#and also it is quite neat to show them as two sides of um similar coins i guess? i dont wanna say the same coin

[thewhizzyhead]

anyways I've been relistening to mean girls the musical the past few weeks and one tiny thing I liked about the musical is how they established the similarities between Regina and Janis - particularly through similar habits ("those bITCHES!"), sharing Someone Gets Hurt, and through their friendship with Cady (though there are VAST differences there, I'd like to believe that both Janis and Regina were genuinely interested in being friends with Cady even if they had their own selfish and manipulative agendas with her).

However, I admit that I was rather disappointed that this point in the movie's Janis and Cady fight wasn't featured that much in the musical's counterpart: Janis saying, "At least me and Regina George KNOW we're mean." Though this was somewhat shown through Janis singing, "I hate Regina's guts, but here's what you can't comprehend: at least she has the guts to not pretend to be my friend!" (Which also in turn emphasizes the emotional impact had on Janis), it sadly did not show the point the movie tried to make: that both Janis and Regina are Mean Girls and that both KNOW it - unlike Cady who would like to believe that she herself is in the right.

[0pretty-setters-squad0]

Toy Store- Tenya x Reader

Howdy- time for yet another Christmas smut. Hope you Tenya simps (definitely not me *cough cough*) enjoy. Iida rly deserves more love tbh. So I hope I make this a good one. In this, we're also gonna say that Tensei has a little boy (not just bc I love the thought of Tensei as a dad) bc why would Iida be in a toy store if he didn't have a kid to buy for lmfao

   It was about two weeks before Christmas as you sat behind the counter of a toy store, giving a woman her bag full of toys after checking them out. As she left, you lean forward and rest your chin on your palm, propping yourself up. Only ten more minutes until you could close the store and go home to cuddle up and watch a movie.

   And that's when he walked in for the first time. Young, around your age, very fit, neat hair, quite handsome if you had to say. You smiled at him, "Anything I can help you with today?"    He seemed surprised that you were speaking to him, shaking his head and walking off to look at the toys. It wasn't until well past closing time that he left, because you couldn't bring yourself to kick him out when you saw him looking at the toys, clearly trying to find the perfect gift. When he left, though, he left empty handed. You shrugged and closed up the store, heading home.    The next time you saw him was about three days later, around the same time. He did the same thing, came in, didn't ask for help, looked around and then left with nothing.    He did this multiple times, always just looking and buying nothing. At some point, you began to find yourself looking forward to his visits, hoping that at some point, he'd talk to you.    It was the day before Christmas Eve when something finally changed. This time, though, instead of walking off to look at the toys, he came to the counter where you were sitting.    "Excuse me, ma'am," he politely spoke to get your attention.    You looked up from the magazine you were reading and as you realized who it was, you smiled slightly, finding that he was just as polite as he had looked, "Yes?"    "I'm trying to find a good toy for my nephew, he's two, and I've been looking, but I don't have any kids, so I've got no idea what to get him. And I've been here a bunch of times, but I just never know what to get," he began rambling and making awkward hand motions, which you found adorable    After a moment, you cut him off, "Sure thing, I'll help you find the perfect toy. No wonder you came in here so often. You know, you coulda just asked me," you spoke kindly as you walked around the counter.    He let out a relieved sigh as you offered to help, "You noticed that I had been coming in a lot?" he asked, seeming embarrassed.    "Mhm," you nodded, "Sure have. It's not everyday that the same person comes in and leaves with nothing about a hundred times," you joked, "Not that I mind, I was just curious as to why you were coming."    You could see a blush forming on his face, and decided to leave it alone. He really did seem embarrassed.  So, you shut your mouth and lead him to where the appropriate aged toys would be.    "Here we are," you smiled, starting to walk away.    He stopped you by placing a hand on your shoulder, "Could you actually help me pick out one? I really don't know what to get," he sighed softly, as if he was upset for not knowing.    "Sure," you nodded, "Um, well, what does your nephew like?"    "He likes cars, trains and  other things like that," he shrugged.    "Alright, then why don't you get him this?" you picked up a toy truck that helped with learning colors.    He smiled slightly and nodded, "Sure. Thank you for your help."    You smiled back, "Of course, it was my pleasure."    He then grabbed another toy, similar to the one you had picked, but this one helped with numbers.    Then you both made your way to the cash register. After getting there, you checked him out and handed him his bag, "Have a nice day," you gave him a smile.    He took the bag, returning the smile, "You too," he began to walk towards the door, but when he was halfway there, he stopped and turned around, walking back to the counter.    You were confused, so you raised a brow, "Is there something else I can help you with?" you asked kindly.    "Yeah, actually," he seemed nervous, "I didn't actually come all these times to find a good toy. I mean, the first time, that's why. I had trouble, but I didn't wanna ask for help and seem like I wasn't good with kids in front of such a beautiful woman. So, that day I left with no toy. The next time I showed up, I actually had done some research and decided on a toy to buy. The one you picked out, actually," he chuckled, "But I didn't buy it, because I thought you were really pretty, and if I bought it, I wouldn't have a reason to come and see you. So every time I came, I was just trying to work up the courage to talk to you."    You found the way he rambled on adorable, smiling softly as he explained. As he called you beautiful and pretty, a blush formed on your cheeks.    "Really? Y-you think I'm pretty?" you ask softly, your blush growing.    "Of course I do," he nodded, "That's why I kept coming. And that's also why I didn't wanna seem like I knew nothing about kids, because I know that women find it attractive when a guy is good with babies, or at least I think they do. And I am good with babies, I swear, I just, I wasn't sure about a toy."    "Well I'm glad you said something," you giggle, "Because I find you very handsome."    He seemed surprised, "Oh, well uh, in that case, would you like to go out some time? I know it's around the holidays, so you're probably busy, but whenever you're free, I'd love to take you on a date," he gave you a smile that melted your heart.    "I'd love to go out on a date with you...." you trailed off, realizing you didn't know his name.    He chuckled, "Tenya, Tenya Iida."    "Y/N L/N," you smiled and walked around the counter, "I actually have to lock up the store now, we technically closed like 15 minutes ago," you giggle softly.    His eyes went wide, "Wait, do you close at this time everyday?"    "Yep, sure do," you nodded.    "Oh my god, I've been staying past closing this whole time? I'm so sorry."    "It's fine, don't worry about it. I would've kicked you out if I didn't want you here. Anyways, after I close up, I'm completely free, so maybe if you're free, we could go out now," you suggest nervously.    "That sounds great, I've got no place to be," he smiled and nodded.    After getting your things and closing up, you met him outside. The two of you decided to just go and grab a coffee despite how late it was.  After getting your coffee, the two of you decided to just walk around town for a while. It was pretty peaceful, and the lights hung up throughout the city for Christmas were beautiful. While walking, he nervously grabbed your hand, interlacing your fingers. You didn't mind, you just smiled up at him.    It was a little past 10:30 when you found yourself at your doorstep, Tenya's hand still in yours.    "Well, I suppose this is where we part," he sighed softly.    "I guess so," you also let out a sigh.    You let go of his hand, the two of you facing each other, "So," you spoke awkwardly.    "So," he repeated.    After a moment of silence and just staring at each other, he cupped your cheek gently, "Can I kiss you, Y/N?" his voice was soft, clearly not wanting to make you feel pressured.    You smiled slightly and placed your hands on his chest, "Only if I get to kiss you back," you giggle, ignoring how awkward you sounded.    He chuckled and nodded, "Of course," he smiled before leaning in, connecting his lips with yours.    You let your eyes flutter closed, enjoying how soft his lips felt against yours. After a moment, his hand dropped from your cheek and landed on your hip, both of his hands now resting on your hips, pulling you closer to him.    The two of you only pulled away when you ran out of air, both of you panting softly, goofy smiles on your faces.    "What a way to end the night," he grinned and gave you another soft peck.    You thought for a second before speaking, "What if I don't want the night to end?"    He chuckled, "Then it doesn't have to. To be honest, I don't want it to end, either."    "Come inside?" you asked with a giggle.    He nodded and gave you yet another quick kiss. The two of you made your way inside, slipping off your shoes and putting your things down before moving to the couch to get comfy. You turned on the TV, not really knowing what else to do. About half way through the movie, he scooted closer until the two of you were cuddled up together. You smiled as he held you close. By the end credits, you were sitting in his lap, facing him, face shoved into his neck, practically clinging onto him.    He smiled and rubbed your back, "Yknow, Mj, you're adorable. Like the cutest woman I know."    "You think so?" you smiled and let out a soft giggle.    "I do think so," he nodded, "And you give very good hugs too," he gently kissed the side of your head, "And the way you cling onto me for cuddles is really cute too."    "Aww, gosh. You're killing me with the compliments here."    "There are worse ways to go," he chuckled.    You lifted your head from his neck to look at him, just taking in his looks, "You're so handsome."    He smiled and leaned in, giving you a soft kiss on the lips. After a moment, he pulled away.    "You're so beautiful," he mumbled against your lips before connecting the two of you again, giving you a sweet yet passionate kiss.    Of course, you kissed back, your hands moving to lace into his hair. His hands ran down your body to your hips, pulling you as close as he physically could.    It was as if the two of you couldn't get enough of one another, only pulling away occasionally to take breaths. After a few minutes of this, you pulled away, both of you panting softly.    Your hands made their way to the hem of his shirt, fingers running along the cloth. He seemed to get the hint after a moment.    "Do you want me to take it off?" he asked softly, clearly not wanting to make you feel pressured at all.    You simply nodded with a soft, "Please."    He chuckled softly and let go of your hips to take his shirt off, tossing it over the back of the couch before placing his hands back where they were beforehand.    As he exposed his torso, you would've sworn your jaw hit the floor as you drooled. In reality, there was no drool, but you wouldn't have been surprised if there was.    "Wow," you smiled and let your hands run up and down his toned body, "Handsome, kind, and a nice body? What did I do to deserve you?" you joked and leaned in, kissing him softly.    As you kissed him, your hands moved to grab his, leading them to the bottom of your shirt, hinting for him to take your shirt off as well. He smiled against your lips and pulled your shirt up, parting from your lips to pull it over your head.    After taking your shirt off, he tossed it over the back of the couch with his own. His hands fell back to your hips once again before sliding up and down your sides.    "You're absolutely gorgeous, love. So stunning," he spoke softly before leaning in and kissing along your jaw and neck.        You tilted your head to the side to allow him more access. Your hands went back to his hair, running your fingers through the soft, dark strands. He smiled against your skin, whispering soft praises as he left a trail off kisses down your neck, to the top of your chest, along the top line of your bra.    He let his eyes look up at you as he peppered your skin with kisses and spoke soft praises to you. Once he was happy with how many kisses he had given you, he smiled before speaking.    "Can I leave any marks?" his voice was soft.    The idea of him wanting to mark you made you smile, "Please do, I'd love that actually."    He smirked slightly, leaning in to press a few more soft kisses to the top of your chest before sucking a soft mark at the end of one of your collar bones.    You let out a contented sigh at the feeling of Iida marking you, your eyes fluttering closed.    After he was pleased with the mark, he pulled back, letting his tongue peek out to lick it softly before kissing it.    "W-Would you mind moving this to the bedroom?" your voice was soft, almost nervous of rejection.    "Not at all," he smirked and kissed you, "Where's the bedroom?" he chuckled.    "Down the hall, second door on the left," you instructed before kissing him again.   He kissed back, standing and holding you against him. The way he carried you with ease wasn't exactly surprising, but it reminded you how much stronger he was than you, which sent a chill down your spine.    After a moment, he pulled away so he could see what was in his way so he wouldn't manage to trip over anything as he carried you.    He got you two to the bedroom without tripping over something and gently laid you down on the bed, hovering over you and giving you a quick kiss before speaking.    "Are you sure you want this?" his voice was soft. It was clear that he wanted to make sure you were comfortable with everything before this went any further.    "I'm sure, Tenya," you nodded, "I want you."    That was all he needed to capture your lips in a passionate kiss, his hands resting on the bed on either side of your head to support himself.    As he kissed you, your hands slid down his torso, feeling the muscle just beneath his soft skin.    He pulled back from the kiss after a moment, kissing down your neck, right to your chest. His lips made a trail between your breasts, his eyes never leaving your face.    He left a few light marks as he kissed and nipped your skin before kissing his way back up. His hands found your hips and he looked toward your bra, "Can I take that off, darling?" he asked softly.    "Of course," you smiled, arching your back off the bed to make it easier for him to access the bra clasp.    He reached behind your back, unclipping your bra and sliding it off you. As your chest was revealed to him, he bit his lip, tossing the bra somewhere in the room.    "You're perfect," he mumbled out, leaning down once more and letting his lips wrap around one of your nipples, one of his hands moving to the opposite breast, kneading it gently in his palm. Just like a moment ago, his eyes never left yours as he played with your chest.    He continued to focus on your chest, switching between his mouth and hand, giving both breasts the same attention. After a few minutes of this, you couldn't take it anymore, the throbbing between your legs was getting to be too much.    "Tenya, please, I need more," you pleaded quietly.    "Tell me what you want, sweetheart," he smiled at you, a smile that was almost too innocent for the situation you were in.    "I just want you, I don't care how," you let your hands move to run through his hair.    His innocent smile turned into a smirk as he kissed his way down to your waistband, "Can I remove these?" he asked, his fingers slipping into the waistband.    "Please do," you nodded, lifting your hips, trying to get him to take your pants off faster.    In one swift movement, he had your pants and panties in a pile on the floor next to the bed. You hadn't been expecting him to take your panties off as well, and your legs automatically closed at the feeling of being exposed to him.    He placed soft kisses on your thighs, gently pushing them apart, "It's okay, love, let me see you. You're gorgeous," his voice was genuine, not a trace of teasing.    With the way he treated you, you couldn't help but listen, letting him spread your legs. His kisses moved to your inner thighs, kissing his way up to where he wanted to be.    He looked up to you as he let his tongue lick a flat stripe from your entrance to your clit. As you felt his tongue, you let out a moan, one hand moving you lace into his hair.    He smiled before letting his lips wrap around your clit, sucking gently. While his mouth was busy playing with your clit, one of his hands moved between your legs, teasing your entrance with two fingers.    Your hips rolled up, encouraging him to use push his fingers in. He seemed to understand what you wanted, and pushed his fingers in slowly, not wanting to go too fast and hurt you.    "God, yes," you moaned softly, the hand that wasn't in his hair moving to join the first, giving his hair a gentle tug. He let out a quiet moan as you did so, which caused vibrations against your clit.    Just as he moaned, he curled his fingers inside you, perfectly hitting your g-spot, causing you to let out a louder moan. A moment later, he began curling and uncurling his fingers at a fair pace, hitting your g-spot each and every time. It wasn't long before you felt a knot building up in your stomach.    "T-Tenya, don't stop, I'm close, oh my god," you managed to say between moans. You let your head fall back, eyes closing as you focused on how good his mouth and fingers felt.    He let out a soft hum to let you know he understood, and wasn't stopping anytime soon. He pushed his face farther between your thighs. Feeling your soft thighs on either side of his head had him going crazy, letting out soft moans against you.    It only took a few more curls of his fingers and some of his moans to send you over the edge, moaning his name, your back arching off the bed, and your fingers tightening your grip on his hair. He smiled against you as you came, helping you come down from your high. After you had calmed down, you pushed his face back slightly, your clit feeling oversensitive.    He pulled back as you pushed him, the lower half of his face wet with your arousal, his glasses crooked on his face. He gave you a charming smile before wiping his face with his hand and kissing his way up your body.    He was painfully hard at this point, but his first priority was making you feel amazing. As he hovered over you, you smiled up at him and took his glasses off, setting them to the side. You then let your hands slide to the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss.    He didn't hesitate to kiss back, smiling against your lips. He pulled away a moment later.   "I need you, Tenya," you said softly, biting your lip.   He got off of you, standing next to the bed and slipping off his pants and boxer briefs at the same time. As he revealed his naked body to you, you realized he was definitely the biggest you've ever had, but with how aroused you were, it would be no problem.    He was blushing as he spoke, "Do you have a condom by any chance? I don't usually carry one on me, because I never do this, really," he began to ramble awkwardly, which you found cute. You smiled and got off the bed, standing as well.    You moved to stand in front of him, hands resting on his chest, "Tenya, calm down," you gave him a gentle kiss, "It's fine, I think I have one in my night table." You then walked to the night table, and just as you had thought, there was one in there. But, as you looked closer, you realized it was definitely gonna be too small for him. It was still in your drawer from your last long term relationship, and that was at least three years back, which meant it also may have been expired.    You tossed the condom into the trash next to your bed, sighing, "Well, I guess I don't have a condom," you chuckled, going back to Iida, giving him a quick kiss, "What do you wanna do now?" If he was uncomfortable doing anything without a condom, you weren't going to push him, "If it makes a difference, I am on birth control, and I'm definitely clean."    He smiled, "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" he joked before giving you a soft kiss, walking you backwards towards the bed.    Once you got settled on the bed, your head on the pillows, he hovered over you, leaning on his elbows for support, giving you a gentle kiss before shifting his weight onto one elbow. Using the arm that he wasn't leaning on, he reached between you two, lining his tip up with your entrance.    "You ready, sweetheart?" he asked softly, wanting to make sure he wasn't pushing you at all.    You nodded, "More than ready," your hands rested on his shoulders.    That was all he needed to hear to push into you slowly, letting out a moan as he felt how tight you were around him. He stopped pushing forward once he was only about a quarter of the way in to let you adjust.    As he pushed in, your earlier thought of him being the biggest you'd ever had was confirmed. Your grip on his shoulder tightened, and your mouth fell open to let out a moan, "Oh god."    "Are you okay?" he asked softly, placing soft kisses on your neck to distract from the stretch you were feeling.    "I'm great. Keep going," you wrapped your legs around his waist, urging him to continue.    He nodded, pushing in farther, moaning as he did, but still kissing your neck gently. He went slowly, trying his best not to hurt you.    After a moment, he was completely inside you, and you were both panting softly and letting out soft moans. He stayed still to let you adjust, moving his kisses from your neck to your lips.    You kissed back, one of your hands sliding from his shoulder to the back of his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. You pulled back a second later, "You can move now. Please, baby," you said softly.    He nodded, pulling out slowly before thrusting back in and letting out a moan of your name. He began to develop a steady pace, and with each thrust, he hit all the right places, making you let out moans and whimpers of his name and curses.    Your hands slid down his back, nails gently digging into his skin. He didn't fail to notice you resisting the urge to scratch his back, and smiled.   "Go ahead, darling, you can scratch me," he encouraged softly, panting. His lips found your neck and  left a soft mark.    You didn't hesitate after he spoke, letting your nails rake up his back, moaning. He also let out a low moan as you did so.    "That's it. Good girl, just like that," he praised softly, moaning against your neck, "God, I'm getting close, sweetheart, I'm not going to last much longer."    "Me neither, baby," you moaned out, "Fuck, fuck I'm gonna cum, Tenya. Don't stop."    He nodded, his forehead dropping to rest against your shoulder.    It only took a few more thrusts for you to clench around him, cumming with a loud moan, "Oh my god, Tenya," you left a few more scratches on his back without even realizing it.    "Oh, I'm cumming, Y/N," he groaned against your skin as he came, filling you with his cum. After a moment, his hips stilled completely, "God, you're amazing," he gave your skin a few lazy kisses.    "You are too, Tenya," your hands ran along his back, feeling the marks you had left there.    He pulled out and flopped down next to you, pulling you into his side, smiling. Your head laid on his chest, "That was perfect," you said softly, still catching your breath.    You happened to see the time displayed on your alarm clock on the bedside table and let out a soft giggle. The clock read 12:02, "Well, merry Christmas Eve, Tenya," you smiled up at him.    "Merry Christmas Eve, Y/N," he chuckled. When his chuckles died down, he paused for a moment before speaking, "So, was this just a one time thing, or do you want us to be more than this?" he was scared that you would want it to be a one time thing.    "Tenya, I really, really like you. Of course I want us to be more than this," you smiled, moving up so you could give him a quick kiss on the lips.    He smiled and let out a happy sigh, "Good, I'm glad," he paused, "So, do you have any plans for Christmas Eve or Christmas?"   You shook your head, "Nope, I don't have anywhere to be. I was planning on just watching Christmas movies all day in my pajamas."    "Why don't you come with me for Christmas? I know that we literally just met, but I'd really like you to come. Plus, my family's been on my back to get a girlfriend for the past few years, and I most definitely want you to be my girlfriend," he chuckled, "Plus I wanna get to see you in cute Christmas pajamas," he joked.    "I'd love to," you smiled, giving him another quick kiss, "But we should get some sleep now, or else we aren't gonna wanna get up in the morning," you giggle softly, laying back down on his chest.    He let out a happy sigh and held you close, and that's how the two of you fell asleep.                                                        ---    The next day, the two of you arrived at Tenya's parents, and you met the family. They all loved you, especially Tenya's nephew. He was practically glued to you at all times. You didn't mind though, you found it adorable.    That evening, you all got Christmas pajamas, which you hadn't expected to get, but Tenya's mom still surprised you by having some for you. You thanked her and got changed. Tenya took his nephew into the other room to help him get changed, and change himself. He changed himself first, and when he took off his shirt, his nephew gasped.    "Uncle Tenya, did you get a cat?" he asked, clearly excited.    Tenya changed into the other shirt, now fully dressed in his pajamas, "No, why?"    His nephew shrugged, "You have scratches all over your back, so I thought it might be from a cat."    Iida laughed, helping his nephew to get changed before coming back out. Tenya sat on the couch, and you moved to sit on his lap.    "Well, apparently I got a cat," he joked.    You raised a brow, "Huh?"    "I got called out for the scratches on my back, and apparently they're from a cat," he chuckled.    You blushed, giggling softly before his nephew came over and plopped himself down on top of you and Tenya with a huge smile. He clung to you and you chuckled quietly, smiling at him. Tenya held you both with a warm smile, giving you a soft kiss on the cheek.    The next morning, Iida's nephew opened the gifts you and Tenya had picked out and absolutely loved both of them. As you laid your head on Tenya's shoulder, you thought about how you could definitely get used to Christmases like this. Little did you know, Tenya was thinking the exact same thing as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

~fin~ And there we go- I know it's not Christmas anymore, but I still have a whole fuckin list, so I'm still gonna complete them hopefully lmao

[thinkingimmensely]

No Expectations

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x Reader / MC [Jacob’s Sibling]

A/N: Hello everyone! I’m back with another x Charlie Weasley fic~ I found this a few days ago while I was going through my drafts and realized this was the prequel for After Breakfast. The story how Y/N and Charlie got together~ I forgot I even had this! So I decided to finish it (I was actually already halfway done with it before going on a hiatus), and now it’s here for you guys to read! <3 I hope you all like it because this was a lot of fun! 

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything in the Potterverse!

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The leaves crunched beneath your boots with every step you took as you neared a homely cottage; its roofs rigged, a few of the wall boards had scratches and smoke coming out of its chimney.

As you stood outside the door with your hand raised to knock on the entranceway, you thought if this really was a good idea.

It’s been a year.

A year since you last saw Charlie Weasley since the lot of you graduated from Hogwarts and he immediately whisked away to Romania to follow his dreams to be among dragons while you tried to get your life together. Gringotts offered you a job— cursebreaker. The very title that was practically engraved in you right now. The only upside was that you got to work beside Bill Weasley, Charlie’s older brother and one of your best friends.

You could’ve gotten any job you wanted, your Professors back at Hogwarts even said so, but something inside you yearned for the familiar, at least for that moment in your life.

The door opened even before you got the chance to knock and you were left stunned, your hand still raised.

Charlie Weasley still had that effect on you.

He looked quite shock too, but a huge smile instantly broke out when he realized it was you. “You’re here!” Did his voice always sound that deep?

You smiled back at him, and he pulled you in for a quick hug– nothing intimate at all, he still smells like grass and honeysuckle though.

When you two pulled apart he opened the door wider and motioned for you to come in; the cottage surely wasn’t as lively as The Burrow, but it still had a similar aura to it. He had the kettle brewing with chamomile– your favorite. Your heart leapt a little at such consideration as you placed your bag down beside the sofa.

“This place is nice.” You commented and removed your coat.

He shrugged, “Well yeah, it’s pretty neat; and no brothers who take my stuff without permission so...” he trailed off and took your coat from your hands and hung it by the door.

When he stopped, you looked at him and raised a brow; he was looking right back at you but realization dawned in his features and he quickly turned away and cleared his throat. “Um, tea?”

You beamed, “Yes please.” He immediately shuffled towards the kitchen area and turned the stove off. He whisked his wand towards the cupboard and the cups came floating towards the table, softly landing on tiny plates.

After a few minutes, the both of you sat around the small dinner table with a cup of hot tea steaming on your hands. You took a sip and savored the the hot drink. “So,” you started, “when are you showing me the dragons?”

He grinned at you at that, he always was excited to anything related to dragons. “Is tomorrow good? I wanted to show you the entire sanctuary! We can go first thing in the morning.”

You talked more freely afterwards, like you two haven’t ever been apart. You had asked him all that he’s been up to, if he made any new friends and such. He had, actually, his companions at the sanctuary were as much his friends than the lot of you had been at Hogwarts were.

You had soon relocated to the sofa at the living room where he told you stories of how he got Hagrid’s dragon Norberta out of Hogwarts; Liz, Barnaby, Tonks and Tulip had helped him with that and you wished you’d been there too; but you and Bill were probably stuck at a ruin somewhere in Egypt at that time.

“So what about you?” He asked.

You quirked a brow, “What about me?”

He nodded and unconsciously scooted a little closer to you. “What’s new with you, I mean. Tell me anything and everything.” He leaned forward, his undivided attention on you.

You thought about it. What was new with you? Your hairstyle may have changed, you grew a little taller before stopping altogether but you had an inkling he wasn’t interested in any of that. So you shrugged, “Nothing, I guess? I mean... I’m basically the same since I left. Curses and all that. I don’t have any interesting stories like you.”

Charlie scoffed and leaned back on the couch, his head craned to look up at the ceiling and you flushed as your eyes studied his features for the umpteenth time that day. “Everything about you is interesting to me, Y/N. Ever since Hogwarts, and it hasn’t changed since.”

He turned towards you with a look you had never seen his face before. A look you saw on Andre Egwu when you had asked him to the Celestial Ball, the look when Barnaby Lee told you he liked you very much, right in front of Ismelda Murke no less when the lass was professing her feelings for him, and also the look Talbott Winger gave you when the both of you went on your first date together. But never Charlie.

Never Charlie Weasley.

Charlie smiled sweetly then got off the couch telling you that he had to prepare for dinner.

Were your eyes playing tricks on you? Or were you just seeing what you wanted to see for the past three years when you guys walked the halls of Hogwarts together? Because why now? True, you hadn’t been obvious about your feelings for the redhead before, but were you that obvious right now?

Calm down, this was nothing. You chastised yourself mentally. Things were always easier when you had no expectations regarding the ginger. You’ve never had any expectations that he’d notice how your gaze always found him, how every time you’ve ever hugged him, your touch always lingered for more than necessary as a friend. How you were willing to run away with him that one time during 6th year. Just to get away from everything, just to be with him.

“You know,” he called out from the kitchen, bringing you out of your hung-up thoughts about him, “There’s a pub just below the mountain. We should go there after dinner. It’s a homey place, good for a drink.”

You stood up from the couch and leaned against the entranceway of the kitchen, “Charles Weasley, I didn’t know you drank.” You said.

He grinned and gave you a shrug. “Occasionally, and you being here is an occasion isn’t it?” He got the pot out of the stove and placed it down on the table. “I mean, it’s not everyday I could snatch you away from my brother’s side.” He laughed.

