#and when the neighbor informed him that the family members were at work and where they worked

[knoxic]

How to be a High Lady?

How they met

Eris Vanserra x Mate!Reader (f)

Summary: How they met and her discovering the bond.

wc: 3k

warnings: death of family members, fire (non explicit house burning/death by fire), cursing

a/n: Eris being 🤭😍😁😝🤗 whenever she's like 🤨🙄😠😒 is so important to me

part 1, part 2

For months now she tried to put herself back together, trying to move on, but being alone was hard, especially for someone who had always been surrounded by people. Her coven was her family, its oldest members helped her mother give birth to her, helped raise her, its youngest had grown up with her, they all made her who she was now. And they were gone.

Gone, and she wasn't even there to witness it. She was far away, traveling, enjoying everything there was to enjoy, not a single drop of worry in her head, after all, they had promised they'd be fine. She didn't even come back straight away, no, it was weeks after, their house had stopped burning long ago, what was left of it stood black and cold, filled with ashes and sorrow.

She had found herself a place to live but she didn't remember how she did it, everything seemed so... unrealistic, never did it cross her mind that this could happen to them. Days after she came back, when she absolutely needed to get food, she went out in the village to the same place her coven used to go, no one recognized her, maybe they never really pay attention to her or they just didn't care, a way or another, she was glad no one looked her way twice. On the way to her new home she heard whispers about a witch who lived in Autumn, thinking it was her, she stopped and pretended to be examining the bread basket they had placed in front of their bakery.

"Do you think she cursed him? I did see him limping yesterday." One of the males spoke, his voice had a weird accent, from another court then.

"What are you? An idiot?" The baker slapped him in the back of his neck, "That cripple always limped! I heard he asked her to fix his fucked up leg but she couldn't, so he did that." His hands, sprinkled with flour, gestured behind the other male, as if pointing to said 'that'. Her shaky hands dropped the apple she held, the direction the male pointed led to her old house, which meant that whoever this cripple was, he had burned her house, he killed her family.

She ran, faster than she ever had before. Her legs only stopping when her feet met the dirty floor, the rain and wind from the past few weeks had gathered around the ruins laying there, the walls had turned moldy, weeds grew where the tiles had broken. It was all a mess, and still her knees touched it, her arms braced her body, the bare skin of her thighs had gotten wet but she couldn't decide if it was from her tears or the rain, which she didn't even realize had started. She looked up, droplets of rain caressing her face, the sky lighting up with a roaring thunder.

She redeemed herself that day, not feeling sorry for herself for losing her family, she only felt sorry for the way they died and how early it had been for some of them. She found out her old neighbors had buried their bodies in the backyard of their house, their tombs placed one beside the other, straight away she went to her house to gather what she needed for a proper funeral, so that their souls could finally rest.

After that day she busied herself with work, working as a healer for the village, subtly gathering information about her family's murderer, filling herself with knowledge, learning whatever witchcraft she hadn't been taught and anything else that could be useful in the future.

At night it was difficult to shut her brain off, the only time she couldn't distract herself from the grief by focusing on other people's pain. Lately, whenever she managed to sleep, basically passing out from exhaustion, her visions came in the form of dreams, most of them just showed her what kind of help her clients needed. That was until she started seeing red.

A faceless head surrounded by red hair haunted her dreams, resembling a bird's nest from how messy it was, the noise of crackling fire in the background. It had been a week now and she couldn't manage to have a dreamless sleep, she never complained about seeing another person's life, she actually liked seeing their memories, most of the time it allowed her to see life in a different perspective, sometimes it wasn't a good one, but she still learned something new every time. Now she was really starting to hate these memories, whoever it was that demanded her attention was starting to get really annoying.

She set aside her job to focus entirely on the vision, spending her afternoons walking around the villages instead, occasionally stopping at restaurants or bakeries, visiting libraries and sitting around whenever she found a bench. Not once had there been any indication of who this person could be besides their hair, she didn't even know their gender, she caught a blur of the pale skin of a pointy ear but that was all.

If it wasn't for the tasty foods she got to try, her time would've been completely wasted. She met a redhead once but her hair was way too perfect, completely different from the one on her dreams, and she didn't seem in need of anything. After a whole week, she gave up, started meditating instead, clearing her mind and focusing her thoughts on that annoying redhead, wishing that whoever it was, would find their way to her.

For a couple nights, the dreams stopped, maybe it was the herbs tea she had been drinking before bed, or maybe they had fixed their problem themselves and didn't need her help anymore. The next morning she woke up and decided she'd spend the day in her village again, just to be sure.

The day had been going relatively normal, as soon as she stepped out of bed she started feeling a little lightheaded but didn't think too much of it, now as she walked through a small trail on the way home, a path she rarely took, she felt dizzy, her heart beating so hard she could barely hear anything else. She knew there was a bench a few meters away, if she walked a little faster maybe she'd managed before passing out, but she wasn't in that trail anymore, now she stood in front of a cabin. A very cozy looking cabin, from the open curtains she could see a male placing logs in the fireplace, it was too dark to see his face so she stood silently until he started the fire, she didn't know what she expected but... his hands lighting up with flames definitely didn't cross her mind. The log he held caught fire immediately, the male seemed to have no rush in placing it with the other logs, his eyes reflecting the flames like they also burned.

Her sight got blurry again and the familiar forest appeared around the edges, his face being the only thing clear, she couldn't, wouldn't, look away. The red strands of hair that brushed against his delicate eyelashes, his perfect nose, his flushed cheekbones, his perfect plump lips and his captivating golden eyes, she was fascinated.

"Are you alright?" A rough voice snapped her out of whatever that was. Only now noticing she had crouched down, one of her hands braced on her knee, the other massaged her eyes, trying to clear her sight.

"I asked you a question." The male demanded, a warm hand, way too hot to be normal, touched her shoulder.

"Yes, sorry," she closed her eyes and shook her head lightly, "Just dizzy, I guess." She giggled, amazed that she was so struck by a male she'd never seen before, and it was only a vision.

When her eyes opened, she was met with a the cleanest pair of boots she had ever seen, even with pieces of leaves stuck under the soles it still shined, beside his feet was paws. A heavy breathing close to her ear made her jump, her shaky legs pulling herself up and away from the small smokehound who tried jumping on her, landing on their owner's outstretched hand.

"Forgive me, he's young," the male adjusted the hound on his arms, cradling it like a baby. "I'm still training him." He said, locking eyes with her.

Those burning golden eyes that she saw just moments ago were now amber, looking at her so intensely she almost backed away.

"What?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed. She supposed having a stranger stare her down would make her uncomfortable too.

"Sorry, I thought–"

"You keep apologizing..." he muttered, looking almost annoyed.

"I had seen you before." Her voice sounded weak, she was still processing that the male she had been literally dreaming about was right there, not to mention that the most vivid vision she ever had had just happened and it was about him.

Why?

"Well, you might have."

"Who are you?" She questioned and could swear he almost seemed offended.

"I– You don't know who I am?" He lifted an eyebrow, his lips curling into a smirk. Gods, he really was annoying.

"I should?"

He laughed, a deep sound that she swore she could feel in her bones, the hound in his arms whined at being disturbed from his sleep.

"Yes." He dropped the puppy to the floor, her eyes followed the motion and finally seeing the many other hounds who surrounded the male, what the fuck?  "I'm Eris Vanserra." He gave out his hand for her to shake.

"Ah..." His hand on hers felt wonderful, a comfortable touch she hadn't felt in over a year. She distantly heard herself telling him her name but her mind was wholly focused on his touch, the firm grip he had on her hand, the calloused fingers that somehow still felt soft. Why was it so confusing? Not only was he the annoying male that prevented her from sleeping peacefully, he was also irritatingly beautiful. The Mother must be laughing at her face right now. It didn't even look like he needed help!

"You still don't know, do you?" The fucking smirk still hadn't left his face.

"Uh," What even was his name again...Vanserra? Fucking shit.

It was an explicit rule in her coven that they never came close to the Vanserra family. They didn't mess with politics and royalty, their family consisted of many types of fae, even mixed ones, the High Lord hated people like them. Beron hated lesser fae and therefore the people who liked them.

"You're the High Lord's son." Any good thoughts about him were pushed to the back of her mind by guilt, what would her family think if they heard her calling him beautiful?

"And suddenly you're pulling away..." His hand dropped hers after feeling her hold go slack, "Not fun to bicker with the High Lord's son is it?" The smirk on his face turned into a sad smile, his eyes dropping to watch the hounds at his feet. Now the small horde of smokehounds made sense.

"It's not..." she felt sad for him, "It's not smart." She couldn't tell him exactly why she it wasn't fun to be around him.

"Hm, right." His hands slipped into the pockets of his chocolate colored trousers, the hound closest to him perked his ears at the move, Eris slipped a hand out and gave him a bone shaped treat, his hand went back into his pocket and fished out several more treats for the rest of them. She watched amazed.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were crouching down here looking like you would pass out?" His head still didn't down.

"I was dizzy." She said simply, he didn't need to know the reason for her dizziness.

"I gathered that. Why?" He all but rolled his eyes.

"Why what?" She snapped.

"Why were you dizzy?" She could swear she saw the corner of his lip curl upwards.

"Why do you care?" Her braced her arms against her chest, cocking her head at him, he hesitated to answer.

"I don't. Are you going home or do you plan on being here all day?" He started walking around, glancing at both sides of the trail.

"You make a lot of questions..."

"And you seem hesitant to answer them..." He finally looked her way, his eyes filled with something she couldn't exactly place. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing you need to know." Her voice reached his ears like music, her attitude enticing him.

"I'm just teasing you, honey." He laughed, stepped closer to her, slowly enough that she could step away if she wanted to. She didn't. "May I walk you home?"

"You shouldn't." She suddenly wasn't so sure.

"That's not a no..." he cocked his head.

"That's not a yes either..." she mirrored him.

They stared at each other for a while, when his eyes drifted away from hers she took the moment to admire him, not noticing he admired her too.

"Sir..." A voice snapped them out of their little moment. The male stood a few steps away, clad in Autumn colors of armor. "The High Lord demands your presence." Eris nodded at him and he turned away, walking in the direction of her home.

"So, I should be going." Eris said after the male was far enough, the sad smile making its comeback. She wasn't sure what came over her when she answered.

"My house is that way." She looked at the corner the male had just turned.

Eris didn't say anything, only held his arm out and gave her a smirk. She took his arms and they walked silently, his smokehounds close behind, one of them keeping up with him like a shadow, the puppy found their way around her legs.

"He seems to like you, which is weird, they hate everyone." He gave her a sideways glance, "Did you enchant him or something?"

"I don't need to do that." She kept looking at the trail, pretending she didn't see him looking at her with a smile.

They reached her house in silence, a beautiful cottage, a small version of her old home, the front yard was filled with medicinal herbs, a beautiful garden she took pride on. When she tried to pull her arm away from him, his hold tightened, his hand resting on hers.

"Nice garden you got... Hm, Echinacea, Asiatic pennyworth, Calendula..." He patted her hand lightly before dropping it and looking down at her. "Are you a healer?" He smiled.

"Yes." She didn't offer more information.

"Good, always good to know a healer." He nodded. "Well, I must be going, have a good evening, My Lady. Hope to see you around." He bowed while gently lifting her fingers and kissing the back of her hand, when he straightened back his lips still carried that smile. What an adorable smile.

He turned away before she said anything, his hounds followed him with hurried steps, all but one.

"Eris!" She shouted, making him turn back quickly. "The puppy..." She pointed to the small hound at her feet, looking back at them both as if wondering why he was suddenly the sole attraction.

"Oh–" his hand rubbed the back of his neck, his mouth opened and closed but no sound came out, he glanced at another hound who didn't seem to care if the puppy was missing. "Well, keep him, he seems to like you better than me anyway." Eris laughed, his cheeks a tinged pink.

"What? No. I can't–"

"Please, if you're going to keep passing out in those woods, you might need someone to get help for you," he teased. "Besides, it would give me an excuse to see you again, I can train him for you, or teach you how to train him." She feared the smile he gave her at that moment, showing his dimples and perfect teeth, would haunt her forever.

She couldn't argue back fast enough, she wanted someone to keep her company, when she tried to reason with him he was already turning his back on her, whistling to the hounds as if showing that even if he called, the puppy wouldn't leave her.

Years later, she found herself going back home to him. That annoying redhead.

A couple months ago Eris had shown her the cabin he built for them, it was a dream they had in common, building their lives together in a small place. Eris had grown up in a large palace that never felt like a home, he hated the tall ceilings and the maze of corridors, the whole place was filled with servants and guards and still felt empty. She had grown up in a house perhaps too small for the amount of people that lived there, the children were separated into pairs, and they loved the arrangement, some of the adults were couples so they naturally shared rooms too, only her mother and another female had rooms for themselves.

They were raised in completely differently homes and yet their dreams were the same. All they needed was a house big enough to fit both of them comfortably and enough space outside to build more rooms in the future. Their love was the structure of their home and the backbone of their family.

She walked slowly with her hound, Cole, a nickname for Collected, because he's anything but collected. His tail kept bumping her leg, how he could still be excited even after walking for hours was beyond her. Her garden came into view first, then their porch, then she saw Eris from the open window. All of a sudden she was brought back to years ago, a chill running down her spine, to the first time she had a clear vision of him, the way he was moving logs around the fireplace, she remembered clearly how in the next few moments his hand would light up in fire. She had forgotten that vision thinking it was someone's old memory, but it was hers, he was lighting up the fireplace so she would come back to a warm home. Now as she stood there, Cole by her side, watching her lover, she couldn't help falling more in love with him, now she knows why this memory was shown to her that day, why it was so important.

Eris Vanserra was her mate, and now her heart and soul belonged to him.

Taglist: @callsigns-haze, @lilah-asteria, @mybestfriendmademe, @coldmermaidhologram

a/n²: I made Eris name specific plants used for... wounds... and preventing scars from getting larger...

a/n³: I literally sat for a moment looking at the screen like I had just written a murder scene (the first paragraphs of reader's backstory didn't faze me that much, what's wrong with me)

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Stand at the Edge

Prologue- Next

Ao3

Damian was irritated. This was not uncommon, surrounded as he was by idiots, but today especially he was, as Todd would so eloquently put it, pissed. This was because, for reasons utterly unknown, Greyson had gone insane, obsessively cleaning the spotless mansion (until Pennyworth ordered him to stop) and incessantly bothering him about his appearance, all because of an interrogation. Why Father had decided to hold this particular interrogation within the Manor itself was yet another source of Damien’s irritation. Apparently, the suspect’s emotional involvement with Todd justified the clear risk posed by allowing this stranger into their home, despite the fact that all background checks and past interviews showed him to be a clear and dangerous unknown. If anything, Todd’s involvement with the suspect only increased the likelihood of this “Danny Nightengale” being a danger to the family. Damian did not believe that Todd was an irrational madman in constant need of supervision Father seemed to think he was, but he did not pretend the man did not pose a possible threat. There was also the possibility that Nightengale recognized how deeply compromised Farther was when it came to Todd and was using him to gain access to the family, be it as the Bats or the Waynes. If that was the case, then Damien was sure Father would not mind granting a temporary reprieval of the No-kill rule. For the family’s safety, that is. Not because he cared about Todd or any of his other siblings or their feelings, thank you.

The main area of concern surrounding Nightengale was not what they had learned, but what they hadn't. So far, he had avoided all interviews with concerning success. Furthermore, no family member had actually managed to get a photo of him. Attempts to look him up showed only that he was a student at Gotham University studying Astrophysics and Aerospace engineering, that he had a sister named Jazmine who worked as a counselor within Arkem, which was concerning within it's own right, and that he had lived with said sister until moving in with Todd three months ago. Footwork provided a few more details, such as that he worked at the Iceberg Lounge as part of the band playing the violin and that he seemed to have a number of pet birds, specifically ravens, though these birds seemed to come and go as they pleased. Neighbors reported that he was pleasant enough, though there were a number of noise complaints regarding both the birds and his apparent activity as an engineer. What was truly concerning was the total informational whiteout predating his arrival in Gotham. The transcript he had used to get into university was a forgery, as was his social security number, birth certificate, and driver's license. He had no social media presence of any sort and there was no one they could talk to who had any idea where he was from. The same went for his sister, they were both complete blanks. What was most interesting, at least according to Drake, was that the photo used on the fake driver's license looked to have been doctored, as if someone had taken an old photo and artificially aged it. None of them could think of a reason someone would need to do that.

“I still do not understand why we are bringing Todd and Nightengale here.”

Damien said, doing his best to tie his tie himself with mediocre success.

“Because,” Bruce explained, stepping in to help and rescue the tie from Damien’s increasingly frustrated attempts, “he is dating Jason, and as his family, we have every reason to want to meet him.”

Damien raised a brow. That seemed unusually irrational of Father. Perhaps the presence of Todd in the equation was interfering more than he had expected.

“Given how slippery he has proven in the past,” he continued “this is our best opportunity to engage him while minimizing both his suspicion and his likelihood to run. Furthermore, he is far more likely to be forthcoming than he would be if operating on his own turf. This gives us the upper hand more than if we attempted to meet him elsewhere.”

That was better. If there was one thing Damien appreciated about Father, it was his direct, analytical nature. Meanwhile, Greyson shouted something about needing to hide all of the chairs. Suddenly there was a knock at the front door, and a loud bang as Greyson tripped himself attempting to open it. Pennyworth, appearing suddenly at the door when Damian could have sworn he was in the kitchen, opened it before Greyson had a chance to right himself. Standing there was Todd and, assumedly, Nightengale. It suddenly occurred to Damian that he had never actually seen the man up close before. He was tall, with dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was thin as well, concerningly so, his joints sharp where the bones shone through. His skin was so pale, like freshly fallen snow or bleached bone. There was something terribly familiar about him, but so was probably any other pale man with black hair and blue eyes. As he grew closer, Damian noticed, snaking up Nightengale’s right arm and peaking up from the collar of his turtleneck, a Lichtenberg scar. Something in the back of his head stirred, but he couldn't think what it could possibly be. Greyson was shaking this man’s hand, offering some kind of greeting, but Damian couldn't hear it. Suddenly, Nightengale’s head snapped. Now he was looking right at Damian, his blue eyes boundless and staring as a grin stretched far wider across his face than should have been possible, wider even than the Joker and with teeth like a cat, sharp and predatory. He thought he maybe should have been frightened, though he wasn't sure why.

