#but one just came up and its driving me nuts

[thornsnvultures]

every time I'm scrolling through insta and see a devon palmer video I get jumpscared thinking it's jq. it's for only like half a second but still, he does it to me every time

[dhmis-autism]

drawing stuff for valentimes and u all better enjoy it once i finish bc its the sappiest stuff ill ever draw ever

[nerdy-novelist017]

Trouble (Eric Draven x Rebel!Reader)

Bill Skarsgard, covered in blood and acting feral as he violently kills people to avenge the woman he loves?? Yeah, that really did a number on me….but I couldn’t help but fall in love with Eric’s quiet character in the first act so pls enjoy my ramblings! 💕

Eric Draven Masterlist

Word Count- 1.5k+

Summary- Eric's carefully guarded solitude is disrupted by a bold newcomer who seems to be trouble incarnate.

“I wanna get in trouble.”

A voice, sudden and electric, broke Eric from his reverie as a figure’s shadow fell across the intricate lines and shadows of his drawing. He glanced up hesitantly, shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight behind you. His eyes were met with the sight of you – a tempestuous spirit with wild, untamed hair that cascaded around your face like a mane, defying the order and discipline of this facility. There was a glint in your eyes, mischievous and daring, that seemed to challenge the very atmosphere around you. You loomed above him, a figure of restless energy, waiting for a response that he was unprepared to give. 

“What?” he managed, his voice barely above a whisper, a stark contrast to the boldness of your intrusion. 

You grinned cheekily, and with an audacity that left him momentarily stunned, you stepped up onto the picnic bench he was perched at, planting yourself so that you were sitting on the table as if it was your own personal stage. Your feet, clad in worn, oversized sneakers rested casually on the seat in a silent declaration of your disregard for rules. “Don’t you?”

Eric blinked at you, his brows furrowed as he hastily pulled his papers closer, as if to shield them from your encroaching presence. “No.”

“No?” you parroted, a suggestive playfulness tone to your voice. “But this place is so boring.” 

He glanced around the yard, taking in the stark reality of the rehab facility, his eyes lingering on the chain link fence with its towering barbed wire glinting menacingly in the afternoon sun. “It’s supposed to be,” he said with cold detachment. “And you’re not supposed to be fraternizing with me.”

You followed his gaze, casting a sly look to the guards who stood at the back door, and a smirk danced on your lips. “Uh oh, I wonder what the consequences for that will be.”

Eric wanted to roll his eyes at your attitude. This was how all the newbies were when they came in: brash, defiant and convinced they could outwit the system. They came in with fire in their eyes only for it to be extinguished within days by the crushing reality of their situation. Nobody stayed trouble for long. He watched as their bravado withered, soon to be replaced by resignation. And the ones like you – those who pushed the boundaries with reckless abandon – often found themselves confined to solitary confinement, their spirits slowly eroded by the wright of their own demons. 

“You think I could seduce one of these guards to sneak us in some contraband?” you asked, raising your brow in a conspiratorial way as you nodded toward a pair of male guards standing near the backdoor, idly chatting and sharing a cigarette. 

Eric’s gaze traveled over you, from the oversized, ugly pink sweatshirt that swamped your frame to the untamed hair that framed your face like a wild halo. You spoke of “us” as if any semblance of companionship existed between you too. There wasn’t. It was just him and his solitary existence. He had no need for friends, no desire for connections – especially not from someone like you. 

“No,” he said finally as he returned to his sketch, hoping his blatant disinterest would be enough to drive you away. “You need to get off the table.”

He could feel your eyes on him, your gaze almost too intense. When you tilted your head, studying him in amused disbelief, he knew what was coming. Another newbie thinking they could crack him open like some sort of nut, put together the broken pieces like a puzzle. He kept his attention on the drawing, hoping you’d take the hint and leave him alone. 

“C’mon, you don’t look like someone who’s this much of a stick in the mud.” Your voice was playful, teasing but Eric could sense the challenge beneath it. His silence seemed to fuel you, as if his resistance was exactly what you were hoping for. “What’s your name anyway?”

He hesitated, hating how you were forcing him to interact with you like some needy puppy. “Eric,” he muttered, keeping his gaze locked on the drawing.

“Eric,” you tasted his name on your lips quietly. It grated on him, the way you spoke as if you already knew him, already had him all figured out. “You’re an artist, huh? I bet you’re all dark and broody, right? The strong, silent type?”

His jaw tightened, his pencil pressing a little too hard against the paper. He didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of him, but he could feel your words digging right under his skin. Dark and brooding? Strong and silent? You didn’t know anything about him, didnt understand the darkness that lingered in the corners of his mind, the weight of the silence he carried, yet here you were, already trying to pin him down with labels. And typically, Eric didn’t care what anyone else here labeled him with, but your unnervingly amicable voice was something he wasn’t used to. It was almost laughable, except it wasn’t. It was annoying. 

Your words struck a nerve. He remained quiet, instead choosing to focus on the shading in the corner of his page, tried to drown out the sound of your voice, but he knew his silence was betraying him. The tension in his jaw, the way his grip on the pencil tightened – it all gave him away, and he could almost feel you noticing it, filing it away for later. God, why couldn’t you just leave him alone? 

Then you leaned in closer, your voice dropping to a whisper for only his ears to hear. “You know, I think you want to get into trouble. You’re just too scared to admit it.”

His eyes snapped up to meet yours before he could stop himself, his heart racing at the sudden intensity in your eyes. And there was something in your gaze that unsettled him. Annoyance flared up first, hot and defensive. But beneath that, he felt a flicker of . . . curiosity. And he hated that too – hated that you were getting under his skin. What the hell did you even know about him? What gave you the right to pry into his life, his thoughts.

“You don’t know anything about me,” he retorted, his voice sharper than he intended, the words escaping in a rush of defensiveness. 

You shrugged, unbothered by his tone, a playful smile tugging on your lips. “Maybe not yet, but I’m good at figuring people out. And I think you’re bored out of your mind here, just like me. You’re dying for something – anything – to happen.”

Eric shook his head, forcing himself to look back down at his sketch. “You’re wrong.” 

Even to his own ears, the denial sounded weak, and that only served to deepen his irritation. 

You let out a dramatic sigh, stretching your arms overhead, and Eric resisted the urge to glance up. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. I’m always up for a little fun.”

“Fun,” he echoed, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He wasn’t even sure why he bothered to respond, but something about your persistence was unraveling him bit by bit. “That's what got us in here in the first place. 

You paused, and for a second, Eric thought maybe he had finally shut you up. He looked up and caught a flicker of something else in your expression, something serious that made his chest tighten with a feeling he couldn’t quite name. But just like that, it was gone, replaced by that infuriating grin. 

“Maybe,” you said, your voice softer, thoughtful in a way that made him uneasy. “But maybe that’s what will get us out of here too.”

Eric watched as you slid off the table, landing lightly on the ground. For a moment, he thought you might actually leave him alone, and the relief that washed over him was sweet. But then you turned back, hands stuffed into the pocket of that oversized sweatshirt, your grin still in place – though it didn’t seem to reach your eyes quite the same as before. 

“See you around, Eric,” you said before sauntering off, as if you didn’t just turn his whole world upside down in a matter of a few minutes. 

He stared after you, watching as you kicked at the feet of another unsuspecting patient who grumbled at you as you passed. His mind raced, his drawing forgotten, the lines and shadows now blurring together in an indistinct mess. He hated how you so easily managed to disrupt his carefully-constructed isolation, how you made him think about things he thought he’d buried a long time ago. He wanted to believe you were just another reckless newbie, just another faceless patient in a sea of addicts who would burn out soon enough. But something in the pit of his gut told him you were different – something he couldn’t shake. 

In the silence that followed your departure, Eric was left to grapple with the realization that the trouble you brought was not just a disruption, but a catalyst for change, a challenge to his solitude. And now as he returned to his meaningless drawing, he wondered briefly if perhaps your indelible, chaotic presence was exactly what he needed to rewrite his own story in the hell hole. 

And that scared him more than he’d like to admit.

Tagging some of you who seemed interested!

@apolloanddaphnis @one-of-thewalkingdead @m00npjm @maimai-0603 @redwitchbitch1 @at-midnight @fandom-fanatix @spoiled-bat13 @alinahdee @mrsalwayswrite

[bigfatbimbo]

I know you asked for something with Ford and i’ll request something for him once i brainstorm it up i promise T-T

BUT with the Sub masochist Bill, i can totally see where it’d go. I feel like Bill would be the type of person to never even think about touching himself, because the whole ‘trying to end the world thing’, and he was too busy with all of that and experimenting with pain in the human body it never even occurred to him that pleasure would be as awesome as it was till the [insert reader] showed him

Like literally after he figures it out he prolly wouldn’t even wanna stop. Man could go hours overstimulated and sex crazy because after a while of getting overstimmed it hurts insanely bad, but that’s lowkey more of a reason for him to keep going.

And whenever you’d tell him no to fucking or you’d be busy or something, it’d drive him literally nuts because ‘how dare you reject HIM.’ And he’d think it would just be casual questions of ‘Sooo you wanna have sex now, toots?’ but it’d get the point where he’d just be BEGGING you to touch him.

Speaking of touching himself, like i’d said before, he never really had till his first time with you, and whenever you’d reject his advances he just couldn’t help but touch himself while throwing a little hissy fit about the whole thing. You’d once walked in on him in one of these moments, on the bed, dick in hand while ruthlessly beating himself off. Sometimes he’d even slap himself and things of the sort and imagine it was you doing it and that usually through him over the edge.

ALSO FLUFF 🤩 So i don’t imagine him to be the most open about cuddling or anything but when he’s in the mood he’d get upset when you wouldn’t. Sometimes he just forgets you can’t read his mind. But honestly he seems clingy in the type of way that when he’s not horny out of his demonic mind, that he’d learn to just enjoy your general presence. Even when you guys aren’t having playful banter, he would bask in the silence knowing you’re there with him by his side. Don’t get me wrong, this man is a pest and would never admit any of this outloud, but he also feels as thought you know it so he doesn’t HAVE to tell you.

ONE MORE THING: Star gazing. now i really need you to here me out of this one.

So his dimension (or whatever it was) was destroyed, right? And even when he eventually came to earth, he must’ve been traveling in the stars for a while just tryna find a new home. So sometimes when he’s really feeling it, you guy’ll be on the roof to your place and he’d point out the general direction of where is dimension once was, or even go into detail about constellations he knows you don’t know about. Like i said this man is not a gooshy-ass person and can be a real dickhead to you more or less all the time, but i feel like there would definitely be those insanely rare moments where you could look at him and see a bit of human in that demonic entity (BYW ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE IVE BEEN IN THIS FANDOM SO I MIGHTVE FORGOTTEN IMPORTANT LORE SO LEAVE ME ALONE 😭😭) Anywayss lemme think of some Ford shit to keep you sane pooks 😌🫡

-👻👽 Anon

I love asks like this because you guys literally do all my work for me. Much love Alien anon, much love. Also oh my god??? Everyone took my Bill fic and ran with it and I am LOVING IT, you people are so creative!

The fluff is actually really cute, by the way!! I don’t know how into cuddling Bill would be.. his human form is probably the most likely that situation would ever be. lol, imagine Bill experiencing the foreign need for human touch for the first time. i also like the point about him touching himself anyways-

[ironunderstands]

Topaz appreciation post because she’s been rotating around my brain like a rotisserie chicken and I need y’all to get her like I do 

Genuinely, I believe her to be the most underrated limited 5 star in the game everything wise, because she is so damn interesting and nobody talks about it ever and it drives me nuts.

So, I’m going to make you understand why exactly I love her and what makes her so amazing in the first place.

Her lore 

Topaz’s lore is rather simple, at least compared to other characters in the game, but simple ≠ bad and her story serves her perfectly.

Long before Topaz was Topaz, she was a girl named Jelena, living in a desolate planet at the edge of the galaxy. The economy of this planet was based around mining and industry, which resulted in her home becoming more and more polluted as time went on. The wildlife almost completely disappeared, people had to wear masks to breathe, and it seemed like her planet was reaching a hopeless, dismal end.

Until the IPC came. They promised to fix everything, and heal her planet of its environment problems, in exchange for every person on the planet signing a contract of indentured servitude to the IPC. Seeing no other way out, Topaz’s home accepted, forever tying her and the rest of the planet to the IPC.

Topaz is was (and still is) incredibly talented and competent, excelling in science, economics, finances, math, etc. Her exceptional talents caused her mentor  and parental figure Dvorski, who works in the Strategic Investment Department to recommend her to Jade, one of his superiors. Presumably, this is how she started her climb up the corporate latter, eventually becoming the Topaz we know and love today. 

Throughout this, she maintained her friendly and headstrong attitude, and never abandoned her love for animals or the people in her life like Dvorski, a trait which will be important for later. 

So, I’ve established the basics, so what makes this interesting?

Topaz’s trauma and how it affects her character 

I feel like a lot of people ignore just how much trauma she really has, and how it affects the way she behaves in the present.

For starters, her love of animals. Sure, Numby is adorable and in general this is a rather fun trait for a character to have, it’s not something you would consider to be a sign of something darker. 

However, remember that Topaz’s planet almost lost all of the life on it, and she witnessed firsthand almost every creature she knew and loved either go extinct or become severely endangered. 

So, when you view her love for animals through this lense, it’s easy to see that she’s so attached to animals because Topaz almost lost them forever, and this trait manifests in a lot of the behavior she exhibits.

According to Topaz herself, her efficiency goes up 27% when Numby is with her, and it seems to be blatantly obvious that being around animals give her at the very least a peace of mind/sense of comfort. I mean in game she is Topaz and Numby for a reason, and her relationship with them is a core part of the way she behaves. When Topaz can’t ground herself, she has Numby to help her with that, which hurts even more considering she is likely going on these missions alone 90% of the time, meaning her literal only friend is a pet/animal. 

Considering Topaz’s biological parents never get mentioned, it’s not hard to assume she is orphaned or at the very least estranged from them, likely due to the disaster on her planet, leaving her only loved ones to be her pets and Dvorski. Losing one half of the only support system she has would be devastating for Topaz, which is likely why she brings Numby everywhere (also considering I don’t think she has mentioned him in the present, her pets might literally be the only things she has left). 

In her own home, Topaz collects a myriad of species from across the galaxy, as if to preserve them so at least even if they disappear on their home planets like hers did, they won’t go extinct entirely. 

Personally, I think her fixation around them cooperating and coexisting also reflects on how she feels about other people. If animals from completely different planets can get along, so can people. If she can convince creatures lacking in intellect work together, then she can do the same for ones that possess it, as ultimately Topaz is a massive people person, and believes what she’s doing is best for the galaxy. 

