#oops my clothes have shrunk

[paperweight91]

Prompt for consideration but no means any obligation so feel free to ignore.. I feel like this is Johnny or Colin after you found out they shrunk some of your clothes so they were tighter haha

Ohhh this is so cute!

For me this screams this guy:

For many reasons, one being that I feel like Johnny wouldn’t touch laundry if his life depended on it. 😂

Colin would be playing dumb the whole time. Even as you stand in front of him pouting about your favourite shirt now fitting anymore. “I swear this was fine last week when I wore it took work, and now look! It’s so tight.”

He would smirk as he responds, “No way babe, that’s always how that fit you. I should know it really shows off the goods.” And of course he winks at the end.

It wouldn’t be until nothing you owned really fit you anymore, and he declared apartment time “naked time” that you finally caught on to the fact that not only was he shrinking your clothes, but he was doing it on purpose.

Of course the fight would be huge! This wasn’t just clothes he was shrinking he was practically throwing money away!

But of course, as he always did, he would persuade you to cuddle on the couch as you talked it out. Eventually ending with him promising to NEVER wash your clothes again. And you promising to buy any lingerie he wants, (and agree to naked Tuesdays and Thursdays).

[txtaetertots]

meet cute | choi yeonjun

pairing non-idol!yeonjun x gn!reader

wc 4.6k

genre strangers to lovers, fluff, lowkey crack

summary you meet your best friend’s roommate in the most bizarre borderline violating way possible.

warnings crack kinda wack, swearing, mentioned/implied nudity, yeonjun’s an embarrassing mess, suggestive joke at the end oop

notes this has been a wip for a few months now i thought it would be a funny little one shot to write.. i had too much fun writing it i fear pls enjoy 😅

most couples have what they call a meet-cute. in other words, a cute or unique situation in which they met. sometimes they’re quirky and awkward. and the way you and yeonjun met was definitely… something of the sort.

“i feel sticky,” you whined to your friend beomgyu. it was a hot day. there were barely any clouds to spare some shade and the sun seemed to have chosen to beam down especially hard on you. you tried your best to dress appropriately but even if you were naked there would have been no escape from the intensity of this heat.

beomgyu rolled over to his side and propped himself up on his elbow, squinting as he looked up at you sitting up and soaked in sweat. he grimaced, “ew. you look disgusting.”

you shoved his shoulder, causing him to fall flat on his back, inciting a cackle from him. the two of you had been friends for a little over six months. and in these six months, he quickly became your bestest most trusted friend.

the day you met, you had just finished settling into your new apartment and decided it was finally time to explore your new city. but, you failed to take into account your terrible navigation skills. you ended up in a random pc bang after trying to look for somewhere to regroup before trying again to find that restaurant you heard such good things about. you must have looked lost enough because a random boy sat beside you, peering over your shoulder to look at the way your thumbs twiddled on the naver map.

“you know,” the boy started, startling you. you jumped back, scooting away from him and staring at him with wide eyes. “if you want to find the soshi bar, you should try spelling it right.”

he looked at you innocently, sipping his cola. you furrowed your brows before looking back down at your phone, immediately noticing your spelling mistake. you shrunk in embarrassment as you corrected it before thanking him quietly.

“you must be new to the area. are you a tourist?” the boy asked.

“uhm, no. i just moved here a few days ago,” you answered hesitantly.

he smiled brightly, extending his hand out for you to take. “wow, welcome to the city! i’m beomgyu!”

you gave him a friendly smile before taking his hand and introducing yourself back.

you could’ve just left and forgotten him. but, considering you had no friends in the city, you took him up on his offer to show you around. and what ended up blossoming from that chance interaction was a friendship you’d both treasure for years to come.

“wanna go back to my place and wait for the sun to go down a bit before going back home?” beomgyu offered, getting himself up off the grass and dusting his clothes off.

you nodded, holding your hands out, asking him to help you up to your feet. he grabbed your hands and pulled you up with more force than necessary, causing you to stumble as you tried to catch your balance. if there was one thing beomgyu was good at, it was teasing you as if he were your little brother.

his apartment wasn’t very far from the park you two decided to take a break in after shopping together all morning. the walk felt like an eternity though. you could feel the sweat beads pouring down from your forehead and temples, finding their way down your neck to the collar of your tank top. you felt disgusting.

you came upon beomgyu’s complex and were immediately met with a smack of ac. the sensation was so satisfying you let out a contented sigh. but, your sweat began matting, making you feel even stickier than before.

“beomgyu,” you exasperated as you watched him punch in his door code. “is there any way i can shower here? i don’t think i can stand being this gross any longer.”

beomgyu shrugged, opening his door and letting you in. “sure, i don’t mind. i’ll get you a towel.”

it wasn’t your first time at beomgyu’s place. you’ve actually been over quite a few times. but, despite this, you’ve never met his roommate—yeonjun. beomgyu has told you about him a couple of times saying he was more like an older brother than a roommate. he always says how he wants to introduce you two since you’re both important people to him. but, yeonjun seemed to always be at work. according to beomgyu, he worked at a dance studio as an instructor. he was usually there all day. with the way beomgyu spoke so highly of him, you were sure you would like him and get along well. whenever it would be to finally meet this elusive boy.

beomgyu walked you to their linen closet, grabbing a fresh towel for you to use. “you can just use my products,” he offered as he motioned to the bathroom door.

you thanked him and walked into the bathroom, taking note of the blue basket of shower products labeled ‘beomgyu’. you smiled to yourself as you saw the rose and peony-scented soaps he had. no wonder he smelled so nice, you thought to yourself.

while you got yourself situated, beomgyu went back to his room, deciding to kill some time by playing some video games while he waited for his turn to shower. he sat at his pc and put on his headset, settling into his noise-canceling gaming world.

it felt so good to be out of your gross sweat-drenched clothes and under the clean running water. thank your luck you bought clothes you could get away with wearing until you got home. and thank the heavens you had a friend like beomgyu.

unbeknownst to anyone involved, however, this should-have-been refreshing shower was about to turn into the single most embarrassing and honestly violating moment of your life.

yeonjun was sloppily running up the stairs to his shared apartment with beomgyu. he really had to use the bathroom.

the ac unit at the dance studio stopped working, so they had to close down for the rest of the day much to yeonjun’s disappointment. he was already out of the subway when the urge hit him. he really had to piss. thank god he was just a few minutes away from his apartment.

he inputted the door code and rushed inside, not bothering to check if beomgyu was home. but, he assumed he was upon walking up to the bathroom and hearing the shower running. normal people would stay out of the bathroom when it’s already occupied, but beomgyu and yeonjun only had one bathroom. they had the agreement that it was okay for each other to walk in when needed if either one was showering or brushing their teeth. the only exception was if someone had to take a number two. that could wait until the bathroom was vacant and free of victims. but, yeonjun just had to pee, so it was fine.

the door was locked, which was unusual considering their agreement and should have raised some flags. but yeonjun just shrugged, easily unlocking it with a swift turn of the exterior locking mechanism with his thumbnail. when he swung the door open, he was met with an ear-bursting scream.

you were rinsing beomgyu’s apple-scented shampoo out of your hair when you began hearing noises outside the door. first, it was the sound of the front door opening and closing. then, it was hurried footsteps coming toward the bathroom. finally, it was the sound of the doorknob unlocking and turning. you peered around the curtain when the door swung open, eyes meeting with the man who had his hand on the knob and the color drained from his face. you screamed, clenching the curtain to hide what you could of your naked body.

“get OUT!”

yeonjun froze in place for a few seconds, trying to process what was happening. he stumbled with the door, forcefully slamming it shut. he turned around and leaned his back against the door, eyes still wide and mouth agape. what the fuck.

“what the hell is going on?!” beomgyu exclaimed, running out of his room and to the scene of the crime.

his face fell when he saw yeonjun against the bathroom door clenching his chest and face bright red. the shower stopped running and he could hear you fumbling around. when the puzzle pieces began coming together, beomgyu turned to yeonjun and glared.

“yeonjun, you perv!” he accused.

yeonjun shook his head furiously, taking awkward steps towards beomgyu. he moved his mouth but no words were coming out. of the thousands of thoughts running through his mind at this very moment, all he could say were splutters of sounds and exasperated breaths.

the bathroom door slowly came open, revealing you with the towel wrapped firmly around your figure and your clothes gripped in your arms. beomgyu looked in your direction, eyes sorry. but, yeonjun turned his back, not wanting to make you more violated than you probably already felt. you hurried to beomgyu’s room to change into some of the clothes you bought and get yourself out of this situation as quickly as you possibly could.

beomgyu turned back to yeonjun, crossing his arms and scowling. “mind explaining what you were doing walking in on yn showering?”

yeonjun’s eyes widened again. yn? as in the new friend beomgyu had been gushing to him about for months? the friend he swore up and down yeonjun would probably get along with really well.

“i thought it was you!” yeonjun finally managed to spat.

“you didn’t notice the smaller shoes by the entrance?!” beomgyu pointed.

“i had to piss, gyu! all i had on my mind was getting to the toilet in time!” yeonjun threw his hands up to his hair, clenching a fist full in each and letting out an embarrassed whine. “why didn’t you text me about bringing your friend over?!”

“how was i supposed to know you were leaving the studio early!?”

as the two continued to argue, you paced in beomgyu’s room and bit at your thumb. so, that’s yeonjun.

this wasn’t exactly how any of you planned to introduce yourselves. you’re just grateful the shower curtain saved you from exposing anything to him. still, it was humiliating and terrifying to be walked in on while in such a vulnerable position.

“yn? are you decent?” you heard beomgyu through the door. you cleared your throat, trying to collect yourself before answering with a yes.

the door opened cautiously, beomgyu slowly peering inside and walking in. he looked at you with an apologetic face, opening his arms for you to find comfort in his embrace. you smiled, making your way to him and wrapping your arms around his waist as he wrapped his around your shoulders. he rubbed your back, apologizing you were put in such an unfortunate situation.

“i’m okay, beom. i don’t think he saw anything. besides, it was a misunderstanding,” you reassured. you weren’t mad. it was just startling. and, you were certain yeonjun didn’t have any malicious intent when he barged in on you naked in the shower. as odd as that sounds to say.

you and beomgyu walked out of his room and met with yeonjun who was sprawled on the couch face down.

“hey, pervert,” beomgyu whistled, knocking on yeonjun’s head to prompt him to get up.

“i’m not a pervert!” yeonjun cried, lifting his head. when he looked up, his eyes met with you smiling down at him trying to stifle a laugh after seeing him so sulky. he gasped, falling off the couch in an attempt to get up. the thud caused you and beomgyu to erupt into laughter, watching the taller and older boy try to collect himself.

yeonjun stood up, shoulders stiff as he held his breath. he tried his best to avoid looking at you too long, choosing to stare at the ceiling instead. he was afraid if he looked at you he’d start imagining you the way you looked in the shower. the mere thought of that made his face flush a bright red again.

“yeonjun.. is it?” you asked, walking towards him little by little. he nodded, still insisting on looking everywhere but at you.

“i’m not upset at you for walking in on me anymore,” you comforted. “it was an honest mistake.”

your tone was so reassuring and gentle. he expected you to give him a piece of your mind (and he wouldn’t have been mad about it). he thought he deserved to get yelled at, but you were so understanding and kind. it made him relax a little. yeonjun released his breath, warily turning his attention to you.

once his gaze landed on you, he felt like he was knocked off his feet. his mouth fell slightly agape, face heating up as he admired the beautiful smile painted over your plush lips. your eyes were so kind, giving him a sense of relief.

“i hope i didn’t scar you back there,” you giggled lightheartedly, trying to brighten his mood.

he shook his head, eyes wide and still glued to your face. “no way! you’re gorgeous!”

the moment those words spilled out of his mouth his hand jolted up and slapped over his lips. you were taken aback but immediately fell into a fit of giggles. beomgyu joined you in laughter, absolutely amused by how clumsily yeonjun was behaving. he’s never seen him so flustered.

“i am so sorry,” yeonjun said, shoulders stiffening again. “i swear i didn’t see anything! i don’t know why i said that.”

you shook your head. “no need to apologize! if it makes you feel any better, i think you’re pretty cute yourself.”

none of this was making him feel better.

yeonjun was so embarrassed and hearing you call him ‘cute’ just made him want to crawl into a hole. just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse, he practically violated his roommate’s new friend. and, to make that even worse, you seemed to be having fun teasing him about it.

“i’m gonna go now,” he quickly excused himself and ran to lock himself in his room.

you and beomgyu could hear him cursing himself and whining as soon as he closed the door. it was amusing, you’ll admit. but, it also made you feel bad for teasing him. he was clearly full of guilt and incredibly apologetic for the incident. beomgyu hadn’t given him a heads up that there was a guest and he obviously was experiencing a bathroom emergency. you understood him and decided to give him a pass this one time, especially because there was no real harm done besides startling you. as quickly as he intruded he left.

yeonjun didn’t dare step foot outside that room until he was sure you were gone. he paced around, debating whether six hours was long enough of a wait before attempting to crack open his door and check if the coast was clear. he walked up to his door carefully, pressing his ear against it, and held his breath, trying to hear if there were any signs of life besides beomgyu. not a single peep. he opened his door slowly, trying not to catch anyone’s attention in case you were still there.

just when he thought he was safe to come out, beomgyu jumped out from the blindspot of his door. yeonjun let out a scream, hands jolting up to his chest and clutching his shirt. beomgyu began laughing, taking enjoyment out of scaring the easily startled yeonjun.

“beomgyu, what the hell!?” yeonjun yelled, his fear quickly replaced with aggravation.

“sorry, it’s just too easy,” beomgyu teased, trying to suppress his laughter.

“did yn leave?” yeonjun asked, relaxing his arms.

“they left hours ago,” beomgyu informed.

“why didn’t you tell me!?”

“i wanted to see how long you’d keep yourself locked up,” beomgyu shrugged, walking back toward the kitchen.

yeonjun followed him, annoyed but relieved. he took a seat at their dinner table, finally able to relax a little bit and eat something. he didn’t know how much longer he could go listening to his stomach growl. beomgyu rustled around their cabinets and fridge, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

“we need to do some grocery shopping,” beomgyu announced, shutting the fridge and grabbing his phone out of his back pocket. “wanna order takeout tonight?”

yeonjun nodded in agreement. beomgyu took a seat across from him at the table as he placed an order for their favorite restaurant through an app. yeonjun’s leg bounced as he watched beomgyu place the order, hands clasped together over his chin. the silence between them was making him think and he needed answers before his thoughts ate him alive.

“is yn really okay after what happened?!” he blurted, face twisting into displeasure.

he just couldn’t shake it off. no matter what you said earlier, he felt like he had to do something to make it up to you. it didn’t feel right having you forgive him so easily.

“yeah, they said no harm no foul,” beomgyu replied, eyes never leaving his screen.

yeonjun shook his head. he couldn’t accept it. “but, i say yes harm yes foul!”

beomgyu paused his tapping and looked up from his phone with an amused smile on his face. he raised an eyebrow upon seeing how guilt-ridden yeonjun still was. beomgyu admitted it was kind of a messed up situation, but you insisted that everything was okay.

“what do you want to do then? make it up to them somehow?” beomgyu asked.

“i have to,” yeonjun pleaded. “it’s eating me alive how humiliating that was, gyu.”

beomgyu sighed, tapping a couple more times on his phone before shutting it off and putting it face down on the table. he straightened up, folding his arms over the table, and gave yeonjun his undivided attention.

“okay,” he started. “what do you want to do?”

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

it was a ridiculous idea, but beomgyu would be lying if he said he didn’t want to see yeonjun go through with it. he thought it was a bit extreme, but yeonjun insisted that it was the only way to match up with the situation he accidentally put you in. it made him wonder why yeonjun was putting in this much effort, but the look on yeonjun’s face when he saw you walking up to them gave him the clearest answer.

beomgyu had texted you asking you to meet them at the park by his apartment. something about yeonjun had gone nuts and you needed to be there or else his feelings would never recover. it was weird and cryptic, but it was beomgyu, so you didn’t question it. though, that didn’t stop your confusion as you spotted the two standing and anxiously looking around. as soon as yeonjun spotted you, he smiled brightly and began taking deep breaths to prepare himself.

“hey, guys? what’s going on?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed as you got a better look at yeonjun’s attire.

beomgyu pointed at yeonjun, a smirk on his face knowing what was about to happen next.

yeonjun sighed, “i had to make it up to you somehow for what happened. and this is what i came up with.”

suddenly, yeonjun removed his sweater and sweatpants, revealing himself wearing a rather small pair of brightly colored swim trunks. your hand slapped over your mouth, watching as he rushed to the center of the walkway where buskers usually set up. he yelled trying to grab everyone’s attention, and once he got it, he pointed at beomgyu as a cue. beomgyu had his phone in hand and a small portable speaker in the other. as soon as he got the cue, he pressed play on his phone and music began playing through the speaker.

park patrons watched in amusement, some laughing and others rather appalled at yeonjun’s act. he was dancing and singing to ‘happiness’ by h.o.t, and rather terribly so. he was out of breath, purposefully exaggerating his moves and singing. despite everyone watching, his attention was only on you. watching intently how you were reacting and whether you were watching him at all. and how could you not? it was impossible to look away, you almost didn’t notice beomgyu on the ground holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

three minutes felt like an eternity in this moment, and when they were finally over, you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were keeping in. yeonjun stood in his ending pose for a few seconds, dripping in sweat, skin flushed red, and heaving begging for air. his audience cheered, laughing as he took his bow and rushed back to you and beomgyu. you were speechless as he grabbed his things, slapped beomgyu’s leg prompting him to hurry, and grabbed your hand before running back toward the direction of their apartment.

people on the street stared as you three rushed by and into the apartment building. beomgyu was still in a fit of giggles as you rushed up the stairs and finally into their unit. you stood quietly by the foyer, watching as yeonjun took a moment to catch his breath and beomgyu lay on the couch trying to stop his giggles as he replayed the performance in his head.

