#i’m gonna try to sneak it into all of my art from now on

[chipsoda]

epic girl compilation

[suempu]

HAI i forgot if i requested this already but can you do hc’s for laios or kabru with amab reader? gn reader is okay if not ❤️

dom reader for laios’ part + switch kabru + tall man reader + nsfw + amab !!!

<3

kabru.

he likes playing a certain push and pull game with you, the art of trying to be the more dominant one whenever you two get intimate. its similar to a wrestling match and a chess game to him, which makes it enjoyable and fun.

although if you asked him which position you’d like to be for the night, he’d agree (but not without a few cheeky teasing, its kabru after all).

he’s roughly your height, about 2-4 inches apart. loves to rest his forehead on yours because of it. just the feeling of closeness and warmth of your skin makes him happy.

like from my previous kabru hcs, he’s very attentive, especially as a lover. hugging, cuddling or just laying your head on his shoulder is your main source of comfort whenever he pulls you away from the party or during alone time.

if you’re as tall as him, he likes to put his head on your chest and just nap. kind of like a cat with the way he nuzzles into you.

regardless if he takes the lead in bed or not, he will always be unfair and cheeky. whenever you come out on top, he’ll be disobedient and bratty. but only in a way that gets you mildly annoyed.

“get on the bed, i’ll prep you.” you smile, huffing as you sit on the edge.

“but what if i don’t want to?”

you frown at him. “its gonna hurt.”

“what if i want it to hurt?”

you gave him a deadpan expression. “get on the fucking bed.”

he’ll laugh it off, he finds it fun to mess with you.

laios.

if you’re tall then he’s like about 4-6 inches higher than you, which is the perfect height for you to give him surprise pecks. you could literally just talk to him normally, look at him and just sneak in a kiss. he’ll need a few seconds to process it, making you laugh before he blushes and smiles.

laios loves your praise of course, especially in bed, but if you say it in a gentle voice, it gets him kinda giddy.

“so behave. thank you, baby.” cooing at him, you rub the space under his eyes.

he’s a grown man and he’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but knowing that you love him and that you’re always there to support him will never fail to have an effect on his heart.

he loves to be loved and loves to love (if that makes sense.)

i’ve mentioned it before, how laios would accidentally break some stuff during sex but there was an instance where he scratched your back while squeezing too tight that it lead to you actually spraining a muscle.

he got so guilty afterwards, he refused to touch your dick or any lower part of your body for a whole month. laios was on the verge of tears but you merely laughed it off and kissed his cheekbone.

“i feel so bad. i’m sorry!” he yells hysterically.

you were in front of the mirror, turning around to inspect yourself before smirking at the red marks on your back. “i dunno, i kinda like this one.”

now laios likes being in your lap, not really sitting on it but he lays on it similarly to how a dog would. his torso is on your lap while his head rests on your stomach. he loves the head pats and the affection after all.

[ellethespaceunicorn]

The Howling of Claw Creek Forest, Chapter One

Chapter One: Hide and Seek 

Rating: Mature, 18+, Minors - DNI 

Pairing: Werewolf!Walter Marshall x Reader 

Word Count: 2.7K 

Series Summary: You live in a small town called Claw Creek, surrounded by a deep, dark forest. Since you were a kid, an urban legend of the creature in the woods has been told. If the distant howls at night and mutilated livestock are anything to go by, you fear the stories to be true. 

Chapter Summary: After a curfew is set in place, you and your best friend sneak out past the town border for a drunken game of hide and seek. What could go wrong? 

Warnings: drinking, peril, mention of blood 

A/N: A special thank you to @peyton-warren for being my lovely beta and soundboard for this.  

Dividers by me 

Support/Reblog banner by me 

Cover Art by me 

Series Masterlist 

My Masterlist 

“C’mon, girl. You need to get out of the house for more than just work and the coffee shop. Look, we’ll even stay in town. Just please don’t make me stay in and watch The Great British Bake Off again. Paul Hollywood’s eyes still haunt my dreams.” Your best friend drapes herself against the couch in a dramatic show of boredom. 

“Liv, you’re the one that agreed to wine and TV. So, what? You wanna hit the bar now?” You guess, sitting on the arm of the couch. 

“Yuck. No way. I was thinking of something much more exciting. But you gotta agree to it before we go. That’s the deal.” She props her head up on her fists, while she lays on her stomach, letting her feet swing in the air back and forth. As innocent as she looks, you knew better. 

But then again, you could always go for a little adventure.  

And that is how you ended up in a clearing in Claw Creek Forest with Olivia, a heart full of optimism, and a six-pack of Jack Daniels Watermelon Punch. By the time you are halfway done with your second bottle, the sounds of the night are almost calming. Crickets are chirping, owls are hooting, and leaves are rustling in the light wind that tickles your neck. 

You’re downing the rest of your drink and looking up into the sky when Liv suddenly stands up with a look that can only mean one thing. She’s got a terrible idea that she thinks is genius. 

You decide to stop her before she even starts, “Girl, whatever idea just popped into your head after two wine coolers is not gonna be as brilliant as you think it is. Just say it so I can turn it down.” You twist off the top of your third bottle and look up at the defeated face of your best friend. 

“Damn, way to try and spoil all the fun. I just wanted to have a chugging contest.” She sits down on the fallen log next to you and grabs the last bottle from the cardboard pack. She twists off the top and you nudge her with your elbow before winking at her. 

You smile at each other before bringing your bottles to your lips. The rush of the bubbly drinks makes you both stop every few sips to breathe and burp a little. But in the end, you finish your bottle first and shoot up off the log to slam down your empty bottle. 

The moment you are upright, the blood rushes to your head and you instantly feel ten times more drunk. A few seconds later, you feel like you even out and you can hear Liv’s laughing as she falls backward off the log and her drink goes flying. You crumple to the ground, laughing your ass off, until she pops up over the log with a small scowl on her face. 

“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?” She stands up and brushes off her pants before picking up her now empty bottle along with yours. Her little attitude is adorable, but you don’t dare say that. As she walks past you, she doesn’t look at you. 

“Olivia, don’t be like that. Come on, girl. We’re having a good time! I don’t want it to end. Please?” You’re not too proud to beg, and she’s not the only one who can pout charmingly. 

When she turns around, the first thing she does is look at your pout and scoff, “OK, fine. But I’m only staying if we play a game of hide and seek. It’s spooky season, after all. Well, technically, in my head it’s always spooky season, but you get it.”  

“You wanna play hide and seek...in the woods...in the dead of night...drunk?” You hoped there was enough moonlight so that she could see the incredulous look on your face. 

Wiggling her eyebrows, Liv bites her bottom lip and says, “All of those things together are so perfect. We’re drunk. It’s nighttime. Spoo-ooky woods all around. Come on, babe, the kid versions of us would be so proud to say we weren’t too scared to play hide and seek as adults with barely any wits about us.” As soon as she finishes speaking, the cutest little hiccup escapes her, and you can’t help but laugh and shake your head. 

“Fine! But I’m hiding first. Count to 30 so my drunk ass can find a good spot around here. And don’t cheat, Liv!” You direct her to face a tree and cover her eyes so she cannot sneak a peek at where you are going. You also make her count loudly so that she can barely hear your footsteps crunching over the leaves. 

Even drunk, you are surprised you can think of all that. You back up slowly, turning around to run in a full sprint in the opposite direction. When the tree cover blocks out the light of the moon, you slow down and pull out your phone to use the flashlight to light up your way. 

You don’t know if you got very far in 30 seconds or if Liv just stopped counting, but you can’t hear her anymore. You turn off your flashlight so she can’t use that to find you. You tip-toe forward in case she has gotten closer to you. You find a tree with large roots above ground and decide to try and hide in the little alcove it is shaped into. 

But something catches your eye. At first, you think someone is shining a flashlight or something a bit away from you. But flashlights don’t usually blink, do they? But if you can remember correctly, you’ve seen those glowing yellow eyes before.  

And now they were slowly moving toward you. The glow of the moon illuminated dark fur covering pointed ears and a muzzle that only hid its teeth for a moment. As those fangs came into view, a billow of hot breath turned into a smoke cloud in the frigid night air. The sudden huff of the beast made you realize you weren’t moving. You were standing stock-still while an imposing wolf thought about making you into its dinner.  

Turning on a dime, you begin to run further into the forest. Not looking where you were going, you didn’t see the pile of rocks in your path. Your right foot slips, and you fall face-first onto the unyielding ground. You grunt as your head connects with a sharp stone. Your head starts to swim as you try to lift yourself to continue running, another huff directly behind you scares you enough to flip over onto your back.  

Ringing starts in your ears, and you suddenly feel light-headed. You start to hyperventilate as the wolf comes closer. As tunnel vision closes in, you think you hear it whine softly. The last thing you feel is a wet snout against your temple and then nothingness. 

What was once the sensation of cold wetness is replaced by warmth as you start to regain consciousness. You reach a hand up to your forehead and feel a wet cloth being pressed against your temple. When your hand touches what is holding it there, your eyes shoot open, and you try and scuttle away.  

A firm hand grips your shoulder, and you find it hard to move. Turning your head slowly, you first look at the hand that holds you down. Thick fingers clutch your joint tightly, and the connected veiny forearm is covered in a smattering of dark chocolate hair. Even under an old woolen sweater, you can see the outline of a sizable bicep. The broad chest breathing heavily under that sweater triggers the onset of hyperventilation until the hand that was holding your shoulder moves away. 

When a warm palm touches your jaw, your eyes threaten to close. But when a thumb brushes your cheek, you finally lock eyes with...an angel? 

You can’t tell if the dimly lit room you are in is fuzzy or if you have a concussion. But if you were a betting person, your money would be on head trauma. Because there was no way he positioned himself in front of a light to have a slight glow about him. Maybe that just works like that? 

Deep cocoa brown curls are about ear-length on his head, but a few unruly strands are hanging above his slightly raised brow. Concerned aquamarine eyes with a touch of brown in the left iris aren’t enough to hide the growing bags under them. A strong nose sits in the center of his face. And a small, yet inviting, mouth is outlined by a dark beard speckled with a few greys here and there. 

“...best you lie back down.” The stranger speaks and you only catch the last bit of it because you were looking at his pretty face. 

“I...,” You start, your hoarse voice causing you to clear your throat, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

“I said, it’s probably best you lie back down. You’ve got quite a lump on your head. If I hadn’t found you when I did, who knows what could have happened?” With one hand grabbing for the warm compress, his other hand guides you back down to lay your head on a soft pillow. 

“Found me? Was there a wolf near me? He was huge and he chased after me and then I slipped and hit my head. And where am I? Where are we right now? Who are you? I need to get back to my friend.” Your words exit your mouth hastily as if you are in a rush to get the hell out of...wherever this is. 

“Try and stay calm. Yes, I found you not far from the trail. I didn’t see a wolf anywhere, though,” He pauses quickly, but picks right back up where he left off, “Ehm, my name is Walter. Walter Marshall. We’re in my cabin, just outside of Claw Creek. I didn’t see your friend anywhere but, as soon as this swelling goes down a bit, I can take you into town.” Walter speaks clearly and smoothly, his voice is dark yet pacifying, but it’s obvious that he doesn’t enjoy talking.  

“I guess I should give you my name,” You rattle off your name, and Walter nods, “I’d like to say it’s nice to meet you, Walter. But considering the circumstances of our meeting, this could have gone a lot differently. Not the way I hoped to end the night.” You laugh, mostly to yourself. 

“I should hope not. When I found you, you were still bleeding a bit. I was able to stitch you up and get you cleaned up. But I’d probably go and see a doctor first thing in the morning.” Walter suggests in a strong tone. 

“Thank you, Walter. I hate to think what would’ve happened to me had you not shown up when you did.” Your bottom lip quivers as you think the worst. 

“Hey. You’re stronger than you think. And the swelling has gone down some. Why don’t we get you back to town where you can get more rest?” Walter pats your shoulder and gets up from the chair he was sitting in. 

Your eyes follow him as he moves about the cabin. You realize that you hadn’t looked around before, so focused on him previously. It’s a nice, cozy place. Full of warm, rich colors and various little knickknacks on shelves. It lacks a woman’s touch, so to speak, what with all the antlers and not enough candles to cover the smell of a man. However, it suits the man who lives here. 

Grabbing a set of keys, Walter comes back to where you lay on the couch in the center of the room. He gently and slowly helps you up and off the soft furniture and guides you to his truck parked outside. He helps you into the passenger side, shutting the door when you’re seated, and walks around the front to get in the driver’s side. Turning the key in the ignition, the truck rumbles to life and you are on your way home. 

You’re rubbing your hands together and shoving them into your coat pockets before Walter gets the hint to turn on the heat. It’s only a couple of minutes before it is warm enough to be comfortable.  

The drive down the tree-lined road is mostly silent, save for the low music playing on the radio. Walter points out where he found you and you almost can’t believe you made it that far on foot when you reach the edge of town. But you were drunkenly competitive, so you had your eyes on the prize. 

Once you make it to town, you pass a curfew checkpoint and Walter supplies the officer with a story about how you two lost track of time while out of town. You thank him for the cover and direct him to stop at Olivia’s house to make sure she got home safely. Of course, you told him it was your place, and that Liv was your roommate. 

As handsome as he was, serial killers come in all shapes and sizes and no way were you giving this man your actual address. You’d apologize to Liv later. 

Once he stopped outside of her house, you went to unbuckle yourself and thank Walter for all his help. Protocol for this type of situation eluded you, so when you went for the door handle, you weren’t expecting his voice to stop you. 

“Do me a favor and be careful from now on. No more late-night drinking in the forest. It can be a dangerous place." His calm smile brings out the most adorable dimples and you resist the urge to poke them. 

“I promise. Scout’s honor. No more drunk forest parties. Thank you again for everything.” You place your hand on his arm and squeeze before exiting the truck and waving as you walk up the pathway to Liv’s house. 

The light on the porch turns on and your best friend rushes out and hugs you tightly, bringing you in from the cold as Walter drives off into the night. Once you are in the warmth of her home, she takes your coat and prepares you a cup of tea. She asks who brought you home and you tell her about your ordeal. 

When she asked if he was cute, you shouldn’t have been surprised but you still giggled bashfully. She also playfully swats you when you mention that you didn’t get his number. But that’s fine because at least you have his name.  

Once she deems you safe enough to be on your own, she drives you the few streets over to your home and has you promise to call her in the morning. You take off your boots at the door, remove your coat, and start to sling it over the back of one of your dining room chairs. As you look closer at your coat, you make a note to take it to the cleaners tomorrow. 

You survey the coat for any damage to the fabric and thankfully it just looks a bit dirty. You begin to wipe it with your hand and notice that it’s not all dirt on the coat. You can’t be sure, but if you had to guess what was on the sleeve and collar of the coat, you would say it was dog hair. 

Coarse, short dark-colored hairs that when you hold them under a lamp look to be an inky brown. You try and stop yourself from jumping to conclusions, but it is almost impossible not to do that very thing. If these truly were what you thought they were, that means that you didn’t hallucinate that giant wolf. He was there with you, and he didn’t eat you. 

You decided to get to the bottom of this. You’d schedule a check-up with your doctor in the morning. And after that, you would go back into the woods.  

In search of the wolf? Possibly. In search of the truth? Definitely. 

There was only one place to start. At Walter Marshall’s front door. 

To be continued... 

A/N: Walter is finally in the story!! Yay. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

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[noharaaa]

𝒮𝓌𝒶𝓃𝙋𝙪𝙣𝙠: 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (sneak peek)

Pairing: Hobie Brown x Josephine Jameson! Fem!Spider-Ballerina OC!

Author’s Note: A glimpse of Jobie's first official meeting shown here. This is a draft version, so the actual material may alter from this but still have the same general idea once I release it.

This beautiful spider OC belongs to anon tagged below. Please check out their blog if you haven’t yet. They post a wonderful Jobie art.

⠀͓ ↷˚‧⁺ @qirarey123 ╰┄ི͙┈ 𖡼࿔

Enjoy Reading!

╰᭡⿴༘͜─𖧷̷۪۪᪇ ༘᪇𖧷̷۪۪⃟ꦽ⃟:: ᰰ۪۪꧇⿴༘⃕▦᰷᰷ᰰ

The constant flow of self-doubts and criticisms that surged through Josephine's mind was unrelenting, refusing to allow her to find fulfilment in anything she did.

Whenever she tried to accomplish something, there was always a voice there to remind her of her mistakes, her shortcomings, her inadequacies.

Failure. Never good enough.

And so, once again, Josephine found herself sinking in a hopeless spiral of self-sabotage, drowning in a sea of her own negativity...

Why can’t I be perfect? Why can’t I be enough? Why do I even try? Why can’t I just….-

“You got some jacked-up footwear, innit, little miss?“

The unexpected remark quickly jolted the poor dancer out of her self-pitying thoughts, catching her completely off guard. She whirls her head around to face whomever had spoken, her brain still fogged up from everything that had just happened. She wasn't even sure if she'd heard correctly,

“My footwear…what?”