It’s almost like an experiment, with every little change to their ecosystems, every new organism added, every new abiotic feature taken or removed, Topaz can simulate what that might be like in reality. In a way she wants to take care of humans  like she does her pets, however instead of doing it through her own means, she uses the IPC and her power as a Stoneheart as a vector for that.

But why is she so confident? What makes Topaz wholeheartedly believe that what she’s doing really is the best for the galaxy, even if we know it isn’t perfect, even if only ~80% of the planets she works on are “saved”?

Well, like always, it’s her trauma again.

Imagine you’re living on a planet slowly dying due to its people’s greed and ignorance, in which everything you know and love is falling apart, and absolutely nothing can be done about it. But you don’t need to imagine this, I mean this is a situation we are all going through, as it’s already what’s happening to our planet right now, so perhaps instead picture what it might be like to live here in a few decades if nothing changes. How miserable that would be, how upset you would be at those in power, how disappointed you would be in humanity for doing Nothing when we had so much time and already knew the consequences almost a century in advance (seriously we have known about climate change since like the 50s). 

So you give up hope and accept your fate, accept that everything is going down in flames and the humanity, the planet you know and love is going to be snuffed out forever.

Only to get saved when an outside influence comes to your assistance. Sure, they make everyone sign a contract binding their lives to them, but you wouldn’t have a life to give had they not helped. Besides, you owe it to every other thing that shares your planet with you, every plant, every animal, every organism has been utterly wiped out by human greed, so it’s only fair to pay them back, right? 

I mean it’s your whole world at stake, so how could you say no? How could you deem their terms unreasonable if clearly your own people didn’t deserve the responsibility they had over their own lives? If their situations could only be fixed by giving it to others who could guide them? By giving it to the IPC? The Preservation ?

This is the mindset Topaz grew up on and has known for her entire life. She has seen humanity utterly fail itself and is unwilling to allow that fate to befall others. She doesn’t trust other people to make the right decisions, she doesn’t think they know what’s best for them, because the people she was closest to, her very own people couldn’t do that, so how could she ever expect strangers to do the same? 

How could she ever give the leaders of these planets the benefit of the doubt, knowing that doing that for her own almost caused it to be wiped out completely? How could she see them as anything more than the selfish bastards who ruined everything? How could her heart not ache thinking there were people on the planets she helps who would be doomed to experience the fate that almost fell upon her had Topaz not stepped in. 

How could Topaz feel guilty over the planets that don’t succeed? The ones she can’t save? As after all, she thinks they were lost from the get go? Does it eat her up at night knowing she failed them? That she couldn’t prevent the folly of humanity this time, so the next planet she must work harder, be more stubborn, push back even more, so nobody ever experiences what she did instead?

I mean being an indentured servant hasn’t been that bad for her, she’s succeeded in every endeavor she’s set her mind to after all. Sure, she’s entirely alone, and sure, if the IPC no longer deems her or her people useful, they could cast them aside once again. 

But Topaz is smart, she climbed to the top of the latter, she’s been praised to hell and back, she’s known far and wide through the department for her efficiency and drive, surely she hasn’t done anything wrong?

Sure she’s heard whispers, rumors and projects of other departments, of the deep dark secrets of the company she owes her life too. Inwardly she wonders how those who follow the Preservation would even be willing to commit such atrocities, inwardly she hopes they are just rumors. The IPC saved her planet, so how could they destroy others? 

The Preservation’s power will protect all, will save them from their miserable existences. Nothing else matters in the process, no dissenter understands this as like Topaz does. She will save them, she will protect them, even if it means she is detested by everyone she encounters, it must be done. All for the Amber Lord.

I find it very compelling how despite the fact that Topaz has become a Stoneheart, she is still dressed in the fashion of an average IPC worker. As if she is an equal part of the puzzle as them. Equally useful, equally disposable, equally biased, equally ignorant, and equally foolish. 

I mean, how could she be anyway else?

Her future

Belabog was just as important for Topaz’s development as she was to it.

She was wrong. 

As stubborn as Topaz is, she is not arrogant, and when Bronya proved to her that the people of Belabog can and would fight for their future, Topaz did everything in her power to help them.

As that’s what she really cares about, people. 

I think Topaz the determination she has in Bronya and it shook her to her core. 

Because so far, the only way Topaz has seen real progress is from the hands of the IPC.

But Bronya doesn’t give into them, and she puts everything she has into saving her people. Moreover, Jarilo-VI follows the Preservation as well, but they don’t agree with the IPC’s method of it. 

Is the IPC wrong?

That is the question Topaz is faced with, what is the thing she has to grapple with once she leaves the planet. When they demote her for not getting the debt back immediately, does Topaz wonder why they were so concerned about that in the first place? Shouldn’t they be happy that a world blessed by their very own deity managed to pick itself up without their help? Isn’t that the point?

Does she think back to her previous projects, the planets she saved and the planets she failed, and wonder how it would have worked out without the IPCs involvement? 

Did Aventurine teasing her about “failing” the Jarilo-VI project confuse her, because they were still saved like Topaz wanted them to be in the first place? How could they ever be considered a failure?

She believes debts and payback are what holds planets together, but it only ever seemed to cause Belabog to fall apart.

This is the first time Topaz really is forced to reevaluate her priorities, to question if her methods are justifiable, if she’s really doing the right thing.

Belabog didn’t break her, it didn’t topple her worldview and turn everything on its head, but it did plant some seeds of doubt in her brain, seeds of doubt that will grow into a new mindset. 

HOYOVERSE IF YOU ARE LISTENING HOYOVERSE, GIVE HER THE MENTAL BREAKDOWN + PRIORITY REEVALUATION ARC SHE DESERVES!!! DO THAT AND MY LIFE IS YOURS PLEASE.

Like you don’t get it you don’t get it what do you mean they set all this up and they might not go anywhere with it. Please hoyo please please please let her break away from the IPC’s condition and warped perspective, please let her truly follow the Preservation, please make her turn away from them, please make her an emanator of Preservation after she does this. Topaz stoneheart form, Topaz emanator form. Please please please let her save the crew let her save her subordinates let her save the people she failed previously let her save Aventurine and Ratio let her save Numby let her save herself.

Her instability 

I have already somewhat touched on this in point #3, but Topaz just cannot exist in the state she is now permanently.

Like a radioactive element she’s going to slowly decay over time until she ends up in a more stable form, and who that will hurt in the process, and how long that will take, we will have to see.

Hypocrisy is not something that can exist for long within characters, as due to its inherent contradictions, it messes with the way they are characterized until they are eventually forced to either eliminate it themselves or have the story do it for them.

Topaz is a hypocrite, desiring to do good and help people, but she ends up hurting them in the process. 

However, she has only just begun to realize this, and as more and more of the IPC’s atrocities get revealed, it gets harder and harder for both the audience and her herself to justify her behavior as we witness the extent of their crimes.

So how has she remained this stable for so long?

Well, the IPC has done everything in their power to keep her that way. From a young age she was involved with them, as they not only saved her planet, but her only known parental figure worked in the Strategic Investment Department. Soon, he recommended her to Jade due to Topaz’s exceptional talent, and presumably the other Stoneheart quickly picked her up and took her under her wing, causing Jelena to rise fast within the ranks and become one herself.

The IPC has been Topaz’s only frame of reference for how things should be done, her only perspective on write and wrong for so long. The only hints she gets of other points of view are that of the people who destroyed her planet, her own people. Unintentional or not, Topaz has been made to feel her whole life like the IPC are heroes and the common people are foolish and greedy and evil, and only now has that worldview started to crumble piece by piece.

Sure, we have always known how terrible the IPC was, a perception that has only gotten more and more true over time. However, Topaz is not the audience, and in universe the IPC presents themselves in a very positive light.

Think of the Myriad Celestia trailer and how it portrays the IPC; that’s quite literally how they want to be viewed in game, how they market themselves to other people. If Topaz has only ever known them to be that great, shining, progressive company who vows to follow the Preservation and improve the universe, how could even begin to criticize them? After all, she had never known any other perspective. Even when she did fail in the past, Topaz viewed it as a strike on her own record and an unfortunate situation in general, not as a demonstration of the IPC’s misdeeds. 

The IPC is good, the IPC saves people, the IPC follows the Preservation, Topaz is a good person, Topaz does good things, Topaz helps people, Topaz saves people, there is nothing wrong, there won’t ever be anything wrong.

Until Belabog

They don’t want to cooperate with the IPC. To roll over and let themselves be gutted for all they are worth. 

Well that’s fine, that’s happened before, at least that’s how Topaz justifies it to herself. She thinks of their massive debt, it must be paid after all, otherwise how could the galaxy remain stable?

But the weapons the IPC gave Jarilo-VI were never used in its defense. The thing they owe the IPC for never ended up being valuable. Belabog stood on its own, without the help of IPC in its defense.

They saved themselves.

As if it couldn’t get worse, they did it with the power of the Preservation.

And it didn’t come from the IPC, it came from them.

The Interastral Peace Corporation, who claim to be followers of the Preservation, standing against people who really do have their blessing and being proved wrong.

Do you know how that would feel to Topaz.

She’s wrong, and she’s proven wrong by the very deity she claims to follow, she believes she follows.

So Topaz makes her choice.

Stick with the IPC’s plan, or stand with the people of Belabog 

And she stands with them.

Topaz’s character never changes. I hate when people act like she switched up on them and changed her whole worldview, but in reality that was the most in character thing Topaz has ever done in her entire life.

Because she cares about people, so when the opportunity presents itself, she will always stand with them. 

This is the first time Topaz goes against the IPC’s wishes, and it won’t be the last.

She made her choice, she demonstrated who and what she truly cares about, and that will only drive a wedge between her and the IPC further and further until she snaps.

I find it funny how Topaz is a fire type character, when the song core to Belabog’s themes is “Wildfire” 

However, maybe it isn’t just about them. I think it’s about the Preservation, about what the game in general is trying to tell its players.

How fighting for your right to exist will hurt, but it is not impossible, and that pain will be the only way to enact change.

Well, Topaz,

you made your choice

go fight against your fate 

Thank you so much for reading! I really enjoyed making this and I hope you at least understand why I think Topaz is such a compelling character. I need an arc centered on her in the future and if I don’t get one then trust me things will be dealt with. She will get her just desserts.

[ruizpizzaria]

FAZGANGG ROLL OUT ( FNAF MOVIE RAMBLES + EASTER EGGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) PT 1

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD ! ! ! !

ok first off i cant put into text or words about how i fucking insane i am about this movie so uhm ahahaha im not gonna or i might explode my head off and end up looking like cc's foxy's plush. THIS MOVIE WAS THE MOST LOVINGLY LOVING LOVE LETTER TO THE FANBASE AND I COULD NOT BE MORE NUTS ABOUT IT

SO IM GONNA WRITE ABT ALL THE LIL EASTER EGGS I NOTICED DURING MY WATCH OF THE MOVIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( many more rewatches to come )

UPDATE : PICS ADDED ! ! !

MATPAT AND CORYXKENSHIN CAMEOS ( NO MARKIPLIER D: )

do i even have to say anything about this??

MATPAT SERVING THEORIES SO HARD HE GOT HIRED AS A WAITRESS

CORY BREAKING ANKLES AS AN UBER DRIVER

the theater went ballistic yeah

SPARKY THE DOG CAMEO / FINALLY CANON LOL

MAN OH MAN WHATT I DDID NOT EXPECT THIS ONE.

In the movie we get a full glimpse of a disassembled sparky suit in parts in service -> max gets stuffed inside this suit later on or a suit next to sparky

the diner that matpat works at is also called Sparky's ( lol foreshadowing )

this is still pretty unreal to me.

FNAF BOOK LORE PLAYS A BIG PART IN THE STORY

There's a scene towards the end of the movie where Abby is hiding from foxy and runs to hide behind some arcade games -> reference to the sequence where Foxy is chasing Charlie in the silver eyes (lighting is almost one on one too)

The animatronics realize they're getting manipulated by afton /spring bonnie when Abby shows them the truth through a drawing depicting spring bonnie's true nature -> reference to Carlton showing the dead children that spring bonnie / afton is their enemy through drawing spring bonnie as their killer

CARL THE CUPCAKE

i just find it kinda funny that the guy eaten alive by cupcake was named carl seeing as how carl was cupcake's fanon name

also he can defy gravity too ig

THE SHIRT CARL ( ONE OF THE GOONS WHO CAME TO TRASH THE PLACE ) IS WEARING HAS A PRINT OF FNAF 6'S DRIVING MINI GAME

Chica's magic rainbow from FNAF world gets its own branded ice cream parlor chain :

EVERYTHING ABOUT ABBY HANGING OUT WITH THE FAZGANG.