“Little Prince!”

Nightengale embraced Damian tightly, lifting him slightly off the ground. He wasn't sure how he had gotten so close so quickly. His skin was cold, but as comforting as an ice pack on an injury; the relief of a cold shower in the height of summer held in sharp and narrow arms. Something about this situation seemed wrong but he couldn't pin down just what it was.

“It's been so long! Look how big you’ve gotten. Ancients, the last time I saw you, you were just a shade!”

Wait. That was it.

“What do you mean, ‘last time’”

Damian willed his muscles to tense, his hands to clench into fists but they remained stubbornly relaxed.

“Dami, little light, ya sitti, don't you remember me?”

Nightengale gently set Damian and for a second he was blinded as the man was wreathed in rings of light bright as the sun. When the light faded the man had... changed. The most obvious shift was his hair, once black and now so blindingly white that it made his face shadowy and difficult to see, as well as luminescent, Lazarus green eyes, the sclera black as night. Rather than the simple black turtle neck and slacks he had come in, he was now wearing a black hazmat suit with a white belt holding what looked like an old-fashioned radio and, oddly, a thermos. He had white gloves, though they became sharp and claw-like at the tips. There were other, more subtle changes, such as how his skin grew grey, like someone who had been dead for hours, and the faint glow of the fractal Lichtenburg just visible through the suit. Damian became aware suddenly of pressure that had been building in his ears and only just released.

“No.”

“Oh...” the Man, he was not Nightengale, seemed to deflate.

“No... I... It's not... You can not.”

Damien was faintly aware that he was not making sense, but seeing that this made two of them, he felt little need to correct it. Finally, enough of his brain cells managed to collide for him to form a sentence.

“What are you doing here?”

“Damien,” Father said, careful to insert himself between his son and whoever, whatever, was floating just slightly off the ground before them, “who is this? How do you know him?”

“His name is Phantom. When I was a child, I would make up stories about him and the strange land he ruled.”

Hearing his name, Phantom smiled a much smaller, more hesitant smile than his Joker-esque grin from before. He waved slightly. Meanwhile, Father looked as if he were about to have an aneurysm. Looking about, that seemed to be the consensus amongst the onlookers, albeit Todd who laughed. Hard.

Tag Cultists

@mur-ururu @krzys2000 @soren1830 @fisticuffsatapplebees @emergentpanda-blog @heirxofxtime

[gamerwoo]

Hyunjin: Age-Restricted (Part Sixteen)

Characters: Hyunjin x female reader (ft other skz members)

Genre/warnings: nanny!reader, ex-porn star/neighbor!hyunjin, generally inexperienced and painfully shy virgin!reader, angst but not as angsty as it's been lmao, humor, implied reader has a rough relationship w her mom, mentions of porn and sex work (minors dni!!!)

Word count: 3,386

Summary: You think it’s luck when the new family you nanny for is so stupid rich that they rent you a fancy new apartment just so you can live closer to them. You think it’s luck when the guy across the hall is the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen in your entire life and makes an effort to talk to you. But that’s just about where your luck runs out, because Hyunjin is more out of your league than you could ever imagine, and you’re just some hopeless virgin who never had good luck in the first place.

Previous | Next | Series Masterlist

Minho 😻🤢: soooo packing???

Minho 😻🤢: when??????

Seungmin 👹😌: i literally forgot we were even supposed to help with that lmao

Jisung 😐: did they not give you a notice yet??

Jisung 😐: actually what’s the time frame for that like when do you have to be out?

_____: i assumed they would’ve given me one already letting me know i have to be out by the end of the month but they haven’t

_____: i don’t wanna pack and then have like more time to stay here and im just living out of boxes tho ://

Christopher 🦘🧡: could you try asking the front desk?

Christopher 🦘🧡: honestly Felix hasn’t even mentioned you getting evicted

Minho 😻🤢: why would he randomly bring that up to you that’s so depressing

Christopher 🦘🧡: he asks about her. they’re friends

Christopher 🦘🧡: he’d probably want to know if i know where she’s staying

Seungmin 👹😌: can’t wait to kick out jisung!!!!! 🤗

Jisung 😐: i’ll sleep in your bathtub idc

Minho 😻🤢: he’ll live in the walls like the rat he is

Seungmin 👹😌: i’m gonna set traps

Seungmin 👹😌: if anyone hears a snap lmk

_____: let’s not kill jisung i kinda like him

Minho 😻🤢: EW

Minho 😻🤢: 🤮🤮🤮

Jisung 😐: YAAAAAAAAA !!!!!

Seungmin 👹😌: we’re kicking _____ back out actually

_____: no ur not bc im going to ask about my eviction notice and if i have to move back in with my mom i will start crying actually :’)

Seungmin 👹😌: yeah fuck that

Christopher 🦘🧡: we would never do that to you

Minho 😻🤢: absolutely not

Jisung 😐: i’m gathering we hate _____’s mom

Jisung 😐: yeah fuck ur mom we hate that bitch !!!!

You ignored the rest of the buzzing and put your phone in your pocket before venturing out of the apartment and going downstairs to the front desk. For the most part, you hadn’t really left your apartment – partly out of fear of running into Hyunjin, and partly because you didn’t have a reason to now that you didn’t have a job. Your friends had stopped by here and there – usually Jisung – to hang out but other than that, you didn’t really have much human interaction since the conversation in the hallway with your now ex-boss and Hyunjin.

You felt a little awkward as you stood in the elevator, thinking about how you had to ask about your eviction but you needed the information sooner rather than later so you could plan accordingly. You just didn’t want to feel judged. Everyone who worked at The Brooke knew you weren’t paying your own rent, so they would know you had gotten fired. It was embarrassing, but you needed the information.

As soon as the elevator doors opened to the lobby, your eyes widened and your heart jumped in your throat. You genuinely considered mashing the button to close the doors even though you knew that wouldn’t have been fast enough to stop the man waiting for the elevator from entering.

But to your surprise, he didn’t enter. Instead, he smiled softly and said, “Oh! Just who I was looking for.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Huh?”

Changbin reached out and held onto the side of the doors to keep them from closing again, chuckling, “Are you getting out or are you just going for a ride?”

You felt your cheeks get warm as you slid out of the elevator, trying to stay as far away from his body as possible. But you stayed near him once you left because apparently he was looking for you and not his best friend.

Why the fuck would Hyunjin’s best friend want to talk to you? Didn’t he know what Hyunjin did? Wouldn’t he know you’d want nothing to do with anything Hyunjin related?

“I know this is probably really strange to you,” Changbin began, stuffing his hands back into his pockets like they were while he was waiting for the elevator, “but I was wondering if maybe we could talk? I’ll buy you a coffee or whatever you want.”

-

As always, your inability to say no to people cursed you again. So you found yourself at a boujee café, sitting across from Changbin at a small table as you played with the straw in your iced drink to stare at the way the ice moved instead of making eye contact with Changbin. It was already awkward considering he was one of Hyunjin’s best friends, but on top of that, you’d never been alone with Changbin before. You were feeling all sorts of uncomfortable.

“I know you’re probably really confused. I mean, Hyunjin’s best friend asked to take you out to talk,” he chuckled. “I know you’re probably assuming I want to, like, yell at you or convince you to talk to him or whatever, right? …In all honesty, I really just wanted to hear your side of things.”

You glanced up at him, your movements with your straw stopping, “He didn’t tell you what happened?”

“No, he did. But you and I both know that sometimes he’s dramatic. That’s not to say his feelings aren’t valid, but I have a feeling that maybe there was some sort of…miscommunication for lack of a better word.”

You still weren’t buying it, furrowing your eyebrows. It didn’t matter how genuine and kind Changbin seemed when he spoke to you. 

“You’re his best friend, though. You’ll take his side.”

“Being his best friend doesn’t mean I have to blindly take his side. Like I said, Hyunjin can be dramatic sometimes, and he’s rarely dated since starting in that business. Something he never got to learn is how badly proper communication is needed in relationships when working in that industry because then shit like this happens. Plus, Kitty and I have both met you and I feel like the chances that you were using him for good sex are pretty slim. Again, not trying to invalidate how he feels. He is really upset, but I know you are, too. I just want to get to the bottom of this.”

“And do what?” you asked. “What happens when you have both sides?”

He shrugged, “That’s up to you, I guess. I could either help you fix things, or I could get you closure. Or I could just fuck off and you never have to hear from any of us again. Up to you. But really, what do you have to lose in venting to me?”

“You could tell Hyunjin everything I say.”

He chuckled, “That’s kind of the plan. He needs some perspective. He’s too upset to think straight.”

There were two ways you figured he could go about telling Hyunjin: either talk shit about you and what you said with Hyunjin and Kit later and act like you were full of bullshit, or just tell him the gist of what you’d said from your view and maybe make him feel bad. Or the latter, but it wouldn’t change anything Hyunjin thought because he was heartless and used you.

No matter how you spun it, there wasn’t much to lose. For the former: Hyunjin already hated you. For the middle: you wanted him to feel like shit and know that he hurt you. For the latter: it didn’t matter anyway.

Your toxic trait of hoping Hyunjin would feel like shit knowing how he made you feel won, so you ultimately broke.

You started with him showing up at the house to bring you lunch, which Changbin was already aware of. But that was all he told you, and then he let you keep talking. You said how he suddenly wanted to take things slow out of nowhere, saying all these things that just seemed like he didn’t want the relationship to go anywhere. He liked how things were, but all things were, were just physically intimate. Sure, he acted like a boyfriend but he apparently didn’t want the title. It made it seem like he wanted to try and fuck you but without any of the strings. It made it seem like you were just someone for him to corrupt because he was into that, but when you wanted more than just learning new things in the bedroom, he wanted to put the brakes on. It was suspicious, and even Changbin agreed it came off that way.

Then you mentioned how Jisung had blurted the whole porn star thing. You had no idea until Jisung was face-to-face with Hyunjin and recognized him, and he just said it without realizing you had no idea. You were confused as to who Jin was and didn’t know until, again, Jisung accidentally elaborated. Come to find out all your friends knew and wanted to keep it a secret because not only did they think it was up to Hyunjin to tell you, but they didn’t want to tell you and potentially put a strain on a relationship that you were already so happy about.

“Sounds like your friends need to start telling Jisung things more,” Changbin chuckled, but that was really all he had to say about that.

Then Hyunjin dumped you out of nowhere. You kind of saw it coming considering he said he wanted to take things slow, and that gave you a bad feeling anyway. But he did it without any explanation. Everything was vague and, again, made it seem like he was using you. Saying he wasn’t the right guy for you and didn’t want to string you along anymore.

Changbin just sighed and nodded, looking down at his drink, “Yeah, he kind sucks with words sometimes…”

You told him how you stayed with Chan for a while. You called out of work and went back to your old place to avoid being alone and also any chance of seeing Hyunjin. You definitely weren’t doing great considering this was your first major relationship even if there was no title to it, but you experienced the most serious firsts with Hyunjin, so naturally, you were taking things hard. Changbin seemed to get that. 

There wasn’t much to talk about other than you sulking over him even though you felt like you shouldn’t because he used you – Changbin had yet to confirm or deny that theory, though. He mostly just listened and gave minimal input – none of it having to do with Hyunjin. 

Then you got to Friday night where Hyunjin accused you of knowing he was a porn star the whole time and just using him to lose your virginity in the most perfect way possible.

“I know I said what I said, and I think he heard it,” you explained, “but I was honestly just trying to say something to stop crying about the situation.”

You gave a sad laugh and shook your head, looking around the coffee shop to avoid looking in Changbin’s eyes for too long. It wasn’t like he was studying you or scrutinizing you. He was just watching with soft eyes, letting you know he was listening as he nodded or hummed occasionally. But it was still too much to consistently look at him when you spoke.

“It was mostly just a coping mechanism more than anything. It was all just a joke, but he obviously didn’t hear it in that context. So he knocked on the door and called me out, but I was too drunk and taken off-guard to even remember what was said before he showed up. I wouldn’t have even considered that he would’ve heard the conversation. So because I didn’t have an explanation, it definitely seemed like I meant what I said and just didn’t want to own up to it. So…he…called me…-”

“I know what he called you,” Changbin cut you off, seeing you were uncomfortable repeating the insult. “You don’t have to repeat it.”

“Yeah…” you nodded awkwardly before taking in a deep breath. “Anyway, he said that and left. And then a couple days later, one of my bosses – er, ex-bosses – showed up.”

Changbin seemed surprised that you said ‘ex-boss’ but he didn’t say anything and let you continue talking.

You told him about the conversation with Mrs. Park and how you originally wanted to get an apartment on a different floor, but how she had started talking poorly about sex workers and you didn’t stand for it. 

“So you stood up for him?” he asked.

You shrugged, “I guess. Just because he was shitty to me doesn’t mean I’d use him being an ex-porn star as ammo. I’m low enough to let Minho say he has a small dick if he wants to but I’m not gonna say he’s subhuman or something.”

Changbin also seemed surprised by this, but again, stayed silent. Only nodded slowly and let you continue.

You told him how Hyunjin was listening in again and told you not to quit because of him, but you were saying it wasn’t because of him and it was because of your own morals. You explained how you didn’t want to work directly under someone so close-minded, and you reminded Hyunjin you weren’t dating anyway so it didn’t matter.

“And…yeah,” you breathed. “That’s basically it.”

Changbin nodded silently for a moment longer before he finally broke out into a chuckle, shaking his head, “Jesus Christ, this all makes so much more sense now.”

“What does that mean?” you wondered.

“It means…” he hesitated for a second, choosing his words as he looked down at his drink before meeting your eyes again, “I’m hoping you’ll talk to him. I’m not going to persuade you to or anything, but I’ll say that if you’re interested in attempting to fix things with him, I’d be willing to set something up. And you don’t have to answer right now or even today. Just let me know whenever.”

Part of you still wanted Hyunjin. You wanted him to want you and you wanted to still think he was the perfect person that you had thought before he said he wanted to take things slow out of nowhere. But the other part of you hated him because you knew he wasn’t perfect. You felt used and betrayed, and you were still hurt. Part of you still didn’t want to see him at all.

But since you didn’t have to give him an answer either way yet, you just nodded and said, “Okay.”

-

Changbin walked back with you to The Brooke. Not only because he wanted to be a gentleman and make sure you got home safe, he told you, but also because Felix apparently had brownies waiting for him.

“I promised Kit and Hyun I’d pick ‘em up,” he explained.

So he went back inside with you, going up to the front desk. You still needed your eviction information, after all.

Felix seemed to be working the desk while Jihoon was standing off toward the side at one of the computers, teaching Hanni something. Ten stood off to the left gathering someone’s luggage onto a cart, but the person was nowhere to be seen. They had probably already gone up to their room. So it was you, Changbin, Ten, Felix, Jihoon, and Hanni in the lobby together.

Felix seemed confused watching you and Changbin approach the desk together, “Is everything–?”

“I’m here for the brownies,” Changbin quickly cut him off. “Kitty had another shoot today so she’s really looking forward to them.”

Felix reached under the desk and pulled out a clear tupperware, placing them on the counter and sliding them over to Changbin with a smile, “Hope she’s feeling alright after.”

“These’ll fix her right up,” Changbin promised with a smile of his own.

As Changbin took the brownies, Felix turned to you and asked in a quiet voice, “How’ve you been doing, by the way? You feeling alright?”

“You found out he’s a sex demon, huh?” Ten grinned evilly from the corner before you could even answer Felix.

You just stared at him, “Huh?”

Changbin rolled his eyes and muttered to you, “Just ignore him. We all try to.”

You looked back to Felix and took a deep breath, placing your arms across each other on the counter, “Actually, I wanted to ask if you had my eviction notice?”

Felix’s eyes went wide, “Your what?”

“I kinda quit my job, and they were paying for the apartment and everything, and I can’t really afford to stay here, so… Yeah, that kinda means eviction, and I need to know when I have to be out by so I can pack. I didn’t really want to pack and then live out of boxes for however long, y’know?”

Suddenly, Felix’s demeanor shifted. He licked his lips and shifted his weight, eyes glancing toward Changbin and then down at the counter, “Um, I don’t think I know anything about that… Yeah, nobody told me anything about an eviction, so…yeah.”

Your eyes narrowed, “Why do I feel like you do know about it?”

Obviously hearing the conversation, Jihoon stepped away from Hanni’s side to come over and help, “_____, you’re in 805, correct?”

“Yup,” you nodded.

“Your payment was switched over.”

Your eyes widened and your brows furrowed. Payment switched? How? When? Why?

“To who?” you asked. “Who the hell is affording that? I swear to god, if this was Christopher…”

“They did actually ask to stay anonymous,” Jihoon informed you. “I can’t confirm or deny who it was. I’m sorry. But it does mean that there will be no eviction notice.”

“I know you think that’s good news, but I’m actually more stressed now,” you admitted with a slightly annoyed laugh. “Please, can’t you tell me who it is? I mean, it’s my apartment. I deserve to know who’s paying my rent. It’s actually kind of uncomfortable living somewhere where someone else is paying for it and I don’t even know who it is.”

“Since there hasn’t really been any sort of situation like this before, there’s no policy in place stating we have to give you that information,” he explained as politely as he could. “I know it’s probably confusing for you, but–”

“I found it!”

All eyes went to Hanni from where she stood at the computer, proudly smiling, “The bill goes to Mr. Hwang Hyunjin in room 806!”

Felix slapped his forehead, Jihoon let out a groan as he dropped his head, and Ten started giggling wildly in the back. Clearly, she wasn’t listening while Jihoon was explaining that there was no policy in place that they had to tell you, but you were kind of glad the new girl wasn’t paying attention.

“You weren’t supposed to tell her,” Jihoon sighed, clearly trying to keep some sort of patience with Hanni.

Her face quickly fell, realizing her mistake, “I just wanted to prove I could use the computer…”

You couldn’t even focus on her getting punished for her mistake, though.

“What?” you asked sharply.

Felix looked to Changbin for help, but Changbin was lost.

You glared between the pair, “Did you know about this?”

Changbin held his hands up in surrender, “I’m just finding out about it. I’m just as shocked as you are, honestly.”

Felix, however, looked away as the tips of his ears turned red, “M-maybe I kinda knew… But in my defense, I just work here.”

You took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, trying to calm down. After you let it out through your nose, you looked to Felix and asked, “Can I have a pen and some paper?”

