#i just kind of love making a list and avoiding assignments :) <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[deadpoets]

RANKING GEORGE HARRISON'S GET BACK OUTFITS (under the cut bc it's pretty long)

day two

2. day ten

3. day twelve

4. day seventeen

5. day three

6. day twenty two

7. day seven

8. day eighteen

9. day nineteen

10. day five

11. day eleven/day fourteen

12. day twenty

13. day sixteen

14. day twenty one

15. day one

16. day four

17. day fifteen

18. day six

19. day thirteen

[fursasaida]

Hi! Just wanted to ask. How can I give my students assignments that are chat-gpt proof? Or that they won't just copy the answer without at least doing some editing?

Hi! So, I don't think anything is ChatGPT-proof. You fundamentally cannot stop people from using it to take a shortcut. You can't even stop them from copying the answer without editing it. However, I think you can work with this reality. So, you can do three things:

Don't be a cop about it.

If you make your objective "stop the children from using the thing to cheat," you are focusing on the wrong thing. You will be constantly scrutinizing every submission with suspicion, you will be accusing people of cheating--and some of them will not have cheated, and they will remember this forever--and you will be aiming at enforcement (which is trying to hold back the sea) instead of on inviting and supporting learning whenever and wherever possible. (I'll come back to this under item 2.)

Regarding why enforcement is holding back the sea: It is fundamentally rational for them to do this. We, who "love learning" (i.e. are good at what our academic system sees as learning, for various reasons have built our lives around that, happen to enjoy these activities), see everything they might cheat themselves of by doing it, because we know what we got out of doing this type of work. Many students, however--especially at the kind of school I teach at--are there to get the piece of paper that might, if they're lucky, allow them access to a relatively livable and stable income. The things that are wrong with this fact are structural and nothing to do with students' failings as people, or (tfuh) laziness, or whatever. We cannot make this not true (we can certainly try to push against it in certain ways, but that only goes so far). More pragmatically, chatgpt and similar are going to keep getting better, and detecting them is going to get harder, and your relationships with your students will be further and further damaged as you are forced to hound them more, suspect them more, falsely accuse more people, while also looking like an idiot because plenty of them will get away with it. A productive classroom requires trust. The trust goes both ways. Being a cop about this will destroy it in both directions.

So the first thing you have to do is really, truly accept that some of them are going to use it and you are not always going to know when they do. And when I say accept this, I mean you actually need to be ok with it. I find it helps to remember that the fact that a bot can produce writing to a standard that makes teachers worry means we have been teaching people to be shitty writers. I don't know that so much is lost if we devalue the 5-paragraph SAT essay and its brethren.

So the reason my policy is to say it's ok to use chatgpt or similar as long as you tell me so and give me some thinking about what you got from using it is that a) I am dropping the charade that we don't all know what's going on and thereby making it (pedagogical term) chill; b) I am modeling/suggesting that if you use it, it's a good idea to be critical about what it tells you (which I desperately want everyone to know in general, not just my students in a classroom); c) I am providing an invitation to learn from using chatgpt, rather than avoid learning by using it. Plenty of them won't take me up on that. That's fine (see item 3 below).

So ok, we have at least established the goal of coming at it from acceptance. Then what do you do at that point?

Think about what is unique to your class and your students and build assignments around that.

Assignments, of course, don't have to be simply "what did Author mean by Term" or "list the significant thingies." A prof I used to TA under gave students the option of interviewing a family member or friend about their experiences with public housing in the week we taught public housing. Someone I know who teaches a college biology class has an illustration-based assignment to draw in the artsier students who are in her class against their will. I used to have an extra-credit question that asked them to pick anything in the city that they thought might be some kind of clue about the past in that place, do some research about it, and tell me what they found out and how. (And that's how I learned how Canal St. got its name! Learning something you didn't know from a student's work is one of the greatest feelings there is.) One prompt I intend to use in this class will be something to the effect of, "Do you own anything--a t-shirt, a mug, a phone case--that has the outline of your city, state, or country on it? Why? How did you get it, and what does having this item with this symbol on it mean to you? Whether you personally have one or not, why do you think so many people own items like this?" (This is for political geography week, if anyone's wondering.)

These are all things that target students' personal interests and capabilities, the environments they live in, and their relationships within their communities. Chatgpt can fake that stuff, but not very well. My advisor intends to use prompts that refer directly to things he said in class or conversations that were had in class, rather than to a given reading, in hopes that that will also make it harder for chatgpt to fake well because it won't have the context. The more your class is designed around the specific institution you teach at and student body you serve, the easier that is to do. (Obviously, how possible that is is going to vary based on what you're teaching. When I taught Urban Studies using the city we all lived in as the example all through the semester, it was so easy to make everything very tailored to the students I had in that class that semester. That's not the same--or it doesn't work the same way--if you're teaching Shakespeare. But I know someone who performs monologues from the plays in class and has his students direct him and give him notes as a way of drawing them into the speech and its niceties of meaning. Chatgpt is never going to know what stage directions were given in that room. There are possibilities.) This is all, I guess, a long way of saying that you'll have a better time constructing assignments chatgpt will be bad at if you view your class as a particular situation, occurring only once (these people, this year), which is a situation that has the purpose of encouraging thought--rather than as an information-transfer mechanism. Of course information transfer happens, but that is not what I and my students are doing together here.

Now, they absolutely can plug this type of prompt into chatgpt. I've tried it myself. I asked it to give me a personal essay about the political geography prompt and a critical personal essay about the same thing. (I recommend doing this with your own prospective assignments! See what they'd get and whether it's something you'd grade highly. If it is, then change either the goal of the assignment or at least the prompt.) Both of them were decent if you are grading the miserable 5-paragraph essay. Both of them were garbage if you are looking for evidence of a person turning their attention for the first time to something they have taken for granted all their lives. Chatgpt has neither personality nor experiences, so it makes incredibly vague, general statements in the first person that are dull as dishwater and simply do not engage with what the prompt is really asking for. I already graded on "tell me what you think of this/how this relates to your life" in addition to "did you understand the reading," because what I care about is whether they're thinking. So students absolutely can and will plug that prompt into chatgpt and simply c/p the output. They just won't get high marks for it.

If they're fine with not getting high marks, then okay. For a lot of them this is an elective they're taking essentially at random to get that piece of paper; I'm not gonna knock the hustle, and (see item 1) I couldn't stop them if I wanted to. What I can do is try to make class time engaging, build relationships with them that make them feel good about telling me their thoughts, and present them with a variety of assignments that create opportunities for different strengths, points of interest, and ways into the material, in hopes of hooking as many different people in as many different ways as I can.

This brings me back to what I said about inviting learning. Because I have never yet in my life taught a course that was for people majoring in the subject, I long ago accepted that I cannot get everyone to engage with every concept, subject, or idea (or even most of them). All I can do is invite them to get interested in the thing at hand in every class, in every assignment, in every choice of reading, in every question I ask them. How frequently each person accepts these invitations (and which ones) is going to vary hugely. But I also accept that people often need to be invited more than once, and even if they don't want to go through the door I'm holding open for them right now, the fact that they were invited this time might make it more likely for them to go through it the next time it comes up, or the time after that. I'll never know what will come of all of these invitations, and that's great, actually. I don't want to make them care about everything I care about, or know everything I know. All I want is to offer them new ways to be curious.

Therefore: if they use chatgpt to refuse an invitation this week, fine. That would probably have happened anyway in a lot of cases even without chatgpt. But, just as before, I can snag some of those people's attention on one part of this module in class tomorrow. Some of them I'll get next time with a different type of assignment. Some of them I'll hook for a moment with a joke. I don't take the times that doesn't happen as failures. But the times that it does are all wins that are not diminished by the times it doesn't.

Actually try to think of ways to use chatgpt to promote learning.

I DREAM of the day I'm teaching something where it makes sense to have students edit an AI-written text. Editing is an incredible way to get better at writing. I could generate one in class and we could do it all together. I could give them a prompt, ask them to feed it into chatgpt, and ask them to turn in both what they got and some notes on how they think it could be better. I could give them a pretty traditional "In Text, Author says Thing. What did Author mean by that?" prompt, have them get an answer from chatgpt, and then ask them to fact-check it. Etc. All of these get them thinking about written communication and, incidentally, demonstrate the tool's limitations.

I'm sure there are and will be tons of much more creative ideas for how to incorporate chatgpt rather than fight it. (Once upon a time, the idea of letting students use calculators in math class was also scandalous to many teachers.) I have some geography-specific ideas for how to use image generation as well. When it comes specifically to teaching, I think it's a waste of time for us to be handwringing instead of applying ourselves to this question. I am well aware of the political and ethical problems with chatgpt, and that's something to discuss with, probably, more advanced students in a seminar setting. But we won't (per item 1) get very far simply insisting that Thing Bad and Thing Stupid. So how do we use it to invite learning? That's the question I'm interested in.

Finally, because tangential to your question: I think there's nothing wrong with bringing back more in-class writing and even oral exams (along with take-home assignments that appeal to strengths and interests other than expository writing as mentioned above). These assessments play to different strengths than written take-homes. For some students, that means they'll be harder or scarier; by the same token, for other students they'll be easier and more confidence-building. (Plus, "being able to think on your feet" is also a very good ~real-world skill~ to teach.) In the spirit of trying to offer as many ways in as possible, I think that kind of diversification in assignments is a perfectly good idea.

[milkoomi]

milkoomi university newsletter. ᥫ᭡

february ‘25 issue

one of my goals was to create more & expand my content creation! in my january recap, i talked about making some kind of newsletter for my blog! i was inspired by @malusokay , @glowettee , & @agirlwithglam 🤍 i want to create two different kinds of newsletters! one with all the it girl tips & self improvement guides and one regarding academics (which is this one)! i’m so excited to create these & i hope you guys enjoy!

INDEX —

note: these sections will be included in all newsletters! i added what will be included for each section, but not all details will be a part of each month’s issue!

academic notices - academic moodboards for inspiration & motivation

tutoring center - study tips, exam prep, assignment completion guides, time management tips, iconic character how-to’s

advisor’s announcements - final words from me + monthly advice

counseling - Q&A; this first month will not include any, but if you have any questions you want to ask in regards to academics/studying, please feel free to send me a message in my ask box! just be sure to let me know that it’s for Milkoomi University!

Academic Notices ᥫ᭡

general study motivation —

medical student inspiration —

Tutoring Center ᥫ᭡

assignment completion guide —

create a to-do list

- start from hardest to easiest task or create a list ranked by priority!

- to avoid getting overwhelmed, keep the list short! max 5 tasks!

- use your favorite colored pen to use to check off assignments!

incorporate breaks

- use the pomodoro method! it’s a method great for completing homework assignments as well!

- remember: you’re allowed to take a break even before finishing an assignment!

- get up & stretch, grab a snack, go to the bathroom, make yourself tea/coffee

tina’s tip: after each task you complete, write yourself a little sticky note congratulating your progress! stick it on your notebooks, desk, laptop; wherever you can see it while working! these will be lovely little reminders that you got this and your assignments will be completed in no-time!

time management tips —

eat the frog method

- start by completing the most difficult task first!

prevent procrastination

- complete assignments ahead of time

- check due dates

- start (& try to finish) assignments the day they are assigned

use free time to be productive

- if you have a few hours between classes, get started on assignments!

- if you only have one class throughout the day, set aside 3-4 hours before/after class to work!

how to study like elle woods —

make it fun!

- have a friend/loved one quiz you! elle’s friends were her biggest supporters throughout her academic journey at harvard, and having your friends around to help you study can make the experience so much more enjoyable

- color coordinate your notes! elle always stood out in her class with her style, you could even see it in her school supplies, so make use of fun colors (or your favorite colors) and make your notes stand out to you

- multitask! there’s a scene where you can see elle working out and studying at the same time, so if you’re able to, pick an activity you enjoy and incorporate it into your studying. this could be walking on the treadmill and reading a chapter from your textbook or cooking while listening to a recording of a lecture

incorporate your studies in your everyday life!

- whatever it is you’re learning, try to find a way that you can use that information in your day to day routine! if something reminds you of something you learned in class, maybe reflect on it and either tell yourself or someone else how that day to day thing relates to what you’ve learned! for example, i’m currently studying to be in the medical field, and a friend told me some of their health concerns so i used my knowledge of what i know and applied it to guide them in the right direction to get better (& professional) treatment!

find motivation

- at first, elle was motivated to get into harvard and study law because of warner. then, she was motivated because someone she looked up to needed her help in a case. regardless of what elle’s motivation was, she still had it to help her get through law school and work hard to achieve success! so find something to motivate yourself to study no matter how big or small it might be!

Advisor’s Announcements ᥫ᭡

FEBRUARY ACADEMIC ADVICE —

include pre-lecture readings into your routine!

with the spring semester still fresh and new for a lot of us, it’s important to kickstart your classes with predetermined success! go through and review any lecture powerpoints and/or chapters before your next class to get an idea of what material you’ll be learning and to start getting an understanding of it.

pre-lecture readings are one of the best ways to prepare for class! it allows you to come up with any questions you might want to ask your professor, start structuring your notes, and be prepared to answer any questions that your professor might ask in class!

