#she's definitely been in the dungeons for a /long time/ and is a bit of a folk tale atp.

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 63]

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AO3 Link

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Tobias, Nia, and Junie travel back to the Lexym Guild with Fidel in tow, where they update August and reunite with an unexpected face.

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The next morning is thankfully clear for their flight back to the guild. Tobias is the first one up, as usual, but Nia and Junie only grumble a little upon being woken up, since they can’t sleep in with Fidel and the flight ‘mon waiting on them.

By time they’ve grabbed breakfast and their gear and left the inn, Fidel is already stationed near one of the empty bonfire pits. Behind him, perched on the wall surrounding the cliffside village, two large flying types are perched.

For a split-second, Tobias thinks the bulkier silhouette is Fliss, but as they get closer he can see that there are a few differences. This Pokemon’s plumage is a different color, a stark white layered above a gray undercoat. And the crest above his face is definitely different, too—an almost eye-like pattern of bright blue and purple. No scar, either. A shiny, maybe? Or the psychic type variant if braviary that Fliss had mentioned before?

Whatever the case, he’s massive, possibly even larger than Fliss.

Next to him is a slightly smaller Pokemon—a pidgeot. She gives them a calm smile as they approach, the long yellow and red feathers atop her head streaming behind her in the wind.

Fidel turns to greet them as well. “Ah, good morning.”

“Yeesh,” Junie says. “You sure it’s a good morning? You look rough, dude.”

Tobias had thought the same—the zoroark’s voice is duller than usual, his smile worn and tired—but at least Tobias had the tact not to say it.

“Junie!” Nia quietly scolds.

Fidel laughs. “I’m aware I’m not at my finest, Nia. It’s been a long morning. And night. Asher was not pleased about my leaving on such short notice.”

Nia makes a sympathetic sound in her throat. “Understandable. You two do seem close.”

“We are. I hate to leave him so suddenly, but I know Will and the rest of the settlement will look after him.” The zoroark shoulders his large pack, looking them over. “You’re all ready to head out? You picked out some snow gear from Florence’s shop?”

“Yup!” Nia says.

“My coat makes me look like a lemon,” Junie’s adds cheerfully.

Fidel’s smile curves into something a bit more genuine. “That’ll make you easy to spot on the mountain, I suppose.”

“Yeah! See, Toby? Strategic advantage.”

“Strategic stupidity.”

“Hey!”

Fidel interrupts the brewing squabble by introducing the two flight ‘mon who will be flying them across the Obsidian Sea, back to the Metreja continent and the guild nestled within Bethoc’s Haven. The braviary, Cato, greets them with a nod, and the pidgeot, Auretta, ducks her head with a polite, “Pleased to meet you all.”

Since Fidel is heavier than Tobias, Nia, and Junie combined, he boards the braviary alone. The rest of them crawl atop the pidgeot, who crouches low to ease their climb.

Nia sits behind Tobias as has become the norm, so she can hold onto him and hide her face. By now, Tobias is almost used to the way she wraps her arms around his torso, though he still has to will his face not to burn with embarrassment.

“Ooh, cozy,” Junie teases. “Where do I sit?”

The flying types decide to have Junie settle in front of Tobias, and she wastes no time leaning back against him like her own personal seat. She cranes her head back, grinning. He flicks her forehead. She snaps her beak at his fingers with a playful clack clack.

Shortly after, they leave the human settlement with a powerful beating of wings, lifting into cool dawn air and higher into the sky, until the collection of stone buildings lining the cliffside look more like toys than an actual city.

And then they’re off.

———————————————————————————————

Junie, of course, can’t stay quiet for long, so they’ve only just reached the ocean when she finally stops trying to talk to Tobias (who is busy enjoying the flight) and Nia (who is busy being terrified) and instead strikes up conversation with the pidgeot.

Luckily, Auretta seems content to chat as they glide over open water, and it doesn’t take long for the conversation between the two to turn to flight.

“Yeah,” Junie says. “I’m not, uh, a real strong flier yet. I get freaked out flying too high on my own. But I wanna be a mail ‘mon one day, so I’m working on it! And riding on your back doesn’t scare me or anything.”

The pidgeot hums in response. Then she turns her head to catch Junie’s eye. “Have you ever flown over the ocean?”

“Nope!”

“Would you like to try?”

It takes a moment for Junie to understand what Auretta means. Then she squawks, “Right now?! What if I crash?”

“I’ll watch you,” Auretta soothes. “I helped my little sister learn to fly over these very waves, once. And she was a pidgey at the time, so not much larger than you.”

“Aren’t the winds unpredictable nowadays?” Tobias asks, dubious.

“They are,” Auretta confirms. “But they seem calm today. Would you like to try? Your wingspan isn’t made for soaring like ours, but we’re here so you can always take a break.”

Junie still seems unsure, leaning over to peer down at the waves far below. But after a long moment of silence she shakes herself and says, “You know what? Why not! Just, uh. Don’t let me die, okay?”

The pidgeot trills a sound somewhere between amused and encouraging. “Of course not. I’ll be here.”

For the next few minutes, the pidgeot gently coaches Junie, teaching her how to keep her wings steady and ride the air currents, as well as how to seek out thermals to elevate.

Eventually, Junie works up the courage to leap from Auretta’s back. The rookidee’s wings snap out and beat furiously, and for a heart-stopping moment Junie is swept back head-over-heels by a powerful gust of wind.

But Auretta is quick to tuck her wings and drop back with her, calmly buffeting the wind in front of Junie so she can regain her balance.

Still, Tobias can’t help looking back to make sure Junie just didn’t plummet into the ocean. Nia, whose arms had tightened around him, squeaks, “I-Is she okay?!”

She is. Her little face is screwed up with determination as she listens to Auretta calmly explain to keep her wings steady and to soar with the air current instead of working against it.

It takes a few more minutes before Junie seems to have the hang of it, only a little shaky as she coasts along behind Auretta.

“I think I got it!” Junie shouts.

Fidel, who had been watching from atop the braviary off to the side, yells, “Good work!”

“Stay calm, even when the winds shift,” the braviary adds, watching as well.

“I’m going to elevate,” Auretta calls over her shoulder. “The wind will feel stronger for a moment, but just let it take you, all right? We’re on a wide current, so you shouldn't be lead astray. Don’t panic.”

Junie calls, “Got it!”

The pidgeot tilts and flies higher, out of Junie’s path.

Junie looks overwhelmed for a moment, flapping once before stopping herself and straightening her wings. She wobbles, but then she’s quickly picked up like a leaf on the wind, moving forward at a brisk clip.

Before anyone can ask how she’s doing, Junie whoops a loud, joyous sound. Auretta dips so she can fly right beside her, and Junie turns to face them with a beaming grin.

“Toby, look! I did it! And it feels awesome!”

Tobias can’t help smiling back, something sharp and warm in his chest. He always wanted to be there when his sister evolved and got to fly herself for the first time. This isn’t that, but it’s close enough to have him choked up.

“You did it,” he says, trying not to make it obvious that he’s feeling stupidly emotional.

Luckily, Junie is too distracted by her own joy to call him out on it, simply turning her face up to enjoy the sun.

Of course, it’s not five minutes later before Junie starts begging Auretta and Cato to show her how to do some “cool flight tricks.” Tobias is relieved when they gently shoot down her idea of learning how to barrel roll.

————————————————————————————————

The rest of the trip is largely uneventful, thankfully, no rogue winds to disrupt their journey across the sea. Nia stays hidden in Tobias’ shoulder most of the time, but she makes muffled comments occasionally, so she must be listening to their conversations.

At one point Tobias thinks he catches a glimpse of Giratina checking in on them in the reflection of the sky below, but the titan is gone too quickly for Tobias to be sure.

They’d borrowed a cup of water the night before to update Giratina on their findings about Yveltal and Xerneas, and their plans to go to Silenfroar. Giratina had seemed to approve, apparently deeming their guess a valid possibility.

However, he’d also seemed more exhausted than usual, expression flat and his subdued gestures lacking their usual bite. Nia, being Nia, had of course asked if he was all right.

Giratina had straightened up, walls visibly rebuilding as he nodded. Nia clearly hadn’t been convinced, but without a way to hear Giratina speaking through the reflection it wasn’t like they could even understand anything he said except a yes or no answer.

Regardless of what was actually wrong—if anything—Tobias figures that Giratina just doesn’t feel like wasting valuable time and energy to monitor them today.

Junie takes to resting periodically on Auretta’s back, but she still leaps back into the air as much as possible, rambling about how impressed Bo will be by her new skills.

Hours pass peacefully this way, and it’s nearly noon, the sun high and bright overhead, when the braviary calls out, “Land ahoy!”

Tobias squints, ignoring Nia’s quiet, “Thank goodness.” Sure enough, the shore of the Bethoc Bluffs and the forest of the Haven lie on the horizon, faded blue with distance.

Tobias is startled out of his search by a high, unexpected voice coming from Fidel and Cato’s direction.

“Finally! I thought we’d never get there!”

Cato falters, and everyone else’s heads snap over.

From the pack still strapped to Fidel’s back, a tiny gray and red head is poking out with a devious grin, clearly enjoying their stunned reactions.

“Asher?!” Junie yells.

“Asher?” Fidel asks, half shocked and half concerned. He quickly unstraps his pack to pull it in front of him. Seeing that his son is unharmed, his brows lower. “What are you doing here?”

The zorua sinks low into the bag at his father’s upset tone, until all Tobias can see are golden eyes and lowered ears. He can barely hear the zorua over the wind as he says, “I didn’t want you to go.”

Fidel’s anger softens. He sighs. “I didn’t want to leave you either, but that does not mean you are allowed to disobey direct orders. What if we were going straight to the mountains and had to stop to find somewhere safe for you to stay?”

“I’d be okay!” Asher says. “I’m tough! And I can always hide in your hair to stay warm.”

“You are not coming to the mountians,” Fidel says, voice hard. “And I will be double-checking that you haven’t decided to sneak along again before we go.”

Asher pouts. “But—"

“No. You will stay at the guild’s nursery until we return.”

Asher perks up again. “Does that mean you’re not sending me back to the settlement? Please tell me you’re not. It’s so boring there!”

Fidel sighs, glancing over at Tobias, Nia, and Junie. “…No. we can’t afford to turn around simply to drop you off. You’ll come with us to the Lexym Guild, as long as Team Scarlet thinks you’d be welcome there.”

“Of course he would!” Junie chirps, despite having never been to the guild herself.

Tobias squashes her down with a hand, ignoring her offended cheep. “I’m sure Asher can stay in the guild’s nursery while we’re gone. Honestly, the shinx kids will probably be thrilled to have a new playmate.”

Asher almost wiggles out of his father’s hold in his excitement. “Ooh, are they fun? How old are they? I bet I could turn into a shinx!”

“Don’t sound so thrilled,” Fidel admonishes. “We will be talking about this more once we settle in. You’re still in trouble.”

“Right. Sorry,” Asher says.

Tobias doesn’t think he sounds all that sorry at all, but it is clear Asher doesn’t like upsetting his father, even if he doesn’t really regret stowing away.

Despite the scolding, Fidel doesn’t stop his son from joining in the conversation after that. Some part of Tobias thinks the zoroark is actually relieved to have his son nearby where he can keep an eye on him.

Half the remaining journey is spent with Asher yelling questions across the sky about the Lexym Guild, which Tobias answers patiently. Junie wastes no time jumping in with questions of her own.

They must’ve taken a different flight route than usual since they came straight from the human settlement, because today they pass over a beach town near the bluffs on the edge of the continent. It’s a fairly small place, bigger than Stonebrook but much smaller than Ghatha. Closer to Fort Asra’s population than anything. Tobias thinks he remembers visiting once or twice with Maggie when he was younger.

As they fly over the bustling town, the braviary carrying Fidel suddenly jerks, strong enough to cut off Asher’s rambling with a yip. Fidel pulls his son closer.

“Cato?” Auretta says, tone concerned. She flies closer, as if to steady him.

The braviary doesn’t answer for a moment, frowning down at the quiet activity of the town below. “I’m fine. Just…thought I felt something strange in the air for a moment.”

Tobias frowns, eyeing the braviary’s crest. Fliss said that braviary variants were psychic types, right? Psychics do tend to be a bit more sensitive to certain things.

But after a tense moment of observation, the braviary shakes his head. “Probably nothing. Likely some psychic types playing with their powers. Apologies for the scare.”

The rest of them take the dismissal for what it is, slowly relaxing again. Asher and Junie resume their questioning after a minute or two.

The two chatterboxes only fall silent once they reach the Haven in earnest, and the giant tree that houses the Lexym Guild towers in the distance, far above the other trees of the forest.

“It’s huge!” Junie says. “You guys didn’t tell me you lived somewhere so cool!”

Tobias shrugs. He’s lived at the guild for over eight years now, so it’s long since lost its novelty. It’s just…home, nowadays.

Auretta and Cato find the mail ‘mons’ flight floor with easy familiarity, alighting on the wooden platforms with gentle thumps.

Fidel and Asher slide down from the braviary’s back, and Auretta crouches for Tobias, Nia and Junie to do the same. Tobias tries to help Nia soften her landing, but she still winces as she lands, paw going to her ribs.

The two flight ‘mon were paid in advance by Will, so they give their goodbyes and head off to the flight outpost. Junie hops after them, calling out her thanks for the impromptu flight lesson.

It’s not long until the two flying types are out of sight.

“So what now?” Junie asks, eyes sparkling as she takes in the open, windy interior and wooden walls. “Gonna give us the grand tour?”

For once, Tobias wishes they could do something so laid-back, but he knows they need to get something else over with first.

“We need to talk to August first. Update him and see if he found anything out about Xerneas while we were gone. Plus, we need to get his approval so we can travel to the mountains. He might have some tips for us.”

“And…” Nia adds, looking nervous. “Um. We have to tell him about the whole Kaleido Bay thing, right?”

The mark on their record, yeah. As their guildmaster, August will find out about it sooner or later, so Tobias would rather the rillaboom hear it straight from him.

Tobias nods, ignoring Asher’s curious look and Junie’s sympathetic grimace.

“We’ll join you, if that’s all right. I need to make sure it’s okay for Asher to stay here while we’re gone,” Fidel says, giving his son—who is happily sniffing circles around the room, probably tracking an old scent—an unimpressed look.

Decision made, Tobias leads their little group up the few flights to August’s office. He just hopes the rillaboom is free so they can get this over with.

The whole walk, Junie and Asher take turns eagerly pointing out different parts of the Lexym Tree’s construction, peering through the lattice windows they pass and asking how they built a whole guild inside of a tree.

“I think it’s magic,” Nia whispers conspiratorially, leaning closer to Asher and wiggling her fingers.

Asher grins. “Has to be. Even with lotsa grass types around, this tree is humongous! Like, weirdly so. Right, Dad?”

“It is impressive.”

“Hm. Magic and lots of love and care?” Nia jokes, glancing at Tobias.

Tobias snorts. “I’m sure that’s it.”

Tobias is glad they don’t push for actual answers, at least, considering he doesn’t have them. As far as he knows, the Lexym Tree has been like this for over a century, since the guilds were first formed and Bethoc herself founded this branch.

Still, their good mood nosedives as they reach August’s quarters at the top of the guild. The stone doors are closed tight, vines wrapping around their surface, and bright autumn foliage wreathes the corners of the doorframe.

Tobias takes a deep breath and knocks. He’s both relieved and disappointed when August’s deep voice can be faintly heard in response.

Verene is the one who opens the doors. The lurantis scans Tobias and the others with mild surprise, but she opens the door wider without hesitation, silently ushering them in.

August seems just as surprised to see them, though his expression quickly turns to warm relief.

Tobias stomach churns. For a second, he considers not telling August about their transgression in Kaleido at all.

…But no, that’ll only delay the inevitable. And August would be even more disappointed in them if they tried to hide it.

Tobias takes another breath to calm his nerves.

“Team Scarlet! I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. And I see you’ve brought company?”

Tobias nods, gesturing first at Junie. “Juniper the rookidee. You might remember that we met her in Ghatha on our last trip East.”

“Junie,” Junie corrects, hopping forward with a dramatic bow. “I live in

Stonebrook! I’m just here to help these two knuckleheads stay in one piece.”

