#wow haven’t worked on a big illustration in a while

[melonalemonade]

reasons to survive

[chamoemileclown]

I honestly would love to talk to you about 3d because I really like your 3d works but i' m like really shy so , do you have any advice you would like to give people starting doing 3d art? (sorry if bad english)

I do!! I’m so sorry this took me so long to answer I’ve been busy and wanted to explain this in a proper/ thought out way so here’s just some things about my experience getting into 3D below the cut.

Okay so I think one of the biggest things you should know about before getting into 3D modeling is that you don’t necessarily need to be an art person to get into 3D modeling?

I’m mostly an illustrator and sometimes and animator but I’ve found that those skills don’t really transfer over into 3D as much? If that makes sense. Of course it helps for things like texturing but it’s not the exact same thing they’re very different skill sets.

As long as you have a laptop/ or pc already on hand it costs nothing to get into 3D modeling. Most programs are free (blender and blockbench are at the very least and those are the two I use) and I don’t use any fancy equipment to model I just use the trackpad on my laptop and I find that easier than my drawing tablet. (I know a lot of people who model use a mouse but I get by fine without one)

If you’ve ever tried to get into 3D modeling, opened up a program, and then went “wow this is really overwhelming” I’d recommend using blockbench. It’s a 100% free, open source program intended to be used to model and animate entities in minecraft but you obviously don’t have to do that. It’s relatively limited, you won’t get like high poly really smooth models but it has enough tools to acclimate you to modeling and learn some of the shortcuts. I like it because there isn’t a lot going on with the program so you aren’t just overwhelmed with options. You can also edit and pose minecraft skins in this program if that’s something you’re interested in.

I’ll link some tutorials at the end that helped me if anyone reading this wants some guidance on getting into block bench and I might stick in some blender stuff too. For what I do I model and texture in block bench then export it into blender so I can do some lighting effects and render the model.

By biggest pieces of advice is really just to:

-Don’t let it frustrate you. If something isn’t working or you’re confused walk away, think things through, and then come back to your project. Don’t feel scared to consult tutorials or ancient reddit posts to try to troubleshoot. Just don’t troubleshoot while frustrated, that always makes me want to drop the whole process. Don’t feel discouraged if you have bumps in the road it gets so much easier after you’ve done it a few times.

-Never spend money on courses/ programs. Maybe this is because I’m broke but like unless you know you’re really into it and you’ve exhausted all your resources it’s not worth buying something. There’s so many free resources and so many people out there who are willing to help you out. I’m more than willing to help anyone if they have any problems with blockbench. Artists should uplift other artists my inbox is always open to questions.

-Start small and slow with projects and build from there. I think this applies to art in general but if you start out with a big complex project you will only confuse yourself. Just start small and familiarize yourself with your tools. Your first model may not look the best and thats okay (I definitely made some scary looking stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day)

-You don’t need to know a program inside out before you start. I’m better with hands on learning so being able to explore myself helped me personally. I still don’t know everything about blockbench (I haven’t even touched the animate tab) and I know nothing in blender other than rigging together lighting and moving around the camera. That doesn’t mean I can’t render cool stuff.

-Learn the keyboard shortcuts!!!! Can’t emphasize this one enough but it’s true. It’s so much easier to really navigate and use blockbench once you know the keyboard shortcuts. ctrl z to undo and ctrl y to redo are essential to know. Most functions you can hover over and they’ll show you the shortcuts. Don’t be stubborn like me and learn them they’ll just make your life easier.

-Organize your cubes when modeling, use folders to their fullest potential and name them when you can. It gets confusing quick and you can always select a cube to show you where it is but it’s so much easier for your to label things as something like “left leg” than “cube43”.

Okay here’s some tutorials now:

(side note, not sure what your native language is anon but all these tutorials are in english. A lot of blockbench tutorials are sparse and blockbench is sourcing community translations of the program in a ton of different languages [including French, Portuguese, and Spanish] so check those out if you’re interested)

The fundamentals of blockbench, just some very basic stuff about modeling and how things work

This one is a little longer and I didn’t follow it exactly but I feel like this explained a lot about the basics of modeling that helped me:

This video is all about texturing and I found it very informative. It’s short but to the point and covers a lot of the different options with texturing

This is one of the only tutorials I could find about exporting models from blockbench and importing them into blender to render out. I wouldn’t worry about this step yet until you got modeling down and want to present your work nicely.

This tutorial is about rendering and using hdris in blender. I wouldn’t worry about this one either until your more comfortable with modeling but it’s a really great resource on how to make your model look really nice.

Another don’t worry about it yet tutorial! Lighting in blender, this is a really great detailed overview of lighting in blender. If you already learned how to use hdris in the last tutorial you might not really want to worry about this but if you want to use more dynamic and even colorful lighting this is a really great resource!

[lafakiwi-draws-archive]

Tell me your story, but don’t leave the good parts out.

What a great day to remember these two are happily married husbands and are living together and not a whole continent apart from each other C’:::

[sometipsygnostalgic]

The Problems of being a Techmaster (...or, Entrapta Forgot What Side She’s On Again).

Length: 1927 words

Characters: Bow, Entrapta, Catra, featuring Scorpia and Hordak

Bow tapped his fingers against the adorable little doodles on the paper, watching Travis spin himself back and forth in his chair out of agitation.

Travis was the guildmaster of the Makers' Guild. He was usually a nervous sort, nice enough, silently working on his prosthetics and the magazine most days, but this time he had called on Bow for help in quite a hurry. Travis had received a very strange letter.

It was scrawled in the messiest kind of handwriting, like the sender was impatiently trying to get their thoughts out way faster than their pen could move. The way it was clearly written in byro pen, rather than with a quill, already narrowed down who it could've come from.

When Bow squinted, he could make out the contents:

Hi Travin (I hope I got it right this time?)

I read your article last month about the problems youve been researching with keeping all the crops in Erelandia irrigated during the dry season, and I thought your solution with using a water arrow rainfall was very creative but also seems really inefficient!!! It would be more effective to just water the plants by hand at that stage?

There was a cute illustration of an arrow with a tiny water trail, and a big X next to it.

Bow frowned at this. Nevermind that the article on crops was written five months ago. He thought his suggestion was perfect! Exercise and agility training for everyone, while they help their food grow. But hey, what did he know!! (Okay maybe everyone had looked at him funny when he brought it up but THEY didn't have any better ideas now did they?)

I've been working on lots of exciting new projects recently, and over here they have an entire system that helps you store and use large amounts of water! There are towns with decent sewage systems, sure, but over here the water can be clean as well and people use it to keep themselves clean or drink. I think it's brilliant and it could improve so many things!!! But I've put together an early plan for how we can use a similar system to keep food healthy. They don't eat fresh food here, so I haven't tested this idea yet, but maybe you'll like it!

The notes detailed a plan of laying pipes and hoses around the crop fields, connecting them to a reservoir, and distributing water evenly. There were even very rough ideas for a conservatory, using heating and glass to keep crops warm during the coldest seasons. Bow wasn't so sure on using canisters full of incredibly flammable gas to power the system, but it was at least inspired. Bow had not been there for long, but he believed everything written down was based on the Fright Zone's gas and water technology. These plans were rushed onto paper, and the edges were covered in inattentive little scribbles, but everything important was laid out in incredible detail.

Entrapta had drawn further illustrations at the end with a tiny figure and a robot, probably herself and Emily, going “WOW!!!” at the new hypothetical irrigation system. Bow loved the energy. It was a shame they'd never gotten to bond over their love of drawing cute things before she switched sides. Maybe if he asked her to check out Tiny Bow and his other model figures the next time they were fighting, he could get her to rejoin the Rebellion---

“What can we do?” Travis whimpered. “The notes are crude and unrefined, but this really could change the outlook for Erelandia, I HAVE to post this on my name as a techmaster, but how am I supposed to publish research made by the Horde?! They'll remove me from the guild and then TOMMIE will take over, Bow, please make sure Tommie doesn't take over, he's a big jerk--” Travis's chair was rotating so fast that it flipped over and he fell onto the floor.

“--Whoah whoah, calm down, buddy!!” Bow got up and helped Travis sit back down, giving him a hug. “You're overthinking this. Probably? I'm not sure? Maybe you won't die?”

“And why is Entrapta still sending letters? With Horde secrets?!” Travis stared at him pleadingly. “That's weird. Do you think that's weird? Am I weird for thinking that's weird?!”

Bow scratched his chin. “To be honest I think she just forgets which side is which.”

“I'm... not surprised by that, actually.” Travis sighed and fell back into his chair. “Dammit Entrapta, why did you have to join the Horde!!! This would be so much easier.”

“Hey, uhh.... at least she knows about irrigation systems now? And is sharing that with us? That... almost makes it silver lining?” Bow read the notes again. Something was missing. When he realised what, a lightbulb went off in his head.  

“Travis, what proof is there that you're publishing a paper written by the Horde... when there won't be a name credited to it?”

Travis raised both eyebrows, and leaned forward on his hands, eyes piercing through Bow with sharp accusation. “Are you suggesting we plagiarize, Bow?”

“Wha-- no, of course not---”

“Do we have to re-educate you on the Ten Laws of Makers?”

“--I'm NOT PLAGIARIZING”, Bow squeaked. “there is NO NAME on the paper!!!”

“But there is literally a drawing of Entrapta on it and it's in her handwriting--?”

“That could be any random pigtailed person with, an incredibly messy writing style!!”  Bow met Travis's eyes, trying his best to calm down. “Look, we publish the submission and say it was sent anonymously, and everyone gets to learn something, and when someone asks where it came from, we have no idea, right? We suspect it was Entrapta, but can we know for sure? And we wouldn't lie, or turn away such a great submission!” Bow put his hands behind his head. “So, we are completely clean.”

Travis raised his goggles. “Bow, you are a beautiful, evil genius.”

Bow blushed and scratched his ear.

_____________________

Catra trudged towards the old prison cells after a long, hard day of carrying the entire Horde. Today, Kyle forgot to put the handbrake on a tank, which crashed into a wall that everyone had to repair. It was probably Kyle. He was blamed for it anyway. It took Catra eight hours to get the materials order and manpower in to repair both the tank and the wall. How this place had survived for 30 years was anyone's guess!

She was heading to Entrapta's “lab”. It wasn't because she wanted the company of her friends, not at all! They're not her friends, they're her co-workers. Nothing more! No more friends ever again!!! It was because she needed to hand some orders over to Entrapta for the next weapons shipment. She wondered why Hordak never did any of this busywork himself. All he did most days was growl and look intimidating. Okay, yeah, it was genuinely terrifying, but still pathetic-- wait what was she doing again? Right, orders, lab.

Catra entered the lab, and as usual, Entrapta was making happy noises and spinning around in her chair, while Emily chased her, and Scorpia cheered on from the sidelines, obviously confused as to what the good news was. Catra counted Entrapta's chaotic spins in her head, and on the seventh count, she stopped the chair with her foot as it passed her by.

“I need you to focus--” Catra flinched as some kind of notebook was flopped on top of her head. She ripped it off and nearly tore it to shreds but anything Entrapta gave her had a 50% chance of being either critically important or random trash, so she checked it first. “The Makers' Magazine...? What the--” Catra flipped through the pags. “Entrapta, is this your handwriting?”

Entrapta had been staring up at Catra, vibrating with an incredible amount of potential energy which needed to be released in small burts or it would probably destroy the room. It started to leak out. “They posted my paper!!! I spent ages thinking about that!! I'm so happy they liked it---”

“This is the fright zone shower system???? You're literally sharing Horde infrastructure plans with the Rebellion?”  

“Huh?” One of Entrapta's hair hands scratched the side of her face. “I didn't think the Guild was with the Rebellion. Is that a bad thing?”

Catra stared wide-eyed. “Yes??? They have a water princess? If she uses that then she can destroy our water system??”  

Entrapta folded her arms. “Well that seems mean, but we'd just have to put it back together!”  

Catra held back a scream.

Scorpia could see that Catra was at breaking point, so she hopped in. “Hey, I thought you did a great job! I loved the little drawings of you and Emily they were so cute! And also those plant things sound interesting?” She took the book from Catra. “Wait, did they not credit you? This was apparently sent in by 'a generous anonymous source'”.

“Aww crumbs, did I forget to write my name down again?” Entrapta shrugged with her arms and hair. “Oh well.”

“It's alright, maybe next time.”

“But hang on, that doesn't make any sense. How come Bow sent me a copy of the magazine with this?”  Entrapta produced a “thank you” note with a cute drawing of a chibi Bow waving back her.  

Scorpia squealed. “That's so cute???? I didn't know Bow was an artist too! I want to draw with him some time! Oooh, maybe he has Best Friend Squad drawings I could use as reference!!!”

Then suddenly the screen at the side of the room popped on, and Catra saw Hordak's shadow looming large.

“Force Captain”, he growled, “I trust you have delivered my orders on the next shipment?”

Catra and Scorpia bowed. “Yes, Lord Hordak. I'm briefing Princess Entrapta now. We were just facing a minor distraction.”

“What sort of 'distraction'? If there is something interfering with your work, then you must remove it immediately.”

“My letter got published!!” Entrapta replied cheerfully. “I posted an article on irrigation to the Etherian Makers Guild! It was inspired heavily by your work, Hordak!”

Catra slapped both her hands hard against her face. What the hell, Entrapta? Do you want to die?

Hordak grunted and lowered his head. “Very well, I trust we can... discuss your research later. In a way that can benefit the Fright Zone.”

Entrapta smiled and nodded happily.

“If that is all, get back to work. We require seventy five cannon renovations by tomorrow morning.”

Hordak disconnected. Catra stood in place, losing the will to live.

“Fuck it”, she said. “If you all are going to let this place burn this place to the ground, I'm grabbing some snacks. Scorpia, help me get some white ration bars.”

“Roger that!!!”, said Scorpia, picking up a yelping Catra and leaving for the canteen.

Catra and Scorpia came back with a mountain of mixed ration bars and bunked the night in Entrapta's lab while she tinkered with weapons.  

Entrapta spent only a few hours actually renovating cannons, because she was planning the next project to send to the Makers' Guild. She was brainstorming a way to make arrows deadlier and more aerodynamic, able to travel further with a heavier load. She added lots of drawings to make her point. Bow probably wouldn't find much of a use for a variant of the “sonic arrow” that was rocket-powered and could travel so fast it broke the sound barrier naturally, but the concept is really cool, isn't it? That's what science is about!

[nights-at-crystarium]

Rambling about Vivi and my relationship with the game

Okay the response to my previous post was bigger than I anticipated, you guys are making me feel supported and valid and thank you so much for that ;o; <3

I’m an anxious person and an overthinker. Should I just make art posts and occasional headcanons/analyses/observations? Should I be more personal? I made this blog with this specific purpose to be openly cringe about my new obsession, so I guess there’s no point in trying to moderate myself, worst case scenario people will just scroll past something that doesn’t interest them, right?

I’ve never really told you how I got into the fandom and how Vivi was born, although it’s a peculiar story. Maybe I’ll talk about my ✧content plan✧ too if there’s still post space left. So if you wanna know more about that, I invite you under the cut!

The background’s a bit depressing, a fair warning. I’ve been an mmo and oc nerd since 2012, my first game was Wakfu: quit in 2015-2016 but kept the ocs, about a dozen of them, still hoping to tell their stories one day, then GW2: another dozen characters that never really got the chance to grow into ocs. By the time I started poking around in ARR in 2021 I felt listless and fandom-homeless so to say. Both Wakfu and GW2 are pretty obscure to begin with, then the games themselves strayed too far from my standards and expectations, that on itself is worth a huge rant but this isn’t the place and time. Games do fail, fandoms do die down. I still play GW2 to this day since I find its mechanical aspect, a loud word fully deserved: perfect, it’s plain fun.

But in late 2021, when I still slogged through ARR on my own, I also watched WoodenPotatoes, my fav GW2 youtuber, play all the way up to 5.5. I share a lot of common traits with that guy, namely the cynicism :’D I was like, show me what you’ve got, convince me why you’re such a critically acclaimed game. GW2 and FFXIV are polar opposites in several ways, I won’t derail into comparisons either, just wanna say that I had my standards and a lot of criticism for the mechanical side of FFXIV (spoiler: I still do, but there are other empty niches that FFXIV fills for me!). I was in a full cynic mode, and even that didn’t stop me from being completely blown away, wiped from the surface of Earth when I saw the aforementioned guy play and comment on ShB.

Turns out there was one box unticked for me, I didn’t only feel unwelcome in my old games/fandoms, I also missed the safety and trust you have in FFXIV concerning the lore/story. Despite being an artist with a knack for oc development and interactions, I thought of myself as a mechanical mmo player. You know, raids, pvp, tryharding. I still find great joy in that, geez, I play GW1 (one) which regularly hands me my ass on a plate and I LOVE that, but yeah, I didn’t realize I also needed the comfort of knowing that I can emotionally invest in a game’s story and characters without worrying about the immediate future.

*claps hands together* Here comes the catboy!!!!

I’ll drop the highly specific and personal details for now since those are worth a full essay on their own, just gotta emphasize how much I needed this story and this character right then and there, at the end of 2021. The more I thought about him, the more at home I felt. That I could still survive into my thirties, go through everything in my life, feel nearly drained of will to live and create, and then meet a character that’d bring me back up to 100 within months, if not weeks.

My personal life’s still a mess too big to even mention it, so I won’t. I’m just aggressively burying my head in the sand and hyperfocusing on the new comfort zone. You can tell I’m being productive, each art on this blog is like, me actively trying to comfort myself, luckily it works every time.

So, new game, new passion, what about the character I experience that passion through? My WoL was a lala.

My WoL was a lala.

Look I didn’t even glam her properly..... I just loved the hilarity of the dragoon class flavor + pink potato, I farmed those sweet commendations because of that. I also had a catgirl on another account, I actively tried to find a character that’d click with me, that’d ground me in the game world.

I’d just watched WoodenPotatoes’ complete playthrough up to 5.5, my own progress was still at ARR, these two lovely lasses were.. Lovely, but I didn’t vibe with them. Bluntly speaking with the privilege of hindsight: my gay ass wasn’t at peace. I tend to gravitate towards male ocs.

Third time’s the charm, eh?

I was going into my own playthrough knowing that ShB isn’t only a storytelling masterpiece, but a vicious dating sim as well. My only braincell was already fixated on Raha and I needed a character for him.

That probably separates Vivi from many other WoLs. He was born for ShB, for Raha, with a specific purpose. Why elezen? Because, firstly, I’ve already been drawing elf people since 2012, it’s my comfort zone, secondly, by the time I dove into ShB I was acutely aware of the catboy WoL army, other races just never clicked with me, elezen however is the obscure cool kid among this bustling party of cat and bunny people. *shrugs* I just can’t help myself! I told you about Wakfu and GW2 specifically to point out that I’m drawn to obscurity, to niches, hell, hardly related but to prove the point: I’m also a rhythm game addict and I have an obscure anime rec blog. A vocaloid fan since 2008? Listening mostly to voca metal, alternative, all those nerdy niche things.

