#//so unless someone else was willing to be flexible this is probably gonna be something i mainly do with myself lmao

[troublewithvampires]

//fuck it. yeah. tentatively open to plotting for teen salvatore (15-18). as a note, these plotlines would be taking place in the early-mid 1960s, so if that's important at all, please keep that in mind!

for simplicity's sake, i'll only open this up for *after* the point in time that sal starts using the name salvatore, rather than going by the name seamus.

so. slap that ❤️ i suppose and i'll reach out!

[azulock]

hi can you please do sae, karasu, and isagi nsfw hcs?

Listen, you could consider what I wrote Isagi slander, but I know there are a bunch of people out there who'd be into it. Like, dude seems too average to actually be normal. "Oh my type is someone with a nice laugh and beautiful smile", suuuure, go off you sword art online looking motherfucker.

Karasu Tabito

⟳ Looks like a dom, is probably a switch - but ends up not having a lot of luck in finding a chance to be a sub. So if you can do it, I bet he'd love to be bossed around a little, so he can let go for a bit. Would probably like to be edged and have you control when you get he can cum.

⟳ As a dom, though, he can be a bit mean, likes teasing you and bossing you around. Will probably love edging you too, only letting you orgasm when he has you whimpering, crying and begging him to. Probably not very much into brats, prefers a sub who is eager to please.

⟳ As per the egotist bible, he has a voice kink (this manga continues to be strangely horny). Probably gets excited if you send him audios, you could be talking about anything, doesn't matter, he really can't help it. Obviously, he likes to hear your voice when you are fucking, so if you aren't one to talk he will make you talk. He is gonna talk to you, ask you things, and demand an answer.

⟳ For that same reason he prefers giving oral rather than receiving. When he is receiving he can't really hear you, so he is cut off from one of the things he finds the hottest. But on the other hand, he will love to spend a lifetime between your legs just to hear all the sounds you can make. He is very good at it too, but he will take the edging to almost a torture, only letting you cum when you are crying and begging.

⟳ Not against bondage or ropes but not big on them either, he is far more into seeing you struggle to keep yourself restrained when he tells you to. He's gonna tell you to keep your hands behind your back and you gonna have to do it or else he stops. Gonna tell you to keep your legs still and you gonna have to do it, or else you are getting edged for longer - call it an exercise in self control.

⟳ He likes people watching so he prefers fucking you either in front of a mirror or while facing you. He wants to see your every reaction, as well as hearing them. Be it missionary or mating press, he won't take his eyes off of you. Loves fucking in front of the mirror, even if he has you sitting on his lap and facing him, cause that way he can see both angles.

⟳ Dick is long but not really thick, curved upwards nicely, and not really veiny, just a couple thicker veins showing. He is shaved clean, and definetly a shower.

Itoshi Sae

⟳ This guy took a quick liking to Shidou, so those dead eyes are def hiding something. Maybe not the highest sex drive of all, he is pretty controlled, but for sure kinky - and mean. Also seems like the kind of guy to be into someone who'd already be kinky by themselves, no time to be teaching.

⟳ A mean dom, of sorts, he is fair always, but isn't afraid to punish someone. Will reward you if you please him, he isn't one to change his word just to amuse himself, if you obey he will give what he promised. Though, if you behave like a brat, you get treated like one. The punishment is always fitting to the transgression, can tolerate mistakes and mishaps, but not willful misbehavior.

⟳ Not really vocal, mostly silent actually. Will start grunting and groaning when he gets closer to orgasm but really he is mostly quiet. Sure, that is aside from satisfied hums when you behave and disappointed huffs when you don't. Also he's really hard to read unless he is close to cumming.

⟳ Tailors what he is gonna do with you depending on what you like and how well you behave, he is pretty flexible on that. Likes to tease you by using the things you like most as a carrot on a stick type of deal - you get it if you behave, you don't of you misbehave. Not fast and easy with praises but he has no problems in praising someone when they earn it.

⟳ Very much into hair pulling, gagging and having you ride him. Prefers receiving oral to giving - will make you swallow. Likes choking, not even necessarily hard enough to restrict airflow, just really likes the possessiveness of having his hand around your throat.

⟳ Not much above average in length, but thick enough to leave you felling full. He is veiny, curved upwards and has a small head, which makes it look bigger. Not shaved, but trimmed.

Isagi Yoichi

⟳ Perv. Have you ever seen someone who looked too normal, almost bland, like a piece of bread, not bad but not noticeable, tho you felt there was something deeply off with them? It's him. He is too normal, which of course hides something not normal. (Alexa, play Creep by Radiohead)

⟳ The underwear stealer type of perv. Actually, any of your clothes within range of his hands is not safe. The jerking off in the bathroom while he can hear you talk in the other room type of perv. The watching his neighbor through the window with binoculars type of perv. He gets horny and his morals suddenly take a nosedive.

⟳ Not a dom, not a sub, just a desperate pervert. If you pull up with the attitude to whip him into place he will gladly lick the floor you walk on, will cum in his pants while you pull him on a leash. He is gonna be eager to please, if anything a bit too eager, kinda like a dog in a rut.

⟳ Now, if you let him be in charge, well, he is still a dog in a rut - just as eager to please but not good at controlling himself. It's not all bad, he is a pleasure dom, sort of. He wants you to feel good, very much so, and while he is still fucking you, he will continue working to bring you to an orgasm. Even if you've orgasmed already like four or five times before.

⟳ Both vocal and loud, grunting, groaning, moaning, talking, whatever. He tries not to be loud but loses the notion of how loud he is halfway through. I say either shut him up or live in a house, else the noise complaint is coming. Though, sometimes he will grow silent, but that's cause he wants to listen to the noises your bodies make while you fuck.

⟳ Underwear sniffer, if you are dating he is gonna steal one - probably more - of your panties for when he has to travel. Gotta be used. And he has a preference, generally goes for whatever you find more comfortable - cause then it's seen more use. Also if he ever calls you during a trip there is the very real chance he is jerking off while on call.

⟳ His favorite position is gonna be whichever has your bodies the closest, he actually likes the feeling of you both sweating while fucking. Has no qualms about licking and sucking in your skin when you are like that. As a dom he loves positions that leave you open and vulnerable to him - may have a bit of an intox kink, kinda into dubcon.

⟳ His dick is average, nothing to write home about, not bad but not exceptional. It has a nice curve upwards tho, that gives it a bit more of a kick, he isn't veiny, mostly pretty smooth, it's not bad. He tens to just be trimmed, but would fully shave if asked to do it.

Nonnie, whoever you are, whevere you are, I hope you liked this. Cause you managed to ask for two characters I have a hard time getting into (Isagi and Sae) and I did my very best. Actually, I like Sae a lot more now, so thank you for that one.

[glowingbadger]

FE3H misc. spicy HCs

I did a handful of general spicy headcanons for some of my FE3H favs a while back as a break from an ongoing fic I was working on, so I figured I'd post that over here too. Linhardt, Felix, Lorenz, Seteth, Jeritza

x gender neutral reader

18+ NSFW v

Linhardt:

Not a very high sex drive, but when the mood strikes it's fierce- though even if you're together for years you might not be able to tell he's horny until the moment he says something blunt and unabashedly lewd about wanting you immediately.  He’s very comfortable initiating.

Usually a bottom, as you'd imagine, but a power bottom of sorts; he feels completely at ease communicating exactly what he wants, what feels good, etc, and loves to be able to watch your body move above him.

Will learn your every single weakness, turn-on and sensitive spot and utilize them mercilessly.  He's absolutely fascinated by the minutiae of pleasuring you, mentally noting even small changes in your breathing or tone of voice.

Not very experienced to start, but a very fast learner

While not outlandishly kinky, he's open minded, and willing to try just about anything once- provided it's not too strenuous

Can become entranced and even aroused by seemingly odd, innocuous things- it's not unusual for him to catch an interesting color in your eyes, or a quirk in how you walk or move your hands when you talk, and find himself needing to express his affection for you directly

Very good with his hands, and very invested in foreplay; he becomes so enamoured with the subtle pleasures of touching and tasting you that it may be agonizingly long before it occurs to him to actually seek out his own climax.  He’s gentle in a way that’s almost unbearable, all making him something of an unintentional tease.

Felix:

Somewhat high sex drive, once he's with someone he's comfortable with- he's kept himself from intimacy for so long that he's a starved man with someone he actually likes

By the same token, he's not likely to come out and say when he's turned on. Fortunately for you, he's also not good at hiding it, becoming unusually handsy and a bit territorial with you when his physical needs arise.

Not very vocal during sex, but what moans he actually let’s himself make are raw, desperate and lustful.  Similarly, he’s not much one for dirty talk, since he’s generally focused entirely on the physical sensations, but you might catch him muttering “yes” or “mine” against your neck.

He secretly loves it when you tease him, but loves it even more when you're too dizzy with pleasure to speak clearly enough to give him sass.  He loves watching your expressions, always aiming for that post-coital dazed and over-fucked smile.

Sex is generally energetic and passionate, sometimes even a bit competitive; you may try to see who can resist cumming for longer, or wrestle to see who ends up topping.

He likes marking you with hickies, scratches, etc.  While not outwardly possessive, he does like to know that you're his (and vice versa)

He's surprisingly weak to compliments and praise, especially if it feels sincere.  Bonus points for moaning his name, or picking up on small details of what he enjoys and so on.  Basically anything that makes it abundantly clear that it's him that you want to be with and that he makes you feel incredible.

Even he is caught off-guard by how much it turns him on to see his partner being strong in any sense- strong willed, physically strong, anything that impresses him about his SO is also likely to deeply arouse him.  It’s especially gratifying to be on top of such a strong person and make them dazed and spaced-out with pleasure.

Lorenz:

An average sex drive, but he'll restrain himself for fear of propriety for ages before initiating anything more scandalous than kissing.

By that token, he’s extremely fun to tease, conspicuously blushing and stuttering over even light touches or a brief kiss on his neck.  In truth, he gets a real thrill out of this, but only admits this to you after a particularly brazen incident where you steal him away in an empty corridor for some heavy kissing and rubbing him from atop his clothing, then free him to go about his business for the day completely wound up and frazzled.

Certainly the type to “make love” rather than fuck, unless he were with someone for long enough that they would request something more rough from him, and he trusted that they would instruct him.

Adores spoiling his lover; scented oils, massages, long hot baths, the works.  Your pleasure is his foremost priority.  As such, he takes instruction very well- more than happy to do exactly as you say and revelling in any moans or words of encouragement he can earn from you.

He finds it ungentlemanly to be on the bottom and “make you do all the work” unless you really insist.  Generally, he’s more of a service top.

Loves giving his partner oral and could easily keep at it until you need him to make love to you.  Your taste, touching your lower body, the sounds you make- he’s absolutely intoxicated by every part of going down on you.

Somewhat surprisingly, he’s more than happy to indulge in dirty talk, but less surprisingly, it tends to be deeply poetic and romantic.  That being said, he’s more than happy to hear you utter any sort of filthy words he may inspire in you, as it means he’s performing well.

Seteth:

This is probably showing my favoritism, but my personal very headcanon-y headcanon is that Nabatean men are better endowed, have greater stamina and “fecundity,” and so on compared to humans, given being like near-godlike themselves (at least at full power) and since, even before the massacre, there didn’t seem to be many of them overall, so greater fertility would be a valued trait.  But really this just comes down to me being hot for Seteth, okay?  Just let me have this.

He’s fairly sexually flexible, given how long he’s been around, but it will take a long while before he’s ready to let himself express his (predictably pent up and frustrated) desires for you openly.

Once the physical part of the relationship has started to open up, however, he’s intense, focused, and thorough.  He wants to touch every part of you, hold you as close as he can, and satisfy you utterly and completely.

A big post-sex cuddler, as he’s got strong protective instincts and wants you close and safe.  Even more so if the sex got really rough and you’re both coming down from that high.

While there’s certainly a bit of a “repressed beast” situation in regards to his libido, he’ll generally let his partner take the lead in suggesting kinks or experimentations.

He’s a Switch and enjoys power play- either pinning you down and verbally dominating you, or begging to be tied up and used.  It never gets overly violent, but the psychological element of a sub-dom relationship plays into his authoritative personality.

He has a strict “no physical contact during work hours” policy, but if you catch him working late into the night once everyone else is gone, you may become very familiar with the surface of his desk.

Jeritza:

Similar to Felix, his sex drive can be pretty high, but only after the long and difficult process of getting him to actually open up to someone.  Once he’s come around to actually liking a person, however, he’s deeply enamoured with their body.

An odd mixture of sweet and intense- catching you in deep, erotic kisses, but also more than happy to fuck you into the mattress or against a wall.

He loves to affect your body in any way he can.  He wants to know how much he turns you on, hear your moans, feel your body tense and your nails along his back and through his hair.  Overall, he responds very well to an active and expressive lover who will show him exactly how much they want him.

You’re gonna have to find a way of coping with the Death Knight, unfortunately.  This is why Jeritza is actually not as “violent” as you may expect in bed, as that can trigger a personality lapse, and the Death Knight is absolutely a fighter and not a lover.

Can actually be pretty damn kinky, even initiating some new things that you may not have expected.  That said, he refuses to tie you up, for fear of slipping up and hurting you.  He’s perfectly alright with being tied up, though he remarks that it’s fairly silly, given he could easily break out.  In fact, breaking out of restraints might become part of the kink itself.

Pretty big into food play- he definitely wants to lick up ice cream or syrup off of your body, and will absolutely lose himself in the sensory experience of it all.

After a battle, he especially craves intimacy, as being raw and passionate with another person who he somehow cares for tethers him to feeling “alive” and being Jeritza, rather than the childlike Emile of his past, or the bloodthirsty Death Knight in his psyche.

[ambivalent-anarchy]

You've Got Moves

Masterlist

Part 2

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warning: None

Summary- [Y/N] asks Peter to do some TikTok dances with her.

Bonus: Clueless Peter. FLUFFF. Also guy best friends are the best best friends to have lol

If you need a description for Asher, just think whatever your idea of a really hot guy is lol.

A/N- this is a repost because the first one was blocked from tags due to tiktok being weird about links😬

---------------------------------------

"Oh my gosh bitch, just ask him."

Your best friend Asher glared at you with pure impatience in his eyes. You'd been going on about this in every gym class for literal weeks.

"Oh my God, doesn't that guy over there have such a classic 'tiktok guy' face?"

"Ooh, look he's flexible! He's probably a really good dancer too."

"You think he'd do a tiktok with me? Nah, that's dumb."

"I bet he's a tiktoker and I just haven't found his page yet."

It drove him crazy. He didn't know whether you had a crush on this guy or if you really were just that obsessed with tiktok to the point where you were finding random people who looked good to do them with, but at this point he didn't care. He just really wanted to stop having conversations every day that ended with him staring at some guy and wondering if he could throw it back.

You watched the boy in question occasionally. You'd practically studied his physique, his face, his little ticks. Everything. But you didn't even know his name. All you knew was:

You definitely wanted to do a tiktok with him.

"Nah, Ash. He's probably gonna think I'm weird. I mean, who just goes up to someone and says 'yo you wanna do a tiktok with me?"

Asher facepalmed and groaned. "Literally anybody that wants to do a tiktok with someone else, [Y/N]." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he ruffled your hair with his hand. "C'mon, stop being a wimp and go ask the guy. Cuz if you don't, and I have to keep hearing you going on about his 'classic tiktok boy look', I'm seriously gonna jump off a cliff."

"Fuck you," you snickered with a smile.

Asher gave you a smirk. "You wish."

"Ewww," you groaned. Rolling your eyes, you looked back to the boy you'd been thinking about. He was sitting with his friend on the other side of the gym. You bit your lip anxiously. "Nah, I'm not gonna do it." You looked again. "Okay I'm gonna do it." He was just sitting there minding his own business. "Uh-uh. Nope. Not gonna do it."

"Oh my God..." Asher shook his head. "Fucking lost cause- HEY YO PETER!," he yelled to the other side of the gym, waving his hand wildly and signaling a 'come here' motion when the brown haired boy looked towards him.

Gasping, you turned around and slapped Asher's arm harshly.

"What was that for?!," he asked, rubbing the spot lightly.

"You knew his name?!," you hissed. "You knew his name this whole time and you never told me?!"

He simply smirked in return. "You never asked," he said, earning a middle finger from you.

"You suck," you scolded.

"You swallow," he shot back with a smirk.

Looking back, it made sense that Asher would know his name. After all, he was the social butterfly of social butterflies. You were sure that the only way you had caught a friend like him was because you were already his best friend before he hit puberty. While with others it causes acne and insecurity, it made Asher a literal supermodel (along with a bit of acne, I mean c'mon it's high school). And the fact that he was athletic, being on both the basketball team and the tennis team didn't hurt either. He hung with practically every clique in school, dragging you along wherever he went, though he preferred to hang with the popular crowd the most.

You both looked back to where Peter sat to see that he hadn't moved yet. He was halfway standing up but seemed to be caught up in a deep, frantic, borderline-panicking conversation with his friend.

Asher cocked his head to the side. "Aw, I think he's shy," he snickered. "You got yourself a little shy tiktoker." He shook his head slightly and as he continued to laugh. "Hang on, I'll go get him."

"Just don't say anything weird," you said, pushing him away to go fight your battle.

You drew in a long breath as you watched them converse and you waved when you saw Peter's eyes following Asher's point in your direction.

Knowing your best friend he was probably saying something super embarrassing that you'd have to explain away later, that is, if Peter walked over there in the first place.

"You know he really likes you, right?"

You swung around and looked to the bleacher seats on your right to see a curly haired girl with a book in her hands staring at you with the most unamused face you've ever seen in your life.

"Who?," you asked, extremely confused as to why this girl who never talked to you was talking to you. "Trust me, Asher and I have already been down that road. We're good where we are."

"Not him. Parker," she said tilting her head in Peter's direction. "He stares at you alot. It's pretty weird if you ask me. But then again, you stare at him alot too," she noted rather blatantly. "You guys could probably work. You're both dorks." She smirked, satisfied with her observations and went back to her book as if nothing happened.

"I don't like him," you mumbled back. "I don't even know him."

She didn't raise her eyes from her book as she sighed loudly. "Well then why're you so obsessed with doing a video with him because he has a 'classic tiktok boy look' when you've got Asher -who arguably has more of a 'classic tiktok boy' look than Parker- right next to you, who would probably be more than willing to do some lame dance with you being that he's your best friend?," she asked (more accused than asked).

"Oookay, whatever...," you mumbled, figuring you didn't need to explain yourself to someone you didn't know, turning back to where you could see Asher walking back to you, Peter and his friend close behind. When they finally reached you, Asher put a hand on both you and Peter's shoulders with a smug grin on his face.

"Okay. [Y/N], meet Peter. Peter, meet my dear friend [Y/N]."

You plastered a smile on your face and waved, to which Peter nervously smiled and waved back. He shared a quick look with his friend and then spoke up. "So, uh, can I help you or something?," he asked, snapping you from your thoughts.

"Hmm?," you hummed.

"It's just that, I-i don't.. really know why I'm over here.

"You threw your hand over to the left of you, expecting to hit Asher in the chest. "Ugh, Ash you didn't even te-" You turned your head when you felt nothing but air. "Ash?"

"Hey [Y/N]!"

You turned your head towards his voice and saw that Asher had moved to sit next to the girl who spoke to you before.

"We should really read this book Michelle's reading together. It's called 'The Slaughterhouse Five'!"

You rolled your eyes. Asher hardly even read books unless they were required. Dumb flirter.