FINAL NOTES —

now that we’ve got into the new semester and we’re finally getting settled in, i hope you all remember that you are worthy of success. please don’t let your grades define who you are as a person. the work you put in is enough proof that you are capable of succeeding in your academics!

i hope this first newsletter from Milkoomi University was enjoyable for you guys! if you have any comments or questions you want to ask, my ask box is always open!

with lots of love, faustina ᥫ᭡

[jellynotbees]

So with the narinder question list going around I wanted to reformat my answers the the Lamb one to make them easier to read/find

Lamb Q&A under cut

1. Does your lamb go by any name other than The Lamb? If so, what?

Their (chosen) name is Muriel! Their birth name is Úna though, with Muriel being their middle name. They needed a name that they could recognize and respond to but was not actively used in their past (they are very sensitive about their past life and are avoiding processing that grief)

2. How old was your lamb when they were sacrificed?

22 years old

3. How long was your lamb held captive by heretics before their sacrifice?

About 3 days

4. Did your lamb kill anyone prior to their first death? If so, who?

Yes, after their last family member’s death they kinda lost it and just started killing as many heretics as they could get away with. They didn’t really have anything left to live for and knew they were going to die so they decided to take as many heretics as they could out with them.

5. When your lamb mourns a dead loved one from their past.. who is it?

Their twin sister, Isibél. They have forgotten what their mother looked like at this point but can’t forget what their sister looks like, as they are identical twins and look the same. Everytime they look in a mirror they see her.

6. Who raised your lamb?

They were raised by their mother, their father died when they were young.

7. Where was your lamb raised? A village? A prison? Constantly on the run?

They lived in an isolated village for most of their childhood, it wasn’t until they were around 16 that things got bad and they had to go on the run. Still, even in isolation, it was clear something was wrong and the situation for sheep was getting worse.

8. Did your lamb have any specific skills pre-sacrifice?

Lamb can knit, sew, and weave! They are also a very good swimmer.

9. How or where was your lamb caught?

They were caught in Darkwood after getting caught in an ambush attack.

10. How did your lamb feel with their head on the pedestal? Afraid? Relieved? Angry?

Angry and resigned

11. Does your lamb have any notable or unique features?

They have freckles on their nose bridge

12. How tall is your lamb?

5’1/155cm

13. Is your lamb petite? Curvy? Fucking jacked?

They are fairly skinny and petite. Everytime they die they resurrect with the body they had upon their first revival, which was very slender from lack of food. They used to put more effort into gaining weight and muscle but got frustrated at losing progress every time they died and kind of gave up. Eventually with help they will put more effort into it again though.

14. Is your lamb’s wool pure white?

Yup!

15. How does your lamb prefer to keep their wool? Short and shorn neat? Wild and untrimmed? Be honest are there branches in that bitch?

They keep it relatively short, they are still fluffy but trim it enough to make sure it’s not in the way

16. Do you base your lamb on any specific species of sheep? If so, which?

Naw, I just went off how they look in game lol

17. Do they use their own wool for anything?

Lamb uses their wool to make baby blankets for the children in the cult!

18. On a scale of one to ten how floppy are their ears?

Like a 4

19. Do they bear any traits of forced domestication? Is their tail docked? Was their ear tagged? Do they have scars from being shorn (and nicked) against their will? Were they ever painted with or assigned a number rather than a name?

No not really, their tail is undocked

20. What do their horns look like?

They are kind of small and curve back

21. Was your lamb born male, female, intersex, or do you have no opinion on their sex at birth?

They are afab

22. Does your lamb use pronouns other than they/them? If so, which ones!

Nope, just they/them! Although if it’s clear you are addressing them they will respond to anything

23. Are they capable of having children and would they want to have children?

They are technically capable under the right circumstances but that won’t happen in the main au. I think in an alt timeline of my main au they would though

24. If they were to be a parent or are, what epithet would they have their child use? Mom? Mama? Dad? Baba? Nony? Abba?

I think baba is cute so probably that!

25. Do they wear something other than the canon cloak?

Yup! They wear a cloak on crusades though

26. Does your lamb wear jewelry or makeup?

They have gold bracelets and anklets (the anklets have bells as well)

27. Is your lamb flirtatious?

No not really. At least not until they overcome some of their issues.

28. Did your lamb have any partners pre-sacrifice?

No

29. Did your lamb take any followers as a partner?

No

30. Who is your lamb’s second in command or closest follower?

They have 2 disciples: a Racoon from Silk Cradle named Hana and a Lynx named Ashorah. I really need to finish their ref sheets and rant about them there but know that they are both fiercely loyal to Lamb.

31. Is your lamb ever honest about their feelings or past? With who?

Not for a very long time. Eventually they spill to Narinder after a fight though. (They do write down everything they remember in a journal though, they are TERRIFIED of forgetting their past)

32. Is your lamb merciful? Did they ever refuse to spare someone? If so, why?

They try to act like they are and put up a front of believing everyone deserves forgiveness but in reality they hold major grudges and are willing to kill dissenters/spies if necessary. Prior to the Narinder battle they were more unapologetically ruthless

33. Is your lamb trustworthy?

Kind of? It really depends on the circumstances and their personal opinion of you. If they like you they are definitely trustworthy, however if you are on neutral or bad terms with them you need to tread lightly and watch your back

34. Is your lamb quick or slow to trust others?

SLOW, it literally took them until getting to silk cradle to become close with a follower

35. If your lamb could pick a cult job other than leader what would it be?

Probably missionary or tailor

36. Is your lamb a good cook?

At the moment yes, they became one out of necessity. At first they were mediocre at best

37. Does your lamb let cult members cook or heal or do they restrict them from certain duties?

Yes, with exceptions. If someone gave the whole cult food poisoning they are NOT going back in that kitchen

38. What is your lamb’s favorite food or dish?

They like apples, any dish involving those they are bound to also like!

39. Does your lamb eat meat/fish/eggs?

Nope, they are a vegetarian

40. What is your lamb’s stance on cannibalism?

They are neutral leaning towards positive. They would never eat someone themselves but their disciple Ashorah is a cannibal and they let her take care of the spies and dissenters.

41. What about their stance on torture?

Neutral, they don’t really practice it themselves but if someone else was doing so and it benefited them they would allow it to happen. Lamb is very self interested and tells themself that so long as they aren’t the one doing the torturing they are innocent (delusion)

42. Would your lamb ever kill a cult member?

Yes, but at the moment they leave the dirty work to the disciple.

43. How does your lamb deal with dissenters?

For dissenters it depends on if lamb thinks they can persuade them to stay or not. If they are a lost cause Ashorah gets a snack

44. What is your lamb’s favorite weapon? Their least favorite?

They like daggers the most with axes being their second favorite. They do not like the blunderbuss or hammers

45. Would they ever let a follower embrace their dark desire to eat poop?

Probably not but it depends on how bad they need the faith

46. What is your lamb’s favorite season?

Autumn

47. Is your lamb’s favorite color something other than red?

Nope, red is their favorite. They do like gold as well though

48. How does your lamb really feel about death?

Neutral, death and life are just a cycle to them. They definitely view it as more final than narinder does though (at least at first)

49. Does your lamb use substances? Are substance banned from cult grounds?

No mushrooms are allowed but they do allow alcohol in moderation. After the first brainwashing ritual they have never used the mushrooms on the cult again (too much vomit)

They do have a bar but its only open on certain days and there is a ban list (Narinder’s currently on the list for starting fights lmao)

50. Freebie! Tell us any headcanon you want!

They are really bad at resurrecting followers. They never felt the need to resurrect followers prior to their first disciple since they never got super attached. Fun fact they panic killed their first cursed follower and just hope with each resurrection that they are not cursed since theu have no idea how to cure that (Narinder forgot to tell them since he didn’t usually have that problem and kinda forgot it could happen)

[gyou08]

Pre-FAYZ Caine and Diana Head Cannons

Hii l've lurked in this fandom for years so here's me throwing out some thoughts I've had because this series has lived rent free in my head for 6/7ish years -

I don't ever stop thinking about these two before the FAYZ.

ーーーーー

1. They were both smart. Like, really, really smart.

2. Diana's best subject was history and she also enjoyed sciences/was very good at math. She took mostly APs or whatever form of higher level classes they had at Coates. Diana was the type of smart that she got good grades but didn't try in the things that didn't interest her. For example, she hated English. She couldn't care less because it was boring. It was the only class she didn't take some form of higher level in.

3. Because of this lack of interest, she would often get other people to do the homework for her and she had a mental list of boys (Caine and various other boys who had good grades in English who had a crush on her) and would rotate through getting them to do the homework for her.

The only assignments she ever did in English were the exams and quizzes.

4. In contrast. Caine's best subject was English and he loved to read. He read all the time, mostly classics, biographies, historical fiction and science fiction.

(This idea was prompted to me by that scene in Plague where Diana references Napoleon and he's like, "ummm actually" and cites a biography he read on Napoleon in the Island house like ??? Okay nerd) (He was me, I would do some shit like that if one of my friends made a reference to something I didn't know)

5. He also took mostly APs or higher level classes. He was really good at most subjects, or at least English and math, but couldn't stay awake during any science classes. He managed an A in science (despite his naps in the class) because he tried to maintain a 4.0, but he hated science

6. Diana tried to tutor him in science once because he told her he would only write her essay if she helped him, but it ended up with them fighting so she refused to help him again.

7. Caine was definitely in one of the following sports before he went to Coates:

- rowing, tennis or golf.

- or he at least knew how to play golf or tennis.

I can't explain this one. He just exudes preppy athlete energy (because his mom made him do it.)

8. Kind of off topic but: Coates did in fact have sports but not football because there was a time where a fight between them and another school they played against got so violent that they had to disband their team to avoid a lawsuit.

9. Diana has a ton of siblings (I imagine 4 in my head, so she's one of 5). She's 100% the middle child, and her younger siblings are MUCH younger because of her dad's affair. I imagine ~4 when she leaves for school the year of the FAYZ and they're part of what makes her want to be a mother because she was often the primary caretaker of them when she was home (because her dad and stepmom were losers).

10. (I don't think we get official confirmation on this, apologies if I'm misremembering) Diana's birthday is on Halloween and she just turns 14 before the FAYZ starts that November and she is young for her class.

11. Before the FAYZ started in that fall, Diana had a shitty boyfriend who was a couple years older than her that Caine hated. Around the time his powers got stronger, some conflict happened between Diana and the boyfriend (I haven't decided on a specific one) and he has a suspicious "accident" on the stairs that day. Diana got mad at Caine, and her boyfriend had to leave school due to his injuries. However, this was one of the early moments that made Diana feel like Caine could protect her.

12. Diana didn't find out about Caine's powers on purpose. She stumbled across him practicing in what would have been an empty library while avoiding class or something.

13. Caine and Drake were roommates because Caine was the only Coates student not too afraid to be his roommate. Drake was a clean and meticulous roommate, so Caine didn't mind him much.

—————

This is what l've got for now! If you've read all of this thank you 😅

I have some on the trio as roommates post-FAYZ as well if anyone is interested :)

[pastel-rights]

What would you say are your top 10 muses to write if you could choose? :0

OOO UHHH MY FAVORITE MUSES TO WRITE…

Hold on let me make a list.

10. ) Rook Hunt

9. ) Hello Kitty Dream

8. ) Lady Thirteen/Bamboo of Resilience

7. ) Herrscher of Sentience

6. ) Hu Tao

5. ) Rui Kamishiro

4. ) HuoHuo

3. ) ooo i think this one has to go to… Sigma?

I like to write Sigma quite a bit, but he isn't my absolute favorite to write if that makes sense.

I think I like to write him so much because of the theme I assigned him? Which was purity/innocence. This theme is just... really fun to get into because it means something different for every muse who has it as a theme of their character...

But Sigma has always done this theme a special kind of justice and it's... just really nice to write him.

2. ) This spot HAS to go to Sparkle. She’s just so fun and interesting to write???

“What’s your wager? Hah, life of a faker.”

There’s always been something really nice about Sparkle when it comes to writing. Similar to that one muse from my ticket ramble ask, she has a very similar character kit that revolves around a human emotion (hers, however, is joy as opposed to love) that makes her such a joy to write. haha.

There’s always a sort of warmth when I write Sparkle, a genuine smile and a genuine warmth. Her nicknames of nicknames driven by joy, they fill you will a little bit of happiness when you hear them.

But, she also has the darkside to joy and happiness, that bubbling mania and manic joy that can become a destructive fire that spreads and burns. And she’s just generally fun to portray???

Sparkle for the (almost) win!!

1. ) But who can beat out Sparkle? Whoever could it BE??? Who could POSSIBLY be more fun to write than SPARKLE.

…

So you might not believe this answer. But that answer is actually Odasaku.

It isn’t really for any reason in particular, though?

