#this one was done with the fancy pen thing... I didn't like it

[kirk-goes-to-gallifrey]

I call this one Magical or Merriment Communion with Nimrod

:)

[rooksamoris]

I've come to humbly request and spread propaganda for Jamil L/N.

Jamil taking his s/o's name strikes 3 birds with one stone: freedom from the Asims (you can't tell me there hasn't been a single Viper who didn't marry into another family and adopt their trade), freedom to marry the love of his life, and guaranteeing freedom for his descendants. Depending on how things go with Najma, they could erase the Viper name and, by extension, their servitude.

Also how does he react being called Mr.L/N?

💞 — in which jamil marries you and takes your last name.

💞 — jamil viper x reader

💞 — warnings: none, this is pure fluff and romance

💞 — 1.2k words. i ended up writing a mix of drabbles and headcanons <33 your propaganda turned into me making even more propaganda for this idea. honestly, seems very plausible that he would do something like this.

“I’ll take your last name. If we want to get married, I have to take your name, or else you’d be stuck serving with me,” Jamil said, breaking the silence. His eyes remained on the book in his lap, looking through the various pictures from his parents’ wedding. He would be wearing his father’s old garments. 

The man had an intricate belt with a jambiyah (dagger) tied around the waist of his thobe (long dress-like garment), and his hair was done in various braids with a shemagh (men’s headscarf) tied over it. He had a few ornate pieces of fabric draped over him like a cape and a spot of henna on the inside of his palm. The usual kohl (eyeliner) was a bit smudged from all the festivities—Jamil had never seen his father look this happy. 

His mother was dressed similarly, with old pieces of gold and silver jewelry about. Her big earrings had matched the rings his father wore, and she had kohl drawn on both her eyes and her chin, in the shape of ancient tattoos. Here hair had scented plants interwoven in the strands, and Jamil wondered if he should do the same with his hair, draping a shemagh over it. It seemed like something you would enjoy, and he would enjoy you taking them out at the end of the night. He spoke again, “What do you think of that?” he asked, concerning him taking your name.

You smiled and rested your head on his shoulder, flipping the page to another picture of his parents’s wedding, this one featuring his mother shyly lifting a piece of her sitara (long piece of fabric with various designs which directly translates to ‘curtain’) to hide her face from her husband, “I think it's a wonderful idea.”

🩷 — Taking your last name was probably the best decision he could have made. He indulged in the marriage festivities with you for both your sake and his parent’s sake. What he was excited about was signing the contract that officially gave him your surname—freeing him from the shackles of the Viper clan.

🩷 — He did it after the festivities when it was just the two of you guys and the imam as well as a legal advisor. You both were still in the wedding clothes, sitting on an ornate rug with a little table in front of you. 

🩷 — Jamil could feel the tremors of his heart in his hand as he lifted the pen and signed his name beside yours. This time, Viper was nowhere to be found.

🩷 — With that, Jamil shook hands with the imam and then handed the page to the legal advisor to be put in the Scalding Sands’s records. It all felt so surreal. He glanced over his shoulder to see you gleefully talking to the imam about the marriage and showing off your wedding band. 

🩷 — It was a thin gold ring that he had made with the antiquities left by his family. Nothing fancy—he wanted to give you diamonds, and yet you were so smitten with it and him.

Once nightfall came, Jamil lay beside you in your bed. A bed for the both of you. It was a bed he bought under his new name, Jamil (L/N), under the surname you gifted him. His charcoal eyes watched as you sat down at the edge of the bed, your night robe dipped down your back. It matched his nightgown, save for the patterns. He helped you fall in love with the comfortable garb of his homeland.

You turned slightly to see him, your eyes growing tender at the sight of him all disheveled. This was a sight just for you, “What are you thinking about?” you asked, reaching out to take his hand.

Jamil pulled you closer to him by your hand, forcing you to lay on top of him. He kissed your knuckles, “Thinking about you, hayati (my life),” he muttered, before letting his hand trail up your arm and to the back of your neck. His gaze had softened and his features relaxed, “Thank you,” 

You did not need to ask why he thanked you. You knew he felt indebted to you for being patient with him and becoming his spouse. You gave him the greatest gift ever, freedom. Free to be yours, free from Kalim Al-Asim. You freed his descendants… he would spend the rest of his life as your husband, repaying you with kisses across your skin and warm meals in your belly.

🩷 — It takes him a long time to get used to his new name, as well as his newfound freedom. After your wedding, he takes you out to do many of the things he could not do before, such as travel to another country, but even simple things like going out to parks.

🩷 — He did not have to worry about Kalim anymore, just your and his enjoyment.

🩷 — Jamil still has yet to get used to being called by your surname. When he notices it, he is filled with a smug and quiet pride, but most of the time he just ends up ignoring whoever is calling for him, or glancing over at you in confusion, thinking that they are speaking with you and not him.

🩷 — This was particularly apparent when it came to the reunion at Night Raven College.

🩷 — He did not want to go, but he could not reject you either. You were excited about seeing your silly friends, and who was he to stop you from going? Instead, he just sighed and went along with you, standing off to the side and watching as you ran about to gather Ace and Deuce, as well as greeting your other friends.

“If it isn’t the new Mr. (L/N),” Azul approached his former classmate with a suave grin. He had grown up, but it was clear he still kept that usual ‘evil businessman’ charm to him. His suit was freshly pressed and his hair, which had grown a bit, was brushed back neatly. Though, he was still wearing the same thin-rimmed glasses.

