#this is the peak of my festive mood today

[hellcifrogs]

Happy New Year Everyone!! I'm on a team 7 mood today it's them again <3

[lokisgoodgirl]

Comfort & Joy: The Lakes [Loki x Reader]

The Lakes Masterlist / Regular Masterlist Summary: (9) Roll up, roll up for the Stark Christmas Jamboree. Where candied nuts and cunning plans both come with an extra sprinkling of festive sweetness. (w/c 7.8k) Warnings: Minors DNI. Usual Lakes fare. Humour, Asgardian lore, fluff, all the feels. Smut references. A/N: This is the final final edition of The Lakes.

“Remind me, what named day is this in your charming yuletide festivities?” Loki inquired as you stepped out the revolving door of the Tower.

Charming. You smiled.

Last year it would have been any number of synonyms for stupid. You could hear them, see his lips curling the words from memory. Gratuitous. Senseless. Superfluent. Foolish.

But that was your problem, you recognised, not his.

“I don’t think it has one officially,” you shivered, nestling your chin deeper into the scarf. Fuck, it was cold today. “But I call it Christmas Eve, Eve.”

You sighed, watching crowds of the general populous making their way in shuffling merriment towards the Christmas market. No, not market. Festive Jamboree.

Tony had taken it upon himself to create a mini-wonderland right outside the Tower for one day only, all proceeds to the local children’s hospital.

A ferris wheel rose at the end of the cordoned street, every carriage packed. The smell of hot-dogs and caramelised almonds filled the air, old-time speakers tied to high lamps blaring Andy Williams at a volume that couldn’t be code compliant. “Lighten up, darling” Loki chirped as a gloved hand laced with your own. You turned to him, forcing a smile through the nerves. He looked phenomenal. A high collared coat of darkest green framed his cheekbones, pink tipped in the sudden chill. The one you’d seen in the window. You couldn’t resist. But when it came to Loki, what else was new?

He’d popped the collar, loose strands of onyx hair tumbling over the thick of his scarf. The one you’d bought him, of course.

Against the pale of his skin, dark brows peaked above a lowered fan of lashes while his gaze lingered on your intertwined digits. He raised the back of your hand to his lips, kissing it firmly.

“This will be fun,” he murmured against your glove with a knowing glint. “Have you planned...something?” you laughed. “Other than the thing.”

The nerves were fading, finally. He pressed his free hand against his chest in mock-hurt. “You wound me with your suspicions, madam” he purred, playful insolence thick in his tone. He sniffed, raising his chin. “I am merely imbibed with the spirit of the season.” Mid-giggle, your whole body rocked forwards as two hands shook your shoulders from behind. “Merry Christmas Eve Eve, sister!” Thor boomed in your ear. There was ringing. Thor looked good. He smelled good. And blessedly for now at least, there were no crumbs in his beard. “And to you, brother” Loki said, smile widening.

Thor tilted his head, regarding Loki’s jovial demeanour with suspicion. “And to you, brother-” he rumbled. His interest was piqued. “What has my Sponge of a sibling in such a buoyant mood this fine December day?” “It’s Scrooge,” you corrected, grinning. Thor grinned back as all eyes fell on your lover.

Loki gaped, darting his gaze between you both.

“Scrooge?!” he scoffed incredulously. “In past years, perhaps. Yet despite your attempt to churl me, I shall take it as a compliment,” Loki said, squeezing your hand, “for I too was visited by three spirits and thus...changed forever.” Thor frowned, “spirits, says you?” “Yes, brother. Yourself, Rogers, and the spectre of that ghastly reclining chair.”

Thor chuckled, before being distracted by something deeper within the crowd. Or someone. He cleared his throat. “I must to the candied nuts, brother” he muttered formally.

Out the corner of your eye, you saw Rogers tip the nuts-vendor a quick salute as he nestled a fresh bag in his hand like a hamster. Heat steamed from the opening, wafting through frosty air. “Oh yes brother,” Loki drawled with equal gravitas. “The nuts will not eat themselves.” Thor squinted as a restrained smirk danced at Loki’s dimples. “Indeed,” the blonde replied, clearing his throat. “I shall see you at the bandstand anon.” And with a curt nod to you, he waddled hands in his pockets through the throng. You watched him go as Loki’s warm breath seeped down your neck, his mouth fastening to your pulse-point with a happy hum of pleasure. “You’re naughty,” you chided playfully. Loki nodded against your neck, the vibration of his agreement making you fizz. “And I have the knitwear to prove it,” he whispered. As you made your way through the crowd, Loki’s hand never left yours.

The two of you together were a familiar sight in Manhattan, and Avenger-fans on the whole had been beside themselves at news of your reunion. Confirmations had been slow. At you and Loki’s insistence, there had been no official statement. But the public had cottoned on eventually, with the help of the press.

Fans waited politely for pictures, nervously pulling at gloves and activating their cameras while you and Loki smiled and chatted. It was night and day from the way things used to be, while you stood on the sidelines amid a sea of bodies whipped into a frenzy by the god of mischief’s theatrical adulation.

Every so often, Loki would nuzzle your cheek; checking in. You’d squeeze his hand. One for all good, two for let’s go. You didn’t need that second squeeze today.

“With regret, we must depart for the afternoon’s questionable entertainment,” Loki announced. There was a chorus of disappointment, but he patted down the air.

“Please, join us-” he smiled to the crowd gathered around you, extending an arm towards the bandstand not thirty meters away. “Your participation will be most appreciated to drown out the subpar efforts of all of us. Truly, you will never look at us the same way, I guarantee it.” Despite having been erected overnight, the bandstand in the centre of the wonderland wouldn’t look out of place in Victorian England. Thin wrought iron pillars stretched upwards, twisting to an ornate canopy adorned with Christmas lights. Garlands wound up the pillars, twinkling sporadically. It was only 3pm, but the gathering darkness made them shine. A modest band of brass and strings had gathered beneath the canopy, instrument tune-ups peppering the chilly air.

And in front of it, in a semi-circle, microphones.

Steve stood to the side, handing booklets to a line of anxious looking avengers. Bucky, Wanda, Sam, Natas-

“I cannot believe we have to do this,” Bucky muttered ruefully as he threw his coat in the assigned box. “I can’t believe it. I actually can’t? Someone, fight me. Knock me out.” “We’re all in the same boat, Buck” Natasha lamented. She pulled at the baggy jumper hanging around her hips. Bucky looked down at his chest, pleading eyes meeting her stoic stare. “Fight me, Romanoff. Please.” “Don’t tempt me,” Natasha replied. Their jumpers were matching. Red, thick wool hiding any hint of the lithe muscle beneath. And stitched on them in winding, white-knitted lettering? Nice.

Your chest shook with the effort of holding in giggles. Even knowing what was coming, it hadn’t prepared you for the reality.

Looking around, you clocked each of your teammates in turn. Stark’s logic was thus – Avengers with a ‘harder’ reputation? Nice jumpers. And for those reputed to be on the softer side?-

“You’re wearing the wrong gosh-darn sweater, Laufeyson!” Steve hissed over your shoulder.

Both of you spun to face him. Steve’s arms were folded over the green version of the standard knit, the word Naughty emblazoned on his chest in white bobbling letters. Your shoulders were shaking now, too. “Don’t act like you're surprised, Rogers” Loki drawled. His coat hung off one long finger, before disappearing in a flash of seidr. “The public will not be fooled by Stark’s futile attempt at psychological subterfuge. I am simply getting ahead of the inevitable Tumblr edits.”

Steve’s chin snapped towards you. “Did you know about this?” he piped, flustered. You raised your eyebrows guiltily, making Steve’s hands fly in the air. “Perfect. Just heckin’ perfect. Why I outta-” “What seems to be the problem?” Thor’s voice boomed from behind. The words were accompanied by crunching, flecks of almond littering his green jumper like snow. You and Loki parted, making a four-square shoulder to shoulder and shuffling further towards safety from prying ears. “Laufeyson’s taken it upon himself to go against the agreed sweater-allocation and wear a Naughty, that’s what-” Steve bubbled bitterly.

Crimson had begun to creep up his cheekbones. A vein in his neck throbbed. Thor threw his head back with an almighty roar of laughter. Several almonds bounced from the bag in his hand from the force.

“Come now, Rogers ” he managed through gasps of mirth. “What did you expect? Tis just a silly rule, who cares?” He tossed an almond in the air, attempting to catch it in his mouth. It ricocheted off his eye. As Thor began blinking, Steve raised the clipboard in his hand. He tapped it violently. “I’m in charge of project managing this,” he hissed. “Laufeyson – change back to Nice.”

“Shan’t.” Loki quipped. Steve flushed deeper. “Laufeyson,” he warned. “Actually,” Loki started, enjoying the hushed tension. “I think you’ll find I am rather nice. You saw to that. So in truth, my sweater is fitting for this farce.” Steve’s eye began to twitch.

There was silence.

“Look at us, we’re like a little team," you offered, pointing to each of your green jumpers in turn. “Like the old days.”

Thor chuckled agreement as Loki and Steve stared each other down, a smile playing on Loki’s mouth that was irrevocably absent from the Captain’s. All four of you, it seemed, wore the Naughty uniform today. “In your case, as in mine, our knitwear reflects our essence perfectly my darling” Loki purred to you while his eyes narrowed towards a now vibrating super-soldier. “My naughty...naughty girl.” Steve sighed, hanging his head in resignation. “I told Tony this was a pooper of an idea,” he lamented. “It’s a disaster and it’s not even started.”

Thor’s hand clapped the captain’s shoulder in sympathy, lingering in a squeeze. Steve looked up at him, their eyes meeting.

The blonde god’s gaze widened slightly. You saw his fingers clench as his hand froze. In moments, he raised it; fluffing back his hair before sliding the hand into the pocket of his jeans.

“It’s only one sweater, Rogers” he muttered nervously. “Who cares?” Steve’s face fell, eyes darting to Thor’s crotch with a frown before rising back to his face. “I expected better of you, Odinson” was all he said before turning away.

Loki let out an exasperated sigh, elbowing his brother in the ribs. But Thor didn’t even flinch. His features had crumpled, spinning slowly as he watched the captain leave. His nuts? Forgotten.

But Steve didn’t see it. He was already making his way to the cluster of anxious looking Avengers huddled by the bandstand, examining carol music like they were Hydra files. “That could have gone better,” you whispered to Loki. The god frowned. His attempt to provoke his brother into siding with Rogers had not borne fruit. “Fear not,” Loki replied mysteriously as Thor produced a chicken drumstick from his jeans pocket. He tore off a chunk with a thousand-yard stare. Loki watched him in disbelief, continuing slowly. “There is still time to salvage this operation from the wreckage of my brother’s obstinance.” You gaze flitted between your team-mates. Bucky – Nice. Natasha- Nice. Clint – Naughty. Bruce – Naughty. Wanda – Nice. Sam – Naughty. Scott – Nice. Out the corner of your eye, you saw Loki swipe the half-ravaged chicken drumstick from Thor’s hold with hushed reprimand.

“What’s the big man wearing, I wonder?” you asked no one in particular. Loki snorted, “what else?” he said, nudging his head towards the Santa podium. There he was, Father Christmas aka. Tony Stark. Dressed in ray-bans and custom tailored suit, he looked suspiciously trim for a man in his position.

“Ah,” you smiled.

Loki’s smokey cologne filled your nostrils as he looped his arms around your body, pulling you tight to his chest. “It seems he will not be joining us in this public embarrassment,” he smirked before placing a warming kiss on your lips. Then to the corner of your mouth, then to the angle of your jaw. “Places!” a peaky-sounding Steve shouted, tapping a baton against the music stand at the head of the choir section. There was a deep line between his eyebrows that was decidedly un-Christmassy. “Norns,” Loki muttered. His hands slid down your body, fingers weaving through yours. “Ready?” he breathed nervously, your foreheads touching.

“Are you?” you replied.

Loki squeezed once.

The front row of the audience was made up of children, patients of the hospital. Cushioned folding chairs were laid in a half-crescent, two dozen of their smiling faces staring expectantly. Several of them sat in wheelchairs in the middle. Prime spot. One of them was wearing a pin-badge with Loki’s face on it. A young connoisseur, you thought with a smile.

Behind them, the growing crowd heaved. Sparkling Stark-Industries antlers filled your field of vision, handed out at the gates. There was a static hum, hundred of conversations and jokes and countless eyes inspecting each of you with anticipation. You could feel their excitement fizzing in the air while Bucky fidgeted beside you. Thinking about his solo you had no doubt. You rubbed his back sympathetically. He offered a weak smile of thanks. Steve tapped the pedestal again. “Avengers,” he announced with authority. The hushed whispers and small waves of the team to the crowd came to a halt. “One..two..” he mouthed the three.

All of a sudden, the air came alive with the sound of ten voices, stronger and louder and more melodic than you had expected. Unbelievably, it sounded...good. Hark! The Heralds, angels sing; Glory to the newborn king,

The brass quintet upon the bandstand soared. Even in practice, it hadn’t been this good. A Christmas miracle, you thought as you belted out the words in some semblance of tune.

Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconcile, Your gaze flickered to the other side of the semi-circle, catching Loki’s.

He held his carol-sheet diligently at arms-length, not looking at it. But rather, at you.

He winked.

Steve had rightly separated you. The chances of him squeezing your ass in front of the sick children was just too high. What if one of them goes into shock, Steve had said. But in truth, it was the deep, soulful magnetism of Loki’s singing voice that posed the real risk. If you were standing beside him, you weren’t sure if you’d be able to contain yourself. You winked back. Beside Loki, Thor craned towards the paper his brother held.

Thor had memorised every carol. Every modern classic. Everything in the repertoire. You knew that for a fact.

For the last two weeks, ever since your conversation in the common room – you’d been able to hear him before you could see him. And not in the usual way. You’d become accustomed to hearing his theatrical rendition of Silent Night bouncing its ironic way around the tile of the gym, the hallways, seeping through floors. And what he lacked in vocal melody, he certainly made up for in enthusiasm.

No - in truth, as the God of Thunder stared at the music sheet, he was avoiding Steve’s appraising stare which darted to each of them in turn. Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies,

Reluctantly tearing your gaze away from your boyfriend, you focused back on the conductor. The crimson flush of his ears had ebbed. He was beginning to smile. Well, a little.

Hark! The Heralds, angels sing; Glory to the newborn king,

The carol continued. And then the next, and the next. Collection buckets that were being passed amongst the crowd began to overflow, the spectators indulging in a mix of swaying, singing, dancing.

With every song that passed, Bucky became more nervous, his voice a little higher.

You only faltered once during Winter Wonderland when you made the mistake of looking at Loki again. At some point, he had raked his hair back. Pink peaked at his cheekbones, his hip slouched casually, tapping his foot in time. One side of his sweater was concealed in the waistband of his dark chinos. A french-tuck, if you weren’t mistaken. It highlighted the sluttish creases that strained at his crotch.

Dark curls fell around the green knit, half-lidded eyes following each word as he sang it. You would fuck that sweater right off him later. Or maybe, he could keep it on...you mused. His smooth baritone slid over the words like a sled in morning’s first snow, to face unafraid, the plans that we made, walking in a- He looked up with a knowing side-smile in your direction. A sharp elbow in the ribs from Wanda made you realised you had lost your train of thought. Your mouth was open, but no words were coming out. “-winter wonderlaaaand,” you squawked out of time.

Steve’s eyes snapped to you, brow arched. He couldn’t complain, not really. Considering how well it was going. A brief erotically-charged moment of disassociation was the least he could expect, surely. As the song drew to a close with a flourish of conductor Rogers’ arms, the crowd burst into applause. With every passing number, it had become louder. You weren’t sure if there were more people, or if the mulled wine had been refilled. Steve spun to face the audience, growing darkness making the warm glow from fairylights create a halo around his blonde hair.

“And now...a very special treat,” he announced mysteriously to the expectant crowd. “Something very, very special indeed. I’ve heard it in rehearsal and golly, he’s just spiff.” Bucky’s feet began scuffing on the ground. He’s going to do a runner, you thought. But thankfully for Bucky, he had nothing to worry about.

The plan was for Barnes to perform a rousing rendition of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Olivia Holt. Or Michael Buble, depending on the demographic. Backed up by the jingling ooo’s and aaa’s of the team of course. But despite Barnes initial enthusiasm, the thought of it had filled him with more horror each passing day.

Steve had been very excited about the whole affair. A grand finale for his orchestral debut, such as it was. And Bucky hadn’t the heart to tell him. “Buck?” you muttered out the corner of your mouth. You glanced at him, trying to be covert. He was sweating, staring blankly ahead. “Buck?” “Yuh.” Barnes mustered quietly as Steve began to move a microphone between the sick kids. Their little voices made your heart flutter. But you had a job to do. The weight of Loki’s concentration radiated from across the space between you. He was watching you and Bucky, completely still aside from one twitching finger and the small smile flickering at his dimples. You cleared your throat, leaning to the side towards the soldier. “In a few seconds you might feel a bit funny-” “I already feel a bit funny doll,” he murmured bitterly. “Yeah but...well, you’ll see. Just don’t freak out.” “Freak-what-now?” “Out-” “-Yah I got that-” he snapped, trying to turn towards you and failing. He tried to twist, but his shoulders wouldn’t budge. “What the-?” “Buck?” you repeated slowly. He met your eyes, the first shadows of fear creeping in. “When Steve calls you up, just shake your head. You have a little bit of movement in your neck. And you can talk a little. Just a little so I can check you’re okay. Okay?” Bucky raised his eyebrows in a grimacing caricature. You decided to assume that meant it was totally cool. “Who are hoo hurkin’ hor!?” he hissed in a wreckage of lisping syllables. His shoulders shook ever so slightly back and forth like a wound-up nutcracker as he tried and failed to move his feet. “Oh, no-” you said, realising he thought you’d been turned. “No, it’s just Loki’s magic. Don’t worry.” Bucky’s eyes widened.

‘Please welcome-’

“You’re off the hook with the song?” you chirped quietly, hoping it had the intended effect. Barnes stopped struggling. ‘-my friend, James Buchanan Barnes!’ A round of deafening applause snapped you from your bubble. Steve stood back at his podium, baton poised and ready for the band to begin.

Alongside the other Avengers, except Bucky, you bent down and picked up a sleigh bell carefully placed at your feet. You could beat someone to death with this thing, you thought as the chrome bells jingled beneath your hand. Wanda shot you a knowing glance, holding in a laugh.

The applause ebbed as James Buchanan Barnes remained rooted to the spot. His eyes darted side to side across the waiting crowd. He shook his head very, very slowly. Showtime, you thought. “I’m afraid he has a bit of stage-fright,” you explained loudly. Collective disappointment hummed in the air. Steve’s face flushed an immediate shade of fuchsia, features hardening. You could see the cogs in his brain turn, a victorious glittering finale slipping from his grasp. His lips puckered, sucking in his cheeks. “I’m sure with a little...encouragement,” Steve said with a grimacing smile, raising his arms. The crowd roared back to life.

Bucky shook his head, a bit faster this time. Rogers head lowered, the breath from his sigh of exasperation clouding around his face. “If I may...” came Loki’s calm drawl from across the line-up. It dripped with sensual showmanship, treacleish tones sending an immediate flood of desire leaking into your panties.

Men and women in the front rows grasped at each other, gawking as if suddenly seeing him for the first time. It doesn’t get any easier folks, you thought with a smile. “My brother here knows the arrangement by heart,” Loki continued. “The lyrics and suchlike- I’m sure he would be happy to relieve Barnes of his duties-”

Mutters of excitement spread through the crowd like a mexican wave. Thor immediately turned his back to the audience, muttering something at surprisingly hushed volume in his brother’s ear. Loki listened diligently, holding up a penitent finger to the crowd. Steve’s arms were folded, storm-clouds knitting his brow. The foot had begun to tap. “My brother makes the valid point that of the two of us, I am the more musically inclined-” Loki began, gracefully gripping Thor’s shoulders and spinning him back to face the audience.

He brushed his brother’s collar, removing the last of the almond crumbs which resided there. A smile you knew all too well stretched across Loki’s lips as he looked deep into Thor’s eyes, willing him to understand. “But alas,” Loki purred, “I know not the words.” And perhaps these words will heal, Loki thought.

Loki held his breath as Thor began to gingerly shuffle forwards, tugging at the hem of his Naughty- emblazoned jumper. If father could see us now, Loki mused with a shiver as his brother gripped the microphone.

The crowd was beginning to stomp in appreciation, driven into a frenzy by the turn of events. Thor gave a small wave, bashful smile growing wider as people began to whistle. Loki turned his attention to Rogers, standing stiff and poised with baton in the air. He gave it a singular flourish, counting down from three. The crowd fell silent.

