#he'll be having less fun in about two years but right now it's exciting

[wellpresseddaisy]

9 January, 1978

Lucius stood courteously at the head of the dining room table as the ladies filed out with Cissa. When the door shut behind the last rustling skirt, the gentlemen sat, relaxed now they were alone. The candles burned low in the candelabra down the great length of the table, the flame occasionally picking out the tawny gleam of decanted port. 

Velvet curtains of the deepest silver were closed against the chill of the winter night. Snow lay thick across the park, though the waxing moon and cloudless sky they'd been promised meant travel wouldn't prove too treacherous later. 

"Excellent dinner, Lucius, as always." Yaxley smiled thinly. "If you'll excuse me, though, I should find my wife. Had something I wanted to ask her."

"I'll pass on the compliment to Narcissa." Lucius nodded at the man as he left the room, ignoring the wafer thin excuse.

"Now, Lucius, there's something more important than dinner to discuss." Avery slapped the table. "An' I'm going to be indelicate, but it's Snape. High time you found someone for him. He's eighteen! Not gettin' any younger."

Lucius stared at the man. Avery and Mulciber had taken Severus under their dubious protection when he left Hogwarts. He really hadn't known what Severus saw in either of them, but the boy took to the pair like a puppy. They must have seemed glamorous, somehow, two years older than him.

"Wanted Mulciber and the Mudblood." Rowle, deep in his cups and thankfully at the far end of the table, chortled. "At's 'is problem. 'E wanned both."

Everyone stared as he thumped forward onto the table. 

"Thankfully, I had warned the footmen." Lucius drawled. 

A guilty snicker ran around the table. 

"No one ever knew what he wanted, was the problem. Except potions and he's doin' a Mastery already. Could sponsor him to Oxford, I suppose. S'what you do with brainboxes, isn't it?" Mulciber sighed. "Always had too much brain, Severus did. Brain and nerves."

"Why, if we're being indelicate, is it my responsibility to find our problem child a match?" Lucius asked lightly. 

"You and Narcissa know everyone, Lucius. Simply everyone. Surely you know someone who'd…well…take him in hand. As it were." Avery insisted. "He needs a nice…er…husband, maybe?"

"I have suggested no less than seventeen suitable matches, to date. He doesn't want a husband." Lucius sighed.

"Not want a husband?" Avery repeated. He tended to do that, as if he could only understand a concept from his own mouth. "Why the devil not? He doesn't want a wife, does he? Never been that wrong about a chap before."

"He does not." Lucius assured him. "Your reputation is safe, Waltham. Druella Heathcote was interested until he spent an entire dinner explaining the best way to gut rats."

"Rats?" Mulciber's voice had a strained quality. "The poor gel. Cathcart's given him a look or two. Good chap, Cathcart."

"He'd rather purposefully spring a were trap on his leg and then chew himself free. He's willing to leave the leg."

"Gibson?" Avery tried.

"I believe he felt drowning in flobberworm mucus preferable."

"Witherwaite? He isn't gettin' any younger, but he's always wanted a sharp one."

"Boiled in his own cauldron."

"Hallowfield? He's a bit like old Withers but a bit more biddable. As they go."

"Trampled to death by toads."

"The trouble is, we've spoilt him." Mulciber growled. "What about one of those Russians you know? They seem the imperious type. He likes that, y'know."

"He threatened to move to…where was it? Ah, yes, Outer Mongolia. Or possibly Newfoundland."

"What about you and Narcissa? She seems to like him well enough? You'd keep him out of trouble." Avery grasped at straws.

"The Malfoy contracts are strictly bi-partite. The only one coming to my marriage bed is Narcissa. Regrettably for both of us." Lucius winked at the pair. 

Was he a bit foxed? He hoped not, but the port was particularly nice. How did one measure one's level of foxedness?

"Damn!" Avery muttered. "There's got to be someone he'll take."

"He told me that husbands stopped you doing anything really interesting and he likes what he's doing now." Mulciber admitted it mournfully. "He especially said anyone with, well, our ideals, wouldn't let him do anything remotely fun."

"Of course they wouldn't!" Avery slapped the table again. "He'd be…he'd be taken care of. Properly. His blood line's good enough if you ignore the father and his manners are…there…if you ignore his habit of hissing at people he doesn't like. But he shouldn't be running about loose like he is."

"He's too bloody independent. And spoiled." Mulciber declared. "We should have been…well I don't know. He bit you if you tried to tell him what to do. Not you, though, Lucius. Or Narcissa."

"He knew much better than to bite Narcissa." Lucius agreed. 

"I just want to see him…cared for." Avery spoke quietly. "And…and out of this damned mess. If he had a husband like you he wouldn't be in it." He gestured at Lucius.

"I've suggested everyone like me I could with a clear conscience. Unfortunately, I'm not head of his family. I can't really make him do anything." And he'd certainly looked for any connection at all. 

The Princes had a habit of marrying outside England. The sods. The one time he wished for a family connection and the magical community's marriage habits let him down completely.

"We looked, as well. They marry out. Always have. Suppose that's why his mother…well, the less said the better." Mulciber traced patterns in the damask tablecloth.

"Surely he'd take Hadley? Absolute sport, Hadley." Avery tried one last time.

"He would rather snuggle a hippogryph."

[artemismoorea03]

DP x DC: If You Take A Ghost Dog to The Dog Park

Cujo was what Sam called a 'Hound of Hell' and she meant it literally. After Danny became the King of Ghosts at the mature age of 15 and 2 days old, Cujo - his "dog" - became a listed Ghost Zone Hound which had multiple other names which included 'Hell Hound'. With Cujo's new found ability he was able to find Danny wherever he went and get him out of any potentially dangerous situation he found himself, as well as carry out orders given to him by Frostbite, Clockwork, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Elle, Valerie and of course - Danny.

But Cujo was still a dog.

A very excited dog who dragged him all the way to a corner of the Ghost Zone and through a natural portal into an city Danny hadn't visited in person before. Gotham City. Specifically Cujo took him to the Gotham City dog park where he proceeded to try to play with the other dogs in the park.

Most of the dogs seemed hesitant at first until a great dane puppy jogged over and the two started to play together. It was nice to watch considering how little Hell Hounds there were in the Ghost Zone, but on the other hand Danny was in his human form and having a glowing green dog was quickly gaining attention, specifically from the owner of the great dane, a 9-year-old kid with black hair and green eyes.

"What kind of dog is that?" The kid asked.

"Honestly? No idea, he's a rescue." Danny said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "His names Cujo. What's your dogs name?"

"Titus."

"Like the Roman Emperor?" Danny questioned, seeing the surprise on the boys face.

"Exactly. Cujo is the name of a horror movie dog, correct?"

Danny nodded, "Yeah."

"Why is he green?"

Danny shrugged, "Dunno, he came that way." Danny said, then facepalmed when Cujo suddenly took on his huge form and began running through the park with Titus right on his heels.

It wasn't just Titus anymore either.

Suddenly more and more dogs were chasing Cujo through the dogpark as Cujo howled, barked, then turned and bowed occasionally at the other dogs before he finally turned and made a mad dash at Danny.

The kid took a step back as Danny just sighed, bracing himself as Cujo got closer and closer. Then, when he was close enough Danny held out his hand.

"Cujo, stop!"

Cujo slid to a stop, ending up less than three feet from Danny, his tail swishing excitedly.

"Cujo, sit."

Cujo sat down, his tail now thumping on the ground.

"Good. Now, Cujo, shrink."

Cujo popped into his small figure and jumped into Danny's arms as he pet him then looked at the kid and other very concerned and confused people.

"Uh... bye." He said, walking away leaving everybody concerned and confused.

---

Damian sat at the Bat-Computer curled up slightly as he tried to find information on what he'd seen when Drake walked in. Drake approached, looking at the computer with a tilt of his head.

"Is that a giant green dog?"

"Indeed. It was able to shift size, was glowing, and is seemingly well trained."

"So.. what you're doing research so you can get one of your own?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm trying to find the boy was who had it."

"Why?"

"Because the boy whom was with the dog had rings of glowing green around his eyes. Lazarus green specifically. I suspect a Lazarus pit has opened up within the Gotham Limits and that this boy and his dog are playing in it. If a Lazarus Pit has opened within Gotham we must get the boy into custody and get both he and his dog some help, then we must seal the pit."

"What if you can't find them?"

"Then they'll find us. That green dog and Titus enjoyed playing together and dogs thrive on patterns. The dog - Cujo - had fun at the park so it's only a matter of time before they return to it."

"Huh... if you take a dog to the dog park, he'll want to play again."

Damian looked at Drake with a raised brow.

"I was referencing a childrens book about a mouse and a cookie."

"Leave such things for Todd." Damian said simply, looking at the computer again.

[ckret2]

please more evil ford please i stare with my puppy eyes for this i am obbsessed

Yeah all right, I've been working on some art. (For context, we're talking about this Evil Ford.)

Evil Ford is Evil as in "cheerfully works with Bill even after learning his full plot" and "is totally ready to conquer and/or destroy the world." But other than the shocking lack of basic ethics and the supervillain objective he's mostly the same guy—which means he still cares about his family. He's hoping to get them to join in on the world conquest plan.

Forty-odd years ago he went off to college promising someday he'd be a big shot scientist who changes the world and he'd make his family a fortune. If taking over reality doesn't qualify he doesn't know what does. The family can join him and his buddy Bill and rule the universe together. Pines Pines Pines Pines!

Unfortunately for him, the rest of the family still has normal moral compasses. And also they've met Bill.

Bill can't currently possess Ford due to Reasons; but even though he can't get in the driver's seat he still has permission to ride shotgun at any time. Ford talks to him pretty regularly. He HAS been caught doing this. Stan thinks he's just gone a little nutty from thirty years of isolation.

Naturally, since he was always on Bill's side, Ford's perception of events during Weirdmageddon is a bit different:

I finally made an official Evil Ford New Costume Character Design, check out his exciting totally different brand new look:

I decided that, since Ford is still basically the same person aside from his terrible life goals, he'd probably have the same fashion sense. And so... nothing changes except two tiny details lmao.

But he DOES have tattoos:

I traced a canon character model and took off its top to get a base to slap tattoos on, and then went dang... they gave him a big head and arms. He looks goofy. Anyway,

His forearms have less incriminating tattoos—just a birch tree and a sunrise. (The sunrise looks like the Journal 3 "The Muse Has Spoken" page.) The red text is the "triangulum entangulum" ritual; if anyone asks he'll go "it's uhh an ancient Sumerian poem about how great science is." It's not until he's topless that it's like "oh so he's a CULTIST cultist." The one exception is an unconcealed Eye of Providence on his right palm—but it's in an ink that's only visible in certain lighting. It's there so at any time he can point his hand at something and go "Bill are you seeing this BS?"

Of course, he still has the "hey now, you're an all star" neck tattoo. I didn't have room to draw it.

As you can see, he's made being Bill's right hand man a core part of his personality. Rather than spending 30 years scrabbling around the multiverse desperately searching for a way to destroy Bill, he spent 30 years chilling in the Quadrangle of Qonfusion as Bill's specialest favoritest Henchmaniac, and only scrabbling around the multiverse occasionally for fun & profit.

Here's a photo Bill & Ford took at a Nightmare Realm house party like fifteen years ago, three minutes before Bill started an argument and set the house on fire.

Most people have their wild party years in college, Ford has his in his 40s.

[queenofthedisneyverse]

Antonio Madrigal's Journey - Chapter 1: Only the beginning of the adventure

Pepa paced around her room as wind swirls around her feet and a cloud drips water on her head. She dreaded this day, as did Felix. Yeah, Pepa, her hermana, and hermano did this at his age, but that doesn't mean she won't be any less worried. Today was the day after Antonio's twelfth birthday. A day where he finally sets out on his own to earn the right to keep his gift.

Their journey wasn't all that unsafe, it was rather pleasant. Save for almost getting drowned in a mudslide. But hey, they still kept their gifts in the end and met amazing people that they are still friends with till this day.

And it's not like all the other madrigal journeys were unsafe, heck most of them barely even got a paper cut on theirs. Mirabel didn't get a gift, but she still went out on her own anyway when she turned twelve.

It was unexpected but everyone understood her need to go. It was her birth given right regardless of a gift. Thankfully she was able to find a witch on her journey who taught her everything she needed to know about magic. In the end she still had fun and met amazing people like all the other madrigals did.

But still, Pepa was worried. Something in her soul told her something was legitimately wrong. Maybe she could ask Bruno for a vision? Yes! That was perfect…why didn’t she think of this earlier?

While Felix was sleeping Pepa snuck out of their shared room and quietly stepped over to Brunos. She wasn’t sure if Dolores was awake or not but she surely did not want to wake her up. Her room wasn’t all that sound proof as it is.

So slowly and quietly, she crept to Bruno’s room and knocked on the door five times. After a few moments or so, she knocked again…and again. Soon enough, Bruno opened the door.

“Jeez Pepa, I heard you! And I already know why you're here so come in.” Bruno blue a raspberry as he let his sister in his room.

“Did you have a vision?” 

“Yes”

“What did you see?”

“...do you want me to tell you or do you want to see for yourself?” Bruno looked at his sister worriedly. He already saw what was on the vision tablet and therefore, wished he didn’t have one at all. 

“Why are you asking me that…is…is something going to happen to Antonio?” She looked her brother straight in the eye as she asked this. 

Bruno nodded.

“I’ll ask again, would you rather me tell you are see for yourself, Pepa”

-

Antonio had been awake since 6:30 this morning. He was so excited. How could he sleep? This was such an amazing experience...but he was also a little scared. And sad.

He was leaving his home for the first time. He was leaving his family for the first time. Pico has been listening to his endless ramblings since 6:30 this morning as well. Much to his dismay.

"I don't know how to feel about this Pico, on one hand. We're going on an adventure. On the other we're leaving home! Leaving the family behind and...I just don't know...I-"

"So, sleep is not on our schedule today, huh?" The bird had a flat semi-annoyed expression. Simply sitting on a branch above him.

Antonio looked over to the toucan with furrowed brows and the same irritated expression. "This is serious Pico! WE'RE LEAVING HOME!"

"Which is why WE SHOULD'VE SLEPT! Now, we're going to have to be awake and sleepy the whole way."

"I'm not tired"

"Yeah, you're saying that NOW"

Antonio rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. The nerve of this bird. The young boy looked around his jungle room. Still as beautiful as it was when he first laid eyes on it when he was five.

Man... that was such a long time ago. Ok, it was only seven years ago but still. A lot of time has passed. His Hermana Dolores got married and is expecting two babies. His Hermano Camilo is now engaged, Mirabel owns her own seamstress shop, Isabela teaches a paint class and is currently helping Mirabel with new types of fashion ideas, and so much more.

He'll be gone missing all of it but thankfully he could send letters through steam airship mail services. And Pico volunteered to send letters back and forth if nothing else was available. And unfortunately for the poor bird, that will soon happen.

Antonio didn't know how to feel about this but no use in worrying about it now. It was time to go, and he had to get ready. The boy huffed and puffed out his chest. Here he goes.

"Here I go again, I'm gonna go to a world outside the world I'm in. No more day dreamin again, I finally got the chance-"

Pico perked his head up and stared straight at Antonio with a 'are you serious?' expression.

"No, no, no, no, no, NO! Don't you start! This is not a singing mom-"

"When I feel my fears starin’ at me, I tell it just wait and see"

Antonio got off his hammock, hopping from branch to branch down to the center of his treehouse.

"I know who I’m gonna be, I know who I’m gonna be. The worlds half asleep it’s gonna wake up and see"

He ran over to a nearby waterfall and began his morning routine. Shower, brush his teeth, and get dressed. There's not really much else.