“what the hell just happened?” you finally asked, thoughts slowly coming together.

yeonjun stood up straight, still in just his swim trunks. he took one last deep breath, standing before you with his head held high.

“i put myself in a vulnerable, humiliating position to make you feel better for accidentally putting you in one, too,” he proclaimed. “i hope now you can forgive me and feel better about what happened. i’m sorry.”

you stood with your mouth slightly agape, slowly beginning to laugh. beomgyu erupted into laughter again watching you. the embarrassment finally began to settle in for yeonjun, his arms crossing over his bare torso and face turning hot. you sighed, an endeared smile taking over your lips as you reached behind him and grabbed his sweater off the couch. you held it out for him to take, earning a small smile of gratitude from him.

“yeonjun,” you began. “you didn’t have to do all that. i promise everything was fine.”

you paused for a moment, watching the way his lips began to pout. the doe-eyed expression on his face made your chest twist. god, he’s so cute.

“but,” you continued. “i really appreciate you for wanting to make it up to me.”

yeonjun finally smiled, happy to hear you accepted his gesture. you pushed him to go get himself washed up and comfortable while you dealt with beomgyu, who was clutching his stomach in pain.

you plopped beside him, sighing as he sat up and winced. “my abs are on fire.”

“that’s what you get for not talking him out of that!” you scolded.

“i tried to!” beomgyu retorted. “but he was dead set on it. honestly, i think he has a little crush on you.”

beomgyu laid back down continuing to massage his stomach, not thinking twice about what he said. his words were echoing over and over in your head, though. yeonjun has a crush on me? you thought. you bit your bottom lip, hiding the smile threatening to reveal your excitement over that revelation. 

yeonjun walked back into the living room, changed and freshly showered. beomgyu got up, excusing himself to the bathroom to look through their medicine cabinet for a topical pain reliever to massage over his ribs. yeonjun decided to take a seat next to you, finally feeling more relaxed to be near you. but, because he was able to actually look at you, he noticed the way you tensed up as soon as he took a seat beside you. worry began to cloud his thoughts.

“yn? are you sure you’re okay? you seem tense,” he asked, cautiously giving you space in case you were uncomfortable.

you shook your head, placing your hand on yeonjun’s shoulder for reassurance.

“i’m fine, yeonjun! i promise!”

“then, why are you so tense? do i make you uncomfortable? do you not want me here without beomgyu?”

he kept shooting questions at you, wanting to do whatever he could to make sure you felt comfortable and safe around him. you kept insisting that everything was fine and that he didn’t do anything wrong. he wasn’t buying any of it though and begged you to tell him what was wrong.

“you’re gonna laugh,” you warned. “beomgyu said you have a little crush on me.”

yeonjun fell silent for a moment, eyes widened. you stared at him, anxiously waiting for him to respond. an awkward laugh broke his silence, his fingers fidgeting with the drawstring of his sweatpants.

“he said that?” he asked, eyes wandering around the room.

there it was again. he was avoiding making any contact with you. you slowly scooted closer to him, making him freeze.

“well, do you?”

“do i what?”

“do you have a crush on me?”

yeonjun paused, looking at you for a brief moment before straight ahead at the powerless television screen in front of you. he cleared his throat before cautiously answering.

“i mean, i do find you… attractive,” he said. “so… what if i do?”

you smiled, finding his nervous mannerisms cute. 

“would it make you feel better if i told you i had a little crush on you, too?”

yeonjun snapped his head to look at you so quickly you could’ve sworn he got whiplash. his eyes were wide, nostrils flared in bewilderment. he didn’t even try to hide the smile creeping up on his face. he didn’t want to admit it to beomgyu then, but he was smitten from the moment he saw you. your smile, your laugh, your eyes. everything about you was so… pretty. so, so pretty. and it was killing him knowing he might have ruined any chance he had at getting to know you properly because of the incident. who would want to get to know the person who walked in on them in the shower?! even if it was an accident. but, hearing you say you took just as much interest in him as he did you, made him overjoyed. 

“wait, really?” he asked, almost as if it were too good to be true.

“i told you i thought you were cute, didn’t i?” you reminded.

“so, does that mean, if i asked you out, you would say yes?”

you shrugged. “i don’t know. try.”

he laughed, beginning to find your teasing somewhat entertaining.

“yn,” he said, his shoulders relaxed and his voice calm. “would you do me the pleasure of going on a date with me?”

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

you loved to reminisce about that moment, even though yeonjun would prefer if you didn’t remind him. it’s been a year, but no matter how long it’s been he will never get over the embarrassment that memory gives him. he still wished you two met in a better manner, one that made him look cool. but, you wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. you don’t think it could’ve gone any other way that would have made him appear more charming than that.

“you know,” you said, playing with his hand as you lay in bed together. “you could have just gotten me an ‘i’m sorry i almost saw you naked’ cake and we could’ve called it even.”

“baby,” yeonjun deadpanned, hand gently rubbing your back. “i was desperate and irrational. it was all i could think of at the time!”

you giggled, nuzzling into his neck and wrapping your arm around his torso. he was still as endearing as ever.

“we’ve come a long way since then,” he said. you hummed in response, closing your eyes as you allowed yourself to begin drifting to sleep.

“because i’m allowed to see you naked now,” he added quickly, suppressing his giggles as you playfully slapped his chest.

endearing and annoying as ever.

© txtaetertots

[glacierclear]

ISN'T BITE ALSO TOUCH?

fuckboy!leon x gn!reader (maybe a few gendered terms oops)

content: hurt/no comfort, angst, arguments, passive aggression, mentions of drugs/alcohol

Your best friend is a fuckboy. He ditches you at a party. You argue. Maybe they were right about him.

[ao3 link]

They all tried to tell you. Every single one of them.

He’s bad news, don’t bother. You would scoff.

He’s nothing but a walking penis. He doesn’t care about anything. And you’d roll your eyes.

Every red flag. Every warning sign. Every flashing light. You refused to heed any of them. And you tilled, and you sowed, and you fed. And now? You were reaping.

“I don’t get what the big deal is. You’re a big kid. You don’t need a damn babysitter.” His hands remained clenched, balled up and shoved into the pouch of his hoodie. His posture was lax. Noncommittal. He stared into a wall, his expression detached and unreachable.

“When you called me up tonight to drag me to some stupid frat party, I at least expected you to like, stay with me,” you countered. “We weren’t even there for an hour before you up and ditched me. Streaking across campus like a moron.” The base of your neck throbbed, the fledgling burn of an oncoming migraine. Your clothes still reeked of burnt weed and the cloyingly pungent whiff of cotton candy vape smoke.

“You should be fucking grateful. Wouldn’t have gotten into that party without me. Shit was the best thrasher of the month.” He lifted his head, scorching you with that know-it-all smirk. It huffed the coals of your stomach. You felt like puking.

“I didn’t…oh my god, Leon. I didn’t go for the party. I thought you…I don’t know. I thought you actually wanted to hang out. Have a good night.”

Your fingers burrowed their way through the folds of your sheets and you stayed perched at the edge of your bed. Leon hovered at your doorway, barely present in the space of your dorm, his contour fuzzed with casting light.

He didn’t say anything. Your eyes pulsed and stung. “Look. I’m not mad, I just–”

“You should be.”

“What?”

It’s then that he finally dared to meet your eyes. Blue hues swallowed whole by the pitch of his pupils, seeking you past tendrils of mussed, blonde hair.

“You should be mad. Why aren’t you? Cuz’, you’re right. I fucking ditched you. Like a moron.” He flung the word back with acid and you winced away. “God forbid I have some fun, right? Forgot you’re too much of a buzzkill to actually have fun at a party.”

There’s a throttling impulse to scream at him. Tell him off for being unreasonable and kick his ass to the curb like last week’s trash. But you’ve danced to this song before. The repeating pattern and pervasive enigma of Leon’s refusal to invest himself; emotionally, or otherwise.

So, you sucked in a steadying breath, filled your lungs with patience, and spoke softly.

“It’s not just about the party,” you began, and passively, you noticed him shift. “I mean…streaking? You realize that if you got caught doing that…you wouldn’t have a scholarship anymore. Hell, maybe you’d be expelled.”

The realization settled on him like a poison and you caught his face darken. As much as he denied and disguised, Leon was a smart man. Excellent standing in his classes and a whopping GPA to match the third leg he swung in his pants. It meant a lot to him.

There’s a gap of silence before he opened his mouth again.

“...well, I wasn’t caught. And it was my choice. I don’t need you nagging me like a fucking mom, alright?” His body shrunk in on itself. Caging his softer parts from the reality he narrowly avoided. On a better day, perhaps you’d chase him. Push and fight for a break in his shell, a crevice that gave way to the man you knew he was capable of being. But, God, your head was shattering. Your nausea was worsening. You weren’t making progress.

“Right, well, sorry for caring, Leon,” you relented, turning away from him to click your phone into its charger. “I’m going to bed. Don’t bother inviting me to any more parties.”

Your gaze left him, you weren’t fully aware of his body, but in the fleeting moments following your surrender he’s on you. Lurking above you like the baleful firmament of a roaring summer storm. You hardly had the time to open your mouth before he’s speaking. No, he’s growling. Revving the engine of his fury.

“...so that’s it? You’re not putting up with me anymore?” It could be the headache talking, but you swore you heard a tremble in his voice.

“Huh? The fuck are you–”

“We’re not friends anymore. That’s what you’re doing, right?” You searched the raging sea of his eyes for a raft. But all you did was drown. “I fucked up one too many times and now I’m just another shitty dude you had to put up with.” You watched the chipped black of his nails dig into his arms, tensed up limbs shielding him from what he’s most afraid you’ll confirm.

“Leon, that’s not…we’re still friends, okay? I just don’t want to go to parties like that anymore. Just give me a few days to cool off and we can…I dunno, we’ll hit up that burger joint you love.” It’s a pretty weak bargain, but maybe he’d bite.

And he did bite. He bit and he tore and he sought out blood.

“You’ve always had shitty taste in guys.” He practically spat at you, a scornful wrinkle deepening in the bridge of his nose. “Fucking stand up for yourself. You always let people walk all over you and act surprised when they turn out to be shitheads.”

He leaned in. You smelled him. Overpriced cologne. Underpriced shampoo. Crappy beer he drank even though he hated the taste. Despite it all, you yearned to hug him.

“Leon, I–”

“...and you know what? I don’t fucking need you. I don’t need your little dates. Your pity sex. I don’t need you looking out for my damn scholarships and I especially don’t need you making me look bad when I’m trying to let loose at the party I’ve been looking forward to all goddamn month.” You wanted him to stop. You wanted to bridge the chasm and devour his violence. If only he’d let you. But all he did was bite harder. “I won’t bother inviting you out anymore. Actually, I won’t bother talking to you at all. Have fun with your fucking life, I’m done being your fucking charity. Goodni–”

At the edge of his precipice, the void he dug for solace, Leon plummets. He straightened his spine, eyes widening and jaw hanging lifelessly. You were crying. Tears bursting without prejudice. Staining your face in vulnerability you so often only used to comfort him.

He went too far. And now, you were crying.

Neither of you moved for an eternity. From the hallway of your dorm, you hear the thundering trots of drunken friends laughing and yelling. The noise swelled and faded. The only evidence of a world beyond your room.

He called your name. His voice was so much quieter, held together with twine and stinging regret. You lifted your eyes and your throat barely allowed your words to pass.

“...Great job, Leon. Now I’m mad.” In an act of self-preservation, you tore your gaze away, burning a stare into the ground below his shoes. They’re blotched with dirt and chlorophyll, still damp from his midnight misdemeanor. “I won’t bother you anymore. If you hate me that much, I…I’ll leave you alone.”

His arms unfolded, one hand reaching out, a fragmented attempt to soothe you. But it was too late.

He repeated your name.

“I didn’t…fuck, I shouldn’t have said…hey–”

“Go home, Leon.” Your voice was unwavering, and he flinched back, your ire the open flame he’s too human to touch.

And then he left. Your dorm vibrated with the slam of the door, and you buried your face in your hands. In the place of his feet, soil stained your carpet. In the place of his warmth, sandalwood smoldered the air.

In the place of your love, all you wanted was to die.

[crowtrinkets]

Barista’s Adventures in Wonderland

What if a cosplaying Barista was thrown into a more unconventional Astraea?

Chapter 1/?

Chpt 2, 

Alice in Wonderland AU! Inspiration was taken from @thislemonboy I've never done a multi-chapter fic so let's pray this won't kill me lmao. Merging canon with Lewis Carol's Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Tags: @avarifromtheotherside

Word Count: 2,964

~Down the Portal We Go~

I run my hand over my face and then extend my arm as I stretch, I had a long day at work and I'm finally off. Not even bothering to remove my apron from around my waist, I wave goodbye to my coworkers and step out into the chilly air. It's been raining all day but it seems to have let up. The scent of stale coffee and sugar radiates off my apron, I make a mental note to wash it when I get home. Tossing my items in my car I stand at the door just for a second, letting out a long slow breath. A loud clang from behind surprises me and I whip around to see, no one.

"What the… hell?" I look down and I see a scepter of some sort in front of me. It has a glass orb detail at the top and its spear is covered in gold, thinking I recognize the object, I reach down to get a better look but once I do a bright light emits from it. It catches me off guard and I fall backward, but rather than hitting the ground I continue to fall.

Down

Down

Down

I suddenly wake to the feeling of cold concrete on my face, letting out a groan I roll onto my back. Above me is the night sky, a swirling storm slowly dissipates revealing the moon behind it. I must have hit my head or something, but how long was I out? I finally sit up and my breathe hitches when I realize I am not where I think I am. Old ruins surround me, long-forgotten candles melted down till their wicks are nonexistent, reside in the corners. I slowly stand to further take in my surroundings when I hear a voice echoing around the corner

"Hello?" I call out, but I hear no response. However, the voice grows louder.

"Oohhh I am very very late, the Duke will curse me for this," from around the corner a man appears. He decently short in stature, his dark hair tousled slightly in his frantic state. He’s dressed in formal clothing, dark pants and a white poofy shirt with a low v, and a dark red waistcoat is that pokes out from the large black jacket he has draped over his shoulders. He frantically flips through a book, squinting through his glasses, not looking where he's going. He runs past me without hesitance, shouting frantically about being late.

“Wait! Hey, wait!” I call out, the ground seems to move below me causing me to lose my balance, but I manage to keep track of where the man ran off to. I chase after him but he doesn’t answer my calls. The man suddenly stops and waves a hand out in front of him and a black, swirling oval forms out of nothing, he jumps through and disappears into the dark leaving behind the dark oval. It must be some sort of portal, I think to myself. Without thinking I bolt towards the portal and jump through, hoping it takes me to the man. I fall onto my hands and knees and an overwhelming grape flavor fills my tastebuds.

“That’s a weird side effect,” I open my eyes and stand to see where I ended up and I see I am in a long hallway, it seems to be a part of a castle. The frantic man in a waistcoat is nowhere to be seen. Instead, I find a wall of doors. Did he go through one of these perhaps?

In the center of the hall is a low table, upon approaching it I find what looks like a finger bone.

“Gross,” I mutter, but something compels me to pick it up. Once I do it vibrates and suddenly forms the shape of a key.

“Hah, a skeleton key,” I joke to myself. “Maybe it’ll fit into one of these doors?” I turn to approach the first door, but once I put the key in the keyhole an ungodly screech emits from it. I pull back and cover my ears then I quickly rip out the key allowing for the screaming to cease. The hallway becomes deadly silent.

“Ok well that wasn’t correct,” I say to myself. I look down the hall at the multitude of doors and let out a sigh. The only way out is through one of these doors unless I wanna go down the seemingly endless hallway, and if it means having been screamed at so be it. Door after door, scream after scream, I start to become more and more frustrated.

“Aren't skeleton keys supposed to open all doors?” I exasperate. Once I try the last door I sigh, my attention then falls upon a curtain to the left of the door, pushing it back I spot possibly the tiniest door I've ever seen in my life. I look at the keyhole and then at my key.

“Might as well try it out,” I stick the key in and sigh with relief when it doesn’t scream at me. I slowly turn the key until it finally clicks. Letting out a sigh of relief I lay down and look through the tiny door which is no bigger than my hand. On the other side, I spot what looks like a greenhouse. A multitude of colorful plants occupy it and I see a pond off to the side but past that my vision is obscured.  Sitting back up I pull the key out of the door allowing it to close.

"Of course my only way out is impossible to go through," I grumble as I go to return the key to its spot on the table. However, once I approach I notice a tiny wine bottle with a label that says "drink me".

"I don't think it's very smart to drink from strange bottles," I look around the hallway, it seems to have no end or no beginning. My options are to either traverse through and potentially be lost forever or drink this strange bottle.

"This is probably some weird dream that I'm having so it can't hurt to drink a strange liquid," removing the lid I take a sip. At first, I taste nothing, but then a latte? Then is that a mocha? Is that a macchiato or is it a latte again? They're all made the same just in different order of ingredients so how am I supposed to know.

"Why would coffee be inside a wine bottle?" I think out loud. As I try to guess which coffee I'm tasting I suddenly realize the bottle is getting larger and larger. I drop it when it becomes too big and heavy for me to carry.

"What the hell kind of dream am I having where wine bottles grow larger in size?" I turn around to grab the key once again but then I stop and look up, way up.

"Oh, the wine bottle didn't grow I just shrunk," I say flatly. "… Shit," I turn back towards the door and realize that I'm short enough to fit inside.

"Hey that works out I guess," I run and grip the doorknob but it won't budge and when I yank on the knob the screaming the other doors emitted starts up, I pull back, and the screaming stops.