Jamil turned around when he heard your surname being called, and it took him a moment to realize what was happening. He was your husband. Sure, he remembered your wedding—he carried a picture from it all the time, but it was still strange hearing it affirmed by someone else. He tried to hide how happy he was to hear it behind a raised brow and his usual frown, “What do you want, Azul? My spouse isn’t going to be pulled into one of your schemes anymore,” he said, arms crossed.

Azul laughed at that, tilting his cane a bit as he leaned away from Jamil, “You wound me, Jamil. As if I would try anything like that anymore,” he replied, and the irony was not lost on him at all. Instead, he sighed and watched as Jamil’s eyes found your figure again. You were chasing Epel around, trying to get a hug from your old friend. It was just like before, except now you wore a ring from Jamil and he wore a name from you.

“You don’t seem so poor and unfortunate now,” Azul said.

Jamil could not bite back the slight twitch of his lips, “Not at all.”

[snek-panini]

It is Monday, and Monday is for books. Look at these beautiful things! They took me five months to make. I tried so many new things in the process and I am extremely proud of them. This is a binding of @racketghost's amazing Good Omens fic Strange Moons (Hi. I hope it's ok I tagged you in this. Your fic has been one of my favorites since I found it in 2019.) The story is a series of short fics (and one long one) that really need no introduction from me. They're set throughout the 20th century, and they are beautiful and sensual and moody and you should definitely read them if you haven't already. This is the longest work I've bound so far, but I was fortunate that the word count on the shorter fics added up to almost exactly the length of the final, longest one, making them the perfect choice for a two-volume set. I tried very hard to get them to be an exact match, and they turned out even better than I pictured.

More pics under the cut! Two books means twice the pics, and all the stuff I tried here means it's a very long post, so be warned.

Individual images of the covers. The titles are done in silver htv over brown faux leather, edged in charcoal bookcloth. The graphics are the same on both, except for the title text, and they have the same image of the reaching hands on the back. All the art assets are from rawpixel, I just flipped and rotated some of them to make the back image.

The cover materials were an interesting challenge. I'd worked with both before and wanted to incorporate them both in the design, but after measuring and checking grain direction I found I didn't have enough of either of them to do a full book, or even a half bind. So they're actually made by affixing the faux leather to the book board, then layering strips of book cloth over the top. The corners are actually mitered at a 45-degree angle. Here's a close-up:

It's two long strips of cloth (spine and fore edge, not mitered) with two short strips (top and bottom, mitered) glued over the top. There was so much measuring, omg. I bought a new tool to make sure I got it right. Hilariously, I still didn't have enough leather and had to order another roll anyway. Also hilariously, I got the idea to do this after seeing an image of a leather-bound book made by a professional that appeared to have the same feature, i.e. multiple materials with an inset and mitered corners. Wow, I said, looking at a video thumbnail, I'm going to do that! So I did, even though I didn't watch the video. Much later, after I watched his tutorial, it was clear that the design was from leather dye and tooling, not the thing that I did at all. But I do like the effect, and now I know it's possible I think it'll be great for using up weird offcuts from making other covers.

Look, spines! With TITLES on them! And LITTLE RIDGES! Both firsts for me. I'm a little obsessed with them. The cricut has opened up entirely new worlds, though I suspect the little silver lines might have been easier to do with a foil pen (which I don't have) than they were with a heat press. I did them by making the cricut cut out several "=" symbols that were the same width as the spine. The raised bands are false bands; I made them by layering little pieces of chipboard on the spine stiffener, then molding the book cloth around them when I covered them. I was worried it wouldn't work, since this is usually done with leather and book cloth is apparently way less stretchy, but it worked fine. Probably because it's a small straight design, no curves or fancy bits. I'd layer the chipboard thicker next time so they stand up higher (this is 2 layers, I'd do 3 in future) but I'm delighted by how this turned out. They look so professional.

The endpapers on both books are a constellation print. I had a really hard time trying to find something to go with the typeset, and the only ones I liked were from an etsy seller who kept selling out of them. I got lucky eventually but it was one of many hassles that befell this project. I also made my own end bands using a tutorial from the Renegade Bindery discord. I had some issues and I didn't quite nail them but I think they're pretty good for a first time (ok, second time, the first one was on a practice text block, but my point stands). I had originally intended this to be a split boards binding, my first time trying that, but when I got the boards glued on I found that they were crooked. Really crooked. Completely misaligned. Much swearing followed this discovery. I ended up having to cut the boards free, cutting the mull and tapes in the process. The mull was easily replaced, but the parts of the tapes that are usually glued to the boards were a lost cause. I reused the boards, but flipped them so the edge with the cut tapes inside is at the fore edge so I could have a cleaner hinge. You can see in the last photo that the cover board is a little wider at the fore edge. On the plus side, there are no tapes to wrinkle my pretty endpapers and it combated the small bit of spine swell I had. On the downside, the hinge has less support and the only thing I learned was How Not To Make A Sewn Boards Binding.

I may have gone a little nuts with the images in this typeset. In my defense they look very pretty. In order, that's the title page, table of contents, section break image (same as the back cover, just tiny), chapter header and ender (each chapter has one on its first and last pages, they just look particularly cool when you can get a full page spread like this), and the image on the last page of the book (same as the cover image, almost). The cover image was also supposed to have little rays coming off its moon like this one does, but the lines proved too thin for the cricut and it ate them. I still like how it looks though. The prose in this story is really rich and I was in the mood for opulence when I did it. I have absolutely no regrets.

