#yeah if any of this is confusing 2 anyone feel free to ask me to eleaborate

[electrosweaters-arts]

14 for the ask thing 👀

14) What do you think of jekyll? Do you think he’s a bad person?

Well *I* think Jekyll's just like me, he just like me for real. HOWEVER, I think he also just kinda sucks.

He's a nuanced character but my Surface Level take on Jekyll is, he wanted to do all the things he did as Hyde -> Jekyll is as bad a person as Hyde, Jekyll is a murderer, Jekyll trampled a child, etc.

However...To ME... He is like that due to...The Circumstances. Something Something daddy issues turn you into a people pleaser mommy issues make you fucking insane and Jekyll has Both. + also Victorian man how did they make you soooo very repressed.

Also I just personally don't think Hyde was Intended to be as fucked up as he turned out based off Jekyll's statement of the case and Jekyll got kinda more and more disconnected from his actions as he got away with more and more as Hyde(+ also Hyde destroys some of Jekyll's things like his father's portrait which...I'm a Jekyll daddy issues truther so to ME that was Hyde letting out emotions Jekyll didn't even KNOW he was repressing so...) . Definitely he still Did That, everything Hyde Does in the book IS Jekyll's fault but I don't think Jekyll's whole intention to create Hyde was to go out and trample children.

This is probably not the BESSTTT explanation of my thoughts on Jekyll but this is already getting long so its like, a sparknotes of my psychoanalysis of that man + I tried to take out as many of my own personal headcanons as I could. So yeah, not my FULL thoughts on that man or his morality but like, a sparknoted version.

A jekyll doodle from my files for the trouble

[httpsryu]

the cc; campus crush : 2

pairing: kim minjeong x fem! reader

summary: kim minjeong feels her heart rush at the sight of the cold-hearted rich girl

category: enemies-to-lovers(in minjeong's head)

genre: this part is ANGSTY

warnings: y/n is kind of mean (ITS IN HER BLOOD)

a/n: i had no clue that cc would have this much support! thank you so much guys <3

The second the professor ended the lecture, students bombards the door. Jimin turns back to her shoulder to check up on Minjeong and see if she's going to hang with her and the others. However, seeing you still next to her gives her other ideas.

Her phone lets out a small buzz, having her look at it and she smiles while typing back an 'alright, have fun! i'll inform the others'.

"Think Minjeong is going to be with someone else today." Jimin informs Aeri and Yizhou while closing up her notebooks and putting them in her extremely large and heavy black backpack.

Aeri swears that backpack can be used as a dumbbell workout at this rate.

Both Aeri and Yizhou nods, putting two-and-two together.

"I admit, I'm surprised that Minjeong is managing this far with Hong Y/N." The Japanese amusedly turns back to look at her friend and the cold-faced rich girl. "I kind of thought they would just sit next to each other and that would be it."

The Chinese besides her throws her head back in a fit of laughter. "Come on! Give some hope in our Jeongie."

On the other hand, Minjeong patiently waits for you as you finish typing out the rest of the lecture's notes. However, she can see the slight confusion resting upon your very attractive face at some of the points given in today's lecture.

She assumes it's probably because you're not here for every class so confusion would make sense.

"Hey..um..if you always need help with anything, feel free to ask me. I can always help assist you." The short-haired offers, a bit shy, of course.

This reaction of the intriguing female sparks sort of a frenzy in you. Of course; you cannot pinpoint what it is.

"I don't need your help." A blunt yet short response comes from you.

You aren't sure if what you said was offensive, as you've always are used to that tone while growing up. However, to Minjeong, it seems a bit too honest. But then again, she understands it. You are a cold person like everyone else said. She can stand it.

"Ah." She can only respond, nodding as she doesn't want to push any boundaries on you.

With a slam from closing your laptop, you shove the device into your backpack. With no care if it breaks or not because less work for you to do. You look up after zipping up the bag.

"You should close that more gently." Minjeong suggests, seeing you raise your eyebrow at her suggestion. "Just because your hand can get hurt."

If anyone can see the way your eyes soften for a glimpse second, it would be the heavens from above.

"It's whatever." You reply, getting out of your seat.

The short-haired doesn't move, still frozen at where she is sitting. Unsure of whether you'd still want to grab coffee with her or not. It seemed like she pushed your buttons, judging from how you respond.

"Are we getting coffee or not?" You ask, sounding a little bit impatient as you couldn't help but to swing your bag in a sassy manner as you also don't forget to fix your hair with a swing of a finger.

Minjeong's eyes widens, immediately getting out of where she was sitting and rushing over to your side. "Yeah we are."

"She's like a puppy. A bit cute." You can't help but to mumble under your breath, walking ahead of her, a smile kind of crept to your mouth as you hear her following swiftly behind you.

Minjeong shoots her friends a small smile before disappearing out the classroom to catch up with you.

"You know what?" Yizhou stands up, ready for a snack break before her 12 PM class starts. "I kind of ship it."

Aeri gets what Yizhou means. "Honestly, it's like a cute love-smitten nerd and her bossy mean girlfriend."

Both Minjeong and Y/N kind of clicks well, looking good to the eyes too.

"Can we stop by the vending machines so I can get some more energy drinks?" Jimin asks, pushing her glasses up on the nose bridge.

The Japanese and Chinese look at each other, sighing before shaking their heads NO.

"PLEASE!"

"NO!" Both girls say in unison, getting up from their seat.

"Hey! Where are you guys going? Wait for me!" Jimin pushes up her glasses on her nose bridge once again before hastily putting the rest of her supplies in her very heavy backpack in a frantic.

Minjeong cannot believe she is sitting right in front of THE Hong Y/N. How does one get lucky with their campus crush? Certainly Minjeong must've been a hero in her past life because what do you mean Y/N is here having coffee with her?

Feeling a pair of eyes on you, you divert your eyes from the coffee cup in your hands to the short-haired female.

Minjeong flashes her eyes to somewhere else, not wanting you to catch her staring, enamored by you.

You hate to admit it but Minjeong is pretty cute.

Your phone rings, having you span your attention somewhere else as you grab it from your bag. With a sigh, you decline the call before stuffing it in back into your bag.

"If you have places to be, we can end the day here."

Furrowing your brows at the other sitting across from you, you shake your head. You don't want to seem rude, especially after someone treated you out. "No. It's fine."

"I understand that you're a busy person." Minjeong responds back, reaching over to take a sip of the sweet-looking frappe (you try your best to not cringe at how sweet it is).

"Minjeong-shi?" You call her name and the church bells started ringing in the other girl's head at the way you said her name. "I don't leave my appointments hanging."

Oh.

Appointments.

That's all Minjeong would ever be to you.

While she's over here thinking it was a chance to know one another, you see her as an appointment. A one-time thing. Minjeong knew it was too good to be true. Why would someone like you ever be into someone like her?

You seem to take notice of the sudden dejection of the other sitting across from you. However, you did not want to ask her if everything is alright. After all, you don't have the time to do anything yet alone, try to get to know someone else. After four years of university, you'll never see anyone from campus again.

There's no point in getting to know someone.

Just even getting coffee with this girl is a lot of time taken from you.

"I think it's best if we cut it short." You look down at the watch on your wrist, already dreading at the fact that you need to be at the department. You can already hear the scolding from both your father and sister.

Time is a limitation to you, Minjeong assumes.

"Oh. Yeah, I understand!" The red haired is about to stand up from her seat to greet you out but you stop her from doing so.

"No need for that." Disliking the idea of someone walking you out, especially if it's someone that does not work for the family. You pick up your handbag, giving the other a small half-smile. "I enjoyed this."

Minjeong can only smile back in response, unsure of what else to say. It's quite evident that you don't want to waste your time with someone like her. She takes the hint, she gets it.

She feels foolish, honestly.

"Well then, I am off now." You turn, ready to walk away with your signature Valentino heels, that make quite a presence to themselves. However, you turn back around to lock eye contact with the puppy-eyed girl. "See you around."

"Yeah. See you.." The puppy-eyed girl responds quietly to your farewell.

A sad sigh escapes from her, her shoulders falling beside her as she slumps herself in the chair. Wondering why someone as pretty as you have to be such a busy person.

Was there a need to call her your appointment though?

It's quite clear that Minjeong wants to know you better, hell, you probably already knew.

And yet; you called her an appointment.

Everyone's right.

You are a cold-hearted soul.

But why does Minjeong still like the idea of you and her? Even though it's clear you're not interested in her the same way she is in you. Why does Minjeong still want to keep trying?

Tip-toeing between the many different stores in the department, you check a quick scan-looking around for any sights of a Hong Haein. You let out a sigh of relief before running fast to another store across from you.

"Why are you late?"

Startled at the sudden voice, your heart starts wanting to leap out your chest at the voice of your older sister.

"Hi..." You force a smile, turning around to be met with Haein, her brows furrowed from frustration, pout evident on her lips and her arms are crossed as she repeatedly taps her right foot as she waits for your reasoning. "I just had an appointment."

Haein lowers her gaze, meeting with your height. "You missed the meeting for an appointment?"

"Yeah...?"

The older stares straight on, not caring if it made you feel small nor vulnerable. "An appointment isn't going to be there in the future like this department store is."

"Yes, I know that." You're tired of hearing anything to do with the department and the business that comes from it.

Haein clenches her jaw, not wanting to lose her patience in front of the customers. "If you knew that, why did you miss the meeting? Do you not care about your future?"

"I do care..." Your voice suddenly becoming quiet, blinking fast while looking away from your sister's gaze to not let the tears fall.

The older Hong can only let out a sigh. "Look, someday, I'll stop being the CEO of this department store and I want you to take my place. How can I trust you for this position when you don't even show up to these important meetings we have?"

"I'll do better."

"You always say that to get out of me nagging you." Haein tsks, her patience getting less with you. "How is Soocheol more reliable than you?"

Digging your nails into the palm of your hands from withstanding the awful and horrible words you were about to say to your sister, you can only nod.

"There was no point to even show up." Your sister looks down at her watch, staring at the time which means it was pointless to even try to talk sense into you. "Just go home or wherever you came from."

Before you could respond, the older puts up her hand to answer a phone call. You can only look away in frustration at the way she doesn't care about your feelings. Why would she try to understand?

She's the most successful out of the three of you.

Of course, she doesn't understand.

She loves being in this business, that's how much she loves the company.

Why couldn't it be the same for you?

"Grandfather wants to see us tonight for a family meeting tonight." Haein puts her phone away, looking at you with a stern look but her eyes softened for a quick glimpse at how tired you looked. "Y/N, you know I love you more than Soocheol. I don't want to nag you, but it's my job to make sure you'll do well in this business. Do you understand?"

Staring down at your heels, you can only sigh.

"Aren't you going to answer me?"

"Alright."

With a final nod and a small tight lipped smile, Haein turns around and walks away on her heels.

Knowing that you're not actually allowed to head back home until everyone else leaves, you can only gather yourself together before standing up with your back straight and face held high. Letting out another deep breath before composing yourself to continue the act you've perfected for years, you walk off towards the elevators.

Making sure each step of your heels are seen with confidence, like how your family wanted to be known as. Staring straight on, ignoring the passer-by's attention that are naturally drawn to you.

You see your secretary waiting for you at the elevators ready to give you your assigned orders given to you by both your father and sister.

"Hi Secretary Park." You open out your hand, waiting for the iPad to be given.

The older lady in front bows. "Good evening, Miss Hong." Handing you the iPad which shows the stocks, shares and information regarding of each store in the department. "The CEO wants you to write an analytical summary of each store regarding their sales."

And how in the world do you do that?

"Without Director Baek's assistance." Your secretary says with worry.

Hong Haein is doing this on purpose! What the hell?

"Got it." You look down at the screen in your hands, wanting to just throw and break the device displaying the graphs in front of your face. "Inform her that I'll try to get that at the end of next week."

Noticing the uncomfortable yet concerned expression on Secretary Park's face, you tilt your head. "What?"

"She wants this all done by tomorrow."

Fucking hell.

"Oh. Ok."

Minjeong types on her laptop in the dimly-lit library on campus, of course, with her best friends by her side because who needs girls when she has three awesome people.

But, in spite of that, the short-haired ejects a small upset sigh to where she can't even focus on her assignments. This, of course earned her three friends to turn to her, pitying the other.

"There's other of plenty pretty women on this campus, you know?" Aeri softly says, tapping her pen on her notebook as she tries to think of someone's name. "What about Ryujin?"

Minjeong stops typing, looking up from the screen and at the Japanese. "No, she's too much of a flirt and besides, her and I would clash in the worst way possible."

"Plus she's in a situation-ship with Yeji..." Yizhou mumbles, trying not to let Jimin hear.

The oldest of the four picks her head up from the medical book she's buried in. "You don't have to walk on eggshells around me when you talk about Yeji, alright? She wasn't out the closet during that time and I completely gotten over it."

The short-haired can only stare at her best friend, never forgetting the night when Jimin, the most composed and mature of the group lost her chill that night when Yeji and her ended things. Perhaps, it could be the case for you. You probably weren't into women.

Minjeong glances over at Aeri, wondering when the Japanese would just confess to Jimin already.

"Hmm..what about Yunjin?" Aeri suggests the pretty red-haired music major.

Minjeong shakes her head in agony. "I'll never find someone like Y/N."

"Obviously. She's a rich woman whose family earned their way up. She knows how to hold herself well." Yizhou points out the obvious, not surprised at all for Minjeong feeling the way she feels.

Jimin sighs, looking up from the book she's burying her face into. "Minjeong, I'm saying this to you as your best friend. It's okay to have an ideal type, but it's also alright to accept potential candidates too. Why do you seem to be interested in Hong Y/N so much?"

"I-I don't know where I should start. For starters, she's a very pretty girl. One of the most pretty girls, if not-the prettiest girl I've ever laid my eyes on. She somehow, despite being busy with her family, she's always balancing work-school life. Like yeah, she's kind of mean but I kind of like that about her. I don't mind her being mean to me at all."

"Oh." Jimin can only react with. "You're in pretty deep."

Minjeong can only sigh, putting her head into her hands with frustration. "She made it clear that she isn't interested in anything but why do I want to keep trying?"

"Good luck." Aeri snorts, dismissively going back to studying.

The puppy-like female brings her head back up at Aeri's dismissive attitude leaving Yizhou laughing. This results in Minjeong flicking a pencil at the Chinese's teasing.

"OW!"

Minjeong can only shrug. "You all think its funny that I'm pining over someone who wants nothing to do with me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe."

"Let's have some faith in our Minjeong, come on."

Minjeong wants to bury herself in a hole for even being like this over a girl. But it's not just any girl...ITS you.

"Guys, I think I'm going to keep trying." Minjeong announces with full determination in her eyes.

Jimin, Aeri and Yizhou can only sigh in response.

prev. part

august 2, 2024; publishing date

hey...how is everyone doing...?

taglist: OPEN

[anakinstwinklebunny]

FATHERHOOD pt.2

TW: anakin being a dad; I purposely haven't named the child, basing on the assumption that it could be easier to read (just feel free to name him however you want), also the child is off the particular age- just have in mind he's a toddler

This time it was Anakin's turn to put your son down for a nap. As usual, it was a challenge, given the boy's boundless energy. But, being the creative individual he was, Anakin quickly came up with a clever idea to make the task easier, at least when it was his turn.

Anakin chuckled as he watched his son make his way through the living room hallway, the little boy's wobbling steps and determined expression bringing a smile to his face. The toddler knelt down to grasp the toy in his small hand and turned to sprint back towards Anakin, clutching the bunny close to his chest.

You descended the stairs, entering the living room just in time to witness an amusing scene. Your brows furrowed as you observed Anakin sitting on the floor, his proud dad-smirk gleaming on his too-perfect face.

You approached him and asked, "Ani, what are you doing?"

He glanced at you with a sly smile "Tiring him out."

As if on cue, Anakin tossed the toy for their little boy once again, who became fixated on the flying object. With a playful tone, Anakin inquired, "Where's the bunny, little man? Where do you have it?"

"Uh," the boy looked down at the wooden floor, his small form crouching down to quickly grab the toy.

"Yes, that's right... now give it to me, baby," Anakin said with a soft, encouraging tone.

You watched the scene unfold before you, your expression a mix of surprise and amusement. It wasn't exactly unexpected, given Anakin's tendency for unique solutions. However, you couldn't help but feel a small twinge of disbelief.

"Ani," you spoke up, a hint of amusement in your tone, "he's not a dog, you know."