Loki saw the moment that Steve and Thor’s eyes met. It seemed to make every fairy bulb glow a little brighter in the darkness, sparks of hope spreading like embers from a fire, fluttering upwards in a night sky. Please brother, Loki pleaded silently as he raised his sleigh bell. Don’t arse this up. He suddenly wondered if Thor had felt this way during their time at the cottage. Loki supposed that he had. The brass band sprang to life, drums making an entrance. (Christmaaaas) Loki sang suddenly with the others. Nine voices harmonised as one.

Thor panicked, pulling the microphone to his mouth. “Snow is...coming down...uh-oof-” he spluttered, the cable tangling around his shoe. (Christmaaaaas) they sang, cringing slightly.

One line in, and Loki had almost lost all hope. “I'm watching it faaaaall” Thor crooned in bass – a little more tunefully. (Christmaaaas) “Lots of...very lovely and festive, yes – you...people aro-hounnnd,” (Christmaaaas) Loki sang, a smile beginning to spread as his brother came alive. He was pointing at the children, giggles and squeals peppering the air. The sleigh bell beat against his palm in time with his brother’s voice. “Baby, please come ho-hommmme,” Thor sang. Loki looked up, catching a look on your face that he hadn’t seen before. There was something different in that look. Some deeper variable of your smile that ignited his heart. But there would be time for overthinking it later, he surmised as his brother launched into the chorus with a glottal barrage of enthusiasm. For now, he had a love to nurture.

As Loki released his practised backing harmonies with the rest of the team, his brother got into his stride. ‘Owned the stage,’ Loki believed was the term. Steve didn’t take his eyes off Thor for the whole number. And if Loki didn’t know better, which of course – he did, he would swear that the captain was blushing.

(Please) they sang, sleigh bells jangling in time. “Pleaseee” echoed his brother. (Please) “Please” (Please) “Please” (Please) “Please Baby, please come hommmme-” You were surprised the operatic efforts of Loki’s brother didn’t make the ground shake.

The crowd were beside themselves, singing and jiving and waving their hands in the air. Thor worked the big crescendo, falling to his knees on the ground. His thighs spread, and whether it was his intention or not, you saw Steve grip the podium as his sensibilities buckled. Just a bit. The captain’s lips rolled together, stifling what you were sure was a bite. Thank god Thor wore the tight jeans today, you mused as you held the final note. With a swiping flourish of the conductor’s baton, the song was over. The cheers were deafening.

Thor stood and gave a small bow, sudden bashfulness descending. He waved, backing off to the side. His eyes met Steve’s, giving him an understated nod. The captain returned it slowly, a look in his eyes you hadn’t seen before. You watched him mouth two words, thank you, before Thor collided into Loki.

There was only one more song to go. You watched as Loki patted his brother’s shoulder across the semi-circle, pulling him into a hug. His face was alight with pride. It melted your heart. Despite the passing of the months, you couldn’t get over how different his smiles were now. Open. Genuine. Real. He’s finally opened his heart.

Have you? The thought came intrusively. Fairy lights shone all around as Loki tussled his brother’s hair. Thor couldn’t stop smiling. And neither could Steve, you noticed. One more song. Rogers tapped the podium for the final time, raising the baton. The mellow sound of the saxophone twisted in the air, followed by strings.

“I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know” you sang. Loki’s eyes met yours, sparkling with the glitter of mischief well done. “Where the treetops glisten, And children listen, To hear sleigh bells in the snow,”

Bucky’s voice began to grow louder beside you. Released from his bodily prison at last. On cue, the Avengers began to peel away from the semi-circle, mingling with the crowd. Of course, any production orchestrated by Steve Rogers would end in a collective heart-melting communal singalong. Nothing else would do.

You watched as Wanda cosied up to a older man holding a mulled wine. He offered it to her immediately, stunned as he mouthed the words to White Christmas. She took it.

For your part, you made a beeline for the children sitting at the front of the audience, joining them in their sway. This whole thing was for them, after all. Loki’s shadow crept behind you, falling over the little girl with his face emblazoned on the pin badge.

“I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, with every Christmas card I write” Loki purred melodically as he lowered to his haunches. He paused, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. You watched her face, transfixed in joy as all her daydreams came true. The God of Mischief in person, his shadowed blue eyes looking into hers as though she was the only person in the world. That never gets old, either, you thought. He took her hand, pressing her tiny palm against his own. “May your days,” he sang with the crowd as his fingertips glowed green, “be merry and bright-” You couldn’t tear yourself from the look of absolute sincerity on his face. The utter determination painted on softened features to give this sweet girl a memory that would last for the rest of her life – however long that was.

Tears began to prick your eyes, seeing the crane of her neck upwards as her mouth fell open in wonder to the sky. Loki smiled. The green shimmer of his palm pressed to hers grew stronger. A glow flashed across the inky night, a billowing flourish of northern lights erupting over central Manhattan seeped in emerald and pinkish hues. They twisted in waves, swirling like a cloak which moved and rolled. It was alive. Loki's voice was quieter now, but no less beautiful as he sang. “And may all your Christmases, be-” “white,” the little girl gasped as snow began to fall. He did that, you thought in wonder as the crowd began to cheer, hugging each other. All sets of eyes were turned upwards to the sky. All but yours. They stayed fixed on Loki as the band played on amidst a flutter of newly swirling snowflakes. The man I love.

“The tie, brother-” Thor muttered nervously, “is it..?” “It is well done, brother” Loki replied.

He dusted the lapel of Thor’s crushed velvet suit jacket a final time, a deep red the shade of fine merlot. The blonde released a trembling sigh, pulling at his fingers.

It was Christmas Eve. “Did you take the pharmaceuticals as instructed?” Loki enquired quietly as the elevator bounced to a halt. Thor nodded, patting his breast pocket. “The Tums? Yes. I have some on my person should the gaseous beast rear in my belly.” Loki nodded, satisfied. All the bases were covered. He had done all he could do. Now, it was up to Thor. Well, almost. It had been Loki’s idea for the brothers to dress together for the party tonight. And although his initial plan was to ensure that Thor was in peak condition for this eve of great import, Loki would admit that he had enjoyed it. Very much.

He wore a suit matching his brother’s in all but one detail. Loki’s was a crushed velvet of richest emerald green. Thin silk ties of gold adorned them both, fastened tight to the white shirts beneath with a pin bearing their respective emblems. Loki’s gift to his brother. The Asgardian Princes were showing up, tonight. Loki had made sure of it. Mother would be proud, he smiled as the elevator doors opened. Thor’s Yuletide offering to him had been a gift certificate to the Cheesecake Factory, but Loki paid it no mind. Gifts had never been his brother's strong-suit.

The rest of the team was already gathered by the Christmas tree, festive beverages in hand. A rolling cheer of greeting sounded as the duo strode towards the scene. Loki grabbed two glasses from the bar, passing one to his brother who necked it immediately. The dark god swirled his finger, refilling it. Loki felt his brows rise as he saw you, standing with one finger curled over your lip and an entirely too sensual smirk on your beautiful face. Beneath the perfectly cut trousers of his suit, Loki’s cock twitched. “You look handsome,” you coaxed quietly as he slid an arm around your waist, releasing a breath he’d been holding as a charged grunt of need.

“If we had gotten ready for tonight together,” Loki growled hot in your ear, “I fear that dress would never have been seen by another intact.” He pressed himself to you with a lingering kiss, an appreciative thrust of his hips rubbing against your own. He sighed into your open mouth, feeling your fingers dig into his shoulders. “God,” Natasha muttered with playful scorn under her breath, shuffling over to give you both space. “Can’t take them anywhere,” she murmured to Sam. Sam grunted in agreement.

“Presents!” Tony cried, clapping his hands together. “Party starts at eight, tick tock. Cutting it fine thanks to Paris and Nicole here.” He nodded in Loki and Thor’s direction. Steve checked his watch. “One cannot rush perfection, Stark” Loki smirked, releasing you. He watched as Rogers turned and adjusted a decoration on the tree. A plush rabbit wearing a santa hat. He was nervous. Tony knelt down, reading each gift tag and throwing it to the corresponding team-member. An oblong package whizzed past Loki's face, hitting his brother square in the mouth. 'Ooft,' Thor grunted as mulled wine slopped over the side of the glass. He stumbled, catching the present. Loki sighed, flexing his fingers and removing the stain from the front of his sibling’s suit. His brother nestled the empty glass dangerously within the tree branches to his side, inspecting the package. “Tis soft,” he muttered seriously. Across the circle, Loki saw Steve’s anxious gaze darting upwards at his brother in intervals. He noted you offer the captain a comforting nod while Thor tore at immaculate wrapping, ripping off the red ribbon and casting it aside. “Odin’s beard…” Thor gasped as the final sliver of paper fell away.

The team fell silent, looking up from their various body massagers and associated tat. He raised the item in his hands like Simba, slack-jawed in awe. The amazed god stared at it, eyes glossy.

Bruce frowned towards the blonde, peering over his glasses with an oversized posing pouch dangling from one finger. “Is that-?” “-A chicken drumstick?” Nat gawked. “Tis’ soft…!” Thor breathed in wonder, twirling it in his hands. He clutched it to his chest, eyes darting around the group. “A thousand thanks upon whomever bestowed this plush poultry treasure upon me,” he murmured, unable to resist holding the cushion proudly at arms length.

“Truly whomever be my secretive santa knows me to my core-” he continued dreamily, looking to each avenger in turn. They all looked befuddled. All except one. Thor’s brow creased, doing a double take as Steve’s cheeks plunged to new depths of crimson. “Rogers?” the blonde god whispered, so low only Loki could hear it. “Open yours Steve!” someone probed. Captain America still held his own package in his hands, toying with it gently.

Loki maintained his stoic expression, tossing his newly acquired bottle of luxury dry shampoo between his hands as he noted horror descend on his brother’s face. Never fear, brother; he thought smugly. Thor thought that Steve was about to open a small box containing yet another gift certificate to the Cheesecake Factory. But Thor was mistaken. Firstly, America’s saviour was lactose intolerant. Any internet search would have told him that. But despite his brother’s poverty of imagination where presents were concerned, his heart was in the right place. And for the cunning plan his love and he had concocted, there was only one gift which could bring the two men comfort and joy this Christmas. The truth. “Wait, wait-” Thor yelped as he took several panicked strides across the room. He knelt down to Steve’s level, placing his hands over the box that Steve had only just revealed through the wrapping. “It’s not-” Steve looked up, meeting the god’s panicked stare with practised indifference.

“Let me open it, will ya?” he said calmly. Thor sank back, head bowed as he waited for the axe to fall. With every careful unlatching of sellotape, Loki saw his brother’s heart sink a little more into his stomach. “Good gravy, what’s this? A pocket-square?” Thor looked up, regret turning to confusion as he clocked the handkerchief dangling between Rogers slender fingers. It was familiar, heavy with otherworldly silk and trimmed in thread ground from the most precious jewels of nine realms. On one side, deepest burgundy melting to crimson. But on the other, a rich navy which faded to shimmering azure.

Red and blue, not red and green.

The two colours met in the middle, threads glittering and overlapping like foam on the shore. They seemed to move. To change and ebb in the light like a living thing. And stitched across the handkerchief in the finest gold,

En sannhet byttet mot en sannhet. “Jeepers,” Steve muttered as he pulled the silk appraisingly through his fingers. “Someone definitely went over the twenty dollar limit.” Thor twisted his head incredulously towards his brother. Loki narrowed his eyes briefly in response, coupled with a small nod. The blonde god cleared his throat, finally catching up to the scenario unfolding before him. “A truth for a truth,” Thor breathed quietly, looking to the floor.

Steve’s concentration broke, as if suddenly seeing the person kneeling beside him on the floor for the first time. “P-pardon?” he stuttered. There was a sudden wave of green hued light through the room, reminiscent of the northern lights which lit up last night’s sky at the jamboree. “My apologies, Rogers…” Loki purred, stepping forwards. “I feel it best to inform you that the others cannot see nor hear us at this moment. As far as they are aware, you are both by the bar.” Loki nodded to where a slightly glitchy duo of duplicates stood behind Tony’s counter, clinking glasses of tequila. “Just myself, and she-” he nodded to you, “are witness.” “W-witness?” Steve spluttered, trying to stand and finding his knees starting to buckle. He looked at Thor, eyes wide. But all he found was softness. “Say the words, Rogers” Thor urged gently, gesturing to the handkerchief. Steve frowned, as the blonde god pulled the silk from his grip.

“A truth for...what was it? Truth for a truth?” Rogers asked, confused gaze darting between the men and you.

Loki clapped his hands together quietly. “Wonderful. You are now bound to the Accords of the Kerchief.” Steve frowned deeper. “Accords of the what-now?” “Kerchief,” Loki repeated formally, nodding towards the silk in Thor’s hand.

“You have both held it while the other spoke the words. And now, you must exchange the truth which causes the conflict between you – so that it may be resolved.” “And what if I don’t wanna?” Rogers sniffed, ears burning. He avoided Thor’s eyes. Loki released a whittling hum of discontent. “Unfortunately, failure to comply with the Accord of the Kerchief once initiated means instant smiting at the hands of Heimdall.” “Smiting?! You can’t be serious,” Steve scoffed with gusto. “Oh yes,” Loki nodded very seriously. Thor was nodding too. Also very seriously. “The penalties are most grave, Rogers.” “You tricked me,” Steve hissed to the blonde opposite him.

“Technically I tricked you,” Loki smirked apologetically. Rogers eyes narrowed in his direction, his lip trembling with what looked suspiciously like a swear. “Laufeyson,” he warned. Loki extended his forefinger, waggling it slowly side-to-side. “It will do not a jot of good, Rogers. You can thank my mother for this one. Now -” he gestured expectantly between the men. Thor took a deep breath. “Rogers-Ihavefeelingsforyouwhichcannotbeexplainedin,mere...Norns-” “Slow down, Thor-” you cooed gently.

Loki felt your hand slide into his. The nerves roaring in his belly soothed as your fingers interlinked. Despite maintaining an exterior of calm, he was terrified.

“Rogers,” Thor began again. Steve stared at him, transfixed. The aura of suspicion which surrounded him was fading, his stiff spine slackening as he looked at the god. Really looked at him. Saw him.

“I have feelings for you, which run deep to the heart of me. Which I cannot deny any longer. And if you feel that you cannot return my interest, then I shall understand. But I cannot spend another night unable to sleep, thinking that you believe me to hate you. And I apologise for my boorish behaviour these past months.” There was a pause as the god took a breath before continuing. “It was self preservation, you see-” Thor rumbled quietly, before sighing.

Steve looked down, still except for his fingers fidgeting with the wrapping paper in his lap. “That was well done, brother” Loki soothed. Thor shot him a sad smile. “I-” Rogers started.

The three of you held your breath. He looked up, just at the moment Thor curled a blonde tendril behind his ear. “I-” Steve choked, shifting on his knees. “It’s okay Steve,” you coaxed from the side-lines. It was the final nudge he needed. “I feel the same,” was all Steve said. He looked up, meeting Thor’s widening eyes. “Truly?” Steve nodded shyly. “I got myself in a tizz, about a whole bunch of things which weren’t really to do with you. Or….us. Not really,” he stammered. "It wasn't a mistake. And I was a dummy to say so." Loki felt your fingernails dig into his palm, both of you craning forwards as the captain continued. His voice was serious, a slight waver just audible between the words. “For a while, I thought you thought I was just some kinda tart. Some kind of loose Jack. Well lemme tell you Odinson, Steve Rogers is no one’s tart.” “You were never my tart, Rogers,” Thor uttered with gravitas, gently cupping Steve’s jaw. The captain’s eyelids fluttered closed, leaning into his hold. In seconds, the space between them closed. Rogers arms wrapped around Thor’s shoulders, Thor’s hands sliding around the captain’s waist. They fit together like a glove, Steve’s fingers winding in the god’s hair like a spindle through spun gold. Low mutterings of apologies cascaded from their lips between kisses, small gasps and sighs as unpleasantness of past months were forgotten. “What the fuck?” Tony spluttered. Every set of eyes in the room was fixed on the God of Thunder and Captain America’s passionate embrace. Hel, Loki thought with a shock. In all the excitement, he had neglected to hold the spell which shielded them. The kiss ceased, but still their arms were wound around each other. “Sheesh,” Wanda laughed, grabbing a bottle of the good stuff on her way past the bar. “It’s about time.” A murmur of agreement rolled around the room, a chorus of whoops sounding as each teammate stooped to offer a clap on the back to the newly outed couple. And for the first time in living memory, the colour of Thor’s cheeks rivalled his lover’s. “Maybe you guys won’t be the public embarrassment at parties anymore,” Nat quipped as she passed, tapping Loki and you lightly on the ass. Your laughter lit up Loki’s heart. And there was that look in your eye again, the one he couldn’t place yesterday.

‘We did it,’ you mouthed silently to him. Loki winked in response, just as the clock chimed eight. With a spring in his step, Loki made his way to the men kneeling awkwardly on the floor, noting their interlinked fingers with a wave of pride. He offered both hands, and each was taken. He heaved, pulling the men to stand and immediately into a hug.

“Merry Christmas, brother” he whispered in Thor’s ear. “Do you need the handkerchief back?” Thor muttered through a smile. “I am assuming the revised colours were only temporary.” Loki chuckled, pulling him and Rogers tighter. The captain released a strangled ooft as the air was pressed from his lungs.

“I think not that we need such a trinket to ensure our bond. Not anymore. Do you, brother?” Loki murmured into his sibling’s hair.

From deep within the embrace, in a hold which seemed to melt the centuries, Loki felt his brother shake his head.

The party was a roaring success. And in the early hours of Christmas Day, you and Loki stumbled back to your apartment upstairs.

It was tiredness, mostly – and happiness. Strands of tinsel poked from Loki’s curls. You pulled one out with a giggle before unlocking the door and pulling him inside. “Finally,” he growled longingly as one slim finger toyed with the strap of your dress. Making quick work of pushing the velvet suit jacket from his shoulders, your fingers were halfway down his shirt buttons before you suddenly remembered- “-your present!” you cried, making Loki flinch back from where he had been buried in your neck.

“Can’t it wait?” he whined with feigned impatience. You waved an excited hand, scurrying to the cupboard. “No.” you shouted, head popping out behind the cupboard door. “I’ve been dying to give it to you.” Loki sighed, a reluctant smile spreading across his beautiful face. “I thought we agreed no gifts,” he huffed as you ran and sat cross-legged on the bed.

You bounced on your knees while he swaggered over, undoing the last of his buttons with a knowing grin as he enjoyed the roam of your hungry stare across his skin. His carved abdomen flirted into view, obliques visible with each stride as the thick cotton folded to his movements. Loki sat on the bed, legs spread at the edge. His thighs creased the material in a way that made your mouth water.

He picked up the box, inspecting it before throwing you a lingering smoulder. “Mischievous elf,” he purred. “It’s just a small thing” you bargained, biting your lip as the first side of paper was torn. “I stole it, actually.” Loki raised an eyebrow. “Open it!” you said, chewing on your thumbnail as you watched his eyes drop to the package. Suddenly the god’s face changed.

Playfulness melted to a frown, his smirk fading. He swallowed thickly, staring down at the mug in his hands before looking up at you. “-with the yellow bear,” he said quietly. “and the eyepatch!” you beamed. “I took it from the cottage. I noticed you always used it, I thought you might like the-”

Before you could finish, Loki’s hand had cupped the back of your head and pulled you into an all-consuming kiss. He bore down on you, the passion of his adoration sinking through the air and deep into your soul. Every circle of his tongue against yours, every caress of his breath as he repositioned his mouth over your own. He broke, panting. “Darling,” was all he could muster in thanks as he looked down at the ceramic with adoring eyes. You couldn’t stop smiling. His gaze snapped up, a click of his fingers making a perfectly wrapped present appear beside you on the bed. Golden paper shimmered before becoming whole. It was flat, and light. “No presents, huh?” you goaded sweetly. Loki smiled. “Open it,” he echoed. You complied. And inside the paper was a perfectly folded nightdress, adorned with autumnal leaves. The very same one. You hugged it to your chest, a dopey smile on your face. “I knew it was the one thing in that room you would miss,” he rumbled apologetically.

You reached for his hand, thumb running over the veins taut and thick on the back. “I hope this doesn’t mean I’ll be sleeping alone,” you whispered with a smile. Loki placed his mug on the side table, before reaching for the nightdress and placing it beside. “God forbid,” he growled. Loki pulled another errant strand of tinsel from his hair, making it vanish. Without breaking eye contact, he lowered you back on the mattress, the pad of one fingertip tracing down your cheekbone. Memorising it.

The way he was looking at you, the silence that hung where words should be. You knew which words they were. He was holding back, even now as he inhaled against your pulse-point. Holding back for you. As dark curls blanketed your vision, you thought of the excitement in his voice as the cunning plan was formed. Of the way his fists clenched as he silently cheered his brother on, how his face fell when he thought that it was all for naught. How his eyes had swum with joy as it all came together. Not for himself, but for them. And you thought of the smile on that little girl’s face, joyful in the midst of Christmas lights and magic that shouldn't be possible. But for her, and for you - with him...it was. Yes, you’d thought about that a lot. “I love you, Loki” you whispered slowly in his ear.

