#i do not want to tag all these chars so i wont

[distant-velleity]

Gift-Giving

Summary: Floyd gives Yu a gift. It does not go unnoticed. Word Count: 3.2k Warnings: none! :) A/N: Merry early Christmas, everyone... I present to you the longest fic I've written in the past few months and it's self-shipping nonsense. And it doesn't even take place around Christmas...💀💀 Welp. No beta, we die like men. Enjoy!

—

Like all things do, it starts with Floyd approaching Yu right before class.

—It’s a relatively quiet, warm morning that day as Yu heads to the alchemy lab, his freshly-washed lab coat folded and draped over one arm. He’s yet to run into any brawling students or scratched egos, or any disruptiveness in general. It’s a wonderful balm on his drained mind, and there have been no interruptions to this lovely morning yet.

Keyword: yet.

Yu is just thinking, Wow, this is really nice, when an all-too familiar voice sings out to him:

“Li’l Kooooiii~”

He looks back over his shoulder to see none other than Floyd approaching. The merman has forgone wearing his blazer entirely (both since it’s warm and because, right, doesn’t his class have Alchemy first today?) and is down to just his vest and shirt. For some reason, his arms are folded behind his back. 

Yu squints at him suspiciously. “…Good morning, Floyd.”

“Mornin’,” Floyd replies happily, shoulders wiggling a little as his hands fidget behind him. “It’s nice and warm out today~ must be nice for all the little fishies.”

“Uh-huh. What do you have behind your back?” 

Floyd blinks, as if he wasn’t actually expecting Yu to cut straight to the chase. “Eh? Well… Nothing… What’s up with you?” He shifts his weight from one leg to another.

“That’s… not what I…” Yu trails off. Something feels really off. “…okay, then.”

He wonders what it could be. Is it Floyd’s outfit? No, that sort of unorthodox fashion is pretty much par for the course. His posture and body language? Well, he does seem a little more nervous… but that’s probably not it. Is it?

“…Hey, Li’l Koi,” says Floyd all of a sudden, shifting his weight again. It looks a little like he’s chewing the inside of his cheek.

Yu tilts his head. “Yeah?”

“Close your eyes for a sec.”

“Uh…” There’s about two seconds in which he internally debates with himself before replying with an “okay” and closing his eyes.

With the world absent for a moment and his other senses heightened, Yu hears Floyd approach and his clothes rustle as he moves his arms. There’s a faint jingle—jewelry?—and then a little pinch through the neglected pierced hole in his ear. An… an earring, maybe?

“Done?” Yu asks when he feels like enough time has passed.

Floyd hums his affirmation with no small amount of satisfaction, so Yu takes that as a good sign and opens his eyes. The eel mer is beaming down at him, reaching out to hold Yu’s hair where he put on the presumed earring. 

“Cool. Now, let’s get to class; I can’t be late as the TA, you know…” Yu frowns half-heartedly. “And there’s no need to play with my hair.”

It’s tempting to pout and complain more about it, since he was going to feel for himself what the thing was, but he supposes it’s not that big of a deal. It’s probably hidden by his hair, so no one will question it, hopefully. And then he can go back to his dorm later and check for himself in the mirror.

“Okay~” Floyd cheerfully replies, sounding even more bubbly and ecstatic than usual. He then proceeds to mess with Yu’s hair all the way to the lab, much to the TA’s exasperation. 

—

People do, in fact, end up noticing.

—

1-B is the class that follows 2-D that day. 

During a pause when the students have to wait for their potions to settle in the vials, Yu stands by Jack and Epel’s station. Between the two of them, their potion-making seems to be going along well and their sample is starting to resemble the textbook example, so he sees no harm in idly chatting with them.

That is, until—

“By the way…” Jack looks down at Yu. “Where’d that earring come from?”

“What earring?” It takes Yu an embarrassingly long few seconds to remember, and he reaches up to feel it. “Oh. Oh! Well—Floyd gave it to me this morning. I’d honestly forgotten I was wearing it, it feels so normal…”

Epel squints to notice it. “Wow, Jack, you noticed that? I can barely see it past his hair—...wait a minute.”

Jack seems to share the same sentiment as Epel, whatever it is, because his ears twitch straight upwards and he holds up a hand. “Back up for a second. Floyd gave it to you?”

“The temperamental, violent Floyd?” Epel adds.

Yu frowns a little. “Uhh… I don’t know any other guys named Floyd. And he was being super nice today, if a bit nervous. Is there something wrong with that?”

“Everything,” the two reply in unison without missing a beat.

“Aren’t you two prejudiced? It’s just an earring,” Yu says, crossing his arms. “I still don’t know why he just gave it to me all of a sudden, but I don’t think he’s the type to scheme for the long run, so it’s probably not anything meant to kill me or something.”

Epel furrows his brows. “Well—yeah…”

“Still, that’s kind of unexpected,” Jack remarks, ears relaxing somewhat. “Keep your guard up, okay? Since you don’t know what he intended with it.” When the other two give him a look, he huffs. “I’m just saying that so you don’t end up roped into a deal of some kind! It’s not like I’m that worried about you.”

Yu smirks, knowing better, but Crewel stands up and calls out instructions for the class to continue before he can respond properly.

—

“Thank you for letting me borrow the lab,” Chrysos says politely to Crewel as he walks in, shrugging on his lab coat. 

Crewel huffs in approval, looking pleased at the freshman’s punctuality and neatness. “Good, hardworking boys should be rewarded for their performance in class. Just make sure to start cleaning up ten minutes before your free period ends. Now, I have business to attend to—I’ll leave you in here with Yu, he’ll lock up when you’re done.” With a billowing flourish of his coat, he steps out.

Yu finally looks over from the ingredient shelves then, spotting Chrysos and waving to him. “Yo. What are you making?”

“Nothing much.” Chrysos makes a beeline for the higher-level ingredients, only sparing Yu a passing glance on his way by. “Azul gave me a recipe I wanted… to try…” He trails off all of a sudden and whips his head back around to look at Yu.

“Is something wrong?” Yu asks, because he doesn’t think he’s committed any serious offenses against Octavinelle recently. He’s pretty sure, at least.

Chrysos doesn’t say anything, just steps closer to the TA and narrows his eyes. He then moves to get a look at him from the side, which is when his expression morphs into one vaguely resembling horror. “Wait. Don’t tell me…”

“What is it?”

But he goes ignored. 

“No wonder his earring was missing a scale,” Chrysos mumbles to himself, almost completely inaudible. His usually flat tone is full of disbelief. “I didn’t think he’d ever settle down like that, but—or he could just be playing around—”

Yu waves a hand in his face. “Uh, Twisted Wonderland to Chrysos?”

“Ah—” Chrysos blinks, caught off-guard for once with his eyes wide, but quickly schools his expression back to its normal stoicness. “Forgive me. It’s just… that earring is new, isn’t it?”

“Oh, this?” Yu asks, reaching up to feel the dangling earring in question. “Yeah. Floyd gave it to me this morning.”

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because somehow Chrysos goes even paler than he already is. “I… see.” He steps back and returns to looking for ingredients, although there is an unmistakably conflicted aura about him.

Chrysos pointedly avoids making eye contact with Yu for the rest of the period.

—

After grabbing his lunch, Yu finds his usual table and sits down, ready to just eat up and not think for a while. The cafeteria is loud, as per usual, so he almost doesn’t notice his friends until they place down their trays and slide ungracefully into the seats across from him.

Deuce nods to him. “Hey.”

“What’s up, Yu?” Ace asks with his usual grin. 

Yu daps him up from across the table out of habit. “Not much,” he replies, opting to not talk about the sore subject for Ace that is Chrysos. “How did your classes go today, you two? No fights?”

“No fights,” Deuce confirms proudly. “It’s been a good day so far.”

Ace raises an eyebrow at him. “For you? Yeah, right. Anyway—” Before an argument can start, he narrows his eyes at Yu to change the subject. “I saw it on the way here, but is that an earring you’re wearing? The locket is one thing, y’know, but I didn’t take you as a jewelry kind of person.”

“You’d be surprised,” says Yu dryly. “And you’re the third person to ask me about this today, excluding Crewel giving me the bombastic side-eye. Seriously—” 

He’s cut off by Deuce leaning diagonally over the table to get a look. The card soldier purses his lips. “Hey, doesn’t that look kind of familiar to you? The design, I mean.”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right,” Ace realizes, “Where’ve I seen that before…?”

The two squint and observe Yu for a few moments, creating a very awkward bubble of silence. Yu is tempted to reach over and clap in their faces. Instead, he just tries to say, “Guys—”

“It’s part of Floyd’s earring, isn’t it?” There’s a pause as Ace brings a hand to his chin. “Or Jade’s…”

“Stop fucking interrupting me,” Yu demands, reaching over and flicking Ace on the forehead. It elicits a disproportionately loud yelp. “Yeah, Floyd gave it to me. Now that I think about it, it does feel like a scale… Anyway, as I’ve said, you’re the third person to ask me about it today, and more than the third person I’ve had to explain it to, so calm down. Please.”

“He actually gave you something?” Deuce asks like he didn’t hear that last part to calm down, eyes wide. “Do you know why? Or if it’s, uh, cursed or anything?”

“He could also be trying to take advantage of you by making you owe him,” is Ace’s contribution. “If I were you, I wouldn’t wear it.”

Yu rolls his eyes. “You guys are just repeating what Jack and Epel said. I’m sure it’s fine, he was kind of nervous when he gave it to me, so I’m gonna assume it’s nothing actually harmful. If that makes sense. And, nothing has happened so far, so I’m gonna keep wearing it.”

“Yu…” Deuce looks at him with obvious concern in his eyes. “Are you really, actually sure? If you get into any trouble, you know you can call on us, right?”

“Yeah, what he said. Unless we have to actually fight Floyd…”

“Guys, seriously, it’s fine.” Seeing their faces, though, Yu hesitates. “...Fine, I’ll keep it in mind. But I’m still not taking this earring off just because you think it’s cursed or something.”

Ace snorts and starts digging into his food. “Worth a shot. I’m gonna get to say the most satisfying ‘I told you so’ of my life soon.”

Yu flicks him again. “In your dreams.”

—

The subtropical zone of the botanical garden is always unpleasantly humid. Yu rolls up his sleeves as he walks, looking around for the plants Crewel told him to collect for the next day’s classes. 

It’s through pure luck alone that he manages to stop himself right before stepping on an unmistakable tail, spotting it stretched out onto the pathway from the grass. He stares down at it for a moment, two moments, and then looks over to where a nearby tree covers the grass in comfortable shade. And, of course, a certain someone is lounging in that very shade.

“Leona,” he mutters under his breath, carefully stepping over the lion’s tail. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

The grass rustles beneath Leona as he sits up, grumbling to himself. “How’s that any of your business?”

“Because you’re here instead, leaving your tail on the path. Again.”

“You didn’t step on it, right?” Leona yawns, not even bothering to cover it with his hand. “I don’t see the problem then.”

Yu raises an eyebrow at him, before deciding that this is hardly worth his time. He turns away, about to go back to the task he came here to finish—

“Hold it. One of the eels gave you that earring, didn’t they?”

For fuck’s sake.

“No, I beat them up and took it by force,” is Yu’s sarcastic response. At Leona’s unimpressed look, he rolls his eyes. “Of course Floyd gave it to me.”

“And you’re not making a big deal of it?” Leona asks, something akin to amusement starting to seep into his voice.

Yu shakes his head. “Everyone else is. Am I supposed to?” 

There’s a long pause in which Leona stares at him, grass-green eyes and slit feline pupils observing him from the shade. If looks could kill… Well, Yu wouldn’t be dead yet, but he doesn’t quite like the pressure that comes with being watched by this guy.

“You really don’t know, huh,” Leona comments finally, lips curling up into a smug smirk. 

“No…?” Yu narrows his eyes at him. “Whatever happened to ‘minding one’s own business’?”

“Guess I won’t tell ya what it means, then. I’ll let that moody eel do it himself.”

“Wait—”

Leona lies back down, rolls over onto his side so his back is to Yu, and falls right back asleep. As if out of spite, he snores exceptionally loudly, like an unspoken middle finger. 

—

After school, Yu is working on his homework in a corner of the lab—Crewel always insists that even someone in his position, a non-student at a secondary school, shouldn’t forget to study too—when the door opens. Azul and Jade peek in.

“Professor Crewel?” Azul calls out.

“Oh—” Yu sets down his pencil and stands up. “He’s not here right now, he’s getting something. Do you need something? Though, I thought neither of you have him until tomorrow…”

The two Octavinelle students turn to look at him. 

As per usual, Yu and Azul lock eyes—however, rather than glance away as he normally does, Azul stares at the TA oddly for a few moments. Jade is equally silent, a hand brought up to his chin.

Yu tilts his head a bit. “Uh, guys…?”

Jade is the first to shake out of his stupor, mouth curling in a smile. “My apologies. It’s just, your earring…” He chuckles into his gloved hand, not mocking or pitying but a secret third thing.

Oh, right. Yu had almost forgotten about it once classes were dismissed and people stopped bothering him about it. Only for it to be noticed yet again, he thinks with no small amount of irritation and embarrassment. And by the two closest to Floyd, at that.

“It’s about time you two got on my case about it. So many people have asked me about it today,” Yu grumbles, sitting back down and self-consciously rubbing the singular scale attachment between his thumb and index finger. “Floyd gave it to me and didn’t elaborate.”

Azul, finally tethered to reality again, coughs into a fist. “Yes, well—that… was to be expected, he probably doesn’t feel like explaining himself yet. Though he meant no harm with that gift, I assure you.”

“Yes. Absolutely none at all,” Jade echoes, his smirk somehow growing. A little part of Yu dies inside when he notices the eel is totally getting a kick out of this situation. “In fact, I would argue it’s the complete opposite. You see, under the sea, we often give gifts to those whom we like—”

“That’s enough from you.” One of Azul’s hands not-so-subtly reaches up for Jade’s shoulder to steer him away while the other rubs at his temple. “Seriously, you and Floyd are both far too giddy about this… Anyway, thank you for your time, Yu,” he says, so politely it seems a little awkward. “If the professor isn’t here, I may as well ask him our question tomorrow. See you later.”

