#and I've pretty much kept that habit up ever since

[ereborne]

WIP ask game: "backflip, faceplant", please! (also what's your ao3 handle? if you got one/don't mind/other)

Backflip, faceplant!  Of all of these working titles, this is the one I think might work best as an actual title.  It’s fun to say—imagine me tilting my head one way and then the other as I say it—and more importantly it doesn’t require a full six-degrees-of-kevin-bacon word association game to make sense to a viewer outside my head:  it’s what happens in the first scene of the fic.   

Essentially, this is my Dick Grayson character exploration, turned sort of emotional fix-it.  Dick gets kicked around so consistently in canon that he often doesn’t actually have the opportunity to live up to the Eldest Daughter characterization fandom loves to give him, and I am in the fashion of comics fans everywhere creating my own timeline mishmash to allow for a different outcome. 

What if before Jason died, Dick had managed to carve out a little space separate from his anger with Bruce, for the foundations of the brotherly relationship we all want them to have?  What if the first time he laid eyes on Tim, Dick turned a piece of his grief for Jason into determination to grow an even better brotherly relationship with him?  And what if Dick’s choice to grow those relationships had knock-on effects all the way down the line? 

Featuring such highlights as:  Tim and Babs conspiring to make sure Dick is never without backup in Bludhaven, professionally emotionally and otherwise; brain-scrambled Jason still pretty much autopilot adopting Damian in Nanda Parbat because when a kid falls over in front of you, you pick them the fuck up; ongoing ‘who can spill punch on the worst gala guest’ competitions between the Foxes and Waynes (surprise winner Kate Kane); the Titans and the Teen Titans and Timmy’s Weirdass Friends Too all working together better and more often; me rejecting p much everything New 52 except Strix, Strix can stay; a gargoyle with Dick Grayson’s perfect butt being commissioned for the Gotham Belltower as a loving and heartfelt tribute to everybody’s best big brother. 

I’m just writing whatever nonsense makes me happy with no regard to pacing, so it's gotten pretty sprawling—past sprawling, really, probably if I were going to post it up, I'd have the main story as one work and then a second work with multiple chapters of excerpted scenes—but it’s emotionally rewarding and an excellent thought exercise for me trying to decide what parts of DC’s bonkers-ass timeline(s) I think are important. 

Crime Alley natives only respond well to respect, and they never feel comfortable unless they’ve got the advantage.  Dick settles at the edge of the mat, dropping into an easy flat-footed squat, eye-level with the kid.  The kid immediately stands up from his crouch, and Dick doesn’t smirk, just tilts his head up to keep meeting his eyes.  “That was a good tumble.”  The kid’s looking for a lie, but he won’t find one.  He’d landed on his face in the end, sure, but he’d fallen well.  “You’ve got good balance, got reach—great instincts, which is more important.  Once you get the footwork down, you’ll be set.”  Dick, looking up into those suspicious eyes, realizes as he says it exactly how true it is.  It’ll be tricky, walking the line between Crime Alley and Bruce’s particular brand of do-goodery, but once the kid gets his feet underneath him, he’ll be amazing.  Well.  Nothing else for it, really.  There’s nobody better at finding a tricky balance point than Dick.  “Here, let me show you.”

[heroes-among-us-all]

Good to have u back!

Can i have a scenario with aizawa vs a villain that is always flirty with him, untill him decides its enough for him and they end up in a steamy situation and she gives up to him cause she reeeeeally likes him😳

If enough people like this scenario, I'll probably write a part 2

NSFW BELOW!

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. God, this was such a pain. It was always the same game of cat and mouse, and to make matters even worse, you insisted on being an insufferable tease every time.

"What's the matter, Eraserhead?" you giggled, deftly evading his cloths. "You look like you're having a hard time catching me. By the way, you're as hot as ever. What would it take to let me ride you?"

Precocious little brat.

You were absolutely incorrigible. Ever since you'd first crossed paths, he'd been victim to countless of your shameless attempts to flirt with him. He'd never expected that he would have to deal with a villain that seemed interested in getting into his pants at any given opportunity. He knew he had to take his job seriously, and you were actively breaking the law, but it was difficult to stay focused — not only because you kept goading him on, but also because you were far more attractive than he could stand.

Aizawa was ashamed to admit that he'd masturbated to the thought of you more times than he could count. It was a mixture of frustration at always failing to apprehend you, but most of it was just lust, plain and simple. It also didn't help that your villain costume was so goddamn revealing.

"This is the last time I let you get off easy," Aizawa muttered.

That was what he said, but the truth of the matter was that you were remarkably difficult to catch. Even when he canceled your Quirk, it didn't make a difference. You were naturally agile and skilled at hand-to-hand combat, as well as a master of weaponry. Aizawa wondered if he would ever be able to arrest you.

As far as villains went, you hadn't committed any particularly heinous crimes, but the law was still the law. You also had a habit of almost only appearing in front of him. Aizawa was a grown man, so it was obvious to see that you were attracted to him — either romantically or purely sexually. Plus, the comments you made were already a dead giveaway.

You evaded his attacks once more, then hoisted yourself up on a nearby rooftop and grinned down at him from above.

"I have a proposition for you," you grinned. "Fuck me just this once, and I'll let you arrest me. I'm pretty confident I'll be able to break out of prison anyways, but this way you get to take credit for a job well done, right?"

Aizawa's brow twitched. "Don't patronize me. I don't need any freebies, and I'm not stupid enough to believe that a villain would hold up their end up the bargain."

"I can prove it," you insisted, and to Aizawa's immense surprise, you jumped down from the roof and landed mere inches in front of him. His hero instincts took over, and he bound you in his cloths without so much as blinking. You didn't bother to struggle, though. In fact, if the flush on your cheeks was anything to go off, he might've thought you actually enjoyed being tied up. "Oh no," you mused. "I've been caught. Are you going to punish me now?"

You really were a piece of work, and as much as Aizawa wanted to pretend like he was above all this, he could already feel his cock throbbing.

He decided to give in to your provocations, just this once.

"Maybe I am," he gritted out, then shoved you against the nearest wall, while your limbs were still bound. He pushed down you down by shoulders until you collapsed onto your knees in front of him. He could see your grin getting wide with excitement as he used his free hand to pull down his pants and reveal his boner.

"Oh my god," you moaned, pressing your thighs together in anticipation. "Your dick looks amazing. I've been wanting to see it for so long."

Aizawa had to admit that the prospect of doing something so taboo — a hero fucking a villain — was really, really turning him on.

"Since you're such a needy little slut, I'll be nice this time and give you what you want." He grabbed fistfuls of your hair and pulled you in until the tip of his cock was pressed against your cheek. "Now, suck it."

Despite being a villain, you were awfully obedient when it came to such matters. You didn't need to be told twice before you were dragging your tongue all the way up the length of his shaft.

Aizawa let out a quiet hiss. Fuck. Even just your tongue already felt incredible. As much as he wanted to maintain the illusion that he was completely composed right now, his heart was beating ridiculously fast.

"So good," you breathed, licking and sucking with an enthusiasm he hadn't known was possible. You swirled your tongue around the head of his cock, then puckered your lips, sucking in awfully hard.

Aizawa could feel his self-control dissolving the longer he stared at your sinful expression. He just couldn't get enough of how you looked to be completely transfixed on his cock, strings of saliva spilling out over your lips.

He inhaled, then gripped your head tighter.

"I believe I told you to suck. What are you taking your time and messing around for? Do it properly."

He shoved his entire cock into your mouth, making sure that it bottomed out against the back of your throat. You gagged from the sudden intrusion, a few tears reflexively prickling at your eyes, but your arms were tied up, so you couldn't push him away.

He doubted you would've actually wanted to, though.

Aizawa barely even bothered to stifle his groans as he fucked your face relentlessly. The sound of you choking and struggling to breathe while you were forced to deepthroat him was honestly like music to his ears. He wanted to burn this image into his mind; remember every little detail so that he could jerk off to it later on.

"Fuck," he growled, thrusting sloppily, "your mouth feels so good. I guess a slutty villain like you has probably been around quite a bit. Well, how is it? How does it feel to have a hero violate you?"

Tears were streaming down your face, and your cheeks were a flushed mess of crimson hues. You gagged in between your moans, but didn't make the slightest attempt to fight back. Aizawa loved seeing you like this. After being unable to apprehend you more times than he could even count, the sight of you being completely at his mercy was almost too good to be true.

Aizawa bit back a gasp. "Shit... I'm already about to cum. Drink it all up. If you waste even a single drop, I'm not going to forgive you."

Between how roughly he was thrusting into your mouth, it was incredible that you managed to nod hazily. Aizawa couldn't help but crack a crooked grin at your fucked-out and nearly delirious expression. This was easily the most turned on he'd ever been.

He came a few moments later, busting his entire load into your mouth. Ever the obedient girl, you swallowed every last spurt of his thick cum. Even though you were probably desperate for air by now, you stayed perfectly still and let it all slide down the back of your throat.

Aizawa eventually pulled back, delighted to see you smiling through your tears, chest heaving under the heavy weight of your arousal.

"You taste so good," you panted, strings of cum glued to your lips and chin. "That was amazing. I can't believe I just sucked your cock. I love you so much..."

Aizawa felt himself blush ten times more fiercely than before. Fooling around was one thing, but to hear you say that loved him was a different thing entirely. It seemed like your feelings for him were a lot more serious than he'd first though.

After a brief pause, Aizawa eventually released you from his cloths, and just as promised, you made no attempt to run away.

"I guess I'll go to jail now," you sighed. "Oh, well. It was worth it. I wonder how long it'll take me to get back out."

I should turn her into the police. She's still a villain.

Aizawa was a hero, and he had a duty towards the public. But at the same time... you weren't really hurting anyone. You'd pulled off a few robberies to make your name known, and shortly after, you'd started appearing around him, but not much else.

He couldn't believe he was having such conflicting thoughts. There was only one right call, and he was struggling to make it.

Aizawa adjusted his pants in place and turned away from you. "Leave," he grimaced. "Before I change my mind. Like I said before, I don't want any freebies. I can apprehend you on my own terms, without needing to be given a handicap."

You stood up with a gasp. "Y-You're letting me go? So, then... will we get to do this again?"

Aizawa was unwilling to show you his expression, so he kept on facing away from you. It was better this way, otherwise you would've been able to see the grin creeping onto his lips.

The next time you ended up meeting, Aizawa was going to give you the pounding of your life.

[strxwberrylemonxde]

Hola! Can I please request Shoto Todoroki (and whoever else) with a Fem! S/O that sleepwalks and sleep talks? Lately I’ve been doing that and it scares my family so much and I wanted to know if Shoto would have a similar response. You should hopefully be comfortable doing this considering it’s a pretty family friendly request but if not just lmk. Bye Bestie Westie!

