#but no everyone at school at work at home they all require my attention

[ladymortimer]

I'm so tired of being responsible all the damn time 💀 like I'm so tired of everyone setting me as some prime example 💀💀💀

[starkwlkr]

was i such a fool? | mark webber

part 1 part 3

ENGLAND

You felt embarrassed. You didn’t know who was the person who spread the confirmed rumor around the paddock, but you knew that being in the paddock was the last thing you wanted to do.

Your daughter, Grace, had been reading in her room while you were in your home office replying to some emails. Zak had let you get some time off, which you were hesitant to take at first but you knew how chaotic it was going to get in the paddock if you were present.

“Mommy!” Grace called for you from her room.

“What is it, my love?” You asked, closing your laptop as you stood up and walked to her room. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, i finished my book. Can we go to the bookstore and get more?” Grace asked.

“Of course we can, baby.” You replied. As you were about to leave to go back to your office, Grace spoke once again.

“Can I go to a race?”

Grace had never attended a race before. She knew what your job was and why it required you to travel so much, but she never once attended a race. It surprised you that she even thought about it.

“A race . . .” You sighed. “You really want to go to a race?”

Grace nodded. “I want to see the fast cars.”

You thought about it for a second. It would be nice for Grace to see a race after years of only seeing it on tv. But then again only several people knew that she existed and you liked it that way.

“I’ll think about it.”

TIME SKIP TO ABU DHABI 2023

MCLAREN GARAGE

Grace watched as several men dressed in orange with helmets on sat in their chairs. She was introduced to the pit crew by you. Everyone on the team was more than happy to meet her. She was extremely excited to be able to watch her first race in person.

“I’ll be over there watching the race, okay? Stay here with Lucy.” You told Grace. Lucy was an old friend from school. When you explained that Grace wanted to attend a race, she offered to look after the girl while you worked.

“Okay. I love you.” Grace gave you a kiss on the cheek.

“I love you more, my love.” You replied and hugged her before you left.

From a distance, Mark watched the girl wave goodbye to you. It made him feel like the worst person ever. How could he do that to you? You never deserved it. You were always so supportive of him, comforting him when he needed it and that all changed the second Mark kissed someone else.

He thought about going up to Grace and making small talk, but he knew you wouldn’t like it. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t want to upset you even more. Seeing her, so close yet so far away, brought sadness to the older man’s heart. She had his eyes, his smile, they even shared the same laughter, something you loved when you were dating Mark.

By the end of the race, he had decided to talk to you.

He tried to find you, but it seemed like you knew he wanted to talk so you hid from him. Only it wasn’t like that. Grace wanted to walk on the track so you took her. Lucy was tired so you told her that you would meet her back at the hotel. She held your hand as you and her walked around. It was a perfect moment for you and your daughter.

“Did you enjoy your first race?” You asked.

“Yes! The cars go faster than on the tv, it was so cool!” Grace exclaimed. “Can I go to another race?”

“You’ll have to wait until next year, my love, and you have school. I don’t want you missing a day of school because of a race.” You explained.

“Okay. . .” She sighed. “Who was the man that was in the garage?” She suddenly asked.

“There’s a lot of men in there, Grace.”

“He didn’t wear orange like the rest of the team. He had one of these too.” Grace pointed to her paddock pass. “I think Lucy said he used to be a driver.”

You had an idea of who Grace was talking about and you didn’t like it.

When you made it back to the Mclaren garage, you saw that it was almost empty. A few members of the pit crew were cleaning up, but that didn’t catch your attention. It was Mark that was pacing around the garage.

“Mommy, that’s the man I was talking about.” Grace whispered to you.

Mark noticed your presence and stopped pacing. “Hi.” Was all that he said.

“It’s getting late, Mark. You should go back to your hotel room, get some sleep. I know you don’t like early morning flights.” You said to the Australian.

“Hear me out, please. Just this once and I’ll leave you alone. Give me five minutes.” He pleaded. The remaining pit crew took that as a sign to give you privacy so they left.

Grace held onto your hand even tighter. “Who’s that?” She whispered again to you.

“His name is Mark.” You said.

Four words was all it took to break Mark Webber even more. He was just Mark to his daughter and he had to accept that.

“Three minutes and that’s it.” You said.

“I’ll take that.”

@glow-ish @vicurious28 @dannyriccsupremacy @viennakarma @pear-1206 @nathalielovesonedirection @jaydaaasworld @shimmermotorsport @honethatty12 @a-beaverhausen

[hisui-dreamer]

rinnnaaaa!!! congrats on 2k, and i hope you have loads of fun with this event 💖💖 for my request, how about leona (haha i'm so unpredictable, ikr) with peonies! (any culture works <3)

fit for the throne

Pairing: Leona Kingscholar x gn!reader

Synopsis: it wasn't fair how his life had treated him, so it was up to you to give him what he truly deserved

Tags: fluff, reader is a leona apologist, leona has never done anything wrong in his life :), reader is secretly royalty

Word count: 700+

Notes: thanks soru!! i hope you don't mind how long this took hehe. i poured all of my leona simp energy into this (⁠*⁠ﾉ⁠・⁠ω⁠・⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♫

Masterlist

flower of choice: peony

peonies are often referred to as the "king of flowers", because they overwhelmingly bloom in splendor, giving rise to interpretations of "wealth" and "magnificence".

A sigh interrupts your focus, drawing your eyes away from the grimoire cradled in your hands. Your focus shifts to Leona, who sits with regal poise in the armchair, embraced by the golden glow of the setting sun. The fading light plays upon the angles of his noble countenance, highlighting the sharp lines of his jaw and the elegant curve of his cheekbones.

“What’s wrong, love?”

Leona's emerald eyes meet yours, frustration etched into his features as another sigh escapes his lips. “It’s another letter from home. They’re requesting my presence for some big event,” he grumbles.

An eyebrow arches at his words. Undeniably Leona's presence radiates warmth and comfort, like the brilliance of a supernova that dispelled the darkness, but it isn’t unknown to you how his worth went unappreciated in his childhood. Surely, anyone could appreciate him better than the palace of the Sunset Savanah had. What could they possibly want with his presence now?

“An event?” you echo, your grimoire long forgotten now that something far more important has caught your attention. Rising from the desk, you move to settle on Leona's lap, his legs shifting so you can lean against him comfortably. "It doesn’t seem very considerate of them to request your absence from school," you frown, your fingers combing through his hair in an attempt to soothe his frustration. It's unlikely they truly require his presence; more probable is their desire for the second prince to make a token appearance, showcasing the facade of a happy and stable royal family.

He huffed at your comment. “When have they ever been considerate?”

It was unfair, how they treated him like a chess piece to wave about whenever they pleased, but refused to acknowledge when he had a voice. He had qualities that could rival the great kings of the past, but his potential is overshadowed simply by the order of his birth. You can't shake the feeling that his true potential is being squandered within the confines of his homeland.

You've observed firsthand how effortlessly he embodies the qualities of a leader. One of your favourite attributes about him is his intelligence. His mind is razor-sharp and perceptive, effortlessly dissecting complex problems with precision. From your casual discussions alone, you’ve gleaned that he possesses a keen insight into matters of statecraft and diplomacy, navigating political intricacies with a deftness that belies his years.

His voice is velvety, smooth, and rich, with undertones of authority. When he speaks, his words carry weight, resonating with a quiet power that commands attention without the need for raised voices or harsh commands. He possesses a natural eloquence and is able to convey his thoughts with precision and clarity, leaving no room for doubt or misunderstanding.

His profound care and compassion for his people fill your heart with warmth. Leona's unwavering dedication to bettering their lives is evident as he tirelessly pushes for policies aimed at fostering prosperity and equality throughout the kingdom. Yet, what truly distinguishes him is his genuine warmth and kindness, treating everyone with respect and consideration, irrespective of their status or background.

But perhaps most striking of all is the aura of calm that surrounds him, even in the midst of chaos. Like a steadfast lighthouse in a storm, he remains unshaken by the turbulence of the world around him, his demeanour unwavering and composed. It is this unwavering composure, coupled with his innate sense of duty and honour, that truly marks him as a king among men.

“You would never be fit to rule!”

The words of Lilia Vanrouge resurface in your mind, the ones that triggered your beloved into his overblot, and a surge of fury begins to build within you.

Because he is wrong, entirely wrong. Because Leona is the only person you could ever see ruling by your side.

Said lion beastman nestles against you, nuzzling his nose gently into your cheek, his way of silently probing your thoughts, having sensed your bubbling anger.

Calmness washes over you at his affection. He truly deserves the world and so much more.

You pulled away slightly, gazing directly into his eyes.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to fall in love with your kingdom.

“Leona, dear, did I ever mention that I'm the heir to a kingdom's throne?”

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[verdantcrimson]

Kanna Natsu Idol Story - 2

Written by: Akira

Season: Spring

TL: verdantcrimson

Proofread: @revuestarlight

[Two years since ES was established. In the ES building infirmary.]

Kanna: ……

Hinata: Goood morning!

Yuta: Today, we’re thinking of playing a hidden camera prank on the talk of the town, child prodigy, Kanna Natsu, when he wakes up!

Hinata: Because both of us in 2wink love pranks!

Yuta: —and since we've been in the business for the while, the agency was like, “C'mon, show your junior how things work around here. You guys love that sort of stuff, right?” 

Hinata: There's a difference between playing a prank and bullying, though!

Yuta: But we can't disobey the agency. That's just life, y'know? We've gotta work hard and pull this off in order to maintain our character image.

Hinata: Why do you seem weirdly pumped about this, Yuta-kun?

Yuta: This guy is Kanna Natsu, y'know…… Everyone's making a fuss about what a genius he is, but he's still just a brat, and seeing him get more attention than us pisses me off.

Yuta: We've gotta punish this ill-mannered newbie, don't we?

Hinata: Whoops, it's getting hard to keep my brother's wickedness in check these days, yknow~?

Hinata: Ah, but he's acting like this on purpose because that's the kind of image he's decided on! Yuta-kun is actually a good kid!

Hinata: All of you watching at home, please don't misunderstand!

Yuta: Hell yeah, that's the perfect excuse. Now, no matter how cruel and inhumane I behave, I can just say it's because my agency or my producer told me to play that sort of character.

Yuta: I can use that to justify my bullying. Hehehe. 

Hinata: How wicked… Looking at you these days makes your big brother worry, Yuta-kun.

Hinata: …..Hm?

Kanna: ……

Kanna: ……?

Hinata: I knew this would happen. Look, look, Yuta-kun! Natsu-kun is awake already! 

Yuta: Huh, No way. He looked like he was fast asleep— Maybe we made too much of a racket?

Hinata: What should we do? Should we abort mission? I didn't really want to do an unfunny and old-school prank like that anyways, so I'm fine with it.

Yuta: It sounds like you were making a fuss on purpose so that the plan would fail.

Kanna: Good morning.

Hinata: Ah, yup. Morning. You sure slept well.

Kanna: Yes, thank you. Though sleeping isn't something I do for leisure.

Kanna: I don't get the opportunity to sleep when I'm occupied with research, so I try to sleep as much as I can whenever I find time.

Kanna: Also, if I pretend to be asleep, everyone will leave me alone.

Hinata: Oh, so you were just pretending to be asleep? Then, did you realize we were trying to prank you?

Kanna: Yes. Though, even when I'm asleep, one half of my brain stays awake.

Yuta: Are you a dolphin?

Hinata: That's so genius-core.

Kanna: I think anyone could do it with enough training. 

Yuta: Tsk tsk tsk. It's exactly because all that training is so tedious that nobody would ever be able to make a name for themselves as a genius.

Kanna: I see. I understand now.

Kanna: I think that if anyone focused all their efforts on a single thing for approximately a year, they could become an expert in that field. 

Kanna: Only a child like myself would be able to concentrate on a single thing for as long as they want to, correct?

Kanna: Any adult, I mean, essentially everyone, requires time to eat, play, socialize, and maintain their physical and mental health.

Kanna: It is quite difficult to concentrate on a single thing.

Kanna: That is why they fall short of success. Yes, people who are able to do that to some extent from the very beginning— Only they are successful and lauded as geniuses.

Kanna: If everyone is limited to only being able to spend a fraction of their time on their efforts, then only those who are privileged are able to succeed and win.

Kanna: That is the reason, correct? It's logical. I can understand this.

Hinata: I've been wondering, what on earth is this kid going on about…?

Yuta: You like making theories about other people based on their behavior and then feeling like you've understood them, don't you?

Kanna: Yes. Because I'm around that age. That's adolescence, I suppose.

Hinata: Yeah, well I don't believe that! If you treated any older kid like a ‘teenage brat’ they'd get angry and rebel. They'd never admit that they're going through puberty!

Kanna: Maybe that was just the case for you, Yuta Aoi.

Hinata: … Oh? Huh? Ermm?

Kanna: It's easier to live when you believe that your ‘normal’ and the world's ‘normal’ aren't congruent.

Kanna: I've long since given up on that sort of premise.

Kanna: I'm different from everyone else. I'm certain, nothing can be done about this.

Hinata: Ummm… I'm terribly sorry if we're boring you or something, but I think there's been a misunderstanding, so let me clear it up.

Hinata: I'm Hinata.

Yuta: And I'm Yuta.

Kanna: No.

Kanna: I know about you two. The twin idols from Cosmic Productions, 2wink.

Kanna: The two of you have changed your marketing strategy as of late, with the older brother Hinata continuing to present as a cheerful a good kid—

Kanna: —While the younger brother, Yuta, differentiates himself from his older brother by growing out his hair and selling a ‘bad kid’ image.

Kanna: That is what the established theory is.

Hinata: The established ‘theory’?

Yuta: Those are just facts.

Kanna: What are illusions?

Hinata: Huh, why'd you bring that up suddenly? What are you talking about?

Kanna: An illusion, or ‘sleight of hand’, is something that takes advantage of people's imagination.

Kanna: You make the world think that ‘the twins have differentiated their appearances and begun walking separate paths.’

Kanna: That way, you can do as much deception as you please.

Kanna: The twins that are supposedly never interchangeable, swap places in secret. Older brother becomes younger brother. Younger brother becomes older brother.

Kanna: Characteristic differences in hair length can also be accounted for using wigs and such.

Kanna: People tend to assume based on their prior knowledge, that ‘the one with longer hair must be the younger brother,’ since both brothers have similar facial features and so on.

Hinata: … Even if all of that were true, what good would it do for us to impersonate each other?

Kanna: Simply put, you two probably just enjoy those sorts of tricks.

Kanna: Furthermore, there are countless merits to being able to switch places. That is probably why having twins swap places is considered taboo, even in the most hard-core of detective novels.

Kanna: It's simply too convenient. It'd be used to forge alibis to no end, because now, anything goes.

Kanna: Additionally, if you succeed at your trivial ‘swapping places’ prank, you'd be able to make a fool of the child prodigy brat that everyone is making a fuss about, correct?¹

Kanna: You'd be able to say “That kid acts like he's a genius, but he's an oblivious idiot who couldn't even notice we switched places.”

Hinata & Yuta: ……

Kanna: 2wink is a unit comprised of a ‘good kid’ older brother and a ‘bad kid’ younger brother.

Kanna: Recently, it seems as though the two of them have truly diverged and are trying to pursue their own paths.

Kanna: That is why. Even if the younger brother was specifically requisitioned for work that would earn him points or experience as a ‘good kid’— The older brother would swap in and take his place. The reverse applies as well.

Kanna: So the two of you steadily gain experience and continue growing, correct?

Kanna: You're each trying to specialize in being a ‘good kid’ and ‘bad kid’.

Kanna: Waiting for an opportunity, with nobody any wiser.

Yuta: ……

Kanna: I don't have much interest in anything. However, I find your impressive tactics very interesting. 

Kanna: I'm not trying to get in your way. However, by exposing your actions like this, I can render your footage unfit for broadcast.

Kanna: Even if what I said just now might be untrue.