You chuckled and took a pair of plates and utensils from his cupboard and set it down the table. What’s Bill got to do with anything? You thought idly as you sat and the two of you started eating dinner.

Right after doing the dishes, the two of you began your journey down the mountain to that pub Charlie mentioned. At one time, you almost slipped, luckily he held your arm just in time. “Careful.” He muttered as you regained your balance. He held your hand the rest of the way down. ‘So you wouldn’t slip again’ he said, and you were thankful for the night because you literally could feel the blood rush to your face.

The pub was quaint, there weren’t a lot of people either. Only wizards and witches went here, Charlie informed you as you took your seats.

“Ey Charlie! Surprised to see you here mate.” One person called out as a group of people entered the pub.

The two of you turned and Charlie immediately got off his seat and clasped hands with the group, greeting them. They approached you, wide smiles on their faces, “Y/N, these are my mates back at the Sanctuary. Guys, this is Y/N, we went to Hogwarts together.”

You got off your seat as well and extended your hand, which they gladly shook one by one, and they all started talking at the same time.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Charlie told us a lot about you.”

“Did you know that he carries a picture of you around?”

“It’s true, takes it everywhere with ‘im.”

Charlie pushed them all away, “Okay boys, that’s enough, try not to overwhelm her will ya?” He laughed.

The waiter served your drinks, two glasses of butterbeer. “Sorry about them. They always tend to overshare.” Charlie apologized, his face was flushed which took you aback.

Charlie Weasley was blushing?

“It’s alright, they’re a fun bunch. Seems like good people too, I can see why you’re friends with them.” You replied in a smile, taking a sip of the froth of your butterbeer; it wasn’t like Madam Rosmerta’s butterbeer, but it was close. “You carry around a picture of me?” You asked.

He flushed a deeper shade of red and you thought that was absolutely adorable. He cleared his throat, gulping down his butterbeer. “I-um...” he stammered, “I’ll go order us another serving yea?” He stood up and headed to the counter, escaping you and your confused look as fast as he can.

Did he perhaps...? You shook your head in denial, no expectations, you reminded yourself, no expectations.

You couldn’t help the frown that made its way as you saw a woman approach Charlie, a smile on her face and her hand on his arm as she chatted him up.

She fluttered her long lashes at him and flipped her hair back suggestively. You gulped down your butterbeer and stood up and made your way towards them.

“Maybe you and I can grab a few drinks sometime?” The woman flashed him her white pearls.

Before Charlie could even reply, you arrived by his side and his attention shifted to you fully. “Sorry, but he’s busy.” You interjected and grabbed your friend and pulled him back to your table, missing the way he smiled brightly at you. You took the shot of firewhiskey from his hand and downed it.

“You okay?” He hesitantly asked, his brow arched in curiosity.

“Of course.” You immediately answered. No expectations, you reminded yourself for the umpteenth time that day.

Besides that minor incident with the random lady, the rest of the night was relatively enjoyable. You switched your butterbeer for firewhiskey after that shot and the two of you joined Charlie’s friends and had a blast time sharing grand adventures and embarrassing stories.

By the time the both of you arrived back at the cottage, you were hammered, giggling at every little thing.

You crashed in the sofa with Charlie, the wood crackling at the fireplace, you two were still talking, energy nearly spent as your voices softened and more sighs escaped your lips. You were distinctly aware how the both of you were closely huddled up on the sofa, and maybe if you didn’t have alcohol running through your veins right now, you would’ve been embarrassed and utterly self conscious.

You looked at Charlie to find him already staring at you silently. He reached out to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear and caressed your cheek lovingly.

“You’re beautiful.”

Your eyes widened and you could feel your heart hammering wildly against your chest. You gulped and wet your lips, an action that made him look down to it, and making his eyes glaze with an emotion you dared not even think about.

You took his hand in yours, “You’re much of a looker yourself.” You tried to pass it off as a joke, a compliment from one friend to another, but your voice wavered and you prayed he didn’t notice.

He grasped your hand tightly, you hoped he couldn’t hear your heart beat because it would be a dead giveaway of your outpouring feelings right now. He kissed the back your hand, and then slowly leaned in towards you.

Closing your eyes, you felt his lips press against yours soon after and you thought your heart might give out because this was everything.

You kissed him back almost immediately and he pulled you closer towards him, his hand behind your head while his other hand rested on your waist.

Your fingers ran through his soft locks as Charlie slipped his tongue inside yours, deepening the kiss and you barely register the fact that you were already leaning down on the sofa, the man of your dreams on top of you.

The kiss was intoxicating and you couldn’t get enough of him. Of his taste, of his smell, of his entire being and you would’ve been alright with the fact that his hand played with the hem of your sweater, itching to touch your skin until a dragon’s roar vibrated the entire house.

It was like you’ve been dumped with a bucket of ice cold water as you pushed him away from you. Trying to catch your breath, surprise and realization dawning on you on what was just about to happen had you not come to your senses.

“You’re drunk.” You stated with a shaky voice. “Hell, maybe I’m drunk too.” You mind was reeling as you ran a hand through your hair, frustrated at yourself, whatever happened to no expectations?

“I’m sober enough to know what I was doing.” He breathed, and that confession ignited that little ray of hope inside you. He didn’t try to close the distance between you right now, which you were thankful for. He always was considerate, and that made you fall a little harder.

You wrapped your arms around yourself, you could feel your eyes water because you loved Charlie Weasley. Loved him so much that it hurt. “What are we doing, Charlie?” That wasn’t what you wanted to ask him, but somehow you just couldn’t get the right words out.

Charlie faced you, and took your hands in his again; you didn’t even try to pull away and maybe that’s what fueled the determined look in his eye. You were there, sitting across him, with your heart on your sleeves, waiting for him to say something, anything.  

“I-“ he started, and took a deep, steadying breath, “I’m in love with you.”

———————————————

Related Stories: After Breakfast | Before Dinner

Permanent Taglist:

@oreofrappiewithblueberry , @coffeeismylife28

[feverinfeveroutfic]

chapter eighteen: narcissus staring at his reflection

Another few weeks and another few weeks worth of having her ears blown out by the sheer amount of shows that took place before her, and Sam truly felt herself to be part of the music world as well as the art world. Every night, all the way until the final date in San Antonio, about a week before they had to prepare for the flight up to Oulu, in Finland, Charlie asked her to make a little sketch for him before he went up to the stage as sort of a good luck charm. He lent her a little blank notepad which he had found from the glove box in Anthrax's van, and he always made it specific, as well: they had to be in a sketchy style with strictly a black ink pen.

“Why exactly that?” she asked him one evening while the Cherry Suicides were setting up for their opening gig, and he gestured for her to move in closer to him.

“A little bird told me that Louie got one before I did,” he replied in a low voice.

“Zelda!” she hissed.

“Nah, not Zelda,” he assured her. “I did see it in the front window of Testament's van, though.”

“Oh, I see. Propped it up within their sight so everyone could see it.”

“Exactly! I'll get you more paper, too.”

“Yeah, I'm kind of starting to run low on this notebook paper, if I'm honest.”

But nevertheless, she sprung right to it: a little scratchy drawing of Charlie upon the lined paper, complete with the black curls all around his head. Sometimes, she drew a little drum kit before him to make it look as though it was in fact Charlie there: this was one of those times. Within a few minutes flat, she finished it and signed her initials at the bottom of the page, and then she handed it to him for good luck.

“You ought to compile all of those together in a collection of sorts,” she suggested.

“Like a little book!” He then snapped his fingers; from underneath his bangs, Sam made out the twinkle in his dark eyes. “There's an idea for you.”

“An art book?”

“Yeah! Something to do some day when you're out of school and you've made it big at some point.” He flicked his bangs back and he flashed her a little wink.

“Not soon? While you guys are over in Scandinavia with the girls and with Metal Church?”

“Nah, it'll take too much of your time, if I'm honest. Even I can tell you that. By the way—you heard this from me—” He glanced around him before he returned to her. “—we're gonna be with Ozzy, too.”

“No way!” Her face lit up at the sound of that.

“Yes way! But—” He leaned in closer to her again and he lowered his voice a bit. “—please don't tell Zelda, though. Scott and I want it to be a surprise for her. We got her and Minerva both into Ozzy and Randy Rhoads shortly after the announcement was made that we would be going to Finland. As far as the two of them know, it's just gonna be us with them and Metal Church.”

“Okay—” Sam was cut off by Frank and Dan skirting past her with their guitars in hand. She then glanced down at the notepad in her hands: two pages left, and of course not nearly enough to tithe her over until they left for England at the end of August.

“Also, Zelda wants to talk to you,” Charlie picked up again, that time with a slight clearing of his throat.

“About what?” she asked him.

He shook his head. “Dunno,” he confessed. “She just told me earlier over breakfast that she wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Well, where is she?” Sam wondered about that especially since she had bunked with the Cherry Suicides every night on this stint of the tour. She could have easily spoken to her about it at some point during one of those nights.

“She and Morgan are both signing autographs right now, believe it or not. I guess those girls are getting quite the fan base now. You know it's only a matter of time before they go Testament's route and start their own fan club. Morgan and I were talking about that just this morning over breakfast and I was like 'yes! You totally should at some point. Eric'll probably help you out with that, too, because he's the driving force behind that.'”

“What they get for thrashing all around,” Sam chuckled.

“Right! In fact, I've been seeing a lot more women in our crowds now because of them. Definitely more of the punky type of women given their music—lots of dyed mohawks and black leather and studs, but women nonetheless. From a mile away, I can tell they're all women. Not only do I have to owe it to the four of them, but I want to hand it to you and—” He cleared his throat. “—Marla and Belinda especially. Our first real big female fans.” Without a moment's hesitation, he put his arms around her and Sam returned the favor.

She then tucked the notepad into her pocket and before she could step away, Charlie spoke again.

“Did—Marla move into her new place by chance? I know it's been a while. I'm just—you know, just kinda curious.”

“I think she did?” Sam recalled: every night seemed to melt into itself, despite the new surroundings each and every time. “I'll have to ask her when I see her tonight, because I'm not too sure if I'm honest. I called her from the room last night and she told me that she's waiting for a direct deposit from me. And I promised her I'll get it once you guys run off to Finland, 'cause that's when I get the money from Jon.”

“I see. You know, I, um—” He cleared his throat again. “I still think about her from time to time.”

Sam squinted her eyes at him, and she flashed back on the night in which Marla came with her and Joey to her parents' house.

“She told me—you guys broke up because you have feelings about someone else.”

“And I do,” he answered, frank.

“Do you mind me asking?” She lowered her voice enough to where only he could hear her over the commotion around them. He nibbled on his bottom lip and he gazed off to the side.

“I won't tell anyone,” she vowed. “I promise. I'm not like Belinda—I'll keep a secret.”

He chuckled at that, but then his expression turned serious once again.

“Rosita,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He nodded at her. “She's just—she's a babe. She rocks, too. Just the way she plays bass, man, it just—it kind of reminds me of the way Frankie plays bass and the way Cliff used to play bass, too.”

Her heart skpped a few beats at the sound of Cliff's name.

“Real friendly and just—” He shook his head again. “I've tried to ask her out but I just never got the courage to do so yet.”

“You ought to,” Sam told him. “Cliff did and we just clicked from that point on. For all you know, she might be the one for you.”

Charlie sighed through his nose and he nibbled on his bottom lip again.

“It's a long flight up to Helsinki from here,” he said. “That's a long time to think of the right words. I just don't really like being put on the spot like that. When I asked Marla out, she and I were all alone. It's just—finding that solitary moment, you know?”

“Yeah. 'Cause we're surrounded by people constantly.”

“Right. Exactly, yeah! I can always pull her aside—like when people are getting off of the plane. I'll ask her right there.”

“You should.”

“I don't wanna make any promises, though, 'cause something always come up. Things always come up, especially while on tour.”

“Right...”

“But I'll give it a shot, though,” he told her. “That's the only promise I can genuinely make is that.” He sighed through his nose and he glanced down to his hands. “And thank you for this, by the way.” He flashed the little sketch to her.

“Just—an artist to another artist.”

“Exactly!” Charlie peered over his shoulder to the other side of the room to the front doors and he knitted his eyebrows together. “Time is it?”

“I think it's almost noon?”

“I think Zelda might be on break. Why don't you go talk to her?”

Sam then nodded her head and once she tucked the notepad into her purse, she ambled over to the stairs at the edge of the stage; she padded across the narrow strip of carpet before the stage and then she made her way up one of the two aisles that split the rows of seats into neat thirds. She reached the double doors at the top there and she pushed open the one on the right: indeed, right in the front lobby of the theater was Zelda and Morgan seated at a low white table with felt tip pens in hand. The former had combed her back into a slick pompadour upon her head while the latter had on a bright red cowgirl hat and red lace gloves on her hands, complete with a red and black lace brassiere under a red lace bolero.

Zelda then turned her head and her face lit up at the sight of Sam.

“Hey, there she is!” she declared. “We were just discussing special outfits for tonight's show, given we're in Texas and whatnot.”

“Kinda makes me wish I had my black hat with me,” Sam confessed with a pat of her own head.

“We could be dead cowgirls,” Morgan said with a smirk on her face. “With nooses around our necks and splatters all over our hats.”

“Dead punk cowgirls,” Zelda corrected her with a nod. She then returned to Sam. “So what's up?”

“You wanted to talk to me about something?”

She hesitated and then she gasped and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, that!” Her expression then turned serious. “Been meaning to tell you this for a couple of days now, and it just keeps slipping from memory. Just because I have other, important things to worry about and remember.”

Sam lingered next to her, and the edge of the table.

“Another reason to be nicer to Alex the next time you see him,” Zelda started again as she held the pen in between two fingers.

“What's that?” Sam asked her, and she hesitated once more.

“Do you ever notice how bullies tend to travel in packs,” she pointed out, and Sam stopped right in her tracks.

“What do you mean?”

“They travel in packs and the ones getting picked on are usually solitary.” She turned to Morgan. “Wouldn't you agree, Mo? That bullies travel in packs and their prey often stands alone?”

“Oh, yeah. And it's always a sign of vulnerability, too. They won't admit it, though. But why do you think—cowgirls—punks—metalheads—all travel in packs? Same mindset. Bullies have a similar mindset, but they refuse to admit it.”

Sam frowned at that as Zelda returned her attention to her.

“They travel in packs because they know they're weak on their own. So—my suggestion, Sam.” Zelda twirled the pen in between her fingers. “The next time you see him, like when we're out in California when we get home from Finland—talk to him. And really talk to him, too. That boy deserves it. He just looks—lonely to me. I don't really know his full story, other than what Louie, Zetro, and Greg have all told me about him, but I feel like he's an easy target. So—the little blow up you guys had makes me wonder if he sees you in a shitty light, and I know you're not like that at all. But he needs to know that. He needs to know that you're of good stature. I know it's gonna be hard, given he's so hard himself but—he's still just a young buck, though. We've met a few teenagers signing autographs in here—and it's just so cool to see. These young girls—a lot of boys, too—”

“The girls come for the music, the boys come for something else,” Morgan joked.

“Right!” Zelda burst out laughing, and then she straightened herself out. “But—we've been seeing these kids coming through here in Texas—and there were those kids in Portland, too. And I think it was that bunch—in Tacoma and also in Portland, that got me thinking about Alex again, because he's still just a kid and we haven't seen him in a few weeks 'cause they're with Overkill right now. And I just think—he's legally an adult, but he's still just a boy, though. So—try to talk to him if you can. Let him know that he belongs with the whole gang and everything.”

“It's a little bit hard for us,” Morgan filled in, “because we're punks. We're a punk band. A punk band opening for a metal band, so it just feels a little weird with us and whatnot.”

“But we think that,” Zelda continued, “—since you and him actually have a little bit of history with Cliff especially—you could do it better with him than any of us can.”

“Why us, though? Don't you think one of the guys from Testament could try and talk with him?”

“Because they're dudes,” Zelda replied with a flutter of her eyelashes, “they're not good with feelings like us. I actually tried doing that with Louie once and he was struggling with it, I could tell. One of the things that drove me nuts about him was how it almost felt like I couldn't talk to him about anything on an emotional level.”

Sam thought about that night in Boston, where Louie confessed that Zelda was his affair, and she tightened her lips at the very thought of that. Yet another secret to keep under wraps.

“Anyways—if you could do that, he could probably be a little more—present, I'd say? I was actually talking to Louie just last night and I guess they've been struggling lately.”

“Why's that?” Sam asked her.

“I guess they've been kicking serious ass with the music lately but—they're sorta lacking with the presence. Alex moves around a little bit but he's like stilted, though.”

“They're getting accused of being too much like Metallica, too,” Morgan added.

“Yeah, that's another thing! Chuck apparently sounds way too much like James which is horse shit to me. There's a little parallel there given they're all from the San Francisco Bay Area, but I don't really see it to be honest.”

A knock on the glass door to up the lobby from them caught their attention. Sam recognized that head of fiery red hair in the midday sun outside as she peered in through the smoked glass pane. Fiery dyed red hair coupled with large brown sunglasses, a white camisole over a matching long skirt, and a big shabby hand bag.

“Hey, it's Marla!” Sam called out; she padded over to the doors but before she reached Marla there, she returned to Zelda and wagged a finger at her.

“I'll remember that,” she vowed, and Zelda nodded her head at her. Sam then opened the door and she was greeted by a blast of hot humid air in stark contrast to the air conditioner around her.

“Hey, you!” Marla greeted her and she stepped inside the lobby and shut the door behind her.

“I was wondering when you'd get here,” Sam replied and they embraced one another.

“So Bel and Aurora helped me move my things into the new place in Hell's Kitchen,” Marla started again as she took off her sunglasses, “I just need the other side of the first month's rent and the deposit, too.”

“Well, this is the last date of the tour before they—” Sam gestured back to Zelda and Morgan at the table. “—head up to Helsinki next week. That's when I get paid.”

“Okay, good!” Marla then reached into her hand bag for something and she took out her big Polaroid camera.

“Hey, I remember that.”

“Oh, yeah, we got together at L'Amour—many moons ago, and you made that drawing of me and Charlie. And you used that Polaroid, too. I decided, eh, why not have it again?”

She turned back to Sam again.

“You wanna get something to drink? I'm like dying of thirst right now.”

“I'd love to.”

“You ladies wanna join us?” Marla called to Zelda and Morgan.

“We're shooting the rock star bullshit and signing autographs,” Zelda replied. “We should be seeing more people coming through here in about ten minutes.”

“Yeah, I saw a bunch of people standing out in the shade around the corner here. I thought maybe they showed up early for will call.”

“Nah, it's for them,” Sam told her. “They're actually starting to make serious headway in the music world now.”

“Right on! Anyways, there's a juice bar right up the street here. We can sit in the shade, too, and I just heard that we're not too far from the River Walk and the Alamo, either.”

“So you can literally call me Sam Houston now!”

Zelda and Morgan laughed out loud at that.

“Right!” Marla chuckled. “But anyways, it's actually not bad out—it's just the sun is hotter than holy fuck is all.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sam returned to Zelda and Morgan. “I'll see you girls later—”

The two of them stepped outside to the sun as it hung high in the clear blue sky over their heads. Indeed, it wasn't that hot out, but the contrast of the air conditioner and the sunlight on their heads and the sidewalk around them made Sam wish for one of those large oak trees to cover their heads all the way up the block to the corner.

“So we've got a nice view of the water,” Marla told her.

“And it's close to school, too, I remember you telling me that.”

“Yeah, it is! No more taking the stinkin' subways so much. And by the way, Bel told me to tell you that, yes—we will help you. We kinda have to help you.”

“I moved cross country,” Sam recalled, “with the help of my parents, and almost by sheer luck, I met Frankie and Joey, but yeah—I could definitely use a little help.”

They reached the juice bar in question and Sam took to the table right before the front door, right underneath an oak tree and a pair of short stubby palmetto trees, and she set her purse down before her. Marla offered to buy up for her given she hadn't a lot of money on her at the moment.

“I'm just gonna use the bathroom real quick, though,” she told her as she set her purse down on the table before her. Sam nodded her head as she watched Marla head inside of there: that cherry red hair as bright as the very sun itself. Sam gave her hair a toss back and a light breeze came up from behind her. Still not enough to beat the intense summer sun, and she reached into her purse for a ponytail holder.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something by the corner to her left. As she tied up her hair, she looked over and spotted Joey at the corner of the building. He was looking at something, but she couldn't tell as to what he looked at there.

She set her hands down on her lap and she watched him. He stood before the glass and he leaned back a bit. He was looking at his own reflection.

She had an idea.

That in and of itself could act as her newest painting, and she would put more thought into it this time around. She knew he would move at some point. He turned his back to her right then. She had nothing with her but the little notepad and the ink pen in her purse.

But then again, Marla's camera stood right there on the table next to her. Without a second thought, she picked up the camera and she pointed it in Joey's direction. All the times she thought of making a stained glass window about his likeness.

Slim and delicate, almost elegant in fact. The black curls sprawled down his back towards his thin waist. The white shirt he wore only accentuated the thinness of his body and the richness of his curls.

She took out the camera and she took the cover off of the lens. She peered in through the aperture and there he was, right within her line of sight.

“C'mon, Joey, turn to the side again,” she muttered to herself; she rested her finger on the bottom on top. For a second, she felt like a genuine photographer. “The other side. C'mon, Marla's gonna be back soon.”

Like magic, he turned to the right side. She pressed the button and the flash dissipated with the midday sun so he couldn't see it. The camera spat out the Polaroid and she took it before anyone could see it for themselves. She waved it about so the ink would settle in on the paper.

His slim body was as flat as a washboard, and his curls sprawled down towards his waist like tentacles. He had slightly bent his legs at the knees all the while, but she knew she had the perfect subject to work with no one was looking. The decision now was between acrylic paints on canvas once again, or to go forth with the stained glass idea. If she carried out the latter, she would have to take a better shot of him, or he would have to sit still for her again, and she had no idea as to when he would do that again for her.

But she chuckled to herself as she looked on at the photograph in hand. She glanced up and she recognized Marla's head of cherry red hair on the other side of the glass, thus she quickly slipped the camera back into Marla's hand bag and she stashed the Polaroid into her own. Joey then strode away from the glass reflection and towards the front door of the juice bar for himself.

Some day, she would carry out that stained glass idea with him. It was a matter of when and how. Add to this, as she peered into her purse once again, she spotted that little plastic bag at the bottom there. A little more inspiration was all she needed, courtesy of Joey himself. But she had no lighter to do that just yet.

She took another glimpse up to the front door of the bar, and Joey had made his way inside; Marla then doubled back outside, right past him and towards the table once again. She squinted her eyes against the hot summer sun.

“So they've got all manner of smoothies and good stuff for us.”

“I'll take blueberry if they have it,” Sam told her.

“The special for today is blueberry pomegranate.”

“I'll have that then!”

Marla opened her bag for her wallet and frowned at what she saw before her.

“What happened here?” she wondered aloud.

“What do you mean?”

She picked up her camera and she delved about the bottom of the hand bag for something.

“The cover came off of the lens.” And Sam shook her head at that given she merely tossed the lid in there. Marla stuck the cover back on and then she returned for her wallet.

“It is getting kind of long in tooth, though. I've had it a long time... anyways, I'll be right back. And Joey's in there, by the way!”

“Oh, boy!” Sam felt her face grow warm at the sound of that, and Marla returned to the front door once again. The sight of Marla putting the cover back onto the lens made her think of Zelda's words to her. She could keep a secret, and yet she needed to heed by that promise as well. She reached into her purse again, and that time for the notepad and the pen.

The last night of the North American stint for the time being and she could fill in the next two pages there with some other things. She lifted the penultimate page and then she set the pad down on the table before her.

“'Talk to Alex,'” she muttered to herself as she wrote the words down on that final page of the notepad. Now she had something else to live to, especially since Marla knew nothing about what had happened that morning in her own city.

[totallyrhettro]

Blacklight

Word Count: 2296 Rating: PG Warnings: Implied activities Summary: After pulling a harmless prank, Chase learns more about his bosses than he every wanted to know. Notes: Present day, Rhett and Link aren’t married, Chase POV

Three days. Three long days. That was how long they’d been filming this new music video. Rhett, Link, and many of the crewmembers had been all working their butts off to finish this video and tensions were running high. The room they were working in was almost completely dark during shots, with glow-in-the-dark paint splattered over the walls, floor, props, and even on Rhett and Link themselves.

“It reminds me of ‘So Dang Dark,’” Link commented between takes. Rhett nodded in agreement. The set from the first music video of their Buddy System series was very similar. 

“Only we were wearing less clothes then,” he noted with a smirk, holding up his costumes’ head. It was a cross between a wolf and a bear, plus horns. Link had a similar mask to wear and both of them looked like something out of a kid’s nightmare. In ‘So Dang Dark’ they had been wearing what amounted to modified underwear and their bodies had been painted in orange and green stripes. Sometimes even they didn’t know where they got their weird ideas.

“Okay, guys,” Stevie was saying, coming up to the two of them. “I think that’s a wrap. We got everything we need.” A cheer went up in the crew from all corners of the large room, excited and gleeful. Rhett and Link smiled, happy along with them, and pleased with what they had accomplished over the last few days.

“Great, I’m going to take a shower,” Link told her, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“I got next,” Rhett chimed in, quick to follow his lifelong friend out of the room. While the bosses meandered off to get themselves clean, the crew set about cleaning up the room. It had been a hard three days and they were all eager to be finished but there was one last thing they had to do: the after party. It was to be hosted in this very room and they had to get rid of the props and paint first.

Once they finished cleaning they started getting ready for the party. They left on the lights from the shoot; the multicolored spectrum giving the place a wonderful glow. The blacklights were turned off, however, as all the paint that would glow under it had been washed away. A long table for snacks was set up on the far end and a large stereo was wheeled in for music. Everything else was to be put in storage, including the tubes of glow paint; under normal light the paint was invisible but it would glow green under blacklight. It had a neat effect and they had used quite a bit for the music video.

Chase was just packing up the tubes of glow paint when he had a sudden thought. It was silly, it was devious, and his prankster side loved it. After checking if anyone was looking, he quickly tucked the small tube into his pocket for later. Then, very nonchalantly, he continued working. The rest of his plan would have to wait until later. 

Soon enough the party room had been set up and the rest of the crew was already starting to gather around the snack table. There was still no sign of their bosses, Rhett and Link, in the party room or their office and it was to the ladder that Chase went. Checking and double checking that the loft was empty, he crept in and headed straight for Rhett’s desk. Pulling open one drawer, than another he rapidly found Rhett’s stash of lip balm (wondrously wild wood ‘n berries) and a wicked grin came over his face.

Taking the tube of glow paint he had taken earlier, twisting open the cap, he picked up one of the lip balms and speared a very small drop onto the side. With his finger he smoothed the drop over until it covered the entire tube in an almost indistinguishable layer of the invisible liquid. When he was done even he could barely tell he had done anything at all. Putting back the balm he immediately moved onto the second and a third until every single tube had been laced with the paint.

Once he was finished, and all the lip balm was placed back exactly where they had been before, Chase closed the drawer and stuffed the leftover paint tube back into his pocket. The deed was done and all that was left was to get out before anyone caught-

“Hey, Chase,” came Rhett’s charming and melodic voice. Chase turned on the spot to see one of his bosses leaning on the doorframe, looking a bit smug and very curious as to what his employee was doing here. “What’s up?” He didn’t look mad in the slightest, with a bearded grin and raised eyebrow, but Chase couldn’t help but immediately feel guilty. After all, he was guilty.

“I, uh, just looking for a-” ‘Think fast!’ “Pen.” Not the best excuse but it was all he could think of.

“For what?” came the obvious response.