Fem!S/O Who Sleepwalks & Sleep Talks

Featuring: Deku, Bakugou, Todoroki Genre: Fluff, Crack, Comfort-ish Warning: None WC: 0.67k A/N - Holy shit guys, uhhh... its been a minute since I've been here 💀 Thank you for the request bestie! This was such an interesting concept to write about and its been a while since I've written anything on here so I hope it's not terrible! Apologies if my depictions of sleepwalking and sleep talking aren't that accurate 💕

Poor baby was so worried you’d accidentally hurt yourself 

The first time he saw it happen, he woke up in the middle of the night absolutely parched for a glass of water 

And there you were standing in the corner of the room

When I tell you his heart almost leaped out of his throat-

“Uhh, baby?” 

He’s remembered the times you’ve mentioned your sleepwalking before, but he’s never actually witnessed it until now

At this point, he’s scared of what to do 

He’s heard of the “never wake a sleepwalker” rule and he wasn’t about to break that 

So instead, he’d tentatively sit closer to the foot of the bed and monitor you for a bit

He’ll watch to make sure you don’t fall or hurt yourself and then he’ll gently lead you back to bed 

After laying you back down, he’ll stay up for a while and make sure you don’t get back up

In the morning he’ll tell you about it and take note of anything that might have triggered it 

“Sweet girl, you scared me half to death last night” 

First time he ever heard you sleep talk, this man thought you were talking shit to him 💀

He’ll be laying next to you like “the fuck did you just say to me” only to realize you’re still asleep 

Not gonna lie, I think he finds your sleep-talking entertaining 

Sometimes he’ll respond to your random comments just to see if you’ll react 

And if you happen to say some lowkey cryptid things, he’s gonna wake you up just to put your ass back to bed 😭

First time he ever saw you sleepwalk, this man almost killed you thinking you were a villain or intruder 

The loudness of his quirk was more than enough to wake you up, scaring both you and him shitless thinking you were both under attack 

Katsuki hates to admit that he worries about you when you sleepwalk 

He thinks you’ll hurt yourself and he won’t be there to help you 

So some nights, he’ll stay up just to watch over you

And if he sees you starting to sleepwalk, he’ll guide you back to bed 

“C’mon dumbass, back to bed we go”

I like to think that Katsuki would take the liberty of studying your sleepwalking and sleep-talking habits 

Much like Deku, he observes what triggers it and how to care for you 

Cus the last thing he wants is for his darlin’ to get hurt in the middle of the night

He deadass thought you were possessed first time he saw it happen

He woke up in the middle of the night once and saw you walking around the bedroom 

And you were mumbling about the most obscure things 

I’m serious when I say he was literal seconds away from calling the local priest or something bc he was scared shitless

For a while, he just sat there and kept his eye on you to make sure you didn’t start floating or contorting 

You made him watch the Exorcist once and now he's scarred (no pun intended)

He will ask you about it in the morning bc he was still convinced you had a demon in you or something

When you explain to him about your tendencies to sleepwalk and talk, he was relieved you weren’t possessed 

“I see. I thought a villain possessed you.”

After you tell him about it, he’ll ask if there's anything he could do to help 

He doesn’t want you to accidentally get hurt or anything so sometimes he’ll stay up a little after you’ve fallen asleep to make sure you’re okay

Or if he catches you sleep talking, he’ll listen to you out of curiosity 

He wants to know what goes in your head when you fall asleep lmfao

Overall, he’s going to do everything he can to make sure you're safe in your sleep

[bunnakit]

last twilight ep 5 thoughts feelings etc.

eyy actually watched this earlier and rewatching it, so things should be a little less feral and unhinged. actually took notes my first watch through as well (wtf am i doing)

once again i love how stories are our constant companions in this show. i love how they keep playing with the parallels between worlds, it's one of my absolute favorite things in storytelling.

i love the fact that day is now 'invisible' in the world of badminton but he can still experience all of the joy of the game by supporting his friends. badminton was such a big part of his life and he doesn't have to leave it all behind, he just experiences it a little differently now.

film is so fucking pretty even covered in 'sweat.' i do love the show let her be 'sweaty' and disheveled instead of having perfect hair and make up after what was clearly a hard game. GIVE ME SWEATY WOMEN. (god im so gay)

so i said it last week but the only time we've ever seen mhok be violent is when he's been protecting the people close to him. (his garage bro, porjai x 2, etc) and we see him ready to do it again when august confronts day. there is no doubt in my mind that mhok was fully prepared to bury that bitch for even daring to make day the slightest bit afraid.

and god how scary does that have to be? you can't see, you're already nervous to be here, and suddenly someone is shouting at you - and maybe you don't recognize them at first because you haven't heard their voice in over a year but all you know is they're coming closer and they're so angry. i can't imagine anything scarier than that.

ahh, a broken picture frame representing a broken bond, an absolute classic metaphor. an oldie but a goodie.

once again i love that we see day's rage. anger really is such a big part of coming to terms with being disabled. i got some bad news a few weeks ago about my own disease and i've spent the last few weeks so angry and frustrated and then just sad. it's such a complex journey and the show is doing an absolutely brilliant job of showing that.

i do owe day's family a small smidgen of an apology since day is the one that asked it to be kept a secret, HOWEVER, i do think that conversation should have been revisited after a fucking year. how long were they just going to let him live in isolation? like cool for respecting his agency, not cool for letting him waste away in a tomb of his own making.

FINALLY WE GET MHOK OPENING UP.

so here's the thing with mhok. i love him. no - the real thing is i see so much of myself in him. my friends and family constantly get frustrated with me because i will never tell them when something is wrong or when i'm shouldering a lot of emotions about something. when i got the bad news about my disease i hid in my office and cried at my desk and then cleaned myself up and pretended nothing happened. fuck, i feel like i understand mhok on such a deep level.

not to get too into it but my own habits stem from neglect in my formative years, and i have to wonder if mhok's behavior maybe stems from his isolation in prison? oftentimes people with these behavior patterns will self isolate, either deal with or bury their emotions, and then emerge back into their friend group as if nothing happened. (am i talking about myself again? shhh.) mhok didn't really have a choice - sure you can write letters, have visitors, but a large part of his day was probably handling his grief in solitude. he's probably gotten so good at "handling it" and pushing everything down and dealing with everything in silence that he doesn't know how to handle it any other way now.

to make things worse, it happened over a year ago. he probably feels like he should be "over it" and not make it a big deal. maybe i'm projecting just a smidge (just a lot) but i do think it's something interesting to keep in mind. either way, him finally talking about rung to day is fucking MASSIVE, both for their relationship and mhok's emotional wellbeing.

august is fucking king of mixed signals and i don't super like that he looked for mhok's permission to lead day through the court. why the fuck are you looking at mhok when you could just ask day? if you look closely, as mhok is letting go day curls his fingers around the hand that mhok uses to remove his hand from his arm.

i do love we see mhok pushing day a little more out of his comfort zone as he did in earlier episodes.

porjai is so fucking pretty. is there anything more attractive than a woman in shorts and an oversized band tee? no. no there is not.

and again we see how much time and effort mhok has put into being day's caretaker - and his friend. he did research and learned methods that would make dining out easier for day. i love him so much! i don't know how day could still be thinking about august after that adorable little date.

UGH OKAY SO. HERE'S WHERE WE GET INTO MY BIG FEELINGS.

in my opinion, the theme of this episode has been "being late." here's why.

the boys were very nearly, or were, late to gee's badminton game

you could consider mhok 'late' to tell day about rung

day thinks he's too late to confess to august

mhok realizes he's come into day's life too late to receive his affection

and then we have august's literal late arrival (i still dont know what fucking game this jackass is playing)

this also ties in to a little trend i've been noticing in regards to mhok that oftentimes he's too late in life.

he was too late to save rung, and learned of her death late

he was too late to receive the mechanic job as it had 'already been given to someone else'

he was a late arrival to the interview to become day's caretaker

and again, he's entered day's life too late to receive his affection (or so he thinks)

i genuinely don't know if this is intentional, but i think it's something interesting to draw connections to.

anyway, again, i dont know what the fuck august's deal is but i can tell you if i was day i'd be getting over my feelings for him real fucking quick. i don't super like that august shows up, hears about day's feelings, and asks mhok to keep his being there a secret - but i do understand it and i do understand mhok's side of things. i don't think he does it out of his own selfishness, i think rather he realizes august likely doesn't return day's affection and letting him think august didn't show up is possibly the kinder of the two scenarios. (my only hope is we don't see august return and try to woo day or something later with this knowledge)

i do love that mhok stayed. he was concerned and it might seem a little overbearing but day was clearly nervous for this outing and all in all it's good that he stayed. and then he made sure to salvage the evening for day and take him out on a proper date. maybe it's not the date day wanted but it looks like he had a great time (perhaps even a better time) spending a day with someone he could relax and be himself around.

flowers have so many different meanings across cultures and tbh i'm far to tired to dig into the thai meaning of hydrangeas (if there are any) but i do think hydrangeas are neat. this is prob common knowledge but the color of hydrangea petals is determined by the ph balance in the soil they're grown in. (blue hydrangeas grow in soil with a ph balance of 5.2-5.5, far more in the base range than red hydrangeas that grow in a ph balance of 6.0-6.2, and once the soil reaches acidic levels it tends to produce pink flowers) i guess maybe if you wanted you could draw a connection to how malleable mhok is becoming and how his environment is changing him.

scientifically, sunflowers are also an interesting flower because they are often used to heal damaged and irradiated soil. they're so fucking resilient and help heal the world around them. i think there's a lot of connections we can make there with both mhok and day, regardless of flower symbolism and going purely on science.

anyway sorry to be a science nerd.

that's all ive really got for this episode, i say, as if i have not written you all a novel. this show continues to make me feel so much and tickle my brain in such a delightful way. between this and moonlight chicken p'aof has definitely made me a fan for life.

tag loves: @benkaaoi | @callipigio | @lookwhatihave (once again pls always feel free to lmk if you want to be added or removed)

[mingtinys]

For Lovers Who Hesitate

pairing : jeong yunho x f!reader , (no gendered terms used)

angst , hurt / comfort , bittersweet ending , nonidol!au

warnings : language , mentions of alcohol

word count : 1.7 k

requested ? yes

a/n : this was written with the intention of a f!reader as per the request, but i think i actually ended up writing it without any use of gendered terms

Love, show me love If I can, if I only can I will shine a bright light on you

Yunho loves you. He always has.

He loved you hopelessly through childhood. From the moment you moved in next door to the day you held his hand at your high school graduation.

He loved you unapologetically throughout university. Through all the long nights you spent studying in the library. Through every gross, smelly, frat party he rescued you from after having a little too much to drink. Through his lowest points and his highest moments, his memories are filled with nothing but your comforting words and cheers for his achievements.

When you drunkenly kissed him at Hongjoong's New Year's party, he swore he loved you more than ever.

