#He seems like the sort of dude who's very approachable that way

[bonefall]

follow your dreams. commit to the polycule

Mmm. Yep, I think I'm gonna go with it. It's good.

Breeze suddenly flipping Hare in his head thinking he's his rival, he certainly is trying to disassociate with him and abandoning him, all these things, when meanwhile Hare is just doing his work and thinking

"I can't wait to hang out with my best friends Heathertail and Breezepelt after my shift is done :)"

They're only going to end up in this relationship AFTER AVoS and Breezepelt's redemption btw, Heather and Hare could get into a coupleship first but Breeze needs time to develop before he's even thinking about romance.

I don't want the first kits to be born yet though, I strongly feel that canon gave them useless legacy kits too fast when Heathertail and Breezepelt both should have had serious roles in AVOS.

Heather especially, Darktail is her brother and that's barely even commented on. There was no need to have children in the way of this already, so I don't need to be like "the first litter is biologically only Hare's" or something.

[flamingpudding]

Danny, the 'twig' Bouncer #2

A/N: My original Idea was that Danny worked at some random neutral Bar. Buuuut the Reblogs were inspiring, so I think I will add to this whenever I get some ideas. Also now our sweet super dense Ghost boy is working in the Iceberg Lounge as Bouncer. But just a warning, I know like zero cannon names of people that work there aside from who owns it in the dc comics. Sooo yea... sorry if i get something wrong here. It's just that titbit would make Danny's obliviousness a whole lot more funny....

Exactly 30 days later, one month, Danny stepped back into the bar through the front doors. He would have gone in through the back door but that entrance was currently blocked by a van. Probably some drink delivery's for the bar. Probably. They did look busy enough that Danny didn't want to squeeze past them just to get in. Last guy who disrupted their work got fired on the spot. Or at least Danny hadn't seen the guy ever again. He still needed the job to sedate his obsession. So he took the front door.

Man his weird promotion must have been gossiped about. People kept staring at him wide eyed, though he noticed a couple of his coworkers appear to be relieved to see him again. He just gave them a smile before going to the back rooms. Though he couldn't help but glance at the red helmet guy. He had been hanging around the entrance to Danny's underground home and seemed to appear every time Danny had left his home to get some groceries, some materials for his pet projects or some sort of fresh air. He had caught the guy laying our traps and he also had offered him a better payed job. Danny had declined though.

He needed to lay low. And he didn't think working for someone with a recognisable red helmet was laying low. Besides his underground-neighbours, Waylon and Grundy, said the guys name was Red Hood, and that he was a known Crime Lord apparently. Which only added to the fact that working for Red Helmet dude was not going to help handle his obsession. A shame, he did seem like a nice guy to hang out with, ignoring the weird feeling Danny was getting around him. But yeah, working for that guy surely wasn't laying low.

"Danny you're back, alive." He blink at Tailor, one of the other bouncers a good head or two taller than him and just hummed in greeting, resisting to make an insider pun. Not like he could tell the guy that he was actually half dead, then he remembered a hole in a wall he saw on his way to work. Originally he was going to ask Steve, the barkeeper and gossip source of the bar, but Tailor was just as good of a source.

"Hey Tailor, what happened to the wall across the street?" He asked as he took off his shirt to change it for his working shirt.

"You don't know? Red Hood cut the wall with the Jokers imprint out and is keeping it as a trophy, or that's what I heard."

"The Joker's imprint?" Danny tilted his head confused, it sounded like someone threw the guy with immunity against a wall hard enough to leave a human shaped imprint. Huh, Danny wondered, I hope I didn't inspire someone to do that with my stunt a month ago. From what he remembered his boss telling him, messing with the guy that called himself Joker was a very bad idea and could result in permanent death for normal human beings.

His thoughts must have been shown on his face because Tailor just laughed, shaking his head as he patted Danny's shoulder and left the backrooms first. Leaving the ghost boy to mull over it and also wonder why Red Hood would even want to keep a piece of wall as a trophy.

He was still thinking about it as he leaned against the wall in his usual Spot when Red Hood approach him.

"So, you thought about the job offer? I can include one of my safe houses as an apartment for you." The modulated voice resounded and Danny frowned, that was a tempting offer but...

"No thanks. Thanks to my promotion vacation, I finally had time to fix my kitchen area and the air filtration my neighbor as been nagging me about for weeks."

"You live in the sewers." Even through the voice modulation Danny caught the unimpressed, deadpan, are-you-serious tone and barked out a laugh in response.

"It's rent free, I got my own space mostly fixed up and I got two neighbors with similar intents of staying out of sight that only asked me to help fix their spaces up too. All that's missing is finally finding a clean water source I can pull from to finish my bathroom and washing area."

"What the fuck? Why the sewers if I can offer you a fucking safe house?" Danny grinned, living underground was nice, no one was there to disturb him. There was no real address to track him back to and a lot of quick escapes routes should certain people show up. He had build his own little underground apartment which had nearly all utilities a normal apartment had. Plus he got two very nice neighbors, that had been grumpy in the beginning, but eventually warmed up to him. Now they even occasionally spared with him, so he gets fights where he didn't have to hold his strength back, it was great!

"If I don't find a clean water source, I will just put building a water filtration system on my pet project list right after fixing our TV system so me and my neighbours can stream and i can show them what a real horror movie night really is about." He shrugged, turning his eyes away from Red Hood who's voice modulator sounded sort of strangled or like the man was muttering something inaudible and watched a couple of drunks stumbling around the club with narrowed eyes.

"Triple. I will pay you triple if you work for me."

Danny side-eyed the man before pushing off the wall. The drunks were starting to cause a problematic ruckus, and Steve had signaled him to get them out. "Sorry man, still not interested."

He pushed up some imaginary sleeves before letting a friendly buisness smile spread across his face as the crowd started to cheer the moment they noticed Danny approaching the drunks. "Okay buddies! Time to get out, peace is an option!"

Red Hood watched how one of the drunks swung at the 'twig' bouncer before getting flipped and carried with one hand by the neck like a cat. Danny now sporting a feral grin as he stared at the other drunks that looked torn between attempting to fight him and fleeing.

The crime lord continued watching the display of strength and breath taking feral grin for a while longer before a distinctive "Fuck." Came through his voice modulator.

[504py]

ahh requests open !!! can i request yan!america headcanons or a short drabble ? your choice 🌼 thank you~

thank you for requesting anon!!! and so sorry for this being late omg this was supposed to come out earlier but i got sidetracked cuz i got sucked into stardew valley LMFAO 😭😭😭. but anyways, here it is!

Yandere America Relationship Headcanons

Gender neutral, manipulation, breaking and entering, stalking, long post ahead!

┊͙✧˖*°࿐

How the relationship started...

A total cliché, but Alfred would go for a damsel in distress. He met you on the stairs passing each other, you tripped, and he caught you in his arms in the nick of time. You quickly apologize and thank him with an embarrassed smile, and you continue on your way. Alfred tries to, but he can't seem to stop thinking about that flustered expression on your face, the sound of your voice, and the way you felt under your clothes...

He tries to shake the feeling off, but he just had to bump into you again.

Alfred's second encounter with you was when you two were at the counter at the convenience store, and you were a dollar short. Him, being the hero he is, leans over from behind you and puts a dollar down on the counter.

You look at him, recognizing him as the dude who prevented you from eating shit at that staircase. You blush at the embarrassing memory.

"Don't worry about it." Alfred smiles boyishly, noticing that same flustered expression. He relishes in the feeling of your warmth against his chest when he leans forward, and immediately misses it when he pulls away.

"Th.. Thanks."

You take your things and go, and Alfred is up next to pay for his things. His eyes linger on you as you exit.

Alfred can't wait for the next time you two have a chance encounter, so he catches up to you.

"Hey, dude!" He calls out, approaching you from behind. His heart races a little.

"Oh-" You are a little startled, he feels kinda bad. "What's up?"

"Cause of that dollar I gave you, I had to give up my potato chips!" Alfred cries.

He's lying. He's hoping to god they don't make a crinkle sound under his jacket.

"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry. Can.. Uh, can I pay you back some other day? I don't have any cash on me at the moment."

Alfred smiles. "I can give you my number, and we'll make out the details then?"

"Y-Yeah, of course."

His smile grows wider.

Expectations...

Because Alfred is just oh-so sociable and has such a friendly, extroverted disposition, it isn't very hard for him at all to quickly become one of your closest friends, and, one day, when you two were stuck in the rain after a late night fast-food dash gone wrong, he confesses his feelings for you. You accept, and he kisses you so hard your lips bled a bit from the impact. Of course, he apologized like crazy. You two look back at it now and laugh.

Alfred does his best to appear like a normal boyfriend. He is one who cares a lot about keeping up appearances, so he'd hate it if his weird tendencies slipped through and made itself apparent to you.

Yet another cliché, Alfred is one who yearns for the perfect American dream sort of image. Alfred really likes clichés, they're easy to predict and he can control them. He likes kissing in the rain, he likes calling you cheesy nicknames, and he wants to get married and have a kid and a pet dog with you. And he expects you to completely adhere to that fantasy of his.

Luckily for you, he won't get too violent if you're not the best at keeping up that appearance, since he has other methods of keeping you in line.

Punishments...

Since Alfred highly values appearing like a run-of-the-mill happy couple, he finds it essential that you don't suspect him at all or see him in any negative light.

So he takes to some really dirty manipulation tactics. He'd start with scolding you lightly and emphasizing every time you slip up or make a clumsy mistake.

"Oh-! Woah, babe, you almost tripped again. Thank God I caught you.. You really can't go anywhere without me."

"Did you mix up the laundry again? Damn, that's the third time this month."

He mixed up your laundry on purpose.

"Shoot! The food's burning... Ah, don't worry! I'll just order some takeout, it's alright, honey."

He totally left the burner on high while you went to the bathroom for a second.

Alfred just wants to plant a seed in your head that you're rather helpless, and need his assistance for many, if not all things. And assuming this works, you'll start clinging to him much more than you usually do.

He wants more, though. He wants you to fear the outside world so much that you have no choice but to stay in his house forever and see him as the one thing that could protect you.

He would very likely stage a break-in to get you to that point. During a moment where you're staying in your own home instead of his, he'll don a ski mask and clothing that would make him unrecognizable to you, and late at night, when you're getting comfortable, he breaks in.

Alfred doesn't mind destruction, and that's including towards other people. Like Matthew, violence would be a last resort to him, however, Alfred is much more unforgiving.

..He won't be pretty about breaking into your home. Glass will be everywhere, he'll set off alarms, and he won't be shy about getting caught on your home cameras.

Although destruction isn't his main intent, he just wants you to know someone was here. He'll move your furniture around, knock frames off of the walls, and take a few valuables, like jewelry. Nothing you should miss too much.

Then he sees you.

He never really intended for you to see him, but, now he was facing you, and to your eyes, you were face to face with a stranger who just broke into your home.

Alfred sees the panic and fear boil over in your eyes, and right before you run or scream or are able to do anything— He rushes forward and grabs you. His heart is racing

Instead of saying anything, in fear you recognize his voice, he raises a gloved finger to his lips, telling you to stay quiet.

You nod, and you're crying.

(Alfred hates to admit a part of him finds this exhilarating, but the way you're crying because of him makes him feel so horrible).

He nods his masked face at you, and goes to your bedroom to collect a few more valuables (your underwear).

As he's leaving your home, he turns his head to see you on your phone, and he panics, thinking you've dialed 911. He hurries up and runs off to a secluded area so he could take off the outer layer of clothes he was wearing.

As he takes off his jacket, the phone in his pocket rings.

And it's you.

He's frozen for a second, wondering why you were calling him. Did you know it was him? What did he do that set you off?

He picks up.

"Babe?" He cringes at how his voice shakes. "What's up?"

Then you're crying his name like it was a prayer, telling him what just happened and begging for him to come over and pick you up.

And his heart swells. You came to him first for protection? You trusted him the most with your safety?

He grins, and he can't help the way his smile could be heard in his voice when he tells you he'll be there as quickly as he can. He's so happy he's trembling. Luckily, you're still too shaken up to notice his strangely cheery tone of voice.

Then now you're clinging to him, much more than ever before, trusting him with your life, and the only thing you fear is being without him. Just like he wanted.

Rewards...

Alfred REALLY likes physical affection. He does show his love in many ways, but he's so physical that it may come off as creepy. He likes licking your face, biting lightly on your shoulder, and sniffing whatever he can, even if it's some embarrassing area... He's like a dog, really. He also likes taking you out on cheesy dates, like going to Disneyland or going to a haunted house, and taking lots of pictures to flaunt the two of you's oh-so-perfect relationship.

He has this habit of resting his hand around your neck and sorta rubbing it. I'm not sure if he'd be into asphyxiation, but he finds the action rather intimate. The throat is a vulnerable spot, and him having it in his hand so casually makes him feel good. He also has this other habit where he likes to sorta tickle your palm with his fingertips. When he hears your laugh when he does this, he gets an uncharacteristically demure expression on his face, and looks at you with hearts in his eyes.

Silence is his love language, I think.

He spends a lot of time being loud and untamed, and maybe it's a defense mechanism, who knows? So these little moments where he allows himself to be quiet, to be quiet around you, are his favorite ones.

He wakes up really early, at least earlier than you do. Maybe contrary to popular belief, I feel like Alfred is somewhat of a workaholic, so he naturally tries to get a head-start on the day.

He used to hate waking up so early, but with you, it's now his favorite part of the day. The only thing he hates is getting up to leave you for work. But he thinks it's all worth it, because it's all for you.

It's so quiet. And you're here. And no one else is around. It's just the two of you.

It feels like he's not real, during these early mornings. He knows you are, though. You're everything that's real to him. He reminds himself that this isn't a dream by touching and admiring your face while you slept. He can feel your soft breathing on his skin.

Alfred rests his forehead against yours, and he doesn't say this out loud, since he doesn't wanna wake you up, but it's also because.. He feels like you just get him. He believes you two are soulmates, and that you'll just feel whatever he's thinking, even while asleep.

"I love you." He says, in silence.

┊͙✧˖*°࿐

whew!! so sorry this got out so late, but here's the final request i'm doing for the 200 followers celebration! funnily, as i'm posting this, i've just hit 300 followers, so triple all my thank yous!! you guys are great! unfortunately, the requests got me feeling a bit burned out, so i'll probably do something different for this milestone.. i'm thinking i'll either do a "meet the artist", or do a whiteboardfox with you guys? i also have a whole bunch of ocs which were initially meant to be the main focus of my account, but not sure if that y'all would find that very interesting. please lmk what you think! thank you all again!!

[acidnhuskerdust]

let me be your everlasting light (part 1/3)

18 plus! Minors DNI!!!

Pairing: Husk x Angel Chapter 1: can’t take the effect and make it the cause

Summary: During a rough night at the studio, Angel made the terrible mistake of moaning out Husk's name at the climax of his shoot. After dealing with Valentino's abuse, the spider demon wanted to place blame on the one who is always plaguing his thoughts.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of abused and violence, a very angy Angel, breaking down

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: Hi hello! I'm VERY new to this fandom, always loved Hazbin Hotel but never delved into the fandom until the fourth episode of the show!

Hopefully they are in character enough, sorta think of it as a character arc for Angel I suppose? LOL!!!

Main title: Everlasting Light by the Black Keys

Chapter title: Effect and Cause by The White Stripes

AO3 link: x (The 2nd chapter is there as well!)

A plume of smoke escapes past Angel’s lips as the sound of his heels clicking on the floor fill the space of the empty hotel lobby. There was a look of exhaustion etched on his face while he made his way towards the bar. It was a hell of a day at the studio, dried mascara caked on the fur of his cheeks and his lipstick smudged across his lips. Everything ached with widespread pain, yet the spider demon forced himself to walk with poise. 

While approaching the bar, his eyes fixated on Husk, his back turned towards him whilst cleaning a glass with a rag. The gentle yellow of the lights above him casting down onto his fur made it look all so peaceful. 

Angel’s lips tug up into a soft smile at the sight, Husk has swiftly become his favorite demon to see after such an agonizingly long day.

He goes to settle down on a bar stool, allowing himself to slump forward. He props an elbow on the bar, resting his chin on his hand. “Hey Husky,” He purrs out, his voice a bit scratchy. “Mind pourin’ lil ol me a drink?” His other hand takes the cigarette dangling loosely from his lips, snuffing it out on the nearby ash tray. 

Husk lets out a quiet grunt of acknowledgment, setting down the glass he had been cleaning and reaching for a bottle. He turns around with the bottle in hand and silently takes in the sight of Angel before him. His eyes, half-hidden under drooping eyelids and thick brows, seems to drink in the bedraggled figure of his friend. 

“Looking like shit, doll,” Husk rasps out finally with the slightest sort of tenderness seeping into his gravelly voice. “Must have been rough today.” 

Angel lets out a snicker, finding the nickname sweet as can be as he watches Husk pour him a drink. He sits up, taking the glass into one of his hands and bringing it up to his lips. He takes a large gulp, drinking half of it one go before setting it back down on the bar. A sigh of satisfaction leaves him, enjoying the taste of hard liquor on his tongue. 

“Well, ya’know,” Angel finally replies, leaning forward to rest his head against the surface while running a slender finger around the rim of the glass, mauling over his day. “Val was bein’ an absolute bitch as usual...” He huffs out a sigh, a small frown tugging at his lips. “Slipped offa the stage during a show, jus barely by the way. But did he give a shit I hurt my back? ‘Course not.” Angel rolls his eyes, sitting back up to meet Husk’s intent gaze. “Asshole made me work overtime, five dudes, ugly as hell.” He lets out a groan at the recollection, grabbing his drink to take another large swig before continuing, “Then Charlie was up my ass, askin’ why I was back so late. Y’know, just bein’ herself. It was hard enough today, was not willin’ ta deal with her constant chatter.” 