Felix quickly grabbed a pen from the desk and searched for a pad of lined paper. When he found it, he handed both to you, and the two boys watched as you quickly scribbled down something. Then you tore the paper away, folded it up, and handed it to Changbin.

“Can you give this to him,” you asked.

“Will do,” he promised, taking it from you and keeping it in his hand.

Without another word, you stormed away from the front desk and over to the elevators, leaving Changbin and Felix to look at each other. While Felix looked scared, Changbin seemed relatively neutral. Felix was worried that the relationship had no shot at being fixed, while Changbin had already accepted that whatever happened, happened.

Felix eyed the note, “Are you gonna look at it?”

“Nope,” he replied. “I’m just gonna give it to him and see what happens.”

————✧♡✧————-

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[twizzie-lairs]

Hazbin Hotel OC - Nia

All about my Hazbin Hotel OC - Nia!

General Info:

Nia died/arrived in hell a few years before Alastor first manifested in Hell.

She was a fan of Alastor's radio show when she was alive.

Nia was acquainted with Mimzy as well, as she was her neighbor.

She's typically very timid and shy unless provoked.

Backstory:

(TW: Some graphic descriptions of violence)

Even when she was alive, she always preferred to work in the background and usually shied away from the spotlight.

Because of this, she never really got in trouble and was generally a pretty goody-two-shoes type of person.

Nia didn't have many enemies, but a few people had it out for her because she wanted to abide by the rules and wouldn't bend the rules for them.

Her naive nature and typically strong moral compass snapped when she received the news that her mother had died due to complications in surgery when she went to pick up her mother from the hospital. It was a surgery that was supposed to be fairly low stakes and that didn't even require her mother to stay the night at the hospital.

Nia knew something was wrong, that there had to be foul play involved. She could feel it in her gut.

Fueled by grief and anger, she pretended to storm out of the hospital. But in reality, she went around to the back of the building and snuck in undetected where she hid for hours until it was night time.

After activity had quieted down for the evening/night, Nia came out of her hiding spot and eventually found the nurses' office where their schedules were. She mathematically combed through all the information she could without being caught, making mental note of which nurses had been scheduled to assist with her mother's operation earlier that day. Luckily for her, the head surgeon's name was right there too. And he just so happened to be in another surgery/operation right now.

Not wasting another minute, Nia made her way to the operating room- stopping in some other office and storage rooms along the way to gather some things she could use as makeshift weapons.

At this point Nia's breathing had turned into hyperventilating, eyes shaking and dilated. She would get her revenge on the people who took away the last living family member she had.

So, Nia burst into the operating room and got sent into a crazed-animal-like state after seeing the scene that greeted her.

Her mother's body was cut up in pieces on the operating table, nurses and doctors alike laughing amongst themselves while seemingly dividing up piles of money - a maniacal scream escaped Nia's throat as she flung herself onto the head surgeon that wore the nametag of the doctor who operated on her mother just earlier that day- slicing and stabbing him wherever she could with the needles from the sewing kit she found in one of the office rooms just a few minutes prior.

Nia was in such a crazed state that she didn't care, or maybe didn't even notice, that she was also hurting herself in the process while mutilating the now-already-dead surgeon that killed her mother. Another thing Nia didn't notice was that the rest of the staff in the room had fled.

it wasn't long before many boots could heard rushing toward the operating room. The police burst open, equipped with riot shields and guns pointed at Nia. But she didn't notice, she was too busy still stabbing and slicing the shredded and hole-y corpse.

The last thing Nia heard were many indiscernible shouts in her direction before a sharp pain pierced through her skull, making her lose all consciousness before her body fell with a thud upon the cold tiles of the operating room floor.

Then she woke up in Hell, memories of that night hazy.

She went back to her normally quiet and shy self but found herself more susceptible to outbursts that usually ended with carnage and bloodshed in some form.

Whenever she came to after one of those outbursts, she would only have a vague recollection of what had happened.

Later on, the hazy memories of the night she died would become clear again after she had started staying at the Hazbin Hotel, and that's how she would end up piecing together why her appearance in Hell and demon form looked the way they did.

[mayflowers515]

(Wholesome Cartoon AU) Smiling Critters' Families

Wanted to make this to go more into depth with the Critters' families and their thoughts on them. I mentioned some aspects about some families already in my lore headcanons, but here the information relating to them will be more organized and may have some extra details not brought up before.

Note: For the purposes of cartoon logic, real-life lifespans of animals won't apply here when it comes to the parents (since their ages are definitely beyond what ages they typically live by-)

I also have headcanons for all the families, and I will update this if I think up more for them :)

🧡☀️DogDay☀️🧡

Members:

NoonHound - father; 32 years old

Bio: Works as a cartoonist and is very passionate and easygoing.

DandieDawn - mother; 31 years old

Bio: Works as a daycare teacher; she is very caring but a bit of a worrywart.

DogDay - older brother; 11 years old

SunnySpot - younger sister; 6 years old

Bio: Filled with endless curiosity and bubbly charm, but can be a smart allec sometimes.

DogDay loves his parents a lot and respects all of what they do for him and his sister. He only wishes they could all spend more time all together. That doesn't happen too often due to his mother and father working busy jobs. As for DogDay's relationship with Sunny, he cares a lot about her, too. Sometimes, he can get a bit too overprotective of her in cases where it may not be needed. Even then, he likes to play games with her whenever she asks about it. She's very playful after all.

DogDay's parents, Noon and Dawn, work a lot to care for him and Sunny. They used to all live in a more drab town where the job quality wasn't the best. They stayed there to improve their financial situation until finally they could move to a better town to work better jobs. Though they can still be busy at times, the parents now have much more initiative to take a break compared to before. As for Sunny, she really looks up to and admires her brother. Though she gets annoyed whenever he overly coddles her, and she occasionally plays smart with him.

Headcanons:

Sunny has learned how to solve a Rubik's cube at a young age. In general she is good with completing brain puzzles, but solving a Rubik's cube is her favorite one.

Dawn's experiences as a teacher is part of the reason for being a worrywart. Due to the way the kids at daycare act, she tends to have this persona of her slip whenever she tends to DogDay and Sunny. She is often out of work very exhausted and tense, but she still loves her job.

As a kid, Noon drew cartoons as he has always wanted to be a cartoonist. However, he doesn't really like looking back at them since he views them as "cringy". If his kids were to see the comics he created, he would laugh at them as a way of acknowledging how "cringy" his previous work was, even if this may not have been the case.

Dawn and Noon have known each other for a long time, as they were next-door neighbors in their childhood town (not the same as the drab town I described, though). They were childhood friends for a long time, but Noon had harbored feelings for Dawn for a long time even before they got together. By the time their high school's prom came around, he confessed his feelings for her, which she reciprocated (turns out she felt the same way Noon did, but he was oblivious to this thinking she was just being shy originally).

Dawn's hobby whenever she isn't working is landscape work. This ranges from gardening to decorating. She gets really into it, too, often taking a long time to finish her landscaping work to fit a certain occasion (especially the case when holidays roll around). Noon likes to help with decorations sometimes because of his own passions relating to drawing.

DogDay's appreciation of his father's drawings is also what makes him so interested of other people's art, even though he himself isn't as artistic of a person.

🩷🍎PickyPiggy🍎🩷

(I'm changing my mind about the status of Picky's parents. They never disappeared now- I didn't like the original idea I had for them looking back at it; may put what I planned for them previously in another timeline though, but I'm not sure atm)

Members:

PerfectPiggy - father; 36 years old

Bio: The main cook of the family's kitchen; has good leadership skills and charisma.

PetitePiggy - mother; 34 years old

Bio: The co-cook and gardener of the family's kitchen; not afraid to get messy and is hard-working.

PickyPiggy - older sister; 10 years old

PerkyPiggy - younger twin sister; middle; 7 years old

Bio: Takes a lot after her mother and loves outdoor activity. She and her twin brother commonly bicker.

PowerPiggy - younger twin brother; middle; 7 years old

Bio: Though very reserved, he is stubborn and goal-oriented. He and his twin sister commonly bicker.

PlayPiggy - baby brother; youngest; 6 months old

Bio: A very happy infant who loves to play games.

Picky has a lot of respect for her parents. They were the reason she has such a passion in gardening and especially cooking. As a result, Picky is a bit closer with Perfect than Petite, but she is always enthusiastic at both learning new recipes and growing new crops. She has learned a lot about responsibility and discipline from them that reflects in the piggy she is. Picky has a motherly attitude towards her siblings. Whenever her parents can't take care of them due to being busy, Picky usually volunteers to help. She is a peacemaker to her siblings if Perky and Power get into fights or whenever Play starts to get upset. She also caters a lot to their basic needs. She doesn't deny any of them for any reason, though she can sometimes act slightly mean and sarcastic towards them depending on her mood. She usually apologizes when she goes too far with this attitude, however.

Picky's parents love all of their children equally. In the case of Picky, they are especially happy that she takes interest in their work. They secretly want Picky to help run the business with them when she's older, and potentially even inherit it if and when they retire. As for Picky's siblings, they have a lot of respect for their older sister. Especially because of what she does to make sure they get taken care of whenever their parents can't help for whatever reason. Perky and Power usually have Picky play with them when she can because she can also let loose and play with them just like any sister can. Though not much is known with how Play feels about Picky due to being so young, he appreciates her company just as much as everyone else's. He especially loves the games she plays with him.

Headcanons:

Before their start as a local restaurant business, the Piggies took their food service slow. They helped out in any food drives and potlucks they came across. Their favorite place to help out is in homeless shelters and orphanages. Picky especially likes to help out in the orphanage (I imagine this is how she and Bobby met all that time ago).

Both Perfect and Petite were into cooking, and they naturally took interest in each other when realizing during high school that they both planned to go to culinary school. During their time in culinary school, they fell in love and eventually became a couple.

Perky and Power aren't into cooking as much as their older sister or their parents, but they still occasionally help out in the kitchen, especially if it involves their favorite food. They can't help out in the same room, however, since they bicker even in the kitchen.

Perky is VERY messy whenever she helps out in the kitchen. She often has flour and ingredients all over her clothes after helping out. This would annoy Power, who is much less messy in the kitchen.

Whenever Power is in the kitchen, he is very by the book. He does a good job keeping track with the details explained in the cookbooks, but he will question whenever something goes against what he expects would happen.

Perfect sometimes cooks the food he makes for the restaurant business as a surprise for the family. To save money, they usually eat store bought food whenever those surprise days don't happen.

Petite probably has a lot of injuries due to what she has to work with in her garden. She especially hates wasps since they sting her a lot whenever she tends to the garden.

🩵🌈CraftyCorn🌈🩵

Members:

King SpeQuine - father; 41 years old

Bio: A very demanding presence in the kingdom and always strives to receive the best in everything.

Queen PrisMare - mother; 38 years old

Bio: Known to be emotionally distant and no-nonsense. She cares a lot about keeping the kingdom afloat.

(Princess) CraftyCorn - daughter; 11 years old

Crafty's relationship with her parents is... complicated to say the least. While she doesn't hate either of them, she doesn't exactly respect them either. They always talked down to her for interests that didn't relate to royalty and they also talked badly about anybody that didn't share their status, and Crafty disliked that. Despite this, Crafty always tried to please her parents so she could feel accepted by them. She was often talked down to for not fulfilling their expectations. Eventually, Crafty had enough of this and ran away in the middle of the night. She was accompanied by a knight who took pity in her situation. She doesn't like talking about her parents ever since she ran away from them. This is also the reason why she's so sensitive on the topic of her upbringing.

Crafty's parents didn't really love their daughter as a daughter. Rather as someone that could help them with the kingdom's reputation. They always nitpicked her for not fulfilling the visions they wanted for her to be. SpeQuine would especially be more nitpicky with his daughter. PrisMare is the same, but she has a sense of coldness whenever she does the same thing. Mainly because she doesn't know how to show love in the traditional sense, since she was always so focused on her kingdom and her kingdom only. These attitudes caused Crafty to run away. Not much is known about the parents' reaction to Crafty besides the fact they are desperately trying to search for her, unaware of her current location.

Headcanons:

Queen PrisMare actually used to be a big artist as a young girl, but she was bashed for these interests in a similar manner that Crafty was. PrisMare herself doesn't realize her own hypocrisy because there was a point in her life where her family would convince her that art was nothing but a waste of time. She commonly uses those experiences to convince Crafty to do what she and SpeQuine want her to do. Even so, I feel deep down, she would've secretly been proud of Crafty and her artwork, but doesn't show it so she can be a "good example" of "proper royalty".

King SpeQuine grew up in a rich family that spoiled him rotten before getting married to PrisMare. He was always taught that he always deserved the best of the best at all times, even if that realistically couldn't always happen. Due to the way he was raised, if he wasn't getting into a relationship with PrisMare, he would've stayed with his parents and never got a chance to work. His parents didn't care about the severity of running a kingdom at the time. They only cared that their son got with a royal because of the reputation it gives them.

Though they aren't seen or heard of much in the events of the cartoon, there are implications that the finding of their daughter is getting more widespread. These implications would grow more and more as the cartoon goes on (probably during a point where Crafty is going through an arc).

The natures of both PrisMare and SpeQuine also caused them to clash and not have as healthy of a relationship with each other either. They hid this from Crafty as much as they could to set a good example for her.

The only reason the parents got together at all is because PrisMare was pressured by her family to find someone to marry for their kingdom and SpeQuine's parents wanted him to marry a rich lady to upgrade their own status. Both PrisMare and SpeQuine seldom treat each other like married couples typically do. They may have a slight hint of care for each other, but this never extends to true love.

💛⭐KickinChicken⭐💛

Members:

CooperRooster - father; 40 years old

Bio: A social butterfly who likes to live in the moment. Can get too over his head at times, though.

WendyHen - mother; 39 years old

Bio: A sweet but self-conscious hen who wants the best for her family.

StrikinChicken - older brother; 17 years old

Bio: He is generally chill and agreeable. He likes to tease Kickin a lot, but he also likes helping him.

KickinChicken - younger brother; 10 years old

Kickin doesn't show it around others, but he is very clingy to his parents. He is especially clingy towards Cooper since he often spoiled him and his brother ever since they were young. Despite not being as close with Wendy, he still appreciates her a lot and usually tries to help her when she has her episodes of self-doubt. As much as Kickin looks up to both of his parents, however, it doesn't compare to the amount of admiration he has for his brother, Strikin. They have always been really close, and Kickin wants to be as cool as his brother. He worries whenever he feels he can't reach Strikin's level of cool, but Strikin usually reassures him whenever he feels this way.

Kickin's parents care a lot about their son, but they deep down worry a lot about him. He was picked on a lot at a previous school he was at, and they feel Kickin gets a lot of his own hidden self-consciousness from those experiences. As a result, they reassure Kickin that he will always be a star to them. Strikin also feels this way, but he is very close to Kickin. He checks up on him a lot, and he feels bad whenever he feels he couldn't do much to help him with his doubts, even when Kickin is just happy Strikin was there for him at all. Deep down, Strikin worries about how Kickin will feel once he leaves for college...

Headcanons:

Strikin plans to major in engineering once he graduates high school and goes to college.

Cooper used to be in a garage band when he was younger. He still has a rock guitar reminding him of those times. He hopes one of his sons pick up on his skills sometime.

Wendy likes to scrapbook in her free time. She may also have some embarrassing photos of her sons when they were really young. Strikin doesn't really mind, but Kickin would absolutely get embarrassed if his mom ever showed anyone those photos-

Wendy and Cooper had BIG crushes on each other during high school, but neither one of them knew about it.

When they did get together, I imagine it happened in a really funny, coincidental fashion. Like, when they were teens, they took part in a spin-the-bottle game, and Cooper just so happened to land on Wendy, which she was TERRIFIED about at first because she thought she would be way out of Cooper's league yet he still pursued her. They hit it off ever since that night-

Though I wouldn't be able to straight out say it in the AU (since I hc the cartoon was created in the early 90s where rep wasn't exactly normalized yet), it is very much implied that Strikin is gay. Probably what made Kickin himself feel more comfortable about realizing he was bisexual (this would also be implied).

Strikin has a BIG comic book collection with comics he doesn't even read anymore. He plans to give those comics to Kickin once he moves out to college (he doesn't give it to him sooner because he wants to surprise him).

💙💡Bubba Bubbaphant💡💙

Members:

(Ben) Benvolio Bubbaphant - father; 42 years old

Bio: An outgoing, fun-loving elephant who likes seeing the bright side of things.

Bridget Bubbaphant - mother; 43 years old

Bio: A kind, calm elephant who usually likes to reminisce on the past.

Bubba Bubbaphant - son; 11 years old

Bubba cares deeply about his parents, but he hasn't always been so trusting of them. For some time (prior to the series), he thought the relationship he had with his parents was "off", as if they couldn't be his real parents due to how different they are from him (size, color, etc). Eventually he realized the reason why, and he has become much closer to them ever since. He always appreciates how much they support his academic interests, and they always strive for him to achieve the best he can. Bubba likes Benvolio's energy, but he sometimes gets annoyed when he doesn't take certain things seriously. As for Bridget, Bubba admires how calm and wise she is. They also like to reminisce on old memories together.

Bubba's parents care a lot about their son. They originally were concerned for him because he would barely open up to them at a certain point in time. Once they realized why, they took extra time in making sure they valued their son for being himself and that they would always care for him. Benvolio has always made sure to do what he could to cheer up his son whenever he felt hard on himself. Meanwhile, Bridget usually helps Bubba whenever he wants insight on certain decisions he's about to make (he wants to make sure he's doing the right thing).

Headcanons:

The reason Bubba distrusted his parents so much in the past was because of how different their genetics seemed to be. He accidentally slips up on this distrust one time when he had an argument with them. Benvolio and Bridget open up about why this is the case. It turns out they are still his real parents despite how different they seemed. Just their genetics made him turn out to not be as similar to them. This discovery was part of the reason as to why Bubba has become much more inclined to learning new things nowadays. Afterwards, he starts to trust his parents more.

This misunderstanding led to Bubba's own fear of his lack of knowledge on certain things. Benvolio and Bridget are aware of this, and always let him know that there's still a lot for him to learn and that it's normal to not know EVERYTHING. Though this doesn't personally help Bubba very much, he would appreciate the support anyway.