"Of course it's locked," I pat my pockets and feel my apron pockets and then I realize I left the key on the table.

"Ughh, I really would like to wake up from this dream now," I let out a frustrated huff, fiddling with the end of my apron. "This really isn't how I wanted to spend the rest of my day," I bring my head into my hands and groan. When I bring my hands down I see something glint out of the corner of my eye. I approach the shiny object and  I see a custard flan inside a glass box, labeled "eat me". How they got writing to stay on the flan is beyond me. I pick up the box and open it but then hesitate.

"The last time I consumed something I shrunk and now I'm stuck," I contemplate for a while. "Well, this is just a dream so… it can't hurt," Thankfully the glass box had a spoon on it, I start eating the flan, savoring its sweet flavor, not even thinking about my surroundings when suddenly my head bumps something. I look up and realize I'm getting closer and closer to the ceiling. I get on my knees as my height grows taller and taller.

"No, no no no!” I continue to grow until I have to crane my neck down even when on my knees. Finally, the growth seems to cease.

“This is most unfortunate,” I sigh.

“Can’t be late, can’t be late,” I hear a voice call. I look around and I see the man in the waistcoat. His nose stick poked into the book he was carrying earlier.

“Oh time, always passing, always making me late,” he mutters as he walks past, holding up a pair of glasses so he can look through them.

“Hey wait! U-uh you! You with the waistcoat!” The man jumps at the sound of my voice and whips around to look at me. He trails his eyes up until he meets mine.

“O-oh, dear!” He looks at me fearfully but doesn’t move from his spot.

“Excuse can you help me uh…” I trail off

“Oh uh,” he bows nervously “Felix Escellum, at your service, um… please don’t eat me, giant,” I can't help but chuckle at his statement.

“I’m not a giant!” I lean down to get closer, but Felix, as he calls himself, yelps in fear and takes off running.

“I must meet the Duke! Terribly sorry!” He shouts, his voice trails off as he disappears down the hall.

“Oops…” I let out a sigh. "He seemed nice, that bow was a little dramatic though." I lean to one side until I hear a crunch sound and a pain shoots through my palm. Wincing I lift my hand and realize I crushed the bottle I drank from earlier. The liquid spills all over the ground mixed slightly with blood dripping from my cut hand.

"Damn! How am I supposed to fit through the door now," I grab the corner of my apron and put pressure on my cut, groaning with frustration.

"I find a way out but then I leave the key on the table! Then I'm too big to go through and then I scare off the one person that might be able to help!" I feel my nerves begin to build up inside me. A painful lump forms in my throat, as I curl in on myself. I try to stretch out when my foot bumps something. When I open my eyes I see the book the man in- er Felix was holding earlier. It's practically the size of a doll's book when compared to my large size. There's also a very tiny pair of glasses with a chain. I turn them in my hands and look down the hallway but Felix is long gone at this point. Letting out a sigh I put them in the pocket of my apron and hope I see him again. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

"There's no way any of this is real… I mean growing and shrinking? It sounds like a storybook," I think for a second and look at the cut on my hand which has stopped bleeding at this point. "There's no use in pinching myself awake if broken glass didn't do anything," I shuffle so I'm sitting more comfortably, my knees up to my chest and my arms wrapped around my legs.

"Well if this isn't a dream then how did I get here? I was at work, I had a long shift and they finally let me go… and um I walked out to my car and there was a sound," I rub my hands together remembering the cold sensation of the object I touched and how brightly it flashed. As I am remembering I notice a faint light emit from my chest. It feels warm and grows brighter and brighter despite my shock.

"Ah! What the hell?!" I pull on the neck of my sweater and look down at my chest. A bright light flashes and I flinch away shielding my eyes.

I sit for a second waiting for an inevitable to happen but nothing. I open my eyes and look down at my chest again, no light, no nothing. When I look around I realized I've shrunk again.

"Oh I guess that worked out, but the key…" I mumble. As I grumble about being pushed a step back I hear footsteps off to my left. I turn and I see a figure running towards me. I squint and see, a pink dress, white hair, and rabbit ears?

"Um, hello?" I call out, but they don’t seem to pay me any mind. As they approach I am able to get a better look at them.

"Hey wait, aren't you that cosplayer? Celena?!" I call out, but Celena still pays me no mind and runs past me.

"Wait! Where are you going!" I watch her run down the corridor, still, a little baffled by my situation.

A rumbling sound slowly builds up behind me, and when I turn I realize why she was running, a huge wave of water comes crashing down the hall, headed straight towards my direction. I turn to run but the water catches me by surprise and tumbles me underneath it. I finally gather my bearings and I swim to the surface taking a deep breath after being thoroughly tumbled like a load of laundry. I see a log floating on top of the water and I grab onto it to stay afloat. After catching my breath I look over and see Celena, peacefully swimming beside me.

"Hey, you!" I shout. Celena flinches but when she looks at me she relaxes, her expression inscrutable, however. "Ah, I'm sorry, you're Celena right?" she nods in response.

"Yes I am, how do you know me?"

"Oh uh, I really like your cosplays," I admit shyly.

"Thanks! I really like your costume too, what's your job class?" she asks. I look down at my now soaked outfit. I only put on a sweater and pants today, and my work apron over it.

"Umm… Barista?" I say. She smiles in response.

"You said you like my cosplays? Did you hear about the new Last Legacy game?" I feel a tinge of excitement well in me. Almost enough to forget I'm floating on a log in this seemingly endless hallway.

"Yea I did!" I laugh a little. "Hey don't you think Escell would look good in a chainmail bikini?" I ask. I look over at Celena but her expression darkens. Without taking another look at me she swims faster and over to a dirt shore off to the left.

"Hey wait!" I let out a groan, I'm tired of chasing people but that’s at least a way out. Abandoning my log, I follow Celena to the shore. The water nearly takes me under a couple of times but I eventually crawl my way up and out of the water. I turn around and see the hallway is gone, all I see is an endless horizon of water. When I turn back around Celena is nowhere to be found.

"Curious," I mumble to myself.

I run my hands across my apron and realize it's suddenly dry, thanking whatever miracle or magic kept me dry I follow a dirt path which seems like the only direction I can go.

 Eventually, the path leads into a forest, with seemingly no other direction to go I head into it. The forest is dense and dark, but little bits of sunlight poke through the leaves on occasion. I play with the strings on my apron as I walk, hoping nothing comes out and attacks me. Continuing on, I hear mumbling. Heading towards the sound and I see none other than Felix, leaping out of a portal. Stumbling slightly he leans on a tree and looks at his hand. Flexing it, he glares at an angry-looking injury.

"Oh dear the Duke is most impatient, he's requesting my presence now," I hear him grumble to himself.

"Felix!" I call out, heading in his direction. Felix barely looks in my direction, his attention locked onto the welt on his hand that almost looks like an image rather than a scar or cut.

"Oh Rime there you are," he rummages through his pocket and pulls out a key. He places it in my hand and closes my fingers over it, causing me to blush slightly. "Could you please stop by my office and grab my relic and glasses? It seems I have left them,"

"O-Oh um... Yea, yea ok," I stutter out. Felix gives me a quick nod, he then opens a portal and then jumps through it. I stare for a second, my hands still clamped over the key.

"Who’s Rime?" I ask out loud. I look down at the key, twisting it in my hand. A sudden dread takes over me.

"More importantly where is his office… I'm in the middle of a forest," I let out a loud huff. I look around and only notice the same path I've been following.

"Well this has to lead somewhere," I try to be optimistic. Trudging down the path, I hope and pray I find someone who knows where I'm going, or at least where I am.

[strange-changes-ln]

“Strange Changes.”

Chapter 6: “A Talk.”

…

The Janitor sat, within the tension between himself, and the Governess. She had decided to take this to the Library inside of the Residence, using two chairs she had managed to find. Her stare seemed blank. Well, clearly, with the mask on, it was gonna look that way, but under it, it was… firm.

A strong silence followed on. While the Lady sat firmly, with professionalism and elegance, Roger, on the other hand, was shuffling and shifting constantly, seeing no way to make this feel less… like this. Like he’s currently facing something… almost… dangerous. Not like he hasn’t before.

And like those times, he was never ready.

Silence, still. It was never-ending, it seemed, as the two collected their thoughts, and a way to begin the conversation.

.

.

.

” What has been going on. “ The Lady finally took initiative, considering the notion that the Janitor was not, and started the conversation. Roger perked up, blinking. Oh.

” ..uh.. well.. um.. “ He considered leaving the whole shadow invader thing out of the conversation entirely. It would make things easier, right?

But, at the same time..-

It’s a terrible idea. Lying doesn’t do anyone any good.

“ ..not..much..? “ ..that works..??

The Lady simply hummed.

Behind the mask, however, she frowned, as she was not pleased. She could tell the man was lying. It was in his tone, he was questioning his own wording.

” ..Roger. “

“ ..yes..? “

“ …You know very well, that something has been arising. It has been throwing your duties off track, as well as the Chef��s’. “ She leaned forward, looming over him, even in a sitting position.

" ..H-- "

" You know how, Janitor. "

Roger shrunk, shifting in the chair for the 30th time. His arms hung off the sides, given their length. His hands tensed. Squinting at the ground for a minute.

” We cannot be losing order here in the Maw, for it is the only place in this god forsaken world that makes sense anymore. So whatever the trouble may be rising, I suggest you say it now. It is best that you put an end to the- problem.. as soon as…… “

She stopped. Is he just- spacing out right now? Is this not important to him? After all she’s given him, this doesn’t concern him at ALL?

Indeed, he was lightly rocking back and forth, staring at the ground, not exactly obtaining anything the Lady was saying to him.

..Slowly, shadows began to whirl around the Governess, as she sat straight up, her posture tense. “ Roger. “

That got his attention. Eyeing back up at—

her. And the shadows. Oh. Oh no.

“ Pay attention. Does this not mean anything to you? Whatever is going on, I insist you explain NOW. That, is an ORDER. “ The shadows grew with intensity, swirling around her, menacingly. She looked… much more threatening like this. If she hadn’t been already, that is.

He flinched, expecting a sort of- physical contact to occur if he didn’t start talking. After all, he was simply a little, slightly shaking leaf, within the breeze of the one in control of this vessel. “ ..Y-Yes, Miss.. “ He nodded, with haste, so he could just get to the point.

“ ..There’s this.. I- I don’t really know what it is. It was like- like a shadow? A big, humanoid shadow. “ That was the simplest way to explain. She maintained her exterior, staring down at him through her mask.

" ..Shadow. " Her body just barely relaxed. " ..Do they have a name. "

" That's the thing. They don't-- we don't know their name. They keep it a secret. I don't- know why. "

" ...Hmm. " She leaned back into her chair. " This is.. unfortunate. Distracting. "

" ..Mhm. " Roger slowly reached up to adjust his hat a little bit. " Is- there anything you-- or- we, could do? " Asking, slowly beginning to relax himself. The Lady hummed.

" ..I will- see what I can do. " She nodded, the shadows ceasing from the air. " But for now, you and the Chef's can attempt to stall the... thing. "

Oh thank god. " Oh- that's-.. al-alright, uhh.. alright. "

. . .

Silence. Again. This is so awkward, good lord.

The Lady stood up, slowly. " I think we are done here. You may exit. "

" -Oh-- uh.. wh-what about the chairs? " Roger blinked.

" I will tidy that up on my own time. What I need you to do, is go. Do I make myself clear..? "

" ..yes, my Lady. "

She then vanished. He.. always wondered how she did that. How she attained that- shadow magic of hers. It's strange. To him, at least. But, without another word, he made his way to the exit of the Residence.

...

Okay. Okay. This is fine. Everything is fine. You aren't dead. Everything, is okay.

Roger took in a deep breath. Yep!! Everything is cool. Everything... is cool.

He needs something to drink. He just casually shuffles his way to the Kitchen.

.

.

.

" So! The talk went well? That's good, isn't it? " Thomas spoke up, trying to sound supportive- for one reason or another- while serving the Janitor a glass of water. He handed the glass cup to the short man. " So, what did she say? "

" Well.. uhh.. " Roger took the cup, and took a quick sip. " ..Mm- she said she'd see what she could do. But I don't know exactly what she will do, or when she'll do it. "

" Pehh. She might brush us off. Like always. " Marcus huffed, pouring himself a glass of wine. Though, he did glance to Roger for a moment. " Want some? "

" Nah. I'm not feeling it. "

" Oh, c'mon! Everyone needs a bit of wine every so often. 'Sides, you're looking terrible. You could use it. " Marcus commented. He's not wrong. Roger looks.. tired. And just unfresh. The Janitor deadpanned him for a moment.

" ...Really. "

" Seriously! I'm serious! I'm right, aren't I, bro?? Tell me he doesn't look terrible. "

" W-Well, I mean- " Thomas honestly didn't know how to respond. " ..I- uhhh.. "

" Exactly! "

" Alright, alright, calm down. No need to--- to keep--- wineing about it. "

.

.

.

" That was so bad, Roger, you know that- "

The Janitor just broke into a cackle. To him, that was- the funniest thing. Why? His sense of humor is broken, most likely. Thomas tried to find it at least somewhat funny. It wasn’t really there though. But Roger seemed happy with it.

“ C-Come on, it was funny- “ The Janitor held his hand straight up, pointing it towards Marcus.

“ No, it wasn’t, Roger. That was horrible. “ Marcus cringed, which only seemed to make it better for Roger, who was still laughing, smiling from ear-to-ear.

“ Kehehehe..heheh.. okay, okay. Now, uh.. I think I should- get going. “ He tilts his head towards the exit of the Kitchen, and back into the lower parts of the Maw. He eyed the cup of water he was still holding. He- kinda spilled some on the ground from the laughing. Oops. “ ..Sorry. “

” Oh- it’s okay. “ Thomas pats his shoulder gently. “ …Can I ask you something? “

” Huh? Sure, shoot. “

” Umm.. how many fingers am I holding up? “ The Chef proceeds to hold up four of his fingers. Roger simply blinked.

” ..Four. Why— “ oh wait.

“ -Y— You can tell?? You didn’t even have t— you can see now?? “ He looked confused, and surprised at the same time. Ohgeezohmanohokay—

“ ..I- I guess?- “

“ Wait- what? I thought you were just- “ Marcus squinted. “ ..Why didn’t you say you could- “

“ oH MAN- WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME?? I REALLY GOTTA GO, I’M- “ He coughs in between the words. “ I gotta- I GOTTA- Go— do my job!! Really would like to talk some more, I REALLY would, but I shouldn’t be holding up my work, sowiththatbeingsaid, I’mgonnaleave- goodbye- bye- seeya- bye- “ Roger then ushers himself out and away from the Chefs.

He just left them in silence. A short period of silence.

” … “

” … “

“ Roger can see..? “

” Yeah, it’s weird, right?? “

” ..If- he can see, why do his eyes look so.. “

” Oh- I think that’s because.. uhh.. here, I’ll just explain it to you. “

…

Oh my god.

Why? Why did you do that? You’re so brain-dead. A moron. An idiot.

Why can’t you just talk to people correctly?

Roger groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. Once he opened them back up, his arm fell to his side, and he just- begun to shuffle forward. He needs to check on those kids. Make sure none of them went up and tried escaping while he was gone. For the while, he just thinks to himself.

The Lady. She’s very.. beautiful. But- at the same time, she’s kind of scary. And mysterious. Sort of in a sense, of- why does she wear the mask? Was it just an outfit choice, or is she hiding.. something? Where did she get that shadow thing from? It’s- sort of- confusing.

He squints. What’s gonna be done about the- the shadow person? Maybe she’ll take care of it privately? Probably, probably not.

Y’know what? Okay- stop thinking. Just keep going. Keep descending. Go check on the kids.

…

What’s their name? Why can’t they say? Is it- a sort of.. a sort of-

N-No. Stop. The last thing you need to focus on right now, is that- guy. Gal? Wait-

Stop. Just stop.

…

Roger rubs at his eyes. Tired. Need sleep. But you can’t. You gotta work first.

..you feel dirty. When was the last time you took a shower..? Washed your clothes…? Oh my god-

No- work first. Self-care second. Why is this so hard to understand right now, just do your stupid job.

He grips his head with one hand, and his face with his other, still walking, lowly groaning, and slightly humming, just trying to distract himself. Maybe-

NO. You’ve- you’ve been inconsistent enough, go do your job. The Governess didn’t let you stay here for nothing.

The hand holding his face, moves up to his hat. At least he’s not blocking his own view. You seriously need to chill. Nothing should make you do this. Focus. Focus.

..He blinks, staring at the ground, at his shoes. It’s.. kinda.. kinda blurry. He glances up ahead. Yeah.. yeah, it’s.. kinda blurry. Nothing looks right. It’s all.. it’s all.. really hard to see, right now, wait-

His arms fall to his side, his head tilts to the side, confused, rather lost, he doesn’t- understand what’s happening. He’s still walking. Does- does he even know where he’s going?? No, no, you don’t, cut it out and FOCUS. Why is that SO HARD?? You aren’t that tired, just-

He stops, scratching at his eye sockets, emitting garbled, agitated noises from his throat. Stop, stop, stop. Deep breath. In and out. In and out. You’re fine. You’re just.. tricking yourself..! Yeah.. you’re fine. You’re okay.

His vision isn’t blurry much anymore, but.. he can’t.. recognize where he is. Wait.. what?? He takes a step forward—

and he falls.

[whump-me-all-night-long]

🕊🗝

winged, feathery + caged

part four - continued from here (oops I tried to not make it a continuation)

Whumpee shivered, wrapping their arms around themself as another draft passed through the small cage. Their wings ached as they were propped up and chained at a painful angle.