Husk raises a brow, seemingly taking in Angel’s frustrations. A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips while he grabs himself a glass. “Sounds like you had yourself quite the day.” Husk says with a dry chuckle as he poured his drink.

His voice drips with sarcasm as he adds, “And Charlie… Can’t blame her for trying to keep track of your sorry ass. She means well.” 

Angel lets out a groan from his words. He rolls his eyes, finishing off his drink and sliding the glass towards Husk. As much as the spider demon hated to admit it, Husk always knew how to ground him, to make him acknowledge when he was being a bit too brash and a bit too rude. It was ever so galling. 

“Ya can’t blame me, she’s like a puppy!” He exclaims, throwing all four hands up in a dramatic gesture. “Comin’ through the door, she’s right at your feet, yippin’ and yappin’, going on and on about how ya need to ‘relax’. All sunshine n’ rainbows. Now that… That’s hell. Hell on Hell.” 

Husk shakes his head, pouring Angel another glass of the potent liquor. “You’ve got a point,” He grumbles, his arms crossing over his chest. 

“She’s got that whole innocent ‘let me help you’ shtick going on.” The demon cat muses, his voice filled with a mix of amusement and mild annoyance. “Can be fucking infuriating sometimes.” He shakes his head slightly before fixing Angel with an intent stare. 

“But I’ll tell you one thing doll,” He continues, reaching out to tap the rim of Angel’s freshly poured drink with one clawed finger. “That sort of caring isn’t common down here in this shitshow we call Hell.” 

Angel takes a moment to ponder over his words before letting out a reluctant sigh. He was right, annoyingly enough; in his years spent in Hell, he’s never met anyone like Charlie. 

“I guess..” He murmurs out, taking his glass in his hands to down half of the harsh liquor. “Least I got you Husky,” He purrs out, giving the older demon a sly wink. “Nothin’ better than talkin’ a bartender’s ear off. Specially if he gots the looks like you. I mean… Damn.” 

Husk's eyes narrow slightly at his flirtatious remark, a low growl under his breath that made Angel smirk in satisfaction. 

“Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere, Angel,” Husk retorts with a snarl in his voice. “I’m just here to pour drinks and listen to your problems. Ain’t nothing more to it.” His claws grip at his own glass as he takes a long swig. 

Angel gives Husk a faux pout, “C’mon babycakes, ya’know I’m just messin’. We’re friends, ‘member?” He lets out a sly chuckle. Although he has simmered down in regards to his constant sexual innuendos since they became closer, he still couldn’t stop himself from slipping in some flirting on the side of their usual conversations. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Husk mutters gruffly, turning away and busying himself with cleaning another glass. Angel hears him take a deep breath, causing his brows to furrow. What an interesting reaction… 

He shrugs it off and finishes his drink, setting the glass down with a clink before stretching all four lanky limbs up into the air, giving him a painful reminder of the condition his body was in. “‘Suppose it’s time ta hit the hay.” He gets up from his seat, letting out a big yawn. “See ya tomorrow mornin? For Charlie’s little… Exercises?” 

Husk scoffs under his breath at the mention of Charlie’s ‘trust exercises’. “Sure thing,” He replies dismissively. “See you bright and early then.” 

Angel takes his leave, contemplating over how cute Husk looked like when he was so reactive. A smile on his lips as he heads up the stairs, the older demon really knew how to plague his mind. 

He was on his mind so much… Angel was getting fed up with it. 

The next day comes around, yet Angel never showed up to Charlie’s morning routine. Although he wished he did, wished so very badly that he was able to be there then where he had to go. Valentino called him back to the studio only a few hours after he had laid down, a last minute shoot or something along the lines. 

Angel fucked up badly during it, he fucked up real bad. 

During the final take, while some stranger was above him, fucking into him hard and fast, all Angel could see was him. 

Husk. 

Once he reached his climax he shouted out his name, and god the look on Val’s face when he came down from his high was nothing short of terrifying. Then came another brutal talking in his dressing room, thrown around, talked down to, kicked. Fuck, did it hurt. 

'What is wrong with you? You do not utter any other name, you do not think of anyone else then who is pounding your pretty little ass! And you will not ruin another take ever again.' He told him.

The words that felt like sharp knives deep within his body bounced around in his mind as he pushed open the doors of the hotel. Charlie’s drill seemed to have just finished, he could hear brief chatter before it all died down once Angel walked past them. All eyes were on him, he could feel it and it made him feel disgusting. 

He keeps his head down, all four arms crossed as he wordlessly limps his way up the stairs and goes right into his room. 

Angel drags his tired body over to his vanity mirror, placing two hands on the edges to keep himself from crumpling down onto the ground. He stares back at his reflection with weary eyes, he looked so… Fragile. His heart wrenches in his chest at the sight of himself, glaring at his reflection. “Pathetic.” He seethes out. Because that was what he was, what he always will be. 

In a fit of rage and despair, he swipes everything off the vanity in one go, the sound of makeup cases and bottles crashing to the ground fell on deaf ears. He felt so much, so fucking much, and god it was just so overwhelming. Why did that demon have to do this to him? 

“Fuck!” He growls out, grabbing his chair and throwing across the room. He breathes harshly, going around the room to skew his things about, he needed it to be ruined, ruined like him. 

As he grabs an empty bottle of booze to throw against the wall, the sound of knocking makes him freeze. Angel stays silent, hoping whoever there would walk away, yet the door creaks open anyway. He whips his head around with a dangerous glare in his eyes, expecting to see Charlie. Yet, it was Husk. His eyes soften for a fleeting moment, his heart fluttering in his chest.

Although that gaze hardens promptly once he is reminded it was all because of him. He put him in this situation. This fucking asshole. 

“Fucking hell.” Husk mutters under his breath. He takes a step inside, closing the door behind him. 

The grasp on the bottle tightens as the other begins to approach him slowly. “Angel, what happened?” Husk asks, his voice ever so slightly wavering. 

Angel scoffs. “What do ya think happened?” The spider demon snaps, his hand beginning to hurt from how hard he was gripping the bottle. Seeing him right now was the last thing he needed, seeing that concern, that softness, fuck him. 

“Fuckin’... Fuck!” He roars, hurling the bottle towards Husk. Despite his state of mania, he still made sure to miss the demon cat, the glass shattering against the wall behind him. 

Husk barely flinched, his ears twitching in slight annoyance. He then takes another cautious step towards him, closing the distance between them. “Calm down for fuck’s sake. What happened? Talk to me.” 

Angel’s hands tremble with anger and frustration, his mind a whirlwind of self-loathing. 

“Fuck off!” He spits out venomously, “It’s you, it’s your fault asshole!” His entire face was filled with anguish. Why? Why did Husk have to be the one Angel obsessed over? Why did he have to be into the one fucking demon on hell that wanted nothing to do with him? He was Angel fucking Dust, he could get anyone he wanted, it wasn't fair. None of this was fucking fair.

Husk’s eyes widened in shock at Angel’s harsh words. “My fault?” Husk repeats, disbelief laced in his tone. “How the fuck is it my fault?” 

Angel doesn’t respond, his eyes frantically searching around the room until his eyes spot one of the makeup bags he threw earlier near his bed. He needs something to take the edge off right now, he needs to forget, needs to be numb, he needs to be okay. He stomps over to it, picking it up and zipping it open to begin searching for anything he could find. 

He didn’t realize Husk was rushing over to him until his clawed hands grabbed onto the case in an attempt to pull it away from Angel. “Fuck no, you’re not doing this right now.” His voice rings out gruffly, but even Angel can pick up the unmistakable tremor of concern underneath it. 

Angel snarls at Husk, his voice dripping with venom. “Get your fucking hands off, ya prick!” He wrenches the makeup case from Husk’s grasps, sending a sharp glare in his direction. His heart was pounding erratically in his chest as the anger continues consume his entire being. 

“I can do whateva’ the fuck I want!” He cradles the bag against the chest possessively. “And it is your damn fault,” Angel continues. “Ya got me…” He groans out in frustration, one of his hands coming up to push through his puffy hair. “Got me all fuckin’ twisted up inside! You don’t really give a shit, just anotha sinner in this shithole.” 

Husk’s eyes narrow, his frustration mounting. He takes a step forward, the tension crackling in the air. “Twisted up inside?” Husk scoffs bitterly. “What the fuck do you even mean?” 

The hand in Angel’s hair grasped tightly at the strands, harshly pulling. His eyes flew around the room, not able to settle his gaze on anything as he tried to think of his words. “You... You know exactly what I fuckin’ mean. Don’t you play dumb with me asshole!" His voice breaks, and his hand pulls harder at his hair till his scalp burned. "You don’t give a damn, I don’t even know why you’re here.” 

“You think I don’t give a shit?” Husk’s tone raised with a mix of pain and defiance. His eyes lock with Angel, refusing to back down. “Think again, spider boy. Seen enough pain and suffering to know when I see it. God damnit, I’m here aren’t I? Ain’t that enough to tell you that just maybe I care?”

Angel’s eyes twitched, his words coming out of one ear and right out the other. He takes the final step forward, closing the gap between them till their bodies are almost touching. His breath came out as ragged gasps as he stared directly into Husk’s fierce gaze. “If ya give a damn, then why the fuck do you torture me?” He seethes out, taking notice of the confusion in the other’s eyes. Of course he had to spell it out for him. Angel continues fiercely, tears welling up in his eyes. “Bein’ all nice ta me, nice as ya can be at least, listenin’ to me, pourin’ me drinks. Yet ya reject every single fucking advance. Won’t give spare me a glance, me, Angel Dust!”  

His hands shake with both rage and vulnerability as reaches up to Husk’s bow tie, gripping it tightly. 

“And guess what? I still want ya.” Angel spits out through gritted teeth, the admission laced with equal parts of desire and anger. “And you know that, don’t ya? You like it, havin’ the famous whore of Hell always chasin after you, yet not giving him an inch to work with. Ya like fucking with my head.” 

Husk’s eyes were wide as Angel glared down at him. He seems to be rendered speechless, a heavy silence between them as they both soak in Angel’s words. 

Then, there was two clawed hands wrapping around his thin wrists. They were gentle as they pried his hands away from his bow tie. Conflict quickly writes across Angel’s face, eyes flickering down to Husk’s hands. 

“Do you really think I’d ever enjoy this?” Husk begins, his voice hoarse, strained with emotions. “Fuckin’ hell Legs, there is nothing fun about that, nothing at all. You don’t get it, I don’t want to be some doll for you to throw around just because you’re feeling desperate.” 

A flicker of vulnerability crosses Angel’s eyes. This wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He was expecting a violent outburst, to feel a stinging hand across his face. But… He didn’t get any of that. Husk talked to him with patience, his hands barely wrapped around his wrists. Fuck, and the way he stared into his eyes, it felt like he saw his damaged soul. 

“I…” Angel begins, feeling at a loss for words. His anger sheds away in a blink of an eye, now he was left confused and not only that, he felt like a total asshole. “Husk…” 

He was cut off by the slight squeeze of Husk’s hands. Then he finally takes notice of those yellow eyes, there was a fire burning within them, an unspoken desire. 

“You want me? You really fuckin’ want me?” Husk leans closer until their breaths mingle together. “Then prove it.” 

His eyes widened, searching his face to confirm this was real, that this wasn’t another rejection. 

Angel’s gaze softens, and tears cloud his vision. “I’ll prove it.” He murmurs out, his voice shaky enough to make him feel embarrassed. 

The spider demon was the one to close the gap between them, pressing his lips against Husk’s with pure desperation. He was so… Soft. Right now, in Angel’s eyes, everything about Husk was soft.  

Husk didn’t push him away like Angel expected. Instead, he responded to Angel’s desperate kiss with equal need. He feels one clawed paw finding its way to tangle itself into Angel’s soft white hair, while the other settled firmly against the small of his back. Husk pulled him closer, and it felt so very warm.

Angel’s eyes screwed tight, tears seeping out and creating a path down his cheeks, making the kiss taste salty mixed within booze and cigarettes. 

Husk takes the lead, backing up until the back of his knees hit the bed. He lowers himself down onto the plush surface and Angel follows, moving to straddle the cat demon’s lap. He tilts his head down, deepening the kiss. 

It was so much better than all the times Angel day dreamed it in his head. Husk wasn’t rough, yet he matched Angel’s eagerness, pulling his body close till there was no space left between them. 

His lips felt like Heaven. How ironic. 

What felt like both forever and only a fleeting few moments, Angel was the first to pull away, taking in ragged breaths. He stares down at Husk, in complete awe. Husk gaze only held warmth and understanding. 

That gaze was enough to make Angel lose it. He wanted so badly to go into his usual act, settle back into his persona, to make some sort of cheeky remark yet he couldn’t, not right now. 

Right now, he was just Anthony. 

Fresh tears fill his eyes as he goes to shove his face into the crook of Husk’s neck. He sobs against his fur as all four arms wrap around the other’s body, his hold practically screaming, don’t let go. Never let go. Stay. 

“Husk…” He croaks, feeling so hopeless in the moment for showing such a vulnerable side to him. A raw, unfiltered display of pain and anguish and fear. 

Gently, Husk lowers them both further down onto the bed, his arms wrapping around his slim torso. 

“Shh… It’s alright.” Husk murmurs softly, running a comforting hand up and down Angel’s back. “I’ve got you.” 

He’s got him. 

That... sounds so nice. 

Husk was so wonderfully patient, allowing Angel to release all those pent up emotions that have been festering inside of him for far too long. There was no room for a façade, not right now, Angel allowed himself to cling onto Husk as if he was a life line. 

There are no grand promises or empty reassurances, just the comfort of being held and heard by someone who understands pain all too well. 

Angel then finds himself beginning to calm down, his breathing steadying itself. Not even an ounce of help from drugs or alcohol this time. 

He forces himself up, lifting his head from Husk’s shoulder. His voice comes out choked and broken as he looks into the older demon’s eyes. 

“Fuck… I’m sorry,” He mutters, his voice filled with remorse. “Didn’t mean to fuckin’ break down like this.” He wipes at his tears angrily, a mix of frustration and self disgust coursing through him. Did he seriously just sob his eyes after sharing his first kiss with Husk? How pathetic. 

He closes his eyes, taking a slow breath. “I… I also shouldn’t have blamed it all on you.” He lets out a long sigh, there was nothing worse than when he had to admit he was wrong. 

While his eyes were closed, Angel feels a hand cupping his face and the sound of deep chuckle hits his ears. He slides one eye open to look down at the demon below him with curiosity. 

“That must have been hard for you to say.” There was a smirk on his face and Angel wished he had it in him to give him a witty remark. Luckily, Husk continued, “I get it doll, sometimes it feels good to place blame on someone. I sure as hell do it all the time.” 

His thumb strokes away a stray tear, and fuck, Angel has never seen such a tender look on the usually grumpy demon’s face. 

“I’m sorry too, that I made you feel like I was just trying to torture you. In all honesty, I had no idea you… Actually felt this way towards me.” 

Angel’s brow quirked. “Are ya serious? I mean… How many times have I hit on ya?” 

Husk rolls his eyes, his smile not wavering. “And how many times have I seen you hit on others?” 

Angel huffs out, he got him there. 

“But listen to me. You’re allowed to want what you want,” His words turn into soft murmurs. “And I’m here now… To be whatever you need me to be, long as you don’t treat me like one of your boy toys.” 

Tears well up into his eyes once again, nuzzling into the tender hand on his cheek. He purrs out a sigh from the contact as he leans in closer. “I don’t need ya to be anythin’,” He says barely above a whisper, his lips barely brushing against Husk’s. “I just need ya to be here right now, want ya to hold me.” 

Without hesitation, Husk’s embrace around Angel tightened, holding him securely against his chest. Angel takes the chance to wiggle down, burying his face into his furry chest, breathing in his musk. 

“I’ll hold you all night if you need me to.” He replies in a low voice, his lips grazing over the top of his head. 

Angel hums contently in response, taking his words and holding them closely to his heart. As silence falls between them, a thought comes to his mind. He chuckles softly, the sound muffled against Husk’s chest. 

“Ya’know… I don’t think I’ve eva been on top of a guy without him fuckin’ me,” He says playfully, yet his voice was still filled with genuine warmth. He peers up, just enough for his pink eyes to peak out. “It’s nice.” 

The demon below him then lets out a low chuckle, his deep voice vibrating against the spider demon’s head nestled against his chest. “Well ain’t that something,” Husk replied, a smirk on his lips. “Glad to be your first.” 

Angel settled his head back against Husk, nuzzling into his fur with a soft smile on his lips. He laid there with Husk all night, and for the first time in a very long time, he was able to get some decent sleep. Husk felt like an oasis amidst the chaos of Hell, and right now? 

Right now that was more than enough. 

[sarasade]

Claudia, Viren & The Very Real Parent-Child Dynamics of The Dragon Prince

Sometimes I wonder if I come across like I try to defend Claudia too much. That's not my intent at all. I just think she deserves more and better critique.

The Point I guess

Personally, I really connect with Claudia's brand of messy, unflattering and even pathetic rage and grief much more than the dignified and mature ways Callum and Ezran handle things (More on that later). Maybe this sounds unflattering but Claudia being also kind of an asshole really speaks to me. Like that's the kind of teenage girl I'm the most familiar with and we don't have enough media that has nuanced takes on this sort of troubled character. Exploring negative or even anti-social traits and impulses in fiction, especially in women, is kind of undervalued in my opinion. Those are part of humanity and therefore part of us and this impulse to completely reject them doesn't benefit anyone really.

