#guess cuz i wanted something other than sitting at a table

[mingis-orangejuice]

Asking the L&Ds boys "What are we?" Part 4: Sylus

Summary: MC and her boy have been in a sort of situation-ship but MC wants to know why they haven't officially called her their girlfriend

a/n: This ended up being much longer than I thought so I'm making it into 4 parts (one for each boy) Here's Sylus' part its the longest part, but also my favourite. hope you like it. also, I probably mixed up Luke and Kieran multiple times so just ignore it lol.

Genres/Warnings: lots of Luke and Kieran shenanigans, a bit of angst, fluff, kinda slow burn

Word count: 1936

Previous Parts 1 2 3

You were spending the day with Luke and Kieran, it was supposed to be with sylus but something came up. He didn’t want you to waste your day off so he arranged for them to escort you around Linkon and basically do whatever you want for the whole day. While you were happy to have a chill day with your bodyguards/friends Luke and Keiran you were really looking forward to spending a whole day with Sylus. But recently lots of things have come up and he kept rescheduling all your dates. Was he trying to tell you something, is this his way of saying he’s not actually interested in you romantically but he’s too chicken to tell you? No, he wouldn’t do that, Sylus is one of the most direct people you know, if he didn’t like you, he’d just say so. So then why does it feel like he’s just stringing you along, when is he going to make you two official?

“MC?...MC?...” Luke’s voice snapped you out of your train of thought. 

“What? sorry I was a little spaced out.” you turn to the twins standing above you while you sit at one of the tables of the Linkon Mall foodcourt.

“I said where do you want to go for lunch? There's so many choices” Luke gestured to the row of different restaurants among the foodcourt.

“We could always have the boss’s favourite, ever since you let him try your instant ramen that's all he asks the chefs to make for him when you’re away,” Kieran suggested as both boys took a seat next to you on the other side of the table. “There's a ramen place right over there”

“Umm… I’m not sure… I’m not really hungry right now” You looked vacantly across the mall foodcourt starting to space out again

“The boss said there's no limit to how much we can spend today so we don’t have to eat here. Or if you can’t decide on what to eat we can buy a bit of everything and you can taste them all” Kieran suggests while taking out Sylus’ black credit card from his pocket.

“You have to eat something, the boss doesn’t want you to skip meals he told us to make sure you eat something or else” Luke warned in a fake threatening voice.

“Well, I guess if I have to in order to save you two from Sylus’ wrath, then I want something homemade, not this cheap generic stuff, so let’s go back to the base and see what we can cook up, what do you say?” 

“Anything for the Boss’s girlfriend,” Kieran said with a smile, he stood up and put out his arm for him to escort you to the car.

“Huh… what did you say?” You stopped reaching for Kieran’s arm at the word girlfriend.

“Anything for the boss’s …girlfriend…. I’m confused, are you not his girlfriend” Kieran looked embarrassed like he might have misread the situation.

“Well yeah…but .. he’s never said it before…so I didn’t think he thought of me as his girlfriend.” you stood awkwardly looking at the floor and playing with your hands.

“Of course he thinks of you that way he gets all smiley when he or anyone else mentions you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the boss smile so much before you came along” Luke grabbed your bags as you guys started to head to the car. “The boss just has a hard time expressing his emotions. ”  he mentioned brightly

“Yeah for the first year of us working for him he pretended not to remember our names cuz he didn’t want to seem soft, even tho he could already tell us apart after the first day even with our masks on.” Kieran said as he looked up to the sky like he was reminiscing on the Good-old-days 

“But he always calls you his girlfriend around us” 

“Right, he even calls you his girlfriend in the task memos he sends us” Luke shows you his phone with all the tasks set out by sylus. He clicks play and a voice recording of Sylus starts. 

“1. As I’ll be away for the day take my girlfriend to the mall and get her anything she wants, to keep her happy

2. Make sure she eats something for lunch, she tends to skip meals and gets really tired halfway through the day because of it. If she doesn’t eat anything, a punishment will be waiting for you upon your return.

3. Carry everything for her no matter how much she buys, rent a truck if you have to, I don’t want her straining herself before tonight’s special event…”

“Wait” you click pause on Luke’s phone. “what event, he never told me about that.” 

“Uhh…oops” Luke quickly puts away his phone “You weren’t supposed to hear that. Just pretend it didn’t happen”

Kieran slaps Luke’s arm “You idiot, that was supposed to be a surprise, the boss is gonna kill us”

“Just what is he planning?” you interrogate the twins. Both of them looked at each other as they opened the car door and helped you in.

“our lips are sealed.” they both said in unison while placing their fingers in an X over their lips

You guys were now in the car on the way back to the base. You’ve fallen silent thinking about this special event. just what kind of event was this? It couldn't be something bad, right? Was he breaking up with you? Is that why he let you use his card with no limit, to give you one final good day then he’d cut you off??? You couldn’t take the suspense anymore, you had to know. You took your phone out of your purse and called Sylus. Your phone was connected to the car’s speakers and Kieran saw that you were calling him and got a little nervous. Sylus picked up almost immediately. 

“Yes, Sweetie? What's wrong, are Luke and Kieran not treating You well, do you need me to get rid of them for you? I’ve been looking for some new Henchmen anyway” He said with a chuckle

“Hey, we’re right here you know?” Kieran said in a hurt voice

“I know, that's why I said it” “Sylus joked

“And you wouldn’t get rid of us, right boss?” Luke asked, “We’re your favourite henchmen, right?”

Sylus completely ignores Luke's question “...So why did you call sweetie? Remember when I said I was very busy today and that we’d see each other later tonight?”

You didn’t want to beat around the bush so you got straight to the point.“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to ask about, what exactly is happening tonight? What's the Special event and why didn’t you tell me earlier?” 

There was silence on the other end and then an annoyed groan. “Did you two tell her?” Sylus sounded like he was about to jump through the phone and punch both of them in the face.

“No boss we promise all she knows is that there’s an event tonight she doesn’t know anything else,” Kieran said frantically “Please don’t get rid of us”

Ignoring them again he sighed. “Where are you right now babe?”

“We were on our way to the base for lunch.” You informed him

“at least those two can do something right” he sighs. “Ok then I’ll be waiting for you at the base and I’ll explain everything.” *Click* he hangs up

Now you were even more curious, what was sylus planning?

“Do you think the boss is really gonna get rid of us?” Luke asked you in a scared voice.

“I doubt it, you guys mess up all the time and he hasn’t gotten rid of you yet, what's one more mess up” you say in a joking tone “Plus if he’s as nice as you say he is, then you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Later back at the base you all walk into the living room to see Sylus sitting on the couch reading a book. “Oh, you’re back.” Sylus puts down his book and pats the space next to him for you to join him on the couch. “Come, sit. Let’s talk.” as you sit he wraps an arm around your waist to pull you closer. He then looked up to where the twins were standing. “You two, I’ll deal with you later. Leave us be for now.”

“Yes boss.” they both say and hurriedly walk out of the room.

On the way to the base after the phone call you just couldn’t stop thinking about what this event could be and mixed with your thoughts from earlier you were only coming up with every bad result it could be. All those thoughts and emotions were boiling inside and before Sylus could say anything they overflowed “What are we?” 

“Huh?” Sylus looked confused “Sweetie, what do you mean?”

“Why do you keep avoiding me and why won't you call me your girlfriend? Apparently, you’ll say it in front of everyone else but me.” You moved back so you were out of his grip 

“Those two, I’ll fire them for sure this time,” He says under his breath.

“And what is this event? Why didn’t you tell me about it, is it about me? Did I do something wrong?” Your voice slightly cracked on the last word and your eyes started to get misty.

“Woah, slow down, if I knew it would make you feel like this I would have explained sooner.” He pulls you close again, holds your face in his palms and wipes your tears with his thumbs  “First, We are Sylus and MC the strongest and most feared couple in the N109 Zone.” He chuckled. “Second, I’m sorry that I made you feel this way. I knew you were curious but I didn’t know the curiosity would get to you this much. I wasn’t avoiding you, I’ve been setting up the special event that I’ll tell you more about in due time. But, as for your third question…” Sylus pulls your head in closer and places a soft kiss on your lips that nearly takes your breath away. He pulls away and looks at you with a smirk “You’ve also never called me your boyfriend so I guess we’re even” 

“Yeah well…I didn’t want to assume… I” You start to stutter both from the kiss and his accusation.

He stops you and places another kiss on your lips “I guess we both felt that way” 

“So then what about the event?” you’re now sitting closer to him his hands on your waist to keep you close.

“Oh yeah, the event… I was gonna let you watch while I fire Luke and Kieran. I set up events every time I want to fire one of my men, why do you think I had you keep them out of the house the whole day?” He joked.

You softly slapped his chest and rolled your eyes “ I know you’re joking those two might be idiots but you’d never fire them. Come on seriously what is it really?”

“Ok, I'll tell you, if you can tell me something first, what day is it today? He asks, hoping you’ll know the answer.

“Uh, Sunday?” you say confused as to why this day of the week had any significance.

“You can’t even remember yet you want me to call you my girlfriend,” Sylus said pretending to be offended “It’s the anniversary of when a little kitten first wandered into the N109 Zone and…” he pulls you into a hug “ into my life”

[sanjismywhore]

Scream For Us

Scream AU! Carlos Oliveira x Reader x Leon Kennedy

Warnings: nsfw, slasher kink, slight dub con, threesome

Do you like scary movies?

A/N: I know i missed halloween, don’t say anything about it

—————————————————————————

Nestled cozily upon the plush cushions of your couch, you find yourself surrendering to the allure of a horror movie.

Just as the tension in the movie reaches its peak, the shrill of a telephone breaks your immersion. Your gaze snapped away from the screen and across the room to where the phone sits, “Who the hell calls someone this late?” You grumbled inwardly.

At first, you ignored the ringing until it ceased. You were about to turn back to the movie when it persistently rang again. With great annoyance, you threw the remote control onto the coffee table and stormed over to the phone.

Plucking the handset off its cradle, you placed the device to your ear, “Hello?” You sighed into the receiver.

“Hello.” A gravely, oddly seductive voice replied on the other end. Then you were met with silence.

“Can I help you?” You asked.

“Who is this?” The man interrogated eerily.

“Who are you trying to reach?” You retort.

“I don't know.” He eerily replied with a hint of sarcasm.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, “I think you have the wrong number.”

“Do I?” The voice had a mischievous edge to it, making you almost smirk. Instead of responding, however, you quickly hung up the phone.

Returning to your seat next to the television, you resumed the movie, not even bothering to rewind. But despite your attempts to ignore it, the ringing of the phone persisted yet again.

After several minutes of trying, and failing miserably, to ignore the sound, you forced yourself to get up out of your seat again and retrieve it. “Hello?” You sighed.

The voice from earlier spoke, “I’m sorry. I guess I dialed the wrong number.” You could imagine the cocksure grin on his face.

“So why did you dial it again?” You asked, clearly not amused.

“To apologize.” He replied simply.

You rubbed your eyes and sighed, “Apology accepted. Bye.” As you were about to hang up abruptly, he griped in protest. “Wait, don’t hang up.”

“Why?” You raised an annoyed brow.

“Cuz I wanna talk for a sec.” He said with a hint of playfulness.

“Well, I don’t. Goodbye.” You raise your voice before abruptly hanging up the phone yet again. When the man called a third time, though, you decided enough was enough.

“What do you want?!” You snapped into the receiver.

After an awkward beat passed between the two of you, he answered, “Listen, I was just curious about you.” He spoke casually. “Why would you hang up on me so easily? We haven't even gotten to know each other,” The man was starting to get cocky.

You pinched the bridge of your nose with a groan, “Who are you?”

“You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine.” The man continued, unperturbed by the clear irritation in your voice.

“You first.” You couldn’t help but smirk, twirling the telephone’s cord around your finger. There was a pause that seemed to stretch on longer and longer the more you waited.

The movie you were watching was still playing in the background, the only thing breaking the uncomfortable silence. “What’s that noise? You watching something?” His voice chimed in again. This time, though, his voice was laced with curiosity rather than jovial teasing.

You let out another exasperated groan into the phone and turned your attention back to the television. “Just some scary movie,” You mumbled, resting your chin in your palm.

The man chuckles, “Do you like scary movies?” His voice seemed to carry intrigue with it.

You let out a small laugh as well, “Maybe. I haven’t watched many of them recently. They make me kind of nervous, though.” You admitted, playing along with his banter.

“Yeah? Why’s that?” He inquired.

“They scare me,” You admitted bluntly. “Sometimes I’ll even get nightmares.”

There was a low hum of amusement from the other side of the line, then another moment of silence. “So, you got a boyfriend?” The man finally spoke again, causing you to choke on your breath. “Or a girlfriend, maybe?” He added, his tone suggesting a flirtatious quality.

Despite being flustered by the question, you managed to give him a sharp reply nonetheless. “Why? You interested?” You mused.

“Maybe.” Again, there was a brief pause, followed by a quiet laugh, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

You chuckled softly as well, “No...” Your lips creased to form a small smile as you continued to coil the telephone cord around your fingers.

“You never told me your name.” He prodded.

“Why do you want to know?” You teased, smirking and leaning back against the sofa.

Once again there's a short pause, followed by his dark chuckle. “Because we want to know who we’re looking at.” His tone sounded much more sinister. Your eyes were instantly blown out wide. You swore for a moment your heart stopped. The air was sucked out of your lungs and you felt an icy chill run down your spine.

“E-excuse me?” You stuttered, unsure if you heard right. But you knew you heard right when he responded, his husky whisper filling your ears and making every nerve in your body tingle, “I said I want to know who I’m talking to.” He lied.

“That's not what you said.” You quickly stood up from the couch and walked towards the nearest window. Were you crazy? Was this a prank, and he was just some weirdo stalker? What the fuck was going on?

“This isn’t funny.” You pressed yourself against the glass as hard as you could, peering outside of the home in hopes of catching sight of someone standing beneath the street light, or maybe the yard. But there was nothing. Just darkness and the sound of wind whistling through the cracks of your window.

“Looking for someone?” He teased over the phone. His voice sounded deeper, it felt like his breath was close to your ear in real life. You knew there must’ve been a wide, devilish grin plastered on his face right then.

Your mind was racing as the paranoia set in; your chest rising and falling rapidly as your hands shook. You held your breath as you quickly hung up the phone, dropping the device onto the ground. Dashing into the kitchen, you grabbed a knife from the block and made sure to tread carefully around the house. Your stomach tied itself into knots as you hovered near the other windows in the house,

It felt like the temperature was rising, but all the air was being sucked out simultaneously. Your heartbeat rang through your ears, drowning out every other sound. You were practically walking in circles with your back facing the wall, observing every doorway in case a possible intruder would reveal themselves.

You began to back yourself up near the foyer leading to the front door. Inch by inch, you crept backward when suddenly your back met a firm, warm surface. “You’re looking in the wrong spot, sweetheart.” It was the voice from the phone. You felt someone’s breath tickle the back of your neck, causing your hair to stand.

Gasping, you quickly spun around to face him, eyes widening as you took his appearance in. He was tall, dressed from head to toe in a black cloak, and wore a white ghostly mask just like Ghostface.

“You should put that knife down before you hurt yourself.” He laughed, stepping towards you. His movement prompted you to take a step back, stumbling slightly as you did so.

“W-what the—How did you–” You stammered, cutting yourself off as you continued to back away. Suddenly you felt your back hit another surface.

Behind you was another man, around the same height and dressed as Ghostface too. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, smugness evident in his voice. He sounded just like the other one.

You were too freaked out to question anything. Instead, you raised your knife as a threat. It would prove useless though, as you were quickly disarmed when both men came closer and grabbed you.

The man behind you grabbed your knife and held the blade against your throat, keeping your back pressed against his chest. “Whatever it is you want from me, I’ll give it to you,” You muttered in defeat, looking down at the floor. “You can take my money. Take anything you want.”

“How generous.” The frontman remarked, making a gesture for the man behind you to remove the knife from your neck, “As tempting as that sounds,” he brought his face closer to yours. “That’s not what we had in mind.”

There was a short pause. “What’s your name?” He asked, tilting his head.

You hesitated a bit before answering, “(Name). My name is (Name).” You replied shakily, turning your face to the side so that you didn’t have to look at his mask.

The man behind you let out a deep chuckle and grabbed your face with one of his hands, “It’s rude not to look someone in the eyes when they’re talking to you.” He uttered.

Your heat felt like it was pounding through your chest. Maybe it was just the adrenaline coursing through you, or the fear, or the anxiousness.

Your breathing was heavier and shakier, and your body slightly trembled. Their hard bodies pressed against you. It wasn’t long before you could feel your body heating up and your palms get sweatier. Something about this situation was oddly arousing.

You couldn’t help but let out a small whimper of embarrassment, which was cut short when a finger slid under your chin and pulled your head upwards forcefully. Your eyes widened and your breaths hitched when your face was directly inches away from the frontman.

“I can see that you're scared.” He chuckled, reaching up to take off his mask. “Relax, we're not gonna hurt you.” As the mask was lifted off his face, your eyes widened slightly in shock. He had a beard and dark curly hair that hung over his eyes a bit. Despite how strong his features were, his eyes were surprisingly warm and soft. And the expression he wore caused your insides to twist into knots.

“Name’s Carlos.” He smiled, fingers caressing the side of your jaw with such gentleness, that you barely noticed it. A shiver ran down your spine, you couldn't help but blush.

The man behind you grunted, pressing himself into you. “Leon.” He rasped, taking his mask off as well. You glanced behind yourself to look at him. Compared to Carlos, Leon’s features were a lot sharper. He had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a smooth face.

Both men were equally handsome, causing you to willingly lower your guard. Something about this predicament was exhilarating to you.

Your thoughts started to warp from nervousness to a mix of fear and excitement.

But the thought was fleeting once Carlos’s voice chimed in, “Look at that.” He remarked with evident amusement, “Someone’s turned on by this.” He teased.

You felt your face grow hotter, gnawing on the inside of your lip as you soaked everything in. Your mind was screaming at you to quit having these thoughts, but your body wanted it. Your thighs pressed together to alleviate some of the tension growing between your legs.

Carlos noticed this, smirking a bit as he glanced at Leon for a moment. “You thinking what I’m thinking, Leon?” Carlos mumbled.

The two men were still smirking with amusement as they eyed you like prey. Each licking their lips, and eyes darkening with lust.

You gulped nervously, “I, uh…” Your mouth felt dry like sandpaper. No words would leave your lips, nor would any pop into your mind. You felt like you were stuck in a trance, completely incapable of doing anything.

“Spit it out,” Leon demanded calmly. “You seem to have something on your mind. Gonna beg us for mercy?” He smirked.

Before you could see it coming, both men pressed against you at once, trapping you between their bodies.

“Tell me, what would you be willing to do for us?” Carlos looked deep into your eyes as he whispered the question. Leon’s lips ghosted over the juncture between your neck and shoulders, while Carlos’s hands held your hips firmly as he loomed over you.

“Anything.” You answered, almost moaning, unable to form any kind of coherent sentence. “You can have my body. In exchange, you don’t kill me.”

Both men smirked down at you as you looked back and forth between them. “Hmm,” Carlos hummed, leaning forward slightly to press his lips softly against your ear. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. What about you, Leon?”

Both men pressed into you simultaneously, allowing you to feel their already hardening cocks. “I have no objections,” Leon replied.

One of Carlos’s arms wrapped around your waist, holding you securely against himself, while Leon leaned in further, pressing his lips into your neck. The heat was getting more unbearable now, and you couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped your lips.

They both pressed kisses against your neck, soft and light on your skin while they caressed your body. It was as though they were enjoying this way too much. They moved their lips slowly along your neck until they reached your collarbone.

Your body tensed when Carlos pressed against your chest, causing your nipples to perk up from the friction. That's when one of Carlos’s hands cupped your face as he detached his mouth from your collarbone and brought your lips to his.

Moaning into his mouth, you were too distracted to notice how they each moved a hand toward your thighs. Before you knew it, they were roughly gripping onto your thighs and grinding themselves against you.

Carlos grunted into your mouth, slipping his tongue past your lips, while Leon groaned into the back of your neck.