I don’t really feel a desire to write that man a ton and I hardly get to muse him, and even then, it’s always been in a more… joking/non-serious manner.

But uh, whenever I do write him, he’s very… somber. Soft yet serious. Whenever I’m writing him… I feel like a father, telling a stranger advice. Advice a younger me really could have used. Maybe things would have been different if I had known these things back then…

…

Maybe things would have been different if he had known those things back when he was younger too. But, he’s older. Older, but he’ll never get to grow old. He’ll never get to make more mistakes and learn more life lessons and that might be the biggest mistake of all.

Scars he could have avoided. Tragedies that could have been prevented. Losses that could have been stopped. People that never had to disappear. Things that could have been… had he been more knowledgeable. In his own way, his theme had always been and always will be “wisdom” because “you can never have too much of it.” (but people are killed for not having enough.)

And I think it is, due to this being his main theming, is why he’s such a delight to write whenever I do write him.

Of course, there’s also the theme of an inevitable fate that also runs deep with Odasaku specifically that also makes him so fun… and such a delight to write as well. But muses and their themes… that’s a different story entirely.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Kakashi, for all the questions.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I love Kakashi because he's dorky, kind-hearted, always trying his best even when the world is against him, and just generally a really good dude even though he has some pretty solid reasons to turn cold and angry to the world.

I dislike that he doesn't know what is too much in training (that genjutsu he put Sakura under on day one, my DUDE), that he wants to save Sasuke and see's how much Sasuke means to Sakura and Naruto but continues to support Konoha and admonishes Sasuke for his anger, that he continues to hero worship Obito after finding out all the horrible things he did, and that he's such a rude ass sometimes (but also i kinda love that he's a rude ass. it depends on the situation lol)

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

that he's so open and friendly even after all he has lost. this man has every reason to close his heart off to new people and avoid creating new bonds but instead, he opens his heart wider and becomes friends with people in an instant without concern or restriction. even when he has just fought them.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

his hero worship. not even just of Obito, but of people like Minato and even Lord Third (though that one is much less. He seem's to recognize that Lord Third is kinda trash but also doesn't question Naruto when he hero worships the old man)

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

so MANY THINGS.

Pokemon and Star Trek are my main two though. Places where he'll excel and his intelligence can really shine through.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

I'm a Mess by Bebe Rexha

The Other Side by Huge Jackman and Zach Efron

Rescue Me by One Republic

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

You want a list?

Kakashi's the worst Sensei.

Depression = Incapable of caring for himself

Kakashi did nothing for the plot (huge plot points require Kakashi and his past to even make sense at all)

Kakashi's so weak (against gods ya, but among regular ass shinobi he's top tier)

Kakashi taught Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto nothing (straight up lies)

Kakashi didn't care about Sakura (lies)

Kakashi favoured Sasuke (Lies again. Seeing parts of himself in Sasuke and knowing Sasuke needed extra aid/protection due to the current circumstances =\= favoritism)

Kakashi didn't care about Gai (LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES)

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Probably. He's cannonly very neat and organized. Would get his ass kicked for keeping his shoes on inside, but otherwise i think we'd get along <3

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Yes, definitly. He's lots of fun and generally just nice and that's all I need to be friends with someone. Plus he'll choose me as a friend without issue and make me mingle with people which is exactly what i need

11. Would you date this character?

*Shoves Kakashi out of the way* Absolutely not. I do not want to be dating someone who reminds me of myself. Give me Gai instead thanks :)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I headcanon that he has fangs and that he wears his mask because he realized everytime he smiled his father got a little sad so he wanted to hide his smile. He never realized this was because his smile is a copy and paste of his mother's and Sakumo was seeing his wife in Kakashi.

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

what a time to be on my laptop instead of my phone XD

Umm any dog Emoji as well as the thumbs up emoji

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Terrible.

Man doesn't know what fashion is and i appreciate that for him. If i had to choose a specific fashion i'd go with the 'History professor' or 'Literary professor' fashion. whichever one has sweater vests XD

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

KAKAGAI (Though i'm sure no one is surprised by that XD)

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

Ummm so not counting one's that make me uncomfertable/i won't interact with at all

KakaO*bi and KakaR*n are probably at the top, but right next to them would be KakaM*i.(censored so it doesn't go into the ship tags cuz that's rude)

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

KakaAn*o. I used to really love the ship but the way some (most) of the shippers treat it i just lost interest so hard, but can still write for/enjoy it in my own little bubble

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Kakashi and Gai!!! I love their friendship so much T.T it's sweet and they rely on each other so much.

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Kakashi's relationship with Minato <\3 I wish Kakashi had been allowed to get angry with his Sensei, and the people who put a teenager in charge of a broken traumatized child. I hate how he views Minato as this great person who did so much but refuses to understand that he did MORE (largely cuz he survived longer but still) and i loath that he looks at Minato as some sort of hero and never recognizes that the way Minato handled him as a Sensei were terrible and made a lot of his situations worse/did nothing to actually help. Like, Kakashi screwed up as a Sensei but you can tell he's trying his best and genuinely cares about his students.

With Minato it feels like Kakashi was a burden to him that he didn't want to deal with most of the time.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Kakashi and Gai is the obvious choice

But also Yamato. I really hate how Canon did Yamato so dirty when he was clearly Kakashi's other best friend who deserved a lot more respect and care.

[quinloki]

Sour moods suck. So, here I am.

Went ahead a did a quick read of your About Me, and may I just say, hey. How you doin’? (I was actually just wanting to make sure I wasn’t going to say anything that could make your day worse.)

On a more serious note, I love all of your Marco pieces. I’m not far enough into the series to actually have a good grasp on what kind of person he is, but I eat up your writing like M&Ms.

I am also old, so I love being able to gush over the mature characters without it being implied that the reader is decades younger… And you give me that, so thank you very much.

I hope you feel better soon ❤️

Ah! Thank you - most times I try to avoid assigning a full age to my reader fics - sometimes it's an intricate detail of the story and has to be listed for everything to work, but I prefer to leave things fairly flexible.

Also expect more Marco pieces! He's really taken over my brain lately, and I have plenty of stuff simmering for future releases =D

(My mood's pretty awesome today too! The muck and mire of the last week is falling away and I'm writing a ton! It feels really good =3 (and it's mostly Marco ^^; ))

[alteon77]

Updated Masterlist of Writing and Art

About the writer/artist: I like to write and paint. My current obsession is Sandman, but I enjoy most fantasy fandoms as well as anime (I think I’m on season seven billion of One Piece right now 🤣). I'm also weird as they come (and awkward, too), so just please ignore my oddball (coughTERRIBLEcough) sense of humor.

On a more personal note, I have PTSD and suffer from severe manic depressive episodes. Writing and art are my most familiar coping mechanisms, and I need them like I need oxygen. Seriously, there were times in my life that knowing I had to finish a story or a piece of art was the only thing stopping me from ending up dead. So, I don't take part in fandom drama. Having my peace and protecting my mental health are very big deals to me, and I won't risk those for anything if I can help it.

As for my writing, it ranges from short one-shots to ridiculously long novel series. I use third person POV (on longer series) as well as second person (on shorter things). I also try to always exclude physical descriptions when writing main character OCs and assign them nicknames to avoid using Y/N. I love to read Y/N fics, but writing them makes me feel like I'm at work. And who actually wants to ever feel like they're at work when they're engaging in a hobby? Definitely not me.

Lastly, there's usually more stuff on my AO3 page than I have listed here, because I forget to post it pretty often. Oops. I'll get around to moving it all over one day. Probably. Maybe.

Feel free to leave an ask if you want or just drop by my DMs. <3

Artwork links are at the bottom of this list, so if you're here for those, that's where they are.

Sandman 'Verse

All the Precious and Fragile Things (so easily do they break)

After banishing his lover from the Dreaming for her betrayal, Morpheus learns that she is pregnant with his child.

And that she’s been captured by a revenge-seeking Alexander Burgess.

What the both of them are unaware of is that this will set in motion a cascade of unfavorable events, causing a chain reaction that threatens the whole of existence itself.

PART I: All of This Past

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

PART II: These Tender, Loving Mercies

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

PART III: When It All Falls Down

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

PART IV: The Dark of War

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Epilogue

Sometimes He's Sweet

Morpheus hates the holidays.

As excited as she seems to experience the mortal holiday, he's… less so. Much less so. With the entire collective unconscious contained within him, this time of year can be wholly overwhelming, a miasma of too much red and green, too much worry, too much loneliness, too much excitement, too many similarly themed dreams, too many similarly themed nightmares, and far far too many holiday songs. It all bleeds out from the collective unconscious into his own mind, sticks there like weeping sap to a tree until he feels half-mad with the unrelenting presence of it, with his inability to get free from its cloying trespass upon his very being.

This is just a little sweet fluff for the holiday season. It takes place between chapters 19 and 20 of "All the Precious and Fragile Things". No spoilers here if you've read that far!

The Dog Debacle (or how best to sneak a dragon into the dreaming)

Morpheus' daughter gets a new dog.

Well..... kind of.

That Familiar Feeling of Family (or how Hob Gadling ended up as an uncle to his stranger's oftentimes feral children)

It's a pretty universally known thing that families are just strange. As Hob is quickly figuring out, however, this little fact is magnified by AT LEAST a billion when the family in question is Endless.

(A lighthearted story in which Hob Gadling finds out his stranger has married, makes friends with a homicidal maniac/ruler, and manages to become an exemplary uncle to a pack of magically mischievous children. Really, now all he has to do is convince everyone to stop calling his and Dream's weekly meetups "playdates", and then his life would be practically perfect.)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The Maker, the Muse, and the Sundered Song

In his temple, what remains of Orpheus waits in trepidation. Something is changing. Something that he knows might alter the very fabric of the world as he understands it.

Finally freed from captivity, Calliope struggles to make any meaningful changes to the laws that saw her bound and taken in the first place. When the strange woman appears on Mount Parnassus and offers help, Calliope knows she would be a fool not to accept it. Even if she thinks that she's being lied to.

Meanwhile in the peace of the Dreaming, Morpheus grapples with guilt over his son's fate. As he basks in the love of his new children, he can't help but to regret his own failings where Orpheus is concerned.

And as for May, she's really just got a job to do. And her own traumatic issues to deal with. And if it's all hella awkward because she's having to work alongside her husband's ex-wife, she'll see it done anyway. There's even the small possibility that she might eventually admit to Calliope the truth about her identity. That is if she can ever actually work up the courage to say it aloud.

Chapter 1

Nothing in This Closet but Boots and a Boy

Morpheus is wildly protective of his daughter.

That's probably bad for the boy in said daughter's closet.

AU's and Other Stuff in the Sandman 'Verse

Of Exes, Hellhounds, and Waffle Fries

Morpheus shows up to rescue the woman he probably loves (though he won't admit it) from hellhounds and ends up getting roped into helping with her family. This is one of those extras that doesn't fit into the main story, but it's fun, so I'm posting it.

The Bizarre Breeding Habits of Anthropomorphic Personifications

It's a tale as old as time.

Two idiots fall in love. Two idiots fall out of love.

Neither one of them is expecting a baby to come along and derail their unhappily ever after.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Original Fanart

I like to play around with different styles and to try new things with my artwork. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm still learning, and I am so far from being a professional that it's laughable. But I only post things that I think look decent or that I think others might enjoy.

The Lover's Argument (Morpheus x oc)

Oneiros (Morpheus in Grecian garb)

Because I could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for me... (Regency era Dream and Death)

[ctrl-alt-cel]

top ten puppyshipping fics?

so thrilled about this ask...unfortunately i cant give you a list of puppyshipping top 10 without taking like 3 months to reread every joukai fic ive ever loved, but i can give you a handful that ive enjoyed recently!!

Second Chance Christmas by Elexcia (30k)

ex-husbands joey and kaiba are forced to spend the holidays together after 3 years of co-parenting and scrupulously avoiding each other. (atticus and alexis are their kids and its the cutest thing ever!!!!) theres a ton of adorable family shenanigans & how much joey and kaiba work together to ensure atticus and alexis have happy childhoods free from their own personal baggage, mixed with the most heartwrenching late-night conversations between joey and kaiba bc despite everything, they still love each other, but they remember the pain it brought them and don't know if they can endure that again. the emotions and uncertainties are so raw oftentimes i will remember a quote from this fic and my heart will ache all over again its so fcking good!!! its been on my mind ever since i read it!!!