“To… leave you a message.” ‘Good answer.’ Not good enough.

“Well,” Rhett chirped, stepping into the room with slow but long strides. “Now you don’t have to. You can just give me the message in person.”

“Right, yeah,” Chase agreed with a nervous smile. There was a short pause filled with awkward silence before Rhett shook his head.

“Well?” he pressed. “What’s the message?”

“Ah, right. Um, the… party’s getting started?” It was a lame answer, but the best he could think of. Rhett didn’t exactly buy it but he was in too good a mood to second guess it right now. Chuckling more to himself than at Chase, Rhett waved it off.

“Okay. I’ll meet you guys down there in a minute.” He strode past Chase to his desk and opened the middle drawer. “I just came in here to grab something.” Chase held his breath, watching as Rhett picked up one of his lip balms and popped off the cap. With practiced ease he spread the balm over his lips before putting it in the front pocket of his jeans as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He gave Chase one last smile before heading out. It wasn’t until he was gone that Chase could finally breathe again.

Everything was fine. Everything had gone completely according to the plan.

He held back his celebrations for now but he couldn’t help but grin like an idiot that things had gone so well. Any minute now Rhett would touch his own hair, beard or shirt, and there would be invisible glowing paint all over him, just waiting for a blacklight to show it off. It was a silly prank, but harmless, and that was the kind that Chase liked best. 

Scurrying back to the party room, he waited near the light controls for the final part of his plan. Everyone else was already there, hanging out, chatting away and eating snacks. They’d even started up the music and it was blaring through the stereo. There was talk of karaoke later but Chase didn’t pay close attention. He was waiting for Rhett.

Five minutes went by. Ten. Twenty. Finally after twenty five minutes Rhett strolled into the room, Link close behind. Their eyes lit up at the sight of what the crew had managed to cobble together for the party and immediately began to mingle with everyone. Rhett went straight for the snacks, of course, while Link went to see what tunes were available for the karaoke. Chase waited until his boss was close to the blacklight before making his move. 

His hands were quick, his movements precise. With one flick he turned off all the lights in the room. With no windows to the outside world, the entire space was instantly plunged into total darkness. Then, at nearly the same time, he turned on the blacklight that stood just a few feet away from Rhett. Turning his head he eagerly hoped to see the results of his handy work.

Just a few seconds later, he hastily turned the house lights back on and the blacklight off. His jaw was still set firmly on the floor. Everyone was trying to get their bearings, frantically talking as they tried to figure out why the lights had gone out for a second. Chase, of course, was right next to the switches and several people turned to see if he had done it and why he had done it. Picking up his jaw and blushing furiously, Chase profusely apologized to everyone, fiening his clumsiness and telling them he had bumped the switch by accident. A few people were skeptical but no one questioned it. They just resumed their fun and conversations while Chase dashed from the room, unnoticed.

He was still reeling from what he had seen when the lights had gone out.

The glow paint had worked alright, wonderfully in fact. There were streaks of the green illumination in Rhett’s hair, specks on his beard and all over his fingers- but that was not all. Link, who had been standing right next to Rhett, was also marked. Green on his shoulders, green on his arms, green all over his head and hair.  Lines of green all the way down to his waist and smudges of green at his zipper. 

Oh gosh, so much green on his pants.

Chase tried to blink the memory away, to reassemble what he had seen into a reality he could comprehend, but every time he closed his eyes he saw those tell-tale green marks just the same. All over Rhett. All over Link. The implications were intense, to say the least, and his mind just couldn’t handle it. Surely this couldn’t mean-

Maybe Rhett let Link borrow his lip balm? Maybe. Maybe. Still, that couldn’t have accounted for that much green, could it? All over his arms, his shirt, his pants. It was barely any on Rhett and Chase knew for certain his boss had used the tainted lip balm. No, there was only one explanation that, despite the connotations, could even begin to explain those marks. 

They could only have been put there by Rhett.

Had anyone else seen it? The lights were only out for a few seconds and Chase had already been looking at Rhett when he turned the black lights on. He hadn’t heard a single gasp of shock, or any murmurs about Rhett or Link’s clothing. Maybe he had been the only person to see the green on their bodies, or at least understood how they got there. Chase wished he didn’t understand how they had gotten there. He really wished he was still ignorant but he had seen the evidence and now… Now he could never look at his bosses the same way again.

How could he even look them in the eyes, knowing what they had done? Plus it had to have happened somewhere in the building. At the thought Chase’s mind immediately began to run through all the rooms it could have happened in. The loft, their dressing room, the recording studio? Which room would was now tainted by the libidinous activities of the two men he thought were just friends? The more he thought about it, the more he shuddered.

It wasn’t that he was upset that Rhett and Link were having what appeared to be a physical relationship. He was fine with that, if very surprised. It was the fact they had been hiding it from everyone for who knows how long and (apparently) having their relations in the very place their employees worked nearly every day. Chase really didn’t want to think about Rhett or Link naked in the spaces he worked, the places he ate, let alone doing anything else in those places.

Chase took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of the wild and lurid scenes that his imagination was currently conjuring. Instead he tried to focus on how happy he was that his bosses, who have obviously been in love with each other for like, always, had finally realized it. He was happy for them, honest and truly, and he was just about ready to relax and rejoin the party when Link came around the corner and found him.

“Hey, Chase,” he began, kind and worried. “What’re you doing out here?” It was very nice of his boss to come and check on him, but Chase immediately remembered why he had come running out of the party room in the first place. He focused his eyes at Link’s face, trying very hard not to look anywhere else, trying not to picture the green paint that covered the man’s shirt and pants, but he could still envision the green on his face and in his hair even though it was all totally invisible right now.

“Just… needed some air,” he explained, feeling very embarrassed and still picturing the green. ‘Did Rhett just grab fistfulls of hair to get that much paint in it?’

“Alright, well… look- no one’s mad about the lights. You just scared us, is all.” He patted Chase’s shoulder reassuringly before heading back towards the party. Without thinking Chase let his eyes look over Link’s backside. Not because he was really into his bosses’ ass but because he couldn’t help but wonder how much paint was there that he just couldn’t see. He immediately shook the burgeoning thoughts from his head and looked away. Leaning against a wall he sighed to himself. Now that he knew, he wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to work here without getting distracted. Even worse, he wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to keep this a secret from everyone.

Especially Rhett and Link.

~

More Fics

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Tales to Tell

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

Ah, a longer one. Perhaps not necessarily in word count, but in how much stuff happens. The boys have an encounter with some, shall we say, new magic. And meanwhile, it seems the two halves are having problems of their own. I actually was really glad that I was able to get out a longer story like this, given how I’ve been a bit busy recently. It was fun, too. Enjoy :3

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One | Season Two

Previous Season Three story: Torn Apart

Taglist (finally): @bupine​ @violet--majesty

It was 6:45 am, and Chase had been awake for three hours. He’d been staring up at the ceiling the whole time, listening to the sound of JJ’s slight snores as he tried to get his mind to shut off. Of course, eventually, it was a lost cause, and sat up, looking around the dark room.

He’d been sharing the guest bedroom with JJ and Jack, usually spending the night on the spare air mattress with a sleeping bag. Though it appeared he’d fallen asleep on the actual bed this time. JJ had fallen asleep on the mattress instead, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. Chase couldn’t help but feel guilt curl in his stomach. Standing up, he grabbed his cap, adjusted his bandanna, which he’d apparently fallen asleep in, and quietly slipped out.

Stacy was in the kitchen (also dark, perhaps there was an issue with the power,) shoving the last dregs of cereal into her mouth. She paused for a moment, glancing towards Chase as he entered, then continued. “Uh...hey,” Chase muttered.

“Hey,” Stacy replied. She was wearing her work uniform, the simple skirt and apron that designated her as a waitress at the Dish and Glass diner. “So I have to leave literally right now.”

“Okay.”

“You remember how you promised we’d talk about everything going on with you once I got home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And also the power’s gone out. I think it must be a problem with the city grid, cause I looked at the fuse box and it seems alright.”

“Okay.”

“...okay, then.” Stacy finished off the cereal, dropping the spoon with a clatter. She stood up, grabbing her purse and jacket from the nearby chair. Chase followed her as she went into the living room and opened the front door. Before she left, Stacy hesitated, and looked back. “You’re not...thinking about doing anything...?” She trailed off.

“Anything what?” Chase asked.

Stacy shrugged. The motion, usually so blunt and casual, seemed more hesitant than usual. “I don’t know. Just...” She sighed. “I hate to bring up old wounds, you know, but...after everything happened, with us, you just sort of...and then...never mind. Just don’t do anything...you shouldn’t.”

Chase nodded slowly. There was a small ache in his chest. “I’m not...being serious about doing anything...I shouldn’t.”

“Um...good.” Stacy nodded. "I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“See you.”

After Stacy left, Chase walked over to the nearest armchair and sat down hard. A few minutes passed. And suddenly, he laughed. “Perfect, now I’m staring at the living room ceiling instead of the bedroom ceiling. Fucking awesome. The patterns here are so much more interesting.” 

“Well you do not need to rub it in.”

“Aaak—!” Chase jumped, flailing for a bit before looking over at the sofa. Schneep was laying on it, mostly covered by a blanket. If Chase didn’t know any better, he’d think that Schneep was also staring at the ceiling. “Jesus, man, I’m sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Schneep waved away his comment. “Is fine. I did not say anything.” He fell silent for a moment. “So. I could not help but overhear you two talking.”

“Oh, uh, did we wake you up? Sorry.”

“Not you, Stacy did. She was getting ready.” Schneep turned his head towards Chase. “This is not the point. Are you...Chase, are you okay?”

“I...yeah, I’m fine. Relatively, I mean.” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Hmm.” Schneep narrowed his eyes. “You said ‘I am not being serious about doing anything I shouldn’t.’”

“Well, I’m not,” Chase protested. “I just...sometimes things happen.”

Schneep didn’t answer for a moment. The silence weighed heavy in the early morning light. “Sometimes they are just thoughts, Chase,” he finally said, almost too quiet to be heard.

Chase sighed quietly and didn’t say anything. It just felt like everything was crushing him right now. Slowly. “I said something awful to Jay before you showed up,” he said quietly.

“Really?” Schneep answered in the same quiet tone.

“I didn’t mean it. It was just...things were getting heated. A-and now I don’t...don’t know what to say to fix it. I tried to apologize. It...came out wrong.”

Schneep paused. “Perhaps you just need more time?”

Chase shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then you just need to find the right words.”

“I don’t know how,” Chase breathed.

“Well...then it is a good thing you have other friends, yes?” Schneep asked. “If you need an impartial...judge is not the correct word, but anyway, I was not there. I could—”

The doorbell rang.

Chase jumped again, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh my god, the worst timing.” Sighing, he leaned back into chairs. “Probably sales people or something.”

“Ach.” Schneep scowled. “Ignore them. Always trying to sell you things.”

A smile pulled at the corner of Chase’s mouth. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what sales people do.”

Another ring, followed by a few knocks. “Persistent, whoever they are,” Schneep commented.

“Yeah.” Chase stood up. He was pretty sure that sales people waited at least a few minutes before ringing the doorbell again. He was pretty sure that most people did. “I’ll check it out.” Sighing, he walked up to the door and cracked it open.

An older woman in a neat navy-blue suit was standing at the door, dark hair swept to the back in a braid. She looked very out of place in the family-oriented suburb Stacy’s house was located in. “Hello, my name is Delyth Mae, I’m from the Department of Safety on the local City Council,” she said smoothly.

Chase blinked. “Uh...hi.”

Delyth nodded. “I’m out here with a team. It seems there have been some unusual radiation readings in this neighborhood.”

“...uh-huh.” Chase didn’t know what else to say. He was well aware that most people would’ve been at least a little concerned, but he’d been through worse. At least radiation wasn’t going to kill you right away. Or make you kill other people. Or—

“Ah, well.” Delyth seemed a bit...uncomfortable with Chase’s odd reaction. No, it wasn’t quite uncomfortable. Concerned? Maybe. Interested? Yes, in some way. “Anyway, we’ve traced these readings to this house. May my team and I come inside to see what the problem is?”

“Um...” Chase caught movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced over to see Schneep, now standing up, eyes narrowed and facing the door. “One second,” Chase said, closing the door before Delyth could protest. “What’s wrong?” He asked Schneep.

“I...she feels...different,” Schneep said slowly.

Chase blinked. “‘Feels different’ in the way that you couldn’t feel Jackie or Marvin and they turned out to be...?”

“I suppose.” Schneep folded her arms. “Well, I can feel her, but it is different. It is...spicy.”

Chase stifled a laugh, turning it into an awkward snort. “Spicy?”

“It is the best I can do, okay?” Schneep snapped. “Is...scharf, it verbrennt deine Nase.”

“Why are you talking about noses?”

“Look, do not let her in, okay?” Schneep headed to the hall. “I will wake up the others, I think they must know.”

“Uh, okay.” Chase opened the door again. Delyth Mae was standing there, looking over her shoulder. It was then that Chase noticed the unfamiliar gray van parked on the side of the street. There was a logo on it that read “Department of Safety,” but for some reason, that didn’t reassure him. He’d never heard of the Department of Safety before. “So...” he said, and Delyth immediately turned back to look at him. “This is, uh...actually my ex’s house. And I just remembered, she left for work a few minutes ago. I don’t really want to let anyone inside without her here, you know?”

“That’s very understandable, sir,” Delyth nodded. “But this will only take a few moments, and it really is in the best interest of her, and you.”

“Yeah, uh...can you come back this afternoon? She’ll be back after three.”

Delyth went silent, eyes darting around Chase to try and catch a glimpse of the inside of the house. Then she smiled. “Very well, sir. But if I may ask, may one of my team members take reading from this threshold?”

“You mean, like, on the step?” Chase considered this briefly. That couldn’t really do anything, could it? “Sure, I guess.”

“Excellent.” Delyth turned and waved at the van. Its passenger side door opened, and a younger man, dressed neatly but not as formally as a suit, stepped out and rushed up to the doorway.

“Hi,” Chase said idly. “I’m just gonna, uh, stand here while you...” he trailed off. The young man’s eyes were yellow. No, they weren’t just yellow, they were glowing. How were they glowing? That was odd, but it was...oddly pretty...

The effect was almost instant. Chase found himself relaxing, almost falling over. It was like being wrapped in a warm, familiar blanket.

“Man, that was easy. Barely did anything.”

“Yes yes, can we go inside now?”

“Hey. Let us in.”

Chase stood aside, pushing the door open. A moment later, Delyth walked inside, followed by the man with the glowing yellow eyes and, a few minutes later, another young lady who looked quite similar to the other man. Chase blinked. What...just hap—

He screamed.

The three strangers stopped in their tracks, spinning around to look at him. “What—?” Delyth couldn’t even finish the question, watching in disbelief as Chase suddenly sank to the floor, pressing his hands to his neck and hyperventilating.

“Oh my god, Tavish, what did you do?!” The young woman said.

“I don’t know! Nobody’s ever reacted like that before!” The young man protested.

“Enough!” Delyth snapped. “You two, go search the place! I’ll deal with this.” The other two nodded, and disappeared further into the house while Delyth kneeled next to Chase. “Sir, I understand this is probably overwhelming, but—”

Chase’s hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her jacket, yanking her close. “What the fuck are you?!” He shouted, blinking back sudden tears. “Why are you here? Can’t we have one fucking place that’s safe?!”

“Sir.” Delyth remained remarkably calm, carefully pulling her suit fabric out of Chase’s fist. “It’s okay, we mean no harm. We’re magicians.”

Everything froze for a moment, Chase’s whirling thoughts grinding to a sudden halt. Then he started to laugh. “Ohhh of fucking course! Of course of course of course—” Any recognizable words disappeared into hysterical gasping.

“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Delyth said evenly. “And I do apologize for making Monroe put you under suggestion. But this is an urgent matter. We’ve been tracking an unusual—sir, please remember to breathe. Evenly. Count the seconds if you must.” She reached out to put her hands on Chase’s shoulder, and he slapped her arms away. “Alright, then. Even breaths, sir.”

Chase ducked his head, pulling up his knees so he could hide his face. His shoulders shook with the effort to control his breathing. It was just—magicians. How did none of them ever think of magicians? Of course if Marvin and Jackie could do magic, then other people would be able to, as well. They weren’t special. JJ had tons of magic books, too. Where else would he have gotten them except from magicians? After a few more seconds, Chase looked up at Delyth, who was waiting patiently. “What,” he hissed, “do you want?”

“We’ve been tracking an unusual magical signature for the past two weeks or so,” Delyth explained. “It has been wandering around, but we did a more in-depth scan last night and found that it’s now stopped here.”

“An unusual...?” Chase repeated, mumbling. Well, he could think of at least six things that could be referring to.

A loud THUD! came from down the hall.

Delyth’s head snapped towards the sound. She immediately stood up and ran towards it. Chase sat, puzzled for a moment, until it hit him like a bucket of cold water: the others. He scrambled to his feet and ran after her.

The door to the guest bedroom was flung open wide, a blue glow emitting from the doorway. Chase and Delyth ran inside, both stopping soon after. The two young magicians were facing Jack, Schneep, and JJ, who were pressed against the wall. The magicians’ eyes were glowing, and the woman had her hand extended, holding a long, white...wand, that was the only word for it. Flakes of ice blue magic drifted around it. A bright blue circle was shielding the other three, curving around them. JJ had his hands extended as well, clearly holding the shield in place. His mask was missing and his hair and clothes were a mess, but he wasn’t faltering. Schneep stood next to him, holding his scissors like he was ready to stab with them at any moment, his scleras strangely black. Jack was behind the two of them, and the first to notice when Chase and Delyth entering. “Chase!” he yelled. “What’s going on?!”

“Uhh I wish I knew,” Chase said. “These guys are like...magicians.”

“Yes, we are magicians,” Delyth repeated absentmindedly. “Nairne, what happened? I heard a noise.”

The young woman—Nairne, apparently—gestured with her head towards the bed. The nightstand had been knocked over and thrown a foot away. Pale blue magic was spreading like frost along the wall and floor. “We heard talking in here, and when we came to check it out, this crazy guy attacked us!”

“Excuse me, you threw that magic at us before I pushed you!” Schneep spoke up, protesting.

The young man—Tavish—scoffed. “Oh hell no, we just walked in and you flipped out!”

“I did not make it physical!”

“Everyone calm down!” Delyth shouted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Tavish, can you run the seek again?”

Tavish nodded, eyes flashing yellow once before he closed them, muttering words under his breath. After a moment, he pointed at Schneep. “It’s coming from him.” He then moved a bit to point at Jack. “He kind of has a signature, too, but it’s a lot different, and weaker.”

“Wait, what?” Jack said. “Signature?”

Delyth nodded, like she was expecting this. “You two give off distinct magical signatures. We’ve been trying to pin down this one for a while.”

Jack laughed. “Oh yeah, we have magic fingerprints, not the guy holding up the shield, that makes sense.” He glanced at JJ, who shrugged.

“No, the warlock has one, too,” Tavish said. “But it’s not what we were looking for.”

“Hey, uh, don’t take this the wrong way,” Chase jumped in. “But I really don’t like having this discussion while that lady is pointing her magic wand at my friends.”

Nairne shot Chase a nasty glare. “Well I don’t like putting my wand down while your friend is trying to stab me with scissors.”

“I was not going to stab you!” Schneep protested. “Not unless I had to!”

“Alright, look.” Delyth’s eyes flashed purple, and she stomped her foot. The ground shook, and Nairne and Schneep dropped their things. “There. We’re all even, can we discuss this civilly?”

JJ nodded, and lowered the shield. He looked around at his friends. I think this has been a misunderstanding, he said. They might work for the ABIM. I’ve never met anyone from them, but I know they mean well.

“Um...” Tavish coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, are you deaf?”

“I think the signing has something to do with the...situation going on with his mouth,” Nairne muttered.

“Ah yes, the...stitch-uation,” Tavish chuckled.

Everyone else winced. JJ glared at him. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from being insensitive pricks. He finished off the statement with a gesture that you didn’t need to know sign to grasp the meaning of.

“Hey!” Tavish protested.

“Bit of a dick move there, dick,” Nairne said.

“Completely unprofessional,” Delyth said, leveling Tavish with a glare. “Do you want another citation?”

“No!” Tavish rushed to say. “No, not—” He turned to Jameson. “I-I’m sorry.”

JJ didn’t say anything, just folded his arms.

“Ummm anyway,” Jack said, walking around to stand beside JJ instead of behind him. “What was that you were saying? Those letters...ABIM?”

“The Association of British and Irish Magicians,” Delyth said coolly. “Yes, we represent them. For the past two weeks, we’ve been tracking down a strange magical signature.”

“She said that earlier,” Chase said, edging around the magicians to go stand with the other three. 

“This investigation was spurred because someone teleported into the midst of our library, which is warded strongly, and should prevent any teleportation.” Delyth’s eyes ran over the group of four. “I was there. I saw someone appear, then almost immediately disappear. Though I did not get a good look, I do think it was one of you.”

“It was me,” Schneep said, raising his hand. “Thank you, now I know that that really happened. Was my back to you? Otherwise I am sure you would remember the scars.”

“Yes, it was just the back, but I recognize your hair. Vaguely.” Delyth clasped her hands together. “Tavish here, though his attitude is something to be said, is one of our best trackers. We’ve been following your signature for a long time.”

“Look.” Schneep stepped forward, in front of the other three. “If I did something wrong, I did not know that I did. I...was still getting used to my abilities. They were going hay-wired. I apologize if I troubled you, but do not bring the others into this.”

Delyth said nothing. Tavish and Nairne stared at her, waiting for a response. Then, slowly, she nodded. “I see. So you don’t know.”

Schneep paused. “Know what?”

“There is an...oddly high amount of soul magic in the city,” Delyth stated.

There was another small pause. “Okay...?” Jack said. “Is that a problem?”

“It is...strange.” Delyth said slowly. “There is only one soul magician in Mirygale, and she has nothing to do with this.” 

JJ’s eyes widened. He turned to the others. Soul magic is very rare. It’s a talent you either have to be born with, or have accumulated throughout years of practice. So if there is a strangely high amount of rare soul magic in one given place, it may be cause for concern.

“Um...” Nairne shifted on her feet. “Can we...can someone...?”

“JJ just explained that soul magic is rare,” Chase summarized.

“It is,” Delyth agreed. “And you two—” She pointed at Schneep and Jack. “—are giving off soul-based magical signatures.”

“How can something be soul-based?” Jack asked. “Doesn’t everyone have a soul?”

“Yeah, but not everyone has the right kind of magic that can mess with souls,” Tavish said. “It’s very distinct.”

“So you can understand why we’d want to figure out what’s going on,” Delyth said. “But it seems none of you know anything.”

Chase, Jack, and Schneep muttered in agreement, but JJ looked thoughtful. Jack, can you translate this question? He asked. Can you ask them if a transference spell is soul-based?

“Oh, uh, sure,” Jack said. “JJ just asked if a transference spell is soul-based.”

The three magicians went very still. “How do you know about that?” Delyth asked in a low voice.

“Uh...it’s a long story,” Jack said. “Why, is it...bad?”

“That is very dark magic,” Nairne muttered, glancing back at the other two.

“Something’s off about them,” Tavish said. “We should take them in!”

Suddenly Schneep was holding his scissors again. “Go ahead and try.”

“Hey, let’s not fight, how about?” Chase said, raising his voice. “I wasn’t lying about this being my ex’s house, and she won’t be happy to come back to it trashed. And the girls are still asleep—”

“Are there children in this house?!” Delyth suddenly asked, looking around.

“Yeah, two of them,” Chase said. “I’m assuming they’re still asleep, I might be wrong.”

While Delyth and Chase were talking, Nairne and Tavish exchanged a look. Tavish raised an eyebrow, and Nairne nodded. Nobody else noticed except for JJ, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Nairne suddenly flung her hand outward, sending a spray of white-blue magic outward. JJ was already moving, conjuring up his shield a second time. The magic bounced off it, attaching itself to the walls on either side and and spreading.

“Hey!” Schneep’s head whipped toward Nairne. “That is cheating!”

“Guess you won’t like this either, then,” Tavish muttered, and made a throwing motion at the shield. A ball of yellow light attached itself to the bright blue glow. JJ barely had time to glance at it before the ball suddenly exploded outwards, shattering the shield and sending the four flying.

“What are you doing?!” Delyth’s composure snapped as she yelled at the other magicians.

Nairne bent over and scooped up her wand. “They’re suspicious as fuck, so we’re taking them in! That’s part of the regulations, Mae.”

Schneep suddenly appeared behind Nairne, scissors open wide and held very close to her throat. “You have shitty regulations, then.”

Tavish glanced over at Nairne, then elected to throw another ball of magic towards Jack and Chase. JJ intercepted it, catching the ball in a net of blue magic, which wrapped around it in a sphere and absorbed the explosion. Chase looked away from the flash of yellow, and notices that in the commotion, something fell out of the nightstand drawer. He lunged forward and grabbed the gun by the handle. “Can we all just calm down?!” Jack shouted.

Nairne pointed her wand over her shoulder, a bolt of icy magic shooting out from it and hitting Schneep in the face. He gasped and stumbled backwards, wiping the magic away. Tavish chuckled, and threw another ball over at Nairne and Schneep. Nairne dived away, but Schneep got caught in the blast. He flew through the air and hit the wall hard.

“Enough!” Delyth shouted, eyes starting to glow purple.

Schneep got to his feet. “Yes, enough!” His eyes flashed turquoise, and the world shifted.

The ground seemed to tilt, the air wavering and warping, blurring the surroundings. Chase, in the middle of standing up, fell back to his knees and covered his hand with his mouth. JJ staggered, arms pinwheeling. Jack squeezed his eyes shut.

And suddenly, the four of them weren’t in the house anymore. Instead, they found themselves in the living room of an apartment, one that was familiar to all of them, even though the room was dim, lit only by morning sunlight coming through the windows. Jack opened his eyes. “Schneep...did you somehow take us to your place?”

“Yes,” Schneep said plainly. He was unaffected by the journey.

JJ leaned against the back of the nearest sofa, looking around. Seems not much has changed, he said. 

Schneep nodded. “I try to keep it in order.”

Chase scrambled to his feet. “What the fuck, dude?! My kids are still there! With the crazy magicians!”

“I...ah.” Schneep coughed. “I did not think of that.”

“Chase, it’s okay,” Jack said, standing up. “You saw the way that...leader lady reacted to hearing the kids were in the house. She won’t involve them.”

“It’s not so much her that I’m worried about as the two other assholes,” Chase snapped.

They were remarkably rude, JJ signed, frowning.

“Ah...does anyone want something to eat?” Schneep hurriedly said. “I have been stocking the kitchen cabinets.”

Chase sighed, and collapsed on the room’s armchair. “Yeah...fine. I just...” He rubbed his face. “God, Stacy’s gonna be so pissed when she gets back.”

Can she call you? JJ asked. Do you have your phone?

“Uh...” Chase checked his jean pockets, then his hoodie pocket. “Oh, yeah.” He pulled out his phone, turning on the screen. “It’s kinda low, though. I never got around to charging it last night.”

“Your phone?” Schneep asked.

“Fuck, I mean, yeah, Doc,” Chase said. “JJ asked me if I had my phone.”

Schneep nodded. “I am now assuming that any pause you have is JJ speaking.”

“That’s fair.”

“Hey, can we talk about what just happened?” Jack piped up. “Some magicians showed up, telling us that wow, not only is magic real, but there’s a whole magic community with apparently some sort of fucking...I don’t know, government, then they call JJ a warlock, tell us Schneep and I have unique fucking signatures or something, and attack us?”