This all seemed to happen in a matter of seconds, but it also felt like it lasted an eternity. The feeling of their combined weight was intense as well. You could barely focus on anything else other than the sensations being thrust against you.

After several moments passed, Carlos broke the kiss. “You want this?” He whispered, breathing heavily while tracing circles over your hips with his thumbs.

“Yes,” You breathed out quietly.

Once you said that, Leon grabbed your hips and continued grinding against your backside, holding your body firmly against his. Meanwhile, Carlos slides a warm hand up your shirt, cupping and squeezing your chest

His thumb trailed lightly over one of your nipples while his other hand dipped beneath the waistband of your pants. You bit your lip harder trying to suppress a moan as his fingers brushed against your sex causing you to shudder.

Your knees wobbled, knocking against Carlos’e legs as you struggled to control yourself. You quickly moaned out, “Please,” sounding weak and desperate, causing Carlos to grin in response.

Carlos’s fingers continued to rub you until his fingers were soaked with your juices; after which he removed his hand, and you whined.

“You’re wetter than I imagined,” Carlos commented huskily. “Want me to take care of that?” His eyes met yours, boring into the depths of your soul. you were already long gone, lost to the pleasure.

You quickly nodded your head, “Please don’t stop.” You begged, grinding your hips into his to persuade him. The effort was meaningless though as he would shove his hand back into your underwear, this time teasing your wet hole.

You gasped loudly as he began to pump his fingers inside of you, making your head spin and stomach churn. You were panting heavily, your legs trembling, holding onto Carlos’s shoulders for support.

Fuck!” You choked out, burying your face in Carlos’s chest as you tried to control your arousal. You could feel your eyes starting to roll to the back of your head as you closed your eyes tight.

When Leon bit down on your shoulder, you let out a loud cry, arching up into him. He wrapped his arms around your front, almost pulling you back onto him so that he could grind deeper against you.

“That’s it.” Leon cooed, his hand grabbing your ass. “Keep moaning, sweetheart.” A moan tumbled out of you, followed by another.

They both grinned as they watched you fall apart in their arms. Carlos thrust his fingers deep inside of you, causing you to scream out in pleasure. “That’s it. Just like that.” Leon encouraged you. “More.”

Your entire body shook violently as Carlos pumped his fingers into you faster, his eyes never leaving yours as he watched your body go through its euphoric state. “Mh…More..” You huffed, your head falling back against Leon’s chest.

“You want more?” Carlos raises a brow teasingly before slowing down his movements and then removing his hand altogether. Your gasp was followed by a disappointed sound as Carlos’s body pulled away.

He seemed to wink at you as he stepped back, allowing Leon to fully spin you around to face him. Without warning, he lifted you and threw you over his shoulder. You yelped in surprise, grasping his arm as he carried you across the room.

“Where are we going?” You asked, your voice shook from the initial shock.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Leon uttered as he continued to carry you. Soon you were deposited onto the sofa, lying on your back while Leon stood beside the couch beside your head and Carlos kneeled between your legs.

Leon’s hands found the hem of your shirt, ripping it upward until your chest was exposed to the cool night air. Carlos teased your nipples with his fingers, causing your breath to hitch as you squirmed in his grasp.

While playing with your nipples, his tongue darted out to swirl around one. You whimpered when the sensation of Carlos’ teeth dragging over your skin as he sucked your nipples harshly.

Carlos released one nipple, only to suck on the other while looking at you. Your eyes fluttered closed when he licked down your chest, sucking gently on a spot that made your entire body shiver.

Carlos leaned closer to nibble on your chest, his fingers circling your nipples tightly. His fingers dug into your flesh before as his lips traveled down your body.

“Oh god,” You moaned, your hands clutching onto the sofa cushions.

After licking up down to your navel, he glanced up at you and then stopped. “How long can you hold your breath for?” Carlos asked suddenly.

Suddenly, there was an abrupt change in the atmosphere. You were briefly stunned by the random question, “Huh? I don’t know.” You blinked, staring up at Carlos who still sat between your legs. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious is all,” Carlos replied nonchalantly before resuming his teasing of your body.

Before you could even blink, you felt Leon grab your arms and pull you toward the end of the couch. Your head hung upside down off the edge, completely helpless to whatever he was going to do to you.

You were met with Leon’s cock and balls in your face. “Open your mouth,” Leon demanded, his voice low and rough.

It wasn’t necessary. As long as you had a chance to breathe, you weren’t gonna turn down this opportunity. Opening your mouth wide, you obediently accepted him into your mouth.

He was slow and gentle as he thrust into your mouth. You tried to suck him down as best as you could, but soon enough, he started fucking your mouth harder, pushing his shaft deep inside and hitting the back of your throat as he did. Both of his hands wrapped around your neck, keeping you steady in the process.

Leon let out a low, satisfied groan each time he thrust into your mouth, to which you would gag with discomfort. Soon blood started to rush to your head and it became harder to breathe through your nose. You squeezed your eyes shut tightly, gurgling against Leon’s cock.

Your hands were now desperately clawing into the sofa cushion underneath you as Leon continued to fuck your face. When your throat abruptly closed around his cock, he hissed out. “Fucking Christ.”

His grip on your neck tightened causing you to let out a strangled groan against him, which prompted Leon to slam his thick cock deeply into your mouth again.

“Take it.” Leon continued letting low growls of pleasure escape his lips and he continued to pound hard into you. He was enjoying himself more now. Each stroke of his cock against your mouth was accompanied by some sort of grunt or groan that made your core tingle.

Too distracted by Leon, you failed to notice Carlos’s breath fanning against your inner thighs. Your underwear had been carefully peeled off, and it seemed like Carlos was planning to take you with his mouth.

First, you felt his lips graze your sex, making you squirm and gasp against Leon’s cock. He took you in his mouth, circling his tongue around you and sucking harshly. He continued moving his tongue across your opening, taking you in as far as possible without actually swallowing you whole.

Your moan sent vibrations down Leon’s cock, causing him to twitch in your mouth. “Fuck, keep it up, Carlos.” He grunted, prompting Carlos to continue hungrily tongue-fuck your hole. You were struggling to remain still, legs quivering and hips bucking against his tongue, trying desperately to stay conscious and not pass out from lack of oxygen.

You raised your arms to tap on the back of Leon’s thigh, signaling to him that you needed to breathe. Instead, he pushed deeper, stopped moving, and held himself inside your mouth. You instinctively gagged and squirmed against the restriction of Leon’s weight and the fact that you couldn’t draw a full breath.

“Shit.” Leon moaned at the feeling of your throat closing around him.

Carlos only chuckled against your sex, plunging a couple of fingers inside you to accompany his skilled tongue. He thrust them deep inside you before curling his fingers against that spot that made your back arch. You clenched around his fingers and tongue as your eyes rolled back into your skull.

“Oh, they liked that.” Carlos chuckled against you, removing his tongue but keeping his fingers still inside. He pumped deeper and harder, kissing your inner thighs.

You swallowed around Leon’s cock again, urging him to let you breathe. Slowly, he withdrew his glistening cock, allowing your saliva to drip onto your upper lip and eyes. You gasped for air, shuddering and moaning heavily while Carlos continued to give you head. You felt your hips bucking against Carlos’ hand, begging for more stimulation.

He grunted against you, hooking his arms under your thighs and pulling you flush against his mouth. You squirmed against him, feeling the tip of his tongue press against your slit as he thrust harder against it.

“Shit, don’t make them cum yet,” Leon grunted as he stroked his cock in front of your face. Another breath later, he positioned his cock at your lips yet again. This time he allowed you to control the pace.

You stuck out your tongue and swirled it around the head of his cock. A warm sensation slowly spread throughout your whole body as Leon let out a moan, throwing his head back slightly. “Oh fuck,”

Leon kept his hips motionless, waiting patiently for you to suck him off so he could feel how much you wanted him. The longer you went without actually taking him in your mouth though, the more frustrated he got. But he said nothing else before pushing himself forward with his hips.

He opened his legs wider, thrusting deep into your throat to the point it bulged with each stroke. Leon began to rock his hips back and forth, grunting lowly. “Yeah, c’mere.” He grabbed the sides of your neck and forced you to swallow his length fully.

You instantly felt it slide down your throat, sending shocks of electricity down your spine as your jaw locked tightly around the base of his cock.

Carlos’s mouth and hands pulled away from you, only to be replaced by the head of his large cock sliding against your entrance. The precum that was beading at the tip mixed with your fluids, lubricating his shaft so that he could easily slide into you.

Carlos groaned as thick cock slid into your hole, planting both hands on your hips. “Fuck, you feel good.” He purred, lifting one of your legs onto his shoulder so that he could fuck you nice and deep while stimulating your sex with his hand.

Your body arched back against the couch, your eyes rolling back into your skull, and tears streaming down your cheeks. It was such an intense sensation. Every stroke caused you to writhe beneath Leon’s weight, making it even worse as each one sent shocks of ecstasy through your body.

Both men groaned lewdly when you clenched around them from both ends. Carlos’s movements were deliberate and controlled, whereas Leon’s movements were sloppy and erratic.

“C’mon, swallow me whole,” Leon grunted deeply, slowing down his thrusts just to make you deepthroat his cock. You obeyed him immediately and gulped his entire dick down your throat.

Leon grunted, lolling his head forward. “Fuck,” He bit his lip, slamming his hips harder against yours, griping your throat loosely. His eyes closed, mouth open slightly as the pleasure from his cock shot up through his entire body.

He grunted loudly as you swallowed him fully. “Goddamn, I’m close,” He cursed, tightening his hold around you while he thrust deeper. He began to quicken his pace, filling you up until there was almost no room left for anything else.

Leon’s face was flushed red with exertion as his movements grew quick and sloppy. His cock throbbed violently in your mouth, signaling how close he was. Just as he was about to lose it, he pulled his cock from your throat quickly, stroking his cock furiously.

With a deep growl, Leon shot his load all over your face, pumping himself through his orgasm. It was a harsh release that forced you to gasp and sputter with every pump. Some of his releases landed in your mouth, lips, and even your chest. You did your best to swallow everything down. The sight of the white liquid dripping from his dick was utterly sexy to watch

As Leon came down from his high, he released you from his tight grip and took a step back from you.

You took the opportunity to catch your breath, letting out a soft moan in the process when Carlos suddenly thrust deep and hard into your hole.

“My turn,” Carlos grinned as he firmly held your thighs, dragging your body towards so that your head could settle fully on top of the couch cushion. This swift action allowed the tip of his cock to graze the spot inside you that made you see stars.

Your eyes shot open, head lifting to look Carlos in the eyes while he fucked you. As he pounded into you relentlessly and your hole contracted violently around his shaft every time he slammed into you.

“F-fuck…” You threw your head back, gripping the edge of the couch to ground yourself while the pressure built within you with every hit, your sex throbbing uncontrollably underneath Carlos. In your dazed state, all you knew was that you needed this.

“C’mon, baby,” He growled as he pounded into your tight hole, causing you to jerk your hips upwards. “Tell me what you want.” He continued to slam into your entrance relentlessly, rubbing your sex passionately as if he knew how to make you cum hard. You could feel yourself clench around his cock, causing him to groan in pleasure.

““Deeper…” You begged, arching your back further so that your insides could rub against his dick. He smirked devilishly as he pressed down on your hips to increase the friction between your bodies.

Leaning down, he captured your lips in a searing kiss, tasting remnants of Leon on your tongue. Your legs wrapped around Carlos’s waist while his free arm snaked around your back, supporting most of your weight as he thrust deep into you.

You gripped onto the cushions above you and dug your nails into the fabric, clenching your teeth tightly together to muffle any sounds of pleasure.

“Oh no you don’t,” Carlos growled, “Let me hear you scream.” He demanded, digging the tip of his thumb against the spot that drove you crazy with pleasure. He pressed hard against the spot that caused you to tighten around him.

“I wanna cum, Carlos! Please!” You held onto him for dear life, moaning loudly. His fingers tightened around your hips and he grunted deep against your mouth. The two of you rocked together, grunting and growling into each other's mouths as sweat dripped down your foreheads.

“Please...I need this….I need y--oh fuck!” You cried out as a wave of bliss hit you like a train. Tears spilled from your eyes. It had been far too long since you felt like this. Too long since you felt this full.

A loud groan erupted from Carlos’s lips, “Fuck yeah, cum on my cock.” You could feel yourself being lifted from the couch cushion slightly to allow Carlos better access to your hole.

It wasn’t possible to describe how good it felt to completely come. Everything felt lightheaded as if you were floating high up in the sky. You were dizzy and lightheaded as you tried to take in as many air molecules as possible.

As he pushed deeper into you, you shuddered under him, letting out another cry. It felt so good having him so deep inside of you. It felt so good to have him touch you so intimately. The feeling was overwhelming. You wanted more. You needed more.

Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling yourself closer to him. “God damn,” Carlos gritted his teeth, holding you so tightly that his muscles tensed. “You feel fucking fantastic, baby.” He moaned as he began to thrust harder than before.

One moment, you were gasping and panting heavily for air. The next thing you knew, you were moaning into Carlos’s mouth.

Carlos grunted loudly once again, his grip loosening around you but still keeping you trapped in his embrace. “Fuck, oh fuck.” His voice shook into your ear. He felt his balls tighten and his cock begin to twitch uncontrollably.

The feeling of him pulsing against your inner walls was so good that it sent tremors shooting through your entire body. Carlos grunted loudly, pushing himself as deep as his dick would go, grinding his pelvis against your sex in circular motions.

You squirmed beneath his weight, grabbing onto the sides of his biceps. “Don’t stop..” You panted, wrapping your legs tighter around his waist. “Cum…inside me.” You begged.

Carlos laughed loudly as he continued pounding into you, plunging deeper and deeper. “Hell yeah, I am.” He growled, “Gonna fuckin’ explode.” His breathing became ragged as his climax threatened to overtake him.

You gripped him desperately as your body trembled uncontrollably. “Please, I need you to fill me up.” You whimpered. Carlos smirked. “Oh, I am going to fill you up, baby. Don’t you worry.”

His thick erection was so engorged that it was leaking precum inside you. “Please,” You begged, squeezing his forearm gently as you felt his dick twitch rapidly within you. “Please..” Your voice broke at the thought of not being filled soon.

You bucked your hips against Carlos’s, desperate to relieve the unbearable feeling building within your core and sending sparks of ecstasy throughout your entire being. “Alright, alright, alright,” Carlos gasped, moving one hand up to grasp at your lower back.

Soon he reached his tipping point, filling you to the brim with his hot cum. He pumped his hips wildly, making you grind up against his dick in slow motion. His eyes screwed shut as he released into you, shuddering after he emptied himself.

After the intense orgasm subsided, he slowly moved off of you, standing up from the couch. Leon joined him and stood as well. “Why’d you get to cum inside?” He grumbled as he slid his pants back on.

“They wanted it,” Carlos shrugged, giving you a side glance. “If you’re so upset about it, you can cum in them next time.” He uttered.

You perked up at his comment, sitting up on the couch as both men got dressed. “W-what do you mean next time?” You questioned.

Carlos smirked as he slid his boxers on, “You thought this was a one-time thing?" Carlos chuckled, “We’ll be back, sweetheart. That I can guarantee.” He winked, kneeling beside the couch so that you two were face to face.

He grabbed your face, pulling you closer. “So don’t be alarmed if you wake up with my cock down your throat.” He teased, pecking your lips once before pulling away from you.

Leon approached you from behind, clasping a large hand over your mouth. Before you could try to fight back or scream, you were knocked unconscious.

In your final moments of consciousness, you heard the men eerily chuckle, “See you soon, (Name),” and then you succumbed to darkness.

[scarletwritesshit]

⭐Boothill x F!Reader ⭐ Silver Stars

You kept looking up at Penacony’s sky. You knew that none of this was real, and that your physical body was safely resting in the Reveire back in reality, but that didn’t make the experience feel any more fake.

Boothill noticed you frequently looking up at the sky. On occasion, he would have to drag you out of the way of others or nudge you away from accidentally walking directly into a lamp post. He didn’t mind it, but his kindness did not come without a few "muddle fudgers.” You couldn’t help it. Penacony’s sky was simply too marvelous for you to ignore.

"Lass, ya better watch where you’re goin’, otherwise, one of these days you’re gonna trip and fall," Boothill said. "Don’t want ya bustin’ up your pretty face."

"Oh, sorry," you said, "It’s quite difficult to simply glaze by such a view.”

"Well if ya wanted to go stargazin’, why didn’t ya tell me so? Ain’t that a lot easier than wanderin’ around like some dumb dog?"

"I guess, but where are we going to find anywhere in Penacony to stargaze in solitude?"

Boothill thought for a moment. "I mean there’s them back-alley routes that eventually lead up to some pretty quiet and wide open spots. Ain’t gonna find no one up there seein’ how everyone else is too busy indulging in their own little fantasy lands."

"Do you even know where any of these spots are?"

"That’s what a GPS is for, hun. Not like any of them are very difficult to find in the first place, just gotta do a little walkin’."

Boothill grabbed you by the arm and started dragging you down a back-alley path. He had quite the tight grip, perhaps out of negligence for how strong his artificial body was. Your feet were practically smoking from the friction as he dragged you along. Eventually, you gave up trying to keep up with his pace and allowed yourself to skid along, until he stopped at a rather high spot overlooking the dreamy metropolis of the Golden Hour.

"Told ya I knew what I was doin’," he said, with a wink.

"Next time, could you be just a little bit gentler? My shoes were practically sparking a fire back there," you said.

"Shoulda told me something, lass. Could’ve picked ya up and thrown ya over my shoulder."

"Is it too late to take you up on that offer?"

"For now, yeah, ‘cuz we’re already here. But it ain’t off the table for later. For now, take a seat, lass."

Boothill sat down on the concrete, and invited you to sit next to him by patting the ground. You sat down next to him and looked up, admiring the grand view of Penacony’s stars blanketing above your head and beyond what can be seen past the guardrail. You looked all around, even leaning backwards to take in as much as the starry sky as you possibly could. Boothill wrapped his arm around your lower back to steady you so that you did not collapse onto the concrete.

"Wouldn’t it be easier if ya laid your bum down on my lap?" Boothill suggested. "If ya can deal with my cold metal thighs, it’ll be a heck of a lot easier to look at them stars than twisting ya spine all over the dang place."

Accepting Boothill’s offer, you laid down on his thighs, positioning your head so that you could rest between them comfortably. They were rather firm and solid, but the fabric of his pants cushioned them a little. Boothill was right about the stars being far more easily viewed from laying down. The only thing that really got in your way were the tuffs of his hair visible out of the corner of your eyes, but it was a minor inconvenience that you truthfully didn’t mind. He reached down to gently stroke the side of your face, but stopped himself.

"Sorry if I ain’t that comfortable," he said.

"No, its fine. I quite like it here," you said, grabbing his hand and gently placing it onto your cheek.

The metal of Boothill's fingers were quite cold from Penacony’s everlasting nighttime air. Curiously enough, it had the strangest sense of human warmth to it.

"You don’t gotta to pretend for me, partner. I know it ain’t the same as the feeling of another human."

"But this feeling is from you. Not just any person, flesh and blood or otherwise. That’s more important.”

"This hunk 'o crud ain’t anything like the me I once was. It’s turned me into a sad excuse of a person if I’ve ever seen one."

"I don’t mind. Really"

"Well I do," he said, gently running his finger alongside your cheek, "all I got to offer as a sad excuse of comfort is a heaping pile of metal."

"I get the feeling you don’t particularly enjoy being a cyborg."

"What gave that away? It’s gotta be up there with one of the worst things that had ever happened to me. Shame that not even the sweetest dreams can grant me a sense of normalcy."

"...Boothill, if a shooting star could grant a wish, would you wish for your human body back?"

Boothill went silent for a moment, and sighed. "No. I couldn’t There’s somethin’ far more valuable than my own humanity that I wish I could bring back."

"...You’re talking about her, aren’t you?"

"Right on target, partner. Even if I could bring ‘er back, I ain’t got a father's body to provide any warmth with. It’s cruel to do a little lady so dirty like that."

"She would think you’re the coolest, honestly."