Kanna: If the world's people begin to doubt you, you'll have a hard time operating. They might begin to think things like “Maybe they've swapped places?” or “Are they playing tricks?”

Kanna: All the earnest and serious people of the world will begin to view you poorly.

Kanna: That probably would not be desirable for you.

Kanna: I apologize. Being filmed and broadcasted in my sleep is quite embarrassing.

Kanna: That is why I have taken these preventative measures to keep it from occurring. Please understand that I bear no ill-will towards the two of you.

Kanna: That is all. I'm going to go back to bed now. Goodnight.

Kanna: Zzz, zzz.

Yuta: ……

Hinata: … He ended up being the real deal.

Yuta: Yeah. I figured it was just the usual hype you see on TV and magazines.

Hinata: (But really, I never thought he'd notice we ‘switched’.)

Yuta: (Yup. I thought nobody could tell. But this kid saw through us, probably just through a glimpse of our activities on the news or on the internet.)

Hinata: (To top it all off, just in case— He made sure we wouldn't get in trouble even if we did air it, by following it up with “what I said might be untrue.”)

Yuta: (He didn't want to inconvenience us, so he acted considerately.)

Hinata: (This brat sure acts full of himself. I ought to scribble on his face while he sleeps.)

Yuta: (Give it a rest already... Let sleeping gods lie, Yuta-kun.)²

Hinata: (You're such a good kid, Hinata-kun.)

Yuta: (And you’re a bad kid, right, Yuta-kun?)

Kanna: Zzz, zzz…♪

Hinata: (This kid might be incredible— more than anyone could imagine.)

Yuta: (But his sleeping face is adorable, just like any other normal kid's would be, y’know)

Translation notes

He's repeating back the same phrases that Hinata and Yuta used to describe him while he was 'sleeping'..

The original saying is '触らぬ神に祟りなし' which is means the same thing as 'let sleeping dogs lie', but I retained the 神 portion because I figured it might be a fun play on Kanna's first name '神無'

[adachimoe]

2009 Persona Club P4 Profiles

I've posted Adachi and Yukiko's before, but this is a collection of all their "YHVH" (Yasogami High Visual H) social media profiles.

The protagonist doesn't have a profile due to him being the silent protagonist.

Yosuke

Nickname: Isn't "Prince Walking Disappointment" kinda mean?

Greeting: Yo!-Sup? This is Yo!-Su?-Ke's room (... I tried ...)

Favorite music: Something you can listen to and play. Guitar owns!

Favorite Food: Fruit flavored throat drops cause they're good for karaoke (Yosuke can give the protagonist a Fruity Fruity Throat Lozenge in dungeon chats; also in the evening hangouts during Golden)

Least Favorite Food: Tofu - sorry Rise!

Dislikes: Cockroaches they're black and rustle around and move so quickly ugh

Clubs: People who commute on bikes, Wanna go to Junes?, Delicious Homemade Food, Trial of the Dragon

Inbox: "DVD!!! DVD!!!" (from Chie)

Parting words: Saving up for a scooter (these profiles are before Golden came out)

Chie

Nickname: Kung Fu Girl

Greeting: Check this! Hyah!

Gender: Girl!!!

Favorite food: Meat

Favorite animals: Hamsters, bunnies, and other tiny animals

Dislikes: Math, insects - the enemy of all mankind

Favorite movies: Kung fu

Clubs: Trial of the Dragon, Burning Dragon, Fans of Animals w/Tiny Eyes, Meat Lovers

Inbox: "Return my world history notebook" (from Yukiko)

Yukiko

Nickname: Yukiko, the lady of the house... Sigh...

Greeting: Hello~ Chie invited me

Likes: Japanese food, dogs (you see, one fateful day on the Samegawa... [omitted]) (Talking about her and Chie meeting due to a dog from Chie's SLink and the Golden audio drama)

Dislikes: Nothing in particular, but I don't take well to sex jokes / dirty talk

Special skills: Kimono dressing and table / place setting

Clubs: Japanese clothing fans, the Go Home club (for people who aren't in clubs), Let's visit the dam, Fans of Showa Era music

Inbox: "Lemme bathe in the hot springs again" (from Yosuke)

Kanji

Nickname: If you call me bald, imma punch you in the face

Greeting: I'm Inaba's Runaway Train

Likes: Ototo (animal crackers), Homerun Bars (topsicles)

Hobbies: Sewing, knitting, peeling the wrappers off of Homerun Bars

Clubs: Let's Sew, Knitting Cafe, Delicious Shops in the Central Shopping District, Hawaiian Quilt Enjoyers

Ideal fight: One without rules

Inbox: "Hey, I got the rare submarine!" (from Yosuke; this was "rare penguin animal cracker" in English)

Rise

Nickname: Risechi / Risette, duh!

Greeting: Where a young maiden's secrets get revealed

Likes: Hagakure special from Hagakure Ramen

Hates: Japanese ginger and royal fern

Favorite people: Senpai / the protagonist, grandma

Least favorite people: Indecisive and unreliable people

Clubs: Cafes and Sweets of Okina city, Tofu Lovers, How about Kanami Mashita?, Fans of Animals w/Tiny Eyes

Inbox: "The best sweets around are..." (from Teddie)

Naoto

Nickname: The detective prince

Greeting: Hi there, my upperclassmen invited me

Gender: No comment (As in, Naoto wrote "no comment")

Favorite book genre: Detective novels due to work

Likes: Putting myself in danger (longer explanation of what it says in Japanese)

Dislikes: Women's clothing - especially anything revealing

Specialty: Working with machines, been doing it since I was young

Clubs: Linux Fans, DIY PC Builders, Fans of Mystery Novel Narrative Tricks, Beginners Fashion

Inbox: "Let's get a bucket ice cream parfait tomorrow" (from Rise)

Lastly, Nanako, Dojima, and Adachi don't have the high school social media profiles, but they still have regular profiles nonetheless.

Nanako

Likes: Dad, big brother, Risechi / Risette, everyone else in the Investigation Team, Junes

Dislikes: Fighting, shiokara (fermented fish guts; it seems that Dojima keeps these in the fridge in P4 lol. She uses some of them to make the Slime chocolate in Golden.)

Specialty: Singing the Junes theme

Dojima

Likes: Nanako, beer

Dislikes: Working, physical tasks that require attention to detail (I'm clumsy)

Specialty: Judo, reading one's character

Adachi

Likes: Sushi (especially uni), beef, cabbage dishes

Dislikes: Paperwork, cleaning his room

Specialty: Revolver maintenance

Here's the full post of Adachi's profile w/the fanart pages too

Teddie's is. Uh. An experience. I'll post his sometime else cause I think I'm not 100% sure how it should be handled. Like he fills out [gender/sex] (they're the same character in JP) as an emoji of a woman and the words "I live for love". Which I feel like is best interpreted as, "Sex: Yes please". But hmmmMMMmmm.

[clockwayswrites]

A Broken Sort of Normal Part 2

WC: 757 CW: Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Doubt, Jack and Maddie Fenton's A+ Parenting Masterpost

Worse than— no, not worse than. Nothing was worse than being constantly forgotten by everyone he cared about. Nothing was worse than knowing he was only worth knowing when he’d died. An issue was that Danny still had the same need to protect people even without the ghosts attacks. Day in and day out Danny felt an aching hurt in his chest at not doing anything to help. Working as a receptionist at a slightly rundown construction firm wasn’t the worst job, but it felt like it was slowly killing him. It felt like his core was shriveling up.

Danny knew he needed to make a change. At a loss of what to do and short on options, Danny had enrolled in the paramedic course at the local community college. He excelled at it.

It turned out all those years of patching up his own wounds gave him a pretty good head start on his classmate. So good, in fact, that his instructor recommended him for a job in Central City when he graduated with honors. It was bittersweet to know that when he wasn’t constantly harnessed by ghosts, he could actually do really well at school.

His parents missed his graduation.

His move to the city was done alone (his rented u-haul filled with what he could cram into it) and with a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel. It felt like a second death leaving the only home he had ever known behind.

It felt like relief.

(He didn’t know which was worse.)

Central City was better and worse than he expected. The constant noise rattled him until he got used to ways to combat it: earphones, white noise machines, a cheesy little indoor fountain. The anonymity soothed him— no one paid attention to him in the city. Slowly he carved out his place.

He was part of the city’s emergency response team. Their primary job was working to secure the city and her people during villain attacks. Secondary to that they did follow up with victims, held community events to spread awareness about everything from emergency prep to smoke detectors, and helped with rebuilding efforts.

It was rewarding work and Danny’s core sang for it.

It was a little exhausting to have to run right into a villain attack on his day off though. Good thing he always kept a mini kit in his bag. What sort of emergency response team member would he be if he didn’t listen to their own advice? It was a really nice little kit too— ultra compact but it contained gloves, pipettes of water, disinfectant, a range bandages, a suture kit, a snap light, and even a shock blanket. Danny added a few extra gloves to it too.

As he ran towards the sounds of disaster, Danny felt a brisk wind breeze past him— and then blow back again— as the Flash (one of them, Danny hadn’t been around long enough to tell them apart) backtracked.

“Kid—” Oh, it was the older one then. “—you should be heading the other way. Lummox is up ahead—”

“I know,” Danny snapped, not stopping moving. “I’m a field medic. I’m on my way to help, and you’re not going to stop me.”

The Flash seemed at a loss for what to say for half a beat. “Okay. Sure. Want a lift?”

“What?”

“I can get you in a second— literally— but I’m leaving you on the edge of it all.”

It would be convenient. And it’s not like he couldn’t trust Flash. Danny slowed to a stop and shrugged. “Sure, onward, Seabiscuit.”

“Who?”

“Famous race horse? Cause you’re going to carry me? Never mind. Just pick me up, dude.”

Danny ignored the look he got from the Flash and clung on for dear half-life. Fuck the Speed Force felt weird. He was pretty sure it was less than a second to get there, and Danny didn’t quite stick the landing, but he got his feet under him fast enough to rush in to help.

Eventually Danny required an extra vest from the team that came in and just blended into the background of other medics. It wasn’t a bad day— no lives lost and all the injuries were relatively minor. (He even got some overtime payment, which he wasn’t going to sneeze at). Danny figured it was just part of being in the city, occasionally running into villains and heroes even off the clock.

He didn’t expect it to really happen again.

(He should have known to never have expectations.)

-----

AN: Still moving along with this odd little thing! It's been fun to write a Danny in a very different place than my other fics- mentally and physically! Just to be clear btw- Danny is in a bad place at the start of this fic which is putting a negative light on how he's seeing things. Sam and Tucker just... moved on with their lives. Those sort of high school friends you liked a lot but drift away from. Without the history of ghost stuff to bind them, it was just part of life to them. Danny just has a different memory history so it hits harder for him/feels harsher.

Stay delightful, darlings!

Due to the new post editor and shadow banning, I'm no longer tagging people! To be notified, subscribe to this post:

[kisskiss-killforlove]

Could You write a Scenario in wich we hug Horuda and Megami? They deserve a hug

♡ Darling gives them a hug ♡

Pairings: Megami Saikou, Horuda Puresu x GN!Reader Word Count: 1.2k (Megami); 1.3k (Horuda) Content: Hurt/comfort, mentions of nepotism, mentions of bullying, crying, mentions of obsessive behaviour, fluff, probably improper use of Japanese honorifics.

{Megami Saikou}

It had been a tiring day for Megami.

A stern lecture from her father, a fight breaking out at school, a stolen answer sheet, an explosion in the Science Club - and those were just the things she could name off the top of her head.

Bit by bit, it had all piled up, leaving her wondering if perhaps the world was intent on testing her patience that day. Thus, as soon as cleaning time was over, she shut herself in the student council room, instructing most of its members to do another round of patrols.

It was silly, she knew, but by then, her patience had run too thin for her to tolerate other people's presence, and she didn't want to compromise her image as the perfect student council president by showing her irritation.

At that moment, however, as she sat by herself, working diligently on an assignment, she felt anything but perfect.

Yet no matter how many times she reached her boiling point, there would always be more to do. Be it at school or at home, something would require her attention at nearly all hours of the day; today and tomorrow and the day after that and-

"Saikou-senpai?"

An all too familiar voice broke her out of her spiralling thoughts as the door slid open. Megami looked up from her work, her stomach filling with a fluttering sensation as her tired gaze landed on you.

"Are you alright?" you asked. "I heard from Toriyasu-senpai that you seemed upset, so I wanted to check on you."

Ah, of course you did.

You had left abruptly during cleaning time to fetch some bleach after it had run out, so you ended up missing the memo about staying away from the council room. Not that she could ever fault you for it, of course. After all, it was your kind-hearted nature that drew her in initially, and why she insisted you continue to be a part of the student council despite your lack of qualifications.

She would never admit to having such a bias, though, as doing so would force her to acknowledge just how unhealthy her obsession had gotten.

"I'm alright," she answered immediately, sounding more confident than she felt. "You should start your patrol now if you want to finish in time for our meeting."

Undeterred by her attempt to push you away, you stepped inside and slid the door closed behind you. "Saikou-senpai," you spoke gently, approaching her with cautious steps. "Are you sure you're okay? I'm here if you need someone to talk to you."

Megami sighed at your persistence, setting down her pen as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You don't know when to give up, do you?" she asked, though there was no hint of annoyance in her voice. Quite the contrary, she was thankful for this opportunity to be alone with you, even if it was due to unfortunate circumstances.

At this, you chuckled. "I guess not..."

Grabbing a chair, you placed it in front of her desk and sat down. With your elbows on your knees, you leaned forward as you rested your head in your hands, looking at her expectantly.

After a moment, Megami relented, "It's really nothing you need to concern yourself with. I'm simply going through a period of stress as everyone does."

You frowned when you heard this. "Oh... Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe take some weight off your shoulders?"

She sighed. "No, there's nothing that can be done, although that's not to say I don't appreciate your concern. The best you can do is let me handle this on my own."

Her answer didn't seem to satisfy you as you looked away, staring absentmindedly at the floor in deep thought. Right as Megami opened her mouth to ask you to leave, you spoke up, "Do you want a hug?"

Immediately, you slapped a hand over your mouth, staring at her in horror as you realised what you'd just asked. Megami returned your look of bewilderment as she asked, "Excuse me?"

Snapping out of your shock, you raised your hands defensively, speaking quickly, "I...! I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I just..." After stumbling over your words for a bit, you finally took a moment to calm yourself, taking a deep breath and letting your hands drop to your sides. Then, you began speaking again, this time more calmly, "What I mean is... When I'm stressed and feel like no one can help me, a hug usually makes me feel better... It's a nice physical reminder that someone's there for you... It keeps you grounded, you know?"

No, in fact, Megami did not know.

Affection of any kind had been mostly absent from her childhood, especially physical affection. The thought of someone holding her during times of emotional distress was utterly alien to her, yet... it wasn't unappealing either.

Granted, doing something so intimate with you would be far from appropriate given the nature of your relationship, but Megami was willing to give it a try. She did like you, after all, even if you weren't aware of it yet, and there was no one else around... Surely one hug wouldn't hurt.

So, taking a deep breath, Megami replied with a stiff nod before speaking, "Alright..."

She was just as stunned as you were at her words but refused to back down as you approached slowly and awkwardly. Due to her lack of experience, it took her a second to realise she should stand up, which she did hastily and nearly knocked into you in the process. It wasn't normal for her to be so graceless, but then again, nothing was normal when you were around.

So, with her gaze downcast, she allowed you to wrap your arms around her waist and, after some brief pondering and internal panic, she reluctantly wrapped her own around your shoulders. Once she grew accustomed to the feeling of being in your embrace, she nearly melted into your arms, having to stop herself from slumping against you.

In an instant, everything bad that happened that day disappeared from her mind, replaced with only the euphoria that came with holding you. If 'comfort' were ever to take human form, it would surely look like you, for only you could calm the raging storm that was her mind.

After a moment, you began to pull away, which triggered an unexpected reflex in Megami as she pulled you back, her grip firmer than before.