Spaghetti and Pizza analogy

this one is a bit more obvious but I like how its used as away to illustrate how mike had to choose giving up abby or cc ( i refuse to call him garrett he is either evan or chris. )

Hospitalized Vanessa Theory

Now that Vanessa is hospitalized could she be filling the roles of cc or mike in fnaf 4 ( mainly cuz of hospital hallucinations )-> shes traumatized by the animatronics and could hallucinate back to her days in the hospital ( if she wakes up or if its a dream sequence or something not sure ) ; also could also work since she's afton's daughter

LIVING TOMBSTONE END CREDITS LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

point where i died in the theater and ascended

so yeah yk id say the trap was sprung successfully

I am the most normal about this movie

[khattikeri]

drives me nuts when people treat jin guangyao or wei wuxian like they're socialist revolutionaries like no! they're not!! in fact their respective roles in society and complacency regarding its hierarchies is why ANY of the story even happens to begin with!!!

jin guangyao doesn't hold bitterness just because he was born lower class. he is bitter because others deride him and his prostitute mother in spite of both their intelligence, skills, and efforts to climb the ladder.

why do you think we were shown scenes of other prostitutes in the brothel deriding meng shi for being literate, for "trying" so hard? why do you think we were shown scenes of anxin taunting meng yao and throwing shit at him because he was trying to learn cultivation at his mother's behest?

why do you think jin guangyao arranged for the arson of that brothel, burned to the ground with everyone except sisi inside? that's not the behavior of someone who believes in true equality and the inherent worth of sex workers as human beings!

that's the behavior of someone who thinks he's better than them. the behavior of a man who already came up on top through political games and war crimes, backstabbing and spying for the sake of the "greater good".

i won't rehash his argument to nie mingjue that he didn't have a choice-- he had some choice, but no matter what he does his class will come up and people will always assume the worst and try to hurt him for it, which forces his hand to do whatever will protect him best (hence 'no choice').

jin guangyao did everything he could to secure his own safety and a place among those already higher up. and by that point, he'd won it.

the fact that the temple rebuilt on the brothel site is to guanyin, the goddess of mercy, is even more ironic! the fact that jin guangyao has the goddess's statue carved to look like his own mother is proof that he viewed both her and himself as higher than them. more worthy than them.

of course he cared about the general welfare of others (read: the watchtowers). but consider also that there is no watchtower near yi city, which ended up being one of xue yang's playgrounds. jin guangyao can and will turn a blind eye to certain sufferings if it is convenient to him.

sure, jin guangyao made undeniable contributions to cultivation society and accessibility, but he is not at any point trying to topple existing class structures. his adherence to them is in fact integral to his own downfall in the end.

it brings with it the inevitability of society conveniently ignoring his triumphs and genuine moments of humanity to deride him once more as an evil, disgusting son of a whore once his crimes come to light.

now for wei wuxian. he's the righteous protagonist of the story and he doesn't give a fuck what society thinks, yes, but he wasn't out there trying to cause an uprising so that all the poor servant classes and lower could become cultivators. he wasn't trying to redistribute wealth or insinuate that those who are lower deserve to be viewed as equal to the gentry.

the most critical and non-explicitly stated fact of mo dao zu shi is that wei wuxian has always been resigned to his position in the social hierarchy.

his unreliable narration, especially regarding his own past and thoughts, is so damn important. he doesn't EVER tell the reader directly that people treated him any which way at their leisure because of his parents' differing social classes.

no. instead we are shown how much prestige he is afforded as cangse-sanren's son-- reputation as a talented and charming young cultivator, made head disciple of Yunmeng Jiang-- and how little respect he is given in the same breath, as the son of servant wei changze.

the way he is treated by others is as fickle as the wind. if he obeys and does as told, there is no reward. of course he did that, that was the expectation to start with! if he does anything even slightly inconvenient, there is a punishment. of course he has no manners, what else would you expect from an ungrateful son of a servant?

wei wuxian's righteousness is not a matter of adhering to principles he was explicitly taught, the way nie mingjue values honor or the way jiang cheng always tries to prove himself. wei wuxian does the right thing regardless of what the consequences are to him because his good deeds are always downplayed and his bad deeds are always singled out, no matter who or how many people were doing it with him.

he has faced this double standard since childhood. there are points in the novel where it's clear that this sticks out to wei wuxian, but does he ever fight back against that view of himself? does he EVER, at any point in the story, explain his actions and choices to jianghu society and try to debate or appeal to their sense of reason?

no. because he knows, at his very core, that any explicit deviation from their interests whatsoever will be punished.

slaughtering thousands of people is fine when they want him to do it, and when the alternative is unjust torture, re-education camps, and encroachment upon other sects' lands.

slaughtering thousands of people who are trying to paint him as evil for not going along with their genocidal plans, however, is punished.

wei wuxian knows his acceptance among the higher classes is superficial and unsteady. from the age of 10, when jiang fengmian took him in, he knew subconsciously that he could be kicked out at any time.

he knows that cultivation society doesn't care about war crimes and concentration camps and mistreatment of the remaining wen survivors of the sunshot campaign. but the right thing to do now that they aren't at wartime is to help them, plus they'd punish him either way for it, so he will.

in this regard wei wuxian is more self-aware of his position than jin guangyao. he does care about common people and he does try his best to help them as an individual. even if that ends up with him disabled, arrested, targeted in sieges, or dead.

but is he revolutionary? in the full equality, fight the establishment, rewrite laws, change social structures and people's perceptions of class sense?

no. no. he isn't.

now my knowledge of chinese society and history is fairly limited to my hindu diaspora upbringing and our shared cultural similarities ... but speaking to what i absolutely know us true, adherence to one's social class is expected.

this is rigid. efforts and merits might bring you some level of mobility, but in the end, the circumstances of your birth will always be scrutinized first, and your behavior compared to the stereotypes of where and how you originate.

mdzs is not about revolution, and none of its characters are able to truly change its society. there is no grand "maybe cutsleeves aren't inherently bad" or "i'm sorry for persecuting you and believing hearsay, you were truly a good person all along!" at the finale.

people ignore history and repeat it again with the next batch of ugly gossip and rumors.

wei wuxian, lan wangji, and luo qingyang find peace only by distancing themselves from cultivation society and its opinions.

jin guangyao and wei wuxian both cannot ever escape from others' perception of their origins and actions. regardless of their personal beliefs, they are not revolutionaries.

[baldurs-gape]

Worry Worms

A little shared fact about the party was that the worms were in communication with each other. Even with the Emperor's protection, the group were bound in a way, their worms connected to each other. Sometimes it was awkward, other times funny and sometimes frustrating. Yet the worst were the moments where flashes of the past and the pain it held flashed through the group.

The first signs of a shared existence were the pang of hunger. It wasn't obvious to start with, everyone migrated to the supply packs for snacks and ate with more gusto. Yet the hunger was left unsated. Bickering turned to annoyed disagreements and huffy sulks. Lae'zel refused to even look at Shadowheart over the simple fact that the berries they'd had stashed away were now mixed with nuts.

"Perhaps we ought to ask Astarion to feed?" Wyll muttered to Karlach quietly. "It's driving me insane."

"Urgh, yes. I can't eat another mouthful but I'm still starving. Is this what being a vampire is like?"

"Like what?" Astarion sauntered up to them, thumb rubbing at the corner of his mouth as though wiping away the last dribbles of blood after feeding.

An awkward silence held them all in suspense until Wyll cleared his throat. "This hunger. Is this your day to day experience?"

Of all the thing they expected, an honest laugh was not on the list. Astarion wasn't even mocking them, he was genuinely tickled by the question.

"Darling, this hunger isn't mine. It has been dogging me as much as you by the sounds of it."

Which just left one real suspect. The one who had been most graceful at handling the sudden affliction. That evening Gale sheepishly admitted to his affliction. Once he'd consumed a locket, the hunger faded from all their minds.

If only things could be as simple. For a while it seemed like it was. The weather was gorgeous, sun bright and hot. It burned fiercely as they wandered along their path. Armour was slowly stripped, so were clothes where possible. Any stream they crossed, most of them dipped into it with sighs of relief.

"It's hot as the hells themselves." Wyll was neck deep in a clear pool, eyes closed and head tipped back.

Looking around at the various states of undress and sweatiness, Karlach gnawed at her bottom lip.

"Literally. The old engine's been getting a bit too much. My bad."

"This is your doing?" Astarion whirled to look at her. "I haven't felt like this in two hundred years!" Despite not sweating like the others, his hair looked a little lacklustre and flat compared to its usual near-perfection.

"As I said-"

"Don't. I've missed this. Don't change."

Karlach's mouth snapped shut as she nodded and made a mental note to maybe linger closer to Astarion on nights where he looked more cold and alone.

Their adventures carried on. They bore the shared echoes of neck pain and head aches as Wyll got used to his new horns. Gale's mage hand was perfect to for those who preferred not to be touched and Karlach was more than happy to put her rather warm hands to good use too. Given her own horn, she was all too familiar with what muscles could cramp and hurt. Wyll was especially grateful for such knowledge.

Along the way they collected Halsin who was more than happy to tag along on the quest. Nobody was tactless enough to mention how he and Astarion gravitated towards each other, circling in tighter and tigther circles. They all pretended to believe Halsin's reasons were purely altruistic and maybe with a small amount of desire to learn. Nor did anyone mention that Astarion's tent had a tendency to be set up and then abandoned as he spent nights in Halsin's. It was a small comfort and they all knew they needed as much of that as they could get.

Nights tended to be rather monotonous. Once dinner had been eaten, they all drifted off to their respective tents for rest. Sleep came easy enough, so did the nightmares. Flashes of pain and terror. Revulsion and depseration. Hopelessness that hollowed out everything which was only filled by fear tamped rage. Lae'zel was the first to wake, cursing Shar and all she made her followers endure. Determined to wake Shadowheart, she left her tent. Only, Shadowheart was already by the dwindling fire, haggard and scratching at her back.

"Is this not the doing of your goddess?"

"She's much more thorough in taking the memories." The disdain in Shadowheart's voice was a blanket to hide her own discomfort. While awake, the flashes from the worm were no less distressing but the light of the fire helped a little.

"So who-"

Gale stumbled out of his tent and retched as a particularly sordid kind of pain echoed through them all. They all shivered in unison at it.

"We need to wake him." Even as he spoke, the worm allowed more memories to play out in their minds. "He wouldn't want us to know this."

"I don't want to know this," Karlach's voice joined. Next to her, Wyll looked harrowed.

As one they traipsed to the edge of camp where Halsin's tent had been set up. He was dozing, curled around Astarion with a smile on his lips.

"Hush, he's finally trancing." Warm pride made Halsin's words drip with affection. "Said he'd not done it since before being turned."

"With good reason. Wake him up." Wyll winced as new pains from relieved memories curled through him.

Resisting, Halsin watched the group and pulled Astarion into a protective embrace. The broke 'please' from Gale was what did it in the end.

It didn't take much more than a gentle brush of lips to his forehead and Astarion blinked awake. His worm silenced but not before a flash of panic could be felt by all as he stared up at the gathered group.

"I know I'm in high demand, but could we keep it to one or two at a time so I can make sure you all have a good time?"

If only it had been a joke. Before it would have been taken as one. Now though, the truth of his fawning in face of fear was all too easy to see.

"We just-" Gale seemed at a loss for words.

"They wanted to wish you a good night," Halsin helped out, even though he still wasn't quite sure what was going on. "And to make sure you're okay."

Tight blankness smoothed out Astarion's expression. He knew the others saw the memories his trance he brought to life. "Was I-" breaking off, he steeled himself, "Did I make noise to wake you all?"

"You were very peaceful, little heart." Halsin smiled at him and tucked him back against his chest. "Rest some more. I'm sure the rest of this conversation can wait until the morning."

Dismissed, the others filed out of the tent. They didn't sleep easy, kept up by the nightmare fuel of what they'd seen. At least Astarion didn't trance again so no more memories bled through into their shared connection. Come morning, nobody said anything. But if they were a little more gentle with Astarion after that, that was their own business and nobody else's.

[bingwriterxo]

distrust

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: in which you and tara have the conversation

warnings: mentions of stabbing

word count: 1100+

author’s note: heheheh

“We need to talk.”

The words tasted like poison on your tongue and felt like shards of glass as they tore their way past your lips, hanging heavy in the air. They were met with silence, and you watched Tara’s shoulders tense—the only sign of acknowledgement you received.

You huffed, standing from her bed and crossing the room, taking the back of her chair in your hand and spinning her around to face you. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, the skin between them creasing, but her eyes were trained on the wall behind you, glazed over as though you weren’t even there.

“Tara,” you said, voice short.

She glanced up at you, but her gaze didn’t linger, falling right back to the spot on the wall. “What?” She sounded annoyed, like she wanted to be anywhere other than there.

You swallowed and took a step back, wondering if a conversation was even worth it, but still you trudged on, figuring you owed it to yourself. “We need to talk,” you repeated, continuing with, “about us.”

Tara shrugged. “Okay. What?”

The weight of the situation came crashing down on you, and you sat on the edge of her bed, your legs trembling. Were you really about to have the conversation with the woman you had believed was the love of your life?

Bile rose in the back of your throat as you thought about the best way to phrase your next sentence. It wasn’t like you hadn’t thought about the conversation—in fact, you had envisioned it so many times in the past few days that you were starting to drive yourself nuts—but now that it was actually happening, no words seemed to be good enough.

You inhaled shakily and clamped your eyes shut. “Do you still want this?” you asked in a whisper, unable to speak any louder.

For a moment, it was silent. You opened your eyes to find Tara’s gaze finally on you, and you shivered beneath her hard stare.

When she didn’t respond, you tried again. “Do you still want to be in a relationship with me, Tara?”

She blinked; then, “Why are you asking me that?” Her words were backed by anger, but her face was completely blank, revealing none of her emotions.

“I just…” You sighed and bowed your head, staring at your wringing hands. “I don’t know who you are anymore, Tar. You barely talk to me; you can barely look at me. It just feels like you don’t want this anymore.”

Tara scoffed, drawing your attention back to her, and a pit began to claw its way into your stomach as her face contorted into irritation.

“I don’t know what you expect!” she all but shouted, causing you to slink back. “I mean, Jesus, Y/N! What the hell do you expect?!”

“Tara—”

“In the past year, I’ve been attacked multiple times by people I cared about! First, it was my girlfriend.” You glanced down, vision blurring at the mention of Amber. “Then, my roommate and one of my friends! I mean, do you think I’m gonna be happy-go-lucky constantly?”

“No, of course not, but—”

“I don’t even know who’s capable of what anymore!” She ran a hand down her face. “I don’t even know if I can tru—” She cut herself off, like she suddenly thought better of her next few words, but it was too late.

“If you can trust me?” you finished, voice wavering. You blinked back your tears and looked at her, frowning. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”

Tara simply stared at you, expression dissolving into nothingness again. She was good at that, you had learned over the few months since the last Ghostface attack—it was easy for her to put on a mask, to pretend and lie and act. You hated it.

“Is that why you’ve been acting like you couldn’t care less about me?” you asked, the very words making you feel like your world was breaking apart. “Because you think I could…what…suddenly decide to attack you one day? And maybe, if that happens, it’d be better that you have no attachment to me anymore? That’d make it easier, right?”

Her jaw clenched, but her eyes softened. She looked pained, like she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say, what she was supposed to do.

“If that’s the way you’re thinking, Tara, then this has to be over.” You bit your bottom lip, wishing that it would stop trembling, but you could do nothing for the tears that fell or the way your heart twisted painfully. “Because I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me.” You shook your head. “And I—I can’t be with someone who treats me the way you have.”

Tara swallowed. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks, destroying her stony facade, and you watched as her fingers gripped the arm rests of her chair, her knuckles turning stark white.

“If I could—“ She sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palms. “If things went back to the way they were before the attack, could we still be together?” Her voice was soft and careful, filled with hurt and pain and everything you never wanted to be the reason for. “Because I don’t—I can’t lose you, Y/N.”

“Would you ever be able to trust me again?”

She glanced away, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know,” she admitted, words cracking beneath the weight they held.

You nodded, defeated. “A relationship without trust is hardly a relationship.” Her eyes flitted back to you, so much sorrow buried in them that you wished for once she wasn’t paying you any attention. “How am I supposed to be with someone who’s afraid that I’m going to end up attacking them one day?”

Her face fell, her body slumping back into her chair. The realization crashed down on her, just the same as it crashed down on you. This was it. This was the end.