Yunho loved you selfishly through your first relationship and quietly through your first true heartbreak. He loved you recklessly and impulsively when your lease ended and he suggested you just come live with him. Even if he knew it was a bad idea.

And Yunho, unfortunately, still loves you the night his world crumbles.

You're still drunk, clinging tightly to Yunho as he struggles to hold you upright while fighting with his key and the lock. You groan out something about your head hurting. It makes Yunho laugh.

"Yeah, well that's what you get for challenging Jongho to a drinking contest." Finally, the key slips in and he's able to drag you over the threshold and onto the couch for the time being. "I don't think I've seen you drink that much since our sophomore year."

"I've learned my lesson, now please stop talking so loud," you whine, throwing your arm over your eyes to block out the harsh lights of the living room. Yunho forgoes mentioning that his voice is merely above a whisper and flips off all but the standing lamp in the corner.

"Thank you," you mumble.

"You've got ten minutes here before I'm dragging you to sleep in a real bed." He teases, knowing too well your habit of just knocking out on the couch and waking up the next day with complaints of your neck hurting.

"I really didn't mean to get this drunk, but Jongho just kept going. That guy is insane. You gotta admit though, I held up pretty well there for a while. . ." Yunho takes the end of the couch and lets you ramble. Finding your inability to filter out any thought before it reaches your lips rather entertaining.

"Not to mention I got five–" you hold up your palm with fingers splayed for emphasis –"bucks off of Mingi. Pff, asshole seriously thought I'd tap out after the fifth shot." Yunho bites back a smile, remembering the look on his friend's face as he begrudgingly slapped a five in your palm.

"–And I really just wanted to have one more memorable night with all of you before I leave–"

You keep going, but Yunho feels his world stop on its axis. The words "before I leave" are suspended in the air and making it heavier. He nearly chokes trying to take a breath only to find the air has left his lungs.

"W-What did you say?"

Your words taper out, and you lift your arm to peek an eye out at him. "Wait, which part?"

"What do you mean before you leave, Y/N?" The question comes out more desperate than he intends.

Your head pops up, and Yunho watches realization hit you like a bucket of ice water. Leaving you sober and wide-eyed. "I didn't mean to say that. . ."

Yunho so desperately hopes it was a slip of the tongue. Just your alcohol-laced brain mixing up your words. But the look on your face and the weight in the air snuffs out that last ember of hope. The conversation of what you told him last week about being interviewed for an internship resurfaces. The tab you accidentally left open on your laptop with price estimates for flights to Europe. Yunho can feel every single year of missed opportunities crash down on him in full force all at once. The tears well up in his eyes before he can stop them.

"I um," your voice wavers. "I was going to tell you. I just couldn't find the right time."

You give him a pause to respond, but Yunho doesn't speak. He can't speak.

"Do you remember the internship I applied for? They want me to take up my dream position at their office in France." Yunho's breath hitches at your words. You reach for his hand, taking it in both of yours, but Yunho finds it hard to take comfort in the gesture. "It wouldn't be forever! Three years max, two if it goes really well, then they'd transfer me back to Seoul for a permanent job."

"How long?" When he finally gains the courage to look at you there are glistening streaks down your cheeks. "How long until you have to go?"

"A week."

A week? A fucking week?

Yunho doesn't know how he should feel. Which emotions he should let bubble to the surface and which he should bury deep inside for your sake. Anger. Hurt. Despair. It's all too much.

"I haven't decided yet." It should make Yunho feel better, nothing is set in stone quite yet, but it doesn't. Because he has this sickening feeling you're about to ask him if you should go and he isn't positive he can give you a selfless answer. The answer he knows he should give. The answer that will simultaneously rip his heart into shreds.

So he speaks first, voice quiet and unsure. "It sounds like a really good offer. I'm not sure why you'd say no–"

"I would if you asked me to."

Time freezes the moment those words leave your lips. And it's in that lingering state that Yunho realizes he's waited too long. That maybe, just maybe, this whole time you've loved him just as much as he has you. That all those times he's convinced himself out of saying those three simple words were nothing but opportunities wasted. The regret of never being brave enough, of hesitating for reasons now null, is so overwhelming it nearly drowns him.

Yunho isn't sure if you remember anything you said in the morning. Because you tell him the news again over breakfast and it hurts even worse the second time around. But this time he's prepared, so he slaps on a mask of excitement and holds back the bitter taste on his tongue as he congratulates you.

Even as you ask him that question he's been dreading, he keeps the façade.

"Really? So you think I should take it?"

"It's been your dream since forever, it'd be pretty stupid to pass up something like this."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Yun, for everything."

In fact, he keeps up the façade of selfless excitement for his best friend until the night before you depart. Until you seek him out in his room just past eleven.

"Could I stay with you tonight?"

What's he gonna do? Say no? When has he ever been able to deny you? So he nods and pats the spot next to him and sits with you until you're ready to talk.

"Nervous for tomorrow?"

You sigh. "Who wouldn't be? I'm leaving everything– everyone I know and love behind."

"Just for two years," Yunho reassures. Though the phrase is more for himself. It brings no comfort.

A silence falls, and in it you’ve drifted closer, knees bumping Yunho's and hand clasped in his. He feels your breath on his face before he registers what's happening. Your fingertips against his jaw, your nose brushing his, his heart violently slamming against his ribs. Yunho can feel every minuscule sensation like a storm brewing on the horizon and it nearly sends him spiraling.

But then, your lips press against his. The bed creaks under your shifting weight. Your touch is anguish and mercy all in one. Yunho's hand finds its place on your hip, anchoring him, and the rainclouds dissipate before they can pour down from above. Parting so that a bright light may shine down on you.

Yunho loves you. Always has. Always will. And as hard as he's tried, for your sake and his, for as long as he has, he can't hold it back anymore. Yunho's resolve is nothing but a shadow of what it once was. Even if you leave, even if you stay; in spite of it all, he will not delay the dream he's dreaming ever again.

"I love you."

For a moment, Yunho isn't sure if the words actually left his tongue. The only indication he has of their existence comes seconds later with a small gasp that leaves your lips as you pull away. Your eyes bore into his like you're searching for something in them. Yunho isn't sure if you ever find whatever it is you're looking for. Or perhaps you do, because your lips part and you whisper that same sentence that can make his heart stop in an instant.

"Tell me to stay. I will."

He wants to. You've no idea how badly he wants to be selfish. To utter that one simple word and have you in his arms forever, here, just like you are now. But he knows he can't.

It's unfair to you. To hold you back from your dream just because he was too cowardly to do something he should have long ago. Because he hesitated for too long. Because he was too stupid to see what was right in front of him all along. So instead, he bookmarks this moment. Takes note of the way you fit in his arms, the warmth of your lips on his, the moment when his heart finally felt full. He jots it all down under the chapter of things to never forget. And when the lingering feeling you leave becomes too much, when his lonely heart can't be soothed, he'll open this page and read it. Over and over. Until the day you return, he'll recite it like a poem.

"I'll wait for you," he says, with more certainty than he's ever felt in his life.

Then, when night comes  We will carve our own secret  I place a bookmark on the night that will become memorable, and open it up without anyone knowing 

[lisannastraussisanangel]

Absolutely begging you do to a part 3 where they somehow manage to bring Lucy back, I need hugs and celebration my heart can’t handle it

I suppose I can heal the pain I've caused lol

It takes way longer than they planned for fix Lucy. I'm talking a couple years.

Because of this, Lucy has gotten used to floating around and spying on people. So now she has a terrible habit of knocking things over, falling over, and getting way to personal (physically and mentally) with members

It's Lucy who figures out how to come back so she get's the joy of surprising everyone

She goes after Happy first. Revenge is sweet

He's walking home alone from the guild and Lucy sneaks up behind him and grabs him. He screams in pure terror

But then when he sees it's Lucy and she's really there, he buries his face in her chest and starts sobbing.

They sit like that on the street for way to long just hugging

Natsu smells Lucy on Happy when he comes home so Natsu knows she's back (or at least he's hoping his nose isn't lying to him)

He runs out of the house and searches for her (because why wouldn't she go see him next)

Lucy is standing there in the walkway, almost sheepishly. Natsu freezes at first and just stares

It doesn't last long because soon he's tackling her. Lucy tries to be mad at him but she's so happy to be actually touching him that she just giggles as he clutches her tightly

Natsu wasn't able to smell her while she was a ghost so he sniffs her pretty hard, missing her scent (Lucy actually lets him do it too)

Wendy had helped come up with the spell to return Lucy to her body, but hadn't actually been there when Lucy successfully did it

So Wendy is stuck in the library trying to figure out new ways to improve the spell (they had several failed attempts so Wendy was always tweaking things)

Lucy simply comes up and sits on the desk next to her. Wendy is so buried in her research that she doesn't even smell her

She just assumes that its Lucy's 'ghost'. Well, until Lucy snatches the book from her hands

Wendy literally shrieks. I'm talking the loudest, most high pitched scream ever

And Lucy is once again tackled. Giggling all the way to the floor

Carla had seen it coming so she simply hugged Lucy and welcomed her back to the land of the living

Having heard Wendy's scream, Erza came running into the room. She was so confused when she saw the three women on the ground giggling

Lucy stood quickly and walked up to Erza. Erza was skeptical of what Lucy would do (ghost Lucy is a bit of a menace)

Without a word, Lucy pulled Erza into the tightest hug known to man

Well, she thought it was a tight hug, until Erza hugged her back and nearly broke all her ribs

Lucy had to tap out of it, but held Erza's hand the rest of the day

Erza didn't cry then, but that night she was the first to go to Lucy's house and cried into her arms about how much she missed her

The rest of the team showed up at Lucy's apartment that night. Something they had been doing since Lucy first turned into a 'ghost' (they figured they should make use of Lucy's space since they were paying the rent)

Everyone apart from Gray knew Lucy was physically back. So while they are all chatting, Gray tries to walk through Lucy (a habit he picked up because she kept trying to block his paths to things)

He ran straight into her and nearly slammed her into the doorframe. Lucy yelled at him because wth and then realized "oh shit, we didn't tell Gray"

He freaked out and lifted her off the ground as he hugged her.

He tried not to cry, but Lucy started bawling instead because now her could touch her whole team. This caused Gray to cry as well

Pretty soon everyone was crying all over again and Lucy was pulled into a group hug

They all cuddled her that night as well. No one wanted to take their hands off her for fear that she would disappear again

(Also Gray was pissed that everyone knew besides him and didn't say anything... there was a fight)

[misc-obeyme]

I absolutely sit on my hair all the time 😭 sometimes I'll lean forward to grab something and then get yanked back by my own hair

Tying it back just keeps it from falling into my eyes and obstructing my vision, but the rest of the ponytail will totally fall over my shoulder and smack me in the face. Braiding it helps keep it more uhh, contained? It tangles less that way, because man it's WILD. I miss my friend/coworker at my old location because she used to untangle it for me at the top since I couldn't always tell

I also have a bad habit of running my fingers through it when I'm nervous. Like when I'm with a big group of people I'm not close to, I'll pull it over my shoulder and just start rapidly doing that 💀 Or place my hands behind me back and mess with the ends. It's only frantic when I'm nervous, otherwise I'm chilling trying to genuinely detangle it bc it's kinda soothing, even if it's tedious

That'd be nice if the characters picked up on that. Like a random demon approaches me and at first they wanna be like "she can handle herself, maybe i shouldn't intervene - oh shit she's doing the hair thing, MY TIME TO SHINE".