So I join a popular game, become obsessed with a popular character, and, being myself, choose an obscure race for my WoL \o/

Just to clarify, there’s no self-deprecation, only statements. I’m confident in my tastes and choices, whatever they may be, I’m only liking the good stuff >:D

Next part of the story you can already see if you scroll down to my first posts here. Knowing his destination, I started working on Vivi’s character, picking glams for him, slowly figuring out how to draw him (I’d say his visual development’s 80% complete by now). Fortunately for him, not only I’ve made 30+ ocs over the last 10 years, I also make adopts for a living. I’ve got the skills needed to develop a cool and happy character. Look, happy character =/= character without some kinda issues and angst, I mean happy as in relatable, believeable, alive.

Alive, that he sure is. If thinking about Raha as a separate character brought me back to life, looking at him through Vivi’s eyes made me feel like I’m in love too. Another thing to make clear: Vivi isn’t me, both him and Raha are my kin to a degree but I’m trying my best to stay aware and away from projecting. It’s just inevitable that you as a creator become some kinda medium/proxy for your character’s thoughts and feelings, and it’s beautiful. Even if I find myself in pain and wailing sometimes on their behalf, ha.

I don’t have much good going on in my own life so I live through my characters. It’s hard to explain how exactly I know things about them, of course it doesn’t come all at once. Vivi’s been around for 5 months now. I started working on his story early on, however I’d say my vision of him and Raha only fleshed out in the past 2 month-ish.

Can’t believe a weeb game made me write fics again. I’ve published one over on AO3 already, a few more are slowly cooking still, mentioning them only because they actually complemented my creative process behind art and comics, helped me get that elusive “feel” for the characters, and generally, surprisingly, approaching writing on a serious level did good things to my mental state, previously disastrous. My head feels like a much more orderly place now. Well, it’s also brimming with the catboy and elf feels, which is ever welcome.

So, I’m going about my business, then something clicks, I get an idea, a scene, an interaction, and rush to write it down. There’s a 20k+ words main document for my comic, several side-documents for later chapters and random unordered stuff, fics that fit into the main storyline and should be published within context. Soon I’ll be ready to start telling their story.

This post’s already too huge and waffly and wow if you’re still here, wow. You’re just as crazy as myself, but sincerely thanks for sticking with me :’>

I promised to talk about the so-called content plan, well, I sort of already did, mentioning the comic. If you’re observant, you may have noticed the name Fragments and some numbers floating around my tags. Fragments is the cheeky name of the comic, there IS a deeper explanation but I’ll leave it for another post. Whatever bits and pieces I’ve published under that name so far are “canon” and DO belong to the main story, however, I haven’t officially introduced the comic yet, there’ll be a launch and all that. Someday. Sometime soon.

It’s big and promising and exciting, still it’s just my personal project that I wanna be thorough with. Sorry for possibly being too vague about it, I take the “ship it when it’s ready” approach, I don’t rush things because they’re first and foremost for my own enjoyment.

For now thanks for looking at the random pics and comics I’m posting, I treat them as character flavor samples, as promo illustrations so to speak, while I’m chipping away at the main comic in the background.

Okay I spoke my heart out just like yesterday, feels nice. Thanks for all your support once again ;/////; <3

[mishasminion360]

You Are My Destino

Marcus Pike x gn!reader

Warnings: I got nothin’. It’s just a bunch of fluffy fluff.

Summary: You’ve only recently become aware that Marcus Pike has yet to see one of the most stunning visual masterpieces of the modern age. It’s date night and you’ve got a special activity in mind for your art admiring boyfriend.

A/N: Salvador Dalí is my favorite artist. As a Disney fanatic how could I not fall in love with the Dalí illustrated short film “Destino”? I first saw this incredible piece of film, a long lost masterpiece, at the Dalí museum when I was in high school. It changed me forever. I hadn’t been able to watch it again for years, but thanks to platforms like YouTube and Disney+ I can relive that magic day after day.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this before,” you say for the hundredth time, queuing up Disney+ as Marcus plops gingerly on the couch and rests a bowl of popcorn between the two of you.

“I’ve never really been big on Dalí’s work.”

“What kind of art connoisseur doesn’t like surrealism?”

He shrugs. “This one.”

You begin scrolling through your list of favorites, scanning for the particular short film as you flip a piece of popcorn into your mouth.

“Well, I appreciate you giving this flick a chance. Especially on date night,” you grin.

“Anything for you,” Marcus responds, stealing a kiss and a handful of popcorn as you press play.

A record crackles to life followed by the first strains of a somber refrain and a brief introduction:

In 1946, two legendary artists began collaboration on a short film. More than half a century later, their creation has finally been completed.

A phantom pen scrawls the names Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney elegantly across the screen and the tale begins in earnest.

You feel Marcus’s hand curl around your own as Dora Luz’s haunting voice fills the space of the living room, beginning her melancholy ballad.

“Now I can smile and say….

Destino,

My heart was sad and lonely,

In knowing that you only,

Could bring my love to me.

Destino,

This heart of mine is thrilled now,

My empty arms are filled now,

As they were meant to be.”

You’re three minutes into the nearly seven minute short and you haven’t been watching since you’d felt Marcus’s fingers intermingle with yours, opting to watch him instead. His eyes are glued to the screen, darting to and fro with Dahlia’s dance as she flits across the desert landscape, artfully weaving her way around obstacles that stand between her and her beloved Chronos. You hear his sharp intake of breath as he realizes that, alas, their love is not meant to be; that the life of a mortal is too fleeting to be saved by the love of a god. A frown tugs at Marcus’s lips as he watches Dahlia fade into the obscure, leaving Chronos with nothing but a memory of what never was.

His arm finds its way around your shoulders, his eyes never drifting from the screen as the film ends. It’s an unconscious gesture; an inherent, subliminal search for intimacy, and one that you sink into willingly. Your own gaze returns to the screen just as Dora ends the ill-fated love story with a message of hope.

“I know now

That you are my destino.

We’ll be as one, for we know

Our destiny of love.”

The credits roll and you toggle back to the main menu while Marcus remains silent. Appraising, critiquing, you assume.

“Well, mister ‘I don’t do surrealism’, what did you think of that?”

His head snaps to you and it’s almost as if he’d forgotten you were even there at all.

“That was….wow,” he breathes. “I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.”

“So, does that mean you liked it or…?”

“Honey, it was beautiful.” His smile is full of wonder. “I mean it was tragic, and there was still a lot of symbolism I didn’t quite grasp, but I’m seriously impressed.”

You chuckle as you run a hand playfully through his hair. “Does that mean I’ve successfully defected you to team Dalí?”

“I’m at least straddling the line,” he admits. “I will say this, though: seeing all of the weird imagery that Dalí could conjure up just hanging suspended in time on a wall doesn’t exactly do his vision justice. It just looks like someone’s nightmares or fever dreams plastered onto a canvas. But watching those same images come to life, watching them move and interact the way he saw them doing so inside his head? It’s….breathtaking.”

You love listening to this man talk art. He’s as passionate when discussing art as any artist is while creating it. The way his smile grows; the way his eyes sparkle. He becomes a work of art.

“I just wasn’t expecting it to be so sad,” he admits, his smile drooping ever so slightly. “Who likes a love story without a happy ending?”

Marcus’s whole life seemed to be a love story without a happy ending. You hope to be the one to change that.

“Sometimes the greatest love stories don’t end happily,” you shrug. “But they still inspire others to seek their own happiness. That’s what makes them great.”

Marcus mulls that over for a moment before taking your hand and resting a gentle kiss atop your knuckles.

“I think my days of seeking are over,” he grins warmly. “You are my destino.”

You playfully flick a piece of popcorn at his face that he skillfully manages to capture with his mouth.

“Sweet talker,” you smirk.

“So, spill it,” he says, scooching in and getting cozy. “What turned you on to Dalí’s work?”

A good question. One you never really expected ever having to answer. You’d been introduced to the surrealist’s pieces in the same way you assume that most people had been: watching the clocks melt off the pages of your textbook in your freshman art history course. Much like the title of that well known work suggested, the memory had persisted. You’d taken it upon yourself to study more of Dalí’s masterpieces, diving straight into the mind of the mad man. Once you discovered “Destino” you were officially hooked. But that’s not what Marcus had asked. How did you even put the answer into the right words?

“Dalí created images that people wouldn’t typically see as art and turned them into masterpieces. Weird things. Sometimes disturbing things. He found the beauty in the strange, and that made me feel something,” you answer honestly. “I’ve always been an oddball myself, so he gave me hope that maybe, someday, someone could see beauty in me.”

He stares at you for a moment (either awestruck or weirded out, you can’t really tell) before surging forward and locking his lips with your own. Marcus is a master of conveying his love with his mouth; whether with words or silently.

“I see it, honey,” Marcus whispers against your lips. “I see it every single day.”

@just-another-dumb-artist @grimeylady @rav3n-pascal22 @mamacitapascal @insomniamama1 @pedrosbisch @emmaispunk @mandolydian @lv7867 @reonlouw @hawaiianmelodies @pascalsky @pascalpanic @heythere-mel @healingstardust @pastel-0-princess @pedropascal207 @delorena @dindjarinsfingerlessgloves @pedropasxal @caesaryoulater @just-fics-i-read @randomcollection-o-stuff @girlbestie @phoenixpascal @dickspittoon @pasca1 @carstwirs @pancakeisreading @kiizhikehn-cedar @hellovanessax @fangirling-alert @pedrocentric @fromthedeskoftheraven @liviiii98 @feralhotmess @axshadows @mandapascal @dragon-scales88 @spaceppastel @anaaaispunk @pedropascal2532 @spideysimpossiblegirl @pbeatriz @hauntedmama @mswarriorbabe80

[eunsthings]

Museums

Part 3 I Questions?

Part 2 II Series masterlist II Part 4

Back in your class. the professor in front of you was talking about parasites. The last lecture for the day had passed with a series of slides filled with “fascinating” illustrations. With your back hurting, you subtly stretch your body; careful not to draw unnecessary attention. It was a long day, yet it was only two in the afternoon.  

“Thank goodness I have time to relax,” your lazy self has emerged once again.  

The click of your dorm door and the welcoming presence of your bed was the greatest feeling ever. Painfully switching your attention, you prepare for a quick shower. You took your phone to put on your bed, took some clothes to change into afterwards, then proceeded to head to your floor’s communal bathroom.  

As the water was pouring down on you, thoughts invaded your head. It had been the other day that you were hired for a huge job. They still haven’t reached back out yet and you aren’t able to do anything regarding the job since you had no idea what to do. They… or Tsukishima rather, hadn’t contacted you despite saying he will­—within a day or two. It had almost been 48 hours.  

“Why am I such an over-thinker?”  

You recover and assure yourself that it was all fine. It’s out of your control anyway. They can message you anytime. After all, you had given him your number.  

Finished, you dry yourself up and change into your fresh clothes before heading out and back to your room.  

You're greeted by the presence of your roommate sitting on your bed—the bottom bunk.  

“Hey,” you called out to her.  

“Hello,” she replied, eyes not meeting yours, still occupied with her phone.  

Holding your used clothes, you proceeded to fold them and put them away to be washed along with your week-old towel. Now your self-relaxation can begin… but where was your phone?

Lazing around would not be complete without it, you needed to scroll through YouTube comments while watching a video.  

“Wait just a minute-,” you face your roomie. “Isabella…”  

Whilst sitting on your bed, she gave you a cheeky expression; caught scrolling through your phone. “Sorry. Couldn’t help it. It was just sitting there.”  

“How did you even know the password?” A kind of annoyed amazement washed over you. You had nothing to hide anyway so there was no major problem.  

“In case you forgot, I live up–” she gestured to the top bunk, “–there.”  

“Dumb. Dumb as hell,” You had been careless. She could peek from above.  

“Anyway… Who is this guy?” Her tone was teasing with a mischievous face to go along with it. It made you worried.  

“What guy–” Oh no. It can’t be. Can it?  You grabbed your phone from her and saw why the idiot was smirking. It was a message from Tsukishima.  

     The message was straight to the point and yet your blockhead roommate still kept giving you knowing looks. She didn’t even know the reason for the message. She was jumping leaps and bounds to conclusions. This, you felt, was not going to go away anytime soon.  

“I was hired for another job”  

“Yeah, yeah. Sure~” She got up from your bed and languidly went for her desk. “Just don’t mind me, I’ll be studying here...” She dramatically gestures to her small workspace.  Facing her, you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed yet wanting to take that grin off her face.  

On your bed, you go back to the message. “On Wednesday.” It is a few days from now.

Checking your schedule, you were free on that day and the morning after. The timing though. Well, it wasn’t as if you were complaining, in fact, it was very good news. One less problem for you.  

You replied to Tsukishima then. The anxiety was eating you. A simple reply yet so many ways to screw up.  

“WHAT. DID I SEND?! Did he really leave me on ‘read’? Anyway~” So that is done. Now to relax. No need for self-criticism.  

On Wednesday, nine on the dot, you arrived in front of the museum.  

Draped around your neck, you show your loaned ID to the guard and pass through on to the building. Inside, some big boxes and various pieces have been placed on the hallway’s floor.

That must be for the event... wow they are already starting this early on. It again dawned on you how big of an event it is; starting to make preparations this early on. The pressure was beginning to feel real.  

“Hello.”  

“Oh, that voice again” you turn around to greet him but you didn’t get the chance to.  

“(L/N), this is Kazumi Keiko, my fellow intern,” he gestured to the lady beside him. Looking up at her, she seemed friendly, motherly almost; her long hair tied back and with freckles on her face. Although you take it, she was older than you and Tsukishima.

“Hello, nice to meet you Kazumi,” you reply although softly. She smiles a warm smile at you.  

“So now we're just waiting for Kazumi’s partner, Ike--- never mind she’s here”

“Hey guyssss!” A female about your age was waving behind the glass doors. Kazumi was gesturing with her hand beckoning the girl to enter. “How come she gets to be partners with Kazumi and I’m with the boy Tsukishima? This will just be utter awkwardness from me I bet,” you try to see the reasoning why it couldn’t have been you partnered with Kazumi.

“Hey, I’m Ikeda, Satsuki,” she was very direct, it caught you off-guard.

“Hi. I’m (L/N), (F/N).”

 “Wow, nice name! It’s foreign, I like it. Do you want a Snickers?” Glancing down, she had in her hand a Snickers bar being handed out to you. “Uh, no, no, I’m fine. You--” you got caught off by Kazumi. “(L/N), you better just take that or we’ll be stuck here a long time.”

“Oh ok, sure. Thank you, Ikeda,” you take the Snickers bar from her hand giving her a tight but genuine smile. She returned the gesture. From what you observed, she has a pretty happy-go-lucky character and you realize why Ikeda might be partnered with Kazumi; it was to manage Ikeda, Satsuki.

Tsukishima continued, “So for today Mr. Yasuhiro instructed us all to divide the work and just find a plan around it...”

That meeting ended about 15 minutes ago.  Now, you’re walking the streets of Sendai, side-by-side, with the tall man of partner for work. How did it come to this...?

The central matter you discussed was how the work was going to be divided. You and Tsukishima were to handle the main big projection for the event while Team Kazumi will handle multiple small displays around the museum. You didn’t get into too much detail but for now that was it. The details were to be discussed by the pair. Great... By the time your gathering finished it was past noon; late lunch.

“There’s still the rest of the day so I’m bringing Ikeda with me to lunch. We’ll be talking about ‘this’ after.” Kazumi was definitely wasting no time. “How about you guys?” She faced Tsukishima.

Oh no...

“Uh...” he glanced at you. Oh no. No, no. “You don’t have anything to do this afternoon right?”

I have no escape from this. “Yeah, my whole day is free”

“Well, I guess we could all get lunch.” He asked Kazumi now, “Where are you guys going?”

“A Western inspired cafe just a walking distance from here, it just opened so I wanna try it out”

Tsukishima took his coat and bag then went for the door. “Let’s go then.”  

“Wait... I still have to buy some things along the way, I want Kazumi to come with me. Can you two go ahead and reserve seats for us?” Ikeda protested, as childish as ever.

Kei halted, “Uh, yeah sure. I don’t see how that’s a problem.”

Not a problem... right.

“(L/N), are you fine with this?” The ever-motherly Kazumi made sure to check up on you.

Without any excuse whatsoever, “Yes, I’m ok with anything guys.” Darn it. Social Interaction.

“Ehem...” After a rather long walk of silence. Tsukishima cleared his throat. “Are you fine there?”

“Hmm...” You glance up at him; not expecting any talk. “Oh yeah, I’m fine here. You?”

“Uh-huh. Same here”

Awkward...but still you continue to walk side-by-side.

“You know, I’m not really a talkative person,” Tsukishima started again, “but Mr. Yasuhiro told me to ‘make an effort’ because you ‘tend to be shy,’” oh, is that how this guy sees me too? Ouch.

“I get what he means but...” he side-glanced to see you, it made your eyes meet his for a small while, “…some people prefer not talking at all and some are uncomfortable doing so. In short... I’m asking you if you would be comfortable with me trying to talk to you...”

Ohhhh... man, this guy is considerate. What a nice person.

“Yes, yeah. I’m really fine with people talking to me first. I just don’t really like to initiate a conversation plus I don’t want to be a nuisance to them... and like you said, I ‘tend to be shy.’”

“So, are you fine if I ask you questions?”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” You really felt delighted; a person actually respected that not all people are the same in terms of talkativeness. It’s not every day you meet someone like that.

Unbeknownst to you, it was Tsukishima’s goal in earnest to make you comfortable around him; to the best of his ability.  You do have to work on a project together after all.

A few moments of walking and you both arrived in the café. True to her word, what Kazumi said by “western inspired” actually really means an absolutely western café.

Tsukishima, the unexpected gentleman, opened the door for you as you both entered. You give him a smile in thanks; he returned a small smile too.  

Looking around, it seems like rush-hour has passed and the café is almost empty. That means you don’t have to worry about reserving seats for Kazumi and Ikeda, then.  

“Would you prefer seats by, or away from the window?”

You imagined eating by the window as others pass by... “I think away from the window”

“Same here.” He then led you to a table for 4 by the wall. He breezily pulled a chair and motioned for you to sit on it as if it were no big deal.  

Oh my. This is kind of flustering.

Tsukishima received a text from Kazumi saying that they’ll be late and to order and eat ahead of them; and so, you both did. A waitress handed you menus then left the both of you to choose your orders. He ordered smoked salmon while you went with lasagna. For dessert he asked you what you wanted but you’d told him you’ll have bobba instead; he got a strawberry shortcake.

“So, while waiting for our food, and Kuzumi, I do have to bring back the fact that we're going to be working together on this project and we barely know each other. So...” across from you, he gives you a “you get where I’m headed with this” look on his face.

You nodded. “Mhmm”  

“Right, should we ask each other questions?”

“Yeah, I think that’s the easiest way.”

“Ok, I’ll go first. You’re in university, right? What are you studying?”

“Oh, I’m a veterinary student”

“Oh, wow. That’s very impressive.” You responded with a smile and small chuckle, “Oh, no... not really.”

It was your turn. “If I recall correctly, you are in the museum as an intern. What are you doing if you’re not there?”

