#setting fireworks shop on fire is good??? why?

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny had origallany moved into this new world filled with hope and optimism. Heck, the city he moved to was named Metropolis for ancients sake and was protected by a colorful man in red underpants. He had rights in this world as a "metahuman" and he didn't need to protect anyone with all these superheros around. It was perfect.

Or so he thought.

It all started when he met and subsequently flirted with a man named Tom Davidson. They clicked almost instantly even while his little brother Damian gave Tom the stink eye. Eventually they had to leave and they happily gave thier farewells. Danny later kicks himself for not getting Toms number.

Damian confronts Tim, asking why he lied and Tim responded that he didn't want to be out as Tim Drake: Gotham Rich Guy and wanted to be normal for a while, which Damian reluctantly accepted. Tim thinks this was more because he didn't want to escalate and get into even more trouble with Bruce. That was how he got stuck with a babysitter in the first place.

"Tom" and Danny meet again a few weeks later outside of a coffee shop and they recognize eachother. Danny waves him over and they drink coffee together and chat. Afterwards Danny asks him out to coffee and they set up a time and date.

Danny didn't think asking his crush out would be this easy.

Tim actually didn't realize he'd been asked out on a date date and is just happy to hang out with someone he shares so many hobbies with.

After weeks of accidental dating, Danny invites Tim out to a fancy restaurant for a date and nothing goes as planned. First, a snobby waitress had tried to give out the table Danny had made reservations for (the one in the most romantic part of the restaurant and thus he had to pay extra) to one of her own friends and thier own date and Danny had ask the manager what was going on which got the manager involved and the girl got fired. She got dragged out yelling about who her daddy was. So already not a good night.

Both Danny and Tim were kinda awkward after that. But wait, there's more! The lady who was supposed to get the table for free thanks to her friend tried going full Karen, much to the horror of her date, who told her off and broke up with her right then and there. Fireworks ensued but Tom and Danny were seated soon after so they didn't get to see the rest. The restaurant did offer to give them complimentary desert as an apology, which was nice.

Danny said something like, "I was expecting dinner, but the show was a surprise!" Which broke the ice and got them laughing and chatting while they waited for thier meals. At some point while eating Tom perked up and said he needed to go to the bathroom and rushed off quickly. Danny thought it was odd, but blamed his paranoia on the fact he used that excuse so much to get away from situations and go play hero.

At first thats what he thought Tom was doing when he didn't come back for a while, so Danny got up and went to the bathroom to confirm his suspicions. Instead of an empty bathroom he saw Tom in there kissing some blond guy.

Danny just turned around and left without making a sound. What fresh soap opera hell was this? He walked up to thier waitress and explained the situation. She quickly got his food boxed up with both his and Toms complimentary deserts (he'll take a victory here no matter how petty) and he paid the bill and gave her a large tip before speedwalking out the door.

He ghosted Tom after that. It was a good thing he never Gave Tom his address he guessed.

He didn't see Tom for almost a month before he ran into him at a farmers market in Gotham accompanied by an elderly man in a sling. Tom introduced the man as Alfred. Alfred was very polite. Danny, however, was not. "Why are you introducing him to me?" He asked bitterly. "We're not friends."

"We're not?!" Tom asked, having the audacity to look shocked.

Danny nearly growled, but didn't want it getting out that he was anything other than perfectly human, so he bit his cheek and turned to walk away. Unfortunately for both Danny and Tom, the latter had grabbed his wrist to keep him from leaving and Danny snapped.

He grabbed the first thing he could, which was a cabbage from a nearby cart. Ignoring the owners shout of "My Cabbages!" He proceeded to absolutely hail down veggie based pain onto the creep that broke his heart. He slapped a fifty into cabbage guys hand before he turned and left in a huff.

By the time Tim recovered he was covered in veggies and bruises and very confused. Tim decided he had a new case: What the heck did I do???

Danny was mad cause he keeps running into his cheating ex. He had agreed to let Lex Corp send him out to Gotham for a few weeks on a business trip in hopes of avoiding the guy but now he's seeing him everywhere.

Angry and tired, he was not pleased to hear shouting and explosions outside his street. He opened his window and saw the Joker fighting the local hero and yelled at them to keep it down. The Joker was momentarily distracted and got his lights punched out by Batman for it.

Danny didn't think anything of the incident after that, just rolling over into bed and falling asleep. Of course the Joker tracks him down and breaks into his hotel room to try and kill him. Which leads to Danny killing the Joker in self defense.

Theres a media crapstorm from this. Danny swears he heard Vicky Vale in his hotels vents but that may have just been him hallucinating. Some super hot guy with biceps that made Danny blush hugged him and thanked him. Hes not really sure what that was about but he was just glad this was over and he could leave this cursed city in a few days.

Then Batman broke in. Danny told him to scram and somehow it turned into a fight. Maybe Batman was trying to intimidate him. Maybe he was genuinely trying to beat up a 19 year old. Whatever the reason he had still broken into a guys hotel room and attacked him...which lead to Danny panicking and using his powers to get Batman off of him...unfortunately he used the wrong power- intangibility- and killed the man instantly. His organs were on the floor, soon followed by Dannys vomit when he saw them.

The bats got the alert of Bruces vitals stopping and went nuts. Danny looked at the corpse and decided now would be a good time to get the heck out of dodge.

Of course Red Hood shows up in his apartment in Metropolis. He sat at Dannys dining table cleaning his gun and asked Danny to take a seat.

Instead of threatening him like Danny expected he began asking questions. Mostly about some "Tim" guy. Eventually everything was cleared up. Danny was mad as a hornet finding out that "Tom Davidson" was actually Tim Drake and that he was 17 instead of 19, and that he was dating that blond guy from the restaurant and claiming he didn't even realize that Danny had asked him out, which Danny called bs on.

Danny felt somewhat sick at learning he had dated a minor, even if it was supposedly only technical and only for a month or so. Danny was 19 and Tim was 17 and Danny didn't think that was okay. Hood waved it off and had him explain the events surrounding the Joker and Batmans break ins and eventually told him that he would deal with the bats but told him to watch his back because the bats were grieving and it was hard to tell what they were going to do.

[gnostichymns]

We may not know where our wishes will end up. But together, they will light up the night sky and turn it as bright as day.

ABUNDANCE:

[NEW YEAR MARKETS] - With so many vendors setting up shop, now is the best time to purchase a trinket as a reminder of the new year, or to get some much needed errands done.

[WANMIN MEAT CART] - Despite how short a trip it is, Chef Mao has some classic recipes right on the water, along with some brand new cuisines just for the Lantern Rite. Try some classic Mora Meat pastry, Dragon Beard Noodles, or his latest: Rex Lapis’ Delight! 

[XINYUE KIOSK DESSERT CART] - If sweet treats are more your thing, just a few spots down is a stand specially reserved for Xinyue Kiosk’s brilliant desserts! Buy one dessert, get one free “New Moon Cake,” with not one, not two, but SEVEN original fillings.

[TEA TASTING] - Third-Round Knockout is offering a rare, once a year opportunity to personally taste test some of their newest flavors. Jasmine Pearl, Dragon Cinnamon Oolong, Aged Golden Dawn, Phoenix Fire Oolong, why not indulge in some of the finer things in life?

ELATION:

[DRAGON DANCE] - Join the Lantern Rite parade! With so many dragon puppets needing twice as many hands, join the show and dance until you drop.

[MAHJONG] - How about one of Liyue’s quickest games? Mahjong, known for its lightning rounds and fast-paced gameplay, is a classic this time a year. Surely you won’t be here all night…

[SHADOW PUPPETS] - Puppet shows are quite popular this time of year, using lights and small paper designs to convey thrilling tales. Comedies, Romance, Tragedies, woe, these poor hearts will be forever changed.

[DRESS UP] - Red and gold, the colors of each festival this time of year, are absolutely stunning. Glimmer and shine for the kamera, dress up and serve on the runway.

BEAUTY:

[LANTERN MAKING] - Each year, we send up glorious lanterns with our thoughts, prayers, and hopes for the future, and what makes them so special is that no one lantern is the same. Create your own work of art to carry on into the vast expanses of the night.

[CUSTOM FIREWORKS] - Art is passion and desire, fleeting as it is eternal. With brilliant dyes, light up the night in a wondrous explosion for just a moment, and create those lasting memories.

[DRAGON CHARMS] - Representing good luck and strength, creating a little charm of the dragon itself can often inspire hope while passing into the next year. Though, many Adepti now have become popular faces of such ornaments.

[JADE TALISMAN] - Pure and indestructible, jade is the embodiment of virtue and benevolence. Taking days to etch at a time, these talismans are truly a rare and valuable gift.

HARMONY:

[WORSHIPPING ADEPTI] - The protectors of Liyue are often secluded and forgotten about per their distance, though for the Lantern Rite, small shrines of each prominent Adeptus are made. With incense burning, make a prayer or offering to the illuminated beasts.

[PROSPERITY TOSS] - A common tradition to signify the end of the year and the birth of a new one is to create a bowl of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other fresh foods, and to feast. Many restaurants host these during the Lantern Rite to bring us together.

[RED ENVELOPES] - Though much more common, a sign of good faith and friendship often comes in the form of a red envelope. Containing a small sum of mora, each envelope is a gesture of amity.

[FEED THE KOI] -  Koi represent harmony and wealth in Liyue, and a common tradition is to visit when the moon is at its highest. A small sacrifice, in the shape of some crackers or bread crumbs will often please these simple creatures.

[pokemon-teacology]

I'm back!!! I have been since Sunday, whoops, but I've been busy getting back into class, so no updates for yall.

However! I'm back now, home was great, I travelled out to stow-on side to see the kids. Apparently the little pink dude that had the attitude problem fully bowled down their mural and revealed an old statue??? Sonia would not stop texting me it was wild.

The statue actually looks really cool! I don't really understand why the mural was covering it but I'm glad it's out in the open now.

Anyway updates on trainers, Glo and Hop beat Bea and Vic beat Alistair (still weird to me that they let a kid run a government building but he did a good job). It wasnt too difficult thanks to their larger and more diverse teams. Gareth and his granddaughter did great, too! They truly fucked up Alistair's team with their linoone, zippy.

Carl is... Definitely also there. He now has a togepi, which was firing all sorts of attacks all over the place. He faced Bea, and in her interview afterwards she praised him???

"His strategy was so complicated and well thought-out that I could not understand. He was a formidable opponent."

Whereas Carl's interview:

"I have no idea what happened. I didnt recognise a single move that Tepi [the togepi] fired. I didn't know Tegepi could learn that?????"

The rotom drone capturing the match identified the attack as a prismatic laser???? Which is. Whilde. I assume the togepi knows metronome.

Everyone else did fine! That Marnie girl with the morpeko has been Killing it lately, which I love for her. Im excited to see her battle one of the kids from postwick when they face off in the finals. Brandy and I had a great time catching up with the battles after I got back.

As for the visit itself, I saw my relatives and their Pokémon, helped my nans around their gardens, and met up with my childhood bestie. I saw my dad and his girlfriend's new house, too! It's a nice house. My brother and I hung out a ton, too. I've missed him :)

I went to Stow-On-Side the day before the kids set off to Balonlea, we got foodstuffs from the shops and had a picnic next to the entrance of the glimwood tangle. I was wearing a nice hat that day, and it got stolen by some impidimps >:( so we had to go into the glimwood tangle to get it back from those little shits. They're lucky that they're cute, otherwise I'd be furious. I've found (and by that I mean I've been told by my buddy who had one) that playing along with their games is the easiest way to get your stuff back, and they especially like then you mess with them back. Despite not enjoying having my hat stolen, I actually had a really fun time :D I got to spend time with the kiddos, too, which was great.

My Mons had a great time, too. Bonfire night happened, which they all really enjoy. Pokémon are kinda touch and go with fireworks, but mine have always been fine. Chomp was scared the first time he saw them and didn't like the noise as a gibble, so he had this set of

It sucks to have to leave them again, but I've only got a month more before the holiday season is upon us, meaning I'll have a whole month and a half off to spend with my family.

Sorry for my update being a bit disjointed and worded not super great, I just got back from dyeing my hair (I got red instead of pink whoops) at my friend's place and I'm absolutely shattered (tired) so I'm heading to bed. I just thought I'd update since I've been gone for almost two weeks (whoops)

[coolnightmarerunaway]

Mr. Volkswagen

I encountered this man because of other acquaintances. Somehow he found me on FB last year and continues to message me.

I figured he would have been gone after his failed gaslighting attempt. But alas, like all weasels it came back.

When he speaks about his employment he talks in code. He works at a courthouse. He was telling me something was impeding his ability to push forth cases he is involved with. He started counting on his fingers like I was supposed to know his obstructions 🤨

Today I noticed a Volkswagen very similar to Mr Volkswagen park next to Mr man who is friendly with the police. Mr man who is very friendly with the police relocated his vehicle after Volkswagen appeared in the lot. Both of these men are connected to a biker group. Mr Volkswagen surfaced last year.

There has been a lot of shady individuals showing up since the so-called outlaw biker group started invading town. By invasion, I mean collecting some of the stupidest people you can find and claiming they're a gang.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people with low self-esteem in large groups!

I am curious to know what's going on. If the group is indeed being heavily spied upon, it must be because of their wardrobe 😆 there is one guy that buys and sells from crackheads. But crackheads sell stolen merchandise on the side of the street. Aside from attempting to harass others, I don't know what they're really guilty of. Okay, illegal cigarettes but that is like half of town now.

One guy does like to take credit for a criminal activity that has taken place. An example would be a car getting set on fire, or someone getting a first-class trip to ICU. He is also the guy I saw hanging out with Mr police friendly! Good thing he is known for telling tall tales, otherwise Mr police friendly might have him in cuffs.

This man also posed as a landlord collecting rent; only for his so-called friends to be evicted from their living establishments. This created emotional fireworks approximately 2 years ago. And his bike was confiscated for debt owed to a biker outside his group. Obviously upon the bike confiscation, the guy who was rewarded the bike, joined the group! Why not, he got a new to him Anniversary Harley-Davidson! I'd probably join too 😆

Anyway back to Mr Volkswagen who may very well be creeping upon these people.

Mr. Volkswagen told me a time when he would be available for coffee. I never said I was going to join. When I did arrive later I noticed there was a collection of them at the coffee shop. That was the first time I saw a collection of them in a while. Kind like a set up of sorts. When I arrived home there was something messed up with my deadbolt. My door lock has already been jammed with something. I suppose now would be a good time to mention my keys were stolen.

