#and the simple answer is that he's nicknamed after the big knife so you can just say it the same way it's not a big deal

[canisalbus]

I had a dream that you revealed Machete's real name, and it was still Machete but pronounced "mah-hee-yet" or "mah-hee-yay", depending on how french the speaker was

.

[maddenleftchat]

May I,,, please request soft yan!Wilbur headcanons? With a male s/o who's been good so he takes him out to the market, shopping, etc? Or just hcs of Wilbur with a male!darling that always wants to go out and do stuff with Wil and gets bored always inside? -Mod X <3

I got you :)

P.s. I do mostly use the universal "you" and "reader" along with gender neutral nicknames, but the terms will be pointed more twords Male darlings in this one.

*X anon

Triggers: mostly just fluff, mention of possessiveness, and yandere like behaviors, please be careful when reading

Enjoy.

Wilbur

Well, let's first off start with how happy Wilbur would be.

It's not very often that Wilbur had an obedient and well behaved darling.

So when you had finally stopped struggling and started to be a good little boyfriend, he was very happy.

At first Wilbur would reward you by giving you space and privacy, then he let you wonder about the home.

But you were satisfied with either of these rewards.

You wanted to spend time with Wilbur and have fun.

So at least to say, Wilbur was surprised when you came up to him with a strange question.

"Wilby? You know how I have been really good?"

Wilbur blushed at the little nickname before straightening up.

"Yes, you have been."

You have this man the biggest puppy eyes you have eye given and spoke, "So do you think then we can go to the shops?"

It took Wilbur quite a while to answer you, and consider all possible things that could go right and wrong.

But, we both know that this man said yes.

~

Something to note when you are outside the house, this man is glued to your hip, and he has to be touching you in some way.

Even in the bathroom, he's waiting right outside for you.

He'll also give off low fearel growl to anyone who gets to close to you.

But really, Wilbur will follow you anywhere.

And he'll find something for himself no matter what store you go to.

He just enjoys seeing you so happy.

But he isn't super rich, so he'll likely give you a spending limit for each store.

But other than that, Wilby will be happy with whatever you buy.

But if it's a clothing article that shows to much skin, Wilbur will give you a heads up that only he will be the one to see you in it.

Wilbur will make sure to watch carefully of what your buying, just to make sure it can't help you escape in anyway.

~

"Wilby?"

He looks over to you, "Yes baby?"

You hold up a shirt that is a more yellow- beige tone, and on the front of it is a simple image or a pocket knife.

"Can I?"

Wilbur sighed and checked the price, "I suppose, bit does it fit right?"

You nodded with a big smile on your face.

He nodded, and prepared to leave the store, you said did say,

"Only one more thing."

~

Your day of shopping could last anywhere from a few hours to almost all day.

But, Wilby will stop after a certain point.

He does love you, but he is human, and Does have energy levels to.

But, Wilbur will be very willing to see all things you picked out, and see all the clothes you bought on you.

He'll make sure to complement you in every single thing.

And you know what will really make his heart bleed?

If you secretly bought him something.

This would make this man so happy, shit maybe he would even cry a little.

Like..

"Y-you bought me this?"

"For me?"

"Your not playing a trick on me?"

"Oh, (Name)...thank you so much."

But after a long day of shopping and doing what you want to do, Wilby boi will want some cuddles.

Whether those cuddles are while you two are sleeping or while you two are watching a show.

It doesn't matter, as long as he gets loves, he's not complaining.

~

And the better you behave is the better you get treated by Wilbur.

But I do heed you.

Do not betray Wilbur this far into the game.

If you have dug yourself in the obedient boyfriend, you better stay there.

Because if you do one little thing that he interprets as betrayal, you are done for.

~

In short: It'll be a very nice experience for the both of you :)

Word count: 646

_________________________________________

Thanks for reading!

[intangibly-here]

i miss you (more than anything)

zhongli x gn!reader

- scenario; 2.4k words - modern!au - fluff - jealousy

————————————————————

zhongli isn’t one for jealousy— usually.

title from mitski - francis forever.

requested by anon.

————————————————————

“an excellent choice, sir.”

again with the nicknames... 

slender fingers pick up a considerably stylized box, the smooth white a stark contrast to dark, glove-adorned palms. zhongli turns the box over in his hands, inspecting the various fine print explanations splayed along the edges of the plastic. now this is...

BANG!

clink. 

zhongli barely stifles a flinch at the sound of the door slamming, hinges squeaking and metal lock clicking into place with a whirlwind of motion. amber eyes flick up to the doorway, then back down to the polished counter.

five minutes late.

he sets the ice cube he’s handling into a wine glass after a brief pause, beginning to fashion up a flute of apple cider vinegar. the pattering of lively footsteps against tiled flooring rapidly grows nearer, clattering to a halt directly across the bar from where he stands. 

“hey there, mister zhongli! looking just about as boring as ever!”

hu tao plops into the cushioned chair, swiveling back and forth on the seat and leaning forward to watch him pour the concoction.

(it’s designated for customers of course— though that’s only usually. she happens to claim, to his exasperation, that she has “owner privileges”; whatever that could possibly mean when the place itself is meant to serve the needs of customers: that would include the spacing and chairs they may potentially desire when they enter the premises. unfortunately, he’s given up on understanding on her whims.)

from his position across the counter, zhongli absentmindedly spies the edge of a bright-red butterfly wing from underneath her outfit’s loose, flowing sleeves, the simple pendant string looped twice around her wrist. 

swallowtail. 

it’s the name (”like the butterfly, zhongli! the butterfly!”) of the establishment he’s currently employed at and is “run” by the granddaughter of a distant relative (though the bar is legally owned by said relative’s family). due to his— well, rather particular (per say) spending habits and a lack of mindfulness regarding the matter of what they liked to call savings (why would there be a need for these “savings”? he’d like to protest he’s traversed life well enough without them), he’d been pushed into putting the multitude of experience from past jobs into this one. 

and well, here he is now. 

chop. chop. 

two evenly-sliced apple slices tip over from against the blade of the knife and onto the wooden cutting board. fetching a sprig of mint from the small potted plant just below the rack of knives (growing lights and shelving did wonders in the spontaneous lighting of the nightclub), zhongli finished decorating the non-alcoholic drink of choice for the pseudo-proprietress. who knew what havoc she’d cheerfully throw herself into, archons forbid, if it were liquor. she’s already enough of a handful as it is. 

he sighs in resignation and slides the beverage over. the ice tinkles in the glass confines. he does have a favor to ask today after all. hu tao gives the drink a sniff, then puffs her cheeks in mock anger. 

“no alcohol? booooo, you’re such a rock.”

she takes a generous sip anyway. 

“so, what did you call me here for? not very zhongli-like for you to ask something of lil’ ol’ me. archons, have you been replaced?” 

she squints at him judgingly, then raises an eyebrow when he hesitates to answer.

“doesn’t look that way, old man.”

zhongli can feel the beginnings of a headache forming between his brows. he waves his hand dismissingly as if flicking away her babbling nonsense. 

“i have a favor to ask of you.”

“oh-ho?”

hu tao smirks playfully and pushes the half-finished drink aside, craning her neck forward. 

“what can i do for our esteemed mister zhongli, hm? hehe.”

zhongli clenches his fist under the edge of the woodwork in an effort to calm his raging annoyance. 

(it doesn’t help.)

he should just ask, shouldn’t he..?

“..i’ve been pondering this for a number of days now, but nothing quite appropriate for the occasion has happened to come to mind... do you happen to have any gift ideas for...”

he looks to the side to avoid eye contact and trails off, but hu tao immediately gets the memo. 

“ohhh..” her smile only grows wider, “this is for your daaaate—”

zhongli’s face flushes the slightest tinge of rosy pink and he hisses a sharp “shush!” through gritted teeth. and here he had thought she couldn’t get on his nerves beyond how she’d already acted thus far... 

the cheshire grin on her face still continues to climb. 

“well, you’ve definitely asked the right person! how about...”

some new polaroid film? is what she had proposed.

“it’s not some fancy-schmancy anniversary gift, no? just a date! a date! don’t worry yourself so much over it— no, don’t look at me like that. if you called me over to ask about it, you’re deeeefinitely losing hair over this— okay, okay, i got it! don’t kick me out! old man... sheesh. why don’t you get some more polaroid film and wrap it up all nice? useful and an excuse to take more pictures together! i know, i know, i’m a genius— mmph!”

he can still hear her voice bouncing around in his head (”can’t believe you’re getting rid of your boss, mister zhongli! didn’t take you for the rebellious type—”). zhongli brings his hand up to his temple and breathes out another sigh. it’s not like her idea was a terrible one; if anything, it were a wonderfully exquisite proposal— not that he would tell her. 

“i’d like to purchase this, if you would.”

he hands the box over to the shopkeep, who scans the package and rings up the bill. indiscreetly, he feels up the pocket of his jacket. thank the archons he remembered his wallet today. it would certainly be embarrassing to put this particular item on your tab. 

“sure thing, mister zhongli. i’m assuming this is a gift,” they eye him knowingly, “so would you like it wrapped up?” 

deja vu, his brain mutters, this is very much deja vu. he shuts it up promptly. 

“not this time, but you have my sincerest thanks for the offer. i’d like to wrap it myself.” he can feel his (generally..) expressionless face flaring up the faintest hint of pink and berates his mind once more. only when it comes to you...

acquiring the purchased item, zhongli dips his head in acknowledgement as he heads out. the plants hanging from baskets strung along the ceiling sway their leaves to and fro, nearly catching a wayward lock of his hair. he smooths the stray strand back.

“thank you once again, aether. let lumine know they can drop by for some tea again whenever they’d like for me, please.”

the bell hanging over the doorway tinkles when he pushes it open, and the bustle of the busy harbor seeps into the tranquility of the shop. aether nods and waves a hand at him in return, resting an arm on the cash register. 

“come again.”

-

while he’d imagined many ways your planned outing could play out, this was certainly not one of them. 

he’s approaching the meeting spot you two had decided on (right in front of the flowering quince tree near the park; its blooms resemble those of simpler, smaller silk flowers, and it happens to be quite the scenic location to wait) when he spies not only your stature, but another figure residing right besides you. 

who...?

as he steps closer, he can hear your laughter, the kind that he knows bubbles out of your chest and escapes your lips unconsciously. your amusement isn’t lost on your companion apparently, because they smirk teasingly, letting out a full-blown laugh of their own. 

“oh, zhongli, over here!”

your voice snaps him out of his meandering thoughts, and he stops fiddling with his earring (when did he start doing that?), continuing forward from where he’d paused in his observations of this newcomer. something starts to bloom in his chest, small and bittersweet. he’s not sure what to make of it. 

following your beckoning, zhongli finally makes his way to your side, mentally taking note of your.. friend? he doesn’t remember you mentioning anyone like this before though. surely he would remember your friends, no? 

his earring sways in the wind, white tassel fluttering cheerfully. 

“zhongli, this is my friend kaeya. i met him when i made that trip to mondstadt awhile back, remember that? oh, and kaeya, this is my boyfriend zhongli.”

(the little dragon curled up in his heart preens at your introduction of him, small and sweet.) 

ice blue meets molten gold when zhongli’s eyes dart up to make eye contact with this stranger. they squint at him, assessing, then dip into the makings of a playful twinkle. a hand reaches out for a handshake, which he returns in equal measure. interesting...

“he got a little lost touring liyue and i happened to see him here in the park. small world, huh? i know it was our day love, but do you mind if we take him around for today?”

zhongli smiles appeasingly, gentle and assuring as always. he can recognize the slightly nervous look on your face, one that’s a stark contrast to how energetic you’d looked just a few minutes ago. if kaeya’s company makes you happy and you’d like to take him around, then who is he to refuse your request? you two will have more time to spend with just the two of you later, he reasons with himself. accompanying your friend, and in turn his acquaintance, is nothing big.

(and no, it’s certainly not you calling him love that makes him cave.)

“of course we can.”

tugging at the string of his eyepatch, kaeya swiftly ties his hair back and adjusts the collar of his shirt. “so, where to first?”

zhongli takes your hand in his, squeezing softly. you squeeze back.

getting along together should come just fine.

-

he takes it back. 

he takes it all back. 

he’d accepted it at first because, well, this was your friend. he shouldn’t be controlling who you interact with nor who befriended you - that’s not up to him. it shouldn’t ever be. however—  with every passing moment that kaeya inched closer to you, taking up the entirety of your attention and bringing that bright, bright grin to your face—

(this was supposed to be your date. just the two of you. he hasn’t seen you in a month; surely he can feel a bit selfish, right?)

the three of you turn the corner to an intricately-themed restaurant and pause, where even zhongli looks appreciatively at the beautifully grown bamboo stalks lining the edges of its front walls. 

“wanmin restaurant,” kaeya reads, craning his neck up to gaze at the signboard. bold red calligraphy is sprawled across the rough-cut wood. “awfully simple name for such a stunning place, isn’t it?”

if he weren’t stewing in a pot of conflicted emotions, zhongli would surely inform him of how carefully selected this title was, how it represented more than just a name, how it hid at least several decades worth of effort and teachings— but as it is, he (really, of all people) has no patience for that at the moment. 

first tugging on the hem of your outfit, zhongli then takes you by the elbow and hastily leads you forward to the glass doors of the establishment. he grasps your hand in his as usual, but something must be off, because you twitch a little and look at him curiously. 

he turns his head away, lips pursed just the slightest.

“let us dine here for the time being. it is an appropriate time and place, after all.”

the sun shines brightly in the clear sky as if illuminating his words.

kaeya raises an eyebrow, singular eye looking on inquisitively and arms crossed, then moves further ahead of you both once more. the corner of his mouth dips in a clear show of mirth. bowing with one arm held at the waist, one not unalike a formality from a server, he looks straight into zhongli’s eyes and holds the door open for entrance. 

“that sounds like an excellent idea. well, if you would.”

-

“thanks for the tour around you two.”

kaeya hums his thanks with a cheerful lilt to his voice as you all stand under the porchlight of zhongli’s house. 

(it’s not the largest abode, but it’s cozy and sweet, and it’s definitely enough for the both of you whenever you decide to stay over. tonight is one of those nights, and they may as well become more frequent after the trip you took abroad.) 

his car keys reflect the glow of the bulb, swinging around his finger in loops. they clink noisily, metal against metal, and he grabs them all at once, halfway through another turn. in his car sits a box of treasure-themed artifacts, likely old and had found its way into your hands somehow. zhongli knows you’d been meaning to give them to someone, but he hadn’t known it were kaeya— either way, the artifacts that’d been laying on his shelves for weeks were now handed off. 

ruffling your hair, kaeya pulls you in for a brief hug; although zhongli can feel the bitter pang in his chest, he stays where he stands, keeps it still and small. he can wait. 

that said, the moment kaeya drives off, he’s hauling you into the house and curling up on the couch, pulling you onto his lap and tugging you into his arms. the long thought over gift sits patiently on the counter. it’s waited the entirety of today; it can wait another. 

right now, he needs you. 

your body sinks against his, relaxing from the lively, though exhausting, day. slumped against his chest, he burrows his head in the crook of your shoulder and cuddles you, nuzzling into your neck. finally, you’re home. home with him. 

it’s warm...

“..it was our day...”

you shift your head at his mumbling, lifting his chin to presumably look at his expression. your attention is his now. not kaeya’s. not anyone else’s. just his. 

(his eyes are soft and droopy, smudged red making them look especially mellow in the dim lighting, and lips pushed into the slightest pout. he knows what you’re seeing when you gaze at him fondly, and you can almost see the puppy eyes he sports. how unusual of him.)  

“someone’s a little jealous here, hmmm?” 

you drag out the syllables teasingly, and from lips that are pressing kisses against your skin, he responds a little muffled—

“perhaps.”

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 2

Chapter 2

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One year has passed and Marinette couldn’t be happier with her dad and Penny. She has been on tour with her dad and has thus been home schooled for a year. Then final performance is in Gotham city and she is going to the Wayne Gala with her dad. After only a year she has gained and adopted the name Marinette Stone, and you would not believe how much the media fell in love with her.

 ---

 Jagged’s tour was going to end in Gotham and Tim couldn’t be happier. He practically begged Bruce to send him and Invite to the Gala in an attempt to meet the Rockstar. Bruce eventually gave in and invited the Rockstar and Tim was ecstatic.

 ---

 To say he was surprised was an understatement, Jagged couldn’t believe that he was being invited to the Wayne Gala. His answer was immediate, he accepted the offer, not because of the Wayne name but because of what the Gala was for. Every Gala was for a charity and Jagged couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“What’s this dad?” Mari asked him as he set the invite down.

“It’s an invite to a big fancy party”

“Are we going?”

“It’s a Rock’ in cause so ya”

“oh!” Marinette shot up and ran from the room only to comeback with a book. She stood next to him as she flipped though her drawings before finding the one, she liked. “do you like it dad”

It was a simple black tux with dark purple accents but what shot it over was that there were music notes everywhere they were meant to catch the light and reflect at angles. The suit was perfect and they both knew it.

“that’s amazing little rocker! Any ideas for Penny?” she only responded with a smirk and flipped a page. The dress she showed him was stunning, it was a mermaid dress that was a deep dark purple an had an open back. Over the whole dress was a lace that incorporated music notes that draped from her shoulders to the ground perfectly over the dress. “I think she’ll like it Mari, but what about you?” now her smirk grew wider.