Loki’s kisses against your neck faltered. You heard a sigh rack his chest, breath hitching as his heart-beart quickened on top of your own. “Truly?” he murmured in response.

It was cautious, wary. His eyes came into view, concern clouding them. You slid a hand up his jaw, kissing him gently. “I love you,” you repeated solemnly. He pressed his forehead to yours, a choke of relieved laughter accompanying a long inhale of breath. “Gods,” he whispered on the exhale, “what have I done to deserve you?” “Everything,” you replied quietly. It was a truth.

He kissed you as though he was trying to absorb each atom of your breath, capture each flutter of the three words he’d longed to hear. As though they might vanish if he did not mark the moment with the seal of his touch. But they wouldn’t. You knew that now. How could they? “I love you,” he whispered back. And you believed him.

A/N: Thank you again so so so much for coming on this journey with me and the gang. I'm so happy with how this ended, even though the expansion was a bit unexpected(!) and I really hope you are too! Although the 'main' story is chapters 1-7, it felt like there was more to explore. Please let me know what you thought, any insights or additional HCs you have - they are always welcome ❤️ Tags

@lokischambermaid @meowmeow-motherfucker @gigglingtiggerv2 @imalovernotahater @avengersalways @littledark11 @lokikissesmyforehead @simplyholl @fictive-sl0th @thedistractedagglomeration @loopsisloops @glitchquake @holdmytesseract @jaidenhawke @silverfire475 @fandxmslxt69 @morriggannlostinfandoms @marygoddessofmischief @sebstanwhore @xorpsbane @peacefulpianist @yelkmelk @wheredafandomat @mistress-ofmagic @acidcasualties @ozymdias @your-taste-on-my-lips @lokidokieokie @kikster606 @peachyjinx @tbhiddlestan83 @trickster-maiden @skymoonandstardust @justjoanne242 @thenotoriouserg @ladyofthestayingpower @wolfmoonmusic @brittbax @smolvenger @joyful-enchantress @kaleenjackson @fictional-hooman @kellatron55 @mrs-illyrian-baby @icytrickster17 @muddyorbs @buttercupcookies-blog @goddessofwonderland

[erics-meep-morps]

A Helping Rose

This is a RWBY fanfic I began writing in December and finally finished almost six months later. During that time I've been dealing with struggling mental health, multiple job rejections, and working a job where I have a big responsibility, requires a lot of focus, and can easily make me stressed, but will hopefully lead to something better in the future.

I wrote this story as a creative outlet, for comfort, and to help process all my thoughts, hopes and worries that have been going on in my head pretty much since the pandemic began in 2020. While it's nice to go back and read through it, I figured I'd post it since I put a lot of work and heart into this story. Maybe someone out there can relate to it, maybe get inspiration to write their own story, or maybe you're one of those in the RWBY fandom looking for any new fan content, no matter how small, while we await the future of canon RWBY.

Where this fanfic takes place on Remnant I left obscure, and as for when it takes place that's also kind of obscure, but it does take place sometime after Team RWBY + Jaune come back from the Ever After. This story is split into three parts: first from Ruby's perspective, then Yang's perspective, and finally my perspective.

For those of you who read it, even if just a small part of it, I hope you enjoy.

Trigger warning: This story mentions depression and suicide.

This started off as an average winter day. Weiss told me about an adorable little cafe that I would love since according to her they have the best chocolate chip cookies on Remnant; a very bold statement, so I had to see it for myself. I could've taken the bus there, and most people would on a cold day like today, but I like seeing the festive decorations around the city and people getting into the holiday mood. As a bonus there’s a beautiful stone arch bridge overlooking a spectacular waterfall on the way there. 

The sun was at its midday peak, and it wouldn’t take long for it to set. As I started across the bridge a harsh and cold wind took me by surprise, but I soldiered on. Very few people were on the bridge, and those that were quickly walked or ran across to get out of the wind. One particular person however, was standing and staring off into the distance admiring the view, though he was facing away from the waterfall, and I almost wanted to tell him to check out the other side of the bridge.

The cafe was indeed little and adorable. The interior was very decorative with both regular decorations and holiday decorations. While kind of cramped with there being only five tables with each having two chairs, it was also warm and cozy, and the smell of sweets really added to the festive atmosphere. Yang met up with me there since she was also interested in these supposed Remnant's greatest chocolate chip cookies. We each bought seven because our hopes were already high on the taste of these, and in general we tend to overdo eating cookies. They were indeed very good, but not quite the greatest we’ve had. I’m not sure what it was; maybe Weiss overhyped them, or we just have different tastes, but even though we didn’t think they were the greatest Yang and I still swiftly ate them. On the other hand, the hot chocolate we also ordered was one of the best we’ve ever had. There were several hot chocolate flavors and we were tempted to try them all, but that would have to wait a different day. In the midst of enjoying our hot chocolate and chatting we lost track of time, so Yang had to rush off for an assignment. Meanwhile I headed back to our apartment to give Weiss my review, and I mentally prepared for how disappointed she would be with it. Maybe the great review of the hot chocolate would soften the blow.

It was now almost four o'clock and already dark. The wind hadn’t calmed down, and any tiny bit of warmth from the sun was gone. I thought about taking the bus back, but I decided to brave it and walk. As I approached the dimly lit bridge there was no one on it for as far as I could see. Halfway across however, I noticed a person who appeared to be just standing there.

“What if that’s the same guy from before,” I jokingly thought to myself. As I got closer however, the more it looked like him. My concern was rising, and then full blown shock to see it was indeed the same guy standing in the same exact spot and staring off in the same direction. “Maybe he went somewhere and then came back,” I thought to myself as the only reason for why he was here, but my brain and heart knew something wasn’t right. I slowly walked towards him trying to see if he would notice me, but even when I was only five feet away from him he showed no signs of seeing me. 

“E- excuse me,” I softly said to the man.

As if I had snapped him out of a gaze, he jumped slightly and quickly looked towards me.

“Oh, I’m sorry to startle you. It’s just that I saw you here several hours ago and you’re still here. Do you need anything?”

“I- I’m okay, thank you,” he replied nervously and turned his head back to where he was looking.

“Will you be heading home soon? It’s quite cold tonight.”

His mouth quivered as though he were struggling to bring words out.

“D- did you know trains used to run on this bridge a long time ago? I never saw it myself, but I’ve seen videos of it.”

An interesting fact, but my concern grew with him dodging my question.  Perhaps I needed to approach him a different way. “Oh, interesting! I didn’t know that. Do you happen to have one of those videos so I can see?”

“I would pull it up on my scroll, but it’s dead,” he replied and showed his scroll, and it seems he was telling the truth because he pushed the screen several times and nothing happened.

“Oh, no worries! Maybe we can find it on my scroll,” I said and walked closer to him. As I did this he stepped backwards. He could see the concern on my face, and I’m sure he knew how nervous he looked.

He sighed. “I- I promise I’m not going to do anything stupid, I’m just… not in the best place right now and came here to think.”

I got some reassurance now that he was starting to open up. “Would talking about it help?”

Another sigh. “Life isn’t going the way I expected it to. I finished school years ago, and ever since I’ve been trying to get in the career I want, but I haven’t had much success. I... felt like coming here to reflect on my life. There's a very tiny part of me saying I should, well, jump off this bridge, but it's mostly just considering whether I should keep trying to achieve my goals or go an easier route; find a simple job and live a simple life.”

The more he opened up the more at ease I was, but I thought carefully about my response. Maybe relating to his struggle would help. “I was in a similar situation. I've wanted to be a huntress since I was a kid, and I was given the opportunity to do that earlier than I expected. Since that opportunity though, it hasn’t gone the way I thought it would at all. I’ve had many setbacks, some small, and some big; a couple of my friends who were also huntresses lost their lives. I thought that I wasn’t allowed to be a failure, and with all the failures I’ve had I started to believe it would be better if I just went away. I… tried to kill myself, but I was given a second chance at life and realized that I don’t need to be perfect. Who I am is enough, and I have many people in my life supporting me and helping me to keep moving forward. Do you get encouragement from people in your life?”

He thought for a moment. “I- I’m sorry, c- could you repeat the question?”

“No worries,” I replied assuredly. “Do you have support from people in your life? Family, friends, anyone who knows your goals and encourages you to keep working towards those goals even when you have setbacks.”

“I do, but it's hard for me to keep that encouragement in mind. Sometimes I’m clouded out by negativity; my failures, some people telling me to give up, and something recently that was really discouraging was my dad, frustrated over my lack of success in getting a job I wanted, asked me what if ten years from now I'm still in this same dilemma. I didn't say this to him, but the thought that immediately came to my mind when he asked that was… killing myself,” he said and paused. “I know no one is perfect and everyone has failures, but I've reached a point where I don't take failure lightly. One job rejection after another piles up, working jobs I don’t want to do, and I get more and more angry with myself and I bully myself for it.”

“Well, you shouldn't be mean to my new friend," I said, hoping he would receive the message I was trying to give. 

He looked at me with tears quickly filling his eyes. I slowly walked over to him, and this time he didn't back away. I hugged him as tightly as I could, and he hugged back.

"What's your name, new friend?” I asked.

"Eric. And yours?”

“Ruby."

"It's wonderful to meet you Ruby.”

"Likewise." I could feel his body shivering. Part of it definitely from the cold, but I'm sure also all of the emotions he was having in this moment. "Do you want hot chocolate? I was coming back from a cafe close to the bridge with great hot chocolate, and according to my friend the best chocolate chip cookies ever.”

"Th- that sounds pretty good r- right now," he said in a shivering voice.

At the cafe the barista welcomed me back, and I ordered another platter of cookies. 

“Had to get another order of Remnant’s greatest chocolate chip cookies?” The barista asked cheerfully.

“You bet!” I responded as confidently as I could to mask the awkwardness of how I truly felt about them.

As I brought the cookies to the table Eric was rubbing his hands, which despite having gloves on were red and shaking from the cold. He struggled to keep the first two cookies in his hands, and he took small bites. As he warmed up and his shivering eased though he was able to easily hold the cookies and ate them at a steady pace.

“What do you think of the cookies," I asked after he had a few.

“I’m not sure they’re the greatest I’ve had, but they’re definitely delicious!”

I chuckled. “That’s exactly what I thought. How about the hot chocolate?”

“Also very good, though when you’ve stood outside in the cold for… around seven hours any hot drink sounds good,” he replied with a chuckle and rubbed the back of his head.

I was shocked by the amount of time he was outside, but I chuckled along with him. The important thing now was he was safe and trusting me. “After this if you want to you can come over to my home. Well, not exactly my home, it's an apartment my team and I are staying at indefinitely, but my team is my sister and a few close friends so it feels like home.”

"Well... I wouldn't want to be a…”, he said and paused. "I- I mean, yes I would love to.”

"What were you going to say?” I asked.

"A bother," he replied with a sigh, "but I need to be nice to myself, just as you're being nice to me.”

I smiled seeing him already trying to be more positive about himself.

When we finished I asked if he preferred we take the bus, but he was okay with braving the cold. As we walked across the bridge we looked at the waterfall with the city lights glimmering off of it. 

The warmth of the apartment building was very welcoming as we walked inside from the brutal cold, and the walk up a few floors warmed us up even more (I suppose a benefit of not having an elevator). Blake and Yang were out, so for now it was just Weiss in our apartment. As I opened the door I could see her laying in her bed and she turned towards me. For a brief moment she smiled, but then her facial expression quickly turned serious upon seeing Eric behind me.

"Woah woah, it's okay," I quickly said just as she was about to grab her rapier. "He's a friend.”

Weiss sighed as she moved her hand away from the rapier. "We've been over this; text us when you're bringing visitors!”

“Yeah sorry, I forgot," I said while rubbing my head. “Anyway, this is Eric. Eric, this is Weiss.”

“Uhh, hi," Eric said hesitantly and with wide eyes like a deer in headlights.

"My apologies for the icy welcome, but now that I know you're a friend of Ruby you're also a friend of mine," Weiss said and shook Eric's hand, which was once again red and cold. "Geez, your hand is freezing! I'll get you a warm towel.” 

Weiss ran into the bathroom and quickly came back with a towel soaked in warm water and wrapped it around Eric’s hands. "So Eric, how long have you known Ruby?”

“Uhhh, for a little over an hour,” he replied.

“Oh, a very new friend! Well, welcome to our... sort of home, that we should get used to since we're living here for who knows how long. Anyway, how did this friendship come about?”

I looked at Eric to see if he was comfortable talking about it. 

“Well...," Eric began, but stopped.

“It’s okay," I said to him assuringly.

He softly smiled and took a deep breath. "I'm... kind of in a dark place in my life right now. I was standing on a bridge for seven hours just thinking about my life, and whether I want to keep trying to achieve my goals or find something easier to do in life. There’s also a very small part of me that wonders if I should just... give up on life.”

"How are you feeling now?” Weiss asked.

“Better. The worries are still there, but for now they’re small and manageable.”

“What kind of worries?” Weiss asked.

“For awhile I’ve been worried about what the near and far future might bring for me. With how things have been going I feel like I need to make a plan for tons of scenarios, many of those scenarios seem like doomsday type of stuff, but at the same time I feel like I don’t have any plan at all and I’m just winging it through life."

“Well, when you think way far ahead it can get very overwhelming. When I left my home because of my abusive father I had a lot of worries; did the rest of my family still love me, would I ever see them again, what was I going to do about finances, would I still be able to make a better legacy for the Schnee name, how I would carry on as a huntress, etc. It's good to plan, but not to an extreme level where you’re constantly stressed and worried. It's important to still live in the moment," Weiss explained.

"With the Schnee name, did you ever feel a lot of pressure to be perfect?" Eric asked.

"Oh yes, all the time. Not really anymore, but that worry still lingers from time to time,” Weiss replied.

“Were you hard on yourself when you made mistakes?” Eric asked.

Weiss nodded. "I hated making mistakes and being imperfect, but now it's freeing to know that no one is perfect.”

“Yeah…”, Eric began with a sigh, “I try to remember that, though it's been getting more and more difficult lately with the amount of job rejections I've had. I know what I want to do in life, but I’m feeling so far from that goal.”

"What is your goal?" I asked.

"To have a career in city planning, mainly in transportation, but I have an interest in all things that make cities function. It’s always the same response after I apply for a job in that field; ‘we thank you for your interest, but we found someone who aligns more with what we’re looking for.’ After so long it gets old and frustrating. Friends and family tell me not to give up, but it’s hard to hold on to that encouragement.”

“How long have you had this goal?” Weiss asked.

“I’ve been interested in cities my whole life, but I knew I wanted to be a city planner since… a decade ago,” Eric answered.

“You said you went to school for that, right? What else have you done to try to achieve that goal?” I asked.

“Lots of stuff. I’ve traveled around Remnant learning about various communities small and large, I've had a couple internships at city planning organizations, I’ve volunteered with various efforts to improve cities, and around here I walk, bike, and take transit as much as I can,” he explained.

Weiss and I looked at each other and nodded. “Eric, don’t give up,” we said at the same time.

For a moment Eric stared at us and then laughed, and we laughed along with him.

“We know you’ve heard it from other people, and we just have to join them in reminding you not to give up,” Weiss said.

I placed my hand on Eric’s hand, which was now warm and recovered from the cold. “We don't know how the path will be toward your goal, and we really hope it gets better for you soon, but in times like these where it's hard and seems hopeless, just remember that people including Weiss and I will be cheering you on and helping any way we can.”

Eric's eyes started to tear up and he wiped them with his sleeve. "Thank you. I know I won't ever forget this night, and it’ll be a nice reminder when I’m feeling…, well, like I was on the bridge.”

Weiss handed him a tissue. "You're more than welcome to stay the night here. I think you've had enough cold for one day.”

"It's not much, but we have a couch you can sleep on," I offered.

"That works just fine for me, thank you," Eric replied.

As we laid in our beds we continued chatting. First the cafe was brought up, and of course Weiss was devastated that Eric and I didn’t think the chocolate chip cookies were the greatest. She was however, happy to know that we loved the hot chocolate and would definitely be making frequent visits there for that.

Eric asked us about our lives as huntresses, and just as he felt comfortable sharing a lot with us, we were comfortable sharing a lot with him. Everything from the good times at Beacon Academy, to being firsthand witnesses to its fall, and our long journey from then to now. The most difficult part was explaining our experience in the Ever After, and we definitely didn’t blame Eric for having a hard time believing what happened there. Sometimes even I take a moment to wonder if it was all just a dream, but it did indeed happen. 

For the heavy topics we had to pass around the tissue box, but we also had some laughs like talking about how my first interaction with Weiss involved me sneezing fire dust right into her face. We talked until we were too tired to keep our eyes open, and with that we said good night and went to sleep, or at least Weiss and I did.

—————————————————————————————————

As Blake and I walked back to the dorm I got a text from Ruby.

"We have a friend staying over for the night. He’s sleeping on the couch,” Ruby texted.

For a moment I thought maybe Sun was visiting, but if it was him or someone else I knew Ruby would’ve included that in the text, so I was curious who this mystery friend could be.

When we arrived at the apartment we slowly and quietly opened the door expecting everyone to be asleep, but our guest was sitting up on the couch and looking out the window. He turned to us and waved with a soft smile.

"Can't sleep?" Blake whispered.

He shook his head. 

"We could go to the common area and talk there if you'd like," I offered.

"Sure," he replied quietly and slowly got up from the couch, which tended to creak with even the slightest movements. Blake and I giggled watching his face cringe more and more with each creak of the couch.

“I'm Yang," I said and shook his hand as we walked down the hall. His facial expression had a hint of nervousness, perhaps just some shyness meeting new people, which I know Blake can relate to. More so however was an expression of exhaustion, partly because of his baggy eyes. It looked like he had a long day, and perhaps also hasn’t gotten proper rest in awhile. 

"I'm Eric," he replied. He took a second look at my hand after we shook. "If I may ask, is that a special kind of glove?”

I chuckled. “You could say that, but more technically and literally speaking it's a prosthetic arm. A very fancy one I got from Atlas," I explained.

“It does look quite fancy, especially with the gold paint,” he commented.

“Mhm,” I said with a nod. “I do miss my original hand, but after awhile I’ve gotten used to this, and it’s been great for huntress work.”

“Are you a huntress too,” Eric asked Blake.

“Sure am, and I’m Blake,” she replied and shook Eric’s hand.

“Well it’s very nice meeting you two. Don’t feel obligated to stay up too late, by the way,” Eric said.

“Oh it’s fine. We have the day off tomorrow anyway,” I said.

We pulled up some chairs in the common area, which wasn’t the greatest looking, but it had the necessities for cooking, eating, and just hanging out. Luckily we only had to share it with a couple other apartments, and the people in those apartments also went to Beacon. At this time of night, unless it was a weekend and people were partying, there was almost never anyone here.

“So what brings you here?” Blake asked.

Eric sighed. “Oh boy, it’s kind of a long story.”

“Well I love hearing stories as much as I love reading them, so tell as much as you want,” Blake assured him.

“Today, well actually yesterday since it’s past midnight, I was having a mental breakdown, identity crisis, and just reflecting on life as I stood on a bridge, which lasted seven hours. Ruby could tell I wasn’t feeling well, and she was a spark of light and hope in this darkness I felt trapped in. We came back here where I was introduced to Weiss, who… almost stabbed me, but she’s also a wonderful person, and they both helped me put my mind at ease. As I was trying to sleep though, my brain just couldn’t shut off. Part of it is being in a different environment, but also the lingering worries.”

“Any particular worries you want to talk about?” I asked.

“Having a purpose and identity in this crazy and unpredictable world is the main one,” Eric replied.

I chuckled. “Crazy and unpredictable is an understatement.”

“I can relate to trying to have a purpose and identity. As a Faunus I-,” Blake was saying, but paused. She took a deep breath and continued. “I was a member of the White Fang. I want Faunus to be treated equal to humans, but the White Fang became more and more violent against humans, and I didn’t know what to do. Part of me wondered if leaving the White Fang would be betraying Faunus, but I also didn’t want to create more violence in this, as you say, crazy and unpredictable world. Part of the reason I became a huntress was to help people, while still fighting for equal rights.”

“How did you go from being a member of the White Fang to a huntress?” Eric asked.

“I already had experience fighting Grimm, and as I became more unsure of being part of the White Fang the more interest I had in becoming a huntress. Beacon Academy lent me a hand, and I began a new chapter in my life,” Blake explained.

“Lent a hand; that’s what I need. I keep getting rejected from jobs I want, and after awhile I’ve felt the way I do now,” Eric said.

“What kind of job are you looking for?” Blake asked.

“Something in city planning, but it can be a job related to it. Recently I tried being a bus driver, but I just… Sorry, this may seem off topic, but how do you handle being huntresses? Isn’t there a lot of danger, stress, and trauma doing that?” Eric asked.

