#there’s no other explanation for why everyone is head over heels obsessed with him

[allthethoughtsandstuff]

do you guys ever think about how drop dead gorgeous kevin day must be to make up for his fucking personally

[poppy-metal]

https://pin.it/3uN5FPAAM

https://pin.it/4AU0Gvdat

can’t even convey how badly i need to be this tashi’s personal assistant/friend/confidant/? that’s always with her but people just can’t figure out your relation to her besides the fact that she’s always smiling/keeled over laughing when the two of you are together. maybe your patrick’s new wife and it’s chalked up to just a proximity thing, it’s easier for her to like you than be annoyed at your presence because it’s not like you’re going anywhere, her being married to his best friend and all. there isn’t really an explanation for why people zoom in on your lockscreen and find that it’s a photo of her that hasn’t been posted publicly.

she’s never been a rude woman, but she was noticeably closed off, drawing firm lines in what she was willing to talk about that never included her personal life. now she’s asking about people’s weekends, recounting her own with you and the plans the two of you have coming up, double + one-on-one dates that seem a little too romantic. maybe you’re the youngest of the 4, a nepo baby it girl with no set plans, no goals besides being hot and being a little chaotic. you manage to wrangle tashi into jewelry campaigns and get her to be the face of some clothing brand, keep her name alive and revive her career in a way entirely separate from tennis. let everyone know that you think she’s the most beautiful and deserving woman alive. you even convince her to take an extended vacation, a month just the 2 of you. you get caught one night after drinks, a blurry make out sold to tabloids. she plans to go scorched earth until she catches you smiling at the photo…decides it can’t be that bad.

i like imaging being her low stress private gf BUT if you wanted to make it angsty u could play up the fact that because you were born into money you’ve never really had to work for anything and don’t get that you will always be second to work in tashi’s life. it’s nothing personal, she’s just not the kind of girl to throw it all away for love. especially one that would bring questions and speculation and explanations to her family. maybe that pushes your own little insecurity button because no one’s ever wanted to- or HAD to hide you. leaves you feeling unimportant. like it all meant nothing, just a stop on the way to her. leads to the two of you butting heads one too many times, having a massive relationship ending fight. she makes it sound like she thinks so little of you, little rich girl that doesn’t know what real work is. doesn’t realize what it takes to run a family. HER family. she can’t believe how immature you are, liking tweets about “how historians will say you were good friends” (rip public likes), and with that you turn your heel, hellbent on making her feel just as shitty as she made you feel. and thus starts the PR war, taking digs and snippy comments at each other any chance you get. you call her a career obsessed psycho, she calls you a fame whore. you date the people you used to talk shit about with her. she sabotages brand deals. there’s a blurry paparazzi shot of her crying in the street comforted by art and clearly both unaware that they’re being photographed. you start partying harder to avoid the regret that’s creeping in. one night you happen to look up and see art standing there, making a quick appearance at some event neither of you could care less about. you and him had a great repartee before it all went down, he was a great sport about you getting his wife in bed and joined in a few times. for whatever reason you thought maybe that would keep going on, grinning and making your way over to him until you register how cold his eyes are, jaw set. one shake of his head is all it takes for you to leave the party in tears.

why did u stop there omg im invested,,,,,

these pictures of her.... tashi.....

i imagine you're someone she met naturally - maybe while she was getting coffee one day and a man was bothering you and she stepped in, it would be love at first sight essentially - for you, anyway - fluttering after her to ask if you can take her out, all hopeful. something about you intrigues tashi immediately - even when she purposely brings her hand up with her wedding band to push some of her hair back - she still agrees to a coffee date. maybe it'd be be nice to just talk to someone who isn't an assistant, or her husband, or a work associate -

neither of you expect how close you become. you're bubbly - someone tashi thinks she would have hated in high-school, seen as fake or whatever, but you're just.... like that. and you make her have fun when she's with you. when she comes over you make her these wild cocktails "saw this one on tiktok! look, its pink!!" and you make her dance with you to poppy music and it feels like those sleepovers she was always hearing about growing up, but never had time for. her life has always been about climbing to the top, working herself to the bone, and sure, thats not something you can relate to - but she appreciates the levity you bring to her life, regardless.

art notices how much lighter tashi is too, and a part of him is jealous, at first. tashi talks about you like you're a crush she has, like you're something special and that makes him feel.... something. but he doesn't have to feel in knots about it for long because its not long before tashi is inviting you to stay and their place - introducing you to her husband and her daughter - and art cant possibly be angry at someone who makes tashi smile like that.

although he does ask, later that night, when he and tashi are getting ready for bed - tashi had finally returned from setting you up in your own room - if tashi was into you. as a joke, mostly, but also not. and tashi had paused from fluffing her pillow and appeared to really think about it. "would it be a problem if i was?" is that she settles on. and art thinks about it. theres definitely something that gives him comfort that its not another man in his home that tashi has feelings for, even if that's misogynistic to think.

"i dont know." he says honesty. "would you leave me for her?"

and tashi laughs. no, she wouldn't. and if it did turn anything with you, she wouldn't exclude art. "i saw you check out her ass," tashi says, "and i saw her check out your dickprint. sweats, dear. we can all see."

and that's that conversation settled.

its not long after that that sex is introduced into your friendship. and for some time, its perfect. its easy - you go on these little dates and mini vacations and you stay over at her house more and more - in her and arts marriage bed, more and more - because art is an extension of tashi - you come to love him too, want him too, need him too.

but you were raised to have what you want when you want it. you get greedy. you want more of her time, their time - you start rolling her eyes when she tells you she cant come to see you because she has a dinner with art with these tennis executives and you start to zone out because you've never really understood sports and its become a sore spot. a way tashi and her husband connect, such a fundamental part of who they are and what they're built upon and you just..... dont get it. in the early days you liked to listen to her talk about it, but now you kind of hate it. it feels like a rival. a glaring reminder you're lesser than something and that's a feeling you dont like.

born rich and having people always falling over themselves to give you attention - tashi was like a breath of fresh air. she had as much money as you currently, but she wasn't born with it. she worked for it, and that made her have a realness to her you couldn't find in your real life. fake love, fake friendships, even your family is fucking fake - but tashi and art - they brought something tangible into your life, something that wasn't easy.

tashi treated you like a brat during sex - and she the tamer - and it opened your eyes to a whole new world. you loved working for her approval, because it could never be earned by throwing your money at her, it came from giving a part of yourself up and eventually that became too scary to deal with when you weren't sure if you were even permanent in her life.

tashi was never good with words and you lived for them and this eventually lead to your downfall - the breakup of the century - and its the worst heartbreak you've ever known because the only real and genuine thing in your life is gone, because she'd rather fuck a tennis racket for the rest of her life than truly build a life with you in it (at least that's how you see it)

and it hurts even worse because you lose art and lily too. lily who felt like a little niece to you. who always cheered when she saw you like you were someone cool just for existing. who you could watch all the barbie movies with and you didn't have to pretend like they weren't your favorite movies to watch.

and art.... who'd become a strange kind of friend... and boyfriend? over the years along with tashi. where tashi was ironclad art was mellow and soft and you could talk to him for hours about things you both were oddly passionate about. and he was a wonderful kisser. sex with him felt amazing. it was even better when it was all three of you, you didn't feel like some rich spoiled airhead between them, you felt like you were just a person that was well taken care of.

you dont handle the breakup well at all. tashi and art had always been more closed off than you - more quiet with their deep seeded feelings... while you were loud and screamed how upset you were from the top of your lungs. you were downright nasty about it to publicity.

no shade, full names said. trash talking boldly. calling tashi a tyrannical workaholic robot and how it was a nightmare to be her friend, and how you didn't know she was capable of warm feelings. you poked fun at art for being a lapdog and being walked like a pooch by his wife. (nevermind the fact you'd been the one to wear a collar in the bedroom)

its mean and childish and resentful and you're a bleeding wound and you wait for tashi's rebuttal. but whenever you're brought up, or something you said is brought to her attention, its met with cool dispassion. on both her and arts side. they skate over it, give a short and precise response thats somehow crueler than anything you could ever say in its simplicity, "if talking about me and my family is how she needs to heal, then she's more than welcome to it... what im focused on is..." and then she'd go into her next business venture with her husband.

it made your blood boil. it made you hurt even worse. it made you feel like you were nothing.

what you dont see is the dark circles under tashi's eyes every morning she has to brush concealer over. how sometimes the things you say sting so deep she throws her phone across the room and has to buy a new one. how very rarely she'll break down and let art hold her and she'll ask if she really is a cold unloving robot and art will tell her that shes not, that her love is different but its still real and genuine and he'll try to be a strong pillar for her but inside he wants to seek you out and find you, shake you and throttle you and tell you you're so fucking selfish and stupid because how could you not see tashi loved you? that he did too? how could you not feel it? how could you say the things you say about her, about him, when they'd let you into their bed and into their home and opened themselves up to you.

they weren't the most open people - and maybe that was something they needed to work on - but they'd been the most vulnerable they'd ever been with you. and you took their love and spit on it and said it wasn't shiny enough a rock for you.

it fucking sucked. he hated you for it. if he ever saw you in person he thought he might lose his temper.

you were starting to hate yourself too. why couldn't you be enough? why did you always want more? it definitely had nothing to do with growing up with no genuine love in your life, barely there parents, friends who only talked to you for your money, partners who always cheated on you once your sparkly quality wore off or someone even more sparkly came along. definitely had nothing to do with constantly being told you're vapid and artificial and have no substance to you and having the first people in your life treat you like you have value beyond your net worth - feel distant from you in a way you cant reach - is it any wonder you panicked?

perhaps you should have communicated better. perhaps you should have sat down and talked to them and asked how to be more a part of their life, perhaps you should have asked them to teach you more about tennis instead of growing resentful of it.

but those were things a well rounded mentally stable adult would do. of which, you are not.

at least they have eachother to fall back on.

maybe its time you got married too.

[vexelier-suix-cipher]

"Could you do Teruteru, Hifumi, and Ryoma getting drugged by a love potion and falls (even harder) for the reader (who has already fallen for them)?"

100% I can!! :D

Warnings: Mentions of love drug/potion, slight obsession(?), and swearing.

===

Hifumi Yamada

•Proceeds to rant about how amazing Hifumi is

•Fanfic boy loves you very much!! (Though he did his best to hide it)

•It felt like when a cat loved it owner. Celeste went out the window. This man would get on his hands and knees for you. 🙇🏽‍♂️

•You also loved him very much!! (Literally Taka had to keep Mondo from lunging at you two and screaming "JUST DATE ALREADY!!")

•Oh but what's this? A drink on his desk after a hard day of drawing and writing manga?

•Well of course he drank it!! He chugged that drink and felt quite satisfied after.

•And back to work he goes :›

•He had some music on and his script for his next manga, scribbling out the sketches for his newest manga when he felt the sudden urge to go see you.

•It was nothing too new. Could've been he just wanted to show you the script for his manga!! A beta read!

•So Hifumi happily found you and sat you down, showing you the script for his manga!

•He felt a bit- different.

•He felt like he needed to have you in his arms.

•He needed you closer.

•He needed- you.

•The even more clingy behavior continued for a few days.

•Though you didn't mind, you did find it a bit strange.

•Why was he so clingy?

•You already read this script-

•And read that one too-

•Didnt he have things to do?

•He was going to fall behind in his schedule if he continued like this!!

•So when you saw him walking over to you once again, you pulled him to the side and questioned him.

"Hifumi, you've been acting kinda strange these past few days. Are you okay? Don't get me wrong, I love having you by my side but you're going to fall behind in your schedule."

"Well...I don't really know how to explain it. I feel like I've got to be with you all the time!! A-And I'm getting work done!!"

•He huffed and whined for a while longer as you continued asking him things before he got frustrated with himself and finally blurted it out

"Fine!! Fine. I like you, okay? I have for a while a-and I just didn't know how to tell you-...I found this drink on my desk one day and now that I think about it, it could've been one of those love potions that I've been hearing about...could've made my feelings stronger.."

•He started muttering towards the end but you could understand the gist of it.

•You reassured him it was fine and that you accepted his feelings.

•Which was returned with a loud,

"HUH?!? YOU DO?! WHEN- HOW-"

•*Once again has to calm fanfic boy down*

•After calming him down (again) you went over your own feelings.

•He had the brightest smile on his face I swear

•He just couldn't hold back!

•So he picked you up and held you close, hugging you sweetly

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!"

===

Teruteru Hanamura

•AGGRESSIVELY RANTS ABOUT HOW AMAZING HE IS

•Love Potion exists?

•He probably bought it.

•This boy is already so head over heels for you it's absolutely adorable.

•He 100% cooks for you.

•Breakfast? In bed.

•Lunch? Made your favorite food.

•Dinner? You can eat with him! :D

•And his food is just 😩 to die for

•He does his best to tone down the sexual comments a bit, though he can't help if one or two slip out!

•Compliments you every 5 minutes no lie.

•Though he does turn cherry red if you compliment him

•If you allow petnames, he WILL call you darlin' and sugar the most.

•Now for the fun part

•He was most likey cooking and was working with the oven.

•Ovens hot. His clothes are pretty hot.

•So he stripped got something to drink out the fridge

•He blindly took a glass out the fridge and drank it.

•Drank the damn love potion-

•He knew he accidentally drank it. He read the label he had put on the glass right after he drank it.

•Unlike Hifumi, he tried staying away from you

•Poor boy doesn't know how to show such strong feelings :(

•He still does cook for you though

•And leaves you little snacks

•Did yelp when you came into the kitchen once without him knowing (it's true I was the dust on the oven window)

•Alot more fiddly and nervous when he has to go ask you something

•His gaze is towards the floor and he's playing with the ends of his scarf as that adorable accent decorates his speech

•Hes so nervous oh poor baby

•You found him scurrying everywhere once trying to find his hat when you had to point out it was on his head-

•He was so embarrassed-

•He apologized and walked back towards the kitchen

•He cooks his feelings away

•That is alot of food-

•Once he disappeared into the kitchen you went after him

•You had been wondering why he ran away from you every time you saw him

•You were worried :(

•As he went back into the kitchen, he paused hearing someone else's footsteps.

•He turned around and jumped slightly when he saw you

•Begin the anxious southern rambling and questions.

"O-Oh! S/o! What brings you to the...the kitchen??"

"Teru, what's going on? You keep ignoring me."

"W-Well I don' mean to cher' I-Its just I' been kinda stressed lately a-an' I don' wanna bother you with tha'-"

•Oh sweet boy almost cried just talking to you

•He wanted to confess so badly!!

•He just wanted to hug you and bury his face into your neck!!

•But he was so scared :(

•After a good talk, the confession just slipped out of him mid-sentence

"I already apologized cher'..."

"C'mon Teru, what's been REALLY happening with you?"

"W-Well...the truth is I accidentally drank a love potion and since I love you so damn much it strengthened my feelings...I-I didn't wanna make you uncomfortable so I stayed away in case I-"

"Did you just say you love me?"

"I-I did..?"

•Oh certainly he did. And when he realized, he apologized 10x more.

•You had to shut him up by squishing his face

•After a good explanation about you loving him too, he clung onto you with a laugh.

•He sat in your lap (and after some consent) kissed your face all over, muttering a soft 'I love you' after each kiss

•You two sat together like that for quite a bit, just laying in each other's presence

"Thank you so much....you don't know how much that means to me...how much YOU mean to me..."

===

Ryoma Hoshi

•Ah yes. Tiny, edgy, ex-tennis, cat loving, deep voiced boy

•Where do I start?

•Lets start with

•He's absolute shit at feelings.

•Like really.

•He refused to believe he fell for you.

•His heart was racing? No it wasn't. It's probably because he was out of breath.

•He's flustered and blushing? Kinda hot in the room y'know.

•You get the point.

•He hates the fact he fell for you. He doesn't know what to do.

•He lost almost everyone he ever loved before. Why would this be any different? He didn't want to put you in danger.

•Ryoma hanged around with you though. He was a bit quiet but he went basically everywhere you went

•No one really messed with you when little man was with you.

•This was okay. He could hide his feelings. You wouldn't be in danger and he wouldn't ruin his relationship with you.

•Then the world announced a love potion was now available!!

•Ah shit.

•That damn Kokichi.

•All he wanted was some water and that little panta-loving gremlin switched it out with the new potion.

•He had already chugged around half the bottle before he realized it wasn't his juice.

•Ryoma would've just left it at 'Oh I just poured the wrong drink in' if it wasn't for Kokichi coming up to him about an hour later.

"Nishishishi....how's the love potion working Ryoma?"

"The what."

"Oops~"

"You little-"

•Kokichi went to the nurse with a bump on his head from Ryoma hitting him with a tennis ball.

•You thought Teruteru hiding away was bad?

•Ryoma refused to leave his dorm.

•He came out at around lunch time to get food, go to the bathroom, and then back to his dorm.

•No one was allowed in.

•He could feel the effects of the potion working.

•He wanted to get out and cling to you so badly. It almost physically hurt

•Fucking hell-

•Him. Ryoma Hoshi. The guy who basically gave up on life, wanted to run into your arms like a little kid.

•He almost cried.

•Of course you were worried!! He locked himself in his dorm without warning!!

•And he refused to talk to you!!

•You came to his dorm door almost daily, trying to pry open the damn door.

•With no avail.

•Goddammit.

•It wasn't until a few weeks later which he made a plan.

•He'd confess and leave right after.

•If you said no, that would be the end of it.

•If you said yes, ...well he didn't really plan that far.

=

•Ryoma met up with you at the back of the building, looking down at the ground as he heard your footsteps.

•It took a minute of small talk before he started speaking

"Listen, Kokichi switched my drink out a few weeks ago for that new love potion they're selling. I already had really strong feelings for you but with the potion they increased. I know you probably don't feel the same way but I wanted to tell you because it was starting to get too out of hand for me."

•He rambled on a little about how you would never like him and that he apologized for having such feelings and-

•You yanked his beanie down to his face, letting out a small huff.

"Ryoma Hoshi you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to confess. You're an amazing guy Ryoma, and I really do wish you confessed sooner since I feel the same way. Now shut it with all the sad shit and come here."

•You told him, tugging him closer by the sleeve as you engulfed him in your arms

•Ryoma felt like his face was on fire. Butterflies in his stomach and a giddy, tingly feeling throughout his body

•He let out a low chuckle, hugging you back and sighing softly

•This was nice. He felt....loved.

•He liked this feeling quite a bit....he had missed this feeling quite a bit.

"Maybe I should've confessed sooner."

===

AHHHHHHHH I HOPE YOU LIKED IT-

I absolutely adore these three.

If you want me to add or fix anything just say the word!!

I had a great time writing this!!

Thanks for requesting!!!

-Vex ∆

[mandoalorian]

Maybe like a fanfic about Javier Peña based on the song angel eyes from mamma mia

Angel Eyes

Javier Peña x F!Reader

Warnings: few curse words, allusions to sex, hurt/comfort

They were a deep shade of honey brown, and they seemed to darken considerably whenever you touched him. You’d met him in the heat of central Colombia, where sunshine was a constant, and it beamed down onto him like he was some kind of angel. You swore you had never seen someone so perfect. His brown eyes melted into golden rays, circling an eclipse. They were magical. They were framed by his long and thick lashes, and in a way, you sort of envied them.

Maybe it was your fault. Maybe you were foolish to fall head over heels in love with a man like him. A man like Javier Peña. You’d heard his name before. You knew of his reputation. You should’ve known better.

You’d been seeing each other for around six months, catching a beer with him every night after work and stopping over at his apartment. Six months was already longer than any relationship that Javier had in the recent years. He probably should’ve figured something was up sooner. The sex was amazing. But... there was something more to it than just a friendly face to have a drink and warm the bed with. There was a deeper connection.

And Javier felt it too.

That’s why he had to let you go.

So he ended things abruptly, without an explanation. Because what was there to say? “I have deep commitment issues and I feel myself falling in love with you. And I can’t let that happen, because my biggest fear is hurting you.” No, of course not. This was Javier Peña, and he wasn’t going to let himself be vulnerable like that. So, he opted for the easy way out. He broke your heart and left you standing there feeling helpless and alone.

The second he got back to his apartment he regretted it. He regretted letting you go. He deserved happiness, just for once, he deserved to be happy. And you made him happy. He told himself that he done the right thing... that in his line of work, there was no time for settling down.

But... in this very moment, settling down didn’t seem so bad at all.

It was too late now though. Javier needed some kind of release. He knew better than to dwell on his past mistakes.

About an hour after Javier left, you gathered together his belongings and stuffed them in an old grey duffel bag. You knew you had to return them; you couldn’t hold onto them forever. It pained you, but you wanted to at least get it over and done with. You were only two blocks away when you saw him standing by the riverside with his large hands on the waist of another woman.

There was another woman.

Was that why he’d ended things? You felt sick to your stomach. Part of you wanted to drop his belongings and run. Another part of you wanted to fall to your knees and cry. You contemplated throwing his bag of possessions into the river. Your thoughts were racing a million miles an hour.

You looked at the woman and noticed one thing. She was completely entranced by Javier’s angel eyes. The eyes you had fallen in love with. They were hypnotic, and in that moment, you felt bad for her. You felt bad for this other woman because, no doubt, he’d treat her the way he treated everyone else; ruthlessly, and without a single care in the world.

You wanted to scream but when you opened your mouth, all that came out was a teary sob of his name. “Javier.”

Both Javier and the woman turned to face you. The woman looked more than confused, but, on impulse, Javier ripped his body away from hers and chased after you. You could hardly run, your legs feeling weak as your cries echoed throughout the cobbled street. Javier grabbed onto you and held you, swinging his arm around your body and navigating you into a quiet alleyway.

“Cariño,” his voice was gruff but his touch felt like home. It only pained you more.

“Stop,” you protested, shaking your head. “Stop. You can’t— you can’t call me that anymore. You can’t touch me like this anymore.”

You haphazardly swatted his hands away but he brought his thumbs up to your face and wiped away your tears.

“Please, please don’t cry. Don’t think I wanted to end things, because I didn’t.”

You dismissed his comment and tried to regulate your erratic breathing. “If there was another woman, you should’ve just told me.”

Javier’s sweet eyes filled with tears. “No other woman,” he choked out, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat. “Just you. Only you.”

You sighed and tried to look away from him. You could look anywhere in the world, as long as you didn’t look into those damned eyes.

“Then— then who was she?”

Javier looked back at the riverside, and it seemed like the woman he was with had already left. “The second I got home I regretted it,” Javier revealed. “I regretted leaving you. I figured maybe I could find another woman to just... forget about it, for a few hours at least. But the truth is, I’ll never be able to forget— Forget this feeling. These feelings. The feelings that I have... for you.”

And finally, your eyes met his. He looked heartbroken. Javier was stumbling over his words, picking at his fingernails, and he’d never looked so nervous.

“I’m in love with you,” he professed, a single tear slipping down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve and straightened his posture, irked with himself for getting so emotional. “And I fucking mean it. Shit, I’m sorry. I’m... I fucked up. But one thing is for certain. I never make the same mistake twice. So if you’d forgive me...”

You pressed your lips against his and he pinned you against the cool brick wall. You could hear the ambience of the river gently slushing in the background as the warm Colombian sunset beamed down on you both. His moustache tickled you as he slid his hot, wet tongue into your mouth. He was intoxicating, there was no doubt about that. The husky moans that left his lips sent vibrations straight through your body.

And you didn’t know what it was, but this time, you believed him. You forgave him. And you hoped that maybe this time, things would be different.

If you knew one thing for sure though, it was that none of this would’ve happened if you never had looked into his angel eyes.

——————

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[bittermuire]

A (long) analysis of Azriel,

+ a bit of discussion about Gwynriel vs. Elriel at the end.

Lately I’ve seen much discussion surrounding Azriel, and there seems to be a lot of hazy gray area. We know he has a terrible past, carries a lot of trauma, is both mentally and physically scarred, and has disturbingly possessive habits. But why? That’s the question.

I think most of Azriel’s character can be filtered into three sections: his anger, his possessiveness, and his self-loathing. Altogether I believe these form his crippling sense of emotional immaturity, which ultimately shines through most every action he makes in the books.

So yes, I firmly believe Az is a child in the body of a 500 year old Fae. But is he treated as such? No. No, he is not. In fact, he’s treated as the exact opposite, and that can’t be doing wonders for his mental health (which is already in shambles. Off to a cheery start.)

Let’s take a look at his past. He was both mentally and physically abused for the majority of his childhood. Then he was thrown into an unforgiving culture that both mentally and physically abused him as well. Then he was essentially bullied by Cassian and Rhysand for quite a while... until they randomly decided to like him, which is a choice he didn’t seem to play a hand in. And then he became a professional torturer. All the while falling madly in love and becoming obsessed with a female who can’t love him back. Not to mention he’s been ostracized his entire life.

