment. You had forgiven him for wrecking your car. You had ignored the time when he completely ruined your brand new carpet...

But this was the last straw - his antics had driven you to make petty moves and petty decisions.

Because NOBODY can mess with a tattoo artist's ink...

Not even a werewolf...

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Miniseries/Werewolf!AU

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Genre: Angst/Fluff/LowkeyCrack

Member: Kim Minseok/Xiumin

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You were beyond annoyed.

Your clumsy boyfriend had, yet again, transformed into his wolf form - which would've been completely fine... if he hadn't done it inside your tattoo studio and if he hadn't knocked down your entire supply of ink in the process of doing so...

So there you were, knelt down on the floor, wiping up various splodges of brightly coloured - and expensive - ink. Your boyfriend was helping you tidy up - it was the least he could do.

When you had finally finished, you looked down into the black bin bag full of ink-stained tissues and empty ink pots and sighed with disdain. You looked up at your idiot boyfriend and he scratched the back of his head and gave you a nervous and apologetic smile - trying his best to ease your fury at him by showcasing that gummy smile that he knew you loved to much.

But it wasn't going to work this time.

He had done this too many times. He had lost control and shifted more times than you could count on your fingers and everytime it had happened, you had suffered during the aftermath. First it was your apartment: completely wrecked and left smelling of wet dog; then it was your car; the entire bonnet scratched, chipped paint and two popped tyres; next was your carpet: stained with blood from a rabbit that Minseok aquired from an 'overnight hunt' and this time... it was your ink. The item sacrificed this time round, was your precious and expensive ink- the ink which your entire career as a tattoo artist depended on - the ink which was supposed to last you until next month because that was when the next delivery was scheduled to arrive - the ink that cost a lot of money... all in the bin.

You cried a little.

Most of the time, you were very patient when it came to his sudden shifts because you knew that he had little to no control of when he shifted. Today, however, had not been one of your best days . You had a very hectic day since it was a Friday and you were the best tattoo and piercing parlour in town. People were always lined up at your door asking for you to draw whatever on their skin or pierce whatever part of their body and you loved it! You loved your job... most of the time.

Today, your job felt like absolute hell due to several factors: a mob of foul-mouthed kids bombarded you with requests for tattoos when clearly, none of them were of legal age to get one done- so when you refused, they said you were a kill-joy and cussed at you a few times until you politely asked them to leave; when they refused, you were forced to scream at them to get out of your studio and wave a moving tattoo gun at their faces until they ran out in fear. All the screaming gave you a headache which then continued to pound in your head for the remainder of the day.

Then, a disgusting, dirty man had the audacity to ask you for a butt tattoo! You usually didn't get these kinds of requests and that was lucky because you absolutely hated them. However, when they did come up, you would grit your teeth and bare it because you needed the money. But why did this gross egg have to come here and ask for a tattoo on his hairy behind today, of all days? And why a butt tattoo? Who was gonna wanna look at that monstrosity? You were talking about his butt of course because your tattoos always looked pristine- as you've been told.

So you did the tattoo... then proceeded to wash your hands with an entire bottle of liquid soap- eventhough you were wearing gloves the entire time.

Later on, a group of drunk men decided that it would be a good idea to play catch with a rock outside your studio. The rock hit your shop window which now had a massive crack on it.

You had dealt with enough cracks that day...

You scoffed at the recollection of your not-so-ideal-day and walked out the door to put the rubbish in the bin. Your boyfriend followed you out and placed a hand on your shoulder:

"Y/n," he whispered, "Y/n, babeeee, I- I didn't mean to do that! Y-you know how I get when I shift! I can't help it!"

You turned to him, glared and said "I don't care Minseok! You do have control of where you choose to go after you've shifted, don't you? You aren't completely out of control, are you?"

Minseok shook his head, meekly.

"Then why the hell did you choose to come here, run into my studio- which is barely big enough to even accommodate you- and knock down my ink supply when you could've just stayed away?!"

Minseok looked down, a little hurt by your outburst but he knew you were right- he should've stayed away so he wouldn't end up causing trouble. He just really missed you.

The sad look in his eyes made you feel slightly apologetic for the way you had shouted at him and you questioned whether or not you should apologise for the way you acted... but then you remembered all of your precious and E X P E N S I V E ink supplies and nearly every ounce of regret left your body.

"You know my ink supplies aren't cheap, right Min? They sometimes cost me over half of what I earn a month and you know that!"

He sucked in a breath and nodded once again.

You didn't want to see him. You felt like you would break and forget that you were mad at him if you saw his face again so you dashed off into your studio and upstairs into your flat. Minseok followed suit but you ran into your room and locked the door before he could enter.

Minseok banged on the door. "Y/nnnnn...Y/nnnnnnnnn!!!! Open the door please! It's just ink! I can get you more if you want me to!" He said.

"No! I refuse to even look at you right now Kim Minseok!" You said, firmly in reply. "You're sleeping on the couch!"

Minseok scratched his head- he knew he didn't have a chance at winning this argument so he walked over to the couch and tried to settle down- wishing you were next to him.