Finally, some wholesome father-daughter relationship rep in media!

My way to view fantasy media is about how it can artistically portray something true to real life. That's why I'm the most invested in this kind of reading of the text. Fantasy media is often dismissed as mere escapism even by the fantasy fans themselves (*side eyes the dude bro Witcher fandom*) which ignores the emotional depths it can reach by approaching difficult subject matter more metaphorically.

Inject Viren & Claudia's Father-Daughter Dynamic Straight into My Veins

There is something viscerally real about Claudia and Viren's relationship. I've seen this kind of father-daughter dynamic play out in real life many times where the child gives and gives and gives yet the parent takes it all for granted until it's too late and the parent-child relationship is just a mangled corpse of its former self, way too damaged to ever be truly repaired.

Like if you've had a difficult relationship with your parents it can feel similar to how s4-5 Claudia struggles to keep Viren alive while Viren hesitates. The child is the one who tries to fix things in the relationship while the parent is in denial or completely oblivious. Viren doesn't really try to connect with Claudia further in s4-5. It almost seems like he's completely emotionally unprepared to have that conversation and oh boy if you know any boomer parents that's pretty damn realistic. He just sort of gives up and acts completely passive because he's so out of touch with his emotions.

There is also this aspect of your parent aging and then one day you realise that you, the child, are the one who has more power in the relationship. It's a universal experience. These are just some of the ways I can see Viren and Claudia's relationship in seasons 4 and 5 metaphorically portray real life parent-child dynamics. There is a lot of emotional truth to how TDP approaches these relationships even when the story itself is an over the top fantasy romp.

How much Viren relies on Claudia is revealed little by little: She got the unicorn horn for the spell that killed Avizandum, she got the dragon horn that helped them cross the lava to Xadia in s3. It's set up really subtly how there is almost this parentification of Claudia like she's the one who took her mother's place as the emotional center and caregiver of the family after Viren and Lissa divorced. It's a lot of pressure to put one a child to say the least. This extends to Soren and how he is treated as the scapegoat of the family when Claudia is the Golden Child. This sort of treatment of Claudia and Soren by Viren is probably the most common analysis of their family dynamic as far as I can tell.

You ever heard of the thing called "eldest daughter syndrome"?

Eventually Claudia's most admirable and positive traits get corrupted (insert here an analysis of the corruptive nature of the dark magic as a plot device). It's like this perversion of feminine nurturing instinct society values and enforces in girls. Claudia's love is not domesticated but something that's so all consuming it destroys everything in its way. In s 4 she insists Viren has to live. She does everything in her power to keep her family together even against the wishes of her loved ones; first it was healing Soren in and then it was bringing Viren back to life in s3. Claudia has fully internalised her role as the caregiver to the point of self-imposed victimhood.

All The Characters Have a Part to Play

Since TDP is meant for an all-age audience (And later for teens and up since they hiked up the age rating) all the younger characters Callum, Ezran, Rayla, Claudia and Soren collectively represent the kind of different and difficult feelings parental abandonment and neglect can cause. A real person most likely feels all of these emotions at some point of their life but in fiction they need to be spread out among different characters or the story wouldn't work as, well, a story.

"she was a mage girl committing warcrimes, he was an elf boy vibing in the woods, can I make it anymore obvious"

I'd gladly read some more critical takes on Claudia's character. There is something very interesting there about Claudia and Terry's relationship for example. Terry is clearly very enamored with Claudia whom he perceives as someone very vulnerable and in need of help. Terry isn't wrong exactly but it does get problematic when he goes to great lengths to protect Claudia to the detriment of his own wellbeing. While TDP itself doesn't draw attention to it there are also the racial and gendered elements, both implicit and explicit, because of Claudia's fantasy racism and because of Terry being a non-white trans boy character as well. Claudia is the most powerful dark mage in Xadia when Terry is just a normal guy. Given the context of the show there is a power imbalance there.

tHÖ END

Why I'm laying this all out is that I think the Internet would be a better place if people didn't try to constantly find an objective "right" way to view a piece of media but instead were somewhat transparent about what they personally got out of it. I think this Viravos meta is the most popular thing I've written so far and I tried to explain my approach in detail because I don't want people to go "look this person says Viravos is canon!". Jokes are fine of course but taking it too objectively ignores the fact that analysing subtext is valuable on its own.

Idk how to end this. Here, have this meme.

[autisticlancemcclain]

episode one

-- -- --

[The screen seems to blink; first black then a flash of many colours, before focusing and settling on the scene the camera is filming. Seven people sit squished together on a couch – the paladins of Voltron. Some look particularly happier about the predicament than others.]

Lance, Allura (beaming): Hiya, everyone!

[Allura ducks her head to whisper something at Lance. She is not very good at whispering, so her words are picked up by the microphone.]

Allura: Did I say it correctly? Hiya?

[Lance makes a ‘perfect’ motion with his hands.]

Lance (whispering also): You nailed it!

[Both teens nod resolutely at each other and turn back to the camera.]

Lance: You guys loved that first episode. We got…so many space e-mails.

Hunk (amused): I think we can just call them e-mails, buddy.

[Lance sticks his tongue out at him, playfully annoyed, and then turns to Pidge, who is squished next to him and scowling heavily. He nudges her.]

Lance: If it’s in space, I say space. Space goo, space castle, space lions. Right, Pidgey?

Pidge (deadpan): You have three seconds to explain why I’m here or I’m tasing you again.

Lance: Yeesh, dude, fine.

[He turns to the camera, smiling, but it is significantly more mischievous than before.]

Lance: I mentioned that I got several space e-mails. Several hundred, really.

[Pidge taps her wrist.]

Lance: I’m getting there! Holy moly!

[He huffs at her, then turns his attention away, dragging something from his pocket and stuffing it into his hands before anyone can see.]

Lance: ANYWAYS. After I sorted through all the various marriage proposals for Hunk and some of the most insane strings of sentences that have ever been uttered thought or posted – and I’m a bisexual thot, so that’s saying something; some of y’all are horny – there were some genuinely interesting questions. So I thought we could answer some of them!

[He waves the thing he took from his pocket, which is now clear to be a stack of papers. His announcement draws a mix of emotions; whoops of excitement from the Alteans, an exasperated and fond sigh from Hunk, a look of resignation from Shiro, a groan of distress from Pidge, and a look from Keith that can only be described as the same wariness one might have when approaching a feral animal. Uncaring of any negativity, Lance primly straightens the papers, holding one in front of him with great fanfare.]

Lance: We’ll start with some group questions. Ease us all into it. Oh, I forgot to mention that I used one of Pidge’s programs to pick these questions for me based off a few parameters, so I genuinely have no idea what they’re going to be. I thought it would be more fun that way.

[He clears his throat.]

Lance: ‘To the Voltron team – what’s it like living with the same people every day? Is it fun, like a sleepover? Is there someone who’s a particularly worse roommate than the others?’

Lance: Oooooou, drama. 

[A moment of contemplative silence.]

Shiro: Most of us are pretty used to sharing spaces with people, I think. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve lived the majority of my life in a military facility since I was twelve, so.

All other humans: Same.

Pidge: Well, not that long. It is a little more new to me. But I lived with my brother and parents before all this, so I’m totally used to banging on the bathroom door in the mornings because someone is hogging it.

[She looks pointedly at Lance. He shrugs.]

Lance: I will not apologise for my commitment to looking beautiful. It pays off, and you are all granted the privilege of looking at me, so.

Keith (confused): You have to try to be pretty?

[Hunk chokes. Shiro whips his head to stare at his brother, wide-eyed. Pidge frantically digs around for her phone, then remembers the camera, looking straight at it with an evil grin. Lance’s jaw drops.]

[Keith continues to stare at the Blue Paladin in confusion, oblivious to the double meaning of his question.]

Lance (hoarsely): What?

Keith: I mean, you get the soap and wash your face and hair and body and go. How do you…make yourself pretty? That’s just something you are or are not, right?

[Shiro places his head in his hands. His shoulders shake.]

Shiro: Oh, dear God.

[Hunk is biting his lip harshly to keep from laughing. Pidge and Allura offer no such courtesy, giggling openly to themselves.]

Lance:...

Lance: Keith, tell me you’re not washing your fucking hair with bar soap.

[All embarrassment seems to be forgotten in favour of disbelief.]

Keith: Of course I am. I actually do wash my hair, you know. Frequently.

Lance: With fucking bar so – 

[He takes a deep, calming breath, bodily moving himself away as if proximity to Keith will somehow make his own hair-washing habits degrade.]

Lance: I am done talking about this. You are the worst roommate.

Keith: What? How? Because I wash my hair like a normal person?

Keith: At least I do it fast! You’re the worst roommate because you take four billion years to brush your teeth!

Lance (screeching): This mouth is plaque and gingivitis free, you skanky hoe! I spend a normal amount of time in the bathroom, you’re just a knobhead!

[Before Keith can argue back, Hunk reaches over and places a placating hand on Lance’s head.]

Hunk: Sorry, buddy, but as your roommate of almost six years now, you spend an insane amount of time in front of a mirror. I don’t have enough time in the day to count how often it would make us late.

Keith (emphatically): See? Worst roommate.

[Coran hums disapprovingly.]

Coran: I’m not sure that’s true, Number Four. He does more chores than the rest of you.

[Various mutters of agreeance.]

Shiro: True. Who’s the worst, then?

Pidge: Well, Hunk is always sneaking into my workshop and rearranging my shit.

Hunk: First of all, shared workshop. I am simply meandering over to your half. Second of all, I wouldn’t have to snoop if you simply indulged my curiosity. 

Lance (deadpan): The same curiosity that inspired you to build and code a device to break into my phone when I wouldn’t tell you the name of the person I was seeing?

Hunk: In my defense, you generally have bad taste. You’ve been mugged four times.

Lance: Privacy, Hunk. Snoops are the worst roommates. 

Allura: But he makes us treats! Surely that must count for something.

[Hunk looks at her, adoring and playful.]

Hunk: Allura, you are my favourite.

[Allura beams.]

Allura: Thank you!

Shiro: Hm. I suppose we all have annoying habits, but we’re all pretty helpful, too.

Coran (teasing): How diplomatic, Number One.

Lance: Taking that as a cue to move on. 

[He looks down at his stack of papers.]

Lance: Uh, a couple of these are pretty straightforward. ‘What is the best part of being a paladin?’

Keith (immediately): Helping people.

[No one voices protest.]

Lance (quietly): Next one.

Lance: ‘Do you have to train a lot?’

[Three humans groan in unison. Shiro looks amused. Allura looks huffy. Keith looks a little bit like a teacher’s pet.]

Pidge: All fucking day!

Allura (primly): That is a gross exaggeration.

Hunk: The only gross thing around here is how sweaty I get after the bajillion thousand years of training every morning. It is agony.

Lance: Agreed. I got so sweaty I broke out the other day. Broke out. Me. I had to be consoled.

[Hunk and Pidge both nod very seriously. Pidge places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.]

Hunk: It was a very difficult night.

Shiro (smiling): Next question, you dorks. 

Lance: This one is for Allura! ‘Were you friends with the mice before the cryo pod or did you only befriend them after? If the former, how did you end up becoming friends with them?’

[Allura lights up, either at the first directed question being to her personally, or because she is excited to show off her pets. She immediately pulls the mice out of her pockets, where they had been peacefully sleeping, and they blink and yawn as they wake, scampering up her arms to rest on her head.]

Allura: These friends are new! They were little stowaways. If I had known they were on the castle I would have befriended them much sooner.

Coran: She is very fond of animals. She would spend hours as a child building careful and gentle traps for any ‘pests’ that roamed the castle and disturbed the residents, so she could safely free them. 

[Lance feigns an arrow to the heart, collapsing dramatically backwards. Everyone else simply smiles fondly.]

[Allura barely notices, attention turned upwards to her pets, where she strokes them gently.]

Allura: I love my friends very much. They make everything…

[She pauses for a moment, expression saddening.]

Allura: They help me keep a piece of home.

[Shiro reaches over to squeeze her shoulder. She smiles gratefully at him. After a moment she turns to look at Lance, indicating for him to continue.]

Lance: Two more. 

[He takes a moment to read the first, then grins, sharp and teasing.]

Lance: ‘For Hunk: so did you and Shay ever become an iiiiiiteeeeeem?’

[Hunk flushes red. The rest of the team snickers, teasing and poking at him.]

Hunk: I doubt there was that much emphasis in the space e-mail, Lance.

Lance: No, there was.

[Keith crawls over the back of the couch to lean over Lance’s shoulder. He turns to Hunk, smirking.]

Keith: It definitely does, dude. Big and bold.

Lance (smugly): Thank you, Keith.

[Hunk scowls.]

Hunk: Funny how it’s suddenly easy for you two to work together when it benefits you.

Hunk: But whatever. We’ve been in contact. We have to follow up with people, you know.

Lance: Oh of course, of course.

Keith: Exactly the kind of kindness we expect from you, Hunk.

Pidge: Standard procedure.

Shiro: I would even say it’s protocol. 

Allura: I’d be disappointed if you weren’t following up, truly.

Coran: Astounded by your commitment, dear boy.

[Hunk sighs, long and heavy.]

Hunk: I hate all of you. Move on, Lance, or I’m leaving.

Lance: Okay, grouchy.

[He turns to the last sheet, reading it carefully. Suddenly, his face blooms bright crimson, and he flips the page over, slamming it onto his knees.]

Lance (hurriedly): My mistake! Misprint, there’s nothing on this page. That’s all for this episode, everyone, tune in for the next –

Keith: Oh, no you don’t.

[Keith leans over and snatches the paper from Lance’s lap faster than Lance can stop him. Lance screeches, lunging after him, but he is too fast, and besides everyone else but Coran piles on top of him, barring him from tackling Keith to the ground. The Red Paladin perches on the back of the couch, paper in hand, hair mussed and wild and smile victorious.]

Keith: ‘Do you really not remember the Bonding Moment –

[Lance lets out a scream of emotional agony.]

Keith: – or were you just faking?’ Bonding moment is capitalised, by the way. In case you wanted to pretend you didn’t know exactly what this is talking about. 

Lance (stubbornly): I don’t.

[Three people pinch him at once.]

Lance: Ouch! This is extortion!

Pidge: Deserved extortion, you liar.

Lance: I had brain damage! I don’t remember jack about shit!

Keith (voice cracking) (again): I cradled you in my arms!

Lance: No way! Don’t remember –

Keith (threatening): If you say ‘didn’t happen’, McClain, I swear to God –

Lance: – didn’t happen!

Hunk: One day you are going to piss off the angry knife boy just so and you are going to get stabbed. And I might not stop him.

Lance: This place is the worst. None of you love me. Only Coran.

[Coran gently pats Lance’s ankle.]

Coran: I don’t believe you either, dear.

Lance: Well, that’s fine. I will simply wallow away in agony and despair.

Coran: You do that.

[Lance sighs loudly, then squirms his way out of his teammates’ hold so his head his peeking out, glancing at the camera.]

Lance (sagely): Remember this injustice, Lance stans. I know you’re out there. Avenge me.

[On that dramatic note, the video cuts.]

[nereidprinc3ss]

Jokes and being 'horny on main' aside I find it so fascinating how many women are drawn to both Spencer Reid and MGG. Like he's not classically handsome, in the way most macho Hollywood men are. He's softer, more poetic looking and his personality is also very unique. I think he feels safe (from what we know anyways), and there's something to be said for why women (especially younger women) go nuts for this kind of smart, goofy, caring guy who is truly weird (more so MGG than Spencer). Yet you'll still have incels on Reddit/Twitter parading the toxic alpha male shit to impressionable men and creating this vicious cycle. There was actually an interesting class I took on Romance novels and how because they're sort of an unexplored medium that hasn't been taken seriously in the cultural zeitgeist until recently it's been able to develop into a safe space for women, written by women. A lot of men call them unrealistic and yes they can lean trope-y and drama-esque but also at their core its about women reading about men that are good communicators, with decent personalities and hygiene

idk WHY he is the most visually appealing man I’ve ever seen, and idk why he has this crazy staying power for me—like normally my celebrity crushes are crazy intense for a few months and then they just disappear one day, but me and matthew are approaching our year anniversary and i see no signs of stopping lol!!

i think personality does have a lot to do with it. mgg is genuinely a weirdo like he’s a weird dude with a lot of heart and he seems really passionate about the things he does. men who care about something outside of themselves, and don’t take themselves too seriously, do tend to make me feel safer. i can’t speak for other women and obviously we don’t know him in real life but if he’s secretly an asshole he does a fantastic job of hiding it!! his sense of humor requires a kind of self awareness and awareness of other people that we don’t usually expect from famous men, and the way he speaks about and interacts w his female friends/coworkers is really amazing too.

idk, obviously we don’t actually know him and i try very much not to idolize people (especially men) who i don’t know. but he’s so funny and seems like an actually kind person who lacks some of the hangups that other male celebrities have and that make them repellant to me

also men saying romance novels are “unrealistic” need to give me a fucking break. women know that the men they read about in romance novels aren’t realistic representations of men in real life but men don’t seem to understand that porn is a fucking joke and not a realistic representation of real women. yet they hold us to those ludicrous standards all the time. until they start thinking about the porn they watch as a complete MADE UP FANTASY the way women think about romance novels i really do not want to hear it from them lmfaooo

especially when our fantasy is being treated respectfully by a good man and their fantasies include anti gravity boobs and removed ribs and viewing women as objects made for their pleasure

can you tell im mad about this…

anyway thank you for sharing your thoughts!! i completely agree<3

[third-arch]

No Surprises-A Trafalgar Law x Reader Fan Fiction Chapter 1-Birthday

sfw, fluff, some cussing

Today was your Captain's birthday. The Heart Pirates enjoyed themselves while the party was in full swing. Chatter amongst your crewmates was largely focused on other October birthdays. "I can't think of many other people who have October birthdays…" said Penguin.