A sly chuckle escaped Anakin's lips as he heard your remark. "I know, I know," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "but come on, it's hilarious, and he's having fun."

You couldn't help but roll your eyes and let out a small sigh. "You're gonna exhaust him," you warned.

Anakin merely shrugged, his smirk never leaving his face. "That's the idea," he replied shamelessly, "He'll easily fall asleep."

There was a mix of confusion and concern within you. In some ways, Anakin's method seemed smart and practical, but deep down, an unease lingered. Your heart ached, as if the boy was in danger, fearing he might become queasy after being too dizzy.

And whenever your gaze landed on Anakin's face, you knew there was more to his actions than simple tiredness. "You're making fun of him," you interjected.

Anakin let out a small huff, his expression a mix of stubbornness and amusement. "I mean, yeah, a little," he admitted. "But it's just harmless fun. He doesn't mind, look how well he's doing, how eager he is to bring me the toy" He gestured towards the toddler

"He's whining," you countered in calm and steady tone

Anakin's gaze shifted to the boy, who was waddling back towards him with a whiny expression on his face. "Yeah, but that's just because he's working those little legs,"

Anakin's expression softened as the boy threw himself onto his chest, prompting a hearty laugh from the man. He ran his hand affectionately through the boy's unruly curls, a soft smile on his face. "There you are, little guy," he murmured, gently taking the bunny from the boy's hand "Now, gimme a kiss."

The boy's clumsy peck prompted a wider smile from Anakin to the point where he could feel pain from his muscles. But how could he stop smiling when he had such boy opposite him? "There we go, who's my good boy?" he cooed

"Me" The baby's lisp was undeniably adorable for both of you

"That's right," Anakin's voice filled with tenderness "You're my good boy, and the sweetest little baby anyone could ever see."

Anakin tossed the bunny further across the hall once more, his gaze following the baby as he let out a whiny sigh and began shakily waddling towards it. "There you go, little man. Go get it," he said with a chuckle.

You couldn't help but interject with another sigh, "You're talking to him like he's a dog."

He couldn't help but tease you a little. "I mean, they're kinda the same," he started jokingly. "Both cute, cuddly, and love playing fetch..."

"Ani!" you gasped at his words, which seemed to only spur him on further, causing him to burst into laughter.

"Oh come on, I'm kidding," Anakin protested with a grin. "But you gotta admit, their similarities are uncanny."

You rolled your eyes in feigned annoyance, "Stop."

"Well, he responds to it, doesn't he?" he grinned "It's all harmless fun. Besides, he's having a blast."

He then turned his attention to the boy, who had returned with the bunny in hand, not hiding his whines "See? He loves it. Look how fast he comes back. He's such a good boy, aren't you, bud?"

Anakin's smile grew even wider at the toddler's lisped 'yes' in response to his question. He gently embraced the boy in a warm hug, his voice turning more affectionate and sweet "See? Harmless fun."

The sight of the two most important people in your life, cuddled together, brought a loving smile to your face.

It was in moments like these that you found yourself falling in love all over again, feeling grateful for everything you had in life. A wonderful, incredible husband, and a sweet, adorable child.

Anakin spoke gently to the boy with a loving tone, "Go on, one more time baby..and we'll finish, hm?" He then threw the toy once more, his gaze fixed on the son.

It was evident that the toddler's energy was being affected by Anakin's methods, as his once clumsy run had slowed down considerably. You couldn't help but murmur, a mix of resignation in your tone, "Your parenting ways are definitely...essantional."

A sly smile crept across Anakin's face and he responded sarcastically, "I like to think of it as a creative and innovative parenting. And hey, it gets the job done, right? I mean, look at him. He's the cutest little bunny-chaser you've ever seen.. Essential parenting techniques passed down from the great Anakin Skywalker himself."

You couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his statement, your tone laced with feigned sarcasm, "You're truly an extraordinary parent, Anakin." you took a seat next to him on the floor

Anakin let out a playful huff before turning his gaze down to the baby who returned with the plushie in hand. "Hey, don't dismiss my parenting skills so quickly," he protested and then kissed the boy's tired face. "He's a walking testament to my remarkable parenting style. He might be a bit spoiled, but he's also adorable as hell."

You couldn't help but shake your head fondly, a lingering smile on your face as the boy nuzzled into Anakin's chest to clearly signalize his tiredness. Anakin wrapped his arm around the baby, letting him snuggle further. His hand moved up to stroke the boy's hair with a warm and affectionate smile. "There you go, there you go," he murmured gently. "That's my little koala, clinging to daddy like a little fuzzy companion..bet you got tired, huh?"

The boy's faint, muffled babbling against Anakin's robe was endearing. There was a hint of a victorious smirk on Anakin's face as he glanced at you, as if he had just won some kind of competition by inducing the boy to sleep.

Without any delay, he shifted the toddler in his arms and stood from the floor, ensuring to grab the plushie. "Yeah, thought so," he said, a playful tone in his voice. "You're starting to get cranky, aren't you? That means it's naptime and we have another mission: tucking you in your lovely crib." his eyes moved to yours "we're gonna say bye to mommy, hm?"

The little one mumbled a sleepy "bye bye" with his cheeks puffing out adorably. His waving hand was rather clumsy yet still priceless. You responded with your own farewell, your voice filled with affection.

"Bye bye baby..." you echoed, your heart fluttering with tenderness as you watched the scene play out.

As Anakin smiled at you one last time before leaving the room, you couldn't help but keep your gaze fixed on him and the little boy in his arms. You listened to his gentle murmurs and watched him softly kiss the child's temple before disappearing upstairs.

A wave of emotions washed over you as you reflected on how you had once felt scared of becoming a mother. But now, as your hand instinctively reached down to your swollen belly, gently caressing the growing life within, a smile tugged at the corners of your lips and tears welled up in your eyes.

You were the happiest you could ever be

TAG LIST: @kingdomhate @ysrjune @divineani @erosmutt @emmaloo21 @haydensprettyprincess @mistress-amidala @catnipaddictt @heartscone @haydensbbg @inneedsoffanfics

(if you want to be removed or added then don't be shy and let me know 💋)

[hippielittlemetalhead]

Never Took The Time (To Forget) part 4.2: Robin's Boy

A.N: Life is kinda sucky right now with job hunting, surviving at my current job, the strains that come with being a caregiver to a family member while maintaining a long distance relationship and just dealing with mental and emotional self-care. So here's this, super late and not beta-read but at least I wrote it.

As always, feel free to yell at/with me in the comments, tags and/or ask box.

Part 1 (Hop fucks up), Part 2 (Pride and Prejudices: Joyce's Edition), Part 3 (One of Us), Part 4.1 (With a Capital 'P'), Part 5 (Man Of The Hour)

There's not much that surprises Robin Buckley these days. She gets queasy at the sight of ground beef, the big friendly dogs a few doors down at the O'Reilly place make her blood run cold, she can't watch the old Russian movies her dad loves without having nightmares after and she's sleeping with a nightlight for the first time since she was six. But it takes a lot to surprise her.

Seeing the declared dead Chief of Police step out of a sleek black, obviously-secret-government-bullshit car flanked by an agent she recognizes as one of Owens' lackeys from last July when they were making the rounds with Government funded medical care contingent on signing sketchy NDAs? Just par for the course at this point.

Steve's face when Eleven-Jane rushes into the not-dead Chief's arms and it turns into a whole 'Moment'? Said Chief's look of barely interested confusion followed by tired annoyance when Steve drags her in front of him, rambling about Starcourt and new additions to The Party and finally getting to meet 'My Hop'? Yeah, none of that surprises her either. She plays along for Steve, doesn't give Hopper any time to say anything that would take that happy smile off his face or get rid of the way he's practically glowing he's smiling bigger than she's ever seen directed at anyone other than the kids. Tries not to think about the way it makes something in her clench and crouch like a cat getting ready to pounce and bare fangs she didn't realize she had outside of a life and death situation. She introduces herself, maintains eye contact and drags Steve off as fast as she can to do something, anything, that will distract him from trying to catch up like the Byers clan is with the kids and assembled assorted monster fighters.

She's not surprised when she can't stop Steve from stepping up every time Hopper or Joyce or anyone with a badge says they need anything despite his own still healing wounds. She's not surprised when Hop takes it a step too far.

They're at the Hopper Cabin that is steadily becoming the Hopper-Byers Cottage when Hop tells his and Joyce's shared custody bald parasite that Steve is little more than an annoyance he puts up with for the free babysitting service and manual labor and cause he can go up against shit that would give anyone else nightmares while keeping the kids safe and mostly in-check. She's sitting with Eleven-Jane, sewing patches onto one of Hop's old army jackets, (the kid had seen Eddie's battle vest in Steve's car and it had reminded her of her sister Kali and she'd decided she wanted one of her own for the war ahead and then all of the other rugrats had decided they did too so she and Argyle had taken to giving sporadic sewing lessons whenever the kids had the materials to start their own battle attire) when Steve comes round the corner to the back of the property striding with purpose she rarely saw when he was around his kids.

She leaves her unfinished project on the stump she'd been using as a stool and chases after him. She shooes off curious and worried kids, promising to stick with him, keep the walkie close and on, make sure he was safe and didn't run afoul of any demo-beasts or trigger-happy government goons as he made his way to his car and then wherever else he was marching his happy ass.

She hates the fact that when they're both finally back at the little apartment that Owens' yes-men had acquired for Steve when Harrington Sr. decided to be an opportunist prick and kick Steve out for 'not taking care of the house' in the middle of the 'earthquake', that Steve hasn't shed a single tear. She hates that she's not surprised.

He doesn't say anything as he kicks off his Nikes and shuffles over to the 'second-hand' couch they'd gotten from Mrs. Henderson (Steve and Robin were both fully aware she'd just gotten it shortly before Spring break and was in no way in need of a new one so soon, but they both also knew better than to call her out on her kindness). He doesn't look up at her from his spot curled in amongst the throw pillows and blankets they'd been gifted by parents of various members of the party after Hopper and Owens' story that the two of them had saved the kids again from some freak incident like last year with Starcourt. She pulls out the thick quilt they had found in the latest donations bins when Hawkin's government supervised relief force started outsourcing for supplies and basic comforts. He stares at the wall where they'd hung an oversized corkboard dedicated to polaroids and photo booth strips and even some properly printed pictures of the little monster fighting family they'd put together.

She can't pull him out of this, no matter how much she may want to. There's some places his mind goes only Eleven-Jane would be able to reach and neither of them were going to put more on that girl's plate. So she puts on a Bruce Springsteen record she used to hate and curls up as close as she can to him through the quilt and pillows. Every now and then she gets up to get them both water, to grab some crackers to try and coax him into eating and to switch over to a new record or just flip the one on the player but she always comes back to her spot next to her Steve.

"Whatever he said to you, you know it's not true. Right? You're worth more than a dozen undead cops on a power trip." That gets an amused huff.

"Seriously Stevie, the kids adore you, I swear all the moms in Hawkins think you're the best thing since sliced bread and I don't know what I'd do without my personal chump. We're soulmates, remember? One of these days we're gonna mind meld like Spock and McCoy and we'll be unstoppable. I can't make it without my McCoy, Bones."

"I can't make it without you either, you hobgoblin. Thanks Bobby."

The next day is better. Steve is still a little quiet, a little droopy. But he's present and there's a simmering anger underneath his smile that Robin is proud to see him acknowledging but makes her worry about him as he ushers her into his car to drop her off on her rare lone shift at Family Video before he heads out to a quick 'consultation patrol' with some military special operatives to check out something weird by one of the new cracks.

No one had told any of the kids yet, about the cracks starting to spread out in smaller fissures like a slowly spreading infection. Hadn't thought it necessary with Steve and Nancy (both now legal adults and wasn't the government taking full advantage of that) there as a first line of communication while Joyce wrangled a restless Hop as he settles back in and heals and spars with Owens over payouts and government aide for the town and what the growing military presence was and wasn't allowed to do. With the parents occupied the kids had come together tighter than ever, focusing on their injured and recovering from the nightmare fuel that was their spring break. No one noticed.

She can't help the rant she falls into as they drive through checkpoints and past regular civilians being escorted through areas a little too close to a Gate for comfort. She goes on about how half of the soldiers act like Steve is just one of them and the other half treat him with the same cautious curiosity they do Eleven-Jane whenever she makes her way to the 'front lines' these days. She wants to get the weird boy-speak head nods too! Even Nancy gets them, especially when she's walking around with her sawed-off strapped to a jerry-rigged hip-holster. Robin has used Darlin' before, she's speed poured Molotov Cocktails to hand to soldier boys trying not to piss their pants as Steve and Nancy barked orders as they tried to down a demogorgon fresh from the Upside-Down. Where's her battlefield camaraderie?

It makes him laugh and shake his head fondly as he calls her crazy and weird with that soft smile on his face that makes her chest feel warm and fuzzy like her parents' hugs used to when she was 10 and crawled into their bed after having a nightmare. She doesn't tell him to be careful as they turn down onto Main street or to make sure he comes back in one piece as he rolls to a stop in front of the dark storefront. She starts on another tangent about him abandoning her to the drudgery of Capitalism as he gets to frolic in the woods with a bunch of burly men with their toys before he laughingly reaches over her to open her door to start pushing her out of the car. He smiles big and dopey as she practically spills onto the asphalt, still rambling away about neglectful soulmates and abuses of driving power with smatterings of claims that she'll take over his apartment if he dies and use his ashes as fertilizer for the plants he's taken to keeping on the fire-escape outside the living room window if he dares to leave her alone to babysit his hellions.

He shoots back a final, "Love you too Bobby!" before taking off towards where he's meeting the scientists and soldiers he's supposed to lead through Upside Down infected woods. As he leaves her standing on the sidewalk he doesn't make any sort of promise to be safe, to let the government goons just do their job, to make it back to her alive or in one piece. Not even to make it back to her. She plays with the locket she's taken to wearing that holds a curled up braid of hair shades darker than hers or anyone's in her family.

She doesn't watch his car to the end of the street like she might have before Spring Break, after their Starcourt 'adventure', instead she takes a deep breath and unlocks the dumb video store in this dumb town full of dumb people who don't know when to call it quits and just get the hell out of Dodge. She boots up the computer leaving it to warm up while she starts sorting through whatever mess the new shmucks Steve insisted they hire to cover what times the two of them couldn't because of the Arcade (which they had also gone and hired more staff for now that people weren't one tremor away from rioting in the streets) and Upside Down/ government related shenanigans they ended up getting dragged into.

The bell above the door jingles and she has to bite back a groan. "Welcome to Family Video, I literally just got here so you're gonna have to give me a minute before I can help you."

"Afraid we've only got movies round here, officer. You want any other medium of entertainment I'd suggest the arcade or the distribution yard." She won't turn to face him, not sure she can keep her cool if she does right now. Her hands move on muscle memory, shuffling papers into their proper piles and flipping open VHS cases to check if they need to be rewound. "Sorry, guess we'll have to catch up another time."

"I'm uh, I'm not here for a movie." She may have only heard his voice a couple of times and in passing but she didn't call her ears little geniuses for nothing. She forces her body to relax, lowering her shoulders the way Steve taught her to and keeping her voice light like Eddie walked her through, calling on his Theatre Kid skill set to teach the Party how to convincingly lie improvise when being questioned by people who really did not need to know just what was going on in good old Hawkins.

She can hear him sigh and can't help but picture his hand running over the fuzz on his head the way Steve runs his hands through his coif more and more nowadays in a way he never did before Nancy, before he got pulled into this bullshit and Hopper was rumored to be the one signing his paperwork and taking responsibility for him when his parents didn't show up after an almost week long stay at the hospital. "Look, I know you don't like me. And it has been brought to my attention just how much I fucking earned that. But I- I need your help here. To fix it."

There's not much that surprises Robin Buckley these days. She gets queasy at the sight of ground beef and meatloaf covered in ketchup, the big friendly dogs a few doors down at the O'Reilly place she used to pet and give snacks to on her way to and from school make her blood run cold, she can't watch the old Russian movies she and her dad used to stay up late watching together without having nightmares after and she's sleeping with a nightlight by her bed for the first time since she was six. But it takes a lot to surprise her. Jim Hopper might have just done it.

She doesn't stop moving, doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of throwing her off. She fiddles with the sharp little knife she has tucked up her shirt sleeve in the little sheath she and Steve put together between shuffling papers, taps at the button on her vest hiding the mic attached to the walkie talkie that never leaves her pocket these days. When she finally turns to look at him she's not surprised by the thinness of his frame or the way his eyes and cheeks still look a little sunken in. She sees the tired father worried for his kids and his people and his town, angry at the government for their involvment and their stupidity that she had come to expect. She is not expecting the remorse, the fear, she sees looking back at her. She wonders for a moment what he sees when he looks at her, at any of the teens and kids and young adults he's fought alongside trying to stop the end of the world.