You would've been lying if you said you didn't miss his touch, his smell, his gaze, being in his embrace...but you were mad at him. You weren't going to even let him touch you until he said sorry.

The next morning, you jumped out of bed, your headache gone and your entire being feeling refreshed. You did your usual morning routine and stepped out of your bedroom door. You could've sworn you were forgetting something... but what was it?

Then you heard a loud and excited voice shouting, "Y/NNN!!!"

Ahh, yes. You remembered now. You were mad at Minseok. Minseok who wAS RUNNING RIGHT TOWARDS YOU WITH OPEN ARMS OH NO.

You spun around and jolted back towards your bedroom, locking the door with Minseok only a few seconds behind. You gasped in relief. C'mon, Y/n, you're supposed to be mad at him, you thought to yourself.

"Y/n, are you seriously still mad?", he cooed outside your door.

Ughhh, how annoying, you groaned.

"Fine, if you wanna be petty then I guess you're gonna have to stay in your room for a looooong time," He teased, "But as soon as you walk out this door, I'm gonna hug you and you're gonna forgive me like you always do! See you later! Love you, babe..."

Dang it... he was right.

Minseok somehow always managed to make you not mad at him or at least less annoyed just by being his usual sweet self and you almost hated how you fell for his charms so easily...

But you weren't going to let that happen this time.

You heard Minseok saunter away to the kitchen. You walked over to the bed and sat yourself down. How on earth were you going to keep him away from you? You couldn't stay in your room all day! You were bored! You needed to eat!

Just then, something flashed in the corner of your eye. You turned your head and a glimmer of silver came to view- a stud- one of your silver tongue studs!

You had always been a fan of tattoos and piercings- that's why you turned the fascination into a job and of course you had your fair share of tattoos, piercings and whatnot and owning a store which specialised in those fields meant that you had countless supplies of accessories. Accessories made out of silver...

Silver that werewolves couldn't touch.

You smirked and pulled out your drawers full of various kinds of jewelry. You placed various silver earrings in both ears in each pierced hole that was available; you brandished several silver rings and bracelets; you wore a silver locket; put a curved barbell in your eyebrow and a lip ring on the left side of your bottom lip. To top it all off, you put your favorite silver tongue stud in.

Now you were ready to eat breakfast...

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Part II (Final)>>>

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Whew! I said I'd upload this in July... but... here we are... in December basically... Oh well! Only like 5 months late lmao. I was gonna make this into a oneshot but it was a lil too long for that so I just made it into a two-parter instead... Anyways... I hope you enjoy! I'm quite proud of this one...

Feel free to send member requests my way!

-Z

[funniestsimpalive]

I am so fucking mad i just finished soul eater and the last 2 episodes were literally bullllllllshiiiiiet the battle of death and ashura was so empty so stupid so out of what I expected it literally was death almost killing this fucking ashura and in one second he goes for death the kid and bam death is now not able to fight, and all they talked while fighting ???? Shinigami for fucking real you are telling me you considered ALL your opponent said BULLSHIET???? Like bitch can’t you not just like try to imagine the philosophical thinking ashura was tellingggggg he wasn’t even speaking things you would have never heard of or have a clue about he was literally narrating he spent looooong time by himself and came to the conclusion fear is one of the most important impulse to make people feel other emotions like wrath for example, fear was behind actions too!!!!!!! Like ik it’s not that simple to come to that conclusiob by having someone just telling you arrongantly cause they spent their lifetime and got to that point and it does make it seem like pointless but bitch you don’t get or at least don’t wonder about fear? Or have any backup about fear making you doing something stupid or something you would regret not doing? Lit said that was pointless,,,,Like even so I would believe you, it somehow would be pointless, the way Maka said she felt calm cause she had bravery (valor) could be an excellent response but I was just so let down with the way Maka settle it, I was expecting YOU fucking death to say something worth full meaningful bitch you fucking rule death city and you have literally nothing valuable to say? Like even when ashura said that doing the right thing, going with the law and being responsable would get you to fail/loose/die first, like no honor on being like that? Not pleasure? Sense or trascendency? To being humble or not selfish? None of that you could say!!!!!! And Maka solved it in 5 min in a dumbbbbb bullshiet way and ashura just saw Maka wasn’t feared about him and literally lost his mind, I know he lost playing his own game cause he settle everything around fear and it didn’t had to be like that. but it’s just so dumb doesn’t seem like he had literally tons of power and will to overcome Maka’s wish to make him fail, literally value surpassed him, makes me feel like when ashura said “que más da si la locura _gobierna_ el mundo” which would be translated as “what difference does it make if madness overcomes/controls the world” literally reveled he had nothing but fear to destroy and his life was reduced to that, he wouldn’t have any goal or actual purpose, that’s why he felt confident loosing fearness, he had nothing but to avoid feeling such an basic emotion which lead people to in a big way be who they are and do or not do what they care or have interest about, I think that would easily explain why he lost his mind when he felt feared by maka surpassing him with value, cause to be brave isn’t necessary to not feel fear, if not for doing what you have to do even so. But they explained it so poorly and really made me feel like I was watching a shonen for 10year olds, this could have been really better cause maka didn’t really deepened on her bravery they had the other characters to explain she wasn’t the best on fighting but she was brave, which is not sooooo true cause she had the hability given from his mother, which was really something important no one else surrounding her had and for the other characters, they just did them so wrong literally black star didn’t say SHIET about not being him who defeated the Gods?? During the whole series that was his goal and became pretty much his phrase, but he didn’t even congratulated Maka? For accomplish something so important to him? Like he said the sky was cleared again and was literally paired with patty who is just a comedy relief in the same frame, literally they reduced black star development to nothing 😂😂😂????