The gaslighting he would be guilty of, is when he told me the location of my car. When I asked him how he knew, he tried to tell me I told him. I purposely didn't tell him where anything was because of his associations. That was the easiest man to bust in history! 😅 And I didn't hear from him for a while.

Upon this man learning of my car location, I went and sat at the mechanic shop in another car. I watched numerous bike guys nearly breaking their neck twisting to look at my car in the lot.

Magically one day he showed up in a beaten up blue Ford focus. Parked right next to me. It the next day he requested coffee. Coffee didn't happen. The following day when I arrived for coffee while reading my news, lo and behold there he was. Right after his friend departed myself didn't he pull over..

Thankfully he had to depart to pick up one of his children that live on hooker row. He returned to the coffee shop, parked in a location where I could feel him staring at me. I relocated the seat of my car so I couldn't be seen. Then he started messaging me...

I don't know how old this man is. He refuses to tell a mutual friend. I don't know what his game is. I have attached a screenshot. I should attach more.

March 22, 2024

[xino-writes]

my god

SNIPPETS FROM BOTH

ABOFMN

"His only, true, regular guest, was a young boy who only spoke broken common, and he only looked at the different plants, sometimes even helping Kaeya with watering, if Kaeya had left the can out from watering them earlier. He’d never bothered to ask the boy’s name, as the few times he had come into the shop, Kaeya wasn’t at the front or was caring for the plants himself."

PM

Amber: the headmaster had me make this chat! :) it’s why i got everyone’s number earlier today :>

Lyney: why is everyone yelling?

Yoimiya: hu tao tried to cook with bennett and theyejsdnlakdaeds

Yanfei: they blew up the stove. yoimiya got pulled into the crossfire because she deals with fireworks and explosions.

xiangling was pissed. thoma was more chill but he’s mediator and on xiangling’s side.

Diluc: thank you, amber.

now why did i come back to the kitchen being on fire? exploding a stove doesn’t set the entire kitchen on fire.

Yanfei: like i said, xiangling was pissed. good luck getting back to your room.

Lyney: what did i walk into

Xinyan: hell.

we should probably put this out

Diluc: this is why everyone calls us pyromaniacs

[slowtravelingcat]

The Monster, Chena Hot Springs and Talkeenta, AK

Monday, July 5th, 2021  

CAL - I can tell that the large, bald one must really be loving it here. She has left the hotel room for 2 full days for the 2nd week in a row. As her best friend and confidant, I am supportive as I can tell these extended outings bring her great happiness. 

As for me, this week was an eventful week, indeed. I slew a monster. 

Let me start at the beginning. I was pushing my head underneath the curtains to see out of the window, as I have many times before. Normally if I dip my head low enough I can push the fabric away to get unfettered window access, however, this time, something different happened. When I lifted my head, I expected a view of the outside, but instead, I remained covered in fabric. There was fabric behind my head and in front of my eyes, at the same time!

There was only one conclusion to be drawn. I was being eaten alive by the Curtain Monster.

Once I realized what was happening, I did what any noble cat would do. I chewed my way out.

It took a while to get the first tear in the fabric, but once I broke through I found a renewed sense of energy. Once I was safely out of the Curtain Monster’s evil grips, I continued to chew. I chewed out of anger and then relief. If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure why I chewed those last few pieces. All I know is that Curtain Monster has officially been slain. I can not wait for Michele to see my noble deed.

MICHELE - There is so much to see in Alaska, this summer is starting to feel like the shortest and longest summer of my entire life. With the holiday, my work afforded me a 3 day weekend, meaning that I started my weekend adventure on Saturday morning. 

The first leg was a 7-hour drive from Anchorage to Chena Hot Springs Resort, just outside of Fairbanks. The drive is beautiful and runs through the interior of Alaska, skirting the eastern side of Denali National Park. The drive passes through a series of valleys and mountain passes, each one more grand than the next. After a quick stop in Fairbanks for supplies, I made the final push to Chena. 

The Chena Hot Springs resort is known for winter viewing of the Northern Lights. Despite being “off-season” the property was pretty packed. The entire space is a mix of eclectic outdoor sculptures, handmade crafts, duck ponds, and gardens. About half of the land is dedicated to a hotel and the other half to a campground with a mix of cabins, yurts, and space for tents. The smell of smoke wafted over the campground as a small brush fire burned not too far away. 

After settling into my cabin on the camping side of the property, I took a stroll around the grounds, where I snuck a few pictures of a sled dog kennel and marveled at the strange art distributed around the various gardens. Next, I enjoyed a dip in hot springs, which had only a subtle smell of sulfur. I finished the evening with a glass of red wine on the porch of my cabin. Just when I thought the night could not get any better, a brigade of firefighters trot past my cabin and into their make-shift quarters for the evening. A few of them wave and I lift my glass to toast to their good work. What a life. 

The next morning, I check out of my cabin at the last possible minute and make the 5-hour drive to Talkeetna. This time as I pass Denali National Park, the sky is perfectly clear and I get the greatest view of Mt Denali! Luckily there is no shortage of viewpoints on the highway, and I can pull over to snag a couple of photos. 

Sunday night in Talkeetna is a charming way to end the weekend. The town is tiny and packed with cafes, pubs, and little shops. I wander the streets and end up with a poke bowl and a can of beer at a sidewalk cafe. Around closing time, some locals set off a few fireworks, but the sky remains lit up by the sun, so it really only generates a series of loud noises.

The next morning the drive back to Anchorage is plagued with holiday traffic. I am exhausted by the time I enter our room. I immediately notice that something is off though.

The curtains are torn to shreds. Cal meows proudly as he rubs against my leg. What the heck happened in here? 

[magpie-to-the-morning]

Wild Child

Moodboard by @acrossthesestars

Rating: Mature

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Reader, could be read as Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham

Tags: Fluff, A bit of spice, consensual drug use (pot), reader experiencing anxiety due to fireworks

Word Count: 3k

Author’s Note: I’m playing fast and loose with the Stranger Things timeline because I needed some romantic Eddie fluff this weekend goddamn it! For my own peace of mind, the reader is 18 and Eddie 19 or 20.

Alex, this one’s for you 🎸

_________________

When you were little, you loved the Hawkins Fourth of July Celebrations; the excitement thrumming in the air, the riot of color and sound that accompanies an entire community celebrating together. The sense of nostalgia and tradition and belonging it gave you.

So why is the holiday making you so damn jumpy this year?

It started at the parade. The lone firework that always erupted at the start of the festivities with a boom like cannon fire set your heart racing every year, but this time it also sent you into a near panic, bumping into the younger cheerleaders you were supposed to be leading in a display of school spirit.

“What’s wrong with you?” One of them hissed.

You tell me, you thought wryly, even as you apologized and pasted a bright smile over your face to get back in formation. People were counting on you, after all, and they would damn sure notice if the captain of the cheer squad was anything less than flawless.

By the time the parade ends and people begin to disperse to barbecues and parties, your face is aching from the skeleton grin you’d forced yourself to wear. 

When did pretending to be okay get this hard? You used to be so good at it.

Maybe sometime around the mall fire, and the latest round of grisly deaths in your once sleepy town. No one talks about it but there is something rotten beneath the manicured lawns and bustling Main Street of Hawkins. Something that has you on edge, and feeling like you’re the only one seeing it makes you wonder if you’ve simply lost it, cracking under the pressure of being the town’s pretty, perfect princess. 

You’re so wrapped up in these thoughts that you don’t notice how far you’ve wandered from the crowd until a growl rips through the air. It’s a wall of sound - music, you realize once an electric guitar wails to life. It’s coming from a radio set back in the shadowy bay of a mechanic shop, the volume cranked loud enough for the bass and lyrics to bleed onto the street. It’s a howling, furious clamor, but something in it soothes your soul, calling to the restless spirit within. It’s a call to battle and you surprise yourself by thrilling to it.

You take a closer to the music, so caught up in the moment that you collide with someone inside the shop, barely catching a glimpse of them as you do. Just a quick impression of wild, dark hair tumbling over a startled face, doe-eyed and full-lipped. Eddie Munson, you realize as you draw a steadying breath.

“Shit!” He jumps back, looking as startled as you, his soft brown eyes widening even more when recognition dawns. When it takes you a moment to recover, your nerves still jangling from the glare of the festivities, he cocks his head, watching you carefully. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He holds his hands up and takes a half step back, dropping the stereo volume as he goes.

You shake your head, embarrassed. “You’re fine it’s, it’s not you.”

“Did you uh, need something?” He glances over your shoulder as though looking for a broken down car. “The shop’s not really open.”  

“Oh, I wasn’t - I was just… walking. I’m surprised you’re working today.” 

“Yeah, well, some of us have to work for a living, you know?” There’s an edge to his voice, but he’s looking at his hands as he says it, the comment half muttered as though more to himself than you.

“You should take a break, enjoy the holiday. Everyone else is.”

Eddie chuckles and rolls his eyes. “Oh don’t worry, Mayberry’s doing just fine without me. Besides, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not exactly the patriotic type.” 

“I didn’t feel much like celebrating either.” 

He’s looking at you like you’re a mystery to be solved, uncertain if you are friend or foe. You can hardly blame him - your starched, pristine cheerleading outfit clashes with the comfortably worn, grease-streaked jumble inside the garage. The two of you are assessing each other like soldiers on opposite sides of a war that’s been waged since high school began. The haves, the have nots. The popular and the freaks. 

The lines weren’t always so harshly drawn. 

When the awkward pause becomes oppressive, you venture “What were you listening to before?”  

“Black Sabbath,” Eddie replies with a knife-sharp grin, his eyes theatrically wide although you could swear uncertainty still flickers there. “Better be careful. You know what they say: it’s the devil’s music. Could lead to all kinds of mischief.” 

You just shrug and turn the radio’s volume back up. “What sort of mischief?”

He raises his eyebrows, amusement and something like admiration creeping into his tone. “What kind are you looking for?”

You bite your lip, unsure, but ask “Do you still deal? I could use something to take the edge off.”

A slow, impressed grin unfurls over his features. “You little rebel!”

He pulls out a battered black metal lunchbox and digs through it, finally coming up with a baggie half full of brownish green weed that looks like it’s several months out from fresh, but will still get you where you need to be. 

“I can do… fifteen for the half.” Light catches on his thick silver rings as he offers the bag to you. 

Electricity races up your arm when you move to pass him the cash. Despite Eddie’s fierce image, his touch is tender, his palm pressing lightly against your own, and you find yourself reluctant to pull back. Meeting his gaze makes your heart race for the third time today. He’s studying you just as closely - a curious look in his soft brown eyes. It gives you the courage to ask “So, do you have to keep working, or…?”

-

You should be on your way to a party by now. All your friends will be waiting for you. Your varsity-lettered boyfriend too, a few beers in and looking for somewhere to drape his kingly, possessive arm, your shoulders its rightful place.

You should. But instead…

Instead, you’re sharing a joint with Eddie Munson on the swings. The playground is deserted, all the wholesome townspeople off following the script you've left behind, leaving the afternoon sun-drenched park blissfully free, with no one to care how loudly you’re giggling at Eddie’s antics.

He’s standing on the swing beside you, his previously cautious face animated and gleeful now that he’s let his guard down, his hands wrapped around the chains as he recounts his Dungeons and Dragons group’s latest campaign. 

“Oh, you should have seen them - warriors to the last. A Dungeon Master’s never been so proud.” His smile falters a little at that and he drops heavily into the swing beside you, his head ducked. “Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes.”

“I don’t mind. It sounds fun.”

He looks at you skeptically. “I wouldn’t have taken you for the nerdy type, princess.”

Hurt flashes through you and before you can stop yourself, you blurt out “Don’t call me that.” 

“Woah, hey, no offense intended.” Eddie lays a hand on his heart, his expression suddenly both open and solemn. “It’s just - “

You cut him off. “That would be like me calling you a freak. That’s all anyone else sees me as.”

As soon as the words are out, you clap your hands over your mouth. “Oh, I didn’t - that was rude, I - “

To your surprise, Eddie just throws his head back and laughs. “Don’t apologize, I was being a shit.” For the first time, he looks completely at ease in your company and his infectious good mood coaxes a smile back onto your face. 

“What’s so bad about being a princess, anyway? Some of them are pretty badass.”

“Name three.” 

“Princess Leia,” he announces triumphantly. “And…” 

You raise an eyebrow as he trails off. 

“Okay okay okay, um… Ha, what about Susan and Lucy in the Narnia books? You know, the one with the lion, the witch and the wardrobe?”

“First of all they were queens, and second of all that’s bullshit! Aslan wouldn’t even let them fight in that battle, and when everyone else got swords they just got a horn and a bow. Typical. Their brothers get to go be warriors and they just have to be all polite and ladylike.”

Eddie’s eyebrows have nearly vanished beneath his shaggy bangs. “Wait have you actually read the books?”

The two of you launch into an animated discussion of fantasy books, and how you had loved them as a child until your friends’ changing tastes made you put them aside, feeling like the odd one out for still reading about magic and checking the backs of closets for snowy forests.

By the time you’re finished, Eddie is looking at you almost worshipfully.

Pleased heat creeps up your neck. “What?”

“You are full of surprises, aren’t you, rebel?”

Before you can answer he leaps up and points excitedly at you as though he’s just remembered something. “ÉOWYN. Or, oh, Lúthien! Talk about badass - she went into Morgoth for her love.” 

You blink at him sort of apologetically. “Who?”

“Ohh, you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings?”

“No, sorry. Is it good?”

“It’s the best. You’ve read The Hobbit though, right?”

When you shake your head, Eddie takes you by the shoulders, radiating excitement. “Ohh, we need to fix this. I’ll lend you my copy - you’re gonna love it.” 

-

Shadows lengthen around you as the two of you talk, the streetlights coming on before either of you run out of things to say. Eddie tells you about his band, about living with his uncle, about working odd jobs to help make ends meet while he finishes school.

You find yourself relaxing in his presence, and not just because of the joint you shared. His enthusiasm lifts your spirits, his walls falling as he tells you about the things he loves - and listens when you do the same. He lights up when you do, the two of you swapping playful teases and reminiscences of middle school. 

“I didn’t think you remembered me!”

“Eddie, your band’s name was Corroded Coffin, how was I supposed to forget that?”

“I thought you were too busy practicing that cheer routine. Which I thought was pretty cool, actually.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And it still is, you know. The band. We’re playing at the Hideout next week, you should come check it out.” 

You’re just about to tell him that maybe you will when there’s a shrill whistle through the air, an explosion of red light, and a loud boom. Noticing the way you jump, Eddie shifts to kneel in front of you, peering up at your tense expression. 

