#because this is truly one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to or about me

[causeimanartist]

Hi, I just wanted to send you some hugs and appreciation from Germany! I'm usually very shy when interacting online, so I hope my message doesn't make you feel awkward or uncomfortable, I just don't have much practice interacting this way... (Also I apologize in advance for the length of this message!) I discovered your blog just a short time ago and have been binge-watching it :) I have to say, I fell totally in love with it (especially your Bruce art). Your blog is a place filled with beautiful art and kindness. My job (I'm an EMT ) can be pretty exhausting and sad sometimes. Sometimes, you just can't stay detached from a tragedy you witness, you get insulted and screamed at for parking your ambulance on a street, get verbally or physically abused by rude or intoxicated patients or you are just exhausted from having many transports or emergencies in a row without a break, food or water. That's why I treasure every moment I have where I can just curl up somewhere, be it back at the station or just in the seat of the ambulance and let my mind come to a rest scrolling through tumblr and watch a bit of beautiful and funny content. Blogs like yours are my ray of sunshine on some bad days. You are a very nice person, and your blog spreads happiness and love through amazing art and wholesome interaction. I just want you to know that what you do is important! I hope I don't make you to feel pressured, because your mental health and personal life is still the more important thing! I just wanted you to know that people like you are a reminder sometimes, that there is still so much kindness out there and that's a big reason for me to go to work with a smile on my face every day regardless of all the negative things. Thank you for spreading so much joy. I wish you all the best for the future!

I don't think I have the right words to express how much this ask means to me. I teared up reading it, I'm tearing up now. Just, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so happy and so so honored that my art can bring happiness to you and others. The fact I can bring even a small bit of light into the world is incredible

Thank you, dear dear anon

[lucy90712]

heyy, can u make one about reader meeting gavi's family for the first time and they being kind of rude to her (worrying about her being an attention seeker), but then he talks to them and in the end it's just fluff? <3

WC: 2.9k It's finally the day I've been worried about for the last 6 months. Today I'm finally going to meet my boyfriend Pablo's parents. We have been together for 6 nearly 7 months now which have been the best months of my life, Pablo is the nicest guy I've ever met and the best boyfriend somehow he just gets me which I think is how we get along so well. Although we've been together for a little while now I haven't met Pablo's parents as they still live back in Sevilla and he doesn't get to go back there often. There has been times that his parents have come to Barcelona but things just haven't worked out in terms of me meeting them but today that changes. Pablo has a few free days and so do I so he suggested we go on a road trip back to his hometown to visit his parents and I just couldn't say no. 

I have been nervous for this day since Pablo and I started dating but now that's it's been put off for so long I'm even more nervous than I was before. The reason I'm so nervous is because I'm not stupid I know how many girls are interested in Pablo and a lot of them for the wrong reasons and I'm petrified that his parents are going to think I'm one of those girls. I truly love Pablo and I see myself being with him for the rest of my life and I just want that to come across when I meet his parents. My biggest problem is I'm quite shy which means I get quite awkward when meeting new people and I don't want my awkwardness to make his parents think I'm not serious about my relationship with him. 

I stayed over at Pablo's place last night so we could get up early and start the drive whenever we were ready. All night he slept peacefully holding onto my waist while I laid awake thinking about all the ways having dinner with Pablo's parents tonight could go wrong which has only made me more nervous than I was before. Just as I got myself into another spiral Pablo's alarm went off and I felt him start to stir besides me until he was awake enough to turn off the alarm. As soon as the alarm was turned off Pablo grabbed my waist and turned me to face him before pressing gentle kisses all over my face which ended with a passionate kiss on my lips. Once he was finished giving me my morning kisses he properly opened his eyes and looked at me which made his smile drop slightly. I have been trying to hide my nerves from Pablo as I know he's excited to see his parents and I don't want to ruin that with my anxiety. 

"What's on your mind amor?" He asked pulling me closer if that was even possible 

"I'm just a bit nervous about meeting your parents that's all don't worry about me" I said holding back the full truth 

"You don't need to be nervous amor I know they will love you because I do plus how can anyone not love you" he said 

"Thank you Pablo that makes me feel a bit better" I said 

"I get why you're nervous I was nervous meeting or parents but if I can survive so can you because you have much more going for you in terms of impressing parents" he laughed 

"I'm no successful footballer though Pabs" I joked 

"No but you are in university getting a degree in an area I don't understand and not to mention you have a scholarship for being so smart my mum will love that" he said sincerely 

I so desperately want to believe Pablo but I just have a bad feeling about tonight which is so stupid as I'm sure it will all be fine but I can't shake that awful feeling. 

From the minute Pablo and I got out of bed we just didn't stop between getting ready and packing I had no time to think even for a second until we got in the car and even then I only had a minute when I was sat on my own before Pablo got in the car and we started the long drive. I was in charge of music for the first stint of the drive and I took that very seriously so while talking to Pablo I was curating the perfect playlist which I think is one of my skills although it's not useful in many situations. For the first few hours of the drive Pablo kept me talking and laughing so I wasn't thinking about tonight and then we stopped and I started driving which meant I had other things to concentrate on which was good for me. 

It took us a long time but eventually we made it to Pablo's home town and to the hotel we are staying at this weekend. Pablo's parents offered to let us stay in his old room but he declined as he didn't want to overwhelm me with meeting his parents and staying with them all at once which I really appreciated. Once we checked in both of us got changed and freshened up as we'd been in the car for a while and I didn't want to look gross when meeting his parents for the first time. When I was ready I stood by the door to the room waiting for Pablo to get his shoes on completely in my own world until I felt Pablo take hold of both of my hands which made me realise that I was picking at the skin on my fingers which I do when I’m nervous. Pablo didn't say anything he simply just kissed my hands and led me out of the room and back to the car to do the short drive to his parents place. 

When we arrived I held onto Pablo's hand tightly as he rang the doorbell but as soon as the door was opened he let go of my hand and hugged both of his parents. He then introduced me to them both and I hugged them too but something felt off but I put that down to this being the first time we've met. They welcomed us in and we all sat down together to get to know each other before we have dinner. For a few minutes they were mostly talking to Pablo which helped me settle my nerves a little but then I quickly became the subject of conversation. 

"So y/n Pablo tells us that you are studying sport science at university" Pablo's mum said 

"Yes I am I have always been interested in the topic so when I was offered a scholarship to the best university in the city I had to take it" I said 

"Well that's pretty impressive it must be hard work though" she said 

"It is but I love it so it makes it all worth it" I said

"I imagine you don't have time for much else like work" his dad added 

"I don't have much free time no but with my scholarship I'm able to use the money from my student loan to keep me alive plus I share an apartment with a few friends so that helps with costs" I explained

"How much time do you have to spend with Pablo?" His mum interrogated 

"I spend as much of my free time with him as possible sometimes he lets me study at his place so we can spend some time together and I always make time for home games so I can watch him play" I answered 

The interrogation didn't stop there. They kept asking me questions about money and Pablo's success. The way they were asking made it seem like they were just interested in getting to know me but I'm not stupid I could easily tell they were trying to find out if I was using their son and were just waiting for me to slip up so they could tell him to break up with me. This is exactly what I was worried about happening because I just know that if they tell Pablo I'm no good he will break things off as he said that's what happened with his last girlfriend although she was definitely after his money. The worst part of it all is that Pablo doesn't see what they're doing he's just sat next to me smiling while I get interrogated like I've committed a crime. 

Luckily for me it soon became time for dinner and I was able to excuse myself for a minute to go to the bathroom. On my way to the bathroom I heard Pablo's parents talking in the kitchen and to start with I told myself I shouldn't listen but I couldn't help myself I had to stand in the entrance to the bathroom for a minute. As soon as I did I wish I didn't as all I heard them talking about was how they thought I was clearly using Pablo for money to help me get through uni which just isn't true I'm more than ok on my own and I've never taken any money from him. Next they said that I must like the fame and attention because I always go to the games but little do they know I always buy my tickets and sit with all the other fans because I don't want anyone to know that I'm Pablo's girlfriend. The fact that they thought so little of me and were happy to talk about me behind my back really upset me as I tried my hardest to answer their questions honestly and settle their worries but clearly they had an idea of what I'd be like and they can't get past that. 

Once I went into the bathroom it all hit me like a ton of bricks. Pablo's parents hate me which means he's going to break up with me and I don't think I could deal with that. Pablo is always there for me supporting me when I'm feeling overwhelmed and encouraging me when things don't go how I expect and I just don't know how I'd ever live without that support from him. I tried my best to hold back the tears that were brimming in my eyes but I just couldn't the thought of losing Pablo because his parents got the wrong impression was just too much. Once I started crying I just couldn't stop as all the emotions from the past week made their way to the surface. 

Seeing as I had tears and mascara streaming down my face I knew I couldn't stay plus I didn't want to face Pablo's parents again knowing what they think of me. I tried wiping the mascara off my face as I left the bathroom to go and find Pablo to ask if he would go back to the hotel. I didn't expect him to be in the kitchen just across the hallway so I didn't have as much time to get myself together a I thought I would as he looked over at me and instantly came rushing over.

"Amor whats wrong?" He asked 

"Nothing I- just- can we please go back to the hotel" I stuttered 

"What's happened I can’t help if you don't tell me" he said 

"I just don't feel well I'm sorry" I lied 

"Don't lie amor please just tell me what happened then we can go if you want" he said 

"Fine I heard your parents talking as I went into the bathroom and they were saying that I'm only with you for money and fame but I promise that's not true I really do love you a lot please don't break up with me" I rambled 

"What did they say?" He questioned 

"They said I'm only with you to get money to help me through uni and that I'm just interested in your fame" I repeated 

He didn't say anything else he simply just pressed a kiss to my head before walking straight out to his parents who were sat waiting at the dining table. That only made me more anxious because if I made a bad impression before making their son yell at them certainly isn't going to do me any favours. I wanted to stop Pablo before it was too late but for some reason I just couldn't move my feet they were stuck in place and I was just a passenger in the whole situation. As it turns out my bad feeling that I couldn't shake wasn't just me being anxious I was right it think that everything would go wrong as so far it's gone as bad as I imagined it would if not worse. 