The two leave as abruptly as they popped in, Jade still chuckling when he walks out the door.

Just leaving me alone to process that? is all Yu can think, still reeling. Rude.

—

If any Octavinelle students have questions or concerns about the way that Yu storms into the Mostro Lounge, they know better than to voice them. Instead, they simply clear a path for him and go about their evening, quietly turning a blind eye to the way he marches right up to Floyd.

It’s answers he wants, and answers he intends to get. 

“About those earrings,” Yu begins, “what did you—”

“Li’l Koi, you’re wearing your dorm uniform again!” Floyd cheers, shoving his serving trays onto some poor fool and lifting Yu up into the air by the waist. The TA, in a panic, has to grab onto Floyd’s shoulders to stabilize himself. “It looks really good with the gift I gave you, doesn’t it~?” 

“Y—” There’s a moment where Yu almost tips over and he tenses up in a panic, noticing how far away he is from the ground, but he relaxes with the feeble hope that he won’t be suddenly dropped. “Yeah, I guess… The sturgeon scale does pair nicely with the patterns on my clothes… Ah, but that’s not the point.”

Floyd beams. “Uh-huh? Should I fight another merman and get you some different scales, then? Oh, but teeth would be way cooler…!”

“Uhh, not right now,” Yu answers, trying and failing to ignore the way Floyd lights up even more at not being straight-up rejected. “I, um, wanted to ask you about why you gave me the earring. It was a part of yours, right? One of the scales from when you got into that fight.”

“Yeah.” Tellingly, Floyd averts his gaze for just a moment too long. “It was ‘cause I wanted to. I just wanted to give something to ya.” The way he lamely finishes it suggests it’s definitely not the whole reason, and Floyd himself knows it.

“Yeah, but…” 

Yu’s mouth feels dry; he knows what he wants to ask, sort of, but can’t bring himself to say it. Even though it’s just them around. Something he heard a while back pops into his mind—eels are cowards—and it sure shows with the way Floyd decided to go about this. If he even meant it like that. 

It somehow feels like he’s the bigger coward, though—

Floyd gives Yu’s sides a gentle squeeze. “Stop thinking about it so hard,” he complains lightheartedly. “I’m gonna shower you with gifts, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Huh?” Heat floods Yu’s cheeks. “Wait, that won’t be necessary!”

“Too late! I’ve already made up my mind,” declares Floyd. “I wanna see you make more interesting faces like that, so be ready to accept a tooooon of gifts, ‘kay?”

“Oh—oh, okay,” Yu says quickly, as if speed will hide how flustered he is (it, in fact, does the exact opposite). Besides, receiving a lot of silly yet thoughtful gifts doesn’t exactly sound like a bad thing—

“Cool.” There’s an almost giddy energy to the way Floyd sets him down and then immediately takes his hand. Yu can actually feel him trembling a little from excitement. “I’ve got some stuff in my room I was saving up to give you, so let’s go.”

Yu blinks, and suddenly he’s being tugged along down the hall while trying to keep up with the pace of Floyd’s long legs. “Now? Wait, Floyd…!”

[velaazuretail]

“Sing, and let the ocean’s depths answer your call.”

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[wimpout]

Hey, I'm Elijah. Please just call me Eli, I don't have nothing against the full name but Eli is just better looking. I go by they/them. Don't try and assume my AGAB, you'll be exploded by my mind.

I had an account before this, but I couldn't log back in.

I believe I have the most normal and non-biased takes so if you even care you should check it out. I might see you around.

Here's my old school ID, or something. Ignore the char.

And, er. I have amnesia and some prior memory loss problems. Please, just ignore if I don't remember you at all or even clearly. I'm trying my best, alright?

last update 8/9 23:22

‼️please read all they way below to find tutorial for this blog ‼️

if you knew my intro from orion, you can basically skip all this: its all the same. some of it is personalized for eli; so skim over it if you want to. the bottom is where i explain how this blog works!

about the mun!!!

hi! elis mun here!! you may also know me as im the one who runs @oranberryorion !!!

you can call me adon or guy!!! guy is more the silly nickname but i truly dont mind what you call me ^_^

i go by he/him strictly but you can freeball with neos if you want

ive been into pokemon since i can remember :3 b/w was my first games, but ive played back to emerald and ive played the entire sv dlc and all!!!

eli was an idea i had from the expansive community of rotomblr and my love for the ability of people to gather around to collaborate and build something unique. eli is that!! their story is completely made from what rotomblr will say.

interaction!!!

pelipper mail/malice: ☑️

musharna mail/malice: ☑️

mystery gifts: ☑️

magic anon: ☑️

in character non hate: ☑️

please remember that if any of the mails/anons oversteps my boundaries, then i probably wont respond.

this is also pretty important to say: i dont care WHO interacts with me. fallers, sapients, eebydeebys, hybrids, ocs, self-inserts, in-game characters, i LOVE interaction. i respond to anything i see as fast as i can and unless its weird or stepping beyond my boundaries i WILL interact back!!!!!

that being said, i should establish some things

- mod is 15, eli is 17! nothing nsfw. suggestive jokes i really dont care but theyre 17 so you should know the boundaries for that

- any rotumblr blog is allowed to interact (back). literally anyone. you want a sapient pokemon to talk to eli?? they'll answer!! want an eeby deeby to roleplay with eli?? ill respond!! even fallers or such, (as my own bff literally has two faller blogs LOL) asks, anons, general questions, spam mail, ask games, interaction is always allowed!!!!

- i love character events and planning. if you have an idea for a small event between our characters, or a type of relationship they have, anything, please let me know!!! my discord is adonciant and you can add me (im not always active, so ill try and accept any friend requests or such as fast as i can) OOORR you can just dm me on here!!! preferably keep it to eli, so dont go messaging my main/orion about anything ^_^

- i (accidentally) do long threads of reblogs/interactions. i swear none of it is purposeful, i just happen to interact back if i get no indicator of an ending conversation. if you want, you can make an ooc tag to tell me to stop reblogging back or anything. these threads do not get tagged with anything, either.

- theres some content warnings to this blog. however, its rough to estimate exactly what could happen. i know thats very scary to hear, but as rotomblr you decide what happens; which does include any darker themes. generally, spoilers for any game. i do tag triggers and theyre always the first tag, so if youre ever scared about something, read the first tags!

- my main is @adonciant ! likes and follows come from there!

heres the good part; how does this work???

in case you didnt see on orions blog, eli is a character who is collectively expanded upon by YOU!! the community of rotomblr!

everyone and anyone who has a rotomblr blog is allowed to contribute to eli.

logistically, if you wonder how it works with the fact these anons would seem to know an abnormal amount of information of eli, blame it on their old account they couldnt log into ^_^

how do you contribute, you ask?

simple! my asks are open. go ahead, ask them how their life is in galar. they'll respond as if their life is in galar. well, someone else already asked if they lived in unova? they live in unova! ask how their whimsicott is doing, because now they do indeed have a whimsicott! ask how their moms funeral was! because, uh oh, now they have no mom :(

but its important that you dont overlook the existing information other people/anons have already asked about. if they really do live in unova, you cant go out of your way to try and forcefully retcon that information: as a reminder, its a collective to create a story for them.

not only are asks open, but every type of interaction is allowed, even up to magic anons. if eli reblogs an ask game, he either responds appropriately to how his story has been shaped out or how i see is fit to the rest of his character! want to send musharna malice that means him seeing a nightmare of his past? say it! send pelipper mail of clothing from his dead relatives? say that!

all that i request is that you and the rest of rotomblr make a coherent story. you build off of previous information and make it into one, stable story. they could totally have been there for opelucid city freezing, but not for lysandre attempting to use the ultimate weapon at the same time.

genuinely, a lot goes by communication.

this blog is supposed to be fun. i dont want to see arguments over eli. its supposed to be something that a community works on together and adds in their words to the pages.

not sure whats canon and whats not? heres a google doc to check all valid information!

this intro/full body ref will be updated if need be.

[sulfies]

A proper Pinned Post!

About me: 23 / He,Him / Turkish / Minors DNI

Search for:

#fanfic for fanfics

#Art for art

I draw mainly Desmond, shipped w everyone under the sun but mainly Ezio and Altaïr from Assassins Creed so if you dont like it just move on :3

You are allowed to do fanarts or fanfics for my ideas (headcanons etc)(they are not that original anyway lol) or transform em how you see fit I just ask to be credited or tagged so I can see/read what you cooked

My commissions are open but so are my requests lol (tho I do require them to be AC characters for requests and I most likely wont draw chars I do not know about sorry Haytham lovers and there is no guarantee ill draw requests too

Most importantly! I cannot reply, its broken on my end on any device (ty tumblr idk how bc i created this acc on march) so If you want me to reply to your reply/rt please mention so bc Id love to actually reply (i read em all!!!) or tell me in my dms which are open! Id love to chat~

Edit: also Free Palestine 🇵🇸 and Dni if ur a homophobe transphobe racist bigot etc

Thanks for reading❤️

[supergigabigboybabechad]

idk if i interpret your posts right but it seems like you do matchups for twisted wonderland? May I get one?

Im female and go by she/her. Im an ENTP, my zodiac is gemini and I’m about 165cm tall. I’m pretty energetic and always smile since hard feelings like grief, anger or sadness are really overwhelming for me since I am pretty „sensitive“ meaning I take most things to heart easily. I always give advice and help to others and I try to be the best version of myself to make them feel comfortable. I make lots of bad jokes while knowing they are bad. I get lots of compliments for my Singing voice and writing. I also love love love to Infodump like i can talk for hours about something or someone I like. I love wearing pink things with ruffles or lace and I’d say I’m pretty girly over all. I try to act tough and always give everything to make others happy. Im a Great cook and a hopeless romantic. I also have a 8 step skincare routine… I see beauty and worth in everything and love to help people build confidence and self-love. My favorite artist is currently Mitski, since I really relate to her music. I have some father problems going on which make me want to be cared for, but at the same time I have mother problems since my mother was emotionally absent after my dad left, which makes me want to care for people. 🫂

Hope our have a good day or night and Drink enough!<3

Hi! Thank you for being so conscious of me and im so flattered you liked my last matchup enough to ask for one yourself but i love people telling me about themselves so your ask was a happy suprise and really made my day! I didnt expect to get that much attention but hey! If anyone else wants a matchup from me youre more than welcome to send info in! The more the better! Extra little jazz: if you want to send up info the way you would for a matchup and get hcs for a specific char youve got it! Also, if you want your info priv you can lemme know in your ask and ill tag you or you can go by an anon title(ex: leaf anon/ 🍃 anon)and ill mention ur title in the post, if you do this I wont post ur anonymous ask Like last time we have options in order from less to most compatible imo🔥

4. Jack Howl

Upon first meeting you, jack would claim to not care for you

But the thing is, deep down he doesn’t want your feelings getting hurt at nrc, the boys there can be real mean for no reason

He’s also worried about people taking advantage of your kindness

His words and actions conflict as he insists on walking with you everywhere “to be a man” or so he claims

He’d probably scold you about how you’re never putting yourself first leading to you telling him about your want to help others be their best selves

This would get him thinking, he thought you were weak for “letting people walk all over you” but really it’s just selflessness

He’s into the idea of self betterment so he gives you an enthusiastic speech about how you’re doing good work

After that day he sees you in a new light, the definitions of resilience and strength to him have taken on new meaning

He’s always looking to improve, he’d take your advice to heart and trusts you most with his emotional problems

Hes gotta open up to somebody, the tough guy act can’t be a forever thing, you’re clearly the best person for the job

Hes pretty mature so he won’t say anything mean to you even as a joke

He wont let others do that to you either, you wont have to tell him if something bothers you, hes protective so more times than not he’ll defend you

Hes still too macho to let you know just how much he cares but it slips out in his actions

When he can see your upset(Ace was probably mean to you) he’ll insist on walking you back to your dorm after in other words, telling ace to shut up

Hell softly squeeze your hand on the way back and make a comment about what happened earlier off handedly

Say ace was bein birtchy ab the way you dress, before leaving you to enter ramshackle he’d say “I think pink is nice for you” while awkwardly looking away

Jack wouldn’t know how to respond in the moment of receiving affections while you’re taking care of him but his tail will wag so you’ll know he’s enjoying it and he definitely wont protest.

Jack would care for you too in the more traditional masculine way of walking you to class and escorting you here and there

He’d show you the affection you desire but be verbally round aboit with it.

Holding out his jacket to you, he’d insist you take it, not in a very romantic way.. but still, he’s so easy to read you can tell how shy he was

3.Trey Clover

Trey would love your look!!

You would remind him of a cake

In fact, hed make a cake to match you as a suprise

Most likely as a gift for helping out ace and deuce despots what a pain they can be

He really appreciates how kind you can be and your willingness to help others

It really takes a load off his shoulders with the first years coming to you every now and then, he knows how much work they can be so a cake is the least he can do

Knowing your living situation in ramshackle and with Crowley’s LIMITED allowance hed take care of you subtly

Inviting you to join heartslabyul for tea and having you over to help with schoolwork

Hes be more forthright from time to time making you lunch and bringing you food

During tea times and unbirthday parties hed always invite you to sit next to him

He’d use that time to talk to you about how you’re doing, he notices how you’re always caring for others he needs to make sure you’re being looked after as well

During this time you might get into infodumping

He finds the way you get cute and would ask questions just to see you passionate

If you cook for him he’d love it! In fact, upon telling him that you cook he’d start inviting you over to help him out or offer to come help you out(he knows you’ve got enough in your plate) as an excuse to have some alone time together

Hes Great at comforting people so if something someone says hurts you you’ll have him to lean on

That being said he’s also an upperclassman and well respected

If he catches you hurt by what someone says he’ll wrap his arm around your waist to reassure you and ask the person what’s wrong and how he can resolve the issue

Trey gives dad jokes vibes he’d find your jokes endearing

From time to time hed I’m sure he’d even genuinely find them funny

Trey isnt used to being cared for the way you take care of him

Hes usually on the giving end but hardly ever the receiving, its special to him and he remembers each moment and is truly great full for it

Hed return the favor and care for you more, hes a good boyfriend so he’s always making sure to give what he gets

He loves when you help him take a break, the way you encourage him to take care of himself as well as remind him of how he matters reminds him of how lucky he was to have landed someone so caring

2. Rook Hunt

BEAUTÉ 100 POINTS

He finds you so cute! Your beauty is so different from Vil’s or Neige’s

You’re like a lone tulip adorned with dew in the morning shining brighter than the rest of the dull leaves

Hes Tell you that in more words and write you poems, be ready to receive many odes to your beauty

He’d love to hear you sing you have his full attention

In fact hed write poems and sonnets for you to read too

Your singing is so lovely, you must have a beautiful voice! He’d listen to you talk for HOURS just listening to your voice and taking in how beautiful you are while you speak

He loves the your stop and smell the roses attitude, he finds that it adds to your beauty

Your beautiful way of thinking adds to the depth of your beauty

Hell have fun looking within your kind spirit and discovering new beautiful things about you

He loves your ability to cook, he’d love to have you pack him something while he goes out hunting

Rook is a very passionate man and very knowledgable, you’d both end up info dumping on each other too, you’d say a lot of random stuff to each other that and neither of you would even be phased

The hopeless romantic part of you will definitely love being with rook

He’s writing you love letters, giving you flowers. His confession was likely intimate and private but also grand, a beauty for your eyes only

Rook also has a keen eye for beauty. He’d take you to see his favorite sights and sing to you of the beauty before him

He’d also take you hunting!

