#which prompted will to make them come up with a stage name since he didn't want their real name to be out there

[static-scribblez]

i hate hyperfixating on real people

[apostacism]

Day 2: Arrival

Written for @14dayscirclemages. Prompt list can be found here, if anyone wants to get in on the fun.

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"How old is she?"

The Templar on the right glanced sidelong to the one on the left. The child framed between them, clutching a filthy bundle of what looked to be some sort of plant matter to her chest, didn't even rise to the level of their gauntlets. After a few seconds in which no answer was forthcoming, the right Templar shrugged.

With a sigh, Irving lowered himself to the child's height. "I'm too old for this," he addressed the room at large, hoping to break through the tension. The cobblestones dug in through his robes, setting up an ache in his knees almost immediately.

"What's your name?" he asked the elf girl, though he had to trust the Templars on the second part. There was no distinguishing mark of sex upon her person. Unevenly cropped black hair exposed the sharp points of her ears; her muddy tunic and leggings had clearly been made for another child, worn nearly to unusuability. They would do nothing to protect against the constant cold streaming off Lake Calenhad.

She stared back at Irving, her mouth pressed into a thin line, her dark eyes suspicious.

He tried again. "How old are you?" Carefully, Irving held up four fingers. "This many?"

For the most part, his experience with children omitted those of this girl's age. Six or seven was young for magic to manifest, ten or twelve more common. Only rarely did younger children access the Fade, for which Irving was grateful. The Tower was hardly equipped to handle babes in arms, much less those summoning fire and demons. Even allowing for her race - and probable neglect, judging by the state of her - her blocky proportions, head and trunk overlarge on spindly limbs, spoke to an earlier stage of development. Were she even five, it was an immature five indeed.

If the girl understood Irving's question, she gave no sign. Her arms tightened around the thing she carried, a shiver radiating out from her center like ripples in a pool of water.

He looked up to the Templars. "Where did she come from?" If the girl were from the Dalish, she might not even understand the common tongue. Most Dalish communicated more than adequately with the civilized world, but some chose to sequester themselves in the wildest places of Ferelden, and there was no telling what they taught their children. The question of how such a child might have found herself in Templar custody was another matter.

Again, the right hand Templar looked to the left. They hadn't introduced themselves to Irving, but he understood clearly which of them was the superior.

His full plate helm obscured the left Templar's expression, but the delay in his answer communicated clearly enough his irritation to have been asked. "What does it matter? She's a mage for sure. Tried to burn down an inn on the way here."

There was no point in arguing with Templars. Irving thought he'd learned that lesson by now, yet he couldn't keep the edge from his voice as he asked, "So you don't know her name, her age, or her origin? How did you come across her?"

"They told us take the elf to Kinloch," the leader answered. "We did that. The elf's at Kinloch. She's your problem now."

"In that case-" With a groan, Irving pushed himself back up to his feet, ruing the feedback from his cracking knees. He truly wasn't as young as he had once been, and though the tower stairs kept him active, they did nothing to preserve the sprightliness of youth. "I thank you knights for your diligence. I will get the girl situated and begin making preparations for her phylactery." Irving held out a hand to the child. "Come along."

She remained where she stood, eying him with the same dull suspicion she had worn since he first laid eyes on her.

"It's not quite time for supper, but there's always something to eat in the kitchens," Irving suggested. "Why don't you and I go see what we can find?"

The child took a single step, then turned a wary eye around to the flanking Templars. Irving had almost given up hope of her understanding common.

The lead Templar waved her off. "You're the Knight Commander's problem now," he told her. "Act right and there won't be any trouble from here on out."

Irving smiled benignly. "I could do with a light repast myself," he said. "I do believe we still have some of the summer honey, and fresh bread to go with it. What do you say?"

She took another step, and then a third. She would need some kind of wash before they took the phylactery blood, he decided. No point in giving her an infection on her first day, assuming she hadn't brought any in with her. They would eat, and then he would have the Tranquil bathe the girl while he decided on her living situation for the immediate future. More than one of the apprentices still wet the bed with some regularity, but even so, the hall was not well equipped to serve as a nursery.

Oh well, he thought as he led her towards the kitchens. First things first. The Hold had certainly managed worse.

[fallingforel]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could do numbers 5, 23, 62, 63, and 69 from your prompt list with like the reader being part of one direction and Harry dating her, and she falls for brad from the vamps. Like could it be angst between Harry and the reader where they’re together but then he cheats on her with someone (idk any celebrity or something like he dated Taylor at one point I think) and she goes to Brad and they’re friends but he’s been in love with her since forever and he comforts her and they get together. Also just make Harry completely regret everything if you can (I live for the cheating with no second chance trope, it’s amazing ❤️) thank you so much!! Have a great day!

A/N hi my lovely here it is for you, hope you enjoy and I hope you like it. dont forget those that want to request one the prompt list is here

1,548 words

PROMPTS 5, 23, 62, 63 AND 69: "you made your choice" "they didn't deserve you" "you think that this is easy for me" "I hate seeing you like this" "I don't like you...I love you"

⋆｡°✩

It was a well known fact that I was the 6th member and only girl in one direction, I was also dating harry from my band, on the outside things looked squeaky clean and it looked like we had a perfect relationship but we didn't we fought all the time, Harry was always jealous because I was best mates with Brad from the vamps, Brad and I have been lifelong friends as we both resided from the same part of Birmingham and we also went to school together. It wasn't my fault that I've always gotten along better with boys than I have with girls they were just easier to talk to and the fact that they weren't snakes behind my back.

So you could imagine Harry's reaction when I told him brad was coming tonight, even if he tried to hide it in the best way possible. I still noticed. It was hard not to, however we hadn't had a fight in three weeks and I wasn't about to start one now, I had just finally hoped that we were in an all right place.

"Brads coming tonight. He's in town got a show tomorrow, thought he'd pop by then celebrate with us as the end of this leg is today, was thinking we could go to his show tomorrow"

"mmh, yeah, be nice I 'spose"

"Yeah it would, come on we've got to get ready, we've got a show to perform"

⋆｡°✩

And the show went spectacularly well, I was at my happiest when I was on the stage with my band, with my fans screaming my name it was the most supportive feeling in the world, and I loved every second of it.

Now we were back in our dressing rooms ready to go out, It wasn't often we went out while on tour we'd only ever do it for special things like birthdays, end of legs or if someone new joined our team halfway through. Tonight though, we were celebrating the end of the leg of the tour we were currently on, zayn left a couple of months ago. And with Harry and I on rocky ground we all secretly knew that the band was coming to an end, we were all scared to admit it though, too afraid to say it out loud because then it would all become real.

I'm broken out of my thoughts by a knock on the door, which makes me wipe away the tears I didn't even realise were there, before I'm saying "COME IN" and I'm met with Harry peeping round the door

"Hey, hey. why are you crying my love? What's the matter?" "The bands breaking up isn't it?" "no? what makes you think that sweetheart?" "I mean, with Zayn leaving, you and I on rocky terms, we're all not the same people we were 5 years ago Harry, the bands dynamic doesn't fit anymore"

"Yes okay, zayn may have left, You and I may be on bad terms some of the time and yes maybe we have all changed, but nobody stays the same, it's pretty hard to do that darling, otherwise you wouldn't grow up. The dynamic still works all the same though. So for now, dry your tears, get a fit dress on and lets take our minds off this band breaking up nonsense"

And I do as he tells me joining them shortly in the addison lee taking us into the main part of london, so we could go to a night club. I was sat inbetween Harry and Brad and could feel the tension rising, more so from Harry than brad, Harry was being weirdly possesive with me and it didnt feel in a good way, like it usually does.

Soon arriving at the nightclub we all head inside and Louis takes Harry to the bar to get some drinks for all of us, even he could sense the tension meaning it was bad.

⋆｡°✩

"you did great tonight, y/n/n. Smashed it, if only you could've heard the chanting for your name. It was unreal honestly." Brad says from beside me perking me out of my daydream of nothing in particular.

"awwh, Braddy. You're sweet you" I say placing a kiss on his cheek as a thank you. I've always called Brad, braddy ever since we were in nappies because I was never able to pronounce my L's I soon learned, the name stuck around though.

⋆｡°✩

Having not seen Harry since he went to the bar, and hasn't come back since, It's been well over half an hour now, so I was getting pretty worried. So I decided to ask around if anybody has seen him.

"LOU! You haven't seen Harry have you? Haven't seen him since we got here." "No I haven't. Last I saw him was at the bar, said he was going back to you, that was about fifteen minutes ago" "thanks lou."

⋆｡°✩

10 minutes later Niall comes up to me interuptting the conversation I was having with Brad I had given up trying to find him he clearly didn't want to be found, "I heard you were looking for Harry, I found him, but you're not going to like it" "what Niall, where is he" "mens bathroom, that way" he says turning to point me in the direction of where the mens bathroom is.

Walking into the mens bathroom, I found a sight I didn't want to see, Harry going down on a girl, the girl that wasn't me. "OH WOW!" I shout earning both his and the girls attention. "y/n/n, baby-" "don't you baby me Harry, it is so clear what you think about me." "who the fuck are you?" the girl quips back at me. "his girlfriend honey, actually no his ex-girlfriend. Keep him he's yours he was a slag anyway" "oh thats rich coming from you y/n, I saw you getting close with Brad, a little kiss on the cheek" "we've always been that way and you fucking know it" "oh but it's so easy for you breaking up with me though isn't it, now you can run away with the btec version of me cause it's clear you have a type don't you" "YOU THINK THAT THIS IS EASY FOR ME? YOU THINK THAT I WANT TO BREAK UP WITH YOU? WELL I DON'T HARRY OKAY?, BUT ITS CLEAR WHAT YOU'VE CHOSEN, goodbye Harry, I'll see you soon for the american leg." is the last thing I say before I walk out of the men's bathroom and back to where Brad was sat.

"Y/n? are you okay?" is all he says before I break down crying and he wraps an arm around me. And an executive decision is made between the two of us that he's going to take me back to his for the night.

⋆｡°✩

In the taxi on the way back, I'm still crying and he still has an arm around me. "

what even happened? why are you crying?"

"Harry cheated on me" is all I can muster out before I'm a blubbering mess again

"I hate seeing you like this Y/n all I know right now is that he didn't deserve you, he never has but I've always been supportive of your relationship always been the shoulder to cry on because I'm your best friend and always will be here, and you know that"

And soon enough I'm on Brads sofa, with Brad laying down giving me a hug.

"you want to say something dont you?" I speak up breaking the silence between me and him. "yeah I do, and I don't care if it's the incorrect time, or what but I have to say it now, otherwise I never will, I dont like you y/n I love you, and I have for the longest time, and if you need time to heal I'm okay with that I can wait a little while longer for you darling" he says shocking me to my core, I will admit I always loved Brad, and I don't think I ever stopped not liking him I just think Harry was a distraction while I was away from him.

"oh brad, I love you too" Is the last thing I say before I'm pulled into a kiss from him and we make our way upstairs to his bed where we both reside for the night wrapped up in eachother and if we were to get stuck into each other as well, then that's nobody's business but our own

⋆｡°✩

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

we're both awoken to a pounding on Brads door, so we both rush down and he answers it, revealing a disheveled Harry who looks like he hadn't slept. He tries to enter but brad pushes him back with the door "she doesn't want to speak to you Harry, You really fucked it this time" "please just hear me out y/n. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to cheat, I love you so so so so much"

"You made your choice Harry, please just go. I don't want you here, just please leave, be better on yourself" which I was met back with silence and then the turn of footsteps up brads gravel drive was all that could be heard.

⋆｡°✩

end.

[kissmetwicekissmedeadly]

4 years, 40 facts about me loving napo... let's go 🏃🏻‍♀️

...or as @leonscape called it, 40 "Mopoleon" facts?! (picrew link)

the date of our "anniversary", June 19th, is one day after the date of the battle of Waterloo 💀

both our given names are of Italian origin

we're both leo zodiac signs

our birthdays are 8 days apart, in the same month

he's my first otome route ever played

i've only played his route once, in July 2019

i've never seen his dramatic ending

my first impression of him on a teaser tweet of ikevamp EN was that he looks like an asshole, and I didn't like his looks either...

my falling for him was utterly illogical as despite these thoughts I put him on my phone wallpaper a few days later (still before the release of ikevamp EN)

as of right now ao3 says he appears in 59 of my posted works: the total number of fics I have published with him is higher as a few of those are stand-alones in a multichapter fic (napoleon bday prompts 2019 +9, yumeweek 2020 +5, mini requests +4, headcanons +11 ) ...he appears in about 1/3 of all my fics!

we share a hobby of reading biographies! the official ikevamp character sheets state it as his hobby

our height difference is 18 cm

the @xxsycamore blog exists solely because of him, as well as my passion for writing - I started this blog because I wanted to express my love in some kind of creative way, as previously (and for the longest time) I thought my medium would be art instead of writing

despite that, my first ever posted fic is not with him but with Arthur!

I've always loved languages but he had influence over my choice of learning especially french in uni. It's hell but I don't regret it at all

I have a playlist with sleepy-themed songs for him 🥺

birds are my favorite animals (any kind) and he has a pet eagle!!

our mbti personality types are a so-called perfect match! infp + enfj

I don't like black-haired, blue-eyed men because of him, it was my type before him too! (not many such ikemens around but I have a handful of faves like that from other media)

as the fictional napoleon bonaparte is light years away from the historical figure, I thought I wouldn't be interested in learning about him - until I ended up reading multiple books on him, the thickest of which 680 pages... while I don't mix the two in my head, the napoleonic era history (+ russian empire history) is still pretty cool to know imo!

there's hardly any writer around here who hasn't received a napoleon request from me at least once... I'm so sorry...

it is implied in the game that napo has kissed boys (they were taking turns waking him up and they all know of his habit......) which gives me enough reason to headcanon him as bi....like me 🥺

I really suck at completing the bday creation challenges I host for him, as last year I did 0 prompts and the year before that 2....but in 2019 I did 10!

I love making bday gifts. I love birthdays. I don't have the exact number but last year a lot of characters received a bday fic from me but not napo 💀 partly because I was shadowbanned back then!

the only real tradition I have when it comes to his bday is to make homemade crepes since it's his favorite food! but my favorite part is eating them...

I still haven't watched the movie "Napoleon & Me"...

I don't have much napo merch, but I do have the Naplushieon doll which is plenty

I was still in highschool (11th grade) when I fell for him 🥺🥺🥺 it feels like ages ago

I love the song written for the ikevamp stage play and sung by his voice actor Nobunaga Shimazaki, "Lucida", so much you can even find it and play it on my blog... recently some kind soul uploaded the whole version on youtube (I've been waiting for so long....) and I haven't been the same since

my dream napo merch is the clothes hanger with his neck and face so that I can hang my silly little sundresses on him (I'm going to make it on my own actually, just watch)

after having so many random fic ideas for him that will never see the light of day, I accepted the facts at last and now I feel so much better and more chill

I'm currently working on fanart series where I try to post one tablet-drawn art of him every month... I have trouble keeping them simple as desired sometimes but I'm having lots of fun while learning (I still consider myself fairly new to drawing with my tablet)

once I wrote a death anniversary fic for napo!

the best napo song i've discovered so far is Wings by Su!YoON!

I don't know. anything. about his sequel. i just know the cgs. not that is hard to avoid spoilers LMAO

my most favorite napo cg is the 5th bday one (where they're in a field of roses) (it was on my phone's background for a very long time)

my most favorite napo card...that's a trick question but I think the one that is on the left banner in my blog (desktop view)

yes, yes I do want to go to Corsica one day what about it. I have a lot of other dream trip destinations too!

yes, I do love Napoleon cake (It's a russian recipe) (it was my bday cake in 2020)... but so do I love a whole lot of other cakes...!

Fact number 40 is that I love Napoleon a normal amount 😇 nono listen!! I do talk a lot about him, and here I tried compilating facts that are not too cheesy: believe it or not there are days I don't think about him, ok! I never pressure myself to get all the event bonus stories, or to always have a fic ready for him... in a world where im a worrywart about anything and everything, he's my safe place? my chill place? And if I begin to think about the gigantic mass of things surrounding him that are exactly aligning with what I love, with what comforts me, with what traits im looking for in a person, i'm going to get dizzy. So let's end this here with me saying, ily so much Napoleon 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 im such a nunuche sometimes but im your nunuche ‼️‼️

[mwolf0epsilon]

The Umbaran Pathogen - Day 15: Transformation

Summary: Tup is not happy that the medics keep messing with his Hive, so he takes matters into his own hand. Meanwhile Twitch finally finds a little glimmer of hope for everyone involved in this mess. Hopefully it hasn't come to late.

Warning: Body horror, mentions of cannibalism and revenge killing (the medics are in danger ahah)

Twitch belongs to @gaeasun Pitch and Tacet belong to @lost-on-kamino

Prev / Next

[In which the events on Umbara are worsened by an unknown pathogen taking hold of both the 501st and 212th. These series of drabbles will follow a non-linear timeline based on the AI-less Whumptober prompt list for 2023.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

---

The medics had become too much of a threat to be ignored any longer. It was a conclusion Tup hadn't wanted to come to, but there was really no getting around it anymore. Not after their constant meddling had actually resulted in some unwelcome consequences.

