#sure it was then immediately turned over by the pig thing but… actually yeah he probably stinks like a pig too like it’s legit

[subcultureblues]

Burnin’ Down The House

Steve finally psyches himself up to ask Eddie out, because really, what’s the worst that could happen? He makes sure everything’s perfect, goes to shoot his shot annnnnnnnd - Eddie’s fucking pissed.

My Secret Santa gift for the lovely @sunflowerharrington for the @steddieexchange (thank you so much to @paradimeshifts7 for the beta!) Sunflower’s fave tropes are : Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Miscommunication, Accidental Love Confessions

So buckle in boys…

———

They’ve been dancing around this for long enough.

It had been three months. Three maddening, excruciating, unbearable months of Steve and Eddie circling each other in this ridiculous, elaborate mating ritual. He had been kind of really hoping Eddie would make the first move; Steve’s new to this, he doesn’t know the protocol!

…But clearly that wasn’t happening.

Three months of smolderingly flirtatious banter, two very revealing conversations with Robin, and one only slightly over-dramatic gay crisis later - and Steve had officially had enough.

“Stop fussing. It’s gonna go great.”

“And if I crash and burn?”

“Which you won’t.”

“Which I won’t,” Steve echoed reluctantly, because by this point Robin had him trained like a prize-winning show pig. “But even if I’m fucking - casanova in cable-knit, if he’s just - not interested, and… he turns me down - “

“Which he won’t.”

“We don’t even know if he -“ Steve snapped. He ran a hand down his face, groaning in awful, self-inflicted agony. “I’m just trying to prepare myself, mentally, for the possibility of failure here. I mean what if - we don’t even know if he’s into guys, Robin.”

Robin snorted.

“Ok fine, and if he is? Doesn’t mean he’s gonna go for… “ Steve looked in the mirror again, still trying to get his hair to fall right. He squinted with an edgy huff.

“Steve,” Robin said in her most long-suffering tone of voice. She smacked her palms against both of his cheeks and squished. “He likes you.”

“Yeaf?” he said, muffled by the contortion of his face and his lips.

Robin nodded solemnly. She opened the car door and stepped one foot onto the driveway of her house.

“We’ve both seen the way he looks at you.” And the thing is, Steve had. When he thought he was being slick. The way his eyes settle on Steve, warm and unhurried. Like he was trying to take it all in. “Frankly the whole starcrossed longing thing - it’s getting old. And on my nerves. Just put that poor, pathetic man out of his misery and kiss him already,” she pleaded.

“Alright! I get it.”

“And I mean, seriously Steve. Honestly. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“No. You’re right.” Steve nodded, gesturing at her. “You’re right.”

Because yeah, she probably was right — which God, Steve hated when she did that...

“I’ll call you when I get home, ok?”

“Can’t wait to hear all about how you two lovestruck idiots finally get it together.” The corner of her mouth twitched and she reached down to reassuringly squeeze his hand on the steering wheel. It helped. A lot, actually.

Robin stepped out, closing the door behind her, then immediately shoved her head back through the open window. Steve opened his mouth to ask what she forgot this time.

“Do not forget to use protection.” She ordered, sounding distinctly like his mother. He took offense, raising his hands with an indignant look.

“I already told you - “

“Yeah, yeah. Your whole master of seduction plan to sweep the Freak off his feet.” She snickered.

“Romance him. Epically,” Steve corrected her. “My plan to epically romance him.”

“You’re not fooling anyone Slut Harrington.” Steve rolled his eyes. Robin grinned at him. It managed to calm his nerves enough that he could honestly smile back. “Call me, okay? As soon as you get home. I get to be first to hear the good news.”

“I will.” She started towards the front door. “Oh, and Robin?”

She turned back to him.

“How’s my hair?”

She hung her head in defeat.

“Jesus Christ…”

He pulled up to the Munson’s trailer just after sunset and honked when he parked outside. After maybe a minute, Eddie came sprinting out of the trailer, throwing open the passenger side door and launching himself into the Beemer.

“Go, go, go! The cops are right on our tail!”

“Think we can outrun ‘em?” Steve smiled, very slowly putting the car into reverse to back up and turn around.

“Obviously no. That’s why we have a getaway car, Steve. Keep up.”

“Uh-huh. Alright, outlaw. You got the stuff?”

“Made out like a bandit.” Eddie bounced his eyebrows, swinging an 8 pack of beer from his fingers.

“Eugh. Samuel Adams?” Steve made a face.

“You pay, you pick.” Eddie shrugged unapologetically.

“Fine. I got ice in the cooler back there.” Steve swiveled and braced his hand on the headrest of the passenger seat… and Eddie looked at him. In that way that he does; in subdued glances, furvative, just out of the corner of his eye. In the way that made hope light up like a sparkler in Steve’s chest. He leaned just a little deeper into Eddie’s space, eyes on the road behind them as he reversed the car, trying not to give himself away by grinning too much.

They had planned to head down to the quarry. It was nice, scenic. Perfect for this kind of thing. Steve knew about this one spot, a picnic table that overlooked the water. Real premium makeout real estate.

Honestly, Eddie was kind of ruining the ambiance Steve was trying to set here. He’d left one of his tapes playing from out of the car's open windows. Not loud, but still. They sat together next to the parked car, looking out at the black glass water below. Perched atop the table with their feet on the bench, sipping disgustingly cheap, but cold at least, beer.

If Steve blocks out the distant heavy metal screaming, it could pass pretty convincingly for romantic. The sky had cooperated with him, not a cloud in sight. Just an endless, timeless sea of stars. The moon was waning but bright enough they could see in the dark. But also not so bright it washed out the impression of the Milky Way above them. Still summer - which meant it was brisk but not chilly.

Perfect. Or - at least as close to perfect as Steve could really hope for.

“Ghosts?” Steve was saying, smiling and shaking his head. “Seriously?”

“What - so you’ll buy evil interdimensional wizards and - and demon bats from hell but you draw the line at ghosts?”

“Well, yeah. Difference there - is that I’ve never seen a ghost before,” he said, gesturing with his beer.

“So? That doesn’t mean there aren’t any!” Eddie was talking with his whole body again.

“Sure - maybe. But it does mean I don’t have to think about it,” Steve said, and Eddie threw his head back laughing.

Eddie took another long swing and they settled down, a comfortable quiet setting in. Steve glanced over at Eddie over the rim of his beer. Eddie was looking off into the distance, smiling. It felt… The timing felt right.

Steve set down his can carefully and took a deep breath (he’d popped a mint when they got here, and could only hope it would break through the bitter beer smell). He wiped his hands on his jeans so they for sure wouldn’t be clammy.

He braced a hand on the table behind Eddie’s back. Leaned into his space. Eddie went still, turning his head and blinking at him apprehensively.

“So…” Steve over-enunciated, and Eddie’s eyes immediately flickered down to his lips. It was brief, but Steve clocked it.

Steve smiled, made sure to let Eddie know that yeah, he saw that.

Oh, Steve’s so had this in the bag. He was great at this.

Steve unholstered ol’ reliable - his brightest, most charming smile. The one that always got girls blushing and tucking their hair behind their ears. He could really only hope it’d have the same devastating impact on Eddie.

“Keep looking at me like that Munson - I’m gonna start thinking something crazy.”

“What?”

“That maybe you like what you see….That you’re interested…” Eddie was quiet, studying his face very seriously. Three things for which he’d never been particularly known for. Or particularly good at for that matter. It was kind of intense. Steve slanted his eyes slightly down and to the side, not wanting to be thrown off his game.

Focus, Harrington. You got this. You got this because you’re super cool and smooth and good at this.

“So - come on, what do you say you and me just cut to the chase and go out already?” He said, light and playful.

He glanced back up at Eddie through his lashes and actually, physically, flinched when he saw his expression.

The look in his eyes was ice cold.

“Hey, fuck you, man,” Eddie said, putting a hand on Steve’s chest and shoving him right back out of his personal space. Steve tipped over onto the tabletop. He landed on his opposite hip, catching himself with his elbow. It took a second or two to process as he slowly sat back up.

Eddie’s cheeks flushed red with anger, the upset in his eyes. The way he had already turned his head away, like he didn't want to have to even look at Steve right now. How tense his posture was, sitting there leaning his elbows on his knees. Tapping his sneaker restlessly against the bench.

It left Steve floundering for a good few seconds.

“Yeah. You’re real funny, Harrington, you know that?” Eddie said, as quiet as he was tense.

“I -” Eddie looked over at him expectantly, mouth in an uncomfortably twisted-up frown. Looking like all he wanted in the world right then was for Steve to apologize or laugh it off. Or, more likely, to just fucking drop it. And Steve still hadn’t said anything.

Because to be honest, Steve was having a hard time believing it. Sure, he had been nervous. But like, - not that nervous.

He probably wouldn’t’ve had the nerve to put it all on the line if he wasn’t pretty damn sure the feeling was mutual.

It was just… The way Eddie always tried to rile him up. Make him laugh. Pull his pigtails. Like he couldn’t get enough of Steve’s attention. How he’d go way out of his way for Steve only to go all nonchalant and pink, play it cool when Steve tried to thank him for it. Like it wasn’t a big deal. Even those times when it was. And then there was always that distinctive tension. That undeniable charge.

Look. Steve Harrington knows flirting. Knows it when he sees it. And he had seen it floating on the periphery of almost every conversation they’ve had all the way back to when the Vecna fiasco started.

This whole fucking ordeal was brought about in the first place because twice (twice!) Steve had caught Eddie fixating on — gazing at — his naked chest.

“What?” Steve smiled weakly. “You can’t - you’re seriously telling me I just imagined all that…? That it was all just totally-“ his hands fluttered of their own volition, “in my head…”

Wrong thing to say. Somehow the worst thing to say, judging by Eddie’s reaction.

Eddie pushed off the table to stand, shoulders inflating as he took a large inhale and held it before letting it out slowly. It was controlled, like if he wasn’t careful he might go off like a bomb. Still, the look he was giving Steve was fucking radiation poisoning.

“Ok, what the fuck is your problem?” Eddie spoke in a low voice and jerked his chin defiantly.

Steve could practically hear it, the moment his heart dropped like a rock.

Eddie’s top lip curled up when Steve didn’t say anything, just sat there with his dumb mouth left open.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to imply that you were…” Steve rubbed at the clamminess on the back of his neck.

“Oh no? Then what did you mean to imply, exactly?”

Steve hesitated, and Eddie looked upset at how much that vindicated him.

“I mean…” Sure, small towns were small-minded. But not Eddie. Never Eddie. At least, Steve never took him for the type. Sure maybe the guy’s a little bit prickly, but he doesn’t judge a freak for being a freak. He welcomed all those rejected and abandoned by society. Is fiercely, loyally protective over them. It was part of why Steve fell for him, his enduring Sheep Dog nature. “…s’not like it’s that bad a thing to be, right?”

Eddie laughed.

“Oh, it’s not, is it?” He said it big and loud and sarcastic and defiant. Like the way he talked to the assholes and the jocks and the bullies, the ones that give him trouble at school. How he talked to the ‘Them’ not the ‘Us’. Like the way he never talked to Steve.

“Hey,” Steve said, defensively. He stood up, not liking the feeling of Eddie looking down on him right now. “Dude, why are you being like this? I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Eddie’s features twitched, like he was exerting incredible amounts of restraint, and somehow this was his measured response.

“Hah. Well. S’ a good one. You’re a real riot…” He walked past Steve, roughly knocking into his shoulder as he did.

Steve stumbled a step. Eddie honestly hadn’t even bumped him that hard, but he wasn’t feeling very stabilized right now. He turned, watching Eddie march towards the tree line.

“Fuck you, King Steve,” Eddie said dismissively as he walked away. Steve was kind of floored. It took him a second to respond.

“I - Dude! Where are you even going?”

“I’ll walk!” Eddie yelled, not turning around.

Steve just watched him go. He wrapped his arms around himself. Suddenly realizing how cold he felt, even in his sweater. Even when it was still summer.

And Eddie he, he never acted like this.

Look, Eddie might have been kind of an asshole, and as of 5 minutes ago had decided he hated Steve’s guts… but he was still Eddie.

And Steve wasn’t gonna let him get lost in an occasionally monster-ridden forest.

He jogged to catch up. When Eddie heard him coming through the undergrowth, it seemed to make him storm away faster.

“Come on, man. Eddie! I’m sorry, okay? — Just. At least let me drive you home.”

“Fuck off, Harrington,” Eddie said, speed-walking as if Mr. Pack-A-Day could outpace the jock.

“Where are you even going?”

“What are you, a cop?”

“Eddie -“ Steve said, because this was, frankly, ridiculous. He grabbed Eddie’s wrist, tugging him back.

Eddie’s eyes were red-rimmed and glassy.

“Eddie?”

“What!?” Eddie said quietly, stubbornly looking somewhere off to the side, waiting for him to say something.

If only Steve knew what the fuck to say.

“You really had me fooled for a second there… that you’d changed since school. Shows me, huh?”

“Hey, fuck you! You’re the one who’s being, like, honestly, just - really immature about all this.”

“Oh, I’m being immature?” Eddie practically yelled, a cruel smile splitting his face open.

“Yes!” Steve yelled back indignantly, because that would be a hard charge for Eddie to beat right now. Especially with that petulant death glare he’s still got on.

Steve looked away and took a deep breath, dragging a hand roughly down his face. He held it over his mouth for a second, just trying to get his head on straight.

He really wished his eyes would stop burning. He’d thought… he’d really, really thought. Oh god, he’d just messed everything up, didn’t he?

“Jesus Christ. I’m sorry, okay? Can we just drop it? You don’t have to - you don’t gotta freak out on me…” Steve tried. But Eddie just stared at him, then looked down, kicking at the ground with the toe of his sneaker.

“God, you’re such a fucking asshole...” he muttered under his breath.

“I’m an asshole?” Steve repeated, offended and already exhausted from fighting. “Cause I asked you a question?”

“Cause where do you get off, that’s why. Fuckin’ - Am I just some kind of fucking joke to you? Is that it?”

“What - ?” Steve sputtered. “I don’t even -“ He tried so hard not to look as hurt by Eddie’s words as he felt. And when that got too impossible he just looked away. “You really think it’s that much of a joke, that I’d want to...”

“Come on! You think I don’t know this game? You figured out I’m into you, then what? What’s the play, King Steve? Huh? You ask me out so you can laugh in my face? Stand me up? Just hoping to watch me squirm? Well sorry to rain on your - “

Steve’s eyes snapped to Eddie.

“Wait, stop. Eddie - Stop! Just hold on for a second.” He held out his palms, trying to cut Eddie off mid rant. “You’re into me?”

Eddie looked at Steve like he was stupid.

“Yes!” He yelled. The ‘duh’ seemed to be implied.

Steve stopped. He stood up straighter. Smiled.

“Really?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Eddie said, blushing again. “Fine. Yeah, you got me all figured out. A freak and a fag, the fucking - two in one special. Well, you know what Harring-whatareyoudoing?”

“Really?” Steve said again, swooping in close. Feeling bold or brave or, more likely, just plain stupi. He grabbed one of Eddie’s hands loosely in his.

Eddie looked down at the point of contact and then back up at him. Just so fucking lost.

“What is this?” Eddie said, squinting at Steve like he was an algebra equation. But that was okay. It had taken a few tries, but Eddie managed to pass with a C. Eventually. “This…” He took a shaky step backward. Shaking his head and trying to get his hand back. “This is fucked up, man.”

“Go on a date with me.” Steve took a step forward, following him, taking both Eddie’s hands in his.

“Stop messing with me,” Eddie said, looking almost afraid.

“I’m not messing with you. Go on a date with me.” Eddie was totally and completely silent. Eyebrows drawn together, eyes darting all over Steve’s features, trying desperately to read them. Steve gave him an impish grin. “You like me,” he said smugly, but his voice couldn’t help but soften. “I like you, too Eddie.”

“You’re straight!”

“Says who?” Steve shrugged with a shy grin.

Eddie’s mouth hung open as he stared at Steve with those big, doe eyes.

“O-Okay…? Sure. But, I still — why would you want to…” Clearly, Eddie wasn’t getting it.

“I like you, dude,” Steve said, pushing down the nerves. Wanting this to go well. Because God, if it went well…

Eddie pointed to himself, mouthing the word ‘me’ with just the most comical look on his face. Steve let out a small puff of laughter.

“Yeah… I’m like, kinda totally gone on you, man.”

Eddie was shaking his head ‘no’. Steve put his hands gently on both of Eddie’s cheeks to stop him as he nodded his own head ‘yes’.

Normally, he’d be worried about encroaching on Eddie’s space like this, considering tonight he had shown himself to be especially flighty. But the way Eddie was gripping his wrists, Steve probably couldn’t have backed off even if he wanted to. And he really didn’t want to.