You stood on still-shaking legs and gathered your things, your body trembling and your knees threatening to give out as you crossed the room, your hand resting on her doorknob.

You pulled the door open, hesitating for just a moment, hoping that she would say something, anything, to make you stay. But instead, all you heard was the smallest, softest,

“I’m sorry.”

You hung your head and whispered, “I am, too,” before walking out and shutting the door behind you, effectively ending everything that had existed between you and Tara.

[ramshacklerumble]

?ylsuoires esnesnon koot ew fi ffo retteb eb dlrow eht t’ndluow

twst fic | 2.1k words

With the moon the biggest Ace had ever seen and in such crisp alabaster, it struck him with its true presence as a celestial body rather than an afterthought of a pale disk in the sky. The sand along the island glowed under its light.

He didn’t bother with his flashlight, he immediately spotted the figure sitting on a rock jutting out a few meters below the lodge’s landing, beyond the railing.

“Psst!”

Gia jumped and turned to look up where the voice came from. They gave him a small wave when they saw him.

Ace turned his palms up. What are you doing?

Gia held something in their mouth. Ace thought they were sucking on a stone before they reached into the fanny pack on their side and pulled out a mango. Gia seriously loved mangoes. Gia loved mangoes so much, they’d been tearing through the group’s supply and eventually earned themself a two-mango-per-day limit. One they were currently on their way tripling over alongside the other two he’d helped them smuggle earlier that night.

Ace shook his head as Gia motioned him to come down and instead motioned for them to come up. He didn’t hear it, but he could plainly imagine the huff coming out of them when they waved him off and turned back towards the beach.

“Oh, c’mon.” Ace muttered. He glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting Riddle to be standing there in all his pipin’ teapot tyrant glory.

They were supposed to be in bed, safe in their little pseudo-getaway spot. While it didn’t make a lot of sense to Ace given it was the only man-made structure on the island and might as well be a flashing neon ‘ATTACK US’ sign for Gantu— Gantu never tried. It should have been a riskier move than just roughing it out in the open, but with how things had been turning out so far, Ace was on the same page in regards to it being better inside.

Also, the mosquitoes were driving him nuts.

He looked back out at Gia, still staring off into the ocean. Alright. Fine. If they wanted to get eaten alive out there, then that was their business. Ace wasn’t in love with the idea of having to scavenge tomorrow with a collar around his neck for being caught past curfew. If he slipped back inside now, he could just say he’d gone to the outhou—

“Hey!” The word left his mouth before he had the chance to choke it down. Ace clamped his hand over his mouth and spun into a crouch, trying to discern any sound of movement above his heartbeat. He waited. Ace took a glance at where Gia had stepped off the rock they’d been sitting on.

Now standing on the sand, Gia was looking back up at him. They’d started towards the beach.

Frantically, Ace motioned for them to come back, his other hand still fixed onto his mouth.

Gia only shook their head, pointed at him, then at the lodge. They continued on their way towards the beach just as the mango pit they’d been holding hit the sand.

Ace suppressed a groan.

With not even Grim at their side, there was no way Ace would be able to just crawl back into bed now. He ducked under the railing, climbed off the landing and onto the sand.

It didn’t take him long to catch up to Gia. Unlike their usual speed walk against the imaginary timer they took everywhere and anywhere, they strolled down the beach at their leisure. When he reached them, they greeted him like they’d just happened to cross each other at a mall, “Hey.”

“Don’t ‘Hey’ me.” Ace reached out to block their path, “Where are you going?”

“Beach.” Gia said. They placed their hand on his arm, but didn’t force it down. They simply held it. “Let’s go.”

Ace faltered, “What?”

“For a little bit.” Gia gave their hand a brief squeeze. They had this strange…non-smile. The corners of their lips didn’t curve upward, but Ace instinctively knew they were smiling at him. Something about how their expression seemed so light.

Refocusing, Ace said, “Are you kidding? If Riddle and the others find out we’re not there, we won’t hear the end of it.”

“I told you to stay,” Gia reminded him. It almost sounded coy. Tone variation? From Gia?

“Yeah? What about you?” Ace said, “You can’t be out here alone, Gantu or his bots could be anywhere.”

“Fine.” They shrugged, “Come with me.”

A sigh, born as much out of frustration as it was amazement, left Ace. He scanned the shoreline trying to figure out what about it called to Gia. It was a lost cause. Ace liked to think he was pretty quick on the uptake, but when it came to Gia sometimes he couldn’t begin to guess what went on inside that head of theirs.

“Okay, but only for a few minutes.” Ace said, “And we are not going into the water.”

Gia had the gall to look disappointed.

—

To be fair, it was really nice out.

Even in this late— possibly early— hour, it was still warm enough to justify their light clothing. The breeze was sea-salted, though not briny, and while Ace wasn’t much for stargazing— stars blanketed the island in an otherworldly surreal technicolor that made them hard to ignore.

Gia produced two more mangoes out of their fanny pack, which at this point Ace was sure had to be enchanted, and gave one to him as they walked along the shore.

They were sweet and refreshingly chilled. He couldn’t blame Gia for wanting to eat them by the ton. They told him about their craving for a sour syrup they called ‘chamoy’ and how just thinking about it made their mouth water. They laughed as they said so.

It didn’t surprise people to find out Gia didn’t laugh often, even when it was just them, Ace, Deuce and Grim— and when they did laugh, it was less a sound and more a subtle shaking of their shoulders. They always hid it behind a fist or turned away.

Maybe they thought Ace wouldn’t hear it over the roar of the waves, because tonight they didn’t bother to.

Much of their walk was silent, though.

Under most circumstances, Ace found silence unbearable. This time his usual urge to break the quiet was nowhere to be found. Even as Gia shot him a side-long glance before stomping into the edges of the waves.

He just rolled his eyes and followed them into ankle deep water. He expected it to be freezing, but found the water pleasantly cool.

“I love it here,” said Gia, throwing their mango pit far into the water.

Something about that came off as strange to Ace. When he thought about it, it was because he was sure he’d never heard them use that word before.

Love.

He was especially sure he’d never heard them use it in reference to themself. That was a whole personal preference they’d willingly voiced.

“I can make it work,” they said.

Ace had followed suit and thrown his own mango pit into the waves. It didn’t splash nearly as far as Gia’s. “You mean staying?”

“Yeah.”

“No way.” Ace said, “It’s nice here for a vacation or something, ignoring the whole ‘being hunted by robots’ thing. But there’s no way I’d stay just to live here.”

“I know.” They said, “You guys would be back in Night Raven.”

Ace studied them for a few seconds, “…And what? Leave you here?”

“Yeah.”

Though he smiled, Ace shook his head in disbelief.

Gia pointed down the path they’d been walking, at the lodge, “That’s built.” They pointed to the fire pit, “I cook. I can build my own fire and I can fish.”

Their hand gestured at the jungle, “There’s water. There’s fruit everywhere. Plus, I finished building a garden around back today.”

Ace remembered the square plot of land behind the lodge sectioned off by a log fence.

“Woah, wait.” he said. “You’re serious?”

Gia continued walking along the water’s edge.

Ace stayed behind, trying to puzzle out what the interaction meant— if it meant anything at all. Laughs were unsurprisingly rare from Gia, but what people often failed to predict was that it didn’t stop them from having a sense of humor.

That’s what Ace assumed it was at this point, anyway. He didn’t know what else to call it. Gia’s idea of comedy was throwing someone a curveball and seeing if they caught it or let it hit them in the face.

He jogged to join them again and said, “Okay, well. What about Gantu?”

“What about Gantu?” Gia notched back, “He won’t have a reason to be here once Stitch leaves the island. Then it’s all mine.”

“You’re just gonna sit here on your pile of mango seeds all alone on your island in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’ll name it: Ogy-Gia.”

Ace settled on his trump card, “And Grim? You know he can’t go back to Night Raven without you. You know Headmage will kick him out the second he knows you’re gone.”

Gia didn’t reply immediately. Their toes brushed over the sand, leaving overturned trails stretching out from their footprints as they walked. Finally, they looked at him with their weird little non-smile, “You do care about him.”

They spun around, walking backwards to face Ace as they spoke, “Grim can stay here with me. He won’t have to do anything. He’ll love that.”

Ace snorted.

“And since it’s just the two of us—” Gia continued, “—that automatically makes him the Greatest Mage.”

“Alright, fine. But then…” Ace trailed off, his hand circling as though he could magically conjure up a reason. A different one he could actually say.

The topic of Gia’s family always made them clam up and Ace learned not to broach the subject. It nipped at him sometimes, though. Even before coming onto the island where the occasional downer thought of never getting off it led to thinking of his own family. He hated the idea of his family worrying about him and he hated the idea of never seeing them again.

But there’d been one time Ace asked Gia about it directly back at Night Raven, when Gia told him outright they decided they weren’t going back home. Don’t you wanna see your family again?

Not as much as I should, Gia replied. He didn’t see them for the rest of the day.

It hit Ace that if they were capable of making a decision like that once, could they do it again? Was it really that easy for them? If family wasn’t enough for them to reconsider, then…

“Then what?” Gia prompted.

Ace shoved his hands in his pockets, “Then I’ll just never see you again, I guess.”

In a single quick step, Gia blocked his path, stopping him short. They nearly bumped into each other. Leaning in with a tilt of their head, trying to get a good look at his face, they asked, “That bothers you?”

Ace blinked at them, then with a dawning understanding he said, “You want me to say I’d miss you.”

Gia had a lopsided sort of grin. It made them look like a whole new person— but Ace knew better now. This Gia was always there. Looking for the next adventure, the next spark of excitement. The one who made things worth the trouble.

“And if I say I won’t?” Ace said.

“Try.”

Ace met their eye, “...You're just playing with me. You're not actually staying.”

Gia glanced at the sky– sharing a knowing look with the stars. This moron. But when they looked back at him, they said, “I'd miss you.” There, see? It’s not so hard.

That was the thing about Gia. When you were someone who didn’t speak more than a handful of sentences at a time, you knew how to make them count.

Gathering all the pride and puff in his chest as he could muster, Ace said, “You wouldn’t have to.”

It wasn’t a real silence that stretched between them. Waves continued crashing against the shore. Ace found himself wanting for something else to break it.

Gia dropped their gaze and huffed. Not a laugh. Not a grin. Not even their little non-smile.

When they lifted their face again, they motioned Ace back to the lodge with a subtle jut of their head.

Ace scanned the sand as they walked back together. Nothing popped out at him. Maybe for the best.

Better for it to stay there than risk him crushing it, too.

tag list:

@cyanide-latte @inmateofthemind @simons-twsted-children @tixdixl @blithesharem @thehollowwriter

@jovieinramshackle @theleechyskrunkly @skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @twistedwonderlandshenanigans

@kimikitti @felix-cant-ski (dm to be added)

[giggly-squiggily]

Hey Squiggly!!! I’m back with another headcanon.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—Giyu is Great at Holding in his laugh. You either have to get a death spot or be tickling him for hours if you want him to crack. EXCEPT. He CANNOT hold in his laugh with feathers. Like. This man is extremely feather ticklish, and it drives him MAD. Surprisingly, Obanai is the one who found out. (Mitsuri was definitely not forcing them to hang out whatsoever, Obanai 100% invited Giyu to his estate of his own accord….) ANYWAY. Giyu and Obanai were both feeding their respective pets (Giyu’s crow and Obanai’s snake, I can’t remember how to spell the names) and Giyu dropped some fruit right into his uniform. And his crow dove in to get it. Obanai let it slip and now everyone TORTURES Giyu.

Anyway, Giyu being feather ticklish to me is so funny. Tough man taken out by soft feather, it heals my soul. Feel free to use the scene I was talking about, or a different scene, up to you!!! Also feel free to decline of course. Take your time and have fun with your event :)

(Sorry I rambled a Bit….)

(Headcanons to Dabbles: OFFICIALLY CLOSED)

And with that- we've reached the last of the Dabbles! Thank you everyone who participated and who read along! I'll be updating the masterlist soon!

OH THIS IS BEYOND ADORABLE!!! Giyu being feather sensitive and Obanai just watching him getting wrecked and not helping is such a vibe jarekarjearkjae I wanna make more "Hashira getting GIyu" things down the road; this was just so fun! I've gotcha covered, friend! :D

Obanai didn’t want this to happen, but given what came out of it, he couldn’t complain.

Invite him over, she insisted. Try to get to know him better before you cast him aside. Tomioka-san just might surprise you!

Mitsuri’s request  was what brought them here today- sitting outside Obanai’s home and…existing. The Serpent Hashira had no idea what they were to discuss, and Giyu wasn’t helping with his awkward silences.

He was just now starting to realize why he hung out with Mitsuri and Sanemi. Both of them could keep a silence at bay.

Heeeeeeh…

“Calm. You’re gonna get some.” Giyu’s voice stirred him from his thoughts, turning his attention to the Water Hashira and his crow. He was holding a handful of pecans- offering them one by one as his crow hopped and squawked, demanding more. “You’re getting older- I don’t want you to get si-EE!”

What happened next was fast and surprising. Obanai watched the crow leap upwards and into Giyu’s face, making him lean back. His handful of nuts went flying- in his face, his lap, and even some on Obanai. The serpent Hashira took what landed on him for a snack.

“Kanzaburou! Behave yourself. Ugh, this is a disaster..” Giyu sighed as he looked down at himself, tugging at his collar when he felt a few nuts stuck there. “I’m gonna be finding pecans on me for days.”

“Hehe. Nut case.” Obanai snickered at his own dumb joke. To his surprise, Giyu was laughing too. “Wow, didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”

When Giyu started laughing harder, Obanai raised a brow. “Come on, it wasn’t that funny.”

“Thahhat’s not ihihiht-aheahhahaha, Kahahahnzahhahaburohohohu dohohoohn’t!” Giyu was grabbing at his shirt, specifically at the lump wiggling its way down. “Gehehhehet ohohohohut! Yohohoohu tihihihickle!”

“Kaw! Kaaaw!” The bird squawked in glee, it’s feathery butt sticking out from the top of Giyu’s collar, furthering his tickly torture. “We mustn't waste a single ounce of food! Kaaaaw!”

“Gihihihive me a shehehehecond- Aheahahhahah Iihiihgurhoohohho heheheheelp!”

“Huh?” The other man had been watching without realizing it.

“HEhehelp me ghehehheht him ohohohout! Aheahhahhaa! Pleahahhahse!” Giyu cried, cheeks warm and eyes scrunched and misty. It was such a rare sight- seeing the stoic man laugh. Obanai almost didn’t help just to make it last.