In hindsight, he should have expected this to be the final outcome of postponing their conversion for this long. Although, to be fair, he wasn't entirely at fault for that. There just hadn't been a way to isolate them for long enough to offer them his gift, and as it stood he was in no condition to produce any more Drone Eggs to enable a more successful ambush.

Not when he'd implanted the second one not so long ago...

And now the medics were actively sabotaging everything both he and Dogma had worked so hard for. Endangering the Hive and all who were meant to be protected within, under Tup's watchful eye and Dogma's diligent care. Messing things up at a very critical moment of the Hive's initial building stages.

That, he decided, was ultimately unacceptable.

Really, it was a shame that things had gone the way they had. That his hand was being forced now, when things had initially looked so promising. Seemed so easy. With some more time and plenty of feedings, his own metamorphosis would have been so much more splendorous than this rush job he was preparing.

The Hive-Leaders of other colonies only ever experienced the changes when their Hives were fully constructed, and inhabited with more than just two Drones. Having plenty of Workers and even a few Repletes to help them through such an extensive set of alterations. Their bodies rotund with vital nutrition that would serve them well to become the beautiful colossal Egg-Layers they were meant to be.

As it stood Tup would be only slightly bigger than an overfed Dewback. A bit of a runt in comparison with the standard. His full potential temporarily stolen from him by the wretched medics that had dared to steal his defenseless Pupa and Drone from him.

That said he would be no less dangerous than his fellows. Would still have the needed armoring and strength to exact revenge in the name of his budding colony. And, while he didn't particularly fancy the idea of feasting on clone flesh since they were still his kin and he only really wished to help them achieve their true potential, he might make an exception just this once.

If just to sooth the rage coursing through his veins. After all, the medics had been rather ungrateful. They did not deserve the gift.

Having finished the outer silky layer of his own cocoon, Tup began to meticulously spit up the yellow adhesive that would form his chrysalis's much more sturdy shell casing. He was hungry and frustrated, knowing fully well it'd take several years for him to grow to an acceptable size after transforming prematurely, but he had to act quick before he was found out and further impeded.

His pores were already starting to leak with the sudden overproduction of pink milk, and he couldn't really waste any of this precious resource now that he did not have his Drone to help him along. He'd need to be fully submerged within the sealed chrysalis for his body to mutate at an acceptable rate.

Already he could feel the eagerness of this weak fleshy vessel to submit to the changes. The way his spine ached in preparation to elongate. How his skull almost pulsed with agony as the bone became more malleable, and his senses dulled as they awaited a much needed upgrade. The way his skin began to slough off from the heat radiating off of him, boiling him, making him soft and easy to molded into something entirely new.

The process was not a painless one, but then again his comfort was more than a necessary sacrifice. Tup had more than a lifetime of pampering awaiting him once he got his Hive back under his control, so he could definitely handle the pain of transformation for at least an hour.

Yes, an hour curled up safely in his cozy little cocoon. Body reshaping itself into something much more beautiful and powerful, the very beginning of a new era for him and his kin. An hour full of pulling every ounce of nutrition he'd acquired from the few feedings he'd received. Mouth-fed nectar and pre-digested meat between battles, and far away from prying eyes. The vessel of his rebirth pulsing and swelling as he grew and grew. What a thrilling event, this one singular hour...

Once he was rid of all the obstacles that stood in his way, he'd be sure to locate the new Drone he'd recently implanted and speed up his transformation process as well. Then, as beneath his cast as it might be, he'd seek out his own targets and feed on their blood to produce even more Drone Eggs. The rest of the clones would be converted in no time if he had more than just Dogma and Cody bringing him more soon-to-be-Workers.

At the end of the day, what were five measly dead medics in the face of having hundreds more Hive-Mates at his beck and call? Safe and prospering away from the Republic and it's pointless war?

Tup certainly thought that was a more than reasonable price. A worthy enough sacrifice for the cause.

---

Canivete couldn't quite believe her eyes as she entered the medbay of the Umbaran Base that the 501st had taken over. Truly when Waxer had informed her of the severity of things, she had hoped that maybe things were only slightly out of hand and that there had been some slight miscommunication through the choppy comms connection.

Tacet had done their best, but not even they could work miracles. On arrival they'd promised to figure things out in the comm tower, but she hadn't really been holding her breath. Instead focusing on trying to remain positive.

Sadly, no amount of positivity could make things less of the horrific nightmare they really were...

There were several troopers in varying stages of some kind of indescribable transformation, tightly bound to their cots to deter them from either escaping or harming themselves (as some were sporting some alarmingly nail and teeth shaped wounds on their persons, that seemed entirely too fresh to her). The few that were awake were wailing in despair as they tried to fight against the restraints, while the others that just lay listlessly appeared to be in a state of drug-induced sedation.

From where she and the rest of the 212th stood she could just about see Coric, Pitch and Sponge practically running around trying to ensure that none of the active ones got loose from their bindings, while Twitch was frantically tapping away on a console. Likely trying to make sense of the Umbaran code that flashed across the screen while he looked for something, anything, that might be of help to them right now.

She hoped the kih'vod had better luck than she'd had when she consulted the archive she'd downloaded prior to landing. That thing had been naught but useless.

"Karking hells..." Waxer whispered where he stood behind her, while the General and Commander simply stared in muted horror.

The latter leaning slightly on the former, as the wound on the back of his neck had become the tell-tale rash that came with this gruesome infection. On their way over she'd noticed how aggressively it had spread in comparison to the others, which she wrote off as the Commander's stronger CC immune system just giving more of a fight than that of the standard CTs.

Following them into the medbay, the healthy 212th troopers were helping the sick settle down on the few empty cots that were left available. Some had become so lethargic they had to be carried in, while others stumbled and stared vacantly as their fevers muddled their thoughts completely.

"Coric!" Not wanting to stand around and stare for longer than she was required to, Canivete called over the CMO to see what she could do. Temporarily relieving him of his current duties. "Sitrep man, what happened here?!"

"I wish I knew!" Coric barked back, briefly saluting in General Kenobi's and Commander Cody's way, before helplessly looking around at the new influx of patients that the 212th had brought along. "We thought it was some kind of allergy at first, and it just...Spiraled from there on out!"

"Spiraled is putting it lightly, Ori'vod." Pitch bitterly retorted as he took the medpack right off Canivete's back, rushing off to treat one of the 212th's soldiers who's blisters had only just started to pop and reveal the shiny black scales beneath. "We were so busy trying not to die under Krell's orders that we didn't notice things getting as bad as they did, up until Dogma came out of hiding looking all kinds of freaky... Then he ripped Krell apart, nearly tore Appo's arm off, and took Twitch and all these vode to some kind of nest..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Canivete could see Sponge trying to guide Pretty Boy away from the much more severely mutated Lich, who was currently hissing at both of them. The distraught look on the lancer's face as it became clear his older brother did not seem to recognize him at the moment, more than drove a spike into the female medic's heart.

She couldn't imagine facing her own batchers if they were here, looking at her like that...

"Canivete, we don't know what we're doing..." Coric admitted, sounding so terribly tired and defeated by all of this. Brought to his very limit as a medical officer and older brother. "This wasn't remotely covered in any of the training modules! We're going in blind!"

"No, it sure as hell wasn't." She agreed, moving over to inspect the nearest mutated trooper. Jolting backwards when their response to her presence was to snap their jaws at her in a threatening manner. Like with Lich, there was no recognition behind those pitch black eyes. Only aggression. "But I can tell you something I know for sure. Its definitely a bug bite. Although... I have no idea of any kind of bug bite that does this kind of horrific damage..."

"That's because it's not just a bug bite!"

Everyone turned to look over at Twitch, who seemed to have finally found what he was looking for while they were all distracted. The much younger clone medic having brought up an archive of sorts that held an image of some kind of black and blue arthropod that looked not too dissimilar from a louse. Or maybe even a silverfish.

It was honestly quite unassuming in appearance. With a lean body that was mostly blue with black spots, segments that were decorated with black spikes, two large pincers tipped with black claws, and green glowing antennae, cerci, and compound eyes.

"Umbra P. Imperatoris, also known colloquial as the 'Shadow Puppeteer' or 'Umber Blight'..." Twitch offered as he pointed to the image of the insect on display. "And, according to this databank, it's one of Umbara's most dreaded apex predators..."

If not for the circumstances this would have certainly gotten a laugh out of everyone in the room. A tiny insect no bigger than one's index finger, being called an apex predator that brought sheer terror into the hearts of the enemy. Only, no one was laughing.

"According to what I've managed to translate so far, this whole thing is a gigantic parasitic cycle. From specialized larvae that eat mind control fungal spores, to highjacked Banshees that are forced to divebomb straight into the mouths of an unsuspecting Vixus, to the Vixus itself being the final vector for the original parasite's own set of specialized eggs..." Twitch continued, seeing as no one was stopping him. "To put that into perspective, a species of parasitic maggot exists specifically to eat a kind of cordyceps spores that grow here on Umbara, then when it's eaten enough it itself gets eaten twice by two different predator that it highjacks with ease, and then anyone who's careless enough to get caught by an infected Vixus ends up implanted with a completely different kind of parasite that in turn changes the victim into a eusocial parasites with a cast system. And then those transformed individuals eventually lays the original form's eggs to restart the cycle... It's all kind of insane actually."

It really was. Insane and extremely convoluted to the point it honestly made very little sense in an evolutionary standpoint. But, then again, nature rarely behaved in the ways most thought it should. If Mother Nature wanted there to be some kind of extremophile parasite with the capacity to turn other creatures into parasites, then she'd have her way in the end...

That said, this did reminded Canivete of a rather curious detail that sent a chill up her armored spine. Grabbing at her personal datapad and quickly scrolling through her gallery, she quickly located the holopic that she'd snapped when she and Waxer had come across that strange Vixus with the branded mark on its bulb. She held it up for the General to see.

"I... Sir, what does this say?" she asked, already knowing very well what the answer would be. Her stomach plummeting from the sheer amount of guilt she felt, as her fears were sadly confirmed.

"Warning: Infected." General Kenobi read calmly, his tone soft and full of understanding. She couldn't maintain eye contact with him, as it downed on her that she'd been holding onto some key information that could have certainly helped them out sooner, had she actually had the karking thing translated sooner.

"I was just about to say..." Twitch frowned. "The Umbarans make a point to send out scouts in Hazmat gear to identify and mark all infected Vixus. The archive in this base only has the basics, so we don't really have a map of all the afflicted areas at our disposal. But, I do have some good news..."

"Which are?" Coric asked, urging Twitch to continue.

"Apparently the nearest medical facility has a much more vast database about the Umber Blight, as well as a more detailed study of how the parasite itself takes over and changes a sentient host." Twitch informed them, continuing to skim the information as he did so. "I'll bet you the facility might have information on some kind of cure or... Or something to at least break whatever hold these parasites have on the vode..."

"Perfect!" Pitch grinned, seeming to be in better spirits now that they knew there might be a solution to their problem. "Then all we need to do is grab Kix and go to the medical faci--"

SCREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!

"--ty?!" the blue haired medic startled, as did everyone else in the room. The thunderous roar that rang across the halls taking them all by surprise and making the hair stand on the back of all their necks.

The infected vode seemed to all snap to attention. Cody and Crys, who were still relatively healthy, suddenly standing up ramrod straight as if in a trance. And then began the uproar of cries and clicks and screeches as the more mutated troopers began to call out to whatever had announced its presence.

"That can't be good..." Sponge muttered uneasily.

General Kenobi just barely had time to grab onto Commander Cody's arm, as the other was now eagerly attempting to move towards the door with newfound energy and vigor. Pitch blocking Crys's own path and taking a hold of him, to keep him from doing the same.

"Cody, are you quite alright...?" The Jedi obviously knew the answer to his own question, but Cani assumed that perhaps he hoped to snap the CC out of this sudden hypnotic state.

"Our Leader...He's calling for us..." Cody simply whispered, eyes glazed and expression a mixture of reverent and confused. "He's so hungry...I... I need to feed him..."

"Cody...?" The Jedi kept a firm grip on the clone commander, brow pinched as his worry increased tenfold, when the other turned to stare at everyone in the room, and then at the four 501st medics specifically.

"You... You've angered the Hive-Leader..." He hissed in an accusatory tone, expression turning hateful and even slightly disgusted, like they were the scum of the earth. "You hurt our Hive..."

"Commander! Snap out of it!" Cani called out, unsure of what to do in this situation. Just a moment ago both Cody and Crys had been fine, and now... It was like a switch had flipped. Triggered by that monstrously loud screech.

"You'll make a fine meal... It's what you deserve..." Cody finished, a pleased and rather wicked looking grin on his face.

Belatedly, they all realized this wasn't so much a threat as it was a promise, as something quite big began to stomp its way down the hall towards the medbey at an alarming pace.

Things had somehow gotten even worse.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Somehow out of spite for the hate being sent towards the archon quest, Tighnari x Nilou headcanons popped up to me while not sleeping last night so I wanted to share: (because I'm sad too that they didn't interact)

Contains spoilers for 3.2 archon quest

- When Cyno, Collei, and Tighnari had their own feast, Tighnari would ask how the celebration went which prompts Cyno to talk about Nilou. This, in turn, has Collei rambling because she saw Nilou's performances before.

- Tighnari, however, would scold Cyno (and Alhaitham by extension since he made the plan) for endangering an innocent dancer by haphazardly getting her involved in the plan.

- Collei, on the other hand, is a bit sad that she didn't get to see Nilou's performance during the feast. Cyno took note of this and conveyed a message next time he saw Nilou.

- Cyno informs Nilou of a certain fan from the forest, as well as talking about Tighnari who fought with them for the rebellion but was too injured and busy to join them back in the feast.

- Having heard that, Nilou thought of making an impromptu show just like she did back in Jnagarbha Day as thank you for the work of the forest rangers, something to make them happy what with all the troubles they have now. Cyno agrees.

- Nilou brought over a huge plate of Tahchin from the Bazaar as a peace offering and Cyno asked permission from Tighnari about the performance when the rangers have free time. Tighnari agreed for Collei and only asked for the music to not be loud.

- Everyone enjoyed the performance and impromptu feast (it was harvest day), especially the theatre fans that never get enough free time to visit the Bazaar. Even the sages who are there for punishment were lenient.

- Tighnari thanked Nilou for boosting morale and for her contributions to Sumeru, urging her to follow the path of her dreams no matter the standpoint of the Akademiya, just like he does. Nilou thanks him for taking care of the forest, to take care of himself, and that she's willing to assist them anyway she can.

- Since then, they have been frequently crossing paths, usually through simple greetings and waves whenever Tighnari visits Sumeru City.

- One time, he heard from Cyno, the Bazaar or Nilou herself that she frequently goes to the desert to practice. Tighnari scolds her for the recklessness of it, saying that the desert is still too dangerous, especially at night!

- "But the oasis is the perfect place for me to practice my dances." "There are far better and safer places in the forest that would suit you, surrounded with beautiful flora. Come, let me show you." Impromptu forest tour!

- Tighnari is so meticulous of the ponds, lakes, and rivers that Nilou could practice in instead. Like how this place isn't infested by dangerous mobs, or this one has a great view of the night sky, oh oh this one is surrounded with flowers and plants like a stage.

- Nilou may not exactly understand some of the jargons he used when he becomes passionate in teaching, but the places are really pretty! Tighnari even made a map and was about to give it to her, but then pulled back,

"If you're going to practice in the forest, make sure to inform me of your whereabouts first. Preferably in advanced, but if I'm not at Ghandarva Ville, make sure to at least alert one of the rangers. Everyone in the forest is our responsibility."

"I'll be sure to alert you ahead of time, Master Tighnari!"

"You - I - you are not my student, Miss Nilou. You can call me by name."

"Then if that's the case, I would appreciate it if you simply call me Nilou, we're friends now!"

- No but after hearing how scared she was of mushrooms after she ate one when she was a child, Tighnari did end up taking her as a mushroom student so she knows better. He even made a whole ass booklet of every possible mushroom found for her to carry with her.

- Somehow she ends up finding new ones.

- Nilou only eats mushroom meals that Tighnari cooks because she's the only one he trusts enough to not kill her with them. They do taste bland sometimes but hey, she can repair it for herself, at least.

- Tighnari also started developing a sweet tooth after Nilou kept bringing sweets to Ghandarva for Collei, especially her Padisarah Pudding. Speaking of, whenever he's on patrol, he makes sure to pick some padisarahs for Nilou as either a simple gift or for cooking.

- Nilou also was granted access to Pardis Dhyai as another dancing spot due to Tighnari's influence. He doesn't know why exactly, but he felt that she fits into the place perfectly.

- It's not rare for Nilou to visit Ghandarva Ville carrying a huge crate filled with freebies from the Bazaar. Although it did scare Tighnari to see the dancer carry such a huge and heavy item while maneuvering through vines, moss and slopes.

- Thankfully her sense of balance and strength kept her safe, but Tighnari is still baffled that she carried all of that from Sumeru City. Cloth, food and ingredients, toys, extra items she thinks would benefit the forest rangers.