There you go. She has no idea what he had just said.

Despite the gloomy atmosphere, her eyes are drawn towards the man's exceptional stature. He's leaning right next to the doorway, arms and legs crossed as he gazes at her from a distance. His height is added by the impressive volume of his hair, creating an overall imposing aura. However, his appearance is nothing compared to the weight of her own troubles, which continue to press down on her.

Josephine is taken aback from the sudden approach, still slightly confused until she spots him eyeing her shoes. She follows his gaze, looking down to the soles of her feet.

Her pointe shoes are completely worn out.

She sighs, acknowledging their horrible condition yet again before looking back up at him.

She is so done.

“What, you’re not gonna respond with any zingers? Come on, have a bit of backbone, I don’t bite.” He smirked, “Well, at least I don’t bite hard anyway.”

Her head tilts slightly in uncertainty as she raises an eyebrow. His speech is happening so quickly that she begins to notice it. It was hard for her to understand nearly everything he said just now considering his heavy accent.

“I’m sorry…what???”

“I said I don’t bite. Do I actually need to slow down for you? Or would that hurt that spider-pride of yours?”

As it only takes her a few lengthy seconds to absorb his response to her head, she narrows her gaze once more, “What is that supposed to mean? And what does pride have to do with hearing?”

Perhaps this man was right about her... She'd been so consumed in her own thoughts and issues that she hadn't even realized that her shoes were practically falling apart. Now, as she gazes down at them in humiliation, she can't help but be caught off-guard by his boldness.

He leans back against the wall, shifting his footing slightly to get more comfortable as he replies,

“The joke. It just whizzed right over… nevermind. Listen, I don’t wanna get your little spider-brain all twisted like those shoes of yours. But, it looks like you’ve been stomping through a forest of thorns, bruv.”

A few seconds would pass as Josephine ponders what to say. It is hard to get a good read on him. He appears to be messing with her. Judging by the tone of his voice, she can sense that he’s trying to get a rise out of her.

She narrowed her eyes, annoyed at him once again for bringing it up. After a few short seconds of silence she spoke,

“What is it with you and my shoes? Like, who even cares?”

“I cares, Frenchie. You can't be runnin' away from a stinker like this with them ratty clown shoes. What, you gonna be scuttling off in one direction while your shoes take off in the other? Bloody hell mate..."

Josephine is now visibly irritated by his persistence, despite the faint feeling of amusement seeping through the cracks of her frustrations, "And it's not that big of a deal, I can literally just get a new pair of shoes, okay? ….Merde.”

Il se prend pour qui, cet Anglais?-

"Well, I figured a ballerina like yourself would at least pay more attention to her footwork! But in all seriousness, your shoes are so worn out, they look less like pointe shoes and more like point...less...shoes..."

Wow.

Her own laugh surprises her a little.

It happened so suddenly, he caught her off guard.

She looks down at them again and notices a few more details he hadn't mentioned. As it was, her shoes looked more like something you'd see at a dumpster dive than in a ballet studio. After a quick glance back up at the man. She was still kind of mad though, only because he made her laugh this time.

Her sudden reaction makes him smirk even more.

"You're supposed to be pissed, not laughing at my dumb jokes, Twinkle Toes."

She flashes a tiny grin, locking eyes with him once more as she states, “Well maybe your jokes are stupid enough that I cant get mad.”

"Good. I don't want you to get all upset. You’ve already got enough on your plate with those nasty shoes of yours."

Maybe she should focus on not stepping on anymore thorns.

╰᭡⿴༘͜─𖧷̷۪۪᪇ ༘᪇𖧷̷۪۪⃟ꦽ⃟:: ᰰ۪۪꧇⿴༘⃕▦᰷᰷ᰰ

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[pinkroseblooms]

Hippity-Hop into Your Heart

Summary: Usahara is all too happy to play the role of boyfriend so you can shake off a creep, but of course, the night ends with him developing an all too real crush. 4.1 k A/N: Art from Gaku Kaze! Usahara Tobikichi/F!Reader. I have a soft spot for this dumb bunny and I think he needs more love. Enjoy! TW: Stalking, cursing (mostly for reader getting called a b*tch by said stalker).

Usahara’s drunk. Again. 

The night has hardly begun and he keeps slumping over the table, cheeks flushed and eyes bleary while he struggles to sit upright. “I wish I was funny.”

“I wish you were sober.” Uramichi slides another glass of water, moving aside the collection of empty shot glasses. “I thought we were only doing beer.”

“We should order motsu nikomi for him.” Kumatani suggests; he’s only on his third beer. 

They did start a bit later than expected for a weeknight. There’s hardly anyone else at the tables around them; hopefully Usahara doesn’t end up getting them kicked out for disturbing the peace. A server comes around with their next round of beers and Kumatani speaks up to request more water while they look over their options for food.

“I want gyoza!” Usahara slurs. “And a girlfriend. Ugh. I really want a girlfriend.” 

“You can have one of those things.” Kumatani glances at the paper menu. “Seeing as how gyoza’s on the menu and you’re a degenerate, let’s keep this based in reality.”

“I’m not a general!”

“Let’s leave him here.” Uramichi whispers, leaning over to Kumatani on his left. “He’ll pass out soon enough.”

“I’m drunk, not deaf.” Usahara grumbles; he sighs and sheds his jacket. “It’s hot. Can we get ice cream?”

“Why do you drink so much when you know you can’t handle booze?” Kumatani rests his chin on his hand. “If you think I’m paying your tab, you’ve got another thing-”

“Honey! There you are, sorry I’m late, I was stuck at the office.”

Usahara raises his head up; there’s a girl sliding into the booth seat next to him. For a split second, he thinks he might be having a hallucination, but you scoot closer and touch his arm with a strained smile. Not to mention Uramichi and Kumatani are also staring at him and you, visibly taken aback at this stranger joining their table, so Usahara is 100% positive the alcohol isn’t making him see things.

“I’m sorry.” You’re leaning in to whisper in his ear, still smiling but now your voice is considerably less cheerful. “A man’s been following me since I left my job.”

“What?” Usahara straightens up and stares at you, bewildered, trying to keep his tone low. “Did he come in?”

“He followed every time I changed directions.” You pretend to look at Uramichi and Kumatani but you’re actually sneaking a peek at the entrance. “He’s outside in the smoking area. I think he’s waiting.”

Usahara glances at the door; there is a man outside. It’s not easy to make his features out, but he can see him turn his head to look into the bar. 

“I’m sorry to intrude.” You drop your fake smile. “This place is the closest building with people and I thought he would keep following me if I sat down by myself. Could I wait here until he leaves? I’ll pay for your next round.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Uramichi frowns. “Do you want to call the police?”

“No, I mean, what could they do?” You release your grip on Usahara’s arm and give him some space. “He could just say he’s going the same way as me. I just didn’t want him to know where I live.”

“I’m going out there.” Kumatani stands up. 

“Oh please don’t!” You say hurriedly. “You really don’t have to get involved.”

“Scum like that need to have their asses kicked before they get the message. He looks weak.” Kumatani glares over at the door. “I’m not gonna be intimidated by some gross stalker.”

“But he could have a knife.” You say worriedly. “Even if he doesn’t, you’ll get in trouble for making things physical. Please, um…”

“Kumatani.” Usahara supplies. “He’s Kumatani, I’m Usahara, and that sad sack over there is Uramichi-”

“Kumantani, let’s use this drunk as a human shield.” Uramichi addresses the still standing Kumatani but his cold eyes are directly on Usahara’s. “If the creep has a knife, you’ll do your part as a concerned citizen, right?”

You glance around at the three of them. “Look, I already feel bad to bother you guys. I can get a ride; I doubt he’ll chase after a car, you know? I just,” you swallow hard; the last thing you want to do is start crying, not now in front of these strangers you had basically forced to be involved in this. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, okay?”

“Alright.” Kumatani finally takes his seat. “You’ve got a good point.”

“You must have been scared.” Uramichi looks at you with some sympathy. “I’m not eager to do any heroics myself and I don’t blame you for not wanting to stir the pot. How far away is your work?”

“About ten minutes. I work for a family, well, a few different families in the area.” You explain; your teeth have stopped chattering and your heart has stopped pounding. “I actually do babysitting and cleaning jobs. Today the parents went out for a date: they offered to drive me home, but they had a few drinks at dinner and I didn’t want to spend money on a ride share app when my place is so close. I actually come here every now and then to wind down after work…I didn’t think I’d be coming in tonight to escape that asshole.”

“Uh, so,"  Usahara clears his throat. “Why did you sit next to me? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Dude.”

“Are you serious?”

“What?” Usahara holds up his hands as if to block himself from the death glares being shot his way. “Just curious!”

“The seat next to you was empty.” You answer honestly. “Why else would I?”

“Because I’m…cute?” Usahara grins but it fades as you raise an eyebrow at him. “Sorry. Okay, no more joking: are you hungry? You might as well eat something, my treat.”

“I thought you were broke?” Kumatani snips. “I told you, I’m not covering your tab.” he turns to you. “Order what you want.”

“Ice cold.” Usahara crosses his arms. “I just so happen to have some extra funds. I helped my folks in their store earlier, so they floated me a few bucks.” he winks at you. “Since I’m playing your boyfriend, I should treat my girl to something nice.”

“You made your poor parents pay you for helping them?” Uramichi shakes his head somberly. “I didn’t think you could sink lower.”

“They insisted! I’m not gonna turn down money in this economy.”

“Don’t blame the economy for your piss poor spending habits.”

“They’re so mean.” Usahara pouts to you. “Aren’t you going to stand up for your boyfriend?”

You look at him for a moment before your face breaks out into a smile, a real one. Before you can stop, a laugh escapes you and you keep laughing until you start wheezing slightly. 

“Wow, I think you broke her psyche.” Uramichi comments lightly. 

“I’m so-sorry, really, I don’t mean to laugh at you!” Your voice cracks as you press your hands to your mouth. “Usahara? I’m sorry, you’ve all been so great to help me out.”

“I’m glad.” Usahara smiles bashfully, rubbing the back of his head; he realizes he must seem hilariously pathetic, but hey, it’s not like this is a real date. “If you’re laughing, it means you’re feeling better, yeah?”

Your giggles die off and you wipe your eyes. “I am.” with a deep sigh, you’re able to calm down and breathe normally. “I was really scared. Thank you. I feel better mostly.”

“You need a good laugh, I’m your guy.” Usahara hands you his untouched glass of water. “Here, it’s just plain water. Do you want a beer or something?”

“You know what? I could use a drink.” You confess tiredly. “So, what brings you guys here?”

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

Nearly two hours pass in the blink of an eye; Usahara plays his role well. He pours you drinks, stays close, but not too close to you, and even hand fed you a couple of snacks. To the casual observer, the four of you would never know you were all strangers.

Despite the cordial mood, Usahara kept up the charade, just in case the man outside was still lurking around, though they haven’t seen his profile in the window for some time now. It’s an unfortunate truth that some men will only back off if they know a girl already has a boyfriend who can potentially beat them up. Usahara, although not quite as intimidating looking in comparison to his friends, is the tallest and he does spend a good amount of time training on his own. He’s confident that if nothing else, all three of them are more than enough to take down one shady weirdo. 

It’s too bad though. Usahara can't smother the twinge of bit guilt he feels at how much fun he’s having; there’s no need for him to put up a front or try to play it cool since this is very much not a date. There’s no pressure to look good in front of you, so Usahara can relax and not think about what he says too much or how he holds himself. 

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s awesome!” You tell him excitedly, hands grabbing onto his arm as if to shake sense into him. “An absolute classic, how the heck have you never heard of Killer Clowns from Another Dimension? Do you even watch movies?”

“Sometimes” Usahara sips a new glass of water you made him order. “I can’t believe you’re judging me.”

“I saw it.” Kumatani raises his hand. “The effects are next level.”

“A man of culture.” You give him a thumbs up. “This guy knows. Uramichi, make Usahara apologize.”

“Don’t drag me into this.” Uramichi drones. “I don’t get what any of you are saying.”

“Now who needs to watch more movies.” 

“I saw one recently.” Uramichi cocks his head to the side. “It was a comedy; some idiot didn’t know when to stop running his mouth so his co worker buries him alive.”

“That’s a horror movie! If I go missing, you’re gonna be the first one the cops talk to.” Usahara clings to your arm. “Babe, tell him to leave me alone.”

“If you coddle him, he’ll never learn to shut his trap.”

“There, there, honey bunny.” You pat Usahara’s head lightly. “I promise to light a candle for you until they find the body.”

“You won’t even look for me?!”

“I think it’s more likely you’ll be disposed of by some loan sharks.” Kumatani deadpans but even he has a hint of a smirk on his lips. “Keep up the gambling and you’ll be found in a river instead of a shallow grave.”

“You guys are terrible and when I hit the jackpot none of you are seeing a cent.” Usahara tells them before leaning his head on your shoulder, sticking his tongue out at the both of them. “She’s been way nice to me and we only just met.”

“Because she doesn’t know how insufferable you are yet.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” You glance down at Usahara as he gives you puppy eyes. “He’s doing a pretty good job of letting me know.”

“Babe, not cool.” 

“Sorry, honey.” You giggle and poke his flushed cheek; it’s funny how comfortable you feel right now and you don’t think it’s because of the beers. Maybe it’s because Usahara has no filter; you were so tense before, yet now you’re joking and chatting like this was the plan, to show up and hang out with these odd characters. “So, what would you do if you won the lottery?”

“Hm…”

“You should pay your rent on time.” Uramichi remarks; he’s eating his own plate of mackerel, sashimi style. “It would be nice to never have to get up for work again.”

“I want to take time off and buy a boat.” Kumatani closes his eyes. “Just floating out to sea, nice and quiet, fresh saltwater air.”

“Lame.”

“Usahara.” You smack his shoulder lightly. “Knock it off.”

“Hey why are you defending that jerk?” 

“This jerk is going to leave you to pay for all our food and drinks if you keep running your mouth.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” You shake your head somberly in disapproval as Usahara sulks. “Apologize or you’re sleeping on the couch, mister.”

“You sound more like a naggy wife than a cute girlfriend…”

“What’s that?”

“Sorry.” Usahara bows his head. “Sorry, Kumatani.”

“Good one.” Kumantani reaches over to refill your glass with a fresh pour of beer. “I’ll lend you the Man-Eating Salmon boxset if you can keep him quiet for the rest of the night.”

Usahara sips his water as you grin at Kumatani; oh well. He gets it. On paper, Kumatani makes sense: even he admits, it was pretty cool how Kumatani was going to go out there and take on that creep head on. It’s not Usahara’s style; he’s scared to get beat up and can barely throw a punch. Sue him. Still, it stings that even on this pretend date, Kumatani is still showing him up. 

“Hey guys?” It’s Uramichi that breaks the silence. “I think that creep got tired of waiting.”

They all look to the door; it’s not clear at first, but from your shaken expression, it’s apparent the man who’s made his way inside the bar is the same one who was stalking you. The smile is gone from your face; he’s approaching the table with an almost apologetic smile. He looks like a fairly normal person, to Usahara’s slight surprise, not like a thug or anything. Hell, he looks more intimidating. 

“Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping to get your number?” 

“What?” You sink into your seat. “That’s why you followed me?”

“Followed? I didn’t do anything like that.” The man looks surprised. “I go here all the time. I just saw you, thought I’d shoot my shot, you know? Besides, I don’t need anyone’s permission to come inside and have a drink-”

“Excuse me, but we’re trying to have dinner.” Usahara stares at the man blankly. “We saw you out there. If you just came to eat here coincidentally, why were you lurking outside?”

“I wasn’t-”

“Cut the bullshit.” Kumatani glares at the man, grip tightening on his mug like he wants to smash it against the offending stranger’s head. “Get the hint already, asshole.”

“You’re making everyone uncomfortable.” A dark look crosses Uramichi’s face; he’s poised as though he’s about to rise from his chair. “I think you ought to leave. She’s not interested.”

“Let her tell me herself-”

“She shouldn’t have to talk to some freak hounding her in the dark.” Usahara takes his jacket and drapes it over your shaking shoulders; he puts his arm around you. “You’re bothering my girlfriend; who do you think you are? She doesn’t owe you shit.” he forces himself to temper his anger and speaks to you gently. “Don’t feel like you have to say anything, okay babe? You haven’t done anything; it’s not your fault this loser is bugging you.”

“Fuck you.” The man snaps, posture rigid; he’s shaking, but he doesn’t move any closer. “I didn’t do anything, this bitch-”

“Don’t call her that!” Usahara stands up, but doesn’t try to attack the man; he stands in front of you, arms out slightly to obscure you from the stranger’s eyes. “You can either get your ass handed to you by my buddies-”

“Really? What are we, you bodyguards?”

Usahara ignores Kumantani’s dry stare. “-or leave in handcuffs.” he makes sure you’re blocked from view. “Your choice.”

“Go to hell.” 