“Well, aside from attending school, I also have volleyball to face but that’s all.”  

Confused with his vague answer, “Volleyball?”

“Hm... uh,” for the first time ever since you met him, the usually stoic guy looked... bashful. “I play for V.League Division 2,” he looks unsure if you knew what it was and made an attempt to explain it. But when he saw your eyes wide with amazement, he stopped fidgeting with his hands. “I’m taking it that you know what that is...”

You didn’t really dabble too much in sports, volleyball was no exception. Sure, you watched an anime about volleyball; got addicted, and friends mention volleyball from time-to-time too, all that was enough to know what V.League meant. “Now that’s impressive.”

He grinned. “Heh. Well, I don’t really know about that…but now it’s my turn to ask. How did you get into animating?”

“Oh,” you let out a heartfelt laugh, caught unaware of the question.

Hearing it, Kei couldn't help but suppress his blissful smile.

“I always liked animating but it was a friend who forced me to actually do something about it,” remembering your laziness and your pestering friend was a goofy memory but a treasured one.

“Is this the same friend that left you in the museum?”

Joy came over you and you chuckled again, “how did you even remember that?”

“I mean, that was just a few days ago and who can forget someone who got left behind by a friend?”

“She isn’t bad, she just had to hurry out. I swear, she’s a reliable person most times.”

You haven’t noticed it but Tsukishima's goal was slowly realized as the air of awkwardness and tension gave out. You were too giddy to realize anything; you felt weirdly safe and became chattier.

In front of you, Tsukishima looked to be amused; a rare smile plastered on his face. “I had a somewhat same experience back in high school,” again, he sported a surprisingly charming smile on his face.

Curiosity overtook as you continued to prod, “what happened in high school?”  

“Well, simply put, I wasn’t overly fond of volleyball then. A lot of people paved the way to make me love it. In a way, I relate."  

“Wow, your friends were really good for doing that.”

“Hahaha.. yeah. I was kind of forced the first time around,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s your turn to question.”

“Oh, right.” Attention span of a goldfish. “What position do you play?”

“I... Am a middle blocker”

“Well, that’s fitting to say the least. Is it fun playing your position?"

“Yes. I find it fun especially seeing anguished faces across the net after a good block.” You cracked a smile at that, he didn’t seem to be the type to find fun in that manner.

 “My turn to ask. Are you comfortable talking to me now?” Upon asking that, he faced you with genuine concern, you didn’t even realize you were talking to him casually and without uneasiness.

“Yeah, I think so.” You finish it with a smile.

He flashed a quick smirk in response. For he, after a lengthy while, has finally made progress with the person in front of him.

Part 2 II Series masterlist II Part 4

Notes:

Y/N doesn’t really use Tsukki’s name in her head’s dialogue cause she’s still uneasy🤕

and yes we use messenger... pls don’t mind 🥺

guys this is a veryyy slow burn i hope you guys stickkkk around☺️

it’s been a very long time since the last. but better late right??😅😅

𝑨𝒍𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒐. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈!!! ^-^

𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈♡

=tags below=

[arofili]

how’d u get into writing? like, writing fic and being part of the silm community, being Known, that stuff? i’m really new to being a silm cc and i’d love to know ur advice! also: how’d u build up the confidence to start posting meta/hcs? bc i have a Lot of hcs and meta ideas but also i’m really anxious abt posting them bc yknow anxiety is like that

these are some great questions, anon! I’m gonna go through them one by one :)

how’d u get into writing?

not to be like, super cliche, but I’ve...kind of always been a writer? as long as I can remember I’ve been telling stories, and when I was too young to read or write I would dictate them to my mom, who would type them up for me and help me choose clipart illustrations to accompany them. when I got old enough I would always be writing; I attempted my first novel at age 9, and while that never really went anywhere I did finish the darn thing and it had some pretty sophisticated plot twists for a 9-year-old!

like, writing fic

around the same time I got into fandom! I was deep into Warrior cats (like. really deep) and I believe I started writing my first fics when I was like? 10 or 11? my memory is kind of fuzzy on the order of things, but I know I got an account on the Warriors forums when I was 9, and that I was already posting my fic there when I made my FFN account. I believe I was 12 when that happened, but who knows. I haven’t the faintest idea of what happened with those forums, but uhhh pretty much all of my Warriors fic is still up on FFN lmao. you could probably find that if you want to but um...maybe don’t?

my first Big Fic was a self-insert of...my entire 5th/6th grade class into the then-current timeline of the Warriors books...well. I honestly think that might still be my most popular fic of all time l m a o though I try not to think about it because Hashtag Cringe. though as much as I look back on that time with a “yikes,” I am very grateful for the Warriors fandom in a way? that place was so accepting and encouraging of OCs, of AUs, of completely disregarding canon, of worldbuilding that is completely alien from canon - it was a fantastic sandbox to begin with, there were so many ways to write stories and practically all of them were accepted and had fellow fans invested in them!

and being part of the silm community, 

soooo I wrote Warriors fic until my freshman year of high school (wow sdjfhkdsjfh), which was when BOTFA came out, and I was absolutely wrecked by the ending and immediately started writing my own fixit fic. I was also super hooked on Kiliel! so that was my intro to the Tolkien fandom; and simultaneously, I joined tumblr, and, well, the rest is history tbh.

I honestly do not remember when I first read the Silm, but I kind of got into the more obscure parts of the Tolkien fandom through fandom osmosis, and I do have a vague memory of doodling the Finwean family tree in geometry class so it might have been later on in freshman year? that was also the same time I was having my Queer Awakening, and Russingon definitely contributed to me unlearning my internalized queerphobia, so probably around then.

anyway - queer awakening, tumblr, Tolkien, transitioning from FFN to AO3 - all of that was happening around the same time. I know I dipped my toes in the Silm fandom then, but I was still primarily a Hobbit fic writer focusing on Kiliel. toward the end of high school I kind of shifted to LOTR and (qp) Gigolas...but somehow the Silm fandom is the most active of the Big Three within the Tolkien fandom, and I was getting dragged further and further in.

it wasn’t until @backtomiddleearthmonth 2019, my freshman year of college, that I really dove into writing Silm fic! I picked some Silm-specific bingo cards and never looked back :D that was really not all that long ago but I am obsessed in a way I don’t really remember being even with TH/LOTR, I obviously cannot see the future but I anticipate hanging out here for a long time. the Silm fandom is great overall and there’s just so much material to work with!! <3

being Known, that stuff?

so I don’t really have a whole lot of context on how “well known” I am in the fandom?? definitely within the past year and a half or so I’ve noticed that I like, get asks like this, and get a significant amount of notes on my posts, and I’ve made a lot of fandom friends especially since I joined some Silm servers on Discord (hmu if you want invites; I’m on the SWG server and 2 general Silm servers and the Russingon server) this past year. and I have 3,000 followers as of this month - and while ever since I hit 1k I don’t particularly pay attention to my follower count I can definitely say that I have more engagement now than I used to! but it took me a long time to build this “audience,” I suppose; I’ve been around the Tolkien fandom since late 2014, so nearly 6 years of this, lol.

really the best way to build a following, in my experience, is to just post a lot of stuff. when I started making edits I got a lot more engagement, because for a long time I would post one every day! (I made them in batches and queued them; I didn’t actually make one every day lol...and now I’m too busy to do that, so I just make edits for events and whenever I feel like it) And I have [checks ao3] 145 works in the Silm fandom as of today - I’m fairly prolific! I’ve come to generally expect 3-10 comments on most of my oneshots, which is a lot more than I used to have back in the day. consistency and quantity are more likely to attract people to your work - and quality, of course.

also: how’d u build up the confidence to start posting meta/hcs?

I’ve been writing since I was very young, and I’ve been writing fic for like...11 years? I think? in that time I’ve produced a lot of garbage, but imo most of that was in my Warrior cats phase, so I came into the Tolkien fandom with confidence in myself and my writing. I’m also working on original fiction on the side (I hope to eventually become a published fantasy author, but right now school takes up most of my time that I don’t devote to fandom, which gives me more immediate gratification and also is just Very Fun) and I know I’m a good writer.

basically, I’ve been doing this for like...half my life, and I’m still fairly young, so I’ve had time to build up my skill and confidence and I know I’m only going to get better with time. you will get better with practice. like I said, I’ve written a lot of terrible stuff, and it’s only through sucking for a long time that I’ve gotten to the point I am now. and I am far from perfect; I know I still have lots of room to grow!

for meta and headcanons specifically, I started with writing fic, and then when I didn’t think I could stretch something into an entire fic I would just make a hc post. I have a vivid memory of writing my first meta in a notebook during driver’s ed because it was so goddamn boring and I had Thoughts about Tauriel and Thranduil!

in my experience, meta comes from having Opinions and wanting to share them and most importantly to back them up - you need to have sources! you need to have reasons! you need to have justification! otherwise it’s not meta, it’s a headcanon or an AU. which is fine!! I love hc/AU!!! but they are not the same as meta, and I’m a stickler for being accurate when it comes to meta. if you have sources and shit to back you up, that will help you build the confidence to share your meta.

sharing disinformation and passing it off as meta instead of just coming out and saying this is a headcanon/baseless theory/AU or whatever is such a fandom pet peeve of mine; it’s not bad for something to not be Accurate! you just have to have that disclaimer - and even when you’re writing meta, you’re offering an interpretation of the text, and you need to acknowledge that other interpretations also exist and are valid.

um. I hope this answers your questions? and sorry for basically word-vomiting my entire life story, lol. this post got long; the main reason I’ve written so much fic is because I really just cannot shut up for the life of me. sooo if you can tear of that filter of being shy and just. say shit. you can go so far~!

OH and one more thing - I can’t believe I almost forgot this - but part of being a writer is participating in the community. this is code for LEAVE A DAMN COMMENT IF YOU LIKE A FIC. that’s how I made most of my fandom friends before Discord! I follow @ao3feed-silmarillion and stalk that blog for new Silm fics; I read the ones that interest me and comment on them.

I know this is not really the most common way for folks to find fic but it’s so rewarding to interact with new fic, new writers, new commentors, new stories - you can find gems that don’t rise to the top of the kudos/bookmark lists; you become friends with your fellow writers; you can watch people grow and change; you support smaller content creators. yeah, you might not be getting Just The Best Stuff, but it’s so so so worth it!!

and if you make friends in the comment section of other people’s fic - I guarantee you some of them will go to your AO3 profile and check out your fic, too! and they’ll leave comments! this is a fic community, and that’s what I cherish about fandom most of all, tbh.

anyway - again - sorry for rambling so much, but I hoped this helped! feel free to send in another ask, or to come talk to me off anon if you’d like! and definitely send me your stuff if/when you decide to share it; I would love to support you!!! <3

[willowistic22]

Van life!newsies headcanons

Hello, i have recently been obsessing and/or pining over living in a van/bus. So i will project my pining to my favorite pretty paper boys like what everyone does in the newsies fandom! Very healthy and smart idk lol so here’s my take on this au for each of my ships!

*i know some ppl might not agree with all these ships but these are just my personal favorites pls don’t come after me for something i like :)*

@jaelynn-is-slightly-confused thanks for deciding which headcanons i should write first :)

A pretty long list so you might have to sit down for this one 

Javid

They converted an old american school bus

I actually have a headcanon that modern!jack comes from a rich family (maybe not the family his parents were born into but his parents worked pretty hard to be successful y’know) so that’s how they were able to buy an old school bus

So they were able to fit in a shower (not one of those foldable kinds) and a built in toilet. A pretty decent kitchen. A stove, oven, microwave, and all the other utilities necessary. Was able to fit both a washing machine and a dryer. Has a proper closet.

To fit davey’s needs, they put in a tiny book shelf. But it’s too tiny to fit in all of davey’s book (he’s got a shelf full) and was forced to give some of them away he cried a little. Jack did the same for his art supplies he cried a lot.

Jack is an illustrator and Davey is a writer. (Davey the hopeless romantic Jacobs mostly writes romance wow what a shocker) If Jack can find the time to paint on a canvas he will. It usually ends up getting sold which he doesn’t mind. 

Jack painted every inch of the bus exterior wow we’re all so shocked no we aren’t I lied :) "Jack why...” “We need to be festive when we travel, Dave!” *face palms*

They have one cat which is still nameless in my head so ://

Newsbians

They live in a school bus 

Kathrine’s a Pulitzer so you know how they can freely afford it (now that i think abt it i think old school busses sell for really cheap prices but idk) 

The shower and closet are a must have for Kathrine. She takes over most of the closet space and takes the longest in the shower. Sarah is a foodie so she built herself a whole kitchen and Kathrine is not allowed to touch anything without her permission. Even fitting in a huge fridge. They also fit in a proper working desk and a couch. Also made some sort of balcony on top of their bus so they can stargaze on top of there 

Kathrine is a reporter and Sarah is a physician in the telemedicine industry (she meets patients through video calls and such, not face to face) 

Morning coffee is a tradition for them at this point. They cannot drive the bus without having one cup of coffee 

They have two cats still nameless too ://

Ikeshot (lmao moving to my rarepairs so quickly. i mean i originally reserved the van life headcanon for them but i got too obsessed and now i’m writing this list hehe) 

They settled with a sprinter van 

it started just as an idea for their honeymoon to do a road trip around the us, but it ended up being longer than a hundred days of honeymoon and it turns into being their first proper room 

Their shower is built in and it can only fit one person. The bed takes up the whole back space. Their closet is kinda small but they don’t mind bcs Ike mostly lives in Hotshot’s clothes anyways. The kitchen is limited but they have a pullout barbeque at the back of their van, under their bed. Hotshot is a master at barbequing. 

Ike is a translator and interpreter. He also uses his hobby in crocheting to build a small business he makes cardigans :) (credit to @violetwolfraven for that little idea) Hotshot is an accountant. Very boring ik but i have a headcanon he’s good with numbers so that’s cool (well idk i feel like he’s good with math and economics) 

Bringing the playstation has always been a priority, so they built in a tv. They like to chill in the bed and play together. Mario kart is a ruthless game  

Occasional weird midnight dancing sessions is a tradition 

they have a cat named Sparks and a dog named Lewis. It’s a dalmatian which made Hotshot tempted to name him Spot :) 

*cut to a vicious argument between Spot and Hotshot which was also egged on by Ike and Race* 

Jomike (ok look i love my rarepairs alright pls let me ship in peace) 

They got a sprinter van 

Their kitchen took up most the space bcs mike and jojo are practically professional chefs. When asked to throw down in the kitchen, they will thRO W   D O W N

They even use a teal palette specifically for their kitchen. They have a one person shower but no built in toilet. a fair amount of plants as decoration. in the back of their van, they have a built in pull out dining table and two benches (built under their bed so they’d have to stop and open the back door to have a proper dinner) 

Jojo is a reporter and mike is a computer programmer. Their job requires a proper desk to work on so they just installed a foldable table in between their seats up front. 

their clothes are just stored in cabinets since they share anyways. it leaves a good amount of wall space to play a projector for netflix *cue the soft cuddling in bed* 

breakfast in bed is the most on brand thing for them to do 

they have a cat named Dixeleta. She’s an outdoor cat so they have fun doing outdoor activities together. Hiking, kayaking, etc. 

Sprace 

They live in an old sprinter van Spot got from an old family member

They have the type of bed that can turn into a living room (seats and table etc). They use a foldable shower bcs they want the space. Their kitchen can be extended out with a latch by their sliding door but that’s only when they need to use a stove and oven. Since they’re the type of people that just throws on the closest clothes they can grab they just use cabinets to store their clothes. 

ok i’ve mentioned it before about sprace but i’ll mention it again. They have three cats named Racecat, Spot Clawlon, and Romeow :D all named by race if you’re wondering. 

So Race is a social media manager and Spot is a physician in the telemedicine industry. 

They’re very lazy to constantly look for a coin laundry service. They make a schedule to do the laundry once a week but sometimes they just forget. 

Their first drive of the day will always include karaoke. They can’t tell whether their cats love or hate their singing voice most likely the latter but they’re in denial.

They cuddle each other in bed with their cats. While watching tv, to sleep, or just chilling together. 

Redfinch 

They got a mini bus

They have a built in shower, bathroom, and closet (not sure why since they don’t really care about their clothes all that much) They have a proper kitchen, fit a washing machine and dryer, plus a little seating area with a small table 

They have two big doberman named Zara and Zoey and a cat named Marbles. Pretty outdoor pets so they frequently take them out for hikes and such 

They have a ‘balcony’ on top of their mini bus to chill together. As in all five of them :)

Finch is a music producer and Albert is a photographer and videographer. Albert mostly works with tourist as their personal photographer, but he has land gigs with big companies/people. Finch works with a label that has given him to opportunity to work at home but sometime still need to stop by a studio to meet with artists or other producers. 

Finch only needs space to store his laptop, notebooks, and guitar (but he ends up hanging it on the wall anyways). Albert takes up a whole cabinet for all of his equipment. 

Not Finch waking up at an ungodly hour when a spark of inspiration comes to him, which ends up waking everyone in the bus. *cut to Albert furiously dragging him back to bed*

They installed a tv near their bed for playstation sessions or cuddling throughout a movie

Their driving karaoke is usually accompanied by their dogs which only tortures Marbles. She hides under the blanket to save her ears. smart cat hehe

Snipesmalls (Never wrote anything for them but I do love these girls :)) 

They converted a mini bus 

Sniper takes up most of the closet space, but it doesn’t matter because they share clothes anyways. A built in toilet and shower. Their kitchen has a navy blue theme to it. It was Smalls’ idea. They have a washing machine and dryer and also a proper dining table.

Sniper is a nurse in the telehealth industry (basically just like telemedicine but deals with more than just clinical services) and Smalls is a medical transcriptionist. 

They have an Australian Shepherd named Blue. It’s because of her blue eyes it’s so beautiful :O Blue likes to stick his head out while driving. 

They have a built in tv for their playstation and movies but sometimes they bring out the projector to watch while chilling outside. 

They have done the most traveling. Hopping from the US to Europe and Asia. 

They may like to share clothes but Sniper really likes to be fashionable wherever she goes. “Ok so since we’re planning to go hiking tomorrow, which hat should I use?” “Sniper, we’re hiking up a mountain, not a vogue fashion runway” “And so what if I pretend we are? Use your imagination babe! Now which one?” *sighing*

It is a nightmare to convince Sniper to give away some of their clothes She cries every time her clothes are being given away but gets happy when they go shopping for new ones and it’s the same cycle every time this happens  

They also like to go to music festivals and have picnics together 

Blush 

They live in a mini bus

They rarely buy clothes or give them away plus they share clothes so the closet is pretty small but hella messy because they’re lazy at folding their clothes away. A simple built in shower and also a foldable toilet. The kitchen is pretty equipped because Mush is a master chef. They have a little seating area with a table. Alternating as a working desk and dining table

Mush is a dietitian and Blink is a therapist, both in the telemedicine industry. 