Here's a feature that's unique to this typeset. One of the chapters in the second volume has three alternating, interwoven timelines. I read them fine on Ao3 but had trouble following them when I formatted it for printing. Usually I'd use the section break image to denote when there's a scene skip but there are literally dozens in this chapter, like 40-60 breaks over the course of 10 or so pages, and it looked very busy with images in it. So I left them out, made the line skips single instead of double like they are elsewhere in the book, and I color-coded the text instead. One timeline is printed in black, one is dark gray, and one is dark blue. And it's a very surreal chapter, with the characters having some very confusing and conflicting emotions, so I feel like reading multicolored text when you're not expecting it (the rest of the book is all normal black and this bit is near the middle) sort of reflects that unbalanced feeling? I hope so anyway, because I love the way it looks so much.

I learned so many things in the course of making these. I'm absolutely doing all of them again. Part of the reason it took so long was that I wanted it to be perfect, or as near as I could get, and I had to take the time to solve all the puzzles it threw at me. But it stretched my creativity and ingenuity and I could not be more in love with the finished product.

[differenteagletragedy]

First part takes place at the end of Step 3 after Baxter leaves, the second takes place at the end of Baxter’s epilogue before the party. Probably OOC for Derek but Baxter got off too easy

"Ok, give me a noun."

"Idiot."

"... an adjective?"

"Stupid."

Derek couldn't help but let out a little sigh, putting his pen down. He'd been trying to cheer you up by creating the highly anticipated sequel to BabyCastle, but you weren't giving it your all. He was way too polite to ever say it, but you were actually being kind of a bummer.

He had found time in his busy schedule to make it out to Sunset Bird -- his last trip before he left for his freshman year of college. Cove couldn't get out of work, so he couldn't join you until later, so the two of you were spending time together in your bedroom. It would have been fun if you'd felt capable of having fun. Unfortunately, you were still very much nursing a broken heart.

It had only been two days since Baxter had left his summer rental -- and apparently your life. You'd understood his terms, that your relationship wouldn't be forever, but you never thought that he wouldn't want to even be friends. How hard was it to text every once in a while? Very hard for zebra-themed assholes, it turned out.

"Y/n?"

You looked up at him and guilt washed over you. You rarely got to see Derek, and here he was, right in front of you, and you were letting that fancy pants jackass ruin your time. It wasn't right.

"I'm sorry," you said softly. "I'm just kind of sad."

"Hey, it's ok," he said quickly, scooting your desk chair to get closer to you. "I know how much you liked him. I've got to say, sounds like he turned out to be kind of a douchebag though."

"Right?" you asked, then stopped yourself. "But I don't want this whole day to be about him. That sucks."

He smiled tenderly at you, saying, "It's really ok. You can talk about your feelings, I can listen. That's always been the case since we became friends, and it's not going to change now that I'm leaving."

You hesitated, then started talking. About what Baxter had meant to you, about the feelings you didn't mean to develop for a relationship you knew was temporary but that took root fast anyway. How you felt like absolute trash when he said there was no reason to keep in touch, just used and tossed aside like nothing.

Derek listened intently, throwing in some trash talk when necessary but mostly just letting you get it all out. When you were spent, feeling a little lighter after letting everything out, he said something that surprised you.

"Want me to beat him up?"

"Derek!" you half-gasped, half-laughed. It wasn't something you'd expect from him -- he was all manners and understanding, not one for violence whatsoever.

"What?" he asked, stretching and pretending to crack his knuckles. "I could get in a few good licks. One good punch even. Take Mr. Fancy Pants down a notch."

"He's gone to Virginia for school, how are you going to beat him up from all the way over here?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he answered solemnly.

You started laughing, and he brightened as well, continuing to describe all the ways in which he'd find Baxter and clobber him for what he'd done to you. His ideas got sillier and sillier, and your mood got better and better. The mood stayed upbeat for the rest of your time together -- it was a good send-off for your old friend.

*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*

Five years later, that night was a distant memory. You couldn't even imagine feeling so much animosity towards Baxter -- well, you could, easily in fact, but none of those bad feelings had remained.

You had been reunited with Baxter, the unexpected wedding planner that Jude and Scott had hired out of desperation. After a difficult few days, he had finally opened up to you, explained more about why he was the way he was and why he’d done the things he’d done. You hadn’t wanted to forgive him so easily, but he was as charming as ever, even more handsome than you remembered, and before you could reel yourself in you were sleeping in his bed.

It was the last full day of your trip — the next day you’d be headed home. You were spending the first part of the day with Baxter, going for a walk in the city and keeping an eye out for an old friend.

Derek was never that close to Miranda or her family, so of course he hadn’t been invited to the wedding. You did see him earlier in the summer when you came for Father’s Day, but it felt silly to be in the same city as him without at least meeting up for a chat.

The days leading up to the wedding, and truthfully the day after too, were so hectic that you hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Derek about Baxter, and you didn’t mention the development when you’d texted him briefly that morning about where you’d meet. You remembered him not being too fond of the idea of Baxter after he’d broken your heart, and you thought it might be best to surprise him with the news of your reunion so he didn’t get too deep in his thoughts about it all.