But the confrontation ends there. With a sneer, the man storms out of the bar, rather quickly in fact; one of the staff members comes out from behind the counter with a concerned frown and asks if she needs to call the cops. Kumatani explains the situation and Uramichi actually goes himself to check if the man is just hiding around the corner of the bar. Usahara stays with you; despite how relieved you are, tears come to your eyes, dripping down your face.

“It’s okay.” Usahara hands you some napkins. “Do you need these?”

“Thank you.” You sniff and blow your nose into the offered napkins, but the tears aren’t stopping. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t even tell that asshole off, it was like I couldn’t even speak. I feel so dumb for being scared.”

“Not gonna lie, I was kinda scared too; Uramichi still has him beat in the dead eyed stare competition though.” Usahara chuckles; he tentatively holds one of your hands; your palm is clammy and your fingers are cold. “Sorry you had to go through that. I really thought he had left; I think the owner’s gonna call the cops anyway, dude seemed unhinged.”

“Oh, your jacket,”

“You can hold onto it. Your hand’s freezing.” Usahara ignores the slight chill he feels as you squeeze his hand. “You want me to get you a hot tea or something? Sorry, I have no clue what to do for these kinds of situations.”

“You’ve done more than enough.” You smile at him; your cheeks and eyes are red and puffy. “Thank you; the only reason I was able to feel okay at all is because of you guys being so kind. I’m so sorry for all this.”

Usahara feels bad for your gratitude; he’s also angry. He’s half tempted to go outside himself and chase after that creep, but more than that, he could cry himself from how sad you look, how you actually felt like you had to apologize for someone else's horrible actions.

“Don’t apologize. Hell, I didn’t do anything.” Usahara has to stop himself from trapping you in a big bear (bunny?) hug. “Look, do you want one of us to take you home? It’s past midnight and sometimes you get creepy drivers on that app if you request a ride this late at night.” Usahara averts his eyes to the table, trying to sound assuring despite the pit forming in his stomach. “Kumatani seems grumpy, but you won’t find anyone more reliable and Uramichi is a decent guy, even if he mopes a lot. They’ll keep you safe on your way home.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

You look nervous. “I trust you…of course, you’ve already helped me so much. I can walk home alone, I’ll pretend to be on the phone.”

“No, not at all!” Usahara scrambles to talk. “I’d be totally okay walking you home! Just leave it to Tobikichi Usahara, you won’t have anything to worry about!”

“Are you trying a stand up routine?” Uramichi reenters the booth, unmoved by Usahara’s objections. “Anyway, I think he’s really gone this time, but the owner’s still going to call the police and have them take a look around. I guess this isn’t the first time they’ve had a problem, she’s pretty sure it’s the same guy too. With any luck, he won’t be bothering anyone again.”

“I hope so.” You wipe your eyes. “Thank you, Uramichi; where’s Kumatani?”

“Settling your tab.”

“What?!” You gap at him, almost expecting this to be a joke. “That’s way too much, I was going to pay for you guys-”

“Give it a rest.”

“Uramichi!” Usahara is scandalized. “This is why girls don’t talk to you.Would it kill you to show a little tact? She's upset.”

“Are you seriously telling me that? Who asked you anyway? Look, I’m just saying, it’s no trouble.” Uramichi’s eyes soften a smidge as he looks at you. “Don’t get me wrong, I really hope this never happens again, but tonight was almost fun.”

Kumatani approaches the table, tucking away what you assume is a receipt in his wallet. “Let’s finish up and call it a night: Usahara, you owe me half the tab.”

“Saw that coming.” Usahara shrugs and manages a weak smile. “Fair enough; but I’m only paying for her and my stuff.”

“Okay.” Kumatani chuckles. “I expected you to put up a fuss like usual. We should invite your girlfriend out every time we get drinks.”

“Dude!” Usahara’s already flushed face turns bright red. “Jokes on you, I’m never inviting you guys out with us.” he sends you a lopsided grin. “If I win the jackpot, it’ll be dinner for two, wherever you want to eat.”

“Actually,” You fiddle with the sleeve of his jacket. “I was hoping we could all do this again sometime; you know, without the looming threat of being stalked. Is that weird?”

“You want to put up with us again?” Kumatani asks, but you can tell he’s mostly teasing. 

“I guess.” Uramichi concedes. “It’s nice to have a buffer.”

“Buffer? What, so you can ignore me and get drunk in peace?” Usahara sighs dramatically. “Well, that’s fine with me; having another person around makes your mood swings less stressful-ow, ow, ow! I’m sorry, I give up, you’re not moody!”

Uramichi stops grinding his fists on either side of Usahara’s temples. “Just take her home already and try not to fall over in the street.”

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

“So, that’s us.” Usahara laughs somewhat embarrassed. “Did you really have fun tonight?”

“Yeah.” You say honestly; you’re leading the way to your apartment, walking slow. “You’re looking pale; do you always drink that much?”

“....yeah…” Usahara admits reluctantly. “I know, I know, I’m a mess.”

“Without a doubt.” 

“So mean…”

“But you’re very nice.” You offer him with a half smile. “And brave.”

“Me?”

“Uh huh.”

Usahara stares at you from the corner of his eye; the street lights overhead shine a dim glow on your hair and face. You’re still wearing his smelly old jacket, a grease stain on the front from dropping fried chicken on himself the other day. It looks better on you.

“Uh oh.” Usahara could slap himself. “Dude, not cool. She’s been through enough tonight. You were pretending so she could feel safe. It’s not like she actually wants to date you. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the moment. She’s a nice girl who needed your help and as it stands, she doesn’t think you’re a complete loser. Let’s keep it that way and call this a win.”

“This is me.” You come to a stop in front of a complex Usahara has gone past quite a few times before. “I’d invite you in for tea, but I should be going to bed. Can I give you my number? If you want to hang out again sometime.”

“Sure thing.” Usahara switches phones with you. “Call, text, whatever; let me know when you’re free.”

“I’ll do that.” You nod and hand him back his cellphone. “Wait, don’t go yet.”

Usahara was about to leave. “Is everything alright? I can wait until you get inside to-”

“You’re sweet.” You take off his jacket, putting it around his shoulders; you peck his jaw, not quite able to reach his cheek. “Next time, maybe we can go on a real date?”

“Am I passed out at the bar?” Usahara touches the spot where you had pressed your soft lips against his skin. “Sorry, let me get this straight: you want to see me again? Me, Usahara, specifically? For a date? Like a ‘date-date’?” he frowns, examines your face carefully. “Are you drunk? I don’t want to take advantage, I mean, you might have second thoughts later, which is totally okay, I-I don’t mind just being friends-!”

“I am a bit tipsy, but I don’t think that’s affecting anything.” You smile a little. “Maybe you should text me first thing in the morning? Just to make sure.”

“I’ll probably be super hungover.” Usahara looks at you like you’re too good to be real. “I usually go to this breakfast place, if you’re interested. It’s a cheap spot but the food’s good. Sorry, I-”

“Are you treating?”

“Yes! And I’ll pick you up?” Usahara is on pins and needles, utterly failing to reign in his excitement. “I have a spare helmet, if you don’t mind riding on a motorcycle. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“It’s a date.” You start to walk away. “Tell the guys I said thank you, again. Do you think they’ll want to get breakfast too?”

“NO!” Usahara hates how his voice pitches so high in panic; he looks down at the ground, a little ashamed of himself, but not enough to be unselfish. He really is shameless. “At least for this time, I want it to be just us. You can see for yourself if I’m worth your time; I swear, you won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m holding you to that.” You smile playfully. “Honey bunny.”

Usahara blushes so much he thinks his face might be on fire, waving in a daze as you disappear into your apartment. 

“Oh crap." It almost hurts how hard Usahara's smiling as he thinks about seeing you again. "I'm so screwed.”

[hexalianrebel-blackfeathers]

 (Tickle) Fight Club

Panda's Notes: Hello, hi, yes, I have been slightly obsessing over this AU for the past few months, and I finally finished...a part. >w< Buckle in, kids, this is a lot longer than I first thought it would be. You can once again thank the lovely @rosileeduckie for facilitating my nonsense.

...What? No, I totally don't have recent commitments that have an encroaching deadline. What are you talking about?!

[Ao3] || [Commissions] || [Ko-fi]

Warning: ~10K words about Miles brutalizing some folks. Enjoy. >w<

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

Miles had a terrible habit of getting drawn in by Ganke’s nonsense.

“Hey, that character looks sick; you make that?” turned into binging episodes of an anime every night through junior year. He wasn’t complaining, but somewhere between the third movie and the 700th episode, it was a miracle his grades hadn’t completely tanked.

“Dude, nice shirt! Do those, like, spell something, or…?” became an entirely different binge through half of senior year. And Miles maybe fudged the truth a bit with one of his art teachers when he submitted a project that was only loosely inspired. Again, not complaining!

“Oh, nice mash-up, man; I loved that song when I was a kid, but I don’t know where it’s from.” You’ll never guess what happened after that. Those games were fire, though, and at least this time, he could move at his own pace, even if Ganke was nagging him over text every few days while he was away at college to geek out.

When Freshman year ended—finally, thank the gods—and Miles returned to New York, he was met at the train station by Ganke and immediately dragged to the apartment he was sharing with—

“You moved in with my brother?!” He asked in disbelief. “Wait, I didn’t even know he left home!”

“Well, technically… Your parents don’t entirely know yet—”

“What?!”

“—And he hasn’t actually moved out. I did. We just split rent here. Both of us have jobs and projects going pretty well, and he kinda just tells them he’s hanging out at my place, which is technically still true; they just don’t know my parents aren’t here—”

“Hold up, wait—” Miles flailed a bit to interrupt Ganke’s rambling. “Gross; is this like ya’ll’s love nest or something?”

Ganke’s arms dropped to his sides, a bright blush coloring his pouting face as he glared at Miles. Miles just snickered and crossed his arms tauntingly. “I’m not hearing a no, Mr. Lee~”

“Y’know, when he tossed out the idea of letting you borrow his room while he’s at school—just, like, use it as an extra little art room or whatever—I thought ‘wow, just like when we were roommates at Visions; how funny!’. But now, I’m gonna tell him you’re banned.”

“Pfft, what?!” Miles giggled, following Ganke toward the back of the apartment.

“Yep, calling him right now…” Ganke pulled his phone out of his pocket all dramatically, pretending to scroll through it.

“Ooh, I bet you have him saved under something dorky~” Miles had lunged forward, hands squeezing playfully at Ganke’s sides as he made obviously fake efforts to peek at his phone. He had a sort of squawking-type laugh whenever he was caught off guard, and Miles loved it. Even when they first met back in high school, Miles had made a habit of sneaking up and prodding him. They liked to get into little fights, usually ending in Miles wrestling Ganke into an easy pin while sneaking scribbles up his sides.

This is important information, because today, and today alone, Ganke suddenly wrenched his arm out from under his own weight, hooking Miles by the arm and rolling both of them into a reversed position. He sat heavily on Miles’ waist, his hands quickly moving to try and worm fingers into his armpits. Miles’ legs kicked as he hugged his arms tight to his sides, and his voice was tangled in nervous squeaks and giggles.

“Someone’s awfully squeaky for starting a fight with the one who knows your weak spots.” Ganke sneered, pressing lightly along the edges of Miles’ ribs to try and slip through his defenses.

“W-When did you get good at wrestling?” He asked through clenched teeth, trying to twist to one side.

“Hm, probably around the time you started sucking at it.” Ganke taunted, raising his hands slightly and wiggling his fingers.

“I do not!” Miles argued with a laugh, his leg kicking out when a few fingers traced along his neck. There was a jarring thump, and despite Miles apparently not feeling pain all of a sudden, both of them were concerned when a few things fell off of the dresser he’d kicked.

“Goddamn, you have been here for ten minutes, and you’re destroying the place!” Ganke teased, pushing himself up off of his poor guest.

“That was not my fault, and you know it.” Miles giggled as he sat up, picking up the picture frame that had fallen beside him. He glanced at it as he stood up, curiosity taking over his face as he realized something.

“Hey, wait a second; I’ve never seen you wear this!” He noted with a laugh as he got to his feet. Ganke peeked over his shoulder, and a chuckle slipped out as he remembered the photo. He was in some costume, mostly purple and some bright green. Looked like a cut-off t-shirt under a biker jacket. There was a paw print drawn on his stomach and whiskers drawn on his cheeks, and he was grinning like a champion as he held up what looked like a gold medal. If it was the same medal dangling from a hook next to the mirror, it was definitely plastic.

“Haven’t worn it in a while either.” Ganke shrugged, taking the frame and setting it just so under where the medal hung. “I should probably bring it home and wash it, actually.” He reached up and pulled the medal off the hook, smiling fondly as he ran his thumb over the feathers embossed in the plastic. He smirked slightly as he caught Miles staring at it in that all-too-familiar way.

“You wanna know how I got it~?” He asked almost tauntingly, and he laughed as Miles slapped his arm and pouted.

He seemed to be physically struggling with himself, crossing his arms as he kicked childishly at the carpet. “…Yeah.” He admitted, smiling in defeat.

-----------

“Okay, so, final checklist: the safe word is Blackout.” Ganke explained as he led Miles down the hall from the changing room. “It’s the real deal though; we basically shut the whole thing down. Very different from tapping out. Do not confuse the two. What’s the safe word?”

“Blackout.” Miles said firmly, wrapping the last loop of tape around his hand and cracking his knuckles softly.

“Nice.”

Miles was wearing a slightly loose t-shirt—kindly loaned by Ganke—and some old basketball shorts. Ganke had been pretty coy about what all this was supposed to be. He seemed to struggle with what to tell Miles without giving the whole thing away. He eventually settled on saying it was somewhere between wrestling and improv club. And, coincidentally, there was an “open tournament” coming up. It was one of the ways they invited new members; the “hands-on” way, so to speak.

“Let me see your nails…” Ganke murmured, taking each of Miles’ hands for a moment as they walked. “Okay, so, we have a little side room you’ll be waiting in. You’ll know the signal when you hear it. You’re still cool with the audience, right? It’s just the theater dorks from the other side of the building; twenty people, max.”

“I’m fine with a little crowd.” Miles chuckled, shifting closer to elbow him gently. “You still haven’t told me what’s going to happen though.”

Ganke laughed lightly and shrugged. “What’s to know? You either pin your opponent for ten seconds or you tap out if you can’t handle it. Nothing else at all~”

“You are awful.”

They chuckled with each other for a moment before quick footsteps suddenly approached from behind them. Two people jogged past them with hoods up, laughing casually as they waved at Ganke and kept running.

“Hey, you guys are late!” Ganke scolded playfully as they disappeared through a door.

“Oh, we’re late?” Miles almost flinched at the sound of a third, heavily accented voice, and someone purposefully shouldered past him. More like elbowed past him, really, which Miles realized when he turned to see a man at least a head taller than him sauntering by. “Shouldn’t you be in the booth then, mate?” His hair was done up in thick locs, and those were tied back behind his head. The man’s dark eyes fell on Miles like a weight, but he smirked as he lifted a hand from his pocket and lightly tapped Miles’ shoulder with the back of it. “Ey, you brought a new fish. Looks like he won’t last a minute.”

Miles scoffed silently, managing to contain his offended face as the man sneered and stepped away. “What’s his problem?” He asked Ganke, trying not to smile.

Ganke shrugged and snickered. “We wonder that every day, man.”

“He thinks he’s the final boss or something?” Miles asked just a bit louder than necessary, a grin pulling his lips as the man stopped and looked pointedly back at them.

Ganke looked between them for a moment, grinning a bit himself as he moved to block them. “Okay, I see where this is going. Save it for the ring, you nerds!” He teased, pressing his palm to Miles’ chest and shooing the other man away. “On ya bike, then!”

The tall man snorted, throwing his hands up as he turned and went through the door the others had used. Ganke smirked as he nudged Miles to a different door.

“You go in through here. There’s an exit on the other side. Like I said: you’ll know the signal when you hear it.” He instructed, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Good luck! You know I’m rooting for you—Oh! Real quick, uh…” He pulled his hand back with an apologetic wince after grabbing Miles’ arm. “Since this is just a trial thing, we usually don’t use challengers’ real names. Privacy; just in case. You, uh, got a name in mind?”

“Geez, put me on the spot, why don’t you?” Miles wrung his hands a bit, looking away as he itched the side of his head. “I…I kinda like New Fish…” He admitted a bit hesitantly.

Ganke snorted, almost giggling. “Seriously?”

“Shut up…”

“Hey, I’m not judging~ Much.” He taunted, shoving Miles playfully before starting to pull the door closed. “What’s your safeword?”

“Blackout.” Miles spoke with an audible pout as Ganke still smirked at him.

“This is going to be great.” He snickered, motioning to Miles with one hand. “No shoes in the ring, man. See you out there.”

Miles rolled his eyes, pulling his sneakers off as he sat on a bench to wait for this supposedly obvious signal.