- While Tighnari lectures/gushes about plants when Nilou has the focus for it, Nilou in turn helps Tighnari with his stress and emotions, through her body movement therapy she created as well as encouraging words. While the problem is still there, he would at least smile back as she suggested.

- Both of them are curious about each other's horns and ears, Tighnari on the story and structure of the horn, would look baffled when Nilou pretty much just popped off the headdress for him to look at it closely. He wants to wear it - but there's a lot of bits here and there that might hurt or get caught by his ears.

- Nilou always gets distracted by his ears and tails, more obvious than everyone he had met (Collei wasn't kidding when she said the dancer was a bit absent-minded) and he can't help but tease her every time he catches her.

- Unlike the others tho, she would blush, become shy but always, always be honest about her feelings. He likes that in response to the other ones who says sorry and run away, or tries to hide instead of confront him.

- But my goodness when he let her touch his ears, it was so heavenly he had to stop himself from purring. "Have you met Gata from the cafe? You both have such soft ears!" And then he realized his doom, he just handed himself so carelessly to the expert.

- Lastly, when he finds out that Nilou is practicing in the forest, he'll seek out the place once he's free and tap the forest ranger that was her guide for the day, switching places so that he can be the one to watch the exclusive show after a long day.

The moment I saw her voiceline about mushrooms, even before she got released, I already knew I'm down bad for this rare pair, i love my wives, my babygirls

[theycallme-thejackal]

what ab when the article from the photo prompt, comes out?

Pairing: Lenny Bruce & Midge Maisel Rated T

Part 1 | Part 2

Uptown/Downtown: Cohorts in Comedy by Charles Ellsworth

If you have ever read a newspaper or watched a late night talk show, it's likely the name Lenny Bruce is familiar to you. The comic has been working nightclubs across the country since 1947, and this past November, the controversial comedian packed the house at Carnegie Hall (during a blizzard, no less).

The name Mrs. Maisel, on the other hand, may not ring a bell for many of our readers. If you frequent the comedy clubs of downtown Manhattan or happened to see Shy Baldwin on tour last year, you may have seen the rising star delivering surprising, spontaneous, or even startling performances.

Mrs. Maisel is the stage name of Miriam Weissman, and if you were to cross her path, you would never expect her to be a comic, much less be able to go toe-to-toe with arguably the best comic of his generation. She sits primly in a chair, wearing a polka-dotted dress, hair coiffed to perfection.

Lenny Bruce has made a name for himself as a notorious, often obscene comic, discussing politics, religion, and his (rather lengthy) arrest record. Mrs. Maisel presents as a proper, put together mother and (ex) wife, her sets laden with stories of the difficulties of being a mother, a daughter, and a divorcée.

The two comedians could not be any more different, and yet, if you are ever fortunate enough to be in the presence of both at once, you could understand why there have been rumors surrounding their relationship for the past year. Their banter is effortless, each one setting the other up for a joke executed expertly.

But how did this seemingly unlikely friendship begin?

"Drunkenly," jokes Bruce, receiving a laugh from Maisel, who goes on to tell the story of the night she became a comedian.

"My husband had just left me," she explains. "So I got very, very drunk, wandered onto the stage at the Gaslight, and then proceeded to get arrested and thrown in the back of a police car next to [Lenny]."

While Maisel talks of the night they met, Bruce watches fondly. "I knew right then that she was special," he says.

When Maisel tries to call his bluff, the male comic simply shrugs and adds, "I'm rarely wrong about this kind of thing. I've been doing comedy for a long time, and there are good comics, there are great comics, and there are the few legends. She's going to be one of them."

I am inclined to agree.

I had the good fortune of seeing Mrs. Maisel perform in Miami while she was on tour with Shy Baldwin. Her sets are often unplanned. The night I happened to see her, she had just discovered her parents in the lobby of the Fontainebleau Hotel, where the tour was performing. The set that followed was some of the most inspired improvised comedy I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.

A soft blush meets her cheeks when I tell her so, but before she can comment, Bruce jumps in. "Didn't you sleep on a pool lounger that night?" He asks, and Maisel lets out a surprisingly undignified laugh.

"I did! I didn't want to wake Carole [Keen, bassist for Shy Baldwin], and Lenny had kept me out until sunrise."

"You had fun that night," Bruce retorts, smirking from behind his hand.

"I had fun that night," she confirms, smiling at him and ruffling his hair affectionately.

So what's next for the two comics?

After his triumph at Carnegie Hall, Bruce disappeared from the comedy scene for a few months for reasons on which he declined to comment, but he is back next week at the Copacabana.

As for Mrs. Maisel?

"I just started working as the warm up comic for The Gordon Ford Show," she says, looking toward Bruce, who gazes at her proudly. "It allows me to make people laugh, support my family, and still have time to work the club scene to work new material."

I ask whether her ambitions are in the realm of television, and she shrugs with a smile. "I love doing stand up. In a way, my marriage ending was the best thing that ever happened to me. It led me to discovering something I'm great at that not a lot of people can do. So I want to work as much as I can. Everywhere I can. But the goal?" She looks to Bruce again, sharing a smile with him before answering.

"Carnegie Hall."

When that day comes, this reporter will be in line at the box office, second only to Lenny Bruce.

[isabellafoster13]

This wasn't requested, just something that I wanted to write because I thought that it was an interesting idea. 

If you aren't aware of what charity dating is, it's a process of raising money by auctioning off the chance to go on a date with another person. I thought that this would be a fun idea to write about. I might also put one in one of my planned stand-alone fics. 

Also, I'm a little surprised I haven't written a Freed x Lucy x Rufus oneshot yet. 

I hope you enjoy!

Auction (Freed x Lucy x Rufus)

Lucy sipped on her milkshake as she read a book. She was enjoying the rare calmness of the guild as she waited for her two boyfriends to arrive for a date, one of them returning from a job and the other making his way from his own guild. She was looking forward to seeing them, having not been able to do so for a few weeks. 

As she turned to the next page, she heard Mira sing, "Lucy!" 

The blonde looked up nervously, knowing that nothing good can come whenever her friend said her name like that. She watched as Mira slide over and smiled at her in an innocent way that was meant to deter others from catching onto whatever it was that she was plotting. 

Lucy hesitently asked, "what are you plotting?"

Mira tilted her head to one side and batted her eyelashes innocently as she questioned, "what do you mean?" 

Lucy sighed and closed her book as she sat her milkshake onto the bar, "what do you want?" 

The barmaid clasped her hands in front of herself as she exclaimed, "the Master and I came up with a good idea to raise money for repairs to the guildhall whenever it's damaged from a brawl!" 

Lucy raised an eyebrow. She would be a complete liar if she said that she wasn't interested in hearing this idea. So, she prompted her friend, "which is?" 

Mira's blue eyes sparkled with proud as she happily announced, "we decided to auction dates with Fairy Tail women!" 

Lucy stared at her for a few moments before she smiled and responded, "that sounds like it could be fun." That wasn't a lie, it really did sound like something that her guildmates could enjoy. Although, she wasn't sure about doing it herself. 

Mira nodded before she continued, "I'm sure that everyone will have fun! Do you have an outfit that you could wear for it? I was thinking something formal!" 

Lucy raised her hands, her palms facing Mira, as she said, "wait, wait. I don't know about me being in it." 

"Why? It would fun, and I'm sure that you'll get us a lot of money." 

"But, I'm already dating." She wasn't sure about participating in the auction. Sure, it sounded fun, but she didn't think that her boyfriends would be keen on the idea, nor was she interested in going on a date with someone who she probably didn't know.

Mira begged, "please, Lucy! I just know that you'll get us a lot of money! It'll also be a guilds only thing, so whoever it is won't be a complete stranger. Plus, it isn't strictly a romantic date! It'll just be a hangout, really!" 

Lucy thought about it. It really didn't sound bad. If only people from other guilds could attend, then she'll definitely know whoever it is that will win a date with her. Also, if it was only a hangout rather than a date, then that wouldn't be too bad. She never minded getting to know members of other guilds. She still wasn't sure how her boyfriends would feel about it, but since they were both very laid-back, she didn't think that they would be very bothered by the idea. 

She sighed and gave her answer, "I'll think about it." 

Mira clapped before she informed her, "the auction will be next Monday at six! Get dressed and on the stage before five, okay?" 

Lucy nodded and watched her friend walk away, now doubt to try in convince their other female guildmates to take part in the charity dating auction. 

"Master Makarov and Mira did what?" 

Freed looked up from his tea and stared at Lucy, and eyebrow raised. He waited as Lucy repeated in response to his question, "they decided to put on a charity dating auction for money that would be used to repair damages to the guildhall from brawls." 

He sighed, "are there not other methods of raising money?" If he was being honest, he didn't think that it was a terrible idea, but he didn't see why it had to be the first thing that they would go with. Couldn't they do something else before auctioning off members of their guild? 

Lucy shrugged and took a bite of her blueberry muffin, chewed, and swallowed it before she responded, "I don't know how those two think. The point is, the auction will feature the women of Fairy Tail and Mira wants me to be in it as well." 

Freed gave a short hum. He didn't think he was fond of that idea. Rufus spoke up from where he sat at the round table in between Freed and Lucy, "and the purpose is to have money for damages that are caused by brawls?" When Lucy nodded confirmation, the blonde man questioned, "why doesn't your guild just stop having brawls?" 

Lucy chuckled into her hand as Freed smiled to himself, trying to hold back the urge to laugh along with her. Upon noticing the confused look on Rufus' face, he answered his question, "that's a little too much to ask of Fairy Tail." 

Lucy agreed, "it's a bit of an unrealistic request." 

Rufus sighed, "in any case, are you going to participate?" 

Freed turned his gaze to his girlfriend, waiting for her answer. The blonde stirred her tea and was silent for several moments. The green-haired mage watched her closely, noticing that she was hesitant to tell them about how she felt about the idea and whether of not she was wanting to do it. He was about to assure her that she could tell them truthfully, but his girlfriend answered before he could, "I think that it could be fun. It's guilds only, so whoever wins a date with me won't be a complete stranger. The dates also aren't strictly romantic, more like hangouts, if anything." 

After hearing that, Freed didn't think that it was a bad idea. He wasn't fond of the idea of Lucy being auctioned off to someone who she probably doesn't know very well, their intentions not entirely known, but he knew that Lucy was capable of taking care of herself. 

He took a sip of his tea as Rufus spoke, "well, I don't think it's a terrible idea." He then asked her again, "do you want to participate?" 

Lucy nodded, "I would like to do it. I especially like that it'd be a chance to meet members from other guilds." 

Rufus responded, "well, if you'd like to do it, then I say you should." 

Freed nodded, adding, "we'll, of course, be there." 

Lucy gave them a short giggle when the door to the cafe they were sitting in flung open, drawing the attention of the three mages. Happy flew to Lucy, calling her name. Lucy took him into her arms and questioned, "what is it Happy?" 

The exceed stared up at the blonde woman with alarm and worry as he exclaimed, "Natsu got his head stuck in the second floor railing again!" 

Freed pressed a fists against his mouth to keep himself from snickering while he heard Rufus give a stifled chuckle. Lucy sighed and turned to her boyfriends, telling them, "I'll be right back." She then ran out of the cafe with Happy. 

Rufus then turned to Freed and asked, "what do you think?" 

Freed looked over at him, answering, "if she wants to do it, then she should do it. Although, I'm not a fan of her going on a casual date with someone who she doesn't know very well." 

Rufus nodded, responding, "I'm worried about whatever intentions the highest bidder could have." 

Freed raised an eyebrow, inquiring, "and I will be bidding for her then, yes?" It was a question that he didn't need to ask. He already knew the answer.

Rufus took a sip of his drink after he answered simply, "of course we are." 

The following Monday evening, the male mages of Fairy Tail were joined by the mages of Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Mermaid Heel in their guildhall. The mages were conversing while the women of Fairy Tail were getting ready for the dating auction. 

Freed and Rufus sat at a table alone, neither interested in interacting with other mages. They were just concerned with making sure that whoever won a date with Lucy wasn't someone who was practically a stranger to her. 

Rufus took off his hat and sat it on the table as he asked, "do you know of anybody who may wish to bid on a date with Lucy?" He then added, "I don't recall any other mages who have been interested in her." 

Freed answered, "not that I know of. Laxus was interested in her in the past, but it was never deep and was very short-lived." He internally grimaced at the memory, also feeling a twinge of guilt for not helping when Phantom Lord attacked. He then looked around, taking note of the mages who surrounded them. "I'm curious as to who is planning on bidding." 

Rufus chuckled before he stated, "Sting said that he's going to bid on Erza." 

Freed raised an eyebrow, "does he have a death wish?" 

"Maybe." 

"Did Rogue or Orga mention whether or not they plan to bid?" 

"Not that I remember. I doubt that Rogue would. Orga might." 

The conversation was stopped then Master Makarov cleared his throat on the stage. Once he saw that he had the attention of the gathered mages, he accounted, "welcome to Fairy Tail's Dating Auction! Tonight, you will be bidding for a date with one of Fairy Tail's amazing and beautiful young women! If you want to bid, then simply raise your hand to place your bid! With that covered, let's begin!" 

The auction went by smoothly, with Makarov announcing each woman and give short praises of their looks and skill with magic. It didn't take long for the amount of money raised to reach the millions. It was interesting for Freed and Rufus to see who would win dates with each woman. 

Alzack, unsurprisingly, was able to win a date with Bisca, Cana was won by Bacchus, Wendy was won by Chelia, Juvia was, won by Lyon (much to her own disappointment), Lisanna was won Orga, Mira was won by Laxus, Laki was won by Eve, Levy was won by Gajeel, Kinana was won by Millianna, Evergreen was won by Elfman, and Erza was won by Minerva. 

Eventually, they got to the last female mage, Lucy. Freed and Rufus both tensed, ready to begin bidding against anyone else who were interested. Makarov began speaking, "last, but not least, we have Fairy Tail's own Celestial Spirit Mage! She's beautiful and smart, two things any man would like in a woman! But, don't think that she can't fight! As a member of Team Natsu and Natsu's best friend, she's more than capable of taking care of herself in a fight! Lucy Heartfilia!" 

Lucy walked to the center of the stage, smiling and waving at the crowd. She was dressed in a midnight blue dress that was form-fitting. A slit ran up one leg, reaching just below her hip. The neckline dipped low, revealing quite a lot of cleavage. Freed and Rufus felt their cheeks warm at the sight of her. She definitely made an excellent choice when choosing this particular dress to wear. 

Makarov continued, "let's begin with a thousand jewel!" 

Freed and Rufus each raised a hand, prompting Makarov to announce, "a thousand jewel from Freed and Rufus! It appears that Lucy's boyfriends aren't planning to let anyone win a date with her! Do I have two-thousand jewel?" 

Unsurprisingly, someone raised their hand, prompting Fairy Tail's Guild Master to continue, "Sting offers two-thousand jewel! Do I have three-thousand jewel?" 

Rufus shot a glare at his own Guild Master, who returned his glare with a smirk. He turned back around and raised his hand with Freed. It didn't matter that someone else is bidding for her, Freed and Rufus were skilled enough at magic to complete jobs in teams or solo, along with not being the types to spend money recklessly, which meant that between the two of them, they had enough money to out bid anybody who dared to try. 

The auction went on for several minutes, with the bidding being primarily between Freed and Rufus, and Sting, who was just doing it to bother the two men, if his shit-eating grin was anything to go by. 

Lucy watched with a smile as the bidding alternated and the bidding amount climbed, amusement dancing in her dark brown eyes. She was expecting her boyfriends to bid on her, but didn't expect Sting to do it too. Although, she supposed that she shouldn't be too surprised since she's able to see his grin, which clearly said that he just wanted to piss off Freed and Rufus. It was funny, really, seeing Sting's mischevious grin grow as Freed and Rufus became more and more visibly agitated, and yet, they both try to keep their anger contained. 

The auction finally concluded with her boyfriends out bidding Sting, the final amount being a million jewel. Lucy walked around the stage to stand behind the curtain and wait with her friends for her boyfriends to retreive her. Her female guildmates teased her, as well as each other, until the mages who won dates, started stepping behind the curtain to set up date plans with the women whom they won a date with. 

When Freed and Rufus made their way behind the curtain, Lucy bonded up to them and threw her arms around their necks, giving them both a tight hug, which they both returned. Lucy stepped away from them and crossed her arms over her chest, teasing, "didn't want me to go on a date with another guy, huh?" 

Freed stepped forward to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist, and responded, "we we simply didn't want you to go with a stranger." 

Rufus stepped into place on Lucy's other side and took her hand into his in a tight but comfortable hold. "Besides, is it a crime for us to want to go on a date with our girlfriend everytime we are presented with the opportunity?" 

Lucy simply giggled as she let her boyfriends walk her off of the stage and out of the guildhall. 

[pftones3482]

It’s been a while since I’ve watched ATLA so forgive me if this is actually canon but maybe Sokka finding out about how Zuko is the Blue Spirit?

Okay so like I wrote this but after I revealed that Zuko was the Blue Spirit I was at a loss for where to go lmao. So there's no actual REACTION from Sokka, just the confession. But I didn't want to leave you hanging after you were so kind to provide a prompt in the first place! One day I may actually have the brain cells to finish this, but for now, here's Sokka

~~

Sokka hated plays.