A light brown vest, white button shirt, and dark orange pants. Finished off with a light-yellow ascot and simple brown shoes. Can't go wrong with simplicity. Once that was done, he took a large travel backpack next to the chest and stuffed it with all the clothes from inside the chest.

Pico, looking down at the singing boy, rolled his eyes and flew down a few inches away from the boy's feet.

"He's doing this...he's really doing this right now" The bird thought to himself.

Antonio went all over the place adding any and everything he could without overstuffing it.

"If it’s a million to one, I’m gonna be that one and if it’s a shot in the dark I’m gonna be the sun"

The sun was rising in his room, a beautiful orange glow shining over the prospering jungle. All the flowers, the ones Isa helped him plant and just the ones that were already there, started to bloom beautifully. The animals in his room were beginning to wake up and skitter about.

It was beautiful, honestly. But at the moment, it's something Antonio couldn't focus on right now.

“And I just can’t afford to be wrong, even when I’m afraid…You’re gonna know my name. You’re gonna know my name”

Antonio thought back to all the stories his older siblings and cousins told him about their journeys. With every single one they all helped so many people in different ways. Some towns know them by name from all their efforts. 

He couldn’t wait for him to go out and finally get to do all that stuff. Not to mention, the Miracle always promises new additions to his gift like all the others did. Something else he couldn’t wait for.  

His mama can make any weather appear with her emotions, sense when storms are coming, and can semi-remove them. However, the third one can take a lot out of her. Dolores can hear all things but also silence everything around her if she wants, as well as using sound waves to push away anything deemed as a threat. However, the third one can tire her quickly so she doesn’t do it often. 

Camilo can shapeshift into humans, animals, and can partially see into the memories of the person. But just like his sister and mother, he can only do it partially and it takes a lot of energy from him.

“I can barely sleep ‘cause my heart is always racing, chasing, pacing ‘round the room. Livin’ carefully is something I don’t wanna do”

Tonito was always the adventurous type. Albeit a little shy and quiet, but still up for adventure. Pepa could count on many fingers about how many times he disappeared to go explore a new area. 

Not only that, but there were occasions when Antonio would swing Isabela’s vines while they were both out foraging. He was never afraid of heights, quite opposite actually, the higher the better for him. So, when he got the hang of swinging on vines in his room, he would swing as high as he could to see above the canopy.

You have no idea how many times he got hurt doing that..and how many times he had to run from his mother and father’s belt.

Now all he had left to do was say goodbye. And that…was surprisingly the most scary part. Antonio looked at the clock on a small section of his tree. It would strike at 7:30 in twenty minutes. Time for when he would have to truly say goodbye to his family and leave…for a year.

“When I feel my fears staring at me I tell it just wait and see, I know who I’m gonna be…I know who I’m gonna be. The world's half asleep it’s gonna wake up and see…If it’s a million to one I’m gonna be that one…”

“...you are a very dramatic kid, you know that?” Pico asked

“And you are a very annoying bird, ever think of that?”

After packing everything he could, the young boy sat in front of his tree with his animal friends all surrounding him. All giving him their best wishes of course. 

Antonio heard a familiar guttural yawn behind him and turned around. There was his old jaguar friend Parce. Now standing at thirteen years old, which is old in Jaguar years. He technically only had two more years left but…that’s something Toni didn’t like thinking about. 

“Good Morning Antonio, did you sleep well?” The old cat snuggled up against Tonito's side, causing the boy to lift up his arm. 

“I did old amigo, did you?”

The old creature nodded as it stretched its legs and arched its back. “I slept well thank you, I see I made it before your departure”

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for the others to…to…say goodbye I guess.” Antonio looked down at the coati in his lap in sorrow. Slowly petting it as he got lost in thought. This was finally happening. REALLY happening.

“You are scared, young cub” The jaguar bluntly let out. 

“What? No, pssh, I’m not scared! Just nervous is all but it’s all good really.” Antonio tried to play it off but he knew it was true. He was scared.

“Hmm, alright then” Parce wasn't one to pry so he let it go. But he could feel that his cub was nervous. All of the animals could, they just chose not to acknowledge it. To not make him close off any of his thoughts. 

Antonio was a quiet kid when he was upset, so it was best to keep him happy so he can always open up.

Some more minutes passed before he heard Mirabel’s signature knocking at his door. The tween gently took the Coati off of his lap and sat it beside him. After that he quickly got up and began to walk toward his door.Pico and Parce followed closely behind him. 

Last breakfast he’ll have with his family for a year. Better make it count. He breathed in a deep sigh as he touched the doorknob. A quick flash of his ceremony day flashed before him. It made him smile. 

He shook off all the negative emotions and opened the door. Ready to greet his family for the last time. The boy quickly ran downstairs and to the backyard where the breakfast table was already set up. 

As always, the food smelled good and delectable. When he was about to say something, he felt a hand ruffle his curly hair. Ugh, Camilo. 

“Hey Hermano, sleep well?” 

Camilo had the audacity to act like he wasn’t worried or scared about today. Just as chill as any other day huh, Milo?

“Stooop, you know I hate that!” 

Antonio smacked his hand away and glared at his big brother. Camilo, in return, stuck his tongue out at him. And Antonio did the same, a smile creeping into his lips right afterwards. He quickly took a seat next to his papa, with his mama on the left of him. Dolores sat next to her husband, Mariano, and Camilo sat next to his Fiance, Miguel. 

Mirabel sat on the other side of the table, on her right was Luisa, and on her left was Isabela. Sitting next to Isa was their mother Julieta, and on Julie’s left was her husband. The whole blue family looked happy and peaceful. No pressure or unhappiness of any kind. 

 And as always, Alma sat at the head of the table. Now at eighty two years old, still the strong matriarch she used to be. Albeit a little slower, but that just comes with age. And trust me, she doesn’t let her age get in the way of her fun.

Bruno sat at the end of the table, in no way did that mean he was excluded or left out. That was just his favorite sitting area. His hands were nervously clasped together while looking at Pepa. Oh boy….

Pepa had a noticeable heavy black cloud over her head. Rain was coming down upon her as she looked at Felix. He put his hand on hers and squeezed, offering a sympathetic smile. Felix saw the vision tablet too…and he knew what was about to come.

“Antonio, familia, I have something to share with you. It’s something that none of us want to hear but it needs to be said,” Pepa held a somber look as she stared at her plate. Unable to look Antonio in the eye. Not willing to see the heartbreak in his eyes. 

“Antonio will not be going on his journey. That is final.” 

The table was silent as they all looked at her in confusion and shock. Antonio even more so. What the hell is she on about?

“What…?” Tonito quietly asked, unsure if he really heard what he just heard. Pepa wouldn’t look him in the eye so he looked at his father. Felix thought it would be best if he spoke up. 

“I’m sorry Tontito but…your place is here. Not out there, this is for a reason son. Please, understand” 

Bruno covered his face and groaned, this was not going to end well. He could feel it in his gut. The family looked in Bruno’s direction. This has something to do with him. Dolores had already heard the information from the early morning. She was just quietly waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop.

Bruno…..did you have a vision?” Alma asked and adjusted her green glasses.

Bruno simply hummed and quickly grabbed a cup of juice, filling his mouth with it so he wouldn’t have to explain anything. Alma saw right through that and narrowed her eyes with a raised brow. What was he hiding?

“I…I don’t understand. I’ve been preparing to leave for weeks I don’t- ” Antonio shook his head and looked up at his mama, who still couldn't look him in the eye.

“Antonio, this is for the best. I’m not arguing or taking any “buts” or pleads from you.” She said sternly and thunder could be heard from the cloud over her head. 

Alma looked at her daughter and decided to speak up, “Pepa, what is the meaning of this. Why can’t he go?”

“I’ll explain later mama, not right now.”

Oh Antonio wasn’t about to let this slide, not by a long shot. “No”

Pepa looked up at him, Tonito has never been defiant or rebellious before, so this was new. “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me mama, NO! I’d at least like to know WHY I can’t go” Tonito demanded. In the back of his head, he was sure something probably went wrong in the vision tablet. But still, he would at least like to know the details. Maybe it was avoidable if he just SAW it.

Pepa felt a little flabbergasted and appalled that Antonio had the audacity to do this. She understood why he felt the way he felt, but she wasn’t ready to tell him. 

She took a deep breath to come herself, “Antonio, I’m not going to argue with you. My words are final.”

“But-”

“NO ANTONIO! DO NOT ASK ME AGAIN!” Thunder rang out through the house. Pepa glared at her son for dominance of the situation, as did Antonio. The sound made everyone jump and caused Dolores to wince from the impact.

Antonio growled and pushed the table away from him and stormed off to his room. Parce and Pico followed soon after just for some support and comfort he will likely need.

Pepa counted from 1-10 in her mind, Felix helped by coaxing her to breathe in and out. They both knew this was for the best. They could take Antonio’s anger and oncoming silent treatment over his inevitable end. 

The rest of the family was told what was in Bruno’s vision, one vision showed him in a situation that was very confusing and concerning. The other was where Antonio was in a situation that showed…something very terrible regarding his life. 

Now, they all understood why Antonio could just not go out there. Hopefully in due time, Tonito would be of age where they could tell him why he couldn’t go. And hopefully, he’ll understand. 

The day passed on as usual, everyone doing their daily duties and chores. Antonio however, stayed in his room all day. Never even coming down for lunch or dinner. Not like he needed to, there were fruit trees of all sorts in his room. So, he had no need to come down whatsoever. 

On the inside, he was seething mad. His intuition screamed at him to go, but he didn’t want to go against his mother’s wishes. All day he was fighting with himself to no end. It was honestly infuriating.

His animals attempted to speak to him as maturely as they could. In which they all took his mama’s side, much to his dismay. 

“She just wants you to be safe, young one”

“Mothers always know what’s best”

“Don’t be so upset, little cub. She’s just trying to protect from something terrible”

On and on, and on. None of them really made him feel better but he did see things from her perspective. But he just wished he saw the vision tablet, maybe it’s something he could avoid if he thought hard on it. 

Soon nightfall came, and everyone headed off to bed. Some concern was there for Antonio, but they thought it was best to just leave him alone. It was getting late and Antonio decided to finally take it down a notch. He climbed up his large tree, hopping from branch to branch, to his hammock bed.

After he laid his head down, he slept for a couple hours. Irritating slumber as his dreams showed him out on the open road. But everything would switch from calm beautiful scenery, laughing with people he couldn’t fully see, to monsters chasing him away.

Until he heard it…a small symphonic tune that called for him, again, and again. His eyes shot open at the fourth “call”. He sat up and looked around, no one but sleeping animals and fireflies were there. 

Tonito shook his head and laid back down, putting his pillow over his head to ignore the sound. 

“Go…go little one…you must go”

Antonio’s hand lifted the pillow ever so slightly to his angry face. A groan escaped him as he sat up again.

“Go little one, you must go”

Out of irritation, Antonio made his way off his hammock and out of his tree using the mushroom steps and across the little bridge. After stepping over a few animals, he made it down. The tree he had was illuminated with many lanterns sitting on tree branches. All of which would turn themselves off when the sun came, and come on when the moon came. 

It made everything look so surreal and calming. However, Antonio wasn’t really in a calm state. More so anxious and confused. That damn sound would not leave him alone. 

“Go now, you have the chance-”

Antonio got so frustrated he decided to speak to it, “I can hear you, but I won’t. Some look for trouble, while others don’t.” The teen boy walked further into his jungle home, far behind the tree to clear his head. 

He looked up at the moon and sighed, “There’s a thousand reasons I should go about my day, and ignore your whispers which I wish would go away ooooh”

He heard the sound again and rolled his eyes, mocking the sound “Oooooh”

And there it was again, irritatingly, there it was again. Antonio began to walk faster, as if the faster he walked, the farther away he could get from the sound. But that was untrue because it just kept coming. 

“You're not a voice! You're just a ringing in my ear, and if I heard you, WHICH I DON’T! I’m spoken for, I fear.”

He looked around the jungle, expecting to see the thing calling out to him. All small, look at the hot air balloon that was still sitting behind his tree.Still waiting to be turned on and used for adventure. Unfortunately, there was nothing there. But he could hope. 

“Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls, I’m sorry secret siren but I’m blocking our calls. I don’t need an adventure…I don’t need something new…” Antonio thought about his words, how he was lying to himself. He longed for an adventure for the longest time. 

Ever since he learned about Madrigal’s going on adventures when they were 12.

He thought about the sound calling out to him to go. How it could be just himself or…maybe something that’s trying to get him to go out there. To see the world and all it has to offer…or something that wants to hurt him. So many possibilities.  

“I’m afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you, into the unknown!”

The symphonic call sang two more times. Urging him to follow his intuition and HIS instincts. He wanted to do it so much. He needed to. But…what if he was going to make a mistake and mess up? What if he leads himself to his own demise…or what if discovers something amazing?

He walks down the hill to a river and stares down at himself. Seeing his reflection and the moon above shimmering in the water. 

“What do you want? ‘Cause you’ve been keeping me awake…are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake.” But then he thought more about it, maybe this could be something great. “Or are you someone out there who knows what’s truly me, who knows deep down…I’m not where I’m meant to be…”

All the madrigals had their adventures and lived to tell the tale. Lived to see new places, new people, and the thrill of experiencing something new. Antonio wanted that, he wanted all of it. Every single bit of it. 

“I want to feel my power grow, don’t you know there’s part of me that longs to goooo” 

All of a sudden, an orange wisp appeared to him. A magical little flame that swirled around him and flew off poofing into beautiful glittering smoke. The teen boy walked into the smoke and images started appearing before him.

“Into the unknown…”

The dwarf kingdom, the Elf kingdom, the orc kingdom, and the dragon kingdom. All four places are what Antonio is aware of but never been to. Only heard about them in stories from his parents or tio’s elven and dwarf friends. 

Then…the rulers appeared tall and strong, standing above him. All looking down at him and smiling. The rulers of prosperous kingdoms were smiling at him. But how could that be? Was he going to meet them? 

But if that were true…what didn’t his mother see? Was there something wrong?

“Are you out there? Do you know me? Can you feel me? Can you show me?” 

The wisp took all of the magical images away and showed new ones. Ones of stone giants, trolls, Wargs, Rhosgobel Rabbits, Orcs, Elves, dragons, dwarves, were-beasts and beings, walking trees, creatures of which Antonio did not recognize but it still looked awesome!

Was this his journey? How could it be so fantastic? What was waiting for him when he left.

Most of the beasts shown were creatures Antonio should have been afraid of. However, he has never been afraid of anything. His family could literally kill with the gifts they had, even him. So why should he be afraid of anything?

The wisp showed new images; A sword, armor, a bow and arrow, a what looked like a whip sword. And in an instant, the wisp took all of the pictures away and swirled around Antonio again. Leaving him to chase after it. 

“Where are you going, don't leave me alone! How do I follow you-”He follows the light up to a cliff, running as fast as he can to catch it.

And then, it disappeared…puffing into smoke that dissipated into the air. 

“Into the unknown…”

Antonio panted as he tried to understand what just happened. What the actual hell??? As he thought about it. He realized that…he couldn’t be here. He can’t be here. And with a look of determination, Antonio ran back to his tree and started to pack up again. To hell with his mothers fears, he was needed for something important. 

He didn’t know what but he knew somewhere in his gut that he needed to GO. So, that’s what he was going to do.  

Some spare clothes, books, and the gold coins he saved up from doing his chores and helping out around the village. Which was about 20,000 coins give or take. Enough for him to buy whatever he needed along the way. 

All that moving around caused Parce to wake up, a little irritated that his slumber was disturbed. 

