#yes I think it's time to start tagging Imogene stuff

[vitanithepure]

Ok, now your turn! :D What does Imogene think of her retinue?

Aaah, thank you for the ask and brace yourself for a long one because - oh, she has Thoughts™ 😂

Abelard is the designated grandpa. They agree on most things, and she dons her most shit-eating grin each time Abelard announces who she is. Also, they got this going on:

Idira is the coolest person on the ship, and that is even taking iceman into consideration. Just. So. Cool. Imogene adores her bravery, admires she had the guts to go her own way and against the world that hates her very existence.

Argenta can go space herself. She knows where the airlock is. Imogene has no idea why is she even part of her retinue if she disagrees with everything the Rogue Trader does and her solution to all world's problems is to burn it all down. No love between them, that's for sure.

Pasqal is the fount of knowledge and the right amount of religious calling for Imogene. Having been born on a Forge World she grew up surrounded by the Adeptus Mechanicus and their work. She shares a lot of respect and values with Pasqal and is absolutely fascinated by his pursuits. She would commit acts of unrestrained heresy if he asked her to, lol.

Iceman is scary. At first. Imogene quickly learns that her new status as a Rogue Trader gives her a lot of leeway when in comes to dealing with the agents of the Inquisition, including this particularly obvious snitch (as she believes) and she makes it a little game of sorts - how much can she annoy Heinrix until he turns around and leaves? Jokes on her, I guess, because at some point she realizes she wouldn't let him go even if he wanted to xD

Cassia is...uniqe. Imogene has no idea how to act around her. On one hand she seems to be insanely powerful. Influencing emotions of others? Third eye that could potentially kill just by looking into it? Or worse? All that in a frail, otherworldly body and a mind of a very cloistered young adult? On the other hand...she is so nice. So open and up for discussing things. So incredibly insightful for her age, Imogene went all in with her big sister mode.

(And below I'll go into companions you didn't mention yourself, so I assume you haven't met them. No big spoilers about them, just leaving you to decide if you wanna know who potentially is out there!)

Jae is wonderful. She's living her life, taking what comes in stride and never is content with what she already has. Imogene has a lot of fun with her, 10/10 friend and all around awful influence if you ask Abelard about their relationship :D Wonder for how long will that last, though...

Yrliet is...complicated. It's kind of like she took a trip to the zoo and found a mon-keigh named Imogene free from her enclosure and decided to see where she was running to. Imogene is stubborn though, and shortly after their meeting went "yeah, I'm gonna confuse her so much". Their relationship is uneasy because of all the outside influence barging in between them.

Ulfar didn't join Imogene, so... too bad buddy, have fun. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Marazhai is...well, he is. But Imogene wishes he wasn't. Really regrets bringing him along. Probably things won't end well between them and I intend to headcanon this so hard xD

[thehiccupingbanana]

Elle's First Slumber Party

PAIRNING/FANDOM: Tara Jones & Darcy Olsson & Elle Argent (Heartstopper) GENRE: Fluff WORD COUNT: 2,381 WARNINGS: none :) SUMMARY: Based off this comment on this YouTube Reel: "My girlfriend is trans. We had a sleepover a while ago where we did all sorts of stereotypically girly stuff that she wasn't able to do at childhood sleepovers. It was so fun." ADDITIONAL TAGS: Background: Established Tara Jones / Darcy Olsson, squint and miss it reference to imogen / sahar, based off a YouTube comment, i just love the friendship between these three, Friendship, Fluff, references to pre nick / charlie

[READ ON AO3]

Elle walked into her second period classroom, seeing her two best friends at Higgs already sitting at their desk behind Elle’s desk.

“We should watch The Barbie Movie again.” Darcy stated, playing with Tara’s fingers.

“Darce, we’ve watched it seven times since it came out.” Tara sighed, exasperated.

“But it’s so good!” Darcy exclaimed before turning to Elle as she was sitting in her chair, “Elle, do you agree, The Barbie Movie is one of the greatest in cinematic history?” 

Elle chuckled thinking of how Tao would respond if he heard her, before responding, “I haven’t seen it.”

“What?” Darcy and Tara both nearly yelled, before Darcy whispered, “You haven’t seen The Barbie Movie?”

“Well, no.” Elle started, “It’s not exactly on the top of the list of movies Tao would have us watch at movie night. Plus, I haven’t seen any of the other Barbie movies, I wouldn’t know what’s going on in the newest one.”

“One. Tao needs to let you choose a movie next time. Two. It’s not a series. And three. You haven’t seen any of the Barbie movies?” Darcy listed.

“No.” Elle replied, shaking her head, “It’s not exactly something I grew up watching.”

Darcy and Tara both slowly nodded in response before looking at each other for several seconds, appearing to have a silent conversation with each other.

“Do you want to have a slumber party with us this weekend?” Tara asked, “We can watch one of the old Barbie movies and the new one, and we can do each other’s hair and bad makeup, eat a bunch of junk food, and go to sleep at 6am like we would have done as kids.”

Darcy nodded enthusiastically along with Tara’s words, adding, “And eat so much sugar.”

Elle laughed at Darcy’s words before replying, “Yes, okay! That sounds fun!”

“Party!” Darcy cheered, the other girls in the classroom looking her way.

The three girls laughed, ducking their heads together, chatting about what they would do that weekend before the teacher started the class.

~🎉📽💤~

[Charlie, Elle, Issac, & Tao]

Elle: Can’t make movie night this Saturday guys. Sorry!

Tao: Why not?

Elle: Tara and Darcy want to have a slumber party this weekend; we’re going to watch some of the barbie movies. (Charlie & Issac: ❤️)

Tao: The Barbie movies? Really?

Charlie: the new one is really good tao! (Issac: 👆)

Tao: Charlie!

Issac: it is really good.

Tao: Issac! So, it’s just going to be three of us?

Elle: Invite Nick; you can have a boy’s night

Tao: No

[Elle and Tao]

Elle: Why not?

Tao: Charlie needs to get over his straight boy crush, not spend more time with him.

Elle: 🙄 Just tell Charlie to ask Nick, they are friends after all.

Tao: Fine

[Charlie, Elle, Issac, & Tao]

Tao: Fine Charlie invite Nick. (Issac: 👆) But he’s not picking any of the movies.

Elle rolled her eyes at Tao’s last text message before conversation shifted to Charlie being suspiciously quiet in the chat. Elle had a feeling something had happened at Harry’s party Nick invited Charlie to the week before, but until Charlie said anything, it’s not her business to speculate.

~🎉📽💤~

Elle hadn’t been at Tara’s for more than thirty seconds before Darcy was shoving a bowl of “Gummy Salad” which was a bowl of Maynards Sour Patch Kids, Jelly Babies, and Fruit Pastilles, from what Elle could see, into her hands.

“Imogen said she is on her way and Sahar should be here in the next hour or so.” Darcy announced, “It’s not a real slumber party unless it slightly feels like too many people.”

Elle would have to take her word for it. The day before Darcy said that she was going to invite someone named Sahar, who was in one of her classes, and Tara invited Imogen. Elle wasn’t really sure why Tara invited Imogen, if she had to guess, it may have to do with Nick and Imogen being friends. Once again, not speculating.  

“That sounds good.” Elle smiled, “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“Well, if you want to help us finish up the nacho table, that’s what we are doing first!” Darcy cheered, running back into the kitchen.

“She ate the rest of the gummies that didn’t fit in the bowl, so she’s a little wound up.” Tara stated, looking lovingly at her hyperactive girlfriend.

“What is a nacho table?” Elle questioned, following Tara and Darcy into the kitchen.

“She saw this TikTok where people put a bunch of chips, meats, cheese, and veggies on a table.” Tara sighed, “It’s very American, but she wanted to do it.”

Elle nodded, still slightly confused, but liking all those ingredients so willing to give it a try. “Is that something done at slumber parties too?”

“No.” Tara laughed, “Well maybe, but when Darcy gets an idea, there’s no stopping her.”

The foil was already laid out on the table with 3 different types of tortilla chips on it, so Elle started laying out the ground beef and ground pork that Darcy had already cooked up on the chips. Together the three girls started laying a bag of different shredded cheeses on the meats, trying some as a taste test before too.

The door bell chimed as Elle was setting the bowl of sour cream and guacamole on the table next to the nacho pile, so Tara went to answer the door.

“Imogen’s here!” Tara called, walking into the kitchen.

Darcy and Elle gave Imogen a small hello, still unsure around her after her “I’m an ally!” comment in the lunch room the last time they spoke to her.

“Sahar just texted me saying she’s just around the corner, so I’m going to go wait for her at the door.” Tara said, walking back out of the kitchen.

“Sahar?” Imogen gasped, her face turning pink.

“Yeah.” Darcy replied, “Is that a problem?”

“Oh no!” Imogen answered, “I haven’t spoken to her in ages!”

“Let’s start this party.” Tara announced, walking back in with Sahar. “We just finished the nacho table, so help yourselves and then we are going to watch Barbie and the Princess and the Pauper.”

“Aww. I loved that one!” Imogen exclaimed.

The five girls all started to pile parts from the nacho table onto their own plates before settling on the sofa and watching the movie. Once it was over, Elle was stuffed, but had to admit, it was a pretty cute movie.

Darcy ran into another room for a moment before coming back with several plastic pouches in her hands.

“Next, we’re going to do like a little spa thing. Tara’s mom got us these, so when her parents come back tomorrow, we should thank them.” Darcy started, “There’s some feet masks and some face masks for us to use.”

Everyone grabbed one pack of feet masks and one pack of a face mask to use. Once everyone had the masks on Elle asked, “So what do we do for the next 15 minutes?”

“Play slumber party games!” Darcy exclaimed. “Like truth or dare or kiss/marry/kill. That sort of thing.”

“I haven’t played kiss/marry/kill in years!” Sahar chuckled.

“Let’s play that then!” Tara smiled, “Truth or Dare could be constricting when we can’t move.”

“Okay. How do you play?” Elle asked.

“Usually, someone will say three random people, it could be people you know or celebrities, and you choose if you would rather kiss, marry, or kill them.” Darcy explained, “But we aren’t seven anymore so we should randomly scroll on Instagram and choose three people from who posted on our feeds.”

“Okay! That sounds fun!” Elle agreed. “Who goes first?”

“Imogen, you can scroll for the three people, and we’ll choose, so Elle has an example on how to play.” Tara said.