But I'd also totally do that if Lucifer was scolding me or grilling me for info 😭 IT'S SUCH AN OBVIOUS TELL NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT NOO I'M DOOMED

okay but one funny thing, I've accidentally smacked my brothers in the face when redoing my ponytail. I don't mean to either but it's hilarious. Rip to whoever is near me when that happens

As long as Solomon doesn't change my hair length permanently, we're golden. Glitter hair sounds sick, as long as it doesn't transfer

ALSO MATCHING HAIR WITH 13 AAA I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, THAT'S SO CUTE 😭 FUCK IMAGINE TRADING SCRUNCHIES WITH HER, I DON'T WEAR THEM, BUT FOR HER I WOULD

I don't think I'll ever go back to short hair. Sometimes i get that intrusive thought about chopping it all off, but I like it too much now. Honestly, the silly reason I keep it so long is because it gives princess vibes/makes me feel like one. That's it, LOL.

I feel like Lucifer might chastise me after seeing everything I go through with it and then I meekly admit my reasoning to him and he just sighs. And then immediately sits me down to do my hair.

OKAY I NEED TO STOP RAMBLING AKWKFJ, I GOT A NEW BOOK TODAY, I'M RANK 120 AT THE TIME OF TYPING THIS, I'VE KEPT MY DRAWING STREAK, AND MY STORE OPENS FRIDAY SO PRAYING IT GOES WELL

- ✨ anon

If I may say so, I don't think your reason for keeping it long is silly at all! The only reason I've ever grown my hair out was for the way it made me feel pretty (minus the pandemic situation obvs lol). If keeping it long makes you feel like a princess, that's an excellent reason and you need nothing else. I think that's kinda the whole point of having your hair how you like it!

My reason for having short hair currently is definitely more related to my gender expression... i could get into it, but that's more info than is needed lol! But in the end, it still comes down to, I have it this way because I like the way it feels!

Anyway, I'm so sorry but your description of sitting on it made me laugh. And so did the part about accidentally smacking your brothers in the face with it.

I'm just imagining you doing the same to the brothers - some of them would be annoyed, but I think some of them would secretly like it. *cough* Mammon *cough* Like they'd say hey MC watch where you're flingin your hair! But in their mind their like yes please whack me with it again... sldfksdfjf I just find that so cute lol.

And OKAY I love the nervous tell though! I definitely think all the characters would pick up on it eventually, some faster than others perhaps. Like if Lucifer was scolding you and you started doing it, I think it'd make him feel bad. Like actually seeing you do that would make him realize he was stressing you out and he would probably just hug you instead. Lucifer is a big softie under all that strictness so I think that's how he would react.

I'm definitely imagining most of the brothers being like, oh the hair thing, time to step in! They would do that for sure!

I don't think any of Solomon's hair magic would be permanent lol and if you were like, do whatever you want but don't mess with the length, I think he'd do just as you asked~

Rank 120?? Like in the event??? I was like in the 250 range for a little bit until I got everything I wanted and stopped grinding as hard. I think I ended up like 2,000 something lol.

And yay drawing! I hope it's going well for you still!

[wyvchard]

Context

You know, being legally dead brings some challenges most people don't usually think about.

It's pretty difficult to deal with, the paperwork. Seeing your loved ones grieve.

But… in the eyes of the law, you're pretty much a nonentity.

You don't exist.

Thankfully, they gave me a new identity… but…

That person's not me. The picture may look like me. But it's not me.

Imagine hearing your name be different, foreign. It's not like getting married where you found a new place to belong in and change your name accordingly. You would have a household to build up with someone. Or being adopted to a new family where you know belong somewhere, to someone or a group. No.

You're practically a stranger in the land you grew up in.

You can't ever acknowledge the fact you relate to those who never left your sleepy hometown or bustling city. But also, you're too frequently moving about to the point you no longer connect to the sights in your eyes when you're racing against the clock. You don't have time for that.

Not when the world could be taken over or destroyed if you mess a few things up.

You're invisible and gone. Nothing. No trace of you. You're a ghost in the world you try so hard to protect.

And what do you get in return?

Just death and a chance you live to the next few days. It's not even certain you'll live to see your next sunrise.

He gave me the keys to my apartment. The old one. Not the one where I was attacked by those robotic hornets.

There's no point to it. It's most likely been leased to someone else. Someone alive.

I have to rely on them in order to make sure I have a place to stay in. They have kept their end of the agreement but…

The sight of my old keys with the faded keychains just sting. The plastic keychain had been stained with tiny scratches, reminding me on how much I loved the place. It was home.

It's merely a reminder that I'm practically a ghost now. A key without a lock to belong to.

I can't even go to people I consider companions, family. I'm dead and it could put them in danger if I come to them. I mean, it would leak some things I would rather keep buried with me.

They really should have given me my stuff back at the van. Then again, it would have been too heavy. And it would tip Zoraxis off that I survived. It was an easy sell for the agency.

But it was not easy for me.

That time I got my ocular implant, things just hit me all at once. I can't even trust them to keep me safe. Robotic hornets nearly stung me to death if I hadn't acted quickly. They didn't even check if they would bring me somewhere safe. What if something went wrong with my vision? There were so many possibilities that could have gotten me killed and I was mostly left alone to deal with it.

They just don't care, do they?

When I put the keys to the door of my original apartment, I took a pause as it entered inside the lock and came back with a satisfying click. They didn't change the locks.

I arrived a winter wonderland of dust when I opened the door, suppressing a cough in case any other person hears. The apartment was abandoned for a long time, maybe since the day I 'died'.

I opened the nearest window and began to clean after I shut the door behind me. Telekinesis is useful in that regard, it's like a second pair of hands to help you. It can help you reach places you normally couldn't without it, like a helper.

But I'm alone in here, no one to talk to or ease the labor. I've been alone ever since I joined them, haven't I?

All I had was a voice in my ear who derides me constantly, mocking at my habits even as I did the job right, as my companion. I appreciate his professionalism towards my silence but...

I'm only someone expendable in his eyes. In the agency's eyes.

They took away my choices to walk away in this life. There's nowhere else to go. They're the only ones who know I still exist and who will shelter me.

Everything was as I left it, the pens I left on the holder where I filed the paperwork after missions, where I wrote my last letters to everyone when I was convinced I was going to die. Yet, it was desolate even after the dust was removed, the ink dried up and no longer able to write-to do its purpose. It's better off disposed of.

Just like me.

I cautiously tried on the radio and heard broadcasts of John Juniper, of people asking if he was coerced into this. They couldn't believe the actor they beloved would do something like this. The static from the breaking radio hazed my mind as several bags of unusable stuff filled up the entrance.

I was shaking when I managed to throw away all of them, fully knowing that they would no longer be useful.

Saying "I'm dead" and trying to accept it seems easy, but not when the proofs of your existence is left abandoned and disposed off right in front of you, reminding you that you're left with nothing.

By the time I managed to arrive to the control point, it had been a week since Juniper's downfall.

I doubt I'd ever see him again, might as well accept that he would probably think I'm dead.

I have to start all over again.

It doesn't matter. You weren't attached to him.

It's just that I have nowhere else to go.

It's time to reestablish communications and accept that I will most likely never see a life away from this one ever again.

[the-possum-writes]

Fern x fem body reader x Finn ? (If your open of course!!) where Finn gets jealous of the attention fern is getting from y/n?

Faking it

Pairing: Finn/Reader/Fern

Tags: Jealousy, Poly relationship, domestic fluff

Synopsis: Finn finds it suspicious that Fern has had a broken leg for so long, turns out he's using it to get your attention.

[Masterlist]

Finn sits in his favorite spot to sharpen his sword while you take the time to dwell into your own hobbies. It's relaxing, but more importantly it allows him a time to pause from his active adventuring. His duty as Ooo's protector keeps him away from home long days at a time, it makes these domestic time much more sacred, but before he could ask about your day there's another young man walking into the room with a crutch. "(Y/n) can you help me out with some tea? I've been having aches all morning." Fern laments, holding onto his pained head.

"Of course sweetie," you immediately drop whatever you were doing and walk up to Fern, massaging his temple as you whisper comforting things to his ear.

Finn observes the display with a playful scoff. Ever since Jake passed away the three of you grew closer and started living together in a caring household. He usually isn't a jealous type, but ever since Fern broke his leg last week he's been hogging your attention every time Finn comes home, which isn't as frequent as he'd like to. While you head off to the kitchen Finn kept his grass clone company. "Still using those crutches Fern? I'm pretty sure Dr. Princess said you'd recover by now." the blonde points out in amusement.

"Well you know, grass bodies are different from human ones. She probably miscalculated a day or two." the grass boy shrugs, taking a seat on the couch your previously occupied. Finn eyed his grass brother for a moment, before going back to sharpening his blades."I know what can make you feel better, how about a joke?" Finn brings up, earning an interested gaze from the grassy boy. The blonde boy stands up from his spot, waving around his hands as he spoke. "A man walks into a bar and sees there's a bunch of meat hanging from strings on the ceiling, he asks the bartender about them and the bartender says 'it's a special promotion, whoever can catch a steak with their mouth will have free drinks the rest of the night, if they fail they'll have to pay twice the price' and he turns to the man to ask if he's interested." Finn lowers his blade right beside Fern before adding the punchline. “But the man shook his head, declining the offer because the 'steaks were too high"

It took Fern a moment to process the joke before bursting in laughter. "Pfthaha steaks and stakes-" he slaps his knee out of habit.

Finn grins at Fern's reaction, growing even wider upon noticing something. "You wanna know what else is funny? You been faking the broken leg haven't you?"

Fern lowered down on his laughter. "Wha- what makes you think that?"

Finn doesn't respond immediately but instead lowering his eyes downwards, Fern follows his gaze and finally noticed that Finn had his foot a top of Fern's cast all this time. He didn't say anything about until his late reaction time kicked in. "I mean, ouch! Ouch!" Fern pretends that it hurt him but Finn knows better and just gives him a knowing smirk. "Alright, alright maybe my leg did heal quicker than expected." the grass boy pouts looking away to avoid Finn's smug expression. "I don't blame ya, in fact I would've done the same thing if it meant having (Y/n) as a nurse... Actually..." Finn grabbed his sword once more and sat back at his usual spot, just in time you came back from the kitchen holding a tray with three cups, handing one to Fern.