To start with I was so panicked that I couldn't hear anything Pablo was saying to his parents but I managed to calm myself down enough to be able to make out what he was saying. It was easy to tell that he was really mad which made me feel so awful because this is all my fault. He wasn't yelling at least not quite but he was definitely stern in telling his parents what he thought. He was telling them that they shouldn't have let the actions of his previous girlfriends affect their perception of me and that they were wrong about me as I'm completely different to all the girls he's been with before. It was so nice to hear him stick up for me as my last boyfriend would let anyone would say anything about me and not care so it felt good to know he was willing to stand in my corner even against his parents. 

Eventually their conversation came to and end and Pablo came back over to give me a super tight hug which is exactly what I needed after the last few hours of stress. He asked me if I was willing to stay for a bit longer and talk with his parents again and I just couldn't say no as I really do want to have a good relationship with them. That being said I was really nervous as we went and sat back in the living room but Pablo squeezed my hand to reassure me that everything would be ok. 

"First of all we both want to apologise to you y/n we shouldn't have judged you before we had even met you and interrogating you like we did was wrong too" his mum apologised 

"We want to get to know you properly and we know tonight is probably the wrong time for that but we don't want you to think that we aren't willing to do this over again and forget about everything that's happened so far" his dad added 

"Thank you I want to apologise too I didn't mean for tonight to turn out like this I just wanted to show you that I really love your son and I'm not here to take advantage of him in any way" I said 

"We know that and after seeing how upset you were and how Pablo stood up for you we realised that your relationship is clearly very genuine" his dad said 

"And you are a lovely girl who we would love to have join the family so we hope we can hope start over again another day" his mum said 

"I'd be more than happy to do that" I said 

A few more things were said before Pablo and I left as everyone wanted to start fresh again another day. I felt a bit bad still as Pablo had been so excited about tonight and seeing his parents but I ruined it and now we are leaving early. Really I shouldn't think like that but I can't help but feel a bit guilty for ruining dinner as I could've just said nothing until we got back to the hotel but I can't change that now. 

When we got back to the hotel Pablo flopped straight onto the bed and opened his arms for me which after the day we've had I just couldn't resist. He held me tightly and stroked my back which really helped calm the last of my anxiety which was still built up in my body. Being back in his arms after a long stressful day is just what I needed as he's the only one that always knows how I'm feeling and how to help me. 

"I'm sorry for the way tonight turned about but thank you for giving my parents a second chance they really do mean well and I'm promise that next time they really will love you" he said breaking the silence 

"It's ok I get it I understand why they are so protective over you I just want to show them that I really love you because I do I don't care about your fame or money I care about you" I said 

"Believe me amor I know that and my parents will see it too as long as it's ok with you I was thinking we could all meet for lunch tomorrow and start over" he said 

"Thats ok with me I get to have a second go at a first impression" I joked 

"Well practice makes perfect" he laughed 

[emilykaldwen]

"Blocking isn't some personal insult. Its a method of saying; hey, we clearly shouldn't interact, so I'm gonna build this soundproof wall between us to make sure we can't."

Except that's not what the people you associate with do and encourage you and others to do by extension. I really liked your writing, but it's disappointing to see the type of people you've chosen to buddy up to, who use blocking as a way to weaponize social media and make pariahs out of certain people in the fandom who don't bow to their whims. I hope they don't burn you the way they've burned so many others, but with their track record, I'm not holding my breath.

Okay let's do this. I'm tired. I would like to go back to sleep. Get off my lawn, etc etc.

I have been dealing with anons harassing me since I started posting HotD stuff back during the Season 1 show run. I got hateful anons saying terrible things about Abby back in December. When I interacted with NONE of the people that I currently interact with today. This escalated when I properly began posting Maiden in the summer of last year, and then escalated in the fall. After receiving some truly foul anons in regards to my writing, my OC, and my work, including one telling me to kill myself, I shut anons off. Because what the actual fuck. I have been on the internet for 25 fucking years and this is the first time I have EVER dealt with such bullshit.

Before these anons ramped up, I, like many people, blocked. A lot. I blocked mostly people thirst reblogging stuff about the actors that would cross my dash or in the tags because it made me uncomfortable, I didn't want to see it. I blocked a lot of blogs that were posting these weird reader x canon character thirst lists that I just found bizarre and didn't want to see scrolling through a character tag. That, friends, is what the block button is for. I block people with takes that I disagree with as well, I'm someone whose pretty liberal with my block button. I block things I don't want to see on my dash. It's honestly as simple as that.

No one has fucking told me to block anyone. I am actually deeply fucking insulted that I, a grown ass adult who is nearly forty, needs to be told to block someone/someones when people are setting up blogs called 'ihateemilykaldwens' and trying to terrorize me, and my friends and mutuals, and then try to frame another one of my mutuals for being responsible for it in the process. I only just recently started speaking with "the individuals" I've chosen to associate with long after I have blocked the people you're saying are being bullied.

And if this is about my post the other day about the culture I see: It was never actually about anyone specific, it was genuinely trends I have seen cross my dash as well as discussions with friends in other fandoms. That's all. If someone(s) thought I was talking about them specifically: Dude, IDK what to tell you. That's a you problem.

So let's stop playing coy. I'm tired of it.

THIS. IS. A SMALL. BLOG. I do not pass a block list around and TELL people or encourage them to block them, nor have I ever have it done to me. And even IF someone said 'omg you should block all these people' uh, no? I have free will and can make my own judgements?

Anon, if this situation is upsetting to you, either come off anon in the DMs and talk to me, or you are welcome to unfollow me. I don't care, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Because the people I've blocked on my own make others feel the way you're claiming they make you feel.

Because we all know who everyone is talking about. And I'm done. This is 12 year old behavior and I don't interact with minors.

I'm going back to bed. Whatever is in the fucking water, I want none of it.

[frozenartscapes]

Not Worried - Spy x Family Oneshot

“Aren’t you worried…about not coming home?”

It had only been a few weeks since their secrets had been accidentally uncovered in a mission gone wrong, and Loid (Agent Twilight - a spy for Westalis Intelligence) and Yor (Thorn Princess - a secret assassin) were still getting the hang of their new normal. Loid watched on from the couch, a few mission documents he no longer had to keep hidden left in front of him on the coffee table, as Yor gave herself emergency first aid in the kitchen. He had moved to get up to help but she insisted that the obvious gunshot wound on her arm wasn’t worth the trouble and that she could handle it.

And he had been skeptical because it was Yor. Not that he didn’t have faith in her, but… Well, he didn’t have much confidence in her stitching abilities. Despite that, she entered the living room after a few minutes, bandaged and bloodied, and plunked down in his usual chair.

And that was when he asked the question.

Yor frowned, her ruby eyes flitting to Anya’s closed door. The little girl should be sound asleep by now, blissfully unaware of the true nature of her parents’ jobs.

“No,” she replied simply.

Loid raised an eyebrow. “Yor… I know you have great skill,” he began cautiously, “But that doesn’t change the fact that your job is dangerous. You mean to tell me that you aren’t worried that there could be a night where you don’t come home?”

Yor shrugged. “I know there is always a chance, Loid,” she sighed, “And I truly would feel awful if my last thoughts are that Anya would lose another mother. But that is also why I’m not worried.”

He frowned in confusion. “But…”

“Loid.” She was serious, now. Her eyes had hardened and were sharp as flint, her entire being radiating powerful determination. “I’m not worried about being killed on the job,” she stated in a low tone he had come to call her “Thorn Princess” voice, “I’m not worried because if I ever die then I swear on my very soul I will claw my way out of Hell to return to you and Anya. Nothing will keep me from my family, not even Death.”

The funny thing Loid had been learning about Yor is, despite how insane that declaration was, he believed it. Because if anyone could look the Reaper square in the face and tell them to fuck off, it was Yor Forger.

And it…hurt. Because he wished he could say the same. He was painfully aware that once his mission was over, then he will likely be forced to leave. Having a family would only get in the way of being a spy. Even if his wife turned out to be an assassin - or, it may be because his wife was an assassin. (It was still too early to tell if it was a good or bad thing yet.)

Yor was willing to stand up to the lords of the underworld to return to the people she has come to call family, while Loid… Twilight…

He couldn’t even tell Handler that she had left a tag on her new jacket.

He also cast a longing glance at Anya’s door, feeling guilt boil uncontrollably in his chest. Yor noticed, and reached across the gap between them to gently take his hand that was on the armrest of the couch. She ran her thumb over his knuckles, leaving a little smear of blood that was probably hers.

“Let’s just focus on living right now, not in the future,” she suggested, “One job at a time.”

He managed to eke out a small smile, meeting her beautiful eyes and once more feeling his spirits lift. “Alright, I can do that,” he relented.

They sat in silence for a moment, taking in each other’s company, until something she said finally registered with Loid.

“You assume you’re going to Hell?” he demanded, unable to hide the shock in his voice. Yor was the nicest person he’d ever met! She was so good to Anya, so thoughtful and warm and helpful! Why would she ever think that—

He glanced back at her to discover she had pulled out one of her stilettos, still stained with some blood, and was idly twirling it in one hand with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Oh. Right.”

[theproverbialpen]

Musings from a Hazbin Fan and Hotel Employee

Yeah, that's right—I'm posting to this blog for the first time in years because I got into Hazbin Hotel of all things. Not only did I get into this cursed fandom, I'm writing fan fiction for it. Fan fiction. I think the last time I wrote fanfiction was...2012? 2013? And I only ever told 3 people about that one. Now here I am posting on main. The brainrot truly is unquantifiable.

If you're one of the few people that survived the purge of those I know IRL, congratulations. Please don't judge me lol. Anyways, actual musings are below the cut!

So I’m writing a fun little fanfic on AO3 and after someone left a comment (if you’re reading this, still genuinely one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me about my craft), it occured to me—as a Hazbin Hotel enjoyer, I have a pretty unique perspective on the series as an IRL hospitality professional. So! Thought it would be some cute bonus content to talk a little bit more about my life at an actual hotel and how it’s impacted my experience with Vivziepop’s hit series. 