Neither is allowed to drive if they haven’t gotten their morning coffee 

Mush is mostly then one doing the karaoke while Blink drives 

they like to have picnics together

goes to random concerts. it doesn’t need to be a really big artist. they’d simply be happy if they get tickets to any sort of concert. They prefer to see local underground artists to discover more music and such but they sometimes save up to watch big artists too. 

they’ve only been around the us and canada but are planning on going to other countries too 

Belmerttons 

they live in an old school bus 

So buttons is a huge fashionista so there is a proper closet and drawers that are mostly used by himself. A built in bathroom and the door has a mirror per buttons request. they also fit a washing machien and dryer in the bus per buttons request too. Their bed is full of decorative pillows and a few stuffed animals per elmer’s request. Their kitchen is small but does the trick. also has a little seating area with a table 

Buttons is a fashion stylist but also a designer. Elmer is a math tutor for all ages

they love going to different kind of events and festivals. one of the reasons why they wanted to live on the road in the first place 

to get buttons to give away his old clothes, elmer has to assure him it’s for a good cause bcs buttons loves all his clothes. Buttons still get a little sad and pouty when those days come but picks himself up again when elmer offers a disney movie night on the projector with some snacks

oh yes, they bring lots of snacks on the road 

They have a cat. still nameless soz 

the cat is very fluffy and sheds a lot. which is kind of a problem especially on buttons clothes 

“you’re lucky you have a cute face” -buttons while he’s cleaning the fur off his clothes 

Spromeo 

they live in a mini bus but kinda looks like a hippie van (idk how to describe it but it’s a mini bus with a hippie kind of style to it yknow) 

they have two separate areas in the bus. one up front where the driver and passenger seat is. also coupled with a tiny sofa and a table. that’s where they do their work and dine. very comfy and cozy. 

it’s seperated by a thin wooden wall. through the doorway is where the rest of their living quarters are. a bed, small kitchen but fully equipped, a shower, and foldable toilet. instead of a closet, they use a dresser since they don’t really have many clothes anyways 

so specs is a history teacher and tutor for all ages. (he’s a history nerd hehe). Romeo is a photographer and cinematographer. mostly a tourist photographer (kinda like albert yknow) 

specs likes reading history books, but he mostly does his reading on his tablet and laptop to save space. the same for romeo and comics btw 

their bed is full of pillows 

they have a cat named snowy. a lazy indoor cat. but she loves to cuddle with them in bed

they’ve also done some traveling to other countries. mostly neighboring countries but are dreaming of going to places in europe and asia. 

they enjoy doing lots of board games when they’re not driving 

romeo has a ukulele which he constantly uses to serenade to specs. sometimes to snowy but mostly specs 

woah that was long akjghflkjasfbj; h. will i write a oneshot with this headcanon? maybe but who knows. just needed to put it out there that i’m pining on living on the road with the loml and some cats and go on an adventure together. anyways hope whoever reads this enjoy and sorry for writing a long headcanon list hehe 

[cynergy-laughter]

Meet The Family: Obey Me! One Master to Rule Them All!

Fanfic Series by: @cynergy-laughter

Featuring: (Defined MC), (Comedy, Fluff, Shipping, Angst) (PG Rated)

Chapter 5: The Deal and The Truth

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“Lord Diavolo wants to speak with me? Why?” Brendon asked, raising his brows.

“It’s an urgent matter, and he requires your consultation.” Barbatos said, “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall.” Lucifer said, going over toward Barbatos with Brendon, only to be stopped by Barbatos’s gloved hand raising up.

“Lucifer, Lord Diavolo only requires Brendon’s audience at this time.” Barbatos nodded. “And plus, isn’t there something you should be doing?”

Lucifer blinked and took a step back, “R-Right… I forgot I needed to continue with some paperwork…”

Brendon blinked as he saw Lucifer stepped back inside, it wasn’t like Lucifer to at least protest one more time… “G-Good night, Lucifer, don’t work too hard…!” Brendon said to Lucifer as he began walking out of the house. “I’ll give you a call or a text when I’m on my way home…”

Brendon turned to Barbatos, who gave him an expectant, yet soft smile. “Now, let us be on our way to the Demon Lord’s Castle.” Barbatos nodded as he turned to walk down from the porch, turning to make sure Brendon was following him.

They were walking together, it was odd to be with Barbatos for such an extended period of time. Even if it was in silence.

“You want to say something, am I correct?” Barbatos suddenly asked while they were going through the shopping district.

“Umm… I feel like if I ask it, you would say the same things you told me at the House…” Brendon said.

“You are very perceptive, but it all depends on the question you ask.” Barbatos said, nodding.

Brendon thought for a minute and kept walking alongside Barbatos. “... Is he mad at me? For trying to convince him? Was I overstepping my bounds? Am... I in trouble?” He asked, his steps slowly becoming uncertain until he finally stopped, somewhat trembling.

Barbatos walked in and listened to the questions that were asked, until he stopped only a step ahead of Brendon and turned around to face him. Barbatos saw a possibility similar to this, but these were not the questions asked. Barbatos walked over to Brendon and took his hand gently, holding it like a proper gentleman.

“You do not need to fear, Brendon, my lord is not angry with you. In fact, he is rather sad that he may have upset you. Of course, my lord’s words are final, but, it seems that after you left the meeting… someone convinced him to reconsider.” Barbatos reassured.

“R-Really? Who?” Brendon asked, although he had a feeling of who convinced him.

Barbatos smiled as he held his hand gently and warmly. “Come, we mustn't keep Lord Diavolo waiting.”

Brendon nods as he follows Barbatos the rest of the way to the castle. Barbatos opened the gigantic door into the grand, well lit foyer, it looked like it shined gold and the curtains that contrasted the floor glowed a beautiful Ruby red. Up the stairs they both went and toward the west wing. They went down the corridor and Barbatos had stopped at a door and looked at Brendon.

“Please wait here a moment, I need to let my lord know of your arrival.” Barbatos said with a small reassuring grin before knocking on the door and after a “yes?” through the solid door, opened the door and stepped inside.

It was at least a minute before Barbatos came out of the room and bowed. “My Lord Diavolo is ready for you.”

Brendon bowed back. “Thank you, Barbatos… and thanks again for escorting me. I appreciate you.”

“Of course, it was my pleasure, Brendon.” Barbatos said as Brendon walked through the door and into Lord Diavolo’s office.

“Ah, Brendon! I’m so glad you were able to join me. I hope I didn’t summon you while you were asleep…” Diavolo said, smiling wide but then biting his lip a bit unnerved.

“Oh no, you’re fine, Lord Diavolo… I had just finished washing dishes when Barbatos knocked on the door.” Brendon reassured, giving Diavolo relief.

“Oh thank goodness. Oh please, sit down.” Diavolo said, offering the chair in front of his desk, “Barbatos will be back with some tea and snacks, if you would like to partake.”

“That sounds wonderful, thank you…” Brendon sat down and gave a smile back to Diavolo’s friendly smile, but to be truthful, it was pretty intimidating to be in Lord Diavolo’s presence alone… usually it was with at least Lucifer’s audience as well. “Umm, Lord Diavolo… why did you summon me to your office? Barbatos said you wanted my consultation?”

Diavolo blinked and chuckled lightly. “Oh, yes… It must have come as a surprise… especially with how our last conversation ended… I would like to discuss something with you. After you left the meeting this morning, the student council expressed wishes to attend the Kyoto trip with you and your family… even Lucifer said that he wanted to go.”

Brendon blinked, he was stunned. He knew that Mammon and the others wanted to go, but Lucifer himself wanted to go to Kyoto with Brendon and his family. “T-They did?”

“Of course! I think Lucifer said that he wished nothing more than to spend summer with you.” Diavolo said, and somewhere in the House of Lamentation, Lucifer sneezed.

“W-Wow… I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Well, I said I would think about it. And… I have… the plan I had was to have Lucifer and his brothers work on student council planning packets for next year’s activities and events, as well as illustrating next year’s budget and future plans for the exchange program… and they would be eligible to attend the trip when they finished it.” Diavolo explained.

“But… you said I could only choose two out of the seven brothers…” Brendon suddenly realized, “Wait… you don’t mean-.”

“Yes, as a surprise to you, and the seven rulers of the Devildom, we will be holding our summer vacation in Kyoto with you.” Diavolo smiled excitedly, eager to see your reaction.

“I-I… Lord Diavolo… I really don’t know what to say except… Thank you so much!” Brendon stood up and was shaking with joy at Diavolo’s decision.

“You’re welcome! I also thought that it wouldn’t be fair to have only two of the brothers be introduced to your family. But I would also love to meet your family. So, Barbatos and I shall be going as well!”

Brendon blinked and tilted his head. “Really? L-Lord Diavolo, are you sure?” He asked, tilting his head, he wasn’t sure what to expect if Lord Diavolo was in the human world, he’s never seen Lord Diavolo let loose into the human world. Of course, with Barbatos and Lucifer he would be kept somewhat in line… maybe?

“It’ll be fine! I would love to meet the family of such an exceptional exchange student.” Diavolo gave a huge smile.

Brendon chuckles. “You also wanna go out and see the human world, don’t you?”

Diavolo seemed to turn from a powerful, present future demon king to an excitable puppy in 4 seconds. If he had a tail it would be wagging right now. “So so bad…”

Brendon smiles. “I would be honored to have you attend the vacation with us. And Barbatos too.”

“Well, that is certainly good news to hear.” Barbatos said as he had just come in. “Shall I let Lucifer and his brothers know?”

“Hmm… no, I want it to be a surprise for them. After all, they haven’t submitted the packets yet. Even Lucifer… I’m surprised he’s usually good with paperwork.” Diavolo said.

“He’s been working very hard… I’m scared that he’s overworking himself. Not to mention dealing with his brothers’ antics, and mine…” Brendon said, biting his lip when he included himself, “I think this vacation is definitely what Lucifer needs… maybe all of us need this, there has been a lot that has happened within these couple of years…” Brendon said, fidgeting his fingers a bit, kind of turning his ring a bit.

“Of course, it will be good to let loose and have fun.” Diavolo smiled.

“We shall in due time, my lord. If you will also do your duties as well.” Barbatos said as he put the tray down and poured Diavolo and Brendon some tea, setting the teacups and saucers down on Diavolo’s desk carefully.

“Ehehe, of course…” Diavolo could feel the daggers being stared into him from his softly stoic butler.

Brendon took his cup and saucer, and sipped his tea, feeling blissful. “Oh Barbatos, thank you so much, this is delicious!”

“I’m glad you enjoy it, Brendon. I knew you would.” Barbatos smiled.

“Now, another question… Brendon, would you want to leave for vacation with us? Or do you want us to meet you there?” Diavolo asked before sipping from his own cup.

Brendon thought about it and closed his eyes. “Hmm… well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen just my family…” he said. “I think I wanna get readjusted with my family before blending everyone together… after all, two families with such big personalities in each…” he chuckled.

Diavolo nodded, “Of course! Well, we’d have to come up with an excuse, so that the brothers don’t become suspicious…”

“Hehe, I think I have an idea, we could say that I decided on who’s to go already, and I left my decision with you. And then… you can reveal the surprise~.” Brendon chuckles.

“I knew there was a reason why you are such an exceptional exchange student.” Diavolo said, holding his teacup high up, “A toast to surprises.”

“A toast to family… and a toast to a summer to remember.” Brendon said, holding his teacup high as well.

Barbatos smiles and holds up a teacup of his own. “Cheers.”

All three of them take their sip and Brendon finishes his sip with a chuckle. “I kind of feel bad for lying to them, I feel like I’m in a conspiracy with you two.” Brendon blushed a bit.

“Well, I think it will be a pleasant surprise. Especially since they’re expecting one or two to go.” Diavolo set his cup back down onto his saucer.

“Yeah, and my family is already excited to meet them, but now I’m finding out that you two will be attending as well. It’s like I’m not really leaving the Devildom for vacation…” Brendon blushes and looks at them both.

Eventually, when the tea and snacks had been finished off, it was time to go back to the House.

“Thank you so much for the hospitality, Lord Diavolo.” Brendon said bowing.

“You’re welcome! So, we can send you off to Kyoto in a day’s time so you can reunite with your family. And we shall be right behind you.” Diavolo nodded.

Brendon smiled and went up to Diavolo, giving him a tight hug. “I really can’t thank you enough, Lord Diavolo… and I’m sorry again for being a bit dramatic earlier.”

Diavolo blushed at the sudden hug and then wrapped his arms gently around Brendon as well. “You’re okay, Brendon. I’m just glad that you're not upset anymore.” Diavolo broke the hug and put his hands on Brendon’s shoulders, “I think we and the House of Lamentation can agree, you look your best when you’re smiling.”

Brendon was blushing a bit after being told that, there was a bit of a twang within his heart, like there was something that told him otherwise, but he felt the warmness in Diavolo’s gentle voice, the security in Diavolo’s hug, and the sincerity of his words overpower that nagging feeling. The truth was being told here.

Barbatos smiled at the tender moment but then cleared his throat, “I don’t mean to stop this, but Brendon does need to get some rest.”

“O-Oh, of course, I’m sorry for holding you up, Brendon.” Diavolo said, letting go of his shoulders.

Brendon shook his head, chuckling at how adorable Diavolo was when he was embarrassed, “No no… to be honest you made my day when you said that… Thank you for your words, Lord Diavolo. Good night.” Brendon said, bowing before going back to the House with Barbatos.

During the walk home, Brendon had a thought gnawing on his mind. And he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Barbatos? Do you know?” Brendon asked meekly, biting his lip.

Barbatos looked back to Brendon and his face didn’t change. “It depends on what you think I know.”

“Do you know why I didn’t want to go alone? The reason why I asked Lord Diavolo the question at the meeting?” Brendon stopped and looked at him.

Barbatos stopped as well and then turned around. “I have seen many different versions of this conversation… but the common denominator in them is your father. Am I correct?”

Brendon looked down and rubbed his arm. “He and I never got along when I got older… I didn’t know if it was because I didn’t behave like my brothers, or because I wasn’t straight… but he always had my brothers under his thumb… heck one of my older brothers becomes a totally different person by just being in his presence… That’s why I gave my brothers nicknames to communicate under my dad’s nose.” Brendon explained, “I was just scared that if my dad were to appear on the vacation… I would be alone again…”

Barbatos seemed to have been a bit wounded by this, even after all the possible explanations he heard, this one in particular just hit him, like he was about to cry, but his constitution only allowed misty eyes.

“But you didn’t tell Lucifer and his brothers, did you?” Barbatos asked, walking slowly closer to Brendon.

“I was also scared that if I said anything… Not even Lord Diavolo could stop them… which was the reason why not going was always an option… until I promised my eldest brother I would attend...” Brendon trailed off, but suddenly, Barbatos took Brendon’s hand and kissed the back of it tenderly.

“Well, Brendon… you don’t have to worry about that possibility anymore… do you?” Barbatos asked, giving his best butler smile.

Brendon felt his eyes welling up. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and gave a relieved smile. “No… no I don’t have to worry about that…” Brendon held Barbatos’ hand gently in both his own, looking into his eyes. “Thank you for everything… you’re so kind.”

“It’s no trouble at all, just doing my duty, and taking care of my lord’s subjects.” Barbatos said, nodding as they continued on with the walk to the House. When they arrived at the house, Brendon thanked Barbatos, wished him a good night, and went inside the House.

It was pretty quiet in the house, save for the faint yelling coming from Levi’s room upstairs. Brendon walked past the kitchen and over to his room, where there was a fresh new door with a note attached to it.

“Sorry for breaking your door down, I hope you like this new one we got with Mammon’s money! Love ~ Asmo, Beel, Belphie, and Levi ( Mammon!)” it read, except all except Mammon’s name was stricken through.

Brendon smiled and opened his door to go inside. He blinked when he saw a figure on his bed in the dark room. “Belphie?” Brendon asked, turning on the light.

It wasn’t Belphie… It was Mammon.

[jumukus]

A3! Translation: Muku Sakisaka’s SSR [Mankai Birthday] - Prince Charming of August

translation under the cut.

Izumi: (Hmm mayonnaise, olive oil, veggies, white chocolate that Omi-kun asked for…)

(Okay, I got all of them! I should've checked what we have in the fridge sooner.)

(I have to hurry home and continue preparing for Muku-kun's birthday party tonight.)

Muku: Oh? Director-san?

Izumi: Oh, Muku-kun… What a coincidence. Wasn't today supposed to be school day?

Muku: Yep. I got too engrossed talking with my friend it's gotten late already.

Izumi: You're not with Yuki-kun today?

Muku: He said he had something to do so he went home first.

Izumi: Oh, okay. That's rare.

(I wonder if Yuki-kun is preparing something for Muku-kun's birthday party.)

Muku: Umm, Director-san, lemme carry your stuff!

Izumi: Huh?

Muku: It looks heavy. You must have bought a lot of things today.

Izumi: (Well, that's because this is all the stuff we need to celebrate your birthday.)

I appreciate your feelings, but this isn't as heavy as it looks.

Muku: Still, let me do it! Carrying a luggage is a man's duty. It has nothing to do with its weight.

Izumi: But you already carry a lot of stuff, Muku-kun. The paper bags in your hands seem much heavier than mine.

Muku: These are… the birthday presents I got from my schoolmates.

Izumi: Wow, aren't that nice!

Muku: Ehehe. They all are really kind and nice to a water flea like me.

Izumi: (Come to think of it, Muku-kun brought home a lot of chocolates on Valentine's Day.)

You sure are popular, Muku-kun…

Muku: W-What!? No, I'm not!

I'm far from being popular. Rather, I'd ended up getting taken in by crooked scouters' honeyed words when they told me I'd be popular.

I'm nothing but a seaweed that's buried behind the darkness of showbiz industry!

Izumi: For some reason your imagination is running wilder than usual today.

Muku: I'm, I'm sorry! I was just surprised when you said I'm popular.

Izumi: No need to be shy. You are loved by everyone, Muku-kun.

Muku: ...If that's so, it makes me so happy.

Izumi: By the way, what kind of presents did you get?

Muku: Umm…

--No. I know you're good at changing the subject, but I still won't let it slide!

Please let me carry your stuff!

Izumi: I've never intended to do that, though. But okay, I'll let you carry this veggies bag.

Muku: I'll make sure to carry this home!

Izumi: In that case, shall I bring your bags, Muku-kun?

Muku: You don't have to! Mine is not heavy at all.

Izumi: Oh, really?

Muku: Yep. It's just a mechanical pencil, clear folder, and a cute assortment of candies.

Izumi: Those are such pleasant presents. You can either use or eat them.

Muku: That's right.

But I also think it's such a waste to use or eat them.

Izumi: (Muku-kun is the type to treasure his presents. I wonder what kind of thing I should give to him.)

***

Izumi: We're back.

Whoa!?

Muku: W-what's that!? A handgun!? A pistol!? I've gotta protect Director-san!

No one is allowed to stand behind me or Director-san!

If you do, I'll open fire and this place will go boom! You all will be arrested!

Izumi: H-Hold on, Muku-kun--!?

Kazunari: Mukkun, you watch too much dramas!

Misumi: Triangle, triangle, bang bang bang!

Muku: Huh… g-guys?

Yuki: This is why I told you to quit it with the poppers and other classic stuff.

Tenma: Nobody assumed he'd be this surprised.