“it’s a surprise”

“well it will be beautiful” with that Mari ran up to her room and you could hear her working and patterning until it would be perfect.

 ---

 Ever since moving in with her uncle he really did become her dad. He supported her in her fashion dreams and has even worn some of her pieces on stage. She didn’t want anyone to know it was her so papa only said they were from a little online shop, but that he couldn’t give out the name yet.

Mari couldn’t believe her luck she was originally going to give them the outfits for their birthdays, but this was better. She had been trying to keep them secret, but this was perfectly timed.

 ---

 The day of the Gala arrived and the three of then went out to the limo. Marinette couldn’t believe that she finished all three outfits, but she was more than pleased with the results. She was dressed in a purple to pink dress with musical notes and a black velvet sash tied in a bow. Her hair was in a simple chunky braid that was pinned into a loose bun. Dad couldn’t stop smiling and Penny was gushing how cute she was and how well the three looked.

When they arrived at the Gala, they walked the red carpet and Marinette stayed close to her dad. She smiled and waved for the pictures while dad dropped hints that the three were dressed by his mysterious designer.

Mari could tell instantly she was the youngest as soon as they stepped into the ballroom, so she hid behind her dad but still made polite conversation with those who spoke with her.

 ---

 Tim was bouncing on his feet trying to catch a glimpse of the Rockstar.

“Tim” Bruce cut into his searching.

“Yes?” Tim immediately stopped his searching and looked at his father.

“Sigh. Come on let’s look” Tim was on his heals. They walked around the room until they saw the Rocker. But they were having trouble the rocker was with a woman and child and almost every woman there seemed to be fawning over the child and Rocker.

That was when Tim noticed the child, she was calm and courteous but when her eyes saw him, she excused herself and ran towards him. She had to be about six from her height, but her motions were fluid and not without purpose.

“Hi there” the child extended her hand “I’m Marinette, nice to meet you”

Tim went through the motions and shook her hand, “Hi I’m Tim” he gave her a polite smile and then looked back at Jagged. That was when he heard her laugh and he looked at the child and frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“You” she stated it and continued to giggle, that only deepened his frown. She then Turned around and called “Papa, I think someone wants to meet you” she still was giggling.

“Little Star! I told you not to leave my side” The rocker said with a chuckle and a glint in his eye. “Looks like Mari’s taken a liking to you, nice to meet you I’m Jagged Stone” he held out his hand and in that moment Tim .exe stopped working. And almost as suddenly shook his idol’s hand.

“OMGItsapleasuretomeetyou”

“Tim” Bruce called “breathe” Tim shook his head took a breath and seemed to regain some composure while Bruce only seemed to laugh.

“Hello Mr. Stone, my name is Tim” the little girl seemed to have stopped giggling, but she was looking between Tim and Bruce and then something seemed to click, and she was giggling again.

“What’s so funny star?” the girl took a deep breath.

She turned to Bruce and extended a hand “Hello Mr. Wayne” and the look on Bruce’s face was priceless. This little girl seemed to not only recognize Bruce without him ever introducing himself, but even the Rocker was shocked.

 ---

 Bruce didn’t understand what was going on and that was surprising. A six-year-old was able to identify him and what he knows of Jagged she would never have visited Gotham before. But he was never going to be prepared by what happens next.

This giggling girl suddenly stopped and went quiet. She looked behind him for only a moment before her attention was back on him. Her blue eyes lost in thought, when almost a suddenly they snapped to attention. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side as a man dressed as a server was holding a knife. This little girl just pulled him away from an attacker without a giveaway.

She turned around as the attacker spun around and charged. She didn’t move, hell she didn’t flinch as he ran towards her with a knife. She was small and she used her size to her advantage but that didn’t stop the punch that she hit the attacker with on his leg. Almost instantly the man went down, and this little girl just took him down. Bruce didn’t know how this child was able to hit the spleen 11 pressure point, but she did.

“Are you okay?” a soft voice rang in his ears and saw the sweet little girl again.

“Yes, I am…” Bruce was confused to say the least, and his confusion only grew when he heard laughter.

“Little Star that was dangerous” Jagged Stone scolded, and he laughed. The girl looked sheepish and just like a child should.

“How?” was the only thing that registered in his mind.

“Dunno she’s always been a little badass.” The Rockstar laughed.

This child is something else.

 ---

 The five of them stayed together the rest of the night and by the end Little Marinette was practically adopted by the Wayne family as a niece to Bruce. As she referred to him as Uncle Bruce and called Tim Tim-Tam.

The Stones were invited the next day for lunch at the manor where Marinette met Dick and Jason. Jason who when told couldn’t believe it until he saw the video and hasn’t stopped laughing except to call her his sister and give her the nickname Pixie Pop to which she responded to call him Jay-Jay. Dick practically fell in love with his new sister and she fell in love with him calling him Blue Bird.

Marinette loved Gotham because of her new brother’s and she practically begged to stay longer. It was Alfred who spoke up asking about her education. Dad saying, she was doing classes online. And Bruce asking if they would like she can attend Gotham Academy and stay with them in the manor while Jagged was on tour. Marinette couldn’t be happier, all that was left was a concert in Paris then school would start.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quick doodle of young Marinette. I think that after the gala the people of Gotham call her Gotham’s Pixie

Taglist🐞🦇

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[hanbintms]

            it  is  eye  ,  kofi  ,  back  on  your  dash  with  my  newest  child  !  as  a  reminder  :  i’m  twenty4  ,  prefer  she / her  or  they / them  pronouns  ,  and  i  reside  in  the  est  timezone  !  the  muse  that  i  have  flowing  for  hanbin  is  truly  unmatched  even  though  i  literally  came  up  with  him  within  like  . . .  three  hours  ,  no  kidding  .  that  being  said  ,  he’s  a  brand  new  muse  and  i  can’t  wait  to  plot  with  everyone  once  again  (  or  for  the  first  time  !  )  i  won’t  talk  your  ears  off  as  i  know  this  intro  might  get  a  little  long  ,  but  aside  from  that  ,  can’t  wait  to  write  hanbin  with  ya’ll  !

            (  SONG  KANG , THIRTY , CIS  MAN , HE / HIM  )  *  hey  ,  i’m  looking  for  the  office  of  HANBIN  KOO  .  they’re  the  EMPLOYEE  /  IN - HOUSE  CHEF  who’s  known  around  the  office  as  THE  EPICURE  ,  if  that  helps  ?  not  to  be  a  gossip  ,  but  i’ve  heard  that  they’re  AFFABLE  but  UNCOUTH  ,  is  that  true  ?  i  also  heard  that  they’re  the  one  who  THREW  ICED  TEA  AT  HIS  EX  IN  THE  LOBBY  .  anyways  ,  here’s  the  coffee  they  ordered  .

statistics.

            name  :  koo  hanbin  .  nicknames  :  han  ,  hannie  ,  hanbinie  ,  +  binnie  .  age  +  date  of  birth  :  thirty  +  january  9th,  1991  .  zodiac  :  capricorn  .  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  gender  +  pronouns  :  cis  man  +  he / him / his .  place  of  birth  :  busan  ,  south  korea  .  place  of  residence  :  west  village  ,  new  york  city  ,  new  york  .  orientation  :  bisexual  biromantic  .  occupation  :  in  house  chef  and  internet  personality  .  nationality  :  korean  (  holds  american  citizenship  )  .  ethnicity  :  korean  .  language(s)  spoken  :  korean  ,  english  ,  conversational  italian  ,  and  conversational  japanese  .

background.

            koo  hanbin’s  life  was  relatively  normal  when  he  was  born  .  his  mom  ,  koo  seonghwa  ,  worked  as  a  nurse  in  the  pediatric  department  of  a  local  hospital  in  busan  while  his  father  ,  koo  kyuchul  ,  was  an  office  worker  .  they  weren’t  the  richest  family  ,  nowhere  near  it  ,  but  the  koo  family  made  it  work  .  hanbin  has  more  memories  of  being  with  his  grandparents  more  often  than  his  parents  simply  because  of  their  demanding  careers ,  but  that’s  not  to  say  that  they  weren’t  loving  and  attentive  parents  when  they  had  time  to  be  with  their  only  son  .  

             however  ,  life  began  to  change  for  him  when  was  six  years  old  .  suddenly  ,  the  money  began  to  dwindle  as  quickly  as  it  was  brought  in  .  the  refrigerator  wasn’t  full  unless  seonghwa’s  mother  would  make  some  things  for  them  ,  and  kyuchul  was  coming  home  later  and  later  .  seonghwa  began  to  work  harder  in  an  attempt  to  break  even  ,  but  she  never  seemed  to  get  her  head  above  water  .  she’d  confront  her  husband  about  the  large  sums  of  money  that  would  disappear  from  their  account  ,  but  he  always  blamed  it  on  higher  bills  ,  raised  rent  ,  or  sudden  payments  that  he  had  to  make  .  it  never  made  any  sense  ,  but  seonghwa  started  a  separate  account  to  ensure  their  son  could  at  least  have  food  on  the  table  and  clothes  for  school  .

            the  next  couple  of  years  go  by  and  the  money  situation  worsens  ,  with  seonghwa  getting  to  her  wits  end  .  she  spends  more  time  with  hanbin  at  her  parents’  place  ,  sleeping  with  her  son  in  her  old  bedroom  and  hoping  he  doesn’t  hear  her  cry  at  night  .  she  struggles  to  understand  why  her  husband  is  keeping  secrets  from  her  ,  especially  as  they’ve  been  married  happily  for  the  last  eleven  years  ,  but  it  takes  some  tough  love  from  her  mother  to  get  seonghwa  to  pick  herself  up  .  so  ,  she  decides  to  confront  her  husband  one  night  when  she  finds  out  his  location  from  one  of  his  co - workers  ,  and  she’s  devastated  .  seonghwa  finds  kyuchul  with  a  younger  woman  ,  gambling  away  her  hard  earned  money  .  like  a  scene  out  of  a  drama  ,  seonghwa  kicks  her  husband  where  the  sun  doesn’t  shine  and  promptly  dragged  the  other  woman  outside  to  wack  her  upside  the  head  with  her  purse  .  seonghwa  was  hurt  ,  but  she  had  finally  gotten  answers  ,  and  she  wasn’t  going  to  be  embarrassed  like  this  ever  again  .

            so  ,  seonghwa  and  hanbin  permanently  move  in  with  her  parents  ,  and  it  takes  some  time  for  seonghwa  to  get  over  kyuchul  .  she  focuses  on  her  child  and  her  job  .  from  the  age  of  ten  ,  hanbin  began  spending  more  time  with  his  grandparents  in  their  small  ,  but  popular  barbecue  meat  restaurant  .  when  he  finishes  his  homework  ,  he  helps  his  grandparents  take  orders  ,  and  he  slowly  begins  to  work  the  kitchen  as  he  gets  older  .  his  grandparents  soon  leave  the  kitchen  work  to  him  as  they  get  up  in  age  ,  and  hanbin  runs  the  kitchen  as  if  he’d  been  doing  it  for  over  twenty  years  .  however  ,  when  he  graduates  from  high  school  ,  hanbin  decides  to  spread  his  wings  .  over  the  last  twelve  years  or  so  ,  hanbin  honed  his  cooking  skills  from  his  grandfather  and  spent  most  of  his  childhood  in  the  kitchen  ,  so  his  grandparents  passed  their  restaurant  down  to  seonghwa’s  brother  ,  and  hanbin  left  for  new  york  .

            eighteen  years  old  and  with  only  enough  money  to  get  a  small  sublet  ,  he  knew  he  needed  to  find  a  job  pronto  .  without  formal  kitchen  training  ,  hanbin  would  often  get  turned  away  from  jobs  (  because  he  was  better  than  a  busboy  !  )  and  eventually  ,  the  fates  was  on  his  side  .  he  forced  his  way  into  the  kitchen  of  a  popular  italian  restaurant  ,  immediately  snagging  the  title  of  junior  chef  .  hanbin  ,  a  fast  learner  with  even  faster  knife  skills  ,  easily  works  his  way  up  the  ranks  within  the  restaurant  .  within  six  years  ,  hanbin  becomes  head  chef  and  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  kitchen  .  although  his  income  changes  significantly  ,  hanbin  starts  a  youtube  channel  in  hopes  of  sharing  his  love  for  food  and  cooking  .  within  a  year  ,  his  following  grows  substantially  ,  and  he’s  approached  to  broaden  his  efforts  by  working  at  masters  international  .

at masters.

hanbin  has  been  at  masters  for  five  years  .  he  started  working  here  after  his  youtube  channel  expanded  ,  and  he  was  approached  to  create  his  own  cooking  content  for  masters’  youtube  channel  .  

basically  ,  he  has  his  own  version  of  test  kitchen  ,  but  it’s  not  really  the  same  thing  .  he  makes  recipes  for  holidays  ,  celebrations  ,  and  is  constantly  showing  how  to  make  traditional  korean  dishes  (  would  not  be  surprised  if  he  has  a  ‘  cooking  with  my  mom  !  ’  type  series  )  .

gives  food  tips  too  like  which  wines  pair  best  with  certain  foods  or  how  to  make  the  most  out  of  your  first  hosting  gig  .  probably  has  a  video  where  he  shares  his  cooking  playlist  because  he  wants  you  to  get  in  the  mood  😌  .

probably  came  up  with  the  special  lunch  for  Daddy  Masters™  but  gets  ticked  when  he’s  asked  to  cook  it  because  does  that  man  know  a  schedule  ?  probably  not  .  [  ‘  we  were  on  a  break  !  ’  specifically  ,  hanbin2   was  on  his  lunch  break  .  ] 

is  it  true  that  he  threw  an  iced  tea  in  his  ex’s  face  ?  absolutely  ,  and  he  has  no  problem  admitting  it  lmao  .  who  was  said  ex  ?  i  guess  we’ll  never  know  [  this  a  number  one  champion  sound  ]  .

probably  well  received  around  the  office  but  i  wouldn’t  be  surprised  if  people  disliked  him  .  it  could  be  his  off  putting  persona  or  honestly  the  simple  fact  that  he’s  got  a  lot  of  sass  and  no  ass  .

headcanons.

you  can  read  a  full  list  of  headcanons  HERE  ;  below  is  an  abridged  version  .

has  a  gyeongsang  dialect  from  living  in  busan  ,  and  honestly  . . .  that’s  hot  .  so  ,  when  he  speaks  in  korean  it’s  rather  strong  and  aggressive  /  pitch  is  vastly  different  from  other  parts  of  korea  .  

i  literally  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  his  personality  other  than  by  using  his  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  he’s  kinda  that  guy  who  knows  everything  but  won’t  tell  you  that  he  does  ?  did  he  eavesdrop  ?  maybe  ,  but  he  won’t  tell  you  that  .  he’s  largely  indifferent  to  a  lot  of  what  happens  around  masters  and  maybe  it’s  because  he’s  been  here  for  half  a  decade  ;  he’ll  just  make  sure  you  drink  water  if  you’re  drunk  and  crying  .

a  Dog  Father™  to  a  little  re:  big  goldendoodle  named  duri  .  he  is  most  definitely  judging  you  and  can  often  be  found  sunbathing  in  that  solarium  .  

a  very  simple  man  when  it  comes  to  his  coffee  :  caffè  americano  or  an  espresso  macchiato  please  .  and  don’t  forget  the  butter  croissant  !

mostly  expressionless  . . .  like  i  really  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  how  he  looks  at  people  because  i  feel  that  stoic  is  too  harsh  of  a  word  .  if  you  wanna  know  how  he  feels  though  ,  he  has  extremely  expressive  eyes  .

he  won’t  admit  it  but  he  loves  hosting  .  office  potluck  ?  he’s  your  guy  .  having  a  conference  ?  he’ll  make  your  snacks  .  if  you’re  coming  over  he’ll  make  a  charcuterie  board  and  will  lie  saying  he  made  it  with  some  stuff  he  had  on  hand  (  but  that’s  a  lie  ,  he  went  to  the  grocery  store  and  obsessed  over  it  for  a  solid  three  hours  )  .

finds  joy  in  the  mundane  .  some  people  might  think  he’s  weird  because  he  loves  grocery  shopping  ,  and  heavily  judges  people’s  carts  because  processed  food  ?  yuck  !  he  won’t  say  that  to  your  face  though  he’ll  just  be  like  ‘  are  you  sure  you  wanna  buy  that  ?  ’  and  will  sneakily  replace  your  frozen  pizza  with  pizza  ingredients  hehe  .

that  being  said  don’t  take  him  grocery  shopping  with  you  NFUDNSFDS  .  he  gets  ticked  about  food  waste  ,  and  those  who  don’t  use  reusable  bags  .   probably  has  a  lil  garden  at  his  place  and  composts  !  is  angry  about  people  calling  a  chunk  of  cauliflower  a  steak  (  in  other  words  ,  don’t  to  it  )  !

wanted connections.

DISCLAIMER  :  i  will  not  be  plotting  anything  romantic  with  characters  under  the  age  of  twenty - five  due  to  his  age  !