“There better be a good reason you have woken me, little cub.”

Antonio looked at the cat and whispered, “of course there is, we’re leaving.” The boy said, leaving no room for argument.

The jaguar looked puzzled at that statement, “But I thought we weren’t. Your mother had said so herself.” 

“Yeah well…now we are. I’m needed out there for something important, I just know it.” 

Parce didn’t quite know what to say to that, what could he say to the determined child? 

“Alright…” the creature stretched its limbs and back, “Should I step into the flying balloon then?”

“No, we’ll sleep until early morning, right now it’s only-!” He looked at the clock, “it’s only two thirty , we’ll wake at six PM.”

Without any more words, the jaguar walked into the hot air balloon, laid down,  and attempted to go back to sleep. Antonio stopped moving around to think about what he needed. He got it and walked down the mushroom steps attached to the tree and made his way out of his room.

He needed some memorabilia from everyone in his family. Something that he will just “borrow” for the time being as well. The first room he snuck into was his hermano Camilo’s room. As soon as he stepped inside he heard his brother snoring loudly. It made the teen chuckle. 

When he further stepped into the room, spot lights shined themselves on him. Causing the boy to jump in fear. But he needed this, needed light to see where he was going. 

Quietly, he speed walked up to the stage of his room and to the right, walking up some steps. After that, slowly he stepped his way over to Camilo’s closet and opened it. A creak was heard but nothing more than that.

Once opened, Antonio quickly snatched a ruana from the closet, closed it, and ran off the stage. Meeting the floor with a thud and running toward the bedroom door. One item has already been achieved. 

Next room was Mirabel’s. Why didn’t he go to Dolores’ room? Because that would be the dumbest thing he could do. He was praying she didn’t hear his steps as it is. Going into her room would wake her up instantly. And he already had a sewn ascot from her anyway, he’ll wear that on the journey. 

When he made it to Mira’s room, he slowly crept inside. It was dark so the only thing he could do was get on his knees and crawl toward Mirabel’s bed. His hand reached for a basket, somewhere he knew her knitting needles would be.

And just like he hoped, they were there, as well as some yarn. The next thing he needed was her sewing needles. But even if he made it over to her dresser, there was no way he could find the needles. 

So, in an act of courage, he stood and walked over to her window. Removing the hatch and opening it ever so slightly to illuminate the room. After that, he tip-toed over to the dresser and opened it, quietly moving the objects in the way. 

After a few seconds of searching, he found them as well as some fabric. Items three (knitting needles), four (yarn), five (sewing needles), and six (fabric patches) are archived. These would come in handy if he ever needed to patch a hole or make a quick shawl or something of the like. 

The next two things he needed were a vest from his tio agustin, Luisa’s wrist guards, Isabela’s signature colorful waist scarf. Some random fabric she liked to wear for some reason that Antonio only understood as a style choice. It has smudges of paint and powder on it from so many projects of hers. The guards were too big for his tiny wrists but he could cut and sew them into a size that he could fit into, same for the vest. 

So, just like he did with Camilo and Mirabel’s rooms, he snuck in and out of all three rooms with ease. The last item he got was from downstairs. Juelita’s cookbook. Antonio was aware that she had tons more locked away somewhere. He overheard a conversation that his mother and aunt were having. 

Something something, “if a fire ever happened, my signature cookbook as well as the family photo album would be like in a fireproof chest under my bed”

So, the one he was taking from the kitchen wouldn’t affect her too much. He swiped the book and quickly but quietly ran up the stairs to his room. Stuffing all the items into his backpack once he got a hold of it. 

Antonio grabbed a lantern from his tree, which he cursed himself for not thinking of earlier, and went back out for six more items. Three shirts from his father, his mothers head scarf, Tio Bruno's ruana, and his abuela’s shawl . There was no way those things weren’t going with him. 

As he did all of the others, he snuck into his parents room and took three shirts from his fathers closet. Antonio had to sit the lantern down to stuff the shirts under his arm, then pick up the lantern again. 

The next item was his mama’s scarf, which he took from her dresser. He stuffed the scarf from his arm and was about to leave, but something stopped him. 

Antonio lifted up the lantern in the direction of his parents’ bed. He looked at them sadly as the realization of what he was doing finally kicked in. He was leaving them. When both of them told him to stay for his safety. 

He made his way over to their bed, Pepa’s side specifically. He bent down and kissed her on the head, then he went over to his papa and did the same. 

“I love you both but…I have to go. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can” He quietly whispered. Truly saddened that he couldn’t stay for them. 

After that he left to get the two other items and went back to his room to put the last of them into his backpack. 

“Don’t cry.” Antonio thought to himself, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, this is for the best and it’s happening for a reason. They’ll understand in due time.”

Once everything was packed, Antonio set his alarm clock and crawled back up to his hammock. Sighing as he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber. Today will be a day of adventure, something he will NOT let slip through his fingers. 

Six thirty came about rather quickly, and Antonio hated that. The quicker time went by, the faster it came time for Antonio to leave his family. 

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.” 

Antonio did his daily morning routine and ended it with getting dressed in most of his family’s clothing. His father's gold button up shirt with triangle patterns on the ends of it. It was a little big on him but something he could deal with by just tucking in the shirt.

His mother’s orange scarf wrapped around his head and Dolores’ sewn ascot around his neck. On top of his shirt was Camilo's orange ruana, on his waist was Isabela's waist scarf, and lastly Luisa's wrist bands that he edited to fit him. 

After that, he wrote a letter to his family.

.

“Dear familia, I know I was told to stay but I simply cannot do that. I’m needed somewhere out there and I must follow my instincts and intuition.  If fate permits, I will see you all by my thirteenth birthday. I love you all so much, so please forgive me for what I have done.

With love, Antonio Madrigal”

It was short but what else could he add? He was hearing voices so he decided to go out into the wide world on a hunch? Don’t think so. Antonio left the note on a mushroom step, a spot someone should see when they enter his room. 

Pico was still asleep so Antonio carefully held the nest he was sleeping in and took it to the hot air balloon, where Parce was sleeping, and placed it at the bottom of the wicker basket. The bird would be told the news when he awoke. 

The envelope (balloon part) of the contraption had patches of red, orange, yellow, and brown reinforced fabric. Colors that show his side of the family. The basket that Antonio stood in had blues, purples, magentas, and greens to show the blue family, his abuela, and uncle.  Personally weaved by a dwarf friend of Pepa and Juleita. The only dwarf Antonio has ever met in his life.

Dwarves, Orcs, Elves, and dragon borns were a rarity to find among people. They were only seen out of their kingdoms when they had business overseas or left their kingdom as a way of escaping someone.

Simply seeing the colors almost made the boy cry but he remained strong and stern, he had a purpose in this. He just didn’t know what it was yet. But he soon would find out, and oh boy, would part of him had wished he stayed home. 

-

Pepa woke up in a cold sweat, she saw her youngest baby in a state of peril, and she could do nothing to help. And before she could see him fully slain, she woke up. What on earth did she just see? No…no…no…no, that wasn’t going to happen. Her son was safe in his room…holding a grudge.

She needed to talk to him. To get him to understand why she said no. Maybe then he’ll understand, and possibly it’ll scare him into staying home and never stepping outside until he turns thirteen. Yeah, that should work. 

As she sat up she noticed that she was drenched in water and a heavy black cloud was above her head. Great, she more than likely drenched the bed. She looked over at her husband, who was also wet, and he was still sleeping. 

So slowly and quietly, she got off her bed and snuck out of her room once more. As she made her way to his room, she noticed that his door was open. That was strange, surely he didn’t run away…right?!

She opened the door and walked inside to see no sign of her son. Not even in his hammock. Her heart skipped a beat. Thunder clapped in her dark cloud. Quickly, she ran over to the tree and walked up the mushroom steps, into the middle section of the tree. She looked up and her son was not there at all. Pepa started to panic. 

“Antonio!” she yelled in fear, where was her baby?!

As she was about to make her way down the steps again, she saw an envelope on a mushroom step. She walked down a few steps and picked it up, opened it, and read it. 

A storm will be approaching Encanto very soon….

-

The people who inspired this au and just my mutuals!

@thefourchimes

@miracles-and-butterflies

@gamerbearmira

@evostar

@honeybeebytheseaa

If you have questions about anything my asks and comments are opens and reblogs are appreciated

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

So this is more to be answered after WTT but I wanted to ask now: thoughts on the 2022-23 season overall? How did you feel about scoring overall? The various skaters? Did any skaters catch your eye? How did you feel about the lack of Russians (please don't bring them back, ISU)? Yuzu and Nathan weren't competing, how did the men's field feel without the two titans? And any other thoughts on the season (and also Shoma's season in particular if you want)

So WTT is over...time to answer I guess 😉

Are you in for a long read bc there are a lot of questions 😅

Thoughts on the season overall?

I think there was long time no season as unpredictable as this one. All disciplines were quite unpredictable in almost every competition. You obviously still had favorites for the events but still the winner was not clear when in last seasons you could predict winners most of the time especially in ice dance. I think probably most predictable for wins was Shoma as even with mistakes he was far off the field and results do tell the story. Can you imagine that Shoma finished the season undefeated and actually never did his full layout? Crazy huh? Kaori was not the clear favorite you could have expected, she had a lot ups and downs. Same was for Loena Hendrickx. Ladies was as interesting as ever and for the first time in years I had lot of fun watching ladies competitions. Kihara/Miura were in constant battle with the US team, they won the comps but also profited from their mistakes. In the GP series I was kinda disappointed with the Pairs competition and perceived them as quite boring, but Worlds actually surprised me with the variety of good Pair skaters. I think you can see the development of this discipline. I thought it was an enjoyable season. I like chaos 🔥. I like when it's exciting who will win.

How do you feel about scoring?

Actually over the years I care less and less for scoring. The system is too rigged to be completely fair. I think the judging overall was mostly as fair as it can get in the season, means scoring was as expected with all the shortcomings it offers, nothing too out of the box besides that WR scores for Chock/Bates because wth? I was actually quite surprised that Ilia's PCS score didn't rise as much as I feared. I take the little victories at this point. Y'all know I am not one to be too rigid with technical stuff in scoring as I also see the shortcomings in the rulebook with too much freedom for interpretation, but let's say I was not too pissed off by the scoring most of the time, which I take as either "a victory for my nerves" or "a process of scores are meaningless anyway" 😅 I think overall the right ppl won the events with some few exceptions.

Did any skater catch your eye?

Actually mostly juniors: Hannah Lim/Ye Quan in ice dance. It's been a while I was this excited for an ice dance team. Minsol Kwan - her performance level at 13 years of age is extraordinary. Jia Shin and Mao Shimada also impressed me. But also the Australian Pair who competed in Juniors most of the season and had a fabulous debut in seniors at Worlds.

As for seniors Kao Miura definitely catched my eye. His energy and jumps are stunning to witness, especially live. I think his energy is sometimes a bit too much, but once he learns to control it he'll can be the full package.

Nina Pinzarrone is a skater I really adored first at Euros and especially when I could see her live at Challenge Cup. She's sweet.

Then there are a couple of skaters I long know or like but who got me on a new level of being their fan: Two are definetly Junhwan Cha and Haein Lee. At this Worlds and WTT they were on fire. They really did find their best at the end of the season. In general I really love Team South Korea, their comradery and their programs.

Keegan Messing - I always loved Keegan but now that it was clear that this would be his last season I cried many times over Keegan, the most just today. It made me realize how much I really adored him and how much I will miss him.

Adam Siao Him Fa is another skater I really like more and more. Sadly he had not the best ending to his season but he brings something special to the ice.

How did you feel about the lack of Russians?

I think banning the Russians is the right decision. Russia is using sport as a propaganda tool and sadly a lot of Russian coaches and skaters do support their agenda in words and actions. I think it's unimaginable how you can welcome them back to competitions. I for one would not know how to react when I suddenly face the Russians again at competitions knowing how they will be used for promotion. This war against Ukraine is a crime and as long as the war is on I don't want any of them back on international stages and I seriously hope that the consideration of letting them compete under neutral flag will not happen. Did the Olympics not teach anyone a lesson? They do not care for sanctions such as a neutral flag. Sports and politics cannot be separated and everyone saying it's not a conflict is lying. This all being said I liked or still like a lot of Russian skaters and despite the awful scoring at times - which the athletes themselves are not at fault - so it would be lie to say that I am not sad to not see one or the other, but tbh I didn't see any of the Russian competitions and I did not look at any of their programs. I just cannot watch it. I do not support it. I am not even sure how to follow those I am/was a fan of. I cannot suddenly unlike them, but I also do not feel good about supporting any of them like I used to. (Personally the skaters are not at fault for the war and I do understand why they don't take action against it, but still saying nothing doesn't mean they don't agree on what is happening. They were at the roots of the propaganda, it would actually be logical if they would follow the general Russian mindset.)

So to say I was completely unaffected would be a lie, BUT I don't miss Russian skaters at competitions especially in ladies it was so much more fun than all these years before where unfair rooftop scoring and predictability made it just unbearable at times. I would even say men and ice dance were hardly affected overall by their absense. It's not like they were the top notch only. In Pairs I thought about the Russians because this discipline especially in the GP series had a lower level than what we were used to. But I'd rather take empty fields than Russians back on a big stage. I do not want them back at any cost before the war in Ukraine is over.

Continued in Part 2 because this is already very long...

[writerfae]

Hi! In honor of learning that Aiden loves kids (CALLED IT) I thought I'd tell you about Adél's little brother, Ákos (because I think Aiden would be the kind of babysitter who kids love, but he almost gets lost in the woods with them, and I just want to see him with Ákos).

So, Ákos is 10 years old when the story takes place.

He is really smart and he loves to read. He is always curious. His life's goal seems to be to know everything about everything. He always has to be learning something or else he gets bored and becomes really restless. But the things he learns do not have to be big or exciting. He can just study the pattern on a wall and he'll be good for a few hours.

He is pretty socially inept, due to being raised in a castle all his life. He is really nice, but he asks too many and sometimes unintentionally insensitive questions. This means he doesn't have a lot of friends.

A lot of people find him annoying, and he can be, but it's never intentional. He is a sweet kid.

Unfortunately he is also really naive. Because nothing that bad has ever happened to him, he doesn't know how dangerous a situation can actually get. Combine this with his curious nature and... well curiosity killed the cat, right?(he doesn't die)

He thinks that every person who lives has something cool about them because to him everyone's lives are different and exciting.

But the coolest people are his siblings (including Bendegúz, who is not raleted to them by blood but they knew echother since he was born!)

I want to once again stress that he is really nice and sweet, and when he loves someone he loves them deeply!(sorry, I've been in a lot of fandoms where the kids are called brats and are despised for getting into trouble and I have ptsd)

I feel like I'm forgetting something but I don't know what so for now this is him!

Also, he has a cat mask that Adél made but she gave it to him, and it was practically his safety blanket in the Black swamp, he rarely takes it off, and I think Aiden would adore it.

Also also I think Adél and Maya deserve to have a calming cup of tea together.

Hey there! So I got finally around to answer your ask (again, I’m sorry you had to wait)

Ákos sounds like a good kid! I feel like he’d get along great with Henry since the two seem to have some stuff in common!

I love characters that are curious. And I think it’s really sweet how he seems to be so interested in getting to know people and their stories, I feel like he’s a very empathic person.

If even the smallest things are worth to learn about for a person, that’s always great. Love that Ákos seems to appreciate the little things, too.

You made me curious about his relationship to his siblings! They seem to adore each other (and you know how much I love that). It’s good that he has them, especially since you said he doesn’t have many friends.