"Fine. He'll be back from his patrol-" He looks mildly confused for a moment, meaning Joyce hadn't been passing along even the minimal information Nancy and Steve had been giving her to relay to Hop and the rest of the Party. That would have to be it's own discussion at some point probably. "-in about twenty minutes. You have fifteen. Now why should I help you?"

"You care about Harringt- Steve. You're close, the two of you have been basically Siamese Twins since Starcourt from what I hear. I- I realize that I made a mistake dumb enough shitting Mike Wheeler is making more sense than me, that I fucked up in a way I don't fucking know how to fix. And I am asking. Politely. For your help."

Honestly she's not sure she believes him. Honestly he's surprised her more times in the last five minutes than most anything or anyone else has in the last year. The man has a lot to unpack and the situation with Steve is just a drop in the man's pile of shit he's managed to bury himself under but maybe there's some hope yet.

She checks the watch on her wrist (an obscenely expensive piece Steve got from one of his parents' rich friends at a holiday party he was too young to remember on a leather band that he had outgrown and never got around to replacing) and looks back at Hop. Ten more minutes. "Why are you here?"

Hop groans in that growly sort of way that makes her think of her grandpa Dale, a great bear of a man who had given the best hugs with shoulders to put Jim Hopper to shame. The no-longer-chief runs his hand over his fuzz again, one hand propped on his hip as he shifts his weight to one side and she tamps down the flicker of biting anger at another example of the ways Steve had shaped himself after a man who never gave him the respect or care he deserved.

"I don't know how to fix what I fucked up. Steve's a good kid, I can admit that now. And he didn't deserve my bullshit just cause I couldn't get past old highschool biases. I wasn't there for him like I should have been- like I told him I would be when I signed those papers. But he's not the kid I thought he was, he's nothing like his folks or the other trust fund brats who think they run this shithole town. I don't know what I'm doing. I just know that kid deserves better than I've been doing."

She hums like she's mulling over his little speech to hide the way she's freaking out a little over what to say to all that. Even she doesn't know how she and Steve got to where they are beyond being tortured by Russians for information they didn't have then being drugged out of their minds while fighting inter-dimensional flesh monsters. But she doesn't think that would help Hop much in this situation.

But she thinks she believes him. At least for now.

"Alright, I'll help you with Steve." Hop sighs, his shoulders dropping as he seems to unclench slightly. Seriously, that much tension cannot be good for him after being in a Russian gulag for almost a year. "But not because I think you deserve it. You were right, Steve deserves better, but he wants you and Joyce and the kids to be in his life. Be a part of it. That is the only reason I will help you. He deserves a better dad than the one he's had and for some reason he thinks you're like super-dad."

"I- How the fuck did I not- What the hell?"

Robin shrugs, "The human brain is good at weeding out what it doesn't want to see. You didn't want to see Steve until you had to and that realization brought you to me. So. Ignorance is bliss and all that."

"So what do I do?"

She checks her watch again. "He'll be running late, especially if the fissure he's checking out is as bad as we think it is. So you have time to run back home, get Joyce to make extra of whatever monstrosity of a casserole she's trying to make this week and you get your rugrats to figure out a way to be the last drop off after Steve takes the brats to the arcade later instead of sleeping off whatever knocks he gets on patrol today. Then instead of letting him head home you make him come inside for dinner. Use the excuse of finding out he's been doing patrols if you have to. But you make him go inside and sit his ass down and eat something and you let him just- let him just be, Hop." She's running out of time but there is just so much she wants to get through to him. "Just make him feel like you see him."

"I- I'll try."

"Yeah, sure. Just-" She bites back the vitriol she wants to projectile vomit in his direction. "Just don't hurt him again. He's more than just a babysitter or front lines muscle. And I will make you wish you were back with the Russians if you make him forget that."

"I believe you."

"Good." The bell over the door jingles again and she looks past Hop to see a group of teenagers making their way to the comedies. "Now I have to get to work and you need to not be here by the time Steve comes to check on me. So talk to you later, Chief."

"Right. Thanks for your help, kid."

She shrugs him off as he turns to head out. The teens are watching him not-so-discreetly as they try to act like they're looking through the latest releases. She forgets that the man is as much a mystery as the heavy-duty military forces that have taken over their small town.

"Alright, folks. What are we looking for today?" She still technically has a job to do even if the kids keep their distance from her like they do the rest of the Party who at this point have all been seen either spending time with said heavy-duty military forces or chasing something into the dark of the forest wielding weapons smeared in monster blood, or both. It's going to be a long day.

Tag list (I think this is everyone?)(if your tag didn't work let me know cause they don't always work for me Idk why):

@thelittleclare @jackiemonroe5512 @0body0disphoria0 @strangersteddierthings @lingeringmirth @dead-cherry-bitch @irethsune @ink777 @the-daydreamer-in-the-corner @ledleaf @pansexuality-activated @paintsplatteredandimperfect @kinryuuki @yikes-a-bee @altocumulustranslucidus @ohimamarigold @samsoble @sensationalsunburst @xxbottlecapx @y4r3luv @swimmingbirdrunningrock @flustratedcas @rootbeerandmusic @vinteraltus @wonderland-girl143-blog @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @steddie-as-they-go @steveshairspray86 @youdrewstarsxaroundmyscars @i-amthepizzaman @wormapothacary @croatoan-like-its-hot @maya-custodios-dionach @ineffable-monster-romancer @asquareinverona @ellietheasexylibrarian @pukner @bookworm0690 @nightmareglitter @joekeerysmoles @salchica @lawrencebshoggoth @iheartjennaaa @child-of-cthulhu @anaibis @rocochen20 @katdeerly @samcoxramblings

[https-milo]

the baker's daughter - a wild todoroki!

synopsis

Y/n L/n works at a small bakery owned by her parents. One day, a pro hero in training shows up asking for 400 cupcakes

Chapter 2 - a wild todoroki!

prev. / m. list / next

TAG LIST..!

@aejabba

Three days have passed since Todoroki came into the shop. Right now I am currently on an afternoon mission. A mission to get all the ingredients needed for 400 cupcakes by the U.A School Festival. The wind felt therapeutic as it brushed past me, I smiled warmly at the feeling. I walk to the closest store, enter it, and greet the workers with a wave. I grab a basket and walk over to the baking aisle.

"Cocoa power... Vanilla extract... Sugar... Flour... Don't we already have most of this stuff?" I groan in annoyance. I scoop everything I need into my basket. I walk to the noodle aisle and see soba - my favorite. There was only one left, so I quickly grab it. I hear a sigh from beside me and turn around. It was Shoto Todoroki.

"Oh! Hello, Todoroki," I greet. "I hope you weren't trying to get the soba..."

"I was actually, but it's fine. I can just go out to eat somewhere," Todoroki explains.

"I'm sorry, if you want it, you can have it?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you."

"Okayyyy, well I've gotta get to the bakery... It was nice seeing you!" I say. Being close to him made me flustered, and I did not like that. I rush away from Todoroki, barreling towards the cashier.

"L/N, hold on," He said.

I was halfway to the register, almost free from embarrassment. "Uh yes?"

"Would you like to join me in getting soba? I figure you'd prefer it fresh and not prepackaged," Todoroki asked.

"Uhm, me? Like me-me?" I look around, trying to find anyone else he could be talking to.

"Yes, you. You don't have to, of course. Just thought I'd offer."

My eyes widen, "Yeah! Of course, I wanna go with you, but I kinda have to run these to the bakery first and change -" I look down ashamed at my 'no-one-will-see-me' outfit. "I'm sure you don't wanna be seen with someone who looks like this," I vaguely gesture to my outfit.

"I don't care what you're wearing. But if you want to change, I'll wait for you."

"Come with me in line?" I ask. He nods and catches up to me, from there we walk to the register. I place the ingredients on the conveyor belt. The worker scans my items.

"That'll be 10,000 yen," the worker explains. I wince.

"Mom is so going to kill me," I joke. "My budget was 8,000..."

Before I can say anything else, Todoroki takes out his father's credit card and pays for the ingredients. "To-Todoroki!" I stutter. He looks at me confused as he enters the PIN number.

"What? I don't want you getting in trouble."

"It was a joke, Todo. My mom wasn't actually going to kill me," I sigh as the worker bags my items.

"Oh."

"Thank you though, I really appreciate it. But now I feel bad!" I pout.

"Don't feel bad, my father has enough money," Todoroki replies. "Let me help you." I nod and he takes a few bags out of my arms. We walk out of the store.

"What're you doing out here anyway? I thought you'd be in school?" I ask.

"We had the day off today. I thought it would be nice to head into town, and I was right because I ran into you," he said this so easily I thought he was joking.

"W-what?!"

"I enjoy your company," he shrugged.

"We just met... like literally the other day."

"I know, but I was never allowed around other kids when I was younger. I didn't have a single friend before I started attending U.A., so I don't really know what it's like to have one. But after we met, I couldn't stop thinking about you. So I figured I just had to meet you again, and I was right. I think that's what happens when you want someone to be your friend."

I didn't think I could get any more flustered. But, of course, a quirk user just had to prove me wrong. "I enjoy your company too. We should talk more! You know, outside of the cupcakes," I smile at him - trying to ignore the bubbly feeling in my chest.

We walk in silence for the rest of the way to my bakery. It wasn't uncomfortable, I honestly enjoyed it. "I'm home!" I shout as we enter the bakery.

"Welcome back, Y/n," my dad says. He's rubbing his face with a rag as he enters the front of the store. Once his eyes open, they narrow in on Todoroki. I wince and look between the two.

"Dad, this is Todoroki Shoto, he's the customer who requested the large order. Todo, this is my dad," I introduce. That doesn't help the one-sided tension. Todoroki looked confused as he looked between me and my dad. I gestured for him to speak.

"Good afternoon, sir. I came across L/N-chan in the store, I offered to take her out for lunch... if that's ok with you?" Todoroki greeted with a bow. My father grumbled.

"Come with me while Y/N changes, bring the groceries," Dad instructed.

"Is that really necessary?" I groan.

"Yes," Dad firmly said. I roll my eyes.

"Don't worry, L/N. I will be fine," Todoroki replied.

I look between the two and hesitantly make my way upstairs after handing Todoroki the remaining bags. I head to my room and hastily throw on a pair of jeans and a band shirt. It had been 7 minutes since I left the storefront, and if I'm being honest; I was scared of what I was going to walk in on. Pushing my fear aside for the sake of Todoroki, I walk downstairs. Surprisingly, I see my dad engaged in a friendly conversation. I quirk an eyebrow at this. With just as much prejudice quirk havers give us for being quirkless, my dad gives the hatred tenfold toward quirk users. So imagine my shock when I see him shaking Todoroki's hand and thanking him.

"Soooo can I go with him?" I ask.

"Yes. Take care of my daughter, Todoroki," my dad says.

"Of course, L/N-sama," Todoroki replied. He nodded toward me and we made our way out of the bakery. "Did you know my favorite soba place is only a few blocks away?"

"I know of a soba place a few blocks away, but obviously I didn't know it was your favorite," I tease. I swear I see a faint smile on his face. "What did my dad say to you?"

"He started asking about my intentions for hanging out with you. I told him you were good company. Then he started saying how you three were quirkless, but that wouldn't stop him from hurting me if I offended you in any way. I told him that wouldn't be a problem because we were just getting Soba," Todoroki explained. I could tell he was either keeping something from me or some part of what he said was a lie. "I didn't know you were quirkless."

"It's not something we go around telling everyone. There's really no pride in being 'normal'," I shrug. This was the conversation I was dreading.

"Well, I think being quirkless can be just as great as having a quirk," Todoroki calmly said. I look at him ridiculously, not believing what he said.

"How so?" I asked. I figured he was just trying to be nice to me, he didn't actually believe that. I mean, who would?

"Well, if the majority of the world relies on quirks and quirk users, the fact that quirkless people can get through the day without using a power is remarkable. Your parents built that bakery themselves, right? They didn't need quirks to do that and the business they built is incredible. I guess quirkless people just don't get enough credit, I think we forget there was a time we didn't use quirks," Todoroki explained.

"And you mean that? Like you're not just trying to be nice or whatever?"

"Yes, I mean it. Why wouldn't I?"

"Not many people share the same sentiment. I'm used to being thrown into lockers and bullied, not appreciated," I chuckle.

"My friend Midoriya helped me see quirkless people how I currently view them. My father told me they were defenseless and weak. I let this sentiment slip during a hangout once while we were watching a movie, Midoriya paused it and went on a whole rant. I hate my father for the way he made me see people, quirklessness is not a disability as everyone makes it seem."

"Well, tell Midoriya I appreciate him showing you the light," I joke. Todoroki smiled faintly.

"Well, we're here," Todoroki said.

© https-milo. please do not repost, steal, copy, or modify my works!

Thank you so much for reading <3

[tinybeetiny]

Aren’t you embarrassed? Part 2: P.S

NonIdol!Toxic!Fratboy!SeonghwaxAfab!Reader

HAH I wrote this faster than I was expecting! But thank you @luffypants, @cloudysannie, and @krystalcat for requesting a part 2. I feel like we got some justice!

Taglist: @n1nme4r @e3ellie Let me know if you would like to be a part of the taglist too.

Cw: Explicit language, mean Hwa again... some talks of sexual content (it's like one sentence), Jongho is thrown in here too!

Part 1 Part 3

Masterlist | Ateez Masterlist

"The number you have dialed is unavailable please try again later" "What the fuck?" Seonghwa tried to call you the next day only to be met with the automated message "What's wrong Hwa? Your booty call didn't answer for once?" Wooyoung cackled at Seonghwa's confused expression. He tried again "The number you have dialed is unavailable please try again later" "No what the actual fuck. What is she doing?" He was frustrated, mentally and sexually. How come you weren't answering? "Is it going straight to voicemail? She might've turned her phone off, ya know with exams and stuff coming up, She might be in the library" Yunho said "No no she ALWAYS answers" Seonghwa tried to call you again. Same message. "Text her. duh" and so he did but what he got in response filled him with anger "She blocked me. She actually blocked" Seonghwa couldn't believe what he was looking at but the green bubble was starting right back at him "HAH" "No way" Wooyoung and Yunho both responded at the same time. This isn't how it goes. Seonghwa is ALWAYS the one who does the blocking, not the other way around. Wooyoung's laughing ceased when Seonghwa stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He needed to find you.

"Thanks for helping me study today (y/n) I really appreciate it" Yuna smiled brightly at you. You both had economics together and she was nervous for the exam and you needed a distraction from... him. "It's no problem, the exam is next week so let me know if you want to study again" You smiled back at her "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow" You waved at her as she walked away. Your smile dropped when you saw the last person you wanted to talk to. Turning quickly, you made a hasty retreat across campus so you could hide in your dorm. But fate had other plans for you. "Ah not so fast" Your breath hitched when you felt a strong grip on your wrist "Oh! Hey Seonghwa. Sorry I really can't talk right now I have to get to class." you say nervously trying to free yourself "Don't care." He spits out before dragging you to an empty table in the courtyard "You blocked me" it comes out as a statement more than a question.

You look down at your lap getting anxious under his intense gaze. You give him a weak nod, biting your lip "Mhm. Why?" you opened your mouth to respond but nothing came out so you opted to shrug instead. He didn't like that. "Come on. Use your words. You're a big girl yeah?" Seonghwa was not the patient type, never has been, and never will be so when you continued to look down at your lap he snapped a little "For someone so smart you look dumb as fuck right now. I asked you a question and you can't even answer me" his voice was getting louder and louder with each word causing the few others that were in the vicinity to turn to the two of you. You slapped your hands on the table in front of you finally having enough of this, of him "I hate the way you treat me and I'm not doing this anymore. You're a piece of shit Park Seonghwa and I quite frankly don't understand how you have any friends, so yeah I blocked you. I don't need you, I deserve better." Your words came out a little louder than you wanted but you needed him to hear you "Treat you like what? A fuck buddy? That's all you are. You have nothing to offer other than that. You have nothing to offer anyone except your body. You've got it all wrong baby. I'm the best you're gonna get" Tears welled up in your eyes and you grabbed your stuff before standing "Bye Seonghwa" "YOU'LL COME BACK TO ME JUST WATCH, they always do" He yelled at your figure as you disappeared from view

Seonghwa, Hongjoong, and Yeosang sat on the couch watching some show Hwa didn't care about when there was a sudden knock at the door. He looked at the other two who looked glued to their spots "Oh don't worry I'll get it" he rolled his eyes and stood up, the pair opting to smile in response. He swings open the door about to tell off whoever it was "We don't want whatever the fuck you're sell- oh" He let out a quick laugh and a smirk exploded on his face when he saw you in one of your cute little skirts "I see you decided to come back to me huh? I'm too good for you to forget. It's okay, I can forget all about our little argument the other day" he felt his pride swelling as he held his arm out for you. Letting out a scoff, you cross your arms at the arrogant boy in front of you "Oh please, I'm not here for you" you roll your eyes at him. "Move Hwa she's here for me" Jongho. Seonghwa felt like his head was going to explode. Hongjoong and Yeosang sat frozen, expressions matching each other, shock. All three of them didn't know what to think. Seonghwa had you wrapped around his finger for over a month and now you were here with their youngest member.