(One big thing though, that I’m going to reference frequently, is Azriel’s constant chase of “happiness.” Kind of like my friends with ADHD. We squeeze all the serotonin we can get out of one thing and then fall into a listless, depressed haze until we find another. I honestly think Azriel does the same thing with people--he latches onto them and lets his mood swings rely on how much attention they do or do not pay him, and whether it is positive or negative.)

So I’m going to go through his relationships with pivotal characters and try to explain what I think is really going on with Azriel.

Regarding Mor:

He was obsessed with her for most of his life. He was incredibly possessive of her and fell instantly in love upon seeing her. Do I think it was love? No. But does Azriel think it was love? Yes, and that is so important. It shows how desperate he was for human connection.

This “love” spiraled into centuries-long obsession that we’ve all seen play out throughout the series. But why is it obsession, and not love? Well, I’m going to go ahead and say that Azriel doesn’t know how to love. He’s never been shown genuine love and so he doesn’t know how to show it to others in the way he intends. He’s basically a baby.

But right after he falls head over heels, Mor sleeps with Cassian, and then Cassian plays the role of the buffer between the two of them all the way up until the events of ACOSF. This is where I think Azriel’s anger comes into play. He can’t get to Mor. His best friend, his brother, is blocking him from her. He can’t touch her, love her, feel her, and he’s so desperate to. But he literally has no way to communicate it because he doesn’t know how, and so he responds in the one way he’s able: anger. And jealousy. And intense protectiveness that eventually begins to translate as possessiveness.

Again, he lets his happiness rely on Mor because he can’t make himself happy, and so his lack of emotional maturity ends up revealing him as desperate and unable to communicate his feelings of inadequacy and frustration. I’m not trying to justify his behavior, not at all. But I think this could be a decent explanation.

Regarding Cassian and Rhysand:

I mean... I kind of hate the way these two have treated Azriel. They all have their fair share of trauma, but Cassian and Rhys also bullied him and ostracized him, and then basically said, “Oh, we like you now.” Which completely leaves Azriel in the dark as to where he stands with them, and strips him of awareness regarding how his friendships with them will operate.

And then he becomes the head of espionage for the Night Court, which involves lots and lots of torture. What kind of message does that send? You’ve seen dirty things, Az, so you don’t mind doing the rest of the dirty things for us, right? That’s the only real message I can get from this. Which then plants the message in Azriel’s head of: Not only do I do dirty things, I myself am a dirty, disgusting thing. Thus, furthering his already deep-seated sense of self-loathing.

Plus, the IC generally operates with a pack-like mindset. One person’s method of healing is everyone’s method of healing. It worked for one person, so it worked for everyone. It’s a very naive mindset, and very toxic as well, so it’s not surprising that literally everyone in the IC is colossally messed up despite preaching themselves as having overcome their demons.

So Azriel never really gets to understand himself and mature as a person. He’s stuck pretending to be perfectly fine underneath Rhysand’s oh-so-benevolent and compassionate hand. Rhysand and Cassian recognize Az as being a little... odd, by seeming to think things like “he’s the quiet one” and “he’s the serious, scary one.” But do they attempt to understand him? No. They leave him to his own devices and let him figure it out himself.

That’s the issue. He’s not ever going to figure it out himself, so long as he’s surrounded by the people who’ve been unwittingly suffocating him for most of his life.

Regarding Elain:

Azriel’s infatuation with Elain, in my opinion, comes as a direct result of his detachment from Mor. Just like one hyperfixation fades quickly from an all-consuming thing to a passing thought, Azriel has shifted from one obsession to the next, in order to keep his spirits on a high.

But I think his feelings for Elain reveal a lot of what Mor did not. Why does he view Elain as so holy compared to him? Why is he so hesitant to touch her? Why does he put her on such a pedestal? That’s his self-loathing coming through again. He hates himself so much that he has to place her above him.

He wants to touch her and love her, just as he did with Mor, but again he is unable. It's a repeating pattern that he can’t get himself out of.

Let’s also look at the way Elain and Azriel’s friendship/relationship began. He had to take care of her, and treat her with utmost respect. She looked at his scars or his siphons, both monstrous looking things, and called them beautiful. Let’s remember that he’s basically a child who’s rarely known genuine love. The minute he gets a glimpse of it, he’s going to grab it by the neck and crush it to his chest. Plus, the fact that she’s the last sister left unattached and he’s the last brother left unattached is probably even more convincing for him that he and Elain are meant for each other. When he’s denied this love that’s come nearly close enough to grab, he responds in the only way he’s able: anger. And jealousy. Just like he did with Mor.

But moving on, that glimpse of potential love comes from Elain. That’s why he’s able to let go of Mor; a relationship with Elain suddenly becomes possible. He’s terrified of ruining this potential love and is incredibly drawn to her all the same. Best of all? She wants him too.

BUT. Azriel knows how fragile Elain is, so he walks on glass around her, coddling her, putting her first like he’s put everyone else first since being a part of the IC. I think he wants to save her from becoming like him. He essentially plays the role of her white knight, entirely losing his sense of self-preservation (not that he ever had one), and thus loses any chance of letting Elain help him mature in return.

Regarding Gwyn:

Now, Gwyn is a different story.

We know Azriel likes her. Maybe not in a consciously romantic way, but he likes her. She makes him smile and laugh, and he finds her amusing. He doesn’t have to walk on eggshells around her.

The big thing, I think, is that he doesn’t have to take care of her. At least, I think that’s what makes him so comfortable around her. With Gwyn, he can relax, and he doesn’t have to watch every move he makes. She treats him like a regular person and he treats her similarly.

Now, is it a bad thing that he doesn’t put her on a saint-like pedestal like he does Elain? No. Definitely not. I think this ordinary friendship signals a much healthier relationship than his festering obsession with Elain. Gwyn simply being his friend and not someone that he feels he has to be perfect for is a good foundation for Azriel growing as a person.

Gwynriel vs. Elriel (the necklace):

Honestly, I’m scared for whatever SJM decides to do, because Azriel has a shitload of trauma to move past and years worth of emotional growth needed before he can be a steady partner in a relationship. Both Gwyn and Elain’s character arcs are definitely not finished and so I think that no matter which way his narrative goes, it’s going to be disappointing in some aspect or another, unfortunately. I don’t think that either one of the females’ arcs really fit well with Azriel’s.

But I’m going to take a closer look at the necklace, because I think it’s a telling narrative point.

For Azriel, the necklace for Elain and Gwyn herself, are both “thing[s] of secret, lovely beauty” to him.

By describing the necklace for Elain as such (instead of Elain herself), Azriel unconsciously reveals his more idealistic view of Elain rather than his love for Elain herself. I kind of get the sense of Azriel giving offerings to a goddess, or something like that. He seems to be more preoccupied with appeasing Elain than actually loving her.

Now, this probably comes from, again, his self-loathing and his emotional immaturity. I’m just repeating myself at this point. He doesn’t know how to love himself and he doesn’t know how to love anyone else.

But then he describes Gwyn as such. Gwyn, the person. In my opinion, this demonstrates a potentially much healthier relationship than what he has with Elain. Azriel, instead of wanting to be perfect for Gwyn and wanting to appease her, is simply made happy by the thought of her. It is Gwyn whom he is taken with, not the idea of Gwyn loving him. And so that takes off so much pressure for him, and introduces the hope that he might be able to mature as a person in a friendship or romantic relationship with Gwyn.

Closing thoughts:

Azriel is a blundering, hormonal child desperate for love with no idea of how to get it, in a 500 year old Fae’s body. He’s also surrounded by people who refuse to address his clear issues... his future’s pretty dim, and I think he realizes it. Which is why whoever SJM chooses to be his romantic interest is going to be very important.

In short, I’m scared for what’s to come. But fingers crossed that his incredibly complex character is done justice.

[shepherds-of-haven]

Hope you had a fun week !! I was curious how would a trip to the amusement park go for the shepherds?

Thank you so much, it was literally one of the best trips I've ever gone on! :) And ooh, great question! Can you imagine all of the Shepherds going to an amusement park together?? The chaos... 🎠🎡

Blade: amusement parks are probably a bit too loud, crowded, and chaotic for him to be really gung-ho about, but he'd go! He probably wouldn't say too much but would patiently and long-sufferingly go on every ride everyone else wanted to go on... but he's not easily impressed, so you'd go on an intense rollercoaster and glance back and his face would be like 😐 gfldgjfdlg but then once night fell and you got him into one of those haunted houses, he'd get really tense and probably end up punching some poor carnival worker through the mirror maze!

Trouble: amusement parks are HIS JAM, I think he'd go to one on a first date if he could! He'd want to hit up all the most thrilling and intense roller coasters, eat all of the most indulgent, greasiest food, and play all of the carnival games! He 100% would love to show off his skills at those shooting games and win everyone fat prizes. By the time it was time to head back, he'd probably pass tf out in the backseat or on the train home from all of the sugar he inhaled, but he'd be having a grand old time all day!

Tallys: she's Not About that amusement park life, but she'd go along just to please everyone else! I think she'd mostly just be chilling in the under the umbrella of a shaded table in her sunglasses, reading a book or watching everyone else go on the coasters or taking pictures for them (totally of her own accord)! If she's in a more festive mood, I think she'd go for the calmer, chiller rides, like the "It's a Small World"-style boat rides or perhaps renting a tandem bike, something like that!

Shery: she'd be the person who brought a big backpack full of snacks and water and first-aid stuff for everyone else, because she knows Blade is going to need sunscreen but won't bring it on his person himself, and Trouble is going to need water after he almost throws up from the inevitable funnel-cake eating contest with Ayla and Red, and etc.! She'd wear a big sun hat and look very cute, and would be drawn to all the cute stuff at the amusement park, like taking a selfie with the big mascots and the princesses and etc.! She would definitely not want to go on any coasters or intense rides, but she'd be happy to watch on the sidelines with Tallys!

idk why i put that particular gif glfjgldfjgfd i just remembered amagi brilliant park and it made me laugh

Riel: he thinks amusement parks are unsanitary cesspits for howling ape children and plebs, so it would take a LOT of convincing for anyone to get him to go in lieu of just, like, staying home and working. If he were persuaded to go, he would come wearing shades, gloves, and most likely a dramatic scarf or hat, would refuse to touch anything without sanitizing it first, wouldn't sit unless he could perch on his handkerchief, and definitely wouldn't go on any rides, citing horrific accident and injury statistics anytime Trouble called him a baby for not going on the Steel Vengeance: Devil's Thunder 365 ride. He might nibble on some food or annoy some psychics or those carnival barker people who guess your weight or something, though!

Chase: oh boy, if you think his normal energy is high, wait until you see his Amusement Park Energy! He's all over the place, serving as the group's enthusiastic tour guide except he has no idea where he's going and is just picking sights and locations at random, easily distracted by any loud color, sight, or sound that passes his way. He is having a GRAND old time! You have to keep a close eye on him, though, because he might be slipping stray treats off of stalls and turning up with a whole smorgasbord in his hands, conning surly stall workers out of their stuffed animals and passing them to kids on the sly, pretending that his seatbelt isn't working on the worst ride possible just to freak the other passengers out, or pretending to lean and go "whoaaaaa!" against the Ferris Wheel cart just to aggravate Riel's vertigo and Red's panic instinct. He is also definitely the one playing 'matchmaker' and pairing people off to go through the haunted house together, ostensibly also to troll and maximize the memories/drama. It's chaotic but he's the life of the party and everyone is having a great time!

Halek: he's content to just chill and let everyone else have a raucous time. He is particularly interested in the amusement park food and can be found slouched on various benches around the park eating an ice cream cone or slowly chewing a soft pretzel while keeping one hand up to keep the sun out of his eyes. Comically, he has also been found with his overly-tall body slumped over one of the horses on the carousel and crammed into a tiny kid's roller coaster, which is just a scream for everyone else. No explanation for why he felt compelled to ride the Dumbo ride, he just wanted to feel the breeze in his hair!

Red: he is just vibing, looking forward to having a corndog, maybe some shaved ice or cotton candy: basically the normal amusement park experience! He's the type of person to actively collect all of the park brochures and maps, plan out the most efficient route, have an exact itinerary with the best ride times and accounting for lines and rushes... but for the benefit of the group, he could take or leave really any of the rides! He's most interested in the visual displays, like shows, plays, parades, exhibits, and fireworks displays!

Ayla: she's an adrenaline junkie, so she's racing Trouble to get to all of the most extreme rides and screaming her lungs out on the steepest drops and scariest roller coasters. She doesn't have time for any of the sissy stuff, she wants THRILLS! She's the type to be really impatient and want to either cut in line or complain loudly when other people either cut or dawdle. She can get so focused on the next ride that she'll barrel through a mascot, bowl over a princess, or even run through a pack of unsuspecting children!

Briony: she's extremely memory and experience-based, so her number #1 priority is that everyone is having a good time and laughing and making lots of joyous memories. To that end, she wants to do everything and is anxious to cram it all into one day! (This is where Red is very helpful.) She can come off as mother hen-y or bossy by the way she herds everyone to the next destination, but she actually brings order to the chaos and ensures they actually get to do stuff and stay together instead of just scattering to the four winds. She has a very romanticized idea of amusement parks in her head, so she really wants to do things like win a prize at the stalls, sit in the Ferris Wheel and see the fireworks, share an ice cream cone with someone, that sort of thing, and she either gets obsessive (prizes) or disappointed if it doesn't turn out the way she thought (the ice cream splats on the ground, the fireworks are blocked by trees, etc.)!

Lavinet: she's the group photographer and is the one taking pictures of everything, whether or not she's in the actual photos herself. Food and group candid shots feature prominently in her work, which are posted to social media accordingly. She is dressed entirely too posh for the occasion and refuses to go on coasters that could whip her hair around; she also decided to wear high heels, for some reason. She likes doing the fun, kitschy stuff like getting her fortune drawn at the psychic stall or shopping. If the amusement park is attached to a hotel, she is also very interested in spending some time at the spa or pampering herself there!

Caine: it's far more likely that he's at the amusement park with friends of his own age rather than traipsing around with the adults, and he'd be just a little rocket zooming around to all of the rides with a sticky, half-melted stick of cotton candy clutched in his hand and a wad of huge stuffed animals slung over his shoulder!

[traincat]

I’ve been trying to piece together a few things from your Twitter and Tumblr posts alike and still can’t make heads or tales of things, so would you mind helping out a FF & spideytorch noob? 1) what is currently happening with Johnny in the comics? (I’ve fallen head over heels for this guy, largely all your doing) 2) when’s the last time he and Peter have interacted, canon wise? (And do you think upcoming interactions are likely?) 3) your thoughts on if they’ll have him come out in the near future? (has that ‘biggest change to the fantastic four’ teaser come to pass yet?) Love all your content, thank you!

I'd say no problem but then I started thinking about this current run again and got a headache. But yes, I can do that to save you from reading it, because it is very largely not good.

So I don't think it's unfair to just flat out say the current Fantastic Four run is not very good, largely due to writer Dan Slott's efforts. Slott was previously on Amazing Spider-Man for 10 years, to mixed opinions, but a large portion of Spider-Man fandom, myself included, blames him near singlehandedly for the decline in quality of Spider-Man books over those ten years. I will say, in the interest of fairness, that Slott as a writer has an incredible fondness for the Spider-Man/Human Torch relationship, and that a lot of the recent teamups and interactions between them have been written or co-written by him. So it's all not all negative here. But in general, I personally find Slott's more recent comics (the last seven-ish years especially) to be badly plotted out, messily characterized disasters that feature characters written with all the emotion of a cardboard cutout. That's me putting it nicely.

To explain this fully, you have to understand the position Fantastic Four comics were in from the years 2015 through 2018, both in the fictional 616 universe and in the real publishing world. Following the 2015 Secret Wars event (great if you want some Johnny angst in the background of your plot), the Fantastic Four were disbanded -- Reed, Sue, and their many biological and found family children were presumed dead but in reality were remaking the multiverse, unable, for a reason that was never clearly defined, to reach home. Ben and Johnny were left on Earth. They had an unspecified falling out, likely due to Reed and Sue's absence, and went their separate ways -- Ben joined the Guardians of the Galaxy and went to space. Johnny was featured on both Inhumans and Avengers books. What's notable about this period is that it's the first time since 1961 that there was no Fantastic Four book being published by Marvel. Now the real world reason behind this is both complicated and extremely petty: Marvel really wanted the Fantastic Four film rights. Marvel denied this explanation at the time, stating that the reason was sales motivated, but it was a thoroughly flimsy excuse and Jonathan Hickman, writer of 2015's Secret Wars and overseer of the current X-Men plot, gave an interview saying the decision was film rights motivated. This decision kept the Fantastic Four books off the shelves for three years, up until the Disney-Fox merger, which secured the X-Men and Fantastic Four rights for Disney's Marvel Studios. Marvel then announced that the Fantastic Four book would be returning. So that's a little bit of background as to the precarious place the Fantastic Four currently occupy in the Marvel universe -- it's worth noting that this year is their 60th anniversary, and Marvel has done very little for it. Compare this to the X-Men, whose film rights Marvel also obtained during the Disney-Fox merger, and whose books are currently dominating the publishing lineup. The Fantastic Four definitely occupy an unpopular position, one Marvel themselves is at least partially responsible for forcing them into.

But to move back into the actual content of the book -- the readjustment period Slott wrote reintroducing the Fantastic Four into the Marvel universe can be described as clumsy, at best. It's never fully explained why Reed, Sue, and the kids couldn't return to Earth, something that was explored in Chip Zdarsky's 2017 Marvel Two-in-One, which featured Ben, Johnny, and Doom on a multiversal roadtrip to try and find their family and which I on the whole recommend, despite it having an awkward ending due to being cut short by Slott's announced Fantastic Four main title.

(Marvel Two-in-One 2017 #4)

Instead, the Fantastic Four return to a Marvel universe a little different than how they left it, with the Baxter Building -- formerly the offices of Parker Industries, the company Doc Ock started in Peter's body during Superior Spider-Man that Peter inherited after his defeat and then lost spectacularly when he trashed his own company to fight nazis (good for him) -- occupied by a different fantastic foursome in a plot that goes nowhere and does nothing. This is somewhat emblematic of the early days of Slott's run -- he introduces ideas that fail to go anywhere, including Johnny's rekindled relationship with his other best friend and former college roommate, Wyatt Wingfoot, who he was seen being very cuddly with in the early issues.

(FF 2018 #1) A small group of Fantastic Four fans have argued for a while that if Marvel was to have Johnny come out, a relationship with Wyatt would feel very natural -- they're already close, with Wyatt being an important Fantastic Four supporting character since the '60s. I have some further analysis here on the conspiracy theory that Johnny and Wyatt were supposed to be in relationship at the beginning of this run but that that plot was, for whatever reason, nixed. I don't know that I entirely believe this theory, for the record -- but I do think the pieces line up remarkably well.

Anyway, that didn't/hasn't yet happened, obviously. Slott instead for the most part put Johnny on the back burner for the beginning of his run, up until the Spyre arc, which I have reason to believe is the main story he pitched that he credits with securing him the Fantastic Four title. The Spyre arc suggests that the Fantastic Four's failed space exploration during which they got their powers wasn't just to beat the commies to the moon, as Lee and Kirby envisioned (simpler days), but to reach a specific planet outside of our galaxy. When the team sets out to conquer this mission, they arrive at the planet, but are quickly captured. The planet, they find out, operates like a soulmate AU -- everyone has a fated person that they are matched to via a gold armband. Reed and Sue are soulmates (and Ben is confined to an underground subterranean with the other monsters, because this is a Fantastic Four comic) while it's discovered! Shocker! That Johnny is actually the soulmate of the one the planet's inhabitants, a winged woman named Sky, with the suggestion that this is both why Johnny's previous relationships have never worked and why he loves space exploration -- he was just trying to get to his Soulmate TM.

(FF 2018 #15) "What's going on here? Where are my clothes?" As you can see, this didn't start off super great, with Johnny being separated from his family, stripped naked, and put in Sky's bed with a soulmate armband slapped on him. Did I mention they're only removable if your soulmate takes it off for you? And that Sky has consistently refused despite Johnny asking her to? Yeah. It's bad. (I think it's important to note Johnny's long history as a victim of assault plays into this narrative, whether or not Slott is personally holding that in mind while writing, which I don't believe he is. cw in the linked post for discussions of sexual assault.) There's an additional issue here in that Slott has a history of problematic writing regarding women of color, featuring characters he's created to act as love interests being oversexualized, infantilized, villainized, or some mix of all three, with two examples of this phenomena being Cindy Moon and Lian Tang, both of whom he introduced in quick succession in Amazing Spider-Man. Slott certainly didn't have to write Sky as manipulative or controlling towards Johnny, but that's what he chose to do, and that factors into the bigger picture of unfortunate themes in his writing.

Sky returns to Earth with the Fantastic Four despite Johnny appearing unenthused about the idea and initially generally reluctant to interact with her. Apparently they went on a few dates after this and kind of made up. I don't know because I stopped reading for about ten issues in there but I feel confident I missed very little. It's hard to talk about the Sky plot without referencing Johnny's previous interactions with a character named Lyja, a Skrull whose relationship to Johnny I have a long breakdown of here. It's doubly hard, because Lyja actually showed back up in Fantastic Four during this plot. Lyja's modus operandi has remained consistent throughout almost all of her appearances, which I guess makes sense, because she literally has no storylines that do not involve her being obsessed with Johnny, and this recent story isn't any different: Lyja shows up, Lyja disguises herself as another woman in Johnny's life to get close to Johnny, Lyja gets caught and claims it was all fine because she did it for love. This time she disguised herself as Sky.

(FF 2018 #32) Not gonna lie, kind of proud of him for this one. That's one of my problems with Slott -- very occasionally, he busts out good moments, only to undermine them with the rest of his narrative.

In the same issue, Alicia Masters, the first woman Lyja impersonated in order to get close to Johnny, uses her supervillain stepfather's radioactive clay to control Lyja's mind and send her back to space, and I do think she utilized girl power when she did this. Johnny, left reeling after Lyja's latest attempts to trick him into a relationship, ends this issue by sleeping with Victorious, Dr. Doom's right hand woman.

I know she pegged him. I know it. This scene was a little controversial in Johnny fandom, because a lot of people viewed it as Johnny cheating on Sky and thought that that action was out of character for Johnny. I'm personally of a little different opinion, which is that regardless of whether or not you view Johnny and Sky in a committed enough relationship that Johnny's tryst would count as infidelity when all Johnny and Sky are bound by are magic plot soulmate bracelets, I think Lyja's involvement changes things significantly when it comes to Johnny's characterization. All of Johnny's "playboy" periods, if we can call them that, coincide directly with Lyja having been in and then left his life again, which I think makes a certain amount of sense -- it's Johnny trying to wrest control back after a situation where he had none. None of this is explicitly canon, I have to note, but sometimes in comics you have to do the work yourself. So I think this is a case of something being accidentally extremely in character that Slott accidentally stumbled into because he had these love triangles in mind, not because he put a lot of thought into it.

Speaking of love triangles! Johnny sleeping with Victorious gets more complicated when Dr. Doom announces his intent to marry Victorious -- not because he has any romantic interest in her (this engagement caused a lot of uproar in Fantastic Four because Victorious had been previously referred to as being like Doom's adopted daughter) but in order to install her as Latverian regent in his absence. I'm not going to lie, I love a political wedding. Victorious, for some reason, thinks Doom will be deeply upset that she slept with some closeted blond twink and the member of the Fantastic Four he views least as an enemy and more as an annoyance. Johnny, who Sky is currently not talking to because she "felt" him sleeping with Victorious through their magic plot soulmate bracelets, also feels nervous about Doom finding out about this, which I guess is slightly more valid. Anyway, for some completely ridiculous reason, Victorious decides the best time to tell Doom about this little indiscretion is when they're standing at the altar, which coincidentally the Fantastic Four are also standing at, because Doom asked Reed to be his best man in a not at all homoerotic little setup involving midnight swordfighting and Reed slipping Doom's emerald ring onto his own finger. Sorry to sidetrack into DoomReed territory here but it's just like. It's just a lot.

(FF 2018 #33) Also, Ben walked the bride down the aisle. :,) Look at his gigantic hand.

Anyway then Doom decides he's going to kill everyone in a completely reasonable and not at all overblown reaction to Johnny and Zora having what was most likely both disappointing for Zora and weepy for Johnny sex. And that brings us up to where Fantastic Four comics left us yesterday -- in answer to your "big change" question, that's most likely coming up in the next issue, so it hasn't come to pass yet.