Okay, that wasn’t true – he actually really liked storytelling overall, and plays were just another form of storytelling. But he hated sitting still in the dark for hours, unable to exclaim or shout or anything when something interesting happened.

Not that anything was happening that was interesting. The play Katara had dragged them all to see was a romance, and while Sokka was nothing if not a romantic at heart, he and Suki had just recently broken up, and he was a little salty. It stung a little when your girlfriend admitted that she was attracted to someone else, a woman, and couldn’t reliably be in a relationship with Sokka until she could sort her own feelings out.

Sokka respected that, okay? Suki liking women wasn’t any more surprising than the rising feelings Sokka had in his chest for a certain firebender in their group – in fact, he’d say his crush was more surprising – but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still bummed out. Suki was incredible, and Sokka didn’t want to reminisce on the wonderful person he’d lost.

But Katara had insisted he come, claimed it would “take his mind off things,” (his mind wasn’t on anything, okay? He was happy for Suki, he really was, there was nothing on his mind), and then forced him onto Appa without even letting him change his clothes.

Shocking him more was the fact that not only had Katara asked Zuko along, but Zuko had agreed. Enthusiastically. When Katara had first brought up the play, Zuko had scoffed, no doubt remembering their groups prior run ins with plays. But then she’d mentioned the name, and his whole demeanor had changed. He’d gone quiet, softened, his eyes brightening and a smile quirking on his lips. And then he’d agreed instantly.

Toph wasn’t there – she was with her parents for the weekend – so it was just the four of them, Katara and Aang in the seats behind Sokka and Zuko, for which Sokka was grateful. If he had to watch them hold hands all night, he’d be sick. He was already full of nerves just from sitting next to Zuko, and uncomfortable that his brain and his stupid feelings would act like this when he and Suki had literally broken up less than a week ago.

So no, he wasn’t paying a lot of attention. He kind of hated this play.

Zuko, however, was leaned forward on his knees, his palms pressed together and his fingers resting against his lips as his eyes tracked the actors across the stage. His hair was swept back, and despite the fact that Sokka hadn’t gotten the chance to change, Zuko somehow had, and he was wearing more Fire Nation clothing than usual. Granted, he was to be the Fire Lord in a few days (this was one of the last outings Sokka had a feeling they’d be on for a while), but he’d always stuck to more neutral colors and clothes around them.

Sokka wondered if he was trying to make a good impression on the people, and ignored how good Zuko looked in the color red.

Everyone in the audience started applauding and Sokka blinked rapidly as the house lights came up. He started clapping halfheartedly, glancing around as people began standing. “Is it over?” he asked, surprised. That was much faster than the one about them.

“Intermission,” Zuko said, standing and stretching his arms behind his back, and don’t stare, Sokka, that’s one of your best friends. “Twenty minutes. You guys want a snack?” he asked, addressing Katara and Aang.

"Ooh! Can you find me some sizzle crisps?” Aang chirped.

Zuko gave him a nod and gestured to Sokka. “C’mon.”

Sokka followed him, curious. “Why’d you need me to come?” he asked as they left the theater and headed for the concessions.

Zuko gave him an unimpressed look and a lifted eyebrow. “You weren’t paying a single second of attention in there. I could tell you were bored.”

Sokka flushed, wanting to protest but knowing he couldn’t. “It’s just…not a play I’m in the mood to see right now.”

“I get it,” Zuko said, nodding and looking ahead. They stopped, standing in line. “Mai and I just called it quits for good.”

Sokka almost choked on his tongue. “You-? I’m sorry man, I didn’t know.”

Zuko gave a half shrug. “S’okay.”

“How can you stand being here?” Sokka asked, baffled.

Zuko’s neutral frown slipped into a soft smile, full of fondness. His eyes glittered as he tossed a side glance at Sokka. “It was one of my mom’s favorite plays.”

“I thought you said they always butchered this play?” Sokka recalled.

“They do,” Zuko agreed. “But it’s…one of the last things I have of her. So it’s special.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly Sokka felt like a jerk for not paying more attention. He swore to himself at that moment that he’d pay attention for the second half of the play, no matter how boring he might think it was. He’d pay attention if it killed him, if the roof came down in flames, if-

“Sir? Your order?” the bored attendant at the concession stand drawled.

Right. Paying attention.

~~

When he saw the mask, Sokka sat up straighter and followed it across the stage, his lips parting a little. It was a deep blue color, with white accents around the mouth and cheeks, smiling wickedly. “That looks like the Blue Spirit’s mask,” he whispered in surprise.

Zuko hummed. “It is.”

Sokka looked at him, confused. “It is?”

Zuko nodded, eyes still on the play. His cheek was resting in his hand. “Yeah. I used the one my mom had hidden in the palace at first, and then a replica I found until I gave it up.”

I.

I used.

I found.

“You-?” Sokka squeaked, trying hard to keep his voice down.

Zuko blinked twice, furrowed his eyebrows, and then looked over at Sokka. “Yeah? I was the Blue Spirit.”

"What?"

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

I don’t know if this is a prompt so much as just an idea. But I can imagine Thorne’s band performing in Vegas and either being competitive with Peter Vincent (basic enemy’s to friends to lovers) OR maybe them meeting and bonding over after-show drinks.

Ooh, what if Thorne somehow got dragged along one of Peter’s real vampire hunts?

Oooh, I like the idea of enemy performers to friends to lovers (with a bit of a bonus of... well... fuck buddies because these two would totally be the type).

Might take a bit before Peter takes Thorne hunting with him though, but I can work with the other idea!

Warning: implied things

On with the fic!

--

Peter could hear the loud chattering of people leaving the theater, talking about the performance they just watched. Meh. He took a long drink from his glass before ordering a refill from the bartender here at the hotel bar.

It's been two weeks now since the hotel decided for Peter to share his stage with some punk rocker named Thorne Jamison and his band, Peter couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. It was rather irritating, this whole sharing the stage thing, it meant one of his shows was removed from the schedule.

Yes, it was another night off, which was great, but it also bothered him that he had to spend three nights performing and then another three dealing with some guy on his stage, messing with his sets! Using his props and fog machine and stuff!

When the hell was this guy gonna fuck off back to Europe or whatever?

"Oi, this seat takin'?"

Peter turned and nearly blanched at the sight of the person next to him. Dressed in artfully torn clothing, with a studded battle vest, covered in patches, with damp, messy hair, was the bane of his existence.

"Yes." Peter said, but Throne sat down anyway.

"Nah, there's no one occupyin' this spot. Barkeep, give me your strongest, fruitiest drink!" He then looked at Peter. "Wait, hold on, make it two, for me and my friend!"

Peter glowered. "We're not friends."

"Come on, we totally should be!" Thorne was grinning and Peter noticed he was wearing eye makeup like himself, and he seemed to have his ear pierced. The charm on the little ring looked like a drop of blood, Peter wondered where he got it, would be cool to have something like that.

No, no, stop looking at him! It! Stop looking at the piercing! Fuck!

He turned away and down his current drink, just as a new one was placed before him. "Don't wanna be friends with you." He mumbled.

"Aw, why not? We're, like, two peas in a pod! Or somethin'."

"Not really, no." Peter sipped his new drink, oh fuck that was sweet. Could use some more rum.

"Are you mad that I'm takin' your spotlight?" Thorne asked, suddenly leaning against Peter. "It's just for a while, brings in crowds, people still come to see your show, ya know."

"I don't like competition." Peter replied, pushing him away. "Thanks for the drink, Jamison." He finished off the glass with impressive speed, then stood up and walked away from the bar, towards the lifts to his flat.

He didn't get far. Suddenly, he was grabbed and shoved into a room on the way there, from what it looked like, it was an office they had on the first floor of the hotel for business stuff.

Then Peter registered that hot, wet lips were on his own, then against his neck, hands keeping him pinned to the wall. Peter blinked and realized who was doing this to him, and fuck, holy shit, that mouth was doing things for him...!

"Oh, you sneaky bastard..!" Peter tried to push him away once he freed his hands, but then just pulled Thorne closer, kissing him hard, getting his hands tangled in those still-damp locks. He smelled like his drink and sweat, and some sort of cologne and Peter was weirdly into that.

"Saw your show last night." Thorne panted hard against his mouth. "It should be a bloody crime for a man like you to wear pants like that. Come on, admit it, those things were fuckin' painted on, weren't they?"

"Y-you saw my show?" Peter asked before Thorne brought a knee up between his legs and he gasped at the pressure.

"How could I not? Had to see those pants and all that bare flesh in person." Thorne smirked.

Peter growled and pushed him back, wiping at his mouth. "Don't be gettin' any ideas, Jamison... whatever is happenin' here, this means nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, been there, done that, now get out of those jeans and on that table."

Fuck.

How long was this guy staying at the hotel again?

--

"This means nothing." Yeah, you're gonna keep telling yourself that until you end up falling for him, Peter.

[whattodowithace]

The Weight Of Lies (Byeongkwan)

Title: The Weight Of Lies

Pairing: Byeongkwan x Reader

Genre: Fluff; (In Ju's words) Spicy

Word Count: 3,043 Words

Writer: Whattodowithkpop [Lio]

Summary: Much like the adored story of Pinocchio, Byeongkwan has a tell for when he lies. After receiving an interesting gift from his aunt, whenever he lies, a peculiar anomaly occurs with this gift...

*****

Little, dark headed Byeongkwan runs through the house as soon as he sees the familiar car park in the driveway. This familiar car belonged to someone he hadn't seen in a long while, making his excitement go through the roof.  He runs through the house, finding his parents in the kitchen where they sat enjoying each other's company. He uses his limited vocabulary and animated finger pointing and arm pulling to draw their attention to the driveway. The person he was waiting for had yet to hear the boy speak, making Byeongkwan that more anxious to showcase his development. His parents watch as the young boy fidgets at the door, waiting for the familiar figure to enter the home. The door creaks open, revealing a tall, slender figure, hair down to her waist and dressed to the nines. She looks down, seeing the boy with bright shinning eyes staring up at her with amusement.

"What do we have here?" The woman's low voice travels through the house, making Byeongkwan squeal.

He runs up to the tall figure, wrapping his arms around her legs as his bright eyes look up at her.

"I hear from a little birdie that someone has some things to say."

"It's me!" Byeongkwan giggles as the woman leans down, bringing him into a full hug.

"He has been waiting to see you since he spoke his first words." Byeongkwan's mom speaks up, stepping forward to hug the woman as the two laugh.

"I'm sorry to keep him waiting." The woman winks at Byeongkwan. "How are you doin' sis?"

"We're doing good." Byeongkwan's mom smiles as her husband comes up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

There is a tug on the woman's clothing, a light doe eyed Byeongkwan catching her attention and looking up at her with anticipation.

"I promise I didn't forget." Byeongkwan's aunt leans down with a laugh, coming face to face with her nephew as she lays her purse on the ground.

Her fingers dig through its contents, offering Byeongkwan many facial expressions to make him laugh. She pulls out an orange box, handing it to the small boy who takes it with much gratitude. His eyes sparkle as he opens the box, pulling out the item that rested inside. The sterling silver twinkled in the florescent lights that brightened the room, the singular chain clasped together deeming it a bracelet.

"It doesn't much fit you now." His aunt explains as she takes the chain from his small hands, clipping it into a circle. "But when it does, it will be very useful to you." 

At the time Byeongkwan didn't comprehend her words, nor did he get the chance to ask her for her full meaning. However, it felt natural for him to wear the bracelet once he got old enough. It still dangled on his wrist the first time he put it on for kindergarten, due to the lankiness of his still small wrists. This small setback didn't stop him from wearing it as much as possible.

His aunt had passed away a year after giving him the bracelet. She was a scientist, one that accomplished many things. Unfortunately, because of this, she was sought after by many people, good and bad. Her death records as an accident, the suspicious case undergoing no investigation left the family feeling uneasy about the true nature of her death. Byeongkwan doesn't remember much about his aunt, however he does remember loving and her visits. Even though he couldn't remember much about her, him wearing the bracelet made him feel close to her in some way. That's why he took special care to wear it always.

It was an eye catching gift, piquing the interest of many other students. One that was particularly interested in the silver chain was a little girl. She would stare at it as it dangled off Byeongkwan's wrist, her eyes shinning as they focused on the small piece of jewelry. She asked him many times to play with it, to which he agreed on the condition that it stayed on his wrist. She would intertwine their fingers, causing a mad blush to overtake Byeongkwan's cheeks. With their fingers intertwined, she would trace the delicate chain with her fingers as she admired it.

This became a common occurrence, her taking his hand in hers to play with the bracelet always ending in a blushing Byeongkwan. One of the many days of this common action, she had looked up from the bracelet, noticing his red ears.

"Are you blushing?" She had asked him, her head tilting as her hand kept a tight grip of his.

"No..." Byeongkwan whispered, his lips pouting out.

Without warning, his wrist feels heavier making him look down at it in wonder. As the two children look to his wrist they see a small little charm now attached to one of the chains. It was a yellow hat, rocking back in forth with the direction of the changing winds.

"When did you get this?" The little girl asked Byeongkwan, her eyes shinning even brighter, using the pad of her finger to flick the charm with care.

"I... I.. I didn't.."

"Is it because you said you weren't blushing when you actually were?" She teases with a small giggle.

"I was not!" Byeongkwan yells, his face turning a deeper shade of red.

Once again, his wrist felt heavier, the little girl squealing beside him as she lifts their hands, showing a red overalls charm.

"It was!"

"It was not!"

Another charm, one looking like a black top hat nestled between the two others.

"I think it's when you lie."

Byeongkwan looks to the bracelet in concern, feeling an uneasiness in his gut.

"Tell another one!" Her eyes sparkling, putting the stars on a clear night to shame.

Byeongkwan watched her excited eyes stare at his bracelet, want to give in to her wishes.

"I don't like you."

She looks up in shock, her bottom lip quivering, tears filling her eyes to the brim as her fingers slack against his. Byeongkwan feels immense guilt wash over him.

"No, no, I was lying." Byeongkwan tries to reason as he pulls his bracelet up, another charm in the shape of a black cat on it now.

Her tears stop as she watches all the charms dangle in front of her. She sniffles training her fingers across the charms.

"You really like me?"

"I do."

His face blushes again, laugh erupting from her at the sight, prompting her to hug him before intertwining their fingers again.

"I'll keep your aunt's magic bracelet a secret." She puts her finger to her lips, Byeongkwan nodding in agreement.

~

Years later and the two are still inseparable. Byeongkwan had done well in keeping his lies to a minimum, only acquiring a few more small charms to add to his collection. They had tested the bracelet in many aspects, including letting her wear it for a day as she tried her hand at some lies. It resulted in zero added charms, but she finally got to wear it for a short while before having to give it back to let it rest on its permanent home. They never could explain the science behind the bracelet, no matter how hard they tried. The secret behind it most likely passed on with its creator, leaving it a forever question mark in their lives.

As The pair grew they always appeared to be a couple, this was likely due to her unbreakable habit of intertwining her fingers with his any chance she got. Every new school year, the other students assumed they were together, neither gender wanting to intervene. Unfortunately, their final year of high school was Byeongkwan's biggest nightmare. The boys were beginning to notice her, her awkward stage far from over meaning many more boys were shooting their shot. Byeongkwan couldn't lie, he hated the extra attention she got. Not because he was jealous, but because he had a crush on her, so any competition for her affection he saw as a threat and therefore disliked them. She didn't accept many advances, unfortunately for Byeongkwan, there was the occasional suitor she would give a chance. However, she was often quick to drop them, much to the relief of Byeongkwan.

One day she enters their last class, a large grin adorning her face, directed towards him.

"Byeongkwan." She grabs his attention, sitting next to him and pulling her chair closer to him so she could whisper.

He hums as his head stays resting on his crossed arms, his eyes closed for a few moments before the teacher came to start class.

"You know the new quarterback?"

The mention of the new student caught his attention, His head lifting to meet her eyes.

"What about him?"

"He asked me out."

"You said no, right?"

"Why would I say no? Of course I said yes." She laughs.

Byeongkwan's heart drops as the aforementioned quarterback enters the classroom, his eyes training on her and offering her a wink and a smile. She waves at him and winks back, making Byeongkwan sick to his stomach.

"He's so handsome isn't he?"

"A real dreamboat." Byeongkwan mumbles, feeling a new weight added to his bracelet. He had forgot about the consequences of lying in that moment, hoping she didn't notice the lapse in behavior.

Class starts before they can discuss it more, all Byeongkwan could do was hope she wouldn't stick with him for too long.

~

Weeks passed, many weeks at that and the quarterback was still around. Of course Byeongkwan didn't like him for obvious reasons, but there was something more that irked him. This guy was very cocky and spoke bad about everyone that he knew. He treated her with little regard, calling her names, saying terrible things about her when she wasn't around. Byeongkwan wanted to punch him, but he knew he couldn't lie his way out of that fight or explanation.

He had butted into almost all of their time together, meaning Byeongkwan hadn't had the chance to tell her how horrible her, now deemed, boyfriend was. However, every time he made plans with her, the new boyfriend seemed to come along as well.

He was so thankful when she asked to study with him for their upcoming test. She had told him her boyfriend was busy so he couldn't study with them. Byeongkwan stayed quiet, knowing if he said anything he would be adding unnecessary charms to his arm.