"S-Saikou-senpai?" you stuttered.

Megami didn't respond immediately, opting to rest her head on your shoulder first. "Can we... stay like this for a moment longer?" she asked, her voice growing uncharacteristically soft.

Her question seemed to catch you off-guard, but not for long as you soon rested your own head on her shoulder. "Of course."

She smiled at your answer, continuing to hold you as though you were the only thing that brought her a true sense of joy and purpose in her otherwise chaotic life. And in a way, perhaps you were... "And one more thing..." she began.

You let out a soft "Hm?" in response.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you... if you were to call me 'Megami-senpai' in private."

She couldn't see your face, but she swore she could hear a smile in your voice as you answered, "...Okay."

{Horuda Puresu}

Horuda sniffled, her breath coming out in short, ragged puffs as she examined herself in the bathroom mirror. Her usually well-kept dark hair was damp, messy, and covered in white as she tried desperately to wash chalk dust out of it. Tears slipped from her eyes as she did, looking at her shaking, frightened form.

It wasn't an image she was unfamiliar with.

Her school life had been hell for as long as she could remember, and her time at Akademi had thus far been no different.

Sighing, she took a moment to wipe her tears, which didn't really help in drying her face as her hand was still wet. When she looked back up at her reflection, a choked sob escaped her lips. She was a mess. She couldn't possibly go to class like this.

Turning to grab some paper towels, she suddenly froze at the sound of someone calling her name from the hallway. "Horuda-san? Where are you?" the person called.

Her breath caught in her throat as she realised the person looking for her was you.

Immediately, her mind went into a panic. Out of everyone in Akademi, why did it have to be you that was searching for her? She would have preferred anyone, even one of the bullies, over you; the thought of her crush seeing her in such a state was nothing short of mortifying.

She briefly debated hiding in one of the stalls until you left, but the slight hint of concern in your voice made her reconsider. You had never been cruel to her, no matter how many nasty rumours you heard, so perhaps you wouldn't judge her too harshly if you were to see her...

Taking a deep breath, Horuda made her way to the exit before poking her head out, spotting you just down the hall. As soon as you turned around and saw her, a look of relief washed over your face and you began lightly jogging towards her. Horuda had to resist the urge to hide in the bathroom again as you approached.

"Thank goodness I found you," you said with a smile. "Aburaya-sensei was starting to get really worried, so she asked me to..." Your smile dropped as you went silent, taking in the sight of her damp, dishevelled hair and puffy, red eyes. "...Horuda-san, what happened?"

"O-Oh, um... I-It's nothing..." She replied.

"Obviously it's not nothing if you've got chalk dust in your hair," you said firmly. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Before Horuda could protest, you gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the bathroom. A stuttered word or two managed to escape her lips as you did, but otherwise, she made no move to stop you as you stepped out to retrieve a chair from the hallway.

Placing it in front of the sink, you motioned for her to sit down, which she did with some reluctance. As you moved behind her to begin washing her hair, a deep blush settled on her face. This whole situation felt like something straight out of those romance novels she occasionally read rather than real life.

Still, she was grateful for your presence, despite her anxiety, and continued to sit patiently as you washed her hair. Occasionally, her self-control would slip, leading her to glance back at you, only to find her actions went unnoticed as you kept all of your attention on the task at hand.

After a few moments, you spoke, "So... you wanna tell me what happened?"

"U-Um..." Horuda began, her hands suddenly clammy. "I... got some chalk dust... in my h-hair...?"

You huffed as you turned off the sink, slipping into one of the stalls to grab some paper towels. When you came out, you asked, "I can see that, but how did you get chalk dust in your hair?"

Horuda's heart hammered in her chest as she refused to meet your gaze, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt anxiously. She wanted to tell you, she truly did, but what were the odds of you believing her? Musume and her friends were popular and well-liked, while Horuda was just... herself. There was no way you were going to take her word over theirs.

While she was having this mental debate with herself, getting more and more lost in her thoughts, she was suddenly startled by the sight of you kneeling before her. Your concern was shown in your expression as you took one of her hands gently. "Horuda-san, please... tell me who did this. I know this can't have been an accident."

Horuda could only stare at you for a long moment, her hand trembling in yours as she tried to think of how to answer. After thinking over her response, she said, "Ronshaku-senpai... a-and her friends... t-they... they did this..."

A look of anger briefly flashed across your face before you suppressed it, continuing to look at her with concern. "And how long has this been going on for?"

Horuda's breath became shallow as she tried to recall the last few weeks of awful torment she'd suffered at Musume's hands. "S-Since... the start of the school year..."

"Has anyone else seen this happen?"

"No..."

"So, you're all alone when those bimbos pick on you?"

Horuda was shocked by your sudden insult but nodded, her expression dropping once again. Tears began forming in her eyes as silence fell between the two of you, and she couldn't bear to look at you anymore. She couldn't even feel happy about being able to hold your hands with how much this conversation had upset her. All she could do was stay quiet and hope you wouldn't react too negatively.

After a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Horuda, she felt as though her heart had stopped as you put your hands on her shoulders and pulled her down... to hug her.

She was too stunned to speak, remaining stiff as a board while she tried to comprehend what was going on.

"I'm so sorry for not noticing sooner," you said softly. "If you'd like, you can sit with me from now on so they won't bother you anymore."

Horuda could hardly process what was going on but slowly, she wrapped her arms around you, allowing herself to relax in your embrace. Once she snapped out of her shock, her mind quickly caught up and she burst into tears, clinging to you like a lifeline.

This whole time, she'd been terrified of how you'd react to seeing her in such a state, and now you were being so nice. You didn't care that you were kneeling on the dirty bathroom floor, or that her wet hair was covering your arms as she knelt forward, or even that she was weeping into your shoulder.

All you cared about was making her feel better, and that made her heart race in a way it never had before. She felt relieved. She felt... happy.

A few moments passed in which you simply held her, allowing her to cry her heart out before she finally pulled away. If she was a mess before, she was a wreck now, but the sight of your kind eyes and gentle smile made that fact irrelevant.

As her sobs turned into sniffles, she managed to mutter, "Th...Thank you... so much..."

You stood, letting go of her hand, much to her disappointment, and walked behind her with paper towels in hand. "Don't mention it. I'm just happy you're okay." Horuda smiled, wiping her tears as she felt you carefully dab at her hair to get the water out. "Now then, let's head back to class, okay? I'll explain what happened to Aburaya-sensei afterwards."

She nodded. Perhaps with you by her side, her school life might just be bearable after all...

[mack-devereaux]

King Sized Bed

Sebastian Aho

Authors note! This is a work of fiction and of my imagination. This is in no way based on true events or how I think these people would act in real life. If you don’t like the fic please scroll on, if you do like it please reblog or give a ❤️! Much love to all of you!

Pictures are from Pinterest so credit to who ever took them.

Triggers: Cursing, drinking. Suggested adult activities but no actual smut. I think that’s it.

Enjoy!

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

You’d always enjoyed sports. Hockey especially, so when you and your best friend moved to Raleigh North Carolina for school it was just a perk that you could attend the occasional hockey game. That was until your best friend had caught the eye of a certain Finnish player. Teuvo Teräväinen. They’d met at a bar after a big playoff win, she looked so happy, and you loved that. A few months into them dating it was almost required for her to be at every game during the new season, not that you were complaining. You loved spending time with her and of course seeing hot nhl players was a huge perk to your shenanigans, but as always the world had a funny way of bringing certain people together and wherever one Finn went, there was another close by. Which was how your little crush on Sebastian Aho developed.

When your best friend got her ticket for the game from Teuvo, yours came shortly after. Always seated together. Always close to the home bench. Always close to the ice. You thought it was just Teuvo telling Sebastian he didn’t want his girlfriend being alone at the games and that your ticket was being forced from the forward, but truthfully Sebastian was actually extremely excited that he could give his ticket to someone. Especially you. He thought it was perfect. Teuvo being his best friend and dating your best friend. It all made sense, but he was a man who didn’t express his emotions very often, so he left it alone. Just dropping hints with the free tickets and invites to all the parties as his ‘plus one’ or more so Teuvos ‘extra plus one’. He found your obliviousness endearing. No matter how obvious he was with his flirting or comments about how happy he was to see you, you never caught on to the genuine feelings and truth behind his actions. Or if you did you just brushed it off, although he saw right through your nerves and shyness.

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

Waiting down in the tunnels by the locker rooms at the end of the games were always your least favorite. You didn’t belong there, no matter how hard your best friend tried to get you to feel comfortable you just weren’t. All the girlfriends and wives were gorgeous and dressed to the nines. Most of the time you just wore jeans or leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Then of course there were the puck bunnies, leaving very little to the imagination. Not that you were one to judge, you always said ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’. You knew you had a nice body, you just preferred not to show it off around the wags and at games. You tried to ignore the stares from the wags and groupies, but soon all you could hear was the girls trying to get the attention of some of the players. Teuvo came over grabbing your best friend and whisking her away, you laughed because you knew he hated the extra attention after they left the locker room. You soon felt a hand on your back, turning to see the most beautiful brown eyes you had ever seen, of course belonging to the man who had your feelings all over the place.

“Hey Sebastian, good game out there. You guys played great” and you meant it. He was on fire, and everyone knew it.

“Thank you for coming to watch, means a lot” he said without breaking eye contact.

He looked up at his friends and noticed they had all headed towards the parking lot.

“Did you drive here? I can take you home if not” Sebastian said “I think your ride is leaving.”

“We grabbed an Uber, I didn’t really think of having a plan to drive home” you laughed, slightly embarrassed by the lack of planning on your end.

“No worries, I’m glad to drive you” he grabbed your hand and led you towards the parking lot.

The ride to your apartment was too short. His hand immediately finding a spot on your thigh, and your hand immediately finding the top of his. You guys found your hands constantly touching each other when no one else was around. He had asked about your schooling and how everything was going with your last year. You asked him about the upcoming games. It was all very domestic and you couldn’t help but think what everyday life would be like with him. As he pulled up to your apartment neither of you moved. How comfortable you were around him spoke volumes. You had never really felt this comfortable around anyone besides your best friend. Looking down at your hands you started playing with his fingers . “Thank you for driving me home Sebastian” you smiled at him.

He smiled back as you opened the door and walked towards your apartment building. As you buzzed yourself in you turned to find him still sitting there watching you. Making sure you made it safe.

Ten minutes later a text came through to your phone.

From Fishy 🐠:

How were your seats for the game this time? Were they ok?

To Fishy 🐠:

They were perfect. Thank you ❤️

From Fishy🐠:

Some of the guys and their girlfriends are coming over tomorrow night. You should come.

To Fishy 🐠:

I’d love to. Goodnight Sebastian 💕

Throwing his phone to the side. He stared at his ceiling. This was his chance. He had spent months trying to find a way to make his move on you. He knew how you felt about him. He’s seen multiple text conversations between Teuvo and his girlfriend and heard multiple phone calls between the two girls, unknowingly to the girl in question of course. She would die of embarrassment had she known what he knew. He had tried to make his feelings clear but somehow you hadn’t caught on to any of his hints. He was just going to have to be more forward the next time he saw you.

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

You and your best friend were getting ready for the party at Sebastian’s house. They had a great month as far as games went and the guys wanted to celebrate. It wasn’t uncommon for you and your best friend to get ready together on FaceTime. Normally she would come over to get ready with you but she had stayed with Teuvo the previous night. You technically still lived together but you couldn’t blame her for wanting to stay with her hot nhl boyfriend overnight. In fact you were positive you’d do the same thing if you had a hot nhl boyfriend. Suddenly a teasing voice came over the phone breaking you out of your thoughts.

“So you do realize you actually have to talk to Fishy tonight right? Especially since he’s the one that invited you” Teuvo teased you.

“Oh my God Teuvo stop. She’s already nervous” your best friend said.

“I talk to him! And you really shouldn’t be going through our text conversations, there’s classified information in there” You said rolling your eyes and glaring at your phone. Teuvo just rolling his eyes back at you. This was a common conversation between the three of you. “What are you wearing tonight?” You added, deciding to ignore her boyfriend.

“A short tight dress! Maybe you do the same!” Teuvo shouted.

“Ok you’re done, out!” Your best friend said as she was pushing Teuvo out of the bathroom she was getting ready in. “Anyway, I am wearing that cute little navy dress I bought two weeks ago” she said as she went back to curling her hair.

“So a short tight dress” you said laughing.

“Oh wear that cute black strappy one! The one you wore for New Years last year! Oh my gosh Sebastian is gonna die when he sees you in that again” your best friend said.

“Ugh, I remember waking up on his couch the next morning” you groaned.

“Nooooo, you remember the both of you waking up on that couch, and he damn near ripped Seth’s head off when Seth commented how good you looked” your best friend said grinning at you “anyway I think we are gonna leave soon, text me when you head out. Love you!!”

“Love you bye” you threw yourself on your bed and sighed as she hung up the phone. Thinking back to New Years, that happened to be the first night you had spent with him, all innocent of course. You had too much to drink and Sebastian was kind enough to let you crash on his couch, in his arms. Looking at the clock you decided you had wasted enough time. It was now or never, and you were dying to see a certain Finn tonight.

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

You wore the dress. Because of course you did. You put your car in park as you looked up at the house, there were a few cars out front but not many. Assuming only a few players with their significant others and all the single guys came over. You checked your makeup in the mirror one last time. Letting out a long breath you grabbed your keys and got out of the car. As you made your way to the front door, slowing your strides, your delusions began to kick in. Wondering what it would be like to come home to this house every night. To have one of the star players come home to you every night. To have him love you in ways no other man ever could. Was this a crush? No, it was much more. It was just now that you realized you were in love with Sebastian.

You walked in to the house and were immediately greeted with the sounds of laughter and chatter from all the people you had grown close to in the last year. You saw him as soon as you walked in, his eyes catching yours and for a moment time stood still. He looked good. His brown eyes softening and a small smile crept on his face. Before you could even take a moment to breathe your best friend and a few of the other girlfriend’s immediately greeted you and you soon felt at ease. What you didn’t see is how Sebastian’s gaze dragged down your body, inappropriate thoughts flooding his mind as he saw what you happened to be wearing, and then smirking at the memory of New Years when you fell asleep in his arms wearing that particular dress. He took a drink as he jumped back in to the conversation between Seth and KK.

As the night went on you slowly drank your glass of wine. Not wanting to drink too much or too fast so you could drive home later. The party had slowly moved to the back yard around the fire pit. As you finished your wine you got up and walked back into the house to put your glass away and to get a drink of water. Sebastian watching you. Teuvo nudged him and Sebastian downed his beer and followed you into the house, it was now or never. Oblivious to what was happening behind you, you noticed some empty food containers and wine bottles on the counter, setting your glass down you decided to tidy up a bit.

“You don’t need to clean y/n” Sebastian said as he opened the fridge to grab another bottle of wine “have another glass of wine and come back outside, let’s just relax and enjoy time with our friends.”

“Umm, I think I’ll just have water, I need to drive home tonight” you said quietly, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Sebastian looked behind him making sure no one was eavesdropping. He stepped closer to you.

“You are always welcome to stay here” he said as he grabbed your glass from in front of you. “I’ll move your car into the driveway.” He held his hand out for your keys.

“I don’t want to impose Sebastian, you’ve got a lot going on tonight” you smiled shyly.

“Y/n” the way he said your name was so sensual, eyes staring so intensely at you “at what point are we going to acknowledge what’s happening between us.”

“I don’t know what you mean” you tried avoiding his piercing stare, as he cornered you in the kitchen.

“I’ve got a spare bedroom, and I’ve got a very comfortable couch, as you already know.” Your heart almost stops as he steps closer to you, he puts a hand on your waist as he pours more wine in your glass. Your favorite wine, of course he had that in his fridge, you thought. He knows everything about you.