August chuckles. “Pleasure to meet you. And you two?”

Fidel steps forward, his usual friendly demeanor stiffening as he bows as well. “Fidel the zoroark. Second in command at the human settlement south of Ghatha. This is my son, Asher.”

“Hiya!” Asher chirps. In a flash of light, he morphs into a grookey to bow just as dramatically as Junie had.

Junie snorts, but Fidel almost looks panicked as he nudges his son. Asher glances up at him, sighs, then transforms back into a zorua to bow more respectfully.

August watches the exchange with a strange expression, half-amused and half…sad, almost? Still, his smile is warm when Fidel looks back to him. “You and your son are welcome here, Fidel. Worry not.”

Fidel’s tense posture doesn’t relax, but he does nod, murmuring his thanks.

“Happy as I am to welcome you all to the Lexym Guild, am I wrong in assuming you have a purpose in mind, coming here with Team Scarlet? Have you news on your search for Xerneas?”

Tobias nods. “Will’s team did some research, and we think we have a place to start looking.”

He glances at Fidel, and the zoroark takes over.

“Xerneas and Yveltal rest within a certain proximity of one another during their sleep cycles.”

August nods, not looking surprised. He must’ve found similar claims in his own research here at the guild.

“As such, we only need to find one before we have an anchor point to find the other,” Fidel continues. “We can also assume from the legends that their resting places display specific qualities. Namely, that Xerneas will rest somewhere lush, and Yveltal somewhere barren. In addition, the crystals forming their cocoons typically spill over into the environment around them as well.”

August narrows his eyes, a thoughtful hand coming up to his chin. “That makes sense, considering the role of each legendary in regards to the ecosystem. I’m assuming you believe one of the two legendaries to be nearby since you followed Team Scarlet all the way back to Metreja?”

Fidel nods, looking to Nia.

She startles, but hurries forward to continue. “Y-Yes! Do you remember the sableye we rescued in that dungeon on the river, along with Team Aqua Jet? Carnelian?”

August smiles. “I do. A nervous little fellow, but very polite.”

“Yes! Before he left the guild, he mentioned that he was going somewhere to investigate some strange crystals.”

“The Silenfroar Mountain range,” Tobias adds.

August straightens, brow furrowing with understanding. “Which would certainly be a barren landscape, yes?”

Fidel nods. “We’re thinking that Yveltal may be resting there. However, we want to investigate and confirm for sure so we can use his location as a tether to find Xerneas, considering they should be within sight of one another.”

August hums, thoughtful, his gaze locked on one of the branches snaking its way through the walls of the room and bringing a burst of autumn leaves with it.

Tobias frowns. He knows August well enough after all these years to guess what that look means. “You found something out while we were gone, didn’t you?”

August blinks back to the present, and laughs. “That transparent, am I? We have been performing our own research in your brief absence, but let me confirm my suspicions with Alistair and Tawny first before I share what I suspect. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop.”

Tobias doesn’t doubt that August is telling the truth, despite how much grief he’s given his guildmaster over the years.

Another jab of guilt in Tobias’ chest.

“You trained up in those mountains once, right?” Tobias asks, pushing past the feeling. “Did you hear anything about Yveltal while you were there?”

August looks faintly surprised that Tobias remembers that little tidbit, probably since it was shared so many years ago. The rillaboom shakes his head. “No, I heard nothing of the sort while I was there. But though they welcomed me on a surface level by the end of my training, I was never truly one of them. It’s likely they would still keep important secrets from me, and a legendary hidden in their territory would certainly qualify.”

“Oh,” Nia says, wilting. “Does that mean you wouldn’t be able to put in a good word for us?”

August’s brows raise. “You mean to travel up the mountain yourselves? All of you?”

“Will would like to work with ‘mon he personally knows he can trust,” Fidel says. “And I could help to assure their safety, if you permit it.”

“And Giratina asked US to look into Xerneas,” Tobias adds. Well, he asked Nia, but still—they’re a unit. “And we know Carnelian, too. He trusts us. It makes sense for us to go.”

Nia and Junie open their mouths to add their own input, but August lifts a hand to stop them.

“You don’t need to try so hard to convince me. You’ve already proven yourselves worthy of missions far above your ranking, and you aren’t the worst option in the guild, type-wise.”

Verene, who had been silently watching the exchange off to the side, steps forward for the first time, pink and white claws crossed politely but voice firm. “All the same, August, if time is a pressing matter, should we not send someone who could make the trip faster? I know we don’t have many upper-level Seekers on hand who are great in the cold, but someone like Team Sequoia could adapt well.”

Andyn’s parents? Oh, absolutely not. Tobias is not trusting the fate of the world to two sawsbuck who can’t even raise their own kid properly.

Before he can protest, August shakes his head. “You know as well as I do that Team Sequoia would make enemies of the village sooner than they’d find any answers, Verene. Trust me on this. We need someone non-threatening who already has a connection with the sableye researcher at the very least.” He smiles at them. “As I cannot go myself, I have a feeling this group is exactly the team for the job.”

Tobias is going to die from the guilt. A glance at Nia shows she’s feeling the same, wincing under the praise.

Verene doesn’t seem thrilled by August’s answer, glancing over Nia, Tobias, Junie and Asher doubtfully, but she dutifully steps back.

August looks back to them. “You have my approval for Team Scarlet to investigate the Silenfroar mountain range for signs of Xerneas or Yveltal’s presence. I do want you to wait a day or so for my confirmation before you depart, though. I need to draft a letter to the matriarch of the village if you want to bypass any initial suspicion. Additionally, I want you to prepare properly—the mountainside can be brutal, especially if you run into any bad weather. Make sure to get some snow clothes from Vera before leaving.”

“Already done!” Junie chirps. “Will hooked us up.”

“We didn’t grab shoes, though,” Nia frets. “The ones at the shop looked too thin, so…”

August bends over his desk for a moment to scribble a note to himself. “In that case, make sure you grab some snowshoes before departing from the guild. I believe Vera has a few pairs in storage. I’ll send word so she can dig them out.”

Nia gives her thanks, looking relieved.

“What about me?” Asher asks, head craning back to look up at his father.

Fidel falters. “Right. Guildmaster, would it be possible for my son to stay here in your guild’s nursery while we journey up the mountain? He was not supposed to join on this trip, but…”

“Of course,” August says, clearly catching Fidel off-guard with such easy approval. “Arlo and his assistants can handle one more bundle of chaos, I’m sure. Just be sure not to cause them too much grief, little one.”

Asher perks up with a radiant smile. “Of course not, sir!”

Junie and Tobias snort in unison.

“Does that mean I’m cool to crash with Nia and Toby while I’m here too?” Junie asks.

August nods. “I expected as much. You should have more than enough room in Team Scarlet’s quarters.”

Junie whispers, “Mission accomplished!” to Nia, making the riolu smile.

August makes a sound in his throat as if he just remembered something. “Speaking of which, you actually have another guest who requested to meet with you. They’ve been staying in the guest quarters the last few days, but I’ll send word for them to meet up with you right away. I’m sure they’ll be interested in joining you on your journey to Silenfroar.”

Tobias blinks, surprised, and exchanges a confused look with Nia. A guest?

“You and your son will also have guest quarters for the duration of your stay,” August says to Fidel, quickly writing down some details on a slip of paper before holding it out to him. “Though Asher is more than welcome to sleep in the nursery while you’re away.”

Fidel takes the slip of paper after a beat of hesitation, murmuring his thanks. Asher clambers up his father’s side to perch on his shoulder and read it too.

“If that’s all,” August says, “I’m sure you’re all hungry after your travels. Feel free to go to the cafeteria—they should still be serving lunch at this hour.”

Nia and Tobias hesitate, exchanging a reluctant glance. Part of Tobias just wants to leave and deal with the mark on their record later, especially if August could potentially rescind his permission for them to investigate the mountains, but…

He can’t just lie to August, not after how welcoming he’s been to them. Today, and for Tobias’ whole life, honestly.

“We have something else to tell you,” Tobias sighs. He glances uncomfortably at Fidel. “About, uh…an incident we were a part of in Kaleido Bay.”

August straightens, his smile curving into a concerned frown.

Fidel must pick up on their discomfort, because he smiles awkwardly and dips his head. “In that case, Asher and I will go find our lodgings for the night and grab some food. I’ll come to speak with you tomorrow, Team Scarlet.”

“Can we go see the nursery first?!” Asher asks, shaking his dad’s shoulder. “I gotta find those shinx kids!”

“We can,” Fidel agrees with a wry look. “But you’re also helping me draft a letter to poor Will to let him know you’re safe. He’ll be in a fuss over your disappearance.”

Asher winces. “…Whoops. Didn’t think about that.”

“Yes, ‘Whoops.’” Fidel turns back to August with another formal bow. “Thank you again for your hospitality, Guildmaster.”

August nods and dismisses the father and son, and they take their leave to slip quietly from the room.

In their absence, a heavy silence falls.

August turns back to them, looking more concerned than anything. “What exactly is this ‘incident’ that occurred in Kaleido Bay?”

Tobias takes a breath and steps forward. “It was my fault. We found out that one of the Pokemon responsible for the death of my family was being held in the prison there. I wanted to talk to him.”

August recoils, clearly not expecting that answer. The rillaboom surely knows the vague details of how Tobias came to join the guild years ago, but even Maggie doesn’t have the full story. And Tobias has certainly never willingly divulged details like this to him.

It helps to say it like a report. To keep a clinical sort of distance from the event itself.

Verene is staring at Tobias with uncharacteristic emotion, pink eyes wide with shock. Tobias wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first time she’s hearing about his circumstances at all, considering she wasn’t at the guild when he first arrived.

August could’ve told her at some point, of course, but Tobias realizes suddenly that he’d always just trusted that August would keep it as quiet as possible out of respect for his privacy. After all, from the very beginning, August was one of the few ‘mon at the guild who treated Tobias with respect. He has always showed a deep, honest sympathy for Tobias’ circumstances, rather than pity.

August has always been on Tobias’ side, even if Tobias didn’t recognize it until recently.

Which is why Tobias is going to keep his lying to a minimum, here and now. They can’t implicate Rosalind because Arceus knows what she would do in retaliation, but…

“We blackmailed a guard to get into the prison,” Tobias admits, lifting his chin and locking eyes with August. “I had to know.”

August’s expression becomes more somber. He leans forward to rest his chin on interlaced fingers. “I see. And did you find what you were looking for by speaking with this outlaw?”

Tobias swallows down fresh grief. “…In a way, yes. I don’t regret doing it.”

He does regret getting Nia in trouble too, and of course the danger of the whole situation in the first place, but as far as tarnishing his own record? He’d do that a thousand times over to find answers. To get some closure.

“Nia didn’t want me to go alone, but it was entirely my idea.”

“I went along with it,” Nia protests, stepping up to his side. “I-I…I should bear any punishment you give, too.”

August hums, looking between them. “And you two are telling me this out of the goodness of your hearts? Or were you found out?”

“Dismas made an escape attempt while we were there,” Tobias says, lifting his arm to show his still-bandaged side, finally almost healed. “We delayed him until reinforcements arrived, but that did bring attention to the whole incident. One of the wardens came to talk to us afterwards and explained that due to our help we would get a lighter punishment, but we’ll still have a mark on our record. You should be receiving notice of that soon.”

August is silent for a few moments, looking to Verene as if to gauge her reaction. She looks troubled by the admission of wrongdoing, but strangely uncertain, too. Likely still reeling from the revelation about Tobias’ family.

Finally, August sighs, making a note on a slip of paper on his desk. “Well, I certainly can’t condone you both engaging in such unsavory activity, not to mention where you received the knowledge to blackmail a prison guard in the first place—"

Here, August pauses to give them a stern, knowing look that makes them wince.

“—But I can also understand where you are coming from, Tobias. I suppose my next question must be whether you plan to repeat such behavior in the future?”

“Not if it might hurt someone else,” Nia answers first. Tobias looks at her, surprised by the passion in her voice.

“The Pokemon we blackmailed got in trouble, too,” Nia continues, quieter, voice shaky. “I-I can’t do that again. Hurt someone else for personal gain.”

She peeks at Tobias as she says it, expression both hard and pleading, as if begging him not to put her in such a situation again.

Tobias feels fresh guilt worm its way into his gut. He hadn’t thought much about Jude’s repercussions at all. Of course Nia has been stewing in guilt over them the whole time.

“Agreed,” Tobias finally says, crumbling under Nia’s expression. “I…can’t say I wouldn’t be tempted in the future if information about the outlaws who killed my family was on the line, but I’ll go with Nia on this. I promise no one else will be caught in the crossfire in the future.”

August gives them a tired smile. “As much as I am pleased to hear that your hearts are in the right place, as your guildmaster I need to remind you both that you should not admit to planning to break any rules to Verene and I.”

Nia and Tobias both wince, Nia murmuring a quiet, “Sorry.”

August chuckles, shaking his head.

Verene looks torn, as if unsure if August should be taking all of this so lightly.

Tobias swallows, pushing forward. “Do we still have your permission to investigate the Silenfroar Mountains?”

August quirks a brow. “Would it stop you if I said no?”

Nia and Tobias exchange an uncertain look.

August coughs, though it sounds suspiciously like he’s covering a laugh. “Don’t answer that. Typically, teams with infractions for suspicious activity would be put on leave while the issue was investigated, but seeing as you came to tell me your reasoning directly, that step of the process is complete for now. I do truly believe you all are the best choice for this mission, so I’ll keep you as the assigned team.”

Tobias releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, hearing Nia do the same next to him.

“However,” August continues, pinning them both with a stern look. “This is still a permanent red flag on your record. Accumulate more than two and your team will be put on leave indefinitely. Do not put me in that position. Got it?”

Tobias straightens up with a nod. “Yes sir.”

“Y-Yes sir!”

August holds the look for a moment longer, then waves them out. “In that case, you three are free to go. I’ll send your other guest to your quarters soon. And I believe you had a rather large delivery as well during your absence.

Tobias blinks. News of a “guest” is strange enough, but they had a big delivery, too?

Tobias doesn’t question it aloud, though. He, Nia and even Junie bow and say their thanks before scurrying out of the room.

Just before Tobias crosses the threshold, August calls out, “Tobias?”

Tobias stops, looking back at the rillaboom.

His face is soft. “Circumstances aside, I’m glad you found what you were looking for in the prison. I hope it bring you some measure of peace.”

Tobias swallows against an unexpected wave of emotion, nodding and mumbling his thanks before following Nia and Junie out of the room.

As soon as the door closes behind them and they’re alone in the hallway, Junie sags to the floor. “Whew! Well that was nerve-racking. No wonder you don’t like to get in trouble, Nia.”

“Who does?” Nia asks, aghast.

Tobias just points at Junie, who proudly fluffs out her chest. She’s an impidimp under all those feathers, he swears.

“Well, I certainly don’t enjoy it,” Nia murmurs. But then she perks up. “Oh! But what do you think August meant by us having a guest? And a delivery?”

“I want food and a tour soon, but I’m curious too. We could go to your room first to check it out?” Junie suggests.

Tobias doesn’t see any issue with that. They’re likely not going to get much done today aside from settling back in and checking on Maggie and Nia’s friends, so they might as well quell their curiosity and take their time.

Tobias leads the three of them to the floor where the Seekers’ quarters are housed, then down the hall and to their room. Along the way, Nia tells Junie about where and who they need to visit while at the guild.

“Oh, you’ll love Maggie! She’s Tobias’ mom and she’s the sweetest person alive. And you’ll probably meet Fen and Sage during that visit, too. And I need to introduce you to Xander’s team! They’re a few years older than us, but they’re some of our best friends. And Andyn’s—"

Nia cuts herself off abruptly.

Tobias rolls his eyes, not even looking back to see his partner’s crestfallen expression. “If Andyn is still in a mood a week after our little tiff, that’s her problem. And don’t you dare go to apologize to her when it’s her fault for having such an awful attitude.”

“I-I know,” Nia says quietly. “But…I do miss her.”

“If you’re worried, you could always check in with the sensible members of her team.”