“Eddie… you’re fun. And you’re funny. And you help me take care of the kids. You look out for other people, and I like how you're always singing under your breath, all the time. And how you’re so… just, passionate with the stuff that you care about. And — and you’re hot.”

Eddie gave him a bewildered look.

“The uh, bad boy thing it’s…” he huffed a breath, “it works.”

“Uh…“

“What do I gotta do? To prove it? C’mon,” he asked quietly.

Eddie's eyes immediately darted down to his lips. Just like they always did when Steve got him close. Only now, maybe he can finally do something about it. Steve smiled.

“Yeah?” Steve asked in a small, intimate voice. No one else was around to hear, but still, Steve wanted it to be just for them.

Eddie looked hypnotized by the way Steve was bridging the distance between them.

Steve kissed him, soft and slow and perfect. Eddie melted into it immediately, and they kissed like that in the dark for a nice, long while.

Steve pulled back to see Eddie’s reaction, finding he had gone completely frozen. His eyes dazed with shock.

Oh god, Steve might’ve broken him…

Steve held him by his cheeks again, gently tilting his lips up so he could land one more kiss.

“Eddie?” The two of them just looked at each other.

A moment passed. And then another. And then Eddie was back online and had Steve pushed up against a tree. Steve groaned when his back connected with it. He likes that way more than he should.

Eddie’s forehead was pressed against Steve’s. He had his hands all over Steve, touching and caressing and roaming over all the uncharted territory of his face, his neck. Like he didn’t know where to start now that he had permission, so he settled for everywhere at once.

“What the fuck. What the fuck, Harrington?” Eddie muttered before kissing him. This time it was Steve who melted. Eddie pulled back, leaning away from him.

“You're not fucking with me, right?”

Steve shook his head ‘no’, losing the fight against a far too honest smile.

“Fuck,” Eddie whispered again. And then they were making out again, and Eddie was licking into his mouth, and his touch was restless, relentless, pressing into Steve’s skin, hands finding their way into his hair, under his shirt; and there’s that electricity.

It left him tingly all over. Steve moaned low.

“M’sorry I yelled at you.” Eddie pressed the words into Steve’s mouth.

“Make it up to me,” Steve panted.

“Fuck, Steve,” Eddie said, still repeating himself, and Steve could feel a warm breath on his lips. It smelt like cigarettes and cheap beer, but tasted like something that fell out of heaven.

Eddie’s hands slid down the curve of his back, slipping into the back pockets of Steve’s jeans, squeezing hard. Steve jolted, his breath catching.

“Fuck, I’ve always wanted to do that,” Eddie groaned, sounding agonized by the feeling.

Steve chuckled, winding his arms around Eddie’s lower back and dragging Eddie against him. He widened his stance just enough to coax Eddie’s thigh into the space between his legs so he could grind down on it.

Eddie leaned back to watch him do it, directing Steve against his thigh with the hands cupping him firmly from inside his jeans pockets. His eyelids were heavy, and there was something dark and hungry behind them.

“Fuck, Steve. That’s fucking beautiful, you know that?” Steve made a noise in the back of his throat, pulling Eddie against him — demanding another kiss.

Steve could feel Eddie getting hard against his hip. It hit him with a full-body shiver. He knew Eddie had to feel what this is doing to Steve, too. And that also made him shiver a little bit.

“Eddie, wait - “ Eddie retreated just enough to nestle his face into Steve’s neck, placing soft, almost apologetic butterfly kisses into the sensitive skin.

“I’m getting carried away, aren’t I?” he said, without even pausing.

“No, me too,” Steve struggled to say between too big, heaving breaths. “I wanna do this right, Eds. Take you out, pick you up in my car, let me buy you dinner.”

Eddie pulled back to look at him. He had that look again, eyebrows drawn together like Steve was a puzzle he might never figure out. The difference was, this time he allowed some of that vulnerability he was so terrified of seep out through the cracks.

Then slowly, very slowly, the corners of his mouth started to rise. He was smiling mostly with his eyes, though. It was so fucking beautiful Steve felt his whole chest clench tight.

“Tonight doesn’t count,” Steve said.

Eddie laughed brightly. “No?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Beer isn’t dinner.” Eddie kissed him again, slow and languid and simmering so hot that Steve felt his insides start to boil from the glow. “Wanna romance you for real. Please?”

“Fuck, Steve. How are you supposed to say that and expect me not to fuck you right here on the ground?”

Steve jolted, his abdomen clenching in white, hot want, Eddie’s words and the gravel of his voice sending a sharp thrill down his spine.

Eddie leaned back a bit, grimacing.

“Right, I don’t know if you’re - if you’d be into, uh -“ Eddie trailed off, unsure. Steve huffed out a laugh, leaning his head back against the tree. Still breathing hard, he looked at Eddie from down the slope of his nose. He let his eyes roam lazily, checking Eddie out. Taking in his messy hair, his shiny pink lips, his broad-shouldered leather, his pretty face, and the expression on it that was so incredibly horny it kind of took every scrap of Steve’s willpower not to do something about it. The corner of Steve’s panting mouth twitched up.

“You want to? Fuck me?” He said it almost like a challenge. Eddie laughed, like that was another one of those things that came with a ‘duh’. Like it should be obvious.

“I am but a man. And you… are…” He let his sentence trail off again, because he knew he didn’t have to elaborate. His eyes said it all, the way they roamed slow down Steve’s body.

He squeezed Steve’s ass again and pushed his thigh up, trapping Steve against it. Steve choked on a sound that died in his throat.

“Fuck. What is even happening...” Eddie said, closing his eyes. “I feel like I’m about to wake up from a dream right now with the world’s least ignorable hard on.”

“Dream about me often, Munson?” Steve asked, lolling his head smugly, really just joking around.

“Fucking - Yeah. Dude. Like, a lot. Fuck, the amount of times I’ve gotten off thinking about this exact…” Steve’s eyelids went heavy, his lips parting in a small exhale. He could feel his breathing start to flutter. “Sorry, too much?”

“You’re the one who better not be fucking with me this time.”

“You have no idea how close I am to just dropping to my knees and blowing you right here, just like, instinctually.”

“How close exactly?” Steve raised a lecherous eyebrow. He couldn’t help but blush a little. This morning, his highest hope was that Eddie liked him back —

That Eddie had been dreaming about him sucking Steve’s dick? Yeah. That one might go to his head a little.

Eddie laughed and hid his face in Steve’s neck again. Steve wondered if that was just an Eddie thing — something he could expect more of… if Steve played his cards right.

“Fuck,” he muttered against Steve’s skin. “Could you tell?” Steve made a questioning noise, nosing at Eddie’s big frizzy mop of hair. His shampoo smelt like clean, fresh pine. He let himself breathe in deep, already addicted. “About my big stupid crush on you I’ve had since forever?”

Steve bit his lip, pressing his cheek into Eddie’s skull. God, he felt like such a fucking doofus smiling like this with his dick rock-hard between them.

“Okay, I’m worried you really are fucking with me now,” Steve laughed. Eddie shook his head ‘no’ against Steve’s skin.

“Since high school,” he grimaced, leaning heavily into him. “Not once did I ever actually even let myself consider that you’d ever…. Shit…. I can’t believe I blew up at you like that. God, I’m sorry I’m such a fucking dick…”

“You liked meeee,” Steve laughed. He was barely listening anymore. Eddie had been crushing on Steve in high school! That had got to be like five points for the You Rule board, at least!

Eddie reached a hand between them, squeezing Steve’s cock. He squeaked in surprise, trying to resist the urge to find further friction.

“By the looks of things, you like me well enough too,” Eddie said, nipping at his ear lobe.

“Hey. Stop it, stop that,” Steve said, wriggling in his grip. “I told you. I really wanna do this right.”

“Gonna wine and dine me, Harrington?”

“Can I?”

“Depends. You put out on the first date?”

Steve chuckled.

Eddie emerged from the space between Steve's head and neck. His eyes were soft and warm, and he had the dopiest lopsided grin.

“What do you take me for?” Steve said, pretending to push Eddie away with no real force behind it. He wanted to keep Eddie right here, in his arms, solid and warm on his chest, smiling just like that for… for however long Steve could manage to make him feel loved. Reminding him how much he deserves it, the loving.

“Fine. But I call next. You want romance, Harrington? You better be prepared for the whole nine yards. I’m talking flowers, I’m serenading you at the door - because yeah, I get to pick you up for date two. Oh, I’ll be pulling out chairs… and opening doors, laying down my jacket to help you over puddles . All of it, till you’re just sick to death of it. Just you fucking wait…”

“I suppose I could learn to live with it…” Steve said, rolling his eyes before laying one last kiss on Eddie’s stupid, perfect grin.

fin ~

Merry Holidays Sunflower!

[acidnhuskerdust]

let me be your everlasting light (2/3) NSFW

18 plus! Minors DNI!!!

Pairing: Husk x Angel

Chapter 2: waitin' is such a misery, i need your touch

Summary: Angel and Husk's relationship has developed over the past few weeks, yet they both are finding it hard to hold off on sex.

Warnings: grinding, a whole lotta making out, sexual tension, sexual frustration, teasing

AO3 link: x Part 1: x

A week has passed since they shared their first kiss, and things between Husk and Angel have drastically changed, more so then after the night the two of them sat at the curb together. Angel finds himself surprised everyday whenever he gets a moment alone with Husk, of course he was still his grumpy old self, yet he still regarded Angel with a tenderness no one else has given him. It was hard to adjust to these… pesky feelings, to only want a certain pair of yellow eyes on him at all times. It was especially hard to adjust when it has been a week of nothing but heavy make out sessions and wandering hands. That part was more vexing than anything else. 

It was a quiet evening at the hotel, there was no crazy exercises Charlie put the crew through to rehabilitate them today, instead both the princess and her girlfriend went out for the day. Angel didn’t bother to ask where they were headed too, he was just pleased to know he could truly relax for a day. 

The spider demon sat on the couch with his pet demon pig, Fat Nugget, curled up on his lap. He mindlessly flipped through channels on the TV, enjoying the rare respite from the chaos that usually engulfed him while puffing on a cigarette.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” A deep voice came from behind him, causing Angel to immediately perk up.

He looks back to see none other than the demon who was always hot on his mind. There was a smirk on his face, looking Angel up and down. It was as if he was drinking in the sight before him, seemingly taking interest in the outfit he wore, a loose sweater that exposed his shoulders and tight shorts. His fixed gaze was enough to make Angel’s body feel like it was on fire.

He made his way over to join him on the couch. He settles down beside him, stretching out his legs and propping one up on the coffee table without a care. “Enjoying some peace and quiet, huh?”

“Well, I was.” He says with a playful lilt in his voice. “Then you showed up.” Husk let out a low chuckle, his eyes glinting with amusement. He leans back on the couch, reaching over to ease out the cigarette dangling from Angel’s lips to take a long puff out of it. “Now you’re stealin’ my cigarettes, and I thought I was the annoying one.” He lets out huff, picking up Fat Nugget and setting him down on the floor. 

“Think of it as payback for all the times you’ve gotten on my nerves.” He replies, staring ahead at whatever was playing on the television.

“Whateva,” Angel rolls his eyes. He then scoots closer to Husk, turning his body towards him. Two of his arms sprawl out on the back of the couch, leaning his head against them while staring at the older demon with affection. He sure did look fine. 

“Ya been enjoyin’ ya day off?” Angel asks, wanting to keep the other’s attention on him.

“Day off? More like day spent trying not to strangle anyone,” He replied in a dry tone, looking over at Angel, his gaze flickering down his body. “But I guess it ain’t so bad when you’re around.”

Angel smirks, “Ya guess?” He clicks his tongue. “Damn… And I thought we had somethin’ special kitty cat.” He reaches out to grab his cigarette back, taking a slow drag off of it. 

“Yeah, something specially annoying.” Husk retorts. It was the usual reply Angel would receive since he met Husk, but now when he said things like that, there was a lightness in his tone. He teased back now. It made Angel feel light. 

Husk’s lips turn into a small smile. “What’s got you lounging here all by yourself anyway? Don’t tell me you actually got tired of causing chaos for one day.” 

An airy laugh leaves Angel, a genuine one as his lips curl up into a smile. “Whose ta say I haven’t spent the day causin’ chaos?” He shoots back playfully. The spider demon moves to get on his knees. “Or maybe…” He purrs out, prowling towards Husk as if he was a cat stalking a mouse. “I’ve been waitin’ for you to show up before I did?” 

He crawls onto Husk’s lap, settling down across him. He place an arm lazily atop his shoulders while a hand finds its way to Husk’s neck. His finger trails upward, brushing past the fur of his cheeks before finally to the top of his head. Husk’s eyes narrowed at him as he grabbed his top hat, placing it on his head with a cheeky grin. 

Husk raises a brow, clearly amused by the display. “I see,” Husk drawled out in a voice that was both amused and indulgent. “Aren’t you just full of surprises today?" His arms wrap around Angel to keep him steady, one hand trailing up to trace lazy circles on the small of his back while the other rested against his thigh, the touch was enough to make Angel shiver. “Now… Was there something else you were waiting for? Or is stealing my hat all a part of your 'grand scheme'?” 

Angel smirks, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he adjusted himself on Husk’s lap. His touch egged him on, placing his cigarette back between the demon cat’s lips before pressing his own lips against his ear, whispering into it with a sultry tone. “Oh baby, bein’ with me is a gamble,” He purred, enjoying the way his ear flickered from his hot breath.  He trails one hand down Husk’s chest teasingly, “I’ve got plenty up my sleeve.” He presses a hot kiss against his cheek. 

Husk’s hand leaves his thigh to take hold of the cigarette, turning his head to capture Angel’s lips in a deep kiss. Angel happily reciprocates with equal fervor, his hand continuing to smooth over the fur on his chest. 

The taste of cigarettes lingered on their lips, mixing with the heady rush of arousal that coursed through their veins. Angel swore the room seemed to fade away as their kiss intensified. He doesn’t break their kiss once as he moves to straddle Husk’s lap, his hat falling off his head while feeling clawed paws making purchase on his hips. 

A purr reaches his ears, and as he places two hands on his chest, he can feel it rumble underneath his touch. He grins against his lips, feeling a sense of fulfillment to know he has such an effect on him. 

Husk seemed to pick up on his silent satisfaction, his grip tightening on his hips and grounding him down onto his lap. Angel gasps against his lips, his body yearning for more. He moves his hips down onto him with an undeniable hunger, pressing himself closer against Husk, reveling in the way their bodies molded. 

“F-Fuck,” Angel moaned softly against Husk’s lips. His hands roamed ravenously over Husk’s chest and shoulders, feeling overwhelmed with both need and adoration towards the shorter demon underneath him. 

He breaks the kiss and Husk’s lips chase after him, he knew he was just as desperate as he was and he was going to ride that out as much as he could. He leans down, pressing hot kisses against his neck. He can hear Husk’s breath hitch, his grip tightening instinctively.

“Husky baby…” He murmurs against his fur, lightly nipping at it. “You’re drivin’ me crazy.” 

“Damn right I am,” Husk growled huskily, unable to suppress the low groan that made Angel’s cock twitch in his shorts. He tilts his head back slightly, exposing more of his neck and Angel takes the chance to explore. 

His neediness was mounting as the seconds passed, a week of making out without anything further was making Angel desperate. He lets out a small whimper, not a fake one like when he was filming, a real, fervent whimper that made his face feel hot from embarrassment. He could feel Husk stiffen underneath him from his little noise, his hips pressing up against Angel’s, allowing him to feel the hardness underneath his slacks. 

Another noise leaves the back of his throat, pressing himself back down with an aching desire. He kisses back up his neck, pressing his lips against his. Husk licks his lips and he immediately parts them, allowing him to lick into his mouth. His tongue was so long, this was the furthest they’ve gotten thus far and it gave Angel a rush of excitement. Maybe this was it. 

He pulls away for a gulp of air, looking down at the demon beneath him with carnal desire. “Baby, please. I’m needin’ ya real bad.” He rasps out, grinding down against his erection. 

“Angel…” Husk’s voice was low, strained with lust. He slid his hand from his hip to the small of his back, pulling him in close. He nips at Angel’s bottom lip teasingly, “Fuck, you don’t even know what you’re asking for.” 

Husk rolls his hips upwards and a choked gasp leaves Angel from the delicious stimulation he keeps looking for. Fuck yes, this is exactly where he needed Husk to be. 

“I know damn well what I’m askin’ for babycakes.” He says through gritted teeth, he’s never felt this needy, never wanted someone inside of him so badly like this, not a specific demon at the very least. Why won't Husk just give it to him? “Want ya so bad Husky, want ya inside of me, makin’ me scream. C’mon baby, I know ya wanna, want to give me your all.” 

Husk let out a guttural growl that was music to his ears, the heady tension getting thicker in the air. Just as Angel became more hopeful, Husk's hands fall back down to his hips, halting him from moving. He looks down at him with confusion, raising his brows. 