"Oh!! I'm pretty sure Marco's birthday happened, and Bartolomeo's is today, too!"

"Eh? How do you even know about that? That's just weird, dude"

You giggle. One of your crewmates looks at you,

"Say, Reader, when's your birthday? You're a bit more of a rookie here than the rest of us." "It's actually one week from today! Hehe" you stare into your lap.

"The thirteenth?? Dude! We need to celebrate for Reader!" "Ah! Nonono, it's okay! Like, I don't really go anywhere on my birthdays, I kinda just like being alone..." you respond, still staring into your lap.

This was normal for you to do. You weren't necessarily the most outgoing person on board. You kept to yourself most of the time. You also loathed parties.

"Like one time, I went to this dance when I was a teenager...and..." Trafalgar Law, your captain, sat at the far end of the table, quietly listening to your ramblings.

Hm, I guess I'm still learning more about her everyday. He felt a bit torn, nonetheless. Did she show up to my party because she was part of the crew or because she wanted to? No, that seems selfish of me to think like that. Hm...

You had an idea.

You excused yourself to go get some more lemonade from the bar. You weren't much of a drinker. You liked more simple beverages, like water, and sugar water...and...pretty much water with one or two ingredients added to it.

While refilling your drink, Captain Law approached you.

“Kanna-ya, may I have a word with you, privately?"

"Oh! Sure Captain" you felt a little anxious. Hopefully, you weren't in trouble. You sometimes had a hard time reading your captain because he was always so stern. According to your crewmates, he used to smile more. But, since his encounter with Doflamingo, his smile is more of a rare sight.

You left the busy kitchen to follow your captain to a corner of the deck. He leaned against the wall, eyes closed. "Hi Captain! Happy birthday!" You smiled

"Oi, Kanna-ya," your captain responded calmly, opening his eyes "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yeah! I'm not much of a party person, so this is really out of my comfort zone haha, but everyone has been really sweet so far!" "That's good to hear. I'm glad you're feeling welcomed, nonetheless"

You felt sort of awkward with how serious he can appear. Your Captain was taller than you, so you felt shy at times, too. Staring at a floorboard underneath your feet, you ask, "So, how has your birthday been so far?"

"Easygoing, I guess. I'm not too big on parties, either. I just wanted to make sure that you guys were having fun and had a day to unwind." You hum in agreement.

"mm...Anyways, Captain, did you need something from me?". Your captain looked at you with sternness in his eyes. “...Kanna-ya, what are your plans for your birthday?” you look down at the ground again. "Not really anything, sir. I just kinda relax and wait for my birthday to end, I guess" you chuckle awkwardly. Captain Law still looked unamused.

"It doesn't have to be that way,” he paused, taking a moment to gather his words. “Do you want to go somewhere with me? Just us...alone?”

Sure, your captain was very stern and sometimes scary. But above all else, you admired him a great deal. Captain Law is someone very important to you. Usually, when he spoke to you, his words felt warm like the sun. Anytime he was harsh was when you did something reckless or potentially harmful to your crewmates. Whenever you said something silly or asked him a stupid medical question, he played along.

You rarely approached his office, because you thought he never wanted people visiting. You gave him as much space as you could, so much that he wanted to see you more often. However, you knew that deep down, you would always be welcomed anytime. Whenever you were doing a chore nearby Captain Law, you would rant to your captain, knowing he was carefully listening to every word.

He helped you through some really dark points in your life, and this trip might be a great way to say "Thank you".

“Sure! Where would we go?”

"Well, there's an island, not too far away from here. We could make it in about a week, hopefully by your birthday. It's covered in flowers, trees, and the weather is beautiful. There's also...other beautiful places to unwind" this is Trafalgar Law's polite and extremely low-key way of saying “hot springs”

You felt tingling sensations in your cheeks. The thought of it all sounded so wonderful. A place where you could play music, make flower crowns, and just be happy. Captain Law knew you needed this more than you thought.

"Yes! I'd love to!" you say excitedly. Your captain gave you a gentle smile. "Do you think we could stop by the Straw Hats on the way there? If they're on the way, I mean. Sanji wants to give something to me. "

"Sure. We can try that."

"YAY!!! Thank you, Captain!!" You hug him, his arms trapped under your grip.

"You're welcome anytime, Kanna-ya" he replies, outwardly unbothered. Hearing his heart skip a beat, your eyes widen and you quickly step back, retracting your hold. You felt incredibly embarrassed by your sudden and unprofessional action.

"AH! I’m so sorry, captain. I don't know why I did that. I know you're not a touchy-or whatever-Ah…um, is it okay if I hug you, captain, or-" Your Captain’s eyes sparkled as he smiled

"...Of course, Kanna-ya", he said, prepared for your arms this time. You embraced your Captain, arms wrapped around his sides and your face buried right into his chest. Your Captain gently pulled you in with his left hand very gently holding the back of your head close to him. His other arm around your shoulders.

You blushed, hearing his heartbeat pound loud and fast. He felt warm, and he had a good heart. You felt safe in his arms. You wanted to stay like this, it felt right. You both closed your eyes, completely at peace with one another.

Before completely getting lost in the embrace, you suddenly remembered your birthday present.

"Ah! Captain!" You spoke into his chest, "H-Hm? What is it, Kanna-ya?" responds Captain Law, caught off guard by the sudden and soft vibrations from your voice. Your captain loosened his arms around you, looking down at you with his tender, golden eyes.

"Gimme a sec" you look down, fidgeting and rummaging your hand in your pocket, your other arm still holding his side. You didn't seem to notice that Captain Law's arms were still holding you close, and he found that adorable.

You finally pull out a small box, about the size of your hand. "Happy birthday! Just open it later!" You hand him the box and quickly escape his embrace to go spend time with the others. "Thank you for everything, Captain! I hope you have a good birthday!" You say excitedly, struggling to make eye contact with him as you walk away. “Oi! I’m your captain! Be a little more…respectful.” It was no use, she was having too much fun for that.

“Jeez…”

-

Later that night, alone in his quarters, Law slowly undid the wrapping that you had made for him. In poor handwriting on the box read,

🌸“To: Law Captain-ya!! :)) 🤍🤍 From: Kanna-ya!! ✨✨✨”🌸

He blushed. “Damn, she didn’t need to be that cute with it…” He whispered to himself.

He carefully lifted the lid to find two hibiscus flower hair clips with a surprise attack of a pinch of glitter now getting everywhere. “!! Jeez, it's all over my fingers and desk! That girl…I am going to have a word with her tomorrow…”

They both were carefully sculpted and crafted, yet flexible and sturdy. One was painted pink in the middle and the other was painted yellow. There was a small note underneath the hair pins.

Law picked up the letter with his glittery fingers. written in poor handwriting. It read,

” Dear Captain-ya,

Happy birthday! Thank you for all that you have done for me! I wouldn't be here without you and the Heart Pirates. You are really sweet and generous. I bought these at a Wano marketplace and thought they’d look cute good on you! I hope you like them.

Sincerely,

Kanna-ya :))!! 🥳🥳🥳

P.S., Do you want to have lunch tomorrow/sometime with me? I can pay!! :0!!

-Kanna-ya” 🤍

Law had a big grin plastered on his face, thinking about how short and lovely you would look walking to a cafe with him. He carefully inspected the Hibiscus hairpins while he thought about you.

He liked imagining how you were a somewhat messy eater, always getting sauce on the sides of your mouth. How soft your hair might be, what you would wear, what perfume you would use. How he would have to point it out and maybe even

…no, I’m not bold enough to do that. Covering his hands over his face, Captain Law sighed. “Jeez, Kanna-ya…”. His heart fluttered, beating loudly the rest of the night.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi, everyone! I hope you like my fan fiction if you stumble upon it!! This is my first time writing something like this. The entire fan fiction is complete, I'm just editing and posting as I go along. The title is inspired by "no surprises - a trafalgar law animatic (one piece)" by luseraphims on youtube!! As a huge fan of both Radiohead and Trafalgar Law, "No Surprises" (and, even more in a later chapter,) was my final pick.

Hope you guys enjoy!

[gay-dorito-dust]

HI!!! Can I make a request for headcanons for a the Corinthian x reader but the reader is sort of like an exorcist/warlock like Johanna Constantine?? :)))

Yeah! Absolutely you can! Also I felt so stupid not knowing that this motherfucker was also the dude who placed Donald Pierce in Logan 🦦

Nightmares has long since became your only company thanks in due to your line of work as an demon exorcising Warlock, sending them back to the depths of hell of which they came from but not without losing some innocent bystanders who believed that they could be of aid to you in the process.

Sure the pay was rewarding but what wasn’t as rewarding was the amount of scars each exorcism left upon your mind, body and soul, causing your sleeping patterns to be out of wack and extremely concerning with the little amount of sleep you’d accumulate when sleep did decide to take pity on you. However upon your first encounter with the man, well…nightmare, who would later become your boyfriend was an unfortunate case of wrong place wrong time as you crossed paths just as he was getting off the high of his latest kill.

Wiping away the blood off of his blade, Corinthian felt as though he wasn’t alone, like he was being gawked at; wanting to see if that was the case, he peered over his shoulder and down the entrance to the alleyway he had taken his victim for more privacy before he took their life -and their eyes- there you stood, eyes darting from the blade in his hand to the dead body on the dirty floor then back up at him. Unfortunately for him, instead of screaming and running away like he expected you to, you merely looked unfazed, de-sensitised to the blood and death presented before you as though you’ve seen it all before in a thousand lifetimes of your lineage. Like you’ve witnessed much worse things to ever be done to a human.

“Ain’t it past your bedtime little one?” He taunts to gauge a reaction, seeing as your expression reminded him too much of a certain dream lords unbothered face a little too much for his linking the longer he looked. “Ain’t it past yours grandpa?” You replied snidely, having heard through certain crowds and news outlets of a ‘Corinthian.’ A murderer who specialises in the taking of his victims eyes and had always managed evaded capture through some mysterious means to kill another day. You didn’t need it spelling out to you that he wasn’t human, considering how dated some of his most notorious kills were compared to this day and age; Sure he had taken the form closest to that of a human being but beneath the pearly white smile and charismatic silver tongue of his, there was a sinister side to him that humanity wasn’t ready for.

Needless to say on that very night you had peaked Corinthian’s interest, which never ended well for anyone who had caught his interest temporarily, while you were determined to avoid future interactions with the nightmare; rightfully suspecting nothing good would come of it. Though it seemed that fate had intentionally placed most of their favour into Corinthian, who was already in the process of preordaining your future encounters ahead of time, confident that his influence had already rooted itself deeply into society into offering up everything he could ever want in exchange for a few choice words of his silver tongue.

So for several weeks and countless encounters later you and Corinthian were past the awkward acquaintance stage and headfirst into the ‘friends who are borderline dating but refuses to make it official because commitment issues’ stage. You playfully flirted through every way possible. Standing closer to the other, shoulders and hands brushing against one another teasingly, longing stares, shared smiles and hushed whispers that ended in bouts of hearty laughter filling the room, leaving others within proximity a little confused as to what your relation to one another was exactly.

Corinthian found himself taking a more protective approach towards you during this period of your friendship, viewing anything and everything as a possibly threat while also making certain that you were as far as one could be from his business with Dream/Morpheus because to the ruler of the Dreaming, you were his ticket to his rouge nightmare and Corinthian didn’t want that for a multitude of reasons; the main one however being the fact that he would be taken from you before he could formally ask you out on a long overdue date you both kept joking about. He also feared that once Morpheus tells you the truth of his origin you would see him how everyone else does and leave him…the only person who didn’t fear him and treated him as an equal.

It was hard on you both to place trust in one another, it was a hefty process to get through but you both managed to emerge from it, grasping onto each other’s hand as if it was your life line and gaining newfound respect for one another. The nightmares that once plagued your mind seemed to dissipate temporarily whenever Corinthian was near so when one night the nightmares gotten to their very worst, you instinctively ran to Corinthian and buried yourself into his chest, grasping onto him tightly with eyes clenched shut. “Woah, hey what’s wrong sugarplum? Is it the nightmares again?” He asked, keeping you against him as he could only hope his presence brings you a sense of comfort. “Not nightmares…memories from my failings as an exorcist.” Your heartbroken words moved the nightmare in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He hated the fact that you were plagued by the past and the added fact that he couldn’t kill it for you as your source of conflict didn’t have a physical form for him to stab to his hearts content.

“What you want me to do, kill em?” The sound of your broken laughter brought Corinthian peace as he felt you loosen your grip but his only tightened out of instinct that you’d fade from his grasp like sand. “Can I stay here, just for the night Cori?” You asked, somewhat embarrassed at your behaviour, “you make them go away, even if it is for a little while, a little while is all I need because I’m just so damn tiered.” You practically rasped the last part out, burying your tear stricken face back into Corinthian’s chest to muffle your sobs as he hushed you softly before picking you up into his arms and carrying you back to his room; vowing to chase away every nightmare, every bad memory from ever entering you pretty little head.

Pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he tucked the both of you in tightly, taking off his shades but manoeuvring his head so you couldn’t see the empty sockets of where his eyes should be, haven’t yet found the strength within him to show you his most inhumane feature out of insecurity and worry that it would be the driving force in you fearing him as much as you did your inner demons. “Don’t worry darlin’,” he whispered when he noticed that you had fallen fast asleep against his chest on the way up to his room, clinging onto him like a cute koala. “I’ll protect you, those memories can’t touch you while I’m here.” These weren’t words he says on a whim to just anyone, these were a vow, a contract binding himself to you as your protector and if there’s one thing Corinthian is best at, it was committing to a part.

When the day came where Corinthian finally did show you what laid beyond his shades, steeling himself for the worst of reactions he’s ever received, only for you to hold his face in your hands as you stared at the teeth lined sockets with a softness of which he has never been privy to from anyone since his creation. “I’m honoured that you trust me enough to show me this Cori, it must’ve been really hard on your behalf making that decision; but know that this doesn’t change how I feel about you in the slightest, your still my cocky little shithead of a nightmare.” If Corinthian could cry in that moment, waterfalls of tears would’ve streamed his cheeks, pooling within the palm of your hands. For once in his life he didn’t regret placing this amount of trust in you, he felt relived and a little stupefied at your calm, reassuring response.

“You mean, you aren’t…scared of me? Of them?” He asked, gauging your every reaction right down to the movement in your muscles. “I don’t believe it is in my right to judge your appearance when all you’ve been done in return is accept me at my worst; sometimes encouraging it but Cori…all I see is you.” You responded, running your thumbs just under the sockets gingerly. Corinthian smiled widely as he leaned against your touch, moving his head to kiss your palm, holding it tightly with his own in a means of preventing you from pulling away from him, from everything you’ve experienced together.

“I love you, you know that sweetheart?” He confessed so casually, his body filled with a comforting warmth at your acceptance of all of him that the words just came out of him without a filler. “You do?” Your eyes brightened and your smile widened, butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “Of course you do, after all how could you not, I’m quite the catch.” You joked, not having experienced many people expressing their romantic interest in you before. “Quite the catch indeed.” Corinthian echoed before pulling you into a gentle kiss.

Your relationship after that was filled with PDA, gentle goodnight kisses despite sleeping in the same bed, rough kisses after particularly hard days or petty arguments where neither of you would verbalise your apologise but instead says so through action instead; tight yet comforting hugs when all seemed lost and the only thing you knew was the safe haven that was your lovers arms. It was a healing balm to your fractured souls, it was a dream came true to finally have someone who didn’t fear the demon within, the unfavourable side of one’s being. However long your relationship may last, you and Corinthian were in no rush in actively spending every ounce of it that you could with one another; as quite frankly it has seemed that fate has blessed this odd coupling of a nightmare and an exorcist to an enteral dream state of a life together.

[sterekchub]

Derek wins a cruise vacation, but when he gets to the cruise ship it turns out a gainer cruise also booked when he did. He meets Stiles, and encourager who’s looking for love, and has a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to encouraging. The trip is a month long and by the time they dock, Derek is heavier than should be possible to have gained in that time…and he and stiles are a definite item.

He got on the ship and they offered him colored lanyard- and he does a frantic google before deciding encourager doesn’t sound like his thing. Gainer….the more he reads about it and scrolls through videos and ‘before and after’ photos, the more flushed he gets and he definitely senses a match.

He turns down a lot of hopefuls who go out to him asking if he’s up to feed them, and sort of sighs and looks down at his own very flat middle and tells them keep looking. Most of them are chubby and Derek feels out of place…he doesn’t have the courage to approach anyone, he’s not even sure what he really wants, but he feels fairly confident his body says “toned and want to stay that way” instead of “feed me.”

He sits at the buffet, waiting for the cruise to leave port, sort of enviously looking at the pairs or trouples around him, being brought plates of food or someone rubbing their bellies shamelessly while hand feeding them. It looked…nice

He goes back to picking at his own rather meager plate when someone comes up to him. He’s attractive. Almost as tall as Derek, but not as muscular, so be looked softer around his face and middles

. “I know it’s only the first day, but man, it looks like you’re trying to lose weight.”

“I’m new at this,” Derek mumbles.

“Dude, all good. It’s a lot of people’s first time.”

“Not yours, I’m guessing?”

“Nah, third time. I’m Stiles.”

“Derek.”