“Wait, hold up. What’s the drama here?” Junie asks, fluttering forward to perch on Tobias’ shoulder. “Who’s Andyn?”

“One of Nia’s friends. We did a joint mission with her team before we left and she was being an insecure little brat the whole time. She was still acting huffy when we left.”

“She was being a brat to Nia?” Junie asks, aghast. “Oh, she’d better be a bug type. I’m gonna peck some sense into her.”

“Junie, no!” Nia says.

Tobias smirks. “Grass type, actually. So you’re good. And I think her teammates might just cheer you on at this point.”

“Tobias!“ Nia says, louder.

Tobias and Junie ignore Nia’s protests from behind them on the staircase, the two of them instead making more and more ridiculous attack plans. Tobias knows Nia isn’t actually upset with them since he can hear the growing laughter in her voice with every protest. After Junie threatens to stalk Andyn around the guild and drop berries on her head in some kind of psychological warfare, Nia doesn’t even try to protest anymore as she giggles.

The teasing continues until they reach their room. Tobias opens the door, expecting their delivery to be something too large for the mailbox but still manageably small.

Instead, the three of them stop cold in the entryway of the room, staring at the supplies lumped together into a pile taller than them.

“What in the..?” Tobias says.

Nia gasps, pushing past them. “It’s a bed!”

“For real?!” Junie yells. She flutters forward to join Nia, eagerly knelt next to a bundle of…wooden posts?

Tobias frowns, joining them as well. “I thought you didn’t buy a bed from Hazel because it was too expensive.”

“Oh.” Nia pauses, blinking. “I didn’t.”

Junie brings their attention to a little note tied to one of the posts, plucking it free with her beak to hold out to Nia. Nia skims through it, and a peek reveals that it’s written in that strange scrawling script from Hazel’s last letter, completely illegible to him.

Nia’s expression softens. “It IS from Hazel. She says she wants to thank us for returning her ‘silly husband’ to her and her family in one piece. No charge.”

“Her husband?” Junie asks.

“Yeah! He’s super nice. I think he’s called a floatzel? We saved him and his crew from a mystery dungeon on the way back from Shivergleam.”

“No charge at all is pretty generous of her,” Tobias says, raising a brow.

“I know! I almost don’t want to accept.”

“Hey, don’t look for the hair in the soup and all that,” Junie says, hopping from one bundle of crisply cut, polished wood to another.

“Do you always have to make it yourself?” Tobias asks doubtfully. It looks…kind of complicated.

With a grin, Nia flips over the letter to show him the back, where more is written along with some little doodles to help illustrate. “Nope, but there are instructions! It doesn’t look too bad.”

Tobias still doesn’t get why the two of them are so excited. He’s having a hard time figuring out what this weird bed will even look like by the time they’re done. What’s wrong with a simple nest on the floor?

Junie must sense his doubt, because she hops over the wood and says, “You’ll understand soon, Toby. Come over here and feel this!”

Tobias rounds the pile of materials to find a giant rectangular…something? It looks thick but soft and it’s covered in cloth. It sparks a long-forgotten memory on the edge of his thoughts, of waking up somewhere impossibly soft after Team Zenith’s attack.

Oh. Maybe he has slept in a similar kind of bed before. He thinks the doctor in the village had one? Maybe there was a human living there that Tobias was unaware of at the time.

Trying not to look too intrigued, Tobias follows Junie’s order and sits down on the edge of what she calls a “mattress.” It feels like more of those springs might be inside, but it’s heavily padded by fabric and other stuffing, so he sinks comfortably a few inches before lightly bouncing back up.

Okay, maybe Tobias is starting to see why they’re so excited to sleep on this. He hesitates, knowing Junie will likely comment on it, but eventually decides to flop back onto it fully.

“Nice, right?” Junie asks, her smug expression audible. Tobias doesn’t give her the satisfaction of responding, instead closing his eyes.

…It is pretty comfortable.

Nia snickers, but thankfully doesn’t comment. The sound is followed by the clatter of wood and shuffling as Nia starts putting together whatever the rest of the supplies are for.

“Okay, looks like it’s just a peg system, so I don’t think we’ll need tools…”

“Should we grab food before you get lost in construction mode?” Junie pipes up, looking between them. “I’m starving.”

Nia is clearly reluctant to part with her new project, but Tobias is hungry too. They compromise, heading down to grab lunch and bringing it back to their room to eat.

Tobias and Junie dig in with relish, the little rookidee praising the cooking’s quality. Nia just takes bites of her meal here and there while organizing the materials and lining up pegs in their proper placement.

After he’s finished eating, Tobias peels himself from the mattress to help Nia hold the supplies in place, since her muttering has only gotten more frustrated in the last few minutes.

The two of them are only halfway through building what is apparently a frame to hold the mattress off the floor when a quiet tap tap comes from the doorway. They all turn to look, just as a familiar head pokes into the room.

Oh. That’s the second time this afternoon that Tobias has been thrown completely for a loop.

“Samir?!” Nia gasps, practically throwing down the materials in her paws to scramble up and greet the skiddo.

Samir looks just as they’d left them in Fort Asra, albeit a bit more unsure in this new environment. Their nerves visibly lessen in the face of Nia’s enthusiastic greeting, but the skiddo still holds themself stiffly as ever, legs locked and chin raised. Across their back, a satchel like the one Maggie wears when gathering herbs is draped over their spine.

So the mystery guest August had mentioned before is Samir. After hearing about the skiddo’s terrible partner back in Fort Asra, and Nia offering Samir a place in the Lexym Guild instead, Tobias can take a wild guess for why they’re here.

He’s just not quite sure how to feel about it.

[girlfox]

i'm theorycrafting my dungeon meshi au for ahri and honestly it's kind of hilarious thinking about her in that world because. yeah, she'd eat everything and anything. absolutely zero qualms about consuming monsters. in fact, i think she loves it. no culinary innovation, either, just gobbling up dungeon creatures who roam into levels they shouldn't.

i think she inadvertently manages the ecosystem of some level really far down by doing this, while also caring for the monsters who stabilize things.

[esoteriamaya]

ASTROLOGY EDITION - THE SENSUAL APPEAL OF THE NAKSHATRAS

Hey, so I've been more focused on the nakshatras lately.. and love getting into how sensual, flirtatious, raw and powerful some of the nakshatras could be. I may start this off with just the nakshatras itself, focusing on the sign and its energy as opposed to the planets in each of these naks. So yeah. Lets get into it ;)

So first is up, Hasta. There the ones who really inspired me to do this so here we go.

Hasta - Delicate. Refined. Opened Hearts. Very sensual beings who know how to ease you into to their souls. They have a replenishing auras that could fulfill the desires of another. Oop, did I say that? They are indeed the temptress, the ones that will make you fall in love with, as they know you will never get anything from the in return. Having been hurt in the past, they usually carry themselves with a tight armor, only this time they know they wont have to... Because someone will always take the bait ;)

Hastas are truly amazing at crafting their hearts into the desires that they want. So much so, they'll utilize their sex appeal in order to get what they want. Very smart, coi and productive... Their like the jaguar you dont see coming. They always get what they want, because others are more than likely to give to the hastanian babe whenever they please.

Rohini - Ooooooh! They are sooo seductive. They have a quiet temper that is aroused when the right soul meets into their arms. They're only lovers for the plot. If it gets too deep and on the wrong foot then their outta here. Sorry busta!If you don't give it to them the right way, then they won't be here for long. They are only here for one purpose, and that is to fulfill their desires in more ways than one. Like their hasta friends, they know how to go for what they want, and they'll get it by any means necessary.

There temptress powers they carry can attract an audience if they let it. There touch can last for hours, penetrating into the skin like magic. They are the doorway to salvation. Pleasure is their profound language. It is a blessing and a curse to be this type of delight. A special occasion, they keep anyone anyway who is not deserving of their love.

Anuradha - I feel like this one deserves a round of applause ONLY because they do not share these gifts so easily. The people could want more but that isn't enough. Once they get a hold of your tempting magic people will definitely try and take you to the pits of hell. So its kept in a jar, locked away for a while until the anuradha babe is ready to go for the kill. When she wants it, she will. And when mama's hungry, shes gonna eat ;) Siren-like eyes that can penetrate into your soul. It can spook you ;) But all the Anuradha wants is to entice, it is how she gets what she desires. She has a flow that is naturally pulling like the Jyestha, we don't know what it is but its powerful, convincing, and its rare. The anuradha is the type to pull yu in, to the point that when she catches you in her spell.. she will eat you alive. Its better to stay away if you dont want to be bit, but her allure is just so damn powerful. It'll have you begging for more.

Krittikas - Their raw sexuality will pour into your skin, and before you know it.. they've already gotten you into their mini web. Darling.. the ones who where this nakshatra on their sleeves use every bit of their power to seduce the right one.. sometimes it catches others too. There striking presence keeps the others wondering where have they been all of their life. The one who moves to the beat of their own drum, tameless. It is why so many try to focus on wooing you in order to make you into what THEY want you to be.. and you beat em at their game every time. The seductive prowess they carry show a reflective force from the moon down to the sun, with its rays being so powerful it has everyone looking at them.. waiting to explore what is deep inside the krittika, only to be found later in their dungeon. Taking their souls, and never to be heard of again.

Shravana - They have a very powerful aura that pushes the narrative about themselves. They have the gift that keeps on giving. They know what to do with their seduction, its the one that gets them the highest bidder! What shapes you, is the power of the mind, the soul and the spirit. So they do themselves the diligence to create from within, and not without. They are hungry to learn more about their presence as their gifts connect to the souls of thousands.. What I mean is that these babes have a gift of opening up the godlike force that many try to emulate.. but many can't do. There seductive prowess inspires thousands to watch them as they watch to the shravana native, craving for their affection.. As they can be so very giving, but with a price. It all comes down to them wanting to be at the top, and they'll whatever they can to get it. It comes with a sense of ease, and they'll choose their favorite worshiper to teach ;)

Mula - HOT HOT HOT!!!!!! They don't even know how deep this goes.. but they penetrate into your skin with no effort. There gift is in spiking you with their mind, and leading you in with their heart.. They know how to entice you into doing for them and fitting to their needs.. You wont even blink an eye and yet wont even care. You'll just be glad to be in their presence is all. They have a special aura that most find pretty enchanting, and their souls spark a conversation one what makes them so unique.. because most people are mystified by them and begin to take notes.. but they will never know what that is to be exact. Which is what makes their seductive prowess just that damn good. It exists for them and them alone.. if they decide to share this with you consider yourself LUCKY.. Because they like you more than the rest, and who they are and how they carry themselves is a gift you when they want to share it.. Whew.. they'll really touch you in ways you won't forget.

I will post on the rest of them soon. Let me know in the comments how you feel about the nakshatras !!

[ubercharge]

marcille's pokemon team! i imagine she's acquired a variety of mons over the years but some of them have been with her longer than others, like the dragonite she raised from dratini. azumarill is from before going to magic school. she got braixen as a fennekin for research purposes, and evolved it during the school period. cherrim is the newest of this bunch, caught and evolved during magic school.

(if you’re curious about why i picked certain pokemon for marcille, and names i gave her team members, it’ll be in the readmore!)

BRAIXEN (Ignis): an easy nod to magic school and her wooden staff. i wanted a straight-up fire type since marcille uses a bunch of explosive magic in the dungeon. i went with braixen instead of delphox because it has more of a youthfulness like marcille herself.

CHERRIM (Pom/Pomegranate): i definitely wanted a grass-type to reflect her staff being made of wood (with little green sprout), her green eyes, and her love of vegetables. cherrim having a bit of a food (cherry) element is a nice plus, and like braixen, it has a yellow colour like marcille’s blonde hair. i think marcille would also love cherrim’s cuteness, and its red accents match marcille’s own red accessories. it being flowery also matches marcille’s floral-enjoying aesthetic sensibilities. on top of that, i imagine it switching to its overcast form after marcille becomes the lord of the dungeon to reflect her mental state.

AZUMARILL (Tsunami): i wanted a more whimsical-looking pokemon to show off marcille’s cuteness, and a fairy-type adds to the magical feel. but even if azumarill looks silly and marcille can be silly, they really pack a punch. scarvi raiders will appreciate this beautiful round friend with a nod.

DRAGONITE (Stratus): rather than just have marcille’s team reflect her cuter aspects, it was important for me to include a member with competitive viability (which generally means the mon itself has a bunch of strengths). before i considered that aspect, i thought about including dragonair as a reference to marcille’s coatl monster, but i went with dragonite in the end for a cute-looking friend with a lot of strength. marcille has, after all, studied magic for a long time and is really good at it. It’d certainly make sense for her to have an objectively strong mon like dragonite on her team, especially considering the position dragons have in dunmeshi’s world and culture (and they were once at the top of the food chain in pokemon too...).

not pictured:

ALCREMIE (Nectar): a suggestion from my friend i really liked, partly because it’s food. and that’s obviously funny. a sweet-looking pure fairy-type (red accents too!) ties into marcille’s enjoyment of sweets and adds more of that fairy/magic feel. as for which colour variant hers would be, i’ll leave that up to you guys to decide. and a funny little sidenote: marcille wanted a fairy for herself like the canaries, but was daunted and disgusted by the requirements to create one. the homunculus the fairies start out as looks like a little blob of a guy, and alcremie’s pre-evo milcery is... well.

because of the homunculus stuff, i imagine she hatched Nectar from an egg and evolved it before magic school!

GOURGEIST (Ambrosia): while braixen works as a cute magic school reference to magic, gourgeist has more of a witchy, spooky feel. marcille isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, after all. but since this is her team from the start, gourgeist is a nice way to wink at a darker witch aesthetic compared to her other mons without fully giving away marcille’s eventual transformation. it still has a fitting whimsical design, plus its broomstick likeness can be seen as another nod to ambrosia.

Ambrosia would, of course, have been obtained as a pumpkaboo and raised until evolving in line with marcille's staff creation in dunmeshi

honorary mentions: ponyta/rapidash (for her horse love), milotic (for the quetzalcoatl), rotom (suggested by my friend who likes the mental image of her putting senshi in rotom wash), arboliva (italian), liligant (floral + grass-type), foongus (grass-type, reference to walking mushrooms), deerling (grass-type, cute, a deer is vaguely horselike), morpeko (silly/cute, has a “dark” form like cherrim)

dungeon lord: she would have control over all the mons in the dungeon without them being “hers”, so i didn’t plan for her team to change upon her becoming dungeon lord.

[solarmorrigan]

Hands Where I Can See Them, Part 6

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The days pass like cold mud – slow, uncomfortable, and relentless.

But they do pass.

Eddie had said he could give Steve the time he needed, and he’d meant it; he would wait out the two weeks and be there on the other side to talk to him. To hope for a second chance.

They see each other here and there, mostly in passing: Steve comes to pick a few of the kids up from a gaming session; Eddie stops in at Family Video with Jeff, Gareth, and Oliver to grab a movie (where Jeff and Steve exchange a surprisingly friendly greeting); they occupy separate sides of the room at a group dinner.

Each time, Eddie is sure to at least acknowledge and wave at Steve, in spite of any protective hovering and scowling Robin might be doing if she happens to be present. Steve gives cautious nods in return at first, but as they near the deadline, he’s returning Eddie’s distant greetings with a hesitant smile and that ridiculous little finger-wiggle wave that Eddie had been reluctantly charmed by in the beginning.

And in the meantime, Eddie plots.

He is not, by nature, an optimist (strangely, between the two of them, that’s Steve’s area), but in this instance, he plans for the best: the idea that Steve will say yes and let Eddie take him on a proper date. And as improvisational as Eddie likes to be, he’s also a veteran dungeon master and plotter of all sorts of campaigns; if you want long-term plans to go off without a hitch, it pays to be prepared.

So, he plots.

He brainstorms and makes lists of all of Steve’s favorite things and schemes out elaborate romantic gestures and draws on all the knowledge he’s retained from the romcoms he’d whined about having to watch with Steve but had always given in over when Steve gave him that puppy-eyed look that Eddie has no defense against.

(And somehow, he’d continued to think they were just friends. His lack of awareness should be studied as a scientific anomaly.)