“Still need something to take the edge off?” He rests his palms lightly on your knees, ready to back off at a moment’s notice. When you nod, your lower lip between your teeth, he only hesitates for a moment before rising to his feet. Eddie offers you his hand, saying “Come on. I know somewhere we can go.” 

He leads you through the park and up a steep hill, putting more distance between you and the baseball field where the town’s fireworks display is beginning. His fingers are warm and reassuringly solid in your grasp, his touch grounding you even as it sets your pulse pounding. When you stumble over a nearly invisible rock in the dim twilight, he’s there with a hand under your elbow, courtly and reassuring. 

“Come on, almost there.”

He stops near the crown of the hill in front of a small hollow. It’s not quite a cave, but a spot hidden slightly away while still affording an unobstructed view of the fireworks display. 

“Oh wow, how did you find this place?”

Eddie shrugs, a pink blush spreading over his cheeks visible even in the low light. “Would you believe me if I said satanic rituals?”

You raise an eyebrow, waiting for the real answer. 

“Fiiiiine. I used to play out here and pretend it was my castle.” He tosses his hair as though daring you to tease him, even with a playful look in his eyes.

“Eddie Munson that is adorable.” 

“You’re gonna leave my reputation in tatters, aren’t you?”

“I would never.”

The two of you settle beneath the protective overhang and somehow, it feels only natural to lean back against Eddie’s chest while he rests his chin on your head. This far away, you’re able to relax and enjoy the fireworks the way you used to, a glittering display of color and light that instills a sense of wonder rather than anxiety. 

Eddie wraps his arms around you in a loose hold and your breath hitches, the air suddenly crackling with possibility. He’s uncharacteristically quiet, like he’s waiting to see what you’ll do next. Without saying anything, you lay one hand over his, playing idly with his cool silver rings. Eddie goes completely still behind you - until he raises the stakes in this unspoken game, winding his fingers with yours, his thumb brushing questioningly against your palm.

You’re so caught up in the moment you don’t even notice how chill the air has turned until Eddie’s warm breath huffs against your cheek. 

“You’re shivering. Here.”

You turn to see him shrugging off his black leather jacket. Warmth clings to it, seeping into you when he wraps it around your shoulders. The movement brings him impossibly close, your noses nearly brushing and your breath mingling in the small space. 

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Neither of you turn back to the fireworks.

Curling his fingers beneath your chin, Eddie tilts your face up to his and breathes your name as though saying it too loudly will break whatever spell brought you into his orbit. “Can I kiss you?”

You know you shouldn’t. There is no version of Hawkins where you can get involved with Eddie Munson without either of breaking every law of high school and small-town expectations. No version of this story that ends with a happy ending. 

Well, you’re tired of living in someone else’s story.

“Yeah,” you breathe, already reaching for him. You close the distance between you, the sweet shock of Eddie’s mouth making your lips part in a gasp. 

No one has kissed you like this before. Generously. Coaxingly. Sweet enough to make you melt and deep enough to make you moan. Every kiss before has been perfunctory. The hurdle to leap over before the finish line. But Eddie… Eddie kisses you like he craves it. He takes his time, tracing your lower lip with his thumb, seemingly more intent on tasting you and pulling out all those little sighs and gasps you make than getting up your skirt. It’s that leisurely pace that leaves you panting, your eyes bright and your heart beating hummingbird fast. When Eddie doesn’t so much as try to slip a hand up your shirt you draw back, glassy eyed and puzzled.

“Don’t you want to…?” You bite your lip and trail off, embarrassed heat creeping up your neck. 

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie groans. He catches your hand, kisses your palm and presses it to his heart so you can feel it racing. “You tell me. Do you want to?”

When you take off your shirt in silent answer, Eddie’s eyes roll back in his head in a mock faint, his back hitting the ground with a low thump. You laugh and lean in to check on him, playing along by ‘slapping’ his cheek. He rolls you over, one hand cupping the back of your head, making you shriek with laughter. 

Your laughter fades, softening into silence as you make out the look on his face.

People in this town don’t see you any more. Oh, they may glance your way, but all they’re seeing is the neatly groomed and meticulously crafted version you present. That is, if they even bother looking past your cheerleading outfit. Most don’t.

Eddie Munson is not most people. He looks at you like he would follow you into battle. Like you scattered the stars across the sky. Like he sees you. All your jagged edges and puzzle pieces that just don’t fit, no matter how hard you try to work them into place. He sees them, and accepts them. 

You wonder if he has someone who looks at him that way. 

Shyly, you lift a hand and run it through his long hair a few times before scraping your nails gently along his scalp. Eddie leans into your touch, eyes half-lidded and a look of contentment on his face.“You’re not what I expected, Munson.”

His grin is a bright flash in the dark. “Neither are you, rebel.” 

By the time the fireworks are over, the two of you are grass stained and giggling, half-rising only to tumble back down into kisses you both know won’t really be the “last one, I swear.” 

Eventually Eddie sighs and lifts his head from where it’s been resting in your lap. “It’s getting late. I should probably get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

There’s a wistful note in his voice and it chimes a hollow ache in you, too. What happens after tonight? The queen of Hawkins high can’t possibly show up in the fall with the town outcast on her arm. 

Can you? 

You let Eddie pull you to your feet, his jacket a comforting weight on your shoulders as the two of you make your way down the hill and through the dark town. You head for your house, the darkness shielding you from prying eyes and gossiping tongues. It gives you the same thrilling sense of liberation that Halloween used to - the one night in the year you could defy expectations, running freely through the streets with your wind in your hair and a wild laugh on your lips.

Maybe you should play in the dark more often.

Eddie leaves you to your thoughts, your hand in his like he’s afraid someone will spirit you away if he doesn’t. Not tightly or possessively, just… carefully. Intentionally.

When you reach your doorstep, Eddie takes your hand and brings it to his lips. 

“Farewell, lady,” he says, the quaint language somehow right in his distinctive cadence. “Morning approaches and I must away.”

He takes a last, lingering look before leaping off your doorstep and sprinting into the night, turning an almost stumble into a theatrical bound and making you laugh with the same surprised delight he’s pulled from you for hours. 

“Goodnight,” you murmur, a smile still playing over your lips as you let yourself into the silent house. 

-

Eddie lifts his head from where he’s bent over his guitar when a quiet knock rattles the trailer door. 

Expecting it to be his uncle, he calls out “Forget something, old man?” He blinks when he pulls open the door, startled not by the bright late morning sunlight but by the sight of you standing on his doorstep. You’ve traded your cheerleading outfit for jean shorts and a t-shirt but otherwise, you’re the girl who’s been pleasantly haunting his dreams. 

With a nervous smile, you reply “Yeah, I forgot to borrow that book from you last night. What was it again, The Hobbit?”

Eddie’s astonishment melts into a radiant grin as he steps aside and welcomes you in with a flourish. 

To be continued…?

[aziraphales-library]

You got any fics where Aziraphale is just enough of a bastard to be worth liking? Not, like dark!Aziraphale or anything like that. Just where he trolls a little bit, cheats a little bit, is a bit self-centered and very human

There are tags for this on ao3: Aziraphale is "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" (Good Omens) & Aziraphale is a Little Shit (Good Omens) so check those out! Here are a few for you for now...

High Stakes by redundant_angel (T)

The power goes out and Crowley decides to keep Aziraphale company for the evening, but things take a rather revealing turn when Aziraphale produces a deck of cards!

angels, demons, and poäng armchairs by lexophile (T)

“You did this,” Aziraphale accuses when he realizes that they can’t reach the bedroom section without first passing through the children’s furniture, kitchen, and living room showrooms. Crowley knows he’s mostly cranky because they didn’t stop for Swedish meatballs and oversized cinnamon buns. “This labyrinthine monument to capitalism has Hell written all over it.”

“Nah, you’re wrong. This is all your side’s doing!” Crowley retorts. He’s a bit miffed by the angel’s ingratitude. Crowley isn’t the one who needed new furniture, after all--his flat is full of menacingly artistic bespoke pieces. “I’ve seen Heaven, remember? It looks a bit like this. Besides, you can’t tell me that all this white space and the finicky organization system doesn’t reek of Gabriel’s influence. S’awful. I don’t know why you wanted to come here. You could have just miracled up whatever you needed.”

-

After the world almost ends, an angel and a demon go shopping at IKEA.

Put a Little English on It by Mackaley (M)

“Oh! What about pool?”

Crowley lifted his eyebrow.

“Angel, do you even know how to play?”

Aziraphale smiled simply and said, “Oh, it’s been around for over a century. I’m sure I can figure it out.”

-----

Aziraphale is very good at pool hustling.

Loopholes by GayDemonicDisaster (M)

When Aziraphale finds out that Crowley has only been passing him the easiest jobs to do as part of the Arrangement, he insists that Crowley lets him join in on a more difficult one. When the next hellish order involves tempting criminals to smuggle humans, angel and demon must find a way to subvert the instructions to fulfil the task without harming any innocents. Crowley and Aziraphale pose as fellow gangsters to infiltrate the mob and take things in a more wholesome direction. Expect lots of comedic bickering.

Crowley does have a few darker moments, but all in the name of saving the innocent. There's plenty of light relief to make up for the brief violent bits. There's no smut in this fic, sorry! They're a bit too busy saving people to fall into bed together this time. Have some light pining on a par with the show instead.

Planes, Trains & the Apocalypse by walking_contradiction42 (T)

Crowley only wanted to get home for Christmas. Unfortunately, a sudden onset of winter thwarts his plans. Making his way down to Tadfield by the most obscure means of transportation he is forced to stick with his very annoying seat mate Aziraphale. Only someone up there (or down there, or wherever it is that things are nowadays) seems to have it in for him, because trouble seems to be waiting for them around every corner.

Or the Planes, Trains & Automobiles AU all have been waiting for

Forest for the Trees by Ace_Of_Tales (M)

After discovering his boyfriend of eight years cheating on him with someone else, Ezra Fell decides to take a summer job as a forest lookout in the Scottish Highlands. He leaves the comforts of London to get away from his problems and think about his future. On the job he "meets" his supervisor Anthony Crowley. (Well, communicate through two-way radio, anyway) The two fire lookouts hit it off right away and a bond forms between them, despite being miles apart.

However, all is not well in paradise. On top of dealing with some bratty teenagers setting off illegal fireworks, someone has been listening in on Ezra and Anthony's conversations the entire time.

The question is, who is spying on them, and why?

- Mod D

[callmewisteria]

50 Fairy Tail Headcanons

Fairy Tail is the guild known for being unpredictable.... 👀👀👀

Natsu trimmed Lucy’s hair with fire, and she grudgingly accepted that it looked good, especially because it nicely curled her ends and bangs.

Cana and Mest got arrested at one point for shooting fireworks off the guild hall at 3am. The Magic Council didn’t find it nearly as funny as they did,

Evergreen was arrested that night with Cana and Mest. She helped them set it up and even encouraged Cana to use her magic to create an even crazier firework show.

On Mest and Cana’s first date, they also got arrested, because, while they had been drunkenly teasing each other with magic, they accidentally turned the water in Crocus orange. People lost their shit because they thought the water was poisoned, and the Magic Council did not find it at all funny. The two of them, however, could not stop giggling during the trial.

Freed -- on very rare occasions -- has gotten drunk in the guild hall and Bickslow, being Bickslow, takes videos of him without fail every single time. He makes Freed watch them when he’s mad at him.

Erza helped Lucy become more comfortable in herself and her body. Lucy eventually became confident enough in herself, and was willing to wear whatever she wanted, no matter how much skin it showed.

Freed is Toma’s son, making him Hisui’s brother. He rescinded his claim to the throne in order to pursue his passion for magic. Part of why the Magic Council is -- despite their constant irritation and disdain -- somewhat lenient with Fairy Tail is because of the King’s amusement by their antics, something he is always eager to hear about from his son.

Gray will never admit it, but he fights better with Juvia, whether they’re in the guild hall or on a job.

Natsu hates chocolate. He’s never given a reason for it, but most of the guild assumes it’s because Gray tricked him into eating dog shit by calling it chocolate when they were kids and had been fighting.

Mira is an angry drunk. If you piss her off when she’s drunk, she will challenge you to a duel or, at the very least, punch you in the face.

Evergreen and Elfman forced Freed to play the bag pipes at their wedding once they found out he could play. Evergreen had come across this fact while snooping. When he began to play while she started down the aisle, everyone else in the guild seemed incredibly disturbed by it, while Elfman and Evergreen stifled back laughter.

Lisanna loves gossip. She knows nearly all the secrets of everyone in the guild hall, and she hears a lot of it from Evergreen and Elfman, both of whom like to think they’re super “plugged into” everything in the guild.

Laxus and Jellal threw hands in the guild hall at one point. This wasn’t because they didn’t like/were mad at each other but because they were very drunk. It ended in a draw.

At one point, everyone in the guild hall agreed to have a Halloween costume contest. After Gray told Juvia her idea for a couples costume was stupid, she vowed to make a better costume than him. So, she came into the guild hall that day for the contest dressed as Carrie. The costume was so convincing that it scared Makarov. Gray nearly fainted in horror and thought she had gotten in a car crash. Bickslow, on the other hand, thought it was so cool that he gave her a high five and had Laxus take a disturbing amount of pictures with him and Juvia that day.

Belno is Laxus’ mother, who always regretted not fighting harder for her son when Ivan took him away during their divorce. Her guilt was part of why she clawed her way up to being a member of the Magic Council, and Laxus only found out shortly before her death. They only talked once, because he was too young to remember her when his parents separated.

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray enjoy going to Target a little too much and have been known to buy so much, increasingly ridiculous things. They’ve also been known to push each other around in shopping carts.

Erza can’t stand spicy food, but pretends that she can handle extremely spicy foods because she’s embarrassed to admit she has a low spice heat tolerance.

Mira has a fascination with Lifetime movies, including classics such as “The Deadly Influencer” and “Her Deadly Sugar Daddy”.

Meredy has a mild and secret peanut butter obsession. Only Ultear knows about it and helps keep her secret.

Jellal and Erza did the MC Hammer dance at their wedding. No one was expecting it, and no one was brave enough to tell them that they looked ridiculous.

Freed didn’t tell the rest of the Thunder Legion that he’s the King’s son until the X791 Grand Magic Games. Evergreen just about lost it and screamed “you’ve had money all this time and still made me buy you clothes last year?!” She then demanded he “repay her” by taking her shopping for designer clothes. The whole time Freed kept swearing under his breath, sending her dark looks out of the corners of his eyes while she chiperly piled more and more designer dresses, fur coats, boots, etc into a bag. Laxus couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. Bickslow took pictures of Evergreen saying things to her along the lines of “work it girl!” and “yeah, that’s right, make Freed want to punch you!”