He understands if you’re not too keen on the actual hunting part. You can both hunt beauty with your eyes

Rook is good natured at heart though it’s hard to see with what he says

When he speaks it may come off as an insult but truly he just sees the beauty in your flaws and can’t help but comment on it

I Hope his positive tone comes through but hell definitely notice if it hurts you

“Mon amour! I meant it in the highest complements! You’re beauty but transgresses perfection and seeps into the cracks filling your beautiful form! Mais je suis désolé ma chérie.. I will refrain if it is what will make you smile most.”

Room would love to help you with your skin care routine! I know that sounds weird.. kinda because it is?

If you’d let him.. he’d wash your face for you, apply serum essence, your entire routine

He’s beaming the whole time like a giddy child but he’s also treating you delicately like he’s washing a porcelain doll.

He’s very Open to receiving affection and having you care for him. You wouldn’t have to question whether or not he appreciates it, it’s written all over him! .. and he’ll tell you how thankful he is

Room would follow you around like he worships the ground you walk on. You just keep on surprising him with the depth of your beauty, he can’t get enough!

1. Jade Leech

Princess and her capable butler vibes❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Jade would keep an eye on you out of pure curiosity at first.

You’d seldom find someone so willing to help others out of the goodness of their hearts like you would, especially at NRC

He follows you around finding your “obliviousness” entertaining. The way you cant See the danger you’re clearly putting yourself in

With all the aggressive students things can get ugly but before any of that would have happened, Jade would be stepping in to make sure things didn’t escalate (after he’s had his fill on entertainment)

You would thank him for his help and he’d inquire about your helping and positive attitude

“You do know that they’d just trying to take advantage of you right? Dont you? Why do you insist on helping them?”

After telling him about trying to bring out the best in others and only wanting to help them love themselves, Jade is even more dumbfounded

He finds it cute, from your character to your cute clothes, you truly are unique…

With Jade around people would know better than to hurt your feelings and if they were dumb enough to try to intentionally… well, you wouldn’t see it but Jade would handle it

Jade would love your singing and would love for you to sing for him on your dates

Are you an outdoorsy person? Because for dates he’d bring you out on hikes to show you all the beauty, from the scenery and landscape to the smallest dainty flowers

You wouldn’t have to worry about packing or holding your own bag Jade would hold it for you. Worried you might fall? Hell catch you don’t even worry there’s no way you’d even get a scratch when you’re with him.

While on your hike you might point out some things you like, flowers, trees anything really.

Hed make mental note of it and make a terrarium for you with what you found beautiful together

Hed decorate the outside too to make sure it was up to your standards. Pearls, lace, pink bows, it so cute!

Jade would dote on you too, not too much in gifts, you get them here and there but Jade is definitely a quality time/acts of service guy.

He’d sit down and just listen to you talk, talk about whatever! Info dumping, your day, especially your day, he wants to know where you are

You do so much for people, helping them build their self love but who’s doing that for you? Jade will.

He’d constantly tell you about how nice you look and what a nice thing you did, making sure to never overlook your achievements and congratulate you on each one.

He’d make you tea or some water to make sure you’re hydrated and something to eat while you talk to make sure you have enough energy

Then it’ll just be the two of you, talking and showing how much you love each other as well as making sure you both love yourselves

[mikeyelistsukasa]

Thanks me later🤩🤏

yashiro died, hanako didn't get over her death, and now she's dating s/o, and he forces them to be identical to yashiro 🤗🤗

Headcanuns

Im so sorry that it took so long. I was too busy trying to find fanfics of my fav char since i requested too much in the past and felt guilty requesting others lol

That’s actually an intresting request ngl hope i wont mess up

Tagging @under-the-cherrytree bc she is the best hanako simp I’ve met

Hanako forcing his Darling to act like yashiro

Ofc he would never get over yashiro‘s death

He blames himself for her death

She meant so much to him

They were best friends(if not more)

So when he met you

He just felt the urge to be with you

As if being with you will bring back yashiro

You reminded him so much of her

You noticed how he scilently stared at you while you were cleaning the bathroom

„Whats wrong hanako?“

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts

„Huh? Oh nothing nothing i was just dreaming“

„Dreaming about w-„

„Donuts“

„Man You’re acting weird today“

Kou was just silently cleaning too exept HE has an idea of what or should i say WHO hanako dreamed about

He himself still can’t get over yashiro‘s death and also feels like its his fault

„Hey hanako.i know its hard b-„

„SAYYYYY s/o have i ever told you that i love your DAIKON legs so much?“

„Huh? Daikon legs? Heh i actually never thought of them being compared to daikons you’re a funny one hanako“

Wait what?

Nonono thats not the reaction he wanted

He wanted you to punch him insult him be mad at him just like yashiro

„You aren’t mad that i called your legs like that?“

„Oh please its a harmless joke i can’t be mad at you for such little thing“

You were weirded out lately from hanako he asked you to do so many weird stuff

First he asked you to weird this weird looking skull on your uniform

Second To feed the mokke‘s around

Third Make you clean the toilets

Fourth Be bff‘s with aoi

Fifth to go on the weirdest adventures with him and kou

Then some cute 2 hairclips

You thought that he gifted you those things

Like maybe he asked kou to buy these things so that he can gift them to you

Oh how wrong you were

You got the chills after kou told you everything

You are wearing items from a dead girl??? Yickes

You don’t know if you should storm off and go home or have a big talk with him

Kou told you to better go home he will come up with an excuse on why you left early

You thanked him and went home

The next day you were not wearing the items of that girl

You were a bit worried on what will happen between you and hanako

But you don’t wanna stay in a relationship where your partner imagines a other girl every time he sees you

You were snapped back to reality after hanako suddenly showed up at your seat

„Heyyyy my beloved one~ wait…where are the items i told you to wear???“

„Hanako…“

You stood up and placed the items on the desk

„Im sorry…but i cant be the one you want me to be“

And just like that you left the classroom

While hanako couldn’t even move a bit

Only stare at yashiro‘s items and realising more and more of what he did

Its now all up to hanako wether he is ready to love the actual you or just let this be the last conversation with you

Thank you so much for the request! Please visit again!!!

[scalpelsister]

larian add body types please i want to make this woman buff

[bibbawrites]

Made Your Mark On Me, a Golden Tattoo - Single Dad!Charlie x Owen

THIS IS PART 10 OF THE SINGLE DAD!CHARLIE SERIES, YOU CAN FIND THE OTHER PARTS HERE

Request: none

Word Count: 3760 words

Summary: Part 10 of Single Dad!Charlie, Owen comes to LA to stay with Charlie, Margaux and Meghan, and the boys go on their first date

Warnings: swearing, sexual references, implied sexual content pretty sure everyone knows at this point but this does include romantic chowen, remember this is fictional, if you dont like that just dont read :)

A/N: another day another part lol, i have far too much written for this series considering there is no demand for it but i’m enjoying it so i’m gonna keep writing purely just for @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ and myself lol also! a new nickname for margaux has been unlocked haha she has far too many cause every person keeps giving her their own nickname and ive lost count of how many there are... anyways, enjoy! 

Tag List:  @happinessinthedarkesttimes @molinaroberts @joynersgoatblog @courageous-she​ @littlemissaddict @gloomybrieyxb​ @itsyagorlemmalyn @jatpxmultifan​ @moneybagmgk​ @emeliii1​ @mybradforddream​ (the strike through means it wont let me tag you)

Char sent a message to OPJ

Char owweeeennnnnnnnnnn

Char come to la

OPJ why?

Char i miss you

Char wanna kiss your pretty face

Char and your pretty lips

Char and your pretty 🍆

OPJ charlieeeeeee

Char what? i did nothing wrong

OPJ you just said you wanna suck my dick

Char i never said such a thing

Char read the messages, i only said i would like to kiss your pretty face and your pretty lips and your pretty 🍆

OPJ and we all know what that emoji means

Char get your head out of the gutter honestly

Char maybe i just love eggplant

OPJ ugh whatever

Char so will you?

OPJ will i what?

Char come to la

Char we’ve been officially boyfriends for almost three months and we haven’t even had our first date yet

OPJ when do you want me

Char right now

OPJ that’s not possible bub

Char bub?

OPJ trying something, yes or no?

Char meh i don’t hate it

OPJ i’ll keep looking then

Char anyways, i booked you a flight...

OPJ char you didn’t have to

Char i know i’m just so desperate to see you

OPJ what time and day?

Char ...

Char today 3pm...

OPJ it’s 11am now

Char you better get packing

OPJ already am 

Char oh i know you are ;)

OPJ i didnt mean it like that and you know it

OPJ you’re gonna be the death of me Gillespie

Char i know ❤️

-

The second Charlie spotted Owen exiting the gate he was jumping into the blond’s arms, glad that they both had masks on to prevent him from kissing Owen senseless with hundreds of people around.

“God I missed you.” He muttered, face pressed into Owen’s neck. 

“I missed you more.” Owen replied, pulling back slightly. “Where’s Maggie?”

“With Meghan. She’s visiting for a little bit so she offered to look after her while I came to get you.” Charlie explained, grabbing Owen’s carry on as they headed through the airport to baggage claim. 

“Is she staying with you?” Owen asked. 

“She is, but I may or may not have booked the four of us into a hotel for a few days. She leaves on Thursday so if you wanna stay after that we’ll just go back to my place.” Charlie said. 

“We’re staying in a hotel?” Owen grinned, coming to a stop at the baggage carousel, his eyes focused on looking for his suitcase. 

“Yeah! Mags is pumped, she loves hotels, especially high rise ones. We’re going back to mine to collect the two of them then we’ll head there.” Charlie said

“Does Meghan know about...” Owen trailed off, glancing over at Charlie who shook his head. 

“I didn’t tell her, I wanted to find out what you wanted to do first.” Charlie replied. Owen smiled. 

“I’m okay with telling her.” He said. 

“Or maybe we just act like a couple around her and see how long it takes her to notice.” Charlie suggested and Owen shook his head. 

“You’re evil.” He spotted his bag, leaving Charlie’s side for a few moments before coming back over, his suitcase trailing behind him. 

“Don’t think it will take long, cause the second that front door shuts behind us I’m gonna be all over you.” Charlie grinned, taking Owen’s free hand once the younger boy was back by his side, leading him out of the airport. Owen blushed slightly. 

“Can’t wait.”

-

True to his word, the second that the door was shut Charlie was shoving Owen against the wall and kissing him with so much force that he thought his lips might bleed.

“Fuck, missed you so much.” Charlie mumbled against Owen’s lips, groaning when Owen’s fingers dug into his hips.

“Char...” Owen gasped out and Charlie just kissed him harder, wanting to make up for lost time.

“When you’re done trying to swallow each other, we’re in the kitchen.” Meghan’s voice called and Charlie groaned, stepping back from Owen. He didn’t want to stop, but he knew if they kept going they wouldn’t be able to.

“We should go to them.” He said, and Owen nodded, still slightly stunned from the aggression of the kiss.

“Probably.” He agreed, but neither of them made any attempt to move, so Charlie nuzzled his face into Owen’s neck, just taking in the familiar scent of his boyfriend. 

“This hotel, how is the room situation going?” Owen asked, his hand trailing through Charlie’s hair. Charlie lifted his head up.

“I booked a two bedroom suite. Margaux and Meghan can share one room and we’ll take the other.” He said. Owen smiled. 

“Okay good.” He replied. Charlie raised an eyebrow. 

“Why?” He asked. 

“Remember your texts?” Owen smirked, and Charlie’s eyes widened at the realisation. 

“Don’t be so horny.” He muttered, hitting at Owen’s arm. Owen grinned. 

“Says the guy who just had me pressed up against a wall.” He retaliated. 

“We can hear you, you know that right?” Meghan called, and both Charlie and Owen froze. 

“We did not.” Charlie called back, and both boys decided that was their cue to head into the kitchen, where Meghan and Margaux were waiting.  

“Papa!” Margaux exclaimed the second they entered the room, jumping down off her chair and rushing over to Owen, jumping into his arms. Meghan gave Charlie a look, eyebrows raised. 

“So, finally got your shit together then?” She questioned. Charlie glanced towards Owen and Margaux, a smile appearing on his face when he saw the way the four year old was clinging to the blond boy. 

This was how things were supposed to be. 

- 

Less than an hour later the family of four had checked into their home for the next few days and travelled up to the fourteenth floor to find their room. 

Once they found it Charlie tapped the keycard against the door and pushed on the handle when the light changed to green. Margaux pushed past him, running into the room and heading straight towards the door to the balcony, pressing her face into the glass. 

“Woah!” She exclaimed, standing on her toes to try to see the road below. 

“Good view?” Charlie asked, placing the bags he was carrying down on the couch, before opening the door and letting Margaux out onto the balcony, trailing closely behind her as Margaux rushed over to the railing. 

“Look Daddy.” She grinned as Charlie squatted down behind her, placing a hand on her back gently. 