Ashura’s fear concept made him a really interesting villain, I completely agreed with a lot he said, like for example when maka thought she could use the demonhaunting hability to make him loose, and he says he isn’t really evil so it doesn’t make sense she thinks that. And again, makes me think she just as death, didn’t really understand the concept and the thinking ashura developed around fear, he started really strong and precise about humane relationship with fear and impulse, but loose to the simpliest argument, makes me think ashura was a coward villain who didn’t wanna face his fears and better decided to destroy or ignore what made him feel like that, (like not ignoring actually but to sweep them under the map) like the way he did to Arachne who he killed the moment he gotta see her again, but all he said about fear was true, if he wouldn’t have been a coward, or have any purpose beyond having the reason about fear he would had ending somewhere and actually defeated maka’s argument. Being brave is awesome and very respectable, but fear is a natural emotion which drags us to develop or evilness or goodness, having the guts to deal with it takes effort and caring from you to yourself and also from yours surroundings, like we can say is the case for Crona. I think what made ashura’s a coward and bad/misued argument and effort in being Evil, is that he was treated as he needed punishment, when mad angry people are locked up with their emotions, in darkness, there is no communication with other that can helpt them think differently that the way they do, to understand something you must interact with the concepts, maybe look up for examples or go back to experience to say something can be true or not, I think at least emotionally things work like that, buring in darkness full of wrath, loneliness and without any healthy goal to perused can make a person live and soak with their demons, it surprises me he was so calm and rational when talking the very first time he scaped and fought death, made me think of him as a cool villain. I think he was calmed the way someone can feel firstly mad or really sad and beyond that feeling, the next fue thing is not to feel anything at all, being soulless, not caring, and I think, as they lost their humanity and KNOW what happiness and carefulness can be, they feel fear but like dragged like as you were down in the water of a pool and couldn’t hear if someone you have in front of you is saying, and it makes it specially emotional when you are acknowledged they are talking to you but you only hear noises that disturb them, like the radio Stein had in his brain, as I said, they feel fear cause they have a notion what emotions they are able to feel but being soulless feels safe and right and rational, but kinda understand/think/op/know their point of view can be right,,, but it’s not everything, goodness and benevolence is also there and like an empty box waiting to be found and filled, while being sad you may feel rational and true to yourself and it is, the world is objectively sad to all people in some amount, but to all; but the feeling to overcome and survive is also very part of our existence. The wish to become better and helpful and complete make life livable I think. Sadness would win if we couldn’t have this pole of emotions and development. And to this I wonder, what would life be if we couldn’t die

A nightmare I think, pure thinking I think, we wouldnt be persons we would be thinking, and due to the fact our consciousness is attatched to chemical reactions, and there is no matter, we would literally be our own souls filled with I don’t know why

What emotions wouldn’t exist? Wrath, envy, maybe Yes, but around what we would feel envy or wrath?

[omegangrins]

[Kingsmen 3: The Golden Service] Harry Hart turns "villain"

TL;DR: The Lepidopterist is the *perfect* name for a "colorfull" megalomaniac who's trying to save the world via villainy.

I've allways had a nagging feeling that Colin Firth's Harry Hart is destined to become a villain. Like Valentine and Poppy, our Hart will break.

Why do I think this? Let's start simple:

1) "I always felt that the old Bond films were only as good as the villain. As a child, I rather fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac."

Now you could take it as face value veiled metaphor in their cat and mouse game. A game recognize game moment. Though when you look at it from a character angle, it is rather apparent that Galahad is not lying here. Look at the giddy nature in which they both talk about the subject. Almost lost in a moment of childhood nostalgia. Neither man is lying. So if Valentine tried to save the world like his younger self wanted, then it stands to reason that Harry has that childhood dream himself.

Harry even has a flair for the dramatic already. "Manners maketh man" is all about him causing a dignified scene to teach a lesson to all watching. In the Freebird church scene, you can see it BEFORE he starts fighting because of Valentine's machine.