You tilted your head toward this "Michelle" girl, whose head was stuck in a book as she actively ignored Asher sitting next to her. You chuckled, mouthing a quick 'good luck' to your friend before turning back to the timid boy who was watching you expectantly.

Shaking out the anxiety in your head, you finally spoke to him. "Uh, I have this thing that I'm trying to do and I know you don't know me and I don't know you and we've never really talked at all and this is kinda weird, but I kinda think that you'd be awesome for it," you rambled, continuing when Peter nodded. "So would you maybe wanna do it with me?"

"Well, what is it exactly?," he asked.

You shrugged. "Just some tiktoks," you said. "I mean, it's totally fine if you don't wanna-"

"Um, sure. But question, and this is probably gonna sound really lame but," he started. He blushed as he looked down at his feet. "What is a tiktok?"

You slapped your hand over your mouth, trying to hide a laugh. You looked to Peter's friend who was still standing there beside him. "I-is he serious?"

His friend laughed too, nodding his head. He patted Peter (whose face was now beet red) on the back and whispered into his ear. Peter's face lit up. "Oh! Gotcha. Thanks, Ned."

"So will you?," you asked.

He scratched his head. "Well sure, but full warning. I'm not much of a dancer."

Michelle looked up from her book once again. "Shut up, loser. You pick up combinations faster than anyone I know."

Your face brightened. "I knew it!" You grabbed his arm and pulled him to the closest wall. "Okay so we'll just start off easy, alright?" Peter nodded in response. "Ummm, let's do this one."

Peter watched it about three times and handed your phone back to you, to which you gave it to Ned so that he could record it.

"Uh, we go right first, right?," Peter asked, going over the entire dance in his mind as he stood beside you while you checked with Ned to see if the shot was good.

"Yeah," you said, smiling as you got a thumbs-up from Ned. "Alright let's do this."

Peter would be lying if he said he had any idea what he was doing. Technically, he knew the dance. It wasn't hard at all and only took him watching it two times to get the hang of it.

But what was he really doing??? First, some really cool guy with the best haircut and chiseled jaw he's even seen who he never thought would be talking to him ever just walks up to him and Ned and practically demands (in a really cool, nonchalant, and non-aggressive way) that he goes to the other side of the gym to the girl that he's been secretly (well not so secret by the way Peter crushes) crushing on without giving him a clear reason. Then he gets there to find out that this totally hot girl picked him out of everyone in the entire gym to do dances with and he actually manages to suck up his nervousness enough to agree??

In a word, wild.

"Okay, that was pretty good," you said as you watched the video. Peter didn't know why, but he could feel a 'but' coming.

You gave a small smile. "But-"

Ah. There it was.

"Look dude," you sighed before pointing at his face. "You are, like really cute. You gotta own that and put it to use, man!"

Peter's eyes went wide and immediately he looked to Ned, who was also freaking out behind you.

You called him cute.

He liked you and you just called him cute.

You were one of the most popular girls in school, he liked you, and you just called him cute.

You continued. "You gotta put some false confidence on it! Bite your lip or something. Get into the music, man."

Peter's face was the reddest it'd ever been and you were sure that he was probably never used to getting a compliment by the way he was acting.

"U-uh, um. Wowww, heh, uh thanks," he mumbled, not really sure how to respond. His voice was wavering and he looked anywhere but you. "So, uh, you want to r-run it again?"

But of course, like all good things, it came it an end.

The gym coach came out clapping his hands together, demanding everyone's attention. "Okay everybody time for drills!"

You sighed. "Guess I'll just have to go with the first one. Thanks anyway, Peter," you said with a smile. "You've got some moves."

Once you turned away, immediately your face fell.That sucked.

You walked back to where Asher was getting up from his where he sat with MJ, and to your surprise, they were actually having conversation.

He waved and tilted his head to Peter in question. You shrugged in response, giving a 'kinda' motion with your hand.

"Hey [Y/N]!"

You turned back around and saw Peter with a cute and bashful smile on his face. "What up?"

"I-i was....I was wondering if m-maybe you'd...like to, um, maybe do this again tomorrow?"

On the insides, you were totally freaking out. This was great. You thought you'd scared him away but he wanted to do it again. "Yeah, totally! We can go to my house after school and-"

"I can't right after school," he rushed. "How about 6?"

"Sure. That's fine. 6 it is. I, uh, I need your number so I can send you my address." You whipped out your phone and gave it to him so that he could put his number in. Before sending your address, you paused. "You're not some psycho killer, are you, Peter?"

He laughed. "Nah, you've got nothing to worry about from me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~that afternoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

---

KingAsh👑😎: he there yet?

[Y/N]: nope

[Y/N]: said he's on his way tho

[Y/N]: hes lucky hes cute otherwise I'd be mad that hes so late

KingAsh👑😎: pls don't tell me u fell in love after one tiktok🙄

[Y/N]: of course I didn't jeez man

[Y/N]: but i mean im not blind👀

[Y/N]: also...

[Y/N]: whats up with u and that Michelle girl?? did you get her number?

KingAsh👑😎: ...

KingAsh👑😎: Fuck u

[Y/N]: u wish

KingAsh👑😎: well only if you think you can handle me😏

[Y/N]: omg just stop talking forever

---

Your head popped up from your phone when you heard the doorbell ring. You sent a quick text to Asher and ran downstairs to open the door for Peter.

"Uh, hey!," he said with a smile. "Sorry for being so late."

"Hey Peter," you greeted. You paused. "Um, mind if I call you Pete?"

He blushed, scratching his head. "Nah I don't mind. I get that alot," he said, stepping into your home.

"M'kay, I got some pizza in my room if we end up getting hungry and ahh, let's go up," you said, leading Peter to your room.

Peter looked around and noticed how quiet it was. "Where are your parents?," he asked.

"Well that's a million dollar question," you chuckled. "I live with my uncle."

"Oh," Peter hummed. "I live with my aunt." He announced, a bit too strangely happily.

"So, it's a Friday evening," you said, shifting topics. "We've got all the time in the world! So let's get it! I'll teach you everything..."

What you didn't know was that Peter spent almost all of his time on patrol scrolling through all the popular trends of tiktok and even finding your page and practically obsessing over it for hours. He'd studied and prepared and he was determined to impress you. And hopefully, if everything went according to his plan, you'd think he was more than cute by the end of the day.

---

Part 2 here

[quicksilversquared]

X Marks the Spot

Several months after Hawkmoth's defeat and the reveal of his identity, Ladybug is ready to reveal her identity to her superhero partner. She doesn't want to spring the reveal on him, though, or force it when Chat Noir isn't ready, so naturally, she makes it into a game.

Or, to be more accurate, a treasure hunt, with her identity waiting at the end.

links in the reblog

It had been four months since life in Paris had been flipped upside down.

That, Marinette thought, was perhaps a bit of a dramatic way to put it, even in her own head, but that was what it had felt like. The final battle had happened on a sunny spring day, Mr. Agreste was revealed as Hawkmoth and Nathalie Sancoeur as Mayura, and the akuma battles had finally, finally drawn to an end.

It should have been a happy moment for Ladybug and Chat Noir. They were finally fully victorious, and would no longer have to deal with akumas disrupting their day-to-day lives. The threat was gone, and they could semi-retire, spending their time helping people out when they wanted to instead of being called into battle whenever Hawkmoth decided to interrupt their days.

But their supervillains were Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur, and even if her partner hadn't been Adrien- and that particular revelation had come out mid-battle- Ladybug would have felt devastated. Sure, Adrien's relationship with his father had been steadily breaking down over the years, as he found new support in his friends and their families, but it was still his father. The betrayal still hurt.

It had hurt him enough that Cat Noir- Adrien- hadn't wanted to know who she was. He had already had enough shocks for one day, he had told Ladybug with his face buried in her shoulder, curled together out of sight of the cheering citizens in the streets. Another identity reveal, another shock, even if it was a good one...well, he wasn't ready yet. It would be overwhelming.

Ladybug had respected that. Even months down the road, despite all of the healing progress that he had made, they hadn't broached the subject again.

But she wanted to. Adrien had been turning to Marinette more and more to hang out- whether he was subconsciously seeking her out because she was Ladybug or just because he found her presence more comforting than other people's, Marinette didn't know- and she just wanted to be able to support his full self, no secrets between them.

She wasn't going to pressure him, though. Adrien needed every part of his support network, and if she pushed for a reveal sooner than he was willing, he might stop coming over so often.

"I think that he might do better with more lead-up to the reveal," Plagg offered one afternoon, after she had found him lounging on her balcony. Apparently Adrien had fencing and Plagg didn't feel like hanging out in a stinky gym bag. Marinette made a mental note to offer to show Adrien how to wash it the next time he came over. "Like, if you just walk up one evening and say, 'hey, we both know who you are, but lemme drop my transformation real fast', that wouldn't give him any time to prepare, but if he had several days leading up to it…"

Marinette considered that as she plucked dead leaves off of a couple of her plants. "So, like, if I asked if he would be ready and then said, like, okay, now just wait a couple of days? That just seems odd. I mean, I understand the waiting period's purpose!" she added hastily. "It makes sense, so that he can have a couple days to tell me if he's still not feeling ready and so it doesn't feel like it's just being sprung on him. But just being straightforward about it- I don't know, that set-up just seems strange."

Plagg groaned. "Oh, no, are we gonna have to deal with another convoluted plan? No, why can't you be straightforward?"

"Because that just comes off weird, that's why." Marinette was already brainstorming, her mind whirring. "I'll figure something out soon."

"Ugh, fancy plans," Plagg muttered, but dropped it. Instead, he turned one grumpy green eye on Marinette. "And what's with all of the plants up here? My sunning spot is all shady! Get rid of them!"

Marinette yelped as Plagg made to move towards the newest of her beloved flower planters. "Don't you dare! Tikki, come tell Plagg to keep his paws off!"

  It didn't take long for Marinette to come up with the perfect- or maybe she should say the purr-fect- plan.

She had played with the idea of asking Chat Noir to lunch, which would mean inviting him one day, giving him several days to adjust to the idea, and then hopefully having him be ready the day of their lunch. That idea was pretty much discarded right away- while it would get rid of the awkward issue of her promising a reveal in several days' time without any occasion to go along with it, it ran a chance of Adrien somehow missing that it was going to be a reveal and then being taken by surprise. It also took the timeline out of his hands, since their lunch date would have to be set. Even if she had him set the date initially, what if he got cold feet and backed out last minute?

No, what she wanted was something that would allow Chat Noir to be able to have complete control over the timing, to be able to change his mind and pause if he needed to. Something that would be flexible and wouldn't leave him feeling obligated to rush his recovery.

She came up with a treasure hunt.

Making it a game would hopefully put her partner more at ease, and after the past few months that he had had- Marinette was still annoyed that Ladybug had had to step in to the degree that she had to get the police to stop interrogating him as Adrien, and she had had to do the same to get the press to back off- a game would (hopefully) be just the thing.

Now she just had to come up with the clues.

"Obviously I want to be upfront that there will be an identity reveal at the end," Marinette told Tikki as she worried over a blank piece of paper. "And I want to choose places that other people won't be able to go. I don't want someone finding one of Chat Noir's clues and trying to follow the trail themselves."

"And I think you should number the clues as a countdown, too!" Tikki chirped. "That way, Chat Noir knows how close to the end he is and that won't come up as a surprise."

"Ooh, good idea." Marinette wrote that down. "Okay, so- hmm. I was thinking about our favorite spot on the Eiffel Tower as a possible place, because no civilian can get to it, but we meet there at the end of patrol most of the time! Unless I hid it- and then that would just frustrate him when he's trying to find it- he would just see it right away."

"It could be one of the first clues," Tikki suggested. "Like, you could tell him at the start of patrol about the game and the first clue being at the end. It would be a nice, easy start."

Marinette wrote that down. It was a good idea.

Together with Tikki, she came up with a list of possible places to hide her clues. She wanted to start at the Eiffel Tower and end at her balcony- that way, she wouldn't end up waiting somewhere else on a night when Chat Noir wasn't going to show up, because she knew that he would feel guilty about that. Andre's ice-cream cart made the list- she was sure that he would agree to holding onto a clue, and the frequency with which Andre moved would add in a little bit of difficulty for Chat Noir- as did a very specific bell on top of a nearby church. Then there were other favorites of theirs, both places that they had found for hunkering down during akuma fights and shops that they had visited on patrol and loved. Her own family's bakery made the list- earlier on, so that her grand finale wouldn't be spoiled- and a particular chocolatier's shop, where they had bought hot chocolate on a regular basis during winter patrols and hang-outs.

It ended up maybe being a slightly longer list than she had expected, but knowing her partner, he wouldn't mind. If he was getting frustrated, she could always adjust later on and cut out some of the steps.

"I want to leave little gifts at each one, I think," Marinette mused as she looked over the list. "Or at least at some of them, it wouldn't be practical for all of them. I could pre-buy treats at several places, maybe. I mean, that would limit when Chat Noir can go to that place, because he would have to actually go during business hours, but he shouldn't be up all night anyway."

Tikki giggled. "I think he'll enjoy that!"

"I hope so. I want it to be fun for him." Marinette considered her list, her lips twitching up. "Wouldn't it be funny if I were the one manning the counter when he comes into the bakery?"

Tikki giggled more. "Oh, that would be funny! I bet Chat Noir would say the same once he finds out that it's you. Maybe you should try to do that! You can follow where he is in your treasure hunt and then volunteer to work the counter."

"That only works if he goes directly from one spot to another, though. He might have other stuff to do, or want to pause in between." She could probably still do it, though, just by putting Chat Noir alerts on her phone and also keeping an eye on Adrien's schedule. Smiling at the thought of his reaction- he was definitely going to call her cheeky for that, she knew her partner well enough to know that- Marinette quickly brainstormed up another couple gifts that she could give to her cat, non-perishable things that would be easy enough to hide.

This was going to be fun.

  Chat Noir was super excited about the idea of a reveal. Like, surprisingly so.

Like, to the point where Ladybug wondered if maybe he was ready to just learn her identity now and if the game was, instead of a buffer and something fun, just making Chat Noir work to learn her identity when that wasn't the point at all.

"You know, if you're ready to know, I could just-"

"Nuh-uh-uh, I know what you're going to say and you are not just going to tell me!" Chat Noir cut Ladybug off mid-sentence, wriggling a scolding finger at her. "I have been promised a game, and I will not be deprived of my hunt, thank-you-very-much."

"Okay, okay, it was just an offer!" Ladybug protested, laughing. "If you want to play, then we can do that."

Chat Noir pumped a fist in the air triumphantly, and she laughed even harder.

"So do I get my first clue now?" he asked eagerly, practically bouncing in place. "So I can start right away?"

Ladybug grinned. His enthusiasm was contagious, it really was. "You'll find your first clue-"

"Ooh, I have to find the first clue!"

"Shush, I have to tell you!" Ladybug protested, laughing. "You'll find it at the end of patrol- and no cheating and taking shortcuts either!" she added when Chat Noir moved to take off right away. "I know patrol is mostly for fun, but-"

"You didn't say no speedruns!"

Ladybug tried to sigh, but it came out as a giggle instead as her partner took off like a rocket, a spring in his step as he raced off without waiting for any more information. She was glad to see him so cheery about the game. Even with Plagg's assurance that he was ready to find out her identity, part of her had been worried that he wasn't ready yet or wanted to be able to broach the topic on his own time. That clearly wasn't the case.

"Silly cat," Ladybug murmured fondly, taking off on her own route a little faster than normal. "If you were so eager to know, you could have just asked."

It didn't take long at all to finish, and soon enough Ladybug was headed for the Eiffel Tower. Oddly enough, she couldn't see Chat Noir there yet.

….had he already found his first clue and taken off to find the next one?

Before Ladybug could swing herself up to their spot, Chat Noir barreled in like he had been shot out of a cannon. When he saw Ladybug, he smiled sheepishly.

"I forgot to ask where we were ending patrol today, so I got paranoid that I might go to the wrong place and went and checked the other spots first," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because they were on the way."

"See, that's what you get for being an impatient kitty," Ladybug teased. "If you had waited a few more seconds, I would have told you."

"Where's the fun in that?" Chat Noir was already moving again, peering behind beams and clambering all around. "Do I have to search the entire Eiffel Tower- aha! Nope, I found it!"

Ladybug smothered another laugh. He really did look like a cat, scrambling around on all fours like that, but she wasn't going to tease him about that. He might try to stop, and it amused her too much for her to risk that.

"Names and dreams, locks of love; Sometimes I can be a sentimental bug," Chat Noir read off the paper. "Aww, bugaboo, I knew you didn't mind that nickname as much as you always pretend to!"

Ladybug tried not to wince. She had tried, but...poems were not a strength of hers. After a bit of deliberation and discussion with Tikki, she had ended up just going with the clues that she had come up with, even if some of the clues weren't nearly as clever as she had hoped they would be.

"I'm pretty sure I know what you're going for," Chat Noir announced after another moment of thought, clearly delighted. "That's easy! See ya, bugaboo!"

Then, with a quick kiss to her cheek and another bounce, he was gone.

"Well, now I'm glad that the first few can all be done whenever," Ladybug commented to thin air, grinning when she spotted her partner's silhouette bounding over the skyline. "He's not going to get any sleep tonight, the dork."

She watched for another minute, tracking Chat Noir's progress on her yo-yo- it hadn't taken him long at all to get to Pont des Arts, clearly he wasn't tired from patrol in the least- before heading back to her house. Ladybug touched down lightly, detransforming and checking on all of her plants before heading inside.

Today had been a success. And hopefully before long, she would be coming back inside with her partner by her side.

  The next day dawned early and bright, and Marinette woke up to several messages on her phone from Chat Noir, consisting entirely of him pouting about having to wait until businesses opened to continue his hunt.

"Well, he's certainly eager," Tikki said with a giggle, peering over Marinette's shoulder to read the messages. "I mean, I bet having the pause for him to adjust to the idea of having a reveal is helpful, even if he doesn't realize it, but I don't think that we're going to have any trouble with him getting cold feet about finding out last-minute."

Marinette nodded in agreement, shooting back a silly response before exiting out of her messaging app- one that she and Chat Noir had found that encrypted the other person's number so that they didn't have to risk a reveal or deal with the expense or hassle of burner phones- and searching the Chat Noir hashtag to see if he was up yet.

As it turned out, he was.

"He's going to end up at the bakery soon," Marinette commented, pushing herself out of bed and trotting down to the main part of her bedroom to get dressed. "And then- oh, gosh, I did end up with a lot of clues, didn't I? I was only planning on twelve, and I think I ended up with twice as many."

Tikki giggled. "Well, I don't think Chat Noir will complain! He really seemed to like the idea of a hunt!"

Marinette could only smile and shake her head in amusement as she pulled out an outfit. It was a cute grey and pink dress, designed after her Multimouse outfit, and was sort of an inside joke between her- well, civilian her- and Chat Noir. Paired with a necklace that resembled the Mouse Miraculous more than a little and- after a short deliberation, because she didn't want to tease him too much- a single bun instead of double buns, she was sure to get at least a little reaction out of him.

If not now, then later, for sure. The number of cat hunting mouse jokes was sure to be off the charts.

"Oh, that's a cute outfit," Mrs. Cheng commented as soon as Marinette got downstairs, tying her apron around her waist as she entered the bakery. "Are you taking over the front counter for me?"

Marinette grinned and nodded, sliding into her mom's spot and glancing around the shop to gauge how they were doing. It was decently busy, enough that the register was getting a semi-continuous stream of people but not so busy that they were overwhelmed or anything.