“Doll…” Husk began hoarsely, and holy fuck, he sounded so hot like that. He was just as pent up as he was, Angel could feel it in his pants, throbbing against its confines with carnal desire. It feels so good to be completely wanted like this. 

His golden eyes bore into Angel’s with an intensity that was almost frightening from the sheer arousal held within them. “This ain’t about fucking… Not this time.” Husk’s grip softened somewhat, one of them stroking up Angel’s side. “We can wait,” He murmurs. Angel lets out a groan in response, damnit, he was right there. 

“Wait?” Angel repeats, a frown tugging at his lips. “It’s been a week, don’t ya think that’s plenty of build up before getting down and dirty?” Husk’s thick brow rose, staring up at him with amusement. “I didn’t realize you were keeping track of the days?” 

The spider demon rolls his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. “‘Course I’ve been countin’ the fuckin’ days. Kinda hard not to when you get me all riled up then blue ball me every damn time we get a moment together.” 

Husk lets out a chuckle, the sound deep and husky as it rumbles in his chest. “Don’t get me wrong baby doll, I want you too, but it’s good to give each other time.” 

Angel lets out another groan of frustration, it sure as hell didn’t help when he felt his own cock twitch in his shorts. The heat between them was palpable, having this strikingly handsome demon underneath him both entranced and downright infuriated him. “You’re gonna be the death of me, y’know that right?” He slumps against Husk, burying his head into his neck. 

Husk wraps an arm around Angel’s waist, holding him close. “Not gonna apologize for that.” Husk replied gruffly, nuzzling into Angel’s fluffy white hair with a small sigh. “I get it, you’re frustrated and wound up. But we can’t just jump headfirst into this shit, give it some time. You can do that, can’t you?”  “I guess… But it’s not stoppin' me from hating you right now.” Despite his words, one of his hands found its way to the top of his head, stroking the fur there to coax those rumbling purrs he enjoyed to hear so much. 

“You don’t mean that.” Husk says, and Angel can practically hear his smirk as his tail comes to wrap around his waist. 

Angel grumbled intelligibly against his neck, his voice muffled as he spoke up. “Where’s my cigarette?” 

“Went out a while ago.” 

He groans, “Yeah, I fuckin hate ya.”

Husk wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of yoga, far from it actually. He considered any form of physical exertion to be a nuisance, but when Charlie made the call, he knew better than to argue with the princess of Hell. 

It had been three weeks since Angel and Husk relationship took its turn. Husk had to admit it, begrudgingly so, that he was quite fond of the spider demon. That fondness grew more and more everyday, and he wasn’t too big in how his heart skipped a beat when he saw the other. He made the idea of yoga sound not half bad, in fact, he made all activities a bit better. 

Grumbling under his breath, he ambled down to the main lobby dressed in his usual black slacks and red bow tie with suspenders slung lazily over his shoulders; a far cry from whatever this ‘yoga attire’ nonsense was supposed to be. 

Although his golden eyes widened once he caught sight of Angel sitting on the couch and his chosen outfit for the occasion. He wore a tight tank top, pushing his already prominent chest of fur up, and his tight black shorts barely covered his ass. It was an unapologetic display of pure sin that left little to the imagination. For a moment, all coherent thought fled Husk’s mind as he openly gawked at him. 

Husk was the who was holding off sex with Angel, but fuck, was it not easy. Not when he looked like that, a pink-eyed beauty that was constantly begging for more. 

He sauntered over to Angel, his thumbs hooked underneath his suspenders. “Fuck me sideways,” He mutters, a predatory glint in his eye. “Yoga classes ain’t exactly my thing, but I’m willing to suffer through it just for the view.” 

His words were more bark than bite though as an amused grin curled up on Husk’s lips while appreciating how Angel owned up to his provocative style unabashedly. As irritating as their teasing game has become lately, he couldn’t deny that it made things interesting around here. 

Angel’s lips pull up into a smirk. He stretches out languidly, purposefully accentuating his perfect curves and arching his back. This damn demon… 

“That so Husky?” Angel purrs out, leaning forward, all four arms resting along his thigh with a flirtatious smile on his face. “Good ta know, because I would love some help with the poses.” 

Husk absentmindedly licked his lips, staring down at the younger demon like he was sizing up his meal. He didn’t realize everyone around was staring at them until he heard the sound of Charlie awkwardly clearing her throat.

He brings his attention towards the princess, crossing his arms with a frown on his lips. Once she had everyone’s eyes on her, she clasped her hands together. 

“Alright guys! I sure hope you're as excited as me to have some yoga fun!” She exclaimed excitedly. “Let’s all get to our mats and start with something simple.” 

He looked back at Angel as he got up from the couch, their gazes fixated on each other as they both made their way towards a mat. Let the game begin. It all started off with simple stretches and Husk haphazardly followed along. His gaze remained locked on Angel as he followed the movements with his lithe form, making Husk’s entire body buzz with need. 

He tries his best to stay on track, but as soon as Charlie moves to lead everyone to do the downward dog, Husk stops short, his head snapping towards Angel. He really wanted to see this. 

The spider demon turns his back towards him, looking back with half lidded eyes before easily getting into position. His eyes slightly widened, seeing that tight ass high in the air was making his cock twitch in his pants. It didn’t help when he seductively swayed his hips, it was like a siren's call, luring Husk into dangerous territory. 

His mind quickly fogged with desire, racing with so many thoughts, how good it would feel to pound into his tight ass, holding his hips in the air as Angel let out a string of beautiful noises. As the days pass, these thoughts become more and more intense and vivid. Angel was just so beautiful, yet he was such a damn tease, he wanted to rile him up, of course he did. That’s just who he was, and Husk loved it. 

Husk wanted to cross that line, grab Angel, pull him anywhere that was remotely private, to show him how crazy he drives him. Yet before he could take that step forward, something snapped within him, a flicker of sanity amidst the lusty haze. He couldn’t afford to lose control, not in front of everyone, not risk everything they have built between them thus far. He’s holding back for a reason, to show Angel that this was more than sex. 

Angel had to have known he was striking a cord with Husk, especially when he fell away from Charlie’s instructions, taking the liberty to do his own poses. He effortlessly moves to get on his back, locking eyes with Husk with a half lidded gaze. He hooks two hands underneath his thighs, the other two resting on the yoga mat below him. Husk watches with bated breath as he brings his knees up to his chest, putting himself on full display. 

“Ain’t this fun Husky?” He asks, batting his long lashes and feigning innocence. “Sure do love me some yoga.” 

God damn it. 

The way he contorts his body was downright sinful, and the heat deep within Husk burned. His tail swishes at his feet. With a frustrated growl, he takes a step forward, taking in that lustful gaze Angel gave him. His hands tremble at his side, itching to touch and possess what was so temptingly offered before him. 

Fuck consequences.

Fuck control.

All that mattered now was satisfying this insatiable hunger.

Although, thankfully before he could yank him up and drag him away, his self control snapped back in place like a tightly wound spring. He can’t, not now. He can wait, he has the will power. 

He grumbles underneath his breath, abruptly turning on his heels and walking out of the yoga session without another word. He needed a moment alone, preferably to rub one out, to keep his building desires under wraps. He can’t keep spiraling out of control like this, constantly towing on the edge. What made it even worse was that the session barely started and he already had to walk away.

“Goddamn spider…” He mumbles, heading over to one of the many bathrooms of the hotel. 

He was pushed to his limits by the spider, and he was sure Angel knew that too. He knew damn well what he was doing, entangling him in his web of seduction. He wanted him to break, to give in, yet Husk was too stubborn to give in. He was making a point, and he was going to stick to that. 

Although the sound of fast clicking heels hit his ears makes them twitch. 

“Husky, wait up!” He hears the sound of the one who was responsible for all of this, his fur standing up as he whipped his head back. He moved closer to Husk till they were mere inches apart. “Are ya alright?” He asks and Husk swears he can see a fleeting moment of panic in his eyes. “I just wanted ta have a little fun between us. Didn’t mean ta push ya like that.” 

The spider reached out, and the second Angel’s hand was on his arm, Husk spun around. His golden eyes burned with lust, the teasing game they have been playing all this time had him at wits end. 

In one swift motion, he reaches up to grab Angel by his shoulders and pushes him up against the nearest wall. 

“Didn’t mean to push me?” Husk repeats, his gravelly tone taking on a growl. “You knew exactly what you were doing Legs, don’t try to play coy. You just don’t get it, do you?”  

Angel’s eyes were wide and so utterly captivating. Husk doesn’t give Angel a chance to respond, claiming those sinful lips with his own. The kiss was a bit rougher than usual, raw desire prominent as Angel melts into the contact. 

He fell more and more for this damn demon every day, and he wanted nothing more than to claim him as his own so badly. He wanted him, all of him, every single damn inch. 

“Fuck…” Husk murmured between breathless kisses, each one more intense than the last. He buried one clawed hand in that soft fluffy hair while the other made purchase on his waist, pulling him closer with possession until there wasn’t an inch separating them. 

Angel purred into the kiss, his body sliding down the wall until he matched Husk's height. The older demon took the chance to press his thigh up between his legs firmly, enjoying that sweet muffled moan that left Angel. 

The spider demon pulled away for a deep breath, rolling his hips against Husk’s thigh with a look of satisfaction on his face, and Husk wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face. 

“Mm, bein’ a lil rough, ain’t ya babycakes?” He purrs out, tilting his head to the side. “I’m not drivin’ ya insane, am I? Not lil ol Angel Dust.” 

“You’re pushing it doll,” He snarled, his erection now fully evident against Angel’s thigh, making no secret of how much he has been affected by this infuriatingly attractive creature. “But don’t you fucking dare think I won’t push back.�� Without another word, he dove his head into the crook of his neck, attacking it with kisses, nips and licks of his long tongue. He drew out a throaty moan from Angel as he bucked against Husk’s leg. 

“Oh honey,” He moans. “You’re damn right you can push back.” 

“Fuck you…” He whispered hoarsely against Angel’s neck. 

“Please.” Angel replies back with ease. “C’mon baby, just give in. We’ve been doin’ this dance for three weeks. Making out, grindin’ on each other. Why don’t ya just fuck me?” 

There was that desperation, that tremor in Angel’s voice, he knew he wanted him bad, and Husk wanted to keep it that way just for a bit longer. 

Husk wasn’t one to be easily swayed. Years had hardened him, made him resistant to giving himself fully, especially when it came to matters of the heart. “Damn it all, Angel.” Husk growled, voice thick with restraint. “You know why I’m holding back.” He pulls away from his neck, staring deep into his eyes. “You’re not some piece of meat for me to fuck around with. I care about you too much for that.” His eyes flicked down between them, pausing for a moment before continuing in a softer tone, a rare glimpse into the vulnerability hidden within his gruff exterior. 

“You deserve more than just a quick fuck from me… You deserve someone who sees you for who you truly are,” He lets out a sigh. “And until I can give you that, until I can offer you everything, I won’t take advantage of what we have.” 

He watches intently as Angel’s eyes widen, a mixture of surprise and frustration evident in those pink orbs he finds so pretty. Angel then lets out a long groan, his head hitting against the wall behind him. 

“Ugh, Husk!” Angel exclaimed in exasperation. 

There was a silence between them for a moment, and Husk kept his eyes trained on his gorgeous face as his eyelids slid close, taking in deep breaths. 

After a moment, he opens them, a softness in his eyes that tugged at Husk’s heart. “Ya’know…” He begins, letting out a breathless chuckle. “For someone who is such an old grump, you sure are sappy.” 

Although slightly offended to receive such a title as this one, a small chuckle resonated from him. The thick sexual tension in the air seemed to ease away from Angel’s light heartedness. 

Angel, who looked ever so beautiful, brought his hand up to Husk’s cheek, running through his fur before settling at the base of his neck. “Ya win, again,” He gives a roll of his eyes, yet his tone still holds a note of affection. “We’ll hold off a bit longer. But I can’t promise I’ll make it easy on ya.” He fluidly rolls his hips against his leg, making sure that Husk felt that straining bulge in his shorts. 

His grip tightens on Angel, a desperate attempt to keep himself grounded. “You damn well know I can handle it.” Angel snorted in response and Husk’s jaw clenched, both of them knowing all too well that all control almost slipped out of his grasp today.

Husk lets out a sigh, leaning forward to press his face against his shoulder. “But Satan fucking help me…” He groaned pitifully against Angel’s fur, teeth grazing lightly over as if he was marking his territory. “... If I don’t find myself wanting nobody else but you.”

He feels the spider demon stiffen in his hold and Husk understood, if he wasn’t so pent up he would probably try to play it off, throw in an insult to lighten the confession that was just as heavy as any other. 

Soon enough, Angel relaxes and four arms wrap securely around him. “You’re such a dummy,” He says barely above a whisper. Husk grunts out in response, bringing his head up to nuzzle his cheek against Angel, both a sign of affection and scenting. 

Before the enchanting demon was able to get out another word, the sound of his phone blowing up with a series of notifications stopped him in his tracks. Husk pulls back, his gaze hardening as he watches the other pull out his phone, a somber look etched across his features. 

“Looks like I gotta get to work…” Angel sighs out, pushing a hand into his hair. 

Husk’s ears twitched and his tail flicked in irritation. Val always had to ruin everything, didn’t he? 

With one last lingering look filled with longing, Husk took a step back. “Be careful out there, and don’t let that bastard get under your skin too much today.”

Angel nods his head, smoothing his hair out. “‘Course not.” He forces a smile, pushing himself off the wall. “Be good for me, kitty cat, don’t go scratching the furniture.” He scratches the underneath of his chin, and Husk finds himself chasing after the retracting hand.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” He gruffly says, yet there was a small smile on his lips as he watched Angel take his leave. “See you later.” 

Once the spider demon was out of sight, he huffed out a sigh. He leans up against the wall, a clawed finger hooking underneath his suspenders as he pondered over what he said just moments ago. 

Shit, he really was a sap. 

[idkfitememate]

So we have tiger creator and deer creator

So a present

Sumpter beast creator

This thing

Like we have a killer cat in the city

But imagine this giant in the city

Just chilling

Dori Encounter

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! Sumpter Beast Reader x Dori

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 538

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Fluff, Dori gets protective

The Palace of Alcazarzaray had a new resident. A resident that no one would have ever thought Lord Sangemah Bay would even allow.

That resident, you ask?

You! A Sumpter Beast.

People of The Palace had not been expecting to see their Lord riding atop your shaggy form. You had a large hawdaj on your back that could accommodate three people of Dori’s size - which meant only one full grown person could fit. And by full grown, you mean a shorter full grown person.

Golden hoops shined on your ears and your fur was shined and brushed throughly. You looked better taken care of than the majority of the people of Sumeru.

You quietly walked into the pavilion and sat down, allowing the girl to climb down. Taking about few packs and bags off your back and began setting up shop.

People walking past watched in wonder as you helped unroll rugs and place merchandise. You were exceptionally gentle with everything.

And when everything was set up, you settled down on a rug. Dori was quick to follow, sitting in front of you and laying her head on your side.

She even slipped some greens your way which you happily munched on.

“Um.. Lord Sangemah Bay?” A passing merchant who had witnessed all of this hesitantly took a step towards the girl, making her look up.

“Yeah?” She asked, flicking a single mora between her fingers. Feeing her attention wasn’t fully on him, he sighed before steeling his nerves.

“… Why would you keep a most likely flee ridden beast such as-“ He couldn’t even finish his sentence before the most offended gasp he had ever heard left the small girl before him.

His words were apparently so egregious that she had dropped the more she had been playing with.

That was not a good sign.

She stood up in a huff, Electro swirling around her. You didn’t even bother looking up, choosing to continue munching on your plants.

She stalked over to the now shivering merchant, before stoping in front of him. The amount of Electro swirling off her provided a blinding purple light the engulfed to surrounding area.

“The only “flee ridden beast” I see around here is you. Now SCRAM! YOU’RE BANNED FROM TRADING WITH ME EVER. AGAIN!” She slammed her foot on the ground, causing a strike of Electro energy to zap right next to the man, causing him to squeal like a pig before running out. She made sure to actually zap him on the ass as he left, making him scream like a little girl.

She grunted before turning to the others who were watching in fear.

“Anyone ELSE got a PROBLEM with my new partner?” She asked. And was immediately met with echos of ‘no’ and ‘absolutely not’.

“Good.” She mused before walking back over to you, calming her Electro so as to not shock you. Sitting back down she leaned into your form and was met with a low rumble from your form.

She ran a hand through your fur and sighed, calming down.

“What would I do without you, صانع المال أول’ الكبير.” She sighed into your side before sitting up straight, ready to make her daily quota.