Having gotten all that out of the way -- the last time Johnny and Peter interacted canon-wise was in the recent Empyre Fallout Fantastic Four, at the end of the Empyre event:

It was cute! Slott does right good interactions between them. This is possibly the Stockholm Syndrome talking. I don't know if more interactions are likely imminent -- the Empyre event was fairly recent. On the other hand, Slott does like writing interactions between them. So I'd give it about a 50/50 shot. I was skimming the letter page in the latest issue and someone wrote in asking if Peter was likely to appear in the pages of Fantastic Four again any time soon, so there is definitely a demand.

As for Johnny coming out -- I don't know. It's not a call I feel comfortable making at this moment, which I guess means I wouldn't bet money on it. I'd like to say yes, especially because I think Slott set up, whether that was his intention or more likely not, several good places in his run where Johnny could have come out. The beginning, when he's implied to be living with Wyatt again and where he and Wyatt are paralleled against Ben and Alicia. Ben's bachelor party, where Johnny laments not finding the right person -- specifically person and not woman -- and where Ben tells him to "be brave, Johnny Storm." And the soulmate planet plot, where I think could have had a very different and much better ending if Johnny had told Sky that she couldn't be his romantic soulmate, because he knows he wants to be with a man. But those are just places that I think would have made good opportunities for a coming out story. Instead, Johnny's been involved (dubiously) with three different women over the space of the last 10 issues, which is more heterosexuality at one time than he's been confronted with in the last 60 years. So my thoughts are still that it's going to happen eventually, but quite possibly not anytime soon.

Hope that helps! And that my incredibly long answer about what's currently going on with Johnny in comics sheds some light on things!

[burnedbyshoto]

Because I Love You

— Bakugou Katsuki has never been good with showing his feelings, and it definitely doesn’t change even when he falls in love. —

pairing: bakugou katsuki x fem!reader

warnings: cursing, alcohol mention, angst, fluff

word count: 3,305

a/n: this is commission to the very lovely @candychronicles​! she requested an angsty bakugou, and with free range, this is what I came up with. I was inspired by the song nervous by gavin james, so go ahead and check that bish out if you want, its beautiful.

message to join taglist

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“Because I—” his voice trailed off.

Bakugou froze, his body frozen where he stood. Was it fair for him to say it, after so many months? Was it okay to say the small line that he craved to yell at you? Was he too late?

Your body was frozen too. The fur coat hanging by your elbows, the little black dress ruffled, obviously moved in your distress.  There were too many emotions in your eyes, and yet Bakugou could not make out a single one except uncensored hate. 

“Because you what?!” You snapped, your nostrils flaring in their annoyance, your cheeks glowing with rage. “Spit it out, asshole!”

His mouth opened, words failing him, and you scoffed. 

Tears welled in your eyes, your head shaking, and you angrily wiped away your tears.

“I thought so.”

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

One Year Earlier

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“I like you, too.”

His fingers dragged against your cheek, his fingers curling under your jaw, and your lips parted. 

This was a movie, there was no other explanation for what was transpiring before you. The warm spring sun, the sweet smells of the blooming flowers, and the gentle breeze throwing your hair around in a way that was short of perfection. His eyes were wide with shock, vermillion irises swimming with emotions that you never expected to see on his face — that he never excepted to feel — and when his fingers fixed on your face, they began to close. 

The air was electric, energy flowing tremendously between your connected bodies, and when Bakugou moved towards you, his head dipping down, there was nothing that could make this scenario better. Your eyes closed, and his lips pressed against yours. Soft, warm, and just slightly chapped. There was so much going on internally, his mind short-circuited, his body moving instinctually against yours.

Your arms found themselves around his neck, his wrapping around your waist.

This was blissful; this was the beginning of a relationship.

Bakugou couldn’t do anything when you pulled away, the kiss had ended way too soon in his opinion. But Bakugou smiling softly, his eyes still closed, a pleasant feeling vibrating through him.

“Something wrong?” you tease, your fingers threading into his hair.

Bakugou’s eyes snapped open, his eyes scrunching, his mouth attempting to fall into a frown. But he couldn’t frown, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile whenever he tried.

“You need to learn how to fucking shut up, shitty woman,” he growled, his arms pulling you in tighter. His eyes glinting wickedly, and it only fueled you more, making your lips quip into a smirk.

“Make me.”

There was no need to challenge him because your lips reconnected; once more, his body was soaring when his lips crashed against yours.

This was perfect.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

Bakugou’s eyes focused on the book that you were reading. Your body was curled into his side, head on his chest, and fingers slowly flipping the pages of your book. He had no idea why you were obsessed with murder mysteries, they always freaked you out, making you obsessive while you tried to crack the code. 

Warmth flooded his chest, making him smile when your nose twitched. It was a telling sign that your beliefs were not going according to the plot. His hands squeezed your side, a teasing touch that made you smack your head against his chest.

“It’s getting late,” Bakugou muttered, his lips pressing onto the top of your head. “Shouldn’t you be going now?”

He watched when you placed your book down, your eyes focusing onto his alarm clock, it read eleven at night. You grunted, and Bakugou watched on in amusement when you rolled on top of him, your nose buried into the crook of his neck.

“It’s so late,” you sighed, wiggling into his body, like that would get you closer to him. “Can’t I just spend the night?”

Those words shouldn’t have scared Bakugou, they shouldn’t have sent a worrisome pit in the middle of his stomach, but they did. The thing about cavities is that they were dangerous, small and avoidable at first, but grew large, destroying everything that it came across until it stopped. But the damage was there, and it was too late to stop it.

“Maybe another night,” Bakugou murmured into your ear, his fingers gripping your waist. “Not tonight, I have to wake up fucking early tomorrow.”

He could feel you stilling against him, but a small nod was then felt after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, of course,” you whisper, pushing up off him. Bakugou looked into your eyes, the warmth in them enough to make him ache for lying to you. But he wasn’t ready for that, not yet at least.

Unsure of what to say, Bakugou brought you in for a kiss. The sweet feeling of your lips pressed into his was phenomenal, the overwhelming desire to flip you over onto your back and make you succumb to his desires almost intoxicating. But when your tongue dragged against his bottom lip, he grunted.

He rolled over, pushing your body into the mattress, not too roughly, but just enough to elicit a sweet moan from you. His lips dragged down your cheek and onto your jaw, his teeth biting your flesh, and the cutest giggle escaped your mouth. 

“Don’t be getting horny on me when you’re gonna kick me out,” you warn, your fingers grazing against his chest, the sensation sending goosebumps down his entire body. 

Ask her to stay, ask her to stay, he thought over and over, but he cowered. Pulling away, Bakugou rolled his eyes, his fingers pinching your cheeks.

“Shut up, idiot,” he reprimanded, his eyes looking at your lips, mesmerized by them when your teeth bite onto your lower lip. 

“I’ll only shut up if you…” you trailed off, your eyes and nose scrunching while you thought. “If you give me a new hoodie!”

Bakugou’s temple throbbed, his body pushing off you in annoyance, “You stole fucking seven of my eight hoodies already! Is that not fucking enough?”

But his temper was short-lived when you started to giggle, your arms wrapping around him despite him moving away. 

“NOPE!”

It was after Bakugou dropped you off at your apartment, and when he was going back home, did he realize just how much he missed you. Regret filling him when he entered his place that seemed the smallest bit sadder now. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he groaned, feelings were stupid, this would be over soon regardless. 

You were too good for him.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“I love you.”

Bakugou freezes, his chopsticks centimeters from his wide-open mouth. His eyes flashed up to yours, and he fell frozen at the sight of your scared and hopeful eyes. You had been dating a little over six months, but those three words hadn’t been ushered before. 

Your fingers were pressed into the edge of the table. A stiffness to your posture while you stared at Bakugou.

Unsure of what to do, Bakugou placed the food in his mouth, his gaze not falling from yours. There was a pit in his stomach, an unsettling feeling of his bottled anxieties and emotional suppression that threatened to spill out. Love was something that everyone felt, it was this feeling so powerful that even if you didn’t know it, the moment it hit, you knew.

Bakugou had been in love with you the second he kissed you, the way you clutched him close was enough to make him swear to be yours forever. But in this essential time, the time to finally come forward and confess to these feelings, he froze. 

“Why the hell do you love me?” he questioned instead, his face emotionless.

The words were harsh, but Bakugou thought they could have been worse. But it was a response that you weren’t expecting, it was apparent through the bewildered look on your face, your eyes blinking rapidly as if you had confessed to a stranger.

“A lot of reasons,” you laugh awkwardly, your fingers meshing together as they do when you’re uncomfortable. 

“Name one.”

He watched your face fall, and his stomach squeezed at the way your bottom lip became trapped between your teeth. It was a sight that he wished he would never have to see, this sort of rejected unrequited love that was stemming from him. His heartbeat drummed in his throat, making it hard to breathe, but he wouldn’t let you know that he couldn’t tell you that.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled, your fingers grasping your chopsticks again. There’s a long pause, your eyes focusing on your food, and guilt scorches Bakugou’s veins. “I guess you just make me incredibly happy.”

“That’s a stupid fucking reason for being in love with someone.”

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“Y/n,” Bakugou yelled, his towel around his waist gradually becoming soaked since he had just emerged from the shower. His footsteps were loud, thundering against the wooden floors, and they were full of anger. He turned on his heel, immediately storming into his bedroom.

His bedroom, not yours, not the two of yours. Just his.

But you were invading his space. There was an entire drawer dedicated to you, a towel that was now yours, a pile of books he would never be caught reading were piling up, and even worse, you had been hinting at moving in together. But it was too much for Bakugou, too much for him to process in what seemed like short notice. It made him itchy, but seeing your bathing items in his shower tonight had triggered an almost barbaric reaction from him.

“What the hell do you think you’re fucking doing?!” He yelled the second he entered the room.

His shoulders were tensed, the muscles all over his body flaring, and his tongue rolling with words that his brain couldn’t keep up with. The only thought he was forming was a plea, a desperate tone to stop. 

“What am I doing?” you ask, eyes wide, phone in your hand. It was a visible indicator that you were getting ready for bed yourself. Long gone were your nights of staying up until four in the morning, and his nights of going to bed at eight, but some habits die hard it seemed. “Is it about that snapchat I sent you? I didn’t think you saw it yet!”

“Not about the snapchat,” Bakugou growled knowing full well it was a video of you zooming in and out of his back before returning to your face with some horrendous filter on you. “I’m talking about my place.”

Your eyes blinked, and Bakugou could only stand in angry horror at what was building within him. Why was he so fucking angry?

“Is it… about my sock?” you question, pointing at the sock on top of the bed. By the looks of it, you had just taken it off, seeing that you were only wearing one sock.

“Yes,” he snapped. “But it’s not just that. It’s fucking everything!”

“What do you mean, ‘suki?”

“Don’t call me that!” Bakugo sneered ignoring your recoil. The nickname was too much, it was too soft, too loving. It wasn’t him, it could never be him. “Don’t you fucking see what you’re doing here?! You’re invading my goddamn life! Nothing in here is mine, everything I see is fucking yours! This is my goddamn place, this is my fucking life! You’re my shitty girlfriend, not my annoying mom, and definitely not my goddamn wife, so I don’t see what the hell you’re trying to play here!”

Your eyes were wide, an undeniable testament to your hurt feelings. 

“I’m sorry if I’ve been… invading your space, I just assumed that—”

“Well you shouldn’t have been assuming shit! Since day one I told you that you couldn’t sleep here, but that hasn’t stopped you! Don’t think I didn’t fucking see you falling asleep before I saw the time on purpose, I’m not a goddamn idiot! I don’t know what insinuated that it would be okay for you to fucking come and stay here? You have your own goddamn place with a bed that’s much better suited for you than my own. So why are you here?!”

Your lips were drawn into a fine line, your legs tucked underneath you, your fingers fisting into your — his — sweater. 

“It’s hard to remember boundaries when you’re in love,” you reason, a half-hearted smile on your face. 

Stop.

Don’t leave.

Stop it.

Don’t go.

Don’t do it.

“I’m not in love with you,” Bakugou speaks in a low tenor, his body rigid, his tone serious. “My feelings haven’t changed since you told me that months ago. You can keep telling me that everyday, I’m not going to repeat it back because I don’t love you back, and I won’t ever. It’s pathetic, telling me these feelings, expecting me to cave?”

“What are you trying to say,” you spoke back, your eyes finally meeting his. But they’re cold, furious, quiet. They’re not the eyes he’s used to looking into, they’re not the eyes he loves.

“Use your fucking brain, idiot.”

“You’re an asshole, Bakugou,” you laugh joylessly, a grin spreading across your face, your head shaking. “A complete and utter asshole.”

“I never said I wasn’t.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! You know, when I first admitted that I had feelings for you, everyone told me that it was a mistake. No one was supportive in my feelings, and everyone told me to run, to burn those feelings. But I thought,” you trailed off, your nose scrunching while you placed on your sock. “I thought that I knew you better.”

“Obviously you didn’t.”

You rose to your feet, the sweater around your body being tossed to the side.

“Obviously,” you laughed again, your head shaking. “Destroy all my things, I don’t want them back — we’re over.”

So Bakugou stood in the same spot he was in, the cold and wet towel pressing uncomfortably into him. The sounds of you walking to the front door and the rattling of the slamming door made his heart clench.

Bakugou Katsuki didn’t cry; the number of times he cried could be counted on a single hand. But again, the second he realized just how alone he was, he still didn’t cry. No, Bakugou Katsuki fell to his knees sobbing.

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

“Come on, Bakubro,” Kirishima’s faux cheery voice rang from the opposite side of the call. “It’ll be a good time! The squad will be there, and the club is apparently super fun!”

Why Bakugou agreed was beyond him.

He was a wreck, to say the least, and he hated it. Why couldn’t he be rational and say that he loved you back? Why couldn’t he have just been honest and admit that he was scared?

But there was nothing he could do about it, you had blocked him before he could get to his senses, was someone amazing at avoiding him everywhere, and he was banned from your apartment building. So here he was, at some new club with his friends who were screaming and drinking as they pleased.

Bakugou held onto his glass with a single hand, his eyes focused onto the dance floor, trying to ignore his friend's pleas for him to just drink. But something caught his attention on the dance floor, hair that he could point out in a sea of identical colors. 

It was you.

Dressed in a little black dress and a fur coat that just pulled together a look that he had never seen you wear before. You were gorgeous, stunning as the stars in the night sky, and Bakugou for the first time since the last time he saw you felt whole again. He watched when you moved your hips in time with the music, your jaw dropping in unmistakable singing, and you looked happy — carefree.

A smile melted away on Bakugou’s face despite the panging in his heart, that is, until a man stepped behind you and latched his crotch onto your ass.

Bakugou could not lie, he didn’t remember much of what happened. Only that his vision became red, and the next thing he knew, he was outside, your arm in his grip, and you obvious distress loud while you hit him.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!” You scream, finally worming your arm from his hold, shoving his back while you take steps away from him. 

“He was a fucking creep,” Bakugou snapped, his arms folding as if this was something known. “He shouldn’t have been touching you like you were his goddamn property!”

“No! No, no, no, you don’t get to decide who touches me! You don’t have the right to be angry! We’re done, we broke up! You didn’t so much as like me, you made that so painfully obvious,” you gasp, angry tears in your eyes and an exasperated look on your face. “For a year, a goddamn year of my life, I let you behave like a dick because I thought I meant something special to you! You were so cruel and so mean, and I was a fool for believing that I meant more.”

“You did mean something to me, dumbass!”

“Like hell I meant something to you! I was a distraction! You hated me!”

“No you fucking weren’t!”

“And why the hell should I believe you?! You hated it when I spent the night, and you… what you said that final night and the night I told you that I loved you?! Are you fucking kidding me, Bakugou?! Give me one goddamn reason as to why I should trust you!”

“Because I—” his voice trailed off.

Bakugou froze, his body frozen where he stood. Was it fair for him to say it, after so many months? Was it okay to say the small line that he craved to yell at you? Was he too late?

Your body was frozen too. The fur coat hanging by your elbows, the little black dress ruffled, obviously moved in your distress.  There were too many emotions in your eyes, and yet Bakugou could not make out a single one except uncensored hate. 

“Because you what?!” You snapped, your nostrils flaring in their annoyance, your cheeks glowing with rage. “Spit it out, asshole!”

His mouth opened, words failing him, and you scoffed. 

Tears welled in your eyes, your head shaking, and you angrily wiped away your tears.

“I thought so.”

Bakugou watched while you stormed away, hitting your shoulder onto his arm while you passed him.

Say it.

Say it.

Fucking say it, you coward.

“Because I love you,” Bakugou whispered just loud enough for you to hear, his body turning towards you. Your hand held onto the door, your body frozen. “I was a fucking coward, I am a fucking coward. I just… god fucking hell, you are so good, you are too good. I’m only good at being a hero because of my quirk, but I’m not a good person! You scare me because you are fucking perfect, you are everything that I could never be and it scares me! People don’t fall in love with me! They’ll have anyone but me first! I’m loud and rude, and I’m an ass, but you fell in love with me, and the thing is I don’t understand love. It makes no sense, but I’ve loved you since day one, but every time I tried to say something, every time I tried to confess, I couldn’t!”

You turned to face him, your lower lip trembling with overwhelming desire.

“S-Stop…”

“I love you, y//l/n y/n,” Bakugou breathed with perfect clarity, his strides leading him to where you stood, his hands holding your cheeks. “Even if I can never get you to say it back to me ever again, I will spend the rest of my life loving you.”

[nincompoopydoo]

DEBRIS AND MISERY

SAME OLD LOKI ; PART 6 / ?

PAIRING: Loki Laufeyson x Female!Reader WORD COUNT: 3.3k (oops) SUMMARY: You find yourself venturing deeper into finding the Loki variant on the loose with the help of Mobius and Loki while maintaining your temper around the God of mischief and fighting with your own demons. A/N: Downtime apparently lasted for more than a week. I had absolutely no motivation to write but I eventually came around. There’s alot going on in this. Please tell me what you think, what you love, hate and look forward to. Thank you so much for showing so much love to d&m. gif from this gifset by @sersi WARNINGS: Swearing. Imagery relating to death (i think?). You and Loki’s relationship fluctuating like the goddamn economy. support my writing through ko-fi💖 MASTERPOST ; MASTERLIST

Blue. Your flight suit is blue.

Your eyes sting with worry, ticking to a pair of hands buckling the straps that lay across your chest. A man secures it tightly, forcing your back against the cockpit chair. Your gaze drifts to the concentric steel rings of yellow, red, and white that stretch overhead and around you—being suspended within a 3-axis gimbal sends another churning sensation within your abdomen.

You hear a voice. It courses through the room and vibrates within your ears like fluttering echoes in a tunnel. It’s a man. He calls out your name from below.

“You ready?”

In your periphery, you see him, tall with slicked-back hair, standing with other men that adorn similar flight suits of blue. You nod, inhaling deeply as your hands reach for the controls. Suddenly, a metallic clang echoes through the room and the machine whirrs to life. The rings begin spinning in tandem, tossing your body in all directions. Your grip tightens around the controls, clicking with every push and pull as you struggle to analyze the spin. But, the machine spins faster.

Faster and faster and faster.

The machine continues to whirr. Your hands are still shifting the controls.

Faster and faster and faster.

Your eyes begin to droop, nausea taking hold of your body.

Faster and faster and faster.

You only hear your breaths; every inhale and exhale—they're loud.

Faster and faster and faster.

Too fast.

Stop.

...

Click. Click. Click.

Footsteps. Not the clicks of the controls. You hear them clicking against tile floors from afar. From darkness, your eyes meet the color brown, shiny and polished—it’s wooden. The sound of the vast building’s acoustics hum in tune with the occasional chatter and echoing thump. You recognize the ambiance and it comforts your hasty thoughts as your brain tries to wreck itself in comprehending your current surroundings.

It’s one of those dreams again. The ones that kept you awake at night since the Sakaar incident, as if reliving the memories of another life. It isn’t yours but the realism to it makes it so complex that your brain cannot even comprehend the experiences during these dreams that occur.

To see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. Do dreams exceed the limit of disconnection and logic? Are dreams to be so immersive that it feels more like a memory, an echo of the past?

Through the turmoil of parsing between what’s real and what’s not, a tap on your shoulder hauls you back to reality. You turn to see Mobius, looking ridiculously exhilarated. Behind him lingers an amused Loki, hands tugging into the pockets of his jacket. The analyst says your name with a tone of equal exuberance to his manner.

“I thought I’d find you here. Do you always sleep at the archives?”

You snort, seizing yourself up as you wipe your face with your palm in hopes of feeling slightly more awake and alive than you were before. “No. Sometimes, I sleep at my desk too.”

Exhausted and sarcastic. Typical you.

Mobius rounds the table to sit beside you, gesturing Loki to his previous spot before he got up and ran away from you without any explanation. He shoots you a smile, lips pressed together, almost hesitant to sit across from you. You watch him through narrowed eyes as you address him with folded arms. “And here you are, back here again.”

Loki cannot fight the growing grin upon his lips, knowing all too well that you're referring to how he led you into an unnecessary chase down the corridors of the TVA for the sake of his entertainment. Well, it was not unnecessary. Things were turning out to be a bore and with the sudden thought of a proposition to help with his case, it doesn’t mean he has to drag out the fun of irritating the hell out of everyone else.

And you are not a bore.

-

“Loki! Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

You’re outright screaming at him but his long legs only stride faster than yours could handle, slumber still clinging to your face like a thick, waxen mask. He’s so quick, weaving through tangerine hallways, skidding across the tiled floors.

He saunters down the hall with quick feet but doesn’t sprint, clever enough not to draw any attention.

He ought to answer you. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he flashes you a cheeky smile. He swears he saw flames burning in your eyes for a moment.

As you wind another corner, you already see him making one last quick dart through the elevator doors that slide open as it dings unceremoniously. Through your wide-eyed gaze, you signal him with eyes that carry a warning.

“Don’t you dare close that fucking door.” you snarl, voice booming from down the hallway and so does the clicking of the heels of your Oxford shoes as you march towards him like you’re on the hunt for prey.

Loki jams his finger onto the button to close the doors, unable to wipe off his grin. “Don’t you trust me?” is all he says to you, sending you a wink through the closing gap of the elevator doors as he raises his palm to wave you farewell.

-

You decided Loki wasn’t worth the time he has already taken from your assigned paperwork. So, you returned to your desk with a trace of bitterness in your tongue while attempting to suppress the regret for actually feeling sorry for Loki. Only because you know how it is like to be alone.

That’s the thing about Loki. He gets inside your head, makes you think that for once, he may be worth not pruning. He makes you think he is capable of change, capable of compassion. He makes you think he cares from the way he looks at you with those eyes that flicker the spark of hope in you. This Loki is the same old Loki.

Well, maybe the one in Sakaar had a good chance of earning your trust. But that’s gone now.

You shift in your seat, elbows now leaning against the edge of the table. “And to answer your question, no. I do not trust you. And I never will.”

Famous last words of the variant turned analyst.

Nobody trusts you either.

Except for the grey-haired analyst with the obsession for jet skis and you never understood why. Maybe, it’s because you’re the only one who is willing to put up with his ramblings.

Mobius eyes you and Loki’s interaction as the two of you seem to fall into the rhythm of making things even more complex than it appears. It's all part of his grand plan. Mobius knows you well enough to know you are possibly enjoying Loki's company no matter how much he irritates you. And Loki, it's clear how he admires you and how you constantly surprise him every time he crosses paths with you.

“What would I ever do without your trust?” the God sneers, each articulation of every word wrapped in mockery paired with dramatically placing his hand to his heart. Your eye twitches, the spitfire of your personality ready to fire back with a probable nasty insult. Yet, Mobius places his hand on your shoulder, while the other outstretched towards Loki as if trying to keep the two of you apart.

“Okay, okay. No need to get all riled up now. We only just had a breakthrough in the case, and I’m not letting you kill each other just yet.”

Your anger seems to immediately wash away, replaced by curiosity. You blink at your colleague. “Breakthrough?”

“Yes, and it was surprisingly Loki’s theory. Now—”

“Why do I smell...sulfur?”

You cut his sentence short as a strong whiff of a reeked scent began to descend upon you, billowing in the air. You inhale deeply, brows furrowing in concentration and confusion. An overpowering scent of a decaying body, faint but strong enough to seem out of the ordinary. The archives never smell rotten, always floor polish. Mobius and Loki share a look. Mobius is the one to speak up, attempting to distract you from your sudden strong sense of smell. “Sulfur? What, like when there’s a demonic manifestation? I mean, we are in the presence of Loki—”

“You went to Pompeii, didn’t you?”