"Don't forget, Chat Noir might come by today and pick up Ladybug's surprise for him," Mrs. Cheng reminded Marinette. "It's not a for-sure thing, and we don't know when he might come by, but…"

Marinette hastily muffled another giggle. Oh, she definitely wasn't going to forget. After all, she was the one to set it up, even if she had been wearing her spots at the time. "Of course, Maman."

"Great." With a smile, Mrs. Cheng fully stepped back from the counter, going back to her small decorating station and picking up her work from where she had left off. Marinette watched her for a few seconds, marveling at the lovely frosting flowers taking shape under her mom's fingers, before turning her attention back to the customers browsing in the shop.

One hour flew by, then two. Marinette checked her phone to track her partner when she could, but apparently Adrien had been called back to his normal life for the time being with a private fencing lesson. She could imagine the little pout on his face at the realization that he had to step away from his game for even a short while, the hunt momentarily sidetracked.

Ah, well. He would appreciate his treats more if he didn't eat them all at once and give himself a stomachache.

At hour three and a half, Chat Noir bounced through the door, tail flicking eagerly as he came in. He managed to contain himself to pause long enough to say hi to a couple little kids before making a beeline for the counter and Marinette.

"I like that outfit, Marinette!" he told her, lips twitching upwards as he took in the Mouse-esque details. "It's very cute on you. Uh, did Ladybug leave something for me here?"

"Thank you," Marinette said right away, grinning up at him. "And as a matter of fact, yes, she did!"

Reaching under the counter, Marinette pulled out the pre-arranged box with all of her partner's favorites- passion fruit macarons, pain au chocolat, and an assortment of cookies- and Ladybug's next hint on top, folded over and taped down.

"Ooh, she spoils me," Chat Noir said happily, peering in the box. "Thank you, Marinette!"

"Happy hunting!"

Chat Noir paused on his way back towards the door, glancing over his shoulder. His brow furrowed slightly, no doubt puzzled at her wording, and then he shrugged it off, waving at her before heading out of the bakery.

Marinette muffled a giggle. Oh, he was going to be kicking himself later about missing that clue.

And it was going to be hilarious.

  Chat Noir showed up to patrol the next evening ten minutes late, but apparently he had been trying to get in one last clue before coming because the business was going to be closing for the evening before they finished patrol.

"I couldn't get much searching done today because I had stuff going on in my normal life, but I wanted to make some progress," he told Ladybug. "And if I didn't get that clue, then I wouldn't have been able to get anything done until tomorrow."

Ladybug was grinning. "It sounds like you're enjoying the treasure hunt."

"Plagg was grumbling about it being 'unnecessarily complicated'," Chat Noir told her with a laugh. He gave her a fond look. "I think it's fun, though. And I love all of the little presents along the way."

"I thought you might." Ladybug leaned against him gently, enjoying his warmth as they looked out over the city. It was a quiet night for sure, and they could probably take it easy. After all, Chat Noir had spent the last couple days dashing back and forth across the city whenever he could.

He was probably sleeping well, if nothing else.

"I might have gotten a little too into the whole coming up with clues thing," Ladybug admitted after a minute. "I hadn't intended for there to be so many of them, but I just started coming up with places and then couldn't narrow things down."

"No, no, it's fun! I like it this way. It's more of a proper hunt."

"Are you sure?"

Chat Noir grinned. "Paw-sitive. I haven't had so much fun in ages. It's nice to have something to force me out and about again during the day. I've... well, I've maybe been hiding inside a little more than I should have. And even if it isn't as, y'know, my civilian self, it's still a step in the right direction."

Ladybug smiled. She had to admit that she had noticed that as Marinette, but she...well, she didn't want to push Adrien. The amount of betrayal and loss that Adrien had gone through, and when he had been so well-known by the public even before Hawkmoth's identity had come out...well, it was hard to fully comprehend how he must be feeling, and being in the public eye wasn't exactly helping. Add in the fact that there were all sorts of conflicted, tangled feelings there between father and son, years of neglect and longing for love and betrayal and frustration and- and-

Well, it was probably no small wonder that Adrien tended not to go out a lot as himself unless he had photoshoots or other scheduled activities. He had been doing a lot better- summer always brought new news to brush away the old, tired headlines that had kept running over and over during the cooler months- but he hadn't returned to his previous self yet, not quite. When the two of them hung out, it was usually in Marinette's room or in her family's living room, getting Adrien out of his room but not where other people could approach him or he could overhear their whispers.

(One of these days, Marinette was actually going to square up with one of the more obnoxious whisperers. Maybe it would get her a reputation, but that was fine. If people were scared of her, maybe they would think twice about their dumb gossiping.)

This time, they had a more relaxed patrol, choosing to run together instead of splitting apart. It wasn't as though they needed to be surveying the city, after all. It was mostly just an excuse for them to hang out and be generally visible so that Paris wouldn't worry but criminals might think twice about trying anything. As they bounced along, Chat Noir recounted all of his treasure hunt adventures, including the time he had somewhat accidentally recruited an entire army of children to help him search a park for one of his clues. He had ended up being the one to find it- after all, Ladybug hadn't wanted civilians to be able to accidentally stumble on her hints- and having the kids "help" had actually just resulted in him taking more time to find the hidden hint, but it had been pretty cute.

(Ladybug had actually seen pictures of that, and it had been hilariously adorable. The kids had probably been seven at most, and had taken the job Very Seriously. Every park bench and large stone in the part had been dutifully inspected, top and bottom, as well as every tree, every trash can…)

"I didn't tell them what was going to be at the end of my treasure hunt," Chat Noir assured her, vaulting over a street with a fancy flip and landing with all the grace of an actual cat. "Just that it was a game we were playing. But because you were involved, they all thought it was the coolest thing ever."

"You know that everyone thinks that you're just as cool," Ladybug protested. "They just wanted to hang out with you, you know that!"

Chat Noir's answering smile was bright.

  Marinette had stayed glued to the Chat Noir hashtag for practically the entire day, trying to figure out if her partner would be getting to her last clue tonight. He was on a roll for sure, but she had thrown in a couple more difficult clues in the final stretch and those might slow him down. And then if he saw her last spot early….

Well, it would be pretty hard for him to miss.

"He's headed for the last one, Marinette!" Tikki told her as soon as she came upstairs after dinner. "Unless Adrien has something going on tonight, he's going to be coming here."

Marinette grinned, scooping up a few last-minute supplies and heading up to her balcony. "I guess we better get everything ready, then. I bet a kitty-cat is going to come sniffing around after sundown."

Up on her balcony, Marinette's table had been decked out with a tablecloth, fastened down securely so that even the strongest gust of wind couldn't send it flying. Two plates sat in the middle, the forks and a knife to cut the cake she had baked for them were lined up neatly, and two chairs were pulled up to the table. Up above, several strands of fairy lights had been carefully hung, criss-crossing in what would clearly show up as an X from above.

It was something that Chat Noir would easily be able to see, from the top of his extended baton. It had taken Ladybug several attempts to fling herself into the air for long enough to make sure that the lights were neatly hung enough that there was no mistaking what shape the lights made.

A fitting end to a treasure hunt, if she did say so herself.

"Hopefully everything goes smoothly tonight," Marinette told Tikki, adding two kwami-sized plates on top of the normal ones and carefully getting the Swiss roll that she had made settled next to that. Plagg might whine and complain about having cake instead of cheese, but she had seen him happily eat cake before, too, even if he denied doing such a thing afterwards. Besides, she had used cream cheese frosting in the cake. "But the forecast looks good, Chat Noir is definitely excited about the reveal now, Maman and Papa are going to bed soon so there won't be any interruptions…"

"You might make Chat Noir sick with the amount of sugar you've been feeding him over the past couple of days," Tikki teased, but she didn't sound very serious as she followed Marinette around her balcony, helping her snip off dying flower blossoms and dead leaves. "Or maybe that's why he's been practically bouncing off of the walls lately!"

"It is nice to see him feeling more normal again," Marinette said, choosing to ignore the first part of Tikki's comment. That was an exaggeration about the sugar, really- there were things that didn't have to be eaten right away, and then a couple of the treats she had gotten for him were savory, not sweet.

(Besides, Marinette knew full well that Adrien had shared at least a couple things from the bakery with Nino. It wasn't as though he was stuffing himself.)

As the sun set and dusk fell, Marinette finished sweeping her balcony and looked around to make sure that everything was in place. Then she popped downstairs, changed into a red-and-black dress that she had made for the occasion, and returned to the balcony with a sketchbook to kill some time. As she did, she flipped on the lights.

Everything was ready. Now, all she had to do was wait for Chat Noir.

  One final clue for my best friend

How else do all treasure hunts end?

When darkness falls

X marks the spot

I'll wait for you there

Without the dots

This was quite possibly the vaguest clue yet, Adrien mused to himself as he waited (im)patiently for- well, for darkness to fall. The sun was getting close to the horizon now and he was tempted to just head out and see if he could get a head start on puzzling out Ladybug's final clue, but something told him that it probably wouldn't do much good.

If Ladybug said- well, strongly implied- that he would have to wait until dark, that probably meant that she wouldn't go to whatever spot she was referring to until then. He would have to be a good cat and wait until dark. He could manage it.

"X marks the spot," Adrien mused again, holding the card up to the light in case there were any clues he had missed. He had heard of spies hiding messages in normal letters by putting pin holes in certain letters to spell something out, but he had no such luck. Apparently that was all the clue he was getting.

….had Ladybug originally hidden a map of Paris or something with the clue? But then why wait until after dark? Why couldn't they meet up during the day? Except that did mean that Ladybug only had to be in her spot for a certain window of time, instead of all day, but she could have specified meeting between certain hours instead.

Maybe the darkness was a clue. Or maybe it just lent itself to clue form more easily than, say, saying three to five.

"You could always wait until dark and think about it then instead of pacing a rut into your carpet," Plagg suggested. Adrien shot him a Look.

"But I don't even have any ideas about where I should start! Like, 'x marks the spot'- are there any pirate areas around here? Oh! D'you think she means the Couffaine boat? But why would she be there? Plagg, am I overthinking this?"

"Yes."

"You're biased, though." Adrien glanced out the window again. Darker, but probably not quite dark enough to really qualify as proper darkness. "I just don't want to be going out without any leads. Like, what does she want me to do, wander around in the streets until I stumble on her? She wouldn't do that. All of the other spots were places that we've been to before together, so I want to think that there's just some obvious place that I'm missing."

Plagg let out a long-suffering sigh. "You could always call up Ladybug and ask for another hint if you go out tonight and can't find her. That's an option. It's not like she's hiding until you find her."

"Aww, but that would be like admitting defeat, though!" Adrien tried (and failed) not to pout. He glanced out the window one more time. It was about as dark as it ever got with all of the light pollution in Paris. "I think we're ready. Plagg-"

"Are you really going to go meet Ladybug in that old, ratty t-shirt?"

Adrien glanced down at himself and yelped. Sure enough, he was just dressed in the first thing that he had grabbed that morning. It was a perfectly fine everyday outfit, but he was going to be meeting Ladybug detransformed tonight. He had to at least put in a little effort. And his hair was a mess because he had been running his hands through it, and he should really brush his teeth, maybe-

Ten minutes later, Adrien had freshened up and transformed, slipping through his window and up to the mansion's roof. He still hadn't made any progress on figuring out Ladybug's clue, so he was just going to go out and prowl the city, looking for anything that- well. Anything that looked like an x, he supposed, or maybe something pirate-themed. Maybe.

He wasn't sure, honestly.

Five minutes in, Chat Noir was still at a bit of a loss. He had been wandering more or less aimlessly across rooftops, trying to see if something would jog his mind, but nothing had. He had tracked down the Couffaine houseboat, just in case, but the occupants weren't acting as though anything was out of the ordinary. He dithered for a minute, then poled back towards his house to mull over it some more. Halfway there, he decided that the best way to inspire himself- the best way to just happen to spot whatever place Ladybug was thinking of with her clue- was probably way up high.

Thankfully, he had an extending baton that could do just the trick. He shot up, up, up, into the night sky, and Paris spread out beneath him. Lights twinkled along roads, in buildings, over the river. Some restaurants had twinkle lights that were criss-crossing in what could maybe be considered an X shape, so maybe he should go investi-

No. There. Glowing bright, too clean and distinct to be anything else, was an X for him to see. It was oddly close to his house, all things considered, but Chat Noir didn't even pause to consider the implications of that as he tipped his baton towards the lights. He slowed his fall with a helicopter spin of his baton, eyes locked on his target. Right before he landed, he realized exactly where he was going with a jolt of excitement and glee.

It was Marinette's balcony, on top of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. And under the lights, very prettily made up and wearing a dress that was definitely Ladybug-inspired, sat Marinette, paging through a fashion magazine.

He wasn't even surprised, really. There had been times that he had wondered about Marinette and Ladybug over the years, but there had always been some convenient excuse about why she had been in that spot, or why she couldn't possibly be Ladybug. He hadn't pushed- after all, their secret identities were secret for a reason, even from each other- but he had tucked the thought away in the back of his mind, to be considered again at a way later time.

And now was that time, and he was so, so excited. He absolutely adored Marinette, and to have his two favorite girls be one….

It was incredible. How was he so lucky?

"Marinette!" Chat Noir exclaimed as he landed in a controlled tumble, popping to his feet at once and practically tackling Marinette backwards in a hug. She let out a small yep, clearly not having seen him coming. "Fancy seeing you here- no, wait, that could have come out smoother, uh…"

Marinette giggled from her spot in his arms, and he rather belatedly realized that, as far as greetings went, his was maybe a little exuberant. Trying (and failing) for a sheepish grin- it was hard, he was just far too excited- he rightened both his partner and her chair. "Hi, Chaton. I see you found your way all right."

"I was a little confused at first," he admitted, because he might as well admit to it now rather than have Plagg admit it for him later on, since his kwami would make a huge deal out of it. "But as soon as I was up in the sky…" He trailed off. Marinette probably already knew that, because she had planned it. And if she had planned it, she had no doubt tested it first to make sure that things would work the way she wanted them to. That was just the way Marinette worked. So he decided to drop that particular subject in favor of another, but what to say…

He wasn't normally this tongue-tied around his partner, but now he was stumbling over his words and scrambling to act smooth, like a collège boy trying to impress his crush with a good first impression.

Except they were partners, not just meeting, and his collège days...well, he was older than that now, and in theory wiser, too, but clearly his ability to interact with incredible girls hadn't quite grown with the rest of him.

"Was your hunt fun?" Marinette asked, and oh, she was smug when his head shot up, the words jogging something in his brain from only a few days prior- Marinette, at the bakery counter, dressed up rather like Multimouse.

Mouse. Cat and mouse. Hunting.

She must think herself so clever. She wasn't wrong.

"My Lady, you were teasing me!" Chat Noir complained, ignoring the second chair that had clearly been left out for him in favor of scooping Marinette into his lap and sitting in her chair instead. "With that mouse outfit- very cute, by the way, nice nod to your own mouse suit- and that comment!"

Marinette looked even more smug, like the cat that had caught a canary. Clearly she knew exactly what she was doing to him and had planned it all out in the first place. "I thought it was funny."

"And just sending me to the bakery in the first place, and being at the counter…" Oh, she was being a sly little bug. She had specifically placed herself where he would see her- and where he would see her and think nothing of it, just a normal everyday encounter that she had actually engineered entirely herself. He tapped her nose. "Smugbug."

Marinette laughed at that. "I knew you'd find it funny. Do you want to detransform, or are you good hanging out like that?"

"If I detransform, we have to deal with Plagg," Chat Noir told her, burying his face in her hair. "Can we just stay like this for a little while longer? I want to enjoy having you to myself without any snarky kwami comments."

"Of course." Marinette shuffled around in his lap to snuggle closer to him, and Chat Noir happily helped her wriggle her way around so that they were facing each other. She beamed up at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Seriously, how was he so lucky as to have the eye of the most incredible girl in Paris? "I'm glad you came, Adrien."

Chat Noir could only smile back, hopelessly enamored. "Me, too."

  The very next day, the two of them stepped out onto the street hand-in-hand, exchanging soft looks as they wandered through Paris together. Adrien hadn't ended up going home at all the previous night, instead staying with Marinette and chatting until Tikki had begged to see Plagg again, then releasing his transformation and staying out even longer. They had eaten their cake around midnight before going inside and crashing in Marinette's bed.

Getting to wake up with her next to him… well, it was definitely something that Adrien could get used to. Getting ready with her, having breakfast together, teasing each other and working together to wash up their dishes….

Adrien was in heaven.

The last few months had been tough, there was no denying that. There had been far more public attention than he had wanted as he tried to adjust to his father and Nathalie's betrayal, and being interrogated so much by the police as a possible collaborating suspect had been really hard on him mentally (especially before Ladybug had stepped in like a furious avenging angel and got them to back off, and he had fallen a bit more). But now, things were settling down and he was moving on.

There would be bumps in the road, he knew, and times when people would decide to judge him based on what his father had done. It wouldn't all be smooth sailing. Nothing in life ever was, but, well, he was going to have his Lady- his Marinette- by his side.

With the two of them working together… well, they could achieve anything.

He couldn't be happier.

[logical-little-lies]

Uno, Annoyance, and A Skirt?- Little Vlogs (Chapter Six)

A/N: Me, releasing a oneshot, a chapter of the agere!sides au, and a new chapter of Little Vlogs? In one day? I hope y’all are liking this rare occurrence 

--

Chapter Summary: Patton enters littlespace for the first time with Roman and Virgil during one of their sleepovers. Adorableness, brattiness, and cuddles ensue.

--

It had been only a few weeks since their diner and roller skating date. Kissing each other became a thing they were more comfortable with. Virgil often snuck over to the bookstore during his lunch break, and it was common for them all to hang out at Patton's house. They've gone on two more official dates, to movies and another back to the skating rink.

They weren't officially boyfriends yet, but it wouldn't be long before they were. Now, the age regression thing. The main reason they all met. Patton was the only one that acted little-ish sometimes, but they all sort of openly spoke about it. But none of them had actually regressed long enough for them to take care of each other.

Until Logan babied an already hyper Patton just a little to much during a sleepover. They were all playing UNO, and Patton seemed to be losing. "I'm sorry, it's all I got," Roman looked at his cards, then back at the pile again, deciding to go for his original card.

Draw four. Patton pouted. "Why does he keep getting the draw four cards? Someone reverse it so I have the chance to get him back!"

"I got you, baby," Logan assured sliding four cards, face down, from the pile over to Patton. Roman looked offended, even more shocked when Logan actually did reverse it back to Patton.

"Haha, meanie!" Patton set a Draw 2, then another, then another, then another. The only reason he hadn't used them before is because he didn't want to use them against Logan unless he absolutely had to. Roman was the one who suggested they played the version with the stacking rule. Patton stuck his tongue out, and Roman looked shocked.

He didn't know how much playful, somehow adorable, anger could come out of the boy. He wasn't seriously mad, just annoyed. It was like seeing a fluffy kitten throw a fit. Full of fury, but absolutely adorable.

"Be nice, Kitten," Logan warned, Patton sinking back down to his seat. Okay, maybe it's possible that all the marshmallows and chocolates he ate might've been fueling his hyper behaviors and competitiveness, but he wasn't hurting anyone.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled a little. He knew that he felt it, the urge to just cuddle up next to Logan and ask for a kiss on the forehead. He lived with his boyfriend, and he worked a flexible job, he was used to being able to regress whenever. And nothing was really stopping him, but he felt like it was a bad time.