Bickslow also forced the rest of the Thunder Legion to watch The Human Centipede. Laxus threw up. Evergreen spent the whole film filing and painting her nails, while Freed spent most of it making increasingly disgusted noises and exclamations of protest. Bickslow, in his morbid sense of humour, asked them if they “enjoyed” the film after. Evergreen, as a result, proceeded to threaten to claw his eyes out with her freshly sharpened nails.

Lucy has a secret love of furbies.

When Freed formally introduced Laxus to his sister after Laxus and Hisui had fought the jade dragon together during the Eclipse disaster, he became very protective of her. Hisui reminded him that she is also an adult, and she and Laxus eventually started dating despite Freed’s protests. He did, however, tell their father that she and Laxus were together after an argument, and Toma initially disapproved. He softened his view on Laxus after a time, though he didn’t mince words when he told him what he expected of Laxus. After dating for two years, Laxus and Hisui got engaged and married six months after; when he found out they were engaged, Freed and Toma both became even more protective of Hisui, and Laxus tried not to be left alone with his soon-to-be father in law. He kept trying to do that after he and Hisui were married, and she was almost amused by the lengths to which he would go not to be left alone with her father.

That Halloween costume contest in the guild hall? Natsu didn’t feel motivated to make a Halloween costume but did vote for Juvia to win for her Carrie costume (and she did, in fact, win). He also decided to scare the shit out of the rest of the guild hall with the “questionable decoration” he had brought with him. Everyone screamed when he brought it out, because it was a genuine coffin that he had bought from a guy who had used it in his university grad school programme for film. He tried to ride it into the guild hall, but he was unsuccessful, and settled for pushing it in. Lucy screamed, and Erza demanded to know if he had been grave robbing. He explained the situation to them, but it did very little to make them feel better. Laxus told him to get the damn thing out of the guild hall, something the rest of the Thunder Legion also told him (to varying degrees of yelling) to do as well. The rest of the guild hall was just in stunned, horrified silence. Makarov eventually asked Natsu if he had brought that to disturb him, and Natsu joked that it was “his ride to the next world.” In response, Makarov rolled his eyes and smashed the coffin with his magic. The mood in the guild hall immediately lifted.

Bisca and Natsu had a paintball war over several weeks. She won when he and Gray were about to get into a duel, which turned him on her. She was greatly amused and knocked him down relatively quickly.

After Bickslow showed Lisanna the film It and she got into a fight with a group of (not killer) clowns while on a job, she began carrying a cleaning spray type spritzer to spray Bickslow with water whenever he tried to freak her out or said strange and/or concerning things, essentially trying to train him like a cat.

Mira and Laxus got angry at a couple of people from another guild for the things they said to them, the Thunder Legion, and Team Natsu about Fairy Tail. So, they went and egged their guild hall in the middle of the night.

Erza is surprisingly naive about certain social matters, and Lucy had to explain to her what certain things mean, including what a sugar baby is.

Freed is a gifted oil painter.

Freed also loves the Twilight series, and got emotionally invested in Edward and Bella’s relationship.

Evergreen has watched every single episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved at least three times, and cried when the series ended.

Freed tried to watch Buzzfeed Unsolved with her, and got creeped out by it. He later confessed that while he isn’t afraid of much on jobs, he is freaked out by true crime.

Hisui has always enjoyed small explosions, and, when she would get bored as a kid and a teenager, she would play with firecrackers. Eventually, she got good at doing trick shots with them.

Cana and Mest challenged Evergreen and Elfman that they could tolerate an increasing sourness of Baby Bottle Pops better than them. Elfman had to bow out first, throwing up after the second round. Gajeel was the referee, and Levy filmed it for the hell of it. Mest ultimately won, but Evergreen came in second. Cana ended up washing the “awful taste” as she put it out of her mouth with vodka.

Levy was the one who introduced Freed to Twilight. She had started a book club in the guild, and he, Lucy, Jellal, Juvia, Erza, Lisanna, and Gajeel (who grudgingly joined out of support for his wife) were all part of it. They were all stunned when he would give soliloquies about how passionately he felt about Edward and Bella’s romance.

Evergreen won a bet against the rest of the Thunder Legion, which led them to performing as a barber shop quartet one time. They were all embarrassed of it, but Evergreen had almost too much fun with it.

Mest can tap dance.

Cana can river dance.

Mest and Cana danced together in the guild hall in both of their styles, and the two of them surprised the rest of the guild hall by how good they were.

Laxus almost exclusively listens to metal and rock music, but he has the soundtrack of South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut on his playlist and knows it by heart.

Natsu and Gray are both abysmal at cooking, but like to think they’re amazing at it. Natsu only continues to believe this because Happy insists he is, albeit mostly because he gets Happy (occasionally stolen) fish all the time.

Juvia hates home decor and likes to keep her and Gray’s home minimalistic. He doesn’t object, in part because he doesn’t like to clean much and/or have trouble finding things.

Bickslow is afraid of butterflies.

Wendy has so many blankets that she cocoons in, and, if she’s too cold even in the guild hall, she will not hesitate to wear one.

Wendy also is amazing at drawing, and can do detailed sketches almost mind bendingly quickly.

Erza rode one of the electronic “try to throw you off” bulls while plastered, and laughed her ass off the whole time, not falling off. Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, and Gray were all deeply concerned. Jellal thought it was hilarious.

Bickslow has a habit of spending a disturbing amount of money in the clearance section of Target.

Mira loves slap bracelets and owns at least twenty of them.

The guild makes Magnolia a “crazy and dangerous place” to be on New Year’s eve. Everyone in Fairy Tail goes all out, a bit too wild every single year without fail. As a result, the Magic Council is usually the most exacerbated by the guild during New Year’s day.

[technowoah]

Can I request a prompt #37 with Karl Jacobs? I love your writing btw :)

Ring(s)

The four times Karl tried to propose and the one time he actually did.

- Karl Jacobs x gen!neutral reader!

- Prompts: 37) "Are you proposing?!"

⚠︎ swearing, fluff, angst if you squint and a rushed ending. I didn't proofread either

an// TYSM FOR LIKING MY WORK 😭ALSO Thanks for requesting and sorry this came out so late! Hope you enjoy :)

To say that Karl loved you was an understatement. He adored you and practically worshipped the ground you stood on. He is so respectful, which is a major upgrade from your other boyfriends, and loves you for who you are. You didn't have to put on a facadè at all during the 3 years you two have dated.

This love wasn't a one way thing. You loved him just as much, or even more, than he did. Everything he did you supported, you were always cheering him on from wherever you were. You were here for the good and the bad, and he was too. You two never shyed away from admiting your love and support. You could write a essay on each thing you love about Karl.

The idea of marriage came up during a late night dinner at Denny's. The idea came so naturally to you, so it surprised Karl that you didn't tense up. Karl was tense when bringing up the topic of marriage, so when you said "Yeah, I wanna get married to you one day." so casually it caught him off gaurd.

You two had already talked about marriage time and time again, but this time Karl wanted to take the initiative. He was ready to get married and since the marriage talk was just a few months ago it was fresh in his mind. Karl could vividly imagine you walking down the aisle towards him looking angelic. He could see everything now and he wanted those daydreams to become a reality. He wanted to physically feel your hands against his as you two say "I do" to one another.

He couldn't stop thinking about settling down in a nice house with you. Karl already bought a ring for you and always has it with him. Now he justs needs to figure out how to tell you.

1st proposal: Fireworks

"THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE FIREWORK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD-"

You blocked out Jimmy's yelling as you sat in a lawn chair in the middle of the woods. Karl had invited you to a MrBeast video shoot because he thought it would be a great early 4th of July. It was late at night and slightly cool outside, so you were wearing a MrBeast hoodie Karl was wearing earlier. You zoned out as the boys talked to the camera over and over again, taking multiple shots.

You found yourself looking at Karl most of the time you sat there and you always caught his gaze towards you. Every time you caught him looking at you, you sent him a small wave or blow him a kiss and every time he sent a shy wave back or sent a more exaggerated kiss back.

During halfway through the shooting you begrudgingly had to move your lawn chair further and further away from your original spot. Karl always checked up on you before and after each firework set were blown up. He has been acting fidgety around you and you didnt know why. When you tried to confront him about it he would always turn away and go back to the boys without a glance back, and his hands in his pockets.

You loved watching the guys play with so many different types of fireworks, this was a great 4th of July for you, but you wished that Karl was sitting next to you feeling the bliss that you were.

You were currently sitting behind bulletproof glass while the guys had a control panel on their lap. Karl kept sending glances towards you and you looked at him and smiled whishing he was next to you and not over by the guys. You knew it was selfish, but he invited you here.

Karl kept bouncing his leg, he kept his hand in his pocket which held the ring. He kept sending glances towards you, knowing he should be on one knee right about now. Jimmy was about to fire off the last rocket of the night and Karl couldn't seem to go over and ask you to marry him. He knew he was hilding himself back which made him hate himself. You deserved a good night and he hoped you enjoyed the fireworks, but he knew on the ride back he would have to apologize.

He stayed with the boys as they went to go see the fireworks they would be setting off soon. Once they came back they were all about to press the button to set off the expensive fireworks they counted down from 5 and he looked towards you. You were standing up with your arms crossed, hopefully shielding yourself from the cold, and looking towards the fireworks that were going to burst. They finally pressed the button the fireworks went off.

Each burst of light in the air sent a glow onto your smiling face. Karl sent a somber glace and marveled in how the explosion of the fireworks sent a beautiful glow around you.

This wasnt the right time. Next time.

2nd proposal: Donuts

"Im sorry for last night." Karl apologized as you both took a seat at a booth by the window at the small coffee and donut shop.

This was supposed to be an apology for the last failed proposal. Instead of spending time with you, he kept his distance which was the opposite of what he really wanted to do. This was a way to spend much needed time with eachother, but this was also another attempt at a proposal.

Karl wanted to hide the ring in the middle of a donut so when you inevitably look at it when he hands it to you, you'll see the ring and then he'll propose right there. To him it seemed flawless.

You never wanted a huge proposal. You didnt want that much attention on you when your future significant other would propose. Something simple would be the ideal proposal and you've hinted that many times to Karl and right now he was listening. There were only two other couples in the small diner because others were picking up donuts and leaving. If he decided to get down on one knee it would cause a scene.

You stayed silent for a moment looking at Karl before deciding to speak.

"It's no problem. Please dont stress out about it." You smiled softly and he smiled back at you. "I mean the fireworks were beautiful, but you all were screaming too much."

You both laughed as you both recalled that night in the desert.

"Yeah I just didn't..I didn't really talk to you all night. I feel bad." Karl said fiddling with his hands.

"Its in the past Karl. And I still know you love me." You reached out to grab both of his hands and hold his cool hands in yours.

"I do love you." He whispered for only you to hear leaving both of you smiling ear to ear.

"What kind of donuts you want?" Karl asked looking into your eyes carefully.

You thought about it for a while before speaking up. "I'll keep it simple. Icing with sprinkles. Surprise me with the icing color!" You exclaimed while letting go of his hands for a second.

Once you two let go of eachothers hands he immediately went to his pocket and played with the velvet box. He nodded his head and without a word he stood up to meet the cashier behind the display box of donuts. He ordered only one donut as you said with orange icing this time.

He paid for the food and stayed at the counter where he paid. Karl looked back to see if you were paying attention to him only to see you looking out the window at the people passing by. Karl smiled at the sight knowing he really wants to marry you one day and then he looked down at the glistening ring inside of the box.

Karl was supposed to put the ring in the middle of the donut that was laying alone on a napkin on the counter. He started to think of the possibilities of what could happen. What if you didn't see the ring and crumble the ring with the napkin and throw it away? What if you accidentally put the ring in your mouth? What if you weren't hungry anymore?

He looked over again to where you were looking at him giving him the same smile you gave during the fireworks. Karl sighed and once again closed the box with the ring. He was a coward and he knew that.

Karl picked up the donut from the counter and made his way over to you.

"Here's your donut with sprinkles and orange icing!" Karl exclaimed putting emphasis on the 'orange' part.

"Thanks babe!" You smiled as he sat down across from you. "Wait, you didn't get anything for yourself?"

Karl sighed again for what seemed like the 100th time today and put on a smile. "I ended up not being as hungry as I thought I was."

"Well I could always share!" You started to eat your donut as Karl ended up looking outside.

Unbeknownst to you he was thinking of another way to propose without himself getting in his own head.

He'll find a time.

3rd proposal: Livestream

"Chat! As you can see I have my significant other here with me!" Karl exclaimed to his Twitch following.

You were sat next to him in another one of his office chairs with a blanket across your lap. You loved to join Karl's streams, the last couple of time you two played minecraft, gang beats, played on the nitendo switch for a while, but this time he didn't tell you what games you two would be playing. Karl just told you to come over tonight and ended up asking to join him for a stream last minute.

Now you are here next to him as Karl glows with excitement as he streams to his growing followers. You loved how he interacted with his fans and had a genuine connection with them, but sometimes that strong connection can, and has led to some nights where you had to stay the night and comfort him from his inner demons and the internet. Those nights made you love him even more, the vulnerability he gave to you made you comfortable with him.

It seems like the more time you spend eith him the more you want to officially get married. You didn't want to rush him because you soon figured out for yourself that there is no rush to express your love, which you two do everyday day. You two can get eloped in Vegas and you'll be happy, as long as you can spend the rest of your life with the man you love.

Karl kept sending glances towards you throughout the stream hoping you were having fun with the chill, q and a stream. Again he wanted to propose to you tonight during the stream. He loved showing your relationship whenever he could and whenever you would allow him to. His community also loved you the moment you became his significant other, so hopefully this will be a beautiful moment.

You talked to his chat as he contemplated, again, about whether to propose tonight. It wasn't infront of people, it was infront of a screen and it would be on Twitter in less than a week. This would be a good moment, but then again he wanted this moment to be between you two and he couldn't find the right time nor the right "moment".

As the stream continues you ended up wrapping yourself fully in the blanket and lying your head on his shoulder. You both cuddled eachother while you two answered questions. Karl kissed the top of your head and finally collected all of his thoughts.

He didn't need to propose to officially claim his love to you. Karl knew you both loved eachother to the ends of the Earth and back. There's no need for ceremony and the one day he will propose, he know it will come naturally. There is no need to force it, and now he wont.

Only time will tell.

4th proposal: spongebob

"Are you ready, kids?

Aye, aye, Captain!

I can't hear you!

Aye, aye, captain!

Oh!"