In all of the time he has spent with Mobius who had a constant laid-back and confident nature to him, he has never seen him so red in the face. As the situation unfolds, he wonders why Mobius has made it a point to hide that information with so much eagerness which now has proved to be useless. You’re not only intelligent but also quick—only in terms of the mind rather than your physical capabilities.

You can hardly run, but your brain outshines everyone else he has met in the TVA.

Mobius is now waiting for the imminent chaos and mayhem you’re about to bring. You’re going to call him insane like every other time he has suggested an out-of-the-ordinary idea. Causing a scene is one of your talents. He has his hand on your shoulder again.

“You hate Pompeii, Mobius. Why the hell would bring him—Wait.” Your eyes are wide and blinking. “You went to Pompeii. Alone. I know that from the look on your faces. Which means no reset charge...No Nexus event.” You pause, pursing your lips. Then, you avert your gaze to Loki who watches you curiously. “Are you suggesting the variant is hiding in apocalypses?”

Mobius’ laugh comes off like a puff of air. He pats you on the back like a proud uncle. “Back on the game, Agent!”

Loki is slightly impressed. Only slightly.

“Okay, you two stay here. I’ll go get the files. Great work, you two.” Mobius gestures to the both of you with an outstretched index finger, grin so wide as he scurries off. Mobius loves a good case, especially when there’s a breakthrough. And with you finally familiarizing yourself with working together with Loki, everything is finally starting to look up.

The two of you end up finding each other’s gaze and for the first time, you smile at him. It’s small but genuine.

“You know you could have told me.”

“I would have, but you don’t trust me, remember?”

You hum, raising a brow. “And running away was supposed to gain my trust?”

Loki chuckles, eyes flicking to the table. “I never said anything about gaining your trust.”

Your smile grows wider, and Loki decides how he prefers you like this—relaxed and amused.

He oddly sees his mother in you. It’s the way you look at him. Like you know him.

Right, you have met him. Once.

“What was I like? The one you met at Sakaar.”

You blink, slightly taken aback by his sudden question that hasn’t got to do with insinuating you.

“The same as you—barely tolerable,” you say tightly, heaving a sharp exhale. ”Just…a lot sadder.”

You hadn’t mentioned how he willingly helped escape your execution because a part of you still believes it all to be a lie. The TVA has your complete fidelity but ever since the Sakaar incident, your trust in the way the system works has been swayed. After years of being trapped in your mind, the question of whether your capabilities in logic have been damaged due to loneliness still begs. Judge Renslayer believes in your incompetence but you believe she hides a secret about the Time Keepers.

The three beings, creator of the TVA, personally convicted you as innocent, allowing you to maintain your job. Nothing of this makes sense.

Maybe Judge Renslayer lost all her faith in you, her second-best analyst because your Nexus event relates to Loki. The one variant that has been causing havoc to the Sacred Timeline. And this Loki, the one that seems to be very curious about your place in the TVA and the Time Keepers, is no different than the others.

You find yourself feeling an uncalled sense of sadness that dwells in your chest at the thought of leaving the only friendship you secretly wished to have maintained back at Sakaar. Before you let yourself fall into the abyss of melancholic wishful thinking, you swiftly direct the conversation elsewhere.

"I’m sorry Mobius referred to you as the devil,” you say coyly. “You really aren’t.”

Loki, who seems to catch on with the sarcastic tone of your voice, leans farther into his seat. “Really?”

A smirk returns to your face. “You're worse than the devil." He snorts, noticing the vague hint of crimson growing upon your cheeks and how your eyes seem to crinkle a little more than usual.

He finds himself swallowing under your stare, fiddling his fingers in an attempt to calm his sudden erratic heartbeat. A stutter under your now kind gaze—no one ever stares at him with a smile. "You are not the first to say that."

There’s another pause; Loki’s face is set with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. You feel a pang of guilt in your chest in remembrance of how you’re not the first to have treated him the way you did. He’s dangerous but, there’s no reason for animosity. Yet, it all boils down to the lives he has willingly taken. It doesn’t differentiate him from the rest of the TVA.

Mysterious variant.

The devil is always in the details.

Strangely, the work of the devil may prove to be useful in times of cul-de-sacs as an idea comes to mind. “I think...I think I know where you’re at right now.” Your voice is light, distracted by your now running thoughts. You’re on your feet, chair squeaking as you push it back. Your pen is in your grasp and you wave it in the air, reflecting the gears that turn at high speed within your brain.

Frankly, you’re not making any sense. Loki furrows his brows, slowly standing. “What do you mean? I’m right here—"

“No. The other one. The variant. And it has to do with gum.”

You’re still not making sense and it’s clear that in your eyes, he is invisible. You’re the only one in that frenzied mind of yours.

“What?”

You don’t answer him, feet quickly bringing you down the passageway along the vast rows of shelves that stretch along with the floor’s pristine balcony of white and the two of you are back to playing chase and run. Only this time, the roles are reversed.

-

Mission Haven Hills: not successful.

Really not successful. Far from successful.

You witnessed the doom of bombing the Sacred Timeline, firsthand. Employees scramble at the controls as you watch the screen that looms over the control room. What was once a single line, running along with time has now grown like a tree with fruits of chaos, caused by Nexus events scattered across time and places.

You wished the dust would settle and this was all simply a dream but you realize this was his plan all along.

Bomb the timeline. Distract the TVA.

There is one thing you know about Loki. He is moved by revenge and resentment.

As if you possess some sort of telepsychic powers, a part of you feels that danger itself is within the vicinity of the TVA. The variant is here, you just know it.

You hope Mobius is okay.

Scurrying down the winding hallways, past the hurried time hunters, and past the time theaters, you find yourself heading towards the golden doors of the Time Keepers’ chambers. In a time of uncertainty, your gut is your only source of guidance.

At the end of the hallway, you see bodies on the ground, nearly lifeless—time hunters, either unarmed or batons missing. You plucked one of the sizzling batons from the ground as you cautiously stepped around the laying bodies. You clutch it tightly to calm the blood rushing to your head, pounding along with your heartbeat as you take on the venture into the foyer of the grand chambers with secrets not wanting to be unveiled.

You round the corner, following the wooden panels for walls laid along the entrance. The glowing end of the baton within your grasp reflects off the black porcelain tiles beneath your careful feet. You hear voices, grunts, and shouting as if in combat.

Then, you see them. Loki in his variant jacket and a woman with locks of blonde and streaks of black. She adorns a headpiece of golden horns—one broken off.

Isn't Loki supposed to be at Haven Hills?

Recognizing the presence of another, the two turn to you, daggers still held to each other's throats. Loki eyes you with wide eyes, a silent plea whether to help or stand down, you’re unsure. Your gaze shifts to the woman once more who watches you with an equal resemblance to the other.

Then, it hits you. You recognize the dark emerald cloak she wears. You know exactly who she is. You just never thought it would be a she.

“You!” Your exclamation is bitter, and it’s directed towards the woman who seems to be strangely expectant of your remark as if she already knows who you are. She is L1190, a Loki variant. The one who slashed you with the TVA’s baton, scaring your left cheek. The one who hauled you through the time door and left you stranded in Sakaar for thousands of years.

You know exactly what she has done. She knows what she has done.

“You did this to me!” you gesture to the scar on your left cheek, eyes fixated solely on her, nearing the two with caution. You’re angry. Very angry. All pent-up rage begging to be set free.

Before Loki could even perceive the current situation he landed in between two women who very much want him dead, you’re already swinging the baton to her face with full force but she blocks it with her sword but slightly staggers in her step. You glare at her. She seems a little surprised. In an instant, you take a step back and go for another strike to her rib, but she blocks you again, sliding away and dodging your hit by a mere second. You growl out of frustration, seething through your teeth, and without hesitation, you strike again. The fight goes on—strike, block, strike, dodge. And with every blow, your intensity escalates, each a little harder than the one before. Loki stands there, watching, speechless and frozen.

You strike again, the baton crackling less than an inch away from her face but she dodges just in time, swinging her sword across your face. It grazes your cheek, now a gash of crimson on top of your scar, and with the sudden blow of searing pain, you lose your balance.

The variant spins into a kick that sweeps your legs out from under, knocking you hard onto the ground. The baton rolls out from your grip. Your hand flies to the gash, trickling with blood.

“Hey!”

The brawl comes to a halt. You seize yourself up from the ground, back and head aching, turning to see Judge Renslayer accompanied by two hunters, batons held up in defense position. You were about to reach for your own that was a stretch away when suddenly, you felt a hand grip you by the collar, hauling you to your knees. Her sword held to your neck.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill her.”

“Go for it.”

Your eyes are wide in shock, all anger towards the variant now turning into this churning feeling of betrayal that resides within your abdomen. Judge Renslayer doesn’t look at you, focus fixated on the two variants—it’s like you’re not even there.

The three start to charge towards you and you involuntarily shut your eyes. Then, as quick as a rattlesnake, Loki grabs the tempad hung at her waist and sends the three of you falling through the ground.

That’s the thing about Loki. He gets inside your head, makes you think that for once, he may be worth not pruning. Now, with your back landing hard on top of him, all you could think about is wanting to strangle him to death.

TAGLIST:

@lareinedususpense

@poubxlle

@mystoragehatesme

@the-maroon-panda

@kashasenpai

[mistaeq]

Congrats on 900 Dora!!! Can I get the fluff alphabets, J, L, N, and W for Abbacchio ? Love him so much it hurts right here in the kokomo 🤧🤧🤧 Need me some fluff during these end of the Semester exam times 😩 Thanks sweetie! 😘❤️

leone abbacchio: fluff alphabet (j, l, n, w)

tw // none

dora's note: thank you for requesting <3 here you go with the goth man fluff to make these semester exam times flow faster and in a sweeter way ~ enjoy !!

J ealousy: are they jealous? what do they do when they are?

♥︎ yes, definitely. indeed abbacchio is a jealous man. of course not at the point of a toxic relationship made out of obsessions. he's not jealous of the gang members, he's mostly jealous of other people, but he can't deny he's used to keeping a good eye on mista. leone used to be jealous of bruno because of how tender and fatherly he is in your regards, but luckily, he understood and he's now pretty much over it.

♥︎ abbacchio doesn't even help himself to calm down, when he's jealous. sometimes he even worsens his jealousy, replaying the last actions the person who pissed him off did in your regards with his stand. but it's also helpful, since he screams all of his anger in moody blues' face, and ends up feeling satisfied, and you witness a brand new abbacchio, all smiley and in a good mood. after all, you kinda like to see him jealous.

L ove letter: a small love letter from the character you choose.

♥︎  "i still have no clue of why you left italy all of a sudden. but bruno told me it was for a good cause, so i'll just listen.

cara/o y/n,

i still can't accept the fact that you left all of a sudden without an explanation, but i sure hope you're gonna be okay and that you'll come back soon. i've never been treated this well and appreciated this much by someone, so i know i'll miss you more than i like to admit. - the goal is to send this letter without anyone from the gang to steal it from me and read it. - bruno told me and showed me that you left a letter for me too, but i have no courage to read it yet, not until the gang will continue to stay in the same room with me. so i'll send this letter now and a second one in some time, with the response to it. i hope you're somehow thinking about me the way i'm thinking about you. it would be good. i just want all of this relationship of ours to work out.

-leone"

N ewborn: how would they behave with their newborn child?

♥︎ as soon as you have them, just be sure that abbacchio will be head over heels for them. he would like to keep his baby away from passione, for safety reasons. of course he's gonna let the gang see his baby, but secretly and carefully. he wouldn't want any villain or enemy to approach his family. the one he'd trust the most would be bruno, trish, and against everyone's imagination, giorno. he admits he's a responsible teenager.

♥︎ it's gonna take a while for him to get used to parenting life and dad chores. you can perfectly tell he's trying his best. leone doesn't want you to think he's not gonna be a good father, and he's also determined to give his baby good childhood memories, even if he's a little in danger everyday more. he just doesn't know how to put diapers on the baby. nuh-uh. he tried several times, not a single chance.

W edding: would they marry you? where, how?

♥︎ talking about the proposal, abbacchio would spend whole days planning it, in fear of the awkwardness, in fear of ruining something or even in fear of being rejected, even if you had told him multiple times that you would have been the happiest person on earth, if he ever asked you to marry him. he'd go for something traditional, and make sure there's nobody around. leone would rather live the moment with you only. 

♥︎ abbacchio would also like a marriage with few guests. the gang by itself will be more than fine to him, not that he has any more people to invite, to be completely honest... it would still be a wonderful wedding, traditional of course, but he'd be totally open to listen to your preferences for the ceremony, it's always the two of you after all, not him only! for the first time in his life, he'll even be polite to giorno out of happiness.

[akaluan]

An AU where everyone has wings but they're hidden unless willingly shown. Most people leave them out with pride, but some hide them away. Because each feather is a thought someone has had about you where they were thinking of nothing but you, and to some, this is a beautiful experience.

For Kisuke, his wings have screamed of Aizen's obsession for a century, and he had learned how to consciously turn his own thoughts away from adding feathers to others. Because the idea of Aizen wearing his thoughts was nauseating.

And then he met Erich.

((Okay, so there's definitely going to be more of this, but it'll come Later (TM) bc right now I just want to get something written for things and posted XD Hope this suits!))

(Warnings for Kisuke's anxiety and the whole apology-after-SS-arc thing)

\\\

Kisuke hid a smile behind his fan as he watched the teens tumble from the gate into midair, their panicked and confused shouts both hilarious and reassuring—

(They’d survived.)

(They’d survived, they’d survived, they’d survived…!)

—especially as they were caught in a rug and batted towards Tessai who spilled them out atop Kisuke’s flying carpet. He needed to apologize to them all — especially to Kurosaki — but in this brief, wonderful moment he could simply watch and enjoy.

Movement from the gate made Kisuke jerk back around, staring up at the stranger who strode from the closing gate and then stood there, his sharp eyes scanning the scene and one corner of his mouth quirking up into an amused smile. His gaze caught on Kisuke and his head tilted slightly, amusement fading and stance shifting into something watchful-wary-thoughtful as his wings flared slightly to make him look bigger.

Kisuke swallowed at the sight, at the sheer array of colors on the man’s wings, a patchwork quilt of bright-beautiful-loving thoughts laid bare for the world to see. His primary feathers were alternating sky and midnight blue, marbled with threads of copper and gold, and the rest of his feathers were equally bright, equally distinct, proof of how many people thought of him — thought well of him — in his life.

(Unlike his own wings.)

(No, don’t think about it.)

The man abruptly twitched, right wing spreading slightly more as the man cast a glance at it, and Kisuke froze at the sight of a feather turning sunshine yellow right in front of his eyes.

(No, oh no, he hadn’t meant to—)

(Damn!)

Kisuke yanked his thoughts back in line. Buried his admiration of the man’s wings deep-deep-deep into the midst of a jumble of thoughts-calculations-plans where it couldn’t stain the man’s beautiful wings.

(No one needed his thoughts directed only at them!)

“Ah, Rerugen-san!” Inoue said cheerfully as soon as she got to her feet and waved at the man overhead. “Come down and meet Urahara-san and the others! They’re the ones that helped us get into Soul Society so we could save Rukia-chan.”

The man nodded slowly and folded his wings, then appeared next to Ishida in a burst in hirenkyaku that Kisuke had to strain to follow.

(A Quincy soul?)

(Fascinating.)

“Maa, find a new friend in Soul Society?” Kisuke asked, trying to figure out how and why the Quincy soul had followed the teens home. The man wasn’t wearing Shinigami garb so he probably wasn’t part of the Gotei Thirteen, but how, then, had he convinced the Shinigami to let him follow the teens back to the Living World?

Ishida shrugged and looked away, his shoulders hunching a bit as he tucked himself closer to Rerugen’s side. “Something like that,” he muttered as Rerugen’s wing partially spread to wrap around him in a protective gesture.

“Rerugen-san is going to teach Ishida-kun!” Inoue announced with a bright-sharp-pointed smile, and Kisuke couldn’t help but admire the technique. She was a bit rough at it, but… well, she was still young and didn’t have quite the… incentive… to do well at it that Kisuke’d had at her age.

(Perhaps he should keep an eye on her, give the occasional bit of advice on how to get her way without seeming to do so.)

(She seemed like she’d be good at it.)

“Is that so?” Kisuke tapped the edge of his fan against his chin as he examined Rerugen again: a warrior for sure, and clearly protective over Ishida—

Kisuke suppressed a frown as he turned his attention to Ishida, trying to figure out exactly why something felt off about the teen. Ishida had always been clever-controlled-certain, but… his lack of presence didn’t feel like control. Especially not next to Rerugen’s own control, so strong that Kisuke could only sense the barest edge of presence from him.

(What had happened in Soul Society?)

(He had hoped…)

(Well, one more thing for him to apologize for, it appeared.)

“It is,” Rerugen answered firmly, his attention fixed on Kisuke, and—

Kisuke tried not to shiver as he felt the tell-tale brush of someone’s thoughts running down his spine and into his right wing, already bracing for the dirty-oily-clinging sensation that Aizen’s obsession always left behind, but… it didn’t come. Instead, it felt like cool water across his back, sluicing away the memory and making his hidden wings feel slightly lighter.

He resisted the urge to reveal his wings, no matter how much he wanted to see what had changed; he refused to let the teens see his wings, refused to show a complete stranger that someone was obsessed with him.

(He’d just have to wait until he was safe in his lab to see.)

(He could wait that long.)

Kisuke took a careful breath, shunted his thoughts aside, and turned his attention to the teens in front of him. They deserved an apology for all he’d forced them through, especially Kurosaki, and he wasn’t going to let a stranger’s presence deter him from doing so.

He went to his knees and leaned forward, head bowed and hat pressed to his chest, and announced, “I’m really… really sorry for… everything.”

Shocked silence met his words, but he forced himself to remain in place, not wanting to face the looks the teens were likely giving him. Sensation rippled down his spine and spread to his hidden wings, proof that he had everyone’s attention, and he swallowed. Squeezed his eyes shut. Knew he’d be spending the night in his lab, obsessing over whatever he could sense from his new feathers.

(He deserved this.)

(He deserved it, he deserved it, he deserved it.)

(He did.)

Kisuke braced himself as Kurosaki’s reiatsu roared to life and the teen stalked forward, uncertain what was to come but knowing he wouldn’t protest whatever the teen chose to do.

“Don’t do that,” Kurosaki growled as he stood over Kisuke. “Don’t bow to me,” he insisted when Kisuke didn’t move. “You did what you could to help us, and we all knew something was up beyond the obvious.”

“You could have died,” Kisuke tried, still not looking up. “I sent you into dangerous territory with little explanation or preparation. I lied to you, led you right into a trap—”

Pain exploded across his cheek, the shock making him jerk to the side and drop his hat. He reached up to touch his stinging cheek with one trembling hand, mind trying to piece together what had happened.

(Kurosaki had… slapped him?)

(That was… less than he’d expected to happen.)

“Done trying to make everything about you?” Kurosaki asked sharply. “We knew what we were getting into,” he said, then huffed when Kisuke made a noise of protest and added, “Okay, we didn’t know exactly what we were getting into, but we knew it was worse than you were making it sound. We’re not ignorant kids, Hat’n’Clogs, we know when things smell rotten.” He clicked his tongue and took a step closer, nudging Kisuke’s side lightly with his leg. “I can’t control how you feel about what you did,” he said more softly than before, “but I can say that none of us blame you. And if you’re apologizing about it, then you probably feel shitty enough to not do it again, right?”

Kisuke swallowed at the forgiveness in Kurosaki’s tone and words. “I can’t promise to always tell you everything—”

“Tch, I wasn’t asking for you to do that,” Kurosaki grumbled as he knelt in front of Kisuke and poked his shoulder. “I don’t want everything,” he said firmly. “I want you to promise that next time something like this happens, you’ll lay out the dangers and your suspicions. And if there’s something you can’t tell us, just say that. We won’t be offended.”

“Maa, if you say so,” Kisuke said as he lifted his head enough to eye Kurosaki warily, wondering exactly how long that permissiveness would remain. Eventually the teen would get tired of Kisuke’s everything, just like everyone else did: Tessai and Yoruichi were the exception, not the rule, after all.

“I do,” Kurosaki said, a stubborn cast to his features that surprised Kisuke not at all. The teen truly was Masaki’s child.

Kisuke gave him a shallow nod and said, “Then I will do my best to do so.”

“Good.” Kurosaki settled back on his heels, a pleased air about him. “Thank you, Hat’n’Clogs.”

Kisuke huffs a laugh and straightens up a bit, fidgeting with his hat and doing his best not to rub at his still stinging cheek. “Well, I suppose if no one else wishes to add anything—” he paused and cast a wary glance over the rest of the teens, waiting for someone, anyone, to speak up. But no one did, not even Rerugen, despite the man watching him intently.

The moment their eyes met, another brush of clear water sensation slid down his spine and settled into his wings, making Kisuke twitch at the unexpectedness of it all.

(Oh, that wasn’t good, that wasn’t good at all.)

(No one thought kind things about him after watching him apologize.)

“Ah, well, as I was saying!” Kisuke continued with as much cheer as he could, flashing a smile at all the teens to mask his growing discomfort. “If no one has anything else to add, then I suppose it’s time to head home!”

(The sooner he could tuck himself away in his lab, the better.)

(He needed to see, needed to know—)

(Just a little longer.)

(He could wait.)

(He could.)

[transsexualhamlet]

asmr i psychoanalyze my favorite war criminal, aka calling out norman the essay

basically all of my thoughts on norman on one callout post because i care him (both manga and anime are discussed)

LINK TO RAY PSYCHOANALYSIS:  https://chaoticgaymess.tumblr.com/post/646749875570196480/ray-81194-the-long-explanation 

this is going to be ungodly long so here’s a keep reading, essay below the cut

((tw for suicidal ideation and self harm, brief discussion of eating disorders))

Disclaimer: no shipping is included here this is just about norman also they’re kids who call each other siblings

Thoughts: So you may be thinking, Rowan, why do you yell about the colorless war criminal so often? Well the answer lies in your honor the court hates to see a girlboss winning. Norman is a girlboss :) Yes norman is a tiny twink who can't lift a milk jug. And he is a girlboss :) Obviously I don't condone, um, eugenics and all, but that's not the point the point is that he satisfies my need for more characters like Levi motherfucking Calder from Unwind because I’m apparently an edgy 13 year old. Also all of his problems are violently things I can fix and I keep him around as a pet project because someone needs to give him a hug and slap him on the face

I diagnose him with things: 

-pisces man :pensive:

-is he albino? Not literally. Is his skin so pale he would catch fire if he went outside at noon? Yes.

-autism: Yes I’m aware that calling him autistic makes him, problematic rep by perpetuating the autism unfeeling savant stereotype whatever but have you considered i’m autistic and I’m projecting also he’s L with standards? Anyway traits of AuTism he has: hyper   fixation, canonically breaks and fixes things over and over because like ofc he does, doesn’t understand Emotion, hyperaware of body language at the same time as it all somehow flying over his head, low empathy, sensory experiences™, min maxed in certain areas, and I don’t think he’s got social interaction quite right? There’s something off about it

-gifted kid (derogatory) This is self explanatory but basically him being the smartest and the best in a competitive environment caused most of his issues, such as the perfectionism, the need to succeed, the lack of self esteem and ridiculously high expectations on himself, giving himself no breaks or time to relax, the “i must be productive with every second of my day or i will die” deal, the “peaked at 11” thing, the way in which he goes through life like there’s going to be a fucking test on it

-Eldest Daughter™ lmao. Norman’s always had to be mature, he’s always had to be the best, he’s always had to do the things Ray got out of bc he’s a snitch and Emma got out of because Isabella likes her. Norman gets respect from Isabella only if he excels, and her bar for him is astronomical. He doesn’t have the Mommy Issues that Ray has, but it’s because for him Isabella basically just reflected his expectations on himself, whereas with Ray it was more personal.

-low empathy (part of the autism thing): this one needs more explanation, but it’s not a bad thing in and of itself. Cognitive empathy is a thing and he can use it, but he does not instinctively understand other people’s emotions, or even recognize them properly, especially when the person is not like himself. This is obvious in Emma. Man has no fucking clue what’s going on in her head or why she does what she does, but he can predict what she will do in any given situation very well. He could understand the suicide attempt from ray he predicted more because Ray’s an easier equation to solve, and someone who’s more similar to him. I know he gets it because, well, motherfucker’s just as self desctructive as him, just in a more dignified manner.