It makes lots of sense though, of course growing up within castle walls and being protected makes one less aware of danger and more naive. That’s always the risk if rulers raise their kids like that. But he’ll surely overcome that eventually.

The fact with the cat mask sounds really cute too! In general I think the boy sounds really adorable, he deserves all the love he can get!

I’m sure Aiden would enjoy him too. And you’re right about Aiden babysitting btw. Children love him but he’s also lowkey chaotic (maybe that’s why the kids like him?).

For his niece he is the one and only babysitter (she doesn’t want anyone else). Especially in modern AU they get lots of interaction and have a good relationship. So I think Aiden and Ákos would get along quite well too! He could join their fun babysitter adventures while Adél drinks tea with Maya

As a little bonus, cause I made you wait so much, here’s two snippets showing Aiden’s superb babysitter skills TM

1.

“Hey babe, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out?” Talon asked when Aiden answered the phone. “The new movie you wanted to watch is out now.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t today. It’s date night, Henry and Callan are out, so I’m taking care of Celene.” “Oh I see. Stuck babysitting, eh?”

Right on cue, the young girl came running, throwing her arms around Aiden’s legs, looking up to him with big amber eyes.

“Is that your boyfriend, uncle Ad? Can he come over too? Please!”

Aiden laughed. “That’s a good idea, princess. We'll ask him... Hey Tal, why don’t you come over instead and watch a movie with me and Celene?”

“We’re watching Wall-E,” Celene shouted excitedly.

“Yeah we’ll watch Wall-E.” Talon on the other side chuckled. “I don’t know-”

“Come on love,” Aiden interrupted him. “We’re even making dinosaur nuggets.” It was quiet for a while as the other considered the offer.

“Okay,” Talon then answered. “I'll be over in fifteen minutes.”

Aiden smiled triumphantly. “Alright, see you in fifteen minutes then.”

2.

“Aiden, don’t tell me you lost my daughter.”

“I did not lose her, Henry, she’s hiding.”

“But you don’t know where?”

“No, that’s kind of the point of hiding.”

“And the point of babysitting is to have an eye on the baby, you know that right?”

“Of courses I know. But in my defense, she’s very good at hide and seek.”

“...”

“So back to my question, where in your house would you hide if you were a tiny three year old?”

(Bonus bonus: idk if you read it yet but here’s the link to a modern au snippet of Talon and Aiden babysitting Celene and baby Tamlen)

Thank you for sharing more about your characters with me, it’s an honor! ^^

[its-a-swift-kloss]

I'm sorry but Kaylor Tumblr is an echo chamber right now, and dumb echo chamber at that.

Everyone including Swifties have been bored of the pap walks Taylor has been doing with her friends since after the first two or three she's done after dumping Toe, nobody wants to see Taylor do the same boring pap walks with the same boring people at the same boring restraunts while the vast majority of people think that her current street style looks like complete crap.

Swifties were so bored of all this boring shit that Taylor's doing for the 1989 TV rollout that a lot of them were coming up with wild theories about how there is going to be a secret B-side to 1989 TV that has vault tracks with titles that don't sound boring as shit and collabs with actually cool and interesting celebrities. The excitement Taylor drummed up for Swifties with the Google vault puzzle didn't even last that long, the excitement all died off within two hours of Taylor announcing the vault track names and Swifties went back to coming up with "theories" to try and make 1989 TV and everything around it less boring.

Taylor bearding with this football dude was actually a good move for her to make because now Swifties aren't bored to death over how lackluster the rollout for 1989 TV is anymore and now she's got the attention of people who wouldn't be interested in her without this dude as potential new consumers of her products and the only downside of her doing this was pissing off a miniscule section of her fandom, Gaylors, who have a major issue with too many of them acting like awful over-entitled brats because she's her own person who handles her closet exactly the way she wants to instead of coming out of the closest for the benefits of others even thought Taylor's indicated in her most recent album Midnights that coming out of the closet just so others can benefit is something she has zero interest or intention of doing.

Hello, anon. So, let me see if I got it right. You think everyone was bored and that's why Taylor had to get a beard? That he'll solve all the problems by keeping swifties occupied and boosting her sales? I don't even- lol first, if your fanbase is so thirsty for news or entertainment that they can't sit still for a few weeks, something is wrong in the way you handle them. She's either sending the wrong signals, spoiling them with too much content to the point that when one thing happens (like the vault to solve), they're already antsy for the next thing. Did they forget about the year she spent away?? Maybe they need reminding. If you kept up with her during 2014-2015, you'll remember what it was like the 1989 era - she did promote that album a lot. It worked and she didn't need a guy for it, how crazy. What I think most ppl around me are saying, is that she's the Taylor Swift. She doesn't need a man to boost her numbers. Sure, she's reaching a new territory and a new audience with this stunt, but she doesn't need it to make big bucks. She's at the top of her game, she's reaching a new high every day. Just check the charts or how her concerts are sold out. Not to mention that 1989 is an era based on her being single and happy, her preaching all around about having fun with her friends and enjoying life without a relationship. That seems to have been thrown out of the window now. She could do better promo if she wanted to, bc we've seen it before. Now it seems like even if she just dumped her last beard in the first semester, she can't go more than a few months without a guy. What message does it send, anon? Ppl have every right to be annoyed, even if we do understand she's doing it for even bigger numbers and to have a wider audience. Most of us have been here for years keeping up with her story. As far as I've seen, no one is being an asshole demanding her to come out or whatever. They're just wondering why this same old story again. You're allowed your feelings and opinions, anon, but remember, so are we.

[sapphixxx]

FUUUUCCCKKKKKK okay just watched ep.10 and now I'm just genuinely impressed at how this show balances a) it's animation budget and b) the wildly different tone changes based clearly on the kind of story beats they know audiences likely expect from this type of story.

To a) it's just really cool seeing that they probably had to reel back the animation costs and, accordingly, a lot of scenes are animated in a far looser less detailed style usually with noticeably fewer frames. But it seems like the production team are like, genuinely crazy enthusiastic about animation so things go super off model but in a bunch of different really fun ways that all communicate maximum characterization for that shot or scene, or when they need to just hold a shot for a long time with no frames of animation aside from some small incidental background elements they look like shit you'd gawp at in the art book so it's still dramatic as hell.

To b) though, I dunno, they subvert expectations without falling directly and irrevocably into the trap of being chained to the ghost of said expectations, constantly twitching in paranoia of the eyes peeking from the shattered 4th wall. Rather than the result simply being the opposite of what you might expect, it's like, the result goes down differently because the whole situation is fundamentally a different kind of story beat than what you might have expected.

Like okay, one of the really common scenes in post apocalypse fiction that has over the years just made me not want to even bother is like, when the characters find themselves among new friends, safe, happy, relieved. And then something sweeps in and murders everyone brutally and rips that happiness away. The direct subversion is when that disaster is averted and everyone is fine. These two versions of the events repeating in an endless cycle of trying to subvert the other each becoming more bleak and empty with every cycle of fiction to come out.

And I dunno, there's been a LOT of moments that it seemed like things could go either of those ways, and every time it has gone neither. Man discovers his 1 year old child is still alive. After celebrating the reunion, everyone is attacked by a monster in the night. It turns out the baby was the monster. In many stories either they gotta kill the baby (or do so unwittingly), or they're just like well phew!!! He'll learn to control it someday ^_^ or they say the latter and then the baby kills them after all, blah blah blah. But in this case they don't kill the baby, but the guy DOES willingly shatter the peace by murdering one of his former friends for tangential reasons. And it's like, shit dude, I was on edge the whole time cause clearly SOMETHING BAD was gonna happen. And for that thing to be a lateral step that still ties into everything going on so it's not a complete ass pull, that maintains a sense of all these little pockets of society operating with their own history that started before the camera got to them and will continue long after is like. Shit dude! That's honestly kinda rare! If they're gunning for multiple seasons I don't know if it's something that could be kept up, but it's damn exciting right now that's for sure.

[winniewon]

the less likable goonies

ft @xkilljxy @notwaldenpond @xavecamour @hauntedscreams

"where's alexander?"

the question hung in the quiet air for only a brief moment between the four third year deviants huddled at the door of the slytherin common room in tense anticipation before one finally cleared his throat and reminded them.

"it's a full moon."

which meant alexander zabini, the aforementioned sage of all things secret, would not be joining them on this little outing. he had regularly scheduled lunatic undertakings of a less capital variety to sort.

"aw, tits." "I'm sure that's what he'll be seeing." "ha!"

the boys jostled about in their ribbing, but a slightly more feminine figure grew bored and forcefully shoved open the dungeon door. it groaned and swung so that the uncharmed air chilled their cheeks, and she started slinking down the corridor at a steady pace, expecting to be followed.

"and he already told me everything he fucking knows."

a scarred hand gestured back at antonin dolohov who raised a folded parchment containing a suspiciously acquired set of blueprints as if to punctuate that blunt statement with proof. he was a particularly handsome boy even in the midst of puberty with long raven locks that framed his equally dark features. yet, he revealed nothing with his expression but a sardonic indifference to their chaotic surroundings.

"why'd he tell you?" to his left was walden macnair. a chubby cheeked kid who had obviously just hit a growth spurt and was still trying to figure out this new wingspan. still, they all knew he had at least two hatchets strapped to the belt underneath his cloak and physically could not contain the excited expression on his face for anything.

damocles belby stood exhausted to the far right. the leather satchel hoisted over his shoulder clattered and tinked with every step much to his apparent annoyance. he had rings under his eyes and his hair was slightly disheveled (or perhaps hadn't ever been styled), but the collar sat flat against his well-fitting sweater vest and his pants were perfectly pressed. he sighed.

"ooh, probably since I have excessive experience in memorizing the security patterns of high level enterprises for this specific purpose with less than a twenty-four hour time frame, and, let's see, can you remember what the fuck we had for breakfast today?"

"winnie-"

guinevere montague, more commonly known as winnie, turned on her heel without breaking pace, stepping blindly backwards with as much confidence as one would sprint down a racetrack. a scrawny and sleek spit of thing that beneath the heinous scarring and tattoos most would mistake for a girl at first glance, and perhaps she was once, but that part of her seemed to have already died before anyone here met her.

"now, now. give him a proper chance." she chided.

"I didn't even get to eat breakfast." "we definitely had toast."

one voice drowned out the other as the two persons who remained unasked answered her question instead. the wicked, wily smile that winnie wore was ill fit for the lovely, young face that bore it. "see? they have absolutely no faith in you, and for the fucking record, antonin had toast, you had eggs, I had both and also dam's pastry."

walden chuckled as they scrambled out of the castle and headed towards the forbidden forest without any interference. "I don't get it. was I supposed to remember breakfast? it was lunch that was fun."

luckily, antonin managed to get the schedule regarding the prefects rounds for this particular evening, and damocles happily spent half of his monthly allowance to bribe some kids with arranged alibi's for the lot of them. meanwhile, walden ensured an 'incident' in the greenhouse to thoroughly distract the majority of the staff.

it should have been a straight shot through the woods to a clearing just past the barrier enchantment that prevented any magical means of travel to and from the school where winnie previously hid a portkey meant to take them to straight into gringotts. it should have been, but then again, it was a full moon. a panicked voice erupted from the shrubbery.

"get down!"

[rosesoflilac]

WELCOME TO THE ERAS TOUR!

summary: the eras tour comes to the devildom! how excited are they for the hottest show in town? pairing: demon brothers (excluding belphie and beel) x gn!reader, suggestive (asmo) a/n: hi my name is rose and ill be your host this evening :p this has been a long time coming.. :0 sorry for the puns. i will take any chance to relive the best night of my life. hope you enjoy I had a lot of fun thinking about the bros going to the eras tour bc they r just so silly. apologies for not including belphie and beel, i love them but not enough to write them </3

LUCIFER - evermore (ivy, marjorie, happiness).

-> Lucifer does not understand the hype around the eras tour. Loud and large events arent really his scene, but he goes to have this shared experience with you. He values its importance because you are so excited and he would do anything to keep you smiling at him like that.

-> Leading up to the concert, to get him excited you gift him some of her albums on vinyl that you'd think he enjoy. I think he would really love folklore and evermore because of their instrumentals. I also see him enjoying Lover songs. If he is less perceptive to listening to her albums, start playing piano-only versions of her music to lure him into discovering other parts of her discography.

-> As I mentioned before, Lucifer would prefer piano instrumentals, impressed that the meaning of the song is still conveyed without knowing the words. 

-> To make him less grumpy take him on a Taylor Swift mjuseum tour!! I think he would appreciate learning more about Taylor's life before connecting to her music. He also just loves a good tour.

MAMMON - reputation (i did something bad, dress, new years day).

-> Girl the amount of debt he owes to witches triples when he learns that you like taylor swift. prepared to be spoiled with taylor merch and lots of it. (he definitely has bets on what surprise songs she might play).

-> Mammon is more of an r&b kind of demon but I think he can still appreciates the different genres taylor has explored. 

->i can see him resonating a lot with fearless (golden color -> grimm/how it feels when you look at him), reputation bc what if one day he leans into the scumbag roll his brothers assigned him? it's also the love album of taylor swift albums.

->He'll “never” let you know his true feelings about Taylor but it's obvious he likes her because you do. Days leading up to the concert you hear him humming melodies of her songs- of course he'd learn the setlist for ya, he wouldn't embarrass you- himself by not knowin’ the words!

LEVIATHAN - 1989 (TV) (new romantics, how you get the girl, wildest dreams).

-> Let's be real, Levi bought you the tickets because he understands the hype and needing to see your favorite artist in person. Plus, you would do the same for him. However, he is super nervous about being in such a giant crowd. He goes back and forth about wanting to go- surely you’ll have a better time with someone else right? Give him plenty of reassurance that he is the one you want and all will be well!

-> Goes all out for the costumes. He makes the perfect couples costumes for you two to wear and you guys slay! It’s more song themed than you guys trying to look hot (think evermore tree)  At the show everyone is complimenting your fits- Levi gets embarrassed when you give him credit for the costume work.

-> Omg all his karaoke sessions instead of anime songs it's Taylor songs now. I see him being a 1989 girlie because of its high energy. Similar to Lucifer, I think if there are any anime rendition covers of her songs or any video games Taylor related he will love it lol. I'm picturing like Taylor Swift meets Hatsune Miku Colorful Stage.

-> Overall is so happy he went, is super impressed with the choreography and stages Taylor set up for her different eras. Congrats Taylor! A new swiftie has been obtained.

-> Omg side note- he definitely is able to get the rare merch (like the cardigans) and will wait all day for any contests/enter so many giveaways just for you.

SATAN - red (TV) (state of grace, better man, run)

-> I think Satan finds out about Taylor Swift before the Eras Tour was even a thing because of some cat themed merchandise of hers that you were wearing. Learning of her love for her cats gets an easy Satan stamp of approval.

-> Satan learns about her history and delves deep into her lore and how the entertainment industry works in the human world. He finds it fascinating that there are a lot of hollywood/entertainment industry mysteries. I can see him taking a particular interest in old Hollywood unsolved murder cases. 

-> As for his favorite album, I see Satan loving Red, the songs on that album have that fall study vibe and delve into more angstier emotions. I see him appreciating evermore and folklore as well for their storytelling ability.

-> At the concert, he is there to vibe with you but is on the chiller side. Will only consider dressing up if you really want him to do (and its cat related (see: the person who dressed up as Taylor’s character from cats))

ASMODEUS - midnights (maroon, bejeweled, vigilante shit)

-> Asmo is def going with you to spend time with you and for the vibes, he can’t turn down a good party! He feels a bit jealous with how excited you are, like he could do the Eras Tour right at home for you <3 Only during and after the show he understands your excitement; Taylor is gorgeous and ate her performance. His favorite sections were Lover and Vigilante Shit <3

-> Another incentive for Asmo to go is the promise that he can dress you up! Similar to Levi, he loves a good costume moment. However, he goes for the looks to kill approach instead of cosplaying different things in her songs or her previous outfits.