“I think they were trying to, like, arrest us,” Chase said. “That guy, he had...mind...” He paused, distress flashing across his face for less than a second. “I mean, uh, mines. Like, magic mines. Maybe it was a knockout...thing.”

Jack gave Chase a peculiar, but sympathetic, look, then moved on. “Maybe. Apparently we were suspicious, I dunno.”

“I think the suspicious part was that we knew what this...transference is,” Schneep muttered. He walked over to the edge of the room just so he could lean against the wall.

They said it was very dark magic, JJ said. Which does check out with what we know about it.

Jack quickly translated the signs for Schneep, then added, “Okay, but that’s no reason to immediately attack.”

“There is also a high amount of soul magic in the city,” Schneep recalled. “Which is unusual, yes? Perhaps they thought we were behind it?”

Chase sighed. “We’re not. But...maybe we know who is.”

Silence fell over the group, echoing with memories. “But...Anti is...gone now,” Jack said hesitantly. “So maybe the soul magic will...I don’t know, fade back to normal levels. And they’ll leave us alone.”

“Maybe,” Schneep muttered. He straightened. “Well, my offer of food still stands. Who will come to the kitchen with me?”

“Let’s just all go,” Jack said.

That sounds good, JJ agreed.

Chase looked down at his phone again. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll...I might call Stacy, try to explain what just happened.”

“Alright. We’ll get you chips or something,” Jack said.

The three of them disappeared through a side door, leaving Chase sitting there. He opened up his contacts, then hesitated. Yeah...he should tell her. He should. Just in case.

— — — — — — —

Stacy was taking her first fifteen-minute break in the back room of the diner when her phone started ringing. She huffed quietly. The ringing had interrupted the mindless scrolling through Instagram that she’d been using to try to relax. She didn’t recognize the number, so she hung up. And then it called again. And once she hung up again, it called. Sighing quietly, she picked up the call, figuring the person was going to keep trying. “Hello?”

“Hi, um, I’m looking for Chase?” An unfamiliar man’s voice asked.

“You have the wrong number,” Stacy said coolly.

“What? Really?” The man said, surprised. “That’s...weird. Uh, do you know Chase Brody?”

“He’s my ex.”

“Oh fuck. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Stacy was starting to relax a bit. A spam call probably wouldn’t use such casual language. “Uh, if you want I can tell him you called.”

“Well, he doesn’t know me,” the man said. “I’m a friend of a friend.”

And Stacy was once again suspicious. “How’d you get this number?”

“Through that friend,” the man explained. “I asked him to give me Chase’s number so I could call him for him, but I guess he just remembered yours. That’s...a bit weird.”

“Very weird,” Stacy agreed. “What friend wanted you to call him?”

“What friend wanted me to call Chase?”

“Yeah.”

There was a slight pause, then a sigh. “This is going to sound insane,” the man said. “Anyway, I thought the friend was dead, we kinda all did, but apparently he’s here, and he really, really wants to find Chase but can’t remember his address, or apparently his phone number.” He paused. “The friend’s name is Jackie.”

Stacy was frozen for a moment. Jackie? The Jackie that they’d gone to the funeral of, where Chase has cried the whole time? “Is this a fucking prank?!” She suddenly snapped. “Cause it’s not funny to make—”

“No no no, I promise, it’s not a prank, I have just as much idea what’s going on as you do,” the man hurried to say. “I thought Jackie was dead, but no, he’s...he’s right here. I’m literally staring at him. And he wants to meet up with Chase.”

Stacy sighed deeply. This was going to be more of that bullshit Chase and his friends were getting caught up in, huh? The bullshit that they still wouldn’t tell her about? “Okay, I’ll tell Chase you called, tell him to...check on you or something, I dunno.”

“That would be great,” the man said. “Oh, uh, my name’s Malcolm. Malcolm Akela, you should be able to find my address online or in a phone book or something. Just in case you need something.”

“Uh-huh.” Stacy glanced at the clock. Her break was almost up. “Well, look, I gotta go, but I’ll tell Chase...all this.”

“Thanks.”

The call ended. Immediately, her phone started ringing again, this time with a familiar number. Stacy sighed, then picked up. “What is it, Chase?”

— — — — — — —

Halfway across the city, in a small apartment above a shop, a magician was looking for a flashlight in a dark bedroom. Yvonne silently cursed the strange power outage. She’d use her magic to light up her surroundings, but she needed to save it. After a bit of fumbling in a drawer, she found it. “Aha! Torch!” She flicked it on. “Let there be light.” Chuckling, she left the room and headed into the living room.

Marvin was sitting on her sofa. It wasn’t a sight she ever expected to see again, but here he was. He looked a bit distant, and had bandages wrapped around the cut on his throat, but was otherwise alright...and alive. 

“Alright, here we are.” Yvonne shined the flashlight around the room, briefly flicking a nearby lamp switch to see if anything had changed. Nope. The power was still out. “How are you doing, Marv?”

“Hmm?” Marvin looked up at her.

“How are you doing?” Yvonne repeated. “Like...good, bad, whatever. You know? How do you feel?”

Marvin blinked. “I feel...we’re...not...where’s the other one?”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yvonne muttered. “But look, I found something for you.” She crossed the room, making sure she didn’t trip over anything in the dark, until she was standing in front of Marvin. “Look! This thing!” She held up the object she’d found in her closet.

Marvin’s reaction was delayed a bit, but once it registered, he gasped. “Oh!” He reached out and took the mask from Yvonne. It was white, a few designs painted on the surface, most notably the four card suits arranged in a diamond on the forehead. He traced the outline of it, running his fingers over the ceramic. “This...this is mine. Just mine.”

“Yeah, it’s yours.” Yvonne cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’m uh...sorry I could never give it back.”

“Back...?” Marvin turned the mask over, now playing with the black ribbons that would hold the mask on his face. “I...gave it to you. You wanted...to copy it?”

“No, not exactly. I just...well you know, magically-enhanced ceramic, hard to come by. I always said it was an accident waiting to happen, if a spell backfired it could do some serious damage to your face, but you were so confident in the spell, that I just...had to see...” Yvonne trailed off. “Of course, while you were here dropping it off, I...did you...copy a spell from one of my books?”

“Mmm...” Marvin’s eyes clouded over, losing focus. “Spell, spell...spell on loose paper...spells in type...lots of spells...”

Yvonne sighed. “Never mind. Let’s just get this started.” She backed up, rounding around a coffee table, putting the flashlight down on its surface. There was a peculiar looking instrument on the table. It was mainly a giant lens, its diameter larger than a basketball. “Stay still, okay?” Yvonne said, positioning the lens so it was facing Marvin.

He nodded vaguely, still running his hands over the mask, holding it to his chest. “Just mine...” he said, voice barely audible. “Not the other one...not the...”

“It’s your mask, yes,” Yvonne said absentmindedly. She ran her hands along the edge of the lens, the silver frame holding it becoming alight with blue and hints of yellow. As she did so, she stifled a yawn. She’d been up all night, trying to figure out what the deal was with Marvin. The Soul Lens had only occurred to her a few minutes ago. She began chanting some words, causing the Soul Lens to start glowing with white light. Trails of blue and yellow magic dripped over the glass, swirling iridescently like the surface of a bubble. Until it suddenly cleared. Yvonne bent over, peering through the Lens.

Through the Lens, everything had lost its color, being seen in shades of gray. The room was still dark, except for a light coming from Marvin. She stared intently at it, eyes wide. After a few silent moments, the Lens powered down, and she straightened, shaking her head. “Marvin...” she said in a hushed tone. “I was right. Your soul is broken.” That was the only word she could think to describe the fragmented way the light had appeared. Also, the Lens couldn’t show it, but she’d detected something...foreign...when she’d first sensed his soul. “What the fuck were you doing?”

Marvin didn’t answer, closing his eyes and leaning back against the sofa.

“Jesus...” Yvonne shook her head in disbelief. This was way, way beyond her knowledge. What was she supposed to do next? She couldn’t go to ABIM, they didn’t trust her and she didn’t trust them. Was it possible there was something in her storage that could help?

She was so lost in thought that it took her a moment to realize there was something glowing outside her window.

Marvin noticed it first, sitting up straight and twisting his head to the side to look at it. He gasped, and started to laugh.

“Marvin, what—what the fuck is that?!” Yvonne ran over to the window. For a second, her first insane thought was that magic worms were trying to get inside. But no, as she got closer she realized it was string. Green glowing string, cut into various sizes, none longer than her forearm. They were wiggling as if alive, trying to squirm their way through the window seam. “No! No, out!” Yvonne double-checked the lock on the window, looking back at Marvin. “Is this your fault?! What is this?!”

Marvin grinned. “It’s me! Us? All. Shards, missing missing, put together, held together.”

“What the actual criss-cross applesauce hell does that mean?!” Yvonne looked back at the window. The green glowing strings were bunching together. As she watched, some of them formed into...a hand. “No!” She slammed her hands down on the windowsill, eyes flaring sky blue. A shockwave of blue and yellow magic burst outward, sending the green strings flying into the distance. They disappeared into the sky, and Yvonne took a moment to catch her breath. “Impressive Sending there,” she muttered. “Must’ve pushed them at least a few blocks away...”

Marvin seemed to slump a bit, somehow disappointed. He closed his eyes again. “It’s nothing, nothing...I-I...we need...it’s not...fair...”

Yvonne sighed, running a hand through her colored hair. “Well, life’s not fair.” She turned back around. “What do you need, Marv? What do you want? What can...what can I do?”

“Need...” Marvin opened his eyes. They flickered green. “Need...the other one. Want? Want...the...t̢̧h͠e͢m.”

There was something odd about the way he’d said that. “Who’s them...?” Yvonne asked hesitantly.

Marvin grinned. “The puppets.”

— — — — — — —

“I’ll text you the number, okay? For now, it seems like I really need to get home, since apparently you left the kids home alone with some strangers.”

“Sorry,” Chase muttered. God, he couldn’t do anything right, could he?

Stacy’s voice softened. “I’ll call you later.” And without further ado, she hung up.

Chase sighed, setting the phone down. This day had been a lot to process. And it was barely eight o’clock.

Jack reappeared in the living room. He smiled at Chase. “Hey, dude. I brought you some chips.” The smile quickly faded. “What’s wrong?”

Chase looked over at him. “Get everyone else in here. There have been some...complications.”

[zevlors-tail]

Ehi!how are you?I see your post and would love to be part of your match up ask!(Sorry for my english,I am Italian and I hope to be very clear..) ...

Matchup for tremendouswolfsaladranch! Sorry, it wouldn’t let me tag you for some reason, but here it is! Hope you like it! :) By the way, I understood your english and could read it all! No worries. <3 I’m SO sorry it took so long. ;w; Also, I didn’t have room to fit in some parts of the drabble, but I tried to stick to what you wanted as much as possible. I hope this was okay!

I match you with: Izuku Midoriya!

That gif tho

-Green Bean would be super shy around you but also very friendly. You’re both shy around each other, so there’s just lots of blushy moments and stuttering, but the attraction is there. He makes friends with everyone so easily and willingly, so of course he wants to be your friend too!

-You both became best friends pretty fast. You have your group of friends that you hang out with on a regular basis, but he’s also your best friend, and you see him quite often as well! Once you get more comfortable with each other, you start really having fun, and that’s when he realizes he is head over heels for you. He loves to watch you interact with all your friends and see how kind and outgoing and fun you are!

-Finds your quirk super fascinating! Especially considering how similar the consequences of it are to his own quirk. This boy deals with broken bones so much it’s not even funny. So if you ever get hurt, expect him to be there, checking you over, making sure it’s safe for him to take you to Recovery Girl. Because believe me, he definitely will. He’s been there himself tons of times; he knows the drill by now lol. He likes to study everyone’s quirk, and that includes yours. He would love for you to humor him by answering his questions about it!

-He understands if you need space when you’re upset. Izuku is a very understanding person in general, so he gets it, although it does hurt him to see you isolate yourself from him and everyone else. But the moment you come back to him apologizing and feeling guilty, he’ll be right there to tell you that it wasn’t your fault, that you can work on whatever is bothering you together and if he did something or said something wrong, he’s going to fix it, no doubt about it. He’s a good learner in all aspects, relationships included. 

-Overall you make a really good pair together. He loves you so much and takes you out on dates to places he thinks you’ll really enjoy in his free time. He’s such a sweetheart to you, and you can bet he’s going to spoil you rotten.

Fall Drabble: Fall Festival/Pumpkins

I went a little extra on this because I ran out of ideas on the Headcanons, so if it’s a bit longer than others, that’s why. Also, I LOVED your idea for this! SO CUTE.

“Wow, I can’t believe the amount of effort everyone put in to this festival. It turned out pretty neat!” Midoriya walked along beside you as you both marveled at all the activities going on around you. UA had really gotten into the Autumn Spirit this year, and each class had contributed to the festival by hosting a Fall themed activity or experience for the other students to enjoy. It ran all weekend long, each grade participating on a different day so that the other students in different grades could enjoy themselves. Today just so happened to be the upperclassman’s turn to show off their projects and events, so both you and Midoriya had set a few hours of the day aside to enjoy yourselves before you put in your own hard work for the other students tomorrow.

“Yeah, it’s all so cool! Fall is my favorite time of year. All the nice smells in the air, hot apple cider, all the warm colors everywhere...” You smiled to yourself as you recalled all of the reasons that you loved Autumn. “Especially the trees. All of the leaves are changing color, and soon the ground will be covered in beautiful hues of reds and oranges and yellows. I can’t wait to rake up a huge pile of them and jump into it!”

Izuku gave you an adoring look as you rambled on, his eyes glued to your happy face. Nothing made him happier than to see you happy. He wanted so badly to tell you how he really felt, but how could he? He didn’t want to ruin your friendship, not now that you two were so close. And he was just shy...and scared. What if you rejected him? What if you never spoke to him again? He didn’t think he could handle that, so for now, he was content to watch you from afar.

Luckily for him, you had other ideas.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” From a distance, there was a giant blur of orange, and you stared in curiosity as you got closer and closer to it, the giant blob of orange turning into much small blobs of orange instead.

“Looks like...a pumpkin patch! I think Mirio’s class came up with this one,” he explained to you.

Sure enough, the second Togata and his friends spotted you, they waved you over, and you were more than happy to oblige. You saw that your friends were there as well, picking out pumpkins of their own, and Mina happily welcomed you and Izuku into their small group.

You meandered through the haystacks and lines of pumpkins until you found the perfect one: spotless, symmetrically round, and a cute little stem poking out from the top. Not too big, not too small, but just your size and easy to pick up and hold. You nabbed it before anyone else could and made your way back to your group of friends.

“Guys, I found it! I found the perfect pumpkin!” You shouted in excitement as you halted to a stop in front of them. Most of them had their pumpkins picked out as well, including Izuku.

“You’re right, Y/N! That one’s totally flawless, unlike the one Midoriya picked out,” Mina snickered. 

Turning your attention to said boy, you saw him blush as he tried to defend himself and his interesting looking pumpkin. “I-It’s not that bad! I thought the bumps gave it some personality...” He mumbled the last part, indignant that everyone else wanted to judge his poor little pumpkin. Well, almost everyone else. Of course you would defend it with him!

“I think it’s cute,” you told him, a slight blush on your face as well. You took a closer look at the lopsided, gnarled, and bumpy orange thing in his hands. It was...probably? A pumpkin?

“Thank you, Y/N.” He gave everyone else a mock glare and a fake pout.

“I’m sure that pumpkin isn’t the only thing you think is cute, Y/N,” Mina teased you suddenly. “Didn’t you want to say something to Midoriya, here?” She nudged your side with her elbow and waggled her eyebrows at you.

Oh, right. The plan.

Beside you, Izuku tilted his head in confusion. “Did...you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“U-Um, I- Well...” You stumbled over your words, not quite sure how to say how you were feeling. Now that this was actually happening, it felt so much different than you thought it would. You were more nervous, quieter, more on edge and confused about what you should say.

“Well, I’ll just leave you two alone then! Good luck, Y/N!” Mina said in a sing-song voice. Finally she left you alone, and you stood there dumbfounded about what to say.

Sensing your distress, Midoriya grabbed your hand with his free one to bring you back to reality. “Hey, do you maybe want to get a caramel apple? We can sh-share it if you don’t mind...” he offered shyly.

Thankful for the distraction, you nodded your head and followed him to the caramel apple stand that was nearby, your pumpkins still in tow. You gave him a small “Thanks,” as he handed the sticky sweet treat to you, but only after taking a bite out of it himself. You both sat down on a bench for a moment to watch the people around you, laughs ringing out and smiles being shared between everyone. With your pumpkins now settled in your laps and both of your hands free again, Izuku returned his left hand to your right and slotted his fingers through yours. Maybe he didn’t know how to verbally confess his feelings, but he could show it through actions. You, on the other hand...

You took another bite of the apple and chewed on it thoughtfully before finally handing it back to him, watching as he took another bite himself. From across the way, you spotted Mina with a sly grin on her face giving you a thumbs up, and you gathered all the courage you could as you opened your mouth to speak.

“H-Hey...Izuku?”

“Hm?” His replied, his mouth still full of caramel apple and bits of nuts.

“I-I...Well, I really like you!” you blurted out. Izuku nearly choked on the apple, a cough resounding in his throat. “Are you okay!?”

“F-Fine...I’m fine!” he managed after he swallowed. “I feel the same way! I just...was too afraid to say it, and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but now I don’t have to because I know you feel the same way, and that makes me really happy! But I just wish I could have said something sooner and-”

He was rambling again.

You boldly leaned over, both hands gripping him by the collar of his shirt as you pulled him in for a kiss to shut him up. That seemed to do the trick, his eyes going blank in a split second while he internally freaked out. The both of you just sat there for a moment blushing, until you felt him squeeze your hand tight, and he slowly leaned in to return your kiss.

You could hear Mina in the distance hollering congrats at the both of you, and you just smiled at each other as Izuku held the caramel apple out to you.

“Want another bite?” He grinned.

I maybe might come back and clean this up later and add more to make it a small one shot who knows

[callboxkat]

Infinitesimal (part 47)

Author’s note: We can pretend it’s Monday, right? Either way, here’s the new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: nightmares, fear, injuries, nonsexual nudity, illness mention, food mention

Word count: 2847

Look for the masterpost in the notes!

...

Patton quickly found what he was looking for: a small pair of scissors, some spools of thread, and a neat stack of fabric scraps. Patton recognized most of the items. They had been among the supplies Roman had given him months before, when the humans had allowed him to craft some new clothes to replace the thin, ratty pink rags that they’d found him in.

Any feelings that Patton might have had about the familiarity of the items were muted at the moment, since his mind was focused on other things. Emile, of course, but also… Patton was still rather off-put by his dream the night before. He hated that he still had these nightmares so long after he’d gotten free. He hated being reminded of his time with Marissa, hated how his mind liked to shove him right back in time to that horrible part of his life. A part that he wanted nothing more than to forget.

This particular dream only made Patton more upset because of its similarity to recent events. The cat stalking around the box, just out of view, with Patton certain in the knowledge that it wanted nothing more than to kill him, reminded him all too much of what Emile had just been through. It made him all the more aware of just how terrified Emile must have been before they had found him, hurt and trapped behind a cabinet with a cat intent on catching him. He’d been stuck there for so long, waiting for help that he’d had no way of being sure would ever even come. Thinking about it made Patton’s chest twist painfully.

Maybe it was a small blessing that Emile didn’t seem to remember that.

Patton took a deep breath, trying to focus on the present. Emile was okay; or at least, he would be soon. They were safe. Patton wasn’t with Marissa, and he would never be again. The cat was five floors above, and it couldn’t reach them.

Patton picked up the scissors and a spool of gray thread from the sewing supplies, and he carried these back to his friends’ sides. Based on the slight tenseness in the air, Patton quickly realized that the two of them had been talking about him seconds before he arrived; but he pretended not to notice. “Do you know what color you want, Em?” he asked as he approached, trying to be cheerful. “There’s quite a few over there.”

“Color?” Emile looked momentarily confused.

“For your new clothes,” Virgil reminded him gently. They had had to cut Emile’s old ones off of him, and even after they repaired those, Emile needed something that was easier to get on and off with his injuries.

There was a pause, and then Emile blinked. “Oh. Um… I don’t care.”

“I saw some pastel fabrics that looked pretty soft,” Patton tempted. “Would those be okay?”

Emile nodded.

“Alright, I’ll go get those, then.” He glanced at Virgil, remembering how his friend had had to comfort him both the night before and during their earlier conversation; and he ducked his head. He hated to think that he was being a bother when he and Virgil should really have been focused only on getting Emile well again. Patton couldn’t help but feel that it had been selfish of him, to make Virgil come to his aid when his own brother was injured. And it was embarrassing, being so needy at a time like this.

At least Emile seemed to be getting better. Patton had noticed that the swelling in his injuries was going down, and today his right eye was even open a bit. He was also speaking more clearly, which was a relief to see. His sentences were longer, more complete, and less slurred. And he seemed more comfortable now that he was clean, tucked in with the blankets. He was still confused, tired, and in pain; and he was certainly in no shape to go home yet; but Patton tried to focus on the progress he had already made.

Patton picked up a couple of pieces of fabric from the stack that the humans had left: two soft, thin pieces in pastel blue and green. He bundled them up in his arms and made his way back again.

He returned to his spot beside Virgil, sitting down with a small bounce. “So, how do we want to do this?” Patton asked. He looked from the fabric, to Emile, to Virgil.

“Well, the pants are pretty straightforward,” Virgil said. “They just need to be loose enough to not bother his ankle or tail. We could make those first, and then figure out something for a shirt.”

Patton looked over to the side, where the scraps of Emile’s original outfit were laid out around the teacup, still drying. There were some stains that he and Virgil hadn’t been able to get out, and they were probably going to throw away those pieces. It was a waste of fabric, which as a little Patton was reluctant to do; but none of them needed a reminder like that of Emile’s recent ordeal.

“That sounds fine.” He turned to Emile, then, holding up the fabric so he could see. “Green or blue?”

…

They finished Emile’s new pants before the humans returned, and Virgil helped him get them on. Patton was pleased with how they turned out. They were very loose, but there was a drawstring at the waist to hold them up, and they were soft and comfortable looking. Emile seemed happy with them, too, which was the most important thing.

By the time they’d finished the pants, gotten Emile dressed, and settled him back in his box, the room was pretty dark. Patton was pretty sure it was well past when the humans had given them dinner the night before. He wondered where Logan and Roman had gone, and what was taking so long.

He asked Virgil about it, but Virgil just shrugged. He and Emile clearly didn’t mind the human’s absence. Patton couldn’t blame them.

They were outlining where to cut out the shirt on the piece of pale green fabric—it wouldn’t need any sewing—when they finally heard the door of the apartment open. Patton thought he heard both Roman’s and Logan’s voices, but only one set of footsteps approached the room the littles were in. Within a moment, one of the humans appeared in the doorway. It was Logan, looking tired. Patton sat up, watching him.

“Hello,” he said. “Apologies for the lateness. Our errand ran longer than I had expected.” He looked them over appraisingly, as if making sure nothing had happened while he was gone. “Would the three of you like dinner soon?”

Patton nodded. “Y-yes, please. Is… is everything okay?” he asked.

“Oh, yes,” Logan said. “There is no need for concern.”

Virgil, who was bent protectively over his brother, looked past Logan into what they could see of the kitchen. “Where’s that other one? Roman?”

Patton had been wanting to ask a question along the same lines, although he probably would have worded it differently. They hadn’t seen Roman once since the day before, only Logan. Was he okay? Roman, as Patton knew from past experiences, usually would have wanted to check on them much more often. It was odd that they hadn’t heard from him.

“Roman?” Logan said. “He’s resting in his room. He’s feeling unwell today. He has asthma—a condition that sometimes causes difficulty breathing—and the recent cold weather has been giving him some issues with it.”

“He can’t breathe?” Virgil echoed, sounding mildly horrified. Patton couldn’t help but feel the same way. How was Logan being so casual about this?!

“No—no, he can breathe,” Logan quickly corrected. “It’s merely slightly more difficult for him today. We just returned from an appointment to ascertain that his issues were purely due to asthma, and not an additional, more contagious illness. Before we were sure, we thought it would be best if he stayed away from the three of you. The last thing your brother needs is to get sick.”

Emile, who already looked like he would rather be almost anywhere else, managed to look even more uncomfortable.

“He’s okay, though?” Patton asked hesitantly. As he spoke, he put a hand on Emile’s knee, well aware of how stressed he was.

Virgil glanced at him as if to ask, “Do we care?” He didn’t protest, though, probably thinking that showing sympathy would keep them in the human’s good graces.

“He is,” Logan assured, seeming surprised but pleased that Patton had cared enough to ask. It made some of the nervousness uncoil from Patton’s chest. “I’ll let him know you asked about him. He’ll appreciate it.” He paused to adjust his tie. “So, that was a “yes” to dinner, correct?”

Patton nodded.

“Alright. I will put something together for you.” He looked briefly at Emile then before quickly averting his gaze. “Would something simple be acceptable? Fruit, perhaps?”

Virgil bent to murmur in Emile’s ear. Emile managed to nod, not taking his eyes off of Logan.

“That’s fine with us,” Virgil said. As had become usual for him, his tone held a sort of defiance when he spoke to the human, as if he were trying to prove he wasn’t afraid.

Logan didn’t seem fazed. He nodded and left the room.

He came back only a few minutes later with their dinner: four bottle caps, one filled with water, the three others each with pieces of a yellowish white fruit inside. Patton poked his portion experimentally with a fork.

“It’s banana,” Logan explained, watching.

“Oh,” Patton said. He’d never had a banana before. They were large enough that a human would be far too likely to notice one’s absence, even if the fruit hadn’t been so comically large compared to a little that they were impossible to make off with.

Logan had turned his attention to Emile, although he still kept his gaze from lingering on him directly. “You’re looking much better,” he ventured, his voice as soft as he could make it.

Virgil instinctively moved even closer to his brother, his eyes flashing a warning. Patton understood his worry, but Logan seemed to be only trying to help.

“The, um…” Patton started hesitantly, glancing at where the teacup still sat nearby, “Thank you for the su—the supplies. They helped a lot. He’s a lot more comfortable now.”

Logan’s expression turned to one of delight at the words. He looked about as happy as Patton had ever seen him, like being thanked by Patton meant everything to him.

Virgil kept glancing pointedly between Logan and the doorway. He was fidgety, anxious for them to be left alone again.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Logan said, already schooling his expression back into something more neutral. “Now, I know you are eager to get to your meal, but I was hoping that I might get a brief update on his condition first.” He made a small gesture in Emile’s direction. “How is he?”

“He’s fine,” Virgil said immediately.

Logan frowned. He seemed about to correct Virgil, but he thankfully thought better of it. “Perhaps,” he said carefully. “Still, if you will humor me, I’d like to hear more detail.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Patton and Virgil took turns telling Logan about how Emile was doing. Patton was a bit off-put by how intensely he paid attention, but he did his best to try to relax. Virgil seemed to be only complying because it seemed the best way to get Logan to leave as soon as possible.

They told him about Emile’s occasional forgetfulness, how he’d been sleeping most of the time, that he could open his right eye now, and how they’d decided to let him sit up even though Logan had said to have him move as little as possible—Virgil got very defensive here, but all Logan did was nod thoughtfully. They even told him about the games of tic-tac-toe.

Finally, Logan nodded, seeming satisfied. “It sounds like he is making good progress,” he said. “It is understandable that he would still be sleeping a lot, as he is using a considerable amount of energy to heal. Rest is the best thing for him right now. It is a good sign that he was feeling well enough to play a game. His symptoms should continue to improve, although it may be some time before he is back to normal.” He sat back. “What about his tail? Have you tested the end of it for any sensation since our last attempt?”