Meeting upon the threshold by Alecto (2.6k)

"kaiba has always been his own worst enemy" -- dsod!kaiba's dimension hopping lands him in an alternate timeline and face-to-face with a version of himself he doesn't recognize. this will always be the quintessential puppyshipping fic to me omg.. the amount of characterization covered in the brief interactions the two kaibas have is spectacular, and its so cool seeing just how different dsod!kaiba's dimension is compared to a dimension where kaiba chooses jounouchi instead. hell yeah

Double Date by thegraeyone (7.2k)

GOD this fic is so funny. kaiba tries so hard to have one normal, business-related work dinner with pegasus, but pegasus is more interested in having a double date between kaiba and his boyfriend joey + pegasus with his boyfriend bandit keith, and like, what else can kaiba do? for the sake of his company, he needs to play along with the most disasterous dinner date of his life if he wants pegasus to sign a damn contract already..!!!! the comedic potential for this specific set of characters makes me lose my mind & theres so many sweet moments within the fic too. i love it so much

Most Thrilling by Alecto (1.8k)

another funny fic! a cute moment with joey visiting his boyfriend kaiba during a lunch break, and silly conversations on how kaiba really does play to win. i love the brand of slight unhinged-ness kaiba has here in regards to jou omg... kaiba is intense when it comes to everything, of course that would include his dating life😭 & i adore how he manages to come across as infuriatingly romantic in his own type of way

The Weight of Water by phant0m (2.2k)

a gentle character piece, jounouchi has just moved out from the apartment he shares with his father, and for all the newfound freedom it should entail, he feels guilty about it more than anything. thankfully his boyfriend kaiba is there to stand by him. it's a kind look into the more somber parts of jou's character and i love the scene it sets :( oh my god jou and kaiba love each other so much..!!! *dies*

Shards by jirluven (2.9k)

more hurt/comfort >:) jounouchi flinches. kaiba isn't supposed to know what it means, its one of the unbroachable topics of their close yet purposely ambiguous relationship, but they both know each other far too well for that. i really enjoy how kaiba's perspective is written, with how he's most comfortable when he's logic-ing things out and surrounded by things he can easily categorize, but hes long given up on trying to categorize jounouchi, and its most evident when pushing himself into the unfamiliar territory of tactfully trying to comfort someone he cares about

Debt to Society by Elexcia (16k)

tech acquisitions lawyer seto kaiba is sentenced to 200 hours of community service after a barfight with rival lawyer & long-time nuisance ziegfried von schroder. to meet those hours, he's assigned to represent children in court as their legal advocate with social worker joey wheeler acting as his supervisor >:) (also featuring judge yugi & the doma arc kids!!) i think this setup is genius omg. with kaiba acting as a protector for underrepresented and vulnerable kids, of course his own personal (and messy) feelings are going to get involved whether he likes it or not!!! plus i love fics where jou and kaiba are colleagues working towards the same goal and moments where kaiba has to trust in and respect joey's skills. and i cant lie. seeing a worldly joey who's good with kids is an absolute treat

Lapse by AndroideQL (4.2k)

blossoming workplace romance!! jou is kaiba's assistant (yes, everyone is surprised about this outcome too) jou & kaiba are undoubtedly attracted to each other, but theres a couple of (important!!) things about it that theyre not entirely on the same page about. the banter and familiarity jou and kaiba have with each other in this fic is sooo charmingly affectionate, and there are several exchanges that make me laugh every single time. its a refreshing and cute fic that has me hopeful knowing that no matter what communication issues they get up to, they'll eventually get their shit straight

Small and Insignificant Things by Lafae (1.6k)

one more for the office romance train >:) joey, kaiba, and the conundrum of getting a good picture for your photo ID. short and sweet boyfriend shennanigans, i love how joey & kaiba play off of each other during these mundane moments between their hectic schedules and i feel like it perfectly captures the excitement of a fresh relationship and fondly discovering the more trivial details about your partner

Working My Way Back to You by SerenaJones (10k)

during an argument between jou and kaiba, jou angrily states that he wishes they never met. kaiba soon finds himself in a universe where they never did, and meets a rougher, more abrasive jounouchi who never quit his gang who just may be the key to his way back. the worldbuilding in this fic is super cool and extensively fleshed out! its so fascinating to experience how different the cast of yugioh and domino city itself would have become if canon had played out differently, and the interactions between kaiba and a jounouchi who isn't his jounouchi but is just charming is so much fun

Orpheus and Eurydice by saiikavon (3.4k)

post-dsod joey dies while chasing kaiba into the afterlife, and by the title, you can probably imagine what kaiba has to do to get him back. very fun kaiba characterization/study here, with how quick and confident he is to challenge death itself and rebuff anything that gets in his way. and! a bit of spoilers but i love when jou gets to be a little mean (lovingly!!!!) to kaiba hehehe

[spiriteddreams]

[1:17 PM] ⁀➷ Kita Shinsuke

“Are you okay?” The voice from the same person you were avoiding startles you from your thoughts. Kita stands with his hands shoved in his pockets, unsure look on his face. You want to curse him in your head for managing to find you during the lunch hour, but this is the same spot you’ve always gone to when you want to think. It’s a little hidden part of the school, but it’s yours. 

“Of course.” You offer him a light smile, “Why wouldn’t I be?”. Kita stares at you, as if he can see through the web of lies that you’ve spun. This isn’t the first time he’s come up to ask if you were alright. It was becoming more and more obvious that you were avoiding Kita, enough to the point where Suna had sat down next to you one afternoon and asked if you and their captain had gotten into a fight. And you had lied to him as well. Covered it up with a laughing smile and patting him on the shoulder. Everything will be okay. You’re not in love with Kita Shinsuke.

Well, you shouldn’t be in love with him. You shouldn’t be blushing at the way he smiles at you, lips tugging up higher on one side and eyes softening as he lets out a chuckle under his breath. You shouldn’t let your stare linger when he walks past with Aran, offering you a slight wave with a tilt of his head. You shouldn’t be in love with Kita Shinsuke, not when he has her. You’re his best friend. You’ve been around since you were toddlers, and as you entered high school and watched him grow, you continued to hold onto this fleeting idea of friends to lovers. But here you are, hopelessly in love with him. It feels almost pathetic, and you know it’s on the tip of your friends tongues when they quiet down as they notice the way you wave gently in Kita’s direction from across the classroom. What used to be a teasing joke has earned you looks that seem to be a mix of pity and sympathy. 

Whether or not Kita is aware of the silly little crush that you’ve harboured for him is unknown to you. While the Inarizaki captain was smart and acutely aware of everything that happened on the court, you weren’t quite sure if that could apply to everything else. Kita was smart, there was no doubt about it, but that didn’t do anything to quell your worries. If he was aware, then perhaps he pitied you and was trying to let you down easily. After all, how do you tell your best friend that you don’t share those same feelings for them? But if he wasn’t aware of such feelings, then it would be easier for you to distance yourself from him. The latter seemed like the most reasonable option. After all, when was the last time Kita had been aware of the awkwardness that would fill the air when it was you and him and her. Aran had come to save you the last time, pulling you away under the guise that he needed you to help him with some assignment from class, ignoring the confused look Kita sent towards him. But it was easier that way, then you wouldn’t have to say it to his face that you loved him. 

“You skipped out on our last few study sessions.” Kita starts listing the times you’ve bailed out on him. “And when I offered to buy you something from the market you said you didn’t want anything. And then Atsumu brought you a snack the next day.” You make a mental note to throw a well aimed volleyball at the setter’s head the next time you see him. Clearly he wasn’t as subtle as he said he was.

“I’m just a bit stressed about school and work.” You laugh off his worries, so practiced that you could even fool yourself, if you weren’t so in love with him. You can’t tell if Kita can see through the facade you’ve put up. Good, honest, kind, caring, Kita. So you smile and laugh lightly, “Everything will be fine, don’t worry.”

reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3

[dreamerstreamer]

A Terrible Tutor

Pairing: Dream / Clay x gn!reader

Summary: [High School!AU] He’s cocky, annoying, a total tease, has a laugh loud enough to shake the stars, and you hate him. But as luck would have it, he’s also your tutor.

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: minor cursing

A/N: this is based on a classmate i had way back! (we did not fall in love. he was awful.) i’ve also never taken physics, but i tried something a bit new for the reader’s personality. i hope you enjoy :) <3

You glared down at your physics textbook, the open pages staring back up at you with beady eyes made of diagrams and labels. Off to the side, your notebook was strewn across your desk, a list of questions scribbled across the top line in a hurried rush. The handwriting was messier than you would have liked, but the thought didn’t irritate you.

What did irritate you was that it was nearly half past four, and your so-called tutor still hadn’t shown up.

You could still envision the concerned look on Mr. Craftson’s face as he held you back a moment after class, watching as the rest of your classmates poured out of the door with an anxious look. He had offered you a kind smile before pulling out your test from the week before, and you winced at the numerous red marks scattered across the front page alone.

“I know you’ve been struggling in this class,” he said, gazing at you almost pitifully.

You tried not to glower at the sight of his apologetic eyes trained on you, instead nodding your head slowly. “It’s been… hard,” you said slowly.

He leaned an arm on his chair, pushing your test toward you. “You ask questions in class,” he hummed, “and from what I’ve seen, you complete your homework diligently.” His smile fell. “Yet here you are me, with the lowest mark in my class.”

You wanted to shrivel up into a ball. Maybe he didn’t have to say it like that, but he wasn’t wrong, either.

At your silence, he prodded at you. “Is there anything going on at home that might be hindering you, or…?”

You whipped your head up, your eyes wide. “No! Things are—things are great. It’s just…”

You swallowed, then sighed, fidgeting your fingers on your lap. “I guess,” you murmured, trying to quell the shame flaring up inside you, “I’ve just been really struggling with the material, and none of it’s really been clicking.”

Mr. Craftson’s face softened in an instant. “That’s alright. Thank you for being honest with me. If my teaching hasn’t been working out with you…”

He paused, rubbing at the blond stubble on his chin for a moment. Then, his face lit up and he leaned forward. “Tell you what,” he said. “I’ve got a great student who I think might be able to explain things to you in a way you might be able to grasp a little better. He’s got the best marks in this class.”

Your eyes widened. The best in the class? He had to be a genius.

“I have a good feeling he can meet you tomorrow at four after school to help you out,” he continued, leaning against the arm rest of his office chair. “What do you say?”

You blinked, a thoughtful look passing over your face. Lord knew you needed the help—you were practically failing the class—but an uneasy stone settled into the pit of your stomach. You’ve never needed tis much help to pass a class before. The thought made you want to gag. Slowly, you opened your mouth.

“Do I have to…” You gestured vaguely. “Pay him or something?”

His cerulean eyes blinked at you for a second, then he laughed—the kind of deep-belly laugh only teachers seemed to be able to have. “No, no,” he said, waving his hand at you, “not at all. He’s a good kid. He wouldn’t do something like that.”

You bobbed your head, your insides crumbling. You didn’t want to accept, you really didn’t. Part of you guys wanted to believe that you could just work harder, study by yourself even more. You were a dedicated student, and you were doing just fine in all your other classes. Surely the content couldn’t get that much harder, right?

But as your gaze lowered to the red ink staining your test once more, you felt yourself swallowing the lump in your throat. Straightening your back, you let your stubborn pride seep out of your shoulders and onto the floor.

It looked like this was a sacrifice you were simply going to have to make.

“Thank you so much for the offer,” you said, letting your lips curl up into a genuine, grateful smile. “It—it really means a lot.”

Mr. Craftson grinned at you, an easygoing flint shining in his eyes. “Of course. You’re a bright student. Sometimes we all just need a little push.”

You could still remember shaking his hand in thanks before bundling your stuff in your arms and shuffling into the hall, tucking your feet between the pages of your textbook. That had been yesterday, and now, the same one was sitting on your desk, open to a new page full of jumbled words you could hardly decipher.

The chair across from you was distinctly empty.

He—whoever he was—was late.

You distantly wondered to yourself who your tutor even was, your gaze drifting down to your textbook. Mr. Craftson had said he was the best student taking the class. Would it be George? He always seemed like he knew what was going on, and he never really asked questions. But sometimes, he looked like he was just zoning out. Maybe it was Technoblade. He was smart. You paused, then shook your head. No, everyone knew he was one of those English kids.

The thought made you furrow your brows, wracking your head even more. The words on the page grew muddled and fuzzy as you thought even more. Just who was it?

Just then, you heard the classroom door swing open with the same loud creak every door in the school seemed to have. The sound of heavy breaths and panting filled the air, then a haggard voice spoke up.

“Hey, I’m so sorry I’m late.”

You didn’t look up from your page, letting a sigh escape your lips as you lifted your head. Plastering a polite smile to your face, you let your gaze travel toward your tutor. “Hi, it’s nice to me—”

Suddenly, your voice died in your throat as your eyes locked onto the figure standing in the doorway. Towering over the desks with a duffel bag resting against his hip, his dirty blond locks were damp and matted against his forehead, his emerald eyes blinking at you. Something bitter and warm twisted in your gut at the sight, and the smile dropped off your face and into a scowl.

“Oh,” you said flatly. “It’s you.”

The smile he offered you was easygoing, but you didn’t miss the strain in his gaze. “It’s me.”

You bit on the inside of your cheek, your heart practically revolting against your rib cage with the way it was hammering. A million questions were darting around the inside of your skull, only making your blood boil even more with each passing second.

Of all the people you had expected to show up, Clay was easily the last.