-> Asmo will learn most of her music but doesn’t really care about that- he’s there to see you look adorable and record you having the time of your life. He swears there isn’t anything more enchanting than when your favorite era begins. 

P.S. - the friendship bracelets with the brothers go hard. you make their own individual ones with their name and signature color

[timbertumbr]

Butterflies (Gonta Gokuhara X Reader)

Right so, whenever I write for Gonta, I'm going to do it in my headcanon, which is that he is very knowledgeable with animals, plants, bugs, etc. I also believe that the people who fight Gonta during his time in the woods would give him some knowledge. 

However, he'll still have some trouble with speech since, ya know, HE WAS IN THE WOODS FOR 10 YEARS. That is all, he's still the sweet boi but slightly less oblivious.

Note: This oneshot is a very sweet trip to the Zoo with Gonta, expect lots of fluff. Also the ending was a last minute addition, I was struggling to find an ending-

You decided to invite your (totally not a crush) friend Gonta for a trip to the zoo since you knew he liked animals just as much as he liked bugs. 

You waited by the entrance, seeing all the families and couples buying their passes and entering the world of ethical animal captivity. 

"Y/N!" Gonta called out, lightly jogging over to you with a big grin, you smiled up at him.

"Hey, ready to go in?" You ask as you put your hands in your pockets. (Doesn't matter what you're wearing, you have pockets now) 

"Yes! Gonta is very excited to see animals!" He's so precious, you turn on your heel and lead the way.

"Good answer! I'm paying for the entry fees," You pull out some cash that you're going to pay with and Gonta frowns.

"But… it's gentlemen's job to make friends comfortable, Gonta doesn't want to make Y/N feel required to pay for Gonta," You smile.

"And I'M comfortable paying for YOU. However, if you want to pay for food later, you can," Gonta smiles at that.

"Okay! It's deal!" You nod as you both enter the animal kingdom packaged up. You both look around at the various animals, Gonta giving you facts about the ones he knew from his time in the forest and some he learned recently from books and other sources. 

You couldn't help but smile and internally scream at how cute he was being. If you couldn't see a particular animal, Gonta would ask and then easily lift you up before pointing to the animal since he has insane vision.

Then you arrived at the reptile house and he. Fucking. Exploded with joy. He had literal stars in his eyes as he observed all the different reptiles, telling you stories of his forest family as the two of you looked around.

It just so happened they were hosting a reptile event, where you could feed and even gently hold reptiles. Oh he was ecstatic. He practically rushed over and started talking to the animals, confusing everyone but you. He is a speaker of the forest, ain't nothing stopping him from asking permission to hold a snake with the snakes permission.

In a matter of minutes he was covered head to toe in reptiles, the most joyful smile on his face as everyone else fed the reptiles and chatted with Gonta. Even the zoo staff was impressed!!

You took several pictures of the event as it went on. When it ended, Gonta ended up helping the zoo staff bring the reptiles to their respective captivities which they were very grateful for.

You went to the cafe at the zoo and Gonta happily paid for the food since you made a deal, and finally, you both went to the gift shop. You grabbed a snake plush to give as a gift while Gonta grabbed a plush of your favorite animal! You both end up paying for each other's gifts and exchanging plushies as you leave the zoo.

"This was very fun Y/N! If it's alright, Gonta would like to walk you home!" Always the gentleman, you smile at him.

"Sure, I don't mind," Gonta grins as the two of you set off. It isn't long before you're back.

"Gonta had a lot of fun! Gonta hopes we can do this again sometime!" You smile.

"Yeah, we can go to a cat cafe or a dog cafe or something!" Gonta nods.

"Also, Gonta appreciates the gift Y/N got for Gonta! Gonta will cherish it!" Your HEART- 

"I'm glad, and thank you for the plushie, you really didn't have too," 

"Y/N didn't need to either, yet we both thought of each other!" You smile softly.

"I guess we did," Gonta smiles and is about to say something when the bushes rustle, Gonta instinctively moves you behind him as he eyed the bush. It keeps shaking before a limping wolf emerges out of the bush. Gonta gasps and kneels, extending a hand to the wolf as you quickly go inside to grab a first aid kit.

When you return, Gonta is gently holding the mellowed out wolf in his lap as you slowly approach, opening the kit and handing Gonta what he needed; he's dealt with animal wounds with less available resources. In a matter of minutes, the wolf's leg was wrapped in a bandage, their tail wagging happily. Gonta happily and gently patted their head.

"Wolf friend says it is okay to pet them," With a grin, you start slowly and gently petting the wolf. The sun sets and the wolf's pack finds the injured wolf, Gonta telling them to stop by again to remove the bandage when it was healed. With a happy yip, they return to the woods. You smiled at Gonta who was really happy.

"Hey, it's pretty late. Why not stay over?" You offered, his face flushing as his eyes widened in surprise.

"I-Is it okay? Gonta doesn't want to intrude…" You smile and playfully ruffle his hair since he was still kneeling.

"You are never an intruding Gonta. You're always welcome," His face immediately brightens as he stands up.

"Then Gonta will be the best guest!" You smile.

"Awesome, I'm thinking animal and bug documentaries with snacks til we pass out," 

"That sounds delightful!" And with that, you enter your home and do just that, with the addition of cuddling of course. :)

[dream-a-little-bigger-darling000]

Author's Note: Hi that isn't my GIF. But this is my fic and I would really appreciate it if you told me how you thought it was, and if you especially like it, my requests are open friends. :3 I have the spicy sad right now, and needed a little angst with a happy ending. Ok, be fed I guess.

This has 3,000+ words, are you proud of me or what!?

From the prompt: As teenagers, a boy and a girl agree to marry if neither have by their 35th birthday. Follow the boy as he attempts to sabotage every relationship the girl has until then.

"Hey Tommy? I was thinking."

"That's a shit idea, you should stop doing that"

You swiped at the back of his head.

"Shut up you ass, I'm serious."

"Hi serious I'm- OW fucking hurt is what I am it's a joke, learn to take a-AH." You hurdled a handful of playground pebbles at the 17 year old.

"Alright, alright gorgeous, hit me- No! I meant hit me with the question you little shit." It was getting hard to breathe when he got you to giggle so hard.

You're laughter died down. You looked down, unsure if you could look at his face when you said this.

"I don't have a boyfriend." He abruptly stopped laughing, hiding the obvious fact that he almost choked on his own spit. You breathed a laugh again.

"I don't have a boyfriend. And you don't have a girlfriend." Your smile slipped off.

Tell him. Tell him, you're almost there. I don't have anyone, and you don't either except we do we have each we have each other we have-

You looked to Tommy, his boyish presence fitting on the swing set made for much younger kids. You were much younger kids when you met for the first time, on this very swing set. You think about telling him you fell in love with him when he pushed Jackson Paloski down on the asphalt because Jackson said trailer-trash can't play on the nice swing set. You didn't know it was love though, you were in the fourth grade but your heart still beat a little faster and when you asked him if you could sit beside him during lunch he huffed and complained, showing off he was moody and tough and haughty, but he very obviously made Michael Welsh move from his spot beside Tommy so that the pretty new girl could take her place beside him. And you stayed there. For years. Right beside him.

You felt the breath leave your lungs as you thought about telling him you can't stop thinking about him lately.

Can't stop hoping your skin will touch when he asks you to pass him something.

Can't help feeling like punching every girl that makes a scene trying to gain his attention. You're usually so focused on glaring at the girl that you miss the way he shrinks in on himself, the way he actively turns his body to you.

You think about telling him. And how telling him could mean you could do more, be more.

You think about telling him. And you think about him pulling away from you, gently gathering his things as he stumbles over how to let you down easily, unaware that that's not an option any more. Tommy letting you down would mean shattering.

You clench your jaw. His eyes try to tell you something.

"So. So since. We don't have someone." You look toward the Shell gas station across the street. Tommy wets his lips with a quick swipe of his tongue.

Your throat twinges, the twinge you get when you're trying to hold back tears. You shrug to yourself and let out a breathy laugh.

Coward.

"So since we don't have hot dates, we should make a deal." You make your voice upbeat. You know Tommy can call your bullshit but he doesn't, sit's quietly.

"If by the time we're 35, and we don't have a, someone, to, ya' know. We should get married." Your heart clenches. "If we don't have. Like if I don't have a husband, and you don't. Have a girl, or-" Tommy is quiet. White hot panic races up your spine. You look over at him.

Tommy looks-

He looks like he's frozen, like he's still a few sentences behind, and you're about to throw in the towel and swallow a few of these pebbles so you'll choke and die and won't have to hear his laughter tear apart your heart.

Then Tommy blinks and kind of hunkers in on himself, looks anywhere but you, eyes shifting and darting. His smile isn't his when he manages it.

"Oh, you're so on, sweetheart."

It's not quite right. The atmosphere is still tense and you feel like there's a conversation you're meant to be having, like there were supposed to be different words spoken and heard during that time.

But having Tommy, even if it's like this, even if he doesn't want you like you ache for him, is better than not having him at all.

Beside you, while you hurt quietly beside him, watching the sun set, rocking back and forth on the too low swing, Tommy swallows down self-hatred and overwhelming feelings. Instead, he schemes.

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

It's been five years since you've made your little deal with Tommy. Five years, and every single time you've tried to move on from the man, it's ended in catastrophe.

The time you two had just graduated high school and drove to Tommy's house so his older brother could congratulate you two. Brendan had had a buddy over that night, not much older than you, and you would be lying if you said you didn't flush appreciatingly at his sly smile toward you and the way he actively tried to add you in on the conversation.

The night ended rather abruptly when Tommy had spilled hot tea all over the guys front. Tommy was always collected, and it was rare moment when he was clumsy. Never mind the fact that Tommy never drank tea, and actively made fun of you drinking the stuff.

Or the time you two reluctantly went to Brendan's wedding. You loved Tess, and thought they were a great couple, but stomaching an entire ceremony of the two being gross and affectionate, all while you and Tommy couldn't boo and throw miscellaneous items at them? The entire evening was spent with Tommy snuggly against your side snarking quietly in your ear, so close you could feel his warm breath on the entire side of your face.

Yes, your plan of moving on was going swimmingly.

Then Tommy went to the bathroom, and a handsome man smiled at you across the room. You tentatively smiled back, and he moved as if to cross the distance. Then immediately stopped, his face dropping and his eyes widening slightly as he spotted something a little over your shoulder. You saw him clear his throat and veer toward a large group laughing.

Your felt your face slightly warm and your heart drop a little, self consciously looking over your shoulder.

And let out a noise of surprise.

Tommy stood behind you, so close for a second you thought a very well dressed wall had somehow appeared while you weren't looking. You had just enough time to see 'The Expression'.

Tommy was an amazing fighter. And all throughout high school, he made sure while he minded his own, he could also hold his own, and everyone knew it. He had developed an expression, one that scared every single boy in this town shitless. It was a mix between unbridled rage and open invitation. The message was pretty clear and universal.

Come get some.

You usually laughed and teased him about it, because to you it just looked like he stubbed his toe and he was trying not to yell.

You weren't expecting to see it at his brother's wedding, and you certainly weren't laughing now.

In a blink it was gone from his face, and he turned to you with his beautiful sweet smile, the smile that showed just a little peak of his slightly messed up front teeth. He usually reserved that smile for you. You had never seen anyone else on the receiving end.

"Tommy, why were you just-"

"This blows, I just passed Tess and Brendan flirting. They're already married, why would they keep doing that." He rolled his eyes, moving to your side as his hand disappeared behind your back.

"Tommy did you just square up to the guy checking me ou-"

"Brendan's friend is here, the one who can can do a Kick Up."

You stared at each other for a long moment. You felt his hand barely ghosting over the small of your back. His eyes where sharp, a little desperate.

"Tommy."

"There's also a rumor he killed a guy with just a playing card."

You licked your lips. He raised his eyebrows, his lips getting distracting.

"Shit Conlon, why didn't you start with that, take me to him."

Or the time, more recently, when you went to a match to watch Tommy completely destroy his opponent. You loved going out to see him fight. Loved the adrenaline and the satisfaction when Tommy won, making him less timid, a little more rowdy and confident, a little more touchy and feely.

You've kind of given up on the whole moving on thing, even if it was driving you up a wall.

Tommy had just won, and you were eagerly waiting to congratulate him, excited to hug him freely, without him wondering why you were hugging him to begin with. And maybe to hold on a little tighter. Maybe to allow your hands to rove a little more freely.

Hey, was it not a night for celebration?

A man started to chat you up. You smiled patiently and gave some noncommittal grunts and affirmations as you continued to scan the crowd, looking for the familiar mass of Tommy, all hard edges and bulk. You were bouncing on the balls of your feet.

The guy moved closer, making a joke you didn't really hear. You laughed, your eyes darting and searching.

"You look beautiful by the way. I saw you watching the fight, crazy that you're into this stuff. Not a lot of women I know cheer like that."

You finally glance over to the man, but quickly get back to standing on your tip toes, looking above heads.

He doesn't even look that bad, and it's obvious he wants to get your number. He's just not the man you want chat with, and definitely not tonight. Not on a night that Tommy just won, and a night he'll want to come over to yours, joking and teasing, touching you much more confidently than he normally would. Falling asleep much more easier with his head on your lap.

You tamp down a smile. You wouldn't want this guy to get the wrong idea.

"You know, there's a really good Thai place down the road- Ah, fuck, watch it buddy. Can you not look where you're go-" You hear the man choke off the sentence, trying not to smile as you imagine the other guy. probably a lot bigger than he is. Wouldn't want to completely ruin his night by laughing at the guy.

"Fuuck me, buddy, sorry. I did not know who I was talking to." You could hear the man swallow. "Hey, I think you did great in the ring tonight, real good job of... Knocking that guy out. With one punch."

You whirled around, smiling so wide you felt the strain on your cheeks. There was only one guy who did that tonight.

Sure enough, Tommy was standing there. He had put on a shirt and took his gloves off, but he was still sweaty and breathing hard. He completely stanced up, like he is in the ring, and his expression was-

Well, you chalked it up to the testosterone flowing freely through the place. Probably just mad that he ran into another dude.

It still didn't stop you from running and jumping directly on him, arms coming up to wrap around his neck, legs completely circling his torso. You giggled into his neck, exclaiming how proud you were of him, how good he looked out there, completely stroking his ego, but not caring at the moment.

You felt his arms immediately span your back, feeling like his hands where trying to be everywhere at once. That was new. That was new and you couldn't say you hated it.

What you didn't see was the look on Tommy's face. The cold calm of someone who just threw a punch so hard at a man who was bigger and faster than him and shut his shit down. Directed at another man, much slower and smaller in comparison.

You didn't see the stranger's face pale, but you distantly heard the sound of chairs clatter to the ground as he turned tail.

Five years of pining (not so) quietly for Tommy, the man you had fallen in love with, but without a doubt did not love you back.

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

Tommy knew without a doubt that he loved you.

All those years back in fourth grade, when he let it slip that his favorite snack was those crackers with the cheese filling, and you showed up with a whole pack of them to share, smiling this big goofy grin with your beautiful eyes and warm presence.

God how could he not.

The problem was how he was supposed to convince you to like him back. Him, Tommy, who fought most of his way through high school, who didn't like to get too close to people, who didn't like eye contact or conversation that ran too long or too forced. Who loved you though.

And who was very annoyed at the boy flirting with his girl.