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : Just a bid ole’ guy who wants to live peacefully. And with Dori’s help, they can! Imagine all the nice soft stuff she can buy… or the self care products… hehe getting pampered by Dori sounds so nice right now…

* my big ole’ money maker - Dori to You

[ssukidesu]

a better method

Fandom: Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

Pairing: Inukag

Rating: T

Inukag Week 2024 ( @inukag-week ) - Day 3: Bickering

Summary: After a messy fight, Kagome offers to clean the beads of subjugation. She has every intention of putting them right back on afterwards, but Inuyasha's not so willing.

Read on AO3

Read under the cut

Kagome was bent over, towel in her hands, ruffling her hair dry. The smell had taken forever to get out. The very memory of it made her stomach curl in nausea, and she shoved the thought away hastily. Sango had borne the brunt of it; it was hiraikotsu, after all, that sliced the pig demon into pieces. Its blood and entrails were flung absolutely everywhere—and all five of them had been drenched. Luckily, there was a river nearby, and they were able to clean themselves of the worst of it. Sango had been grateful for the shampoo and soap, which was equally strong with its floral aroma.

The girls had gone first, of course; currently, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were making use of the river, though Kagome doubted it would do them much good; she and Sango had used up all of her soaps during their cleaning, and the boys would unfortunately be going without. Not that she thought Inuyasha in particular would have used her perfumed shampoo… but still.

The girls were working together to get a fire going for dinner when the men and Shippo returned. They at least looked better, Kagome noted immediately. She would make sure to purchase some unscented soaps whenever they passed the next village. The soap of this era was far less offensive to demonic senses, at least.

Fifteen minutes later, and they were all sipping on venison soup, thanks to Inunyasha’s successful hunt earlier that evening. It smelled glorious, and they were all grateful for the additional refreshment to their olfactory glands.

But afterwards, when they were settled around the fire to ward off the dropping autumn temperatures, Kagome got a whiff of that terrible scent again. It happened right as Inuyasha plopped down next to her—and she immediately roamed her eyes over his figure.

“What?” he accused sharply.

“That smell. Where’s it coming from?” she said, getting right to the point. “Your clothes look fine.”

He grit his teeth. “It’s this stupid thing,” he said, gripping the beads around his neck. “It’s impossible to clean. Too many crevices.”

“…Oh,” she said, rather stupidly. She shared a look with Sango, and then Miroku. They both shrugged at her. Inuyasha was picking something from under his claws when she returned her wary gaze to him. “Do you… want me to clean it?” 

His fingers stopped their twiddling. “Huh?” His eyes widened briefly before narrowing. “Are you messing with me?” he charged.

Kagome swallowed, solidifying her decision. “N-No. We can take it off for a minute,” she said.

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Right. Go ahead, then!” His tone was sarcastic as he dramatically leaned his head down, as if he was daring her. 

Kagome took one last look at her friends. Apart from Shippo, they seemed… relatively okay with the idea. They were probably having the same sort of doubts she was—that he’d be a little insufferable for a bit, but that he’d surely do nothing too diabolical.

She returned her gaze to him. He was peering up at her now, seemingly convinced that she wasn’t actually going to do it. But when she lifted her hands to grip the beads, his breath stuttered, and his eyes widened. She lifted and lifted, detangled some hair, and then lifted the rest of the way. 

He was gawking at her. She lifted her hand and closed his mouth. “You’ll catch flies ,” she snapped before flipping her still-damp hair and walking away.

He immediately turned to look at his friends, who were staring at him tensely, and he couldn’t help himself. 

He hooted. 

Kagome expected something like this, that the first thing he’d do is scare the kit a little. As she tinkered near the campfire to boil some water, she heard Inuyasha chasing Shippo around with terrible laughter, and she felt an inner peace take her. Of course he would be harmless. He didn’t even have it in him to actually catch Shippo; he just wanted to mess around. If he was good, maybe she wouldn’t make him put it back on until tomorrow. She grinned at the thought.

The thing really was filthy. Not just from the pig demon, either; it had needed a good cleaning for months, most likely. The plaque and grime was disgusting, even after letting it soak in the boiling water for ten minutes. She decided she could spare an old toothbrush and used it to scrub the thing bead by bead. Before she knew it, she’d been working on it for an hour. 

Inuyasha gave her no more time than that; he was ready to set off toward their next destination. She tried to convince him to let them keep that campsite another night, but it seemed he was… a little too confident in his newfound freedom for her mere pestering to work.

She didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t wrong to be in a hurry; there was a lead to follow, and it would be risky to linger. So they indeed set out. 

After a rather… bothersome three hours of walking, night finally fell. Inuyasha graciously allowed them to stop, and they ate some leftover soup for supper. 

It looked like he would make it to tomorrow without having to put it back on, after all; Kagome still wasn’t done scrubbing it, and she was too exhausted to pick up where she left off before. 

“Don’t go crazy from excitement, Inuyasha,” she told him as she crawled into her sleeping bag. “I’ll finish cleaning it tomorrow, and then it’s back to real life.”

She heard him scoff from the tree he’d chosen as his resting place. “Yeah, right,” he laughed.

Her stomach sank a little at this. Kagome did worry a little that he’d fight her about it, and if she was being honest, she didn’t quite know how she would go about winning that argument. But she told herself it would work out, somehow. She wouldn’t worry about it just yet.

But in the morning, after they had broken their fast and she had completed her cleaning job, she found herself at the moment she’d feared sooner than she expected. He was lounging in a low branch of a thick tree, eyes closed. The others were closer to camp, trusting the task to her.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve finished, Inuyasha.”

“Hmm.”

Well, that wasn’t a helpful response. 

“Come on down so I can put it back on,” she tried with a forcibly normal voice.

“No way,” he said simply.

“…What do you mean, ‘no way’?”

“I mean what I said. I already told you I wouldn’t let you put it back on.”

Her stomach hardened into a knot at that. This was going to be more difficult than she’d hoped…

When she threw a pebble at his head, she at least succeeded in getting him out of the tree. 

He landed roughly on both feet, growling. “What was that for? You tryin’ to start something?” he said, glaring down at her.

“That’s my line. Stop being childish and put it back on,” she said, lifting it up with her hands. 

He instantly stopped the movement by gripping the beads with his own hand, tugging and holding it back down with a strength that humbled her own.

He was smirking. “You couldn’t do it if you tried.”

Her mouth was agape. 

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll catch flies,” he said mockingly.

“Inuyasha,” she scolded, keeping her temper down. She tried tugging the beads, but they didn’t budge from his grip. 

His smile was more cruel than playful, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t scare her a little.

“Are you being serious?” she tried.

“Of course. You’re an idiot if you think I’m gonna let you put that thing back on me,” he goaded.

“Hey,” she huffed, mask slipping. “Don’t call me an idiot. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

He chuckled bitterly. “You’re not the one who kisses dirt because of it.” Releasing the beads, he pressed two fingers into her shoulder and gave her a weak shove, though it was enough to jostle her back a step. “You can’t make me,” he grinned savagely.

She saw that he was playing… sort of. He was smiling, for sure, but there was something resentful behind the facade of banter. He seemed genuinely vengeful. 

She wouldn’t show her growing fear—no matter what. Better that she acted the same as always, right? If she acted the same… maybe he would, too.

“Come on,” she badgered. “I’ll get you more ninja food next time I go home.”

“Nice try, Kagome,” he spat, towering over her with a puffed chest. “Admit it. You messed up. Stupid,” he drawled.

She would not let the tears form. Yes, she was growing terribly frustrated, but she couldn’t let him see. She’d have no shot of convincing him after that; she had to stay level-headed. Had to keep her reins in her own hands. She couldn’t reveal that she was getting embarrassed at her own naivety, and she certainly didn’t want him to know he was succeeding likely more than he meant to in intimidating her. Kagome didn't like thinking that her confidence in him depended on his wearing the beads; the thought made her feel dirty, like she had broken some sacred unspoken part of being his friend.

But then, he went a step further. And a physical step closer.

“Say it,” he taunted.

She scowled up at him, weighing whether to try and surprise attack him. But she knew he was too quick for something like that to work. “Say what?”

“Tell me to sit. I just wanna hear you say it.”

“Why would I?” she fumed. “It wouldn’t work.”

His smile was less of a smile and more like a smug way to remind her of the sharpness of his teeth. “Exactly.”

The sight was not ineffective. Her heart began to race, and not for entirely pleasant reasons. 

“You’re being mean, Inuyasha,” she said in a desperate attempt to regain herself.

He didn’t falter. If anything, his expression grew in vitriol. “I’m a demon, Kagome.”

“I know,” she yelled, rising to her toes. Her fist clenched around the necklace at her side.

“Then maybe you should start acting like it,” he growled. He was seething now, and Kagome realized that he had probably wished to say this—to reestablish his pride as a demon who wasn't leashed by a little human girl—for a very long time. In his view, the beads had been a sign of humiliation. Kagome had always known this, but she had come to believe that he didn't take himself so seriously as to be genuinely offended by it. The revelation of her mistake was no less than discomfiting. Yes—of course she knew he was a demon. But when he had the beads, this fact had seemed... unimportant. And as it turned out, an unfettered Inuyasha was a little more overwhelming than she'd expected.

What had she done?

“You’re—” she stuttered, and she wondered if the moisture gathering on her lash line was real or imagined. “You’re so…”

She watched the muscles in his jaw clench, watched his pupils grow to slits. Her ears stopped working; her eyes were blurring.

And when he lifted his hand toward her face, she couldn’t help herself.

She flinched. 

And it was quite dramatic. No way to hide it if it ends with your feet tripping over each other and your butt landing on the filthy ground. No way to cover it up when your breath is still recovering from a gasp like that. 

The shame of the moment had not hit her yet; she was still reeling, still refilling her lungs, still blinking her vision clear. She kept her head bowed, stuck on her lap. 

When she heard her name on his lips, she began to sense her mistake. But before she could fully decipher it, his hands were on her, under her knees and behind her back. She was in the air. She clung to him as he bounded through the trees, not even remembering the beads still wound around her fingers, until he found one he liked and burrowed them there within the branches.

Her hands were plastered to her face even after he released her. 

“Kagome…” he said, voice dangerously low. “Are you really…?”

Pounding. Her heart was pounding. She knew she was being stupid, but she had lost control of her body—and all she had was instinct, instinct, instinct when she saw him bring his fatal fingers toward her neck. Luckily, when he made the same motion this time, her eyes were shielded from seeing their approach. His hands pulled her wrists down, freeing her mortified face. She stared down at where he gripped her.

“Hey,” he said, jostling her hands. “Look at me.”

He didn’t continue until she obeyed. Kagome wondered if she looked as terrified as he did in that moment, and it encouraged her to attempt a calming breath. His voice, however, retained its anger from before—though its direction had changed. 

“I would never hurt you. Got that?” He shook her again, desperation taking over his features. “Burn it into your damn head. Beads or no beads, you’re—" he halted abruptly, black brows still drawn taut in the middle. “To hell with it,” he growled to himself. He loosened her wrists and gripped her shoulders instead, bringing himself closer. His golden eyes bore into hers. “You’re everything to me. The only person who’s in danger if I don’t have the beads is any person who’s stupid enough to lay a finger on you.”

Her tears streamed outright now, but she didn’t even notice. She was staring at his mouth, which was snarled in an angry frown. She licked her dry lips and said meekly, “I’m sorry, Inuyasha—I shouldn’t have doubted you. I don’t know why I…” she trailed off, the risk of her voice breaking too great to ignore.

“Keh,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Give it to me.”

Eyes widening for only a second, Kagome managed to nod her head before she loosened the beads from around her fingers. His right hand unlatched from her shoulder, and he placed his palm in the air to receive it. She lowered it onto his skin, the beads clacking quietly against each other as it collapsed from gravity. 

She supposed it wouldn’t really change anything for him to break them. He hadn’t lost control of his demonic blood in a very long time, and she figured the beads had lost their edge against him in such a form, anyway. Tetsusaiga was far more effective. And she supposed she technically didn’t sit him nearly as often nowadays, either. His behavior today would prove an outlier, she told herself; he was just readjusting to his freedom. It would be fine. She believed this firmly now, and she was ashamed that she didn’t from the start.

But Inuyasha did not break them; instead, he pulled them right back over his head and let them drop with a loud clatter around his neck.

“Wait, Inuyasha—“

“Shut up,” he snapped, but his remaining hand on her shoulder was gentle, and his eyes were, too. His voice remained firm, but he softened it for his next words: “I don’t ever wanna see that look on your face again. And if this is what I gotta do to prevent it, then I’ll do it.”

“Inuyasha…” she winced. “I’m sorry. Really, I trust you—you don’t have to wear them anymore.” Kagome pushed herself onto her knees and lifted her hands to grab the necklace, but his own hands were faster: he gripped and halted her wrists against his chest. She froze, eyes locking onto his from a mere foot away. 

His eyes flashed in warning. “Leave ‘em,” he scolded. “I’m not letting go until you say you won’t try to take them off.” He punctuated his words by a quick squeeze of her wrists, which were still pinned to his firm, warm chest. 

Kagome gulped, half dazzled and half annoyed. “…Only if you promise you believe me when I say I trust you.”

He looked at her, hard. She wondered at how his anger, for a moment, seemed to sharpen. Then, in one fluid movement, his hands shoved hers off of his chest and backwards—back, back, back until her wrists were pinned behind her against the thick trunk of the tree. She had lost her balance on her knees in the movement, and she fell back on her rear. He was leaning over her now, face even closer than before, close enough to feel his hot breath on her face.

“Do you trust me, Kagome?” he said doubtfully.

Kagome’s breath caught. “Inu—”

“Prove it. Don’t sit me.”

Before she could question him, his nose was at her throat. He opened his mouth—she could feel his heavy sigh—and he grazed his teeth against the skin there. “I don’t blame you for being afraid of me without them,” he said bitterly. “It’d be easy for me to kill you.”

“You would never,” she whispered, eyes clenching shut at the feel of him on top of her, at the strength of his hands, at the edges of his teeth. 

Something like a whine escaped him. “Sit me,” he said.

“No.” She angled her chin toward him, cocooning him even closer to her throat. 

“Do it,” he begged, hands tightening around her wrists.

“Inuyasha,” she crooned.

Her tone was more effective than that damned word ever could have been. He tore himself from her neck and stared down at her with an expression so pained that her heart ached. Their eyes met with an intensity he wasn’t ready for—and when she broke away to look at his mouth, he looked like he was going to lose his godforsaken mind. 

As a final nail in his coffin, she tilted her head up to brush her nose against his. “I trust you,” she said again, and he was off of her in a flash. 

Chest panting, he watched in awe as she sat up, brushed her fingers over her neck, and eyed him sadly. 

“Kagome, I…” He trailed off, the apology sitting on his tongue. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

She was wrong, though. He did mean it. He meant everything he had done. Maybe not everything he’d said, but… there was something depraved inside of him that enjoyed hearing her heart beat insanely beneath him. Whatever it was—whether it was the demon inside of him, or the man even deeper within—he knew that whatever it was that gave him pleasure at seeing her flustered and heated and pliant was what the beads were really for. 

He would never hurt her—he knew that. He prayed she did now, too. But he also knew that there were different kinds of pain, and while he knew he would never hurt her with his hands, he couldn’t say the same about his words… or about his mouth, in general. 

And it was for days like today, when temperatures were running a little too hot, when words were flying a little too sharp, that he needed that extra incentive to stay in line. To not push her (or himself) too far. To remember that she was still just a girl, and he was almost fully a man, and that that might matter even more than the fact that she was human and he was not.

Maybe one day it would be different. Maybe one day, she would be ready to take those beads off of him—to keep him in line the way that he wished she would, with different words and a different method. A better method.

But in the meantime, he supposed they could just keep bickering like they always have, as if petty little arguments were really the worst thing he could do to warrant a kiss to the dirt.

“Inuyasha,” she said, pulling him out of himself again.

With just a look, he understood her, and he gathered her onto his back. They were back at the outskirts of camp before the others even noticed they were gone.

But what they did notice was Kagome’s commanding voice as she let fly one resounding word, and the loud crash (and wince) that followed immediately after. 

They also noticed that he didn’t even complain about it.

[rippeanuts1950-2000]

i hate u, i love u

Chapter 1)

There’s a flyer taped to her locker.

It’s not just any flyer though. It’s a flyer for a battle of the bands with a note written on it from her mortal enemy.

Do you dare Penn?

-Corey

She growls and snatches up the flyer from her locker. Corey Riffin has been a pain in her side for the past three years since they stopped being friends but it’s gotten worse since she started working at his dad’s pawn shop. In the past three years he had gained this stupid cocky attitude towards everything, decided he was better than her and found entertainment  in flirting with her. And he was always challenging her. So in response to this, she does the mature thing and snaps a photo. Then she sends it to her band group chat.

The Newmans

Laney- battleofthebandsflyer.jpeg

Laney- do we dare

Carrie- uh yeah we do!