Imogen got out her phone and scrolled for a couple of seconds before landing on “Selena Gomez, Nick, and Harry.”

“Easy.” Darcy interjected, “Kill Harry.”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

“I’ve already kissed Nick so.” Tara shrugged.

“Wait, what?” Imogen interrupted, “What’s the story there?”

“Oh, we kissed once, for like one second, when we were like thirteen.” Tara answered.

Darcy and Sahar snorted at the same time.

“I already told him so I can tell you too. It’s one of the things that made me realize I don’t like kissing boys.” Tara continued.

“Oh my god!” Sahar guffawed.

“That’s my favourite Nick Nelson story.” Darcy laughed.

“It surely couldn’t have been that bad?” Imogen asked, a slight blush on her face.

Tara shrugged in response, looking at Darcy with her heart-eyes.

“I’m straight, I would defiantly marry Selena Gomez if she asked.” Elle answered.

“I’m not straight and I would marry Selena Gomez.” Sahar added.

The rest of the group nodded in agreeance again.

“Elle, do you want to scroll for choices now?” Tara questioned.

“Sure.” Elle replied, scrolling on her phone once before saying, “Charlie, Tao, and the Netflix Instagram account?”

“If I had to choose, I would marry Charlie.” Darcy answered, “We could be each other’s beards.”  

“Charlie is the actual definition of a sweetheart; I agree with you Darcy.” Tara said, Sahar nodding.     

“I don’t really know Tao, but I would kiss him. He’s not bad looking.” Imogen supplied.

Elle was glad she had a face mask on to cover the blush she was sure was on her face.

“Kill the Netflix Instagram account!” Darcy exclaimed.    

The group continued playing the game until the timer went off on Tara’s phone, when all the girls peeled off the masks from their faces and feet and threw it away.

“Let’s make the cake now?” Darcy asked Tara.

“Yeah, let’s make the cake now.” Tara answered.

“Yay! Let’s go make a cake!” Darcy cheered, running into the kitchen to grab a box of cake mix. “Elle, can you grab two eggs?”

Tara pre-heated the oven and instructed Imogen where the liquid measuring cups were for Sahar to pour the amount of milk the recipe called for. Darcy mixed all the ingredients while Elle greased the pan also found by Imogen, and Sahar poured the batter into the pan. All five girls didn’t have to make the cake, but Elle guessed it was so everyone could be included.

While the cake was in the oven, Darcy had pulled out several Perler Bead boards she found on clearance at the Hobbycraft a few weeks prior. Everyone made a small square with their first initial in it as a warm up to get used to the beads, before getting adventurous and making cute animals.

At one point the cake was finished baking and Tara took it out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool, while the group pressed the iron to their beaded designs. The group made a goal to use all the beads with various designs, Tara and Darcy making a heart with their names inside. Elle made a clapperboard for Tao, a book for Issac, and a small drum set for Charlie. At some point the cake had cooled fully and the girls ate it while the making their designs.

Elle yawned feeling tired all of the sudden, looking up at the clock on the oven to see it was already well past one in the morning.

“I’m getting tired too.” Imogen whispered to Elle.

“What’s next on your agenda, Darcy?” Sahar asked, muffling a yawn herself.

“Witchcraft.” Darcy stated seriously.

Elle cocked an eyebrow, she really missed out on not going to slumber parties as a kid, huh.

“Darcy!” Tara chided, slapping Darcy’s arm with the back of her hand.

“I’m kidding- mostly.” Darcy started, “We’re going to watch the new Barbie movie!”

After putting away the leftover cake and laying out the Perler beads to cool, the girls all changed into their pyjamas and settled into a large make shift pillow and blanket fort they had built. Tara loaded up HBO and started the movie. It didn’t take very long before Tara and Darcy were fast asleep cuddling each other. Elle rolled her eyes at her friend wanting to watch the movie and then falling asleep as soon as it started playing.

Half way through the movie Elle was about to ask Imogen her opinion on the cowboy outfits the Ken’s were wearing, when she noticed that Imogen was also fast asleep, surprisingly with her head on Sahar’s shoulder. That’s a question for another time.

Elle finished the movie, already knowing she was going to force Tao to watch it at their next movie night, no matter how many times they would have to rewatch Donnie Darko to make up for it. Elle grabbed the remote off the coffee table as quietly as she could before turning the TV off and going to sleep, thinking back to how much fun she was having.

When Elle woke up the next morning it was to the gentle sound of Tara’s mum saying, “Girls. It’s time to wake up. Your parents will be here soon.”

Elle looked at the clock to see it was past noon, but she felt like she hadn’t slept more than a few hours. All of Tara’s guests sleepily gathered their Perler bead designs into their bags, while her mum made some toast and scrambled eggs for them to eat.

Elle’s mum was the first to arrive, never one to be late when given a time. Elle told all the girls her goodbyes, telling them that she would love to do another sleepover with them all again. She slipped her tennis shoes on, the bottom of her pyjama leg getting caught between her foot and the back of her shoe, but not really caring.

Elle climbed into her mum’s car and set her bag down between her feet, taking a sip from her mum’s water bottle.

“How was the sleepover, honey?” Elle’s mum asked, before driving off.

“It was really fun, Mum.” Elle smiled.

“Yeah?” Elle’s mum questioned.

“Yeah.” Elle replied, “Maybe we can host the next one?”

“That sounds like a great idea sweetie.” Elle’s mum smiled.