Izumi: So the voice just now was really party poppers.

Muku: S-Sorry! I mistook it for gunfire voice…

Yuki: People usually won't mistake it for such a thing.

Kazunari: Now, now. In any case, happy birthday, Mukkun!

Muku: Don't tell me this is the reason you popped the party poppers?

Kazunari: Of course! Before we celebrate your birthday with the others tonight, I figured Summer Troupe should surprise you first!

Misumi: Here's your present, Muku, a big triangular chocolate~!

Tenma: This is from me.

Muku: A mini bonsai?

Tenma: I didn't know today was your birthday. This is a makeshift goods.

Yuki: After getting all troubled over what to give for God knows how long, in the end you chose to go with bonsai…

Tenma: What did you say!?

Yuki: I've got a book cover for you; the size is just perfect for a shoujo manga. By the way, I've also embroidered your name on it.

Kazunari: Now it's time for the heavily favorite! My present is titled, "Mukkun's Fairytales Picture Book"! Yeaay☆

Izumi: Whoa, the cover is Muku-kun's portrait. Not to mention the art is done is shoujo manga-style and is high in quality!

Muku: ----.

Kazunari: Huh? Mukkun?

Yuki: He freezes.

Izumi: Good for you, Muku-kun. You got presents from everyone.

Muku: …*sobs*.

Kazunari: Whoa!?

Izumi: You're crying!?

Yuki: It's because of the bonsai…

Tenma: It's not my fault!

Misumi: Muku, do you want to use this triangular handkerchief? Are you crying because you're sad?

Muku: N-No… I'm crying because I'm so happy… I'm surprised.

Izumi: Oh my, so you're actually crying of joy. I'm glad.

Kazunari: Alright, let's do it again, then--.

Summer Troupe: Happy birthday!

Izumi: Happy birthday, Muku-kun!

Muku: Thank you so much, guys!

***

Izumi: (Hm? Muku-kun? What is he doing on the balcony?)

Muku: Oh, Director-san.

Izumi: The party was fun. You're not gonna go back to your room?

Muku: Yeah. I got too engrossed in this book once I started reading it.

Izumi: That's Kazunari-kun's present, isn't it? He said it's a picture book, but there's also a story in it?

Muku: Yes! It's amazing!

In this book that has me on the cover, I'm the prince!

Izumi: A prince?

Muku: Yep! I ride a white pegasus as I fly around the starry sky alongside my black cat partner--.

At the end of this adventure-filled story, I find a beautiful princess.

Izumi: Heh. It sure is interesting to read a royal story from the prince's point of view.

Muku: It looks like Kazu-kun worked hard both on the illustrations and binding the book all by himself.

And all of the Summer Troupe members apparently created the story while keeping my preferences in mind.

Izumi: Now that you mention it, flying around the starry sky with a pegasus and a black cat does sound like something that you like, Muku-kun.

Muku: Yes. I really like it…

Izumi: (A prince who rode a pegasus, huh…)

(--That's it!)

Say, Muku-kun, are you free this weekend?

Muku: I don't have any plans, but why..?

Izumi: Thank goodness! There's a place I wanna go with you!

Muku: …?

Muku: Wow…!

It has always been my dream to go to a ranch! Look at that, Director-san!

Izumi: They have a petting corner too here. Wanna go check them out?

Muku: Yes!

***

Muku: Whoa, whoa, whoa! They're approaching me all at once!

Izumi: (The animals are really gathering at Muku-kun's side.)

Muku: So cute. I haven't bought my food though, so wait a lil bit 'kay?

Izumi: I'll go buy it.

Muku: Is that really okay with you? I feel kind of bad to enjoy all this fluffiness first.

Izumi: But you can't go, right? See, the rabbit standing near your feet is looking at you as if it doesn't want you to go.

Muku: Now that you said it, it does look that way. S-So cute…

Izumi: I'm sure the animals know that you're a kind person, Muku-kun.

Muku: I'll be happy if that's true.

Hello, my name is Muku Sakisaka. Nice to meet you all.

***

Muku: Whoa… They are really cute.

Izumi: Even the caretaker was surprised too, huh. They said the animals usually are not that relaxed around people.

(Hmm. It should be around here…)

Muku: Director-san? What's wrong?

Izumi: Hmm, hang on--ah.

Muku: Ah?

--A, a white horse!?

Izumi: Pegasus is downright impossible, but a white horse isn't, right?

Muku: Don't tell me, this is why we're here?

Izumi: Yep. This is my present for you.

Muku: Director-san…! Thank you!

Izumi: (Looks like my surprise was a success! I'm glad!)

Muku: Whoa, I can see more things when I'm on top the horse.

Izumi: (The keeper said one usually need a good compatibility with the horse to be able to ride them without any problems, but Muku-kun has done it perfectly.)

Muku: Ahaha. You're a good kid, Vincent. Thanks for letting me ride you.

Izumi: (Looking at him like this, he looks quite great with the white horse.)

You're cool, Muku-kun!

Muku: C-Cool!? No, I'm not--ah, but Vincent is indeed really cool!

Izumi: (It looks so fun. ...Hm? He's coming here.)

Muku: Director-san… No.

I've come to pick you up, princess. Please give me your hand.

...Just kidding.

Izumi: Ahaha. In that case, will you let me ride with you… your highness?

Muku: --!

...Please hold onto my hand tight.

--heave-ho.

Izumi: Thanks.

Muku: …

...I wonder if I can be a fine prince in the future.

OPTION 1: I'm sure you can.

Izumi: You can. I'm sure.

Muku: I feel like I'll really be one if you say so, Director-san.

I know it's merely a flattery, of course! But I feel like I can make my dream come true…

OPTION 2: But you're already a prince now, aren't you?

Izumi: But you're already a prince now, aren't you?

Muku: T-Thank you…! You… You are such a beautiful princess too, Director-san.

Ah! I, I didn't mean anything weird with that!

Because you always do your best in both your job and the theater troupe, to me, you've always been a strong, sparkling princess!

Izumi: I'm fully aware that I'm far from the word princess, but… Thank you!

Muku: No, I should be the one thanking you!

Muku: Thank you for letting me have such a beautiful and fun birthday.

Izumi: Yep. Happy birthday, Muku-kun!

Muku: Thank you, Director-san. I'll continue to be in your care!

[ussjellyfish]

fic: hold to the now, the here pt 14 | philinda | AoS | mature

So this is the end, and I've been writing this for over two years, which is the longest I've ever written anything (though there was a huge break) I finished it, and it's an amazing feeling.

Many many thanks to @meanderings0ul, because without your nudge I wouldn't have met the podcast folks and they're so supportive and it's just...everything. I'm so happy in fandom again.

Summary: Daisy visits Coulson to help look after baby agent Iris while May’s in Europe with FitzSimmons.

Notes: set about one year after the wedding. (because one year laters, should be happy, show, and have hugging)

"Hi Daisy, thanks, here." Coulson deposits a slightly sticky toddler in her arms the moment she has her coat off. "Iris, say hi to Daisy."

The tiny little being in her arms stares for a long quiet moment. "Oh you look just like mommy now, with the face."

"Mama," Iris repeats and Daisy looks to Coulson.

"Everything okay?" 

He sounded kind of frazzled on the phone as he'd tried to give her directions from the nowhere airport Bobbi had dropped her off at to the nowhere town he and May were living in. GPS found it no problem because there wasn't anything to find but pine trees.

"Mama's okay," Coulson says, kissing Iris' head and meeting Daisy's eyes for a moment. "She'll be back later, I have to get some work done, can you amuse her for a while?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

"Thanks." Coulson touches the baby again then he disappears into his office and it's just Daisy and the kiddo. 

"No," Iris says, staring at the floor. "No."

"No means down or no means not down?" 

Kid could really squirm when she wanted to. 

"No!"

Daisy sets her down and that seemed to be what she wanted. Iris crawls over to a bookshelf and starts pulling all the books off one at a time, looking at them for a moment before making a little mountain. She seems happy enough so Daisy sits on the floor next to her, watching. 

Books with bright covers stack on top of each other. Daisy picks them up, looking at the dinosaurs and planes, then one is shoved into her hands. 

"This one?"

Iris doesn't nod. She stares, and it's disconcerting getting a May death glare from someone who only weighs twenty-five pounds. Can she say yes? Is yes harder than no?"

"No."

"No, I don't like this one or no- please read this to me?"

Iris squinches her chubby face then crawls into Daisy's lap. She makes an expectant noise and hits the book. 

"Okay, I got it."

The book seems to be about a pigeon who is a private eye, except it's full of puns that are actually really funny, but Iris turns the pages as soon as she gets bored of them, which is fast, so Daisy's not really sure what's going on. The pictures are nice. She can't really read it because the kid doesn't have the patience so she comments a few things. 

"Bird."

Iris looks back, waiting. 

"It's a bird, kid. I don't know what kind. Red."

"Bye."

"Bye is like bird."

"No."

"No?"

"Oh no." Iris turns the book to the beginning and waits. When Daisy doesn't start reading, she makes a noise. Iris makes a noise again, more insistent and hits the book. 

"Sorry kid," Daisy starts, "where were we? Right, the pigeon is sitting in his office, wearing a tie like daddy's because of course a detective would wear a tie."

Iris makes a delighted noise and hits one of the illustrations, a brightly coloured bird. She looks back at Daisy, almost hitting her in the nose with her dark little head. 

"Yeah? That's good?"

And then they're at the beginning again. Daisy's not sure how many times they read the book, but she's made up her own plot by the fifth time and decided there should be a sequel later. 

Bored of that, Iris shoves off Daisy's lap and skips the pile of books to start pulling down toys. No toddler needs this many toy airplanes, and yet, kid has quite a collection, also a really nice toy version of a Zephyr and two SHIELD badges that look a little chewed on. 

"Is she supposed to have your badges?" Daisy yells up towards the office. No response. Figures. Walking over she tries to listen for what Coulson's doing, but maybe he has headphones on. When she looks back, Iris is gone and Daisy's heart jumps into her throat.

Fuck. Where could she?

Daisy jogs into the kitchen and Baby Agent is sitting in front of the fridge, legs crossed, looking expectant. 

"Hey, sorry, I didn't know you were so fast."

Iris hits the fridge with her hand and makes the 'read my book' noise. Kind of like an excited puppy. 

"You need something?" What time is it? Should she feed her? Does she need a snack? What do kids eat? Daisy has to scoop her up to open the fridge and they stare into it together. It's healthy, of course, because it's Coulson and May's fridge, but she can't just hand the kid a carrot. 

Can she?

Iris pulls a bag of salad and an onion out of the drawer before Daisy can stop her. She takes a big bite of the onion and looks immediately offended.

"Okay, you want to bite something?"

"Abyye." Iris says, like Daisy speaks baby. 

"Apple?"

"Up-ah."

"Apple?" Daisy asks again, grabbing one from the counter. "This?" Holding it up gets two hands in the air, reaching for the fruit. "Okay, here."

She hands over the apple before it occurs to her that she can't just hand a kid a whole unwashed unpeeled apple...and it's too late because the kid has the apple in her mouth and she takes a huge bite, but Iris has tiny teeth and it's a little mouthful of apple skin she spits out before taking another bite. 

"Good?"

Iris smiles over the apple and keeps biting. She chews and spits out a lot of it, but at least she's entertained. Daisy grabs the kid and her apple and heads to the stairs. Lugging Iris up the steps with her, she pauses outside the door to the office. She shouldn't listen, but it sounds like Coulson's on the phone.  They should leave him to it, maybe it's May, or FitzSimmons, wasn't she going out there to help them with something? 

"Ap-uh," Iris repeats, holding up the partially gnawed apple. 

"Apple," Daisy echoes. "You'll get it."

Holding her apple up to Daisy, Iris grins. "Uh."

"Apple."

"Um," Iris says, holding up with more intention. "Um!"

"Yum?" Daisy tries, pretending to take a bite. 

"Um." Iris agrees, delighted. She mashes the apple into Daisy's face. "Um." 

"Thank you, no thank you."

"No, um." That seems to mean, yes, eat my sticky, slobbery, mangled apple.

So she does. What else can she do. Daisy takes a bite of the least sticky part and Iris laughs. 

"Glad you're happy. Come on, let's see what else we can do."

All the airplanes are sticky and on the floor after they've done that for five minutes. Pieces of apple cling to Daisy's hair, there's water and a squished cracker inside her bra somehow but Iris thinks it's the most hilarious thing if Daisy builds a tower and then quakes it down so they start stacking the blocks again.

Tower six has died for Iris' amusement when Coulson finally comes down the stairs. 

"No," Iris yells at him. "No, no."

"Yes, yes, daddy," Coulson teases her, scooping her up so she squeals. "What are you two doing?"

"Pulling everything down from everywhere."

"That happens."

"We shredded an apple."

"We have a good vacuum."

"But we found a good game, watch." Daisy indicates the blocks, then quakes down tower number seven. 

Iris laughs and squirms and immediately wants down so she can build tower eight for sacrifice. 

"How's it going?" Daisy asks while they watch Iris stack.

"Oh you know, May's stuck doing field work with FitzSimmons somewhere in Finland and Mack swears none of them are actually on this mission he just really needs trustworthy people. 

"Sounds great."

"Sure." Coulson takes a breath, then sits on the sofa, dropping his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, do you need anything?"

"Me?"

"Yeh, you came all this way and I don't have coffee or anything."

"I can make coffee."

"Right, you could do that."

"Sit, watch Agent Danger here and call me when she's ready for me to destroy her tower."

"You're sure?"

"I'll make coffee, I need it, you look like you need coffee injected." 

"If only that worked." Coulson shuts his eyes, leaning back. 

"How long are you stuck doing the single dad thing?"

"A few more days, she's trying to get back."

"She must miss Baby Agent terribly."

Coulson nods, smiling at Iris. "She does, they haven't been apart this long Iris' whole life, but FitzSimmons really needed her."

"Well, of course. She does everything." 

Daisy makes coffee, listening to Iris and Coulson's strange conversation. His side has words and sentences, Iris' side seems to consist of "No" and little screeches. She sets black coffee on the table next to the sofa and Coulson grins.

Coulson and Iris yell "Oh no," in union as Baby Agent knocks down the tower. This is what he does all day? Build and destroy, read the same book fifty-nine times?

"So she gets back when, Tuesday?" 

"Maybe Wednesday."

"Wow." Daisy sits next to him with her own coffee, shaking her head. "That's a lot."

"Free for the weekend? Iris and I would love to have you." 

"Yeah," Daisy agrees. She has plenty of leave saved up and she doesn't get to do domestic very often. Kiddo's pretty sweet too and it seems like Coulson needs the help. "Seems like you need some help with towers."

Iris crawls to Daisy and pulls herself up on her knees, bouncing a little as she babbles. 

"I think that means she wants you to stay."

"Okay. You've got me. Can't say no to baby May face."

"Doesn't she look just like her?"

"Yeah, it's almost creepy."

It's a whirlwind of time with Coulson and Iris. There's constantly something they need to be doing, where is she, is the kiddo okay, what is she into? Does she need a diaper, where are her extra clothes, going to the grocery store is a full on mission and Daisy's not sure how much help she is, but he definitely needs back up. Even if she's just moral support. 

And it's nice to see him laughing while they try to get shampoo out of Iris' hair and how far the kid can throw noodles (definitely some Mamma May in there). So she and Coulson trade off making coffee and picking up take out and reading and it feels like she's been there forever by the time it's finally Wednesday. 

Coulson rocks and sings (Daisy did not know he sang) but Iris is out for a nap and Coulson's trying to get work done and Daisy sits and plays with her phone because it feels like she hasn't done that in hours.

Maybe hasn't, Iris is a lot. 

She doesn't remember falling asleep, but she did, sitting on the sofa in the warm sunlight. Coulson touches her arm, shaking her gently.

"Hey, sorry, could you go get May from the airport? She's going to be back and I don't want to wake up Iris or have her wake up while I'm gone and be all difficult for you."

"Good call."

"She's back?"

"About an hour. You have time to get coffee, it's a tiny airport." 

"Where's the coffee?"

"Down to the main road, turn left twice. It's a drive through with a moose."

"A moose?" Daisy shakes her head. "You do live in the middle of nowhere."

"It has perks."

"Never waiting in traffic?"

"No one notices the quinjets."

"See, I knew it was something." Daisy drags herself up as Coulson hands her keys to the really nice BMW SUV thing they got because carseats don't fit in Lola. "This one I'm allowed to drive?"

"It's May's."

"Great."

"You'll be fine, just don't spill coffee in her car." 

Daisy shakes her head and leaves him to finish lesson planning or whatever it is he's working on. The coffee shop with the moose is exactly where Coulson said it was, and she grabs a cup before driving to the nowhere airport by the lake. There's only one flight coming in that hour. It's a little connector flight from Chicago with only a handful of people on it. 

Coulson would probably get a May a tea or something so Daisy grabs a green tea from the little kiosk in the airport and holds it with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for May to come off the plane. 

May's third from last off the flight, her bag over her shoulder. She looks across the handful of people, then smiles at Daisy. 

"I was wondering if he'd send you."

"Got you tea. Baby Agent was napping so you get me."

May hugs her, warm and strong, and then takes her tea. "It's nice to see you."

"How was Scotland?"

"Wet, and rainy, in Finland it snowed." Her smile fades a little and she touches her forehead. "It was good to see Fitz and Simmons. They're happy."

"Annoyingly so?"

"A little." 

Daisy takes the keys out of her coat pocket and hands them over. "Coulson let me drive your car."

May smiles and shakes her head. "You can drive."

Taking the keys back, Daisy tries to hide her surprise. "Okay..."

"I have a headache."

"You don't have to have a reason, you just always drive and I--"

May smiles at her. "You're a good driver." 

"You've let me drive literally once because you were pregnant and something-" she pauses, trying to remember, "-was it paint? Something set your stomach off."

"Wet paint."

"Were they painting the plane?" Daisy teases, leading May out of the airport towards the parking lot. 

"N, sometimes I get headaches."

"Like a normal person?" Daisy touches the door handle and it opens. May sets her bag in the back seat and climbs into the passenger seat. 

"I don't get to be a normal person?"

"You pulled a piece of pipe out of your leg and fought aliens, flew a plane when you couldn't stand up and were in labor for what, like half a day before you admitted it hurt?"

May laughs, leaning back in the seat. "Don't see why any of that means I can't have a headache." 

"I don't mind driving, it's just, weird."

"I'll let you drive more in the future."

"So I don't think it's weird and you're knocked up whenever it happens?"

"Is that really the only time I've let you drive?" 

"Yes, that's really the only time you've let me drive. I mean, Coulson let me drive Lola when he didn't have a hang so I'm used to it." 

May reaches over and pats her shoulder. "We're both just stuck in our ways, getting old and stubborn."

"You're both stubborn, but your're not old."

"Thanks." May takes a sip of her tea and shuts her eyes. 

"Do you have painkillers in the glove box or anything?"

"It's fine."

"You have a headache, normal people take things when they have a headache because they don't like suffering."

"Home is twenty minutes away." May holds her tea against her forehead, then sets it in the cupholder. 