He thinks Steve would be proud of his accumulated work (and Eddie himself isn’t ashamed of it, but all the same, he makes sure to hide the notebook where none of the guys will ever, ever stumble across it, because they would never, ever let Eddie live it down).

In any case, the ticking down of two weeks finally comes to an end, and Eddie stands in front of the phone earlier than he’d normally care to be awake, hoping that his work will pay off.

Steve picks up before the fourth ring, just like he always does, and answers the phone like a dork, just like he always does.

“Harrington residence, Steve speaking.”

This is where Eddie normally makes a joke – says he’d been trying for the funeral home and asks if Steve happens to have a shovel and some time on his hands; says he thought he’d had the number for the Hawkins Gentleman’s Club and asks if Steve is much of a dancer; once, he’d even affected a terrible New York accent and spun some lines about how he’d been trying to call a speakeasy. He can always hear the laughter caught behind Steve’s dry responses to his nonsense, and he always loves it.

But now is not “normally,” and Eddie only just manages to sound like himself as he replies, “Steve. Just the Harrington I was hoping would speak.”

“Eddie,” is all Steve says for a moment; he sounds almost surprised, but not displeased. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Eddie says back. “So, I know punctuality has never been my strong suit, but it’s, uh. It’s been two weeks. Pretty much on the dot. And you said I should come talk to you again, so…”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, no, did you – You can come over. If you want to talk, still,” Steve says – stammers, really, like he’s been caught off-guard, like he really hadn’t been expecting Eddie to call.

“Well, if I didn’t change my mind in two weeks, I’m not gonna change my mind in the fifteen minutes it takes to get to your house,” Eddie says.

“Sure,” Steve says, a little steadier now. “Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit, I guess.”

“You definitely will,” Eddie assures him. “See you in a bit, Steve.”

“Yeah. Yes. Bye, Eddie.”

It’s awkward, but – it’s something.

The only reason Eddie doesn’t break an egregious number of traffic laws on his way to Steve’s house is because he simply couldn’t bear the irony of getting arrested now, of all times. With his luck, he’d get sent up the river and Steve would be left waiting and waiting at his house before coming to the conclusion that Eddie had never really cared about him after all, only to be found surprised and jaded several years later when Eddie is finally released from prison and makes his first stop the Harrington house and – Christ, Eddie’s had romance on the brain too long. He’s going to have to binge reread Lord of the Rings or something to get his head back on straight.

He pulls his head out of the clouds and his van into the Harrington’s ridiculously massive driveway and heads up to the door with a vibrating surplus of energy sustained entirely by nerves and determination.

It seems like he’s not the only one running on anxiety power, though, based on how quickly the door opens after Eddie rings the bell.

It’s the first time Eddie’s really seen Steve up close since the trailer two weeks ago. He looks– better. He’s still tired, Eddie can tell; he’s got that slightly droopy look around his eyes and an almost painful set to his jaw that’s nearly impossible to spot if you don’t know what to look for – and most people don’t (but Eddie’s spent a lot of time learning Steve, even if he hadn’t picked up all the right tells). But he still looks better, and Eddie finds himself relieved.

“Hey, there,” he says, giving Steve a nod. “Just happened to be in the neighborhood, y’know. Thought I’d drop by.”

Steve shakes his head, a tiny smile quirking up at one corner of his mouth. “Come in, jackass.”

“Fine way to treat your guests,” Eddie drawls in return, gratified when Steve’s smile grows just a tiny bit more.

He takes off his shoes at the entryway (Steve hardly ever asks anyone to take off their shoes, because worrying about the state of your floors isn’t cool, but it bothers him all the same, and so Eddie takes them off) and follows Steve through to the living room, where they both perch awkwardly on the couch and sit in an equally awkward silence for about thirty seconds.

“So… you said I should come talk to you,” Eddie says finally.

“I did, yeah.” Steve nods.

“You said to tell you if this was still something I wanted,” Eddie goes on.

“I did, yeah,” Steve says again. “And… you’re here.”

“I told you I wouldn’t change my mind, Steve.” Eddie’s hand twitches, almost instinctively reaching out for a spot on Steve’s knee, or around his wrist, or threaded through his fingers, but he doesn’t think he can take Steve freezing up or pulling away again. “This – you, us – I still want it. I want to do it right. If you’ll give me the chance, I want to treat you how you should be treated.”

Steve nods. “Okay.”

Eddie blinks. “Okay? As in – just, yeah, okay?” He knows he’s not making much sense, but he’d been sort of prepared to have to make his case – to extol the virtues of the perfect dates he had planned, to sing the praises of all the things he knows now that he should appreciate about Steve, to lament the loss of trust and ease between them, but instead Steve is just sitting there, watching him with a funny sort of smile on his face.

“I was… I was never going to say no, Eddie.” Steve shrugs. “I just really needed you to think about it. To make sure this—a real relationship with… with me—is really what you wanted. Because if it’s not, if you took it back again, I don’t think I’d– I just really needed you to be sure.”

“Steve,” Eddie says, low and serious, “I have never been more sure of anything in my life. A real relationship with you is exactly what I want.”

Steve’s smile twitches, changes into something a little more familiar, a little warmer. “Okay.”

“You’re never gonna regret it, sweetheart,” Eddie says, can’t help bouncing a little in his seat as his nerves turn to excitement, to elation. “I have the corniest, most romantic dates planned, I swear, I’m going to knock your socks off. We’ll unlock your inner Molly Ringwald.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve shakes his head at Eddie. “You really don’t have to do all that. I’m not– putting you through a trial, or whatever, we can just go back to what we were doing, right? Just with… I dunno, more awareness.”

“Noooo, no.” Eddie shakes his head right back. “You said you didn’t want to pretend nothing ever happened, and you shouldn’t have to. I want to do this, Steve. Let me take you on a real date.”

Something unreadable flashes across Steve’s face, and suddenly his smile is wrong again. Sort of plastic – like he’s trying, but it’s not quite reaching his eyes. But before Eddie can ask what’s wrong, Steve is shrugging.

“If you insist…”

“I most certainly do,” Eddie says firmly. “I’m gonna romance the shit out of you.”

At that, Steve releases a helpless snort of laughter, and the plastic smile is gone, blown away by a real one.

“You’re making a super good argument for it,” Steve says, and Eddie grins.

“Aren’t I?” He bats his eyelashes. “So tell me: you free on Friday night?”

“I’m working, actually. Someone has to dole out dumb romances to other people out on dates,” Steve says drily, as if he himself hasn’t seen most of the films he’s maligning.

Eddie hums. “Saturday?”

“I could probably get someone to cover my shift,” Steve hedges, teasing and flirty and everything Eddie’s missed in the last few weeks.

“So you’ll be free?” Eddie asks.

“As a bird – as long as that bird isn’t a robin, considering who’s going to have to cover for me,” Steve says, and Eddie pulls a grimace.

“Yeah, maybe don’t tell her why you need the shift covered. I get the feeling she wouldn’t be as agreeable if she knew I was involved,” he says.

“I don’t think Robin’s ever been agreeable in her life, and she’d probably resent the accusation.” Steve smirks. “But as long as she doesn’t think I’m sneaking away to see you, and if I take the Monday morning shift she really hates, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Let’s plan for Saturday?”

“Saturday it is!” Eddie pops up off the couch, both unwilling to sour the mood by overstaying his welcome, and suddenly overflowing with the need to set preparations in motion. “Six o’clock, sharp! I’ll pick you up.”

“Do I get to know where we’re going?” Steve asks, one eyebrow cocked.

“Absolutely not. The surprise is part of the experience,” Eddie says.

“Dress code, at least?” Steve wheedles, and Eddie supposes that’s fair.

“Casual. And bring a jacket,” Eddie says.

Both of Steve’s brows go up now, as he rises from the couch to follow Eddie back out towards the door. “Telling someone to bring outerwear to a date is usually a red flag, man,” he says, watching as Eddie shoves his shoes back on.

“But you love being outside,” Eddie counters, glancing up at Steve with a grin.

“I,” Steve pauses, blinking at him. “I guess.”

“And no more hints,” Eddie says, rising from the floor and reaching for the door handle. “I’ll see you on Saturday?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, his voice warming around a small, pleased smile, “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Can’t wait.” Eddie throws one last grin at him before stepping out into the brisk, late fall air.

He doesn’t stop smiling the whole way home.

Part 7

-

Tag List (Drop me a line if you'd like off the ride): @bushbees @y0urnewstepp4r3nt @gleek4twd @hellfireone @westifer-dead @anne-bennett-cosplayer @starman-jpg @mugloversonly @swimmingbirdrunningrock @alycatavatar @y4r3luv @rhapsodyinalto @vinteraltus @lilpomelito @tillystealeaves @noctxrn-e @pearynice @giverobinagfbrigade @novacorpsrecruit @hotluncheddie @strangersteddierthings @alongcomesaspider @theheadlessphilosopher @jettestar @rajumat @garden-of-gay @jamieweasley13 @dam28lh @oldwitcheshat @lololol-1234 @perfectlysensiblenonsense @salty-h0e @r0binscript @mavernanche @back2beesness @a-lovely-craziness @paintsplatteredandimperfect @redbullgivescaswings @emmabubbles @heartstarstar-blog @thesuninyaface @thatonebisexualman @fruitandbubbles @erinharvelle @m-owo-n @theystoodandplayedwithsilence @surroundedbyconfusion @luthienstormblessed @3ldr1tchang3l @pansexuality-activated

The tag list is full at this time, but I'll be posting this fic to Ao3 soon, so hopefully people can subscribe there if they want update alerts?

[angelique-isawineglass]

𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲

(Lady Alcina Dimitrescu x F!Reader) [Lady Dimitrescu comforts Headmaiden!Reader during a stressful breakdown] ~Anxiety attacks/Hurt/Sad themes/Dissociating/If you are sensitive to or gain anxiety/mental breakdowns when connecting with online bad scenarios, please leave, I know they can be upsetting as hell and annoying to deal with. Please don't be afraid to cry if you need to, just promise you won't do it alone <3, love you all :3 ~ ~Little use of Y/N, grammar may be poor, misspellings probably frequant, Reader is over 30 (roughly 36-38), Reader overworks when stressed~ ~SFW~ ~ ~

Keeping more then 50 maids in line was hard. Not impossible, especially when you're as stern and strong as yourself. ... At least that's what you try to tell yourself. You love working for The Countess of Castle Dimitrescu after serving for years and years, but occasionally, some days just become a little bit too much. Today just happened to be one of those days.

Currently, you were cleaning windows in The Lady's private chambers, thoughts dancing about in your mind. This week had been full to the brim with bloody messes, incompetent maids and idiot moroaică managing to bust down the diningroom door, however the hell they manage to do it without being sliced to ribbons by The Mistress was anyones guess.

You had somehow managed to slip out of focus for a moment as the screams of what sounded like a male from the dungeon rung through the castle. Considering how long you had worked in Castle Dimitrescu for, the screams of maids and occasional hunters always managed to make you shudder. You didn't think you'd ever get used to it.

Unfortunately, thinking about what the daughters of The Lady were doing to whatever daft minded gentlemen attempting a break in at this time of year was being put through, did nothing for the bubbling anxiety creeping its way up your chest. You knew several of the people who had endured the wrath of Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, however, you never really had too much of a relationship with any of them. You preferred to keep to yourself whenever you weren't handing out tasks and intructing newer maids of what to do. Still, the screams that echo through the kitchen everyday were less then appealing.

The more your mind wandered the more distracted you became. You went from wiping down windows to staring over the terrace. The longer you stood there thinking about your week, the more frustrated and upset you became. A million questions running wild in your head, What on earth had Ingrid been thinking? Sneaking into Miss Bela's chambers after forgetting to wash the girl's sheets. Why were the moroaică being so disruptive and- and loud?? The moroaică is one thing, the maids another, but also the thought of this repeating process; waking up, more dead maids, more new maids, more girls to train, repeat. It was stressful, and you were getting tired of not taking the breaks you were being offered every so often. But what were you meant to do? Maids don't train themselves, unless The Lady would control her daughters before they kill every last maid in one day.

Of course, you had nothing against The Lady or her daughters, you adored the 3 girls as if they were your own children, but seeing as you had been taking care of all of them for over 15 years, that was probably expected. You read to Daniela often, helped Cassandra keep things organised in the armory, and spoke with Bela whenever she was hovering around the kitchen. You really just loved to spend time with the girls whenever you could. The Lady had taken a liking to you over the years as well. You would normally sit down for tea or wine after a days work to talk with her whenever she was free, and even paused your work whenever you crossed paths in the hallways. However, as of late, you had been distancing yourself, and The Lady definitely noticed.

By now, your hands were trembling, but you snapped out of your thoughts and kept doing your chores anyways, trying to ignore the fact that you were close to spilling frustrated waterfalls. You didn't know what you were specifically upset about so why were you panicking? You can't be the person who helps take care of the entire Castle if you can't place what you're even upset about. Too busy drowning in your thoughts, you hadn't heard the chamber door swinging open, or the clicking of heels that followed.

The groan you let out was muffled as you lifted your apron up to wipe your face of the few tears that had managed to pass the dam currently built behind your eyelids. Your hands covered your face, shielding whatever was outside the window from seeing your annoyance. , , My dear, is something the matter?" The all too familiar voice snapped you out of the current state you were in.

You immediately whipped around, drying your face in the process before mumbling out an apology, not bringing yourself to meet The Countess's gaze.

, , I apololgize M'Lady, I didn't know you'd be done working so early." , , Look at me when you speak, draga." Alcina's voice was stern, but not to the point that it made her sound upset. More, concerned?

Reluctantly, your eyes trailed up her dress until you met Alcina's eyes. Upon noticing your tear streaked cheeks, The Countess's eyebrows furrowed. She took only a step foward before bending down to meet your height, her hand raising to your face as she took your chin in her hold.

, , Now. Tell me what bothers you, darling, your face is red."

Her eyes definitely showed concern, as this had been the first time in a while that she had seen you in such a weak and vulnerable state. At this moment, you would give anything to just spill out all your problems, but you passed that thought off, still wanting to avoid Lady Dimitrescu in any way.

, , It's nothing that should concern you, M'Lady. I don't want to put anything else on your plate." Just as you were about to ask to leave, you were pulled by your wrist towards The Countess.

Your breath hitched in your throat as she led you to the couch next to the window, sitting down before she lifts you up onto her lap. From the angle you were sitting at, you could see yourself in the vanity mirror. Of course, Alcina was right, your face was red.

, , M'Lady—"

, , Draga mea, how long until you stop avoiding me and my daughters?" She too, was looking at your reflection in the vanity mirror.

You opened your mouth to speak, but truthfully, you didn't really know what to say.

, , What's going on in that pretty little head of yours that's made you so distant, hm? Don't think I hadn't noticed it all when I saw you trying to evade Daniela the other day. I hope you don't think that just because your one of my most trusted maids, you have the right to keep things from me. You live in my home, therefore anything that happens with you—" She points to your chest, of which was rising up and down a lot quicker then before. , , -Is my concern whether you think it is or not." The Mistress looked deeply into the reflection of your eyes, as if trying to search for an answer. This woman always had a way with words that confused you just as much as it comforted you. Alcina had been so caring and sweet to you in the past, (thanks to the little amount of mess ups you made compared to the women who had been brought to The Castle along side yourself all those years ago) on your journey here in Castle Dimitrescu, she had managed to break down a lot of your mental shields, the shields that kept prying eyes at bay.

Your foot started to bounce nervously up and down and with a hesitant sigh, you started to rant about all the problems on your mind. How you thought that maybe you weren't working enough, and that you didn't deserve all the time you get to spend with the Dimitrescu's. Tears eventually broke out as you continued to lay all your troubles out in front of you. Alcina just sat and listened to you, rubbing your arm with her thumb and nodding understandably every now and then, not that you could see yourself or her anymore, Alcina had pulled you into her chest when you started to cry. By the time you had stopped rambling, your eyelashes were wet with tears, and your eyes were puffy and red.