Please note: this is written purely for shits and giggles. I don’t actually have any issues with the setting of Vivzie’s narrative or how it plays into the stories she and her team want to tell. I fucking love this show, to a potentially unhealthy degree, and I haven’t had this much fun with a series since like…okay well my hyperfixations change like every few months, but still. Point is, this isn’t actually critique, or satire, or anything with negative or critical intentions. TLDR; this post is for funsies, get off my dick.

So Who TF Am I, Anyways?

A little background on myself, for context. I’ve been employed at my hotel for almost a year now, and it’s my first hospitality job. I work in the Sales and Events department and I’ve come to learn that Group Business is actually integral for keeping a hotel up and running. When your average person (read: me before this job) thinks about hotels and traveling, you’d think it’s all about the families, bloggers, and individual travelers when it comes to guests and revenue. But in actuality, most of a hotel’s revenue—at least in the market I work in—will come from contracted room blocks and events. 

That’s where folks in my department come in. We work with clients to negotiate contracts and secure occupants for our hotel year round. Simply put, if we don’t do our jobs well, then no one else gets hours. So as much as the anti-capitalist in me will sometimes hate being a cog in the machine, it is really fulfilling to be able to help clients meet their needs while also making sure my coworkers are able to put food on the table. 

Speaking of being a cog in the machine, because of my role in Sales, this means that whenever I travel or think about hotels, I’m always thinking about the revenue side of things. I also work more with the Events team, so operations are also on the forefront of my mind. Which leads me to my principal quandary for this little blog post:

How in the Hell does the Hazbin Operate?

I have a laundry list of questions. A laundry list that’s almost as big as the actual pile of dirty laundry that is currently plaguing my bedroom floor. I will summarize (which is a generous word given how fucking verbose I can be) below:

Issue #1: Revenue Generation

Okay listen, I know Charlie is the Princess of Hell. I know she probably has unlimited capital, whatever that looks like in the HelluVerse. And I know the Hazbin is literally there to help rehabilitate people so charging them to stay would be counterproductive.

But my dude…do you understand how much money would be needed to run an operation of this scale?

At the end of Season 1, the new Hazbin is huge. Like it easily looks as big, if not bigger, than the hotel I work at which has nearly 500 rooms. Do you know how much revenue our team has to generate to keep this place running? Do you know how many millions our target goal is set at for each quarter? How many hundreds of thousands my coworkers’ individual quotas are set to? And sunshine in a bottle over here doesn’t charge her residents anything????? 

How does she get all those decorations? How does she order food or inventory? We know Hell has an economy, like Angel literally says he needs to save money for drugs in his first appearance. Is she…does she even pay her staff???

It is utterly appalling that Charlie is able to operate a hotel of this scale, both because of how it doesn’t make sense from a business perspective and because there are IRL billionaires that could probably do the same thing and solve homelessness overnight. 

Speaking of scale:

Issue #2: The Hazbin’s Systems, Or Lack Thereof

Okay so, yes, there’s only like…one official resident of the hotel, maybe two if Cherri moves in and doesn’t become a staff member (RIP Pentious, you would have loved living with Cherri Bomb). With the staff the way it is, that’s a solid 5:1 ratio, which is beyond ideal. But—and I touch on this in the fic—I feel I must reiterate: the new Hazbin is fucking massive. And you know what that means? It’s going to be able to hold a lot of guests. Guests that will need staff to take care of them. Let’s review:

Charlie is the owner and mostly teaches classes. Vaggie is the co-owner and kind of acts as the Executive Assistant to Charlie’s General Manager. I guess Alastor is the Hotel Manager? I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea what he does, but generally speaking he’s supposed to be the jack of all trades and manage the rest of the staff. Niffty handles Housekeeping and I guess would be the director of that. Husk is the bartender but like canonically only really eats pub food so he definitely can’t be the Food & Beverage head. 

Let’s say we scrap the Sales and Revenue Departments because clearly they don’t need income, but we keep a Marketing position so that Charlie can get the word out about the hotel. That leaves us with the need for Engineering, Front Desk, Rooms, and F&B staff. And like, not just one person—that would fucking suck—but proper staff. And given their track record of organization and managing the hotel…let’s just say, I would not be applying to the Hazbin Hotel anytime soon. Honestly, it sounds like that job would qualify to be the new tenth circle of Hell. 

What Does the Hazbin Get Right About IRL Hospitality?

So yes, clearly the world of the Hazbin Hotel leans towards the more fanciful—it is a story about Hell after all. However, there have been some moments that have made me chuckle as a hotel employee, things that are relatable for us in the hospitality world. Allow me to highlight them for you below:

Everyone is Bat Shit Crazy

Hospitality professionals are weird. So weird. Before I started my job, I was terrified of the level of professionality I would need to have. When I first got hired, I was given a whole packet on dress code and appropriate conduct. As you can probably tell from my writing style, this was concerning: I can be professional when I need to be, but I cannot maintain that guise for extended periods of time. Call it my toxic trait.

I also already had this impression of poised and put-together hotel staff from my previous experiences with travel. All the Front Desk agents would be in these clean and wrinkle-free clothes with kind yet business-forward attitudes, office workers would be walking around in full suits, and occasionally you’d see the hotel management on the floor if you were looking. Let me tell you now—it is a facade. An act. An incredible stage production unfolding in real time where all the staff do their absolute damndest to make you feel like you are in an organized and professional institution. Not unlike a certain hit animated musical.

My direct supervisor, the literal Director of Catering and Events, once told me that being a liiiiiittle crazy was a prerequisite for working in our department during the hiring process for a new Sales Manager. She was wrong—the prerequisite is not “a little” crazy. The prerequisite is being bat shit insane. And it’s not just our department, oh noooOoooOo, it is every department. Downstairs in our little basement dungeon, we make out of pocket comments, scream at random intervals, and swear way more than we should (that one might be my fault…according to my partner I swear more at work than at home and apparently it’s rubbing off on my colleagues), but that behavior is in no way restricted to just the Sales Team. 

I process the checks that are sent to our property and our Director of Rooms makes me say “can I get a WITNESSSS” before she signs off on the drop log (Charlie-core). If I don’t say it high pitched enough or with enough vigor, she makes me do it again. I once watched a guy in Engineering climb a tall step ladder balanced with two legs on a platform and a third leg balanced on a wooden plank his coworker was holding steady. The fourth leg was over the open air. Let me reiterate: the open. Fucking. Air. Tell me you can’t see Angel Dust and Cherri doing that shit.

Speaking of Engineering, you wanna know what dumbass thing happened just this morning? The Regional Director of the department—regional meaning he manages teams all across our area, like top level type shit—told us about this cursed ass Instagram trend he found where allegedly, putting ketchup on a Kit Kat tasted like fudge. So right there and then, him, myself, and two other coworkers decided ‘why the fuck not?’:

I would never seek it out willingly again, but I honestly didn’t hate it. 

The point of all of this is to say—the antics the Hazbin crew get up to? Totally realistic. I could see my coworker Robert throwing me into an active battlefield against my will. We have deadass done the role playing thing Angel and Pentious did during our trainings, and it was just as unhinged. Every day some shit happens at this hotel and I’m just like, “Yup. That could happen in Hazbin.”

“Call Now! Or Don’t! I Don’t Care! We Still Don’t Have a Working Phone!”

I would like to preface this section by saying: if you happen to be a Front Desk associate, I’m sorry. This is not directed at you, this is directed at your managers and their communication skills that may or may not exist. If you are somehow a manager reading this, uh—first of all, cringe. Second of all, I hope these next few paragraphs don’t apply to you. If they do and you’re offended: that’s a certified you-problem, babes. 

There are three certainties in this life: death, taxes, and miscommunication from your fucking managers. Tell me why in this past week alone I have been in 5 different email threads regarding fuck-ups and complaints from guests about things that we had clearly communicated. Tell me why in these email threads, people were attempting to throw me under the bus or shift the blame to my team. Tell me why I have gone to every single individual office in my department complaining about this. Tell me why this isn’t the first time this has happened.

Another hotel tidbit: across the board, Q1 (Jan-Mar) is supposed to be slow, for all of hospitality. It’s the time to get the metaphorical phone lines working, ya know? Our Q1 was stupidly busy, so I get it, people were slammed and short staffed. But like… we had time. Time to iron out our communication, time to create systems and processes that would ensure we’d be all set when things got busier. Yet here I am at the start of Q2 with an entire fist shoved up my ass being puppeted around to fix other people’s mistakes. 

It’s times like these when I go back to rewatch Hazbin for the like 26th time and I watch Charlie and Alastor run the hotel and I’m just like “whyyYyYyYyYyYy”. Like I KNOW Vaggie has had days where she’s like, “what…what am I supposed to be doing right now? Like what is my job, what… What?” 

It’s not just Front Desk either. It’s every department, even my own bosses. Like the call is coming from inside the house, sweetie, why did you tell this Sales Manager that I was taking care of all her commissions but you didn’t tell me this. Why am I blocking a room for an Orientation the following Monday at fucking 5:45 PM on a Friday. Why am I JUST finding out about a VIP guest when I have been asking you if you had any notes for me for the whole week.

I touch on it in my fic as well but like…pretty sure Charlie just, decides to host her classes day of. And that drives me insane. Like I…there are processes. Things that need to be done so that everyone is on the same page. You don’t just wing this shit, that’s how you end up with Susan calling your Director to tell her that you’re a useless waste of space not even deserving of the air in your lungs because you didn’t give her her fucking breakfast voucher. 

As a character, I love Alastor. If I were ever in the same room as him, I’d probably hate him. But if there’s anything relatable about that Geneva Convention Violation on Legs it’s his absolutely done attitude in Episode 1’s opening commercial.

Charlie Loves Helping People, and So Do We!

Alright, I’ve complained for enough paragraphs, let’s be positive for a second. The thing that is by far the most true to life in Hazbin Hotel is how much joy Charlie gets from taking care of her guests. Like…that’s our bread and butter in the hospitality world. Well, maybe just the butter; we need that bread in the form of cold hard cash (or direct deposits, whatever works best). But as much as I will bitch and moan about the difficulties of working in a hotel, there’s nothing quite as fulfilling as a guest telling you that you made their entire trip better. The butterflies I get reading reviews where my coworkers are mentioned by name and a guest writes about how we completely turned around their bad day are an absolute delight. It just means the world knowing that you can have that kind of impact on someone, even if it’s just in the little things.