“Wow look how tiny those people are.” Charlie said, and Margaux giggled. 

“They’re ants!” She replied, leaning back into Charlie. 

“For someone who travels as much as she does you’d think she’d be used to it by now.” Meghan joked quietly to Owen as the two of them stood and watched the interaction.

“Especially since we lived in an apartment building in Vancouver while we filmed.” Owen replied. 

“Kids.” Meghan shook her head in amusement.

“You wanna see your room baby?” Charlie questioned, and Margaux nodded excitedly. 

“Okay let’s figure it out.” Charlie stood back up, taking Margaux’s hand and leading her back into the main room. 

“Am I gonna stay with you Daddy?” Margaux asked, and Charlie shook his head. 

“No you’re gonna stay with Meggy.” He said, motioning towards his younger sister. 

“It’s gonna be like a sleepover.” Meghan grinned. Margaux pouted. 

“But I wanna stay with Daddy.” She whined. 

“You’ll be with Daddy until you have to go to sleep, okay?” Charlie told her, pushing open the door, revealing the room with the two double beds.

“And look at this nice big bed you get to stay in all by yourself. You can fit all of your toys around you.” He added, and Margaux frowned but didn’t protest. 

“Which bed do you want Mini? The window one?” Meghan questioned. 

Margaux glanced at the beds before nodding. Charlie placed her bag onto the bed, unzipping it to reveal the several stuffed toys and dolls they had packed.

“Look, we’ll put all your friends on your bed.” He said as he placed the toys out onto the bed, pulling out Margaux’s blanket last. “And your blankie, and look how nice this looks. You’ll have so much fun sleeping here.”

“And we can even sing with each other at night, or gossip about secret girl stuff.” Meghan added, sitting on the edge of her own bed. 

“What girl stuff?” Margaux questioned, climbing up next to her aunt and snuggling into her arms. 

“Butterflies and glitter.” Charlie joked, and Owen rolled his eyes at the reference, turning and leaving the room as a response.

“We’ll stay up all night talking about boys.” Meghan grinned and Charlie’s smile instantly turned into a frown. 

“Hey! No.” He reprimanded.

“I’m joking Charlie, don’t be a party pooper.” Meghan rolled her eyes. 

“You joke, but we had a full conversation a month ago about how someone wants a boyfriend.” Charlie said, and Margaux looked up. 

“I want a boyfriend.” She chimed in. Meghan laughed. 

“You’re four, why do you need a boyfriend?” She asked. Margaux frowned. 

“Daddy has a boyfriend.” She stated. Meghan smirked, looking up at Charlie. 

“Does he now?” She teased. 

“Shut the fuck up, you knew that. You literally just asked if I had gotten my shit together.” Charlie said, and Meghan rolled her eyes at him. 

“You didn’t confirm it.” She retorted. Charlie shook his head. 

“Hey Meghan, Owen’s my boyfriend.” He stated, ignoring the flutter in his chest at those words. 

“Wow! Thank you so much for telling me, that’s so nice of you!” Meghan replied, her tone thick with sarcasm. 

“Don’t be sarcastic.” Charlie retaliated. 

“What’s that Taylor Swift lyric? The one about looking at him like the stars, that’s you and him. It’s honestly about time that you got your shit together.” Meghan said, flopping backwards onto her bed, giggling when Margaux climbed on top of her. 

“Tay’s my boyfriend.” The tiny blonde stated and Charlie sighed.

“Who?” Meghan shot him a confused look. 

“Taylor Kare. Who played the young version of Bobby in the show. For some reason she’s decided she wants him to be her boyfriend.” Charlie explained. Meghan grinned. 

“I don’t blame her, he’s cute.” She said. Charlie shot her a look and she rolled her eyes before sitting up, Margaux clinging to her like a koala. 

“Hey Mini, why don’t we go get some food and bring it back while your Daddy unpacks all of your stuff.” Meghan suggested. Margaux smiled. 

“Yeah! Can we get KFC?” She asked. 

“Of course we can.” Meghan grinned, before turning to Charlie. “Want anything?”

“Just get one of those big buckets of chicken and we’ll figure it out.” He said as Meghan stood up, grabbing her mask. 

“Okay. I’m stealing your wallet.” She told him. 

“Of course you are.” Charlie rolled his eyes, but handed his wallet over to his younger sister nonetheless, before leaning in to kiss Margaux gently on the side of her head. 

“Bye baby, have fun and be good for Meggy, okay?” He said. Margaux nodded. 

“Bye Daddy, love you.” She replied. 

“Love you too.” Charlie smiled. 

Meghan and Margaux left, the four year old chattering away in her aunty’s arms about something she had seen in Bluey, and Charlie waited until he couldn’t hear their voices anymore to move. 

“Owen?” He called, starting to head across the suite to the room he and Owen were sharing. 

“Yeah?” Owen called back. Charlie pushed open the door, finding a much larger room with a large king size bed in the middle of the room, and a flat screen tv hung on the wall. Owen was unpacking his bag, hanging clothes in the wardrobe, when Charlie entered. 

“Meg and Mags went to get food.” Charlie told him. 

“Okay cool.” Owen replied, looking up after a few moments and frowning when he saw the look on Charlie’s face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Remember the texts?” Charlie raised an eyebrow and Owen’s eyes lit up. 

“Come here.” He said, but Charlie didn’t move. 

“We’ve gotta be quick.” Charlie informed him and Owen nodded. 

“Got it.”

And with that Charlie rushed over to Owen, kicking the door shut behind him.

-

They were a naked mess of sweaty bodies and tangled limbs when Charlie decided to bring up their plans for the night. 

“Oh by the way, I have our date planned.” He said as Owen played with his hair. 

“Am I allowed to know what it is? Or when?” Owen questioned. Charlie nodded slightly. 

“Tonight. At 10:30pm.” He informed the blonde. “And it’s a surprise.” 

“10:30?” Owen repeated. Charlie hummed in response. Owen sighed. 

“That’s all I’m getting?”

“Yep.” Charlie murmured. 

“We’re back!” Meghan’s voice called through the suite and both Charlie and Owen jumped up in fear. 

“Fuck, get dressed.” Charlie instructed, tossing clothes towards Owen, before calling back to Meghan. “Coming!”

In record time they were both dressed and came out of the bedroom, trying to look as casual as possible as they walked over to the table where Meghan had placed all the food. 

“Daddy, you didn’t unpack my stuff.” Margaux pouted, and Charlie placed a soft kiss on the top of her head as an apology. 

“Sorry baby, Daddy got distracted.” He told her as he grabbed some food for her and put it on one of the plates Owen had brought over to the table. 

“Oh gross, you didn’t.” Meghan groaned, glancing between Charlie and Owen, who had turned a bright red in embarrassment. Charlie just shrugged, a guilty smile on his face. Meghan fake gagged. 

“That’s disgusting Char.” She reprimanded. Charlie shook his head. 

“It’s natural.” He retaliated. Meghan hit him. 

“Shut up, I don’t want to know anything else.” She said. The table fell silent for a moment, before Margaux decided to speak up. 

“Daddy we saw a puppy when we were walking.” She grinned, and Charlie pulled a shocked face. 

“Oh my gosh, really? Tell me all about it.” He replied, and for the entire meal Margaux rambled, telling them story after story. 

-

Just before 10:30, Charlie and Owen arrived at their date destination. Owen looked up at the sign, frowning slightly when he saw it. 

“A tattoo parlour?” He questioned. Charlie smiled, despite the fact that Owen couldn’t see it through his mask. 

“You’ve been talking about getting a new tattoo, so I figured we could get a new one together.” He suggested. Owen’s frown melted, a soft look replacing it. 

“Why is that oddly sweet?” He teased, leaning his head into Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie grinned. 

“Cause I’m oddly sweet?” He replied. Owen laughed. 

“That you are.” 

“Do you have any ideas of what you wanna get?” Charlie questioned as he held the door open. Owen gave him a small smile, walking through the door as he answered. 

“I have a couple of ideas.” He said. “Things that I think would look cool.” 

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Charlie’s eyes lit up with curiosity. Owen shook his head. 

“Secret. Want it to be a surprise.” He grinned. Charlie chuckled. 

“Fair enough.” 

After going through the basics and signing some paperwork, it was time for them to get their tattoos. The tattoo artist led them through to the backroom and for the whole time they were there Charlie and Owen didn’t once let go of each other’s hands. 

- 

The two boys left the tattoo parlour a few hours later, hand in hand and new tattoos covered in a protective cling film. 

“Do you wanna head back?” Charlie questioned, swinging their hands between them. Owen sighed. 

“Not really, but we probably should. It’s late.” He answered. Charlie nodded in agreement. 

“True. Plus the date doesn’t have to end just because we go back to the hotel... There’s a nice comfy bed and some red wine with our names on it.” He raised an eyebrow and Owen smiled. 

“Fancy.” 

“Only the best for you.” Charlie grinned, and Owen pulled him close, pulling down their masks so that their lips could meet in a rough kiss. 

And if it took them almost an hour to make the 15 minute walk back to the hotel then that was just between them. 

-

Charlie unlocked the door to the hotel room and pushed it open, frowning when he spotted Margaux sat on the ground, staring out the window at the city lights.  

“Why are you still awake Mags?” He asked as he pulled off his mask, drawing the four year old’s attention to them. 

“Missed you.” She said softly, her voice wobbling. 

“Oh baby, come here.” Charlie squatted down and the four year old ran into his arms, burying her face in his neck. Owen nodded towards their bedroom and Charlie gave him a small smile to let the younger boy know he understood. 

“You were gone but you said you wouldn’t go.” Margaux mumbled. 

“You knew I was gonna go out with Papa for a little bit, remember? It’s okay, I’m back, and I promise I’m not going anywhere. Okay?” He tangled his hand through her curls and the four year old hummed in response. 

“Okay.” She agreed, her voice no louder than a whisper. Thinking quickly, Charlie decided the best course of action would be distraction. 

“Hey, you wanna see Daddy’s new tattoos?” He asked, and Margaux nodded, moving back slightly. Charlie smiled at her. 

“First I got this one here.” He lifted his arm to show her the heart tattoo on his ribcage, the plastic mostly obscuring it. 

“And I got this one here for my favourite person in the whole entire world.” He finished, showing her the tiny cursive M inked into his wrist.

“An M for Margaux, so I always have you with me.” He said, and she peered at the tiny ink on his wrist, a small smile appearing on her face. 

“I like it.” She told him. “Can I have one?” Charlie laughed.

“When you’re all grown up, okay?” He replied, ruffling her hair. 

“Okay.” She agreed. They fell silent, and Charlie was just about to suggest that it was time for Margaux to hop into her bed when she spoke up again. 

“Daddy?” Her voice sounded small. 

“Yeah baby?” Charlie replied. 

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” Margaux questioned, already leaning back into his arms. 

“Of course baby. You got Mr Penguin?” He asked. 

She held the penguin up and Charlie grinned.

“Great, let’s go.” 

He stood up, taking her spare hand to lead her towards the bedroom, pushing the door open to where Owen was sat, already in bed with Netflix loaded on the TV. 

“Papa! I’m gonna sleep here with you.” Margaux exclaimed, diving onto the bed as Owen raised an eyebrow, looking towards Charlie with a knowing look.

“Oh really? What about your bed?” He asked.

“She was sad.” Charlie pouted, and Owen just shook his head. 

“Come on baby, in you get.” Charlie said, letting the four year old climb into the bed before climbing in after her, grinning when she settled into his arms, her head on his chest. 

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, and once she did, Owen spoke up, his voice soft. 

“You know one day you gotta stop letting her climb into bed with you.” He whispered. Charlie made a noise in response, his eyes never once leaving Margaux. 

“One day... just not today.” He replied. 

“The longer you give in the harder it’s gonna be for you. Cause I know it’s as much you as it is her.” Owen said, and Charlie sighed, his fingers tangled through Margaux’s curls as the four year old slept peacefully in his arms. 

“I know.” He started. “I just...” 

Owen reached out, linking his hand through one of Charlie’s and giving it a light squeeze. 

“It’s stupid.” Charlie mumbled. Owen moved slightly, placing a kiss on the side of Charlie’s head. 

“I’m sure it’s not.” He assured the older boy. Charlie was silent for a moment before talking. 

“She’s just always been with me and has always needed me to do everything for her, and now she’s getting older and she can do all of these things on her own, and I just get worried that she’s not gonna need me any more, or she’ll decide that she doesn’t want these nights where she asks to sleep with me.” He rambled. 

“You’re her dad. She’s always gonna need you Char.” Owen assured him. Charlie hummed in response, and Owen took that as a sign to change the topic, a small smile appearing on his face. 

“So I’m guessing no post date make out session or red wine.” He joked, and Charlie sighed. 

“Sorry.” He muttered. Owen rolled his eyes, snuggling as close to Charlie as he could get without disturbing Margaux. 

“I was joking Char.” He said, and Charlie moved to place a soft kiss on Owen’s lips. 

“I had a really good time tonight.” Owen whispered against Charlie’s lips and Charlie smiled. 

“Me too.” He agreed. 

“Do we have any plans tomorrow?” Owen inquired, and Charlie paused for a moment. 

“Not that I know of. Why? Have something in mind?” He moved back slightly so that he could look at Owen’s face. 

“I thought maybe the four of us could go play mini golf or something like that?” Owen suggested. Charlie smiled. 

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” He answered. They fell into a comfortable silence, both boys closing their eyes, but there was something that Charlie knew he had to say. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.  

“Hey Owen?” He whispered. Owen opened his eyes, focusing on Charlie instantly. 

“Yeah?” He questioned. Charlie smiled. 

“I love you.” He murmured. Owen smiled, rubbing his nose against Charlie’s. 

“Love you too Char.” He replied. Charlie shook his head. 

“No... I’m in love with you.” He clarified. Owen’s jaw dropped slightly, but he recovered quickly. 

“I’m in love with you too.” He returned, and Charlie lent in to kiss him gently. 

“It scares me.” Owen whispered once they pulled apart. “How much I love you.” 

“Honestly, me too. But we’re in this together. And I love you as much as you love me, so don’t overthink it, okay?” Charlie replied.

“Okay.” Owen agreed. 