They studied as if all was back the way it was. It was the first time since she started dating the star quarterback that Byeongkwan got to enjoy his time with his best friend. He hadn't seen her genuine laugh since her new relationship. It filled him with joy, but also despair as his thoughts clouded with the reason he hadn't heard it.

Byeongkwan decided to be cordial, asking how her boyfriend was, even though he didn't have an interest in how he was.

"He's busy with practice." She tells him, no change in her normal inflection.

"He's been busy with practice a lot lately." Byeongkwan comments, being as nonchalant as he could be about his ill feelings towards his busy schedule.

"I'm guessing he always is, even before transferring here."

"That sounds believable."

"You don't like him." She states more than asks, catching Byeongkwan by surprise.

"I never said that." A half truth to cover up the full truth in that Byeongkwan had a strong distaste for the man.

She stands, stepping closer to his already upright form, his back hitting his desk as he backs away from her approaching steps. He lays his wrist with the bracelet on the desk, hiding it from her knowing gaze. In the sudden movements, his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose, resting at the end as he watches her from over the frames.

"What do you not like about him?" She inquires, looking up at him with curiosity.

"He says things about you behind your back." Byeongkwan tells her, not wanting to keep that a secret.

"I'm not surprised." She shrugs, not seeming hurt by this information.

"Then why are you still with him?"

"Do you have someone better in mind?"

Byeongkwan wanted to die right there, the way her eyes were looking at him made his heart beat faster and his breathing go irregular. She was waiting for an answer and he only had one truth in his head and knew he couldn't admit that. The lie left his mouth without so much as a thought.

"No."

Her head tilts as he feels his wrist bare the weight of his new lie.

"Byeongkwan." She approaches him, her body mere inches from being completely flush with his. "Do you like me?"

Byeongkwan felt the room heat up, his skin feeling on fire as she awaited his answer. He gulps, feeling a heavy lump sit in his throat that sat there without so much as a movement.

"No."

Another charm added, Byeongkwan's hand becoming tired from the collection appearing on the silver chain.

"You have no attraction to me?"

He shakes his head, not trusting his voice.

"Use your words, BK." She uses his nickname, one she didn't use often, causing a strong inhale to come from his nose.

"No." His voice was shaky, as shaky as his arm holding the weight of his lies.

"You don't get nervous when I hold your hand?"

"Please don't make me answer these." He could feel his face burning as he tried his best to avoid her eyes.

"If you were telling the truth I wouldn't ask them."

"I am telling the truth." Another charm.

"Byeongkwan, I can tell when you're lying cause you are so terrible at it."

She reaches her hand out to his shoulder, his eyes squeeze shut as he braces for her next move. The shoulder her hand rests on begins to tingle, the feeling following her fingers as they trail down his arm at an excruciating slow pace. The heat in the room increasing to unbearable temperatures as her fingers reach his bare forearm.

"Can I see your bracelet?"

"Please don't make me." He pleads in words and deeds as he opens his eyes to convey his pleas that way.

"Why not?" She asks, her face twisting into sadness, a face much like the one from all those years ago when he told the lie of not liking her.

Byeongkwan wanted to avoid the truth, knowing it would expose all his lies. However this sad face of hers was something he couldn't bear to see.

"Because I can't." He breathes, his voice shaky and weak from the heat his body had experienced.

"Yes you can, I would never make you feel terrible about this."

"It's.. It's not that." He sighs, the weight he felt on his chest creating an unfamiliar anxious feeling, that paired along with his mind swirling with a million thoughts he felt he could pass out. 

"My wrist is stuck from all the charms..."

"Byeongkwan, you could have told me the truth." She scolds him through her giggles, her fingers reaching his, an electric shock going through him at the contact.

Her fingers intertwine with his, like they had done so countless times before. However, this time, something felt different. Byeongkwan felt warmth throughout his body and fireworks in his stomach. He wasn't sure if these were pleasant feelings yet, but he wasn't going to stop her as she brought his wrist from behind his back.

The chain was full of charms now, various objects adorning Byeongkwan's wrist as she inspected it with care.

The pad of her finger traces the charms, them swaying even heavier against the friction. Her eyes trail upwards to their intertwined hands, her eyes darting to Byeongkwan's for a quick second before staring back at their hands.

"Our fingers have always intertwined perfectly." She notes.

Byeongkwan watches her, a blushing heat covering his whole body as she inspects him with great intent.

"I wish the bracelet worked on me."

She took a step closer to Byeongkwan, her chest meeting his as she looks deep into his eyes.

"That way I could say how much I adore you and want you to be mine. I could say it all without a single charm appearing on the chain. I could say that I love you and you could believe me without a doubt because my bracelet would show no deceit."

Byeongkwan's mouth hung open as she stared at him, waiting for his response. He believed her. All the words she spoke, each sentence felt like truth to him, he didn't need a bracelet to believe that. However, he couldn't get the words out to convey that to her, so he did the only thing he could think to do.

With his free hand he wraps it around her waist, still holding her hand like his life depended on it as he introduces theirs lip, his kiss passionate to pour years of feelings into the kiss. She made a small sound of surprise at the weight of the kiss, but kissed him back with as much passion as he was giving off. Her hand went to the nape of his neck, pushing his lips further into hers. Their oxygen was running out, however neither one seemed to care as they stay lip locked, trying to get enough air through their noses as they clung to each other.

She pulls away, her breath coming out in heavy puffs of air as her chest pushes against him with every breath out, his demeanor similar to hers. Their lips were still touching as he spoke his next words through his panting.

"I love you."

It was barley a whisper, but she heard it and when she looked down to his wrist to see if his bracelet would become heavier, her smile widened as she watched the bracelet stay the same, he spoke no false words.

She looks back at him, her eyes boring into his as love danced in them. They had a lot of kisses and touches to catch up on, so it comes to no surprise when they lean back in again to share another passionate kiss.

MAIN MASTERLIST

[uc-fakeadoption-au]

bonus halloween chapter is out!

read on ao3:

chapter count: 1/1

rating: teen and up audiences

category: gen

warnings: no (archive) warnings apply

relationships: Nathan Drake & Victor Sullivan, Nathan Drake & Samuel Drake, Samuel Drake & Victor Sullivan

additional tags: Halloween, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Boys Will Be Boys, Fluff and Humor, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, i tried to make it scary but it just turned into comedy im sorry, Brotherly Bonding, but one of them is a little shit, scratch that both are, scavenger hunt, halloween-y stuff idk, Bonus Chapter, it was weird not writing in sully's pov it took SO long lol, Happy Halloween, minor "original characters" that are not even named that are just there to fill a role

alternative to ao3 under the cut:

Nathan was completely lost.

Not as in directions, no. It was way worse. He knew where he was, but everything else was unfamiliar and completely unrecognizable. The fact that it was pitch black and he didn't think to bring at least a flashlight didn't help at all . Much less the silly getup he was stuck in for the time being. He really should have listened to his gut and not gone into the incredibly cursed-looking abandoned house.

Running a hand along the crumbling wood walls for guidance, he felt like despite everything, he wasn't at all closer to getting out. At this point, crouching in some damp, dark corner and waiting it out sounded like the best plan in the world. In fact, that would be what he'd do, thank you very much.

Choosing what felt like a junction between two semi-stable walls, he let himself drop against the wall, sliding to the ground hopelessly. If he took a second to focus, he could have felt how wild his heartbeat was — pounding like some kind of trapped animal against his ribcage. While it had been a while since Nate had heard him scurrying around, he wasn't sure if it was safe to stop for even a moment. He didn't doubt his heart was audible to the entire ambient at this point.

The whole thing felt like he was being hunted, and his paranoia was through the roof. He was pretty used to feeling like he was constantly being watched and followed — the nuns did a lot of that back at the orphanage — but it was an experience he hadn't had in quite a while. It was no use hanging around and waiting to get found, though.

Forcing himself to get back on his feet, he forced his mind to get back to the "escape without being caught" mindset. The empty hallways should have been reassuring but instead, all they did was bring even more anxiety-inducing. His mind kept trying to fill in the blanks left by the all-encompassing darkness with various figures, all in different stages of "getting closer".

He couldn't help but wish Sam was here to help him through it, but… He just wasn't.

Hearing the creaking of an old board just behind him, the boy whirled around, wincing. Crap, not so soon. Though, at the same time, he was filled with some sort of paranoid anger, which was what prompted his next brilliant idea , read: batshit insane.

"You're gonna need to try harder than that if you want to scare me!"

Silence. Then creaking footsteps in the opposite direction they had originally come from.

Finally, a familiar voice, accompanied by a pair of hands clasped on his shoulders. He knew that voice like the back of his hand, though he never heard it sound so wrong.

"Should we test it," it whispered, "little brother?"

~

It was the first time in years they'd be properly doing something for Halloween, the whole costume and trick-or-treating thing included.  Sam had something planned so they could make the most of the night, and the best thing was they’d be completely on their own, unsupervised and free to do whatever — all because Sully had somewhere to be that he refused to divulge. It was more than fine though, as it gave them all those perks.

So, he had great expectations for all of it. So what? It was justified.

As Sully left for the night, he managed to squeeze in one last comment about their soon-to-happen “adventure”: “Hey, I don't know what you boys are planning to actually do tonight, but just make sure about one thing. Do whatever you want, have fun, just… don’t get caught if it’s anything…”

“Illegal?”

“I was thinking just questionable, but that works better. Anyway, if that’s it just stay clear from the cops or whatever.”

“Yeah, yeah. We got it, already” Sam waved a hand dismissively from the hallway he had just appeared in, finally emerging in “full costume”. If the little effort he had put into it was enough to let it be considered a real costume. “Quit fretting, old man.”

“Haha. As I said, I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t get us all in trouble.”

A few more minutes of friendly banter and hurried goodbyes later, they were all on their way. Nate was already walking off, mentally calculating the best route towards the closest candy hotspot when he noticed Sam was lagging behind.

“Hey, what are you waiting for?”, he waved his brother over.” If we don’t be quick all the good candy will be gone when we get to somewhere decent!”

Sam came closer without changing his pace, strolling as if they had all the time in the world.“Sure, we could do it the traditional way and just go door-to-door like all the others. Orrr we could do something way more fun…”

“What could be more fun than bullying people into giving us free candy?”

“That’s not really… you know what, never mind” His brother pulled an old-looking scrap of paper from his pocket, trying -- and failing -- to smooth it out. “I just thought I would ask if you were up for a little something that we’ve been wanting to do for a long time…”

“Spit it out already!”

“Okay, okay”, Sam chuckled, offering him the scrap. “Let’s just do a little bit of treasure hunting. What do ya say?”

Taking a good look at the paper, Nate noticed it wasn’t just some old piece of trash, but a torn-off bit of what could only be a stylized map of a very familiar neighborhood. There were some words and symbols scratched in a corner, which probably would be their first clue. It was actually really well made and thought of. Caught up in his dissecting of the map, he didn’t notice Sam sneaking up on him until the paper was plucked away and held high enough for him to be unable to even try to get it back.

“Of course, we can always just do the trick or treating thing if you think this is too boring."

“No! C’mon, let’s do that one” he tried jumping and making a grab for the map, but Sam just held it higher.

“Nah, I don’t think you really like this one,” he mocked. “Stared at it for a whole lot of time and nothing, you really must hate the idea, huh?”

“No! Let’s go already!” He took off running down the street, towards an area he thought he saw in the map, in the few seconds he held it. Sam was forced to follow. “Last one there will have to give up their share of the treasure.”

“What are you, five?” his brother teased, though he was unable to stifle genuine laughter that comment had caused. “It’s on, though!”

~

Fortunately for both of them, they got to the first place at the same time, so neither would have to give up their share. That being settled, their hunt began.

The makeshift adventure was just as fun as he imagined. The scrap of map led them all over the place — one might think they had gone through the whole city — and with each new location, they found one more piece of it until they had the whole thing completed. He was pretty impressed that Sam had gone through all the trouble of hiding those around for them, but his brother assured him it was worth it. Now, all they had left to do was follow the map to the marked place, which was not too far and the “treasure” would be theirs!

Luckily, the last location, the final one, didn't seem to be too far away from where they got the last scrap of map. Getting there was fairly easy, but things started looking worse the closer they got to the marked place. It was a huge old house, one that seemed to be decaying on the spot for a long time. He hoped that Sam had the common sense of not hiding the "treasure" inside the actual house.

He was quickly proven wrong as they approached the house and his brother got somewhat of a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Yeah, it’s inside. It’s totally inside.

Why he even thought something different was beyond him. Of course, the temptation to do something stupid would win out, the instinct that made him want to do some breaking and entering was just too strong. At this point, it might as well be ingrained in his brother’s very bones. He normally wouldn't be so against it, but this time he just wanted to do something… normal. Besides, something about the house felt off somehow — it did have a reputation of being haunted and whatnot, though that wasn't what made him hesitate.

Well, assuming it really was inside, they'd need to enter anyway. Might as well do it already.

"Hey, what're you doing?" having gone straight for the windows — since there was no way the door would be just unlocked — Sam's call ended up starting him a little.

"I'm… Going to find whatever we've been following the map for, I guess."

"And you're climbing because..?"

"Wait, it's not inside?? I could swear it'd be there." Letting himself drop and turning to Sam, he just couldn't resist being a little shit. "I mean, considering your track record, it would really fit."

"Ouch. That hurts, you know. It really does." Sam went all out trying to look bothered by that, putting a hand over his heart as if he was actually affected by that. "But really, I'm not that stupid. Of course I wouldn't hide all our loot somewhere we maybe couldn't get to later."

"Oh, good thinking, actually."

"Yeah, I know. Now get to searching" he dismissed, only indicating a vague direction in the garden for Nathan to search in.

A little while later he had found a small chest-like box half-hidden in the ground, partially shoved into a low tree hollow. Inside, there were various types of candy and other halloween-y stuff, just as he expected. It did feel a little… emptier than it should. Thinking maybe someone or something had found it beforehand and taken some things from there, Nate called his brother over.

"Hey, just check this over", he handed the chest thingy over. "Is that all there should be?"

"You picked on that really fast, huh", Sam chuckled, amused with his confusion. "So, remember how I said I didn't put it all inside the house? I never said I didn't put any in there."

"Oh my God, Sam! Why?"

"It's just more fun like that!", he added. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, but I'll keep anything I find for me only."

"Okay. Have fun."

Looked like he didn't expect Nate to refuse. Good.

"C'mon, let's both go. Do you really wanna miss out on whatever is in there?" None of that was working, so he switched tactics. "Or maybe you're too afraid to go in! Scared the ghosts are gonna pull on your feet, huh? Chicken, much?"

God, that was so stupid. He shouldn't grace that with an answer. Nate decided he'd just wait it out, sooner or later Sam would get tired and stop. That lasted just as long as his brother started making the clucking noises. Those didn't really get a rise out of him as much as they were annoying.

"Okay, okay stop. I'm going too, happy?" His only option was going along with whatever silly plan Sam had cooked up that needed them both inside the house. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it.

~

And of course, that was how he ended up in this particular situation.

At first, everything looked normal, or as normal as a gigantical abandoned house in the middle of the city could be. At this point there wasn't much left inside — anything valuable had been scrapped long ago — and what remained was either too decayed or too old to be of any use. The worst thing were the walls, completely made of wood and absolutely destroyed by water damage and abundant mold. They had a strange look about them, like they'd be extra slimy if you happened to touch them. (And they really were, if the fact that their only source of light, a small bic lighter Sam happened to be carrying around, actually reflected on the walls to the point they looked glossy was any indication).

At least, the eerie mood was on point. Had to hand it to Sam, as stupid as the decision to actually go inside was, the atmosphere almost made it worth it. Almost. The part of him that wanted to just get it over quick was still stronger, though.

"Hey, aren't you even giving clues about directions? I really don't want to be stuck here for too much longer…"

"What, you scared something is coming for you? Maybe the ghost stories got to you, huh." His brother abruptly turned back, like some sudden inspiration struck him. He delivered the next jab with a wicked grin, "No, no, I know what would really scare you. What if they have a ghost clown here? Bet you'd be scared shitless."

"Wow. You were really reaching for that one." he said, unamused. "The only scary thing here is all this mold. It stinks so bad , it will end up killing us."

The subsequent silence was almost deafening. No funny banter back at him or even jab at how "childish" was his dislike towards the smell. Nothing. Even worse, Sam had completely vanished in the few seconds between their last interaction. He thought maybe he had just turned on some corner, but even the faint glow of the lighter was gone as well.

So that left him all alone. In the dark. Not exactly knowing a way out the decayed trap of a haunted house.

It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't ideal either. He was starting to think this whole thing was some kind of plan his brother made to try to scare him. Maybe it would have worked had he been any other kid, but as it was he would thrive in finding his way out, thanks. And when he did it, he would find Sam and give him a good punch for his troubles. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a successful scare, not without a fight.

Yeah, that sounded like a plan. With that, he stalked off, trying to retrace their steps back to where they entered the place.

~

Nathan's feet pounded on the rotten floor, each step accompanied by a prayer the whole house wouldn't collapse under his feet. He had to get out and quick . Whoever – or whatever was making the strange noises all around him was getting ever closer.