“Or… I’ve got half of a very comfortable king sized bed that isn’t being used” he sets the wine bottle down, “unless you find yourself on my half of the bed” he smirked, he then sets the water bottle next to the glass of wine he just poured. You realizing he’s making you choose. This decision was more than just water or wine. Water meaning staying friends, and wine meaning more.

“You are more than welcome to any of those three options, but..” he grabs your chin and drags his thump down your bottom lip, tilting your head up to look at him. “The king sized bed is definitely the more..” he paused, “enticing option.” His eyes flicker from your lips to your eyes “your choice love.” He walks away and back outside.

You felt hot, the room was all of a sudden so small. Did that actually happen? Did he actually just invite you to his bed? You stared at the bottle of water and then moved your gaze to the wine glass. A million thoughts were running through your head. Looking outside you saw all your friends, how they were with their significant others. You deserved to be happy too. And Sebastian could give you that, you knew you’d be happy with him, and he’d be happy with you. All you’ve ever wanted just right in front of you. Taking a deep breath you grabbed the glass of wine and made your way back outside to your friends. Catching Sebastian’s eye over the fire he smirked, noticing the wine glass in your hand. A silent confirmation as to what was going to happen later that night. You turned into your best friends side and told her about the encounter that happened just a few minutes ago in the kitchen. Her eyes shooting to the Finnish players. A silent conversation happening between her and Teuvo as they made eye contact.

“It’s about time, I’ve been waiting for this to happen for months. You better call me as soon as possible tomorrow morning” she smiled at you.

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

You were slightly more relaxed after the second glass of wine, very much coherent and in control of your actions, you had just enough alcohol to take the edge off. The party started to dwindle. Teuvo and your best friend currently saying their goodbyes. As soon as the front door lock clicked into place you immediately felt his gaze on you. His eyes taking every part of your body in, and you doing the same to him. His broad shoulders, his muscular chest. Everything about him was just beautiful. He truly was one of the most attractive men you’ve seen. And he wanted you. He made that very clear earlier.

“Should I set up the spare room for you or are you joining me tonight” he spoke so calm and confident. His gaze so intense.

“I think I’d like to stay with you tonight, if that’s okay” you said quietly but with just as much confidence.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for you to say that” he said as he walked towards you. You could practically feel his heart beating just as fast as yours as he pulled you into a kiss, your lips moving together so perfectly. Electricity shooting down your spine. As he pulled away you could only think of what he was like in bed, what you two would feel like together in such intimate moments in his bedroom. What caught you off guard was how relaxed you became as soon as his lips met yours the second time. No more nerves, no more anxiety, you felt at home. Your mind reluctantly went to a moment last year when your best friend had met Teuvo.

*flashback*

Hearing the front door shut you said “so.. how was your night?” You turned to smirk at your best friend.

“He is absolutely incredible y/n. It was the perfect date and the perfect night and he’s just so…” your best friend gushed on and on about her date with a guy she met a few days ago.

“Let me guess, perfect?” You laughed.

“Y/n I wasn’t even nervous around him. That’s how you know you’ve met the right person. There’s no nerves, there’s no anxiousness. Just calm. He’s the one I know it.” Your best friend laid on the couch next to you.

“I’m happy for you, you deserve to be happy” you said genuinely.

“Who would have thought my person was THE Teuvo Teräväinen of the Carolina Hurricanes.”

*present*

Soon it was a flash of teeth clashing and hands grabbing. Clothes disappearing as he lead you to his bedroom. You soon felt your back hit his mattress and good lord he was right. The king bed was definitely the best option of the night. As the rest of your clothes came off the praises began. You had never felt more beautiful than in that moment. In such intimate moments where men often become selfish, Sebastian was the opposite. He spent all night worshiping every single inch of your body, making you feel like the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Putting your pleasure before his, and he definitely satisfied you more than once. As you both came down from your highs your breathing started to slow. Cuddled into his chest and drawing shapes on his stomach with your fingers. In that moment you both realized you were it for each other. He shifted a bit and you looked up towards his face, grabbing your chin and kissing you softly one more time that night.

“In case I wasn’t clear enough, I really want to see where this relationship can go” Sebastian spoke softly.

“I think I’d like that” you whispered.

“Goodnight y/n”.

“Goodnight Sebastian”.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

“Beata Maria.”

What a wonderful blessing upon this hopelessly sinful world.

... What's this?

A gathering of powerful and prideful individuals can only spell trouble.

Sitting at a table, surrounded by them, exerted an immense pressure upon the room. The air seemed to thin, made icy and oppressive by those in attendance, representatives of their own domains. The dorm leaders were like kings perched upon their thrones, prepared to cross words or swords at a moment's notice. (For what it was worth, at least Kalim was a spot of sunshine in the otherwise strained space.)

Raven had been scribing for these occasions for months now, and still hadn't become fully accustomed to the atmosphere. Inevitably, some petty squabble, underhanded comment, or personal vendetta would disrupt the proceedings. If they were lucky, they'd escape with just some unresolved tension in the air. She took care to leave those instances out of the meeting notes.

Today, the attention was directed toward the front of the room. The headmaster consulted a packet as he crowed on.

“The final topic on our agenda is... Next week, we will be hosting an important guest from Noble Bell College to discuss future joint events. As a show of good will, I would like their representative to be granted a tour of our campus. This tour guide will then also serve as their chaperone for the duration of our guest's stay to ensure that they are comfortable and that all of their questions are promptly answered."

A hand shot up automatically.

"Yes, Rosehearts-kun?"

"If that is the case, sir, then I believe it would be wise for you to serve as this tour guide," the redhead suggested. "You are knowledgeable about our school's history, layout, staff, and curriculum. Therefore, you easily fulfill your own requirements."

There was a round of murmurs and nods from around the table.

"No, no!" Crowley insisted with the shake of his head. "I have many other duties to tend to as headmaster! What's more, it would be more fitting that someone on our guest's level—a fellow student—be the guide! This will better bolster a sense of camaraderie between the student bodies of our schools!"

... In other words, you don't wish to do the work yourself, Raven sighed, already having seen through her guardian's excuses. From the grimaces on everyone else's face, she deduced that they, too, had suspected as much.

Azul laced his fingers together and surveyed the room. "Well then, do we have any volunteers from amongst ourselves?"

"Pass." Leona leaned back in his chair with a grimace. "I'm not up for kissing ass."

"May I take that to mean that you are avaliable, Leona-san?" Azul pressed, still smiling.

"I said, pass," he snarled. "Don't make me repeat myself again."

"... Point taken. Anyone else?"

"I would offer, but... There is an unbirthday party scheduled the day of their arrival. I don't believe I would be able to fully commit myself to chaperoning our guest," Riddle confessed. "I cannot override the rules written by the Queen of Hearts."

"I, as well, am preoccupied. I'm to shoot for a magazine spread after class," Vil added, tucking a finger under his chin. "What about you, Azul? This is a prime opportunity to... as Leona so crudely put it, curry favor with another school of magic. I can't imagine that you wouldn't immediately jump at the chance."

"My, to think that my upperclassmen think so little of my intentions..." Azul sniffled dramatically—an innocent act. "Unfortunately, I have a prior arrangement to oversee at the Mostro Lounge during the visiting period. I would otherwise happily accept this honor!"

"Of course you would," Riddle and Vil said at once.

"Hey, hey, guys! It's no problem! I can show them around! I've done it plenty for our guests back home," Kalim chirped, leaping out of his seat.

"Can Jamil-san confirm that your schedule is clear?" Azul inquired, eyebrow quirked. "It would be a stain upon my... excuse me, I mean Night Raven College's reputation if we were unable to safely secure this relationship."

"Huh? Well, sure I can ask him."

Kalim produced a phone dressed up in a gold case studded with gemstones. He typed up a text message, and received a reply just as fast. His face slowly fell. "Uh-oh, uh..."

"Yes?" Azul prompted.

"Jamil says it's a no-go. He has to tutor me for a big midterm exam on Monday..." Kalim quickly perked up again. "But it's okay! We still have Idia, right?"

"L-Leave me out of this!!" came Idia's stuttering voice from a floating tablet. "I-I didn't ask to pick up a side quest that no one else wants to fulfill! I want nothing to do with this, do you hear me?!"

"Hah!" Leona let out a sharp bark of laughter. "You think that wimpy daikon radish sprout can keep himself together long enough to entertain an esteemed guest?"

"I-It's true!" Idia agreed. "I-I spend most of my time trapped inside my room! I've barely stepped outside to see the light of day or the campus for myself! I'm super anti-social and hate irl people!! Th-There's no way I can socialize or give a halfway decent tour!!"

"Willfully talking yourself down to that extent... Have you no dignity left?" Vil groaned. "Safe to say, we cannot rely on a man with no confidence for a matter as important as this."

"Then all that's left is..."

Everyone's eyes collectively drifted to the seventh and unoccupied dorm leader seat at the table.

"Great. It's decided, then. It'll be the lizard's gig," Leona smirked, seemingly satisfied with the outcome.

"Is it really okay to make the decision without Malleus here?" Kalim asked—the only one truly concerned about him.

"No, this is unacceptable," Riddle pointed out. "There tends to be miscommunication when information is relayed to Malleus. We cannot afford such mistakes if we wish to forge a healthy, sustainable relationship with Noble Bell College. We must entrust this task to an individual who is punctual, polite, welcoming, detail-oriented, and an eloquent speaker."

In this pool of candidates? Good luck with that. Raven scrawled down Riddle's last remarks, dotting the period with pessimism.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Crowley fretted to himself. "What to do? We've already run through you boys and no one is quite free or suitable for the role..."

"What if we were to put out a call to action, headmaster?" Raven offered, glancing up from her parchment. "I know that our students aren't the most open to extending their hands, but perhaps someone will volunteer for the task if you offer some kind of compensation."

"Oogh... The compensation would have to be fairly generous to spark interest and enthusiasm this close to the visit..." Crowley lamented. "Woe is me!! Wherever can I find such a magnanimous individual on such short notice?!"

"There, there. It will sort itself out, you'll see." Raven smiled sympathetically and patted her uncle on the back. "If you'd like, I can get started by drafting the document for your approval."

"My, how very kind of you, my dear!! That's what I like to hear!! Where would we be without your astute…”

The headmaster's gushing suddenly quieted, his once-panicked expression settling into thoughtfulness. Crowley's beady, golden gaze bore right into his child.

"... Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I think," Crowley said slowly, "we've found the answer to our prayers. The perfect person for the job, in fact!"

"... You have?"

"Dear, sweet Raven-kun," Crowley drawled in a singsong, "my adorable niece, apple of my eye, sweetest of songbirds—”

A smile grew on the headmaster's lips. Heat from all corners of the meeting room concentrated on her. Collective realization.

Raven puffed with indignation. "You are NOT seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Uncle!! I'm here to keep records, not to fill in for the duties of the dorm leaders!”

"Yet you've been present for all of our meetings, Raven-san," Azul cooed. "You are privy to all the same information that we are, and have already proven yourself to be reliable when it comes to your work. I also understand that you're quite the student among the first years."

"Where did you hear that from?!"

"I have my sources." Azul raised his voice to address the other dorm leaders. "Gentlemen, don't you agree that Raven-san would be a most wonderful choice for the task at hand?"

"Heh, so this is where we're going with this?" A dry chuckle escaped Leona. "Fine by me."

"She would be our best option," Vil added. "Her manners are passable. She presents herself well enough."

"A-As long as it's not me! I'm up for anyone else!!"

"Azul..." Riddle frowned disapprovingly. "While I can't say I condone your methods, it seems we're left with little choice in this matter."

"Gosh, it's so nice of you to step up for us, Raven!" Kalim graciously beamed.

"W-Wait just a second here! I haven't agreed to anything yet!! Don’t I get a say in this?!” Raven protested, abruptly rising. She shuddered upon feeling a clawed hand clap her back.

“Our hopes are riding on you, Raven-kun!!” Crowley cheerily declared. “Go out there and make our Night Raven College look good!!”

"I'm so glad we came to an agreement." Azul's lip curled back into a triumphant smirk. "May I be the first to offer my congratulations? Ah, and I think I speak for all of us when I say... best of luck with handling our special guest."

"Wow, that's amazing, Raven!! Congratulations!!" Kalim squealed, his eyes sparkling with genuine joy.

"Yeah, congrats," Leona yawned. "Knock'm dead, canary."

"Congratulations, potato. Be on your best behavior now."

"Raven, congratulations. I expect you to perform well, or it's off with your head. Is that understood?"

"Congrats, LMAO. Sux 2 b u rn. GL, hf, don't die!!"

It felt as though the room was shrinking in on her, blocking off all exits and routes of escape. A circle of arbiters, already having settled the raven's fate long ago. Her left eye twitched.

"I can see that none of you are willing to let me worm my way out of this," she said warily. "Absolutely awful, all of you..."

"Why, that's exactly what makes you the ideal person for the job, my dear niece!" Crowley aggressively ruffled Raven's hair, making it stick up like feathers plugged into an electrical socket. "It's your kindness and willingness to help those in need. You must have gotten it from me, fufu!"

"Highly doubtful. I almost feel sorry for the poor, unfortunate soul being sent here... He has no idea what's in store for him."

Crowley blinked. "Oh, did I fail to tell you all? The student representative from Noble Bell College is..."

Night had descended upon Night Raven College. Darkness heralded twinkling stars, shadows, and secrets hidden in its depths. This was the height of mystique—and he, mystique manifest, walked along that darkness, finding comfort in it.

"... So this is where you were. I knew I’d find you out and wandering about again.”

Malleus turned.

A short figure had appeared behind him, the jacket hanging off of his shoulders flapping in a steady breeze. In the dark, his eyes were bright rubies—striking against the lucid, opal moonlight. He smiled, displaying fangs.

"Lilia."

He skipped to Malleus’s side. "Didn’t you have a dorm leader meeting to attend?"

The prince’s brow furrowed. "Is that today?"

"It was today," Lilia gently corrected him. “Well, it's long since over.”

A frown formed. “That is... rather unfortunate. I had been looking forward to the discussing how to best demonstrate our hospitality to the student from beyond Sage's Island."

“Chin up, Malleus!" Lilia reached into his back pocket and produced a scroll tied with a midnight blue ribbon. “I have the meeting notes passed along from the headmaster’s child—you remember the little raven, don't you? With this, you’ll be able to get up to speed on the discussion in no time."

“The raven? Yes, that would be the young Crowley you speak of. I shall have to express my gratitude to her at a later time. It is in part through these records that I remain informed in spite of my absences."

Malleus accepted the paper from his vice dorm leader, tugging the ribbon and letting the page unfurl. He immediately began poring over its contents, a finger following each line of text he took in. A review of the quarterly budget, consideration for expanding the cafeteria menu to include more vegetarian options, important upcoming events...

“Shall we make her an honorary knight for all her troubles? Send a thank-you card? Invite her to tea?”

“We are nowhere that friendly. Merely acquaintances.”

“That’s too bad. She seems like an sharp girl. A little high-strung, but nice.” Lilia curiously rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “You, Sebek, and Silver attended that masquerade in the City of Flowers together, didn’t you? I imagine you’re already thick as thieves. How good for you all! I wish I had been there too.”

Malleus’s lip curled at the mention of the masquerade. “A great many things happened then. I was certainly taken aback by the young Crowey’s conviction when she was faced with grave danger.”

… That danger had been himself.

A memory flashed through his mind—four figures, clustered around a book. The distressed cries of a raven calling out, and the cold, steely roar of the dragon that countered it.

“We must stop him from tainting his own soul. We must!!“

“Rest assured, we will stop him. When the time comes for me to exact my revenge... Pray that you do not stand between myself and Flamme. I cannot guarantee your safety if you were to get caught in the crossfires.”

“But he’s…!!”

“Suffering? He has deceived me and threatened the safety of my people. They will suffer too if he is not stopped. His is a story that will end in fire. There can be no other ending. If it comes down to life or death, I will do what I must to secure Briar Valley’s future.”

“It won’t come to that, it can’t! I…! I won’t let that happen! A-Absolutely not, even if it’s Malleus-senpai…!”