"We can stop."

"You sound like Phil."

"I guess you need him to look after you."

"You do fine, Daisy." 

She can't win this argument, so distract May, tell her nice things. "So Iris made me read the same book a billion and seven times."

"Sounds like her."

"And then she destroyed an apple."

"Eating with teeth is hard."

"I guess so."

"And we made towers."

"Good." May sighs, keeping her eyes closed. "Thank you for coming, I bet Phil appreciated having you."

"Sure, Coulson sounded like he needed back up."

"He did, I dropped a lot in his lap to help FitzSimmons."

Daisy reaches over, squeezing her hand. May's hand is warm and damp against Daisy's fingers, and she squeezes back as if she were hugging her tight. "It was nice for me to help."

"I'm glad."

"Baby Agent's adorable, it's peaceful here. We took her for walks and watched the stars come out. When she's bigger, she can play in the woods and all you'll have to worry about is moose."

"There aren't actually moose here."

"What about the coffee shop?"

May opens her eyes again and smiles. "That one doesn't move." 

Chuckling, Daisy takes a breath and just enjoys this moment. She missed May too. Being with her is comfortable and familiar, and Daisy missed her over the last week. Being with Coulson and Baby Agent was great, but May was missing and now that she's back it just feels like coming home. 

"So any news from FitzSimmons you're allowed to say?"

"The published some new papers, remodelling a cottage."

"No playmates for Iris yet?"

"Not yet." May looks forward for a while, staring at the road, then turns to Daisy. "But soon though."

"Soon? Jemma's pregnant?"

"No, no." May stares straight ahead, but she smiles, Daisy can hear it in her voice. "I am."

"Wait, what?"

"Eyes on the road." 

"Yeah, I got it, not going to smash your car, but what?"

"We had another embryo frozen, from when we got pregnant with Iris.  We were near the clinic on the mission for Simmons, and I wanted to surprise Phil." 

Surprise? "I suppose that's the fun part of having medical help. You can surprise the dad when you end up pregnant." The world tastes like an alien concept, as weird as Kree or Asgard. "Shit, congrats, I mean."

"Thanks Daisy." May turns, leaning against the door so she can look at Daisy better. . 

"You okay, really?"

"I'm thrilled." 

Yeah, that's what thrilled looks like, kind of pale and really tired, except May is happy. She radiates it. "That's wonderful. Second kid, huh? Everyone's going to lose it."

"You think so?"

"I can just picture Jemma and Fitz, Mack and Elena settling some bet."

"Which side did you bet on?" .

"Should have bet yours." Fuck. two tiny little field agents destroying everything? They should unretire just to get some peace. Yet they're both so fucking happy, and they're good parents. Iris is great, and she's so smart, and this one. 

They sit in silence for a while, and if possible, May's even more pale when Daisy looks at her. "You okay? 

"I forgot how brutal the hormone shots are." May shuts her eyes again and Daisy remembers how much time they spent trying to keep her from throwing up when she was pregnant with Iris. She knew what this was going to be like and she did it anyway. 

"You're a really good mom." 

May opens her eyes, surprised. "Why do you say that?"

"Iris is the cutest little person and sure, she screams and throws things sometimes, but she's so content and trusting. I remember seeing kids who had bad parents in my foster homes and they were so broken already, even the little ones. I'm not used to happy toddlers."

"Daisy-"

"And you know how much it sucks to be pregnant and having a baby hurts-"

"-It's not that bad."

"And you can say that!" Daisy pulls into the driveway and stops, shaking her head as she turns off the engine. "You're a great mom."

May pauses, looks at her and doesn't say anything for a long time. She smiles, her eyes impossibly soft. "Thanks Daisy."

Daisy gets out of the car, grabbing May's bag as she comes around. May moves a little slower, holding the car for a moment, so the headache must be bad. 

Daisy touches her shoulder, then hugs her again. "Iris is lucky, the new baby agent is really lucky too." 

"We're lucky we have you." May's hands hold her tight and it's like that mom energy's rubbing off. She's loved, and it's so easy that Daisy just stands there in awe for a moment. She didn't have a family before SHIELD, and now she's loved. 

They walk in together, still holding hands because that's cool, that's something they do. Coulson's on the floor, playing with Iris, who looks up when the door opens with the biggest smile. 

"Mama!" 

"Come here, Li." Iris crawls over and May grabs her before she's gone a few feet. They spin around, May laughing as Iris pats her face, babbling happily about Mama, over and over. Coulson watches them with the softest expression she's ever seen and that's what love looks like, not that silly romance novel kind, but the exhausted, will do anything for you, this is everything kind of love. It's just his face, and Daisy touches his arm, then hugs him. 

"Pretty cute, huh?"

"Iris looks so much like Melinda, luckily."

"You're in there too, dad."

"I know, but the two of them, they're everything."

Daisy raises her eyebrows because fuck he's going to freak and she should like, give them space, but she'd also love to see what he's going to say. He's totally going to cry. 

"Did you have a good time with Daisy and daddy?"

"Aysee," Iris repeats, waving her arm towards Daisy. "Aysee."

"That's pretty close," May says, kissing Iris's head. "What a smart girl."

"She was great, they both were."

"I was telling Daisy in the car how much it meant to us that she came to help." 

"She let me drive and everything." 

"Oh?" Coulson tilts his head, and takes a moment to welcome May back, hugging her and Iris, then kissing her forehead. "You okay?"

"I can let Daisy drive without something being wrong."

"Uh-huh," Coulson teases, as unconvinced as Daisy was. "Jet lag?"

"Headdache."

"I'll make tea."

"I've got it," Daisy says. "You have to welcome her back and stuff."

May kisses Iris' cheek once more and sets her down when the toddler starts to squirm. "She means do the kissing while she's in the kitchen."

"Oh, I see, I can do that." Coulson leans in, kissing her deeply and yeah, it's a good time to make some tea. 

Iris babbles to herself in the living room, hitting her blocks together and making some kind of running commentary while her parents are totally making out. 

Daisy puts the kettle on and waits, watching the comforting blue light. There's a green ginger that's probably good. Coulson will need coffee. She's grinding beans and setting up the pot when Iris crawls into the kitchen, dragging a toy kangaroo. She holds it up, then flings her arms up to be picked up. 

"Hey kiddo."

"Aysee!"

"That's me I guess. Mom and dad okay?"

"Mama," Iris repeats, delighted. 

"Yeah, Mama's home."

"Iris is in here," Daisy calls, just in case they're worried. "We're just making coffee."

"Don't turn her to the dark side, Daisy," May calls from the living room and then she laughs, really laughs and Daisy's both curious and grateful that she's not in the living room, watching whatever's happening. 

They seem to be done by the time she's back, and they're just sitting on the couch, hands wrapped around each others, May's head on his shoulder. 

"Mama," Iris says again, reaching her arms out and Daisy hands her over. 

"I missed you."

"She missed you too."

"I swear she's bigger." 

"Not much taller, must get that from you."

May laughs and shakes her head. "Don't listen to daddy, he's silly."

Iris pats Coulson's face with her fingers, and just beams to be between both of them. It's cute, like painfully cute and Daisy brings drinks and sits on the floor next to them and just watches. 

"Aysee," Iris pleads, reaching for her. 

"Daisy, come up. We're not going down to the floor."

Daisy sits next to May and Iris crawls over her legs, peering at her coffee before deciding to crawl back to Coulson. 

"I think I've actually finished  Ulysses-- " Coulson starts to say, still toying with May's hair. 

"I'm pregnant."

"What?"

The house is completely quiet, even Iris stares, chewing on her toy kangaroo. 

"Really?"

"Simmons and I were near the clinic in Sweden and I thought--"

Coulson laughs, rubs his chin, and then kisses May hard enough that Daisy pulls Iris out of the way before she can interrupt them. 

"Surprise."

"I love surprises."

"I know."

"Not as much as I love you." He rests his hand on her belly and there's the tears. His eyes shine and dammit, Daisy's the last person who should be crying but it's just really nice. 

Kind of wonderful. 

"Good."

"Good?"

"Life without surprises would be dull, life without me would be-"

"Absolutely unbearable," Coulson interrupts, then kisses her. "Baby Agent the second. You're amazing."

May touches his cheek and smiles. "I know, you can show me later."

"You're going to be a big sister," Daisy tells Iris, who shakes her head because she's still much better at no than yes. "That's a big responsibility."

"She has a great role model," May says.

Fuck, that's not fair. Daisy was close to crying, but she wasn't, and she's not Iris' big sister, except, maybe she is, and maybe that's okay and maybe they all love her just as much as she loves them. 

It's all pretty fucking amazing. 

"We love you," Coulson whispers, patting her shoulder. Iris gets way too into the patting and it's basically swatting but she's little.  "We'll love you more if you can take some time off next summer, about eight months from now." 

May laughs and nods. "You'd be a big help."

"Yeah, yeah as long as you need."

May hugs her with one arm, and she curls in because May's warm and she's home. They all are. 

[okamirayne]

Hi! Yes Im the one who's curious about Tsuno.

-Is he a legit Nara? If yes, how far of a relative is he to Shikamaru?

-Does Shikaku know him personally? Yoshino?

-Im also wondering how old is he?

-By any chance, did Yamato and Kakashi knew him during their times in Anbu?

-If joining Anbu means you dont have anything to lose, does that hold any significance as his previous position as a Nara clansman? or did he have other reasons for joining and staying in the anbu?

-Was he aware of the father&son "history repeats itself" dilemma accompanying their mission?

-Did he eventually figured out what Shikamaru is to Neji since he kept an eye on them during the Kusagakure mission?

-When he ordered Neji to stop Shikamaru, did he actually meant to do it no matter the method is, like kill him or something?

-Did he actually took the mission personally to some extent, given if he really is a Nara and if he knew Shikaku, by trying to negotiate with Shikamaru's alter?

-I can also imagine that he had enough reasons to fail Neji since it was evident that he operated with his emotions rather than Anbu's wheels and walls but why didnt he?

-Lastly, that picture you used... isn't that a root operative? The one tasked to send a message to Sai during the Sai arc right? Im confused. Is he anbu or root? Is Tsuno actually Root then?

Sorry, I have so many questions because he seems so mysterious to me since I felt like he just popped out of blue and that just makes me want to know more about him. I know this is a lot and I would greatly appreciate whatever answers you can give. Thank you!

Hello my Curious Anon!

Wow! Thanks for your interest in this OC. I’ll do my best to answer your questions!

-Is he a legit Nara? If yes, how far of a relative is he to Shikamaru?

Oh yes, he is a legit Nara. I’d say you’re looking at a second cousin once removed on Shikaku’s side.

-Does Shikaku know him personally? Yoshino?

Yes, as Shikaku’s second cousin (they share a Nara great-uncle in common), Shikaku has worked with Tsuno before. Yoshino knows him from Shikaku’s incident with Shuken years before. At that time Tsuno wasn’t ANBU, but it was instrumental in his choosing that road almost immediately after.

-Im also wondering how old is he?

You’re looking at around 47/8.

-By any chance, did Yamato and Kakashi knew him during their times in Anbu?

Kakashi had heard of him, but never served with him.

While Kakashi had never served with or under Tsuno, he'd heard enough talk about the war-hardened Nara veteran to know the man was ruthlessly efficient and all but married to the job. Apparently the guy had cut off the ring finger of his left hand when asked by the Council whether his loyalty was to his wife or his work. -- UtS ch.18

-If joining Anbu means you dont have anything to lose, does that hold any significance as his previous position as a Nara clansman? or did he have other reasons for joining and staying in the anbu?

Yes. He lost someone close to him, left his wife, severed his ties (and finger) and joined the ANBU.

-Was he aware of the father&son "history repeats itself" dilemma accompanying their mission?

Yes indeed. Very much so. He was part of the System of Lies.

-Did he eventually figured out what Shikamaru is to Neji since he kept an eye on them during the Kusagakure mission?

Yes, he did.

-When he ordered Neji to stop Shikamaru, did he actually meant to do it no matter the method is, like kill him or something?

Absolutely. By whatever means necessary if it came to that. He was too familiar with the damage Shikamaru might cause, given Shikaku’s former incident.

-Did he actually took the mission personally to some extent, given if he really is a Nara and if he knew Shikaku, by trying to negotiate with Shikamaru's alter?

This is an excellent question and you’ve caught a hint of his past here that I hadn’t intended to dig into for risk of too many OCs. Given your interest and my own fondness for the character I may explore this in HHU. I can tell you that if Tsuno hadn’t joined the ANBU and hardened himself the way he did, he would have taken it very personally.

-I can also imagine that he had enough reasons to fail Neji since it was evident that he operated with his emotions rather than Anbu's wheels and walls but why didnt he?

Oh yes. He wanted to fail Neji, but his own directives disallowed this

"And can I trust you to handle his transferal back to Konoha, Shirataka? Or will your insufferable hesitation force me to intervene?" Tsuno leaned in here, lowering his voice ever-so-softly, his hoarse rusty tones edged with threat. "Nogusa's mercy has saved you from my intervention by a ‘hairsbreadth’. I do not show mercy and I do not tolerate mistakes; no matter how gracefully you recover from them." He stopped, gave that its weight before adding quietly, "But regardless of my usual policy, I was told to allow you two strikes. You have one shot to redeem yourself in my eyes. Do not disappoint me again." - UtS Ch. 16

-Lastly, that picture you used... isn't that a root operative? The one tasked to send a message to Sai during the Sai arc right? Im confused. Is he anbu or root? Is Tsuno actually Root then?

Well spotted and remembered! Yes it is! Unlike with Naoki, I haven’t yet created a pic/illustration for Tsuno, so borrowed a Nara-hairstye operative XD!  Tsuno is ANBU for sure; not a fan of Danzo. If time allows I’ll attempt to get him his own illustration!

Oh my goodness, no need to apologise at all. I am always really touched and extremely happy when readers engage with my OCs and want to know more about them. It really means a lot to me and I appreciate you showing this kind of interest! <3 Big love, Anon!

[little-astro-naut]

serendipity | namjoon

serendipity n. the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for In which you are a university student working at a vintage/book store, and Kim Namjoon is a tad clumsy.

college/university!au

pairing: kim namjoon/reader (gender not specified in fic!) genre: fluff!!! just a wholesome read in general word count: 1.9k warnings: none, unless you need a warning for namjoon being the cutest clumsy dork note: Happy New Year!

Taking a 2021 leap of faith by posting my first fic ever, and it's for the ever lovable Kim Namjoon of BTS. This has been sitting in my WIPs for so long, but I'm glad I finally got the guts to just sit down and finish it. This fic is just a short happy little thing that I wanted to welcome the new year with, so I do hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

May this year be much, much better for you all. Thank you for clicking on this tiny thing, and enjoy!

[crossposted to AO3]

The day begins like usual.

You wake up at around seven in the morning. It takes a few groans and some burrowing under the covers before you reluctantly leave the comfort of your bed to get ready for another day of school. Today is Thursday, you note. Just one more day after this until the sweet, sweet embrace of the weekend.

On Thursdays, your classes begin at nine in the morning and end at three in the afternoon, after which you walk a few blocks down the street from your university to your part-time job at the little vintage shop right across the convenience store.

It’s owned by a pleasant, middle-aged lady with a love for collecting antiques, trinkets, books, and other unique finds she’s stumbled upon in her numerous travels around the globe. She often drops by the store when she isn’t away on another trip, waltzing in through the front door, clad in her signature ensemble of an expensive silk headscarf, a flowing floral dress, a pair of vintage designer boots, and a pretty little purse that magically fits everything and then some.

She’s like a real-life Mary Poppins—that is, if Mary Poppins had the aesthetic of a suspiciously rich 50-something lady whom you can usually find day drinking at some obscure Spanish restaurant. You don’t really know where she gets the money to own all that she does and travel five times each month (A small vintage shop at a university area surely wouldn’t make that much money, right?), but you don’t need to know. The elusiveness is part of her charm.

You met her one day as you were intently reviewing every single item on the shelf to score some hardbound anniversary edition copies of your favorite classics for cheap. She had noticed you frequenting her store, and finally offered you a part-time position due to your sincere—albeit novice—appreciation for quietly valuable things, and you said yes on the spot. It meant extra money and a 20% discount to your favorite shop, after all.

The walk to the store is short—a five-minute stroll along pretty rows of old brick apartments and quaint ice cream parlors and small restaurants with cuisine ranging from Japanese to Mediterranean. Your usual brisk walk becomes a leisurely pace today, thanks to the rare early dismissal from your Contemporary Asian Art elective, your last class of the day.

Breathing in the fresh afternoon air and looking up, you take time to admire how green the trees are at this time of the year. It’s calming to watch the leaves sway gently with the breeze, giving way for sparse rays of the sun to illuminate patches of the ground like tiny twinkling stars. Your eyes absentmindedly scan the sidewalk for the bits of sunlight that pass through.

The day feels brighter and kinder when you’re not hurrying, you think to yourself.

The mellow tingle of the chimes interrupts your reverie, announcing your arrival to the shop.

“Hey!” Taehyung, your co-worker, greets you with a smile as he packs away a small stack of readings and notes in his messenger bag. “Got a big exam today so I may have to go a little sooner, is that okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Good luck on that test!” You smile back, taking a seat behind the counter as you review the day’s transactions so far. “Wow, that’s a good number of purchases today—and it’s only three p.m.”

Taehyung swings his bag over his shoulder and ruffles his already messy black hair. “Right? Oh! Remember that really handsome guy I told you about? Broad shoulders, cute smile, even cuter laugh? The one from my English class?”

You give him an enthusiastic “YES?” in acknowledgment. Taehyung has not shut up about him all semester, but it took just one chance encounter on campus with “really handsome guy” to prove to you that “really handsome” was a gross understatement, and that if you were in his position, you’d never keep your mouth shut either.

“He came by this morning. Must’ve left his magical touch on the store.” Taehyung pauses, wiggling his fingers around to illustrate his point.

Taehyung’s silly action makes you snicker, but the gravity of his statement hits you all of a sudden, causing you to widen your eyes in response. “Wait. You mean I missed him!?” You frown in disappointment, and Taehyung gives you a sympathetic nod. “Damn. Well, at least he bestowed enough magic to help you survive that huge exam.”

“Not just survive it; I’m gonna ace it.” Taehyung winks. “And hey, I’m certain Mr. Eye Candy’s left enough magic in the store for you, too, out of his kindness.”

“When you finally get the guts to ask the guy out, tell him thank you!” You laugh and give each other one last wave before he skips to the exit, almost bumping into a customer who has just entered the store. They bow to each other in apology.

“Good afternoon! How may I help you?” You stand up from where you’re seated to make yourself available to the tall boy in a black cap and blue shirt. Funny, you haven’t even seen his face yet, but you already think the denim is a good look on him. Not a lot of people don’t look like a joke in denim shirts, but even fewer people are blessed with the ability to look amazing in them. The first customer of your shift, whoever he is, is one of those people.

He takes clumsy steps through the entrance, retreating the arms that pushed the door open back into his pockets. The cap on his head, however, is doing nothing to help you get a better glimpse of the boy who has kind of piqued your interest.