"Maybe. Still can’t help but feel like I ain’t really there for ‘er with this lump of snot for a body. Probably a father’s guilt speakin’."

Boothill speaking more softly about himself for once put your body at ease, in addition to being rested comfortably in his lap. If it were possible in this dream, you felt as if you could drift off to sleep.

"Cyborg or not, you’ll always be Boothill to me," you said.

"Thank ya kindly, lass. Your words mean a whole lot to a little ol’ bucket of scrap like me. And I do apologize for dullin’ ya mood. Ya did say you wanted to stargaze, not listen to a rusty lad yap for Aeons know how long."

"No worries. I find this kind of talk kinda soothing."

"I can tell. Ya look like you’re gonna doze off on me."

"If it were feasible in a dream, then I would."

Boothill had become comfortable enough to entrust such a deeply hidden repressed feeling to you. In turn, you too felt much more at ease in his presence, knowing he was comfortable enough for such a thing. Beneath the stars, it was as if Penacony's sky was soothing the troubles of both of your golden hearts.

Your eyes began to feel heavy.

"I ain’t gonna bug ya if ya want a lil’ bit of shut-eye," Boothill said. "Stars are meant for sleepin’ under, after all."

He gently began to run his fingers through your hair, feeling as much as his cold metallic fingers would allow him to.

No use fighting back perhaps one of the first peaceful nights you two have shared in a while.

You closed your eyes.

[drowsynyu]

he never was a family man— until he met you..

cw: fem reader, y/n is described to be plus sized and a little short, you have two kids, teensy bit of angst, more of a modern au, google translated names 😒, y/n talks bad about herself briefly but toji makes her stop 🙈

a/n: please idk why but when i thought of this i immediately needed to write it. also this is so random and i wrote this in the middle of the night so i apologize if its kinda stinky

masterlist

enjoy!~

toji never thought of himself as a family man.. especially since he had a kid of his own that was basically nonexistent to him. he never planned on getting in a serious relationship either— until he met you.

he was out getting coffee at a shop a friend recommended. it was a cute place. had a cottage vibe. when he entered, he froze as he was immediately hit with a sweet scent. the place was cozy in the nicest way possible, there being couches and tables everywhere for customers to sit. as he approached the counter, he glanced down to meet eyes with the pretty little barista behind the counter.. aka you.

“welcome! is there anything i can get for you today?” you asked, your voice sickeningly sweet. toji almost forgot how to function, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“uh..” he muttered as he looked up to get a look at the menu. “coffee.. nothing in it. and i guess a chocolate croissant too.” he said, watching as you happily put his order in the machine.

“i think you’ll really like the croissant! it’s really good!” you say with a gentle smile.

toji glanced at the total on the little screen facing him as he took out his wallet. “the prices here aren’t bad.. might start coming here more..” he muttered as he took out some money, handing it to you. that was totally the reason.. yeah.. the “prices.”

“well when the owners started this place up, they wanted to think about everyone that may come here.. so they made the prices a lot less expensive than most cafes. it was really sweet of them to do that.” you say, your eyes softening as you look at toji.

soon toji’s coffee and croissant was made, and he made his leave.

then on he came to the exact same cafe almost every day, order something, chat with you, then leave. eventually he even started hanging out with you during your breaks, which quickly turned into hanging out after you got off work.

he learned that you had two kids from a previous marriage. two five year olds who were twin daughters.

he even got the chance to meet them when you invited him to dinner.

it all started with you welcoming him inside, your daughters hiding behind you as they looked at him with big eyes.

“hey there.. you two must be the little ones y/n told me about yeah? niko and tsuki?” he spoke as he knelt down to their level. niko was first to leave your side, shyly moving to go to toji. “hey there.. you look just like your mama.” he says before his eyes flicker to tsuki. “you too..” he says, giving both of the girls a faint smile.

your heart almost melted as you watched both of your daughters interact with toji. “you guys get to know each other, i’ll get dinner started.” you say before heading to the kitchen.

toji watched as you walked away, his eyes softening ever so slightly.

“do you like mama?” tsuki finally spoke up for the first time. her voice was a lot quieter than niko’s. she held her arms up, asking for him to pick her up. toji smiled before picking her up, chuckling as she held onto him.

“hey! me too me too!!” niko pouted, jumping slightly with her arms up. toji laughed before picking niko up with his other arm, smiling as the two girls held onto him.

“to answer your question, tsuki.. i do. a lot. but don’t tell her yet, cuz it’s a secret. yeah?” toji said as he sat on the couch, niko and tsuki sitting comfortably on his legs.

“we won’t tell! pinky promise!” niko said as she held out her pinky. toji smiled and linked pinkies with her. “are you gonna be our papa?” niko asked softly.

before toji even got the chance to respond, you came back, a little smile on your face. “i see you guys got comfy.” you say as you sat on the couch with them, niko moving to sit on your lap.

toji wrapped an arm around you, watching as you rest your head on his chest. niko gives tsuki a knowing look before looking at you. “mama, can me and tsu go play in our room?” she asked, looking at you sweetly.

“go ahead, sweetheart. be careful!” you say as you watch the girls run to their room. you could faintly here their giggles as they play, your heart warming from the sound.

“you mind if i ask a personal question?” toji suddenly spoke up, his hand resting on your hip.

you look at him, your eyes widening a little. “go ahead.. i don’t mind.” you say as your hand rests on his abdomen.

“what happened with their dad?.. i mean— why isn’t he here? if that makes sense.. you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” he spoke, his voice softening a little.

you sigh softly as you rest your head on his chest. “their dad.. he was a sweet man but… there was another woman. and she was important enough for him to leave us. i don’t blame him.. she’s a goddess compared to me.. she’s skinnier.. taller.. everything i’m not.” you say softly before you feel toji press a finger to your lips to stop you.

“he didn’t deserve someone as beautiful as you.. you’re perfect… and he was an idiot to leave you for some girl.” he said as he gently caressed your cheek. you leaned into his touch, feeling your face warm up as you met eyes with him.

“i’m not perfect..” you chuckle awkwardly. “i’m clumsy, i’m no where close to neat, i’m awful at cook-” toji cut you off as his lips gently pressed against yours. you close your eyes after a moment of surprise, gently kissing him back.

you look into his eyes shyly after he breaks the kiss. “you. are. perfect.” he says, lifting your chin to look into your eyes.

over the next few months, you went out on dates with toji, spending a lot of your downtime with him. he even moved in at some point.

it was a surprise when niko first called him “papa.” toji was in bed with you, watching tv together when niko came running in with a drawing she made in hand. she looked so proud of herself as she basically shoved it in his face.

“papa! look at my drawing!” she said as she handed him the drawing. he gave you a little glance as he smiled faintly before looking at the drawing. niko had drawn you, him, plus her and her sister.

“it’s amazing, niko.. we should hang it up on the fridge, yeah? show it off to anyone that visits.” he said as he got out of bed, heading to the kitchen while niko happily followed.

about two months later, toji got a call. “hello?” he said as he answered the phone. he could hear tsuki crying softly over the phone. “tsuki? what’s going on?” he asked as he sat up.

“i got in trouble, papa.. i punched my classmate b’cuz he scribbled all over my paper..” she sniffled. “you or mama needs to come pick me up because i can’t be at school for the rest of the day..”

toji smiled a little as he caught the name. “alright.. we’ll come get you soon, alright?” he said as he got out of bed, glancing at you to hint to start getting ready.

“okay, papa.. i’m sorry..” tsuki said softly.

“don’t worry about it, i’ll tell your mama what happened on the way okay?” toji said as he put on his jacket, holding his phone to his ear using his shoulder.

you ended up being a little upset when you found out, but it all worked out in the end.

[cheesus-doodles]

How do Izana deal with a darling with wrecked sleeping schedules but he couldn't really do much since darling is studying at university and lives in the uni dorm.

(definitely not projecting and sending this ask at 7am cuz I didn't sleep loll)

Masterlist

okay i can answer this one because a wrecked sleeping schedule is bascially my life story (night owl here working a day job :'D) sorry y'all, been in a bit of a spiral in the earlier half of this week, but I'm back to huffing the copium now

‎‎‎‎

Izana himself probably has somewhat of a wrecked sleeping schedule - which is no surprise, given how he is, after all, a delinquent and most gang activities occur in the cover of night. And on top of that, he does have tons of paper work and other normal business things to get through during the day, decisions to make and approvals to sign off on. Running a criminal organization isn't easy, and by the time you are in university, he is already well on his way to conquering the Tokyo underground.

Despite this, you can be sure that this boy makes sure to get all the sleep he needs, even if it means just skipping gang/work duties. Who's going to dare to wake him anyway? And he will not be the slightest bit happy to find you neglecting your sleep over some class work or something insignificant like that. To Izana, you didn't even have to put yourself through all this torture and nonsense. Why did you need to go to university? He had more than enough to provide for you, anything that your little heart desires, since you were going to be his forever - there was no need for you to study because you were never going to have to work. Well, never going to have to, and never going to get to, but same difference.

Izzy will absolutely make sure that you get whatever sleep you need, which is by forcibly pulling you to sleep when it's his bedtime. Even if it means bodily lifting you from the table, confiscating your phone and forcing you to snuggle with him in bed, doesn't matter - he wants cuddle and you need sleep (according to this baby boy at least). And you were going to stay in bed until he thinks you have had enough sleep. He couldn't care more that you were missing classes, exams, projects; nope. You failing out of your classes would be a win for him - you could stop wasting your time on your papers and start focusing on your attention on him, the most important person in your life, instead.

Think staying in a university dorm would stop him? Nice try. Nothing is out of bounds for Izzy to use for him to gain unlimited access into your room: bribery, violence, planting moles in the university - you don't get to hide from him. And if no matter what he does can't get him in, then you don't get to stay there. Would send Kakucho to burn the whole university down himself if he needs to, so don't try him.

Speaking of Kakucho, of course Izana would have his right-hand man and trusted friend stalking and monitoring you on his behalf whenever Izana is too busy to do so himself. Is it the best use of someone of Kakucho's talent? Probably not, but Izana would trust no one else. And if he suspects in the slightest that you weren't sleeping enough when he isn't watching? Guess who gets to sit outside your window and time your sleep. Kakucho.

So just go to sleep and don't make his life more difficult, okay?

[zerobaseonefics]

enchanted ㅡ ricky

ricky x gn!reader

genre : fluff, fake dating.

warnings : none <3 shout out to my 🐇 anon and to @mins-fins cuz he seemed excited to read it yesterday 🤭

"ricky, stand up-"

"i said i would beg! i'm begging"

you sighed heavily. growing up as ricky neighbor, you two ended up being great friends. your parents knew each other so your families often did thing together, such as going to holidays, picnics and these kind of things. it is know to everybody that ricky's family was wealthy, and yours was just as much as your parents became business partners over the year.

"come on, i don't wanna go with them, and you have no one to take you there. if we go together, our parents will let us be!"

rich people problem, i guess... once a year, your parents' business partners organized a ball for their kids. it was not just a little dance for shit and giggles, no, it was just so the kids can meet together, fall in love and make their life with someone from a wealthy family. ricky and you grew up going there every year. when you were younger, your parents never pressured you to have a partner to go there. however, around a certain age, you better have one if you don't want your parents to be the laughing stock of town. ricky and you decided years ago to never go together, otherwise your parents would imagine things and think you're a couple. at that time, you didn't have those hidden feelings you have for each other like you have today.

and now, you guys were eighteen, going nineteen, and you had to take someone with you. the problem is, you were absolutly bitchless, and ricky's parent were forcing him to go with someone he couldn't stand.

"ricky, i would've gone with you if our parents weren't friends. you know damn well they won't stop teasing us with it and think we're in love or something."

"and? is it worse than you not pulling and me being forced to go with that goblin??"

"don't call people goblins, i already told you that's mean!" you choked, hitting his arm

"well i don't care!" ricky whined before letting his head fall on the kitchen table you guys were sitting at.

you were thinking about it, and yes, your parents thinking ricky and you are a thing wasn't a problem for you. at least, it was not worse than seeing someone else at ricky's arm. but you knew you will not be able to stand your parents thinking you guys are in love when you were convinced ricky didn't like you back.

suddenly, ricky got up.

"what if we tell our parents that we are dating, and then we break up after the ball so they leave us alone."

"i mean...that could work."

"so you're fine with it?"

the blonde looked at you with eyes full of hope, waiting for you to say yes. you let yourself a few seconds to think, before sighing.

"screw it, i guess that's a nice plan."

a huge smile on his face, ricky took your hand and dragged you with him to the door.

"mom, i'm taking y/n on a date, i should be back around 6!"

"what?" you said in a choked voice to make sure she couldn't hear it.

"you're dating y/n??" she suddenly appeared, her head peeking out of her room.

"i didn't know how to tell you, but yes, we've been dating for a few weeks now", ricky said confidently as you were turning red.

"oh my god! is it why you didn't want to go with my colleague's daughter?"

she started rambling about how happy she was about the news, and ricky had to cut her off gently for you two to go. he opened the door, not letting go of your hand.

"okay, so what do we do now..."

"we're going on a fake date."

"is it really necessary? our parents are not with us, we don't have to go that far."

"don't worry about that, it's to imbue us with the couple vibes."

and ricky took you on a date. once, and twice, and a third time again before the ball. and it never felt fake, not even once. or maybe you were just delusional? at least, that's what you were thinking, not knowing ricky was having the time of his life pretending to be your lover.

the night of the ball, ricky came to pick you up. you were surprised when you saw his cheeks turn crimson red when he saw you all done-up. it wasn't that hot tonight, why was he like this? (well you're a dense bitch) (i'm sorry) (let me go back to my serious narrator persona wait)

the feeling of taking you to the dance was bittersweet for ricky. you two have planned to fake your 'break up' to your parents after the ball. it means it was the last time he could take your hand, pass his arm around your waist or your shoulder to take you closer to him, look at him with obvious love in his eyes with the excuse of faking it so you won't be unconfortable.

everyone joked about how they knew you two will end up together since you were young, and they congratuled you on finally being a couple. but both of you knew the truth, and it's why it didn't please you as much as they thought it would.

the evening was going smoothly as you both tried to joke around and enjoy the moment.

now, the time has come. the most awaited moment by the people your age that were going to the ball was slowdancing, as cliche as it sounds. you watched the other kids as they got up with excitement with their partner to dance. the song playing on background was enchanted by taylor swift. tugging on a piece of your clothing, ricky tried to have your attention. you turned to face him.

"you're comfortable with doing this? we're not obliged to do it if you don't want to, you seem hesitant about it." fervently, you shook your head to deny his allegations.

"no no! it be weird if we didn't do it, right? and i'm comfortable, since it's you."

ricky tried to restrain his smile as he got up from the seat you two were on. he gave you his hand, waiting for you to take it in yours.

"can i have this dance?"

you laughed at his act.

"i would love to", you admitted, putting your hand in his. he took it to his lips to plant a kiss on it, still in his gentleman act.

and here you were, on the dance floor between all those stupid rich kids, your arms around ricky's neck as he was holding your waist, slowdancing. the blonde haired boy bent a bit to whisper in your ear, pulling you closer.

"can you believe we're breaking up tomorrow?" he mumbled in a teasing tone, making sure no one but you could hear him.

"don't bring this up, i'm your lover for at least... three more hours", you answered in the same volume.

"you know, now that i think about it, our parents are probably gonna freak out when we tell them we broke up."

"that's true, and we're gonna have to tell everybody here that we're not together anymore."

"seems tiring."

you simply nod, and ricky straightened himself up to look at your eyes. there was something special about the way he looked at you, something you couldn't explain. little did you know, that same thing was shining the same in your eyes, and ricky started to think that maybe his feelings were mutual.

"you're making me feel so weird right now." ricky confessed, which made you frown. you hummed in confusion, waiting for him to continue.

"do we really have to break up?"

"i mean, we're not gonna pretend forever... right?"

"it felt right to me. how was it for you?"

"how was what?"

"me being your boyfriend."

it seemed like a joke to you at first, but the more you observed his face, there was not even a pint of playfulness. he was dead serious. you didn't answer because you were taken aback, so ricky continued.

"i loved being your boyfriend, even if it was all an act. i might be wrong, but i feel like it wasn't that bad for you either. please let me take you on a real date at least once and if you don't like it, let's just forget about it."

"i don't think i can forget about it."

was is it a rejection? did he ruin everything by confessing? ricky let his head down in shame, cold sweat running down his back. suddenly, he felt your hand on his cheek, and he looked back up to you. you quickly kissed his lips.

"i would love to date you for real this time", you said, as enchanted was coming to an end. he beamed befofe leaning back to yours lips, and he was now the one kissing you.

[sophswritingthings]

HAI!!! ^_^ HOW'S PO ART TEN COMING ALONG AND I HAVE SOME CONCEPTS FOR MODERN ERA MIZU AMD READER.

So I'm thinking reader is like an assistant to a nurse at school and Mizu is like that one student who carries around one of those practice swords since she probably in a fencing program or smth idk and she gets injured cuz she spars with taigen a lot.

Due to being injured alot she goes to the nurses office and finds Reader helping the nurse out and they see each other for the first time and it's really awkward but cute, reader just goes like "uh- hi?"

Or maybe reader is like Mizu's childhood friend but idk because it's all I can think abt 😭

pairing: modern au!mizu x fem!nurses assistant!reader

warning(s): just some light swearing, mentions of blood/wound

a/n: MEET CUTE!!!!!!!!!!

summary: a student, a student you’ve seen around before, stumbles into the nurses office injured. she looks like she’s your age, around 17 or 18.

word count: 546 words / 3,042 characters

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

you were messing around with the bandages and reorganizing the medicines.

again.

you wanted to be the nurses assistant because you liked helping people! but when all of the students are prissy hard assess that never get hurt, your jobs kind of boring.

“(y/n)?” the nurse calls into the back room. you rush to your feet, dashing out to see what he wants.

god—maybe you finally get to help a patient!

“I’ve got a girl out there, she’s just got a small wound on her arm. you want to take her?” he questions, cocking his head—he knows the answer.

you smile, looking giddy and excited.

“of course I do!” you smile, taking a deep breath to try and relax yourself.

you didn’t like to see people hurt, that wasn’t it—you just wanted to help people when they were hurt.

you slowly walk out into the front of the office. you’re met with a pair of dashing blue eyes, and a neutral yet not unhappy expression. just.. relaxed, despite her bleeding arm. 

“um—hi?” you call to her, finally getting her to look up.

her response is slow and hesitant as she looks at you.

“.. you’re the nurse?” she asks. “you look a little.. young, for that.”

you chuckle, “people say that a lot,” you gave her a soft smile, gesturing her back into the officer. “I’m just his assistant. I wanted to get some practice in before I go for med school, yeah?”

“yeah.” she nods at you, sitting down on the bed. “I guess that’s smart.”

“hm,” you smile, grabbing the bandages and disinfecting wipes. “so.. how’d you get this? what happened?”

“fencing practice,” she responded, her voice raspy and dry.

“ah! I see. but..” you glance down at her arm. “don’t you use practice swords there?”

she scoffed, a smile breaking her dry expression. 

“well.. yes. but who said we were using practice swords?” 

you giggle, nodding at her.

“I see,” you begin to wipe down her wound, feeling her twitch. “sorry—it’s gonna burn.”

“.. I know that now,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“sorry.” you whisper again, casting your gaze downward.

“it’s fine,” she murmured back.

you begin to tightly wrap her wound in the white bandages, stopping the blood from flowing out freely.

“thank you,” she muttered. “I’ll probably be seeing you often.”

“god—I hope not,” you sigh. you pause, looking up—realizing that your words sounded offaly rude. “sorry! I-I didn’t mean, um—“

she chuckled, “I know what you meant. relax.”

you rub the back of your neck, watching as she descended from the table. you look up at her, seeing as she’s significantly taller than you.

“I’m not very good at relaxing,” you whisper.

“I can see that,” she responded. “I should teach you sometime.”

you giggle, “teach me to relax?”

she nods, rather confidently, you might add.

“It’s something your taught. to just like, let go off all that shit?” she cocks her head questioningly.

“I suppose you’re right,” you mumble. “give me your phone number, then?”

she slides out a piece of paper, as if she knew this was going to happen.