The TV illuminated the comfortable, dark room you two were in. You were lying on the couch with Karl with the blanket you had while streaming. It was late at night after the stream and you two ended up watching re-runs of spongebob. Karl sang along to the theme song softly while you hummed along. This was the 4th episode you both watched this night and it was a great way to end the week.

"Do you want to stay over tonight?" Karl asked softly with tiredness in his voice.

"Of couse. Im too tired to move, so thanks for offering." You chuckled.

"You're welcome here anytime." Karl yawned and squeezed your sides. "Do you want popcorn?"

"Hell yeah." You got off of Karl as he walked to the kitchen.

He put the bag into the microwave and leaned back onto the kitchen counter as he waited. Karl looked over to the side and saw a empty vase which was next to the velvet box he was carrying with him this whole week. He shook his head and laughed to himself before getting the popcorn out of the microwave, dumping it in a bowl and walking back to see you taking up the whole couch.

"Move over or I'll sit on you." Karl said standing above her.

"Is that a promise?" You teased.

"Okay then!" He turned around and began to slowly and dramatically fake sitting ontop of you.

You began to laugh and try to push him off of you. You successfully got him to sit down and returned to your previous position, but this time with popcorn.

"I love you, you know that?" You hummed into his chest.

"Yeah, and I love you more."

"I love you most."

"I love you mostest." Karl laughed.

"That's not a word." You smiled.

"I love you so much I made up a word for ya." Karl kissed you head and you hugged him tighter.

"You know what?" Karl chuckled. "I love you so much that I tried to propose to you 3 times this week."

Karl finished and you sat up from your spot looking surprised. Karl sat up as well thinking he made a mistake telling you. He was abkut to apologize, but you beat him to speak.

"Oh my gosh!" You exhaled.

"Look, I'm sorr-"

"Are you proposing?!" You exclaimed with a smile on your face.

"Huh-?"

Karl was surprised just like you were before. He remembered that he wanted the Maybe this was the moment he needed this week.

Karl grabbed both of your hands and caressed them both, looking into your eyes. "I was planning to all week. But now I think this is a good moment. So Y/N? Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will!" You enveloped him into a tight hug and peppered his face with kisses. He finally found his moment and he couldn't be happier.

"You said you tried to propose three other times?" You questioned. "When was that?"

"Its a long story."

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

(Because - as has rightfully been pointed out - the angel needs his cuddles, too.)

--

“Crowley?”

“Nnnnh?” The sprawl of limbs dozing on the sofa shifted, resolving into six feet of lazy demon.

“Can you help me with this?” Rising up on his toes, Aziraphale gestured with the book in his hand. “I can’t quite reach the top shelf.”

“Don’t you have a stool or something?”

“It’s on the other side of the shop, and you’re right here.”

With another groan, Crowley rolled off the sofa in a strange, almost fluid motion, and sauntered across the room. “Where does it go?”

“Just there.” He pointed again as Crowley took the book, glaring at the top shelf. It was, in reality, slightly too high for either of them to reach.

Crowley stretched, standing on his own toes, one hand resting on Aziraphale’s shoulder for balance, until he could just barely get the corner of the book into the gap between two others, and shoved it hard into place.

“There. If that broke the thing, s’not my fault.”

“No, I wouldn’t dream of…thank you, my dear.”

“Mmmh.” Crowley gave Aziraphale a half-grin before wandering back towards his favorite resting spot.

Behind his back, Aziraphale pressed his own hand to where his shoulder still burned with lovely heat.

--

“Crowley? I think I could use a hand again.”

“Are you serious?” he groaned. “You going to tell me you can’t reach your own mugs now?”

Aziraphale glanced at the cupboard again. It did look too low for that, didn’t it? “Of course not. I…I think I should reorganize my wine. I need you to hold some bottles for me.”

“Why?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Some of those wine bottles haven’t moved in over a century. Why would you need to do this now?”

“That…” He felt a flash of embarrassment, quickly turned it into indignation. “That’s hardly any of your concern, now is it? You come to my shop, day after day, just to lounge about. This isn’t one of your – your ancient temples, you can’t just laze around while the human worshippers fan you and feed you peeled grapes…”

A shadow fell across Aziraphale, and he turned to see Crowley, leaning against the doorway to the little kitchen, lopsided grin on his face. “That’s a very elaborate fantasy you’ve concocted.”

Aziraphale pressed his lips together and turned back to the wine, grabbing a few bottles at random. “It’s not a – a fantasy. I know what you used to get up to in Egypt. And Greece. And a dozen other snake-worshipping cultures.”

“I was hardly—oof.” He grabbed the bottle of red that Aziraphale had all but thrust into his stomach, long fingers dragging across the back of Aziraphale’s hand, leaving behind a trail of fireworks.

“Good. That.” Aziraphale cleared his throat, staring at a row of champagne bottles. “That should go in the, er, Italian section. Tuscany.”

“You going to arrange them geographically now?”

“Of course! Region, then year, then type of grape. Perfectly logical. These are from, um, Piedmont.” He held out two more bottles.

Shrugging, Crowley put the first on the table and reached out. Aziraphale stood perfectly still, so that he couldn’t miss Crowley’s smallest finger brushing against his thumb in passing.

--

“Now what are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m – I’m sweeping under the sofa. Kindly move those – those pipe cleaners you call legs.”

“You never sweep.”

“That’s entirely untrue.” Aziraphale reached as far as his arm would go, vaguely sliding the brush from side to side. Shuffled a little to the left, until his shoulder bumped up against Crowley’s calf, fire bursting through him again.

“Sorry,” Crowley mumbled, and in an instant the legs were gone, neatly folded up beneath him.

Blast. Aziraphale glanced up with feigned concern. “You better not be putting your boots on…ah.” Crowley wiggled his toes, covered in a black snakeskin sock that was a little too skin-tight and convincing. With a grin and a shrug, the demon curled in on himself again, neatly out of the way, and turned his attention back to his mobile phone.

“Right. Well. Good.” Aziraphale ducked his head, and scrubbed hard at the floor.

--

“Crowley, help me move this chair.”

“Crowley, hold this ladder while I climb.”

“Crowley, hand me that cloth, I dropped it again.”

“Crowley…”

“Crowley…”

“Crowley…”

--

“Crowley, come over here, I need your hands again.”

“Are you going to pay me for all this work?”

“Nonsense. I’m exploiting you, like any good capitalist.” He pressed his hands down on the cover of the book, sharp scent of glue filling the air. “Come along, I can’t actually go over there to get you.”

Another string of garbled syllables, and once again Crowley stood at his shoulder. “What are you doing this time?”

“I’m rebinding this book. The glue sets overnight, so I need you to hold it while I get something heavy to put on top.”

“Um.” A long pause. “I can get something heavy for you.”

“No, I need you to hold this.”

Another pause, this time the silence tinged with suspicion. “Don’t you have a – a press or something?”

Aziraphale kept his eyes firmly forward, away from Crowley. “Will you just…stop asking foolish questions and do as you’re asked?”

Two hands slapped down onto the cover, perfectly between Aziraphale’s without touching either of them. He could feel the warmth of Crowley’s shoulder, so tantalizingly close.

“Well?” Crowley finally prompted. “Aren’t you going to move?”

“No.” He swallowed. “Not when you’re holding it wrong. Look. You need to be here, in front of the book.”

“Yeah. Where you’re standing.” Aziraphale could feel the look Crowley shot through his glasses.

“Oh, fine.” Removing his hands, Aziraphale stepped back and to the side, letting the demon take his place. “No, not like that! Honestly, my dear fellow, you need to pay more attention.”

“Wha—?”

Before he could think better of it, Aziraphale’s hands shot out, carefully encircling Crowley’s waist, just above the hips. “Center yourself,” he said, nudging to the left as his arms soaked in wave after wave of heat. Not enough. “And a little closer.” An infinitesimal push, enough to bring his chest almost, almost against Crowley’s back. He ached for it, that last bit of space.

Well. There was one option.

“Good. Now. Just need to position your hands correctly.”

Leaning forward, Aziraphale placed his hands on the backs of Crowley’s, pressing against his back. His feet shifted, and now his chin rested on that black-clad shoulder, and his legs bracketed Crowley’s, his arms rested against Crowley’s…

Every part of them, together.

With his eyes closed, everything else fell away, except for Crowley, his presence fluttering under Aziraphale’s skin like a second heartbeat. He drank it in, more and more, trying to fill every empty space inside himself, but it wasn’t enough, it would never be enough—

“Angel?”

In an instant, he was back in the shop, stumbling away. “Yes. That. That should…I’ll…”

Aziraphale spun and hurried away, closing his ears to the worry in Crowley’s voice.

--

“Crowley? Can you—”

“Nope.”

“I…” Aziraphale tried to muster up his indignation again, but after the bookbinding fiasco, it was impossible. “Of course. I’ll just…”

“Nope, I need your help.”

He turned, slowly, to where the long shape of his companion sprawled across the sofa, one foot over the arm, the other dangling off the side, hands folded behind his head.

“What…what do you need.”

Crowley lifted one hand and pointed to a shelf behind the sofa. “That one.”

“I…” Aziraphale moved closer, trying to see what he was pointing at. “You want a book?”

“Mmmh. Right there.”

Frowning, he took a few more steps. “Isn’t that a dictionary?”

“Nnh? No, not that one, that one.” The finger didn’t move.

“Why…why can’t you…?”

With a snort, Crowley dropped his hand, tucked it behind his head again. “Sprained my back doing all your chores. I’m out of commission. I need a book to entertain me during my long convalescence.”

“And what happened to your clever little telephone?”

“Finished it.”

“You…you finished it?”

“Yup. Browsed the whole internet. Found the end. Lousy twist in the last chapter.”

From the tilt of his head, Aziraphale could tell that Crowley’s eyes were shut, lost in the perverse joy of his silly claims. That should have made this easier, but he still hesitated as he leaned across the sofa, rested his hand on the back. His arms passed over the top of Crowley’s head by several centimeters.

“Did you mean…this one?” His fingers hovered over a likely tome.

“Hmm. Nope. Further down.”

A step to the side, knees coming close to where Crowley’s leg carelessly hung, as if it were too much work to pull it onto the sofa with the rest of him. “This one?”

“One shelf down.”

He bent even lower, until his stomach hovered, just above—

Crowley struck, fast as a serpent, his lazy sprawl suddenly a flurry of motion as arms and legs grappled Aziraphale, constricted, twisted around to slam him into the sofa cushions, to lie there with Crowley straddling his middle, hands pressing down on his shoulders.

Aziraphale’s heart fluttered so that he could hardly breathe.

“Good. Now. What do you want?”

“I…” Aziraphale shook his head. “I don’t…”

“Yes. You do.” One hand shot up and ripped his glasses off, tossing them aside, then pressed down again on the angel’s chest. Golden eyes bore into him. “Bless it, Aziraphale, all day you’ve asked me to do everything except for – whatever it is you need! Just tell me!”

“I…” He pressed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the way his skin burned, electrified, alive. “I can’t. It’s…it’s foolish. It’s too much…”

“Angel.” Softer now, so soft it could break his heart. “Nothing will ever be too much. Just ask.”

“No…”

“I can’t help you if you don’t ask.”

With an effort, Aziraphale managed to press one trembling hand against his eyes. Tried hard to steady himself. “Crowley. I…I don’t know how to explain it. I feel…cold. Empty. Alone, even with you here. Like something inside me just…died, and left me hollow…”

The weight shifted, easing off his shoulders, and when he looked, Crowley was sitting up. Further away.

“Do you…did Heaven do something to you? When you left?”

“No.” How his voice shook! “No, I – I thought that at first, but…in truth…it’s been coming on…for simply ages.” The shop grew misty, and Aziraphale closed his eyes again. “A little worse every time I – I felt my superiors’ disappointment. Every time I failed at a task. Every…every time I visited Heaven and realized…I didn’t belong.” He tried to rub his eyes again and found they were wet. “No…no this isn’t anything but…my own…inadequacy.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true! I’m not…not strong they way you are.” His hand reached out, grasping, and found Crowley’s, wrapping gently around his fingers. It surged through him again, warmth, strength, solidity. Everything Aziraphale lacked. “I can feel it in you. It’s beautiful. And I want – want to drink it in, fill myself, but I’m bottomless, I just take, and take, and it’s not enough. It will never be enough!” He pulled his hand away, ready to flee from the sofa, to hide from his shame. Ready for his only friend to pull away in disgust at his selfishness, his greed.

Instead, Crowley lowered himself, stretching his long body across Aziraphale, head tucked under his chin, hands resting on his arms. “Is this better?”

It swept through him again and again, with every beat of Crowley’s heart. Not just heat. Something that Aziraphale had been lacking, craving, for more centuries than the Earth had existed.

Love.

A sob escaped him, pitiful, even as he drank it all in, greedily, more than he ever deserved, possessive arms twisting around Crowley as if to pull him into Aziraphale’s chest.

“S’alright,” Crowley murmured, and his hand pressed against the curve of Aziraphale’s cheek, brilliant as starlight. “How’s this? Any different?”

“Yes, it’s…” There was no hope he’d ever be able to control his voice again. “It’s stronger when…ah…when we touch…directly.”

“Got it.”

And just like that, the weight on his chest vanished, leaving him empty and cold again.

Of course.

Aziraphale sat up, trying to wipe his eyes dry, humiliated by the loss of composure. “If you want to leave,” he managed, blinking them clear, “I won’t…”

Crowley stood before him, jacket and tie discarded, fingers flicking down the buttons of his black shirt.

“What on Earth are you doing?”

“You said touching directly, right? Skin to skin?”

“You…you can’t be serious.” A different sort of heat began to race into his cheeks.

“Nrg.” Crowley shrugged, rolling the shirt off his shoulders as he did. “If it helps you…”

“No, my dear – you don’t understand. I want more than – than you could ever give me. I’d – I’d drain you entirely if I could.”

“I’d like to see you try.” He pulled off the last layer, a blac vest, then bent forward, resting a hand on Aziraphale’s shoulder. “Besides. Everything I have is yours. Our side, remember?”

Aziraphale bowed his head, fists clenched in his lap. “You…can’t mean that…”

“Angel.” He felt the warm press of Crowley’s forehead against his own. “I’ve never meant anything more in my life.”

Slowly, slowly, Aziraphale tugged at his bowtie, trying to remember how to loosen it.

--

Moonlight filtered in through the bookshop windows.

Crowley lay on the floor, Aziraphale curled up against his bare chest, arms around his shoulders, one leg hooked over his knees – clinging to him like a lifeline even in sleep. Some of the strain was finally starting to leak out of his furrowed brow, though he was still a long way from looking like himself.