It never failed to make Tommy's blood boil. He knew he had no right, because for one, he spent five years doing his damned best to break up every chance at you leaving him.

Just until you guys turn 35, right Tommy boy? You can probably keep that up.

Tommy breathed in a shuttering breath.

He just wanted to buy you your favorite drink at your favorite café. That's all he wanted to do. And maybe find and excuse to hold your hand without burning up from the embarrassment of actually having feelings (can you imagine?).

But of course, some dick-head always noticed how beautiful or kind or warm you were, and had to take their shot.

Well, Tommy was fucking sick of it.

Tommy thought of all the times, and there were a lot of times, when he had to step in and derail the situation. He knew this would be the last time. He had to do this, get rid of the unrelenting ache he felt while going to sleep, looking at you, thinking about you.

Tommy moved toward the you and the man you were talking to like he was entering the ring. With the mindset that he could get totally and irreversibly hurt, but he was gonna fight to the bloody end beforehand.

"Do you need directions?" Tommy asked as he slid up behind you, closer than he would have ever before. He felt your confusion even if he couldn't see your face.

"What?" The man was just as quizzical.

"Oh, I was just asking if you needed directions or if you could get lost on your own." Tommy raised his eyebrows, setting his hand on your hip, trying not to think about the many, many questions you'd have about that.

The man thought about arguing, but then he really looked at Tommy. Looked at you, then back to Tommy. Decided he didn't want to bleed tonight, and huffed out an angry sound.

You at least waited until he was out of ear shot before whirling on him.

"What. What was that?"

"Ok, I know what your probably thinking-"

"That you're out of your mind Tommy?! Are you kidding me right now? 'Get lost?' Get outta here with that shit, what was that?"

The two of you were pretty far back in the shop, but he still lowered his voice to make sure no one was bothered.

"Ok, yes, you're mad, I can see that-"

"Oooooh well I'm glad you can see that Tommy." You felt your face start to turn red, feeling exhausted and confused. "Explain. Explain to me Tommy, that every time a guy wants to have a nice, civil, God forbid, flirtatious conversation with me, he high tails it out of there just as fast, Tommy, explain."

Tommy felt an expanding ache somewhere behind his left eye.

"Ok. Ok I'm gonna say something stupid-"

"You always say something stupid, stupid-"

"Can you just. Can you let me finish." Tommy felt exasperated and a little insane. He was about to confess in a coffee shop to the girl he loved and things would never be the same again because she was about to leave, but fuck it if he wasn't at a boiling point.

"Ok. You know how we made a deal?" You looked at him, raising your eyebrows.

"About who could spray the most whipped cream in their mouth? Yeah it's me, it'll always be me. So you got so mad you're trying to, what, make sure I die alone, I don't..."

"What? No can you not, can you focus right now?" Tommy's palms were starting to sweat and he clenched his eyes shut tight. He breathed in and let it back out in one harsh huff. "When we were seventeen-"

"Seventeen?"

"When we were seventeen you said that if we weren't married by the time we were 35, that we should marry each other." He watched as your eyes widened and your face warmed a little. "Well, the deals off. I'm not doing it any more."

Tommy wasn't sure what to expect, but the flash of utter pain that tore across your face was not it. You stepped back, looked like you were about to bolt, your eyes wild. You tried to pull yourself together but it was really hard to breathe. No matter how many times you tried to prepare yourself for this day, you could have never imagined how it actually almost brought you know to your knees.

"So. Here's the new deal. If in like, five minutes, you're still single, and I'm still single..." Tommy swallowed hard, licking his lips. "We should just." His eyes darted to your lips.

You froze. Tommy caught his lush lower lip in between his teeth. He'd never been more nervous his entire life. So nervous for the inevitable laugh, the pity laced rejection, because really, it was one thing to be friends with a shy awkward boxer, but another to look at him and think, 'yeah, that'll do.'

Tommy had approximately five seconds to wallow in self deprecation and pure terror before he had a handful of you, and something that suspiciously felt like lips on his lips. But that's funny, because he's almost positive that that's not the case.

Then he felt your tongue swipe his lip and decided he cared fuck all and proceeded to get lost in you, your breaths, God he could feel, taste, your breath as you both got consumed by each other.

Someone coughed disapprovingly your way. The two of you broke apart, panting slightly.

"Ok, ok please don't. I really don't want you to hit me but I'm really fucking dense, right, and I just have to ask, you did that because you. You like like me- OW I said I didn't want you to hit me!"

You felt yourself laughing, felt your never ending ache subside and your love sky rocket.

"Oh, you're an idiot," You pecked his lips, he tried to catch your mouth fully but failed. "You are such and idiot- Oh my God we're both idiots holy- Hey. Hey, you, you've been. Have you been sabotaging-"

"Did you hear that?" Tommy tilted his head and looked toward the ceiling. "Ope- oh yeah. No. yeah, that's for sure the sound of-" He cut off, dropping his serious expression, grinning as he leaned down and kissed your mouth again, this time taking your words and any objections, affectively cutting off any questions that would leave him looking stupid.

You two would need to sit down, to talk about how you've felt all these years, how you were both so stupid that you both refused to confess to each other.

But for now, you lost yourself in the taste of Tommy, and the heady feeling of someone you've loved for seemingly forever, loving you back.

Real Quick: Would you be mad if in the next fics I write I called this man Tomithy? Asking for a friend.

[dinner-djarin]

dar'manda (Mando x f!reader insert)

Prologue

(Inspired by this scene)

Summary: You've been working as a merchant on Nevarro for years now, only out of necessity. Life really wasn't going your way. At least until the Mandalorian came by your booth. Now he's all you think about, and soon he'll be even more.

Warnings: Probably some swearing (real and in universe), violence (eventually), smut (eventually), No use of Y/N, slowburn/fluff (for the first little while)

Notes: Takes place at the end of season 1, and will mostly take place between season one and two. I have been sitting on this for a while due to some fear about reception by the fandom, but honestly I just need to stop thinking about it so here we go. She's going out into the world, and I hope you enjoy. (Also I wrote this prologue like 2 months ago so it isn't quite where I'd like it to be but if you read this please just stick with me, I swear my writing gets better lol)

You don’t know how long it’s been since you last saw him. Weeks? Months? But you can’t get that damn tin can out of your head.

You really have no reason to be this hung up on him. He’s barely spoken to you, you’ve never even seen his face, so it should be easy enough to move on from whatever childish infatuation you have over him. Right? Maker, what kind of person crushes on a mask and a suit of armour?

But there’s something about him, something that keeps him planted in your subconscious. You’ve tried to find the words to explain it, but nothing ever comes close. You can't even begin to understand how this man has completely overtaken your every waking thought.

He used to come by every couple of weeks, and you’d savour every delectable minute of the interaction, but that was all before shit hit the fan of course. You weren't there to see it but when you came back to work the next day it was all anyone could talk about.

“Apparently the metal man broke some Guild rule, and practically all of the other bounty hunters tried to kill him for it.” You heard over your shoulder. As much as you liked to keep to yourself, you couldn’t help form eavesdropping on a conversation between merchants. You did have a guilty pleasure for drama, probably to fill the uneventful void that your mundane life had now become.

“The Mandalorian? He broke their code then!” one exclaimed.

“I heard he went back for a bounty,” someone else whispered.

“What could make someone do something so stupid?” questioned a merchant lady you already didn’t particularly like.

“He doesn’t strike me as stupid,” you interrupt, trying to stick up for the man you were currently enamoured with. “If he did it, there must be a valid reason.”

“If he did it?” She sneered. “Do you not see the damage he left behind? People will be out of business for sure. It’ll take weeks to clean up the mess he made.”

“Then I guess I hope it was worth it. That it wasn't in vain.” You state, putting an end to the conversation. You hoped the man – that you already liked against your better judgement – wouldn’t cause so much harm without some justification.

In the wake of his rebellion, a covert of other masked hunters revealed themselves, shot up the town, and then vanished without a word. And so did your Mandalorian.

Woah hold on. Not yours. Just one random Mandalorian that you’ve said a handful of words to and have harboured a secret crush over.

From the second you saw him you pretty much knew you were screwed. Between the husky modulated voice, and the broad as hell shoulders, there was pretty much no way to quell the instant attraction that rose up in you. His presence alone was suffocating. Nothing could stop the way your vocal cords tightened to the point of forcing out a soft squeal at his sight. The whole time he talked to you, you could feel his visor latch onto your body – pinning you to the spot.

You thought you might find some relief when he left. Quite the opposite. You couldn't help but gawk at the way his body moved, like he knew he was hot shit. He took your damn breath away. And you were glad to know that he couldn't see your lips part to let out a soft moan, or the way they pursed back together as you unconsciously swallowed the suddenly copious amount of saliva pooling in your mouth. Fucking delicious, you thought, shamelessly.

Maybe it was the fact that you knew he could take anyone down in milliseconds. He was untouchable, and this latest defiance proved that. No one crossed the Guild. Well, no one crossed the Guild and got away with it. But if anyone could, it would be Mando.

And there’s another thing. You don’t even know his name. Which means that you’re forced to call him the colloquial slang that is commonly used by outsiders of the Mandalorian culture. “Mando”. You couldn’t help but think about how it almost sounded like an insult, especially when slurred from the mouth of other criminals. You hated the way people spat the word out at him, obviously trying to get him worked up; to see what he was made of. It made you desperately wish that you had a better name to call him, his real name. An intimate piece of knowledge that you could hold on to, something of him that no one else had.

Maybe that made you selfish. Even so, there was so much you wished you knew about him. He was a complete mystery.

To be fair, he probably didn’t even know your own name. You can't recall him asking for it, or if you ever introduced yourself. You were pretty much a bumbling mess the first time you met him. To the point where even if you had tried to say your name it probably would have sounded like you were speaking Huttese. Although, who could blame you. It wasn’t very conventional to introduce yourself to every customer. The people on Nevarro usually kept to themselves, especially the bounty hunters. There wasn’t much room for ‘customer service’. But damn you wish you had tried to make some sort of introduction. Even if it had come out as incoherent nonsense, you think it may have made talking to him later a bit easier.

However, none of that matters if he never comes back, and you bet he won’t. He’s smarter than that. To pull what he did, he’s probably on the other side of the galaxy right now.

Even so, you’ll miss the shared awkward silences and stolen glances that came with each of his visits. Whenever he’d come into the shop, he’d list off what he needed to stock up on, using the most deep and captivating voice you think you’d ever heard. If he hadn’t had that helmet covering his face, you’d swear he stared right into your soul as he did so. It almost made you weak in the knees every damn time. You’d then rummage through each supply crate and gather the best quality of every item, and finally – just to bring your humiliation to an all-time high – you’d give him a discount for absolutely no discernible reason. He took notice of the reduced price the first time and thanked you, only for you to be berated by your boss once he left. Eventually, to your dismay, the niceties came to a halt. Maybe he forgot what full price was, maybe he just couldn’t care less.

Either way, it looks like you’d risked your job for the last time. It’s a shame. For a planet full of bounty hunters and hardened criminals, there’s actually not a lot to entertain you. A shootout here, an escaped bounty there, but nothing that satisfied your desire for an exciting lifestyle.

The closest you got to that would be each time some wide-eyed, eager, wannabe-bounty-hunter strolled through town looking for a chance to weasel their way up the ladder of the Guild. They definitely thought they were more important than they actually were, and they always made a point of showing off for you. Not that you were anything special, just the closest thing with cleavage usually. They’d probably brag about their rank and their kill counts, things you could not care less about. A few of them actually had the balls to ask you out, but it usually only ended in a free meal or drink. To be fair though that was very intentional on your part. It was fun to play the part of a flirtatious girl from the market for a while, and almost exciting to think about how you were completely screwing over those assholes.

Over the time you’ve spent alone in the galaxy you learned exactly how to read those kinds of people. You knew just how far to go, just what to say or do until you got what you needed. As much as you weren’t a fan of physical affection, you often brushed your target's arm or thigh, played with their hair, or if the situation really demanded it – madeout with them behind the cantina. But you always made a point of stopping before things got too far. You may not be a complete saint, but you knew none of the scumbags you met were worth your time.

You wouldn’t have allowed things to go any further. Not with them. Going any further could only be a letdown, and you were fine to take those matters into your own hands…. literally. You may be a complete flirt, but only as a skill to survive in this grimy and dangerous galaxy. You learned early on that being young and female was a vulnerability. That was at least until you discovered how that vulnerability could be shaped into one of your most valuable strengths.

When you think about him though… well something about him made your entire badass facade disappear into thin air. You lost any cool you had the minute he walked past your vendor. Not to mention that there was something else about him that told you he’d see right through it anyway. Maybe it was the visor. Some special setting to read the level of bullshit.

As far as you’ve seen, he doesn’t take anyone’s shit. He definitely isn’t the type to make others feel comfortable in a conversation. He says precisely what he needs to get his point across, nothing more. Never once had you heard him use more than 10 words at a time.

On a few occasions you were lucky enough to end up in the cantina at the same time as him. Whether you were on a break or entertaining some dead-beat for free lunch, you remember how fast your heart would beat when the glint of his helmet met your vision. You wondered if he noticed your presence, or if he even recognized you away from your vendor at the market.

One time you were in the next booth over. Your spine straightened, and your whole body shivered when he slid into his seat and placed himself directly behind you. The proximity was electrifying. It made every neuron in your body fire rapidly and your blood vessels pump impossibly fast. You were probably supposed to be listening to the slimeball buying your drinks drone on about how impressive his last capture was, but the baritone emanating from behind ensnared every ounce of focus you had.

“I’ll take the highest pay” he muttered through the modulator.

“I do have other hunters, Mando. I can’t always guarantee you get the best of the lot.” replied his employer. A smile maintained on his face even when confronting an unforgiving barricade.

“I’m sure you do. But high price means high risk.” Mando responded. His employer’s confused silence forced him to continue. “Those skilled enough to take on the bounties know better than to do so.”

The Guild leaders' laughter bounced off the walls making many patrons turned their heads, while others continued their business, obviously being used to this behaviour.

You were left puzzled in that moment, completely baffled by this interaction. It wasn't until much later that night when it finally clicked. Although you didn’t know exactly how ranking in the Guild worked, you knew Mando was up there. He had the status to strike fear into almost every other bounty hunter he outranked. Mando had staked his claim long ago, and no one in the Guild was stupid enough to try and take a bounty from him. If he wanted something, he was going to get it.

You’d remember that interaction vividly. Not only because of how close you were to the Mandalorian as you overheard it, but also in service as a reminder to you, proving just how dominant he was in this world. He held power over every member of the Guild, including its leader, whether he wanted to admit it or not. You felt idiotic for not instantly understanding the control he wielded wherever he went. Sometimes it's a wonder how completely oblivious you could be.

Although you certainly were not oblivious to the drastic upgrade he got just before leaving. If you thought Mando was intimidating before, his new head to toe silver armour was sure to strike fear into any of his prey. You remember thinking you saw his reflection pass by earlier in the day, but he quickly dissolved into the shadows, as he often found a way of doing. However, later that night when you had just gotten off from work, he strolled back into the cantina for a new batch of bounties and all eyes were drawn to him. Most eyes were filled with jealousy since – as his employer made clear – he completed the job none of them could. They were probably even more enraged by the fact that he wore his reward back into the room, when most of them would have gladly taken that metal to the highest bidder and sold it for a hefty profit. However, you saw him differently than the rest. Your eyes were fixed on him in fear and in wonder. This metal man, already a force of nature, just became that much more impossible to defeat. As if anything could get to him before, it was clear now that no one could reach the Mandalorian.

But again – it doesn't matter. Not a single soul on Canto Bight would bet his shiny ass walks back into this sector. Not unless he has some kinda death wish…

Turns out he has some kinda death wish.

