#someone probably already made this stupid pun

[the-music-maniac]

Haha bungou stray dogs? more like bungou GAY dogs [gets shot instantly]

[sugoi-writes]

In Every Sense - Part 2 to Scent Kink!Alastor x Reader

It's heeeeerrreeee~ Here are some warnings: we get some internal monolgues of Alastor hopelessly trying to seduce you, oral (f!receiving), light man-handling, begging, and some really just... absolutely raunchy filth. Please enjoy~ (please note, this is still overwhelmingly inspired by @hazelfoureyes so please please GO READ HAZEL'S CONTENT. IM BEGGING YOU. ITS SO JUICY)

Right. Where was he? Oh yes... this mess.

Alastor straightened himself out quickly, mess of his clothing and floor included. Your clothes, however, were discarded to his bed... probably never to be washed again.

After he freshed up, his eyes scanned and paused in his armoire mid-search. His taloned hands brushed against a silk top... not one of his preferred fabrics, but one he could certainly pull off. His fingers danced on it a moment more, before deciding it was worth changing it up.

Black, lattice-patterned top and tailored, wine red trousers... simple, but classy, right? As he tossed around the idea of a belt, he decided to skip that step. It would make the process of settling between your sweat-covered thighs take an eternity too long. That is... if he didn't devour you first.

Alastor threw his casual fit together, opting to keep his pointed, black dress a part of the ensemble. But should he try boots...? Would that be too much? Maybe it would be easier to kick off...?

He wondered over to his personal liquor cabinet, pouring himself a whiskey. He needed to get a pep in his step and to still his rambling thoughts. Though he usually preferred to take things slower, savoring the bite of liquor on his tongue... He instead took it as a shot, hardly reacting to the harsh intake. His shoulders hunched, huffing as he turned to look in the mirror. How ridiculous he must've looked...

Hair disheveled... eyes half lidded. His hands were sweating, the loose blouse serving as a juxtaposition to his too-tight pants. Maybe his shirt should be tucked? No, that'd look stupid without a belt...

How strange it was for him to fret... at least, fret over impressing another person. Moreover, trying to impress someone he pined for. He almost loathed the way you made him feel, and how his core seemed to clench everytime you walked by... but, there was no room for doubt now: he would make you answer for his obsessions tonight. Surely you would take responsibility, wouldn't you...?

Alastor's head shook, before he opted to tuck half of his shirt in. He saw this often in modern fashion, targeting the front corner of the shirt to show off or bring attention to his thigh and... well-- downstairs.

He quirked a brow, intrigued with this look. It was... messy. Not the neat-and-narrow hes accustomed to. And in a way, he quite liked it. Maybe with the disheveled top, your eyes would be distracted enough to be drawn below the belt...?

Hah, what a pun. It doesn't work anymore if you don't have a belt, right?

Alastor chuckled, absolutely tickled by the thought. Alastor pulled out a wine-colored blazer, which perfectly complimented his pants. Can't be too prepared for the hellish night, right? He paused, walking over to your discarded top again for one final sniff; one final tease before the real thing. He shuddered at the thought, already feeling a light twitch coming from below. 

With a resolute nod, he walks out from his room, heading towards the lobby. Maybe you would be retired for the night? Maybe he could catch you before your evening shower... He sought you out, his nose steering the way as his thoughts swam with visions of you. He would have you tonight, he thought, his hands summoning and twirling his microphone with a prideful flourish.

--

You hadn't known how it got to this point. You hadn't known how much liquor both you and Alastor had drunk, round for round... but, Alastor's plan managed to work. He caught up with you, just before you were retiring for the night... and now, you did manage to head to bed... just the wrong one.

You yelped as you were slammed against his bedroom door, hands flying to grip the collar of his shirt. The passion of his kiss made you weak, his own knees buckled. Your sounds mirrored the other's, hips rolling in tandem as the heat between your bodies danced and mingled with one another. Alastor was already getting carried away, hands grabbing at everything he could touch... your cheek, your ass, your waist... He needed more. He needed you to be absolutely bothered and sweating.

Alastor pulled away, licking a long, wet trail from your collar bone to your ear. You trembled as ghost-like kisses were placed along your jaw, pleased sigh his reward. Your head tilted back and to the side, allowing better access to the longing demon.

"Ahh-- Alastor!"

His name fell from your lips, bruised and hanging agape as your breath came out in labored puffs. Alastor groaned, eyelids fluttering as he inhaled once more. A shaky sigh soon followed, making your thighs clench together. He licked at the sweat that ran down your neck, swirling his tongue before kissing there again.

More... he needed more of this.

No words were exchanged as his lips wandered lower, your clothing coming down and off with his lecherous journey. You could only cradle and grab at his hair, trying to slow or stop his descent when he would kiss a particularly gratifying area... but your eyes widened as his kisses lingered on your lower abdomen. Your eyes met his candy apple reds, swirling with lust and intrigue.

"Mon cher, I simply cannot bear to wait... I must have you." He couldn't contain his raspy sigh as he took your pants off, sliding them down your trembling legs. You'd be lucky to have these clothes back after this night...

Once you were bare before him, he kissed at your mound, the smell of your hormones and sweat making his brow furrow with desire. His eyes nearly rolled back into his skull as you moaned, nodding feverishly," I-I... I don't-- fuck, Al... Don't stop..."

Al looked firmly at you, mouth hanging open, but not coming closer. You huffed, trembling as your cheeks flush.

"... Pl-please... keep going... I want this."

Alastor smiled up at you, toothy grin absolutely drunk with adoration as he lowered his head. He spread your legs apart, arms moving to lift you. You were pushed up until you sat upon his shoulders, suspended a few inches off the ground. You were shaking at the realization of how powerful he was; how easily he was able to sustain you with just his shoulders. It was a strength that made your abdominals clench in anticipation.

The moment his tongue ran up your slit, you saw the light, eyes widening from the feeling of his warm muscle. Alastor grunted as he started to gently lap at your core. Finally: something that distracted him from how divinely you smelt...

Now he had a new muse (and problem) to keep him up at night... the taste of your arousal.

Like a man starved, he began to lavish you earnestly, hands trapping your thighs around his head. He showed you no mercy as his tongue alternated between stimulating your clit and delving into your relaxed hole. You convulsed with his minstrations, one hand stabilizing you against the door while the other gripped an antler for deer dear life. You soon found your hips rolling into his face, his nose brushing your clit with every thrust. Your head collided with the door as your moans transformed into animalistic whines and huffs, unable to control the ravenous sounds he tore from you. Alastor wasnt any more refined, hungry like a tramp in heat.

His expression shook and strained with pure bliss as he took you in whole: touch, sight, sounds, scent, and taste. This truly was the thing that he needed most; to seek you in your entirety. He knew now that he needed to own your body by ways of physical desire and passion... something he only became keenly aware of recently.

Now, even if your soul would so pretty under his grasp... this seemed to outweigh that desire. This was the ultimate way to both have you, and for you to tie a metaphorical leash around his neck. He hadn't fully realized it, but he was completely and utterly yours, and after this display, you'd surely have him the same way...

His dignity be damned. You were too sweet to resist.

You held his fringe out of his face as Alastor groaned with every flick of his tongue, vibrations sending your nerves into overdrive. His movements, his reactions, and his blatant obsession with your scent had you seeing stars. You ground your face harder into Alastor's obedient tongue, forcing his inhales to be rapid and short. Had he breathed any harder, one would speculate he was panicking. But ahh, what a way to die again, but by your thighs and eager cunt...

"Sh-Shit-- Alastor I'm-- fuck, y-you're too-- Hah!"

Alastor's cock twitched and strained, unable to be freed as your noises grew in tempo and pitch: you were nearing your climax.

Yes.

Yes, cum on him; cum on his face.

He wanted to see your mouth hang open in a silent wail, riddled with ecstacy. He wanted to feel your legs snap his neck from the force of your grip. He wanted to taste the arousal on his tongue as it multiplied. And most importantly... he wanted to be fully engulfed in your scent as your cunt rode his tongue... At this rate, he would be making another mess tonight.

He would never wash his shirt again, aware of the cum dripping down onto the collar of his dress shirt... a notion that nearly made him squirm. Maybe he could convince you to let him keep your outfit, as a token of tonight's debauchery?

He had no more time to think as your orgasm overcame you. Both hands held his antlers as your frantically ground into his mouth, practically suffocating him as you sprayed his jaw with your release. Alastor could only take it, choking and sputtering but absolutely living in the moment. His eyes were fully rolled back, schelaras devoured by a deep, pitch color.

When oversensitivity started to make you quiver, you pulled away, utterly satisfied. Your hands went to smooth out Alastor's scrunched-up hair as he panted. You gave it a playful ruffle, apologetic for your behavior. You smile breathlessly down to the overwhelmed demon, about to thank him... Then, a shrill scream is ripped from your throat. Alastor's seering, hot tongue is on your clit again, hands digging in to the plush of your thighs.

"Mmph... more-- Please, let me have more, cher... need it-- need you!"

You whined as Alastor's pleas fell unto eager ears, head lolling. Alastor's tongue began to awaken a new vigor in you. You were more than happy to please the starved man below you... Maybe next time, you'd tie him up in your clothes, leaving him unable to do anything but take your passion, in every sense of the word...

[guillotinna]

I keep seeing these Gen z is task force 141 and I wanna join

Anytime you use a computer, you do that stupid movie hacker trope of exaggerated typing and say "I'm in"

Saying "POV" in front of sentences

In the group chat saying "1 like and I'll kms", liking your own message and then saying "damn guess I gotta"

I see a lot of these posts were Gaz and Soap would understand y/n....bffr, no those geezers would not

No one knows what the gen z kid is saying they just know it's probably not good

"You're telling me a shrimp fried this rice?"

You have a small photo you keep tucked in your chest pocket and after enough times seeing you looking lovingly at it, one of the guys asks who it is. Is it a s/o from back home? 😏😏

You say no and pull out a photo card of your fave singer and they're like ??? Really

One time during a particularly physical scuffle with the enemy, you get thrown to the ground and huff out "one hop this time" only to promptly tackle tf outta your assailant while saying "take it back now yall"

Reads everyone's zodiac charts except ghost bc he won't tell his birthday let alone the time he was born so you just make one up

Price calls a 6 am meeting to which you say "double it and give to the next person"

*Alexa, play teenagers by MCR*

If you had time describe the base, you'd say it smells like ball sweat, blood and war crimes which everyone took offense to for different reasons

Would absolutely get soaps doodles tattooed

Actually speaking of which, imagine getting caught giving yourself stick and pokes with a pen and being banned from using pens period

You'd be in a meeting with a #2 pencil

Ofc a gen z member would be absolutely feral which very little regard for their own safety much to the dismay of the others

Quoting "Oh these aren't homemade, they were made in a factory....a bomb factory......they're bombs." All the time around soap even though he has no idea what you're talking about

You don't spent too much alone time with ghost bc he likes quiet and you can't be alone with your thoughts which is why you lean more towards spending time with soap or gaz

I just like puns so I'm gonna add this but gen z love borgs (a customized gallon jug of alcohol that is usually given a name) and yours is appropriately named taskforce 1-borg-1

this is mainly for my americans but i know pretty much the whole world got beef with engl*nd: before you met Soap, you thought the entire 141 was en*lish so when you finally did meet him, you said "oh thank god" with a sigh

americans 🤝 scotts

making fun of english "people"

"Pull up in the monster, automobile gangsta With a bad bitch that came fr-" "....sergeant, comms off please"

you show Ghost WAP and he has to take a walk

*price yelling at gaz and soap*: KYLE GARRICK AND JOHN MACTAVISH GET IN HERE- Y/n: oop not the government name

Another for my US baddies: if your'e ever arguing with any of the guys, the nail in the coffin would be "and it's called soccer"

"one more like and i'll-" "enough!"

you call Price "ms. girl" and he could not be more confused

someone asks "do you serve?" and u reply "yah, serve cunt"

when asked why you decided to join the military you said something like: "well i didnt think i'd live past 18 so when I did, i ended up here".....crickets from the rest of the team

"good thing we only have showers on base because i would have already taken a toaster bath by now"

ask Gaz "no bitches?🤨" one more time see what happens

price: the enemies have taken civvies hostage and blocked off all exits and entrances to the town-" y/n: "omg tea"

Also calling price "capt. Save-a-hoe"....I wanna be saaaavvveddd ;)

If you took a shot every time you said "rest in peace to all the soldiers that died in the service, I dive in her cervix", you'd be dead lmao

When asked if they like the military they'd say "it was either this or the psych ward so yah, I'll take it"

Quoting MPGIS constantly and no one even sort of knows what that is ("Crack. Is that what you smoke? You smoke crack?")

Some detainee being interrogated is spilling some nonsense, so you hit them with "oh brother this guy stinks!" And then with the butt of your gun

"Little bad trini bitch but she mixed with China, real thick vagina, smuggle bricks to-" "SARGENT ENOUGH"

Falling asleep on team mates (minus ghost's) shoulders mostly because the most peace they get is when you're unconscious

*when y/n hears any slightly suggestive/dirty phrase*: what are we talking about 😏 (iykyk)

Same energy as: " born next to a nuclear power plant, has an IQ of 2 and was hit in the head with several Rocks as a child"

Vine quotes out the wazoo, it's just awful for the rest of the team lmao

Replying to everything with "on god?"

soap: "what are you 6?" y/n: "yah 6 inches deep in your mom".....you did not walk away from that unscathed to say the least...worth it tho

[mysticofspades]

Top 10 Moments in the Life Series

Okay, so like, a month ago or something, Jimmy asked his viewers to compile together a list of their top ten moments from the life series, and I put together my potential list right then and there when the video came out. Then I forgot about it for the entirety of a month and now here we are. (ADHD sucks sometimes TT). Since he’s already put out his reaction vid, I didn’t feel like putting together an entire video but still wanted to ramble some so~

10. Desert Duo on a Camel Together in a Red Desert

Frankly, this made the list exclusively because of biases. The significance of these two men wandering around a RED DESERT – red as in; covered in blood – on the back of some rideable minecraft animal is probably lost on any new viewer. Not to mention the Cactus Monopoly scene, with Scar giving Grian the monopoly over it while saying; “I know how you love monopolies.” That entire interaction pretty much ruined me. I haven’t not thought about it in weeks. I need help.

9. The AH-HA Bit

I don’t know if I need to say anything more about this. If the previous was iconic for its dramatics, this is iconic for the opposite. It’s just a bunch of men having fun together, laughing and making stupid little puns about a made up British tradition. The fact that Impulse, a very american american, was somehow bound up in this group made it ten times funnier. No notes, this bit speaks for itself. Insert funny AH-HA pun here.

8. Etho’s Fishing Rod Kill on Scar

Already one of my favorite seasons for a variety of reasons, Last Life didn’t need this scene to make it my all time favorite season or anything. But damn, am I glad it happened. The precision and calculations on Etho’s part is just– damn! That entire situation, no matter how it played out, Etho would be on the winning side. Like, it was either Scar dies and Etho gets a boogie kill or just not. Even if Etho didn’t get his kill there, Bdubs woulda still gotten a life and Etho could still kill anyone else. Either way, Bdubs would’ve gotten his life and Etho would’ve gotten his buddy back. It’s all just beautifully and meticulously planned out that I can’t help but plop into this spot.

(Yes, I recognise that it might not have been planned to that extent on Etho’s part, or IRL Etho’s part, at least. I am choosing to believe that ch!Etho totally did weigh out all his options and came to the conclusion that this was the best course of action and was confident he could get the kill and even knew that Scar would have the Enchanter on him. He just comes off as that type of character to me, is all.)

7. Scott’s Sacrifice for Pearl in DL

You cannot tell me that this is not one of the most iconic moments of the life series, ever. Scott standing over that pile of TNT, lighter in hand while Pearl, bathed in red and a bloody ax clenched tightly in her fists, watches, wide-eyed and hysteric, trying to desperately ask what’s going on or to understand or to just do something, unable to in the end as Scott takes his own life crowning her victor over the bloodbath that she had never thought would end like this.

And that fucking line?! “Tilly death do us part?!” What the hell, Scott?!

In conclusion, your honor, Tilly is still alive somewhere in the DL world and someone should rescue her.

6. Grain’s Stalactite kill on BigB / Ren

Alright, this is pure luck and I am so fucking here for it. It’s simply beautiful. The unplanned accuracy of a man on a bloodlust ending up only getting a kill on his chosen soulmate is poetic as shit (shit that just so happens to be really poetic, that is).

It’s kinda like the reverse or inverse of the Etho fishing rod kill. Grian’s pure luck and also not is what makes this scene so fucking memorable.

Not to mention both Grian and Scar’s reactions. Grian was over the moon, screaming and celebrating and being ecstatic until he realizes just what he’s done. And his little “except when I got married,” is all pure chaos and we live for that here.

Then there’s Scar, ever the opportunist, immediately starts looting the corpses. Silently. He picks up anything he deems valuable (which could mean useless lint and string, but whatever) and tries to bealine it out of there the second he’s done. I love Scar, honestly.

5. Scar’s SL Win!

This specific season holds a special place in my heart for being the only season I watched and stayed tuned in for the entirety of its run. So when Scar, the one I’ve been rooting for since 3L, happens to win, you can imagine my excitement.

It was so out of left field, too. Like, in the final battle, I knew for a fact something was going to take out Scott and Pearl, them being winners already and this spoken rule of no double winners and all. But between Scar and Gem? I’m sorry, Scar, but I definitely didn’t see it coming. Gem was on a mad one, killing or getting someone else to kill more than half the server and already being stacked on kills. It just fits, ya know?

Like, Martyn, Grain and Pearl all were crazy about killing their entire season, even on green they were kinda unhinged, ya know? (couch couch Scarlet Pearl cough cough). And it's not like Scott didn’t have a body count.

To be fair though, it’s not like Scar didn’t get any kills either, it was just more…. Discrete? Unintentional. His kill on Bdubs and his accidental shot on Gem were both not of his own volition.

The idea that what it took for Scar to win was to completely give up on making friends is poetic as shit.

First season, he had an ally, a friend, a comrade, one whom he betrayed then gave his life for.

Next season, he tried and tried and tried again to make friends, almost as if chasing that same high he got with his first partner, but never managing to make any meaningful connections, and ended up shot in the back.

Then, he’s reunited with his partner of old and they get off to a good start, being the last greens and all. But as if with all things, it came down as Scar, accidentally, took their first two lives and his soulmate took the other.

Afterwards, he returns to his family, hoping to find peace and connections there. He finds it with his mother and brother and, sort of, with his estranged father. He leads a Scar-typical season of blowing things up (attempting to, at least), stabbing people in the back and swindling (only a little). It all comes to a head as his once-soulmate, once-partner-in-crime stabs him in the back, literally.

Finally, we have this season. Scar starts out looking for friends, he very much does. But the universe itself has other ideas. Bad task after bad task, Scar is left almost entirely isolated from the rest of the server. The backstabber of a soulmate offers him a home but he cannot take it (as per rules he made up about his task). Then, somehow, somewhere, he sees those words, “She’s dead, Scar, you won.”