"It's okay. V, it's your turn!" Roman moved on quickly. The game kept going on, Logan eventually winning. Roman got second, Virgil third. Patton pouted when he lost.

"B-but...-humph!" he huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"Awe, poor baby," Logan teased, coming behind his chair and kissing the side of his head. Patton melted into the touch a bit, looking up at Logan with innocent eyes. Logan raised his eyebrow a bit. "How old are you, sweetie?" Logan asked. He already had the feeling that Patton was slipping a bit, but the innocent eyes and the cuddly behaviors confirmed it.

Virgil and Roman got it immediately. "How could you possible tell that he's little just from looking him in the eyes-" Roman was shut up by Patton's next words, in a cutesy little voice Patton had succeeded in hiding before.

"Baby!" Patton squealed, reaching up to Logan, who hugged him immediately.

"How long have you felt little? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Little bit. Scared, sorry," he apologized.

"It's alright, let's go get you in some of your little stuff, hmm?" Patton nodded, taking Logan's hand. Logan paused, letting Patton walk ahead towards the stairs, to talk to Virgil and Roman.

"I'm sorry that this interrupted all this, but when he regresses, I have to take care of him. You're free to leave if you please," Based off of Logan's tone, both of the other two men had a feeling that if they did leave, he'd hold a grudge.

"No, we can stay. We haven't seen Little Patton much. If were all gonna be together in a romantic sense, it's best if we get used to it." Roman said.

"I already know Little Patton well, I can help out." Virgil offered.

"Alright, you can start by finding his sippy cups in the kitchen and filling it with juice," he instructed. Virgil nodded, disappearing into the kitchen. Roman followed Virgil. Logan decided to go upstairs and help the little pick different clothes.

--

Patton sat on the bed in his little room, swinging his feet a little. He currently wore jeans and a polo shirt. "What do you wanna wear, Kitten?" Logan asked softly, going over to the dresser next to the bed.

Patton tilted his head, not responding. This was odd, because usually he knew exactly what he wanted to wear. He'd request a certain outfit and Logan would help him get all cutesy. Logan knew this was probably the result of him feeling a little bit smaller than usual.

"What about your baby blue onesie?" he held up the adult onesie, which snapped at the crotch and shoulders. Patton bounced in place a little, making grabby hands towards it.

"Alright, that works. Do you-...Are you to little for the potty or..." Logan trailed off, a bit awkward now as he waited for Patton's response. Patton gave a shrug.

"I think m' okay.." he responded.

"Okay, if you have to go potty, lemme know." Logan checked to make sure the door was shut before helping him get undressed. "Actually...just encase, can we do a pullup? I just want to be prepared, Little One." Logan was gonna let him go without protection, but he knew it'd be smarter not to do that.

Patton shook his head, refusing outright. "They see," he whined, shifting uncomfortably.

"You're afraid of Roman and Virgil seeing your pull up? I don't think they'd care," Logan tried to convince him, pulling a designed pull up from his drawer. Patton shook his head again.

"When did you become such a shy baby? You don't have to worry about them, I promise," Logan came towards him, lifting his face by his chin and kissing his forehead.

"I-i don't wanna..." he pouted, his face going red. Logan took a breath, willing himself to not roll his eyes. He needed to be patient with his Little, even if it was hard.

"Okay, how about you wear something with the onesie, so no one can see your pull up?"

"No, no! I wanna wear onesie, nuffin else. No pull up!" he spoke louder, defying Logan at all costs.

"Patton," Logan spoke more sternly, giving him a look that made him whimper. He kissed his forehead as a way to reassure him that he wasn't truly upset with him, but he did need to listen. "Be a good baby and listen to me, okay?"

Patton nodded in defeat at first,but his demeanor switched to annoyed in just a few seconds. He  snatched up the onesie and pullup and left the room. "Patton!" Logan called after him. Patton disappeared into their main bedroom, probably to use their personal bathroom. Logan went to open the door to the room, but Patton had locked it behind him.

"Patton Summers, I know you're upset, but you need to unlock this door." Logan kept his cool, shaking the doorknob. He didn't want to scare him, but he'd definitely be having a talk with him once he opened this door. Why was he acting out so much while Virgil and Roman were here?

Logan kept talking through the door, messing with the door knob. Patton didn't respond, but you could hear him moving around inside of the room,presumably getting dressed.

"Baby, please unlock the door for me," Logan said, speaking strictly, having been ignored for at least a few minutes. The door flew open, and Patton flew into Logan's arms. He hugged him tightly.

"I-i'm sorry! I was trying to find a cute skirt to go with dis n' putting on the onesie myself was hard!" he defended immediately. Logan examined him. Since Patton stayed at home a lot, he regularly wore feminine clothing. Logan thought he looked adorable in his skirts and dresses, but they didn't keep them in his little room. It explained why he disappeared into the main bedroom.

He wore the baby blue onesie with a black skirt, that successfully covered the pull up. You couldn't tell it was there unless Patton showed you. "You're okay. Just don't do that again. You don't lock me out of a room while you're little! I didn't know what was going on and you worried me," Logan helped him walk back to the little room.

"I got angey, n' I didn't knows what to do! don't get mad at you, evers..." he reduced his words to a mumble, following Logan back into the room they were originally in. He went straight to the vanity, pulling out bracelets and messing with his light purple hair. He pulled off his glasses, replacing them with metal-framed round ones.

"You got upset, so you went to another room to calm yourself down while you got ready. I understand, but you could've, at the very least, responded to me while I was talking to you," Logan commented, closing the door behind him and moving to help him add cute accessories to his outfit. He didn't dress up like this all the time, but if he wanted to, Logan let him. It was cute when he wanted to wear bracelets, or asked Logan to help him put on lipgloss.

"I got scared, didn't know what to say n'...." he trailed off, pausing was he was doing. "M' I in trouble?"

Logan sighed, shaking his head. "No, you apologized, and explained yourself. And you rarely ever break the rules, so we will just take that one as a lesson learned, right?"

Patton nodded, going quiet. He did feel a little bad about storming out of the room, and leaving his daddy to try to talk to him from outside of the door. He went to put a flower clip in his hair. Logan took over and did it for him. "You okay, baby?" Logan knew the other two were most likely questioning what was taking them so long.

"Mhm," Patton definitely wasn't feeling like he usually did while in littlespace. He felt guilty now, and he didn't know how to communicate that. He put on some pastel kandi bracelets, one of them saying 'kitten' on it. They were colorful, with all different types of letterbeads on them.

"You sure, honey? I'm not upset with you anymore, I promise," Logan assured, kissing the side of his face. Patton gave another silent nod, bouncing on the balls on his feet as he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked adorably childish, which is what he was going for.

"You feel guilty, don't you?" Logan spoke again. Patton didn't see the point in lying anymore, letting Logan hug him. "You don't need to worry, I promise. I'm very proud of you for finding a compromise, a way to listen and feel comfortable. A very cute one, at that." Logan was glad to hear him giggle. He spun around, letting the skirt move around him.

"Can I put on makeup? Just lil' bit, please?" he gave puppy dog eyes. Logan was glad he was feeling better now.

--

"Oh, there you guys are! What took you two so long?" Virgil commented immediately when Patton and Logan finally returned. Patton was hiding behind Logan at the moment..

"We had some issues with this one, but it's all sorted out." Logan moved so that Patton wasn't behind him. Patton was blushing a bit, trying to cover his face.

"You look so cute, Patton!" Roman complimented. Patton looked down shyly, mumbling a thank you.

"That skirt is so adorable, and the bracelets? The new glasses? You look amazing," Logan knew what Roman was doing. Roman could tell Patton was nervous about being more feminine around them, so he was going out of his way to compliment his outfit and make him feel comfortable. It was a really sweet thing to do.

"Is that lipgloss? It fits you so well! And the little flower clip! Who gave you permission to be so cute, huh?" Patton giggled at his antics.

"Daddy did!" he pointed at Logan, and all of them laughed.

"You're such a silly baby," Logan teased. Patton went over to the couch, climbing up to sit next to Virgil. Patton took the sippy cup Virgil handed him, swinging his feet a little as he took a sip.

For a little bit, Logan talked to Roman, while Patton conversed with Virgil. "I like the skirt, you look very cute," Virgil told him. Patton was overwhelmed by all the compliments, blushing a bit.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Patton got ff the couch, running up to Logan and pulling on his hand. Logan was distracted from his conversation, looking at Patton. He seemed really eager to say whatever it was.

"Yes, dear?" Logan spoke softly, in a caring way.

"Can we do a vlog, for my channel? I wan' do more little space vlogs!" he said, tilting his head. He was obviously excited for this. Logan thought for a moment.

"I don't see why not. Roman, could you help him pick out something kid friendly to watch? Virgil, you can come with me."

Logan got the camera, while Virgil got some toys for the boy. Logan recorded Patton, interacting with him and making him laugh. He got pictures and clips of Virgil and Roman playing with him.

Once Patton cut this all together, the videos of him making a mess while eating, coloring with Roman, cuddling up next to Virgil, he would have completed the first of many Little Vlogs to come.  And to Patton's fans, the vlogs they put out were adorable. It was a win-win situation they were all happy with. Imagine how many cute vlogs they could make when they moved in together, and they aren't just sleeping over all the time.

They'll get there eventually.

Tag list: @stimmingsides @smollilsanderssides @novacloudcat @analogical-agere @fairyhuman2000 @aphandgflover@softastarlight @littlesapphygem @softflowerinmyheart @virgietheprincess @babeyalstar @b3an-spr0ut @babeyvoid @lgbtqiaemo @because-were-fam-ily @lonelysoul43-0

[wizardessheart-sideb]

[Image ID: A chapter image done in the style of Wizardess Heart. A large, off-white imagine with a guy on it. He’s wearing a dark gray uniform. There’s a lavender bar over him that reads “Tsukasa Kuze.” The rest of the text reads “Main Story” and “Chapter 10-1: Hunting” /End ID]

Chapter summary: With little options, I have no choice but to go with Azusa and try and avert disaster.

I’m not doing well, so I won’t be attending classes today. I’ll see you after class. Love, Tsukasa.

The Magic Note came in as I got dressed. My stomach felt so sick reading it. He… He’s not ever going to get better, is he? Not unless we get that medicine. Or Azusa or I make a contract… What would I give a demon to make Tsukasa better? Heck, what would it even ask for? A lock of my hair? Some blood? My first-born child?

I walked into the kitchen. Aika and Isabelle were at the table, bowls of cereal in front of them. There was nothing on the stove and Dorian was nowhere in sight.

“We’re on our own for breakfast this morning,” Isabelle informed me.

“Where’s Dorian?” I asked.

“He’s looking for Azusa,” Aika said.

“Still?!”

“I guess?” Aika shrugged. “I don’t know. Dorian left around four this afternoon and he called me a few hours later and told me he couldn’t find Azusa so he was going to look for him.” My stomach knotted itself up.

“He might be at the Spring of Unicorns, but I don’t know why he’d be there now,” I told her. “He seemed so hellbent on having me help him and he told me we weren’t going to go there until four am.”

“I know Dorian looked around the dorms, but I don’t know if he’s checked the main building or not,” she said.

“He better not get too much attention,” Isabelle piped up.

“Dorian’s great a stealth. There’s no way he’s gonna be caught,” Aika reassured her. “I’m more worried about him not being able to find Azusa.”

“If anything, you’ll know where he is this morning,” I said, trying to look on the bright side of things.

“Yeah, but it’d be better for us to catch Azusa before he does anything,” Isabelle pointed out.

“I’ll call Dorian and give him the tip.” Aika quickly got up and left. Isabelle sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

“Are you really going to go through with this? Helping him… You know…” Her thumb made the throat-slitting motion.

“I mean, I don’t know. I don’t want to kill anything. But I don’t know if we can convince Azusa otherwise.”

“If worse comes to worse, Dorian can restrain him and you can make a contract with a demon or magical creature or whatever you want to save Tsukasa,” Isabelle said.

“We really depend on Dorian for everything, don’t we?” I sighed.

“Well, yeah. He’s taken care of Aika since she was yo- They were young. We joke about it, but he really does take care of us. He insists on it.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“Have you ever summoned a demon or a magical creature before?” I knew Aika and Dorian were into that sort of thing. Maybe Isabelle had experience with it. But she just gagged on her coffee.

“What? No. Summoning isn’t my specialty and the price of a contract is… Something that would open up a lot of mental wounds for me. How come?” she asked.

“I’m just worried if I have to do it. I don’t know what I’d sacrifice in order to save Tsukasa. I’d give anything to save him, but when it comes to picking that...”

“I get it,” she said with a nod. “It’s a big decision, you know? If you want my opinion, I’d do some research first and decide what kind of creature to summon first. If you do chose a demon, there’s a lot of subtypes. Incubi generally make contracts for firstborns or a bit of your soul, although I’ve heard some are really flexible with payment.”

“I don’t know if I’d want to summon a demon like that…” I don’t want to make a contract like that and besides, I don’t think Tsukasa would appreciate it if I made a contract like that even if I was willing.

“Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Azusa’s stubborn, but he loves his brother and I’m sure Dorian will get through to him.” Isabelle smiled warmly at me.

“Yeah, but I don’t like depending on others,” I admitted. “Dorian shouldn’t have to do anything. I should be able to do everything on my own.”

“Oh, same,” Isabelle nodded. “But you have to realize this is something big. I feel like if you have someone willing to do the work for you or help you out, you should take it. No one should have to do things alone, you know?”

“But I’ve been depending on people ever since I got here. I haven’t done anything for myself,” I reminded her. Isabelle’s brow furrowed.

“What are you talking about? Of course you’ve done things on your own. Do you honestly think that other people have been doing your work for you? Even if people are helping you, your accomplishments and your growth are your own.” She sighed, taking another sip of coffee.

-----

I’d gotten used to walking to class on my own. But as I got to the elevator, I paused for a moment. I wondered how Tsukasa was doing. Usually he sent me a Magic Note in the morning, but it just occurred to my that I hadn’t heard from him. My body immediately started to move on its own. I needed to go check on Tsukasa.

The door to his room was opened slightly and I immediately pushed it open, only to for it to meet resistance.

“Don’t open it more. You’re going to knock me over.” Tsukasa’s voice came from the other side.

“Tsukasa?! Are you okay?” I wiggled through the small opening and found Tsukasa sitting on the ground, clutching a trash can to his chest. I immediately knelt down beside him, pushing his hair out of his face. He heaved and stuck his head into the can, vomiting. I hurried over to his desk, grabbing the box of tissues and pulling some out for him. He took them and cleaned himself up.

“Sorry, I’m staying home today,” he said.

“Don’t worry about me. Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?” I asked him.

“No, it’s fine. I just need a moment.”

“Are you really sure? I don’t mind helping you down there.”

“Really, it’s fine,” he insisted. “Azusa told me he’ll be getting another batch of my medication and I’ll be fine in a few days time.” He gave me a soft smile, hand reaching out and cupping my cheek. Despite the comforting gesture, nausea came over me. “Don’t worry about me. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I know. Everything’s going to be okay.” I spoke the words, trying to believe in them. I wasn’t going to let Tsukasa die. I had to do something to save him. I was going to do something to save him. Tsukasa leaned against me, snuggling into my side. “What if I stay here with you today?” I posed the question carefully, glancing over at him.

“I’d like that, but are you sure? Is it going to stress you to skip classes today?”

“I’ve been doing a lot better in classes. I’m sure its fine.” I put my arm around him, trying to snuggle closer to him. He put the trash bin to the side and grabbed my hand.

“I’m really grateful for you. I hope you know that,” he told me. My heart melted.

“And I’m grateful for you. I’m so grateful we met.”

----

I glanced at the clock on the wall. If I was going to meet Azusa, I’d have to leave right now. Tsukasa and I had been laying on his bed for the past hour or so. Glancing down at Tsukasa, I saw he was still fast asleep. If it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest, I would’ve worried… Carefully, I climbed over his legs and got out of bed. As quietly as I could, I sneaked out of the room. Tsukasa would probably be upset when he realized I left, but this needed to be done.

Classes were still going on, so the hallways in the dorm were silent and empty. At least that was nice. I didn’t have to worry about getting caught playing hooky. In fact, everything seemed empty and quiet as I made my way into the forest and to mine and Azusa’s meeting spot. It was as if the whole forest was empty. There were no owls crying out, no insects making wretched sounds. Nothing.

As I approached the meeting spot, I could see a dark figure in the moonlight, a flashlight in its hand.

“Azusa?” I called out.

“What?” he responded, irritated. I sighed a breath of relief.

“Sorry, I couldn’t tell if it was you or not,” I told him.

“Whatever. Let’s go.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the spring. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp.

“You don’t have to hold onto me. I’m fine,” I told him. He said nothing. “Look, I’ve been thinking about this, and I have an idea. If the unicorn won’t give us a piece of its horn, I’m willing to make a deal with a demon -”

“A demon?” he interrupted. “You’re seriously saying you’d rather try and strike a deal with a demon than just killing an animal?”

“But we wouldn’t have to kill anything!” I protested.

“Why are you still hung up on that? I’ve already told you… Ugh, I’m not having this argument again. I hate repeating myself.”

“But it just makes more sense! Do you want to keep coming back here and killing unicorns every couple years or make a deal with something and have it done forever?”

“… You wouldn’t understand it,” he muttered. “I’m not going to rely on someone or something else. The only reason I brought you into this is because Tsukasa says you’re good with healing magic and I would assume you want him alive.”

“You don’t want to rely on people?”

“I just told you I hate… Are you trying to piss me off on purpose?!”

“No, no! That’s not it at all! I… I get it. I really do.”

“You’re so weird,” he said dismissively before heading into the spring. Was this how I looked to other people? Stubborn and leading myself down a difficult path for no reason? Not listening to reason? Even if Azusa refused to listen to me or anyone else, I knew how he felt.

I wasn’t sure if the feeling comforted or worried me. Uneasy, I stepped into the spring. A unicorn was already by the water, but I couldn’t tell if it was the same one Azusa and I talked to.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Ugh, you two again,” the unicorn sighed. I guess that answers that question. Jerk. “If you’re here to bargain with me, I stand by what I said earlier.”

“Are you really okay with letting someone die when you could have saved his life?” I challenged it.

“Do you really think I’m going to believe two strangers I just met? You’re probably lying,” he said dismissively.

“But do you want to take that risk? Do you want blood on your hands? Er, hooves?” I corrected myself. Azusa groaned.

“Be quiet. I’ll take care of this,” he told me, grabbing my shoulder. “Get ready to back me up if needed.”

“Azusa?!”

“Stand back or you’ll get caught in the magic circle,” he ordered.

“The what?!” He grabbed my arm and threw me away from the spring. I stumbled over my feet and fell to the ground. “Ow! Azusa, what the heck?!”

“封! (Fuu!)” he shouted, writing a symbol in the air. My stomach dropped as faint markings in the ground started to glow. It was happening. This was really happening.

“Azusa, stop!” I screamed at him, scrambling to my feet. There was a blinding light and I shut my eyes as I grabbed Azusa around the waist, hiding my face in his back.

“Get off me!” he yelled.

“No! Please don’t kill it! Just take part of the horn, please!” I pleaded.

“Stop being a baby,” he ordered me callously. “I’m taking care of everything. Just stand back and if I need healing, do it.”