After Whumper had dragged them through the woods for an indeterminable amount of time, they'd ended up at a large cabin in the woods. There, Whumper had shoved them into an almost decorative sort of metal cage. Their wings had been restrained, the injury pulling and causing them to grimace.

Then, they'd been left alone.

Whumpee didn't know how long they had been left there. Long enough that they finally got tired of seeing nothing but darkness and had yanked the blindfold off themself, throwing it to the ground. The position of their wings forced them to stay on their knees, back almost completely straight.

Their muscles had begun to burn and seize when Whumper finally came back. They walked into the small room where Whumpee was being held, before freezing, their cold eyes going from Whumpee's face to the slip of cloth sitting on the ground.

"Did I tell you that you could take that off?" they finally asked, voice somehow growing colder.

Whumpee shrunk back from the fierce gaze, lowering their head slightly. "I- I didn't know I wasn't allowed-"

Whumper cut them off. "You didn't know? You shouldn't have to know. You will follow my every order and will not do anything I don't give you explicit permission for." With each word, Whumpee felt themself growing smaller and smaller.

Whumper stepped forward, unlocking the cage and gesturing for Whumpee to get out. "Now, I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

[secondhand-trash]

12 and sakusaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ok tyvm

A/N: I need to get quicker with my manga reading so I can see more of sakusa but from the several chapters I’ve seen with him he is hella pretty oop oop-

12. brings an extra coat/scarf because they know you never check the temperature before going out

The fact that Sakusa didn’t immediately backed to at least a yard away from you after you let out a light sneeze was, to put it frankly without any exaggeration, the ultimate declaration of his love for you.

Scrunching his brows together as he watched you clumsily pulled out the tissue in your pocket, he was already pulling out his packs of wipes and sanitizing sprays before you could even loo up. Your voice was muffled as you thanked him, taking the wipes that he was holding out to your with the very tip of his fingers and his arm stiffly extended.

To most people, they would probably take his furrowed eyes and carefully kept distance as a blatant display of distaste. But you knew he was trying his best to let you know he cared.

Perhaps you were hanging around him too often that your own perception was twisted because you were almost a bit touched when he went on a full lecture about how important it was to stay on high alert especially during flu season.

“Can you just dress appropriately for the weather?” he said, glaring at the flimsy material of the uniform shirt you had on.

“It’s fine,” your voice nasal as you tried to protest under his gaze that was staring you down, “I’ll just go borrow one of the sweaters they have lying around in the school office later-”

“The jackets from the school office?” his said in disbelieve and you shrunk under his widened eyes, “The ones that anyone can wear? Covered in strangers’ dead skin cells? People don’t even wash them before returning it, have you even thought of all the places they could have been at?”

You did not get the chance to even utter one single word as he said, his voice getting louder and louder with each word. He sighed, digging into his bag and pulled out a black scarf. He ignored your whines as he wrapped the long fabirc around your neck until you were bundled up, the wool so tight against your throat that heat immediately started to rush through.

It smelled of softener with a hint of rubbing alcohol if you sniffed. Did he sanitise his own clean clothes? You would not put it past him. Curling your neck down deeper into the layer, he huffed when he saw the tiny smile dancing across your face as you looked up at him.

He would probably go into another whirlwind if you said you didn’t want to wash it because it smelled like him (rubbing alcohol???). 

[thathopelessromantic]

Reckless Good (3/?)

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Fic Rating: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto/Midoriya Izuku 

Note: Thanks so much for the great response so far! And if you haven’t already, please check out some of the other great pieces for the TDDK Big Bang this year!

Todoroki Shouto had accepted his fate as a public figure when he became a pro-hero, but there are some parts of his private life he would like to stay private. When he gets invited to be a speaker in a college lecture series, he goes to the meeting with one goal: to give the coordinator a piece of his mind and finally put an end to people hounding him for information about his family.

The last thing he expects is the curious, and quirkless, hero- and quirk-study professor, Midoriya Izuku, who has no interest in his family’s history, and, somehow, even more ties to the hero industry than Shouto. Intrigued by the professor, Shouto tentatively agrees to the lecture series, unknowingly intertwining their futures.

But the more Todoroki sees of Midoriya, the more questions he has. When a villain attack leaves them living together until the culprits are apprehended, maybe he’ll finally get some answers.

AO3: (x) Chapter One: (X) Chapter Two: (X)

Shouto is, regrettably, not unfamiliar with the process of checking into the hospital, or the protocols in the burn unit, but things seem to go surprisingly quick with a doctor at his side, explaining not only the extent of his injury but the cause. Just a few moments after they’ve arrived, Shouto is whisked away from Dr. Midoriya and Kou to have his burn cleaned and dressed. They run the usual battery of tests, poke him for blood what feels like a dozen times, and after about half a dozen reassurances to various doctors and nurses that, yes, he does know how to care for a burn at home, he’s told he might be able to go home later that night.

The room he’s put in is, admittedly, one of the nicer hospital rooms that he’s visited. It’s part of a private wing made specifically for pro-heroes to get a little peace from fans and the media while recovering, but it doesn’t make him hate it any less. He’s only been alone in the room for twenty minutes or so, but he’s already contemplating a prison break. Let Momo handle the paperwork for his unconventional discharge on her next day at the office and call it good. But the risk of being put on some extra mandatory leave is too great. His doctor and Momo have been on his case about taking care of himself properly for months now and they’d love any excuse to bench him for a few extra weeks, instead of the couple of days he’ll need for the burn to heal enough that he can cover it securely and get back to work.

There’s a short knock on the door. Shouto starts to mentally prepare himself for another argument with a doctor when the door inches open and Kou peeks in. Surprised, Shouto waves to her. Kou smiles back, turning to motion at someone behind her. A moment later the door opens the rest of the way and Kou rushes in, followed by Dr. Midoriya.

“Dr. Midoriya and I are on a secret adventure.” Kou announces in a whisper. There’s a Uravity-themed spacesuit sticker on her cheek and she looks as if she’s recovered from the evening’s events, but her clothes have been replaced by a colorful hospital gown and fuzzy bathrobe.

Dr. Midoriya hasn’t changed his clothes, but he has a white lab coat on over top.

“Oh? What is your secret adventure?” Shouto asks. He shifts to the side and makes room for Kou to climb onto the bed besides him.

“Visiting you!” She announces, happily. “It’s a secret because I’m not supposed to leave the quirk ward, but Dr. Midoriya snuck me out. This is for you. Dr. Midoriya said you were friends!” She pulls two more stickers out of a pocket in her robe and hands them to him; a music note that says Earphone Jack and a nesting doll in Creati’s costume.

“Thank you,” Shouto says genuinely, though he has no idea what he’s going to do with the stickers. But his mind is distracted by Kou’s other words. The quirk ward? Obviously there was a reason the villains had targeted the girl, but that detail had gotten buried in the chaos of everything else. Now he’s reminded of the villain’s words…something about her being the key.

He looks up but Dr. Midoriya meets his eye with a subtle shake of his head.

Shouto lets the subject drop for now, but he’s determined to stay a part of this investigation. He’ll get his answers eventually.

Turning back to Kou, he tries a hesitant smile. “Would you still like that autograph?”

Her whole being lights up. “Really?” She reaches into the pocket of her robe again only for her face to drop. “Oh. I forgot my notebook.”

Dr. Midoriya taps her on the shoulder, holding out a small, heart-shaped notepad and a glittery gel pen.

Kou gasps, taking the items from him with excited thanks. She flips through the notebook quickly looking for a blank page, and Shouto is surprised by how many signatures she’s already amassed. Satisfied with the location, she hands the notebook and pen to him. She’s practically vibrating in excitement as he writes a quick note to her, trying to make it sound a little more personal than his usual scribbled signature.

Just as Shouto finishes his note, there’s another knock on the door. Yet another doctor steps into the room, reading through something in a folder. Her long, silver hair is draped over her shoulder in a thick braid and there’s a sharp horn coming out of her forehead. She seems faintly familiar to Shouto but he can’t place why he would recognize her. At the very least he doesn’t think he’s ever had her as a doctor before. She stops in her tracks when she sees Dr. Midoriya and Kou gathered around his hospital bed.

“Izuku!” she scolds, crossing her arms over her chest.

It takes Shouto a moment to remember Izuku is Dr. Midoriya’s first name. He glances up at him.

Dr. Midoriya leans close to Kou, covering his mouth with one hand to stage whisper to her. “I think we got caught.”

Kou copies him with a quiet giggle. “Oops.”

Shouto closes her notebook carefully and slides it across the bed. Kou covertly slips it into her robe.

“What are you even doing here?” The new doctor asks, exasperated. There’s no way she didn’t hear the two of them whispering, but she seems to be ignoring it.

“Kou just wanted to thank Entropy for saving her!” Dr. Midoriya insists, apparently choosing to take no blame in their “secret adventure.”

“Dr. Aizawa has a quirk kind of like mine,” Kou tells Shouto in a hushed voice while the two doctors argue. “She and Dr. Midoriya are really nice. And funny.”

Dr. Aizawa makes it all click. The light hair and the horn. She was the same little girl Aizawa had adopted during Shouto’s first year.

“We were just leaving, Dr. Aizawa!” Kou chimes in suddenly, sliding off the bed and grabbing Dr. Midoriya’s hand. “Bye!”

Dr. Aizawa shakes her head as Dr. Midoriya is pulled out of the room by a girl a quarter his size. “This isn’t over just because you have a patient protecting you, Izuku.”

Dr. Midoriya sends a bright smile back at her just as the door closes on the two of them.

“I hope they weren’t bothering you too much,” Dr. Aizawa says as she comes over to Shouto’s bed.

He shakes his head. “No, I’m glad I got to see her again. I was worried she’d be a little more upset after everything.”

“Kou’s a strong girl. She’s going to be okay.” Dr. Aizawa says with certainty. “Anyways, I’m Aizawa Eri, I’m part of the hero staff here.”

“Aizawa, er...Eraserhead’s daughter, right?”

Dr. Aizawa smiles and it looks so shockingly like Dr. Midoriya’s, Shouto can’t help but wonder about what their connection to each other is. Especially with how casually she spoke to him. Could they be related? It seems like he would have known if his homeroom teacher had also had or adopted a son his age, wouldn’t he? “That’s right, you were one of his students! Nice to see you again.”

Shouto bows his head in acknowledgement. He knows he met the young girl Aizawa adopted a few times, but his memories of her are fuzzy at best.

Dr. Aizawa checks him over again, asking him a few questions about how he’s feeling and what’s been done already. Finally, she gets to why she’s here to see him. “I’m not sure if you would remember, but my quirk is Rewind. It’s delicate but helpful for healing, especially for many pros. If you remember about how long ago you were burned, I should be able to heal your arm so that you can get back to work without too much fuss.”

“Really?”

Dr. Aizawa nods. “I can rewind your body back to before it happened, but it will rewind your whole body so the closer to the exact time it happened the better, otherwise too many things could change. Do you have a good idea of when it happened?”

“What time is it now?”

Dr. Aizawa glances at her watch. “Almost ten.”

Shouto is briefly surprised by that information. He hadn’t realized how long he had been in the hospital already. “I left the agency after the first alerts came in around 6:30, so it was probably around 7 that I made contact with the villain. I can’t be more exact than that, unfortunately.”

“That should work alright. Would you like to be rewound, or would you prefer to let it heal naturally?”

Shouto shakes his head. Anything to speed up the process. “No, please rewind it if you can.”

She smiles. “Okay, it will be just a moment then.”

Dr. Aizawa pulls on a pair of gloves and takes his arm in her hands, gently, mindful of the injury and the loose bandages protecting it.

A moment later the horn at her temple begins to glow, Shouto has to look away as the warm light grows brighter and then, just like that, it’s over. When he looks back at the doctor, her horn has shrunk a little, losing some of the sharp edge at the top.

“Okay! You should be good to go. How does it feel?”

Shouto moves his arm a few times, relieved that there’s no pain as he moves it. Carefully he peels off the bandages. It looks as if he was never injured, not even a small scar left behind.

Dr. Aizawa looks pleased with the results. “Perfect. Unfortunately it doesn’t work on non-living things so you will have to have your costume repaired separately.”

“That’s fine,” Shouto says. He was more worried about being forced to take some sick leave than repairing his costume to begin with. “Thank you.”

Dr. Aizawa smiles again. “Of course. I’m happy to help.” She pulls a few papers out of her folder and hands them to him. “If you are ready, you can take these to the desk out front and you’ll be discharged.”

Shouto hesitates as he takes the papers from her. An hour ago he was ready to run at the first chance, but now…she was someone who might have some answers…

“Kou mentioned that the two of you had similar quirks,”

“I’m sorry. If you become a part of the investigation I’m sure you’ll find out more information, but for now I can’t disclose a patient’s information.”  Dr. Aizawa says before he can even finish figuring out exactly what he wants to ask.

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I don’t blame you for being curious, not after everything that’s happened.”

Dr. Aizawa looks ready to leave, but there’s one more thing Shouto has to ask. At least while he still has a chance.

“Can I ask about Dr. Midoriya, then?”

Dr. Aizawa stops with a puzzled look. “Izuku? What about him?”

Shouto's mind goes blank. Everything doesn’t seem like a plausible response. At least not one that would get him anywhere. “Uh, I…I was just surprised to hear you call him Izuku. Are you close?”

Dr. Aizawa studies him for a long time as if she could determine whatever ulterior motives he had for asking just by staring him down. Maybe she could if even he knew what he was doing asking these questions.

“I’ve known Izuku for a long time,” she finally says. “He’s like family.”

The answer is careful, guarded. With the slightest undertone of a threat.

“…Right.” Shouto replies awkwardly. “Thank you.”

Dr. Aizawa inclines her head to him. “Have a nice night, Entropy.”

 After checking out with Dr. Aizawa’s discharge papers, Shouto heads back to the agency. Sunspot practically tackles him in the lobby.

“Entropy! You’re okay! I thought you were just going to check on the kidnapped civilian, but then Ingenium told me his friend was taking you to the hospital and that I had nothing to worry about so I should just go back to the agency but I didn’t know why you were going to the hospital or what was happening,” she stutters over her words for a moment, taking a breath. “Was it okay to leave? I didn’t know what else to do but I didn’t know what hospital you went to or why. Were you injured? You don’t look hurt. Is that how you damaged your costume?”

Shouto lets her run on while he goes to his office. He knows she’ll follow. And that it’s pointless to try and get a word in until she runs out of breath.

Sunspot sinks into one of his office chairs as he goes to turn his computer on. He lifts a brow at her slumped form in the armchair.

“Are you done?”

She opens her mouth to speak again but after a moment shuts it again and nods.

“The villain who took the hostage burned me. I hadn’t realized the extent of the injury until later. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you personally so that you knew it was okay to come back, but it was fine that you came back. It wasn’t serious.” Shouto explains calmly. “You said Ingenium told you to come back?” Shouto thinks back to Dr. Midoriya texting in the ambulance and he wonders if the two know each other.

Sunspot nods again. “He came and found me and told me a friend was taking you to the hospital. I assumed he meant one of the paramedics. I didn’t know he was friends with the paramedics. Was that part of U.A. training? Getting to know first-responders closely? Or just a coincidence?”

“I think it’s just a coincidence on Ingenium’s part. Not something you’re missing out on.” Shouto says. “You did good tonight. Go home and get some rest.”

“But-”

Shouto gestures to her before she can argue. “You expended a lot of your reserve helping the rescue crews with civilians trapped under the rubble and then helping me melt the ice. It’s okay.”

Sunspot looks down at herself. The faint glow she normally gives off as a result of having excess energy saved up by her quirk is almost completely extinguished. At the late hour, she wouldn’t be able to get any more energy even if they needed to go out into the field again. Not until the sun was up again.

Sunspot pushes herself out of the chair. “I’m sorry I can’t be more help tonight.” She says with a short bow.

Shouto waves her off. “It’s okay.”

“Good night, Entropy.”

“Good night, Sunspot. Good work tonight.” Shouto says. He catches just a glimpse of her relieved smile as his office door closes quietly behind her.

Alone, Shouto settles into his desk chair, already mentally preparing for a long night. He considers going against doctor’s orders and getting some coffee but just barely resists the temptation. Caffeine might end up making him too jittery to focus and this is important. Writing up a more in-depth report of the event for the police and the agency records is the first priority of the night. But after that, Shouto has some research to do.

 X

Momo finds him like that in the morning. Sometime in the night the combination of the late hour and bright computer screen got to him and he went in search of his rarely-worn glasses to take some of the stress off. His final report and the accompanying paperwork are tucked in a folder for safe keeping, but the rest of his desk is a disaster zone of scattered pages, printed news reports of the attack last night with any information he might have missed, any police reports on the matter he could get his hands on with his current clearance, his own compiled notes.

He doesn’t even realize someone else is in the office with him until Momo clears her throat, placing a paper to-go cup of tea in the middle of his desk, on top of the latest piece he’s reading.

“Shouto,” she says seriously, crossing her arms over her chest. “ When did you last take a break?”

Shouto tries to come up with an answer but his brain is fuzzy at best, street names and potential identities floating at the forefront of his consciousness. “Uh, what time is it?”

Momo sighs, rubbing at her temple with one hand. “ Go home, Shouto.”

“I just need to-"

“No.” Momo comes around the other side of his desk, pulling him up and out of his desk chair by one arm. “It’s almost eight o'clock. You need to go home and go to bed.”

Momo might have had a point, his shift was supposed to end at six that morning and he hadn’t even noticed the time, but he digs his heels in, resisting being dragged from the office to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, Momo is stronger than she looks, and has the advantage of a full-night’s sleep on him.

“Go home. Go to sleep. Don’t come back until Saturday.”

“But-”

“You were injured! You should have called me as soon as you were taken to the hospital,” Momo scolds.

“I got better.”