Feels like a simple "I'm going to the bathroom" or "I'm hot and need to breath outside for moment" would have sufficed and gotten him out of there without hassle from the crazy Baptist and he KNEW that but didn't care. Arthur implies this subversiveness in their conversations about choosing candidates. Then there's the *way* in which he kills everyone there. Not just defense or trying to kill quickly but lots of slow, painful, and fucked up deaths. The killing is Valentine but the style is ALL Harry. It's part of the reasons he's disgusted. Not the enjoyment, but the ease with which he turned so gleefully. That slow motion fade in smile in the middle is proof of this. Harry *wanted* to punish those people the same way Valentine did. That's proven by what he says at the start. (Don't blame him either, just character commenting. Fuck those people.) Part of me thinks the Freebird is playing in *HIS* head. He's a bird freed by blood.

2) The Lepidopterist

I know the clip is from Venture Bros but it's meant to show how two "good guys" became bad. Kinda the perfect coincidence. But I digress... it was a shameless plug to #SavetheVentureBros. 😎😙😍

The hobbyist collecting of insects, fauna/flora, and what-have-yous has looooong been a trope of "colorful megalomaniacs".

Then there's the added bonus that The Lepidopterist sounds like the *perfect* name for a Bond villain.

Butterflies even symbolize death and rebirth and the violence inherent in transforming something for the better.

Is Harry's butterflies a set-up foreshadowing to his coming transformation from "hero" to "villain"?

"I doubt whether I'd work for anyone who drowns their employees. I want to go home. I want my butterfly collection. I want to see Mother."

3) As we know, all the best villains are ones we sympathize with and understand WHY they do what they do. Valentine was trying to solve over-population and save what he could of the species so it wouldn't happen again. Poppy wanted drugs to be legal, partially for vanity reasons but mainly for anger at global government hypocrisies (the same governments which had their heads blown up for trying to kill humanity for their own gain). Wouldn't it fit perfectly for Harry Hart to have seen the horrors inflicted by the world governments and the corruption of not only Statesmen, but his beloved Kingsmen themselves, and say "No more." What's he gonna feel when he finds out Arthur sold the Kingsmen's soul and got him killed? How long has the "shoot the dog" exercise been in practice? Why is trying to drown someone thought of as a reasonable way to help them? Does the rot go to the core? All things any reasonable person would ask after being shot for an organization that was just blown up by a drug dealer.

"When I was shot, can you guess what the last thing was that flashed through my mind? It was absolutely nothing. I had no ties. No bittersweet memories. I was leaving nothing behind. Never experienced companionship, never been in love. And in that moment, all I felt was loneliness and regret."

Who's to say what he would do or the methods he would take, but villains are merely people casting shadows in the way of the light.

4) I put this last because it's more pun than the others and because I only realized it while writing their names out loud. Valentine. Poppy. Hart. A valentine is love, poppies symbolize death, and a heart combines both (a Hart is also the name for an adult male deer over the age of five but I'm not British enough to understand what the fuck that has to do with anything.) There's also Richmond Valentine/Rich Man Love (Rich dude saving the world). Poppy Adams/ Poppy of the Earth (Death of the World). And finally Harry Hart/Harry Heart. An attacking heart. Yeah, that's the old definition of "harry". To harass. (Or Power Ruler of the Five Year Old Male Deer. This isn't an exact science 🙃 ). Honestly, as I write these out, the puns become the hardest piece of proof for me. Brits love a good wordplay foreshadowing.

"... this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

AND what else do they have in common? They're all things associated with the color red. And what's red?

BLOOD.

Sorry, couldn't resist the touch of drama. 🤣

P.S. I know it's not really related but I also subscribe to the Poppy is a former Statesmen theory as well.

Making this an even more thematic connection. Good guys gone villain because of shitty situations.

Edits

5) HE'S WEARING AN EYEPATCH!!! How autistic am I that I missed that in my explanation. Eyepatches just seem that normal to me but they're like the ultimate villain accessory. Unless you're a pirate.

6) /u/Bespoke3 pointed out how the one thing keeping this from happening is Eggsy and Harry's relationship, and I contended that it was true. While making an interesting movie, you need a sufficient reason for those two to be on opposite ends of each other. And in rambling through comments, I found it. This is why you write shit outloud:

It's Princess Tilde!

The first movie showed that world leaders would gladly sell their souls to save themselves, Princess Tilde being one of the few exceptions. The second showed that even after those figureheads exploded (see what I did there 🤣), there was still terrible people left in charge making even worse decisions.

What if Harry's plan is to attack all of the "leaders" of the world as a way to show people they have the power to govern themselves. This would put Princess Tilde, and moreso her family, directly in the line of fire and force Eggsy's hand to intervene and choose.

Save the girl or save the world.

7) As /u/baddestmofointhe209 pointed out, Harry *was* shot in the head. That kind of thing does tend to mess with people after the fact. Maybe turning villain isn't such a stretch. Not evil, but morally grey.

7) As /u/baddestmofointhe209 pointed out, Harry *was* shot in the head. That kind of thing does tend to mess with people after the fact. Maybe turning villain isn't such a stretch. Not evil, but morally grey.

8) My wife was telling me about how Colin Firth has allways wanted to play the villain too.

"Whenever you take on playing a villain, he has to cease to be a villain to you. If you judge this man by his time, he's doing very little wrong."