“I’ll see you tuesday, than.”

your eyes were wide as she walked out of the office with the upmost confidence, your face covered in a rosy blush.

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

a/n: SMOOOTHHH

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Is this a safe space? I got some whining to do.

Not just about the landlady and about how we're gonna be homeless again in a month. No, I got a bone to pick with Dave and I need to vent.

So... how did he fuck up this time, many of you may wonder?

1.) Christmas.

Dave didn't want a turkey or any of the usual Christmas dinner stuff we have. It's literally only the 2nd day a year where we have any of that shit, but he whined about not wanting to do extra work like at Thanksgiving... where he did no work at all. I literally sat in the kitchen with mom for hours. It was hot af, and tiring. In the end, he had to wash a couple plates but that was it. I'm the one who had to go back and forth fetching things, washing and re-washing pots and pans so mom could use them for something new, and stirring shit cuz she couldn't move.

He demanded seafood and stuffed shells for Christmas. Mom told him that shit would be too expensive for people like us. Besides, she would get paid on Dec 22nd, which meant it would be too late to get anything like that as shit would be cleared out. He had the money to get the stuff he wanted early, but decided Food Stamps should pay for most of it first and waited until Christmas Eve. Well, guess what?! Money finally comes in, he waits around, and when he finally goes shopping... there's barely anything left.

He had to buy frozen stuffed shells which were a bit cheaper than making them homemade, but they ended up being disgusting and no one liked the filling which tasted rancid af. So, he left them on the counter for like 10 hours and never touched them. Then bitched cuz no one, not even him, ate them and they sat out all night and had to be thrown out. He managed to get some kind of mini shrimp platter which was basically 28-30 small shrimp around a small container of cocktail sauce. Finally, he had to spend his own actually money to go to some small seafood shop somewhere and get some clams which were expensive as well. We each got like 6 of the world's smallest ass clams ever.

Basically, there was nothing of actual substance for dinner and we all ate mom's pasta salad which was gone in a single sitting.

Then, he wanted pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, and some other pie. Mom told him she wasn't making him jack shit cuz he's the only one who likes pumpkin pie in this house, and she made him one just for him at Thanksgiving... and his ass never ate any of it. In fact, he claimed it made him sick(which was him hiding the fact that he'd gotten himself fast food earlier that day, when he knows grease and oil on french fries make him sick). Bethy narked on him wasting money on Thanksgiving Day when we were already making dinner, and he stuck to his claims and ended up leaving that pie to sit in the fridge on the top shelf and never touched it. He got himself fast food a couple days later and... got sick again. And mom was like, "Let me guess... the ice cream made you sick so now you won't need to touch it and the rest of us can have it?" And he threw a fit.

Dave had to buy his precious pie for himself... And refused to fucking read direction so guess what? He left it in too long and burned it. Mom had placed a special order for quick delivery and got the rest of us different pies to share so everyone would get something for dessert. They just ended up being mostly whipped cream and a slight hint of flavor and were lame af tho. I was especially mad cuz she informed everyone of who got what and Dave literally went right behind everyone's backs and took like a quarter of each of the other pies in one sitting and left his burnt as one on the table for days.

2.) Landlady's Possessions

Some may recall me mentioning how in our first 2 weeks here, Dave managed to break the tempered glass stove top and tried to hide it? Well, not only has he not replaced that after finally coming clean about it and claiming it would be and easy replacement to handle, but he also broke the handle to the landlady's washer/dryer set, and the faucet in the bathroom sink which is why we haven't been able to wash our hands there this whole time. We've gotten use the shower to the kitchen sink if cleanliness is truly so important.

Mom ended up having to place the dryer handle the other night. Dave still won't mention the stove top though. He claims he can fix the faucet but won't acknowledge how if he doesn't fix the stove top, he's not getting the last month's rent and security back(which would be about $2,600). The house will NOT be as it was when he moved it because of HIM and that WILL be $2,600 down the drain. So, despite all that bitching, he's doing nothing as per usual.

3.) Waste

He's still wasting food. The first point should have gotten that across pretty well but it goes beyond.

I made pasta 2 nights ago. We had alfredo sauce, and I had some cans of chicken I was hiding away for a just such an occasion to spruce it up, yk? It took like half an hour, but it was done right as they walked in the door at 6 PM. I got mom and I some food, Bethy got her own food, and then we ate.

His ass never ate dinner. In fact, he got on the phone to whoever the fuck to bitch about how tired he was of not getting to eat full meals. Rigatoni in chicken and alfredo sauce was sitting in a massive pot int he kitchen, and his ass wouldn't touch it. Same as usual. There was enough for him but when I went out, he didn't touch it even after hours, so I had to put it away.

He never puts the food away, no matter who makes it. I often go into the kitchen at midnight to find all of dinner left everywhere. Much has gone to waste even because he won't fucking help.

So today, mom was supposed to make stuffed peppers. She got all the shit for it, but Dave suddenly whines and bitches, like he's never had them before and doesn't know how they're made, "What's in them?" Mom explains slowly cuz he's that fucking dumb. "I don't want tomato sauce, I'll get heartburn!" "We've always had them that way, and you've always had heartburn, yet you never complained before." "Well, I don't want it now! I'm fucking tired of tomato sauce!"

We haven't had tomato sauce in over a month cuz he specifically won't buy it unless Bethy is there to put it in the cart. He demands mom uses alfredo sauce in the stuffed peppers instead... and it was awful. I've never needed so much salt in my life. Dave lost the garlic powder so much of the flavor was missing, and rice covered in alfredo sauce is NOT good. I was very displeased. Once again, we do shit to cater to Dave and once again, it ends up being a failure cuz guess what? He didn't fucking eat any. There were enough for everyone to have at least 2 with 2 left over. There are 6 remaining. I ate 2 with extra rice on the side, mom had 1, and Bethy had 1. Dave didn't even eat them... cuz he ended up not liking them even when mom told him it wasn't going to end up well.

All that bitching and forcing us to change how we usually do things, only to not only NOT eat the thing that was made to his specifications, but then he spent the night bitching about being hungry when his ass could make spaghetti and alfredo sauce for himself if he was so desperate for food. We have ground beef and ground turkey. Canned chicken. Mac n' cheese. Different types of soup. He was not starving or going without, he was just lazy. After all that talking, he did nothing at all.

4.) Not reading the lease.

Withholding details of the lease from us and not bothering to read it clearly and now acting like he did nothing wrong the entire time.

~.O.~

The one thing Dave isn't at fault for, is the landlady's behavior.

This house has a separate garage that wasn't part of the lease. She's not having it slightly remodeled, and her ex-husband is adding an electric garage door. He had to come in and check the breaker with his electrician friend and they were mumbling to each other about her plans. She DOESN'T want to move in, she wants to rent out the house and garage together for a higher price.

I'm so mad I am practically fuming.

We're getting hit by everything, and to have this news dumped on us right before Christmas has just soured the holidays entirely. We've already begun packing our things, but we have no plan on where to go and nowhere to even put our stuff again. We have 6 weeks left and I'm just so tired.

[GFM] [Ko-Fi]

[thelastspeecher]

Amphibious Tendencies - Chapter 10: Typhlonectes natans

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6   Chapter 7   Chapter 8   Chapter 9 Chapter 10   AO3

It's been a hot minute, but I think y'all know I've sorta been going through it, so I won't say much else other than...

Enjoy.

—

Summary: Dipper, Mabel, and Soos find out that Stan and the rest of his family are not what they seem.

The “rubber eel” (Typhlonectes natans) is sometimes sold as a fish in aquarium stores, but is actually a caecilian, a group of legless amphibians about whom little is known.

——————————————————————————————

              “Chocolate chips, chocolate chips,” Mabel muttered to herself as she rummaged through the pantry.  “Ah-ha!”  She pulled out a glass jar filled with chocolate chips.  “Why were you hiding at the back of the pantry?”

              “Whatchya doin’, cuz?” a voice asked.  Mabel turned.  Emily stood in the kitchen, watching her with visible amusement.

              “It’s been too long since I baked something, so I asked Dipper what I should make, and he suggested my famous chocolate chip brownies.”

              “It’s her most edible recipe,” Dipper chimed in.  He was sitting at the kitchen table, going over the Journal.

              “Ya might want to use chocolate chips for it, then,” Emily said.  Mabel held up the jar.  “Those aren’t chocolate chips.  They’re chocolate-covered crickets.”

              “What?!” Mabel yelped in shock.  The jar slipped from her hands.  Emily dove, catching the jar before it could hit the floor.  “Look, I like to think of myself as being open-minded, but chocolate-covered crickets?  Why?”

              “I’m not sure if you know this, but Dad likes making bets and dares.”

              “We know,” Dipper and Mabel said together.

              “Oh.  Well, since he can’t ever pass up a bet or a dare, years and years ago, someone dared him to eat a bug.  So he ate the bug.  And then he got dared to eat another.  Eventually, he realized he actually liked the taste.”  Emily shrugged.

              “There’s no way Grauntie Angie puts up with it,” Mabel said firmly.  “She’s a lady.”

              “Ma likes ‘em, too,” Emily said.  Mabel’s jaw dropped.  “She’s probably the one who hid the chocolate-covered crickets in the back of the pantry so you wouldn’t see ‘em.  She was worried how the two of ya would handle our family’s…eccentricities.”  Emily put the jar on the counter and knelt to pick up the pieces of paper she had dropped when she grabbed the jar.  She tossed the papers onto the table.  “By the way, mail’s here.”

              “Did we get something in the mail?” Dipper asked curiously.

              “Dunno.  Didn’t look.”

              “Hmm.”  Dipper picked up the letter on the top of the pile.  He frowned.  “What name is this?”

              “Huh?”  Emily walked over and peered over Dipper’s shoulder at the letter.  “Oh.  It says Banjolina.  That’s Ma’s full first name.”

              “Angie is short for Banjolina?” Dipper asked.  Emily nodded.  “I thought it was short for Angela.”

              “Everyone thinks that.  I don’t know if many people in town know her proper first name.”

              “I guess ‘Banjolina’ makes sense since her brother’s named Fiddleford,” Mabel said.

              “Yep!  Unwieldy names are a bit of a tradition in Ma’s family,” Emily said cheerfully.  She pulled out a chair and sat down.

              “Is Emily short for something weird then?” Mabel asked.  Emily shook her head.

              “Nope.  Ma insisted on not doin’ her family’s weird name thing for any of us kids.  But she wasn’t completely successful with making us happy with our names.  Molly only goes by her middle name, not her first name.”

              “Molly?” Dipper and Mabel asked together.

              “Right, I keep forgetting you haven’t had a chance to meet her yet,” Emily said.  “Molly’s the oldest triplet.  But her first name’s actually Darlene.”

              “Darlene’s a pretty name,” Mabel insisted.  Emily shrugged again.

              “Not disagreein’ with ya.  Just tellin’ ya what Molly feels.”  She looked over at the clock on the wall.  “Did you two have breakfast?”

              “Yep!  That’s why I was gonna make brownies!” Mabel chirped.

              “All right.  Well, you could make brownies,” Emily said slowly, “or you could join me.”

              “It depends on what you’re doing,” Mabel said.  Emily grinned.

              “Dad wants me to get rid of the leftover fireworks from the Fourth of July.  I figured I’d do that by setting ‘em off.”  A twinkle entered her eyes.  “So?”

              “Fireworks beat brownies!” Mabel said quickly.  Dipper nodded.

              “Agreed.”

              “Then follow me, cousins,” Emily said, standing up.  “It’s time to rain some fire from the skies.”

-----

              The still morning air was split by the squeal and subsequent pop of a firework.  Emily, Dipper, and Mabel let out whoops of joy at their first salvo.  Before Emily could light the next one, however, the door slammed open.  Grunkle Stan stormed out of the Shack.

              “All right, what are you kids doing?” he demanded.  He looked around.  “Where even are you?”

              “We’re up here, old man,” Emily called from their spot on the roof.  Grunkle Stan looked up.  He scowled.  “I’m just doin’ what ya told me to.  I’m gettin’ rid of the fireworks.”

              “That’s all you’re doing?” Grunkle Stan asked.  Emily, Dipper, and Mabel nodded.  “Have the cops showed up?”

              “Yes, but we sent ‘em on their merry way with an insult or two,” Emily said.  Grunkle Stan grinned.

              “That’s my girl!”  He waved a hand airily.  “All right, carry on.  Just make sure you put out any fires.  Don’t want the place to burn down while Angie’s still sleeping.”

              “Do you have a method you want us to use to put out the fires?” Mabel asked.  Grunkle Stan frowned thoughtfully.

              “The phrasing is questionable, but screw it.  I’ll bite.  Whattaya got in mind, kiddo?”

              “Water balloons.”

              “Huh.”  Grunkle Stan shrugged.  “I don’t see why not.”  He went back into the Shack.

              “He’s in a good mood,” Dipper commented.

              “Nah, you two just managed to grow on him, that’s all.”  Emily elbowed Dipper and Mabel playfully.  “And don’t act like he hasn’t grown on you.”

              “Heh, yeah,” Dipper said.  “When he’s not barking orders at us, he’s kind of…fun?”  Mabel nodded in agreement.

              “And I think it’s so sweet how much he’s in love with Grauntie Angie,” Mabel sighed dreamily.  “I want something like that one day.”  The door to the Shack opened.

              “What happened to the fireworks?” Grunkle Stan called.  “I was gonna watch the show!”

              “Why not be a part of it?” Mabel asked.  “I thought I cured your fear of heights!”

              “I’m more comfortable sitting on the porch than climbing on the roof.  You kids have your fun.”

              “Well, you heard the man,” Emily said to her cousins.  She held up her lighter.  “Which one are we gonna set off next?”

-----

              Dipper sprinted across the yard, running from the ululating Emily and Mabel.  He threw a water balloon at Mabel, but it bounced off her and on the ground.  Mabel threw a water balloon of her own, which burst upon contact with him.

              “Aw, man!” Dipper whined.  Emily chortled.  She looked at Grunkle Stan, who was sitting on the porch watching the festivities.

              “You gonna join us, old man?”

              “With these old bones?  No,” Grunkle Stan said.  He took another sip of his Pitt Cola.  “This is the kinda day summers were made for.  Just doing dumb things.”

              “Agreed!” Mabel and Dipper said together.  Dipper shoved Mabel playfully.  She landed on the ground, laughing.  When the water balloon fight resumed, however, Grunkle Stan’s relaxed expression morphed into one full of tension.

              Once the kids had run out of water balloons, Grunkle Stan got up and walked over.

              “Look, kids, I…”  He rubbed the back of his neck.  Dipper and Mabel looked at him curiously.  “I’ve- I’ve got somethin’ to tell you.”

              “What?” Mabel asked.  Grunkle Stan grimaced.

              “It’s- it’s complicated and you probably- you might not like it.”

              “Wait…”  Emily stared at her father.  “Dad, are you talking about…”  Grunkle Stan nodded.  Emily’s eyes widened.  “Did Ma say you could?”

              “Yeah.  After everything that happened with her, we figured it would be best.”

              “What is it?” Dipper asked.  Grunkle Stan took a deep breath.  He opened his mouth.  Before he could say anything, however, a red dot appeared on his fez.  “Is that a ladybug?”

              “Aw!” Mabel cooed.  Emily grabbed Dipper and Mabel, hurriedly pulling them away from Grunkle Stan.

              “Emily, what are you-” Dipper started.  A masked man dressed in combat gear suddenly burst from the nearby bushes and tackled Grunkle Stan to the ground.

              “Hey!” Grunkle Stan protested.  The man put his knee on Grunkle Stan’s back.  Other men dressed similarly emerged from the woods, surrounding the Shack.  “What are you doing?!”

              “Our job,” Agent Powers said, walking over with Agent Trigger by his side.  “Arresting suspicious persons and locking down any potential evidence.”

              “The government guys?” Dipper asked.  He frowned.  “I thought they got eaten by zombies.”

              “Eaten by-”  Emily stared at Dipper.  “Cuz, I’ve got bigger fish to fry right now, but yer gonna have to tell me that story later.”  She looked back at the agents.  “Potential evidence?  Like what?”

              “This entire residence,” Agent Trigger said.  Emily gaped.

              “Wh- this is my house!  You can’t just take it!”

              “We can and we will,” Agent Trigger said.

              “I’m startin’ to understand Ma and Dad’s perspectives on the government,” Emily muttered under her breath.  The agent that had tackled Grunkle Stan pulled him up and began to march him around to the front of the Shack.  “Hey!  Don’t take my dad!”  Emily let go of Dipper and Mabel, following the agent leading her father away.

              “Stay back, miss,” Agent Powers said, holding out a hand to stop her.  Emily glared at him.  She shoved his hand aside and continued.  Dipper and Mabel followed her.  They watched in shock as agents stormed inside the Shack, breaking down doors and crashing through windows.  Multiple police cars pulled up, their lights and sirens blaring.

              “What did I do that warrants this much arresting?” Grunkle Stan demanded.  One of the agents slammed his head against the hood of a car.  “Ugh!”

              “We’ve been watching you for a while,” Agent Powers said.  “Your suspicious behavior and back-alley dealings with shady characters have been raising concerns.”

              “What?  That’s not enough to arrest me!” Grunkle Stan argued, squirming viciously.  “I know my rights!”

              “You signed those rights away last night when you met with someone we have yet to identify and acquired what was clearly an illicit substance.”

              “Last night?” Grunkle Stan asked.  “I was stocking the Gift Shop all night!”  He made eye contact with Emily, Dipper, and Mabel.  “You kids have to believe me!”  The agent that had grabbed him shoved him into the back of a car.

              “Yeah, look, government guys, Grunkle Stan might not be a squeaky-clean model citizen or whatever, but there’s no way he did something bad enough to arrest him like this,” Mabel said.

              “Or take his house!” Dipper added.  He crossed his arms.  “Can’t you at least say what you think he did?”

              “That’s on a need-to-know basis,” Agent Trigger responded.

              “Translation: they don’t actually have a good reason to arrest him,” Emily said tartly.  Agent Trigger glared at her.  “I’m just tellin’ the truth.  Unlike you.”

              “Where’s Grauntie Angie?” Mabel asked, looking around.  “She can help clear things up.  Right?”

              “Only if she’s awake,” Emily mumbled.

              “Goodness!” a voice gasped.  All heads turned.  Grauntie Angie had exited the Mystery Shack.  Shocked, she daintily covered her mouth with her hand.  “What in tarnation is goin’ on?  Why are ya arrestin’ my husband?”

              “You’re Stan Pines’ wife?” asked Agent Powers.  Grauntie Angie walked up to him and held out her hand.  Agent Powers shook it reluctantly.

              “Yes, I am.”

              “In that case, you’ll have to come with us as well.”  Agent Powers held up a pair of handcuffs.  Dipper and Mabel gasped.  Grauntie Angie, however, smiled sweetly.

              “Now, that ain’t necessary, sir, is it?  I ain’t done nothin’ wrong,” she said, her voice saccharine.  Dipper frowned.

              Is her accent usually that thick?

              “I…I suppose you’re right,” Agent Powers mumbled.  A glazed look appeared in his eyes.  Grauntie Angie beamed.  “You’ll- you’ll have to come with us to the station, though.”

              “Oh, of course I will!  I have to be there to support my husband and help explain that this is all just a big misunderstandin’.”  She looked over at Emily, still standing by Dipper and Mabel.  “Emily, dear, please keep an eye on the children.”

              “The minors will be handed over to Child Protective Services,” Agent Trigger interrupted, walking over to Grauntie Angie.  Grauntie Angie’s eyes widened.

              “What?  That’s ridiculous!”  She placed her hand gently atop Agent Trigger’s in a reassuring manner.  “My daughter is more ‘n capable of supervisin’ the lil darlin’s and keepin’ ‘em out of a haystack, as we say back home.”

              Yep.  Her accent is definitely thicker than usual.

              “I…”  Agent Trigger shook his head.  He seemed dazed.  “Yes, you’re- you’re right,” he managed, the words slurring together.

              “So glad we could come to this agreement,” Grauntie Angie cooed.  “Now, gimme a mo’ to give my daughter some instructions.  I’ll come down with y’all to the station after.”  Grauntie Angie regally turned around and walked over to Emily, Dipper, and Mabel.