It turned out that was the wrong thing to do.

“So what does this Derek look like?” Baxter asked as you casually strolled along waiting for him.

“Real beefy,” you answered, “Brown hair, green eyes, probably wearing some form of athletic wear.”

“Would that be him?”

You looked to where he was pointing and he’d nailed it on the first try — there was Derek, making his way through the other people moving around the city straight to you, smiling wide.

“Derek’s back!” you cheered — possibly an overused line, but a classic nonetheless.

You hugged him tight as Baxter stood back, politely waiting for an introduction. When you let go of Derek and gave him one, your friend looked at you in confusion.

“Baxter?” he asked, then leaned down to quietly ask “That skunky son of a bitch?”

“Yep, that’s the one,” you laughed, and before you launch into an explanation of what happened, Derek launched his fist and punched your boyfriend directly in the face.

Baxter fell flat on his ass. He was graceful, sure, but he wasn’t tough, and Derek was strong. He lifted a hand to his face, a bit dazed, and you saw that the punch had landed on his jaw.

While you were still processing what had happened, Derek extended a hand down to Baxter to help him up.

“That’s for five years ago,” he explained in his usual tone, no real malice in his voice. “I sort of made a big deal about how I’d do that if I ever saw you.”

Baxter paused before hesitantly taking Derek’s hand. He easily pulled him up to a standing position, then gave him a smile.

“I do admire a man of his word,” Baxter said, straightening his shirt.

The three of you stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Baxter rubbed his jaw again, and Derek didn’t look entirely displeased with himself.

“So what’s new?” Derek finally came up with.

You bit back a laugh and rubbed Baxter’s back lightly.

“A lot.”

[metalmonki]

The Dating Odyssey pt.1 (Stranger Things Guys X Reader)

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

8.8k word count (just a little carried away)

summary You moved to the little town of Hawkins, Indiana for a fresh start. What you didn't expect was to end up having 5 dates in one weekend.

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Steves Ending / Eddies Ending / Jims Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

The guy in the video store, the metal head guitarist in the band, the photographer, the lifeguard and the chief of police. Hawkins just seemed to breed hot guys. It didn’t help that all five had asked you the pretty new girl in Hawkins on a date. And you in your bumbling awkwardness had agreed to the five dates. You now sat in your apartment having a meltdown trying to find a solution to your problem. You had never done anything like this before then again you hadn’t had this many guys hitting on you before. At least you had the sense to make all the dates on different days. But in such a small town the chances of the other guys finding out you had been on another date was super high. The best course of action at this point would just be the tell them all right? Be straight-up honest and hope for the best. You threw yourself onto your bed with a groan bringing your arm up to cover your eyes. All you had wanted to do was move to a small town where life was cheap, work as a teacher and travel during your spare time. Just you and your cat for the rest of your life. Mr. Fancy Paws was the only man you needed in your life. At least that is what you would have told yourself before moving to Hawkins. You sat up with a sigh and reached out for a notebook sitting on your nearby computer desk. You took the pen attached to the cover and opened it to a blank page. The video store guy's name was Steve and he wanted to have dinner and watch a movie at his place. The metalhead Eddie wanted you to go to his show Saturday night. Jim the chief of police wanted to take you out for a romantic dinner. The lifeguard Billy wanted you to join him for a private swim at the pool. And Jonathan the photographer wanted you to join him for a hike and photograph some animals and other nature shots. At the end of the day, it wasn’t like any of them had asked you to be their girlfriend so it shouldn’t be a problem if you had just one date with each of them. After that, you could decide if you liked any of them or wanted to go on an additional date with any of them. Steve's date was for Friday, Jim's was for Sunday night, Jonathan's Sunday day and Billy's today was Thursday. It was going to be a busy few days. You sighed and threw the notebook on the bed, before dragging yourself to your closet. You pulled out the only swimsuit you had. A plain black one-piece. You tossed it on your bed and went about getting ready. No makeup because duh, hair pulled back in a messy bun. You slipped on your old beat-up black Converse, grabbed your swimsuit from your bed and stuffed it into a bag adding in a towel with it. You grabbed your car keys and headed for the pool. You arrived 30 minutes after the pool closed just like Billy said to. He told you he would leave the light above the side door on and all you needed to do was knock on said door and he would let you in. You took a few deep breaths and approached the door. You knocked lightly and Billy opened the door. He stood before you shirtless with nothing but his red lifeguard shorts on.

“Hi Billy” you smiled

“Hi y/n” Billy looked you up and down while chewing on a piece of gum “Ready for a late-night swim?”

“Am I” You smirked

You followed Billy through the now-empty building to the pool. You took your swimsuit from your bag and ducked into the changing room briefly to change. When you came back out Billy was floating around in the pool. He seemed different to what you’d heard people say about him. You’d only been in town 3 weeks but you’d heard from all your female co-workers and plenty of others about how flirty he was, how he’d probably slept with all the girls in Hawkins. Yet the Billy you had met was different. He was sweet, a little flirty and seemed generally interested in you but maybe that was just how he pretended to be. Billy meanwhile was fighting his own internal battle. As he floated he thought, that when he first saw you walking out of the family video he saw you as another conquest the new hot-looking girl in town. Then the day you walked into the pool he saw his opportunity. As he stood by the pool, the warm sun shining down on his skin, he couldn't help but steal glances at you. The way you moved through the water, your effortless grace and confidence, was mesmerizing. It was at this moment he realised that you were more than just another conquest. He felt he may actually be falling for you.