Elle was sure her mum was apprehensive about her going to the slumber party, but Elle knew now that her mum was just as happy as she was about her first slumber party.  

~~~

Thank you @sleepywriter00 for checking over this for me when I was nervous about posting it. ❤️

as always, if there was a cw or tw, please let me know and i will fix the a/n asap.

[theajaheira]

Hi! I'm new here (here being your blog, calendiles fandom, and also just...Buffyverse fandom in general? I haven't been here that long haha) and I finally got around to checking out your work on AO3 and uuuhhh you've written SO MUCH!!! So first of all, THAT'S AMAZING, GOOD JOB!! But second of all, I have no idea where to start reading... Can I maybe get like a rec from you of your top 5 faves? (Not fan faves, but YOUR faves, fics/series you're most proud of, etc.) Please and thank you :)

oh, wow, this is so sweet <333 hello! i have seen your fic in the buffyverse tag and lurked more than once there. expect some reviews at SOME point when my brain will allow me, because you are adding some excellent sapphic/nonbinary representation to the buffyverse in a very lovely way. i deeply appreciate your energy.

as for my top five faves -- i appreciate your specification that they have to be MY top five faves, because i really was about to just point to the braveryverse as smth that i think you personally might like. (not a single straight person, found family, etcetc). but my personal top five is a lil different than the stuff that's the most popular w/ fandom at large. (not by too much though.)

all of these range from "a little lengthy" to "novel-length" but i think they are worth it! and they are also all complete! (except for the first one on the list, which has a sequel in the works, but everything PUBLISHED is complete!)

1. never mind the years of wasted time

so this is my long-standing baby that i am blogging about all the time! it's so important to me! i cannot overemphasize how much this 'verse means to me. it's an improbable little everybody lives/nobody dies au set about three years after canon, and in my heart it does kind of stand as a spiritual follow-up to canon, in that the emotional place that giles starts the story is very much a continuation of the emotional place that he ends canon in. there are so many details within the main fic (what you make) that i cannot pack into a single summary (giles and jenny's eight-year-old son, who she left sunnydale to raise! giles and buffy trying to figure out how to reckon with the concept of giles being a parent to a kid that isn't her! jenny's adoring extended family! a subplot that is literally just all about how giles's parents met and fell in love! giles and jenny's individual baggage from their complicated parents and how that informed the decisions they made with each other and with/for the kids they were in charge of!) also it is impossible to read the fic and come away NOT loving art or alice or nora. nora is literally my url now because i tricked myself into loving her so hard by writing her all the time.

anyway yes! top of my list, this is the thing i am the most proudest of, it is literally novel-length and i have been considering learning book-binding just because i want the physical experience of making it into something that i can hold.

2. as day follows night

this is also long but um, less long? this is The Faith Fic. i don't really know how to talk about it without spoiling it (or if i've already talked about it and spoiled it, or if the tags will spoil it...) but suffice it to say that this fic is about faith right after killing the deputy mayor, and her decision to ally herself with an all-powerful witch. or more like "attach herself." like to the witch's skirts. and hang on while the witch drags her around trying to get her to let go. (this girl has some attachment issues). it's got fuffy it's got fairy tales it's got the force of platonic love being the most powerful force in the world <3 and i think it is the first long fic i ever wrote where i had an outline and a plot that made sense and consistent tone throughout!

3. the tale of princess imogen

FAIRYTALE CALENDILES WHAT MORE CAN I EVEN SAY??? also some background fuffy and tillow bc obviously! anyway this whole fic is about jenny the witch pining helplessly for giles the acting monarch and losing her mind a little when princess buffy lets it slip that he's in love with some dark-haired lady who's constantly hanging around the castle all the time. and then subsequently coming up with a Magic Plan to ruin his chances of ever being able to win this dark-haired lady over, because what if she's bad for the kingdom? what if she's just trying to grab at power? THIS IS FOR POLITICAL REASONS SHE IS VERY NORMAL.

4. illumination

this one is about giles and jenny both realizing that they share the experience of being closeted bisexual individuals in a het-passing relationship & subsequently figuring out how to process this. (so obviously chapter three is pegging. but it's THEMATICALLY IMPORTANT pegging. and if explicit stuff isn't your cup of tea, the first two chapters are totally sfw!)

5. private life

i am actually really proud of this one! this is set in season four and it's about xander walking in on giles kissing a man and having to reckon with a lot of complicated internalized biphobia. i love xander so much. of course he has to make this list. (and this is DEFINITELY the shortest fic on this list lmao.)

also honorable mentions to north star and it's the principle of the thing, which are the fics that i write when i'm not feeling like writing a Big Complicated Interlock-y project, so if you wanna read something of mine that will (uh, someday) be updated and is still in progress, that would be where to go right now until the what you make sequel shows up! north star is essentially a (mostly) scooby genfic that's set in season six where willow resurrects jenny to prove herself to giles, and it deals with the fallout of that. it's the principle of the thing is a super trope-y fic about giles and jenny getting green card married in the middle of season one because that's what you do when your workplace enemy might have to leave :) you propose marriage so he can't :) it's normal :) she's normal :) she's fine :) do not look her in the eye

[captainsspnanon]

C3E1 - reaction liveblog

I hate that I’m not going to be able to watch all of this tonight, BUT I AM READY!!!!!!!

What the funky ass mushrooms???? I LOVE IT, PLEASE BE A PLACE THEY GO TO

Pre-stream art is showing a lot of non-Marquet stuff though, so maybe not. :(  SAD I WANT TO SEE IT

Some of these locations though, omg

Wait, Gilmore with a dude.  Is that from ExU?  Dammit, I haven’t seen it because I assumed it wasn’t going to be campaign canon, bu I guess it is. *sigh*  I’ve seen the Narrative Telephone with the cast, I’m just worried it’s going to be TOO chaotic for me.  The NT episodes WERE, and the first hour or so of ExU that I saw didn’t seem like my speed.  WELL, we’ll see.

Several art with VM, but no M9 yet…

Downside of watching live?  Can’t skip through breaks and can’t watch art reel at faster speed (‘cause I love the art and don’t want to skip it, but at the same time don’t want to spend so many minutes on it)

And HOPEFULLY I’ll be watching live each time now!  Or at least during the day on Friday, if I can’t stay up late on Thursday.

More VM art…

I’mma try to make my C3 reactions spoiler free for C1 and C2, but I’ll tag as necessary if I think I say something too risky.  NONE OF Y’ALL PROBABLY CARE, but I’m doing it for the non-existent followers I’m pretending I have.

Desperately hoping my basically dead laptop doesn’t die, because I’m using it to type and I won’t be able to recapture these thoughts if I lose it. As long as I don’t try to use the internet, it SHOULD be fine, ‘cause that's what caused it to keep dying before…..

5

4

3

2

1

AAAAAAAA

Liam and Laura sitting together!!

Sam in a suit!  Not doing the shirt bit, I guess.

YES THEY KEPT “IT’S BEEN A WHILE”

Travis and Marisha together again too

OH GOD THE SET

I’m only starting to look at the set now, that’s incredible!

Eeh, cutaways for ads.  Not a huge fan, even though the ads are fantastic!

Fuuuuck, reminder that Sam is tall as shit.

Also, sorry, but bearded Sam is hot AF.

The thing that I am sad about the cut aways is I can’t see their reactions.

Marisha hot AF

Ashley looking hot AF

I want M9 dice!  PUT OUT M9 DICE PLEASE

new opening time!!!!!

...tf?  I’m hoping that means that we have one ready with the new characters in it, because that wasn’t an opening.

NEW PLACESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Ooooooo, awesome starting setting!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

EXITING ALREADY??????

ACCEEEENNTTTTTT

Laura sorcerer!! Human?  Low strength again

WHAAAATTTTT Warlock/Sorcerer and what the fuck is she????? OMG  High charisma though!!!  Excited!!!!

Kinda sad that the rest of the cast isn’t there for the descriptions though….

So spellcasting for both, but limited spellcasting

This set is so fucking good, though I’m sad there’s not more behind Matt.  Maybe he’ll have more projections behind him?

This setting is so fucking awesome I need to see fanart and also keep learning it!!  Too complicated for me to learn on first watch.

GOD THIS SET  with everyone else gone I can’t help but stare!

Want the other cast to come in soon!!!  Not sure how I feel about it starting to separate and the beginning.

Oh god I need to learn the new names!!!!   That’s gonna take a bit!  Imogen and Laudna?  Think I got it.

FIRST ROLL

...why do I feel that Laudna’s gonna kill me this campaign?  Like, maybe it’s just ‘cause Marisha’s HOOOT right now that it’s adding to character appeal.

Subtitles have errors, but that’s okay

Mindreading feature??? Overwhelming minds?? OMG

Lots of new races being brought in, unexpected to me!

Sam put on the shirt omg

ASHONT!!!  Tal’s character! WHO WHAT GIVE ME ART

He/They Earth Genasi!!!  Barbarian!!!!   Oooooo.  Low charisma, that’ll be interesting.

Fuuuuuck this is a cool looking character.  Did he make the teenage asshole character that he played in the Critmas oneshot?

Also, multiple NPCs tied in to PCs now already….does this mean West marches campaign might be an actual thing?  Hate that I’m kinda worried about this….I should trust CR, but I don’t want a campaign where they’re not all together.

WAIT WHAT

Fresh Cut Grass??? Letters???????  OH GOD HE DID GO WARFORGED.  Cleric!!  Damn, which means no Liam Cleric, sads.  BUT HOW TALL IS HEEEEEEE

Tal has no real accent, Sam is strong AF

Oooh, this is going to be interesting characterization for FCG

Kinda hope Sam doesn’t continue the shirt bit the entire time, but I feel like he will.  Ah well.

Another NPC.  Yeah, I’m worried and hate that I’m worried.

Lol Sam’s already falling out of the accent.

The other cast aren’t in another room, good.  Just heard Liam laugh.  Bleh, wish they could have been on camera then.  It’s one of the things where I feel like they’re playing to the camera versus playing for themselves, which makes me a bit sad.

Looooots of NPCs

Sam is quite small, apparently, continuing the trend!

Marisha and Sam, favorites so far!

Over an hour, still missing PCs, and no interactions with the group.

Robbie!  ...Fuck, I don’t want a west marches style campaign….

Wait is this literally the ExU cast

are you shitting me

I haven’t seen ExU

I have many many MANY mixed feelings right now

Yeah…...worried as shit now.  I don’t know how I feel, I really don’t

….I do love Fearne’s voice at least, though I didn’t get to know her because I haven’t seen ExU

Fuuuuuuck Orym’s voice is way too hot AF

Chaotic fucking Ashley, omg.  FEARNE.  I did like them from what I saw at the start of ExU!  It’s just that I didn’t continue after the first hour or so……

Interaction??? ARE WE FINALLY GETTING INTERACTION????  An hour and a half in.

Like, I’ll be fine with this if Robbie is a permanent if it’s still all the cast being together.  But if it’s splitting them up, I’m going to at least start off disappointed.

Also I hope Travis is actually going to be here?

SET GOING SUNSET AAAAAAAA and everyone freaking out I love it!

Oh god yes they’re getting together thank god.  Let this not be a west marches campaign and I’ll be happy.

But no Travis.

No TRAVIS

But Robbie is kinda shifted over?  So it seems like there’s room for him?

What the fuck is this amazing initiative??!?!?!?

..Oh man, Cap.  I’m gonna need your thoughts.

I want to see the minis up close

What the fuck Marisha this is amazing

Wild Magic Barb for Tal????

YES TRAVIS YES

WAIT WHAT OLD MAN, I WANT TO SEE THE ART AND STATS BUT THE BATTLEMAP IS OUT

...I hope they don’t to the HDYWTDT for every kill, but maybe because it’s the first battle?

Hmmm….almost Fjord voice.  I hope he starts differentiating it more later on.

WAIT BERTRAND BELL

SAM WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT A GAS CAN

So Travis is level 5, ExU cast is level 3, what are the others?  3 or 2??  So will this be exp or milestone?

Tal (Archon? Ashton?  I FORGET) already lying and pickpocketing.  Okay, we’ll see how I end up being about this.

So.  Two sorcerers, two fighters, bard, barb, cleric, druid, and warlock.  Alright, gonna be interesting

Break now.  Man, I already want a Talk so bad!!!  I have so many questions!  Why use the ExU characters?  Why bring back Bertrand Bell?  Why different levels???  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

I should be going to bed now, but I don’t want to.  Why do I think I’ll be staying up the entire time and FUCKING REGRETTING IT IN THE MORNING

OH GOD ASHLEY WHAT IS THIS DURING BREAK

You know I hadn’t thought of it, but I feel bad for people starting with C3, because they HAVE to know stuff!  They have to know ExU!  And the one shot for Bertrand Bell!  Which means VM!

Alright, Bertrand’s voice has aged a bit, so now it sounds more different from Fjord.

But Bertrand is really speaking like he wouldn’t be a part of this, which makes me nervous again for west marches style

FCG really spilling backstory here

Mmmm, don’t think I like the night effect, it really washes everybody out

WAIT THERE ARE STARS IN THE BACKGROUND AAAAAAAA

Yeah, I can’t see Travis playing this character long term, its’ way too much of a silly one shot character.

Interesting that Sam’s starting his character off as a tag-a-long again like Nott.

Rollies?

Okay good, they recognized we were all confused

I LOVE seeing Ashley making bold choices this campaign

Lots of rolling against each other so far

I’m much more quiet in the second half as now I’m just watching it play out

Okay, I cannot WAIT to see how Fresh Cut Grass is going to be halfway through the campaign and by the end

Why do I feel like the Lord dude is just Scanlan in disguise

Fireplace is cool, but it turns on the night sky.  They might need to fix that

…...weeeeird ending

Mixed feelings overall.  Wish I’d have a good idea of how the campaign is going to go, at least in terms of everyone playing at once, or broken up into teams

Interesting start! Looking forwards to seeing how it goes

@suicidallyreckless

[crackinglamb]

Writing Tag Game

Tagged by @mordinette, thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

79

What’s your total AO3 word count?

1164422 (yes, that's 1.16 million words)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Twist - 1,038

What a Wicked Game to Play - 504

Junkyard Dogs - 486

Twist Some More - 258

Fit - 234

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes. I love to engage with the readers. Plus, it's polite to respond to compliments and questions.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

No More My Heart Beats Without You (please, 'ware the tags)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

That's a tossup between Twist and Cross-Species Liaisons.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope, never done one. Closest I've come is Set to Repeat, Subject to Change, a post-canon blend of FO3 and FO4.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No hate, but I have gotten unsolicited criticism, which isn't the same thing, but can be just as upsetting.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, I write smut. A lot of it. A wide variety, too. I think at this point it's easier to say what I haven't written. Of 79 total works, 37 are rated E and 17 are rated M.

(And the stuff I haven't written can be narrowed down to I haven't done non-binary or trans characters. I never say never, tho.)

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone asked me if they could translate one of my FO4 works into another language, but I don't know if that ever happened. I do remember giving my permission.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have. With my beloved @ir0n-angel. We've collaborated on Things We Can't Say (mostly her work) and A Wolf Named Vengeance (mostly my work and currently on hiatus). I also generally consider that Twist would not exist in the form it does without her constant input.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Look, I'm polyamorous. I don't play favorites. That said, the pairings I've written for are the ones I love. Hancock/F!SoSu, Shakarian, Solas/whoever...

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Maker Damned Fools. A full version of it anyway (a fluffy one already exists). I've tried at least four times to get it started and it just hasn't sparked joy each time. I never say never, but it's more likely the snippets and bits that are written will end up as individual oneshots.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, smut and evidently characterization (so I'm told).

What are your writing weaknesses?

Conflict, action, finishing.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Depends on the language. Fictional ones, provided there's a halfway decent and/or reputable source for translation, are fine. Real languages? I'm more leery if I don't speak them for the simple fact that I would hate to get it wrong. Real people speak real languages, they aren't a plot device.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Fallout 4.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Generally speaking the current WIP is the new favorite shiny, which in this case is Wicked Game. Imogen McLean totally lives in my head rent free.

Tagging @ir0n-angel, @natsora, @shretl, @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold, @pikapeppa, @autodiscothings and @dreadfutures. No pressure!

[carreraleigh]

A Birthday Surprise

Pairing: Parker x MC (Callie)

Words: +2000

Rating: G

A/N: I wanted to write a fic about this cinnamon roll a while ago and I finally managed to inspire myself, hope you all enjoy it <3

Summary: Callie is back in the city of Pine Springs in the day of her birthday and Parker organizes a surprise party.

Tag: @drethanramsey @brightpinkpeppercorn @friedherringclodthing

Let me know if you all want to be tagged in future fics of this couple because I'm working in the tag list and more fics are coming <3

I'm not a native english speaker so I apologize in advance for errors.

———