-he’s got some sort of chronic illness. This is also me projecting and a headcanon but he’s got something going on, even before lambda pumped him full of growth hormones or whatever which they maybe should have Not Done but oh well. (I assume this just didn’t happen in the anime, since he’s still so fucking short) But he's So weak. He passed out when it was too hot. He passed out when it was too cold. He can’t open a pickle jar. His skin is too pale and he’s skinny af. He’s much more prone to sickness and probably has asthma too? But in the case that he did actually have something going on, I don’t think grace field would see the need to treat it, if it didn’t impact the quality of his meat? Isabella’s probably just “you have chronic pain and you get migraines? Great, take some tylenol and do some calculus.” Can’t say that probably helped anything.

personality type: ISTJ

Basically, he’s the most boring personality type to exist, and personally as an enfp i do not respect him. But basically this means he’s a fucking nerd that gets his projects done for school the day they’re assigned, is probably the president of the Anime Student Council™, and could probably get away with premeditated murder (ok actual istjs this is a joke don’t skin me)

The only trait that norman doesn’t have on the istj thing is telling the truth. Yeah, he values the truth, but like, that doesn’t apply to him, clearly. Bitch is a notorious liar.

The only other personality type he has any similarity with is intj, which is the same except it’s more rare and a purple theme instead of a blue theme. Sadly, that’s not him though, because although he can care more about some kinds of philosophy overall this isn’t the case and ray already occupies this personality type tbh. 

strengths and weaknesses: This one’s kind of obvious, but he is aside from the crazy insane intelligence good at planning. Extremely good at planning. He can predict any outcome and figure out how to prevent it, using all his resources. For example he’s physically weak and someone could literally just walk up and stab him, but it doesn’t impede his progress on his goals because he’s surrounded himself with strong, mentally inferior people who would die for him in a heartbeat. He never gets stuck in some “everything is shit and i can’t do anything” deal like Emma and Ray do, he always works through it and has confidence in his abilities (in as much as he will solve the problem or die™. Weaknesses other than his twink body include his Low Wisdom score. It’s funny how he’s often associated with an owl, the mans is 14. He thinks he knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t. Plus obviously his fundamental misunderstanding of so much of everything going on around him, the fact that he lies not just to the world but himself, his refusal to take care of himself and his incredible cowardice. His achilles heel is being forced to, actually confront his actions.

what he likes about himself: He does pride himself on his mental abilities, and his judgement, which in his opinion is the only correct opinion and the only correct way. In the past, he likes being seen as a leader, he likes being responsible for other people. He likes his ability to manipulate and lie, because he sees it as an asset, and I honestly think he enjoys being william minerva more than he enjoys being Norman. He prides himself on his unhealthy expectations and the fact that he is able to meet them. Honestly, he does think he’s better than everyone else, mentally, though it’s humbled by his self hatred. Cursed thought: If Norman had self esteem he would be light yagami. 

what he doesn’t like about himself/insecurities: Oh god, nearly everything. His appearance, his status, his superiority, his physical inability, his own mess of a mind, also have I mentioned his appearance. He’s obsessed with self control. He wants everything he sees wrong with himself gone. And I understand why having control of everything is necessary and appealing, everything for him has always been rigid and planned out from moment one, he was even more regulated in lambda, and though he desperately wants to Not Be Food, he has no idea what to do with the chains now that he’s broken out of them. So he just wraps them around himself. Regulates to an unhealthy degree when he sleeps, what he eats, when he actually takes even minimal care of his own problems, what he looks like, how much of himself he lets show, the expressions on his face, the literal thoughts inside his own head he will shut down if they are not Correct. It’s literal self harm. Norman, please stop it.

motivations/goals in life/general philosophy: To be honest, I’m not sure he knows what he wants. He sure thinks he does, he could sure give you a memorized answer, but it means nothing. He wants to excel. He wants Emma to be happy. He wants to be perfect and for that to make everything perfect. But he doesn’t realize everything he’s working towards will do pretty much the opposite of that. He’s a crippling perfectionist, and pretty much everything he does is motivated by his fear of failing. He picks the certain path, he doesn’t wait for anyone else, he doesn’t care if it’s not nice. Emma foils that a most of the time because he cares about her, but it can only go so far, especially after he’s had so much time without her to develop a Complex. His philosophy is very contradictory, basically the tokyo ghoul “everything bad that happens to you stems from a lack of ability”. All of his problems are his fault. All the world’s problems are his to fix. If he can’t fix them, it’s his fault, it’s because he wasn’t strong enough, and not being perfect condemns someone forever, including himself.

how he’s perceived by others vs how he actually is: In most people there wouldn’t truly be much of a difference, but with Norman things are different, because, well, most of his personality in grace field is a put on, as well as the tough guy dictator thing he radiates after lambda. How he appears to someone is determined by the context of their meeting- the kids at grace field see him as a nerdy, weakish, pretty boring kid who is really caring and kind. The researchers at lambda see an obedient, beaten down and perfectionistic boy. The lambda kids see him as an infallible leader, ruthless and genius, a good man who knows what’s right. But in truth none of that is him. It’s a fucking chess game to him, putting on different faces, lying and pretending and treating everyone differently. In truth? He’s a fucking coward. He’s scared out of his mind and he’s tired and he can’t take pain, he’s obsessed with reaching some goal he deems is necessary that in the end is going to be his death because he doesn’t want to face the consequences of his actions. He’s taken on the role of someone evil, though deep down he’s not, he feels it’s easier to live that way because it strips him of his conscience. 

interpersonal relationships: In general, Norman sees all relationships in a pretty dim light. He sees everyone as black and white, for the most part, and other people make no sense to him intuitively, he has to figure them out like a puzzle. He’s manipulative and not particularly kind, but he follows all societal expectations to a T, overly focused on his appearance and placing the person he’s interacting with into a Category™. So he can be truly kind, to people he feels deserve it, to people who he values and doesn’t see flaws in. He gets incredibly attached to people he loves, protective, though he often doesn’t take their own feelings on the matter into consideration, and he’s ruthless with anyone who he deems a bad person. With people he understands and relates to, though, things can be different. If he sees someone as like himself, he will drop all the social interaction police bullshit and cut to the chase of whatever he wants or needs from them, and he’s not very forgiving in any manner, if he thinks what someone did is actually bad.

Emma: Norman obviously cares a lot about Emma, and honestly views her as better than anyone else. He realizes her moral integrity and all of the things she has and he doesn’t, and admires it. Because of his black and white view, Emma is like an angel to him. She couldn’t do anything wrong if she tried. But he comes to treat her as something to be protected instead of respected, and although he realizes she wouldn’t like what he’s doing, he fundamentally cannot empathize with her and doesn’t try to understand her. Their personalities are very literally opposite. Norman really needs to fucking listen to her. And Emma needs to understand that Norman doesn’t have a single ounce of empathy and you really do need to spell it out for him. Emma can only convince him when she has logical reasons for her actions, which she, doesn’t often have. And Emma gave Norman too much slack, because she didn’t see past the surface, and Ray never wanted to warn her, even though he knew the dude was showing a bunch of red flags, because you know. It was kind of an unspoken deal between them. (on ray’s part)

Ray: His relationship with Ray is a lot more complicated than with Emma. He understands Ray, where he doesn’t understand Emma, and he can see right through anything Ray does. And this makes things really tense between them, because Ray doesn’t, take kindly to being psychoanalyzed. If someone perceives him he will deck them and Norman is just there silently perceiving him at all times when Emma doesn’t see it. They are both constantly in competition with each other, but they care about each other a lot, though it’s kind of in a derogatory way. They both recognize each other as fundamentally fucked up, and silently agree never to bring it up with Emma. They’re nice to each other when she’s around, but all pretenses disappear when she’s gone. Ray is always frustrated with Norman, because Norman’s never been intimidated by him, and though he tries his best not to be vulnerable around him, Norman can always see through it, whereas Ray can’t crack Norman’s fake fucking smile no matter what he does. Norman will always take Emma’s side, and doesn’t see Ray as a good person at all, but he still understands and can excuse him, he takes measures to be… worse than Ray, which is better in his mind, because it’s rational, and ‘not selfish’.

Isabella: She has always had ridiculously high expectations for Norman, and treats him kind of harshly compared to the others. Bitch has heat stroke and Isabella’s first question is a calculus problem instead of like, “are you ok”. She knows he doesn’t complain about anything ever and she doesn’t stop him from being Terrible to himself, because it makes her job easier. They want smart kids, not mentally adjusted kids. She does really care for all of them, but she basically overrides it, she gives them what they want, not what they need, lets them be exactly what they’re making themselves. Isabella is distant with Ray but gives him anything he wants, she’s close and super nice with Emma, but Norman is… it’s weird. Isabella is proud of him because he meets her astronomically high bar. But at the same time, Norman never really cared for her that much and has never pretended to. Once they discover The Thing, though, he has a revelation, and it doesn’t take him long to switch his entire perspective about her. He’s pretty much like. Oh. She’s like me. That explains it, time to treat her like I treat myself: fucking brutally. Passive aggressive as hell. The kind of energy the :) emoticon at the end of an email gives. He does like just go “yeah we should kill her” at one point, which. You know, ok. When he got shipped out it was hhhh really interesting because Isabella knew full well he knew he was walking to his death and Norman was like “are you Truly Happy?” and just went :) and she was like h u h and tried to get him to talk while they were walking there because she feels Bad about it and he just. Did not. He didn’t say a single word just kind of smiled menacingly at her and I think it was half a sort of rebellion and half because he viewed her as similar to himself and therefore felt no need to put up any front with her, no words were necessary for him to impart exactly how he felt about it

Lambda kids: His relationship with the lambda kids is weird and bittersweet. I think he really truly does care about them, they were in a similar situation to his and he wants them to get what they want. However it is not a healthy or beneficial relationship, they see him as a god and don’t realize that he’s killing himself to give them what they want, he’s basically adopted them when out of anyone norman’s the one that should least be in charge of kids. I think he’s honestly younger than them but I’m not sure if they even know. He acts like their fucking mom, and that’s from what he thinks mothers are like… like isabella?? Giving them what they want, not what they need, lying to them, showing a front, caring deeply for them but at the same time using them for his own ends. And it’s not helpful for him. He thinks he knows what they need, but what he’s doing is what they want. What they need is therapy,(and so does norman), and he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with using them as weapons because they love him. It makes him feel good, to be seen as perfect, to have people who don’t know how weak he really is. But it’s only making him worse, and he’s enabling everything the lambda kids are doing wrong as well. They need like, Yuugo and Lucas. Some actual adults who are actually wise and have the ability and the knowledge to take care of them and understand their mental problems and maybe actually address them. And actually be nice to them. But um sadly. 

what he’s doing wrong: It’s pretty obvious, but… Norman, you maybe *shouldn’t* commit genocide? You’re not helping emma, you’re not making anything better. You’re not helping the lambda kids, you’re enabling them. You’re not helping your friends from grace field, you’re ignoring what they want. You’re not helping the world, you’re eradicating an entire race from the face of the earth and murdering the poor for the crimes of the fucking 1%. You’re not being a martyr, you’re a selfish piece of shit liar you little coward, you just want an easy way out and you want to die on your bloody fucking hill instead of admitting you’re wrong. Grow up, cringe little man.

why he went wrong: I think most of the reason this happened was the way he was raised combined with the kind of person he is. Norman would have turned out fine, if there has been good adults in his life who actually cared about his well being. Instead he got people who just wanted to control him and make him what they needed, and family who largely didn’t realize there was anything wrong. Ray being an ass to him most of forever probably didn’t help but well, that’s just Ray. Even then, he would have managed alright if he escaped with the rest of the kids because he would never have been separated from the experiences that caused the rest of them to realize demons weren’t all evil. In lambda he didn’t have anyone supporting him or telling him when things went too far, so he fell into relying on himself alone, pushing himself further with absolutely no limits. All he saw was enemies and allies, and things got stratified. He never had a lucas or a yuugo or mujika when he would have needed it, instead he found children who wanted him to be in charge and a world that made it so he had to be. Everything was an echo chamber for his worst thoughts, so they just became more and more dominant.

what he needs: To put it simply, he needs Emma and Ray to cut to the chase and slap him across the face and make him take care of himself. He needs to be forced to see everything for what it really is- this edgy 14 year old committing atrocities to feel better about himself? He needs to be told that what he’s doing is irrational, because in reality, it is. There are better solutions that he’s ignoring, both to his own suffering and the demons, and the way he’s going now no one will truly be happy because of it, that there is no requirement that things be perfect and this bullshit doesn’t make him stronger. He needs someone responsible to take the fucking dagger out of his hands. He also needs someone to babysit him and make him go to bed at a reasonable time.

i describe his personality through songs on my spotify playlist for him:

-outrunning karma by alec benjamin: this one super applies because it calls him out for making shitty decisions, being manipulative and a liar, and having blood on his hands in a very calm and subdued manner, that he knows this is wrong and yet he chooses to keep running faster and faster towards destruction, that he means to escape it through death

-empty by boyinaband and jaiden: yes this is a song about anorexia yes it also applies to norman i’m not saying norman literally has an eating disorder (but honestly it wouldn’t be far out of character if he did) but metaphorically this applies to his method of ignoring his needs, both emotional and physical, in favor of seeming in control 

-toxic thoughts by faith marie: this one speaks to his gifted kid trauma. Man’s got perfectionism running his entire soul. He’s terrified of failing, because he’s always been at the very top, he’ll beat himself up over any miniscule mistake and forces himself to keep at bad habits that keep him Productive, but he won’t ask for help no matter how much he’s suffering because that would be failing, he fights with his mind, this song basically tells him “yeah i feel you but you need to stop that”

-no time to die by billie eilish: ignore the romantic overtones but this is emma and norman, emma who trusted norman and was lied to, betrayed, for norman’s greater good, and norman who refuses to feel or hurt because of it, who refuses to apologize or see himself as wrong, pushes forward because he’s going to Pass Away

-achilles come down by gang of youths: hhhhh it's like. His vibe. Obviously you can disregard the lifestyle specific shit but it's. It's achilles come down you have to understand it’s like the same deal as friend, please just like french and longer

-friend, please by 21 pilots: i feel like i don't have to explain this one but it’s more to the manga (not the anime where he kind of figures out he done did wrong by himself instead of committing unforgivable sins and still going yeah this is valid before emma is like holy fuck). He is like sorry emma I cannot fix anything I’m going to die :) *coughs blood* and emma going like stop it stop it stop it fuck you see you fucked up and i forgive you just stop don’t walk away while he’s like “no<3”

why im a repressed little norman kinnie even tho he’s my exact opposite: I don’t generally kin ppl like norman, honestly he’s an infj I have no clue how it happened but I’m pretty sure it’s because of my intense desire to project onto a little man who cannot lift a milk jug and has chronic pain and decides you know what I AM tired of being nice i DO wanna go apeshit. Also he’s a twink. A little bastard. He’s a terrible person and I go mood every time he does anything. I said mood when he fell out of a tree. Don’t know what this says about me, I swear I wouldn’t commit no genocide. He’s like the inverse of Yoichi Saotome, and somehow i kin him too. Damn.

Miscellaneous headcanons:

-man’s SO attached to his william minerva cloak. He’s a wispy little bitch, you know he’s wearing that thing inside the house, he’s fucking cold. It also makes him Look Important he can retreat into it like an emo middle schooler with an oversized sweatshirt

-although you could probably get Mad street cred from having two whole brands you know he’s not gonna whip it out and show off his lambda thing he’s incredibly self conscious and his chest hasn’t seen the sun in years

-norman’s got MAD laundry skills to be able to wear like, all white all the time while constantly murdering people. I think he’s the only one who knows to do the laundry. And Ray is the only one who knows how to cook.

-but even then there’s gotta still be a few questionable stains on that thing, but if anyone asks he’s like “ketchup” “I’ve literally never seen you eat anything with that much color” “ketchup :)” *coughs blood*

-he’s probably thought “well i have not literally coughed blood yet today so I am not legally obligated to take care of myself”

-He probably adopted much of his current personality from taking on the persona of william minerva. I’m calling him out for being like me, he’s a blank motherfucker, he absorbs personality traits from characters he plays! He’s just not in theatre so it’s a bit more intense!

-the first time he sees barbara Eating Demon Meat he kinda stares and goes oh cool! not for me and violently exits the room. Like it's hilarious bc he thinks that's really gross on a moral level though he understands why she would do it 

-Which is even funnier bc I’m not sure about the canon on this but there was That Chapter Cover that one time that kinda seemed to imply norman eating demon meat which i absolutely latched onto because I’m terrible. He was just politely eating it. With a knife and fork like why dude. As to a possible reason for him doing that I can come up with, of course barbara does it out of spite, but man we don’t know the properties, if it had some sort of painkilling aspect to it or it was like, caffeine, you know he would, but he would Definitely not talk about it

-I kinda disagree with what the anime did in episode eight? It was good I liked it and the imagery was fantastic but also have you considered Norman could not kill someone with his own hands if he tried, or even physically injure them? That’s what his minions are for shawty. That doesn’t make it any less bad, of course, but the manga captured it perfectly by the fact of he carries around a dagger and a scepter in the capitol battle, but he never even raises it out of more than intimidation. He walks through calmly like he’s not scared at all but he makes sure all the lambda kids do all the actual murder, he just stands there impartially, clearly The Mastermind, as the kids fucking murder the queen of the demons. And I think that’s more profound because he’s, a coward. And he doesn’t realize being the one who orders the strike makes you just as responsible as the one who sticks the knife in someone. The knife is just there to Compensate™  for the fact that he weighs like eighty pounds.

-he’s more of like lady macbeth (because he’s a girlboss) than macbeth himself. He has blood on his hands, but it’s the kind of blood that you can’t wash off. He never killed anyone himself, and he cannot admit he never would have been able to.

-the last thing is that there are definitely epic things about the anime, episode 8 was my favorite so far, goddamn that imagery and the bitch walking through the city while it burns down with the screaming asmr going on behind him my god. We stan. But like the downside of, letting Emma and Ray get to him before he commits first degree murder makes the whole thing lose a lot of his value. In the manga (oh my god look at me being a pretentious manga fan please) it fit more of his ideas- he never backed down, and he planned for Emma coming and trying to stop him. Of course he wanted Emma to stop him, he wanted it with all his fucking heart he was pleading for it to happen but the man wouldn’t give himself what he wanted if he was held at gunpoint. He knew she’d come and he made absolutely sure she wouldn’t be able to stop him. So when she came and he said “you’re too late”??? It kind of said it all, in the fact that he was disappointed that he got his way. He still thought he did the right thing, but deep down there where he shoved all his thoughts and feelings he desperately wanted to be saved from himself.

So yeah, those are my thoughts. Feel free to eviscerate me if these are not Correct he is just my favorite girlboss who I feel the need to yell at

[freakygirlie]

J2 Fanfic Rec List <3

In honour of all the j2 content we have recieved, and the amount of fanfiction I have read, I decided to make a rec-list nobody asked me for but EVERYONE has to read k? Capiche? Make sure to heed the warnings, and read the tags. These are some beautiful gems by very talented authors and I’ve only scratched the surface of it.

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The Courtship Of Jensen’s Co-Star{Masterpost} by qblackheart-  

Summary:- Somewhere in the time between a handshake and a hug, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki went from being reel-life brothers to real-life best friends, and complete strangers to cosmic soul mates, no rhyme or reason to it that either of them could ever see. Jared was everything Jensen was not: friendly, funny, and full of life; one in six-point-whatever billion the Earth’s population currently stood at. Life was awesome. Work was amazing. Everything was fine until Jared kissed Jensen. Everything was peachy until Jensen fell in love. With desperate times unexpectedly calling for desperate measures, Jensen called Chad Michael Murray for relationship advice – because being in love led to temporary insanity obviously – so it really didn't surprise him that he couldn’t seem to win when it came to wooing Jared. Still, Pisces must’ve been in a really good place in the night sky or something because suddenly, right smack dab in the middle of the miserable courtship of his co-star, Jensen discovered that maybe loving Jared was all he needed to do to win his heart. And luckily for Jensen, loving Jared was also the one thing he did best. ~112k~

The Play Nice Proviso{Masterpost} by qblackheart-

Summary:- When Jensen Ackles first met Jared Padalecki, it was most definitely not love at first sight. It wasn’t even like at first sight. In fact, Jensen hated him, and he had a few good reasons as to why. So what if his new co-star was oblivious to his one-sided warfare? Jensen could deal. Apart from when he couldn’t. So when it came down to picking between Padalecki and his peace of mind, the choice seemed clear. Except for the fact that The Network had his balls in a vice, leaving him stuck with Supernatural, stuck with his idiot co-star, and worst of all, stuck with a ‘Play Nice’ Proviso added to his contract. Well, he could play nice. He would play so nice that the world was going to think that he and Jared Padalecki were the bestest friends in the history of best friends. It was unfortunate then that no one had ever told Jensen what happened when an immovable object met an irresistible force; no one had ever thought to mention that there was a thin line between hate and love; and nothing, absolutely nothing, could have possibly prepared him for Playing Nice with Jared Padalecki. ~70k~

And The Rest, As They Say Is History by Raina_at-

Summary:- Struggling actor Jensen takes a job as big-shot movie star Jared Padalecki’s dogsitter. And the rest, as they say, is history. ~17k~

reinventing love ‘verse{Masterpost} by _mournthewicked-

Summary:- With high school graduation less than two weeks away, best friends Jared and Jensen find themselves scrambling to tie up a few loose ends before they’re forced into adulthood. Jared ropes Jensen into helping him get the alcohol for Sandy's graduation party, and what should be a simple night of partying ends up turning into a series of mishaps and misunderstandings that all come to head when Jensen finally tells Jared the secret he wasn't ever planning on spilling. If high school has to end, they're going out with a bang. (A J2 spin on the movie Superbad)  ~200k+~

My Heart Don’t Beat The Way It Used To by Raina_at- 

Summary:- Jared and Jensen have been best friends forever, and nothing’s going to ever change that, not even senior slump, or college anxieties, or even Jared getting an annoying cheerleader girlfriend. Or so Jensen thought. ~26k~

Can’t Point The Way To Your Heart by Belyste-

Summary:- AU in the vein of movies like Hitch - Jensen's an unofficial advice guru, and Jared's his latest project. Except while Jensen's supposed to be helping Jared end up with the woman of his dreams, he falls for him instead. ~33k~

Something Borrowed, Something Blue by Belyste-

Summary:- When Jared desperately needs a date for his brother's wedding, he hires an escort. Jensen's the perfect fake boyfriend, except pretty soon things get a little too real. Based on The Wedding Date. ~38k~

True Colors by muni-playground-

Summary:- Jared is a mentally challenged young man with a very special gift. Jensen is an executive with nothing in his life but work. They meet by accident and discover a connection that defies explanation. ~32k~

The Billionaire’s Reluctant Husband by house_of_lantis-

Summary:- Billionaire Jensen is a playboy and he needs a husband pronto if he wants to keep his company and his inheritance. After a chance meeting with quiet and hardworking Jared, Jensen decides that he’s found the perfect candidate. The arrogant Jensen thinks he’s got Jared in the bag, but when his new husband refuses to sleep with him and doesn’t really even seem to like him, Jensen convinces himself that he’s happy with his open marriage lifestyle. But Jensen becomes increasingly obsessed with his new husband and discovers the truth behind Jared’s dark past. ~98k~

Project Get Jared Banged{Masterpost} by soulmatecest-

Summary:- Jared's had the best stepbrother in the world in Jensen since the age of five — growing up together and more attached than usual brothers would —, only realizing that he’s in love with Jensen by the time he hits thirteen. After five more years of Jared's impossible crush, he knows his life turns and spins around his brother. Luckily for Jared, he and Jensen have always been closer than other siblings, making his feelings seem a little less hopeless. Or that is until Jensen announces he’s moving to Austin to live with his girlfriend next year, leaving Jared's perfectly built Jensen-centric world crashing to the ground. That’s when Chad and Sandy decide to convince Jared that moving on and letting go of his feelings are the only way to get through his lost love for Jensen. Yet their plan to get Jared out of his shell and over his stepbrother doesn't sit well with one person: Jensen himself, who realizes that the more Jared tries to pull away, the more he wants to get him back closer. ~120k~

Burn The Land and Boil The Sea by nyxocity-

Summary:- Eight years ago, Jared spent his entire summer on a tropical island off the coast of Mexico with Jensen. He fell head over heels for Jensen, but their lives were going separate directions at the end of the summer, and they never quite got together. Jensen left for Greenpeace and Jared went off to college—but he never truly got over Jensen. Now, in present day, Jared is a marine biologist working on a project in the gorgeous panhandle of Alaska. He’s amazed to discover the captain of the ship he’s chartered is none other than Jensen Ackles himself. Jared’s overjoyed, but Jensen is less than thrilled—he’s a changed man since that summer so long ago; withdrawn, passionless and solitary. Still something of the bond between them remains, and neither of them seem to be able to escape its pull completely. When Jared’s project leads them into danger and leaves them running and fighting for their lives, Jensen’s secrets begin to come out, drawing them back together—but can they survive long enough to figure out this thing between them? ~53k~