“Well”, Blake began, “having experience definitely helped towards becoming a huntress, but even though I knew about the dangers I underestimated them, especially witnessing Beacon Academy falling. It can be very tough work, but if it means helping people and making Remnant a better world then it’s worth it through all the danger, stress, and trauma I’ve faced.”

“With my semblance I had a lot of confidence in becoming a huntress. Sometimes I get a little cocky, but my team that I’ve been with since Beacon helps me stay humble while also still having the confidence to get out there and be a huntress. When I lost my arm it was a struggle to get that confidence back, but my dad and my team gave me the encouragement I needed,” I replied.

“So you both have fought a lot of Grimm, right?” Eric asked.

Blake and I looked at each other. “A lot is an understatement,” Blake replied and we chuckled.

“I walked inside a Monstra,” I added.

“Monstra?” Eric asked with a confused look on his face.

“A whale Grimm,” I replied.

Eric’s mouth dropped and his eyes widened. “Holy shit. That uhhh, makes my fears look minuscule.”

“Eh, there’s no contest. Everyone has their fears, big and small, and all are valid. So, you were saying something about bus driving,” I said.

“Well, I ask because meanwhile for me I- I’m scared of the path I’m on. I briefly tried to be a bus driver, but I felt so stressed and anxious every time I did it. I couldn’t stop thinking about the what-ifs, all the mistakes I could make that could put me and others in harm’s way, not to mention having to socialize with a ton of people everyday. I walked away from that, but later on with no luck in finding a new job I decided to try being a train driver. With driving a train at least I don’t have to socialize with the public as much, but the fear is still there. I’m trying to do it because I don’t know where else to go, and I’m hoping it can lead me closer to a city planning job, but I often wonder if it’s worth it. Even if I stuck with this job I don’t know how long it would take before I got a job that more closely aligns with what I want.”

“Well as a fellow introvert, constantly socializing with random strangers for an entire shift doesn’t sound ideal. I might be good at combat, but that doesn’t mean I’d be good at customer service,” Blake commented.

“Give yourself props for trying. Just because I have confidence fighting Grimm doesn’t mean I would have confidence driving a bus or a train. I don’t even know how you start those things,” I said.

“I suppose we all have safety critical jobs, just in different ways. It’s just so scary thinking that if I make even a little mistake it could have disastrous consequences, and while I am getting plenty of training so I shouldn’t make those mistakes it could still happen. There’s so much responsibility and it feels like a ton of weight on my shoulders and-,” Eric was saying with more and more of a panicked tone before stopping abruptly.

“Are you okay, Eric?” I asked.

“I’ll get some water for him,” Blake said and got up.

Eric stared down at the floor and then looked up at me with tears filling his eyes. He quickly opened his arms and hugged me. “I- I’m sorry,” he said and sniffled.

I tightly hugged him back. “There’s nothing to apologize for, friend. How about we take deep breaths together?”

“Okay,” Eric replied. 

We slowly breathed in and out a few times, counting up to three each time. Blake came back with a large glass of water and handed it to Eric, and he drank it like he’d been walking through the deserts of Vacuo for days.

He took a deep breath again and exhaled. “I’m just so scared doing this. When I was kid I would’ve loved driving trains, but as I got older I didn’t feel confident having that responsibility. I thought with going to college I could easily reach my career goal, but as time goes on I reluctantly think I have to go a much harder route, and… yeah, it scares me.”

“Think of it this way,” I began, “having a train driving job should be a good kickstart to your career goal. Now not only do you have the book smarts, but also the street smarts, and if, big if, employers are still rejecting you then they’re absolute fools. I get it though, it’s a big responsibility and it’s natural to have that fear with a new responsibility like that. What I learned from one of my professors is that fear is like any other emotion, it comes and goes. This same professor, who has fought Grimm for decades, is afraid of mice, which sounds ridiculous, but it’s true and shows that even he has fear from time to time.” I paused and thought for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking, what thoughts were going through your head as you stood on that bridge?”

“Reflecting on life, how I got to this point, and where I wanted to go, whether it be keep trying to get to my career goals, find something easier to do in life, or just… give up on life,” Eric replied.

“I know this is easier said than done, but don’t give up. Don’t give up on what you want to do, and don’t give up on your life. It may look ideal to give up; trust me when I say our team has been in that situation too. We’ve had many major setbacks, and several times the thought of giving up occurred. We’ve also had times where we separated, but we always came back together and kept moving forward. It wasn’t easy, but we did it, and I hope you will too. Right now it’s definitely tough for you in reaching what you want to do, but remember that it won’t be like that forever. I wish I could say when it’ll get better, but believe me when I say it will. Whether it's tough times or good times you've got friends like us supporting you through it all.”

Eric’s eyes filled with tears again, and Blake handed him a tissue and another glass of water. 

“Speaking as a huntress, you’re as brave as us, and you deserve to get to that career you want,” Blake said and hugged him.

“Thank you, both of you,” he said and hugged Blake. A moment later he yawned, and Blake and I chuckled. 

“Ready to get some sleep?” I asked.

“I think so. It’s... definitely been a long day,” Eric replied followed by another yawn, even longer than the first one.

I patted Eric’s back. “Let’s get some sleep then.”

Upon returning to the apartment Eric laid back on the couch while Blake and I got ready for bed. Just as we were getting in our bed we saw Eric was already asleep.

—————————————————————————————————

I awoke to sunlight casting through the window, making the room clear as can be. A little past 10:00 AM it showed on my now charged-up scroll, and with that I felt relief. With the day and night I had less than 24 hours ago I was mentally preparing for it to already be noon. No one else was in the room, so I wondered what I should do. Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed a sticky note on the table next to the couch.

“Having pancakes in the common area” was written on it plus a smiley face. 

As soon as I saw the word pancakes my stomach growled. While pancakes aren’t the most nutritious, nor were the chocolate chip cookies last night, any food would do. I got up feeling hungry, but refreshed from the sleep. As I opened the door out into the hallway Ruby was about to grab the door handle.

“Oh! Good morning, Eric,” Ruby said.

“Good morning to you,” I replied happily. “My apologies for the startle.”

“No worries! I was just about to check up on you. How are you feeling?” Ruby asked.

“Better. That was honestly the best sleep I’ve had in awhile,” I replied.

“Awww, that’s good to hear! Yang and Blake told me you had trouble getting to sleep when they arrived.”

“Yeah, my brain just didn’t want to go to sleep. We talked for a bit, I… dumped my emotions to them, and finally my brain was ready to rest. I guess I’ve made quite the first impression with all of you,” I said with a chuckle and rubbing the back of my head.

“Well our first impression of you is you’re a nice and gentle soul that just needed a lift, and now how about we have some breakfast? We’re making so many pancakes even Nora wouldn’t be able to eat them all!”

“Who’s Nora?” I asked curiously.

“Oh whoops, you haven’t met her yet, but eventually you’ll meet her and know what I mean. Anyway, shall we?”

I happily accepted and walked with Ruby to the common area. Weiss, Yang, and Blake greeted me as we entered, and on the table were some plates with pancakes stacked on all of them.

“Hope you’re hungry, we’re still making more,” Yang said.

“Very much so,” I replied. 

“Did you sleep alright?” Blake asked.

“Well when I finally did get to sleep, yes, and it was the best sleep I’ve had in awhile,” I answered.

“After your little adventure yesterday we’re glad you got some proper rest,” Weiss said and handed me one of the plates of pancakes. Before I could say thank you she threw another few pancakes on. “We have maple syrup, strawberry jam, or if you’re insane like Ruby there’s chocolate syrup.”

“Oh wow, thank you! I think I’ll be crazy like Ruby and try it with chocolate syrup.”

“Yes! Finally it’s not just Nora and I,” Ruby cheered.

Before getting too carried away I poured a few drips of chocolate syrup on a tiny piece and ate it. If my eyes could sparkle they would in that moment because it was the perfect combination. I added chocolate syrup to the rest of my pancakes, and it didn’t take long for me to finish them.

“Nora might have some competition,” Yang commented.

“The more you talk about Nora the more I’m interested in meeting this legend. You make it sound like she’s the ultimate champion in eating contests,” I said.

“Pretty sure if she wasn’t a huntress she would be in eating contests, and definitely winning all of them,” Weiss remarked while giving me a few more pancakes.

The rest of them joined me in eating, and I learned about Blake and Yang’s side of the story of their journey of studying to become huntresses and suddenly being thrust into helping to save the world. It was difficult for me to fathom all the danger, craziness, and ups and downs they’ve been through together.

“Doesn’t it feel like a lot of weight on your shoulders?” I asked.

“It does, and for awhile I thought that as team leader it was weight I had to bear on my own, so the more the mistakes and setbacks piled up the more I felt useless in being a huntress. But I realized that just because I’m team leader doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to make mistakes and get help from my team. The weight feels a lot less when your team is helping you carry it,” Ruby replied.

“Last night I remember you mentioned you felt a lot of weight on your shoulders being a train driver. Do you have people at your work you can talk to about that feeling, and maybe they have similar experiences and could help you with it?” Yang asked.

I thought for a moment, trying to remember the conversation we had, and then I recalled the state of panic I was feeling when I mentioned weight on my shoulders. “The specific weight on my shoulders I’m feeling, part of it definitely has to do with operating a train, but the bigger weight on my shoulders is what I hope to achieve in my life with a city planning career. I have many ideas to improve communities around Remnant, but the more time goes on the more it seems it’s less likely I can make those ideas reality. I worry when I’m old I won’t feel accomplished with what I’ve done with my life,” I explained.

“I know that ambition of wanting to make Remnant a better place. It’s definitely been more difficult than I expected, and pretty much nothing like the tales of huntresses I used to read, but if we gave up every time we lost then Remnant would never get better. All of us just being here right now makes Remnant better, no matter how small that may be. Seeing you on the bridge last night reminded me of the crisis I had, and since then there has and there will be times where I doubt myself again, but you are one of the reasons why I won’t quit,” Ruby said, and then looked around at us all staring at her with wide eyes. With a chuckle she said “uh, sorry. Too deep of a conversation during breakfast?”

“Oh you’re fine,” I said while wiping a few tears from my eyes. “I do admit I wasn’t expecting to be this emotional while eating pancakes, but you’re right. We can’t get too carried away putting a ton of weight on our shoulders while trying to make Remnant better, but we also shouldn’t give up,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

“Hmmm…,” Weiss said and got up from her chair, proceeding to brush my shoulders.

I had a feeling I knew what she was implying, but I still had to ask. “Uhhh, what are you doing?”

“You still have too much weight on your shoulders,” Weiss replied simply.

The rest of her team and I laughed as she continued brushing around my shoulders, and with one last little sweep she returned to her seat. “I know it may not be that quick and easy to shake off so much unnecessary responsibility, but”, Weiss said and placed her hands on my shoulders, “you, Eric, are a good person. You are enough, no matter how much you’re able to accomplish in this life,” she said and proceeded to hug me.

What started as a few tears became several large tears dropping down my face. I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Thank you,” I said and hugged her back.

“Whatever you’re currently doing in life right now to get by, just take it a day at a time,” Blake said.

“Exactly. Like I said last night, when you think too far ahead it becomes overwhelming, and that’s when you put too much pressure on yourself to fit that long timeline,” Weiss added.

“You’re right. Where I’m at right now with train driver training, I definitely need to try to have the mindset of taking it one day at a time, and after each day just determine where I want to go from there,” I said.

“And after each day remind yourself that you are enough. No matter what kind of day it was, tell yourself that you are good and you are enough, okay?” Ruby said.

I nodded. “Yeah. I am good, and I am enough.”

We continued eating and I talked about my life as a train driver. In addition to the big responsibility I have there’s some bad and good with the job, and for now it’s sometimes a struggle to see the good outweighing the bad. The shift times range widely, and it can be difficult to get a good amount of sleep. The type of work we do also ranges widely; sometimes it’s just a short distance passenger train trip, and other times it’s driving a freight train for many miles through many different landscapes. Dealing with Grimm is a possibility, but guards are usually on the train to take care of that if it happens, though sometimes I question their experience handling Grimm, and what Team RWBY told me about their train experience makes me question it more. Sadly in addition to Grimm, people have been more of a problem these days. With the world the way that it is it seems a lot of people just stopped caring about others and don’t have respect for the trains and the people driving them. There’s the small instances like people giving us rude gestures, as well as big instances like people narrowly beating the train across a crossing while we're going full speed.

Not wanting to leave off train driving on a bad note, I also talked about the good. While we don’t often get thanks from passengers, them just riding the train from one point to another without causing problems is bigger than a thank you. We sometimes see kids along the tracks who wave at us, and we always see a sparkle in their eyes when we wave back or give a short toot of the horn as we go past them. There’s also a nice feeling of knowing you safely moved lots of people or freight, and in our own way helping to make Remnant a better place. 

After breakfast and cleaning up we hung out in the apartment for a little bit before I headed home.

“Now, what is the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?” Weiss asked.

“Message you guys,” I replied.

“Very good, but if you forget I will be spamming your scroll with messages until you answer,” Weiss warned.

“Since when are you such a mom,” Yang joked.

“Heh, I promise I won’t forget. And… um…” I was thinking of what to say, but all I could do in the moment was try to hug all four of them at once. It didn’t quite work, but they knew what I was trying to do and maneuvered around me and hugged me tightly back. “I’ll never forget my first time meeting you four. Thank you so much for lifting me out of the low spot I was in, and the service you do as huntresses, and the delicious breakfast. I’m very honored to have you as friends.”

“You know how we told you to remind yourself that you are good and you are enough? Also remember that you’re not alone. We’ve all had struggles, and while the circumstances were different they’re all still struggles, so whenever you find yourself struggling again don’t be afraid to reach out to us,” Yang said.

“And if it makes it easier, just send us the word ‘boba’. That’s our code word we use for when we’re feeling overwhelmed and need some help,” Ruby added.

I chuckled. “Is it also used for when you want to get boba tea?”

“Oh absolutely! When it finally gets warm again I’ll be in the mood for some boba,” Ruby replied excitedly.

“Yeah, boba in the spring and summer does sound good. Anyway, um, thank you all so much again, and I’ll be sure to stay in touch, and… I- I’m sorry, I’m not good at goodbyes.”

“It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later,” Blake said with a warm smile.

The awkward tension I usually feel when saying farewell eased. “Yeah, see you four lovely and wonderful people later.”

Feeling much better than yesterday, I happily walked down the stairs of the apartment building. As I did so I passed four people, one of whom was a young boy that, perhaps because he was carrying a cane, looked like he had a long experience as a huntsmen. We said good morning to each other and continued on our ways. Outside it was still a little chilly, but with the sun out and no wind it was nowhere near as cold as yesterday. 

“I am good, I am enough, and I’m not alone,” I said to myself as I headed home.

[marvel-m-lee]

Comfy☁️

Words: 2533

Fandom: MHA x reader

Characters: Hawks, Dabi, Y/n

Summary: Dabi and Hawks trapping Y/n for being sassy, as per usual.

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You were laying on the couch at the League's safe house. It was hidden below a building and was practically it's own little underground bungalow for the Leauge to stay safe at.

You were a U.A. high student, one of the most hopeful in your class followed by many of your peers. But here you were, scrolling on your phone, in the house of the very people who kidnapped you way back at the start of the year.

This was one of the many reasons you were here. Along with getting so high in the Sports Festival and having such a useful and powerful quirk. There was many reasons which made you stand out among your peers to help with an undercover investigation against the League of Villians, along with Hawks who'd already been on the case a while before you joined.

Of course, it took a lot of convincing to allow you to be a part of such a dangerous game, but surprisingly the League was very warm and opening to you. Like a messed up family. You felt a little bad for your actions, but you knew what needed to be done.

Though there were times like today, where you would have come over to check up and chill out and everything would be okay.

You were scrolling through an app on your phone at this moment, laid out across the couch.

Just then you heard the door shut and heard two very familiar voices. The number two Pro hero put his jacket on a hook, followed by none other than Dabi.

You could hear the playfulness in Hawk's voice, meaning he was most likely in a good mood.

"Im just sayin' you'd look really good"

"No. I wouldn't"

You peaked up from the couch, looking over to see Hawks hanging up his jacket and walking backwards through the door, followed by Dabi who was rolling his eyes.

"Yeahhh! Sure you would. You'd look like a princess" the winged hero teased, bowing down and getting shoved out the way as Dabi walked past him, making him chuckle.

"Good thing I'm not a princess, why don't you go do that"

"I can't, I've already got my outfit prepared-" the two walked across the room and through another door way, not paying much attention to you. They must have been arguing about something stupid- as per usual when it came to Hawk's teasing. Either way you didn't really care, until you heard the kettle boiling.

"Dabiiiii!" You yelled, hoping he would hear you.

"What?!" You heard him yell back. A smirk grew on your face but disappeared again.

"Can I have a tea?!" You yelled back. In all fairness he was actually in the room next to you, you could have used your Quirk or either of you could have actually walked to the other.

You heard him sigh and whisper something before Hawks began laughing. You smiled happily and forgot about it, scrolling through your phone again.

An hour had passed and your cup of tea came and went, but you stay glued to the couch, scrolling on your phone.

Mostly everyone in the League was out doing something or other, and you didn't want to go back to the dorms just yet, though you knew you'd have to be back for dinner.

For the moment you just wanted to laze around in a quiet setting without fear of Kaminari bursting through your door getting chased around by Ashido again. Or hearing Bakugou screaming at Midoryia.

You were laid, sprawled across the couch with your legs on the other arm rest while your head was just below the other one, a pillow there to keep you comfy even if you didn't entirely fill it up.

"Move it" You looked up from your phone, only to look back down to ignore the request.

Dabi was standing by your legs, motioning to them to ask you to move so he could sit down. He had the remote in one of his hands.

He gave you a look when you ignored him, a slight sly grin growing there. You weren't sure where Hawk's had gone off to, but didn't really care either.

"Y/n, move your legs"

"Nah, comfy" you didn't bother to look up at him, just dinner while on your phone, crossing your legs just to be annoying to him.

"Right, comfy" the smirk on his face grew without your knowledge as his voice always seemed so monotone, but then suddenly you felt something big drop onto your shins.

"ooF- what the-" you looked at whatever it was on your legs from behind your phone, only to see Dabi sat back happily leaning against your feet/ankles with one elbow, resting his head as his other hand began to scroll through the channels on TV.

"Get off me" You gave him a deadpan look, no longer finding the humour in the situation of annoying him.

This time the fire villain ignored you, scrolling through news and Peppa pig episodes.

You tried to wiggle your legs, just wiggling around beneath his ass as he tried to stay still to watch his show.

"ooF, you lump get off me!"

Ignored.

You continued to wiggle around, wiggling your feet so he would loose balance from leaning on your hand. You burst out laughing as he did so, his head very comedically falling down and having to grab the sofa to stop from falling.

You were laughing as he turned to stare at you, a grin wide on his face from your confidence to mess around with him.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?" Suddenly you felt a hand on your waist, wiggling it's fingers into your side.

"Hahah-HEYHE! Gehet off!"

"Nah, comfy" Dabi's shit eating grin was always a bad sign whenever it came with his playful side. He continued to tickle your side until you were literally halfway off the couch, still trapped by his weight on your legs.

However instead he gave you a break for a moment, making you catch your breath and sort yourself out again. You rolled your eyes at him, calling him a name until you saw that glint in his eyes.

"Oh, we're not done" then suddenly he had one hand run up the sole of your foot. You yelled, pushing yourself upwards and falling back down again with a yelp.

"Ooo- fun reaction" he grinned. You gave him a look, feeling as your cheeks heated up and trued to wiggle your legs free.

Then again though, he decided to start tickling your feet with one hand while watching TV, completely ignoring you as he wiggled his fingers up and down one of your feet, and on to the other, back and forth.

"SHIT- DAHABI!" You burst out laughing, wanting to wipe the smug look off his face as he ignored you and your kicking from beneath him. You tried to scrunch up your toes to curl your feet but no matter what you did he didn't stop tickling you, making you hold your waist and laugh hysterically, kicking and trying to stop him anyway you could.

However he paid no attention to you, even yawning while watching one episode of Peppa pig on the TV and rolling his eyes at it.

Nobody would ever see this side of him, nobody other than the League. And as much as you hated it, it was also one of your favourite parts. He was usually so dark and gloomy, like a teenage boy going through an ever lasting emo phase. But sometimes he was like the big brother you never had. Whether it was buying you icecream at the shop every once in a while or being a massive dick and trapping you with tickles without mercy. It was always something kind in his own way.

Though he was definitely malicious.

You arched your back, laughing as he wouldn't let up, a smirk on his face growing as he gave you the side eye.

You jumped up in a final attempt to stop him, leaning over him as if making a Dabi sandwich with your body.

And in that moment you fell into yet another one of his traps. He grabbed between your neck and shoulder, right between in one of the pressure points and squeezed it a couple times. You jumped and yelled, pushing him with a wide smile across your face.