It’s all just beautiful honestly.

4. “It was just a prank, Scar!”

The beginning of it all. This little prank led to so much that it deserves to be in the top5 of every list out there, in my opinion anyway. Like, Grian randomly happening across a creeper out in broad daylight then proceeding to choose to lead it all the way into a group of distracted people in the name of a prank which leads into a season-long, dramatic, all-defying alliance of which leads to a climactic battle surrounded by the disheveled and war torn lands they once ruled over together (we’ll get to this in a minute, don’t worry), chants of the ghosts of the lives they ended to get to where they are, screaming in their ears to fight and to kill and having to brutally take the last life of the person he’d once vowed his own to Al because of what? A prank?! Seriously?!– is that not the best shit you’ve heard all day? Or all week? Hell, maybe your entire fucking life???

I sure think so.

3. Liz’s Final Death in SL

I realize that this is my only Tim related moment on the list and it was Tim who had asked for the list in the first place, but whatever. There are plenty of cool ass (and miserably funny) Tim moments out there (ones I might plop into the honorary mentions bit) but this is honestly my favorite and the one I think makes the cut compared to the others on here.

Anyhow. Onto Liz taking Tim’s place as first out.

I watched Liz’s POV late, can’t remember if it was because she uploaded late or someone else uploaded and I forgot to get back to it afterward– I dunno. I saw hers late and thus already knew she was going to die first, so, unfortunately, I didn’t get to live it through her eyes first, quite sad I know. Point is, I fucking. Nearly. Cried.

Like, not only was Liz’s whole arc in the season quite sad already, with the whole, “I wish everyone were here,” and her attempt at cheering herself up ending up so horribly, I knew beforehand that something awful was going to have to happen to sum up all her season-long misery. Dying in the midst of an attack, her only proper attack really, with an ender-pearl sitting untouched in her hotbar, was not the way I thought that would happen.

And something I didn't expect even more?? Her dying first??? Yeah, no, it was definitely not on my SL Bingo Card, that’s for sure. It was just so out of nowhere and yet, it also wasn’t? How do I explain? Like, Liz’s whole season was going from one misfortune to another, bad decision to another and it just kept piling on, until, well– you know.

Tim’s seasons are usually like that, no? Bad decisions followed by the universe itself hating on him followed by pure bad luck. Pretty much any Timmy Life Series season honestly.

I don’t think I’m doing this scene– this event justice. Timmy went out first every season for 4 seasons in a row. then Lizzie waltzes on in for the second time, suffers a bunch in her episodes, tries to kill Scott (a well-known no-no if you want to live) and then dies. First.

Beautiful and iconic; that’s LDShadowLady for you.

(I realize I should probably talk about Tim some more, given that this is the only Jim-related moment on here, but eh. This segment is too long already. I’ll talk about some other Jim moments later.)

2. Scar’s Water Bucket Clutch

This moment proved to me that putting Grian and Scar together in a life series makes a seriously underrated but totally fairly rated duo. Like, in one season they managed to keep a whole ass, proper, monopoly going for at least, like, 2(?) whole sessions, Grain managed that stalactite kill I talked about already and then Scar does this shit??

I just– there’s a reason these guys got so fucking close to winning and never teamed up, volentairily, ever again. Had they teamed up again, and wanted to actively work together and actually win this shit, they totally could. There is a fucking reason both of them are individually winners now and I’m so shitting here for it.

Onto more specific things; Scar is a mad man and I love him for it. He saw Etho burning a couple of pandas (I apologize; a couple of jellies) and was just, “screw you Giran, those pandas need me,” and he went.

Grian’s reaction going from severely panicked to immeasurable pride is just beautiful (lots of things are beautiful, shut up).

When I tell you I replayed this shit non-stop until all the dopamine this scene could provide my ADHDed brain could be sucked up dry until it was drier than the driest of dry prunes you’ve ever seen on a hot ass summer afternoon, I mean it with every ounce of my being.

With that said; second place it shall be forevermore~

1. Cactus Ring

I mentioned this earlier and I don’t think anyone is necessarily surprised judging by all my other picks thus far, yeah?

Everyone’s heard of the beginning of the end. Well this feels a lot like the opposite of that. The end of the beginning, ya know? Third life’s the beginning, where everything began, where everything and everyone got established (well mostly everyone) and it’s where everything started. The cactus ring, to me, marks the end of the beginning. As if to say, “the beginning is over. We all know what we’re doing from now on, the trials are over and the bloodlusts and betrayals have already begun, let them continue (forevermore~).”

It’s a red mark (of blood) in the sand from where they began to where they’ll continue to go. It's the end of an era, the beginning of another, the continuation of a story left unfinished. It’s everything and nothing and I’m making no sense–

My point in all this is that this moment is iconic and deserves top 2, at minimum, on any and all lists of this kind. I accept none otherwise (not really :P).

…I feel like I spoilt myself a little my gushing about these guys earlier and now I don’t really have all that much to say–

Honorary Mentions!

1 - Tim’s final LimL death.

What the hell, dude? Talk all that crap to what? Trip off your own fucking Bad Boys Bread Brige™? Timmy, Timmy, Timmy.

Joel and Grain’s, and even Pearl’s, reactions were awesome btw!

2 - Grain and Scar’s Sing-Along!

It’s a desert duo moment, I don’t know what you want from me.

3 - Tim Killing Liz in SL

If I’m not mistaken, this is, like, Tim’s only kill that season and it being completely accidental and the fact that he feels horrible for it makes this moment comedy gold.

4 - Grain’s Triple Kill in 3L

This set the stage for many, many kills to come, and the excessive use of TNT minecarts can also be pinned back here, which is awesome of course.

5 - Etho’s Washed Up?!

This was originally on the list but because of (Scar-related) changes, it no longer is. It's awesome though so I put it down here. I fucking love this shit, dude. Cleo and Budubs’ back and forth and Etho just like, “I knew it guys, I really am washed up,” is just great.

6 - Mumbo’s Death in the Nether in SL

Mumbo is awesome and kinda not all there sometimes. This just so happens to be a moment of the latter, is all. Love him.

7 - Joel and Liz’s Romance in SL

I love these two interacting just casually. They’re super sweet and I just– I love seeing couples just doing normal things, like playing a game they both like together and just having fun, ya know? Whether that be with a little flirting or not, it’s fun to watch.

Alternatively; the Joel and Liz are trying to flirt in LL with Scar awkwardly there in the background.

[reareaotaku]

My Sweet Valentine

Fuck Valentine's Day and every single couple ever! Also I know Valentine's Day has already past smartass. Leave me alone

Summary: How they act 4 Valentine's Day? Characters: Mike Wheeler, Luke Sinclair, Jane 'Eleven' Hopper, Maxine 'Max' Mayfield, Billy Hargrove, Steve 'The Hair' Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley [I was going to do Eddie Munson, but I didn't want to write for him] Tw: None [That I know of]

Mike Wheeler

He was FREAKING out

He had completely forgotten about Valentine's Day, because it never was important to him, because he never had a partner before

God, he's so fucked

Throws something together last second and hopes you don't notice [You do]

He tries coming up with an excuse but, he doesn't convince you

He tries getting his sister's help, as a last resort, but she makes it harder for him

She starts scolding him for forgetting and complaining about how she couldn't believe they were related

Feels extremely guilty when you give him stuff, stuff he likes. He actually thinks about death right then and there because he knows that he's so getting dumped

Thankfully, you don't dump him [He's thrilled because he doesn't know what he'd do without you], but you do ignore him and give him the cold shoulder for a few days until he makes it up to you

Lucas Sinclair

He has been preparing for this moment all year

No way was he ending up in the dog house

He goes all out, getting you all that stupid stuff [Teddy bears, chocolate, roses etc]

He even makes a poster that has some stupid basket ball pun asking if you'll be his Valentine

Makes him so giddy when seeing you so happy to receive the gifts

Puffs his chest out in pride, because he did that

He'll be surprised when you pull out some Valentine's stuff for him

He wasn't expecting it and now you have him blushing

"For me?"

"Well, I don't have another boyfriend"

He frowns, but ultimately takes the gifts

Jane 'Eleven' Hopper

Valentine's Day? What's that?

Pretty clueless on the holiday, but when she learns about it, she falls in love instantly

She thinks it's so cute and wants to do something special with you

"What do couples usually do on Valentine's Day?"

"Well, they do a lot of stuff... You know, there isn't just one thing- You know?"

She hums, but she does in fact not know what you mean, but it's easier for her to pretend she does

"But uh, if there's something in particular you want to do-"

"I want to do it all!" She's quick and blushes because she didn't mean to outburst like that

You giggle, "I love your enthusiasm, but we can't do everything, but we can do most of it"

You both make cards for each other and she enjoys the time she's spending with you

She ends up loving the holiday and excited for next year, because she wants to do everything else that you couldn't do this year

Maxine 'Max' Mayfield

She does not give a shit about that stupid stuff

If you get her something, cool, but it's not needed

If you want to do something, you'll have to talk to her, otherwise it's just another day to her

She might give you one of those stupid Valentine's Cards, just because she sees all the other couples doing it, but it's not something she thinks about

When she's writing your name on it, she frowns, because what if you don't like it?

She knows you deserve better, so she debates making you a home-made card

^ It does not go well, so she sticks with the store bought card

She also gets you those tiny heart chocolate boxes

Billy Hargrove

You set yourself up for failure on this one, expecting him to get you something. Like do you even know him?

You'll be lucky if he even acknowledges that it's Valentine's Day

You can get him something and he'll keep it [Probably hides it, so his dad can't find it], but otherwise doesn't say much

He thinks it's cute how you act, but he doesn't understand it. It's just some stupid day and he doesn't see anything important about it

In fact, it just seems like a stupid excuse to spend tons of money for someone you might not even still be with in a month

He treasures the gifts you get him [Believe it or not]

If you make him a card, he keeps it in his nightstand

If you get him a teddy bear, it's either on his bed or in his pillowcase [When he wants it hidden]

Steve 'The Hair' Harrington

He's quite the romantic and goes all out

He loves Valentine's Day, because he can show you off and show you how much he loves you

He'll ask you to be his Valentine, even if you're already dating

He's so cheesy and makes all kind of puns and jokes

^ It actually gets annoying for you and you have to beg him to stop

Makes you a homecooked meal with wine and shit

After that, he brings you to the couch to watch all your favorite movies

He wants to enjoy your embrace and cuddle with you

[It also gives him an excuse to not spend the night alone]

You'll be so wrapped into each other, nearly about to have a moment when the phone rings and Steve wants to kill whoever is on the other line. When he hears Dustin's voice, he wants to reach through the phone and choke the young man

It's fine though, you tell him, you were still having a good time just being with him

Nancy Wheeler

Makes you home-made gifts

She wants to give you something that comes from her heart and has true meaning

She doesn't really like storebought stuff

She thinks it means more if you make it, even if it's bad

She wants to spend quality time with you

It doesn't really matter what you're doing, she just wants to be in your presence

It's a very chill day and you don't have to do anything over the top

Robin Buckley

As a dirt poor woman, she works all year just to buy you something simple

When she finally raised enough money to buy you something nice for Valentine's Day, she was overwhelmed by all the Valentine's Day stuff

What was she supposed to get you? There was so much stuff! What the fuck!?

Pretty much has a panic attack, because she's scared she'll pick the wrong thing

God, why is this so stressful???

She decides to just close her eyes and pick something at random

Is thrilled when you like the gift

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 6- from the top of my lungs

Dp x DC AU: Regent!Jazz & Vigilante!Jazz

"I step out outside and I take a deep breath and I get real high and I scream from the top of my lungs, 'What's going on?!'" - What's Up? by 4 Non Blondes

Masterlist Part 5

It was probably hypocritical of Danny to lecture Jazz about taking up a vigilante role around their new haunt when he himself couldn’t resist the instinctual urge to give the local breed of stupidity a beatdown. 

If anything, it was a good way to get back into shape.

(Danny’s not fooling anyone, he’s a twink.) (A ghouly goopy ghostly one, but still a twink.)

Danny argued that he had more experience with vigilantism than Jazz, when she’d taken up a support role even after training. Sure, her aim has gotten so much better with practice, but Jazz was only a liminal. 

(A highly ecto-contaminted liminal with a scary sword that can cut through reality to create portals that currently does his kingly paperwork for him.)

At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that Jazz was trained by the frightening and awe-inspring Pandora of the Infinite Realms Acropolis, bearing her own gifted Bracelets of Submission as a symbol of respect from one woman to another. 

(Jazz and Pandora sparring made the Boy King eternally grateful to be on the good side of both women.) 

(Scary was an understatement.) 

(No wonder Jazz and Sam got along so well.)

(Batman and Wonder Woman were supposedly friends, being founders of the Justice League and all.)

Gotham was all kinds of batshit crazy when the sun went down.

(pun recognized and intended.)

A dumb statement for any Gothamite, but newcomers to the city never really got it until the were robbed at gunpoint within five minutes of sunset. 

That wasn’t really a concern for Danny, he’s gotten into the habit of phasing his important items into his body for safe keeping, but his increased need to do something made his late night walks morph into something that vaguely resembled his Witching Hours patrols back in Amity. Midnight to three am, strictly rooftops without too much barrier crossing into Hood’s territory were now fully integrated into the Halfa’s life- the purring of his core when he protected someone was healing something inside him he hadn’t realized was sick. 

(Lies.)

Without the Red Hood to manage his Haunt, the Boy King and Regent had brute forced their way passed the boundary line to help the once-Revenant’s people until the one in question could do it himself. The habitants of Crime Alley were hesistant at first to accept more vigilantes into their midst, especially one that was obviously a meta with a concerning range of physical abilites, but with the Regent’s quiet strength and Phantom’s quirky attitude they were begrudgingly allowed to continue. 

(If Phantom also used his ice manipulation to help stablilize dilapidated buildings being used as shelter for the upcoming winter, then all the better.) 

The Regent had been caught in the Bat’s territory more recently, much to Danny’s worry. Jazz could no doubt break the furry over her knee, Danny had seen her do it to Skulker of all people, but drawing the ire of the big bat was the opposite of ideal. Batman’s Stabby Robin might even try to challenge Jazz for her Ecto-sword, which was both hilarious to imagine and panic-inducing, because stabby Robin was stabby. 

After the early morning chat with the Signal, Danny had come to a decision regarding the leather clad crime lord furry and his flock of birdies- step up as the Boy King and request Batman’s help in riding the Realms of the Anti-Ecto Acts. Jazz already did so much as his Regent, he could at least get the ball rolling on this. 

In order to begin, he had a sad trenchcoat man to call. 

“Bloody Hell, Phantom!” 

The Phantom, in his original jumpsuit rather than the admittedly awesome Star King regalia, grinned with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Closer to a snarl, but whatever. 

“Sad trenchcoat man! Just the guy I wanted to see.” 

Danny knew the guy’s name, hard not to when he’d seen the three floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets in Jazz’s office dedicated to the Laughing Magician alone, but the halfa was nothing if not dedicated to the bit. 

When he’d sensed Constantine’s magic at work, he’d hijacked the summoning circle for his own use- suck it, a king trumps whatever entity Constantine was trying to get and Danny was less likely to want his soul in return for a favor. 

(Did it really count when he’d already gifted the glued together pieces of the guy’s soul to Jazz as a paperweight?) 

“Phantom, lad, why’re you here?”

The Ghost boy huffed a laugh, the building annoyance in the air just from his presence was fueling his life force. 

“What, can’t say hi to a friend now? After all the work I did to stop that demon from coming instead too.” 

(Lies.) (The summoning had been for an observant, but those bastard eyebags can eat a dick for all he cared.)

“Demon?” Constantine’s voice cracked with surprise, gaze flickering over the runes he’d lazily copied from a book. 

“Yep.” 

“Constantine.” A growl interrupted whatever comeback the Magician could have conjured, with the shadows of the darkened room parting to allow the Dark Knight himself to step through. “There is no time.” 

“Aye, Batsy.” The brit turned back to Phantom, an edge of desperation now coloring the annoyance the ghost had brought. “Phantom, I need a favor.” 

Phantom blinked. 

“Uh, sure dude?” 

“Constantine.” Batman interrupted again, but the sad trenchcoat man waved him off.

“Your people been wreckin’ government buildings and the bloody USA is throwing a fit.” 

Government buildings? Phantom’s people? The GIW? 

Could his luck really be in his favor this time? After all, here was Batman, and the sad trenchcoat man who could verify that Phantom was a spirit of protection and not one of vengeance. 

(He left that to the Regent.)

“If that’s the case, then there is nothing I can do.” 

(He would be right there with his people. What’s a few more buildings destroyed to free the innocent ghosts trapped within?) 

“Whot?” 

Phantom crossed his arms, allowing gravity to bring him to the floor where he stood at his full height. Unintimidating was one word for it, but he couldn’t really care less at the moment. 

“The GIW have committed acts of War against the Infinite Realms, Constantine. It’s only thanks to the Regent and Future King that this Living Realm hasn’t been claimed by the Unquiet Dead.” 

It was true. Jazz was the best Regent Danny could’ve ever gotten. She was liminal enough to understand that the Denziens of the Realms were not inherently malicious, but human enough to realize that she too would be afraid of the ghosts if she hadn’t been raised around the dead and (un)dying.

It was only thanks to that fine line she walked that Phantom wasn’t to join the Unquiet Dead and Neverborn as they descended onto the Living with the fury of thousand suns. 

Danny, while a half-ghost, had died unlike his big sister. Sure he was brought back by Ectoplasm, but he had only returned halfway and that part of him was chomping at the bit to avenge those who were ended that he couldn’t protect. 

“Here.” Phantom shallowly intoned as he pulled a flash drive from his chest, thrown to the big bat. “That contains all collected information the Regent was comfortable sharing with the Living. Share it with your league and get the Acts demolished, Batman.” 

Phantom sighed heavily, shoulders drooping as he finished in a tired voice, “Please. I don’t want to fight. Please don’t make me go to war.” 

Was he trying to tug on the Bat’s heartstrings? Yes. Was he being honest in not wanting to got to war? Also yes. 

“War?” 

“Yeah, all denziens of the Realms would have to fight. We’re all effected by the Acts, even if we don’t want to hurt anyone we’d have to…for our right to exist.” Phantom replied lowly. “I’m a spirit of protection, I don’t want to hurt the innocent.” 

(It was a truth he had come to terms with, after his sister killed their parents.)

(He died wanting to be loved and protected by the adults who claimed to be his parents, but it had been Jazz that raised him.) 

(She avenged him twice over.)

(She gave him a grave.)

A/N: No Hardcover/Anger Management ship content this time, just lore for this world I'm building.

And look, Sad trenchcoat man!

Song quotes are from the same songs on my Jazz/Jason playlist. Typically the song that started playing when I get ready to post this.