When it was all over you came bounding down the stairs with Jongho's arm wrapped around you as he walked you to the door. You stopped and turned to Seonghwa who sat stewing on the couch. With a pout adorning your lips you spoke to him for the last time "I guess you're not as good as you think" you spat out before turning to give Jongho a quick kiss and going on your merry way. Seonghwa let out a scoff and he couldn't stop himself "She was faking it. Just so you know" He was spiteful and a part of him felt bad considering it was Jongho of all people. "Oh yeah? Seemed pretty real to me. especially when I did this thing with my fingers, had her gushing all over them" he had seen through Seonghwa's jealous words "I don't know man, I think I would know her best" and he did but because he knew you so well he knew that you were in fact NOT faking it.

[bachi-the-bee]

⚠️NOT FOR THE ONES WITH A WEAK HEART. PROCEED WITH CAUTION⚠️ OR DONT. I'M JUST BEING DRAMATIC.

*tap tap tap on the 🎤*

*clears throat* It's the mod speaking. Hello hello 😌

Alright folks. It's about time we have a truth or dare game night, what do you say? 😈🎤

The rules are as follows :

I'll tag all the rp blogs and a bunch of "fans" who regularly interact with the blue lockers on this post since you're all the direct contestants for being players in the game event!

Then from the moment this post is published y'all 24 hours to opt in (you can opt in by just dropping a comment/reblog) - the time limit for replying to this is 24 hours because I'll need people who are constantly active in the RP community for the smooth sailing of the event. Because everyone will need to be co-operated and as quick as they can be with their replies just so we can more and more rounds of truth or dare 😌↕️

That's why, if you think your week would be busy and your responses might be too slow you can choose to watch from the sidelines for now (:3) since every player's replying time is crucial to the overall pacing of the game. (A few hours of replying time is fine though, anything beyond 10-12 hours might be too much since it'd exhaust around a day or 2 in just one round)

Now once all the players have been locked in, everyone will be alloted a number. (i and everyone else should be allowed to tag you in a post/comment if you're willing to be a player or I won't be able to include you because being able to summon you is an important part of the game. So please do check your settings once if you're not sure) And you'll have to remember that number.

How will the game proceed? Let me elaborate.

Let's say we have 15 players, alright? I (or) Bachira basically, will start the first round. For the first round, I'll use this to generate a random number between 1-15 (that'd be our version of spinning the bottle. Just imagine us all sitting in a huge circle okay? 😂) and let's say I land on a number which belongs to isagi - either of us will have to make a new post and tag the other (in this case, if isagi makes a new post for their first round of truth and dare, he can tag Bachira and they can both have their RP conversation through the reblogs) and then we can have our round of truth/dare in the reblogs.

Whoever (of the two chosen players ones for a particular round) makes the new post will have to tag the post with "#RP : truth or dare" just so everyone else can easily scroll through the tag on main Tumblr to tune in and join in on the fun. (I say it's important to make a new post because otherwise if we try and converge it all on one post then reblogs will end up having multiple branches (which would make it tough to navigate through each rounds) and get confusing real quick + by round (let's say) 10 the thread would start getting tooo long - you wouldn't want your dash clogged with that would you?)

Also, do tag me (@/bachi-the-bee) in every new round's new post so i can keep a record easily in case anyone wants to revisit it anytime ^_^

Feel free to tag any other fellow teammate or mutual to ask for truth/dare recommendations as to what you can ask/assign. Also, everyone is free to come reblog any post of any round and have their commentaries on it haha!! No hard rules other than new post for each round.

Just imagine all of us sitting in a huge ass circle and playing the game in a room, what do you think the character you rp would say or react with? Yeah. Feel free (read as : PLEASE DO) react with that in the reblogs, it'd make things more fun.

Now let's come back to the round Bachira and isagi were having - at the end of it, bachira - the one who was answering/performing the dares - will go to the random number generator, (because that's it's usually is, the one who has to answer/perform a dare rolls the bottle next) generate new numbers and tag the two people who's number they get (if you keep getting one player again and again feel free to roll out a random number multiple times. The point is having an interesting and UNIQUE combination of players hehe)

While rolling the numbers - the first roll would be to choose the one who'd be assigning a question/task and second roll would be for the one who'd be performing that task. The one who's rolling the numbers have to specify which player does what when they're tagging the next batch of players for the next round.

And then either of the chosen players can make a new post, tag the other one (and me i.e @/bachi-the-bee not my main), start a roleplay thread and tag the post with "#RP : truth or dare" and the cycle goes on.

Taking in consideration the average time gaps between replies, this event will go on for atleast a WEEK. The time can be extended based on how many rounds have been done by the end of the week and how many players got a chance. (AND depending on how much fun everyone is having LMAO)

So, are you ready to get bold and daring with your questions and task, future players? 😈🥂

Tagging : @galaxynajma @riririnnnn @rinitoshiplzdateme @the-lazyyy-artist @ssstar

@gayestclarinet @yue-t @sharkissm @the-rini-rush @stellas-starry-stories13

@bibururokku @soleilonthesun

@the-rini-rush @wabatle @reapkusho @fishii28 (mods do lmk if you only wanna play as the character, or yourself, or both. Also if you're mod of multiple RPs, please do account and opt in from all their behalfs)

Coming to the blue lockers -

@ask-nagi-seishiro @ask-mikage-reo @underlash-owl @underlashes-redhead @freaky-pink-bug

@worlds-best-striker @alexis-nessie @gods-chosen-emperor @oliver-aiku-official @ask-karasu-tabito

@ask-otoya-eita @hiori-yo @planethotline @not-a-pillowprincess @cheshire-kitkat

@ask-noel-noa @xx-n1ko25-xx @assistant-teieri @egoist-jinpachi @king-barou

@wildcardwho @kenyusee-yukimiya @julienloki1 @i-use-pantene @smart-zantetsu

@ask-nijiro-nanase @lavinho-paizao @shu-sendo @candied-kiyora

Do lmk if I missed anyone or anyone not mentioned here wanna join!! \��(⁠๑⁠╹⁠◡⁠╹⁠๑⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♬

If you're willing to play, drop a comment/reblog!!

Mod, signing off!

[howlsofbloodhounds]

hello! i am brand new to everything about undertale au's, by so i mean maybe two months in. it's quickly become one of my favorite things, and while i mostly focus on the apple twins, i've grown to love killer a lot. i thought this might be a good place to ask, can you explain him to me? from backstory to what the the different stages are (this mostly). i know very little about him, and this is an issue, so feel more than free to go into crazy detail if you want, or even throw in personal thoughts. learning about him pleases me

Hello! I will try to answer, but i feel it is first important to state two things.

1. Killer has a lot of lost media, a lot of his canon information and materiel was deleted—including an entire ask blog. So if someone ever claims something about Killer is true, it’s probably best to ask for some sort of proof for this. Such as a link or a screenshot from his creator, rahafwabas.

2. Rahafwabas has also said that every interpretation of Killer can be canon. She was very loose and free with her character, and just wanted people to have fun. So don’t worry too much about sticking close to what little remains of canon.

What we have of Killer’s canon now is basically his Something New comics (origin), a few more scattered comics and drawings here and there, and some fun facts.

I have links to some of Killer’s canon stuff in the top of my pinned post if you want to give it a look, but if not, here is a link to a Google Doc someone made about canon Killer (I didn’t make it.) It’s also no guarantee that every single thing has been found and archived.

That being said! I will give a summary of the first origin, before the updated one that involved the Player and how we altered Sans’ codes to create kill_sans. Undertale: Something New has multiple endings as well, but I won’t get into that just yet. Because this is just about Killer, not how he met Nightmare or Color or any of that.

In Rahafwabas’ own words, Something New was described as something along the lines of how, after going through so many Resets—being constantly killed, fighting, watching everyone die, repeating multiple different days and outcomes over and over—Sans eventually shuts down emotionally and stops caring, loses hope, and becomes like the human.

The human notices, and starts proposing something new. A deal. Sans joins them on a Genocide, and they’ll stop Resetting and let the world move on—Sans wants to continue, or stop (die, erase the world), is what the human says he wants.

Sans spits in their face and refuses. The human brutally and violently murders him in response.

Rinse and repeat for a couple thousand unknown Resets—and something changes one day. Suddenly, Sans is thinking about something new. He’s thinking about how everyone deserves to die anyway—they’re all weak, he can’t save them, Papyrus is so fucking lucky.

Who cares anymore.

The thoughts happen so slow he doesn’t catch it—so focused on trying to tune the kid out, even as their words work their way into his mind and nothing feels real. Sometimes he catches his thoughts, confused and distressed—because it’s not true. He doesn’t hate Papyrus, he doesn’t want to join the kid or kill anyone.

And yet something in his minds insists he does, in his own voice, in his own thoughts. Perhaps it wasn’t uncommon to find Sans arguing to himself with increasing distress and confusion, even. Arguing as if he’s two different people.

His mind starts slipping, he can’t tell what is and isn’t real anymore. Is he going insane? Is he losing his mind? Has the kid done something to him?

Or is this just genuinely what he wants. He didn’t think he was like that. He’s not, surely.

“Am i going insane?” “Heh. Yeah.”

“This isn’t right..” “But we don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore..” “Yes I do.”

Whatever. Who cares anymore. Not him. Not him.

Eventually it all comes to a head when Sans, all big dead eyes and empty smiles, shakes the devil’s hand and gets to hunting. We don’t get to see all of the first Genocide route, but we see Sans kill Flowey, Grillby, and eventually..Papyrus.

I won’t spoil the entire scene because I personally find it devastating enough to read on your own. The moment where we see how manipulated Sans has become—manipulated into hating and despising his own brother, enough to gleefully reveal he has been dreaming about this moment. Where he gets to make Papyrus experience even half of the pain Sans went through.

It isn’t until a broken, bloody, battered Papyrus opens his arms wide and tearfully declares that he’d happily die if his presence was causing his brother so much pain, that Sans snaps back. He remembers who he is, and more importantly, he remembers who Papyrus is.

It was never an enemy. It was never his tormenter, mocking him with his happiness and safety. He was his little brother, and now he’s dead.

Because of him. And he can never undo that.

We get to see how truly fragmented and disoriented Sans has become after this—too busy arguing with himself to truly notice when Chara skillfully slides in, offering comfort and reassurance to their new partner, their new best friend, as they welcome him to the Genocide run.

From here the Genocide route continues—with some of the dialogue up above happening. We see Sans and Chara having fun with it now—tossing around a monster’s hat, laughing and cheering as they kill Undyne. Sans is confused as he laughs and smiles and giggles—he hates himself. Why is he doing this again.

he doesn’t know. He smiles as he gifts Chara a knife, and their happy surprise is perhaps enough to make him feel.

…They put on Papyrus’ scarf. He can’t help but stare. But they are right—he’s being ridiculous. He has killed his brother before.

…at least they take it off.

He confronts Alphys. But then she confronts him—…Sans, why are you doing this? Is the human making you?

Sans is confused. He’s doing all this of his own free will, right? Of course the human doesn’t have any control of this. Of course not. He’s doing this because he wants to feel something.

…Why is he even explaining himself. None of them will understand. Only Chara does.

Then there’s suddenly a feeling of someone standing behind him, watching him mournfully, when Alphys mentions him. No, he’s not real. He’s not real. He’s not real. He’s not—

Alphys is dead.

there’s no going back now, and Chara insists on just one more route. Just one more. And another and another and another and another and another and another—

He’s having so much fun! So much fun. So much fun. Chara watches on with a smile as Sans just hysterically laughs and cries and laughs and cries and laughs and—

…San is tired. He’s…exhausted. He feels drained, and empty. why is he even still here. how did he get here.

…The two continue on. There’s no more laughing or cheering or crying. It is what it is.

..Sans notices some type of black sludge sliding down his cheek one Reset (how many has it been now?…who cares). He dismisses it. Who cares.

There’s a growing, burning ache somewhere in his chest yet another Reset. The sludge slides down more frequently..

..The pain keeps growing with every single Reset. He can’t take a single step without this black sludge sliding from his eyes, his nose, his teeth. What’s happening to him? What’s happening what’s happening what’s happening—

..It hurts. It hurts so much, make it stop, please. He turns to Chara one Reset. What’s happening to me? What’s happening to me? Please, it hurts.

He can’t see Chara anymore. His vision is so blurry, they look so different. He stumbles and falls to the ground, frozen with pain and fear—unable to realize that he has fallen into a bed of golden flowers.

His SOUL hovers outside his chest, a black spot slowly, painfully growing and expanding in the middle as if a parasite is wiggling its way inside. Curling around, eating everything it can and burning away the rest. Forcing its victim into the desired state.

The only explanation Chara has for him is something along the lines of, “Your soul is becoming like mine. Neither beast nor man, and you will feel nothing. Wait here, and I’ll go deal with that stupid flower.”

Sans is left to ponder those words as he starts fading in and out from life. But then he hears laughter, someone calling his name.

Papyrus.

Sans’ last words—his last thoughts—are of Papyrus.

“Papyrus..I’m sorry. I will miss you all.”

His SOUL is filled with DETERMINATION as it snaps into the target shape. Sans dies with a pathetic mournful whimper, as Killer silently takes his place.

{ @lucid-cups }

[cheesysoup-arlo]

Cady’s Cousin (pt.1)

(pt. 2)/(pt. 3)/(pt. 4)

You’re cady’s cousin and you had to transfer to north shore senior year

Warnings: homophobia, use of slur (d-slur), violence?(idk) sexual harassment? (I’m not good at warnings I’m sorry)

A/N: before anyone is like “Aaron already graduated” I don’t think he did that poor boy got held back in my opinion you’re allowed to disagree also everyone’s gay SURPRISE these are all just my opinions feel free to disagree

You were hanging out with your cousin the Saturday before school was due to start and she said she invited some friends over when they arrived you were pleasantly surprised. Once you got settled and started chatting you joked “hey Cads I didn’t know you had cool friends, I thought you’d only knew math nerds like yourself, oh and I’m (Y/N) by the way” “oh right, this is my cousin, everyone say hi” the group says hi “ooo nice pants” you say to a girl with dyed green tips in her hair and the coolest pants you’ve ever seen “thanks, the name’s Janis by the way” she sticks out her hand for you to shake and you do “nice to me you” you say with a wink “ew stop being gay” the blonde one jokes “Regina shut up you literally have a girlfriend” Janis says lightly punching the blonde in the arm. “Is anyone in this group straight?” You say through a laugh “as of last week, nope” says a boy with brown hair who you honestly expected to be the token straight shaking his head “ah yes our baby gay, this is Aaron he just came out be patient with him” Regina says patting Aaron’s head. Two more girls and a boy show up “sorry we’re late Karen lost her phone” the more visual anxious and shorter of the two girls says “it was in the freezer” the boy says “oh who is this?” The boy asks genuinely curious “Cady’s cousin” Aaron says with a smile “can we like rapid fire everyone’s name and pronouns really quick for me” you ask getting a little confused. “I’ll go first even though you already know my name Cady, she/her” “Janis, they/she but honestly any I don’t really care” “Regina, she/her” “Damian, the badest/bitch no I’m just kidding he/him or they/them is cool” “Aaron, he/him? Those are the boy ones, right?” “yes Aaron good job” Janis says laughing and giving him a thumbs up “Karen, she/they? I think” “Gretchen, also she/they” Cady is happy to see that you seem to like her friends “what about you (Y/N)?” Regina asks “oh um (your pronouns) works” you say with an awkward thumbs up “so (y/n) where are you from and what brings you here?” Gretchen asks excited to know more about you “oh um I’m from Florida and I recently got suspended from my last school so my dad thought it would be a good idea to send me here to live with my aunt and Cady to “think about my highly irresponsible and destructive behavior” I honestly don’t think what I did was that big of a deal given the circumstances” you say kind of annoyed, the annoyance directed at your father “ooo what’d you do?” Janis asks suddenly more intrigued “oh I punched a dude in his face and lit his backpack on fire for harassing me but like it’s honestly not my fault if we think about it, I reported his behavior twice and told him if he didn’t leave me alone I’d punch him in the face and light his backpack on fire, He for some reason thought I was joking and when I was walking to lunch slapped my ass and said “give me a chance this dick can turn any dyke straight” then winked at me so I punched him and pulled out my lighter and whoosh fire” you said doing jazz hands when you said fire “that’s freakin awesome” Janis says enthusiastically and the group turns to look at her confused “oh um not the getting harassed part but like what you did was to that dude, that was like so tits” she explains “tits?” you say confused “i got this, “tits” is one of Janis’ fun little words she uses and it typically means awesome, really cool, or fuck yeah” Damian explains with a smile “tits” you say with a small chuckle “wait you’re from Florida? Have you ever seen an alligator?” Karen asks “yes I have they’re not as scary as people say” you respond “that’s like really cool” Karen says with a smile “oh my gosh your hair is like so fetch” Gretchen says after looking at you for a little bit “um thank you? I’m assuming that also means cool?” You say slowly and confused “yeah pretty much” Regina says patting Gretchen on the shoulder before she freaks out. Hanging out with them, you thought they were really cool so switching to a new school and state for your last year of high school might not suck as much as you thought .