Konnie- i’m always up for petty fights

Larry- same

Kim- there’s money involved, i'm in

Laney- thank you girls and larry

Laney grins at the texts and then storms over to Corey’s locker. “Riffin!!” She shouts, once he comes into view. He has his hands shoved into his pockets and his trademark lazy smile is on his face. “Penn, I was wondering when you were gonna stop by.” He says, leaning against the locker. Corey looks her up and down, like he’s expecting her to immediately start giggling that the great Corey Riffin is looking her way. Once upon a time, she would have reacted that way, but the times have changed.

“The Newmans are gonna win.” She says simply, crossing her arms. “You sure about that? Cause we have gotten better in the past few years since you’ve been gone.” He leans over her, trying to prove that because he’s taller than her, he’s intimidating. It doesn’t work because while Laney is shorter than Corey, she doesn’t care about her height.(She’s 5’3 he’s 5’11).

Laney raises an eyebrow. “Oh really? I would have thought that since Trina’s in college now, you wouldn’t have any inspiration to steal anymore.” It’s a low blow and she knows it. But if he’s going to insinuate that the band has gotten better without her around, then she is without a doubt going to bring up the stealing of the diary. Even if she participated in it a few times. Actually multiple times. Okay, every time.

Corey scoffs. “I write my own stuff now, Lanes, which you would know if you were still in the band.” Oh jeez, he’s not gonna try and convince her to rejoin the band again is he? He kept trying to do that when she first got hired at the pawn shop. “I’m not rejoining the band Riffin and don’t call me that.” Laney snaps, tightening her grip on her backpack strap. The stupid small part of her that still kinda likes Corey, weeps a little when she sees Corey’s laid back expression falter for a bit. She ignores it. “Look Laney, if you would just let us try again-” Laney cuts him off. “The only times I’d ever consider rejoining Grojband is when pigs fly or if I lose a bet.”

Corey hums, clearly letting her words sink in as they stand in silence for a few moments. “So if I made a bet with you about Grojband winning the battle of the bands and you lost, would you rejoin?” He asks and for the first time in years, Corey has stunned Laney into silence. “I guess so, but there would be conditions, like for how long it would last.” Laney says and Corey lights up at her words. “Really? How about forever!”

It’s Laney’s turn to scoff now. “Not happening, besides we haven’t even set up a bet yet.” She points out. “Okay, here’s an idea for a bet! If Grojband wins the battle of the bands then you have to rejoin for a month and if you like it, you have to at the very least consider rejoining the band. And if the Newmans win, I will leave you alone and only be polite to you from then on.”

Is it just her, or does it sound like has Corey been planning to do this for a while now? His idea was a good one and Laney would really like to be able to reorganize the jewelry in the shop without Corey pestering her with how great Grojband is now. Or getting a snack after work without him trying to tag along. Or just being left alone at work and school in general, that would be great. The more she thought about it, the better the bet looked. “You promise you would leave me alone?” Laney asks. Corey nods wildly. “Yes, I promise I will leave you alone IF The Newmans win, which isn’t gonna happen. Do you want me to do a blood oath or have it in writing?” He teases. Despite herself, Laney laughs.

“You don’t need to do a blood oath and I don’t need it in writing. What I want is a pinky swear.” Laney says, holding out her pinky. When they were younger, they had this tradition of making pinky promises when something important happened. It goes back to the early days of their friendship so the part of her that holds attachment to Corey wants him to remember the significance of the pinky swear. “Swearsies.” She adds for good measure.

If Corey remembers the gesture, he doesn’t show it. “Swearsies.” He says, locking her pinky with his. The bell rings, signaling that it’s time for lunch. Laney quickly removes her pinky from his and runs off without saying goodbye. There’s only one thought in her mind, The Newmans have to win.

I hope you guys liked this! I think I I have everyone in character but let me if you think something’s off! Also feel free to send asks about this. See you next week hopefully with a new chapter!

Next

[tobiasdrake]

Ranma 1/2 Reboot 01x07 - Hot Competition

Here we go. Time for the episode-long awaited match between Kuno Kodachi and Tendo Akane Saotome Ranma over the romantic fate of... *checks notes* ...Saotome Ranma.

Ryoga remains a clown. After spending a week training Ranma in rhythmic gymnastics, an art Ranma otherwise had zero knowledge of, Ryoga suddenly turns around and decides to try and cripple him before the match.

Rather than. Like. Sabotaging Ranma by training him incorrectly. Or just. Not offering to train him at all. Ryoga. Ryoga. What are you doing, man?

His game plan here is that Akane will suddenly become available for him to move in on if Ranma loses Ranma to Kodachi. He even convinces Akane to go to bed before pulling this stunt so she won't know he did it. But there are better ways of pulling this off, my guy, that won't immediately implicate you nonetheless.

Ryoga could learn a thing or two from the masters of Wimp Lo.

The training is a lot of fun, though.

Ranma and Ryoga doing Dragon Ball Z ki-charging screams while twirling gymnastic ribbons really just. Perfectly captures the essence of this arc. And this series. And Ryoga as a character.

Akane walks in on Ranma jumping up and down on Ryoga's butt, and her only concern is that he hasn't slept.

It's ironic, because despite losing the fight, Ryoga's plan sort of worked. He did succeed in sabotaging Ranma. The only way to truly win Ryoga's challenge was not to play, though I'm not sure how you'd actually go about doing that.

In any case, point goes to Ryoga for a terribly-conceived but well-executed ambush.

I like how, despite having been abruptly and disappointingly fired from the Kodachi fight, Akane's nonetheless still competing against Kodachi. It's just that she's moved into the realm of bodyguard, protecting Ranma from Kodachi's bullshit.

She's out of the match but still in the game.

I'm sorry but this is the most cheating out of anything that anybody does in this match.

Like. All of Kodachi's cheating is super cheating so I'm not gonna complain about it. Her entire philosophy is to play dirty and neutralize her opponents before the match even gets underway. She's proud of doing that. She deserves to have her bell run by a ringer for a ringer.

But also.

I don't think you can enter an inter-school rivalry competition as "Name Withheld", a random girl not enrolled in either school, who the substitute for a competitor that forfeit picked up off the street.

Like. For all anybody knows, Akane could have paid off Olympic gold medalist Darja Varfolomeev to come to this school contest and kick Kodachi's ass. It's kind of insane that the schools agree to let Furinkan get away with this. There is something in the water in Nerima.

Uh.

Besides curses.

I mean, he does give his name, but only after he's already registered and the competition is underway.

Maybe Kodachi convinced the school boards to let Furinkan do this just so she could turn around and have Pig-Tailed Girl disqualified if she lost. But then Ranma, without even realizing it, outmaneuvered her by dumbassedly giving his real name for the competition.

Or there are no judges and the schools are entirely comfortable with naked cheating in broad daylight.

That makes sense too.

Oh yeah, they're definitely just. Super okay with cheating in broad daylight. Kodachi here establishes a precedent that any tools are acceptable even if they aren't specifically the ones for rhythmic gymnastics. Any tool. Doesn't matter what.

That is the precedent she just set.

She may not be happy that she did.

They play her Thousand-Armed attacked like it's yet another instance of Kodachi cheating because she was, in fact, using a dozen clubs at once.

But honestly, that's actually more impressive than if she was just moving her arms super-fast. Because you realize she still only has two arms, right?

That means she wasn't making a thousand strikes per second.

She was making a thousand strikes per second while juggling a dozen clubs and independently tracking the positions of each club in the air so when she let go of her current club she could grab the next and make the next attack.

The physics of the attack as initially presented are Anime Super-Speed.

The physics of the attack if she was simultaneously dodeca-wielding a dozen separate clubs and flipping back and forth between which one she was gripping at a given moment is reality-breakingly wild, and probably still within the acceptable boundaries of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics's intended ruleset.

This isn't cheating.

It's just. Unbelievably nuts. This might be the coolest speed-based attack I've ever seen. How did she even...?

Oh, of course. XD I forgot she did that. That's amazing.

This fight is so much ridiculous fun. And also it's a correct ruling because Kuno is, in fact, a tool. No cheating on display here.

That's cheating, of course. Using the rest of the gymnastics team to secretly move the ring so Kodachi can't ring out is super cheating. But at this point, we are well within the realm of Anything Goes Martial Arts. There are no rules and everything is permitted.

I love how confidently Kodachi just... stands there and takes this. She really is a master of the craft. She already knew that swing wasn't going to make it.

I kinda remember this character being forgettable? Like. She barely sticks out among Ranma's suitors in my mind.

Is.

Is Kodachi actually cool?

Kodachi honestly seems pretty cool in this fight. She's a remorseless cheater but like this is Ranma 1/2. Everyone kinda sucks here.

But she's kinda cool. If it weren't for the fact that she's the most sex pesty of a pretty sex pesty cast--

Wait. Happosai.

If she weren't the second-most sex pesty, I might actually like her.

[ticklystuff]

Hi! Can you please write Lee Kaveh and Ler Alhaitham with Bellybutton? 👀

closed, send no more!

a/n: hiiii i'm sorry this took so long! the idea for this fic is cringe but i really liked it so i just ran with it hahaha but hope you enjoy!

characters: alhaitham, kaveh, tighnari is here for a minute lol

wc: ~2.1k

"No way! You're not serious, right?"

"No, yeah, I'm not kidding! It's actually so funny!"

Alhaitham huffed as the two's voices permeated through his bedroom walls that he was sure were made of paper at this point. Visitors weren't commonplace for his humble abode and there was a good reason for that, yet despite knowing this, Kaveh's persistence somehow managed to sway Alhaitham into allowing Tighnari to come over for tea. The blond's request was immediately shot down with zero hesitation on Alhaitham's part, as entertaining guests was not particularly one of his strong suits, but after some careful consideration, the potential pros seemed to outweigh the cons. Not only would it give Alhaitham some free time away from the blond, but Kaveh would have someone else to let out his little vents onto. Oftentimes, there was little substance to what Kaveh usually had to say and the inability to spark meaningful conversation meant a good waste of a portion to Alhaitham's day. With Tighnari over, however, Alhaitham would no longer be subjected to such a time sink and could enjoy his afternoon Kaveh-free.. or so he initially thought. The ecstatic giggles from the two escalated into screeching laughter and that familiar feeling of regret, something Alhaitham often associated with anything related to Kaveh, began to take its place in his chest. Not even the noise-cancelling earpieces he purchased specifically for situations like these were of aid.

That's it. Tighnari had overstayed his welcome.

Slamming the book in hand with one swift motion, Alhaitham stood up from his desk, marching over to his bedroom door to give Kaveh and his guest a piece of his mind, only to immediately stop in his tracks when his ears caught on to the topic at hand.

"Yeah, Alhaitham is so ticklish too!"

The little cogs in Alhaitham's brain seemed to come to a standstill, malfunctioning as his brain attempted to process what Kaveh so casually blurted out, taking more time than it should have put him back on track. Once things were back up and running, Alhaitham was still at a loss on how to react, left standing in place, blinking over and over as the words replayed in his head, face turned flush unknowingly. Why was this even a topic of conversation, let alone something that Kaveh felt the need to share? Do normal people even think about tickling in their daily lives? What would even bring such a subject on like this?

"Wait really?" Tighnari sounded genuinely shocked, as if most people in the world weren't ticklish on some level. "People like Cyno and Alhaitham too, I guess, always go around acting super serious, but then just fall to a couple of tickles." Okay, so apparently this is a normal thing for Tighnari too.

"I know, right? He's always like 'I'm acting grand sage Alhaitham, my house my rules blahblahblah.'" Alhaitham reeled at the comically guttural voice Kaveh used to imitate him; he didn't sound like that at all. "But then he screams when your hands even get close to his sides."

"Wait, that actually reminds of this one time," Tighnari began, clearly excited by the tone of his voice, "but I poked at Cyno's ribs once and he made like these sounds; I'm not sure how to describe them, but like, he almost sounded like a pig, I guess?"

"A pig? I don't think- oh wait! You mean like this?" The following sounds were reason enough for Alhaitham to rip his eardrums out, resembling what he assumed was Kaveh's best impression of a snorting pig. Whether the imitated pig was being laid to slaughter or not, he wasn't so sure.

To Tighnari, though, these noises sufficed, as evident by the entertained laughter that Alhaitham was able to make out through the door. "Yes, thank you! That's exactly what he sounds like!"

"Oh, and don't even get me started on Alhaitham." As much as wished to stop eavesdropping, the sudden mention of his name again piqued the scribe's ears. "He may not snort like Cyno, but he does something just as bad." There was a brief silence that not even Tighnari broke and Alhaitham found himself removing the earbuds that seldom left his ears, pressing the side of his head to the door for full clarity. "One time, I tickled Alhaitham and I was able to get him to squeal," Kaveh spoke, as if this was a personal achievement to be proud of.

Something in Alhaitham's brain snapped at this very moment, his left eye twitching as Kaveh and Tighnari continued their waste of a conversation. Squeal? Never once in his life has he ever done such a thing. He couldn't even recall the specific instance that Kaveh was referring to, but the more he thought about it, the more the heat in his head began to rise, creating an unfamiliar feeling as it was unlike the scribe to lose his cool. Still, even if it was true, which it definitely was not, who did Kaveh think he was to be spreading around hearsay like this? His hand reached for the knob of the door, fully ready to go out and not only defend his pride, but rip Kaveh to shreds, yet Alhaitham's hand froze just as he turned the knob, halting at the thought of a new idea, a plan most satisfying.

"Ah, it looks like it's getting late." Alhaitham's ears perked up at the sound of Tighnari's voice, nearly smirking with how things just seemed to line up for him. "I should get going soon. I promised Cyno I'd walk him home today." How convenient.

"Oh, take some of the snacks! Let me go find some containers to pack them up for you." Alhaitham listened to the shuffle of multiple footsteps resounding off the floorboards, mixed with the idle chit chat that his ears began to tune out. At least they moved past the previous subject..

"Alright, thanks again!" The familiar sound of the front door being opened followed Tighnari's farewell. "Tell Alhaitham I said hi!"

"Alright, alright, take care!"

Alhaitham continued to stand by his bedroom door in silence, giving himself a few minutes before proceeding with his plan in mind. He listened as the front door shut, followed by what he assumed was Kaveh cleaning up after his gossip session with Tighnari, noting the occasional incoherent grumble from the blond. Once a sufficient amount of time had passed, Alhaitham slowly stepped out of his room, walking down the short aisle to see Kaveh's back to him, tidying up just like he presumed. There were two empty wine glasses resting on the table, a possible explanation to the obnoxious laughter.

"Kaveh."

The sound of Alhaitham's voice seemingly morphed Kaveh's mannerisms, a noticeable shift to the strung-up self Alhaitham was most familiar with. "Ugh, there you are!" Kaveh bellowed with a spin to his heel, marching up to Alhaitham, a slight tinge of pink to his face. "You couldn't even spare the time of day to come out of your room and greet Tighnari! Like, what kind of host do you think you are?!"

"A good one, considering you'd most likely complain about my presence killing the mood," Alhaitham simply brushed off the nagging, visibly irritating Kaveh further. "Anyway, I did not come here for you to criticize me. Rather, I'm inquiring about your earlier conversation with him."

Kaveh scoffed, hands on his hips. "Oh, so now you're interested in things I have to say?"

"Not really," Alhaitham responded flatly, "but for the sake of my efforts, let's pretend that I am."

"I mean just some normal chit-chat, I guess," Kaveh said with a shrug, raising an eyebrow at the other. "Why are you asking? If you're so curious, just hang out with us the next time."

"Well, I'd prefer not to go through the trouble," Alhaitham waved off the suggestion, an ill use of his time, really. "However, I couldn't help but overhear-"

"Oh, so you were listening!"

"-the topic of your conversation being a peculiar one," Alhaitham continued, the interruption hardly worth addressing. "Kaveh, tell me, have you ever squealed before?"

This fully caught the other off-guard, the blatant confusion written all over his face. "What?"

"During your conversation with Tighnari, you mentioned details about my overall sensitivity. Although I do not deny being somewhat ticklish, I must refute the fact that you mention I squeal. There has never-"

"Seriously? This is what you're hung up on?"

"-been a time where I have ever done such a thing, leading me to the conclusion that you've yet to experience the particular sound. Therefore, I have decided-"

"Come on, Alhaitham. It's not a big deal."

"-that perhaps you need to squeal yourself."

"What are you even-" Alhaitham observed as Kaveh's own words suddenly caught in his mouth, the look of alarm bells visibly going off in his head as the realization of the younger's words settled in. The blond gave two nervous blinks, to which Alhaitham responded with a single nod, an indication of what was about to occur. Before Alhaitham could take his next breath, Kaveh was already off running, prompting Alhaitham to shortly do the same.

"Don't-! NO! Stay away from mehehe!" Kaveh shrieked with apprehensive giggles as he barely avoided Alhaitham's grasp, snatching one of the cushions from the sofa to use as a lousy projectile that hardly required dodging on Alhaitham's part.