, , Sweetheart, if a maid isn't doing their job correctly then you should be telling me, so that I can deal with it." She brings her hand up to your face, brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. , , As for how much you work, I think the fact that you have been serving this Castle much longer then any other maid could survive here for is proof enough of your worth for me and my daughters. Besides, we don't care what you're worth. Do you enjoy my daughters company?" You nod slowly, leaning into The Countess's hand. , , I enjoy every second of my time with the girls. They're angels, if you wipe off the blood on their faces. I just- I just think that perhaps I dont do enough to earn their—." You're silenced when a leather gloved finger is pressed softly to your lips.

, , You're overthinking. Darling, my girls could very well see you as a second mother, they adore you just as much as I do, and I don't think I see them as happy as they are when you're around them. When you're stuck in a Castle for as long as you can remember, you start to get bored, draga. And don't you dare go forgetting that. You treat my girls as if their human beings, not some psycho witches that hunt and kill for a living. I've seen the way you look at them, you love them, you know you do. And they love you too. Now what makes it so hard to see that?"

A second mother? Well yes you treat them as your own sometimes, but you never wanted to say outloud that you loved them in that way, in case of what The Mistress might think. But now that you're hearing her say it, it all feels like a dream. You would do anything to protect Alcina's daughters. You never had interest in having children, but you always had a maternal instict when you came to know the Dimitrescu daughters.

, , You're stressed, draga mea. I hate seeing you that way." , , I'm- I'm sorry, I just— This week has been so rough, I thought maybe working more would get my mind off of everything—" Alcina grabs your chin, turning you to look at her in the eye.

, , My dear, the last thing you should be doing when you're stressed is working. You should be resting, instead- Not- Cleaning windows, sweeping, cooking- I hate to see you do that to yourself. I've known you too long to treat you as just another maid, just take care of yourself more. Can you please do that for me?"

You begin to cry again, burying your face into her chest once more. You start to mumble out apologies over and over again. Alcina comforts you through your tears, wrapping her arms around your body and drawing shapes on your back as you let out choked sobs and soft whimpers. Eventually, your tears stop flowing and they turn into quiet yawns. Finding amusement in your tired state, she begins to run her fingers through your hair.

, , Very tired now, aren't you..." Her voice was soft and quiet. She began leaning to the right, slowly lowering herself further onto the couch, with you laying on top of her. At this rate, you were too tired to deny her warmth, so you just lay curled up on top of The Mistress, welcoming the sleep that finally stole you away.

, , Someday, draga mea, you'll open your eyes and realize just how much you mean to me."

thAt is the first time i have written smth like this :^

lemme know if you want more, bc i already hate this :D

[gemissleeping]

Velveteen|Theodore Nott

"He knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else."

Theodore Nott x Reader

Summary: As the last surviving witch with ties to an ancient form of magic, Dumbledore has you tracking down horcrux hotspots.

Length: 2.2k

Notes: Angst mostly, some fluff. Blood, swearing, smoking. Percy Weasley hate (valid). This is just a little something I had the urge to write. May or may not continue as a series at this stage.

Fuck trees, fuck trolls, and fuck that smug little Weasley auror from the Ministry. He was a rat in y/n's eyes. A scheming, conniving rodent of a man. How he had even tracked her out there was beyond her. She'd made sure to take all of the precautions Snape had given her.

She'd apparated out with Professor Dumbledore. A good fifty kilometres from the point of interest too, might she add. Fifty kilometres she'd had to trek over two days to remain undetected. On foot. All for nothing in the end thanks to Percy.

Bootlicker.

There was no worse feeling than a failed task. Especially when it was one of her most important to date. The map was atrocious really, they clearly had no idea what they were looking for. Just that y/n should be able to sense it. Sniff it out as though she were some kind of blood hound.

Percy she had sensed. Thankfully she had gotten out before he'd seen her face, or the sea cave entrance she'd been eyeing on the cliffs below. She'd have to go back now. Which was absolutely wonderful and definitely did not make her want to tear her hair out.

Merlin, she thought she might hit the next Weasley she came across just for looking like him if she didn't calm down soon. Not Ginny of course, Ginny was lovely. Ronald was fair game though. Fred she would also be impartial to.

To top things off, y/n now found herself fleeing from the edge of the Forbidden Forest towards the castle. She'd missed the welcome dinner, which was a shame. But in all honesty, may have been a small mercy at this point. At least this way most of the students would be asleep, and she could get into the castle undetected.

It wasn't Dumbledore's fault that the end location of the Portkey had seemingly been inhabited by a troll since he had selected it. But how hard was it to check up on, really? Especially knowing she was wandless and unable to cast any regular spells. She'd blasted it to bits, of course. Not before it had gotten one good shot at her though, flinging her into the nearest pine tree.

It was just rather inconsiderate she thought.

The dizziness was setting in as she entered the castle via the Viaduct Bridge, snaking her way down to the dungeons. Making sure to grip every railing or wall available to her. Merlin was on her side that night, not one Professor crossed her path while she had floated through the dim halls. Once the concrete snake had appeared, revealing the door, she almost fell over with relief

The stairs felt so horrifically long, but finally she reached the dim, candle-lit depths of the Slytherin common room. Keeling forward for a moment, y/n placed her hands on her knees as she tried to calm her breathing. Her left palm came away bloodied. There was a tear in her stockings, and a huge gash across her knee.

y/n groaned, making her way around the corner to the couches her friends had claimed in third year. She couldn't wait to fall into one, maybe never wake if she had her way. And she did fall, only into Theodore Nott's eyeline. He looked as though he'd been waiting there for hours from the sweltering anger on his face. She took a deep breath, knowing she was about to get her ass handed to her for a second time that night.

"Nice of you to notify me of your delay."

"Does it look as though I planned on it?" y/n mumbled, sinking into the green velvet couch across from him. She sighed as her tension eased for the first time in days. Head lolling against the couch's back. Her hands shielding her eyes as a headache set in. While Theodore sat deathly still, awaiting further explanation with a burdened gaze. Something told y/n the burden was her.

"Mind if I borrow your wand?" y/n groaned from behind her palms.

There was only silence for a moment, before she heard him shift across from her. When she lifted her head his wand was resting on the table between them. He was pissed, beyond apprehension. But he had softened at her shattered appearance, the blood on her knee. Which she had now unknowingly painted on her cheek.

"Thank you," y/n sighed in relief, half expecting to have to fight for it. She worked quickly, sealing up the gash and cleansing the blood, pine needles, and dirt from her skin. Finishing by stitching her stockings together again. When she finally glanced back up, Theodore was frowning. His eyes sweeping her body up and down as she finished her work. He looked up from the closing threads of her stockings as they meshed around her knee, one eyebrow raised.

"Have something you'd like to say?" y/n grumbled, holding his wand out for him to take. He wasn't a fan of that question, or her attitude. His expression soured once again, all past concern pushed away. y/n brushed more pine needles off of her skirt, too tired and sore to care. She was spent, so completely crushed from the past two days. The knowledge that she had no choice but to continue until she succeeded wasn't helping.

"Have you always behaved like this, or do you just enjoying making me worry insufferably?" Theo leaned forward, and took the wand from her outstretched hand. His fingertips gently brushing her grazed knuckles.

"It's nice to see you too, Teddy," y/n laughed tiredly, shedding more pine needles as she picked them from her stockings. If she shut her eyes now, she worried they were so heavy she might fall asleep sitting up.

"Where have you been? I searched the whole train up and down for you. You missed the Sorting Ceremony," Theo hissed.

"It's a good thing we already know what house I'm in then, isn't it?"

"That's not funny y/n." He scolded, the concern in his voice thinly veiled by the frown he was wearing. She had no idea what it had been like for him, these past few hours especially.

"I need a cigarette before we get into it," y/n sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Everything was aching, she would find solace in a smoke or two. He didn't move. "Please?"

"It's late."

"You're awake," she countered, a hopeful look on her face that he knew he wouldn't be able to dissapoint.

"Because of you," he grumbled, running his hands through his messy curls.

"I'll take that as a yes, be right back," and she was off, disappearing into the dormitories.

"Do as you please, you always do," Theodore huffed under his breath.

He needed one too if he was honest. He felt as though he'd aged a few decades from the fear he'd been wearing all evening while he fretted over her disappearance.

She reappeared a minute or so later, the heavy overcoat he'd brought her for her birthday last year hanging off of her shoulders. The pair took their usual route until they found themselves at the top of the hill just outside the grounds, overlooking Hagrid's hut. y/n stood, overlooking the moonlit valley beneath them. The peace quickly disintegrating into swearing as the wind prevented her from sparking up. Theo had been hanging behind slightly, still not having forgiven her. But upon hearing the quiet curses falling from her lips, he couldn't help but walk over.

"You shield, I'll light it," he instructed, y/n doing as she was told and holding the sides of her coat up.

He closed the open space with his chest in two gentle steps. His thumb running over the flint of the lighter as the wind went quiet and y/n's face grew warm. He brought it to her lips, unable to keep himself from looking as he lit the cigarette between them. She took a relieved drag as the flame took. Theo got out his own cigarette, leaning down to press its tip to hers. He inhaled, spreading the flame between them. The grass was dewey beneath them as they smoked. Theo looked over to y/n, trailing over her body just to make sure.

"You've got pine needles in your hair, by the way," Theo murmured as he took another drag. His eyes flickering from hers, to the ground as he tapped his cigarette.

"Oh for fuck's sake," y/n heaved, tilting her head back in exasperation. She began ripping the hair ties from her two braids and brushing her fingers through them to shake the needles loose. Balancing her cigarette between her lips as she did.

"Still there," Theo mused, studying her with an amused expression as her frustration grew.

She passed him her cigarette wordlessly, which he took. She'd have rather not set herself alight on top of everything today. Then tipped her head forward, carelessly dragging her fingertips through it to rid herself of them. Once she was done, she flung her hair back. Raising an eyebrow in Theo's direction. He only gave her a saccharine smile as he took a drag from her cigarette, keeping it lit.

"Still?" y/n asked in disbelief, taking her cigarette from his lips and placing it between her own.

"Come here, sit," He shook his head, as though she was the most useless creature he'd ever seen. Theo walked over to the steps nearby, sitting on the top one. She followed suit, tucking her coat beneath her and taking a seat two steps down. She dipped her head back, leaning on her elbows. Her head resting between his knees. Theo couldn't help but admire the way her hair fell, even in its current mess.

Pressing the nub of his cigarette into the grass after one final drag, Theo brushed his hands off. His fingers quickly lacing through her hair in gentle streams as he dragged out the remaining pine needles. Christ there were a lot of them. He ran his fingers through it again, carefully to ensure he didn't snag anything. He did it again, and again. The pine needles were long gone. But her breathing had grown steady, and her shoulders relaxed. And that mattered far more to him than some pine needles.

"All clear?" She whispered sleepily, her head falling all the way back to meet his eyes.

"All clear," Theo echoed, the dried blood beneath her eye making him wince. "You missed this though," he reached out, pressing his thumb to his tongue and running it under her eye to brush the blood away.

"Ew," y/n gasped, but if she was honest, she was too tired to care. She swatted his hand away gently. Taking another drag from her cigarette which had been resting beneath her knuckles.

"Need I remind you that you once sneezed in my mouth?" Theo chimed, knowing it was his trump card, and likely would be for eternity.

"That was literally in First Year and it was an accident," she mumbled.

"Still stands." He shrugged.

"You loved it, don't lie." That got a smile out of him, however unwillingly.

"You're foul. Now tell me why you came in several hours late, looking like a troll dragged you through a bush backwards."

y/n's eyes widened slightly at his statement, choking on the dregs of her cigarette in disbelief. His smile vanished, eyes flickering between her own as he gauged her reaction. His jaw clenched as she sat up swiftly.

"Tell me you're joking."

"I think it's bedtime," y/n breathed, going to push herself up and off of the steps. But Theo's hand found her wrist like a vice, pulling her back down before she had a chance. He leant forward as she stumbled closer to him from the force. She just managed to catch herself from falling straight into him.

"I don't think so. What was that?" He said lowly, staring into her eyes. She was eternally fucked now. He could always tell when she lied, and he never tolerated it.

"Just leave it Theo, please," she pleaded, not having the energy.

"I left it all Summer. All of your disappearances, all of your little quests. You promised me it would be done by the end of the Summer. I have it in fucking writing, so don't tell me to leave it. What is going on?" He seethed, and y/n found herself unable to meet his eyes.

"Teddy, you know I can't-"

"God I'm so sick of hearing that." He laughed, a cruel sound, not his usual light-hearted teasing. "The Professors have you off, running around like some toy soldier, but you're not allowed to tell me what for. Then they're not even there to help you when things go wrong?"

"It's-"

"Despicable is what it is."

"Would you listen to me?"

"I would, but it's not like you'd be able to tell me anything, is it?"

The words left y/n silent, because they were true. She wished so terribly that they weren't. That she hadn't done it.

"I've always told you everything, y/n. I don't understand why-"

"I made the unbreakable vow."

The words rushed out of her as though she were going to be sick. The silence that followed her confession only made it more probable. Theo's features had darkened as her confession sunk in. He let go of her wrist, his hand wound into a fist as he looked out at the treeline of the forbidden forest. He stayed that way for a few moments as y/n stood before him, silently begging him to say something.

"Dumbledore," he breathed out finally, his voice straining with the effort of evenness, "you made the unbreakable vow, with Dumbledore?"

"I had to Theo, it was too important. They can't take any risks. Not until everything is done. I wanted to tell you, more than anything. I still want to-"

"Do you suppose he's ever made Potter make one?" Theo turned to her, looking as though he was about to set them both alight.

Her explanations fell dead on her tongue. They both knew he hadn't. Both knew what Dumbledore was scared of when it came to her.

"I didn't think so either," Theo conceded to her silence, his voice turning hollow. y/n felt something within her crack at the truth of his words. He was wrong, or at least she wanted him to be.

"It's different."

"I'm not sure it is," Theo countered, and he knew he was right in saying it.

Because it wasn't any different. The difference was trust. They were using her up and once they were done they would spit her out, or worse. He wasn't going to be able to sleep easily now.

"You should get to bed, I'll see you at practice tomorrow," he huffed, staring out to the forest again.

y/n stood there for a moment, hoping she could think of something to make it better. But as Theo lit another cigarette, the only thing she felt was tired.

[natewriteslol]

"Short" Fuse

Summary: Despite not really being close, Chilchuck opens up to you about being short, you listen and offer some interesting counters to his insecurities.

A/N: a lil sum sum :P

It had been a long, adventurous day, yet Laios continued his search within the dungeon for some food. The entire party was hungry, but of course the two chefs especially held the urge to eat. They both wanted to go after these specific monsters in the area that could be tasty, something about these snail creatures and main course. Despite apprehension from Marcille she tagged along and Izutsumi not wanting to miss out on the action and still wasn't tired due to her slight nocturnal nature followed suit.

They assured the remaining two should keep watch of the supplies of your camp. And with waves from all of them except from the beastman, the four were engulfed within the darkness of the dungeon.

Leaving solely you and Chilchuck.

Your relationship was most definitely not the closest as he adopted a fatherly nature amongst the other members of the party except for Senshi and you. And whilst that makes sense as the dwarf and yourself were both adults just like Chilchuck, it still was completely different.

You honestly just chalked it up to you joining the party at a later date than the rest, despite bonding with the rest of your other people, even getting closer with someone as combative as Izutsumi.

Truth be told, you couldn't stand it as you were at a stand still of a lack of satisfaction. You weren't liked and you weren't disliked as you both almost never spoke to one another. But you persevered and decided to completely break the ice, not caring if you were being weird at this point.

"How is your sight so good?"

He was caught completely off guard, thinking that you both were going to sit in silence the whole time.

"What do you mean?" Chilchuck asked back, side eyeing you.

"When defeating golems, you're the first to spot their hearts before anyone and you spot weak points on different creatures also that others are blind to. How do you do that?" You explained.

"Half-foots typically have keen eyesight, it comes with the hearing too. Big eyes, big ears," he put it simply.

You continued to poke and prod at him and you ended up making decent conversation with the man, even getting a couple of laughs. But somehow your topic had evolved from weaknesses, to then insecurities.

"Laois is an idiot, but I would rather have more height and be able to perform in battle a little more. Half Foots mainly need to stay out of the way and let other people handle it. It feels...cowardly," he says, putting his arms on top of his knees and sighing.