A/N: guys I don’t know anything about Florida but it felt homophobic so I used it lmao also I think I’m gonna do this in parts I know I said Janis x cady’s cousin and I will give that to you but I want to know if you like it so far before I go hardcore into the story lol

[dnpbeats]

Hii!! I'm newish in Dan and Phil fandom, so if you don't me asking: when dan and phil met were them already in college? And like, they went to the same university? I always get confused because they were born far apart, and they would go visit each other, but where? Honestly, I'm probably confused because I'm not from the UK lol

Thank you!!

Ohh, other thing, I saw some people saying that they may be in a "queer platonic relationship" and I'm asking this not because of them, but because I've never understood what does this tipe of relationship means? If you don't mind me asking, could you explain to me what a normal queer platonic relationship would look like?

Thanks again!!!

Sorry about my English!

hi!! welcome! :) also no need to apologize about your english <33

dan and phil met online actually! dan was a fan of phil's videos so he started tweeting at him. there are 4 years between them, they met when dan was 18 and phil was 22. at the time they both lived at their respective childhood homes, which i think were about 3 1/2 hours apart by train. when they met, phil had just graduated from a master's program and dan had just graduated high school (which is sometimes called "college" in the UK 😵‍💫). dan took a gap year, but then started attending university of manchester. during that time phil moved to manchester himself. so by the time dan was in university, they both lived in the same city, even though phil was already done with school! :) so yeah they didn't attend the same school (phil went to university of york), but even if they had, they wouldn't have overlapped at all due to there being 4 years between them. it just worked out that dan went to uni in the city where phil lived (but being real, dan most likely wanted to go to school in manchester bc that's where phil was, lol)

as for the queer platonic relationship thing (which you might also see people abbreviate as "qpr"), i'm not the best person to ask as i've never been in one, but essentially it is like a relationship where it goes beyond normal friendship (so like the people involved would consider each other partners), but there is no romantic aspect to it!! so like dating someone without the romance (anyone who is more qualified to answer feel free to chime in if i'm totally butchering this explanation 😭)

feel free to ask any other questions about d&p/phandom history as i know there's a lot to catch up on!! :)

[whackacole3]

do you have any tips for new writers? you write fast and your fics are pretty damn good so i thought it would be good to ask you!

omg yeah, i can try! here’s a few things that come to mind. this stuff is mainly for writing fanfictions, but i guess it can apply to books as well?

reminder this is just what i suggest, if you think differently that’s okay! every writer is different.

and if anyone has any more suggestions, feel free to either comment and/or reblog with your suggestions.

(also idk what speed has to do with anything but that just comes with practice and motivation 😭)

1.) stop caring and stop worrying. i know this might sound counterintuitive but it's really not when you look deep into it. once you sit down and decide to just have fun is when your best work comes out, at least for me. writing is supposed to be fun, you’re supposed to enjoy it. if you find yourself stressed and dreading writing you’re doing it wrong. remember to take breaks if you need it to refresh yourself. writing is extremely hard, but i believe in you. just try to have fun!

2.) find more ways to come up with ideas. i think most people would agree that prompts are hard and many people don’t know how to come up with them. personally, i use quotes. if you know anything about me, quote fics are my fucking life, man! you can use lyrics from songs, a funny moment that happened in your life, a saying your parent always told you while growing up, literally anything! go wild.

3.) find your unique style. when it comes to writing, everyone has a style just like when it comes to any other art form. i write in a more casual, organic style because that’s what comes naturally to me. don’t try to mimic other’s styles because you think yours isn’t “good enough” or something of the sort. you can take inspiration, but don’t forget to be true to yourself and your own style.

4.) write how you want. piggy backing off the last one, don’t let anyone tell you something is “improper” or whatever. if you think adding a million commas best suits your story, then so be it! i use dashes, ellipses, and semi-colons like my life depends on it. it’s an important part of how i write and that’s that’s okay.

5.) make sure to commit to it. while it is important to not push yourself too hard and to take breaks if you need it, don’t forget to commit to it. try and write everyday. whether it be only a paragraph or the entire story in one go, every little bit helps. it gets you into the groove, basically! i’ve heard some people say that 250 words should be your daily minimum, but personally mine is 100. so it’s whatever works for you.

6.) don’t expect it to be easy. writing is hard, that’s just the case. you are making up your own stories (with already set in characters or not) and coming up with things is hard! it’s going to get confusing at points, it’s going to get frustrating, it’s going to make you want quit sometimes. this will happen especially if you write longer form content.

7.) don’t give up and always believe in yourself. feeding off of the last one, no matter how hard it is, don’t ever give up. take breaks for however long you need, but never give up. you can do this. and if no one else believes in you, believe in yourself. you are what matters.

8.) don’t forget to edit and revise. you don’t exactly need to go over your work once you finish, but it’s a very good practice. if look through it at least once or twice: you’ll find mistakes that you maybe didn’t notice; you’ll notice scenes/sections that you can elongate to better serve the purpose/narrative; you could find things don’t matter and can be removed; and so much more. you don’t need to go crazy over it, but it’s definitely something you should do.

9.) don’t forget/be scared to ask for help. everyone needs help from time to time, even the best authors/writers need guidance from others. ask your friends to help with a scene/part or two if you need it, if they’re willing ask them to edit/beta for you, and so forth. you’ll never get anywhere without the help of others, you can’t do this on your own and that’s okay. you might want to be independent and get there by yourself, but that will be ten times harder than if you just ask for a little bit of help.

10.) write for you and nobody else. i would say this is probably the most important one. don’t worry about what others think, story telling is for you! yes, you might share it with others (directly or by posting it online) but at the end of the day, it’s for your enjoyment and no one else’s. if you want to write an OC and canon character, do it! doesn’t matter if no one cares about your OC other than you. YOU ARE WHAT IS IMPORTANT!!!

[artist-in-a-trenchcoat]

Different types of Aromantics!

Heyo, here's some common types of aros I've noticed from people realizing they're on the aro spectrum. Feel free to add any I've missed (and please note I'm not trying to make categories or anything, this is just for funsies)

Clueless Aromantic- Has never stopped to even think about romance, if anyone asks they're "too busy for that" or something similar. The extent of their sexuality crisis was looking at the definition of aro and going "Huh, yeah that sounds like me." Their friends have definately suffered over their indifference to romance during attempts at gossiping.

Confused Aromantic- The classic I-thought-everyone-was-making-that-up aro. They would probably pick a random person if asked who they like. Thought they were bi for a bit because 0+0=2, right? In hindsight, it's extremely obvious they were not.

Hopeless (A)Romantic- Experienced platonic or aesthetic attraction so strong they thought it was romantic. They were probably confused over how they fell in love with seemingly everyone and probably had a sexuality crisis at least once a week. Went on a date and left wondering why they didn't enjoy it as much as they'd hoped.

Confident Aromantic- When they said romance was gross as a kid people would say "Oh, you'll change your mind!" Surprise, they didn't. Probably surprised their peers with how adamant they were about not wanting to date. Not a single person who knew them was surprised they were aro.

[intertexts]

ROSXSSSSSSSSS can u talk abt muse. pls. muse is the part of nhw that drivrs me the most crazy insane. makes me feel GENUINELY ILL i was reading one of ur most recent muse posts earlier and was like. Oh. ohhhhhhhhh oucwch. ouchiees. had 2 put my phone down and just stare at my desk at work for a minute or so. oh my god. tell me abt nhw ashe a lil bit!!!! his brief lucid moments as muse. does he ever snap out of it while using his powers???? how horrifuying is that. what is he like when hes finally not under the trickster's control and is completely free??? whats it like when hes back with the wards???? im going 2 throw something ougbghh nhw ashe i love u

GODDDDDDD. HIIII WHISKEY HI <333 insane person questions 2 ask because thats literally exactly what i've been thinking about for hours. holy shit. ok. yeah. u get insane 1130pm thought trains!!!! <3333

>it is VERY RARE for him to snap out of it while he's actively in his breaker state [non-lucid state regardless of whether he's being controlled, he's just. going on autopilot & instinct + thats also the terrifying reality melting one that the trickster Likes and chose him for. so.] just bcos he's fucked up regardless-- it happens a couple times!! during a couple fights that mark & tide + the wards are there for!! mackerel also had some thoughts on this i need 2 fucking pick his brain more tomorrow....

>when the trickster is finally Gone (via mal). um. things are. i will be real with you!!!!!!! they are Not Great!!!! they are-- better!!! still fucking Bad!! first of all wibby & virion & dakota are. horrifically traumatized by seeing muse disembowel and tear apart william while still keeping him alive and with all his senses & pain receptors intact. like, he survives, mal puts him back together, but it is-- not. something that any of them easily come back from, especially wibby. they all have involuntary trauma responses towards just. seeing ashe, really-- it's been long enough that their first thought when they see him isn't "oh our awesome best friend ashe :]" it's "oh god oh fuck how did the trickster get here." which everyone hates!!!

ashe specifically... god. he is in a fucking horrific headspace immediately post-muse. the physical and mental strain of being forcibly kept in his breaker state (something that, like, historically, had triggered maybe.. twice. three times. in ten years or so.) as long and as often as he was took a fucking toll. being kept under almost 24/7 mind control for almost a year straight kind of put his head in the blender. for the first... god, whoever knows how long after that, he gets, like, almost daily pulsing headaches & migraines with the aura and confusion and nausea & shit. has a whole host of fucking brain issues-- debilitating anxiety & paranoia over being followed & watched, delusions related to. well. being fucking lobotomized by an insane sadistic superpowered murderer who controlled you and kept you as his favorite toy and had you commit horrific acts for over a year. frequently is terrified or convinced he's still being controlled. shit like that. severe derealization & disconnection frm his own body & such.

also ^ yeag. <3 he is. god. simultaneously insanely touch-repulsed & touch-starved because. the only person really touching him for a year was the trickster!!! yeah!!! his wires r so fucking crossed & he freaks the fuck out whenever anybody makes to touch him and he also misses it so badly, just wants a fucking hug from his dad but for a while he can't even do that without flashbacks and nausea and terror. the same except ten times worse for anyone touching his hair. freaks out when anybody tries to do Anything fucking... caretaking or comforting, really. which sucks because he also is in a ton of physical pain & damage from the insane amount of physical stress-- nothing permanent in a debilitating way, but. y'know. even after he's healed he aches and his joints hurt and he can't stand for too long without it being Bad and it takes a very long time for him to get his coordination and fine motor skills back-- anyway, it's a nasty feedback loop because he very much Cannot do some things on his own but anyone helping him almost always brings back trickster shit. can't help him into the shower can't drape a blanket over him or move him somewhere more comfy if he falls asleep on the couch can't hug him etc!!! & all this while the rest of the gang is also. incredibly fucked up & they're all accidentally hitting each other where they're already hurt and unintentionally triggering each other and like-- it's better!! god!! it's so much better! but it's still. u know. he has to have the worst most miserable excruciating long recovery arc. OH. YEAH. he also straight up fucking refuses to use his powers. is just. incredibly horrified and guilty and full of self-loathing and revulsion at everything that was done using him as a tool. is unspeakably terrified of it happening again, of him accidentally hurting anyone. etc. anyway. it gets better!!!!!!!!!! it gets worse before it gets better though. yeag. yeah.

[ash5monster01]

Goes On Chapter Six

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x OC!FemReader

Warnings: 18+, depression, mentions of suicide, heavy topics, eventual smut, slow burn romance, fluff, gender themes/stereotypes.

Summary: Against his best efforts Charlie has to start at a new preparatory school after the tragic events that took place at Welton. The very events that led to the loss of his best friend and getting expelled in the first place. He has no plans to make friends let alone get close to anyone ever again. That is until he meets Evelyn and her interesting group of friends. No matter how hard he tries to push them away he finds it to be impossible. So he caves and in the end learns that life can still be enjoyable even if it feels like everyone is against you.

word count: 2.4k

Five ←→ Seven

Masterlist

Ridge Academy, NY

2/5/60

As much as Charlie hated attending planning committee meetings, he found himself showing up every single time, not wanting to disappoint Evelyn. He knew he had already disappointed her enough during his time here and she was genuinely just trying to be a good friend to him. The least he could do was attend the meetings to a club she cared very much about. So even though the last thing he wanted to do on a Friday afternoon after a long week of classes, was attend this meeting, he started the journey there anyway.

“Hey” Evelyn grins widely at him when he enters the room and Charlie quickly notices how she’s the only one here, hands feverishly working as she ties goodie bags with hearts all over them.

“Where is everyone?” he asks, confused why even though he’s about two minutes late, Evelyn is the only one sitting here doing stuff.

“Oh no one showed. That’s normal. Everyone fizzles out after a while. People always love planning until it comes down to the actual work” Evelyn says with a sigh, hands still moving a mile a minute as she places an assortment of candy in each bag and ties it off. This should be their classmate Sarah’s job considering she suggested goodie bags at the first meeting.

“You’re the easy credit club then huh?” Charlie asks, noticing how she fights off a sad look on her face.

“Sadly and since I love it too much I continue to let it go instead of risk losing my club” she mutters under her breath and Charlie sighs as he moves to sit next to her. Evelyn’s hands don’t stop until Charlie’s lands on her own.

“When you asked me to help you plan the dance you really meant it, didn’t you?” he asks and Evelyn finally gives up her busy work considering she needed enough goodie bags for the entirety of the Junior and Senior class.

“Yeah, it just was nice to know that maybe someone would actually stick around the whole time” she says, a forlorn look painting her face, and Charlie smiles softly. Five months ago he more than likely would’ve attended Evelyn’s club for the easy credit but now he genuinely just wanted to help.

“Well let’s do this, you fill em, I tie em?” Charlie suggests and the grin the cracks along her face is all the confirmation he needs as Evelyn scoops candy into a bag and passes it his way.

“I’m sure you really regret joining my club now” she says after about three bags and Charlie just laughs.

“I wouldn’t say that. You’re one of the few people in this school I can stand and do not get all excited. Someone just can’t learn boundaries” he tells her but the wide smile is all he needs to see to know that she has already taken it to heart. He smiles back until an image of Neil comes to mind and that smile quickly leaves as he turns to tie another bag.

“You do any clubs at your old school or just sports?” she questions, not noticing the change in his demeanor and Charlie feels his heart sink.

“School newspaper, service club, and-” he wants to say it. He wants to say it so badly. It sits on the tip of his tongue and urges it way out but even the thought of it reminds him of everything he was given and everything he had lost. Learning you had free will came with discovering you’re never as free as you think.

“What? Can’t remember?” Evelyn teases and Charlie reminds himself to not be upset with her. She doesn’t know, he made it that way. No one here knew what he had been through. How four months had changed the direction of his life completely.