Finally, he gathered the courage to approach you. "Hey," he said, his heart racing, it never raced before. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"

Your eyes lit up, and a smile spread across your face. "I'd love to," you said, your voice soft and sweet. "How about we meet at the pool tomorrow evening and go for a swim together? And then we can see where the night takes us?"

His heart swelled with excitement and anticipation. "That sounds perfect," you said, feeling a surge of joy and hope. "I can't wait." And as he looked at you, he hoped that this was just the beginning of a beautiful romance, one that would be filled with laughter, adventure, and endless love.

You broke Billy from his thoughts when you swam up beside him. He brought himself upright in the pool and smiled at you. He quickly looked down to the water and scratched the back of his neck. For some reason, all of Billy's confidence was lost on you. He could normally flirt his way into any girl's pants but you were different. Good different. He didn’t feel the need to flirt with you. He didn’t want to just hit it and be done with you. He actually wanted to put effort into you. He wanted to keep you around but had no idea where to start.

“So Billy” You broke the silence. “Is it true what I have heard about you around town?”

“And what would that be?” Billy tried a flirt grin but it was probably more of a grimace

“That you just flirt and act nice to get in a girl's pants?” You smirked

“Oh so you heard all about that” Billy sighed “Look I won’t lie yeah all that’s true but you're different, I actually want to get to know you, Most of the girls here in Hawkins are shallow and easy for the 6 years I’ve been here I haven’t met one decent chick until you. You’re the kind of girl that I could picture the rest of my life with and I’ve probably just scared you away” Billy splashed a fist into the water

“You know you’re not like how they describe at all but your description of them is spot on. Like one of the girls I work with at Hawkins High Carol, she is the absolute worst. She’s the English teacher and she comes in dressed like she’s going to a fashion show, face full of makeup, with a mean girls I peaked in high school attitude”

“Oh my gosh, Carol Perkins works at Hawkins High? And here I thought she left to become an actress or something” Billy laughed “I mean not that I’m one to talk I’ve been working here since high school and if I’m not here I’m working in the local garage I don’t really have much else to do or any other life plans. I didn’t exactly pay attention in school you know”

“You know Carol? Oh god don’t tell me she's one of the girls you dated?” Not that I’m much better you thought.

“No way. She was literally one of the ones I turned down. Contrary to popular belief I haven’t slept with every girl in town” Billy smiled “You know this is probably the most honest conversation I have ever had with anyone”

“Well thank you for being honest with me” You smiled back.

You and Billy just floated for a little while enjoying each other's company in a comfortable silence. After a few minutes you glanced across to Billy, he seemed to be back deep in thought. You saw this as an opportunity. You sink beneath the surface of the water and sum up next to Billy who was still blissfully unaware. Once you were by his side you grabbed him quickly around the waist and dragged him under. Billy flailed and kicked clearly taken off guard. You quickly surfaced bursting into laughter while Billy wiped his hair from his face and caught his breath. His heart was racing but he wasn’t mad. He quickly scoped his hands through the water sending it flying into your face. You gasped and looked at him shocked before splashing back. Before long the pool was filled with the sounds of laughter and splashing water. Hours passed, and you felt like old friends, you were so comfortable with Billy. You really didn’t want the night to end but you knew if you didn’t you’d likely be too tired for your movie night with Steve the following night. The clock above the pool told you it was getting ready to tick over to 10:30. You looked into the water for a little while trying to work out how to end the date. With a sigh, you looked up just in time to see Billy dive from the diving board. You smiled and giggled.

“10 out of 10 perfect form” You clapped for Billy

“Thank you I only do that every day” Billy chuckled nervously

“As much as I love our date I need to get home” You sighed

“Really? It’s still early” Billy said

“I know but I’m meeting with a friend tomorrow for a movie marathon and the last thing I want is to fall asleep” You lied thinking on your feet

“Well your friend sucks but I should probably be getting the pool closed now anyway” Billy smiled as you continued to laugh and chat as you hopped out of the pool and walked towards the changing rooms. You showered and changed back into your clothes. You walked back to the side of the pool where Billy was pulling the cover over it. You waited patiently for him to be done. When he was done he walked you out to your car locking the door behind him.

“I really enjoyed tonight y/n Thank you” Billy smiled

“I should be thanking you, This is the most fun I have had in quite a while.” You smiled up at him

“Can we do this again?” Billy asked “I would really love to spend more time with you”

“Maybe we’ll see I’m busy over the next few days but I have your number so I will definitely give you a call okay” the smile never leaving your face

“Okay” Billy nodded opening my car door for you “Oh and y/n one last thing”

You turned to face Billy. He leaned in quickly capturing your lips in a soft sweet kiss. His calloused hands found their way to cup your face. You could feel his moustache tickling the top of your lips. You didn’t pull away rather you leaned into the kiss. The kiss seemed to go on for hours but was most likely no more than 5 minutes. Billy backed away dropping his head he gave you a goofy sideways smile and walked off towards his car. You stood and watched as he drove off. Your heart was beating a mile a minute. You still had 4 more dates to get through and yet you were hooked on Billy. This was going to be harder than you thought. You hopped in your car and drove home. Once safely back in your apartment, you let out a small squeal. You changed into your PJs and climbed into your bed. You curled up and replayed your date with Billy over and over. If all your dates went this well how would you ever be able to choose. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep thankfully because you were super exhausted.