“I’d never rule out a part in Doctor Who or Torchwood – especially Doctor Who, I’d also love to play a villain like Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes."

9) Thanks to some pushback from /u/The-Reddit-Giraffe, I decided to Google Kingsmen 3 rumors and stumbled on this little nugget about it, and specifically the Harry/Eggsy relationship:

"I'm really not allowed to say anything, but there is a script. It's a really neat idea."

Outside of it telling the finale of Eggsy and Harry Hart's story, we don't know all that much about the plot for the third movie.

"People will either freak out in a good way, or freak out in a bad way, but they will freak out," Vaughn teased. "We're literally finishing the script off as I speak – but they go on a journey that, if anyone sees it coming, then I'll give up."

To which I would like to thank YOU. This is why I love being shown how I could be wrong. I can't help but feel like this is EXACTLY what they're talking about. You don't have a script finished that fast if you didn't already know where you were going with the first two.

It HAS to end like this. Now I can't see any other way. Maybe The Rock is the Big Bad they have to team up to stop at the end but I will say with 99% confidence that Harry Hart will turn rogue for the first 2/3 of the movie.

10) This wouldn't be the first time I was right about something like this either.

[flusteredkeith]

[Voltron Legendary Defender]: once in a sunset

Title: once in a sunset

Read it on [AO3] Words: 1709 Summary: “Excuse me, I am doing more than just ‘sitting here,’” Lance says, pulling her back down and wrapping an arm around her. “First of all, I’m with you. Second of all, I’m using my high levels of empathy to bond with a good friend in her time of stress, which thanks, by the way, for noticing. And third of all…”

He notions to the sun with a tilt of his head and turns to face it himself.“

The view is absolutely gorgeous.”

I finally finished my first plance fic!! It’s very short but it’s been a long time coming because I started falling for this ship hard a few months ago. I just needed some time to get into their heads a bit. :)

A lot of the inspiration on this one goes out to @babsignal, who got me into this ship (& helped me brainstorm a little bit a looooong time ago). Maddy is the sweetest and I am forever grateful that you got me into plance. <3

Also, special thanks to @longhairpidge for helping me get a better grip on Pidge’s head voice :)

Her fingers curl themselves into tight fists as she seizes the edges of Lance’s jacket. She doesn’t know where to focus — her brother, her father, Shiro, the state of the castle, Keith’s cold shoulder, the numbers running on the computer she’d just left back in her Lion’s hangar, the scent of sea salt clinging to Lance’s — Her mind’s been running and running a long time, like synapses firing away at the speed of light, making connections, spotting patterns. But she still can’t bring herself to rest — not when she needs to solve the mystery of her missing family, which, until three weeks ago, did not include Shiro. Turning away from the soft glow of orange sunlight, she buries her face in his shoulder and listens to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. “You’ve been way too hard on yourself, Pidge,” he says, ruffling her hair. Normally, coming from Lance, the gesture would’ve annoyed her. But this time, she listens to the gentle rumble of his voice and tries not to cry.

Just an hour ago, Lance had unceremoniously dragged her out of her Lion's hangar (“Girl, you’ve been in here for like five days straight!”), a "service" she did not appreciate in the slightest. Not only that, once he had sat her down on the roof of the Castle, he forbade her from going back inside. Not that Pidge stayed without a fight. Scrambling up to her feet at once, she had scoffed a "Ha ha, nice try, Lance," before attempting to run back into the Castle, into the safe and familiar arms of her lab equipment. But Lance had caught her around the waist easily, and after a series of wrestling, pushing, and even biting, she resigned herself to the fact that he was not going to let her go. For the first thirty minutes, they sat in silence while her mind raced. It made her fingers itch for a keyboard, for some sort of outlet to channel her spilling thoughts, but Lance wouldn't let her go and being unable to do anything about it simply drove her crazy because Shiro, Matt, and her dad are missing and still out there and she's tried everything she can think of and nothing seems to work and Lance was just sitting there next to her all calm and collected while she felt herself slowly coming apart at the seams— "Just let it out, Pidge," he said, his voice serene and soft. He was leaning back on both his arms looking out at the sky before them. "We're not going anywhere."

It was then that she realized he wasn’t holding her back from going inside anymore. She could’ve escaped, yet for some reason, hadn’t. Taking a deep breath, Pidge set aside her glasses and began to talk. Out spilled a flowing stream of fears and worries she'd harbored in the past few weeks — fears that were shared by the team but had stayed unspoken for her, fears that were external and fears that were internal: she's not sharp enough, smart enough, quick enough for this war, for her family, for Shiro, for team Voltron and — It was at this point that Lance pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been searching… and searching… for so long,” she whispers in a cracked voice. It's taken her a long time to admit, but she's tired. She knows she can chase all the loose threads and dead ends if she keeps going but Lance's hand on her back is a soothing reminder that even people like her need to take breaks. Shutting her eyes tight against his jacket, she allows a few tears to leak out. “I'm just...so tired of losing people." “I know," he mutters into her hair. She feels his hand rubbing her back in comforting circles and relaxes into the touch.