“Something like that, at Welton everything was serious. The dean would meet with every single one of us to assign extracurriculars ‘based on merit and desire’ and if you missed a practice, a meeting, it was instant demerits. He could assign you or unassign you whenever he felt. It made the things that were supposed to be fun, suffocating” Charlie says, thinking of all the ways that entire school suffocated him until it stomped his lungs out. In fact, he was pretty sure he hadn’t had a real deep breath since then.

“That’s awful. My meetings aren’t even required and people still don’t show anyway. Yet I suppose if we had harsher rules put in place maybe we’d have a higher graduate success rate” and she’s right. Yet it doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. These schools are taking away kids free will, their desire to pursue the things in life they love. All it does is give schools more Ivy League graduates and the world heartless robots. Like his father.

“The school would have a higher success rate. The question is, would you?” Evelyn doesn’t entirely know what he means so she lets the words sink. In a way it really doesn’t affect her how many successful graduates the school has. It would only matter if she was successful and even then, would she even want to go to college?

“What’re your friends like. You know, back at Welton?” and the question catches Charlie off guard, almost whiplashing him from the change in conversation. Yet he doesn’t let it hurt him like it should.

“They’re the best. All of them. Knox is empathetic, the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He met a girl once and knew she was the one. Went all the way to her school just to recite a poem he wrote about her while she had another boyfriend. He just knows, about everyone he meets” Charlie says, an unknown smile covering his face.

“That’s so sweet” Evelyn coos and Charlie chuckles remembering how crazy Knox was for the very girl he is dating now.

“Then there is Steven, we call him Meeks. He’s wicked smart, like smarter than anyone you know. He knew Latin fluently by the time he was ten and he would do anything I said. He’s so loyal, helped me with my homework every night” Charlie says, recalling all the times he nearly failed if it wasn’t for the help of his red headed friend.

“And Gerard Pitts, taller than a sky scraper and ignorant all the same. Clueless about life and love and yet somehow he was really damn good at it” Charlie says, daring a glance at Evelyn who soaks up each of his words as she scoops more candy into bags.

“And there’s Todd, he started at Welton in the Fall and I’ve never seen a guy trip over more words in my life. He is so shy, and so quiet, but so passionate. I always thought people who were shy had nothing to say, but turns out they just have too much, they can’t decide what comes out first” Charlie says with a hearty laugh because of how true it was. Todd surprised him, he surprised everyone.

“And Neil-” Charlie’s mouth shuts hard and fast, tears burn at the back of his eyes. He had gotten so caught up, reminiscing on his friends and the good times. For a split second he had forgot. Forgot that his very best friend had died.

“You okay?” Evelyn asks, confused at his abrupt stop and Charlie takes a moment to swallow the regret that sits in his throat. He basks in that fleeting moment of what it felt like to think Neil was still here. He takes the opportunity to still feel it.

“Yeah, Neil is my best friend. Since my very first day at Welton when I was ten years old. He was my first roommate and we’ve been inseparable since” the words sit heavy on his chest because it turns out they were no longer together and Charlie never could’ve imagined the day. “He would do anything for anyone, even if he just met them. Kindest guy I know. He’s probably the only reason I didn’t get expelled sooner. He is always so good at keeping me in line. Accepting of everyone and everything, I always wished I could be like that”

"You're like that" Evelyn says, surprising him and acting as if the words she just uttered weren’t as serious as they were.

“All I’ve done is push you away since I got here” Charlie countered, unsure how she would even see him as accepting.

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean you don’t accept me for who I am. Trust me, I could tell. Girls my age have never liked me because I was different. I’m outgoing and I never care what people think, I say what I’m thinking all the time. I never had a real friend until Violet. You may not want to be friends with me Charlie but I know it’s not because you don’t like me” she explains and Charlie suddenly realizes Evelyn was a very lonely person. He’d never seen her with anyone but the group and even then she seemed closer to Nate than Violet. It was the first time he realized someone could be lonely even with friends.

“I like you Evelyn, very much” Charlie admits and he knows he’s going to regret it when a cocky grin creeps across the girls features. He knows some witty response is sitting on her lips but before she can say it and embarrass him further, the door swings open.

“Hey!” Laurie is quick to greet them, whipping the door closed behind her and turning the lock.

“Someone looks distressed” Charlie muttered, eyeing the girl whose wild eyes glance out the small window at the door. When she quickly dodges out the way both Evelyn and Charlie giggle at her behavior.

“Nick Harrison is trying to ask me to the dance” she finally informs them both and Evelyn is the only one to laugh since Charlie doesn’t even know who Nick is.

“Just tell him no Laur, he’s gonna have to get over this crush soon enough” Evelyn says, picturing the 5’4” boy with wide rimmed glasses and persistent runny nose from allergies. He was sweet but determined and Laurie had been his conquest for years.

“I don’t want to break his heart and I heard Jay Adam’s wanted to ask me too and if that little rascal beats him to it, I’ll be humiliated” Laurie says walking towards the table and Evelyn giggles again, imagining the tall and handsome football star beside little Nick Harrison.

“Okay well Laurie, hear me out. If Jay doesn’t ask just take Nick. He has good intentions and a good heart, you might even have fun” and suddenly Charlie is attracted to the girl beside him even more.

“Listen, I’m not promising anything but maybe. I’ll just have to avoid him until then” Laurie says, moving to glance back out the window and Evelyn just shook her head.

“Good luck then” she offered her blonde friend and Laurie turned to grin at them both as she fixed her bag on her shoulder.

“Thank you, see you” and she was blowing a kiss and sneaking back out the door into the hallway that must be clear of Nick now.

“So this whole bring a date to the dance thing is a big deal, huh?” Charlie asked, now alone with the beautiful girl again.

“For the Valentines dance, yeah. It’s kind of like announcing to the school who you’re with, have a crush on, and so on. Exactly why it’s my goal to make it perfect” she explained, a soft smile on her face that suggested the very dance was the kind of thing a girl wanted to get asked too. Dreamed of getting asked too. If Charlie was the same guy he was five months ago it would be this very dance he’d take opportunity to find the hottest date too.

“That’s cool, kind of sweet actually” Charlie said, looking away from the girl as he tied the few goodie bags he had yet to catch up on and Evelyn took a moment to really look at the boy. She could see there was so much more bubbling under the surface, just begging to come out.

“Yeah, it can be. If you get asked at least” and Charlie realized that this suggests Evelyn had never been asked to the dance. He looks up to meet her eyes and as much as she smiles he still sees the sadness that resides there. The longing for someone to actually want her exactly the way she is.

“What’re you doing after this?” Charlie suddenly blurts and Evelyn finds her heart pounding from the sudden question.

“Nothing, probably homework since Violet will be out with Marty” she says and Charlie smiles a different smile than she has ever seen on him. This was a smile of a boy who simply just liked a girl and wanted to get to know her better. A confident boy just dying to come out.

“Let’s get dinner, I haven’t really left campus since I got here. It’ll be fun, my treat” and Evelyn can’t help the smile that crosses her face because for the entirety of his time here all she has wanted is Charlie to spend time with her and now here he was asking her to do something non school related.

“Okay, sounds fun” she agrees and Charlie nods and starts back on tying the bags in front of him but Evelyn no longer cared about completing the goodie bags because she was going to hang out with Charlie Dalton. Finally.

When the bags were finally completed the pair collected their things and started their walk off campus. In search of a restaurant amongst the small town, no lull in conversation the entire way, and Evelyn vaguely wondered where this Charlie had been the whole time. Outgoing and fun Charlie would could make her laugh and was so passionate about everything around him. It made her wonder the very thing that could cause a boy so full of life like this to cut himself off from the world. Yet she never asked out loud despite wanting to, because she wasn’t quite ready to scare him off just yet. So they ate dinner together and got to know each other all while Charlie debated if he should even ask her to the dance at all.

Neither of them knowing Nate sat outside Evelyn’s door with a dozen roses waiting for her to get back so he could ask her to the dance himself.

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

[aranarumei]

how much does sasaki talk about hirano?

hey everyone. I’m coming to you live with an INVESTIGATIVE REPORT about the one and only sasaki shuumei. the question above pretty much summarizes what I'm trying to find out. so I’ll expand on this under the cut. apologies in advance for any typos

—

there’s a scene that’s always made me confused ever since I first read it (which wow. I’ve been reading this manga as it updates since partly through volume 3… crazy how far its come!) and that is this sequence of two pages in the extras of Vol 7 (39.5), below:

hirano’s like “well, it’s fine to talk about me to miyano as long as you didn’t say any weird stuff about me” and sasaki goes. Silent. Now I at the time assumed like. ah sasaki’s talking about the hirano and kagiura relationshipisms. or the whole uke thing. right?

…right?

see, the thing is: when sasaki visits campus in ch 46, he asks the basketball team about a kagi-kun, and then when miyano questions him about what he was doing, he’s like “oh I just remembered hirano’s old roommate was on the basketball team,” and then refuses to even tell miyano his name. so it’s like… did sasaki EVER talk about hirano’s roommate to Miyano? like of his own initiative? did he offer any information? so I decided that instead of just bringing that question up, I’d reread all of sasaki to miyano and get my answer.

disclaimer that this deals with exclusively the manga: I have this hidden fear that I’m going to post this and get a reply like “oh this is 50% of the entire novel content” but! the scene in question comes up in the manga! I think it ought to then refer to an event in the manga! but seriously if stuff like that does come up in the novel feel free to chime in. also bc I was rereading the whole manga I have Other Thoughts Too but. those can hopefully marinate their way into other posts.

ch 2:

miyano: But I saw you! I saw you laughing as you chatted with a first-year boy from class 1A in the basketball club with a lovely smile!

this does not count. miyano brings this up to hirano himself. in fact a lot of miyano putting hirano into bl contexts happens In Front Of Hirano’s Face. not really a conversation starter for sasaki. it does make ch 46 way more interesting bc it means like. sasaki has remembered that kagiura’s on the basketball team to the point that he wants to check in on him? whereas miyano like Knows this info yet never really pursues it. suppose it’d be awkward to just go up and try to find him without knowing his name, though.

ch 4:

sasaki says “but hirano can handle alcohol fine” which is perfectly on topic since they were just discussing how sasaki can’t handle it. it’s miyano that spins into bl fantasies afterwards. also hirano is right there in this situation. does not count.

ch 5:

sasaki: Hirano’s playing Oiwa-san for the haunted house. Want to see? He’s crossdressing and wearing a wig.

this does count. sasaki is bringing up hirano and telling miyano something that miyano would totally get excited about. it is, I would say, not brought up out of nowhere, since they discuss crossdressing right before. unrelated to this I would love to see the image of sasaki as hanako-san of the toilet.

ch 6:

sasaki asks about miyano’s love life and when miyano says that he’s not romantically interested in anyone around here, and sasaki asks “what about hirano?” miyano says he ships him with his roommate and the conversation ends there. I would say this also does not count—yeah, he’s perhaps bringing up hirano as a romantic prospect, but I think this is more sasaki like. being jealous more than it is using him as a reason to talk to miyano. he’s like. a pretty jealous guy.

ch 8:

sasaki tells miyano that his grades suck and hirano’s been tutoring him. this does not count.

ch 11:

sasaki says “don’t you prefer black-haired ukes?” and “ah, you mean like hirano?” when miyano says he prefers manly ukes. this does count. while it’s in the topic of conversation, there’s not a real reason he has to bring hirano up. plus, he even continues it with “hirano’s pretty tall. can he still not be a seme?” so it’s using hirano to keep a conversation going with miyano, but I will note it’s not what starts the conversation.

ch 13:

sasaki talks about hirano getting banned from doing the ball toss. this does not count.

ch 24.5:

“ooh, if it was hirano, it would be taiko” says sasaki when miyano brings up all the girl names that he and his classmates would have. this does not count. it’s a natural extension of the various female names they’ve been talking about, sasaki included, and hirano’s their mutual friend.

ch 33:

sasaki brings up hirano’s dedication to studying and how he says that getting accepted to university isn’t the finish line. says hirano’s pretty cool for that mindset. this does not count.

ch 41:

sasaki says "haha, yikes! hirano was a terrible influence!" when miyano tells him about kuresawa getting a piercing. this does not count. it’s also after graduation, where the scene happened.

ch 42.5:

sasaki is like wow I can't believe hirano's roommate does THAT in the mornings to miyano, regarding vol 2 of sasaki to miyano. however this kind of thing isn't quite canonical since they know there are books being published about them so. this does not count.

halloween 2018 extra:

miyano asks if sasaki's friends got their items confiscated, and sasaki replies by saying that hirano's in charge of confiscation for their class, so their class had the idea to overwhelm him. this does not count.

dvd extra 4:

sasaki tells miyano about how they ripped the wallpaper on accident, and once he said it kind of gave it a badboy feel, they started doing it on purpose. hirano participated in it too. this does not count.

I’ve probably missed some, but we can see that out of all of these situations, only TWO are actually what I’d qualify as “weird” by hirano’s metrics. unless sasaki talking about the wild stuff Hirano gets up to includes his ball toss strategy and him ripping up wallpaper. then it’s four. my point is that sasaki says it’s “a lot” when it’s not. so… why is that?

I’ve been mulling over a couple of ideas regarding this, but I kind of don’t want to offer up my own interpretations first? plus when I tried writing my answer I spun off into a really bad tangent, so… post ends here. hope we all learned something here!

[starchaseriseverything]

James has just arrived at the address he was given to babysit. According to Google Maps, the house is called Grimmauld place.

A woman answers the door a few minutes after James knocks. She has long, black, unruly hair. She looks frantic. "Hi, hi, sorry. It's a little crazy in here. I'm Bellatrix Black-Lestrange. Nice to meet you."

"James Potter."

"Right, Sirius told me about you." James makes a confused look. "The one who hired you, his name is Sirius."

"Like the star?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised someone knows that."

"I've always been fascinated with the stars. You're named after one, too."

"Yeah, I am. Most of my family is."

Fleamont - James' dad - taught James all about the stars when he was four. He was always fascinated with them since he was born. He thought they looked like the little specks of paint that Euphemia - James' mother - drew.

"Anyway, come inside, it's cold."

As soon as James walked inside, he was hit with a water balloon. "Ted Remus Lupin!" A man with the same long, black hair just more tamed yells. "I'm so sorry. My son is a prankster. Anyway, I'm Sirius Black-Lupin." Sirius looks James over. "Hey, Reg! Can you get a towel!"

Another woman walks up with long, white, and black hair. "What happened, Siri?" She looks over at James. "Oh, hello. I'm Narcissa Black-Malfoy. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

A boy comes up to hug her leg. She smiles. "This is my son, Draco."

"Another star. You really meant it when you said most of your family."

"Yeah." Bellatrix says. "It's crazy and hectic." A man with short black hair walks up with a towel in hand. "Finally, Reg. Took forever."

"Shut up, Bells. At least I can't get pregnant."

"Why is that your insult?"

"Who would want a second kid? Apparently, you."

"Whatever." She takes the towel from the man and hands it to James. "Sorry, that's Regulus Black." The man - Regulus - leaves.

"Reg! Are you coming with us!?" Someone from the other room yells while James drys himself with the towel.

"No!" Regulus answers. "And take B and Ev with you! Their sickening!"

Yet, another woman comes in with a girl and a man trailing behind her. She has - thankfully - tamed, brunette hair. "I'm Andromeda Black-Tonks. This is my husband, Ted Tonks. And my daughter, Nymphadora Tonks."

"Nice to meet you."

"You, too."

Two more men come in. "Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Lucius Malfoy."

"James Potter."

Three men and two women come in. The first woman that has red hair speaks up. "I'm Lily Evans-Rosier."

"The Lily Evans? The one that Marlene keeps talking about?"

"You know her?"

"Know her? She's my best friend."

"Anyway," The dark skinned girl with blonde highlights says, "I'm Pandora Rosier. This is my twin," she gestures to a dark skinned boy, "Evan Rosier."

"And this is my boyfriend, Barty Crouch." Evan gestures to a boy with blonde tips.

"Sup."

"I'm Remus Lupin. Kids! Come here!" Four kids come running in. "Teddy Lupin, Draco Malfoy, Nymphadora Tonks, Harry Rosier, Luna Rosier, and Tom Riddle Jr." Remus gives an apologetic looks. "I'm sorry there's so many, but we need a break."

Bellatrix speaks. "Regulus is upstairs if you need anything. It's.... three so, we'll be back around.... ten?" Everyone nods. "Ten. Is that ok?"

"Yeah. Of course it is. I babysit Aries and Artemis for 2 days and their.... monsters?"

Lily smiles. "Fair enough. Anyway, instructions are on the fridge. If you need any help, feel free to ask anyone, yeah?"