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

There was always something about the ring. Okay, look, it’s not actually a real fighting ring or anything, but just—Here, try to imagine:

There’s the timbre of the crowd: the rhythm of applause and little echoes of folks calling out their favorite cheers. When Ganke jogged into the room and the cheers redoubled, he couldn’t stop himself from basking with a grin before continuing his rush to the “Commentators’ Booth”. Frankly, they owed the theater club a lot for being such good sports; it almost felt like it was grander than eighteen chairs situated around a large square arrangement of blue gym mats.

“Little late, aren’t we, Mr. Lee~?” The young lady in the chair beside him taunted as Ganke slid into the booth. “I almost wanted to start without you.”

“Very funny, Margo.” He chuckled, leaning under their table to fiddle with the volume knob on the boombox their microphones were plugged into. “I wouldn’t miss tonight for the world; not with this turnout either!”

The audience cheered in response. They knew their roles well for not being around in a while.

“Ooh, I do love a good crowd.” Margo readjusted the cat ears clipped into her braids. “More importantly, though, we finally have a challenger again. Feels like it’s been forever.”

“Hasn’t it been, though?” Ganke sighed dramatically, resting the back of his hand on his forehead. “Reminds me of our time in the ring; those were the days.”

“Ganke, that was only, like, four months ago.”

He leaned back in his chair, draping his whole arm across his face as he pulled his microphone closer with the other hand. “An eternity in my heart, Margie.”

Margo rolled her eyes and snuck a poke at his exposed side. “Anyway, I hear this one’s a friend of yours. Any details you can sneak us?”

Ganke snickered and bat her hand away. “Nah, you’re not getting anything out of me that easily. Just know I’m betting on him. Honestly, I can’t believe he didn’t join sooner.”

“Only thing I can’t believe is that he actually let himself be called New Fish.” Margo murmured intentionally into the microphone, earning chuckles from the crowd. She blinked as her watch buzzed against her wrist. “Ooh, the gang is getting restless. Make noise; make noise!” She hit the table with open palms, signaling the audience to clap and stomp while she stood from her chair. “Yeah, get hype! And let’s welcome our newest challenger!”

Right on cue, the “challengers’” locker room door opened, and the audience cheered as Miles walked out into the small gym. He seemed just a bit nervous, but he smiled as he walked, fidgeting with his hands while he approached the mat.

“Ooh, you didn’t tell me he was cute!” Margo giggled as she sat back down. “Looks a bit familiar though, doesn’t he~?” She’d placed her hand slightly over the microphone, sneering at Ganke as she elbowed his side.

“You shut up.” He shot back, looking away as he blushed. “Absolutely irrelevant. Although, actually, I don’t really know why he never came until now.”

“Did you tell him what we’re all about?” She glanced between him and their guest waving shyly at some audience members.

Ganke leaned back in the chair, unable to keep the mischief out of his grin. “Oh…I told him enough.”

She laughed softly, giving him a little kick under the table. “Terrible.”

He smirked, letting his chair’s legs thump on the floor as he hopped to his feet. “Alright, Fish!” He called, motioning Miles over to the so-called ring. “Let’s get you in the tank, because we’re bringing out your first opponent!”

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

The second locker room door was pushed open, and the small crowd cheered excitedly. Miles watched warily as one of the robed figures they’d passed in the hallway casually walked out. Halfway to the mat, they finally lifted their hood off, revealing a young man just about Miles’ height with light brown skin, the brightest, most joyful eyes, and some amazing shiny hair that he started to tie under a gold headband after handing his robe over to Ganke.

He was dressed almost identically to Miles in terms of shirt and shorts style—which he was quick to point out as he stepped onto the mat—but he had several different spider shapes tattooed—or maybe just drawn—up and down his arms in glittery gold ink.

“If I had known we were going to dress the same, I’d have asked Claw to give you a color to match, machhalee.” He spoke with an Indian accent, and he took a few steps slowly to hint Miles to do the same. His eyes seemed to light up as Miles matched his circular movement, but he schooled his expression and casually set his hands behind his back. “Sooo, New Fish, since you’re new, Fish, we’ll be using our names too. They call me Sona here. Well, they call me a lot of things, but Sona’s the one I picked out.”

Miles chuckled softly, resting his hands in his pockets as they circled each other. “Sounds nice. Kinda like it means something when you say it like that.”

“Oh, it does.” Sona grinned playfully. “If you survive, I’ll tell you what it means.”

“Survive?” Miles brought a hand on his chest, letting his face act shocked. “Oh, it’s a death match, eh? I see you.”

Sona paused, giggling as he started to walk again. “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

Miles shrugged with a grin. “Well, I’ve known…Claw?” He glanced over at Ganke, who nodded smugly. “I’ve known him a while. ‘No Spoilers’ is one of his Nerd Laws.”

“Hey!” Ganke called as the audience chuckled. “Pretty sure I didn’t drag you out here to insult me!”

Sona snickered. “Ah, I don’t really know how I feel about them hiding stuff from challengers, buuut, I admit I like a little surprise. So, I guess I’ll give you a hint.” He stopped, and Miles grew wary as he closed a bit of distance with slow steps. “…Tickle fight!” He laughed as he lunged.

Miles flinched, nervous excitement shooting through him at the call before he really processed what had just been said. He planted his feet firmly, catching Sona’s hands in his own and holding him back. “W-Wait; what?!” He asked in disbelief.

“Ooh, subtlety be damned; let’s go!” Ganke called as the audience cheered them on.

“Shine bright, Golden Boy!” The girl beside him—Margo, he was pretty sure—laughed, picking up her microphone.

“You’ve got some reflexes on you, huh?” Sona teased, curling his fingers where they were caught between Miles’.

“Were you actually serious?” He felt like he’d been blindsided, and, well, he had been. “It’s a tickle fight?!”

“Well~ We try not to be too serious around here.” Sona giggled. “But I wasn’t kidding.” He leaned suddenly to one side, and Miles stumbled as he yanked his hands back and shoved them against Miles’ sides. Sona followed him as he fell to the mat, kneeling beside Miles and scribbling across his stomach.

“Little early in the game to be floundering, isn’t it, Fish?” Sona teased, grabbing at Miles’ wrist as he giggled loudly. The audience groaned around sparse snickers, and Sona nearly giggled too.

Miles let out a harder laugh of his own, trying to pull his hand back. “Oho, he’s got jokes, huh? I—Hey!” He squeaked and twisted as Sona’s hand moved to squeeze up and down his flank.

“You what?” Sona smirked a bit as Miles’ free hand caught his wrist, letting his fingers scratch insistently at his hipbone as he squirmed. “You’re ticklish? You still seem a little shellshocked.” Sona walked his hand up Miles’ side, clawing quickly into his ribcage.

Miles tried to glare up at his opponent, but he couldn't fight the grin on his face. Sona was goofy and gentle; he didn’t seem to weigh much—Miles tested with weak pulls on his wrist. Oh, this was definitely going to be fun. In a quick, fluid motion, he let go of Sona’s hand and grabbed ahold of his shirt, pushing off the mat with one foot as he pulled Sona down. The audience cheered excitedly when Miles managed to roll them over, and he boxed his knees firmly against Sona’s shins.

Sona’s eyes were lit up with panic, and his cheeks ran a bit red as he laughed nervously. “Hi…” He giggled, holding his hands close to his chest.

Miles smirked, resting his hands on Sona’s wrists. “Hey.” He pulled the other man up suddenly, wrapping him in a hug and squeezing tight to pin his arms against his ribs.

“Oh, my God.” Ganke snorted, holding the mic away from his face for a moment. “I know this one.”

His cohost sat up straighter, leaning to nudge him with her shoulder. “Yeah? You want to clue us in?”

He started to say something when Sona let out a loud squeak and writhed.

“Aw, seriously?” Miles chuckled just a bit overdramatically, drawing one finger slowly back down Sona’s spine. “You totally seem like the type to have Angel Wings. Hm, maybe…” He shifted both of his hands, scribbling his nails across his shoulder blades and grinning as Sona giggled brightly and seemed to try more not to move.

“Ohh, I see now~” Miles teased right in Sona’s ear, smiling brighter at the way his giggles escalated. “That’s almost a shame.”

“N-No talking!” He whined halfheartedly, just barely managing to twist his hands enough to scribble at Miles’ waist. This quickly backfired when Miles’ flinch made him squeeze Sona closer.

“But if I don’t talk…” Miles nearly bit his tongue as he stifled a squeak. “How am I going to count these ribs of yours?” He pressed circles against the highest bone on his ribcage, sneaking his hand to that spot right under his armpit.

Sona let out a loud laugh, wrenching his arms out of Miles’ hold—almost as if he wasn’t holding him at all, actually—and shoving against Miles’ shoulders. The effort wound up pushing Sona’s back against the mat, and Miles was happy to reward him with all ten fingers digging into his ribs without a hint of mercy. This time, he didn’t even bother to grab at Miles’ hands, his arms wrapping loosely around himself as he laughed loudly.

Miles chuckled and shook his head, kneading along his lowest ribs and smirking when he squealed. “Shine bright, Golden Boy~!” He taunted, grinning brightly at the incredulous noise he heard Margo make behind him.

Sona blushed and put one arm over his face, the other flailing light slaps on Miles’ shoulder.

“That’s a tap!” Ganke called excitedly, standing up as the crowd applauded. “Sona is out!”

Miles blinked, letting his fingers go still as he glanced around the room. They were cheering for him—for both of them, really. Sona smiled up at him as he giggled and caught his breath.

“Don’t clap too hard now,” Margo snarked a bit teasingly while Miles was pulling his opponent to his feet. “Literally everyone beats Sona.”

Ganke scoffed, clearly in disbelief. “Oh, yeah?! Where was that energy when he had you on the mat last week?”

They took their time with their playful argument, and Miles took the opportunity to shake Sona’s hand, which he returned excitedly.

“You were amazing.” He said in a near whisper, his eyes bright as giggles still lined his voice.

“Yeah?” Miles said coolly, leaning a bit closer to him. “Well, next time, I want a real fight.”

Sona visibly prickled, his face running a bit redder before he just…smirked. His eyes had gone from playful to almost devious. “Oh, I don’t know if you’re ready for all that, Fish.”

It gave Miles a bit of pause. He might have just been hooked. Sona grinned again, bright as the sun, and caught Miles in a hug before taking his walk of shame. He grabbed his robe off of Ganke’s chair as he passed it and slung it across his shoulders, speeding up to a jog as he went back through the locker room door he’d originally come from. Miles stood just a bit awkwardly alone on the mat, a slight smirk pulling his lips as he fidgeted with his hands.

“Someone looks proud of himself~” Miles shot a slight glare at Margo, and she sneered back tauntingly. “Hey, keep that attitude, tough guy. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together; because we’re giving up the Ghost!”

The audience was suddenly loud and talkative; Miles could hear playful teases and jabs—particularly some coos about Ghost being adorable—under the clapping as the door opened again. Sure enough, it was the second character he remembered passing in the hallway. Pale-skinned hands came up to pull the hood back and…Miles was definitely not going to survive today unscathed.

“Ghost” was a blonde with bright blue eyes and one side of her head shaved down, and when she grinned over at Miles, he caught the piercing on her eyebrow. He gave an internal pout as he remembered his studs were with his jacket. She seemed to whisper something to Margo before letting the robe drop from her shoulders and handing it off. She was wearing a cropped t-shirt, cut just above her stomach, a loose long-sleeved jacket that stopped under her chest, and, frankly, Miles was pretty sure those were just pajama pants. Something that quickly caught his eye was the spider drawn on one side of her stomach in blue and pink. He couldn’t help but grin as she stepped onto the mat, stepping back slightly as she took a mark and rested her hands in her pants pockets.

“Eyes are up here, thanks.” She teased with a little wave; he could tell she couldn’t resist.

Miles almost laughed too, resting his hand slightly over his mouth as he tore his gaze from her little tattoo. “I’ll have you know I’m actually terrible at eye contact.”

She snickered, shaking her head as they started to circle each other, and Miles already knew he had to hear her laugh.

“Ooh, she’s hooked him.” Miles had a feeling he and Margo would get along.

“That quick? No way.” Ganke snickered.

“That’s Ghost; she’s a cutie!” Margo laughed. “It’s why everyone loves her.”

Miles pouted as he felt his face heat up, and Ghost chuckled, twirling casually as they continued to walk.

“Don’t worry, Li’l Fish,” She called playfully. “You learn to ignore the peanut gallery.”

“Excuse the hell outta you?” Ganke said firmly, causing Ghost to freeze, and Margo and the audience “Ooh~”-ed teasingly.

Ghost cringed and blushed, covering her face with both hands as she giggled.

Miles had kept walking, and he let his shoulder nudge against hers as he spoke. “So…how’s that ignoring thing workin’ out for you?”

She gave him a playful shove as the audience snickered, putting the distance between them again and smirking. “You hush.”

Miles smirked back, resting his hands on his hips. “So, why Ghost? You don’t seem so scary.”

“You think that now, sure.” She fished under her sleeve and pulled a hair tie off of her wrist, pulling her hair up into a ponytail before putting one hand back in her pocket. “But I’m told I can be haunting.” She wiggled her fingers teasingly, showing off brightly painted nails, and Miles chuckled.

“Okay, okay; you’re cute. Is that what you want to hear?”

She nearly froze up again, hints of red filling her cheeks as she smiled shyly. “Am not.”

“You so are, though. And besides, between the two of us, I’m not the one with their weak spot all exposed.”

She eyed him warily, giggles lining her voice. “You’re asking for it, huh?”

“Why don’t you come over and give it to me, then?” Miles was glad his back was to the crowd by now, but he found himself smirking as they shouted playfully. Margo and Ganke watched him with shocked smiles, and she pawed at his shoulder.

“Where were you hiding this guy?! Definitely my new favorite.” She laughed.

Ghost, similarly, had laughed in disbelief, and Miles almost sneered as he shrugged.

 “Hey, if she giggles herself half to death before I even get my hands on her, do I still win?” He snickered as Ghost looked absolutely offended.

“I’m gonna say yes!” Ganke said quickly, grinning as Ghost glared at him.

“You guys can’t just change the rules!”

Ganke looked to Margo. “I think we can.”

Margo nodded with a shrug. “I think we should.”

He smirked back at Ghost. “Just for you. Since we love you so much.”

As they spoke, Miles had inched forward, lifting one hand to aim a poke at her very exposed stomach.

And she sidestepped him easily, her hand clutching tightly on his wrist. She grinned toothily as he looked up at her, and she yanked him off balance as she swept his legs with one foot. Well, this felt familiar. He managed to keep his chin from hitting the mat, and he felt Ghost’s hand press on his back as she leaned over him. He glanced up at her, but as he made eye contact, she smirked and pushed herself away.

He felt her weight settle on his thighs, and before he could try to twist, he burst into loud laughter as her nails snuck under his shirt to scribble against his lower back. He pulled his hands in close to his chest to keep himself from flailing before reaching to grab at one of her wrists. She seemed perfectly fine to let him, and her other hand was quick to zip up his spine and pinch gingerly at the back of his neck. Miles would definitely deny the shriek he let out, but he laughed and tried to push himself over. Ghost chuckled, twisting her wrist to get ahold of his while she stood up again. She pulled him quickly onto his back, straddling his waist this time as she slipped her wrist suddenly out of his hand by pulling it back through her sleeve. She snatched his wrist with her free hand when he tried for her stomach again, and she grinned nervously as he sneered up at her.

“I’m so gonna get you~” He taunted, laughing lightly as her face went red again.

There was a hint of a stalemate, with Miles trying to read her eyes while she watched his face. All of a sudden, her sleeve was yanked out of his grip, and her hand was shooting to scribble her nails against his neck. Instantly, he cracked, laughing loudly and flailing to grab ahold of her wrists. Even when she let go of his wrist to get both hands against his neck, he couldn’t help but focus on trying to block her, and, dammit, she was much stronger than she looked.

He could hear the audience going wild as he tried to struggle, and Ghost giggled softly as she leaned closer to him. “What happened to all that big talk, Li’l Fish~?” She whispered into his ear. “Not so tough now, are we?” She took a breath before blowing gently into his ear, and Miles kicked against the mat as he practically shrieked again. The audience got a bit louder as Ghost looked expectantly at the judges.

“Aw, he kicks; that’s so cute!” Margo laughed, only for a bit of panic to shoot through her expression when Ghost turned to them. “Wait, does kicking count?! We didn’t talk about that.”

Ganke had bit his lip, glancing between the two women and the audience, and he realized he wasn’t containing his smirk very well. “I’m gonna say kicking doesn’t count today!”

“Wha—Since when?!” Ghost’s voice was pretty close to real outrage as her hands suddenly stopped, and a select few audience members backed her up with jeers.

“Since I said so!” He said more firmly, chuckling. “Consider it a perk of being in the peanut gallery.”

The audience laughed, and Ghost rolled her eyes before looking back down at Miles. As she did, he’d moved his hands, managing to land them on her waist and pressing his thumbs into her hips. She squeaked and shoved herself back, stumbling slightly as she scrambled out of his reach.