Only then Giyu was wincing some as his crow crawled down further, its talons and beat sharp. Obanai tsked before reaching over, working at the buttons with rapid speed.

“Ahehahhaha-hehahahha- thehehhehre!” The second there was an opening big enough, Giyu reached up and gently pried his crow free, holding him carefully in his shaking hands. “Now stahahap thahhat.”

“Kaaw! Kaaaaw!” The bird chirped, flying out of Giyu’s hands and off to who knew where. 

The water Hashira groaned softly as he flopped on his back, arms over his face to hide his flustered expression. “Eheh..heh..th-that was a bit embahahharasing..” When he didn’t hear Obanai reply, he dared a peek- flushing more at the other’s amused stare. “Erm..could we keep this between us?”

“You already know the answer to that.” Giyu groaned and hid in his arms once more while Obanai snickered; delighted by this new piece of information.

He couldn’t wait to tell the others.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Jason x reader who doesnt talk

The power keeps going out today and its driving me nuts because it's always while I'm sleeping, it keeps waking me up

Notes: reader is GN, doesnt talk for unspecified reasons, reader uses sign language

CWs: none

its no secret that he doesnt talk himself, i personally headcanon that he uses sign language to communicate! learned it from a young age from his mother and just kept it up even during all those years he spent alone before you came along

he doesnt push you to talk, nor does he ask if youre capable of speech or why you dont talk- thats none of his business and as long as its not something weighing on you or making you upset hes not going to question you about anything

sometimes you dont even need to sign in order to communicate something to him, some days he can just look at your face and know exactly what youre thinking

there isnt much to do in the cabin so sometimes you sit and just exist together in silence, its rather nice actually! its calming and domestic, you two being able to just sit in the same room in each other's preference

its not everyone's cup of tea for fluff, but it hits a soft cord for me personally

you both leave each other notes to find- mostly its you leaving them for him, letting him come back to them when he returns home from doing his deeds in the camp

he keeps every single one, if he had a scrapbook he would put them all in there

[runnning-outof-time]

This Storm Will Also Pass | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: no - written for @toms-cherry-trees 1.5k celebration

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: Tommy manages to calm down (Y/N) after he finds her hiding and riddled with anxiety during a late autumn thunderstorm.

Warnings: descriptions of a panic attack (anxious!reader), fear of thunderstorms, mentions of war/air raids, mentions of breaking and entering

Word Count: 1883

A/N: congrats on 1.5k Mars!! I’m so happy I’ve met you on here!! This idea came to me during a thunderstorm (it was a spring one, but it reminded me of the fall) and I decided to incorporate it into the story…I hope that it passes as autumn enough. Enjoy! :)

A/N 2: this is also dedicated to one of my very first supporters on here @a-lil-bit-nuts … I saw that you were looking for a Tommy x anxious!reader where he’s calming her down and wanted to write this for you. I hope that those feelings have since passed and you’re doing well, B! Sending much love your way!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Comment/Message me if you’d like to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

The halls of Arrow House were dark, even though it was the middle of the day. Tommy had decided to leave work early due to the nasty looking storm that was hanging overhead. It was shaping up to be a rough one, and he didn't want to get caught driving in the middle of it.

Frances had told him that (Y/N) hadn't come out of the master bedroom since the clouds turned dark. He instantly knew why she'd decided to sequester herself in what she deemed to be her 'safe space'.

"(Y/N)?" he asked softly as he knocked on the door, wanting to announce himself before he entered the room. He heard nothing in response, which he expected, so he opened the door and stepped into the room before gently closing it behind him. "Where are you, (Y/N)?" he called for his wife, noticing that the bed was empty and that the covers had been stripped from it.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around the room, noticing that both her vanity chair and the chaise lounger were also empty. He was starting to think that maybe she'd moved to another room when another loud crack of thunder rang out, its intensity making the floorboards vibrate. A shriek came from the conjoined bathroom as the thunder continued to rumble, making Tommy turn and head into the room.

(Y/N) was laying in the bathtub with the covers from the bed hiding everything except her head. She had a white-knuckle grip on the duvet and a panicked look in her eyes.

"It's me, love," Tommy said softly, not wanting to startle her with his sudden presence. She was already looking in his direction, but he knew from prior experiences that she could just be looking through him. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get home before the storm started," he apologized as he slowly moved over to the tub.

"I...I did everything I was supposed to do, Tommy. I grabbed the blankets, I...I went in here; there's no windows in here...I got in the tub and I've been covering my head, I have, but when I heard you say my name I thought that maybe, I thought that..."

"It's ok, love," Tommy cut her rambling statement off, kneeling down next to where she had been hiding, "you're doing good," he offered some words of encouragement as a soft smile formed on her face.

"I heard the loud bangs and ran right in here. I feel so bad, I didn't even ask Frances if she wanted to join, oh goodness, is she safe?" (Y/N) continued, a panicked look present on her face as she mentioned the older woman, "I completely forgot to get her and make sure she'd be safe, oh my goodness, is she ok?" her words came out quicker than before as another round of panic washed over her.

Her breathing quickened and she began to scramble, fighting with the blankets she was wrapped in to try and get up from her position, something she was terrified to do, but would continue with in order to make sure Frances was safe. She had just rested her shaky hands on the edge of the tub as was attempting to lift her equally shaky body up when Tommy stopped her actions.

"Frances is fine, (Y/N)," he told her, his voice soft but firm, hoping to show her that there was no need to panic. “Slow your breathing down, you need to calm yourself, yeah?”

"She's in a safe spot?" (Y/N) asked, her eyes wide as they hooked onto Tommy's, ignoring the second half of his statement as she focused on the well-being of the older woman.

"There's no danger," he told her, shaking his head slightly for added effect.

"But...but all of the bangs...the house was shaking. Tommy, I...I tried to get in here as quickly as I could. I thought there was...I thought someone was coming in. Thought they were attacking the house," she shakily exuded her words, her anxiety still getting the best of her.

Tommy opened his mouth to speak but a loud crack of thunder sounded before he could get a word out. The shrill, loud sound made (Y/N) shriek in fear and grab onto Tommy's arm; immediately clinging onto him for dear life.

"They’re...they’re still, still here, Tom," she shuddered out, burying her head into his arm as her free hand waved around behind her, blindly trying to find the blankets so that she could cover both of them.

"No one's here, love," Tommy softly told her, "we're not being attacked. There's a thunderstorm happening," he continued, explaining the situation in its entirety.

(Y/N) slowly lifted her head as she heard his words. "But...but the bangs were so loud. I thought for sure that someone was trying to get in, or that an air raid was happening. I did what I was supposed to do, Tommy. I got into this safe room and made sure I was in the bathtub," she explained things from her point of view, making sure to inform him that she'd taken the necessary steps in order to stay safe.

"It's one of those late autumn storms...they’re always worse," Tommy continued to speak calmly, "just gettin’ the last few ones out of the system before the snow comes."

(Y/N) didn't answer right away. Instead she kept her eyes locked with his and searched them, trying to find any hidden lies; anything that would betray the words he was saying.

Tommy watched her as she did this, seeing the panic slip slowly from her features. He waited; watching as her breathing got slower with each second that passed.

Some time passed before (Y/N) finally spoke: "we're...we're not being attacked?" she asked, her voice much calmer now than it was before.

"No, love. It's just a thunderstorm," Tommy answered her.

"And we're ok?" she asked another question.

"Yes," he answered definitively.

"Ok," she breathed, nodding her head as then she took a few more calming breaths.

"This storm will also pass...just like all of the others have," he assured her, running a soothing hand up and down her arm as she loosened the hold she had on his bicep.

"I was so scared, Tommy," she recounted the beginning of the storm then, "I started panicking the second I heard the thunder. I really thought that someone was attacking the house," she shuddered at the thought, now feeling relieved that it had just been another storm.

Her thunderstorm induced panic attacks had been getting better with each one that rolled through. She'd carried this fear ever since she and Tommy lived on Watery Lane. It started during the Great War, when the threat of air raids would occur and send the city into a panic. Then she happened to be home when Campbell and his men broke into their house, so now she worried that any unreasonably loud sound could also be a potential intruder.

Her reaction was always much less severe when Tommy was home, but there were days - like today, when he couldn't be...and she couldn't decipher whether it was a storm or an attack by herself.

The two sat quietly in the bathroom for some time. Neither did much talking. (Y/N)'s hold would tighten on Tommy's arm each time that the thunder rumbled, but her reactions to it were much more mild compared to what they were earlier. Having him with her truly helped to calm her down.

"Do you think the worst is over?" (Y/N) asked once it seemed like the past few rumbles had been softer compared to what they were earlier.

"I think it's passed," Tommy answered with a nod, happy to see the slightest smile form on (Y/N)'s face.

"Can we go see?" she asked him, finally releasing her hold from his arm.

Although Tommy wouldn't freely admit it, he felt sad at the loss of her touch. He didn't comment on his thoughts, but instead nodded his head and allowed her to hold onto the tub's edge so that she could pull herself up and out to stand on the tiled floor again. He let her exit the bathroom first, following closely behind and watching as her eyes went right to the bedroom's large windows.

"It has passed," she said, moreso to herself, seeing the sun that was shining through the curtains. "Can we go outside to make sure?" she then turned to Tommy to ask him.

"We can," he agreed with her idea, allowing her to move to sit on the chaise lounge then, where the pair of shoes she was previously wearing were sitting. He watched as she slipped them on and stood again, coming back over to where he was standing without a word said.

"Let's go," she smiled at him, extending her hand for him to take. He grinned at her, glancing down at her hand before he slipped his into it, wordlessly allowing her to lead them out of the bedroom and down the hallway.

It didn't take long for them to get onto the grounds of their home. (Y/N) immediately took a look around, seeing that the dark clouds had completely passed over and whiter ones had returned in place. The trees, still full of colorful leaves, seemed to look even more vibrant with a coating of water on them.

That was one thing she loved about autumn. Nature always seemed to be at its best then...give or take a few late season thunderstorms. But she'd fight her way through them if it meant that she got to see this beauty each time that they passed.

"It's beautiful out here now," she voiced her thoughts to Tommy as they walked along one of the paths in the garden.

"It is," Tommy agreed with her, "the good returns once the storm passes."

"It does," it was her turn to agree with what he was saying. Silence fell around them then as they walked the grounds of their home. (Y/N) glanced over at him a few times, admiring how he looked in the sinking sunlight.

"Need something?" Tommy asked as he noticed her looking at him, his eyebrows raised in question.

(Y/N)'s cheeks heated up slightly as she realized she'd been caught. "Thank you for helping me earlier, Tommy," she said to him, slipping her hand into his so that she could give it a squeeze.

"I wish I could have gotten home earlier," he stated, his voiced discrepancy making her shake her head.

"Don't beat yourself up with the specifics. You came at the right time," she told him, her eyes holding earnesty.

"I'm happy that I could help you get through it, love," he said, a soft smile forming on his face as he pressed a kiss to her temple. (Y/N) smiled at the gesture and turned her head, pressing a kiss of her own to his jacket covered shoulder.

Not much else was said as the two continued on their way, enjoying one of their final autumn walks before the cold took over and winter arrived.

Tagged: @mgcldydrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21 @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @itscheybaby @gypsy-girl-08 @insanitybyanothername @depxiety @raincoffeeandfandoms @dragons-are-my-favorite @acewritesfics @forgottenpeakywriter @cilliansangel @cljordan-imperium @areyenotfondofmelobster @little-diable

MASTERLIST

[lightlysaltedtaters]

Okay, this might just be some incoherent rambling but Fiona’s apparent knowledge that her world was supposed to be magic put this idea in my head and its been driving me nuts so here we go.

Going under the assumption that Fiona World and regular Ooo have the same timelines, Fiona, like Finn, was about 17-18 at the time that Ice King turned back into Simon, removing the magic from Fiona world. So essentially, this girl spent her entire childhood and teen years in a magical world, filled with wonder and fantasy, and as soon as she became an adult, the world around her *literally* lost all of its magic and became a boring, monotonous place. Her childhood was all fun and adventure and magical creatures, and adult life came with such a drastic tone change that she was ultimately unable to cope with it and was constantly searching for a way to return her life to that magic she knew as a kid. And not to be that guy, but that is one HELL of an allegory for growing up!

[all-you-need-is-paul-mccartney]

James (Paul McCartney x Fem!Reader)

A/N: Hello! I've decided I have to make a chapter fic for Paulie because I'm in love with him. There are gonna be at LEAST 6 chapters in this fic, so there will be plenty more coming! Stick around, like and comment, and let me know if you want to be tagged when I release more chapters of this!

I want to personally thank my editor @strawb3rri-le for helping me make these ideas come into fruition. Literally cannot do this without you <3

Summary: Paul meets a pretty girl in the library one day, and is elated to find out she is oblivious to who he actually is.

This fic is written in third person from Paul's perspective, which is kind of different to how I normally write my x readers, so it might be a little jarring to read at first, but I just wanted to try something a little different :)

WARNINGS: I'm not certain I wrote any curse words in this one, but I'll say there is just to be on the safer side. Mentions of mushrooms/ fungi; not drug-related, but I figured I'd add that because some people don't like them. I use Y/n like 4 times in here around the end it drives me nuts, but it has to happen. I don't think there's much else.

This one is pretty safe, if I could rate it lower I would, but I'll mark it at T just to be on the safe side.

Paul could have watched the heavy raindrops hit the window pane for hours and hours. the grey clouds drifting in the sky above brought nothing but heavy showers to the streets of London that dark afternoon...

But that's not what he came to the library for.

He came here for some peace and quiet.

He wanted to get some more songwriting done, but the apartment didn't seem to be the place for it that day, and everywhere else just appeared to be crawling with girls. As much as Paul liked girls, he didn't want to be noticed, because then his day would have simply consisted of him trying to escape the hoards that would have started chasing after him.

The library felt like it made the most sense. People were there to read, study, keep to themselves; not to socialize with others and be loud. As long as he found a little private area to sit, he knew he wouldn't be bothered at all. He also figured, if he couldn't come up with any song ideas, he had tens of thousands of books to refer to for inspiration.

And that was the situation Paul was in at that moment. He'd been sitting in his little study nook for a while now, just staring blankly at his notebook, or out the window next to him. Usually the words came flowing from his mind, translated by his hand and onto the paper, yet that particular day, nothing seemed to be inspiring him.

He rose to his feet after a while, notebook shoved under his arm as he wandered off into one of the aisles nearest to him. He wasn't looking for any book in particular. Sometimes he'd just pull one off the shelf, flip to a random page, and read a random sentence in the middle of the text. If it seemed to be interesting enough to inspire even a single line in a song, Paul would use it. If not, off to the next book.