“Um… no,” Patton admitted. To be honest, all three of them were scared to try. It was easier to leave it as an unknown than to get undesired results.

“I would recommend doing that soon. Perhaps before I return to collect your dishes? That way you can let me know the results. I trust you remember how to perform the test?”

Patton nodded. It was pretty straightforward, after all. And while he was nervous to actually do it… he supposed that maybe they really should find out. Even if it was only the tip of his tail that was numb, Emile deserved to know if there was any sign that he might get it back.

“Can we eat now?” Virgil asked pointedly.

A look flashed in Logan’s eyes—hurt, maybe? Patton couldn’t be sure. But it was quickly gone, and all he did was nod and get to his feet. “Certainly. I will return  in about twenty minutes.”

…

Patton and Virgil got the bottle cap settled in Emile’s lap, and Patton put the spoon in his hand.

“Let me know if you need any help, okay?” Patton said. Emile nodded.

They all started eating. The banana was really good. Patton wished he’d found a way to try one before now. Maybe he would be able to again someday.

From the look of it, Virgil had never had one before, either. He experimentally poked his own banana slice a couple of times with his spoon. When he caught Patton watching him, the tips of his ears turned slightly red; and he finally scooped up a portion and took a bite.

“Not bad,” he admitted, looking towards Patton.

“I like it,” Patton declared. “What do you think, Em?”

Emile made a frustrated noise in response. Patton turned to look. He was having trouble keeping a grip on his spoon long enough to get the banana to his mouth without dropping it. Patton’s smile faltered.

“I’ve gotcha,” Virgil said quickly. He reached forward and helped Emile hold the spoon, like Patton had done the day before.

“Whatcha think, kiddo?” Patton asked when Emile had taken a bite.

He swallowed. “It’s good,” he said.

Patton was relieved to hear it. He’d been a bit worried that something like the night before would happen, when Emile had refused to eat his food at first due to nausea. Whether it was because that was improving, or because Logan had made sure to give them something that would be easy for Emile, Patton was just glad he was eating.

…

After they had finished their food, Virgil cleared his throat.

“So… Em?”

Emile turned to look at him.

“Would it be okay if we checked on your tail?” he asked, looking uncomfortable. “I get it if you don’t want to. But… I don’t know.”

Emile looked uncertain.

“It’s okay if you want to wait a while,” Patton said. “But I think it would be good to know, don’t you?”

Emile shifted, glancing down to where the end of his tail was hidden under the blankets. “Can’t be worse,” he finally mumbled.

“Is that a yes?” Virgil checked.

Emile nodded once.

Virgil took the bottle cap from Emile’s lap and set it to the side, then held his hand in a show of support.

Patton, meanwhile, moved down to the foot of the box. He lifted up the blankets to reveal the end of Emile’s tail, including just above the break down to where the very tip of it poked out from the wrappings. The bunched up end of the blankets blocked Emile’s view of his own tail, so he wouldn’t be able to see when Patton touched it.

“Alright, kiddo,” Patton said. “Tell me when you feel something, okay?”

Emile nodded.

Patton waited a second, Emile watching apprehensively, then touched the tip of Emile’s tail.

Virgil shifted in the silence that followed.

“Did you… do it yet?” Emile asked.

Patton bit his lip, then touched his tail again, pressing down harder this time.

Emile’s eyes widened slightly.

“Did you feel that?” Patton asked, freezing.

“I think so,” Emile said uncertainly. “Maybe? It felt kinda weird. But… yeah.”

Virgil let out a breath.

Patton put the blankets back over his tail, and he smiled up at Emile. “Well, I’d say that’s a lot better than nothing, wouldn’t you?”

Some of the tension left Emile’s body, and he attempted a smile.

“Just give it time,” Patton assured. “You’ll be right as rain before you know it."

[lady-charinette]

A Purrplexing Encounter (Chapter 11) - Dinner for Two Marichat Fic

A Purrplexing Encounter

Previously on “Dinner for Two”…

She spotted a group of male models a few steps away, talking, some chuckling. Almost all of them had bathrobes on, they would obviously come up on stage later, after the female models were done with their performances.

As Marinette tried to slip past the group of males, back towards the changing rooms to check on her models, she nearly tripped over her own feet when a particular voice caught her attention.

She was sure she wasn’t imagining it, but when she turned around, there were several models talking, it was impossible to say which voice belonged to whom. There was a blond with green eyes, a brunet with blue eyes, several black haired guys with brown eyes.

But there was only one name that hit her like a lightning bolt when she heard a familiar voice sound from among the group.

Chat Noir?

Adrien swore he saw something black, almost dark blue pass by his field of vision. It was such a precise shade that it always made him think of a certain woman whenever he saw that color anywhere.

Despite the chatter among the other models, he expertly tuned them out and whipped his head this way and that, heart racing a mile a minute.

He could’ve sworn he saw-

“Hey, Agreste.”

Adrien turned back towards the group of models, staring at him with smug or knowing looks, “You look like you saw someone interestin’, which model caught your eye, hmm?” Reno, a tall brunet with sun-kissed skin and hazel eyes he labeled as ‘wild’ nudged his side teasingly, “Bet it was that blonde with the cute ass.” A few amused chuckles rose from the other models, seemingly agreeing.

Amand, a tall French man with pale blond hair and cold blue eyes snorted in disgust, “Show some respect, you’re a guest here, American.” Reno rose an eyebrow at the stoic man, not taking kindly to him being spoken to like that.

“Did those snails you had for dinner finally crawl outta your ass, Amanda?” Reno and Amand looked ready to quarrel but Adrien placed a placating hand on Reno’s shoulder.

“Hey, let’s not fight, this is neither the time nor the place.” Adrien caught Amand’s gaze and the man turned his nose, making the blond turn his attention back to Reno, “Uh, to answer your question, I just thought I saw somebody I knew.”

Reno seemed to calm down, “Ah, I see. Sorry for assuming, buddy.” Adrien shook his head, offering the brunet a smile before he excused himself to get a glass to drink. The tension among the males was more than he was willing to bear with tonight, especially considering the hectic day he had. He didn’t need a physical fight to break out, especially not with all those paparazzi and his father’s bodyguards mingling about.

He could already picture the headlines.

‘Adrien Agreste, France’s sunshine model involved in a brawl among model peers!’

‘Agreste Junior rebelling against fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste by picking fights at fashion gala! Stay tuned!’

He shook his head, smiling as he grabbed a fresh glass of orange juice to drink from, he’d had enough of champagne for tonight.

He observed the people around him, offering respectful nods to important ones he’d already met along the way. He saw a forming line of the female models being set into a neat line, a person zipping this way and that behind them. He couldn’t quite see who it was, maybe it was the designer of the dresses and the suit he was going to wear tonight. He definitely wanted to meet the man as talented in their craft, it was well-made, fit him perfectly and wore itself like PJ’s, it was comfortable but looked very sharp and professional to the public eye.

He expertly slipped through the crowd, setting his now empty glass on a tray a waiter was carrying, he felt silly meeting people in a bathrobe, but he’d gotten used to it in this scene.

His gaze narrowed at the constantly moving figure behind the models, trying to make out features of the person. Did they have dark hair?

Wait, were those pigtails?

Adrien froze on the spot, a few feet away, when the person behind the models suddenly slipped through between the two standing women, applying finishing touches to the models and encouraging them to do their best.

The designer was a her, dressed in well-fitted dark pants, short heels, black blazer with a crème colored dress shirt beneath.

She had bluebell eyes, adorable freckles, cute face, and that smile-

‘Marinette!’ Adrien’s eyes flew open and he quickly dived back into the crowd before she saw him. His body was on autopilot, he was panicking.

What should he do?

She was here.

SHE WAS HERE!

And he was in a bathrobe!

Who did he anger to give him such rotten luck?! Couldn’t he appear sophisticated in front of her?! He should’ve listened to Plagg, Plagg was right, bathrobes were stupid, they served no purpose except look fluffy.

At this point, wearing a cat onesie would’ve been infinitely more preferable than this.

He could do this.

He was a model.

Adrien quickly ran a hand through his hair, trying to comb through it neatly and adjusting the collar of the bathrobe, knowing it was useless. At least the robe was pretty enough.

Taking a deep breath, Adrien straightened himself and set his shoulders, attempting to appear graceful but powerful.

Marinette was smiling and encouragingly patting the models on their shoulders, giving them a thumbs up as they ascended the stairs to the catwalk.

He was a goner.

She was too adorable.

He was a mess.

He wasn’t powerful, he wasn’t graceful. He was a kitten on shaking paws ready to bolt the minute this cute mouse turned around and spotted him.

As if reading his thoughts, Marinette turned away from the models and suddenly rounded in his general direction.

The blond froze like an ice cube, hands stiffened to his sides and eyes blown wide open like a frightened cat.

Marinette was heading towards him.

She was walking towards him.

Her eyes were on him.

They were such a purrty shade of blue-

“Excuse me!”

Adrien released a yelp, it sounded like a high pitched mewl and a frightened gasp, and Marinette looked up at him, “Um, excuse me, I need to get to the buffet really quickly.”

Mind going into overdrive, Adrien hastily made room, accidentally pushing against some VIP man’s back and causing him to choke on his champagne, “S-Sorry!”

She smiled brilliantly at him, brighter than the flashlights, “It’s okay! Thank you!” before she rushed passed and towards the long table of food.

Adrien gripped his heart, it was racing as fast as a freight train. Maybe it were the first warning symptoms of a heart attack? Should he see a doctor?

It was when Marinette, again, rushed passed him with food in her hands that his eyes regained focus.

She didn’t take the food for herself, but for one of the models.

A woman was on the floor, hyperventilating, breathing too quickly and looking distressed when Marinette reached her.

Adrien’s earlier embarrassment melted away when his feet carried him over to the model, crouching down next to her and feeling her forehead for a fever, “Breathe, take short breaths in and deep breaths out, 1, 2, 1, 2.” The model nodded, doing as she was told, recognizing Adrien and squeezing his hand so tightly he thought it would break, “Release. That’s good, keep it up Alicia.” Alicia nodded again, too frightened to speak.

His fellow colleagues joined the scene as well, Reno helping the woman stand and directing her towards a chair near the buffet area, Amand and the rest moved along to help, the fruits Marinette had brought was taken to be given to the model later.

The woman beside him released a long drawn out sigh, “Oh god, this is all my fault, I didn’t pay attention enough to see she didn’t eat anything.”

Much of Adrien’s earlier embarrassment was forgotten temporarily, his voice calm and very soft, “It’s not your fault, models have a way with hiding the fact they hadn’t eaten anything. She’s still young, so she didn’t eat enough to keep herself level headed before getting on the catwalk. Younger models often underestimate for how long their bodies can survive without food, under the heat of the overhead lights and the constant flashes of the camera.” His lips set into a grim line, “Trust me, you did a good job, her manager will take care to switch up her nutritional plan again.”

He looked down at her and Marinette was smiling up at him, relief washing over her tired features, “Thank you. For helping and reassuring me.” She bowed briefly and Adrien’s heart skipped a beat.

“Uh, s-sure, no purrblem.” The second the word left his lips he mentally cursed himself, catching Marinette’s surprised look before he coughed into his hand violently, “Prrrhh, ahem, sorry, seems like that champagne was too much.”

Marinette giggled, settling a hand on his shoulder and Adrien had to summon all of his willpower not to jump, “I can relate, I’m not the champagne type myself.” She watched the rest of the models go onto the catwalk, the room diminishing and all lights hitting the models, “Oh, excuse me, I need to get to the seats.”

Adrien watched her rush towards the assembly of chairs, positioned right in front of the catwalk where the models were posing and walking, most wearing her designs.

Adrien clutched at his heart.

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

Marinette tried keeping her attention on the show, but she discreetly glanced to the side every few minutes, watching the blond model with the green eyes walking towards the buffet to check up on the woman.

She was sure she was hallucinating, delirious, maybe drunk, maybe overworked, maybe both.

That model had a similar voice to Chat Noir, it was softer, lighter, but there was an uncanny resemblance to it.

She sighed, shaking her head. It wasn’t impossible. Voices were different. People could have similar voices. They could also have very different voices.

Besides, what are the odds that the man she sort of liked was funny, witty, kind and a model?

She wasn’t that lucky, after all.

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

A figure leaned against the wall of the building, watching the switching, flashing lights through the large glass windows curiously.

He checked his watch.

9.40pm

It was too soon.

He still had to wait.

It had only been a week, he needed more information, more time.

An invite.

With a small smile, the young man shoved his hands in his pockets, a wide grin stretching his lips in the dying light of the flickering street lamp.

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

The next morning

“Ugh, Alya, I’m beat!” Marinette tiredly grabbed the steaming mug in her hands, the dark, bitter liquid reflecting the saggy bags beneath her eyes.

The reporter, already dressed for work, finished the last of her own coffee, quickly washing it in the sink and grabbing an apple, “Yeah, I bet, after that fashion gala last night. How was it? I saw it on TV but its always juicier hearing it from an insider.” Her eyes were alight with mischief and excitement and Marinette giggled.

“Well, as excited as you can imagine. I was just running from point A to point B really, helping the models, grabbing something to eat in-between, they had such good food, talking with other designers and mostly agents and yeah…I guess that was it.” She yawned, craning her neck, “A model also got really sick, she hadn’t eaten anything before getting ready to go onstage, thankfully a male model stepped in to help me.”

The reporter was leaned over the table in a millisecond, “Male model?” she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Marinette frowned, “Alya.”

“What? Don’t go looking at me like that girl! I’m happy you transitioned from cat to man!” she grinned like the cat that got the canary and Marinette wished she had more active braincells to effectively deal with her better.

“It’s not what you think, he just helped the girl out. We exchanged a few words and that’s it.” After a long pause and a sip, Marinette shrugged, “…He was cute, though.”

“I knew it!” Marinette waved her off tiredly, groaning when Alya did a little victory dance on her chair, “I knew you’d one day use the connections your job gave you! Finally you’re going to ogle handsome models instead of stuffed toys!” she crossed her arms, a smug smirk adorning her painted lips and her friend gave her the finger playfully, “Not nice, girl, not nice.”

Marinette lowered her hand, taking another larger gulp of her beverage, “Not nice assuming things, Alya. It’s not like I never saw a model in my life, you know. It’s just, he was the only one of the models to immediately help, the others were too busy drinking and laughing. I guess not all beautiful people have money in their hearts.”

The auburn haired woman snorted, taking another bite of the apple, “What are the chances of you seeing him again?”

“I don’t even know his name!”

“Well, what did he look like for starters? We can already check ‘six-pack’ and ‘chiseled jaw’ I’m sure.” The foxy grin on her face didn’t make Marinette’s headache go away, it only slowed the departure.

“Tall, blond hair, green eyes, kind smile.” She paused, remembering his voice, “He….he kind of reminded me of Chat Noir though.”

The half-eaten apple bumped against Marinette’s mug and Alya hastily grabbed it back, cradling it in her shaking hands, “W-what?! Girl, no! Stop that! Bad Marinette! Stop imaging Chat Noir in everyone! Do I look like I have whiskers?! How many?” her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she stuck her tongue out.

An exaggerated eyeroll, “I’m not, I swear! It’s just…his voice wasn’t exactly like his, it was softer and a bit lighter, but it was close enough.” She laid her forehead against the table, sighing, “Maybe I imagined it, I didn’t sleep all that good and worked late for those dresses.”

Alya snorted, “Right you did, you should take the day off, Jul and Rose can take over for today.” An idea popped into her head suddenly, “Hey, wait, I thought you found your mystery cat. Didn’t you say that professor guy was Chat Noir?”

A miserable frown marred the designer’s face and she gently hit her forehead against the table in frustration, “I’m not even sure what I found, Alya. Erik’s…alright, I guess. It’s just, he constantly makes fun of Nath and I don’t like that. He acts different than when we’re in the restaurant.”

“Maybe it’s a thing between professors? They do study in similar fields.” Alya shrugged.

Marinette huffed, “That’s what I thought too, but Nathaniel had that haunted, ‘that guy harassed me’ look about him when I mentioned his name. They really don’t get along at all.” She pushed aside her coffee and rested her chin against her propped up hands miserably, “Maybe I should drop it, maybe I was wrong about Chat, after all.”

Alya’s brow shot to her hairline, “What?! You can’t be serious, Marinette! You’ve talked about that guy for the last weeks! You’re totally smitten!”

“But what if I misjudged his character? What if he’s actually a jerk? I can’t date or like someone like that.” She pouted, looking truly conflicted. Alya hated seeing her like that.

The reporter stood up from her seat and walked around her kitchen table, wrapping an arm around her best friend reassuringly, “Hey, don’t be like that, I’m sure it’s all just a big misunderstanding.” She rubbed her cheek against Marinette’s affectionately, “Besides, my best friend doesn’t just fall for anyone, either way he’s a great guy or there is no guy at all!” she grinned and Marinette giggled, hugging Alya back.

“Thanks Alya, you always know what to say to make me more confident.” With a playful smirk, Marinette gently nudged her best friend, “By the way, Nathaniel is giving you competition, he started learning how to cheer me up too.”

Alya clenched her hand into a fist, “That punk! How dare he! Oh, he should watch his ass when I come into one of his lectures! That paperball is going straight for tomato child!”

Marinette laughed.

Thanks for reading guys! I hope you enjoyed! Thoughts so far? :3

[singingcookie]

Idk if it's okay to ask multiple things in one ask? If not, you can just pick one/some of these (I'll leave the choice up to you~): 001 - bnha | 002 - momojirou, izuocha | 003 - kaminari, hawks, tsuyu, jirou, uraraka, shigaraki, midoriya

Yeah that’s totally fine!! Though someone else did send me Izuocha (link) and bnha (link) in other asks, but I shall answer the rest here!! I’m gonna put it under a cut so it doesn’t take a million years to scroll past lol

I think I’m gonna do the characters you sent besides Uraraka and Deku, mostly because I talk about them all the time anyways. And the odds of someone else sending me those two are fairly high so on we go!! 

To kick things off, Momojirou!

002 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when or if I started shipping it.

Y’know, I’m not really sure? It wasn’t anything in canon. I think it was just a piece of fanart that got me to consider it and I was like “hmmmm you have my attention…” about it afterwards lol

my thoughts:

I think they’re a really cute prospect! We already know that Momo’s helped Kyouka with studying for the final exams, and then Hori said in the Ultra Archive book that just came out that they’re sharing music with one another and they’re really close friends so!! I’d be more than down with this ship lol

What makes me happy about them:

They’re so different, but they’re eager to learn more about each other! That’s always something really cute…!

What makes me sad about them:

They’re not a very popular ship :/ I see a lot of fanart, but not much in the way of fics unless they’re just there like in the background primarily.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

They’re usually a background ship lmao

Things I look for in fanfic:

Give me them as the main focus and show me two girls who care about each other and I’m very sold lol

My kinks:

Errrr I really don’t have any lol

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

For Momo I think AwaseMomo is cute, so’s the concept of IidaMomo and maybe TodoMomo if you give me good build up. For Jirou I’d say I’d be down with Kamijirou and also no one talks about it but like…guys we’re all sleeping on Minajirou…

My happily ever after for them:

They get to be cute girlfriends during off time from Hero work. Jirou also writes rock music in her free time, and Momo loves get togethers to invite all of their friends over and listen to Jirou play.

Okay on to the people questions!!

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you

First and foremost, Kaminari!

How I feel about this character:

I really like Kaminari! He’s a huge goofball but he also really cares about his friends. And while he may not have the highest grades in the class, he seems to be really good at reading people! 

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Kamijirou, ShinKami, KamiMina, KamiKiri… I’d be down with any of those tbh.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

KamiSero. Bros man. Bros for life 

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don’t think he’s quite as dumb as some parts of the fandom can portray him as though I think his classmates do over exaggerate it themselves similar to how fandom does

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Mostly I just hope we get him in more serious situations as the story continues? The only time we’ve seen him really get serious was during the license exam. And I just think it’d be nice to see him under a more serious kind of pressure now that he has better means of controlling his quirk.

My OTP:

Kaminari/Wheeeey

My OT3:

I can’t even think of a solid OT3 here that I could really get behind so idk.

Next up we got Hawks!

How I feel about this character:

Lemme tell you, I was not expecting to love Hawks as much as I do? He’s not really one of my top 5 or anything but any time he shows up I’m like “Hey!!! It’s mah boy!!!” He’s great, love him. Terrified for him also considering how many Icarus parallels we’ve gotten hahahahaha

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

I think the concept of Huyumi is neat?

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

EndHawks are a solid brotp from how the manga’s going rn. Also Tokoyami and Hawks. And my OC Hikaru and Hawks I mean what.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I’m not really sure tbh. Maybe just that I don’t think he’s gonna turn on the heroes for real? I know that’s been a thing like “how do we know what side he’s really on?” But I think the latest chapter kinda helps kick that away idk

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

*banging pots and pans together* DEEPEN THAT BACK STORY GIVE ME MORE INFO DAMMIT

My OTP:

Hawks/Living

My OT3:

Again I…have no idea lmao

Alright now we go on to Tsuyu!!

How I feel about this character:

Tsuyu is a good frog. I really enjoy her character and her overall just chill kind of nature I guess? But I also love that she’s still willing to stand up for her convictions! Like, saying what she did in the hospital took a lot guts! And then telling the rescue group how much knowing they went through with it hurt her… She’s a brave girl who stands up for what she believes in. She’s got a good head on her shoulders for sure!

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Habuko/Tsuyu, Tsuchako… It occcurs to me that I must headcanon her as wlw because I can’t really imagine her with any of the dudes.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

TokoTsuyu and MidoTsu! I love the way she interacts with both boys and how easily they work together and she gets along with them!

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Idk I think it reads really weird when people write her as saying “kero” or “ribbit” every single sentence. Like, she does say it often enough but not like every sentence. I’m not sure outside of that what an unpopular opinion would even be for her.

Actually also consider…transgirl Tsuyu. Thank you for your consideration.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I’d like to see her struggles a little more? She’s been a part of a couple of arcs but it’s mostly just with her just kinda being there. We don’t see her struggling like Ochako does following Overhaul. The most struggle we got was the hospital and follow up scene. It would be nice to expand on that for her character I think. Give us a better grasp on her by knowing how she goes through something hard.

Maybe also show us something with her family too!

My OTP:

Habuko/Tsuyu by a mile!

My OT3:

I can’t really think of one, but I think that’s just cause I only have the two ships and I feel weird pushing that into an OT3 when Habuko and Ochako don’t know each other lol

Then we have Jirou!!

How I feel about this character:

Jirou’s kind of a nice change from a lot of the other girls in Class A. The rest are pretty bubbly or upbeat while Jirou’s kind of lowkey and sarcastic? She’s a good change of pace while also being really nice to bounce said characters off of. I also like seeing her love of music. And the fact that while it’s something she really does love she’s not really looking to make a career out of it? Because sometimes you want your hobbies and job separate so that’s cool to see too.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Oh gosh okay um Momojirou, Kamijirou, KoudaJirou and Minajirou. These are all good and I will stand by it lol

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Bakujirou. Listen…the cultural festival and then the joint training put this friendship in my heart and I’m so about it! But also I love her friendships with all the people in the ships I mentioned…

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Idk if this is unpopular but I don’t think she’s very uppity about music taste? I think Jirou’s really open to a wide variety of music but she tends to enjoy rock the most. It’s part of why she’s learned to play so many instruments, I think!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Give me a moment where she gets to be at the core of something heroic. We almost got a glimpse of that in the USJ attack. But then she was unconscious for the training camp, she wasn’t part of Overhaul… She did get focus in the cultural festival but that was about the music, more than any like hero mission or anything…

My OTP:

Jirou/Music

I’m sorry I know a lot of these OTPs sound like jokes but it’s mostly because there isn’t like one of the romantic ships that super outweighs the others for me.

My OT3:

*shrugs*

And last but certainly not least: Shigaraki!! BE FOREWARNED LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD!!

How I feel about this character:

Shigaraki is a poor bastard that I love to hate. He’s a really complex character as we’ve been shown since the villain arc. His backstory is absolutely tragic. And Hori keeps painting for us these parallels to Deku but ultimately they function more as foils. Putting them in similar situations only to highlight the difference the two characters have with one another.

I can’t wait to see what else Hori has in story regarding him!

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Hmmm, I’m not really sure I have a ship for him really? I think it’s mostly just that I haven’t considered it, so I don’t really have any thoughts regarding that.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

His whole relationship to the League is...actually really sweet? It’s nice that they’ve all found this little home and camaraderie with one another.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don’t really think he’s all that bad? Like I know there’s a lot that don’t think he’s very interesting or what have you, but I really find his character fascinating and I can’t wait to see how much more he grows outside of AfO’s influence.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I really like the idea of some of his memories being faked by AfO or else that AfO is the one that gave him his quirk in the first place. It just makes the most sense to me considering how his quirk started out so strong right at the beginning when all the other quirks we’ve seen don’t start off immediately strong unless they’re a quirk with a stockpile effect (e.g. OfA and Eri’s Rewind).

My OTP:

Shigaraki/Medication for his skin condition :

My OT3:

I don’t even have any ships how would I do an OT3 lmao

[tobesobri]

here is a little snippet from kindergarten!teacher harry (and the mc is his like teacher’s aide for some context) 👍👍

it is highly unedited so just bear in mind it’s still a rough draft

“I hate Mondays,” he sighed as he plopped himself down on the couch Nellie had been sleeping on earlier, noticing how it smelled like her perfume when he hugged the pillow she’d been using to his chest as an armrest while he flipped through his phone.

She giggled at him, but didn’t say anything in response mainly because she figured he was just thinking out loud and, to be honest, she had so much more cutting to get through still.

“The drill is at ten-thirty,” he announced after having scrolled through the e-mail.

“How long is it going to be?”

“At least like fifteen minutes since it’s a disaster drill. I hate those.”

“Mm,” the tiniest of breaks she took to glance over at him turned into a full-blown staring at him for an entire minute. She couldn’t help herself though, the way he tapped his foot and how his arms looked wrapped around the pillow. And when her mind really got lost, she was staring at his thighs as he had his legs spread while he sat.

She would have kept staring too, if he hadn’t flickered his eyes to her from over his phone. So, instead of continuing down a dangerous path in her mind, she shamefully went back to her job while trying to pretend she didn’t see the smirk on his lips for catching her staring at him like that.

“So are you doing anything Thursday?” He asked casually, but he had other intentions laced through his words.

“Thursday?” She seemed to have no idea what was going on later in the week and, although it made him giggle, it also made him a little relieved that she had nothing monumental going on that she’d never be able to forget about.

“Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh, uh,” she paused to think about it and then, to his surprise, she laughed. “Will from next door asked me to go to dinner but… I don’t really do that stuff.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged though she was sure he was busy staring at his phone as it became something he took full advantage of during his breaks. “Kinda boring.”

He looked at her then and she knew it. And finding him staring at her the way he was just about made her explode. He was stifling a smile with a very suggestive look in his eyes. “So you don’t ever go on dates because they’re boring?”

She laughed, realizing what sort of impression she was giving him of herself. Of someone who didn’t bother wasting time. “No, but I don’t really do anything with anybody. It’s pretty much just me… and my dogs.”

“Hm. Doesn’t it get lonely?”

“I mean… my dogs are really good company.”

“I guess.” Chuckling, he tried not to ask more probing questions, even if he couldn’t quite understand why she was single and chose to be alone. He’d gotten to know her quite well and she was extremely caring and thoughtful and kind. Anyone would fall in love with her.

“What about you? Are you still seeing um… Jennifer?”