Everyone says goodbye, and now it's James and the kids. "So, have any toys?"

Luna squeals. "I'm gonna like you."

James smiles. "Well, I hope so."

***

"Hey! That's cheating!" Harry yells.

"Nuh uh." Luna says.

"Yes, it is."

"Nuh uh."

James sighs. "Alright, who wants to go to the park?"

"Yeah!" Everyone yells.

***

James has finally riled up the kids at six and is now finally in the house at six-thirty.

Seven rolls around, and the kids have been fed.

Eight rolls around, and it's time for bed.

"I wanna say goodnight to Uncle Reggie." Luna pouts. "I do it every night."

James sighs. "Alright. Go say goodnight."

"Yay!" Luna grabs James' hand and starts running down the hall to what James assumes is Regulus' room. Luna stops in front of a door and knocks. The door opens, and Regulus appears with messy hair, pajama pants, and no shirt.

Fucking hell.

"Uncle Reggie!" Regulus looks down and picks up Luna. "You forgot to come say goodnight."

Regulus smiles. "I did? I'm sorry. I won't do it again." He gives Luna a kiss on the temple and sets her back down. "Alright, bedtime." Regulus leads Luna to her room and tucks her in.

"Goodnight, Uncle Reggie. Goodnight, James."

***

James decided to sit down and scroll through TikTok on his phone. Apparently it's been an hour because next thing he knew Regulus was walking down the stairs and he looked at the clock.

9:00

James goes back to his phone for another ten minutes before Regulus comes into the room. He stands right in front of James - which he didn't even realize either - and speaks, "Have you eaten anything?"

James jumps. "A little warning next time would be nice. Also, no."

"You should eat something."

James eyes him. "You're one to talk. You didn't even come down for dinner."

Regulus rolls his eyes. "I don't like eating with the kids. And anyway, I'm heating up food right now."

"Ok, good." He pauses and waits for Regulus to leave. He doesn't. "Is that all you wanted?"

"Mm. No, actually. I think you're cute." He walks away and leaves James flabbergasted.

Unfortunately, Regulus goes back upstairs with his food and doesn't come back down. Not even when James leaves. Luckily, James has sticky notes in his bag. He grabs his bag and excuses himself to use the restroom. He grabs a bright yellow sticky note and a pen and writes, 'I think you're cute, too' and sticks it to Regulus' door - he remembers from when Luna wanted to say goodnight.

***

"Artemis, no! Aries, stop! You little -" James' phone rings.

Sirius Black

"Hello - Aries, Artemis! I'm going to call your mother! Better yet, I'll call your mama!"

"No, no! We'll stop!"

"Thank you, now be quiet."

"Yes, Uncle Jamie."

"Sorry about that. What's the problem?"

"We need someone to babysit again, and Reg won't do it. Plus, they seem to like you." It's been two weeks since he last babysat them - for the first time. "Please." He begs. "If you need any help, Reg is here."

"I'm sorry, Sirius." Sirius told him to call him that. "I'm already babysitting my niece and nephew."

"You can bring 'em! We don't care. As long as you come, please."

James sighs. "Alright, I can take them anywhere I want, anyway."

"Thank you."

"Ar, Art, who wants to go play with other kids?"

"Yay!"

***

"Alright, I'm going to need you to be good, ok?"

"Yes, Uncle Jamie." Aries says.

James knocks on the door, and Pandora opens it with Luna and Harry beside her. "Sorry, their being clingy."

"James!" They both yell.

"Hey!" Artemis yells. "That's our Uncle Jamie!"

Pandora has a panicked look on her face. "Oh god. You already have a babysitting gig? Are you supposed to take them out?" She wispers the last part.

"I'm their Uncle. I can do whatever I want, and Marls won't care. Have you not met them?"

"No, should I have?"

"Not necessarily. Ar, Art, you guys have met Lily, your mama' friend, right?"

"Yeah, she's nice. We call her Aunt Lily." Artemis says.

"This is her wife, Pandora."

"Really?" Aries asks. "She looks pretty. Way prettier than you, Uncle Jamie."

James smiles. "Wow, thanks."

"Well, it is true," Artemis agrees. "Uncle Jamie."

"Fair."

"Anyway, come inside. It's cold out there."

Hmm. James thinks. Less chaos.

Apparently, Pandora knows what he's thinking because she says, "Remus is giving them a talk."

"Hey, Uncle Jamie." Aries says. "How many kids we talkin'?"

"Six and counting."

"Wow! Uncle Jamie, you hit the jackpot."

"I don't wanna." Artemis says. "Uncle Jamie, can we go?"

James squats down to her level. "Come on, you don't have that many friends. You need to make more. Your mama and I had so many friends by your age."

Artemis groans. "But I'm not like Mama."

"I know, you're more like your mom."

A voice comes from the doorway. "Aren't they the same people?" Regulus.

"No, their not. They have two moms."

"Do we have to? Can't you just drop me off with Mom or Mama?"

James sighs. "Marlene is working her hotel, and Dorcas can't have any distractions when she's painting. So, no. I'm sorry, babes."

Artemis sighs. "It's fine."

"Come on, sis. It'll be fun."

"For you, maybe. You're better at making friends."

"You know," James starts, "you remind me of one of my friends."

"Who?"

"Peter. He couldn't make friends very well until I walked up to him. After that, he made friends quite easily."

"Really? You really think I'm just like Uncle Peter?"

James nods. "Absolutely. You just need a little push by your brother. Aries? Help your sister, ok?"

Aries salutes him. "Yes, Uncle Jamie, sir." James rolls his eyes, and Aries laughs. "Of course, Uncle Jamie. I always will."

James gets back up. "Ok, so, here's two of kids. Luna and Harry. Their siblings just like you but their twins."

"You mean just like Aunt Lily talks about her friends who are twins."

James smiles. "You've already met one of them. Pandora is one of them."

They both gasp. "Really!? Two twins in one day!? Best day ever!" Aries yells.

Andromeda comes in. "What's all the yelling for?"

"Sorry, they were excited. Aries, Artemis, remember."

"We know. We're sorry."

"See. Good kids when they want to be."

"You're kids?"

"No. I've been single for years now. I think I'm probably gonna stay that way at this rate. Anyway, these are my best friends' kids."

"Uncle Jamie!" Aries yells. "Look, they both have blonde hair - really blonde."

"Yeah."

"You have a sibling?"

"No, none. Marls and Cas just like to let their kids talk freely. So they decide to call all of our friends Aunt and Uncle."

"That's pretty nice, actually."

Artemis walks over to James. "Jamie, bag."

"Magic words."

"Uncle Jamie, could I please have your bag so we can play?"

"Better." He hands her the bag that has all kinds of toys and coloring books he put together the first day he started this business. Aries and Artemis helped, of course. They run off into the other room somewhere.

"You're really good with them." Regulus says.

"I was there the day they were born. Through everything. I was waiting outside with the rest of my friends' kids. But I was still there."

"You'd be a good father someday."

James smiles as soon as Evan and Barty come in. "Who's kids are those?" Evan spots James. "You have kids?"

"No, those are my best friends' kids. You know what, it'd be easier if I said yes. I might start doing that." James peeks his head into the other room. "Hey, Ar, Art," they look up at him, "how 'bout, I just start tell people you're my kids?"

"Wouldn't be much of a lie anyway."

"As long as Mama and Mom are still our moms."

"Deal."

"Why did they say 'it wouldn't be much of a lie'?" Barty asks.

"I was both of their sperm donors, but they came out looking like both Marlene and Dorcas. Hey, Lily' here, right?"

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen."

"Great, I'll be back." James walks in the kitchen and sees Lily cooking. "Hey, Lils."

"James. You remember, don't you?"

"Yeah, sadly. But I got better."

"Not much, I see." James' eyebrows fly up. "I can see the scars on your wrists." Lily sighs. "It's been years, Jamie. Why can't you stop?"

"Because they were my whole life, Lils! You know that. And this whole thing is what made you disregard me from your life."

"You can say it, James. I broke up with you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." James sighs. "I got better than I was before, though. When Artemis was born, I stopped doing it all over and just on my wrists." James closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in and out. He opens them again. "I'm sorry, Lils. I'm sorry I can't get over my parents' death. But I'm not sorry that we broke up and you found someone better. She's good for you, and I'm happy just seeing you happy."

Lily smiles. "Thank you, Jamie." They hug.

"You know, you could have told me they call you Aunt Lily." They break apart.

"Who?"

"Aries and Artemis. They told me a few minutes ago."

"You got here a few minutes ago - oh - they're here?" James nods. Lily - and James - runs past everyone - who is now where James left only four people - and into the sitting room. "Aries, Artemis!"

"Aunt Lily!" They both yell and rush up to her.

"Aunt Lily?" The other kids murmur.

Lily smiles and pulls apart from them. "Jamie will tell you why they call me that. Alright, you two, I'm going out with my family, and I need you two to watch over your Uncle and these other kids. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Lily gets up and walks to the door - James following close behind.

"Um, Lils, you can't leave me with explaining that."

"Sure I can. I'm doing it right now."

"Ok," Bellatrix says, "anyway, the instructions are on the fridge. If you need anything, Reg is upstairs."

"Bye, Jamie, love you."

Love you, too." Pandora makes a confused look while James ushers them out. He smiles at Lily. "You make me explain, I make you explain."

"James." Lily warns. "I'll get you for this."

James just smiles in return. When they were all outside, James says, "Lily and I dated," and closes the door. James could hear yelling coming from the other side as they walked farther down the sidewalk.

James turned around and saw Regulus wide-eyed. "You - you dated Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Uncle Jamie!" Artemis yells. "I wanna call Mama! I want to tell her I made friends!"

James walks into the room. "Sure, come here, Mis." Artemis walks up to James and plops herself down on his lap. James grabs his phone and dials Marlene.

"James? What's wrong? Are they hurt?"

"Their fine, Marls. Mis just wants to tell you something."

James hears a sigh over the phone. "What is it, babes?"

"I made friends!"

"How - you - James, where are you?"

"Babysitting."

"Mama, we saw Aunt Lily."

"James, you can't babysit that many kids."

"I just added two more. Plus, when we're not at home, they behave."

"You know their terrors, James. You can't do that by yourself. I'll be there to help in a little bit."

"No, Marls. You need to stay at the hotel. You have a job to do. So do I. And this is mine. I'll be fine. And if I need any help, I'll call Pete, or Frank, or Alice, or even Mary." James hears Marlene sigh.

"Alright, but if anything happens, you call me no one else until I say so, got it?"

"Yeah, Marls, sure. I love you."

"I love you, too. I love you, Artemis, Aries!" She yells the last bit so her son can hear her.

"I love you, too, Mama!" They both yell. James hangs up.

"Artemis, go play."

"Ok." She gets off of James' lap and runs up to her brother and their new found friends.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"You and Lily."

"Why would I? We're not friends."

Regulus raises an eyebrow. "The sticky note you left says otherwise."

James avoids Regulus' gaze. "I have no idea what you're talking about." James hears footsteps coming closer, and Regulus comes into view.

He leans down and tilts James' head upwards. "Are you sure?" He wispers.

James nods.

Regulus grip tightens. "And you're so sure that if I show you proof, you will still deny it?"

James' eyes wonder down to Regulus' lips for 2 seconds, and then go back to his eyes. He nods again.

Regulus' hand disappears from James' chin. "Well, then, come on." Regulus holds out his hand, and James takes it.

Regulus leads James up the stairs before James speaks, "I shouldn't leave the kids."

"They'll be fine." Regulus leads James to the end of the first hall - which he didn't realize last time - where Regulus' room is.

There are three halls - as far as James knows. One for the girls, one for the boys, and the third one for the parents (and Regulus).

"Your house is a little bigger than mine."

"A little? I'm assuming - comparing to yours - it's a mansion."

"My mum always liked to build more and more rooms, so yeah, a little bigger." Regulus opens his door to his bedroom, and James is in awe.

James sees pictures of the Black', Regulus and his friends, and a picture of six people he doesn't recognize, standing with the Black'. James walks up to the photo and takes a quick once over.

The two beside Sirius and Regulus are their parents. The two beside Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa are their parents. And the last two standing beside Pandora and Evan are their parents.

"These are your parents? You look just like them."

"No, we don't."

"What are their names?" Regulus eyes him. "Just curious."

"If I tell you, will you let it be?"

"Yes."

"Pandora and Evan' parents are Adele Jacob - Rosier and Axel Rosier. Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa' parents are Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier - Black. And Sirius and I' are Walburga Irma - Black and Orion Black."

James' eyes go wide. Walburga Irma, as in Mum' ex- girlfriend!?"

"What?"

"Euphemia Braithewaite."

"What about her?"

"She's my mum."

"Really? My mum - a cold, heartless, bitch - dated your mum - the sweetest person alive?"

"How did you know she was so nice?"

"With how you turned out, both your parents had to be nice."

"Fair."

Regulus goes to his nightstand and pulls out a bright yellow sticky note - the one he left. "You kept it?"

"Yeah. I did."

***

"Kids, time for bed."

"But Uncle Jamie."

"No, none of that, Aries. Come up here on the couch, both of you." They do, and they immediately fall asleep.

"The rest of you, time for bed."

The final one for the night is Luna. And she always has to go to Regulus. They knock on the door, he opens it, and picks up Luna. "Hey, ma filleule."

James almost passes out from the use of French.

He doesn't know why, but French coming from Regulus' mouth, is heaven. And he's heard people speak French before but coming from Regulus, that's something he can't stand.

"Goodnight, Luns." Regulus puts Luna back on the ground.

"Come on, hermosa chica." She takes James' hand and leads them to her room. He tucks Luna in and she falls asleep almost immediately.

"You're good with kids."

James jumps. "Jesus, Regulus. You scared me."

"You can't speak Spanish and not expect anything to happen."

"Oh, you mean this? Eres tan hermoso y guapo. Quizás no pueda quitarte las manos de encima por mucho tiempo."

Regulus groans. "No, stop."

"Vale, está bien, Regulus. Adiós."

***

The door opens, and everyone comes in. "Thank you so much for watching the kids." Bellatrix says. "Even though you were already watching some. It means so much to us. Thank you."

"It was no big deal. All of them are not as much work as these two alone." James looks down in his lap where Aries and Artemis are laying. "Aries, Artemis, come on. Get up."

They run to the other side of the room to grab James' bag and run back to James while James grabs his phone.

Cas

Bringing the kids home. See you soon.

Thanks, Jamie. I love you.

I love you, too.

"Alright, Cas should have your food ready by the time we get home." James walks to the door, looks up at the stairs where Regulus is watching him, and yells out, "Fairwell, Black's and Rosier's. Goodnight!" And he walks out with Aries and Artemis only looking back once at Regulus' window where he's watching James walk down the sidewalk and to his car.

***

"Thank you, Uncle Jamie!" They both say. "We love you!"

"I love you, too!" James yells back from the car.

Just as James was about to leave, Marlene' car pulls up, and she gets out. "James Fleamont Potter! Quit cutting yourself!"

"What?" James asks, surprised as Marlene leans in the window.

"Lily called me. She said she saw your cuts."

"That little -"

"No, don't blame her. This is all you. I thought you said you got better when Artemis was born?"

"I did, sort of. I mean, I started only doing it in one place."

"Your wrists." Marlene closes her eyes and takes a deep breath - a little habit Marlene picked up from James, which he picked up from Effie. "James, you can't keep doing this to yourself. It's been five years since Mis was born. Ten since Effie and Monty died. You need to stop. It's not healthy."

James sighs. "I can't, Marls. You know how I feel."

"I do, James. I really do. But you can't keep beating yourself up about it. It wasn't your fault."

"If I was there! If I was there, I could have gotten them out in time. Instead I decided to ignore them over a stupid fucking fight." James starts to tear up. "The last thing I ever said to them was, 'I hate you. I wish you would die.' That's the very last thing, Marls. How could I 'get over it'? It's my fault. If I was there, they wouldn't have gone after me."

"It was the drunk driver, James. It wasn't you. I promise." Marlene opens James' door. "Come on. Stay with us tonight. Please? I'll make sure no one bothers you."

James scoffs. "But you."

Marlene smiles. "That's only because you're my best friend, and I care about you." James sighs and gets out of the car with his wallet, phone and keys. Marlene locks it and leads them inside. "The world would be a dark place without you, Jamie. You're our sun, and everyone knows it. Even Aries and Artemis. They'd miss you too much."

***

Al

Jamie, Frank, and I want to go out. Do you think you could watch Neville?