"What's the matter, Kaveh?" Alhaitham barely missed a beat in his step as Kaveh attempted everything possible to throw off the scribe in his pursuit, knowing Kaveh well enough to read his movements. "You wouldn't happen to be ticklish, would you?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Kaveh's voice grew more frantic with each circle around the sofa, his pleas for mercy falling on Alhaitham's deaf ears. "I shouldn't have said anything! I'm sohohorry!"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have."

"Alhaitham, wait! Truce! Trucetrucetruce! Please- noHOHO!" Whether it was due to his usual clumsiness or the glass of red wine from earlier, Alhaitham was sure it was a combination of both, the scribe managed to eventually snatch Kaveh by the waist, firmly wrapping his arm around the other to prevent him from squirming free. Kaveh was already a giggly mess before Alhaitham had even started, doing everything in his power, which admittedly wasn't much, to stop the inevitable, but once Alhaitham's fingers began prodding through the thin flowy top that Kaveh oh-so loved to wear on his days off did the fun really begin.

"Noho! NOHOHO!" Choosing to start at his ribs, Alhaitham was rewarded with a healthy dose of laughter as his fingers teased at the sensitive area with dexterity and precision, unfazed by the squirmy Kaveh in his arm. On top of the flurries of movement came multitude of cursing and swearing, most incoherent due to the mix forced laughter, yet Alhaitham continued in a collected manner, already an expert at blocking out Kaveh's voice. After all, he only had one goal on his mind, each poke pushing his determination further.

"Squeal."

This appeared to set something off in Kaveh, arms flailing about more wildly accompanied by a cry that could only resemble one of a strangled cat, clearly rejecting the proposition. "NOHOHO! LeheHEHEheht me gohoHOHO!" His body seemingly shrunk in Alhaitham's hold, a failed attempt at scrunching away from the way his fingers walked down the middle of his ribcage and along his waist, each step defined to trigger an individual sensation that made Kaveh jump.

"Squeal."

"Alhaithahaham, wahaHAHAIT!" Jumbled laughter was all that spilled from his mouth now, unable to properly structure coherent sentences. Despite the shrill shrieks, there was something almost charming about the laughter that filled the room and Alhaitham couldn't help but smile along, if only just slightly. Still, despite the near entrancement, Alhaitham remained on track, taking particular notice to the seemingly growing frenzied responses elicited in Kaveh's reactions, both bodily and vocally, whenever his hand hovered just over his navel. Perhaps this might just be what he needed..

"Squeal."

"HaAAAH!! NO-NOHOHO!"

Just as he thought, Alhaitham had struck gold, drawing out the exact reaction he sought. Kaveh's squeal echoed throughout the space, almost as if the walls reverberated with his laughter. He allowed himself to tease that specific area longer than intended, enjoying the hectic mess Kaveh had become in the process, before finally releasing the blond, watching as Kaveh quickly hobbled away to create distance between the two.

"Well, I hope you've learned your lesson," Alhaitham put it bluntly, catching the irate expression Kaveh shot him. "Now, you wouldn't want me spreading the story about how you squeal when tickled, right?"

"Fine, fine, we're even!" Kaveh scoffed, throwing his arms up in annoyance. "Truce?"

Alhaitham couldn't help but smirk in response. "Truce."

[princess-of-the-corner]

Miraculous Gaang

Ok so. Ideas.

Sozin Actually used to be part of the Guardian Order, but got into a fight with them over the fact that they are just sitting on these objects of power, not using them to “improve” the world. Eventually results in Sozin stealing the Peacock, then him and Roku duking it out, the Order getting destroyed, and Sozin spending the rest of his life searching for the rest of the Miraculous. Roku dies making sure other people can escape. So, total count of people who manage to flee the Order imploding:

Sozin, with a damaged Peacock Miraculous he can’t use now. He starts his company as a cover to search for the rest of the Miraculous, but he turns out to be a very good business man, so is actually successful. He eventually marries, has kids, and imparts on them the knowledge of the Miraculous, hoping one of them will succeed where he failed.

Roku’s girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time. Of course, the Order didn’t know they were dating, or that she was pregnant. Moves to another city, rebuilds a life, has her kid. Eventually tells them of the Miraculous, when explaining what happened to Dad.

A small assortment of monks, who immediately go into hiding to “preserve their knowledge”.

Gyatso, who was a child at the time. Roku entrusted the kid with the Miracle Box, under the assumption the other monks would protect him when they found him. Instead, Gyatso ended up mostly on his own, and has vowed to protect the Miracle Box as best he can.

Other idea, that Gyatso mostly uses the Turtle, which extends his lifespan, but briefly, much later, tried to use the Butterfly to help people, which resulted in it getting lost, someone dying, and Gyatso adopting baby!Aang. He is trying REAL HARD to balance “Good Parent, let kids be kids, freedom is important” with “Guilt™, Protective™, Oh God, I can’t let you get hurt like that”.

Then, so far, I think we have:

- Ladybug!Sokka

- Black Cat!Katara

- Turtle!Aang

- Dragon!Zuko

- Rabbit!Yue

- Pig!Jin

- Bee!Ty Lee

- Mouse!Mai

- Fox!Azula, or Monkey!Azula

- Tiger!Toph, or Ox!Toph

- Tiger!Suki, or Snake!Suki (for the record, I feel like the weapons could change a bit to match the wielder, so Suki could still have fans)

Also, if this isn’t Paris, we can just set it in Modern Style, Ba Sing Se?

(thoughts, feelings, opinions, ideas?)

-

Okay okay okay

So I think my main thought is that we now have an explaination of sorts for the Ursa/Ozai pairing.

Which is that ofc Sozin passed the torch of looking for the Miraculous to Azulon, and he eventually discovered Roku’s descendants. Azulon looks at that and goes ‘hey my youngest son is single and roughtly the same as that girl. Ozai you up to seduce her for information?’.

I don’t think Ursa would fall for him. Partly because she def still had her own fiance already but also like. Ozai can only do so much ‘charming’. So he probably ends up intimidating her into a relationship. Either because he’s trying to get information, or from some entitled ‘how dare you turn me down?’ thing.

I think I’m gonna lock in Tiger!Toph and Snake!Suki. And Azula with the Fox is too tempting considering Vulpyro.

Also yeah It doesn’t have to be Paris. Some modern city. Idk if i’d use Ba Sing Sae like it works but I think there could be like a name for the city itself while the different districts are named after the atla locations.

My thoughts on the Peacock:

/technically/ it’s not needed, but I can have some fun. I know it was mentioned on giving it to Azula, but I want Azula unaware of what Ozai’s doing. Mostly because she has more of an early redemption (she was still in contact with Zuko and Iroh so while she’s not fully redeemed she’s not loyal to him), so if she knew what he was doing she’d rat him out. He’s mostly using her to rile people up to be Akumatized.

So we have two options for the Peacock in my mind. One  is the OC I had made for the Avatar!Ty Lee AU because she’s /basically/ Nathalie if she was more unhinged and evil.

The second one is Zhao because tbh while we dunk on him at times, he was Book 1′s main villain and was actually good at what he was doing.

[aballadforbarbatos]

scawy mc D: (MAMMON)

mammon encounters a (tokyo) ghoul. the ghoul is YOU! the post is in bullet points below the cut :) more details in the main post.

warning: mentions mammon being sad, you end up having blood on you

main post

masterlist (coming soon!)

you started by buying your own human meat and being broke practically ALL the time

just like your first, awww you were made for each other

you two get SO attached to each other though, you’re forever helping him out of scrapes

lucifer ties him up and you help him down.

“mc, don’t let mammon down. he’s tied up for a reason.”

“who, me? i would never.”

“you are literally the only person who would”

you even go to illegal, secret casinos with him, and he makes your dice lucky, secretly though

you win a ton of cash! you give half of it to mammon because you love him. and then you spend the rest of it on meat to stock up with and you’re fine for a couple of months

normally mammon finds comfort in you more than anyone else, but one day he’s definitely torn up more than usual

it doesn’t matter if it’s something superficial or an actual issue, you’ll be there no matter what 😡

so you guys go on a walk to try and clear things up. lucifer tells you two not to get lost.

you stick your tongue out at him and mimic him in an annoying high pitch voice. mammon cracks a smile

satan straight up cackles like a witch and it’s so loud that it echoes through the house. belphie calls lucifer a loser.

you’re walking with mammon through some kind of forest when you come to a clearing

“mc i think we're lost”

“home is where the heart is and my heart is with you, so no we are not lost, acTuaLLy”

mammon is about to open up to you when a group of demons show up and start heckling him

they don’t care about you, and why would they? you’re just a human

except…

except, you’re not, are you?

they keep going and mammon keeps shrinking inside himself, and you can feel your anger growing, and growing, and it’s not until the shadow of your wings hits their faces that they realise

“oh.”

it doesn’t stop there, though

you are just. you are SO mad. how dare they bully mammon? your first?! what do they think they’re DOING?

a mask forms over your face, tough as steel, distorting your voice

“i’m about to commit mass murder, by the way.”

it's when they try to run off in different directions that you wish you were a rinkaku ghoul, but you end up cutting their path off anyway. and them also.

the perks of being bouncy and light

mammon is just watching this go down

hangin out

he would LIKE to stop you but where would he even start?

you've turned into a really scary (but cool!) monster

he can see a couple of new demons heading this way but they catch sight of you and immediately turn around

you switch back

blood is ALL over your clothes

staring at each other

"guess you don't need me to protect you anymore..."

"ohhhh yes i do, i would go insane without you"

objectively you mean in that form, but not having mammon beside you all the time would mean a very warped life D:

mammon's mood perks up after that

you were lost btw so you take forever to get back to the house

and then you both remember the blood

"uh."

"we'll just pretend it's pig's blood or something"

"yeah, i'm pretty sure pig's blood isn't black, mc-"

[melissamasakari]

Confessions you didn't notice

Chapter four. Personal fest.

I woke up from my own incomprehensible muttering (I really do hope that no great discoveries were made by those who could hear me). I somehow opened one eye and searched the space around me. Found a stuffed pig nearby. Sam, that's not funny! Wait, why is it so dark in here? How long did I actually sleep? There seemed to be no pillow when I fell asleep either. I’ve got a surge of energy and untangled myself from the blanket. I jerked up and sat up on the bed. Stop. Bed? Looking around the room, I finally realized where I was. This is HIS room. Captain's bedroom. There was a bookshelf overhead. On the left a figurine of an airplane on the closet could be sees. I wished I could take a closer look, but I couldn't reach there. Maybe I should ask him later? He seems always happy to show off such things. With these thoughts I buried myself into the pillows. Oh. It turns out that the captain prefers herbal soap. Not surprising – the floral smell seems way too strong so it will surely attract some kind of monster. Or girls... however, the herbal one worked just great for me – the scent was so good. Okay, lets stop lying around, otherwise I won’t be able to force myself to leave. I can't say it's my first time here, but for some reason it didn't feel right now. Just like snooping. Although, just to think about it, it's pretty cute. Looks like that they got together and went to sort things out. As they decided not to wake me up then the most obvious thing to do was to move me here, right? Just in case someone enters headquarters while they are gone. But now I should definitely get out, but it’s so cozy and calm here. I could just suffer from hits of embarrassment a little bit longer – but I decided to get up after all. I carefully made bed and, yawning, stretched towards the exit. On the dresser I found a group photo from Bright Sun Day. It's great, it was my first fest here, and of course my expression was quite terrible. An arm stretcher was casually thrown over the foot board of the bed. Look, my signature! Does he train even before bed? Arm stretcher was already completely worn out, while I’ve made it just recently. I'll have to get him a new one. Also I found a note on the desk: “Melissa, have fun for us at the festival. I'll contact you as soon as I can." Then it was written by the other hand: “Kid, your clothes are well dried and are lying on the sofa. I hid the shoes under the order board. The kitchen and shower are at your service.” A rather tattered T-shirt hung on the back of the chair. Pajamas maybe? I really wanted to bury my nose in it, but this is too much. Or maybe he won’t notice? STOP! I slapped my cheeks. Time to get to work, pull yourself together, Melissa! I went and washed, collected my things, and changed clothes.

“Ack, when did they left?”

“At dawn.”

“What kind of station was this anyway?”

“Secret information.”

“It's a pity. Can you tell me how dangerous is it in there?”

“Medium level biological hazard. No other data available. There were no security droids. Beam and disintegrating weapons, too.”

“Thank you. Do you want some milk?”

“If it is possible.”

“Do you know how to read data disks?”

“No, but I can use programs from silicon chips.”

“I’ll keep it in mind for the future. Here's your milk. See you.”

On my way home Sonya intercepted me. There wasn't much to do anyway, so I went with her to the event after I left my bag at home. Naturally, the curious waitress immediately bombarded me with questions.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you spend a lot of time with Arlo nowadays. Do you go out with him, or something, hm?”

“Yeah, we go out to do a whole bunch of assignments. And also we share a wonderful friendship that I value very much. Why are you asking?”

“Nothing special. But keep in mind that’s he's just very popular. A bunch of girls fell for him already. I would try to hook up with him myself, but he’s not my type at all.”

“What, they’re just running after him in flocks?”

“Not exactly, but not very far from the truth.”

“Noted. Now please explain me the rules for the event. Yesterday I was stuck in the Wasteland, and in my homeland there is no snow.”

It turned out that everything was quite simple. Opponents hide behind rocks, moving between shelters. Each has twenty snowballs. As soon as they are all used up, points are counted. Predictably, I didn’t take any prizes. But I got some good practice in knocking down other people’s hats. It seems that Nora has been looking at me unkindly all day. But it’s not my fault that she’s one of the easiest targets! Take that, you wimpy crybaby! Hands off MY redhead! What did he even see in you?

When it began to get dark the townspeople started to disperse. I returned home and checked my supplies of materials. Before it was too late, I went to the guild for an inspection. I just hope my guys are doing well. I went to bed early and tossed and turned anxiously for half the night until at last fell asleep in the morning.

On Sunday I checked my mail first thing in morning and visited the guild shortly after, but there was no news. I walked around the Central Plaza, and didn’t notice how my feet brought me to the headquarters. Well, since I was there, I should just came in if just to return Sam’s clothes that I have worn.

“Hey, is anyone there?”

“Ack.”

“Only you?”

“Arlo came by. He said that the guesses were confirmed. My teammates didn't survive. I was left completely alone.”

“My condolences.”

“He also said that since there were no remains, the city decided to erect a small memorial with the names of the victims at the old cemetery. The list from the flight recorder was restored.”

“When has Arlo left?”

“About an hour ago. Can you do something for me?”

“For example?”

“They won’t let me out of here. I would like to lay flowers at the memorial. Do this for me please.”

“No problem. I can even take a photo if you want.”

“I will be grateful.”

Some time later Ack's request was done. I met Petra, discussed the news and the prospect of communicating with real AI, and promised to bring her a pile of disks this week. I decided to go in again and tell the robot that his wish had been fulfilled.

“Thank you! Now they can rest in peace.”

“Can you convey a message when the guys are back?”

“Certainly. I’m recording.”

“Tell them that I’m worried and waiting for the news, at least for a note by mail that everything is fine if there isn’t much time.”

“Okay, Melissa. I recorded everything.”

“See you.”

Having nothing else to do, I decided to continue testing the training dummy. I beat it diligently for about a couple of hours, hoping to drive away my anxiety. It did not go well, but it was still better than hysteria. Closer to sunset (and it gets dark here early in winter) I heard a familiar voice from behind the fence.

“Actually, this is MY toy.” Arlo noted, leaning on my fence.

“You’re wrong. Since you didn’t fulfill the second condition I won’t give it to you. Now you have to wait a whole year to take another chance.”

“Here's another option. I'll order the same from Higgins.”

“He won’t be able to get the blueprint. Neither he nor any other workshop in the city.”

“Then I’ll steal it.”

“And there will be only one suspect, right? This will be a conflict of interests and a serious scandal. You'll lose your job.”

“So what should I do? Can you make another wish?” He asked with concern and climbed over the fence clearly not wanting to sidetrack to the gates.

And why do I want to demand a kiss so badly, huh? Although, why did I even think that he would do this? He doesn't notice me at all. He already has a “little sister” to date with. I'm a third wheel here, right?

“You know, I have an idea. Come with me?”He gracefully gave me his hand while I was chasing sad thoughts from my head.

“The holiday is already over.”

“Yes. But the decorations and shelters are still there. You. Me. A competition.”

“Persuaded. By general rules?” Holding hands, we cheerfully galloped onto the field, jumping over my fence along the way.

“Yeah.”

“Did you find anything valuable?”

“A bunch of disks, a flight recorder, a number of interesting spare parts and microcircuits. Tons of dust and meager remains of clothing. Then we had to organize a funeral. It's a pity we weren't allowed to release Ack during this time. Who needs this memorial if only he knew them personally and he was not able to attend?”