The two of you had first met back in freshman year in your first science class—he had sat behind you and had the loudest laugh on the planet, or so you were convinced. You were quieter back then, but just as stubborn and snappish as now. Soon enough, one thing led to another, and you swore the two of you were suddenly enemies for life.

Although you couldn’t remember what had caused your little feud, you knew that he was the one who started it. He was loud and kicked your chair, he just loved to borrow your pens and never return them, and you could never figure out just why he loved to tease you so much. You don’t think you learned a single thing in that class, always distracted by the presence staring a hole into your back, and you wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

Naturally, that meant your teacher assigned him to sit behind you for the rest of the year. To this day, you were convinced she hated you, and you still avoided her in the halls.

To say that science class was your least favourite would be an understatement, and soon enough, everybody was in on your hatred for each other. Clay never seemed to stop pestering you no matter how hard you tried to ignore him, and you would never forget the day you finally snapped at him, whipping around to glare at him with your cheeks on fire.

“Will you please shut up?”

The shocked look on his face was still burned into your memory as it melted into a wide, proud grin.

“Only if you make me.”

Even years later, he always seemed to find a way to worm himself back into your life, and you hated it. You hated him, simple as that.

So, seeing him standing in front of you like this, it took every ounce of your strength to keep your voice as neutral as possible.

“What took you so long?”

He patted his duffel bag before slipping it off his shoulder and setting it on the ground. “I just finished football practice. Coach ran a little long and I figured it would be polite to take a shower before so I didn’t smell all sweaty when I tutored you.”

You blinked, your mouth falling open. That explained his wet hair, you guessed. While you were vaguely flattered, you were distracted by something else. “You knew that you would be tutoring me?”

Clay nodded, pulling back the chair in front of you. “Yeah. Phil asked me.”

You gaped. “You call Mr. Craftson by his first name?”

His smile was a touch too smug for your liking, and you wanted to wipe it off his face. “Maybe. I was surprised when he asked, though.” He wrinkled his nose and shot you a teasing smirk as he sat down. “I didn’t think you would be failing this class.”

You glowered, that same bitter feeling bubbling up in your chest, again. “I’m not failing,” you snapped. “I’m just…” You paused, your cheeks growing hot. “…not passing.”

He gave you a deadpan look, then laughed. “That’s the same thing.”

You sent him a gesture that your teacher most certainly would have scolded you for if he was here, and he laughed even harder. You were suddenly reminded of just how damn loud his laugh was, sounding like fireworks in your ears. Slumping over, you hung your head in your hands.

“Ugh. I can’t believe you knew you were going to be tutoring me of all people.” You paused, then added, “I can’t believe you agreed.”

He tilted his head at you, brushing his damp hair out of his face. “Did you not know I was gonna be your tutor?”

“No.” You frowned. “If I did, I wouldn’t have shown up.”

His eyes flickered with mirth as a smile stretched across his face. “Aw, am I really that disagreeable?”

“Yes,” you said immediately, your gaze as sharp as a blade. “Without a doubt. A hundred percent. I didn’t even have to think about it.”

He whistled, feigning a wince. “Harsh.”

Wryly, you said, “You deserve it.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “I wasn’t that bad as a freshman, was I?”

You gave him a hard, callous stare. “Do you really think I’m the one you should be asking that question?”

He thought about it for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, point taken.”

You dragged a hand over your face, then pointed at your textbook. “Are you going to teach me now or what? We’re already behind.”

He winced for real this time, and you almost felt bad for him. Almost. “Sorry, again.”

“Seriously,” you muttered under your breath, reaching into your back to grab your pencil case, “and to think that you have the highest grades in this class.”

“Hey,��� he shot back, “I’m brains and brawn.”

You shot him a look that was nothing short of disgusted. He cringed a little at the sight.

“Okay, that was cheesy, but I’m not wrong. Besides, coach says I have to keep my grades up or else I’m off the team.” He leaned closer to you, and you tried to ignore the feeling of his hot breath fanning over your skin. “You know I can’t let everyone down like that.”

You looked unconvinced. “Uh huh. Totally.” Whipping out a pencil, you tapped at the bottom of the page you had open. “Can you explain this to me, now? The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave.”

He quietly chuckled, and you hated how soft it sounded. Leaning closer to the textbook to read, his lips mouthed the problem silently. You tried not to stare at his mouth as it moved, your gaze tracing over the soft dip of his lips as his viridian eyes flashed with recognition. A moment later, he sat back and cocked his head at you.

“So, what exactly do you not understand?”

You didn’t miss a beat. “Everything.”

He blinked, disbelief colouring his features. “Everything? Like, the whole thing?”

You scowled. “I thought that was obvious. All that stuff about velocity and the funny diagrams—” You shook your head. “—none of it makes sense.”

He raised a brow at you. “I thought you were paying attention in class. You really don’t understand a single thing?”

You bit back the urge to scream. “It’s not like you’re much smarter.”

Clay snorted derisively. “I am. That’s kind of the whole point.”

You groaned, letting your voice ring out in the quiet of the empty classroom. You caught a glimpse of his amused smile in front of you, and it only made you groan louder.

“You’re the one who ruined science for me, you know? I hated going to that class, and look at me now.” You gestured to yourself, using your finger to draw a ring in the air. “It all comes full circle.”

There was a brief second of silence. “I’m the reason why you hate science?”

You didn’t budge. “I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy knowing I was going to be stuck in a class with someone who never gave me my stuff back and kicked my chair.”

Another wave of silence washed over the two of you, but this one was tense—heavy. He swallowed, and you watched his Adam’s apple bob.

“You…” His eyes swirled with something sad and honest. “You really hate me that much?”

He suddenly looked a lot like a kicked puppy, and a pang of guilt shot through your chest like a bullet. With a panicked gaze, your voice grew shaky as you spoke. “I—I don’t hate you. I just… I had a grudge, I guess.”

Your tone grew soft, and you lowered your gaze to your lap. “I… I really didn’t like you back then, but things have changed.” You offered him a small smile, but it felt shy. “We’re not exactly fourteen, anymore.”

He returned your smile with one of his own. Just like yours, it was small and tender, and it sent something stirring in the depths of your belly. “No,” he murmured, “we’re not.”

“I,” you breathed, gulping down the last dredges of your grudge, “was stubborn back then.” You raised a shoulder. “In a way, I still am. I have too much pride for my own good too, but I don’t hate you.” The look you sent him had a spark of mischief, and his breath hitched. “Strongly dislike, at best.”

Clay blinked at you, looking half-surprised and half-awed at you. You squirmed under his gaze before he snapped out of his stupor, almost bashfully ducking his head. “I’m… It’s definitely too late for me to say this now when I really should have said it all those years ago, but I’m sorry. Really. I was a dick.”

You snorted under your breath, fondly mumbling, “Yeah, you were.”

His face perked up at the sound of your bitten back laugh. “I really shouldn’t have teased you so much. My reasons were… dumb.”

You cocked a brow at him, almost as if to say, Oh? Do elaborate.

But instead, you watched as his ears burned crimson red and he flashed you a pair of bright, pleading eyes. “Forgive me? Please.”

Your heart leapt into your throat, something new and warm bursting along the seams of your lungs. You couldn’t possibly say no to a face like that. Even the toughest person on the planet would crack under a look as sincere as that, you tried to reason, ultimately letting out a sigh with a stammer.

“O-Only if you actually can get me to understand this unit.” Pushing down the heat creeping up your neck, you pointed at him with an accusatory look. “Until then, you’re on thin ice.”

The grin he sent you was beyond dazzling—you couldn’t have brought yourself to look away even if you wanted to.

(And you didn’t.)

“Gotcha.”

Clay finished scribbling a diagram onto the new page of your notebook, flicking his thumb back to reveal the hordes of previous pages you had filled with other practice problems. If you were being honest, you were a little envious of just how neat his drawings were. No one should be able to draw a line as straight as that without a ruler, yet here he was, doing exactly that.

What a show-off.

Feeling your eyes on him, Clay lifted his head to catch your gaze, turning the notebook to face you. You tried to pretend the stumbling of your heart wasn’t because of him—not at all. “Do you get it?” he breathed.

You glanced back and forth between him and your page, your grip on your pencil falling slack. “I think so,” you said slowly. “Mostly, at least.”

He hummed for a moment, then flipped your notebook around until it was facing him again and holding an expectant, open hand toward you. Without even thinking, you dropped your pencil into his palm, a spark running up your fingers at the slight brush of his skin against yours. Carefully, he wrote a string of words on a new line, circling the sentence when he was done.

“Here,” he said gently, pushing the pencil back between your fingers, “try this question. This was one of the harder ones from my test.”

Gingerly, you peered down at the page, and your mouth fell open at the sight. This question was far more complicated than anything you had been solving in the textbook before this. What was he thinking?

“If you get it right,” he said suddenly, casting you out of your thoughts, “you should be all set.” His lips curved up into a taunting, knowing grin. “But it’s okay if you don’t get it—it is difficult, after all.”

You stared for a second longer, then grumbled under your breath. How could he read your mind like that? You were going to prove him wrong, even if only to knock that smug look off his face.

Leaning down, you tackled the problem head on, your pencil flying across the page as you spelled out formulas and equations, doodling a diagram when you had to and pausing to think every other breath. Before you, you didn’t see Clay watching you with a soft, tender gaze, taking in the way your fingers fidgeted against your pencil when you stopped and how you chewed on your mouth when you got nervous.

You really were more endearing than you could ever know.

Suddenly, you let your pencil clatter against the table as you pushed your notebook toward him, eyeing your pencil scratches with a wary look. “Done.”

His viridian eyes gleamed with excitement. “Alright,” he said, plucking the paper from your desk with a practiced ease, “let’s take a look.”

His gaze scanned your work intently, his lips pressed together in focus. You folded your hands onto your lap, trying to focus on his analysis of you work. But the longer you looked, the more you felt your gaze trailing up to graze his cheeks. Did he always have so many freckles? You didn’t remember seeing him with this many as a freshman, but you also spent more time glaring at him than staring at him back then.

In a way, he was kind of... pretty. Handsome, even. Not that you would ever say it out loud.

You suddenly had a strong urge to reach up and trace feather-light lines between each of his freckles, but before you could even take another breath, Clay’s eyes were on yours again. Unlike earlier, the look on his face was grave, and a small grimace overtook his features.

“I have bad news,” he said dryly.

Your heart fell.

Of course you got something wrong. You were a fool to think that things would change just because Clay would be teaching you instead.

But then, his grimace curled up at the corners, and your jaw dropped.

“I have nothing left to teach you in this unit.”

Your eyes widened.

“I got it right?”

He turned the notebook back to face you. A large check mark had been scribbled in pencil along the side of the page, a tiny smiley face decorating the corner next to it.

“Perfectly.”

The gasp you let out sent you barrelling for your feet, and you nearly started jumping for joy in the middle of your seat. “Yes!” you cried, pumping a hand up in the air. Suddenly, you whirled to point at Clay, a pout forming on your lips. “Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me! Don’t do that.”

He chuckled, leaning back with his hands up defensively. “Sorry, sorry. I saw the opportunity and just had to take it.”

Crossing your arms over your chest, you stuck your tongue out at him. “You’re terrible.”

His eyes softened—sincere and sweet. “I know.”

Ignoring the sudden burst of warmth rushing through your veins, you huffed at him. “Well, at least I have two pieces of good news for you. First,” you said, sliding your notebook off your desk, “we can both go home, now.”

“And the second?” he prompted, looking at you inquisitively.

You folded your notebook shut, boring a hole into your backpack with the intensity of your stare. You couldn’t look at him right now, you just couldn’t.

“Second,” you nearly whispered, “I accept your apology.”

Slipping your textbook into your bag, you heard him take a sharp intake of breath. “Really?”

You reached for your pencil case, fumbling with the zipper. “Yes.”

There was another breath, but this one was gentler, less harsh. You peeked up at him from your bag, and your heart stuttered at the ecstatic look on his face.

“This,” he said, “is the greatest day of my life.”

You blinked wildly at him, zipping your backpack up all the way before slinging it onto the desk. “That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?”

He shook his head, his smile never once faltering. “Are you kidding? I thought you were going to hate my guts forever!”

You shrugged, slinging your bag over your shoulder. “I might have.” You paused. “Actually, I probably would have. But luckily for you—” You shot him a sincere look. “—not anymore.”

His grin grew impossibly wider, yet it somehow still looked natural on him. Deep down, a part of you wanted to bottle up his expression and remember it for as long as you lived.

“Like I said, greatest day of my life.”

You giggled, rolling your eyes. “Weirdo.”

Pushing in your chair and gesturing for him to stand, you jutted your head toward the door. Clay didn’t need to be queued twice before he was rising to his feet, pushing the chair back to its rightful spot before heaving his duffel bag off the floor and onto his side. As the two of you headed out towards the door, a bought suddenly flickered across your head, and your lips began moving before you could even begin to think.

“One of these days, you need to tell me why you liked to pick on me so much. Like, seriously, why me?” You gestured to yourself as the two of you stepped outside into the school hallway. “I’m not exactly special.”