It tickled like hell, but of course it was Dabi, he changed spots to your sides making you laugh hysterically and quickly dive your arms to yous sides, scrunching yourself up.

"You alright Y/n? You're a bit jumpy, not comfortable anymore?" You could hear the smirk smacked across his face as he taunted you, you just wacked him off, giggling and laughing as he had you trapped beneath him.

"GeEhEt OhoOHFF!"

Somehow lady luck was on your side and you were freed of the tickling, though he never moved off of you. You just slumped back in your original position, laid across the couch with Dabi sat on your legs.

You were very giggly and wiping all the ghostly tickles off your body. You hid behind your hands and heard the elder laugh before going back to watching his show, now Dora the Explorer on TV.

You'd never understand how Dabi worked, buy turned your head and watched from between your fingers. This lasted a few minutes before suddenly there was another lump on your thighs and hips, making you grunt again.

"You're too close"

"You love it"

You just looked up to see now another person sat on you, this time it being the winged hero, happily sat nexted to Dabi with a packet of popcorn which the other snatched a handful off and threw in his mouth.

You just looked at them both, flabbergasted.

This had to be child abuse. Of some kind.

"Get off me?!"

"Noisey couch" Hawks teased, talking to Dabi as if you weren't there, poking your belly making you yelp.

"You should have heard it a second ago. Very wiggly" Dabi teased, tickling your foot again and making you wiggle and laugh, holding yourself and begging him to stop quickly.

"Oooo! That was cool, has it got settings to do that again?" Hawks teased, looking at Dabi, telling him to do it again.

"Yeah, here" this time he reached under him and tickled your shins, gripping them and squeezing them repeatedly to make you jump and wiggle around in laughter.

"FhUhUCk! DAhAhBi!"

"Woah! Language kid" Hawks looked down at you, breaking chatacter a little but sending a feather to your nose making you scrunch up before it ran down to your neck and made you shake your head with giggles.

"Sohorry- sHIHIT DABI- HAHAWKS GET HIHIM TO STOHOP!" Again the devilfish young adult had a usual evil grin on his face as tickled your feet again, this making you jump up again and fall back down after failing an attempt at getting him to stop.

The sudden movement made Hawks burst out laughing, leaning back and watching you lean over to attack Dabi or at least save yourself, to no prevale.

You fell back down when a feather ran down your neck, as if falling into a fit of giggles as the two continued to bully and torment you to no end.

"StAHaAp! aAgH! I caHaAnt-" you called out, now Hawks having a hand on your waist and Dabi enjoying his own torment on your lower half.

"We're Baaack!" There was a voice that called out, along with a door closed and multiple sets of steps.

Toga skipped in, followed by Twice and Spinner. Dabi and Hawk's both stopped suddenly and you laid back, half dead, blushing and hiding your face with a pillow so Toga and the others wouldn't see.

"Heyaaa!"

"Hey Toga" Dabi grinned, knowing how embarrassed you would be whilst Hawks gave a tiny wave with a smile.

"Why are you guys sitting on Y/n?" Spinner asked, putting a bag on the table and giving you all a weird look.

"She was comfy, and we wanted to watch TV" Dabi shrugged. Suddenly Twice jumped over the couch and landed right on top of you too, excitedly look at the TV.

"DORA THE EXPLORER?! I LOVE THIS SHOW!"

"I hate this show!?"

Of course he argued with himself for a moment before actually realised he was sat on top of you, making himself jump up and ask whether you were okay.

You just grunted a yeah from behind your pillow and felt as Twice sat down in front of the couch, watching Dora The Explorer intensely.

You were trapped for another half an hour or so, for some reason everyone crowded around the couchtk watch Dora The Explorer together. Something nobody would ever expect from a group of killers, but here you were, tickled half to death by at least one of them.

By the end of the episode however, you had to head off and go back to the dorms. Hawks deciding to take you back as it was getting late and also a way to catch up with the mission. You waved everyone goodbye as he got his coat, Toga and Twice were playing Mario Cart against one another and giving you a wave goodbye while playing and Spinner was sat in an armchair on his phone, smiling and waving goodbye.

Dabi however was stood in the doorway with a drink, either tea or coffee, you weren't sure. You gave him a smirk and a look, which he happily returned back to you by ruffling your hair as he passed you to go to his room.

"Cya bird brains"

Hawks rolled his eyes as Dabi flipped you both off on his way off, even with his back turned you could tell he was smirking either way. Lighthearted banter for even villians.

Hawks and you both left, a benie on your head and stepping back out into one of the many alleyways in the city.

Hawks closed the door behind you both and you both walked down, seeing your breath as the weather had been getting colder and colder recently.

Of course he teased you, making you gibe him a soft punch. He raised his hands in defeat and laughed, both of you heading off into the roads now off to the train station. He ruffled your hair and waved you off, checking you were okay before you almost missed your train.

"Cya round (nickname)"

"See you, bye"

As you sat down on the train however, you looked through the window to see Hawks waving at you, a ting smirk on his face which confused you- right until you felt something tickle around your midsection making you burst pit into giggles, covering your mouth so- hopefully- nobody would notice.

You gave Hawks a death stare as the feather shot out from under your shirt and ran back out the train doors right before they shut. Hawks was stood outside waving and laughing where as inside you rolled your eyes at him.

That was the last time you would mess with either of them.

[punishing-eden]

The Stars Lead me to You...

Genshin Impact fanfic Rewrite

🍁Kazuha x Lumine/Hotaru🍁

Summary:

Teyvat shifted as the earth shuffled, the wind sang, the water whistled, the birds frolicked, and the air was fragrant.

On this day, the world shifted and the galaxy of stars came together to made way. Telling Kazuha, that something awaits for him at the end of the starry path.

Tags: Fluff, one-shot, rewrite, traveller is Lumine, not reader-insert, Kazulumi, Qixi Festival.

The water glistened as the early morning arose. Liyue Habour was quiet the people were still asleep or, were just waking up.

In admist of tranquility, the Crux was busy up and running. Sailors pulled up the sails, the others mopped and clean the deck. Everyone was doing their part on the ship, all expect for Kazuha.

With his back leaning on the railings of the crow's nest, the Rouin, Kazuha Kaedehara, was simply enjoying the morning breeze. He chuckled before letting out a laugh.

The breeze spoke to him of nature's nonsense. They were a bit lively today.

"Oi, Kazuha!" a crew member called from below, "Do you mind giving me a hand?!"

The young samurai opened his eyes. He looked out to the glowing horizon before casting his eyes down, and jumped out of the crow's nest.

With the power of Anemo, Kazuha landed on the deck unscathed. He gave a nod to the crewmate, and proceed to help with moving the crates out of the sunlight.

As he stayed on deck, Kazuha noticed the atmosphere felt a little different. The crew seems to be, relatively, lively and cheerful. There was something in the air, and Kazuha couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it was.

"So... Is there something happening today? Everyone seems to be in a good mood." Kazuha asked as he carried another set of crates to the other side of the ship.

The crewmate answered with a loud voice, "Well, today is a special day, and Captain Beidou gave us the rest of the day off after morning preparations!"

Kazuha could tell the crewmate was enthusiastic about it.

"That's nice of Beidou..." Kazuha smiled.

The breeze blew by, and its whisper tickled the samurai's ears. It was muttering nonsense again.

"Yes, I can't want meet my sweetheart at the habour," the crewmate said,"It's been such a long time since I last saw her."

Tunning in to the people around, Kazuha listened to what the others were saying.

"I am looking forward to confess today!"

"I am going to attend a family's wedding. Today is a good day for that!"

"Do you think I would meet the One during the festival?"

Everyone seems to have that same giddy feeling.

As time went on, most of the crew had left the Crux for land. Kazuha was back on the crow's nest, by then, the breeze had became a little stronger.

Kazuha chuckled, "What is it you are trying to tell me?" he asked.

The waves began to rock the ship in response.

"Are you telling me to head to shore?" Kazuha asked. Nature was pushing him to go somewhere.

The waves swayed rocking the ship gently towards Liyue Habour.

"Where are you telling me to go?" Perhaps, you could show me a path?" Kazuha asked, facing the habour's direction.

He left the ship and made his way to Liyue Habour. As he walked pass the trees and the greenery, he noticed how everything seems to be a little different. The coincidental hints: the fruit fallen from trees were in pairs, the butterflies were flying around in pairs, the flowers and weeds intertwined with each other as if they were holding on together.

"hmm... Nature sure has it's way of things." Kazuha muttered to himself. As he reached to near the entrance of the harbour, the sky had already turned orange, and the sun begins to set.

The wind blew as the plates of the earth seems to shift. The young samurai felt it. It felt like today the world has shifted in a certain place.

Liyue Habour, Liyue Habour...

The nonsense of the wind repeated in his ears.

He continued his journey and stopped by the peak of the hill. The sky was in different shade of deep blue. The stars begin to come out. They slowy swirled into all sorts of patterns.

"They looks splendid tonight." Kazuha commented.

Night was befalling on the bustling Habour.

He could see the lights and lanterns lit up, and the decorations for, whatever festival was happening, were illuminated.

Feeling inspire, Kazuha thought of a tune. He took a piece of leave from the ground, and improvised a rhythm. He dedicated the song to the stars.

By the time he was done, he looked up the dark sky. He watched in awe as the stars, like mercury, began to merge and lit one single path in the sky.

Follow the path, and it will lead you.

He heard a whisper.

The universing was telling him something, and Kazuha accepted it's guidance and followed the path of stars.

It lead him into Liyue Habour. The streets were bustling with people. Couples, who professed their love and longing. Gifts, were gifted to show appreciation. Street vendors invented games to strengthen the bond between matched pairs. The children laughed as they frolick among the lovers.

Yet, Kazuha walked pass each and everyone, following the path that called for him, that was meant for him. He sees the end of the path, without heasitation, his legs moved faster, and soon he was running.

A smile drawn on his lips when he reached to the end. The end where he was destined to meet someone. Someone, he held to his heart.

"Hello, traveller..." He greeted.

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

Author's Notes :

A rewrite of an old fic.

I used to have a Genshin Fanfic account named, Komore Teahouse. This was a Fanfic I wrote for the Qixi Festival during that time. Kazuha is one of my favourite characters in the game, and I love how well his personality fits with the traveller.

Unfortunately, I have since deleted the Komore Teahouse blog (Where I get to Rp as the dog owner, I forgot his name). I won't go into too much detail as to why, but please don't expected me to write anymore Genshin fic. I will only post old ones, if I feel like it.

(C) Punishing Eden

[sifasdt]

SIFAS Daily Theatre Classic: 2021-03-20

(Transcription after the break.)

[Image transcription:]

SIFAS Daily Theatre for 2021-03-20

Nijigaku: Towards the Shuffle Festival! Part 10

Rina: Shioriko-chan.... can we do the interview for the Shuffle Festival.... right now? I'm sorry that... it has to be right before the live.... Rina-chan's board 「Feeling Down」 Shioriko: It's not a problem, please lift up your face, Rina-san. Right before the live is when my mood is at its peak. I feel like I can give better answers for the interview if we do it right now. Rina: Today is the day.... where we get to sing each other's songs. How do you feel? Shioriko: Frankly speaking, I'm really looking forward to it. I joined the club a little late, so I didn't know the story behind how everyone's first songs came to be. But I'm happy that I was able to learn various things and think about them in my own way. I'm also happy that I was given a chance to sing the songs.... That's why it's inevitable that I would not only be enthusiastic about the upcoming live, but also excited to try a new and exciting venture. Rina: You seem.... really with it today, Shioriko-chan. Shioriko: Is that so? I'm glad if that's the case. But I'm also relying heavily on you and the rest of Nijigaku members, Rina-san. Let's enjoy today's Shuffle Festival! Rina: Yeah! I feel like.... I can't stay still anymore. Rina-chan's board「Eager」 Shioriko: I'm sure everyone has already gathered. Let's head to the venue. Rina: When everyone is there.... let's form a circle, okay. Shioriko: Yes!

[End transcription.]

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 3rd December 1953

Well, here we are, our first Christmassy post. It' a festive bunch of songs, and normally I'd object to this in November, but I'm off to a month-early Christmas dinner, so for once, it' fine, mostly.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy Boyd (peaked at No. 3)

It's a song I know, but I don't think this is the standard version nowadays, and there's good reason for that. Jimmy Boyd first appeared on the tooth-upsetting Tell Me a Story, duetting with Frankie Laine, and this solo outing is very much a continuation of some similar trends.

Throughout, Jimmy is deliberately very "kidd-y". He was 13 when he recorded it, but the vibe is even younger, and there's little that I like less than deliberately cutesy kids. Kids are cute all the time without needing to deliberately "cutesy" it up.

It also doesn't help that his voice is particularly nasal, and done no favours by a version of this song that's a good clip slower than the version I'm familiar with.

It's a solid enough idea for a song, though - clever even! The kid doesn't know that dad's playing Santa, so he thinks (seemingly without any understanding of infidelity, which, fair, because kid) that he's caught his mother enjoying a moment with Santa. "What a laugh it would have been, if daddy had only seen!" indeed.

As a kid, I for whatever reason didn't pick up on the first part, but I did pick up on the infidelity thing, and even at quite a young age I just assumed the joke was that his mother was cheating on dad with Santa. Which... merry Christmas, I guess?

Apart from that little bit of mild wink-wink naughtiness, this version is actually quite sleepy, fitting for a song set apparently quite late at night on Christmas eve. There's some floaty organ, some steel guitar and some ghostly backing singers going "oooooh", plus that Christmas staple, some bells at the end.

I should like this more, really. It's just irritating, and a touch too slow. There will be better versions of this - heck, I can see one coming up again pretty soon!

Dragnet - Ted Heath & His Orchestra (9)

The title here immediately said theme tune to me - and some research told me I was right, this is a cover of the theme music to the eponymous US cop show, Dragnet.

In fact, it was apparently iconic enough that the "daaa-da-da-da' tune here became shorthand for "scene with cops" in various media ever since. Not sure if that still holds true today, but it is catchy and distinctive, combining stabbing, low brass with timpani and some clashy, discordant chords, before breaking into something very jazzy. It's menacing, and feels dangerous, but also cool.

It's good, dramatic music - I know this is a big band cover, but I hope the original is just as punchy. It's simple but effective, repeating the same four notes in different combinations ad nauseam and building to a big note finish, with some trumpets going "waah-waah-waah".

One bit also vaguely sounds like the string chase from the Doctor who theme, which I love. Accidental, but cool.

I don't know why people were going out and buying this as a single, that's my only question here. Did they want to re-enact their favourite TV show? Save the memory of the theme tune, in an era where TV wasn't readily repeatable? It's a banger, but I don't know, I'm not sure I would have gone out to buy it.

I think my favourite here has to be clear, despite my Christmassy mood. One song annoyed me. One I actually quite liked.

Favourite of the bunch: Dragnet

[lauvrehaus]

Padul Ong: A Cathartic Cultural Spectacle

Greetings, or should I say, "Maupay nga patron!" Welcome back to the LAUVRE. 

For today's exhibit, I want to take you on a trip and experience Borongan City's annial celebration of history, culture and faith. Get ready to see The Land of the Golden Sunrise as it beam in all its color through Padul ong Festival 2023!

The Legend

As an homage to Boronganons' Patroness Nuestra Señora de la Natividad, Borongan City celebrates the Padul-ong Festival every 8th day of September with a week-long variety of activities. According to Festivalscape (2022), Padul ong Festival is deeply rooted with Waraynons' history and religion.  Padul-ong in Waray-waray means to transport or deliver, a reflection of how the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was inexplicably transported to the island from Portugal. Legend has it that a woman had the sacred image in a box as her luggage in her expedition form Portugal to the Philippines. However, the woman died during the voyage while her box arrived at Punta Maria in Samar to reveal the image to the townspeople.

The tale was later connected by the natives to the Lady in White who would frequently appear in the Hamorawon springs, but would suddenly disappear once noticed by people. Afterwards, the waters of Hamorawon started to possess miraculous healing properties. The Lady in White's "magical disappearance" matched with her remarkable fragrance, led the townspeople to believe that she is behind all the miracles happening in the locality. A collective decision was made to transport the image of the Virgin Mary to Borongan.

This feast consists of a variety of activities and this is my third time to experience them firsthand. I first saw Padul Ong Festival way back 2019, pre-pandemic in all its glory. It became dormant during the peak of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 wherein activities were restricted. 2022's celebration, which was the 30th staging of the feast, marked as the formal comeback of the celebration. And, this year, I saw more development when it comes to the events, participants, and overall vibe of the poblacion.

The Experience

It made me ecstatic seeing the city come alive. Though I was not able to attend to all the activities since our home is a 20-minute ride away from the "sawang", I am still in awe as I saw glimpses of the energy of the fiesta. 

On September 2nd, my siblings, my cousins and me went on an unplanned visit to the "peryahan". The place was crowded with adrenaline from familiar faces and strangers. The rides look overwhelming, like the ferris wheel and the vikings. It's not my first time to see them, it's just amazing how they mount these and thoroughly assure people about their safety without sacrificing the fun. 

We first rode the ferris wheel, which was my first time in years now. I shared my cart with a stranger who was very audible and vocal with his nerves. It kind of ruined the mood for me, but he lowkey made me laugh which lessened my nerves, too. Well, what can I say? We have different coping strategies, I guess.

We also tried their horror train, a not-so fitting name for the ride. I know I might sound bitter and kill-joy with the way I'm wording these phrases but it wasn't really giving horror. It was more of a stressful-schock train. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed every bit of scream and giggle I had. 

The spontaeneous short trip was well worth our money. And, we'll never get to see those rides again maybe till next year so why not just enjoy.

The Myth in Motion

Aside from the feast day itself, considered highlight of the celebration is the "Vesper day". Ever since my first experience in 2019, I have always made it a teeny-tiny tradition for myself to experience the series of events on September 7 in person. It is commenced by the traditional fluvial procession of the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin Mary after an early-morning mass in Punta Maria to the Rawis Port, a clear representation of the legend. Then, participating high schools take to the streets for a colorful dance parade that fills the poblacion with energy. Afterwards, the highly-anticipated contest of fhe reenactment exhibition of the tale happens at the City Town Plaza. This year, there were only three participating schools: Sta. Fe National High School, my junior high school Maypangdan National High school, and my alma mater Eastern Samar National Comprehensive High School. During the pre-pandemic contests, there were more than dive competing schools, but considering the dormancy from last year, the number of contestants this year is still a major upgrade.

I went to the City Plaza early on the morning of September 7 to excitingly watch the happenings. I also invited Crista, my classmate, to join me like a way to baptise her with how magical the festival is since she is new in Borongan. I also met some old schoolmates from MNHS and ESNCHS which brought pure joy to me. I was gagged with all the performances, seeing them dance with passion and emotion as they pay homage to the Patroness. The festivity was well represented with every unique story telling from each performance. SFNHS deservingly won first place but I just tend to lean towards MNHS because of my attachments with some of the performers whom I see as role models and friends. Even after they graduated high school and even if some of them are not of the same religion, they still dedicate their time and effort for their love of dance and contribution to the local culture. 

Aside from this, I am also proud to see school publications that I had been, and is currently part of, being a medium to tell stories of common folks who may come unknowingly but play such vital roles in the success of the event. I also saw a lot of foreign tourists and even settlers who were enjoying the fiesta. Padul-ong Festival became a unifying force for people of different walks of life, age, color, social status, religion, and background to just have fun and celebrate culture and devotion.

The Feast

On September 8th, the day of the fiesta which also falls on what is considered as Mama Mary's birthday, I was luckily invitied by my Grade 12 classmates to celebrate with them in their homes. As their class president, who am I to say no? Thank you Cha-Cha ang Angelica for joining me that day! And to Mariel, Ate Deanne, Andrew, Ian, and Carl, thanks for the food and the invites!

The Catharsis

Upon writing this entry, I realized how much of a cathartic experience it is for the City of Borongan to celebrate Padul Ong Festival this year. I know that might sound too exaggerated, but I can't seem to find any better word to explain it. I am delighted to see that our culture and arts are well preserved in the youth. The spectacles invite foreign people into our city which provide them an expedition of a lifetime. It doesn't matter if you believe in the tales, or if you have the same beliefs. We are doing this for the fun, the faith, the culture, and the future. May we continue to show the world our identity and hug visitors with our hospitality. We are starting to reclaim the joys that the pademic took away from us. The success of this year just makes me more excited for what's to come for the future Padul Ong Festival Celebrations. And I hope, by that time, you're all still with me.

With love,

From the LAUVRE.

Sources:

[sunlightwoo]

Run To You

☀︎ pairing: king!sangyeon x court noble!fem. reader

☀︎ genre: royal au, themes of wrong timing right person in a way, first love au, arranged marriage themes. there will definitely be angst and fluff in this, but i shall add some humor to enlighten everyone :)) 

☀︎ wc: 2.8k

☀︎ plot: sangyeon thinks that he’s imagining things when he sees you standing in the middle of his royal office with an offer in your hand from when you used to date 10 years ago. however, when you tell him the truth about why you came back, he thinks that maybe it was fate that brought you back to him. 