His fingers dug into my arms and he wrenched my arms opened, pushing me away from him. The magic circle on the ground faintly glowed, and from some of these lines stood what looked like large slabs of glowing crystal. The unicorn was desperately rearing back, crashing onto the slabs, trying to break it. Azusa leaned down, taking his backpack off and leaving it at my feet.

“Get ready to help me with the butchering. I can’t do that alone,” he told me. Bile rose in my throat at the mental image. Azusa approached the crystalline cage and I was scrambling to my feet, reaching for my wand. But as I raised to attack Azusa, I froze. What if Azusa was right? What if this was the only way?

… No, this isn’t the way…

Tsukasa’s medicine only kept him healthy for a few years. If we went down this road, Azusa would have to kill unicorn after unicorn after unicorn. And what if we couldn’t get access to one? What happened when we killed the last one? What happened when we had no medicine to give Tsukasa? This wasn’t sustainable. This wasn’t a long-term solution.

“O sacred water, become a piercing arrow! 'Sagitta Aqua!'" I cried. A large arrow of water went flying through the air and hit Azusa squarely in the back. He cried out in pain, stumbling forward. He froze, then slowly turned to my. My stomach churned as his rage-filled face glared at me. I tried to stand my ground. “I told you, we’re not killing it.” My voice shook. Azusa took one step towards me, then another. I stumbled back.

“I knew I couldn’t trust you,” he said, voice dangerously low. He lifted his hand, starting to write something in the air. I readied my wand, ready to bring up a shield. “炎! (En!)” A bolt of fire came roaring towards me.

“Suctum Aqua!” I quickly brought up a shield and stood my ground, digging my feet into the ground. The flame pushed against my shield, but I kept it up. Even if they were getting extinguished from my shield, seeing flames right in front of your eyes was terrifying.

Suddenly, the flames disappeared and I heard Azusa scream. My shield dropped and I saw Dorian, arm raised, entering the clearing, Aika and Tsukasa following behind him.

“Tsukasa?!” Through my shock, I somehow managed to run over to him, taking him in my arms. “What are you doing here?! You need to be at home, resting!”

“Aika told me what’s going on. I couldn’t let them come for you on their own,” Tsukasa said, pushing some hair behind my ear.

“Tsukasa…” As glad as I was to see him, I couldn’t help but worry about his health and how he was feeling right now. Dorian put his arm down and Azusa choked for air, chest heaving violently.

“Our baby Unus transfer told us everything and we told Tsukasa everything. Let’s talk this out, Azusa,” Aika said gently, approaching him.

“There’s… There’s no other way…” he insisted.

“This isn’t sustainable. What happens when we can’t find a unicorn? We need another solution. Please, if you won’t listen to me, listen to them!” I begged him.

“None of you understand what I’ve been through!” he shouted. “If killing a unicorn is the only way to save Tsukasa, then so be it!”

“Hey, we’re all here for you,” Aika said gently, grabbing his arm. “We can all put our heads together and figure something out.”

“Shut up!” he screamed. She trembled and immediately took a few steps back, body shaking. “I’ve tried everything and this is the only thing that will work!”

“Oh, really? You’ve really gone through every possible solution? I find that hard to believe,” Dorian called him out, crossing his arms over his chest. Azusa glared at him.

“Oh, you’re really going to be like that?” he asked dangerously. He raised his hand and I moved in front of Tsukasa, ready to throw up another shield. But in an instant, Tsukasa moved in front of me, storming over to Azusa.

“That’s enough!” Tsukasa yelled.” They’re just trying to help you! We’re trying to help you! You’ve always been like this, insisting you can do everything by yourself. You’re so stubborn! Can’t you just accept our help How will it hurt you if you get help from us?”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?!” Azusa roared. “There’s no other way. It’s you or the unicorn! And I’m not losing you! You’re all I have left! You have no idea what I’ve been through! I don’t care if I have to kill every unicorn on this damn planet. I will save you. I won’t let you die again!”

Everything froze.

Die… Again…?

Azusa’s face crumbled. He took a few steps toward Tsukasa, who stepped away.

“What are you talking about?!” Tsukasa demanded, voice shaking. Azusa remained silent. “I… Azusa, what are you talking about?!”

“I promised our parents I would do everything to keep you safe. I couldn’t let you die. I couldn’t let you stay dead,” Azusa said quietly.

“You’re crazy! You’ve completely lost it!” Tsukasa shouted. His shoulders started shaking. I hurried over to him and embraced him. His knees buckled and his full weight dropped into my arms. Carefully, I sat down with him. Azusa sprinted over to us, kneeling in front of Tsukasa and I.

“The past doesn’t matter,” Azusa said. “You’re alive now and I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you alive. Even if you hate me, you’re still my brother and I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

“Why... Why didn’t you tell me?!” Tsukasa demanded.

“I thought it would be best if you didn’t know,” Azusa replied. Part of me couldn’t fault him on that, seeing what was happening now.

“But it’s my life! I deserve to know what’s going on!” Tsukasa retorted.

“You want to know the truth?”

“Yes!”

Azusa sighed, sitting down by us. Defeated. Exhausted.

“It happened when you caught cholera,” he began. “I tried everything to save you, but when you…” He swallowed hard. “I couldn’t accept it. You were just fourteen. I’d promised our parents I’d keep you safe and I failed. So I searched for a way to bring you back. A merchant had a unicorn carcass on his hands and I was willing to shell out for it. The horn and some magic I learned from a visiting Gedonelunian woman did it.

“You came back to life. All I had to worry about was giving you your medication. As long as you were taking that, you’d stay alive. But then we moved and I thought things would be easier here for us. I’ve been trying to get bits of unicorn horns to give you the right dosage, but… I haven’t been able to. And without the medication, your body’s shutting down. That’s why we need to kill this unicorn. You’re dying and I refuse to lose you again.”

“Azusa…” Tsukasa whispered. We fell quiet. Tsukasa quietly sobbed and I just… I didn’t even know what to think. But Azusa’s desperation made even more sense now that I knew the truth. Even though I was relieved to hear Tsukasa wasn’t sick, it wasn’t like it mattered. Somehow, his body shutting down was worse. Illnesses had cures. Dying like this had very few.

“… Dorian,” Aika spoke up quietly. “I want to break our contract.”

[soft-ris]

Hello, Cupid's Pick sounds fun! If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to request one for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (I'd prefer Part 5 since I'm most familiar with it, but only if it's okay with you!)

I'm a very open minded person, kind of quiet but I get talkative the more I know you. I'm the chaotic friend who's usually down to do anything with you. You could literally talk about anything (except math), and I would listen to you attentively if you sound excited enough. I do swing from lazy to hyper and energetic. There's very few people I genuinely open up to, but I dearly love them so god help anyone who insults them because I can and will fight them (nothing can stop this 4'11" gremlin!!!). My humor is either dirty innuendos or sarcasm. I am also the kind of person who can cry just cause someone else is crying. For hobbies, I'm very fond of cooking, singing, and playing video games. I absolutely love sweets and I am very much a cat person. I hate bugs with every fiber of my being though, I will definitely run out of the room like my life depends on it. An ideal date would probably be relaxing at home or going somewhere quiet to hang out and talk.

Ahdkakjda wait, I'm so sorry, I got so excited I misread your Cupid's Pick post... if it's alright, could I choose Melone, Ghiaccio, and Risotto as my top 3 picks? (I was the anon who asked for Part 5 of Jojo specifically...)

———————————————————————

Cupid’s Pick for your match made in heaven is...

...Melone!

I personally think Melone would only be open to a relationship if he believes the other person is a perfect match for him (and his genes)! And guess what? He believes you are and so does Cupid!

———————————————————————

I'm a very open minded person...

Necessary for their line of job, but definitely a plus for Melone due to his…tendencies and personality and interests. So I feel like he would be very into open minded people (like yourself) because that just means more acceptance and more things to try out ;)

I mean he may brush off or ignore other people’s disgust, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be accepted too uwu so your open mindedness is one of the big reasons you’d catch his heart!

If you have limits, he will push them from time to time, but reign him in and he’ll be more than willing to behave (with a price ;3)

...kind of quiet but I get talkative the more I know you. + You could literally talk about anything (except math), and I would listen to you attentively if you sound excited enough.

Melone strikes me as someone who talks moderately in general (he just talks to himself a lot), but he will talk more to the people he’s close to/comfortable with, and his excitement when he realizes you’re actually listening to him will shoot up and up and up (like his rate of talking).

He knows you tend to zone out when he’s talking about math related stuff, so that won’t come up often with him, but it still will sometimes because he probably thinks your expression is just Di MoLtO~🥴

He also loves collecting data/information on you, so whatever you talk about to him, he’s gonna be typing it down simultaneously!! So not only does he listen, he remembers (and has like 50 sub-folders on the stuff you say lol). This is mainly because he wants a more cohesive file on you. Like I said, he already believes you’re practically the perfect match for him with all the information he has on hand already, but his appetite for more information about you drives him to do this because it’ll just affirm for him that ‘ok wow this person really is my match made in genetic heaven’.

Ghia’s excitement comes in the form of rage and it happens often, so while he loves that you’re listening to him, I think he would almost never show you that he appreciates it. Also, if you’re talkative when he’s stressed or angry, he will yell at you to shut up. Ris would be straight forward (tells you that he’s not in the mood) and Melone would say stuff like “Not now. Later.” (but he doesn’t sound as gruff as Ris).

Ris is the same way with the quiet to talkative thing (in my HC at least), so getting past that initial stage would be hard as hell with him. Imo Melone would be the easiest to get past that stage, and Ghia…depends? If you keep pissing him off though (bc yk…tsundere with anger issues lol), he’ll be the hardest to get to a comfortable stage.

There's very few people I genuinely open up to, but I dearly love them so god help anyone who insults them because I can and will fight them (nothing can stop this 4'11" gremlin!!!).

All of them would appreciate this one way or another, but Melone more so because you’re fighting…for him. Him who’s always touted as gross or perverted or disgusting by the majority. Him who never fights in a confrontational manner because he isn’t comfortable with that and prefers long range tactics (satisfactory but seeing u fight face to face for him just hits different YK?). And it means so much more to him than you’ll ever know.

He’ll also be standing behind you, cheering u on with the biggest smile on his face too :’) also would jeer & taunt ur opponent LOL

I'm the chaotic friend who's usually down to do anything with you.

I HC Ris as having a routine set of things he enjoys doing and it’s on permanent rotation (I’m not saying he won’t go out of his comfort zone, but he knows what he like and if he doesn’t like something, it’s hard to change his mind), whereas with Ghia I HC him as only having 2 interests – cars (more specifically the type of car he drives) and knowing facts (+ disputing and ranting about them). Ris would indulge in some chaos once in a blue moon, but I feel like him & Ghia are set and happy with their current interests.

Melone however would be the most open in terms of what he’s willing to do as long as his safety is guaranteed or if the activity does not involve him getting hurt. Like stealing a yacht or hacking ur annoying neighbour’s computer system LOL

Because you bring that chaos, Melone would be the most fit with you. I know you’re probably like “Huh? Ain’t Ghia chaotic too?”, or “Wouldn’t Ris handle chaoticness the best?”, but chaos (Ghia’s) feeding into chaos (yours) might burn the both of you out, and Ris already deals with chaos 24/7 and he just wants to relax imo. Melone though, looks the most flexible and can probably match up with you the best because of that since he deals with Ghia and the rest on the regular without looking like he’s Tired™️ lol

I do swing from lazy to hyper and energetic.

Like I just mentioned, Melone most likely deals with Ghia’s energy on the regular and he looked chill with the other members too, so he (and Ris as well since yk…he’s the one overseeing everyone in LS) would adapt to your moods the best.

Ghia…I feel like because he has such a short fuse AND is a tsundere (well, at least that’s what I get from his vibe), he would not deal well with your energy if it’s higher up there. He might blow several fuses if the situation and your mood and his mood doesn’t align properly. I also think if he happens on your lazy mood, he would just leave you alone and go do his own thing.

My humor is either dirty innuendos or sarcasm.

Melone is technically a pervert, so when you make dirty innuendos, he’ll absolutely eat it up like a wet ass pussy.

I feel like he definitely prefers that over sarcasm, unless your sarcasm is aimed at someone else (especially if it’s someone he doesn’t like). He’ll probably just ignore you if you’re sarcastic to him lol, but Ghia would absolutely take it too far too quick. Ris enjoys the sarcasm more than the dirty innuendos I feel, but because he’s also your boss, you have to know where the exact boundaries are when y’all are in a professional setting. He’s not quite forgiving if he feels undermined or disrespected. But if Ris is in the mood, he’d dirty innuendo you back, but if he’s not then he’d either brush you off or pretend you didn’t just say that lol. Overall, kinda dry with your humour bc in my head his humour brand is Dry too LOL

I am also the kind of person who can cry just cause someone else is crying.

Ghia would scold you or make you feel like an idiot because of that (he might think it’s a liiiiittle cute, but the chances of him telling you that is like 0.0001% lmao). He’s prideful as hell too so…. But he might also find it annoying or ridiculous (depending on the situation). 0/10

Ris would hand you a tissue and maybe offer his embrace. He thinks it’s a little odd, but it’s not something he would give most of his attention to after you explain it to him. 4/10

Melone would coo at you. Would tease you with it too. He’d also love your tears. Something about you crying…kinda turns him on…maybe. Overall, he’d be the one who doesn’t mind it the most and likes it the most too. 100% wouldn’t make u feel stupid or weird about it, that’s for sure. 8/10

For hobbies, I'm very fond of cooking, singing, and playing video games.

Cooking - Ghia’s taste is Picky, so he won’t eat everything you cook and will 100% complain if it’s something he doesn’t like smh. Ris enjoys the domesticity when you cook with him, but he’s 90% in charge bc he likes certain dishes a certain way. He would also give you constructive criticism like you’re on masterchef or some shit😭😂. Melone would eat it all up. No complaints. On the pan, on the plate, on the cutleries, on your body. Man don’t give a fuck. Put your cum in it too and he’ll gobble that shit up SO quick😭 Overall, would eat anything you give him because he’s chill in that aspect bc I see him as kind of a trash eater? 😂

Singing - Ris would listen and dish out a compliment once in awhile, Melone would verbally appreciate it the most (and also secretly record it and save it amongst the 2k other files he has on your singing lmao), and Ghia in all his tsundere-ness would ask you to can it (he really doesn’t want u to shut up but you don’t actually know that lmao).

Video games - Risotto would never LMAO. If he sees you playing games, he’s just gonna go about his day or even turn around lmao. Ghia probably thinks its childish. Melone would indulge in this hobby of yours the most. Probably buy some for you or even make hentai games just for u💓

I hate bugs with every fiber of my being though, I will definitely run out of the room like my life depends on it.

Ris is the best candidate for this because he would kill it for you, Ghia would walk out, and Melone would scream and run with u LMAO

An ideal date would probably be relaxing at home or going somewhere quiet to hang out and talk.

Melone would try to push you to go out & try different kinds of dates, which is fun in its own, and a good balance for compromise between the two of you. But then again, it’s not like he’s constantly going out lol, so when you go on your ideal dates with him, he’s reminded that intimate quality time like these are so important too (and it secretly becomes his favourite types of dates as well because more time = more info on his lovely baby)

Risotto would match up with this the best, but that would also mean these kinds of dates (chill, lowkey & personal) will make up majority of your dates. And he (imo) is quite fond of chill lowkey routine type dates, so...unless you’re the homebody introverted type, I don’t think Ris would match the best.

Ghia’s ideal date is probably travelling? And 60% involves his car and other cars & 40% involves trivia & debates (whether it’s a game between you two or at a bar against other teams). No other interests LOL

———————————————————————

All in all, Melone x anon 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hope you enjoyed this 💜

[roi-des-voleurs]

The Cats Out of the Bag || Self Para

Summary: Remy takes on a job to steal a package for a crime boss, and ends up with some unexpected new friends

Word Count: 2085

Warnings: A little violence and some allusions to animal neglect/mistreatment

Takes place prior to the travel ban being instated. Not that it would have applied to Remy, but after this, he definitely would have chosen to stay at home for a while!

Though he treaded the mostly straight and narrow these days, Remy did still do thievery jobs from time to time, if the money and the job was right. He would never steal from someone who could not afford or did not deserve it. But when one crime boss contacted him and asked him to steal from another crime boss? Yeah, that would work. And if they went at each other later, would that be a real loss? Remy did not think so. Besides, if any of them rubbed him the wrong way, he could always drop an anonymous tip to the police.

"So dis package? What's in it?" he inquired after agreeing to the job. He was aware it would be something illegally acquired, but he was not keen on picking up weapons or something else which could be used to hurt innocent people later on.

"I'm not paying you to ask questions, thief. Just do your job," snapped the crime boss.

Clearly Remy should not have expected civility, or an explanation. But most people usually let him know what he was going to steal, just to make sure he got it right. That made him more leery of what he was going after, but he was willing to give a little leeway for now. Hopefully he could get a chance to peek at the contents of the package before having to deliver it, and thus could choose not to deliver it if it was something too questionable.

"Pardon, pardon." Remy held up his hands, showing he would remain silent for now. "Jus' askin'. Ok, I'll have it here at ten tomorrow night."

"And not a minute later. Otherwise you'll regret it."

Hmm, definitely not a flexible customer. And probably up to more than just pissing off his rival. But Remy said nothing; instead he bowed politely and backed out of the office. Now he was quite curious as to what he was going to steal, and definitely ready to give the police an anonymous tip if things went south.

~*~*~*~

The target building was a warehouse, naturally. And it was guarded, naturally. But then the crime boss would not have hired one of the best in the business if this was simple snatch and grab, so Remy had expected no less. Still, unless there were guards stationed on the roof, things might still be pretty simple. 

Leaping from the roof of the building next door, he landed noiselessly on the roof of the warehouse and headed for the nearest skylight.

Equally quietly, Remy worked to slip the glass out of the opening, smirking to himself when it came off easily. As he set it aside, however, a shadow suddenly fell over him. "Ah, maybe not quite so easily, den," he muttered, correctly assuming a guard had come up.

"Stand up--slowly--and raise your hands. Otherwise I'll be kickin' you down into that hole," came the gruff voice behind him. 

"Don't t'ink I can argue wit' dat, homme."

Remy did indeed start to stand slowly...before halting and whipping his leg around to knock the man behind him off his feet. Caught off guard, he toppled backwards, mercifully not making as much of a thud as he could have. He was not quite knocked out, though, so Remy gave him a whack to the head, putting him out of commission. 

"Still not much o' a challenge," Remy commented before slipping into the open skylight and lowering himself down with a cable. 

Once he dropped down to the floor, he unhooked the cable and started off towards the office, where his client had assured him the package would be. Glancing up, Remy saw there were cameras around, but he was good at blending into the shadows, and he fancied he could make it to the office without getting noticed.

He was not wrong. When he was almost to the office, Remy smirked at having done so unnoticed--until he glimpsed into the window of the security room and saw the guard watching the video feed was sound asleep. Though he was glad that would make things really easy, he had to confess to being a little disappointed that he would never know for sure how well he had avoided the cameras. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Creeping towards the office, Remy found it was, naturally, locked. He did know how to pick a lock, but since there clearly was no one watching, he went for the quicker option--touching the lock, giving it a small charge, and opening the door once it sizzled and gave a small pop.

Remy had not been sure what he would find inside, so he was glad when he saw that his prize was sitting right on the desk. Without hesitation, he picked it up, though he paused when he thought he heard the sound of rustling within it. Yet he did not really have time to wonder about it now, so Remy strapped the box to his back and slipped out of the office. 