In Episode 2, when Charlie and the crew are welcoming Sir Pentious and she just starts vibrating with excitement is exactly how I feel when I get to meet a client that we’ve been working with for months and finally welcome them to our property. When they sing “It Starts With Sorry” and just get to have a moment of empathy and compassion together, it reminds me of the clients and the phone calls I take where I get to ask them about their goals and help them feel like they’re supported and heard. In the grand scheme of things, is a nice phone call or interaction with some hotel employee going to change your life? Probably not. But for those few moments when their burdens seem lighter is why I love my job.

This goes for guests, and for my fellow coworkers. I’ve been very blessed to start my hospitality career in an unusually supportive work culture. Yeah, we can be some right petty bitches sometimes, but overall everyone is so encouraging and so quick to help lighten each other’s loads. Like in Episode 5 (best episode btw, for obvious reasons) when all the Hazbin Crew are working together to prepare the hotel for Lucifer’s arrival, that shit made me so giddy cause like- that’s us! Look at us go! We workin together so hard, we’re so cute! Like when Niffty and Pentious are baking and she looks up at him all excited n’ shit—that’s literally been me working with our Director of Restaurants on new food menus or promotional material. 

There’s something about being in an occupation where your whole purpose is to take care of people that really brings out the selflessness in you, and I think that’s what makes the hotel such a great setting for Charlie’s mission of redemption. I didn’t realize that until writing this paragraph tbh, but yeah, it just kinda…works. When your job is to make sure other people have a good time and feel supported and you’re surrounded by people that make you feel the same way, it’s a lot easier to want to choose to do good, to do right by the people around you. So as much as I have some silly little nitpicks…yeah, I can admit—I love that this show is about the Hazbin Hotel specifically.

Anyways, if you made it this far, thanks for reading! Next update for Life is In Redemption will be out in the days to come, just thought this would be a fun addition while I work on some of the content with my friends. This upcoming chapter is going to have a co-author, so get hyyyyyped :)

[ladylingua]

one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to/about me, that made me feel so seen and validated, is when I was talking to one of my absolute closest friends and “jokingly” lamenting that I used to think I was a chill, cool, type B go-with-the-flow creative person but had to recognize as I got older that clearly I am actually incredibly uptight and rigid because I’m stressed out all the time

and she turned to me and said with genuine surprise, “What? Oh no, you’re not uptight at all you’re just really neurotic.”

and when I tell you I think back on that comment so often and feel warm inside, because yes! Yes! I am not uptight I’m just afflicted with the Intense Overly Analytical Hyper Critical art maker vibes instead of the Relaxed Anything Goes Bohemian type art vibes, truly bolstered my sense of self so much

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

debbie baby-trapping derek.

i was rewatching the part where derek leaves, and i just felt the need to share my pov of it.

as we all know, i am a lesbian debbie truther. i 100% believe that she was expierencing comphet and didn’t love derek and season 6 is perfect evidence.

in season 6, it is revealed derek left for florida, and is going to become a pilot in the air force. derek’s sister in law confronts her about the fact that she didn’t care enough to know such a major detail about derek, and that she didn’t love derek, she just loved the baby.

i agree.

debbie didn’t love derek, she thought she did at first, and then when she met his family and saw a perfect opportunity to be in it, she took it. debbie says she didn’t “mean” to trap him, and i believe her to the extent where i think she didn’t know that she was trapping him, but she did trap him. to be fair, he never said that he didn’t want to have a kid with her, he just left- but still.

all debbie has ever wanted was a family, specifically a daughter. and she gets that. people think it was bad for her, but it was her dream, and she ended up doing really well, so i disagree. however, all derek truly ended up being was just his sperm. he is the father of franny, but franny doesn’t know him, and he was dead by the time she was four.

matty and derek are such perfect examples of comphet and i have even more reasoning:

with matty, debbie only began liking him because holly literally told her that she did.

she really wanted his validation (daddy issues).

in 4x11, she moves on EXTREMELY quickly, proving she never actually had any feelings

with derek, she saw someone defending her, and confused platonic attraction with romantic attraction (“that was the nicest thing anyones ever done for me!” -debbie)

she found out that she could get into this perfect family by having a kid so she did just that, she was more interested in the family than him

she knew basically nothing about him

her intense reaction to his absence was her abandonment issues, not her being in love

it’s honestly saddening how her whole intention was to create a family the opposite of hers, with two loving parents, but just ended up being put in a similar position where one parent runs off and the other one is left high and dry.

also i hate derek- i get he was trapped but i don’t even hate him for that i just hate him💋

[ourpickwickclub]

I sent in a version of this a few days ago but it might have been to mean. How did you girls all become friends? I want to make some shefani friends, but everyone I’ve tried reaching out to and get to know on Twitter haven’t been the nicest or very welcoming.

I didn’t see the earlier ask. I’m sorry people haven’t been all that welcoming. I think most everyone has experienced that sort of thing at some point and it’s not fun.

Our story is sort of interesting. We were all on Twitter but hadn’t interacted. Periscope existed then… talking late 2015/ early 2016 timeframe… and we were all watching Gwen and Blake on Periscope anytime they had a show.

So, we would kept seeing each other’s names. A and I would always comment the same thing at the same time. Over and over. L and M and J all made me laugh. J made one of the funniest comments ever at MLs expense (I mean, I laughed for days anytime I thought of it and I’m laughing now thinking of it) and I knew she was my people. L and M both made such good observations and were hilarious and both funny in different ways. A was deadpan and the fashion and makeup expert.

I was actually at a concert in person and missed a Blake show on Periscope where something happened, I can’t remember what. But I reached out to M via DM (she always seemed so nice) and she filled me in. We started talking here and there and one day we decided we should see if L wanted to join. M and I had talked about bringing A and J into the group also. We didn’t tell L that but asked if her if there was anyone else she would want to have join our group chat and she said A and J’s usernames. How weird is that? Out of everyone commenting on Periscope, she named the only other two people M and I had talked about adding.

We added them and J, who never has been super active on the blog but is so hilarious, came right in when she got the request and said, oooooooh, what is this???? A didn’t see the request for a day or so, but joined when she did so casually. She just sauntered in one day, and started talking. No questions. A is so dryly matter of fact. It all just worked. We started planning an in person meet up almost right away.

I actually set up the blog because I needed to set one up for work and it was practice. We were all following the other Shefani blogs. J added our pics/theme. No one noticed us for a while. I truly believe the BARFs were the majority of our first followers. They lived to send in mean asks and pose as concerned Blake fans. We almost quit. It was tough because so many of the asks we got were negative. Any bad comment we made about ML triggered a lot of inbox pushback, which was a clue. But that made others send asks setting them straight. The same 5 BARFs sent tons of asks. Then, of course, we had Jigsaw. Has anyone been around long enough to remember Jigsaw? Creepy. We also did a lot of chart tracking back then.

It’s been a while since we talked about this, but we decided to sign with initials we ended up picking initials from Little Women characters. That’s how it became the pickwick blog. We’ve now met up a bunch of times with another meetup on the books soon. So excited!

Hope that clarifies. Still laughing thinking about it all that has transpired and the comments.

- B

[justmissg]

Please please talk to me about Daxton. I read a few of your posts about how the complement each other in the best way, and that even though she hooked up with Ben, that doesn’t mean she won’t end up with Paxton. And I feel like you really see just how balanced they are, how far they’ve come.

There are so many small moments, I mean S3 Ep8 ALONE?! Like why did Paxton need to be there? Why did he need to tell her he broke up with Phoebe for someone who challenges him? Why would he need to go up to her room to find her? Like, there are so many moments where Paxton comes into play to either be there for Devi, or hype her up, or make her feel like she isn’t alone.

He understands her. She doesn’t push her to talk when she isn’t ready, and he doesn’t force his feelings on her. He just let’s her be her because he’s the only one that’s really gotten a window into her grief outside her bffs, her fam, and Dr. Ryan.

Idk man, I just…. Can’t get behind Ben and Devi because I see nothing between them except we were mean to each other and now we flirt meanly and somehow we like each other.

Hello!! Thank you so much for sending this to me. I'm sorry it took me so long to reply but work has been crazy and I wanted to take my time responding.

First of all, let me just say that I have been overanalyzing every single moment on the show and I honestly don't see how people were so quick to just dismiss the fact that Devi could end up with Paxton in the end. The show's creators have said how he's in the 4th season as much as in any other season. How they're gonna do that now that he's gone to college? Beats me. But they will find a way/plot/storyline to make it happen.

That being said, I seriously don't get how people have no faith in Devi and Paxton. I mean, he didn't break up with her because he didn't like her, he literally emphasized he liked her moments before ending things. He broke up with her because no matter how much he liked her, how much he chose her, how much he did for her, how much he did because of her, she still put him in a pedestal, and cared so much about the external factors in the relationship, which really shouldn't matter but they are teenagers so they have to go through that phase.

Now, AFTER they broke up, I think people forget that the breakup happened in February, and he started dating Zoe in October-ish, that is freaking 7-8 months! This was a guy who had never really properly dated ANYONE, stepped up to the game to be the nicest boyfriend ever, and was still looking out for her and her feelings! Like we get the sad/longing/jealous stare he gives her when she's dancing with Des, we get him comforting her at the reunion at her house, him realizing that he chose to go out with Phoebe because he didn't want complicated but realized complicated was actually worthy, 8 MONTHS AFTER. When anyone would've moved on.

I loved that even before he started dating her, when she was an ass to him, he still worried about her and was there for her. He's really always there for her. He's such a good friend to her, and with that nice friendship as a foundation, he was such a good boyfriend and even ex-boyfriend to her!