“You know, I could offer you some tips if you’d like…”

Derek gestures for him to sit. Stiles immediately starts talking about the cruise and what shows he needs to see and the restaurants to try. Derek doesn’t even notice when his plate is empty. He stands to refill it, but Stiles waves him away.

“I got this. Someone has to show you what a full plate looks like.”

There’s a warmth pooling in Derek’s belly of both nervous, excited energy and the feeling of being somehow intimately cared for.

****

Stiles stays with him. Doesn’t seem eager to leave and when he reluctantly has to unpack in his room, he makes Derek promise they’ll meet up at dinner. Derek finds himself honestly agreeing.

He’s nervous, not sure what Stiles expects at all, how much should he order? He’s never had a huge appetite before….

Stiles orders him two glasses of wine, questions him lightly about his allergies and food preferences, and then tells him relax.

“The only wrong way to do this, is if you aren’t enjoying it.”

“And what do you get out of it?”

“I appreciate the view.”

Somehow, maybe the wine or listening to Stiles talk, Derek finished his appetizer, two entrees and his dessert. He’s definitely full, but not painfully so, and Stiles smiles brightly at him and mentions there’s ice cream up on deck 10.

He gets up and Stiles happily joins him, telling him, “looks like you enjoyed yourself.” And Derek can see his belly every so slightly rounded out from his rich meal.

***

Derek’s never been so happy. Day two Stiles wakes him up for breakfast buffet, plies Derek with plates and makes sure he’s adding butter and syrup on everything. Derek eats while Stiles explains his last boyfriend wanted to stop gaining- which Stiles respected but they went their own way.

Derek can’t imagine ever wanting to stop. If Stiles told him to eat until he was the size of the cruise ship- he would.

***

That evening they’re a little tipsy and Derek is more than a little full, belly actually painful, when they stumble into bed. Stiles is so, so gentle and his hands feel so good on Derek’s middle.

“I’m sorry I’m not bigger.”

Stiles kisses him. “We’ve got 12 days.

****

On the last day- Derek is coming off the ship with swim trunks and a truly awful tropical shirt Stiles had run to purchase him in the gift shop when his button had burst at dinner

None of the clothes he brought with him fit anymore, and Derek took that as a good sign for the future. Even in the swim trunks- he could feel them stretched uncomfortably tight around his ass and his belly was hanging over the waistband.

He wasn’t sure how he had managed to gain at least 30 pounds over the 2 weeks…but Stiles had certainly not been exaggerating about his skills as an encourager

with a kiss goodbye and Stiles phone number in his pocket- Derek couldn’t wait to have more than just 2 weeks with him.

[himbogiants]

Part of your world: part 2

Part 1

I should really be studying omfg- but I just needed to write! Maybe exam anxiety is the cure for writers block? Nevertheless, enjoy!

Word count: 5665

The miniscule girl approached the camera as her friend left and sat down in front of it. Testing the waters she tapped it, screaming away incase anything happened. Definitely the bold type, for all  this borrower knew this thing could've been a trap- and it sort of was, just not intended to capture her.

She reflected their own astonishment, only hers was for an object rather than a tiny being that very much defied the laws of physics and nature. Her friend rejoined her, asking what it could be. He seemed far more cautious. He must've thought it was a trap. This 'Riven' spoke of traps earlier when they had sat down on the ledge (a detail fracturing Theos mind alone, that a fall from that height could kill them). They must have known of the rat traps then. He'd have Henry remove the death devices as soon as this was over.

Which didn't take long. After that he insisted on leaving, which 'Daphne' wasn't all too happy about.

Only he promised to return.

Tonight.

The whole way back to the wall she didn't take her eyes off the camera, before slipping in behind a loose tile and disappearing from their world.

Theo paused the footage, knowing from his rewatches that those little beings didn't make a reappearance.

He turned to the group, whose expression echoed his own as he first laid eyes on the duo.

"This is crazy" Thomas whispered- almost as if he feared talking too loud would do something bad.

"Indeed..I, I apologise Theo. It may not have been ghosts but this. I'm not quite sure what to make of this." Henry spoke with an expressionless face, but Theo knew on the inside he was screaming internally, something he was far too  collected to ever display in front of his friends.

Sadies face suddenly contorted into one of concern "Theo- does anybody else know about this?"

This lulled Theo from his happiness as he regarded her.

"Um no why?"

Sadie seemed to sigh in relief

"Good. Keep it that way. It's clear these guys don't wanna be found. It could be downright catastrophic if the wrong people got their hands on this footage-"

Theo interupted sheepishly

"We- I mean well of course I agree but..but we are gonna meet them right? I mean this..this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, we have to sieze it now! This is like something from a campaign!"

Everyone's features flattened either with anger or dismay. Thomas, Sadie and Henry looked angry, Maisey and Theo looked dismayed.

"Dude! What?"

"Your suggesting we capture them?"

"No Theo! We'd give 'em a heart attack we need to leave them be. We're like a hundred times bigger than them"

Theo turned bashful instantly and began to defend himself

"No no! I don't wanna capture them! I'd never do that! O-or scare the little guys..I just want to talk to them! Can you guys seriously tell me with absolute certainty you don't want to do the same?!"

Everyone went quiet at that, almost in some sort of shame. It was fairly obvious that they all shared the passion, but didn't feel like voicing it.

Maisey sighed, flexing her fingers as she tried to grasp an idea of how to structure her words

"I understand Theo, but if that footage was any recognition, they don't exactly like humans- well one of them doesn't anyways. The girl might be..dexterous, but her friend isn't. If they wanted to be found then they would've made themselves known."

Everyone seemingly agreed to this brushing their own selfish desires aside- all except Theo who was exasperated.

"I wouldn't hurt them Maisey!- or intend to scare them!" He looked down, away from his group feeling to embarrassed to meet their gazes.

Until Henry chipped in.

"Well..perhaps communication isn't a terrible idea."

Everyone's eyes snapped to Henry, almost in surprise that the most logical of the bunch was saying such things. This was uncanny territory for them, Henry wasn't particularly one to agree with Theo on brash ideals.

"These two are interesting to say the least, I too would like the chance to converse with them. But if we are to do such a thing it must be in a way that is absolutely safe for them. And more importantly doesn't give them a heart attack- especially since we don't know their anatomy."

Thomas nodded carefully, as he processed the information

"We also need to set up some ground rules. Us five are the only ones who know of this, yes? It stays that way. Nobody else can know, for their safety."

Theo found his smile again, as he watched his friends slowly but surely form a plan.

Henry grasped his beverage once more, scanning each of his friends, but his eyes for the most part lingered on Theo.

"For now however I propose we simply watch through the cameras. More information could be beneficial to our venture."

Sadie piped in with a glance to Thomas, as if echoing his rules

"This doesn't leave this group. Or even this house. I wouldn't even trust discussing this on campus."

Evergone seemed to nod in unison and Theo sat down by the sofa with child like wonder pooling in his gaze. This was actually gonna happen. He pinched his arm sharp, ensuring this wasn't some dream or hallucination. But sure enough this was reality, and he couldn't be happier.

He turned to Henry, whose stoic expression was beginning to seem uncanny for the situation.

"Okay then! But before any of that, we gotta remove those rat traps. I..I don't even want to think about what one of those could do to a..a borrower."

Henry's eyes widened ever so slightly. In his sense of disbelief he'd almost disregarded those all together, he rose to his feet heading for the kitchen, only to pause before hand "of course. For now, everyone continue as normal. They only come at night after all. Now, anyone want tea or coffee? I assume we're divising our plan now, and we should take time with this."

Daphne never did like mornings in the colony. Namely for her 'responsibilities'. Oh how she loathed them. Her father, so high and mighty, refused her constant requests to borrow, but 'scouting' was perfectly fine. Deep down she knew he was just concerned. She'd lost her mother at a very young age- not to anything human related that is. No, it had been illness. Who would've guessed that living off findings and the land would mean terrible health care? Not the colony anyways, that was sure. Humans had that all figured out. She'd even heard they had magical properties called 'pills' that healed you when sick! How on Earth humans conquered the magnitude of magic She'd never know- but she would do just about anything to find out.

She supposed that was why besides holding him dear as a treasured friend, she was beyond thankful for Riven. Without him, Daphne was almost absolute that she'd make reckless decision after reckless decision, or perhaps..be dead.

Riven was the only one who ever listened. While he may not share her obsession, he respected it and her in his own way and that was all she could ask for. Though his respect only went so far, he would not condone any sort of contact with the humans. He was her voice of reason most of the time always having some sort of evidence as to why she shouldn't reveal herself, though it did kill her when he refused at leaving notes.

This mornings patrol was uneventful as usual. Her father always had her positioned in the safest spots after all. Not only that but due to his apparent dislike for her dearest friend, when he had the time, he ensured she was not stationed with Riven- so naturally the patrol dragged by excruciatingly slow. But all things come to an end at some point and after a sluggish morning it was time for the change over and she was off duty. Immediately she hurried to the rotted tree near the border of their hidden haven where leaning back against the bark Riven was waiting for her.

His lips quirked into a knowing smile and he tilted his head

"Long day?"

She let out a combination between a groan sigh and a dry laugh, coming to his side as the pair began walking

"You have no idea. I was stuck with Fergus."

Rivens laughter bounced off the trees around them and in a teasing manner he raised a brow

"Oh really? And what's so wrong with poor Fergus?"

She turned to face him with a deadpanned expression and upon seeing his poor attempts at hiding a smirk she thumped him lightly in the arm, tugging his lips upward

"You're the worst." She chuckled

He furrowed his brow in mock offense

"Truly? Worse than Fergus?"

Her soft smile played at her features as she pondered at the ground

"No, I suppose not."

The pair came to a stop just before the secluded pathway and she clapped her hands

"OK. So here's the plan. I'm gonna hurry in and grab my stuff, you go get yours. You know the drill by now, don't be seen."

Riven scoffed with a mumble to follow

"Funny how you're more concerned about our own people seeing you than humans Daph."

Daphne rolled her eyes

"Well, yes, of course! If our own people knew what we get up to they'd probably kill us"

"Correction, you're father would kill us. Or in reality, worst case-"

"I know what you're gonna say so don't. Fathers..cold. But he'd never resort to that. Even if he isn't very fond of you. I'm his daughter, and you're my friend. I'd never let it happen"

"Never let what happen?"

The pair swiftly spun around to see Barney behind them. Both their faces dropped, into disgust and annoyance. Fathers dearest protégé Barney.

Barney was a nasty piece of work. Brutish. Rude. Exactly why he was a guard. Daphne despised him. Her father adored him. He was everything he had wanted in a child, and despite never saying it out loud- his face gave it away.

Daphne could try and excuse Barney's attitude, but how he treated Riven infuriated her. He was always so horrid to her dear friend- which is something her father respected no doubt.

"Barney." Daphne retorted in an ice manner

"Hello dear. I see you've encountered some rather poor company. I can fix that" He grinned crudely. Riven stepped forward almost in front of Daphne. He was well aware of how much Barney repulsed her.

"Take a hike, you rat"

Daphes face contorted further

"What he said. Nobody wants to look at your ugly mug any longer than we have to"

Barney scowled at this, advancing threateningly on Riven, ignoring her words all together

"Excuse me?"

Riven rose to the challenge, he wasn't about to let this rotten boy near his friend.

"Going deaf Barney? Can't be awfully good for a guard."

"Listen here pond scum, she's got better people for company than the outcast."

"That's for her to decide. And if she truly rather confide her time with 'pond scum' it speaks volumes of how much she'd rather avoid you."

Barney's eyes darkened but before the two could break out into a fight Daphne stepped forward between the boys.

"Leave. Now."

Barney's eyes fell to her and a sickening grim smile plagued her eyes. He trailed his fingers through her hair making her eyes sharpen and Riven down right snarl, before her friend could land a punch, Barney spoke up.

"I suppose I have better things to do than fight off this pest. Plus I'm supposed to be meeting the chief now- something Riven here will never do " His attentioned flicked to Riven, then back to her "another time, darling" He winked.

Daphne fumed watching him walk over scrubbing her face with her sleeve.

"That vulgar piece of- UGH"

Riven put a hand on her shoulder

"You okay?"

She released a frustrated breath. "Words cannot describe how much I hate him, and hes going to meet my father. I know exactly what that means"

"You're not the only one." But he went quiet at the second part. He knew what it meant as well. But he also knew how much she hated thinking about it.

Still he hated even more to see his friend in dismay. He knew exactly what would cheer her up. He loosely took her hand testing the waters

"Come on Daph. Let's go get our gear."

She seemed to instantly brighten at this and her enthusiasm seeped back in, she tightened the hold.

"Sure thing."

The duo set off as the evening sun began to set, and soon stars would paint the sky.

The plan wasn't as simple to lay out as the group had hoped it would be, but Henry expected as much. Each scenario ended with the borrowers (a concept his mind still hadn't completely grasped) conversing with them..but it was getting to that point that was the hard part.

In truth it would be quite easy. They could easily catch them. They could set up traps. The could study their routine and catch them off guard. But that would break any possibility of trust and not to mention, defy any sense of morality and treating them humanely. These two, 'Daphne' and 'Riven' had intelligence. They couldn't deal with them like animals. The concept alone felt wrong. Though it wasn't as if they could just wait in the kitchen and strike up a conversation (that had been Theos idea)

Maisey suggested leaving notes- not a terrible idea but while Daphne would be intrigued, Riven was sure to dissuade her interest and it would most likely result in the pair never coming back- lest Daphne came back alone, but given what he had gathered on their relationship he doubted the girl would do so. They seemed rather close.

Thomas suggested they try find ways to make them come more often like leaving out food or supplies. Though Sadie had said once again they werent animals, and wouldn't be so easily tricked- not only that but given how cautious the boy had been been about the Coke lid it was uncertain they'd take that bait, as well as that, they seemed to have a good amount of knowledge on the concept of traps- not that food was meant to be a trap, rather an offering- but again, it would most likely cause concern and lead to them once again not returning.

It was shaping to be an impossible dilemma. On one hand they wanted to act soon, on another they knew they had to be patient. And so the group sat. They had wasted most of the day, nobody was free today after all, everyone had assignments to catch up on. Yet here they were nonetheless, plotting away.

"Well, what if we do take my idea and wait in the kitchen until they come out? The once they were in, we could seal off the exit long enough to ensure them it was safe-"

"That's trapping them Theo."

"No no it's not trapping!, I mean.. ok so it kinda is- but in a nice way. Once they realise it's okay they'll calm down and..and this is a terrible idea. One can't trap someone in a nice way, can they?" Theo pouted slightly.

Thomas seemed to smirk at this, he hadn't really smirked a lot today, this was proving a harrowing experience for everyone.

"No, no I don't think so Theo."

Theo slumped back

"I guess..I guess we leave it then?"

This surprised all his friends, who hadn't expected him to say such a thing given his excitement earlier.

"Really?" Sadie asked, no doubt voicing everyone's thoughts

"I mean..what else can we do? Every idea just ends in scaring them or making them leave for good- which are two options I'm not liking."

"So..we kinda just came full circle then didn't we? This was our initial reaction after the footage.." Thomas sighed.

Silence fell over them all. Until Maisey piped up.

"Maybe..I..okay.. the girl seemed really interested in the camera. We can't treat them like animals. We can't leave stuff like food out without seeming obvious. We can't leave stuff they'll see as any sort of offering either. So what if we just feed their interests? Daphne, was that her name? She, she seemed to like the camera right? So what if we left a phone? Innocent enough. It's your home after all, leaving a phone in the kitchen isn't that crazy of an idea. We might even win over Riven? I think that was his name? well we might win him over too. If we cant give them food to eat, give them food for thought? And maybe from there we can decide where to go next. We might learn more about them from it. Plus if they could see one our of camera rolls on our phones they'll see our group pictures, and might deem us friendly?"

Henry fiddled with his fingers, considering the idea, as did Sadie. Theo seemed to be on board with any idea that seemed rational. Thomas perked up with scanning the coffee table.

"Henry, if we do this, it's got to be your phone. If they do look though pictures, they might see the footage of them on Theos. That's a definite red flag. We will one hundred percent never see them again."

Henry stood.

"Well then. I'm going to disarm the traps. I believe we have a plan"

The clock ticking was once again the most apparent noise filling the empty kitchen, pairing once again with the moonlight and tonight the addition of the occasional drip of droplets falling from the tap.

And finally, two pairs of small feet, followed by two smaller voices.

Slipping through the tile Daphne continued their conversation, hurrying out like she had the night before

"-wait to see it! I hope it's still here!"

Riven who rushed after her panted as he exited the wall

"I'm sure it is Daph! Just- phew- let me catch my breath, yeah?"

Daphne stood star struck. It was still here!

But something else had caught her eye.

"Riven! Riven!! Get over here!!"

Riven had immediately noticed the lack of traps, he was sure Daphne did too, but she was more focused on her newest find, th box. The lack of traps made him itch. It was a good thing there was absolutely no arguing with that- but why the sudden removal? Those traps hadn't been touched in ages..the traps were gone, the strange box had appeared something was off. But before he could think any further he heard Daphne yelling his name.

Thinking his friend was in danger, scrambled to get over as quick as possible, only to see she was perfectly fine. Leave it to Daphne to unintentionally give him a heart attack. But then his eyes met the object that captivated her, and he felt he very well could collapse there and then.

Another human object- like that strange box from their last venture- which was sure enough still there, it's little red light blinking- something about it still unnerved him, he just couldn't put his finger on it, though he was almost sure it had something to do with the missing traps..

But this one was different. It was flat, its surface covered in the same sort of sleek glass from the circle on the box.