"But look at it this way. They're not really lost because you know they're out there and you're looking for them."

He pulls back and stares down at her, gently brushing away a tear from her face with his thumb.

"And if anyone can find them, it's you. You can do anything, Pidge. I mean, you’re a genius! You were the one who reprogrammed Rover. You were the one who hacked your way through the Castle when it was infiltrated. You were the one who brought us back together when we got separated after that fight with Zarkon. You do so many cool things, like, come on. You’re awesome. You can do anything.”

Pidge blinks and looks down at her knees. Something about his praise makes her feel nervous.

“It’s just… it feels so insurmountable,” she says. “I mean, they could be anywhere and the universe is so much bigger than anything we’ve previously imagined.”

She can’t remember ever feeling this way, like a problem might actually be impossible to solve. Her family had always taught her that if she simply put her mind to it, she could find a solution for anything.

“I know, Pidge, I know,” Lance sighs. “I’ve never felt further away from home than when I realized how huge the galaxy is. It made missing my family even harder but… at least I know where they are. I can’t even imagine how it must feel for you.”

There’s a sinking feeling in her chest, causing her fingers to instinctively itch for her keyboard again. She can’t sit around and stew in this. She needs to do something. Anything.

She shifts her legs around and positions them to push herself into a standing position, but before she can do so, Lance catches her by the back of her shirt collar and stops her from running.

“Whoa, slow down,” Lance says. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want, but you need to stay here.”

“How can you stand it, Lance?” she asks, annoyed. “Just sitting here and doing nothing!”

“Excuse me, I am doing more than just ‘sitting here,’” he says, pulling her back down and wrapping an arm around her. “First of all, I’m with you. Second of all, I’m using my high levels of empathy to bond with a good friend in her time of stress, which thanks, by the way, for noticing. And third of all…”

He notions to the sun with a tilt of his head and turns to face it himself.

“The view is absolutely gorgeous.”

“But, Lance—”

“Shh.”

He leans his head against hers and continues to gaze at the sky.

“You’re ruining the moment.”

She rolls her eyes but obliges. Turning her head towards the warm glow of the sun, she looks out over the horizon at this strange planet they’ve stopped in. When she stops to really take it in, she can see why Lance likes it so much.

Parked on top of a cliff, the Castle currently overlooks an outcropping of rocks extending out over a large body of water. Unlike the other planets they’ve visited so far, the atmosphere here is blanketed with billowing clouds lined with rose-gold and blood-orange hues. Pidge steals a glance at the blue paladin as he stares off into the sunset, his eyes distant and wistful. Although Pidge knows that it’s nothing like Varadero beach, she’s sure the ocean scenery still strikes a chord in Lance’s heart.

And as he gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze, she has to admit that it strikes one in hers too.

It’s strange. Usually, Lance reads like an open book, speaking his mind and expressing himself freely. But as he continues to gaze at the view in silence with Pidge, she realizes that there’s so much more of him to be discovered beneath the surface.

“You know, for what it’s worth,” Pidge says. “I’m glad you’re here and not lost. I mean, not that I’d be glad if any of you were lost, but you know what I mean. I mean… all I’m trying to say is that I’m grateful you’ve been around — not just today, but this entire time we’ve known each other. You’ve always been there for me, even when I’ve never asked for it or returned the favor and well — thanks.”

She gives him a little shrug and a toothy grin.

“Aww, you have noticed!” Lance says, holding a hand to his heart and looking down at her. Pidge’s eyes droop as her smile fades.

“Don’t make me regret telling you that,” she grumbles.

Lance simply chuckles then turns back to face the sunset. After a few moments, his smile fades and is replaced by a more serious expression.

“You don't have to worry about losing me, Pidgista,” he tells her.

Pidge looks down at her knees, feeling her cheeks flush. She’s not sure where the sudden heat came from, but she’s determined to make sure it passes by without notice.

“You know, in a way, they’re lucky,” Lance speaks up again. “Your dad, your brother, and Shiro, I mean. Lucky to have someone like you searching for them.”

“Why would you say that?” she asks.

“Because despite these roadblocks, I know you’re going to stop at nothing until you tear the universe apart and find them. Not to mention, with Shiro’s gone, Keith’s gonna do the same. With the two of you and the rest of us, we’re going to get them back. I promise.”

Pidge meets his eyes and nods.

“You just gotta take it one step at a time,” he says. ��For now, just enjoy the sunset. I mean, I know you said it happens everyday, but you know what? That's part of the beauty of it.”

“Well, technically, I never said sunsets weren’t beautiful—”

“Ah ba-ba-ba, shhh.” He puts a finger to her lips. “Just sit back and take it all in.”

Rolling her eyes, Pidge turns back to face the view, leaning her head on Lance’s shoulder. Although she’s nowhere closer to finding her family, knows she’ll never be satisfied until she gets them back, for a brief moment, as she sits here with Lance looking out into the sunset, she forgets what it’s like to miss home.

After all, sunsets happen everyday. But having someone like Lance by her side constantly supporting and caring for her?

That only happens once in a lifetime.