“We should get some sleep.” Charlie said after a moment and Owen nodded, placing once last kiss to Charlie’s lips. 

“Sounds good. I love you.” He whispered, and Charlie could already feel himself drifting off as he whispered a response. 

“I love you too Owen.” 

[lilyharvord]

The Chain (Part 9)

Thank you to everyone for being so patient with my update for this fic. I’m officially done with my first semester of graduate school and since I’m on break, I want to try and post as many chapters as possible to get as close to finishing this as possible. We’re time jumping after this by the way everyone. It’s about time we kicked it up a few notches and got to the meat and bones of this fic. 

Tag list: @delilahlbard, @king-maven-calore, @thatoddgirl777, @elliekratzzz, @evangelineartemiasamos, @evangeline-of-montfort, @scxrletguardsdawn, @freaky-freiday, @petergrantkavinsky, @kuwei, @whatsup-gorls, @katiemoore,  @redqueenetwork, @tranquil-dusk (I’m trying to add you but for some reason it wont @... the same problem happens with @thatoddgirl777 and I have no idea how to fix it)

Find the rest of the fic here: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8 

Enjoy everyone (: 

(/Mare/)

When I run from my lesson with Julian, it feels fake and I wonder if he even buys into it. I have far too much control over my ability now, and it is hard to fake going out of control. Still, the rain feels good on my face when I finally find a balcony. I couldn’t care less about the paint that is most likely being washed away. I tilt my head back and inhale, letting the rain drench my hair. Today is just a bad day, and it is only set to get worse. 

The rain is warm as if washes over my face. I wish it were cold. I’ve felt too much lately. I want to be numb for a few minutes. 

Thunder rumbles in the distance. A moment later, the air changes as another bolt of lightning prepares to races across the sky. The storm is right overhead. I miss the electricons more than anything as the pressure escalates around me. 

We’d go storm chasing on a day like today to hunt down the elusive bolts of lightning so that we could harness them ourselves. Harnessing natural storms is like wrestling with my brothers when I was little. It’s pulling against an impossible force, but the power that roars through my veins when I manage to get what I want out of it is exhilarating. 

Gripping the banister, I inhale the smell of ozone and open my eyes to watch the flash of white as it shoots across the sky. Change, lightning is change. Storms come and wash away the old to bring new, brighter things behind it. Tyton had taught me that. Ella taught me it could be elegant. Rafe taught me it was beauty. I taught them it could bend but never break.

A hand closes around my arm and I almost yelp at the freezing touch. Two Sentinels stand over me. They must have followed me out here and given me a careful berth until they were certain I wouldn’t electrocute them. 

“My lady,” One of them growls, his grey eyes like dirty snow. Probably a Gillican judging by his touch. He’s twice my size, but nowhere near as powerful. I still hate the sight of them. 

“Let go.” I insist as I tug my arm. But he grips me tighter and steel panic laces through my bones. They had found me before, but who knows why they have come looking for me now. Has Elara decided to make a move? Has she found something out? 

Tugging against him, I bring my other hand up to grab his wrist and shock him into letting me go. I never get the chance though. 

“You heard my bride.” Maven. My blood runs cold as he steps onto the balcony, looking over the two guards like they are common dirt. “Let her go.”

The relief I should feel is replaced by cold fear. I’ll take the Sentinels over him any day. I’m not in the mood to play games with him. 

“Apologies your Highness, but we must keep Lady Titanos to her schedule.” The one holding me speaks in a baritone that makes Maven’s lips pull down in a frown. His grip is already loosening though. I can’t believe I never realized how in pocket Maven and Elara had the Sentinels. These soldiers stopped serving the king a long time ago. “It’s orders, sir.” 

“Then you have new orders,” Maven’s voice is colder than ice. It reminds me of the freezing nights in Paradise Valley when the wolves would howl at the moon and the wind would answer back. “I will accompany Mareena back to her lessons.” 

I’d sooner let him walk me off a cliff. But the Sentinels drop my arm none the less and leave us on the balcony. The buffer they put between me and Maven leaves with them, and then I am alone with the man who destroyed me. 

“We have working showers inside, you know.” 

I push my wet hair out of my face before turning away from him. Jokes aside, I don’t want to see him. My nightmares have returned in all their supernatural fury. Every night I dream of chasing him down a hallway, the burn of the knife as it cuts my side, and feeling of dying in a Silent Stone room. I wake gasping and on the verge of screaming, but no sound comes out. I’m grateful for that at least. Still, I miss Cal’s warmth, and being able to curl against him to tether myself to reality when the dreams refuse to leave. 

“I want to be alone.” I murmur, setting my head in my hand. My patience is holding, but not for long. 

“I understand that.” 

Oh, I know you do. I keep my lips from curling into a sneer by sheer will alone. Lightning flares across the sky again. The storm is creeping beyond us, but I could still pull a bolt down and hit him if I wanted. My aim is perfect. I could cook him to a crisp like I did Elara. 

I grip the banister again to settle my thoughts. I can almost feel the char of her hair between my fingers and the weight of her head if I close my eyes. I can hear the hum of the cameras as I hold up the head of a she-wolf and promise to come for the pup. 

“I understand how difficult it is.” He continues as he steps up next to me, bolder than he ever was. My eyes snap to him, but I’m more curious now than wary. What has made him so certain? Before, he had still been wary around me. It wasn’t until we joined the Guard together that he truly pretended to open up to me.  

His eyes are cold as he stares out over the palace grounds. “These people. They make it impossible. I can’t say what I want, do what I want—with my mother around I can barely even think what I want. And my brother—!” 

“What about him?” My blood runs cold. What has Cal done now? He promised he would stop prying—

The words stick in his mouth, and he pales with a blush. He’s not the perfect statesman that locked me in a cage yet. He’s not the boy listening to a ghost in his head yet. There is still a part of him that is Maven, and not the thing his mother created. “He’s strong, he’s talented, he’s powerful—and I’m his shadow. The shadow of the flame.” 

The part of me that always understood that part of him, and even loved it quakes. I step out of Gisa’s shadow because of him, but he never does leave Cal’s. He never gives himself the chance. He keeps chasing the edge of Cal’s shadow like there is one. Maven casts his own shadows though. They haunts me and they haunts Cal in the future. If only he knew that. 

When the words come to me, they are true and that is what makes me feel sick. “Then maybe you should try to be more than that.” 

His eyes widen at my words, and I find myself unable to stop. “You could be more. I think you could. Stop chasing the edges of shadows, you’ll never find them. Find a way to be alone with your own heart, and be happy with it.” 

His entire face folds in on itself, pinching in places I never saw before. I’ve never seen this emotion from him, and I have no idea what to call it. For a moment I wonder if I’ve said the wrong things, and done exactly what I told Cal not to do. But a part of me still wants to save the boy that I thought was trying to save me. Even if its hopeless, and he is too far gone to save. Monsters aren’t born, they’re made. Julian told me that once. Well if monsters can be made, they can be unmade too.  

“That’s something you should know about us Silvers. We’re always alone. In here, and here.” He gives me a tired smile as he touches his head and then his heart. The line sends a shiver down my spine though. He’d said the same thing last time too. It only reminds me that perhaps we’re on a track, and there is no getting off. There are no other exits, only the ones that I know are coming. 

“I don’t believe you.” 

“You better learn to hide that heart of yours, Lady Titanos. It won’t lead you anywhere you want to go.” 

My heart aches more than he could ever know. This is the boy, this is the truth. There is nothing to save. I am trying to fix a shattered mirror and cutting my hands on the pieces to spill my blood for nothing. I turn my eyes back to the sky, closing them as lightning strikes again, and thunder roars above us. Battle lines were drawn before; I have to redraw them now. 

“I think I can help with your problem.” 

I turn my eyes back down to him, and instantly he is the Maven I dreamed about. The mask is so perfect. I forget there are cracks that the darkness slips through. 

“What problem?”

“You’re homesick.” Holding out his hand to me, he nods down to it when I don’t take it. His skin is like ice when I slide my palm into his. I thought I remember him being warm by this point. Instead, he’s a corpse before I make him one. “I can fix that.” (/////)

The wind cuts through my hair, ripping it from its braid as Cal and I race toward the Stilts. I’ve ridden a cycle with him numerous times since this night. Nothing takes away the rush or competes with the feeling of flying that this generates though. Usually we tear down mountains roads and I close my eyes, trusting him to keep me safe as he cuts around turns. He’s taken Gisa once too. I had to peel her off of him when they returned because she was gripping his body so tightly. 

Right now, his body is warm in my arms, warm and real. It reminds me that I’m safe with him. Even if I’m terrified of the situation we’re in. 

When we finally reach the branch in the road that will bring us into the Stilts he brings the cycle to a stop, and cuts the engine. I’m the first off, and I peel away from him like a second skin. He pushes it into the trees, his eyes dancing to me every so often as he does so. I know that look he is throwing over his shoulder. I’ve seen the worry that creases his brows and the concern that flares like a light show in his eyes many times when he’s uncertain what’s going through my mind.

“Do you want to talk?” He eventually asks after throwing a few leafy branches over the cycle to hide it. I tuck my hands into the pocket of my coat to hide the shake in them. 

“There really was nothing to save.” It’s a thought that’s been going through my mind since Maven confronted me on the balcony. 

His expression melts into true concern faster than I can swallow my words. But he swaps that for a different mask of emotion. There’s no jealousy in his eyes, but I can see the beginning flares of his panic. His one true fear before we started this was that I would choose Maven this time around; that maybe he really was the consolation prize all along and I only chose to try again because I lost my chance to be with Maven. 

“He’s still a ghost.” I whisper to him before reaching out for his hand. He lets my fingers interlace with his. I squeeze them tightly, trying to get him to understand. “That doesn’t mean I won’t mourn a chance lost.” 

He nods tightly, his jaw squeezing until a muscle in it feathers. I cup the spot with my other hand, caressing it to soothe him. “I love you, you know that. Even if you drive me up a wall sometimes.” 

With a light laugh, his worry melts away, and I’m glad for it. We can’t be questioning each other right now. There’s too much at stake. There can be no edges. We filed them down after the war so we could fit together after all. That is where the real truth lies though. 

Maven carved himself to fit with me. But Cal and I smoothed down together, cutting off the edges that mattered so we could fit. I didn’t need to change for Maven because he melted what he needed to make the perfect mask. It had been a lie from the beginning. A beautiful, wonderful lie. Cal had been real though, had never bothered to hide what he was, even when those parts hurt. He made me better, and I made him better. Nothing about Maven had made me better. He made me strong sure, but a brittle kind of strong that hurt anyone that got too close. 

Reaching out, he pushes my hair away from my face, his smile falling fast. “I wish you didn’t have to go through this.” 

He could be talking about anything. Shade. Maven. All the New Bloods. Losing myself. Losing people I love. Even losing him for a bit. 

“I don’t.” I insist, even though the words cut up my insides like glass as I speak them. The truth cuts sometimes. I’m used to the sting. (////////)

The meeting with my family still stabs like a knife. Kilorn’s rage burns like a brand. Gisa’s wish rings in my ears.  I feel like I’m drowning, being swallowed up by the old emotions. It’s like reading a book where I know the ending and hesitate to turn every page. I hate every second. Even as I make my way straight of Will’s wagon. 

Cal trails me, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows so Kilorn doesn’t see him, and so Will’s spies don’t notice him ether. Kilorn knows who Cal is, I know he does. He had known from the moment he first saw him. I couldn’t be more grateful for my friend keeping his fat mouth shut around my family though. I think my dad would have found a way to stand and kill Cal where he stood if he knew he was the Crown Prince. 

I hold my hand out, telling him to stay back silently, while I take the final ten meters to the wagon on my own. He melts into the shadows, playing the part of a shadow so expertly I have to do a double take. But even his eyes are gone. Maybe he turned and went back to the cycle. I hope he did. When I step into the wagon, it’s to see Will smiling, already waiting for what I have to say. I tell him everything. And just like he did last time, he admits to knowing everything.

Tristan waits behind the curtain, ready to pounce. I can see the toes of his boots before he announces his presence. He’s more arrogant than I remember. I still see the pole Ptolemus shoots through him though, and the mental image makes me shudder. 

“The royal monkeys have chosen a queen this past week.” Tristan’s smile is cold as he looks me over. “You’ve been all over the screens Lady Titanos.” 

I hate that name, and all the implications of it. “They aren’t all monkeys.” I insist, and the fire that lights in his eyes makes me wish I hadn’t said anything. 

“Are you talking about the prince you’re engaged to or the one waiting outside in the shadows?” Will asks as he leans back and rests his hands on his stomach. 

My heart does a jump and a skip, and I’m sure all the blood drains from my face. I thought we’d been careful and I had been incredibly impressed with how Cal disappeared. Still, I should have known, Will is a spy in the Guard for a reason. 

Tristan erupts though, and takes two quick steps for the door, his hand flying to his pistol. I leap and grab his wrist though, twisting it expertly and spinning to put myself between him and the door. And ultimately between him and Cal. 

“You brought a Silver here?” he hisses down at me, even though my hands are already lighting with sparks. “The Crown Prince? Do you know what we could do if we took him in? What we could bargain for?”

Relax, I want sneer, you get him eventually. And he will do far more this time than he did last time. My words when I do speak are low, like thunder in the distance as I glare him down. “You leave him alone.” 

Tristan’s lip curls in disgust. “A few weeks in the lap of luxury and your blood is as silver as theirs,” he spits, looking like he wants to curl his fingers around my throat and throttle me. “Do they take turns?”

“What?” I gasp in surprise. That’s not in the script. 

“Do they take turns rolling in the sheets with you?” His lips curl at the surprise on my face. “Or do you pick one over the other? I’m going to guess the one hiding out there gets the most time.” 

Fury like nothing before sears through me. I bring a hand up that sparks as I sneer. “You idiot. I’m protecting you from him. He’s a trained soldier that would turn you inside out like a shirt if he wanted. And he’d burn this place down if you so much as tried to go after him.” 

You’re only alive because I haven’t burned the oxygen from this room. A real threat, one I believed when Cal said it the first time, and one I believe now. I have to keep Tristan away from Cal. I can’t have a stray bullet finding its way into his chest or his head. 