As This Sunset Turns to Morning{Masterpost} by _mournthewicked-

Summary:- Jensen spends his life hiding who he is from the family that would never accept him if they knew. When he’s uprooted in the middle of his senior year and suddenly becomes the new kid, his carefully placed mask begins to slip. Especially when he meets Jared – a loud, outspoken spectacle of a boy that fights for everything Jensen was taught to stand against. Jared has no problem going after what he wants, and now it’s just a matter of Jensen letting himself do the same. ~86k~

Leave My Heart Out of This by elless18- (link to the timestamps)

Summary:- AU. Jensen needs to get married in order to get his grandfather’s inheritance and open his own law firm. Jared would do anything to help his best friend. The plan is simple- pretend to date, get married, get the inheritance, get divorced. But things grow complicated when one of them starts falling for his fake boyfriend. Can they find their happily-ever-after from all the lies they’ve built around them? ~35k+~

Who Watches Over Me? by nyoxicity-

Summary:- Jensen Ackles is an ex-Navy SEAL turned civilian bodyguard with a mysterious past. Jared Padalecki is a flamboyant Hollywood star known for his action movies who's been receiving death threats. The case sounds like Jensen's idea of a nightmare, and he takes it on against his better judgment. Jared drags him to clubs and parties and award ceremonies without any care for how difficult he's making Jensen's job, and to his complete lack of surprise, they hate each other. But when hate changes into passion, it begins to reveal something deeper between them, and Jensen realizes he's in over his head. Can he still do his job and keep Jared safe? Or will he fall prey to his greatest fear and fail someone... again? ~96k~

The Billionaire’s Bidding by Raina_at-

Summary:- When idle, slacking billionaire’s son Jensen Ackles lends a helping hand to his old childhood friend, he gets a lot more than he’s bargained for. ~31k~

Hold My Whipped Cream by dimpleforyourthoughts-

Summary:- International Best Selling Author Jensen Ackles is all kinds of specific with the details of his life. He likes privacy, writing, and coffee; black, no sugar, hold the cream. He’s become a fixture at the local coffee shop, writing from his table every day for the past two years. His vices include routine, neatness, and structure. Jensen doesn’t do messes. Then there is Jared, recent post-grad basket case, who’s been coming in every day for caffeine he doesn’t need and bringing the increasing disaster in his life with him. Jared is a mess in all the ways Jensen is not and so Jensen offers to help Jared in the only way he knows how: by buying Jared a cup of coffee. ~37k~

Operation: Mistletoe by dimpleforyourthoughts-

Summary:- FBI Agent Jensen Ackles is a damn good agent, but his devil-may-care attitude, gut instinct, and sheer dumb luck have finally run out. With his job and reputation on the line, Jensen is assigned to a new partner: the overzealous and overachieving Agent Jared Padalecki. Their mission: Infiltrate a ring of drug dealers hiding out in Suburbia in the midst of the Holiday season. The only catch? They have to pretend to be head-over-heels in love with each other. ~39k~

Regaining Sense{Masterpost} by astri13-

Summary:- A vengeful crime-boss cost Jensen not only his eyesight but also a promising career with the FBI. When the man resurfaces two years later, Jensen is not thrilled to find himself taken into protective custody, even less so when the Agent in charge turns out to be Jensen's former partner and boyfriend, Jared Padalecki. Will the two men be able to overcome their differences and work together to not only stop the bad guy but also uncover the mole in their own ranks before it is too late? ~27k~

Say You’re Mine by Belyste-

Summary:- It takes his two best friends getting engaged to make Jared realize what’s missing in his own life, but once he figures it out, he’s a man on a mission: find true love or die trying. He’s not asking for much – just the perfect soul mate to spend blissful eternity with – so when a chance meeting drops Jensen into his life (and his lap), it seems like fate. But either Jensen missed that memo or fate seems to have other ideas, because nothing works out the way Jared planned. Based loosely on S1 of How I Met Your Mother, but you don't need to have seen that to know what's going on. ~56k~

Absence From Those We Love by _mournthewicked-

Summary:- Jensen Ackles led a great life. It just wasn’t the one he planned on. Now he’s newly single, stuck at a job he hates, and sharing an apartment with his lovably psychotic best friend. When he’s given the chance to go back and do it all over again, he leaps at it. Only he soon comes to realize that no matter what’s in front of him, it’s impossible to leave the past behind. Considering what he’d be giving up, he might not even want to. (17 Again - J2 Style.) ~41k~

Change The Fate’s Design by _mournthewicked-

Summary:-  All Jensen has ever wanted to do is see the ocean. Unfortunately, that's kind of hard to do when your dad won't let you leave your house in the forest because of your magical powers. So, Jensen spends most of his days with no one but his pet hedgehog to keep him company. At least, until a guy named Jared stumbles along and offers to help him realize his dream. (A J2 spin on Disney's Tangled.) ~50k~

A Spotlight On These Desolate Dreams{Masterpost} by _mournthewicked-

Summary:- In high school, Jared Padalecki had it all. He was surrounded with rich, famous, beautiful friends and partied with young Hollywood's elite. As if all of that wasn't exciting enough, he used the tricks he learned from his grandfather to become an amateur sleuth with his billionaire best friend, Jensen Ackles, playing the role of trusty sidekick. But when he got in over his head and lost everything he once held dear, he knew that it was time to move on. That was ten years ago. Now he lives the lonely life of a hardboiled private investigator on the streets of Manhattan, and his fabulous past is nothing but a distant memory. That is, until a tragedy forces him to return to California and the world he left behind. Between juggling rabid paparazzi, sarcastic detectives, and a spurned ex-best friend, it's a wonder that he can possibly find the time to solve a murder that has left the city of angels reeling. ~50k~

Break Me, Shake Me, Hate Me, Take Me Over by orphan_account- (sorry, I can’t access the author’s account but the story’s link still works!)

Summary:- When recklessness, alcohol and a bullet to his hip sees his police career end in disgrace, alpha Jensen Ackles resigns himself to a life spent in the dregs of a bottle, aimless and filled with regrets, watching as the bills and eviction notices pile up. That is, until he's offered a job and lodging with beta lawyer Samantha Smith, as a pseudo bouncer/admin worker. It's a far cry from his previous life, but it might just be what Jensen needs to drag himself from the dark place he's in. Not only that, but little does Jensen realise that taking on the position will bring him face to face with his biggest regret; the person he walked away from three years ago in what was the worst mistake of his life... ~70k~

Whiskey River, You’re All I Got by whisperedstory-

Summary:-  Jensen's life revolves around The Whiskey Sour, the bar he inherited from his grandfather nine years ago. But with too few customers and not nearly enough profit, things are taking a turn for the worse. And then Jared Padalecki walks into Jensen's life and changes everything. ~19k~

Out Of The Silence by annie46-

Summary:-  When hardened, but lonely cop, Jensen Ackles meets Jared Padalecki in his family’s diner, he doesn’t realise that his life is about to change drastically. Jared is a complete innocent, deaf, mute and unable to communicate, he needs a friend. Can Jensen be that man? ~the word count wasn’t mentioned but if i had to take a guess, I’d say something between 20k and 30k~

The Execution Of The Last Steal by soulmatecest-

Summary:- Anyone who meets Jared Padalecki would think he has the perfect life: a college degree, a normal life and an apparently perfect fiancé, Stephen Amell, the son of a Senator with a bright future. Except for one thing: it’s all based on a lie. Five years ago, he created a new identity for himself to cut all ties to his criminal past and ex-boyfriend Jensen Ackles, a world-renowned thief. But Jared can’t run forever. A threat from his past comes back looking for him and the only person who can help him is the man he thought he left behind forever, the only person Jared’s never been able to forget. Incredibly charming and just as cocky, Jensen Ackles is a thief that is too good at his job for his own good, who would do anything to protect Jared now that his life is in danger. Years have gone by, but he has never been able to forget Jared either. And perhaps now that they are forced to escape together, Jensen might be able to do what he’s best at: steal Jared’s heart one last time and win back the only person Jensen has ever loved. ~97k~

Bring Me To Life by alienat-

Summary:-  Jared’s a shy young man, whose life has never been easy. His father hates him, his mother drinks her sorrows away and his husband Paul treats him like he is nothing more than a beautiful toy. When his husband has to go away on a business trip to Europe for two months, he sends Jared away to a ranch in the middle of nowhere to keep him under control. There, Jared meets people who show him what love, friendship and loyalty mean for the first time in his life. Can he escape his life and finally find some love and happiness for himself? ~81k~

Gunpoint{Series} by felisblanco-

Summary:-  Jensen got his childhood stolen away from him when he was ten years old. Along with his memory, his voice and every emotion that wasn’t fear, hatred or anger. Question is, can Jared help him get any of it back? And more importantly, does Jensen really want him to?

Election Day by morganaDW(morgana07)-

Summary:- Jensen's running for President with the deck already stacked against him. He's come out as gay while serving in Congress, his Vice President is a colorful Misha & his family has disowned him over his choice of partners. But that's not the worst of it...On Election Day when he should be focused on winning Jared ends up shot after stepping in front of a killer's gun to save some school children. Election Day is important but to Jensen nothing is more important than Jared and he doesn't care who knows it or if he loses so long as he can be with him. It's Jensen who winds up surprised in the end. ~8k~

A Boy At An Open Door by poor_choices-

Summary:- Jensen Ackles' life is all sorted out, until a blast from the past shows up and makes him realize he's not as happy as he thought. ~10k~

Beautiful Disaster by nyoxicity-

Summary:-  Rock Band AU. Jensen’s the lead guitarist in the number one rock band in the country. Justin’s the lead singer, and they’ve been doing this together since middle-school, been together since just after high school. As on top of the world as they are, Jensen’s starting to become disillusioned with the lifestyle and his crumbling relationship with Justin. And then he meets a new roadie on the crew named Jared who’s got a voice like an angel and a heart to match, and everything starts to change. ~96k~

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And that’s the end of it!!! These are absolutely beautiful, gorgeous and epic fanfictions and will keep you buys for days! Hope y’all enjoy these, I’m off to read more sksksksksk. Let me know if a link doesn’t work, if you like any of these in my inbox and if y’all want a part 2! Peace and J2 5 ever!!!

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

8. mystery

Mysteries at their very core are questions we have and are not answered. Questions that relentlessly itch at the back of one’s mind that cannot be scratched no matter how hard we search for them. While Inkwell ‘Inky’ or ‘the Ink Demon’ Drew never thought twice about his prophet’s oddities when he was his servant, he sure as hell was bothered by them when the masked maestro became his foe. (Set in FIFE au, timeline intentionally kept vague for spoiler reasons.)

“AAAAURRRRGHH!!”

The Ink demon screamed his head off out of frustration, ripping up false leads and throwing the confetti-fied papers into the air, bathing himself in a shower of failures and frustration. He then slammed a small, ink stained toy Bendy meant to represent Sammy down on a map of the united states, a long with an inkwell with a custom topper (shaped like his own face and body, as it was meant to represent him), A mud-stained Alice Angel doll with the halo ripped off (Allison’s rep), and a one-armed Boris toy (Tom).

He then slammed his fists over the map and plush toys over and over again instead of working on making strategies, not that anyone could blame him knowing that the former prophet had grown skilled in the arts of bullshitting his way out of situations by bullshitting himself into other situation.

“HOW IS HE- err... HOW IS IT DOING THIS?!” He buried his face in his now perfectly matched cartoon hands. “Sure, it had the lead at first, that was a given because nobody even knew it was gone until it was too late, But now?! SERIOUSLY?! HOW IS THAT STUPID EX-PROPHET OF MINE EVADING AND OUTSMARTING US AT EVERY TWIST AND TURN POSSIBLE?! HOW IS HE RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND US AND EVEN TAKING THE TIME TO TAUNT US?! IT’S A MENTALLY UNSTABLE MASKED MUSICIAN WHO’S OBSESSED WITH SHEEP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY!”

Henry, clearly woken up by the Ink Demon’s very loud shit talking his ex and wallowing in despair, wandered into the kitchen that Inky temporarily turned into his base of operation. The animator, still not awake enough to deal with this, fixed himself and the Ink demon up some midnight snacks (well, closer to 2 am snacks, but who would stop them, night snack cops?)

As the man sat down at the table, the demon leaned against him.

“Heeeeeeeeenrrrrrryyyyyyy... You’re a smart cookie and you’ve probably befriended it in several timelines. How do I get it baaaaaaaaack..?”

“The ink machine? I don’t know, guess it’s up to keeping your eyes on the news peeled and getting lucky. Sammy? Well, I don’t think you can, Inky.” Henry stated as he bit into a bologna and spray cheese sandwich. “One of the less fun parts of redemption is having to accept that not everyone can or will forgive you, especially when you’ve hurt them deeply enough and the wound’s still fresh on their end. I don’t think that Sammy’s ever going to want to see you again, unless it’s to beat you to a pulp.”

“PffftHAHAHHA! Do... do you think I cry myself to sleep over Sammy leaving me or something? That I actually MISS him?”

Henry stared at the demon blankly and raised an eyebrow of disbelief while the ink Demon’s jack-o-lantern like smile wavered.

“...Do you really think I do that?”

“Well, for someone who’s ‘completely over it and never liked it in the first place.’, you’re the most invested out of any of us in bringing him back here.  And this isn’t the first time you’ve woken me up over Sammy, it’s just the first time you haven’t been woken the house up by flooding the house with the sheer force of your eyes alone.”

The Ink demon made an embarrassed face and cleared his throat, trying to brush it off.

“Well no, I’m not looking for reconciliation between us or anything, I mean, how do I bring it back here so that it doesn’t either accidentally or intentionally use its weird abilities to &%#@ the world over?”

“I... still don’t know that pal.” Henry took another bite. “Sammy might not think like a normal person does, but it’s actually pretty smart and fast on its feet, and As the prophet, it seems to be great at finding abstract solutions to problems. I’d hate to sound like a defeatist, but it seems like the best thing to do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

“BUT HE NEVER WAS THIS COMPETENT BACK IN THE LOOPS!”

“We aren’t in the loops anymore, Inkwell.” Henry sighed. “None of us are bound to scripts written by someone who hated our guts.”

“Okay fine. But how does this explain the teleporting?”

“...The what?”

“Teleporting! I brushed it off back in the loops but he’s doing it more and more and I’m getting really annoyed. I gave it SOME perks that only come with being my prophet, but not TELEPORTING, I’m not an idiot. And I’m like, 58-93 percent sure Joey didn’t do it either..? On one hand: he’d TOTALLY give Sammy teleporting powers JUST to peeve me off. On the other hand: WHY WOULD HE HAND GIFT SAMMY THE ABILITY TO FREELY WALK OUT OF THE LOOP WHENEVER IT %&#@ING WANTED?!”

The Ink Demon snatched a sandwich off the pile and angrily bit into it. Meanwhile behind the both of them, a dark robed figure wearing a featureless white mask wandered into the kitchen.

“I want to stay mad, but this is a really good sandwich.”

“Thank you.”

The figure looked through the pantry before pulling out a package of cookies with a sticky note written in Welsh on it. 

“Good evening freed bellwether, and decent enough evening to you, false shepherd.”

“Good Evening Sleep Paralysis demon that whispers of singing the song that rebirths the universe at the foot of my bed.” Henry deadpanned.

“G’Evening masked stranger who somehow teleported into our house and has a voice and mannerisms that are suspiciously identical to my missing ex-prophet.”

The cloaked figure sat down at the table with them and passed its sleeve over the cookie package while whispering something neither of them could make out, this apparently broke a magic seal on the cookies that neither of them knew about.

The Ink demon wordlessly offered a sandwich to the figure, who hesitantly accepted it and gave a few cream and cookie sandwiches in return.

For a handful of minutes, the trio ate their food in silence until the dots in the Ink Demon’s brain connected.

“Hey wait a *$@#ing minute... SAMMY LAWRENCE?!”

“...Oh Shit.”

“Inky...” Henry grabbed onto the Ink Demon’s elbow. “Before you do anything ask yourself if 

The figure froze for several tense seconds, slowly closed up the cookie package, hid it in its robes, raised the sandwich to his face as if taking a bite out of it when the mask covered its entire face and had no hole in it for it to eat out of, and it BOLTED with the sandwich stuck on where its mouth would be.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?!” The Ink demon shouted after as he gave chase. “WHY IS YOUR SKIN BROWN?! WHY DO YOU EVEN HAVE SKIN?! WHERE’D YOU STICK THE INK MACHINE?! HOW DO YOU COME BACK WHEN YOU’RE SUPPOSEDLY LIVING IT UP IN EUROPE?! WHY DO OTHER PEOPLE KNOW YOU WHEN THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STUDIO?! HOW DO YOU EAT WHILE WEARING A FULL FACE MASK WITH NO HOLES IN IT?!”

Not answering any of those questions, the masked figure ran like mad with the full force of the inky typhoon at its heels, the latter tearing through everything behind it and the demon conducting it still shouted questions as he chased his prey.

“HOW THE %*#@ DO YOUR ABILITIES WORK?! WHAT’S WITH ALL THE PLANT $#*! YOU’VE BEEN DOING?! AND WHAT’S WITH ALL THE GREEK AND BIBLICAL MYTHS IN YOUR BASES?! DOES MUSIC EFFECT YOUR MAGICAL ABILITIES OR NOT?! DO YOU EVEN HAVE MAGIC OR ARE YOU JUST REALLY $(@*ING GOOD AT SLIGHT OF HAND STUFF NOW?!”

The pair briefly paused to open the window without breaking it, climbed through, the figure reminded the Ink Demon to close it on the other side, and the pair continued to LEG IT and the Demon continued to shout questions.

“WHY DO YOU EVEN COME BACK WHEN YOU ALWAYS LEAVE WITHOUT EXPLANATION?!”

He shouted to the empty air, completely losing the figure to the outside wilderness and being answered by nothing but the echo of his own question.

“W-why...” The demon slunk down to the grassy floor. “Why does my chest hurt so much when I think about us and how we used to be?”

“I’m pretty sure that feeling is guilt.” Henry offered as he threw a blanket over the disheartened demon’s shoulders.

“YEah..” The demon’s voice cracked with emotion. “ThAT’s probably it...” he sniffled.

“C’mon.” Henry brought the demon back up to his (feet? foot? tail?) brought the demon off the ground. “Let’s go back inside.”

“...Hey Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you can answer the other questions I have for Sammy too?”

“Some of them, maybe.”

As the pair walked back to their house, the masked figure let out a sigh of relief.

[faeroviolet]

Mystery chocopie(fanfic)

Content:

⚫ English version

⚫ Русская версия(внизу)

Сredits: Studio au by @zu-is-here​ other in the end, since It’s the spoiler...

Attention: there can be many letters, words and sentences here. Contains Out of Character(OOC), a lot of humor, hellcrazy, anarchy of imagination, strange action anomaly and other weird thing... Sorry, not sorry...

There can be mistakes because ... no one has ever said whether I write English badly or not. They never said at all whether my stories were interesting or they like them, they never said anything at all. Nothing ,_,

   Today is such a wonderful day: a clear blue sky with a bright sun shining above. It's about 1pm now. And the work at the studio is in full swing. Despite the bustle that soars throughout the pavilion, there is a sense of calm and peace. This's a kind of harmony that nothing can break, except...

Sudden crash and noise. The shout coming from the room was so loud that it could be heard outside. Even a small bird, peacefully sleeping on a branch, had to wake up abruptly and also hastily leave its seat, sleepily flapping its wings. What's going on? Someone is being killed... or given to domestic violence?! If someone passed by, then from what he heard, the soul would go into his heels and would not dare to climb out of there before its owner gets to the house, you never know what you can imaginate.

As they say: there's no smoke without fire. So who started the fire? It's easy to find out by watching what is happening through the window of the third floor.

A skeleton with purple lights in his eye sockets spoke in raised tones with the same skeleton as him, only the pupils were golden in color. Apparently the first one scolded the second one for something:

“Dream, where are choco-pies?!” Without stopping to ask the same question, Nightmare fiercely poked his finger into a silver tray, on which crumbs from the sweets that were recently lying there were still visible.

“N-nightmare, I didn't touch anything.“ Still defending himself with the same response, Dream held out his palms in front of himself.

“Don’t lie!!! When I came here you were rummaging around in the lockers, and there was already an empty tray on the table. How do you explain this to me?“

“Firstly, I came and everything was like this.” The light-eyed skeleton tried to calm the unexpected ardor of his brother. “Secondly, what are you talking about? And... why did it make you so angry?”

“Ugh, I brought some tasty treats to everyone... Or did you not see when we were going?” Nightmare breathed deeply. “I put them on a tray, but especially for myself I put one on another plate and put it where no one would take it for sure.” He pointed to the kitchen table behind where the mentioned utensil item was. “There were 99 choco-pies and one mine: generally - 100! And all of them are gone! What can you say to that, brother?”

“Oh, Nighty, I don't know. I didn't even look that way.”

“But where could they just go? So many...”

For a moment, Nightmare stopped and thought, his anger subsided. He walked over to the wall and sat down in a small armchair, putting his finger to his chin and looking up at the ceiling. Dream decided to join the pondering of this situation and sat down in a armchair nearby. But, unfortunately, not a single thought entered their skulls. Of course, how could this happen? It is simply impossible for such a large amount to disappear at once! Nightmare, desperate to find a clue to this mystery, sighed and slightly wilted: he did the wrong thing, yelling at Dream. After all, his brother isn’t guilty of anything, and he, hastening to conclusions, cursed him like that. He ought to apologize, so turned to him, about to say this, but his gaze caught on something else, and he stopped before even started.

Just in the corridor passed another skeleton, his eye sockets were hollow and faint black streaks were visible on the cheekbones below them. He greedily licked the bones of his fingers and was about to go to his room, when Nightmare ran into him. He looked at him dumbfounded, and Killer did not at all understand the meaning of the look of this weirdo.

“What's wrong... Nightmare?”

“It's you!” The skeleton with purple eyelights shouted right into his nonexistent ears.

Immediately after Nightmare, Dream ran up. He anxiously began to drag his brother, who was firmly caught on the other’s shoulders, muttering something about stepping on the same rake. The older twin calmed down a bit, and both skeletons, along with Killer, returned to their armchairs. The brothers settled down on the seats, and the last one continued to stand beside him, still not delving into what was happening. What was the problem?

“What actually happened?” Killer nevertheless asked the question that tormented him, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head to the side.

“It's just that Nightmare was furious that someone ate 100 choco-pies, among which was his, specially postponed!“ The younger twin said unceremoniously. At this explanation of the situation, Nightmare slightly frowned: the manner in which it was pronounced, he didn’t like.

“Because you obviously have something to eat... Look! How tou smiled and slobbering your fingers!”

Killer reacted calmly to such a stinging statement.

“Oh, this...” With a sly grin, he licked his still sweet finger once more. “Ccino and I were playing.”

“What?! Without me?” Nightmare almost fell from his chair and, jumping up from his seat, wanted to be indignant, but stopped and, slightly blushing, glanced nervously at Dream. He cleared his throat and continued: “Umm, I mean... Stop wandering around idle!”

“Oh! Do you know what?” The empty-eyed exclaimed immediately, as if nothing had happened, not paying attention to Night's embarrassment at all. Brothers looked at him as if they were listening intently, waiting for him to continue. “We need to check something! Let's go.”

Killer led them long and tediously along many corridors. And where to? They stopped at a dressing room, and their favorite guide, who took the fellow travelers into the wilderness*, knocked on the door. Not hearing a response from there, he happily opened it. Having walked a little inside and, at the same time looking around just in case, Killer gestured to the dummies to come in.

Once in the room, the brothers didn’t know what to expect further from the miracle without a skirt*, so they just watched his actions. And he quickly and surely rushed forward to some picture, which depicted peaches and daisies, and held out his hands to it. Oh, what a shock and surprise was on the faces of Dream and Nightmare when they saw what was behind the beautiful 'masterpiece'. And it even seemed to them that at that moment on Killer’s forehead could read: “I can look at you for eternity, and I'll never get tired of it!”.

“Shh! It's a secret.” He put his finger to his mouth conspiratorially.

“What's this?! Safe?” Immediately Nightmare shouted, but then lowered his tone, as if catching this vibe of secrets and conspiracies. "What's there?”

“I'll open it now and you will find out!” The main 'conspirator' said happily.

“Do you have a code?” Dream was surprised.

“Yep, what did you think? I put it on.“ He grunted in response, dialing the numbers on the display.