It was catching you a bit off guard but I guess the saying of opening up to a stranger than someone you know is making itself very apparent at the moment.

"I completely disagree man," you replied, taking a more casual approach.

Chilchuck didn't want to completely block your opinion and he was curious about what you had to say surprisingly , "What are you saying?"

"I'd argue every person in here obviously has an asset that they possess, meaning one would fall apart without the other. Also we have all been in close to death situations and you're usually the most likely to survive due to your height," you explained, poking at the fire with a twig as you sat on the cold dungeon floor.

"I guess," he replied, looking off to the side. But the look on his face had told another story, as if the brunette had more to say.

.

.

.

"Ever since my wife left me, I've been more caring about how people percieve me. Gets on my goddamn nerves."

There it was.

The Half-Foot blurted out, both horrified and relieved he got that off his chest. He held a small pebble within his palm, semi- gently throwing a rock into the fire, crackling the wood and which sent out light embers into the air.

He had been definitely holding that in for a long time, and had no idea how to say it or if he could even speak it aloud. It's common for people to feel that way, more vigilant and embarrassed over what others have to say about them especially if they're single. But it had been a while since the Half-Foot truly felt it after being married for so long.

And for the past five years, it had been completely gnawing at him and his security as a man. He was twenty nine yet still couldn't shake that feeling, but with his occupation, Chilchuck couldn't exactly dwell on romance mid-lock picking or battle.

But on quiet nights like this, it got to him.

"Well, you're lucky you're a good looking guy, otherwise you would be screwed," you said bluntly, taking off your boot to get some dirt out from the inside. He was honestly speechless, had you of all people thought that? Or were you just talking to make him feel better.

But this whole interaction makes him feel so weird, but it's not a... negative feeling.

"You are so damn ridiculous, you know that?"

"You can think whatever you want Chilchuck, but I think deep down you know I'm right," you said, your eyes still fixated on your boot cleaning process. Your statement made a blush spread across his cheeks.

"This dungeon is making me talk to you, I swear," he replied frustratedly, growing "tired" of your antics.

"Well good thing we had this talk, since we both have had things on our mind for a while, huh?"

Although you both opened up about how you've been feeling, Chilchuck was doing a majority of the talking on this subject. Was that what you mean? The beginning when you were talking about yourself and not his appearance and you finding him attractive?

Right?

And just as he was about to inquire further, the short man was quickly cut off by a certain loud blonde.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Laios said excitedly from afar, his voice echoing slightly on the dungeon walls, his hands were wet with wet giant snails whilst Senshi carried a large sack of god knows what on his back.

Marcille and Itsuzumi looked green in the face with disgust, but you knew they would most definitely eat the monster Escargot that you knew the dwarf would whip up. The sight always brought a smile to your face, especially their hypocrisy in finding everything Senshi and Laois made yummy.

As you sat up to go and help with dinner, you looked over your shoulder, "Thanks for the talk Chilchuck, we should do this more often."

This was might not curate the best outcome, but why didn't he want to stop?

Why the hell did he even care?

[inumkii]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ idiots to lovers - yuta okkotsu x reader

bullet point scenario

genre: fluff!! idiots to lovers (obviousllyyy)

wc: 1.3k

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ a/n: i figured it was better if i posted this instead of letting it sit in the dungeon (my collection of drafts that’ll never see the light of day)

okiee yuta timeee

i love annoying misconceptions and (falsely) heartbroken pining

the way i see it is that yuta strongly admires maki’s strength and resolve that, to you (who’s hopelessly pining after him), it can get mistaken as romantic ..

and it doesn't help that panda likes to be annoying about the two of them together ,,, it just all deflates your mood a little bit whenever you see them together 

and you know you have no right to be sulking about this,, maki and yuta are your friends.. it shouldn't matter if they did like each other,, it's not something you could control

but you just desperately wish that yuta could look at you with the same level of admiration that he has when he talks to maki about sparring or whatever it may be

hell, he could barely look you in the eyes

it makes you a little sad seeing everyone’s friendship with yuta develope rapidly throughout his time at jujutsu tech,, but when it comes to conversing with you, things still feel a little different 

its not like you two are merely acquaintances! you wouldn't hesitate to call okkutsu yuta a friend of yours,, but it's a simple relationship. not much complexity beyond your conversations during missions or gojo’s lessons

unfortunately for the both of you, you’re unaware of yuta’s affection for you

the reason why he doesn’t look at you with the admiration you wish for is because he can’t even look you in the eyes without getting too flustered ….

poor boy

he’s definitely gained a lot more confidence after joining jujutsu high, but it's still not enough to muster up enough courage to ask you to lunch or even have an in depth conversation without him getting too red in the face

he doesn’t know why you have this affect on him,, his previous relationship had been so easy- then again the carelessness of childhood was not a luxury he has anymore. though it was simpler, he knew he didn't have the mental capacity at such a young age to be overthinking shit like he does now

to add on, your friendship with toge has him struck with the familiar worries that you experience with maki

catching a glimpse of the spectators during his spar from the field, he can’t help but feel a little disappointed when he sees you seated a little too close to inumaki up on the bleachers. 

“how long have yn and toge been friends?” he questions maki in the midst of their spar as he blocks her oncoming attack

“oh those two? just as long as we all joined jujustu high” maki switches to the defensive as yuta charges forward. yuta moves to strike her but maki smirks, “though i think they oughta start dating sooner later”

her words cause yuta to freeze for a split second and she shoves him to the ground, effectively placing herself on top of him. she holds her staff to his neck, signaling her win. one point for maki

she laughs in victory before lowering her voice back to her previous volume.

“i was kidding, by the way. there’s definitely no feelings between them” she helps the defeated (and visibly embarrassed) boy off his feet, “clearly there are for the two of you, however”

she struts back toward you, panda, and toge to retrieve her water, leaving yuta a flustered mess on the ground

and in that whole instance, you hadn’t heard any of that conversation 

you had been leaned up against toge murmuring your complaints so panda, mediating the fight ahead, couldn't hear you

“they look good together” you say in self sabotaging pity

toge only shakes his head and disagrees

“okaka”

you’re sure he’s just doing this to make you feel better about yourself

“shes so pretty,, how couldnt he like her” you wail pathetically. toge is so fed up with this but its not he can just tell the other side how you felt (he would never rat you out like that though),, but hes certain yuta likes you back and that you're over analyzing him too much

he places a hand on your shoulder and waits for you to look up at him

the expression on his face tells you clearly, ‘you need to stop’

you sigh. toges right, he always is- but it still doesn’t do anything to quell your fears

and low and behold! your thoughts are interrupted by maki’s victory laugh. she was on top of him, rendering him unable to move

god you wished that was you………

you bury your head in your hands in utter frustration and groan. this is the worst feeling- you know you’re being stupid but jealousy is a disease and you’re dying over here!!

yuta swaps out with panda, who was waiting eagerly to fight the victor 

he joins you guys up on the bleachers, seating himself beside toge. he quickly notices your distressed figure

“is,, everything alrigjt?” he asks tentatively 

to his dismay, toge answers for you with a hum. this causes yuta to be a little peeved when it's him answering in your place- he tries to ignore it

you and inumaki seem way closer than you would ever be with him,,

but to yuta’s delight and your demise, toge stands up from between you (he doesn’t think he can stand to be sandwiched between the pining idiots anymore)

your blonde friend lets out a noise, motions to the line of water bottles at the bottom of the bleachers, and promptly leaves

yuta takes this opportunity to scoot himself closer to you, who’s still slumped over + wallowing away

“what were you two talking about?” he asks, trying to gauge why you’re sulking

you have to choose your words carefully. you couldn't just tell him you’re upset over something trivial like his spar with maki

“i’ve just been frustrated” you mumble vaguely

“frustrated?” he inches closer to you, trying to mimic toge’s proximity from before. he questions you with the utmost sincerity

“yeah. sorry i dont really know how to elaborate” you lift your head, deciding to stop staring holes into your shoes. you’re trying so hard to make this conversation not awkward- but your short answers don’t help your case at all.

“its alright, you dont have to talk about it if you dont want to” 

if there's one thing you love about okkotsu yuta, it was how sweet he is

for the first time in the last hour or however long you had all been out on the field, you let out a genuine smile

“thank you yuta, i appreciate you” 

his ears turn pink within a split second but nevertheless, he reciprocates your smile

the problem with conversing with you is that most of your conversations were too short

he could get so lost in your smile at times he finds himself silent, forgetting to carry on whatever you were talking to him about

this time he manages to snap himself out of it

“did you wanna hang out after practice? i mean- if you’d rather be alone right now that's fine to!” he knows he left the option to decline open but he hopes you didn't take him up on the latter,,

“that sounds nice.” you’re biting back a stupidly large grin 

neither of you notice that maki and pandas fight had already concluded or that inumaki had been gone a suspiciously large amount of time to just grab a drink of water 

makis smiling at the two of you up in your own world while toge almost sighs in exhaustion, 

“sujiko” 

(finally)

being around the two of you was quite a taxing event for them both

panda, on the other hand, is finally catching on- eyes shifting back and forth between you and yuta and his friends at the bottom of the bleachers in disbelief

it was an unspoken understanding between toge and maki that they should avoid panda becoming aware of the sprouting couple to avoid some- awkward comments, though he meant well

well, there’s no hiding it anymore with the two of you hopelessly blushing at each other + toge and maki’s shared smirks

before panda could say anything to disrupt the moment, his two friends were already dragging him off the field to avoid him opening his big mouth

“they wont notice we’ve left” maki says with a chuckle

“salmon”

[moti-otp]

You asked for recap, I'll try to give you the shortest version I could come up with

First egg day

Not much, but gives signs of potential. 100% platonic, met literally yesterday

Tho can be the great example for how much their relationship has changed. Gay jokes, "come to the bed, partner", first pet names (still just jokes), but immediately clicked with each other and assured eachother in loyalty

Missa's first return (June~July)

Giving signs from Missa's side. Finding out that there's somebody that is after Phil and feeling jealous, tho understanding why ("ye, he's a kind of a man, you know?" - to Chayanne), admitting Phil as the only person who protecting and helping him from a heart. Probably this's the start of Missa's crush

The Four Months™

Phil used to be really patient person, he always been ready to wait for people as long as needed. But at one moment, he started missing Missa, he started yearning for Missa

Rambling about how everyone is okay with being a single parent and how Missa is never there, actually giving up on him and taking off the armour he made for Missa months ago, getting jealous over Guapoduo (only romantic, married and really affectionate couple on the server at the moment), whimpering over the random skull he found in the dungeon and even collecting every single skull he found in one of the dungeons for no reason

Missa's return

Everything is back to normal! But something definitely changed...

Phil and Missa were really affectionate from the start, Phil always was protective over Missa and tried to help him and Missa always was a bit shy around Phil and flustered by his help

But this time it's all stronger

For the whole journey to find new members (the frozen ones) they haven't left each other's side, even walked off from everyone else just to be alone together.

And this time Phil was even more protective of Missa. Usually the very paranoid man, who was scared of a single little light in the darkness started noticing only those mobs that were attacking Missa, who couldn't not to look at him or leave alone for even a moment, just to check if he was safe. And for a long time everyone saw Phil actually relaxed after so many months of paranoia and fear. Something started changing

And Missa, he was even more shy around Phil, tried not to say a wrong word or anything that could disappoint him, was apologising for everything he ever could do wrong. And something new started happening with him. Flirting. But not just jokes, more of an admiring thoughts that accidentally were slipping out of Missa's mouth without him wanting it. And first time when Missa started rambling™ so Phil couldn't understand him and first time when he actually confessed by saying "te amo"

And then matching backpacks, Missa being very normal with wanting to put Phil's head on his backpack and other members noticing something between them

Missa trying to run away from Chayanne, but confessing something important

Skipping the whole looney tunes episode with the deep trauma under it and getting to the most interesting part

Tallulah and Chayanne telling Missa that Phil was talking about him a lot and Roier, seeing Missa's reaction asking him if he likes Philza (in "te gusta" way) and Missa saying that he's very handsome, but he wouldn't tell him about that because he wants to respect him (plus being afraid of losing him and that they have now)

And then writing a sign with confession that he LOVES Philza (and Tallulah noticing it, but pretends that she hadn't seen anything)

The Mexican independence day

(Oh god, oh boy, i have a lot to say)

The Missa's return was Missa's simping day, well, now it's Phil's turn

Phil was trying not to leave Missa for the whole day, keep him around, but not to interrupt when he was talking with him friends or wanted to go somewhere with them, even if he wanted to spend time with Missa. Only with Missa.

Sneaking photos, [Missa yelling "te amo" in front of everyone to him], trying to drag out of the crowd by lassoing (same that did Roier with Cellbit and Fit with Pac), focusing in the dance only on him, gazing at him in the Order, proposing to leave if he felt overwhelmed, trying to keep next to him in the dungeon, [Missa calling Phil handsome], wanting to stay only with Missa when everyone was going to the Hot Girls' beach, [Missa wanting to go on a date with Phil], gazing at Missa when going to the said beach with a goofy smile, [Missa confessing that Phil makes him nervous], Phil noticing Missa's confession but not saying anything just giggling, [Missa wanting to hug Phil as his last thing he wants to do before he dies (he was okay)]

And then the "see you soon" without seeing eachother after that

Missa's capybara journey

Missa returning without knowing if his son and (not fully back then) daughter were okay, if Phil was okay and feeling guilty about everything he missed. Meeting with Luismi and going to the Capybara village with them

And then- calling himself a parasite, that he doesn't deserve his family, calling Phil "the person of a justice, the best islander on the whole island", capybaras getting Missa to return home and write a sign for Phil

[Few days after Phil finding that sign and trying to find if Missa left anything else for him and getting sad when he realises that he didn't]

The Aquarium(I'm getting really sleepy, help)

Bad meeting Missa at one of the days and starting to gaslight him that he has no home, that nobody cares about him

So he requests to live under Phil's basement in the aquarium that built without Phil's agreement

Missa, again, isolating himself and thinking that he's not enough for his family and that he doesn't deserve to be anywhere near Phil

The Purgatory

The good start with separating middle and awesome end

Everything starting with Phil, after noticing that Missa is on, immediately started to perch everywhere and trying to find Missa. Looking around everytime he heard the noise of waystone

And then, after finally finding him on the ground with everyone else. He first wanted to just glide down, but decided to do water drop (to show off in front of Missa). Then Missa started acting surprisingly clingy and bold- asking Phil to hug him, staring at his chest when he was shaking it for fun (actually was checking if he was alive, but from Phil's side it looked like he was looking at boobs)

And then they got separated

It wasn't much for Missa because he more was thinking about how he will help his team, but Phil was DEVASTATED. The little "noooooo" in despair when finding that Missa is in another team, sadly waving when Missa was standing with his back turned to him, and giving last little glances to Missa (maybe considering if he can go to Missa's team for him) before living

And then Missa, on his own, with only violence around him, realises that he needs Philza. He doesn't just loves how he looks and acts with him, he NEEDS him. He needs his comfort, his power, his protection. And he decides to leave Purgatory just so he wouldn't have a chance to hurt Phil even if his team will win

Meanwhile, somewhere on a dusty floor of a museum crying and sobbing Phil, crawling into a drawing of Soulfire with Missa on it, sadly cooing and totally not needing him as much as he needs him

The Prison

KISS. Missa realises that not only he needs Phil and his family, but that they also need him. KISS ON A LIPS. Phil, again, feeling fully relaxed after long time just with Missa, even sometimes forgetting that they should escape. PHIL ASKED MISSA TO KISS HIM ON A LIPS. And Tallulah finally officially becoming Missa's daughter. THE PISSA KISS HOLY FUCK EVEN CROWS DON'T THINK IT'S PLATONIC ANYMORE

The new start

Missa returning home once again. But everything is new, it's time to start with the white list. But this time he's sure in his feelings and wants to be with his family, wants to protect them and love Phil even if he won't get that back

Meanwhile Phil getting even more possesive over Missa with wanting to kill the villager just because he was sleeping on Missa's bed. He's very normal over his husband, yap

Missa made it canon that he's immortal just like Phil. Giving him even more pet names like "The immortal", "the man of my dreams"(heard that he called him a term that used by boyfriends about their girlfriends) and saying "I hope we'll see eachother soon, handsome" before logging out

Other notes (finally done for now

(FINALLY IT'S OVER AAA, IT TOOK ME AN HOUR, MAYBE MORE)

- Missa also called Phil "daddy" when saw an art of him on a Purgatory loading screen

- Phil, looking at the art of Fooligetta and Leo said: "the family, all together, yaaaay" in the most jealous tone ever

- Phil, looking at art of Guapoduo (again) with fucked up Cellbit said: "Cellbit is a little but fucked up, but Roier will help him, right? Roier will save him". And with what tone he was saying that he was hoping that somebody would come to him and save him too

- when Phil found Missa's "house" in aquarium he was saying "he doesn't- he thinks- he thinks I don't- he thinks he doesn't deserve me"

- in Prison Missa said that apapacho(hug) is that he does to Phil when he doesn't look

- there's like 7 times Phil was gazing at Missa from the side while he was talking with his friends or just was by himself, Phil really likes to look at him

- Fit actually thinks those two are romantic couple because he said "it's none if my business that other couples do" when found Missa's aquarium house (refering to him and Pac even before they got together)

- Cellbit told Missa that Phil is in love with him, but just scared if his feelings and can't accept them yet, but "he sees something really strong here" (quote)

- Chayanne had a backpack called "Phissa"

- Dapper called them lovebirds and promised to protect Missa from anyone if they want to get between him and Phil

- qPhil probably thinks that "platonic" just means "no sex" (he was answering to Cellbit's question about what platonic husbands mean ages ago and Phil couldn't answer normally, but Foolish yelled "no sex" and Phil said "ye, kinda like that")

It's finally finished yippee, hope it'll give you some recap and image on how insane we are here about these two

Words can´t express how I´m feeling rn, the happiness in my body is boiling and i'll explode in million pieces, thanks for this amazing food I'll always be grateful for this awesome work. It took you time to write everything here, Thank you. You're a legend. A great warrior o7

My respects for you comrade

[odusseus-xvi]

For people who didn't follow that much the french ccs, here are their thoughts of the smp, Pomme, and what they plan to do with it next :

Baghera Jones : Most of you probably followed her so you know already she is the most enthusiastic about Pomme. (she actually said multiple times "I have problem for getting attached to quickly don't I" and the other four said every time "yes, yes you have"). She is also having a lot of fun and said she'd come back often.