Tristan deflates, his anger melting away as I slowly lower my hand and disburse the sparks. Will lays a hand on Tristan’s shoulder, calming him further. “That’s enough,” he whispers. “What did you come here for, Mare? Kilron is safe and so are you siblings.” 

This is what I came here for. To put the pieces in motion finally. To start the game for my side. “Shade was a member of the Guard, and they killed him for it.” The only fact I can trace. “I have to pretend it doesn’t bother me.” 

“You’re dead if you don’t.” Will reasons. 

“I know. I’ll say what they want. But I’m in the palace, the center of the royal family. I’m quick, and quiet. And I will help the cause.”  

Tristan sucks in a ragged breath. His eyes light with a new fire, this one vastly different from his anger. He rises to his full height, beaming at my words. “You want to join up.” 

“I do.” My words are final, and I don’t bother to look at Will, only Tristan. 

“I hope you know what you’re committing to. This isn’t just my war, or Farley’s or the Scarlet Guards—it’s yours. Until the very end. And not to avenge your brother but to avenge us all. To fight for the ones before and the ones to come.”  

The ones to come. My chest squeezes as I picture Clare’s toothless grin at the same time that her laugh rings through my ears. My own hand curls into a fist on my stomach. There are plenty to come. I swore myself to the Guard to protect them before I even knew about them, and now more than ever my heart pounds for that future. I will fight tooth and nail for it. I will spill my blood and others so that someday, someday I can sit on my porch and watch a little dark haired boy run rampant in the backyard. So my brother’s name can live on in his daughter. So that someday my family never has to be hungry. So that someday, I never have to be afraid. 

I slip my hand into Will’s gnarled one. Cal warned me of war once, of what it brings. We both know the cost now, but I know what waits for us on the other side. There is a light, there is hope, there is good. I will do whatever it takes to get back there. Even if it means mucking my way through blood and mud once again. 

“I am with you.” 

“We will rise,” Will breathes in unison with Tristan. The words are like hope burning in my chest, lighting up the room around us as I speak them too. “Red as the dawn.”

(////////)

Cal is quiet as we walk through the halls of the palace. And I am too. My silence is contemplative though, his is patient while he waits for what I have to say. He’s always waiting, waiting for me to cross the bridge. He waited for me to say yes too. He asked seven times before I said yes to him in the dead of night wrapped up in cool sheets and half delirious with sleep. I’d pressed a kiss to the space between his brows and said yes without him asking. He waited almost two years for me to say that word after he asked the first time. Now he waits without asking. He knows I will talk eventually. 

“I have to tell you something.” I eventually whisper, and grab his wrist. The cameras whisper around us, and I turn my eyes in their direction before saying, “Your rooms are safe.” 

When Maven brought me there, I made sure to do a sweep. There are no cameras in Cal’s room. I wonder why, but I don’t bother to question it too much. It’s a silent blessing, the perfect meeting place. I don’t have to wait until the guards change to speak with him. 

He nods and takes me a back way. For a moment, I fear we’re lost, until we turn a corner and he brings us to his door. He glances over his shoulder at the same time that I swipe my hand to surge electricity through the camera’s wires, shorting it long enough for me to slide in the room and him to follow me without us being seen. 

In the dark of his rooms, I feel like a ghost. He goes to turn the lights on but I catch his hand. And for the first time in a long time, almost shock him. The hairs on his arms rise as my sparks threaten to explode out from under my skin. I haven’t been this nervous in so long. It makes him jumpy. 

“What happened?” He asks quickly, spinning to face me and grabbing my shoulders. His shadow looks different in the dark, smaller and less imposing. Strange how that is what made him most human to me the first time as well. 

I slip out of his grip only to dive into his chest, wrapping my arms around his middle and burying my nose in his shirt. He smells just a hint like the river as spending a couple of hours in the Stilts, but underneath it, that scent of burning wood clings to him. It relaxes every muscle in my body as I inhale. 

He wraps is arms around my shoulders in response. For a moment, I think he’ll repeat his question. Instead he just reaches up to threads his fingers through my hair that I pulled out of the braid long ago, tangling them in the slightly wavy locks. I can’t hold the secret in any longer, not now that I’ve signed up for this, and he will someday too. I should have told him the moment I found out, but I wanted it be a surprise, a little secret that I could tell him with a laugh. Instead, I feel like I’m telling him before we walk to the gallows. It taints the joy, the happiness of what is to come. 

“I wasn’t completely honest with you before all this.” 

His shoulders stiffen as I bring my hands up to close them in fists on his back. I’m never good at starting conversations like this and I immediately regret the words I spoke. He’s already on edge, and I made I worse. Squeezing the fabric of his shirt softly, I murmur, “before we got here.” 

He relaxes again, and disengages from our embrace to lift my chin. He needs to know, deserves to know. 

“I didn’t want to go after Giselle that night. I told you I was tired, but there was another reason.” It has never been so hard to put something into words. I wish I had just told him in the first place, maybe this whole mess could have been avoided if I had. 

His brows furrow and his face twists as he tries to think back to that strange night and morning. I grab his hands and squeeze tight, willing him to pay attention to my words, more than the memory of what I said. 

“I was going to tell you we had to call off the wedding—”

His eyes widen in surprise, and he opens his mouth to speak. I press my finger to his lips to keep him from doing just that. “For just a little while. Something came up.”

He sits with baited breath, his expression confused and fearful. A mix that’s dangerous for a soldier, especially one like Cal that is used to knowing everything. My lips curl into a weak smile as I say, “We have to get back because something’s waiting for us. Or it may have come with us. I’m not sure. If it did, I have to be more careful than I thought.” 

His eyes dart around the room like someone might be listening, and he slowly takes my hand to pull me into his closet where our voices will be furthered muffled. Has he grasped what I’m about tell him? Cal’s observant, even with all his bullheaded tendencies, and he’s not stupid. He knows me well enough to notice when my habits change. And they had been changing, little by little. I’m a subtle creature, but he’s very good at reading me now. 

In the safety of his closet, I can smile bright. I can let the warmth of my news pulse out of me like sunlight. It had terrified me the moment I knew what was happening, but slowly that panic had been replaced by a strange joy, a strange curiosity. And now, it was longing. 

“You can talk freely now.” He whispers. 

The words die. They won’t come. Like stones, they sit in my throat and choke me. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him. Is it cruel to get his hopes up about something we may never be able to return to? And yet, this is not just my burden to bear. This is our future. I am in this to get back to my family. He is in this to get back to what we had in Montfort. He may need something else, something to fight for that isn’t just me. Even if it’s not as tangible as it is for me. 

I’ll just have to say it, push the words out one by one. “I was pregnant.” 

They come easier than I thought, and honestly come out more like a garbled rush than the wonderful phrase they should be. As soon as I speak those words into existence though, the joy leaves, only to be replaced by trepidation and the air around us is leeched of its warmth. 

“What?” Cal’s question is a wheeze, a word not quite formed. 

“Three or four months, I wasn’t sure.” I grab his hand and squeeze as his eyes widen in the dark to the side of moons. “I told you we had so much waiting for us. That’s what is waiting for us. We have to follow everything to the line because of that future.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He whispers, his eyes darting as he thinks back over everything, every action I committed before that night, every word I spoke. 

“I was going to tell you that night, but then we got called to deal with Giselle.” I shake my head, laughing quietly. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I am not the only one privy to this secret knowledge. 

His eyes darken though. Storm clouds gather in his irises as he leans down to whisper.  “You said you didn’t know if it came with us.” 

“All my knowledge and memories came with me… and I’m in the same body theoretically just--just five or six years younger. It might have come with me.” It’s a long shot, but if I’m right, we have far bigger problems than we originally thought. 

“You don’t look like—”

“I didn’t look like it in Montfort either.” I reason dryly. He would have noticed if I did. His lips twist and he nods. 

“What do you want to do?”

“I’m going to wait and see if anything happens.”  

He pales at the prospect, but I grip his fingers tightly again, forcing his gaze back down to me. “This is what we are fighting to get back to. Why we have to be so careful.”  

“I wish you’d told me sooner.” He murmurs before reaching down to circle one of his arms around my waist. In the dark I’m not quite sure if he’s smiling or grimacing. Not until he cups my jaw and presses his lips to mine. He pours every ounce of the joy that is about to explode out of him into that kiss. It mixes with mine until I’m certain we are glowing like a small sun. 

And in that closet, nestled in a nest of snakes and wolves, I finally let myself breathe.

[bubblegumbeech]

Fic Writer Review

  @aj-itated Tagged me forever ago but here it is!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 40!!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?    247,675

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?  I’ll say 12 and not count things like Marvel and thor movies as separate. They are: Danny Phantom, MCU, Moon Knight (he’s different), Doctor Who, Supernatural, Ghost Hunt, Mandalorian, Gravity Falls, Merlin, One Piece, Solo Leveling (most of these I only have like a single one shot or tbh)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? “You want us to sign the What” “(Not) a mistake” “A different reason” “dream of me” and “beneath different stars” ALL fics I wrote in my other account before I merged them.

5. Which of your fic do you want more attention for?  MY FUCKING GHOST HUNT INVISOBANG FIC I BLED FOR THAT ASSHOLES!! WHY IS THAT GETTING LESS TRACTION THAN HALF THE SHITTY ONE SHOTS I WROTE???!!! It’s called Hunting and Hiding

6. Do you respond to comments, why or why not? I do, but also I am bad at it so sometimes i take a really really long time, IDK what it is but it’s the same thing that makes it hard for me to do @ games like this. It’s just... hard to respond to stuff

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I wanted to say “House Wife” but I think it might actually be “Home with no memories” cause that fic was a treat for me specifically <3

8. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you’ve written? I LOVE crossovers!! Craziest I’ve Ever written is def “Awake in Time” where Dean’s car accidentally gains sentience because of accidental repeat interactions with the Doctor’s Tardis

9. Have you ever received hate on a fic? I can’t think of any, BUT There was someone who made a whole tumblr callout post for Dark Ages (A ship I more or less started) and that was fun

10. Do you write smut? if so what kind?  I don’t. I tend to delve in a different direction flat out sex is unappealing to me in my own writing cause I don’t really care to explore it, I tend to just kinda hand wave it.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I’m aware of

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, But I wrote fic based off another persons OC once? I also did Invisobang with @clueless-one but they did Art for it so not really a co-write

13. What’s your all time favorite ship? Uhhhhh that changes depending on the day but since I built Dark Ages from the ground up and the ship is Basically my child? They’re my fav

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? ... I will finish them. I will. I have to tell myself that... but I have an unposted wip that retells Spn as a roll swap between the brothers and Cas and Gabriel except they’re also genderswapped that I only ever wrote like one chapter for and prob wont ever acctually do anything with

15. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I’m good at keeping character consistent. <3

16. What are your writing weaknesses? ... pacing. It’s def pacing.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I think, unless it’s small obvious terms of endearment or things that are common in the fandom specifically, it’s always best to just write the dialogue and then describe it as being spoken in a different language. Or if the POV char doesn’t understand it, say that. Like: He spoke a random language, probably russian but hell if ___ could tell. Or: Then she started speaking rapid-fire spanish, and despite ____’s high school lesson’s she was really only able to pick out a word or two and not much else.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?  Supernatural

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?  Time Just Out of Reach

20. What fic are you most proud of?  My OC centric fic “Curiosity Killed the Kat” because it was the first multi-chapter story I ever did, AND I FINISHED IT

Tagging: (sorry if you already got tagged)

@clueless-one  @floralflowerpower  @kawaiijohn @currentlylurking

[dylan-o-yumm]

Parting Ways - (Vergil x Reader)

A/N: This is technically for my OC, Dylan, but I made it a reader insert so all you lovely people could enjoy it for yourselves. I’m also drawing Dylan atm so if you wanna see some of that action… let me know? Also just FYI, I tried to make this gender neutral but knowing me I didn’t edit properly so there could be hints of male reader in here.

Word count: 1.6k

Black ash and flaking wallpaper peel off the already charcoal coloured walls. Whether it was your mind playing tricks on you or not, you swore you could smell the fire still burning, flames tickling your nose, slipping down your throat, choking on smoke. The sight alone was enough to make your mind fill in the gaps, imagining what it must have looked like before… 

It was eerily quiet, no crickets chirping, nor an owl hooting into the night. It should have been a disturbing thought… being alone, completely and utterly alone. No one to hear or witness what about to happen on this night… on this hill, in this burned and broken house. However, it was comforting in a way, lifted a weight off your chest. Nothing would be able to stop him now. 

Leaves crunched under your boots, contrasting the second they entered through the threshold of the damaged house. The clunking of boots against wooden floorboards quickly replaced the crushing of dry leaves as you walked… followed by a struggling, stubborn, broken man, wheezing and gasping for breath like an old man who just climbed a flight of stairs. “You sure you wanna do this?” You question. “Surely you are not stupid enough to ask me that again.” 

You huff and roll your eyes, stuffing your hands into your jeans pockets to keep them warm as you finally come to a stop. Refusing to look at the shattered, struggling man, you look up. 

Gold edges border a portrait. Black scorch marks from the fire that happened an unknown amount of years ago, damage the painting, blocking bits and pieces from your view. A family of four stare back at you… A man sitting in a chair with a blonde woman standing behind him, though her face was covered by ash and soot… And two young boys with light, silver hair… They looked quite similar, twins maybe? However, the way they held themselves made them look like complete opposites. 

Was one of them Vergil?

Speaking of… he hadn’t told you a thing of his past. You never bothered to ask either. It didn’t take a genius to know he wouldn’t open up to you. Maybe if you had gotten to know him a little better, he would have broken down at least one of his many walls he keeps up, offered you some insight into his mind, his past, his private life… 

However, you were just as stubborn as him. Why should he get to know anything about your past when he didn’t bother to share a lick of his own? Though, knowing him for what felt like a year, but in reality was a few more years than that… you did share a few little parts of your life. Accidentally of course, and you never went too in detail. It was just more than he had cared to tell you, that’s for sure. 

The long, drawn-out whistle of a blade being unsheathed pulls your attention back to the man beside you. The moonlight peering in through the broken door bounce off the clean, sharp metal of the Yamato, further illuminating the dark, charred foyer. 

“Leave now. I no longer need you.” 