He began to do just that, with older books with worn spines, and newer books with colourful covers. Unfortunately, even after the fourth or fifth book he pulled from the aisle he was in, no inspiration seemed to manifest from what he was reading. He sighed as he pushed the book he was holding back into its place on the shelf before he made his way to the next aisle over.

Paul began repeating what he was doing before, reaching for a book, and flipping through the pages. This particular book, he cut three separate times, and not one sentence seemed to draw any kind of innovation for his songwriting.

Once again, Paul shoved the book back onto the shelf. As he stared ahead at all of the different pieces of literature before him, one book in particular seemed to catch his eye. It was green, with gold accents on the bevelling as well as the raised parts of the spine. Without a second thought, he reached up for it, only for his fingers to come into contact with someone else's.

Paul drew his hand back and glanced to his right, where a young woman about his age stood. He held his breath, fully expecting an overreaction from her at his presence.

Instead, she smiled awkwardly at him, her hand also drawn back close to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were after that one," she explained gently, and Paul blinked, raising a confused eyebrow before looking back to that specific book. After a moment, he pulled it down off the shelf and examined the cover, the golden text embossed into the front cover reading 'Europe's Most Common Mushrooms, and Fungi: A Field Guide'.

"Do you like learning about Mycology as well?" She asked curiously, and Paul's gaze shot up to her face, eyes squinting a little at her question.

He was half confused on what she was honestly asking him, but he was also kind of surprised she wasn't pointing and shouting at the fact that she found a Beatle in public.

"... Mycology?" He asked back sheepishly, and her awkward smile warmed up a little at his question. She pointed at the book cover before responding with another question. "You know, the study of mushrooms, and fungi?"

Paul's eyes dropped back down to the book before cracking it open and flipping to a random page as he was doing with all the others. A beautifully illustrated picture of a mushroom with a porous underside presented itself to the young man, and his eyebrows furrowed at the image.

"That is a Boletus Edulis," she explained quietly to him. "It's a tasty gourmet mushroom found in Europe, as well as in North America."

Paul looked back up to her briefly before returning to the book and flipping to another page, a red capped mushroom with white spots being the next image to catch his eye.

"Ooh, and that one there is an Amanita Muscaria, also known as the Fly Agaric. It received its name back in the day because grinding it up and putting it in window sills and doorways would repel flies from entering your home."

"... You sure know your mushrooms, huh?" Paul asked carefully, rather impressed with the few bits of information provided to him by this stranger.

"It's definitely a good hobby to get into. Nothing beats going out onto the trail and foraging them for dinner." She paused briefly before adding, "I mean... the boletes are fine, but perhaps not the amanitas." 

Paul closed the book up again before taking a final glance at the front cover.

"I'm uh... sort of grabbing books at random, looking for something inspiring. There needn't be a reason to hang onto this if you need it," Paul explained, presenting it to her so she could take it, and her fingers accidentally brushed against his once again as she took it from him.

The graze was so gentle, yet Paul felt his cheeks warm up at the contact. She was awfully pretty, he decided to himself in silence as he watched the look of joy on her face appear when she flipped the book open herself. She stopped on a page containing a drawing of a white mushroom dripping black ink at its edges.

Paul couldn't help but double take the image. To think there was so much about the world he didn't know a thing about... it made him feel so small, and insignificant.

She must have noticed his gaze on the page, and figured she'd teach him about one more specimen. "These ones," she began, with a rather excited exhale, turning the book Paul's way so he could see, "are Shaggy Mane mushrooms. They are edible and good, as long as you haven't consumed alcohol for a few days prior to, and post consumption. Then they'd be quite toxic."

She smiled at the tidbit and looked up to Paul's face, nose crinkling a little. "Isn't that just the neatest thing?"

Paul couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never really thought about mushrooms before. Sure, he'd seen brown and white ones before in the grass, or growing on trees, but there was something about the way she relayed the information with such passion, that just made it so interesting to him. It was unlike anything he ever experienced before.

"... You have a very natural way of describing this sort of stuff," Paul expressed, nodding his head to her positively. "I honestly never realized there were so many different ones."

"Oh, what I've told you doesn't even scratch the surface of the world of Mycology," she explained, the smile only growing on her face, and Paul couldn't help but smile back at her.

"... I should really leave to let you continue on with what you were doing," she said after a moment. "I do appreciate you listening to my ramblings. I know I can sometimes get carried away with this sort of stuff," her smile fell away a little. "Not many really care about fungi, so it's nice to talk about my interests with someone who's willing to listen."

Paul's own smile began to falter, rather upset that such a pleasant conversation, with such a pleasant person, had to end so soon. He hadn't encountered such a normal discussion in so long. Not that a conversation about mushrooms and fungi was normal, but Paul felt it was just so refreshing talking about anything but him and his fame.

"... well, I rather enjoyed what you had to say," he admitted lightly, an undeniable blush flourishing from the woman's cheeks as she appeared to smile again, a little brighter than before.

"Well... thank you, again. You're very kind," she repeated, waving her hand kindly as she turned on her heel and wandered off to the next aisle.

Paul's eyes watched her round the corner, and he stood there in disbelief. There was so much for him to unpack in his thoughts in that very moment.

She had to have been one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen; minding her own business in a library by herself, and doing something she really enjoyed. Her intelligence on the subject showed through her excited rambling, which Paul could have listened to for much, much longer.

Her voice was so pleasant, happiness apparent in her words as she described every species effortlessly, as if she'd known it all since the day she was born. It left him wanting to hear more from her.

But the cherry on top of all of this, was that she didn't even acknowledge Paul as anything but another human being. Not some big musician with whom she obsessed over just because of his looks. For someone who remained so calm, and pleasant in conversation, Paul was certain she had no clue who he actually was.

And he loved that.

As much as fame brought excitement to his existence, Paul couldn't deny that the concept of a simple, normal life with someone who loved him for him, and not his popularity to the public, was something he seemed to yearn for more often as of late.

He loved the idea of being a nobody, especially to someone he wanted to be somebody to.

He looked over his shoulder to the empty space where that green and gold book once sat, deciding to reach for the one sitting next to it. It happened to be another book on mushrooms and fungi, but it had a lot more words in it than images. He flipped to the middle of the book and read the fist word he saw.

Symbiosis.

He felt dumb staring at the word. He knew there was only one person he could ask to inquire about what it meant. He glanced up through the bookshelves, eyes searching through the gaps of the works to find her.

She only happened to be in the next aisle over, scanning the book titles off the spines above her head carefully, too in her own world to notice Paul's obvious staring through the shelving units. She pulled a book down and read the summary on the back, Paul watching her eyelashes flit lower and lower as she absorbed the words like a sponge in water.

He noticed that as she read, her lips gently mouthed each word, and he soon found himself stuck in a trance. He observed how her tongue poked out between her teeth to mouth words with the letter L, and how her lips would press tightly together as she read words containing B, and M.

Who would have thought, Paul wondered, something so small could be so hypnotizing?

She made a small face of approval to the book before stacking it on top of the green one she was given by him, and she headed over to an empty table in the corner of the room. She faced towards the shelves, back to the wall so she could see the whole library from her spot.

Despite this, as soon as she made herself comfortable, she was solely focussed on the books, and her dominant hand wrote out her notes almost romantically, notebook pages filling effortlessly with information that brought her joy.

Paul was absolutely mesmerized by her movements. Screw the rain, he could have watched her for hours. He couldn't get over the little flick of her wrist when she ended a point, or the wonderful silent motion of her lips reading out the words.

She drove him mad in the best kind of way.

She flipped to the next page in her notebook, and Paul came back down to earth, realizing then just how creepy he must have appeared, standing close to the shelf, and peering through to the other side to watch the woman simply minding her own business from afar.

His shoes felt like they were filled with cement, but he worked up enough courage to slowly move towards her table, opting to stand by a nearby shelf and stare blankly at the spines as to not look so awkward.

What would I even say to her? was the only thought at the forefront of Paul's mind, the black mushroom book still in his hand, one of his fingers wedged between the pages to mark where that silly word was. He knew he was going to ask her about it, but he needed to smoothly segue into it, somehow.

This situation was rather a bother to Paul. He felt conflicted as to why he seemed so nervous about approaching her. He was a flirt, and he loved making girls feel giddy, why would this stranger be any different?

He was close enough that he could have called for her attention, but her focus was faithfully undivided, completely oblivious to Paul standing only fifteen feet away from her, trying to muster up the nerve to say something, anything.

After talking to her for only a minute and a half, and having parted ways for not even five more, Paul found himself deprived of her voice, longing to hear anything roll off her tongue, as long as it were to him. He was pining to have her attention so badly, but standing and admiring her from only a couple of steps away was only going to get him so far.

His palms were sweaty, and he wiped them on his pants haphazardly as he took a deep breath. He took one more second to nod his head positively for motivation, and he stepped out into the open, facing her completely. His heart pounded in his chest, but he pushed himself to take one more step forward. And that happened to be enough for her to notice.

The stranger raised her gaze up to Paul, the look of neutral concentration on her face softening into a pleasant smile.

Just that made Paul weak in the knees.

"Find anything inspiring yet?" She asked him in a friendly tone, eyeing the book in his hand as his thoughts flatlined. He didn't expect her to speak first. On the one hand, he was relieved that it indicated she was okay with talking to him, but on the other, it put him off-script, and now he had to actually use his brain to initiate discussion.

"I uh..." he struggled for a moment, glancing down at the book in his hand, as well.

"If I'm going to be quite honest... you talking about mushrooms so passionately was pretty inspiring. It's all I can think about."

The woman's eyebrows arched in surprise, a gentle dusting of pink spreading over her nose as she took in his words. She toyed her bottom lip between her teeth, and Paul couldn't help but drop his gaze for just a second to admire her mouth.

"You know, I'm really flattered that you said that," she expressed gently. "That means a great deal to me. Thank you."

Paul couldn't even feel his legs now, basking in her praise, as a flower would to the rays of sun on a warm spring day.

"... I couldn't help but grab another book like the one you're reading," he explained, lifting it up to show her, and the apples of her cheeks rounded as she smiled even wider. Paul hadn't ever recalled seeing such a beautiful face before.

"I... I saw a word I don't know. I think you're the only person who can help me." The confession made Paul feel a little self-conscious; he didn't want to seem entirely stupid in front of her, but she really didn't seem the type to make fun of him over something like this, and really damage his ego.

Without a word, she pulled the chair out next to her as a silent indication for Paul to take a seat, and he took the offer graciously. He set his notebook down onto the table, and then opened the book to where his finger marked the page cut. She leaned in a little to peer down at the text, and he pointed to the word, realizing only seconds after just how close she was to him. He could smell the faintness of her body wash, and it made his head swirl.

"... This one." He mumbled, watching her in his peripheral as she read the sentence in her head, and physically mouthing the words as her eyes tracked each letter.

"Ah, symbiosis. It basically means two different organisms are benefitting off each other in some way or another. We would be a good example of this, right now," she offered, tilting her head up to look at Paul, who's ears burned hot at the eye contact, but he kept strong and held it for as long as she wanted to look at him.

"You're keeping me pleasant company, and in return, I'm helping you learn about fungi." He thought her point was going to end there, but she quickly added on, "from a natural standpoint, fungi and trees have a symbiotic relationship. If it weren't for the millions of miles of fungal network underground, connecting all the living organisms together, plants wouldn't be able to communicate to each other, or convert their energy from one to the other to achieve optimal growth."

"So... everything would die without fungi?" Paul asked slowly.

"I believe so," she nodded her head. "They play a role in every step of a plant's life. Take a tree, for example."

She slid the green and gold book over to sit between them, and she flipped through the first few pages until she found a diagram of a tree's life cycle, pointing to the images as she rambled on.

"Fungi help them establish strong roots when they're young. Some fungi actually provide nutrients in the soil for the trees to use as energy to grow tall and strong."

She turned her gaze back to Paul. "Even at the end, if a mother tree is dying, she will begin to use the fungal networks below to disperse her energy to her kin, sacrificing herself so they can grow, instead. They use the networks underground to communicate in their own special way."

The young man appeared to be in a dream-like state, head in his palm as he looked on in favour of her words. But when he noticed she stopped speaking after a while, he blinked, finding she was smiling a little awkwardly again, as if she'd asked him a question.

"Hm?" He asked, propped hand dropping to the table. He felt rather guilty his attention diverted.

"... I'm boring you, aren't I?" There was a hint of sadness in her words, a weak smile at her lips, and Paul shook his head quickly.

"No, no! Believe me, I'm listening." He thought for a beat, face going warm again as he confessed, "I just... I really love the sound of your voice. You have a way with words, and I did get a little distracted by that." The young woman's face fell expressionless, and Paul continued.

"I may be rather daft on the subject, but there's just something in the way you talk about it that makes learning about it so much more enjoyable. Please, don't stop talking."

She opened her mouth to say something, but she shut it as she pondered what to respond to Paul with. Her face was flushed, and she was holding back a grin, which ultimately made Paul a little confident considering he was the one that made her flustered.

"... You probably say that to all of the girls you talk to," she finally replied, eyes casting down to the books to hide her blush, and he couldn't help but bite back a smile of his own.

"Well, none of the other girls I know are quite like you," he stated with poise, eyes still locked in on her, hands clasping together as he noticed her blush deepen, and a smile finally breaking through.

Paul then attempted to downplay such a strong interaction. Despite talking to her the way he wanted to, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable with how forward he felt he was being.

"What does your boyfriend think about your hobbies?" He asked. "He must be so proud, and fascinated by how passionate you are about all of this stuff, surely."

She looked back up to Paul, her smile weakening a little. "Boyfriend? Oh I uh..." she cleared her throat. "I don't... I don't have one of those."

Paul's eyebrows lowered a little. "... As in you just got out of a relationship?" He tried to clarify, to which she shook her head.

"As in I've never really... had one." She had a sheepish look on her face, cheeks now red out of embarrassment rather than flattery. Her response sent Paul's eyebrows shooting up in surprise, to say the least.

"... Never?" He repeated in disbelief. She pressed her lips together in a line tightly, shaking her head once again.

"This," she gestured to the books with her hand, "is my life. It has been my life since my early teenage years. Mushrooms and fungi are... strange, and because I like them, I guess that makes me kind of strange, as well."

Her self-dejecting statement made Paul feel bad. In his mind, someone like her not being taken, though washing the feeling of relief throughout him, didn't add up at all. Not even her fascination in mushrooms made her odd, in his eyes.

"... If it means anything to you, I think you're just absolutely lovely," he said, watching as her lip pressed into a little pout as she regarded his words.

"I'm telling you... every guy out there has no idea what they're missing out on."