You hadn’t been looking at him in that moment, focused on closing the door behind you, but when he didn’t respond for a moment, you looked up and felt your lungs tighten. You had never seen Clay look so bashful in his life, with his ears flaring crimson red and a faint rosy tint dusting the panes of his cheeks. His freckles were only more noticeable with the pink background, and you nearly blurted something you knew you would regret.

“Maybe I’ll—” He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck with a smile. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

Before you could even ask what he meant by that, he was firing off once more. “In the meantime, if you still need help, I don’t mind coming in again next week or something.”

You nearly took a double take. Next week? He wanted to help you, again?

“Don’t you have more important things to do?” you asked, scanning him with wide, curious eyes. “Like studying your own stuff.”

“You’re important,” he said abruptly.

You choked on your spit, and by the way he went absolutely stock still in front of you, you had a feeling he hadn’t meant to say that.

“Oh,” you whispered.

That warm, fuzzy feeling from earlier was rising between your lungs again, only this time it sent your heart racing around your chest. Sucking in a deep breath, you nodded your head once, twice.

“Sure,” you managed to say as calmly as you could. “The, um, the next unit looks a little confusing, so I might need some help.”

Clay’s face suddenly brightened at your soft request for assistance, and you caught his shoulders slumping with relief as he smiled. “Awesome.” He paused, then waved his hand. “Not the part about you needing help, I mean.”

You laughed a little at that, your nerves calming a bit more. “I would hope not.”

He smiled back at you. “So,” he said, drawing out the syllable, “I’ll be back same time next week?”

You couldn’t help but reach over to elbow him a little playfully. “Try to be on time though, yeah?”

He flushed a bit, but cracked a crooked grin nonetheless. “I’ll try my best.” He glanced over his shoulder down the hall, and you suddenly realized you would be heading in the opposite direction.

“I’ll see you around?” he murmured gently, brushing away his now dry hair from his forehead.

One of your hands tightened around the straps of your bag while the other waved back at him. “See you.”

With one last grin at you, you watched as he turned on his heel, striding down the hall with his duffel bag bouncing against the side of his hip. Just then, your eyes grew wide, and you cupped your hands around your mouth to call after him.

“One last thing, Clay!” you shouted, your voice echoing down the empty corridor.

At the sound of his name, he whipped around again, his brows knitted together. Breathing in deeply, you screwed your eyes shut and called out once more.

“Thank you!”

When you opened your eyes again, his emerald green eyes were blinking at you with wild abandon, his lips parted in what could only be described as a look of pure wonder. Your heart skipped a beat, and you wondered why he was looking at you of all people like that.

Swallowing, he sent you a lopsided, earnest smile and cupped his own hands around his mouth to shout back at you.

“Anytime!”

You kept waving at him even after he let his arms drop back to his sides and he vanished around the corner of the hall. Almost immediately, you bent over to bury your head into your knees, letting out a soft, muffled yell.

Why did your chest feel so warm when he looked at you like that? Why did you want to count his freckles so badly when he smiled? Was he always so nice, so helpful and kind? Why did he look so cute when his face flushed all pink like the way it did before? When did he become so endearing instead of annoying?

Did you like him?

You let out another muffled cry into your hands, feeling heat flood every part of your body like a tidal wave crashing into your system. You could hear your heart ringing in your ears like a bell that wouldn’t ever stop, and your toes curled into your shoes.

You had so, so many questions, none of which you knew how to solve.

Hopefully Clay could help you figure out the answers.

[beefromanoff]

Going Under Ch. 3

summary: Bucky Barnes is assigned to head the security detail of an internationally beloved singer named Gianna as his next mission.

characters: Bucky Barnes x OC

soundtrack: want to want me - jason derulo

warnings: fluff, pop star fantasy x love story, set in an AU where the Avengers reunite after Civil War, pre-infinity war, slight angst, hurt/comfort, lonely reader/OC.

author’s note: this is my first ever fanfic, so please be kind! I have so many chapters written but not edited, so prepare for spam. enjoy xoxo

chapter list/links - xo

__________________________________________

chapter 3

Just like all the nights before, Bucky stood backstage, watching as Gianna finished her performance of the night. She had sung her heart out, and the crowd had gone wild. Night after night, it was the same story. Bucky had never seen anything like it - the energy and excitement in the room were palpable. Every city, every stadium, every crowd felt more electric than the last. 

As the final notes of the song faded away, Gianna did her signature blown kiss and bow, and stepped offstage, her face flushed and her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. Bucky was there to meet her, offering her a bottle of water and a towel.

"Great job out there," he said, his voice low and reassuring, eyes glancing over her shoulder for any fans who may choose to rush the stage like the show in Atlanta.

Gianna smiled weakly, taking the water downing half of it immediately. "Thanks. I'm exhausted," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. He knew she tried to conserve her voice between shows, especially over a month into their tour. It proved to be difficult for her, as someone who loved to talk. She gave it a valiant effort, though. It was endearing.

Bucky nodded, leading her to a private dressing room with his hand on the small of her back. He walked between her and the long string of stage hands and tour crew, serving as a silent barrier to keep anyone from talking to her in her daze. She slipped into the room and he shut the door, resuming his position outside. 

After a moment, the door cracked open again and Gianna’s head poked out. “Can you unzip me?” Her green eyes were earnest and wide. “I don’t know where Kate is, she must have already gone back to the bus.”

“I uh,” Bucky paused, looking around the hallway for someone, preferably another woman, to jump in. Nothing but stagehands winding cords around their wrists and pushing equipment carts. Turning back to Gianna, he said “Of course.”

To protect her privacy, he slipped into the room. She brushed her strawberry curls aside, now adorably decorated with the ringlets of her natural hair that curled against her sweaty neck during the show. He reached for the zipper between her shoulder blades and the zipper clinked against his metal thumb when he pinched and slid it down. He was careful to avoid touching her skin and took a step back as soon as the zipped reached the end of the track. 

“There you go.” He grumbled, discomfort obvious in his voice. “Anything else?” 

Gianna turned and saw him looking straight at the floor, wondering if the flush she saw in his cheeks was real or her imagination. “No sir. Thank you.” She smiled softly at him.

As he stepped to the door, he turned back and met her eyes. “Just Bucky,”  he said, smiling as he disappeared through it.

After she had cleaned up, and changed into her signature sweat set, she emerged from the green room holding her duffle bag and heels. Bucky held his hand out for the duffel and she took it, thanking him even though this was at least the thirtieth time they had gone through this exact exchange. They walked in silence through the dark halls underneath the stadium until they exited to the bus waiting outside. Bucky helped Gianna up the steps to the tour bus, making sure that she was settled in before taking his place at the front of the vehicle. He sat with his back to the wall, eyes darting around the dark bus. As they drove through the night, Bucky couldn't help but think about Gianna's life.

She was a spectacle, a pop star who was adored by millions of fans around the world. Night after night, she stood in front of screaming crowds, and never seemed to crack under the pressure. Every time they ran into a gaggle of fans at the airport or in line to get coffee, she always paused to take photos and thank each of them for their support. He couldn’t imagine a worse existence. Well - nevermind. He quickly shut down his memories as they threatened to break into the forefront of his mind. Although his trauma still weighed heavily on him, he appreciated the general anonymity he was able to maintain these days. Gianna didn’t seem to have anywhere to hide where the world wouldn’t come to find her. He hoped that his presence on the tour brought her some semblance of comfort and privacy. She deserved it. He related to her on a level he didn’t expect to. She was just a person, someone who was vulnerable and alone in a world that didn't always understand her. She lived every day fitting into a role that seemed to have been defined for her. He felt a pang of sadness as his ears picked up the first deep breath coming from her bunk, indicating that she’d drifted off to sleep.

Bucky realized that he wanted to be more than just her security detail. He wanted to be her friend, someone she could trust and confide in. Someone who would be there for her no matter what. He had watched almost every second of her life play out over the last several weeks, and saw how shockingly little meaningful interaction she had with anyone. She was around hundreds of thousands of people each day, and he couldn’t even remember the last time anyone had asked how her day was going. Guilt pooled in his stomach as he realized he’d been pretty standoffish towards her as well, justifying it as “out of his job description.”

Several hours and several hundred miles later, they arrived at their next destination. Bucky stood to help Gianna off the bus and get her into her hotel room.

“Gianna?” He breathed into the hallway, feeling bad that she’d only been asleep for a few hours and already had to be up soon for her first rehearsal. Her heavy breathing told him she was deep in her sleep, and he made a snap decision. 

Bucky tugged back the curtain hiding her bunk and slid his hands underneath her, gently extracting her from the bed. She sighed but didn’t stir. He balanced her against his chest with his vibranium arm firmly underneath her and grabbed the straps of her duffel bag with his right. He repositioned her into a more relaxed bridal-style carry and walked off the bus. 

Gianna’s manager, Tom, looked up from his phone as Bucky carried her off the bus. He gave a knowing smile and nod to Bucky, as he tucked two sets of room keys into the pocket of Bucky’s jacket. 

Arriving at their floor, Bucky awkwardly maneuvered Gianna against his chest so he could slide the room key from his pocket into the door. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he laid her down on the king sized bed and debated whether it was crossing a line to tuck her into the plush bedding. Rolling his eyes at himself, he yanked at the white linens tucked tightly around the bed and laid them over her body, curled into a ball in the middle of the mattress. She looked so small, so innocent laying there. Bucky turned to walk across the hall to his room just as the first beam of sun began to peek through the curtains. 

As he lay in bed, Bucky realized that he was starting to care for Gianna in a way that went beyond his duty as a security detail. He wanted to protect her, not just from physical harm, but from the loneliness and isolation that came with being a star of her notoriety.

He knew that it wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to be there for her. No matter what.

[rockybloo]

Frequently Asked Questions!

Please give this a read, or at least a skim through, before sending in an inbox question!

Q. Why didn't you respond to the question/message I sent into you inbox?

Reasons vary but often it's a question I've already answered, the answer is a spoiler, or I don't have all the lore ready yet so to avoid flooding my blog with a bunch of "I dunno" responses I just don't respond. Other times it's personal reasons like I have no response to a comment, I don't think a joke made was funny, I feel uncomfortable, or I don't vibe with the message. Don't take it personally if I don't respond to you, I'm just a random person on the internet and I can be pretty picky occasionally.

Q. What programs do you use?

I use a lowkey glitchy Huion Kamvas 13 and Clip Studio Paint Ex (it lets me sort through comic pages way easier)

Q. Do you take commissions? Requests? Art Trades?

I don’t do commissions anymore, I do not take any requests (including people asking me to make a specific OC, draw more of a specific OC, or draw more of a specific story), and art trades are friends and mutuals only. 

Q. Do you have any boundaries?

I have a boundary list that you can read over here. Please respect them.

Q. Are you ok with fanart and if so, what kind?

I LOVE FANART! Fan art, fan songs, even inbox messages of people saying a specific thing reminds them of an OC of my makes me happy.

I’m also okay with people having their own OCs interact with my own (so long as it stays platonic tho Husky is an exception to this rule) . I only ask that you keep my OC couples (Red Beans, Licorice, Blackberries, etc.) together.

I used to be fine with fanfics but have since changed my mind on them due to personal reasons.

Q. Can we make fancharacters for your stories?

I am totally fine with fan characters, so long as no one pressures me into including them into my stories. 

When it comes to Glitter and Guilt, I ask that you do not make any fan characters if you aren't 18 or older due to the more mature content in the story.

Q. Do you have any Webcomics? 

I have TWO that I primarily update on Comicfury

Beanstalked , which follows a farm boy named Jack who lives on Lore, a world where a celestial centennial event assigns people with the roles of fairy tales from our world, and his life after discovering he is part of the newest generation.

A generation that is especially unlucky when a petty ink fairy decides to mess with the natural order of things.

During the struggle, characters run into the conflict of deciding if their happy endings are worth the sacrifice compared to the happy lives they’ve made for themselves while off the story paths assigned to them. In Jack’s case, he winds up falling in love with a lupine girl in red known as Nana who has been assigned Little Red Riding hood, actively going against the predetermined ending of his own story.

⚠️For the second, Glitter and Guilt, I preface that this story will touch on more mature themes such as violence, gore, and sex so keep that in mind before you continue reading.⚠️

Glitter and Guilt , which follows Sweetheart, a 20-something magical girl in college, who’s dealing with working solo as a hero while coping with the guilt of her team breaking apart during high school after the death of their team member, Angel.

Life has been super stressful as the landscape around being a hero has shifted until one day, her old arch nemesis and secret childhood friend and crush, Bitterbat, returns after years of being separated from her due to a barrier placed between their dimensions.

After a heartfelt reunion that escalates to a one night stand, the two wind up picking up their relationship and dating in secret.

Q. How many OCs do you really have in total?

TBH way more than toyhouse has listed but not all of them are super active. The ones that are the most active are the Beanstalked, Bondwidth, and Glitter and Guilt crew.