Judging by the sound of voices coming from nearby, the sleeping guard had woken either of his own volition or by someone else's, which meant Remy needed to go--and fast. Hurrying back to his cable, he climbed back up, pulling it up along with him. When he climbed out of the skylight, he could see guards gathering below, and he rolled onto the roof just in time to avoid the first shot. The initial guard he had encountered was still knocked out, so Remy waved at his prone form before taking off, getting away onto the other building before the rest of the guards had a chance to muster the search. 

~*~*~*~

Once back at his apartment, Remy set the package down and observed it. As he had made his escape, he became more convinced there were noises coming from within it, so he knew he was going to have to take a look inside. Gazing at it now, he could see small air holes cut into the box, which meant there was a living thing inside. And despite not being a weapon, that seemed like something he would have second thoughts about delivering.

Slowly, he opened the top and peered down into the box--and saw three small cats peering up at him. One white, one grey and one orange.

"Mon Dieu...chats?" Remy breathed. 

The cats did not move at first, but the longer they looked at him, the more curious they became, and soon all three were attempting to climb out of the box.

"Aw, you wanna come out, mes amis?" Smiling, Remy proceeded to take them out one by one, smiling more as they did not hesitate to start crawling onto him. "Hey, you sure a rambunctious lot! What were you doin' in dere anyway?" Were they valuable? He could not imagine why else the crime boss had been after them. But he was certain of one thing. Remy was not going to give the cats up without a fight.

"Don' worry, garçons, I ain't gonna let anythin' bad happen t' you," he said, rubbing two of the cats behind the ears, "I'll jus' hafta have some words wit' a certain client, an' den we'll see if we can't find somebody t' take you in, hein?"

The cats he was rubbing purred, and the one who was not being rubbed promptly pushed his way in to try and get similiar treatment. Chuckling, Remy said, "Sacre, I only got deux hands! You'll hafta wait your turn, glouton!" His chiding did not dissuade the cat, who only started to rub his head against Remy's hand more in response. He chuckled again and started to rub him, making sure to give all of them a scratch in turn. They were such sweethearts. What did that connard want with them? Well, whatever had happened to put these poor little guys in his crosshairs, Remy was damn well going to get to the bottom of it. 

~*~*~*~

"So, care t' explain dis?" 

Remy was standing in front of the desk in the office of his "client," with the box sitting on said desk, open to allow the cats to peer out at the crime boss just as accusingly as Remy was doing.

"You weren't supposed to open it, asshole!" the man fumed, "I contracted you to retrieve it and bring it to me--no questions asked, and no looking at the merchandise!"

"Merchandise! Dese are livin' creatures!" Remy fumed. Ok, animals sold in pet stores were technically merchandise, but he was pretty damn sure no one who worked in a pet store would refer to them so callously. 

"They are merchandise. I make money off of them, and I don't appreciate when they are stolen from me. That fucker is lucky that I only had them stolen back, because I could have made things much more unpleasant for him. And I still might."

So that was it. Illegal animal sales were part of his crime racket. And obviously his rival's as well, if he had stolen the cats originally. And now Remy had delivered them back to a jerk who did not give a shit about the cats. He only cared how much money he could make off of them. That was not what he had been expecting when he had taken on this job.

"So you sell dem, den," Remy said, more a statement than a question.

"Uh, what did I just say, dipshit?" The crime boss frowned. "You keep asking questions and you're not gonna see any of the money we agreed on."

"Keep it."

"What?"

"Keep it," said Remy, more firmly this time, "I don' wanna get paid for havin' any part in somet'ing so cruel."

"Cruel? What, you worried about the poor widdle kitties? What the hell kinda thief are you?"

"De kind wit' a heart, homme. Lots o' dem, in fact." His cards were in his pocket, but if he charged any of them now, he might hurt the cats. "But tonight's your lucky night. You won' get t' see 'em, 'cause I'm gonna let you off easy."

The crime boss and his two thugs by the door all laughed.

"Oh, that's mighty generous of you, sir. So generous that I just might repay you in kind," the crime boss said, shaking his head.

Remy noticed the movement of the thugs, and he was quick enough to dodge the first. But the second landed a punch to his stomach, and when he doubled over in pain, the first landed a punch to his jaw. Remy fell backwards, but the thugs grabbed him and pulled him back to his feet as the crime boss approached them.

"Looks like you might get off easy too, because I'm going to let you live." Then, to the thugs he said, "Show him the way out."

They nodded and dragged Remy out of the office and out of the warehouse, dumping him unceremoniously on the pavement outside. He groaned at the fresh wave of pain from the fall, taking a while before managing to get back on his feet again. He glared at the now closed door of the warehouse, angry at the assault on him but feeling much worse about having been tossed out before he could retrieve the cats. There were a hell of a lot of mistakes he had made in his life, but this one at least he could correct. Smirking a bit despite his pain, Remy staggered off, muttering, "Maybe you...ain't gonna get off so easy after all, connard."

~*~*~*~

Later that evening, acting on an anonymous tip, the police raided the warehouse, arresting the crime boss and his thugs and confiscating hordes of stolen merchandise...except for a box containing three cats.

That was safely in Remy's arms as he watched the scene from a roof a short distance away. Hearing a meow, he looked down to see one of the cats trying to paw open the box. Chuckling, he lifted the flap and waved at them. 

"Don' worry, mes amis, you'll be outta dere soon." He had been planning to take them to a shelter, but the more time Remy spent with them, the more he began to change his mind. They were growing on him, and now he did not think he wanted to let them go. In fact, he knew he did not want to. Smiling down at the cats, he said, "Come on, garçons, let's go home."

[fire-the-headcanons]

And now we're going to be teammates with Crow and Raven for four years. He glanced up at the screen where their pictures were arranging themselves in order, a letter fading into view under each face. S, T, R, —Q? What? How did he spell his name? Qrow? Qurow?

Follow the Beacon Taiyang—A ROOK-ie Mistake

[Link to Masterpost] [Whew! This is a long one, but I really wanted all of this from Tai's POV. I like to think Summer was the leader, but Tai was the glue that kept the other three from killing each other, especially in the beginning. I love Tai's emotional intelligence in the show]

"Where the hell were you?" 

The drone of Ozpin's voice lecturing the assembled students on the importance of flexibility, resilience and teamwork with unlikely allies barely masked Dan's angry words.

"In a tree with a sprained ankle," Tai hissed back. "Where were you?"

"I headed to the temple and waited for you! For like an hour!"

"Well, you were gone when we got there." He could stand on his own now, at least that was something, but his leg throbbed and healing had eaten through a good chunk of his aura. How do you always have enough energy to get angry? The last thing he needed right now was an argument. 

"Tiffany Sativum, Robin Dickinson, Tan Jack, and Lisera Madder, please come to the stand." Two partnerships stepped forward, one from the edge of the crowd of new students and the other pushing their way from the middle. In the stands above, the upperclassmen clapped politely. "The four of you retrieved the white pawn pieces during your trial. From this day forward, you will work as team TRTL, led by Tiffany Sativum."

Tai's heart sank as Summer seized his arm. " He's using the relics to put the teams together? "

"Which one did you two take?" Dan demanded.

Tai swallowed, trying to clear the sudden foul taste from his mouth. "A black rook." The next pair of partners took the stage, the hapless owners of the black pawns.

"Dammit, I had a white knight!" He glared up at Ozpin standing on the stage. "This is a stupid way to form teams!"

"Maybe Crow put the piece down," Summer muttered, rising on tiptoes to search the crowd. The Taupe twins were on the opposite side, and they appeared to be arguing.

Tai sighed, deeply. "He did not."

"Oh, no. Oh no… "

Couldn't have said it better myself . Crow seemed nice enough, if a little weird—a cape? Really? —but Raven was weird and…prickly.

"Don't like your new teammates?" Dan asked, voice still taut with anger.

"She's a bad-mannered Grimm magnet!"

Harsh. But true. "Well, look on the bright side. Ozpin probably won't make her the team leader."

"And you have someone you know on your team," Dan complained. Across the field, the twins had abandoned arguing in favor of glaring at the ground with identical scowls and folded arms. 

Absolutely nobody was happy with this, huh? Time to lighten the mood. Tai grinned, making sure he had both of their attention, and shrugged. "And, y'know. They're not unattractive."

Summer glared at him. "Godsdammit, Tai."

Ozpin cut her off, calling the next group to the stand, and Dan stepped closer as she focused once again on the stage.

"Careful, I might get jealous," Dan teased, quietly enough she wouldn't hear.

"Shhh." Tai elbowed him. "Unless you want to tell Summer now?"

"You're no fun."

At last, Ozpin made it to the rooks. As the newly formed team CIMN "Cinnamon"—that was a bit of a stretch, even for Ozpin—Tai and Summer started pushing forward.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer Rose, Crow Taupe, and Raven Taupe. You retrieved the black rook pieces." A few of the upperclassmen whooped and shouted as they stepped forward, and Tai's cheeks burned with embarrassment. How many people knew how badly he'd messed up?  

And now we're going to be teammates with Crow and Raven for four years. He glanced up at the screen where their pictures were arranging themselves in order, a letter fading into view under each face. S, T, R, —Q? What? How did he spell his name? Qrow? Qurow?

And then the four of them were lined up onstage under their photos, and Ozpin was smiling down at them despite their obvious discomfort."From this day forward you will work together as team STRQ, led by Summer Rose."

She sucked in a nervous breath through her teeth, with only a half-glance at Raven. Oh. Of course, the only thing that could potentially be more difficult than being on a team where Raven was leader… was leading the team Raven was on.

Although, she didn't look like she wanted to start a fight. For once. More like relieved—both the twins were. They're so weird.

They retreated gratefully from the stage and returned to their seats, clapping along with the rest of the school as Ozpin introduced the last few teams, and then they were free to leave.

"Well…" Summer began, but trailed off immediately.

Tai yawned. "I'm exhausted. Is anybody else exhausted?" 

"Probably because of your aura healing you," Raven said, quietly. After so many harsh words the softer tone was almost jarring, but anyone would know that . Was she trying to get under his skin? Again? Why?

He certainly wasn't going to rise to it. "Uh…yeah…"

"…You knew that already," she muttered, staring at the ground. A few yards away Professor Lionheart called everyone to pick up their things and go to Dorm B.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," she said, still not making eye contact. "I was… impatient, in the forest. I didn't realize we'd be working together …I don't want to make trouble."

Oh. She was trying to be nice? Tai scratched at the back of his neck, somehow even more uncomfortable. The next four years were going to be all flavors of interesting.

"Well, let's start over." Summer said, offering her hand for Raven to shake. Tai had known her forever, could tell she was just as uneasy, but also knew she was willing to recognize when someone was making an effort. "I'm Summer Rose. It's nice to meet you."

"Raven Taupe," she replied with a small smile. "You too."

Summer smiled, only a little forced, and swiped Tai's bag from his hands to sling it over her shoulder with her own. "Come on, let's go find our room." she said, rushing a few steps ahead.

"She really thought Ozpin was gonna make one of us leader?" Qrow muttered under his breath, one eyebrow raised. Tai stifled a snort, trying not to glance at Raven, but she was just nodding with her mouth pressed into a thin line.

Their room was on the second floor, near the end of the hall. A piece of paper had been taped to the door with STRQ scrawled in large, neat letters. "Home sweet home," Summer muttered nervously, pushing her way in. Four beds took up most of the space, with a couple feet between each. Two desks were crammed side-by-side in the middle, under the window, and as they filed in they found the other two pressed against the wall on either side of the door.

No curtains around the beds or for dividing up the room. "…Not real big on privacy, are they," Tai said. The dorms at Signal had been co-ed, but not this co-ed.

"Ugh, I hate getting used to a new mattress," Summer complained, flopping down on one of the beds against the wall. The twins immediately moved to claim the two at the other end of the room, leaving Tai with the one next to her—well, he was perfectly fine with that. He dropped his bag at the foot of the bed and started digging through it. Soap, towel, change of clothes, detergent, toothbrush…

"I'm gonna shower," Tai said, tossing the bundle over his shoulder. "I feel like I have bugs crawling all over me from that stupid tree."

 *****************************************************************************************

  "Dude, are you okay? You've been in there for like…forty minutes." Tai called tentatively. He didn't have his scroll, but Qrow had gotten in the shower while he was still trying to get his boot off his injured foot. He'd massaged his ankle, showered, and started a load of laundry since then.

The water switched off almost instantly. "I'm fine!"

Tai just shook his head and began to brush his teeth. Are these two really this weird or is this culture shock? he asked his reflection. I mean, we were eight when we moved to Vale. I don't remember Anima that well, and it's a huge place. In truth he couldn't even remember exactly where they'd lived…Ayame was closer to Mistral than not, right? And Qrow had said they weren't too far from there either.

The metallic clink of something metal hitting the porcelain a couple sinks down jolted him out of his thoughts. Qrow was now wearing a shapeless T-shirt and drawstring pants that Tai could only describe as dingy—faded colors, thin fabric. He'd tossed his combat gear into a sink and was filling it with water. 

Tai spat, rinsing his toothbrush. "What are you doing?" 

Qrow froze, hands dripping with soap. "…Laundry…?"

"There's a machine free," Tai gestured at the wall of washers next to the door. Actually there were several open.

"…Never used one before," he muttered, continuing to scrub.

"Oh." Tai blinked. They'd had a washer growing up, but Ayame was a relatively large town. Not everyone in the reigon had reliable Dust power outside the cities. "Uh… you can use my detergent…?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, what are teammates for?"

Qrow grabbed his stuff from the sink, trying to wring it out a little but still getting plenty of water on the floor, and shoved it into the washer. "Can I ask Raven if she has anything?"

"Sure!" He hoped the cheerfulness in his voice didn't sound as strained to Qrow as it did to him. Once his new teammate had vanished into the hallway, the forced smile slid from his face as Tai's head dropped into his hands. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"You're telling me."

His head snapped up—but it was just Dan. "You're on our floor?"

"Best news I've heard all day."  He wrapped his arms around Tai's waist, pulling him close. "I thought he'd never leave."

"He's just getting more stuff to wash," Tai mumbled, letting his head rest on Dan's shoulder. He was so tired.

"How's your ankle?"

"Hurts if I step on it too hard or move it too much." Dan let him go, and he jumped up backwards so he could sit on the counter and get his weight off it.

"I'm glad you're okay. Sorry I got so heated in the auditorium. I just really wanted the three of us to stay a team."

"Speaking of which, when can we tell Summer we—" Tai broke off as Qrow walked back in. "Got it?"

"Yeah, thanks," he said, tossing a small pile of red, black, and gray-brown into the machine. Tai hopped off the counter and started to measure out the detergent.

"Uh, hi, I'm Qrow Taupe."

"Dan Effeuiller."

Tai squinted down into the washer. Even with both the twins' clothes, it was barely half full—and the only color in the pile came from their battle gear. Most of their things were the same drab grays, browns, and off-whites in various states of well-worn.

"Actually, I think this is silk," he said, reaching in to pull Raven's sash out. "This does need to be handwashed—"

"Did you steal clothing from a female student?! " Tai jumped about a foot as an older boy yanked it from his hands, face purple under a golden blond mustache.

"I-It's my sister's," Qrow stammered.

"Oh." The mustache twitched. "Right you are. My apologies, Mister Taupe. I am Peter Port, the floor supervisor. I'm also a TA for Grimm Studies. Though…this is not how I wanted to make an introduction."

"You know us already?" Tai asked.

"Indeed I do, Mr. Xiao Long," he said. "Fortune favors the prepared! If there is anything you need, my door is at the end of the hall. I'll be seeing you all in class tomorrow!"

They breathed a collective sigh of relief as the TA left the room. "Anyway, uh, use warm water unless the clothes say not to on the label…" All their clothes looked very handmade. "And make sure you use the Dust-enhanced setting on your combat gear, it'll make it last longer."

"What happens if you wash silk in there?" Qrow asked, glancing at the sash.

Tai rolled his eyes. "Summer hits you for ruining her cosplay." That had been a fun day, when her Grimm Reaper cloak had come out of the wash all rippled and bubbly. 

"Uh…" Qrow clearly didn't get it. "Okay. Thanks. I hate doing laundry."

He snorted. "Anyone would if you had to do it all by hand!"

[Qrow: Fortune favors the people at the other end of the hall from me. Sorry, Tai]

Next Chapter: Do You Want to Get Stabbed?

[apprenticebard]

How can I make more money like you?

An important question!!

So to start with, I am not a person who has Figured Things Out. I got lucky last year - my friend recommended me for a job in a very high-wage area (specifically, San Francisco’s tech industry) that I happened to be a really good fit for, and that happened to be willing to hire people on a trial basis if they were promising, even if they didn’t have college degrees (’cause I still don’t have one). And that was really good for a while, until some stuff happened and I kinda got eaten. Now I’m unemployed and looking for another job; I think I’ll find something comparatively good again, but I dunno how long it’ll be, and right now I’m looking at both moderately high-paying content-writing jobs and jobs that pay around minimum wage (which is a lot here; nothing pays less than $15 because the bay is lowkey insane), in case getting another really good job takes longer than I’d like it to.

But anyway! Obviously there isn’t a super easy way to make lots of money that’s going to apply to every anon who could possibly have shown up in my inbox, but here are some general pointers:

1) Even if things are going really well for you, you’re gonna tend to make less than most people while you’re early in your career. This is difficult but how it is. It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong, and you might be on track for a great career in a few more years, once you gain more experience. If this is where you’re at, I think the best way to make more money is to work on leveling up at your current job, or looking for a different job of the same kind that either pays better now or will probably allow you to level up faster. It’s good to take on extra responsibilities when you have the time and energy to do so, especially if they use a lot of skills you do have, but also a few skills that you’ll need to figure out as you go along. 

Note that I do think that this advice is less actionable outside of the bay (which is full of startups that are growing rapidly and trying new things). I do think there’s still something to it. If you gain skills and responsibilities as well as you can, I think that even if your current job doesn’t recognize that and reward it, you’ll be building up skills that’ll make you more desirable the next time you change jobs.

2) Say you think you’re in a really good industry, and you know that other people in your industry make decent money, but for some reason, you’re not. Or, alternatively, say that you have a lot of skills and some work experience in a decent industry, but you can’t get anyone to call you back, and you’re beginning to wonder if maybe you’re secretly terrible and have zero Good Employee Qualities.

Getting a new job is hard, and leaving an old job is scary. I know; I just left my old job, and I spend lots of time being scared that nobody’s gonna hire me and I’m gonna have to go back to working at Kroger again, where I only made it through cashiering shifts by imagining that my characters were being tortured and that I could only save them by making it to the end of the next hour. 

But it really does pay to look at what else is out there. You can get some ideas by very casually looking at job sites like Glassdoor or Indeed; there might be nothing, or a bunch of job postings that you don’t understand, but I’ve found that it’s often good to get the lay of the land and figure out what recruiters are looking for in your industry. If you want better odds, and you have some successful friends, it can pay to ask them whether their companies are hiring for a position you can fill, and whether any of them might like to recommend you for it.

If you don’t have an easy way to get your foot in the door, you’re gonna be filling out a lot of applications. This sucks, but it doesn’t mean that you suck. If you really feel like you’re qualified for the sort of job you want, get someone to help you put together a good resume that shows off your skills, put together a portfolio or similar if you’re in the relevant industries, and resign yourself to applying to dozens or maybe hundreds of things. Recruiters are super arbitrary and will totally disqualify you based on things that have nothing to do with your ability to do the job. (This isn’t even because they’re bad people, it’s because they have a stack of resumes on their desk and have only the faintest idea how to tell which of the associated candidates are gonna be good at things.) It’s a numbers game. If you’re not doing something really ridiculous, like applying to every job with a resume that only lists completely unrelated kinds of work experience, then someone’ll probably talk to you eventually. It’ll just probably take way more applications than you’d think.