He always did that. Spoke as if he were so high and mighty that he could say anything he wanted. Not that you cared, it was oddly refreshing. You liked how blunt and cruel he could be, how unforgiving and confident he was. Maybe because you had similar traits…

One of you— either of you, had to crack and open up first. You just hoped it would have been him. Too bad this was a goodbye. So many lost opportunities. 

“Oh, so you did need me.” You respond blankly, your eyes faintly giving away that you were only teasing — which Vergil caught, but anyone else would have thought you were pissed off. Admittedly you were, but you weren’t going to tell Vergil that — if he didn’t already know. You wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of knowing he could get under your skin so easily.

It doesn’t matter, for he doesn’t bother answering, not that he needs too. Not even the shadows on his face can hide the annoyance in his eyes. Which is why you looked away, burning under his stone cold gaze as you averted your eyes back to the portrait. 

“I suggest you leave now, or you can serve under me for the rest of your worthless life.” You blinked, having not expected him to speak again. You had no idea how his somewhat-nasally voice could sound so threatening and intimidating, not that you were intimidated by any means. Though when you first met him it was a different story. 

You look back to him, biting the inside of your cheek when you realise he never once took his cold eyes off of you. The hood of his old, brown coat hid most of his face, the only indication that he was even looking at you was the moonlight catching on his blue, almost silver, iris’s as his head tilted in you direction ever so slightly. 

You didn’t want to leave. You were surprised he even let you come this far. While the two of you spend most of your time together in silence, it was undeniable that some kind of bond had formed. Just the fact that Vergil got your ass out of Hell with him, let you tag along this whole time, even let you step into the odd teleportation void he summoned with the Yamato after ripping that kids arm off… Yet here you were. Still at his side… Sadly this is where you part ways.

All you (and you assumed Vergil) knew, was that the Yamato could be used to separate man from devil. And that’s what Vergil was preparing to do. His human side was far too weak, causing him to crumble apart right in front of you. His skin was flaking and cracked. The only thing you feared was that a gust of wind would come along and turn him to dust.

He’s weak, he’s breaking, he’s dying… he needs to do this. “Alright. I’m going.” You sigh heavily, bringing a hand up and running it through your hair, a little hesitant to actually do as you say. You give him one last, lingering gaze, trying to spot any hesitation on his face, any sign of him maybe wanting you to stay, anything that might give away his composure and reputation to remain vigilant. However, he was just as hard to read as always.

Finally spinning on your heel and turning your back to him, your feet carry you to the front of the house, boots softly tapping against the wooden flooring with your light footfalls. With each step, it dawns on you that you will most likely never see him again, not in person anyway. You expect to maybe see him on the news within a couple hours. Though he probably wont look the same. 

You should be thankful to finally part ways with him. He’s a complete ass. A cold, stubborn, power-hungry, dick bag. Why would you want to stay with him any longer than you have too? Because he saved your life? Maybe… You cuss yourself for stopping. Just a few more steps and you’d never have to see him again. However, your feet stuck to the floor as if they were covered in glue. 

“Hey, Vergil…?” You bow your head as you speak, resting your hand against the doorframe, soot and ash staining your skin. You look over your shoulder. One corner of your lips tug upward slightly, head tilting to the side… you wait until his eyes slowly scan over the room before they fall on you. Piercing right into your very soul, it feels. So blue, almost a crystal-like silver. 

He’d at least be proud to know his eyes were intimidating. 

“Give me a five minute head start.” You all but wink, staying still a moment longer to watch for his reaction. 

Everything about you would indicate you were calm, fearless of what was about to come. The smirk on your lips and humour shining in your eyes convey that you were only joking… Though, you would like to get at least a few feet away before he… 

You had a vague idea as to what was about to happen, and you didn’t want to wait to meet the demon within… 

“Hm.” 

That’s all you receive from him. A hum, avoiding whether to agree or deny your request. 

You don’t bother asking him to elaborate, don’t bother waiting to see the outcome. Both would just be stupid, you’d probably end up dead or hurt. He didn’t have time to wait any longer, he was crumbling right before you. Maybe you were selfish to ask him for a head start, but you also needed to look out for your own skin. Couldn’t get torn to shreds by a demon simply because you were too slow. 

You are human, he is half devil. You are more than certain it was his human half that had kept you alive all this time. So whats to say his demonic side wont hesitate to strike you down the moment he lays eyes on you? 

With that in mind, you stuff your hands into your pockets, rubbing the soot between your fingertips as a reminder while your feet carry you further and further away from the house, from Vergil. The demon who saved your life and broke you out of Hell. 

Part 2 where V is bought into the equation? Let me know : )

[lingeringscars]

Lil Laura things

I have major chaotic energy and don't ask people before just adding them to my mains list bc ✌ nah it's bc i don't require they be mutual so it's like we talked once and i am Attached

I don't include ocs bc it seems redundant bc ofc you are my exclusive you are the Only One but like if u wanna be there go ahead and let me know and it will be automatic

The mere idea of accidentally forceshipping kills me so u can assume every meme i send is platonic unless we specifically say otherwise

I am a Big Believer in platonic affection + platonic soulmates so like hand holding/cheek/forehead kisses are all on board for platonic interactions for me

Back to shipping tho like logically i understand most people have in their rules either something about chemistry or like feel free to test something out or let me know of the bat if u wanna ship etc BUT i would literally die if i accidentally made someone feel like i was forcing or pushing something so i likely will never send a purely romantic meme unless we discuss ( stares directly at kiss memes )

Sometimes i include a lil could be romantic or not up to u if i could see it going somewhere else but am chill with it not but like ...i gotta be hella comfy w/ u

None of this applies to myself lmao. If u wanna send a romantic meme in my direction YOU GO FOR IT. I will never ever judge or feel pressured etc.

I also will probably never like a mains call bc Anxiety again. I don't want people to feel pressured into including me if they do not want to. This could easily be connected to my i don't ask just do chaotic energy. But also same w/ the like if u want me to follow u from x blog ...i want u to follow if u wanna and not bc i asked rjejrje

I send a lot of memes bc idk I'm good at it? I know that's like a weird thing to flex about but idk i like dynamics and I'm good at seeing dialogue/actions and being like that fits x char. I never want anyone to feel compelled to respond to all of them!!

There are v v few chars ( outside of my exclusives list ) that i wont write with. If there is someone ill just let u know. I don't need to be familiar w/ chars/fandoms either bc idk I'm good at coming up w/ dynamics too so with some information i can usually make something work. Give me your underused chars that u wanna write thank u. Also feel free to let me know who u are comfortable with if you're here for just one char that's your right

I've talked about it before but i do unlike posts after an undetermined amount of time but i appreciate every hc/edit i read. I just reserve my likes for dash games until i finally do them.

I read my entire dash and have been trying to compel myself to start liking things I'm tagged in so people know I've seen them but idk anxiety is weird and it's centered around my likes. Just know that unless tumblr is hiding posts it's unlikely i didn't see the post

[starswornoaths]

Prompt #1: Voracious

@sea-wolf-coast-to-coast (tagging per the rules!)

Serella was well trained in the hunt. Her appetite would not be denied.

Astonishingly, this is NSFW.

*

Though it was becoming easier to accept Fray’s tutelage in the ways of an art she had no intention of learning, still she refused to succumb to their bouts of righteous indignation.

That was not to say she lacked the want to simply smite those who did wrong, merely that it was rarely such a black and white situation; redemption was ever her goal. Execution was oft the end result, despite her best efforts.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

“What more proof do you need to sate your own guilt?” Fray snarled from somewhere behind her. 

“I would be certain that I am attacking someone who deserves it, Fray.” Serella sighed, crouched down and rummaging through the refuse pile as she was. “I would not bring my steel to bear against an innocent man.”

“If you fear tainting innocence in this mount of sanctified shite, I assure you that your hands are clean.” They let out a snort. “And your time searching for all of this wasted.” 

Ignoring Fray for the moment, as she was often wont to do when they devolved into sputtering rage, she thumbed carefully through the charred letters, the singed journal entries, in the vain hope that she would find something that would redeem their target. 

Entry upon entry upon godsforsaken entry was filled with the details of the assaults, the murders, all done in the name of “cleansing the sacred ground of the Fury.” Itemized, as though it were a shopkeep taking inventory.

“Well?” Fray prompted in a huff.

Serella stood, but did not face them. Ignoring the distant migraine already thumping against the back of her skull she let the physical world blur in favor of the ethereal ⁠— and ah, but there it was, a faint trail of silver, aether rapidly fading. The author of such morbid scribbles had left some time ago. 

A dark, feral grin tugged at the corner of her lips.

“I am on the hunt. And my prey is not far.”

Her temples throbbed with the ache of seeing both the solid stone of the Pillars lest she lose her footing and the aethereal trail of her mark lest she let him get away, but she bade it no mind. Though she had only just begun to work alongside the Lord Commander to pursue those who labored at the detriment of the people, still she was starved for justice. She had not truly tasted it since Ul’Dah. 

And she was voracious.

Though her soul demanded nourishment in the form of retribution she was a patient predator, and stalked her prey as he bumbled about the stalls of the Crozier. 

“Now.” Fray demanded, their voice a low hiss that filled her head like smoke.

“Too many people.” Serella replied, and she all but felt the curse her mentor spat upon the stone.

She ignored Fray ⁠— she was good at that ⁠— and let herself melt into the crowd to better track her target.

“Tracking your mark like a bloodhound in the forests.” Fray mused with a huff. “Not exactly the skills of a Paladin.”

“Wasn’t always a Paladin.” She replied without removing her gaze from the back of her mark’s head. 

Her headache eased as she let go of the ephemeral trail his aether left behind. With visual, she didn’t need it. Scrawny little pig of a man he was, so cocksure that he didn’t have a mark upon his head that he not once looked to see if he was being followed, bought his cough syrup ⁠— a heavy dose of it, just like in his journals ⁠— and began to saunter toward Foundation. His own hunting grounds.

“He seeks a new target.” Fray warned.

Serella’s pace quickened. 

When they were in the stairwell, in light shuttered enough he could not anticipate her, Serella closed the distance. With a shuddering gasp she gathered the dark, spiteful rage within her, the need for justice and the want to protect, and pushed them out of her palm. The aether that formed from that manifested will, purple and pulsing and angry, found its mark square between her target’s shoulder blades. He tumbled down the steps, crumpled like discarded paper. Trash, beneath her power.

He whimpered and whined at the bottom of the steps, alive. Just as she intended.

“Wha ⁠— who goes—!” The monster cried.

“Was this what your victims felt like, I wonder.” She mused darkly when her feet hit Foundation. Fray hung back in the shadows, watching their pupil. “Caught unawares, ne’er seeing their demise coming before it struck.”

“You know nothing, villain!” The hog squealed. “I am the arbiter of the will of the Fury! My fire is the cleansing—” 

He scrabbled for his staff— ah, a thaumaturge. That would explain the fires. 

The heel of her boot met his wrist and pressed hard enough she felt his bones crunch beneath her. His wail pierced the stillness of the night. It would doubtless alert the guards; she had to be quicker than she liked, but such was the price of silencing him for good.

“The righteous need not fear death, for the Fury will welcome them into Her halls.” Serella recited the scriptures she had only recently learned. “If your crusade is as holy as you claim, then look forward to your just reward.” The Claymore, Dainslaiff, upon her back was unsheathed with a long, high note that sang a requiem for all those she was not quick enough to save from this filth. “You’ll be receiving it soon.”

“The guards approach!” Fray snarled, and there was a tone of panic she had not expected from them. “Let us be about it!”

“Help! Guards, help me!” The pig wailed. 

“I’m giving you the one mercy you don’t deserve.” She swung her blade high over her head. “A quick death. So start praying, and be grateful.”

Dainslaiff drank deeply of his blood as it sank into his throat, into the stone beneath him hard enough to sever his head in a meaty split of flesh from bone. The squelch was satisfying in a morbid sort of way, the soft noise a darkly pleasant contrast to the heavy clank of her blade digging into the stone, the wheezing scrape of its steel as she removed it. The rivulets of blood began to flow out from the body, and she stepped back to avoid it seeping into her greaves.

She watched him twitch in his death throes, and feasted upon the sight.

“We must away!” Fray seized her by the arm and ripped her away from her trophy ⁠— in time for the sound of many armored footfalls approaching to grow distant once more. Just as well, lest her soul glut upon her delivered retribution.

They split at the bottom of the bridge from the Forgotten Knight — Fray ducking down into the depths of the Brume to hide in the shadows, and she moving up the ramp, past the tavern, and back into the Pillars.

She didn’t stop moving until she was upon the Last Vigil, until she could catch her breath and walk at a leisurely pace, as though she had been nowhere else but right here and now. She took the time to clean her blade — a bloody cloth in her possession would hardly go amiss, hunter and fighter for justice that she was — and stepped into Fortemps Manor, and stole herself into her quarters to clean up. 

Despite the sweet taste of justice upon her tongue, she felt ill. For what that monster had done. For those she could not save. For who would doubtless be branded the heretic between the two of them, for no other reason than their methods.

“Ah, welcome home, my dear!” Count Edmont greeted her once she had stepped out from her room. “I must have missed you at the door! Come, come, are you hungry? Dinner is to be served.” 

“Ah, thank you my lord.” Serella smiled and bowed — in part out of respect, in part to hide what guilt she felt for lying. “But rest assured: I am full.”

[newkittypoom]

would like to watch a kdrama where the main char is the 3rd gen daughter of a huge chaebol company and shes set to inherit the company, shes competent af, extremely emotionally stunted/tsundere af, and she hates idiots. her parents are either EXTREMELY DOTING or EXTREMELY ABSENT, in the case of extremely absent, there is a parental figure in the form of some trusted aide of her parents' business. her relatives are all trying to usurp her and get someone else in their immediate family on the corporation president seat. if EXTREMELY DOTING, her parents are daughter idiots and she can do no wrong in their heart. she is exactly like her grumpy grandparent who is the 1st gen founder of the corporation who every relative is trying to curry favour with, but their favourite is Heiress.

cue our beloved himbo, the son of humble middle/lower class family restaurant owner parents, OR an orphan raised by ONE single grandparent who is super loving and caring and treats him like a gem even though everyone discriminates and shits on him for dropping outta middle school to provide for his grandparent and him cause grandparent got Sick (no terminal diseases im not here for that sad shit) and his parents were great people who just died tragically, bonus if Himbo has equally himbotic relatives who are just pure cinnamon rolls who do their best to support and help Himbo but they are not v well off either.