"Here ya go, green tea with a tea spoon of honey." there's another teacup for you while the third cup contains a bubbly dark brown substance. "And for you Finn, I know you're not a big tea fanatic so I served you a glass of soda pop." you remark attentively, knowing your two boys like the palm of your hand.

"Thanks babe," Finn nods, but while he looked away from the sharpening rock on his hand, Finn 'accidentally' sliced his human palm with the blade of his sword. "Oh geez," Finn dropped the items and shut his hand in a fist, gritting his teeth due to the pain.

"Finn! Don't move I'll go fetch you a clean cloth and a first aid kit!" you stood up from your spot and rushed to the bathroom cabinet, unaware of the way Finn's smug eyes met Fern's. You came back in lightning speed, tending to Finn's hurt hand as you lightly scold him for his carelessness however Finn was too busy enjoying being the center of attention this once.

[rising-volteccers]

Hiii hope you're having a great day! If you're still taking requests. Can you do a short fic with the prompt "you’re not getting rid of me that easily. " with Friede and Orla (platonic or romantic, your choice)

THANKS <33

Episode 18 still lives rent free in my mind so have another what if scene based on it! I've also become pretty fond of their ship too since learning of their connection so here you go! Hopefully it's an enjoyable read!

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Orla

--

Orla had been going through the somewhat dull, repetitive motions of her construction job until she received an unexpected visit from Friede. It appeared that he still had the habit of popping in and out of her life as he pleased, not that she minded too much. While they kept in touch ever since she moved to Hoenn, it became harder for them to see each other in person over time. Adulthood pretty much kept them busy so Friede’s unannounced visit while she was on the clock didn’t exactly pleased her but she supposed it was nice to see him again. 

That was until he made that outrageous request. Friede was a brilliant man in his own right but at times, she genuinely questioned what went on in his mind. 

"Are you an idiot?" Orla had blurted out in her surprise. Really, he wanted her to repurpose a fishing boat into a fully functioning airship? The first time in years they met up and he dropped that on her? Orla knew other engineers that would laugh him out of the room for coming up with such a preposterous idea. 

"Can you do it?" Friede responded instead in this mildly challenging tone. His expression, with that smirk and slight tilt of his eyebrows, spoke about the confidence he had in her skills. 

Orla tugged the brim of her hard hat down, took a deep breath before meeting his smirk with a grin of her own. “I’ll just have to try!”

For the first time in awhile, Orla felt excitement bubbling within her. Finally she had a good challenge to sink her teeth into. Her job offered her good pay but it didn’t provide her the mental stimulation she genuinely craved. She had full confidence in her skills as an engineer but lacked the opportunity to showcase it until Friede’s outlandish request.

Orla supposed that part of him never changed. Even back when they were kids, he made her life a lot more exciting. She supposed that was why she held a fondness for him that never faded even as distance kept them apart. 

She had to negotiate with her employer about using company equipment on what amounted to a personal project but she reached an agreement in the end. A part of her wondered whether they simply wanted to see whether she could pull this off. Orla wasn’t blind to the ridicule going on behind her back once word got around about this project.

Instead of letting their words get to her, it simply fueled the fire within her to prove her skills. Despite the seemingly spontaneous request, Friede didn’t actually came by unprepared. He showed her the basic layout of the airship he envisioned that Orla eventually ironed out into a functional design since he planned on flying this all around the world.

The construction itself took a couple of months. Orla worked on the project little by little–she still had to do her regular job but thankfully with reduced hours and lesser responsibility–day in and day out. She built around the Asagi, strengthening the foundation before expanding and adding new features.

Friede visited her from time to time as well. Building this airship meant nothing if he didn’t have the proper qualifications to fly it so he spent his days studying to earn himself a license, not to mention going through the process of legally flying through multiple regions. Each time he stated how impressed he was by the progress made, reinvigorating her to see this creation come to fruition. 

At last, after months of time, effort and resources sunk into this project, Orla unveiled the completed airship to Friede. Pleased as pie to see him thoroughly floored, she decided to act upon a thought she had whilst making the newly dubbed Brave Asagi. 

“Let me ride with you,” she said, leaning back against the railing. “The ship will need maintenance, right? I was just getting bored with my job.”

Orla realized that she wanted to see her creation in action. When she pictured flying high in the sky as they soared to new horizons, staying at a construction site became unappealing. While this project gave her plenty of headaches, it was the most fun she had ever since she became a fully fledged engineer. 

Besides, she doubt that Friede had the skill set to keep up with the airship maintenance. The idea of traveling together with him reminded her of their shared childhood too. 

Thus Orla joined the newly formed Rising Volt Tacklers. Together with Friede, Ludlow and Captain Pikachu, they’d travel around this vast world.

…or so she thought. They still had preparations to do before the Brave Asagi could embark on its maiden voyage. Orla had done the majority of her part so it rested on Friede in getting them approved for takeoff. She didn’t envy him at all when it came to all the paperwork he had to do. 

Just like how she’d seen him for the past week or so, during one calm afternoon, she popped into the meeting room to find him with his head on the table. Several stacks of paper were displayed in a semi circle around him. Captain Pikachu was nowhere to be seen, apparently having left his trainer to this nightmare on his own. 

“Knock knock,” she said by way of greeting. “I brought some lunch to ease your suffering.”

Friede raised his head, shooting her a grateful look. If she didn’t know any better, she thought there were tears in his eyes.

“Oh Orla you’re my hero. My savior.”

“Alright, laying on a little thick there,” Orla replied with an amused shake of her head. Friede eagerly accepted the offered paper bag. She got him his favorite sandwich from one of Slateport City’s many restaurants. 

While Friede dug into his lunch like a ravenous man, she ate her own portion in a slower pace. She waited until he was halfway through his sandwich before asking.

“So, how’s it going?”

Friede first washed down his current bite with the juice she also got. “It’s making me wanna tear my hair out but I wanna say that, barring a sudden new policy that makes everything here obsolete and I will cry if that happens, I should have the paperwork ready to be reviewed come next Monday.”

“I was about to make a comment but I decide to be nice instead and say that I’m sure things would go well. This is the last hurdle we need to get over before my baby’s fit to fly, yeah?”

Friede’s expression lit up. “Yeah! I’ve got my license and we’ve gone over the logistics of flying the Brave Asagi so many times that I’m having nightmares about it that when we get approved, we can finally leave Slateport.” 

Orla mimicked his grin. “I’m really looking forward to that day. I’m confident that this ship will fly but it’s different to actually see it happen, you know?”

“I get it. Like I fly around on Charizard but it’s going to be different when I steer this ship into the sky. You get to see what me and Cap see, too.”

Seeing his earnest smile, Orla sipped on her own juice to distract her from the mild warmth to her cheeks. She couldn’t hide her own smile, though. 

“I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful sight–unless it storms. At some point we’ll have to test the integrity of the shields. Those are new technology from Devon Corp and while I trust their products, it’ll be nice to see how it actually holds up.” Orla briefly narrowed her eyes at him. “This does not mean that I want us to fly straight into a storm anytime soon.”

“What do you take me for? Of course I’m not going to do that on our maiden voyage,” Friede replied, sporting a faint pout.”

“Good. If things break so soon, I will demand that payment from you.” The teasing threat made the pout deepen.

“You said that you didn’t need it so no take backsies.” Once he realized what slipped out of his mouth, Friede reddened slightly from embarrassment.

Orla, on the other hand, covered her mouth from the sudden burst of giggles. “Take backsies? I haven’t heard that since we were kids.”

“Well, you get what I mean.” Friede bit into his sandwich with more ferocity, as if the act of his chewing could ease his embarrassment.

She decided to take pity on him just this once. Admittedly, it made her a little? Giddy? That he hadn’t forgot stuff from their childhood. Orla knew that he struggled with his memory at times so knowing that something that they shared still remained in his mind was…

“You know, I think we’ll need more people,” Friede eventually spoke up.

“What, already thinking about replacing me? You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” she replied, entirely teasing him by this point.

“Don’t be ridiculous. No one can replace you Orla. You’re one of a kind.” The ease in which he said that left her briefly stunned, not that he noticed. “What I meant is that it’s realistically difficult to run the ship with the two of us. I’m not going to push Gramps into doing the hard work so we’ll be doing the bulk of it.”

Orla took a moment to ease her emotions before responding. “You’re right. What sort of roles do you want filled on the ship?”

“A cook for starters,” Friede replied, tapping a finger on the table’s surface. “You’ll be busy with the engine room while I steer the ship until we can reach the altitude to turn on auto pilot. I can do the cooking but depending on the sort of weather we face, meal time’s going to be all over the place.”

“True. I don’t think I can handle your cooking all the time anyway.” She flashed him a teasing smile at the wounded look he shot her. “Kidding but yeah, I vote for getting a cook. I’d also propose in getting someone with proper medical knowledge. Health is important, not to mention we don’t know what would happen during our travels. In case there’s an emergency and we’re far from the nearest health facility, having an on deck nurse or doctor is a must.”

“You’re right. While I could put out ads for it, a part of me just… want whoever that joins us is because they wanted to you know?”

Orla hummed, briefly closing her eyes. “I get what you mean. The Brave Asagi’s essentially going to be our base of operations. We’d want everyone to be on board, literally and figuratively, to keep it running smoothly.”

“Exactly but I also don’t wanna put too much burden on your shoulders…”

Here, Orla opened her eyes, fondness gleaming within them. It swiftly changed into a mildly challenging look, lips set into a grin. “Don’t worry your pretty little head there. Who did you think created this baby?”

Friede stared at her before wordlessly shaking his head. His mildly concerned look was replaced with a matching grin. “Course I know. It’s created by the greatest engineer I know!”

“Don’t you dare forget it! I’m all for finding new people for our crew but I want it to be natural, yeah? Maybe you’ll find folks to charm into joining.” Aside from me, she added privately.

“Nah, if someone’s going to lay on the charm, it’d be Cap! I mean, who could resist him?”

For a moment, Orla thought he meant someone else but she supposed that was to be expected with him. He wasn’t entirely wrong too. Cap had loads of charming potential.

“I suppose but before we discuss this more in-depth, I think someone should get back to his paperwork.”

Friede’s expression quickly fell as he stared at the stacks before him. Orla chuckled, rising from her seat to grab the wrappers so she could throw them away. 

“I’m sure you’ll get it done soon. Just think about how good it’ll feel when it gets approve and we’ll be soaring through the sky, yeah?” She reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Friede sighed, craning his neck back till he could look up at her. “Thanks Orla. Do you think you can grab dinner too later? Maybe from that nice seafood restaurant we went to last Saturday?”

Orla rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Alright, I’ll continue to play errand girl a little while longer just because you’re working hard.”

“Thanks Orla, you’re the best!” Even if she tried to keep her expression neutral, she found herself smiling regardless at the wide beam he shot her. She just about resist the impulsive desire to ruffle his hair.