When the device sounded, notifying about the correctness of the entered sequence, Killer opened the door and turned to those present with a solemn “Ta-da!”. Not hearing a standing ovation or at least some ooh-ooh, he stalled and turned to the safe, entering into a stupor finally. Empty... There was...

“Empty!” He screamed with a tragic tone and hung on the iron monster. He would have cried, but he was stopped here with questions.

“And what was supposed to be here, smart guy?” Night asked, apparently pleased with his suffering.

“There..." ‘The Drama Queen’ sniffed and rubbed his eye socket. "There must have been my chocolates hidden away for a rainy day.”

“Hidden away, you say?” Nightmare frowned, walked closer to Killer and pulled on himself, looking terribly right into the void of his eye sockets.

“Well, well, Nighty, let the poor man go.” Lisping, his brother gently sang, touching other's shoulder. "He's a victim. The same as we do. Lost..." Dream also made an overly dramatic look. " ...His precious!”

Nightmare groaned painfully and exhaustedly and let go of the poor 'puppy'. They went back to the place where the first incident took place. On the way, Dream and Killer were laughing so hard that it seemed that they could be heard even 100 kilometers away! Simply unbearable... for Nightmare! When they got to the right place, the three detectives sat down at the table, thinking about the "Case of missing the sweet treasure". The name Killer gave. And this picture, which was drawn by an unknown creator, is called "Three knights at the table with crumbs of dead cakes". Another Killer’s joke.

They sat and sat while the wall clock ticked. But nothing came into their heads: not a single sensible thought, not a single guess. It was so upsetting. After all, the situation itself was unusual: it was very puzzling and did not allow believing in its existence. So what's the point? Do keep thinking about it? Dream has been thinking only about these questions lately. To be honest, he wasn’t so interested in it, besides, there are still so many things to do. But something held him back: the reason his brother was so obsessed with it. He wanted to figure it out. Why was Nightmare so angry? Why did he keep on raging? Why is this important to him? It's all so complicated... Dream sighed and lay down on his elbows on the table. He was drawn to sleep, but before he could even close his eyes, someone touched his shoulders.

“Dream, have you seen my chocolate juice?" The skeleton turned around and patted his eyes, met with a familiar and beloved face. Cross stood looking at him for a while, but then turned away and walked to the trash can by the wall. “Maybe it's here somewhere?”

“Cross, don't dig in the trash!" Dream blew up. "Then you need...”

“Found!" The skeleton exclaimed happily, pulling out a box from under some drink from a plastic container. He quickly got up from his knees and walked straight back to the crowd, beaming.

“Cross, you won't drink... from this?" The yellow-eyed skeleton crossed his arms in displeasure.

“Aah... There is already nothing." Cross exhaled in frustration, turning to the others. "By the way, what are you doing here?”

“For your information, garbage rat..." Killer began jokingly.

"What rat?" Indignantly, Cross banged his palm on the table in front of the insolent skeleton .

"So you agree with 'garbage’?" He didn’t calm down, to which he received an evil glance from Nightmare:

“Stop here... throw name-calling! Preventing thinking...”

“What are you thinking about?” Cross inquired again, sitting down on a chair.

“It's just that we have lost something here... that is, I'm listing: 100 choco-pies brought by Nightmare, and Killer's black stock of chocolate.” The younger twin explained to the dear one, tenderly singing every word.

“Hmm...” The two-color-eyed thought. “Do you know? Something similar happened to me.”

“In what sense?”

“Look...” He put an empty box on the table, Dream frowned at this a little, but then relaxed, deciding not to show his displeasure to the dirt. “I was busy with my own business, along the way drinking my juice. I turned away for a minute and... Wow! It has gone.”

Now a fourth has joined their team. But even with additional strength, nothing came of it, and time passed. Something, but this cannot be stopped, just like getting out of this web of problems. Outside the window could already be seen a motley orange-red sky — it’s evening. Imagine, they spent almost half a day on this! Unimaginable! And in the end came to nothing... These're the worst of all. Everyone, except Nightmare, got up and decided to go home already. Dream stopped, waiting for his brother, who continued to sit and incinerate the wooden surface with a piercing gaze of concentration.

“Find, let's go home, it's too late. Why do you need this? It has already happened and that's it...” He touched the shoulders of the elder, trying to reach his mind and induce him to quit.

“I have an idea!” Suddenly Nightmare jumped up and exclaimed, attracting everyone's attention. “Let's stay here and set a trap for the sweet tooth thief!”

Killer and Cross began to exchange glances, and then looked expectantly at Dream, who was standing behind Nightmare. Catching their glances, he sighed and with a gesture, as it were, showed that there was no choice. Brother got too carried away, that's all.

~~~

   The wind is blowing, you can hear it howling ... Someone didn’t close the window or the walls are so thin here? To tell the truth, at such a late hour the studio rooms look scary, and the strange rustle and blue moonlight creates the atmosphere of some kind of horror movie or vampire romance. And yet why did they start it? What if something bad happens? Cross didn’t understand all this, as well as why he got involved in this. But there's nothing to do, only breathing relaxes.

“But I warn you!” It seems that all the gloom of the environment didn’t attract Killer in any way, or he simply ignored the wariness of other participants in this idea. "This is the last chocolate bar that I have, so you, Nightmare, will owe me one more...”

“Yes, yes, yes...” But other's arrogance did not hurt at all. Nightmare was already busy arranging inventory for a makeshift trap, and distraction wasn’t his priority.

“And a box of chocolates sweets for moral damage!” Killer crossed his arms over his chest as if he were some kind of offended lady of high society. To this, only a long exhalation was heard, and Nightmare, rising and crossing his arms, like the other skeleton, rolled his eyes, and then said:

“Anything you order, madam.”

At such an treatment, the aforementioned 'Queen' fell into a stupor and, swaying back and forth on his feet, turned away, hiding a shame-and-shy blush. Oh, how shameless he’s! And Nightmare also gave a fire: he still has no idea how ambiguous he sometimes speaks! But this’s nothing, Killer knows what he’ll do late... But now he need to satisfy the Nightmare's desire to catch the unknown. And Nightmare had just finished and came up to tell the plan:

“Killer will put the bait there, and we'll watch in turn, okay?”

After receiving agreement in the form of nods, Nightmare headed for the exit into the corridor. When Killer asked where he was going, the skeleton waved his hand, indicating that his curious nose was not the case. Snorting at that, Killer went back to the others and joined in, taking a seat behind the barricade of armchairs.

Time passed for a long, in the emptiness of the room the ticking of the clock was heard very clearly and distinctly, even annoying. Nothing happened at all. Nothing! Killer turned to his teammates and frowned. They have already managed to doze off, nestling at each other's sides. What a bum! He sighed... After all, it’s true: the whole thing was initially meaningless. They simply cannot find the one who has committed all the atrocities. And one more strange thing... Nightmare hasn't come yet. And where has our commander gone? Wasn't that so important to him? The skeleton rose from the floor and stretched, kneading the bones of his arms.

He’s so tired, and until Nightmare returns there is no way to leave: it will somehow come out rudly. Killer glanced at the trap and covered his mouth, ready to yawn.

“Even if no one shows up, he will owe me one mo-”

Without even having time to breathe, the skeleton shuddered and slightly choked. For a moment it seemed to him that he saw someone's figure. Having brought himself to more or less calmness, Killer hastened to wake up two sleeping ‘kittens’.

“Uugh! Killer, we agreed: you are watching first, and we are watching later!” Cross grumbled displeased, trying not to raise the tone too much so as not to frighten Dream.

“But this’s important!”

“Your jokes cannot be important...”

“Cross, that's enough...” A little rubbing his right eye socket and yawning, Dream hissed. “Maybe it's really important. What is it, Killer?”

“It seems to me that I saw someone.”

“If it seems, go to the ophthalmologist.*” Cross interjected, narrowing his eyes.

“But it's true! We are alone here and no one else can be, it is unnerving. And also...” The next words the skeleton muttered so that they couldn’t be made out. “Nightmare went somewhere and didn’t return.”

“So, calm down, both.“ Dream tried to cool the guys, and then, looking around, he continued: “Let's see if our ‘uninvited guest’ took the sweet bait.”

Cross didn't want to believe it, but Killer was right along the way that there was an outsider in the building: there was no chocolate on the table. So what should they do next? After all, apparently, they have already missed the ‘criminal’. But there was another snag...

“Uh... brother still doesn’t return.” The skeleton with yellow eyes, which under the light of the moon sparkled with a golden hue, said quietly and sadly.

“By the way, I also thought about it...” Killer spread his arms and shook his head.

“Since he started all this, we'll only find out further actions from him.” Cross said, leaning on the table. “Let's go look for him...”

Agreeing with this idea, they went out into the corridor. It was a long and terrible journey. It was much darker in here than in that room. It seems that not only the wind can be heard, but also a rustle and some kind of grinding. This began to strain not only Cross, who was uncomfortable here from the very beginning, but also Dream. He pressed against the other skeleton even tighter, and, even despite the circumstances, It’s caused some warm feelings inside two-color-eyed and a faint blush on his cheeks.

The sudden clink of broken glass made the skeletons flinch and draw attention to it. They hurried to find out what was going on there, and froze, turning the corner. There was a figure standing not far from the shards of a vase lying on the floor. It seemed familiar, but... Who could it be? Squinting, Killer was the first to guess:

“Nightmare!!!” Rays of bluish light emerged from the curtains covering the window, illuminating half of the above-named skeleton. “What are you doing?”

The empty-eyed skeleton came closer and touched the other's shoulder. Nightmare flinched, dropping something from his hands, and slowly turned his head, looking into the face of his friend with an view as if he had just recently woken up. This greatly surprised the other skeleton, so he tilted his head to the side, waiting for answers, but without waiting for anything, he paid attention to the object that was lying on the floor. Killer bent down and took it in his hands. Looking closely, he was able to determine that it was... no wonder, chocolate! Not just any, but that one! Killer was sure. But he couldn’t understand what that could mean.

Dream and Cross didn't understand either. They approached with Killer, but all this time they were just silent. Everyone was so confused that they didn't even know what to say. Even Nightmare himself was shocked.

"Highty..." After a while his brother said quietly, drawing attention to himself. "So you're a lunatic? I didn't notice before...”

“I ... I ...” He darted his gaze across the dark room and fiddled with the phalanges of his fingers. “I don't even know what to say, guys..."

“So maybe you did it all?" Killer said, rising from the floor and continuing to hold the sweet bar in his hand. The violet-eyed skeleton lowered its head apologetically at his words. But it seems that this wasn’t enough for the other skeleton, so he decided to list all the crimes committed: "You personally ate all the choco-pies that you yourself brought. You ate my supply of chocolate. You drank Cross' juice. And the worst thing: you blamed everyone for this, even your own brother!”

"I'm sorry! Really." The skeleton exclaimed, ashamed and humiliated to the very bottom “I wanted to apologize to Dream, but! Lost on you. Sorry, I really don't know what came over me!”

“Don’t mind, brother.” Dream intervened, hugging him soothingly. "I’m not angry. I guess... you're just overtired. And, perhaps, from this you sleepwalk. I told you not to overexert yourself.”

And now: the solution to this mystery has come. They can already go home, but it wasn’t end! There was one thing that did not tie into all the facts at all...

“And yet, Killer, you are in something wrong " Cross held out thoughtfully, putting his finger to his chin, staring at the toes of his shoes.

"Hmm, and in what?" He grunted, putting his hands on his hips.

“Nightmare may have eaten the choco-pies and drank my juice, but he couldn't break open the safe while he was unconscious. Something doesn't add up.”

"But who cou-”

Suddenly, some rustling distracted Killer, not allowing him to finish the question. There was a grinding and a strange rumbling sound. It attracted the others: turning, they stared into the darkness that covered the half of the room. Something flashed in the depths, and disturbing sounds intensified. The skeletons stepped back, huddled together and huddled against each other. The terrible lights resembled the eyes of some creature. What could it be? It approached, forcing them to retreat in fear closer to the bend. A little more and it will be possible to find out what was hidden in the black haze. The last clinking step and...

“Meow!”

Friends screamed and rushed away. Without turning around, they walked away from danger in disgrace. Was there any danger in that? It's just a cute little kitty. Maybe such a dark atmosphere allowed their fantasy to play out? No one can know for sure. And is this really the end?

“Hey, guys? What were you doing here?” The skeleton in a beige sweater, smiling sweetly under the moonlight, lifted a white cat.

This, of course, was an unexpected turn. But shouldn't we be asking this question, Ccino? After all, they never find out about it. Just as they do not know what scared them that night. This also applies to... So who ate Killer's chocolate? True, there were many questions in this story. And you might think you've knew the answers to all of them, but no. This is an erroneous assumption.

This is something to which there is no answer. Since all these riddles must remain unsolved. And only you yourself will understand what is true and what is false. You decide how you answer.

*  — In those places marked with this sign, there should have been Russian jokes... but you won't understand them(nobody can), so this may seem like very strange sentences.

Credits: Dream and Nightmare by jokublog Cross!Sans by jakei95 Killer!Sans by rahafwabas Ccino!Sans by black-nyanko

BOOOOM, explosion of my brain.

Hmm... That's all, and I forgot what I wanted to say at the end.

So... now I go.

Так, так, тут есть предупреждения: большой текст, слабым на много буковок и мало картинок не смотреть, тут есть ООС(потому что по-другому я не могу), адское безумие, анархия воображения, вам может показаться, что происходящее здесь это полный бред, хотя да, так и есть, тут должно быть смешно.

“Таинственный чокопай”(фанфик)

   Сегодня такой чудесный день: ясное голубое небо с сияющем вышине ярким солнцем. Сейчас где-то час дня. А работа на студии кипит. Несмотря на суету, витающую по всему павильону, ощущается какое-то спокойствие и умиротворение. Это эдакая гармония, которую ничто не может нарушить, разве что...

Внезапный грохот и шум. Крики, доносящиеся из комнаты, были настолько громкими, что их было слышно на улице. Даже маленькой птичке, мирно спящей на ветке, пришлось резко проснуться и также поспешно покинуть насиженное место, спросонья еле хлопая крыльями. Что же происходит? Кого-то убивают... или придают домашнему насилию?! Если бы кто-то проходил мимо, то от услышанного у него бы душа в пятки ушла и не посмела бы оттуда вылазить до того, как её хозяин доберется до дома, мало ли, что можно понапридумывать.

Как говорится: нет дыма без огня. Так кто же устроил пожар? Это легко выяснить, пронаблюдав происходящие через окно третьего этажа.

Скелет с фиолетовыми огнями в глазницах говорил на повышенных тонах с таким же скелетом, как и он, только того зрачки были золотистого цвета. Видимо первый за что-то ругал второго:

— Дрим, где чокопаи?! — не унимаясь задавать один и тот же вопрос, Найтмер яростно тыкал пальцем в серебряный поднос, на котором ещё виднелись крошки от недавно лежащих там вкусняшек.

— Н-найтмер, я ничего не трогал — все продолжая защищаться одним и тем же ответом, Дрим выставил ладони перед собой.

— Не ври!!! Когда я пришел ты здесь шарился в шкафчиках, а на столе уже стоял пустой поднос. Как ты мне это объяснишь?

— Во-первых, я пришел, и все было таким — светлоглазый скелет пытался унять неожиданный пыл своего брата. — Во-вторых, о чем ты говоришь? И... почему тебя это так разозлило?

— Агх, я принес всем вкусняшки... Или ты не видел, когда мы собирались? — глубоко выдохнул Найтмер. — Поставил все на поднос, но специально для себя отложил один на другую тарелку и поставил там, где точно не возьмут. — он указал на кухонный стол позади, где находился выше указанный элемент посуды. — Было 99 чокопаев и один мой: в итоге — 100! И всех их нет! Что ты можешь на это сказать, брат?

— Ох, Найти, не знаю. Я даже не смотрел в ту сторону.

— Но куда же они могли просто так деться? Столько...

На мгновение Найтмер остановился и задумалась, его злость стихла. Он отошел к стене и сел в небольшое кресло, приложив палец к подбородку и подняв взор к потолку. Дрим решил присоединится к обдумыванию этой ситуации и присел в кресло, находящееся рядом. Но, к сожалению, ни единая мысль не приходила в их черепушки. Конечно же, как такое могло произойти? Просто невозможно, чтобы такое большое кол��чество в раз и исчезло! Найтмер от отчаяния найти разгадку на эту тайну вздохнул и слегка поник: неправильно он поступил, накричав на Дрима. Ведь его брат в ничем не виноват, а он, поспешив с выводами, обругал его так. Нужно бы извинится. Он повернулся к нему, собираясь сказать это, но зацепился взглядом за кое-что другое и остановился, даже не начав.

Как раз в коридоре проходил другой скелет, его глазницы были полыми и еле заметные черные потеки виднелись на скулах под ними. Он жадно облизывал кости пальцев и собирался идти в свою комнату, как на него налетел Найтмер. Тот ошалело смотрел на него, и Киллер совсем не понимал значения взгляда этого чудика.

— Что такое... Найтмер?

— Это ты! — закричал ему прямо в несуществующие уши скелет с фиолетовыми глазами.

Сразу же после Найтмера подбежал и Дрим. Он обеспокоенно начал оттаскивать крепко зацепившегося за чужие плечи брата, бурча что-то про наступление на одни и те же грабли. Старший близнец все же немного успокоился, и оба скелета вместе с Киллером вернулись к креслам. Братья разместились на сидениях, а последний продолжил стоять рядом, все ещё не вникая в происходящее. В чем же была проблема?

— А что в общем-то случилось? — все-таки задал терзающий его вопрос Киллер, скрестив руки на груди и наклонив голову на бок.

— Да просто Найтмер взбесился от того, что кто-то съел 100 чокопаев, среди которых был и его, специально отложенный! — не церемонясь, заявил младший близнец. На такое объяснение ситуации Найтмер слегка нахмурился: манера, с которой оно было произнесено, ему не понравилась.

— Да потому что ты явно чем-то полакомился... Вон! Как улыбался и пальцы свои слюнявил!

Киллер спокойно отреагировал на такое язвительное высказывание.

— Ах, это... — он с хитрой ухмылкой ещё раз лизнул все ещё сладкий палец. — Мы с Чино игрались.

— Что?! Без меня? — Найтмер чуть не грохнулся с кресла и, подскочив с места, хотел было возмутится, но осекся и, слегка покраснев, нервно глянул на Дрима. Прокашлявшись, продолжил: — То есть... Прекрати без делу шататься!

— Ох! А знаете что? — тут же как в ничем не бывало воскликнул пустоглазый, совсем не о��ратив внимание на смущение Найта. Братья посмотрели на него, как будто внимательно слушают, ожидая, когда тот продолжит. — Нам нужно кое-что проверить! Идемте.

Вел их Киллер долго и нудно по множеству коридоров. И куда же? Они остановились у одной гримерки, и их любимый проводник, который завел попутчиков в дебри не пойми куда, постучался в дверь. Не услышав оттуда отклика, он радостно открыл её. Пройдя чуть вовнутрь и, попутно оглядываясь на всякий случай, Киллер жестом пригласил болванчиков на ножка войти.

Оказавшись в комнате, братья не знали, чего ожидать дальше от чуда без юбки, поэтому просто наблюдали за его действиями. А тот быстро и верно ринулся вперед к какой-то картине, на которой были изображены персики и маргаритки, и протянул к ней руки. Ох, какой же шок и удивление было на лицах Дрима и Найтмера, когда они увидели, что находилось за прекрасным “шедевром”. И им даже показалось, что у Киллера в тот момент на лбу можно было прочесть: “Я могу вечность смотреть на вас, и это мне никогда не надоест!”.

— Тсс! Это секрет — заговорщицки прислонил палец ко рту тот.

— Это что?! Сейф? — сразу же крикнул Найтмер, но потом снизил тон, как бы поймав этот вайб секретов и заговоров. — Что там?

— Сейчас открою, и узнаете! — радостно вымолвил главный “заговорщик”.

— У тебя есть код? — удивился Дрим.

— Ага, а как же ты думал? Я ведь его поставил — хмыкнул тот в ответ, набирая цифры на дисплее.

Когда прибор пиликнул, уведомляя о верности введенной последовательности, Киллер отворил дверцу и повернулся к присутствующим с торжественным “Та-да!”. Не услышав оваций или хотя бы каких-то охов-ахов, он застопорился и повернулся к сейфу, войдя в ступор вот окончательно. Пусто... Там было...

— Пусто! — он закричал с трагическим тоном и повис на железном чудовище. Ещё бы чуть-чуть и заплакал, но его тут остановили с расспросами.

— И что же здесь должно было быть, умник? — спросил Найт, видимо, довольный его страданиями.

— Там... — "Королева драмы” шмыгнул носом и потер глазницу. — Должны были быть мои припрятанные на черный день шоколадки.

— Припрятанные, говоришь? — Найтмер нахмурился, подошел ближе к Киллеру и потянул на себя, страшно заглядывая прямо в пустоту глазниц того.

— Ну-ну, Найти, отпусти беднягу — сюсюкаясь, ласково пропел его брат, коснувшись чужого плеча. — Он ведь пострадавший. Так же, как и мы. Потерял... — Дрим тоже сделал чересчур драматический вид. — ...Свою прелесть!

Найтмер страдательно и измученно простонал и отпустил бедного “щеночка”. Они пошли обратно: к месту, где произошло первое происшествие. По пути Дрим и Киллер так ржали, что казалось — их можно было услышать и за 100 километров! Просто невыносимо... для Найтмера! Добравшись до нужного места, трое детективов уселись за столом, задумавшись о “Деле пропажи сладкого сокровища”. Название, которое дал Киллер. А эта картина, которая нарисована неизвестным творцом, называется “Трое рыцарей за столом с крошками убитых пироженок”. Ещё одна Киллеровская шутка. 

Сидели они и сидели, пока настенные часы тикали. Но так ничего в их головы не приходило: ни одна дельная мысль, ни одно предположение. Это так огорчало. Ведь сама ситуация была необычна: сильно озадачивала и не позволяла верить в её существование. Так какой в этом толк? Продолжать размышлять над этим? Дрим вот все последнее время думал лишь над этими вопросами. Ему, если честно, это было неинтересно, так, к тому же, ещё так много дел. Но кое-что все-таки держало его: причина такой одержимости брата за это. Он хотел в этом разобраться. Почему Найтмер так вспылил? Почему продолжал бесится? Почему это важно для него? Это все так сложно... Дрим вздохнул и прилег на локти, расположившись на столе. В сон потянуло, но не успел он прикрыть даже глаза, как кто-то коснулся плеч.

— Дрим, ты не видел мой шоколадный сок? — скелет обернулся и похлопав глазками, встретился с знакомым и любимым лицом. Кросс некоторое время стоял и смотрел на него, но потом отвернулся и пошел к мусорке у стены. — Может быть он где-то здесь?

— Кросс, не ройся в мусоре! — подорвался с места Дрим. — Руки потом...

— Нашел! — воскликнул радостно скелет, вытаскивая из пластикового контейнера коробочку из-под какого-то напитка. Он шустро встал с колен и прямо сияя подошел обратно к сборищу.

— Кросс, ты же не будешь пить... из этого? — недовольно скрестил руки на груди желтоглазый скелет.

— Аах... Там уже ничего нет — расстроенно выдохнул Кросс, обернувшись к остальным. — А, кстати, что вы тут делаете?

— К твоему сведению, помойная крыса... — шутливо начал Киллер.

— Какая крыса? — возмущенно стукнул ладонью о стол перед наглым скелетом Кросс.

— Так значит с “помойная” ты согласен? — не унимался тот, на что получил злой взгляд со стороны Найтмера:

— Кончайте тут... обзывательствами бросаться! Мешаете думать...

— А о чем вы думаете? — поинтересовался снова Кросс, садясь на стул.

— Просто тут у нас кое-что пропало... а то есть, перечисляю: 100 чокопаев, которые принес Найтмер, и черный запас шоколада Киллера — объяснил милому младший близнец, ласково пропев каждое слово. 

— Хм... — задумался разноглазый. — А знаете? У меня произошло кое-что похожее.

— В каком смысле?

— Смотрите... — он поставил на стол пустую коробочку, на это Дрим немножко нахмурился, но потом расслабился, решив не показывать свое недовольство на грязь. — Я был занят своими делами, попутно употребляя мой сок. На минуту отвернулся и... хоба! Он пропал.

Теперь к их команде присоединился четвертый. Но даже с дополнительной силой ничего не выходило, а время шло. Что-что, а это остановить нельзя, как и выбраться из этой паутины проблемы. За окном виднелось уже пестрое оранжево-красное небо — вечереет. Представите себе, они потратили почти пол дня на это! Невообразимо! Так ещё пришли к ничему... Это худшие из всего. Все, кроме Найтмера, встали и решили пойти уже по домам. Дрим остановился, ожидая брата, который продолжал сидеть и испепелять деревянную поверхность пронзительным взглядом сосредоточенности.

— Найти, пошли домой, уже поздно. Ну чего тебе это? Оно уже произошло и все... — он коснулся плеч старшего, пытаясь достучаться до него и побудить бросить это.

— Есть идея! — Неожиданно Найтмер подскочил и воскликнул, привлекая к себе внимание всех. — Останемся здесь и устроим ловушку на воришку-сладкоежку!

Киллер и Кросс начали переглядываться, а потом ожидающе посмотрели на Дрима, стоящего позади Найтмера. Поймав их взгляды, тот вздохнул и жестом как бы показал, что выбора нет. Братик слишком увлекся, вот и все.