Benvolio was NOT good at school back in the day. However, he would barely ever get any help due to the discrimination on him being so small for an elephant. This is eventually how he met Bridget, who was the only one who would help tutor him (she also had similar problems being rejected for her differences). Though they did clash sometimes, they eventually became high school sweethearts.

Bridget had a lot of achievements for her work in school back in the day, but this wasn't capitalized on as much during the time due to the discrimination following her. They have been given much more recognition as she grew older whenever anyone found out due to their world becoming more accepting of these differences.

The Bubbaphants loved to play board games together. They don't get TOO chaotic, as to them it's all just harmless fun to them. Sometimes, Benvolio likes to be silly about the way he plays and is usually the most dramatic whenever they play.

❤️❤️Bobby BearHug❤️❤️

Members:

Beckett BearHug - adoptive father; 34 years old

Bio: A tough-looking bear who has a bleeding heart on the inside. He has fighting experience.

Barbara BearHug - adoptive mother; 33 years old

Bio: Looks snobby, but she is actually very empathetic and gentle. She is known to have a rbf.

Bobby BearHug - daughter/adopted daughter; 9 years old

Bobby loves her parents a lot. She doesn't see them for their outward flaws, but rather as the parents she wished she was born with a long time ago. The truth is, these aren't her real parents. They adopted her after she was dropped by her real parents who neglected her. Due to her previous experience with those parents, Bobby gets really scared and apologetic if she feels she is being too much with Barbara and Beckett or if she isn't good enough for them. They always give her reassurance that they love her no matter what. Bobby sees them as her real parents because of the love they've given her that she needed all along.

Barbara and Beckett care a lot about their daughter. They always wanted to have a child of their own, but they were unable to for some time. They were glad to have the opportunity to raise Bobby after realizing her situation. As a result of realizing what she went through previously, they take extra care in being as kind and reassuring to her as possible. This is so she can know that they won't leave her or neglect her like her previous parents did. They love Bobby unconditionally as if she was their biological daughter.

Headcanons:

Bobby's biological parents are Homer HoneyComb and Cara HoneyComb. They had Bobby at a young age and at the time, they weren't at all ready to have a child. They kept her anyway due to pressure from both sides of the family, but they seldom gave her any attention outside of the bare minimum. This left Bobby starved for love at a young age, and as a result, she was more clingy to them. Homer and Cara took this clinginess as an opportunity to make her a scapegoat whenever they fought and brush her off as a "nuisance". They also used it as a reason to eventually abandon her. This all happened when Bobby was at the age of 5, and she was placed in an orphanage for some time after this. When she was 7-8 years old, she finally found loving parents in Beckett and Barbara.

Beckett is heavily trained in martial arts. He someday wants to teach this skill to his daughter, but he knows she may not want to do that at this point (she doesn't like to get her hands dirty). Beckett is patient about this aspect of Bobby.

Beckett's side of the family runs a honey farm that is far from the Smiling Critters' hometown. Whenever Beckett visits his parents, he makes sure to bring back honey to share among him, Barbara, and Bobby.

Barbara and Beckett met sometime when Barbara visited Beckett's family's honey farm. They related to each other a lot due to being misunderstood by others, and they eventually fell in love as a result.

Barbara actually works as a teacher at the school the Smiling Critters go to. To avoid bias, however, she agreed to not have Bobby in the same classroom as her. She occasionally checks in on her daughter whenever she is on break to make sure she's okay during the day.

Barbara and Beckett allows Bobby to visit the orphanage sometimes due to her positive experience with the fellow orphans there before getting adopted.

💚⚡Hoppy Hopscotch⚡💚

Members:

Scott Hopscotch - father; 36 years old

Bio: Passionate and a little aggressive. He can have a bad temper at times.

Rebecca Hopscotch - mother; 36 years old

Bio: Excitable and optimistic. She can be pretty reckless outside of parenting decisions.

Harley Hopscotch - older sister; 16 years old

Bio: Reserved and a bit shy, but very protective when it comes to her family's safety.

Hoppy Hopscotch - younger sister; middle; 10 years old

Holly Hopscotch - younger sister; youngest; 4 years old

Bio: She is carefree and imaginative, and her innocence is still very present.

Hoppy respects her parents a lot. They usually encourage her to follow her dreams of being a sports star. In fact, she was inspired to do it because of her mom's role in sports during high school and winning many medals. Hoppy also cares a lot about her sisters, though she wishes they would be more willing to play the kind of games she wants to play. That doesn't happen often since their interests are inclined in different directions. Hoppy would get protective of them if something happened to them.

Hoppy's parents are very happy with their daughters. Specifically for Hoppy, they appreciate the amount of energy she brings to the dynamic. Also happened because of their influence and their own energy. Hoppy's sisters also look up to her in their own right. Though Harley can act very cautious with Hoppy due to how reckless she can be, she appreciates what she does whenever she doesn't feel up to doing things. Holly really looks up to Hoppy despite not being into sports like she is. Holly usually likes piggy backs from her or Harley.

Headcanons:

This family seems to have a habit of cursing. Scott and Rebecca curse often whenever they're mad (mostly for Scott) or feeling intense about something (mostly for Rebecca). Holly and Hoppy usually have to be taken out of the room so they don't pick up on their cursing habits (Harley is the only one allowed to listen). Hoppy listens in anyway, so now she has a habit of occasionally cursing just like her parents. Obviously since the Smiling Critters is intended to be a kids cartoon, the swear words aren't actually heard by the viewers. They're coincidentally and comedically blocked out by something or someone every time. Ironically, Hoppy's parents would get mad if they heard their daughter cursing (secretly a bit proud at the same time, though). She usually tries not to curse in front of them anyway, but she occasionally slips up.

Family game nights are likely very, VERY chaotic with this family... Think like that Odd1sOut Monopoly scene-

Speaking of game nights, imagining this is how Scott and Rebecca met. One time they just had a game night with their high school friends. They basically had a game respects game attitude towards each other and grew very close ever since.

Harley wants to major in English once she makes it to college.

The sweater Hoppy has wrapped around her waist was given to her by Harley as a hand-me-down. Hoppy loved it so much that she has worn it ever since it was given to her. If she were to wear it, it would likely look a bit oversized on her-

Despite Hoppy getting in on the chaos of her parents, she will usually partake in making sure Holly keeps her innocence since she's so young. Basically like a "No! Not the baby!" situation like in Amphibia whenever something that would ruin Holly's innocence is about to happen.

💜🌙CatNap🌙💜

Members:

MewZizz - father; 34 years old

Bio: A calm, quiet guy who likes to play music for anyone willing to listen.

FeLune - mother; 33 years old

Bio: The resident "crazy lady"; She has a mysterious aura, but is she really what she seems?

CatNap - son; 11 years old

CatNap isn't by his parents often, but he still shows appreciation for what they do. Sometimes he can be a little embarrassed by the antics of his mom, but he will help her with any errands she needs done. As for his dad, CatNap appreciates the music he comes up with. He occasionally stops by to see his dad perform whenever he's awake.

CatNap's parents care deeply about their son. MewZizz is worried about his son's mental state sometimes, suspicious of the fact that he sleeps so often throughout the day. Though he knows why, he sometimes tries to convince him of better ways to go about the stress. This doesn't usually work since CatNap is so convinced that he just has to stay as calm as possible through proper sleep. Meanwhile, FeLune nags CatNap out of her own worry. Also because of a lot of the many traits they share with each other... She worries about CatNap going through the same judgement she went through, but she attempts to help him whenever he feels stressed about this.

Headcanons:

FeLune had a love-at-first-sight experience with MewZizz. She was always a part of the audience watching his performances. Eventually, she mustered the courage to talk to him, and they shortly got into a relationship afterward. For MewZizz, he loved FeLune's support and the quirks she had, so he quickly fell in love with her in a similar way.

The poppy gas CatNap has as his second scent came from FeLune's side of the family. FeLune herself had to deal with poppy gas, but she managed to control it to a healthy level. However, before she did, she would often get flak for having this ability, being deemed a monster by many for having it. As a result, this affects the way she feels about her son's poppy gas. She worries a lot about if people found out about this. Little did she know, her excessive worry about it is also what drove CatNap's own fear of the others finding out about his ability.

MewZizz often played lullabies for CatNap when he was younger. CatNap has fond memories of these lullabies, and he even hums them himself whenever he helps put others to sleep.

MewZizz and FeLune are very openly romantic in public. They do a lot of PDA, and sometimes this gets on CatNap's nerves because of how openly they do it.

FeLune was able to have their home installed with their own observatory. Besides his own bedroom, CatNap finds the observatory to be his favorite place to unwind.

(Phew... This took so long to make with the designs and descriptions =v=' I'm sorry for not posting about the AU in a while. I hope this makes up for it- Also tried to not be exactly the same as the existing family dynamics other people came up with for their own interpretations of the Smiling Critters- It's their original OCs after all- I did still get inspired by some things. If anyone has an issue with this, let me know and I'll work something out with my own characters since I don't want to copy off of anyone T^T)

Hope you guys enjoyed this (long) post!

🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[yarnlass]

Dekarios clan <- Dauntrael clan?

This Secret of the Magister book has truthfully not much to relate back to Gale aside the obvious wizard lore, but I did find something that immediately linked to him in my mind.

One former Magister named Maxiladanarr Torstren (Magister from 1322 - 1328 DR, so longer than most at a span of 6 years) spent his time in office covertly creating several genetic lines of magic users. He did this by carefully manipulating certain individuals from magically-inclined families, and as of 1370 those families were prospering a great deal from their magical aptitudes. One such clan was the Dauntrael clan, who as of 1370 mostly live in Tethyr and the Moonshae isles, where they have miles of thriving farmland and a publishing house, called The Curious Eye.

This family is so Gale coded. I'm certain that the Dekarians intermarried with the Dauntraels at some point. Taken from Secrets of the Magisters:

Members of the Dauntrael family tend to be tall and slender, with flowing brown hair that under certain lighting conditions seems almost purple or blue. A few Dauntrael ladies in Tethyr use dyes to make their hair a soft blue in the seasons of summer revelry. Dauntrael always have large, liquid brown or blue eyes, tend to be more comely than average, and usually have mellifluous voices, suited for singing or oration. Only a little more than half of all Dauntrael have the ability to wield magic, but those who do have it tend to rise swiftly in power, and they exhibit great creativity and success in crafting or modifying spells. There are today about seventy Dauntrael mages, and over fifty of these are of higher than 10th level.

Gale didn't inherit blue or purple toned hair (oh but can you imagine? Perhaps Morena's hair is darker and purple-hued), but flowing brown hair, large, liquid brown eyes, comely, great voice? The spell crafting creativity and power? This is sounding so so Gale. There's more too -- as of 1370, the patriarch and matriarch of the family display distinctly Galeran tendencies:

Thurlad’s [the patriarch] love is gathering information about Toril. An orrery (mechanically animated model) of Realmspace occupies the domed upper room of his tower, and his head probably contains more lore about where rivers flow and mines can be found than all the tomes of Candlekeep. He cares not at all, however, for names and dates and the deeds of men, save when such strivings pertain directly to the advancement of magic.

His wife Deluma grows fruit in her gardens, helping them along with gentle light- and heat-altering spells, as a hobby (her husband has no hobbies), and devotes her work time to achieving an ever better understanding of the Weave. This has thus far enabled her to see if planned spells will work (and if so, how), and what effects intended modifications will have. She can already tweak her spells to attain the same sort of precise control over them that a Magister can (for example, doing maximum damage or minimal, just as she chooses), and she could probably, given the time and interest in doing so, craft the equivalent of a Cormanthan spell-web (a construct that links many cast but hung spells, to take later effect when certain conditions are fulfilled).

I need to know so much more about Deluma. By 1492 about 120 years later, there would have been a few generations between her and Gale, but I'm certain Gale would have been proudly compared to his great-great aunt Deluma...

The Dauntrael are skilled diplomats, very good at making neighbors and business colleagues like and value them. As a result, they are highly thought of, as good folk to have around who are both generous and capable. They try not to keep too high a profile, and for the most part people take them for granted, part of the rightful and proper furniture of the local landscape.

Members of this clan, however, see themselves as a family specially gifted by Mystra for some as yet unknown purpose, and they regard it as their duty to rise in local influence (while attracting a minimum of fame or attention) and in skill-at-Art, crafting scrolls, potions, and more permanent items whenever they have the time and means to do so. At the same time, they have a strong independent streak. Dauntrael should be free to marry whomever they please, dwell wherever they please, and do whatever they please.

I cannot believe this family is not related to Gale. The affability, the sense of importance and dedication to their skill, and their confidence to pursue the lives they want all while valuing their community and taking pride in what they do -- it's everything I see in Gale.

There's one story in particular that I imagine Gale taking in by the fireside in his childhood:

Most fireside family tales center on clever “save the day” uses of magic by Dauntrael in various crises, but the most important family legend concerns Shalima Dauntrael of Baldur’s Gate, who chose never to marry, but to have a child ere she grew too old to conceive. [Big Morena energy.] The darkly handsome partner she chose deceived her in many ways. “He” was in truth a marilith, and the child Shalima carried was a cambion. Discovering this well before the birth that would have slain her, the Dauntrael sorceress used every spell she had, or could steal, or could beg or bargain out of a dozen mages she confronted, to alter the nature of her child but not slay it. Her efforts resulted in her own survival, and a male human child, Hemtor, who had only a few tanar’ri characteristics. Perhaps luckily for both Faerûn and the Dauntrael, Hemtor (a wild one in temperament, who became a hiresword and died fighting pirates on the Sea of Fallen Stars) proved to be sterile. Shalima’s tale is told to all young Dauntrael when they despair, or rebel, or quail before something, as an example of the true Dauntrael spirit: This is a family that “never surrenders or gives in, but does what it must and can to win the day.”

This story relates for me back to Gale's ever present but still pragmatic optimism, his ability to roll his sleeves up and get on with what it takes to solve his own catastrophic death sentence as best he can, despite the odds and the face of his bleak fate should he fail. (Also, I can see how it might have affected his disinterest in having children.)

In short, expect to see a lot of blueish haired wet-eyed hunks and babes at your Waterdeep wedding.

[autumnslance]

Wolcred Week 2023: Rain|Sparks

(Early EW but again only vaguely mentioning MSQ; 770-ish words of grief and fantasy funeral rites for Aeryn's particular group of people as no nation is a monolith.)

Rain fell in sheets, obscuring vision more than a few yalms out. There was barely any wind, driving the water straight down and leaving everything soaked. Thancred held onto the umbrella, glad for the proofing on his coat as he tried to keep Aeryn more or less dry.

She, of course, was heedless of the weather beyond skipping over the deep muddy puddles that comprised most of the path they traversed. The heat and humidity did not seem to bother her while Thancred wanted to wilt. He missed Sharlayan’s dryer, cooler clime.

The Scions were dispersing to inform their allies of the success with the Tower of Zot and about the alchemical breakthrough that had made it possible, to determine the next course of action against the Telophoroi. Before Thancred or Aeryn attended to those duties, however, they had this important errand to complete. It was truly too bad the weather did not wish to cooperate; he would like to see Davarresh in the sunlight. Perhaps on their next visit to Aeryn’s childhood home.

They reached their destination, an alcove dug into the small barrier island’s lone mountain, one of its connective bones to the main part of Thavnair across the narrow strait. Other alcoves lined the path, but this one, almost deep enough for them both to stand in, belonged to the Eadir family. Hundreds of simple metal and cloth tokens, nearly uniform rectangles about eight ilms long and two ilms both wide and thick, hung all over the interior, gently clinking against the stone and the hooks they hung upon.

“All of these represent members of your family?” Thancred asked, keeping his voice low. The umbrella was behind him, blocking the rain, while Aeryn squeezed into the alcove in front of him.

“Yes; the Eadirs, anyroad. The Ranaz family's further up the slope, and someday my nani’s token will hang there. But this is where Mama is.”

The East Thavnairian Cooperative was a business conglomerate of about fifty named family groups, descended from colonists who came from southern Ilsabard only a few centuries ago, long after the wars and the unification of the island nation. The satrap at the time had let them stay, and now they were simply part of Thavnairian life and culture.

But they still held a few of their own traditions, separate from their neighbors. Such as how they interred and honored their dead.

Aeryn pulled a new token from her pack, looking at it for a long moment. Thancred squeezed her shoulder as she took a shaky breath and hung Zaine’s token next to their mother’s.

“We try to keep their own ashes in the tokens,” she said, her accent thickening. “But we’re travelers and adventurers at heart. In cases such as this, the token is given the dust of the road, and ash from a campfire made of many different woods, from as far as can be found. The prayers and consecrations are different as it’s sealed and engraved with their name. And then, someone in the family brings them here, to this landmark that even a lost soul might find and use as a marker on their road to the next world.”

“That’s lovely,” Thancred said.

She turned to look at him, smiling. “Sometimes, your fifteen years among Thal’s faithful shows.”

He shrugged. “If I learned aught from Ul’dah’s priests, how we honor our dead and use it to work through our grief is rather important.” He pulled reeds of incense from his pocket and handed them to her. “Also how to profit from a good card game, but that’s neither here nor there.”

Aeryn laughed lightly. She set the reeds into minuscule holes alongside the new token. “The family had this made some time ago, when I wrote to them what I learned about Zaine’s fate. They kept it, though, for as long as they could, as Papa thought I’d want to do this.”

Everything was too damp to light the incense traditionally; Aeryn raised her hand, carefully drawing fire to it. Sparks leapt onto the reeds, and soon their warm scents wafted into the air.

“He knows you well,” Thancred said, wrapping an arm around her waist, letting her lean against him.

“Thank you for coming with me.”

He pressed his face to her head, taking in the scent of her hair and the strange white flower she wore in it today, while he tried not to be too melancholy of his last memory of Zaine, leaving for Carteneau while Thancred returned to Ul’dah, so long ago. “Anytime,” he managed.

Behind them the rain finally abated, the sun breaking through the clouds.