Himbo and Heiress meet when Himbo is encouraged by his Supportive Family to pursue a Proper, Full-time Job, at a Respectable company a.k.a an office job. he took all the prerequisite exams to get the qualifications for a low level entry job and at the interview, gets humiliated by interviewers for having low "specs". has a very rousing and inspirational monologue about how his birth and circumstances that he couldnt control shouldnt be reasons for him to get shafted if hes just as good for the job. ends up leaving the interview, chain of shitty events to pile on top of a bad interview and climaxes when Himbo accidentally breaks something of Heiress or interrupts her from work/being overall generally competent, but he handily solves the problem he causes and Catches Heiress' attention.

she notices the interview tag for their company that Himbo didnt remove so she goes back and tells the interview committee/HR to hire "this guy. i want this one hired." to their astonishment even though they point out how unworthy he is by societal measurements (sky uni, 4.0 gpa, internships, etc.)

the whole drama they communicate well all the time, theres no stupid episodes dragged on about how they Just Wont Tell Each Other things, their problems are all circumstantial and they manage to solve things together, fall in love gradually, with sweet tension thats well rewarded, Himbo drinks that Woman Respecting Juice and Heiress gets schooled on classism and privilege. they are better versions of themselves together, but are not unhealthily codependent or weirdly abusive to each other. they trust and love each other and the ending is HAPPY. THEY END UP TOGETHER. THE PAY OFF IS GOOD.

[popatochisssp]

Match up!

Likes: Fanfiction, Video games (especially fond of puzzle or story driven first person games like Portal or Fallout 4), Coloring/messing around on photoshop, Vines, critiquing the hell out of movies, my furball chihuahua, my mom and little bro, chai tea lattes, frozen blueberry waffles, tumblr, memes, cartoons (like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Miraculous Ladybug), tv shows (generally Sci-Fi, Supernatural/Paranormal, or competition based like anything with Gordon Ramsay or Doctor Who), Jigsaw Puzzles, Riddles, being lazy

Fav Season: Winter, Fav Disney Char: Stitch, Fav Candy: Hershey Almonds, Fav Color: Purple or Black

Dislikes: Bugs, Heat, Physical Labor, The Minions, Republicans, Too much Sun/Light (I’m a bit sensitive), Smoking cigarettes, weed is fine), Anti-vaxxers and other illogical people, Math

What are you looking for in a match?

I’m not sure exactly what I want as I’ve never been in a relationship really. I guess someone who is ok with me info dumping, being clingy/invasive, being a bitch a times - being ok with my flaws basically. I want someone who is Honest and and Communicates, someone who makes it clear what their intentions are, why they like me, and if their gonna stay. I would like someone who takes care of me but what I probably need is someone who knows when to kick my ass and make me do things. Someone who motivates or reminds me to take care of myself, that while they are ok helping me they wont let me push them around. I want someone who will will help me and be sweet but also will call me out on my bullshit.

Any dealbreakers?

If they don’t like my family (mom, my dog, bro) then it’s instant nope. They dont have to love them cuz yeah the fam has flaws but it’s one of those “only I can criticize them no one else” scenarios. If they hurt my dog in anyway their dead. If they smoke cigarettes their out or gotta swear to quite. I have asthma so it’s not negotiable and if their brother smokes that has to be out of my sight too or I will throw hands.

They have to understand that everyone has a backstory/issues and that doesn’t make them a bad person. Like my mom has done some shady shit due to paranoia and PTSD and will also do crazy things (like if me and SO get in fight my mom will show up even if it’s the dead of night to come throw hands or she will find blackmail so I can have an upper hand(she bugged a house of a guy she thought was cheating on her once)) like I dont agree with her often but unless the relationship is serious and been going on a while then I will take my moms side.

If they do milk than cereal that a no, I dont trust that.

Anything else I should know? 

I have Depression and anxiety so while they aren’t major issues anymore they should still be kept in mind. I have issues spending money in that I dont like spending money at all and will ignore needed things if it seems to pricey (aka over 20 bucks) so I need skelebae to buy things and either lie or tell me how much we saved or still have rather than how much things cost or else I get really guilty/anxious. I also have issues remembering to take care of myself like eating regularly, drinking water, leaving my house and going outside for once, and sleeping at normal times.

I dont care about cannibalism or murder as long as it is justified in a way. I have a realistic to cynical view and have questionable morals (I like to think of my soul trait as a slightly corrupted justice).

I am similar to a cat in that I will be bristly and standoffish at first but once I warm up to you you will be suffocated with affection and possessiveness. I can act selfishly without realizing it so it may not seem like it but my partners happiness is my number one priority. Im loyal to a fault and Also I have little shame and Privacy. I will often forget people dont have the same boundaries as me (aka near none) so I probably come off as very nosey and invasive. I like most form of humor but dont really laugh often mainly I make a pffffttt sound. Sometimes when I’m really happy I act silly or goofy so like I may seem kinda witty and serious but at my core I’m a goof.

I would match you with Mal (Swapfell Sans)!

He’s pretty much everything you’re looking for in a match: a clear communicator who’ll take care of you without letting you walk all over him. He doesn’t mind that you get excited about certain topics and may want to talk his nonexistent ear off and it’s probably for the best that you’re not hard on boundaries-- neither is he.

He’s from a very dangerous, deadly universe and he completely understands that morality isn’t such a clear-cut, black-and-white thing. He actually respects your family quite a bit for being willing to blur a line here or there to make sure you’re safe and looked after and he’ll do his best to prove they have no cause for concern: you’re in very safe claws with him!

Mal is the type to spoil his partner, so if what you need to allow that is for him to never let you see a price tag, then so be it. He has a good head for numbers and a strong work ethic to go with his well-paying jobs, so finances should never be much of an issue, he’ll see to that!

He also doesn’t mind too much if you’re slow to warm up-- he’s the same way and considers that a reasonable measure of caution-- but once you’re both warmed up to each other, the rest of your relationship will probably be an affectionately possessive cling-fest and neither of you will have a problem with it.

Oh, and expect surprisingly bad, goofy jokes out of him, too! He seems classy and sophisticated (and he is!), but...well, he’s a Sans, and he has a very soft spot in his soul for silly humor.

The two of you will get along great! ;3

[onceabluemoonwrites]

Title: A Funeral Shroud of Tulle Author: OnceABlueMoon Rating: T Pairing: Kozato Enma & Suzuki Adelheid

Tags/Warnings: The Simon Massacre, trauma

Summary:   The thing people rarely remember about Enma was that his sister had been his twin. In which the Simon children raise themselves after the massacre, do a lot of damage to each other, and love each other anyway.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Written for the @khrrarepairweek   Vday Mini-Event 2019, for February the 13th, with the prompt ‘‘Backup Twin’‘

Kozato Chinatsu considered herself to be a very lucky woman, and it had a lot to do with her children. Since the minute they’d been born, she hadn’t stopped smiling, every day a ray of light. The twins were her treasure, with the island as a grand treasure chest. It was paradise.

She counted herself a very lucky lady, and the day she died she found out why.

Because her luck would run out before her time.

(She died trying to block the door to her son’s bedroom).

Entering the main house was hard- Adel had waited for nightfall before even attempting to leave her hiding place. She’d waited until the screams died down. She’d waited hours upon hours for someone to get her, but nobody came and she needed to confirm it was not because there was nobody left. She refused to believe that. She could not allow herself to believe that.

That did not make it easier to leave her hiding place. The fear of encountering the slaughterer of her people was ever present in her shaking body, but she strode forward. She could not stand still- if she stood still, she would die before their killer would even reach her. She would perish, falling to her knees, dying slowly of grief, and she could not stand still, could not let that happen.

She needed to find survivors. Having someone else to care for should distract her enough.

So. The main house.

She did not know what had been harder- walking past their corpses, or listening to their screams while being unable to do a thing about it, hiding in a closet, in the dark, praying to God nobody would find her.

She averted her eyes from Kozato-san when she came to Enma’s bedroom- it was okay. It was alright. Kozato-san might be dead, but surely, surely she’d have protected Enma. Kozato Chinatsu had loved the fiercest out of every person Adel knew, and her cold corpse could not mean anything, because death would not stop a love as fierce as that.

Adel had to believe that.

(Adel was lying through her teeth)

The corpse was small, the corpse was redheaded, and it still clutched the twin’s stuffed rabbit to its chest, even in death. The soft, worn white fabric was drenched in rusty red- blood beginning to dry.

Adel’s heart stopped.

Of course, she found out it was Mami later, but at the time she couldn’t bring herself to look at the mutilated body of her best friend. All she could think when she saw him, alive and well, was "Thank god it was Mami." It was ugly but true. She’d been so grateful he was alive. Perhaps that was were the difference in attitude after the massacre came from- whereas Adel thought "Thank god it was Mami,", Enma thought "Why was it Mami? Why not me?" And drowned in his own apparent uselessness, rid of his precious twin.

(The beginning of the end)

Adel was ten and she had no idea what to do, but she did know they had to leave the island. They didn't have the manpower to bury the corpses of their family, and even if they did, she was pretty sure they wouldn't have been able to take doing it anyway. They had to leave the island, the corpses unburied, trauma rampant.

Julie was the one who stopped them from going immediately. He was eleven, the eldest, and even though he never had a leading bone in his body, he knew about stuff. Like the fact that if they went out there, they'd be put in the system.

“We won't last a day out there- seven kids living alone will be noticed. On the other hand... Seven kids and a slightly absentee guardian? It'll attract attention, but it could work.”

Adel sized him up. “...Who are you going to impersonate?”

Julie grimaced. “The person with the most money on the island. Kozato Makoto.”

Enma, to say the least, did not take it well.

Seeing his dead father’s face was far from Enma’s biggest problems, though it was a painful one. Honestly, most of the time he couldn’t look in the mirror. Mami’s face was staring back at him. He saw her grow up there, along with him, until his jaw was wide, his shoulders broad, and stubble encroached on his cheeks. Then he couldn’t pretend it was her anymore.

(It broke him a little)

Sometimes, it was like Enma had died instead of Mami. At first, it was subtle. Enma’s countenance became fiercer, more like the leader he’d never really been to them. Adel thought it was a result of the slaughter of their family- but soon it became clear it was not.

Not at all, really. Because Enma’s hair was growing out. First past his chin. Then his shoulders. Then his waist. Long, red hair, tumbling down his back, wavy curls framing his face. This was the second sign.

The third, however, was unmistakable. The long skirts, the dresses. The plastic cherries on the elastics he used to do his hair. They’d been Mami’s favourite when she was still alive.

That was what did it. The realization struck her like a lightning bolt, leaving charred skin, burned hair and the stench of ozone behind.

The fierce attitude, the hair, the clothing, the way he talked to them even. Everything was modelled after his sister. It was like Kozato Enma had disappeared into the mists of time, obscured under the ghost of his sister. Adel felt like throwing up.

She didn’t know what to do.

(She never did)

Life went on. They went to school. They ate. They survived. And slowly, very slowly, they healed. Enma did not stop pretending to be Mami, and while uncomfortable with it, nobody spoke up about it. Not until it got worse.

Enma was approaching thirteen now and hitting his first growth spurt. He shot up in height, his jaw was widening, becoming squarer, and his shoulders were becoming broader. The dresses could not hide it. He bought frillier ones anyway.

It was when she saw plastic surgery sites in his internet history that Adel snapped.

"Enma, Mami's the dead one. She was buried. Not you. Not you!" Adel picked up the scissors and grabbed his hair harshly- long strands of blood red hair falling to the ground as if shedding the hair would make Mami's funeral shroud fall off Enma's shoulders. Enma's shaking, and Adel had no idea what she was doing- for all she might know she just caused even more trauma- but... Adel has had no idea what she had been doing since she was ten and fished her friend from the ashes left of their village. Since she took them from among the corpses. So she says the only thing that kept her going at that time: "Even if you feel like you're being buried alive, rescue the others from the same fate before you let them suffocate you forever." He listened. It was like Mami died all over again, and all that was left is a crying boy in a frilly pink skirt, red hair choppy, unevenly cut. Short. It was hard, but it was a beginning. It was grieving Mami all over again, it was Enma figuring out how to be Enma instead of Mami. It was a lot of things. Enma was not the leader Mami-Enma was, but Adel believed in him. He would make it. (Enma never grew his hair out again).

The Enma before Tsuna wore black hoodies and jeans. The Enma before Tsuna was bullied terribly. The Enma before Tsuna was so filled with grief and rage, every single thing brought up to the surface again. The Enma before Tsuna attacked.

The Enma with Tsuna was still sad. He still got bullied. He still didn’t know who he was, but by now he’s realized that would probably be something he’ll chase after his whole life. The task of a lifetime, finding out who one is. But the Enma with Tsuna also has friends; People not as easily dragged into the rage and the desperation and the grit of their nightmares. He is less angry, happier, and he wears flowy lavender blouses that make him soft and sweet but do not hide his broad shoulders in any way. His hair is short, the memory of being Mami-Enma forever haunting him, as if growing his hair out again would tempt him into falling back into old bad habits.

The Enma with Tsuna made Adel question herself a lot. Both the actions she had taken in the years before, as well that one disastrous conversation that may have helped him for the better, but had most likely damaged him terribly as well. There are misunderstandings to be cleared up, and Adel won’t let corpses lie unburied (and believe her, she has buried far too many).

The Enma with Tsuna is the one Adel goes to talk to.

‘'...You know I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to be a girl, right? It’s just being Mami that I had a problem with. Because you’re Enma. You’re Enma and I love you for you, however you want to be.’'

Enma looked up, hands caressing the grass they were seated upon softly, and the expression on his face so gentle, so sweet, that Adel could not help but hold her heart, breathless. ‘'I don’t think I’m a girl, Adel. I don’t really think I’m a boy either. I’m just... Enma.’'

A smile crept up on Adel’s face as she took his hand, laying back into the grass and enjoying the warm afternoon sun. ‘'That’s enough, Enma. That’s more than enough.’'