Instead, she held out her hand towards his. Friede’s beam impossibly grew larger as he responded by performing the handshake they’ve created back when they were kids. 

Now it served as their connection in being members of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

[theatriscribe]

Lautity Week Prompt 1: First Meeting

Dusting off this old writing blog again, because I've been thinking about starkid and hatchetfield again ever since Nerdy Prudes Must Die came out. I wanted to write some stephgrace, so I'm glad this little event gave me a reason to. Not going to put this one on AO3 yet because I haven't had time to edit it, but I figured I'd at least post it here.

(In which Grace reconnects with an old friend in an unexpected way.)

((Content notes: Steph is trans here, and while she is not misgendered and her birth name is never stated, I wanted to mention it because it's a significant part of the fic.))

When Grace was in first grade, maybe about five or so, she didn’t know why the other kids didn’t want to play with her, and it made her feel lonely.

(When she got older, she still didn’t know why the other kids didn’t want to play with her, but she tried not to let it get to her as much.)

There was a little boy in her class, though, with scraggly brown hair and the deepest brown eyes she’d ever seen. He would play with her sometimes. He didn't seem to mind the fact that she didn’t read any books other than her illustrated children’s bible, or that she wasn’t allowed to use the internet, or that she didn’t know any of the cartoons the other kids watched.

He played with other kids, too, but sometimes he would come over and play with her, help her with daisy chains, offer to push her on the swing set. He didn’t know the bible stories, but he was willing to sit still and listen to her read them to him, which was a lot more than she got from other kids. Her parents told her he was the mayor’s kid, but that didn’t really matter much to Grace. She was just happy to have a friend.

She wasn’t his best friend, but he was the closest thing she had to one. Except Alice, but Alice was two years older than her, and they only got to see each other on Sundays, and if Grace was being honest, she was pretty sure she wasn’t Alice’s best friend either.

Throughout the rest of elementary school, they were never in the same class again, which meant they didn’t have the same recess. Grace made a habit of writing little notes, decorated with little flowers, folding them until they were small enough she could hide it between her chubby elementary school fingers, and tucking it in the knothole at the base of the playground stairs, the ones that led up to the tunnel.

She checked every recess for a response. She never got one, but the notes kept disappearing. She hoped that meant he was getting them. She had no way of knowing. Maybe one of the kids who giggled behind their hands when she talked about God was secretly taking them in order to show them to his friends to laugh at. But she liked to imagine her…friend? Classmate? Kid she played with? was reading them. She liked to imagine they made him smile.

Sometime around middle school, she had more or less given up on running into him again. And then she met Stephanie Lauter.

*

Before Stephanie had started wearing black lipstick and ripped jeans and rock band t-shirts that showed a hint of her stomach hanging out, she’d shown up to school in lacy white dresses and pink lip gloss and flowers in her hair.

Also, seeing her for the first time melted Grace’s brain. The most beautiful girl she’d ever seen walked briskly through the cafeteria and sat down about five lunch tables away, tucking her skirt beneath her as she did, and somehow Grace lost the ability to form words.

She tried and failed to get the courage to go over to the popular kids’ table to introduce herself. Eventually, she ended up catching Stacy as she got up to get a carton of chocolate milk.

“Who’s that?” she asked her. Stacy followed her gaze to look at Stephanie.

“That’s Stephanie Lauter. The mayor’s daughter.” Stacy looked at Grace quizzically. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, she’s just…” Grace didn’t think ‘makes me recite the dangers of worshipping idols to myself’ would be taken as a compliment, regardless of whether it was true or not. “She’s so beautiful.”

Stacy’s expression softened ever so slightly. “She is.”

“I guess… I just wanted to tell her that.”

Grace went back to her seat and carefully cut the apple she was eating into segments. Intent on her task, she didn’t notice Stephanie approaching until she was already standing over her.

“Thank you,” she said softly, which made Grace almost jump out of her skin.

“What?”

“Stacy said you told her I was beautiful. I thought it would be polite to say thank you, Grace.”

“How did you know my name?” Grace asked, which was exactly the wrong thing to say.

Now it was Stephanie’s turn to look nervous. “I’ve heard it around,” she said. “Can I sit with you?”

“Please,” Grace said, wincing at how eager she sounded.

They talked, and it felt oddly easy for someone she’d never met before. At least, it did until she ventured on the topic of the mayor’s other kid, but Grace felt like she owed it to him to at least ask.

“Did you ever have a brother who went to Hatchetfield High?” Grace asked. Stephanie choked on her cold pasta.

“Um, yeah. I had… have a brother who went to Hatchetfield. He was, uh, pretty dumb. Got held back a couple of grades. My dad had to transfer him to another school,” Stephanie said.

“Oh,” Grace said quietly. “Well, can you tell him that he was kind to me?”

Stephanie made a soft noise. “Of course. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”

*

It was when Grace was spending the night over at Steph’s house that she found it.

Over the course of the past two years, Steph had stopped wearing so many sundresses and switched to chokers and cropped tops, and some part of Grace honestly wished it made her think about Steph less, but of course it didn’t work that way.

So here she was, lying on Stephanie Lauter’s bed and trying not to think about how much it smelled like her perfume. She hadn’t been meaning to pry, honestly. But the pinboard was right at eye level, and when she looked at the large, loopy childish handwriting, she noticed the careful flower border around the edges.

When she was making those notes, she’d always taken care to draw the flowers as neatly as she could.

Grace carefully unpinned the note from the board and looked at it, but there was no mistaking it. She heard the bedroom door creak open and turned to see Stephanie, eyes wet.

“You told me your brother left for another school,” Grace said.

“I don’t have a brother,” Stephanie admitted, a few tears running down her cheek. “It was me, Grace.”

Grace didn’t move as Stephanie slowly approached her, palms up, like speaking to a cornered animal. “If you don’t want to be around me anymore, or if you’re scared of me, I’m not going to apologize. So please, Grace, if you’re going to be angry with me, please just-“

Grace cut her off by throwing her arms around her. Stephanie was still as stone in her embrace.

“I can’t believe,” Grace said, shoulders trembling with repressed sobs, “you’ve been caring for me all this time.”

Stephanie stepped back slightly, tilting Grace’s chin up and rubbing her thumb over her lips. “I can’t believe you’d ever think I’d stop.”

Their first kiss was messy and awkward and both of them were still crying and Grace couldn’t wait to try again.

[randomwriteronline]

So on one hand, Adaman needed to get back in the habit of knocking.

On the other, he could have walked into something much worse than Melli still sleeping with a naked arm that certainly wasn't his reaching out to lay on his side.

He stood for a moment or two in stunned bafflement, trying to decode to whom that alien limb could have belonged while his brother kept sleeping with not a care nor a worry to be found under Almighty Sinnoh's ever-changing skies.

The chilly mountain air must have crept in through the open door, because suddenly there was a disgruntled groan (definitely not in Melli's voice) and a body shifted to sit up, thunking his head against the top bunk with a soft 'ow' before turning to face the Diamond leader.

White eyelids waited a moment before rising to reveal very tired white eyes which squinted at the intruding young man.

"Good morning," said warden Ingo uncharacteristically flatly.

Unless he had grown a third arm and slipped it out of the tunic he was still very clearly wearing, the rogue limb now wrapping around his middle was not his either.

"Hello," Adaman only managed to reply.

"We are sorry to inform passengers that the Multi Line is momentarily unavailable due to scheduled maintenance," Ingo continued, the near incomprehensible words coming out of his mouth clearly part of a script rehearsed and repeated many times before: "Please return at a later time."

Well.

The younger man guessed it did make sense that he was asking him to get the hell out.

And extremely politely, too.

"Alright," he croaked.

"Thank you for your patience," the warden nodded while a sound that was very close to warden Gaeric's voice mumbled something and the mystery arm around his waist was joined by Melli's to weakly try and coax him into laying down again. "Please have a good day and a safe ride."

And just like that he thunked his head back down on the pillow, where the other two bodies wasted no time coiling around him.

So Adaman closed the door behind himself and decided he was going to take a walk down the mountain for a while.

When he returned, roughly an hour later, he remembered to knock.

"Who's that?" Melli asked from inside.

"Just me," he replied.

There was some rustling, something similar to a thump; then the door was opened to let him in, revealing that his brother was alone in his hut.

This made the atmosphere exponentially much less awkward.

Melli of course remedied that by starting off with: "I know that you know."

The discreet sigh of relief about to surface from Adaman's throat froze so quickly he nearly choked on it, causing him to struggle a moment or two before turning around to face his warden with a nervous smile he couldn't help himself from plastering on his own face.

"... That I know what?" he tried.

Melli didn't have any of that: "I've been told you've seen something I would have rather you didn't," he replied vaguely enough so that he wouldn't betray himself in the case he actually had not seen it, arms crossed on his chest in a way that was less angry and more desperate not to blow up.

His leader, who was not built to endure silent staring contests on account of his lack of patience, caved in immediately to reassure him: "Well I mean, I saw the after--"

"There was no after."

"... So that was all?"

"That was all."

The certainty that he had intruded on totally wholesome actual sleeping in the same bed was actually pretty fucking relieving.

That didn't stop the silence from creeping back in and making him feel like his shoulders were being crushed by the weight of an Alpha Graveler, which he absolutely needed to remedy.

"So!" he started as he put his hands on hips, as if to start a conversation, and immediately regretted it since his train of thought stopped the second after what couldn't even be considered a sentence: "Wardens Ingo and Gaeric."

"Gaeric was here for unrelated reasons," Melli corrected very quickly. After a minuscule pause he saw it fit to add: "Unrelated to me."

The specification and implications carried with it might have killed Adaman on the spot if he had been weak enough. This horrible excuse for a dialogue with too long pauses between bombs of moderately cursed information felt like it was chipping away at his sanity.

Time be damned.

Warden Ingo got around, it seems.

"Did you come here to tell me something or did you just want to pry on my life?" Melli pressed, rather piqued.

His leader blinked and raised one of his index fingers in the air, blanking out for a couple seconds with a forlorn vacant stare. He shifted it a little lower, snapped his middle and thumb, and nodded as if he had managed to once again catch the thought which had slipped from his memory.

"There's been a birth," he announced. "Come down to the settlement."

"Now?"

"Or later. Today. Possibly."

"Will do."

Adaman gave him a wordless thumbs up.

"... So is that all?"

"Yes! I will. Go. Remember. Come down to the settlement."

"Will do."

"Ok. Good. Nice. Alright."

And while he kept stammering on a few more monosyllables the leader bid his goodbyes and left.

Melli inhaled deeply; he put his reddened face in his hands and exhaled with a groan.

"Glory be to Almighty Sinnoh for not sending Irida our way," Gaeric finally announced gratefully as he crawled out from under the bed where he had hastily hidden once the Diamond leader had first knocked, "None of us would have survived."

"Are you saying Adaman is weaker than her?" Electrode's warden hissed.