☀︎ a/n: happy birthday to one of my biggest inspirations in the writing community @solarwonux​​ !!! i love you like you are my big sister and i tell you this every time because i don’t know what i’d do without you. thank you for always showing me how to be the best of myself and for always looking out for me. i hope your birthday today is spent well <33 also there’s a little easter egg for a spoiler of an upcoming wip hehehe lmk if you guys find it

Sangyeon looks at himself in the mirror that was across from him and glances at his entire attire from head to toe, finding that the attire he was put into feeling stuffy and he lets out a breath before looking out at the sun beaming down past the window. It was only another afternoon that he was stuck indoors doing kingly duties that he knew would take a while to sink in, and the last thing he needed was another public event to attend to when there were piles of bills and laws to look over and review for his own kingdom.

“It’s okay, Kevin, you can drop the formalities. Besides, I don’t have a choice in this, do I?” He breathes out, turning towards where the latter had stood by the doorframe, and Kevin gives him a look of empathy, knowing that he was right.

“I guess not… Just call for me if you need anything, okay?” He whispers and frowns a bit while leaving the royal bedroom, just as Sangyeon turns back towards the mirror to look at himself to tend to his thoughts once again.

There was some sort of emotion in his heart that was yelling at him to leave the kingdom for a bit, to run away from the expectations that he was supposed to live up to and find a way out. The burden of being a king was much more than he had anticipated for as a child, and now that he had been the king for over a year after the death of his father, he had been kicked into the role of the leader that everyone looked up to for guidance.

Safety.

A sigh escapes his lips as he knows that his thoughts were foolish anyways, the mere thought of running away to a place unknown already being risky enough knowing that he would be killed out there in the barriers past his kingdom. He had enemies for sure, but he also knew that there were strong alliances that he had, such as with another king, Kim Sunwoo, that he had yet to meet another day.

But for today, there was an important event that he had to make an appearance for and be the king that everybody needed and came to know of.  

Sangyeon decides to finally head out of his bedroom to find Kevin, who he had assumed to be in his office waiting for him and goes to where it was when he notices that it was open. It wasn’t until he walked into his office to see someone else in there that it made him confused as to how someone could waltz into his own privacy and possibly commit treason.

Before he could say anything, the person turned around to face him with a shocked but amused look, their familiar facial features surprising him as well as his heart had churned at the sight of them- or you, he should say.

“Surprised to see me, Sangyeon?” You teased while crossing your arms over your chest with your fan tucked underneath them and he closed his mouth for a moment before giving you a smile back in surprise.

“You didn’t tell me that you were visiting.” He breathes out and you let out a quiet chuckle before walking over to get a better look at his face, the same one that you remember loving in the past, but this time it was more structured; in a way he had matured more than you last saw him.  

“It’s been ten years since we last met, hasn’t it? I wanted to still keep onto my end of the promise that we agreed on.” You reply and there was something in his eyes that you noticed change at the mention of the said promise that you both had foolishly made when you were still dating back then.

Both you and Sangyeon had only been sixteen years old at the time that you made your promise before it had been your breakup. At that time you both had promised to one another that if fate had allowed for it to happen, that you both would marry one another regardless of given circumstances because you knew that you were each other’s soulmates. You had sealed the promise with a kiss that you as an inexperienced teenager would know before having to leave the kingdom because of a family issue that you had on your end.

Now that you had finally found your way back to Sangyeon’s kingdom after hearing that he became the king only a year ago, you made it your mission to find him again and you were successful until this very moment as you looked into his eyes. There was something in them that spoke of an unspoken thought that was yet to be said past his lips, but you weren’t sure what to expect as well.

“Y/N… I have to tell you something, before you can hear it from someone else-” He says softly and reaches out to hold your hands, when suddenly there was a knock on the door, making both you and Sangyeon to face where Kevin had stood with another woman that was by his side, and based on the look that they both exchanged, you knew what that unspoken thought was.

“King Sangyeon, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Lady Kyungsoo is here for the wedding announcement.” Kevin announces quietly and bows before quickly leaving the three of you in the tension filled room, making you raise an eyebrow at him and take a sharp breath in as you turn to face the new individual that you had yet to meet with a large smile on your face.

One that you were all too familiar doing in times like this.

“I’ll leave you two alone instead, your majesty,” You say and start to head out of his office with your arms still crossed underneath your chest, until you paused for a moment to turn back to the two individuals that were watching you leave.

“Congratulations on the wedding, by the way.”

“I don’t understand, Jacob, I thought that he would’ve remembered about the promise,” You huffed out as you were walking around the village center with your best friend after finding him once again at his old family shop, “Was it foolish of me to even feel upset that he didn’t remember, when I have waited this long to find him?”

Jacob thinks to himself and shakes his head in response as you let out another sigh and glanced around your surroundings, seeing as though everybody was in a festive mood because of the recent announcement of an hour ago about the king finally being wed. There was a dulling ache in your chest at the sudden news of it, but you felt as though you couldn’t do anything because you felt as though it were wrong on your end to wait ten years.

“I don’t think he would’ve forgotten it on purpose, Y/N.” He replies and you pause for a moment to turn to him with a deadpan look on your face.

“I literally met his future wife before finding you and the announcement had occurred. I don’t think there’s any way I could add myself into the equation here, Cob.” You say just as the sounds of fanfare goes off in the distance, meaning that the king was coming through the village and you could feel your stomach churn just at the thought of it.  

You feel Jacob pull your hand over towards where he was standing as you nearly collided with his chest, just as the royal carriage had just breezed by where you had previously stood. Taking a sharp breath in, you turned back around after separating yourself from Jacob’s grip only to face Sangyeon, who had taken the chance to get out of the carriage that had almost hit you earlier as there was a concerned look on his face.

“Y/N, are you okay? I apologize, my men weren’t looking and-”

“It’s fine, Sangyeon. Are you and everybody in the carriage, okay?” You interrupt him while giving him a soft smile, reassuring him that you were fine but you should’ve known better than to assume, considering he was still worried about you regardless.

“Yes, however-”

“Your majesty, we have to keep going. You still have to meet up with King Sunwoo for that business meeting.” His royal assistant, Kevin, you had learned from earlier today, says from where his head had peaked out of the carriage and there was a sigh that slips from Sangyeon’s lips as he looked between both you and his assistant that he was close to wringing for all of his bad timed actions.

“Meet me at the river in three days' night, okay? I’ll be back after meeting with a friend, and I can explain everything.” He whispers quietly only for the two of you to hear and you could’ve sworn from how close that he was standing in comparison to where you were, his breath could’ve easily hovered over yours had he had not pulled away first.

You watch as he heads back to the carriage as his eyes meet yours once more for a moment before he leaves you with Jacob, the carriage becoming smaller to your eye as you turn around to look at the latter with amusement crossed on his face.

Oh no.

“First name basis with the majesty?” Jacob teases and you could feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment when you turn your eyes away from him to walk back to the path that you were headed on earlier to your original destination.

“Force of habit, don’t judge me, Jacob.”

After that small encounter, three days’ nights had arrived fast as you were now at the river that started it all. You remember the first time that you had found it when you were roughly thirteen years old, finding purchase in the serenity and peacefulness of the area with the moonlight shining down on you quietly.

It was the place that you happened to have found the hiding soon to be king, who was curious about what it was like to be outside of the castle walls and never would you have imagined yourself falling in love with him in the span of three to four rough years. Now you were back here with nostalgia in your eyes and fingertips as you sat along the shore of the river, staring into the illuminated water when you hear footsteps approach you softly as a familiar reflection appears beside you.

“I didn’t keep you here too long, did I?” Sangyeon asks you quietly, and you shake your head in response as he takes a spot in the grass beside you.

The two of you were now silent as neither of you wanted to speak up, afraid of what was yet to be said in between the lines of tension that was beginning to build between you both. However, you weren’t even sure what could be said from your end, since it was evident that he was getting married in order to save his reputation as the king so that he wasn’t seen as weak. You understood that, but you couldn’t help but want to be selfish on your end and think that maybe you could find a way to stop the wedding that was yet to happen.

“You know that I never forgot about the promise right? I still have loved you, after all these years, and want to be with you, Y/N.” Sangyeon finally speaks up and there was a shaky breath that leaves your lips from either relief or heartbreak, because either way you could still feel the twist that was still evident in your heart.

“But you can’t do that because of your people, Sangyeon. I don’t want them to think that you’re marrying me because of a promise we made when we were still young-”

“And if I prove them otherwise?” He retorts in almost an inaudible whisper, and you pause for a moment as you look into his eyes, feeling your very own gloss a bit from the tears that were pricking at the corner of your eyes from your own selfishness, but you knew that it couldn’t happen.

“You know that fate can be twisted sometimes… Maybe this was fate telling us that we took too long to find each other.”

Maybe you should’ve stayed back in Jacob’s place when it was the day of the wedding, which happened to take place a couple weeks after that night you had met up with Sangyeon at the river. It was hard to see the extravagant colors and decorations that were coating the walls of the royal castle and could feel the pang of pain hit your chest the longer that you had looked at them.

“Y/N?”

The sound of someone calling out to you made you confused as you turned to look and see that it was both Kevin and Lady KKyungsoo, who had been holding hands until you had eyed it as you raised an eyebrow at them. Were they planning to…

“We all had a plan these last few weeks, and I was going to back to my kingdom to talk it out with my royal advisor to tell him that we didn’t need a marriage to keep the alliance,” She says and you felt as though you were taken back at her sudden words when she speaks up once again with a smile on her face as she glances over to Kevin, “Besides, I have the person that I’ve dreamt of to help me out and guide me through being my own queen back at home.”

“Wow.. that’s-”

“You should go see Sangyeon, if that’s what you’re still standing here debating about.” Kevin imposes, and you give him a confused look when they suddenly run past you with giggles escaping their lips, making you take note that you should ask Sangyeon about them later on if you get the chance to.

Taking this as your chance to go, you made your way over towards the corridors that you were sure held the familiar chambers that Sangyeon had resided in after the countless times of visiting when you were younger. The memory seemed to be as fresh as new in your mind, considering it had been years since then and it wasn’t until you found yourself standing in front of the large regal doors of what you had assumed to be Sangyeon’s room that you were now hesitant on knocking on them.

What were you even going to tell him?

You finally get the courage to after thinking for a while to knock, when the door suddenly opens in front of you where Sangyeon was standing in front of you with regal clothing on, making you forget that he was a king until now as you take your raised hand back down to your side. There was a silence that overtook you both as you stared at one another where you had stood, but it wasn’t until he took one step forward closer to you that you blink back to reality and remember what you were here for.

“I just bumped into Kevin and Kyungsoo… Is it true?” You ask him quietly, looking at him with your arms reaching to cross in front of you when suddenly Sangyeon takes them into his own hands gently and gives you a warm smile, the same one that you could easily melt into if it were your own personal sun.

“We can still get married, if you still want to keep our promise? The people are still looking forward to one today, and I’m pretty sure that my tailors can help you get fit into a dress in less than an hour, only if you’re okay with it.” He replies to your thoughts, making you think that this might be the one opening that fate may be giving you while you still had your chance.

And maybe it was the sudden kick of confidence that you gained knowing that might’ve been from the fact that you finally had a chance to be with him that led to you pulling him close so that you finally kissed him as if it were your last given chance to. You feel him kissing you back with a smile on both your faces as you knew from the kiss that your answer was right there, that the both of you were in it for the long game and past the stupid promise that you both made when you were still teenagers in love.

“Let’s go get married then, shall we?”

[endless-season]

Lucien’s Weibo Posts (2021)

<< 2020 | [2021] | 2022 >>

2021-1-1

Human memories gradually build up and require markers to organise them into segments. Here’s hoping the New Year will create even more new and happy memories.

2021-1-10

A quiet environment better encourages people to reflect.

2021-1-15

If one can both enjoy something magnificent as well as share it with someone else at the same time, that is the peak of happiness.

2021-1-22

“I spend so much time alone that silence has become a habit”. Perhaps silence is when you converse with your own heart.

T/N: Quoting ‘West with the Night’ by Beryl Markham

2021-1-29

Silent conversation

2021-2-5

What one looks like to others is a question for others to answer, there is no need to blindly guess on their behalf.

2021-2-11 (Chinese New Year)

Wishing you a Happy Year of the Ox.

2021-2-14 (Valentine’s Day SP Event)

🍁 ​​​

2021-2-23

My jacket experienced the temperatures of two seasons today.

2021-2-27

Beautiful details are captivating even on film.

2021-3-7

Sharing a picture

2021-3-16

Why placebo candies can still have real positive effects on mood after being eaten could perhaps be attributed to the brain receiving these cues to release joy.

2021-3-20

Spring goes well with fireworks.

2021-3-26

Cherry blossom latte is alright but the flavour is a bit strange.

2021-4-1 (April Fools)

Only smart people can see this post, happy holiday.

2021-4-8

Fragrant scent of every spring

T/N: Quoting ‘Wisteria’ by Lao She

2021-4-16

A fated store

2021-4-24

It is because of the existence of uncertainty that the confusion before reaching the truth can give rise to surprising possibilities.

2021-4-28

Sharing a picture

2021-5-1 (Labour Day holiday)

It’s the perfect time for a trip. It would be a shame to miss out.

2021-5-13

Powerful influence.

2021-5-23

People like to read tragedies alone but read comedies with others. Experiencing pain alone but willing to share happiness, it seems people are naturally community orientated.

2021-5-26

“Moss always points to civilisation”

Video translation:

It’s been a while since I’ve visited the aquarium. Last time was… *smiles* Looking at the ocean inexplicitly makes one feel lonely - maybe it’s because it’s so vast. I wonder what you, the ones who’ve lived their entire lives within the aquarium glass, think of this? *chuckle* Looks like I still don’t have that kind of empathic special ability. But who knows what the future holds. After all, “Moss always leads to civilisation” and with the progress of civilisation comes deterioration and growth. So I guess we’ll wait a bit and see.

T/N: It really is Spongebob…

2021-6-1 (Children’s Day)

On Children’s Day, it seems all sorts of happiness will be influenced by the atmosphere to become a pure and simple feeling.

2021-6-11

The wrinkles on old books are like scars left by battling through wind and rain, touching them brings a special sense of preciousness.

2021-6-20 (Father’s Day)

Blooming season

2021-6-29

Across different eras, people have assigned blessings and well wishes to particular objects. Perhaps this is because tangible things are more convincing than intangible things.

2021-7-6

Light and dark interweave under uniform viewfinders.

T/N: A National Geographic exhibition apparently!

2021-7-12

The phototropism of plants can sometimes create interesting scenery.

2021-7-20 (Oracle event)

Perhaps to deep seas or perhaps to the shallows

2021-7-31

To record their own existence, people piece together photos to create a world completely formed from ‘the past’.

2021-8-7

Accidentally found some photos I took a few months ago. It’s as if spring has arrived twice.

T/N: He initially forgot to write a caption lol

2021-8-14 (Qixi Festival)

Perhaps as your inner expectations increase, the probability of getting the outcome you want also increases.

2021-8-23

Space-time theories are being used to deconstruct antidrama techniques. In certain ways it’s like trying to find order within chaos, and perhaps that truly is the case for many people’s lives.

2021-8-31

Sharing a picture

2021-9-7

Perhaps in every era there will always be a subset of people who miss the charm of the past.

T/N: Image from ‘La Ronde’

2021-9-12

Besides the standard date, people will also use temperature, the colour of leaves, the harvest etc to determine when autumn has arrived. Thus, in the same space, there can exist numerous points of time at which autumn has begun.

2021-9-21 (Mid-Autumn Festival)

No matter where you admire the moon from, it will still invoke the strong sense of longing.

2021-9-25

It’s a good time to share tea.

2021-10-5

It’s like swimming through a painting

T/N: Summer palace collab event

2021-10-18

Poetry is an emotion as well as an artistic form. People love poems, perhaps because life itself is like writing a poem.

2021-10-23 (Pre Halloween Event)

A boundary separating vitality

2021-10-31 (Halloween)

It’s the children’s turn to tell scary stories, if I’d known earlier, I should’ve pretended to be scared.

2021-11-6

Happened to see a flock of clouds migrating.

2021-11-15 (Lucien bday!)

Perhaps the camera lens is not only captured by the clear sky but also the surrounding scenery.

Xia Lei also commented on this post:

T/N: “-ge” (lit. brother) is a polite way to refer to older guys.

2021-11-26

When appreciating art, people will tend to project a part of them onto it to understand it and unconsciously see themselves reflected.

2021-12-4 (Near Fourth Anniversary!)

Throughout the seasons, it seems as soon as we arrive in one, we start to look forward to the next.

2021-12-17

Perhaps after life withers, it continues to exist in some other form.

2021-12-24 (Christmas Eve)

Sharing a picture

<< 2020 | [2021] | 2022 >>

[voltage-vixen]

A Sleighing Secret

‘Tis the Season of Smut Challenge Day 2

Prompt: A naughty sleigh ride (NSFW)

Fandom: Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice

Pairing: Gavin x MC (Female)

You can still join the challenge and find more info HERE!

Sighing for what seemed to be the umpteenth one of the day, MC’s knuckles rapped against the metal surface of her desk while she waited for the workday to finally be over with. Today, MC was supposed to meet up with Gavin at the police station after she finished her shift to take him back home to her place where they were going to spend the evening cooking dinner together. At least that was the plan, until MC a secondary glance at the phone which seemed to only serve as a taunting reminder as to how much time was left in the workday left her irritated. It was Christmas Eve, and her night with Gavin consisted of hot chocolate, cuddling by the fire, him ‘unwrapping’ one of his gifts early……  

Shaking her head, MC was tired of wallowing in the office stuck in this an agonizing limbo. Concluding it was time to pull out the boss card she reserved for only the most pressing of urgencies (simply because what could be more pressing than a meetup with one’s boyfriend), MC’s fingers pounded furiously onto the keyboard as she typed out quick email explaining her sudden absence to Anna. Pressing the send button, MC shoved her phone into the pit of her purse and pretended she couldn’t hear Minor’s questions he called out from across the room as the door to the office slammed shut behind her.

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

After hailing a speedy cab ride across town and paying the driver, MC admired the sight of illuminating Christmas lights wrapped around marquee of the Loveland Police Department before scurrying into the building. The columns in the entryway were decked out in garland, and even Officer Landsman seemed to be in a jolly mood with the Santa hat atop his head while stationed at the desk in the main lobby.

“Good afternoon, Officer Landsman,” MC greeted, as she approached and scribbled her name down onto the familiar visitor’s log. “You wouldn’t happen to have any idea of where I could find Mr. Gavin now, would you?”

“Same place as always when he’s not out prowling the streets for a case,” Landsman replied, printing out a temporary id badge and handing it over to MC. “Do you need me to escort you back to his office?”

Smiling since he was willing to allow her to go back on her own, MC shook her head and gave him a small wave and proceeded to bustle down the length of the hallway. Tinsel entwined around the mistletoe dangled from the ceiling twinkling brightly. Pausing to admire the meticulous detail in the decorations, MC gasped when a sharp tug yanked her into the side hallway, and a hand covered her mouth to muffle the yelp about to escape.

“Shh, it’s only me,” Gavin whispered, his palm still clamped over her lips as he discreetly ushered her towards the back door reserved for emergencies. His frown deepening, his eyes cast down onto the watch strapped to his wrist. “We’re going to sneak out since I have a surprise for you, but we have to hurry otherwise we’re going to miss our ride.”

“Our ride?” she questioned.

Ignoring MC, Gavin pushed open the door leading them beyond the walls of the station. The chilly air grazed fiercely across her face when the door swung open and they poured out onto the sidewalk. MC’s breath fogged in front of her face, and her frame shivered into the direction of the warmth radiating from Gavin’s chest. Encompassing her against his muscular chest, Gavin held MC tightly all while incoherently muttering about something being held up and taking too long. She was about to ask what in the world was going on for him to be acting so out of character, when a grand sleigh being pulled by a beautiful chestnut colored horse appeared almost magically before the duo’s eyes. Trotting gallantly through the fallen snow, the horse’s hooves clopped loudly down onto the pavement and soon stopped to present in front of the pair by striking an elegant pose.

“One romantic sleigh ride for the happy couple is here and at your service,” the driver boasted from his seat, flashing Gavin a knowing wink. “There’s a blanket in the back for your comfort, along with some canisters filled with hot chocolate.”

“Gavin! When did you find the time to arrange all of this? We weren’t supposed to meet up for another couple of hours,” MC squealed, her eyes bulging in excitement when the horse reached out to nuzzle his nose against her cheek.

“A true gentleman never reveals his secrets,” Gavin chuckled, playfully bowing down to direct MC onto the carriage. “After you, my fine lady.”