Paul desperately wished he could read minds; especially hers. She didn't speak, and Paul assumed that the was simply trying to grasp for some words to say. If he were in her position, he wouldn't have known what to say, either.

"For once in my life, someone has actually made me speechless," she confessed, huffing a sigh as she rubbed one of her cheeks, as if that would have made her blush disappear.

"I want to tell you thank you, but that doesn't feel like nearly enough," she explained. "Honestly, your girlfriend is very lucky to have such a charming boyfriend. You have a way with words, yourself." Her comment made Paul laugh, but only once. Inside his chest, his heart was doing somersaults, but he was trying his hardest to keep his composure.

"What girlfriend?"

The woman gasped at his response. "You lie," she accused, yet Paul knew it was all in good nature by the smile on her face. "Even if you were, with a face like that, there's no way you don't have girls chasing after you all the time."

How the tables have turned, Paul thought; a little excited he found himself in the same spot as her only moments after he made the same mistake. Part of him wanted to respond to her with something witty, like "who says I don't?", but the other part of him didn't want that to arouse any questions that would segue into a conversation regarding his job.

He couldn't risk having her know everything, and fall for the idea of him.

"I guess I just... haven't found the right bird yet." He figured that was another truth he could hold by without entirely lying to this poor woman.

"That's fair. Well, whoever has the pleasure of ending up with you is a very lucky woman, indeed." Paul's cheeks darkened again, the compliment making his fingers feel a little numb. He noticed her eyes drifting to the window above his head before she suddenly closed her books shut.

"The rain's stopped. This has been a rather lovely conversation, but I do apologize. I must be leaving now."

Paul felt his stomach drop, and his mouth fell agape, watching worriedly as she gathered her belongings and rose to her feet.

"What-- you're leaving? Right now?"

He felt the same way he did back in the aisle when she cut the conversation short, full of disappointment that it all had to come to an end again.

"I was on my way to my parents' house before the rain started," she explained with a lopsided smile. "I'm helping my mother prepare for dinner tonight, but the rain was so bad, I figured I'd spend some time in here while I waited for it to die down. And I'm very glad I made that decision."

Paul nodded his head, realizing the last part of what she said alluded to making his acquaintance. He also found he couldn't be upset at such a wonderful gesture of kindness, her going to her parents'. "That is very sweet of you to do that for her," he said gently, standing up as well before she disappeared again.

"Before you go," he started, feeling hot beneath the collar as he tried to gather a little bit more courage to speak, her expecting eyes on him making him rather anxious.

"I would like to keep in contact with you," he paused briefly, "only if you want. I just... I've had a really pleasant time talking with you, and learning about your interests, and I would very much like to do all of this again."

Her cheeks rounded out again as her smile widened a little more-- Paul couldn't get over that damned smile of hers.

"You know... I would like that a lot," she finally answered, glancing down at her notebook before flipping to the last page and ripping it out. She folded it in half, and then tore it at the line, handing Paul one of the halves while she began writing on the other one. Paul watched with a pounding heart as she scratched out her phone number, and he began to do the same.

When they exchanged the papers, Paul examined the number she provided him, and then read the name she printed above it, a smiley face drawn next to it. he tried his best to concealing his excitement within.

"Y/n..." he mumbled thoughtfully, eyes casting back up to look at her. She laughed a little as she flipped the paper in her hand to show Paul, which only contained his phone number.

"That's me, but what am I to call you, exactly?"

This is where Paul found himself in another dilemma. He wanted her to call him Paul, but he also didn't want her putting two and two together if she recognized his name. He didn't want to entirely lie to her, either.

That's when a light bulb went off in his head. He realized the greatest loophole, and solution was staring him right in the face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Paul reached for the paper again, scribbling his name at the top. But he wasn't using 'Paul'; he decided he was going to use his real first name.

"You can call me James," he explained, handing the paper back to her. She surveyed the name at the top of the paper before looking back up to him.

"Finally, a name to a face," she hummed in content. She then offered a hand out to Paul, to which he took so they could shake and say their farewells.

"It was an absolute pleasure meeting you, James."

It was the first time in a very long time Paul had been called that by anyone. He figured he would have hated the sound of it leaving her lips, but instead, it made his heart flutter. His face felt hot again, and it was apparent y/n could see the flush of his skin, because she smirked a little.

"The pleasure is all mine, Y/n. Please be safe." He finally let go of her hand, waving good bye as she did so as well, turning on her heel once again, and heading to the counter with her books to sign them out.

She slid Paul's phone number into her notebook as she walked away, and Paul just stood there for another moment as he watched her leave. He was was still feeling so many emotions now that he was alone, unable to help himself reaching back down to the piece of paper she gave him. He ran his fingers over her name and smiled a little to himself.

"Y/n..." her name was like a breath of fresh air to him. When he looked back up to catch one more glimpse of her, she was already gone. It made him feel a little empty, but when he noticed she left the black mushroom book for him, he felt just a little warmer inside.

Paul reached for the book, sliding her number into the pages, and deciding he was going to sign it out and try to learn a little on the subject. If they ever planned to meet in the future, he could try and impress her with some of the information he learned.

He didn't end up getting what he was looking for at the library, but he felt he was leaving with something he needed.

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

A/A/N: Okay, I hope yous enjoyed that! Part 2 will happen as long as I have people requesting it. I have ideas, I'm just missing supporters<3

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[confessions-of-a-monster-freak]

To the root of the problem - Hanta Sero

Prompt: “You are one insult away from starting a war” WC: 5647

Synopsis: You have a weather manipulation quirk (Can control cloud formations and weather-related phenomena) and own a flower and plant shop. 

This is set after the end of the manga, Sero is 24 in this. 

This is the first of (probably) many prompt challenges of mine. This took me about three days of writing, so we'll see how long it takes for me to get through my little jar of prompts.

As always, notes and reblogs are appreciated <3 (I know people here don't like the like system cause it doesn't get it out there on people's feeds, but I don't care! I like knowing someone enjoyed or "bookmarked" My stuff!)

Warnings: Snarky jerks.

This was the third time this week that the plant display in the front of the shop had been vandalized, destroyed, or even knocked around. This was driving me nuts, I didn’t have the money for cameras, but I was contemplating it if I needed it for sure. At this point I was just contemplating sitting outside my shop for hours waiting to see who did it.

I was trying so hard to make the front of the shop look enticing to people, to get more business. Or even just have people come in and look around and remember that my shop existed. But this happening was really dampening my hopes. Several thoughts that competitors might be doing it to try and drive me out of the market had crossed my mind. I tried to keep those thoughts away. There had to be some good florists out there that weren’t cruel.

“I have no idea who's doing it,” I lamented to one of my workers, or better yet my only worker. This florist and plant shop was a dream come true, but now it was starting to turn into a nightmare. I originally wanted to be a hero, to help people. But the turbulence that came with my quirk made me rethink, to the point that I just wanted to see people smile. Leading me to open this shop. To see people smile when presented with a customized bouquet, or even a new plant of their own.

“I mean you could just call an agency and see if they’d help,” He suggested. Reaching up and putting a plant away.  We were taking the damaged plants from outside and trying to keep them out of reach. I held a poor aloe that had been shaken out of its pot. I'd just tried to salvage it but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to make it. If it did it was going to become the shop's “Luckiest Plant”, replacing the snake plant that had been set on fire due to a cigarette butt being thrown into it.

I thought about what he said, my sign had also been shattered. That was going to come out of my own pocket instead of the shop's budget. It was too much to weigh it against the shop as is. Even the orders for more flowers were going to cut it close. I thumbed over one of the aloe leaves. Feeling the cold smoothness of the exterior before my fingers traced over the spines.

“What pro would sit outside a floristry shop to see who's kicking my plants over?” I expressed eventually, rolling my eyes, setting the plant up on a shelf, and hoping it didn’t die. I sometimes hated that I didn’t have a plant-based quirk, especially since my grandpa had one. But what could I say? I got lucky with weather manipulation. If you could call having to think every emotion through luck.

“An extremely bored one” He countered and went into the back. Leading me to sigh as I took my place behind the counter. I didn’t have any orders today, if I were to have one I could maybe relax. They always seemed to help me calm down. I was hoping that my sour mood wouldn’t result in me drenching the back of the counter again. I’d once gotten so upset that I’d caused a storm inside the shop. That was a nightmare to manage. It caused the only other employee I had to quit and refuse to come back.

I sat behind the counter, writing down some potential arrangements for the next seasons of florals. I needed to get on top of these as well as get ahead of the game. It was difficult. Especially since the people I was competing with were people with plant-related quirks. Not weather manipulation. It made caring for the plants easier, that was definite. But it didn’t mean I could grow the amount of flowers or plants I needed instantly. I had to order from gardeners, and whilst they appreciated the old way of business, my pockets did not.

I heard the door open and waited. My face still looking at my notebook as I scribbled out one of the flowers. Poinsettias were so hard to style, but I wanted to try one that didn’t involve Christmas. I was thinking that something in late autumn would look good with a poinsettia in it, I just had to figure out the other flowers before I could test. Those fake florals really did come in handy.

Normally people would look around for a bit before approaching the counter. We rarely got new customers. I would regularly get doubted for my abilities, especially since I didn’t have plant manipulation or something similar. I still very much appreciated the regulars I had, they constantly praised me for my work and tried to keep it as regular as their salaries would allow. 

“Uh…Hey” I looked up at the voice, spotting a man awkwardly standing in front of me. He looked about my age and seemed strangely familiar. Like I had seen him somewhere before, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I knew him from.

“Can I help you?” I asked, waiting for a response but he seemed hesitant to say anything. I paused and shot a quick glance up, figuring my quirk had manifested again.  “Sorry,” I said as I noticed the cloud that was swirling. A subconscious habit was my quirk would tell my mood. Such as now the turbulent thunderstorm cloud was voicing my displeasure. “Subconscious habit” I added as an afterthought. He then seemed more comfortable speaking. I forced the cloud to change to a fluffy one to try and keep him from seeming discouraged about talking.

“I wanted to come in and apologize, I’ve been the one knocking over your display” He started and then stopped himself. Apparently, the cloud was back. I could now feel my hair moving. I was certain a small funnel had started to form. I tried to keep my face calm and even out my breathing. I did not need this to turn into a repeat of flooding the store. I felt it start to slow down and shrink and listened as he continued.

“For some reason every time I patrol here villains come the same way. I try to steer them away and they won’t budge. They run into it, I run into it. They’ve thrown some plants at me too” He explained, trying to speed up his explanation probably due to fear of the suddenness of my quirk. 

I felt it suddenly stop, “You’re a pro hero?” I inquired, feeling it start to disperse. Leave it to me to assume that it was someone just being spiteful, and hateful. I felt awful that I had made such a harsh assumption straight off the bat. As well as not hearing him out fully before my emotions got the better of me.

“Yes, Cellophane” He answered and stuck out his hand. “I came to apologize and offer to pay for the damages” He added, I shook his hand and then turned around to the shelf of plants that needed extra attention. The only ones I was concerned about were the Moth Orchids and the Aloe. I let out a hum, trying to remember if any other plants had been damaged. 

I paused, thinking about it. Before sitting back down and clicking on the prices for the damaged plants. “I thought about staying up late to see who was wrecking my front” I started with a laugh. “Rory back there said I should ask a pro to check it out” I continued, finishing the prices before showing him the total. Cellophane laughed, paying for the plants and setting his card back into his wallet. Cellophane was one of the few heroes I didn’t hear much about. I knew he was around, I’d seen him on the news a few times. But I had no idea that he was regularly in my area.

“I thought it was one of my competitors honestly” I voiced, standing up to move the damaged plants around so they wouldn’t be sold and could be monitored. If anything I was going to take them home to watch them. I stretched to grab the aloe before turning around and setting it on the counter.

“What makes you think your competitors would trash your store?” He inquired, tilting his head as I moved pots around. Setting them on the counter so I could move them to the back and have Rory take over front duty for a bit. I needed to set them under some UV light and monitor them whilst I was at the store today.

“I’m the only florist shop in this town that isn’t owned by someone with a plant-based quirk” I answered, looking up before snapping my fingers and the plants around the shop now getting their own personal rain cloud to be watered. I was going to do it manually since it’d be a slow day. But I decided to showcase my quirk for a bit.

“The other shops are owned and managed by people with plant-based quirks. They also don’t seem to like me that much” I added as an afterthought. I’d only ever met one of my competitors and that was by chance. They were very rude and judgmental. I never went back, even to that part of the city.

“Awesome” He commented, walking up to one of the plants and poking the cloud. Making me laugh a bit. Some people were fascinated with my quirk, others were wary. It could be difficult to control, especially for a young kid who would throw temper tantrums and cause a catastrophic thunderstorm as a result.

“Comes in handy, I can’t grow the plants without time, but I can care for them better than others” I admitted, stopping some of the clouds and flicking the light to give some UV to them. I knocked on the door to the back to catch Rory’s attention. Hearing shuffling as he opened the door and I shoved the plants into his arms. “Put these on my desk please,” I asked and he grumbled but relented. 

“Thank you for saying it was you. If you need flowers you know where to go” I said to Cellophane as he was observing some of the plants. He turned and offered me a smile, I then ducked into the back room to have Rory take point whilst I could take inventory of the plants we had and others I’d have to order.

As I sat down at the desk I reached over to the aloe, gently thumbing over its leaves. Letting out a heavy breath I settled into the desk. I’d yet to get a massive order for arrangements. Most of the orders I had that I got to do were from the elderly who wanted flowers for their significant others, or families who wanted gravesite flowers. I needed to change that. 

I started looking into up and coming festivals where I could potentially get out there. There were a few, but I’d need some more money to get a booth. I’d have to dig through my parent’s place for the tables and how to set it up. But it was possible. I was just hoping the regulars would come soon.

Days later I was outside of the shop, taking a small break to bask in the sun for a moment. The back room could get quite dark, with only the UV lamps and the small light bars I used for arrangements back there. The sun was welcome as I took in a breath and felt the weather shift around me. The clouds that had started to block the sun totally shifted away. I smiled, to think I’m capable of causing a hurricane, and yet can hardly control the subconscious effects of my quirk.

I walked back into the store and started to tend to the plants hanging off the walls of the shop. Some needed to be pruned, others needed watering. I was going to take my time today, slow it down, and keep my thoughts straight. Rory had called out due to a family emergency so it was just me. As much of a help as he was, Rory could be behind on things.

I started to snip at one of the snake plants, removing dead leaves, or ones that would compromise its growth. I heard the bell jingle signaling I had a customer. I turned over my shoulder with a “Hello!” shooting a quick look before going back to my pruning. Then I did a double take and turned around. Cellophane was back, I wasn’t expecting to see him back this soon, or even at all for that matter.