“You would grant your enemies clemency? Then you are a fool.”

“I-I believe… everyone deserves a second shot at their happily ever after!! S-So even if I’m scared and want to run away… e-even though I know I can’t beat you in a fight… I’m a fool who wants to defend that belief until the bitter end!!”

"My, so she’s fiery one! I’ve yet to see many defiant enough to stand against you. It’s a good thing you didn’t flambé her.”

“She looked as though she was going to pass out from fright.”

“Even better!!” Lilia clapped his hands in delight. "Ooh, I’d love for you to have such an amusing friend.”

Malleus was nearly done with the notes now. As he neared the end of the paper, the subject shifted to that of a special guest. The odd raven, that guest’s guide and attendant.

He stopped, his finger hovering over the final bullet point on the page.

"What's this? The visiting student will be from Noble Bell College... and his identity…” The prince fell silent. Seriousness had seized control of his features.

“Malleus…? What’s wrong?”

Lilia looked over in concern. What he found was a dark, mischievous smile slowly spreading across Malleus’s face. For a brief moment, he felt as though he had just stared into an abyss—and the abyss had stared back in all of its wickedness.

“Fufufu… Now this will certainly be fun."

[gumballavocadoharry]

Estrangement:

*This is a POV of you and Harry's daughter Kaitlin. Yn= you and ofc Harry is your husband. Mentions of mistreatment towards their child. Not physical abuse but emotional neglect and somewhat abuse I guess.*

The wind shoved up against my curtains and the open window that let out a surreal glimpse into the real world. The California cotton candy sunset flashed it's colors in the sky, as the darkness of the soon to come night sky would befall it all. There I laid in bed, on my laptop checking out the Instagram friends I had for over the 2 years since I finally decided to create an account. I never posted anything, but it was an escape from the inhabitable environment of home.

Ah to be the middle child-the second to the oldest that was adored and loved by all the family. That was Kimberly. Our parents started the trend of naming us all with the letter K. Kimberly, Kaitlin, Kylie, Kameron and Kristopher (My brothers) and youngest named Kira. All six of with the letter...K. Although despite my name with the familiar syllable...that still didn't make me fit in.

Kimberly had her honors, her trophies hung up as prized possessions for achievements inside and outside school, Kylie had her art that she drew, even having an art wall put into her bedroom because....why not? Then the twins had their sports, the athletic side that earned them several trophies and praise from mom and dad, and then there was Kira. The baby of the family...she didn't have anything except cuteness that came as a surprise to everyone when the twins turned 6. She didn't have to work hard for attention, it came to her whether she wanted it or not.

Then there was me. In everyone's shadow. I liked poetry...I wrote some whenever I could find inspiration...but that didn't matter to anyone. My parents could care less. Kira appreciated it, so I would always doll out time to write about a mystical pony in the sky or a rainbow spotted cheetah that ran on the stars nighttime dust just to have a moment with the little girl before her bedtime.

My hair abruptly blew from the evening breeze that signaled it's reign. I typed away on the keys of my stone colored laptop, hoping one of my friends was up to chat. It wasn't often this peaceful in the house besides my bedroom, where laughter filled the hallways or the downstairs, or screams and cries echoed throughout bedrooms, mostly by the screaming toddler that didn't want to go to bed while all her siblings stayed up into late hours. That's where I'd come in with a story that sent little Kira right to sleep, hugging her stuffed moon pillow with the cutest little innocent face on it. Mom and dad never appreciated my efforts in putting my sister, their child to sleep. Almost like I was the ghost haunting the house just doing random deeds that no one felt the need to acknowledge.

Except for Kira, I was alone. The earthy sky and the now booming stars showed as my nightly companions if I happened to be up into late hours like tonight.

No reply from the instagram friends. The internet people from behind a screen that could live a thousand miles away from the scorching California summer, that despite the burning temperatures, still managed to give that bohemian summertime aesthetic all year round. Fall was a favored season of mine mostly due to the summer's temper finally cooling down for the year where sweat jackets were all anyone needed to step a foot outside.

My brown strands that were mixed with a honey blonde, laid neatly on my shoulders as I contemplated going downstairs to grab a drink. Maybe I'll be able to strike up a conversation with Kimberly about what type of tricks I can use to get the professor to lighten my load in my assignments. I was just kidding myself....goody two shoes will run to mommy and daddy and spill the beans, leading to a stern lecture about being honest and doing what's required of me in all I do in school despite never having the help I needed.

But to my luck, school was almost over and soon I'll be able to apply for a job that will land me into a steady track of a good income. I can say that I did this all by myself. My dad. The college professor at one of the most prestigious schools in the country couldn't even lift a finger to help me with any work even when I've asked. Long nights spent at the library, studying through every English literature book I could find is what pushed me up to the top tier. My mom being no better was a nag. She nagged me about nothing being done right with my chores all because I was 'studying' too much and was actually talking about me wanting to drop out.

I pushed them all away and forged a path on my own with the help of ambition and black coffee on those all nighters. I decided against going downstairs and just focused on my poetry. Little footsteps crawled through the mellow lit hallway and a soft knocked appeared on my door.

I carefully tiptoed to the door and spotted my little sister, sucking her thumb and finally suckling out about how she wanted another story read. I rubbed my strained eyes with some upcoming dark circles growing under them like a raccoon and invited her in. She took a seat on my bed as I read to her from a book of my poems that I had made myself. 

Kira giggled as I imitated the voices of the characters I had imagined for them. "And then the big horse said-"

"Kira what are you doing out of bed!?" Mom came in, eyes instantly reverting to me as if I had somehow forced Kira out of bed to listen to my somber poems filled with deep angst and bitterness that I dare not squawk out to dispassionate family. Not even Kira knows the depths of emptiness I feel from a day-to-day basis from the excruciating nonchalant parents I have that force me to swallow myself whole and shield myself yet at the same time whenever I can feel disapproval coming on strong. Only me, never Kim, Kam, Kris, Ky or Kir thank goodness. I couldn't bare my youngest sister going through the pains of not having someone. And when I'm gone, I dread to see just how much of that nightmare is true.

Mom swept Kira off the bed like dust being swept in a dustpan and sweetly carried her back into her bedroom. But not before letting me have it, like she saw me as some villain trying tear apart her family. "Kaitlin! You are not supposed to disturb your sister when she's sleeping! You know better!"

"It's okay mommy, I went into her room," Sweet Kira insisted. "It's okay honey, let's just get you back to bed." The woman's eyes diverted themselves back to me. This time with more coldness. "You stay in your room and be quiet. I don't want to hear a peep from you." She sneered. She whisked Kira away and that was that. I listened closely by the doorframe of my bedroom, only to hear exaggerated kisses coming from Kira's bedroom. A smile snuck itself onto my face somehow, maybe for the sake of Kira getting all the love she deserves.

Coldness covered my back like a blanket, as I could see mom leaving Kira's room. She stared at my room with a deep glare before continuing on downstairs. I quietly got up and went back to my bed, staring at the half read story that was written for Kira. My eyes gazed back to the stars that had now showed themselves with their yellow glares that shined down on my hazel eyes. One day....it'll all be over. I tucked myself into bed after doing a french braid and laid back in the purple and gray covers that kept me warm until dawn. My opened window still let in that summertime breeze that swished the sweat from my head and the tears from my eyes.

Then darkness. I was asleep.

I woke up to the sun glaring through my bedroom window, it's fumy glow rested on my face as nature's alarm clock. I rubbed my tired eyes to notice the window was still open from last night. The fresh morning dew air tickled my nose as it swirled around the sunlight sherbet sky. The curtains swung back and fourth to the rhythm of the wind that captured a cool breeze into my room that made it less sufferance than yesterday's furious heat that left everyone's tongues out panting like a dog.

I made my way downstairs, finally getting ahold of some orange juice before the breakfast rush came in. Peace and quiet, my personal serenity from the other seven residents living in the perfect big house on a white picket fence hill. I swallowed harshly at the thought and continued pouring my orange juice into a big glass cup with pretty little designs on it. I sat in the kitchen nook taking in the summer morning that allowed me my peace and happiness even if it was to be temporary.

I closed my eyes and let my mind take me into my safe space, my personal little bubble that kept me sane, happy and wanted. Bouncing on bubbles type of happy, sunflower kiss happy, swimming in a bed full of lavenders happy. I breathed taking it all in, letting my brain fill with all sorts of dreams. Maybe I could catch them if I just....

The atmosphere changed. Dad had entered the room...I could feel it. The deep dive I had taken into fantasy world, was now tethering me back up to the main land. The somber reality of it all. 

I opened my eyes, only to be met with distant and cold green ones that were so close, yet so far away. Hm, reminds me of Kristopher. He acted just like dad....only a little nicer. I was more accepting of his behavior because he's my brother....and siblings are supposed to tease each other right? But father's and daughters.....well dad's was more brutal...more condescending. It was inconsolable at times. The bright crimson sky had now metaphorically turned into an ugly black and grayish one filled with nightmares and turmoil. 

He didn't even say good-morning. And well neither did I so we're even. "Good morning." I said finally grasping myself from my biased rudeness. No sense for me to be a jerk as well. Still no response just a "Mhmm." It wasn't until Kim joined in that he greeted her with a kiss and a "Good morning" as usual. Once again, alienated. Pretty soon the whole crowd started coming in and I was sitting in the kitchen nook still alienated from the residents.

Loneliness engulfed me like a wave washing over sand and leaving it moist and crushed, as the pack started rolling in for the breakfast rush. I ended up making some toast, coffee and cereal and took it all upstairs to my bedroom to eat and relax. But as my luck had it, I heard my dad's voice shift from the living and then eventually to the staircase. "Kaitlin! Come here now!" He yelled with a repugnant sneer. 

I traipsed downstairs but was stopped midway by my dad putting his hand up. "What's this?" He said with a condescending tone. I looked down to see some spilled milk from when I was taking my cereal upstairs. "Milk," I answered. "I want you to come and clean this up." He finished, venom practically spilling from him lips. Dad pursed his lips and gave a strong grisly glare as I continued on down the stairs and made my way to the kitchen to grab some paper towels. As I returned, dad made me get on my hands and knees while he towered over me like a heavy rock threatening to crush it's little twigs that lie beneath it. He wanted me to feel powerless and patronized..that's where he got his second wind.

I cleaned up the mess and just took the paper towels upstairs with me to my bedroom, so I could tend to my soggy cereal and toast and cold coffee. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I took a sip from my cold watered down coffee. My small breakfast was ruined thanks to my dad who became livid over some spilled milk. I could hear him laughing it up with the rest of the family, not even caring that I wasn't to take delight in the family breakfast. I was too timid to even bother going downstairs and heating my coffee up, so I just took it as it was and left it at that.

My lips quivered as I took a bit from my toast and another from my cereal. I stomached through it and then tarnished the remains once I felt it safe to enter the kitchen. Kylie, Kimberly, Kristopher, Kameron and Kira were all the ones mom and dad seemed to truly love. The way mom flashes her natural motherly smile at them, they way dad grins as he shares his fatherly wisdom with them, encouraging them to give it their all and be the best version of themselves.

It was like seeing everyone's happiness through the eyes of a ghost. The only thing I focused on was throwing away my garbage and heating up a new cup of coffee. That's what I was getting because I deserved better. My spirits kept me afloat, through a complete tug-of-war with my heart and despondent thoughts. The beep of the microwave didn't stop anyone from their chatting, so I took my hot cup of coffee and made my way upstairs to my bedroom to drown myself in some school work. The sooner I graduated, the sooner I would be getting that job as a writer. I plugged in my headphones and drowned myself in writing my essay to send into the teacher.

Trade school was like that. But it was less stressful then college so I took that over any day, the last thing I needed was more heartache to add to what I was facing at home. My endurance was tested everyday with new and different things. I should be grateful. It's made me a stronger person I guess.

Later that afternoon, I asked mom if I could go to the library to study. I prayed she'd let me go because in her eyes, it would get me out of the house. Of course she said yes, probably thinking the same thing just in a more strident way of thinking. I grabbed my backpack and dashed out the door. The last thing I needed was another setback like the one dad gave me this morning. 

The library was finally peace and quiet. It reminded me of the tranquility of relief I felt this morning. Just me and the other 4 people scattered across the section. Disappearing for me felt freeing, no one could hurt me, no one could say anything that breaks down the brick wall that has encased me inside. I pulled a few promising books from the shelf before diving right into to a computer and finishing my studies there. My eyes moved back and fourth from the bright screen, then to the basic pages of the book. I was chiefly more focused on the book and writing notes into my online notebook to clear the clutter of having scattered flash cards or notebook pages that were trailed into different sections that after awhile became confusing and only gave me the bare minimum of what I needed.

My head was consistently shoved into a book for 3 hours straight until I decided enough was enough and that I needed to catch a break from all the studying. So I grabbed my backpack, swung it over my shoulder and left the library for some coffee. I walked along the sandy colored pathway to the nearest downtown coffee shop, only to see the line was overwhelmingly vast. The galling amount of customers was going to be too much for me to handle if I hadn't noticed the blonde haired boy serving the drinks. I quickly plopped myself in line, anxiously waiting to be served by the charmer making the lattes.

To my one in a million break, the line moved rather faster than when I had looked in the window. The varying customers left one by one out of the line with their espresso treats, while I was only three customers in from meeting fate in a green apron and a dimpled smile. My cheeks burned when I swore he made eye contact with me. These hazel eyes really captured his attention?

I was already rehearsing my order in my head for when I got to the counter as not to choke on the right words from a pretty face making direct contact with me. An iced vanilla latte with whipped cream and caramel drizzle.....and maybe one of those fudge brownies that look so delicious?

Finally was up to the line after the woman in front of me got her regular hazelnut coffee that she too impatient to drink once she was out of the line. I cleared my throat and looked confidently in the barista's eyes, despite his matching hazel ones being intimidating ample. "I-I would like an iced vanilla latte with whipped cream and caramel sauce. And a fudge brownie please." I politely requested.

The blonde haired boy typed in the order and asked if there was anything else I would like. "No that'll be all." He smiled and waited for me to hand him my card. With shaky, infatuated hands, I gave him my card to swipe. "Alrighty, you're all set." He smiled and immediately got to work on my coffee and snack. I blushed deeply as I remembered his fingers touched my hand as he took my card. I shuffled my card back into my wallet as a partial excuse to shield my face from his seeing me scarlet stained cheeks from his encounter.

Pretty soon, I saw my coffee was served right in front of me along with a packaged brownie cake and a handsome smile that farewelled me with; "Have a nice day." I smiled back and repeated those words to him before grabbing my coffee and brownie and then leaving. I shoved my phone into my pocket to enjoy my brownie and iced coffee as I walked along downtown and sight see all the different tall buildings that and the short offices that still added depth to the anomalous city. I finished my brownie, now it was just my coffee that needed my attention I sipped along to when I spotted a large building that sent phobic chill up my spine. My heart raced at an irrational but sensible speed the more I walked past it.

My father's school where he worked. Sure he was a hit with all the kids that he shared his immeasurable knowledge of life and of science with. Word on the street was Professor styles is a excellent teacher and his skills are astute! Even I had to agree with it to a perspective...dad was one very intelligent man. But a horrid father to me. I decided to suck in my hostage breath and face a very inhibit fear of mine that shouldn't even began to exist. I walked through the tall brownish red doors that led me to the highly lavish main floor of classrooms and lockers that were attached to the ornate walls. I chugged my coffee down anxiously as I wandered through the exquisite college that I felt out of place at.

My feet dared not turn to the cursed third floor, room 109 where my dad taught his classes there only to those who were desirable in his eyes...which was everyone but me. But my inquisitive brain was in full control of my feet that took me straight to the elevator, and pressed the third floor button almost as if it had some macabre pleasure in seeing myself become jaded and disgustingly humiliated from the elective situations I sometimes put myself in involving my parents. It was obvious that I just didn't have that type of relationship with them...I just didn't have it.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a still expensively decorated hallway and classroom door. My stomach grew into knots as I tiptoed down the quiet hallway nervously sipping my iced coffee to it's ending. My throat became dry and hollow and my lungs grew bitter the more my eyes darted across the different classroom door numbers.