You woke up with your alarm at 6 a.m. You dragged yourself out of bed, showered and got ready for work. You got through the day by thinking about your date with Steve that night. You’d heard that he was an asshole during high school but then after a fistfight with Jonathan, he matured and had been a real gentleman ever since. Steve was the first guy to ask you out and you were so glad when he did. You had made it a weekly habit when you arrived to go to the video store to get a movie on a Friday night. Honestly, it was just so you could talk with Steve. Normally when you arrived the video store was a ghost town so you could have Steve all to yourself. You could ask movie questions, collect information on him and just enjoy this friendly acquaintance you made. You had plans to ask Steve out but you had chickened out when you’d walked into the video store last Friday. Steve thankfully had been thinking the same thing you were so he asked you out. If only you had known then what was to come. I mean you weren’t complaining they were all majorly attractive guys but going on a date with all of them on the one weekend was just pure madness. You wondered what Steve's house was like. Given that he was working at Family Video you assumed that he was living in a small unit after all what else could he afford with a job like that. And what movie would he pick for you to watch? Probably one of the latest blockbusters no doubt. The day quickly came to an end. You were in the staff room finishing off your paperwork for the weekend when Carol came up to your desk.

“So I heard you went on a date with Billy last night?” Carol smirked

“I may have why?” You asked

“Well does Steve know about your date? I mean your going on a date with him tonight right?” Carol's smirk got bigger

“How did you know that?” You asked worry taking over

“Well they are both old friends and I wouldn’t want either one to find out about this” Carol crossed her arms

“What do you want?” You asked getting grumpy

“Could you please mark all these essays for Monday?” Carol faked a sweet smile while dropping a pile of at least 100 essays in front of you

“S-sure” You looked wide-eyed at the large stack in front of you

“Thanks you such a good friend” Carol winked and walked away

You had literally worked overtime just to make sure your weekend would be empty and now you have gone and accepted this. There was no way you would be able to go through with your plans and do all these essays. You sighed grabbed the pile of paperwork and headed to your car. You tossed the paperwork on the passenger seat and started up the car. Once you were safely back at your apartment you took the pile of paperwork and dropped it on your kitchen bench. You sighed and moved into your bedroom to get ready for your date. You pulled out your most comfortable pair of jeans and a nice black blouse to wear and headed for the shower. Once you were freshly showered you grabbed your keys from the kitchen bench and took one more look at the pile of papers before heading out the door. You drove to Family Video where Steve said he would meet you at the end of his shift to pick out a movie and grab some snacks before heading back to his house. When you got to Family Video Steve still had 30 minutes on his shift. You sighed as you walked up and down the aisle trying to decide on a movie. Steve had already created a stockpile of snacks in his locker out back. He has apparently been working on the perfect movie night since he got to work that morning. Even his co-worker Robin had been impressed with his efforts to make your date perfect. She had never seen him so concentrated on any date before.  Robin signed out as you were walking in, it was Steve’s night to close and being that it was 8:30 the place was basically empty. The only other people there when you got there were a couple of high school seniors you had in your science class, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike. As soon as you walked in they started gloating to Steve about how amazing you were ‘the best science teacher ever’. Steve confidently gloated back about how he was having a date tonight with the best science teacher ever. Needless to say, the boys were awestruck. When they left you’d asked Steve how he knew them. Apparently, he was their unwitting babysitter and best friend. He’d known them since middle school and they were the closest thing he had to family.

At some point, you had gotten distracted from the movies coming to a stop in front of some random romantic comedies. You had started thinking about that pile of paperwork abandoned on your kitchen bench. You were never going to be able to complete it with all your dates and you knew if you tried to rearrange the dates you would most certainly get caught out. If you could somehow forgo sleep then maybe just maybe you could get the paperwork done. Each essay only appeared to be about 4 pages long so hopefully quick and easy.

“Beetlejuice? What’s that even doing in romantic comedies?” Steve’s sudden appearance made you jump “It’s a comedy. It’s pretty good too is that what you want to watch?”

“I, uh, I actually haven’t seen it so maybe” You shrugged

“Okay if there is one thing I know it’s a distraction and you are very clearly distracted so what’s the hold up? If it’s me and you don’t want to go on a date then just say so and we can go our separate ways” Steve gave a small smile

“No it’s not you, it’s nothing, it’s work-related” You smiled

“Anything I can help you with?” Steve asked

“No it can wait, so Beetlejuice so good is it?” You asked taking the movie from the shelf

“Well yeah it’s like borderline horror movie, creepy, weird, funny” Steve ran a hand through his hair

“Then let us get it” You smiled

“Okay great just let me check it out, grab my stuff and close up and we’ll get out of here” Steve took the movie and headed to the front.

“Sounds great to me” You gave a small smile

You made your way to the front of the store and went out to wait in the parking lot. As you waited a familiar van pulled up in front of the store. You had a small panic attack as the van came to a complete stop and Eddie hopped out followed by Dustin.

“Okay now hurry up, The Master must return to his dungeon” Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the van

Dustin shouted out an okay before racing into the store. He said a rushed hi to you as he ran past leaving you alone in the parking lot with Eddie. You would have just gone to hide in your car but Eddie had already spotted you and was waving you over. You closed the 100-meter gap between you and joined Eddie beside his van.