Callie was excited to be back in the small town of Pine Springs. Summer was just beginning when she packed up all her stuff and got on the first bus in the morning.  She was looking forward to that summer, it was the first time she'd come back after last year's incidents, and she couldn't pick a better date, her birthday. Callie was excited to see her friends again, whom she only saw when they made Skype calls or visited her city from time to time during the year, although their visits of less than three days were never enough to do everything she wanted. The only one he saw frequently was Parker, who went to visit her every weekend he could, but lately he seemed busier than usual.

Callie didn't blame him, she knew that now as Chief of the town police he had many more responsibilities than before, and knowing Parker, his extreme need to help others and serve the community, he knew he was busy for good. However, she couldn't help but feel a little sad when he told her that he wouldn't be able to be with her that day because he was out of town helping a friend on a case, but he would be coming back the next day and he wanted to make it up to her, so she accepted the proposal without hesitation. In fact, the only one who seemed to have free time that day was Imogen, who had planned all of Callie’s birthday with things to do and places to visit. According to Imogen, the city was different now, in the good sense of the word, and she was excited to show her the improvements they had made.

Callie was finishing putting on her shoes when she received a message, it was Imogen, who told her that she was already in front of her house to pick her up for the little tour. She hurried down the stairs to find Elliot and her grandpa sitting on the sofa, her little brother playing with his cell phone while her grandfather had a book in his hands.

“Is Imogen already here?” grandpa asked, raising his gaze towards her.

“Yes,” Callie responded and checked her purse in case she forgot something “She wrote me a message saying she was outside.”

“Remember, you have to be here at 9:00 p.m to celebrate your birthday with us.” Elliot said without taking his eyes off his phone.

“Who are you, Grandpa?” Callie went up to him and started playing with his hair.

“Hey!” Elliot protested, she and her grandpa laughed at the same time.

“Of course I'll be here on time to celebrate with you.” She said looking at the room for the last time.

“Take care.” Grandpa said.

“Have fun!” she heard Elliot say before closing the door.

Parker moved anxiously from one side to the other with his arms crossed, thinking if they already had everything they needed for the surprise party for Callie's birthday. Danni was starting with the decorations while Tom brought the first boxes of drinks from Parker's car.

“I can swear we're forgetting something.” Parker finally spoke.

“Relax, Parker. We have everything covered.” Danni said taking out of a box the decorations that she, Imogen and Parker prepared for the party a week earlier “Imogen already said that she is with Callie distracting her for the rest of the day while we decorate her house, everything is going according to plan.”

“Besides,” Tom joined the conversation as he put some bottles in the fridge “You had all this planned about a month ago, nothing can go wrong.”

“I need everything to be perfect,” Parker said “Callie was already sad enough when I lied to her, saying that I couldn’t be with her today because I was out of town.”

“I told her I had a lot of work with the boats and she did not seem very happy either.” Tom said.

“Ugh, why are you two like this?” Danni looked up to them “She’s going to love this, everything will be worth it.”

“But what if she doesn’t like the decor, or the food, or the drinks, or the flavor of the cake I chose for her.” Parker said frantically.

“Look at me, Sheriff.” Danni got up of the couch with some decorations on her hand  “You spent a whole day figuring out the things you didn't know Callie liked, and another whole day going in and out of town looking for all those things to make her day special. Everything is going to be fine.” she extended her arms “Now, help me with these flags that I can't unravel while I take out the other decorations.”

Parker looked at her for a moment, and then smiled. When he grabbed the decorations, Danni sat again on the couch, then Parker did the same.

“You’re right, guys.” Parker sighed “We're here now, we've got everything, there's nothing to worry about.”

“That’s the spirit!” Tom shouted from outside.

“I hope Imogen is doing okay with Callie.” he said.

—

People say days go faster when you're having fun, and that's exactly what happened to Callie. The sun had completely set when she and Imogen were enjoying frappes on a bench in the square. Imogen managed to entertain Callie all day by taking her shopping, then for a walk by the lake, and now she had her strategically away from her home so she wouldn't accidentally run into anyone. Callie took a sip of her drink, and Imogen saw how the smile she had all day disappeared.

“What is it?” Imogen asked. Callie looked at her.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” she answered.

“Are you thinking of a certain person?” Imogen said.

“Maybe.” Callie sighed and then took another sip “I just miss him, you know.”

“Callie…” Imogen wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders “I'm sure he wants to be here as much as you do.

“Yeah, I guess he's got something good prepared because he hasn't let me know anything about his plans so far.”

“Yeah, maybe.”  Imogen said with a smile.

Parker parked his car as fast as he could in front of the flower shop and looked at his watch, it had been five minutes since their closing time, he couldn't believe he was late to pick the flowers he'd ordered for Callie. From the car he watched as Mrs. Johnson, a woman of about sixty years old and the owner of the flower shop, lock the door with a key, and in a town where everyone knew each other, he knew Mrs. Johnson and her husband well.  In his days as a deputy, he had to go to their house many times to bring down their cat called Lucius, who loved to climb the trees without being able to get down again.

“Mrs. Johnson!” Parker yelled getting out of the car, she jumped a little.

“Parker, dear.” the woman put a hand in her heart “You scared the hell out of me.” to be an old woman, Mrs. Johnson had a way of speaking that Parker thought was funny.

“Sorry, it wasn't my intention.” He said “I'm here because I need to pick up the flowers that I ordered last week.”

Mrs. Johnson looked up with a raised eyebrow, after a moment she gave him a smile.

“Oh, yeah… I remember.” she said “That bouquet of sunflowers for your girlfriend ... Ellie?”

“It’s Callie, Mrs. Johnson.” he corrected.

“Oh yeah, yeah…” she nodded “Well, don’t you see I've already closed the shop dear? I think you'll have to come another day.”

“Are your serious Mrs. Johnson?”  Parker ran a hand through his hair.

“I said what I said, dear.” she kept the key in her purse “Good night."

The idea was that Parker give the roses to Callie after surprising her with the party, he knew they were her favorites. He imagined so many times the face of his girlfriend with a smile receiving flowers on her special day, she would love it, he couldn’t leave without those flowers. He stood up straight then, and clearing his throat and with a deep voice he caught Mrs. Johnson's attention. There it was, his cop behaviour.

“Mrs. Johnson.” he said, the woman turned around.

“Yes, dear?” she said with a smile.

“As the Sheriff of this town, I ask you to give me the flowers for my girlfriend.”

The two looked at each other for a few seconds, until Mrs. Johnson broke into laughter. Parker started laughing as well, bringing both hands to his waist.

“You had to see your face, dear.” the woman said laughing “Unbelievable.”

“Oh stop, please.” he said smiling as he watched as she took the key out of her purse.

“I was joking.” she said “Anything for you my dear.”

“Thank you.” he said as the woman entered the flower shop in search of the bouquet.

Parker leaned against the wall to wait for her, until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and checked the message that had arrived, it was from Tom.

Everything is ready, we’re only waiting for you.

Parker began to write.

On my way.

—

Callie was looking at their social media, answering a few birthday congratulations, when Imogen abruptly rose from the bench they were sitting on.

“Well, it's time to go to our last activity!” Imogen said with a wide smile.

“Did you plan more things?” Callie asked, a little confused.

“It was last minute, but I hired some masseuses who do some amazing massages, you're not going to regret it.”

“I don’t know…” Callie looked the hour, it was getting late for the celebration with her family “My family prepared something for me.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Imogen took her from the arm making her get up “I told Elliot to tell your grandfather that you'd be a little late.”

“When?” she said, raising a eyebrow.

“When you went to the bathroom in the coffee shop.”  Imogen said with confidence, she had everything covered.

“Okay.” she raised his hands in defeat “I can't say no to a birthday massage.”

“That's what I thought!” they approached Imogen's car and got in.

“Any songs in mind for the radio?” Callie said skipping the songs she didn't like.

“You're my co-driver, I think that's your job.” Imogen questioned.

“Fair.” Callie smiled, playing the new summer music.

The two of them came all the way singing and laughing as they arrived at the house. Imogen parked the car in the yard and began to write on her phone with a smile. Callie looked at her expectantly waiting for her to open the doors, but Imogen didn’t move.

“Imogen?” she said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we’re here.” Imogen said as he opened the doors and the two got out of the car.

“What's on your phone, anything interesting?” Callie lifted her head to see Imogen's chat, but she quickly put her cell phone in her pockets.

“Nothing,” she said without interest “It was just an offensive message.”  Imogen opened the door of her house “Shall we?”

Imogen had barely closed the door behind her when suddenly all the lights in the house went on, revealing what was inside.

SUPRISE!

Callie put a hand to her mouth trying to quell the scream of fear and happiness that came out at that moment. She looked around her, the whole house was decorated with balloons and flags, she could see in the distance a table full of snacks and drinks of all kinds, and even more in the background a dj table, with a guy lying on the wall with a smile. She fixed her gaze on the people in front of her, all of them were wearing hats that said "Happy Birthday, Callie”. All the people she wanted to share that day with were there, her grandpa, Elliot, Danni, Tom, Imogen, who had now moved towards the group, and Parker, who was holding a bouquet of her favorite flowers with a smile.

Callie's eyes filled with tears and everyone got closer to hug her, she couldn't believe they threw her a surprise party. Suddenly it all made sense, the way her friends said they couldn't be with her that day, the way Parker was trying to make up for not being there with her with nice messages, Imogen taking her out all day, it had all been part of a plan she hadn't noticed, she wiped her tears away as everyone stood in front of her again. Everyone had come to hug her, except Parker, who was now slowly approaching her, Callie's heart accelerated even more, she didn't expect to see him that day and less with what he had in his hands.

“Happy Birthday to the most amazing woman in the world.” he said, extending her hands to give her the flowers, she accepted them with a smile and looked at the others again.

“I don’t know what to say,” everyone laughed “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“So, do you like it?” Danni asked.

“Do I like this?” she smiled “I love this, thank you so much for this guys.”

“See, Parker?” Danni hit him playfully on the shoulder “I told you she would love it.”

“This was your idea, Parker?” Callie said looking at him, she felt her eyes get wet again. He had the most amazing boyfriend in the world.

“Well, it was.” Parker approached and slid one arm around her waist, leaving a soft kiss on her lips “But everyone helped.”

“We were just following orders.”  Tom said “Parker is the mastermind behind this.”

“Well, Well.” Imogen approached Callie with a shopping bag in her hands “I think the birthday girl needs to change into something more appropriate for this celebration.”

“So that's why you bought me clothes for my birthday.” Callie looked at her.

“Guilty.” Imogen said with a grin and started taking her up the stairs “Now if you'll excuse us, I'm going to prepare our girl while you guys start setting this party.” Callie just smiled as they went up.

“We'll be right back!” Callie shouted before they turned in a corner.

Parker and Callie were standing in the middle of the room, the two hugged as they moved slowly to the sound of the mellow music the dj had played as the party drew to a close. It was really late, Tom already left and offered to take her grandpa and Elliot to their house as well, since their house was close to his own. Danni was lying on the sofa, her eyes completely closed, her breathing slow and peaceful. Imogen was picking up the last cups that were on the floor, Callie was going help her until she gestured for her to stay where she was. Callie just smiled and hugged Parker again until Imogen disappeared into the kitchen.

“Well, this party was a great success.” Parker held one hand to her hair, stroking her gently, their bodies still moving.

Callie wanted to stay forever in his arms, smelling his perfume and feeling the soft fabric of his suit. When she felt ready, she raised her head and connected her eyes with Parker's, her hands around his neck and his holding her by the waist. They looked at each other for a moment, neither of them saying anything, sinking into each other's eyes as the music was ending. Callie still couldn't believe everything of what had happened, she felt so happy, so full of joy, it was impossible to explain in words, she couldn't stop smiling. Parker looked at her intensely, as if he wanted to remember every detail of her face, her hair, her skin, everything that made her, be her. The music ended and the two hugged again.

“I'm not ready for this night to end.” she said, Parker embraced her a little tighter.

“Who says it has to end?” he said. She raised her head to look at him, he was smiling.

“What do you mean?” she asked.  He leaded a hand to her cheek and kissed her on the forehead.

“What I mean is, I have a private party set up at my house.”  he brought his lips closer to her ear “Just say the word and we'll get out of here.”

Their eyes found each other again and the two smiled. Callie didn't know it was possible to love a person so much, they were like soulmates whose destiny was to find each other, in this life or another, and there he was, the most handsome and protective man she'd never known. Parker felt his heart melt, and in that moment, lost in her eyes, he knew that her smiling face and sharing with their friends and family was something he would treasure forever. He loved to make her happy because that made him happy too.

“You’re the love of my life, Callie.” he said taking her hands in his “I love you.”

“I love you too, Parker.” she closed the distance between them and kissed him. The kiss was slow, but somehow, full of passion “And now, let’s get out of here.”

[probably-writing-x]

High Society (Chapter 8)

Tags: @imarypayne @sunshine112 @sleepwalkingdragon @supernatural-girl97 @vibhati123 @butithasntkilledyouyet @faefictions @carisi-sonny @trap-house-homiecide @shamelessbookaddict @tommydaspidey @oneblckcoffee

Warnings: Mentions of murder, language warning, suggestions of sex, mentions of gang crime/activity, depictions of crime

"Oh you're just so funny Harrison!" Imogen squeals at something extremely mundane that Harrison had just spoken. The entire evening had been like this and now the four of you were curled on the comfort of the couch, ignoring the view of the Netflix film playing on Tom's grand TV.

"Yeah," Harrison nods, wanting nothing more than to pull away from her clinging onto him.

You and Tom were much more natural in your intimacy, he had snuggled into you to lay his head on your lap as your hands absently trailed through his hair and over his exposed biceps.

The sound of the front door opening made everyone thankful for a break away from this awkward atmosphere. You glanced over to see Sam greeting Noah into the house. Huh, didn't realise they were friends...

Tom's eyes peek open minimally and he peers over the back of the couch to see the visitor, "Noah?" He frowns.

"Oh, hey guys," Noah smiles and you notice his embarrassment as he scratches at the back of his neck, "(Y/N),"

"Hi," You respond, washed over with a feeling of guilt about how things were left between you and Noah and Zendaya, "I'll be back in a minute okay?" You say to Tom who realises his need to move by the shuffling of your thighs.

Noah looks at you as you move over to him and realises that he should be following you as you walk out of way from their prying ears.

"Listen I'm-" You start, not really sure what to say after your apology.

"I know, me too," Noah nods, relieving any of the tension that existed between you, "We were way too harsh with you earlier,"

"No, you were right. All of this stuff with Tom, it's made me get caught up in all of their drama and that's definitely not what I had planned for this year," You sigh and you can't help but let your eyes dance back over to Tom who looked so alone without you.

"Yeah, I think we've all done things we didn't plan to so far," He chuckles and you notice his eyes falling onto the younger of the Holland brothers in your sights.

"So, you and Sam, huh?" You raise your brows, "I didn't even know you two were friends, or spoke!"

"Me neither," He laughs, "I was in cooking a few weeks ago and he needed some help so we worked together. And we just got on really well. He's still struggling with his sexuality and I'm not exactly confident with mine so... I don't know, we're good for each other,"

"Noah that's really great to hear," You smile, "Go on, get back to your man,"

He laughs as the two of you walk back into the lounge, "And you get back to yours,"

You look over to Tom once again to see his look of anger as he sees Imogen's treatment towards Harrison. The way she glares every time he acts in a way she doesn't like, the constant desire for an unnecessary affection.

"Hey," You break his gaze, sitting back down in the empty warmth beside him.

Tom's attitude changes instantly as he wraps his arms around you, lifting your legs over his to try to keep you as close as possible, "Is Noah here for Sam?"

His question is one you don't want to answer, you didn't know how much Tom knew about Sam and you didn't want to be the one to say something Sam wouldn't be comfortable with. Your lack of response gives him enough of an answer.

"I'm glad he has someone," He comments, nuzzling into your neck, "I'd hate to think that he feels like he's alone. And I hate that he's not comfortable with telling us,"

"Well, these things take time. It's a big thing and he's still coming to terms with who he is, but he knows you're there for him," You answer, running your hand through his locks.

Tom leans into your touch and for a moment feels more sure of himself than ever, "Are you staying tonight?"

You pause for a moment and scan the details of his face. The crisp continuance of his jawline, the clean shaven skin that settled above it, the warmth in his dark eyes.

"I'd love to," You smile, pecking his lips softly.