“Jessica,” he corrected with a growing frown on his face, “And no. Suppose I didn’t ever tell you… but she cheated on me and it ended pretty badly so…” he shrugged and tried not to go back to it mentally while she gave him a clearly sympathetic look, “but I’m not doing anything either. Might see if Will still needs a date, though.”

They both laughed, hard. The kind of laughs that made their faces hurt. “Well, if that doesn’t work out, I’m sure my dogs would love to see you again.”

As simple of an invitation it was, it still made his heart flutter and it made his stomach turn at the thought of them hanging out. “I’d love to see them again, too. I see them on your Instagram, they’re getting so big.”

“They are big. They’re almost two years old now.” He got lost in the memories of when they used to hang out a lot and the dogs were still puppies that loved to jump all over him and force him into playing with them even though he wanted to spend most of his time with Nellie and not her insane dogs.

He sighed heavily when he got a glimpse of the time. “Damn. I swear recess was a lot longer when we were in school.”

“Right? I’ve been thinking that too.”

Nellie fell into the chair beside Harry after her third time getting up to deal with the kids who just couldn’t sit still. “If he continues, just have him sit over here by himself.” Harry suggested once she was finally back by his side, hiding from the sun behind his dark sunglasses.

“Don’t know why he’s being a brat.”

Harry shrugged with his arms crossed, looking over at Jason who was clearly in the beginning stages of some sort of tantrum, “He needs no reason.”

Laughing, she checked the screen of her phone for the time. They’d been out on the field with the kids for nearly twenty minutes, with no end in sight yet. Then, from her phone, her eyes fell on the group of girls who were all giggling and looking at her and Harry very suspiciously. There was no doubt in her mind that they were up to something, but she paid no mind to it because the group were all really good students that never gave either of them any problems.

Until one of them ran up to her with a folded piece of paper in the shape of a makeshift greeting card made out of pink lined paper she knew to be from Isabella’s notebook. “Is this for me?”

Isabella glanced at Harry, then back at Nellie. “Yes.”

Nellie flipped it around and found her name on the front in Jasmine’s neat handwriting with red crayon hearts surrounding it. Harry watched over her shoulder curiously but tried not to make it so obvious that he was.

“Did you make this?” Nellie already knew the answer, but she entertained the little girl anyways.

“Me and Jas. Read the inside.” Bella eagerly and impatiently reached over to get Nellie to open the card already. And Nellie was smiling until she did finally read it.

There was a big heart in the middle of the page that said “Mrs. N + Mr. Styles” like one of those cheesy tree carvings. She fought hard but the corners of her mouth turned into a shy smile as her cheeks blushed and she glanced quickly over at Harry from the corner of her eyes just to make sure he hadn’t seen anything. Though, she was sure she’d show him anyways.

But, when he shuffled away from her and cleared his throat, she knew he already knew. Landing her eyes back on Bella, she closed the card and smiled, “Well, thank you, it’s really pretty. I like all the hearts.”

The little girl bounced on her feet all the way back to her seat beside her best friend, with Nellie watching and shaking her head at the imagination of little girls.

When she opened the card again, it was between her and Harry and he easily looked over at her the second she bumped her hand against his arm. He lifted his sunglasses from his nose to read the inside of the card before shaking his own head with a similar smile on his face and red, dimpled cheeks she just attributed to the sun.

“They’re crazy.”

“Right?” She agreed, closing the card again and setting it in her lap, not entirely sure what she’d do with it but she never threw away anything the kids made for her. And even if she did, some small piece of her desperately wanted to hold onto this one.

“Mrs. N.” He emphasized with a light chuckle. “I correct them all the time too and they don’t listen.”

She was glad he decided to focus on that instead of the actual content. It made all the potential awkwardness just vanish. “It’s okay. They’re just confused.”

“It is kinda weird that women change their names and their titles when they get married and men don’t.” She rolled her eyes at Harry’s typical ramblings about the tiniest of issues involving gender inequalities. She loved him for it, but he was known to go on and on for a while.

“Just start calling yourself Mrs. Styles then. Problem solved.”

He giggled and smacked his hand to his face, “Now that would confuse them.” He slid his hand down his face until his fingers reached his lips and he kept them there, covering over his mouth the way he did so often she’d grown just a little bit obsessed with.

“They’ll get used to it.”

And after a momentary pause in the conversation, “Do you ever want to be a Mrs. N?”

[eggman-empire]

Evil Overlords Have Feelings Too - Part 1

Evil Overlords Have Feelings Too by Jenifer Irwin **** This is a fanfic based off of my own version of the Sonic the Hedgehog Universe, which is a combination of a lot of stuff that happened in Sonic Adventure 2, and some amusing things that I threw in to flesh the characters out (such as my theory that Robotnik's favorite drink would be Dr Pepper.) Various footnotes are included throughout for those who may not understand things I make references to. See the very last page for details on which characters and things are property of who. Mentioning them all here might ruin surprises. Many thanks goes out to people who answered polls on the GameTalk forums to give me ideas, and also to my good friend Ian (ShadowNinja/Bob) for helping me come up with ideas throughout the series. Thanks also goes out to readers and those who have given me comments of any sort to help me make it better. I warn you now, this story is intentionally corny in many places for humor purposes. Just sit back and enjoy... don’t analyze too much... it is a cartoon, after all! ****

Part One *WHACK!* "You piece of junk! Why aren't you working right?!" the doctor growled, pounding angrily on the control panel. "Because you installed Windows on me, you cruel beast," the computer responded, drives whirring and clicking frantically. "AGH! ANOTHER ONE! A fatal exception 0E has--*zrrmmm*" It made a small whining noise as Robotnik pulled the plug. "You're obsolete anyway. I built you a whole month ago. You'll be good metal for the next Egg Walker I build," Robotnik said, pulling the entire machine apart and tossing the pieces into the 'Spare Parts' container nearby--one of about 50 similar containers in his home base. Wandering arrogantly through the halls as he did on a regular basis, Robotnik basked in the personal glory gained from having built the entire 200-room base with nothing but his hands, several tons of spare parts and a broken screwdriver. It was the greatest of his personal achievements, and an extension of that achievement was the fact that nobody had ever broken into it to this day. Floating above a secluded mountain range, it was the perfect place to build and scheme. He grabbed a Snickers bar out of one of the several candy dispensers he had installed throughout the base as he headed to the chao room. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he loved the little creatures he'd raised. As long as they were fit, anyway. Chao that weren't up to par in terms of ability potential were promptly sent away. Those that were fit enough, however, were quite literally doted on by their owner. He always pet them when they ran up to him, and he installed lots of neat high-tech stuff in the chamber for them to play with. It was probably the only time he ever showed that a softer side (other than that giant stomach of his) even existed in him, because Evil Scheming Overlords most certainly can't let their archenemies know that. As the chamber opened up, 4 little chao looked up with eyes wide in anticipation. The familiar figure stepped into the room and was swarmed by the creatures, all of them begging to be pet. He bent down, chuckling, and pet each of them in turn, then headed around the room to check on all of the equipment. A broken screen here, a frayed wire there, all were fixed or replaced in minutes. The oldest and most powerful chao, Devlin the Devil Chao, hopped in the mini-Egg Walker and started moving around, clapping his little fiery hands in glee. He was 20 years old, going on about 1. Balor, one of the chao in 'Project SSSSS,' Robotnik's project to develop an ultra-elite chao, skipped about kicking a ball around, and Cade sat down at a small computer to program something. Darken got a crayon and started drawing on the wall. Robotnik grinned at the antics of the chao and threw a few packs of candy to them from a dispenser. Arashi was speechless as she watched all this through a very small hole in the wall, drilled there the night before when she exploited an easily overlooked but very critical flaw in the security system of the base. Nobody else, even one of her primary employers, Tails, could spot the flaw. Of course, he and Robotnik were also more into mechanical things--Arashi was a dedicated master of computer programming, debugging... and hacking. Particularly security systems. Tails had met her at her job in a bank and offered her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--in exchange for regular transportation back and forth from the base and the ability to speak with one of the greatest geniuses of all time, she would keep an eye on him and make sure that any plans he had for world takeover were somehow thwarted before he could even try to enact them. The way she could find out just how to do this would be to be on the inside of his plots, then either distract him to another project or alert any who would be affected so that they could change their position or what they were doing in order to make him change his plans. Of course... she didn't plan on following this at all. With all her expertise, she was able to quietly hack the base and disable the alarms. They appeared to be still working, but if something actually happened, the alarm simply wouldn't produce any sound. And now she was within the heart of the stronghold of the only person she respected as much as she did herself, the only person she figured she could ever carry on an interesting conversation with. Nobody else knew as much about computers and other technology, except Tails, but he wasn't evil and nasty, so he wasn't interesting. Robotnik, however, was. ...and he was playing gleefully with his pet chao. Something had to be seriously wrong with the multiverse. This was just not right. The Evil Overlord Robotnik... playing with tiny pet creatures? Nooo, noo, wait a second here. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. He was still there, grinning down at the chao in the mini-egg-walker. Wasn't there at least a hint of evilness in that look? She had to look hard... to find nothing evil about it. The cute devil chao looked more evil than Robotnik did at this moment! Arashi's eyes glazed over at the sight, and she went into a minor state of shock. What was this... thing, that was her evil genius hero? He liked cute creatures! He kept them as pets! He gave them candy and toys! This wasn't evil! It didn't make sense at all! She fainted. Thud. ** The sensation of a hand shaking her shoulder woke Arashi up and she found herself strapped to a chair. The first thing she saw was Robotnik glaring down at her. Yes. Just like he should look. That was him. Not the smiling jolly man she saw in the chao chamber earlier. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see this," Arashi said dramatically, causing Robotnik to get a totally confused look on his face. Usually his prisoners screamed or at least whined upon seeing him. "Um... ok. Well, anyway, first of all. I'm impressed. You hacked my alarms," he said, holding up her laptop. "Now, if you tell me how you did it... I won't kill you," he threatened, his favorite laser gun in hand. Arashi smiled calmly. "Top compartment on the front of my backpack," she said simply, a little smugly. Robotnik tilted his head slightly in curiosity, then picked up the small pack that he'd taken from her before she woke, and dug around in the aforementioned compartment. The only thing he managed to produce other than some coins and a drink or two was a sheet of paper with some code printed on it. He read over it for a moment, recognizing his own security code, and his mouth opened slightly as he came to the section where she had written in the few missing lines that would have prevented the hack had they been there. Raising a brow as he peered at Arashi, Robotnik asked, "Who are you?" Nobody gets into his base. Surely, this pale-skinned woman with light blue, slightly spiked-up hair wouldn't be any different... She couldn't be any older than 23. No way she could have done this. Could she? "Arashi Codiv," the young woman replied, managing to squeeze a hand through the straps enough to offer him a handshake. He accepted it, though it was obvious he was deep in thought, seeming to look through her instead of at her. He turned abruptly, leaving her in the chair as he walked up to a computer that was installed in the wall, and logged into his coding program. A little searching for the particular section and about 10 seconds of typing later, he put a special key into a lock that turned the alarm system off. The computer quickly recompiled the program and he implemented it, then pressed a button to turn on the alarm system (much easier than the process for turning it off), and several floodlights in the room instantly trained themselves on the woman in the chair as alarms screamed all over the base and the location of the intruder flashed up on the screen. Robotnik hit a few keys and the blaring stopped, the system having accepted her presence at his command. "You're good. Really good," he said, glancing over at her oddly. She grinned smugly, responding with, "I know." A slight, wry smirk appeared on Robotnik's face as he thought to himself, "She reminds me of me..." ** "So... I know you must be here for more than just to offer a helpful correction in my code," the doctor said, gesturing as he ambled down a corridor with Arashi, his laser gun drawn, but held casually down at his side, just in case she tried anything funny. "I've always wanted to meet you. And build things. Maybe even rule the world. You're the only person who I think I could ever identify with," she said truthfully, adjusting her backpack so it sat better on her shoulders. "Nobody else understands me," she said with a slight sigh. Robotnik glanced over at the girl with a look that said he knew exactly what she meant, and put the laser gun back in its holster. "Yes. I could never figure out what's so hard to understand about the physics required to reverse gravity. The last time I tried to explain it to someone, his head exploded. Come to think, maybe I should do that the next time I see Sonic..." He thought about it for a moment, a hint of irritation entering his eyes. "Not that it would work. I wish Sega would let me win for once... I'm hungry," he said mostly to himself, opening a door and walking in, straight to a very advanced refrigerator. His mind was certainly one-track at times, Arashi could tell that already. He proceeded to pull an entire turkey out of the refrigerator, instant-cook it in a high-tech oven, and sit down at the table with the whole thing on his plate. Ripping a drumstick off, he started eating like a total pig, much to Arashi's amusement. "So... D'you think I could program and build things around here?" she asked hopefully. "Ah thin' we cou' arrangh shm'fn, yah," Robotnik managed to say around a mouthful of food. "Whu' y'shtar'n at?" "Oh, nothing," Arashi said, snickering. She took a seat at the table and brought out one of her drinks, thinking to herself, "This is funny. I thought for some reason he had more class than this... Well, I guess when you're alone all the time, manners aren't exactly top priority." She thoughtfully took a few drinks and looked around the kitchen, which was devoid of any decoration whatsoever, but it was a nice kitchen nonetheless. The entire base seemed quite well-kept, and she knew there had to be cleaning robots all over the place, because Robotnik was a slob and nobody would be able to keep such a large base clean by themselves anyway. Before long, all that was left of the turkey were bones. The large man picked contentedly at his teeth with a toothpick for a while, then said, "I suppose it's too late to ask you if you want any," with a snicker. Arashi laughed and shook her head. This guy really was much different in private and when his immediate goal in mind wasn't to take over the world. Pressing a button that was on the underside of the table, Robotnik watched as a hidden alcove opened up and a robot walked out, cleaning the bones off the plate and table, then quickly washing the plate and setting it back in the dish rack. Arashi smiled slightly as she said to herself, "I knew it." "Well then, shall we get to work? I've got something particularly nice I've been working on," he said, standing up from the table as he wiped his hands off on the towel that the robot held out. Arashi grinned and stood up, following him. "This isn't the ultimate of all my creations, simply because if I said that, it'd be so cliché. Let's just say I really like it and it rocks," Robotnik said arrogantly as he pushed a button and tapped something into a small terminal on the wall, causing a heavily reinforced door to open up. He and Arashi stepped into a dim and -very- large room, where a huge coil of some sort of strong metal lay, taking up most of the room. The coil was at least 10 feet in diameter, and it was a strange silvery color with odd scales all over it... it looked just like... Arashi took a step back, alarmed as a giant robotic snake's head rose up from behind some of the coil, staring down at the two humans with cold, metallic eyes and flicking a flexible steel tongue. "I'm testing a new type of forging for the metals I use... and it seems to be working. I've managed to make steel that's as flexible as rubber," Robotnik said as he grinned evilly. Arashi stared at him in awe. He glanced at her and said in a lower voice, "And that's not even the best part." Robotnik turned his gaze back to the giant snake and closed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest and saying, "Take something out of your backpack." The girl looked at him confusedly, but took off her backpack and drew out some random item. The snake tilted its head slightly, and the doctor said a bit amusedly, "A portable hard drive. Women keep anything in their purses and packs..." Arashi looked at him. He was still facing away from her, and had never turned around. The surface of the snake wasn't reflective, and there were no mirrors anywhere, and he wasn't holding anything to look at... She looked up at the snake. It grinned at her. "...uh... holy crap," were the only words she could find for a stunned moment. "You can control that thing with your MIND? And see through its eyes!?" Opening his own eyes again, Robotnik said in a quiet but triumphant tone, "It was one of the most difficult things I've ever managed. I mean, I had the chip all nice and ready pretty quickly, but drilling into my skull to put it there was hard. It broke most of my best drill bits." Arashi started laughing uncontrollably. ** After some fun with the robotic snake and a few random transformations of harmless objects into Death Machines, the two decided to turn in for the night, Arashi allowed to sleep in the best guest bedroom in the base. She got out her radio and quietly started talking. "Sonic... You there?" "Yeah. Didja get any info? Is he working on anything big?" "No," she lied through her teeth. "He actually suffered a few setbacks lately. See, I just got into that job at the bank lately and they used my security code for all the other banks in the world. He can't hack for money anymore, so he has had to resort to older machines. Getting him is going to be a breeze." "Awesome! When should we attack?" "I'll let you know tomorrow." "Alright. Keep watching him!" the hedgehog replied. "You bet," Arashi said, grinning. The radio beeped, and an evil little giggle of, "...gullible..." came from in the room. Robotnik took the sound-amplifying device away from the surface of the door, grinning evilly. "So... she exploited my enemy to get in here and help me out... I love it!" He turned and headed toward his room, laughing quietly. ** Arashi woke up and yawned, sitting up to find Robotnik standing right beside her bed, arms folded over his chest. "I heard you talking to Sonic last night," he said in a solemn tone. Thinking he only heard part of the conversation, she paled and stuttered, "Wait, let me explain, I--" "And it's going to be a pleasure luring him into a trap like you've planned," he said, grinning suddenly. She blinked and stopped for a moment before the both of them burst into diabolical laughter. "C'mon, let's go make some more intricate battle plans," he said, turning and walking from the room. Arashi stood up and followed, grabbing her backpack and putting it on as she went. When they got to the battle room, Robotnik got out a pile of maps and rifled through them until he found a particular one that he put on the table. It was uncooperative at first and kept trying to roll back up until he dropped an old hard drive, a video card and two floppy drives, grabbed randomly from some shelves, at the corners. The map depicted his mountain range and the city 100 miles away where Sonic and Tails lived. He pointed to a spot that was roughly between the two points. "Right here is an area with a bunker that would be perfect to hide the Steel Snake in. What I want you to do is to tell Sonic to meet you there for some creative reason. That is where we will launch the attack--he'll never see it coming!" Arashi nodded. "That's an excellent plan. And it's pretty simple. When do we do it?" "After breakfast." ** 5 gallons of 'Death by Chocolate' ice cream later, the two stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the cleaning robot to its job. They walked quietly through the corridors until they came to the door that concealed the Steel Snake's room. The large door opened up after the password was entered, revealing the snake in its eerie, motionless slumber. Suddenly, it rose up, wide awake, blinking silently as it flicked its tongue. "We've got a hedgehog to catch," it hissed menacingly in a metallic voice, grinning. Its back opened up, and a large pod with two comfortable seats rose out of the opening, the heavily armored clear top flipping open. Robotnik jumped up in one of the seats, grinning evilly as he asked, "Care for a ride?" Arashi climbed up into the pod, marveling at the nice interior, the bucket seats, and the really big rocket launchers protruding out of it, triggers at the two mad scientists' hands. This, to her, was like taking a ride in a brand new Corvette convertible to anyone else. The top flipped down and snapped into place and the snake stretched slightly. "I've wanted to give this a test ride for the longest time," Robotnik said, and the machine darted out of the room at a speed unbelievable for such a large thing. Slithering along the ground at a rate of at least 100 miles an hour, the snake very quickly made its way toward the bunker. "Wow! This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Arashi exclaimed, giggling as the snake slipped up a hill and quickly down the other side, doing the same odd thing to her stomach that an unexpected, sudden downward hill in a car does. "You think this is neat... I can do better," Robotnik said, snickering, and a great deal of energy could be felt in the air. The sides of the snake opened up and a few clanking noises were heard. Arashi looked into the conveniently placed rear-view mirror and saw several huge jets extend from the openings, blasting fire as the snake rose off the ground thanks to gravity reversal. Without ground to push from, however, it wouldn't be able to go very far without the jets, which began to push it along, steering it effortlessly. Robotnik let loose a brief, evil laugh from deep in his chest. "Excellent..." This really was the ultimate of his creations. Never before had he made rubber-flexible steel, and he also hadn't made something able to be controlled with his mind alone. Its unusual shape made it hard to detect on radar, and its top speed in the air was about 1000 miles an hour. It had bomb compartments and guns. Simply, it rocked. Keeping the snake low to the ground to avoid being seen in the air by anyone, Robotnik sent it blazing over the plains and eventually twisting through hills and valleys. Both geniuses were in a continual state of euphoria as they watched the landscape hurtle past them at high speed. They got to the bunker a little faster than they really wanted to, and the giant snake stopped outside, peering down at the small control panel that was installed next to the door. A plated scale slid back on the snake's side and out extended a robotic arm, tapping some things onto the panel, and the bunker door slid open. The inside of the bunker was huge. It appeared to be a weapons storage facility in the case of desperate emergency. It doubled as a testing lab, and was big enough to house 5 Steel Snakes comfortably. The ceiling was 100 feet above, with spare parts and weapons stacked all the way up on every wall. The majority of the bunker, the center, was completely devoid of anything. Perfect testing grounds... or an ambush point. The two began to organize their attack plan. ** Robotnik looked over at Arashi and nodded expectantly, watching as she pulled out her radio and motioned for him to be silent. "Sonic?" "Yeah, Arashi? Got battle plans?" "Yes, I do. Robotnik's sleeping. But he found a way to fix his security system--the only way we're going to get past it is to get a few special computer chips from a bunker that's about 50 miles southwest of his base. Just come on over, the door is open. It's in the Silent Hills." Turning the radio off, Arashi looked over at Robotnik. "How was that?" "Perfect." They exchanged diabolical grins, and waited. ** 15 minutes later, Sonic and Tails stood outside the open door. Sonic yelled, "Arashi?" No answer. "Guess she didn't hear us," he said, unconcerned, and headed into the doorway, Tails close behind. "Nice place," he said, admiring the stacks and stacks of weapons... until they heard a loud slam of the door behind them and felt something very large above them moving toward them at very high speed. Tails barely had time to gasp and scream. *SNAP!* The robotic snake swallowed loudly and spit out a single, severed tail. Sonic stared down at it in horror for a moment, then looked back up at the snake slowly. "You're going to PAY FOR THAT!" the hedgehog screamed angrily, and promptly turned around and started running. The snake remained motionless. Around the bunker Sonic went, looking frantically along the walls for something... but he couldn't find it... "Looking for these, Sonic?" an all too familiar voice asked as a shadow fell over him during a brief, motionless second of thought. He turned around and looked up at Robotnik, who stood about 10 feet away gripping a handful of rings and grinning. "What have you done with Arashi!? How did you find out!?" Sonic asked, unable to mask his terror. Never before had Robotnik been smart enough to strike so quickly... or to kill Tails... or to collect all the rings prior to battle... "What have I done with her? Oh, no, it's not 'what have I done with her.' More like... 'what has she done with me.'" The doctor grinned evilly as Sonic looked at him in confused terror. "I know you're a strong believer in the motto, 'Live and Learn.' But apparently, Sonic, you haven't lived enough to learn that I'm not the only person in the world who can't be trusted..." Robotnik glanced back over his shoulder as Arashi stepped out from behind one of the large shelves, walking up to his side with an evil grin. Sonic nearly went into shock as he watched his trusted spy put a hand on Robotnik's shoulder and give it an encouraging... almost... affectionate... squeeze... Managing to regain his presence of mind, the hedgehog screamed, raging over the loss of Tails, "Prepare to DIE, BOTH OF YOU!" and started charging up a spin-dash, ignoring the fact that he had no rings. The snake darted across the bunker instantly and whipped its tail around at Sonic, smacking him into a shelf suddenly and causing about 200 pounds of spare parts to fall on him, pinning him. Robotnik chuckled evilly and wandered over towards Sonic, who struggled hard to get out from underneath the pile of metal and plastic. The doctor waited amusedly, taunting Sonic as he squirmed his way out and crawled to the floor, glaring up at his enemy before he stood up into a crouched position. The camera panned out and revolved around the two as they slowly, instinctively, moved out to the middle of the floor. "So, Sonic... it's come to this. A final showdown. More final than any other. I have rings... you don't. Sega has never put you in a position quite like this before, have they? I like whoever wrote this plot," Robotnik said, grinning evilly as he tucked the handful of rings in his pocket. Sonic decided there was enough talk. The battle was now. It was the battle of all battles... one that only real men could win at. Childish Insults! "You're a big poo-head!" he yelled viciously. Robotnik fell down from the force of the insult, rings bouncing out of his pocket. He managed to grab a few, but Sonic swiped some himself, too. "Oh, yeah? You're ugly!" Robotnik growled, pointing at Sonic, who twitched as the rings fell out of his hand. He managed to get all but one before the doctor did. "You smell!" the hedgehog yelled in a classic kindergarten-whiny-kid tone. Robotnik stumbled backwards, dropping a few rings. Again, both picked up a couple. "You're dumb!" "Your mom's fat!" "At least my mom didn't have a retard for a kid!" "Come here, I want to check out my reflection on your head!" "At least my head isn't bigger than the whole rest of my body!" Over and over, they slung insults back and forth. Sonic got knocked back so far by some of them that Robotnik was able to get most of the rings before he did. The insults didn't send the gluttonous doctor flying very far due to his weight. Eventually, Robotnik had all the rings and he flung his insult. "Your shoes suck!" That was it. Sonic had no rings left. Rings were his lifeblood... his confidence... He sat down and started crying. Robotnik laughed and walked towards Sonic. "Hah! Weakling fool! You thought you could defeat -me- in a battle of wits!? I have an IQ of 300, you idiot!" Sonic twitched violently from the further insults. "Why are you kicking me while I'm down!? Have you no honor?" "Honor is what makes Evil Overlords -lose.- I'll have none of that!" Robotnik grinned evilly as he drew his laser gun. "It's the end of the road for you, Sonic! You've taken your last step! Eaten your last chilidog! Charged your last spin dash! Jumped your last jump!" He got louder and louder with each statement, waving the gun around. "Run your last mile! Smashed your last badnik! Pulled your last loop--" Arashi walked up and shook his shoulder gently. "Ivo, shut up and shoot him." "She called me by my first name... nobody ever does that," Robotnik thought to himself, blinking at her. She gave him a look, still urging him to shoot, and he nodded. "Right." He turned towards Sonic again and raised the laser gun, grinning at the weakened hedgehog who pleaded for mercy with his eyes, raising a hand defensively. As he watched the horror on his archenemy's face grow, he very slowly began to pull the trigger. "Farewell... Sonic the Hedgehog!" ...*click* Robotnik looked at the gun incredulously. "Oh, bother, I had the blasted safety on." He flipped a small switch, held up the gun again and pulled the trigger unceremoniously, sending a high-powered laser beam burning through Sonic's head, killing him instantly. As the blue hedgehog slumped to the floor, lifeless, Robotnik stood motionless for a moment, in shock. He had really done it. Finally, he had destroyed his enemy, and it was no longer in the way. There was nothing standing between him and world domination. He turned and traded grins with Arashi. And she hugged him gleefully. He staggered back, flailing his arms madly in confusion, stuttering, "That--that was uncalled for! Whatever it was! It made me feel all... warm and fuzzy inside! What did you do!? And how can your arms be long enough to get around me!?" He blinked at Arashi, who was laughing by now. She knew good and well that he knew what a hug was, he just didn't want to admit he liked it. He'd never turned a deeper shade of red even in his worst moment of anger. "Come on. Let's go home and take over the world," she said, giggling slightly. "After lunch!" ** Arashi hacked the mainframes of the world, sending everything linked the internet into total chaos. Communications systems were obliterated by viruses and the world was thrown into a panic. From there on out, it was simply a joyride around the world in the Steel Snake destroying everyone that resisted takeover. Under a week later, the last bit of resistance was vanquished. All others bowed to the will of the usurpers. Dr. Ivo Robotnik and Arashi Codiv were now the rulers of the world. So, the day had finally come. The bad guys won. And the two lived happily ever after... for the next few days or so. ** Robotnik tore off a drumstick from the turkey and bit into it, chewing glumly. After swallowing, he asked for the 300th time, "So... what are we going to do now?" "I dunno," Arashi said, picking at a piece of food. "We've already done it all... Killed Sonic... Conquered the world... amassed all the money there is... got all 180 emblems..." "Hey, let's brainwash the entire population!" "We did that yesterday, remember?" "Oh, yeah..." Robotnik sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at the table. He took out his laser gun and started toying with it, dismantling and reconstructing it several times, but it just didn't seem as fun anymore. "Blast... mum, you were right," he mumbled to himself. "Yeah, mine was too," Arashi said absently. "'Why do you want to take over the world so much?' she'd say. 'Once you have it all, there's nothing else to do...'" A small computer terminal in the kitchen brought up a screen, with a special news report starting. The same reporter that spoke of Shadow the Hedgehog robbing the bank during the last failed campaign to take over the world began to report, "Up-to-the-minute sources claim that several unidentified flying objects are attacking all of the major cities in the world. Research groups have received word from whoever is controlling these objects that Earth is to be taken over for its resources--and there is nothing we can do unless Emperor Robotnik decides to take action." The two rulers traded slight, calm smiles and Robotnik pushed his goggles down over his eyes. "A mad scientist's work is never done," he proclaimed, and they both stood up and headed for the Steel Snake's lair.