[ffxvheadcanonsnooneaskedfor]

Hi! What if the Chocobros' s/o are pressured by their family to get married and the Chocobros propose themselves as suitors so that the s/o's family gets off their back?

Well hey, thanks for the ask! I hope its ok but I wrote this as more of a story type format as opposed to just regular head canons, also I hope it’s ok I made it more of a “hey I’m proposing to be your suitor and actually marrying you” instead of making it a temporary solution because we all know the Chocobros would just want their s/o to be happy (this is also assuming Noctis gets to marry whoever he wants). Also I’m going to attempt to add the read more thing because this got LOOOOONG. I hope you enjoy! Also sorry if the format is weird. Ok now I’m done.

The chocobros propose themselves as suitors to their s/o 

Noctis: Noctis could tell his s/o had a bad time at their parents when they walked into their apartment and flopped themselves on their bed without saying a word. They weren’t living together but Noctis’s s/o had given him a key and he decided to surprise them when they got home. He opened his mouth to say hi, but nothing came out. What the hell happened at dinner? He waited about a minute before finally deciding to get up and check on his distraught s/o, hesitantly approaching the bed room door, tiptoeing so he doesn’t give himself away.. “Uh babe, you ok?”. His s/o turns around on their back in order to face their concerned boyfriend, they had clearly been crying out of frustration. “That bad, huh?” Noctis asks, sitting himself on the bed next to his s/o. Noctis’s s/o looks at him with the saddest eyes he’s ever seen and he feels his heart rate increase; he knows his s/o’s parents were always strict with them, but not enough to make them cry. 

“They won’t stop pestering me to settle down and get married”, his s/o finally said. Noctis sighed in response; this had been going on before they started dating, before they even met, and regardless of how many time s/o tells their parents they’re content with how their current relationship is they wouldn’t let up. Noctis didn’t know how to respond, and he felt terrible because the silence was so intense it could be cut with a knife; and racking his brain for ideas to console his distraught s/o was making his head feel like it was going to pound out of his skull. “Well… What if we got married?” he whispers, slightly hoping his s/o didn’t hear him. Shit did I just say that? Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. If they wanted to be married they would’ve settled down with someone a long time ago. Shit. They probably wanted some grand gesture. Shit. And I don’t even have a ring. 

Noctis’s s/o sat on the bed with their jaw practically on the floor. Did he just ask me to marry him? Is this actually happening? I would’ve thought he’d be more romantic about it. I guess he’s never been one to really do the whole romantic thing, though. If he’s asking he must be serious.

“Are you sure about this?” Noctis’s s/o finally asks, looking up at Noctis with their big teary eyes. “Yeah… Yeah. I want to do this,” Noctis replied confidently, “I love you and if marrying means I get to spend my life with you while getting your family off your back, I think it’d be perfect.” Noctis’s s/o practically knocks him off the bed as they jump to hug him; they start crying again but this time they’re tears of joy. 

“I love you… Thank you.”

Prompto: Prompto woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the smell of coffee; just like everyday. The only thing that was missing with his s/o… Wait, where was his s/o? He immediately sat up from their shared bed to check the time and noticed 9:00 was early for either of them to be awake. Only then does he hear the faint sound of his s/o’s voice; they’re frustrated with something. Or was it someone? He quietly gets out of bed to investigate; he peeks into the kitchen to see his s/o is in fact frustrated with someone, but who? “But what if i don’t want to?” his s/o questions. Prompto’s heart pounded with not knowing who was making his s/o so upset, and what they’re so upset about. “But i don’t want to get married yet, you really need to get off… But mom… Yes I’m happy… Ok mom this is ridiculous.” Prompto slowly inched his way out of the bedroom and towards his s/o. He could feel a look of dread and worry wash over his face, and when his s/o spotted him their face did the same “Mom, I gotta go,” and before their mother could say another word they hung up. “Sorry about that”, his s/o apologizes, “did I wake you?” 

“Yeah, but only because I noticed you weren’t in bed anymore”, Prompto said trying to lighten the mood; unfortunately his s/o wasn’t having any of it. They were fuming and Prompto did’t know how to make it better and it made him feel awful. 

After a few minutes, Prompto’s s/o breaks the silence, “So that was my mom.”

 “I could tell,” Prompto responds quietly ,”you mind explaining what that was about?” 

Prompto’s s/o lets out a sigh, “She’s still pestering me about getting married, and I know she won’t let up until it happens.” 

“This has been going got a while hasn’t it?” the blond asks. His heart starts to pound again when his s/o responds by nodding their head. “Well, what if… Never mind,” Prompto quickly changes his mind. He loves his s/o but doesn’t want them to think he’d be doing this just to get their parents off their back. 

“What if…?” His s/o questions, giving him room to reply. “What if we say we’re getting married?” HIs s/o’s jaw drops and is silent for a moment before asking, “you mean like a suitor?” 

“Yeah, something like that. I mean, we’re living together, and we’ve been together for a while now, and I love you… So why not?”