(Oh, also, all of the requirements in job postings tend to be pretty silly; as long as you think you’re genuinely capable of doing the work, I think you should apply to jobs where you meet maybe 75% of the stated requirements if the job sounds OK, and maybe 50% if it’s something you’d be really excited to get to do.)

3) If you’re not in a career sort of job at all - if you’re stuck behind the counter at Wendy’s right now, in which case my heart goes out to you, anon friend - or you’ve found yourself in a career that pays very badly or makes you unhappy, and you don’t think your skills will translate to anything you like doing, then you might want to look at changing careers entirely. Most people will tell you to go to college, if you haven’t already. I’m gonna tell you that college is a great thing for lots of people, but not always a good idea financially, and not always the best way forward, especially if you’re not very academically inclined. 

Think about what you’re good at, and think about what your dealbreakers are. You’re approaching this from thinking about money, not about passion, but you still don’t want to end up in a job that you’re a terrible fit for; you’ll get fired or be miserable all the time, and that’s no good for anyone. 

As a first line, if you feel that you’re reasonably flexible and talented, here are some very different jobs that make good money; you might want to consider whether you’re a good fit for any of these, and do more research as appropriate. (This is largely an exercise to get you thinking, not to say that these specific jobs are the ones you should definitely be looking at.)- Nursing. There’s a perpetual shortage of nurses, they have to exist everywhere in the country, and they make at least decent pay no matter where they live. For an RN, you’re looking at an average of about $55k per year in the cheapest states, and about $90k per year in the most expensive ones (although remember that this isn’t what you’ll make at the beginning of your career). I don’t recommend it if you really dislike people, long hours, college classes, heavy lifting, or bodily fluids, but I do think it’s a career that a lot more people should be willing to consider. If you think you can hack the education part, but not so much the heavy lifting, the bodily fluids, or the being around people who might be dying, dental hygienists make about the same amount, and their patients hardly ever need to be carried anywhere while possibly dying. I think.

- Software engineering. The pay rate here is kind of insane; if you have the interest and aptitude, then doing a coding bootcamp and getting a programming job in either NYC or San Francisco is a relatively attainable way of making a genuinely six-figure salary within a few years of starting, even if you don’t have a college degree. It’s not for everyone - I’ve tried to learn, a little, but I’ve bounced off pretty hard so far - but it’s a great opportunity for people who can hack it, so to speak. Like nursing, there’s a shortage here, mostly because software is a rapidly expanding industry that has only existed for, like, forty years tops.

- The skilled trades. We’re talking about electricians, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, and other people in this space. It’s hard in different ways than an office job, but there are a lot of people who these are a good fit for. While they’re not as highly paid as nurses or engineers, people in the skilled trades do OK; reaching $50k per year is totally feasible, and people who are both skilled and lucky can break $80k. These jobs tend to go by apprenticeship systems, so if you don’t have a family member or friend to vouch for you, it’s a good idea to look at trade schools in your area to get you started, and then expect to spend several years in a junior position until you know what’s what.

- Flight Attendants. Not all flight attendants are particularly well-paid, but many are, and things like waitressing can be counted as relevant experience. The first flight attendant job I found on Indeed just now is $18 an hour and doesn’t require any experience or a degree, though the requirements do have a lot to say about your appearance, height (gotta be able to get luggage out of the overhead compartments, after all), and willingness to work really weird hours. The BLS reports that the median flight attendant ultimately makes about $56k per year. 

- Police officers. Obviously there are a ton of very legit reasons not to want to be a police officer, but I am of the opinion that someone’s gotta do it, and it’s better if the people involved wanna do it right, right? (I guess I don’t know if you want to do it right. Please don’t become a police officer purely for the money and then shoot someone, anon.) The median police officer makes about $60k, and it doesn’t require a college education, which is honestly a pretty good deal even if you’re not as passionate as Judy Hopps. I don’t recommend it as a job unless you’re not scared of people, even the creepy ones, ‘cause scared people make mistakes, and when police officers make mistakes, sometimes people end up dead.

If you read that list and were like, “Bard, there’s a reason I’m at Wendy’s, can you lower your expectations here a little,” you might want to look into stuff like warehousing, groundskeeping, janitorial work, sales, garbage collection, or construction work. Job sites are your friends; it’s useful to browse them and see what sorts of jobs pay the kinds of salaries you’re looking for. I also think you might be well-served by considering whether you can move in with friends or family in a part of the country where wages are higher. The big cost of living difference in other places is rent, so if you have a housing situation figured out or can split that cost with a friend, you can make a lot more money just by doing the same thing somewhere else. For example, before I got super lucky and became a Real Content Writer, my plan was to hang out on my friend’s couch for six months rent-free, work at some supermarket in SF, and then take my wages back home to Indiana to pay for the rest of my degree. And honestly, if I hadn’t fallen in love with this ridiculous place and hadn’t immediately gotten a much better job, I think it very well might have worked.

There’s a lot more that I could say here, but this is already pretty long. The main things are to think about where you’re headed, to look around at all of the different possible lucrative directions to head in if you don’t like where you are, and to figure out what steps you’d have to take to get there. You’re welcome to come to my inbox with more questions about this - my last job was all about helping people find jobs themselves, so I guess I should know something about it by now - but you might need to be a little more specific if I didn’t hit on the thing you’re stuck on in this post.

[dhominis]

Update on my meatspace existence! CW for parents and disordered eating and general neuroticism. Things are pretty great.

I’m happy.

Social-wise, I am not where I’d like to be but I am slowly getting more and more social contact. (It’s... not enough, not by a long shot, but fairly okay for someone who’s been in a new city for like three months. Especially at my general level of social competence. The ideal setup involves more or less constant interaction with people, far more physical contact -- I need to live in a house with like five or six friends who are smart and excited about things and also really like physical contact.) I have a friend with whom I can hike and talk about cool pathogens. I’m probably LARPing with an cool epidemiologist and her LARP group pretty soon, which is nerd shit and also increased social competence and also running around in the woods -- perfect. I have been doing various social things. (Went to a kink social thing and a cute girl hit on me. It was great -- I don’t think she meant it as a serious expression of interest but I’m generally really ecstatic about people flirting with me. Also got great hugs.) Life is getting better.

Plans for the future seem more and more clear -- flexible, but there are viable paths to outcomes I want. Current most viable path: being an ICU nurse. I think I am going to be a really good ICU nurse; people who are familiar with my general personality concur. I am smart and competent and compassionate but not high-automatic-empathy enough that it’ll interfere with my functioning, I automatically think of things in terms of feedback within systems, I need to be active and under stress, I’m pretty high-conscientiousness with adequate caffeine intake and expect further improvement once I get either real ADHD meds or modafinil, I’ll be so good at this.

(I can handle stress, I can handle pressure. I cannot handle not being under pressure. A high-pressure job that occupies a lot of my time is more or less necessary; I am like a neurotic border collie that can’t self-motivate, I will always find things to do, if they’re not imposed from outside those things will be e.g. having pointless anxiety about things that really don’t merit anxiety.)

Be an ICU nurse for a few years. Donate ten percent. It’s worth figuring out whether “reducing medical error via checklists” is a viably high-impact thing; more likely I’ll end up working in the ICU until I stop being a high-stress traumatized adolescent, then go to CRNA school and make ridiculous CRNA salary and donate like $100k/year or something absolutely ridiculous like that.

Also when I moved out here I was very much thinking “yeah I’m gonna just work as much as I need to pay my bills and not think about school and just relax so much” and three months later I’m pulling stupid overtime and figuring out the best way to fast-track my nursing degree. (Depends on how much transfer credit Shitty Online College is willing to give me, but likely the best way to do it will be to finish my BS online while working full-time and then go to an accelerated RN program; that’d be only one full year of in-person school. And then just be a nurse.)

I applied to Shitty Online College today; in a few weeks they’ll tell me how much transfer credit they’ll give me. It might be a viable option, and if that’s the case I’ll work full-time and finish my BS and apply for the one-year RN for 2021. Even if it’s not a viable option I’ll need anat/phys to get into nursing school and it’ll be a lot cheaper to do the self-study CLEP-adjacent test-out thing the shitty online college offers.

...I don’t know how to self-motivate. I don’t know how to self-study. This is a thing I have to learn but also I don’t know how to learn. Offers of peer-pressure coworking are so welcome, guys.

I have been in overtime every week since the first week. I am comfortably middle-class, have been living on about $1200 a month, am saving over half my income. I am in a really good position to do everything I want to! Like, within a few years I’d be able to buy a house were I not instead funneling all my income into education.

It has occurred to me that being non-disabled in certain important ways is a large part of why I’m okay. It’s... not intuitive to think of myself like that; I couldn’t handwrite enough for any reasonable goal until 2017 (a few legible sentences and that’s it for the day!), couldn’t make decisions based on my long-term ability to walk. There is less pain now. I am able to walk the mile and a half to and from work; I don’t need an apartment that’s right next to my workplace, I don’t need a car. I can hang out in a room full of loud alarms going off constantly and also make phone calls constantly and have people’s lives dependent on my ability to cope with this (this is my current job, I fucking love it).

Eating still has not been good (see post, CW for various ~food issues~). I’d hoped that the change of environment and commitment to exposing myself to unpleasant things e.g. eating would be useful, and there have been really substantial improvements (haven’t vomited since I left $homestate, I think I’ve at least maintained my weight, there’s only been one day I didn’t eat at all) but it’s... still requiring sustained effort. (You may notice that I am not yet great at sustained self-directed effort.) I’ll figure it out. Getting adequate therapy is a priority.

I could afford full-time Soylent. This is not an option I’m seriously considering in the near term but it is very comforting to know that there is another option. It’s likely that after e.g. a year of effort and therapy food will become intrinsically motivating again -- it’s been less than a year since my food issues became seriously harmful, after all, and recovery is likely. But even if that doesn’t happen, even if solid food is horrible forever, I have an option besides “do a thing that is seriously aversive every day several times a day for the rest of my life” and “don’t eat and subsequently be unable to function because I don’t eat.”

What else --

I had planned to maintain contact with my parents after leaving, since it’s important to them; this is no longer a viable plan. Every seriously unpleasant mental state since I left has either been “eating is unpleasant” or “I talked to my parents and this is Not Good.” It’s... relevant that every time this has happened, it’s been substantially less bad than literally every day I’d lived with my parents. Possibly I do not have a good understanding of what is a reasonable amount of distress to put myself in. I am still learning this and it’s okay.

So. Not talking to them. It feels good and free and safe. I almost think I should miss them -- it feels disrespectful for my reactions to be universally positive. Mostly this is not distressing because oh my god this is awesome I don’t have to interact with them unless I specifically choose to.

Also, now I am responsible for adult things like meal prep and cleaning and health insurance and finding a therapist and getting my in-state driver’s license and, uh, getting an ADHD eval. I have been putting off going to the DMV and I just... I have to go to the DMV. This will suck a bunch for a very short period of time and then I will have an in-state driver’s license and also will laugh at myself for not having done this two months ago.

(figuring things out and becoming more competent -- intrinsically motivating, for me. it’s a good trait to have.)

[gweyson]

how much would u hate me if i asked u to do every single uncommon question for an oc of ur choice?

the absolute madman he actually did it

im gonna put this under the cut sdjkfhsdjfsjkl also im answering for pascal because. Thats My Boy

1. What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

he’s gotten really good at it since he had to start hiding from murder robots... but even before then he was never a super fidgety person so he could sit very still !

2. How easy is it for your character to laugh?

he’s good at pretending everything’s fine when it’s all actually Rather Shit so. yeah pretty easy

3. How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

thinking mostly.... sometimes he’ll talk to someone and drift off from there but it depends on who’s on lookout or how quiet the group has to stay

4. How easy is it to earn their trust?

he tries to remain suspicious of people he meets but at heart he’s too trusting for his own good tbh.... he does try to hold off on trusting stangers these days but hes still a little soft

5. How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

yeah pretty easy. like it’s easy enough to get him to trust you in the first place but once you do something to fuck that up then good luck getting it back lmao

6. Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

laws arent really. a thing anymore djkfhdljk but when they were he’d like... say laws are immovable and very needed and then do stuff that completely contradicted that view

7. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

cooking !! it reminds him of when he used to help his mum out with houseowrk/cooking. he. doesnt really like the feeling because it reminds him that he has no idea if his family is actually still alive or not :(

8. What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

“stop playing in the dirt”

9. Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

he doesnt swear heaps but he does enough that it’s not super shocking whenever he does. he sweras more the angrier/more agitated he gets

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

he’d regularly lie to his mum just so he could get out of the house and go to parties lol. he’s not super haunted by it or anything (& he was a pretty good kid otherwise so he figures he was allowed at least this one not great thing)

11. How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

he’ll try to play along until he can figure stuff out but if he cant he’ll just go “what tf is happening”

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

either gets someone to scratch it or uses like. a ruler or smth

13. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

he thinks he looks best in green but it’s... not his best colour

14. What animal do they fear most?

big dogs... scarey :(

15. How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

he usually just says whatever comes to his mind tbh. idk how to properly descrive it but like... the way he talks makes him sound smart but not arrogant about it yknow. like you hear him talk and youre like “yeah this is a guy who knows what hes doing”

16. What makes their stomach turn?

not much tbh?? like before everything turned Awful he was studying forensic entomology so like. hes got a bit of an iron stomach lmao. the smell of rotting meat maybe

17. Are they easily embarrassed?

not really? if he does get embarrassed he’s pretty decent at hiding it

18. What embarrasses them?

when he’s the centre of attention in a big group and he can feel everyone staring at him and his face goes all red and aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA

19. What is their favorite number?

7 !!

20. If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

he’d go on a really long tangent about it and possibly not even answer the question at hand tbh

21. Why do they get up in the morning? 

to not die, mostly

22. How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? 

he’ll become pretty aloof and just. not wanna talk. he’ll avoid the target of jealousy a bit as well oops

23. How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? 

he’ll do everything in his power to one-up whatever’s making him envious. it rarely works

24. Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? 

he is comfortable talking about it !! really the only thing that ever stops him talking about it is if someone else is uncomfortable with it

25. What are their thoughts on marriage? 

he likes the idea ! if he does get married though he wants to do it wayyyyy in the future he’s not ready to settle down

26. What is their preferred mode of transportation? 

before everything went shit he preferred driving, now he walks everywhere

27. What causes them to feel dread?

robots. or when astrid is pissed

28. Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? 

he says he’d prefer an unpleasant truth but when it actually comes time to deal with it he doesnt go too great lol

29. Do they usually live up to their own ideals? 

he tries... whether he succeeds is another question 

30. Who do they most regret meeting? 

[redacted for spoilers]

31. Who are they the most glad to have met? 

astrid !! as much as he loves everyine else in the group she’s the only one who could realistically protect him if something were to go wrong. shes just more secure

32. Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

not really ??

33. Could they be considered lazy? 

nah not really !! he’s always been a hard worker

34. How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? 

it follows him around for a loooooong time. whether it goes away or just fades into background noise really depends on the situation but it’s not easy for him

35. How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? 

he always tries to be supportive !! unless it’s something like. morally disgusting then No but he tries to support his friends even if he thinks whateber theyre talking about is kinda dumb

36. Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap? 

he just kinda waits it out !! when the world was Not Shit his friends would be regularly trying to set him up with people so he never had to work super hard for it :’)

37. Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? 

i cant remember the name for it but he does the thing where like. he’ll associate thing a with thing b by finding something that connects them togehter? like a syllable in thing a sounds like thing b so. yeah. im good at explaining

38. What memory do they revisit the most often? 

either when astrid helped him bust out of the factory he was trapped working in or just miscellaneous memories of his mum & siblings

39. How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? 

he tends to ignore people’s flaws which can lead to issues

40. How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

he tries to be self critical but he’s not really self critical enough for it to make a solid difference. usually he has to be told what he’s doing before he consciously realises it

41. How do they feel about children? 

he likes them !! he was the oldest of a lot of siblings so he knows how to handle them & he’s pretty good with them

42. How badly do they want to reach their end goal?

his end goal is to stop robots killing everything & for everything to go back to normal so id say he wants that pretty fuckin bad

43. If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?

“hey pascal are you into--” “yes”

QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS (I wasnt sure if you wanted me to do these ones too so. shrug emoji)

A) Why are you excited about this character?

i made him for my comic which. i will start one day fdklgjdlkjgd..... also hes just fun to develop ! i gave him a bunch of traits i rlly like and also i made him like bugs a lot so. i am biased

B) What inspired you to create them?

uh. needed characters for the comic hehe.....i cant remember the exact process i went thru when making him?? i wanted someone who was close to astrid/who she could trust, plus i had the idea for a backstory (i think. like i said i cant remember my exact process)

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

not really, i came up with the concept before i actually made his character

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

he’s always had the same appearance !! even though i should probably change it a little because he looks different every time i try drawing him but shhhhh

E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

hes someone i would think is super cool but then. would never actually talk to jkdsfhsdjkhfsdjk. he’d be nice to my face but i’m....not sure what he’d genuinely think of me oops

F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?

THATS MY FACKING BOY BABEYEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also excited bc i have angst planned ^____^

G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

he’s too gullible and willing to trust strangers. he should know better but he’s too much of an optimist for his own good !!

H) What trait do you admire most?

he’s always able to put on a happy face when he’s feeling awful because he doesnt want anyone to worry & he doesnt wanna bring anyone down !! he’s always thinking ahout everyone else before himself

I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe?

i dont know what this means..... yes??

J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

uhh technically not ?? in his original concept he was gonna be in a poly relationship with 2 others but i cut the other members of the relationship. not because of pascal it’s because i thought the group would get too big and like. they value stealth and sneakiness. plus it’s harder for big groups to travel undetected

[ctrl-shift-esc]

Home Surgery

House renovations not only feel like a bomb went off in your home but a bomb went off in your head too. It’s like the Hunger Games in a relationship. Good luck, may the strongest couple win… 

Hello fam,

long time no talk (unless you’ve been following along on the ol’insta stories).
Even then, I haven’t been keeping up as often as I used to (Sorry bout it?). So let me bring you up to date on everything and all that is Veronica & her shenanigans…

We moved into our home last April which is now, 7 months ago! We’re still knee deep in renovations. Surprised? I’m not! Who am I kidding…yes I am… I mean I was hoping we would’ve been done by now (epic wishful thinking on my part). Things have moved slowly since April.

It’s to be expected I suppose, I hadn’t really spent any consecutive time at home before June. Once I got back, I was exhausted and didn’t feel like taking on any huge projects. I’d worked full time on set for over 10 months followed by months on end of travelling. I was craving some stand-still time. I wanted to enjoy my summer and not be a slave to home renovations. In lieu of my laziness we chipped away at projects only on weekends. At first, my boyfriend was the one trying to kick me in the ass to buckle down and get the work done. Fast forward 4 months later – here I am, getting impatient so I’m doing the kicking of the ass…

Going into this, I kept saying that I’d be fine gutting a place to its bones – that I’d done this kind of thing before and the mess didn’t scare me. Which is fact, but what I’d ignored was my need to have a home – a sanctuary – a safe haven. I didn’t realize a gutted house meant a gutted sanctuary. Going into this, I also kept saying ; I need a place to call home. So I’m not sure what I was expecting… maybe I expected things to magically get done on their own, or somehow still have a livable space in the midst of dust and chaos?! How could I’ve missed this? I am not sure…

Everything happened so fast, we’d been casually house hunting for a few months when we discovered what would be our future home. We didn’t think too much of it until the idea of owning it slowly crept in. In fact, at first the house gave me a weird vibe. Something didn’t flow but I was determined to find out what… We agreed to go for a second viewing, at this point we were already talking about our demolition plans. Next thing you know; we put in an offer, we negotiated and closed — It’s ours!