What he at first assumed were just sounds of the old house settling quickly proved otherwise. Something that was neither footsteps or even knocking — but still sounded distinctly human made, which was so much worse than whatever "ghost" was supposed to be lurking around — sounded from somewhere in the far distance and slowly started making its way closer, starting what would quickly become a hellish experience.

Whatever it was, it didn't feel right or even familiar, as it would have been if it was just Sam. Either his brother was a genius and faked it really well or it was just something or someone way worse.

He had to hope it was the former.

It wasn't long before he felt it for the first time. The slight shift in the air, something scurrying away in the closest shadows  and what could have been a soft touch in his shoulder.

Crap.

Now, he didn't really believe in ghosts or even that the house was haunted. That didn't stop him from making a break for it, going for a nearby window.

Which was locked. Because of course it was.

Not losing any more time on that, he ducked into the nearest hallway, taking every possible turn, as long as it took him closer to where he remembered the window he and Sam had used to enter was.

Turns out he didn't pay as much attention on their way in as he thought he had. That and the house was huge, way bigger than it looked from the outside.

It felt like a maze.

The worst part was, despite the distance he had managed to put between himself and his would-be-attacker, he was very evidently still being stalked. Only now, he couldn't tell from where they would be coming from.

Sliding to the ground close to a junction between two walls, he tried to listen from where the noises were coming from at the moment. Of course, the indistinct shuffling was still there, coming from somewhere way closer than he expected.  

But now, the sounds were also coming from upstairs, the barely audible buzz of voices included.

And they were right above him.

Well, that put an end to his only other option. Escaping through the rooftops was always a good one, but if there were more people upstairs… yeah.

Forcing himself to get up, he gave a last look around, making sure there was really no way out. There wasn't.

A board creaked behind him.

It was time for a last resort. Getting ready to fight his way out, he took all mounting fear and irritation and just. Challenged the thing.

That was among the worst decisions he had made in his life until that point. Of course that would only prompt them to grab him and actually start talking.  

Wait.

As creepy as it sounded at first, he knew that voice.

Oh, he was going to kill him.

Letting out his best war cry — which came out a little shakier than what he'd like, since he was scared, despite not wanting to admit it — he made sure to aim a good kick at where it would hurt the most.

~

Victor thought it was a… strange request, when he was asked to hold onto a stolen item for a few more days after he had actually gotten it. Even more so when the client insisted the whole exchange would have to happen at a very specific abandoned house — which apparently belonged to his family, and was purposely rumored to be haunted, just to keep nosy people away — on halloween.

The client, a spoiled brat, who was very evidently using up money from his rich parents said something about it being the "perfect opportunity since Halloween was just a few days away" or something like that. God knows why a "grown" adult thought that would be a important thing to mention to him or that he would care at all.

It didn't really matter, as it weird as it was, as long as he got paid in the end.

That's how he ended up inside the one of the most disgusting closed houses he had seen in a while. It wasn't even really abandoned, it just seemed the owners didn't bother to maintain it. With the amount of damage in rot inside, maybe it was just not worth it anymore.

As he suspected, there were already nosy kids around the property, maybe trying to figure a way to get inside. Because of course they would, supposed hauntings or not — he was sure some would go there because of it . Good thing they didn't know they could just waltz inside through the unlocked front door, or it would be much more of a mess than it already was.

At least the room where he'd be meeting the client was supposedly more well kept. He was told it was frequently used for stuff like this. And indeed, it did not disappoint. The room must have used to be a master suite, considering the grandeur and the central location on the house's second floor. Despite the boarded-up windows, it was still a beautiful space, converted into a sort of office, with vintage-looking table and chairs and huge bookcases — probably filled with fake books, since there was no way actual ones would last long in the damp building.

Of course he didn't have much more time to look around, quickly engaging with the negotiation with the client. Which immediately went south, no surprise there. He took one look at the artifact and was convinced it wasn't worth as much as he offered to pay — true, but Victor wouldn't settle for less than the first offer. He needed as much as he could get, with the boys living with him.

The problem was, he couldn't exactly tell that to convince the client. And the discussion was getting pretty heated, the couple of armed bodyguards the man had brought with him starting to look antsy. He had to find something convincing to end the haggling soon, or else things would get ugly.

Incredibly, he was "saved" by some idiot kids. Some especially daring ones had actually gotten inside and started to make a racket downstairs. That forced them to put the discussion on hold so as not to get discovered thanks to the raised voices.

That brief respite was enough for the client to seemingly change his mind, probably wanting to get away quickly. As soon as the running downstairs seemed to fade away and a few minutes of silence passed by, they finished up the transaction with the full original value.

Just in time, as apparently those idiot kids were still messing around downstairs, if the faint footsteps and the muffled voices were any indication. Well, he was already leaving, so they shouldn't be any trouble.

That was until one of them let out a strangled shout, that was immediately followed by a loud thud. As much as he wanted to ignore that and go ahead with his life, the voice was familiar.  

Those were his idiot kids, weren't they? Goddammit .

Of course they'd find a way to get in trouble, even if he told them otherwise — he thought as he hurried downstairs. He had to hope that scream was just them trying to scare each other, not one or both of them being brutally murdered.

Following the general direction the noise had come from, he found the boys fairly quickly. Surprisingly, neither seemed to hear him approaching and thankfully, none of them were dead, but–

…

"The hell is going on here?"

A little ways further, Sam was curled up in the ground, looking like he was in immense pain. Close to him was Nate, kneeling on the ground and wheezing hysterically — he couldn't tell if he was laughing or straight up dying. He was the only one able to react to his question, perking up instantly.

"Sully!" Nate lifted himself off the ground, making his way closer to him, meeting halfway with a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I think I should be asking you that, kid."

"It's a long story. Maybe we should help him out first?" he added, pointing at the way Sam was still strewn on the ground.

"Whatever it was, I hope it was worth this." He moved towards the kid, offering a hand up.

"Believe me it was not", Sam finally chimed in, accepting the offered hand. " Nothing is worth a kick in the balls."

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief, he turned his gaze to Nathan, who was standing to the side — not as sheepish as he expected.

"Care to explain?"

"You see, it started when we gave up on trick-or -treating to chase something on a map…"

[bxoken-heartss]

@tu-sonrisaaa-te-amooo asked: Could you do the 8 and 17 fluff with Joel? tht would be cute (ik u hate him lol u could do zabdi if u want)

Lmao I don't hate him Bby..he can just be a bit dramatic sometimes...that's all 🙆‍♀️

Prompts: (I did a bit of alterations in it so excuse me)

“I want to dance through an army of fireflies with you.” (Prompt 8)

“My hand was made to fit into yours. That’s all there is to it.” (Prompt 17)

So Y/N is your name

~ ~ ~ means change of scenario.

✓ ✓ ✓ means the end.

So...ahem...this went a bit more than I intended it to go...I swore I would just write drabbles but I guess old habits die hard? So this is it? I hope you like it Dia! 💕😅 (oh new nickname alert)

This song is beautiful and sorta inspired me! 💕

- - -

Y/N and Joel were friends ever since they were little kids...They had met when Joel had gotten lost wandering around in a series of pet shops staring at pets (especially various dog breeds and puppies). When his senses had hit him..he understood he had gotten lost..he began to feel nervous and uneasy and let out childish sobs as he began to run around looking for his mother.

He barely paid attention to anything around him as he only focused in searching for his mother that which eventually ends up with him bumping onto someone.

"Ouch! Why can't you watch where the hell they are going?!" A voice speaks

Joel falls down as he looks at the person speaking...a little girl who held a husky in her arms on the floor angrily glaring at him

"I'm so sorry...I didn't..." He begins as he stares at the husky...

"It's fine...Just watch where you're going at least the- -" She begins

"Is that the Siberian Husky?" Joel asks interrupting her as he stands up

"I'm kind of offended that you interrupted me...But yes...yes it is.." She replies as she possessively holds her husky

"Can...Can I pet it?" He asks as he looks at the husky eagerly

"Well sure I guess..." She says as Joel begins petting the husky.

A few minutes later, the duo had already begun talking about...dogs things in general..

"Y/N! There you are!!" I was looking all over for you!" A voice speaks, tone concerned

"Oh..Mumma..I was just on my way back but then this boy bumped into me and apparently loves Zachary a bit too much.." She says as she points at Joel

And that's when our oblivious little Joel realizes that he was lost and was supposedly supposed to find his mother..not stand here fanboying over a husky.

His eyes widen as he looks around, searching for his mother a.k.a his official/ main intention...Panic strikes his system as he realizes he was obviously potentially lost..

"Are you okay Joel?" Y/N asks

"I'm LOST!" Joel replies as he looks at her letting out childish sobs

"Oh god...Mumma...Help him!" Y/N says

"Listen lil boy...we'll find your mother...do you like know her number or anything.." Y/N mother asks

"Yes..." He replies as he tells her the number letting out soft sobs

The husky jumps onto Joel's arms as it began licking his face. Joel stopped crying slowly as he began smiling a bit.

"Oh my god...He is just so adorable..." Joel says as he pets the husky

"Yeah...he seemingly likes you..strange..he's not pretty comfortable with strangers.." Y/N comments

Soon Joel's mother comes in, her eyes scanning around, her eyes instantly gleaming with happiness as she finds Joel.

"Joel!!!" She says as she runs over and hugs him, Zachary jumping out of Joel's arms onto the ground.

"Mumma!!" Joel yells as he hugs her, sobbing quietly

Y/N stepped away a bit letting them have their moment.

"Thank you for finding him! He's always roaming around..pet stores...or just everywhere in general...I'm so sorry for his careless actions...and all the inconveniences he has caused you..." Joel's mother apologizes

"Oh not at all...He wasn't a bother at all.." Y/N's mother reassures

"Joel...at least next time don't go around without telling your mum! If you want a pet come over to my place...We can play with Zachary together..." Y/N says as she smiles at him, holding her mother's hand

"Okay..I will." Joel says smiling at her as he pets Zachary one last time...

"Bye Joel! See you...well...soon?" She says as she walks off..

That was how it all began...After that, one day he had turned up at her place surprisingly...They were next door neighbours...And eventually they spent a lot of time together..which lead to their everlasting friendship which began at the age of 6..

~ ~ ~

"Joel...when am I going to see you again?" Y/N asks as she lazily sat on his bed whilst she helped him with her luggage.

"Around 9 months...I'll be back soon.." Joel says as he puts in another shirt

"Oh come on...that's technically the entire year!" Y/N comments as she rolls her eyes

"I swear I would have taken you if it wasn't for your Fashion Designing Course..If that had been completed..then you could have joined.." Joel says as he stuffs in something else

"Yeah yeah..it's important right...I'm going to miss you Jo..." She says as she looks at him

"Me too..I wish there was something I could do.." Joel says as he walks over towards her.

"Just promise that you'll facetime me before all your performances..and just text me once at least every day...send me those lame audios of yours...I don't care.." Y/N says as she holds his hand...

He was still here...not gone..why did he have to leave?

"Hey...I'll text you and call you everyday.. You're my best friend...If I wouldn't call you.. who else would I?" He asks as he holds her hand and hugs her

~ ~ ~

"Wow! That was a spectacular show right boys?" Joel asks obviously excited as he walked behind the stage...

"Yes..exhausted but overwhelming..." Richard replies as they walk into the room backstage

Zabdiel immediately falls onto the couch, Erick cools off, Chris begins to fix his hair

"God..Why hasn't Y/N even seen my message! She didn't even facetime me today or even call me! Isn't that just mean?!?" Joel comments as he slumps onto the couch

"Yes...call her mean and every other negative word you could think of Ho-eL! She brought her arse from miles away, sat on a 13 hour flight just so she could surprise her best friend and yet you call her that?" A voice speaks from behind him

"Wait...a minute..." Joel trails as he instantly turns behind and sees Y/N

"Y/N- - !!!!" His tone surprised and shocked as he leaps off the couch and hugs her, a few years falling through his cheeks in the rush of excitement.

"Curls!!" She yells as she hugs him.

They hug on forever none of them every wanting to let go...Until an intentional cough from the guys pulls them away

"Ah...err...Guys! Meet my bestie Y/N!" Joel says as he grabs her hand heading towards the boys

"We talked Curls...I talked to everyone and they all helped me hide...You guys were amazing...The performance was just fantastic!" She comments as the boys yell out a chorus of thanks

"Okay so everyone except me knew that you were here?" Joel asks

"Duh curls...I couldn't sneak into backstage without their help..." Y/N says referring to the boys.

Joel grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty room and pulls her into a hug again

"I'm so glad to have you here...Thank you for the support.." Joel says

"Wow wow...I never knew I'd see a sweet side of you Joel..." Y/N remarks

"Shut up and just hug me..." Joel says rolling his eyes

She returns the gesture as they kept hugging, an odd source of comfort filling both their veins.

~ ~ ~

"Joel...this is beautiful..." Y/N comments as she looks around the woods.

It was a small forest sort of place filled with thick green trees and a small river which gleamed with reflections of the littered stars that laid scattered in the skies.

"I know right..." Joel says as he looks at the river and at her..

They spent a lot of time making jokes and just talking about life...he had just returned from tour a few days before and thought he ought to spend some quality time with his best....friend...

He almost sighed at his own thoughts..he had begun to have feelings for her...but he didn't want to let them interplay..he didn't want to lose her...he needed her as a friend at least in his life..his feelings didn't have any part in this...but he couldn't help but wonder everytime she smiled..was she thinking about him? Did she think of him..as something more than a friend?

"Joel..Joel...HOEL!" Y/N yells.

Joel's eyes widen in shock as he falls off the log he sat on because of how loud she yelled and how distracted he was..

"Oh god...you are so clumsy sometimes Curls! Wait..actually all the damn time!" She says as she holds out her hand, Joel gratefully accepting her extended hand as she pulls him up.

"Look at that Y/N..My hand was made to fit into yours..” Joel comments as he sits up

Y/N face floods with a tint of pink as she nervously laughs it off..but never lets go off his hand..

"Of course you dummy...We are besties so god made sure it would work that way.." She replies uneasily

"Y/N I want to tell you something.." He says interrupting her from speaking further

An awkward moment of painful silence fills the air...

"What is it Joel?" She asks nervously

"It's.. it's..." Joel begins but his anxiety kicks in.

"If you don't tell her now...you'll never tell her or know if she felt the same.. you'll probably live in regret but you have to! " His inner voice encourages as he takes a deep breath

"I...I like you..." He breathes out

"I like you too Joel! You are my best fr- -" Y/N begins

"No Y/N...I like you more than a best friend.. you make me feel warm and mushy on the inside..I don't feel anything else around anyone else...You make me feel safe, happy. You understand me...We fight..but that's only because you care..but I like you in a different manner...You make me want to the cringy -est stuffs like taking couple pictures, share smoothies together, go on dates...and make me wanna dance with you in between an army of fireflies under the moonlight and what nots.. and to think that you make these cliché activities look normal...that's weird and definitely not something I feel one fine day.. I knew I always had these feelings..But I realized them...only recently...I understand if you don't feel the same..but just so you know I'll keep loving you..on and on..." He finishes off

"Who said I never had feelings for you Joel?" She asks "Every night... I'm just waiting and wondering if you have found someone that'll make you feel like that..Because why not? There are millions out there..prettier, hotter and just beautiful girls out there waiting for you so why would you choose me over them? Yeah... nothing.."

"Y/N I don't care...for you were..are the only girl I've had my eyes on...from the start.. today and forever..." Joel says as he holds both her palms. (I'm low-key swooning 🤧)

Before she could answer, Joel extends his free hand and pulls her up.

They walk over towards a place where the moonlight reflected brightly and the clear water flowing gently, causing small ripples as if it was singing a song.

"Well...can I have a dance with you?" Joel asks as he extends his hand out in a sorta gentleman style

Y/N nods softly as she takes his hand, his hand instantly softly interlocking with hers as she rests her free hand on his shoulder, his free hand holding a space above her waist securely..

As they began to softly dance in sync, an army of fireflies had encapsulated around them causing her to smile wide.

"Look Joel...True to your 'cliché' wishes..the fireflies are here..." Y/N jokes about it as Joel's face floods with a bright pink colour.

They enjoyed the overall aura, the silence suddenly turning comfortable...as they merely enjoyed each others' presence without any words being exchanged.

"So..Y/N..." Joel begins

"Hmm?" She asks as they continue dancing

"Will..will you be my girlfriend?" He asks nervously

Y/N stops dancing as she tries to catch Joel's gaze..but the boy would look at anyone or anything but her..

Y/N stood on her toes as she holds his face with both hands as she stares at his beautiful dark brown orbs, her eyes filled with nothing but love..that too only for him.

Joel looks at her nervously and before he could speak anything, she softly presses her lips against his. He instinctively bends down a bit to reach upto her height as his hands wrap around an area a bit above her waist.

She pulls away, Joel's arms still firmly fixated above her waist as he looks at her

"Did that answer your question Pimentel?" She asks, her tone filled with sassiness

"For real Y/N?" He asks in disbelief

"Yes Joel..For real...I promise you...I'll be there for you..." Y/N says as Joel smiles

"I love you Y/N.." He says

"I love you only..Joel Pimentel.." Y/N says as Joel pulls her in for another kiss.