Then he topples over a whole stack of books on display up by the front of the store. Now you’re really interested.

As he picks up a couple of books from the floor, the “SALE” sign beside also falls with a muted thud when it hits a hardbound copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. He looks up from where he’s knelt on the ground, searching for someone to whom he can address more of his profuse apologies before standing up in shame, waiting for the cute person behind the counter to approach and also maybe but hopefully not reprimand him for his stupidity.

“Oh, shit,” you hear him whisper in panic. “I am so sorry about that. I’ll fix it.”

He tries, at least.

His eyes meet yours as he straightens up, as if to admit defeat against the on-sale books still on the floor. You’re chuckling, walking towards him and effectively pretending you are not the least bit fazed by the stranger’s slightly obscured puppy eyes and mild panic and how he towers over you while being as threatening as a lost child.

“Need some help?” you chuckle again—out of nervousness more than anything, if you’re being honest—and he reciprocates shyly.

“Sorry about this.” He gives you a sheepish smile as he adjusts his cap and scratches the back of his head. It’s quick, but it’s more than enough to give you a perfect glimpse of his handsome face: timid eyes, full cheeks, and a guilty smile boasting of a dimple on each side.

You lag for a moment upon the unobstructed sight of him, but almost immediately catch yourself. A brief clearing of the throat and you begin picking up the books sprawled on the floor between the both of you. He quickly bends down to try and be of assistance, picking up a few and checking to make sure he made no damages to any of the copies before returning them to the display rack.

You both reach for the dog-eared paperback edition of Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being at the same time, and you could’ve sworn a sudden spark jolts you the moment your hands meet.

He’s the first to look up. The boy in the cap waits to meet your gaze as you blink to yourself a few times before deciding to check on said boy in front of you. Now it’s your turn to say sorry, and you’re not really even sure why. Just felt like speaking would help make this less nerve-wracking for you and your now pounding chest.

And then he snorts. It’s not even supposed to be a pleasant sound, but it tickles your ears and heart in a way that requires all of your willpower to keep yourself from melting into a puddle right then and there. He picks up the book, stands up straight, and looks at you—still smiling, still so attractive it honestly hurts. The softest of giggles leaves his lips, and you really, truly, die a little.

“Sorry, um…” He scratches his head. Maybe a cute habit of his? He has no real followup to that apology, so he pretends he didn’t say it and just continues with the next thought in his head.

“I’ve been looking for this for so long.” He lifts the copy of the Kundera novel in his hand.

Ah, the book. You almost misunderstand.

“I’ve wanted to own this in this particular cover, but for some odd reason, it wasn’t in any bookstore I’ve visited before.”

“Oh, well then, I’m glad you found what you were looking for here.” You smile shyly.

“This and more, really,” he whispers to himself, and you don’t quite catch it.

“That copy’s actually also our last of that novel. If you had come by on any other day it might have been gone already,” you explain, mentally patting yourself in the back for finishing your sentence without stuttering.

You fidget with your fingers, praying for a reason to continue speaking with the beautiful stranger and the courage to maintain eye contact the way he’s effortlessly doing.

“I’m glad I dropped by today, then.” He stares at you for a moment, hoping you catch just what he really means before his eyes turn into crescent moons when he scrunches his nose to give you a playful grin.

It seems that your prayers work. Without missing a beat, you find uncharacteristic confidence from within your nervous bones to respond, “I’m glad you did, too.”

“Maybe I should drop by again tomorrow,” he says, your answer giving him a boost of confidence. “And the next day, too, maybe?”

“We restock books on Fridays and Saturdays. I’m off then, so my friend Jimin will be the one to assist you if ever.” You smile, teasing.

“Hmm, how about Sunday?”

“We’re closed on Sundays.”

He purses his lips as he holds back another fit of giggles, shaking his head lightly. He has been nothing but a dork and a dumbass this whole time, and yet, luckily, it seems like it’s working. So he pushes it.

“How about I make it simpler by just asking you out right now? Since it’s your day off, how does tomorrow sound?”

You laugh at this, before coyly looking at him to say, “What makes you so sure I’ll say yes?”

“Just trying my luck, really.” He laughs, too.

“Today must be your lucky day, stranger.”

“Kim Namjoon,” he responds, perfect smile still there on his face. “My name’s Namjoon.”

“Well then, Namjoon, today’s your lucky day.”

And mine, too, you think to yourself. You hope Taehyung doesn’t forget to extend your gratitude to Mr. Eye Candy.

a/n: Thank you for reading! Feel free to drop by my ask for comments, suggestions, or just to say hi!! Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be kind! I'm very new to this so I would greatly appreciate kind feedback.

[generaldisdainn]

Four of a Kind

AO3 link

Rating: MA

Summary: After accepting a job as the head of marketing for a local animal shelter, Anna finds herself in a new city in need of a place to live. Luckily, 3 guys know just the place.

Previous chapter

Chapter 6 (another reminder of the fic rating for this chapter!!!)

This whole fic has been written in collaboration with my friend happycap77 on ao3, and this is another one of his amazing chapters! <3 

“I think we make a pretty damn good team,” Ryder boasted.

Ryder and Anna both stepped back from the banner they had spent the better part of the afternoon on. The words “Adoption Day” were written in huge multicolored letters, followed by enough exclamation marks for a short novel. Several large and small illustrations of dogs and cats were dotted around and between the letters; Ryder was particularly proud of the one he drew poking out through the “O” of “Adoption.”

“Yeah, we do,” Anna agreed, holding up her hand for a high-five. Ryder obliged, making a satisfying slap that rang through the apartment’s common area.

“Thank you for helping me with this, Ryder. It really means a lot.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’m happy to help you with creative stuff.”

“Yeah, but really. It wouldn’t have looked even half as good if it was just me doing this.”

“Don’t say that, the design was your idea!”

“Yeah, but actually being good at arts and crafts was yours.”

“Agree to disagree, then?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

They stood and admired their work for a bit in comfortable silence.

“It really does look good, though,” Ryder said.

“I can’t wait to show it to Kristoff,” Anna said eagerly. Ryder gave her a sideways look. “...And Sven,” Anna continued. “It’s just that...that Kristoff has visited me at work and Sven hasn’t yet, so...I don’t know, I think he might appreciate it more.”

Ryder turned his head back slowly, then checked the time on his phone. 4:30 PM. He looked back at Anna, and a shadow of a smirk appeared on his face. “Well, it’s a good thing he’ll be home soon.”

Anna shot a puzzled look Ryder’s way. “No, he...he always gets home a few minutes after 6:30 on Fridays.”

Ryder smiled. “Thought so.” He decided to take the scheme one step further. “It’s too bad Sven has to stay at the school late today, though.”

“Oh...yeah,” Anna said absent-mindedly, lost in the hope that Kristoff will show her his adorable, boyish smile when he sees the banner. She almost didn’t notice Sven walk through the door.

“Oh, wow, hi Sven!” Anna spun around to greet him. “I thought you-”

“Can’t talk, must eat,” Sven interrupted and headed straight for the fridge. “Y’all better not have eaten the last slice of pizza. Someone will die if-” He opened the door to find the slice still there in a plastic bag. He offered the two of them a sweet smile. “I never doubted you.”

“Bon appetit,” Ryder said. He turned to Anna, unable to contain his mischievous grin.

“What?” Anna asked, a nervous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, nothing,” Ryder answered. “I just really think the shelter will love the banner.” He started to walk away. He paused, as a thought occurred to him. “Hey Sven, can we break into the liquor tonight?”

“Fine,” Sven said, a morsel of chewed pizza erupting from his mouth. “Leave me in peace.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Ryder said, and he walked off.

Anna remained perplexed by their interaction. First, he said Kristoff was coming home early, which she was certain he wasn’t. Then Sven walked through the door seconds after Ryder said he had to stay late. Was he really that unaware of his roommates’ schedules? The people he’d been living with for well over a year now? And why did he say “thought so”? Anna knew he was the most reserved of the four of them, but he seemed to be good friends with the two of them; she imagined he would at least know when they usually get home. Then again, she didn’t know when Sven was off work today--

Then it hit her like a bag of ice. Of course Ryder knew when the two of them were supposed to get home today. He wanted to see if she knew. That sneaky little bastard, Anna thought. She strode over to Ryder’s door and quickly rapped on it. “Ryder, can we talk?”

The door swung open a few moments later. “Yeah, of course. Come on in.”

She walked right past him, making sure to avoid Carlos the cactus, and sat down on his bed. The instant Ryder closed the door, she started talking.

“Look, Ryder, I don’t know what you think you know about how I feel about Kristoff, or why I knew when he was supposed to get home and not Sven or whatever, but it really felt like you were testing me out there and...well, I didn’t appreciate that.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that. I’m sorry, I was just trying to have a little fun.”

“Okay. Apology accepted. But still, I want you to know that there’s nothing between Kristoff and me because that would be weird.”

“Anna, it’s-”

“And I really don’t want to make things weird, I mean I just got here—well, I didn’t just get here, but compared to you guys I’ve barely been living here at all and to just show up and start dating one of you would be, like, overstepping boundaries or something.”

“Okay, can I-”

“And also me knowing when he gets home doesn’t prove I’m into him, FYI, it just means I pay attention to people’s schedules, like you always water the bathroom plants every three days in the afternoon.”

“Anna, can I say something?”

“Yes, sorry, go ahead.”

“It’s okay if you’re into Kristoff.”

Anna’s eyebrows shot up before furrowing just above her nose. “I...um-”

“And I’ll let you in on a secret.” He leaned in a bit and spoke in softer tones. “I’m pretty sure Kristoff’s into you too.”

Anna wanted to smile from ear to ear, but she didn’t want to seem overexcited at hearing the news. Still, despite her best efforts, the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly upward. “...Oh.”

“Kristoff...he just acts differently around you. I don’t know about Sven, but I’ve certainly noticed that his whole demeanor changes from…” He paused, as though trying to find the right word. “...sulky and...and standoffish to uncharacteristically cheerful. You just have that effect on him. And I’ve never seen him get that way before, even with-” He cut himself off.

“With who?” Anna asked.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter,” Ryder responded. “What does matter is that you’re bringing out a side of him that we haven’t seen in a while.”

Anna’s face reddened against her will. Did she actually have a chance to realize her fantasies? All of a sudden getting there seemed so easy. She swelled with anticipation.

“...Really?”

“Here’s my advice to you,” Ryder continued. “Show him that it’s working. I’m not going to give you details, but he’s had it rough. Sven and I, we do the best we can, but...to me at least, it seems like you’re exactly the kind of person he needs in his life right now.”

Every word Ryder said gave Anna a rush. She had no idea she meant that much to Kristoff. That, or he was scheming again, Anna thought. But he sounded sincere in everything that he said. She knew Ryder fairly well at this point, and she knew that he wouldn’t want to embarrass her.

“That, um...yeah, I’ll...I guess I’ll try,” Anna said.

“No pressure, Anna. If you don’t want to, you shouldn’t have to. But I just want to see you and Kristoff be happy, and I really think the best way to do that is for you to be together.”

“No, yeah, that definitely makes sense,” Anna murmured. “We’ll see what happens.”

“I guess we will.”

Anna stood up and turned to leave, but stopped to say one more thing. “Ryder, I’m...I’m actually kinda excited for tonight.” A smile touched her face.

Ryder laughed and returned her smile. “Me too. Now get outta here,” he teased.

Anna scurried out of Ryder’s room and shut the door behind her. She really was excited for tonight, but the excitement was bogged down by uncertainty. She knew almost for certain that Kristoff was a big softie underneath his stoic exterior, but she didn’t know if it was actually because of her or if it was just because she was getting to know him better.

There’s history you don’t know, Anna, she thought to herself. Don’t assume anything.

***

“Drink, bitches!” Sven shouted.

Drinking socially wasn’t something that Anma did often, but she was determined to venture beyond her comfort zone. It was already paying off; tonight, she discovered she had a taste for rum and coke.

Anna growled in protest. Sven never told her he was so good at quarters. Of the twenty-five turns they’d taken, he’d landed twelve quarters in the glass that sat in the center of the four of them. Ryder, who was on his team, had scored four times. Kristoff, who was on Anna’s team, had fared slightly better with a score of seven, and Anna had a score of...zero. Not to mention aiming at the glass was getting harder and harder with every swig she took.

Anna tried to stay as sober as possible by remembering how the evening started. She spent almost half an hour trying to pick out an outfit that she hoped Kristoff would think was cute. She settled on a floral-print tube top that exposed her midriff and the freckles on her shoulders, and a pair of denim cutoffs that were the tiniest bit too short. She checked herself out in the mirror and decided she looked hot, but also couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Was she showing too much skin? Would it seem like she’s trying too hard? Would Kristoff even pay attention to her? What would Sven and Ryder think?

All the questions flew out of her head as she heard the front door slam. She opened her bedroom door to find Kristoff working his boots off of his feet.

“Welcome home, good sir,” Anna jokingly announced in a posh British accent.

“Thanks,” Kristoff responded absentmindedly. “Have you talked to Sven recently? He told me he wanted to get wasted tonight and I don’t think that’s a, um...uh…” His words trailed off as he looked up at Anna. A few more seconds, and he completely forgot what he wanted to say.

Anna relaxed. Her reservations about her outfit dissipated as she smiled and bit her lower lip. “Yeah, it was actually Ryder’s idea. I haven’t gotten drunk with you guys before and I think it would be fun!”

“Uh...yeah,” Kristoff forced out.

“Awesome!” Anna said. She turned around to walk back to her room. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked, but it didn’t seem creepy; rather, she had cast a line and he had taken the bait. “Let us know when you’re ready!”

“Uh...I gotta-” Kristoff was cut off by the slam of Anna’s bedroom door.

Anna never found out what he was thinking, but it must have been good because they were now sharing the large papasan chair, the curved sides of it encouraging the two occupants to be pressed up against each other. Though Kristoff hadn’t tried as hard with his outfit as she had; he wore a black V-neck tee that was a size too small and, Anna noticed, the same jeans he wore when he helped her with her dresser.

Maybe he did try , Anna thought. He does look sexy.

Kristoff looked at Anna every chance he got, though he tried to be discreet about it. Throughout the entire night his nose was inundated with the scent of her shampoo, the sweet strawberries-and-cream aroma to which he developed a Pavlovian response. His heart lifted and his blood rushed whenever he smelled it.

He watched her turn the quarter over in her fingers, trying to find the right angle, or the right technique, or the right whatever she was looking for to score her first point.

“Hurry it up, honey,” Sven said.

“Don’t listen to him, Anna, you got this,” Kristoff said. “I believe in you.”

Anna shot him a dirty look that couldn’t contain the smile behind it. “Don’t patronize me,” she said, enunciating clearly in an attempt to keep from slurring her words, mostly effectively.

“I’m not!” Kristoff’s smile broadened. “I really do believe in you!”

Getting a few drinks in him loosened Kristoff up without making him too loopy. He found himself feeling really happy having fun with friends, but mostly being this close to Anna. He couldn’t remember why he never let himself get this close before.

Anna squinted her eyes and curled her tongue up to her nose as she aimed and aimed again, before finally letting the quarter loose. It bounced off the table, spun in the air, seemed to hover there for a second or two...and landed in the cup with a satisfying clink .

“FUCK YES!!” Anna shouted as she shot her hands up in the air.

“Ah, Christ, Anna,” Kristoff said as he clapped his hand over his ear. Anna’s elation immediately turned to concern as she turned to lay her hands on Kristoff’s arm.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god, I’m so sorry, I was just really excited,” Anna said, tripping over the words. “Are you okay? Do you want me to kiss it?”

“Kiss the inside of my ear?” Kristoff laughed, causing Anna to burst into laughter. Her laugh wasn’t reserved or bubbly like the ones Kristoff couldn’t stand; it was loud and irregular, full of snorts and gasps. He loved it.

“Yeah, just limme git in ther-r-re,” Anna giggled, pursing her lips into a tight ring. Anna talking into and breathing on his ear sent a euphoric chill through his body.

“No, no, come on, Anna,” Kristoff said. “Let’s keep playing. Ryder, it’s your turn.”

“Um, uh, I’m actually out of quarters,” Ryder said. “I’m pretty sure that was all twenty-five.”

“Looks like we win!” Sven said. “Victory, Team...uh...Svyder? Ryden? Ren?”

“Aw, fuck you guys,” Kristoff said. “We’ll get you next time, right, Anna?”

“Pfffffft, no we won’t,” Anna said, laughing and flopping over onto Kristoff’s lap.

“Anna, come on,” Kristoff protested, trying to lift her off of him. “God, how are you…” No matter how he tried, she kept falling out of his hands and back onto his lap. “You’re like liquid! Stop!”

“I’m just happy-y-y-y,” Anna said, almost melodically. “I’m so glad I moved here, I love you guys.” She looked up at Kristoff, her eyes half-open and dreamy. “Even you, grumpy man,” she said, pitching her voice down as she spoke.

Kristoff didn’t know what to do. Here was Anna, inebriated and uninhibited, in the cutest outfit he’d ever seen her in, literally throwing herself at him. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn’t think now was the right time.

“Anna, seriously, you’re drunk.”

“No I’m not!” Anna shouted as she sat up. “Watch! Z, Y, X, uh, V-”

“You couldn’t even make it three letters in!”

“No no no no no hold on hold on hold on, uh, Z, Y, X, W ,” she said, pointing a finger at Kristoff. “V, U, T...um…”

“Okay, Anna-”

“ S!! ” she shouted.

“Alright, we get it,” Kristoff responded. “You’re not that drunk.”

“Hey Sven, wanna try playing Halo drunk?” Ryder asked all of a sudden.

“What? Ryder, we’re-” Sven cut himself off when he turned to look at Ryder’s face. His head was cocked at a slight angle, eyes wide and lips pressed into a fine line. He shot a quick sideways glance at Kristoff and Anna before looking back at Sven.

“Oh. Uh, sure thing. I have to get another drink, though,” Sven answered.

“Okay, great, I’ll get it set up,” Ryder said and scurried off to his room. Sven followed shortly after, an unopened beer can in his hand. They were gone before either Anna or Kristoff had time to respond.

“Oh, alright, bye guys,” Kristoff said to no one in particular.

For a moment the two of them sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence, just as it usually was with them, but this silence in particular was charged with potential. Anything could happen from this moment, and it all depended on the two of them.

“So…” Anna finally broke the silence, “...what do you wanna do?”

Get you out of that adorable outfit, Kristoff thought. “Umm…” is what he said.

“We could...keep drinking, we could watch something, we could-”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that show you’re into right now? ‘Throne Games?’ ‘Throne...Battle?’ ‘Throne…’”

“‘Gilmore Girls?’”

“Yeah, that. We could watch that.” Kristoff started to stand up. “I’ll turn the-”

Anna grabbed his arm. “Kristoff...wait,” she said. He turned to look at her and saw her eyes, wide and heavy with emotion.

Kristoff sat back down. “...Yeah?”

“I just...I’m sorry if I come off strong sometimes, I know I can be overbearing, and our personalities are so different, I just, I don’t know, I just kept trying to get to know you better and I try to be nice around you, but I’m also loud a lot and I don’t know if you’re okay with that-”

“Anna.”