His concerned paired rather poorly with Daphne's astonishment. But before he could even speak she'd already pressed her hands against it, and snatched them away instantly. He sucked in a deep breath at this- but calmed when nothing happened. This could be a trap of some sorts..he needed to ease her away from it.

"Huh...l guess they don't do much..odd. We should leave it alone.."

Daphne wasn't one to give up however

"No no, it has to do something! Humans are far too creative to build something so..unexplainable and have no reason for it!" Unafraid this time, she softly brushed her hands over it only only notice another feature, her excitement making Riven jump.

"wait! Look here, there's bumps on the side!"

She scooted over to them. One was a long line, the other a short one. She pressed it experimentally but nothing happened.

She cocked her head and looked to Riven

"Maybe I need to push harder? Here go on the opposite side and hold it steady"

Riven swallowed, reluctant to do so, but found his legs giving in to the command. Still, nothing happened.

After a second failed attempt, her giddy smile was morphing into one of confusion.

"Okay... oh right! Maybe it needs to be pulled? But..no they wouldn't make sense. If it's too difficult for us to pull at this height it would be way to small for a human." She sat in concentration and regarded the second shorter line.

Maybe?

She pressed down and suddenly light filled the room!

She gasped aloud and scurried backwards, Riven who was equally shocked, let out a yelp, almost falling off the counter- but managed to stop just before the lethal fall.

Daphne gasped his name and hurried over to her friend skidding before him "gosh! Are you okay?!"

Riven who was collecting himself let out a shakey breath

"S-sure.. didn't expect that."

Daphne found herself laughing at this

"Me neither.. but I was right! It does do something!! Come on we gotta figure out what!"

Riven was less enthusiastic, but hesitantly made his way back over. The glassy surface had gone black once more.

"Okay..let's try this again"

With a push, the illumination was back and the pair stared down, ones eyes like the stars themselves, ones with fear and caution.

Daphne inspected the sight before them. A picture of mountains and a gorgeous lake in the summertime shone before them. And this time, despite his better judgement Riven founr himself in awe

"Woah.."

"Do you think it's a doorway? Can humans do that? No..too big. But do..do you think we could?"

It would be Riven this time who carefully reached forward and tapped the expanse before them.

Only for it to deny entry.

"Huh..I don't think so"

Riven couldn't believe his own sudden lure to this stange object, fascination with human stuff was his counterparts thing, not his. And yes here he was almost captivated by the sight before him. He noticed a strange detail near the tip of the moutain top

"what are those numbers up there?"

Daphne scratched the side of her head, and tugged on her hair in thought, reading them out.

"Zero Two..dot dot One Zero? Um maybe some sort of code?"

The screen went black abruptly and Daphnes face reddened a little disheartened.

"Oh..maybe I was wrong"

She pressed on the side once more and the image was back, as were the numbers- only before them the numbers changed the zero and two remained the same on the left but on the sight there was now a pair of ones.

She scanned the magical glass in intrigue unable to figure the mystery out, but words found there way anyway. 

"And here I thought humans only conquered healing magic, I have no clue what this power is but it's..beautiful."

Riven pulled his eyes away from the phone, watching her instead, his cheeks burning ever so slightly- but he coughed it aside and read the words below the numbers in smaller writing.

"Tues, May, two..what do you think that means?.."

Daphne couldn't fathom an answer

"No idea.. oh! Wait! Humans measure time differently right? I heard from the borrowing squad they have names for not just days of the week but the months too. May is a summer month from what I recall? Tues could be the day Tuesday. But it isn't Tuesday until sunrise surely? It's still night..maybe the magic is wrong? Two is odd though, I'm lost on that"

She longed for an explanation, questions were bombarding her mind- and then another detail caught her eyes.

"Look- 'swipe to unlock' unlock...as in like locks from the big glass things- windows?..but..but I don't know how to get those locks open..it's why we use the walls after all- and to hide I suppose"

She gave a contemplative hum, and looked up at the window across the room.

"Swipe..swipe.. like to swipe something? Wait Daph maybe we have to do some sort of action to 'unlock'?"

Daph whirled around to face Riven again as it dawned on her too

"Excellent idea! Alright!"

But then she paused

"But what does that mean? Swipe at our surroundings?"

Riven shrugged, equally lost and in search of answers.

"We could try it?"

And so the two made exaggerated movements at the air, hitting and swiping with all their might, but the screen went black once more.

They both huffed at this. Riven gave a determined nod and Daphne excitedly pressed the button once more. She'd never seen her friend this interested in human stuff, and she didn't want to let the opportunity slide.

We the light springing back on they tried again..and again.

"Maybe together?"

In unison they tried again, but there arms went opposite ways, and to avoid getting hit, Daphne slipped forward falling onto the object.

Rivens eyes widened and apologies spilled.

"Daph! Sorry! I should've asked which direction. You okay? Here"

He held out his hand to pull her up but she was giggling at the silliness of it all. She took his hand assuring him

"Riv I'm fine! Don't worry so much it was only a-"

As he pulled her up her arm unintentionally brushed on the glass and below her everything changed.

She sprung up at this.

"Wait! That worked?! Maybe it likes humiliation.."

Hand in hand they gazed down below mouths agape. The view had changed entirely and hundreds of squares filtered before them.

Daphne fell to her knees once more to try something. Wordlessly, her palm pressed against a square and it immediately grew in size to cover the expanse entirely.

But it was what was in the square that made her heart stop.

"Riven.."

"I..I see them Daphne"

People their height, all sitting at a table- Daphnes mind was blown.

"Are they..borrowers? H-humans know about us? No no this..this can't be true! If humans know then why are we living in secret out in the forests? And look Riv, their clothes! The furniture! They all fit perfectly.."

Riven found fear melting into him once more, pushing out that previous joy and shock.

"Daphne..this.. this is a human object and..  they," He pointed at the group below "are our height. What if..what if this thing..captures borrowers? And makes them p-pets stuck inside a trap forever? Maybe they removed the rat traps to capture us alive in this instead?!"

For the very first time, Daphne found herself almost frightened of humans. It had never truly hit her until this very moment and the implications and lurking danger of of her visits loomed over her like an impending doom knotting up her stomach. Thought it didn't exactly last long. She was back to her curious mindset almost instantly.

These borrowers looked happy? There was a boy with dark skin and curly hair, he had a playful smirk and mischievous hazel eyes, he was making some symbol with his fingers, holding them over a fair skinned sandy blonde girl with bold green eyes and freckles. Beside them two sat another girl whom had short red hair with a slight fringe, her eyes were closed in the picture from her warm cheerful smile, her cheeks were blushed and she had dimples- a complete opposite to the boy beside her, he had his arm around her shoulder affectionately- his eyes were dark behind two strange glass circles, his skin was quite pale, perhaps accentuated from his pitch black hair, he was sulking at the boy beside him who looked the most joyus of all, he gave a toothy smile matching his untamed wavey hair and wild look in his eyes- which were equally enthralling on their own as one was a pale blue and the other was washed with light green- that teasingly looked at the grumpy boy.

Daphne couldn't describe it well, but inside she felt an odd sadness? She'd never seen such a group, and a part of her found herself wanting to meet these borrowers. They didn't seem trapped to her. They seemed to be living the life she longed for.

Riven who had since calmed himself took note of Daphnes sudden change.

"Daph...are you okay?"

She could only shake her head in silence, the tick of the clock and drip of water echoing loudly in her thumping head.

"I don't understand it Riven" She whispered.

"I mean.. if humans know..why have we been made hide away? Is this truly what happens when a borrower is seen? Everything is their height..everything is normal..does Father know of this? Is that the truth being him refusing to let me borrow? Because being caught means living a normal life? Because that against the borrower way of life?"

She was almost mad at that, if her father did know she'd be furious. A whole new way of life and his controlling ways shielded her from obtaining it.

She had a conflicted look on her face- and Riven didn't like it. Her being this distraught felt so wrong- but he didn't want to interupt her, it would probably frustrate her to not voice her worries. Thought it appeared she had finished when her darkened eyes met his.

Riven wasn't quite sure how to react. It was almost as if she wanted to he trapped if it meant living like this. But why would anyone want that?

"I..I don't know Daph. I wish I could give you the answers you want. Though their smiles could be part of the trick after all..maybe to allure borrowers in. I know you want to know more Daphne, but maybe it's best we leave this be. I just..I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Especially when I could've done something about it. I care about you okay?"

Daphnes eyes widened a little, her heart fluttered at his words, and her concerns seemed to flutter away. A small smile touched her lips

"There we go. Much better"

He guided her back to the object, scanning the various faces. They did look happy. He supposed he envied that too. But they needed to make it black again. They couldn't risk leaving evidence of it being touched.

"Now..how do I make this go away?.."

He tapped the glass but nothing happened. Thats when beside him Daphne noticed something she was floored she hadn't caught before, eyes widening she grabbed his arm.

"Riv! Look!"

She pointed at the screen, then across the room.

"The table-"

His eyes snapped up from the phone to the dark interior of the kitchen, to where the moonlight fell on a table.

"Those aren't borrowers Riv"

And as if she had never been upset, Daphne was back to her old habits in no time. Her eyes glistened

"They're humans! It isn't a trap! Though I still don't understand it- though it explains the clothing! And the furniture!"

With this newfound information she scrutinised it closer.

On the table sat a strange colourful board, paper and two weird green circular things..but what she couldn't get over was the strange shapes- figures!

"What do you think they are? They're our height?"

Riven found a part of himself wishing she understood the risks of her interests, wishing that this was a trap so that she'd stay away from it. It was a little selfish but he couldn't help it. He could keep Barney at bay, but humans..

Still, he followed her pointed finger to the figures and swallowed thickly upon seeing one in the wild-haired humans hand. He pictured himself.. or worse, Daphne in the same grasp, encaged by the terrifying giant. It made his stomach turn.

Daphnes curiosity moved on and she stared longingly at the image

"I..I wish we could talk with them"

Riven wasn't drinking but somehow he still managed to choke. He gave her an incredulous look, his stomach dropping even further at her words. Gods..

"Daphne? You..you can't be serious"

She only smiled sheepishly, predicting she'd get such a reaction. She was gonna drive him insane

"Gods Daph! They're..they.."

Daphne interupted him before he could finish.

"They just..well..they seem nice is all. That short haired girl has lovely rosey cheeks, the blonde girl is so pretty too her eyes look like the could tell a story of their own. And the guy beside her seems so sneaky- in a good way though! Kinda playful. The grumpy one is kinda creepy though..but if the smiles are anything to go off I'm sure he's nice all the same..I wonder what those circles on his face are"

She pointed to the crazy haired boy "But I really like that ones smile..it's so..crazy? it looks like fun. They all look fun.." She stated longingly at the group "could you imagine it? Meeting them?"

Riven shook his head vigorously, he couldn't believe her enthusiasm. "Not a chance Daph. That's insane!"

Daphne scowled dramatically "I'd never actually do it Riv, I may want to- more than anything- but I'd never put you in that level of danger. Is it so wrong to picture it?" She sighed inspecting them once again

"What I would give..just to spend one day..just one day out here amongst humans, see their way of life, have my questions answered- like what this object is!"

Rivens shoulders slumped. He'd never understand that view. But..but despite the danger, he felt pity. It must be frustrating, to long for something you could never have. In some way he could kind of relate- though his wants were more personal. He watched her eyes filled eith desire, a sad smile tugging her lips. He supposed it was..fine- so long as she never acted on it. So long as they were never seen, day dreams could suffice.

"It's not something I'd dream off but... I get it." He noticed the sky outside was a growing gradient of deep blue to pinkish orange "hey, sun's gonna come up soon..wanna head back?"

Daphnes eyes darted to the window and nodded slowly, only they fell on the other strange box. She gave a small giggle.

"All this madness and I never figured out what that other thing was. I guess I do get easily distracted after all"

Riven laughed at this. That was an understatement to say the least.

As the pair left, the red light kept ite continuous blinking, as it captured the pair, the pair that had unknowingly already been seen by five humans.

[tf2-oneshots]

hii !! may i please request some writing abt everyone being really afraid of medic (imagine that this takes place when everyone is still kinda getting to know each other, and left medic out because of his Reputation) but someone eventually bites the bullet to talk to him/give him a chance and they find out that he’s actually decent company (and very, very lonely)?

preferably that Someone is sniper or demo ! whoever you feel more compelled to write. thank you so so much in advance !! adore your writing :]

I think Demo needs some love on this acc!

Warnings: none!

Rating: General

“Alright, now that I have your contracts, you’re free to look around and introduce yourselves. I have to go file these.” Miss Pauling stands from the meeting room chair, walking off with her bundle of papers, agreements, and a handful of amendments a few of the men proposed. Knowing the Administrator, they’ll be lucky if even one of them is processed.

With the door shutting, the nine mercenaries stand to do exactly as instructed: roam about and introduce themselves. They were each given a vague file of their coworkers, nothing more than a work photo and a brief introduction to their class. Anything personal was kept to the discretion of the men.

Medic remains seated, looking around the room. It seems that everyone has gone into their own cliques already. As he stands, he flattens his coat and decides to approach the Scout. He walks up to the young man who was showing Pyro a comic issue.

“Hallo! Scout and Pyro, ja? I’m Medic.” The doctor waves, smiling at the two. Pyro gives him a glance only to hide their face in the pages of the comic. Scout steps back, looking the elder up and down. He rubs his neck, hat shifting slightly from the motion.

“Uh, yeah. I’m Scout.” He turns to his side, trying to avoid the doctor’s gaze. Something about him is…off. Scout can’t tell what it is, but the man isn’t right. His smile is too sharp and evil looking for a supposed doctor.

“Well, you seem like a healthy young man. I imagine your lungs are an excellent shade of pink.” A runner should have the perfect lungs after all! Scout must take care of himself to have this sort of job. Its a strange way of complimenting the man that falls short on Scout.

“Uh…that’s kinda weird.” He shuffles back, trying not to think about what that implies. The runner hopes to wake up with his lungs, and the rest of his organs, in his body by tomorrow. He looks to Pyro who peeks from behind the comic.

“Aheh, I was calling you healthy…” Medic takes his leave. Perhaps not the best way to compliment someone, but he was being honest! A runner needs strong lungs, so Scout must live a healthy lifestyle!

“Look, dude, I read the file. I wanna keep my organs.” Medic had mentioned his joy of experiments and various medical tests. All of which successful despite their frightening nature. Scout just can’t trust a guy who puts hands in guts for a living.

Medic peers around to room, noticing how everyone looks away from him. Well, it is the first day. Surely someone will warm up to him as time goes on. He steps out of the meeting room for the time being. He has birds to unpack.

By the end of the first month, most of the team has found a close friend. Spy and Heavy have afternoon book clubs with coffee, Scout goes rollerskating with Pyro, and Soldier tests sentry durability with Engineer. Everyone has found a companion except Medic.

People only visit when medically necessary. A broken arm, severe burns, and such. Just getting Scout to sit down for his vaccinations was a two day fight. Medic reaches over to stroke Archimedes on his tiny head. The mischievous pigeon has his siblings who flutter along the rafters above.

Even on the battlefield, Medic noticed the distance. He was called on, yes, but once he finished healing a teammate, they scurried away. He watched as his coworkers ran in duos, trios even, across the landscape to destroy the enemy teams. Never with Medic unless he was handing out ubercharges.

He eats alone in his office, coming into the kitchen only to grab his portion. Funny how Medic never gets a turn cooking for the team. The German stares at his lukewarm dinner, picking through it while Archimedes naps on his perch. He really shouldn’t complain; Medic has endless funding for his wild experiments. He just wants company is all.

A creak interrupts his solitude. Someone entered the medbay just now. Medic sighs, grabbing his coat and clipboard. Another injury to take care of. At least it gives him some form of human interaction no matter how brief.

“Hello, Demoman. What seems to be the problem?” Medic says when he sees who entered. He takes a pen, filling in a few sections before looking up to the Scotsman. Probably a blown off hand or a chemical burn in need of treatment.

“I’m fine, lad. Soldier’s too busy, so I figured you and I could see a movie.” Demo holds out two tickets. Soldier had every intention of going if not for a sudden flea crisis with the raccoons. Nothing a kiddie pool of water and flea shampoo can’t fix. Besides, when was the last time anyone actually hung out with the German?

“You want me to go with you?” Medic lowers his clipboard as Demo nods. Is…is this really happening? Finally, a chance at an actual friend from work! The doctor sets down his equipment and straightens his vest.

“Let me feed my doves, then we can leave.” He hurries back into the office quick to dump a scoop of feed into a communal bowl. The birds flock to their dinner, wings flapping loudly in their descent. Medic follows Demo out of the room, excited as ever.

“Don’t you want to know what we’re seeing?” Demo raises a brow. Anyone else would have at least wanted the title let alone ask about the plot. Medic chuckles, shaking his head.

“Oh, I don’t care. I’m happy to get out of my office for once.” Locked behind the wooden door, the doctor spent his days toiling away at paperwork. Most of which unnecessary for some time. Papers detailing orders for supplies, health updates, and such.

Demo couldn’t have asked for a better movie companion. Medic paid for their popcorn and was completely silent throughout the film. Unlike the last person Demo went to the movies with, meaning Scout, Medic didn’t speak out once. He even cleans up after himself!

“Gotta say, lad, this was a pleasure. Don’t suppose you’d like to test a few bombs with me tomorrow? Need to see what damage my new mix can do.” Medic beams. This is it! If he can get on Demo’s good side, then everyone else will want to befriend him. No more lonely nights with the birds for company.

“I would be happy to.” Medic drives them to the base, excited as ever. Demo can see it written all over his face. Maybe everyone was wrong about the doctor, he’s actually a decent man.