[sunthyme]

Hehehe. Part two baby! Be prepared! (Pun absolutely intended) Also, to the people who are yelling the the tags, I love you guys! I read them all and I can't say thank you enough. It genuinely means a ton!🩷🩷🩷

Enough of me being sappy,

🌻Savanaclaw🌻

Disclaimer: Savanaclaw is like lowkey my favourite dorm, not in terms of redesigns but I love the characters. Huge Leona fan and Jack and Ruggie are my children so I will not stop talking about them. You have been warned.

First up, though y'all have seen him already,

♟️Leona Kingscholar♟️

(he/him) - Unlabelled but doesn't care about gender

I snuck in a lil treat of my work in progress housewarden card. The jumpscare it was to toggle my version with the og card underneath, y'all. Am I making my version of pretty much all his cards? Yes. Will they ever be finished? Who knows? Anyways, onto the headcanons...

- Physically, I feel like I changed a lot and not a lot at the same time. I gave him some more scars which I guarantee you are from really stupid accidents.

- Piercing on his ears just cause I felt they fit him and snakebites because (I'm so down bad for them) it gave the illusion of fangs even with his mouth closed. Gave him moles cause they're pretty.

- I textured his hair and gave him a shit ton more because if the og design won't AT LEAST give him fluffier hair, what's the point? Yana Toboso, if you don't give this man a high ponytail in the Clubwear Card, I will hunt you down. Also made his front, larger braids the colour of Cheka's (And presumably Farena's) hair because honestly? They didn't really look similar enough? Also threw in some smaller braid to 'tie' them in more (haha).

- Someone gave him like this cool inverted pupil due to a scene in the movie but I simplified it to basically heterochromia.

- This might be hardly noticeable but I give give him slightly more muscle? I felt it suited him more idk.

- Onto non-physical headcanons, he has 💕depression💕! This is kinda not up for debate given how much he exemplifies the symptoms. Hell, he made me realise that I may have depression cause I was like, "Damn, he's so relatable, not wanting to get out of bed, no motivation to do anything, struggling to care of himself. He just like me frfr- oh..."

- By the way, I see a lot of people talking about Ruggie's reaction to the fallout of Book 2 but I think that on Leona's side, he felt horrible and probably locked himself away for a WHILE. I think his mental state must have been terrible and I'm SO PISSED HIS FCKING PROBLEMS NEVER GOT BROUGHT AGAIN WTF! Well, I'm on Book 4 so maybe???

- Anyways, I saw someone posit he could also be autistic, more on the asymptomatic side which is actually growing on me a lot. Picky eater, doesn't like tighter clothes, not fond of loud noises, smaller things but I'm a fan.

- Really random but I like the idea that he's one of those people who kids love for literally no reason, he just doesn't like to be around them.

- Is actually extremely book smart, though that's kinda already canon but I mean this bitch was a nerd when he was younger. Knows way too much on various topics, especially about his homeland.

- He can purr. I know lion's can't but there are literal mer and fae. He's just a big kitty. My and Idia like 🤞 when it comes to thinking of Leona as just a big meow. I have a cat who doesn't like anyone but I'm her favourite, I could win him over.

I could talk about him for sooooo long tbh so I'll shut up now.

Anyways, now for my boy,

💸Ruggie Bucchi💸

(he/she) Bigender - Biromantic Asexual

God I love my bigender child.

- I made him black, though probably mixed and gave him vitiligo for both visual flavour and a mild(?) reference to like hyena spots?

- He originally was going to have her hair down but then I realised how many of them had their natural hair already so I gave him dreads? I'll have to render them out at some point.

- Gave her more scars too, since she grew up in a more rough environment. Made his eyes really big and cute 'cause I feel like she can get extras when she hits 'em with the puppy eyes.

- Probably got mad ADHD, has to constantly be fiddling with something or another. Wears spinny rings a lot. He's actually really good at paying attention in class and likes to learn.

- Steals from Leona, whether it's money or items or clothes he leaves out (which, while Leona would never admit, he purposefully leaves out for Ruggie).

- Oh and a post pointed out that hyenas can purr, so have fun with that.

That's mostly it for now, but expect this list to grow lmao.

Now for,

💪Jack Howl💪

(he/him) - Queer (he doesn't know lol, just knows he likes dudes at this point)

Not me struggling to find a weight emoji (I failed) 😭😭😭

- Ah, I made a reference in the Heartslabyul post about my concern about darker skinned characters with white hair and I was mainly talking about Jack. I also had to make Kiki, and I figured that wolves have pretty naturally salt-and-pepper hair, so why not. I actually love how it looks omg, it's very pretty and marbled.

- Gave him darker skin, since I headcanon him as black but I did see someone who designed him as indigenous so it might change in the future idk. Also it makes his eyes almost glow and I love that for him.

- He gets more scars too, though likely from sports rather than fights or anything.

- He's autistic. Apologies that so many of them are autistic to me, not only am I autistic but like, the way they're written speaks to me. His whole moral compass being the reason for Book 2 playing out like it did was an immediate 'yes' from me. He's my boy and my son and I will fistfight anyone that smack talks him (looking at those Savannaclaw NPCs in one of Deuce's vignettes).

- Oh, I forgot. He listens to K-Pop. I don't know if it?s canon that he has younger siblings, though I totally think he does, but one of them accidentally got him into K-Pop and J-Pop so whenever he's at the gym, that's what he's listening to lmao. Specifically girl groups, he likes them enough that he knows all their names. He insists it's out of respect, which it is but he's also lowkey a stan too lol.

- Generally has a weakness for cute things, even if he doesn't show it. Also a total plant nerd omg. He could instruct you on pretty much any houseplant on how much sunlight and water it needs, seasonal changes, etc.

Final note is that I'll make a separate post about him and Epel, cause I love them and have some headcanons there too.

Now for my ocs!

💎Kiki Adebayo💎

Third Year - (she/her) Transfem - Aromantic Demisexual Sapphic

- Twisted from Rafiki? I think that's his name, the baboon. I'm crying sobbing throwing up that you can't see her eyes in this.

- She got the white hair since the fur on a baboon is directly white and took inspiration from Dislyte's Isis design. Her eyes are a pale gold like her earrings and she has red to blue eye shadow.

- Natural resting bitch face but she's just tired most of the time. She'd probably be the actual vice housewarden as I think her family has been close to Leona's for a long time, though she earned her spot with her own skills.

- Additionally, I wouldn't call her and Leona 'childhood friends' but she's known him for a long time. She's like, concerned about him as he's changed so much but she also worries that it's not her place. As a result, she tries to make sure Ruggie's not taking on too much and handles most of the dormhead duties herself.

God, she's so pretty omg anyways

👟Mandisa Jelani👟

Second Year - (they/she) Demi-girl - Pansexual

- Mandisa is also based on the hyenas, though I don't know if her and Ruggie are from the same pack necessarily.

- I gave her scars, moles, and some piercings as well, I just felt like they'd suit her.

- I think she and Jack would be relatively similar in terms of personality, I see her being the gruffer upperclassmen. I think she'd be rather protective of the first years, knowing how harsh the older dorm members can be and she does her best to make everyone feel welcome.

Next up,

🤘Rocío Chávez🤘

Second Year - (she/her but doesn't really care) Transfem - Panromantic Asexual

You'll never guess who she's based on /j

- My girlie based on Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove! Yes, she is a big and buff bimbo? Himbo? I don't know but she's got a heart of gold and head empty.

- I wanted to keep her physique cause it always annoys me when people genderbend a character but don't keep them proportional to their og design. Mini tangent over, she so silly I love her.

- She and my Yzma character met as first years and have been inseparable since, though I'll talk more about that later.

- Not a massive ton of characterisation sine it's been a while since I've seen this movie too but I'm always open to suggestions.

Finally, my silly

🎸Abayomi Furaha🎸

First Year - (she/they/it) Nonbinary - Bisexual

- My final baby from Savanaclaw, also based on a hyena. Specifically the lil bug-eyed one, but I gave her a lazy eye instead. Not sure how well that comes across but I tried.

- She's got scars, was definitely bullied as a kid and I think that once the dorm members consider her a part of the pack, they'd be super overprotective as a result.

- That being said, she's more than capable of defending herself as she's good at various martial arts.

- She's into rock music and joined the music club as a result. Probably a drummer or guitarist as I think she's insecure about her voice.

- She and Mandisa are quite close and she convinced them to dye the edges of her hair red. Abayomi wanted touch up hers and managed to get Mandisa in on to lol.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for Octavinelle and thank you so much for reading!

[ta5tier]

isat thoughts, go

[this ask is actually an excuse to ramble about whatever thing you can't get someone else to prompt you to ramble about]

i just woke up so this probably wont be too coherent but here we go!

I, like many, discovered ISAT through @jelloapocalypse’s fantastic video on the game, and by that I mean I watched the first 5 minutes of the video and immediately stopped and played the game myself.

I already liked time loops as a literary device, especially in games (outer wilds rocks, 12 minutes is interesting despite the general quality, etc) but ISAT managed to get me interested in the story and its characters before even introducing time loops as a mechanic. (Y’ALL I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR ISABEAU TO JUST COME OUT SWINGING LIKE THAT! I clocked that motherfucker before the gang even left dormont, he isnt smooth.)

ANYWAY besides the great character writing, ISAT also managed to nail its genre parody right off the bat, the literal RPS combat is so funny, Mirabelle gives off such RPG protagonist vibes, and its a neat take on the genre to center the narrative around the “edgy”rogue (HA Scissors pun). Along with the fact that Siffrin is absolutely the right amount of mentally unstable, you have all the perfect ingredients for great genre deconstruction.

Spoilers Under the Cut So be WARNED

There are tons of people talking about the story beats further so i’m not gonna spend more time here reinventing the wheel, but something I will talk about is how the game leverages ludonarrative assonance, I.e. how the game reflects the experience of the player as a part of the story.

In the case of ISAT, this manifests as the growing boredom both the player and Siffrin experience as they continue through the loops. On my first few loops I took care to avoid skipping dialogue and made sure my party was leveled up enough to succeed at any of the fights they faced. I explored thoroughly and enjoyed the process of doing so and I only reset when the game asked it of me.

But as the game continued I found myself zoning out of more and more dialogue, skipping more and more fights, and resetting whenever it would save me time. And Siffrin was with me all the way through all of it, his internal monologue growing increasingly disinterested with the affairs of his party members and the dangers they were in.

Ironically, in a game so outside my lived experience I found myself mentally aligned with Siffrin in a way that's frankly a little concerning. (im ok im not in a time loop lol)

The magic of ISAT for me was in that alignment, of feeling a shared purpose with a character, and in the breaking of that alignment in the games later acts. One of my favorite moments in any story is when I realize I can no longer fully root for the main character. Siffrin's last loop was that moment for me and I loved it. Siffrin's final trek through the House is so awful to watch but also represents the logical conclusion of his decent. The witty commentary is gone, his family is gone, the muscle memory that he and I shared in navigating the house is no longer reliable. Its all no longer necessary.

In Siffrin's mind, whats left of them isn't worth saving. And then finally, agonizingly, they are saved. Despite his best efforts to self destruct, his family come for him and they're mad and they're scared but they do it anyway, even when the world is ending around them.

Anyway yeah i love this game so much Siffrin is Stars' most mentally unwell soldier and i love them and their stupid family so much.

[hirokari]

hurts twice as hard.

p: chat noir!jaemin x gn!reader | g: angst, fluff in the end, chat noir!jaemin, superhero!AU, best friends to more | wc: 1.5k | a/n: i watched the miraculous ladybug movie with sunny and im obsessed with chat noir now

“Kitty!”

Na Jaemin’s heart might just jump out of his chest at the cheery tone in your voice as you call out to him. Gingerly– yet not too quick to seem calm– he hops down from the rooftop of your apartment, landing on the railing of your balcony.

Usually you’d call out and tell him to be careful, but you know very well now that he’s capable of landing on his own two feet; even from six storeys up.

“You caught me,” Purrs Jaemin as he slides down to your height, leaning against the metal barrier. Smiling, you fold the corner of a page of the book you’d been reading and set it down on the slightly worn out velvet armchair you’d dragged out to the balcony after coming across it in a garage sale just a few months ago.

“On patrol, I see?”

“Not exactly,” Admits Chat Noir, the small golden bell on the neckline of his suit jingling a little as he takes in the sight of the dimly lit city. “Just came by to check in on you.” Feigning shock, you press a hand against your chest and fake a gasp, “Oh, am I finally rubbing off on you, Chat Noir?”

He chuckles, boyish and charming as he shrugs, a warm breeze brushing through the air as he looks to you. “Maybe.”

At that moment, as you meet eyes with the city’s mightiest hero, you spot something behind his mask– a spark. One resembling content and something you can’t seem to recognize. You don’t find it in yourself to look away because you’d already had these kinds of moments with him many instances before, though something about him now seemed different. Seemed more… daring and sure.

The hero tears his eyes away from yours, letting out a shaky breath as he stands upright from his leaning position, his elbows no longer folded over the railing.

“I have something to confess.”

“Hm? You can tell me anything,” You pause. “Except your identity, I suppose,” You can’t help but jest.

Jaemin lets out another small laugh, but it sounds nervous.

“I believe we’ve known each other for quite some time now, yes?”

Wordless, you nod in response, watching the hero fiddle with the belt of his suit.

“I just want you to know that… I won’t always be a superhero to you. I mean, I don’t want to be.” Jaemin runs a hand through his hair. Your brows furrow at the lack of flirt or charm in his tone. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t just want to be a hero with you. I don’t want to be a world-renowned celebrity, or-or a man quick to save the city. I want to be someone who you know looks out for you. Some guy in a stupidly tight suit who likes to crack stupid cat puns in the worst times. A boy with some freakish cat-ability-powers you can call a friend.”

Because that’s what he is in the end, isn’t he? Still just a boy. A boy who’d made the choice of sacrificing so much to save the world.

“Kitty,” You say quietly as you ascend from your seat on the velvet cushion. Letting your fingers trail, your touch travels from the cold material of the balcony railing to the warmth of his fingers, and you let them rest on top of his fist.

“I know you’re a superhero, and everything, and you probably have a lot of other special people you tend to more than you should with me, but,” You look out to the city– the city which is safe, thanks to the superhero you speak with now. “You mean a lot to me. More than a citizen should feel towards a superhero. More than admiration, or gratitude, or respect– or pride.”

When Jaemin turns his head to look at you, he can’t help but tense when he meets your already watching gaze. “You’re a great companion to me, Kitty.”

With a somersaulting stomach and two hot cheeks, Jaemin whispers something so quietly under his breath, you think you misheard him.

“I think I’m in love with you, Y/N.”

“Wh-at?”

Your voice breaks involuntarily. Jaemin suddenly stands upright, his chest puffing out as his hands grip the sides of your arms. He looks at you with a new intensity, something along the lines of what you might believe is love, but you refuse to actually admit it.

“Kitty… I can’t love you. You-you can’t love me.”

“Why not? Have I not been this whole time? What other reason could I have to visit you and protect you and keep your company for if not love?”

“I don’t know– why me? Why now? Why when you’d save a life at the expense of yours? You can’t expect me to have the strength to love you when your life is at risk everyday, Kitty.” Your hands, now shaky, grip Jaemin’s and press more into the skin of your arm. Your skin is hot, burning against his touch.

“You can learn– we can learn. I can guarantee a safe return every time.”

You shake your head, thumbs caressing and grazing the back of his hands as he grows more desperate, his forehead leaning and pressed against yours.

“There’s… someone else.”

His heart drops to his stomach. Jaemin, swallowing a thousand words wished to be said thickly, heaves a heavy breath through his nose, his forehead not leaving yours. “May I know who?”

“...I suppose that’s the least I owe you.” Finally pulling away from his touch, the absence of his warmth sends goosebumps throughout your arms as you shiver and wipe your hands up and down your skin with crossed arms.

“But you promise not to blackmail me or anything?”

“That’s immoral for a hero to do,” Jaemin laughs, though it sounds a bit bitter.

Your stomach feels like it’s eating itself at the hero’s sour behavior.

“Don’t fall in love with your best friend, Chat Noir.” You sigh, fisting a handful of your shirt as you stare out. “It’ll be the death of you. Caring for someone so much you feel it might scare them off– loving him so hard you want to cry.” You tell him, quick and loud. And swiftly, under your breath, you groan: “God, Na Jaemin, you’re such a pain in the ass to be in love with.”

“Na Jaemin?” Jaemin repeats, slightly bewildered. “You-you mean, the guy that attends your college?”

You give the hero a surprised look for just a split second, before nodding, “Of course you know him. It’s your job to know everyone, isn’t it?”

“I… guess. I just happen to know that guy off the top of my head.”

Holy shit, Jaemin thinks he might just crash right then and there. He’d just gone through a rejection, heartbreak and probably what he considers the most joyous moment of his life within a short span of time. He doesn’t know how to act– what to say, or what to do.

More specifically: he doesn’t know if he should reveal the fact that you are in love with him, Chat Noir, who’d just confessed his heart’s contents to you.

Watching you, watching your lips move as you tell him more about him, he wishes time could stop then and there. There’s a tiredness in your eyes as you think about him– he wishes he hadn’t drained you so much, although he had no idea you’d felt this way towards him. You stop speaking, breathing heavily due to speaking so much about why not to fall in love with your best friend, mumbling something along the lines of his superhero name– he can’t focus enough to know.

“I’ll see to it that he is safe and protected. After you, of course.” Says Jaemin, standing in a firm stance. There’s a silence that sits between you two for a moment, before you’re rushing to wrap your arms around his torso tightly, face buried into his neck.

“Thank you, Kitty,” You croak.

And in that moment, with Jaemin wrapping his arms around you tighter, tucking his nose into you to breathe in your scent, he elects to keep his promise.

See to it that he’s safe and protected. Unharmed. Unscathed. Na Jaemin will return from every villain attack totally clean of any injuries– because Chat Noir or not, he knows you care for him enough to kill him if he were ever to get hurt. And that’s enough love to receive from you for now. He supposes he’ll deal with his feelings for you as Na Jaemin just a little later, and assure you that loving him so hard it hurts you will turn out to be worth it. 

Na Jaemin would like to think loving you hurts twice as hard; because he’d been rejected as one identity that’d loved you, and the other had always been too scared to admit his feelings to you. Not anymore, though, no. As soon as the sun of the next dawn rises and Chat Noir bids his goodbye to you with a chaste kiss to your open palm, Na Jaemin will love you like there’s no tomorrow.

a/n 2: boooo this is so rusty and rushed im so sry its like 1AM bear with me

© hirokari, 2023

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 8: I DRIVE MY DOG INTO A TREE

"Perseus!" Alex yelped in a truly dangerous tone of voice, Annabeth felt the need to reach for her dagger she didn't have. "What do you do to Mrs. O'Leary?!"

"I swear it's an accident!" Percy looked genuinely stung if he'd hurt her, so much so Alex immediately became gruntled over his outburst.