ONE  TRUE  LOVE  :  this  is  open  to  literally  anyone  ,  preferably  like  ,  28  to  30  but  we  can  talk  details  .  truly  ,  they’re  his  one  true  love  as  the  title  states  ,  and  i  like  to  believe  that  they  were  a  really  happy  couple  who  had  a  meet - cute  .  they  moved  in  together  and  things  were  great  ,  but  they  broke  up  when  they  felt  a  mutual  dissolve  in  their  relationship  .  that  being  said  ,  they’re  good  friends  now  !

BEST  FRIEND  :  who  wouldn’t  love  a  best  friend  .  basically  ,  they  get  along  well  ,  and  they  are  used  to  sung’s  non - verbal  communication  NVJCNXJV  .  it’d  be  really  fun  if  they  had  totally  different  personalities  but  somehow  they  managed  to  click  .  TAKEN  BY  GRIFFIN  OLSON  .

TASTE  TESTER  :  someone  who  he  calls  on  to  often  try  his  food  at  the  office  .  they  possibly  will  appear  in  his  videos  on  masters’  youtube  channel  ,  so  i  think  a  relationship  based  around  food  would  be  really  fun  !  TAKEN  BY  KENNEDY  CRAWFORD  /  SORAYA  HATHAWAY  .

HORN  DOGS  (  DEROGATORY  )  :  i  have  no  other  name  for  this  plot  but  i’m  thinking  two  people  who  cannot  keep  their  hands  off  of  one  another  .  i’m  talking  sneaky  touches  in  the  elevator  ,  secret  hook  ups  in  the  seventh  floor  bathroom  ,  quick  makeouts  and  nearly  getting  caught  .  bonus  points  if  people  around  the  office  don’t  believe  they’re  Banging™  because  their  personalities  are  so  different  .  

CRUSH  :  also  known  as  ,  someone  having  a  crush  on  him  ,  but  he  sees  them  as  a  friend  (  or  even  worse  ,  like  a  younger  sibling  )  .  TAKEN  BY  AYLIN  SAHIN  .

PLATONIC  SOULMATE  :  best  friends  ,  but  make  it  sentimental  .  they  are  thicker  than  thieves  ,  get  on  each  other’s  nerves  ,  but  they  don’t  know  what  they’d  do  without  the  other  .  finish  each  other’s  sentences  (  and  sandwiches  .  sung  will  finish  it  )  and  are  borderline  like  an  old  married  couple  with  the  way  they  act  .

that’s  all  i  got  now  but  i’ve  reblogged  some  posts  that  can  be  found  HERE  and  i’m  down  to  fill  any  wcs  that  you  may  have  as  well  !

[no-whump-on-main]

Apartment 307-6 (Harmful Healing)

start here last chapter

requested by anon

TW: Death threats made in this chapter

Morning came, and for the first time since her capture, Elora wasn’t up anxiously waiting for the man to return. She was fast asleep when he strolled in; her body was weakened and exhausted from the day prior, the perfect storm for her to rest deeply, and for a long time.

Her pleasant dreams and hours of rest shattered, though, when she awoke to a rough hand grabbing and shaking her shoulder. She blinked tiredly for a few seconds before registering that it was his hand grabbing her, and at that point, she flinched, pushing back against the wall as she tried to scramble out of his grip. His hand didn’t release her, though, and her eyes were bright and fearful as she looked up at him, her whole body shaking just the slightest bit.

He huffed. “So flinchy. You’re going to have to learn that you’re mine somehow, someday. Don’t forget that.”

Elora said nothing, keeping her fear and anger and disgust to herself. Please be looking for me, mom. Please.

He pulled away, finally, standing up straight. She knew from when he attacked her that he was a couple inches shorter than her, but when she was chained down, forced to stare up at him, he felt immeasurably tall, immeasurably powerful.

She could still feel his hand on her shoulder like it had been made of acid, still seeping and burning into her skin. It might as well have been. She’d always enjoyed affection, gentle little touches here and there from people who loved her-but every time the man touched her, it felt wrong. Awful. Like fire against her skin.

He coughed, as if to gain her attention, like he didn’t already have it, every bit of his presence keeping her on edge.

“Since you’ve decided you don’t want anything to do with the plant, we’re going to try something else I know you can do.”

Elora’s expression darkened, her mind filling with all the terrible possibilities of whatever the hell that could mean. What else did he know?

Without warning, he pulled out his pocket knife and slashed it along her thigh, dangerously close to the large, sloppily-stitched wound from the first day. In one slice, another hole was torn in her pants, and a small, bloodied red line formed. Elora whimpered, but didn’t have much else of a reaction; he had given her much worse pain so far. She didn’t understand the purpose of this, here and now, when she’d had so much worse. The pain was sharp, but minimal, stinging as her blood started to coagulate in the air.

“Heal it,” the man instructed.

Her heart sank.

He knew that, too?

“I-” the girl started, before Clyde grasped her chin and dug his dirty fingernails into her skin.

“You know what happens when you don’t listen. You know. It’s not that fucking hard, Elora.”

She swallowed, hard. She could feel her heart thumping in her throat, rhythmically, like an instrument. Thumpthump, thumpthump, thumpthump-

In a way, he was right. It wouldn’t be hard to give in. In all honesty, it would be easy.

The lines were beginning to blur between what resistance was beneficial to her psyche, and what would be better for her to just let go.

But this, she knew she wanted to resist. Needed to.

Her healing was only ever meant to help others. Never herself. She’d tried, several times, to heal her own body, and the results were always horrifically painful. Whenever she used her magic to heal, she absorbed the pain of the individual that she was healing; it was a simple transfer of energy. She took away the wound, closed up the edges, and bore just the pain, not the physical injury, briefly, just how brief depending on the severity of the wound. She never took much joy in it, but for situations that called for her help- emergencies, hurt kids, severe bleeding or head injuries, and the like-she’d do it. After all, she bore the pain for a much shorter amount of time than those who had been hurt in the first place. It felt like her duty to help, when it would be so much easier for her to take the pain temporarily than for the one who attained it in the first place to hold onto it for days, weeks, months, even.

But that blessing, the ability to transfer another’s pain to herself, to give mercy, became a curse, when turned on herself. Instead of experiencing just her own, usual level of pain, it reverberated like an echo chamber, intensifying every second until it was explosive, muchmore than she could handle. She phantom-experienced her own pain twice over initially, and then quadrupled and so on, going on and on, growing exponentially from there, leading to an amplified misery like no other. Even healing a tiny bruise off of her own skin felt like healing a bullet wound.

And the man was making cuts. Big ones.

“I c-can’t do that,” she stammered.

He tilted her chin up with the blade of the knife, forcing her to tilt her head back in order to escape the sharp point.

“Yes you can,” he growled.

She looked over at him, cold fear in her eyes.

“Y-you don’t understand,” she continued. “I can’t.”

“Elora.”

The man’s voice was eerily calm. He didn’t have to say another word; that tone, and the glare, were enough to make her skin crawl.

“Y-you’re right about the healing,” she stammered, “but that’s just for others. I c-can’t do it to myself, it doesn’t work like that. Don’t you-don’t you think I would’ve healed myself and run away from here a-already, if I could?”

He sighed heavily, standing up straight and spinning the knife around casually.

“You can,” he said. “You just don’t want to. It hurts you, I know. But what’s a little pain, in comparison to your life, my lark? I’m being gentle, light with this knife. But just as easily, I could dig it deep into your throat, cut you ear to ear. You’d be gone within minutes. Is that what you want? If I were you, I’d choose a little pain, no?”

There he was with those nicknames again. Elora swallowed, staring ahead at the wall in silence, her eyes blurring in and out of focus as she looked at the white tiles. She still didn’t know him very well, but he didn’t seem to be lying. No, he seemed impulsive, impulsive enough to kill her simply for noncompliance.

And she didn’t want to die.

“Okay,” she whispered.

She placed her hands on either edge of the cut on her thigh, inhaling deeply before closing her eyes, focusing deeply on directing her magic to the wound.

She wasn’t watching it, but she could feel it as it started to close, the pain going from a small throb to a roaring wave in just a few moments.

Clyde stood there, watching in pure awe. He didn’t pay much attention to her agony, too focused on staring at the healing wound in amazement. That was quite the trick, and a useful one, too. Imagine how much you could punish her, over and over, simply by making her heal herself up only to repeat the same torture.

It didn’t take much longer than ten or fifteen seconds, but by the end, she was writhing in agony, sucking in breaths sharply through her teeth. When she finally did open her eyes, she saw her skin, perfectly clear and in tact, like the man had never cut her.

“Do it again,” he instructed.

Elora let out a shaky breath. “Please,” she started. “You know it-”

“Did I ask you if you wanted to? No, I told you to do it again.”

Elora looked down, biting her lip. Do it, or he’ll kill you.

“Where?” She asked. “You just-you only cut me once, just now.”

He huffed. “I suggest you choose another spot yourself. You’re covered in plenty of cuts. Unless you’d like me to slash you again, hmm?”

She shook her head immediately, pausing for a moment to think. What would hurt the least to heal?

The cuts on her arm from yesterday. They had already started to close up, and they were small. Just one wouldn’t take her very long. She moved her hand and covered one cut with her fingers, taking a moment to focus and breathe before she began.

The man smiled. “Ambitious, aren’t you? Go on then, since you chose your arm. Fix them all.”

Her heart dropped. “N-no! You said one more! I didn’t mean-”

He cut her off again. “Right, and now I said them all. Go on. Do I need to remind you of the consequences your actions can bring?”

He’ll kill you. He will.

She shook her head, trying to be calm. She would-she had to try.

She whimpered as soon as her magic made contact with the first cut. Her fingers on the hand of the arm being healed curled up and grabbed a fistful of her shirt, trying to brace herself against the pain. It didn’t do much. The dread was almost as bad as the pain, cold fear seeping into her every time she looked at her arm. It was cut up and down-there were at least thirty of them, maybe more.

Worse than anything else was the man’s glare. He was staring at her, with an amused sense of wonder. Every time she looked up, she saw him smiling.

She tried to do as he told her. She did. She knew he would kill her. But after cut six or seven-she had a hard time keeping track, especially because they disappeared without a scar-she let her healing arm drop, her fingers twitching slightly. She couldn’t do it anymore. The pain that had grown was excruciating, worse than anything that had happened before, and her energy was near completely depleted.

“Why the hell did you stop?” the man shouted at her. She looked away from him. She was so exhausted, it was hard to focus. She’d just woken up, but she wanted to curl up and sleep. Using that much magic, in a way she was never supposed to, felt like it sucked the life force out of her just like a leech.

“I-I can only do so much,” she explained. “O-only have so much in me.” Her body was starting to droop, just about ready to give in to sleep.

Clyde didn’t like that answer. He grabbed her arm roughly and returned it to the cuts, but even he could feel that she was becoming loose and limp, from what he assumed was pure exhaustion. When he let her arm down and nothing happened besides a quiet groan from the girl, he gave up.

“That was hardly anything. God, you’re useless. We’ll have to work on that, and your...disregard of my authority. You know, I think I know exactly what to do. Perhaps we’ll take a little trip away from the bathtub tomorrow.”

With that, he turned and left the bathroom. Moments later, Elora turned on her side and slept, left without the time awake to wonder what he meant by that.

@exploringspaceinpyjamas @badthingshappenbingo

(let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist!)

[queenofwerewolves]

Future Hope

chapter one - Where it all began.

We all thought the new decade would be a new fresh start, a new beginning for humanity, we were all so excited for the the arrival of 2020... and it's unknown horrors that we awaited along with it.

it started with just jokes and memes, the virus wasnt affecting us, it didnt seem like a big deal. Then it reached Italy, then the United States. In a span of three months, the entire world changed and was affected by COVID-19. Then it happened.. the attack and sudden uprising of those who had privilege, but didnt know of it's power..

it started with the Black Lives Matter Protests, but it got worst, so unhumaningly worse. People around the country and the world tried to help and stop this evil, but it wasnt enough to stop them. The White Suprimacy.

Death, despair, anguish, loss for hope... What has the world come to?

Even after two years of the incident, in the year of 2022, the same horrors from before was still going on. No one could stop them, those who tried were imprisioned or now buried six feet under, people gave up, they lost hope... Until a new reason for that hope arrived.

It started as a friendship group. Eight people of different kinds, intetrests and hobbies brought together by a common interest, which soon grew into an unbreakable bond, sharing pictures or tagging one another with a funny meme attached to it, simple acts but filled with love.. Until this group almost lost a member.

A fight was happening while she was visiting a store, it was between a simple teen wearing a pride shirt and a middle aged man, bickering and arguing issued, but no one expected the man to pull out a gun and attempt to shoot the kid... Only to miss, and shoot the beloved group friend...

She was texting her friends while it happened, only for them to not hear anything for weeks... But she finally replied, after weeks in the hospital, recovering from the shot. One of the members couldnt have it anymore, and kindly asked for everyone to create a Discord account so they could all see how their wounded friend was doing. Everyone agreed, and surprised her with a call.

Maria was her name, and she couldnt be more delighted about the surprise..

"Yo! Yooo Bitch can you see us?!" Shouted one friend from their call

"For fuck's sake Spike the woman was shot and you have to call her a bitch?!" Rudely replied another friend, who's background was dark and gloomy and had far too many halloween decorations.

Maria laughed softly. "It's OK Spooks.. Wow.. I cant believe Im seeing you all.. Just wished it wasnt at the hospital through a videochat..." She said with a soft smile.

"It is truly a concerning situation we've been dragged into.. but it brings me joy to see you alive and well Maria" Said another friend, looking a little too-well dressed in the call

"Im guessing Griff begged you all to make a Discord huh..?" Maria said, looking at the video box of young man with a concerned yet and embarrassed look.

"Queen... We were so worried..." He answered, slightly choked up. "We thought you were a goner.. When you finally texted back I..I just had to see you..!"

Queen. A nickname she never thought someone would ever call her, hell it was a title that she didnt even deserve. Until she met Griff, which started to call her that, and her other friends jumped along, she always loved that nickname.. Made her feel special...

"Seeing you all together... All for me... It makes me want to cry.. But we dont have time for me getting emocional" Maria answered, suddenly stern

"Why is that Queen? Something going on?" Answered another friend, who was sucking on a lollipop during the call, such the sweet tooth she is.

Maria smiled. "No Muffin.. I simply have a proposal for you all.. And I hope you all are in with me...Because Im getting pretty sick of the way things are in this shit world.."

And so was born a new hope, a group of fighters that are indignified about the way things are, and how they almost took their friend away.

After healing completly at the hospital, they all met in person for the first time. Maria told them that they way they are now wont be enough to make a change to the world, but she knew how to fix that. After a small walk through the woods in the park, they came through a gated area, which Maria crawled under a broken spot of the gate and the others followed, doing the same.

"Long ago" Maria started speaking. "After I moved here, I decided to explore around this park for fun. That's when I found this abandoned gate and went through the same broken piece of wall of the gate we all came through, I believe that's here can help us become better then we already are."

Spike, chewing a piece of gum sneered at her comment. "Oh sure, what is it? A wishing well?"

"Well..." She answered as they came to a stop.

In front of them was a perfectly clean, almost sparkling fountain with clean crystal water still working and flowing out of an angel's vase. The fountain was too bright and shiny, it sure as hell didnt match the rest of the area's gloomy and dark visuals..

"It's a wishing fountain!" Maria spouted out, smiling wide. But the rest werent as.. cheery as she was.

"A fucking... wishing fountain?" Spike answered. "You expect me to believe that's a real wishing fountain? If that's true then why dont you wish for this shit world to become better?"

"I tried!" Maria answered "Apperently it doesnt make big wishes like that, it only makes wishes about yourself or something very small. Like wishing your room to be clean kind of small"

"I mean.. It kinda has that magic aesthetic, I mean, that thing is impeccably clean while the rest is covered in dirt?" Kip answered, glancing at the fountain.

"I know it sounds silly but it really works, I actually did my wish already!" Maria said smiling wide

"Bullshit" Spike answered "You aint a fucking Werewolf, what makes you think we believe you actually wished to be one?"

".. Cause I didnt wished to be a Werewolf..?" Maria answered, dumbfounded. "I always said that I LIKE Werewolves, but I never wanted to be one. I wished to be good at using a scythe and knife throwing, like exceptionally good ya know?" She said excitedly. "And before you answer, YES I do have a scythe, I bought one. Dont ask where."

"So... who goes first?" The smollest of the group, Rook, asked.

"I'll go" Said Griff, pulling out a coin before Maria stopped in this tracks. "This.. Doesnt accept coins" Maria said, seeming a bit worried.

"Then what?" Griff answered back, only to shocked when Maria answered "Blood".

Before Spike could throw a fit, Maria cut him. "Just a drop! Literally! I got a needle here with me, all you gotta do is prick your hand and let the drip fall after you make a wish."

"Let's just get on with it before Spike goes crazy again" Said Blink, the tallest of the group and the one to deal with Spike's bullcrap

Griff took Maria's needle and stood in front of the fountain...And said outloud his wish..

At first he whispered his wish, as if he didnt want anyone to hear it.

"Uh.. It has to be out loud or it wont work Griff." Maria said.

"I-I said.. I wish to be a strong, masculine and really beefy Wererabbit that's really manly and buffed up!!" he shouted with a tone of embarrassment in his voice.