✓ ✓ ✓

The Ending kinda sucked tbh...but anyways hehehe... I'll try to improve! 😅🙃

[andieperrie18]

Prodigal Daughter (Ben Hardy x Reader)

Prompt: Ben and the cast finds out reader is an expert drummer.

When your dog-loving boyfriend auditioned for Bohemian Rhapsody, he's been working hard to be able to play the percussive set as he wanted to honor the character the he was going to play in the movie. You supported him as a loving girlfriend would do although not that he didn't knew much about you but the fact that you were actually an expert on the drum set had him, his castmates and the two members of Queen in total awe as they eyed from across the stage set.

It happpened like this….

"Awe love, thanks coming here to support me." Ben had an arm around you while walking together, following his cast mates and the others to the stage. The iconic Live Aid was their first scene as Ben told you and for support, you went to watch him as you wanted to see the hard work of your dear lover.

"Love, you should rest for a bit. You've been playing for a quite a while." Your voice laced with concerned. You watch him shake his head no, "It's okay, love." He continous to do the drum routine.

You know that he will nail it. And what better way to boost him than be there and cheer for him.

You stood afar from the set as they shot the scene. You would catch him glancing at you with his biggest smiles as you would bob your head to his beat. The beat that you fell inlove with in your teen years. You didn't even notice the way your foot tap to the ground, each stomp so acute to the beat of the biggest drum.

"and….CUT!!"

You were the first to cheer as you ran to the stage to meet Ben, him doing the same by jumping off it with a large smile welcoming you in his muscly and comfy embrace. You could tell he was proud of himself.

"Babe! That was so cool!!!"

"I KNOW, I was like--" he babble with some sound effects, making some clear emphasis of what he had seen himself doing behind the drum set. Giggling at his action, you both walked together to the bottom of the stage where the peeps had gathered.

Exchanging different compliments, Ben and his castmates were rained with praises from Roger and Brian.

"My almost prodigal son is here." The lead drummer of Queen quoted earning a shy smile from the lad. The man has been a great role model for Ben as he almost stood as a father to him and to you aswell.

"Almost."

"I think we could all agree to that can we?" Gwilym said.

"Well, he did nail it. Good Job Benjamin. But I think Cardboard Ben is Better." Laughter bursted inside the loose circle, you laughing along Joe's affection to your boyfriend carbon copy in cardboard.

"Stop it, Joe. Your hurting my feelings here."

The chatter continued, talking and complementing Rami and Gwylim of them rocking their own routine.

"O My Goodness! Y/n M/n L/n. Is that really you?"

Now this somehow caught everyone's attention. Turning to the owner of the voice, you met the very, very familiar face of a female. It didn't made you hold back the smile the moment you met her gaze.

"JEM!! ITS YOU!!" Basically scurrying out of Ben's embrace, enveloping the girl in a bear hug, and vice versa.

Joe was the first to speak out of all the confused faces.

"Jem, love? You know Y/n?"

Ben was also confused as he knew all of your friends yet he wasn't very much familiar with this one but not in a bad way. The interaction you gave looked genuined and so did hers, it was as if you knew the said stranger almost by heart.

Jem, who is basically bear hugging you looked back to her boyfriend and said,

"OH, Joe, guys, remember when I said I was in a band?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, you see we were a four person band and I know you have met my two other former band mates and I said I had lost contact with one of my members since our accounts have been hacked before. " you still had the girl in your grasp while looking at the small crowd cowering around the both of you.

"W-wait? Are you saying Y/n's your long lost band member?"

Jem nodded furiously at Lucy's question.

"Wow! Y/n, why didn't you say anything?"

Ben had a seemingly excited look on his face as if he was a boy who just found a treasure chest in his backyard. His eyes trained on you. Curiosity lingering on them.

"Well, nobody real asked about it and that was way too long ago." You trailed.

Joe suddenly pops up statement.

"Hold on a minute, Viola said that she was the pianist and Jax was the bassist. And you told me that you were lead vocalist…"

Ben was the next to speak, following his friend's statement.

"Which would mean that my girlfriend, is your band'--"

"Lead drummer? Yeah!"

The confidence your dear friend radiated as she began to brag you to your friends turning you into a shy fly. And the fact that your idol, nome other than another father figure aswell known as Roger Meddows Taylor, who is basically standing beside you is hearing all this things got you shy chills.

"Hey, Jem thats enough. Besides, as I said that was quite a long time ago and I don't think I could be that great on it anymore."

Jem gave you and eye roll, "Y/n, there's no way that you could loose your touch. Even if your mind doesn't remember, your hands and feet does. Also, I heard from Ben that he would sometimes catch you playing with your chopstick while doing the dishes. I should've known your dating the hunk of a man sooner." You rolled your eyes as Jem whispered the last sentence to you.

"How 'bout you plah for us love?" Roger placed a hand on your shoulder, handing you a pair of sticks. Your eyes turned into saucers.

"I-i don't know Mr. Taylor--" "Roger kiddo."

You smiled, "Roger, as much as I want to play. I not as good as I was before."

This time Ben talks you out.

"You can't be that bad love, we just wanna see you play. You can go do any song."

You looked at him, rather unsure of yourself. Sure, one can't unlearn what is learned. Everyone around you started to encourage you aswell. Ben's puppy eyes, was the last warning bell you could ever receive as you sighed and took the drum sticks. Suddenly feeling a spark in your palms after having contact with it after a long while.

"Go Y/N!!"

"YOU CAN DO IT LOVE!!"

You ran up to the stage, thanking yourself for wearing a pair jeans on this unexpected day. Jem skipped her way as she followed you and as if she already knew what song you were gonna play, she hurriedly plugged her phone on the jack and waited for you settle.

"Brings back memories doesn't it?" You shrugged off and smiled as you held the sticks in position.

"Damn, feeling deja vu here."

"You just miss it." Jem replied to you.

You stared past the drum set meeting Ben's eyes as he howls your name. Roger doing the same and so does the others around the stage. Father and boyfriend, cheering for you. What a heck of a combo.

You nodded to Jem who proceeded to play the track with a little low volume so it won't over power your routine.

"GO! Y/N GO!" she called out.

Taking a deep breath, you let yourself get lost on the music.

(0:00 to 0:15)

Like your hands had its own mind, it smashed the sticks tips to the first beats. Nearly missing the timing.

"That's a good start." You joked to yourself as you continue to the beat.

Eyeing back to back to your small audience. Their heads bobbing with your beat with smiles on their faces. Watching as your pace gradually quickened along the way.

(0:16 to 0:25)

"I think it's getting faster."

Rami's comment made Ben aware with his girlfriend beat. After having countless practice and hearing some bands drummer plays, Bon Jovi's song had some of the trickiest drum routines and he could tell how complicated the beat and yet, seeing you calmly beaming with each hit, your hands and arms swiftly moving to the next beat as if she practiced the whole routine for almost a week. Whats more was also, it looked quite your style.

Your face looked calm and composed with each beating.

He marvelled you and as if you were so used to the clashing and bashing, you didn't miss any timing.

(0:26 to 1:09)

No eyes left your figure while staying on your beat. Each pair beaming the quicker your arms switch directions as the chorus neared then, what happened next was a small yet seemingly gigantic movement when they caught it. That was the moment Ben knew that his girlfriend wasn't an amatuer drummer.

You twirled one drumstick in between your fingers as the other hit the cymbals, your lips mouthing the lyrics with a smile etched on it. Then slamming both down to the clash instrument.

"Ohhh!!!" "She twirled them! Did you see that?!"

Your hands swifting left to right like accelerate, still singing to the chorus. You drowned yourself to the symphony of each percussion that surrounded you like no one was watching, eyes closed you, staying with the beat.

(1:09 to 2:00)

Maintaining a heck of speed had Roger Taylor screaming his heart out for you. Calling your name, screaming 'thats my kid!!' Out of now where and jumping along the music. Like a proud dad, he cheered.

People were bouncing like they were in a rock concert. Joe was banging his head to your melody. Gwilym and Rami were arm in arm and singing to the song. Brian was dancing around with Lucy.

(2:00 to 2:03)

Your speed growing to a thunderous amount that had everyone going out of their mind while you sat there like you practiced the whole performance for weeks.

"Oh my god! She's freaking nailing it."

"UGH! Ben she's a freaking Queen!"

Ben was freaking out like everybody else while watching your routine with the sticks that even thought he can't do.

(2:03 to 2:32)

The crowd under the stage as the staff was singing along while you drum your heart out. Your movements were so in sync with what your mind had thought of in every sequence, executing everything perfectly. Continuing to the music, each beat was a perfect hit. You caught sight of Ben who had a hand on his forehead and another on his, face had saucer eyes and a slack jawed smile, staring at you.

You let yourself meet his gaze as he notice this.

You winked at him.

(2:34 til end.)

Ben's breath hitched as Roger muttered an 'oh my god' beside him as you threw a stick in the air, then catching it perfectly before hitting the beat perfectly once again.

Everyone was screaming after that, Joe was grabbing his permed hair as if he had witness something insane before him. Lucy could tell that after this mini concert, she won't be able to talk the next day.

Doing a couple more stick twirling and fast paced movements, you finally reach an end with a satisfying clash from the cymbals. Panting, you turned to you now large crowd, screaming for you.

"And there goes your Prodigal Daughter." Roger could only nod on Brian's statement.

Ben rushed up to stage and immediatly lifted you off the ground. Rambling how insanely amazing you were.

"You gotta teach me your ways love." He mumbled against your lips.

"As long as I get something in return." You said after quick peck on his lips.

[withyounct]

What's wrong kid? (4)

Reader X Single dad!Jaehyun

Genre: Fluff

Words: 3.7k

Prompt: You notice a child crying at a school playground. You decide to see what’s up and meet an extremely stressed/extremely handsome father.

Prev | Next

A/n: We’re all going to pretend like I didn't disappear for over a week. Enjoy!

To say you were on cloud nine would be an understatement. The next morning you were greeted with a ‘Good morning, beautiful’ text from Jaehyun. You skipped around happily while you got ready for class, even going as far as making breakfast for everyone. It was common knowledge that you weren’t a morning person, so Kun and Ten ate the food with caution. Throughout the day you found yourself smiling about the night before.

While you were having the time of your life, your friends were suffering greatly.

“She’s grossing me out.” Jaemin whispered to the group while you stared out the window of the café, a smile ever visible on your face.

“You’re telling me. Some guy spilled coffee on her notebook and she didn’t kill him. Shit was wild.” Yangyang informed.

“Let me punch her one good time.” Renjun rolled up his sleeves for added effect

“No.” Jeno interjected.

Laughing, you turned to your friends. You leaned your head on Renjun’s shoulder and giggled. Renjun’s death glare softened when he glanced at your smiley disposition. He patted your head and asked what’s got you acting like an idiot. Sitting upright, you glanced at the group and broke out another stupid smile.

“Remember that cute little girl I'm babysitting, well she has a very handsome, very funny, very sweet, ver-”

“Say ‘very’ one more time and I swear to god.” Haechan hissed.

“Really amazing dad, who I may or may not have kissed.” You paused. “Well in all technicality he kissed me, but I kissed back. He even sent me a good morning text, how sweet is that? That’s not important, what is important is that I really like him guys.” You leaned down and planted your face on the table. You glanced up at your friends to gauge their reaction and was met with concern expressions. You leaned back up and bit your lower lip at the silence. “Words would be nice.”

“Um.” Lucas was the first to speak. He glanced at the group. “An older guy with a kid? Y/n you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?”

You paused for a second. That certainly wasn’t the reaction you were hoping for or even expecting. But you understood where they were coming from. You weren’t the type to date, casual make-outs here and there, but admitting you liked someone was completely left field. Admitting you liked someone with a kid was out of the solar system in their mind.

“I get it and I love you guys for worrying, but I need you to trust me on this.” You tried, but was still met with the same concern expressions. You tried to smile, but it quickly turned into a pout.

“Okay, but we’re killing him if he hurts you.” Mark was surprisingly the first to break.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” You beamed.

The art department was hosting a free entrance gallery viewing on campus that evening. Renjun, being your group’s pride and joy Picasso, was being featured. Despite his pleads of ‘don’t come you’ll just embarrass me’, the collective unit showed up for support. Jaehyun texted you earlier that day that Taeil kidnapped Hyunjin and she was hanging out with him for the rest of the day, so you were free.

Ditching the rest of the group you and Jaemin, being the only civilized two, walked quietly around. Stopping at every painting, you started to feel a little self- conscious. There wasn’t anything outstanding that you were talented in and envied the liberal arts majors. Sulking, you expressed your sadness to Jaemin since he always did a wonderful job at cheering you up.

“Y/n, you’re the only person I know who can confidently tell me the stages of a star’s death with exact numbers and shit. If that’s not talent, then I don’t know what is.”

“Ah, my valued party trick.” You joked bumping his side.

You walked further into the gallery and stared in awe at Renjun’s piece. It was a beautiful oil painting of what the sky would look like if the Milky Way and Andromeda collided. There was a quote under his name on the plaque ‘in about 4 billion years, but the sun would have turned into a red giant and swallow the earth whole– someone great’. You looked at Jaemin surprised and he just smiled.

“I guess it’s his way of saying he misses you. Which I can relate. I'm beyond happy that you have feelings for someone, but we miss having you around all the time. Just don’t forget us okay?”

You felt the tears prick your eyes and tried to wield them back. The fact that Renjun would take the time and effort to paint something this elaborate with you in mind when he could have just easily texted made your heart ache. That coupled with Jaemin’s words broke the seal and tears started to fall. To hide them you wrapped yourself around him and mumbled ‘I hate you’ into his chest. You felt the rumble of his laugh and a kiss on the crown of your head.

“You found it.” Renjun’s voice broke through. He and the rest made their way over to you. Jaemin gently transferred you onto Renjun.

“You made her cry.” Jaemin teased. You buried yourself in Renjun’s chest, a little embarrassed that your emotions got the better of you. You felt Jaemin’s hand stroke your hair and heard the rest of your friends’ coo, each lovingly teasing you for your tears.

“I'm sorry I suck.” You cried. They of course disagreed with the statement, but you felt bad for ditching them and only today telling them why. You were a chaotic bunch, but when it came down to it you were each other’s support system.

“You’re being such a Pisces right know.” Haechan laughed, effectively killing the moment. You pushed yourself off Renjun and tried to choke him out.

You walked through the lobby of the gallery ready to go when you spotted a poster with Jaehyun’s name on it. Completely ignoring the conversation you were having with Haechan, you walked up to it.

“This Jaehyun that you might or might not be dating isn’t Jung Jaehyun, right? The guy who’s designing the new art building. Like the millionaire.” Renjun appeared next to you.

“No, it is.” You answered simply. You heard Renjun calmly hum before he screamed for everyone to help. An uproar surfaced over the topic.

“So, in conclusion, Y/n is a sugar baby.” Jaemin proclaimed.

“No, I'm not.”

“How much are you getting paid to babysit his child?” Yangyang asked.

“Not telling… Man look at the time I have to go home and rethink my life choices. See you tomorrow!”

“I quit.” You said while you and Jaehyun were preparing dinner. The statement completely caught him off guard causing him to drop the spatula and resulted in a mess over the stove. You quickly apologized and handed him a rag.

“Why? Was there something I did? Its school isn’t it? Having to watch Hyunjin and be a full-time student is too much. God Y/n I'm sorry I-”

“No, you didn’t do anything. It’s nothing like that.” You smiled, grabbing his hand. “My friends unknowingly made a good point the other day. I enjoy being around both you and Hyunjin and it feels weird that you pay me to do that. So, I quit.”

Jaehyun looked at you for a second, clearly trying to find the right words to say.

“An allowance?”

“Oh my god that’s worse. I'm not a sugar baby Jaehyun!” You busted out laughing and he did the same.

“I know I just want to see if you'd say that.” He confessed laughing. “Okay, if it makes you feel better, I’ll take your letter of resignation.” He placed a kiss on your lips.

“I saw that!” Hyunjin yelled as she finished setting the table.

“No, you didn’t!” Jaehyun yelled back.

Dinner was slightly more chaotic than usual. Hyunjin was convinced she saw you two kissing and Jaehyun was jokingly convinced that she needed glasses. The two went back and forth and you tried not to die from laughing. The climax of the dinner peaked when Hyunjin walked over and kissed you on the cheek. She proudly stuck her tongue out at her father and declared that she could kiss you too. You were convinced that the two Jungs were going to be the death of you.

You were washing the dishes when you felt arms snake around your waist. A smile spread as you were being gently swayed left and right, light peppered kisses sprinkled the back of your neck.  You both stayed in silence as you finished your task.

“There’s a charity event tomorrow that I'm being forced, by Taeyong, to attend. I would be honored if you would accompany me?” He spun you around so you were facing him.

“Me? Are you sure? Plus, who’s going to take care of Hyunjin?” Insecurity was your immediate emotion. You were acutely aware of your different social classes as is, but going to a, mostly likely, high-end charity event wasn’t something you were comfortable with.

“She’s having a sleep over at her friend’s house. I only have to show my face for an hour an hour thirty tops, then the night is ours.” He said caressing your cheek. After giving it some thought, you reeled back your anxiety a bit.