“Now she wants to run, huh?” Miles snorted, his hand catching around her ankle only for her to slip his hold before he had a full grip. She was quick to return the gesture, yanking his ankles before he could try to get up and kneeling on one of them. He struggled to push himself up onto his hands, only to nearly fall again when she dug all ten fingers into his socked sole. Keeping his hands still now was definitely nearing impossible, but he tried to also keep in mind to not kick her off of him. But, wow, she was merciless.

“So, toes are bad, huh?” She teased over his laughter, scratching under his toes as they curled tightly. “Not your weak spot, but you might get along with—Eek!”

Miles couldn’t tell if she actually didn’t expect it or she just got cocky, but she didn’t duck away this time. He’d pushed himself forward, snatching the back of her hoodie and pulling her into his arms before falling backwards. The audience was loud again as she tried to flail out of his grip, her voice already tangling itself in giggly protests as he fought to wrestle both of her arms against her sides without losing his grip on her.

“Quit that!” He giggled along with her when she kept trying to shove his face. “And what are you laughing about? I haven’t done anything yet!”

“Shut up!” She squeaked, laughing softly as she tried to catch her breath.

“You tired now, li’l fish? Flopping all over the damn place like that.” Miles taunted into her ear, smirking as she cringed and giggled. He spoke a bit louder as he heaved them both upright while keeping her square in his lap. “I’ve figured you out, by the way, they call you Ghost ‘cause you’re slippery, right? You ‘phase through’ grabs like that a lot?”

Ghost turned her head, not that she could really look at him from this angle, but he saw her grin as she shrugged casually. “Well, y’know, it’s what stuck.”

Miles scoffed, squeezing her a bit tighter. “Stuck like you, huh? I’d love to see you slip this one.” Without any more hesitation, he let one of his hands drop to her stomach and skitter across her bare skin, and he was definitely not disappointed. She squealed and immediately started to struggle again, giggles jumping to loud laughter within a fraction of a second.

“No, no; I wasn’t ready!” She whined through her squeals.

“Oh, she’s not ready…” Miles huffed with a roll of his eyes, letting his fingers go still as he dragged his hand slowly.

“You bastard…” She spat in a giggly half-whisper.

“Ghost, be nice!” Margo called down to them.

Miles teasingly blew into her ear again, dragging his nails softly before sneaking a few squeezes on her side. “Tell me when you’re ready for tummy tickles, okay?”

She blushed, shaking her head as she whined and squeaked at each little pinch. “You’re terrible! N-No…”

“Mm-hm?” He curled his fingers and tapped them against her stomach before tracing one slowly around her bellybutton. “If I press this button, will you be ready then?”

She’d had a full-body flinch at the tracing alone, kicking against the floor as she giggled loudly. “Don’t you dare!”

“Aw, c’mon~ You have to work with me here.” Miles poked her a few more times. “You ready now~?”

“Stop teasing!” Her head tipped back on his shoulder, and she yelped when he blew across the side of her neck.

He laughed, smirking softly. “You said you weren’t ready! I do have to tell you, though…” He let his fingers walk to about where he remembered that little drawing on her skin. “You’ve had this spider on you this entire time and it hasn’t moved at—” He suddenly started scribbling his fingers, absolutely relishing in the surprised shriek it got out of her. She kicked hard, knocking them both over, but he didn’t dare let her go. She barely got a chance to protest between her squealy laughs, and Miles could hear her feet flailing against the mat under the cheers of the crowd.

“Think she’s happy we let them keep the kicks now?” Ganke asked playfully, leaning on one hand.

“Yeah, she looks like she’s having fun.” Margo snickered. Both of them flinched a little when Ghost squealed again.

“Hey, do you think he can get one?” Ganke asked with a smirk.

Margo let out a cackle. “If he gets her that bad in his initiation, she will hate him.”

Miles, meanwhile, was starting to have a little bit of pity on the poor Ghost. She seemed to have tired herself out again, having stopped kicking in favor of trying futilely to curl up. She was tough; he could admit that in a heartbeat, but, frankly, his arm was getting tired.

“I’m still wondering what this does, you know.” He mused, and the only bit of mercy he offered her was slowing his fingers down just a little as he finally focused his tickling on her bellybutton.

She absolutely lost it, breaking into loud cackles as she struggled to move her arms. “N-Not there! Please, I-I can’t—!” She squealed, snorts breaking through her laughter as her cheeks ran red. The crowd went wild with cheers and teases, and Miles was pretty sure his heart was melting.

“Tap! I tap! Let go…” She cried out through squeaks, and Miles lifted his hand away and let her go. She curled up beside him, pulling her hood up to hide her face as a few more snorts slipped into her giggles.

“Ghost is out! Make some noise!” Ganke shouted, grinning as they already clapped excitedly. Miles smirked back at him, softly rubbing one hand on Ghost’s back while she caught her breath.

“You good?” He asked quietly, trying not to tease too much. “Need a hand?”

“You’re a natural.” She whispered back, smiling a bit tiredly as she looked up at him. “But you’re not ready for Spider-Punk.”

“Wha—?” He was about to ask, but she started to get up, and he stood quickly to help her.

“And anyway,” She spoke up this time, for the others to hear. “You wouldn’t have won if you weren’t pals with the judges.”

“No, honey,” Margo called back. “You might not have lost if you didn’t run your mouth off.”

Ghost pouted, crossing her arms as she levelled a glare. “Fuck you both.” She huffed, rolling her eyes and smirking.

“Ooh, Swear Jar. Five seconds.” Ganke said quickly. Without being told, Miles grabbed at her sides. He made sure to be gentle this time, barely scribbling with his nails, but she still burst into giggly squeals as she tried to push away from him. It was definitely more like three seconds, but Miles didn’t mind giving her some grace, except for the poke he landed on her bellybutton before pulling his hands back. She didn’t snort this time, but she did punch him in the arm while she grinned at him, and he could settle for that.

“Make nice, you two, let’s get moving.” Margo insisted. Miles offered his hand to Ghost, smirking broadly when she actually hesitated to take it. He might have itched the palm of her hand with one finger when he went to shake it, and she snickered and shook her head.

“You might want to think about whether you want to stick around, because I’m getting you back.” She said softly, grinning.

“Yeah, alright, Tickle Button.” He taunted playfully, laughing as she punched his shoulder again. She squeezed his hand as she turned to do the walk, snatching her robe off of Margo’s chair and flicking the side of Ganke’s glasses.

“I’ll see you in the ring next week, asshole.” She growled with a sneer, and Ganke smirked back at her.

“That’s ten seconds, Ghost.” He chuckled, covering the microphone. “I’ll see you too.”

Her face nearly faltered, but she ruffled his hair, and the audience cheered as she walked back to the locker room.

Margo stretched her arms over her head—Ganke smirked knowingly toward Miles and the audience, but he didn’t do anything—and she shook her hands out with a sigh. “My, oh my, Mr. Lee. Our first challenger in months, and he’s tearing through us. Maybe we should have gotten back in the ring instead of letting these cute little bugs handle it.”

There were claps and murmurs from the crowd, and Miles couldn’t help but be curious about that story.

“At this rate, I think you might be right, Kitty.” Ganke sighed dramatically. “But, then again, if we destroyed him first try, we wouldn’t have anything for this great crowd!” The audience cheered, and Miles couldn’t help but clap along. “And you all really have been wonderful tonight; thank you all so much for coming out—”

“You do know we’re not done, right?” Margo asked playfully.

Ganke pulled a face and pretended to wince. “Are you sure we can’t be done now?” He groaned, resting an arm over his eyes. “You know how he gets.”

Margo smirked, thumping a rhythm on the table that the audience was quick to copy with their hands. “Ladies and Gentlemen—and, of course, our dear New Fish—I want you to give me your best!” The volume grew louder, and Miles felt tingly with the energy swelling. “It’s down to the wire; the last roundup; this one’s for all the marbles! Let’s hear it for Spider-Punk!”

The audience roared—as much as, like, twenty people could compare to a roar—and a good number of them stomped as they clapped. The locker room door opened, and, predictably, Miles saw the tall British man that had inspired his dumb stage name. He bounced a bit on his toes, smiling excitedly as he watched his approach.

Spider-Punk walked confidently, with his robe already thrown over his shoulder instead of being worn. He was also wearing a cropped shirt, funny enough, but it was underneath a battle vest covered in cool patches. He wore a pair of pajama pants too—much more obvious than Ghost’s just by the pattern—and they were cut off just below his knees. He was wearing black lipstick, which he definitely hadn’t been the first time Miles had passed him. He motioned to the crowd with one hand as he purposefully draped the robe over Margo’s head, encouraging them to get louder before he stepped onto the mat.

“Well, well, well…” He practically purred, and Miles felt like a shock ran through him. “Big fish in a small pond, aren’t ya?”

Miles’ eyes lit up, and his hands flapped a bit as his brain failed to process a response.

“You’re doing the thing.” His opponent half-whispered to him, gesturing to his hands, and Miles flinched just a bit nervously. Spider-Punk grinned, chuckling. “Not sayin’ you should stop, love. Ghost’ll get you wound up like that, she’s pretty fun.”

Miles let himself giggle at that and nodded. “I mean, yeah, she’s pretty cool for a ghost.” He said coolly. “Shrieks like one, too.”

Spider-Punk snorted, shaking his head as he smirked. “Fair play, fair play.”

Miles crossed his arms as they started to circle each other. “So, turns out you actually were the final boss, huh? What was that about me not lasting a minute?”

“Oh, you remember that, eh?” He laughed just a bit mockingly, his eyes scanning over Miles before his grin somehow grew even more smug. “I still stand by it.” He asserted with a shrug, resting his hands on his hips.

Miles scoffed, mimicking his little pose and rolling his eyes. “You really want to say that when you know I just wrecked two of your friends?”

Spider-Punk suddenly broke from his path, walking straight toward Miles and spooking him into a half stumble. “Do you really want to ask that when you don't know why they saved me for last?” He reached out quickly to grab Miles by his shirt to stop him from falling, pulling him sharply into a tight hug. Miles flailed slightly, bringing his hands to rest on his opponent’s arms where they squeezed softly around his neck. His own arms were completely free, but his brain also might have been overheating. He could hear the sneer in Spider-Punk’s voice when it tickled his ear. “Your freckles pop up when you blush~”

Miles fell into squeaky giggles, pulling at Spider-Punk’s arms as best he could, and his opponent only hummed casually at the effort, rolling his eyes as he rested his chin on Miles’ head and scribbled gently at his shoulders. Miles quickly switched tactics, digging his fingers into the punk’s armpits. The taller man flinched pretty hard, half a snort slipping out as he let himself laugh. Or, actually, he kind of giggled. It was rough and bass-sounding, almost scratchy, like he was just barely resisting. The crowd behind him murmured softly.

“Oh, not this again.” Miles chuckled teasingly, keeping his voice mostly low this time. “You just want to get tickles, tough guy?” He squirmed just a bit when long fingers trailed down the center of his back.

“Wouldn’t you like to kn—” Spider-Punk’s voice hitched on a louder laugh when Miles dropped his hands to scribble on bare skin and squeeze his sides, and he flinched backwards when Miles pressed his thumbs against his hipbones. Miles grinned a bit smugly as the punk stepped back, and he crossed his arms as he stepped forward.

“I wouldn’t have thought someone so cool would be so cute when he gets a few little scratches.” He taunted before faking a pout. “I expected more fight out of you though, punk.”

Spider-Punk chuckled lightly, making a bit of a show in slightly covering his sides. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special, don’t you?” He teased right back, setting his chin on one hand and batting his eyes. His nail polish matched his lipstick perfectly. “You should watch yourself though~ Could be in bigger trouble than you think.”

 Miles laughed, cracking his knuckles. “Well, the bigger they are…”

“That doesn’t even work for—” Spider-Punk didn’t put up much resistance when Miles hooked his arm and more or less dragged him to the floor, and he laughed brightly Miles tickled across his stomach.

“Ooh, he’s got him on the ropes, huh~?” Margo asked playfully, nudging Ganke with her elbow.

Ganke shot her a sideways glance, pout set on his lips. “Shut up.” He huffed with a chuckle, and she laughed.

Miles’ focus was stuck on Spider-Punk, his grin turning more playful as he let his fingers skitter lightly on his opponent’s back and relished the giggles it brought out of him. He had pulled Spider-Punk’s arm across his shoulders, clutching his wrist in his left hand while he tickled along his back and opposite side.

“Y’know, ‘Spider-Punk’…” Miles mused softly. “If Claw had told me that I’d just be thrown into a fake tournament to tease a bunch of adorable lees to death, I probably wouldn’t have even believed him. I’d say I’m disappointed, but it’s been pretty fun.”

The punk huffed out a laugh, sounding much more derisive than ticklish all of a sudden. “Is that what you think?”

Without any warning, Spider-Punk shifted the hand in Miles’ grip, his fingers managing to scratch along his ribcage and chip some startled giggles out of him. His other hand shot to dig into Miles’ side, completely exposed with how his arm was wrapped around the punk’s back. Miles yelped, immediately letting go of the wrist he held to flee; his opponent snickered, keeping his arm hooked across Miles’ shoulders and holding him close as he pulled some squeaky laughs from his side.

“And there it is.” Ganke fake-pouted as the audience started to get riled up. “Every time with this one.”

Margo was absolutely ecstatic, giggling brightly as she leaned on his shoulder. “If it ain’t broke, y’know? Maybe you should have warned him~”

Miles laughed and tried to flail, but the tickles he landed on the punk’s ribs were hardly distracting him. Instead, Spider-Punk leaned back, pulling his arm from around Miles’ shoulder while his other hand shoved him down to the mat. He was strong. Like, way stronger than Miles expected. When Miles tried to grab at his arm and pull, he couldn’t move an inch, and he wasn’t even sure if Spider-Punk was using his full weight. The giddy sort of panic must have shown in his eyes, because the taller man sneered as he loomed over him.

“Caught in a web, poor thing.” He taunted as he locked his knees around Miles’ legs, ruffling his hair with his free hand before leaning close. “You got a lot to learn, New Fish. For example…” He took a deep breath, and Miles didn’t even get time to panic before he was squealing with laughter as a loud raspberry was blown into the crook of his neck. His legs tried to kick, but his opponent gave him zero leeway. It didn’t help at all when he tried to push him away, only to get scribbling fingers in both of his armpits as another raspberry hit him.

Miles might have broken a little under all that; sue him.

“Oh, yeah, he’s dead.” Margo snickered as their challenger shrieked and writhed under Spider-Punk’s hold.

“Yeah…” Ganke admitted, but he glanced at Margo with a smirk. “You would know though, wouldn’t you? You have a thing or two in common with him.” He snuck a poke just under her arm, and she nearly whacked him with her microphone with how hard she flinched.

Miles, meanwhile, was trying his best to be tough, his hands gripping Spider-Punk’s sleeves to keep from flailing. Those long fingers drilled right into the center of his hollows, and his head fell back against the mat as he cackled. Spider-Punk chuckled over him, finally pulling away from his neck to whisper in his ear again.

“So, who’s the adorable little lee here again, bruv~? You talk so big, but I break brats like you.”

Miles tried to shove the punk’s face, earning some faster scribbles whenever his arms moved an inch. Spider-Punk sneered and pulled one of his hands back, catching Miles’ wrist and blowing another raspberry against his palm. His reaction was much squeakier than attacks on his weak spots, but Miles more or less collapsed in a slight daze. The punk slowly lifted his hands, chuckling a bit deviously as the poor fish tried to catch his breath.

“I’ll give it to ya, mate; you’re a tough one.” Spider-Punk taunted, slipping his hand into his pocket. “Or you’re a hypocrite. Hopin’ it’s the former, since a funny thing happens to hypocrites around here~” He drew his hand back up, and it was covered by a strange-looking glove.

“Oh, Murder Claw!” Margo shouted, and the audience went wild.

“You actual cheating bastard!” Ganke scolded with a grin. “I told you not to bring that!”

“Murder Claw! Murder Claw!” Half of the audience chanted with Margo leading on her mic.

“Margo, don’t encourage this!”

She elbowed him teasingly before playfully punching his side. “Aw, c’mon, Tiger, where’s that Panther blood?!”

“We're supposed to be behaving!” Ganke couldn't help but laugh as the energy swelled.

Miles watched nervously as Spider-Punk wound a little dial on the wrist of the glove. Something about the sound of the mechanism clicking felt…familiar. Coiling springs? It all happened within a few seconds; Miles tried to grab Spider-Punk’s sleeve, only for him to snatch his wrist and pin it firmly over his head. The pure mischief on his face was going to kill Miles before his hands did.

“Go on and give ‘em a show, lovely.” He whispered, showing off the glove on his hand before pressing one of the fingers to the side of Miles’ neck. He felt a sort of click, instantly followed by rapid vibrations that had him nearly screeching. It was barely more than two seconds, but it was almost worse than the raspberries. When the four other fingers pressed into his armpit all at the same time, Miles knew it was over. Quick as it was, that buzzing sensation had him hysterical, and his free hand flailed against the mat as he tried to writhe.

“The Fish is cooked! It’s all over!” Margo shouted over the roar of the crowd.