~~~Wednesday 30th January 2019~~~

"You and (Y/N) began an intimate relationship is that correct?" The woman asks but of course she knows it is.

"Yes," Tom states bluntly, becoming increasingly irritated at their fixation on your relations with him.

"Her parents weren't a huge fan of the life she was creating for herself. In fact, they were willing to take her out of school," She proceeds, "All because of issues they had with Imogen,"

"It wasn't just Imogen," Tom is quick to respond, knowing the woman was likely to suspect him if she continued, "They didn't like me either,"

~~~Saturday 17th November 2018~~~

You awoke the next morning and were sure the events of last night were a dream you would swear yourself to secrecy over. But there he was. In his exposed vulnerability, Tom's arm was wrapped around your waist, his head nesting against your shoulder.

Your slightly movements made his hold tighten just a little bit and you regretted trying to move an inch when you saw his eyes begin to flutter open.

"Morning," You mumble, breaking the thick air that had settled over the room since the events of last night.

Tom groans in response, welcoming your form beside him and nuzzling into you further, "Morning,"

You shuffle in the bed and eventually manage to turn to face him, noticing the disheveled mess of his bed hair that was probably more of your doing than of anything his natural sleeping had done.

"I hate to be that person," You begin and you know he is certain of how you will respond, "But I need to go,"

"So I'm just a one night stand, hmm?" He questions with mock offense but his showering of tired kisses across your collarbone said differently.

You roll your eyes and kiss the tip of his nose, pulling yourself with all your mental strength away from his touch. His eyes remained shut as he shuffled over to your side of the bed, hoping to collect some more of your scent from there. When you stand up to collect you discarded clothes from your previous evening and glance over to see Tom peering at you through slightly opened eyes.

"Thomas Stanley Holland!" You exclaim, "Are you looking?"

"Come on, darling, you know I saw it all last night," He smirks and the pride on his face makes you blush beyond belief, "But, I won't look,"

He rolls onto his back and tucks an arm underneath his head, averting his eyes to the ceiling.

"So, do you think Harrison is going to be okay?" You start, interested to see his reaction after last night.

"I'm scared he'll do something he's going to regret if I'm honest," Tom admits and you notice his deep sigh by the large rise of his chest.

"What do you mean?" You frown as you tug Tom's tshirt from last night over your body, welcoming it's loose fit over your skin.

"Harrison... can act without thinking sometimes. And he's not a bad person, but part of him is always willing to do bad things," Tom admits and all you want to do is go over to him and promise him that he wasn't going to lose his best friend. That all of this was temporary like all of their high society problems were meant to be.

Tom glances up to you and the smile that dances as a shadow on his lips is a clear response to your natural beauty in his view.

"Stop staring," You exclaim and he laughs at your inability to accept his excessive affection, "We're meant to be talking about Harrison,"

~~~Wednesday 30th January 2018~~~

"You got yourself involved in something you shouldn't have done," By Harrison's silence, the woman knows she's going to have to continue, "More specifically, you got yourself involved in a gang. They were willing to provide you with an escape from all of your domestic issues and you accepted completely. Tell me what happened after that,"

"They started off as just an escape. I just wanted to find any way of pretending this was only part of my life, and I wasn't surrounded by everything that I was losing," Harrison admits, head in his hands as he re-lives events he swore against ever considering again, "But then they started getting me involved in their business,"

"And what did you do, Harrison?"