"A Werebunny.. Griffy?" Said Maria in disbelief. "What?! It's co- ow!!" Without looking, he pricked his hand with the needle, and let the drop of blood fall into the fountain's water, mixing along with it. The fountain suddenly shined so brightly that everyone had to cover their eyes for a brief moment before it died out.

Then.. Silence.

"... So.. Now wh-AHCK!!!" Shouted Griff, hit with a sudden shot of pain throughout his body, which made him fall on his knees as everyone backed away from him. They watched in horror as not only he grew almost three times his size, but he got much fuzzier, his ears stretched into rabbit ears, his muscles swelled and bubbled as they grew bigger, his body shifted painfully into a hybrid between man and rabbit. When he finally finished, he just collapsed on the floor, panting exaustedly.

His friends were inicially shocked, until Maria snapped out of it and rushed to his side, placing a hand on his head. "Griffy? You OK..?"

He answered, in a much gruffer, deeper voice.. "Yeah.. Yeah Im good.."

"Jesus.. It worked.. Can you stand?" She asked. Griff nodded as he slowly got up and almost knocked his head on a tree branch from how tall he was now. Everyone was looking up at him, jaws dropped in shock and awe, until..

"HOLY SHIT YOU'RE NAKED!!!" Rook shouted as she covered her eyes, running in place "MY EYES!! THEY BURN!!!"

"We.. better finish these wishes quick and get you some pants." Maria added, Griff simply nodded as he covered himself embarrassed.

One by one they did their wishes. Becoming who they wanted to be to fufill their purpose with Maria.

Spike wished for strong arm strenght, fast stamina and an aluminum bat that never breaks, and can destroy almost anything. Blink asked for a sword, the ability to parkour and jump from building to building like some kind of vigilante. Kip asked to be part cat for the heck of it and that whatever she draws will become a reality. Muffin asked to be a fairy, to bring joy because she isnt a fighter. Togekiss asked for high I.Q, the ability to see simulations of possibilities in the future and telekenisis and teleportation. Spooks asked to be like an Underworld Goddess, with the power to summon shadows and have the darkness on her command, and finally, Rook asked to be part bird and a wizard with elemental nature, and musical spells,to honour her beloved Lammy, she also wished to have a split personality to be like her favorite character, ENA.

And so the team was ready, and soon they would make a change to the world, the revolution has begun, it was time to shine..

For a Future Hope.

[akirakurusuimagines]

Connected

@p5auweek​ day four: Soulmate AU (Potential Soulmates are able to talk to each other telepathically for a few minutes at a time.) 

You clicked your pen listlessly, your focus miles from the classroom and your professor’s dull lecture, completely and utterly absorbed in your grumpy mental chant to leave, leave, leave. Today was just an irritating day, only a couple weeks into the semester and you were already completely over it. You regret not taking full advantage of your spring vacation, especially now, where you were stuck with Ms. Chouno’s latest tangent. You just wanted to go home, cuddle up in your blankets, and take a nice, long nap. 

I get it, so can you be quiet now, please? You’re not the only one who wants to leave.

You froze at the sudden voice, head whipping every which way inside the classroom, looking for any potential people who spoke to you, anyone who met your eyes with a glare, anything. Thinking for a moment, you realized you didn’t recognize that voice, despite being vaguely familiar with most students in your class. If it didn’t come from inside the classroom, then did it come from inside your head? No, that couldn’t be it. Right? That’s just preposterous! Maybe it was just your imagination, you were bored to the point of insanity. 

Yeah, I’m just going crazy. That’s it, you convinced yourself, considering the lingering silence in your head. No wonder, she’s dragging on and on and⁠— 

Seriously, look, I don’t know what’s going on either, but can you please keep your thoughts to yourself for five minutes? The voice inside your head returned. It was rather light and gentle, but the snark in his voice was inevitable. Whoever managed to sneak inside your head didn’t seem like a fan of whatever was going on, either. 

Absolutely not! you retorted, eyebrows pinching together as you had to make sure to speak inside your head to this stranger. Get out of my head! 

I could say the same to you.

But you were the one who got in my head in the first place!

No, I think it’s the opposite.

“Whatever!” You hadn’t meant to say it out loud, unintentionally drawing attention to you from the other students in the form of giggling and snickering. Your cheeks reddened with shame as Ms. Chouno’s glare pierced right through your soul, though she continued the lesson without a word, likely choosing to confront you after class for your outburst. 

Regardless, the noise in your head died down and you were left to your own devices. Yet you still couldn’t bring yourself to try to contact the mysterious man again, half in fear that you were actually going crazy and it was a figment of your imagination, and half in fear that you weren’t and that he was going to be a permanent resident inside your head. 

That was the first day you heard his voice. 

Since then, his voice would only creep up upon you and scare the living shit out of you at the most inconvenient times, really. Once, he had blurted out the answer to the question you were pondering on an exam which caused you screamed in surprise. Luckily, the professor believed you when you nervously explained that you saw a bug and it shocked you and let you off with a warning.

Conversations between the two of you would only last for a few minutes at a time, and usually left you exhausted afterwards, though whether it was the bickering you two often found yourself engaging in or whether it was the energy needed to talk to someone telepathically, you weren’t sure. 

Neither one of you were comfortable enough with the other to use your real names or give any other kind of information, and you were perfectly fine with that, but you still laughed at him for a few minutes when he told you to call him Joker. What kind of a nickname was that? With the way he snorted when you announced yours, he didn’t think it was much better. 

There were a few times when you could’ve sworn you heard him say something rather odd⁠— yet anytime you asked him about it, he’d pull out one of the rules that you two set up with each other to have some form of privacy when you were at school, since it seemed like the only time that strange connection ever happens and you’d respectfully back off, but it didn’t make you any less suspicious of him.

It was strange, but you got used to hearing Joker’s voice in your head, and admittedly began to look forward to it. It was a nice distraction from the strange life you had at Shujin, and you wondered if he felt the same way about talking to you. The way he seemed to lighten up and become more and more friendly with you seemed to indicate that, especially considering you two were listening in on the depths of each other’s psyche. 

A couple months of your interactions with him passed by, and you noticed that most of your conversations with him were short and blunt compared to the light banter you two normally had. You couldn’t blame him; the situation involving the mafia’s more aggressive movements in Shibuya recently was nothing to scoff at. Perhaps he was worried about it? He never answered you when you asked, yet you still worried for him. He seemed like the type to get himself caught up in trouble. 

Trusting your gut, you set off to stake out Shibuya, settling yourself comfortably within Big Bang Burger and hoping to connect with him while you were there. He was worrying you. You weren’t exactly ready to give up that strange bond you had with Joker for him to up and die from messing with the mafia.

So you waited.

And you waited. 

And waited some more. 

You were beginning to think this wasn’t your best idea. Hours passed and no sign of life inside your head other than yours, which you had to admit, was a lot lonelier than you would’ve first imagined. Sighing aloud, you packed up your things, at least grateful for the opportunity to finish your homework, as difficult as it was. The kind woman working the register bid a farewell as you exited, wincing slightly at the change of lighting. It was time you started heading home, your parents were sure to wonder where you’d been the entire time, considering how dusk was nearing already. 

Yet your legs refused to move towards the subway, that small glimmer of hope in your chest of at least getting to properly talk with Joker winning over your rationality. You wandered around the streets of Shibuya for a little longer, making as much racket in your head to try and see if Joker would respond. Then again, he might not even be here and all you’re doing is wasting your time. 

It really was a mistake on your part to let yourself get so distracted with improbable ideas. You could tell rather quickly which people felt shady as hell, and despite your attempts to steer away from them, they seemed to be attracted to you like moths to a flame. They badgered you with easy money, simple jobs, promises of wealth, anything they think would be attractive to a high schooler like you. Everytime you dismissed them, they came back, more eager to get you to agree than before. 

You should’ve made a run for it, towards the subway station, and just hop on the first train and go, but you were too late. At your continuous refusal, one of the shady men who hounded you grew absurdly irked, perhaps because he was falling behind on his quota, and snatched your wrist, pulling you back into the shadow of an alleyway and pressing a knife against your throat. 

You froze up completely at the sensation, hardly even registering the words being said to you by the man who reeked of tobacco and booze. The realization of what was happening made your heart race, the blood pumping loudly in your ears, as you repeatedly pleaded in your head, keeping as still as possible in hopes that he’d just let you go. Please, Joker, please⁠— please answer me! you beseeched, quickly losing faith in this plan of yours, but it was the only one that came to mind. 

What’s happening⁠—? Where are you?! 

You nearly cried in relief, hearing the startled and panicked voice of the man you’ve never seen yet feel so close to. He was close. In the alley across from the beef bowl shop, please hurry, I⁠— 

“So what, you’re just not gonna answer me?” You bit back a gasp as the dull edge of the knife dug a little deeper into your neck, the man clearly displeased with your lack of response. “Are you gonna agree, or am I gonna have to get nasty?” 

“I wouldn’t recommend that if I were you,” a cool, deep tone sent shivers down your spine. It was familiar, and yet you still couldn’t see who it was. You were too afraid to look with a knife pointed to your throat. “Try anything and I’ll shoot.” 

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing⁠—?!” The grunt spat out, though with the way his tone wavered as a click behind his back rang loudly in his ears. 

“Go, and don’t you dare try this again.” 

“Nngh…” he withdrew his knife from your neck and shoved you aside, before rushing off to god-knows-where. 

You barely managed to catch yourself, body trembling slightly at the terrifying experience, before you finally looked to see who it was who saved you. “T-Thank you,” you managed to mutter. 

“What are you doing here? You know Shibuya isn’t safe for students right now,” the tall student who bore your same uniform stared down at you, concern etched all over his face. The voice clicked, hearing it in person: he was the same one who saved you just now, and the same one in your head. I’m glad you’re safe. 

“No way,” you mumbled, eyes wide, baffled. Akira Kurusu: Shujin’s transfer student with a criminal record, the one with more rumors than you could count surrounding him, that was Joker? “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.” It was hard trying to keep up with everything, and hold on a moment⁠— did he have a gun? 

“...You should go home,” Akira spoke after a moment. “We’ll talk later.” 

“Wait⁠—” You gripped the sleeve of his uniform as he began to leave, “there’s so much I need to talk to you about, and… I don’t want to travel home alone after what happened.” 

Akira stared at you, his glasses shielding his eyes from the world, yet after a minute, he offered you a kind smile. “Are you sure you’d like to walk home with me, after threatening to shoot someone? You’ll be fine, trust me.” 

You couldn’t stop him from slipping through your fingers, walking away with his hands shoved in his pockets, not bothering to look back. You stared, stunned, as he became lost in the sea of people, leaving you behind with questions and a heavy heart, but the determination to find out just what was going on with him now that you had a name and a face to associate with the voice inside your head. 

But first, you had to make sure you went home safely. 

[sopxhiea]

Fortuitous

Alfie Solomons X Reader

Same universe, different story

| Prompt

“Just to warn you, I kick a lot in my sleep.

It’s quiet.

You feel the blade interrupt your train of thought as it touches your skin, cold metal against warmth. You adjust your coat, feeling the knife fit the natural curve of your body not a second after like it was made for your form.

Your body is not shivering from the breeze from the open windows unlike the tall man standing next to you. There are no lights, the whole place gets absorbed in the dark, allowing you to figure the objects around from their shadows as the moonlight kisses them rather gently, it doesn’t touch you.

Something is wrong.

You hear the faint breathing first, there’s supposed to be guards around and you hear them in Russian but the sound is too faint. You hear the breathing of the man next to you, he’s scared shitless. A smile creeps up on your lips, scaring him furthermore. You know nothing is going according to plan. You’re supposed to be alone but you hear familiar footsteps around the corridor.

He’s dragging his feet again.

You knew it wasn’t a good idea to agree for him to come with you but you’d said yes in a blurry late night you cease to remember, you’d promised yourself that it would be an easy job but it never was, especially when you were working with Alfie.

He was supposed to be one of the thick-headed old man you worked with. You’d waited for an old, saggy businessman who was out of his years when you’d met him for the first time a year ago but he’d been far from that, making it even more annoying for you. You had met a charming man in his mid-thirties that day, he was way too attractive for a gangster.

He’d had the opposite effect on you.

You didn’t like the man, he was too cocky and way too rude for a gentlemen. He was smart, you knew that but he did, too. It just added to his massive ego he carried on his bulky shoulders.

You seethed with anger when he came into your vision, he was supposed to exit through the back door but he was right in front of you, looking at you like you had all the answers. You walk towards him in the dark room, he copies the action until your bodies meet in the middle.

His hands keep you in place by your arms, you feel his large hands on your arms and the vanilla scent follows.

“What happened?” you ask, your eyes meeting his blue orbs under the moonlight but you see the distant look in his eyes.

Something went horribly wrong, you can tell. He has the jewel you wanted on the bag but his eyes tell you to run. He knows it’s not smart to tell you about how things went wrong, it’s better to run now and talk later so he spits out the next words quick.

“We need to get out of ‘ere.” he whispers, you catch the glint of surprise and panic in the corner of his eyes which makes your body automatically move.

You move through the night, hiding in the shadows until you reach the town centre. His body remains close to yours throughout it all and you pray at the moon so that she keeps you safe.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

You scoff at the receptionist, he seems dumbfounded. You look at him from head to toe as Alfie speaks some sense into his head. He’s wearing a red jacket that matches some of the tiling of the hotel. The place has golden detailing all over the place, your eyes meet the smaller man again. He’s younger than Alfie, smaller in size, too. You’re quick on your feet, moving towards the stairs and Alfie follows.

It wasn’t supposed to go this way.

The plan was simple, in and out. You were supposed to get the jewel while some men would guard you, Alfie would do the same and remain neutral to the whole act but it had somehow gotten way worse than your expectations. You had the jewel but you had blade wounds and the mansion was alarmed.

The area you were working in was a foreign one, far from anywhere you were used to. That wasn’t the problem, it wouldn’t be of you were on your own. Alfie had friends over here but it would look strange if two strangers appeared around town right after the night of the robbery, the area wasn’t famous for it’s tourist attraction anyway.

He’d proposed for you to play lovers, you’d agreed.

It was late at night when you’d agreed and in your head, things would go smooth as they usually did. You thought of a bad scenario, things taking the wrong turn but the reality of the things seemed much worse now that a huge jewish man was following you around in the middle of the night as you walked towards the room in a rapid pace.

His grunts followed when you entered the spacious room, it was a lovely room with velvet furniture around, golden furnishing around the space hit your eyes and it made you wince, there was only one bed.

There was a big couch, it wouldn’t be such a problem but you knew he was tired, you’d been running all day and even though you were much younger than the bear of a man, you were already in a sleepy state from how worn out you felt. Your eyes met his, the rings under his eyes spoke for themselves while you tried to ignore the topic as a whole and moved towards the bathroom.

While you moved towards the bathroom, you passed by his much bigger form and stood there in front of him for a while.

He looked vulnerable.

In the year that you’d known the man, through all the meetings, he’d been many things. He had been angry, riled up and restless. You’d seen him genuinely happy a couple of times, sparks would fly from his innocent smile at those times. He had been pissed off many times in front of you, sometimes at you.

But you’d never seen the man be vulnerable. He looked tired, defeated but somehow happy. Your eyes looked at his for a while, he stood in front of you motionless. He looked like he was stargazing.

“You need to sleep.” you spoke, almost a mere whisper as his eyes bored into yours. 

He was admiring you.

He knew things didn’t go the way you were planning this time, he watched your fragile form stand tall despite the bad evening you were having. He could tell you were in pain from the wounds, he’d offered to apply pressure through the way over to the hotel but you’d refused, you’d be fine. He knew you would be fine, that wasn’t why he’d asked.

He eyed your tired form, he knew your power came from your elegance. You’d lasted way longer anyone else did in this line of business, let alone any woman who’d tried to break their way into the industry. He knew you were the lethal beauty men liked to have around their arms to show off during meetings, it was how you’d gathered information on so many other people around town which led to you making a name for yourself.

“So do ya’, doll.” he spoke, you didn’t grimace at the nickname like you usually did, that was a win for him.

You nodded, eyes tearing away from his intense blue ones as you made your way to the bathroom. He followed quietly, no complaints being made about how tired he was which made you respect him more. He wanted to see if you needed help with the wounds.

He watched as you hiked up your skirt to reveal three large knives and two small blades hidden around your upper thighs, you chuckled at his dumfounded expression while removing them in swift motions. It erupted a low ‘fuckin’ hell’ from his mouth, he wasn’t so tired anymore. Not after seeing a large portion of your naked body decorated with sharp knives.

You slowly cleaned out the wounds, no sign of pain on your face or actions as he watched. He didn’t know if you really didn’t feel pain or if you were putting up a face for him to not see the real you.

“You can take the bed.” you spoke, your words surprised him as he looked around the bathroom while tugging at his beard. He remained silent for a while.

“There’s no fuckin’ way, right, that’s happenin’.” he spoke under his breath as you watched him watch you bandage yourself up. He seemed taken aback. 

“I can take the couch, you seem tired..” you spoke, he was actually taken back by how sweet you were being since you usually had your claws out around him.