107, 106, 108...109. 

My lips became dry and chapped as my now pale skin grew more and more white as shivers sprinted inside of me. My hands literally shook from wanting to open the door to the large college classroom styled like an auditorium just to sit in and maybe listen to a lecture from which my dad had rehearsed specifically for the class. Sweat introduced itself into my forehead as I thought about the consequences if I were to be seen by him. The embarrassment that I cause him might make his class lose respect for him which would then make him furious with me, leading to him making my life more of a living hell.

I decided it wouldn't be that bad since the lecture hall was so big, that it would be a in a million of him spotting me. Maybe, I just could ponder on one or two words that incited percipience in me. I opened the door and took a seat at the top that was hard to spot from a below point of view. I finished my coffee and listened intently to the lecture dad was giving on science and humanity.

"The human heart is a vital organ in the body that gives us life..it allows us to run and walk and jump and survive even in the most tedious situations. But what about the heart of the mind? The one that allows us to feel, to think, to see not with our eyes...but with our perception?"

I was so invested into the conversation that I didn't even realize the worst....I had been spotted.

Dad's eyes, once full of insight and deep logic...now were glacial, passionless and aloof. I swallowed hard to lubricate my throat from the tense dryness I felt all until now. Should I leave?  I wondered turning away from the gelid professor. I stood up and walked out of the lecture, not even caring what anyone else thought. They were probably too focused on the 'world's best teacher.'

I exited the school and ran as fast as I could outside, to get lost in the day-to-day of downtown. 

Back at home, I entered the house barely making eye contact with anyone and hurrying myself up to my room and locking the door behind me. I didn't come until later when I was called downstairs in a callous voice.

I demurely opened the door, stepped outside in the cold wooded floor hallway and walked down the matching icy wooded steps. There dad was sitting...waiting for me with resentment deep inside his expression. 

"Hey dad, mom says dinner is almost ready," Kristopher interrupted to my gratefulness. "Thank you bud, I'll be right there." A completely different man! So warm and gentle and was completely placated in his temper. But he switched it off when his eyes darted towards me. I came closer and sat across from him, almost wanting to intimidate him. 

"Why were you in the college today?" He said quietly with a hiss to his words. His illiberal tone made me rethink my answer that was drowning in my paralyzed throat that was dead to speak. "I-I heard your speech....I mean....I wanted to hear your speech because it was so good and I had just come back from the library and- "

"Isn't studying your own topic enough for you?" My dad sneered bitterly. "What are you taking these classes for if you can't even have the passion to listen to them?" I blinked back tears and swallowed hard as to not choke out a sob. "I don't want you doing that ever...again. Understood?" Dad looked at me with abhor, building deep in his eyes the more his eyes stared deeply into mine. I nodded before retiring to my bedroom and missing dinner that was waiting for everyone downstairs. My stomach growled harshly as the only thing I had eaten was a brownie and an iced coffee for the past few hours.

But my intemperate bitter sadness nested itself around me, as I cried into my pillow, tears puncturing wrinkles and damp spots into the pillowcase. I sobbed loudly into my pillow, not allowing room for any shallow breaths to escape my lungs that were too busy spilling out bottled up fuming emotions to care. It wasn't until a soft knock on my door interrupted my emotional fest. I doddered over to the door, wiping my face careen hoping the red eyes would be seen as an allergy.

I cracked open the oak colored door to see the little girl with the pigtails and two chocolate chip cookies in her hand, anxiously waiting for the door to open to her invite. "Hey Kira, what are doing?" "You didn't come down for dinner, so I brought you these cookies so you wouldn't be hungry."

My heart stung with hope. Someone...someone cared after everything that went on today. I meekly opened the door and invited Kira in. I shared the other cookie with her maybe as a subliminal award for caring. And because, I was deeply grateful for her generosity. As much as I tried to hide it, the sweet 7 year old noticed my teary trails and my red burning eyes of sadness. "Why are you crying Kaitlin?" She had that innocent little lisp that foiled her from saying my name in it's clearness, but I fully understood what she meant.

I sniffled, chocking back a pathetic cry as to not let a 7 year old know every painful detail, detailing the atrocious events of tonight. "Katie's very sad because she had a bad day." To put it simply. Kira nuzzled herself over to me and hugged me tightly in her little arms. Her puny little body, filled a warm sensation of love that was describable in this moment. If I could pick her up and move her with me when I go, I would no doubt about it.

After everyone had retired themselves upstairs for leisure or sleep, I snuck downstairs to the kitchen where the leftovers were stored away and plopped a reasonable portion of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus onto my plate that I heated in the microwave oven for a measly 3 minutes. I had poured a glass of lemonade and made a neat napkin with a fork and then moved quicker than light upstairs with my dinner once it was finished. 

I ate silently in my room, concentrating on each bite that I collected with my fork and hungrily shoved into my mouth. Once my dinner was finished, I set aside my plate and got to work on some more assignments. The sky was a peach rose-colored that struck awe with me. The subliminal stars appeared in the sky as the day was soon about to hand it's shift over to a mystifying night that would have more of jovial breeze than the burning summer's eve. The weather shouted California as the summer gained more reign through the months.

I still admired the way the heat itched my skin, and the way the sun slapped it's sunny glow onto my face in the morning. It just felt so earthy and sweet, refreshing as I would say taking a walk into the woods where the sun played peek-a-boo behind the tall lanky trees and that ignited the gentle birds to tweet their song like melodies with such grace.

A prompt I had used for my writing assignment earned me a meritorious A+. I remembered the last time I had showed my parents an A+ I had received from a class, their reaction was that of a nonchalant wind blowing the green grass in the midday. "That's nice Kaitlin." Mom said with distance. "Nice." Dad had barely looked up from his cell phone. That was more important. "Had I offended them?"  My 6 year old mind thought. But no, that was just their initial reaction....their typical reaction.

I was used to giving myself pats on the back for a job well done or from a unwonted teacher who would praise me and give me a reward for my hard work. Usually it was those ones who showed up to my recitals, to my plays and to field day where I showed off any talent I had in those categories. I just focused on that. Not the reality of my parents shoving us all in the car to see the twin's soccer games, or Kylie's art shows or Kimberly's extracurricular college activities. I sniffled while writing the last sentence of my writing assignment. I sent it in and then logged out for the night, wanting to catch up on some well needed rest.

I woke up the smell of bacon cooking. My tummy growled as I thought about the sweet meal that was waiting downstairs. I knew I would never be apart of it, but nothing like that was going to faze me seeing at how I was only two assignments short from graduating. Everything was set, my money, empty boxes ready to be filled with every belonging I had ever owned in this room and a present for Kira. She needed it, after all....I wasn't ever coming back. Exhilaration climaxed through my body as my pins and needles tongue finally licked my lips to motivate them to open in a delighted open smile that flashed my deep dimples and my cherry sour lips.

Rent for an apartment was going to be no problem as I had already started creating my resume. All I needed was the degree that would set it all on track for me. I had saved some energy bars away in my desk and nibbled on them before grabbing my backpack filled with the most important books and raced downstairs. "Hey," I interrupted as the room fell silent. Not with grasping attention toward the speaker because of the importance of their words, but because of the murk hue that spoiled the family's breakfast. My siblings looked at me with confusion while my parents looked on with a sullen glower look. 

"Could I go to the library? I really need to study," As if they needed an explanation. Mom looked to dad, waiting for an answer. "Be back by 5....it's your brother's soccer match tonight." I nodded gratefully and escaped the house as they continued their lovely meal. In a feeling a nostalgia, I practically skipped to the library for the last time in a sense of studying. This was it...the moment I had been waiting for my entire life! My ticket to self freedom. Finally setting myself free from the sinkhole of my home. Or should I say current place of residence.

I hopped on the computer and completed the two assignments with such ease, that I wondered if I was really that lucky. The words; Congratulations Kaitlin! You have officially completed your course in creative writing. Your graduation date will be posted to your home page along with the expected arrival date of your diploma.

Tears...tears fell freely from my eyes looking back and fourth at the screen of my success. I celebrated with a coffee and trip to the store to buy myself a beautiful locket in remembrance of this day. 

As promised, I was home by five cautiously coming through the door, and wiping my sneakers off on the welcome mat as routine. My backpack tiredly slung over my shoulder tracing itself down to my elbow as I shut the rounded shaped blue door soundly to announce my punctual presence in the house. Confusion stabbed me as to why they would want an 'outcast' at the soccer game when they didn't even want me at the dinning room table?

I walked upstairs and changed clothing not realizing the house being suspiciously quiet. "Mom, dad? I'm home!" Those words cringed well with me. I checked everyone's bedrooms, but no one in sight. I called their cellphones, but no answer. I sat in my room, staring up at the ceiling in what to do next. The white colored plastered ceiling didn't give me any idea as to where everyone had gone. To the store maybe? 

Hours passed until the sound of the door unlocking grabbed my attention. I rushed to the stairwell to see the whole gang coming in with Kristopher and Kameron holding their trophies while being cheered on by everyone for a great game. It still didn't register with me that maybe the game started earlier and they didn't have time to call me? Or was that giving them too much of an inch? 

It was simple....they didn't want me there. 

It shouldn't have hurt by now as I already knew I wasn't part of the family, but that didn't stop me from racing back to my bedroom and crying my eyes out in my pillow again. There was no questions about it anymore....

It was time to go.

Part 2 will be posted soon!!!!!

[lets-try-some-writing]

Okay, in regards to your Unicron is a parent to humans post, when you mention Unicron possessing an animal, I imagined a squirrel. Not some epic beast... I imagined the alien god of destruction sleeping at the center of the Earth as a squirrel.

But it fits. Squirrels are agents of chaos.

Squirrel runs into road, no one, not even the squirrel knows what's gonna happen. Squirrel gets under your vehicle's hood, chews the wires and makes a nest. Squirrel gets into the walls of your house, chews the wires and stores and insane amount of nuts. Squirrel gets cornered, jumps at you like a mad lad.

Could you imagine if Unicron just decided, "I'm a squirrel today and I'm going terrorize the Cybertronians and my brother can't even get mad cause chewing wires is what they do." Or "Hey, I'm a squirrel and travel-sized. I now shall nest in Raf's hair and protect the children this way."

Sorry this a wacked out thought that made me laugh, and felt compelled to share.

Dude I laughed for a solid minute reading this-

Agents of Chaos

After finding out about his surprise offspring, Unicron became protective immediately. But he quickly discovered several things, those being: He couldn't move or act all that much if he wanted to keep his spawn alive. His children quickly became fearful of anything that was abnormal to them. And lastly, fragging with the Cybertronians on his surface was far more enjoyable when there was nothing they could do to stop him.

With these thoughts in mind, Unicron devised the perfect avatar with which to protect, interact with, and care for his young while also making life difficult for everyone else and not drawing too much attention to himself. He searched the other organisms on his surface for days until he found it, the perfect avatar.

The squirrel.

It was chaos incarnate but so common in most places that it would fit right in even if Unicron used it for nefarious purposes. His chackling caused the earth to shake in places as he chose his first subject and took control of it. And while he did have some initial issues piloting the body of the small monster, he quickly got the hang of it and moved to meet the three among his many children who required his attention more so than any others.

Opting to go to Rafael, Unicron in the body of the squirrel quickly took up a place in the boy's arms, earning him a startled squeak and awed touches in response. Unicron chittered, oh so pleased with himself as he spent days refusing to leave Rafael alone, eventually gaining his avatar a place as the boy's pet, just like he planned. Then once he gained a solid foundation from which to work with, his avatar, now named Chitters, snuck into Rafael's school bag and snuck into the base that way.

Rafael was too busy working on his homework and chatting with his Cybertronian guardian to notice as Chitters wormed his way out of the bag and Unicron directed it to begin causing chaos. Unicron didn't want to totally sabotage the Cybertronians who called themselves Autobots, not while they were keeping his children safe. So he didn't direct Chitters to harm anything of importance, but he most certainly did go out of his way to make life hard for everyone. The squirrel quickly gained the ire of the entire team as Chitters tore into wires connecting to certain consoles in the base (never the groundbridge of course. Unicron couldn't risk harming his children after all). Chitters also stole small components from Ratchet's workspace and a few of Bumblebee's video games.

By the end of the day Chitters was banned from base and Rafael took him home with no small amount of guilt. Of course no matter what Rafael did to try and keep Chitters from getting into base, it was useless since Chitters snuck in by hiding on Jack and Miko of by straight up waltzing into the base via Unicron's aid. The abominable squirrel swiftly became an unstoppable pain in the aft that none of the team could do anything about and accepted since the squirrel kept coming back.

Optimus eventually accepted that he was being cursed and merely sighed when his datapads disappeared randomly only to be found later bitten to shreds by a determined squirrel. Ratchet however never gave up trying to hide his small items and tools, even when they were repeatedly found and stolen by Chitters at Unicron's behest. Arcee stopped fighting back when Chitters clambered all over her and gnawed on her outer plating like an irritating but ultimately harmless scraplet. Bulkhead and Wheeljack took to booking it in the opposite direction whenever the "demon squirrel" came near. Unicron abused their reactions until he laughed himself into a stupor, even more so when the two wreckers began carrying tower shields to try and fend the Chitters off. Bumblebee valiantly tried and failed to keep Chitters from destroying his video game controllers and very nearly crushed the squirrel in outrage after the fifth time he had to replace his controller.

Bumblebee: YOU DETESTIBlE VERMIN!

Chitters/Unicron: *destroying yet another controller* This is what you deserve you abominable creation of Primus!

Bumblebee: *chasing after the squirrel* PERISH!

Chitters/Unicron: MWAhAHA!

Every single member of the team hated the squirrel with a seething passion. At times Optimus, usually ever merciful, contemplated taking the squirrel out back and putting it down in the most gruesome way possible. His contemplative thoughts nearly became reality once when Chitters got into his personal datapads that he usually kept hidden away. Those were his only remaining items from his time as Orion and he may or may not have blasted much of the wall into scrap as he widely shot at the squirrel. That day Unicron learned Optimus's limits and he did not touch the Prime's personal items again. He wanted to cause chaos, but he didn't want to earn the true ire of Primus's chosen vessel.

The team hated Chitters and the children knew it. So eventually Rafael tried in vain to let the squirrel go for the sanity of everyone. Long story short, he failed. No matter what he did, Chitters always came back and nestled in his hair like an unwelcome louse. Unicron wasn't upset in the slightest at the children gathering together to try and attempt to get rid of his avatar. In fact he found it to be a fun game to find a way to sneak his avatar back into the Autobot base.

Of course not everything was fun and games for the chaos god, though he greatly enjoyed messing with the Autobots. The Decepticons were a real threat, one that loomed over the children every time they left base. As such Chitters followed the children whenever they left and proved to be far more dangerous than anything else out there once the squirrel got on a Decepticon. Unicron would not tolerate anyone touching HIS children, especially not a disgusting spawn of Primus.

Vehicons that got too close found a rapid squirrel in their joints, tearing away at cables and wiring while somehow managing to not be squished as the Cybertronian flailed. Starscream was met with a rapid squirrel to the windshield once when he attempted to bomb Bulkhead, and simultaneously the children. The seeker ended up crashing into a wall and very nearly being blown to bits. Knockout got scratched one time by Chitters and swore off touching the children ever again. Soundwave straight up avoided the squirrel and didn't bother with the human children upon seeing what Chitters could do. Breakdown once tried to squish the squirrel, but no matter how many times he attempted to, Chitters got back up and tried to maul him. Megatron very nearly got his optics destroyed once when he got too close to the children and has since put out a kill on sight order for the rapid avatar of Unicron (not that any heed it).