Q. How many stories do you have?

I have 3 that I really spend the most time on (which are the top 3 listed) with the others being stories I occasionally work on. I do just have little OC concepts floating around that have their own tags but are more for fun and less for story. 

Beanstalked

Glitter and Guilt

Bondwidth

Bride of Bats

Sharks and Kisses

Star-Crossed Lovers

Anvil Wings

Corroded Treasure

Q. Do you have any LGBTQ+ OCs

All my OCs are Bi or Pan as I am a Bi disaster that desires for my own food. 

I like writing them flexibly and from my own experiences so I myself can focus more on their adventures and dynamics

AND I struggle taking the unique experiences of every OC that live in a fictional and fantastical version of our universe and applying labels to them as someone who truly struggles with their own in OUR universe.

I just know for certain I am Bi and Nonbinary so I have a lotta both in my line-up as  prefer writing from experience. An experience where I tend to have to squint just to acknowledge gender because an enby be forgetting sometimes. 

If you want a more specific answer, ask me for a specific OC and I can give a run-down about them, their experiences, and their preferences.

Q. Do you have any Neurodivergent OCs?

Similar answer to the above question. Ask me for a specific OC and I will give a run-down. Chances are, many are open to interpretation as I just be writing them and giving them the same quirky behaviors as me…and lord knows whatever I am. 

Q. What stories take place where?

All my stories, main and minor ones, take place in a single universe I have dubbed “The Rockyverse”, meaning there are points characters make crossover and lore may over lap. They do take place on different worlds though. 

Stories taking place on Earth

All are located in fictional locations

Glitter and Guilt - Decking City

Star-Crossed Lovers - Safe Haven

Anvil Wings - Unnamed Town

Sharks and Kisses - Unnamed beachside town

Stories taking place on different planets

Beanstalked - Takes place on a planet called Lore parallel to ours

Bondwidth - Takes place on a manmade planet

Bride of Bats - Takes place on a Halloween-Based planet

Corroded Treasure - Takes place on a toybox-based planet

Q. Do you have any voice claims for your OCs?

I have a list of all voice claims right here.

[justhyunhoer]

Midnight surprise ♡

Masterlist

Pairings : hwang hyunjin X Lee min ho , hyunlix and minsung as besties.

Warnings: it's an AU, kisses, anxiety(not really), midnight date, holding hands.

Mid winters were going on when suddenly out of the blue minho and hyunjin decided to share the bucket list they made for the season , cause they didn't had any better thing to talk upon during their brake. Usually they sit with their group but today it turned out that they all were gone for some reason.

Minho's was simple : visiting his parents, buying toys for his cats , going to an amusement park with his bestie jisung , and a movie date with his friends.

Hyunjin was quiet upset cause the other didn't had anything to do with him, but anyways it wasn't like he was his boyfriend or something cause Hyunjin was too shy to confess, morely scared .

"What are your plans hyunjin? "

"Aghh, it's nothing much hyung . I just want to have a hot cup of noodles,late at night, when it's really chilly at..you know those red snack carts ?"

"Those type they show in dramas ?" Minho asked with an amused smile, which in response hyunjin bite his lips out of nervousness thinking whether the older found his wish weird or something.

"Yes, it's simple right..." His voice trailed down ,as this particular wish is always left unfulfilled at the end , and probably that will remain unchanged for this year too.

Minho noticed that hyunjin was quiet down after that and he knew that this simple wish of him was quiet difficult as their hostel restricted them going out of the university premises after 8 pm to avoid any kind of nuisance that would ruin their reputation (problems of the prestigious ones). Bit crazy but facts.

Challenge accepted

This was the perfect chance for minho to ask hyunjin out in a romantic way which he himself never thought of. It is challenging cause sneaking out of their dormitories wasn't easy at all but minho have to take the risk for his crush.

"Are you sure you want to do this, hyung!?" Jisung exclaimed after minho asked him for help . "I am , that's why I asked you sungie." Minho sighed and plopped down on his bed as already a week passed after their chat and the homework they gave was immense. But still minho managed to study the possible ways that they could sneak out,  but they were all too dangerous,  that's when he remembered that han mentioned something about his friends sneaking out or so not too long ago,

" Okay,  let's meet Chan , changbin and seungmin first, and then you can decide whether it's a good idea or not."

***

Now the task was easy as he just had to butter the security guard properly and done!

He'll  probably meet him around 9 as he had a night shift.

***

Minho left the room when jisung was still fully engaged in completing a work of music that their department assigned them.

"Ajjushi,  pleaseee..."

"No means no."

"I've never ever sneaked before ! Just this time , please."

"You want me to fall for that?"

"It's matter of love! Just this once, I promise I wont create any trouble,  pleasee..."

"Aghh, kids these days! "

With lot more pleading , minho received the permission . But there was a condition that if they won't return until 5 , they would get into a problem cause that's when his shift ends. This indeed was the safest way to sneak out without ending up into the principal's office.

Okay now I have to find a location and text hyunjin. Perfect!

-----

[12 :00]

Minho : hey, jinne. Are you free right now?

(few minutes later)

Hyunjin : yes, what's the matter?

Minho : nothing much , dress up warmly and come over to my dorm.

Hyunjin : why hyung? Is something wrong?

Minho : just come here! Stop questioning!

Hyunjin: okay hyungiee <3

-----

"What's up jinnie at this hour?" Felix questioned as hyunjin paused the drama they were watching on lix's laptop.

Hyunjin started jumping on the bed happily, making noises, leaving Felix confused. he decided to look at his bestfriend's then displaying mobile screen.

"OH MY GOD! HWANG HYUNJIN!" Felix got up and shook his shoulders with a wide amused yet happy grin. "Hurry up jinnie! You have to doll up!" Felix said pulling the taller down the bed and rumbled through their closet, looking for a suitable clothing.

"You have to make him fall for you today!" Felix said picking an outfit "But lix...WhY he wants me there at THIS hour?" Hyunjin said , thinking about every possible reasons , but found none. "Dunno, stop overthinking, jinnie." Hyunjin nodded and did his hair , honestly just combed it and ran his hand through them . Clean yet messy look. Perfect.

"Lix this won't do ! He told me to dress warmly " hyunjin whined and threw the crop top at the other's face . Felix just giggled and selected a creamish knitted sweater and regular blue pants. Hyunjin applied his cherry lip balm and nothing else. Finally after 15 mins he took his jacket and left .

His heart was beating abnormally if that's what it's said , he read the digits 501 and knocked twice. Minho opened the door and instead of giving hyunjin way in, he came out and locked the door behind him. His assumption was correct ,hyunjin came without a muffler and it was pretty chilly out there...more than usual.

Minho handed him two hot hand packs and settled a muffler around his neck , this action startled the younger. "H..hyung why these- What are you planning!?" His eyes widened at the time when minho said , "Emptying your bucketlist."

Minho held his hand and started walking away, "Are we- hyung! Noo!" He whined "Yes we are , you whiny baby." Minho smiled in his direction, feet never forgetting their way.

On their way down hyunjin again interrogated "but what If we get caught ?" His hot breath making little white fog appear in front of his lips. "Remember, I have muffler instead of tissues here." "You are tough lee min ho. " hyunjin teasingly sighed . "I know right." Usually minho would bicker back but today was different, right?

"Why are we following the normal way out?"

"Trust me jinnie, will you ?"

"I was just curious though..."

He pouted and followed him like a baby duckling following the mother duck. He felt weird when the security gave them a thumbs up when minho mentioned his name but also received a questioning look where the brunette nodded in response with a wide smile.

____

Felix : hey, sungiee

Jisung: yes ,lixiee

Felix : where are you ?

Jisung: at the dorm, why? ...Okay hyung took jinnie on a date !

Felix: date? You mean he's gonna propose him !?

Jisung: yes! And he didn't wanted to spoil it hence, I didn't told you.

Felix: you meaniee

Jisung : lol sorry, an don't you dare text hyunjin!

Felix : I won't!

Jisung : go to bed now, they'll be late...

Felix: are they ....

Jisung : nope.

Felix : oh okay

Jisung: go to bed nowww!

Felix : nope, gotta complete the drama first!

Jisung : I just can't-

Felix : heheheh byeee

_____

***

Minho never imagined the situation that they are in right now : walking side by side with hyunjin on a cold winter night with beautiful night sky , illuminated by the stars and moon. Cold breeze hitting their skin where hyunjin's half face is covered with the muffler that minho gave him, his pink tinted cheeks still slightly visible though an him taking little glances at the younger during their little talks , here and there. Everything was just perfect.

Right now they were laughing on a random joke minho said , to minho the laughing hyunjin in front of him was all he needed at te moment. The way his eyes almost disappeared and that smile he was flashing right now did things to minho .

"You look pretty, jinnie."

The sudden compliment from the older made hyunjin's heart skip a beat. A red color covered his cheeks which wasn't because of the cold weather.

"You didn't meant that, did you?" Hyunjin said hoping a 'I did' just to get disappointed by "You're smart hwang hyunjin !" Minho joked and laughed to recieve a "Yaah!" And a playful slap on his arm .

It was now hyunjin's chance to admire him... From last 20 mins he's trying to suppress the urge to hold minho's hand and honestly that was the only thing he needed to make this moment perfect, after all he won't ruin this already perfect moment , which was a night date with him by asking that . Well, that's what he thought.

"We're here! " Minho joyfully exclaimed and turned off the maps when he spotted a red snack cart and turned off the maps. Just few steps and hyunjin's wish would be fulfilled.

***

"Two hot noodles please! " minho cheerfully made the order when hyunjin was looking for a table which were settled there. They were 4 in total , two empty, and the remaining two had one couple and a group of employees. He finally picked one which was around a tree, which was a small round table with two chairs .

Minho came with their bowls on a tray and returned it later,

"Mmmm, yummy!" Hyunjin expressed with his entire body and the older giggled. "Eat well !" Minho said taking his first bite an had same expression as him.

"By the way, what were you doing when u texted you?"

"Watching a drama with lixie."

"Really ? Even when the work they gave to our departmentwas hectic? " minho widened his eye.

"They can always wait , lol." Hyunjin laughed and minho sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Their bowls were half empty by the time hyunjin halted their talks and beautifully smiled at the other, he was never this expressive (being dramaticis other thing ) but the happiness he was feeling today was just too much for him to contain. This sudden action of the younger made minho bit self conscious. Few seconds them admiring eachother and this time minho was the one who was flustered.

"Thank you hyung, I really mean it." Hyunjin broke the silence and it was one of the rarest times when minho's brain wasn't able to process a answer, just mesmerized by the boy sitting in front of him.

"W..wellcome....?" He blamed himself for stuttering and not looking in hyunjin's eyes. Before hyunjin can ease him for the same he clenched his fists and took a deep breath in order to muster up the courage for the thing he was planning to do.

Whereas hyunjin was just starting at his face trying to read what the other was up to.

"Hwang hyunjin, I know it's not the best way to ask anyone out , probablythe worst, but I like you and will you be my boyfriend ?" Minho literally rapped and white fog appearing in front of his lips as he relieved a sigh. He opened his eyes to meet the boy with widened eyes and a hand over his lips. Hyunjin's brain was malfunctioning right now.

Nothing changed for the last 5 seconds and then...

"It's okay hyunjin if it's a n-"

He was cutted off by something soft as cloud and plump, they were hyunjin's lips. Yes, right now he is being kissed by hyunjin who was bending over that small table to reach him , which minho gave in. He was on cloud nine right now. The kiss wasn't deep , just their lips pressed against eachother.

They pulled away soon when they heard cheers and claps around them, only to find out that people around them were cheering for them. They both were flustered for a second , blushing and smiling at the strangers.

Then hyunjin realized what he actually did, actually when minho stared speaking fir the other time, hyunjin's lips made their way to minho's without hyunjin knowing, in a hurry because his mind stopped functioning properly and the kdrama style response was all it thought about at that time.

They finished their remaining bowls without uttering a single word. Cause both of them needed some time to digest what just happened.

"I'll pay."

"O-okay."

Hyunjin prepared himself when Minho went to pay.

Hwang hyunjin, you got this. You're now lee minho's boyfriend. Calm down, calm down. He likes you too. YOU'RE DATING HIM NO-

His thoughts were halted when...

"Let's go." Minho smiled and offered his hand to hyunjin , which hyunjin grinned and held, now he was relieved, completely.

They started walking, hands in hand. This was a like dream to hyunjin: his crush asking him out, his pending wish (since years) getting fulfilled, more importantly him kissing his crush (now boyfriend) and right now walking hands in hands with him on a chilly winter night.

"Hyung, we're dating...?" It was a more like a question.

"Let me clear your doubt." Minho said , facing hyujin.

Hyunjin was confused, "hu-" it was now his turn to be cutted off with a kiss.

Minho tilted the younger's face with one hand and grabbed his neck with another and engaged him in a kiss, this one was a lot different than the previous one. This one was deep and passionate, filled with love. It wasn't a heated one but indeed was deep.