“It's okay. At his request I brought the flowers there. And I took a photo for him.”

“Well done! And thanks for your help.”

“You really shouldn't thank me. We are friends after all,” and perhaps it will remain so. Forever. Well, not the worst outcome. At least we can be together, and I will try to enjoy it as much as possible!

“Right. Well, are you ready?”

“Hide properly!”

For about an hour we rushed between shelters, effectively covering each other with crossfire. For the first time I heard Arlo laugh carefree, poking his head from here and there. A couple of times I was so enchanted by his smile that I missed the very sensitive snowball hits on the top of my head and shoulders. It seemed like something even flew up the collar. Taking careful aim, I launched the last snowball. Success!

“Hey, you knocked my cap off!” Climbing out and shaking himself off, he told indignantly.

“And my sweater is all wet now. Who won? I lost count.”

“Friendship!”

“Come on, you probably gave in again. And by the way, I hit all Hulu brothers yesterday! I didn’t expect such agility from them. That was the most difficult target.”

“Yep. Especially Liuwa. He is also incredibly cunning.”

We heard the clatter of hooves as Sam rode up to us. She dismounted and whispered something to Arlo. Have I heard something about...smashing? And, wait, was it just me, or did he blush? So handsome. It’s a pity that I can’t muster up the courage to tell him everything. Or maybe it's already too late. Well, okay, being friends with him is also cool. Even if now it seems that this is just not enough.

“Sam, come to us,” Arlo took a few steps back, rolled up a particularly dense snowball and threw it at her, almost without aiming. Easily dodging, Sam made such a brutal face that it was scary. And then, without thinking twice, she knocked the cap off the his red head with a snowball. I was not surprised. She and I have been gathering all the prizes in the shooting range for the umpteenth time.

Following that the three of us ran around a little, and it was a draw again.

After some time, Remington approached us. Noticing him, my tomboy friend launched a powerful projectile. Quite suddenly Remy knocked the snowball back at Sam with a well-aimed kick, without her even having time to do anything. She just spat and uttered some strange curses.

“This is all wonderful, but they are waiting for us at Peach Plaza. The fireside is about to begin.”

“Is the subject known?”

“They will announce what they have decided to do with the robot, as far as I know.”

“Then let's hurry.”

Absolutely all the adult residents of the city gathered in the square. Gale summarized the week and moved on to the most important things.

“As many of you already know, on Friday the space station Altair-01 landed in the Wasteland, the only surviving inhabitant of which turned out to be a living AI. After long discussions, we decided to give him Portian citizenship. The Civil Corps should keep an eye on him and help him integrate into our community in every possible way. That's all for today. Thanks for your attention.”

“We will do our best!” Arlo reported.

“That's good I guess? If they offend him, I will invite him to my place.”

“Yes, that’s the best outcome for everyone.”

“Sam, I promised you a dinner. Are you busy?”

“Oh, I could always make time for that.”

“Then take Teddy, you can place him at my stable for now. Guys, are you coming with us?”

“With pleasure.” Remy nodded and followed Sam.

“Are you kidding? Such offers cannot be refused! I have long wanted to check those rumors about the autumn competition.”

“That’s nice. Let's go. I just recently finished adding new chairs.”

Having made sure that the horse was feeling fine in my newly completed stable, the whole friendly company of ours entered my house.

“So, hang your things to dry – that way. Make yourself comfortable. Sam, show the guys the bathroom, if you please. I'll go and start cooking now.”

After some time, a red head appeared in the kitchen arch.

“Need any assistance? I could cut vegetables or something else.”

“Come in, why not?”

Wow, he handled it deftly – the work was in full swing.

“What are we cooking exactly? I don't know such a dish.”

“Carbonara. It's like pasta with meat sauce, only topped with cream and eggs. With bacon and smoked meat. Almost like cream noodles, but the texture is different.”

“Sounds delicious!”

“Also fried rice with shrimps and vegetables for Sam. And a hot pot for everyone.”

“And you thought of everything.”

“I have invited Sam on Tuesday for this weekend. Glad you and Remy were able to stop by too. Okay, that’s almost ready.”

We set the table and had a nice time. Time passed very quickly and it was soon very late.

“I’ll help you to do the dishes.”

“Seriously? Just like the man of my dreams! Helps in the kitchen, offering to do the dishes himself. What other hidden talents do you have?”

“I scare away hooligans. I protect the weak. I do good things with a heavy hand. I bulldoze goodness for usefulness!”

“Don’t over-praise him or he’ll inflate and burst!” Sam scoffed.

“Okay, guys. Thanks for dropping in. It was a pleasure! Oh, Arlo, before I forget: I'm waiting for transport for the training dummy tomorrow. It takes up too much space in my backyard. You take it.”

“Agreed. I'll drop by right after training.”

Everyone left. I sketched out a plan for the next week and went to bed feeling happy.

[quinklequonkle]

Dream number I've lost track by now

in last night's dream, I was on this rollercoaster that had 0 bars so you just had to pray to God that you wouldn't fall out. Me and this anthropomorphic pig were inside it once it had stopped, a chase sequence began for the show/ride. So, I was getting chased around by this killer clown until I ran myself into a bedroom, stuck with no where else to go.

I decided to try and flirt with him and he really said: "yeah no, not into it" and walked out. I walked out of the bedroom and It was fine at first until this other lady walked in there and he immediately went back in the room. He tried to close the door but there was a crack and you can just see them making out. 😭

I don't know what it was about that that got under my skin, but I hopped back inside of the rollercoaster, willed some bars into existence, and said: "I can have my own fun" (I'm pretty sure I made this happen somehow too) before going so fast in it that holding the bars for safety was starting to burn my hands from trying to hold it.

After going what can only be described as supersonic speeds, the bars released and that pig guy walked out dizzy and shaking. I did too, minus the shaking, but definitely not as much as him.

I walked to what I thought was the exit only to be brought on stage at what seemed like a kid's party. The wood on the stage was a nice wood brown and the curtains were purple and sparkly. The guy who I guess was hosting said something in his boisterous voice but I didn't actually hear him. I walked off stage and sat in a chair with the audience, some of my family were there and it made me happy to see my younger cousins enjoying something. Soon the show was over and we had to leave.

Everyone had school the next day so when we were driven there, I hung out with them in their classroom until I had to use the bathroom. Once I went though, things started taking a turn for the worst. One of the male teachers started harassing me BIGGGGG TIME. As I'm walking away, he's saying things like: "I like the way your coat hugs you at the back, I can see just how your ass jiggles." Before trying to touch said ass. Feeling disgusted, I start fast walking but he grabs my arm with a "slow down, we're in the hallway." I yanked my arm out from his grasp and start booking it until I spotted a lady with a clipboard. Relieved, I ask her for the exit out of there and she points straight ahead.

I would've left right then and there but it was pitch black outside. I ultimately decided to stay until my mom came. (idky she's in most of my dreams but she is <3) When her car arrived, I immediately hopped in and just told her to drive.

That's where my dream ends

[archangel-azi-fell]

11 years, was it? Someone blew his horn. I heard it. I told Del about it immediately. He was still pissy. Bounty hunters, man. That's ok, I make a good spy, but I'll drug before I... well, you knew what I had to do. Many eyes? I don't think he could hear very well. MANY SPYS. Spies. Eyes. It's all the same.

Some of us are just more dramatic about talking to each other. I kept reading it over and over. Mikey and Lukey are going to fight? Which one, though? Silly Mikey or Serious Mikey? And does Lukey really know what's going on? He thinks Paris is in London. He also just figured out that there were multiple Marys. He can't navigate. This has someone else's name all over it. I had to turn off magic so somebody could discover gravity. You throw an apple at a boy to get him to pay attention, but if it never hits, what good does it do? Merlin! with Hurt playing a dragon. What'd we do, get really drunk and mad at each other? I hate you so much. I'm going to hide your box! (Don't Dead, Open Inside - You read it wrong, I understand. It was a hasty note! They were coming for me.) YEAH! You hide that box. I don't care. I'm going to eat all your crackers. Actually, those are really good crackers. What are these American biscuits? Those are not biscuits. I'm not sure what to call that. I've lived off a lot of different kinds of food over the years, but this stuff is for pigs. Hammy? You're not that kind of pig. What are you even doing over there? You're what? Playing with Gabriel? Oh, you're playing Gabriel! Be nice to him, boys, I'm sure he gets dizzy and confused in that ball. And where's Kronky the Tick. Wasn't he also Brock Samson?

And Kuzco? Oh no. Where did you go? I was rooting for you, Spadey, and Robbie, too. I was sorry we lost Chrissy. It's ok, I loved that fat man in his little coat. Adam, you can go back to sand. No more Ler. Dana and Mikey are always mine. Wayne's World Party On. Nothing too turtley for the Turtle Club ;)

And Sebby! I have nothing but love for you. I was happy to see you in that Hat. Rumple! Let's spin some gold and make some new clothes.

I heard we have some land sharks about. One may have helped me get all that anger out. I was playing Overwatch, and he was playing Watchover.

Oogy boogy, I miss you. Papa, I'm surprised no one caught on to you. That's a lot of strange to pack into one human body.

Pine Tree! Are you ready to play with Frosty, too. I trust in Gad. He's my Olaf. Not Harris or Carrey. Carrey needs to take that mask off, he's not fooling me. Harris, I'm so glad you look so happy! You didn't need to play the toy maker for me to be sure. Could your family get any cuter?

Jack, I knew Kyle didn't mean it. I'm glad you boys showed so much grace. You made a joke that left a bad taste, but you didn't argue it all over the place. I don't care how Tenancious, I'll always forget the D. lol

I already knew I had the Adders. They're all snakes, after all.

Arthur played a hobbit and Watson. I'm pretty sure he's a Christ, son. lol My Sherlock played with Mr. Law. Hey, Jude! Are you ready to lay it down? Seriously, RDJ, I'm so proud of you. How are you going to play Doctor Doom?

I'm glad we found Parker, and he got his MJ.

Patton, are you ready to go back to Oz?

Baby Jay! That's not the kind of snow you should blow. I'm glad Nicky and the other boys had your back.

Thewlis, you'll always be King Einon to me, which isn't a bad thing because I remember that a little differently. I missed Connery, but he'll be okay.

Batey! BATEY! That's all I got, Jox. Well, I got a Teddy, too. I heard Maui smelled what the Rock was cooking.

Momoa, we'll see, man. We'll see. And Casses. Castiel and Cassidy. Cassi, clean it all up. I don't think my brother cares too much for those sheep. I bet you and Nandor are hungry. Nicky looks like he's doing just fine. Nothing but love for my Pascal. I'm shy, too. I know you'll keep Ellie safe. She's got some growing to do, that baby water dragon. NANDOR THE RELENTLESS! HE NEVER RELENTS. Until he relents. Then, he became Nandor the Relented.

Dolly, you held a piece of me, and it hurt you. The least I could do is give you a real life.

Batty Matty, you're a damn fruit bat, not a fruit. Go eat some toast, love. Don't touch me; you're probably sticky.

Colin, how many times did you walk by us, and I'd look at him and say, "Didn't that look just like Coin Robinson? Mom is married to Moses, and he couldn't even catch that clue. Take care of Hannah with the right help and push; she'll be on her way. I love her, but I can't be around her. She drains me worse than you.

My wolves. Boys, we gotta get McFly some help.

Brendan and Sandman, I have a little Bendy Boy Ink Demon that needs some help learning how to splash it.

Doc Brown, I saw you and Gatesy hanging out; look at that real-life Indy.

Ernie, Bill, and Antman, too. I have a Liam who wants to play Ghostbusters, too. Harbour, you took great care of 11 when she ran away and kept me safe until Father could come home. My WoW boys - Hobbits and elves, I'm so glad you found each other. I played a space dwarf game with my Grandma and Poppy

BROS - Joshy! Peter, I refuse to call you that. I love you. You really were the best of them, but the dwarves were really all some wonderful people. They always kept me safe.

How's the Corey I have left doing? I am so sorry you had to do all that again. I am so sorry to all of you. There was a reason we took you all to Neverland.

Nona! We're all just a little strange and unusual, aren't we?

Reechy and WEDNESDAY! Tell me that you got great satisfaction when Pugs realized. I watched Values the other day and was like HA that had to be weird. It was like kissing your sister, wasn't it?

The Head Elves - GRANGERS - Gotta get all that CHEER! Wasn't Hermione a Granger? Wasn't there an elf that wanted to be a dentist ;) MOM - Queen Clarion! and Valentine! Be patient. lol Valentine don't follow me around "No no no no no no no no no no!" I'll be careful! and I'll remember SWOOPING IS BAD

Morgan, playing Flemeth, we will get them, and they will burn.

Where's Zenny and Zabu? An assassin and a warlock that needed a confidence boost.

I heard Peter played Hookie and Loki, too.

I heard Arthur played a hobbit and talked to Benny the Dragon. Just call the penguin, Danny. He's a troll, but I haven't met a Troll that wasn't fun. Arthur, though, I'm pretty sure he's a Christ son.

GUZMAN!

Cheech and Chong I said hit the gong, not the bong! lol Where are all my Jedi at? I saw my old Master playing Nick with a lot fury. You know I heard a Windy Bird told Peter that the other cat finally got her shadow back. I saw all the colors again yesterday.

Anti Christ. lol How can you be Anti Christ? Look at these Chris's we got. My daddy, my bestie, a bunch of Chris's played super heroes and space explorers. Elon's just jelly because no one ever wanted him. OH- HERE BATTY MATTY, HERE'S THE JELLY FOR YOUR TOAST.

[arrowheadedbitch]

Maela, I'm just gonna tell you the broad points of the Odyssey because I feel bad that you don't know it at all and are being roped in this way

The Illiad is about the Trojan war, you know, with the wooden horse? And the Odyssey is the sequel to that following a man named Odysseus who is the reigning king of an island named Ithaca

His wife Penelope and his newborn son Telemachus were left in Ithaca while he fought in the Trojan war, a war that lasted ten years. But in the end, Odysseus' side won and he gets to go home!

But, they're out of food, so they need to make a pitstop before they can go back home

So, Odysseus and his crew of SIX HUNDRED sail their ships to a nearby island, they start at the island of the Lotus Eaters where if you eat their fruit they mess with your mind and make you never want to leave, but they manage to get out with little skin off their backs and find a cave filled with sheep

They have 600 men to feed, so they start killing sheep to bring to the ships

But then, a cyclops named Polyphemus comes out. Uh oh, turns out these sheep are his best friends so he's gonna try and kill them.

He kills a few of them, including Odysseus' best friend, Polites, who will haunt the narrative from here on out.

But, Odysseus gave him some wine as a peace offering before he started killing people (and also lied about his name being Nobody) and surprise surprise! It was too strong/drugged so Polyphemus is out of commission for a sec, meaning Ody can form a plan!

That plan? Stab the cyclop's eye so they can escape

So they do that. And it works!

They don't leave immediately and can hear an unknown man asking Polyphemus who hurt him, and he says "Nobody" because he thinks that's Ody's name so the voice essentially calls him a pussy and leaves

But, ody is super pissed off about him killing some of his men, so on his way out he yells at the cyclops and tells him a lot of things, including his full name, title, and address, you know, like an idiot

So then they leave. But, uh oh! There's a huge storm blocking their way to Ithaca!!!

But, Ody sees Aeolus' (wind god) island, so he drops by and asks for help, Aeolus gives him a bag full of wind. This bag has the storm they couldn't cross in it, all he has to do is make sure it stays closed and he's free to go home!

But Ithaca is about ten days away, so he stays up for nine days straight and on the ninth night, he falls asleep and while he's sleeping, one of his crew mates, who are all convinced the bag is actually filled with gold and not a dangerous storm, opens it so they get blown away from Ithaca right before they reach the shores

VERY far away from Ithaca

But, ody manages to wake up and close the bag before all of the storm escapes

Then, Poseidon shows up. Turns out, Polyphemus? Yeah, that's Poseidon's son. Uh oh, HE was the voice they heard in the cave!

Poseidon is pissed at Ody's hubris so he's gonna make his life a living hell, starting by killing a shit ton of his crew, literally drowning multiple ships. The crew goes from just under 600 to a little over 40. YIKES.

But, before poseidon can kill him too, he opens the wind bag and escapes with the last of the wind. They land on an island. Ody sends some men to look around the island and figure out who they are.

But uh oh again! Turns out this is Circe's island! (Minor goddess of sorcery, and don't try to tell me she isn't a goddess, her parents are literally fucking titans, Helios and his wife did not give birth to a mortal) and she turned the scouts he sent into pigs to keep her nymphs safe.

So, Ody comes over, talks to her, he manages to convince her to turn his men back to humans and help him.