Giggling at Gavin’s exaggerated role play, MC decided to entertain him right back. Playing along, she bowed her head, made it a point to curtsey before allowing him to hold her hand and escort her into the sleigh.

“Thank you indeed, kind sir,” she engaged back.

Climbing up to join her, Gavin settled down onto the seat and ensured the blanket was tucked snugly beneath the cushion of their thighs. Once the driver noticed they were situated, he turned around and clicked his tongue to indicate to the horse that it was time to move onwards. Jingle bells draped down the sides of the sleigh harmoniously rang as they journeyed on. Snowfall began to lightly trickle from the sky, highlighting the festive lights illuminating the skyline of buildings in the city. The magnificent sight was truly equivalent to one seen in a movie. Captivated in the moment, MC hardly noticed Gavin fussing over the blanket next to her until he tapped on her shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re warm enough?” Gavin prodded, encircling his arm around MC’s waist to scootch her closer. “Because if not, I can go ahead and hail us a cab for the remainder of the trip.”

“I’m fine, Gavin,” MC murmured, fluttering her eyelashes to leave a butterfly kiss on the side of his face. “Everything is perfect. This wonderful surprise. The striking scenery. And most importantly, you’re perfect.”

The sincerity of her confession left Gavin rendered speechless, and there was only one way left he knew how to communicate in at that moment. Leaning in, the officer touched the producer’s lower lip; his teeth nibbling away before forcing his tongue between the part of her lips. He shifted his angle to deepen their kiss, eventually breaking away to pepper a trail of kisses down the nape of her neck. MC bit down hard on her lip to stifle a moan to avoid when her body broke out into a flush to avoid alerting the driver of their secret affair until-

“We should save the rest for later,” Gavin smirked, reveling at the adorable way his girlfriend would pout when she was flustered.

Meanie! I can’t believe he got we all worked up only to leave me hanging, she thought whilst glaring menacingly at Gavin.

Gone was the gentlemanly Gavin from only a few minutes prior, and instead smugly sat her man looking all proud of himself for having his share of fun by riling her up and toying with MC.

Two can play at that game.

Her eyebrows flashed suggestively when MC pressed her forehead against Gavin’s temple and slipped her hand underneath the blanket. Eyes widening, Gavin titled his head and nodded in the direction of the driver, but his frantic gesturing seemed to leave MC unfazed. Curling her fingers around the waistband of his trousers, MC placed a slender finger onto his lips urging him to keep silent while she fiddled with the front of his boxers. Unfastening the last of the buttons, the evolver’s cock sprang free and was welcomed into MC’s hand. A low hiss slipped through the purse of Gavin’s lips as her hand enveloped around the thick of his heat.

The touch of MC’s hand was so soft and delicate that his hips couldn’t help but betray him by involuntarily jerking closer to her. Gavin’s arousal was feverish to her touch, pulsating when she encircled around him and gave a firm squeeze and pumped firmly. His breathing hitched when her strokes curtailed into modest movements, her fingers occasionally caressing the cusp of his manhood while purposely pinching his thigh to rile Gavin up. Gavin’s fist clenched tightly, fighting the urge to slam MC back down onto the bench of the sleigh and take her without giving a damn that as an officer of the law he would be engaging in a matter of public indecency.

His arousal twitched in a delightful throbbing pleasure, compelling Gavin to arch along the tender curve of MC’s thigh. Turned on by his actions, MC snuck a peak to over at the driver to make sure he was preoccupied by the guiding the sleigh, then prudently climbed onto his lap. Grinding her hips down to ride Gavin’s thigh, she fought back the impulse to moan when the friction grazing her clit drowned her senses in waves of ecstasy. One of her hands clung to the collar of Gavin’s shirt, while the other continued jerking him harder and harder until-

“Alright you crazy kids, we’re nearly approaching our final destination of the evening,” the driver unknowingly boomed, his eyes still focused on the path before them.

Startled and exchanging panicked glances at the risk of practically being discovered, they silently shuffled to fix their disheveled clothing and returned to their proper seats. The sleigh carried on for a few moments longer and eventually came to a slow halt. Their magical ride ended with an uncomfortable Gavin shoving a wad of cash into the driver’s palm as a tip and whipping the blanket off to toss it aside. Gavin jumped down out of the carriage and held his arms outstretched to catch MC. Hastily rising to her feet, MC leapt into Gavin’s arms, barely affording the time for Gavin to pivot out of sight from the driver to nibble on the lobe of her ear.

“Hope you’re ready for payback,” Gavin muttered, his nimble fingers tracing around the side of her body to work at the buttons of her blouse and move across MC’s bare skin. “Your Christmas present is ‘coming’ to you early this year, if you catch my drift.”

Treading into MC’s apartment building through the misting snow, Gavin stole a kiss from the woman he loved, persisting in his quest to languidly undress her in the elevator as he impatiently awaited to reach the floor her apartment was on. His objective was to streamline undressing her; for when they reached her apartment Gavin was going to savor the early start on unwrapping his present. After all, he had been a very good boy this year. 😉

[annkdarar]

The Little Things You Do

Turns out Anders isn't that much of an asshole after all...

Words Count : 1,839

Pairing : Anders Johnson x Fem!Reader

Warning : NSFW→Mentions of sex, brief mentions of period sex, menstrual cycles, sex jokes (ofc)

Author's Note : This is my very first Anders fic and I'm so nervous I'm literally SWEATING. I hope you guys will like it.

Also thanks @laurfilijames for proof reading this. You're the best!

The office was still plunged in darkness when you came in. It was no surprise, really, for Anders was always late. There wasn’t much that the man actually cared about, and sometimes you wondered if his company was even one of those things. 

You turned the light on, revealing a pretty much empty room, and you walked over to your desk with an exasperated sigh. There were still a ton of things left to do, emails to be sent and names to research. And many other things Anders was too lazy to do himself that you had been assigned to do.

As you sat down, you felt the faintest pain in your lower stomach, causing you to frown. Of course, that very morning, you had been graced by mother nature’s monthly visit. If only it could have waited until the next day when you wouldn’t have had a million things to do. 

Ignoring the upcoming pain, you turned on your computer and got to work, which was easier said than done. With each passing minute, the pain became stronger, heavier, more intense, and you had to stop every now and then to take a breath. You forced yourself to focus on the too-bright screen, typing endless courtesies to men and women who wouldn’t even work longer than a month with you due to your boss’ unnerving and arrogant behavior.  

To say the man was an asshole would be the understatement of the year. Yet, you were fond of him. Not only because of the occasional festivities you and him would partake in, in the privacy of his bed. No, that was just a bonus. Oh, you did want to punch him, quite often, but you also wanted to remind him to drink some water when it was really hot outside and not forget to get enough sleep. 

Another spark of pain pierced through your body and you closed your eyes, burying your face in your hands with a loud groan. The day was going to be long, extremely, and painfully long.

Caught up in your suffering, you didn’t hear the door opening. Or perhaps you did hear it but decided to ignore the loud steps that filled the room. You didn’t flinch when you felt a presence behind you, so close that the warmth of Anders’ chest spread through your back.

“Working hard, I see.” His hot breath crashed against your ear and you rolled your eyes, dropping your hands off your face. “Wanna know what else is hard?”

“Bearing with your existence?” You replied, turning around to look at him.

Somehow, he always looked professional with his white button-up shirt and black tie hanging from his neck. If you didn’t know him, you would say that he was a pretty respectable man. But that, he wasn’t.

He brought his hand to his heart with a pout, in a faked hurt expression. “Ouch. But no, I was thinking about something a bit more...Fun.”

“Not today.” You cut him off, spinning your chair to face the computer’s screen again. You read the email you had typed once more before hitting the send button and getting on to the next one. 

“Actually, I think today is a pretty good day.” He insisted, grabbing your shoulders. “What would you say about coming to mine later on tonight? Pick up where we left it last time?”

With an annoyed huff, you wiggled out of his grip. “I said not today, Anders. I’m on my period.”

“Nothing we haven’t done before.”

“Yeah, but today it hurts like hell.” You explained. “I’m not in the mood for sex. At this point, it will be an achievement if I even survive the entire day.” He snickered and mumbled something you couldn’t understand as he walked away. 

The first half of your day went...okay. The pain was strong, but nothing you couldn’t handle. It was around lunch break that it got worse. The pain had gotten into your lower back, causing you to wiggle in your chair in an attempt to find a comfortable position. The food you had brought along didn’t look appetizing anymore, and you picked at it without eating anything.

You thought the pain had reached its peak but oh, how wrong had you been. You began to feel nauseous, and soon enough, you find yourself running into the bathroom to empty your stomach from what remained of your breakfast. Rinsing your mouth, you closed your eyes. You were exhausted, and there were still several hours to go before you could leave.

A knock on the bathroom door startled you and you almost choked on the water that filled your mouth. You spat it out in the sink and opened the door.

“You look terrible.” Anders pointed out. “How about you go home before you throw up everywhere and soil my floor, uh?” 

The thought of refusing his offer and staying to keep working crossed your mind. But you quickly nodded as another wave of pain washed over your body. Without another word, you grabbed your belongings and rushed out of the office. 

The ride home was equally terrible. Despite turning the heater on, you felt cold. And of course, the traffic was slow. Everything was against you today. At least, Anders had the decency to dismiss you, even if it was only to keep his floor clean.

“What an asshole…” You cursed. Was your anger towards him, the cars in front of yours, or the excruciating pain? You didn’t know. 

When finally, finally, you reached your apartment you almost fell down several times as you rushed in and exchanged your work clothes for a sweatshirt. And when your head hit your pillow, it was like a spell had been cast upon you, and you fell asleep almost immediately, your knees pressed to your chest.

The sound of your apartment door opening dragged you out of your sleep and you sat up abruptly. Inside your chest, your heart was pounding. You weren’t waiting for anyone to visit you. Panicked, your eyes scanned the room for your phone. It was nowhere in sight. You had probably left it in your car when you had rushed inside. If someone was breaking in, you wouldn’t be able to call for help.

“Someone there?”

The familiar voice made you sigh in relief and you flopped back down, one hand on your chest to try and slow your heartbeat. “Bedroom!” you yelled. 

After a  few seconds, your bedroom door was pushed open and the light turned on, causing you to close your eyes. 

“You could’ve taken your clothes off, now I’ll have to do it myself. Not that I mind of course.” The bed dipped under his weight as he came to rest above you, his elbows supporting his weight on each side of your head. 

“I told you I wasn’t in the mood for sex.” You groaned, pushing at his chest. He moved to lie next to you and you looked at him intently. “How’d you even get inside? You don’t have the key.”

“I don’t. But I saw your neighbor and kindly asked her to let me in.” He explained with a wink.

“Great, now that I know how may I know why you came here?” You asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I texted you in case you had changed your mind but you didn’t answer. So I came here. More questions or are we ready to go?”

“You fucking suck, Anders.” You said, turning your back to him. 

“No, that’s your job, darling.” He retorted, poking your ribs. You clicked your tongue and reached behind you to punch him, causing him to laugh. “Also, brought you this.”

Anders dropped something close to your stomach. Something hot and soft. You looked down at the hot water bottle and pulled it against your belly, its warmth spreading in the area. 

“You got me a hot water bottle?”

He hummed and scooted closer to you. He pushed your hair away from your neck and leaned down to press gentle kisses to the sensitive skin. You tilted your head to the side to give him better access and closed your eyes. Anders’ hand found its way on your hip and traveled down your body slowly. His fingertips brushed against the naked skin of your thighs and went back up.

“Anders, I swear to God if you even try to go anywhere near my underwear, I’m chopping your dick off in the next twenty-four hours.” 

He groaned and pulled away. “You’re no fun, really. I came all the way here to take care of you and that’s how you treat me?”

“Why don’t you go out then? Find someone to replace me.” You said, bringing the blanket higher on your body.

Gentle, yet strong fingers grabbed your face and you were forced to look at him. His blue eyes were on yours, soft, but intimidating. Sometimes, he looked as if he was reading right through your soul, and you hated it.

“No one can ever replace you.” He said, his voice filling your ears with a pleasant buzz. “You understand that? No one.”

You nodded eagerly and he let go of you, a smirk painted on his lips. Hesitantly, you grabbed his arm and brought it around your waist, keeping his hand close to your chest.

“Stay?” You asked quietly, placing your head back onto your pillow. 

“Depends,” he said. “Can I touch your boobs?”

“Go away, you perv.” you groaned, pushing him away. He laughed again and dragged you against his chest.

“Ok, ok. Just kidding.” 

It was comfortable, to just lie down with him. You felt warm, and the pain was not as intense as before. You didn’t know how long you stayed like that, but you wished it would happen more often. You were beginning to drift off to sleep again when he spoke.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, putting his hand onto your stomach. You gave him a small nod and you felt his fingers digging slightly into the soft skin.

The moan you let out as he started to massage your belly gently could have been mistaken for one from an adult movie. It felt good, extremely and utterly good. You leaned closer to his chest, almost purring under his ministrations. This definitely soothed the pain.

“Oh, God, don’t stop.” you moaned, grabbing his wrist in case he was considering pulling away.

“The name’s Anders, but as you wish, darling.” he said jokingly, and you pinched him. Not harshly, of course. You were too tired to fight for real and you didn’t want to hurt him.

And now, it didn’t matter that he was the biggest asshole to ever walk the earth, nor that this was way more intimate than sex. At this moment, you felt safe, he made you feel safe. And good, oh so very good, as he massaged the pain away. And if he was still holding you the next morning when you woke up, well, neither of you mentioned it. Not yet.

[omniswords]

Chronicles of a Parisian Dumbass 15

new year, new chapter c: it's been a while since i've worked on Chronicles—December Mood dips are Not Delicious, plus i started streaming regularly, which has been fun! ((i’m omnistruck on Twitch if you want to check it out 🥰) but rest assured i intend to see it through to the end. i hope you've been well <3 take care, and enjoy!

From: itsdjbubbles

My dude, if your stage presence is anything like this flyer, y’all are absolutely gonna kill it at La Tortue.

Well. Luka doesn’t know about that.

It’s not like Kitty Section is totally obscure. They’ve had a stage in Paris’s annual pop-up music festival or more than one occasion. And sometimes Juleka’s tagged along to street corners with him so they could duet in hopes of more than just pocket change. And, of course, there was that whole music contest with Bob Ross and XY, but that had only ended in fiasco: their music was stolen, Rose’s vocals ripped right off the track. Luka argued up and down over the phone until he was red in the face, nearly biked down to the studio and let them have it, but he could hardly prove it. And he cared too much about it jeopardizing Juleka’s happiness to follow through.

Total corporate bullshit. He didn’t know how Jagged Stone did it. When he said so at dinner the night he gave up, his Ma only tousled his hair and said, “You’re my boy, aren’t you?”

Sometimes he thinks that’s the strongest, bravest, he’s ever been. That all his audacity peaked years ago, and he’s only gotten worse since then.

Bubbles isn’t corporate bullshit. Luka feels like he’d be able to figure out something like that from conversation alone. But their talks have been friendly—and more than that, supportive. He’s even shown a few messages to the band, just to check that he wasn’t losing his mind. And he saw how their faces softened in approval, or lit up with excitement. Even Juleka’s.

Besides, Bubbles makes music. And when he samples something, he actually credits it. He knows how to play the game. And it feels like they’re on the same side of the board.

Bubbles has that stage presence; the fact that he only needs that one shadowy picture on his profile is more than enough of an indicator. And Bubbles has a reputation that precedes him. So even if they’re on the same side of the board, it feels like Bubbles is always just a couple of steps ahead.

At least his bandmates are on the same side, and at the same step. All it took was a casual mention, during a late-night band practice, of “the bakery he keeps getting their snacks from” being all in on getting them even more exposure. They didn’t exactly do a good job of hiding their excitement, but he wouldn’t have wanted them to, anyway. Even Juleka, after practice ended, had to admit, “You did good.” And then, with perhaps a bit more snark, “Maybe she’s the one trying to impress you. “

“Stop,” Luka said with a roll of his eyes, but he couldn’t help thinking about it once the partition between their beds was up. There was no way Marinette Dupain-Cheng was trying to impress him.

…Was there?

By now, nearly a day later, Luka’s still asking himself that. Still hemming and hawing like they have more than just two weeks to get their act together. Pacing below deck with his phone in his hand, thinking about pear tarts and pretty faces instead of going to see them in person, and staring at Marinette’s phone numbers until he thinks he’s accidentally memorized both of them.

He doesn’t recognize the pattern or the area code of one of them, so he can only assume that it's an American number. But he still hasn’t mucked up the courage to text or even save the French one in his phone. Why does he need to be scared in the first place? It’s a phone number, and this is strictly business, and everything between them has been strictly business.

Well. Nearly everything. Nearly strictly.

He thinks.

Okay. Okay. All he has to do is say… what? Hi? Who just starts texting someone for the first time with “Hi?” But he can’t go writing a whole essay either, even though at least now he has the power to edit his words instead of just saying them and hoping for the best.

This is harder than it needs to be. And yeah, maybe he’s just making it harder than it needs to be, but it’s not like his brain and the shake in his hands are giving him much of a choice in the matter.

Luka switches back over to his message thread with Bubbles and shoots off a quick reply—flatterer—because maybe answering something easy will make the hard stuff more tolerable. He finds himself looking toward his guitar as though it might lend him strength… well, what the hell. It couldn’t hurt. He plays a doodle or two, idle notes, and catches himself before his fingers can drift toward the beginning of the ocean-blue song. At this point, it’s neither perfect nor good, and he can’t tell if it’s personal dissatisfaction or the numbers that the latest draft has been doing online.

Both. It’s probably both.

Messaging Marinette ends up being just as hard after his attempts at centering as it was before—because as it turns out, the whole music-giving-him-unbridled-confidence thing really only works while he’s playing it. So now he’s left still staring at the blank NEW MESSAGE screen, the cursor blinking almost tauntingly at him because of course it is. Because somehow, he can write a note telling a girl her eyes are pretty and survive long enough to see her smile about it, but he can’t send that same girl a text. It’s not like he can even see her reaction this time, anyway; that just gives him even more of an advantage.

Okay. Okay. He can actually do this. Maybe. He thinks—no, no, he has to.

With a deep breath that he holds longer than he releases, Luka opens a new message.

To: Marinette hey. it’s luka.

And like an idiot, he hits SEND before he’s even put the rest of his message together. So now he has to make a mad dash to come up with something so he doesn’t seem like a total creep for messaging her out of the blue.

For fuck’s sake. This is exactly why he writes his messages in the notes first.

To: Marinette sorry, hit send before i could finish. anyway, just wanted to tell you the band is cool with the postcard idea. i can pay you next time i come to the bakery, if that’s cool.

To: Marinette anyway, it’s really cool of you to offer your help like this. sorry if i didn’t say so yesterday, it’s kind of been... a wild time.

Luka locks his phone before he can agonize too much over what he’s sent, stuffs it away and starts pacing again. It’s not a frantic, shaky thing; no, he’s learned to keep the shakes on the inside until no one’s around to see them. He jumps when his back pocket vibrates, and he nearly drops his phone trying to fish it out. It’s only Bubbles, and he can’t tell whether he’s relieved or disappointed until his phone buzzes again. Twice. And this time, it actually is from Marinette.

From: itsdjbubbles Sorry, I was getting some stuff ready for my next project. Listen, I’m just saying. Don’t sell yourself short as this stuff. Paris is gonna hear you up there, and it’s gonna lose its collective fucking mind.

From: Marinette hi luka ☺️ no worries, i do that too sometimes. here’s the mockup for the postcard. let me know what your band thinks, i’ll do some tweaks and send it to print. sound good?

Luka balks, both at the tone of the message and at the picture she sent. It looks almost exactly like the flyer, same color scheme and everything. The only difference seems to be in the composition, which makes sense; she’s got more of the eye for this stuff, even for someone who only “dabbles.”

To: Marinette wow, this is... thank you? that was fast. and this is really well put-together. i think they’re gonna love it.

you really weren’t kidding, huh.

Luka finds himself sinking onto his bed and staring at the message thread instead of actually doing something productive. And strangely, he’s fine with that. The more time passes, the less scary it is to see her typing back, again and again and again.

From: Marinette course i wasn’t kidding. “help” is practically my middle name to the people who matter.

and i mean, there’s only a little bit of time until your show, right? so, gotta get movin.

anyway, i gotta run. my friend needs help for his summer class and i promised i’d go visit today.

Keep me posted about your band!

♥️

There is far too much in that message for Luka to need to process. “People who matter?” “Keep me posted?” The literal heart emoji at the end? He reads their messages over and over, mostly to confirm that this really, actually just happened, but he’s not going to push his luck. Maybe she just talks to everyone like that, and more importantly, the two of them haven’t been much more than a series of transactions anyway.

A... lot of transactions.

That she’s been doing a lot of giving for.

Luka tries and at least sort of succeeds at shaking the thought from his mind; he can’t read hers, and he shouldn’t try to. He sends her one last text—cool, have a good one—and switches back to Bubbles before he can worry if his words were too casual.