Momo looks at him curiously. She comes to a stop, scanning him over. Shouto’s sure he looks a mess, still half-dressed in his damaged hero-suit, the top unzipped and tied around his waist. His hair has started to escape the braid he had it in for work and he can see the loose hair floating in his peripheral vision. Not to mention how exhausted he probably looks after spending the whole night scouring the police database. But – he’s not injured.

“What do you mean you ‘got better’? You weren’t really injured?”

Shouto sighs. “No, I was. There was a doctor at the hospital with a quirk who fixed it. Aizawa’s daughter, actually.”

Momo’s brows shoot up in surprise. “I didn’t realize she became a doctor. That’s wonderful.” She pauses. “But not the point. You still should have called someone. Though I suppose I should be grateful you went to get help, at all.”

Shouto rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well…there was a doctor on the scene when I was talking to the girl who was targeted who saw my burn.”

“A doctor?”

“Uh…Dr. Midoriya.” Shouto explains. He isn’t sure if Momo will recognize the name, not entirely sure if he wants her to remember or not.

“The professor from the lecture series?” Momo asks in surprise. “What was he doing there?”

“Apparently he’s not just a professor.”

Momo studies him for a few moments, trying to figure something out. Shouto doesn’t blame her. He’d like some answers about his behavior too. He just hopes she comes to an easy conclusion, like Shouto cooperated with Dr. Midoriya because he sort-of knew him, and not anything else ridiculous. Or revealing. Or uncomfortable.

Finally, Momo shakes her head, brushing off whatever conclusions she may have come to. “I don’t care. Go home. Sleep. Eat something. I’ll finish submitting your reports to the police and I’ll make sure they know you are interested in joining the case searching for the villains who escaped last night, but other than talking to anyone who contacts you about the case, I don’t want to hear about you working again until this weekend.”

Shouto wants to keep arguing, he’s not even hurt anymore, but he knows this is the best he’s going to get from her. He is also unbelievably grateful for all the years they’ve known each other and how Momo knows exactly what he needs to hear to relax, even just a little.  “Okay. Thank you.”

Momo nods. “We’ll get whoever it is, Shouto. But you don’t have to do it alone. And you can’t do it in one night. So please take care of yourself. I’ll see you on Friday for dinner.”

Momo waves to an intern, instructing them to escort Shouto to the exit. Shouto wants to protest being babysat the rest of the way to the door, but Momo pins him with a hard look before he can even open his mouth and he lets it happen. Admittedly, now that he’s not pouring over his research to keep himself moving, he can feel exhaustion settling over him.

Though he could still find the way to the damn door himself.

 Shouto stumbles into his dark apartment twenty minutes later. He leaves the lights off as he comes through the entrance. The morning sun has started to fill the front room with light, and its enough for him to make his way to the bedroom without tripping over anything. His bed is cool, the sheets still ruffled from the previous morning. Shouto just barely remembers to strip off his ruined hero-suit before he drops into the bed, using his left side to warm up the sheets quicker. In a minute, he’s asleep.

When he wakes again, warm golden light pours into the room from his half-open window. He runs a hand over his face, trying to will away the strange, disorienting feeling of waking up. He reaches to his bedside table, knocking a few things to the side until he connects with his alarm clock. Pulling it close, he squints at the lit screen. It was almost five in the afternoon. Shouto tosses the offending thing away. He takes just a few moments to reorient himself before he forces himself out of bed and into the shower.

He only remembers after stepping into the spray that half of his hair is still twisted into a braid. He swears as he tears the now-wet strands free of the stubborn rubber-band, tugging at the knots there unhappily. He doesn’t mean to stay in the shower for long, but after fighting with his hair for who knows how long, the heat and relaxing pound of the spray against his shoulders eases some of the tension from his body and he wastes time under the comforting water until it starts to run cold. The temperature change doesn’t bother him much, but he figures he’s wasted enough water like that and climbs out.

After drying off a little, Shouto brushes his teeth, and that, combined with washing off the grime of the previous day, helps make him feel a little more awake. A little more human.

Shouto dresses in casual civilian clothes. He finds his phone, dead, in a pocket of his hero-suit before tossing the ruined thing in a bag to give to the support team. They’ll probably just have to make him a new one, but he feels bad throwing it away without trying to salvage it.

His charger is plugged in near the bed, so he goes to grab it so he can charge his phone in the kitchen while he makes something to eat. But in fumbling around looking for the charger, he spots his forgotten glasses in the mess of sheets and pillows on his bed. The ear piece on the right side is bent at a strange angle and one of the lenses is cracked. Shit. Well, he supposes, that’s what he gets for wearing them for the first time in months while running on fumes. He tosses the damaged glasses on his side table and leaves for the kitchen.

Finally, he switches on a few lights.

His apartment is mostly bare, plain white walls with just a few basic pieces of furniture, mostly just there to fill the empty space. The occasional dirty glass or dish that gets left behind if he’s in a rush on his way to work are the only signs of the life in the otherwise dull place. Those, and the three picture frames hanging on the wall in his living room; one of his mother and siblings, one of his graduating class with their teachers mixed in with the colorful crowd, and one of the day he and Momo started their agency. They’re the only decoration he needs. They represent all the important people in his life.

There are a few containers of leftovers in the fridge, and while it would be easier to warm something up and leave it at that, Shouto takes the time to pull out some fresh ingredients. Washing off the vegetables and prepping them while rice cooks is a simple, familiar routine and it helps ground him.

He starts a simple stir fry with chicken just as his phone finally comes back to life, chiming with a number of missed notifications. Lowering the heat slightly, Shouto lets it simmer for a minute while he checks his phone.

A few of the notifications are basic news reports he usually dismisses, though today he saves any about last night’s attack incase there’s been any updated information. There are two texts from Momo asking if he got home safe and if he ate anything. He shoots of a quick reply to her, apologizing for not letting her know right away and reassuring her he’s making food now. He takes a picture of the pan and sends it as an after thought, just in case she doesn’t believe him. There are also a few texts from Kyouka telling him to stop worrying her wife and to stop being an idiot. He responds to those with a few choice emojis and nothing else. She’ll get the message.

Finally, he looks at the emails he missed. There’s one from an Officer Uchida he doesn’t recognize, confirming he (Momo) submitted the right paper work to join the case against the villains from the night before and once the task force has been officially formed he would be contacted with more information. Relieved, Shotuo saves the contact information and sets it as a priority so he’ll be sure to get any future notifications right away. The only other missed email is from Dr. Midoriya.

Shouto goes back to checking his food, stirring it for a few minutes and adding a few more ingredients. His attention goes back to his phone a few times, but he resists going back to it. He’s not sure why, he’s been waiting for this stupid email basically since he left the professor’s office, but suddenly he’s nervous about opening it. He’s not sure what to expect once he opens the list of the professor’s topics. What if he imagined all of this and the professor still wants him to talk about his family? What if Shouto can’t answer any of his questions about how his quirk works? Is it even a good idea for him to talk publicly about how his quirk works? Couldn’t someone use that against him?

Shouto turns his phone upside down, hiding the blinking notification.

He’ll look at it after he eats.

He finishes cooking a little while later. Scooping out a generous serving of rice into a bowl and getting a plate for the stir fry he settles in the living room. He has a perfectly good table he could eat at in the kitchen, but there’s something satisfying in breaking the rules and eating on the couch. Out in the open, casually. He hasn’t lived with his father since he was a first year, but he still takes satisfaction in all the ways he can defy him and the rules he kept in that house.

Shouto turns on the local news channel to watch while he eats. Unsurprisingly, the attack from last night is still the focus of the station. There’s a reporter discussing the widespread damage through downtown on the screen. In the background, heroes and clean up crews are still working to clear the rubble. Shouto recognizes Uravity’s bright pink costume amongst all the grey and black. She’s moving two giant pieces of concrete overhead, some kind of broken metal rods coming from one look particularly dangerous.

A scrolling banner runs across the bottom of the broadcast, asking anyone who might have information about the villains to call in to a hotline, and a separate call for anyone with quirks that might help in fixing the damage done to the roads. There are also short headlines for stories meant to air later that night and a small graphic with the weather.

The camera view changes suddenly and the report comes back into view with a police officer, answering questions about the attack.

What did they know about it? Not much yet, but they don’t think it was random.

Was anyone seriously injured? Thankfully most casualties were only minor injuries and the paramedics on scene took care of most of the civilians who were hurt.

Who were the villains? No one in particular. They don’t think this is an organized group starting attacks. Not like in the past. No one needs to worry.

All safe answers that tell them basically nothing about what happened. Shouto learned more in the two minutes he spent on the radio before pursuing the villain than the news report. He changes the channel. A talk show re-run is showing an old interview with Hawks. Shouto hesitates changing the channel again.

“So, Hawks, it’s no secret that you’ve been a fan of Endeavor’s basically since your debut, and the two of you made a good team as Number 1 and 2 for a while,” the interviewer says in a fake cheerful voice. Hawks gives a stiff smile, placating but revealing nothing about how he actually feels about the subject. “What are your thoughts on the rumors brewing about a civil trial after the allegations against Endeavor from his family?”

‘Tis the season.

Shouto clicks the TV off before Hawks can reply.

Not hungry anymore, Shouto puts his plate down. He ate most of what he had taken anyways. The rest will be fine for leftovers.

Getting up from the couch, Shouto goes back to the kitchen for his phone. The same ignored email is still waiting for him with that mocking, blinking notification light. Taking a deep breath, as if preparing for a fight, he opens it.

Entropy,

I hope you are doing better after Dr. Aizawa’s visit with you at the hospital. Sorry I couldn’t see you off. Here is the list of possible topics we discussed the other day. This is just an abbreviated list of some basic things to talk about. You can obviously go into more detail about anything that might interest you or that you think might be important information for anyone with two or dual quirks to consider.

Thank you for considering being a part of the Hero Talks Series.

Thank you, also, for your help with the attacks last night and with Kou.

Midoriya

 Shouto isn’t sure what to focus on first. The dropped title from the professor’s name? Midoriya thanking him for doing his job of all things?

Making the executive decision to focus on none of them for the time being, Shouto opens the attached document with the lecture topics. Dr. Midoriya’s “abbreviated list" is still two pages long.

Somehow, it’s exactly what Shouto was expecting.

[nickgerlich]

Turning Out The Lights

I have waxed sadly poetic for many years now about the long-term, drawn-out death of Sears. The company has been in hospice for so long, somehow clinging to life optimistically, as if selling another dress or suit might be the cure to what ails them.

Alas, that isn’t going to happen. They started writing the tombstone epitaph long ago. “Herein lies one of the largest retailers ever, victim of its own inability to see beyond today.”

While Sears is like the Black Knight in that famous Monty Python movie, and it is in fact not dead yet, it may as well be. It might be able to bite us, but without limbs, the forest it once ruled is a very different place. And now comes news that Sear’s last store in Illinois--it’s home state--will close in November right before holiday season shopping kicks into high gear. It’s a highly visible closing, given that it is at Woodfield Mall, a premier retail property.

Sears and its sister company Kmart, thanks to a merger years ago, is now owned by Transformco. The parent company, which apparently has a bit of a death wish, plans to focus its efforts on Sears’ online presence. Really? It’s 2021, not 1995. Too bad that management didn’t grasp this concept 26 years ago.

With about 300 stores between the Sears and Kmart names, the combined company has shrunk from 700 stores just three years ago. Independent franchisees also operate Sears Hometown stores, but they are not part of the planned closings. Those shops are scaled-down versions of a Sears, are typically located in smaller towns, and carry consumer durables.

Still, the shuttering of Sears at one of the most prominent malls in Chicagoland is going to leave a nasty scar, even though Transformco promises to re-imagine its current location in the mall. That’s code for slicing it into much smaller pieces, and hopefully finding new tenants willing to give it a go in a place that just witnessed a death.

Good luck with that.

I have many fond memories of going to Sears, first as a child where my parents would buy my school clothes every August, and then as a teen when I hung out in the record department. No kidding. Sears once sold music. Well, at least we can credit them for abandoning that category decades ago.

Even by the 1990s, though, Sears found itself with a dowdy image. I joked back then it was the place my dear late aunt would buy her clothes. Old lady clothes. Sure, they typically have money, but they don’t buy clothes as often as younger people, and young people wouldn’t be caught dead there.

Oops. I guess that was an omen.

But while I will cling to those childhood memories, I won’t miss Sears one bit. They once held a place in most everyone’s heart. They were the go-to store for middle America. It seemed like there wasn’t a mall without a Sears.

But staying relevant is every company’s most important job, even before revenues and profits. Stay relevant, and everything else will take care of itself. It was nice knowing you, Sears, but the time has come to turn out not just the lights at Woodfield Mall, but all the rest of them as well. Watching you die is even less fun for the folks who once shopped there.

Dr “Thanks For The Memories” Gerlich

Audio Blog 

[pumpkachubby]

The Pumpkachubby’s Story Archive

I wanted to have a place where everyone could easily access to the story of my characters, but be aware that I’ve been writing this since 2017 so some details may be missing since a lot of info was added in ask or have been changed along the way, I tried my best to add the most relevant parts of the story, if you are new I hope you like it! (you can check each of my oc’s tags for more)

In this list the chapters are in chronological order, and when a new character is introduced (or when their desing change) there will be a link to the post in this format: [NAME] + (design info)

2017

[PETROV] (original design)

[GUESTER] (original design)

[ROMPT]  (original design)

2018

[PETROV] (1st design update)

[KOH]  (original design, missing)

[CRESCENTE]  (original design)

The day I met him

[HAROLD]  (original design)

At the other side of the mirror 

Halloween Party  > part 1: New Arrival < - > part 2: Impostor < - > After the Halloween party…

[KNOLL]

[SVEN] (original design)

Knoll and Sven reunited

[KOH]  (1st design update)

Rompt and Koh

2019

New year’s situation

The Chocolate incident: > The night before < - > (chocolate fever explanation) < - > OH NO < - > Looking up for Koh < - > The Aftermath of Valentine’s day 

The Growing Koh arc (Beginning): > Koh’s situation < - > Reactions < - > [Chubby Koh] < - > Knoll’s situation / explanation < - >  Size problems

[HAROLD] (design update)

Harold and Guester’s relationship update - boyfriends time

The Growing Koh + shrunken Crescente: > Koh update < - >  Crescente’s Request < - > [MEGA KOH] < - > We shrunk Crescente! < - > little roll cake incident < - > Oops < - > Rompt is a mean giant < - > A talk about clothes < - > Koh’s feelings < - > Goodnight < - > Trapped!

[SVEN] (scientist design)

[Guester] (design update)

It’s all Rompt’s plan? : > Sorry Master < - > Discovered < - > Shrinking Knoll part 1 - part 2 - part 3

RECOLLECTIONS (This chapter is a summary of the events in 2019 from Horacio’s point of view and adds a lot of new information)

The Growing Koh arc (Resolution): > Part 1: “You are all stupid!” < - > Koh and the reductive suit < - > A (failed) medicine for Crescente < - > Resolution - Part 2 : The only answer

A tale at a certain halloween night 

Letter from an old friend

When are you planning to tell everyone... that you evolved?

She is back!

[CRESCENTE] (Design update)

2020

Harold’s Plan: > Part 1: Before < - > Part 2: Regrets and Resolutions

Pumpkaboo Hunting:  >Part 1< - >Part 2< - >Interlude< - >Part 3< - >Part 4<

[GREGORY]

[TSUKI]

[TSVETKO] (old muscle version)

Before the trip : Sven’s reflections - Little Argument - Taking care of Knoll - Aerial Preparations

Galar Arc

- Trip to Galar - : First encounter - The Guild’s Master - Alone with Tsvetko - Wolter - Doctor Noah Grimm  - Warmth

[SVEN] (desing update, current)

[VOLKE]

[WOLTER]

[TSVETKO] (Current fat version)

[NOAH GRIMM]

[TREVOR THE NIGHTMARE]

[KOH] (Current evolved version)

[PETROV] (Obsidian Guild Member version)

Sven’s route:  >Part 1< -  >Part 2< - >Part3< - > Interlude< - >Part4<

2021

Koh’s Valentine’s Day

Interlude 1 - Masked Detective

Interlude 2 - Back-up

Interlude 3 - Drew

[KOICHI] (Koh’s father)

Horacio’s Route:  >Part 1< - >Part 2< - >Part3< - >Interlude<

Special interlude: Tale of an encounter at Christmas

2022 - 2023

Buried feelings

[HORACIO] (Current fat version)

Crossroads: >Trevor’s side< - >Wolter’s side<  -  >Knoll’s side<

I hope this is clear enough!

(this post will be edited with every future story update)

[bgn846]

Regression FFXV Promptio Fic

Summary: Gladio gets hits with a status effect and becomes 17 again.  This would be somewhat bearable if it weren't for Prompto's terrible crush on the guy. 

--

Hands roughly shoved him, sending Prompto sailing off to the side.   Landing in the dirt he covered his head instinctively to avoid getting clocked by the monster they were fighting.  Gladio was already sprinting after it, yelling like a madman and swinging his great sword at the thing.  Of course, it had to be Gladio that had rescued him this time.   Getting up quickly he ran after his friend to try and help.

Stupid, big, loud, annoyingly handsome Gladio had saved him.  One of these days he was gonna repay the favor. Taking aim with his pistol, Prompto fired off a few shots.  The monster slowed somewhat allowing Ignis and Noct to attack next. This day needed to be over, he was tired and not looking forward to the teasing he’d get later for needing help. Maybe he had gotten distracted, Gladio’s fighting style was hard to ignore after all.  The guy was a wall of muscle and even sweaty he looked good.

Six, he needed to clear his head; this wasn’t the way to think during the heat of battle.  Running closer Prompto took another shot and hollered in glee when the monster fell over.  They were finally getting the upper hand, or so he thought. Sure, the big ugly monster thing had tipped sideways; the only issue now was the plume of yellow-colored gas coming out of its mouth.  