              “Ma, what’s goin’ on?” Emily hissed.  Grauntie Angie sighed.

              “I ain’t quite sure, honey-bun.  Clearly, these government folk are under the impression yer father is involved in somethin’ shady.  I’ll go help iron things out.”  A sour look appeared on Grauntie Angie’s face.  “I hate big government.”

              “Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s one of the many things you and Dad have in common,” Emily said, rolling her eyes.  “Any specific instructions fer watching Dipper and Mabel?”

              “No.  Just keep ‘em out of trouble.  Take ‘em to Junior’s place.”

              “But we want to stay here and help defend the Shack!” Mabel argued.  Dipper nodded.

              “The best way you three can help is by behavin’ ‘n stayin’ out of the way,” Grauntie Angie said firmly.  She looked over at the cars belonging to the government agents.  Dipper squinted.  In the bright sun, thin, pale lines stood out against Grauntie Angie’s skin.  The scars crisscrossed randomly, starting near the top of her neck and continuing down before being covered by her sensible sundress.

              Where did she get those scars?  And why haven’t I noticed them before?

              “These folks are bad news, but between Stan ‘n I, we can get things settled,” Grauntie Angie continued, unaware of Dipper’s stare.  Mabel, however, noticed, and elbowed Dipper roughly.  “Go to Junior’s.  Take the Stanleymobile.”  Grauntie Angie looked at Emily pointedly.  “I know you’ve got the spare set of keys in yer pocket.”  Emily rubbed the back of her neck, managing an abashed grin.  “I’ll call when I know more.”  Grauntie Angie kissed Emily on the cheek, then the tops of Dipper and Mabel’s heads.  She walked over to the government agents, striking up a conversation with them.

              “Well, you heard the lady,” Emily sighed.  “Stay here.  I’ll bring the car around.”  Emily walked away.  Mabel rounded on Dipper.

              “Okay, why were you staring at Grauntie Angie like that?” she demanded.

              “I just noticed something.”

              “What?”

              “She’s got scars.  All over.”

              “So?  You’re still not supposed to stare!”  Mabel shook her head.  “Honestly, Dipper.”

              “Did you know about her scars?” Dipper asked.

              “Yep!” Mabel said cheerfully.  “She let me do a makeover on her that one time and I saw while I was trying to find a foundation that matched her skin tone.  It’s difficult, since she’s pale but also has a lot of freckles.”

              “Did she tell you where the scars came from?”

              “She said it was some sort of accident at the lake.”

              “What kind of accident?”

              “She clammed up after that,” Mabel replied.  She frowned thoughtfully.  “But when I pointed out that the scars looked sorta like really thin string, she said I wasn’t too far from the truth.  I don’t know what kind of string there is at the lake, though.”

              “Fishing line, maybe?” Dipper suggested.  “But how could that cause scars?”  Mabel shrugged.  The Stanleymobile, driven by Emily, pulled up in front of them.

              “Get in, kiddos,” Emily said, her trademark grin visibly strained, “before the feds change their mind and send you to CPS.”

-----

              “What do you mean, you’re going?!” Emily demanded.  She and Junior were having a heated argument of some sort in the kitchen, though only Emily’s side of the conversation could be heard from where Dipper and Mabel had been put upon arrival at Junior’s house.

              “What are they even talking about?” asked Rana, the oldest of Junior’s quadruplet children.  Dipper and Mabel were currently sitting in the room she shared with her fellow quadruplet June.  The other two, Ryan and Jonah, had their own rooms for some reason that hadn’t been disclosed to Dipper and Mabel.

              “My guess is that Emily wants to go back to the Shack or police station or wherever Junior’s going,” Dipper said.  “So that she can help with whatever he and Grauntie Angie are doing to get Grunkle Stan out of trouble.”  Rana nodded thoughtfully.  She and her siblings were only ten, but seemed more mature than their ages would suggest.  Rana in particular was the most mature of the group.  Grunkle Stan claimed it was because she was the most like Grauntie Angie, not just in personality, but also in appearance.  She did look eerily like her grandmother, having the same nose, eyes, and hair color.  Even the freckle pattern across her nose and cheeks looked like Grauntie Angie’s.

              “It’s weird that Grandpa Stan got arrested,” Rana said quietly.  “I mean, yeah, he commits crimes all the time, but even when he gets caught, he’s able to talk his way outta it.  Y’know?”  Dipper and Mabel nodded.  “Do you guys know what he did?”

              “No, not really,” Dipper said.  Rana crossed her arms.

              “Dumb cops,” she muttered.  Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look, amused despite themselves at how Grunkle Stan and Grauntie Angie’s dislike for authorities had spread to their grandchildren.  Rana stood.

              “Where are you going?” Mabel asked.

              “Me?  I’m not goin’ anywhere.”  Rana crossed over to the bedroom’s large window and opened it.  “But you guys are gonna go to the Shack and figure out what’s going on.”

              “Are you sure?” Dipper asked warily.  Rana nodded.

              “Even if Auntie Emily convinces Dad to let her come with him, which probably won’t happen, there’s zero chance either of them will let you guys come along.  But we need all hands on deck for whatever’s happening.”

              “Then why aren’t you coming?” Mabel asked.  She and Dipper got up from the frog-shaped rug they had been sitting on.

              “I’ve gotta make sure no one catches onto the fact you guys are gone.”

              “Good point,” Dipper said with a nod.

              “Now, get going.  You’ve got the best chance of sneaking out while Auntie Emily and Dad are still arguing,” Rana said firmly.  Dipper and Mabel walked over to the window.

              “Are you sure this is safe?” Dipper asked.

              “Oh, yeah.  June and I climb down it all the time.  It makes Dad really angry,” Rana said cheerfully.  She tossed one end of a rope out the window.  “Use this.”

              With Rana holding the other end of the rope, Dipper and Mabel successfully exited through the window and climbed down to the ground.  When all four feet were on the neatly trimmed grass, Rana pulled the rope back up.  She saluted Dipper and Mabel before closing the window and disappearing from view.  Dipper looked at Mabel.

              “You ready?” he asked.  Mabel held up her grappling hook.

              “Always.”

              “Where were you keeping that?”

              “I have my secrets,” Mabel said airily.  She tucked her grappling hook inside one of her voluminous sweater sleeves.  “Let’s go.”

-----

              Dipper and Mabel crashed through the already broken window in the attic of the Shack.  They tumbled onto the floor.

              “I told you it would come in handy again,” Mabel said to Dipper.  Dipper held a finger to his mouth, shushing her.  “I told you it would come in handy again,” she whispered.  Dipper rolled his eyes.

              “I never said it wouldn’t,” he whispered back.

              “You didn’t need to.  I could tell that was what you were thinking.  Twin telepathy.”  Mabel put her grappling hook away again.  “Anyways.  We need to find the surveillance tapes, right?”

              “Yeah,” Dipper said, deciding to go with the subject change.  “They should be in his office.”  Mabel nodded.  The two quietly went over to the door of the attic and opened it as silently as they could.  They stared down the darkened staircase.  No government agents stood at the foot of the stairs, nor could they hear anyone moving around on the first floor.  They tiptoed down, carefully avoiding the particularly creaky stair, arriving at the first floor without incident.  Voices suddenly sounded.  Dipper and Mabel hurried away from the approaching agents, sneaking down the hall to Grunkle Stan’s office, and closing the door behind them.  Dipper held up his fist.  Mabel obliged with a friendly fist bump.

              “Okay, where would Grunkle Stan hide the surveillance tapes?” Dipper muttered to himself, scanning the furniture in the office.  He perused the bookshelf.  Some of the books were very scientific in nature, likely belonging to Grauntie Angie.  “Or…where would Grauntie Angie hide the surveillance tapes?”

              “Probably somewhere fun and kooky,” Mabel said, closing the file cabinet she had been inspecting.  She gasped and pointed at the jackelope head on the wall, which had a crooked antler.  “Wait!  The antellabbit!”

              “Uh, don’t you mean ‘jackalope’?” Dipper asked.  Mabel scoffed.

              “That can’t be right.”  She walked over to the jackalope and stood on her tiptoes to grab the antler, pulling it into the correct position.  The section of the wall the jackalope was mounted on promptly turned around, revealing two old-school TV monitors and a tape player.  The top monitor showed a live feed of the cameras in the gift shop, while the bottom one was black, reflecting their faces back at them.  A cardboard box sat in an alcove directly below the tape player.

              “Yes!” Dipper and Mabel cheered together.

              “And the one from this week is already in!” Mabel said, pointing to the VCR tape partially in the tape player.  She pushed it in the rest of the way.  Promptly, video appeared on the lower monitor’s screen.

              Wendy and Mabel watched Soos do the worm dance on the floor of the Gift Shop.

              “Go!  Go!  Go!  Go!” Wendy and Mabel chanted together.

              “Someone said ‘wormy dance’,” Mabel said airily to Dipper.  “We had to!  Fast forward.”  Dipper grabbed the remote off the top of the tape player and pressed the fast forward button, zooming through multiple hours.  When he let go, the Gift Shop was occupied only by Grunkle Stan, who was cheerfully putting away new merchandise.  Yesterday’s date was in the top corner of the screen, along with the time, nine at night.

              “There it is!” Dipper enthused.  “He was restocking like he said!  And the date and time show it was last night!”  There was a knock at the door.  Mabel and Dipper looked over before realizing it had come from the surveillance tape.  They looked back at the TV.  On the video, Grunkle Stan stopped stocking and walked over to the door.  He opened it.  Whoever had knocked wasn’t visible from this angle, but Grunkle Stan was clearly expecting them.

              “I was starting to get worried,” Grunkle Stan said.  “You took your sweet-ass time.”

              “Ignoring the swear,” Dipper muttered under his breath.

              The person at the door held out a box.  Grunkle Stan took the box from them.

              Mabel let out a soft gasp.  Dipper nodded silently.  He saw it, too.  Whoever was at the door had enormous, webbed hands. 

              “Why are you around here, looking like that?” Grunkle Stan asked.  “It’s dangerous.  Those government guys are still sniffing around.”  The person at the door replied, but no individual words could be made out.  “Wait.  Really?”  Grunkle Stan looked down at the box in horror.  “Okay.  Lemme take care of the security cameras real quick, then.”  Grunkle Stan handed the box back, glanced at the security camera, and then walked behind the counter.  He reached under the counter.

              The screen went black, only for the picture to come back a few seconds later.

              Grunkle Stan was in the same place he’d been at the start of the video.  Grauntie Angie was with him.  They sang along to the radio on the oldies station as they restocked.  Grauntie Angie leaned in to kiss Grunkle Stan on the cheek, making him chuckle.  The time in the corner indicated it was now past midnight.

              The mysterious box was nowhere to be seen.

              “Okay, so maybe Grunkle Stan got a mysterious thing from someone who probably wasn’t human,” Mabel said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s got nefarious plans or whatever!”  Dipper pulled out the cardboard box underneath the tape player.

              “He’s definitely hiding something,” Dipper said firmly.  He picked up a folded piece of paper from the box.

              “What’s that?” Mabel asked.  Dipper unfolded the piece of paper.  “A note?”  Dipper’s eyes widened.  He recognized the words’ fanciful font.

              “Not just any note.  A note from the Author!”

              “Whoa, what?!”  Mabel gaped at the note.  “What’s it say?”

              “Angie, when I asked you to look at my notes, I meant for you to go over the research I have done since you have been on maternity leave, not write unfairly harsh criticisms about my journal as a whole.  I believe I have been supplying more than enough field notes to make my research replicable, but perhaps we can discuss it in person once you’ve returned.  In the meantime, please keep your comments about my work focused upon what I requested.”  Dipper looked over at Mabel.  She seemed just as shocked as him.  “Mabel…this is- this is confirmation of what I’ve been saying!  Grauntie Angie, she knew the Author!”

              “I guess…” Mabel mumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the revelation.  She shook her head.  “But would Grauntie Angie hide such an important thing from us?  She doesn’t keep secrets like Grunkle Stan!”

              “We’ve never asked her about the Author,” Dipper pointed out.  “She’s been gone for so much of the summer.”  His eyes widened.  “I bet it’s all connected!  She’s been gone so much because she’s doing things related to the Author or- or the Journal!”

              “Time to take off your conspiracy hat, Dipper,” Mabel said, taking his baseball cap off his head.  Dipper scowled and grabbed it back before putting it on again.  “Grauntie Angie has to do science stuff out of state!  Emily showed us pictures of her speaking at a conference!  Not everything goes back to the Author and the Journal.”

              “In this town, it feels like it does,” Dipper muttered.  He looked down at the box.  “Whoa.”

              “What?” Mabel asked, looking inside the box as well.  “Oh, wow!  Look at all these pictures!”

              “Grunkle Stan posing with Bigfoot?” Dipper said, flabbergasted, picking up one of the Polaroid photographs.  Mabel picked up another one.

              “Here’s Grauntie Angie and Grunkle Stan with the Gobblewonker!”  She frowned.  “But the Gobblewonker was just one of Old Man McGucket’s old robots that went haywire.”

              “Apparently not.”  Dipper and Mabel sat on the floor, going through the photos together.  Each one had either Grauntie Angie or Grunkle Stan with a magical creature.  A few even had one of their kids present.  At the bottom of the box, buried underneath the photographs, were two pieces of paper.  Dipper picked one up.

              “What is it?” Mabel asked.

              “An old newspaper article,” Dipper said.  He scanned the clipping.  “It’s just from when the Mystery Shack opened.”  He frowned.  “Didn’t Grunkle Stan say that he got Manly Dan to build the Shack?”

              “Yeah.  Why?”

              “This says that the Shack used to belong to someone else.”

              “Who?”

              “It doesn’t say.”

              “Maybe he just forgot?” Mabel suggested.  “He’s an old man, he forgets things!”  Dipper picked up the other piece of paper.  “What’s that one?”

              “It says ‘secret code to hideout�� on it,” he said, inspecting the paper.  On the paper was a graph, consisting of two columns and four rows of boxes.  The top two boxes read “A” and “1”, the left second row box read “B”, and the two boxes in the third row read “C” and “3”.  The remaining boxes were blank.

              “Why would Grunkle Stan need a hideout that has a secret code?” Mabel asked.  Dipper scowled.

              “It probably has to do with why the government showed up and the person on the tape.”  He pulled out the Journal and his portable blacklight, flipping through the pages hurriedly, to no avail.  “‘A1, B, C3’…I’ve never seen a code like this.”  Mabel looked over his shoulder and gasped.

              “Wait!  I have!  Dipper, it’s the vending machine!”

-----

              As Dipper and Mabel sprinted through the Shack towards the Gift Shop, they could hear what seemed like every government agent leaving.  They burst into the Gift Shop.

              “Soos!” they cried out in delight upon seeing the man standing in front of the vending machine.  Soos gasped.

              “Kids!” he said happily.  “Where have you been?”

              “What are you doing here?” Dipper asked.

              “Dr. Angie called me and told me to protect this vending machine until Junior showed up.”  Soos chuckled softly.  “I didn’t realize she was such a fan of snacks.”

              “Soos, listen,” Dipper said.  “Something huge is going on here, and it all goes back to the vending machine.  I need you to step aside.”

              “Yeah,” Mabel chimed in, “let us through so we can prove this is all just a big misunderstanding.”  Soos sighed.

              “Guys, I know this seems crazy, but I promised Dr. Angie I’d guard the vending machine with my life.”  He smiled weakly at them.  Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look.  Dipper nodded solemnly.

              “I’m sorry, Soos,” Mabel said, stepping forward.  Before Soos could say anything else, she blew a handful of glitter into his face.  Soos let out a shout.

              “Attack glitter!  It’s pretty, but it hurts!”  While he tried to rub the glitter out of his eyes, Dipper darted around him, quickly pressing the “A”, “1”, “B”, “C”, and “3” buttons on the vending machine’s keypad.  The vending machine swung forward as though on hinges, knocking Soos, Dipper, and Mabel to the floor.  As they looked up, they gasped.  A secret staircase had been revealed behind the vending machine.  They got to their feet.  “I guess that’s why Dr. Angie wanted me to protect the vending machine.”

              “We don’t have any time to lose,” Dipper said firmly.  Soos nodded.

              “I’ll lead the way, dudes,” he said.  He headed down the staircase, marveling.  “It’s like something from a video game.”

              “Or a dream,” Mabel said.

              “Or a nightmare,” Dipper said glumly.  As the vending machine closed behind them, a pickup truck pulled up outside.

-----

              Soos, Dipper, and Mabel exited the underground elevator, entering a room that looked eerily familiar.

              “It’s just like the bunker in the woods,” Dipper said, looking around at the machinery and blinking lights.  There was a large observation window on the far wall, across from the entrance to the lab.  Visible through the observation window was an enormous, glowing machine in the shape of an upside-down triangle.  An ominous hum permeated the air.

              “What is it doing under the Mystery Shack?” Soos asked.

              “Maybe it’s Grauntie Angie’s,” Mabel suggested.  “She’s a scientist, it makes sense she’d have a lab.  Right?”  Dipper walked over to a desk below the observation window.  He immediately clenched his jaw.

              “The other two journals?” he demanded, staring at the books that lay on the desk before him.  “All this time, they were right here?  I can’t believe it!”  He kicked the desk in frustration.  “Why would Stan have those journals?!”

              “Maybe Dr. Angie had them the whole time,” Soos suggested.  “Maybe she’s the Author.”

              “She’s not,” Mabel said, sounding sad.  “But she knew him.”

              “She did?” Soos asked.

              “We found a note for Grauntie Angie that the Author wrote.”

              “Do you think she knows what happened to him?” Soos asked.  Mabel shrugged.  Dipper set the third journal down on the desk and flipped it open to the page he had theorized was a blueprint for some sort of machine.  He flipped through the other two journals, finding similar pages in them, then arranged them until they had become a drawing of the very machine visible through the observation window.  He turned on his portable black light.  Soos, Dipper, and Mabel gasped at the writing now visible on the journals’ pages.

              “Whoa,” Mabel breathed.  Dipper swallowed nervously and began to read aloud from the journals.

              “I was wrong the whole time.  The machine was meant to create knowledge but it is too powerful.  It was deceived, and now it is too late.  The device, if fully operational, could tear our universe apart!  It must not fall into the wrong hands.  If the clock ever reaches zero, our universe is doomed!”  All three looked up at the digital clock above the observation window, which had been steadily counting down the entire time they were in the lab.

              “It’s the final countdown!” Soos screamed.  “Just like they always sung about!”

              “There has to be a way to stop it,” Dipper said, flipping through the third journal urgently.  He arrived at a page reading “MANUAL OVERRIDE”.   The three entered the room the observation window looked into.  The ground was beginning to shake.  “There!  That turns it off!” Dipper said, pointing at a pole in front of the machine.  They rushed over.  Dipper flicked a switch on the side of the pole.  The rounded dome on top of the pole popped open, revealing a bright red button.

              “Wait!” a voice shouted.  Dipper paused, his hand an inch above the button.  He, Mabel, and Soos all turned to look at whoever had spoken.

              “Dude,” Soos breathed quietly.  The speaker stepped closer, their mottled green skin glistening in the eerie light of the machine.  “Is that…?”

              “A nixie,” Dipper confirmed.  The nixie, who looked to be female, crossed her arms with a scowl.  She was a foot or so taller than Mr. Ponds, slender while he was stout, and had much longer antennae, as they stretched past her shoulders.  But it was impossible to mistake the frog-like features for anything else.

              “What are you three doing down here?” the nixie asked.  Her voice was sweet and flutelike.

              “I think we should be asking you that,” Dipper said firmly.  “Our great-uncle owns this building.”  The nixie jutted her chin out.

              “Maybe I have permission from your great-uncle to be down here.”

              “Doubt it,” Dipper retorted immediately.  Mabel tugged on his arm.  He looked at her.  “What?”

              “She’s the person who was giving Grunkle Stan the thing in the surveillance video!” Mabel hissed.  Dipper whipped his head back to look at the nixie.  Mabel was right.  The nixie’s hands and arms matched those of the person who delivered the mysterious package last night.

              “Who are you?” Dipper asked.  The nixie stayed silent.