There's an interview somewhere that's just Darren and Jaren, and Darren says that he thinks Devi and Paxton make such a good couple because even though they are different they are there for each other and make each other better, whereas with Ben, while he gets that he loves her and stuff, they could drive each other to chaos because how similar and competitive they are. I honestly fail to see other than the longing stares and his occasional niceness, how can Ben and Devi work? Yes, they get each other because they are basically wired the same way, but in a relationship you need balance.

Devi and Paxton just make sense because they make each other better and balance each other out. It is as simple as that. They truly care about one another and they show it. Aside from any romantic feelings they might have, they are also really good friends. He literally thanked her in front of the whole damn school for making him something more than just a hot person, he opened his horizons to many new roads he didn't even think he could consider. Paxton, on the other hand, by breaking up with her, he made her explore her feelings and emotions, figure herself out, and give herself worth. As much as he liked her, he couldn't do that for her, it had to be done solely by her.

The show started with Devi liking Paxton, and threw Ben in the mix because of that thin line between love and hate, it is so easy for feelings to change when you already have an intense relationship with someone, and have done so for years. But I think that being so lonely makes Ben have those feelings, because he thinks Devi is the only one that gets him, but Ben really needs a Margo, who makes him a little bit more conscious about what he says and thinks, and makes him relax a little bit. Ben and Devi need someone to bring them down when they are flying to high or pull them up when they are feeling extra low.

I think the show is going to explore the relationship between Ben and Devi, and make them realize they work better as friends, and Devi will have gone through enough change and learning to a point when she see's herself worthy of the hot, nice, sweet, smart guy. Also, why is it that she would have to "settle" as JM put it in a voiceover on 2x01 when she gets home after spreading her dad's ashes? Why can't the nerdy, cute girl end up with the hot guy for once? Why do we have to be noble about finding worth on the equally nerdy guy when the hot guy is just as cure and nice and worthy, just because he's hot? Paxton's whole storyline is basically how he's more than just a hot guy, and she was the first one to see that! I hate that after that emotional talk between Nalini and Devi that she says Devi is enough and is not too much, I think Paxton see's that. He knows who she is, her "social status" which brings so much shame to Devi, her insecurities, and he still cares for her, he likes her for who she is. Honestly, I feel like they will end up together, I think it's the only thing that makes sense in my head. I rambled way too much I'm sorry but it was hard to put all the ideas in my head into coherent words, but I hope I made sense!

Also, anytime you want to chat hmu! I might take a little while to respond but I will respond :)

Again, thank you for asking! <3

[jamesbvck]

Hi!

I know you saw me lurking around on your ao3 and made you feel a little uncomfy, but i just wanted to reach out and say that i finished reading everything you posted and i really did enjoy it! you write so well and so delicately. The gentleness just seeps into your characters and gives them this soft dreamlike quality.

I know you dont write anymore, or at least dont post anymore but I'll keep my eye out! you are very talented and i wanted you to know that im very proud of you! and i'll definitely come back if you ever come back. thank you for sharing your work and for keeping it up so i could find it and enjoy it! i hope for you more, always more!

hi sorry, i've been hoarding this in my inbox because this is probably one of the nicest things anyone has every said to me. i wasn't uncomfy, haha, just confused because i was like "what do you mean people are lurking my ao3?" while i don't write fics anymore, i truly appreciate you taking the time to go through each fic i had posted and took the time to comment one very single chapter as well.

this really did make me incredibly grateful because i am not overly confident with my writing and ideas. i always have ideas but i'm not truly active enough to post anything, but i've got writing hobbies that keep me busy.

thank you so much again. this was incredibly kind of you. ❤️

[corroded-hellfire]

I don’t want to sound as an a*s-kisser, but I genuinely really love all of your work, specially ‘As You Wish’. I might not understand it personally, but I’ve read that, for some writers, it can be tough, work stolen or perhaps feeling unappreciated, or in other different way, and I wanted to let you know that you, as an individual, and as a writer, are very much appreciated by your audience. And I also hope that your experience in this app is mostly positive. I’m not a writer, but I know how toxic social platforms can be for someone.

Side note in something more happy, lol—in ‘AYW’, when Reader is married to Eddie and they already have Eliza, what do you imagine Reader’s profession? Stay-at-home mom and/or work-at-home mom or Reader works outside their family home? And will you, might possibly, write about Reader’s profession or anything outside her family life? Only as a suggestion, I don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured. 🩷

This is quite possibly one of the nicest things that has been said to me in my entire life. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you 💕

Sometimes being a writer isn’t the easiest and I feel like every writer goes through their periods of self-doubt and wondering if anyone actually cares what they post—and I’m no exception. So this message brought me so much peace and joy today, it’s as if you knew what I needed to hear.

I try and stay out of the toxicity as much as I can. I’ve never been one who likes to see conflict happen, let alone be a part of it. My experience on this app has definitely been positive for the most part! True story: I never had a best friend in my entire life until I joined the Eddie Munson writing fandom. Now for the first time, I do, and it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.

Now onto your AYW question! I have intentionally never given reader a profession, or even a major in college, because I wanted people to be able to project their own interests and passions onto her. Personally, I see her taking time off after Eliza is born, maybe going down to part time. Later down the line, maybe she makes the choice to go back to work full time or to become a full time stay-at-home mom. Neither option is the wrong one and Eddie will be behind her no matter what she chooses.

I would definitely be open to writing about things outside of reader’s family life! I don’t have anything particular in mind right now, but I am always, always, always looking for requests in the AYW-verse. I also truly love answering questions like this as well because, one, the fact that anyone cares about this story and these children who have sprung forth from my mind feels bonkers to me, and two, because it gets me thinking more about the characters and story as well! Any questions, any requests, I’m more than happy to have them in my inbox at any time 🥰

[tonystarkfucksaround]

Prompt: Erik giving Charles a bundle of flowers , but being really nearvous about it, because he was unsure if that was a weird thing to do, cuz Erik do be a bit emotionally constipated, but he tries🤗

Ps: Dont worry about not being accepted in the fandom, everyone is super nice!

Hi!! Thank you, truly - I know, this fandom is super welcoming and nice, one of the nicest I had the pleasure to join, I think!! I don't know why I'm so anxious 😅

And thanks for the prompt!! Sorry it got a little too long and hope you enjoy it ♥

***

There are flowers on his desk.

They are… nice flowers, Charles assumes, cautiously moving closer to the desk. Not that he knows much about flowers – but one thing he does know is that flowers don’t usually just appear somewhere on their own.

Well. Not in a vase inside of the house, at the very least. He brushes the tiny white petals with the tips of his fingers, intrigued, and wonders where they came from.

“Hey, Charles, have you seen—oh,” Raven pauses in the doorway and blinks when he looks up at her sheepishly, dropping the hand that was stroking the petals. “What’s that? You finally decided to liven up this place?”

She’s grinning now, and Charles sighs. Come to think of it, he can’t really imagine Raven bringing fresh flowers to the house, so he shouldn’t be surprised that she’s doesn’t know their origin either. Still, a part of him hoped that she could shed some light on the newest feature of his office.

“Not me,” he shrugs, and Raven’s grin turns sly; he immediately regrets his choice of words, but it’s too late – she stomps over and looks at the small bouquet with the kind of glee that never promises anything good. “I mean, someone probably…”

“Someone gave you flowers,” she sing-songs. “So who is it? God, I’m so jealous – how do you even do it? Less than ten people in the mansion, and you manage to get yourself a secret admirer! Why does nobody give me flowers?”

“Raven,” he complains, but he’s also chuckling, and – well, it’s his flowers, okay, so he’s completely justified when he lightly slaps her hand when she reaches for them. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean anything, and I absolutely do not have a secret admirer. I guess someone just decided that the rooms could use a little… fresh touch. Or something.”

“Or something,” Raven snorts and shakes her head. “That’s why your office is the only room in the entire mansion that has flowers.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, have you checked every single room of the mansion this morning?” he quips back, but Raven just looks unimpressed, so he sighs and runs his hands over his face. “Anyway, weren’t you looking for Alex? I thought you were supposed to train together today.”

“I was, but this is so much better,” she teases and jumps to sit on his desk next to vase, swinging her legs a little. “Come on, you know you can tell me! Someone’s got a crush on you! It’s so embarrassing.”

Charles rolls his eyes.

“Even if that was the case, how am I supposed to know? You said it yourself – it’s a secret admirer,” he grumbles, vaguely uncomfortable with the idea. It’s not that it isn’t flattering, or that it isn’t sweet – it’s just that he doesn’t exactly feel like dealing with some sort of teenage drama when he has to turn down the unrequited affection if it happens to be Sean, Alex or Hank.

“Yeah, and you’re a telepath,” Raven says and raises her eyebrows. “So it’s actually a not-so-secret admirer. Are you gonna tell me or not?”

“You know I never reach that deep into anyone’s mind unless I have to,” he frowns, and at least Raven looks somewhat apologetic. “And anyway, I’ve just came here myself. You’re the first person I’ve talked to since I’ve seen the flowers.”

“You’re no fun,” she sighs and stands up. “Nothing fun ever happens in this house. For all its worth, you’re probably right, and it’s just Moira deciding to decorate some rooms. Boring.”

She leaves, and Charles frowns, staring at the innocent looking bouquet and wishing it had a mind of its own so that he could read it and find out what’s going on.

No such luck.

***

For all that he told Raven the truth – he doesn’t read anyone’s mind on purpose unless he absolutely needs to or is invited to (which never happens, but that’s neither here nor there) — he can’t really help his own curiosity and allows himself to skim over their surface thoughts throughout the day. It’s nothing that he wouldn’t have heard anyway, he reasons with himself; surface thoughts are loud, he just doesn’t always pay attention to them or care enough to listen in.

Unfortunately – and predictably enough – nobody thinks about the flowers.

Moira is too busy with her own work, filing reports for the CIA and double-checking everything they managed to get on Shaw; Hank is absorbed in his progress on the serum, occasionally side-tracking to think about the Cerebro blueprints; Alex seems disturbingly set on getting into the garage and making acquaintance of the cars residing there; Sean is fantasizing about making his flight suit look rad, and Charles almost bursts laughing out loud at the pictures he sees in his mind. Erik’s mind is as calm and neat as ever, of course, not that he bothered listening in – Erik is probably the last person in the mansion who would think of bringing flowers anywhere, let alone to Charles’ study.