“Okay.”

When you woke the next morning, you were hit with two panic thoughts. One, you were late, but decided fuck it you had enough absences left. Two, the most important one, you had nothing to wear that evening. You quickly grabbed your phone ready to cancel on Jaehyun when Ten opened your door. You both stared at each other for a second.

“Don’t tell Kun I'm skipping.” You pleaded.

“Got you. Also, there’s a tree in the living room that wants to see you.” He shrugged at your confused face and pointed to the living room.

“Johnny?” The surprised evident in your voice.

“Morning sunshine. I come bearing gifts.” He held up one large and small box. Hesitantly, you took them. “Jaehyun called me freaking out because his dumb ass asked you to the event tonight without making sure you had a dress ready. Lucky for you two, I exist.”

“Do you want me to try it on and mak-”

“Nah, it’ll fit. I'm late. See you tonight.” Before you could get anything else out, Johnny was out the door.

You glanced in the larger box to find a beautiful champagne lace off the shoulder dress. You stared in awe at how pretty it was. Turning it around you saw that the price tag was covered with a smile with its tongue out and a JS initial next to it. You laughed and found that the shoes and accessories shared the same mark.

“Wow.” Ten whistled picking up the shoes. “My baby is moving up in the world.” He carefully placed everything back in their boxes and ordered you to get ready for your next class.

The day flew by faster than you would have liked. At one point you demanded that Jeno acquire the power to slow time. Being the sweetest person ever, he tried.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t excited. Not knowing what to expect gave you anxiety, but the realization that you get to see Jaehyun in a three-piece suit made you want to scream. You looked down at your outfit and felt a little like a princess. It was nowhere near your usual attire and you had to give it to Johnny for picking out something this flattering for you. You did a little spin and chuckled.  

A few minutes later, Jaehyun showed up and you were whisked away. During the car ride you would steal glances at him and saw him do the same. You were at a red light when you caught each other in the act, which caused you to laugh at your silliness.

“So, if you plan on only being there for an hour, why bring me?” You asked curious.

“Honestly, I wasn’t going to ask you. But the guys made a good point, that it would be rude not to invite my girlfriend and have other girls ‘fight over me the whole evening’. They said they’re tired of seeing that.” Jaehyun confessed without a thought. There was silence from your end of the car. He pulled up to another red light and turned to you.

“Girlfriend?” You said wide-eyed. You saw his face shift into panic mode.

“Shit I meant to say that in a more romantic setting.”

A stupid smile broke across your face. “No actually that was perfect.”

“Pretend you didn’t hear that and let me try again later.” He pleaded.

“Absolutely not.” You had to stop yourself from dying of laughter. The two of you debated over the semantics of a perfect confession until you reached the venue. Looking up at the five-star hotel you felt your anxiety rise again. You started biting on your bottom lip when you felt Jaehyun bring your face near his.

“You know you have a very dangerous nervous twitch.” You shuddered as his breath fanned your face. He glanced down at your bottom lip and placed a kiss on it as if apologizing for your abuse. “You don’t need to worry; I’ll be right by you the whole time.” He said before leaning in for a real kiss. This one was different than the rest, it was softer and warmer. It had a magical effect of putting your heart to rest. You pulled away when the valet arrived. Jaehyun tossed over his keys and guided you into the building. You were immediately hit with the smell of expensive perfume and cologne. Everything looked obnoxiously wealthy and you inwardly cringed, but put your best smile foreword.

“You have such a wonderful fake smile.” Jaehyun softly commented as he nodded at some random guy.

“Thanks. I hate everything right now.” You smiled at him. He snickered as he introduced you to some older man and his wife. You were polite and commented on how beautiful she was, and she immediately took a liking to you. Jaehyun pulled you around meeting people while introducing you as his girlfriend. Every time he said it your smile turned less and less fake.

After a few minutes your face started to hurt, and you were looking for a way out of meeting another round of rich people. Looking around, you spotted Jaehyun’s friends talking amongst themselves over champagne. You pulled on Jaehyun’s sleeve and nodded in their direction.

“You go. I’ll be there in a minute.” He whispered. You nodded and excused yourself.

“Damn I did a good job.” Johnny praised when you walked up, resulting in a smack on the arm by Taeyong.

“You look beautiful Y/n.” Taeyong commented. You let them know just how much you hated being there and they related with the feeling. Sicheng got you a glass and Taeil laughed at your disgusted face after you drank some.

Jaehyun approached and eyed you and the glass of champagne.

“I don’t see the hype.” You handed him the glass. They began to talk business and you tuned out. Jaehyun’s arm snaked around your waist and you copied the action. You looked up and smiled at him and heard Doyoung cooed.

“You just missed the cutest smile.” He nagged while hitting Jaehyun’s free arm.

“Jaehyun is that you?” A whiny female voice entered. Everyone’s head turned to the noise. You saw everyone excluding Jaehyun roll their eyes and looked yourself. It was a woman about the same age as the rest who was by all accounts stunning, but was wearing too much makeup and not enough clothes. She walked up and pulled him into a hug. Jaehyun, being ever the gentleman, pulled his arm from around you and hugged her back.

“Kate. How are you?” He smiled.

“I'm doing wonderful, so sweet of you to ask.” You saw Yuta fake gag. They talked for a minute before you were introduced.

“This is my girlfriend Y/n. Y/n this is Kate; her company has worked with mine in the past.” You put back on your fake smile, holding out your hand. She shook it as if it was contaminated, but your smile didn’t waiver. You could tell she didn’t like you which was fine since the feeling was mutual. She very clearly flirted with Jaehyun a bit more until he and the others were called over by one of the older men you were talking to earlier.

Awkward wasn’t the right word for the situation, but it was the one that fit it best. The two of you stood in silence as her acrylic nails tapped on the table.

“You’re a bit young aren’t you.” She stated. You had to suppress an eye roll. You nodded and told her that you were a college student. She then spent the next few minutes lowkey insulting you while masking it as older sister advice.

“Listen love, because I like you, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Guys who go after younger girls like yourself only want one thing.” She twirled your hair between her fingers.

Thoroughly done with her basic jealous attitude, you pulled yourself away from her.

“God your insults are as bland as your dress.” You sighed. “That may be true for some people, but I doubt he would put in the effort of bring me here, would he?” You smirked. “Desperation isn’t a cute look on anyone, love.” You smiled as you walked away. You turned to find Jaehyun’s friends close by with surprise faces.

“We were ready to tear that bitch a new one, but you got it.” Yuta said in awe.

“That’s it. You’re officially my child.” Doyoung was almost in tears.

“Where’s Jaehyun? We’re reaching two hours and I want to go.” You groaned. Taeil and Sicheng volunteered to hunt him down while Doyoung and Taeyong gave you a speech on the perks of being their collective child.

The minute you entered Jaehyun’s place you threw off your heels.

“I'm really sorry about tonight.” Jaehyun said picking the shoes up and putting them on a rack.

“Don’t apologize. I got two cool dads out of it.” You laughed laying down on the couch. “While I adore this dress Johnny got me, I would love nothing more than to get out of it.” You confessed innocently. It took you a second to realize the weight of your word. Leaning up, you saw how red Jaehyun went and a blush worked its way across your face.

“I know what you meant. I’ll get you something to change into.” He said quickly before disappearing down the hall. You face planted into the cushions and screamed until he came back. He handed you an oversized hoodie with a pair of shorts and told you that you could use his room to change in.

Walking down the corridor you noticed how oddly quiet everything was. Not having Hyunjin screaming and laughing about was an empty feeling. It was as if the house lost a bit of it color. You shook off the feeling and entered Jaehyun’s room.

You instantly fell in love. It was a soft cream-colored room with huge glass windows spread across the furthest wall with a patio attached. You looked around at all the plants and hanging baskets that decorated the room. There were three large bookcases with books and photos on them. The bed was the size of three of yours put together and was paired with a white duvet. The room was exactly what you expected to be, but you couldn’t help but be amazed at how simply beautiful it was.

Deciding that you imposed enough, you changed into the clothes and was faced with a problem. The hoodie basically swallowed you whole and reached beyond the shorts. Shrugging, you went about finding Jaehyun in the living room.

“I look like a child.” You flapped the remaining length of the sleeves for emphasis and saw the tell-tale sign of red spread on Jaehyun’s ears. He bit back a smile and held his hand out, beckoning you to come. You traveled across the room and planted yourself on his lap.

“You did this on purpose.” You accused.

“Absolutely, you look adorable.” He confessed.

The night went along like your usual ones. It was your turn to pick a movie and of course you picked The Conjuring 2. About a quarter into the film, you felt Jaehyun pull you against him.

“Is this you distracting yourself from the movie like a scaredy cat?” You asked as he feathered kisses on your face.

“No.” He lied, pulling the blanket over your heads. Giving up on watching the movie, you turned to your boyfriend laughing that his boldness.

Now you had no intentions of staying the night. So, when you woke up warm with arms wrapped around you, you knew you fucked up. You looked up at Jaehyun sleeping figure and allowed yourself a few seconds the bask at how peaceful he looked. You gently brought his watch up and glanced at the time.

“Holy shit!” You screamed as you threw the covers off. Jaehyun’s eyes flew opened and he groaned. “It’s almost 9.” You shook him up. He stared at you for a solid minute before panicking as well.

“Fuck.” He hissed throwing the cover off himself. You were both incredibly late for your respective responsibilities. Which wouldn’t be a problem for you if you hadn’t skipped the day before. Fumbling around, you got ready in five minutes flat. On the car ride to campus you stole Jaehyun’s laptop and submitted a half-ass assignment that was due at the end of class while he called Johnny telling him that he’ll be late to their meeting. Breaking a few traffic laws, you made it to your lecture in time to sign the attendance roster.

“You look like shit.” Haechan and Lucas side eyed you as you slid into your seat.

“Shut up.”

After class was over Lucas offered to dive you back to your apartment to shower and change before your afternoon classes. You hugged the giant and told him how much you loved him.

“So…”

“I didn’t have sex.” You said bluntly as he followed you up the stairs. Kun, who was hanging out in the living room, looked you up and down. A look of skepticism painted on his face.

“Did you-” He began.

“No.” You walked past him and into the bathroom.

“Ten owns me $20.”

[juicemitio]

Alright I went to Louisville Galaxycon and saw Travis and Clint twice, for their worldbuilding workshop and their Q&A. Here's some interesting stuff I learned (I didn't include stuff they talked about that's pretty common knowledge or they talked about on the last ttazz)

Graduation 

Fitzroy was originally going to be a jock that was weak bc he no longer had a team, Travis told Griffin that that didn't really work for the world so they reframed it as him training to be a hero, was great academically and behaviorally, but had a problem no one had seen before and no one felt like dealing with. It specifically wasn't "barbarian fails bc he can't keep his rage in check," it was that no one was willing to deal with his magic so they shipped him off

Someone asked Travis to explain fitzroy's magic, so from the DM's mouth- he's a barbarian subtype with elemental magic which has a random effect while raging, which we haven't seen yet (path of the wild soul if you want to look it up and see what he can do) and he took a feat which gives him the ability to cast 3 cantrips of his choosing. What I thought was interesting was that Travis described Fitz's magic using the word "elemental" twice, even though that isn't specifically stated in the path of the wild soul entry

Travis knows Argo's secret and is very excited about it 

Clint has a pirate fiction book he reads every night before they record to get into the headspace to play Argo, he told us the name but I forgot it 

There is one small little concept that made the whole of graduation make sense to Travis and is what the arc will be about, and he only figured it out a few days before recording. Obviously he didn't tell us what it was

Originally it was going to start with everyone starting at age 11 and slowly killing the other kids off, but Justin didn't feel comfortable playing a game surrounded by kids dying 

The accounting scene is already one of Travis' all time favorite taz scenes

The pegasus scene informed Travis on exactly how he was going to treat the firbolg

Also Travis referred to Justin's character exclusively as "the firbolg," which means "master firbolg" is solely a thing going on with the npcs in the game which I find hilarious. They just all decided to give him a dope title bc he deserves it, meanwhile no one will call Fitzroy "sir"

To Fitzroy, social threats are an extremely real and serious thing, like the Biggest thing to him (we were talking about what characters found threatening in the workshop, for context)  

There's some big concept/idea that comes up in the next episode that travis almost let spill and had to quickly stop himself from saying it

Someone mentioned eating breakfast in their question in the workshop and Travis goofed on it for a second, then said "cereal world" suddenly, and Clint had to pick up the question bc Travis had to take a second to make a note of it in his phone 

Travis started brainstorming graduation in March and they recorded the first episode in October, and his main job in that time was working on graduation 

Before Buckminster was adapted for graduation he could not fight at all, if he got into a fight he would die, he poured everything into charisma and could talk his way out of any fight (even the big bad of the game he crit 20d his check and the big bad walked away from the fight) 

Travis is really into psychology and how if you assign a label to someone they're going to act more like it (ie you tell a kid they're amazing and smart and talented and they become more like that, you tell a kid they're annoying and dumb and a problem they become more like that), and how that was a major contributor to play into hero/villain/sidekick/henchperson dynamics, you get assigned this arbitrary title of good/evil/subservient and you become like that to fit the role, and then the inevitable pushing against that mold

Travis is fully aware of his story being compared to harry potter and he doesn't care bc it's apt (people in a school arbitrarily divided into four groups and one of them is the Bad One), also he knows people describe it as "sky high meets Harry Potter meets my hero academia" and he actually finds that really flattering bc he thinks that sounds cool and like something he'd want to watch 

On that note, Travis is a self-identified Slytherin and he's always upheld that the reason Slytherin is depicted in a bad light is bc Rowling decided she didn't like them, and he's always sympathized with the idea of a first year Slytherin working their ass off following the rules and doing their work and getting points, and Dumbledore rewards three idiots for breaking like every rule and pulls the trophy away from you. This was a big inspiration for graduation, of one group getting a bad rep and being portrayed as evil for literally no reason 

Amnesty

Clint & Travis's favorite scene they've ever done together was Ned & Aubrey's final scene together 

Aubrey and Dani do move in with each other at the end of amnesty

Balance

Travis' main emotion around taz is pride and he's most proud of the scene in stolen century with the spirits in the robots, bc they had to record it a second time bc it got way too dark and ended in a really grim way and about 20 min after they finished they all decided that they weren't happy with it, that it didn't fit the tone, he's really proud they didn't just leave it be and they took the second pass at it to make it right

I'm pretty sure he's talked about wanting to kill Magnus off at the beginning before but he mentioned that it was only at the end of petals to the metal he actually realized he wanted Magnus to live, bc Hurley had to sacrifice herself to save Magnus bc Magnus had been so reckless, that hit Travis really hard. Travis realized that Magnus' recklessness was getting people hurt and so Magnus did too, so Magnus become a bit more cautious and took up rogue training to try not to get anyone killed again 

Dust

Dust wasn't designed to be anything more than a one off and the workload was completely unsustainable, the document of notes for dust was about 100 pages and only about 10% of it got used

The reason Travis loved it so much was bc it was a mystery and he found it really fun

Commitment

Clint would love to revisit commitment, but probably not in podcast form bc he didn't find himself really being in the moment as much bc of all the different things he had to keep track of, he'd like to see a comic adaptation/continuation if possible

It was based of a comic he wrote that never got published bc the company producing it failed (he still cashed his paycheck) so he reused it bc he still liked it a lot, it was about how America was founded as a monarchy instead of a democracy and what that changed in the usa's (united sovereignty of america's) history, and how people now were fighting to establish a democracy. Also there were cowboys and spaceships and other cool stuff he put in there bc he liked it

General adventure zone

The reason why they're are able to do romantic relationships w/o being weirded out by it (they joke about it but they don't actually care) is bc it's never done in an explicit or sexual way and since it's the decision the characters would make to pursue the relationship then that's the decision they make. He reframed it as it wouldn't be weird if a family were writing a script together and there was a romance and one person wrote lines for one character and the other wrote lines for the other. He did mention that two siblings playing characters in a relationship as actors on screen wouldn't be cool though

They sometimes get comments that some of the stuff they do is "fanservice," but they feel that they owe their success to their fans and they owe some to them 

They are both aware of and proud that Justin is the best at character creation, Clint specifically really was talking about how Justin's strong suit is definitely character creation and characterization

General mcelroy stuff

They walked pretty close to me when they entered the stage room for the q&a and like… they're short, like shorter than you think

Travis referred to his unborn child as "baby dod" (I'm not 100% certain but I'm pretty sure) which I looked up and is a nickname for George, and given with their older kid being named Barbera and nicknamed BeBe and Travis talking before about how he and his wife like classic names with cool nicknames it makes sense

Travis had an earing in his right ear, I didn't get to see his left ear and I couldn't tell if it was an actual piercing or a fake, it looked really good though. Also his tinted glasses look a lot cooler irl than they do in pictures

Clint told the teenage mutant Ninja turtle story with the signatures that griffin told on mbmbam, but Clint remembered it as happening at King's Island, not Disney. This story was prompted by the question of the biggest lie he ever told his kids, and he only came clean about this a few months ago

Travis told a story about how he finished a videogame when he was younger and was so excited that he picked up a plastic knife, yelled "throwing knife!" threw it directly at Griffin who dodged it and it hit and shattered a window