Spider-Punk gave him another smirk and a cheeky-bastard wink before pushing himself onto his feet, except Miles caught him gently by his wrist.

“That…was definitely more than a minute.” Miles said softly through quiet breaths.

Spider-Punk seemed to light up, barely stifling an incredulous laugh. “You don’t quit! I like it.” He said softly, taking Miles’ hand in a quick handshake before letting it fall. He grinned smugly as Margo ran to his side and hugged him with one arm.

“Your reigning champion, folks!” She called out to the audience. “Give it up for Spider-Punk!” The tall man raised his hands dramatically as the crowd clapped excitedly, seeming to relish in the attention as they started to get up and talk to him and each other.

Miles was content to stay on the mat for a moment with his tired giggles, and Ganke approached to offer him a hand. He might have gotten a little dizzy when he was heaved to stand up, but he played it off with a smirk. Ganke ruffled his hair and snuck a tickle behind his ear, and Miles shouldered him playfully as he went to do his walk of shame. But Ganke grabbed him by his shirt, pointing him toward the locker room door that his opponents had been entering from. Miles glanced at him for confirmation, getting a quick nod and a shooing motion before Ganke went to stand beside Spider-Punk.

“What a freakin’ upset, huh?” Margo said teasingly, leaning to look at Ganke.

“Yeah, I’m upset!” He insisted exaggeratedly, shaking his head as Spider-Punk hugged him to his side. “Should have known you’d let him cheat again.”

Margo laughed right back. “Well, since you want to be boring all of a sudden, and the crew’s on leave, someone has to keep up the Panther vibe, yeah?!”

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

Miles let them and the crowd’s chatter fade behind him as he entered the locker room. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. It wasn’t even any different from the first one. Except, well, this one had a ghost leaning in from the door leading to the hallway. She quickly motioned him to follow her, holding the door open before jogging away.

They wound up at a meeting room upstairs, where Sona opened the door after they knocked.

“Told you so.” Ghost said playfully as they entered the room, and Miles rolled his eyes as Sona laughed. There were six pizza boxes on the tables in the back and a cooler stashed underneath next to what he assumed were their bags and things.

“He cheated, didn’t he?” Sona asked once the door was closed, playfully nudging Miles with his elbow.

“Is it really cheating when we know he’s going to do it though?” Ghost rummaged in the cooler for a juice pouch before also snatching a half-finished water bottle from the edge of the table.

“I feel kind of cheated.” Miles said with a shrug, crossing his arms.

The pair of them looked at him with wary expectation, seemingly worried about him.

“I mean, I had a whole fight with you—” He looked pointedly as Ghost. “—And I didn’t even know raspberries were legal. Seems unfair to me.”

He let a taunting grin spread across his lips as Ghost glared at him with a rising blush. Sona had burst out laughing, patting him on his shoulder.

“I really hope you stick around, Fish; you’re hilarious.” He giggled.

“Yeah, you’ll be laughing, all right.” Ghost pouted for a moment, but she started to laugh along with Sona.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Sona stood in front of him, resting his hands on his hips as if he was a superhero or something. “My name is Pavitr. Forgive me if it’s forward, but you’re Miles, right? It’s so cool to finally meet you!”

Miles was a little surprised, but he quickly realized what had happened. “I take it Ganke talks about me a lot?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Oh, definitely.” Ghost nodded, smiling as she leaned slightly on the circular table in the middle of the room. “And somehow, he neglected to mention that you’re a five-alarm tease.”

“Well, time and place, y’know.” He shrugged, chuckling. “Although, I guess I haven’t teased him in a while~”

“You are something else.” Ghost said, playfully flinging the now empty water bottle at Miles’ head before offering a handshake. “I’m Gwen, by the way.”

Miles accepted it without any mischief this time, and she smiled much more genuinely this time. Pavitr approached him from the side, pressing a cold bottle of water against his arm and giggling as he snatched it from him.

“You can grab a plate, by the way.” He offered, opening his own water bottle to take a drink. “We kind of got them for you. Oh, except those two big ones on the end.”

“Oh, yeah?” Miles chuckled, as if he hadn’t been eying the table since he’d walked in. Of course, he had to have been raised to never take the first plate.

Gwen nodded, pushing herself up to sit on the table. “We haven’t had a tournament in a long time, and it’s been even longer since we had a new challenger. We’re celebrating a little, and since somebody didn’t win, it’s more a little party for all of us.”

“You really do snark a lot for someone in a crop top.” Miles grinned and shook his head.

“Maybe, but at least I’m not the one with spider bites on my neck.” She taunted, and Miles could feel his face heating up as he realized what she meant. She laughed teasingly as he covered the side of his neck with one hand.

The door opened suddenly, and a very loud Spider-Punk burst in with Ganke, Margo, and a couple of faces from the audience in tow. “Oi, oi, what’s up, losers?!”

Gwen sighed loudly. “There goes the neighborhood.” She rolled her eyes and smirked as he approached her first.

“Love you too, Gwendy~” He said playfully, ruffling her hair as he leaned to kiss her forehead. His smile widened as he spotted Miles, and he strode up to him like he could definitely tell Miles’ head was spinning. “You stuck around, huh?” He offered his hand and that stupid wink. “Hobie Brown, at ya service, love.”

Accepting the handshake was apparently the wrong decision, because it ended in Miles being yanked into a tight hug as Hobie laughed a bit mockingly. He wasn’t even doing anything, but Miles couldn’t help laughing with him and trying to squirm away, only for Pavitr and Gwen to pile on the two of them.

Ganke had placed Miles’ shoes and things under the table with the others’ stuff, and Margo had done the same with their boombox and microphones. She grabbed the two set-aside pizza boxes, handing them over to the theater club members along with heaps of gratitude for their presence. They happily accepted both before waving to all of them as they left. As soon as they did, the pair of former hosts turned to the interesting little hug-fight their four friends had gotten into.

“Guys!” Margo called, managing to get their attention. “You were all fantastic out there! Miles, they loved you! Hell, we loved you!” She stepped forward, and Hobie let Miles go so she could grab onto his hands excitedly as she spoke. “I wasn’t even kidding, Ganke, where on Earth were you hiding this one?!”

Ganke shrugged, crossing his arms. “What can I say? I like to have an ace or two up my sleeve.” He said with a smirk. “It has been a while since I’ve seen you go all out like that though, hasn’t it?”

Miles grinned a bit proudly. “You know I like to make a good first impression.”

“I have literally never heard that about you, but go off, I guess.”

Miles pouted a bit as the others laughed.

Within minutes, they were all around the circular table, plates piled with pizza slices and cracking soda cans. Miles leaned on his hand to look Ganke in the eye.

“So, how long has this been going on anyway?” He asked, just a bit incredulously. “You never mentioned it while I was gone.”

Ganke nearly glared at him halfway through a bite of pizza. “I told you I made some new friends after you left! And I definitely remember telling you I joined a club.”

“Yeah, and I thought you meant a robotics club or something, not, like, tickle tournaments! You didn’t think I’d be interested in that part?”

Ganke chuckled. “It’s not that I didn’t think you'd be interested.” He set down the slice and leveled a sneer at him. “I just know you get weak around too many cute people.”

Miles nearly choked on the sip of water he’d taken, and he could feel eyes on him as the table got quiet. They were all smiling, some more smugly than others, and Miles buried his face in his hands.

“Asshole…” He groaned, only to flinch a little when Gwen poked his cheek. He glanced at her, and she giggled, and Hobie smirked, and Pavitr grinned.

“Especially cute lees~” Ganke whispered, blowing across the side of his neck, and he barely stopped himself from jumping out of the chair. The others stifled laughter as Miles felt like he was going to melt from the heat rushing to his face, which he promptly dropped into his arms on the table.

“You’re all rosy, mate.” Yeah, like Hobie really needed to tell him that.

He recognized Ganke’s hand patting him on the back. “Sooo~?”

“’M free on Friday…?” He offered.

“We’ve got an Initiation Day!” Ganke shook him by the shoulder as the whole table cheered, and Miles felt himself smiling as hands ruffled his hair and pat his back.

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

Panda's Extra Notes: Some minor things for consideration.

*I might go back and retcon it, but I'm considering using one of Hobie's beta designs for this AU. Specifically the one with his long braids.

*Miles falls under the Ace umbrella here, hence the joke Ganke makes toward the end. He is very vulnerable to "tickle-crushes", though. And actual crushes, obviously, but we'll get to that later. >w<

[elysianhades]

Hi! I would like to request mammon x mc fluff. Maybe something like a painting date where you pass the canvases back and forth? Up to you, but just some mammon please!!!

Here you go! Thank you so much for requesting! I hope this is acceptable!

I haven't ever written Mammon before so hopefull he isn't too ooc

Somplace Only We Know

Mammon x Mc

Downy Fluff ahead!

“What’s the point in this again?” Mammon asks, watching you pull out the pencils and sketchbooks out of the bag you brought with you.

It was a smart decision on your part, for you both to ‘sneak’ to the human realm. If any of the other brothers knew about this little date the two of you had planned, you knew they would try to sabotage it, but seriously, you put too much effort in this outing for it to be spoiled by pouting demon lords. You both were sitting on a beach, a bluff actually, if you wanted to get technical. It was nice, being in weather that wasn’t actively trying to kill you. The Devildom is nice, but being able to wander around and not be sweating a concerning amount or literally bundled up is something you will never take for granted again.

“My older brother and I used to play a game like this when we were younger, granted I was 5 and he was terrible at drawing, but I also used to do this before I went to the Devildom, it helps warm up skills. Besides, I wanted to spend time with you and what better way than by doing this? It’s fun I swear!” You laugh, nudging the demon next to you with your knee.

“I trust ya, precious. It’s not everyday the Great Mammon has time off ya know? Imma very busy demon, I’m sure whatever ya planned is gonna be entertain’.” He boasts, chuckling and puffing his chest out.

You roll your eyes lovingly, a small smile on your lips as you flip one of the sketchbooks to an open page. For all the comments he was making on the way here, he did seem like he was looking forward to this and he did look like he was enjoying himself.

“Here you go, oh Great Mammon.” You tease, watching Mammon’s ears flush a rosy red when he meets your eyes and sees your smiling face. You swear you see his eyes dart between your eyes and lips once or twice before he carefully takes the offered book out of your hands. He taps his fingers on the cover as he looks around at the mini picnic you had set up. He swallows and looks at the open sketchbook on his lap, quickly flipping through the other pages, not looking at the art there but seeing how much of the book is filled.

“Ya know, one day ya should show me all the sketchbooks ya have. I’d… I’d like ta see what else you’ve made.” He quickly says, looking at you out of the side of his eye. His cheeks now are a little more colorful than they were a second ago.

“If you want to see my older art you can, be warned though, I wasn’t always as adept as I am now,” You snort at his attempt to sound nonchalant, when he is practically vibrating with the want to peek through the book in his hands, “also be warned that there are sketches of you in there.” You add on almost as an afterthought, looking at him head on to catch his reaction.

It takes a couple seconds for your statement to actually register, but you can tell when it did. His eyes widened a tiny bit and his jaw unclenched before the red covered his face and he was choking on nothing. His head whipped over to you as he tried to catch his breath and at this point you were struggling to breathe as well because you were trying not to laugh at him. It was a funny concept to you though, how he could get pictures taken of himself all the time in different positions and not bat an eye but the thought of a few messy drawings are enough to derail any thoughts in his head.

“Well- ah- I mean, of course ya have sketches of me in here, I’m pretty great aren’t I.” He coughs, clearing his throat and looking away from you to try and regain his composure, “seriously though treasure, ya have ta warn me before ya say sappy things like that. Oi! Wait! I better be the only one who you’ve drawn! My brothers better not be in here as well! Just me! I’m yer first after all!”

You chuckle and shake your head as you pull another (almost full) sketchbook out of your bag. This one probably has two or three more pages in it until it’s full, you figured now would be the best time to finish it. You hum as you turn your shoulder so the flustered demon next to you can see the contents of the book. There are a lot of drawings of sceneries around RAD, the castle, even the House of Lamentation, but if the few drawings of people that could be seen, they were all different poses and styles of Mammon doing different things.

Mammon counting grimm, Mammon talking to one of the crows that always follow him around, him grabbing the popcorn bowl from a movie night, him mid-stretch, and so many workshops of his hands in different positions and holding different things. What can you say? He has some attractive hands. You hear a strange dying noise from right beside you. A noise you know is his ‘I don’t know whether to feel giddy or be embarrassed’ he’s made it enough times for you to know what it means.

“Come on, let’s start! I’m going to set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes! During those 15 minutes I want you to draw what you see, could be the beach, could be the water, could be the sky, it doesn't matter. After the timer is up, we are gonna switch books and I’ll continue what you are drawing and you’ll continue mine! I think we should do this two or three times just to be safe. You can use any of the pencils here, anything I’ve brought is free range! Have at it. Do you need some time to think of something to draw or should I start the timer now?” You explain, bouncing lightly, excited to start.

It takes a minute for Mammon to find his words again, but eventually he is able to form a coherent sentence. He looks at the jar full of different colored pencils you have sitting on the blanket, at the pens that are being held together by a rubber band, and finally at the scene around him.

“Yeah, I think I got somethin. Jus no peekin til the time’s up!”

“Ok then! I’m starting the timer!” You cheer, pressing the ‘start’ button on your phone and get to drawing.

The thought to draw Mammon does cross your mind, for multiple reasons, but as soon as those thoughts appear you brush them away, you think he would combust if he saw that right out of the gate. The place that you decided to sit for this date is a bit of a walk away from the trail you had to take to get here. The way to get to this particular bluff was a tiny bit of a walk but it was worth it. Normally, you would park on the side of the road and then walk through the trail to the beach, but since magic was a thing, you were able to teleport right to where the trail through the forest meets the ocean. The beach looks like it's separated into two parts, there's a sandy side where driftwood is littered all over the sand, some pieces so big that people who have visited before have made little forts out of them, broken seashells are scattered throughout the beach as well, sandbars, old sand dollars, huge clumps of seaweed and crab shells are in sight as well.

The other side of the beach is where you both haven’t gotten to look at yet, but it has rocks covered in barnacles everywhere. The rocks are practically on top of eachother, and you can’t even see the sand without having to move rocks. You also know however, that if you lift up the little rocks, that you’ll see tiny crabs. If you guys are lucky, you might even be able to see a sea snail. You hum, since it is the first round, you decide to draw something easy. You start sketching the part of the beach that meets the forest, with all the driftwood and the trees.

As you start getting into your drawing, you hear Mammon start muttering to himself, he is talking too quietly for you to hear what he is saying. Angling your body towards him, you can see he is hunched over to ensure you couldn’t see what he is drawing. His tongue is poking out of his lips in concentration, and every now and then he’ll look at what he has on the paper hum, then nod before getting back to drawing. Smiling, you go back to your own piece, relieved that he is enjoying himself. Before you know it, your phone is going off, signaling that it’s time to switch books.

“Now remember human, no judgin’!” Mammon all but shouts, hiding the book to his chest and mock-glaring at you.

“Yeah, how about we make a deal then? I won’t judge yours and you won’t judge mine? We’re doing this for fun anyway, it’s not like I’m gonna grade you on it.” You smile, making grabby hands at his book. He grumbles before slowly handing the sketch and the pencil over to you. You are much more enthusiastic about trading with him.

Both you and Mammon are still as you look over each other’s work. You can’t imagine why he thinks you would judge him for what he has done so far, it looks so good. He chose to draw the scene in front of both of you, with the water, the islands in the back, and the sun in the middle of the sky. The lines are good and you can clearly see what he was drawing. He also whistles when he is done looking at yours.

“Wow, baby, ya sure are talented. Like actually, this is damn good.” Mammon praises, smiling as he looks over it one more time. He held up the book so he could see the comparison side-to-side. You feel heat rush up to your face and ears and try to hide your face by grabbing your phone to start the timer over and clearing your throat to swallow the giddy embarrassment you feel. “You’re telling me that? Honey, you should have told me you could draw, we would’ve done this sooner.” You say, determined to fluster him as well and make him know he is talented. God knows he isn’t told enough.

Your compliment works, he chokes again and whips his head over to you. His eyes are searching yours, you can tell he is trying to see if you are teasing him or making fun of him. You tilt your head and look at him, giving him a smile. When he finds no trace of a lie in your words, you can see a sheepish smile break across his face. He slowly reaches over to grab your hand, giving you time to move yours away if you didn’t want him to hold it.

“Yer the best thing to happen to me treasure,” he starts, pausing and looking back over to the beach and the picnic you set up when you first got here. “I know I don’t say it as much as I should, but ya really mean everything to me.”

“You might not be able to say it as often as you want, but you show me everyday how much I mean to you and that’s more than enough. I love you, Mammon.” You smile, squeeze his hand as you talk. You sigh and look down at the sketchbook in your lap. “We have a tiny problem, honey.”

“Yeah? What?” He looks around to see if he can see what you are referring to. He doesn’t notice anything that could have dampened your mood, and you don’t look unhappy. You tsk and lightheartedly shake his hand still in yours.