He thought for a bit, shaking his head again while getting out of the bathroom. You followed his larger form, he seemed to be getting bigger each time you saw him. You took off your shoes, socks following as he watched you groan at the comfort of the bed.

You stared at the ceiling for a while until you heard him settle on the couch. You knew he had a bad back, he had been tired on top of all the discomfort he was about to feel and you hated yourself for feeling the way you did. A chuckle left your lips from how different you were being to him but it had been a long night, he had also gotten the jewel you wanted so you wanted to spare him.

“Alfie...” you breathed out, his tired eyes met yours across the room. “I can’t let you sleep on the couch. Here, get in bed with me.“

He looked at you for a while, no words coming out of his mouth. He knew you’d insist, he knew you were just as stubborn as he was. He tugged at his beard while watching you as you waited for him to come to the bed, it was going to be uncomfortable but you didn’t want to listen tho his complaints in the morning.

“Right.” he spoke, walking towards your already laid out form.

He watched as you arranged the pillows for him and yourself, the bed was looking especially good to him now that you were in it. He heard you sigh as you laid on the soft material, your body melting at the comfort and his soon followed after. He groaned at the comfort right after you, smiling to himself as your face faced the wall, your back was all he was able to see.

There was silence for a while, not out of tension but out of slumber that was about to lure you in sleep. You turned on your back to see his face, only to meet his curious orbs. 

He wasn’t asleep like you’d thought he’d be. Instead, he was looking right at your eyes when you rolled over to see his state. He really was younger in spirit. You bit back a smile before speaking, it almost came out slurred from how sleepy you were.

“Just to warn you, I kick a lot in my sleep.”

Your words gained a chuckle from him and his joy made you smile, he wasn’t so grumpy today. He seemed less like a wolf and more like the teddy bear you saw him to be as you smiled at his joyous state.

He nodded, lips forming in a small smile as he spoke, his voice was hoarser since he was just as sleepy as you.

“Noted.”

You smiled once more before rolling over to face the wall again. There was comfort provided by the bed, and warmth provided by his presence.

You woke up the next day only to find his arms tangled over your small form, he was engulfing you while sleeping soundly. You enjoyed the kisses of the morning sunlight on your skin while his embrace provided you with much needed affection.

You didn’t wake up the grumpy man that morning, only to enjoy his embrace for a little longer.

[jonathanvik]

Starlight Dream - Chapter 2

A cruel chuckle escaped Lilha’s lips as she watched her prey walk down the street with her ridiculous friends. Her fairy companion circled around her, chatting away useless nonsense. Above the vampire queen, the sun rained down its hateful light. While not dangerous to a higher vampire like herself, it still significantly weakened her. At this hour, most vampires were asleep, hiding in terror from this magical girl menace.

She’d been planning this attack for days, studying the girl’s habits and moods. A predator needed to understand its victim before destroying them. Since the return of the sun, Seina had spent an unhealthy amount of time outside. This park was one of her most favorite places to visit. It wasn’t difficult to devise the perfect plan to kill this pathetic, naive girl. Once Lilha’s plan was complete, vampires would return to their correct position as the world’s undisputed masters, now and forever! Darkness would reign again for all eternity!

“Uh, excuse me, but could I have a scoop of chocolate ice cream?” A young child asked, interrupting Lilha’s victory gloating.

Reality crashed down on the vampire queen, forcing her to return to her job. When Seina had devastated her vampire masters, Lilha had lost everything, a queen in name only, forced to work at an ice cream stall to pay the bills! Her uniform was a tacky red hat and an ugly striped shirt.

Before, she had lived in a palace that even the richest of kings would envy. Now, she dwelled in a one-room apartment with a leaky roof and rats. In happier days, her late husband delighted in making humans live in utter squalor for his amusement. It didn’t leave her with many suitable places to live. Her pride made her refuse to live in the sewers like other displaced vampires.

“Here,” Lilha said, handing over the boy’s orders with little enthusiasm. Her excitement had drained away, making her feel dead inside. This brought back too many terrible memories of working at a McRonald's before her queenhood. Back then, Lilha had sworn she’d possess only the best in life.

Curse that magical girl! Curse her! From the corner of her eye, Lilha watched Seina get into position. She bubbled with excitement, eager to see herself avenged.

“I love this view!” The magical girl said, looking over the bridge, watching the clear sky and the cars driving beneath them. After the vampire’s downfall, humans were working hard to return to their lives pre-darkness. While there were fewer cars than in ages past, it was a solid return to normalcy.

“Really?” Colten asked, tilting his bulbous head. To him, it wasn’t that extraordinary. “Oh right. You seldom saw the sun.”

Seina shook her head. She closed her eyes and extended her arms, soaking in the sun. “I could stand here all day!”

The magical girl’s brainless friend laughed. “You’re so silly, Seina!”

The fairy, however, seemed touched, lips extending into a slight smile. “Stay as long as you like.”

Idiot, you’re making this so much simpler! With a slight flick of her hand, the vampire queen signaled the beginning of her plan. In a few moments, the meddlesome magical girl would be dead.

From the darkness behind a trash can, Cugo, the fifth greatest vampire assassin, struck. He pulled out a long green tube and placed it over his shoulder. After closing one eye, Cugo aimed his rocket launcher and unleashed the missile. The target struck home, and Seina’s friends screamed in horror. The projectile exploded, sending the magical girl flying upon impact. Lilha cackled in delight as the girl’s body rag dolled in the air, landing in the busy street.

“Seina!” The fairy’s voice cracked, eyes widening in horror.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Lilha’s mirth increased as the magical girl’s lifeless body landed before a heavy truck carrying construction equipment. The vehicle couldn’t avoid the girl in time and bumped as its enormous tires ran over her.

I did it! Lilha did a victory dance, heartened by the gruesome death of her most hated enemy. Freedom at last!

“Oh, she’s fine. T-thank goodness.” Colten said, throwing cold water at Lilha’s celebration.

I-Impossible. The vampire’s queen stomach twisted in dread, running towards the railing. Sure enough, Seina was sitting up, rubbing the back of her neck. Except for her charred and burned dress, the girl seemed otherwise unhurt. The truck driver exited his cabin, relieved to discover the girl he’d struck unharmed.

“You have to got to be %@$&* kidding me.” Several more curses escaped the vampire queen’s lips. How, why? How did she survive without her magical powers?!

“Change Change, Magical Love Dress Up!” Moments later, Seina leaped to the bridge above to confront her attacker.

“Aiko, are you okay?” Seina asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, just a little scared.” While a little bruised, the girl appeared alright.

“What a dirty trick! Vampires.” The fairy used the name like a curse.

A new voice snorted in derision. “Lucky. I've heard you weren’t easy to kill.”

“So, you’re my attacker.” Seina glared towards the newcomer. Her friend yelped in surprise and fear, hiding behind a nearby bush.

The vampire cackled. “Correct, little girl. My name is Cugo, and I will be your death!”

The vampire was a gruesome sight. Over his pale bare-chested pasty body, tiny bones protruding from his body, each from his many victims. Cugo enjoyed claiming tokens from the people he killed. The sight made the magical girl recoil in disgust.

“Like my prizes?” Cugo purred. “I have so many. It’s my goal to one day kill a billion people!” The vampire assassin cackled again.

Colten snorted in amusement. “You already look like a pincushion. How the heck will you fit a billion?”

“Yeah, I don’t really see how that works,” Seina added. “Why kill a billion? And doesn’t it hurt?”

“Pain is my power! I revel in slaughter and blood! Death is my constant companion.” Cugo withdrew a knife, licking the blade with his tongue. Blood oozed from where he’d sliced its surface. The blood muffled the next words pouring from the assassin’s mouth. “Hurt me more! The more pain you cause me, the more invincible I become!”

“Okay,” Seina replied, nonplus. “And that doesn’t really answer my questions.”

“Why’d I even bother?” Lilha returned to her ice cream cart, discovering several more children impatiently awaiting their treat. While she served her customers, the ex-vampire queen heard her hired assassin’s screams. Moments later, the park was silent. That sneak attack had been their best opportunity to kill the hated magical girl. Lilha wasn’t under any illusion that the idiot had any chance otherwise.

Is this my life now? A single tear slid down her face. Fate had thrust Lilha back into the horrible existence she lived before her turn. The ex-vampire queen wiped her face and pretended to smile as more brats demanded ice cream. She could at least maintain some dignity.

---

“I’m fine, don’t fret, Colten,” Seina said, both annoyed and amused by her fairy friend’s attention. He was examining her for injuries, making sure everything was okay.

“I’m just worried. I was so scared I’d lost you!” Tears welled in the fairy's eyes.

Moved by her friend’s distress, she gave Colten a hug. “I’m not going anywhere, okay.”

Colten sniffed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m just being silly.”

“That was something. How did you survive that?” Aiko asked. “I’m glad, but I thought your brooch gave you power.”

“Yeah, what happened?” Siena asked.

In the month since they’d first met, he’d been vague about this magical girl business. The fairy only stated he’d arrived from somewhere beyond her universe. He’d mentioned magical girls were common where he came from, but revealed little beyond that tidbit. Seina pressed him for more information, but the fairy was sparse on more details.

“It’s your magic, Seina,” Colten replied. “It protects you even when you aren’t transformed.”

“What happens if she loses the brooch? Will she be vulnerable then?” Aiko asked, curious.

“Nope, it’s part of her soul now,” Colten replied smugly. “She’s a magical girl forever.” Despite this simple explanation, Seina got the distinct impression that was something else her fairy friend wasn’t telling her. What was with these secrets? Did Colten enjoy just being obtuse?

Whatever, she’d press him for more answers later. Seina just wanted to enjoy the walk with her friends. Vampires or other problems could wait. They deserved the peace. Besides, she could handle any trouble that could arise, even if she hadn’t learned how to cast spells with her staff yet. The trio was laughing and joking as they headed back home.

After the fall of the vampires, Seina had taken residency in an apartment building uptown. The new prime minister had insisted that she live with him after multiple assassination attempts. With no other place to go, she’d readily agreed. Seina still wasn’t on speaking terms with her parents. They’d disappeared since the incident in the colosseum. Not that she needed them, anyway. She was a big girl, almost an adult! Besides, she had Colten, she didn’t need anyone else.

“Seina, thank goodness you’re okay.” The guard, Ryo, said. “We heard about the assassination attempt. We’ve been looking for you!”

“I’m fine.” Seina waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not even scratched. Prime Minister Ogawa doesn’t need to worry.”

“No, the Minister insists on seeing you, now.” Ryo pushed Seina towards the elevator leading to the Prime Minister’s office, leaving a waving Aiko behind.

“Seina, it’s so good to see you safe!” Uncle Kenji batted his head with a handkerchief. He wasn’t really her uncle, but she’d known him since childhood, and the nickname stuck. After Lothaire’s fall, people had thrust him into a leadership position, taking advantage of his natural talent. Taking the position hadn’t given him much pleasure, but someone needed to be Prime Minister.

“I’m fine,” Seina said, annoyed. “Like I keep telling everyone.”

“If we ever lost you…” The Prime Minister coughed into his hand, embarrassed. “Well, I suppose you magical girls are tougher than you look. Lothaire learned that the hard way.”

“So, what’s for dinner?” Seina had wanted some ice cream, but Colten had insisted it would ruin her dinner, leaving her starving. “Is it true they’d finally caught some fish?”

The darkness had devastated the earth’s wildlife, not leaving much food for humanity. Still, life persisted, and fishermen had already constructed new boats, hoping to return to their old profession and feed their families.

“That can wait. There’s something I wish to discuss first.” Uncle Kenji said.

“About what?” Colten asked, landing on Seina’s shoulder.

“It worries me every time you leave the safety of this building.” The prime minister sat behind his desk and steepled his fingers. “I realize you’re young and you can’t stay cooped up here. After some consideration, I decided it would be wise to assign you a guardian. Come in.”

Moments later, a scary-looking man with intense, piercing eyes entered the room. His brown hair was wild, and silver earrings pierced both of his ears. A small goatee ordained his face, adding to his rough features. He gave the Prime Minister a bow and studied Seina with interest with those terrifying eyes of his.

“This is Masato Kiyojiro, and he’s going to be your bodyguard.”

The man in question gave a polite bow. “I will protect you with my life.”

Seina gave her own awkward bow. After a moment’s hesitation, she gained the courage to speak her mind. “Um, I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m pretty powerful by myself. Not even a rocket launcher can kill me!” What if he attempted fighting something beyond his ability to beat? He couldn’t really protect her, so she hated putting him to the trouble of watching over her.

“This isn’t only about having someone to protect you. You’re a ten-year-old girl, Seina. You need someone to watch over you, and Kiyojiro is the man.” Kenji replied.

Colten snorted and puffed out his chest in pride. “She doesn’t need a protector. Seina has me!”

“Didn’t you say you’re nine?” The prime minister said, amused by the fairy’s bravado.

“A very mature nine!” Colten shot back.

Seina gave Mr. Kiyojiro a polite bow, who only replied silently with a cold-eyed stare. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kiyojiro, but I don’t think this will work. You’re just, well, a guy. It’s best if I worry about my own protection.”

“Seina, we aren’t arguing this. Kiyojiro is accompanying you from now on.” The Prime Minister’s voice brooked no argument. “And that’s final.”

“But!”

“Seina.” Uncle Kenji’s expression hardened.

“Fine.” Seina looked away, surrendering to the adult’s argument. Still, why this man? The prime minister could have found someone nicer.

Might as well face it now. “Hi, I’m Seina. It’s nice to meet you.” Seina gave her best, winning smile. It did little to improve her bodyguard’s mood, he only gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Seina's smile turned awkward, but she wanted to make a good impression.

“This is so dumb!” Colten flew around in circles in agitation. “Well, I suppose it’s nice to have someone around to carry our bags or something.”

The fairy flew into the bodyguard’s face. “But know this. Seina’s protector is me! Got it? We’re partners, after all.”

Mr. Kiyojiro scowled, giving a snort of irritation. Colten quickly flew behind Seina for protection from his magical girl’s thuggish bodyguard. Seina sighed, knowing this change would be difficult to adjust to. She only hoped her new guardian wouldn’t scare her friends away. Her life had enough complications!

“Anyway, I’m famished,” Seina said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

Mr. Kiyojiro nodded. “I’ll prepare something for you. How does curry sound?”

“That would be great,” Seina replied, taken aback.

Truth be told, she’d never eaten curry before. For most of her life, before the sun’s return, Seina had spent her days eating nothing but slop and the occasional rat for a special treat. It was hard to know what exactly she liked with such little experience with actual food. Still, curry sounded interesting, and why not? She’d taste anything once.

“Mr. Kiyojiro is an excellent chef.” Uncle Kenji said in amusement. “It’s one reason I hired him. He isn’t just muscle, you know.”

“Huh, I suppose that somewhat justifies keeping him around,” Colten replied.

---

“So, this is the place? You’re certain?” Takako tilted her head, studying her surroundings. She watched as a couple walked down a park. Despite the park’s dead trees and general ugliness, they held hands, smiling without a care in the world.

“It should be. The universal coordinates are correct.” Nier said, landing on her shoulder. “Something’s not right here. Can’t you feel it?”

“Yeah.” Takako flicked her skull-shaped earrings.

People approached, and she hid behind a tree before they could notice her. These folk dressed in thick overalls, picking up trash, cleaning graffiti, and marking trees they found too hopeless to live. She’d seen people like this all around the city. They were ordinary folk attempting to restore the broken pieces of their lives and repair their broken world. It seemed almost everyone had volunteered to restore the city to its former glory.

“This wasn’t how they described this world to us at all!” Nier’s flying became more erratic as he got frustrated.

“Something huge happened here.” A jogger passed her, each step filled with effort and determination. The general wrongness was making Takako’s stomach queasy. While faint, her senses detected something. A presence that shouldn’t exist.

“We should find the source before this gets worse!” Nier said, and Takako couldn’t agree more.

With a gesture, she returned to normal. Her transformed state would draw unwanted attention. Whatever had caused this radical shift might learn of her existence, and that would be bothersome. Nier flew into her handbag. His head popped out, watching his surroundings with a keen eye. While still flashy, Takako’s outfit wasn’t as noticeable as her magical girl form. Takako briefly considered disguising herself in the local rags but decided against it. She had standards.

With a flick of her hand, a black umbrella plopped open and placed it over her shoulder. The shade it provided was a great comfort. The sun’s rays were almost oppressive as it shined down on them.

“Come, let’s investigate!"

[zayray030]

Do you even care?

Chapter 5

Check out my AO3

“Thanks Selina.” Damian finally said in the safety of Selina’s penthouse.

“Anytime, Robin.” she said jokingly, putting the small teen down on the plush carpet.

“Actually you can't call me that anymore.” said Damian, rubbing the back of his neck

For some reason being around Selina helped him feel more… normal. Like he could be like everyone else here and she wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

“And why not. New name?” she asked, reaching over to gently grab his shoulder and steer him to the kitchen, glad for the height difference.

“Actually, new nothing. I'm no longer part of my father's crusade.” he said and he almost sounded hysterical with the relief. Selina stilled for a moment before turning him around to face her. They stood in the doorway of the kitchen for a while and Damian stated to worry that he had messed up, that maybe he shouldn't have given it up. He was so into his worries that it came as a surprise when Selina wrapped her arms around his slim figure.