"Okay, well, head like hers, I'm sure it hurt the tree more," Alex said for both of them.

"I bet she becomes the branch manager of the whole forest," Will snickered.

Alex grinned in delight and tried to continue the mayhem, while Percy groaned at the pun.

"Maybe she even takes it along as a toy, you still owe Cerberus a game of fetch, what if-"

Sweat broke out on Percy's brow, he took a sharp, painful breath and trembled in his seat as his mind flashed with broken, disjointed images of the Underworld, his dog leaping into shadows-

Alex nor anyone protested as Jason started to read, his voice level and ignoring the stirring water starting to pull along them. Annabeth was rubbing gentle circles into the back of his hand until he finally came back.

... saw me first...pretty good trick since she's the size of a garbage truck.

Magnus's stomach still pitched like someone had shoved him down a flight of stairs at the idea of her being real. Of perhaps having to see this monstrosity of a wolf-like shaped creature sometime in his future if he ever wanted to visit camp and eat actual food not out of a garbage can again. She would just, be there, roaming around, ready to pounce on people from the shadows.

Everybody around him burst out laughing in obvious affection for the description and he tried to manage a smile along. He knew she was a sweet girl who would just lick him to death in theory, but he still worried they'd all laugh themselves stupid at him when he had a heart attack upon actually seeing her.

... huge paw on my chest and an oversize Brillopad tongue licking my face.

Thalia plugged up her nose and waved her hand around. "Thank the gods that smell came out." She'd been around plenty of her own wolves to know that breath reeked like the dead things they ate tried to crawl back out.

"Thank the gods my skin resists that kind of torture," Percy chuckled, it had felt probably a lot like what he put those flesh-eating horses through. A painful powerwash from hell.

... pretty much drenched in dog drool.

"Note to self, Percy's powers do not work on dog drool," Jason nodded to himself.

"I already knew that from his own drool," Annabeth smirked, resisting the urge to reach over and rub his chin with just the pad of her thumb to make him blush like a new species of deep-sea fish.

She was rewarded for her restraint by getting to see him just sighing and giving her a friendly, aggravated smile for the teasing, which was just as nice.

...By the way, Mrs. O'Leary is the world's only friendly hellhound.

"And I thank Daedalus every day for that," Alex chuckled, still remiss he couldn't ask him exactly how that had worked out. Maybe he could get Nico to take him down to the Underworld one day.

...Beckendorf took care of her when I was gone... been her best friend.

"He really was great about taking in everything I needed him to," Percy said, thinking of Tyson and all his Annabeth woes mixed in. He hated how his smile already felt forced and tired, how he could sense somewhere not too deep this feeling would increase as time went on. He could traverse as deep into the ocean as he'd like, but that feeling could stay buried where it was as far as he was concerned.

...made me sad all over again... threw the shield more because Mrs. O'Leary insisted.

"He has a problem saying no to girls who know what they want," Alex muttered with a smirk that terrified Percy even if he hadn't heard him.

Magnus just shook his head slowly in defeat he was not going to be able to stop Alex from mocking his cousin or Percy about this anytime in the future.

Soon she started barking—a sound slightly louder than an artillery gun—

"Good thing my earbuds are just as resistant as the rest of me," Percy said as he rubbed at the faint crackling noise that had reverberated for a few seconds.

...didn't think it was funny when she went in the arena...caused slip-and-slide accidents.

There was an unfortunate combination of spluttering and laughter in the room from that visual, helped nothing by Annabeth reluctantly adding to the noise, "Clarisse threatened to make that the new initiation ceremony if we didn't make some kind of schedule for her. She volunteered for at least half though."

"Clarisse is going to ride that dog into battle and Kronos is just going to make a run for it," Alex nodded with confidence.

"If only," Magnus grinned along because it would be nice if life was that easy.

... Even dragons and giant scorpions ran away when she came close.

"Dragons?" Magnus's hands flailed uselessly, and they were pretty sure he wasn't just trying to sign distress. "As in more than one? Wasn't the metal one enough!"

Annabeth felt awful she couldn't deny that, that the casual part of her day was clearly affecting him. "Well, there are different types, and we have-"

Will succinctly cut her off, knowing from experience that wasn't going to end any better. "Pay attention Magnus, they don't go near the enormous hellhound, so Percy won't meet one this time."

Magnus looked at him like he'd decided to start chewing on his feet, obviously declaring that didn't make this better, but the others were trying to suppress looks of amusement and failing poorly. Annabeth still tried to catch his eye, she didn't want him to go back to the surface and run off to never speak to her like was clearly half on his mind after just this tid bit...but then he just sighed and waved Jason to keep going.

Hopefully he had that Chase resilience in him, the kind she'd always grudgingly admired about her dad. The kind of laser focus that wouldn't stop him from doing anything, like giving an afternoon with her a try away from this crazy world he'd been thrown into.

... in a clearing where the Council of Cloven Elders had once put Grover on trial.

"Sounds like a place that needs a good hellhound," Jason grumbled. Those old goats probably didn't just chill in there eating grapes and waiting to ruin the hopes and dreams of the next satyr, but it was a nice idea for a moment for Mrs. O'Leary to come in and put the fear of an actual leader into them.

... the thrones had lost all their leaves. That's not what surprised me.

"Is she attracted to the smell of death?" Magnus frowned at the sudden idea her very footsteps might be causing this effect. She was called a hellhound, and he knew Nico could do that, maybe creatures of the Underworld could too.

"No more than other animals," Nico shrugged, reminding Magnus unpleasantly of the amount of times he'd seen cats nibbling on something a little too big to be a dead dog and just nodding to get through that memory.

In the middle of the glade stood the weirdest trio I'd ever seen:

"Including you guys dads?" Magnus asked, it hurt his brain a bit to imagine all three side by side as different as they were.

"Including Annabeth, Percy, and Grover saving the world," Jason shrugged, the idea still felt like an odd flashing light in the back of his brain of a trio who shouldn't exist if he thought about them all too long.

"That time Annabeth, Rachel, and Calypso all stood there watching Percy be an idiot," Alex smirked.

"Alex, that hasn't happened," Percy scowled at him continuing to try and make his life worse.

"I know, but I really want it to," he chuckled.

Juniper the tree nymph, Nico di Angelo, and a very old, very fat satyr.

"Somehow Percy's reality once again beats whatever we come up with," Jason looked mildly impressed indeed at this chaotic trio.

"Nico's back!" Will cheered.

"I will shove you in a vortex if you don't knock that off," Nico sighed.

"Do I get to pick the vortex?" Will asked mildly.

Nico considered him for a moment. "Sure."

"Fair deal!" Will beamed.

...He was only twelve, but he looked much older and sadder.

"Comes with the territory," Nico said promptly before any pitiful looks could come his way.

"Nico over here trying to be a minor god already," Jason rolled his eyes.

"King of the Ghosts wasn't good enough for him," Alex joined in. "Nooo, he needed to get the whole aesthetic down now of being God of the Ghosts."

"I didn't marry Melinoe," Nico rolled his eyes, "and even if I did, it doesn't work like that, we wouldn't share a domain."

Alex looked very much to argue his pointless point, but Jason decided not to let that escalate like the smart kid he was.

...he'd probably been traveling in all sorts of hellhound-friendly places.

"Somehow the most accurate observation Percy has ever made," Thalia nodded in surprise. "Including all the ones he made about Annabeth."

"And what do I get for finally being the one to deduce why Nico's such a restless spirit?" Percy chuckled.

Nico looked at him, unimpressed. "Nico not kicking your ass for that stupid conclusion I do what I do for a dog."

"True, bad form on my part," Percy nodded. "You don't even bring her actual treats. Poor form man."

... "Will someone—what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!"

"I wasn't out there to get her attention, but I would have been happy to," Will offered, but his tone was just a shade shy of being sarcastic for that old goat calling that 'his forest,' like she didn't have just as much a right to be in there.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a saint," Percy snorted, considering he had a pretty good feeling he did jack-all to call his dog off such a pompous old sot.

..."Sorry, Leneus," I said. "That's your name, right?"

"The fact that you remembered which is which," Annabeth said, clearly impressed.

"Frankly a miracle," Magnus nodded in surprise. "I don't remember any of their names, exactly how many times has he even spoken?"

"Once, if I recall right," Jason frowned.

"Once while being rude to Grover, it was more than enough," Percy scowled.

...His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car.

"Satyr bumper cars," Alex nodded, clearly already plotting a world tournament from those three words. "I see sponsorships and a lot of eating chairs in the future, not to mention the fights that would break out during the championships game."

"Jason can't organize them into a Pan searching machine anymore so Alex will turn them into the next WWE," Percy sighed. "Yeah, sure, can't go anywhere else."

...Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly.

"The Council that did absolutely nothing for literal centuries while Pan was about a dozen feet underground in a maze where your best disgraced Satyr found him?" Thalia snorted.

"The same Council that did nothing but take away licenses and ruin kid's dreams?" Percy said deadpan. "That Council?"

"Nah, he must be talking about another one," Annabeth nodded with all the nonchalance one could have.

... She was pretty in a dryad-y way, with her purple gossamer dress and her elfish face,

Annabeth tried very hard, and failed miserably, to suppress a snort of amusement. At least now she knew to never put on a purple gossamer dress and worry about highlighting any elvish features she had.

... He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

"She must be desperate to have come to him for help," Alex sounded more kind than disparaging, but still managed a little bit of both.

"Percy ran out of punch cards for saving his ass, someone banned him this time I guess," Magnus scratched awkwardly at his neck.

Annabeth gave the book a cold, dead kind of stare that freaked Percy out. She knew exactly how Juniper was feeling, she'd just got done living through it.

Percy sighed and sunk heavily into his seat. It's not like he wouldn't have gone looking for Grover...if he had the faintest clue where to start. It had given him an inkling of an idea how his best friend must have felt all those years, longing to be the one to find Pan but with no path that led to more questions. He was alive, it was just a feeling, that's all he'd had to go on.

"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

Thalia winced. "Man, it's a good thing you've got Nico there, he's got practice digging graves."

"If I didn't smash him to a pulp the first time we met, I suppose I wouldn't now," Percy mock quoted Heaphetus of all gods at a time like this. The pang in his heart didn't lead to much imagination why.

...Nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "I'll walk the dog," he volunteered.

"I do notice Percy was making zero effort to control his wonderful pooch," Jason grinned.

"Why would I? She was doing such a good job speaking for me," Percy rolled his eyes.

..."You tried to vote him into exile, Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."

"Percy, with the important distinction for this chapter!" Will grinned.

"And boy was it deserved," Percy tried his hardest to smooth out his scowl to prevent drowning the east coast because of this annoying satyr.

"Bah! They are honorary Council members. It wasn't a proper vote."

"I cannot believe he actually said that out loud," Alex looked mildly impressed at this gumption.

"Let's see that defiance last when the first thing Mr. D does when he comes back is turn him into poke'," Thalia rolled her eyes.

"I'll tell Dionysus you said that."

"I never took you for a tattle-tale," Nico picked absently at his nails as he studied Percy in curiosity for that. He tried to keep his tone light, used a silly childish way to put it to make sure Percy knew Nico wasn't over here judging him...he wanted to stay on Percy's good side considering he didn't expect great results for what was fixing to happen.

"I hate bullies," Percy reminded, his voice remaining stiff no matter how much he didn't want it to. "If I can't put them in their place, someone can."

...Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."

Percy's anger was swelling, his lips twitching into a true scowl. Grover had been out there risking his life for years while this fat lump sat around, and even now, he was more useless than the kids behind him in camp arguing about who was right!

"Where is Juniper's tanning stick? I need it to make a reappearance," Annabeth demanded in outrage for anyone talking about Grover like this.

...Looks like your Council hasn't been meeting lately."

It was an interesting observation nobody knew what to do with. Will would love to know more about this, but considering the council was now gone, he'd just have to hope Grover had an answer next time he came around.

..."They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year."

"Wow, I haven't seen that kind of head in the sand view since I watched the last presidential debate," Annabeth frowned. She had Percy's hand held tight in both of her own to stop him reaching for that pen again, the results being his fingers twitching like spiders in her grasp and it was seriously making her sick to her stomach even as she didn't let go.

"How long you think it takes that kind of thing to kick in for adults?" Percy asked, his voice as all over the place as his hand as he struggled to get a smile back for her. "I don't expect to live long enough for it to, but I'd like a reference for when the stupid takes over."

She really wanted to let go of his hand and slap him. A part of her recognized that's exactly what he expected to happen too. Instead she snipped, "idiots choose to be that way, stop trying to jump in early."

He grinned, a real one, and bobbed his head before turning back to the book, the shaking finally starting to slow.

...I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead." Juniper choked back a sob.

If Percy's temper didn't snap, somebody's was going to, Annabeth winced. It was a comforting feeling, to be surrounded by so many people who would absolutely not just stand there and let a tree-nymph choke on a sob without doing something about it, but at the same time, she didn't particularly want to know what Oceanus would do about it at this moment if any of them did.

... I didn't push him hard, but he was top-heavy...ran away with his belly jiggling.

Annabeth felt a flurry of heartbeats so strong she almost pushed Percy back away so he wouldn't panic at her having a heart attack. She'd seen him fight every monster and walk away with a cloud of dust as if it were nothing, but something of Percy standing up to someone who really was no threat to him, basically one step up from a mortal was something new. Putting him in the world and seeing him be a hero anywhere.

"Grover will never be accepted! He will die an outcast!"

"Not from the people who matter," Percy said in a scary calm voice. He knew all about not being accepted, and he'd never let Grover feel that way as long as he was around.

... "I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean to get you involved.

"I wish she'd come to me sooner," Percy sighed. He didn't really know Juniper that well, they hadn't all hung out together because it felt major league awkward double-date territory that neither he nor Annabeth ever wanted to acknowledge, and when it was just him and them he felt like an awkward third wheel even when they didn't do it on purpose holding hands while walking along camp.

He liked Juniper enough, he just never seemed to have time anymore to get to know her better while at camp. Maybe that could change, he glanced hopefully at Annabeth, holding his hand with a look of concentration on the book. When all of this was over, maybe they could go on that double date.

Leneus is still a lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."

Percy watched as they all threw their heads back and laughed with his own grin. Some of them probably thought it was as ridiculous as he did, calling Leneus an enemy when he had bigger gods to deal with, and the rest of them were probably just laughing at even the notion Percy could walk away from that without a new enemy.

"What's he going to do?" Alex managed to get his breath first. "Put you in air jail with that apple floating spell?"

"You think Zeus would consider that punishment enough he wouldn't smite me?" Percy sighed.

"Your luck would never be that good," Thalia scoffed.

"No problem," I said. "I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."

"Exactly what we were saying, glad we're all on the same page," Jason chuckled.

"You'd be terrible at this whole reading thing if we weren't," Percy smirked.

Jason considered ripping every page once he finished it and stuffing it in Percy's available piehole. Only for a brief moment.

... Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."

"Mom always said my specialty was shaking all the ingredients together," Percy said with pride.

Annabeth smiled at the idea of Percy sitting on the counter at six years old, grinning as he handed his mother a perfectly blended together bowl with a tell-tell bit of chocolate on his lips.

..."Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper?"

"Yes Percy, because Nico has always gone out of his way to say hi to Grover's girlfriend," Thalia shook her head at him.

"Better than saying get lost?" Percy offered.

"No," Will frowned.

"Have you tried having a conversation with him that isn't about the end of the world?" Magnus hinted.

Percy thought about it for a moment. "No, actually."

"First he'd have to get past his inability to hold a conversation," Annabeth smirked, Nico even snickering along to her bewilderment, but it was a nice expression to see on his face for a change.

... kind of, dropped in the middle of them." "He scared us to death!" Juniper said.

"Not literally," Nico insisted to nobody, trying to refrain from blushing again.

"Best get used to hearing that stupid phrase now Nico," Will rolled his eyes.

... she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

Nico's cheeks got even brighter red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."

"It is surely now his top priority case," Alex tried to nod as if this were a matter of the highest order.

"He is going to flee and never return if that girl doesn't stop touching him," Magnus said in understanding.

Nico just barely resisted the want to pull his jacket over his head to hide his continued blush. Gods beyond, he'd never even talked to a girl this long before dealing with Juniper and it had been every layer of awkward it was possible to be as he struggled to keep eye contact and having her so close. Percy had been right there and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling, so of course he'd just been getting beamed with a little bit of everything at once in joy- someone was asking for his help- confusion- girl? touching?! nothing...?

He sighed as he rested his head against Will's arm for a few extra moments. He wished he'd been friends with him at the time, but it was whatever now.

... There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

"Nothing has ever been simple in your life, why would you lie to her like that?" Thalia frowned.

"Same reason I lied in that council meeting," Percy frowned. Sometimes people just needed to hear the lie even if they didn't believe it to get through another day.

...I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"...disappointed, she lumbered off to find another target,

"Awww," Jason couldn't help but laugh as he pictured her head hanging down with sorrow. "I can only imagine how hard it is for her to pee out there without constantly having nymphs shoo her away."

"She gets by peeing on the grass most days," Percy assured.

leaving Nico and me alone.

"Have I mentioned how good that dog's timing is?" Alex asked.

"Can I revoke my agreement?" Percy sighed.

"No," Will and Alex told him this time.

Nico smiled because he knew Percy was kidding around. He hoped Percy was kidding around. Was it just him or was the water getting a little colder in here as Percy kept studying him? Crap, what if it was just him and Percy figured out how to just trap him in a block of ice?

Well, he'd be taking Will's arm with him.

... They knit themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off.

"That was adorable," Alex instantly decided.

Nico grinned at him, ruffled his brow in concentration for a moment, and then several bits of skeleton began creeping out of the floor. In moments, a skeletal fish was swimming around them, gave a happy twirl once through Alex's massive hair, and then darted out the giant hole in the door.

Alex laughed in delight and Magnus didn't even scream while the others moved on as if this were an everyday occurrence.

"You've gotten so much better with your powers than even just a few months ago," Will said admiringly. He wished he could do something half as useful.

"Practice makes progress," Nico happily quoted back with a pleased smile. How was it possible he still got a warm flush every time Will met his eyes like that?

... never get used to this kid spending more time talking with the dead than the living.

Nico sighed. He'd never get used to the fact that Percy would see him as a forever kid when he'd probably traveled as much as Percy by now!

"We all have our own hobbies Percy," Alex rolled his eyes. Percy would probably think some of the people he hung out with on the streets were weirder than the gods.

"Yeah, I know," Percy promised. He really was trying not to glance awkwardly at Nico as much anymore, but moments like this where Nico didn't even deny the claim still kind of reinforced the idea Percy wasn't sure they'd ever really get along as friends.

... He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't."

"Beckendorf is just as wise in death as he was in life," Jason nodded solemnly.

"He will be missed," Percy murmured.

... Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death."

Annabeth's hand tightened painfully around Percy's, it was the only thing to stop her falling to the floor. She'd spent the worst hours of her life wondering if she'd finally find Percy down in Elysium and how she'd ever move on from that place no matter what he told her.