[dazy-den]

I did a thing!

I tried to post a different peice from this, but also like

That one sucked. So you get this instead.

Words: 1613 of 60405

A little fantasy piece I’ve been working on, still in the first round of edits, so it’s not close to done yet. 

(Also the ‘Once upon a time’ thing is part of an on going theme)

Enjoy!

Once upon a time…

When the sun had burned my face this badly I’d been on Gran’s farm. I’d kept my head to the plants, pulling weeds in the sweltering heat there. It had been nicer, though, with Gran’s lemonade nearby rather than a water bottle.

Lou usually made far better conversation than my cousins at the very least.

“Yeah, so, anyway,” She shifted, setting herself back on her palms so that she was staring up to the masterpiece building. A few seconds later her hands were back up in the air to help add emphasis to her story.  “Brie, tripped and fell, right in the middle of the site, foot caught a root or somethin’.”

I let out a little laugh, half focused pulling the plants we’d already made a note of aside.

“Landed right in front of another ribbon, just like that one.” She gestured to the fading yellow one we found tattered and tangled amongst the plants.

I nodded. “Orchid.”

I cupped the bud in my hand, getting the best look I could before pulling back more weeds..

“Ah!” Lou made a quick note on her pad and plopped it right back down beside her. “But yeah!”

“Bromeliads.”

“Ribbon here, a ribbon there” She threw her hands in the air before grabbing her pen again. “I swear this place in infected with them.”

“Odd.” I pushed myself up to my feet, letting my hiking bag hang off my shoulder. “That should be it. “ I shrugged a shoulder at the overgrown planter box.

Each species had been arranged in a neat row. Each row had grown up and up, taking over all the others. I could almost imaging how neat each bright flower must have looked, what? A month ago. Two? It couldn’t have been far too long considering the only seeds that had filled in between the others were barely a sprout.

Three months at most. But that didn’t quite seem right. That would have meant someone was here to maintain it only that long ago.

There was that girl of course. But she could have been anyone. Someone from far away. Maybe not even that much, who’d just came by to check out the place. My eye caught a mountain. There had been a town there, right? I’d seen it on the way in. Around ten miles from the countryside.

That’s where she’d come from. I decided. She came here to explore. If she left the building, maybe I’d have the chance to ask about what she’d seen.

“Earth to Aria.” Lou waved a hand out in front of my face.

I shook my head, pulling myself back into reality. “Oh right, sorry.”

“I asked you, Where we should go next.” Lou clicked her heels together, getting a good look around the place. She pointed out to the market area. “Ooh!”

She gripped my wrist pulling me forward.

The shade in the market place was beyond nice. It must have been unbearable at some point because not only had it been tucked under a building, but each individual stand had been covered with a striped cloth.

Vibrant colors stretched throughout the place. Perhaps to combat the darkness from the heavy shade. There was a courtyard in the middle with another dried up fountain, I could barely make out the stone beneath the layer of algae that covered it.

Between stands there was a rickety staircase up to the building. I wouldn’t have trusted it to hold up a feather the wood had rotten through so badly.

“Well.” Lou held herself over a stack of fruit that had been left out. “I hope you weren’t looking for anything to eat.”

I gagged. Each one was sinking in on itself, overtaken by insects and mold. Both still found homes across the stack.

“That’s disgusting.” I held a hand over my mouth to keep the bile from rising any father in my throat. Disgusting was certainly the truth. Disgusting but there. Fruit idn’t have that long of a life span.

Lou gave a short nod before skipping onto the next stand. She acted like a small kid in an actual, surviving market, excited by every little thing but bored the next second. “Another ribbon! Infested I tell you!”

Lou yelled out, picking it up off the stand. White this time and the only thing on the stall. Not even the visor was still hanging.

“Huh. Can I look at it?”

“Not sure there’s much to look at!” Lou dropped it in my palm, off to the next thing. She was right. A plain white ribbon, frayed at the end.

I tucked it in my bag. “Hey, I’mma go check around the other side. We can meet in the middle, that good for you?”

She shot me an absent thumbs up, studying something or another that had been left out on the table.

The other side of the market looked much the same. Run-down stalls, rotten fruit. Rickety staircase. I held my breath. A slight disturbance in the rules wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Except me. A voice chimed, noting exactly how poorly the steps had been kept. These looked worse than the ones on the exact opposite end of the market.

Mostly just stalling, I glanced back over towards what  could see of Lou through the courtyard. She had moved over a stall or two, studying some sort of painting. I doubted she’d fully come up for air in a while.

One step. Two step. Three.

Each let out a horrible gut wrenching creak but stayed in place. I doubted how long they would. Well I had to get it over with.

I dashed up each one quickly as I could I heard Lou call my name but didn’t allow myself to stop. My foot hit the sandstone. Solid, safe stone.

I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to regain some air.

The upstairs to the market was similar to the bottom, in the since of all the goods  had rotted or spoiled long ago. A barrel of decayed mangoes had spilled out near my feet.

“Tali? What’re you do…” The girl I’d seen in the square trailed off , A dumbfounded expression on her heart-shaped face. “Doing here, What’re you doing here?!”

“Hello! Mostly just looking around.” I gave her a little wave. “The name’s Aria though.”

“Right.” She pushed her dark hair over her shoulder. I waited for her to say something but she just sat there, deep blue eyes wide, caught in a deer-in-the-headlights look.

“And you?”

She hesitated a moment, cocking her head to the side as if she didn’t quite understand the question. “Sayan.” She decided after a long moment.

“Oh! That’s pretty!” I pressed my notebook against my knees, flashing her the friendliest smile I could muster.

“Thank you.” Her cheeks dimpled in not quite a smile.

“So, I’m going to assume you’re not from my group.” The most obvious of the many giveaways was the fact that she was still wearing her nightgown, too big for her and flowy. It was pretty nice actually. I’d seen far worse at the supermarkets near home.

She’d even tied cyan ribbons around her waist and wrists to make the fit better. They perfectly matched the one the was using to hold up her wavy hair in a half-up style. Maybe she was the one ‘infecting’ Encantado.

“Are you from that village place? Over the mountain or something?”

Sayan seemed offended at the very notion. She reared back, having to pick her white skirt up off the ground to keep from tripping.  

“I’m from here in Bolorma, born and raised!” It sounded like something that should have sounded prideful or full of venom but her voice was too high and sweet for the effect to be carried over.

“I’m sorry, what?” I pursed my lips together. “You’re from here?”

She nodded sharply, absently adjusting the woven basket on her arm.

“Like here? The abandoned city? The one that’s abandoned?” Even if the flowers and fruit had showed recent activity but it still showed a few months gap.

“It’s not abandoned.” She decided after a long silence, her hand tracing a path up and down her opposite arm.

“Is there anyone else here then.”

Her eyes fluttered shut, head tilted ever so slightly to the ground. For a moment she looked almost dreamlike, ashen and forlorn. Like if I were to close my eyes, when they opened again she’d be gone forever, a faded memory of a once great civilization.

“No.” Her voice was barely audible. She wrapped a finger around a dark strand of hair. “Please go, I’d like to be alone for a while.”

“I would but,” I nodded my head towards the boards of rotted wood. “The stairs.”

“They look worse than they are.” She gave me a half hearted shrug, casting a glance out of the window.

“Right.” I made to leave but at the horrible creak the knot in my throat grew to big to take another step so I took asked another question. “Hey, I- um, What, uhm, what happened to this place I mean.”

She gnawed hard on her lower lip. “Come here.”

I smiled grateful for the opportunity to get off of those deathtraps. She’d placed herself next to the window, button nose pressed ever so slightly against the glass. I didn’t really want anyone out there to see me but my curiosity was piqued.

“There.” She pointed out towards the giant building. I knit my brow at her but she only shook her head. “I’m not going to say more.”

And with that she turned on her heel and marched out of sight.

[fox-household]

Act 2: Teaching An Old Lizard, Chapter 2

This one I feel like I probably should’ve split into two, but here we are. The finally chapter of Act 2, next time we’ll get to meet someone new, so look forward to that. 

FIRST, PREVIOUS, NEXT

When Alphys had left, the child that was home alone decided it was a good time to explore the old rickety house that was now his home for the time being. Asgore skipped over the loungerooms, the kitchens and the outside areas as he had already scouted those out previously, also he didn’t check in the master bedroom, it would be quite rude for him to invade Alphys’ bedroom after all. His main interest was on the other side areas of the house, where some of the hallways were that lead to the other bedrooms and cupboards, which from the slightly better state of it really showed its lack of use, as if no one had been there for quite a while. There were three spare bedrooms of generally equal proportions and size, a medium sized square room, with a closet built into one of the walls. Asgore decided to claim one as his own, specifically the one that already had a mattress on the floor that contrasted with the rest of the room. The mattress looked a little new, as if it had only been used once, and even cleaned, at least much more recently than the rest of the cob-webbed and musty room around him. His first stop in the room as far as he was concerned was the closet which was expectedly empty, with a few bare racks and shelves, he closed the double doors as quickly as he opened them. The goat then tested the springs on the mattress a few times before heading over to the window in the room and used his sleeve to brush some of the dirt off the window. He then rested both of his hands on the bottom edge of the window, pressing down on the wood firmly which felt a little bit… softer than the wood he was used too, but it didn’t distract him enough to remove his stare from the outside. The ledge then made a slight creaking sound as he leant to rest himself and started thinking for a bit. Asgore looked out at the sunny day. ‘’Alright, well I suppose I can say I’m surviving at the Alphys residence. Nothing for Gaster to worry about obviously, he’s such a worry wart, bet he’s already getting tabs kept on me.’’  Despite that disaster that was this morning, he could already feel himself warming up to the place, there were some doubts that had been forming in his head overtime, but he quickly dispelled them, ‘You don’t have to wait for a place to naturally be your home, wrestle with it and assert dominance over your environment, force it to be your home with the power of positive thinking and changing things to your liking’, at least that’s what he kept telling himself, and it worked in some way or another in his head so it continued. After about a minute of pondering random things he exited the room, swearing to return with a blanket and pillow tonight for his rest. Nothing exciting was found for a bunch more of the trip, finding the bathrooms, a few linen cupboards and even the laundry, which was also normal, there was only one extra thing of note in his journey around the building. Eventually he reached a door at an end of a hall. This door didn’t look any different from the other ones, but there were small sounds were coming from the other side, like machinery sounds. However, when he tried to open it, the handle didn’t budge at all, as if it was frozen in place, he tried a number of times but there wasn’t even a slight movement at all. ‘’Huh, guess it’s locked or something? Wonder what’s behind there?’’ Suddenly with a slight jump he heard the front door slam shut on the other side of the house, obviously someone was here, and without checking anything else out, he quickly ran back to make sure it was Alphys, he hoped it was since he didn’t feel like pulling out his trident at the time.

Asgore came around a corner to find Alphys carrying two small brown paper bags, a small disposable plastic container with Dim Sims in them and a bundle of white paper from which an aroma of chips was coming from. ‘’Hey, you need help with that? I mean it looks like quite a lot for lunch’’ Alphys shook her head with a smile as she put it all on the bench, ‘’N-no it’s fine and it’s n-not all for lunch, these p-paper bags have our l-lunch in it, the rest is f-for dinner tonight.’’ The goat picked up one of the bags and looked inside and found what appeared to be a meat pie, his expression was happy and thankful for a good few seconds before suddenly it was hit by a little bit of confusion as he put the bag down. ‘’Thank you so much Al, but ummm, won’t the chips and stuff go cold, you a fan of reheated foods or something?’’. The confusion seemed to spread to the lizard’s face as she seemed to wonder what on earth he was talking about, ‘’B-but I’m just gonna p-put it in th-the…oh…y-yeah’’. A smile crept on her face as she realised why he was confused, ‘’W-we uh have a Hot F-fridge, it’s m-made for Undyne but I use i-it to keep th-things warm as well’’, Alphys picked up dinner and moved to the fridge, which Asgore suddenly noticed had a third compartment over the freezer, which when opened let out a little bit of heat into the air. ‘’Oh hey, that’s pretty neat, maybe I should suggest that to my Undyne, sure she would love it.’’ Alphys nodded with a faint laugh, ‘’Y-yeah, I’m s-sure she w-would, so uh you w-…’’, she froze suddenly as she stared towards the bag Asgore had put down, where which his gaze turned, and he noticed some white dust exactly where he had picked up the bag. The goat looked at his own hands, and with widened eyes he found a thin layer of white dust on both. ‘’B-but what? Wh-what’s going on…?’’, Asgore was starting freak out, breathing quickened as he felt a little bit of fear start blooming. Alphys quickly approached him, her reaction seeming to be similar to the child’s, examining his hand, she looked away for a few seconds, seeming to be thinking of something important before responding. ‘’A-Asgore, just try to c-calm down, it’s n-not Dust, i-it’s not M-monster Dust, wh-where were you while I was gone?’’ The scientist stared into the other’s eyes with a serious look, ‘’Um I was uh wandering around…went down to the bedrooms, j-just checking th-things out, I d-didn’t do anything wrong.’’ Alphys nodded and quickly grabbed a cloth and started wiping up the dust, and gave a nervous smile, it was an attempt to be reassuring, ‘’It’s f-fine, n-nothing’s wrong. I-I don’t go d-down that p-part of the house s-so no wonder it’s…. dirty, the white paint peeling o-off just m-mixes with the dirt a-and stuff. I-I’m t-telling you it’s ok.’’ Asgore nodded and started calming down, feeling the fear disappear slowly, feeling embarrassed and slightly hating the fact that the feeling of dust was so…familiar. ‘’Y-yeah, you’re right, umm sorry for freaking out like that,’’ the yellow monster shrugged as she finally threw the cloth in the sink, ‘’N-no big deal, I w-would’ve done th-the same. H-how about we e-eat some lunch, m-might calm us d-down a bit?’’ He smiled, ‘’Yeah, that sounds like a good idea’’.

Asgore walked straight to the table after getting a plate, very happily throwing out the bag which had the dust on it, while Alphys first grabbed a fork with her plate before sitting down and eating, this table meeting was starting to feel very familiar, not that it was such a bad thing. Asgore was already straight into the pie, taking huge chunks of it at a time with each bite, making sure that any of the insides didn’t spill on him, he obviously had much experience and he was done very soon after which he looked over at Alphys, she had only finished about half of it, slowly picking away at it with her fork, he looked a tiny bit confused. ‘’Do you normally eat pies with a fork?’’ With a nervous expression she shrugged, ‘’Y-yeah….is th-that really w-weird or s-something?’’. The goat quickly sensed her fear of being the odd one out and chuckled, ‘’No it isn’t that bad, umm don’t worry, honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Gaster did it.’’ This answer seemed to satisfy Alphys more than expected, the smile seemed to be a little smug for a reason he was unaware of. ‘’Alphys, what’s behind the locked door on the other side of the house, the handle wouldn’t budge.’’ Her smile turned to a confused expression, ‘’Umm wh-what locked door? N-none of my d-doors lock?’’ ‘’Yeah Al, there was one with noises on the other side, like mechanical noises, I just couldn’t open it.’’ The scientist’s expression remained confused, but now there was a deep concern, and some hesitation before she responded carefully, ‘’O-oh y-yeah, I forgot, that’s where m-my lab is, ummm the door j-jams every n-now and then. M-makes th-things difficult sometimes heh’’. The goat seemed a little worried about the reaction from her, but he decided to leave it for now. Silence remained for a couple of minutes before Alphys finally spoke up, ‘’H-hey uh Asgore, d-do you h-have any p-plans for the night?’’. He shook his head, ‘’You got anything in mind?’’ with which the Lizard gave a nervous smile, but unlike the last one, there was excitement in her eyes, ‘’Umm I-I thought th-that m-maybe we could have a m-movie n-night or something….i-if you w-want of course.’’ Asgore suddenly perked up with a happy grin, ‘’That sounds awesome! What’re we gonna watch?’’ Alphys let out a sigh of relief, feeling some her nerves wash away, ‘’Phew, I-I’m glad, I m-may have already b-bought s-snacks and s-stuff for it and uh whatever you want….how a-about you g-go look in the c-cabniet under th-the TV while I get th-that stuff out of th-the car? Got a s-something to sh-show you too.’’ The enthusiastic child got up out of his chair, seeming to be buzzing with excitement, ‘’Say no more my friend, I’ll get straight onto this very important task’’, he said as he slowly started leaving the kitchen to head to the loungeroom, ‘’Need any help with the stuff?’’. Alphys shook her head and Asgore started to head off quickly around the doorway. ‘’W-wait!! Ch-check out th-the left side of th-the sh-shelf’’, she quickly warned him, assuming that the ones on the left would appeal to the goat more, assuming Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie wasn’t his thing, but before she got the stuff from the car, there was one last thing to take care of.

Asgore had opened the TV cabinet with extreme vigour, looking to find it filled with lined up DVD’s, which he soon realised, with an amused sigh, was all anime. He remembered Alphys saying something about staying to the left, and he figured out why when he looked at the right side which a lot of was just pink and what he guessed were meant to be cute cat girls or something, so he stayed to the left. On the left appealed much more to him, with there seeming to be more animes with tales of adventure and magic, escapades and peril with heaps of different settings, stuff more to his style. The kid went through them one by one, checking out their back, but he finally stuck to one that satisfied him, a movie called ‘The Curse of Rebellion’. ‘In a world where gods rule with an iron fist, most people live happy and safe. However, the gods decided to keep human population down for fear of their being to many humans to keep in line, so they randomly dealt out a curse to young teenagers, a curse that causes them to be evicted from the homes and families that once cherished them and to be eternally hunted by horrible monsters until they finally succumb to darkness. This story centres on a group of such teens with this slowly growing accursed curse mark, on their quest to do what no other has done, defy the gods and beat back the fate given to them. Join them on their adventure for survival through their medievalesque world where magic is everywhere, but so is danger. Will they be able to change their fate?’ The art on the box had people wielding swords, guns and stuff that appeared to be magic and such, that and what was described sounded perfect to Asgore, with an excited grin jumped and landed on the couch on his back. Waiting for Alphys to return. Asgore heard her return and head into the kitchen first, before those little footsteps started to approach the couch, for which he sat up and gave her a smile that turned to a slight expression of curiosity, ‘’Hey, what you got there?’’ Alphys was carrying a small pot with what appeared to be a leaf sticking out of the dirt, ‘’Umm w-well you s-see, I’m r-really sorry a-about possibly k-killing all those plants, and y-you were so passionate a-about it. So ummm I g-got this p-plant to practise w-with, so I’ll be able to help y-you with the gardening better’’. While Asgore thought that it probably wasn’t necessary to learn plant care with another plant since the only issue was watering amounts, but the thought she put into it made him feel happy. Also, the powerful curiosity of the plant had distracted him as he listed of the info he needed, its origins, how easy it was to care for, what colour it would be, exactly what temperature and humidity levels it thrived at, what type of soil it needed and how much sun was required. The goat jumped over the couch, leaving the DVD behind as he went up to it and examined, his rapid thoughts being summed up into one sentence, ‘’So tell me, what is it? What type?!’’ Alphys seemed a little amused at his excitement as she answered, ‘’It’s an African V-violet Flower, it uh is a-apparently easy t-to take care of, s-so I thought it w-would be a g-good idea to get this one.’’ He seemed to be thinking, the name was familiar to him, he remembered them as being small houseplants, but he needed his book, which reminded him of something he was going to have to quickly do this afternoon, before it got to dark. ‘’Well that’s really cool, I think you’ll be able to look after it very well, I look forward to seeing it bloom. If you need any tips, don’t hesitate to ask, I will assist however I can!’’ She laughed softly, ‘’Th-thank you Master Gardner, I-I’ll m-make sure to l-listen to y-your teachings’’. Asgore chuckled, ‘’Yes, you will make for an excellent protegee’’. Alphys made a sound of amusement as she simply smiled happily, ‘’Hey, did you p-pick something?’’ The kid nodded and ran over to grab the DVD, then came back to practically shove it in her face, ‘’This one!!’’ She proceeded to grab the DVD, a bigger smile creeping up as she read the title, ‘’Oh th-this one, this is r-really really good. Y-you made a good choice, I can think of a character similar to you actually, because when Sophia is in danger of the Dem-…..’’, she stopped and looked embarrassed, scratching the back of her head, ‘’Oh uh sorry about that, suppose avoiding s-spoilers w-would be th-the best idea’’. The goat gave a shrug in response, ‘’No harm done, happy to see we can both be hyped for this one, this will be the best movie night ever!’’ Alphys seemed to regain some confidence, matching Asgore’s excitement herself, ‘’I-it sure will be, a night to remember alright!’’ The goat grinned, ‘’I’m glad to hear it, but before outside gets to dark, I need to do something, can I borrow your phone Al? Just need to call the house you know?’’ She nodded and handed him the phone, ‘’I uh understand, g-good luck’’. Alphys then scampered off to her room to do whatever she did, while Asgore moved to the backyard, really hoping that this was going to go well.

*~Ring, Ring Ring, Ring~* Asgore felt himself waiting impatiently, the worry was killing him, he felt he was rolling a dice to see who he would get to answer. Then the rings stopped, and a sound played and then a familiar voice, ‘’Hello, this is the Quantum Gaster residence’’. He sighed, this wasn’t who he was expecting or hoping for, but he was glad it wasn’t Gaster at least. ‘’Uh hi Sans, just wanted to call in’’. There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before any noise was returned, ‘’Oh hey…. What do you want Asgore?’’ ‘’Nothing much, but um could you please pass me off to Undyne or Frisk? Don’t want to b-bother you’’ he said with a slight nervous laugh. ‘’…Gladly’’, and then sounds were heard on the other end, some talking he couldn’t quite pick up before a new voice appeared, he was relieved that it was on that was a lot happier than the previous one. ‘’Hey! What’s up punk, how’re you?!’’ ‘’I’m all good, safe and sound, you?’’ ‘’Yeah um, everything’s pretty chill here, why do you need me?!’’ ‘’I kinda want to ask a favour of you if that’s ok, I’ll owe you one for this’’. ‘’Here ya go, special delivery to Mr Asgore Dreemur!’’ Undyne exclaimed as she handed Asgore a box filled with clothes, a book, a picture and a few other random things, they were his belongings, mostly essentials that he would need since he was moving out, they were all out the front of his old home. ‘’Hey Asgore, are you ok?’’ The goat looked over at Frisk, the concern in their face and voice was incredibly prominent and even Undyne looked uncertain, they both were going to bring this up all along. ‘’Yeah I’m all good, Alphys is going to take good care of me, she’s not a stranger or anything’’. Frisk sighed, ‘’You know that’s not what I meant’’. Undyne decided to pitch in now, ‘’Yeah, I mean, this whole hiding thing and avoiding people isn’t really like you…’’. Asgore tried to give a reassuring smile, ‘’Don’t worry, I’m going to be ok, trust me, probably be good for everyone if there’s space between us.’’ Frisk crossed their arms, he could tell they were examining the goats face for a sign of anything. ‘’You do realise that it would be ok for you come inside right? Maybe a quick hello? Everyone was getting real worried for you. Gaster wasn’t happy, Al was worried…’’, Undyne nodded, ‘’Man, I don’t think I’ve seen Tori look down, not like this…’’ Asgore titled his head slightly, ‘’What’s the matter with Tori?’’, with which a silence developed between them before Frisk spoke up. ‘’Asgore…I think she might be blaming herself for your departure’’. Asgore’s calm smile disappeared, guilt was written all over his face, ‘’But it’s not her fault, not really…’’, Frisk’s calm tone finally got a lot more exasperated, ‘’Well then tell her that! Don’t just leave her emotionally too!’’. Undyne looked at Frisk with a little concern, ‘’Hey uh calm down a bit, I’m sure it isn’t that e- ‘’ ‘’No, they’re right, I’ll go give her a visit, I can’t just let her remain like that, I’ll head to her window.’’ Frisk smiled, ‘’Thank you Asgore, good luck, make sure to come around every now and then, we’re going to want to hear about your crazy adventures at Glitch’s place.’’ Undyne finally lost her uncertain face and it was replaced with grinning expression, ‘’Yeah dude, make sure you see us, otherwise I’ll kick your butt and drag you here myself punk’’. The goat responded with a challenging grin at the fish monster with which she gave back in kind. ‘’Heh that would require you to actually be able to beat me’’. ‘’Oh, you’re on Dreemur’’. Undyne looked ready to spar right there and then, even summoning a small spear in hand, but then Frisk started to drag the warrior away, ‘’C’mon Undyne, he’s got an important job to do’’. Undyne groaned, ‘’Fiiiiine, next time you come around, I’ll show you who’s the strongest’’. Asgore chuckled, ‘’Yeah, I look forward to it, you two stay safe.’’ The pair walked back into house after one final wave to each other. The goat child sighed and took a few deep breaths to prepare for his next task, the most important one.