“I'm so happy for you.” she said softly, her chin resting in his head. He clung on to her and she didn't mention the tears on her chest.

“Thanks, Sel.” he said softly.

“You're lucky you're cute and I love you or else I would have scratched you for that nickname.” she murmured into his ear. He snorted lightly and giggled. The peaceful moment was interrupted when a beautiful cat with pure black fur and blue eyes jumped on his head.

“Looks like you have a fan.” she said, amusement colouring her tone.

“Can I keep…?” he trailed off not knowing the gender. Selina smirked at him slightly before picking the cat up gently, despite the mewl of protest and checked underneath.

“Her.”

“Can I keep her?” he asked, his cheeks colouring slightly.

“You think Bruce will let you.” she asked worriedly, placing the slightly small cat in his arms.

“My father will let me. After all he owes me a cat.” he added, smirking slightly but there was a deep pain in his eyes. A pain that speaks of things that he can't speak of now.

“That's a story I would like to know for another day. For now you're going to have a meal, shower and change into some clothes.” she said softly, but firmly making it clear that Damian will not disobey her.

“Umm? Even though you fooled father and the others-” Slina cut him off with a duh expression.

“You're going to wear one of my hoodies and shorts. You're small enough that they'd fit and slim enough that it's a cute baggy.” she said, going over to the fridge and pulling out some ingredients to make a sandwich. She'd build him up to bigger meals later. For now she's going to keep it nice and simple.

“I don't know whether I should feel offended that you think I have a femine figure or not.” he said jokingly, going to sit on the counter. His newly adopted and unnamed cat cuddled closer to him.

“I didn't say that.” she said teasingly, happy to find that she has all the ingredients to make a sandwich for the both of them, and a slice of toast for the cat.

“Implied it pretty well.” he said, before turning his attention to the cat. “What should I name her?” he asked while Selina began making the sandwich.

“A) don't be offended, kitten and b) it's up to you.” she said, handing him a sandwich and placing a slice of toast in front of the cat.

“Maybe Cleopatra?” he said after a beat of silence. The cat looked at him for a moment, as if judging him, before cuddling closer as if to say ‘that'll do.’

“Cleopatra seems to like it don't you girl?” Selina’s voice had turned into a slight coo.

It was silent in the vast kitchen. Occasionally they would both ask each other questions but other than that no other noises except for the occasional meow and bite. Selina didn't try and push Damian to answer anything that had happened and she could tell he was grateful.

When he had finished he had quickly got off the counter and hugged Selina before carrying the cat and going over to the guest room he had always stayed in. “I laid out some clothes for you before I went to the Manor. There in the bed and wardrobe.” Selina called after him. She heard a small thank you being yelled back. Selina smiled slightly after his retreating form before shaking her head.

“What happened, Damian?” she asked herself quietly, left to her thoughts and what had made such a small 14 year old like this.

When Damian had gotten to his room he let out a small exhale. He was grateful for Selina and her ability not to push for information when it's clear that she shouldn't. He placed Cleo on the bed before grabbing a black hoodie that had the word cat on it in white and a pair of short short pajama shorts and quickly hurried into the bathroom.

He stood there in the shower for God knows how long, just staring at his scars and wondering what was wrong with him and why people loved him. He was immensely grateful for the fact that Selina had a ton of hot water or he would have gotten out well before he had wanted to.

Eventually, after what seemed like an hour to him but probably half of that to Selina he stepped out of the shower after washing his hair a bit and stepped into a towel before coming face to face with a huge mirror.

Selina wasn't kidding when she had implied that he had a feminine figure. A feeling stirred in his gut and Damian didn't know whether it was good or not but he ignored it. He would tackle it when he tackled the main problem.

He changed into the clothes and couldn't help but snuggle deep into the hoodie. It ended at mid thigh and made the shorts completely invisible unless one was to lift his hoodie up.

He got out of the bathroom and walked over to the bed and collapsed into it. He rolled over onto his back before pulling the blankets back to crawl deeper into the warmth. Cleo quickly crawled over to the top of his head and licked his cheek before hopping off his pillow and curling on the foot of his bed.

He laid there on the bed thinking of mindless things making sure to stay away from his family and the superworld and eventually he felt a weight on his eyes and the feeling of sleep enveloping him.

He heard the door open but he didn't have the strength to jump up and attack and instead of the feeling of a knife or a gin of his forehead, instead it was lips kissing him goodnight and a whisper of “Sweet dream kitten, see you in the morning.”

Damian slept peacefully for the rest of the night, the only thing in his dreams were cats, islands and a sweet voice telling him he was loved.

[esmeralda-juniper]

Shopping

So this is absolutely inspired by the fact that Pedro Pascal is the face claim for Aly’s husband and that I can’t get the nickname brown eyes for him out of my mind. So here is an absolute teeth rotting sweetness between the two before they’re married 😊

On a sunny Tuesday morning, crowds gathered around stalls with reasonably priced goods and treats in the city of Tantervale. Among them stood two members of an infamous thieves guild slash part time mercenary group, Les Chacals. Their mission was to gather reconnaissance on their mark’s home that sat near the heart of the marketplace. 

Aly hummed, content from being surrounded by so many different people after what felt like an eternity of constant moving between the Free Marches with their group. Camping at the edge of cities in nearby forests did have its appeal, but she could only spend so much time with the same seven people before it grew old. On light feet she weaved through the masses almost losing Marcus a few times in the process. She couldn’t help herself though. She was so excited to finally have the chance to wear the deep burgundy dress she bought months ago. Now, Aly couldn’t think of anything better than to show it off for everyone. 

Marcus on the other hand picked at one of the threads on his borrowed shirt, finding the material far too excessive to disguise himself with for the day. His eyes scanned over every inch of the market but had to also keep Aly in sight several paces ahead of him. He wished he could have convinced Aly to take a more indirect approach to casing the surrounding area. He was too exposed, too unprepared. His shirt offered no protection and he felt bare without all his knives. Aly had insisted that him wearing more than one deadly and expensive weapon would raise suspicion. In the end he relented, only bringing with him the best dagger he owned. It still didn’t feel like enough. 

Even though she had to wear her eye bandage, at the demand of their healer, it seemed nothing could ruin her day. Not when there were so many things to look at! Aly smiled when she glanced back at Marcus, so uncomfortable in the navy shirt on loan from Jacques. She tried not to laugh at the sight of him almost pulling it apart at the seams. It still amazed her that he owned no other clothing apart from his three different sets of black leather armor, save for a simple white shirt that had small holes around the collar and sleeves. Everyone insisted he take Jacques’ silk blouse to somewhat match her own nicer clothing for the day. 

With a loud sigh that drew the attention of everyone around them, she stopped in the middle of the street. She waited for him to stand next to her before she pulled his right hand away from his cuff to intertwine her fingers with his. 

“What are you doing?” he stuttered. 

“You’re too fidgety and I don’t think Jacques will appreciate you ruining his fancy shirt.”

“I am not a child,” he mumbled with a slight frown. 

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Marcus huffed and Aly relaxed her grip as a way to let him escape. He breathed in deep but still held on to her hand. 

“Fine. Stay close to me though. I don’t want to lose you,” he said as he gently pulled her to his side.

Aly just hummed in agreement then went back to counting the patrolling guards around the market. More than two weeks had passed since she ate any sweets, even though she begged Renard to let her pop into any bakery on their travels, but he never relented. So as a little mission for herself, she also kept a keen eye out for any showcasing chocolatiers to satisfy her sweet tooth. They wandered over to a more secluded corner of the square to wait a few moments for the guard shift change. After noting the time of day and the total number of guards, they carried on with their stroll through the center of town. All the while, they kept their hands entwined with no indication that either would let go anytime soon. 

Some time later, a glint from a table near the local chantry caught Aly’s eye. After squinting at its contents, she knew it was just the thing to get Marcus to relax. She squeezed his hand once before jogging over to the merchant with a breathless laugh.

“Come on!”

He followed, though he didn’t have much of a choice. Her strong hold carried him across the market, making him stumble over the uneven cobblestoned streets in the process. As they stood in front of the stall Marcus blinked but before he could ask why they were there a grey head popped out behind a curtain to smile at them. 

“Hello and welcome! We have a wide array of styles, finishes, and lengths that are sure to bring no small amount of satisfaction to one or both of you!”

The woman waggled her eyebrows but then another woman, with less grey on her blonde head, also came out from the back. She pushed her partner away from the potential customers and nodded in their direction. 

“Ignore her. You need a knife? Sword? This is the best place you’ll find one. Let me know what you’re looking for.”

In front of them stood a large array of weapons ranging from the smallest stiletto no bigger than Aly’s palm, to broadswords propped up against a wooden wall. On the center of the table lay four daggers. Each crafted from different metals and leathers that sat elevated on a smaller platform by themselves. Marcus leaned forward to inspect them and gasped at the familiar sigil engraved on the blades. 

“Those are from Senor Diaz’s workshop.”

“Good eye! You Antivan? Ah, no matter. Maestro Augustin sends us about a dozen knives a year to sell. And they’re just as high quality as the ones you’d find in his own shop, before you start thinking otherwise.” 

Aly picked up a medium sized dagger similar to the one Marcus lended her when they practiced fighting together. This one had blue leather wrapped around the hilt of a curved iron blade. Holding it, it seemed lighter than any other knife she’d used before. 

“How much for this one?” she asked. 

“30 gold.”

Aly nodded then let go of his hand to reach into the pouch on her side. The price was a little steep, but the expected reward for their next job would be more than enough to compensate for it. Now, she wouldn’t have to use one of Marcus’ knives to practice with or carry with her on their missions. This would be all hers, bought with the money from their past successful jobs. As she counted the money out, his hand stopped her and she looked up at him with one raised eyebrow. 

“Let me,” he murmured.

“I have enough, it's fine.”

Before he could say more, one of the shopkeepers cackled and shook her finger in Aly’s direction. 

“Come on, let your husband buy it for you! I wouldn’t turn down a free gift.”

“You wouldn’t turn down any free thing, dear.” 

The women continued their playful bickering but stopped at Marcus’ loud cough. Aly reached up to pat his back but that only made it worse. He turned away from them, three sets of eyes staring at him with varying levels of amusement and concern would not help. He could already feel his face grow hotter by the second from Aly’s slight giggle.

Aly knew she should stop laughing, to make sure he was ok, but she couldn’t resist poking him further. 

“Don’t worry, brown eyes. You can buy me the next thing I want.”

She finished the transaction with a wide eyed Marcus standing about a foot away stuttering to reply to her comment. As they left the stall Aly performed a trick by spinning the blade between her fingers, then sent Marcus a wink when she caught it by its hilt after giving it a wide flip. She’d been practicing and was thankful she did not cut herself like the last dozen times she tried. Marcus waited on Aly to rearrange her pouch to fit her new purchase inside. He looked away for a moment at the sound of a loud clatter behind him. At the feeling of her hand reaching up to wrap around his arm, he tensed. 

He stayed frozen in place looking down at her while she waited for him to say something. But the longer he stayed silent, the more she started panicking. He broke eye contact, and an apology was already on her lips, but he opened up further to let herself wrap her hand tighter around his forearm. He said nothing further so she didn’t either. They carried on through the rest of the stalls with him escorting her, and Aly resisting the urge to lay her head against his warm side. 

***

As the sun dipped lower behind the horizon, Marcus and Aly found solitude in a courtyard surrounded by large trees at the furthest edge of the city. Aly happily nibbled one of the dozen of tiny cakes he bought her from the local baker on one of the stone benches in the small area. Every cake had its own delicious flavor and she fought with herself to keep some for later. 

Not too far away, Marcus leaned against one of the trees with his eyes closed. He tried to compile all the information they gathered that day but he couldn’t concentrate, not with a nagging feeling at the back of his head. He wanted to speak with Aly. He knew she would answer any question he asked, but something about her blunt honesty made him hesitate. After taking a moment to collect himself, he cleared his throat. He briefly took in her eye bandage, then focused on a point at the center of her forehead. 

“Why did you call me brown eyes?”

His sudden voice startled her and the vanilla cake she was about to take a bite out of fell out of her hand. Aly caught it before it could fall onto the ground but still gave him a slight frown for the close call. She put it back in its box, then grinned up at him.  

“Isn’t it obvious? You looked so shocked when that shopkeeper thought we were married, I couldn’t help but call you that. I’ve never seen your eyes get that big before.”

“They’re just my eyes, nothing special about them,” he tugged on his gold necklace and dared a glance to her eye, “Not like yours.”

“Come on, they’re a very pretty brown color. Wait- you think my eyes are special?”

He looked away. His cheeks were not growing warm from her raised eyebrow and wide smile. At least that’s what he told himself. 

“Ah you’re not the first to tell me that. Apparently it’s a family legend that those born with the Trevelyan eyes are destined for greatness. Especially the firstborn,” she snorted. She popped a tiny cake into her mouth and as an afterthought, offered one to Marcus.

“You don’t believe it?” He accepted it, but distinctly ignored how their fingers brushed against each other from the action.

“Hmmm. I never did, I don’t think my ancestors had mages in mind when they talked about our ‘glowing amber eyes’. Although... maybe being here with everyone is my destiny.” 

They paused then laughed at her deathly serious voice. Marcus smiled around the chocolate raspberry cake and tilted his head further back into the tree. 

“That sounded worse than that stuff from those adventure novels Varten reads. But whatever, it’s just an old saying to make some children feel good and others feel bad. Doesn’t matter to me,” but Aly slumped forward and laid her chin within her hand.

He wanted to say something, but what he was unsure of. Something comforting, reassuring. Something to bring back the lightness in her voice he was so used to by now.

“Hey! You’re getting me distracted brown eyes. We have to talk about-” 

A large crack echoed around them, making them both act fast. He reached for his knife as she readied beside him, with her own knife fitting perfectly within her hand. 

“Calm down it’s just me,” Silvia walked through the bushes waving one hand toward them and looked at the pair in matching battle stances.

“Why are you sneaking around?” Aly grumbled as she put away her knife. 

“I wasn’t. You two need to pay better attention to your surroundings.”

They smiled, imagining what had happened before their interruption, but it was none of their business. They would let Marcus and Aly have their private little moment. Silvia walked to the white box and picked out a cake for themself, all the while ignoring Aly’s small noise of protest.

“Did you get everything today?” Silvia’s tone was too light and a wicked gleam came over their eyes as they took note of how Marcus and Aly had not moved away from one another. 

“Yes, we’ll tell everyone at camp.” Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. He did not like the tone they used but would say nothing more about it. Not when Aly still hovered near him. 

“See you there then,” Silvia nodded then hopped over the brick wall that led back into the countryside to the group’s camp. 

Marcus went to follow but Aly’s hand stopped him, “I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. I do think you have really nice eyes but I won’t call you brown eyes if you don’t want me to.”

When he looked down at her he saw that, for the first time, she struggled to meet his eyes. Around sunset, her eyes always seemed to glow from the dying light. He thought of the color she used. Amber. He’d spent some time trying to think of words to describe the color of her eyes, and yet that single word didn’t seem enough. He wasn’t sure why she was so interested in his own simple brown eyes. But he was sure his heart beat a little faster every time she mentioned them. Brushing his hair back onto his head he smiled, small but still warm. He brought his hand on top of hers and swiped his thumb over the top of hers, causing her to look at him. 

“I don’t mind, as long as you call me that.”

Aly gave a silent “oh” then laughed off the intensity within his pretty brown eyes. It made butterflies rush into her gut, so she reached to pick up her cake box and brought it to her stomach to settle them. She sauntered backward until she felt her back hit the wall. She tilted her head to the side and smiled so that her tongue peeked just a little bit out between her teeth. 

“Well come on then brown eyes, I’m sure they’re waiting for us.”

He ducked his head as walked over to stand next to her. He waited a moment then with one swift movement, jumped the wall with ease. 

“Hey no fair my legs aren’t as long!”

As she went to make her way over, his hand appeared in front of her face. She took it, making the climb easier than it would have been on her own. After she made it over, they stood close, hands still together. All too soon, he let go and turned away. Aly looked at her hand, wishing she could take his again, like they were back at the market but she shook the thought away. He had already made a good length away from her so she jogged to catch up. She wanted to spend the last remaining minutes of her day together, side by side.

[bapydemonprincess]

Love (1-13) for Amy and Adam and Domestic Life (7-11) for Ambrose and Eddie! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

It’s time to give my OCs some long awaited attention uwu

Amy Michaelis and Adam Borders:

1. Who said “I love you” first?

It’s most likely going to be Adam, for despite Amy being much more forward than the reaper boi, knowing that one needs to say “I love you” is hit or miss when it comes to demons and romance. There’s still some differences between the two species. 😂

2. What are their primary love languages?

Physical Touch is big for Amy, and I think is just how she is in general too considering this takes place in the same verse as “That Butler, Big Brother”, so she grew up isolated a LOT and finally getting to enjoy and be allowed to show affection, especially to someone like Adam who really needs to be given such things after so long of cowering away or being cowered away from, is important. So for him physical touch isn’t the big one but for him, I think Words of Affirmation and Quality time are the biggest over that.

3. Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?