... "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."

"Doing what?"

"I assume you don't use the entrance at DOA much?" Thalia looked around at him in surprise, and suspicion. Exactly how long had he known about this other Camp?

"I came out of the Underworld in that general area," Nico said, but he managed to say it like such an evasive kid as he darted his eyes away then back it was almost like he wasn't even trying to hide the fact he was hiding something.

Thalia narrowed her eyes but let it be, for now, assuming it was in Percy's best interest.

Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on, you know, my family."

All Will seemed to hear was how uncomfortable this was making Nico, and he muttered something gently to him. Thalia really hoped Will didn't see Nico as just an innocent kid being put on the spot though, he could be as devious as his father, he'd already proven that with how many secrets he held so well.

... After Bianca died and left Nico alone, he'd been obsessed with finding answers.

Jason read that line with a little too much intensity. Percy nearly had his whole life pieced back together and here Jason sat, with somehow more questions than ever with his stinking sister in the room and no clear memories of his own!

"Why on earth did you just mentally recap all that?" Annabeth chuckled into the ever-growing awkward silence.

"Don't look at me," Percy sighed. "These books are nuts. I don't have to actually remind myself once a day of everyone's backstory."

"Well that's a relief," Annabeth grinned with a tease. "Sometimes I worry about your ability to remember anything past where all the good snacks are hidden."

"I remembered you, didn't I?" Percy said casually.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, and it occurred to Thalia she hadn't yet told her sister that the first thing Percy asked when they were thrown in here was where Annabeth was, if Thalia knew her. Percy had known her before he'd even had his own mother's name given back to him. It truly was a sickeningly sweet thing how badly he loved her, so much so even Artimes might begrudgingly admire Annabeth's stance to never give him up.

..."What's the lead?"

Nico chewed his lip. "That's not important right now. You know why I'm here."

"I think I'd rather talk about you right now," Percy groaned, trying not to shield his gut from impact of what could be coming. He didn't imagine the end of that story would go better than Nico's but he was all for avoiding it anyways. "What's up with these leads, how can I help?"

Nico gave him an impressed look. He knew full well Percy was either joking now, or just trying to change the subject off his curse. He couldn't really blame him, what kind of living hell it must be to have the answer living in the same skull that refused to let you hear it without it hurting? But that didn't mean he wanted his own problems on display either. It would go worse.

...show up occasionally and press me for an answer, but I kept putting him off.

Jason winced a little more with each word he'd said in that paragraph. It had been obvious from the start Nico and Percy weren't the closest, too much bad blood from the moment Percy had come back without his sister, but whatever this plan was Jason had faith it was a good one. That Nico only had Percy's best interests to help after everything that happened in the Labyrinth.

He couldn't help but wonder if anyone else had been suggesting this plan if Percy already would have done it.

... Most of the Titans are unleashed and on their side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

Annabeth bit at her lip and went back and forth pointlessly over how good an argument that was. This had already been done, her input at the time could have changed the course of history if she'd tried to caution Percy against this even agreeing extreme had likely saved them all, but it didn't make her feel better she hadn't been consulted by Percy with this.

...This comes down to you and Luke. And there's only one way you can beat Luke."

Percy wondered how long Nico had known. He'd never told Nico anything, like Luke's fall from the side of a mountain, or the way he seemed to glow with power on the Princess Andromeda, which meant Nico must have come to his own conclusions over time. From spying on Luke and Kronos? From ghosts?

Then, how long had it taken him to find out the process, to be confident enough to share with Percy this mad plan? He was way too confident in all this when a year ago he'd been fooled by Minos for Percy to really have faith in this plan.

...I wondered how Nico had heard the prophecy. Probably from some ghost.

"Why do you always assume it's ghosts?" Nico sighed. "I know gods too." In this case his dad had told him, one of his many comments about how Nico had a lot to live up to let him put the pieces together.

...Nico had a strange, hungry light in his eyes. "You can become invincible."

He was always so strong and powerful, from the moment Nico had met him he'd sensed something in Percy he'd thought for so long he could live up to and be a part of.

He knew now that had been childish, wishful thinking. He couldn't 'sense' Percy was also a child of the Big Three, and they were virtually nothing alike.

He was still sure it had all been worth it, even if Percy never fully trusted him again because of the price. They were all alive, Will's home was intact and, you know, the planet too.

"Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without—"

"No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!"

"Temper, temper," Magnus frowned. He wasn't actually afraid of the guy, but he obviously had some anger that ran deep that was best not coming out on Percy, the guy who could fling Nico across the state by accident if provoked.

Nico didn't answer. Not to laugh, not to blush, not even to look embarrassed or angry now. He was just growing a little bit more pale every page and clutching his sword a little tighter.

Oh. Well that wasn't going to go great.

...I hadn't seen his temper flare like that in a long time. "You sure you're okay?"

Will's leg jiggled around, jostling Nico and generally disrupting his moody silence. He knew Will wanted to ask, wanted to help, but even now after all this he was still pretty sure Will wasn't going to just let slide what he'd done to Percy.

...my sister gave her life to protect you. Honor that. Do everything to defeat Kronos."

A part of Nico had honestly meant that. Bianca had wanted to do good in the world, he had vague memories of her cooking and smiling, offering the spoon to everyone who passed to share. She'd joined the Hunters not just to get away from him but to find a cause for herself.

The other part of him was starting to sweat and nearly gave the game up with trying not to wince at pulling such a card, doing anything to get what he wanted out of this deal even if it had been for a good reason.

I didn't like the idea. Then I thought about Annabeth calling me a coward, and I got angry.

Annabeth sighed, her hand slipping out of his so she could run it through her hair. Oh yes, what a great contribution to saving the world! Making the hero impulsively angry at you!

Percy watched her, his hand feeling empty, his chest feeling cold. What if that had been the last thing she said to him? He didn't want her to be more sorry about the enormous guilt of the last words they'd said to each other over being alive.

..."All right," I decided. His cold creepy smile made me sorry I'd agreed.

That had quite literally been the best thing Percy had ever said to him. No possible hidden meanings, no begrudging talking to him. Percy had just agreed with his idea! And he was supposed to learn more about his past from this! It had probably been one of the happiest moments of his life before Will kissed him.

And Percy had called his smile creepy. Yeah, he scolded his brain. Really the guy you should keep crushing on!

His brain didn't respond.

...retrace Luke's steps. We need to know more about his past, his childhood."

"You don't, know how he did it?" Jason asked in concern, Nico had been apparently bugging Percy about this for months and didn't know all the steps?

Nico hesitated answering, and then lowered his voice so only he could hear, "it was important to replicate the steps Luke did, just to be sure. Trust me."

Jason nodded like that was that, and Nico savored that feeling while he had it. That old joke about tying him up and throwing him in the bathroom might still come to pass when they all found out what he'd actually done to Percy.

Alex and Magnus looked on, jealous they didn't get to hear the answer, while the other three exchanged weary looks like Nico was planning world domination and trying to leave them out.

..."I've already tracked down his mother. She lives in Connecticut."

Of course Luke had a mother, Magnus nodded to the tiny pit in his stomach without surprise. Hearing that he'd grown up on the streets, he knew quite well not to just assume the mother was dead. No, the question was, what had been the breaking point to drive Luke away? Had she been an over-controlling, gaslighting nightmare? Had she just not cared and probably not noticed for weeks? Abuse? Some mental problem she couldn't control but the kid couldn't be around anymore? He'd heard it all and more.

... I'd never thought about Luke's mortal parent. I'd met his dad, but his mom...

A lump formed in Percy's throat. He somehow instantly knew he didn't want this memory to continue. That he'd rather go hunt down Annabeth and have her call him a coward a dozen more times. Luke's mother...April? No, but the memory was tantalizingly close to the surface, and clinging to stay where it was.

... made me wonder what was wrong with her. What kind of horrible person could she be?

Annabeth and Thalia glanced at each other and quickly away. Annabeth had been too young to really understand at the time, and they hadn't talked about it after they left. She wasn't looking forward to hearing what her young mind hadn't been able to grasp about what felt wrong about that place, like there was a monster lurking in every stacked Tupperware container.

Thalia was just, tired of this. Annabeth got Percy back, that was the goal going into this. Now that it had been fulfilled, she wanted to stuff this book in a blender and move on. She wanted to hear about Jason's life, she wanted to get out of this stinking underwater prison! Instead she was stuck here in memory lane, her back aching from sitting so much, her heart slowly dripping into a puddle at being force-fed every word of Luke's life a second time.

...He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary came loping out of the woods.

"Your dog can shadow travel!" Alex gasped in excitement.

"News to me," Percy said with an uneasy smile in place. Apparently he wasn't going to be very good at directions and Alex might just throttle him if he ran her into too many trees before figuring out which one would make them disappear into a black void of possibly no return.

Nico managed it easily enough though, and he trusted his dog to not get them lost. More like a dozen pit stops on the way to sniff everything.

He hoped nobody would be looking for him any time soon.

...Mrs. O'Leary was certainly big enough. I climbed onto her back and held her collar.

Percy was used to riding Blackjack by now, the way his legs spread uncomfortably over the massive body and riding on a heartbeat with attached lungs, their circulatory system driving them to powerful feats even his half-blood legs couldn't dream of. How warm she was just like his horse, feeling every twitch of her body along her spine as she shifted her weight beneath him, being so high off the ground he felt like he could touch the sky and not get struck by lightning for it.

Percy's heart started thudding, but he recognized it as excitement for once in this crazy mess as he sat forward in his seat. Annabeth was still sitting smushed up in hers, arms crossed and clearly not looking forward to a word of this, but he couldn't help the crazy grin splitting his face at what was going to come next.

... creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a door."

Percy remembered Thalia saying something similar trying to explain why demigods had such crazy dreams. It didn't make much more sense coming out of Nico's mouth.

He glanced at Annabeth, wishing she'd volunteer how to explain this, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't get the answer any better. He just liked watching her mouth move more.

... Tell her Westport, the home of May Castellan." "You're not coming?"

The idea of climbing up there had been like molten lava pouring into Nico's body. His vision had doubled painfully of what could be worse. Climbing behind Percy, trying to put his hands on his waist- trying to climb in front of Percy and his arms-

Nope. Just. Better to go his own way. As usual.

...Just before we hit, we passed into shadows as cold as the dark side of the moon.

Magnus sighed as Jason looked up and around and he was up next. Of course he'd get one where he'd spend the entire chapter empathizing with the psychopath who continued to ruin Annabeth and Peryc's life. He would have much rather passed this on and spent the time watching Alex make faces, which was a lot harder to do with the book up his nose.

He shook his head and got up though. Every kid deserved to have their story told, and Luke wasn't here to do it. They knew Luke's side, the guy who claimed the gods didn't care and he would rather watch the world burn than try like Percy did.

Time to see who had a hand in putting that mindset there.

[electricgoldtendercare]

RULES ||J.M||

Plot: There are certain rules that come with traveling alongside Joel Miller

Warnings: Angst, pining, not fully edited

Hiiiiii, felt the urge to write for Joel and ended up having written so much?? I feel like it gets a little messy but I just want to get it posted because i’m working on smut that comes with it 🧍🏼‍♀️ comments & constructive criticism is always welcome and I thank every one of you who reads this and interacts ❤️❤️ Enjoy!!

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Soon after Ellie had invited you to follow her and Joel on their journey, you learned that there were specific rules that went along with traveling with Joel. Ellie was just happy to have more company, especially someone who would indulge her shitty puns and happily answered her questions even if the answers were mostly bullshit. Joel on the other hand had a hardened exterior, you saw glimpses here and there of a softie inside but you knew that you'd have to get extra deep for more than a glimpse and he wasn't anywhere near ready to open up to you, or anyone else for that matter. As soon as you had met him you knew just by his demeanor that he commanded every space he occupied. He meant business, and not many people were stupid enough to fuck around near him long enough to find out what happens when you did.

His presence made it a lot easier to follow the unspoken rules, one glance from him meant you wouldn't step out of line again and he knew it. You'd like to say he appreciated it, that you wouldn't fight back on what he said when that's all Ellie enjoyed doing, but there was no telling when his face stayed stoic at all times. Rule number 1. Contrary to what teachers had told you your whole growing up, there were indeed stupid questions, and with Joel that was 99.9% of them. If you had a question, you kept it to yourself or hoped that it was something Ellie had already asked and knew the answer to. There were a few situations where you felt like you would explode if you didn't ask a question but you always prepared yourself for his annoyed huff and little comment that went along with it.

    You were all in Bill's truck, driving down a random highway on the way to Jackson when you noted something along the side of the road and you couldn't keep the question from bubbling up. "Did you ever go to one of those, Joel? One of those massive superstores they were starting to build before everything happened?" You ask, eyes full of curiosity. Joel glances over at you, raising an eyebrow. He glances at the rear view mirror to the backseat where Ellie was fast asleep amongst all the bags and clears his throat. You realized your mistake then and there, prepping yourself before he spoke up. "Worked on some of 'em, actually." He says with a look on his face that you weren't quite able to read. "I remember taking Sa-um, yeah I went to a few with my brother. Lots of people, lots of shit nobody needed." He says and you nod, hanging onto every word he says like it would be the last time you heard him speak. "I went to one, like once. Feels like they were probably just a hotspot of activity as soon as people became infected and then once the looting started." You say, watching Joel nod. "Yup." And that was it, no need to push anything further, you were just excited to have asked him something that he had responded to well.

    Rule number 2. If Joel told you to do something, you did it. Without question. This one was the easiest to follow, especially for you. You had a natural sense of submission and the air of confidence Joel walked around with made you actively want to listen to what he told you. After just a few weeks with the group you were already following his nonverbal cues. His eyes would darken and he would move his head a specific way and you were grabbing Ellie's hand and pulling her to a place where the two of you would hide. Ellie would stare at you incredulously considering her natural instinct was to fight whatever Joel told her to do. With a knowing look from Ellie, you'd shush her and look around the corner to make sure Joel was safe.

The three of you knew he didn't want anyone to take care of him, but just like your urge to take care of Ellie, it umbrella'd over to Joel as well. You remember the first time Joel accepted your help vividly, considering the fact that when he had accepted both you and Ellie had froze in place and stared at each other in confusion. He huffed and muttered something under his breath about not needing any help or something along those lines before relenting. You shook out of your daze to grab Joel's arm, pulling him into the bathroom of the abandoned gas station you had all stopped at to fill up. You tried to help him up on the counter but relented to just having him lean against it. Standing nearly between his legs, you start to use some of the clean water you had in your canteen to wipe off the wound covering his forearm. You had never noticed the way his veins stuck out prominently on his arm in such a beautiful way before, the almost permanent layer of dirt across his skin accentuating them.

"Joel watch out!" You had shouted, seeing the broken shelf just a little too late to warn Joel in time, seeing it slam down on his arm. A mix of clattering and Joel cursing up a storm was heard for miles you were fairly sure. Ellie helped moved the shelves and that's when you saw the large gash on his arm. "Joel, we have to clean that or it will get infected." You say, care and worry evident in your voice as you waited for the worst. "Yea, okay." He had said, shocking the two girls beyond measure.

    Ellie walked through the doorframe with the whiskey and rags that you had asked her to bring and you thank her quietly, watching Joel's eyes widen as you poured some of the priceless liquor onto one of the towels, about to protest when you placed a hand on his bicep. "We'll find some more. I'm sure Bill & Frank have extra. It's the only thing I can think of that may help if there's any infection.." You trail off, dabbing at the wound. "Smart." He muttered, teeth clenched due to the slight burn of the alcohol on his open skin. You look through your makeshift first aid kit, something that you had been working on since the beginning of the pandemic which meant you had quite a large selection of bandages to use. Both Ellie and Joel knew you were very selective about how much you used, wanting to keep as much as you could for large emergencies that were sure to come up.

    That wasn't the case for this, you used multiple bandages, wrapping almost an entire roll of gauze around his arm before taping it off. You were about to pull away and pack up when you felt his rough hands find their way to your waist, his gaze finding yours. The look in his eyes was something different than you'd ever seen and it took the air right out of your lungs. For what seemed like the first time in ages you were completely speechless, far too aware of how quick your heart was beating against your chest. So sure that even Ellie out in the truck could hear it so it must have seemed extra loud to Joel whose chest was brushing against your own. "Thanks Darlin'." He says, his voice still gruff yet much more breathy than it ever had been. His dark eyes glanced between your own light ones and your parted pink lips. Was he about to kiss you? There was no way, but why else would he be looking at you this way? "N-no problem." You whisper back, a flush coming from your chest up to your cheeks. God you wish you had a cooler response to this but your mind was taken over by Joel, Joel, JOEL.

    As quickly as it had started it was over, Joel was pushing past you and out of the bathroom leaving you to just stand there more confused than you had been. "What the fuck?" You whisper to yourself, taking a few minutes to try to come up with any reason that what just transpired had happened, to rationalize it. With no reason coming to mind you found your way out of the building with your first aid kit and some newfound feelings towards Joel stirring in your chest. He was already in the truck, watching and waiting for you to come out. You notice that Ellie is in the front seat and for the first time since you began traveling with the pair you were not even interested in fighting for the front seat, climbing silently into the backseat and avoiding Joel's eyes in the rearview mirror.

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    It had been weeks since your moment with Joel in the bathroom and luckily things had gone back to normal fairly quickly. That was one of the many plus sides of having Ellie there, that girl's knack for breaking any ice that she wasn't even aware was there was one of her many talents. It was a particularly harsh winter and somehow you and Ellie, along with Tommy had convinced Joel to settle down in Jackson for at least a couple weeks. You were given a nice home there considering Joel's status of being Tommy's brother, three bedrooms which was three more than any of you were used to, a happy change. You knew even if it had been one bedroom that both you and Joel were on the same page about letting Ellie have it. The look on her face when she found out she got her own room was the happiest you'd seen her and there was no question between you and Joel. Joel had made sure Ellie had the room furthest from the front door, yours next and then his being the closest. You didn't care to fight with him on this, noting the same worry in his eyes that you always felt for the two.

That's what brought you to this moment, hearing Ellie's window slide open in the middle of the night. Your first reaction was terror, grabbing your gun from your night table and running to her room. The fear quickly dissipating to anger when you see her attempting to climb out. "Joel catches you, you're dead." You spoke up, causing the girl to jump and stare at you in shock. "Shit.." She muttered under her breath, climbing back in quietly. "Listen, please /please/ don't tell him. I was just going to meet some friends who invited me over...." She admits and you sigh, walking over towards her. "Why didn't you just tell me? Much easier for us to convince Joel as a team instead of him waking up to you being gone." You say with a raised eyebrow and she relents. "I know, I just...thought you might say no."

"I'm not Joel, Ellie. But I do agree with him on a lot, so you're taking your knife and a walkie talkie and if you are not back by 4 am you are grounded for like, a million months." You say, going to grab some things for her to take with her. You know Joel wouldn't approve but you also knew that this was Ellie being a normal teenager and you wanted her to have as much normalcy as she was able to get. You make sure the batteries are full in the walkie and watch her leave before stepping out of her room. You were planning on just heading downstairs to read until she came back but you came face to chest with Joel as you stepped into the hallway.