The thought returning made him feel utterly sick.

~~~Friday 30th November 2018~~~

"Are you coming round tonight, mate?" Tom asks Harrison as he closes his locker door and turns to his friend.

Haz scratches at the back of his head, "Not tonight T, I've got plans,"

"What?" Tom laughs, "The boxing's on, we always watch the boxing together. You, me, Sam, Harry, Paddy," He pauses as he sees you walking up to them, "And this one's even joining us,"

"And I'm sure you'll have a great time," Harrison sighs, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder, "But, like I said, I've got stuff to do,"

He'd been weird like this for the past two weeks. Sometimes he'd just leave class to take a call from random numbers, or he'd just not turn up to school at all. There was always a lingering hint of alcohol and tobacco staining his pristine clothes and there was a certain 'on-edge' feeling to all of his movements.

"What was that all about?" You frown, walking up to Tom and welcoming the arm wrapping instantly around you.

"I don't know," He mumbles, his voice distant and clearly not focused on you, though he soon snaps away from it to look at you, "We should follow him,"

You pull away and look him in those heart-melting eyes, "You want to follow him?"

"I think he's in trouble," Tom comments aimlessly and soon he's tracing the invisible footprints of his friend, whether he had your approval or not.

~~~

The two of you follow Harrison all the way to the river where you notice him meet up with a group of people you were thankful you didn't know. They all held cigarettes and drink, Harrison included in only the drink, and their conversations made you feel a bit sick.

"Who are they?" You whisper to Tom from your cowering position behind the concrete wall.

By the stern expression tainting Tom's innocence, you could tell he knew exactly who they were. His hand gripped onto the wall a little more and drained a little more blood from his paling fingers. His pursed lips open to expose some information but it all stops at your next sight. One of the group who appeared to hold some authority over the rest pulled out the distinctive shadow of a gun from his pocket, it curved in his wounded hands like he knew every part of its body. And then it was in Harrison's. The way it seemed to weigh him down, the way he refused to look at it, the shudder down his back that he hoped he could hide; you knew it was all foreign to him.

It is like you can see the lump in Tom's throat that resonates in your own. You can see the way his hands would shake if they weren't so clenched against the wall.

"What are they going to make him do?" You ask quietly, though maybe it was better if you didn't get an answer to that question.

"I don't know," Tom responds, his words cold in this November chill, "But I have a pretty damn good idea,"

~~~Wednesday 30th January 2019~~~

"They were manipulating him, everybody was," Tom shakes his head, hands clasped on the desk in front of him, "He was desperate and he wanted to find somewhere where he felt like he could be somebody else. Where he didn't have to be the Osterfield son or Imogen's boyfriend,"

The woman opts to not respond this time, for what felt like the first time in forever. She knows Tom's continuance would probably give her more information.

"But those guys, that gang or whatever you want to call them," He continues, "They're bad people. I know they are. I knew it before and I know it now, they're willing to destroy people's lives,"

~~~Friday 30th November 2018~~~

You followed Harrison like stalkers, watching his every move and interaction. All the way to Imogen's house. With a gun.

He hid in the seclusion of her gardens, pulling a balaclava over his face and tugging the hood of the jacket those guys had given him over his head. The gun was pulled out of his pockets and you were sure that your heart stopped in that moment. What was he willing to do?

Tom lunged to go after him but it was too late as Harrison was already off. Starting his criminal steps towards the house like he would never return.

And you were sure you were about to be sick, the churning in your stomach like a ticking clock until he would walk back out of that house. If he ever did.

"We can't let him do this," Tom confirms after what felt like an eternity, "He's going to kill her,"

"Harrison doesn't have that in him, that's not like him," You assure him, feeling like it was the best thing you could say for now.

"He's going to kill her," Tom repeats and he was shaking now, slumping against the wall and certain that he was losing his mind.

"Tom," You cup your hand over his cheek, tugging him back to you, "He won't. We can't believe that he will because that's a worst case scenario,"

"Then what do we fucking do?" He raises his voice and you find yourself flinching away from him.

Before you can respond, Harrison comes charging out of the house, stumbling over his own feet and rounding the corner towards the alley where you and Tom were hiding.

Tom and you both stand up quickly and Harrison haults when he sees you.

"H what the fu-" Tom begins but Harrison simply grabs onto both of you and continues running.

It feels like you're running forever, feet pounding against concrete floors away from ths peering eyes of security cameras and the consistent policing of neighbours.

"This way!" Harrison yells and he hurries ahead through a tangling matrix of bushes, tripping over his feet but somehow faster than ever.

Tom grips your hand and pulls you through too and you find yourself in the back garden of Tom's house.

You can see them share a nostalgic thought and can't help but picture them taking that route every day when they were little, just two boys determined to play football when it was too cold outside.

But then it breaks. And Tom is full of a fury that he doesn't care to hide.

"Haz what the fuck do you think you're doing?" His voice rumbles as he grips at the material covering Harrison's chest, shoving him with full force, "What is that shitty mind of yours thinking?"

"Tom!" You exclaim, trying to break them apart.

Tom is quick to dismiss you, "H what are you getting yourself into? What have you done?"

Harrison can't respond, his eyes full of an utter fear that wouldn't be subsiding any time soon. It is then that he drops what he had been concealing this whole time, a velvet box falling to the grass beneath your feet.

[jujywrites]

WIP Challenge

I got tagged by @kikithedeceiver to do this!

Challenge: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

Here’s the thing. I don’t have many separate WIP files; most of them are in one huge doc. and most of the separate wip files are... pretty dead? but ok whatevs. under a read more since it’s long...... and my ego won’t let me skip snippets hjkhkhk thanks for the idea Kiki

From my main miscellaneous folder:

50 Grades of Steele. 1 and a half chaps of a role-flipped 50 Shades of Grey rewrite (i haven’t read the books so I extra don’t care about the characters lol). why do i still have it i’ve lost interest.... *side eyes her entire wip ecosystem* ...Then I see my interview subject, seated at her desk.

"Mr. Grey. I'm pleased to meet you."

And I stop breathing. [end CH1]

[open CH2) I forgot to mention something: I exaggerate occasionally. But I'm not now. I literally stop breathing for a few seconds. A thousand thoughts are racing through my mind, which doesn't help my chest stop seizing, but the main problem here is that Anastasia Steele is quite possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

Fanfic idea masterlist. my most active file and where I keep most of my WIPS, unless they get too “large”. Organized by fandom. lotta stuff i keep passing by & may as well be dead but don’t wanna delete. here’s a zero-draft snippet of probably the next chapter of my G-rated yukyoru fic collection

He grabbed a pillow and placed it to his chest, grabbed her arm, and yanked her to him, praying his idea would work.

Seconds passed and he didn't transform. He put his arms around her gingerly. Should he try to immobilize her or would that make it worse?

She made the decision for him. "Mom," she sobbed, clutching him with an iron grip. "N-Need to help...!"

His stomach dropped to his shoes.

Thudding footsteps announced Yuki's arrival. "What's wrong?! Honda-san--"

He didn't say "What did you do?" The thought raced by and Kyo said, "Grab a pillow and help me!"

As Yuki positioned the pillow and himself without having to ask, Kyo said, "She won't wake up. I don't know what to do!"

"Night terror," Yuki said tightly. He was too close but it almost didn't matter. "Not much you can do besides wait."

MayxWard BDSM fic agents of SHIELD. mix of notes and actual writing. kind of a half AU. Melinda climbed into the driver's side and buckled in, then started up the car. "If you've not ridden on the left before you might have motion sickness. It's normal. Just close your eyes until—" She paused as she looked at him; his hands shook so much he couldn't manage the seatbelt. "Here, let me."

"Thanks," he muttered with a sigh, looking rueful.

Modern AU Zelink. What it says on the tin~ Teenage-ish Zelink, with a mash of supporting characters from other games. another mix of notes and fic. Link wasn't sleeping tonight. Tonight was the night he'd been planning for and awaiting for weeks. He was going on a quest: the quest to meet Princess Zelda. 

She wasn't really a princess, of course. That was just her nickname. Zelda Nohansen was Hyrule's sweetheart, the most sought-after young actress in the movie business. And Link had fallen in love with her the first time he'd seen her, two years ago in a tiny theater in Kakariko.

PMMMfic homumado. Madoka Magica. AU, been around since about an hour after I finished the series (5 years yikes, still gotta watch Rebellion). Homura's time power still somewhat involved, but Mami's an adult, everyone's at a boarding school (I think?) where ~things aren't as they first seem~ and Madoka has mysterious powers and night terrors. just notes at the moment.

SoubixHitomi.  Loveless. 3 unfinished/dead first-person Shinonome-senseixSoubi snippets, all of ‘em spicy.

yvy abo. Yuri On Ice. Yuri (Katsuki!!)/Victor/Yuko(!!?!), my attempt at. well. omegaverse(!!!!!!!). orignally started as part of a “bad YOI fic” bigbang and now I’m taking it seriously dgdgfg. Alpha Yuko. “Please, please stop,” she whispered, like saying it aloud would make any difference. But the pressure in her head kept building. Her limbs had begun to itch restlessly.

And Victor wouldn’t let go of her hand.

With the last scrap of her control, she straddled him quickly and kissed him awake.

Even in half-sleep he arched to meet her, and when he opened his eyes sapphire blue had already turned stormy with lust.

yvy canonfuturefic. Yuko-focused following of canon, or: how canon can I keep YOI while still rareship OT3ing it. She and Yuri fall in and out of love, in between falling for Victor. Victuri is still my life I swear   

“You have got to watch this,” she tells Yuri. She watches Yuri’s face instead of the video, having seen it at least forty times by now.

Yuri’s eyes transform into beacons of awe, and Yuko swallows around her rapid heartbeat, breaths coming too short. She sees everything she’s feeling and more on his face. She remembers that she loves him, that he’s real and here and more important than the beautiful boy on her phone who’s trying to pull her under to a scary new world.