[princeblack]

private investigator andrea williams was the cult’s newest target, a young woman who moved to town to look into the history here, from the 1996 woodsboro murders to the missing persons cases that made it onto various true crime podcasts and news outlets. some people believed there was a copycat killer, but the murders were covered up by local government, and more recently there had been an increase in vicious animal attacks, the bodies gnawed on and disfigured.

unfortunately for the town, it wasn’t a copycat killer but several, operating from a cult of stu macher’s most trusted ‘supporters’, which had been started by a woman who mothered his child. regulus doesn’t know much about the killings, besides what the cult has said about them, which was mostly reverence for the ‘style’ of the 1996 woodsboro murders, from the Ghostface persona to the ‘art’ of stalking the victim.

it makes complete sense then, how the sheriff already knew what regulus was when he tried to compel him after being pulled over. regulus’s registration was out on his dead parents’ car, so he attempted to compel the officer and quickly realized the man was taking vervain because it didn’t work. shooting regulus with vervain darts before he could defend himself, he was transported somewhere before waking up in a cellar.

he wasn’t there long, because the daughter of stu macher released him, even killing his captor, who turned out to be her mother’s new husband. his plans included using regulus’s vampire blood to turn members of their cult and then staking him since he ‘couldn’t be trusted’.

because of salem, he’s now initiated into the cult and has been helping kill their victims as well as use his powers of compulsion to take care of various cover-ups. there’s even a new sheriff, promoted from within the cult, who passes along some information on the private investigator.

luckily it’s an easy enough job, since andrea williams lives on an old property on the outskirts of town. apparently it was sold to her cheap because of turnover rate of the town residents, especially due to the spike in animal attacks over the past couple weeks. her neighbors are miles away and, according to their research, there were no children or pets; only a husband who worked late shifts.

regulus knows he should hope the husband isn’t home yet, but he’s growing hungrier because he didn’t feed yesterday, thinking he could easily eat two instead of one. it’s bad enough that he finds himself staring at salem’s neck a few times, listening to the rush of blood beneath her beautiful skin. she even smells good, making his stomach twist in pain and his body burn with need, aching for a taste of her that he can’t have. he knows what happens, each and every time he gives in— people die, in gruesome ways. sirius is lucky he got out before it happened, off to live his life with james potter somewhere where there weren’t any vampires that were so hungry they could tear your head from your body by eating through your neck.

daphne greengrass did this to him— his ex, the daughter of the richest family in his home town. their mothers had set them up, though at that time walburga had no idea the true nature of the greengrasses. regulus loved astoria, growing close to her even through his transition, but dating her sister daphne had been the worst thing to ever happen to him, from start to finish. he was finally able to escape her, only after slaughtering his own family by accident. the next year had been a blur; compelling strangers for shelter and food, moving across the country until he stopped in the town of woodsboro one fateful night for gas.

and now he’s here, desperately trying to control his hunger so he doesn’t kill the only woman who has shown him kindness since astoria. it makes his head hurt and his stomach ache, feeling like he could peel his own skin from his body if he doesn’t consume blood again. even his gums are sore where his fangs are hidden, as if they’re begging to protrude. there’s something about salem that makes him even hungrier, wishing he could bite at her smooth skin, leaving teeth marks across the entirety of her pretty body. maybe it’s because he has a crush on her too, convinced he was falling for her from the second she saved him from the cellar. he wants to kiss her perfect lips too, preferably without hurting her in the process. 

they leave the car in the driveway, salem picking the lock on the front door and getting herself inside. regulus waits at the threshold of the door, unable to continue yet because he hasn’t been invited in. it doesn’t take long for him to hear the first scream and smell the scent of blood in the air, knowing salem had gotten to work, probably attacking the woman in her bed.

dark veins swim beneath regulus’s eyes, the thirst making him lunge forward despite the threshold stopping him. salem is dragging the woman down the stairs, blood blossoming beneath her clothing and leaving a trail of it on the hardwood flooring. she’s thrashing and crying, the lacerations on her body leaking more and making regulus ache with need.

it scares him a little, how even though detective williams is the one who’s bleeding, who he really wants to bite is salem. she’s dressed in a leather jacket and black bikini top, her large breasts covered in blood splatter. her pants hug her curves perfectly, making his veins course beneath his eyes again, staring at her even though his bloodlust is coming from her victim. “make her invite me in… i’m starving.” 

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Miriam Grossman

Published: Aug 2, 2023

I was contacted by lawyers in Salt Lake City about a 13-year-old boy whose divorced parents were in litigation over his social transition. Zach had recently declared himself a girl, and his mother was 100 percent on board—new name, pronouns, dresses. His father wasn't going along with it.

I reviewed the records from Zach's recent psychiatric hospitalization. Staff listed gender dysphoria as one of his diagnoses and consistently used his girl's name and female pronouns, but the reasoning for those clinical decisions was absent. The hospital records indicated Zach heard voices and saw "ghosts." I searched for more information about the voices and the ghosts but found none.

Was it possible no one had asked? Psychotic symptoms such as auditory or visual hallucinations always warrant further questions. An obvious one: what did the voices say? Was Zach hearing voices telling him he's a girl?

These were questions that demanded attention from his clinicians prior to affirming a new identity. Maybe Zach's gender dysphoria was related to his disordered thinking and hallucinations. Perhaps instead of lip gloss he needed Risperdal (anti-psychotic medication).

I found similar problems in the care of 17-year-old Nicole in Boston. Nicole's life had been chaotic; her father left when she was two, her mother had five other kids with two other men, she was sexually abused by a neighbor, and her family had been homeless for months on several occasions. She had an IQ of 68 and was on three psychiatric medications to treat hallucinations, ADHD, and depression. When she discovered her mother was pregnant, Nicole came out as a boy.

At the time I was consulted, Nicole was in foster care due to charges of physical abuse by her mother.

Nicole wanted testosterone. I was asked by the court to provide my professional opinion regarding "gender-affirming" care, including testosterone, for her.

Having read this far, I trust you can figure out what I said. No testosterone for Nicole.

Zach lives in Utah and Nicole in Massachusetts—both states that ban "conversion therapy" for minors. That means any approach that fails to immediately affirm a child's new identity is prohibited.

I put myself at l risk when I argued that Zach and Nicole should not be affirmed but instead have their long-term mental health issues treated.

At least with those two consultations, my role was to provide my professional opinion. But that wasn't the case with David, a patient in Colorado with whom I worked directly.

One day David told his parents that he is transgender and asked to be called Zoe, "she," and "her." He wanted blockers because the hair sprouting over the corners of his lips and his cracking voice reminded him he's a boy. If only he could take estrogen, he told me, having breasts and wider hips would make him feel confident and secure.

The medical establishment, the DSM-5, and the state of Colorado say the only permissible response is to act as if he was a girl. David must be in the driver's seat—forget about "do no harm." If he picks a different gender identity, name, and pronouns next week, I must use those. I am to instruct parents to tell everyone—family members, school staff, his piano teacher and dentist—to do the same. His mom, dad, and I are all supposed to celebrate what doctors at Johns Hopkins call David's "evolving sense of self."

Celebrating an evolving sense of self sounds fine and dandy. But I happen to know that when David first appeared at a family event in a dress, his mother—a strong feminist and lifelong liberal who supported gay marriage and survived 9/11 and breast cancer—had to flee to a restroom, where she had the first panic attack of her life. I also know puberty blockers might be followed by estrogen and perhaps even orchiectomy—castration. He could end up disfigured and infertile and still not be satisfied with his body.

When David is ready, I must share those dangers with him. I took an oath to prevent harm, no matter what the gender medical establishment or the state of Colorado might say.

For refusing to validate the opposite-sex identities of David and many others, I risk an investigation, but I'll live with that. I'm going to do what's best for my patients.

Miriam Grossman MD is board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. The author of five books, Dr. Grossman's work has been translated into eleven languages. She has testified in Congress and lectured at the British House of Lords and the United Nations.

[sonsofbal]

Chapter III: Behind the Sawmill

With the arrival of Seth Athan, a member of the prestigious Silver Blood Clan, the quiet town of Morthal is thrown into a whirlwind of curiosity, and young Alicent's heart is no exception. After a brief but captivating introduction, Seth occupies Alicent's every thought. In the midst of her daily routine, she eagerly shares her fascination with her best friends, Idgrod and Joric, the Jarl's sons. Now that the Mist Festival is approaching, Alicent hopes to have the opportunity to get to know Seth better during Morthal's greatest celebration.

Over the next few days, Alicent realized that her attention was not the only one Seth had caught. Though they had not seen each other again, she discovered new information about him through the whispers of the town's neighbors. She learned that the Athans were one of the wealthiest families in Markarth and that they belonged to the Silver-Blood, a powerful clan with political influence throughout Skyrim. There were also rumors that the Silver-Blood were supporters of the Stormcloaks, but all she knew about the whole affair was that Laelette had left the village to join them.

Maybe Seth knows her, she thought with a smile as she found another excuse to engage him in conversation when they met again. This moment, this reunion, had given her a lot of thought. She wondered if Seth had thought about her. Would he even remember her name? Alicent came out of her reverie when she overheard a conversation between two customers about him.

"The region is not so big. If it's true that he's moved, we should know where he lives by now." Uthna, the miller's wife, commented without modulating her tone.

"It is said that he has settled in Stonehills." Thonnir, the burly northerner who ran the sawmill, replied.

This fact was a source of disappointment and frustration to her in equal measure. Stonehills lay far outside Morthal. Getting there on foot was practically impossible.

"ALICENT!" shouted Lami all of a sudden, taking her by surprise.

She jumped to her feet, dropping the mortar and pestle. She looked at her mother, not understanding what was going on. Lami approached Alicent and showed her the label of the jar with the ingredient she had just added to the jazbay grapes she was grinding. Alicent blushed as she realized she had mistaken bass fins for carp fins.

"I'm sorry, Mom..." she apologized under the worried eyes of Lami, who grabbed her hands to make sure she hadn't touched the mixture.

"I don't know how else to tell you to be careful while you're working, my dear," she scolded, sounding stern. "Carp mixed with those grapes is very poisonous, capable of weakening a strong man. This potion was meant for Falion, Alicent. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't noticed?"

Feeling terrible that she had almost poisoned her master, Alicent withdrew her hands as soon as her mother loosened her grip. She looked down. She was upset. Fortunately, Lami directed her anger at the neighbors.

"If you have no intention of buying anything, please have your conversation elsewhere," she demanded in a serious tone.

Lami had a strong temper, and Morthal's neighbors knew it. They left immediately, keeping their mouths shut. Alicent tried to hide how disappointed she felt. She would have liked to know more about Seth, despite the distraction.

The door to the alchemy shop creaked once more, and Idgrod entered the hut with a look of amusement on her face.

"You should be a little nicer to your neighbors, Lami. They are your customers, even if they don't shop here every day."

Alicent greeted her friend with a broad smile; she suspected she had heard the couple's protest through the entrance.

"Young Idgrod," Lami greeted her with a warm smile, "if I were to allow this place to become a meeting place for gossip, what would become of Jonna?" she asked in a friendly tone.

Idgrod laughed. Jonna was not only Falion's sister, but also the owner of the Moorside Inn. She always said that gossip was the most sought after product of her establishment.

"My brother cut himself during training. Do you have anything for him?"

Lami nodded and walked over to a shelf behind the counter where they kept potions ready to sell.

"Joric's okay, isn't he?" Alicent asked worriedly.

Joric could be a bit clumsy, and Alicent had a frown at his determination to be surrounded by weapons, but he was committed to his future as a soldier.

"Yes, but he cut his hand on the practice sword again," Idgrod replied.

Alicent laughed, her worries leaving her. Joric was stronger than his size would suggest, but he was also a bit brutal. According to Legate Taurinus, Joric would put the Guard out of business if he kept breaking wooden swords at the rate he was. Alicent's suspicion was that he did it on purpose so that they would let him train with the metal weapons.

Lami approached with a small jar filled with a viscous liquid. She placed it on the counter in front of Idgrod.

"This should be enough. The usual price."

Idgrod pulled a bag of coins from the pack on her hip and placed a pile of coins on the wood. Meanwhile, Lami walked over to the ledger where she kept track of the transactions.

"It's all there, Mom." Alicent said.

She put on her best smile when Lami looked at her questioningly.

"Did you do the math?" the woman asked with a scowl.

Alicent nods. She hated counting coins, her mother knew. She was always off at the count.

"May I accompany Idgrod to check on Joric?" She asked in a honeyed tone, feigning a pout.

Lami looked at her in silence for a few moments, then nodded resignedly after a check that the account was correct.

"All right, then, go. I'm sure Joric will appreciate your concern more than any ointment." She commented in a complicit tone, which Idgrod greeted with a short laugh.

"Thank you, Mom. You're the best!"

She kissed her mother on the cheek and left the hut with her friend. Idgrod also said goodbye to the alchemist.

Idgrod and Alicent left the thaumaturgist's hut behind. They crossed the bridge to the backyard of the headquarters. It was a clear day, and although the sun was shining, the cold had already descended upon the region. It was bone-chilling. Alicent enjoyed the feel of the rays on her skin. They might be the last for many months. Soon the misty season would come and, as every year, the stars would disappear until the flowers were reborn.

"Falion is not teaching you today?" she asked Idgrod.

The court wizard also mentored the Jarl's family, and sometimes helped Alicent with her studies. But unlike Idgrod, she often found those lessons terribly boring.

"Hey, did you get to meet the new guy? Seth Athan."

Alicent turned to look at Idgrod, her eyes sparkling with interest. Her friend raised both eyebrows, and Alicent had no need for words to know that Idgrod was expecting some sort of explanation.

"A few days ago, he came into the shop. He's... He's so handsome..." She sighed.

Idgrod shrugged and looked ahead. Alicent realized that Idgrod didn't seem too happy about this.

"Falion had a meeting with him, alone," Idgrod explained.

The idea of sharing classes with the new boy was quite exciting for Alicent, since Seth was probably about the same age as Idgrod.

"Do you think he's going to come to our class?" she asked, a little bit more eagerly than she would have liked to.

Idgrod said: "I don't think so.”

"I overheard Falion's conversation with my mother. He doesn't seem to be in need of any magic lessons. They have a snack meeting."

Although her stomach growled at the mention of food, Alicent wasn't hungry. In fact, the more she found out about the boy, the more impressed she was.

"Falion said that? Wow," she said in surprise.

Falion was rather cantankerous. In his own words, half the mages in Skyrim were useless and the other half were lazy. For him to admit that someone so young didn't need to be taught was so strange that Alicent wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't met Seth in person. It was clear to her that there was something very special about this boy.

"Seth must be very good with spells," Idgrod admitted.

It seemed that they had both come to the same conclusion about him.

Alicent sighed as she realized that the possibility of being in class with him was on the wane. Her friend seemed to understand her disappointment. She put an arm around her shoulders. When Alicent looked at her, she noticed that her disapproving smile had been replaced by a comforting one.

"Don't despair, come on. With any luck, if Seth is interested in alchemy, you might be able to teach him a thing or two. You're the daughter of Skyrim's best alchemist, right?"

A momentary smile lit up Alicent's face. But then, once again, she noticed an odd glint in the way Idgrod looked. It was similar to the rictus that she would always put on when Joric had some kind of crazy idea to pass the afternoon with. Alicent wrinkled her nose, but stopped short of asking what she was thinking.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Idgrod was lost in her own worries, while Alicent was torn between the reasons for her friend's concern and the possibility of offering Seth help with alchemy. When they reached the backyard of the headquarters, Alicent noticed that Joric's hand was bandaged; he smiled broadly at the sight of the girls there.

"Ali, did you come to watch me practice?" Joric inquired excitedly.

"I don't think you'll be able to continue your training today," she replied, staring at his wound.

Alicent took his hand. She examined it. She sighed in relief when she saw that the blood did not soak through the bandages, confirming that it was a superficial injury.

"It's nothing," Joric said, trying to play it down. "I could train for the rest of the afternoon." He boasted.

Then Idgrod held out the ointment jar.

"Pour it on. Come on," she ordered.

But Joric stuck out his chest and rejected the glass with a nod of his head.

"Thanks, but it's not necessary. It's nothing, I'm telling you."

"If you say so..." Idgrod replied, shrugging his shoulders and smiling knowingly. "I'll keep it for later. Just in case you change your mind. But are you going to continue to train?"

Joric looked around. Only one guard was still training. He shot arrows at a worn, faded wicker target, practicing his aim. Several tired guards laid their swords on the rack.

" Legate Taurinus has already departed. On second thought, I think I can call it a day.  Let's go to the inn, get some sweet rolls and eat at the sawmill. What do you say?"

The suggestion was well received. The three went to the Moorside Inn, where the aroma of reheated stew greeted them.

Behind the sawmill, the friends sat down on some logs to enjoy their snack.  A peaceful atmosphere was created by the murmuring of the Hjaal River and the rustle of the wind through the scales of the cypress trees. The silence was broken, however, by a grunt from Joric. Alicent saw him look down at his hand. He winced in pain.

"Are you sure you don't want to use the ointment?" Idgrod asked, concerned and annoyed.

"You are such a bore! I told you, it's nothing," Joric insisted as he looked at Alicent. "Legate Taurinus says that if I am to be a great general, I must learn to endure wounds that are far worse than this one. These things happen to us soldiers all the time."

Alicent frowned as Idgrod rolled her eyes.

"That's nonsense, Joric." Alicent replied firmly. "Ointments and potions are there for the purpose of healing wounds faster and reducing pain. Why do you want to refuse to use them?"

"Besides, it is a mistake from a strategic point of view. Who has the advantage if you don't use them and your enemy does?" Idgrod added in agreement with Alicent.

After a few moments of thought, Joric sighed in resignation. He gave up when he could not find a valid counterargument.

"I guess you're right..."

Alicent approached him, seeing an opportunity to help. She had a suspicion that Joric was only pretending to be strong because she was a step ahead of him. The idea of indirectly hurting her friend didn't sit well with her.

"Come on. Let me apply the ointment before we start lunch," she offered.

A broad smile spread across Joric's face, and without further excuses, he sat down next to Alicent and offered her the injured hand. Idgrod took out the jar and the rolls while Alicent removed the bandage.

"You're the best," the boy said, thanking her in an intimate tone and looking tender and loving at Alicent.

Alicent returned the gesture, but kept her focus on his wound, applying the ointment to the three places where the wood had torn through the skin. For the umpteenth time, Seth returned to his thoughts as she re-bandaged his hand. She sighed and regretted that the sawmill was so far away, wondering if he would still be in town after his snack with Falion. Would she ever be able to have a connection with him like the one she had with his friends? Just the thought of it made her heart race, but then Idgrod unwrapped the sweet buns and the smell of the food made her mouth water and brought her back to reality.