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

Chapter 1 is up now!

More notes: Hello there! I hope you enjoyed this lovely mess. I'm not the most proud of it, but I do want to continue this story (which I know we've all read 100 iterations of by now). Either way, I'm having fun writing it, so I might as well post it!

I'd love a like or comment if you'd be willing to share, I'm very new to writing so I'd enjoy any constructive criticism (especially on the first few parts, I know they need work, but at this point I just want to stop thinking about it and continue on with the story). Also this will be ongoing, so if you wanna keep reading feel free to drop your @ in my inbox or in the comments and I can tag you when I update!

So long for now my fellow helmet whores!

[omegatheunknown]

On AEW's "Four Pillars"

I understand the metaphor is that they're a solid foundation for the future... but if it were me I'd avoid comparisons to the Four Pillars of Heaven and quickly append a descriptive word... The Four Pillars of... something. Point is, MJF said 'Pillar' a lot on Wednesday and I wanted to take a look at the boys individually and as a set. Threw in my 40 point scale for my own amusement, 30+ usually rounds out to 'main event talent.'

Notably, it's extremely obvious who this group is: under 30, in AEW from day 1, have shown star quality and have paired with a legend or two along the way. It doesn't include other good but less prominent prospects like Dante & Darius Martin, Lee Johnson, Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen, Brock Anderson, Wheeler Yuta, Lee Moriarty, Fuego Del Sol, Sonny Kiss, Brian Pillman Jr or uh... the Gunns. Daniel Garcia has a long future knocking down pillars, most likely.

Darby Allin (b. 1993 - 28) Work-7 Mic-6 Look-8 X-10 (31)

Darby Allin is neither the best wrestler nor the best talker, his look is the kind of thing that isn't 'cool' per se (many are dubious about the skinny hot topic skate geek when they first see him,) yet he commands attention and possesses an unmistakable aura. He also loves any and all dangerous looking spots. It's a tired comparison, but factor in his brooding sex appeal and he really is the natural heir to the charismatic enigma. They've paired him with Sting, he was CM Punk's first match in 7 years, he's held the TNT title, and in no small part due to his penchant for risk and flair for the dramatic in his self-shot artistic promos, he's been part of several memorable moments already.

He fights from underneath pretty much as a rule, taking a beating due to his size and powering through on daring -- he's definitely found a niche inside the ring. His pace is incredible, and he bumps like he means it. I think my biggest knock against Darby's long-term prospects are the alleged skeletons in his closet -- whether pro wrestling is doomed to always be 'carny shit' or not, it's in everybody's best interests to root out real life heels. They've confronted Sammy G's immature sense of humour, I don't know how closely they want to examine some of the things you hear about Darby -- but shouldn't they?

Sammy Guevara (b. 1993 - 28) Work-8 Mic-7 Look-7 X-8 (30)

'The Spanish God' does indeed have formidable gifts -- a face just straddling the line between cute and punchable atop a body that can match pace with the likes of Flamita, Rey Horus, Mike Bailey and even Ricochet back in 2017. Chris Jericho took one look at Sammy G and climbed right aboard -- it's been a long winding path (aforementioned suspension for gross 'jokes' included) through the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle and all that, but Sammy's star has risen steadily throughout, to the point where he can beat Miro and I'm not even upset about it really that much at all (it's fine.)

He's the best in-ring performer of this quartet right now, and he's arguably the most well-rounded. He's turned as a character once already, I think he's comfortable playing most sides in most angles. He's yet to have a big solo feud (Shawn Spears?) or stand-out match in AEW, probably his best match to-date was against MJF earlier this year. He's now the mid-card champion, so now's the time.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman 'MJF' (b 1996 - 25) Work-6 Mic-10 Look-8 X-8 -- 33

Any appraisal of MJF starts with his stand-out gift, which is praised so often people even start to levy complaints about him being overrated -- that's how you know MJF is great on the stick. Wrestling is very simple actually. Heat is heat, and cheap heat is different from lazy heat, and the clichés are clichés for a reason -- the boy's a maestro and there's no such thing as a wrestler 'peaking' on their promos in their mid 20s. He'll keep talking and finding ways to piss off everyone.

His ring work is of the old-school heel variety, which usually requires him to work to try and deny the crowd the exciting maneuvers of his opponent. Bobby Roode's NXT run is probably the blueprint for just how well this can still work, but at the time Bobby had been at it for close to twenty years (but hey, developmental...) He has a great look for where he's at -- big and strong enough to be a threat worth taking seriously and a smug mug that ranks pretty high on the all-time list.

I kind of want to quibble with Jericho as-Mentor: did MJF need a sparring partner on the mic considering he was already ascendant, and did Sammy need to be tagging with a middle-aged man to shine in the ring? He did accentuate their strengths, though, it made for good TV.

'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry (b 1997 - 24) Work-8 Mic-5 Look-8 X-9 -- 30

Youngest and most literally baby-faced, Jungle Boy is very over, on the strength of his boyish good looks, his fun tag team, his great theme song, and as of late, his being the Robin to Christian Cage's older version of Spiderman. One might expect the son of TV's Dylan McKay to be a little more natural on the mic, but standing next to an all-time snarker like Christian should help. He's still boyishly skinny but he's taller than Adam Cole and I'm not convinced he couldn't basically be Omega-sized in a decade.

His work suits his size and gimmick, he's daring and speedy, he's no technician but 'the snare trap' and other holds are laid in convincingly. Like the rest of the group he has presence, and he's generally booked well -- AEW has made sure to get him his reps and he continues to improve and is almost always adjacent to serious talent. That said, in his current form he's maybe plateauing. What's it going to take to turn this Jungle Boy into a Jungle Man, you know?

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Californian Dream (Pt. 01 of 11)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.8 K

Summary: Being part of one of the richest families of California doesn't mean you're happy. Your life is boring, and you're surrounded by meaningless people and their meaningless talk. Even during Summer, with the break you have from college, there's nothing good going on. Nothing but the new pool guy, Billy, the most handsome man you ever saw. You were successfully avoiding him, not wanting to act like an idiot in front of the guy until Billy accepts to be your date for a fancy gala you're forced to attend. The night was going well, even better when he sneaked you out to go to the beach. But a gang of criminals breaks into the party, kidnapping the heirs to the wealthiest families, which includes you. So, for your safety, your parents want you to stay with Billy, living in his apartment until the criminals are caught. And that could take weeks, maybe even months.

Warnings: Light violence

Next part (02)->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

×

Lemonade

Ignoring the meaningless chattering, you drink what's left of your water, then put the glass against your neck, hoping the cold will help with the hot weather. Summers in California are always this hot, and since you're under the sun, it doesn't help. Some of your friends, or better saying, the family friends, the people you grew up with, are here again, using your pool as if it was some kind of club they can attend. Standing on this badly shaped circle, you pretend to listen as Ryan goes on about some mansion he helped his father sell this weekend. He's excited, gesticulating a lot, and the others seem to be quite interested too. But not you. Honestly, you couldn't care less.

Through the corner of your eye, you see someone moving on the other side of the huge pool, behind some trees. Turning your head to see it better, you easily recognize the new pool guy, Billy Hargrove. He's been working here for only a couple of months, coming a few times a week to clean the pool or to fix something. You always pay attention to the staff, because nobody else does. You like to know them since they're working at your house after all, and that made you befriend a lot of them throughout the years. But Billy? You haven't even crossed paths with him yet. On purpose.

Billy is by far the most handsome guy you ever met, and you just don't think you can say anything to his face. He probably thinks you're one of the silly, rich chicks he meets on his job, and for some reason, it bothers you.

“(Y/N).” Ryan snaps his fingers on your face, dragging you out of your thoughts. “Are you in there? Aren't you listening?”

“Yup. Sorry, I tuned out for a minute.” Politely, you apologize. “What were you saying?”

“The gala. Who are you going with?”

“Uhm... Not sure yet.” Playing with the empty glass, you move your weight from one leg to the other. “I don't have any good options.”

“What?” Gisele exclaims, giggling. “Robert wants to go with you. Daniel would easily ditch his date for you. And Michael–”

“Don't wanna go with neither of them.” Cutting her off, you decide to just say it. Robert is the most hateful person you ever met. Daniel has been chasing after you for years, it doesn't matter how hard you try to make him understand you don't like him, and every girl he dates, he does it to try and make you jealous. And Michael is a manipulative jerk. All three members of the most prestigious families of California, and desired bachelors. And yet, you can't stand them.

“Who are you going with then? The pool guy?” Gisele gestures at something across the pool, and you know at who.

“Maybe. I bet he's way better than Michael, Daniel, or Robert.” This makes all the five of them laugh, in a very mocking tone. But you mean it. “I might go by myself. Who cares?”

“Are you crazy? Your parents will care, and people will talk, you know that.” Ryan rolls his eyes, lightly slapping his friend's arm. “C'mon, Antony, let's find (Y/N) a fourth option.” The two guys smirk and walk away, and you don't even bother to ask what they're up to. You don't care.

“For real now, (Y/N),” Alice says, running her fingers through her hair. “Gisele is right. The three guys are so into you, and Robert...” She chuckles, exchanging a glance with Gisele. “He's hot. He's... So damn hot.”

“Why don't you go with him then?” You ask her, taking a deep breath and already thinking of an excuse to get away from this conversation and back into the secrecy of your bedroom.

“Because I'm dating.” She answers as if it was the most obvious thing. As if she didn't have a different boyfriend every month. “James Whayland. The one and only, heir to the Whayland fortune? Do you happen to know him?” A rhetoric question, of course. Everyone knows who the Whayland are. “I'm so gonna marry him.”

“You must,” Gisele adds. “You'd be like, stupidly rich.”

And they go on with that, a conversation you don't even try to follow. A lot of girls do that, getting married to join the fortunes and shove more money into their pockets. Your mother herself did it, and she tries to push you into doing the same, pointing out the richest bachelors of California. But you'd never do that. You rather never get married than getting married without love. It's so obvious, yet, if you bring that up, it always becomes an argument. ‘Love comes with time’, she says. ‘Once you're provided financial stability, you'll learn to love the provider.’ None of that sounds appealing to you. You're hoping to fall in love one day. It hasn't happened yet, but you'll patiently wait.

“Hey, Earth to (Y/N).” Ryan raises his voice, and, a little annoyed, you look up at him.

“What?”

“You're welcome.” He says with a wicked smile.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you tilt your head to the side. “For what, Ryan?”

“For getting you the best date ever for the gala, sweetie.” He and Antony laugh, and soon enough the others follow. “The pool guy is taking you to a high society party. How amazing is that?”

It takes a while for you to even process what he's saying, but his mean tone makes you angry. He thinks he's superior to anyone who doesn't have a collection of fancy cars in their garage. “First of all, Ryan, the pool guy has a name, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. You're always close to the staff.” He emphasizes the last word, making a disgusted face.

“Second...” What? Second what? You know you can't go with Billy. That would get people talking. But then, the other options make you sick to even consider them. And honestly, you couldn't care less about what people say. It'll probably get you a hell of a lecture from your parents, a few weeks of gossips and mean comments, but that's it. Soon enough someone else will become the hottest topic. “You know what, forget it.” Putting the empty glass on the table, you walk away, ignoring how they call you, telling you not to be silly.

Maybe the guys are joking. Maybe they're just pulling a prank on you, but there's no problem with finding that out. Walking around the pool and into the garden, you walk around the supply closet, following the low noise of something being put into the metal shelves. The supply closet is open, so you patiently wait on the outside, barefoot on the grass as you move to stand to bellow a tree. Bouncing your leg, you look around, breathing deeply and trying to understand why the hell you decided to face Billy now. He's the only guy who works here you're making sure not to have any contact with.

“Good afternoon.” The voice startles you, and you immediately turn to face him. Billy is closing the closet door shut, eyes focused on you. And yes, he's far more gorgeous from up close. “May I help you, Miss–”

“(Y/N).” You cut him off, cursing yourself for doing so. “You may call me (Y/N).”

He simply nods, walking closer and stopping on a shadow spot too. “Do you need anything from me?”

“Uhm...” For a moment, you gotta think a little to remember what brought you here. “I just wanted to ask if maybe some two jerks came to talk to you... About a party... And... Taking a girl to this party...” Playing with your fingers, you wonder if he already thinks you're a total idiot.

“Yes. They said you needed a date for some gala.” Billy crosses his arms, not looking away from you. “If you need it, I can take you.”

Oh. Would he really do that? “Uhm... Look, Ryan and Antony meant it as a joke.” You gotta be honest, even if it means he'll give up the idea. “I mean, not for me, they're just... They're jerks. And they...” Holy crap. You have to get your shit together. “They thought it would be funny to make you think you could take me to this gala.” Taking a deep breath, you push the words out. “But... I would like it if you could because all my options suck. It's either Michael or Robert or Daniel, and you probably know they're all fighting for the award of the worst person on the face of Earth.”

“It might be really hard to make this decision. Might as well split the award in three.” He speaks up and you giggle. The staff don't usually speak like that about the families they work for. But Billy doesn't seem to care and you like that.

“Yeah. So... I know people will gossip about it but I'd be forever grateful if you could do me this kindness.” You're blushing now, biting your lip. “Because I know it's not your job or anything but I could pay you if you want.”

“There's no need.” Billy shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders. “It's a party, right? It will be fun.”

“Oh... About that...” Calling such events ‘parties’ is a misunderstanding. Almost a crime. “These things... Suck. It's super dull, full of rich people donating, trying to donate more them someone else just so they'll show off how rich they really are... You'll absolutely hate it. I do.” Gesturing at yourself, you give him an apologetic look. “I'd owe you for life if you help me get through it without having to put up with any of those assholes.”

Billy nods, looking down before his eyes meet yours again. “I believe I'll have to wear one of those suits right?”

“Well, I'll be in some uncomfortable dress, so we'll both be unhappy about our clothes.” Your mind goes to the lilac dress your mother made you buy, extremely expensive.

“Alright then. It's on Sunday, right?” You nod. “Should I pick you up?”

“Yes. At seven.” He gives a small nod before gesturing at the garden. “I gotta go now.”

“Sure...” Billy waves before walking away, and you stand there, wondering if you should go back to your so-called friends. You're sure Ryan will have that stupid smile on, eager to know what you and Billy have spoken about. And you won't tell anything, but you also don't want to deal with that shit right now, or else you might tell right to their faces how much of a jerk they are. So you decide to follow Billy through the garden, easily finding him by a particular big tree. He's opening a leaf tarp on a clean space on the grass before taking a fan rake. “This tree is dying.” You say, getting his attention. Billy turns around, furrowing his eyebrows. “That's why there are so many fallen leaves. See how some of them seem healthy, normal green leaves? It only happens when the tree is dying.”

“Then you should have someone cut it down before someone gets hurt.” He says, looking a little confused. “Shouldn't you go back to your friends?”

“Yeah, I probably should.” You're tired of all the things you should do, so for today, you won't do them. As silly as it may be. “Do you need some help?” You ask, stepping forward a little.

“No, I'm alright.” It sounds like a question, and you blush from the way he stares at you, for several seconds, before focusing on his task, raking the leaves to the tarp.

“Ok.” Whispering, you move to sit on a wooden table, one of the many you have scattered around the property. You try not to look at Billy too much, noticing how weird it feels to do this. You barely know the guy, he'll be your date for a gala, and now you're awkwardly seated here, watching as he works. Well, it is better than whatever your friends must be talking about now. “So... What exactly do you work with?” You ask, hoping to get any kind of conversation going. “I thought you just took care of the pool.”