ZnT ot3 bdsm AU. Zankyou no Terror, 9/12/Lisa. mix of notes and fic, not just PWP. in heavy need of editing bc a lot was inspired by a non-spicy book.

“But it’s not just me. It’s everyone. You need everyone because you have no idea how to need yourself. Or even how to be yourself.”

“You’re wrong.” The force and volume of her voice shocked her and pushed her onward. “You and Touji. I don’t need anyone except you and Touji! Because you both taught me how to be myself-- no, how to find that on my own. I know exactly who I am, and that me isn’t complete without both of you!” She could feel the tears streaming down her face, yet somehow her voice didn’t waver. She felt so full of conviction she could burst into flames. “Don’t you understand, Arata? We’re all meant to be together.”

From my SnK folder:

Cave of the Crystal Maiden (working title). Aruani. Modern AU. MMORPG shenanigans with a dollop of magical realism/supernatural. Just notes. @portraitofa-girl suggested “meeting online” and it’s been there literally for years oh lord im sorry. no fic yet, just notes.

Falling Anthem (working title) Modern AU Levihan, art student Hange and young professor Levi. just notes. fic one in a planned series. also has been years ;_;

Raindrops and Soft Steps. Jearmin. unsurprisingly, modern AU. One morning, when Jean looks out of his bedroom window, he sees a boy dancing across the street. In the street, to be exact. There wouldn't be anything unusual about that, Jean supposes, except it's raining cats and dogs outside.

In my IAMXfic folder (fff i almost skipped this):

2ndPOVCalberto (DO NOT CORRUPT WITH HET) ChrisxAlberto? not much to say?? yes i know they’re real people??? which applies to everything after this oh my god *crawls under desk* Of course she knows; she is annoyingly perceptive when it comes to romance. The only thing preventing you from asking her (like a fucking lovestruck teenager) if Alberto likes you back is emptying that beer bottle. By then the only thing on your mind is ordering another.

CalbertImmi. i can’t even keep my poly shit outta RPF ahaha omhg Imogen has a conversation with her lover's lover. (AlbertImmi, sequel to...) Imogen finds herself in an unenviable position. (emerging CalbertImmi)

Alternate summaries (CC POV, first fic?): Chris loves two people. He doesn't want to choose. Chris has fallen in love a few times in his life. But he's never fallen for two people at once. (Chris also isn't good at choosing.)

ChrisxJ. several self-insert fics bc CC is just that powerful, apparently. haven’t looked at the file in a long time,,,,,

He started calling people to the stage with him, and one by one, my row emptied.

"Come on, yeah, come on," he was saying, waving his hand in an inviting gesture and grinning like a little kid. "Hey, you want to?" I did a double take.

"Me?" I mouthed, pointing at myself just to be sure. He nodded, smiling wider.

So it was that I walked unsteadily down the ramp and waited in line, feeling like I didn’t belong there. Soon I was next in line. What would I say? What would I do? I was sure if I opened my mouth I’d either burst into tears or faint.

Genderswapped IAMX sci-fi. The sci-fi was inspired by a word prompt, genderswapping by my own brain. (play spot the Immi lmao) Across the aisle, Sam rolled his eyes. “Leave Chris alone; she’s nervous.”

“And put on your own seatbelt, Johann,” shouted Jess, two seats back and in Sam’s aisle.

Patrick turned  to look at Chris. “Subspace travel is a bitch,” he said simply, and turned back to his book.

“Oh, I feel much less nervous now,” Chris said with a sardonic grin. “How do you know that, anyway?”

"I'm not exactly what I seem to be." He didn’t look up.

Chriimmi (While I Was Gone inspired). Chris/Imogen, inspired by scenes from Sue Miller’s While I Was Gone.

"You really ought not to do that, you know," he said softly.

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me."

My eyes slid from his face. "I didn't mean to. It just... happened."

"Mm." I glanced back at him; he wore a lopsided smile. "Not that I minded." The tension was so strong the air nearly vibrated with it, yet I held my tongue, terrified that I was the only one feeling it. He took a breath, deep, nearly rising on his toes. "No. I didn't mind at all." He took my hand, circled his thumb over the back. My breath caught as I felt it, as I watched him looking down at our hands.

Chriimmi bathtub dream. dream inspired Chris/Immi smut.

Chriimmi twitter. twitfic plus some, inspired from an actual tweet iamx made that i’m still not over. 

@ imogenheap Come sing your lovely lyrics with us in London. @ IAMX misses you. CCx

ChrisxImmi main. grab bag of Chriimmi I was too lazy to put into separate docs.

“What do you think?” She grinned, twirling.

He cleared his throat. “Ah, I-Imogen, what are you wearing?”

“Well, I didn’t want to clash with your theme…  Janine helped me. Does it work?”

Scandalously short skirt, midriff-baring top, knee-high boots.

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you? You’re trying to fucking kill me.”

Her grin only widened, even though a blush had started.

Fic edit chriimmi ver. yeah. editing someone else’s original fic to be chrimmi. either never posting or editing the frick out of. ~_~

He kissed her neck, whispered into it, “I love you.”

Imogen laughed. “Bollocks,” she said lazily.

”I do!” Chris protested. She looked down at him, nestled on her shoulder. He looked back, open, a little adoring. “I fell in love with you halfway through the show; I sang every note just for you.”

”Oh, please. You couldn’t have seen me.”

”No,” he said. “But I knew you were out there… I knew it had been you the minute I saw you backstage.”

Hospital Chriimmi. In which my guilty feeling over RPF are even worse bc of the inspiration ^_^U “Ms. Heap. What a pleasant surprise.” It’s surprising, how well she remembers his voice.

“Mr. Corner, what have you got yourself into?”

“Oh, just a bit of lingering insomnia. You know how it is.”

She takes a seat in the chair near his bed, crossing her legs. “Well, I’ve certainly had a sleepless night here and there, but I’ve never ended up in hospital from it. So no, I don’t suppose I do know.” Her tone is light, but her smile has begun to crack.

ImmixChris genderbend smut. the my secret friend video is... fertile material. have not actually written the smut yet.

...he saw us as characters– we put on those clothes and become separate from ourselves, removed. Whereas I simply felt like myself in men’s clothes, and instead of feeling what He felt for Her, I just kept right on feeling what I felt for Chris, amplified to a distracting level.

ReluctantdommeImmixSubCC. ...shrug emoji? notes and uh. visualizing.

Vampire Chriimmi. based on a dream. smutty. inspired by True Blood so wow that’s old.

From my Markipairings folder:

demon dream. markiplier self insert...... ughhhhhhhh o///o

"You can have me," I tell the creature. "But this one," I jerk my head toward Mark, "comes with me. He's mine, you see." A bold proclamation to make, but in the moment I know that the truth in those words surpasses everything I've ever said. He is mine, and saying the thought out loud fills me with courage. He squeezes my hand, two short and a long one so strong I think he might break it.

I know we’ll win.

DommeJujY. same as above, same as the next four. smutty.

Fight team AU. i forget where i got this one from. vaguely inspired by loveless i guess.  The first clear thought I had was, He shouldn't have gone ahead of me. The second one was, I should have been able to protect him. But these came later, after the rage went away, after I hugged him and apologized, after I bandaged him…

Gaming meetcute. i win some contest or whatever to secretly tagteam w/ Mark. stuff happens and yeah......

The adrenaline surges through my veins as I take in the scene. Mark's avatar is flailing around, backed into a corner by some Eldritch Abomination and holy shit, the graphics in this game are amazing.

"This is not good, I can't move, I can't move…"

There's a voice in the back of my head screaming to shut the game down, to get that horrible thing off the screen. I ignore it.

Markinpanties. .......smut.

shifter-slight sci-fi AU. shrug emoji.

I looked up from the ground and saw I was heading straight for a brick wall. There was no time to slow down. I braced for impact...

It didn't happen. I opened my eyes and found myself in a café.

What.

Looking behind me, I saw a door. On impulse I walked over and opened it; the tree-lined street I could see through the glass was indeed there. No brick wall to smack my face into. Bewildered, I turned around and looked for a seat, choosing one near a window.

Gouldiplier~. master doc of ficbits of my cracky mccrackship, MarkiplierxEllie Goulding.

I check my phone during break time again. My selfie has been liked and retweeted thousands of times, and I shake my head in disbelief; I don't think that will ever stop surprising me, deep down. To make things even better, Mark's liked it! I'm in the middle of a happy jig when I realize there's a text from him and a squeak of joy slips from me.

hellooo gorgeous

looks like you're having fun. Hope the shoot's going great! <3

I quickly send a reply. it has been. Be glad when it's done tho. Missin u lots xo

Markipicbunnies. fanart of Mark for Gouldiplier insipration. photographer au. 

"Ms. Goulding, I'm really not sure about this…"

"I produce pictures that are intimate because I'm an intimate being, Mark." Ellie looked at him directly, a hint of a smile shaping her lips. "Deep down, I think you are too. We just need to draw you out a bit."

showersexgouldiplier. WELP. IT’S SMUT.

Also I have folders for my 2010/11 nanowrimo novel that are kinda still WIPs but also kinda not

i’m gonna tag.... @kippielovesyou @kiridork and @mistergrass and anyone else who wants to do this can too :3

[oddseoks]

tagged by the awesome swag lord @jungchook  ♡ ♡ ♡

a. - age: 17 b. - biggest fear: small spaces, spiders, being broken into while I’m home (heh that last one sounds weird but I think about it waay too much) c. current time: 4 pm d. drink you last had: milo e. everyday starts with: questioning my life decisions and praying to the true rap god Min Yoongi f. favourite song: atm, back 2 u by NCT 127 g. ghosts, are they real: I was told as a child that if you say you don't believe they’ll haunt you... o.o h. hometown: QLD, Australia i. in love with: a certain rapping swag lord j. jealous of: people who dress well k. killed someone: only with my killer looks! jks jks nope. l. last time you cried: like an hour ago? I thought my dog had run away :’(   m. middle name: imogen (yes, lame) n. number of siblings: 1 o. one wish: i got along better with my mum p. person i last called/texted: my dad q. question you’re always asked: “what grade are you in” :| they always assume a grade or two below ... I just love looking my age r. reason to smile: friends, family, my dog, bts s. song last sang: Bread fish (it’s really catchy ok?) t. time you woke up: hehe... I didn’t go to sleep. I mean who doesn’t spend the night with friends doing stupid stuff and then playing in the gutter water watching the sun rise...  u. underwear colour: dark blue  v. vacation destination: anywhere outside of Australia  w. worst habit: picking my nails when I get nervous x. x-rays you’ve had: ummm... chest?  y. your favourite food: stir fry, pasta, ice cream and mushrooms z. zodiac: taurus

tagging: @i-am-your-angel-i-am-your-dope @knv @strawberryseok @yoongity @yugyeim @minmin-ah

[lakesandquarries]

Great White Gravity - Chapter Two

Pairings: taako/kravitz, taako & angus mcdonald Characters: taako, kravitz, angus mcdonald Other Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, sazed sucks, ango and his 2 dads, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, sad boys Warnings: sazed, ptsd,  Summary: In the aftermath of the goblet, Taako tries to deal. Other Notes: hella spoilery. title from “lifeline” by imogen heap shoutout to @juicywizards for their amazing fanart!!