Dusk fell over Morthal. The three teenagers ate their snacks and talked about their day. Then they all relaxed in their own way, deep in their own thoughts.

Idgrod sat on the end of a log in the sawmill, absorbed in her reading. Alicent lay on the same log. Her head rested on the lap of her friend, who absentmindedly stroked her hair. Joric, who was standing, was practicing with an imaginary sword, imitating the movements he had learned during the day. Alicent watched him without paying much attention. Every time he turned to her, she pretended not to look. She had never thought about Joric's feelings. But now that she was experiencing something similar to what she thought her friend felt for her, Alicent found herself feeling guilty that she had not been able to reciprocate.

I don't want to think about it anymore, she decided.

"What are you reading?" she asked Idgrod.

Idgrod looked up from the book she was holding.

"Notes on Racial Phylogeny," Idgrod replied. "It's about the interbreeding of the races."

Idgrod went on to explain the book's argument. Though she spoke passionately about what she had learned, Alicent was quickly distracted by thoughts of Seth and Joric. Of everything Idgrod said, the only thing that stuck with her was the fact that children always inherit their mother's race. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop thinking about Seth and Joric. She felt guilty and angry at the injustice. When she had never asked for his love, Joric seemed willing to shower her with attention. Now that she understood his feelings, how could it ever be the same?

I should be clear about my feelings for Seth. This might be a way for Joric to forget about me.

Alicent looked up when she felt Idgrod looking at her. She gasped and pretended to pay attention.

"Ah. Yeah. Very interesting..." she muttered.

Idgrod chuckled nasally.

"I'm askin' you what's on your mind, silly. You've been especially quiet today."

Alicent blinked a few times. Then she snorted as she crossed her arms over her stomach.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't stop thinking about Seth," she confessed.

Idgrod began to hum as she put the book in his backpack: "Ali likes Seth!"

Idgrod's words flushed her. She sat up, straddled the log, and glared at her friend.

"Idgrod! It's not that... quite. It's just he's different. There is something special about him, can't you see it? The way he dresses, the way he talks, the way he acts… He's not like any other boy I've ever met..." She rambled.

Joric stopped practicing with his imaginary sword. He approached them with an obvious pout of displeasure.

"Special? But have you seen him? I bet he takes a lot longer to comb his hair than you do, Ali. And with that milk-drinking face, I doubt he's ever picked up a sword," he sneered, crossing his arms.

Idgrod lifted both eyebrows and gave Alicent a look of complicity.

"It's funny, the more you talk about Seth, the less Joric seems to like him."

"Shut up, you idiot," Joric yelled at Idgrod.

Alicent clutched her side and hugged herself. She sulked, annoyed that her friends did not take her feelings seriously.

"Don't be foolish, guys! It's just... You know how it is here. Nobody new ever comes here, and when they do, it's just to stop off before they get to Solitude. Suddenly, this guy shows up at my mom's shop asking for rare ingredients and says he's moving in. I cannot remember the last time someone our age moved to Morthal! Don't you think it's great?"

She looked for their complicity but found only gestures of disbelief. While Idgrod's expression was one of amusement and understanding, Joric could not hide his jealousy and discontent. As the sky began to turn orange above their heads, Alicent decided to open up before the day ended and they had to go to their respective homes.

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" She asked, breaking the awkward silence that had formed.

"He's single." Idgrod replied immediately, without hesitation.

Surprised at her conviction, she turned to her friend, who was still sitting on the log.

Making no effort to hide her curiosity, she asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"Think about it, Ali, what kind of girl would have a date with a guy who could steal her combs?" Joric threw in.

"Joric!" she complained, annoyed by Idgrod laughing.

"When Seth moved in, he came to pay his respects to our mother. And you know how she is," Idgrod explained with a bit of annoyance. "She was quick to suggest that Seth would make a good suitor. And he didn't mention any previous engagements."

This was a cause of concern for Alicent, who looked at her friend with wide eyes and fear in her chest that Idgrod might be considering this possibility. Idgrod seemed to read her mind. 

"Hush. I have no intention of marrying anyone, no matter how rich or noble," she said.

Alicent sighed in relief, though she quickly closed her eyes and looked at her with some trepidation. How could it be that Idgrod did not like him? She couldn't think of a better option in town. Or any options at all. At least she had Joric, but what about Idgrod?

"Are you sure you don't like him? He's so handsome..."

Idgrod's denial was emphatic. Her face, however, had regained the uneasy pout that it had been wearing just a few hours before.

"Of course, Ali. Though... Seth is a charismatic and handsome guy, yes. But his family is one of the richest in Skyrim. I'm not saying you're not good enough for him, but... some nobles have expectations about the status of their mates.

Alicent was struck like an arrow by the harsh reality. Wounded by the revelation, she looked down. It was not something she had thought of.

"I guess you're right..." she murmured, her voice barely able to hide her discomfort.

"That's bullshit! Ali, you're worth a lot more than a bunch of septims. Your mother owns the best alchemy shop in Skyrim, and that's worth as much or more than any surname," Joric exclaimed so vehemently that Alicent thought he'd said it before.

Hearing him say that made her smile.

"Do you think Seth will feel the same way?" she asked with renewed hope.

The question sank Joric, who kicked a pebble in frustration.

Idgrod listened in silence, still with a worried look on her face.

"Look, Ali. I'm not saying that Seth is like this, but... I don't want you to get hoped up and get hurt. Besides, there's something else I can't get out of my mind..."

Idgrod's face flushed. Alicent looked at her suspiciously. She didn't understand why she was suddenly telling her all these things.

"What? Idgrod, are you sure you don't like him?"

"No. It's not that, really. I swear on the Eights," she promised. "I'm just trying to protect you. Listen to me, there are some nobles who don't want to marry someone of lower status, but use their charm to... to... you know..."

Idgrod looked away, uncomfortable, the blush on her cheeks much more pronounced now. Alicent was even more confused than before. She looked at Joric with a quizzical gesture. His eyes seemed to be on fire with anger and she had the feeling that even he understood the situation.

"If this foppish dares to disrespect Ali in such a manner, I will cut off his head with my own sword," Joric vowed.

"What are they using their charms for?" Alicent asked, not understanding. "What's going on here?"

The brothers exchanged glances. Joric snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Ali, seriously... read The Sensual Argon Maiden," the boy said.

Idgrod laughed briefly at Joric's reaction. Alicent opened her mouth to ask a question, but then she noticed that Joric was tense. Idgrod, also noticing, turned to her side without getting up from the tree trunk and gave her a nudge. Alicent protested.

"Look who's coming!" Idgrod whispered.

Alicent also turned, her heart beating faster as she saw Seth approaching their location.

The atmosphere was strange when he arrived. She was the first to break the silence, feeling warmth on her cheeks.

"Hi Seth!" she greeted excitedly.

Seth, though, seemed annoyed. His attention was directed to Joric. Alicent understood everything when she turned to him. The boy looked at the newcomer with a clear defiance.

"Are you all right, boy?" Seth asked in a cold tone that was a challenge in return.

He looked beautiful, though. Eager to get his attention, and also to avoid a more awkward situation, she stood up and placed herself between them.

"Ignore it. He's pissed because he got hurt. Did you need anything?"

Seth held Joric's gaze for a few moments, then nodded his head at Idgrod and finally looked back at her. The intensity of his eye contact made her legs tremble, a trembling that only increased when the boy gave her one of those smiles that made her mind go blank.

"Alicent, I was wondering about the Mist Festival. Is the invitation still open?"

"As you wish. I mean... Of course it is. If you want to," she rambled on, her cheeks on fire.

All of a sudden she felt an arm around her shoulders and she gasped for breath. So focused on Seth, she didn't notice Idgrod standing beside her.

"It's on Sundas, isn't it? I forgot to confirm it in my haste the other day."

Alicent nodded in mesmerism. Seth's voice was silky, but still masculine. Though young, it no longer sounded as boyish as... as... as Joric's.

"Yes. The... Sundas. That Sundas..." she muttered.

She felt Idgrod's hand press down on his shoulder.

"The festival will begin at the first light of dawn," her friend added.

Seth nodded.

"Thanks. You don't mind if I join you, do you?" he asked, looking at each of them one by one, including Joric.

"This will be a good opportunity for you to get to know the people of Morthal a little better," Idgrod said. "I can assure you that you have aroused the interest of many of our neighbors since you have arrived here."

Alicent appreciated her quick response. It prevented Joric from answering first.

"Some more than others..." Joric added reluctantly and in a low voice.

Alicent glanced sideways and saw Joric crossing his arms, his torso turning slightly towards the village. When she looked back at Seth, he was watching Joric, trying to keep from smiling. She was surprised to see that gesture, and was not quite able to decipher what it meant. But the thought faded as Seth turned back to her, his brown eyes catching her again.

"I'll see you on Sundas then. I'll pick you up at your house. Will you be there?"

Alicent nodded, fascinated and stunned at the same time. She couldn't quite believe that Seth was actually going to pick her up.

"I'll be waiting for you, Seth," she replied. She spoke softly, as if her voice would scare him away.

Seth took a step back and forced a smile as a farewell.

"Until the Sundas!" he exclaimed, making sure to hold Joric's gaze a little longer than the others before leaving.

As she watched his silhouette walk away, Alicent let her head fall on Idgrod's shoulder and sighed happily, her heart racing with the promise of spending some time with Seth in a few days.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Who Killed William Dean? A tale of Spies, Politicians and Swindlers 

On August 13, 1918, the last day of William Dean’s life, a couple of unusual things happened. Early in the day he asked a neighbor leaving for Boston if she would get in touch with the police for him. He had information for them. He didn’t say what.

Later in the evening he got a visit from his friend, Charles Rich, the local political kingpin. Rich was a judge in Jaffrey as well as a banker and politician. Rich would later say he visited William Dean to ask how to treat an injury he had just received when his horse kicked at him, leaving him with a black eye and head injuries. Dr. William Dean had stopped practicing medicine and had long retired. He lived as a gentleman farmer. Nevertheless, he advised Rich on his injury and Rich returned to his home at about 10 p.m. Roughly two hours later Dean, 63, left his house and went to the barn on his property. Unlike most farmers who milk their cows at first light and dinnertime, Dean milked his single cow at the unconventional hours of midnight and noon. Upon entering the barn, he was attacked, beaten, strangled, bound up and carried to a cistern on the property.

Dr. Dean’s wife Mary worried about her husband. The next morning, when a hired hand arrived to begin mowing, she asked him to look for him. He was dead, she feared. She even speculated he was under water.

Mary was 68 and losing her faculties. But her immediate conclusion that her husband was dead raised suspicions. When Dr. Dean’s body was discovered, suspicion fell on Mary, who was also Dean’s cousin.

But there were two obstacles to the case against Mary. There was no evidence that she was at odds with her husband. While she was not completely rational, probably suffering from dementia, she was never known to be violent. And, she was physically not a likely suspect. Smashing her husband’s head, strangling him and carrying him to a cistern were beyond her abilities.

With the case against her seeming unlikely, townspeople turned their attention to the potential spy in their midst: Laurence Colfelt.

William Dean needed money, though not inordinately so. He and his wife had moved from their large house to a smaller bungalow on their property. They rented the large house to Laurence Colfelt and his family.

Colfelt, a New Yorker, lived on a trust fund. It wasn’t unusual for people from elsewhere to come to Jaffrey, but it was unusual for them to spend the winter. Colfelt’s lack of any work and lack of local ties made people suspicious of him.

Rumors circulated that he was German, or at least had German sympathies. Might he be a leader of the spies flashing signals to one another in the New Hampshire mountains? Might he, or other spies, have killed Dean because he had caught on to the spying operations in the hills?

The man who had probably the biggest target on his back in the murder investigation was Charles Rich, the banker and friend of William Dean.

The morning Dean was discovered murdered, Rich had a fresh black eye and bruises on his head. He explained his horse had kicked at him and knocked a board he was carrying, striking him in the head. Many in town doubted the story.  Though William Dean and Charles Rich were friends, one other odd occurrence implicated Rich. The day Dean’s body was found, an employee and friend of Rich’s visited Mrs. Dean and cleaned up the barn where the murder took place. Perhaps he obliterated evidence in the process.

A grand jury empanelled to investigate the case concluded that Dean was murdered, but the members of the jury could not determine who did it and to this day it remains unsolved.

[dairy-farmer]

Tim shifts universes one day from canon to one where he is completely Bruce’s wife. One day , he was the weird neighbor pseudo son and the next, he wakes up in lingerie feeling lethargic and weirdly *sticky* . Gets dressed in the most normal things in what seems to be a shared closet with Bruce (a sleek top and dress pants). Walks down to breakfast to see his two neglectful older brothers-turned-adopted children waiting for him. They call him mommy, beg for his attention with school work, and fight to sit next to him (never mind that he has two sides). He is going along with this, very confused, when Bruce Wayne comes down to breakfast and kisses the daylight out of him.

Basically, overnight, Tim turns into the young wife the husband can’t keep himself off of (or not in!) bonus points if he wakes up pregnant with what will essentially be Damian

!!!!!!! oh canon tim would be thrown for an absolute whirlwind!!!!!! his brain would make the same sound as a printer that gets a paper jam, runs out of in, and is low on toner all in one. the screeching, halting, random beeping, and just and overall inability to process anything at once.

he doesn't freak out. he reigns control of himself in enough to not freak out because there's a baby dick and a baby jason pouting and making grossed out faces as bruce's lips smile against him and kiss him deeper.

tim doesn't want to scare his baby (older?) brothers who are somehow around the same age and he also doesn't want tip this bruce off (whose body isn't as...rigid and hard as tim's bruce. there's still muscles and power in his form but it's...softer.)

tim knows what hallucinations feels like, he can identify dreamscapes, simulations always have flaws in them, and his brain is good enough to be able to recall exactly how bruce looks like before he's had his morning shave.

jason and dick squeal and whine as bruce pats them both on their head and nuzzles their rosy cheeks, purposefully scraping his stubble against their skin.

tim is the best undercover actor among the bats, there's a reason he gets put in charge of most of the operations reguarding information gathering.

so its easy for tim to take cues from the conversation around him and the way everyone is acting even if its giving him whiplash to interact with such...friendly versions of his family.

tim manages to establish several things.

this baby dick and jay both view him in some kind of maternal light. they were both adopted when they were toddlers, bruce and tim are the only parents they've ever known.

bruce and tim are married and tim isn't just their neighbor that's banging their dad and eating breakfast with them.

tim is a housewife and bruce is a...trauma surgeon?

tim muffles the surprise down at that revelation. bruce...a surgeon. a doctor. tim's brain can't comprehend the idea of there being a world where bruce isn't batman.

a world....where bruce isn't batman.

tim manages to catch himself before he freezes while chewing on a bit of toast and eggs.

a world where bruce isn't batman. tim knows this isn't a hallucination, a constructed world, a dream, or some kind of advanced simulation. he's been trained to spot all the tells and as far as he can tell his surroundings are either really good fakes or they're...real.

and tim knows that no matter his secret...yearnings- even he isn't creative enough to come up with a world like this.

which leaves him with one other option.

that this isn't his world.

tim knows alternate universes exist. he knows they're dangerous and he knows that should he ever come into contact with one he was to report it to the closest justice league member.

tim tries. after breakfast. after he shoos bruce off to work and receives a million kisses in return for making bruce a thermos of coffee 'just how he likes' which was really a coffee made just how tim likes.

(tim finds it's not hard to fake the kisses he presses back to bruce, his body almost melting into the strong hands gripping his hips- tim chooses to not explore what that might mean.)

baby dick and baby jason are distracted by cartoons while tim puts on his detective hat and starts digging through bruce's office.

the grandfather clock in his office is just a normal clock. no secret entrance. no secret entrance means no cave and no batman.

bruce's desk is meticulously organized...organized in the way that tim has his desk organized. there's a daily planner and schedule on a big calendar with tim's handwriting. tim finds a little book plotting out activities, meals, appointments, and events as far as 3 months into the future.

nice to know that tim's anal retentiveness transcends universes.

tim also finds a laptop with a sticky note of what the password is.

'brucentim4evr'

it'd be embarrassing if it weren't so... sweet.

several searches bring up...nothing. nothing that will help tim.

hal jordan is a commercial pilot for a major airline. his photo is posted on the website. there's grey coloring his temples and no stress lines on his forehead. he's smiling.

clark kent is a high school science teacher in smallville. there's a small article in the town newspaper about the winner of his annual soda bottle rocket contest. the winner got a homemade pie prepared by his blue ribbon-state fair winning mother. tim scours clark a little more and finds his birth certificate, medical records which contain his vaccination dates, and the diagnosis of his diabetes from when he was four.

diana prince is nowhere on the internet until tim starts checking other years and finds a death certificate for 1988. her great great grandaughter was just born in a hospital in mykonos. 11 lbs 3 oz. "a nice, strong girl' according to diana's granddaughter's facebook post.

tim's eyes linger on the picture of a pinched little face curled close to her mother's chest. his eyes water with emotion for some reason.

barry allen is an anchorman for a local news station in central city and is famously married to his co-anchor.

arthur curry does not exist. thomas curry died of liver failure while in hospice. he never had a son. only a daughter that works as a real estate agent.

j'onn j'onzz similarly does not exist. the only thing about martians tim can find is about conspiracy theories and a cartoon character named 'marvin the martian' that tim can't help but think j'onn would find amusing.

tim had hoped he would find some information that would help get home. but without the bat cave and without the justice league he's...stranded.

with some reluctance tim tries looking into his only other options.

lex luthor is a scientist but not the gene-manipulating, fusion reactor building kind that tim is used to. he's an environmental scientist and currently in Antarctica with a team of researchers studying rising sea levels and ice caps.

tim finds nothing on ra's. knowing that wonderwoman was dead in this universe certainly didn't instill confidence. but tim is only certain he will find nothing when he uses google earth to see that nanda parbat is now bulldozed over with an urban city built on top.

other technologically inclined villains yield similar results.

they're all either dead or...living surprisingly mundane and average lives.

tim's investigation yields him few results. it doesn't leave him with any kind of certainty or hope and it definitely doesn't lend him any answers.

tim knows he had not been messing with universe shifting technology.

given the way he awoke in this universe he knows this tim had not been either.

tim...with the resources he has on hand, cannot fix the problem he's in himself. there is just no way for him to be able to get in contact with his universe because the more he looks, the more it seems that the technology to do so does not exist.

and even if it did....

tim's a mother. he's a wife. he has duties and obligations that he can't just abandon without arousing suspicion. and he can't up and disappear without anyone noticing either.

maybe in his world he could. or any kind of world with a batman.

but tim is in the kind of world where he...matters to his family.

and this family. this picturesque mommy and daddy with their two sons family. they have nothing to do with this universe displacement that has affected them and tim shouldn't be causing them undue pain because that's what will happen if he goes and tell them he's not their mom or their wife.

they'd be worried sick about their real mommy and real wife, asking questions tim can't answer.

tim's survival training is telling him one thing. and it's to stay put. if you're in a snowstorm, stranded in the middle of the ocean, or floating unattached in space- stay put. the worst thing you could do is pick a direction and start marching when, for all you know, you could be getting more lost.

tim needs to stay put.

stay put and wait.

it could be just one of those things that fixes itself.

if he's lucky it's a one to one switch and currently there's a housewife and mother tim that's waking up confused and concerned about why his children are older than him and why his husband dresses like a bat.

tim knows he and his family have been going through a bit of a rough patch but he hopes they'll have enough sense to not threaten or frighten other tim and just put forth all their efforts to getting the right tim back.

tim's pretty sure bruce would be upset enough at losing one of his best soldiers to throw all he can at getting tim back.

he hopes.