Seeing all this the team were suspicious as pit in regards to the squirrel. Ratchet tried to drop a weight on the squirrel only for it to bounce off harmlessly, earning awed and shocked expressions from the medic. Bulkhead and Wheeljack attempted to blast Chitters with a flamethrower only for the squirrel to brush it off and continue onward and chase the wrecker duo who screamed like human girls. Bumblebee made his own attempts to murder the avatar through various means ranging from but not limited to sniping, acid, drowning, crushing, and even suffocation. But nothing ever worked and in the end after months of enduring Chitters, Optimus knelt before the squirrel, glared at it, and ordered Unicron to get the hell out of his base until he behaved.

The chaos god obliged, not even hesitating after he very nearly sent the Prime into a rage when he touched his datapads. A few days later he returned and nestled in Rafael's hair again.

Optimus knew that Chitters was an avatar and the rest of the team sensed something else was off, but they never commented and focused their efforts on what needed to be done. They only really attempted to kill Chitters when they devised a new potential method of extermination. At which point they would try it out on Chitters just to see if it would work or not (which it never did).

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not letting an autistic kid join my group?

Okaayy this requires a LOT of backstory so bear with me on this.

I am 16F and the kid in question is 16M. I shall call him Tyler. I've known Tyler for like 3 years, never really been friends with him but he has been in my classes many times. Tyler is very blatantly autistic, which means it's very easy for people to pick on him. Other kids will be dicks to him and rile him up because they think it's funny. I am also nd but am quite good at masking so I don't get picked on but I am still a loner. Y'know the stereotypical quiet kid. Last detail to note about Tyler, he never does any of the classwork. Every time I have been in class with him he has just watched youtube on his laptop and will not do the work unless a teacher forces him to. This is important to note for my first major encounter with Tyler when I was 13.

There was a group project and everyone had to pick a partner to do a presentation, standard school stuff you get the gist. Me and Tyler ended up being the last ones left so we got paired together. The problem was that he did not pull his own weight. I had to sit with him and slowly walk him through the stuff we had to do for the project. Then I told him I would do X part of the project and he would do Y part of the project. He agreed and I went to work on it. The next day I asked if he had done anything, he hadn't. I sympathized with this because I also have executive dysfunction and very much struggle with completing things so I told him it was fine, he just had to work on it today and to send it to me once he was done. So I got home and waited for him to send me his part of the project but of course, it never came. So I ended up having to do literally EVERYTHING myself at the last minute. I went to the computer room to finish it at break time and lo and behold who do I see but Tyler in the computer room watching youtube. I gave him a firm telling off because I was hella pissed that while I was stressing out trying to do a group project by myself he was doing fuck all. He obviously felt bad but I was still rather pissed. So on the day of the presentation I did something admittedly very petty in that I forced him to do his part in the presentation despite him never seeing the presentation before. So he obviously struggled a lot. But that was that and I was quite certain I didn't want to work with him again. Flash forwards a bit, he tries to sit with me. I don't want to be an ass so I let him. The thing is that he was completely clueless about all the work so I ended up having to be like a surrogate teacher, walking him through everything. Again. The thing is, I couldn't get my own work done if I was stuck being Tyler's tutor. I was like "Fuck this. I'm not his teacher! I'm not even getting paid for this!!" So I started actively avoiding sitting with him so I could actually get shit done and he seemed to get the hint.

Now, to the present. He happens to be in the same class as me and asked if he could be in my group and I ignored him. I felt bad about it but I did not want to be handholding this kid. He seems to be actively trying to get my attention and trying to interact with me but I am just not interested. Especially since he seems to think that doing things like flicking water at me or slamming doors in my face is a good way to get my attention. I've tried to make it very clear I don't like this behaviour but he keeps doing it. In the most recent incident he randomly poked my back when I was crouching down to pick something up. I really hate being touched so I snapped at him but I feel guilty about it now. I feel like I could've handled it better because he clearly doesn't pick up emotional cues very well. And clearly he's just lonely, which I get but I feel he burnt this bridge a while ago and is just blasting the remains with a flamethrower.

So tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[yanyanobsessed]

continuing on my yandere vampire fics from a while ago.. I figured the best way to expand on it would be to go back to the beginning.

Note: Theres a lot of worldbuilding here lol, Probably my heaviest work yet, contentwise (not in a dark sense, this post is just hefty when it comes to her word count)

Grace Addams (she/her)

Yandere type: Worshipper, obsessive

Grace was adopted quite young, raised by a wealthy couple with her every need met and accounted for by leaps and bounds. Anything she wanted, her dads did their best to accommodate- which thankfully was relatively easy for them, given that they were in no short supply of funds.

As a child, Grace was very quiet for the most part- almost too quiet, save for the occasions where she was left hungry or with a stomach ache, in the time prior to her vampiric nature coming to light. Her parents discovered quite early on that she was not exactly human, delightfully greeted by quite a number of little fang-marks when she went through teething as a toddler.

Vampires weren't unheard of by any means, but the couple lived in a rather wealthy rural area, and they had never in their lives encountered one in the flesh. However, having discovered the nature in their precious daughter, they felt it would be most appropriate to reach out online, finding comfort in the form of a number of forums and online communities centered on vampiric parenting and resources. They adapted their routines for her, swapping the baby food and solids that had caused her many a stomach ache with meats and iron-enriched tomato juice, which they had read online served as a temporary substitute for blood in the time it would take them to get in contact with a vampiric supply center for her. They abandoned the practice of using garlic in their cooking, so on and so forth, and with time Grace became a much quieter child, content and enriched.

As Grace grew, she remained very silent in her movements- thanks to her supernatural nature, she was able to move much faster than the average child, soundlessly darting around the manor she was raised in. Well, soundless aside from the occasional giggle when she was particularly giddy, or the wailing cries that followed her bumping into something in her fun. Despite her stealth and speed, she proved to be quite clutsy at times, running into things quite frequently even when she was moving at a normal speed.

When it came time for Grace to enter schooling, her parents debated quite a bit, before resolving that it would be good to enroll her at a school in the city, as opposed to one in the rural area they inhabited. They remained in their manor, but began arranging to take Grace to and from school each day, making the hour drive each direction in order to allow her the chance to meet other kids who might not judge her as harshly as those in the rural lands were almost guaranteed to.

This went on for years, with Grace attending class with other kids, packing her little blood pack and tupperware of meat each day to class, shifting to just a thermostat full of blood as she got older. By 7th grade, she had grown accustomed to this routine quite perfectly- She now was brought to school and back home by a private driver her parents hired, but that change aside, things remained relatively unchanged. Grace was silent in her classes, hardly ever talking with her classmates unless it was required, preferring to spend her time studying or reading. It was in one of these such moments, where she had her nose in her latest reading, on the day when everything changed.

Mrs. Lorella called everyone's attention to the front of the room, interrupting the chatters of first period with an introduction. A new student would be joining them. Grace looked you over without much intrigue, simply wishing to acquaint herself visually with you so that she would know your name if it came necessary- and yet, she was surprised when you met her eyes perfectly, honed in on her out of all the students present.

After introducing yourself, as soon as Mrs. Lorella let you go, you made your way straight to Grace's desk, smiling at her. "Is this seat taken?" Grace shyly shook her head, and you eagerly plopped your things down, scooting in right next to her with a smile that rivaled the sun in brightness.

It was that way for the rest of your classes- There was only one period in which the seat next to Grace was not available, and in every other opportunity you didn't hesitate to take the one which was, even looking a little saddened when you saw that one taken seat. Grace was slightly put off by you at first- She didn't dislike you by any means, but you were strange to her. She had always been naturally avoided or picked on by other kids, and although she shut that down quite quick to the best of her ability, that didn't mean she searched for companionship in her classmates. She thought she had more than enough of the stuff with her fathers, whom she was incredibly fond of. And yet, as time went on, and you continued to insert yourself into her life, she found it hard to deny that she enjoyed your company.

Within the next few weeks, her walls had begun to come down, and she found herself increasingly giddy when she was around you. One day at lunch hour, without even consciously realizing it, she offered for you to come over to her house after school. It was an offhand remark, in reply to you asking her about her driver, and yet the way your face lit up in response made her heart flutter in a way that was completely alien to her. You eagerly agreed, happy to spend time with her as she found herself smiling in response.

Thus began a routine of sorts- Most days after classes, you would go to Grace's house, as your parents were busy with work and made no complaint to the extra hours afforded by not having to drive you home, and you and Grace would spend the afternoon together. By the time you had to go home, Grace would accompany you, and listen to your ramblings the entire car ride to your home, spending the drive back in silence, dreamily looking out the window.

Grace's parents were quick to catch on to her fondness for you, welcoming you as one of their own in a way.

Over the years, you and Grace became attached at the hip - anywhere you went, Grace followed, and vice versa. Any time you had to spend apart, Grace found herself lamenting the distance, eagerly texting you in efforts to close the gap electronically, which proved comforting to her worries. However, it was noticable that any time you were apart from her, she became visibly antsy. She would tap her foot, fidget with her family rings, look around as if she could spot you nearby- and don't forget checking her phone often, debating whether to call you or not. As the attachment between you grew, so did her protectiveness, to a very obvious degree.

Now, on the nature of Grace's vampirism- While the school she went to wasn't necessarily hostile to her kind, her parents were instructed when she was first enrolled to teach her to keep it under wraps. While being a vampire wouldn't get you hunted openly like in the olden days, government intervention didn't prevent the prejudice that still ran deep in some people, and they found that it would be safer for their little girl if she didn't rampantly go around showing off her vampirism.

Grace had been very good about this rule of her parents' for her entire schooling- and yet, like most of her outward shell, it unraveled quite easily when it came to you.

One day, when you were at her house, you questioned her about her fidgeting. She bit her lip, continuing to twist her rings as her eyes flitted around the empty library you two presently occupied your time in.

"..Can I tell you a secret, Y/N?"

"Of course! You can tell me anything- I'm very good at keeping secrets, my mom says."

Grace took a deep breath.

"..I'm a vampire." She blurted out, cheeks rosy as she watched your reaction with fearful eyes.

A moment passed, and she just about felt her stomach drop, when you suddenly smiled, your entire body language brightening with intrigue.

You eagerly questioned her about it, taking the news in stride as you rattled off all your curiosities, holding both of her hands in yours as you did so, a habit of yours that Grace found herself quite fond of.

From that day onward, Grace found her attachment to you growing- She had never before even considered draining someone, and yet these days she found her eyes drifting to your neck dangerously often. She always managed to catch herself, although it was in the private moments that the urge came strongest. She always reeled herself in however, and was able to restrain herself.

That was, until sometime in the summer after your highschool years had finished, when a blood shortage had been wearing her thin, and you had been teasing her privately at every turn regarding her fangs, and how you would let her bite you if she wanted (which never failed to fluster her immensely, might I add.)

(Stopping here for now, lemme know what y'all think and any ideas you might have regarding Grace!)

[highlordofkrypton]

ACOTAR wips // high lord's meeting ft. eris 💅

I wrote this chapter yesterday, or the day before, and I really enjoyed it. I think a few people would too, since it features Rhysand as a villain and Eris doing anything but be the side character I meant him to be. I loved it so much, I had to share.

This chapter is part of cosmogeny on AO3.

CONTEXT: This happens post-ACOTAR, with the ACOMAF and ACOWAR events mashed together. Rhysand is twisting and exaggerating events to make Tamlin look bad. It doesn't quite work out in his favour.

WAR LORD, Chapter 27

Seven seats for seven High Lords. Four of which are empty—

One Lord glows in a far corner by the window, looking out at the city of Lautnita, basked in Dawn’s copper glow. Another Lord has been replaced with a pale imitation of himself, a son who will never ascend to the throne. One seat speaks of the absence of Winter, a loud statement in the face of supposed peers. The last Lord was never invited, for there is no room against a duplicitous villain.

“Well, then, Great Lord of Night,” Eris leans against his jeweled hand, already bored. “Tell us what urgency requires the presence of Prythian’s leaders.”

“One of which you are not,” Rhysand clips, his violet eyes staring down the imposter. Beron doesn’t even trust his spawn to take his throne, why should Rhysand ? His absence marks the unimportance of this meeting in his eyes, and Rhysand takes that as an insult. “Do not think we are equals.”

“And yet, you are not my superior, so get on with it before you find yourself proselytizing to an empty room.” Eris cocks a perfect auburn brow in Rhysand’s direction. “Unless… you plan on keeping us here? Do you miss the undeserved attention from under the—”

“Enough!” Thesan snaps. This is his home, and the only Court willing to play neutral ground for seven High Lords, half of which are volatile and violent. Every single one of them is reeling from the damages done by Amarantha, and he refuses to sit and listen to childish snarking. “I do not mean to rush you, High Lord Rhysand, but please, do get on with it.”

Rhysand’s gaze lingers on Eris for a long moment, considering punishment or worse. There will be a time and a place, but there are more important plans in motion. He offers Thesan an apologetic smile. “Of course, my apologies. It’s just… with the news that I have, you can understand my nerves are a bit frayed.”

Eris rolls his eyes, but everyone else seems amenable to his excuses. Everyone being only Thesan, Helion, Eris himself and Tarquin. The youngest High Lord looks uncomfortable, despite his perfect composure. This is his first High Lord’s meeting since his cousin’s death, and he is doing his best. Rhysand would commend him for that, if the situation were less dire.

“We all swore that we would never allow an evil to take hold of our lands ever again. We all understood it when we brought back the Cursebreaker.”

Feyre is a symbol to them all—not only of their salvation, but of their own failures to protect their people. They owe it to her to protect her.

“Unfortunately, the High Lord of Spring has abandoned all hope in us. Hybern’s emissaries have been in his lands for the last three months. They patrol the wall and they gather information about our efforts to rebuild. They know we are struggling to unify our efforts.”

The meeting is a perfect reflection of this. Some of them couldn’t be bothered to show up for Prythian’s sake. (They couldn’t be bothered to listen to Rhysand who has been working to protect them at every turn. It is not his fault that they have limits to how far they will go.)

“They’re harboring a weapon,” Rhysand adds, in hopes of driving his point home.

Most of the Lords are old enough to school their expression, but Tarquin’s eyes widen ever so slightly. Thesan, traitor to his own composure, reaches to touch Tarquin’s hand and offers him comfort. They will get through this, one way or another.

“And what weapon is that?” Helion purses his lips. As the oldest between the Lords present, he’s seen his fair share of curses, monsters and innovation. Very little surprises him anymore.

Rhysand clenches his jaw, guarding the smile threatening to slither onto his handsome features. There is something validating about knowing something the other Lords don’t. He steels himself, despite his eagerness to see the inevitable shock on their faces.

“A Death God. The Death God.”

Tension spears through each of them, knitting them together with the taught string of fear. Only Helion remains unbothered, hiding behind his usual carelessness, but Rhysand knows he couldn’t have expected this.

“How,” Tarquin clears his throat, faltering on the word. “How do you know?”

“Mine is the only Court that houses several of them.” Rhysand answers, pride lining the proud upward tip of his chin and the strength of his shoulders. “I would recognize a death god if I saw one.”

“Until now,” Eris points out.

“The Spring Court has no control over theirs. Ours are imprisoned, as they should be for their crimes against our ancestors. Tamlin is playing a dangerous game, and we need to prepare for war.”

“We should speak to him,” offers Thesan. “It has been hard coming home for all of us, I’m sure. Perhaps our first mistake was trying to heal on our own.”

“You expect us to work together with him ?” Eris juts his chin in Rhysand’s direction. “Prythian’s turncoat?” He sighs. “I suppose it takes one to know one.” The eldest Vanserra son whistles sharply, and a hound appears by his side, gray smoke rolling off it. It regards the other Lord with bright red eyes. Eris whispers something in a foreign tongue, and the herald disappears. “Father will want to investigate, as our territory borders Spring’s.” Eris nods at Tarquin. “On both our behalfs. I will send a hound with updates.”

The Autumn prince stands, done with this conversation.