The fingers of one hand ran through Aziraphale’s curls, carefully, rhythmically. Crowley had never seen the angel sleep before, but as soon as he’d started carefully scratching at his scalp, those blue eyes had begun to drift shut. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but if there was even a chance that this was helping him rest, Crowley would be damned, blessed, and cast into the void before he’d even consider stopping.

Everywhere they touched – which was just about everywhere – Crowley could feel something, an energy buzzing off Aziraphale’s skin. He’d felt it before, many times, but never this distinctly; it curled into him, whether he wanted it or not, flowing through his veins, keeping his heart beating.

“Y’know,” he whispered, slightly worried that the motion of the air would be enough to waken the angel. “You really shouldn’t have worried. Steal my strength? Ridiculous.”

Aziraphale shifted, just a little, pulling himself closer.

“I don’t have a blessed ounce of strength of my own. Or warmth. Solidity? Give me a break.”

A cloud must have moved out of the way; the moonlight suddenly grew brighter, and the pale angel seemed almost to glow in the silver light. Ethereal beauty.

“No. Whatever I’ve got, whatever’s kept me going, for thousands of years – it all comes from you.”

His angel shivered, just faintly, and Crowley quickly miracled up a thick blanket, wrapping it around both of them. Aziraphale sighed, fingers kneading and relaxing across Crowley’s skin.

“So you see, s’not a problem if you need it all. It’s already yours. Everything I have. Everything I am. Yours.”

--

Crowley was wrong for two reasons.

First, the warmth they felt hadn’t begun in Aziraphale, any more than it had in Crowley. It was a different kind of force, generated by their proximity to each other, and flowing constantly from one to the other, an eternal cycle. The strength belonged to both of them, and neither of them.

Second, of course, it would never run out. After all, love is increased – never diminished – by being shared.

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 36: Entwine

"But Harry, we just think you'd be so much happier if you-"

"Found someone to settle down with," Harry finished for Hermione. At this point he'd heard the lecture so many times he could recite it in his sleep.

She sighed, "We just worry-"

"That I'm lonely and miserable," Harry said. "I know."

"We love you, mate," Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I know," Harry said, and it was true he did know, otherwise he would have probably stopped being friends with them by this point. "I love you guys, too. But you have to stop setting me up on dates."

Hermione stared calculatingly at him, "Two weeks," she said. "I'll give you two weeks reprieve and if you've started dating someone by then we'll leave it."

-------

He was still stewing on this conundrum when he stopped in to pick up a cup of coffee and (hopefully) a pastry the following morning.

"Morning, Potter," Malfoy called over his shoulder without even looking up to see him.

"That's going to bite you in the arse someday," Harry said as he stepped up and rested his elbows on the counter.

"I've told you," Malfoy said, turning around and handing him a cup of coffee that Harry knew would be made perfectly and a pastry bag that had Harry's mouth already watering, "You have a very distinct magical aura. I know it's you."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he was secretly charmed. "When you say things like that I completely understand how you and Luna get on so well."

Malfoy rolled his eyes but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

It suddenly occurred to Harry that he got on pretty well with Malfoy, too. "Hey," Harry said, opening his mouth to speak in true Griffyndor fashion without hesitating to think. "You're single aren't you?"

(Read more below the cut)

Malfoy groaned, "Not you, too. My friends are always harping on me about dating. I'm perfectly fine-"

"Right, yeah. Of course you are," Harry hastened to add, "I am, too, obviously and that's the point."

"Potter drink your coffee, you're making even less sense than usual," Malfoy said.

"No, listen. Pretend to date me. Please, Malfoy, I'm literally begging. I will do anything to get my friends to stop setting me up on horrible dates."

Malfoy stared at him for a long moment, "That's an interesting idea, Potter."

"It's a fantastic idea," Harry assured him. "I promise to be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had."

"What would it involve?" Malfoy asked, slowly.

Harry thought for a minute, "We could go on 'dates' and just, you know, hang out; we can have dinner together, go to quidditch games, whatever you want. And then when we're out with friends we'll just sit together, maybe hold hands or something? I haven't thought it through yet but what do you say?"

Malfoy tilted his head to the side, "I'd say you're in luck, Potter, because I had a really bad date last night with a bloke that Pansy tried to set me up with. So, let's do it. Merlin knows I could use a break."

"Done," Harry said, grinning widely at the other man, "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

The corner of Malfoy's, Draco's, lips tilted up, "Sure. Where did you have in mind?"

"Do you like Italian?"

Draco nodded.

"Perfect. I get off at 4:00 today, do you want to meet here?"

"Sure," Draco replied with a little grin.

Harry smiled back, "Thanks for the coffee and the pastry. And I'm looking forward to see you tonight, sweetheart."

Draco laughed, "Disgusting. Get out of here you prat."

Harry placed a hand over his heart as he backed toward the door, "You have the sweetest way with words."

The other man shook his head but he was smiling as widely as Harry.

This was clearly the best idea that Harry had ever had.

--------

This was the worst idea Harry had ever had. Not because he and Draco didn't get on, but because they did.

Within two weeks Harry was spending more of his free time in Draco's company than out of it. They'd gone out to eat together eleven times (in thirteen days!), they'd taken Teddy to the park together, and Harry stopped by the coffee shop twice a day now and arrived half an hour early so he could spend time talking to Draco before he had to leave for work.

Yes, he was getting up early just so he could have more time to spend with Draco.

He was in so much trouble.

And it was only going to get worse since they were attending pub night tonight with all of their friends and they'd agreed that holding hands, casual touching, pet names, and the like were all acceptable for the evening.

Harry was standing outside the pub, waiting for Draco and trying to get himself under control, when the other man appeared.

"Ready?" Draco asked, giving him a small but genuine smile that had Harry's stomach doing back flips.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding once to himself.

Draco held out his hand, wiggling his fingers for Harry to take.

He reached over and slid his fingers through Draco's, their hands fit perfectly together, and Harry thought he might be having a heart attack. Holding someone's hand shouldn't feel this good.

He was absolutely, entirely fucked.

"Alright?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," he answered but his voice came out all funny and breathless, and honestly, if he could have punched himself in the face he would have. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, fine," he said. "Let's go."

And as if holding Draco's hand hadn't been enough, once they got inside the pub, Draco sat next to him and rested his hand at the top of Harry's spine, his fingers trailing lightly over Harry's neck and wrapping around the curls at the base of his skull.

It was like he was in a bubble; conversations were happening all around him, people were laughing and joking, people were probably telling all sorts of stories but he didn't process a word.

Slowly, he forced himself to relax, leaning into Draco's side and letting his hand slip over to rest on Draco's knee.

The other man gave his neck a gentle squeeze in response as he continued his discussion with Luna.

"Harry," Hermione said, waving a hand to get his attention.

"Yeah?" he asked, perking up and trying to ignore the tingles racing up and down his spine as Draco's fingernails scratched lightly at his scalp.

"You were a bit lost there, mate," Ron said.

He smiled, "Sorry, just a bit out of it."

"That's alright," Hermione said, "I was just saying that you and Draco seem to be really good together."

"Yeah," Harry said weakly, glancing over at the other man who was quite engrossed in a conversation with Pansy and Luna. "Yeah," he repeated. "He's really something."

Hermione nodded, "You seem to be good for each other."

"Yeah," he said, feeling a bit sick because they did seem good for each other, they did somehow make sense. "Sorry, could you excuse me for a minute?" he asked as he stood up and fled the table, making his way quickly to the restroom.

He all but ran into a stall and locked it behind him, barely managing to stop himself from banging his head against the wall. This wasn't supposed to have happened. He wasn't supposed to have fallen for Draco Malfoy.

"Harry?" a voice called.

He held his breath, maybe if he just didn't make any noise Draco would go away and he could finish having his crisis in peace.

"I can see your shoes," the other man said as he knocked softly on the door. "Let me in?"

Reluctantly, Harry opened the stall and made room for Draco to slip in with him.

"Do you want to tell me why you've been acting like an insane person escaped from the psychiatric ward tonight?"

He winced, tried to think about what he could say, how he could deflect, but what came out was, "I don't want to pretend."

Draco's brow furrowed, "This was your idea," he said. "And if you wanted to stop all you had to do was say so."

"No," Harry said, reaching out to stop the other man from leaving. "That's not-" he huffed and entwined his fingers with Draco's. "I mean that I don't want this to be pretend."

Draco stared at him uncomprehendingly so Harry continued, "Holding hands with someone has never felt like this. Going on dates with someone has never been this much fun. I want to be around you all the time, even when you're making me crazy."

"I don't understand."

He sighed, "I can't pretend with you because none of this is pretend for me any more."

Draco blinked once, then he leaned forward and caught Harry's lips with his own. The hand not holding Harry's came up to cup his cheek and tip he head down so he could kiss him more easily and Harry's body lit up like a firework.

He pushed Draco back a step until his back hit the wall and pressed his body against the other man's. Harry's body had been made for this. Every neuron was firing away happily, every atom of his being singing with joy at the other man's proximity.

Draco's fingers threaded through Harry's hair as his tongue flicked over Harry's bottom lip. With a soft moan, Harry opened his mouth, his tongue reaching out tentatively to touch and twist with the other man's.

They might have continued on like that all night, were it not for the outer door to the restroom slamming open as a drunk man staggered in.

Draco pulled back, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. He put a finger over Harry's lips and pressed a kiss to his nose, and Harry wasn't quite sure how he hadn't simply melted into a puddle of goo yet.

Once the man left, Draco removed his finger and pressed one more gentle kiss to Harry's lips. "This isn't pretend for me either," he murmured.

Harry smiled, "No more pretending."

"Honesty about where we're at from here on out," Draco added with a smile.

And it was a promise they kept until the day they died. They both had to wear masks for the outside world but they never hid from one another.

-----------

Day 35: Tears | Day 37: Secrets

[spxllcxstxr]

Date Night • The Marauders

(Gif not mine)

Request: Maybe like a poly!marauders x (she/her) reader where they just spend a day together :) like you can write smut If you’d like, but yea maybe they can go out to eat id like to see a dynamic in a poly relationship w them. Thank you!! Love your writing <3 — anon

Summary: Date nights are rare, but tonight, you go out for ice cream with your partners

Warnings: Food and eating!! The entire fic is about eating, so please stay safe! If you have a peanut allergy no you don’t. Also, if you’re lactose intolerant like me, uhhhh pretend there’s a potion for that I guess, kinda implied first Wizarding war, smallest hint of steaminess

Word Count: 1.6k

A.N: Remus=Ross, James=Chandler, Sirius=Joey, right? This took me like weeks to finish...but overall I kinda like it. Let me know what you think, and love you all ❤️

****

The four of you very rarely had free time.

Between missions and meetings, you and your partners almost never had time off, and even when you did, one of you would still be busy. One of you would still be undercover or stuck debriefing the latest mission with Mad-Eye for hours.

So it’s weird to find yourself situated on the couch, Sirius’ head resting on your lap and Remus on the other end, stuck with his feet. James shuffles around in the kitchen behind you, stuck with dish duty after almost setting your flat on fire.

Sirius snuggles deeper into your thigh, evidently still exhausted from the previous day’s mission he was tasked with.

The flat is mostly quiet, the only sounds coming from Remus turning the pages of his novel and the ceramic plates clashing together as they get put away. The sun slowly sets outside, basking your living room in glowing orange in light.

You run your fingers through the mess of dark curls splayed out on your lap, always lustrous and soft to the touch. He hums deeply in approval.

A sharp clap from behind jolts you out of your peaceful thoughts.

You crane your neck to watch as James throws on his denim jacket.

“I believe that we,” He starts, eyeing the three of you. “deserve a date night.”

Instantly, a smile grows across your face. The last time the four of you had a proper date night, it was 1979 and Queen had just released a new song, which meant that Sirius needed to celebrate with all of you at the pub getting absolutely pissed.

Since you all joined the Order, all your free time has been sucked down the drain.

So that’s why the mere suggestion of the normally elusive date night makes you feel all giddy inside. You would’ve gotten up from your comfortable position to throw your coat on if it wasn’t for Sirius practically securing you to the cushions.

“But James...” He groans.

“Oh c’mon, Pads, we haven’t been on a proper date since—“

“Last year.” Remus interjects, shutting his book before placing it onto the coffee table. “But then again, you were too drunk for it to actually be considered a date.”

“Don’t blame me, blame Freddie and his Merlin given voice.” Sirius muses, still laying on your thigh. His fingers dance around your kneecap.

Remus slowly eases himself off the couch, joining James by the front door.

“Fine.” You hear James shrug. “We’ll just leave you here to suffer while Remus, (Y/n), and I go out to Florean’s.”

This seems to grab his attention, because he perks up just enough for you to slide out of his grasp.

You end up at Remus’s side, clinging to his grey jumper as you excitedly pull on your shoes.

“Ice cream?” Sirius asks, pushing his hair behind his ears. “Without me?”

“It doesn’t have to be without you, Sirius.” You retort, sandwiched between James and Remus. “If you get your arse over here, we won’t have to leave you.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.” Sirius huffs, hands raised in mock surrender, dragging himself over to the front door.

He waves his wand, boots zipping out of the closet and slipping onto his feet, his dark leather jacket covering his white shirt on its own.

“What, are simple tasks too hard for you now?” Remus teases, lightly bumping his shoulder into Sirius’.

“We’ve got magic for a reason, Moons.” The shorter of the two rolls his eyes. “Might as well use it.”

Remus opens his mouth to retort but James swiftly interrupts their bickering.

“I swear to Godric Gryffindor himself, (Y/n) and I will leave both you gits here.”

There’s grumbling from the two of them, but it becomes garbled once James throws an arm around you and Apparates you to Diagon Alley.

Your brain feels like it’s spinning in your skull and your stomach tugs familiarly at your naval. Sure you’ve Apparated many many times before, but it’s simply not fun no matter what.

As per usual, Diagon Alley is loud. Children and drunkards laugh, spells and fireworks whizz passed your ears, people in heels trot across the cobblestone path.

It’s places like Diagon Alley that remind you why you love magic so much.

James’ arm is still heavy on your shoulders as you watch people in cloaks and tall hats rush by you.

There’s a startling crack behind you and you and James turn around to see your other partners. Sirius might have a few new purple bruises littered across his collar bones and Remus might have a smug look plastered across his face, but no one says anything. Remus throws the two of you a silent wink as Sirius hangs off of him.

“Gonna hold my hand, Moony?” James questions, his arm outstretched.

Remus eagerly takes it, fingers interlocking.

So the four of you are connected as you stroll down the street. Your face is buried into James’ denim jacket, the faint smell of grass stains and broom oil an already welcomed scent. In the middle, James and Remus have their shoulders rubbing together as they walk, James’ thumb most likely tracing figure eights between his knuckles like he always does. Lastly, it seems like Sirius had changed his position enough to stick a hand in Remus’ back pocket.