Besties -H

[bluesfortheredj]

In another life.

A/N: Spoilers for volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4.

“You can be the hero Steve?” you scoff as the other three walk off into the darkness, leaving you, Eddie, and Dustin to do your bit, “get real.”

Eddie aims a frown at you and you roll your eyes, “you’re already a hero, idiot. You’ve come into this fucked up world to try and save a town that thinks you’re some sort of satanic serial killer. They don’t deserve you doing this for them.”

Dustin looks over at you both and nods, “she’s right,” he shrugs.

You were done with Eddie putting himself down all the time and saying that all he can do is run from anything when he was here, with you, in this hell hole trying to distract some freakish creatures so the others could kill Vecna. Truth was that you were head over heels for the guy, and he seemed to have no idea how you felt. Now that you were practically staring death in the face you were angry at yourself for still not having the guts to tell him your true feelings, and the only way to let out this anger was to direct it at him it seemed.

“I’ll start on the fences,” you announce, getting nothing but silence from Eddie.

“Dude, what was that?” Dustin asks as they collect panels of metal from the nearby trailers.

“What was what?”

“She called you a hero. Hello! She’s totally into you.”

Eddie sneaks a glance over in your direction as he drags a corrugated sheet along the ground, “nah. She’s just being nice.”

“So let me get this straight; we’re literally facing some sort of monster who could kill any one of us at any second, and you’re putting off telling her you love her because…?”

Eddie starts drilling to avoid answering the very apt question Dustin has put forward to him, then sees you’re caught up on a bit of wire fencing.

“I’ll go!” Dustin blurts out before Eddie gets a chance to move.

“Dustin,” he hisses, “Dustin! Don’t you dare!”

He shakes his head from side to side as he continues to fix the defences to the trailer and watches helplessly as Dustin begins to talk to you as he frees your jacket from the jagged edge you were trapped on.

“You were right what you said about Eddie,” he begins as he takes the other end of the fence.

You smile at him, “I know. I shouldn’t have said it so harshly though… or called him an idiot. He’s anything but an idiot.”

“Well he can be…”

“Not as much as I can, I bet.”

“Then maybe you’re just both as bad as each other. Ever thought about it that way?”

“How do you mean?”

He smacks one hand against his forehead and sighs, “come on! I thought I was meant to be the kid here. You two… you’re acting like children!”

His voice gets louder so that Eddie can now hear him, and the two of you look at one another as you and Dustin approach.

“Do I need to spell this out for you both?” Dustin asks, helping you hold the chain link against the side of the trailer so Eddie can secure it, “you’ve got thirty seconds to sort your shit out while I grab that panel, or I’m knocking your heads together when I get back.”

Dustin walks off and Eddie moves closer with the drill, “thirty seconds isn’t a very long time,” he states, “not for what I wanna say anyway.”

“You’d better do a quick summary then, because I don’t fancy having a headache on top of being in this shit hole.”

Eddie chuckles at your comment and briefly lowers the drill as he turns to face you, “so to summarise… I’ve sorta fallen for you, and after we get out of here I’d love to take you out, go see a film or maybe dinner or something?”

A smile tugs at your lips at the way he nervously fiddles with his hair with his free hand, and you nod enthusiastically at his proposition before leaning in and kissing his cheek quickly. His hand falls from his hair and he mutters a “fuck it,” before placing it on your jaw to keep you steady as he swoops in to kiss your lips.

“Finally!” Dustin sighs, breaking you two apart, “you two are such hard work.”

Eddie walks over to him and rubs his head through his hood lovingly, “cheers Henderson. You little cupid.”

“Pfft,” he laughs, shoving Eddie away playfully, “come on, we’ve got work to do.”

You take over drilling duties as the two guys continue to bring in reinforcements, then when it’s finally looking bat proof the three of you grab the essential gear; an amp, and the guitar. Eddie stands centre stage, as it were, plugging in the instrument to the amp and running his fingers along the neck carefully.

“Ready?” he asks, and both you and Dustin nod.

The plectrum appears and he’s playing the riff as if he wrote it himself as he stands there performing in possibly the craziest place he’s ever performed. Dustin keeps an eye on the horizon with the binoculars as you keep an eye on the immediate perimeter all while Eddie plays his heart out right next to you.

“They’re coming,” Dustin announces, turning to Eddie and giving him the signal for thirty seconds.

You can see the hoard of bats flying towards you, and your eyes dart from the incoming threat to the immense performance happening right in front of you.

“Twenty seconds!”

Your heart is racing as you look up at Eddie, completely enthralled by him.

“Ten!”

Suddenly you’re all surrounded and you get into the trailer within seconds, all of you panting with a mix of fear, anxiety, and pure adrenaline.

“That was so cool!” Dustin and Eddie sing in sync, jumping up and down with excitement.

Eddie looks over to you once they’ve calmed down and smiles, “that was pretty fucking awesome,” you agree as the creatures attack the trailer.

You jump forward against Eddie’s side as one particularly enthusiastic creature bangs on the wall next to you, and he puts his arm around you protectively, “it’s okay,” he reassures, kissing your head.

“Guys, they’re on the roof,” Dustin says, looking up at the ceiling anxiously.

The three of you stand there staring up at the vine covered roof, then all of a sudden Dustin notices the vent, just as the first bat bursts its way through. You all grab the spears from the floor and start fighting them off, making sure none of them got in, then Eddie slams one of the dustbin lids up over the hole to block it.

“Any other vents we should be worried about?” Dustin asks.

“Oh shit,” Eddie gasps, running towards the bedroom.

It’s too late as the creatures fly in one after the other in a frenzied attack, and you all run away as Eddie slams the door shut to stall them.

“Go go go!” he shouts as you all head back towards the gate, “go! Now!”

Dustin climbs up the sheets first, then you jump up and land with a thud in the normal world, and the two of you look on as Eddie begins to climb but suddenly stops, looking from you two to the bedroom door and deliberating what he should do.

“Eddie come on!” Dustin shouts.

“Please!” you plead, watching helplessly as he slides back down, “what are you doing?”

He looks up at the two of you with a smile, “I’ll distract them,” he moves the mattress, cuts the sheets, then disappears out of view leaving you and Dustin begging for him to return.

“What’s he doing?!” Dustin cries desperately.

“Nothing without me there,” you state defiantly, grabbing a chair and kicking the mattress to one side, “stay here because he will kill me if anything happens to you.”

“(Y/N), no!”

“Trust me, okay? We’ll need your help getting back through.”

Dustin grabs your arm as you back up for a running jump, “please bring him back.”

“I will,” you promise.

You use the chair for a bump up and grab onto the sides of the gate, determined to pull yourself through to the upside down once more, and you land with a loud bang on the hard floor of the trailer. Dustin looks up, watching as you stand and begin to hobble towards the door as quickly as you can. There’s no sign of Eddie, but you notice the swarm of bats down the street and one of the bikes from before missing, so you grab another and set about following the cloud of darkness that you could only assume was following Eddie. Your feet are peddling like they’d never peddled before until you come across the abandoned bike at the side of the road, and when you look to your left you see Eddie standing in the middle of an onslaught of bats, only a spear and the other dustbin lid for protection.

“Eddie!” you scream, realising just how underprepared you were for this as you look around for some type of weapon.

The bike was the only thing so you pick it up and run into the cloud of creatures that were surrounding him. The two of you had only just got your shit together enough to admit your feelings, so you were hell-bent on this not being the end for either of you, and you run into the swarm bike first, swinging the thing around to create a space for you both in the middle of it all.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Eddie shouts.

“I’m not letting these little shits ruin our date,” you reply.

One of the creatures wraps its way around Eddie’s neck and causes him to fall to the ground as others begin to bite his stomach, but you grab the spear he’d dropped and stab the sucker before chopping it in half so he can unravel himself.

“Come on!” you pant, grabbing his hand and helping him up as he pulls the others off of him.

There’s a trailer nearby that you spot, and drag Eddie along to it, opening the door and pushing him inside first just as the creatures attach themselves to you. There’s a struggle as you slam your back against the door to get them to release their grip while Eddie panics inside, but eventually you get in and hold the door shut with a deep sigh.

“I hate bats!” you shout angrily, locking the door and standing with your back against it.

“That was… uh… woah…” Eddie breathes in amazement.

“Bedroom,” you nod, feeling the creatures attacking the door.

“I mean, I thought you’d at least buy me dinner first,” he smirks.

“Well, we can’t waste any time can we?” you retort with a wink.

Now was definitely not the time for this, but my god if you were going to die you’d die happily knowing that your last words were used to flirt outrageously with Eddie Munson.

“I’ll block the window,” he says as you shut the door and move the desk in front of it, “holy shit, (Y/N), you’re bleeding.”

You turn to face him and point to his t-shirt, “so are you.”

“Yeah, but…” he trails off as your clothes turn to a deep crimson much quicker than he was comfortable with, but the adrenaline was obviously keeping you from feeling any of the pain so far so he quickly stops what he was going to say, “so how are we getting out of this one?”

“I have no idea,” you sigh.

Glass shatters outside of the door and you realise they’ve finally broken their way in, so you get up onto the desk and sit with your back to the door as they pummel the wood while Eddie holds up the mattress from the bed against the window.

“We’ll swap,” Eddie says, knowing you can’t take much more from the bats, “come on, jump down.”

You shake your head from side to side, “I’m good right here.”

“(Y/N), please, swap with me.”

The first creature breaks through to your back and latches on, causing you to cry out.

“(Y/N)!” he calls out in distress.

The second one finds its way through the wood and its teeth clamp down on you, then Eddie moves over as far as he can without dropping the mattress and reaches out for your hand. You extend your arm to him as well and as soon as your hands meet everything seems to stop; the bats drop to the floor and the entire place falls silent.

“What just happened?” you gasp.

“I don’t know…” Eddie says quietly, peeking behind the mattress to see nothing at the window, “they’ve… died?”

Still holding his hand, you get off of the desk and join him at the now clear glass. The two of you stand there staring into the abyss outside; all of the bats now seemingly dead on the ground, and you only let go of one another to move the desk out of the way and carefully open the door.

“Woah,” Eddie says, seeing the carpet of creatures that now greeted you, “lets go before they wake up or some shit.”

He gets a hold of your hand and leads you out of the trailer then back to the gate in his where Dustin still stands there looking through for a sign of anything.

“Eddie!” he screeches, “(Y/N)!”

You both manage to haul yourselves through back to Dustin, but as soon as you stand up the pain hits you like a train and you collapse on the floor in front of the two guys.

“(Y/N)!” they both shout.

The next thing you know you’re waking up to a bright white light, and for a second you think you’ve died until you hear Dustin’s excited voice calling Eddie’s name as you move and wince in pain. Two faces appear either side of your vision, both of them friendly and familiar, and you attempt a smile as you try to sit up.

“Hi,” you croak dryly.

“I’ll get you some water,” Eddie gasps, running out of sight.

“Where am I?”

“Hospital; Eddie carried you here after… everything.”

“Carried?”

“Yeah. A lot has happened since you were out… it’s been two days, but Eddie will explain.”

“He hasn’t been arrested?”

“No,” Dustin smiles triumphantly, “we… we sorted that.”

“How?!”

“One word: Jason,” he smirks.

Eddie appears again with a glass of water and helps you take a sip, “told you you were a hero, didn’t I?” you whisper.

He blushes, knowing Dustin must have told you how you got here, “well I had to make sure that date goes ahead,” he kisses your forehead and you lay back with a smile; the fact that everything calmed when you held hands was no coincidence, this was meant to be.

[urfavsho]

Hacketts Quarry summer love

Fluff

Rylan

2.2k words

Okay so i totally got this idea from this post!

I think it would be fun to try and challenge myself to write some bits and pieces i think would have happened to their relationship over the two month period!! So here i am..attempting that idea. It’s kinda in the form of multiple one-shots? However, it’s been a long time since i’ve written so if its horrible, i apologize profusely <3

Day One of Camp

Starting P.O.V: dylan

Dylans been on a cramped mini-van with the other counselors for about an hour or two now, Hes yet to learn all of their names yet, but two of the counselors stuck out to him. Ryan and Kaitlyn. They had a sort of enticing energy to them, the vibe where you could spend hours talking about how mysterious and interesting the two seemed; Kaitlyn had a very loud, spunky, and no cares given personality to her, whilst Ryan was a loner and rather vague dude.

Dylan looked around inside the mini-van as he soon realized that they were close to Hacketts Quarry, unplugging his headphones and turning the phone off to look out the windows at the scenery presenting itself before himself. The soft orange shimmer of the sun was beautifully illuminating the agricultural landscape, it was comforting to see the squirrels run across the bushes every now and than, to see all of the animals in the vast forest of Hacketts.

“ Wow..this is perfect!! ” a semi-loud voice yanked Dylan out of his daydreaming as he began to look around himself. Abigail, or Abi for short, was the one who broke the loud silence in the car; she grabbed her sketchbook out of her bag and started drawing away. Dylan decided to inch closer towards her and watch her etch away on the paper “ You know..you’re like..uh..Picasso! “ He said out loud, Dylan was trying to start a conversation, but with the snort and weird look she gave him..it’s a 50/50 chance on whether or not it was effective.

“ Alright counselors! We are here at THE Hacketts Quarry! “ Mr. Hs’ voice boomed and the van soon slowed to a stop infront of the lodge. Dylan waited his turn as everyone soon piled out of the van, the last one out before Dylan was Ryan. The pairs hands slightly grazed one another as they got out of the van, a rush of electricity bolted up Dylan’s body and he felt a hot blush rise to his face. This was the first time when Dylan could remember a deeper attraction developing on Ryan.

Week 2 of camp

Starting P.O.V: Ryan

It’s been about two weeks since Ryan has been at camp. As Ryan begun to teach the younger kids and campers about sailing techniques. However, today was different, he had to do some of the scheduling plans with Dylan. The loner woke up early today, around 6:15 am, and got ready. The duo decided to meet up in the library today, however, it was mainly Dylan who coordinated the meetup, Ryan had expected an outdoor area so he was grateful Dylan had chosen a calm area. After a few minutes of walking around the camp, Ryan soon made it to the library and saw Dylan waiting for him. Dylan had a flower-style hairpin in his hair to hold his bangs back, a bunch of notebooks scattered around the table ,and some apple juice boxes. It was a sight to see.

“ Yo Dylan, ” Ryan said as he approached him, the tall boy smiled and leaned back in his chair. “ Wassup, big guy! ” Dylan responded with a cheerful grin, Ryan rolled his eyes and sat down next to him before grabbing his own schedule book out along with pens and other various items “ ..So we’re scheduling out this week’s sailing plans right? ” Ryan asked as he soon trailed off and admired Dylan’s colorful organization of notes, they were color-coded, sticker coded in a way, and everything had little bulletin points underneath to explain something further; the organization wasn’t just for schedules, but it also was for improvement ideas for certain areas of camp, activities for the kids, gift bags to be made at the end of the summer, and even every counselor/campers birthday so he remembered. Ryan was sure there was more to be found within the countless books, but- “ Ryan! ”

Oh. Right. Ryan snapped back into focus and looked at Dylan “ Yes? ” Dylan rolled his eyes and laughed, his hands came up to slightly cover his smile. It was the sweetest smile Ryan had ever seen. “ Okay, so the reason you are here with me today is so we can get that messy brain of yours under control ! ” As Dylan continued explained why Ryan needed to be organized, Ryan felt himself getting lost more and more in the taller boys big, beautiful brown eyes, he had light freckles dusting his cheeks. Ryan had never noticed that til today. Their knees slowly grew closer and closer over the time they spent as the pair made sure to schedule the “sailing” plans.

Week 4 of Camp

P.O.V: Dylan and Ryan

Two weeks after their last encounter, Mr.H had announced to Dylan to promote the swim party happening tomorrow. Of course, Dylan broadcasted the exciting event during the daily morning announcements, he explained all of the details and fun activities happening at the party. The campers were eager for the next day to come, they couldn’t wait and kept pestering Dylan about what food was going to be at the party if they could do a bonfire afterward, and even asked if they could roast marshmallows! Ryan soon picked up on the consistent questioning from the ecstatic kids, he quickly stepped in to try and ease the pressure from Dylan.

“ Hey, if you monsters don’t stop asking about the party I might have to cancel it. So head out to the lodge for lunch. “ Ryan quickly remarked in a teasing tone, instant whines and groans came from the campers as they scurried off into the lodge. Dylan stared at Ryan for a second before he reached and gently patted the boys shoulder, a bright smile resting on the taller boy’s face. “ Haha..thanks for the help!! Those kids can be SO persistent. “ Dylan thanked Ryan and began to retract his hand before running a few fingers in his own hair. “ They just can’t resist Dylan. “ Ryan glanced up at Dylan slightly and let out a short chuckle, he shook his head and walked away.

“ Yup. “As dylan watched Ryan walk away he felt a quick increase in the patter of his heart, did he really just make THE Ryan Ezrahler laugh and smile? He must dreaming!! Dylan laughed to himself and patted his hands against the sides of his legs, he felt a heat rising to his cheeks as he indulged more and more into the thought of Ryan. “ Dylan! “ Kaitlyns loud voice awoke Dylan out of his thoughts and he cleared his throat before looking over at her. “ Oh! Uhm, yes? “ Dylan said as he saw Kaitlyn shake her head before she started to tell Dylan that he needed to come into the lodge and eat.