---

i imagine that tim plays mom and wife for several weeks and is surprised at how good he is at it and how much he likes it. it's awkward at first coming to terms with the fact that he's now jason and dick's mom.

tim chooses to ignore how he's fucking bruce on a nightly basis now and how he should probably feel some kind of way about it. but tim doesn't mind having to sleep with bruce (he's run honeypots behind batman's back since he was 14).

bruce is concerned about tim because he can sense something off about his darling wife but he trusts that tim will come to him when he wants to confide.

he thinks he gets his answer a few weeks later when tim accidentally reveals he's pregnant thinking this bruce already knows. tim went digging through more of this tim's things and found the pregnancy test and a small list of girl and boy baby names. this tim is hoping for a girl but tim spots the name 'damian' at the top of the list and just...knows.

somehow the hardest part of being in the universe is having the realization that he's carrying his own younger brother with whom he's never gotten along. despite that, a wave of emotion floods tim when he finds that little list.

bruce is ecstatic to find out tim is pregnant. jason and dick are excited to find out they'll be big brothers.

meanwhile other tim is mothering the stuffing out of tim's family. they figured it out pretty quickly when the hospital called the manor and told them that tim was there with a suspected psychotic break.

they go because that phone call didn't bode well and last they heard tim was in his apartment in the city. they arrive to the hospital and find tim chatting with nurses and doctors, talking to them like he knows them.

they're informed that tim arrived frazzled and concerned looking for his husband. the nurses were able to calm him down and he started speaking to a few of them having seemingly recognized them.

tim lights up at the sight of bruce but his expression drops just as quickly when he spots dick.

tim goes through a breakdown in the car and by the time they arrive they know that they're dealing with a tim from an alternate universe but one...inhabiting his body which makes things....difficult.

tim is comforted by alfred who he latches onto and they choose to ignore tim's words muffled into his coat about how he's missed alfred and hoped he was enjoying his retirement.

this tim is frightened by them and weary. it's several days before he goes near them. surprisingly he clings to damian.

bruce stumbles across the sight of tim kneeling beside damian, desperatly trying to get his attention while damian ignores him. tim bribes him with cookies, hot chocolates, and interested noises about the books, shows, and video games he's playing.

by the end of the week damian has gone from hostile, to indifferent, to sitting at the island counter in the kitchen and quietly watching while not-tim helped alfred with cooking.

not-tim has been around for only a week but he's swiftly won alfred over with his homemaking skills.

this tim is not shy about making his affections known and about telling them about what his world is like.

bruce has to sit quietly in his office for several hours when he learns of his life in that other universe. he never like interdimensional cases for a reason.

both jason and dick learn that tim isn't unnerved by them because he's afraid but because he's shocked to see his previously elementary-aged children...older than him.

but a few days later and he takes it in stride, apparently falling back into normal motherly scolding.

both dick and jason try to desperatly hide how much they like when tim smiles at them so sweetly and stands on his toes to pink their cheeks or tug on their ears with a scold on his lips.

in the span of a few days jason learns that he has a several new favorite breakfast food, likes wearing ironed socks, and that he hates black olives in every universe.

dick learns that he's mildly lactose intolerant (and that he loves brown sugar oat milk), that the name of that one pastry he had in france but could never find the name of is a gâteau basque, and that he likes having someone call him 'dickie' in that loving way that goosebumps pop along his back and neck.

bruce learns that tim loves him. that this tim loves him and considers bruce his husband in every universe. bruce learns that he is a weak man and when given temptation he gives in. bruce learns he likes the soft sounds tim makes when he bends him in half and pounds into his cunt with a ferocity that would have anyone tapping out. he learns he likes the looks of tim's pink, full lips as they wrap around his cock and suck until he reaches the root of his cock. he learns that tim's tits are the prettiest he's ever seen and fit perfectly in his mouth. he learns that he loves sex more than he ever thought he did. he learns that he can fall asleep right after and that no nightmares will follow him.

he learns that sometimes a new injury will keep his teetering on the edge of unconsciousness with the flashes of pain that will ripp through him.

he learns this tim misses his husband and his babies. he leans he cries for them every night with shaking sobs that are so quiet he can barely hear them as he curls on the pillow beside bruce when he thinks he's asleep.

he learns that even though this tim will love him and his family.

it is not their love to take.

the next day bruce calls in numerous favors.

by the end of the week they have their tim back.

it's their tim.

their tim who is tensed and awkward and hesitant around them.

but he's also a tim who will hand damian a little bag of chocolate-covered almonds out of nowhere.

who will instinctively bake a french custardy cake for dick when he has a hard day.

who will lean over a couch and kiss jason's forehead seemingly without thinking.

and who will enter bruce's room at night, stumble to a stop at the sight of him and then duck back out.

it's their tim.

but a tim who has been...softened. who talks sweeter and who floats around them with a quiet and watchful sort of care.

it's their tim.

their tim.

[hanmi-xo]

CHAPTER 16: "So This Is Love?"

| My Happiness | Chapter List |

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I watched Suyeong and Sujun help Halmeoni Eun clean up the dining table and kitchen. Yesterday felt like an odd dream, but when I woke up in Chan's guest room, it made me accept reality.

Those men really did threaten my family, and Chan really did come to our rescue. Everything that happened- it was all real.

Last night, his family was surprised to see us but welcomed us with open arms, especially his halmeoni. I haven't seen her in years but she remained mostly the same. There were only slight changes. Her hair was no longer black and gray streaks, and it had changed to white due to her old age. Her face wasn't as youthful as it was before and her cheeks sagged with wrinkles. Although it's been almost 10 years, her enthusiasm never changed. It amazes me how she still has so much energy.

"Good job you two!" She cheerfully said as Suyeong washed dishes and Sujun cleaned the table.

I sat on the couch while Chan remained on the phone with his colleague. His parents left earlier this morning for work, but before they left, they did insist on taking my siblings and me out for dinner sometime this weekend. It was kind of them to want to do that- even how they didn't want to ask about what happened with my parents and our home.

I guess they might have an idea how my parents can be problematic. They were neighbors once so they might have seen or heard the things my parents have done. Either or, his family treated us kindly as guests. I can see how loving Chan's family is. He grew up in a good home- in a good family.

I could hear Chan in the upstairs hallway. He was talking on the phone with one of his colleagues. I wasn't sure if it was Wonwoo or Hansol.

I couldn't imagine what they're talking about.

Or maybe, I just didn't want to know what they're talking about.

The fact my siblings and I barged into their home felt wrong, but his family kept saying that they didn't mind. It was odd really.

How did things lead to where I am now?

Of course I knew, but a part of me also wanted to know how these events chained into this. Maybe if I had female friends I wouldn't feel so guilty bothering the boy I grew up with, but even then, would they even be happy to help me?

I never liked asking for help nor showing people my struggle, but when people like Chan exists, it makes it difficult for me to pull away.

He has always been a light in people life and it saddens me that I am the one to give him stress. I know Hansol insists that Chan doesn't mind, but a part of me still feels guilty.

"Subin," his voice called out to me.

Chan came down the stairs while he brought his phone to his pocket. He seemed okay but I can't tell if he's forcing that expression of his. He seemed rather calm.

"Wonwoo connected some of your parents information to recent cases. He said he wants to talk to you tomorrow once you're available," he informs me.

His voice was more of a whisper so the others wouldn't hear us. He looked over at Halmeoni Eun and my siblings who were being quite loud.

Suyeong and Sujun were bickering as they usually do whereas Halmeoni Eun would laugh at their silly behavior. She was able to defuse the two by insisting on getting them sweets later. I couldn't help but grow soft from her. It's been awhile since I've seen my siblings get excited towards someone that isn't me.

Is this how they're supposed to be treated if we had a real family? If we had real parents? I looked at Chan who seemed to be beaming.

He grinned brightly as he admired the interactions between our family members. They spoke as if they known each other for years but they literally just met each other last night.

Maybe if Chan and I were friends years before, then this would have been a daily occurrence of our families being together.

The thought of that made me feel a bit empty. Maybe things would have been better if I reached out to Chan sooner instead of avoiding him.

I lowered my brows. Maybe things can be different now...

I wanted to tell him how grateful I am for allowing my siblings and I to stay at his home but before I could speak, he turned around to look at me.

Our eyes met for a moment, and he tried to speak as well, but he hesitated. I can tell he felt embarrassed. His eyes were always bright, and seeing them look nervous was amusing.

Did he like me this much that he can't look me in my eyes? I felt myself get flustered from the thought. How can he be so loving towards someone like me?

"Uhm... So..." he said with wandering eyes.

His cheeks were flustered as he tried to find his words. I couldn't help but smile at his awkward behavior. He was always charming without trying and even now, he's as cute as he is when he's confident.

I noticed a few strands of his hair were sticking up so I stuck out my hand to pat them down. He must have forgotten to comb his hair after he woke up. He must have got up pretty early since there was bags under his eyes.

I wonder what time Wonwoo called him?

I watched Chan grow flustered from my actions. He looked at me as if I did something astonishing. It was funny seeing him rather out of it. It was hard to hide my grin. Does he not know how adorable he is?

"Chan?" I call for his attention since he seems to be in a trance.

He shook his head as if he was waking himself up. "O-oh... Yeah! Uhm-"

"UNNIE!"

I turned to look at Suyeong who put on her backpack. Behind her was Sujun who was brushing off crumbs from his uniform shirt.

"We're gonna head out now!~" she tells me while she headed to the front door.

Halmeoni Eun slowly walked behind the two with a smile towards us.

"I have to stop by the farmer's market!" She says with a smile. "I'll be back in a few hours!"

I watched as she put on her sun hat before waving to us. I watched my siblings smile while they gazed at Halmeoni Eun. I never seen them smile like that towards someone they just met.

It let me put my heart at ease knowing that- even though we aren't in the best circumstances- they still are smiling. They're still happy. Chan and I both waved and watched the three disappear with a shut of the door.

Chan and I were alone.

I felt myself get nervous knowing nobody else would be bothering us for the time being.

"I guess it's just the two of us...?" I turned to look at him.

His eyes remained on me. He seemed to have a lot to say but he also seemed to be holding back. I guess he too felt nervous.

I felt like a teenager with her crush. I tried to hide my embarrassment by looking at anything that isn't Chan.

I felt something touch my forehead. My eyes shot up and I found Chan resting his hand on my temple. He had low brows and a soft expression. I didn't know how to react.

"You really have gotten better even after what happened," he whispers.

My eyes met his. Why did they look at me with so much adoration? My heart skipped a beat and I felt the butterflies caged in my gut begin to open.

He was stood close to me but enough so I had some space. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't. My throat felt dry suddenly. How did I get so scared of Chan? How can he do this to me?

My heart was racing, and I didn't know how to stop it.

"I'm happy you're better now." His words were soft just like his eyes.

He moved a few strands of my hair away from my face, and the feeling of his finger tips sent a tingle throughout my body. He caressed my cheek gently.

We gazed at each other.

I brought my hand up over his, and I held on to it. There's so much I wanted to ask him. I wanted to look away so I can bring myself back to reality, but the way his orbs reflected off of me with so much affection- I couldn't ignore it. My hand came off his and l held his face in my hands.

Throughout this time with him, everything he has done- If it weren't for him, my siblings and I wouldn't have a place to go. He did small gestures that lead to where I am now, and I can not ignore that. I don't know how I could tell him how grateful I was for his kindness or how to express adoration towards his character. 

Chan was always Chan, but right now, I was seeing him in a new light. He wasn't just Chan, he wasn't just my childhood neighbor, he wasn't just my classmate, but he was my friend. Chan was my friend who liked me. His confession was like a gem. Something rare and beautiful, just like him. He was and will always be that same loving sweetheart from my memories. It's just now that I'm experiencing it first hand how incredible he truly is.

His eyes widened from my actions, and I couldn't stop myself from what I was going to do next.

I wanted to thank him, but I couldn't say it. There was no words to express how I felt towards him, so instead, I showed it. I tiptoed to meet his level.

I closed my eyes and my lips met his.

They were softer than they appeared. I felt the butterflies take over me while my face grew hot from the emotions I were feeling. I pulled away, but I felt his arms wrap around my waist. He held me close to him while my hands ended up on his chest. I looked up at him while his eyes looked down at me. We were so close to each other. It felt like I was going to melt from the way were were pressed together.

His body heat kept me warm and I could feel his chest move as he breathed softly. I never done this to anyone, nor have I ever been held like this. I felt so nervous- I quickly looked away from him. I buried my face in his chest and for a moment I felt his body shake as if he was chuckling. I gripped his shirt tightly as I tried to contain my feelings.

In return, he hugged me tightly. It felt good to be in his embrace. I felt safe, and above all, loved.

~

Chan held my hand as he drove. His hands were fit right in mine. I covered my mouth with my hand as I tried to quietly hide my squeal. While he drove, his thumb would now and then caress the back of my hand, and I would pretend to be looking out the window.

I can't believe kissed him in his own home, and now we're holding has like a couple.

I wanted to hide in a hole from this fear and excitement that was running through me. My heart raced the more I thought about him, and even now, I can't even look at him without smiling like a fool.

Once we reached the restaurant, Chan didn't let go of my hand. I wanted to pull away but I also didn't want to leave him. A part of me was scared of what may happen if he isn't around, but another part of me knew I shouldn't grow so reliant on him.

"I'll pick you up later," Chan tells me.

He gazed at me with a soft smile. I nodded my head. I felt his hand leave mine. A part of me felt empty without his grasp. He then opened his door and I watched as he left his car to go over to my side.

I covered my mouth once I realized what he was doing. He opened my door and stuck out his hand towards me.

I wanted to squeal like a little girl from his actions. Chan- what am I going to do with you!?

I held his hand and he pulled me towards him. I left his car and he shut it behind me. His hand remained in mine for a moment before letting go.

"Don't work too hard," he tells me with a grin. "I don't want you to get sick again."

Butterflies ran through me. His words struck me like a bullet, and if I didn't have work and if I didn't have to deal with my parents, I would gladly be with him for the rest of the day.

But I already told Junhui that I felt better, and of course, I still need money to take care of my siblings.

"I'll see you soon, Subin." Chan's words were light as a feather. It came out so naturally and I felt myself blush.

"Okay," I whisper.

He caressed my face for a moment and gave me a grin. My heart raced. He then let me go and I had to walk to the building that stood in front of us. He watched me enter the restaurant before entering his car.

I sighed once I heard Minyook's voice. Looks like I'm back to reality.

I turned back over to look at Chan and he waved towards me. His eyes remained on me.

I smiled.

Maybe this won't be so bad. Chan will be with me. I'll see him later and everything will be okay.

• • •

Previous | Next

[betterthanpekej]

Ramen Sloppy | NSFW 18+

Summary: Chapter 1 of Pet Store | Chifuyu is your coworker for the day. You have to take your lunch together, but it's a pretty good time. One thing leads to another, what could go wrong here? tags: fem!reader, chifuyu x reader, work sloppy, blowjob, deepthroat, spit as lube, chifuyu calls you princess

You walked through the front doors of the pet store, arriving 10 minutes early for your shift. You had just picked up this job about a month ago as a second hustle, trying to save money to move out of your rundown apartment. You were determined to get the money for a nicer apartment. You wanted to be able to sit on your patio with your cats in the quiet mornings with your cup of hot coffee, somewhere where you weren’t overhearing the next door neighbors arguing for the umpteenth time that week.

You told yourself that this job had many perks that came with it, so it was worth it. You got a sweet discount on your pets’ food and toys, which your cats greatly appreciated. You were able to assist clients who brought their own pets in the store, and you were even able to assist new pet owners find a new family member through the small adoption program the store ran.

You made your way to the back of the store to clock in. The work schedule was hanging up in the break room, so you made your way over to see who you would be working with today. Your store manager opened the store, but the midday shifts and closing shifts always overlapped together. You took your pointer finger and ran it along the schedule until you saw the name of who you’d be working with. A wonderful day this was going to be .

You put your belongings in your locker and walked out of the break room to the front of the store. Coming from outside, the sound of a motorcycle engine running and then turning off caught your attention. It was him. Your eyes were star-struck as you looked past the store’s doors. Chifuyu Matsuno was joining you on your shift today.

Honestly, money was your main priority when taking this job, but if that was all you cared about, you could’ve easily taken another job that paid more. It wasn’t all you cared about. You chose this specific job for a reason more important to you at that moment. You wanted this job to get to know Chifuyu more.

♥

You had met Chifuyu months before applying for this job. You had come into the store one day to see what brands of cat food they had; your cat had become unusually picky and refused to eat his normal food. You had no idea what to look for at the store, so asking the store’s associate seemed like the best option. You approached him while he was standing at the counter, his blonde hair hanging as he stared down at his phone. You could see his pierced ears through the subtle waves in his hair, something about dude’s with their ears pierced sent a spark through your body.

“Hi, do you have a moment to help me? I had some questions about pet food,” you asked, hoping you got his attention.

It felt like time was moving in slow-mo as he raised his head, running his hands through his bangs to readjust them on his face. He was absolutely gorgeous, effortlessly. He gave you a friendly smile as he put his phone in his back pocket and said, “Absolutely, aha. What kind of questions do you have? I’ll try my best to answer them.”