The sun continues to dip lower below the horizon, resulting in candles and lanterns being lit in every dark corner. Children are ushered inside homes and adults start to flock towards the pubs.

With the looming threat of dark and dangerous wizards, people aren’t taking their chances, safety in numbers and safety indoors being popular within the village.

Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor is lit up in a rainbow of colors as always, and the sweet scent of ice cream drifts through the air. People sit in crowds outside the shop, enjoying their treats on the sidewalk or some even spread out on the street.

“So what’re you going for today, Jamie?” You ask as your little group enters the shop.

A little bell sounds from above you, barely heard over the boisterous laughter and rowdy conversations that surround you.

Unlike you, Sirius, and Remus, James doesn’t have a signature flavor. He had to have a different kind every visit. So while Remus had already ordered his strawberries and cream in a waffle cone and Sirius is eyeing his peanut butter ice cream, James is still perusing his options like a little kid.

Your own ice cream starts to melt a bit while you’re waiting.

James squints his eyes at the names, despite his glasses already resting on the bridge of his nose.

“You haven’t done toffee apple in a bit, Prongs.” Sirius points, his finger making contact with the cool glass barrier.

“You’re right.” James hums. “Thanks.” He presses a quick kiss to Sirius’ stubbled cheek before ordering his ice cream.

There’s a small open table across the way, lit up by a few lanterns, which the four of you claim.

There’s a very slight breeze that makes you cuddle up to Remus’ soft jumper.

Desperate to talk about something other than the current state of affairs, James gets caught up talking the Wimbourne Wasps and their new Beater, Ludovic Bagman.

You watch Sirius, tongue poking ever so slightly out of the corner of his mouth, try to sneak a scoop of James’ ice cream while he’s distracted.

Attempting to hide your amusement, you bring a hand up to cover your mouth, feigning interest in the Quidditch talk.

You watch the spoon make an indent and it’s halfway to Sirius’ mouth before—

“Oi!”

The silver spoon freezes abruptly, and grey eyes widen significantly.

“Is that why you suggested toffee apple? So you could nick some of my bloody ice cream?” James gasps dramatically, mouth agape in shock.

“Where’re your manners, James?” Sirius retorts, licking his spoon. “Sharing is caring.”

His hazel eyes narrow. “I don’t know, Black, that looked more like thievery to me.”

“Well let’s take it to our very own Wizengamot, then.” Sirius loudly gestures to you and Remus.

“Well I’m sure that for a wee bit of ice cream, (Y/n) and I, as key witnesses to the whole event, can clear the air.” Remus smirks, biting into his cone.

Sirius swiftly pushes the rest of his ice cream across the table, not even trying to be discrete about his offering. You and Remus start to dig in.

“Bribery!” James shouts, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation. “This trial is a load of bullshit!”

“Sorry James, can’t hear you over how good this is.” Remus remarks with his mouth full.

You lick your spoon, watching the theatrics.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” James straightens his glasses and runs a hand through his hair in playful frustration.

“Aw, Jamie...you want some of mine?” You pout, offering some of your own frozen dessert.

“At least someone at this table loves me.” James grumbles, sticking a spoon into your bowl.

Sirius sticks his tongue out.

“Hey, I never said Sirius was cleared of all charges.” Remus raises a scarred brow.

“What?” Sirius snaps. “But I bribed you!”

You snicker at his balled up fists.

“So you admit to the bribery, you might as well admit to the thievery while you’re at it.” He finishes the bowl, licking the last of it from his spoon.

“Oh how the tables have turned.” James smugly points out.

Sirius childishly pouts, opting to pick at his black painted fingernails.

“We should have date nights more often.” James chuckles, clinking your spoons together.

•

All Character Taglist: @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @cherie-draco @mullthingsoverinthehotwater

[kerie-prince]

black hair dye

George Weasley x Reader (fluff)

requested: (anon) hello! i was wondering if i could request? could u write george x reader, established relationship, him n fred are getting rlly into pranks (more than they usually would be i suppose) and one prank goes just a tad too far and reader ends up getting upset and hurt and fluff ensues :) i hope that’s alright, thank u sm! :)

warnings: use of the word "mudblood"

summary: you knew what you signed up for when you started dating one of the most devious (yet sweetest) boys in school. what you didn't sign up for was to get caught up in one of their devious plans

a/n: my first request since i started writing again 🥺💙 hope you guys like it!

(gif cred)

George Weasley loved two things: Y/N and pranking. In that order? Well, we’ll get to that later.

The mischievous smirk on his face, the dedication in planning, the certain glint in his eyes, and the contagious laughter from the aftermath had been some of the reasons you fell for the devilish Gryffindor boy.

On a couple occasions, you’ve assisted in some pranks with the twins. Your favorite one being the time that you had given Draco Malfoy a heart-shaped box of chocolates on Valentine’s day, chocolates that were actually puking pasties the twins made. You skipped across the hallways and stood in front of the Slytherin blond, twirling your hair in your fingers as you gave him the box and walked away. Madam Pomfrey had spent three hours helping him clear everything out of his system. That same day, George presented you with his own box of chocolates. It took a while to convince you that they were real chocolates, but once you decided on risking it, he asked you out. It was oddly romantic. Not just because it was Valentine's day, but that he asked you after doing probably the least romantic thing together. Not many girls dream of their crush asking them out after they just sent another boy emptying his guts out for hours.

That brought you to the present, in the Common Room studying for exams with Angelina and Hermione. Slughorn may have been significantly nicer and easier to follow compared to Snape, but that didn’t make his work any easier. As you had your nose in your book, hushed whispers and the familiar laugh that had indication of scheming flowed through your ears. The ginger boy walked towards you and placed a quick kiss on your forehead, “I'll see you later, love.”

Fred and George made a dash to their shared dorm with Lee. “They're at it again,” Angelina commented with her eyes still on the parchment in front of her.

“That's to say that they ever stopped,” Hermione jokes. There was no telling what the boys were planning this time. It seemed that with every prank, they had to outdo themselves in the next one. Like a competition only between the two of them.

As they were in their final year at Hogwarts, you always wondered if George would ever retire from pranking and go on to do other things after graduation. But you also couldn't imagine him doing anything else. There were talks of opening a shop after graduation thanks to Harry giving them his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament, but to your knowledge nothing has been set in stone. George was always happy when coming up with pranks, and when George is happy, so are you.

You read the time on your wrist watch and started packing your things. “Alright girls, I'm beat. We’ll meet tomorrow in the library, yeah?” the two girls nodded in your direction. Walking towards the girls dormitories, you could hear the twins and Lee laughing loudly from their room. Oh, boys.

—

In the Great Hall, you ate your breakfast as you read over your notes for Advanced Potions when George took his usual seat next to you. “Good morning my sweet.” He kissed your forehead as he did every morning. You tore your eyes away for a moment from the book to give him a smile and peck his lips. “Morning, love.”

“Studying as always, Y/N?” Fred asked from across. “‘Course I am. Someone has to be able to tell you what ingredients to use to make a stink bomb,” you teased. Your surrounding housemates laughed at your response. Fred and George went on whispering, presumably about their new plan. You and Angelina looked at each other with a nod of disapproval and laughed to yourselves. Moments later, Lee ran in the Great Hall carrying two bottles, one empty and one filled with a black substance.

“What are you planning now?” you interrogated. Lee and Fred gave George a nod for him to go on. “This, my love, is black hair dye. Muggles use it to color their hair.”

“Yeah, I know what hair dye is. Why do you have it- are you going to mix it with Ron’s shampoo?” your eyes nearly matched the mischievous look in the boys’ eyes around you.

“I like the way you think but no,” George replied.

“This dye is going into none other than Malfoy’s shampoo.” Fred completed. The twins went on talking back and forth completing each other’s sentences.

“Lee’s the only one that has access to the prefect’s bathroom,” George started.

“Considering that McGonagall doesn’t trust us to go in there.” Angelina scoffed, “I can’t imagine why.” The twins ignored her sarcastic remark and continued. “We’re going to steal his shampoo and replace it with the one we made with the black hair dye. He’ll go washing on and,”

“Blondie no more.” Lee completed. You could imagine it now, Malfoy walking around with greasy black hair. This would probably be Fred and George’s most devious plan. They have had their fun with setting random fireworks, hexing quills to move on their own, and candies that had some not so pleasant after effects. The more you thought about it, though, the more worried you became. The three of you had detention for weeks from the last stunt with Malfoy, and his father still holds the grudge against Arthur. Something like this would not only get them in detention until the end of the school year, Lucius could use his position at the Ministry to get Arthur fired.

It seemed as if your best friend had the same thought seeing as she had the same look on her face. “Love, don’t you think that’s a bit too much?” Angelina faced Fred.

“Nonsense. We got this handled.” The boys went on with their fun. You stood up from the table and gathered your things. Angelina joined you, not wanting to risk being associated with the boys and landing herself in detention along with them if they were to be caught. You walked arm-in-arm to the library where you’d surely find Hermione with a huge stack of books. “Boys,” your best friend simply said.

“Yeah, but what would we do without them?”

—

A week has passed since and it was now the night before your Potions exam. You hadn’t seen much of your boyfriend, knowing that he was being kept busy with his brother. As much as you love spending time with him, it was nice to get some work done. You had determination to get straight O’s for your last year and you were confident this exam would help you get it. The library was closing its doors soon, so you quickly grabbed all your things to make it back to the Gryffindor common room in time.

Your ink pot spilled over the table in the midst of the rush. Somewhere in your bag was a little package of tissues and you used the whole thing to try and clean up as much as you could. The ink was staining your hands but you could care less about it. Deciding that the ink was mostly wiped off, you ran out the doors and made a straight dash to your house.

Once you made it to your shared dorm room, you tossed your bag to the side and threw yourself on your bed and fell asleep in seconds.

—

The morning came and you groaned at the sunlight blinding your eyes. Your uniform was wrinkled up, hair pointed at every direction, and your breath was enough to get you up and out of bed. The girls around you laughed at the sight of your unruly state.

“Y/N, what is that on your hands?” Angelina chuckled.

“Just some ink. I spilled my pot in the library and tried to clean it,” you answered. In the shared bathroom, you casted a spell for your toothbrush to move around your mouth as you tried to wash off the ink. Unfortunately, it wasn’t letting up. The black ink was clinging to your skin and only seemed to be spreading around even more. It was starting to stain the porcelain sink when you decided that you’ll just deal with it for the day.

You bathed yourself, changed into fresh robes and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Potions would be the first class of the day and you were confident in yourself to pass the exam. Before you could step into the Hall, someone grabbed you from their collar and dragged you to the opposite. “You’re coming with me, mudblood.” You couldn’t see who it was as their hood was covering their head, but the hand on you had the familiar silver ring on one of the fingers.

You questioned him as he dragged you to the dungeons. He forced you into Snape’s office, catching the professor’s attention with the slam of the door. You stood confused as to why you were brought to Snape’s office and it seemed he was confused as well. When you turned around to the boy behind you, you were met with a black-haired, red-faced Malfoy. His nostrils were flared and he had stains around his forehead and the back of his neck. You couldn’t help yourself when you started cackling at the sight.

“SHE DID THIS TO ME,” Malfoy accused with a pointed finger at you. Your laughs were dying down, and as you caught your breath, you faced him boldly. “Please, I have better things to do than petty things such as this.” He walked up to you and forcibly grabbed your hands and raised them to show Snape. “Look at this! This is clear proof she did this. Do something about this!” He demanded from the brooding professor. You had panic in your eyes as you realized the situation you were in. The ink on your skin matched with the dye in Malfoy’s hair.

“Professor, I swear I didn’t do this. You have to believe me,” you pleaded. Snape seemed unamused by the whole thing. “Then, Miss Y/L/N, how do you explain the stains on your hands?”

“I spilled my ink pot last night and tried to clean it up but it stained my hands,” you waved your hands in front of you. The situation was coincidental but even you thought it sounded suspicious.

“Rubbish, you expect me to believe that you happened to ‘clean up spilled ink’ the same night this happens to me?” Malfoy was raging as he pointed to his head. “My father will hear about this,” the famous words fell from his lips. In the middle of it all, you looked at the clock above Snape’s head and saw that you were now ten minutes late to Slughorn’s class. You were missing the exam.

“Please, professor. I didn’t do this. I’ve been in the library every night studying,” you continued begging.

“Were you with anyone last night to prove your innocence?” Snape put emphasis in his last word. You looked down and held your hands in front of you. “No, sir.”

“Then what am I to make when one of my students comes in looking like,” he paused to look at Malfoy, “that and your hands are in the state it is now?”

“But I didn’t do it,” you whispered with watered eyes.

“Alright. If you didn’t do it, then who did?” You couldn’t throw your boyfriend under the bus at that moment. Him and his brother were already on thin ice with the pretentious Slytherin. This would just make it worse. “I-I can’t tell you,” you stuttered.

“You can’t or you won’t?” Snape persisted. You stood silently, having counted that you were now thirty minutes late to class and there was no way you would be able to retake it. Slughorn was unusually strict about one thing; tardiness. “Very well then. If you won’t tell me, I’ll have no choice but to give you detention for three months,” Snape declared.

Your eyes nearly fell out in shock, “THREE MONTHS?” Malfoy had the biggest smirk on his face and his arms were crossed in victory. “And you’ll be responsible for putting his hair back to its natural state. Now get out.” He ushered you two out harshly and slammed his door in your face when you tried to plead.

The Slytherin boy just chuckled as he raised his hood and pranced away. The tears were falling from your eyes. You leaned against the wall with your head leaned back. Plans of straight O’s were out the window, but that’s not what really upset you. What worried you was having to deal with the wrath of Lucius Malfoy once he caught wind of this. And even with all this, you couldn’t bring yourself to be mad at George. It’s not like he spilled the ink on your hands.

You walked straight to your house with your head sulked down. When you started climbing the changing stairs, you heard your boyfriends’ laugh from above. “Y/N! Have you seen Malfoy yet? Godric, he looks terrible!” Fred gave him a high-five, “We did it again, Georgie.”

George’s laughter faded when he saw your tired face, tears dried on your cheeks. He cupped your cheek with his large hand and lifted your face up to look at him, “Love, what’s wrong? Did the exam not go well?”

“Got detention. I missed the exam,” you explained. Your voice sounded tired and all you wanted was to lay in your room for the rest of the day. You didn’t care about your other classes. “Detention? For what?” Fred asked from behind George. You lifted one of your hands and babbled ‘Malfoy’ before slipping past and walked inside the common room. The boys looked at each other in confusion before putting two and two together and made a dash for you inside.