“Hi sweetheart what brings you here?”

“Oh um I stopped in to get a movie like every Friday and I made the mistake of telling Steve I haven’t seen Beetlejuice yet so now he is forcing me to go to his house and watch Beetlejuice with him” Not completely a lie

“Really? Harrington? Did you tell him we’re dating so he keeps his hands off you?” Eddie smirked

“We’re not dating Eddie we’re simply going on a date tomorrow night, one date then I’ll decide if your worth” You smirked back “Although I may need to take a rain check on that” you sighed

“Why? What’s going on?” Eddie became concerned

I’m an idiot. You thought “I have somewhere near 100 essays to grade by Monday morning all because I didn’t have the balls to stand up to Carol over some stupid secret she thinks I’m hiding”

“Well, there is an easy solution. A way to get the essays graded, get revenge and still have our date” Eddie had a mischievous grin

“Well please don’t hold back” You crossed your arms and looked at him

“Mark the essays and give all the kids A’s, By the time she realises it’ll be too late to do anything without dobbing herself in” Eddie had the most evil grin

“You Mr Munson are an evil genius I love it” You smiled

“Anything to make sure our date goes ahead”

At that moment Dustin came back out of the store with Steve in tow. Steve paused to lock the door while Dustin hopped back into Eddie's van. Eddie gave you a small wave and headed back to the driver's side of his van. Eddie and Dustin drove out of the car park as Steve approached you.

“So are you going to follow me to my place?” Steve asked

“Yep lead the way,” You said jumping into your car

You followed Steve to his house. As you drove you noticed you were heading to a part of town that you had never been to before. The houses you drove past were large and expensive looking surely beyond the salary of the video store employee. Steve pulled into the driveway of one of these houses. You parked behind him and walked up to the front door where Steve stood waiting for you.

“There is no way you can afford to live here,” You said

“Yeah well, it’s my parent's house, They never home anyway so what’s the point in moving out if the people who own the place are never here and they don’t make you pay rent” The way Steve spoke made it clear his parents he would something he would rather not talk about.

“Sounds like the greatest hook-up ever wish I lived rent free” You tried to make a joke

“So you know Munson?” Steve changed the subject leading you into the lounge room

“Well yes and no,” You said “I met him at a bar a couple days after I got here, his a random acquaintance”

“He's not a bad guy, he keeps Dustin out of trouble and out of my hair” Steve smirked

“Oh yes your bestie Dustin, I want to hear all about that”

Steve motioned to a bar seat at the container in the kitchen. You took a seat and watched as Steve started removing pots and pans and many random ingredients from the assortment of cupboards around the kitchen. Steve began cooking what looked like his take on Spaghetti Bolognese while telling you the long tail of how he and Dustin became unlikely best friends. It was a little unbelievable at times but Steve showed you his scars and his story made sense for the scars you’d seen on Eddie's neck and arms, and why you’d seen Dustin walking around with a slight limp. Steve made you promise not to tell the others that he had told you. Apparently, it was an unspoken agreement to just pretend like none of it had happened. Steve sat down beside you and placed a plate of pasta in front of you.

“Spaghetti a la Harrington” Steve smiled at you

“Why thank you it looks amazing” You smiled

“I wonder how Dustin would react to us right now” Steve smirked

“Ah if that boy is anything outside of school like he is in school then he would be yelling at the top of his lungs and saying something like Are you kidding me right now”

“Yeah that sounds like the Henderson I know” Steve chuckled

“You know your no the asshole pretty boy I thought you would be” You bumped your shoulder against Steves

“Well you're not the boring school teacher I thought you’d be” Steve bumped you back

“Nice Harrington” You giggled

You continued to eat and talk. Steve told you about Billy, Eddie, Jonathan and Jim as well as several people they all knew. It was the definition of a small town. Steve had given you many things to panic about with this new information. They all knew each other so what if one of them said something to the other and they all turned on you. Or worse still what if someone said something to Joyce and she came screaming at you the school for going on a date with both her son and her ex. At some point, you must have stopped listening to Steve to follow your trail of thoughts. That was until Steve started snapping his fingers in front of your face with a highly freaked-out look on his face.

“Oh thank god you are still with me” Steve let out a sigh “What were you thinking?”

“Sorry, sorry I just had an internal panic” You blurted out before you could stop yourself

“Panic? About what?” Steve asked clearly concerned

“Promise not to get mad?” You asked moving slightly away from Steve

“Why would I?” Steve said confused

You took a deep breath and began to explain to Steve the mess you were in. At some point, Steve had stood up and began pacing the kitchen. One hand was constantly running through his hair while the other was sitting on his hip. Things were quiet for a few minutes before Steve placed his hands on the kitchen island counter and dropped his head.

“I’m glad your being honest with me but I would have liked to know all this before we started this date”

“I’m sorry” You whispered

“I’m not saying I want to end this date because it took me way too fricking long to work up the courage to ask you out but I gotta ask why? What in the world possessed you to say yes to all the dates?”

“I honestly have no idea, I was just caught so off guard with so many guys asking me I kinda just said yes without thinking then when it all did set in I couldn’t figure out how to back out of them all”  You dropped your head

“So do you even want to be on this date with me?” Steve asked sounding slightly annoyed

“Yes, you’re the only one I wanted to go on a date with and I was glad when you asked me out because I was too chicken to ask you out”

“Well at least I have that going for me right now” Steve smirked over at you “How about we start fresh, pretend none of this was ever said?”