Aypierre : He is the most interested in Pomme of the other four and actually said he would take care of her as much as she needed, that he probably only trusts Baghera with Pomme, and that he would actually be ready to log everyday to take care of her if he had to. He also tweeted about having the time of his life on this server and thanked Quackity for inviting him.

Antoine Daniel (DaMezzanine in game) : He is VERY confused, as he is probably the least skilled and knowledgeable about minecraft cc of ALL the server currently, but he also said he was having fun, and though the chaos took him a bit aback, that it was probably just because it was an event, and so a lot of people was there at the same time in the same place. He finished by saying he willl definitely come back because he already has ideas for great dirt palaces. It's not so much that he doesn't care about Pomme, but more that he is not sure what's happening.

Kameto : So unfortunately I haven't been able to follow him much, but from what I've seen, he is having fun, and though he doesn't seem to care about Pomme that much, he is motivated enough to help the others take care of her.

Etoiles (he had a LONG stream so it's a bit longer) : So to those who haven't seen him, he probably made a BIG impression on the admins ; when he was alone with Cellbit, Forever and Bad at the computer and that they where arguing about what to do, he found a way to break it, and when they made it impossible to put blocks around it afterwards, he almost did it again, but refused to because "it probably wasn't rp". They have also repeatedly thrown lighting at him, and his only reaction was laughing his ass off (I love this man). At some point, he was so far from the main land because he was doing dungeons after dungeons, getting op stuff (on his first fr**king day, he's incredible) and they sent the BINARY MONSTER AFTER HIM, his only reaction being "oh, hey it's you." *hits it twice, dips unscathed*. He interestingly said multiple times that he didn't trust Pomme, and that she would probably die soon anyway, although at the end of the stream he checked a few times if she was doing alright (what's incredibly funny is that the other four french are more afraid of HIM killing Pomme that any of the monsters.). Mid stream he said it was fun and he would probably come back for events and from time to time nothing more, but the more he played and the more he saw the extents of the fucked up mobs he could hunt for sport, the more enthusiasthic he got, and he ended up staying live for 8 hours exploring, doing dungeons and hunting. He said he will come back more often than he originally intended.

[theminecraftbee]

finalized smallishsona au party, in true join order:

grian, justice. his persona is signy, and his weapon is a naginata. he's an all-arounder who gets both physical and magical attacks, with a focus on dark and light magic (eiha/kouha damaging skills and mudo/hama instakill skills alike). technically the earliest member of the team, also one of the three starter members of the team when joel joins. he has been doing this the longest out of anyone, and sometimes, it shows in ways that aren't so great.

scar, magician. his persona is majnun, and his weapon is bows. a magic and ailment-based attacker, but he gets healing and support skills in his moveset as well (that, story-wise, he focused on due to him and grian being the only two persona wielders for a while, and scar's persona being the only one suited for them). his element is wind/garu. acts as the early-game healer until joel gets better options, then settles into massive magic damage and ailments.

joel, wildcard/fool. he has many personas and roles, but his starting persona is pygmalion, who is associated with ice/bufu. his weapon is knives. his role in the party is to be everything for everyone all the time. no this doesn't say anything about him. shut up.

skizz, chariot. his persona is enkidu, and his weapon is brass knuckles. a heavy physical attacker through-and-through, the fact that his attacks cut his own hp to deal damage is unfortunately fitting for his character. what little magic he gets is fire/agi, but like, he's the party member that learns charge naturally, you will not be using those unless you have to knock over some guy's weakness and joel forgot to bring a persona to cover it. while his rescue and awakening happens before joel starts exploring Altered Space, it takes a little bit for skizz to join, as unlike joel, using his persona does not come naturally to him. also is the earlier members to get various buff skills.

mumbo, moon. his persona is ariadne, and he is the navigator. for those unfamiliar, the navigator does not enter battle with the rest of the party, but DOES have the ability to help buff the party, scan enemies for weaknesses, and do other helpful things to help the team, well, navigate. giving a man with anxiety an all-seeing web probably can't hurt anything, right? in my head he functions as a cross between fuuta's very useful scan and various dungeon skills (like the escape one), and futaba's very useful in-battle buffs.

impulse, emperor. his persona is siegfried, and his weapon is axes. he's the TRUE party healer who gets stuff like me patra (heals the party of any status effects), samerecarm (revives someone with full health), and mediarahan (heals the party to full health) as his persona gets to higher levels. he also picks up electric/zio skills for decent damage (although he doesn't have scar's magic stat and is very much built to heal most of the turns he's around). it probably says something about him that he gets healing skills once he truly awakens his persona, especially given skizz. while he's aware of his persona from the start of the plot, it takes until a bit of a ways into the plot for him to truly awaken to it. also, because this is an au and not an actual game, i can get away with the most effective party healer joining this late. any other persona game, he'd be one of the earliest members. for obvious reasons. (and the fact scar is their most effective healer for a long while is. DEFINITELY a plot point here.)

gem, empress. her persona is atalanta, and her weapon is swords. she's a late-game powerhouse type build, with powerful bufu/ice magic in combination with almighty/untyped magic damage. she can show up and cast megioladon on the shadows' asses, is what i'm saying. she also gets the debuff and buff skills that aren't already scattered across the existing party members, but unlike scar, she doesn't get concentrate, so she's not the PERFECT damage-dealer here. as one of the two party members who hasn't been directly tied into this plot from the beginning, it's possible she has her own motivations and things going on that the rest of the party doesn't know behind her awakening. but that would just be silly, right...?

[volturissideslut]

Hii!! Can you do Jane x reader where she’s Jane’s mate but still human. One day some important information gets leaked out and everyone in the volturi thinks the reader leaked the info. (Aro can’t read her mind) So they question her for a long time and when she still says that she didn’t do it they make Jane torture her with her power. As Jane is torturing her someone walks in and says that she didn’t do it. By the time Jane stops the reader is passed out. Everyone and mostly Jane regrets what they’ve done. The reader doesn’t wake up for a few days and Jane is in absolute sorrow. And when she finally wakes up she doesn’t even look Jane in the eyes bc of the betrayal she feels. Just a lot of angst yk:))) Buuut they make up in the end. Thank youuu🫶🏻

𝕵𝖆𝖓𝖊 𝖁𝖔𝖑𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖎

This is more of the aftermath than anything. Mentions of looking thinner

"Get out"

Though your voice was hoarse, it didn't lessen the impact. Not one bit. Jane didn't think it was possible to vampires to have panic attacks, yet what else could this be. Why was her chest so tight? She doesn't need to breathe. And though she can't sweat he skin feels clammy behind all her layers. She's a vampire, their brains go fast - she could finish a novel in five minutes, but this feels too fast. It's making her dizzy. It's making her sick.

"Please-" her mouth feels dry. Is she panting? Why does it feel like Felix is cracking her chest again? You two can get through this. You can move past this. The thought is the only thing keeping her semi-rational right now. "I can't even look at you right now. Please leave, Jane. I can't see you anymore" and god you look so broken. And she did it. Your skin looks sickly, at least seven shades yellower. And your eyes - so dull - are dragged down by the bags she gave you. Are you thinner? You look thinner, you look malnourished. Definitely unhealthy.

It's the shakey movement of your hand accompanied by a wince that pulls her from her intense observation. And she remembers what you want. She wants to stay - absolutely has to - but she can't ruin this even more. She needs to save this and even now she recognises that her being here will be detrimental to that. So she does leave.

Out the door, she sits on the floor and stares at the ceiling. Not that her eyes are recognising anything though. No. Her head is leaned back against the big double door to your shared chambers and all she can bring herself to do is listen intently to your heartbeat. You're still here. You're still safe.

You, on the other side of the door, can no longer bring yourself to stifle your own sobs at the betrayal. Your mate, your love, the one who promised to always protect you, had actually been the only vampire to hurt you. The only one you ever truly trusted. Though her gift is mental, the rough treatment had still hared you. But it was hard to tell what hurt more - the mental scar on the one on your heart.

Could you even stay?

Maybe it was time to leave

--------

That night you packed, leaving through the window. Were you as strong as them? No. But could trust Jane and be in the same place as her? Also no.

It was killing you just to be in that room, with all of them memories. All of them were now tainted, and now you could see all the similarities between her room and the dungeons.

Bag at your side mainly just filled with your previous belongings you couldn't part with, you climbed out the window only to be face to face with Alec. For fucks sake.

"You shouldn't be here," his tone was more concerned than accusing. Was he actually worried for you, though, or was he more bothered about his sister? that seemed like the more likely answer. "come. Ill walk you back" he takes the bag for you and begins to guide you gently back, hand delicately on your arm as if you were made of porcelain. He looked guilty. Remorseful even.

He led you back the longer way round as if he was giving you time. He even sat with you in the garden for a few minutes - until Jane cane storming through.

"There you are! Your heartbeat grew faint and the window was open and I-" and her hand are on your face. She stops speaking when you flinch back, heart dropping to her feet, until she feels you lean into her.

Damn mate bond and damn exhaustion because you let yourself fall into her. She can feel your heart rate speed up in fear but feels frozen when you make no effort to move away.

"Let's- let's get you to bed, yeah?" she turns her head, face frightened as she mouths a 'thank you' to Alec for keeping you here and safe. He just nods, head down as he shares part of her shame. A drop in the bucket compared to hers, though.

--------

Here she lay, back in your shared chambers, sat up against the headboard of the bed while you lay on their lap asleep. Icy fingers comb through your hair and scratch lightly at your scalp.

"We'll be okay, right? We'll be okay."

[novembermorgon]

pls i need more info about rosamund!!! what house was her mother from? does she have siblings? do she and tyland have kids together? does she live in KL with him? what does she think of the royal family? ty!!!

omg .. :-) ask and you will receive! let me try to keep it somewhat brief... (i will fail)

rosamund is one of six children!! her mom is a serrett and her father was lord of castamere during viserys reign. she's the third child and she has one older brother, one older sister and three younger sisters.

sometime around 117 ac she begins a notably long courtship with tyland that lasts about 5 years (the only reason it just goes on and on is because she's exceptionally shy and anxious . it's kind of funny in the sense that they're just kind of skirting around it for years and years and every time they manage to prolong it by just never speaking very clearly to each other and somehow dodging direct confrontation for 5 years). eventually though they get married and they ARE very happy together.

in my mind she ends up sticking around in king's landing permanently after that . i like to think she becomes one of alicent's ladies in waiting because they're close in age and have cause to stick around each other a bit. in general though she's definitely not especially interested in court politics, prefers to keep to herself and mind her business and just sort of enjoy life at court (not that king's landing has ever been very fun ...) .

she never ends up having any kids with tyland .. i think it's sort of a spiral that goes down and down and down and eventually hits rock bottom for her if that makes sense - she definitely would want children but it's also very frightening to her. she worries about childbirth and then she worries about not being a good mother and it makes her anxiety very physical which leads to her miscarrying once, after which they kind of just stop trying, more for her comfort than anything else ..

when the war breaks out she's sort of pulled into it by default on account of her husband being on the small council ... </3 but again she herself is never really an active participant. she sits and worries and tries to keep herself out of the way. i feel like she has very complicated feelings on the royal family .. doesn't understand their drive for conflict and doesn't know why they, as a family, don't seem at all willing to make amends and communicate with each other - there's a frustration there especially when their conflict is pushed so heavily onto the rest of westeros. nobody benefits, nobody wins, nobody is ever left with anything but pain. she's closer to alicent than any of the other royals, but even then she sort of starts to hesitate in spending too much time with her when the war really gets going and she's wrapped up in it more wholly . struggles to understand and struggles to find common ground with her anymore so they drift apart.

when king's landing is taken over in 130 she's brought down into The Dungeons alongside tyland and kept there for as long as rhaenyra is on the throne. she knows absolutely nothing but she's tyland's wife so the thought is Well of course she knows where the crown's gold is because she's married to the guy who managed it and he's had to tell her something. unfortunately it results in very little information but a lot of really bad trauma. she doesn't get the worst of it but you can imagine . it's like this

post-war given how things turned out for both of them her and tyland are kind of left in this state of eternal .. stasis, almost ... they can't have children, they're sort of trapped at court endlessly for better or worse, they're getting older by westerosi standards ... but they definitely find some peace in that. even if she can't have kids on her own and even if her husband scares the other ladies at court she doesn't ever really have any want for things to change . never looks elsewhere for companionship even when she's reassured that it'd be fine and never makes the misery of their circumstances be a reason to turn elsewhere . when things settle back down somewhat i like to imagine she's genuinely happy for a bit . she wears her little veil every time she goes out both because i imagine she believes it'll make tyland feel less bad about not being able to show his face much and because she doesn't want to be perceived LOL

i think she spends a lot of time with jaehaera and aegon iii in the little period of time around 130-133 ac ... sort of gets to step in and try to look after these horrifically depressed children while half of court is busy trying to pick up the pieces of a terrible terrible civil war. they're also in some sense sort of stand-ins (in a pretty normal way, obviously she knows they're not Her children and they don't really see her as a mother either but they have that bit of a connection of taking care of someone - someone to care for you) for the children she didnt have herself .

she lives through the winter fever in 133 but kicks the bucket pretty soon after. ending on a bad note .. as usual .. she sees tyland die and sees alicent die and her mind sort of gives out and her body follows . when your anxiety makes you go OUhghuhhhhhhhhhhhh and fall over dead. probably right before jaehaera also ends up in her ... unfortunate situation ..

thats all . very summarized this is just me rambling but what's new..

[fallloverfic]

Mithrun and the changeling shapeshifting

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, but I see comments about Mithrun and the changelings/shapeshifting mushrooms a bit and I think there's some misunderstanding about what the shapeshifting does. Spoilers for the manga for chapters 51-the end/volume 8-beyond, and the Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: Adventurer's Bible (first one) below the cut. (Also yes, I know it's partially played for laughs in the manga, but I think Kui also does some neat stuff with it, particularly in Mithrun's case).