You went over with him your concerns about your cat, and although he had no actual education in the veterinary field or pet nutrition, his insight was very informative and helpful. Not only did you find the holy grail of pet food your cat would eat, but you spent the rest of your time at the store browsing aisles and talking with Chifuyu. He told you stories of his own cat, but never mentioned much about himself. The only reason you knew his name was due to his nametag.

You left the store wanting to know more about him, so you texted your friends to ask if they knew anything about him. The responses you got were unexpected to say the least. One friend told you he used to be in a gang. Another friend told you he was a man whore and couldn’t be trusted. Your best friend even said she heard he almost killed a guy in a fight? Part of you felt like this was all to scare you away, but now you were even more intrigued than before.

The pet store had become your frequent stop during the week, always finding something new you needed so you could stop and ask Chifuyu for his help. When the store finally advertised it was hiring, you jumped at the opportunity almost immediately. You came and spoke with the store manager, bringing your resume along with your references. The store manager recognized you as a regular, so he was confident you were capable of the job when he hired you.

Since working at the store, your friends consistently told you to leave Chifuyu alone. Telling you he was nothing but trouble and “not good enough” for you. What do they know anyway?

♥

Chifuyu came into the building, ruffling his bangs after taking his bike helmet off. He walked by you and gave you a smile and what you swore was a wink, but maybe your eyes were deceiving you. You’re just overthinking this, you told yourself. He’s never once made a move towards you, even with your constant flirting and hints. You just assumed he wasn’t interested, but you still wanted to get to know him more as a person anyway.

A few hours had gone by since the start of your shift, the closing shift workers arriving soon so you and Chifuyu could take your lunch break. You were stocking the aisles and helping some clients when you heard the store phone ringing at the front counter. Chifuyu was finishing ringing up a client, so he motioned to you that he would get it. From Chifuyu’s expression you could tell he wasn’t exactly happy with what was being said.

“Hey, Y/N, come here for a second,” he called to you.

You walked over to him confused. “What’s wrong? Who was that?” you asked.

“Well, sounds like the closers aren’t coming in so Boss said he will come back in a little bit and let us take lunch. We’re probably going to have to stay late to close, but I don’t really mind,” he said with a slight smile.

“Great, just what I wanted to do- spend my night here at work. What if I had plans with someone?” you said as you crossed your arms.

“Do you… have plans with someone? I mean, if you need to, you can leave at normal time and I will close the store by myself so you can meet your boyfriend or whatever,” he said.

“No, I don’t actually have plans. I don’t even have a boyfriend.. I just have my cats waiting at home, but I guess they’ll be okay if I stay,” you said sarcastically.

“Awesome. Then I guess we'll just wait until Boss gets here and then take our break,” he said, leaning back on the counter.

~

About an hour went by before your boss finally arrived, you were starving and ready for your break. He let you and Chifuyu both take lunch at the same time since you were both staying late for the closing shift; he liked making sure two people were available at the store at all times, but he could handle the work of two employees while you two were gone for the hour lunch.

You sat across from Chifuyu at the breakroom table. He seemed to stay glued to his phone whenever he had the chance. Did he have a girlfriend, or girlfriends, he had to respond to?

“Hey,” you said, kicking him under the table. “You asked me earlier, and now I want to know, did you have a girlfriend that you had to cancel your plans with later?”

Chifuyu sat back in his chair and grinned at you. He put his phone to his side and said, “Oh, I see. You do have a crush on me. Ya know, I don’t care much for subtle hints, but this is way more straightforward than you have been.” His expression made it seem like he was pleased with himself.

“Okay, first of all, what do you mean by ‘ oh you do have a crush on me ” and second of all, if you knew- why wouldn’t you just shoot me down? You don’t even flirt back, so like- why let me keep doing it?” you asked harshly.

“I think you’re too nice and a little too timid for my taste, but why would I- or any dude- say no to being flirted with by a pretty girl?” he said, still grinning.

“So you think I’m pretty? Interesting,” you said, raising your brows to him. “And what makes you think I’m timid? What about me gives off that vibe exactly?”

“I mean, I don’t know, you just don’t give off the vibe of a girl who goes for what she wants. Like if you were interested in me, why couldn’t you just say that to begin with? Why are we dancing around this, aha?” he laughed.

Hearing him talk made you want to slap him. For a brief moment you told yourself “ no don’t smack him, he’s too pretty ” but that is exactly why you needed to. He needed to be put in his place at this point, he was bordering disrespectful.

You stood up at the table and in a matter of seconds, your hand connected with his face. He sat with his face now turned to the side, mouth open in shock. You walked away from the table and opened the fridge to grab your lunch box. When you sat back down at the table with your food, you watched Chifuyu get up and grab his package of instant ramen from his locker.

He made his noodles in silence, while you sat and ate your food. He made his way back to the table and sat down with his lunch. He got back out his phone and held it up as he began to slurp his noodles annoyingly.

You grabbed the phone from his hand and stared at him. He cocked his head to the side, saying, “Can I help you?” as he grabbed his phone back.

“Stop ignoring me,” you said.

Chifuyu stared at you blankly for a moment and then laughed, “You just slapped me, Y/N? What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know, do you like me or not? I want to know. You think I’m pretty, so is me being timid really the reason you ignore my flirting?” you said sharply.

Chifuyu stopped eating his noodles for a moment, staring at his chopsticks while he spoke. “I think if you want something, you should take it. And if you want me, then prove it.” He looked past his chopsticks and at you as he said the last few words. 

You two stared at each other for a few seconds before you glanced up at the clock. You both still had about 25 minutes before you needed to return to work, and your manager was the only other person working. Since he was alone, there was no way he was coming to the break room to get you two. You were adults, you knew how to come back to work on time without help from your manager.

With a thought, you got up and looked at the breakroom doorknob. You made your decision there to follow through and you locked the door. You turned around and saw Chifuyu raising his eyebrows at you while he still ate his noodles.

You walked back over to the table and sat down. “Okay, so now what? Why’d you lock the door?” he asked.

“For this,” you said, slowly moving the table away from Chifuyu and getting down on your knees in front of him.

He never stopped eating his noodles as he looked down at you and said, “Ahhh, I see. Okay, show me then how bad you want me.”

This was the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done with someone. You had never done anything outside the comfort of your own bedroom or house, and here you were on your knees tugging at Chifuyu’s pants in your work’s breakroom for lunch. Your friends would be ashamed, but, truthfully, you couldn’t care. You were going to experience Chifuyu and all his glory for the next 20 minutes.

You glanced once more at the door before continuing, wanting to double check it was locked. “He’s not coming in here, he’s running the store,” Chifuyu said to you with a smile. You looked up at him. Something about him looked different in this position. You couldn’t tell what it was, but being on your knees for him made your body feel hot all over, like you wanted to rip the skin off your bones.

You reached your hands to the top of his pants, lightly grazing over his abdomen as you undid his belt. You had a few ideas of what he looked like undressed, but the dips on his abdomen told you that it was better than you could have imagined already. Who knew he worked out a lot? He didn’t really seem like the type.

Undoing his belt allowed for you to unzip his pants. As you unzipped them, you turned your gaze to him. He sat leaned back in his chair, slowly slurping his ramen noodles, staring back at you and never breaking contact. His gaze was intimidating. It felt like a game, him taunting you at how far you will take this just to prove to him that he was what you wanted. To show him you weren’t this innocent, timid soul he thought you were. No, you were the one who was going to give him head on your lunch break.

You placed your left hand on his thigh as you inched closer to him and used your right hand to remove his cock from his brief’s hold. Chifuyu was similar to what you were hoping for, roughly 8 or so inches but sturdy with girth. You slowly looked it over, taking everything all in and ingraining it into your memory.

Your right hand started to stroke slowly at first as you began to lick from the bottom of his shaft to his tip and back again. He was watching you the whole time, hardly making an expression on his face, but keeping his consistent eye contact like before. Again, you felt intimidated, but also increasingly turned on by his intense gaze.

You began to take his cock into your mouth, playing with the tip. Teasing it, as you continued to increase the pace of your strokes. You wanted to hear him moan, have him crumble under you. God, how hot he would sound moaning your name.

You took your hand away from stroking to give room for his cock to fill your throat. Respectfully, you wanted to slam your head onto his cock so hard that you choked, but you didn’t want him to cum anytime soon. You wanted to savor him in every way.

You took his length slowly into your mouth as you positioned your right hand to couple his balls. He kept himself well trimmed, the lack of hair made his cock more inviting to swallow whole in your mind.

You could hear the faint sounds of his breathing increasing, his chest seeming to rise slightly more than before with each time you took his cock further into your throat.

“ Mmm- ,” he closed his eyes and moaned. “ This ramen is so fucking good .” He opened his eyes with a grin on his face, looking back down at you. It was a horrible thing to tease. You wanted him to moan for you, not his ramen. He was doing this on purpose. He could tell by your eyes that you didn’t like the sound of what he said.

“Don’t be sad, Princess. You’re supposed to show me you want me, remember?” he laughed, rubbing the side of your face as you swirl your tongue around the head of his cock.

He took his hand away from your face to continue eating his food. You stopped sucking on his cock to begin stroking it again, while trailing your tongue down to his balls. You lightly lapped over both balls, massaging them simultaneously with your left hand. His cock hardened more in your hand.

You wanted so badly to gag on his cock, drool dripping from your mouth as he face fucked you, but not once did he intervene. He was merely watching and waiting to see what more you would do.

You spit on his cock as you stroked, increasing the slipperiness only made your strokes faster. You took the head again and began to suck on it as you continued your strokes and massages with your other hands. You loved feeling your tongue taste his precum, twirling through the juices that escaped because of you.

“ It’s a shame, ..mmm, that this ramen is more enjoyable than this show you’re giving me ,” he said again with a grin, taking another bite of ramen before laughing.

That was it. You were tired of his games, if this is how he acted, then maybe your friends were right. He wasn’t worth all this trouble at all. You stopped and removed him from your mouth, but almost as quickly he grabbed your head and said, “Don’t stop, I’m only teasing.” His thumbs rubbing the corners of your mouths while he smiles at you. He leaned forward and gave you a kiss on the mouth. Your mouth opening to his, inviting his tongue inside.

“I want to fill your pretty mouth with cum. I want you to swallow it. Can you do that for me, Princess? Do that for me and I’ll make it up to you later for the teasing,” he said as he pulled away from your kiss.

You didn’t have to say anything, but the look in your eyes told him all he needed to know. His hands never leaving the sides of your face guided you back to his cock. As he bobbed your head on him, he looked into your eyes with his intense gaze again.

The burning in your core made you go insane every time he looked at you like this. You couldn’t take it anymore. You brought both your hands onto his thighs to better support yourself as you forced the full length of his cock into your mouth as you deepthroated him hard. You wanted to feel his cum line the back of your throat while you fought back tears in your eyes.

Chifuyu threw his head back as he continued to hold your face. The lewd sounds of your slurps and sucking echoing off the breakroom furniture only turned you both on more.

“ Ahh, Y/N, you’re gonna make me cum doing this.. ” he moaned as he used his right hand to stroke your face. Your continued deepthroating and gagging regardless of his warning made him reach his climax. The taste of his cum in your mouth could easily intoxicate you, you wanted more of him.

You slowly sucked his cock to get every last drop of cum from it, following up by licking it up and down once more before kissing the tip.

Chifuyu looked down at you and lightly grabbed you by your chin, making you look up at him. “Open your mouth and show me,” he said sternly, the same intense look again.

You eagerly opened your mouth, allowing him to peak inside. “That’s my girl,” he said, smiling as he caressed your face again.

“It’s probably almost time for us to go back to work,” you said as you got up. You walked over to the sink to get a wet paper towel to wipe your face and dry around your eyes, you had to make yourself look presentable going back to work. You did not want the boss to ask any questions about lunch break.

Chifuyu was fixing his belt back after standing up, moving the table back and throwing away the trash on it. He reached in his back pocket and grabbed an Orbit gum pack. “Would you like a piece?” he offered, tossing a piece into his own mouth.

“Yes, pleasee ,” you said happily. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you ,” Chifuyu said. He walked to the door and unlocked it.

As you two walked back to the front of the building to finish the rest of your long shift, Chifuyu couldn’t help but smile.

“Stop being weird, people are going to ask questions,” you said, nudging him.

“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll stop smiling. But I have to admit, you are absolutely not anything like I thought. This changes a lot of things, aha,” he said, winking at you.

Your boss waved at you both as you approached the front counter. “How was the break? I hope you two are ready for tonight; it seems like it’s gonna be a long one because of how slow it’s been this last hour,” he said.

You and Chifuyu looked at each other briefly, then Chifuyu turned to answer. “My lunch was amazing, actually, the best ramen I have ever had. And ya know what, I think we,” he said motioning to you both,”-as a tag team are more than ready for tonight. Can’t wait to get started.”

“My lunch was sub par, it could have been better,” you said crossing your arms. Chifuyu almost snapped his neck with how fast he turned to look at you. Oh, how you would regret saying that .

“Great, since you’re both back, I’m going to head out now. Make sure you guys go through and feed the adoption program cats after closing up the store. Don’t play with cats all night though,” your boss said chuckling as he walked away.

“Oh, we are playing with cats tonight, alright,” Chifuyu quietly said looking at you.

[beth-is-rainpaint]

FSSS back again!

First, to answer your question, I actually do enjoy cheesy holiday movies only because the predictability is good for my anxiety. I can turn it on in the background and know everyone will get a happy ending of sorts. Plus they're fun to make fun of.

Now then, I asked you about your favorite things to do around the holidays, so as an extension of that, do you have any headcanons about Fitzsimmons around this time of year (both pre- and post- Alya)?

Hope you're surviving the week!

Hi Santa! You know what, that's a great point about Hallmark holiday movies. I get it. (Also the bit about them being fun to make fun of made me laugh.)

As far as what I think Fitzsimmons did/have done around this time of year, please be prepared for my overly detailed thoughts, haha (I did write a fic about it last year, after all, LOL).

At the Academy I think they hung out together in their dorms, watching movies and baking cookies, or traveled home to see their parents. (My favorite version of this is in @ravenpuffheadcanons' fic "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Something.")

I can't figure out the timeline of when Christmas would have happened during or between seasons 1 and 2, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I hope they got a nice-ish Christmas on the Bus.

But I absolutely think they went to see their families for Christmas between seasons 3 and 4, aka the only between-seasons time they weren't separated D:

From what I've figured/decided, they didn't spend the next two Christmases together, because the first year our Fitz was frozen in space and the second year Jemma was searching for him :( I love thinking about their Christmases on the Zephyr, though. I've decided Enoch could get basically whatever they wanted on supply runs, because it's easier that way, hahaha, so I'm sure they had some kind of a tree and lights and cookies and presents with baby Alya. I think, in the busyness of post-canon life, they miss it sometimes.

Post-canon, I think they spend Christmas itself with their parents, because they live close-ish to Fitz's mum and because their parents missed out on so much. And I think they try to see as many members of their S.H.I.E.L.D. family as possible during the week between Christmas and New Year's, including Deke once they figure out how to get the quantum machine to work again, and including Hunter and Bobbi and any Hunter-Morse children because I cannot conceive of a post-canon life where they aren't, if not neighbors, at least dear friends who see each other as often as possible.

That's probably more information than you were looking for, hahaha, but thanks for asking another great question! I'm hanging in there this week, but any opportunity to think about Fitzsimmons helps <3

[streetslost]

found some old plot ideas from my old blog... reposting here since some are still valid....  not the most intricate plots but something

cat is the younger sister of your character.  whether the parents divorced when cat’s born and they’re split up or the adults die and the children are split up later or anything else ( i can come up with things trust me ), we could do them finding each other again and adjusting to whats become of the other and how to go about the next step of their lives and just feels !!!

i would kill for more cat + people in authority like cops of detectives.  cat being caught but also just being discovered to have all this information on criminals and the underground and such and then also a victim herself so the cop investing in a relationship so that they can get information from her and maybe actually learning to care for her some or them just continuing a mutual relationship of benefits even if they aren’t close or the like.

in that vein, cat with superheroes!  them seeing her potential and giving her a chance as a sidekick or ally.  giving her a chance to be good while also getting on her case when she starts to lapse back into old habits when not helping with a case or something.

cat having broken into an empty apartment and living there for a few weeks without the landlord knowing and the other muse living next door whether alone or with family or whatever and noticing sometimes through the door as cat goes in that there’s no furniture inside and there’s never any lights on or water running and so realizing she’s just using it for shelter but rather than turn her in they help her deter potential renters and the like or leave her food and just developing a sort of unspoken relationship and then if the other muse is ever in trouble like a bad ex or abusive family member or the like cat just barges in and chases them off and just sort of become this weird looking out for each other neighbors??

homeward bound verse cat meeting your muse through one of the organizations she volunteers for ( homeless, battered men and women, animal shelters, etc ) and either just volunteer buddies or your muse going there or cat trying to be an emotional mentor and she’s not the best but she’s trying so hard

homeward bound verse cat is in a lot of sports or big scene places so teammates or famous muses who come to enjoy her company!

fair enough for flowers verse were sarah’s returned to her place as princess of her kingdom.  but she’s restless and no longer feels right in the kingdom.  and your muse either her lady-in-waiting for one of the guards or something who she befriends and helps her sneak out whilst she helps the other muse in return.  or someone in the kingdom or even a monster that sarah befriends...  someone she’s being forced into marriage with even though the two know they couldn’t love each other like that.  and just possibilities!

she’s got to save him verse where ty is kidnapped and the other muse is the witness and cat just wanting to get him on her own and trying to get all the info from the other muse as she can to save him.

calm of heaven break verse where cat’s in the ring!!  and the other muse!!  is trying to help her get out!  and lol copper ain’t going to make that easy!

cat seeing copper again and snapping, murdering him pretty brutally in front of someone. it’s self defense, still, but also a bit overkill. but her about to threaten the other not to tell anyone or she’ll get them, too, but turns out copper controlled/hurt the other, as well, or that they were there to kill copper themselves because he’s got enemies who would hire for his death

the above could also just be reworked to work with her darkness she became verse

mainverse cat in the same building as another muse when a fire breaks out and the two gotta get out of it idk just something

i really want a c t i o n... d r a m a