She send him to the underworld to meet a dead prophet who will hopefully help him, this prophet is the blind Tiresias and he basically tells him "lol, you're fucked dude, but you WILL get home haha you just won't like who you are by then..." and odysseus says "what the fuck does that mean???" And leaves, deciding that he can't be merciful anymore if he wants to get home in one piece

They pass by some sirens, in epic he kills them in the original he doesn't, yadda yadda, they have to pass through the Lair of Scylla (big freaky sea monster lady with six heads) to get past Poseidon since he still won't let them get home, Odysseus passes put six torches, Scylla eats anyone holding a torch, so that means her mouths are all full and she can't hurt them further, they leave

But, his second in command, Eurylochus is NOT happy with him sacrificing men, they stage a mutiny and end up on an island

Eurylochus kills one of the cows there and WHOOPTY WOO, that cow belongs to Helios, you are FUCKED, uh oh once again

So, the entire crew dies but Odysseus manages to escape, but he ends up injured and washed up on some rando island

The island turns out to belong to a goddess named Calypso and she's been alone for a very long time, so when she sees Odysseus wash up on her island, she decides that he's hers now

Odysseus, who is married to the lovely Penelope, is not happy that this goddess decided he belongs to her now, in both the sense of "he is an object" and "I am in love with you"

He's stuck on this island for about TEN YEARS, then Hermes shows up and tells Calypso she has to let him go

He makes his way home, but Poseidon still ain't over that shit so once he gets to the shores of Ithaca he gets into a big fight with him

But, he makes it through and now he's home...but 118 men have been messing around at the palace since he left and are growing impatient with both his wife and son...

But at this point Odysseus has been gone 20 years, they think he's dead, they know the crown is stalling, so she has to put on a competition. Whoever can string Odysseus' old bow and shoot through very particular obstacles can be the new king with Penelope. But this is a special bow, only Odysseus and Telemachus know how to string it, so Odysseus disguises himself as an old man and does the challenge flawlessly, no one else could do it (except for Telemachus but ody interrupted him so he wouldn't finish)

But now the suitors are planning to kill Telemachus and rape Penelope and take over by force and you KNOW Odysseus can't stand for that so he slaughters all of them in his palace, ALL of them

He finally meets his son, this is the first time he's seen him in twenty years, and he gets to see his wife

Penelope asks him to do one thing for her first, lift up their old wedding bed and take it far away from the palace

Odysseus is hurt, he points out how he had made this wedding bed by hand and it was carved into the tree they first met at and the only way to move it would be to chop that tree down.

Penelope reveals that she never wanted the bed gone, just wanted to see if he knew that because if he didn't then he wasn't the REAL Odysseus but since he does then he is!

So, they get back together and live happily ever after, aside from all the very intense trauma.

Best greek tragedy ever.

By the way, yes, every other character in the illiad also lived through some sort of tragedy going home, that is if they survived the war, odys the only one who took 20 goddamn years to get home though lmao

My favorite part of the Orpheus and Odysseus were in the underworld at the same time is the implication that Odysseus was actually singing for real and not because Epic is a musical retelling

[daincrediblegg]

Also small thing but I think it’s really important that alexei and melina share the single moment of true fat acceptence the MCU has ever had and it’s gonna live in my head rent free forever

[munson-blurbs]

Happy Monday and Happy Halloween :) I’ve had this idea in my head all month and was wondering if it’d be okay to request it? For Halloween, the Hellfire crew does a movie night and each member gets to pick a movie (which has to be horror per Eddie’s instructions) but reader is not good with horror and gets to pick “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”. So, all of the boys tease him because he’s obviously whipped but doesn’t care because as long as he’s making the reader happy (cue big happy smiles and reciting lines from memory after being buried in Eddie’s shoulder for most of the night) that’s all that matters.

Did you...read my mind? Because I was literally just gonna ask for Halloween-themed requests and then this shows up in my inbox!

Warnings: mentions of murder in the context of a movie. That's it; it's all fluff.

WC: 1.1k

--

"All right, little sheep," Eddie announces as he pulls into the parking lot wildly, "you know the rules. Everyone picks their favorite horror movie and brings it to me. I'll pick the top three for movie night. Got it?"

The rest of Hellfire scurries into Family Video, eagerly browsing the horror section, but you're dragging your feet. You're normally down for any kind of movie, even the old westerns your dad watches, but you hate horror. Being scared just isn't your thing.

A family-friendly Halloween display at the front of the store catches your eye. You immediately spot It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and pick it up with a smile; memories of watching this as a kid come flooding back.

"Whatcha got there, sweetheart?" Eddie's voice snaps you out of your thoughts. He plucks the VHS out of your hand before you have a chance to argue. "Charlie Brown, nice! A classic, in my humble opinion."

You force a laugh. "I, uh, don't know any horror movies," you admit. "Don't like 'em. Hate 'em, actually."

"So, is this your choice?" Eddie asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Guess so," you mutter, feeling your face turn bright red.

After a few minutes, the rest of the group comes back, armed with movies that make you want to shrivel up into a ball and disappear. Eddie collects the tapes and shuffles through them.

"I have made my decision!" he says, putting on his Dungeon Master voice for the occasion. "The winners are...Halloween, of course," Jeff turns to Gareth and high-fives him, "Friday the 13th," Eddie continues as Mike pumps a fist in the air triumphantly, "and...It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" He shoots you a knowing grin as your blood runs cold.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucas cries out, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"How did that beat out The Shining?" Dustin whines. "It's not even the right genre!"

"Yeah, who picked that, anyway?" Gareth questions, but everyone already knows. You feel the glares of your fellow Hellfire members, and honestly? You can't blame them.

"Of course," Mike mutters, "because she's the only girl here."

Lucas laughs. "Nah, it's because she's got Eddie whipped, like the family pig."

"Pretty sure you actually have to be dating the person to be whipped," Dustin adds.

"Enough!" Eddie shouts, quieting the group. "I've made my decision. Go grab some snacks and beg Harrington for the friends and family discount."

You trail behind with Eddie, fidgeting with the hem of your Hellfire shirt. "Eddie," you whisper, "you can pick another movie. I'll be fine." I'll just have nightmares for weeks, you think, but keep that to yourself.

He shakes his head, frizzy brown curls dancing across his face. "Nope. Already made up my mind." He places the selection on the counter as the boys pile on bags of chips and candy.

~

Everyone piles into the Wheeler living room. You volunteer to make the popcorn, an apology for the cheesy kids' movie they'll endure later. Mike pops his movie choice into the VHS player, and dread fills your belly as you hear the ominous music pulse through the room. When the popcorn is done, you pour it in a bowl and bring it over to the group.

You realize dejectedly that all of the seats are taken: Lucas, Mike, and Dustin pile onto the sofa, Gareth and Jeff are on the two-seater, and Eddie's taken the La-Z-Boy. Before you can pull over a chair from the kitchen, you see Eddie patting his thigh.

"C'mon, I can protect you," he teases, and you pause, unsure if he's serious. He looks over at you expectantly, and you pad over and sit gingerly on his lap. He swings your legs over his and places an arm around around your back. You notice the boys exchange knowing glances.

When the camp counselors get murdered, you yelp embarrassingly and curl up into Eddie's chest. He holds you close, and now you feel jumpy for a whole other reason. You've had a crush on him since joining Hellfire, but he never seemed to reciprocate the feelings, always treating you as one of the guys.

But, you think now, he's never cuddled any of them during a movie night, so...

You nuzzle your head into his neck, flinching as each murder gets more gruesome than the next. An audible sigh of relief escapes your lips when the movie finally ends.

"Solid choice, Wheeler," Eddie notes approvingly. "Who's gonna put in the next one?"

"You're closest to the TV," Dustin's response is met with a scowl.

"Yeah, well, 'm kinda busy here, Henderson," Eddie says as he throws a kernel of popcorn at the kid's head.

"Jesus Christ!" Dustin quips, but takes Halloween out of its box.

"Told ya," Lucas whispers to Mike, "whipped."

Maybe it's the adrenaline from the movie, but something comes over you. "I think you're just jealous that Max isn't here to sit on your lap, Sinclair," you tease.

"She got you!" Eddie cackles. "My girl just burned you, dude!"

My girl? Oh, you'll have to revisit that later.

~

When it's finally time for your movie, the rest of the guys trudge down to the basement. You get up to follow them, but Eddie links an arm around your waist.

"Where ya goin'?" he asks sleepily. "We didn't watch Charlie Brown yet."

Your smile quickly turns into a yawn. "I didn't realize you were actually gonna watch it. Besides," you add, "aren't you tired?"

"Exhausted," he admits, "but I really do like this movie."

"Really?" You can't hide the surprise in your voice, and Eddie laughs.

"Yeah. It's cute. Like, um, like you." He wrings his neck sheepishly, looking up at you with his big brown eyes.

You start the movie, mouthing along with the Peanuts characters until you fall asleep in Eddie's lap. He wakes you gently when the movie's over.

"Sorry," you mumble, but he just shakes his head.

"You're also cute when you sleep, so..." he shrugs. "Didn't mind." He clears his throat and glances around, though you can't imagine what he's looking at.

"Do you, uh, wanna just sleep up here? On the couch?" he asks quietly. "I could do without Jeff's snoring." When you nod, he shuffles the furniture so he can pull out the sofa bed, grabbing some pillows and blankets. "Ladies first." He extends an arm towards the couch.

You climb under the blankets, pulling them up to your chin. You fall asleep almost immediately, but not before feeling Eddie drape his arm around you and press a quick kiss between your shoulder blades.

--

[angel-dust-addict]

That actually got a chuckle out of Angel. He smiled tiredly down at Nuggets a he spoke, telling Alastor, "Can't make any promises. He ain't too good wit' secrets. He likes somebody, he don't get hidin' it." That smile faltered slightly and he turned his head just enough to see Alastor out of the corners of his secondary eyes. "An' somethin' tells me ya ain't too keen on scarin' 'im enough ta make 'im reconsida'."

Given Nuggets seemed to like Alastor on the basis of the deer's treatment of Angel, the spider doubted Alastor would be willing to do the sorts of things that would make Nuggets fear him. No, that would put him too close to Valentino in his behavior. The pig had been witness to a number of heinous things Val had done to the little swine's mama. Not to mention Val had done a good job of making the pig hate him based solely on his actions towards Nuggets himself. Angel couldn't quite imagine Alastor being so senselessly cruel to the tiny creature. Val had hated Nuggets and the feeling had been very much mutual.

The peace of the moment was shattered by the shrill chiming of Angel's phone. The mere sound seemed to set him on edge, his eyes widening and the smile vacating his face, replaced by a look of fear. He winced as he lunged for the device, but that didn't make him stop. It was apparent by the look of despair who was calling, but he muttered anyway, "Shit, that's Val. Fuck. He don't usually call this early."

Without waiting for any sort of response from Alastor, Angel managed to hit the answer button with one shaking finger and raised the device to his ear. "Val? What's up? Ya don't usually call this early."

"Angel Cakes," came the saccharine reply, slightly tinny through the phone speakers. "Just wanted to check on my best star. We left our discussion yesterday at a... precarious point."

"Yeah..." Angel's expression was fast shifting from fear to overwhelming dread and hopeless resignation. "I, uh..."

"Ran out on me?" Val supplied helpfully. "Don't worry, babe. I'm not mad. You got scared, I get it."

Angel's eyebrows did some manner of complicated dance as he seemed to process that statement. "Ya do?"

Val's response was sickeningly close to a tone of compassion. "Of course. You made a mistake. I had to correct you. You've always been so sensitive, Angel Cakes. Never took well to criticism. But I only did what needed to be done. You understand, don't you? I don't want to hurt you, but sometimes you don't leave me any other choice."

"Hurt me? Ya nearly fuckin' killed me!" Angel snapped. He immediately looked as though he regretted it, wincing and shrinking in on himself. His gaze fell instantly to the floor, avoiding any and all acknowledgement that Alastor was even still in the room.

"And whose fault is that?" Val hissed. When he spoke again, his tone was back to that sickly sweetness. "Besides, if you hadn't run away... Most of the damage was because you fell down the stairs after you decided not to put forth any effort to make things right. After all, you cost me a pretty penny dragging that shoot out as long as you did. I should have put you out on the street to make up what you owe me for that. But I decided to be nice and let you apologize. It's hardly my fault you decided to spit in my face.

"But that's not why I called. I saw the mess you left all over the stairwell. I know your little tumble down the stairs took quite a toll on you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You really did make things much worse for yourself, didn't you?"

Angel still looked like he was somewhere between rage and wanting to hide. His tone, when he reluctantly spoke, was one of resignation and shame. "I... Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

"You really should have stayed and apologized last night. Or, better yet, done as you were told in the first place. Then I wouldn't have had to correct you. And that would have been so much easier on us both, wouldn't it?" Val prompted. The tone of his comments was downright insulting. He spoke to Angel the way one might speak to an errant child. A particularly dense one.

Still, Angel replied tiredly, "Yeah, I guess."

"What was that, Angel Cakes?" Val prompted again, his words edged in warning.

Angel visibly flinched and mumbled quietly, voice filled with shame and humiliation, "Yes, Daddy."

"Good boy. At least you can see sense now. I suppose that counts for something." The comment had the false air of an apology and forgiveness all at once. "Now, because Daddy loves you so much, I'm going to give you a chance to make it up to me. You'll be in at your regular time, I assume?"

"What?! Val, ya broke my fuckin' arm! I can't dance!" It was fear and dread that colored Angel's voice, not anger. "Val, please, you know I can't dance wit' my arm fucked up."

Val tutted at him chidingly. "Yes, I saw what you did to your arm. Unfortunate that it'll keep you from dancing. We'll have to discuss that tonight. But that wasn't what I had in mind. Like I said, I should have sent you out to make up what you owed me rather than giving you the chance to apologize and make up for it. But I'm nothing if not forgiving. So, I'm going to give you another chance. I even picked out your clients so you don't have to go find them yourself. That sounds more than fair, now doesn't it, baby?"

"Yes, Daddy," Angel agreed miserably. He sounded as though he felt a second death would be more merciful.

"Good boy. I'll see you tonight, then. Don't be late," Val warned before hanging up.

Angel was still for about half a second before hurling his phone at the wall with a wordless noise of anger and despair and intense physical pain. Immediately, he drew his legs up and wrapped his lower arms around them. His uninjured upper hand threaded into his hair as he bowed his head against his knees, yanking with an impressive amount of force. The claws of his lower hands scratched at his outer thighs until they drew thin lines of royal blue. The sound that wrenched itself from his throat was a primal noise of anguish and despair as his shoulders began to shake. There was the faint scent of blood in the air if one had a nose sharp enough to catch it. More than could be accounted for by the scratches, but less than earlier in the day when he had torn his stitches.

Nuggets pawed at the spider's side, his distress clear, but Angel didn't uncurl. If anything, he drew in on himself even tighter, shaking with pain and hopelessness.

angel-dust-addict​:

Angel cringed. Not at anything Alastor had done this time, though. He took the offered hand with only the slightest bit of hesitance - just that same old nagging wariness in the back of his mind - and let Alastor lead him. “Don’t get yaself stabbed 'cause'a me. If it’s Charlie - or Vaggie - I probably oughta go get him. I don’t want 'em givin’ ya any trouble. 'Sides, if yer in here, somethin’s wrong. An’ I’d really ratha’ not have 'em knowin’ about dis. I can hide it. The stitches. That ain’t a problem. Wouldn’t be tha first time. ’M pretty good at it.

"If it’s Niffty,” he continued in a slightly less worried tone. “It ain’t gonna matta’. She don’t knock, first off. But she’s not gonna assume ya stabbed me or decided ta snack on me or some shit. An’ she won’t say shit ta anybody. Wouldn’t be tha first time she’s cleaned up blood in here, much as I try'n keep her out. It’s like tha lock don’t work if it’s her. I’ve just sorta gotten used to it.”

While Alastor registers the cringe, he doesn’t bat an eye at it. Like he told the spear-wielding moth when he first knocked on the hotel’s door, if he wanted to hurt someone, he had ample opportunity to do so. If he wanted to harm Angel, he had six hours where the arachnid was completely defenseless. He could have had his fellow sinner skinned, filleted, and leftovers stored in the meat locker behind the refrigerator (that no one aside from Niffty knows he has.) Angel knows this as well, yet instinct tells him to be wary of anyone who abruptly moves their hand in front of him... 

As he backsteps out of the lavatory, Alastor gives a soft snicker. There’s a fondness in his tone and in his eyes for the little darling of a maid. “I have a theory that our little darling can shift her fingers into the shapes of locks.” He muses. Either that or she squeezes through the bottom of the door. One way or another, the little maid has never let any type of door, fence, or cage stop her. “Something must be distracting her since she hasn’t arrived to collect the bedding.” He thinks aloud, his ears tuning backward in increments, as if searching for a particular frequency. “Would you like me to ask her for him?”