"What were you doing?" He asks suspiciously, going to grab the handle behind you. You grab his forearm, trying to quickly come up with an excuse or someway to avoid the conversation that was about to happen. It was short lived though, the look in his eyes telling you not to even attempt to bullshit him. "Let's go downstairs, and i'll tell you?" You ask, taking his large hand in yours and attempting to pull him towards the kitchen. He huffed, eyeing Ellie's door before giving in and following you down. You put on some water to boil, knowing that after you told him what was happening he wouldn't want to go back to sleep. You're not sure why you expected him to relax, to just sit down and wait patiently for you to explain what was happening. No, he was leaning against the corner right behind you, his arms folded tightly with an intense look on his face as he raised his eyebrows to urge you to speak.

"Okay.." You sigh. "You can't get mad...ok you can't get too mad. and you can't leave, you need to hear me out." He nods slowly, glancing towards the door. "Okay...I caught Ellie trying to sneak out." You say quietly, immediately noticing him tense up and stand straight like he was about to run out of the door. You quickly step forward and let your hands land on his arms again, giving them a quick squeeze. "I heard her window and ran in there immediately. Before you say anything I didn't have time to wake you up...anyways. She just wanted to go hang out with some friends and that's just...she's being a normal teenager! That's what we both want right? Growing up in this world fucking sucks so I thought that any sense of normalcy she can find or we can provide..it wouldn't be too bad." You say softly, watching each word you said sink in deeper behind his eyes. "I sent her with walkie talkies, her knife, and I told her to be back home by 4 or she's grounded for basically ever." You says, a small smile on your face. "Are you never going to talk to me again?"

It was a long pause, and the wheels in Joel's head were working overtime around the situation as you convinced yourself he actually may never talk to you again. "I'm glad you made sure she was safe." Is all he said, setting his hand on your waist lightly before moving to prep his mug for coffee. The touch immediately brought you back to those few months ago in the bathroom and you felt like the wind was knocked out of you once again. "Um...yeah, yeah of course. Her well being is my main priority. Along with yours, of course." You said, noting the sideways glance he gave you when you had said it. You fixed your instant coffee and immediately walked to the front room to sit by the fire and read. Part of you hoped he'd stay away from you, just so your mind could try to work out why the hell this kept happening to you and what you could possibly do to stop it. That hope was short lived when he walked into the living room, settling down on the couch next to you and kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

    A comfortable silence surrounded the two of you, it felt almost...normal. Like you and Joel were parents waiting for their daughter to get home from her first date or something. You knew bits and pieces of Joel's past, that he had a daughter before everything happened but that was the extent. Had he done this before? Waited up all night for her to get home or was this a first for him as well? You had only just graduated high school when the pandemic started and you had given up on any hope you had to have your own family when you lost every single person in yours. Joel and Ellie were the closest you got, so along with this being a first for Ellie, it was a first for you. The nerves and excitement didn't stop your eyelids from getting heavy though, nodding off every few minutes while watching the clock and hoping 4 am would get there quicker. "You can go to sleep, I'll stay up and wait for her." Joel speaks, causing you to jump ever so slightly. You went to fight, words dying in your throat when you saw the look on his face, he was completely serious. You just nod, grabbing a pillow and blanket from the corner of the room. He debated heading up to your room but ultimately ended up laying out on the couch next to Joel, feet tucked up against the side of his thigh closely.

    The next thing you knew you heard the front door click open and Joel's hand reaches to grab your leg protectively. You glanced at his hand before looking up to see an extra smiley Ellie stepping into the living room. "You're late." Joel muttered though it would be clear to absolutely anyone else that he was enjoying seeing his girl so happy. You glance at the clock and chuckle a little bit, sitting up and placing a hand on his bicep. "By 5 minutes, Joel. She's okay.." You smile and look up at the girl who just laughs, calling the two of you dorks for having stayed up for her but saying a sweet goodnight before going upstairs to her room. After a moment you wrapped a blanket around your shoulders and stood up, reaching a hand out to Joel. "We made it. Our little girl is all grown up." You tease, pretending to wipe fake tears off your cheeks with your free hand. It wasn't fully a joke, but it was the only way you knew how to approach the situation. Joel gives you a small chuckle, just shaking his head at you before standing up and following you up the stairs. You each make it to your own rooms and say goodnight, though as you shut your door you find yourself hoping that Joel would have invited you in to his room with him.

    Okay, no. We're not even going to entertain any thoughts like that. For all intents and purposes Joel was basically your business partner, nothing more. There was no reason to want more, him having given you no hints that he would be interested in more either. You heard his snores in the other room and your thoughts were brought back to every moment his hands had touched you, even in the most platonic way, helping you through a small opening or pushing past you in a small room. Your skin suddenly burned, your core aching for any sort of friction to satiate this newfound urge. You cuddled under almost every blanket on the bed and pushed the thoughts deep down, far away from where they were right now before you force yourself to go to sleep.

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You were doing well keeping the thoughts deep deep down, getting better and better at it as time went by. If anyone noticed the longing stares you occasionally sent towards Joel they didn't say anything and for that you were grateful. That's why you were surprised when Maria pulled you to the side one day, asking how long you and Joel had been "dating" or whatever the equivalent of dating was in the end of the world. The look on your face was one of pure confusion and she quickly realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm so sorry. The way he looks at you...I guess I misunderstood the situation." She says and you took a moment before shaking your head quickly. "Oh, I'm...no don't apologize. There's nothing going on between Joel and I, but I appreciate you even caring enough to pull me to the side." You smiled, removing yourself from the situation as quickly as you could.

    What did she mean the way Joel looked at you? Nothing seemed different, you would feel his eyes on you but his face would be empty, stoic. No evidence of any sort of feelings. Maria's question had been a catalyst though, and if you found yourself in a room with Joel alone your thoughts were completely overwhelmed by him. The strong scent of dust, leather, and musk taking over your senses and the urge to be close to him taking over. You found yourself leaning into his side when you were standing side by side, if it was your turn to do laundry you took extra time to wash his flannels, it was like a magnetic pull from your very core to anything that had to do with Joel. It became a lot more obvious to everyone around you as well. Ellie teased you constantly about your "crush" on Joel, wiggling her eyebrows when Joel turned away and she caught you staring. You knew the day was coming that either Joel would catch you staring or overhear Ellie teasing you but you couldn't help it at this point.

    It was movie night and normally Joel wouldn't show but Ellie had begged him to come because 'the movie is basically about your life,' meaning it was about a grumpy cowboy and Ellie thought it'd be funny to see Joel's reaction when he realized. You weren't planning on going, especially because Joel was going and you felt like you needed a moment to breathe without him in your space. All that flew out the window when he entered your room the afternoon before. His hair was combed back and still wet from his shower and he had a fresh flannel on with his normal jeans and boots. You noticed that his mouth was moving but for a solid minute you were so focused on the facial hair along his jaw you were not paying attention to his words in the slightest. "Are you listening? You coming tonight or not?" He asks, patience running a little thin. "Huh? Oh yeah I'll be there. Sorry, got a little distracted." You smile, watching him just stare at you oddly before nodding and walking out of the room. Fuck. Me.

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It's official, you were going absolutely crazy. There was no other reason to explain the way you were acting. You walk over to Maria and Tommy's, asking Maria if you could borrow a dress for movie night. She gave you a knowing smile and let you pick one out of her closet. You thanked her over and over before heading back home to start getting ready. You told Joel & Ellie to head to the movie without you and you'd just meet up with them a little bit later. Your heart had skipped a beat when Joel double checked that you were okay to head over yourself but you assured him quickly and then locked yourself in the bathroom. Joel would have scolded you if he knew how much hot water you used for your shower but that's why you made him go ahead of you. You tried on the dress, staring at yourself in the mirror in shock. You hadn't had the opportunity to dress up this way since you were 18, almost 10 years ago and you had completely forgotten how it felt. The silhouette of the dress was absolutely beautiful and you racked your brain thinking of something to trade with Maria just to be able to wear this dress more than once. You dug through the drawers and cabinets in the bathroom, finding some beyond expired makeup to use. You put a little blush on your cheeks and used an old lipstick you had found and cleaned off. That's as far as you were comfortable with going with old makeup but you thought you looked pretty.

    You pull on your winter coat and boots, chuckling at the look of your beautiful dress drowned out by a whole bunch of brown. You lock up the house and trudged through the snow on the way to the "theater". Walking in, you spot Ellie with her friend's and you give her a wave, noticing her do a double take at you and raise an eyebrow. You look away quickly and search for Joel, spotting him in the back on a bench looking miserable. You walk towards him, catching his eye and you don't miss the way his mouth falls open and his eyes widen slightly. You give him a small smile, taking a deep breath before shrugging off your coat to reveal your dress.

    You were fairly sure you could hear Ellie from across the auditorium say 'holy shit' and that made you laugh a little bit. You glance back over at Joel and he was practically gawking at you now. You had never seen him look the way he did, especially at you, and the butterflies fluttering in your stomach were doing fucking gymnastics. You lay your coat on the bench and sit down next to him. Normally you wouldn't wait for him to speak but at the moment you were a big bundle of nerves and knew you'd for sure stumble on your words. Unbeknownst to you, Joel was dealing with the same feeling. He was never a man of many words but the moment he saw the makeup that lightly dusted your face his mind was simultaneously running a million miles a minute while also completely blank.

    "You-uh." He muttered, clearing his throat. "Where'd ya find that dress?" He asks, mentally face palming. You bit down on your lip and played with the hem of it, unsure of how he really felt about it. "Oh, I looked through Maria's closet...I don't know why I just felt like getting a little dressed up." You explain quietly, glancing up at him through your lashes. He nods, clearing his throat "Well, you look nice." He says, avoiding eye contact and he seemed to become over interested in the movie. You smile a little bit, thanking him in a small voice before turning to focus on the screen. You catch Maria's eyes and she gives you two thumbs up, wiggling her eyebrows in a similar fashion to the way Ellie did. You blush a little and give her a small smile in response.

    From the side of your vision you could see that Joel's head kept glancing over towards you every few moments. Every time he did, your cheeks flushed and you became even more self aware of how you looked in the dress. You were more than sure that if you had gone out in this dress before everything happened that you would 100% be hit on, not even in a full of yourself way, just simply the cut of the dress. Your chest was accentuated nicely and it fit your waist like you had specifically bought it in your size. In a wave of feeling overwhelmed you lay your head on Joel's shoulder, feeling him tense against your touch but soon after relax. You might have been imagining it but you almost felt him lean into your touch, his head laying against your own for just a moment. That was until Tommy walks over, causing Joel to stiffen up his back and away from you.

    You felt your cheeks heat up, this time with embarrassment though at the move that felt like pure rejection. You pull your coat from underneath you and wrap it around yourself as he approaches the both of you. Tommy gives you a small smile, glancing between you and Joel. "Maria told me you were looking for a dress, you look real nice." He says kindly and you blush a little. "Oh, thank you so much, Tommy. Yeah, I was so excited that Maria had any! I have to find something to trade so I can keep this one." You joke and Joel clears his throat "We need to keep everything we have." He mumbles and you're sure you physically deflate. "Oh...yeah. No, I was just only joking.." You say, clearing your throat awkwardly.

    Tommy watches the situation, raising an eyebrow before calling Maria over with his hand. He leans into her ear and whispers something before Maria speaks up. "Oh! Sweetie, the dress is all yours. No need to trade or anything. If you feel pretty, it's all worth it. I told Tommy when you walked in that I am pretty sure it was made exactly for you." She smiles and you are overwhelmed with the kindness both her and Tommy were showing you. You stood up and pulled her into a big hug, leaning over and giving Tommy a small hug as well. "Thank you guys, really. We're all so grateful that you're even letting us stay here, it's been truly lovely." Tommy shakes his head quickly, his arm finding itself around Maria's waist where you quickly imagined feeling Joel's arm on your own waist. "The three of you are family, you will always have a place to stay."

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    "Obviously you won't see me in a dress like...ever but you make me want to play dress up." Ellie jokes, leading the group of you into the house before grabbing your hand and spinning you around while the two of you laugh loudly. You catch a glimpse of Joel watching you two with the softest look you had ever seen on his face. Your heart swelled and you reached your hand out to pull him in to spin with you and Ellie. He does for a moment until you accidentally tripped on the rug and fell into his chest, his hands holding you up by your waist. "I think that's my cue to leave." Ellie says, her footsteps fading upstairs and to her room. The situation you were in had your heart racing and you could feel Joel's own thumping to the same rhythm.

    You stare up at him, letting yourself gain hope that this was finally the time something would happen between the two of you. For a moment it seemed like he was leaning in but something switched in his eyes and you felt his hands fall from your waist. "You can find a place to keep that dress, it won't fit with our stuff when we leave." He said, pulling away before walking into the kitchen. You were shocked, feeling your eyes tear up as you felt the heartache take over once again. Before you had realized your feelings for Joel it was confusing when he did this but now it hurt. You sniffle, taking a deep breath before going to the doorway of the kitchen. "How many times are we going to do this?"

    "Do what?" He grumbles, already nursing a glass of whiskey that Tommy had gifted the two of you. You furrowed your eyebrows while shaking your head "This! You give me signals that something may happen but then as soon as we're close to something you pull away. Do you want me Joel? Or not." Your whole body froze, tense as you awaited his answer. You felt like this could change everything, regardless of his answer. "No." Was all he said, and the heartache grew tenfold as you let his answer sink in. You nod, avoiding his gaze "Okay, have a good night." You whisper, going up to your room and locking the door behind you.

    You fall down the door, tears spilling down your cheeks as you wrapped your arms around your legs and let all the emotions out. Of the few moments he had shown you that he might be interested there were so many more that had shown you he didn't but you still got your hopes up that maybe, just maybe he shared the same feelings you did. You hear a knock on your door, much too gentle to be Joel so you stood up to open it, being greeted with Ellie who walked in and locked the door behind her. "So...I heard what happened. I am just shocked because I really thought that there was something there? Are you okay?" She asks and you sit down on the bed, wiping your tears away with a nod. "I'll be okay, a little tears can be good for the soul. I don't want you to worry about any of this, I'll be fine. You worry about your friends, girls, things that teenagers are supposed to worry about."

    "Hey, I know what its like to be heartbroken and...you're like a...well a mom to me honestly." She admits quietly, fiddling with her fingers. "I don't want you to be upset." She sighs and you stand up, pulling her into a big hug. "Your heart is too big, I swear." You smile, processing the confession she had just made to you. It helped put everything in perspective, yeah you were surviving but this had always been about Ellie and her future, simple as that. "I love you, and Joel like family and this is just a little hiccup. Things will go on like normal, I shouldn't have even let myself have a silly little crush anyways." You smile sadly, walking her to her room. "How about you and I go see the horses tomorrow? We can go visit Shimmer." You offer, and she nods excitedly. "Yes, please! Let's go." She says and you say your good nights, shutting her door before turning around to go back to your room. You see Joel at the top of the stairs and know that it was fully apparent that you had been crying. "Goodnight, Joel."

————————————

     It felt trivial, crying yourself to sleep over a man while just outside the walls of the commune you were staying in life had almost completely ceased to exist. You felt selfish, like you had been able to endure and survive for the last 12 years yet here you were feeling like your prom date had stood you up and when you found him at the dance he was in the arms of someone else. You didn't think Joel would be interested in anyone else either so that was a small comfort that you wouldn't just see him with some random woman from the commune. At least you hoped that you wouldn't.

    You got a few hours of sleep but you were up at 5 am, unable to rest any longer. You hung up the dress, hiding it in the back of the closet so it would be harder to see it and be reminded of what happened. You didn't have any group chores today but you needed something to do to keep yourself busy. You deep cleaned your bathroom and bedroom, going downstairs afterwards to do the same to the kitchen and living room. After about an hour you heard a door click from upstairs and hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. You took a deep breath, preparing yourself to put on a happy face and fake it till you make it. You look up when he steps into the kitchen and bit down on your lip. Of course he was freshly showered and looked extremely handsome. Fucker, he was too handsome.

    "Good morning! I got some more instant coffee from Maria this morning and the water should still be hot on the stove." You said, going back to sweeping the floor. The memories of last night were hanging in the air, like a thick cloud of smoke threatening to fill the room at any moment. "Thank you." He says, trying his hardest to keep his voice soft. "Ellie and I are going to the stables today, I figured we should go check up on Shimmer and we could use some bonding time today." You say quietly, smiling at the memory of what Ellie had told you the previous night. You wanted so badly to tell Joel but things still felt weird and you didn't want any reason for things to get worse.

    "Good idea, Tommy and I are going on a run." He comments and your head snaps up quickly. You hadn't been aware that they were planning a run and your stomach filled with dread. You opened your mouth to tell him that you could join them but you stopped yourself, know that wouldn't be the smartest idea. "Oh..how long will you be gone?" You kept your voice steady, proud of yourself for how normal you sounded. "Couple days. Shouldn't take too long, heading up North for a lead on some weapons and medicine." He explains and you nod slowly. "Well, um. Make sure you say goodbye to Ellie before you go, and you guys be safe. We need you coming back in one piece." You sigh, glancing up at him. There was another soft look on his face, but it felt almost pitiful and you couldn't stand the idea that he pitied you. He was about to speak when Ellie walked into the kitchen. "Woahhhh, what happened in here? Talk about tension!" She laughs, play punching Joel's arm. You smile a bit, not wanting to seem off for her sake. "Good luck, Joel. Ellie, I'm going to get ready to go." You said, leaning the broom against the wall and leaving the kitchen for Joel to say his quick goodbyes.

———————————

    It was day 5 of Joel and Tommy being gone, already too long in your opinion and you were anxious every moment that they weren't walking through those gates safe and sound. Both Maria and Ellie tried to calm you down, explaining that the men had been on runs that were much longer than this but this just felt different. You knew every one of the people on the run were more than capable of keeping themselves alive and safe but Joel was out there. Your Joel. You spend your days helping out at the shops near the gate so you'd be the first one to see when they came back, and your nights were full of a few too many drinks in the kitchen so you'd actually be able to sleep. The pitied look in Ellie's face when she had come into your bedroom and saw you curled up in one of Joel's flannels that he had left was embarrassing but the only thing you could do was shrug, hiding your face.    

    For the first time in years you felt absolutely helpless. You had done just fine keeping yourself safe and sane before you met Joel but now it felt like he was just a part of you, the same way Ellie was. Ellie had come into the room at about 6 am on the next day, shaking your shoulder to tell you that Joel and Tommy had just arrived home. You jumped up, staying in your pajamas and Joel's flannel before pulling on some boots and immediately leaving the house to go see them. You didn't even question why Ellie had been up so early, focused on seeing Joel safe with your own eyes. The moment you saw him you yelled his name, his eyes had been searching and when they landed on you he visibly relaxed.