“I don’t want to draw anymore, I just want to focus on you.” You don’t mind how warm your face feels being this vulnerable, you know you’re safe with Mammon here.

He snorts at your confession, shaking his head and squeezing your hand. He grabs both books and closes them before putting them back in your bag with the pencils. He carefully pulls you into his chest and shifts so you can lean on him comfortably. He promptly ignores his own blush as he holds you.

“Well, we are here for the whole day, I’m sure we can get back to drawin’ after ya get yer cuddling fix out of the way. An I love ya too by the way, more than anythin’.”

[badchoicesworld]

Can I request miles 42 with an alien male s/o that has completely white eyes and struggles with social ques/ human culture🫶🫶🫶

miles 42 w/ an alien boyfriend !

i’m listening to charlie’s inferno rn, hope this is half decent <\3

established relationship

warnings: meh

pairing: earth 42 miles x male!reader

requests: refer to the blog guide besties

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

i’m gonna go ahead and quote the anarchist hobart brown rn and say i ain’t got a scooby doo where tf ur from or how u two met, that’s up to u

but at the same time i guess w the avengers n shit aliens aren’t something people can deny, so while miles was maybe a bit skeptical at first, it wasn’t the hardest thing in the world to believe

especially when you’ve got those big white eyes

not to mention how wildly awkward and clueless you are when it comes to earth customs

what’s christmas, you say ? it’s where this guy in red and a really big beard sneaks into ur home to drop off concealed items in a box that’s determined by lists that you’ve been put on depending on ur actions throughout the year. yeah, he sees you when ur sleeping my guy, be scared

i imagine miles explains it in a less lowkey way but i like to imagine ur now scared of santa and the concept of christmas

culture ! so much to learn

miles is obviously most eager to teach you about his own, his mum would be very happy to tell you things too

when he eventually tells her about his alien boyfriend, that is

you get to try foods from their culture, maybe try to learn spanish if you can

if you have some uncanny ability to grasp language’s immediately, then miles’ mum is thrilled, very happy to talk in her first language with you

gonna go ahead and assuming this miles is also fluent so, spanish all around if you can

go ahead and share ur own culture too, they’re admittedly intrigued

he occasionally likes to ask you about certain things, like if you have an equivalent of something on your planet while holding the thing up or showing you a picture

is specifically intrigued w art on ur planet, but he’s not the kinda guy to overwhelm you with questions

maybe like a handful a week

it takes miles a little while to get used to the fact that ur from off planet, so it takes him a bit to clock that you don’t understand a lot of things ur seeing

but eventually he’ll get into the habit of briefly explaining things to you, general concepts and guidelines

it becomes pretty second nature to him as some point and subconscious

like if ur staring at kettle and he notices how ur white eyes are just locked on it he’ll be like “…don’t touch it-“ cause he doesn’t want you to burn urself, he might fail to explain that at first

social cues ? who doesn’t struggle w them from time to time

miles likely won’t know how to help you at first, it’s an adjustment you both have to make to help each other out

so maybe you come up with some kinda signal when ur with other people, like he might do something discreet to help you out

ur still abrupt asf about it though because you never expect the signals, he honestly loves it about you lmao

might help you practice whenever he gets the free time, only if you actively wanna improve, he doesn’t mind otherwise

he cannot stress how important it is that you don’t wander off in the streets, if that’s something you tend to do

he loves you dearly and isn’t mad about your curiosity, but i feel like he’s able to read a room really well . if he feels like you aren’t safe then he’ll tell you to put your head down so people don’t see ur eyes, then ur both out

will figure out some way to hide them, it’s not even an if in certain situations

ur eyes are mesmerising to him but there’s no point if they put you in danger, so there are scenarios where he just won’t let you go certain places

not in a possessive way, it’s just literally the safest option

hates to be controlling like that sometimes but it’s better than risking it, he hopes you know that

while earth 42 is in flames i do still think that there would be a tight knit community in the neighbourhood, in those kinda circumstances all you’ve got is each other, y’know ?

so while it may not be the safest for you in some streets, you’ve got a home with miles and can feel secure enough

i cant even begin to imagine the amount of organisations you’ve gotta stay under the radar from

have fun w that

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

i’m lagging oh god

[biconickyoshi]

this is so cheesy but i couldn't stop thinking about it

Zukaang aladdin au!! look i just really really need them to sing a whole new world on a magic Appa carpet ride while staring lovingly into each other's eyes. the balcony scene is also peak zukaang. zuko's dragon druk (instead of jasmine's tiger) sniffing and growling at aang until he realizes he is Safe. Momo is Abu in this case. Hmmm who is prince zuko being married off to? (my vote is zhao=jafar lol)

Omgggg anon! I genuinely love this AU idea. It actually works so well, especially with Zuko as Jasmine and Aang as Aladdin. All of those iconic moments with Zukaang would just be aaaaaaa. So beautiful. You’re making me want to make fan art of this now lol.

I think you’re right that Zhao is the closest counterpart to Jafar, but also if I were to personally try and adapt this AU, I would probably just do away with the whole “marrying the love interest off to the villain” plot lol (it always made me uncomfortable in the original movie anyway). In my version, Iroh would probs take on the role of Jasmine’s dad (the Sultan), Zhao would be Jafar, of course Momo would be Abu and Appa would be the magic carpet, but idek who the genie would be… Sokka (fits the comedic aspect)? Avatar Roku (fits the mystical advice-giver aspect)?? lmao.

Though I guess technically it also doesn’t have to be a one-to-one direct adaptation of everything that happens in Aladdin - like it could just be about Zuko being the FN prince who wants to see the world and not be married off to a rando, while Iroh is his kindly father figure/Fire Lord, and Zhao is the advisor trying to take over the FN. Aang is of course the scrappy street orphan who manages to catch his eye, and maybe he’s also secretly the Avatar who went missing as a baby? Either way he would have hair in this AU lol.

Maybe Toph is one of Zuko’s close friends - she’s a rich girl from another country who lives in the FN bc her parents are like the ambassadors for the EK or something, but she and Zuko often sneak out so they can have “normal” days in the city (and so Toph can fight in underground bending tournaments). Maybe Katara and Sokka are some of Aang’s friends who are also peasants - I can’t really think of how else they’d fit into the story unfortunately lol.

Anywaysssss sorry for the long ass reply anon, you got me to start seriously brainstorming for a second there haha! Idk if I’ll ever write an actual fic, but I’m definitely seriously gonna consider making some fan art for this AU concept… :)

[ostrichmonkey-games]

🌱, 📖, and 🌺? :3

🌱 An unreleased/not-yet-crowdfunding game I’m looking forward to.

Okay, so my number one answer is REDACTED, and I can't actually talk about it yet. But, of some of the games I've recently backed or am waiting to see launch;

Deathmatch Island looks so slick. I've been following along on the graphical development that the creator's been sharing on twitter for a long while now, and I'm super excited to eventually try it out (semi-related, but Tim Denee, the creator, has also been sharing sneak peeks of a Blades '68 alternate setting that looks equally slick). I think Tim has a tumblr here, but I am blanking on the url...

A second close runner up is Ave Nox from @feralindiecharlie. Everything Charlie does absolutely shreds, so I cannot wait to see this megadungeon.

📖 My favorite class or playbook from a game.

The Hungry from Apocalypse Keys by @temporalhiccup! All the playbooks from AK are killer (cannot wait for people to get their hands on the stretch goal playbooks too, they rule), but I had an especially fun time playing the Hungry.

One thing that's so cool about the AK playbooks is how flexible they are in allowing so many different concepts and takes on the same idea. Like, the Hungry could easily be a classic vampire, but I played a monster inspired by Sandman's Corinthian. He was an ancient nightmare that ate other dreams. The Hungry is all about grappling with this terrible power; fighting against it, giving into it. It's so much fun sometimes being truly wretched 😌

You can check out a this video to see me play the Hungry if you're curious;

🌺 A game with stunning layout or visual design.

Orbital Blues from @soulmuppet! Both layout and visual design are stellar. Pun intended. Lone Archivist (who has incredible graphical assets you can pick up on itch) did the layout, and Josh Clark did the art. Together, art and layout absolutely sells the vibe of the game. A dusty, kind of lonely, space western. I'm just gonna let a couple of spreads do the talking now.

ask game

[klausysworld]

Hey! Could I request a Klaus x Reader where Klaus wants to do something that could get him killed and the reader is adamant about stopping him and when Klaus explodes and asks why they want to sabotage his plans, they tell him they're in love with him and couldn't stand to lose him?? How it ends is up to you but I've wanted to see this idea written for a while and your writing is so so good <3

I don’t want to lose you

“I’ll go in and ‘negotiate’ with Mikael for the white oak while you two go in and look for Elijah, father won’t have hidden him well and once he sees me he probably wont bother keeping Elijah. Y/n if you could stay here and watch Hope that would be great, right are we good?” Rebekah and Hayley nodded and discussed how they would sneak in, Klaus walked off towards his art room and i just kind of stood there.

Worry boiled inside of me at the thought of Klaus being right in-front of Mikael who has a white oak stake just waiting to kill him. I quietly made my way back upstairs and straight to where i knew he was

“i don’t think you having a chitchat with your homicidal stepfather is the best plan if i’m honest” i spoke lazily as i sunk down onto the chair in the corner and watched as he got his paints out onto his palette and picked out his brushes

“mm while thankfully nobody really requested your opinion on the matter” i rolled my eyes and trailed my eyes down him, his grey henley and dark jeans fit him perfectly if anything maybe a tiny little too tight as i watched his shoulder blades through his shirt and sucked my bottom lip

“still i think it’s stupid, i mean whatcha gonna do? it’s basically a suicide quest” his head was turned a bit so i knew he was listening, his hands tighter on the palette in his hand

“perhaps if you had a smidge of faith in me it wouldn’t be a suicide mission but an act of valour.” he sounded mad. that was good, it meant my words were affecting him and he would rethink his decision

“faith or not what’re the odds yanno? i mean you were running from him for what was it?..oh yeah a thousand years!” that seemed to do something as he dropped any artsy stuff and spun round to face me, his eyes were cold and his expression was angry, offended but i kept up my ‘does it look like i give a fuck’ face and stared blankly at him. He eyed me for a minute, his eyes darting across my face to catch any expressions i could be hiding, i was nervous. but he didn’t seem to notice that at all and viewed me as purely arrogant

“look love, i’m not entirely sure why you seem to think your voice has any sort of importance but it doesn’t so unless you actually have something nice to say u suggest leaving” i rolled my eyes but didn’t move to leave

“so you only want me around when i’m kissing the ground you walk on? maybe you should go on the trip it might be a little quieter without you around smashing all of your shit every time you throw a temper tantrum” my voice got harsher, i watched the emotion swirl behind his eyes

“who do you think you are!?” he practically growled as he got closer to me, i stood from the chair so i could get out of the room just incase he went full rage mode

“i think i’m the only person in this home with a brain! especially now that Elijah’s gone its like talking to idiots” his eyes bled into gold and he took long strides towards me, i stepped backwards until i was flush against the wall, his face just above mine looking down at me and his hands either side of my head

“what the actual fuck is wrong with you! i have a plan! i know what i’m doing, i think i should how to survive after what was it? ah yes a thousand bloody years! you don’t get to sit there as though you are high and mighty, you’re weak and pathetic, you are nothing so how daw you come here, insult me to my face and try to change the trip I’m about to take! it’s not a fucking holiday y/n! i know it’s dangerous but i’m doing it to save my oh so wonderful brother!” his chest was heaving as he huffed in face

“and what about you! Elijah’s going to be too weak to come back and save you if Mikael gets you and what if just murders you on the spot? You know that he would! Rebekah and Hayley are going to be too busy with your stupid brother to come back for you and i can’t do shit as i’m so fucking weak and pathetic! you’re going to die klaus, die!” tears slipped down my face despite trying to fight them back and i avoided his eyes suddenly finding the wall opposite much more interesting

“i’m not going to die y/n, you know that i wouldn’t let that happen i have to come back to my incompetent siblings and my daughter and you” i sniffed and shrugged

“you can’t just expect to walk out of every scenario untouched, you’ve faced your father before, you personally have told me literal horror stories of Mikael, i don’t want you near him” his hand came up to hold my jaw as i slowly looked back at him

“i’ll be right back, i can give you my word on that” i shook my head and let the tears fully stream

“i don’t want to lose you” i whispered, my voice breaking at the end

“i’m not leaving” he whispered back and went to kiss my cheek but i turned my head a little and caught his lips with mine, it was only a peck as he pulled away with a surprised look on his face and i gulped in the fear of his rejection. He hesitated before pressing his mouth back against mine, i brought my hand up to the back of his hand and pulled his closer as i pushed my tongue between his lips and poured my every emotion into this kiss, he reciprocated my passion and cupped both my cheeks.

We slowly parted, i kept him close and pulled his head down to rest our foreheads against each others

“please don’t do something stupid, i love you too much for you to die, it’s not fair” i mumbled with my eyes still closed, his thumbs caressed my skin and he gave me another small kiss

“we’ll think of a different plan okay? you come with me and lets talk to the others yeah?” i stilled when he didn’t say it back and tears filled my eyes once more

“right…yeah okay” i whispered and dropped my hands from his hair

“y/n?”

“mhm?”

“i do love you…i have for ages i thought you knew that” i breathed a laugh and shook my head

“you think if i knew that i might’ve done something sooner?” he smiled and chuckled before kissing my head

“i figured you were holding out on me love”

[fallen-gravity]

What inspired you to make Safe Haven? Btw I really love the fanfic not just because I’m Mollie and Ollie fan but it’s also because you have shown how much they have grown in there friendship after everything that has happened to them. Keep up the great work!

And just wondering how would Scratch react when he realizes Ollie was sleeping over in the McGee’s guest room?

aaa, thank you so much for your kind words!!! it really means a lot to me to hear that people love my work 🥺🥺🥺🥺

A lot of the intial inspiration came from a headcanon I've been talking about with friends for months about Ollie sneaking off to the McGee house. Even before he told his parents that he thinks ghosts can be good and compassionate at NecroComicon, he's been struggling knowing that he has such contrasting morals with his parents (and even his own sister before he had a chance to talk to her too) and that really scares him, so I like to believe that sometimes he would sneak out to spend time with Molly and her family because he wants a space where he can autheitcally be himself. There's a queer metaphor in there somewhere about having a closest self and a true self around loved ones you trust the most, and little sprinkled bits and pieces of wherefore art thou Romeo. NecroComicon airing only added fuel to the fire of Ruben and Esther canonically not being accepting of Ollie's differentiating morals, so yeah, of course he's gonna feel extra scared and unsafe, because now they know he's not like them anymore.

Another part of it, the really initimate part of Molly and Ollie comforting each other through gentle touches and whispers, that part comes from personal experience. When I was about 16 or so years old, there was a time where my then-partner and I got talking about life stuff, and not even necessarily about us or our future or anything that was really about our relationship, and we started getting really emotional because yeah, sometimes talking about life is hard. And we were feeling really shy about it, cause we were around other friends too, so the way we went about it was we kind of...squeezed each other in a really tight hug, and we touched foreheads and got all real close and balled up together, and...we cried. We talked about heavy stuff together and wanted to cry together and it felt like a genuinely healing experience. Molly and Ollie are both going through a lot, and, you know, they're both incredibly touchy people in canon, that it just felt to me like that's something they'd benefit from. Have a heavy talk, and then just take a few moments to let the other help ground you. Gently take them by the hand, wind an arm around them, tell them that they're sitting right there and that they don't plan on leaving any time soon. The fact that The Grand Gesture and mollie becoming canon in the very next episode that aired after writing it was insane luck on my end; I genuinely had no idea what the episode was going to be about outside of June and Darryl's plot, so you can only imagine the look on my face rereading Safe Haven after it aired. Holy shit.

As for how Scratch would react knowing Ollie is right there in his house, well...I'm sure Sharon wasn't the only person that Molly woke up when she was running around trying to make sure Ollie was okay, right? 😉 The way I see it, he woke up when she woke up, and he was gonna give both of them an earful about it, but by the time he caught up with them, he'd probably just run into Ollie crying into Molly's shoulder, and even he's not that heartless to kick someone while they're down.

But he is petty enough to wait until morning, ask how Ollie's feeling, and if he responds with oh, thank you for asking, Scratch! I'm feeling a lot better, then he's gonna tear him a new one for waking him up in the middle of the night and worrying Molly sick like that. But of course Ollie's used to it by this point, and knows that probably means he was secretly worried too, so he just responds to all of his griping with a smile.

[ladykissingfish]

*Deidara knocks on Tobi’s door*

Tobi: Yes?

Deidara: Can I come in?

Tobi: Yeah.

*Deidara comes in, and once the door is closed, Tobi takes off his mask*

Obito: You’re back already? I thought you and Hidan wouldn’t be back until 4 at least.

Deidara: We did get back at 4, hm. It’s 10:30.

Obito: Really? 

Deidara: Really. *holds up the covered bowl he has in his hands* I made steak, peppers and rice. I want you to eat. 