“I work for a company. BJ's Associates.” Billy starts, and you take this chance to look at him. Despite the distance, you can see the sweat glistening on his forehead. “They send me to any place I'm needed. Some of them are scheduled weekly, others are random. And–” He makes a pause suddenly, giving you a look. “Are you bored yet?”

“No.” Shrugging your shoulders, you giggle. “I actually wanna know.”

He turns his head to look at the pool, which is a little distant now. Maybe he thinks this is some kind of move, and you wouldn't blame him, judging by the way the guys probably came to talk to him. “That's it. I clean pools, fix cars, might paint walls or something, clean gardens... The list goes on.”

“You know how to fix a car?” Raising an eyebrow, you move to seat on the table, placing both your feet on the wooden bench. “My car is making this weird noise and I'm sure it's not some normal noise.”

“How does it sounds like?”

“Like a clunking, I think... every time I hit the breaks, even when it's softly.”

“It could be some damage to the brake caliper.” He's quick to answer, and you raise your eyebrows, impressed. “Or it's badly mounted.”

“Damn, you're good.” You exclaim, giggling at his funny face.

“I just–”

“(Y/N)!” Amelia's voice reaches you, and Billy stops talking, resuming his job. “I've been looking for you.” The old lady, with her gray hair tied up on a perfect, sophisticated bun, comes to the table you're at, a tray with a jar and six glasses on her hands.

“I've been here chatting with Billy.” You tell as she lays the tray down. “And no, I won't go back to the pool.”

“They're talking about James Whayland.” She starts, rolling her eyes. Amelia is the only one in this house, well, the only one you know who understands you. “Alice Martin was talking about marrying him...?”

“Yup.” A stronger wind messes with your hair, so you use a hand to keep it away from your face. “Something about joining their fortunes and being the king and queen of California. Some shit like that.”

“Poor Alice.” Amelia breathes out, taking a glass and pouring some lemonade on it before handing it over to you. “That Whayland kid is not the nicest guy on Earth.”

“Poor James!” You giggle, putting your glass down and serving her some lemonade too. She doesn't like when you do that, since she's here to serve you. Amelia, the woman who raised you is here for nothing else than to serve you. So unbelievable it almost makes you laugh. “Alice isn't nice either. She can be very manipulative to get what she wants.”

“Don't I know?” She mutters. “Well, I must go. Serve this to your friends.”

“No, no, no. Take your glass and leave the rest. If someone complains tell them I'll drink the whole jar.” Taking the tray from her hands, you place it down on the table again.

“Alright, Miss–”

“(Y/N). Honey. Bunny. Anything, but not this formal stuff, ok?” You correct her, and Amelia gives you a bright smile.

“Alright, (Y/N).” She repeats before turning around and walking away, cordially greeting Billy.

Taking a sip from your glass, you smile to notice Amelia's lemonade is as good as always. A little too sour for your parents taste, but you like it better this way. Your attention goes back to Billy, still dealing with the fallen leaves, despite being almost done. If you ask, he might say no, so you just pour another glass before jumping to the ground, making your way over him. “Here.” Raising your voice, you get his attention. And once again he has this confused expression on his face when he sees the glass. “Lemonade. It's hella hot out here and this might help.”

“Thanks.” Squinting his eyes a little, he takes the glass from your hand, taking long sips, drinking almost everything.

“Sorry if it's a little too sour. I don't like much sugar on it and Amelia knows so...” When he's done, he gives you back the glass. “Why are you looking at me like that? I swear I'm not a ghost.”

“That's not it. I'm just not used to being treated like that by the owners.” Billy's voice gets a little darker, and he pronounces the last word with certain anger. But you can imagine exactly why. Most of the people you know aren't very fond of their employees. They're just the people they pay off to do what they can't do by themselves.

“I know how some of the families can be mean.” Drumming your fingers on the empty glass, you stand there, staring at Billy, just now noticing the deep, beautiful shade of blue from his eyes. Involuntary, you breathe out, smiling.

“What?”

“Nothing!” You burst out, clearing your throat and finding your legs again, making the way back at the table. “I–”

“(Y/N)!” A shout startles you, and when you turn at the source of the voice, you see it's Gisele. “Get back here! You won't guess who just got here.”

“If it isn't Michael Jackson ready to perform Beat It, I'll be disappointed.” You mutter, only loud enough for Billy to hear it as you walk back to the pool.

“Call me if it's him,” Billy says and you giggle, giving him one last look.

It's not Michael. Well, it is, but not Jackson, just Michael Rothford. He stands by the pool, where everyone gathers around him. Trying not to look pissed, you move closer, offering a polite, fake smile. “Good afternoon, Mike. How have you been?”

“I'm way better now.” He answers, and you try to ignore how everyone moves a little, giving you more space to move closer to Michael. He takes your hand, giving it a shake, and awkwardly squeezing it softly. “I'm here to ask, once again, for you to let me take you to Sunday's gala.”

The two idiots, Antony and Ryan start giggling, and you know exactly why. “Sorry, Mike, I can't.” Pulling your hand away, you cross your arms. “I already have someone, so...” Thank God you have the perfect excuse, and it's not even a lie. You're so damn relieved you won't be forced to attend to such a boring event with someone like Michael.

“Who?” He snaps, suddenly pissed. “Daniel is going with that Angela chick. Robert, you can't stand. Andrew isn't in the country, Willian–”

“You don't know him, alright?” Cutting him off, you sigh.

“Oh, shit,” Ryan mutters, and you give him a look. He has a hand covering his mouth, trying to control a laugh. “You're really going to the gala with the pool guy.” Antony burst into laughter, and the others try to control themselves not to.

“You rather go with the staff than with me?” Michael sounds offended as if he was punched in the face. “Are you kidding me, (Y/N)?”

Quickly, you try to think of something to say. You can't say the truth, that he's a hateful human being you can't stand being next to. But nothing comes to your mind. “No, I'm not. I... Actually wanna go with Billy.”

“Honestly, (Y/N), screw you.” He barks, and before you can answer, he grabs both your shoulders and pushes you straight into the water.

Everything happens way too fast for you to process, so there was no way you could tell him you absolutely can't swim. So the moment you hit the water, you just sink, your body moving to the bottom, way too far from the surface. You do try moving your legs a bit, uselessly. But you're suddenly pulled, strong arms moving you through the water until you finally reach the surface, gasping for air. Breathing fast, the terror finally starts kicking in, and you push yourself up, stumbling a little, ignoring all the hands that offer help. Once you're out of the water, seated on the edge, you finally see who saved you, Billy, also pushing himself up, only with a lot more grace than you. You exchange a glance, and his hand is the one you take, pulling yourself back to your feet.

“You can't swim?” You hear Michael's voice, a curse caught in your throat. “I never met a Californian who can't swim.”

Not minding the small crowd around, you make you walk to Michael, losing no time before slapping him right on the face, the loud noise of your wet hand colliding to his cheek startling some of your friends. “Asshole!” You yell before storming away, embarrassed, still struggling to catch your breath, feeling cold thanks to your soaked clothes.

“Hey.” Someone calls, but you ignore them, walking fast into the house. “(Y/N).” Your arm being grabbed makes you stop walking and turn around, ready to make hell rain on whoever it is, but your fury melts away when you see Billy. “Are you ok?”

Taking a deep breath, you relax a little, nodding. “Yeah, I just... Got scared.” He lets go of your arm, but you don't step away, looking into his blue, calming eyes. “Thank you, though. You saved my life.”

“Can't believe he threw you at the water like that.”

“See why I need you to take me to that stupid party?” Crossing your arms, you pace around. “I can't even begin to imagine how it'd be to spend the night with that prick.” Looking down, you notice how you and Billy are dripping, soaking the white floor. “I gotta go change, and you should... I don't know. At least you got to enjoy the pool for a while.”

“I'd rather enjoy it when you're not drowning.”

“Yeah, that would be better.” Shyly smiling, you give a step backwards. “I gotta go... But thanks again.” Stopping in your tracks, you decide to be just a little brave. Stepping closer, you tiptoe to place a quick kiss on Billy's cheek, before turning around and rushing upstairs to your bedroom.

×

@multific @dontxfearxthereaper @nope-thanks @nikkixostan @shinydixon @alwaysadreamingoptimist

[kusagrasskusa]

Yandere Simulator Delinquents.

They're basically copy and paste. Sooo here's my version of them for future reference! I got too excited writing the last one lol- It's been a while since I've been to inspired to write. This is a nice feeling uvu

Umeji Kizuguchi - Yellow guy

He has blonde, previously pink, hair and golden eyes. He wears a yellow shirt under unbuttoned blazer and carries a baseball bat around. He has a scar over his right eye. Umeji is Oroso right hand man and takes over position while she's gone; these are the cannon versions of him and all that's said.

This is my fannon version of him: He was hurt the most during the bullying and therefore the most fearful of pain. He flinches when touched and gets pissed instantly. He's the most cold and aggressive out of the five and it helped him keep him as the most feared of the delinquents. He works out daily, therefore having a good build and likes bitter foods rather than sweets. He'a quite ignorant and refuses to share his likes out of fear of being judged. He still feels depression but now faces more anxiety than anything. He often cries about it late at night.

But despite his depression, he's so determined to stay as a threat to many. It's the kist alive he's ever felt. He's somewhat narcissistic and has both an inferiority and superiority complex, actually. Sensitive to touch and criticism but damn his ego is big. He uses his strength and speed as another threat to fellow students, to let them know that if they mess up then he'll catch and hurt them.

His home life isn't fun. Parents maybe fighting here and there or gone for work or something. It wasn't abusive in any way or anything; in fact, they get along well when they're together. It's just the parents weren't attentive. As Umeji puts it, "My mom, dad, bless their hearts, but they aren't great." They tend to brush things off quickly and spend too much time to themselves.

Dairoku Surikizu - Blue manz

He has blonde, previously blue, hair and blue eyes. He wears a blue shirt under an unbuttoned blazer and carries around a boten or some shit, idk I couldn't figure it out. He has a scar on his lip and from Mulberry's art, it looks like he's the tallest of the group.

Fannonly, he's the most anxious of the group. He never talks about it to anyone but Hokuto, who brushes it off. Dairoku got his scar a long time ago when his parents were agruing; he hid under his bed when he was nine and started to cry. To calm himself, he started to bite his lip and scratch himself on the forearms and face to calm himself down. He cut himself in the process badly and tried to hide it from his parents so he didn't get yelled at.

His home life wasn't too bad either; his dad left the family not long after that incident when he was nine so his mom has to take on the roles of two people. She never has time for him so the other delinquents make him feel so happy. He likes- no, loves to talk to them but tries to look sketchy in the process.

Hokuto Furukizu - Purple manz

He has blonde, previously golden, hair and purple eyes. From Mulberry's art, he seems to be the second tallest, but very close to Dairoku. He carried around a metal pipe and wears a purple shirt under his opened blazer. He has a scar on his cheek too btw.

Fannonly, he talks most to Dairoku. He usually brushed off what he says, but relates to him most. Of the 5, he desperately wants to be normal and free the most. He was well popular in middle school but his anger once got the best of him and a fight caused him to lose a lot of his reputation. It just got worse as time went on however; but he misses those days so much.

His scare on his cheek came from the fight and serves as a curse mark to him; "The day they ruined my life." He hates looking at it and gets pissed off when people even look at it. He's always been hot headed but his physical appearance is his number one insecurity. Hokuto's homelife is normal and he's goodboi at home. Cleans, cooks sometimes, has an equally good relationship with his mom as he does his dad.

He managed to convince them that his new appearance and signs of depression from last year was just influence from ex friends. Eventually they just took his word for it despite how terrible of a lie that is, so they stopped asking.

Gaku Hikitsuri - Red guyz

According to Mulberry's art, the blonde who once had light blue hair and red eyes is the second tallest. He has a scar on his forehead and carried around a crowbar. His shirt is red and under, you guessed it, an unbuttoned blazer.

He's a genuine tsundere; the angriest of the group. He easily crushes on people like a simp and gets nervous easily, so he acts all defensive and aggressive around them especially. Other than Umeji, he's the quickest to shove people around and assert his position. But for the most part, he intentionally shoves and shoulder checks people he finds attractive or who he thinks is superior than him, which is a lot of people.

He suffers from an inferiority complex that makes him think everyone judges him behind his back and talks about him especially. Therefore, he's the loudest and quickest to insults; he's also very self conscious. He's scared to make noise in class, talk, eat in front of people, and others because he's scared to be judged. Because as long as nothing is brought to the table, there's nothing to judge. His scar was actually from Kokoro, the bully who's just a sadist according to the character files from Yandev, who got pissed at him defending himself and hit him down with a ring. He got cut badly and almost passed out from the hit; but hey, it's not like he can do anything about since she's a girl, and he'd be expelled instantly. The bitch even resulted him with a broken arm at some point.

Home life isn't great; rundown trailerpark, alcoholic dad and whole of a step mom, dead mom, things like that. Damn, if only he got more than a mattress on the floor, a cover, pillow, dresser filled with all his clothes and school supplies to live on. But he can't even get a job without his scar making people think he's worse than what his persona displays.

Hayanari Tsumeato - Grey manz

The grey eyed, blonde hair man with natural red hair who carries around a lead pipe is Hayanari, who's last name "Tsumeato" means scratch mark. He has a grey shirt under his unbuttoned blazer and a scar over his nose.

Fannonly, he was the one with the no fucks given attitude. He was usually straight faced and brutally honest when talking to people, but wasn't necessarily judgemental. It's hard to explain but just because he says, "damn Daniel, you're built like a carrot," doesn't mean he cares about his appearance, even if whoever tf Daniel is actually looks like a carrot or not. He was the daredevil who did things solely for his entertainment.

In a way, it was almost sociopathic or narcissistic; he'd be fine with embarrassing someone in front of anyone because it got a smile our of him. If someone complained, he'd roll his eyes and convince whoever that they were overreacting and that they were the one at fault. He's very manipulative and sarcastic, usually just smiling cockily and speaking innocently. Kinda emo, but he wasn't against that title. He actually liked the occult and for the most part, was down for anything that didn't have too much time needed, like school or family.

He was in the middle of everything; okay with cooking, occult, art, science, reading, anine and games, so there wasn't much a person can dislike him for in terms of social standards. He wasn't appart of a dislikes group like the occult kids or science kids, not with a loved group like cooking or art kids. But when he started to express a bit of interest in the occult was when people could finally pin him down and bully him back for all those insulting jokes that sounded way too serious. And before he knew it, he got wrapped up in the hate and couldn't get himself free.

Home life is something he never, not even to his fellow delinquents, never talks about. But one thing worth noting is that he's never seen without a long sleeved shirt or jacket of some kind. He used to pass out time to time during gym classes because he was overheated due to bringing a long sleeved version of the gym shirt to school and never drank anything. When his parents were called, they always insisted on saying they'll do something about it but they never did, either. The delinquents do think there's some kind of abuse at his house; besides, Hayanari is adopted and those things happen often even if it's more common in the foster system.

His family is something he never talks about. Back in middle school, his friends were able to see his "parents" time to time when they picked him up from school. It was immediately obvious that he wasn't related to them; hell, he rarely called them mom or dad. At home, until adopted, was great. Friends coming over, happy family moments, being able to play games and use electronics, things like that. But when he was adopted was when it wouldn't be easy to just tell someone what was to come; quite obviously, it was abuse. Verbal and physical, nearly everyday. It was worse in the beginning but happened less often as he got older.

His "mom" would call the police a few times him because she felt "threatened." She hit him so he would hit back and yell while doing so, so she has evidence of an attack. But luckily, her skin isn't sensitive enough to show any marks unlike Hayanari's. Other times, his "dad" would get involved and hurt him badly.