              “What did the Author call the other nixie he knew?” Mabel asked Dipper quietly.  “Mr. Ponds’ wife or mate or whatever?”

              “You think this nixie is B?” Dipper said in a low voice.  Mabel shrugged.

              “Maybe.  I mean, how many nixies are there even in Gravity Falls?”

              “…Fair enough.”  Dipper met the nixie’s eyes.  “Are you B?” he asked.  The nixie didn’t say anything, but the widening of her glowing blue eyes was answer enough.  “You are.”

              “I…”  B uncrossed her arms.  “I haven’t been called that in a while,” she croaked.

              “If you’re B, then that means you’re Mr. Ponds’ mate!” Mabel said eagerly.  B frowned.  “We met him in the Crawlspace when he was selling nixie venom!”

              “…Mr. Ponds?” B said slowly.  She looked over her shoulder.  “Darling, what have you been telling these kids?”  Mr. Ponds emerged from the shadows to stand by his mate’s side.  He was visibly out of breath.

              “Look,” he panted.  He bent over.  “Ugh.  I’m too out of shape to run as much as I just did.”

              “If you went on hikes with me every now and then…”

              “Ang, you know I’m too busy dealing with tour…” Mr. Ponds started.  His eyes widened in horror.  But it was too late.  The three humans’ jaws dropped.

              “No. Way,” Soos breathed.

              “S for Stanley,” Dipper said slowly.  He looked at Mabel, who nodded.

              “B for Banjolina,” she finished.  B, who they now knew to be Grauntie Angie, closed her eyes.

              “Stanley Pines, I swear…”

              “We were planning on telling them anyways, why does it matter I let it slip?” demanded Mr. Ponds, aka Grunkle Stan.  Grauntie Angie glared at him.

              “There’s a lot going on right now!  I’d prefer not to dump everything on them all at once!”

              “I don’t know how it’s possible, but those two are nosier than our own kids.  It’s a miracle we kept the whole frog thing under wraps as long as we did!”

              “You knew the Author!” Dipper burst out.  Grunkle Stan and Grauntie Angie looked at him.  “You both did!  Why didn’t you say anything when I showed you the Journal?”

              “It’s- it’s a long story, kid,” Grunkle Stan said.

              “Tell us,” Mabel said.  Grunkle Stan and Grauntie Angie exchanged a pained look.  “Or- or are you gonna lie some more?”  Her voice broke mid-sentence.

              “Okay, yes, we’ve been lying,” Grunkle Stan said.  “And we technically broke the law.”  Grauntie Angie facepalmed.  “But everything we’ve done, everything we’ve sacrificed, it’s been for our family.”

              “A family that includes the three of you,” Grauntie Angie added.  Soos pointed at himself.  “Yes, Jesus, you’re family.  I’ve told you this how many times now?”

              “How can we trust you?” Dipper demanded.  He threw his hands up in the air.  “Clearly the Journal was right when it said not to trust anyone in Gravity Falls!  You guys are- are frog-people!”  He raised his hand over the shutdown button again.  It was too late.

              The timer on the wall reached zero.

              Everything went white.

[letsg00000honey]

By Hand

Part 1

pairing: Carmen Berzatto x female!reader (uses she/her pronouns, Y/N)

warnings: Use of alcohol, smoking (it's bad for you o.k), profanity (so many f#cks but none given), mentions of sex, smut eventually in future chapters, NSFW, minors DNI and so forth

summary: You go out to a bar to celebrate your new massage therapy job with your best friend, and meet some new ones. One is loud and obnoxious and the other is short and quiet but hot af. You'll never guess who is who!

A/N: This is set a few months after the end of S1. Carmy has been talking to his family and friends more, getting used to socialising again. His character is hopefully less monosyllabic, still a bit shy, but slightly loosens up after a few beers and is more hopeful about life in general. Also, he really needs to get laid.

-----

"You want another drink, Y/N?" asked your best friend Sara as you sat at the bar.

"God, yes- gimme something ridiculous this time, with fruit and a parasol and shit. Surprise me- I'll get the next ones, 'k?"

She was already waving to get the bartenders attention as you casually swivelled on your barstool and surveyed the room, taking in the black booths with faded red velvet seating dotted around the perimeter of the large, currently empty dancefloor.

This wasn't high class by any stretch,  but the price was right.

In a booth near the bar, you noticed a couple of guys drinking beers.

One of them was taller, with dark hair and a 5- o'clock shadow.

It was his friend, sitting directly across from him that really caught your attention.

He had large expressive eyes, emphasised as he glanced up at his friend as he listened. His hair was tousled, made more wild each time he ran his fingers through it.

You watched as he fidgeted with his beer bottle, peeling off the label piece by piece in between sips.

He was wearing jeans and a slightly crumpled white shirt, sleeves rolled up. His arms were painted with tattoos, too difficult to make out from where you were sitting. You observed the taller guy gesticulating wildly, slapping the table every now and then- maybe to make a point?- and talking so loudly you could actually make out what they were saying over the hum of the bar.

"...I'm just sayin', why not cuz? Meatballs and spaghetti, meatball subs- 'balls are great with everything! I think it would taste fuckin' good if you combined them, ya know. Like, cut up lil' bits of bread and mix it in so you get a meat ball sub and spaghetti at the same time."

The guy he was talking to had a small smile on his lips. "Ya mean croutons, Rich?"

"No, not fuckin' croutons! I mean the bread pieces... mixed in...ah, what the fuck would you know anyway, Carm? Probably rather serve caviar or rich people shit than real food..."

The guy call Rich folded his arms and leaned back, apparently annoyed.

His friend raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"You try it, Rich. Lemme know how it turns out. My round, yeah?" he said as he stood up, sidling out of the booth.

He took one last sip from his bottle and glanced over to the bar, meeting your gaze.

-----

Sara tapped your shoulder, bringing your attention back to reality.

"Voilà! Look at this! I even got them to add a crazy straw- they didn't have any sparklers, sorry babe, " she said with a joking apologetic tone.

"I'll survive somehow, thanks honey."

You took a sip and were immediately hit with so much sugar and alcohol it almost knocked you off your bar stool.

"Sara, what the hell is in this?!" you said between coughing and laughing.

"The bartender said it was a magic potion. I figure he must be right, it's his livelihood after all."

"It tastes good! It's just... intense. Thank you, for real. We gotta celebrate, huh?"

"What are you celebrating?" said a quiet, warm voice to your right.

"Oh my god.. hi.. I mean, yeah, we are celebrating, for sure..."

You rambled as the guy you had been unintentionally staring at across the room was suddenly right there, casually leaning his muscular arms against the bar as he glanced shyly at you.

"-Hi, this is Y/N, I'm Sara! She meant to say that we're celebrating her new job. This girl here is officially a massage therapist, starting Monday!"

You blushed at both your friends' pride in your achievements and how you had felt completely tongue tied at the handsome strangers question.  What was the matter with you?

You were usually confident when talking to new people, even if you would consider yourself a bit of an introvert deep down. Wasn't alcohol this strong supposed to give you liquid courage?!

"Fuck, a massage chick? You give happy endings, sweetheart?"

Rich was suddenly right in between you and Carm (what kind of name was Carm anyhow?), elbowing his way in and leaning one arm against the bar, totally blocking Carm with his back and looking at you and Sara with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Great, this guy must think he is a real comedian, you thought. As if you hadn't dealt with jokes about hand jobs, 'happy endings', and God knows what else for the last three years as you studied to get your degree. You were used to people assuming it was a front for sex work. What they didn't know was that you didn't care- sex work was real work too, it just didn't happen to be your line of business.

Before you had a chance to respond, Carm rolled his eyes heavenward and hissed at him-

"Fucks sake Rich, don't be such a fuckin' creep!"

"I was just sayin', you know.." Rich was still smiling but looked slightly less certain of his comedy act.

''It's ok,' you interjected- ' l get that a lot. People make assumptions, I'm used to it. I start work for the Cubs Monday as their in-house sports massage therapist. I'm pretty sure handys weren't detailed in my contract, but you know, I can always check it again", you said with a bright smile and a wink, surprising both Rich and Carm.

Carm, wide-eyed and blushing slightly at your candour, had a small smile as he took a drink of his new beer, passing one to Rich.

"Fuck cuz, this one can bite back! I like it!" said Rich, grinning and elbowing him.

"And so can I, asshole- so back off the lame-ass jokes if you know what's good for you!"

Sara piped up beside you, narrowing her eyes at Rich and stepping closer to him, sizing him up.

She had always been a fierce defender of you no matter what. You loved her, but it could be a bit much sometimes- especially when you felt like you could manage shit yourself.

Rich put both hands up in apology.

"Whoa whoa whoa ladies, take it easy.  Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot, ya know. Start over? I'm Richie, and this is my cousin, Carmy," Rich finally turned slightly to allow an eye line between you and Carmy.

You felt electricity down your spine as you locked eyes with him again for the briefest moment. Close up you could see his eyes were a clear azure blue, his wild wavy hair laced with gold. Would it be weird to run your fingers through it right now? Yeah, probably.

Carmy cleared his throat.

"You wanna join us over there? Promise I'll try and keep this fucko under control."

"Fuck you, Carmy."

"Thanks, cuz."

You and Sara looked at each other.

You desperately wanted to talk more to Carmy, and you tried to convey your approval to her through a meaningful look. Thankfully, your years of silent communication worked this time.

"Sure thing," she said. "Y/N, you good?"

"Cool" you said with a smile, as nonchalantly as you could.

You looked at Carmy again.

Fuck, he was gorgeous. His arms, his profile- he had an aqualine nose, which reminded you of a Roman statue-, those eyes- it suddenly dawned on you that while you hadn't gone out tonight to hook up, you would be absolutely fine with it if it involved him.

You bit your lip and stared at your drink for a moment, trying to gather your composure, and trying to mentally erase the myriad dirty thoughts that had sprung up there.

-----

You were sitting between Richie and Sara, with Carmy by Sara on the edge of the booth. You hadn't been quick enough to ensure you were sitting right by him, damn it, and Rich had made a big deal about standing up and making room for you to scooch in.

Probably took too long trying to regain your composure at the bar....

"So what do you do, Carmy? Also, that is an um, unique name?"

Keep your cool, Y/N. Ask normal questions. Don't ask him if he wants to fuck you in bathroom. Not yet, anyway.

"It's short for Carmen," he replied.

"Carmen. That's cool, and you are a...?"

"He make sandwiches and fucks shit up most of the time," interjected Rich, trying to pull focus back on himself.

"Pretty big words coming from you, with your chivalrous introduction to us, buddy" retorted Sara.

"I'm chivalrous as fuck, honey. I pull out chairs and open doors and shit for chicks, ain't that right Carm?"

"Oh yeah, all the time." Carmy looked amused by the idea.

Shut up Rich, you thought, just give me a chance to actually talk to this guy. You tried again.

"So, where do you make these sandwiches?"

"It's called- well, it's gonna be called 'The Bear'...it was my brothers place."

You didn't miss the 'was' in that sentence. And definitely didn't want to pry into why Carmy's brother was no longer around to run it.

He had a soft, forlorn expression,  his eyes darting up at the ceiling as he had another sip of beer. This guy seems kinda sad, you thought. And kinda fidgety, as he once again started peeling the label off his bottle. Sara and Richie started talking about the sandwiches at the restaurant, and you half listened as you sipped at your drink, becoming increasingly mesmerised by Carmy's hands. You noticed small scars on them as you watched him, his elegant fingers moving precisely to strip the label.

"You ever heard what they say about people who peel the labels off bottles? Apparently, it's a sign they really need to get laid, get out all that tension," said Sara with a smile and a wink to you.

"Car-my! It might finally happen for you, little cuz!"

Richie grinned and slapped the table. Looking at Carmy, you couldn't imagine he was a virgin, but he did seem to be filled with pent up energy- what from you had no idea. Sara added-

"You know, massage is pretty good for relieving stress, right Y/N?"

"It's true, I can't deny it," you said, smiling as you glanced at Carmy. He was blushing slightly but was looking at you with a sparkle of curiosity, maybe something more.

"You know, uh, I like for real could probably use some. My neck feels really tight, hopefully I haven't fucked it or something- I think I lifted a delivery weird a few days ago and it's legit been kinda sore." Carmy rubbed the back of his neck and winced slightly.

"You haven't been to a doctor?"

"Nah, hoping it'll get better on it's own."

"Well, I would be happy to offer my services. At a price, though- nothing comes for free, y'know."

Carmy smiled at you, his eyes alight.

"Yeah? What's the damage gonna be?"

"I wanna try one of your sandwiches for a start, they sound fucking delicious."

"For a start?" a small smile played on his lips again as he took another sip of beer.

"I have a couple other ideas," you murmured, almost to yourself.

"I need a fuckin smoke, cuz- you ladies wanna join us?" Rich cut into your thoughts.

"I'm reformed, but thanks," you replied.

"I'll get the next round when we get back, ok?" said Carmy, glancing at you again.

'Sure," you smiled at him. He excused himself, Rich following him, talking loudly about the best one night stand he had ever had.

"The tits on her, Carm! Fuckin' melons...."

They didn't take their jackets at least, so thankfully Carmy wasn't so embarrassed by both Sara and Richies making fun that he decided to go home early.

As the front door closed behind them, Sara leaned in.

"Verdict Y/N? The tall one is so fucking cocky, and the short one is pretty quiet."

"And fucking gorgeous. Swap seats with me. I need proximity. Have you *seen* his eyes?!"

"I've seen you burning a hole in him with yours." she said, as you edged over her to switch places.

"Fuck off. Oh god, am I that obvious?!"

Sara chuckled.

"You're fine, Y/N. He was looking over at us when we were at the bar."

"Really?!"

"Well, either us or the bartender."

"I'll take those odds. I think Richies into you, he keeps looking at you."

"I noticed. He has a smart mouth, but he is sort of funny - we can't tell him that, though, or he'll never shut up."

"They're coming back - do I look OK?" You suddenly felt that spark again as you saw Carmy walk back over, adjusting your dress.

"You're hot, Y/N" she responded.

"Thanks, babe."

Carmy reached the booth and leaned on the table, a smile quirking at the corner of his mouth as he observed you had swapped seats with Sara.

'What's your poison?' he said, looking directly at you. You rubbed your thighs together under the table - just a look from this guy sent fire to your core.

"Surprise us," you said with a grin.

"Yeah?" he smiled and drummed his fingers on the table- "You got it."

-----

Part Two coming soon!! Feedback welcome🙏 🩵

@cool-girl-is-hot @drunkenhills I finally published lol @heardchef your GIF game is 🔥 thank you!!! xx

[wormm-mom]

Tear You Apart

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Summary: After your best friend convinces you to go to a Corroded Coffin show at The Hideout, secrets come to light and a not so secret crush that you’ve been trying to push away has nowhere to go.

Song: Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge

Word Count: 2k

A/N: Ahhhh okay so this is my first time writing fan fiction, plz be nice lol. Also this pic is based off of the song Tear You Apart. This is only the first half of the song so if y'all end up liking where this is going I'll make a part two. Enjoy!!! Also support my writing by liking, commenting, and reblogging <3

_______________________________________________

Robin met up with you after classes got out for the day, dodging the stampede of students surging through the halls at a relentless attempt to try to escape the prison that is Hawkins High. Another rough day was in the bag as you walked home with your best friend. You weren’t bullied, but you also weren’t one of the popular kids, you were just there. As bland as it seemed, you liked the fact that no one really paid attention to you, or at least that’s what you assumed. The walk home was pretty normal, talking about classes, music, and anything that popped into your minds. All was going well until silence was broken.

“Oh come on, it’s so obvious that he likes you. I mean, did you see him jump up on the table today during lunch? He was obviously being erratic to get your attention.” Robin has always tried to convince you that the infamous freak Eddie Munson was into you, but you just weren’t buying it.

“Dude, he’s always like that, anyways didn't you see how he acted when those cheerleaders walked by? I’m obviously not his type.” You playfully punched her arm in an attempt to shake the feeling of jealousy bubbling in your gut.

The conversation ends with an eye roll and smile from Robin as you part ways, and continue to your respective houses. It’s not uncommon for you two to bicker like that. Some may see it as a red flag, but you and Robin have been friends for so long that you guys coined it as “friendly bullying.”

After getting inside and locking the door behind you, you trotted up the stairs into your room. Mom works late and dad is out on a business trip, so evenings like these weren’t uncommon. Plopping your bookbag next to the full length mirror hung on your closet door, you hop onto your unmade bed and sigh to yourself. Maybe Robin was right, maybe he caught you staring once and decided to turn it into a whole show. Your rambling thoughts were cut short when you heard the phone ring. With a loud groan, you make your way out of your room and to the phone in the hallway. Before you would even state who you were, Robin was on the other end giggling, something she did when coming up with mischief.

“Dude, spit it out already” Robin’s giggling is contagious, but that doesn’t stop you from wanting to know what the hell is going on.

“Okay okay, so don’t ask me how I know this information, but Corroded Coffin is playing at the Hideout this Tuesday and I think you should go.” Hearing Robin’s smile through the phone, you shut the offer down immediately.

“Absolutely not. Nope. Not a chance. I’m not going to potentially embarrass myself in front of him. Plus, who knows, maybe they have fangirls that go to all their gigs that are way hotter than me!” 

“Come on y/n, I’ll be your wing-man, er, wing-girl I guess. Anyways, it’ll be fun! What else do you have planned huh?” The silence from your end spoke for you. “Exactly, now we both know you want to, are you really gonna let some stupid thoughts stop you from seeing Eddie play live? Obviously not, cuz I’m not scared to drag you there. Okay byeeeeee!”

Before you could retort, the line disconnected and the decision was made for you. Still processing what you’ve gotten yourself into, you waltz back into your room and sit back on your bed. Pulling out one of your favorite movies, you switch it on and try to ignore the dread lingering in the back of your mind.

___________________time skip__________________

It was Tuesday afternoon and the only thing on your mind was anxiety and the “what if’s” of tonight's event. Getting snapped out of your thoughts, your chemistry teacher decides to lecture you on how important it is to pay attention when there are harmful chemicals around. You roll your eyes knowing the only chemicals around were salt, vinegar, and some alka seltzer tablets.

Thankfully it was your last class of the day so as soon as the bell rang you were the first one out of the classroom and somehow managed to beat the swarm of students. There was no way in hell you were going to miss Eddie’s gig. Waiting for Robin near the bike rack, you spot Eddie hopping into his van along with the rest of his bandmates. Thankfully he didn’t catch you staring, but Gareth did. God, he’s always catching you red handed somehow.

Robin finally jogs up to you as you watch their van leave your line of sight and grabs your hand, pulling you towards the sidewalk. You zone out to Robin’s normal blabbering, wondering what you should wear tonight. She doesn’t mind it though. 

Stopping in your tracks and looking over at Robin quizzically, you ask the question that has been on your mind all day. “Hey, I thought you didn’t like big crowds and loud spaces. I feel like a bar is the opposite of what you’d want to do during a school night.” 

Robin just chuckles and glances over at you “I mean, it's not that I don’t like loud places, it's that I’ve never had a reason to attend such events. Also, have you forgotten that I’m in band? I’m literally surrounded by instruments blowing out my eardrums, I think I can handle it.”

You nod and continue on your way back to your house in unison. Since Robin doesn’t really have anyone to impress, her words not yours, she invites herself over as you get ready for the night. Panic begins to set in as you both enter your disaster of a room. Taking a seat on the orange bean bag in the corner, you start rummaging through your drawers, trying to find the perfect outfit.

After what seems to be hours of frustration and trying on different combos, you settle on an Iron Maiden band tee, fishnets under a pair of black short shorts, and a comfy pair of old high top converse. Since you assume it’s going to get hot in the bar, you opt for some waterproof eyeliner. Drawing on a dramatic wing, adding blush and some lip gloss, you turn around to see Robin flipping through a magazine from your night stand.

“Ahem?” You loudly clear your throat and Robin responds by whipping her head up to look at you. “So, how do I look?” 

“You look amazing! Oh my god he’s gonna be head over heels when he sees you in the crowd!” Robin jumps up in excitement, accidentally stumbling over a shoe in the process.