Ignis’ voice rang through air ordering them all to take cover.  He clearly didn’t like the look of the stuff either.  Noct came out of nowhere and tackled him, sending them both behind a rock.  Holding his breath and watching the air around them, Prompto waited for the yellowish tint to disappear.

“Is everyone alright?” Ignis asked from somewhere nearby.

“Good here!” Noct replied as he stood and hauled Prompto up with him.

Emerging from their makeshift hiding spot Prompto realized they’d not heard from Gladio yet. “What about the big guy?” he asked trying not to seem too concerned.  Noct knew about his crush but he didn’t really want to have that rubbed in his face at the moment.

“Shit, you’re right,” Noct supplied nervously as he ran towards Ignis. “Any sign of Gladio?” he checked with worry.

“No, the last I saw him he was over here.” Ignis offered as they ran around the monster.

The weird yellow stuff had literally been his last dying breath.   Prompto never wanted to see another one of those things again; it was aggressive and hard to kill. Ignis’ gasp of surprise when they’d reached the other side of the battleground made Prompto panic slightly.   Running up beside him to get a better view he was left dumbstruck.

A dude was standing there looking around like he was lost.  Once he spotted Ignis he huffed out a breath and ran over.  Prompto felt as though his chest might explode as he watched the guy.  He looked like Gladio in a way, but there were some major differences.  Height wise he’d shrunk and his clothes were baggy, plus his hair was short!  What had happened?

“Iggy, thank the six, what the hell is going on?” This, Gladio look-alike, asked with an air of frustration in a voice that wasn’t the normal deep baritone Prompto was accustomed to. He was scanning the rest of their little group and when he landed on Noct his eyes lit up.   “Shit, Noct’s here too.  Who’s the scrawny kid?” Gladio asked with a nod directed at him.    

Prompto chose to sulk as they picked their way back to the car.  It appeared Gladio had been affected by some weird-ass status effect.  He had been de-aged, to the wonderful age of seventeen.

How charming, in the most terrible way possible.  

Dealing with his feelings for twenty-four-year-old Gladio was hard enough, now he had the pubescent teen version to contend with.  One that kept questioning his skills since they’d never fought together before. This stupid status effect needed to be over, like yesterday.

“So you don’t remember anything that’s happened so far?” Noct asked for the third time as they drove along to the next outpost.

“Seriously, I just remember training like usual along with all the other stuff, like school and then boom there was that gross monster dead in front of me.”

“Huh, that’s strange.”

“Yeah, tell me about it, how do you think I feel?  All of this is new and I’m so confused.  I’m supposed to be twenty-four, right?”

“Yep,” Noct offered without batting an eyelash.  The prince was clearly not bothered by Gladio version 2.0 or was it version 1.0, this was so messed up!

“Damn, never thought you’d be able to look me in the eye princess, it’s weird.”  

Noct laughed and leaned back in his seat. “You’ll need to be careful though, you’ve not had the real-world experience your older self has gained.  Stick close and don’t do anything brash kay?”

“Me?” Gladio scoffed, “Never!”

The day was definitely terrible, it had to be cursed or something because not ten minutes later the stupid empire attacked them.  Two dropships full of those irritating tin cans fell from the sky.  With no other choice than to engage them, they all piled out of the car and prepared for battle.

Teenage Gladio was freaked, it was obvious, but the second one of those things went for Noct, the shield in training sprang into action.   His moves weren’t as polished, but he held his own for the most part.   That is until he got overwhelmed.  Training one on one was good and all but when four MT’s came stomping towards you that was a special kind of hell.

This time Prompto was ready, he didn’t need rescuing he was going to be the one helping.  However, he had to figure out how not to hit Gladio.  The guy wasn’t exactly staying in the clear, that kind of fighting style had been fine-tuned since they’d all left Insomnia.

Running faster to get closer Prompto almost had a heart attack when one of the MT’s took a swing at Gladio.  Thankfully, he ducked and fell to the ground.  Without thinking, Prompto rushed over and fired a shot point-blank into the enemy.  It sputtered and sparked falling in a heap nearby.  Hovering over Gladio’s body Prompto fired his gun at the remaining MT’s.  Each shot rang out loudly as he hit his targets with deadly accuracy.  Maybe Gladio wouldn’t be so unsure of his skills now!

Jumping up in celebration when the last MT fell, Prompto turned his attentions back to Gladio.  The not so big guy was staring up at him in awe.  Oops, perhaps he’d overstepped his place when he’d helped out.   Noct and Ignis hadn’t been that far away, they could have easily stepped in to lend a hand.

Slipping into silence he backed away and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry didn’t mean to freak you out there, figured you could use some backup.”

Gladio was pushing himself up off the pavement, that odd look still plastered on his face. “Nice shot, where’d you learn to shoot so well?”

“Crownsguard training, same as you went through.”

“Nah, I don’t remember anyone being that accurate in the range. Seriously where’d you learn?” He asked walking closer with a raised eyebrow. “That was amazing!”

Taken aback by the compliment Prompto suddenly felt his face heat up.  Great, he was blushing in front of teenage Gladio.  Someone needed to shoot him to put him out of his misery.  Laughing nervously he waved him off, “its just practice I guess.”

“You’ve got skill that was impressive.  Thanks for saving my butt.” Gladio offered with a wink as he sauntered past and got back into the car.

“I’ll remind you Prompto that he is technically underage, don’t do something you’ll regret later,” Ignis added coolly as he walked past a moment later.

“You told him!” Prompto bellowed as he turned and ran after the person he thought was his friend.  Noct, the tricky bastard, warped away and got back to the car without having to answer for his crimes. Grumbling at the injustice of it all Prompto slumped in his seat and scowled at the scenery going by.  

Ignis had cited the concern of getting attacked again for the choice to stay in a hotel for the night.  He didn’t want to risk anything with Gladio, not at his peak performance level.  Praying that Ignis would book two rooms so he could hide in one, Prompto almost yelled when Ignis arrived with one room key once they’d checked in.  This day sucked so bad!

Taking a deep breath he followed his friends to the room.  He could do this; the status effect would only last a couple of days at most.  If they were lucky Gladio would wake up taller and less cocky tomorrow morning. Dinner went without incident; he supposed fighting all day had made them hungry.  You can’t talk much when you’re shoveling food in your mouth.

Once the dishes were cleaned and put in the drying rack of the small kitchen, Gladio began asking questions.  He wanted to know everything that had happened to them.  Why were the niffs around? What had happened to everyone?  That wasn’t a pleasant conversation to have at any time. Ignis took the reins on that one and carefully retold the events they’d all suffered through.

He only explained enough to give Gladio an understanding of why the enemy was out and attacking them.  They didn’t want Noct to marry Luna. Ignis left out the part about Insomnia falling and everyone’s fates.   Gladio didn’t ask for more specifics so Ignis didn’t technically lie, he merely omitted certain facts. There was no need to let Gladio relive that moment again that would have been cruel.

Teenage Gladio shook his head in disbelief at the enemy being brazen enough to attack in broad daylight but didn’t comment further.  Standing up he began pacing the room.  “So what’s next, where are we going?”

“We’ve been en route to meet up with Lady Lunafreya.” Ignis offered.

“Cool, so we’re just waiting here till this funky effect wears off?”

“We can’t risk you getting injured, that wouldn’t be fair as you’ve not trained with us all.”

Sighing Gladio nodded but didn’t look too happy about the idea. “I guess that makes sense, I just don’t like waitin’ around for stuff to happen.  We gotta get out there and show the niffs we mean business.”

“Yes, well, all in due time I’m afraid.  Enjoy the break while we have it, we’ll be on the move again soon.”

Humming in acknowledgment Gladio paused when he passed the mirror above the dresser. “So older me is pretty buff huh?”

Prompto quickly looked away when Gladio began flexing and had to bite his lips to stifle a moan when Gladio took off his jacket.  Dear six, his back was bare. No tattoo, no scars, nothing.  Just smooth skin and muscles.  Apparently even at seventeen Gladio still looked like a freaking supermodel.  Unable to look any longer Prompto bolted up from where he’d been sitting at the table and jogged to the door. “I’m gonna go grab a soda or something. Berightback!” he blurted before throwing himself out into the hallway.

Taking off like a flash Prompto ran all the way to the vending machines.  He had to clear his head, this wasn’t good.  Crushing on regular Gladio was bad enough, this was downright painful.  Ducking his head he sighed heavily and began digging for money in his pockets.

“Need some change sugar?” An unfamiliar voice announced, causing Prompto to whip his head up. Standing a few feet away was another hunter.  The guy looked drunk and had his hand extended holding up some gil. “Come on sweet thing you can take it, I won’t ask for much in return.”

Prompto backed away from the machine like it was on fire. This guy was super creepy and he wasn’t planning on sticking around much longer. “I’m good, thanks,” he managed.

“Don’t get all bent about it, I’m just offering you a good time.”

“I don’t think he wants any kinda time with you buddy.”

Turning around Prompto saw Gladio stalking over like he was on a mission.  Despite the situation, Prompto nearly had another heart attack.  Gladio was wearing a t-shirt now instead of his usual jacket.   The only thing was the shirt was one his.  There, dangerously stretched out over his still developing muscles was Prompto’s moogle t-shirt.

Prompto didn’t have time to react when Gladio stood in front of him and stared down the drunken hunter. He was prepared to fight this guy.

“I suggest you shove off buddy, he’s with me,” Gladio growled, not at all sounding as young as he was.

“What are you gonna do about it?  I saw him first.”

The thing Gladio ended up doing was breaking the guy’s nose.  One minute the dude was mouthing off, and the next he was stumbling backward holding his face. He’d gotten the message this time, and shuffled off swearing about how kids didn’t respect their elders these days.  There was nothing to respect, that guy was a douche.

“You okay?” Gladio asked once it was quiet again.

“Sure, just dandy!” he quipped shakily. “We should get back to the room.”

“Not without our soda!  We had to survive that asshole, we deserve a reward.”

“Fair enough,” Prompto mused as he took out his cash.

“So, uh, do you wanna do something later?” Gladio asked casually as he stepped closer.  

“We could play some kings knight if you want, that mi--.”

Gladio laughed and grinned, “No, I mean like hang out somewhere later, ya know when Iggy and Noct are asleep.”

“And do what?” Prompto squeaked as he was starting to grasp what Gladio really meant.

“I dunno, stuff, we can take it slow,” Gladio smirked with a devilish grin.  “I’m young but I still know how to have a good time.”

This wasn’t happening; Gladio wasn’t hitting on him and suggesting they go do ‘things’ to each other in the middle of the night.  That couldn’t be possible. However, everything seemed to indicate that was the younger man’s intentions.  Gladio was attempting to unleash his un-honed skills of seduction on him.  “I can’t!” Prompto yelped, “You’re only seventeen!”

“Aww come on, you know you want to, besides I’m really twenty-four.”

“I can’t, I just can’t. Ignis told me I couldn’t, earlier.  We can’t make Ignis angry. That would be very bad.” Prompto sputtered as he backed away and bumped into the vending machine.

Gladio pouted but there was a twinkle to his eyes.  He wasn’t upset about how this was going.  The jerk was having fun.  Thinking fast Prompto threw out the only idea he could think of that might save him. “Why don’t we wait until you’re older again, and then you can ask me out?  That way we won’t make Ignis angry and we’ll go have some fun, uh later.”

“So you’ll go out with me?” Gladio checked seriously.  “I just have to wait until I’m back to normal.”

Nodding so fast he gave himself a head rush Prompto agreed. “Yeah for sure, just ask me first and I’m all over that like cheese on pizza.”

Gladio barked out a laugh and reached out to punch Prompto in the arm.  “You got it sunshine, let’s buy these drinks and head back.  I’m gonna ask you out tomorrow and you better be ready.”

Smiling at the statement Prompto got the sodas and the rest of the evening was filled with gaming and talk.  Though he knew nothing would happen in the morning.  Gladio would go back to normal and forget any of this ever happened.  He would never ask him out and Prompto would go back to pining from a distance.

Ignis saved the night so to speak when he announced the sleeping arrangements.  Noct and Gladio would be sharing one bed and he and Ignis the other.  At least he didn’t have to worry about Gladio making a move in the middle of the night.

Sleep didn’t come easily once they’d all turned in.  Prompto kept thinking about what Gladio had said.  Maybe if they’d met under different circumstances things could have worked out.  Gladio was Noct’s shield and he had a duty to uphold.  He wasn’t about to go chasing after him.  That shit didn’t happen in real life.  Finally pushing the thought from his head Prompto fell into a fitful slumber.

Morning came eventually and Prompto had all but forgotten the previous night’s escapades until he opened his eyes.  Flinching in shock he almost fell off the bed.  There lying next to him was older Gladio, watching his every move.

“Easy there sunshine,” he hummed slowly.

“What –what are you doing? Where are the others?”

“They are out getting breakfast.  Ignis said you didn’t sleep well last night so I figured you could use a little extra shut-eye.”

“I can sleep fine without you watching me!”

“Sure, but maybe I wanted to be alone with you, didja ever think of that?”

Prompto couldn’t get a handle on what Gladio was thinking.  Was the man teasing him or being serious?  “Okay we’re alone, so now what?” he spit out helplessly.

“I was thinking we could do something later if you’re up for it.”

Letting out a breath, Prompto groaned. He didn’t want to train with Gladio later that was the worst idea ever.  Figures the big guy turns back to normal and his first thought is training. “I don’t wanna train with you later okay. I’m not re—ompffff.” Prompto’s brain short-circuited. Gladio was kissing him, morning breath and all. Gladio had his hand securely in place at the base of Prompto’s head, keeping him from moving away. When the need to breathe became greater than the desire to continue kissing, Prompto tapped out and Gladio released his hold.

“I never said anything about training,” he offered with a salacious grin. “I thought I was told to ask you out once the status effect had worn off?  Did I misunderstand that request?” Gladio’s teasing tone of voice and smirk wasn’t helping Prompto make sense of what was happening.    

“You remembered?!” he whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

“Sure I remember, sunshine,” he chuckled. “I think the next step is for you to say yes.”

“Om em gee, yes!” Laughing like an idiot Prompto leaned forward again and kissed Gladio a second time.  So maybe de-aged Gladio hadn’t been such a terrible thing to endure; now he just had to figure out what they could do later!

[iam-mars]

Tagged by @socalledmixtapelife omg thank you, I love this one.

1. Name: Maria

2. Gender: Female

3. Star sign: Leo

4. Height: I just went to the doctor today and apparently I've shrunk 1 cm, so 1'65 now

5. Time: 17:40

6. Birthday: Best month ever aka August

7. Favourite band: wait do you mean bandS? I can't choose but 13 year old me is screaming at me telling me that is I can't choose, she's choosing McFly

8. Favourite Artist: Ugh I hate you, let's see............Amy Winehouse

9. Song stuck in my head currently: Strangers Like Me from Tarzan (Phil Collins)

10. Last movie you watched: Rocketman

11. Last series: WandaVision or This Is Us I'm not sure

12. Blog age: 10 FREAKING YEARS THIS 30th OF APRIL OMG

13. Content: bunch of shitposts that make me laugh, memes, some selfies, .... Basically what my brain is when I'm bored

14. Last Google: how to look on Tumblr my blog age

15. Side blogs: yessss @mars-around-earth where I post cool pictures I've taken of beautiful places

16. Do you get asks: Yippee, and creepy comments. No thanks, I don't want to be your sugar baby weird human

17. URL meaning: Mars is my nickname

18. Following: 236

19. Followers: 385

20. Average sleep hours: 7 hours on weekdays,about 10 hours on weekends oops

21. Lucky number: either 3 or 12

22. Instruments: piano

23. Clothes: hmmm I'm not sure, do I have a specific kind of style? Cozy jumpers, stripes or flower prints

24. Dream Job: psychiatrist (I'm getting there) or book translator/editor

25. Dream Trip: either explore the forests and lakes in Canada or New Zealand

26. Favourite food: give all the pasta and pizza

27. Nationality: Spanish

28. Favourite Song: uuuugh stooop. I'd say All I Need by Matchbox Twenty or Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart by Fountains Of Wayne

29. Last Book: I finished La Red Púrpura by Carmen Mola the other day and now I'm reading The Shining by Stephen King

Okay this was soooo cool! Tagging: @albertosays @samthoughtprocess @notsospecialafterall and @classyblasianlotus

[torajisbizarreadventure]

MEGA SPOILERS POST FOR NEKO MIX VOL 13 PART 2

You’ve read the title, you probably knew how everything works around here, let’s roll.

I couldn’t find chapter 3 so feel free to suffer through the cliffhanger with me

Final warning : complain about being spoiled after clicking the “Keep reading” button and I will pour milk into your sock cabinet

This is the second chapter

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Hacchi and Toraji snuck into the upper part of the castle, thinking of the legend that there is a miracle medicine that turns half-orcs into humans. Toraji asked Hacchi whether he wanted to become a human. Hacchi said that if he could, he wanted to become a dog and stay with her for the rest of his life after finding his missing owner, Michiru. After entering the treasure house, there were big boxes full of different keyholes, making Toraji excited to unlock them. It turned out that the keys were shrunk along with his body. But he still wanted to try opening it anyway, so he emptied the small key into the huge keyhole. As a result, the treasure chest was actually opened like this. They were surprised to find that it was not medicine, but similar to Rio’s toy car. 

(Apparently Jose asked Pai’yan to go to the puppet making country to repair Rio’s toy car, this was actually plot relevant oops)

When Ginji was worried about Toraji, he heard the noise of "Rio” and Pai’yan outside. Standing in the rain, "Rio” expressed his dislike and fear of the rain, and asked his father not to treat him like this.