 “I think that sounds like a great idea,” his s/o responds with a smile on their face. “Lets do this.”

Ignis: Ignis waited for his s/o at their favorite coffee shop, he chose to sit in the very back corner by the window; their favorite spot. He patiently waited for his s/o to meet him, but when he noticed they were later than usual, he began to grow restless. Checking his watch every few minutes and adjusting his glasses to make sure he was reading his watch right, he began to worry. “Oh hun I’m so sorry I’m late, I can explain,” his s/o finally comes running into the coffee shop, almost out of breathe and clearly disheveled. Ignis jumps out of his seat to greet his s/o, “No need to explain, are you alright?”

 “Yeah, my mom called and I couldn’t get out of the conversation and-” before they could finish Ignis gives them a quick peck on the lips. “No need to worry, now is a time to unwind.” Ignis and his s/o get their coffees and a few pastries to hold them over until dinner time and proceed to their favorite spot. Ignis asks his s/o about their day, and they tell them about how they woke up late which they don’t know how they did because they’re alarm clearly said AM not PM, but they still made it to work on time but then they spilled coffee all over their shirt so their shirt was wet for half the day and oh no Ignis had the biggest puppy dog eyes looking at their s/o and they love his so much and all of a sudden, “I was late meeting you today because my mom called and she wants me to get married.” They couldn’t help it. It just came out; after the day they had they finally exploded and those damn puppy dog eyes. Ignis was quiet for a moment, processing what his s/o just revealed. Ignis had questions. A lot of questions. Why are they doing this? Don’t their parents know they’re with someone? Of course they do I’ve meet them. He didn’t know where to start; so he decided to ask the one that he knew will hurt the most if they say yes. 

“Do they have someone in line for you?” He rarely gets nervous but the anticipation was making his heart pound. His s/o responded with a barely audible “no”, to which Ignis was able to calm down a little.

Ignis stared at his now luke warm coffee, racking his brain for a solution to the problem that was just placed in front of him. He knows this isn’t his fault, but we wants to help at least somehow…

“Well, what if we were to get married?” Ignis finally breaks the silence. He almost regrets it when his s/o other doesn’t respond right away.

“But… I don’t understand.” His s/o whispers, voice starting to shake.

“Well,” Ignis responds, adjusting his glasses, “It was going to happen anyway, why not just have it happen now?”

“Well… I guess I can’t argue that,” a smile forms on s/o’s face, “So we’re engaged?”

“I would believe so… I love you.”

“I love you, too,” and his s/o couldn’t get rid if their smile for the rest of the day.

Gladiolus: Gladiolus had planned what he likes to call an “adventure” for him and his s/o, but the reality was it was just them going to the library in which they met, grabbing lunch at their local dinner, and heading to the arcade afterwards. Gladiolus doesn’t always come off as being romantic, but when it comes to his s/o, he’ll do anything to make them smile. They made plans to meet outside of the library around noon that day; Gladio was always good at being somewhere right on time, his s/o… Not so much. So when they were 5 minutes late he didn’t think much of it. He didn’t even think much of it when they were 10 minutes late, or 20 minutes, but 30? They’ve never been this late, at least not without letting him know they were going to be late first. Naturally he starts to panic, but decides to wait a few more minutes until…

His s/o was marching down the street. They were practically fuming, he could’ve sworn he saw smoke coming out of their ears. What the hell happened?

“What the hell happened?” Gladio was also very good at speaking his mind, especially when it came to his upset s/o.

“I can’t believe my parents,” his s/o was pacing back and forth trying to calm down, almost tripping on the sidewalk. “They’re threatening to set me up with someone if I don’t settle down and get married.” Gladio looked at his s/o, he felt his fists clench as if he were to punch his s/o’s parents, but for starters they weren’t there, and even though they wouldn’t let up on their s/o, he still had respect for them. Although he was angry, he decided he needed to console his s/o first.

“Well do they have someone they want to set you up with?” Gladio finally asked with a sigh, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

“They mentioned someone,” his s/o, “someone I’ve known for a long time.” Gladio didn’t know what to say. Is this really how it’s going to end with them? He loves his s/o, the thought of losing them… Well, it hurt. Bad.

“I could say no,” his s/o says, sitting down on a nearby bench, “but they’d probably find someone else… It’d be a vicious cycle.”

Gladio takes a seat next to his s/o, they sat with their face in their hands while Gladio rubbed their back to help them calm down quicker. “Well,” he began to say, “We could always get married.” His s/o slowly lifted their face from their hands to look at him. Unfortunately he wasn’t always good at reading facial expressions so he had no idea what was going through their mind. Luckily for him, his poker face was master status, not luckily for him, his heart was pounding 100 miles per minute.

“I think”, his s/o started to say, “that we need to talk this over.”

“I’m not doing this just to get your parents off your back. I genuinely want to marry you and…” Gladio and his s/o got lost into each others eyes before he could finish talking, his s/o pulling him in for a kiss. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” his s/o responds, he could feel the smile on their lips as he pulls them in for another kiss. His s/o pulls back for a moment to look at his face, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”