After she regains her composure, you both burst into laughter and lounge around talking about anything until it’s time to head to the Hideout.

Since Robin can’t drive and you don’t have a car, you grab your bikes and head out. Once getting to the venue and locking your bikes up, you guys walk into The Hideout only to be greeted by the smell of smoke, whiskey, and sweat. Although the atmosphere was thick and hazy, your breathing only faltered once you caught a glimpse of Eddie and his band setting up. Robin nudges you further into the bar, since you stopped dead in your tracks which ended up blocking the doorway.

While the band is busy setting up and tuning their instruments, you head over to the bar. You and Robin intended on just sitting there, but eventually the bartender waltzes over to the both of you.

“What can I getcha tonight? We have a list of tap beers on this here menu as well as some cocktails.” She smiles and grabs a towel to dry off a whiskey glass

“Oh, we’re not 21 yet. I’ll have a Shirley Temple though!” You respond with a smile and look over at Robin, waiting for her response. “Oh uh, I’ll just get whatever she’s having.” Robin nods and starts to play with one of the rings on her left hand.

“Two Shirley Temples comin right up!” With a toothy grin, the bartender gets busy with making your drinks, while Gareth gets busy trying to tell Eddie about your presence. Of course he gets pissy, once Eddie is in the middle of something, no one dares to interrupt him. Eventually after a minute of bickering between the two, Gareth finally points over to where you’re sitting and it all clicks in Eddie’s brain.

“Holy shit, she’s actually here.” Turning around and gathering the band in a huddle, his pep talk begins “Okay guys, y/n is here tonight so there can’t be any malfunctions or slip-ups. Understood?” A nod and hum emitted from the four band members and showtime was only moments away. Turning back to the crowd of drunks and a couple younger moms, Eddie scans the floor to find you twirled in your seat, admiring him.

Once locking eyes, you both blush and divert your attention. Somehow the floor and ceiling seemed way more interesting than it did a few moments ago. To calm his upheaval of nerves, Eddie grabs a cigarette and lighter, and heads to the door. As he’s passing, you can only smile and wave which he responds with a smirk and wink. Although the gesture was small, both of you had butterflies filling your stomachs. You’ve always wondered where he got his confidence, unbeknownst to you, it was a ruse to keep him from making a complete fool of himself.

Robin obviously saw the exchange between the two of you and smirked to herself “Told ya, he’s obviously into you.” Rolling your eyes, you try to logically explain away what had happened. “He's probably like this with all of the girls at his shows.” Taking a sip of your drink, Eddie hops back onstage and the show begins.

As the night progressed, you began to feel less anxious and actually started to enjoy yourself as well as the music. Frequent glances were shared between you and Eddie, but that only made you happier that Robin had convinced you to come along. By the end of the set list, you were on the floor dancing and occasionally head banging with Robin. Eddie closed off the show with a thank you message and before you knew it, the band was packing up.

You made sure to catch Eddie before he hopped in his van and headed back to the trailer park, but to your surprise, he was the one that came up to you. Robin excused herself to the restroom, giving you a look that lets you know full well she’s just giving the two of you space. Eddie took a seat next to you at the bar to catch his breath. His messy hair is all over the place and bangs sticking to his sweaty forehead. You couldn’t help but blush, knowing that this is the closest you’ve ever been to him. 

Finally snapping out of your trance, you broke the silence. “That was amazing dude!” 

“Aww thanks, I’m surprised nothing went wrong. The equipment we have and the sound machines here are super cheap.” He glances over at you then calls over the bartender to ask for a cold beer. “So, what made a pretty girl like you decide to come to a show like this?”

You were taken aback by his passing compliment, and took a second to collect your thoughts, hoping the lighting was dim enough to hide your reddening face. “Oh uhm, yeah my parents are out of town and I had nothing to do so I decided why not check out the local band.” 

A smile creeped onto Eddie’s face. “Local band huh,” He took a swig of the beer that was set in front of him and continued on “I’m more used to people calling us an anomaly, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” You assure that it was a compliment and bask in a moment of comfortable silence. That was until Robin comes back over and joins the two of you at the bar.

Setting your empty glass down, Robin lets you know that it’s past her curfew and we needed to head out. While she headed out to unlock her bike and wait for you, you and Eddie exchanged goodbyes. 

Before you were able to push open the door though, he called out to you “Hey, I didn’t get your name”

“Oh shit sorry, I’m y/n” you respond with a smile, and he nods back “Cool, I’ll see you around school y/n.” A grin plastered itself to his face as he watched you wave goodbye and head out into the night.

The bike ride home was full of laughter and “I told you so’s.” As you and Robin parted ways, the night came to a close and you were content. It was late so you didn't bother to change into your pajamas as you set your alarm and plopped into bed. All the adrenaline wore off and you drifted off to sleep.

[whatisthismandoinghere]

Laramie episode analysis time!!

S1.EP2 Glory Road

This was the first time I’d seen Eddie Albert in a role that wasn’t Oliver Wendell Douglas from Green Acres and lemme tell you it was a bit of a shock 😂 man nearly stabbed somebody for lighting a match on his saddle

So many cute animals, there was the goats, and then the dog, and a little kitty!! Really though I just love Andy and his big heart for all these critters, he’s darling <3

Don’t mind me out here just admiring the scenery 😂😏

You know things are bad when Jess freaks out like that when he sees Roany because Jess is not one to avoid confrontation, also Jess your maternal instincts are showing 😂 seriously though I love how protective he is of Andy <3

The way Slim looks like such a disappointed mother when he hears Andy lying to Roany about Jess having moved on 😂 hands on hips and everything, even has an apron yes I realize he was doing some blacksmith stuff but it’s funny

Aw, Jonesy getting so excited about the piano is so cute, I really like his interactions with Essie too

Not that we’ve seen much of Roany at this point but it’s clear why Jess wants to lay low, he’s got a short fuse and he’s real possessive, not a good combination

Slim, I can appreciate your morals and wanting Andy to grow up to be a good and honest man, but if your friend asks you to tell someone they’re not there, you lie for them

Sassy Jess strikes again 😂

Slim: Why did you duck him?

Jess: Cause I wanted to

Slim: You got anything against a straight answer?

Jess: You got all the answers you’re gettin’ from me

Jess just standing back there behind the door trying to not be seen 😂 also I’ve noticed that he fiddles with his fingers a lot, it’s a cute habit I think

Look, Andy’s a smart kid and he knows when something’s up and Jess being so stubborn about it ain’t helping

Andy: You’re afraid of him, aren’t you Jess?

Jess: You think what you like.

I get that maybe it’s not stuff Andy needs to hear or wanting your business to be your own but I think Andy deserves a better answer than that

Jonesy just walking up and starting to play the piano and Essie just peeking her head out of the wagon and quietly watching him until he’s finished, it was just a cute little moment I think

I think this is absolutely hilarious cuz I think I know what’s going through both of their heads, Slim knows that Jess’ll be back and Jess is thinking this is the last time he’s ever gonna see him, spoiler alert: Slim is right 😂

Bless Slim’s heart cuz I know he’s really trying to be there for Andy, Andy’s sitting there on the fence obviously upset that Jess left and you can just see from the look on Slim’s face that he’s trying so hard to think of the right thing to say, but then the stage shows up so saved by the bell I guess or saved by the stage and then Slim tries to distract him by talking about the stage but then Andy comes right out and asks if he thinks Jess’ll ever come back and he has to give him an honest answer

Gosh Slim and that girl from the stage just checking each other out was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen 🤣 and the way the boyfriend (or husband, I have no clue) just pulled her away 😂

NOT POOR JONESY!! Roany just sent my boy flying off the wagon, dude’s unhinged

Man, Jess whipped his gun out so fast when he thought Roany was gonna hurt Essie, also Roany just whipping Jess with the reins, like sir?? But then Roany seems like he's genuinely sorry about all of it, there's a lot to unpack here, Roany switches between moods so fast and it makes it so hard to tell if he’s being sincere or not

Aw when Essie asks if Jonesy and Jess could move the tables and chairs so they could bring the piano in Jess was up immediately and all smiley and he just said “yes ma’am” so happily, that was so freaking cute

4 days on the Kansas prairie with a busted leg cuz your horse threw you cuz it got spooked by a rattler, Jess you just get yourself into all kinds of situations don’t you

Roany beat a saloon girl with brass knuckles cuz she laughed at him yikes

When Jonesy says, “You didn’t want him (Roany) around Andy. That’s the reason you pulled out, isn’t it?” and Jess just changes the subject, heaven forbid you show you care about anyone Jess Harper, can’t fool Jonesy though, he knows what’s up, he’s also smart enough not to push it

I love Jonesy being able to learn songs on the piano by ear, I just like learning fun little details like that about characters

You can see that Jess was also concerned about Jonesy being around Roany, the way he convinces Roany to leave and go to another saloon, I love how Jess loves so hard and cares so much about those around him even though sometimes he doesn't like to show it

Roany, to Jess: “I guess you’d be glad to do most anything for me, wouldn’t you?” uh… no. How about you just save somebody cuz it’s the right thing to do?? We really out here expecting a favor in return smh

When Roany makes a comment about how he likes animals and that they do most things out of fright and they just need somebody to love them… and you know that he’s indirectly talking about himself too and I can’t help but feel a tiny bit bad for him, ya know? I mean that doesn’t excuse the bad things he’s done at all and he should still be held accountable but… yeah, and Jess knows exactly what Roany is like and you can tell because of the completely different demeanor he takes on with him, Jess has one heck of a temper and he will not hesitate to tell anyone what he really thinks of them and he will fight anyone and everyone, but not with Roany, his tone is completely different, he walks on eggshells around him because he knows something bad will happen and someone will very likely get hurt and I also can't help but think there's a little bit of pity for Roany maybe??

I cannot express how much I love watching Jonesy play the piano and sing! And when Essie asks him if he could stay until Sunday since Roany hurt his hand and wouldn’t be able to play, he was so excited!! I think if Essie had been on the show longer, her and Jonesy would have been such good friends

I am going to have The Church in the Wildwood stuck in my head for the next week or so, it always makes me think of The Andy Griffith Show though, Andy Griffith and Don Knotts performed it so beautifully

NOT THE PIANO again, I act like I’ve never seen this episode before

Really I think in the end it had to be Jess that killed Roany, Essie may have been able to do it but even if she did she would have never forgiven herself and Jess knew that, he's good at reading people I think and he's so selfless, it's one of my favorite things about him

Jess disappearing for a week and then showing up with a piano is just… such a Jess thing to do 😂 and I mean that affectionately of course

They’re precious, I can’t even 😭

Yall know I just had to clip this whole scene, audio and all HOW COULD I NOT

Love how Slim just moments earlier was talking to Jonesy about how Andy needs to move on cuz it’s been a week since they’ve heard from Jess, then Slim is out here just as happy to have him back 😂 and he said he was happy to have Jess home yall 😭 can you just imagine what that meant to Jess, especially when there are so many clues that he had a rough childhood WHO IS CUTTING ONIONS IN HERE, also Jess is adorable swaying back and forth to the music, I would die for him

[onedayimgonnasnap]

Ok so I’m gonna give you another request(at this point I’m gonna take up most of them LMAO) but it’s a little less chaotic(you can make it more chaotic though if you want 💀)

If you don’t know MC is actually good with children(it was shown in a event at some point) so can do you a fic where Lance and MC are taking care of Christoph at the academy(so like in the future of after the chaos of her and Christoph being brought to one of Iritium’s hidy places) cuz it’s safer there then whenever Christoph was staying before and Christoph is like “Ya know, I don’t remember my parents but if I had to guess, you two are the closest to them” and MC’s heart just melts cuz that’s the cutest thing she’s ever been told and Lance is like 😦😶🫢😅🥹(cuz istg they’re adorable, like father like son and like brother like brother) and Lance has already had a crush on MC by this point so when he registers what was said about them being a mother and father figure to Christoph he’s like “Ay me and MC having a family doesn’t sound so ba- wait what”

I just find this a really cute idea haha

This is really cute- Awe 😭😭 Ngl this is my first time writing this cute, I’m used to writing chaotic fics more because they’re funnier to me 💀. And I don’t mind how much times you ask lol

Anyways ahem-

Lance X Reader

~The Cottage Life~

Warning: Just a little bit of cursing (I don’t know what you expect from me 💀) Also gross fluff-

TW: Children

After you and Lance graduated from the academy officially, everyone of the princes and Valets started to fulfill their duties in the kingdom.

You and Lance decided to go run off somewhere with Christoph, Robin and Grusha with the full support of the princes helping you out and keeping where you both are hidden.

That leads you prior to now, you all found a abandoned cottage in the forest near a small village that are out fast leading people to not recognize any of you.

The cottage was rundown, full of dust, cobwebs, pest and such. But it seemed perfect at least, it has three bedrooms which you all split up, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a dusty living room which would sure be troublesome fixing but it could work.

It took you all months to finally renovate the cottage, but in the end it was all worth it. It finally felt like home, you and Lance both got separate jobs around the small village while Christoph would stay home protected by the fierce wolf and cat.

Lance felt at peace finally after many years of his old life, he was finally free of everything around it, he was undoubtedly happy.

He does have his worries sometimes about you though, longing to be something more than friends but to prideful to say anything about it.

Of course he had his moments out of nowhere he would bring animals home using his puppy eyes to keep him while you kicked his ass to the curb outside when he brought in a camel that one time.

Christoph also seems to enjoy this all, he has fun playing games with you and Lance, not worrying about the dangers out in the world.

He never had a real family up until now, he heard you say once that you all were like a family the other day and he felt extremely joyful over it. He cares about you and Lance with all his being.

.

.

.

You all were sitting in the living room playing a card game while Robin and Gruscha were exploring the forest together.

You were in the lead since you and your parents used to be extremely good at board games in general during family game night.

Lance banged his head in the table clearly frustrated looking at you with his brows furred together.

You teasingly smirked at him, “Aw what’s the matter Lance? You want your baby bottle? You give up already” You smiled teasing him even more

“What ever MC I’ll get it next time it’s just my luck.” He said glaring at you.

“Haha yeah right luck.” You said while giggling and rolling your eyes.

Christoph smiled looking at you both, he was clearly having a good time he then spoke; “Ya know, I don’t remember my parents but if I had them you two would be closest to them.”

You then started coughing trying to hide the blush growing on your face. Lance wasn’t doing anything better he put his head down with his ears showing how flustered he was.

Christoph clearly not clueless looked back and forth at you both smiling, knowing what was happening.

“Christoph don’t say things like that out of nowhere.”MC said looking away with a red face.

Lance looked up suddenly secretly amused at the sight of MC blushing his heart started racing, ‘I mean it wouldn’t be that bad if we were all a- WAIT NO’

Lance soon shook the thought out of his mind.

Christoph watched as you both were having your identity crisis.

“Well I’m gonna go upstairs in my room and take a nap.” Christoph said making a fake big yawn while walking up the stairs in a hurry leaving you and Lance alone.

…

You looked back down at Lance to take a peek at his reaction to realize how flustered he looked, you then smiled, realizing you have a chance if you play it cool.

“So Lance wanna play the dad of our happy family?” You winked, and cringed secretly at your bad attempt at flirting.

Lance looked up and blushed a little more looking hard into your eyes, you both stared at each other clearly both nervous.

“Well, I think I should go finish my novel in my room.” You said while quickly getting up on your feet running upstairs to avoid the awkwardness of the whole situation.

Lance soon snapping out of his thoughts, watched you book it up the stairs fast before he could say anything to you, he then looked down to his hands all of the sudden disappointment.

.

.

.

After a few hours passed, it is now night. You were on your bed tucked in reading a good mystery novel.

Robin decided to sleep with Christoph which you didn’t mind because lately Robin has been getting a habit of sleep talking and kicking you in his sleep.

You put the book down all of the sudden with a certain memory of your poor attempt at flirting crossed your mind. Never to let you live it down, you put a pillow to your face rolling around and then hitting your head on the pillow trying to get rid of the embarrassing thought.

… knock knock

Pulled you out of your thoughts. You assumed it was Christoph trying to convince you take backs for Robin.

So you got up and opened the door to see Lance staring down at you with pink tinted cheeks looking away.

“Hello?” You spoke asking him thinking of anything else to hide the blush trying to get on your face.

“… May I come in to speak with you?” He asked still looking at the back of my room avoiding eye contact.

“Sure- I don’t mind at all.” You embarrassingly spoke to quickly.

“Here Lance come on in,”

Lance soon stood in the middle of the room as you took a seat on your bed. He walked towards you and crouched down to you level looking directly at you eyes and whispered in your ear…. “I love you”

You then looked up at him while your heart started beating so fast, you whisper the same affirmation as him as well.

“I love you too Lance”

Lance pulled out a small smile which was rare but everytime you saw it you adored it.

“May I kiss you?” He looked away embarrassed he asked you.

You pulled him down and kissed his lips he then kissed you back passionately.

You both were kissing until-

“MC? Lance?” Christoph came into the room shocked and clearly traumatized at the scene.

Robin and Gruscha were behind him clearly also traumatized at the scene.

[ideks-on-mars]

This is purely me indulging in myself cuz I can't control it.

ANYWAYS RANDOM SEMI EITA HCS LET'S GO!!!

- I singlehandedly put this man through hell in my brain

- It's out of my love for him, I swear

- Mommy issues central 🥴

- His daddy issues are lowkey there too 🧍

- No seriously, he needs therapy.

- ADHD and Mania? Absolutely.

- Only takes his meds before matches and when he studies.

- If he even DOES study 😭

- He's not the brightest academically and he's accepted it 💀

- He's a little messed up in the head ngl

- He lacks empathy and he hates it

- Cannot smile on command for the life of him 😭

- The best youll get when asking him to smile is a 😬

- Has the CUTEST boyish, genuine, lopsided grin ever tho when someone/something makes him smile

- He's a little insecure tho cuz he's got a minor crossover with his two front teeth

- It's not even that noticeable fr but ofc he notices it 😭

- OK BUT SEMI WITH LIP PIERCINGS??

- THESE#*#?@*^$&@ ^^

- 😩‼️

- Heart attack fuel fr

- Has a bunch of piercings on his ears too

- He's slightly autistic, you can sorta see it if you pay really close attention to his actions

- He gets overwhelmed with emotions a lot and has a habit of punching walls

- THE MOST FUCKED UP FAMILY

- His mom was a prostitute and his dad was an army man who was visiting home without his wife and kids

- Then Eita's older brother came and then whoops lol they have connections, why not hook up more often and have MORE KIDS

- Eita's the baby of the "family" when it comes to his fully biological siblings

- Has younger and older half siblings from his mom and dads other flings/marriages

- His mom finally settled with a nice man who has two kids, a daughter year older than Eita and a son two years younger

- He's actually pretty close with his step brother and step dad lol his step sisters kind of a bitch and her and her friends are loud (but he's not home much anyway due to the dorms so it doesn't matter)

- Meanwhile his dad's first wife forgave him for some unknown reason so he's back with her he guesses, he doesn't talk to his dad really at all

- Him and his mom have the damn worst relationship

- He can't stand her 💀 she fucked him up from the time he was born to the time he left for STZW

- In Middle school/Junior high, he pretty much wore the same hoodie everyday of his life

- It was orange so teachers always asked him to take it off until he started wearing it under his uniform jacket and at that point they would just sigh and leave him be 😭

- Has also had the same backpack since middle school 💀 still has graded papers in there from 5 years ago that he hid from his mom

- Heterochromia in his eyes and hair!

- His hair is pretty obvious yk but his eyes not as much

- His eyes are already a gray-brown color but his left one is just a tinge more grey than the other

- Love languages‼️‼️

- Not the MOST affectionate person in the world but he happily gives it out to people he wants to

- Gives out mostly physical touch and words of affirmation (if he doesn't get too flustered while saying them) and prefers to receive them both back

- HAS SCARS he was a wild child fs

- Knees have scars from constantly being scraped, one from when he got cut by a sea shell at the beach on his lower right stomach, and one on his jaw that goes onto his face from him just being a dumbass

- And those are just the more noticeable ones

- His favorite person in the whole world is his little sister (well,, one of his little sisters)

- She's 6 years old and also the light of his life

- If you get him Pockeys for his birthday he will actually stab you

- Will loudly mock the noises Reon makes when he sits down just to rile him up a bit

- Was that one fucking kid that banged their hands and pencils against the table to make beats

- Has lots of posters of rappers and rock bands all over the dorm walls (Reon, aka roomie, like the angel he is doesn't mind one bit)

- No clue why this wasn't mentioned earlier but this dude is literally the most bisexual man I've ever laid eyes on

- BITES/CHEWS ON EVERYTHING

- Bites towels when he's drying off, bites and totally fucks up all the edges of the head holes in his shirts, bites his hoodie strings, bites his blanket when he's laying down, bites the ends of pencils

- I could go on.