AO3

In the morning, Taako remembers why he never shares a bed with anyone.

For one thing, it inevitably ends with someone on the floor. He wakes up with his face pushed against the carpet, fibers probably being absorbed into his face. He does not have enough cleanser for this. Sighing, he pushes himself up, cringing at the feeling of lint clinging to his face.

Ugh.

Angus, meanwhile, is curled up in Taako’s bed. Taako’s big, beautiful, soft bed. He's even cuddling with Taako's sleep sack.

Whatever. It's not like he needs any more sleep. He stands, stretching his limbs and wincing at the series of cracks and pops. He takes a moment to glance in his mirror, trying to brush the carpet bits off his face, making sure his hair looks decent, adjusting his lacy pink nightgown.

He leaves Angus. Kids need sleep, right? Probably.

As he walks into the living room, Magnus waves. “Yo,” he calls. “You sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Taako says. It's only a half lie, really.

“Then why did I hear the door open at like, four am?”

….fuck.

“Uh,” Taako says, twisting one of his rings. “Look, Magnus -”

“You don't have to lie,” Magnus says. “I get it. Nightmares, right?”

“...maybe,” Taako admits.

Magnus stands and walks over to Taako. Elves are supposed to be taller than humans, but Magnus is tall and Taako's short, and Magnus is almost exactly a head taller than him.

Magnus holds his arms out, a wordless offering, but Taako makes a show of rolling his eyes and huffing before he accepts the hug. Magnus is good at hugs. He's like a dog, almost, big and soft and sometimes a little scary looking until you realize all he wants is to be friends. Taako lets Magnus envelop him, leaning all his weight on the human until Magnus is basically holding him up.

It's...nice. He'd never admit it out loud, of course, but there's something nice about letting someone else hold him. He lets himself zone out, shutting his eyes.

He wakes up two hours later, on the couch, Magnus still holding him.

“Heyyy,” Magnus says, patting Taako's hair. “You fell asleep hugging me.”

“I'm dead,” Taako says. “This is the worst thing to ever happen to me.”

Magnus pets his hair. Taako longs for death’s sweet embrace.

….speaking of. He sits up quickly, nearly falling off the couch. There’s a half-formed idea in the back of his head, working its way to actual thought.

Kravitz is dead. Therefore, if Taako fed him poisoned food, he’d be totally fine. And Taako could spin it as a romantic date, instead of him being a fucked up mess.

It’s perfect. A grin makes its way onto his face, and Magnus looks at him.

“Taako? You okay there bud?”

“Peachy,” Taako says. “I just had the best idea.”

“You wanna share, or…?”

“Nope!” Taako shouts, shoving himself off of Magnus and rushing to his room. He ignores Angus, still asleep on the bed, and digs through the pockets of his cape.

“Where is it, where is it…” he mutters, wishing he kept his pockets neater. Finally, underneath three candy wrappers and a ring, he finds what he’s looking for - his Stone of Farspeech. He glances at Angus before he calls Kravitz.

“Yo, Kravitz, my dude, you there?” Not his best opening, but whatever. He can work with it.

“Taako?” Kravitz asks.

“Got it in one. I was wonderin’ if you’d maybe like to….Come stop by? Hang out?”

Kravitz is silent on the other end.

Shit, Taako thinks. Shit, shit shit.

“Is this for business, or for pleasure?” Kravitz asks.

Taako grins. “Pleasure,” he tells Kravitz, voice smooth and with no trace of the panic he was feeling just a few seconds ago.

Kravitz makes a noise. Taako’s not entirely sure what it means - confusion, maybe? But he continues on. “I was thinking, our last….Meeting ended kinda abruptly, right? So maybe you could do you little rift thing again, come over at….well, time’s a little weird up on the moonbase, but let’s say in six hours?”

“Oh,” Kravitz says. “I would…” He mumbles something about jobs he has, and Taako can hear him flip through some papers and write something down, and finally Kravitz speaks again. “I can’t get there for nine hours,” he says, sounding genuinely sorry. “Would that be alright?”

“Yeah, that’d work,” Taako says, trying his best to sound like he doesn’t even care if Kravitz takes nine hours or three or two days. Gotta be cool.

“So. It’s a date, then?” Kravitz asks.

“It’s a date. Wear something nice,” Taako says, and Kravitz snorts.

“I’ll see you then, Taako.” Kravitz ends the call.

Nine hours. He can definitely be ready by then. He just has to get everyone of the suite, take a long shower, make sure he looks perfect, and cook an entire meal.

He can do this.

“Sir?”

Oh, fuck.

“Who was that?” Angus asks, tilting his head at Taako.

“How much did you hear?” Taako asks in response.

“Are you really going on a date, sir?” he asks, with a face that can only be described as “delighted”.

“Hells yeah,” Taako says, grinning at Angus.

“Who’s it with? Do I know them? Are they nice? Are they part of the Bureau? Are they -”

“Woah, woah, Ango, slow down. You don’t know him, he’s cool, and he’s not part of the Bureau.”

Angus frowns. “But if he’s not part of the Bureau, why’re you inviting him here? How are you inviting him? The Director won’t be happy, if she finds out.”

“Um,” Taako says. “Well, uh….He’s aware of the Bureau? It’s complicated, don’t worry yourself about it.”

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna tell me,” Angus says. “What’s his name?”

“I’ll tell you his name but you gotta promise not to tell anyone else. Okay?”

Angus nods, rolling his eyes.

“His name is Kravitz. And no one can know about that, okay?”

“Okay, okay. Can I meet him?”

“Maybe some other day.” Probably never.

“Okay!” Angus says, still looking delighted. Taako grins at him.

“Now, you gotta go back to your room, cause I need to prepare.” He makes a motion to push Angus and the boy nods, scurrying off the bed. He glances back at Taako, hand on the doorknob.

“Thanks, Sir,” he says quietly, a tentative smile on his face. Taako’s about to say something snarky, but he stops himself.

“Anytime, Ango,” he says, and Angus nods at him before slipping out of the room.

----

As it turns out, nine hours is just enough time. Taako takes an hour long bath, first, then takes another half hour just to dry off and fix his hair, and then it’s two hours to get dressed and do makeup, leaving him with five and a half hours to cook and get Magnus and Merle out of the suite.

Which, speaking of, he has an idea.

“Angus!” he says as he turns his Stone to Angus’s channel. “Ango, I need your help!”

“What do you need?” Angus says a moment later, sounding slightly out of breath.

“I need you to get Mags and Merle out of the suite.”

“I can do that, Sir!” Angus says cheerfully. “I’m great at distracting people. It’s an important part of being a detective! How long, and when?”

“As long as you can. I won’t need you to for another couple of hours, but I’m gonna need them gone. Can’t have those bozos screwing up my date.”

Taako can practically hear Angus nod. “Okay! Call me when you need me!” he says, and then, almost as an afterthought, he adds, “I love you!” and hangs up.

Fuck him, Taako might think he loves the kid back. He quickly takes his feelings and pushes them as far down as possible. Fuck that shit.

This is no time for feelings. It’s time for cooking.

He shoos Merle and Magnus out of the kitchen, quite literally, and makes a frankly unreasonable amount of food. Some of it is the kind of simple shit he makes Merle and Magnus all the time, which he nearly throws at them. While they’re eating round one he makes a quick call to Angus, telling him to do his thing

“You’re in a mood,” Merle comments as a sandwich nearly hits him in the face.

“Hello, Sirs!” Angus says as he opens to door to the suite.

“Oh god,” Merle says. “Who invited him?”

Angus’s shoulders slump. “I just wanted to ask you guys for some help…” he says quietly.

“What d’you need, Ango?” Magnus asks, ruffling the boys hair. Angus grins at Taako, and Taako gives him a thumBs up before vanishing back into the kitchen.

“I wanted to ask if you and Merle would….train me, maybe?” He whispers the last part, still loud enough that Taako can hear, continuing with, “I know Taako already is but he can only train me in magic and I wanna learn other stuff too!”

“Ugh,” Merle complains.

“Shush,” Magnus says. “Of course, Angus! Wanna go to the icosagon?”

“Yes!” Angus says, and Taako doesn’t have to look to know there’s stars in Angus’s eyes. He listens to Merle make a few more half-assed protests before the sound of the door closing and then blissful silence.

The silence lasts about ten seconds, immediately replaced by the sound of cooking and Taako’s loud, off-key singing.

He goes for something kinda simple. Pasta.

From scratch.

So, okay, not that simple. He’s got the dough ready when he realizes he has no way to flatten it into actual noodle shapes. He takes a deep breath.

Okay. He just has to reshape them with magic. It’s not even transmutation magic. He can do this.

It takes him twenty minutes to reshape the dough into noodles.

He leaves the noodles for now, letting them sit, and getting started on his sauce. Just a simple marinara tonight.

He can do this, he reminds himself, shutting his eyes and transmuting a cut in half tomato into a whole tomato.

Everything will be fine.

It’s incredible how much someone can cook in three hours. By the time all the food is ready, he has half an hour to set the table, which he manages in fifteen minutes, leaving him with just enough time to have a panic attack.

What if it tastes awful? What if he someone manages to kill an already dead man? What if Kravitz realizes how stupid and awful and pathetic he is?

Stop, he thinks. He can’t start crying now, he’ll ruin his makeup and he absolutely does not have the time to redo it all. He takes a deep breath, then another, than a third, until he’s breathing like a normal person again.

He’s fine. It’s fine. Everything. Is. Fine.

….probably.