“Hey, I need some help making a bouquet” He started, approaching me again. “I am��Clueless as to what they like and figured you might be able to help” He said, tilting his head at what I was doing. “What are you doing to the plant?” He asked, picking up one of the pruned leaves.

“Pruning” I answered, “When a plant creates more leaves than it can handle, or uses too much energy, parts of it start to die. I’m getting rid of both dying leaves or leaves that shouldn't be growing yet because they are still too young” I answered, “And absolutely. I don’t have many flowers in stock at the moment, but I do have some” I tacked on at the end. Walking to the counter where I stored the shears in the drawer before pulling out my floral catalog. One of the few things I enjoyed doing other than arranging flowers, was making binders filled with things. I had one of the mock arrangements, one with seasonal arrangements, and of course, the catalog of flowers I had access to and could buy.

“First date?” I inquired, flipping through to the back where I had an in-stock index. It took more time to do a weekly index, but it was worth it. And now I could properly see how many flowers I actually had. I was correct in assuming I had a small supply, but it was still enough for a bouquet. If maybe just by a smidge.

“Not exactly, more as a gesture of wanting a date,” He said leaning over the counter as I flipped back to the actual catalog. “Any suggestions?” He asked, looking as I marked pages.

“Most florists would tell you roses, but I say they are just trying to scam you as those are the most expensive flowers” I started, “Personally I love gardenias and camellias. But for you, since it's a gesture,” I continued, ducking down again and pulling out an almanac I’d written out. There were many different flower symbols and I had to comb through them. I decided a hard copy would come in handy. I quickly flipped through to my romantic cheat sheet.

“Gardenias, calla lilies, hibiscus, and some ferns and aster” I stated and then looked up to find that in the book. Once I did I flipped through them and snuck a quick glance at my index. I had them in stock. I typically used them in some of my regular bouquets, so in my mind they were worth keeping on hand.

“I’ll trust your word, you are the florist after all” He laughed making me smile, I normally didn’t get much freedom with these things. I was excited to get to do this. Especially since it was a pro and I didn’t get much business at all. 

“Let me ring you up and I can go get that all fixed up if you don’t mind waiting?” I offered, sliding the binders away and grabbing a pen to write everything down on my hand. I barely kept paper around the store. It always ended up getting lost or even damp by some stray rain droplets from my clouds.

He nodded and I scribbled the flowers away onto my palm before I typed it into the register. “It might be a bit if someone else comes in. It’s just me today” I added as he paid and it went through. I put the binders away and tucked the pen into one of my pockets.

“I’ll make sure no one steals anything” He jested, laughing at the face I made. Quickly I ducked into the back of the shop to pull the flowers out. As I pulled the tubs out, I balanced them as best I could before setting them on my workstation. Then I flailed for a minute to find the bouquet paper and ties.  Once that happened I took a deep breath to focus on my quirk. If I tried hard enough I could adjust the temperature. It was hard, but I could do it if I focused enough.

I felt the back room heat up just slightly and pushed harder until it was more comfortable for me to work. It was really cold in the back of the store, especially due to the fridges that we had to keep the flowers fresh. It also was too expensive to run a heater back here for long periods. I wasn’t good with manipulating temperature all that much, but I could if I pushed myself hard enough.

I quickly pulled out flowers and gently woke them up with some stimulation. Laying them into the prepared paper and arranging them in the way I had in my head. Once I was sure they were set, I folded the paper over, grabbed some ribbon, and tied it the best I could into a bow. I wasn’t the best with fancy big bows, Rory was better than me at that, but it still looked pretty to me.

I grabbed the tubs of flowers and felt the temperature start to drop again as I lessened my focus on the temperature and more on not dropping my flowers. Once they were settled in the fridge again, I walked over to the table. Gently picking up the bouquet and walking out of the back to where I left Cellophane waiting.

“Here it is” I said and gently handed it over, watching his face morph into surprise at seeing it. He then properly grabbed it and tried to keep it from falling over. Or falling apart, but I made sure I tied it tight enough that it wouldn’t. At least I hoped it wouldn’t, but I knew I tied tightly, and had a good deal of trust in my skills.

“It looks…Amazing, holy cow,” He expressed, he had an awestruck look all over his face as he looked at the bouquet.  I smiled slightly at the expression. I still had a lot of growth to do with my arrangements. However, I had limited access to actual practice. Maybe I should advertise a course.

“I’m sure they’ll like it.” I insisted, “If this bouquet doesn’t get you two to start talking about a date, then I’ll try again” I jested, grinning as I picked my pruning shears up again. Once he left I’d start to prune again. Especially since it would be slow after this.

“Well then, I need to introduce myself properly if I’m going to be coming back here” He started, and again presented his hand to me. “Hanta Sero,” He said as I took his hand and shook it. I gave him my name, feeling that it was right to do so. As I pulled back my hand he took a look at the clock behind the counter before bidding me farewell.

After he left I got back to pruning, snipping away slowly through the shop’s plants. I kept running through if I should do that festival, and if any of the competitors would be there. I decided I’d ask for Rory’s opinion once he got back. Even if it was just a small booth I could still get myself out there. It wasn’t that large of a festival, but I was hopeful that I could maybe sell some of the propagated plants or even some small arrangements. 

The rest of the day went rather fast, I spent most of the day tending to the plants. Then the back half of it was creating an index of what I could bring to the festival. As well as how much I could make by getting myself out there. I’d need tables, tablecloths, and a sign for my shop. I was sure I could call upon some sort of crafting and creative energy to make one in a hurry if I needed to.

I did one last sweep of the shop as I stood at the door. Checking things off as I did. The UV lamps were set on their timer, and the back door was locked. The lights were off. All I needed to do now was lock the door and I’d be set for home. I opened the door and walked out, closing it behind me and locking up my store for the day.

I turned back around only to jump at the appearance of someone behind me. I took a step back but then realized it was Cellophane. In costume no less, he was clearly on patrol, or at least should be. Instead of being about keeping an eye on the streets in the early evening, he was standing outside of my store in full gear no less.

“Hi,” I laughed slightly, “Coming to make sure there are no plants to be thrown at you?” I teased lightly, earning a laugh from him. I didn’t realize how detailed his suit actually was, being this close made me question how flexible the material actually was. I wondered if it was sturdy enough to handle repeated ware if that was the case, that type of material would be good for my arranging table.

“Yes, and to do this” He jested slightly, then turned his tone more serious. Making me blink out of my thoughts as he brought out the bouquet he’d bought from me earlier. It was still in perfect condition. “I figured this would be a good bridge to friendship, and maybe a date” He grinned under his mask. He seemed a bit bashful at the notion but seemed pretty confident in his decision.

I took the bouquet from him and laughed softly, “Of course you’d go to the florist who you’re trying to impress” I laughed, holding onto the bouquet with a smile. Gently tucking it close to my body to keep it safe. “Well, you certainly have that bridge now. Drinks?” I offered, tilting my head. “Of course when you aren’t on patrol and when I’m not working” I added quickly considering he should be patrolling.

“Sounds good, number to contact you?” He inquired, I fumbled around for a second, trying to find a piece of paper and a pen before finding a pen and being presented with some tape. I raised a brow at that but wrote my number down and playfully stuck it on the side of his helmet. 

“That way you won’t lose it. See you around” I waved as I started to walk away, smiling as I now seemed to have a new friend. As well as probably a new customer.

The festival was finally here, I was buzzing with excitement as I set up with the help of Rory and Sero. Sero was insistent on helping me set up and at least be there to start the festival. Over the past week, we’d grown quite good friends. Sometimes meeting up for lunch, or drinks and dinner if he wasn’t working nights. It was nice to have him help too. His quirk helped greatly with hanging the sign and keeping my tablecloths on my tables.

“Is it wrong to not be nervous?” I asked aloud as I sat down on my chair. Grabbing my water bottle and taking a few sips. For once I didn’t feel anxious. I felt comfortable being out here in the booth, it could be that I was outside and not in a little shop.

“Yes,” Rory answered, dragging a cooler over. “But the good thing is you won’t accidentally zap me with lightning” He teased, glancing up at me as he dragged the cooler around. “I said I was sorry Nao!” I whined, using his actual name for once. I’d given him the nickname Rory because of his quirk. It was a pun really, he had a big cat quirk. One that gave him ears and a tail. But most importantly he could roar like one of those big cats. Hence the nickname “Rory”.

“That’s happened?” Sero asked with a slight laugh, he’d heard some of the horror stories that were associated with my quirk. He sat down next to me in Rory’s chair. Smiling at me before turning his attention to my employee. Setting his hand on top of mine. There hadn’t been an official title put to us. But I knew he had an intention of dating eventually. So for now, really good friends is what we call it.

“Yes, they’ve gotten so anxious that a thundercloud appeared and zapped me whilst I was walking near them. I didn’t even do anything!” He explained, leading to more laughter from Sero and me sighing. I knew he understood that it was an accident, but it was still slightly embarrassing that I didn’t have full conscious control of my quirk.

“Hey there aren't any clouds now, so you can’t say anything” I countered and he scoffed. His ears twitch as he settles the cooler around the back of the booth.  Standing back up straight as his tail flicked behind him. He crossed his arms and looked at me pointedly.

“Only because you’re making it to where there are no clouds” He argued back, taking a step back from the tent I rented. He was right on that part, it was supposed to be cloudy with little sun and a fair chance of rain today. However, I was determined to make this festival work today.

I gave up the fight and relaxed into my chair, we still had some time before the festival actually began. As well as the fact that Sero had some meetings to go to. He did promise he’d be back with lunch though. Resulting in some interesting conversation between all of us. Quirk-related or not, even some random stories from back in school before the people started to flood in, and Sero left.

Lunch was now upon us, and I was fixing my display. I’d actually been doing really well, people were interested in my arrangements, as well as my small aloe and snake plants that I’d been selling. I’d sold about half of my stock that I’d brought so far, and given out more business cards than I thought I would.

“I have to say, you were right, this was a good idea” Rory admitted, pulling out the crates of potted plants from under the table to help me restock. He’d been pessimistic about this turning out good, but so far we’d covered the rentals as well as the fee to be here in the first place, and we still had more money on top of that. I could actually buy more flowers now, or even some ads around town.

“I knew this would be good for us” I agreed, happily fixing my display and brushing some stray dirt off of the table. We hadn’t had any plants fall, or any pots break and I was now starting to be optimistic about selling out of my stock before the end of the festival, or getting close to it.

“So you sell plants” A voice called out from behind me, I turned to see a man in nice clothes. They weren’t out of place per se, but they were of a high quality. He looked to have some money, or at least appeared to have some money. Regardless he was still a potential customer.

“And floral items too. Though I don’t have many of those at the moment as those sold really fast” I answered with a smile, greeting the man. However, I did start to suspect something when I heard a low rumble of a growl from Rory. It was quiet, but there. Even if only I could hear it.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like?” I questioned, keeping in mind Rory’s growl. He normally didn’t have a reaction like that. But when he did it was his feline instincts telling him something was wrong. He’d yet to be wrong so far.

“I wanted to see what my competition was, apparently not much if you can’t grow your stock immediately,” He said, a small smirk on his face. So he was one of my competitors, he didn’t have to be snarky about it. I was starting to dislike this guy, I didn’t even know his name yet and I already had some disliking. What a way to introduce yourself.

“I can at least take care of my plants with individual attention” I retorted, trying to keep my temper even. The last thing I needed was to cause a scene. Especially since I was outdoors. I continued to add my stock to the table, Rory had his eyes locked on the guy behind me. His ears were perked backward and his tail was starting to lash.

“That’s because you don’t have a flowing business. If you had a good business you wouldn’t have just one employee” He continued, and I was starting to grow annoyed. He had insulted my quirk first, then my business, and now my employee who I considered a friend. He was really pushing my buttons here.

“You are one insult away from starting a war” I warned, I was doing my best to focus on my plants. The succulents needed to be over here, closer to the setting sun. I could put the ivy and the snake plants on the other side. Focus on the plants, ignore him, and keep your emotions calm.

“A war you’d lose” I turned on my heel at that, gripping an aloe plant pot tightly in my hand. I walked up to the guy. My hand started to shake from the force I held the pot. I was surprised I didn’t crack or shatter it immediately.

“You are patronizing” A step forward, he took a step back. He furrowed his brow at my sudden approach, but there was no way I was stopping until I had said my piece, or gotten him to back the hell off.

“Snarky” Another step forward, and he took another step back. At this point, he started to look genuinely afraid. I didn’t consider myself scary in any regard, but maybe it was the fact I didn’t stop approaching him that did it.

“Narcissist who can’t see anything other than his own ego” By this point we were outside of my tent. “Who thinks he is better than everyone because he has a quirk that can make him good money. Well, I actually like being a florist, I’m not in it for the money like you, you selfish jerk!” I continued on my rant before I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back.

“Calm down” It was Sero, he’d come back with his lunch. “You’re forming funnel clouds” He added, gently squeezing my shoulder. I could see out of my peripheral vision that he had his attention locked on the guy in front of me. Almost protectively in a sense. I looked up, seeing that I had in fact started to form a thunderstorm. Lightning was crackling in the clouds above me, as well as it had started to rotate ever so slightly.  I took in a deep breath, before exhaling out slowly. The clouds turned from deep grey to white slowly, and the rotation stopped as well. Before finally the cloud had dissipated completely and the blue sky was left behind.

“The next time you insult my business or my employee. I won’t stop it” I warned, glaring at the man who had pissed me off in the first place. He stood shell-shocked outside of my tent, seemingly stunned at my quirk, or the fact I did it subconsciously. I walked away from Sero and back into my tent where I took in some more calming breaths. Trying to keep my emotions stable so I didn’t cause a meteorological anomaly.

Sero came back in and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “That was impressive” He expressed with a smile, making me shake my head before grabbing the bag he’d set on the table to get my lunch. “Seriously. You have a really amazing quirk” He complimented and rubbed my arm. “And that guy was just a jerk from the back half of what I heard” Rory scoffed at that, grabbing his own to-go box of food. “I have a much stronger word for him, but there are children present” He griped, opening the box and digging in. “I wish they would’ve let it form fully. I’d loved to have seen him running from a tornado, or even some lightning strikes” He added, making me laugh.

My business had increased almost tenfold after that incident, and I could finally see the man’s booth. Way further down than me, but now with limited customers compared to me. I was running out of stock even faster than I thought. Sero being there and handing out Cellophane autographs did help. But I felt pride in seeing the scowl on the man's face. I was finally on par with my competitors, and possibly. Just possibly, becoming a worthy competition to the other shops in the area.