He stubbornly ignores the pang of disappointment that follows that thought.

He could just ask, of course – and he means to, he really does, but come evening, Charles decides against it, his resolve fading when he sees the kids chattering at the dinner, content and as close to happy as they can be, all things considered.

It’s not like it matters, after all; the flowers were a nice gesture, but it would probably be for the best if he doesn’t bring it up.

So he lets it go.

***

The flowers, he decides, are actually nice to look at, and he feels somewhat sad when they start wilting; naturally, the day after that happens, he finds them replaced with a new bouquet – this time the flowers are blue, and Raven squints at him when she sees them, so he shoos her away from the study before she starts a new round of interrogation. He can feel her mind buzzing with curiosity and puzzlement; he’s not much better off, truthfully.

Still, it’s nice, and he decides not to question it further.

***

Two weeks after the first bouquet appeared on his desk, Charles wonders if he should be concerned that he’s getting used to it.

He’s getting new flowers every few days without a hitch; it’s never something big – mostly garden flowers, the bouquets always rather modest, and he doesn’t think that there’s any hidden meaning behind them, after all. Just something to make him smile and to make his stuffy study feel somewhat brighter, somewhat more welcoming.

He wishes he could thank the person behind it, but whoever it is, they never as much as hint on it, so they probably don’t really want to be acknowledged at all; he respects it, even if the curiosity still eats at him.

The night he finds the flowers on the windowsill in the den he and Erik play chess in, he’s not so sure he wants to respect that wish anymore. He stops in his tracks as soon as he enters the room; Erik is already there, occupying one of the armchairs in front of the chessboard, looking calculatingly relaxed, as always. He follows Charles’ line of sight and arches an eyebrow.

“Ah,” Charles says. “The flowers again.”

“Again?” Erik inquires, and Charles rubs at the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed and slightly annoyed.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Erik would probably find the idea ridiculous. It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that he might have been pretending that the flowers came from him and that now he wouldn’t be able to, because it couldn’t be farther from truth, which would be all the more obvious now that Erik is here to scoff at it.

“Oh, it’s just that there seemed to be an occurrence of flowers appearing in my study for the past couple of weeks, you see,” he says, as nonchalantly as he can manage. “I suppose someone wanted to freshen up the place, although Raven seemed to be of the opinion that I acquired a secret admirer… ridiculous, isn’t it?” his laugh is a little strained, and he shakes his head, walking to the window to take the vase away.

“So you don’t like the flowers?” Erik asks, making Charles halt. He’s frowning when Charles turns to face him, and his mind is carefully blank – he can’t make what Erik is thinking about without prodding further, and he promised not to. It’s his turn to frown.

“It’s not that I don’t like them,” he admits with an uneasy chuckle. “They’re… nice, and it’s a nice gesture – it’s just that I can’t figure who keeps bringing them and why. I mean, I appreciate it, but I guess I don’t want to… give the wrong idea to whomever is doing it.”

Erik is no longer frowning, and his face is as blank as his mind is.

“How can you give someone the wrong idea if you don’t even know who they are? Clearly they don’t expect anything from you.”

He won’t meet Charles eyes. Charles’ frown deepens, and he walks back to the chessboard slowly, cautiously.

He can’t hear Erik’s thoughts, but he’s so tense it’s a wonder he can’t hear the air vibrating around him.

“Erik… what are you saying?”

Erik clenches his jaw.

“I’m just saying that if it—bothers you. Maybe you should have said something sooner. I’m sure that—whoever keeps bringing them—wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Charles glances at the flowers; they’re blue again – like they frequently are, -- and unwittingly he catches a lingering whisper, just like your eyes.

He takes a sharp inhale, and he knows that the mortification he feels doesn’t belong to him – because in his chest something hopeful blooms, something warm and light and almost giddy, leaving him lightheaded and anxiously excited. Before he can stop himself, he reaches out, brushes against Erik’s mind, unrestrained in his sudden joy; nothing much – just a warm, gentle touch, joyous and wondrous, and finally, finally Erik’s eyes snap up to his, widening slightly in realization.

The mortification dulls, and Erik slowly breathes out. He’s still embarrassed – Charles can see it clear enough on his face, where the flush touches the top of his sharp cheekbones, doesn’t really need to reach further into his mind, but Erik wordlessly opens up, almost shyly, offers him a faint impression of putting the flowers on the desk after his ungodly early morning runs. He’s so nervous about it – anxious both of his own feelings and of the way he chose to express them, angry at himself for realizing how weird it is and for not being able to come up with anything better, too unsure, too afraid of rejection, irritated beyond reason for fearing it in the first place, for feeling anything in the first place – that Charles almost stumbles on his way to his chair, overwhelmed by his emotions.

He bites back the elated laugh, because laughing right now would be the worst possible reaction he could offer in return – but he can’t quite tone down his splitting grin as he leans into Erik’s space, just shy of straddling his lap.

“I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea,” he says, beaming, “because I couldn’t possibly return their affections – not when I’ve been interested in someone else for quite some time now.”

Erik looks at him, dumbfounded, and this time, Charles knows that his mind is blank not because he’s trying to shield it from him – but because he doesn’t know what to think.

Oh, to hell with it. He drapes himself over Erik, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and grinning when Erik automatically clutches his hips to hold him more securely.

“I loved the flowers, Erik,” he whispers in his ear and smiles when Erik shudders, gasping softly. “I would’ve loved them even more if I knew they were from you from the start.”

[bradshawsdarlin]

The Devil Doesn’t Bargain. (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader)

Based on the song “Devil Doesn’t Bargain” by Alec Benjamin!

WARNINGS: Toxic Relationships, mentions of alcohol.

Notes: Y/E/N- Your Ex’s Name

A/N: If you ever feel trapped in a friendship, relationship, or anything is bothering you in general, my inboxes are always open, feel free to text me anytime. <3 with that being said, I hope you enjoy!

Synopsis: Bradley has been in love with you for a long time. When you go to him for advice about a toxic ex, he can’t help but tell you how he truly feels.————————————————————————

The devil doesn’t bargain

it’s useless don’t do this, it’s hubris to try

Nursing his whiskey glass while sitting in at the bar, Rooster couldn’t help but think of why you asked him to meet you here. It’s that crazy, no good ex of yours, Y/E/N. You dated them on and off for a while, but Bradley always hated the thought of you with them, or even another person in general. The truth is, the pilot was in love with you for as long as he can remember. All he wanted to do was tell you how much he cared, and how he can treat you better than anyone ever could.

Time must have gotten away from him, because as if on instinct, he looked up to see you. He couldn’t help but smile at how you hugged Penny on the way in, or how you saw him and put the brightest smile on your face. God, everything you did was amazing to him.

He’s ruthless, you knew this, I told you, didn’t I?

“Hey Y/N” Bradley said, with just the tiniest bit of hurt in his voice. He wanted to tell you so bad.

“Hey, thank you for meeting me here, I could really use your advice.” You explain, sitting down and ordering a strong drink, really whatever caught your eye first.

“Of course, so what’s up? Talk to me.” Concern was clearly laced in his voice.

“Well, it’s just Y/E/N, I don’t know what to do anymore. One second they are the nicest, most kind person, then the next it’s screaming, yelling, and name calling. I really thought I liked them, but now it’s just getting hard to understand the whole relationship. I think I’m done with it, but I don’t know how to tell them.” You explain, making sure to not look at your mustached friend. Little did he know, you were hiding a secret.

…The devil doesn’t bargain, he’ll only break your heart again

It isn’t worth it darling

Listening to all this made Rooster see red. In his eyes, you were the most perfect, kind hearted, amazing person he’d ever met. How could anyone ever degrade and treat you this way?

I don’t mean to meddle

but the Devil doesn’t settle

“Listen Y/N, I know this is not particularly what you want to hear, but I think you should end it all in all. They aren’t good for you. From what you tell me, all Y/E/N ever does is make you cry and feel horrible. You don’t need nor deserve that in any way, and I hope you know that.” You know by the way he looked into your eyes that he was being completely genuine.

“I’d like to think I do, Roost, I do. In all honesty, among the other things I said, I think I like somebody else. I know they could treat me better.” Here’s your shot, let’s hope it works out well.

…I just want what’s best for you in the end

This, again? He has to tell you now, or who knows how much longer he’ll have to hide his (if not completely obvious) feelings for you? He couldn’t take it anymore, he needed to do it. Nothing was stopping him.

“Y/N, I need to get something off my chest.” Here’s goes nothing.

“Ever since the day I’ve laid eyes on you, I thought you were the most gorgeous, amazing, sweet-hearted person I’ve met. Everytime you cry over this jerk, it makes me want to kill them and never let anyone hurt you again. I could treat you like you deserve, I just want to be there for you. If you let me.” But the time he was finished, Bradley was a teary eyed, minorly tipsy mess. He meant every word, and you knew it.

You were scared yet somewhat relived that he said what you couldn’t first. What were you to do now? You knew.

“Bradley, I feel the same way. I really like you too, and I think that we could give it a shot if we tried. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else but you. To be honest, I don’t know why I was with Y/E/N. All I want is you.”

Bradley stands up and takes your hand in his. In doing so, he never breaks eye contact. As if on cue, your lips collide with one another. They melted together, as if they were pieces of a puzzle finally reunited. After a good amount of time, he pulls away.

“Y/N, we’re going to get through this together, I promise. I will never hurt you, I will never leave you, I’m here forever.”

He pulls you into a hug, which you gladly return. Finally, things would be okay.

————————————————————————

ahhh I hope you all enjoyed!! This is the first of many Rooster fics I will be writing ;)

[new-ninjago]

IF YOU WERE SICK [ NYA VER. ]

if you were sick, she’d pamper you.

nya would go from training intensely each morning followed by patrol duty in ninjago city to staying at your bedside, alert at your every movement.

she’d refuse to leave despite the insistence of anyone who asks her to, and would truly only listen to those words if they came from you, specifically.

the other ninja would start to seek you out due to this, requesting for you to speak to the water elemental master about her behavior ( it would be kai first, being the worried older brother he is ).