    Despite the anxiety and the way things had been left 6 days prior you followed the urge to run towards him, wrapping your hands around his neck and pulling him close to you as if he'd disappear if you let go. "Don't leave for so long again." You whispered and you felt his arms snake around your waist, his breath fanning over your neck and you could feel him nod. After a long moment, you pulled away with your cheeks tinted pink as you looked around at many of the people you knew just watching the two of you. You clear your throat and take a solid look at Joel now, eyes widening when you saw quite a large blood stain on the side of his shirt. You were right by his side again, lifting up his shirt despite him trying to tell you over and over that he was fine and it had just been a cut. It was a solid gash on his side and you just pull him to follow you to the house.

    Once inside, you help him lay on the couch and kneel on the side after grabbing your first aid kit. You were reminded of the first time you had done this, reminiscing the good bits before things went weird. "You're wearing my shirt." Joel comments and you blush, glancing down at the flannel and then back to Joel. "Oh, I just..I had just grabbed something. I'm sorry." You say, and he shakes his head. "It looks better on you than me, don't apologize." He says and you just nod slowly, focusing back on disinfecting his wound. Things were quiet for a while after that, besides some small winces and groans from Joel as you worked on his side. "You really scared me, being gone for so long." You said quietly, almost more so to yourself than you did to him. You felt his hand wrap around your forearm gently and your eyes found his. "I can't do this without you."

    You watched as his hand moved from your arm and up to push some hair out of your face. You let your eyelids flutter close and you exhale softly, skin burning everywhere that he touched. You feel his thumb brush across your bottom lip and your heart races as you wait to see what would happen next. "I missed you out there, almost cut the trip short a few times just to come back to my girls." He says and your heart ached. This was what you had been hoping for for so long, his hands on you and his words so soft and sweet your brain felt foggy. You watch him sit up as best as he could, leaning forward and the moment his lips brush against yours the front the door slams open and you both jump away from each other. Ellie had helped put the horses away and in true child fashion, she had come in at the worst possible time. You let out the breath that you had been holding and quickly finished bandaging Joel's wound before you stood up and let Ellie come over. "Dude am I happy to see you, This one over here barely left her bed unless she absolutely had to." She teases, even though it was far from just a joke. You felt guilty for leaving Ellie to fend for herself the past few days, even if you know she would happily tell you that she could do more things on her own. You roll your eyes playfully and shake your head "You keep telling Joel all about my few days in bed, I'm going to go make us breakfast."

    You felt Joel's eyes on you as you walked into the kitchen, stepping out of the way of the doorway before leaning against the wall. You couldn't believe what had just happened? You weren't sure what changed while he was gone but the way your skin still burned from where he had touched you and the fact that you could still feel his breath against your lips, you couldn't believe the way it was finally so close yet still so far. You compose yourself the best you can, going to get out some of the bacon and eggs Maria had gifted you three a few days prior and decided to wing a recipe for some sort of quiche thing. When you were used to 12 year old canned food, this was going to be nice and refreshing compared to what you were all used to.

    You made Joel some coffee, setting up the table for the three of you before heading back into the living room to admire Ellie and Joe curled up and joking back and forth. You smiled to yourself as you watch them, seeing Joel's eyes wander to you. He attempts sitting up and you walk over, both you and Ellie helping him up. "Come on, old man. Let's get you up." Ellie teases and Joel muttered something back to her before getting up. "Breakfast will be ready in 10, Ellie go clean up before we eat." You say and she goes to fight before Joel shoots her a look that has her marching up the stairs to her room. You help Joel the rest of the way to the dining table and letting him sit down, putting down his coffee in front of him.

    "I didn't get to tell you before you left, but the other night Ellie told me she sees me as her mom.." You smile, eyes watering slightly at the memory. "I swear I nearly cried when she said it, I thought about it all night." You say, leaving out the fact that you were mostly up because of Joel, but that wasn't important now. You sit on the chair across from him while you wait for the food to bake. Joel had a small smile on his face, sipping his coffee as he watched you. "You're a great mother to her. We're both very lucky to have you with us." You were speechless, your heart so full in that moment. Joel had never expressed anything near this and you were sure you'd be replaying this moment over and over forever. You lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek, smiling wider at the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. You hear Ellie jog downstairs, randomly stopping by you to give both you and Joel a hug before sitting in the chair next to him. "What was that for?"

"You guys just mean a lot to me."

[crisalidaseason]

Hello!Could you do modern high school au headcanons for Eren,Connie and Sasha x fem reader (platonic please!) who plays basketball and is amazing at it (also pretty popular around school and social media because of it)

Hello! I know, I know it's been a while but I finally did it. Hope you enjoy it. I know nothing of basketball aside from watching Kuroko no basket so I hope nothing sounds stupid.

Eren

I think Eren would also play basketball on his spare time, not really seeking to be a professional, just for fun. He would occasionally join the basketball team during practice time and just play as a way to release stress. That's how the two of you meet and also bond

At first, Eren is a bit afraid of interacting with you. He knows you're popular around school and he had his fair share of rude popular people bothering him or his friends. Eventually, after watching you play and interact with your team, he decides to talk to you.

He is surprised by how friendly you are, happily answering his questions and giving basketball tips. You two immediatly connect and the anxiety over your popularity vanished quickly from his mind. Although he still felt overwhelmed by the amount of people that would stop and talk to you in the hallways.

Now Eren is an adhd mess and you notice it soon. The guy has no attention span and his mind and mouth have no filter in between. You thought he was all mistery and quietness - oh you were so wrong. He is low profile, that's for sure, but Eren is a complete lunatic - in a good sense.

He goes to all your games, that's when Eren is extra LOUD. You can hear him scream above everyone else and it makes you laugh a little.

"DESTROY THEM" "DON'T YOU DARE HAVE MERCY" "MAKE THEM CRY FOR THEIR MAMAS"

He had an inactive instagram account he created in middle school, you made him reactivate it just so you could send him some fun videos or tag him in pictures. He was not surprised by how many followers your account had, you had a lot of charisma on your posts.

Overall a super nice friend. A little loud and random, but loyal and helpful.

Connie

Connie is not really a sports guy, but he usually goes to the sport area of your school to support his athlete friends - jean, mainly. He recognized you immediatly (everyone knew the super talented basketball player). He knows you're a good player from the amount of instagram pictures holding prizes, but he had never seen you play until that moment.

He was mesmerized. How could someone move that fast? He could never do that!

"Yo, that basketball girl is really good huh?"

Since Connie is natural at making friends, it does not take much time for him to finally talk to you. He starts by complimenting your skills, and then the jokes make an appearance. Connie can be funny when he wants to but he enjoys the stupidity of a bad joke or pun.

He doesn't know much about basketball, but he will listen to you rambling about it attentively. He will even try to play with you, but it becomes a little disaster since he has a really bad sense of space. You even film these moments and post it on your close friends - he gives consent and even ideas on what to record to make the video funnier.

He invites you to hangouts, game nights and get togethers. He really is a social guy and an extremely pleasant person to be around. He also gives nice advice and you notice how serious he can be despite the comedic persona. Connie is a hype man! Whenever you show a drop of worry over your basketball games, he is there to cheer you up.

"You worked hard, you got it!"

No matter the result, if you win or not, he is there for you.

Sasha

Sasha is not a basketball girlie, but I know that Mikasa would probably be a part of the team and drag her to watch a few game practices. Sasha notices you right away and greets you as if you were friends already. It is strange, but Sasha is such a cute girl that you wave back at her. After the game, she immediatly goes to compliment Mikasa and then does the same to you.

"Mikasa was right, you're awesome!"

It doesn't take much time for her to interact with you around school and with time you end up bonding with her over other similar tastes. Since she is a food lover, it is very common for her to just randomly share a snack with you or Mikasa whenever she comes to see a practice. You quickly notice that sharing food is her love language.

She doesn't understand a thing about basketball, but she makes such a huge effort to share your passion. You be explaining her an important strategy on lunch break and Sasha is so determined to understant that you want to laugh at her cute face.

She would send you so many cute cat videos and your favorite basketball players edits - you have no idea where she finds them. And she also doesn't shy away when you record a stories with her. The two of you often make videos together of silly trends. She is never camera shy.

Also a hype girl. Whenever she is watching a game, she will have handmade signs with you - and Mikasa's - name on it. Also screams like a mad woman. Her and Eren take the cake at agressive cheering.

[winchesterszvonecek]

I See Red 18+

Chapter 12 - You Know Where to Find Me

Word Count: 4545

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

If Crowley had known that ruling Hell would be this boring, he might have given it more than a split second of thought before he agreed to take on the mantle. 

Every day was exactly the same. Long. Tiresome. Full of incessant, whiny, prepubescent demons who all think they deserve one thing or another just because they managed to do their jobs without ending up dead. And if Crowley had to sit through another one of their spiels, without falling asleep — or straight up killing them, then there was no doubt about it… He was going to go crazy.

It’s like Ramiel knew what he was signing Crowley up for when he offered him the throne, and if Crowley ever saw that yellow-eyed bastard again, then mark his words, there would be Hell to pay – pun fully intended.

“All I’m saying, sir, is that I think I deserve a little more credit for all the deals I’ve made this month.” A demon named Elias said, respectfully of course as Crowley wasn’t in the happiest of moods today and he’d already killed two demons just for wasting his time.

“And all I’m saying is that I don’t care.” Crowley muttered, rolling his eyes that he had yet to raise from his phone. The screen of which they had spent all evening glued to, rereading the last text message he’d received from Selina and allowing him the chance to feel something other than frustration and hatred towards all demonkind.

“Figures.” Elias huffed out, all signs of respect gone from his tone the second he lifted his head, revealing the sly, crooked smile that was tugging on his lips as Crowley finally glanced up from his phone, his eyebrows raising over his darkening eyes, which were slowly widening the longer they remained locked with Elias’s. As though he was urging him to continue as he could probably benefit from killing someone else today. 

Bad things often did happen in threes, and it appeared as though Elias was more than happy to be the third as he didn’t hesitate before carrying on, his tone slick with hatred, “You’re probably too busy texting that little whore of yours to even notice what’s been happening in Hell these days.” 

Crowley chuckled dryly, casting his thoughtful gaze slowly around the room to find that everyone in it had froze. Quite literally too as there were now multiple hands suspended in the midair, and one demon had even been in the middle of picking something up as he was now hunched over, too afraid to stand up straight should he draw attention to himself. 

Nice to see they were still scared of him. Still terrified of whatever wrath Crowley might release on them given Elias’s idiotic decision of bringing up Selina. Not to mention calling her a whore? On a day where the King was already in a homicidal mood? Didn’t Elias know any better? That was just plain suicidal and the others did not envy him at all.

But they did pity him a little. Especially when Crowley decided that hands-on would be the best source of punishment and practically ripped himself from his throne. His jaw tensed tightly as he pushed Elias up against a pillar, digging his fingers so deep into his throat that blood spewed from his mouth and caused those around them to recoil out of fear and retreat cowardly into the shadows. 

“Do you want to say that again?” Crowley gritted, increasing the pressure and the pain he was inflicting on Elias, silently begging that he was stupid enough to say it again. 

At least that way he’d have more of a valid excuse to kill him. Unlike the last two. Come to think of it, he should probably stop killing demons for no particular reason other than for boring him. Otherwise, his ranks would wear thin and he’d have to go looking for new ones to take their place, and that was never fun. 

But at least this time, he’d have a reason. And a damn good one at that.

Elias chuckled, it being nothing but a spluttered breath that sent blood dripping down his chin as he choked out, “We’ve all heard the rumours. About you and the Winchester girl. Hard to believe that the King of Hell would fall for a human. Let alone a hunter.” He coughed, more blood spurting out from between his stained lips before he corrected himself, “Or should I say, a whore .”

Crowley said nothing. He didn’t need to. The intense rage behind his eyes spoke the words for him and when he blinked? When that deep, blood-like red clouded over every inch of what had once been white, brown and black? Smoke wisping out of them like they were on fire? Well, that was all Elias needed to know that not only were the rumours about him and Selina one hundred percent true, but that he had fucked up. 

Royally. 

Everyone knew that Crowley didn’t flash his essence, let alone in such a way that had it seep out of his eyes, unless the situation was dire. And in this case, it just so happened to be the direst it could ever be, which is why no one was surprised when, in one quick motion, Crowley pulled out his angel blade and stuck it so deep into Elias’s chest that the tip poked out through his back, colliding with the cement pillar behind him. 

The pain-filled cry that left Elias’s mouth, mixed with the pulsating of electricity beneath his skin brought Crowley a warm, self-satisfied rush of pleasure. So much so that he didn’t release Elias’s body from his tight grip until the very last spark of life had left his eyes, now cold and empty as they stared up at him, still frozen in fear in a way that had a small smile twitching on Crowley’s lips.

Eventually, and with a soft hum of satisfaction, Crowley pulled the blade free, allowing Elias’s body to slide down the blood splattered pillar and land in a heap by his feet. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a black handkerchief and began to wipe the blood from his blade as he turned, throwing his still serious gaze towards those in the room who hadn’t snuck away out of fear for their life. 

“Clean up, aisle nine.” Crowley said humorously, which was surprising given what had just happened. Or rather, what had been said to cause what had just happened. He pocketed his now clean blade and stepped away from the body, watching as two demons instantly began to drag Elias’s dead meatsuit out of the room, leaving a faint trail of blood behind them. 

Normally Crowley would have someone clean that up the second the body was removed, but today he decided against it, opting to leave it there as a reminder of what would happen should anyone dare utter Selina’s name in his presence again – regardless of the context. He didn’t think anyone would after seeing that , but perhaps a verbal warning might be a good idea too as his demons weren’t exactly the brightest and oftentimes they had trouble picking up what he’d put down. 

“I’m sure you are all well aware of the rumours that are circulating the asylum,” Crowley began, in a tone more serious than any his demons had ever heard leave his lips. “And while I don’t give a damn what any of you little rodents should think about them, I will say this: Should any of you, for whatever reason, go near Selina Winchester. Should you lay a finger on Selina Winchester. Should you even utter her name in my presence then believe me, I will not hesitate to send you so far into the darkest reaches of Hell that even God himself couldn’t pull you back out, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, your majesty.” The response was quick, mumbled and, for all intents and purposes, half-assed but it would suffice. His subjects were frightened, and rightfully so, so he couldn’t fault them for that.

Therefore, Crowley simply smiled his usual, cocky smile then said, “Good. Now get out of my sight.” 

Those in the room moved faster than ever before and within seconds the doors to the throne room banged shut, allowing Crowley to let out the rather deep, and relieved, breath he’d been looking forward to all day. Why he ever stayed King, he’d never know. It was truly exhausting and it was lucky he had Selina to take his mind off most of it these days, otherwise Guthrie would find himself getting one hell of a promotion – again, pun fully intended. 

After pouring himself a rather hefty drink, Crowley took a seat on his throne now that he had peace and quiet that would hopefully remain undisturbed – it should, he didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to disturb him after today. He pulled out his phone again, a soft smile pulling at his lips when he was greeted instantly with Selina’s message thread, which he’d forgotten to close in his haste to kill Elias.

Taking a long sip of scotch, Crowley began to scroll through the vast amount of messages that lived within it, the ones of late consisting mainly of cat pictures as Selina could get a tad enthusiastic when Kit fell asleep. Like seriously, Kit could move even the slightest inch and she’d be sending him another picture. Not that he minded, obviously. If it made her happy then it made him happy, but as much as he enjoyed seeing pictures of Kit, he’d much rather see pictures of Selina herself. At least that way he’d have something to focus on rather than the whiny demons around him.

Crowley hadn’t seen Selina since Henry died, which was coming up on two weeks now. Two long, dull and seemingly never ending weeks without seeing the only face he could ever want to see, and all because she and her brothers decided to road trip around America killing any monster they came across – they never were good at dealing with their grief in a healthy manner so he expected nothing less.

But it was going on for far longer than he’d anticipated and it was no wonder Crowley was killing so many of his men. At this rate, if he didn’t see Selina soon there may not be any demons left to take his frustrations out on. So, perhaps it was in everyone’s best interest that he text her and see if she was back home yet. Maybe then he’d find himself feeling a little happier and less murderous. 

Crowley: Have your adventures come to an end yet or are you still off exploring the country?

He waited patiently for a reply – sort of, his fingers were drumming restlessly on the arm of his throne and if he didn’t receive one in the next thirty seconds then he was popping up inside the bunker to check for himself. And he didn’t even care if he was welcome or not, he just needed to see her. 

Luckily, and as though she had read his mind, and sensed his impatience, Selina replied. But not with words, or at least, coherent words as one might have expected. Instead, all she sent him was a babble of letters that sparked a hint of worry deep within his chest. Was she hurt? Was she being held hostage and in need of saving again? The possibility was high and Crowley had already abandoned his drink and stood up, about to go straight to her before another message came through. Only this time, it was a photo. 

More specifically, a selfie. Featuring a rather happy and smiling Selina, one that made the worry in Crowley’s chest fade away and it was replaced instantly with relief – warmth too as he never thought he’d get to see her smile like that again. In the background stood Sam and Dean, looking less happy and, quite frankly, unamused – no doubt because Selina was sitting on the pool table that they were clearly trying to play, if the cues in their hands were any indication. 

It looked like they were home as they appeared to be in the bar located just down the road from the bunker. The very same place, outside of which, Crowley had given Selina her birthday present — that he could see still fastened around her neck. Right where she said it would stay.

And so, rather than text her back like anyone else might have, Crowley found himself being quickly overwhelmed with a sense of longing to be near Selina, even for a moment. Therefore, he took it upon himself and decided to join them.

The second he appeared in the bar, taking cover in the bathroom hallway as even though most of the patrons were probably drunk – he couldn’t risk them seeing him, Crowley immediately spotted Selina. She was still sitting on the pool table, kicking her heels against the edge with a smile on her face and a drink in her hand, looking as happy as Crowley could ever want her to be and in turn making him feel the same.

Funny how a single person could easily make him forget the events of the day. And thank God she could otherwise, who knows where he’d be right now.

“My, my,” Crowley began, making his way towards them and hearing the faint groan of annoyance that left Dean’s lips before he’d even caught sight of him. “Fancy seeing you lot here.”

“Crowley!” Selina said giddily, jumping off the table with such haste that she almost toppled over, making Crowley have to physically catch her before she did. 

Once their bodies collided, Selina practically clung to him, her arm wrapped so tightly around his neck that if she flexed, his head might have popped off like the cork in a bottle of wine. She wobbled on her feet as she positioned herself by his side, a soft, contented sigh leaving her lips as she nuzzled her face against his shoulder.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me.” Selina mumbled, only loud enough for the two of them to have heard. Thankfully. She sighed again, only this time deep enough that it wafted its way towards Crowley, making his nose twitch from the stench of pure alcohol that was all but radiating from her.