The shapeshifting emphasizes different racial traits, and that's going to be defined differently by each race, like how each race has different beauty standards, abilities, and puts on muscle differently (e.g., Senshi is maybe beautiful by dwarven standards, and his beard is huge, so as an elf he's beautiful by elven standards, but his beard is too powerful to shapeshift, so he has a mustache despite the fact no other known elves have facial hair). Kabru, for instance, is a sort of smaller tank, and is kind of waify as an elf (possibly because elves are just kind of waify generally, though this might also be due to his losing weight after being revived; he also doesn't have much magical ability: he has even less than Laios does, versus Mithrun, who's maxed the magic stats chart).

The most muscular elf we know of is Lycion, on the left:

Lycion still looks "skinny" in a way, but he's strong and muscular, just not Hollywood bulky. He matches a race that doesn't put on thick, bulky muscle, at least not easily. Compare this to Mithrun on the right, who isn't as naked as Lycion so we can't quite see what he looks like as an elf under his clothes, because the clothes give him some padding. The closest we get to modern him as nude as Lycion is, is that shot in his cabin in the Adventurer's Bible:

It's hard to tell, but his arms are decently muscular for an elf (also one-armed push-ups are hard, that's not something you do on a lark). His whole thing since Milsiril talked him into getting back into shape to go to dungeons has been solely that: getting back into shape to go deal with the demon, and he's had to build up his body to be able to walk on his own and stay alive long enough to deal with the demon. Given he's also a powerful magic user, but he seemingly doesn't have those abilities as a tall-man (or at least he wasn't using his magic on the door), it might be his tall-man form is also compensating for that. This is Mithrun's stats chart:

"Though he's an elf, both his strength and stamina are excellent. His one weakness is his terrible sense of direction." p.73, Chapter 01 / Characters, Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: Adventurer's Bible. Dudes' beefy even for an elf, even if he doesn't precisely look it. But compare Mithrun and Lycion here:

Mithrun's shorter, and the clothing is probably making him look bigger than he is, but they're somewhat similar, comparatively, once you compensate for the height differences.

We also get some shots of him in motion and wearing that tightish shirt/dress.

Clothing can of course make your bust look more defined than it is, but it's notable that we get some obvious muscle definition to him in the chest area (for an elf), and his lower chest/trunk is rather solid-looking, rather than the thinner forms of his female companions. He seems to be a bit thicker in his mid-section than Pattadol, for instance, who's only slightly taller than he is, and she and Cithis have similarly-sized waists (actually Cithis might be a little thinner? Which would make sense as her focus is on casting).

His focus is movement and physical interaction more than the other casters in his party (he has to touch stuff a little to teleport it), so he builds up his body accordingly. Which also makes sense for how he does one-armed push-ups in his ship cabin in his spare time.

I think a big reason Mithrun is viewed as weak/tiny is because he's often around Kabru so we often compare them physically. Mithrun is thinner and six inches shorter than Kabru, who is not in the best physical shape due to his revival, on top of, at this point, not having a great meal regimen due to neither of them being good at gathering or apparently making meals.

Some shots of Kabru and Mithrun together, for comparison, including Mithrun helping Kabru stand. Kabru is more muscular, but not the bulkiest for a tall-man (he's smaller than Laios, even accounting for the height difference, though still tanky in his own right, I mean he grabbed Falin pretty easily, and Kabru and Falin are the same height; Laios is just big).

(I know Laios' armor makes him look bigger than he is, especially when Kabru has his off, but, ignoring the height difference, Laios is broader than Kabru, seemingly, particularly in the chest and arms).

Yeah, Kabru lost weight after the first revival, so he's not the best comparison, but if Mithrun, an elf, doesn't look rail thin even next to Kabru, who's not that skinny for a tall-man (skinnier than he used to be, but not skeletal), it kind of also says something about Mithrun. He's not like... bones. He's thin, but not rail thin (we know because he was shown rail thin in Daydream Hour during his recovery, and he put on muscle since then). And shots of him, while variable at times - sometimes he's drawn thinner, sometimes thicker, often in comparison to who he's sharing a shot with, e.g., Sissel - often emphasize how thick his arms are, even near Kabru, who is broader and more muscular. I think my best description of Mithrun is "mostly solid for a dude often running on fumes".

And we see him moving fast and hitting hard a lot. Whenever he fights, he's running, jumping, punching, or kicking something. Being lithe would help with that, but he'd need muscle too, especially for how fast he is (an easy comparison is a ballerina or a track runner, both of whom have to build up specific muscles for their craft, and regimens for both can be grueling). And he's not just teleporting people, he's smacking them hard.

He also was (and is) still notably good-looking for an elf. He has nice hair (that he doesn't pay as much attention to as he used to, but still is nice), a good body (even without half his ears, which seem important for elves), and would be considered attractive by a lot of people.

So yes, he's possibly still stringy-ish for an elf because he's likely exhausted due to lack of proper sleep (the bags under his eyes, his noted issues sleeping while in dungeons without aid), and doesn't eat regular meals (while in dungeons). But he's still muscular - to an elvish degree, anyway - and strong, particularly in terms of magical power, so it makes a lot of sense that the guy on the left would become the guy on the right when shapeshifted into a tall-man to become a race that better creates bulkier muscle and has to compensate for Mithrun's magical abilities (also looks kind of cliche handsome, maybe mimicking how Senshi looks as an elf).

I mean obviously there are strong human magic users, like Falin... and she has stronger stats all around than he does/roughly close in some places, so it makes sense he'd be as tall and bulky as she is.

Mithrun is, canonically, way more powerful than Kabru, as well, (at least against monsters), hence probably part of why he's seemingly bulkier than Kabru as a human. Mithrun is the one who deals with almost all the monsters for a reason. It's only when Mithrun is distracted or tired that Kabru gets one over him (e.g., in Sissel's house, or when Kabru grabs Mithrun at the dungeon entrance). Notably, when Mithrun crawled out of a spider and got knocked out by Kabru in chapter 76, Kabru was pointing out that Mithrun needed to rest. He was at his most wet cat moment then... when he was exhausted. So to me at least, this shapeshift makes sense. Normal Mithrun isn't really a wet cat most of the time. He's strong. He just runs himself ragged for various reasons.

[neytirisheaven]

how could i ever compete with that?

warnings: no use of y/n, angst, hurt/no comfort, mentions of child abuse, strong language

regulus black x fem!slughorn!reader word count: 2k part two of “she’s all i wanna be so bad” (part one)

summary: as you wanted, regulus finally confronts you, but it doesn’t go the way either of you planned

notes: YES I’M ALIVE!!! this is literally so late AND I KNOW YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING and it didn’t go the way i originally planned for it to go but i think i like it a bit better than part one.. reader may be a bit dramatic but i really enjoyed writing this near the end so i hope you all enjoy!! (ps i’m so sorry in advance (and this is slightly proofread so if there are any mistakes i apologize!)) and for me, at least, this will be posted on thanskgiving day, so for all the people who celebrate thanksgiving, think of it as a thanksgiving gift :)

FOR THE PAST few weeks after the incident with Regulus and his new girlfriend, you haven’t spoken to him once. You tried, but he paid you no mind as he was too focused on his brand new girlfriend. He ignored you every day, and all it did was put a sour taste in your mouth. But you couldn’t get rid of the feelings you still had.

Eventually, though, you gave up. You switched seats with Adaléne in Potions, you bribed a boy on the opposite side of the Charms classroom to swap seats with you, and you stopped eating with him during your meals. He barely even noticed.

You spent all your time in the library with your nose stuffed in some type of book, either studying for your upcoming assessments or filling up your free time with the small bit of entertainment you had left after you reluctantly walked out of Regulus’ life. A bit immature and melodramatic, some would say, but it truly pained you to see him with her every second of every day.

You would be lying if you said you didn’t have a small sliver of hope to gain attention from your best friend—or ex-best friend—but you would never admit that. To anyone.

So, instead, you remained quiet in the presence of silence and the thousand of books that surrounded you, as well as a few other students in your year. 

After a while, you stepped outside the library to find a drink and quench your thirst, but your belongings were left sitting on the table. It only took you five minutes. You only stepped in the Great Hall for a minute and grabbed a Goblet. You didn’t notice that Regulus and Adaléne were gone, nor would you have cared even if you did notice. 

You weren’t even gone for that long.

But it was long enough for you to find the two missing people sitting at the table your belongings were at, and it was definitely long enough for them to be kissing shamelessly.

A scowl crossed your lips before you eventually mucked up the courage to walk over to your table and grab your things, preferably unnoticed by the obnoxious couple.

Regulus recognized your heavy footsteps even with his eyes closed and his lips on another girl’s, just as quickly as he recognized your things that lay on the table opposite of their seats.

Your head was a flurry of anger, annoyance, and agony all rolled up into one. You were hurting just as bad as you were when you first found them all those weeks ago in the Slytherin dungeons, and you had no idea how to make it go away. 

Your heart was beating as fast as the pain was shooting through you, your emotional pain translating into physical pain somewhere in your brain—possibly the same place you came up with the brilliant idea to fall for your best friend, who would never, ever, fall in love with you.

You held your breath in and squinted your eyes shut for a few seconds. Looping your arm through your bag and stuffing your borrowed books into its cotton material, you picked up your papers from your earlier classes and walked away. Your head was held high, and your body radiated confidence, but all you were feeling on the inside was dread and pain. Just being around Regulus and being unable to speak to him (mostly due to your own pride and embarrassment) was enough torture to last you years worth of suffering.

The curly-haired boy pulled away from Adaléne’s touch and sighed into her lips. She took it as a content sigh, but he knew what it really meant. While he pretended like he didn’t notice you hastily grabbing your things, everything about you was flooding his senses.

Your perfume overpowered his girlfriend’s by a large margin, even though he was pressed up against her instead of you. Or maybe he was just imagining it because he wished he was with you instead.

The doors to the library shut with a soft echo, signaling that you’d completely left the vicinity.

Adaléne leaned closer to Regulus’ face to resume their kiss, but he dipped his head away and squinted his eyes shut. Letting out a small exhale, he pushed himself off his seat and straightened the collar of his robe, gently pushing his girlfriend back down when she was beginning to stand up. 

“No, no, stay,” he spoke gently despite the strong fire burning behind his eyes. “You need to study. I just have a headache.”

Adaléne furrowed her eyebrows and began to stand up again. “I will take care of you—“

“Ada, I’ll be fine. Focus on your studies.” Regulus pursed a smile and pressed a kiss onto his girlfriend’s forehead before leaving the library. 

Immediately, he heaved the doors open and followed the faint sound of your footsteps, leading him to the dungeons and eventually, the Slytherin common room. You made it to your dorm room before the boy could catch you, so he used the lost time to his advantage and hurried to his own dorm room.

He could finally make it up to you.

And so, with that thought etched into his mind, he grabbed the bookmark that he had so carefully looked over for the past few weeks and held it gently in his hand. 

Pushing his door open, Regulus flattened his robes against his body and briskly walked to your dorm room, rapping his knuckles against the hard surface of your door. After a few seconds and a bit of muffled shuffling behind the thick material of the dorm room walls, you finally opened the door with glossy eyes.

Those same glossy eyes shot open at the mere sight of the dark-haired boy, your hands immediately coming up to your face to wipe away any stray tears that may have fallen without your notice. “Regulus,” you spoke breathlessly, a shaky exhale leaving your mouth. “What are you doing here?”

Before everything that happened, you would have never even thought to ask Regulus what he was doing at your dorm room door. In fact, he wouldn’t even have to knock. He could’ve just walked in wordlessly, and no one would’ve said a thing; not even your roommates (if they were there).

But things change. They did change.

“I—“ he sighed. “I just wanted to drop your bookmark off. I know it’s your favorite one, so you must’ve been looking for it for some time, yeah?”

You tried your hardest to hide the joy that creeped onto your face once you locked eyes with your beloved bookmark, not wanting to show any drastic emotions in front of the boy you used to call your best friend. “Thank you,” you muttered, taking the green ribbon from the boy’s hands. “Was that all you came here for?”

You could see different waves of emotion wash up on Regulus’ face, holding back the comments that were building up inside of you. 

Eventually, he spoke with great reluctance, “No. I actually wanted to talk to you about some things, if that’s alright with you.” 

Pursing your lips and contemplating how detrimental this would be to your relationship, you ultimately nodded your head and swung the door open a bit more, allowing him into the dormitory with a hesitant expression. 

You both sat on the edge of your bed, your posture perfect and proper, sitting as if you were a robot. You were clearly on edge, and your body language said everything. It made Regulus all the more uneasy, seeing your uncomfortable stiffness fill the room with even more tension than before. All he wished was for you to flop on the bed with a relaxed smile, to go back to when you trusted each other with your lives.

“So,” you began, “what did you want to talk about?”

The boy remained silent for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. It felt like everything was slipping just off the tip of his tongue. “I don’t really know how to say this,” he trailed off. “I, uhm, don’t think Adaléne’s the right girl for me.” He wrung his hands together, a nervous habit he’d been attached to since you were both small children.

A strained laugh slipped past your lips. “I don’t understand what this has to do with me, Regulus. I’m sorry to hear that, but I don’t know what you expect me to do.”

“There is a girl that’s right for me, and I know it,” he began, locking eyes with you. 

You frowned. You knew where this was going, and you didn’t want it to happen. “This has nothing to do with me. I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”

“You do know why I’m telling you this.”

“No, I really don’t!”

“Yes, you do!” He was beginning to become impatient, and you could tell by his voice.

“I don’t!” You bit back in a frustrated tone.

And then, he finally snapped. “I love you! I don’t love Adaléne, I never did! I don’t want her, I want you! I need you!”

His outburst caused a domino reaction, immediately unlocking a new level of rage you didn’t know you had inside you. “You ‘need me’?” You laughed humorlessly. “Is this a joke?”

Regulus’ face immediately fell, “No, it’s not a joke! I would never joke about this—“

“You don’t get to throw away the years we had for a new girl and then expect me to take you in when you come crawling back and tell me that you ‘don’t want her’. I’m not a fucking second choice, Regulus!” You spat, anger bubbling inside you. “You didn’t even try to talk to me or come find me! You just ran off with her because she was your newest toy to play with! You didn’t even notice how I kept trying to keep contact with you! I waited and waited for you to come back and apologize, to tell me that you were sorry for ignoring me! But you didn’t.”

The boy stuttered, shocked by your sudden burst of anger, “I—look—I’m—I’m sorry, I really am.”

“‘Sorry’? ‘Sorry’ doesn’t mean anything! You can say sorry for the shit you did, but it’s not going to fix a thing! You replaced me with the snap of your finger, Regulus! I’ve loved you since we were eleven, and you didn’t even hesitate to leave me for some girl you’d just met!” Tears streamed down your face, but you could’ve given less fucks. “Why was she so much better, huh? What did she have that I didn’t? What did she do that was so much better than everything I did?”

Regulus was left speechless.

“Do you even know what I’ve done for you? Do you even care for the things I’ve done? Do you?” You harshly pushed your hands against the boy’s chest, causing him to lean backwards and fall onto the post of your bed. “Whenever your parents tortured you, I was the one that was there for you! When your father was drunk off his arse every night, and your mother sided with him, I helped you! When Sirius left you all alone with your parents, I stayed with you that whole night! When you came to me with a black eye and bruises all over your body, I tended to you! It was me! Not Adaléne! Me! It was always me!”

Your cheeks were flushed, your chest heaving from the pained speech that you practically screamed out. Tear stains ran down your cheeks and your chin, your makeup now effectively ruined. You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down before speaking through gritted teeth, “So don’t tell me you ‘love’ me. Because we both know that’s a lie. Now, please, get out of my dorm.”

Regulus knew there was no point in arguing. He ruined your friendship, your relationship, and there was no going back from that. 

So, with a heavy heart, he slowly pushed himself off your bed. He thought twice to ask you if you could still be friends after all this, but only a fool would think such an instance would be possible.

And after one last glance at your broken figure, he walked out of your dorm room, closed the door, and pretended he couldn’t hear the violent sobs that racked your body from the unbearable pain only he could have caused you. 

tags: @thatonegayloser616