We knew right away we wanted to update the two upstairs bathrooms (they haven’t been touched since the 70′s). Painting was a non-negotiable. We also played with the idea of blowing out the entrance wall to open the space up. Also, the mudroom slash laundry room could use a face-lift. The master bedroom lacked closet space and bathroom space. Needless to say, we had to get creative with the designs to maximize every inch of this place and I’d be lying if I said we had it all figured out. You get the point; the list of projects is never ending.

We tackled the main living areas first. While I was away my boyfriend started by removing the popcorn ceiling in the main living room. This was our first setback. It took weeks to properly remove it all, then, weeks to properly sand & paint. Soon after we decided to demolish the entrance wall (best decision ever). Later we painted the whole main floor… Never underestimate how much painting can do to a space – also, never underestimate how long painting with a roller can take…

Now that we were knee deep in our reno’s, we decided to make our lives even harder by redoing the floors in all main living spaces; main living room, kitchen and TV room. 

The current floor is acacia hardwood flooring. A color that is now outdated, with plank sizes that are also outdated. The lower TV room is covered in a light beige carpet but also has a backyard access. Oh & the hardwood? Scratched to shit. There isn’t one ounce of flooring that isn’t damaged. So here were my thoughts; Why have carpet in a room where you’d be accessing the outside from? If our floors are already damaged & outdated how would that affect us in the long run, for resale value? So first, I tried to match the TV room floor to the acacia wood… Once we started digging to find a matching floor we quickly realized we were most likely never going to be able to match it. Like a salesman once told me “you’re chasing a leprechaun”. Cool cool cool cool…So cool. It would never be a perfect match, in other words — it would be noticeably different. Uh, No. I’m not okay with that. There’s nothing more frustrating and disorienting than walking into a home that lacks cohesiveness. We toyed with the idea of sanding and restaining, until we found out it would cost more than replacing the whole floor.

Thanks to my Design firm, I’ve got access to flooring I otherwise wouldn’t have found on my own. I was suggested an alternative type of flooring that is in theory a Vinyl plank, but in reality, is its own type called SPC flooring (stone plastic composite). It looks and feels like wood. It has no expansion or contraction since its made of stone & plastic. It’s waterproof and highly scratch resistant. This sounds like the perfect floor for a home that would resell to a young family with tons of kids and dogs that may ruin a beautiful hardwood. Want proof? come over and look at ours.

The tricky thing about this flooring is that the planks are quite thin. It offers little to no flexibility, so your subfloor needs to be leveled near perfect to prevent any cracking… In a high-rise or newer house this is easier to accomplish. In a 70′s home where the foundation can and most probably is uneven, not so much. Our challenge was to find the right installer who knew this floor, who’s worked with it before and who understands the leveling specs. We interviewed 3 or 4 installers, one of which was convinced he could not only match our existing floor (ya! right!) but could also sand and restain it a different color. Which fyi, I’d been repeatedly told would be close to impossible to do with acacia…?!… A risk I wasn’t necessarily willing to take. Especially if it’d cost more than installing a brand new – scratch resistant – waterproof flooring! The other installers came in really confident about having worked with the floor before until I started asking questions… Slowly they started hesitating & pulled back from wanting to level our floor. I lost interest in hiring them 1- I couldn’t understand the words that were coming out of their mouths and 2- if there was any chance that they were talking themselves up only to make a quick buck, when in reality they know jack squat about this floor & risk damaging it – That’s gonna be a hard no from me… At this point I was losing interest in the whole ordeal. Let’s keep our damaged floors and move on! Losing hope over here! Just let me buy a couch already!

Let’s back up for a second… All the while this is happening, keep in mind, our house is not furnished. Decorations (the ones we have) are put away. Walls are bare, clothes aren’t put away. It’s a total dissaray. Well maybe dissaray isn’t the right word, but it’s a tiny shit show & it’s getting old.

We couldn’t do anything else until the floor situation was dealt with. Finishing the second coat of paint is now on hold, since installing the floors might damage the walls, we might have to repaint everything anyway. You wouldn’t catch me repainting 1200 sq ft with rollers A THIRD TIME! No way Jose.

Since everything else was on hold. I wanted to start the master bedroom project right away instead of waiting until spring like we’d originally planned. Let’s at least get one room over with, my gosh! So we decided to take the closet project head on and not look back. Our plan was to finish it the weekend we started. Wrong! say hello to our second setback. We are now 3 weeks later and we’re still working on the bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, we got 75% done on that weekend, but we encountered technical difficulties that have lingered since then, including the purge of my closet and organizing it all… this is a project in itself. One that may or may not take just as long as painting a whole house by hand…

The room is essentially done, I’m hoping we can officially wipe our hands clean from the renovations of this bedroom by this weekend and get started on the decorations! 

They say you find what you’re looking for when you stop looking — once we stopped looking for floor installers, we finally got a hold of the supplier who’d recommended someone they’d worked with before. Hallelujah! He was easy to communicate with & he agreed to come over that weekend to give us an estimate. I tried not to get my hopes up, for all I knew we may have invited an overrated installer into our house just to tease ourselves…

Once we met, it was clear we all got along great. He’s clearly worked with the floor before and I knew this because he answered questions I didn’t even get a chance to ask. He knew the specs and explained the process without being dodgy. That’s our guy, I don’t care how much he costs hire the guy! We all know my boyfriend put a stop to that real quick — we stick to the budget, he said. So here I was, crossing my fingers to death. He sent us his estimate the next day and it was within our budget!

YUUSSSSS!!! We finally found our guy, This is so exciting! We have a bit of prep work to do before they come to install, but for the first time in months it feels like the work we’re doing is going somewhere! Floors will be installed by the first week of December!

The best news of all; phase 1 is almost complete! That’s right, we decided to do our renovations in phases. Because we need a break y’all! We will hibernate through winter and get back to it in spring…We will focus on the fun stuff over the winter, like beautifying our home. The rest of the renovations like the mudroom and bathrooms can thankfully be quarantined so we don’t have to look or live in a hot mess for months on end! Home stretch folks! One more month and we can relax for a while.

We have a few fun trips planned over the holidays. We booked a mini getaway in a cabin on Galiano Island, at Bodega Cove, at the end of December (board games for days!). Saying we’re excited is an understatement. We will be hosting a House warming holiday cocktail party right before new years, then, we will head to Victoria to ring in the new year in style! We’ve got a good few months ahead & I’m damn well looking forward to it!

We shed blood, sweat & tears over the last 7 months. I’m not lying when I say it’s been a process, (now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel) I can finally start to appreciate the journey! 

I’ll keep you posted on all the progress, dontcha worry!

Notes to remember from a fellow renovator to you:

* If you’re doing major renovations or are thinking of renovating - try to do it before you move in. Renovations are stressful enough as it is, there’s no need to add stress by living in the mess. So if you can avoid it, I recommend it.

* Renovating can and most probably will stress you out – healthy lifestyle habits like eating properly, exercising and proper sleep patterns will do wonders. Don’t give up on yourself.

* Try to remember that it’s temporary and keep in mind things will get worse before they get better (yes you read that right... It’s something I somehow didn’t realize). It’s only part of the process. Keep your eye on the prize! If you’re having trouble visualizing it with the walls gutted, create a vision board and put it up in a space where you can see it clearly and daily.

* If things get too intense, walk away from it and go do something that will reward you emotionally. Self-Care is knowing when to walk away. 

* When taking on a renovation project as a couple, it’s an added pressure to the relationship. Relationships are already a lot of work as it is; worrying about work - day to day responsibilities - and having to take care of your family life (if you have kids). Adding renovations to the mix can make you feel overwhelmed. Your schedules will be overflowing with To Do lists – but remember that romance also needs to be a priority. Date nights & relationship time needs to be allocated. Set aside some time to focus on watering the relationship. You’ll need it. Don’t let the To Do lists come between you two. The lists will always be there, time together is precious.

* most of all – try and have fun! (taking my own advice on this one!)

Until then Ctrl+Shift+ ESCAPE but Stay tuned for a closet reveal :)

[sterlingfitness]

Stretch // Jeff&Rachel Para

Who: Jeff Sterling and Rachel Berry @peculiarberry What: Jeff and Rachel stretch and talk before class When: August 11th Where: Studio 8 Notes: -

Rachel walks into the dance studio and her eyes immediately dart around the room to find Jeff. She knows it is good for them to branch off and partner up with other people, but she really enjoys Jeff, and thinks they have a lot of chemistry. When she spots him, she walks over to him, hugging him from behind. "Wanna warm up together?" Sadly, they hadn't had to pair up for any partner dances, but Rachel isn't all that surprised considering it is their first week back, she just hopes she won't have to separate from Jeff too often.

Jeff was stretching his arms over his head when he was suddenly hugged from behind, arms wrapped around his waist. "Hey there. I was wondering if you had forgotten about this class," he looked behind him with a smile before bending at the waist so he could raise Rachel's feet from the floor from that position. It wasn't like he didn't know anyone else in this class, but he just enjoyed Rachel's company much more. Finally standing up and turning around, he nodded "Yup, but go easy on me, I might rip something if you try to push me to a split," he joked before motioning behind him "My bag is back there, if you want to drop yours."

Rachel gasps at him, "When have I ever forgotten about a class in my life. I'm offended you would even think that!" She giggles happily when he lifts her up off the floor. "We have got to work on your splits though, maybe later, not with everyone else around?" She raises an eyebrow, happily going to drop her bag next to his. "I've been feeling pretty tense today so I definitely need to stretch. I don't want our professor to yell at me too bad." She knows she isn't the best dance but she enjoys dancing and for the most part takes to direction well, she also has Jeff on her side, who makes dancing so much better. "Did you do anything fun last night? It was thirst Thursday after all."

Jeff grinned playfully "I know, just messing with you. I'd be worried if you did skip one," he pointed out before whining softly "They're not so bad, but I confess I didn't work on them most of the summer. I could impress the boys with only my abs, didn't need to pull the splits," he joked playfully.Truth was, Jeff just didn't find time to practice. Between spending time with his family, that he hadn't seen in forever, he had little time to focus on the little things. He knows with Rachel around now, she'll push him to get to his usual fitness. "Yeah, I was a good person and didn't get wasted," he laughed, sitting down and stretching out one leg "I just went out with a couple of friends, nothing much. Was in bed by midnight."

Rachel "Same goes to you mister." She waggles her finger at him, laughing. How could someone be so funny? He really does lighten up her life. "Well, we'll get you able to impress the guys with many things, not just your nice abs." She goes down into the splits, to stretch herself out a bit, making sure to lean forward as far as she could. "Well, that is very responsible of you, but I'm not all that surprised. I had Marley come over and we watched Grease and had a sing along, which was a lot of fun."

Jeff laughed "Don't worry, I won't leave you alone unless I am bed ridden," he promised, before chuckling "Yes, can't show off the abs here, it's cold." Jeff playfully pushed Rachel to side as she got down into the splits next to him "Showoff," he scoffed dramatically. While everyone around them was nice, there was a just competitive vibe around them, but with Rachel, it was different. Maybe it was because both of them were just Dance minors and weren't trying to make it as dancers, but with Rachel he could focus on being his best without stressing out. If they always managed to get good grades, well... they were just that good naturally.

Rachel smiles softly at him, feeling reassured. "Good. I don't think I could handle a class without you." A pout forms on her lip as she rolls her eyes. "I do like showing off. It is probably one of my best talents." She lifts herself up out of the splits and stretches both legs out, "Do the same. I have an idea!" She wiggles her eyebrows at him, "Do you trust me, Jeffy?"

Jeff wasn't fond on skipping. He is sure he never skipped a class, specially a dance class, unless he was really sick, which didn't happen often, so Rachel had nothing to worry about. Jeff chuckled "Oh, I know. But if you got it, flaunt it," he looked up at her and raised a brow "Not with that eyebrow wiggle..." still, he slowly spread his legs and did his best, which wasn't so bad, but he still had to lean on his hands a bit. Give it a couple of weeks "This is a far as it goes."

Rachel reaches for his hands happily, and laces their fingers as their feet touched. "Okay, I'm going to let you stay in this position for a little bit so I don't make you rip your pants." She jokes, "But when you're ready I'm gonna pull you forward so you can stretch out, just tell me when you are ready." She wiggles her hips a bit and motions for him to do the same. "We should do a yoga class together!"

Jeff chuckled as he realised what she was doing, squeezing her hands back. He took a deep breath and nodded, preparing for the hamstring stretch as he wiggled his hips as well, feeling the burn "As long as it's not those boring yoga classes you barely do anything, count me it, I probably need it." he agreed before nodding "Go ahead, I'm ready."

Rachel "I'm far too restless for that. I can see the benefits from meditation but I couldn't do it for a whole hour. We'll have to check out what is available, there is all types of yoga now a days." She giggles as he prepares himself, but with his reassurance, she slowly begins to pull him forward. She feels the stretch in her own body and she's happy that they able to do this stuff together. "More? Or do you want to switch for now?"

Jeff nodded "The only meditation I am down for is sleeping. I'm great at that," he chuckled "We should do hot yoga. There might be some cute guys around, for you and for me," he said before starting to lean forward as she pulled him "See, I don't remember this being so hard," he let out a shaky laugh, before slowly leaning back and helping Rachel stretch. Leaning back was easier on his hamstrings, but he could still feel the stretch.

Rachel "Hmmm, that would be quite nice wouldn't it. We could go on double dates and then eventually have a joint wedding," She jokes, biting her lip as she stretches forward, she's pretty flexible but there is a slight burn. "Do you have a class after this?" She looks up a bit, before going back down to try and touch her chest to the floor. "We could do lunch or something, if you wanted."

Jeff couldn't help but chuckle "Let's be honest, would you share the spotlight in your own wedding?" he questioned with a raised brow as he helped her stretch as much as she could. "I have a free period after, then my human behaviour class." he said before humming "Yeah, I am starving, we can grab a bite," he said as it was his time to stretch, this time being able to go a bit lower, not pulling so much on his hamstrings. "You have classes this afternoon?"

Rachel "Who am I kidding. I absolutely would not share the spotlight on my day. I don't even know if I'm okay with sharing a face with someone." She of course loves her sister but they'd never been all that close and she isn't sure they ever will be. "Great. I'm pretty hungry myself and I'm sure it will only get worse once class starts." If she's being completely honest with herself she knows she is so hungry because she hadn't been eating all that much, it's what happens when she has so much energy. "Hey, that's better, trying going even lower!" She tries to be encouraging. "I have a class this evening but have a few hour break after this one."

Jeff smiled softly "Well, you can't change that. Unless you get so much surgery you look more robot like than human like... Please don't do that." Jeff chuckled softly. To be honest, he never heard Rachel talk much about her sister, which seemed weird, since they were twins, but he never wanted to pry. "Shhhh, give me a moment," he chuckled, touching his forehead against the floor before trying to actually straighten his back and do a proper split, before slowly sitting up "I'm done after 3. Early weekend for this guy."

Rachel scrunches her nose at him, "No surgery for me." She says seriously, grinning as he goes into a full split. "Now, if you do that three times a day you'll be so comfortable in the position you will just always be in a split. You could even do a shirtless split so you show off your abs too!" She's happy he is willing to get something to eat with her and she looks to him as their teacher walks in. Rachel pulls him along to the bar for the lead stretches, but knows they probably won't be standing together much longer.

Jeff nodded "Good, because you look great like this." said honestly, smiling as he finally got into the full split "I know, I have to get back into dancing mode. That includes training the splits. Thought I'm not sure I should do that in front of my roommate, so I'm taking it to the gym," he said conversionally before chuckling "Give me two weeks until I master them again and I'll start showing off during class," he promised with a wink before looking up at the teacher, taking Rachel's hand and following her to the bars, standing behind her.

Rachel The teacher leads them through some stretches, before having them pair off into small groups, Rachel pouting when she has to leave Jeff's side. She knows it is silly and she ends up enjoying the task they had to perform in their little groups. When the class is over Rachel quickly makes her way back to Jeff. "Do you wanna go shower first or just change? I just know I'm very hungry."

Jeff finds those next stretches more easy to do, as he's used to warming up before he hits the gym, and he actually enjoys the relaxation it brings. When they are separated, Jeff playfully blows Rachel a kiss before focusing on the task they had in hand. It would be much more fun if he had Rachel in the group, but he still does his best with what he has. He can't always get what he wants or work with who he wants. After the class, Jeff picked up his bag and picked up Rachel's to give to her as well "I mean.. I don't stink." he raised his arm and sniffed for a second "And I'm hungry, so I guess food over showers," he chuckled, reaching into his bag and taking his deodorant and quickly spraying under his armpits "There. You want some? It has a neutral smell, none of that Axe shit.""

Rachel "You are so gross!" She teases, sniffing the air, she can smell sweat but it isn't them, so she feels comfortable skipping out on the shower too. She happily takes his deodorant and sprays some on herself before linking arms with him. "I have the best place to go, c'mon!"

[mwatech]

College Roommate Personality Clashes: How to Survive

Are you living with your total opposite? It’s amazing how different two people sharing the same (tiny) room can be. Even the littlest things can drive you crazy after awhile! You eat Big Macs and chicken wings while your roommate swears by tofu and beans; you like Coldplay and your roommate cranks up Tim McGraw. You’re East Coast; your roommate is West Coast. Whatever your differences (and there are bound to be a few), you need to figure out what you’re willing to live with and what’s fair to ask your roommate to change.

Your roommate may have an accent that grates on your nerves, but that’s not something you can ask a person to change. It’s also not fair to expect someone to change his entire personality to suit you. It would be great if we could snap our fingers, and BAM, instant personality makeover! Not gonna happen. So, you need to separate personality traits from irritating habits. You won’t transform your roommate into your new best friend, but you can make things a lot more bearable. Here are a few ideas:

Talk. If something’s bugging you, bring it up in a non-defensive way rather than assume your roommate can read your mind. Nothing can change unless you acknowledge it. It’s possible that your roommate may not even be aware of the problem.

Focus on behavior, not personality. It’s not reasonable to ask people to change who they are, but you can ask them to tone down how they express themselves, especially when it’s invading your turf. So, you can’t criticize someone for being “perky,” but you can ask for someone not to talk so much while you’re studying.

Stay flexible. It’s not your job to fix anybody else, and it helps to recognize that no one is perfect. Be willing to look at your own behavior. Consider what you could do differently to help the situation instead of only blaming your roommate.

Start with one pet peeve. What can you absolutely not deal with? What do you find extremely irritating, but could live with if you had to? There are probably tons of things your roommate does that get on your nerves. But nothing kills a relationship faster than listing dozens of reasons why you don’t like a person. Instead, both of you need to list your number one pet peeve and focus your energy on solving that first.

Consider the positives. Before you decide that life would be better with a roommate exactly like you, think of what you could gain by living with your opposite. We’re often attracted to people who are different from us because they represent qualities we wish we possessed. If you’re shy, maybe being around a more outgoing person will force you out of your shell. When one person’s strength makes up for the other’s weakness, being opposites is an advantage.

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