She looked up at his face. His bright, hazel eyes that bored into her own eyes. His gentle, soft smile that imprinted directly on her heart. Kristoff, she thought. She couldn’t think of anything else. Kristoff.

He opened his mouth to speak. “It’s oka-”

Before she could stop herself or even realize what she was doing, her mouth was pressed against his. He recoiled, pulling away from her.

“Anna!” he shouted, seemingly upset. In an instant, Anna sobered up.

“Oh my god, I didn’t--I don’t know--I’m so sorry-”

“Stop.” The world froze for the two of them.

This time, Kristoff couldn’t resist. I want this, he convinced himself. He laid his hands on the sides of her face, stroking the softness of her cheek and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned in and kissed her. Anna tensed for a second, then relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Pants and moans escaped their mouths as they kissed, tongues moving in to explore. They whispered each other’s names. Hands roamed to unexplored places. They couldn’t stop themselves.

Anna climbed on top of Kristoff, straddling his broad frame with her legs. She could feel the bulge in his pants straining against the denim. She pressed herself up against him and he moaned into her lips. His arms tightened their grip on her. She laid a hand on his arm and guided it down her back until his hand was on her ass, which he took a firm hold of. His mouth and tongue left trails of hot breath and gentle kisses on her neck and cheeks. She threw her head back and shuddered as he worked.

Without warning, Kristoff placed his other hand on Anna’s ass and lifted her into the air. A small cry escaped her lips as she wrapped her legs around his waist and giggled. “I’ve waited so long,” she breathed, before pressing her mouth to his again. Kristoff chuckled as he carried her into his bedroom and shut the door behind them.

 “Put me down,” Anna said, and Kristoff obeyed.

She wasted no time in pulling her top off, revealing her black strapless bra. Kristoff’s mouth went dry as he marveled at her.

“Take off your shirt,” Anna demanded, the deep, uncharacteristic rumble of her voice breaking him out of his trance.

Kristoff wordlessly complied, revealing his large and slightly chubby, but ultimately finely sculpted form that Anna had been dying to see. She ran eager hands up his sides, placing kisses on his firm chest.

She rushed to undo the button on Kristoff’s pants as he struggled to unlatch her bra. The two worked at each other, hands and fingers feverishly trying to get each other out of their clothes to reveal all they had been fantasizing about. As Anna’s bra fell away to reveal her perky, freckled breasts, a quiet “holy shit” escaped through Kristoff’s lips.

“Do you like them?” Anna asked, a twinge of self-consciousness in her voice.

“I love them,” Kristoff responded as he filled his hands with them. She moaned softly at the contact.

Anna tugged his pants down past his bulge, pulling his underwear with them, revealing his completely hard cock. “Oh my god,” she said. “This is really happening.”

“Should we-” Kristoff started to say.

“Don’t think,” Anna said, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Kristoff sucked air through his teeth as she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began stroking it. Kristoff responded by reaching down to her pussy and trailing a finger through her folds. He smiled into her lips as he heard the hitch of her breath when he touched her. She was sopping and eager.

“I need you inside me,” Anna said breathlessly after a moment. She couldn’t wait any longer.

“Turn around,” Kristoff directed. It was Anna’s turn to obey. She turned, braced herself against the wall, and presented herself to him.

Kristoff couldn’t believe what he was looking at. The freckles dotting her smooth and otherwise flawless skin, her orange hair seeming to glow in the otherwise dimly-lit room, her slim waist, her wide hips, her incredible ass, the lusty expression on her face as she looked back, impatiently awaiting him to enter her. There was no doubt in Kristoff’s mind anymore. She wanted him, and he wanted her.

Tonight, he would give himself to her.

Anna let out a gasp and Kristoff grunted as he slipped his cock inside of her. Anna’s head dropped as she pushed back against his cock, taking his entire length and pressing her ass to his hips. Kristoff threw his head back.

Kristoff’s rough, strong hands wrapped around Anna’s waist, gripping her tightly. He threw his hips forward and back, pulling her onto him with his hands. His pace was slow at first, but quickly became rapid as his lust grew exponentially stronger.

Anna reached between her legs with one hand to massage her clit. She felt victorious. This was the culmination of well over a month of waiting and turning hopes into actions. With every one of Kristoff's thrusts, she became more and more pleased with herself.

Kristoff grabbed Anna’s idle arm and pulled, forcing her upright and pressing more of her ass against his pelvis. “Fuck, you feel so good,” Kristoff breathed into her ear.

Anna moaned through a smile as a response to Kristoff. “Pull my hair,” she begged. Her head jerked back as he grabbed a handful of her wavy locks and tugged, forcing a moan out of her. With his other hand he cupped and massaged one of her breasts, pinching and caressing the nipple. Her moans arced and soared as Kristoff’s own moans deepened and lengthened.

Anna threw herself back against him, a satisfying slap ringing out every time their skin made contact. She felt him building up inside her, approaching his peak. The pulsing of his cock within her brought her closer to her own.

“Fuck, Anna, I’m gonna cum,” Kristoff moaned. “Where can I-”

“I’m on the pill. Cum inside me,” Anna said between breaths. “I’m almost there too.”

Anna’s legs began to shake. Kristoff’s vice-like grip grew tighter. Their moans grew more frequent and fiery, full of desire for each other, their unspoken promises becoming fulfilled. Kristoff called out her name and she shuddered against him.

She pressed herself up against Kristoff as much as she was able as she felt him release inside of her, the warm fluid erupting from his cock and filling her. Her walls closed and constricted around him, forcing out every last drop.

They fell in a heap on a pile of unwashed clothes. They were huffing and panting, content with each other, sitting in the glowing aftermath of their orgasms.

“Holy fuck,” Anna said.

“Yeah,” Kristoff responded. “I can’t believe we did that.”

“I can,” Anna said, climbing on top of him to offer a kiss.

Kristoff chuckled and kissed her back. He couldn’t lie to himself; he was happy. But there was still that speck of doubt, that modicum of guilt.

I’ll worry about it tomorrow, he thought. I’m happy now. I don’t want to ruin that.

They stayed with each other that night. They both remembered how wonderful it was to fall asleep next to someone.

[pilot-boi]

Too Long Since Rest: Chapter One

Weiss is sleeping fine she swears. Okay, maybe she keeps staying up doing extra schoolwork. And fine maybe occasionally she's too stressed to sleep. And then the stress and the anxiety brought nightmares. But that was all fine, and she was handling it! Totally.

Now if only she could convince one Ruby Rose of that.

(More College AU, because have been thinking about this far too much)

Lacking Sleep

Ruby isn’t the best at picking up on most social cues, but even she isn’t blind enough to overlook that Weiss is basically asleep standing up.

AO3 LINK

It’s late afternoon, some time after the last intense bits of work for the day, and Ruby and Weiss are sitting on a sun-warmed ledge near the edge of the campus, spending their rare bit of free time winding down from classes and not doing anything with their aching limbs for a while. 

They weren’t allowed a lot of time off, the clock was very much ticking what with finals and stuff, so what they do get, they cherish, whether alone or together.

Ruby was rambling on and on about something, voice loud and animated. Her points were illustrated with wide sweeps of her arms and exaggerated expressions like usual. Not even exhaustion could muffle her voice or her enthusiasm.

She was rambling about something, sure, but Weiss had lost track of what exactly she was talking about what felt like hours ago, although it definitely hadn’t been that long.

Ruby’s voice dulled to indecipherable background noise in her mind as she stared out in front of herself, eyes too stubborn or too lazy to move from watching how the specks that were people bustled around on the lower levels.

Then a gloved hand flailed into her vision, way too close to her face, and Weiss startled back.

“Hey!” came Ruby’s voice, and Weiss turned to look at her belatedly. She looked annoyed, but that too only reached Weiss’s consciousness as something sluggish and unimportant. “You listening?”

Weiss blinked at her slowly. God, she hated how much her brain was refusing to start and catch up right now. “What?”

Ruby doesn’t answer immediately, just stared at her for what could’ve been seconds or whole minutes, Weiss really couldn’t tell. Her annoyance seemed to melt away into something else, either curiosity or concern or maybe something else starting with a “c”?

 Weiss wasn’t sure, but she was almost entirely distracted by the fact that Ruby’s eyelashes were very pretty, and she has a truly unfair amount of them. If she didn’t know better, she would think that she used makeup. But she’d known Ruby long enough to know that that wasn’t the case…

Her thought process that was kind of just drifting around her head aimlessly was interrupted again by a hand against her forehead, specifically Ruby’s hand. It was only the backs of her fingers, pressing lightly into Weiss’s forehead, way more gently than what she was used to from Ruby in most scenarios.

Weiss shook her head and forced her eyes back into focus, and she was vaguely aware of Ruby pulling her hand back. “What the hell are you doing?”

Ruby shrugged. “Just checking.”

“Checking what?” She rubbed absently at her forehead, because she weirdly felt like Ruby’s touch was lingering on her skin. Way after she shook off the feeling, she recognized the gesture as Ruby checking her for a fever, maybe? But why would she do that? “I’m fine,” Weiss added, just in case.

Ruby didn’t look convinced. “Are you, though?”

Weiss just made a confused noise at her. She hoped it would suffice.

It seemed to, because Ruby shrugged again and kept talking. “I don’t know, you’ve just been zoning out all day and I actually had to remind you about the essay for Goodwitch. And when I asked for help with it you gave in, like, way too easily, and you didn’t even sulk about it!”

Okay, that one was definitely true. So maybe Weiss has had less focus today than on most days and didn’t feel up to making a fuss about losing. So what?

“And you look terrible!” Ruby continued, and wow, rude. Weiss wondered if her friend’s claim had any truth to it, though. She hasn’t looked in a mirror all day, didn’t really have the time. “I mean, not to be mean, but really! I didn’t think it was possible. You’re you!” 

Weiss wanted to tell her to get out of here with that simplification, but her sluggish mind didn’t seem to have any sharp comeback in stock and she didn’t feel up to all of Ruby’s teasing right now. 

Her mind was annoyingly fuzzy and the world around her felt like she was seeing and hearing it through frosted glass. When she opened her mouth to say what was definitely going to be a witty comeback, what came out instead was a yawn so big her jaw popped.

Ruby’s brow visibly furrowed at that. “How much did you sleep last night?”

What a dumb, irrelevant question. What was Ruby on about, anyway? But she didn’t feel up to arguing with her right now. She wondered why, but her mind came up blank, just like with everything else today. Annoying.

“I don’t know. Enough?”

“Weiss…” Ruby all but sighed, the exasperated kind, and okay, what was with that? Weiss felt like she was being pinned as the idiot here, which was just completely unreasonable. Ruby was clearly the idiot in this partnership.

She wasn’t. Not really. They were both idiots, while also they were very much not. Weiss wondered for a moment if that was why they worked so well together.

Ruby leaned in closer and searched for Weiss’s gaze, silver eyes flickering slightly from side to side until Weiss finally gave in and looked at her. Even with her red-tinged hair hiding half her face, she looked so sincere and gentle, and it made Weiss sigh and give in way too easily.

Because Ruby had these unexpected little moments when her rough edges and everything that made her almost overwhelming to be around day and night seemed to soften out. When her warmth felt less like Weiss was going to burn up any second, and more like a mug of hot coffee when you’d been out in the cold all day but forgot your gloves at home.

And Weiss is utterly and regrettably weak for Ruby letting herself go soft on her. And so she gave in.

“Okay… not much sleep,” she admitted, eyes flickering away before she forced them back to Ruby’s face. “But it’s fine!”

But by now Ruby knew how to see behind Weiss’s words and read behind her lines, in most cases anyway. She knew that Weiss always downplayed her own problems, because she was a big stubborn dumby, obsessed with thinking that she never needed any help.

Ruby was constantly swinging between finding it very worrying and just supremely irritating, like some kind of very distressed pendulum. And so she arrived at a worrying, but fairly obvious interpretation. “Have you slept at all?”

Maybe it was because she was so tired and her thoughts were all fuzzy in her head. Maybe it was Ruby still being all soft and warm right in front of her. Maybe it was both, Weiss wasn’t sure. But once again, her stubborn resolve crumbled like it was never there in the first place. “...no.”

Ruby did not at all look pleased about that. “So you haven’t slept. At all. In over a day.”

Okay, screw this. Weiss looked away for real now because he couldn’t keep looking at Ruby anymore, not when even with her tone flat and clearly displeased she was looking at her like that. She hoped her deadpan tone was a herald of their usual teasing returning, because she knew how to handle that.

Worst case scenario she could just pretend to be offended and leave and then apologize over terrible cafeteria food. She knew how to handle the teasing and shoving and the bad jokes. Serious schoolwork and well-honed teamwork and interactions that somehow maybe border on flirting. She knew all of that.

She didn’t know how to handle something like this.

In the end she just sighed, defeated, as if Ruby needed any more confirmation. “...Maybe.”

Weiss wasn’t sure if at this point she was expecting Ruby to call her an idiot and jump back into teasing her relentlessly. Or maybe she was just hoping that was what was going to happen so that she could finally return to her comfort zone of snark and stubbornness and never leave again.

As warm and delighted seeing Ruby go all soft on her made her feel, it also wasn’t something she could handle for long, or at all really. She might handle it okay as long as she didn’t think about it, she wasn’t sure, because that blessed state of mind never tended to last her long.

But instead of going back to their usual dynamic and leaving Weiss to stew in her confused feelings in peace, Ruby sighed and for a moment she looked downright… worried? Weiss wasn’t sure, and the next moment that expression was gone, replaced by a look of fond exasperation that she was very familiar with, and so she decided that it must’ve just been her tired brain misinterpreting things.

“Alright. Okay,” Ruby started, talking but not saying anything like she tended to when devising some over-the-top plan to sneak her dog into the dorms that would definitely get her caught by the RA’s. “You’re going to bed. Right now.”

First of all, no, because Weiss was not a child anymore, and thus no one could tell her when her bedtime was. Okay, maybe Goodwitch could, but Goodwitch was kind of her own category in everything. 

Ruby, who was an absolute menace on her best days, was two whole years younger than Weiss. And she was technically a freshman, and so had no rights. Especially no right to order her to go to bed.

Second of all, why the hell did she sound so determined?

Weiss wanted to tell her all that, especially the first part, as in screw you, Ruby Rose, but of course her brain and whatever part of it was supposed to handle her eloquence was not currently up to the job. “Ruby-”

“Nope! I don’t care, Weiss Cream, you gotta sleep.” She finally leaned back, which Weiss was grateful for, because she didn’t know how much longer she could’ve taken Ruby staring at her like that without straight up melting probably. 

Ruby rocked back as she gathered momentum, and stood up annoyingly quickly when Weiss herself felt comparable to a sack of potatoes that somehow figured out how to grow legs. “Come on. Let’s get you back to your room.”

Weiss stared at the hand extended her way for a moment before she succumbed to her fate and let herself be pulled up.

She didn’t know what to do when Ruby was like this, and she especially didn’t know now. She’d had Ruby go soft on her before, sure, but she’d never had her gently pushing and herding her around like this, the way Winter sometimes did and maybe something like the rare moments her mother did, too.

She’d always managed to brush Ruby off or get out of the situation before things could come to this, rushing back to the security she found in teasing or rolling her eyes or sulking in her dorm for a while. Not that her roommate was ever a big help in that regard. If Ruby was loud, her sister was unbearable.

But now she was in it and too tired to come up with anything and plan ten steps ahead, and so she had no choice but to go with it.

She swayed with vertigo once she was on her feet, the world before her eyes blinking out in blotches of colour and black. She vaguely felt Ruby’s arm around her back, her side pressed against hers, the only solid thing as the world came back into focus and the ringing in her ears subsided.

Ruby didn’t let go once they started moving, and Weiss didn’t have the energy to shove her off. If she’d been honest with herself, she’d say she didn’t want to either.

She was barely paying attention to the walk back to her room, the pavement passing beneath her feet, the familiar faces they passed, and the corners they turned when Ruby pulled her this way or that. She was mostly just aware of Ruby’s movements, a rhythm that matched her own, and the warm presence still pressed against her side.

Her mind was a pleasantly sleepy fuzz despite it still being light out and it not even being dinner time yet, but she trusted Ruby not to lead her stray or let her run into any corners or any people.

The next thing Weiss knew, she was being guided down onto her bed on top of her comforter in her blessedly roommate-less dorm room. Gentle pushes and nudges laying her down, and Ruby’s arm was still around her like she was worried she was just going to fall over on her own. Honestly, she might.

The moment she can, Weiss curled up on her side, eyes shut. Because despite how she’d been holding up okay all day, now she felt positively exhausted all of the sudden. And being back in her own bed only seemed to make that even more obvious. Ruby was right for once, she really should go to sleep early.

She felt comfortable and heavy, her mind pleasantly blank and slow and fuzzy with sleepiness. She just about heard Ruby still moving around her room, her footsteps light without any conscious thought. But Weiss was too comfortable to open her eyes again or move at all, or even to just make a single sound to thank her.

Doing anything at all right then felt like it’d take incredible effort to achieve, and Weiss was entirely content with not doing anything at all. Just hanging on the edge of falling asleep.

She was too out of it to even feel surprised when she felt a blanket settling over her, warm and smelling like sunshine because she’d had it draped over her desk chair by the window. She felt the bed dip as Ruby sat on it near her knees, arranging the blanket over her better.

Her friend folded back the edge of it over Weiss’s shoulder neatly, carefully, in a way Weiss couldn’t remember Winter ever doing, but how she thought her mother maybe used to, once upon a time. She followed the feeling of Ruby smoothing the blanket down over her one last time, a gentle pressure against her shoulder before it slipped away.

She expected Ruby to stand and leave now, her self-assigned job already more than done, but she didn’t feel any movement. Then-

“Would it really be so hard for you to stop worrying me for just, like, two days?” Ruby sighed, her voice gentle and fond and so quiet that Weiss’s fuzzy mind could barely make out the words. She was certain that were she actually asleep, this wouldn’t have woken her up at all. 

Weiss wondered absently if Ruby thought she was already asleep, too. “Because I do worry about you, y’know?” She heard the girl murmur, and vaguely felt a hand brush her bangs away from her face. “You wouldn’t believe me if you were awake, but I do.”

Oh.

But Weiss did believe her, as scary as it was to admit sometimes. As much as she didn’t want to interpret the signs most days because she didn’t know what to do with them. But Ruby had said it, and Weiss believed her.

And her heart ached, because Ruby sounded so sad and Weiss didn’t know why, but she knew that she wanted to help and to fix it. But she couldn’t bring herself to move, to do anything at all. Her body and mind and everything was too heavy, too close to the edge of sleep. And so she did nothing.

“I wish you trusted me enough to ask for my help sometimes.”

Ruby lingered for another moment after that, and Weiss found herself trying to commit her words into memory. Then the mattress shifted and leveled out again, Ruby’s weight gone from it.

“Night,” she said, from further away now, her voice still quiet enough to let Weiss sleep over it, but sounding maybe a little bit more fond than sad this time. And then Weiss heard the door open and close as quietly as it could, just barely over the sleepiness filing her head.