“could you please speak to nya? she won’t listen to anyone else but i’m sure you can talk some sense into her.”

and so you do ー gently urging her to look after herself more, because there’d be no point in you getting better if she was going to be too worn out when it happened.

she’d relent after that. eating more, sleeping more, and wouldn’t pass on patrols as much, which’d relieve everyone.

if wu or pixal wasn’t taking care of you, then it was nya.

changing your towelette, adjusting your pillows, tucking you in; nya’s doing it all. albeit clumsily ( such as giving you cold soup, giving you so many pillows your back was too upright, etc. ), but she’s taking care of you with such earnest that you can’t bring yourself to laugh at her actions.

instead, it fills you with warmth that she’s trying so hard.

she attempts to keep that courage alive, telling you that you would get better soon and speaking of all the fun dates the two of you would go on after the said recovery.

and her words truly do end up giving you hope.

she also would keep you up-to-date with things going on, mainly filling you in one the more funnier and light-hearted events ( and if you noticed, you didn’t mention it ).

“during patrol, some guy tried to rob the store right across from the police station! i mean, he was just asking to be caught.” “cole, kai, and jay bought zane a new apron a couple of days ago and he refuses to take it off now. and get this ー it’s pink!” “did you know sensei wu’s beard moves when he snores?” ( you both laugh at that, and nya feels happy that she can still make you smile )

sometimes, you’d wake up to her asleep in a chair, a blanket settled over her ( in which a certain sensei had done that ).

other nights you’d spend alone, but nya would make sure to leave a note with something sweet written on it followed by a smiley face.

and in the end, when your illness has lifted ー she’s exuberant.

“[name]! what’re you doing upー” she pauses, looking you up and down before tackling you into one of the most nicest embraces you’d ever been in. 

whether you’re taller or shorter or simply the same height as her, it doesn’t matter because she’s spinning you around; and refuses to let go.

all the worry has left her and she’s practically beaming. if you happen to see tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, then you simply wipe them away.

that whole day and the next and the one after that is spent on the two of you having those dates she promised.

[gaygryffindorgal]

HPMA AU; A Christmas Prince

Chapter 8: The Christmas Ball

Summary: It’s Christmas Eve, and time for Quincey’s coronation. Will things go like planned, or is trouble brewing?

A/N: Evander/Rosa is not a canon ship lmao, don’t worry Rocky

Words: 2.6k

Characters:

Dawn Harvelle, Evander Alderly, and Rosa Yaxley by @potionboy3

Beginning | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 8: The Christmas Ball

Dawn went to Olympia’s rooms. He didn’t know what he was going to say, but he didn’t want to be alone, either. Mercifully, she didn’t have a guard at her door. He snuck in and saw that she was still sleeping. Without thinking about it too much, he collapsed on the bed next to her and groaned into a pillow. Olympia moved and lifted her sleep mask.

“Dawn…?”

He groaned some more.

“To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” Olympia asked and sat up.

“I need to tell your brother the truth.”

“The… what?” she asked sleepily.

“About who I am.  I have to tell him.”

“Like… right now?”

“The sooner the better,” Dawn said and lifted his face from the pillow.

“Today’s the coronation, Dawn, don’t you think it’s a bit much to dump on him today?”

“I’m not writing the stupid article,” Dawn said.

“What?”

“And I’m leaving, before the real Dawn gets here.”

“You promised you would write it.”

“I can’t write the truth,” Dawn said.

“Why not?” Olympia demanded.

“Because I love him,” Dawn confessed. It felt like the gravity had shifted, saying it out loud.

“Well… shit,” said Olympia.

“So, I’m not writing it at all.”

“Will you stay for the ball?”

“I just got my converse shined for the occasion,” said Dawn sarcastically.

“What?” Olympia gasped. “I had a team prepare an outfit for you and everything! They’re arriving today to give you a makeover!”

“I wasn’t even invited until this morning, O.”

Olympia smiled slyly and said: “Let’s just say I know my brother.”

“Oh…”

“But I understand if you want to leave… I mean... I'll miss you terribly and cry myself to sleep, but I'll get over it,” Olympia said.

“He wants me there…”

“Yes,” said Olympia. “I imagine he does. As do I.”

“And he looked so upset when I said I might not be there.”

“You should do what’s best for you,” Olympia advised.

“I want to be there,” he said and meant it.

“Then leave it to me to help you look the part!” Olympia said and a smile appeared on her face. She pulled Dawn into a hug before he could reply.

“I hate my life…” Dawn mumbled into her shoulder.

“You coming here has improved mine considerably,” Olympia said and let go of him.

“Wait until you meet the other Dawn and become besties.”

“You’re my favourite Dawn forever,” Olympia vowed.

“I owe you a thank you,” said Dawn.

“I think I’m the one who should thank you.”

“Hey, I said it first,” said Dawn.

“I’ve given you a bunch of clothes and you’ve changed my life, I think that’s a bit different,” Olympia pointed out.

Dawn rolled his eyes. “I told your brother you people are stuck in the 1800’s, but I think you just might be the exception.”

“Oh, Dawn, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me!”

They both burst into laughter and Dawn knew he was going to miss Olympia so much.

~

The people that Olympia had hired to do his ‘complete makeover’ were truly going all out. He barely recognized himself in the mirror once they were done with dressing him up in a suit and doing his hair. He looked like he fit right in with the immaculately dressed royals and nobles that he’d seen during his time in Alderly. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Still, he was nervous about going to the ball. It was going to be much bigger than the cocktail party he’d attended, and he knew the queen was going to be watching his every move like a hawk. Before leaving his room, he sat down at his desk and took out pen and paper. He might not get another chance to talk to Quincey, so he put everything he had wanted to say on paper. The truth about who he was and… some other truths as well. Sealing it into an envelope, he turned to grab the stupid law to burn it in the fireplace. Only, it wasn’t where he had put it the day before. Dawn rummaged through all his belonging, but he couldn’t find it. Frustrated, he almost ruined his hairdo, but stopped himself at the last minute. The queen must have taken it. Nobody else knew that he had it. That woman was hellbent on sabotaging herself. If Dawn had just burnt it, it wouldn’t have been a problem any longer. Unless, of course, the queen wanted Quincey to get married. He didn’t have the time to go looking if he wanted to make it to the ball at all, so he resolved to try to sneak out of there early to find it.

~

The ballroom of the palace had been decked up in the same fashion as the rest of the rooms, only much, much grander. Dawn descended the stairs carefully, as to not slip and make a fool of himself. Everyone was staring at him, on account that he was late. He didn’t much like that. He tried to not focus on all the guests when Quincey appeared in front of him. He looked every inch a king. Dawn was standing on a stair still, so he felt tall.

“I’m glad you came,” Quincey said. Some of the guests followed with interest why a king-to-be would personally go greet an employee.

“Hey… yes I’m so glad you and one hundred other people noticed,” he said, trying to keep his nerves in check. “Why is everyone staring? I can’t be the only one who showed up late.”

Quincey leaned closer. Not too close, but close enough so no one else heard him say: “Maybe they’re staring because you look beautiful?”

Dawn felt himself blush. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Probably,” said Quincey. “And a fair bit crazy, too.”

“You don’t look too shabby yourself,” Dawn said, taking in his royal regalia.

“Why, thank you.”

Dawn took the letter he had written from his pocket. “I wrote you something but… don’t read it yet, not tonight,” he said. “Tonight is about you becoming king.”

“You… alright, I won’t,” Quincey said. Dawn put the letter in the pocket of Quincey’s suit.

“Thank you,” said the prince.

“It’s not something you should thank me for,” said Dawn. “It’s an apology. To you.”

“Why would you apologize?” asked Quincey.

“You’ll find out when you read it.”

“Alright…” Quincey said unsurely.

“Don’t worry about it now,” Dawn said with a smile and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“This would be the moment I’d ask you to dance with me, if… If I could,” Quincey said quietly.

“And I’d say I’d love to, and everyone would be staring at us.”

“You’ll just have to save me a dance, one day,” Quincey remarked.

“I’m saving you all of them, I don’t think I’ll be in a situation like this again any time soon.”

Now it was Quincey’s time to blush. “Oh…”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go greet your mother.”

“You will?”

“Yes, pays to be polite,” Dawn said. “And good luck, if I don’t catch you before the big moment.”

“Thank you,” Quincey nodded, and Dawn gave him an encouraging smile, before going to find the queen.

~

Dawn made his way to the Queen and bowed. “Your Majesty.”

“Mr. Albrecht,” said the queen with some distaste.

“I wanted to give you my best wishes on this joyous occasion.”

“I’m hardly the right person,” Isabella said.

“You’re the mother of the king-to-be, that’s quite big if you ask me.”

“Yes, fine, thank you.”

Dawn offered his hand. Isabella eyed it like it was dirty, but shook, nevertheless.

Dawn leaned closer and said quietly: “I hope you know what you're doing and that this won’t come back to bite you in the ass, if he, or anyone else ever finds it.” He kept smiling, so as not to arouse suspicion.

“Haven’t you done enough, already?” asked the queen, equally quietly.

“I would have taken care of it,” Dawn said and stood up straight, letting go of her hand. “Have a lovely evening, Ma’am.”

“Wait,” said the queen. “What do you mean you would have?”

“I told you I was going to burn it.”

“You didn’t?”

“You know that I didn’t, since you stole back.”

The queen went white. “You’ve lost it?”

“What?” asked Dawn. “I know you took it. I’m done with this.”

“I assure you, I did no such thing,” said the queen. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make sure this isn’t going to ruin my son’s life.”

“Who else could have done it? My room was locked!”

“This palace has hundreds of people walking through its hallways every day, Mr. Albrecht.”

“The only other person who knew was your guard.”

“Stay here,” commanded the queen. “Try not to bring down the monarchy while you’re at it.”

She turned and walked away, probably looking for the head of security. Dawn’s stomach was in knots. She had seemed genuinely horrified, so maybe she hadn’t been lying. And that was very, very bad. If the queen didn’t have it, then someone else did, and maybe that someone had even less savoury intentions for it.