Think I can? I'm a god! (At babysitting, of course) Yes, yes, I will.

Number

Hey, James. I got this number off of Sirius' phone.

Hey, Regulus.

How did you know?

😒

Right, nvm. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out?

Hang out, really? After everything?

Ok, I'm sorry. I'm not really good at asking people out.

So, you want to go on a date?

Yes.

Great! When?

Now?

I can't. Babysitting.

Who?

One of my friends' kid, Neville Longbottom. Alice has been my friend since school years, so I'd do almost anything for her.

Almost?

The rest I'd do for Marlene.

Fair. Um. What if I come with you? To the babysitting gig, that is.

I mean, if you want. Where do you want to meet?

Come pick me up at my house?

Yeah, I'll be there in 10.

"Hey, Marls. I got a gig."

"Who?"

"Alice and Frank."

"Frank...."

"Longbottom. You know, the dude that Al married?"

"Oh! Franky! Yeah, got it."

"Hey, who's watching the kids if we all have work?"

"You. It'll be only three kids this time. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, about that. Someone is.... tagging along."

"Tagging?" Marlene gasps. "You mean like a date? Like someone who wants to help you work, kinda date?"

"I guess."

"Who?"

"Not telling. At least, not yet, ok?"

Marlene sighs. "Fine. Meany." She mumbles the last bit under her breath, but James still heard her and smacked her up the top of her head.

***

James pulls up to the front of Regulus' house and pulls out his phone.

Regulus

I'm here.

Come inside real quick.

I can't. I have Aries and Artemis. Sorry.

It's ok.

I get it if you don't want to come.

No, I do. I'll be out in a minute.

"Ok, you two have to be on your best behavior. Play with Neville, I don't care. Just don't be brats. Ok?"

"Yes, Uncle Jamie. We promise."

"Good."

James sees Regulus open the door and walk down the sidewalk. "Hey." Regulus says when he opens the car door.

James digs around in his bag and pulls out two figets. "Ar, Mis, here's you figets."

"Yay!" Aries yells. "Thank you, Uncle Jamie."

"Can we go see Aunt Alice now?"

"Yes."

James turns the car back on and starts driving to Alice' house. She's only ten minutes away from the Black'.

"Uncle Jamie, can we play music?" Artemis asks.

"Yeah, here." He grabs his phone and reaches behind his seat where Artemis is. She takes it.

Their favorite artist is Sarah Maddack, and that's exactly what starts playing - the Coffee Shop Bop.

I hoped into a coffee shop

And then my jaw dropped in shock when

I saw a girl who had cool pants

They made me want to dance

"What kind of music is this?" Regulus asks.

"It's their favorite artist." James answers. "Sarah Maddack."

"Still doesn't answer my question."

"It's the only answer I got."

By the time they get to Alice' house, that Playlist has run through at least three times. James knocks on his friends door with Aries and Artemis in front of him and Regulus beside him. Frank answers. "Hey, James. Alice is upstairs with Neville."

James gives the bag to Aries, and they both run inside. He smiles. "Sorry, you know how they are."

"I do." He looks over to Regulus. "Who's this?"

"Regulus Black."

"Nice to meet you."

"You, too."

Frank steps aside and gestures for them to come in. James can hear Aries and Artemis in the other room. Alice comes down the stairs with Neville on her hip. She's wearing a long black dress with sequins. It has one strap on the right side and a leg slit. "Al, I think I could date you."

Frank raises his eyebrows. Alice rolls her eyes. "You probably would if you weren't gay."

"True. I mean, when I saw Frank, I just knew." She rolls her eyes again.

"Take your nephew."

"Gladly." Alice hands Neville over to James.

"Uncle Jamie! You're here!"

"Yeah, so are Aries and Artemis." Neville gasps while James puts him down, and he runs to the other room. "So, Al, I didn't have time to take a shower this morning with Cas and Marls."

"You'll do it either way."

"Sure as hell I will."

Alice sighs. "Fine."

"I love you, Al."

"I love you, too, Jamie. Goodbye."

"Adiós, mi amor!" James yells before Alice shuts the door. James laughs. He walks to the other room, Regulus trailing behind him. "Alright, I'm going to take a shower. Reg, are you good for a few minutes?"

James looks at Regulus, and he's blushing. He didn't even realize he called him Reg. James smirks. "Reg? Reggie?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine."

James walks over to Artemis. "You think you could all stay in here for ten minutes? Regulus and I have something to do." She nods. "Thank you, babes."

James walks over and grabs Regulus' hand, dragging him up the stairs. "James, they can't be unattended."

"They'll be fine." He walks into Alice and Frank' room and into the bathroom. When the door is shut and locked, he pins Regulus to the door. "Did you like that? Reg."

He blushes again. "Stop that."

"I don't think I will." He kisses Regulus' cheek, then the other one, then is chin, then finally his lips. He kisses back.

Regulus pushes James back to the toilet - luckily, Alice always insists on closing it - breaking the kiss in the process. He straddles him and starts kissing James again.

James breaks the kiss. "Reg, I need to take a shower."

Regulus groans. "No."

"Yes. Come on, Reg. Please?"

He groans again. "Fine." He gets up, kisses James again, then leaves.

***

Alice stumbles in the door with Frank behind her. "Jesus, Al." James says. "What did you two do?"

"Bar."

James walks over to his friend and helps her get up the stairs. He lays her down on her bed and tucks her in. She falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

He goes back downstairs to see Frank and Regulus talking while Aries, Artemis, and Neville are playing. "Nev, bedtime."

"But, Uncle Jamie."

"No, it's bedtime."

"Fine." James walks over to the three and picks Neville up and does the same he did for Alice except Neville wanted a bedtime story - Goodnight Moon. Neville is passed out before James even finishes the book.

He goes back downstairs, and Aries and Artemis are asleep on Regulus. Aries on one side with his head on Regulus' leg and Artemis on the other side with her head on Regulus' other leg.

Frank must have gone upstairs at some point because he's nowhere in sight.

James smiles. "You look cute like that." Regulus looks up.

"Really? Do you think I'd be a good dad?"

James hums. "Yeah, I do." James walks over to them and picks up Artemis. She stirs a little but goes right back to sleep. He does the same thing with Aries, and he also goes back to sleep. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Can you grab my bag." James looks around. He spots it at the corner of the room. "It's over there." He nudges his head in that direction.

"Sure."

Thankfully, Aries or Artemis don't wake up when James puts them in their car seats. Neither do they wake up when he gets them back out of the car seats and into their beds.

"Ah, fuck. I forgot Marlene and Dorcas aren't going to be home for a few hours. Do you think you could stay for a little while?"

"Yeah, sure. What do you have in mind?"

"We could watch a movie or something."

Regulus humms. "That sounds nice."

So, they did, in fact, watch movies, eat some snacks, and maybe some other little things - that couldn't go far because of Artemis and Aries - until Marlene and Dorcas came home.

James hears the door open, signaling that Marlene and Dorcas are home. "Hey, Jamie!" Marlene yells. How'd your so-called date go!?"

"It's going pretty well." James hears footsteps, and Marlene comes into view.

She smiles. "Babe! Jamie brought a boy!"

James hears more footsteps, and Dorcas comes into view. "He did what?"

James gets up with Regulus behind him. "Kids are in bed. We'll be going now."

"No," Marlene says, "you can't do that."

"Yes, I can. I'm going back to my apartment and you can't do anything about it."

Marlene smiles and twists her foot a little. "Ow! Jamie, I twisted my ankle."

"Your wife is right there. Right, Cas?"

"Mmm. I don't know, Jamie. I don't think I can carry her."

James sighs. "You two are assholes and you're lucky I love you." Marlene climbs on James' back. "Cas, don't do anything."

"Definitely won't."

"Don't!" James yells as he starts walking. When he gets to the stairs, he drops Marlene on her feet. "Alright, be a nice little, Marlene, and tell me what you're up to."

"No, I don't think I will."

"Marls."

"Dorcas is having a little chat."

"Marlene Elizabeth McKinnon! You are a little cunt!" James walks back to where he left Regulus and Dorcas. They're not there.

"Dorcas Eileen Meadows!"

"James Fleamont Potter!" Dorcas' sarcastic voice comes from the kitchen. James storms in there with Marlene right behind. Regulus nowhere in sight.

James points at Dorcas. "Your a fucking cunt just like your wife. I hope your kids don't turn out like either of you."

"Who else would they turn out like, dipshit?"

"Oh, I don't know, Marls. Maybe their sperm donor, me."

"Why would they turn out like you?"

"Because I'm always here!"

"Because you don't know how to take care of yourself! Cas, have you seen his wrists lately? Lily told me."

"Lily has no fucking say! She left me when things got too hard!"

"James, that was ten years ago. When Effie and Monty died."

"They were my parents, Marls! How could I be normal?"

"It's been ten years!"

"And it feels like ten seconds! Marls, they were my whole life."

"I know that, Jamie. They were my parents, too."

"You had parents! And they were mine."

"Jamie, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

"Why the fuck not!? I don't belong here!"

"Yes, you do! Your our sunshine, Jamie. We'd all be in darkness if something happened to you."

Dorcas cuts in. "Aries and Artemis would never be happy again."

James closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, you're right." He opens his eyes again.

Dorcas clears her throat. "Uh, Jamie. Behind you."

"What?" He turns around and spots Regulus. "Fuck." Regulus looks at him with pity in his eyes. James sighs. "You heard the whole thing." He nods. "I'll- um - take you home now." He turns back around, and Marlene tosses him his phone, keys, and wallet. "Thanks, Marls. I won't be back tonight."

"Going back to your apartment?"

"Yeah. I love you both."

Marlene looks at him. "Jamie,"

"I'll be fine. Ok?" She nods. "I love you."

"We love you, too."

James and Regulus make it to his car. The whole time, neither of them spoke. James starts the car and starts driving. James usually puts on music when he's driving, but this doesn't feel like the right time.

About five minutes into the drive, Regulus speaks. "James,"

"Can we not? I've already been through this a million times. I get it. You never want to see me again. This is exactly why I don't date."

"I - wait, you think I don't want to date you?"

"That's how these things usually go. Isn't that where this is going?"

"No, of course I want to date you. Why would this lead me away?"

"That's what happens every time."

"Well, not this time. I promise." James parks the car of the side of the road. "What are you doing?"

James turns to him. "Why? Why are you staying?"

"Because someone shouldn't leave when things get hard. Especially when it's something like that."

James' breath hitched. "You mean it? You're staying?" Regulus nods. "Can I kiss you." He nods again and James leans in.

At some point - after the make-out session - James drives to the Blacks.

"Thanks. For staying - I mean."

"I don't know why anyone wouldn't. You're too beautiful and kind to pass up." James smiles and leans in for another kiss. Regulus opens the car door and gets out. "I'll text you?" James nods.

When James gets home, he erases his 30-day mark of not having any suicidal thoughts and puts down zero.

James started that when his parents died because he always had them a lot. The farthest he's ever got was two months. Marlene always thought it was stupid until she realized he always wrote down how many days. Then, she was always around to check the board - even though she thought she had made a good excuse, James still knew.

Marls

'How you doin'?'

'He didn't leave.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. I think I might finally have found my true love.'

'I'm glad, Jamie. You really needed one.'

'Wow. Thanks.'

'You're welcome.'

James rolls his eyes.

'I'm going to bed now. I love you.'

'I love you, too.'

If James was thinking about Regulus all night, no one needed to know that, only him.

***

It's been a month since Regulus and James started dating and a month since he last babysat the Blacks. James is pretty sure Regulus hasn't told anyone because no one has gave him the shovel talk. Marlene, Dorcas, Alice, Mary, Peter and even Frank gave Regulus the shovel talk, but no one has him yet.

James has learned a bunch of things about Regulus. Like, his favorite flower, - Acrtic Willows - color, - green - food - a chocolate soufflé - and many more.

Regulus has been around a lot in the past month, and Artemis, Aries, and Neville like him a lot. One time, they even asked if they could call him Uncle Regulus. Of course, James said no. That would be too much pressure. But if Regulus stays longer, then they most likely will.

At this point, Regulus has stayed over at James' at lot. He even stayed for a week once. But every time, he's always went back to his family. But every time, he always comes back to James.

With Regulus around, James' board has 30 days suicidal thoughts free. Surprisingly, Regulus never asked about the board. And even Marlene has accepted that Regulus is much better for James.

When his thoughts get too much, he still cuts his wrists, but lately, it's been a lot better.

"Hey, Reg." Regulus humms in response. "Have you told your family about us?"

"No. I didn't think you'd want to deal with that." They're laying in James' bed cuddling.

"I'll be fine. I promise. Just tell 'em."

"Ok. Well, we can tell 'em later today. Oh, yeah, Siri wants me to babysit. Can you?"

"Sure, Reg."

"Thank you, baby." He leans up and kisses James. "You're the best."

***

"Before you guys go, James and I have something to tell you."

"You're dating." Pandora states.

"How -"

"I know everything, James. But I didn't tell anyone. Besides, Lily."

"Yeah, and I already knew. It was obvious, Jamie."

Sirius makes a surprised face. "I didn't! That's my baby brother!"

"Ok, and?" Bellatrix says. "That's our baby cousin."

Barty purses his lips. "He's just my best friend."

***

James found the perfect place for Regulus' surprise. It's a greenery with a bunch of Regulus' favorite plants and trees.

"Regulus Arcturus Black, the first time I set eyes on you was the most spectacular thing I ever witnessed. You might have been mean to me at first, but I must have grown on you because, well, we're in this spot right now. So, Reg, Reggie, the love of my life, will you forever be with me for eternity? Make me the happiest man alive and make me your husband?"

Regulus smiles. "Yes, James, of course I will."

***

Regulus and James have found the most beautiful place to raise their family. James' childhood home that he never sold. And good timing, too. Aries, Artemis, and Neville started calling Regulus Uncle. And the same thing with James. Luna, Harry, Tom, Nymphadora, Teddy, and Draco started calling James Uncle, too.

***

"So, who's getting married?" A woman asks.

"We are." James says. "Me and my fiancé."

"You two?"

What? Never had a gay couple?"

"No, sorry. Tuxedos or dresses?"

"Tuxedos."

***

"Dorcas, my other beloved. Will you be my bridesmaid?"

"Yes, James."

"No scream?"

"I'm not like Marls but just for you." She screams.

"Alice, my wife, will you be my bridesmaid?"

She smiles. "Of course I will, Jamie."

"Mary, my life, will you be my bridesmaid?"

She jumps up and down while screaming. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Frank, my husband, will you be my groomsman?"

"Yes, James."

"Peter, my love, will you be my groomsman?"

"Yes, James. Why wouldn't I be?"

"And, finally, my beloved, Marlene, will you be my maid of honor?"

She screams. "Yes! I knew you loved me!"

***

"Barty, will you be my groomsman?"

He smiles. "Do you really love me that much?"

Regulus rolls his eyes. "Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Evan, will you be my groomsman?"

"Of course I will, Reg."

"Pandora, my beloved, will you be my bridesmaid?"

"Yes, Reg. Of course I will."

"She gets my beloved?"

"Shut up."

"Andromeda, Bellatrix, Narcissa, my dear cousins, will you be my bridesmaids?"

"Yes, Reg."

"You like me."

"Of course, Reg."

"Remus, the husband of my brother, will you be my groomsman?"

"I guess." He says sarcastically. He laughs. "Yes, I will."

"Finally, my dear brother, will you be my maid of honor?"

Sirius' mouth falls open. "You want me to be your maid of honor? I knew you liked me. Yes, Reggie."

"That boy really made you a sap."

***

Bellatrix gave birth to twins, Aliana and Mattheo, and had four more kids after. Two belonging to her husband, Cara and Mandy. One belonging to a man named Charles, Lorenzo. And one more belonging to Tom Riddle Sr., Delphini, and her siblings, Tom, Aliana, and Mattheo.

Regulus and James had three kids, Lillian, Leo, and Rose. Remus and Sirius had more kids, Hermione and Violet. Dorcas and Marlene had another kid, Jack. Narcissa and Lucius had another kid, Lila. Andromeda and Ted had another kid, Nina. Evan and Barty married and had a few kids, Lucas and Nicholas - which they said they'd never have any. Pandora and Lily had one more kid, Eclipse. Alice and Frank had twins, Juliana and Nicky. Peter married a woman named Elizabeth and had no kids. Mary married a woman named Emmeline and had one kid, Penelope.

And all them kids, made for a great family reunion and stories in a few years.