“That’s ridiculous, you weren’t even a part of it this time,” George exclaimed. Fred non verbally agreed. They were appalled. “Did you tell them you didn't do it?”

“I did but when Snape asked who did, I couldn’t tell him,” you lowered your voice so they couldn't hear the last. But George did. Because of him, you missed out on the exam you have been desperately studying for and you got in trouble for something he did.

George left your room in a huff and started marching his way to Snape’s office. He couldn't hear Fred calling out for him, and you lost your breath from chasing after him. Damn those long legs.

—

Around dinner time, George walked into the Great Hall with one hand holding on to his shoulder as he moved the opposite one in circles. “What’s up with you?” Ron asked with raised eyebrows.

“Snape’s got me organizing his potions in both his office and supply closet. Man can’t organize to save his life,” George may have been uncomfortable, but he still had his signature smile. You reached your hands to massage his shoulder. “Why’d you do that?”

“Whaddya mean, love?” He looked clueless.

“Why did you get yourself in trouble? Aren't you worried about what will happen?” you whispered for only him to hear you. “I only told the truth. No need for you to take the fall. Anyways, I talked to Slughorn and he agreed to let you take the exam this Saturday at seven in the morning.” If at all possible, you fell more in love with George Weasley in that moment. You kissed him on the cheek, held one of his hands in yours and continued the night talking with friends.

“Hey Georgie, think we can top this one?” Fred looked over his shoulder staring at the wonderful victim of the previous prank. The Slytherin table were snickering at their Prince. Draco sat with his head down, threats not doing him any justice anymore.

“You're on, Freddie.” The twin boys shook their hands and started talking about ideas for what they’d do next.

Oh, Merlin.

—

requests are open!

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

Hey guys I’ve decided to run a writing prompt list from now until the end of summer! I’d love to see other writers participate in this too, just make sure you tag + credit me!

As always I write for Peter, Arvin, Tom, and Harrison. Feel free to request au’s (I've got some suggestions below the cut) or within series I’ve written! I hope you guys are as excited as I am! The last day of summer is September 22nd so that’s when the prompt list will end, love you guys xx

Masterlist

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Summertime AUs:

Surfer 

Lifeguard

Rich Kid

Camp Counselor 

Water/Amusement Park 

Summer School

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

100 Prompts:

Buying a snow cone machine when the ac goes out

Making the backyard/rooftop into a movie theater

Partying on a boat

Getting jealous at a bonfire

Aquarium date

Getting competitive with fireworks

One gets tan, the other gets sunburnt

Water balloon fight

Sneaking into a concert

Someone’s hammock nap gets interrupted

Playing beach volleyball

Drinking too much at a street fair

Going to a farmer’s market

Going to a drive in movie theater

Trying to build patio furniture

Road trip

Someone gets stung by a jellyfish

Getting stuck on top of a ferris wheel

Stargazing is interrupted by a thunderstorm

Skinny dipping

Body painting

Purposely spilling a drink

One person goes to a party without the other

Having a picnic

Eating fruit off of each other

Going to a party in an abandoned pool

Running from the police after a party gets busted

Falling asleep during a long drive home

Taking a wine tasting and painting class

One gets heatstroke and the other takes care of them

Running into your summer fling for the second summer in a row

Jumping off a rope swing

Going to a house concert

Getting caught fooling around

Meeting the parents for the first time on summer vacation

It’s the last day of summer, and your last day together

Getting drunk and getting married in Vegas

Scavenger hunt

Setting up a slip and slide

Making each other charm bracelets

Carving watermelons like they’re pumpkins

Buying matching Hawaiian shirts

Making lemonade

Sending hand written letters to each other when one is on vacation

Trying to win a prize at the fair

Your mouths getting dyed different colors from popsicles

Trying to make your own ice cream

Going clubbing for the first time

Swimsuit shopping

Putting messages in a bottle

“Can you help me cut my hair?”

“I’m not stuck, I like it here.”

“We are not platonic, and my feelings are never going to be platonic.”

“I’m melting!”

“Shh, we’re gonna get caught!”

“I’m sorry I’ll try to be less good looking in the future.”

“I miss you, I still think about kissing you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Get that popsicle away from me!”

“I’m happy just to be here with you.”

“I meant it, I love you.”

“You taste like coconuts.”

“We are not cuddling until the ac is fixed.”

“You bought what?!”

“Uh, I think you missed a spot with the self tanner…”

“Do you look this good every morning?”

“They’re hitting on you.”

“You are the center of my universe, meaning everything revolves around you.”

“I just wanna be wherever you are."

"Let's just stay in bed all day, I don't feel like getting up."

"Can you help me with my sunblock?"

"Are you seriously drinking hot coffee right now?"

“I need you to let me in.”

"Please tell me we'll be there soon."

"What happened to you?"

"I'm being eaten alive!"

"Ew, you're sweating."

"Have you ever made a fire before?"

"What the hell is that noise?!"

"Not everything has to be a contest."

"I bought a metal detector."

"If you untie my bikini top again I'll kill you."

"Did you steal that?"

"Why are you sticky?"

"I made you your very own summertime playlist."

"How come you never just, stay home?"

"Oh! The pavement is hot!"

"Let's rent a treehouse."

"Don't go falling asleep on me alright?"

"Can you help me wash the car?"

"I'm sorry, what kind of candy is that?"

"You know he didn't mean it like that."

"I like the sound of your voice."

"Leave."

"Please be careful, you're stressing me out right now."

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

"What kind of surprise is this?"

"I don't know how to swim."

"I don't wanna play with you because you keep cheating!"

"Okay, now make a wish.”

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Taglist + Moots

@spideyssunshine​ @parkersvogue​ @tom-softie​ @starknik22​ @farfromharry​ @shipwreckedstandard​ @namoreno​ @niallberry​ @outshineallthestars​ @andreagf956​ @roseke​ @tomsirishgirlx​ @zspideyy​ @emistrash​ @peachyafshawn​ @thevery-firstpage​

[hops-hunny]

Distance Makes the Heart Grow

CHAPTER 1

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Mafia Boss!Neville Longbottom x Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: (Y/n) lives a normal life. But that’s the issue, it’s normal, it’s plain, and it’s growing boring. Everyday she wishes for something, anything to spice up her life. But, when her old school friend (and crush) shows up at her bakery with a new look (and what looks like a new life), what will it bring for her? Will their puppy love grow? Will his big secret lead to the end of them or will it spark a new beginning?

Warnings: None for this chapter!

A/N: Nothing major happens in this chapter, this is sorta just like the beginning stages.

(Y/n) let out a load groan, hand searching aimlessly for the alarm clock on her side table. “Where is it?!” she continued to slap her hand around on her table, many objects falling to the floor before her hand finally landed on the right one, the rooster noises ceasing as her hand collided with the big snooze button. She rolled over, sighing as she stared at her speckled ceiling. “Perhaps I really should take the time to learn how to use the alarm on my phone.” it wasn’t that she was bad with technology persay. It’s just if it was produced after the year of 2008 you could forget it. Could you really blame her though? During all her years at Hogwarts, she had never made the switch her fellow classmates made with modern technology. Sure she had a smart phone but the only thing she could manage to do with it is call, text, and make notes in the notes app (something she had just recently learned as well).

Unwillingly, she crawled out of bed, stretching as she let out a large yawn, bones snapping and cracking like a New Year’s firework. She made her way to the bathroom, looking into the same mirror she always did, watching the light in the center flicker the same way as always. Life for (Y/n) was seemingly unchanging. Day after day, month after month, was spent exactly the same. She’d wake up, get ready for work, and then travel a few blocks down the street to open the bakery. Her bakery.

It wasn’t that (Y/n) didn’t enjoy what she did. She happened to enjoy her job very much. All her friends at Hogwart’s had encouraged her, giving her the push she need to travel the journey of opening her own business. It was something she had always wanted to do but her parents begged her not to. In their words they didn’t want ‘an over zealous and unrealistic’ daughter on ther hands. However, their rude words simply were fuel to the fire. During her 5th year, she began to busk tables at various shops in Hogsmeade. It was hard work, balancing long shifts at 3 different shops and still maintaining decent scores in each class. But, she knew if she couldn’t handle that then there was no way she’d be able to handle running a bakery. So day in and day out she’d work, and work, and work and by the end of her 7th year she had a decent amount of money saved up! 

The first issue had been finding a place in a good area that would gain traction and attention while the second one was finding someone willing to sell to someone fresh out of school with no prior business experience. She’d spoken to many people in various different places, some good, and some bad before she finally had been blessed with the chance of meeting Mary and her wife Denise. It was a miracle really. (Y/n) was short on the money, exponentially so however, Mary had sold to her anyways. She said she saw a passion in the girl that she hadn’t seen for a very long time and that it was something she wanted to help foster considering she had had her time to live her dreams and explore passions of her own. So with that, a handshape was exchanged for a beat up envolope filled with the entirety of the girl’s life savings. She had invested every nickel and dime she had ever earned into the place and she prayed it wouldn’t blow up in her face.

Which brought her to where she was today: a proud owner of a highly successful business. And of course, with great business comes a nice chunk of money which caught her parents’ attention. They had began to call her everyday but when that they didn’t work, they showed up at her shop unannounced. At first, she had felt warm inside. Her usual cold and distant parents had come to visit her! However, when they started crunching out numbers and percentages, that short lived happiness was replaced by irritation in which she quickly kicked them out, placing a charm on the building that when they’d attempt to enter (if they really, truly, had the balls to come back), their bodies would be flung right back onto the sidewalk into the heaping piles of trash on the city side walks. Now, (Y/n) was by no means wealthy, but she made a nice amount of money to be engaging in something she enjoyed so heavily, which is why she was confused where they had gotten the idea she had money to share with the main two people who were the cause of her insecurities. Plus, every extra dollar she had she put right back into the shop. Paying her workers, building maintenance, ingredients. She wasn’t a fan of having too much money, her family had shown her what that could cause (and how easily you could lose it all). 

Yet still sometimes she found herself wishing she could live the lavish lifestyle her parents once did. She mainly dreamed more so of the more engaging parts instead of the status and power that came with it. As she frosted various different cakes with thick buttercream, her mind would wonder to vivid imagery of beautiful hotel rooms, with breath taking views. Michelin five star meals, coated in delicious cream sauces. Endless adventure waiting to be discovered.

And yet here she was, sitting at a table as she stuffed her face with a raspberry marzipan cupcake. It was a Wednesday, first one of the month and as per usual, her and Twyla were set together, sampling cakes, chocolates, and other treats for the upcoming days. Wednesday had been the official day  they had chosen due to the slowed flow of people that would come in. (Y/n) liked to have a different theme each day of the week. The customers lived for it and she had massed a group of frequenters who came each day, wondering what the theme would be that day.

“You know boss, I’ve gotta say it. Working here and sampling all these cakes with you is giving me quite the ass!” Twyla said, turning around as she wiggled her ass in the girl’s face for emphasis. (Y/n) giggled, rolling her eyes as she swatted at the girl, missing as she jumped away from her last minute. “Hey! You gotta take me out to dinner first for that.”

“Just because we’re sampling cakes doesn’t mean that the store is closed! Anyone could walk in at any moment and would you really want that to be their first experience here?” she asked, eyes scanning the silver platter in front of them. She decided on the new dessert flavored chocolates she had been working on. Popping it into her mouth, she let out a moan of approval.

“I mean, I dont’ see why not! We’d definitely make a lot more money with a cake like mine!” the blue haired girl said, sitting down as she grabbed a chocolate as well. “Besides, I don’t think those little noises you’re making would help the scene.” she stated, snickering as the girl across from her tensed up.

“It-it’s not like that! The chocolate- it just- I just- ugh!” she stuttered out, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest, pouting at the girl. “If you’re gonna keep being mean we can end this process. Just tell me what you think of the blueberry pie chocolate so I can know if we’re adding it to tomorrow’s spread.”

“Oh come on (Y/n) it’s good! Every first Wednesday we sit here, you overly critique yourself, then me and Tiana end up picking out our favorites for the next day!” Twyla was right, even their patterns for trying new things remained the same. (Y/n) wiped her messy hand on her aprons, sighing as she stood up to go back to her position behind the counter. Her employee followed, grabbing the platter to put back into the kitchen before joining her boss behind the counter.

“You’re right. I swear everyday is beginning to feel the same.” She opened her notepad, beginning to take inventory of the sweets they had in the display counter. “I’m grateful for everything I have, I really am. But sometimes I just wish I could have something, anything….”

“New?” the green eyed girl added, catching the (h/c) haired girl’s attention. She nodded, looking at the girl who had snuck a cookie out of the glass case. “I feel ya, girl. Everyday feels the same. Sometimes even when new people come in, I can already tell how they’re going to be. How they’ll act, what they’ll order, what method of payment they’ll use.” (Y/n) eyed the girl up, raising a brow.

“Are you sure you’re not just using legilimens?” she questioned, watching as the girl shifted on her feet, scratching the back of her neck.

“Okay so maybe I do sometimes. But a lot of the times I don’t! Like the other day this weird guy came in and- woah. (Y/n) I don’t wanna freak you out but I have a feeling those hotties in suits across the street are going to be walking in here soon.” Twyla said, in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. The shorter girl followed her friend’s gaze, looking out the glass doors across the street. Three unfamiliar men were crossing over, all in suits that she could only assume cost as much as four months of rent. However, the one in the middle really caught her eye.

Before she knew it, the bell chimed and the three of them made their way in. They looked very out of place in the brightly decorated shop. The one in the middle looked the most important, towering over the other two men. He had dark slicked back hair, an eyebrow piercing, and tattoos that were visible on his neck and hands (which had a few beautiful looking rings on them (none of which were a wedding band…)), yet his hazel eyes held a soft look to them. To his left was a redhead boy, freckles danced all along his face. His eyes were bloodshot from god knows what. He had tattoos as well (not as many as the middle man) and a few unique ear piercings. The guy to the hot tall guy’s right was attractive too but not nearly as serious looking as the other two. In fact, he was humming a song under his breath, a smile causing the tattoo on the right side of his face to crease. 

As she went to open her mouth to greet them, the man in the middle eye’s grew wide, his mouth gaping as he stared at her. He walked closer, examining her face closely which caused her to grow confused.

“I’m...I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked.

“(Y/n)?” she gasped at the sound of the familiar voice, her notepad and pen dropping from her hands. She made her way around the counter, staring up at the tall man.

“Neville?!”

NEXT||

TAGSLIST: @vayeya11 @pink-hufflepuff @clancyscookies @beewitchedlou @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @redpanda-poetry @vibingaesthetically