Obito: I’m not really hungry, Dei.

Deidara: *sits on the bed and uncovers the bowl* I’m going to guess you haven’t eaten all day, Obito. Come on, please? For me?

Obito, jokingly: Are you going to hand-feed me?

Deidara: *puts chopsticks into the bowl and lifts out a piece of steak* If that’s what it takes, Uchiha. Say “ahhh.”

Obito: *smiles, leans over and kisses Dei’s lips before taking the bite* Thank you for taking care of me.

Deidara, blushing: Y-you’re welcome, hm. *holds up another bite* I … I get worried about you, you know. I really wish you’d start taking better care of yourself.

Obito: *takes the bite and chews before answering* Never had a reason to before.

Deidara: *reaches over and timidly takes hold of Obito’s hand* Well, you’ve got a reason now. And that “reason” worked very hard on this, and had to fight off Hidan trying to sneak pieces of steak. So eat.

Obito: *grins and takes the bowl from Deidara’s hands* Yes, sir. But you know, same goes for you, Dei.

Deidara: What do you mean? I eat!

Obito: Eating isn’t all there is to self-care. There’s also getting a decent amount of sleep, exercising more, and, oh yeah, being more careful with those explosives of yours.

Deidara: Tsk; there’s no such thing as being careful with true art! But, fine. You start taking better care of you, I’ll start taking better care of me. Deal?

Obito: Deal. 

Deidara: And after dinner, I’ve got something for you that’s gonna “take care of you” even more, hm ~

Obito: Oh? *pulls Deidara towards him and sits him on his lap* Then can I just skip straight to dessert, then?

Deidara: Of course! *gets up and heads for the door* I hope you’ll like them, it’s my first attempt at brownies in a while so …

Obito: O-oh? You meant actual food? *chuckles* I thought you were talking about something else.

Deidara: Finish that rice before I come back, and you might just get both, Uchiha. *winks at him then leaves*

Obito: Whew. Baby you tried but this rice is as hard as a rock. *opens his eye* Good thing I can just transport it to somewhere else!

*the contents of the bowl disappear just before Deidara comes back in*

Deidara: Ah! Good! *kisses Obito* Looks like you get extra dessert ~

*meanwhile, in Konoha*

Kakashi: *sits up in bed* What the hell …

Gai, half-asleep next to him: What is it this time?

Kakashi: *wiping face* Bits of rice and steak, I think. Just … how does this keep happening?!

Gai, yawning: If food is going to keep magically appearing for you, can you put in a request for some spicy curry next time?

Kakashi:

[ndplatypus]

My issue with “Helluva Boss”

Yes the humor relies a lot on vulgarity, sex, drugs, and a lot of cussing. Not my cup of tea but it’s not my issue with the series. I genuinely use to love this show, but recent episodes and a rewatch have me very disillusioned with the series. I’m gonna talk about why here.

At first glance, especially in season 1, it’s pretty good. A lot of decent set ups and the chance at world building. The basic premise is interesting and the characters are fun. It genuinely has a good foundation and the potential to be GOOD. It’s why I’m so upset with it now.

To start off, the writing is weak. Nothing that is set up is ever paid off. The main premise we were set up, a small business started by a lower class character of sneaking off to earth from hell to commit assassination jobs. It’s a fun premise! Again a LOT of potential. It’s implied heavily in the show that imps are lower class, usually servants or country hick folk. And higher class and stronger demons look down on them. It’s said by another imp in the show it’s impress and rare for an imp to have his own business!!!

But it teeters off and looses focus of this by heavily focusing on shipping. (Not saying you can’t mix comedy, romance, and drama in one series, but the show doesn’t do this well) It falls off in a way the show star vs the forces of evil did when the show started focusing less on the more interesting concepts (the racism and classism between mewmins and monsters) and started heavily focus on shipping, switch Tom, Star, Kelly and Marco and others) HB does exactly this. Throwing away other concepts and stories they made the show more interesting just to focus on shipping Stolas and Blitzo.

Another issue I have is how the main couple is portrayed. A ship including a very privileged rich upper class prince character and a lower class character whose race is implied in the show to be seen as less than. Classism and racism is not a good dynamic to start with, but with good writing and some sensitivity can be done right.

But again, it isn’t written well. To make the ship look better it’s almost essentially get written between season 1 and 2 and shifts almost all the blame for the problems in the relationship onto the LOWER CLASS CHARACTER WHO FACES RACISM AND FETISHIZATION FROM HIS RICH PRINCE ROMANCE INTEREST.

This mixed with the very questionable sexual coercion and potential sa issues that are involved in their relationship- it’s very uncomfortable. Not saying a ship isn’t allowed to be toxic. I find toxic characters fascinating tbh, but there is a art to writing them-

As in you have to acknowledge your characters are toxic and have your audience see the characters acknowledge this and try to change and do the work to be better. If both Stolas and Blitzo were written to acknowledge both have sone faults in the relationship and both are hurting each other in different ways and tried to work on themselves it could still be good! HB does not do this. It sets up a couple that on both sides is very toxic but only treats one side as so. The one who in reality based on past writing the show no longer acknowledges, is the bigger victim in the relationship!!!

They completely recontextualize the characters by essentially retconning how they got together, starting season two they take what’s potentially a good pairing of toxic characters who can grow and heal together to just trying to victimize one and make the other the “bad” one. Yea both are toxic but to now make Blitzo the main problem in the relationship and Stolas as the victim of just loving someone who doesn’t treat him write- it’s not good writing. It’s honestly gross.

Stop setting up issues like classism, racism, fetishization, in your show, in your ship, if you don’t actually want to acknowledge it. Stop writing serious real life issues into your stories if you can’t properly handle them. You can’t just pretend now those issues aren’t there in season 2 after establishing these issues in season 1. You can’t retcon this shit between seasons. Have the balls to acknowledge how you write your characters to be shitty people and make them work to be better. Not just pretend they are better without any work being put in!!!

And I could go on how all the gay characters seem grossly fetishized and fit into basic stereotypical top/bottom roles. Soft uwu bottom who goes no wrong and strong and big bad top. Yes some gay men have preferences but being so focused on top and bottom dynamics is weird.

The writing of the female characters is gross as well (the creator will say HB is the boy show and HH will be the girl show but it’s an excuse for cheap writing) all the girl characters are props and get no character or growth of their own. They all exist to prop up the boys. To help further along their development and stories while getting none of their own. The female antagonist in the stories are essentially one dimensional with her personality of “bitch.” And only exist again to be against the boys. The girls in the show are constantly demeaned and talked down to by male characters and treated like “stupid bitches” and this is all okay and funny. But when a female character says something bad about the male characters they are wrong and antagonist and will get a rock dropped on them for laughs at the end of the episode, because the show itself treats the males with depth and forgiveness (because trauma) but the girls are lazy evil caricatures who must get beat down in the end because clearly they are wrong and bad, even though it’s funny when male characters do the exact same shit. Some serious misogyny here.

Also another writing issue is.. it feels a lot like trauma porn. Every main (male) character has to have some deep trauma all somehow about a dead/missing mom and abusive dad (all three main make leads have a variation of this same trauma)

Not every character needs a traumatic back story. Not every trauma has to be death and murder and abusive dads. If you have to have your characters be traumatized to make them interesting or explain away their shitty behavior this is just bad and lazy writing.

It doesn’t feel like she’s trying to tell a story here at this point. Season two ends up feeling like fetish and trauma porn and half baked single dimensional characters that exist solely to sexualize and traumatize.

I hate to be this angry and critical of an indie show but even without all the drama around Viv and the treatment her workers the show itself has simply become a toxic poorly written mess of tropes and stereotypes that are simply meant to sell a product not tell a real story.

I wanted to like this show, and I genuinely use to. But after this new season and a rewatch I simply can’t enjoy it anymore. Anything this series had going for it is now trashed. It’s a shame to see.

Again I use to genuinely love this show. My anger with it comes from seeing it fall so far from the potential it had. But maybe that’s on me.

[nerves-nebula]

Part Deux: featuring Mikey unlearning toxic traits

——

Mikey knew first. He and Donnie had walked into the city together. Donnie had eyed the duffle bag he was carrying curiously, but didn’t question. Donnie was the only one who knew Mikey was sneaking around the Hidden City putting up murals. In fact, Mikey knew for a fact that one of his murals was the background on Donnie’s phone screen. They hadn’t exactly spoken about it, but Donnie liked to take pictures of the murals he found that he knew were Mikey’s and send them to him, usually with silly emojis to show his appreciation for them.

Mikey loved those texts.

Mikey loved Donnie.

He knew it wasn’t exactly nice to have a favorite sibling, but he considered Donnie his favorite. Donnie understood the pressure of trying to get someone to recognize your skill. He felt like if he had his baby brother with him, they could do anything. They’d take the Hidden City by storm with their creativity and genius. One day Donnie was gonna be a famous inventor and he was going to be a famous artist and they’d be drowning in fan mail!

“K-keep yourself safe t-t-today, okay?” Donnie smiled at him.

“I’ll be fine!” Mikey laughed, “I got my badass ninja skills to keep me safe.”

The town center was busy today. Mikey pulled them to a more quiet section of street, putting himself between Donnie and anyone else. He held out his hand for a moment, just in case, but Donnie didn’t take it.

“Where you headed?” He asked.

“Library.”

“Nerd.” Mikey snickered, “They decided to crown you king of the books yet?”

Donnie rolled his eyes, but didn’t answer.

“Can I have a sip of your water?” He asked as they approached the library entrance, “I’m thirsty.”

Donnie clutched his water bottle to his chest, “N-no! You have y-your own.”

“Yeah, but it tastes better to steal yours!”

Mikey tried making a grab for it, giggling as he did.

He groaned when he felt Donnie’s knee come up, getting him in the side. It wasn’t anything too unusual, the four of them loved to roughhouse. He caught his breath easy, didn’t think anything of it, until he looked up and saw Donnie fleeing into the building proper.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

He turned and started making his way back through the streets. The spot he’d chosen was across town from the library, so he wouldn’t be walking home with Donnie.

He chewed on his lip as he weaved through the crowds. He shouldn’t have joked like that. He knew Donnie was bad about germs and stuff, and he clearly wasn’t having the best mental health day given how much he’d retreated into himself. Plus, he’d run away so fast…

Maybe he should go back and apologize. His therapist said that the only way to move past a mistake was to first own up to the mistake.

Was it even a mistake? It’s not his fault Donnie-

No.

Halting that train of thought. They don’t think like that anymore. Donnie was allowed to feel the way he felt, even if it was different.

Right.

He’d been thinking on this for too long. It was obviously bothering him, so he should go and at least tell Donnie he was sorry for upsetting him.

He turned around and started his way back to the library. By now he was a decent ways away, but it was worth it to make sure Donnie was okay. After all, the creative ones had to stick together. If Donnie ended up actually being mad at him, he wouldn’t be in the right headspace for any kind of painting until it was resolved. No one fucked with his baby brother anymore, especially not Mikey himself.

He pushed into the library and signed in as a visitor. He fished his phone out of his duffle bag and left it at the bag drop-off, quickly texting Donnie to ask what section he was in.

He wandered towards the research section. They’d been here with him a couple times with him and it was always confusing. How was he supposed to find Donnie in this damn mess.

His phone pinged.

🧬Nerd Face🧬: I left something for you on your art desk at home. I love you, Mikey.

Oh, a gift! Fuck yeah, Donnie got them the coolest gifts.

He approached a desk, talking with a rabbit yokai about finding his sibling. Thankfully, the rabbit knew of Donnie and pointed him in the direction of Donnie’s favorite study spot.

He hurried that way, a bit of excitement building in him. Well, maybe he wouldn’t work on a mural today, but he could hang out with Donnie instead. Sure, it wasn’t always fun, but now he wanted to see his bro.

He spotted Donnie at a secluded desk, laying down in his chair, his arms pillowing his head. Did he fall asleep as soon as he got here? He didn’t even have a book with him.

“Yo, Don?” Mikey whispered as he approached, smiling, “You good, bro?”

Donnie didn’t reply.

His water bottle was knocked over on the floor, drained empty.

Mikey frowned. Donnie hated drinking anything other than water, and he was certain that water wasn’t bright pink.

“Donnie?” He reached over, shaking his brother’s arm.

Nothing.

Panic filled his chest.

He acted on instinct.

“Help!” He shouted, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Someone help! My brother- he- help!”

——

Breaking News: Fuckin Nerd Decides to Die with Books. Story at 11.

-Monster Anon

WAUGHHHHHHHH STOPPPP (positive)

Was it even a mistake? It’s not his fault Donnie-

This moment means so much to meeee you don’t get ittttt theres so many little things in this that kill me- the way they have each other saved in their phones- the little playful situation they have about Mikey’s art- GUHHHGGH

The fact that Donnie sent a text like “btw my suicide note is on ur desk” and Mikey was like “oh pog I love gifts!”

[shankschewtoy]

Okay, on account of recent requests, I now have something to ask. What Usopp, Barto, and Kid with an S/O who's hobby is art but can pretty much only draw stick figures. How would they react to finding a painting of themselves in stick figure form?

a/n - barto would cherish that drawing more than he cherishes his Luffy posters I just know it 😭 tysm for this request anon! This is so adorable 🥺💜

Warnings ⚠️ - g/n reader, I bully kid lmao

Bartolommeo

- He loves you so much, but this boy is the definition of “Aw sweetie you’re talented in other things!”

- … I’m sorry but it’s true

- Barto can’t do art, it’s just not very compatible with him

- Idk once he tried to paint something of you (I think he put Luffy in the background somewhere) and he accidentally dropped the paint bucket on his head, turning his hair pink for around a month

- He supports every single one of your hobbies, it doesn’t matter what the hobby is!

- Cooking? Of course! He’ll help in whatever way he can :) Writing? Omg you better read him bed time stories 😭

- Today, he was walking around the ship, looking for you in literally every room

- “Y/n?!” He was so confused- where the hell did you go ?!

- He found you seated at the table, extremely focused on something, so he decided to try and be quiet for you

- He tiptoed (like those fucking cartoons) trying not to make a single peep

- He looked over your shoulder, struggling not to make a noise

- You were drawing! But.. Why did that stick figure kinda look like him??

- His eyes widened when he realized you were drawing him

- His heart melted, his eyes turning into little sparkles of amazement and care

- “Y/n is that me?!”

- “WHAT THE FUCK?!” You were startled, man forgot he was supposed to be quiet

- You scared the living shit out of the poor boy, “WHA- WHAT’S WRONG?!”

- “Barto- why’d you sneak up on me?!”

- Poor boy didn’t mean to scare you! He was just so amazed by that drawing of him

- It doesn’t even matter if the drawing was good or bad, he literally didn’t care

- He took that drawing and framed it in his room, and he asked you to draw another one so he could keep one with him at all times 😭

- This boy will do anything for you, and seeing you draw him? That just made him fall even more for you (if that’s even possible, man’s already head over heels for you)

Usopp

- Honestly Usopp is a pretty good artist himself!

- He painted the strawhats flag after all!

- He was going about his day, gathering random scraps of materials he found scattered around the ship

- He went to go say hello to you, his precious, amazing y/n (who always protected him in his times of need)

- He paused when he saw what exactly you were drawing today

- He tried his best not to just burst out laughing

- “Oh- Usopp!” You said with a grin, looking up from your stick figure drawing

- Usopp gazed at the photo with a snicker, taking a look at how- long his nose was

- “Y/N EXCUSE ME- MY NOSE ISN’T THAT LONG.”

- He was OFFENDED

- how dare you make his nose 3 inches longer than it should be?! 💀

- he was yelling at you while pointing at his nose for a while after that

- “I’m gonna sue you!” He shouted jokingly

- “Mhm with what money??”

- …

- “NAMI?!” -Usopp

- pssssssst- he kept the drawing anyways 😭

- he uses it as hype up material for when he’s scared or about to fight someone strong hehe 🥺

Kid

- Kid’s a mechanic, not an artsy guy

- he lets you do you though, it’s not bothering him, actually he kinda likes seeing whatever you end up drawing from day to day

- your drawing today was of him, and instead of stick figures, you decided to practice some anatomy! (It obviously went wrong)

- His chest was extremely disproportionate to the rest of his body (it was literally like you stuck watermelons onto his chest 💀)

- Perhaps that’s how you saw him

- Kid looked over your shoulder and immediately took a step back

- Was that.. HIM?!

- “Y/N WHY THE FUCK ARE MY TIDDIES SO FUCKING BIG?! I’M NOT THAT BIG!”

- Man got so angry lmao

- He had to lecture you about how he’s actually not that large and how his tiddies are “small”

- You couldn’t even practice anatomy in peace with this dumbass tulip head

- “KILLER! My chest isn’t that big right?! Y/n’s fucking blind!”

- Killer snickered, and he agreed with you, the drawing you drew was pretty accurate

- “FUCK YOU KILLER I’M COMING OVER THERE SHITHEAD!”

- … kid you need to calm down 😭

a/n - lmao I love barto 😭