~

Olympia found him standing there, like a lost puppy.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I think something’s about to go very wrong,” Dawn said.

“What do you mean? What did mother do?”

“I don’t think she did anything, and that’s what worries me…”

Olympia grabbed his arm. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I–,” Dawn started, but right then, the sound of trumpets filled the hall, and the prime minister took to the stage erected in the ballroom for this occasion. Dawn and Olympia looked at each other in horror. The quests took their places, and the ceremony began. Dawn hoped the queen hadn’t been too late.

“Members of Parliament, guests, and friends. On this glorious Christmas Eve, in the season of hope and new beginnings, His Royal Highness, Prince Quentin, son of King Stefanos I, presents his rightful claim to the crown and throne of the Kingdom of Alderly,” the prime minister declared. Quincey knelt before him.

“Quentin, do you pledge your life and fealty to Alderly and all her subjects?”

“I do,” Quincey said. His voice didn’t show any sign of wavering.

“Do you swear to protect her, to uphold her sacred laws in times of wealth or poverty, in peace or war?”

“I do.”

“If any of the peerage wish to dispute Prince Quentin's claim to the throne, speak now, or forever stay silent,” the prime minister said and turned to look at the crowd. For a moment, it was silent, but then someone emerged, stopping to stand before the stage. Evander.

“I dispute this claim,” he said loudly. He was holding something in his hands, a piece of paper. Dawn squeezed his hands into fists. A shock went through the crowd, and people started to whisper amongst themselves.

The prime minister took a moment to gather his wits, and then said: “On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that Prince Quentin has acted unconstitutionally. The law clearly states that the ruler must be wed. Because this fraudulent Christmas prince is not married nor has the intentions on doing so...  He is not fit to be the king.  This documentation proves that this law has been honored for centuries,” Evander said and showed everyone the paper he was holding. The same one Dawn had found in King Stefanos’s hunting lodge.

“Let me see that,” said Queen Isabella, who had reappeared by the stage. She took the paper from Evander, giving him a positively murderous look. For once, Dawn agreed with her.

“Where did you get this?” asked the queen, and only then Dawn realized how truly screwed he was.

“I obtained it by uncovering scheme by a journalist, posing as companion for The Princess Olympia.”

Next to Dawn, Olympia stiffened. Dawn could only look at Quincey’s face, and when their eyes locked, he could see the betrayal in his eyes. The eyes of the court turned to Dawn along with the prince’s.

“Is this true?” the prime minister demanded. Dawn registered he was addressing him. “Are you a journalist?”

Dawn still couldn’t look away from Quincey. “I… I am.”

The crowd started to murmur again.

“And the document, Your Majesty?” asked the prime minister from the queen.

“It’s genuine,” she said, though reluctantly.

Quincey turned on his heels and headed out of the room from a back door. The room exploded into loud conversation. Evander climbed up on the stage, accompanied by a young woman Dawn had never seen before. Evander cleared his throat and said:

“As a nephew of the queen and a great grand-nephew of King Philip III, I humbly present my fair and rightful claim to the throne of Alderly, on the grounds that my love, Miss Rosa Yaxley, has just accepted my proposal and we are to marry next Spring.”

The woman next to Evander smiled sweetly, and the curious eyes of the court turned towards her. Dawn had had enough.

“I have to go talk to him,” he said to Olympia.

“Go,” she said, as the guest begun to all talk at the same time and the prime minister tried to calm everyone down. Dawn got the hell out of there.

~

“Quincey, wait!” he yelled, as he caught a glimpse of the prince’s back. He was headed for the stables. He stopped and whirled around.

“What for?” he demanded.

“You have to let me explain,” Dawn pleaded and caught up to him.

“What is there to explain?”

“I wasn’t part of this scheme,” Dawn tried.

“Do you honestly expect me to believe you?” asked Quincey. “Did you sleep with me for some article too?”

“No! Of course not, I didn't plan for that to happen.”

“Dawn, I don’t even know who you are.”

“Yes, you do,” Dawn insisted. “I’m Dawn.”

“Not Albrecht, I assume,” Quincey stated. His face betrayed a hint of how hurt he was.

“Harvelle. Dawn Harvelle.”

“Well, Dawn Harvelle,” Quincey said. “You’ve got a grand fucking story to tell.”

“It’s not like that! Your cousin broke into my room and made this seem so much worse than it is.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” asked the prince.

“Because it's a stupid law and no one was supposed to know about it, it was hidden for a reason.”

“I just…” Quincey began. “I just don’t understand…”

“I was trying to tell you the truth about myself… I just… I wanted to figure out what to do about the law first.”

“Oh… so, when you said you had something to tell me…?”

“Yeah…”

Quincey looked away from him. Dawn bit his lip and continued: “I wasn’t a part of Evander’s coup; you have to believe me. I was planning on destroying the document, but it disappeared.”

Quincey was still not looking at him. He sighed and said: “I believe you.”

“I want to fix this,” Dawn said.

“How?”

“I don’t know, I just… please, forgive me?” Dawn practically begged. He felt like crying. He was going to cry. He needed Quincey to understand, to forgive him.

Finally, the prince raised his eyes to meet Dawn’s. “I don’t think I can.”

Dawn grabbed the front of his jacket. “I wasn’t pretending. I was being myself the whole time!”

“I trusted you, and now I… I don’t know, Dawn.”

“I will fix this,” Dawn insisted.

“I have to go,” said Quincey and pulled Dawn’s hands away from him.

“Quincey, I swear, I wasn’t going to use it. I was going to burn it. Ask your mother.”

The prince didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned and walked away, leaving Dawn alone in the hallway.

“Fuck!!” yelled Dawn, once he was fairly sure Quincey was out of earshot. Only his own voice echoed back to him.

Tag list:

@lifeofkaze​​ @gcldensnitch​​ @magicallymalted​​ @endlessly-cursed​

[albinotapeworms]

Is this the beginning?

Chapter 2 of for our world!

I wake up after a long nights rest, stretching my arms and legs, I get up to go and brush my teeth doing my daily routine.

I go out to the kitchen and fix myself some breakfast, I look in the fridge to see selves are completely empty "ughh..goddamnit".

I take off my pjs putting some shorts, a t-shirt and some crocs on and continue my journey to the store.

I walk around to find a store, which was relatively hard because most stores were temporarily shut down until I found a small convenience store that was open.

I walk in the store immediately being greeted by the store owner I grab a bag, looking at all the items on the shelves, I search around eventually finding a pre made bento box dinner.

I peek my head around the corner and see two men standing in front of the counter pointing a gun at the store manager.

"Why do these things always happen what I'm here"

I groan, the two men must of heard me because I hear a loud "HEY! Come out."

I slowly peak my head and put my hands up hoping I don't get shot.

In one big motion I see green lighting like I did yesterday. I look again to see the hero staring back at me, he looks at me once again and looks back at the villains on the store floor.

He ties them up back to back and starts to leave saying his goodbyes to the shocked store owner.

"hey!" I shouted. I don't know why I yelled but I did it anyways

The hero turns to me and I run to him giving him my extra bento box.

"Here you seem tired, eat this so you can restore your energy" I tell him

"Uhm... Y-Yeah, sure."

Deku felt a bit embarrassed. He did need to eat... It had been a long time since he did eat because of his stress with the dark hero ark and everything...

He was just not used to anyone treating him this kindly...

"Thank you...!"

He smiled with slight tears forming in his eyes. He never really had anyone...

"Umm are you okay? If you're worried about paying for it, it's fine I'll just get another one"

"Yeah... no it's fine Thanks, really!"

Even a simple act like someone just being nice towards him...

He was so moved that he tears fully started to form in his eyes, trying not to sob while the tears rolled down his face and he looked down.

Even just seeing the lunch tray with food... he was so starved... That was the nicest thing someone had done for him in a long time, maybe ever.

"It looks like you're really struggling, I just wanted you to have the bento box...no offense but it seems like you need it more than me" I say to him hoping it doesn't offend him

"Thank you... really..." he scratches his head.

Deku's voice was shaky while his hair covered his face. He had no words. He really, truly had no words.

This kind act... a small gesture... had so much meaning to him.This was probably a moment in life where he was the most vulnerable he has ever been since he had left UA for his dark hero arc...

"No no it's no problem at all" I smile at him

The way this person took care of him even when he was just a stranger to them...

It touched Deku's heart... so much.

He had no idea what to say. Just smiling and staring into his eyes... Deku was speechless.

He finally smiled a bit. A true smile.

"You look like you need a friend here's my number if you want" I hand him my phone. (infinite rizz)

Deku was absolutely shocked. Was she seriously giving him... her number? Just for being kind to him for a small instance in time?

His hands were shaking so much.

"A-Are you sure...?" The hero says.

Of course! Maybe we can be friends I say smiling or maybe something more... i mutter hoping he doesn't hear me.

'If you really think about it the hero standing in front of me was a Greek god to me, he had a lean figure, and forest green eyes, and small freckles, I would totally tap that.'

I blush at the sudden thought

Deku's eyes widened upon hearing that last thing the person said, and he blushed quite a lot...

Oh. My. Goodness. This stranger... was flirting with me? After i just met her? For just being kind while i was vulnerable?. He thought to himself

I look up to see his flustered face and give him an awkward smile with a small hint of embarrassment

Deku blushes so much, he can't hide it even after so many attempts, He just looks at the stranger and smiles...

This stranger just gave him so many butterflies in his stomach as he keeps looking at him with their y/c eyes.

he can't look away even though he's so incredibly flustered.

Deku nods and accepts the phone number offered to him.

I pay for my items and walk out the store.

"I'll see you later future number one!" I say skipping away.

Deku looked up and saw the person walking away. This interaction... was going to change his life...

Izuku then looked at the number with his hand still shaking that was given to him.

He smiled... and held onto that number for as long as he could. He made a promise to himself to call the number... to get to know the person more... to see if he really meant the things he had said to him...

"Oh and my names Y/N by the way" I yelled to him in the distance.

"Bye Bye now" I wave

Deku waved back with a smile. He was still just stunned by what had happened...

It really had just completely changed his life...

Authors note: now we getting somewhere🙏🙏