Hyunjin started feeling light headed, fully submitting himself to his boyfriend, resting his hands around his waist. After a minute or so ,both of them pulled apart to refill their lungs.

"Clear?"

"As Crystal."

"Good."

Minho ruffled hyunjin's hair and started walking away, hands in his pocket, leaving hyunjin behind. "Hey! Wait for me." Hyunjin caught up , clinging onto the others arm. "Your little rap was pretty good hyung! You can even beat Jisung if you try." Hyunjin joked, nudging.

"Muffler"

"Algetseumnida."

To minho, the sound of their laugh was beautiful, the night was beautiful, hyunjin's smile was beautiful, the way hyunjin felt was beautiful, his scent was beautiful, everything was beautiful, hyunjin himself was beautiful.

Their way back was full of jokes and teasing, no matter what their relationship with eachother is, one thing was for sure that they'll never miss a chance to tease eachother, specifically hyunjin.

***

Minho's room number was 501 where hyunjin's was 608. So today hyunjin got the chance to drop his boyfriend off (so drama-ish).

"Stop it hwang. "

"Let me walk you hyunggg, pweasee." Hyunjin tugged onto the others jacket with a whiny pout.

"Got it , got it."

Even though minho was acting this way from the outside, but truth to be told, he was loving it.

At minho's dorm:-

When minho entered the room , jisung was sleeping peacefully. But by the time he removed his jacket and shoes jisung was up on the bed. Ready to shoot loads of questions.

"It's 3 in the morning sungie, go to sleep, I'll you tommorow." Minho said knowing his friend way too well, adjusting himself I'm his comforter and turning off the lamps.

"Dang! Just tell me how it went then,"

"It was well. Wait, well is an understatement. "

"You better tell me each and every detail tommorow! "

"Got it, goodnight~"

Seems like neither minho or hyunjin were gonna sleep tonight.

At hyunjin's dorm:-

Hyunjin expected Felix to be waiting for him, excited to know what happened between them two. But as soon as hyunjin entered the dorm, he saw that te lights were off and Felix was sleeping like a 2 year old in front of the laptop screen, where drama was still playing on it.

He tucked the boy under the comforter on his bed properly.

Hyunjin went to his own later , somehow his hand unconsciously touching his lips. And te man was smiling like a weirdo , feeling of minho's soft lips was still lingering on his own. He spent the remaining night burying his face in pillow and throwing his legs up and down, remembering the events.

His head was replaying the scene where minho tilted hyunjin's face and the way his-

STOP IT HWANG HYUNJIN !

STOP IT LEE MINHO !

The case was the same with both. But eventually they drifted to sleep , thanks to the work their university gave.

(I saw a tiktok where hyunjin mentioned about his bucketlist and him wishing to have a late night snack at those red snack cart...)

[pen-observing]

request: how lucifer, mammon, satan, belphegor and diavolo react and find out about you having 'I now own your soul' under the terms and conditions of a webpage.

Lucifer:

While Lucifer is certainly busy all the time, and tries to balance it by having you in his study as he works, he can’t hide how tired he has actually been for the past 4 weeks.

All you know is that Diavolo has made the meetings more frequent and they are taking a toll on him

And since he means that much to you, regardless of if you wish to acknowledge it or not, you have to ask what is going on once he stands up and walks over to reach for another bottle from his shelf Lucifer does not drink that often and he certainly doesn’t try to avoid work by drinking.

Just what could be making him act this way?

“Lucifer, you have to tell me what is going on.”

He stands on his side of the desk just pouring another glass down.

Curse him for being elegant and showing his forearms while doing so!

And then he dares to look at you with full focus and furrowed eyebrows and he is about to say something and he looks like-

‘no. You are human.’

Fuck.

“Come on! You know I won’t tell anyone!”

He does trust you at least after so long.

"Very well. I will tell you since it has something to do with a human. If, by any chance, you spread the information, the price you pay will be a heavy one."

He can’t intimidate you that much but you know when he is serious.

"You see, recently, Diavolo has had more issues than ever with someone we like to call ‘code soul stealer"

“Uhn,, and that is?”

He takes a sip of his drink and holds the glass while looking at you.

“Apparently, a pesky human added ‘I now own your soul’ in their terms and conditions on a web page and some application. With this, they have stolen many souls and Diavolo has grown even more concerned these past few weeks since the page is just gaining popularity.”

Oh fuck, oh fuck. Thats you that he is calling a pesky human! You only did it as a joke because you saw a meme! It wasn’t supposed to make an enemy out of you to the prince of hell!

How are you supposed to tell Lucifer that? How will he react?

Maybe if you do tell him it will actually create more good than harm?

Or, you could hide it for the rest of your life and- no! The honest way with Lucifer is the best way. He trusts you enough so you have to trust him too!

“Lucifer...I am the pesky human you are referring to...”

He drops the glass. 

“I swear I had no idea souls were actually real and now I own a lot of them! O-On the good side I went viral 4 weeks ago so...oh, that is why you’ve been so busy....sorry.”

Lucifer says nothing.

He just falls into the chair in the most dramatic way you’ve ever seen.

He covers his face with both hands and groans into them loudly.

If you were not ‘code soul stealer’ you would laugh at him right now. But he has to figure out a way to protect you now.

Mammon:

You see, dating Mammon means that you two will bicker plenty.

However, it is usually silly stuff that you bicker about like; are gold or silver lines better on this cup of tea or not?

He just loves you too much to get into a serious argument with you.

However, Levi dragged you both to play a spy/heist game that just came out and Mammon cannot accept to lose such a challenge.

He is not proud that people call him thief, but he is proud and believes he has the skills to back up his many enrichment-plans

So the fact that you won against him for 3 times in a row is UNNACCEPTABLE under this dark, dark sky.

Mammon denies it all. ‘i went easy on you’; ‘I did it cuz you are happy when you win’ and ‘please, don’t you know who I am? I am THE Mammon!”

And while he is cute while bickering, sometimes it becomes unbearable.

So, you do what any normal human would: you challenge him by listing your biggest ‘heist’ ever.

“You don’t know who you are talking to! I have created a heist unlike any other! I have stolen a million souls so far! The DevilTV refers to me as – unstoppable soul collector!”

Levi left long ago so Mammon is standing there completely stunned with the stupidest look on his face so far. He kind of looks like a blowfish.

Still, he runs and puts a hand over your mouth and whispers:

“Don’t yell! We don’t want others to know that we run that business!”

Excuse him? Who is this –we- he speaks of?

“You will add your boyfriend to those plans, won’t you?”

Mammon will not let shock stand in the way of money or souls. You can explain to him how you managed that later but for now – just add him as your accomplice.

Satan:

You love your boyfriend.

You really, really do.

You love seeing him so excited and focused on finding clues to the newest Devildom mystery that you chose to let him have his fun by not telling him YOU were the one he was searching for.

And while you love him that much, you are about to ruin the whole game.

Why does he think it is appropriate to own 48 pairs of the same Sherlock Holmes outfit with THE UGLIEST MATCHING HATS YOU HAVE EVER LAID YOUR EYES ON.

First, he wore them in his ‘detective office’ only. Also known as the Lamentation house storage room for cleaning products. And that was fine, it was.

But then he started to wear them inside the house and in the garden. The saddest day was when a cat knocked the ugly hat off and ran away with it. Oh praise that cat! Praise the little paws!

However, he has gone too far.

He knows no bounds and shows no signs of stopping.

He started wearing the outfits OUTSIDE! In the middle of cobblestone paths of the main street while you were trying to have a nice date!

"Who knows where the soul snatching culprit could be hiding? I must wear this outfit everywhere to catch their clues. Trust me.”

That is it.

If one more iguana-looking-ass demon points their finger at you two and snickers as you walk past – he will have a rude wake up call.

How is it possible that he is trying to catch the culprit that is you but doesn’t pay any attention to you?

So, when you arrive home and he walks into the mop closet to add another unrelated photo to his crazy whiteboard as a clue – you tell him to sit down for a moment.

“Satan, honey, I have something to tell you about your soul snatching culprit.”

That definitely got his attention.

Finally! He is actually looking at you!

You lean down and gently kiss his head.

“I am the culprit you’re looking for. How does it feel to completely miss something right under your nose?”

He freezes up and throws a pen towards the whiteboard. It just bounces off and hits him in the back.

“You....you mean to tell me that,,, the biggest Devil Mystery TV phenomenon is ACTUALLY YOU?”

You are met with complete disbelief. Satan demands a detailed explanation on how you did it. He even tells you to use his whiteboard to retrace your steps!

...good luck...

Belphegor:

Will Belphegor ever actually publicly say that he has changed because of you? No.

Will he ever actually admit that to other brothers besides Beel when they’re talking in the late hours of the night in their room? Oh, absolutely not.

Will he tell you? Yes.

Yes but.. He will leave something out.

Sometimes Belphie looks at how you smile and remembers things that make him famous in this realm.

Yes, he is one of the most powerful demons and yes, he has a reputation of rebellion and the biggest steak of unattendance in RAD but

He is also a fairly famous scholar.

His papers and research are cited on the regular.

But when you smile and say a witty joke – he remembers that most of them focus around him proving just how dumb or naïve humans actually are.

But, you’re human and he hopes that you never see those.

Except that you do.

Because he is so famous it is no surprise that while looking for research papers to reference for your next assignment you saw his name while browsing through

And while you love him - you will not allow him to just diss the whole mankind.

So, you grab one of them from the library. Walk home, go to the attic while he is napping and open it up, putting it right on his face.

It takes a couple of seconds but he feels something is wrong and his hand reaches for it.

When he pulls it away, he is met with his thesis that was further developed from the seduction speech class assignment.

It sets it up as: ‘Seduction speech as a matter of blatant deception that humans always fall for but could never recreate.’

You are not even that mad at it to be honest.

But proving him wrong is always fun. And little does he know about your biggest secret ever.

“I will cut right to the chase and say – fix your bangs I want to see the way your eyes look when I tell you this!”

“I wonder who messed up my bangs with the academic paper in the first place?” is what he replies but his hand is already on his forehead.

“Whatever. Prepare to be amazed! I am the one the elders of the devildom are always ranting about on TV! Yes, I am the ‘pesky little human’ who is stealing away ‘edible’ souls! How is that for your thesis now? Is that not true deception?!”

He likes your smile still. You’re standing in front of the bed looking at him with sparkling eyes and clenched fists while striking a pose. It is silly really but he smiles.

Because you are.

And while he will ask you a bit more about that claim, he is just happy to know that maybe his next academic paper (which everyone eagerly awaits) will be tad more positive to your kind.

Diavolo:

You got an urgent call from Barbatos.

On the doorstep he told you that Diavolo needs you in his study.

What could you do that Barbatos can’t and will help Diavolo? Does such a thing even exist?

You walk inside of his office and are pretty sure Barbatos did not want to go inside because of the fact that a rat could be hiding under the mountain of papers that are all around the room.

Usually, Diavolo immediately stands up, lights up the room with his smile and stretches out his hands for a hug.

Now? He hears the doors open and looks at you with a weak smile while his head is resting on his elbows from behind the desk.

He has never looked worse.

“Barbatos said you called for me?”

You are unsure where to begin with this so you state a fact while thinking of questions to ask.

“He has? I have done no such thing?”

Great. Now both of you are confused.

“Can you tell me what is going on?”

Diavolo sighs and his smile is still nowhere to be seen.

“The elders have been so annoying lately. I understand that the biggest threat to the Devildom and everyone’s life here still has not been identified but there is nothing I can do except search!”

Just what threat is that? What could be making Diavolo so miserable?

“They keep comparing me to my father without actually offering any ways of fixing this!”

“I will try to offer some way if you tell me what the threat is!”

There you are, making a grand exclamation and promise while trying to avoid papers on the floor. Diavolo sighs again.

“A human is ruining our business! They somehow set up a page that allowed them to own souls by consent in some application under the terms and conditions. I mean, this has never happened before! Humans were never expected to think of that or have access to such means! And the name they used was fake. How am I supposed to find them and then burn them in the darkest pits of hell as the elders want me to?”

You stop trying to avoid the papers.

Did...did he just say darkest pits of hell? Did he just say the elders want YOU burned?!

How are you supposed to fix this? It was a fucking joke! You did not imagine this could ever happen!

“Diavolo you promised you would protect me no matter what, right?”

His eyes are serious when you say that. “Yes. I will. Is something amiss?”

“Diavolo.... I am the enemy your elders want to burn.. PLEASE DON’T LET THEM! MY SKIN JUST ADJUSTED TO THIS TEMPERATURE!”

Diavolo looks at you and laughs like never before. It is cute, it is childlike. His laugh finally lights up the room.

He thinks you are joking.

He thinks you are joking and abruptly stops once he realizes that you did not join in on the laugh.

You were just trying to crack a joke and make him feel better, right? There is no way that is true, right? But judging from your reaction he knows it is.

So, he grows serious once more.

He runs to embrace you.

“Please tell me you are willing to make a compromise because the elders do not care about how your skin adjusts to the temperature.”