“Dad, you can’t do this! Save me, dad!”

"If you get caught in the rain...what will happen, Rio?”

Pai’yan questioned “Rio” expressionlessly about his weird behavior. “Rio”, who was extremely frightened, shouted his father for help, while Pai’yan froze there, thinking that "Rio” was also a puppet. Although the chaos in the rain attracted everyone's attention, no one dared to intervene.

Pai’yan thought that his wife and Toraji would soon find abnormalities, but he could not figure it out, and he was angry that he was fooled. (nahh son you are just dumb)

“Mom has a deep sense of protection in her heart, so...I don't care that she tried to test me. But, dad, you just suspect me and don't have any evidence. This is because you don’t know anything about me!”

Pai’yan, who was questioned angrily by "Rio”, remembered his son's diary that he had read when he got home.

He remembered the sentence that broke his heart : "I don’t have a dad”.

Pai’yan shed tears and when he saw "Rio” who was about to fall, he ran over and hugged him, took him back to the house, rushed to light a fire to keep “Rio” from melting.

After this chaos, Pam’dom and Pa’san actually understands that "Rio” is just a clay puppet filled with Rio’s own memories and feelings. They looked at Pai’yan and said nothing.

Toraji and Hacchi in the castle have opened six boxes with their keys, and the results are all toy cars. There was only one key left, but finally a different item was found this time. It was the candy that the old lady gave them. The instructions in the box also show that it is a shrinking medicine. There is only one pack of medicine in the box, and there is no medicine to turn back to normal. Although there are still many treasure chests, Toraji ran out of keys so they had to leave. Toraji was originally disappointed but Hacchi comforted him, saying that every box that Toraji opened always had things that are meaningful. Toraji agreed. These toy cars should also have their meanings, but they still don't know what they are.

Toraji and Hacchi brought some shrinking medicine back, and Ginji talked about the conflict between Pai’yan and “Rio” while they were taking a bath. After hearing that Leo is also a puppet, Toraji felt a little relieved, but Pai’yan would be sad.

“Rio” stared at his missing finger, then told Toraji that although he remembered everything from the day he adopted Toraji till now, he didn’t feel like himself anymore. Ginji was watching him worriedly, but he didn't know how to comfort him.

At this time, Pai’yan, Pam’dom and Pa’san were secretly observing the situation in the puppet-making country. Pai’yan and Pam’dom walked together. Pai’yan explained that even though the “Rio” that he held in his arms was a fake, he still felt pity for the child and still saved him to make up for his past negligence of his family. The latter did not agree with Pai’yan, he asked Pai’yan to act rationally and calmly, reminding him that "Rio” is a fake doll, and that the dolls that imitated the appearance of the warriors before would attack humans.  "Rio” didn't know when he would start going on a rampage, he speculated that it might be the Hex Mouse controlling the doll.

On the other hand, Pa’san met the king’s adopted daughter Kasmin in the garden. He asked the child why she was out so late. The princess smiled and said that there was no problem, but Pa’san responded solemnly and said that when children smiled and said that they were very happy, they were usually lying about their happiness.

Kasmin smiled and grabbed Pa’san and asked if he could be his kid, while shaking the tambourine in her hand. She said that she didn’t really like the king and she would like to go elsewhere.

While investigating, Pai’yan and Pam’dom heard the drums and saw that the people had started to behave a little strangely. It was obviously raining, but the doll residents ran out one by one, arranging themselves into a long line.

As a result, before they could react, Pai’yan and Pam’dom were captured by the people (my man just can’t rest easy when travelling with pai’yan smh). They were trapped in a metal ball, the only hole was blocked by the doll residents with a long bamboo pipe, then the ball was pushed to the edge, and water was poured in from it. The dolls scattered and left.

Toraji who stayed at home also heard the sound of drums. He remembered that the dolls in the museum also turned started moving after this sound appeared. Ginji felt that this was not good, so he along with Toraji ran out to find Pai’yan. When "Rio” heard them, he also thought of his father and went with the 2 cats.

Pai’yan and Pam’dom couldn't destroy it from the inside, so they pushed the conveniently-hidden hamster reporter out of the bamboo pipe and asked it to find rescuers. Hacchi also took everyone to the 2 heroes with his keen sense of smell. Toraji and Hacchi went into the ball to find out the situation. They couldn't ask for help from the local outsiders, and they couldn't destroy the ball from the inside, so they could only find a way to get them out of the organ from the outside. However, Ginji wanted to unplug the bamboo pipe for irrigation outside the ball, but his strength was not strong enough to move the bamboo pipe. There is only one way to prevent the 2 heroes from drowning or suffocating in the ball, which is to stop the external water flow.

Ginji discovered that the water connected by the bamboo pipe came from the continuous flow of water between the rocks above, so he began to move the stones desperately, trying to block the water flow in the middle. The earl wanted to cut the bamboo pipe but couldn’t cut it. Pai’yan and Pam’dom were soaked in the water and began to lose temperature. Toraji put his mini body against the bamboo pipe, trying to block the water flow. Ginji continued to work hard to move the stones to block the water.

"Rio” ran to Ginji and said that he would also help, and began to move rocks together to stop the splashing water. "Rio” was thinking about the memories he had with his dad, the relationship, conflict, and reconciliation after the reunion. He desperately tried to block the water flow. Ginji next to him saw everything in his eyes.

The water finally stopped entering the organ ball, but but the 2 heroes were still trapped in the cold water. In order to avoid freezing to death in it, they took the shrinking medicine that Toraji found in the castle treasure house and escaped from the bamboo pipe. Toraji happily reported the news of Bai Yang's successful rescue to Ginji who was sitting on a high place. Ginji turned around and solemnly asked Bai Yang to come up to him.

"Rio...” Ginji pointed to the mud and clothes in front of the pile of rocks.

“Rio hated water, but he tried to pile up the rocks here, and finally blocked the water flow with his body... he knew he would melt...”

Pai’yan stared at the mud and cried, and both Ginji and Toraji cried together. He then felt boundless anger towards the Magic Mouse and the Hex Mouse for tampering with his life.

While everything was happening Pam’dom froze to death because everyone forgot to pull him out  jk

[badwolf-in-the-impala]

~Whiskey Lullaby~

~Chapter 11~

Image credit: Myself @badwolf-in-the-impala​. None of the images are mine, only the editing.

Previous Chapters:  ((Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10))

Rating: Mature/18+

Warnings: Alcohol and drug use/abuse, violence, suggested physical/sexual abuse, kidnapping, sexual content, angst...So much angst.

Chapter warnings: Language, smoking, someone gets punched in the face and a whole lotta feels.

Word count: 4,264

A/N: I’m a shitty person when it comes to posting, I’m sorry...I also forget this chapter even existed. Oops. x_x Also huge shoutout to @jacksonroseroth​ who helped in the making of this chapter and always comes to my recue when I get stuck writing! ^-^

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

Once they were sure Tawni had left the room, Tig gave Teagan one last hug before jetting off, having gotten a text to meet the guys in the chapel. Teagan bit back her tears, having enough with crying for the day as she sat down in the chair beside Chibs’ bed. The steady beeping of the EKG machine drummed in her head as she sat there in silence. He wasn’t out of the woods, but he wasn’t dead. Her only regret was he hadn’t woken up yet so he could talk to her. Teagan just wanted to hear his voice right now, more than anything.

“God...I’ve really fucked it up this time.” She gave a bitter laugh as she shook her head, leaning her elbows forward onto the edge of the bed as she cradled her head in her hands. “I feel like this is all my fault, and the two people I trust and care about most? Well, Tawni hates me; And you?” 

Teagan let out a long sigh as she ran a hand through her dark hair, looking up to study a very unconscious Chibs. His head bandaged and face scraped in places from where he hit the ground during the explosion. He looked so broken and helpless lying in a hospital bed compared to his usual tough exterior that everyone saw. 

“Well -- You almost died.” She finally whispered, catching a stray tear with the back of her sleeve. “Shit, you still could. Please don’t.” Teagan choked out a sob as she took his hand gently, her voice going soft as she spoke to him. The fact that he likely couldn’t hear her briefly crossed her mind as she chewed her lower lip anxiously, but she continued anyway. 

 “There’s so much I need to tell you still...Things I should’ve told you already, probably, if I wasn’t so shit at talking about my feelings.” Teagan admitted guiltily. “Things I’m scared to admit because I’ve been here before, and I fucking swore to myself; I fucking swore! That I wouldn’t go down this road again. But alas, here I am. God I’m an idiot.” 

Things fell silent again for a little while, the steady beeping of the EKG machine being the only noise to fill the room once more. Teagan not knowing how to continue on, not that it mattered anyway. Chibs was unconscious and he would likely remain that way for quite a while. But the bigger question that had been weighing heavily on her mind -- Especially following her blow up with Tawni -- was not so much her own feelings, but his. It wasn’t something she had really even considered bringing up yet, what with everything that had been going on. But now? Now she wondered.

Just what exactly was it that he saw he saw in her? I mean sure, it wasn’t like things were really that serious between them, but they were serious enough that he cared for her well being. Her safety even. He cared enough to help her put herself back together every time she fell apart, even though he barely knew anything about her. Save for the story that had been pieced together all those years ago when she left Charming. The story that everyone knew so well. The story, that was only half truth.

Teagan could feel the tears beginning to prick behind her eyes again, forcing herself to draw in a few deep breaths as she tightened her grip on Chibs’ hand, trying her best to ground her emotions again. But her voice still faltered as she spoke aloud the question she wasn’t certain would ever be answered.

“What is it exactly that you see in me?” Tegan whispered. Her brows pulled tightly together in confusion as she ran a thumb carefully across his scared cheek and down his jawline before allowing her hand to fall away. Before Teagan could say anything else, the door swung open, making her jump. She quickly pulled her hand away and wiped her face as she stood. “Sorry, Doc. I just wanted to-”

As Teagan turned, expecting Tara to be standing in the doorway, she, instead, came face to face with an older, darker skinned woman with black hair that had begun to salt and pepper, holding onto the bag slung over her shoulder with a hip popped, hand propped on it, with a posh and annoyed look on her face.

“Oh. Um, sorry. I thought you were--Who are you?” Teagan asked, slightly confused. She’d never seen this woman around the clubhouse before and Chibs never mentioned any woman that even came close to what she looked like.

“I think the question here would be who the hell are you?” She asked, a thick Irish accent coming through. Teagan’s eyes shrunk back.

Oh, God, not another one. Teagan thought. She’d never met Tawni’s mother and she hoped to God this wasn’t her. Granted Tawni was as pale as the day was long, but stranger things have happened. Taken aback by the woman, Teagan blinked and cleared her throat before she said, “Um, I’m-I’m Teagan?”

The woman pursed her lips and gave a soft ‘Mhm’ as she rounded the bed and set her bag down. Tossing her dark mane over her shoulder, she turned back to Teagan and said, “And would ye mind tellin’ me why yeh’re so broken and upset over m’husband’s accident? And why you were touchin’ him like that?”

It took everything Teagan had to not let her mouth drop open in shock and start yelling. Chibs never once mentioned he had a wife. Not when he held her that first night, not when she spent multiple nights in his bed. He didn't even bother to tell her when they were mere articles of clothing away from doing the do.

‘Alright…That puts a new spin on shit.’ Teagan thought, not trusting herself enough to say anything out loud just yet. Teagan opened her mouth to explain, but the woman cut her off with a wave of her hand and said, “No. Don’t tell me. I don’ need ta’hear any lies out’o a Crow Eaters mouth.”

“Excuse me?!” Teagan shrieked. That one label sent her over the edge. She did her share of whoring around when she was younger, but goddamnit! She was the sister of one of the members! She was as far from a Crow Eater as you could get without being an Old Lady! “Listen, who the hell do you think you are?! You don’t know me!”

“Oh, sure, please!” The woman shouted back. “I know Filip has his fun wit’ you American girls. But never once has one o’them shown their face when I’m around!”

Teagan was about to channel Tawni and reach across Chibs’ bed for a right hook to her face, when a nurse hurried in through the open door.

“What is going on? ICU is for immediate family only!” She said. Teagan opened her mouth to lie and say she was family, but the Irish woman beat her to it with, “I’m his wife.”

The nurse gave her a sweet smile and nodded before turning to Teagan and saying, “Miss Trager, you need to leave. Dr. Knowles is looking for you anyway.”

Teagan huffed at the nurse, shooting daggers at the woman before turning on her heel and marching out of the room.

~

Gemma had lost track of Teagan after reprimanding Jax and just prayed that Teagan didn't end up running back into Tawni. She really didn't need to deal with an angry Irish girl and a Trager, at least not at the same time. The last thing they needed was an all out brawl between a couple of hot headed biker chicks on hospital grounds. But after checking around with a few of the guys, she confirmed that Tawni had indeed gone back to the Clubhouse. And judging from the commotion coming from down the hall nearest Chibs’ room, Gemma could only guess that’s where Teagan had ended up.

“Shit.” Gemma muttered under her breath as she quickened her pace as she moved towards whatever in the hell was going on; Stepping back just in time as Teagan blew around the corner and passed her, Tara hot on her heels trying her best to stop her.

“I’m serious, Teagan, you really need to stay overnight for observation! You have a concussion for Christ sake, just let me help!” Tara tried to reason.

“I don’t fucking need anymore help!” Teagan stopped so suddenly that Tara almost smacked right into her. Taking a quick step back with a wide eyed expression as Teagan rounded on her like a viper about to strike its prey. 

“Hey! Knock it the hell off!” Gemma managed to butt in between the two, putting a hand to Teagan’s chest as she pushed her back. “This isn’t the goddamn WWE. Now why don’t you calm down and tell me what the hell is going on?” 

“He has a fuckin’ wife!” Teagan all but screeched before storming off down the hall towards the exit to the stairs. ‘Explains a lot.’ Gemma thought to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose as she turned to face Tara. “I got it from here, Doc.”

“Good luck.” Tara called after her as Gemma took off after Teagan, catching her on the stairs.

“Wanna slow down before I have a fucking heart attack?” Gemma shouted as she struggled to catch up in hopes of talking Teagan out of whatever in the hell she was about to do.

“Fuck off, Gem!” Teagan shouted back as she hit the last flight of stairs and made her break for the door. Gemma caught her by the arm just as she was stepping outside. “Seriously, Gem, I don’t want to fucking hear it.”

“And what is it exactly you think I’m gonna say?” Gemma shot back, hands flying to her hips as she gave Teagan an irritated and disapproving look. 

“I don’t fucking know!?” Teagan yelled as she fished around in her pockets angrily for her pack of smokes, struggling to light one as her hands trembled from all the emotions coursing through her. So angry at this point she could hardly see straight. “I told you so? You’re a fucking idiot? Stay away and stop getting involved with the fucking Club members?!” 

Teagan gave a brief pause as she took a long drag off of her cigarette, running a hand aggressively through her dark hair as she exhaled. “Jesus, fuck; Why didn’t you tell me he had a fucking wife?!” She rounded on Gemma, who stood still as a statue, waiting for her moment to interject. 

“Maybe ‘cause it ain’t my place, for starters.” Gemma snapped. “And before you go jumping on that fuckin’ high horse of yours, maybe take a step back and think? It’s not like he fuckin’ knows shit about your own past, aside from the bullshit story everyone else knows. So why would he feel obligated to tell you anything about his? Especially when you two aren’t even exclusive. I mean Jesus, Teag, have you two even talked about your feelings?”

“No…” Teagan admitted reluctantly, taking another drag off the cigarette burning between her fingers as she turned her back. Gemma had a point, even if Teagan didn’t want to admit it. But that didn’t change the fact she felt lied to. Betrayed even. Even if Chibs was never hers to begin with, it didn’t change the fact that he had kept this very important bit of information from her. 

“Then why should it matter?” Gemma stated. “His business is his business, nobody else’s!”

“He’s fuckin’ married, Gem!” Teagan shouted as she whirled around, seething again. “I don’t give two fucking shits why, or what his reasonings for not telling me are, that’s not something you just keep from the person you’re getting involved with!”

 “Jesus Christ…” Gemma gave a frustrated sigh as she closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Teage--”

“NO, Gemma, I’m done. I’m.Fucking.Done.” Teagan cut her off before taking one last drag, flicking the cigarette butt to the sidewalk as she began looking around for a way back to the Clubhouse. Panic setting in as she realized everyone had gone home except for Gemma. 

“Look, Sweetheart, I know you’re upset, and don’t get me wrong, you have every right to be--But this ain’t the time.”

“Seriously, just save it! OK?” Teagan snapped, closing her eyes as she rubbed at her temples. A sudden wave of dizziness hitting her out of nowhere.

“You need to calm down…Let’s just go back inside for a bit till you cool off.” Gemma stated firmly as she moved to take Teagan by the arm and lead her back inside. Gritting her teeth as Teagan pushed her way.

“I’m fine...Gem…” Teagan shot back as she pulled away, reaching a hand out to steady herself against the pillar in front of her as the edges of her vision started to blur. But by then, it was already too late. Her hand missed the pillar entirely and her vision quickly went black as she fell to the ground, Gemma managing to grab her before her head hit the concrete.

“Shit…” Gemma muttered as she laid Teagan carefully on the sidewalk before rushing back inside the hospital to grab a nurse.

~

The slow and steady beeping filled her ears as Teagan came to, finally hooked up to monitors and IVs. She let out a soft groan as the EKG beeps began to pound against her skull. Before she could have any other reaction, from the corner, almost making her jump and fall out of bed, she heard Gemma say, “Oh, good. You’re not dead.”

“Jesus Fuck, Gemma!” Teagan shouted, the EKG beeping wildly for a moment or two before the steady pace continued. Teagan sighed and tried to move but found it rather painful with needles sticking out of her arms. She sighed and shifted, trying to get a better look at her surroundings. “Why am I still here?”