"I am saying he took it graciously," the wider man replied: "I doubt my leader would have been only too stunned for words if she saw her master, the man she welcomed in her clan and you snuggling together in your hut."

"And just what would that 'you' mean?"

That you're the last member of the Diamond Clan she would give her blessing to, Gaeric did not reply because while they both were getting along surprisingly well for the sake of their mutual beloved they were not quite comfortable enough being that blunt to each other's face without spending a whole day ruminating killer glares after: "That you're a Diamond," he said instead.

Melli pouted and narrowed his eyes in a look that said 'it fucking better mean only that'.

In the small bout of tension in which thet forced themselves to calm down and de-escalate the hostility, they both noticed a distinct lack of a third body either between them or anywhere visible.

Gaeric crouched back to the floor to look under the bed as the other warden leaned closer: "You can come out now, he's gone."

"After much thought and consideration," replied Ingo's voice, clearly muffled by the floor, "I have elected to remain here and embrace decay, submitting myself to the dust and rot."

"You have not offended Adaman," Melli assured him as he approached, sitting on his heels beside the other Pearl Clansman.

"My behavior was absolutely unforgivable," their lover insisted. "Telling a clan leader to get out like a brute. I'm never going to be able to merely even look at him without being consumed by the shame ever again. I'm hereby resigning from my undeserved position as station master and forever leaving society, cursed to wander the wilds as a vagabond for my acts."

"That so? And you'd leave us both here like widows, heartbroken and forever lamenting their poor darling husband's untimely disappearance?" Melli mocked his dramatic speech, making even Gaeric laugh as he laid on his stomach to fetch him beneath the bed: "That seems hardly noble."

"Oh, he's right, beloved," echoed Avalugg's warden as he dragged Ingo out of his hiding spot. The foreigner felt a rough nose and patches of beard coax his neck to recline, and a smirk press against his throat: "At least let us hide you away in our homes while you're on the run from your mistakes!"

Ingo gave a low rumbling whine at their teasing and joking, shielding his reddening face behind his arms as both devilish men sandwiched him between them to keep him from ducking back in the brooding darkness they had forced him to emerge from and began mercilessly kissing him all the way from his bony clavicles up to his cheeks, making him feel as warm as a raging fire in Eterna Forest.

He wriggled against their chests to somehow make his escape: "You must start journeying to the Mirelands," he managed to stagger out, "Or you'll get there too late."

"I'll go in just a moment!" Melli complained; his foot rested on his rival's stomach in an attempt to push him away: "But first I'll have you for myself a while since Gaeric will get to keep you all day!"

"I believe we'd agreed to share," Gaeric grumbled, scooting closer: "Especially since I'll be back in the Icelands soon enough..."

"Oh, now it's about sharing? Not when I have to sit and bear it when he visits you in your hellish tundra of a home?"

"That's rich - I recall you two have the entire mountain to yourselves every day!"

"Please release me," Ingo demanded.

He then immediately yelped as both his lovers magically got over their differences in an instant to better squeeze him between them, the feeling flustering him endlessly.

"This is the opposite of - at least let us get off the floor--!"

"We will, we will!"

"All in due time."

And they were back to drowning him in kisses, curling his hair between their fingers, nuzzling into his neck, snickering as they felt him burn up in their hold.

"Tremendous, you are tremendous," they heard him babble with a smile in his voice between the minuscule pauses of their loving torture as he melted like butter in their arms, "Awful little devils, the both of you - like bickering Gligars..."

"Uuuh, how mean, beloved," Gaeric laughed against his throat, "How very mean..."

[cometcon]

I did it. I wrote fanfic for Helluva Boss. It's consuming my mind. XD

So I was looking through the Striker tag on here for more of my favourite bastard snakey boi and found this really neat artwork. :D

And it's a really interesting concept and the artwork is so well done and they've kept just enough of Striker's sinister energy in the images that my brain just wouldn't leave me alone about it. And it got me thinking: Redeemed Striker cuddling up to Moxxie for warmth is definitely cute and even I love it (and I'm aromantic as fuck XD ). But would it be possible to write something with the same basic concept, just making it a different scenario to involve my first impression of Striker instead, without having to redeem and develop Striker first? Can I have my cake and eat it too? XD

I've changed my mind since I first posted this so here's the freshly edited new introductory waffle:

I want to flesh this out a little and write it as a whole oneshot partnered with my Blitz/Striker fic which is also set during Harvest Moon and maybe ending along the lines of the events in the canon episode, but in the meantime my brain churned out about 800 words for the specific prompt. I think I'm leaning for the fic being about Moxxie's perspective of Striker arriving at the farm. Moxxie dislikes him immediately and since Striker is an egotistical supremacist piece of shit he just doubles down on the dickwad behaviour, but keeps it subtle enough for Blitz and Millie to do their usual thing of overlooking Moxxie's concerns about things they don't see as a problem/threat/red flag (I promise I'm not hating on them; I love their characters but also sometimes it does seem like a fair bit of the shit Moxxie gets dragged into could have been avoided if they'd listened to him. XD Though then we wouldn't have the show so again, not complaining, just playing with it. Don't kill me lol.) And Moxxie understandably gets sick of Striker's shit and they begin a tit for tat resulting in Moxxie shooting Striker's window 'by accident' and then 'forgetting' to fix it. XD And since they're all sleeping in the farm house, Striker chooses to escalate with a cruel and unusual punishment...

Behold, my first ever attempt at dark fluff. XD

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

The sound of the door opening and soft light spilling across the room made Moxxie's eyelids flicker, a low growl of annoyance building in his chest. 

Millie had a bad habit of laughing off their boss' infuriating behaviour, finding it amusing. Cute, even. Moxxie vehemently disagreed, yet his complaints typically fell on deaf ears, so he usually just endured. But these night-time visits were reaching the absolute line and Moxxie had had enough. He didn't care what his wife said, he was going to fucking murder Blitz if he took even one more step toward-

His back tensed in surprise as the covers lifted, the mattress behind him sinking beneath Blitz's weight. The night had finally come. He'd suspected his boss would escalate, but the fact it was really happening took its sweet time trickling through his outraged mind. Moxxie's vicious attempt to slam his elbow into the licentious imp's gut was too slow and easily thwarted as a large hand latched onto his arm, halting its trajectory. 

"Blitz, I swear to fucking Satan, I will claw your eyes out of your skull and feed them to Luna! Get off me," he hissed quietly, hoping not to wake his snoring wife. She might just tell him to move over and give Blitz more space before falling asleep again anyway. 

Before he could do much else however, a long, clammy, lithe body that was decidedly not Blitz pressed into him, strong arms wrapping around his much smaller form and pulling him closer. His heartbeat accelerated and a bolt of fear shot down his spine. 

"Shouldn't make threats you can't follow up on, rodent." 

Striker's breath wafted over Moxxie's ear in a gentle caress. He shuddered, tugging uselessly at the unyielding grip trapping him against the assassin as he felt Striker curl further, moulding himself into every part of Moxxie he could reach. Moxxie's tail twitched, caught between them and unable to find a gap to escape.

"What the fuck?" 

It should have been a shout, but his throat was tense with fright, the words emerging in an embarrassingly pathetic whimper. One hand searched for Millie, desperately praying he could wake her before they were both slaughtered in their sleep. 

"Quit wriggling," Striker rumbled, fingers lacing through Moxxie's to draw the hand back into his chest. 

"Why are you in here? Get out." 

Moxxie still couldn't manage more than a choked whisper, but the fact there seemed to be no intention of actually harming him allowed a rising indignation to take fear's place. He tried kicking, though that only served to annoy Striker, who immediately enveloped the flailing legs between his own. It was like being stuck in a patch of quicksand; the more Moxxie struggled, the deeper he sank.

"Someone hasn't fixed the wall in my room yet. It's cold." 

That long, spiked tail snaked across Moxxie's shivering skin, coiling around their tangled limbs and draping itself over his abdomen. The quiet rattle as the tip continued upward and settled by his face sent a chill through him and he squeezed his eyes shut. 

"That doesn't mean you get to- mmph!" 

His final, barely audible attempt at protest was swiftly cut off by Striker's free hand covering his mouth. 

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," came the deceptively soft admonishment, arms and tail constricting in a painful warning. Moxxie groaned and went limp, hoping it would be enough to appease, the understanding he really was at his captor's mercy sinking to the base of his stomach like a concrete brick on the ocean floor. Striker chuckled and thankfully granted him the ability to draw breath after a moment, though he remained tightly entwined with the trembling little body in his clutches, chin resting in mock affection atop Moxxie's head as he murmured, "Good boy. Go back to sleep."

This was just another one of Striker's games, he told himself. If he stayed very still and didn't cause a fuss, his tormentor would get bored and leave. 

Any minute now.

The dark outline of Millie's senseless form under the blanket was silhouetted against the window, her peaceful snores the only sound stirring the atmosphere. Striker's breathing had slowed too, apparently content to stay snuggled against him, leaching his warmth and sanity alike. 

Well, fuck.

When several minutes had passed without any further threat, Moxxie forced himself to relax. There was nothing he could do anyway. If Striker wanted him dead he would be already. Staying alert all night would play right into the other's aims, showing him the intimidation tactics were working the second he saw his victim's tired eyes and frazzled demeanour the next morning. 

Moxxie refused to let him win that easily.

He listened for Millie, his breaths steadying as he timed them to match hers and held the image of her beautiful beaming grin in his mind. Striker was bound to slip up eventually and when he did, Moxxie would be prepared for him. A new thought of slicing the trecherous demon's throat with his own knife flashed through Moxxie's head and he smiled, playing it slowly on loop until he managed to drift off again.

[an-aroaces-harem]

Since my coworkers managed to frustrate me in real life like usual, I used it as inspiration for this little snippet. In other words, this thing is pretty much self-indulgent.

But more importantly, where can I find a real life Ellis??? I seriously need him.

"And in the end, he's just a giant ball of fluff who would do everything to make me happy."

As usual, Rose entered the workshop in the morning. Surprisingly, Patricia was already there instead of smoking outside. Mara standing right beside her was nothing new though, she always had the need to latch onto someone—that someone being Patricia currently.

Hearing her enter, Patricia looked up, instantly glaring at Rose for refraining to say "Good morning"; Rose didn't want them to have a good morning, as simple as that.

"Morning, did you bring the money?" Patricia asked her, cutting straight to the point.

Once a month, they collected money from all workers to be able to buy tea and coffee, milk, sugar, sometimes even snacks. This time, they also collected money for one of their bosses because her birthday was at the end of the month.

"I won't pay for Mrs. Wilson but here's the money for our cashbox." Rose wasn't very fond of her boss. Mrs. Wilson could be nice, yes, but also frustratingly strenous.

Normally, now would be time for Mara to quip in. No matter what Rose said, Mara would find a remark. This time though, she kept quiet, just staring at Rose. And she could already guess where the change in behavior came from. Rose had a hard time to prevent herself from smiling.