Week 6 of camp

Starting P.O.V : Ryan

The morning was easy and slow enough, Ryan didn’t have any “classes” starting til around 11:30 so he decided to take it easy and listen to his new podcast obsession, Bizarre Yet Bonafide. As Ryan started his walk around the camp he came across Dylan’s small group of counselors (around 8 kids) Ryan wondered what they were doing out and about on the rocky road trail, the nature walks weren’t planned for another two days.

Deciding to end his pointless wondering, Ryan walked up to the group and stood off to the side as he listened to Dylan ramble on about how the group was going to surprise Abi with the sticks, rocks, and leaves for some sort of art activity. Listening to the taller boy talk with so much passion was a new perspective for Ryan, most of the time Dylan could be perceived as a quick, witty, smart-ass so seeing him take a more appreciative approach to something was a completely unexpected experience to witness. Eventually, Dylan realized Ryan standing off to the side of the group and stammered mid-sentence. “ And that’s why- oh! Uh, hi Ryan “ The words came out as a jam before Ryan interrupted him. “ I was just wondering what you were doing, but after 5 minutes of you talking. I think i got my answer “ Ryan’s words came out rude, but his tone was rather sweet in a way. “Oh yeah, that makes sense..” Dylan diverted his eyes away from Ryan’s and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“ Well if you want to join us you can? “ Dylan’s suggestion of joining the group surprised Ryan, he stood for a moment before shrugging and walking up closer to Dylan and the group. “ Sure, why the hell not? “ The words spoken by Ryan made the youngsters gasp and make various Ooos, Ahhs, and giggles, Dylan himself joined in on the teasing and he gently nudged Ryan. “ That goes against camp policy sir, watch the tongue! “

The teasing normally would have been slightly annoying to Ryan, but he didn’t feel any discomfort from the comments, just more of a warm fuzzy feeling. The group, now with a new member, finished their scavenger hunt for the gift to Abi and headed their way to the Art Cabin. Ryan and Dylan unlocked the door, made sure everyone made it in and they started to put together the gift basket of various leaves, rocks, sticks, and flowers. Once finished, Ryan took a step back with the kids and smiled softly “ Nice. “ he said quietly before turning around and giving all the kids high-fives for their hard work “ Go to the cafeteria, I’ll get you guys some juice boxes for your hard work “ Ryans offer made the kids smile and cheer in excitement as they piled out of the room and headed over to the cafeteria. Sighing in relief, Ryan turned to face Dylan and leaned against one of the desks slightly. “ We did awesome huh? “ Dylan asked Ryan with a shit-eating grin, Ryan tilted his head slightly and nodded in agreement. “ Yup. “

And that’s it!! I could write way more, but i feel like i’ve already gotten sort of ooc for these two. I enjoyed writing it a lot, there’s so much fluff opportunities for these two dorks so i love mixing the pot and making some!! Hope you enjoyed and leave any tips or criticisms in the comments <3

[characteroulette]

A study on prosecutors -- (previous) (next)

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi. Hoo boy.

You want a hard sell? THIS guy is a hard sell. A pretty boy who continuously forces his own views onto us for a pretty unfunny bit. Someone whom we don't even really see the true face of until the very end of the game. And yet I found myself liking him anyway.

Again, sorry if I get any of the events of Spirit of Justice wrong here. I played it through once and am waiting to do so again, so some of the details are less clear to me than the other games in this series.

That being said, I do remember we get a pretty standard buildup to Nahyuta's presence. Ema mentions him being actually reasonable, that she's gonna do her best to try and talk him out of the worst for Trucy. (Also Trucy is on trial here. This is definitely not gonna haunt Nahyuta later for spoiler reasons.) Apollo has an odd hitch, too, but he's back to refusing to say anything about himself so we're left to wonder until the end of that first investigation day.

...is what I WOULD say, if there wasn't a one-time opening cutscene introducing Nahyuta to us in a really confusing way. See, Spirit of Justice is unlike any other Ace Attorney game because it has a special cutscene it plays when you boot up the game for the first time. This cutscene is kept in the extras content, so you can view it later, but it literally only naturally plays when you boot the game for the first time. Wild decision. In this cutscene we get a nice little view on where Phoenix and his lawyer kids are now, including a mention of Maya being off in some other country. She calls Phoenix up and then the restaurant she's in gets attacked and who else saves her but one Nahyuta Sahdmadhi?

This cutscene is bonkers for several reasons. For one, I was thrown off completely when the first case begins proper and Phoenix is so chill. Like, didn't we just see you rush off because Maya was in danger? Is that no longer an issue?? For two, I legit thought there would be some building romance between Maya and Nahyuta because of that cutscene. He saves her and her expression is pretty anime language of being hit by the shoujo sparkles is all I'm saying. But nope! I was wrong on all accounts!! This is probably from some of the early promo material for the game, if I had to guess. I don't know why it's here or implemented into the game as it is, it's very confusing tonal whiplash for everything that follows.

But anyway. Back to the actual narrative of the game. The first proper look we get of Nahyuta is him sitting beneath a tree and surrounded by animals like a real Disney princess as Ema approaches to talk to him about the situation. He seems to recognise Apollo's name, just as Apollo recognises him. He also calls a butterfly a restless wandering spirit which is a good setup to his whole thing, at least, but it did make me think he had more to do with butterflies than he really did. Just like another well-known Ace Attorney villain. (I was wrong but uh maybe be careful there what sort of image you want to build with symbols all ready in play.) (Unrelated side note, shoutout to Apollo sticking his hand into a dude's back pocket in this case. Apollo the only attorney who gets to grab ass and he's arguably the least interested in it, I love it what an insane detail to just throw in there.)

Then the trial begins and what a disaster that is.

Nahyuta's running gag, as we learn, is assigning us increasingly ridiculous levels of hell. He also throws around his prayer beads to restrict our big gestures, but I take less umbridge with that one. His soft-spoken, calm and collected front is interesting, but he falls apart pretty quickly as the trial goes on. I'd say he falls apart as fast as Franziska does, and this owing to Spirit of Justice's strange structure of one day trials only. We have to get his intro in and his breakdown as we prove him wrong all in a single trial day. A tall feat, but not one wholly unfamiliar to this series.

I appreciate though that he does seem to genuinely hold a deep respect for Ema and what she does, going so far as to even request she accompany him back to his home. That's really sweet, a small insight into his less cold nature.

Unfortunately, I can't say much for any intrigue they wanted to build between Nahyuta and Apollo, as they have Apollo act in his pretty standard way during this trial. They could have built up more to the strange connection Apollo and Nahyuta share instead of just dropping it on us at the end of the trial! But I have issues with the implementation of every idea in this trial in general so I can't really hold that against Nahyuta in particular. He certainly does his job of making us want to defeat him right out the gate! They did that real well, so points there.

Ah, right. That ending of the trial scene. We win the case and Trucy's innocence, and then Nahyuta comes to spirit Ema away. Apollo's language towards him, specifically his "you've really changed", was a bad choice. I'll say it. It calls to mind the same way Phoenix and Edgeworth reacted to one another all the way back in the first Ace Attorney game, which is *most definitely* **NOT** the vibe they wanted to go for. Because it had me (and my sister) both asking ourselves, wait. Is this guy Apollo's ex-boyfriend or something?? Like, I get they wanted to show that he and Apollo have some kind of history together. And it's even a fun little nod towards what happened with Phoenix! But these are the absolutely wrong vibes to set up hi yes I hate this. To be fair, this could just be me reading too far into things. I am, after all, too invested in these silly little lawyer games. But I stand by my literary analysis brain getting thrown for a loop because hey why did you use the Narumitsu language for Apollo and Nahyuta brothers?? It's weird, please tell me it's very weird.

Either way, we head on into case 3 and start really rolling into Nahyuta's long week of no sleep.

First off, it's great to see Maya again, even if we have to defend her once more. Nahyuta being her prosecutor makes sense, since he's our main one of the game, and it only furthers our dislike of him for threatening to convict yet another of our best girls. First Trucy, now Maya?? They really did a good job on the front of making us want to defeat him right out the gate. And they have the gall to allow him to basically win on that first day, too! If not for Maya being accused of a second murder, she would have been sent to jail after that first trial day. We lost. Nahyuta beat us into a corner we couldn't fight our way out of. Strike three, you're out.

But we do manage to defeat him the second time around. We prove Maya's innocence on both accounts and it's not even satisfying to rub it into his face. Granted, the end of THIS trial is uh. Distracted, what with Dhurke showing up out of the blue, but you get what I mean. We don't really get a moment of relief, a moment to consider hey what the hell is up with this guy?

He doesn't really get a chance to relax, either, as he heads straight back across the sea in order to start case 4.

Now, however, we get to the good stuff. Nahyuta is dead tired by this point, he hasn't slept in like two days, and it's immediately apparent. He's so goofy in this trial! He's goofy and cranky and he pushes Athena into a near panic attack (boo on him, what a bastard move) and he's actually starting to be kinda a fun opponent. At least, I thought so. He's still his mostly calm and collected self, but his being so refreshingly goofy adds a great layer to his character, even if it's borne from how exhausted he has to be.

This case isn't really about him, though. It's about Athena and Blackquill being fun siblings. That they made him a mostly fun addition though is great, it went a long way towards endearing me to this otherwise infuriating priest.

When we roll into the final case, another shocker: Nahyuta isn't our opponent for the first trial. It's Phoenix. Nahyuta doesn't even appear until we have to book it back to Khura'in, and that's when his character really starts breaking through.

I will never forget this moment he and Apollo have against one another where Apollo accuses him of lying, knows he's hiding something, and Nahyuta throws all of his anxiety on at full force. This guy just weaponises his anxiety against us to shut down this line of questioning! Iconic, really. His avoidance of telling the truth is both really sad and really good.

He's not even our opponent in this last trial, either. It's Ga'ran. Nahyuta gets to act her supporter for a bit until she tells him to confess for all the crimes she's committed. The wide swing his role has taken works really well, I think, because even if I wasn't 100% sold on him yet, I didn't want him to continue suffering, either. His relationship with both Apollo and Dhurke ended up so complicated and got me invested, damn it! I couldn't just let Ga'ran get away with taking his chance to reconnect with his brother away from him!

(Spirit of Justice's finale is excellent, I cannot stress this enough. It has so much going for it and Apollo is squarely at its core and I really love it a lot.)

Once we convince Nahyuta to fight back, once we reveal the whole truth, seeing him stand up is excellent. The way he throws his glove off to reveal his dragon brand, his dragon heart, it's so good. I was finally sold on him right here as he made the same declaration as the rest of the dragons. His reveal as Rayfa's older brother certainly sweetened the deal, though the two have a long ways to go before they reach a comfortable understanding with one another.

Anyway Nahyuta took a while to get to me but gosh darn it he sure did. I hope you can understand my perspective on what made him such a hard sell at first.

[ybblue]

Lowkey, I'm so glad to read the history of YB. I really enjoyed the content I was able to find of him with the game, Day 1 & 2. It was hard to find info about this game at first, so I read the wiki of course. I saw the traits of a wholesome yandere, if such a thing could exist. A yandere who wasn't violent with their target. That sounded like my jam!

(My Commissioned Art by @Two_Leaf_Cl0ver on twitter, feel free to use it for whatever!)

So I supported the Patreon cause I wanted to see how far along the game was and to play it for myself, because nothing beats personal experience.

I want to lay my thoughts out as I process why I like YB and what disappointments I've come to have with the game and maybe what I would like to have seen done instead. I'm not a game dev, so I'm coming at this without knowing everything involved in making a game.

[SPOILERS BELOW, DUH. I mean for ALL currently playable days.]

[Also HEADCANON stuff.]

(Source: Wiki, not my art, pretty sure its Fuboo's)

Day 1 is pretty sparse, but I likened it to being a demo of what to expect. Since YB said things like "I'm your boyfriend. Isn't that why you're here?", I took it to mean he was aware everyone who downloaded the game wanted him to be their boyfriend. However, maybe Y/N is sentient in their own world and is mostly like wtf is going on with this dude. It would also explain the "mixed messages" he says we are sending him when we reject his advances. I thought he might have even chosen to approach Y/N that day because he could see we, the player, were inhabiting their body.

In short, I was pretty thrilled to play a weird meta yandere dating sim. Moving forward, I am treating Y/N as an entity separate from myself. They are my (likely very unwilling) vessel, and even though I can influence how they behave, they obviously have their own will. They don't seem to know I'm possessing them either.

Day 2 has more dialogue and such, introduces the other characters, but I still find it doesn't feel like there is as much content as I would have liked. All answers that day basically led to the same way the day ends, which I find to be really weird. It makes me wonder if dev isn't sure how to do branching paths so that Day 3 can start exactly the way they need it to. Based on what I know about YB, it felt like he was in character in all routes until the very end when he just attacks. It's especially out of place when playing along with him.

As a side note, Y/N's personality has the biggest divergence in this day. If you are mean to YB on Day 1, then you are a complete asshole to everyone around you. This route is called the abuse route, I think, because YB will abuse you? However, I think of it as the abuse route because Y/N is really abusive to everyone around them and YB just sort of runs with that energy. (I am saying here: the player is influencing both Y/N and YB to be assholes, so we are basically the assholes in this route? I'm not trying to victim blame Y/N, but rather, I'm saying Y/N and YB are our victims. I would say Y/N is always our victim regardless...)

Day 3 is when shit hits the fan for the story in many ways. For Y/N, they just lost someone they knew, probably. TK or Lucy (who both seem to come off as potential love interests) or the Landlord/Don Williams (who doesn't read as a love interest at all to me, maybe I'm just oblivious as fuck) will die. Or, if you played Day 2 a certain way, a random person will be murdered.

My gripe with this is mostly that it comes so quickly, so soon, just a random murder of a major character. With how little content I feel there is in Day 2, I feel like I barely formed any attachment to TK, Lucy, or Don Williams, especially from the perspective of only having played the games.

This isn't to say they aren't great characters, because I think they are.

In fanon.

The fans have really taken these characters, the random snippets we know about them from various sources (the Tumblr and Wiki) and ran with them. Though these characters don't receive the same level of love and attention as YB, I feel like they have really enhanced any attachments people could form with their own skillful writing/observations.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't also point out how Peter comes off out of character on this day. He's pushy, demeaning, and outright abusive towards Y/N.

A part of me wonders: is he just pissed off because Y/N is in his way of getting to us, the players? Or is he actually not aware he is in a game despite what the creator said?

If he is aware he is in a game, and this is supposed to be out of character for him to behave this way, does that mean the game is forcing him to act like this?

But then he admits to grinding against Y/N at night when he sneaks in through the window. He doesn't just watch Y/N sleep, he touches them. That's not consensual for Y/N at all. I thought he was just a guy who was peeking at worst (still not great), but he actually sexually assaults Y/N. (Not to kink shame anyone, but outside of fantasy obv that is not okay.)

It really left a sore taste in my mouth. I thought this game was about a meta yandere guy who loves the player so much he is trying to take advantage of the game to talk to us through Y/N. Obviously, this is me building up my own expectation for the game, but I would have accepted any other way the game turned out as long as it was still meta and vaguely wholesome in his actions, at least with regards to him never hurting us, sexually assaulting us, or berating us.

But instead, it's just a simple "he's just Y/N's stalker" and makes no further attempts to speak to us, the players. It all just feels disappointing.

Day 4, I won't say much since the creator doesn't want much to come out about it, but I will say it gets a tad better, though its gross inside the context of Day 3.

YB returns to being a sweetie cutie pie, mostly because he finally won. Depending on how your route has been going so far, you can experience the 'erotic' part of the game. Currently, there isn't much CG to it, its a still image with smut. I'm not going to complain about it. I will point out you can tell him to stop and he will.

Which is really out of character for how he acted on Day 3. Does he respect our consent or not? Does he care about how we see him or not? Day 3 he's acting like a huge douchebag, and Day 4 he is like 'uwu okay i'll stop.' It feels inconsistent with the narrative of the game.

I'll stop discussing day 4 here.

Right now, I feel like this game is missing so much. I feel like the game relies on the player to find lore about YB on their own, rather than include it in the game. The characters don't have enough screen time for me to miss them when they are killed or absent from Day 4.

It seems we are supposed to meet a new character on Day 4 who is a friend of YB, but it seems REALLY LATE to be introducing a new character. This character has been known to die hard fans for like over a year, but we don't know ANYTHING about him aside from a short list of bullet points.

Then there is the mysterious Greta. YB's therapist or some such. Supposedly this person is encouraging Peter's behaviors. Why would they do this? What is going on? Will this character make an appearance in the game at all? If they do, why so late?

There's a chance that a completed Day 4 and 5 (aka a finished game) will tie this altogether, but unless more is added to Day 1, 2, and 3, I don't see it coming together in a satisfying way.

I'll still play the game when it's completed, and I'm staying in the fandom, because I love YB and the fan content for YB. I love the YB we have all collectively imagined, the one who is a yandere stalker, but isn't hurting us. The YB who is sweet and thoughtful, even if he's stupid enough to think stalking is okay.

Here's some fan content that I really enjoy and is what helped me build my own personal head canons about YB, the game, and what it all means:

Sugar Gives Me a Toothache (SGMATA) - This is a fanfiction on AO3 and its a masterpiece. In this, the game's Y/N is called MC, and the reader is a Y/N that stalks YB (Peter). There is so much longing, pining, sweetness, bittersweet, and just... I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Game Over - A comic both on Twitter and Tumblr. It hasn't been updated in a long time, but it's still soooo good, and the art rocks.

And just all the random comics people draw for YB. Him being goofy and stupid. Him being a lovesick puppy. Him being a dangerous animal only Y/N can tame. All the memes and jokes. All very inspiring.

I guess in short, I really love YB more than I love the game, and I think YB might end up being something that transcends his own creator and becomes something that belongs to the fans.