Adam, obviously, as he as well as humankind in general is used to needing to use words to woo another human, over how Amy’s race, demonkind, who use actions instead of words in most cases, even if it means being a biiit aggressive to the one you want. >w>;; Thankfully, she learns fast that that’s not really how it WORKS on Earth. 🙈 And she grows to be highly amused and entertained by Adam’s use of flattery towards her when he wishes to court her and express that he likes her.~ uwu

4. How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?

Again, because of how things work for Amy’s kind, the little demoness is VERY forward and VERY cuddly with the one she wishes to claim 🖤 And though Adam isn’t used to someone being so forward with HIM, it takes a bit of getting used to. Ahh, the PUBLIC part of the affection is a bit tricky though, for both of them, considering certain people they both know who miiight not like seeing the two even doing simple things like holding HANDS! 😈

5. Who initiates kisses?

50% of the time it’s Amy, either pressing her lips to his, or demanding a kiss from him! uwu As their relationship warms up, he’ll gradually get bolder though. ;3

6. Who’s the big and little spoon?

YHREYFTUg to no one’s surprise, in most cases, especially early on, Amy is the big spoon. XD (”I’M A KNIFE!””She... actually is the big spoon, please ignore her outburst.”) But on occasion, especially if for some reason the demoness is upset, Adam will gladly become a big spoon to the little cute demon. >w<

7. What are their favorite things to do together?

Well, I’m a bit uncertain as I haven’t gotten to write much for these two and what the world is like around them at that point. All I can make out is, considering they are both likely in London, I assume they enjoy the outdoors things like walking into town and looking at shops, people-watching, and if it’s winter maybe enjoy ice skating and such. >w< Ohhh, and maybe when their bond is REALLY strong, they find a place to sort of “play fight”together! >:3 Demon vs Reaper!

8. Who’s better at comforting the other?

Both Adam and Amy come from backgrounds where they barely knew what “comforting” even was, but I assume if they were stuck, with one of them really upset and the other needing to do SOMETHING, the likelihood would be it would be Amy comforting poor Adam more than the other way around. TwT

9. Who’s more protective?

Definitely Amy, as not only is it an instinctive thing to protect what she cares about, but also to possess, as demons as we all know are VERY possessive. uwu

10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

I think when it comes down to it, they both like a good mix of both!

11. What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?  

I’m sorry I think I’ll skip this one on account of that would take even MORE brain power than just answering these like this 🙈

12. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

I think Adam calls Amy things like “love” and “poppet”, ahem kind of picking up pet names from a certain older reaper he looks up too. ;3 And Amy is more creative, coming up with not only the lovely “dear” and “dearest” but other things in different languages she knows. >w< she also likes just being sassy in general and just calling him “boy” like “Come along, my dear boy, let’s have some fun!”

13. Who remembers the little things?

I actually think Amy is better at remembering things in general compared to Adam, who kinda bumbles about and his memory can sometimes be like a goldfish: Forgetting even what he had for breakfast! TwT;

Ambrose and Eddie:

7. Who kills the bugs in the house?

Pfft neither of them has a fear of bugs, in fact Eddie doesn’t seem to mind them at all! But Ambrose gets easily irritated so he’s the #1 bug squasher. XD

8. How do they celebrate holidays?

Well, for specifics it depends but I suppose overall they both enjoy just being together and ALONE to relax on holidays.. when they can TwT; But considering Ambrose DOES have a family that likes seeing him, they have to go travelling across country most likely to when his mum and dad live! (I always assume in this verse Seb and Agni settled down in a very country side place!)

9. Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

Well, Ambrose is actually the lazier OF the two, and so enjoys staying in bed more uwu So of course when Eddie gets up bright and early, ready to make breakfast and such, Ambrose.. sometimes convinces the imp to calm down and return back to his arms. ;)

10. Who’s the better cook?

I believe that’s very obviously Eddie. XD The microwave gets used less and less with the master chef imp around! Who actually LIKES cooking while their lazy, grumpy boi would rather order out or snack on things 🙈

11. Who likes to dance?

At first Eddie and Eddie only, but.. when they’re alone and no one can see... SOMETIMES the little demon can get their human to get up and at LEAST slow dance a little with them. 🖤

[aliceprettystuff]

YOU'RE MY MISSION.

Bucky's P.O.V.

- Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car. Soldier?

- Ready to comply.

I had been woken up again, I did not remember when was the last time they had unfrozen me.

- We have a new mission for you.

They gave me a folder with information about a certain Captain America.

- His real name is Steve Rogers, and he will be your target.

- Nothing I haven't done before.

- You are wrong soldier, your mission will be a little different from what you are used to, your duty will be to seduce him, according to the information we have, you have an impressive resemblance to an old friend of his, but we have discovered that the relationship they had was more than one fraternal. You will serve as a distraction so that we can complete our work with the helicarriers without problems and once we have finished you will take care of kill him.

It was certainly an unusual mission, but what did it matter? I only serve to obey and comply or else I would face awful consequences.

I nodded as a sign that I had understood the orders and after that they took me to a room for my change of image.

They only cut my hair and shaved my beard but I could see a big difference, I looked identical to that sergeant who appeared next to the Captain America in one of the pictures in his file.

The only difference was my metal arm. Somehow a feeling of familiarity came to me, but I didn't understand why.

- You are ready soldier, from now on you will respond to the name of Bucky Barnes.

☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆

I knew exactly where to find him, the Hydra agents gave me Captain America's address.

I was heading to that building in Brooklyn thinking what I was going to say to the Captain when I saw him.

I had to come up with a credible story to explain the fact that his beloved Bucky was still alive after he fell off the train 70 years ago.

I went up the stairs until I reached that man's apartment, I still didn't know what to say to him, I couldn't think of anything, I didn't know anything about the life of that sergeant or the Captain America.

How was their relationship like? What did they do? I know nothing.

I was about to knock on the door but in that moment I saw how it opens before I did.

It was him, he was standing in front of me, his face pale and full of surprise.

- It can't be true! Bucky?

- Steve.

It was all I could answer.

I was extremely nervous, I had never been nervous on a mission before, but of course this wasn't an ordinary mission.

I didn't have to say anything more when from one moment to other he had his lips against mine.

The way he kissed me, he did it with desperation, as if he had endured the desire to kiss me for a long time, but he also did it with tenderness and care, with love, as if he wanted to protect me.

I thought it would take me weeks, maybe months to get at this point, but it was enough for me to unconsciously say his name between the kisses he gave me and between sighs to ending up lying on his bed receiving caresses and kisses all over my body while he took off my clothes.

I didn't stop him, cause this was the objective of my mission, but the truth is that I didn't want him to stop, there was something in his caresses, they seemed quite familiar, as if I had felt them too many times too long ago. But among the immense sensation of pleasure I also felt guilt, that those caresses, those kisses and sweet words loaded with love were not really for me, a cold-blooded murderer, a torture machine, without feelings or regrets, and now also a thief, because I'm stealing all those "I love you" "I missed you so much" "forgive me for abandoning you" to someone else.

I am also a liar, for pretending to be someone else just so I can feel all that love that will never truly be for me.

When he discovered my metal arm I thought he would stop, he would feel disgusted and walk away, but he just got closer and started kissing him from start to finish, and then he asked me.

- What happened to you my love?

- The train.

- I'm so sorry my dear, do you think you could forgive me one day?

- I already did.

- Where have you been all these years my dear?

There it was, the question that I feared so much, I had to think something fast.

- Looking for you.

It worked, after saying that he kissed me, but it was a different kiss from the previous ones, this one was full of desire, that I could reciprocate.

His body was so beautiful, and he said the same about mine, he asked my permission for everything we did, he wanted to take care of me and make me feel safe, I allowed him of course, I wanted to feel all that love and passion that he felt for that sergeant who I pretended to be and for just a moment pretend that they were for me.

I fell in love with him, in that small and passionate moment where we shared our bodies with each other, I fell madly in love with him, his caresses, his voice, his words and nicknames full of love, his body, his everything.

I fell totally and deeply in love with him that I couldn't finish the job, I had him hugging me, his naked body against mine while he slept, I had him so at my disposal, so easy that with just a few stabs with the knife that I took from my boots I could end with all of this and pretend nothing happened.

But what then? I would go back to that frozen hell hole to have the same old nightmares again.

That place was cold, lonely and dark, but here in this bed, next to this man who kept promising me his eternal love, it's warm and safe.

Somehow all those love promises came to my mind but this time they didn't come from his mouth but from mine, not as a thought but as a memory.

A man similar to the Captain but thinner was hugging me under white sheets and I was saying sweet words to him while kissing him.

Suddenly a wave of memories flooded my mind.

I started crying, I had remembered, maybe not all of my old life but the most important parts of it, and those important things, were moments shared with Steve.

My crying caused Steve to wake up, he woke up scared, he looked at me with fear and concern, of course, I hadn't dropped the knife in all this time because of all the memories that came to my mind and that completely petrified me.

- Bucky, honey what's wrong?

- Steve I'm sorry.

- What are you sorry my love?

- I lied to you.

- What did you lie to me about Bucky?

- In everything!

- How in everything? Bucky please calm down, breathe.

- I can't calm down! Not after everything I did and what I planned to do.

- You planned to kill me, weren't you?

- Steve.

- That's why you had that knife in your hand.

- Steve.

- Why Bucky?

- It is not true that I've spent all these years looking for you, I've spent all these years doing horrible things to innocent people against my will, I stopped being the Bucky you knew, with whom you thought you'd made love a moment ago, He died and in his place is this shattered, broken and horrible part of him that he can't even remember at least how it felt to be that Bucky.

- Bucky, where have you been all these years?

- I can't tell you.

- Bucky!

- I can't Steve! It is too dangerous.

- Are you forgetting that you are talking to Captain America?

- No, I'm talking to the man I fell in love with many years ago and today again, with the man who was able to give me back a bit of my old life after decades of having completely forgotten it, the only one who is able to accommodate all of my broken pieces with a simple I love you, and I don't want to lose him.

- Bucky, what you just said shows you are wrong, the Bucky I love is still alive, maybe not totally but look at me, I'm not the same Steve from 70 years ago. We both changed my love, we lost each other and suffered, we both went through so many things but in the end we met again, that is a sign that our love is stronger than any obstacle that life puts in front of us.

- But if you go to that place and face those people who have done everything to keep us away from each other, I fear that I will lose you again and this time definitely, I could not stand it again.

- You will never lose me again Bucky I promise, we will finish with whatever we have to face together. Do you remember that promise you made to me after my mother's funeral? You promised me that you would be with me till the end of the line, and now I am the one who makes that promise to you, I'm with you till the end of the line Bucky.

Remember it? Of course I remembered it, our vows, We said them when we confessed, the first time we kissed, the first time we made love, in the countless asthma attacks, the winter nights with those infernal fevers that made me believe that I would lose him, and in our last night together when we promised that when that damn war was over we would return to our beloved Brooklyn that saw us and our love grow but now as what we always want to be, husbands.

I couldn't resist anymore, I kissed him, I had waited 70 years to be able to taste those lips so soft, sweet and warm, and this time I did it as who I really was, James Buchanan Barnes.

- Steve.

- Yes Bucky?

- I know I don't deserve it but, could you promise me that after I tell you everything, where I was these years and everything I did, you will still love me?

- I could never stop loving you Bucky, it's as if I stopped breathing, our love is what keeps me alive. 3 years ago I woke up after being frozen in ice for 70 years, but until this moment that I have you by my side again I can say that I am finally alive again.

- And do you think that you could forgive me one day?

- I already did.

[jefferoni-quotes]

Stalling Expulsion

Hey, gems! This is my day 13 of @hamiltonholidaycalendar ! I’m super excited and really proud of this. Sorry if the endings a bit rushed, I ran out of time,,,

Rated: Teen Audiences

TW: Mentions of violence, drugs, death

-

Whistled tones whipped down the halls of the large country boarding school, as wind teased the maroon common room curtains through extravagant glass windows. Crumpled currant toned bed drapes lined the circular boys dormitory, and the posts hung bed curtains which were open and crinkled. Clothes lay strewn across the old hickory wood floors, a mix of old socks, pyjama pants and unwanted shoes. The whole school had gathered in the great hall for breakfast, all but four. They were huddled in the dormitory bathroom, slinking around waiting for first class.

The eldest being sixteen years old, tall and broad, yet far from the most responsible. The youngest was a lanky French boy, who had recently become fifteen. The other two were also fifteen, but one not far off his sweetest sixteen. None of which were very responsible when it came to fun. Smarts, well, you may suppose they contained some sort of brain-cell. Although it appeared to bounce around their head like a DVD screensaver. You may even conclude, that the four shared a brain-cell, taking single turns on it like small children sharing a piano.

The oldest of them all was the one whistling, he was tweeting a soft tune, one that seems to be without meaning or purpose, but instead one you may subconsciously commit yourself to when bored.

Smallest of them, a boy who had his fifteenth a simple month before, tightened his ponytail and swiped a sniffle from his nose. Perhaps skipping breakfast in favour of hanging around like a gang of uneducated delinquents wasn't their best plan, but at the very least they had learned not to do it again. Not that he ever planned to admit his wrong doing.

One boy, who bore a curled ponytail that hung low, sat on a sink, his back against the wall and his feet in the porcelain bowl of it. He piped up with a skip in his voice, "why did we skip morning meal again?" He inquired in his distinct North-Carolinian accent, as his stomach growled angrily at him. He was missing out on his wake up food of three slices of buttered toast and a pile of breakfast potatoes and his body was not overjoyed.

"Because we don't want to be around Jefferson, Jackie," the smallest replied, sinking down. Jackie was not the boys birth name, but instead a curious nickname gifted to him by his closest of friends. The boy who has spoken had his back pressed against the wall, and he crossed his legs as he sat.

"You know," the French boy started, "I don't really see the problem you all 'ave with Thomas," he shrugged and continued leaning against a stall.

The whistling abruptly came to a close, and all heads turned to look at him. "Dude, he's horrible," the eldest started, "like, do you see the way he acts around Alex? He treats him like some sort of dirty scum he found on the bottom of his polished boots."

"The reason he hates me is even worse! Just because I don't have rich parents to go crawling back to for Christmas. He acts like I'm a dirty spot that he doesn't want to touch. Like... Like I'm food at the bottom of the sink, ya know!" Alexander explained, gesticulating as he did so. John, the student who had been nicknamed 'Jackie', leapt from his resting place in the washing basin and patted Alexander on the back gently in a friendly attempt to calm him down. "Sorry for yelling, Laf... It's just... He bugs me so much."

Lafayette shrugged his shoulders, his wine red blazer - part of his uniform forming creases as he did. "I mean, he's targeting you because you're an orphan, non?" Alexander nodded as a silent agreement and response, "well, 'e doesn't know that I am too."

"I completely forgot about that, Laf!" The broad-shouldered, tall boy examined a little too loudly. He found himself being bombarded by rushed hushing. "Sorry, guys," he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

Lafayette rolled his eyes. "Stop apologising, 'Ercules, we know you mean no 'arm," he assured and patted Hercules' shoulder.

"If I meant no harm, then why am I here?" Hercules sighed and shrunk into himself. The other three went quiet, they couldn't answer.

The boarding school was technically called, 'Fredrick's School for Troubled Teens and Youngsters,' but everyone just called it, 'School for Annoying Pricks and Rich Dicks.'

Everyone who attended had been removed from public school for one preposterous thing or another. An assortment, ranging from fights to skipping school to just becoming a general nuisance.

Hercules Mulligan had been previously expelled from three schools, for fighting three people and hospitalising two of them. His reputation was ruthless and cutthroat, not afraid to start an attack at any moment. However, he was simply a big softy.

Alexander Hamilton had been ostracised from his school for arguing with the professor, who promptly frog-marched him to the head master, to whom he fought against once more. He was told to leave and not come back after referring to his head master as, "a pompous fool, detecting the frivolous minds of easy moldable youngsters to bend them to his will."

John Laurens was excommunicated from Church, and from his very Catholic school when they discovered his homosexuality. His father had disowned him from home and sent him off to the 'School for Annoying Pricks and Rich Dicks,' in the hopes that it would, "return him to his Godly roots and strip him of his male desires for other men." His father, Henry Laurens had accepted the concept that sending him to a school where he would spend 99% of his time with guys and had imagined that it would 'fix' his brain into lusting over women.

And then there was Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Mortier, Marquis de Lafayette. His exclusion was a momentous occasion. His head mistress had discovered the acute, shimmering pocket knife in his satchel, after demanding a look as another child had accused him of threatening him with said weapon. The child had ridiculed his younger brother who had sadly passed away just mere weeks before. So yes, maybe he should've been thrown out of school for that. He goes back and forth, contemplating if what he did was incredibly illegal or, in fact, the right thing to do.

The four knew fine well why the other people were tossed from school, however, no one else knew anything about no one. Asking why another person was attending the boarding fortress was distinctly taboo. Like a horrid, violent invasion of protected privacy. Only if the student felt astonishingly close to you, and trusted you with their life and prized possession would they ever confine in you the reason they attended Fredrick's.

Another point, everyone came from privileged backgrounds, that were somehow ruined. Lafayette had rich parents before they died, and then he had a rich uncle. Then he was rich. John’s parents had piles of money, and then they disowned him. Alexander was fairly middle class, and then their debt skyrocketed when his father abandoned him and his mother passed in his arms. And then there was Hercules. The other three spoke much more articulated than him. He just simply couldn’t. He wasn’t from a bad family, but they most certainly weren’t the most educated they could be.