- It's concerning

- If he's not going through a manic episode, he falls asleep EVERYWHERE

- They went to a restaurant as a team while the third years were just first years and a second year looked over to speak to him and he was face down on the table drooling with the other first years awkwardly trying to wake him up 😭

- Everyone is terrified of waking him up at first cuz he gets all cranky

- Now they dgaf 💀 they realize he's gonna be cranky either way cuz he's Semi Eita

- Reon's the only one who's gentle with waking him up

- Tendō and Yamagata, and sometimes Taichi, are definitely the most ruthless 😭 they stick ice cubes down his shirt and shit

- Goshiki tries to wake him up gently but then he ends up panicking and wakes him up with his panic 💀

- The older he gets, the less of an over aggressive rabid asshole he is and more of a flirt

- Doesn't flirt with just anyone tho, probs mostly his friends just cuz it's funny LMFAO 😭

- Said something dirty to Shirabu once and got smacked upside his head

- Distaste for Ushijima

- He just doesn't like how he's so hard to read and it pisses him off

- Has fist fought with Taichi once over something and ngl he kicked Taichi's ass

- Pretty good spice tolerance 👀 not as good as Yamagata but he's the best on the team

- Likes spicy, salty, and sour stuff

- Cinnamon and lemon are definitely his favorite flavors

- BIG APPETITE

- Which is your average teenage boy but then again, he's an athlete so

- Can yall tell that I'm hungry??

- Thighs sculpted by the gods

- I SAID WHAT I SAID

- He randomly goes up to his teammates and starts to act like he's boxing them

- Just gets in stance and starts swinging and makes sound effects with his mouth

- Never really hits them (unless it's Tendō or Yamagata, he might give them a little punch) and if he does he slows it down so it doesn't hurt

- One day Yamagata squared up in response and they just had a fake boxing match

- Calls Reon his volleyball wife 😭

- Literally has him in his phone as 'Wifeyyyy🤤🥴🥶‼️'

- INNOCENT EXCITEMENT HAPPENS A LOT WITH HIM‼️

- He didn't have the best childhood so small things excite him a lot and make him feel special

- He names his guitars but no one knows that except himself 🧍

- It wouldn't be Semi hcs if I didn't talk about music

- Metallica, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Korn, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Testament

- Metal, rock, grunge

- ✨️90s alternative✨️

- Don't even get him started, he'll go on for days

- IT'S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE I'VE WROTE DOWN SOME HCS, HOPE I HAVEN'T LOST MY TOUCH 💀

- ANYWAYS HAPPY NEW YEARS 🔥

[hoperenae]

Stay — Katsuki Bakugo x reader

Synopsis: It’s 1am in your dorm at UA, and you can’t sleep. Partly for your own reasons, but partly because your classmate in the room below is listening to loud music. Loud, but soft. You wonder if he’s okay…

WC: 1,050

A/N: Inspired by this video

It was nearly 1am. I was, as usual, laying in bed with my eyes wide open, trying to close them and hope that I didn’t end up in another nightmare. Suddenly, I heard the soft bass of music from the room below mine: Bakugo’s room. I grabbed my phone from my bedside table.

“It’s 1am. Would you mind turning it down?” I texted Bakugo. Less than 30 seconds later, I got my answer.

“No. Fuck off,” he replied. I rolled my eyes. Typical Bakugou. Figuring my chances of changing his mind were slim, I lay there for a while, listening to his music and trying to gauge how he might be feeling based off his song choices. They were mostly slow, sad songs with a soft beat and whispery voices. Was he ok? I decided to ask.

“You ok?” I texted. This time, it was a little more than a minute before he responded.

“Why do you care?”

Even though we had struck up an alliance of sorts through our training together, I still didn’t know if I would have considered us good friends or anything, so his question was fair. Why did I care?

“Idk, cuz I’d want someone to check in on me too,” I typed. A few minutes passed, and then his reply came.

“It’s all my fault,” he said. One song ended, and in the silence before the next one began, I swore I heard sniffling. Texting was never my strong suit; I usually preferred to have any sort of serious conversation face-to-face. Before I knew it, I was standing outside his door.

I knocked. There was a sniffle but no words. I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Bakugo was sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and black athletic pants. He must not have heard me knock because when I stepped into the room, he snapped his head up.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked. His voice was raspy, and even in the dim light of his room, I could see that his eyes were puffy and red. I paused for a moment before replying.

“Like I said, I would want someone to check in on me too.”

He stared at me with scowling but pleading eyes, so I walked over and sat a couple of feet away from him on the other side of his bed. I had never seen him this vulnerable before, but I guess even the strongest people have moments of weakness.

“If had never let myself get kidnapped by those villains, if I would have been stronger, then this never would have happened,” he began. “All Might is gone, and it’s all my fault.” He reached up to wipe his nose with the back of his hand, and I took that moment to scoot slightly closer to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he jumped but didn’t recoil or push me away.

“Bakugo,” I said, “based off what I know, All Might was going to be forced to retire soon enough anyway. You can’t blame yourself for something that was eventually going to happen on its own.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, shrugging my hand off his shoulder and slightly angling his body away from me. “Even if he was going to retire eventually, I was the one who made it happen sooner.”

“Are you that stupid?” I asked. He glanced over at me, brow furrowed. “Those villains are trained professionals. They coordinated to attack when we would be at our most vulnerable. You’re just a kid; we all are. We did the best we could.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. His sniffles were farther apart, so he must not have been crying anymore. We sat in silence for several minutes. Eventually, I stood up to leave. Before I could make my way to the door, he grabbed my wrist to stop me.

“Wait,” he said.

I turned around and looked at the top of his head as he looked down at his lap. He didn’t release his grip on me.

“Stay,” he muttered feebly. Stunned, I just stood there, not knowing what to say or do. But then, figuring I wasn’t going to get much sleep on my own anyway, I sat back down on his bed as he let go of my arm. This time, we were close enough that our knees were touching.

“Bakugo,” I began, unsure of where I was going. But I didn’t get to continue because at that moment, his whole body began to shake and his breaths were short. Taking a chance, I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to my chest. He collapsed into me and quietly sobbed into my t-shirt. We stayed like that for a while, the rain outside giving way to a calm yet melancholy ambience.

After a while, his crying subsided, and he sat upright, wiping his face with his t-shirt.

“No one can know about this, got it?” he commanded.

“Understood,” I replied.

“I mean it,” he said. “Not even that idiot friend of yours.”

“My friend’s not actually an idiot, you know,” I defended. “She’s ranked fourth in our class based off grades. Last time I checked, that’s just one below you.” He scoffed in distaste, and I smiled; same old Bakugo.

We stayed up the rest of the night, sometimes talking but mostly just enjoying the soft music. He lay on his bed while I sat on the floor, leaned up against the bed. At some point, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

“It’s almost morning,” Bakugo said. “You should go before the others wake up.” The faint beginning of the sunrise was leaking in through the curtains. I wiped the sleep from my eyes, and then I realized that I had actually slept for more than two hours at a time.

I stood up and stretched for a second before heading to the door. Just before I walked out, I heard a muffled, “Thank you.” I paused in the doorway and smiled to myself.

[the-enigmatic-universe-theory]

Chapter 2

Theo Doe

“THEO! WAKE YOUR DUMBASS UP, AND GET DOWNSTAIRS NOW!” Casey shouted.

“COMING!” I yell with a sigh, I swing my body off my bed reluctantly and strap on my braces. I walk out into the hallway and knock on the bedroom doors. As I open the second to last one a pastel blue fills my vision. 

“Maria, You up?”

“Mmmh, Theo?” Maria sleepily mumbles my name as I walk over to the greyish-blue bed and sit on it.

“Yup, time to get up for school.”

“Do I have to?” She whines quietly with a frown “Can’t I just be homeschooled like you were?” I sigh

“Unless you want to be taken to court. Then yeah, you have to go to school. Also, homeschooling wasn’t as good as you think.” I pull her blankets off her and pick her up, with a little difficulty, but her little giggle as I picked her up was worth the slight pain.

“C’mon, I’ll let you pick out breakfast, ‘Kay?" I walk down the stairs with her in my arms as she gives me a small nod.

“Mornin, teddy bear, princess Mari,” Casey says with a smirk as I let Maria down to sit next to Casey “What’s for breakfast?” 

“Depends on what domniţă wants,” I say as the other children, fully dressed, get coffee and toast from the cupboards going to the dining room after, probably wanting something quick and easy before going to school. 

“Hmmmmm, how about, Oh! Chocolate pancakes, please!!” Maria bounces up and down in her seat with excitement, Casey chuckles at her childish glee. 

“Alright, I can do that. Tâmpit, get me the chocolate chips.” I say, kneeling to get out a decently sized pan and going through the steps of making pancakes. Casey tosses me the chocolate with a shake of his head as he sits down at the island table.

“So, princess, you excited for your first day in kindergarten?” Casey asks, trying to get a rise out of her, knowing damn well she’s in first grade now. He succeeds cuz Maria crosses her arms. 

“I’m in first grade, not in kindergarten, Old Man,” Maria argues with a huff as Casey smiles and picks Maria up, placing her on his lap

“I’m sorry Mari, you know my very old 19-year brain can’t remember as well as when I was your age, hun. Forgive me?” Casey rests his head on Maria’s. 

“Fineee, I guess I’ll forgive you this time Cas.” Maria hugs him, cheek pressed to his chest and mouth in a smile. I set down three plates on the kitchen table all with varying amounts of pancake. 

“Only one pancake, Doe? Why don’t cha eat some more?” Casey eyes my plate with a wary gaze. 

“Not hungry, I’ll buy something in the Cafe if I’m hungry later.” I sigh and start eating my pancakes, only feeling the pancake's texture, no taste. Maria scarfs down her pancakes, Casey eating at a more reasonable pace.

“Slow down so you don’t choke.” Maria nods with food in her mouth and slows down, however, she is still eating fast. We finish breakfast with silence overcoming us, not uncomfortable but a little awkward. After some time kids start filing out the door and getting on the bus, some taking their car.

“Alright,” Casey gets up and stretches “Maria you go get changed, okay? I’ll help Theo clean.”

“Okie!!” Maria gets up and runs to the stairs skipping a few. Casey looks away from Maria and towards me with a disappointed look on his face.

“So, what’s the deal.” Casey picks up the dishes as I clean up the batter and put away the chocolate.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Casey sighs and wash off the dishes in the sink as well as our own.

“I mean the fact that you carried Maria down the stairs even though I know that you’ve been having a rough time with your arms and,” Casey bends down to place the dishes in the sink, getting back up to face me, arms crossed, “You only ate one pancake, which was the smallest of all of them, you know that you need to eat more than that, Theo” 

“I know, It’s just-” I sigh and match Casey’s position, “It’s hard to eat when it’s just a texture, the mushiness is just so gross. It would probably be better if I could fucking taste it.” Casey walks over, puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls in.

“Theo, if the texture bothers you that much you could’ve just made something else, I’m sure Maria wouldn’t have minded.” Casey rested his head on mine, a common thing he does to me and Maria, I turned my face towards his neck and hugged him.

“I know, I just don’t like to disappoint her.” Casey sighs, hugging me back.

“You can’t spoil her like that, you know, she has to learn how to be dependant. Especially since both me and you are moving out next year, she won’t have anyone to take care of her.” Casey whispers to me sadly. Maria bounds down the stairs in a white button-up with a lacey collar and blue overalls. 

“Let’s go get changed, okay? Go wait at the door, Mari” Casey ruffles my hair and I nod and smile at Maria as she runs past the door. 

   ***

After Casey and I got changed into our clothes, he wore simple jeans and a t-shirt and I wore my usual outfit of a short-sleeve button-up, black vest, brown pants, red headband, Locket, and of course my braces too (technically can’t live without them). 

“Do you want to drive, Cas? Or should-”

“I’m driving.” Casey grabs the car keys before I can. I sigh as I tug on my boots and bend over to lace Maria’s shoes. Maria pulls her backpack over her shoulders and I do the same

“Alrighty then,” Casey claps. “Let’s get goin' before I’m late to work.” 

“Where do you work again?” I say with confusion as he changes works every few weeks, he just got laid off from his car-washing job next to the big mall.

“Do you know the tattoo place near my old job?” Casey says as we walk out the door, locking it. “That’s my new job pays pretty well and it’s close to what I’m going to college for” I nod and head towards the car. Maria bounces next to me and I help her into the car, going to sit in the passenger seat. The drive is filled with Maria’s chatter until she gets dropped off at the elementary and the drive is silent until I get dropped off at my school. I reach over and hug Casey, waving goodbye as I walk out of the car and into the school.

        ***

5th period, the class I’ve been dreading, is the class where we have to test our powers you would think that using your powers would be easy but it’s hard to use powers if you don’t even know what they are, and only have had them for three years in which you’ve barely even used them so yeah, it’s pretty fucking unfair. The teacher tells us to get into groups and practice our powers on each other I don’t move only standing in my place as everyone else gets their partner, not having any friends yet as I just got to this school, I stand alone for while trying to not seem as awkward as I feel when all of the sudden someone bursts through the door loudly and all eyes are on her, as soon as we make eye contact I realize I severely fucked up, her memories start flooding through my brain; the worst of the memories are with her uncle. After the unfamiliar ache settles I break eye contact and quickly look away, I can feel her eyes on me as she walks over my face getting warmer and redder by the second. 

"What was that?" Oh shit, she’s talking to me. I can feel her eyes on me, my face getting warmer and redder by the second. 

“I um- kinda sorta usedmypowersonyou?” Way to fucking go Theo you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of someone who just had their mind involuntarily read. Iisus Hristos, Casey was right, I really need to work on my social skills.

“Well no duh dipshit,” She sighs mad obviously, “but what do they do?” Oh yeah, I guess that would make more sense but what do I tell her if I don’t even know myself? 

“Uhhh it depends, what I did on you was um- mind reading I guess?” This is so embarrassing I barely even know how to control my powers.

““You guess? What do you mean you guess? Do you not know what your powers do or something?” Her attitude is starting to get old. It’s obvious I don’t know what I’m doing. Joacă-te frumos Theo, don’t insult her, they taught you better.

“I mean yes and no? I know what some of my powers are, like mind reading and illusion but I don’t know if there’s anymore.” All of a sudden a small ache goes through my head. Shit, calm down. I start to hear her thoughts in my head. 

‘Of course, he doesn’t. This is fucking great! I have an amateur messing with my head and looking into my mind. I swear to god if he fried a part of my brai-.’

“Fuck off okay, I only got them a few years ago, excuse me for not being perfect.” This is what I get for trying to be nice, I should’ve known it would have gone this way. Why do I always fuck things up? I can feel the other students' eyes on us, on me. The girl takes a few deep breaths and clenches her fists. She glances around the room and asks a question in a, seemingly, out of character tone.

“Can we go outside, to talk?” She asks, gesturing with her hand to the door. 

“ I promise I won’t bite.” Against my will I let a small huff, thankfully not a full laugh.

“Sure” I hope she isn’t taking me out of the class to beat me up that would be a bitch to hide from Casey. She begins to walk back out of the door

“What did you see!?” She demanded much different than the tone she used a few seconds ago. I try and think of a sufficient reply that doesn’t reveal what her uncle did in a public setting.

“If you're talking about what your uncle did then yeah, I saw that.” She shakes her head, angry, disappointed, upset. I can’t tell. 

“That’s not specific enough. What exactly was he doing?” She says with a nervous(?) tone probably about the fact that she’s asking me in a public setting about what her horrible asshole of an uncle did to her sister

“I don’t think we should be talking about what he did in public setting,” I say reluctantly knowing what I have to think and say next, “But since you’re so insistent then I’m talking about him murdering your sister and most of the horrible things he did to you.” I shudder at the thought of what he put her through. She nods, shaking, this only making me feel even more horrible for what I did. 

“What do you want.”...Wait what? Why is she asking me that when I just severely invaded her privacy?

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What do you want, money, service, a house?” She looks taken aback at my statement.

“What the fuck are you talking about!? The only thing I want is for you to leave me the hell alone!” 

“You’re the one who asked me out here!?” I say confused as this stranger is making no sense.

“Because I wanted to know what you saw! I wanted to know whether I had to worry about you opening your big mouth to say shit that you shouldn't be saying! So what do you want? What do I have to give you to shut you up about what you saw?” Wow rude I just offered her a house and she tells me to shut up, the hell up with her?

“You don’t have to give me anything! I feel bad enough about invading your privacy like that. If anything I should give something to you so that I’m not guilt-ridden for the rest of my days here.” She stares at me in shock

“Are you kidding?” What the actual fuck is she talking about? Why would I be joking about something like this? “Are you being serious, like actually?” 

“Yeah, Why wouldn’t I? I genuinely feel bad for doing that to you. Like I said can I make it up to you?” I’m already thinking of ways to make it up to her, maybe a house to get out of her uncle's house, yeah that would be good. She looks away from me and leaves us in silence for a second, she looks like she’s contemplating something.

“Just, don’t say anything. It isn’t your problem. You don’t owe me anything except your silence. Besides, I don’t take charity, from anyone.” 

“Fine, I won’t give you anything.” I lie, I already have a great house for her to stay at. Now I have to switch the topic before she catches on “But, could you possibly show me around the school? You don’t have to of course, it’s kinda weird for me to ask that of you now, sorry.” Omg, why can’t I just be normal for once, she’s probably going to refuse and I’m going to look like an idiot, at least she doesn’t look like she’s going to punch me again… Right? 

“To be honest, I don’t want to. I want to go . . . somewhere that isn’t here, and forget this happened. I want to wish you out of existence because I don’t like that you know what you know. But I will show you around I mean, because I'm not a total shithead, and the sooner you manage to navigate the school the more time you’ll be able to spend figuring out your mind power thingies, and that's something you're gonna need to do to survive here. Other people won’t be as chill about you getting in their minds. Got it?” Oh well, I guess she’s nicer than I thought. Also, I am completely under the control of my powers, kinda, the only reason I used them I cause she scared me by busting through the door like a brute.

“Yeah, I know I just wasn’t expecting someone to y'know break down the door in the middle of class, apologies for being surprised.”

“ I didn’t break down the door. I just closed it, a tad too roughly.” 

“You almost sent it off its hinges.” 

“Almost, I didn’t break it down.” Her sigh comes off as frustrated, I remember seeing one of the screws come loose, but I know this is an argument I won’t win, she’s way too încăpăţânat. I decide to change the subject so she doesn’t get mad, again.

“Anyways. Are you going to show me around now?” 

“Yeah, I guess. But we should go back to the classroom first. Tell the teacher what we're doing.” I completely forgot about that and the fact we were in public, my manners are getting worse, huh? 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Let’s go.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” We walked back towards the classroom, and as we were entering I had a strange feeling, that much to her chagrin, this won’t be the last time we meet.

        ***

If you ever want to know someone's locker number to give them something special,  do not stalk them at every moment of the day because you’re too tâmpit to ask a teacher even though you probably could have come up with something and especially dont get caught by a teacher that asks you what you're doing and you can’t just say ‘Oh, Im giving this person a house because I found out their deepest secrets and trauma, and also want them to get away from their oribil uncle’ so you just say with a horrible suspicious stutter “I-um am uhhh giving her a love letter?” even though you’re gay and very much into men, and when the teacher turns away to go back to whatever they’re doing do infact, shove said house keys into her locker after lockpicking it and hauling ass towards your brother's car to save your dumbass from the crippling embarassment of that situation (also make sure your brother also isn’t a nosy bitch that asks you why you ran to the car redder than a fucking firetruck.)