"Oh, Mara, that reminds me. My boyfriend told me he met you yesterday, you were so kind to tell him the directions," Rose said to her. "He was so happy to finally get to know you after I told him so much about you."

Mara literally shrinked down, eyes darting left and right. Of course, she would react like this. Rose hated Mara, she wanted nothing more than Mara disappearing, and naturally, that's what she would tell Ellis—and he would do everything to make her happy.

"Oh, y-you did?" It was so much fun seeing her quivering like this.

Patricia noticed Mara's odd behavior as well. "Your boyfriend? What's he like?" She loved gossip and Rose barely talked about her relationship. Well, why would she talk about him with people she couldn't stand?

"Ellis? Hmm, he's the kindest man I've ever met, I'm so happy I can call him my boyfriend. He accepts me as I am, with all my quirks and problems," she answered, a slight smile dancing across her lips. "Oh, and he's really tall, I love it. I bet even you feel small next to him, Mara."

Mara had the habit of saying at least once every day "You're all small". The first few times, it was kind of funny because apart from her, all other workers really were on the small side, but it got boring soon. What was so great about being tall, anyway? With her size, she could cuddle up to Ellis and when he wrapped his arms around her, she felt hidden from the world.

She tried her best to supress the incoming giggle forming in her throat. She never thought she would ever feel this giddy about someone.

"Huh? O-oh yeah, I'm surprised you're not afraid of him with you being that small." Did she try to get her confidence back by belittling her? Laughable. Rose could see the fear in her eyes. "I rather imagine you being scared by his height and his kinda eery appearance."

"Eery?" Patricia echoed.

"Oh no. Sure, Ellis might give of eery vibes with his dark looks and everything but he's exactly the right kind of creepy for me, you know?"

A rhetorical question, yet both of them moved away a little.

"And in the end, he's just a giant ball of fluff who would do everything to make me happy." Silence. "Everything in his might, of course."

For Rose, the conversation was over at this point. She made it clear that it definitely wasn't a good idea to mess with her—even mithout mentioning that Ellis would even kill for her if she desired so; and that he was pretty much capable of it.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hi! Are you aware of any common issues that a shelter snake may have? I'm planning to get my first snake in the near future, and the shelter is usually where I'd go for a pet, but I'm a bit worried that the snake may come with baggage I could lack experience for, especially since the local shelter isn't specialized in reptiles (I'm sure they do their best, but they seem to have a lot of corn snakes housed in duos, and also a duo of Dumeril's boas that are described as "inseparable" and could only be adopted together). The snake I've currently got my eyes on is an adult female kingsnake, who does live alone, if that makes a difference.

If that's something a new keeper should probably avoid, do you have tips on how to find/spot ethical breeders? Finding any in Germany has been surprisingly hard, and I'm a bit worried I might end up supporting an unethical breeder due to my own ignorance.

Sorry for the long text!

Sure! (And yeah, the shelter housing snakes together is a massive red flag! Snakes aren't social animals and describing two of them as "inseparable" is absolute baloney.)

A few of the most common issues I see in shelter snakes:

Poor handling. This is something that can be worked on at the shelter and once you get the snake, but the odds are good that your average rescue snake won't be super well-socialized and you'll need to put a bit more work into developing a trusting relationship with them. They'll usually be handleable by the time they're adopted out, but it's something to be aware of.

An unusually strong food response. You'll see this most often in snakes that are already pretty food motivated - like kingsnakes. If a snake doesn't get the proper food early in life, they'll often be pretty worked up around feeding time. You can expect a very strong food response to involve things such as biting inappropriate items in the enclosure, getting so excited they miss their food, and very possibly mistaken bites to you. Mistaken feeding bites aren't a big deal, but if you're worrieda bout being bitten, it's something to know beforehand.

On the flip side, I see a poor food response a lot. Many rescue snakes were fed live before they were surrendered (it's no coincidence that most people who surrendered their snake because they realized they didn't know how to properly care for them also fed live), and for some snakes that can lead to a fear response when they're fed. You'll just have to be super patient when feeding those snakes, and it'll get better with time but might not ever go away entirely.

Mobility issues stemming from injuries or past malnutrition. The shelter should be able to tell you this beforehand, but a rescue snake might have minor mobility issues that might require lower or wider climbing branches or a softer substrate.

You should be able to ask the shelter you go to about the snake's handling and feeding habits! If they can't tell you, I wouldn't trust them enough to adopt from them.

And if you choose to go to a breeder, here's what I look for!

They don't breed unethical morphs. Things like scaleless cornsnakes and spider ball pythons.

They don't keep their snakes in tiny racks. If you can see pictures of their facility, look to see if the snakes aren't being kept in racks the size of desk drawers.

They don't maintenance feed their snakes. This can be hard to spot for the untrained eye, but you're basically looking to see if they're not just feeding the snake the bare minimum to survive. Baby snakes can vary in size a lot, and often look skinny just naturally, so you're looking for things like a three-month old snake not weighing as much as a newborn. When in doubt, ask the snake's weight and compare to a hatchling's weight.

They don't feed live. This should be easier for you, since I think live feeding is almost vanishingly rare in Germany, but it's still something to look for.

Hope this helps!!

[keerysquinn]

Title: Puppy Love Pairings: Steve Harrington x Chrissy Cunningham Word Count: 1.2k Summary: When Chrissy goes to pick up her dog from doggy daycare, the last thing she expected was to meet the owner of her dog's best friend. CW/TW: a single mention of a dog being mistreated, but there are no specifics A/N: something short and sweet to end the week! thank you to everyone who's read anything I've written this week. you guys are the best <3

When Chrissy entered the doggy daycare center, there was already a man talking to the woman working at the counter, so she took her place off the side to wait for her turn. The worker noticed her and motioned for her to come to the counter as well though.

"Oh good," she said. "You're both here. This works out perfectly for me because there was something I was hoping to talk to you both about."

"Did Daisy knock over another dog again, Laura? I thought I'd finally gotten her to stop jumping on other dogs and people, but she just gets so excited, and I don't think she realizes how big she is," Chrissy rambled on as the man next to her sighed and spoke simultaneously.

"What did Harold do this time?" he asked.

As they heard each other say their dogs' names, they both paused.

"Wait. Harold is your dog?" she asked. Chrissy had heard plenty of stories about Harold throughout the year that she'd been bringing her pitbull Daisy to this doggy daycare. Daisy and Harold were practically attached at the hip and spent pretty much the entire time they were there playing together. Chrissy even had a photo of the two of them out in the yard together that the center had given to her as her phone's lock screen. She'd only met the dog once before, but she adored the lovable golden retriever almost as much as her own pup.

His owner wasn't anything like she'd expected though. With a name like Harold, she'd expected a little old lady. Instead, standing before her was a man that couldn't have been much older than she was.

"He is. And Daisy is yours?"

"Not what you expected?"

"Not really. When I picture pitbull owners, I tend to picture bikers. No offense."

"None taken. I think her original owner actually was a biker."

Chrissy turned her attention back towards Laura.

"So what adorable chaos did our dogs get up to today?" she asked.

"Well, Daisy had a bit of an accident actually," she started. "Before you start worrying, she's completely fine. She got stung by another bee during outside time today. We took the stinger out and treated the sting the same way we did the last time, and she was back to being her friendly, happy self after an hour. I have the most adorable photo to show you though."

Laura pulled out her phone and unlocked it to pull up a photo of Daisy and Harold together. Daisy was laying on her side with a damp washcloth draped over her shoulder blade where Chrissy assumed the bee sting must have been. Harold was laying beside her with his head resting on her hindquarters.

"He didn't leave her side the entirety of the time she was resting after we took care of her. It was maybe the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Please send that to me as soon as you can,” Chrissy requested. She hated to see her baby in pain, but she didn’t look like she was hurting at all in that photo with Harold. She thought that maybe the photo was cute enough to become her new lockscreen, but she hadn’t decided yet.

“The thing I wanted to talk to you both about was that you’ve both mentioned to me that you’d like it if your individual dogs could socialize more outside of work, but we’re not in the habit of giving out customer information to just anyone even if I truly believe that your dogs might be soulmates. But, since you’re both here, I don’t have to break company policy to get you to be able to set up a playdate. I’ll go get your dogs and leave you to chat for a bit.”

With that, Laura exited the lobby and moved into the back where all of the dogs were kept. Chrissy moved to sit on the bench in the waiting area, and the man moved to sit with her.

“I’m Steve, by the way,” he said as he offered her his hand.

“Chrissy.” She shook his hand and smiled over at him. “So, you aren’t what I was expecting from Harold’s owner either.”

“Lemme guess. You thought I was a little old lady who’d named her dog after her late husband?”

“Maybe not her late husband, but that was the demographic I was picturing,” she said with a small laugh.

“My roommate named him, and that was what she hoped people would think when they heard his name. She’ll be happy to know she fooled someone else.”

“A clever prank.”

“What about Daisy? That’s not the name I’d expect for a pitbull either. Did you pick it, or did her last owner name her that?”

“Oh, that was all me. I don’t even know if her last owner gave her a name. Technically, my best friend probably stole her if I’m being completely honest. His neighbors weren’t exactly treating her the best, and she wasn’t chipped, so it was easy enough for him to just claim she was a stray. He’s always been more of a cat person, and I’d been saying I wanted a dog for a while at that point, so he gave her to me as a birthday gift. I named her Daisy because she was still kind of skittish around people because of her last owners treating her so poorly, but she would always come right up to me for snuggles if I was wrapped up in this daisy patterned blanket I had. It was my favorite, but it’s all hers now.”

Just then, Laura came out with both of their dogs who were very eager to be reunited with their owners. Daisy made it to Chrissy first, jumping to place her paws on her mama’s shoulders and lick the side of her face.

“Well, hello to you, too, baby,” she said as she cupped Daisy’s face in her hands. “Were you so brave today when you got hurt? I’m gonna have to take you to get a special treat for being such a good patient. Yes, I am.”

She glanced over and saw that Harold was waiting expectantly for her to give him some attention, too.

“And thank you, Harold,” she said to the other dog. “I think I owe you a treat, too. For taking such good care of my pretty Daisy.”

Harold rested his chin on her thigh, and she moved to scratch him behind the ear. Steve’s heart melted at the sight of this woman giving so much love to his boy, too.

While still petting both of the dogs, Chrissy turned her attention towards Steve.

“There’s a dog friendly cafe around the corner, and they sell the cutest little cookies for dogs. If you’re not busy, maybe we could go there now? I could buy our dogs a treat, and we could exchange numbers so we could plan some playdates for them in the future?”

“Only if you let me buy you a coffee. If you’re treating the dogs, I’m treating you.”

“That works for me.”

“Then I’d love to.”

As the two walked out of the doggy daycare together and started to make their way around the corner to the cafe, Chrissy couldn’t help but think that maybe their dogs were the perfect matchmakers.