“Are you drunk?” Crowley asked, glancing down at her and getting nothing but a faint giggle in response as she hid her face from him. It was his turn to sigh now, clenching his jaw as he turned to her brothers and asked, or more so demanded, “Is she drunk?”

Sam scoffed, “Drunk is an understatement.”

“She’s hammered .” Dean said with emphasis, leaning down to line up his shot now that Selina had removed herself from the pool table. He could have done without it being Crowley who drove her to do it but hey, a win is a win.

The gentle clack of the pool balls followed suit as Crowley frowned, reaching out to take Selina’s drink from her hand as it was plainly obvious that she’d had enough and the last thing he wanted was for her to pass out and end up choking on her own vomit. He set the glass aside just as Selina tried to take it back, clearly offended as evident by the overzealous pout on her face. One Crowley might have adored had she not been in such a state. 

“I think you’ve had plenty.” Crowley said seriously, taking a gentle hold of the hand she had extended in front of him and slowly lowering it to her side, which only made her pout even more.

“You’re no fun.” Selina huffed out, removing her arm from around Crowley’s neck and folding them across her chest. However, her sulking only seemed to last a split second before she turned back to him, her head tilted a little as she asked curiously, almost childishly, “If you’re a King… Why don’t you have a crown?”

The sound of a pool cue hitting the side of the table echoed through the air before Crowley could speak – not that he knew what to even say to that. He glanced to his side, meeting Dean’s widened eyes after he’d literally missed his shot. He’d seen his sister drunk before but never to this extent, although clearly Sam had as all he did was sigh to himself and run his hand down his face, unsurprised to say the least.

Then, Selina gasped, her eyes wide, “I could - hic - make you one! Does anyone have any alu- hic- minium foil?”

“Alright.” Dean muttered, setting his pool cue aside after sharing a brief nod of agreement with Sam. “I think it’s time you went home.”

“No. I wanna stay here and drink more.” Selina protested, not ready for the night to end just yet. She turned to face Crowley, placing her hands on his shoulder and resting her chin atop them as she all but batted her eyelashes. “Crowley, stay here and drink with me.”

“I don’t think that's wise, darling.” Crowley said softly, subtly, yet reluctantly, shaking Selina off him as he was well aware of the two pairs of eyes that were currently fixated on them. It was becoming clear that Selina had absolutely no filter when she was this inebriated so the less she drank, the better. Otherwise, she might end up saying something she probably shouldn’t. “Perhaps I should take you home instead.”

“You’re always so good to me.” Selina hummed contently, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder, where Crowley could feel the rather wide smile she had plastered on her face. 

“Unless you two have any issues with that?” Crowley added for good measure, casting his questioning gaze towards Sam and Dean, both of whom weren’t sure what to think right now let alone did they know what was happening. 

But perhaps Crowley was right. 

It was clear that Selina was in absolutely no fit state to stay, and if she did, there was a high chance that she’d end up passed out on the floor. Or worse, wind up being dragged away by some sleazebag with bad intentions – not that Sam and Dean would ever let that happen, it’s just that Selina did have a tendency to wander off when they weren’t looking and lord knows what she might get herself into. A fight probably. 

So maybe it was for the best that Crowley took her home. At least that way, and they couldn’t believe they were thinking this: she would be safe. It had only been a few months ago where they would never, ever dream of sending a drunk Selina home alone with Crowley of all people but these days? They’d never admit this aloud but ever since the day he’d stopped Selina from getting assaulted they’d grown to trust him a little, which is why they showed no objection and happily – sort of – allowed him to take her home. 

After a stern warning of what would happen should be try anything. Obviously. 

The bunker was a welcome sight for Crowley when he and Selina appeared within the walls. Not just because it meant Selina was home for good and that he might be able to see her more often but because it was becoming more and more obvious that she was in desperate need of some sleep, as she’d practically fallen into one as she leaned against him. 

“Come on, let’s get you into bed.” Crowley said softly, wrapping his arm around Selina’s waist as he began to guide her down the corridor towards her bedroom, making him wonder why he didn’t just zap the two of them there and save them the extra few steps.

With a wave of his hand, Crowley sent Selina’s bedroom door flying open, allowing her to shuffle slowly inside as she hummed the tune to a rock song that was vaguely familiar, but just not enough for him to place it. This would normally be where he took off and left her to her own devices, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. At least, not until she’d drunk a few mouthfuls of water and was safely beneath her covers.

So, Crowley followed her in, smiling to himself when he found her cooing at Kit like she’d never seen a cat before. He grabbed the edge of the door, spinning on his heels a little as he closed it quietly behind him. He’d barely managed to turn back around to face the room again before Selina was suddenly all over him, pushing him up against the closed door and raking her fingers through his hair as she kissed him, with such intense heat that it could potentially rival that which resided in Hell. 

Not to mention allowing him to taste exactly how much scotch, and surprisingly tequila, she’d consumed tonight. And let’s just say, he had no idea how she was still standing. 

“I’ve been thinking about this for so long.” Selina whispered, the alcohol pumping through her veins making her unable to feel embarrassed over her obvious desperation. She kissed him again, this time even harder as she took hold of his hands, placing them on her waist with a little more force than necessary, as though Crowley was fighting against her.

And little did she know, he was fighting against her. Strongly at that. He wanted to touch her, lord knows he did, but he knew he couldn't. If he gave in and allowed her to take the lead then they’d only end up sleeping together and that wasn’t right. No matter how much they both wanted it – Selina was drunk, and if there was one thing he swore he would never, ever do, it was take advantage of her like this. 

“Selina,” Crowley exhaled, pulling back from her and trying his best to keep up with her wandering hands that were currently pulling at his tie. But Selina seemed to be more focused on what she’d been resisting since her birthday to pay any attention to his words.

And so, Crowley said her name again. 

Only this time he said it more sternly, with more depth, making her finally stop what she was doing and glance up at him with those gorgeous doe eyes of hers. He took a gentle hold of her face, feeling the softness of her skin beneath his touch as he whispered, “We can’t do this.”

“But I don’t wanna resist it anymore, Crowley, I want you.” Selina said, in a voice so low that had Crowley not been a demon, he never would have heard it. But he was, therefore he had and it was enough to make his heart flip beneath his chest. Guess the saying was true, drunk minds do speak sober hearts. “I thought you wanted me too.”

“I do want you, darling.” Crowley said quickly, assuringly. All whilst ignoring the tug of his heart as he never thought she’d misread his dismissal as him not wanting her back because by God did he ever. “More than anything, do I want you but just… not like this.”

Thankfully, Selina was coherent enough to understand the true meaning behind his words and part of her knew he was right. This wasn’t the way and there was still enough soberness left awake in her mind for her to know that. She didn’t want their first time to be whilst she was drunk and most likely not going to remember it. She wanted it to be special. She wanted it to be everything she’d imagined it to be. A moment she’d be able to remember and so she nodded, her tiredness quickly taking over as her eyelids began to droop.

In one swift motion she fell forwards a little, nuzzling her cheek against Crowley’s chest, hearing the faint beat of his heart and feeling as he wrapped his arms tightly around her small frame. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss atop her head and she could have sworn she heard him whisper ‘ we’ll do it right’ — before he released her from his hold and helped her cross the room towards her bed, sitting her down gently on the edge.

Clicking his fingers, Crowley magicked up a glass of water and handed it to Selina, finding relief when she took it without a fuss and began to slowly drain the glass. He smiled warmly, brushing her hair out of the way before he began to search around for her pyjamas, which hopefully she’d manage to change into by herself as he didn’t think it was the best idea to do it for her given what just happened.

After looking under her pillow, where he found nothing but a rather large knife – that he removed and set as far away from her as he could, Crowley ended up just lifting Selina a new pair of pyjamas out of her drawer, setting them down beside her and shooing Kit away when he tried to lie on them. He crouched down in front of her, having set the now empty glass aside, and took a gentle hold of her hand, causing her to look down at him with a lopsided smile.

“Chances are, you won’t remember any of this when you sober up. But if you do. And if you still want me... You know where to find me.” Crowley said, lifting their joined hands to press a soft kiss against her knuckles, raising her smile to a full and proper one that made his stomach flutter something terribly. 

Crowley straightened and adjusted his tie, which was partially crooked and half falling out as Selina had nearly unravelled it in her moment of weakness – which, come to think of it, Crowley was really hoping wasn’t a moment of weakness and that she’d make good on her confession once she was sober and able to fully consent. He didn’t think he’d be able to forget this night, and if Selina didn’t remember what had happened, he wasn’t quite sure how long he’d be able to keep her in the dark about it. Even if he did want to save her from any embarrassment it may give her.

“Crowley.” Selina said softly, pulling Crowley from the thoughts he hadn’t realised he’d fallen so deep into. He hummed in acknowledgement, glancing down at her with a warm smile as she hesitated for a minute before saying, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Crowley said reassuringly, as she didn’t and he didn’t ever want her to think that she did. He reached out, placing his hand lightly aside her face, feeling as she leaned into his touch and made it ten times harder for him to want to leave. Then, he leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead before whispering, “Now get some sleep and I’ll call you in the morning.”

And before Selina could say anything in response, he was gone. Leaving her to do nothing but change into her pyjamas, climb into bed and hope that when she woke up – she wouldn’t remember a thing.

Chapter 13 ->

[missnight0wl]

Seeing the last chapter of Beyond, there's the theory that Jacob's roomate and who will take care of him is Olivia, implying that maybe they could have a romance. What do you think about that?

I think Fugly Slut doesn’t deserve anyone’s care, definitely not Olivia’s. But if it really has to happen, I think he should prove that he deserves it. I mean, Olivia is an intelligent girl, y’know, so Jacob should prove his intellect by getting out of the Forbidden Forest on his own. If he manages to do that, then MAYBE he deserves Olivia.

*random voice from the back* Uhm, but he’s blind, remember? Wouldn’t it be nearly impossible for him to get out of the Forest without being devoured by creatures?

I’m sorry, did I stutter? I don’t think I did, especially since I’m writing all of this.

More seriously though, this is so wrong on so many levels – even if we ignore Olivia for a moment. And I know that Jam City didn’t think twice about any of that, but it won’t stop me from pointing out how stupid it is.

Ok, so this is how the conversation between Jacob and MC went:

So, since MC actually started looking for the flat like days before starting their job, and they allegedly decided to live with Jacob “months ago” and “shortly after” MC’s graduation, I have to assume that it was decided before MC found their current flat. And that means that MC was probably looking for a flat for two – whether it meant an additional room or just more space. Then they kept paying for the flat bigger than they needed, they were preparing for the needs of a blind person… only to hear that THEIR “DEAR” BROTHER CHANGED HIS FUCKING MIND. And to make it even worse, he didn’t even inform us about it. He just… made a decision. He basically said:

“I changed my mind, and I didn’t even bother to tell you about it because that’s how little I care about anyone who’s not me.”

If someone did something like that to me in real life, I’d be absolutely fuming, and I wouldn’t even hesitate before kicking that person out of my life. Again, I know JC didn’t think about it this deep and they probably came up with the whole idea just now, but… how the hell nobody realised that they portrayed Jacob as an even bigger jerk than he already was??

As for Olivia, I guess that V1Ch7 basically confirmed that Jacob lives with her:

And again, it only shows that he’s a fucking jerk. Because imagine that you decide to take care of your blind friend, you come home after a long day of work, you cook for them… and then they fucking complain that your chicken is too dry. Like, what the fuck, Jacob? And before you say that maybe it was more like a joke, or that you can’t get better at cooking without genuine feedback…

OLIVIA WAS SO BOTHERED BY THAT “CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM” THAT SHE KEPT THINKING ABOUT IT FOR THE NEXT DAY. AT WORK. And her face says that she doesn’t think it was a dick move, even if she doesn’t want to admit it yet.

Also, I really don’t understand what JC was thinking because like… they were never even shown as particularly close friends? You could expect that they would get close after they cleared things up between them, but the writers simply did show it. He doesn’t even like her puns! (Of course he doesn’t, he’s the worst.)

Sure, Olivia did visit him at the hospital, but it felt to me more like… just a polite thing to do. I mean, it’s not like she was spending there days or anything. So like… What the hell? It’s just random.

Finally, as for the romance aspect… Yeah, I’m afraid that JC will take it in this direction. Because otherwise, why Jacob wouldn’t want to tell us right away who’s his roommate? And I guess I don’t have to say at this point that I think it’s disgusting, revolting, stupid, and simply makes no sense.

I think that in-game Jacob should cease to exist, and Olivia deserves SO MUCH BETTER – both when it comes to a roommate and a partner. In-game Jacob is a jerk, he's childish, he's egoistic. He's the worst.

(Also, how it’s possible he's even uglier as an adult?)

[nadien-aqui1]

Someone probably already came to this realization way before me, but I haven’t found any yet.

We all know Little by now, right?

Ruby’s talking mouse friend from the Ever After.

They said they were still too young to have a name (e.g., a purpose) for an Afteran. But they tagged along, and claimed to be team RWBYs guide through the Ever After.

A guide. An escort. An usher. An attendant. Chaperone, etc.

A STEWARD

Their name is a pun!

STEWARD…

…LITTLE

I felt so stupid. I made so many Stuart Little jokes when Little was introduced back in the Volume 9 preview teaser.

It’s stupid, but it made me feel stupid, so I’m posting it.

[sendrew]

What's 100% guaranteed way to make your skeles laugh? :D

Here we go!

San will at least give you a pity laugh for even the lamest attempt at humor. He knows how shitty it feels to not get even a single laugh, and he's not gonna ever leave you hanging. But the way to get him wheezing with laughter? Build on his jokes. Get into a pun-off with him. Take his gag and run with it. He'll literally cry with laughter if you take the joke far enough. And then once you've done it once, you've got a running gag that you can pull out to have him in stitches at any time.

Percival really loves clever puns, and he will be tickled pink if you get good at them. Whether in writing or in spoken words, he'll be giggling over your tricksy wordplay. Especially if it's a little dark humor, though he'll feel rather bad for laughing, in that case. Don't call him out on it or he won't be comfortable laughing in front of you again. He too will give you the pity laugh for bad jokes, but it will be extremely obvious. He's not one for subtlety, this skeleton. So you better sharpen your wits if you want to make Percival laugh!

B is always laughing. He'll be laughing when he greets you, laughing when handing you the lunch he's packed you, laughing as you get into the car or onto the motorcycle together. This skeleton is made for sunshine and smiles and laughter. It's not hard to make B laugh. But to make him wheeze? To make him hold onto you for support as he tries to recover from laughing so hard it hurts? Surprise jokes that come outta nowhere.

Daryl is always smiling, and he looks like he's just a moment away from a smug chuckle at all times. But he rarely laughs aloud. You'll get a silent snicker when you make a silly mistake, or when you make a joke. The way to get him to really laugh is to pull a ridiculous face at him. He'll give you one loud bark of laughter, then blush like a lightbulb and try to play it off as nothing happening.

Rhett loves being happy. He will only laugh when he's actually really happy, so you gotta make sure to make him happy first. Then go in with the situational humor. He loves when you use the objects and world around you to make jokes. If you try to make him laugh when he's not already really happy, the most you'll get is a smirk. But if you give him a kiss and tell him someone's on the phone, then hand him a banana… You will have him laughing for sure.

Parlo enjoys a bit of schadenfreude. He'll laugh if you show him those videos where people fall down in funny ways. Not when animals are the ones getting hurt though. He'll gasp in dismay if a cat falls down, though he'll deny it after. If you really want to commit to the bit, fall down in front of him with something messy in your hands. He'll laugh his ass off, and probably won't be able to help you up, he'll be laughing so hard. He'll apologize after, but he'll still be chuckling a bit while doing so. Felix loves watching old comedies. The really ridiculous slapstick ones. The stupider the better, and the longer the better. He'll laugh extremely hard over all the jokes, no matter how many times he's seen the movie. If you decide to attempt to do the comedy for yourself, in an effort to make him laugh, he might actually hurt himself laughing. He'll cry with laughter if you somehow make the sketch even funnier than it was before.

Oliver giggles with joy every time he sees baby animals. He may also cry with happiness, but that's neither here nor there. Take him to a petting zoo and you will have a laughing, crying skeleton on your hands, while he'll have a lamb or a baby bunny in his hands. He especially loves watching them make fools of themselves trying to run around and do big animal things. He'd be happy to watch little animals doing their thing for hours, and he'll be giggling every time they do something cute.

Mallorie will laugh politely at political cartoons, but that's more of a scoff than anything. If you actually want to make him laugh, get him comfortable - alcohol or a long date would be your best bet - and then ask him to watch one of those newer comedies with you. One with lots of secondhand embarrassment. He loves it. He'll be full on cackling by the time the movie finishes.

Russell is practically made of nervous laughter. If you're looking for that, flirt with him. He'll be laughing in nerves and confusion for quite a while. But the thing that really gets him? Stupid humor. Think twelve-year-old boy humor. Fart jokes and 'your mom' all the way with this skeleton. Be prepared for giggles every single time you fart or burp loudly for the rest of your life.

Cobb is a tough cookie when it comes to laughter. If it's not maniacal, he's not comfortable being open with it. He is also, unfortunately for him, extremely ticklish. Please don't tickle him in public, he'll be so embarrassed. But in private? He actually loves to be able to unwind around you, and if you instigate a tickle war, you'll definitely win. He'll instigate them too, when he feels like losing to you and having fun doing it.

Mack will laugh at any joke you make. No joke is too foolish, and he gets every little funny thing you tell him. He loves laughing, and he loves laughing together with you. He'll take as many opportunities to laugh as he can get. Sometimes he'll just see a random animal or object and start laughing, remembering an old joke you or he or someone told him. Ask him to share it with you. It'll be so ridiculous you'll start laughing too. Johnny Copperhead will laugh every single time he's running away from trouble. He'll pull a job, and laugh while hiding. He'll be street racing, and he'll laugh while peeling out and evading the cops. Johnny Copperhead makes trouble everywhere he goes, and he'll be laughing all the while. If you join him on his misadventures, you'll be laughing too. His laughter is infectious.

Knox Copperhead laughs when he wins. Challenge him to something, and watch him get all competitive and then come out on top, laughing happily to himself. He also laughs at dirty jokes, the dirtier the better. The things he laughs at might make you turn bright red, and then he'll be laughing at you too.

Sparks doesn't actually laugh all that much. He prefers the slow, sultry grin, instead of laughter. But his well-hidden secret is that he laughs like a donkey when he watches bad horror movies. He just finds the scares so funny, and the acting is terrible, and the CGI is so badly-done! It's hilarious, and he'll be laughing so hard you'll worry it must hurt. You'll also find little bits of popcorn everywhere, because he will upend his bowl while laughing.

Pan laughs the most at memes. Send him a funny meme, or a really old one, or a brand new one that makes zero sense, and you'll get him huffing and chuckling. If you send him that 'send this to a person across the room' meme, he'll be in stitches. Vines also do it for him, and the vine-like tiktoks. He loves seeing all the stupidity and ingenuity the mind can create. It's hilariously fascinating.