Gemma slapped down the magazine in her hand and crossed her legs. “Because you almost took a fuckin’ cement nap if I hadn’t caught you, Teagan Marie.” She said. Teagan let out another groan.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Gemma! Not the middle name shit! I got that enough growing up!” She said. Gemma uncrossed her legs and stood, stalking over to her bed.

“I don’t give a shit what you got growing up, missy.” Gemma said. “You’ve done enough damage, you don’t need any more in your life. You don’t want me to treat you like you did growing up? Then fuckin’ grow up!”

Gemma walked away from the bed and grabbed her purse from the table next to her chair and made for the door. With her emotions running high, probably from the drugs Tara put her on, Teagan fought her tears, though they came through as she said, “Wait...Gem. Please don’t leave me alone…”

Gemma stopped and turned to her. Teagan couldn’t stop the tears seeping from the corners of her eyes as she struggled not to completely break down and sob. Gemma sighed and set her bag back down, going back over to her and taking her hand.

“Teagan...This is serious shit we’re in right now. And if you’re gonna stick around, you’ll be involved. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get involved with Chibs? Let alone any member right now?” Gemma asked, lowering her voice to a softer tone. Teagan sighed, looking away from Gemma, angry with herself for crying again.

“I don’t know, Gem. It-It’s different this time. With Chibs.” She said. “He doesn’t treat me like I’m a no good degenerate like everyone else does.”

“Oh, baby.” Gemma said with a soft chuckle. “That’s not true; Jax doesn’t. Tawni never did. Clay doesn’t. I don't.”

Teagan gave her a look that made Gemma smirk and add, “Alright...Not all the time. But still, Teagan, I mean…”

“Gemma.” Teagan took a breath and said, “I think I might be in love with him.”

Gemma blinked, shocked, and said, “Are-Are you serious? Jesus, Teage, you’ve known him for like, a month.”

Teagan rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fuck. Gemma. I’m trying to be fucking happy for once in my life! Genuinely happy! And he’s fucking married!” Teagan said.

“Honey. That’s never stopped him before. Jimmy O’Phelan stole Fiona from Chibs before he exiled him from Ireland. Sure he still loves her, but...Well, he has needs too. He’s had relationships in the past. It doesn’t bother him. Why should it bother you?” Gemma asked.

“Maybe because I don’t want to be called a fucking Crow Eater by that bitch again?” Teagan hissed, her anger getting the better of her and making the EKG go off again. Gemma sighed and said, “Alright, honey, you need to calm down. If you want the Doc to clear you to leave, you’ve gotta get that anger under control.”

Teagan sighed and nodded, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Good God, did she want to get out of this fucking hospital. She cleared her throat and said, “Um, is-is he awake?”

“Teagan…” Gemma sighed.

“Gem, I just want to make sure he’s okay. Tell him I’m sorry.” She said.

“For what?” Gemma asked. Teagan opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she realized she wasn’t quite sure.

“I-I-” Gemma stopped her and said, “Look. Before you do anything, I want you cleared by the doc. Make sure everything is working right up there. You’ve taken a few punches already and we don’t need you passing out on us again.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Alright. But can we make it quick? I want to fucking shower too.” Teagan said. Gemma chuckled and gave Teagan a kiss on her cheek before she left the room to flag down Tara.

~

After a lengthy talk about making sure she was monitored for the next few days, Tara finally cleared her to leave. Teagan couldn’t change fast enough. Gemma had run back to the clubhouse and packed her a small bag of new clothes. Once she changed and the papers were signed, Gemma walked Teagan up to Chibs’ floor and stopped her.

“Just give me a minute, Teagan, okay?” Gemma said, sitting the girl down in a nearby chair before sidestepping to the door. With her hand on the door knob, she stopped when she saw Fiona sitting in the chair, reading a magazine.

‘Oh, shit.’ She thought as she slowly opened the door and walked in. Fiona glanced up as the door opened as surprised to see Gemma as Gemma was to see her. With a sigh and uncrossing her legs, Fiona put down her magazine and stood. Gemma went to the counter to set down her bag as she said, “You’re a long way from home, sweetheart.”

“Yes. I am.” Fiona said, rather matter of factly. Gemma braced a hand on the counter, the other on her hip and asked, plainly, “Why?”

“I was worried about him.” Fiona said, almost a hint of offence in her voice. Gemma looked unconvinced as she said, “Could’ve sent flowers.”

Fiona’s face was full of annoyance at this point, uphased at how much Gemma hadn’t changed over the years. With an equal annoyance in her voice, she said, “Just needed to see him, Gemma.”

Gemma glanced at Chibs, making sure he wasn’t awake and listening as she crossed in front of Fiona and said, “We are in a shit storm here. The last thing we need is you turning him inside out.”

Teagan stayed out of view from the window on the door, ear pressed to it, listening. She didn't know what Gemma meant by ‘turning him inside out’, but she didn't need an interpreter for it, and booked it, swiping her bag from the chair and beelining for the elevator. Clearly, this Fiona woman had an effect on Chibs and, after all, she was his fucking wife. She didn't want to ruin Chibs’ relationship with her and had her mind made up, even before she hijacked Tig’s bike, parked with the others. She hotwired the Harley, strapped on Tig’s helmet and took off as the club came running back outside, ready to deal a beat down, but they were all caught off guard to see Teagan as the thief.

“Hey! Teagan-!” Tig called in disbelief. He sighed and turned to his crew, staring at them for a moment before he said, “Unbelievable.”

~

Teagan lit into the Clubhouse like the place was on fire. Ignoring Piney’s attempts to slow her down and tell him what the hell was going on as she passed by the bar and made her way down the hall to the dorms; Throwing the door to her room open. The sound of it slamming against the wall sending an echo loud enough down the hallway that it could’ve woke people up in the next County over. 

Grabbing her pack from the closet she quickly began to stuff in the essentials. Making sure to do so quickly as she knew at least a few of the guys would be on their way back and pulling in soon. Tig being among them, given she had just stolen his pride and joy. So the sooner she got out of there, the better. Besides, the last thing she wanted was anyone trying to stop her…

Her mind was made up...She was done. Charming had been her last chance at a safe haven, but now that had been shattered into a million pieces and all because she let her feelings get in the way. Just like she always did. Funny she had actually believed that things had actually turned in her favor for once, and that maybe she finally had a shot at real happiness despite the shitstorm that had been chasing her all her life. But she couldn’t have been more wrong.

“What in the fuck are you doing?” Tawni grumbled crankily from the doorway of Teagan’s room, still half asleep; Teagan turning and narrowing her gaze. 

“Leaving.” Teagan snapped as she tugged the zipper on her pack shut and threw it over her shoulder before stalking out of the room. Shoulder checking Tawni on the way out when she didn’t move.

“Seriously?!” Tawni huffed as she turned and started after Teagan. “You’re gonna be a bitch this fucking early?!”

“I’m done. Gone. Not fucking coming back. You should be fucking happy!” Teagan rounded on Tawni, causing her to take a step back as she stared at Teagan a little shocked as those few that remained in the Clubhouse fell silent. “Can’t fuck your Uncle if I’m not around anymore, right? Because as if things weren’t shitty enough -- To add insult to injury, my best fucking friend--Sorry ex best friend, just assumes, that I would go behind her back in such a way--”

“Teagan--”

“Fuckin’ save it Tawn, ‘cause I don’t give a shit anymore.” Teagan cut her off before she could even start. “And to think, I actually fucking cared...I mean genuinely fucking cared, for the first time in a long time...But he’s married, so crisis averted. ” She laughed bitterly, turning on her heel as she started for the door again.

“And you’re answer to it all is to run like a fucking coward? Just like you’ve always done?!” Tawni started after Teagan again, not ready to let her go so easily. But she stopped when Teagan dropped her bag abruptly, her fist suddenly connecting with Tawni’s jaw, sending her to the floor.  

“I thought you were my fucking friend.” Teagan’s voice was calm, showing in it the level of hurt she was feeling right now as she shook her head.

“C’mon, Kid, don’t do this.” Piney butted in as he got to his feet, holding his hands out as if he was trying to calm a wild animal as he approached her. Stopping when Teagan held out a hand to stop him, and picked up her bag.

“Save it.”

“What the fucking Christ, Teagan?!” Tig hollered as he came bursting through the doors of the Clubhouse, Jax and Opie close behind. 

“Don’t.” Teagan snapped coldly as she pushed past her brother and out the door; yanking her arm from Opie’s grasp when he tried to grab her.

“Come on, Rave...Don’t do it like this.” Opie pleaded with a sympathetic expression as he stared down at her as she pushed past him out the door. “At least tell us what’s going on?”

“She’s fuckin’ my Goddamn Uncle, is wha’s goin’ on!” Tawni shouted as she came flying out the door in the midst of all the chaos, hellbent on finishing what had just been started.

“You know…” Teagan gave another hollow sounding laugh, turning with tears in her eyes to face Tawni who stopped when she saw her twisted expression. “I actually wish I had gotten the chance.”

Without another word she turned, crossing the lot the rest of the way to her bike, securing her pack to the sissy bar before she climbed on and pulled on her helmet. The sound of the engine roaring to life drowning out Tig’s shouts as he came running across the Teller-Morrow lot after her; Falling just short  of reaching her as she pulled out of her space and hit the throttle. Leaving behind a sea of shocked and confused faces in her wake as she left it all behind.

Hellbent on never looking back.

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Lemme know what you guys think! I promise things pick up soon and get more interesting lol And if you want to be added the taglist, or removed ((it’s been a long time, I’d understand if anyone's lost interest)) just let me know. I’m actually getting ahead on chapters, so hopefully I’ll be able to start posting a little more often.

TAGLIST: @jacksonroseroth​ @cole-winchester​ @stacie-marie-bloom​ @journeyrose​ @penny4yourthot​ @xbreezymeadowsx​ @miss-nori85​

[soroneir]

laaate Oumota Week Day 2: Monster (Hunter) AU for @oumota-events. Quest gone awry! Check out my Deviantart to see it in full detail, because it was originally 4000px wide and Tumblr shrunk a bunch of details out of existence.

Design notes:

When I saw “monster AU” I thought of one of my favorite games, Monster Hunter, and started thinking about what their armor would look like... and then I had to draw it.

Kaito and Kokichi are both hunters, and despite their initial differences they build up a great cooperation over time, melding their different styles to take down prey with ease. Most of the time.

Here they went to MH3U’s Flooded Forest to take down a Duramboros. Because I like Duramboros, and its verdant habitat compliments their purple. :D They managed to harvest part of the tail club (something you can do in-game), but now it’s charging, oops.

Kokichi: Light Bowgun

Weapon: As someone who does much of his work from behind the scenes during the game, he had to be a gunner. I chose the light bowgun because it’s the most mobile gunner weapon, suiting how he can appear out of nowhere. The weapon’s design is almost entirely based on the red rainbow-shooting raygun drawing in his room, with just the little mask tying it to his armor.

Ammo: Pellet and crag are generally useful ammos that I thought fit his personality more than the other basic ammos. Thunder is a reference to the electrohammer/bombs, and poison is obviously a reference to chapter 5 (yeah he doesn’t administer any poison, but I had to, and it’s purple). Paint lets him keep track of monsters, something he’d surely be good at, given that chart in his room and his general observantness. Demon boosts your ally’s attack stat, and, well, he riled a lot of people up. :D

Armor: As a gunner armor, it’s on the light side to allow for movement, being made mostly of thick cloth and leather. It’s loosely based on a pierrot outfit, with the puffy sleeves, pom-poms, and wide collar. The belt straps and checkered hip cape are from his canon outfit, and his breast is emblazoned with DICE’s logo. His left shoulder and gauntlet have game elements, marbles and chess. The boots are typical of trickster characters, and the devilish helmet represents his antagonistic role.

Kaito: Hunting Horn

Weapon: Straightforward and hasty, he’s a true blademaster, rushing headlong into combat. But he primarily plays a support role in the game. Hunting horn is the obvious choice, allowing Kaito to boost his friends while bashing his enemies in the face. The bell shape, slightly unstandard for hunting horns, is based on a spaceship engine. But the color scheme is based on his Argument Armament design.

Songs: The horn’s notes are purple, green, and red, making it strong in both offense and support. He can give a small health boost, enough to lighten a dire situation (such as lifting Shuichi out of his immediate grief after chapter 1). Or he can greatly boost recovery speed, offering long-term healing (through training)! The final song is Attack Boost L(arge), motivating his sidekicks to have the energy to fight harder.

Armor: Blademaster armors need to be tough to withstand damage, so his is made mostly of metal. It’s inspired by spacesuits, with the bright orange parts taking their color from the garment, and moon-worthy boots. The half-helmet protects his ears from roars (similar to Kokichi’s earplugs). His cape is obviously an alteration of his coat, and it’s held around his waist with a full moon buckle. To soften the sci-fi feel and add a touch of adventurer, I put fur trim on his cape and boots. The sharp, triangular edges of his star pauldron and kneecaps give a cool look. Look closely and you’ll see that his armor is peppered with nicks, dents, and gouges, each mark reflecting a time he got too reckless and was tossed across the battlefield.

I had a ton of fun designing for and painting this!

Bonus doodle for those who read all this:

[thetextilealchemist]

I finished quilting the first section of my sweater quilt! I’ll probably keep doing manageable little pieces like this, as I collect more moth-eaten sweaters from my wardrobe. I’m pretty sure I don’t yet have enough sweaters for a full bed quilt, but I haven’t decided if I want to solicit donations from others who’ve been hurt by moths, or if I want to have this be a monument to my personal vendetta. Either way, it’s not going to be a quick project, so I have time.

If you’d like to read more of my misadventures, cat helpers, and stabbing my poor fingers, do read on.

I planned this project when I first discovered the majority of the moth damage a few years ago. I was less than impressed to discover my mostly-cashmere thrifted sweater collection destroyed, but I refused to let the moths or their hungry offspring win! Each sweater still had enough usable fabric for a quilt, though deliberately shrinking and cutting it like fabric felt wrong. Everything got put away for “when I have more time”, which I guess is now.

We begin our tale by dyeing 20m (3.5kg dry) of cotton flannel I’d bought years ago for this purpose. It was on clearance and stained, so I needed any weirdness in colour to look deliberate, and also I wanted something appropriate for lead caning in a stained glass window. I knew I didn’t have enough dye (the black was enough for 1kg dry, which is a bit of a difference), but grey would be fine. I actually really like the mottled blue-grey I got, which reminds me of Actual Alchemist Friend’s favourite shirt. I also dyed some wool with the leftover dyebath, but I don’t have any nice pictures.

(Our tale actually begins with my attempts to wash said fabric in the tub rather than going down to the laundry room to pay for it, and accidentally turning on the shower to drench my fully clothed back. There’s a reason we invented laundry machines, friends. It was inefficient and I nearly slipped so many times.)

I couldn’t find my good dyeing gloves (apparently they were outside?) so the shorter ones mostly did the job.

I had supervision, obviously. After the dyebath, I gave the fabric a soak and rinse to clear it as much as I could before laundering it properly. Time to clean the tub!

(I also was reminded that dye is caustic, and if you rinse and wring it against your delicate bare skin, it’s an irritant. Who knew?)

Ever the scientist, Hermia accompanied me to check out what I was doing in the laundry room.

Clean, dry, and evenly uneven! Then I had to fold 20m of cotton flannel, which I remind you is 3.5kg and quite heavy. Imagine folding a bag of sugar at arm’s length.

I’m not a proper quilter, so I tear my fabric to get a straight grain, and am a bit lazy about my folding, so long as I get good corners. The cathedral window shape uses the bias, so there’s a certain amount of wiggle room.

I had washed and shrunk some damaged sweaters last week, and cut them into large and small squares to fill the panes of my cathedral windows. Here’s a test pinning, where everything seems to fit okay.

Then we fold back the edges and realise that’s much too bulky. Time to sigh and cut the small squares into compass star shapes.

Did I mention this is supposed to be a bed quilt? It’s going to take a lot of time and work and material, but pressing the first 35 base squares (out of a predicted 121) felt like an eternity. I was also reminded that fabric has dimension, and the 16″ squares I cut yield 7.5″ folded squares. Oops. At least I measured my sweater window templates off the folded fabric. Also, the quilting gathers the fabric further, which is likely to mess up my maths, and I’m pretty much just going to stitch until it’s enough.

Having stitched together the first 2x3 section, we pin the big squares in place.

Now the trimmed smaller stars get pinned on, and the base pinned back to frame everything and reveal petals of the lower squares. (This is not a good tutorial for cathedral windows, but there are loads of those. It’s a nice technique, if fussy and materials-heavy, but it’s so much easier than it looks.)

Look at all these pins! I stabbed myself so many times.

But it looks so pretty once the stitching goes in! I learned several things while working on this: -I am exactly the kind of person to make fun of a friend for not using a sewing machine for straight lines and top stitching, and then not use a sewing machine for straight lines and top stitching. -Quilting frames exist for a reason, and I wish I had one. Also, the back of my work is way less tidy through some six layers of flannel and two layers of sweater. -When stitching through so many layers, stabbing is the only option. -When doing that much stab stitching, use a thimble if you ever want to feel the tips of your fingers again. -Angora is the worst and wants to tangle in every stitch. -There is a correct length of thread, and getting it wrong is a mess. -Lap stitching and lapcats make a frustrating combination. -Sometimes stretching and whip stitching is the only way.

First quilted section, about three days of work off and on. It’s both slower and faster than expected. These windows are cashmere, angora, alpaca, and wool, so I kept getting distracted petting my work.

I’ll probably put this aside to do prep for upcoming online classes I’m teaching (a new experience for me), but it makes for really good mindless stitching while watching the news or QI.

I hope you’re all safe and healthy and using this time to make pretty things.