To: itsdjbubbles Thanks for the vote of confidence. I guess you’re not the only one? the bakery I go to, they’re offering to help too.

or, I mean, CBG is offering to help.

Bubbles’s reply doesn’t come until a few hours later. It’s presumably after that project work he mentioned, and definitely after Luka’s had some time to play out the rest of the shakes before he goes busking. His phone buzzes with the notification just as he’s about to leave, and what Bubbles has to say makes his stomach churn and his blood run both hot and cold.

From: itsdjbubbles wait. wait wait wait. hold on i just scrolled your posts.

CBG is *Marinette Dupain-Cheng?*

ohhhhhhh my dude you are in for it now.

[goldenretriever-nicknelson]

New year, Old feels ~ P.P

A/N: It’s officially New Year over here so Happy 2021! I hope it’s amazing for all of you! This was originally meant to be another fic but I repurposed it and here it is, a little new years eve fluff for you all. I wasn’t going to post this but I ended up liking it. 

WC: 2.5k

Warnings: mentions of drinking

Peter watched the snowflakes flitter past his window as the sun hit its peak in the sky. He stretched out his seat and ran his fingers through his curls as he thought about the one person that had been occupying his brain. 

One of his best friends from high school and the girl he had a crush on since freshman year had recently come back for Winter break. It had been a whole year of lost contact since you had moved away for college. Peter had promised he would keep in contact but between Spidey duties and college work piling up he had let you slip from his mind. It didn’t help that he’d also seen you had a new boyfriend and Peter felt the same jealousy he had always felt about you creeping back up. Feelings he would rather have forgotten. 

The last time you had talked exactly one year ago today at the annual New Year’s Eve party you had gotten into a fight because of said jealousy which ended with you storming out before midnight. Peter had planned to finally confess his feelings and kiss you that night but plans change and so do people.

He kept going back to your contact page on his phone or your social media, sometimes he’d even type out a message but he would delete it before he could press send. Nothing seemed right anymore, he was scared that if he tried to say something to you it would be the wrong thing and end up pushing you away even more. 

It got hard, especially over Christmas. All he wanted was to text you or call you and all he thought about was if you were having a good day or not. He wanted to hear that excitement in your voice and how he could always tell if you were smiling even through the phone. The present he had wrapped for you still lay under his bed, catching his eye every so often and breaking his heart even more.

May, Ned and MJ had tried to cheer him up and get him into the festive spirit but the truth was that without you, it wasn’t the same and Peter was sure it never would be. So he was pretty miserable for most of the festive season, he had gotten up the courage to message you merry christmas but he was yet still to get a reply. 

Just as he was looking at the read message on his phone, something hit his window pulling Peter from his spiralling thoughts. Whatever it was disappeared quickly but still made Peter look out his window to see Ned attempting to throw snowballs at his window. 

He gave a small chuckle and threw on his coat and gloves before heading to meet his best friend. 

“You know you can just text me right?” 

“Yeah but this is way more fun.” Ned laughed and threw a snowball directly at Peter who managed to dodge it perfectly much to Ned’s dismay. “That’s cheating.” 

Peter just shrugged and smirked as he made a snowball and aimed at Ned who wasn’t so quick to dodge and ended up with a face full of snow. Peter let out a laugh and ran away as the snowball fight got into full swing.

Ned got in a few good shots but it was Peter who was in the lead. He was just about to deliver the final devastating blow when someone else intercepted it. The snowball hit May right on the cheek. 

“Oh my god, May! I’m so sorry.” The tip of Peter’s ears went pink as his aunt glared over at him before letting out a laugh. 

“It’s fine honey.” May smiled at him, happy to see her nephew finally having fun and smiling. She invited Ned in for some leftover pie and he followed her inside with Peter behind. 

Peter went back up to his room and showed Ned the new spider-man tech he was working on. Keeping focused on Spider-man stuff and being on patrol had served as a good distraction to what was happening inside of his brain. He had hoped after a year, he’d forget about you but all the festivities just reinforced the feelings of longing and missing. 

He was just rambling about the new gadget he was working on when his phone popped up with a notification. His eyes immediately drifted to his phone but after seeing it was only a candy crush notification, they dropped with disappointment. 

“Dude.” Ned gave him a look and Peter knew what he was about to say. “Just tell her.” 

Peter shook his head, feigning ignorance of knowing what Ned was saying and shrugged. “Tell who what?” 

“Tell Y/n you love her. It’s so obvious and she’s only back in town for a few weeks.” Ned sighed and smiled as Peter’s cheeks went bright red. He tried to deny it but he knew it was no use. 

“I-I can’t.” Peter put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. “I can’t ruin things more than I already have.” 

Ned looked at Peter sadly, he’d never quite seen Peter like this. Sure he’d seen Peter broken after a few fights and battles but he’d always gotten back up, this time it just seemed like he didn’t want to. 

“You know what I think you need?” 

Peter looked up at him expectantly and raised his brow. 

“Social interaction.” 

Peter gave Ned a somewhat disgusted and confused look, shaking his head before realising what he was talking about. 

“Nope, definitely not.” 

Despite his words and his adamant attitude not to go, Peter found himself putting on his best shirt and jacket for a party. He’d already had to talk to more people than he usually did and he really wasn’t in the mood for a party especially not a New Year’s Eve one. 

He remembered this time last year as he watched all the couples around him and how he had wanted what they had so badly with someone. He just never realised that the person he wanted to be with was right under his nose the whole time. 

And now he’d screwed everything up for good. He’d be amazed if you ever spoke to him again after the way he’d acted but if there was one thing about Peter, it was that he always held onto hope. 

He walked into the party with Ned, taking a deep breath as he looked around the room. People were already well into the party spirit with drinks and those cheesy glasses and hats that read “2021”. Peter felt someone clap their hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Flash, already tipsy by the smell of his breath. 

“Penis! I didn’t expect you here. I thought you’d still be crying over Y/n and her new boyfriend.” He made some kissy noises before handing Peter a pair of party glasses and stumbling away. Peter’s face burned red with jealousy and anger. 

So that’s why you’d been so distant. Peter wondered for a second if it was the same college guy you’d been seeing and immediately started trying to scan the room for the face he’d seen in the picture. His heart was racing and his whole body felt like bursting with the amount of emotion he was trying to hide. 

Ned tried to distract him, getting him a drink and including him in some drinking games but Peter’s mind stayed distracted. He assumed you’d be here but maybe you had known he’d be coming and wanted to avoid him or maybe you were too busy with your new boyfriend to think about parties. 

Every thought about you only made Peter grow more upset until finally the alcohol started to numb his feelings and thoughts just enough for him to relax more. Peter started to actually enjoy the party and even won a few drinking games. 

He was just about to get another drink when finally he spotted you across the room, sat in the same spot that you both had been last year. Peter’s memories of that night rushed back; the way you looked so pretty even in the dim light of the party and the sadness in your eyes before you stormed out. Most of all he remembered how you’d cheered him up from that miserable night of being single and the laughter you had shared. He wanted all of that again, he wanted you again. 

The first thing Peter noticed was how miserable you seemed. You were staring into your cup as you swirled your straw around in the liquid, deep in thought so it seemed so much so that you didn’t hear or see him approaching. 

Peter fidgeted with his shirt as he took a deep breath before sitting next to you. You looked at him in surprise before quickly going back to stirring your drink absentmindedly. Both of your minds were whirring at twice their speed trying to figure out what to say and how to act to the person who had been your best friend but for the past year had only felt like a stranger. 

“N-nice party.” Peter mumbled, cringing the moment he spoke. You bit back a giggle and nodded slowly before looking at him. He met your gaze and both your cheeks burned red before you both let out a laugh at the awkwardness. 

“I’m sorry, i was trying to think of something to say and-” Peter laughed and blushed as you smiled at him. 

“Definitely a 10 out of 10 for effort.” You giggled and sipped on your drink, looking back out at the party. The laughter died quickly between you and the awkward tension creeped back in. 

Peter followed your gaze and watched as couples danced around the room. He had hoped last year that when new year’s rolled around again he wouldn’t be single. He had thought that college would help him forget you but if anything it only made him miss you more because every time something happened whether it be good or bad, you were the only one he wanted to tell just like you had always been. 

The truth was that he missed you so much it physically hurt him. Sure it had eased for a while and he knew it was his fault but that didn’t stop the pain from the moment he saw you whether through a screen or sitting next to him right now. 

He had seen all the happy memories you’d been having at college and he wished that he could have been a part of them with you or at least had you tell him all about them but it felt like you were just two strangers now. 

“So how’s college been?” You asked idly, a tension in your voice that Peter couldn’t quite place. 

“G-good. Stressful but good.” He nodded and felt the blush start to spread on his cheeks again. You hummed and nodded, fidgeting with the hem of your dress. “How about you?” 

You looked downwards as Peter turned to you, gripping your drink tighter in your hand. “Um it’s been okay.” It might have been a while since Peter had last seen you but he knew you well enough to know when you were lying. 

“Y/n-?” 

“It sucks okay?” You turned to him sharply and Peter saw the water build up in your eyes, threatening to spill. “I hate it. I missed my home, my friends and I missed…. ” You trailed off your sentence, your cheeks turning red under the dim lights of the room. Peter didn’t have to ask but he hoped he knew what you meant. 

He carefully placed his hand over yours and gave a gentle squeeze. “I missed you too.” 

You looked up in surprise and let a tear fall down your cheek which Peter quickly wiped away. Your heart was racing and you could feel your face burning red the more you looked at Peter’s soft expression.

A million questions were whirring in your mind but you chose the one that had been on your mind for a year. “Why didn’t you keep in touch?” 

Peter sighed and looked down at the floor, he’d been dreading that question the most. “I-I saw your instagram. You had this new life, new boyfriend and well I thought that you didn’t need me anymore.” Peter covered up his sniffle with a cough and sipped on his drink. 

“Peter.” You squeezed his hand and rubbed your thumb over his knuckles until Peter finally looked up at you. “I will always need you.” 

Peter’s heart thumped loudly as his whole body lifted with hope. You didn’t hate him. He knew this was his only chance to tell you the thing Ned had been pushing him to tell you all year. The thing he knew he needed to say and it was the alcohol in his system that gave him the courage to do it.

You gave him a soft smile, practically being able to watch the cogs turn in his head which meant he was thinking something through. The words were bubbling in your chest, threatening to spill like word vomit but you bit your tongue. You wanted to tell Peter the real reason you had been miserable and why you were so thankful to see him here again but you were scared. 

“Y/n.” Peter sat up straight and took both of your hands in his, squeezing gently. “I have to tell you something.” 

You looked at him with a smile, covering up how nervous you felt because if it was what you wanted to say too then this really was it. 

The countdown started in the background but all you could see was Peter. The way he had tried to tame his curls with gel, the fancy shirt he always wore to parties and the nervous smile that played on his lips. For Peter all he could see was you and even with his heightened senses the background noise faded. 

“3…2…1... ” 

Peter took a deep breath but before he could speak, you felt the liquid courage in your system and took the first move. You crashed your lips onto his and kissed him. 

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” 

Peter hummed in surprise and his body panicked for a moment before he realised what was happening and cupped your face in his hands as he started to kiss you back. The words that he meant to say died on his tongue but he knew that everything you both felt was being said in that moment as your lips moved in sync with each other’s. 

It was perfect, it was blissful, it was pure heaven. Just like Peter had always imagined. When it finally ended due to much needed air and the interruption of a party popper covering the both of you, you both broke into laughter as you held each other close. 

“I love you Y/n, I always have.” Peter’s warm breath ghosted over your lips as he rested his forehead against yours, a wide smile on his face. 

You smiled back and ran your fingers through his curls, breaking them out of the gel. “I love you too Peter, always.” You giggled before kissing him again and again, finally feeling on top of the world. 

This whole year had been a disaster but having you in his arms was all Peter needed and now there was a whole new year waiting to start over again, for good this time. 

Permanent - @eeyore101247​ @geminiparkers​ @darlingspidey​ @ameelia @calltothemisha​ @parkerpeter24 @rebekkah4766​ @peaches-parker @tom-hlover @parker-hollandx @call-me-baby-gir1​ @cosmicvibecheck @outshineallthestars @theliterarymess @dummiesshort

Peter Parker - @teen--marvel @musicalkeys @spideyspeaches @kickingn-ames @shakespeareanqueer

[thekillingmoonmoon]

Hello, Moon! I hope you’re doing good today :).

For the song Ask Game: what about Gojo and Choso (since Toji was already submitted)? I’ve been pondering over the songs to suggest in return since yesterday, but I’m indecisive as always and I don’t want to flood your ask with too many (especially because some of them are sad, lmao - I don’t wanna be a mood killer today).

I am instead curious about your recommendations, so drop as many as you want! In the meantime, have a good day :)

Babes, I'm emo as hell, sad songs are always welcome (i use them to write angst lol) and also flood my asks, this helps me think about characters and how I write them

Okay okay okay, so Gojo. First up, "Norman Fucking Rockwell" by Lana Del Rey (look, I love Gojo as much as I hate him. he's a mess, he's my mess, he's feral, but he's my feral little creature, y'know?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRjcajliHE

but he's also "It's Called: Freefall" by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, because this line is him:

Anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself And you don't want no help, oh well That's the story to tell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2WDdccgaDY

and finally, a little sneak peak of what inspired a future work - "No Light, No Light" by Florence and The Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGH-4jQZRcc

no light, no light, in your bright blue eyes, I never knew daylight could be so violent

(the kind of Gojo this implies is my favourite Gojo)

Now... Choso, my beloved

I went straight to the emo playlists for him, my best goth boy (I'm really exposing myself here ssh)

"Saints of the Blood" by Black Veil Brides

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3WwMyEia9M&list=PLDYlwid6-JAKvnRCDhg8xVSGwR-bR5V-t&index=20

I'm the one you betrayed Suffocate on the fame Life eternal spent conjuring your ghost Here in death I agree With the selfish and free Trust is nothing but a knife across your throat

I chose this mostly based on how Choso must be feeling about Kenjaku and the truth of his origins.

and then there's "Afraid" by The Neighbourhood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LILL0AV0938

because Choso is really going through it, isn't he? his little brothers are dead, the curse that spawned him is alive, and his newly discovered baby brother is the one who killed his other siblings? plus there's the equivalent of an apocalypse going on, curses vs humans, and he's neither??? I wanna cuddle him

anyway, thank you so much for the ask <3 it means so much. lots of love to you and yours this festive season <3

[baby-grayson]

Dirty Little Secret| Intro | Ethan

Word Count: 1.4 k

Summary: Felicity, an otherwise plain girl with hopes of being a great writer, does one bold thing at a music festival. The thrill of her one bold thing comes back to bite her the next morning.

She was aroused by the wet cold of the bathroom sink against her bare thighs. His hands ran hungrily up and down her thighs, from the skin that her skirt exposed: the flimsy fabric riding up as she straddled him from the counter. His thumbs sank into her, as if trying to pin her down in front of him. From outside, the sound of guitars and screams were muffled by the sound of his hot breaths against her neck.  She craned, exposing more skin and letting him have access to her collarbone from under her thin tank top. His kisses were wet, he pressed his tongue against her skin like he was licking sweet honey: trying not to let a single drop escape from his lips. His hands pulled her closer: wrapping around her thigh and the small of her back to press her chest along his torso. She pulled at his hair, whimpering into his ear. Making desperate, low, sexual sounds. She didn’t usually do this so soon after meeting someone: much less on the counter of a public bathroom at the Semester Kick Off Music Festival. 

For a second, she felt a shadow of guilt as she tried to remember his name. Evan? No. Ethan? Yes, definitely Ethan and it felt very good to have Ethan’s tongue gliding down her neck and teasing the top of her cleavage. If her mind was clouded by idea the idea that hooking up with a stranger was wicked, all of her thoughts were swept away in the bodily storm that was Ethan. She dropped her hands down, hanging them from his back pockets as he leaned further into her and started his tongue back up to her mouth.  She took it gladly, welcoming his tongue by sliding her own across his and feeling nothing but naughty pleasure at the sensation of the hard bulge in his pants resting near her thigh. She pulled back from their kiss, his lips swollen and pink. He was heaving ever so softly and looking down at her: a single tank top strap had fallen to the side of her shoulder in his embrace. She licked her lips and darted her eyes down to his package. She played with her tongue in her mouth for a moment while his swollen lips turned into a smirk. 

Who knows what would have resulted, had a body not barreled through the bathroom door and wretched into a toilet stall.

Something about a stranger puking three feet away from her really ruined the mood of the one sexy tryst of her college career. 

She unhooked her hands from Ethan’s back pockets and sat up straight on the bathroom counter, erecting her posture. Ethan’s smirk turned into a small frown as she reached to pull up her fallen strap and realign her top to better cover her chest. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the mess under her fingertips and looking up at him. 

He knew the moment was ruined. He knew he wasn’t getting it back. Despite everything that he wanted. His face tied strings of disappointment and frustration into a neat package of a gentlemanly facade.

She pushed forward on the counter and he stepped back, giving her enough room to dismount the sink and straighten her skirt. He looked in the mirror to analyze his own disheveled hair and the tease of his underwear peaking through wear she pulled his pants low. 

“That was uh--” she cursed herself for not having more experience, “that was good.” She mentally kicked herself, feeling awkward and unprepared for this moment. She wished desperately for an understanding of the feminine mystique, but instead she was only grossed out by the water from the bathroom floor seeping into shoes shoes.  “Yeah,” he moved in the mirror to fix his hair, “That--” she didn’t hear him finish his sentence as she swiftly pushed through the bathroom door..

She quickly found a trashcan to lean on, not minding the nauseating smell of vomit and booze in her delirious state. She felt a rush move through her, something invigorating. She felt like she had obtained the unobtainable for a girl like her: plain, average, and oh so blasé.

Making out with a stranger in the bathroom at a music festival was the most daring thing she’d done in 20 years. Not just any stranger, a hot stranger. She bit your lip and nearly moaned thinking back to it: she must have looked like intoxicated by something strong to a passing stranger.  “Felicity--Hey Felicity!” her friends called out from across the pavilion, worried by her sudden disappearance half an hour earlier. She darted her head up to find them, knocking her out of her trance. She shook her head, trying to find reality again from wherever her mind had wandered to when she was with Ethan. She bounced back to them, giggling and swaying with her dirty, little secret. 

She wore the high of the moment under her skin as a secret veil of confidence on the first day of school. After years of fading into the background, she’d done one bold thing. The feeling of his hands on her skin felt like too real a memory throughout the day. If she closed her eyes, she remembered what his voice sounded like against her neck. She remembered finger tips dragging along her inner thighs and his warm mouth at the start of her cleavage. She got goosebumps waiting in line for her morning coffee.

There was something addicting about feeling desirable.

The burn of the hot coffee on her tongue didn’t bother her as she nearly soared to the first class of her senior year in college. She flipped through her phone, scrolling across Instagram pictures of her friends on their first last day—she made a mental reminder to take a photo with the school mascot for fun. She considered searching “Ethan” blindly into the social network maze; if he was at the semester festival then he surely went to school with her, might even have some friends in common. But no, she decided not to search up her illustrious , seductive Ethan: he was best as a naughty, dauntless memory.

Looking down at a picture of her old lab partner and his roommates, her phone pinged with the first email of the semester. Her boots clacked against the pavement as she proceeded to stroll to class. She opened the email and read:

“Dear EN 4121: Shakespearean Rhetoric;

I am both sorry and elated to inform you that last night I went into pre-term labor. My newborn son, Matthew, and myself are doing wonderfully. But on account of my hospitalization, I have asked your TA to instruct today’s course-- and future courses hitherto. They will give you details, but I am expecting you all to pair up in preparation to critique each other’s very detailed analysis. I’m unsure of how long my maternity leave will be (likely at least the first half of your semester) but I am sure you are in trusty and faithful hands. I can’t wait to see all the excellent work that you do.

Regards,

Professor Clarissa Barnes”

She wondered if this was a good email or not. Barnes would supposed to be the toughest teacher around, but she was allegedly a hoot in class— acting out plays and using stuffed animals for props. She was weighing the development in her mind when she opened the classroom door and found a seat next to her  friend, Jasmine.

Jasmine immediately started chattering about her boyfriend Rowland and plans for the semester. Felicity brought her laptop out of her back and rested it on the desk, settling herself in and nestling her coffee cup at the edge of the table. She nodded along happily to Jasmine’s excited chatter. But Jasmine’s quick paced tone halted immediately when she noticed Felicity’s face, “are you alright?”

Her face has gone pale and she breathed in an unsure breath. Her left eye twitched. There was no way—this had to be a dream...or a nightmare. 

As Ethan turned around from writing “TA- Ethan Dolan” on the whiteboard he immediately found her in the crowd. His jaw formed a perfect o shape and he pushed his shoulders back, trying to feign professionalism. She was sure he recognized her when he muttered, “Oh God”