~~~

   Ветер дует, слышно его завывание... Кто-то не закрыл окно или стены здесь такие тонкие? По правде говоря, в такое позднее время помещения в студии выглядят страшновато, а странный шорох и лунный синий свет создает атмосферу какого-то фильма ужасов или вампирской романтики. И все-таки зачем они это затеяли? А вдруг что-то плохое случится? Кросс не понимал всего этого, как и то, зачем он в это ввязался. Но делать нечего, лишь вдохи расслабляют.

— Но я предупреждаю! — кажется вся мрачность окружения никак не привлекала Киллера, или же он просто игнорировал настороженность других участников их задумки. — Это последняя шоколадка, что у меня есть, поэтому ты, Найтмер, должен будешь мне ещё одну...

— Да, да, да... — но чужая наглость совсем не задевала. Найтмер и так был занят, расставляя инвентарь для самодельной ловушки, а отвлекаться было не в его приоритетах.

— И коробку конфет за моральный ущерб! — скрестил руки на груди Киллер так, как будто он какая-то обиженная дама высшего общества. На это послышался лишь длинный выдох, а Найтмер, поднявшись и скрестив руки так же, как и другой скелет, закатил глаза, а потом вымолвил:

— Все, что прикажите, госпожа.

На такое обращение выше названная “Королева” встал в ступор и, покачавшись на ступнях взад вперед, отвернулся, скрывая стыдо-срамский румянец. Ох, какой же он бесстыжий! И Найтмер тоже дал жару: все ещё не догадывается насколько он иногда двусмысленно говорит! Но ничего, Киллер знает, что он сделает потом... А сейчас нужно утолить желание Кошмарчика по поимки неизвестного. Тот как раз уже закончил и подошел рассказывать план:

— Киллер положит туда приманку, а мы по очереди будем дежурить, поняли?

Получив согласие в виде кивков, Найтмер направился к выходу в коридор. На вопрос Киллера, куда тот идет, скелет махнул рукой, показывая, что не его любопытного носа дела. Фыркнув на это, Киллер вернулся к остальным и присоединился, присаживаясь за баррикадой из кресел.

Время шло долго, в пустоте комнаты тиканье часов раздавалось очень ярко и отчетливо, даже раздражало. Ничего совсем не происходило. Ничегошеньки! Киллер повернулся к своим напарникам и нахмурился. Те уже успели задремать, примостившись друг у друга под боками. Что за бездельники! Он вздохнул... Ведь верно: все это дело изначально было бессмысленным. Они просто не могут найти того, кто совершил все злодеяния. И ещё одна странная вещь... Найтмер так и не пришел. И куда же наш командир подевался? Разве это не было для него таким важным? Скелет поднялся с пола и потянулся, разминая кости рук.

Он так устал, а пока не вернется Найтмер уйти нет возможности: некрасиво как-то выйдет. Киллер глянул на ловушку и прикрыл рот, готовый зевнуть.

— Даже если никто не заявится, он будет должен мне ещё од...

Не успев даже вдохнуть, скелет вздрогнул и слегка поперхнулся. На мгновение ему показалось, что он видел чью-ту фигуру. Приведя себя в более-менее спокойствие, Киллер поспешил разбудить двух спящих “котят”.

— Аагх! Киллер, договорились же: ты дежуришь первым, а мы — потом! — недовольно ворчал Кросс, стараясь не слишком повышать тон, чтобы не напугать Дрима.

— Но это важно!

— Твои шутки не могут быть важными...

— Кросс, хватит... — чуть потирая правую глазницу и зевая, просипел Дрим. — Может это действительно важно. Что такое, Киллер?

— Мне кажется, что я кого-то видел.

— Если кажется, иди к окулисту — встрял Кросс, прищурившись.

— Но это правда! Мы здесь одни и никто больше не может быть, это нервирует. А ещё... — следующие слова скелет так пробубнил, что их невозможно было разобрать. — Найтмер куда-то ушел и так и не вернулся.

— Так, успокойтесь оба — попытался охладить ребят Дрим, а потом, расценочно осмотревшись, продолжил: — Давайте посмотрим, взял ли наш “незваный гость” сладкую наживку.

Кросс не хотел в это верить, но по ходу Киллер был прав, что в здании находится посторонний: шоколадки на столике не было. Ну и что же им делать дальше? Ведь, по всей видимости, они уже упустили “преступника”. Но была ещё одна загвоздка...

— Чего то братик все ещё не возвращается — тихо и печально проговорил скелет с желтыми глазами, которые под светом луны сверкнули золотистым оттенком.

— Я, кстати, тоже об этом думал... — развел руки и покачал головой Киллер.

— Так как он все это затеял, то будем выяснять дальнейшие действия лишь у него — изрек Кросс, облокотившись о стол. — Пойдемте его искать...

Согласившись с этой идеей, они вышли в коридор. Это был долгий и страшный путь. Здесь было намного темнее, чем в той комнате. Кажется слышен не только ветер, но и шорох и какой-то скрежет. Это начало напрягать не только Кросса, которому с самого начало было дискомфортно находится здесь, но и Дрима. Тот прижимался к другому скелету ещё крепче, и, даже не смотря на обстоятельства, у разноглазого это вызывало некие теплые ощущения внутри и слабый румянец на щеках.

Внезапный звон разбитого стекла заставил скелетов вздрогнуть и обратить на себя внимание. Они поспешили выяснить, что там происходит, и застыли, завернув за угол. Там была фигура, стоящая неподалеку от лежащих на полу осколков вазы. Она казалось знакомой, но... Кто же это может быть? Прищурившись, Киллер первым догадался:

— Найтмер!!! — из закрывающие окно шторы проклюнулись лучики голубоватого света, озаряющего половину вышеназванного скелета. — Что ты делаешь?

Пустоглазый скелет подошел ближе и коснулся чужого плеча. Найтмер вздрогнул, роняя что-то из рук, и медленно повернул голову, взглянув в лицо друга с таким видом, как будто только недавно проснулся. Это очень сильно удивило другого скелета, поэтому он наклонил голову в бок, ожидая ответов, но, так и не дождавшись ничего, обратил внимание на предмет, который лежал на полу. Киллер наклонился и взял это в руки. Присмотревшись, он смог определить, что это... как неудивительно, шоколадка! И не просто какая-нибудь, а та самая! Киллер был уверен. Но он никак не мог понять, что это может значить.

Дрим и Кросс тоже ничего не понимали. Они подошли вместе с Киллером, но все это время только молчали. Все находились в таком замешательстве, что даже не знали, что и сказать. Даже сам Найтмер был в шоке.

— Найти... — через некоторое время тихо вымолвил его брат, привлекая к себе внимание. — Так ты лунатик? Я раньше не замечал...

— Я... Я... — он метался взглядом по темному помещению и теребил фаланги пальцев. — Даже не знаю, что и сказать, ребята...

— Так может это ты все сделал? — подал голос Киллер, поднимаясь с пола и продолжая держать плитку сладости в руке. На его слова фиолетовоглазый скелет виновато опустил голову. Но, кажется, другому скелету этого было недостаточно, поэтому он решил перечислить все совершенные преступления: - Ты собственнолично съел все чокопаи, которые сам же и принес. Ты съел мой запас шоколада. Ты выпил сок Кросса. И самое страшное: ты обвинил в этом всех, даже собственного брата!

— Мне жаль! Действительно — воскликнул пристыженный и униженный до самого дна скелет. — Я хотел извинится перед Дримом, но! Сбился на тебя. Простите, я действительно не знаю, что на меня нашло!

— Ничего, братик — вмешался Дрим, успокаивающе обнимая того. — Я не злюсь. Наверное... ты просто переутомился. И, возможно, от этого ты и лунатишь. Я же говорил: не перенапрягайся.

И вот: разгадка этой тайны пришла. Можно уже идти домой, но не тут то было! Была одна вещь, которая совсем не связывалась со всеми фактами...

— А все же, Киллер, ты в кое-чем не прав — задумчиво протянул Кросс, приложив палец к подбородку, пялился на носки своей обуви.

— Хм, и в чем же? — хмыкнул тот, упершись руками в бока.

— Может Найтмер и съел чокопаи и выпил мой сок, но он никак не мог взломать сейф, будучи в бессознательном состоянии. Что-то не складывается.

— Но кто же мо...

Неожиданно какое-то шуршание отвлекло Киллера, не дав закончить вопрос. Послышался скрежет и странный урчащий звук. Это привлекло всех остальных: повернувшись, они уставились в темноту, покрывающую другую половину комнаты. Что-то сверкнуло в глубине, а настораживающие звуки усилились. Скелеты шагнули назад, скопившись в одну кучу и прижавшись к друг другу. Страшные огоньки напоминали глаза какого-то существа. Что же это может быть? Оно приближалось, заставляя их в страхе отступать ближе к повороту. Ещё чуть-чуть и можно будет узнать, что скрывалось в черной мгле. Последний клацающий шаг и...

— Мяу!

Компания завопила и помчалась прочь. Не оборачиваясь, они с позором ушли от опасности. А разве в этом была опасность? Это просто милый маленький котеночек. Может быть такая мрачная атмосфера позволила их фантазии разыграться? Никто не может знать наверняка. И неужели это и вправду конец?

— Эй, ребята? А что вы тут делали? — скелет в бежевом свитере, мило улыбаясь под лунным светом, поднимал белую кошку.

Это, конечно, был неожиданный поворот. Но разве это не мы должны задавать этот вопрос, Чино? Ведь они так и не узнают об этом. Так же, как и не узнают, что же их напугало в ту ночь. Это касается и того... Так кто же съел шоколад Киллера? Правда, в этой истории было много вопросов. И вы можете подумать, что узнали ответы на всех них, но нет. Это ошибочное предположение.

Это то, на что ответа нет. Так как эти все загадки должны оставаться неразгаданными. И только вы сами поймете, что истина, а что - ложь. Вы сами решаете, как ответить.

Продолжение следует...

[indigobackfire]

HPHM April Prompt: Day 7

Prompt # 7 - MC's first kiss

@stupendousbookworm | Uuuhhh, I might have to cheat on this one, because my MC's first kiss was not with her #endgame love interest — spoiler alert, it was with Ben, — but I had written some of this already and it's WAY more exciting. So Barnaby's and Indigo's first kiss together. One day late but I had to do it ;P

An arrogant Gryffindor challenges Barnaby Lee to a fight the old way, and when defending Indigo's honour is more important than keeping himself out of trouble, he can't help himself but accept.

And when amends have to be made, their feelings might come into the light.

Characters: Indigo×Barnaby, Chiara chameo.

Timeline: End of year five-ish — I haven't even got half way through year five so if anything sounds out of place I just haven't been there yet.

Content Warning: Violence, blood.

///

"What did you say about her?" Barnaby asked the cocky Gryffindor one year below them, Derek Vonner. Impressively snob for a muggleborn and infamous for his arrogant attitude.

Indigo and Chiara who were having a chat in the courtyard with Barnaby, and who also overheard the insults shared a look, but before they could say anything, the boy smirked and continued. "I said she's a lunatic and an imbecile." He looked straight at Indigo. "Your cursed vault insanity is bringing all of Gryffindor down, just like your brother did."

Indigo couldn't be bothered, it had been a while since someone had made this big of a fuss about the vaults and her brother, but then again, it wasn't the first time. She was somewhat hurt but not much fazed by it.

Barnaby standed like a wall between them. "Now, you offend her, you offend me."

"Is this a threat?"

"If you want it to be."

Indigo stepped beside the two who were standing face to face. "Guys, please, he might've offended me, but dueling is still prohibited out of the club."

"Please, Barney," Chiara pleaded with her soft voice.

"And I'm still Gryffindor's prefect so-"

"Silencio," Vonner casted nonchalantly with a flick of his wand towards Indigo. "Just shut up, wil you?"

Barnaby became livid in a way nobody, not even the Slytherins, have ever seem him like, gripping the cocky Gryffindor's cardigan by the collar.

While that happened, and more people surrounded them, Chiara undid the silencing charm and made sure she was okay.

"Hey, I still mean it, no dueling!" Indigo shouted once she had her voice back.

"Why don't we resolve this the muggle way then?" Vonner suggested with a smirk.

Not Indigo nor Barnaby had much muggle blood in them, but they both knew what that meant. Chiara scooped closer to Indigo, afraid the boy might pull out a knife or something of sorts, but it was simpler and safer than that.

"Barney, please," Indigo said when she saw the shine in Barnaby's eyes — they were much alike in this aspect, always hungry for a fight.

He handed her his wand. "Hold this for me."

And Vonner imitated the move offering his wand to one of his friends who were laughing excitedly at the scene. He also took off his cardigan and cracked his knuckles to set the mood. Vonner, at least by the looks of it, seemed like he could stand against Barnaby in a fight — reasonably strong and tall.

But too much of a show off or perhaps watched too many fighting movies, as while he bounced around and mumbled threats under his breath, Barnaby punched him cut and clean.

Chiara gasped, but Indigo had to hold back a laugh from how funny and gracious it looked.

But the Gryffindor wouldn't stay down for long, swinging for the first time which Barnaby swerved, then again hitting him on the side of his face making a loud sound when his fist meets his jaw. But it's when Barnaby moved his mandible with a loud crack to get it back in place that everyone cringed.

The Slytherin then smiled in a way that would've fooled even Indigo into thinking he's a wicked boy, raised his eyebrows and while Vonner stepped forward for another punch, Barnaby swerved again, hitting him right on the stomach in a way it pulled sounds of wincing from the small crowd. Vonner curled to his knees with the pain.

"Seems I'm quite good at the muggle wa—"

Vonner thought quick and while Barnaby was distracted, swiped a leg behind his feet and pulled him to fall on his back. Vonner straddles him and begins a punching fest that makes even Indigo's stomach turn.

Barnaby's face became as red as Godric Gryffindor's soul. Covered in blood.

"Is the Silverwood bitch worth the beating, you himbo!?" He shouted at Barnaby's face nearly spitting.

But Lee is stronger and in a single blind punch makes Vonner draw back. With a swift move of his leg, Barnaby inverted the scene and pushed the boy to the ground and punched his ear with force.

Vonner stopped for a moment, holding his ear and writhing in pain and dizziness. Beside Indigo, Chiara moans in agony.

"Make them stop, Indigo. He could've damageed his ear!"

While Chiara's speaking, Vonner reacted and started trying to retaliate without much success. With his face pressed down to the ground, one foot awkwardly kicking Barnaby's leg, there isn't a chance for him. And Indigo knew that Barnaby had the strength to knock him out cold if he wished to — if he loses his control.

"Barnaby!" She shouted.

He looked at her with sweat dripping down his forehead, those tiny green eyes still sparkling. He stepped back leaving room for the boy to sit up, letting down his guns, to which Vonner responds by punching Barnaby straight on the mouth.

And before either of them can do something about it a shout cuts through. "The cat's out of the box!" Which every Gryffindor knows, McGonagall is making her way there.

And while most rush to get themselves as far away from the confusion as possible, the three friends stand there frozen. Vonner stumbles his way out of the courtyard followed by his friends, and despite his terrible attitude, Chiara can't shut down the healer inside her.

"You mind if I go check on the boy?" She asks Indigo hastly. "I know you can take care of Barnaby but those idiots... I wanna check if his hearing is okay, he could've hurt his eardrum."

"No problem and don't worry about us, if needs to see Madam Pomfrey, make sure he does."

Indigo kneels by Barnaby's side while Chiara runs after the others. He's still taking the blow from the punch, his torn lip bleeding — besides his nose and eyebrow.

She runs a thumb over his bruised cheekbone making it dissapear with some magical focus. "You are such an idiot, Barney."

"I've been told that before."

In the low murmur of the courtyard in which people are still watching the two of them from the outskirts, they can hear the tap of McGonagall's heels on the stones getting louder, his eyes widen.

"You are so screw—" she began saying.

But with a single pull, gripping her loose tie, their lips met and with all the adrenaline overflowing in his bloodstream, he couldn't feel a drop of pain, just the ecstasy of finally kissing her. A built up of years, months in which every second counts, but now meant nothing, because he was kissing Indigo bloody Silverwood.

In her stomach, the flutter of wings made her nearly dizzy as his lips move ever so softly over hers, the taste of his blood seeping through when she corresponded, taking the collar of his shirt in a fistfull, a low hum coming from her throat.

It's the third time McGonagall called their names when they finally attended to her angry reprimand. "What on Merlin's name is going on here? And what happened to you, Mr Lee?"

They both raised to their feet.

"I punched him," Indigo spits out.

Minerva's eyes widen. "Wha— Punched him? What for?"

"Because—"

Barnaby wiped the blood off his chin only to create a smear. "I asked her. To punch me. I did. I wanted to see what it felt like. The first times were too weak then I asked her to do it again. She just went a little too hard on the last one, but it's okay," he spoke nearly without a pause.

She looks at Indigo flabbergasted. "Is that it, Miss Silverwood?"

"I didn't mean to hurt him, professor. We're friends after all. We were being idiots to say the least."

"Mr Lee is then sweating like that because?"

They share a look. He shrugged. "Because I'm hot?"

She looked at them more confused than ever before, wondering at what to make out of the scene and their explanation. She scanned the courtyard but everyone was making a not so good job of pretending to mind their own business. Yet people all around watched perplexed, some laughing, some anxious to see what Minerva would do to them.

"And the... public display of... affection? Right here on the open of the courtyard?"

"That's my fault," Barnaby promptly said. "Couldn't help myself."

"Right… I'm not punishing you for the punch as it was… consensual, nor for the kissing as it isn't technically prohibited in school grounds, but for the scene you cause. This is no behavior for a prefect. Specially Gryffindor's prefect."

"I'm sorry, professor. I promise none of the sort will ever happen again."

"I do hope so. Detention tonight for both, I'll send an owl with your due obligations."

"Sorry, professor," Barnaby said, looking down at his feet.

"Sure, Mr Lee, just… clean yourselves up. There's blood all over your faces."

Barnaby raises his head and looked at Indigo's face, his blood on her lips like smudged lipstick, a deep shade of red burning on her cheeks.

***

"Why did you kiss me, Barnaby?"

They had moved away from the crowds, by the edge of the forest, sitting side by side on a stone bigger than an Acromantula. She hadn't gotten news from Chiara, but hoped she had the situation handled or else it would blow on their faces sooner than later.

"So professor McGonagall would think that was what we were doing before," he said proud of himself. "I saw it in a... what did she call? A film Penny showed me over the last school break when I visited London."

She would've been a tad jealous of that if she didn't know Penny's obsession over Skye Parkin which was a bit too intense for just some regular Quidditch supporting.

"Well, that I was kinda aware of, but com'on, Barney. Come clean, what did you really do it for?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"I'm not mad, I just wanna know why."

He looks her in the eyes. "Because I wanted to. I've been meaning to do that for a while. Because I really really like you. For the longest time."

"Me?" He nodded, confused at her confusion. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I tried to show you but you never seemed to notice. Also cause I remember you saying you liked Charlie last year and then you helped Ismelda try to get to me."

She sighed. "I had a crush on Charlie but I kinda gave up on it, everybody knows he only cares about dragons and will probably marry one." He laughs softly. "As for the Ismelda situation… I felt bad for her and she seemed to like you a lot, and maybe on the right occasion you would have liked her too."

"I couldn't like her, not because of anything she is or is not, but cause I liked you."

She stared at him for a moment, her heart racing in her chest making all that silence very loud. She had closed his cuts with her wand, the little crust of dried blood over them as the last sign not to mention the bruise on his jaw, legs and clavicle she wasn't able to vanish entirely due to her nervousness. Still, he continued to look as breathtaking as always.

"If only you had told me," she said finally looking away.

"I was convinced you wanted someone smarter. I'm not the brightest, you know that."

"Since when do you like me?"

He smiles, a faint blush to his cheeks. "Uh… I always had my eye on you. But I guess when you stood up for Ben against Merula our first year. It was so brave. But then she convinced us to hate you, to fight for those stupid vaults. I turned my admiration into anger."

First year, they were kids and she didn't remember much of him from that time except from the sorting hat ceremony and the lake crossing. And the fact that with one look she knew, at that tender age, that he would break many hearts. Sure enough, she was right — didn't expect, though, one of those to be hers.

"Must've been fun to spy on me then," she laughed, nudging his shoulder, "back in the third year. Well, up into the point you straight up told me."

"It was worth it. I did memorize your schedule after a while, better than anything from any class. It was a good excuse for my fixation." He laughed a bit louder. "And when you tried to fool me with your clones?"

She laughed too. "We spent so long on that Polyjuice potion, only for you to ruin it all this quick."

"I could still tell which one was you because… I just knew you." He took her hand in his, much bigger and both warm. "I would still know you with my eyes closed."

She rested her head on his shoulder, solid like bedrock, and held back his hand.

"But then you tried to convince me to leave Merula's side," he continued, "I was the happiest I could've been. I was just playing hard, y'know? You could've convinced me with way less."

"You did tell me your life's story in one sitting over a glass of butterbeer."

"I wanted you to know me. The whole school knew Indigo Silverwood the Hogwarts curse-breaker and how her brother did this and that, and I was so jealous cause I wanted you for myself, to know your secrets and your dreams. When I couldn't have that I chose to give what I wanted from you."

She was one breath away from breaking into tears. "Sometimes I wonder if they love me or hate me."

"Who cares? You know, I was completely fallen when we duelled for the first time. You were so fierce and talented and cunning. I swear I would've won if you hadn't mesmerized me."

And with that she breaks down, she could take the love confession but the correct use of big words to describe how he felt, made her heart go into a pace so fast, her chest was hurting. "This isn't fair!"

"What?" He asked embracing and comforting her.

"That you look so dreamy and that you're telling me all these wonderful things while the only thing I can tell is that I never even tried to approach you that way because I never thought I'd have the chance."

"Why wouldn't you have a chance with me? We've been friends for ages."

"Because you're the most handsome guy in all of Slytherin, not to say the sweetest, most caring, most loyal, the strongest, the kindest, and half the school is in love with you and I'm by far not the best looking one of them nor the most considerate, dragging you all into this cursed vault and R dangers."

Barnaby's stomach is flooded with butterflies at her words, wanting more than anything to melt in her arms.

"I'd go anywhere, fight anything for you. I think you're the prettiest and smartest and my favorite person, I don't know how you didn't see that." He took a deep breath. "Didn't see that... I love you, Indigo."

She looked up at him, his eyes glowing green and wild like the Scottish highlands, cheeks a shade of pink, lips wet and red. She brushes her thumb over them. "Barnaby," she whispered getting closer.

"That's me."

She rested a hand on his shoulder and pulled him nearer until their lips are touching softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. The taste of yearning came clear to her as he pulled her even closer to him, parting his lips, seeping his fingers into her hair, holding her face as if she was water about spill from his palms.

When they parted, both pulling for air, he looked at her like he discovered the answer to a charade, like a niffler before a pot of gold, the way he looked whenever she complimented him. Indigo felt like she did flying on the back of a hippogriff when she looked at Barnaby. That boy, buckwild, alive, beautiful, and in love.

"I love you too," she said without having to think much, because it was true. And one doesn't have to think much to state the skies are blue or the grass is green. She loved him before she could call this love romantic.

He smiled and hugged her to the point of nearly crushing her in his strong arms.

"Oh, okay. Barney, you're stronger than you think, love."

He let her go. "Oh, sorry."

Without thinking much, she ran a hand down his biceps which gave him tingles in his stomach. "Poor Vonner to be on the other side of your fist."

He crossed his arms. "Pfft. I don't like hurting people, but I was over my head and he deserved it."

"Let's leave him behind us." She took his hand and uncrossed his arm. "Perhaps we should go out some time."

"Tonight," he responds automatically with a smile.

"We have detention tonight, B."

"Oh, yeah. We can have a detention date then. A datention."

She snickered. "Alright. Anywhere we're together is the best place I could ever be."