Toriel was laying on her soft bed in her usual pink jumper, only reading a book, although her mind was anywhere but the book. Thinking about past events, mistakes, obviously nothing positive, not much felt positive at the moment. The goat monster had been sitting there for a couple of hours, preferring some alone time currently, so when a sudden loud knocking on his window happened, she jumped up and looked around startled, a small scared scream being heard as she looked around for the source, only to find a familiar face at her window. Asgore had a nervous smile at her reaction, watching her approach the window with that familiar expression and open it, preparing himself for the reckoning he was about to get, ‘’Gorey, you can’t just go up to a girl’s window like that, people are going to think you’re a creeper or something!’’ Asgore winced with shame, ‘’Oh uh sorry Tori…’’. Her serious and slightly annoyed expression softened and turned to a smile, ‘’Hey cheer up dummy, it’s ok. I’m glad you came, even it was far from normal’’. The boy chuckled at her teasing tone and seemed to relax more now, a calm smile coming to his face. ‘’Heh yeah, well I came to make sure you’re alright, a bit worried you might be not feeling so great…’’. Tori’s expression grew a bit warmer at hearing the start of that sentence, but towards the end her smile grew, but not warmer or kinder, but obviously put on to be reassuring. It saddened Asgore that he had to get good at noticing these fake expressions over the last couple years, and it only confirmed what the other two said about her. ‘’What? About you leaving us to go live someone else, after all these…years. I’ll be fine alright? Don’t worry about me.’’ Asgore’s expression showed he wasn’t entirely convinced, throwing some concern into his stare and Tori knew that she wasn’t entirely getting away from this one. The girl gripped her arm, still putting on a weaker smile, ‘’It’s nothing to worry about, just it’s gonna be weird without you around you know? You’re just always there and…well honestly, I didn’t foresee it changing like this.’’ He nodded, it made sense, he didn’t entirely foresee this change either, he did agree that it was going to be weird not being with his family, no matter its state. ‘’You know why I’m leaving right?’’ Tori looked as if she was about to answer confidently, but Asgore’s stare made it clear that fake reassuring answers weren’t what he was looking for. ‘’N-not really, no’’. ‘’Because I think space between me and everyone else is a good idea, after all the tension everyone is dealing with, I can’t help feel…that I’m not helping.’’ Tori suddenly seemed to fire up a bit, ‘’It’s not your fault Gorey, don’t even say such things’’. Asgore didn’t really answer and just continued, ‘’Yeah, well Gaster isn’t mad at me for no reason, and including the same tension caused from you all walking on eggshells around me…trust me I notice’’. ‘’Stop talking like that, the tension is going down slowly, it’s no where near as bad as it used to be! It’s not you.’’ Tori’s expression looked a little concerned as Asgore smiled faintly, yet it seemed a bit darker than before, ‘’I’m…..glad to hear that, but I can’t help feel that my absence would make things go down quicker, I feel like things will get better if I disappear’’. Words echoed through his head, ‘’ …. or better yet, never having met you in the first place''. ‘’No! Asgore you’re wrong! There is no downside to you being here!’’ ‘’The decision is final Toriel…’’ She sighed, using her name like that wasn’t something that happened often, by anyone, especially Asgore, ‘’Just t-to make sure you know, it’s never to late to come back, even Gaster would say so’’. Asgore nodded, ‘’I know…maybe that offer will be taken up later…I think I’m going to go now.’’ Tori gave a defeated sigh, but then gave a big smile, once more trying to cheer up the mood before they both parted. ‘’Well don’t worry about things over here, everything will be sorted, you just make sure to stay safe. If any funny business to MY Prince Fluffles, I’ll be over there in an instant, just give me the word….’’ There was a silence for a few seconds before she finished her sentence, ‘’…I’m going to miss you’’. Asgore gave a genuine smile, ‘’I’m going to miss you too, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to visit, and we’ll still see each other at school.’’ The mention of them at school seemed to have given Tori a pained expression, he was glad she didn’t decide to bring it up, not like Grillby and Gaster weren’t on his case for it constantly, but it’s not like he could tell them, it wouldn’t end well. But the girl’s expression turned to a big attempt at a reassuring smile ‘’Alright Gorey, I’ll see you soon then, good luck on your new adventures.’’ Asgore gave a smile back, ‘’Yeah, thanks. You stay safe too alright?’’. With a nod from Tori he walked towards the front of the house with his box, a hurt expression on his face as he left, he could feel sadness welling up. Tori moved away from her window and sat on her bed and looking at the ground, feeling herself close to tears, both feeling their true nature come out.

Asgore made it back to Alphys’ place and put his box in his room quickly, at least the one he claimed to be his room. The goat didn’t fully empty his box, but he put all his clothes in the cupboard, and a photo frame next to his bed, a picture of a specific campfire. The goat decided it was getting a bit dark so he got dressed into his pyjamas, which was just a soft pair of a shirt and shorts, nothing real exciting. After that he swiftly headed out to the loungeroom where he found Alphys, already in her Purple Kitten pyjamas and reading a book on the couch, which she turned from at hearing Asgore approach. ‘’O-oh h-hey welcome back. Things g-go ok?’’ with which the goat child nodded. ‘’Yeah it went well, but not as well as this movie night is going to go, when are we starting?’’ Alphys shrugged, ‘’Uh it’s starting to get dark, s-so now if y-you’re that keen for it?’’ he let out a grin, ‘’Sounds awesome, I’ll get it set up if you want.’’ The lizard shook her head, ‘’I’ll d-deal with f-food if you c-can deal with the DVD’’. Asgore let out a ‘Hmph’ as if that was a challenge. ‘’Yeah of course I can do this, just trust me.’’ ‘’Oh, uh alrighty th-then.’’ Alphys scampered off to get the food while Asgore started pressing all the buttons on the DVD player until the tray opened.

‘’Woohoo YEAH!! That was AWESOME!!!’’ Asgore exclaimed, while jumping around in between the couch and TV. Alphys was grinning excitedly, ‘’I know right?! What about the way they revealed Harashimo was the carrier of the demon all along?!’’ ‘’Oh yeah, that totally got me, didn’t see it coming at all, made me feel bad for the guy…but what about that awesome final battle sequence with the Dragons and Fireballs raining down as people fought with their might, putting everything on the line for their brave cause?!’’ ‘’That was awesome to, th-the animators are r-really good with action i-in this company, it’s what they’re known f-for, although I-i wouldn’t trust them with any other genre.’’ They both let out a deep breath to try and calm down slightly. Alphys looked over to see if they had any food left, but it had been demolished, the hot chips, potato cakes, dim sims, potato chips, lollies and chocolate had been eradicated by the two of them. ‘’I-I might have t-to sh-show you the series after this’’. Asgore froze, and slowly turned to Alphys. ‘’What did you just say?’’ ‘’Oh umm w-well the movie is b-based on the series…it’s uh well still going, but I h-have a few seasons here.’’ Asgore grinned, ‘’We should watch it now.’’ ‘’But Asgore, i-it’s getting k-kinda late don’t y-you think?’’. ‘’Pretty please Alphys? Just a couple of episodes? Just a couple and then we’ll go to bed.’’ Alphys watched Asgore plead to her, and she really couldn’t say no to that, he was acting way to freaking adorable. ‘’O-oh ok, f-fine…just t-two…’’

The scientist suddenly woke up and looked around with squinty eyes, trying to work out where she was. The bright light soon confirmed that she had fallen asleep under a blanket on the couch, while watching the show, and with a sigh she moved her arm to grab the remote and turn the TV off. Suddenly shivers went down her as she realised it was really cold out here in the loungeroom, even with a blanket. She moved to get up to go to her bed where it would definitely be warm, but a weight on her stopped any form of leaving the couch. With a confused expression she looked down to find Asgore leaning on her from outside the blanket, snoring loudly and a small trail of drool coming out of his mouth. ‘’Oh g-goodness, Asgore h-how’re you asleep? G-geez you’re r-really something. Better properly t-take of you though, Gaster will have my head if y-you get sick on y-your second night’’ She was feeling incredibly jealous of his fur at the moment, but she needed to make sure he would at least stay warm. It was an arduous task, but eventually she managed to get the ends of the blanket from underneath him and wrapped it around, so they were sharing the same blanket which to her enjoyment brought a bit more warmth, also she wiped that drool off with the blanket with an eye roll. Alphys watched Asgore sleep for a little bit as he thought for a bit, ‘Maybe, just maybe this whole situation could work out. Things could actually go well’. ‘’For once’’. Alphys ignored the small comment the voice made as she slowly drifted off herself, feeling happy as she lost consciousness.

It was around the middle of the day when Asgore decided to try and figure out the mystery of the ‘Dust’ that he got on his hand. All he really had to do was retrace his steps, but nothing came up. The halls had nothing, his room’s closet handle was the same, the window ledge felt a little different, smooth and hard, but he put it down to being tired, ‘’Wow, maybe I’m just really unobservant, but it had to come from somewhere’’. Even the lab door didn’t have anything on it, although it did look a little…shinier than it was before. The curiosity the goat had got the better of him as he tried the door handle once more and opened smoothly, as if there was literally nothing that was in its way, no sign of single possible jam. To him the hinges looked very healthy with no sign of rust of anything, and the handle felt like it was brand new on repeated attempts at using it. ‘’What am I missing?’’ Asgore said out loud as he looked where it leads, directly after opening the door, there was a large flight of stairs that must’ve lead under the house, the sounds of machines were louds without the door in the way. ‘’So, I guess that’s where the lab is located then.’’ Asgore decided it was not a good idea to check it out without permission, who knows what was down there.

[believingispowerfulmagic]

OQ Fix It Fic Week Day 6: Second Chances

@oqfixitweek Day 6: Roni Day

Uses the following prompt: Roni gives a homeless person (Robin) a job in her bar

           She discovered him sleeping in his car in the alley when she went to throw out her garbage one chilly Seattle morning. It was a beat-up piece of crap she believed was once green but now covered in dirt and mud. A person’s whole life appeared crammed into it—pillows, blankets, clothes, knick-knacks—and sleeping in the middle of it all, a man about her age. He had matted blond hair and a matching beard. She couldn’t see much more as he had wrapped his blanket around him like a cocoon to stay warm.

           He wasn’t the first homeless person she had encountered living in Hyperion Heights and she tried to help out those she could with a dollar here or there, but he was the first one she felt really drawn to help. It almost felt like they were meant to meet and she was supposed to give him a second chance.

           Not that Roni would ever admit it out loud. She didn’t believe in things like fate or that spiritual junk.

           But she tapped on the window, startling the man awake. He blinked open beautiful blue eyes and she almost felt like she had once drowned in them before. She shook the feeling off as she motioned for him to roll down the window so they could talk.

           He sighed, leaning over to lower the window and immediately launched into a spiel he must’ve been used to giving. “Sorry. I’ll move the car so I won’t be your way anymore. Just give me a couple minutes.”

           Roni was surprised to hear him speak with a British accent and wondered what brought him to Seattle. But she figured she’ll find that out in good time. For now, she had something else to ask him: “Do you need a job?”

           “What?” he asked, blinking in confusion. He then stared up at her, making her fidget.

           She barreled on, hoping she wasn’t making a fool of herself. “My custodian quit on me the other night and I could use with someone who can help me keep the place clean. The pay won’t be so great and I can’t offer you benefits, but I can give you a lot of hours to come up with something resembling a decent paycheck. If you want it.”

           He stared at her. “Really? You would just hire me like that?”

           “Consider me desperate,” she said, trying to play it cool. “So, you want it or not?”

           “Yes, yes. Thank you,” he replied, gratitude and relief in his eyes. “I also have my own tools in here so I won’t need those. And I promise I’m legal. I can work in the States.”

           He then held out his hand to her. “I’m Rex, by the way.”

           “Rex?” she asked with a snort, unable to help herself. “Isn’t that a dog’s name?”

           “I had strange parents, what can I say?” He shrugged before giving her a little smirk. “I trust that won’t keep you from hiring me now.”

           She shrugged as well. “I guess there are worst names to have.”

           “And may I ask who I am working for?” he asked, eyes sparkling as he looked up at her.

           “Roni,” she said, finally shaking his hand. “Named the bar after me, so you’ll be able to find it. I’ll see you at three?”

           He nodded. “I’ll be there. And Roni? Thank you.”

           “No, thank you. Really saving my life here.” She gave him a wink with both eyes while stepping away from his car to head back inside as she ignored the way her heart wanted to beat right out of her chest.

           Rex was a model employee. He showed up on time, looking neat but appropriately attired for work as a custodian, and performed his tasks skillfully. He also went over and beyond what she asked of him, doing repairs to parts of the building and making some improvements for her. Rex kept the bar clean and everything running smoothly, which Roni was grateful for.

           After a month of working for her, Rex came in one day and told her that he would like to give her an official address for his payroll file. She recognized it as an apartment building not far from her bar and was glad he was able to find a good place to live now. He said he didn’t have much by way of furniture yet, but he didn’t mind sleeping on the floor. She felt awkward buying him furniture but did purchase him an air mattress, insisting it was a housewarming present. “Besides, I can’t have you throwing out your back, right?” she asked, trying to brush off the conversation.

           She turned away, knowing that if she saw his beaming smile and those irresistible dimples, her stomach would do flips and she would flush. And that would ruin her tough girl exterior.

           A few days after he got a new place, Rex came in with shorter hair. It still appeared thick but it was cut close, especially on the sides, and revealed some silver there. She stared at him for a few minutes, knowing her mouth was open, and he started to squirm. “I, um, finally got my hair cut. Does it look bad?” he asked.

           “No,” she said, almost stuttering. “It looks…good…on you.”

           He grinned, running his hand through his hair before rubbing his chin. “I also got a shave. That beard was a bit too much, yeah?”

           When he moved his hand, she saw that the long beard was gone though there was still hair covering his cheeks and jawline. It gave him a scruffy but handsome look and she swallowed, nodding stupidly. “Yeah…”

           “Well, I’m glad I look a bit neater. And I feel lighter,” he said, grinning as he walked past the bar. “I’ll go get started on the floors for today and leave you to your tasks. See you in a bit, Roni.”

           “Yeah,” she said again, feeling like the biggest fool on the planet.

           Once he was gone, she groaned as she covered her face with his hands. She hadn’t expected to fall in lust with her janitor when she hired him, she just wanted to help him out. But here she was. So what did she do? Suffer in silence and wait for the feelings to ultimately fade or make a move and hope Rex was receptive to it?

           That seemed like too much of a risk, though, and she didn’t want to drive off the best janitor she ever had. So it seemed she was going to have to suffer in silence. Her crush would fade over time, she knew.

           At least, she hoped.

           Rex started to open to Roni as he continued to work for her. He talked about how he came to America to attend university, studying political science and finding work with a non-profit that helped the less fortunate back East in Boston. While working there, he met and fell in love with a woman named Madison. The two married but she became sick within a year of her marriage. “It was cancer and it was aggressive. The doctors tried to fight it with just as much aggression but it was no use, she died shortly after our second wedding anniversary,” he told her.

           “I’m sorry,” Roni said, squeezing his hand. She then poured him a glass of whiskey, holding it out to him. “On the house. Don’t tell the boss.”

           He chuckled, taking a sip of the whiskey. Setting down the glass, he continued: “Living in Boston was unbearable, so I quit and moved faraway. Seattle seemed pretty far.”

           “That it is,” she agreed, pouring herself a whiskey as well.

           “I tried to find a job similar to the one I had in Boston but I found my heart wasn’t in it anymore,” he confessed. “So I went to go find myself. Unfortunately, my savings ran out before I could find who I was and I found myself living in my car, which thankfully I had paid off before I moved out here.”

           Roni’s heart broke listening to his story and she rested her hand over his. “Have you found yourself yet?”

           He shook his head before smiling, lacing his fingers with hers. “But I think I’m getting closer, thanks to you.”

           She smiled, ignoring the way her heart beat faster and her skin grew warmer as he continued to hold her hand. “Well, glad to help.”

           Roni took another sip of her whiskey before sharing her own story of woe. “I opened this place with my high school sweetheart, Darren. He’s the one who named it after me. I wasn’t that narcissistic or unimaginative,” she told him.

           “I think it’s a good name,” he replied, now rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

           She shrugged. “I guess so. Anyway, we got everything up and running and things were good. We even felt secure enough to discuss marriage but then these two really drunk guys got into a stupid argument. Darren went to break it up and in the blink of an eye, was stabbed with a broken bottle.”

           “Oh god,” he breathed, giving her hand a squeeze as she took another sip of her whiskey.

           Once she swallowed, she continued: “I called the police and the ambulance. The EMTs got him stable and rushed him to the hospital but there was little the doctors could do since he lost too much blood. I barely got to say goodbye and tell him I loved him before he was gone.

           “People thought it was weird that I continued to run this bar but it was our dream, you know? I couldn’t just walk away from it, from him. And I’m glad I haven’t. It’s everything to me.” She smiled as she glanced around at the bar.

           Rex let go of her hand and picked up his glass. “I propose a toast. To those we’ve loved and lost.”

           “To them,” she said, clinking her glass against his. She then took a sip. “Thanks for listening. It’s been a long time since I talked about Darren.”

           “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me.” He gave her a little half smile.

           She smiled back, squeezing his hand. “Same to you. Listening is kinda my specialty, being a bartender and all.”

           He laughed and they finished their whiskey in a comfortable silence as Roni realized that maybe, it wasn’t a crush after all.

           Maybe—just maybe—it was love.

           Roni locked up after the last of the Halloween crowd finally staggered out the door. She pulled off her Marilyn Monroe wig with a weary sigh, leaning against the door. “Thank god. I thought they would never leave,” she said. “Cash out and then clock out. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Or later today. Whatever.”

           Her staff eagerly finished up and left, leaving only her and Rex behind. Rex took off the leather jacket for his James Dean costume, hanging it behind the bar as he stared at the mess left behind by the revelers. “This isn’t too bad,” he said.

           “You can go home,” she told him. “I can handle this.”

           He shook his head, grabbing the broom. “I’m your janitor. This is my job. Let me do it, please. You go home.”

           “I am home,” she reminded him, pointing to the ceiling. On the other side was her living room, which led to her very enticing bed. But she wasn’t going to leave him alone with this mess. “Let’s do this together, then. It’ll go faster.”

           Rex nodded, handing her the broom before retrieving his mop. They worked together in silence, slowly but surely cleaning up the mess. Once the last garbage bag was tossed into the dumpster, Roni placed her money into the safe and closed it for the night before locking her office. “Time to hit the hay,” she said.

           She turned, finding Rex at the jukebox. Frowning, she approached him. “What are you doing?”

           “I was thinking about what you said to Henry earlier,” he told her. “You know, about moving on and taking chances? I thought I would take a chance of my own.”

           Her heart beat wildly in her chest and her palms grew sweaty. “Oh? How so?”

           Rex selected a song, playing Yazoo’s “Only You,” before turning to her. He held out his hand. “Will you dance with me? And, maybe, go out for dinner tomorrow? Er, tonight?”

           “I would love to,” she said, taking his hand. “And the same goes for dinner.”

           The smile gave her as he pulled her close was bright enough to rival the sun but she didn’t mind looking into it. She smiled back as they danced around the bar. It had been a long time since Roni had felt loved and safe like she did in his arms and she hoped the feeling never ended.

           Lying her head on his shoulder, she was glad she took a chance on the homeless guy sleeping in his car behind her bar.

[luriashrine]

[hair], [eyes], [mouth], [face] and [build] for Celia, Phoebe, Fai and Nessie?? :0 (this is a lot i'm sorry ajdgajdsg)

I’M LAUGHING BECAUSE I HAVE ZERO CHILL!!! But tldr everyone is beautiful.

Celia

Hair.

Celia has extremely dark brown hair, that can be mistaken for black from a far-away distance. Though she puts the proper oils and conditioner in it so that it can appear healthy and shiny her hair is pretty wild. This is because of the shape of her curls, as they seem to have a mind of its own the curls can be very temperamental, unpredictable and prone to frizziness. Her hair just does whatever it wants to for the most part and it brings Celia much annoyance. Celia’s curls are best described as having a definite upper case S shape to it, or in other terms, she has corkscrew curls, if you type Curly 3A that’s the closest we’ll get to seeing her hair irl since it’s pretty wild, stray curls are everywhere and it’s big looking! It’s best to describe her hair as fluffy because despite how wild her hair can be it is very soft and nice to the touch. Her bangs are cut in a blunt and even fringe across her face and it’s the only part of her hair that’s straight but this is due to her using heating rods on her bangs so that they can look neat! They are parted to the left side of her face due to the hair clips that she puts on her right (these are in fact devices made by the lich to help control both her should she ever step out of line and her magic to prevent too much injury, the earring, and bracelet as well but that’s for a whole other post). Sometimes, her bangs tend to curl up. The length of her hair falls down to mid waist length it’s pretty long and it doesn’t really take long for it to grow! Near the ends of her hair, she has a red ribbon tied there giving it a very, very low ponytail. She claims it’s to keep her hair out of her face but really, that ribbon has been apart of her headband she wore as a kid. It serves as a reminder of her origins and what she should be doing.

Eyes.

Celia’s eyes are hollow, but she does a good job acting so most are unable to notice that she’s a dead girl walking among the living. Many would agree that she holds an intelligent glimmer to her brilliant eyes and it’s her main appeal. They’re noticeable large giving her a doe-eyed look, almond shaped and colored a beautiful dark green reminiscent of the foliage surrounding Terra. The upper corners have a lift to them and her lashes are curled but short. She does wear mascara, as it’s the only makeup she likes to wear thus making them appear longer than they already are. Pretty as her eyes may be, there are dark rings surrounding them giving her eyes a more sunken in appearance.

Mouth

Celia has what the world calls “Resting Bitch Face” in spite of her ability to put on many masks to keep up with appearance her face is just naturally bitchy looking and overall she always looks annoyed or dead. I also like to call her face “Resting Corpse Face” due to how dead/ expressionless she looks sometimes, especially whenever she detaches herself from certain situations. That said her mouth is always set in a frown and while she’s always giving polite smiles (or a nasty vicious smirk), an actual smile from Celia is so freaking rare but pretty nonetheless as she does have a nice set of dimples. Her…. uh… teeth I guess are natural sized fitting her features, clean and white. Although her canines are particularly sharp and make her more vicious expressions seem all the more frightening. Her lips are plump and wide with the bottom lip being slightly bigger than the top and her top lip is shaped like cupid’s bow. Um… one more thing I’d like to mention is that whenever she’s nervous, her jaw tends to set, she bites her lower lip or she purses them.

Face.

Celia has delicate and youthful features fitting of someone who’s in their early twenties. She has a heart-shaped face, her chin is a bit small but pointed and fits her face shape and her jawline is defined but not at all strong. She has a small and rounded nose that comes at a very slight upturn, a bit of a side note but both her nose and forehead are prone to outbreaks of stress pimples much to her dismay. Her cheekbones aren’t very high or pronounced either and her ears a bit of the big side and they point slightly outward!

Build.

It’s best to describe Celia as lithe. She’s freaking tiny, standing at nearly 5'3 her shoulders aren’t at all broad, they’re petite and narrow shaped. Overall she would have a wiry and almost tube-like body if not for her prominent hips and the added curves they give her. Celia has an almost pear ship body due to her well-defined but slim waist, full hips and butt. Her thighs are a bit on the muscular side once she starts moving around due to having to work around outside. Her torso is a bit on the short side but her legs are long.

Phoebe

Hair.

FUCKING FLAWLESS AND THE SORT OF HAIR THAT EVERY GIRL DREAMS OF. Colored a lovely shade of strawberry blonde, Phoebe’s hair is pin straight and rarely does her hair frizz up and on top of that, she has zero flyways. It’s annoying perfect and there are times where you wish you could chop it off because oh my god how can anyone have such perfect hair!! It’s thick, extra bouncy and just very nice and healthy looking with the right amount of shine to it. She has an overabundance of it and Phoebe’s hair is long as fuck, almost being half her height it’s like… 5'8 inches of hair, it stops neatly around her calves and the ends are not at all broomstick like. Her bangs are cut in a similar fashion like Celia’s where it’s a blunt fringe cut all nice and even, with two strands of it neatly framing her face. She usually likes to wear it loose but there are a couple of braids in there, these braids are mostly from children who love to play with her hair and Phoebe doesn’t have the heart to untie them until it’s time for bed.

Eyes.

She’s not human, so it’d only make sense that her eyes show this aspect of her since eyes are the window to the soul and all that. Her eyes are best described as being a piercing amber colored, almost dipping into a more molten orange-gold color. They’re quite striking and it’s always easy to tell what the princess is feeling as she has a sort of “open book” to her eyes. As for eye shape, they are wide-set and have a noticeable upturned lift at the corners of them. Her eyelashes her long and curled naturally.

Mouth.

Her lips are full and fit her jawline quite nicely, she often wears a nice pink almost coral colored lipstick on them to make her lips look more pleasing and also to match with her light makeup. She doesn’t have dimples or resting bitch face like Celia but when she smiles, the world stops because it’s fucking beautiful. Thankfully for everyone surrounding her, she’s always wearing a small smile on her lips. She only frowns whenever she’s thinking.

Face.

Her face is a bit broader than Celia’s and she has a heart-shaped face yet her chin is long and ends in a more rounded manner rather than pointed. Her features and bone structure are far more noticeable. She has a well-defined jawline too. Many would consider her to have an almost doll-like face. Her face is blemish free and… does this bitch even have any pores? Because god damn her facial skin is perfect since it’s not oily or dry at all.  

Build.

She has a gracile and willowy body that exudes elegance befitting the princess. She’s huge, standing at the tall, tall height of 5'11 and has full shaped body as she is all curves. And while her shoulders are broad but she maintains an hourglass shape. She has some muscles all in her arms, back, and legs due to intense training she did to become the best Sibyl like no one ever was. She’s lithe, yes, but Phoebe is not at all delicate like Celia is.

Faine

Hair.

Faine’s hair is the reason why Celia is always salty, as it’s very soft and tamable. He has dark locks of hair that have a wave to them near the ends of it. He has messy bangs that fall over his eyebrows and a few dark strands framing his face. His hair is thin but he has an overabundance of it as well. He always wears it up in a ponytail for the sake of his job but it reaches around the nape of his neck, maybe even longer than that!

Eyes.

His eyes are large and quite expressive as well in spite of his poker face. They are colored a beautiful yet inhumane color of blue and often times people are freaked out yet drawn in by his eyes. Near the pupil, there is a yellow-green ring and he has cat-like pupils.  His eyes are double lidded and framed by long lashes that curl. Near his right eye, there is a beauty mark…

Mouth.

KISSABLE I MEAN WHA- ahem, they are often set in a line of carefully hidden emotions. As I’ve said before he’s quite good at keeping a poker face so he prefers to wear a frown to make himself appear tougher than he looks. He too has resting bitch face in other words however he’s not as dead looking as Celia. His lips are pink, a bit on the thin but wide and the bottom lip juts out.

Face.

Many would agree that Faine is “a pretty boy” he doesn’t have the sharp, rugged manly features that fit the beauty standards of the west but my god is he so damn beautiful (Actually many would find that he’s pretty than Celia during their travels). He has a clean appearance, meaning little to no facial hair or five o clock shadow. His nose is long, small and ends in a point. His face is heart-shaped, he has high cheekbones and a prominent jawline.

Build.

He’s an ectomorph, Faine has what you would call “soft features” yes he’s toned and lean but he’s a bit on the thin side and can appear as delicate as the result of this. He’s not so broad shouldered or muscular and his waist is pretty small (much to Celia’s dismay and envy). But don’t let his appearance fool you, he does have superhuman strength and can in fact suplex a dragon that is more than his size. He’s short and he’s only a couple of inches taller than Celia. I’d like to say that he’s maybe around 5'4" or 5'5" roughly between those two heights.

Nessie

Hair.

Nessie’s hair is rough! But it’s still very pretty and she wears it in loose waves. She has this haircut where the front is long, ending at her armpits with the back being short. There are no bangs and she shows off her forehead. She has black hair and at times her hair can be a lil messy due to all of the running around she does so it’s not always neat looking.

Eyes.

She has more round eyes and they are downturned at the corners. Her eyes are inhumanly blue much like Faine and she has a circle of yellow-green near her pupil that appear almost cat-like. It’s always so easy to tell what Nessie is thinking because of just how passionate she is! She has no problem with letting people know what’s thinking about or how she’s feeling.

Mouth.

Pretty full and a bit too wide for her jawline but still nice all the same. Much like Phoebe, Nessie always loves to wear a smile on her lips so she always has such a nice and warm expression on her face. She loves to wear clear gloss on her lips just to make them look nice!

Face.

Nessie has the “girl next door” look to her, meaning that she’s pretty plain or cute depending on who’s asking. Her face is round shaped with her chin ending a bit more pointed. She has a pretty wide and prominent forehead and her cheekbones really aren’t too noticeable. Her nose is has a broad tip to it and it’s a little droopy, on top of that there is a slight crook to her nose due to her breaking it once in a fight. She has pleasing, normal features overall.

Build.

Muscular and full body, Nessie has an almost inverted triangle like shape to her body where she doesn’t have many curves going for her. Her torso is long as well are her legs and… well her body is just overall very long with muscle definition. She stands around 5'9 so she’s the tallest out of Faine and Celia… something she likes to brag about almost constantly.