"Listen, Herc," Alexander inexorably spoke up, offering comfort, "we're all here for one reason or another! I called my professor a sithering idiot, and them the head master a pompous fool, John's gay and Laf, hell, Lafayette threatened someone's life. Lets be honest, we all deserve to be here," he peered up at Laurens, who had retaken his position of roosting on the sink, "apart from Jackie, obviously."

John defended himself and chortled. "Hey, I'm not complaining. Before I had to listen to homophobic slurs all day, now, I can simply be a homo every hour."

Hercules' solid frown tweaked, and he turned to laughter. "Okay, okay, fair enough," He lifted his arms up before slumping them down, "you got me."

"Yeah we did," Lafayette nudged Hercules harshly, which earned him a shove back.

-

His toast lay burnt and uneaten, and half a sausage rolled around his plate depressingly. A metal fork was lazily tossed by his tray, and the red paper napkin was scrunched up on his plate. His seat was barren now, as was the one across from him.

Reticent nattering echoed all over the spiral staircase as two boys clambered upwards towards their shared dorm. Their room was home to eight boys, all of which they both hated, except for each other and one pupil, a young male Aaron Burr from New Jersey and Thomas supposed that Lafayette wasn’t too awful.

Thomas pushed the oak dormitory door open with a dig. He went on speaking, but was silenced by his friend flapping his hand in front of his face. "James-"

"Shush! Can't you hear that?" James spoke, "there's people here..."

Muffled exclamations voiced themselves from behind the bathroom gateway. Thomas crept over and pressed his ear up to the carved antique door as every ounce of his sixteen year old attention span focusesd in on eavesdropping.

There was a blast of flat laughter that exploded from the room, and he furrowed his eyebrows. “What are they saying?” James breathed serenely as he watched Thomas run his fingers over the door handle.

“Quiet, Jemmy,” Thomas instructed in a low voice, “they’re talking now.”

A despicably mocking articulation voiced itself from beyond the door. “Oh yes, I mustn’t! For I shall mess us my sheep’s wool hair! No! Do not touch that! It was sent to me from a Gucci store from my father!” It was in a false Southern accent.

“Holy crap, Laf! I don’t like how much that sounds like him!” The familiar boisterous tones of Hercules Mulligan exploded out the cracks in the door. “Okay, okay, John your shot.”

He heard the rambunctious crackling of knuckles, and a clearing of throats. “Hello, y’all! Rootin’ tootin’! I’m from the fucking South where the grass grows green and I’m better than y’all! Because I’m Jefferson, and I hate you if you don’t have a rich father!”

James, who had been tuned in to the harmful conversations past the door, soared upwards towards him. “Tommy, don’t-“ he muttered harshly. James had been friends with Thomas since the very beginning, he had been there to witness every hardship and every tantalising moment where the world stopped spinning. He was by the teens side throughout each adversity, and would comfort his best friend without exception.

Yet Thomas didn’t listen. He shoved the door open unceremoniously, the sheer force blowing a gust towards the bed drapes. His stance remained strong and rigid as four pairs of brown and hazel sprinkled eyes darted towards him. With the pupils that burned into his skull, from both in front of him, and James who had settled behind him, Thomas composed himself. He ran a hand through his hair before taking it upon himself to stride back to his bed.

His lips remained stuck together as if to be two birds of a single feather. Alexander looks at his friends, and they rise from their resting places, stiff joints cracking like grandmas getting up from their nap in an armchair. Their stomachs rumble hungrily, screaming for nutrients, but they push past it to ignore it. James looks back at his accomplice, who is rummaging through a antiquated, walnut duffle-bag. He can see Thomas’ look of determination as he pulls his hand from the storage unit and wanders back to the bathroom, past the gang who was previously been loitering in the room. In his hand, is a egg-shell painted cardboard packet of sorts, and a rectangular glass lighter. The lighter is black as a cold winters night, and Thomas carries these into the bathroom with him.

“Thomas!” James exclaimed as he spotted the two items. One of the many reasons Thomas was at the boarding school. The bathroom door slammed closed and the all too familiar sound of a clicking lighter.

The four friends glance at each other, sharing a mutual moment of what the hell is happening, as James pounds on the oak door. “Thomas, I swear to god, open the door. I won’t let you do this again!”

“What’s going on?” Alexander hissed from the corner of his mouth. His dashing attempt to be inaudibly failed, as a result of his naturally vociferous voice it failed. Madison’s head rotated to face the not-so-fantastic four with a choleric grimace.

Lafayette opened his mouth to begin explaining, yet no words escaped. Only a brief swept of breath as he fidgeted with his own fingers, bending them in ways that really shouldn’t be possible.

“Why were you talking about him?” James spoke softly, as if the delinquents were toddlers who needed to be lulled off into slumber.

Alexander shifted on his heels. Why this small student was so intimidating fascinated him. James was always a perpetually timid youngster. Someone who sat at the very back of the class, head constantly bent down over his work, hunched and tired. Yet now, his eyes glimmered with rage and every inch of his body shook with unsheathed emotional torment.

“We-“ Alexander started with confidence, but trailed off quickly into inaudible - protecting himself - mumbling.

James rattles his knuckles off the door again. "I won't let you get expelled from another school!" He exhaled and fiddled with the handle. "Just, open the door... We can talk about this." He grovelled desperately. The door handle moved, and Thomas deliberated from behind the gateway. As the wood cracked open, James spread into a grin.

Thomas exhaled smoke downwards, blowing it down to the very depths of hell. "What?"

"You're smoking," John observed with a light shudder. He planted himself on Alexanders bed, tugging at the wrinkled sheets and grasping for the cream pillow, for the scarlet cover of the cushion had been stripped from it, and thrown somewhere across the room, it had been missing for days. Alex theorised that Thomas had disposed of it out the window, or in a garbage can in the main courtyard. Either way, Alexander and the students residing within that dormitory were lucky that a staff member hadn't inspected their room just yet. If it was found that articles of bedding had been cascaded like dirty wash paper then a worthy punishment would be awarded.

“Am I?!” Thomas took the lot cigarette away from his lips and glared at it. His eyes narrowed, “am I really!?”

“Yo, there’s no need to talk to him like that!” Hercules piped up with a stare. “He didn’t do nothin’ to you,” he spat.

Thomas rolled his eyes and took another quick puff of the cigarette before disposing of it in a sink, and running the cold water tap. “Yeah, he said nothing sure.

“Stop,” Alexander insisted, beginning to rise. He observes as Thomas struts into the dorm and throws his cigarettes packet and lighter onto his bed, before dropping down on James'.

Lafayette hastily crept over to beside Thomas and sighed. "My apologies, Thomas," he confessed, "it was wrong of us to... Eh.... Talk bad about you." He stumbled over his words, a bit like a newborn calf taking its first wobbly steps.

"I'm like, 99.99% sure smoking really breaks school guidelines," Hercules chimed in, twittering away in the congregated background.

"Yeah? Why else do you think I'm here? Because I want to be?" Thomas jeered, messing with his hair absentmindedly.

"Well, because your family bathes in pots of melted gold and dines on silver platters served by their monkey butler," Alexander prompted immediately, the words sliding off his tongue like venom before he could halt them.

Thomas and James scoffed in unison. "I'm here because I was expelled for drug use," the jaws fell to the old floors, "weed, mostly. Over the counter painkillers and anti depressants. That sort of stuff, ya know?" He shrugged, so nonchalantly.

“Drugs?!” John exclaimed in utter shock. “How did you even get a hold of them?!”

“Well,” Thomas gridlocked in his tracks, hitting the breaks on his brain, “why am I telling you this?” He sneered at himself, fanning his face in his own stupidity.

“Because... you want someone else to trust?” James mumbled, “other than me...”

Thomas’ face fell and he grit his teeth in annoyance as he came to terms with James’ unsettling words. He ran a tattered hand through his mop of sheep's wool. He remained mute and simply made a random hand gesture.

“James,” Hercules breathed and was quiet for one of the first time ever. Or ever since the others had met him, “why’d you get sent here? What’s the deal?” They all gasped, the taboo had been broken, and Hercules graced his eyes around the room, his pupils widening with terror. “Wait, no! I didn’t- it’s... it’s just, you don’t seem like the person to be sent to Annoying Pricks and Rich Dicks school.”

Madison blinked rapidly in thought. “No, no, it’s fine...” he took a large inhale, “I was bullied a lot... and one day I just... flipped. I attacked them when they followed me to class through the halls. The kid got away with a slap on the wrist and I was expelled. Then sent here...”

“Yeah, just after I was expelled, James came after me. Missed me that much?” Thomas chortled, stretching his arms and for just a moment, his arms and head placement made him look vaguely like a cactus in the dry Arizona sun.

“Not really, class was much quieter. I did lose my only protection though, because someone decided to get high on marijuana in the boys bathroom!” James really emphasised each syllable of the word, ‘someone.’

Thomas frowned lamentably. His sighs echoed around the room. “In fairness!” He stopped, “I actually can’t justify it. I was just being stupid and impulsive okay?”

Alexander cackled away loudly in the back before taking enough initiative to muffle it with his hand.

“Oh you can’t laugh, ‘amilton! You swore your professor out!” Lafayette teased with a snicker and Hercules let out a soft, ‘ohhh!’ punctuating Lafayette’s words.

“Yeah? And you whipped a knife on someone!” Alexander yelled back playfully. Hercules continued to laugh.

“Oh, shut up, ‘Erc! You can’t say anything! Two people in ‘ospital who?” Lafayette jerked, progressively getting himself more and more worked up. His cheeks were glowing a lipstick red and his eyes darkened with fury.

“‘Two people in hospital, who?’” Hercules mocked in a false French accent. It was awfully stereotypical, and fake as hell. But it annoyed Lafayette to the point where he leapt from his bed and pointed pressingly in his best friends direction.

“Lay off!” John jumped up and separated the two with his arms. “Okay! We all did things wrong, like... I disappointed god!” John beamed with a singsong voice, pleading to cheer those up.

“Disappointed god?” Thomas questioned pressingly, his voice ripe with curiosity.

“I was kicked from Catholic school for my ‘deadly homosexuality that could infect others’.” John chortled and moved away from Lafayette and Hercules, adjusting to the fact that the tension in the room was still thick enough to be sliced with a knife.

“Oh damn,” James whispered mistily to himself, scratching at a scab in his forehead, located just about his right ear.

Alexander rolled his eyes. “Oh no! I’ve been infected by the gay!” He yelled and Thomas exploded with laughter. It made Alex smile, and realise that Thomas, in fact, had a nice, boisterous chuckle.

“You can’t pray away the gay,” Hercules spoke in his often loud voice, smirking for the world to see once more.

“We can sure as hell try!” Lafayette knelt on his bed and placed his hands in a prayer motion. “Be gone, homo!”

John fell backwards dramatically and flopped to the floor. His hand touched his forehead as if fainted.

Alex snorted.

The dormitory door clanged with the pound of a fist. “Get to class, boys!” The familiar booming and authoritative tone of Head Master Washington exploded into the dorm.

“Sorry, Mr Washington!” Alexander apologises with a grit of his teeth.

“Suck up,” Thomas mouths and stands, leaving with James hot on his polished heels.

Lafayette stood and nodded towards the ajar door. “Wanna go hang in the courtyard?”

“And risk getting detention?” Hercules scoffed, “obviously.”

“Let’s fucking go!” John exclaimed, picking up his boots and shoving them on his feet.

From the slightly open door they could hear a yell. “Thomas, I swear to god!” And then the muffled reply, ‘what? She despises both of us, let’s just hang out in the courtyard!’

“Sounds like someone else is thinking about skiving class!” Lafayette sniggered, hoisting the door wide open and heading out. “Coming?” Hercules nodded and rushed after him.

Alexander stuck his fist in the air and clapped. “Anything to skip Mrs Reynolds class!”And they ran down the stairs, leaping down the stairs two or three at a time. It was dangerous.

And they loved it.

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

You mentioned a while ago in some mistoriastraps headcanons that misto, Victoria and munk all have cute nicknames for each other and you also mentioned a little story for two of them. Munk saving mistoffelees hat from falling in the river which leads to him calling munk his silver knife. And another where misto has an accident and ends up smelling like roses for a week which leads to munk calling misto his magical rose. Do you think you could write a little story about those please?

Yes, absolutely!! (oh, and also, I did get your other mistoriastraps ask! I’ll be answering it as soon as I can tomorrow, so please don’t think I’m ignoring it!)

When Mistoffelees and Munkustrap were kittens, they were as close as anyone could be.

Mistoffelees was a shy kitten, shyer than he was as an adult, and he rarely spoke, choosing to spend most of his time as his older sister’s shadow. Cassandra adored her younger brother, and when Munkustrap chose to become friends with Mistoffelees, she was happy that he would have yet another friend.

Mistoffelees was still quiet around the grey, tom however, but Munkustrap didn’t mind, enjoying the silence, as well as being able to talk to Mistoffelees without judgment. And Mistoffelees did enjoy Munkustrap’s companionship, and the two seemed to balance each other out.

Of course, they had their nicknames for each other, and Mistoffelees’ nickname for Munkustrap came about after a particularly terrifying moment for the young magical tom. 

One particular day, the two young toms were spending the afternoon together near the edge of the Thames, and Munkustrap was admiring Mistoffelees’ coat, which Cassandra had helped him put together. It was a very impressive coat, covered in shiny, glittering buttons, all decorating the coat with suits of cards, as well as a flourished “M” on the back. Munkustrap liked the coat very much, especially the way that it was just too big on Mistoffelees, and the way that the sleeves fell over the magical tom’s paws. The new coat was made to match Mistoffelees’ hat, which he had worn since the day Munkustrap had met him. It was a rather simple hat compared to the coat, with holes punched out for Mistoffelees’ ears.

Mistoffelees had taken his hat off, twitching his ears to relax them a bit, when a sudden gust of wind blew past them, taking the hat with it. The young tom gasped, his eyes wide with horror as he watched his hat land in the Thames, and Munkustrap sprung into action.

“I’ll get it!” the grey tom said, and he looked around, grinning slightly when he saw a line of rope attached to a hook sitting nearby. He grabbed the rope and pulled it to the edge of the river, watching the hat intently. When the wind died down, he lifted the rope and threw it, catching the hat through one of the holes. He pulled the hat towards him out of the water, and he turned back to Mistoffelees, his grin growing. Munkustrap shook off the droplets of water from the hat and stepped forward, placing it on Mistoffelees’ head and smoothing it down.

“Thank you.” Mistoffelees said in a soft voice, his eyes shy, and Munkustrap felt his heart skip a beat. “My silver knight.” The grey tom had a proud grin on his face the rest of the week, and would refuse to tell anyone why he was in such good spirits.

Munkustrap’s nickname for Mistoffelees came about not long after the river incident. 

It was a slightly chilled morning when Munkustrap approached Cassandra with a small cock of his head, searching for his friend. 

“Where’s Mistoffelees?” he asked, and the brown queen huffed out a laugh. 

“He’s back with his humans. He didn’t feel like showing himself today.” she replied. 

Munkustrap frowned. “Can I go visit him?”

Cassandra shrugged. “Go ahead. I’m sure he won’t be opposed to a visit from you.” Munkustrap didn’t bother to think about what she meant, running off towards Mistoffelees’ human home. Mistoffelees lived in a slightly fancier spot of the city, but Munkustrap easily blended in. He was lucky to have humans as well, humans who kept him groomed and cleaned. Spotting the magical tom’s home, Munkustrap easily slipped through the garden wall, ducking beneath the shade of a large tree. 

He was suddenly met with a strong smell of roses, which was odd, seeing as there were no rose bushes around. 

“Munkustrap?” a small voice asked, making the grey tom whirl around. 

“Misto? Where are you?” Munkustrap called. A sigh was his answer, and the smell of roses grew stronger when Mistoffelees jumped down from the tree. Munkustrap sniffed the air, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s that smell?”

Mistoffelees groaned, hiding his head in his paws. “A trick that went wrong.” 

Munkustrap stepped closer. “What were you trying to do?” He didn’t want to say it aloud, but he rather liked the smell that was filling the air. 

“I’ve been trying to conjure different flowers, but this time, all I could conjure up was the scent.” Mistoffelees replied, pouting slightly. “I’ve no idea how to get rid of the scent, though.” Munkustrap laughed slightly and sat down beside Mistoffelees, leaning against him. 

“So you didn’t want to come to the tribe today because you were worried everyone would laugh at you?” He guessed, and by the way that Mistoffelees’ shoulders tensed, Munkustrap knew he had guessed correctly. He pressed his shoulder against the magical tom’s. “I like the smell, Misto. It’s fresh, and it’s different from what we normally smell around the theater.” Mistoffelees glanced back up, guarded hope in his eyes. 

“Really?” he asked. 

Munkustrap grinned and leaned in, nuzzling Mistoffelees and taking a deep breath. “You’re like a rose. A magical rose.” While Munkustrap couldn’t tell, Mistoffelees flushed beneath his fur. “My magical rose.”

Mistoffelees smiled, returning the nuzzle. “My silver knight.”