“Wait,” Tarquin speaks up. “I meant, how did you know Spring is doing all this? Tamlin has been avoiding meeting me since his return. I’m surprised you were able to go and see for yourself.”

This time, Rhysand’s jaw ticks in anger. “You’re forgiven for your ignorance, Tarquin, but do you not know I’m a daemati ? Very little escapes me.” He raises his hand, a generous High Lord despite all his power. “I don’t use it freely. That would be boring. Feyre came to me after Tamlin beat her as a reward for saving Prythian. I believe he wanted the glory for himself. She gathered as much information as she could before coming to me.”

Eris doesn’t care, he turns to leave. Rhysand stands, slamming the door closed with a breath of magic.

“I’m not done. If you think this is simply a matter of checking in with Tamlin, then you are sorely mistaken. He has let Hybern in. War has come. We are past negotiating.” Rhysand stands leaning on the great table before him. A clear glass presides over the mechanical marvel that is a map of Prythian with moving parts—creatures and characters of interest to Thesan. 

He glances at each and every Lord present.

“If you think Amarantha was a nightmare, then you have sorely underestimated what now infests our lands. If you will not move against Hybern, then against the hellish creature that will seek to destroy us all. It is not faerie or human. It lacks our morals and rationality. It must be stopped.”

Rhysand should not have to campaign this hard; this is the right thing to do. Fists clenched, he considers forcing them to yield.

“I’ll need time to think about this,” Helion says, and fades into the sunlight, riding the sliver of warmth home. 

Coward. Rhysand expects the others to follow suit.

“I’ll wait for Eris’ assessment.” Thesan decides, and Tarquin nods.

“If you’re so sure of yourself, Rhysand, why are you so concerned whether we agree now or later?” Eris smirks, and forgoes leaving by the door. In his wake, a falling curtain of smoke.

[sweet-villain]

Stumbling ~S.H

Anonymous asked:

May I request some Steve.

Where you're the only female member of Hellfire and everyone assumes the girlfriend of Eddie but really yall are just best friends. Eddie is constantly trying to get you to go to the mall with him and get some ice cream at scoops ahoy. When you finally cave Eddie is expecting you to make fun of king Steve like he does but instead your a fluttering mess. Eddie makes fun of you the entire time of course but you just can't get Steve and those shorts out your mind

Tags : : @ceriseheaven @josephquinnlover0 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @stillfalling30minslater @alyisdead @witchy-munson

My Master List is in This Area

You patted your pockets as you stood up from your chair, frowning and cursing underneath your breath reaching for your bag to look inside. They were no where to be found. The little bag you were looking for was indeed missing.

" Something wrong, sweets?" Eddie asks hearing you huffing.

" I left my dice at home" you sighed, crossing your arms across your chest as you looked down at your lap feeling disappointed in yourself.

" You can use mine, just this once" Eddie held out his palm that had his dice on there. The once you specially made him for his birthday. It has his initials on it. Your head rose to meet his face, he was smiling with his dimples out.

" You two make me barf" Mike rolls his eyes sitting near Dustin who elbowed him in the chest. Mike "owed" and rubbed it as he glared at him.

" Shut it Wheeler" Eddie mutters.

" Always looking out for your little girlfriend" he mutters underneath his breath. Eddie shot him a glare. You took the dice from Eddie sending him a smile.

" Thank you Eds"

"Thank you Eds" Gareth mocked Eddie. Eddie snarled at him kicking his leg. " Hey! What was that for?" Gareth winded rubbing his leg as he pouted.

" Listen here you little sheeps, Y/N isn't my girlfriend, we are best friends. Nothing more and nothing else. Got it?"

They all nodded.

" Just one of the guys" you joked. " But the girl version" you shrugged causing Eddie to roll his eyes. You've been best friends with Eddie since the beginning of high school. You happen to be the only girl in Hellfire too. Everyone adored you except they teased you and thought you as Eddie's girlfriend.

Every single time they saw you hanging out with Eddie.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Your bedroom window open and Eddie stepped inside careful not to scare you. He saw you sitting in the corner of your room with your headphones on while you were busy working on some homework.

He heard you humming along to the song. It wasn't the first time he has been in your room, not the second or third time. He'd always come over when your parents were out of town or just sneak because he needed to see you or he was bored.

Suddenly your headphones were off your head and you quickly turned around ready to attack when you saw Eddie standing there with his hands up in the air.

" Woah there sweets, it's just me. You loo like you were ready to eat me alive" he joked, putting a hand on his heart.

" What are you doing here, Eds?"

" Nice to see you too" you rolled your eyes watching him plop down on the bed bouncing on it as he leaned back against the wall.

" Come to the mall with me, you gotta come with me to Scoops Ahoy. The ice cream there is so good plus you gotta see who works there. You won't believe it" Eddie chuckles.

" Who? Who is so important that requires my presence?"

" King Steve" he snickers. Your eyebrows knitted together as the name seemed familiar to you. " You know, the one walking around with Tommy H and Carol. Every girl wants to sleep with him and every guy wants to be him. Well except me, no thank you. You know?"

It looks like the dots connected as you realized who he was talking about. Steve was attractive and you sat behind him in English class at one point, he only had eyes for Nancy Wheeler. You stood no chance in talking to him and hoping he'd pay attention to you. You settled on being in your own space and befriending Eddie at the time.

" You there? Hello?" Eddie called out to you, throwing a pair a socks at your head that he found in a ball by your bed. They bounced off your head and landed on the floor.

You snapped out of your thoughts.

" Sorry!" you quickly spoke as you shook your head, " went up here for a bit" you tapped the side of your head.

" What were you thinking about?"he asked. He had hoped you weren't thinking about King Steve. There was no way he was going to let you be around him. Not on his watch.

" Oh nothing" you turned around in your chair hiding your blushing cheeks away from your best friend who huffed.

" That doesn't seem like nothing otherwise you wouldn't hide.. don't tell me it was about Harrington?"

You mumbled something underneath your breath that Eddie didn't catch. " What was that, sweets?" he asked standing up from the bed and making his way over to you. He turned your chair around that you were facing him.

" So what if I was?" He scoffed.

" You got to be kidding me, he doesn't even call a girl back after he sleep with one. He breaks heart, Y/N. Anyone but him" Eddie groans.

" It's not like anything is going to happen"

" Better not"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You gave into Eddie taking you to Scoops Ahoy at the mall and when you stood in front of the doors, your eyes caught on Steve. He had a blue uniform on and as you got closer to the counter seeing him clearer as the day, he was a mouth watering sight.

" Ahoy ladies-" he got cut off when he noticed it was you and Eddie standing.

" I'm not a woman clearly, Harrington" Eddie points out to himself. But Steve's gaze fell on you as you stood there standing by Eddie's side with your cheeks flushed and eyes shining at him.

" Oh hello there, would you like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'm going to be your captain, Steve Harrington" Steve leaned on the counter supporting his head with hand as he looked at you. God, he thought you were the most beautiful sight he has ever seen.

" We would like one rocky road and one strawberry ice cream" Eddie started to say when he snapped his fingers in front of Steve's face. " Hello? Stop staring at my best friend and do your job, Harrington"

Steve glared over at Eddie as he took out the scooper from the side of his shorts and you watched him turn around to get some cone. Your eyes grew wide seeing the shorts. His ass looked really good in and then you could of just melted right there and there as he turned around.

As he scooped the strawberry ice cream, his eyes peered at you with a wink sending your heart fluttering. You haven't even spoken a word to him and yet you wanted to jump over the counter and jump his bones.

" Here you go..." he wanted to say your name but didn't know what your name was. Of course he has seen you in school before but he didn't really pay attention until now.

" It's Y/N" Eddie answers for you, snickering seeing your mouth opening and closing like a fish as you stared at Steve. His hand was reaching out and holding your ice cream.

" Your ice cream Y/N" this time Steve says your name. You wondered what it was like if he moaned it. Red cheeks painted your cheeks as you took it from him with your fingers brushing over his.

" Thank you" you squeaked out, looking down feeling embarrassed from staring at him. Eddie took his as he followed you to the table that you chose.

" You're going to tell what that was about?" he chuckled seeing you glare at him for a moment before your eyes fell on Steve as he took care of the other customers.

" I don't know what you were talking about" you shrugged.

" You like him!" Eddie shouted. Your eyes grew wide as you reached over slapping your hand over his mouth. " Eddie! Shut up!" he laughed underneath your hand. You felt eyes on you as you talked to Eddie feeling that Steve was the one watching you.

" I don't not" you sat back down, looking away.

" You should ask for his number" your eyebrows knitted together.

" What happened to anyone but him part?"

Eddie shrugs, " I guess you can live a little and see the King Steve for yourself. You wouldn't stop oogling over him."

" I wasn't!" Eddie shot you a look. Your head turned to look to see what Steve was doing and he walked around to wipe some of the tables down. Your mouth watered at the sight of those shorts.

" Can you do that somewhere else or would you like to see me throw up over this table?"

Your head snapped to glance at your best friend.

" Huh?"

" Stop oogling over King Steve over there"

" I'm not!" you huffed in your seat.

" Everything alright?" Steve spoke up as he looked over to you and Eddie. " Is he bothering you?" he motioned to Eddie. " Want me to take care of him?" Eddie snorted.

" What's so funny?"

" Like you can take me down"

" Oh I can" Steve glared down at Steve. You weren't paying attention to what they were talking about because Steve was right there. His shorts was mer touch away from grabbing them and you wanted to pull him to you. You wanted him to sit by you. You wondered what it was like to be so close to him. To be in his space.

" Let's go, Y/N" Eddie says as he gets up adjusting his jacket as he looked over at Steve. You didn't even notice that something was placed in your hand when you were about to walk out. Your eyebrow scrunched together in confusion and glanced down seeing a phone number. His phone number.

When your head snapped to look at him, he winked as he wiped the counter you were sitting at.

" Y/N!" Eddie calls out to you. You sent Steve a smile as you hurried towards Eddie. You didn't want to keep him waiting.

When Eddie dropped you home, you rushed to your bedroom grabbing onto the napkin with Steve's number clasping it over your chest as you fell down on your bed with a happy sigh.

Steve in that Scoops uniform. He given you his number too. Your day couldn't gotten any better.

[rin-henricov]

What do you think storks home life was like as a kid, did he even go to school?

Sorry for waiting so long!

According to my old headcanon, Stork was born and lived in a time when most merbs preferred to build their homes deep underground in order to protect themselves from the atmosian monsters that previously inhabited Terra-Merbia.

In a remote provincial village, it was not possible to provide a good education to those in need due to difficult times. The vast majority of merbian schools had a three-year term of study, were small and could have one teacher for three classes. It is not surprising that in those days the qualifications of teachers were below average, and young ones preferred to work in the mines for reasonable wages instead of wasting their time at school desks. The possibility that our pilot might have gone to school is dismissed immediately, not so much on a whim as by his parents decision.

Stork's father was an ardent chauvinist, a staunch conservative, and a clinical misanthrope. In addition, he was prone to a severe form of kleptomania, and in the past committed small thefts relative to neighboring villages. Despite the fact that he married a weak-willed merbian woman, guided solely by selfish motives, his father was extremely selective in choosing a spouse who was ready to fulfill any whims of her husband, and therefore actively took advantage of the fact that she would not be able to argue for a divorce, would not try to divide jointly acquired property and defend her rights. At one point, he had forced Stork's mom to marry him, telling her that no one would want a plain-looking girl like her, and that she wouldn't last very long without a penny, and he knew how to make easy money. He may also have forced her to conceive a child as an additional labor force (In other words, his father viewed the merbian women solely as a living incubator).

Stork's mother was a deeply unhappy woman, holding on by one-sided inertia to an unwanted marriage. She had no voice in the family, as husband had estranged son from her as soon as the latter learned to speak, thereby taking the initiative to raise him. Stork grew up as a cold and distant merb, not feeling much affection for mother, because he did not feel her deep maternal love in answer. She was also involved in some of her husband's criminal schemes, and all of the small scams took place with her tacit consent.

Stork's relationship with his family members was characterized by heightened tensions. The father did not provide any care, perceiving it rather as a tool that requires correction for certain needs. As I noted earlier, he did not pay due attention to his education, instead assessing in advance his son's ability to fully provide for the whole family, and therefore chose an authoritarian approach to his upbringing. But as the boy grew up, there were many conflicts between the future pilot and his father on any minor issues. Already at a young age, Stork showed perseverance in setting personal boundaries and confidently defended his positions, which often became the reason for their disagreements, sometimes reaching such a level that he was ready to seriously fight with his father for the last canned fish left from a week's supply.

The environment in which Stork lived had severely reduced his social skills, so from the very beginning he built a wall around himself to protect himself from all the preconceived judgments and ridicule of others. Everyone around him knew him as that unsociable boy who most found solace in the company of old books and rarely tried to fit in with any company. Peers did not take him seriously, and even the few children who had the most dysfunctional families tried to stay away from him. The only merbs with whom he could exchange a few words were the neighboring hunters, who periodically came to borrow some provisions for the road.

Due to the shortage of consumer goods, his father found it advisable to teach Stork how to repair household appliances and some basic engineering. Despite good intentions, he approached this issue strategically, which, again, could be caused by the primary motivation to have someone who can do everything for him, thereby significantly saving on costs. However, the young merb's desire to expand his skills has not weakened. He took the initiative to study technical sciences, going beyond his father's initial plans, but given the current period of time, finding the right materials proved to be a difficult task, and he had to borrow books either from dilapidated libraries or from the bureau of unnecessary things. Sometimes the young merb obtained books in other ways: for example, such as bartering, theft, or trading with other villagers. To compensate for the lack of studies, in his spare time Stork preferred to spend hours in complete solitude (for example, in a cramped pantry), studying a volume of an engineering encyclopedia, or reading a reference book under a blanket by the beam of a flashlight while everyone was asleep.

Because his father was repeatedly denied employment cause existence of criminal record, at some point he decided to use his name to register in the illegal hunting business, but he always sent his son to fulfill the contracts under strict orders not to return until the customers' whim was fulfilled. He himself motivated his decision by the fact that this would not only allow him to move from mother's shoulder, but also prepare him for the harsh hardships of life. (Despite the fact that his parents repeatedly fell under the law, most of the court cases had such ambiguous circumstances, as a result of which they were suspended and archived due to some investigative mistakes).

Stork was a "general-purpose" hunter and was determined to eliminate any beast inhabiting the surface. He hunted down, lured, and killed monsters in any hard-to-reach places; in the wilds of the swamp mire, huge mountain peaks, and deep ravines, he was always on the lookout. To catch and finish off his prey, he needed a deep understanding of wildlife, including its inhabitants: how they behave, how they differ from each other, and how best to deal with them. He always tried to think carefully about his plan so as not to give them a single chance, but sometimes it came at too high a price. Mastery of the appropriate weapons and use of tactical techniques also played into his challenging craft. One of the most effective weapons was his late grandfather's family crossbow, providing a reliable combination of power and accuracy while remaining relatively compact and easy to carry. For close combat, he most often used a machete with a predominantly single-sided sharpening.

No matter what kind of chthonic bestiary he had to exterminate this time: Stork, with the composure of a field surgeon, carried out even the most laborious order for a meager penny, knowing that in his case any little thing would be required. The risk of being eaten up by a bog howler and a long stay in isolation negatively affected his condition, however, despite this, the young merb was fed by hunting monsters from the first years of independent life. In addition to this he regularly donated secondary waste from previous traps, which served as an additional source of family income. Due to extensive knowledge in the field of monstrumology, he also independently designed some structures for traps, which helped to significantly develop his inventive skills. Despite deep aversion to his work, she aroused in him a sincere interest in creating various traps with which he would equip Condor compartments in the future and not only.

I took inspiration from such media products as "Made In Abyss" and "LISA: The Painful" to set a certain tone for my headcanon, and I hope that I, well, did at least a little. Anyway, feel free to ask questions if there's anything else in this post that interests you. I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability and free time! ^_^