“Fine by me”

You and Steve finished eating and continued to chat about the others and about Steve. Once you were done Steve took your plates, placed them into the sink then guided you out to the lounge room. He fiddled with the TV for a short while putting on the movie before settling down next to you on the lounge. He pulled you into his side allowing his hand to snake around your waste. You allowed yourself to curl into his side. Steve spoke excitedly all through Beetlejuice pointing out little details. He almost lost it when you pointed out that Lydia looked a lot like a younger version of Joyce. He even said he would have to point that out to Joyce. When the movie concluded you were way too tired to drive home. You voiced this to Steve who happily suggested you stay the night. He dragged you to his room before racing off. When he returned he was carrying pillows and blankets. He made a bed on the floor before turning to his cupboard. He stripped down to his boxers before pulling on a pair of sweatpants. He threw another pair at you along with one of his shirts before making himself comfortable on the floor. You turned away from Steve and quickly got changed into the clothes he provided for you. Once you were dressed you turned off the light. You tiptoed quietly over to Steve. Once you were by his side you crouched down and gave him a kiss on the cheek before quickly jumping into his bed. Steve sat upright and looked straight over at you as you giggled from your spot on the bed.

“What was that for?” Steve said

“Think of it as a thank you for everything tonight” You smiled at him

“You’re welcome”

Steve laid back down facing the bed. You lay down in the bed facing Steve. The two of you fell into a peaceful silence, looking at each other until you drifted off. Steve, however, stayed away a little longer unable to believe the beautiful girl whom he looked forward to seeing on a Friday night was here asleep in his bed. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little heartbroken by you agreeing to a bunch of dates but for tonight he had you and he enjoyed every minute of it. Steve drifted off staring at your peaceful sleeping face. He woke up before you the next morning. He hopped up and stretched from his night on the floor. He looked at you still sleeping on his bed and smiled. He crept over to you, bent down and kissed you on the head allowing his lips to linger for a few seconds. He stood and walked from the room making his way to the kitchen. He decided that even if you couldn’t be his forever he would make the time you did have together amazing. He moved quietly around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the two of you. Steve wanting to get everything right and not knowing what your favourite breakfast food is pulled out a selection of cereals, cooked-up pancakes, bacon and eggs, toast and baked beans. He brewed up a pot of coffee and poured a couple of glasses of orange juice. Steve was just finishing up the bacon when you walked into the kitchen rubbing your eyes. Steve took you in, his shirt hanging loosely from your shoulder, his sweatpants making you look like a toddler who wanted to play dress up in their parent's clothes. To Steve you were adorable.

“Morning sleeping beauty, didn’t know what you would like to eat so I made basically everything” Steve motioned with one hand while the other rested on his hip

“Good Morning, you really didn’t need to do all this through”

“But I wanted to” Steve motioned for you to take a seat on the bench.

Steve placed a plate in front of you and you began filing it with the stuff in front of you.

“Not really a cereal person I take it?” Steve smirked

“Not really, I guess it comes from my Mum forcing me to eat cornflakes every day,” You say screwing up your face at the memory

“Fair enough, so what's your plan for the day?” Steve asked

“I have about 100 essays to mark before I head out to watch Eddie’s band” You could audibly hear Steves's heartbreaking

“And how exactly are you going to mark that many essays in a day?” Steve tried to ignore the Eddie part of your day

“Well actually Eddie helped me with that one, you see They aren’t my essays to mark” You explain your situation to Steve and Eddie's solution to the problem

“You know that sounds just like Munson also sounds like he might be getting some person payback with that one too” Steve smirked

“Oh?”

“Carol used to bully Eddie when we were all at school together, when we graduated and he didn’t I know she got worse with the bullying” Steve sighed

“Wait I assumed you were older than Eddie given that you graduated in ’85 and Eddie in ‘87,” You said shocked

“Eddie redone senior year 3 times,” Steve said like it was public knowledge

“Wow poor Eddie”

Steve just nodded in agreement. You ate the rest of your breakfast changing subjects to music and movies. Once breakfast was done and dishes washed and put away you returned to Steve's room to get dressed. Part of you wanted to just call the other dates off you were already so torn between Billy and Steve and throwing the others in seemed like a bad idea. But at the same time, you didn’t want to have to admit what you’d done. No, instead you decided to suck it up and go through with the dates. You collected your things and went to say goodbye to Steve before heading home. As you reached the bottom of the stairs Steve stood waiting for you.

“Let me at least walk you to your car” Steve smiled sadly

“Thank you for everything Steve I had an amazing time” You smiled as you approached your car

When you reached the side of your car you turned to give Steve one last smile before hopping into your car. Steve quickly slipped his arms around your waist. He pulled you into his chest. His lips captured yours in a passionate kiss. Your fists balled up in his shirt. Your heart racing once more. If they were all going to take your breath away then however would you be able to choose just one of them. Steve stepped back dropping his head to look at the driveway.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have” Steve looked like he was about to cry

“No it’s fine” You smiled

You brushed your fingers down the side of Steve's face before hopping into your car and heading home. Steve stood in the drive long after you were out of sight. All he could do now was hope you came back to him.

Back in your unit, you began sorting through the pile of essays. It should be simple just take your red pen write an A in the corner, circle it and move on to the next. You took a deep breath and began marking. One thing was for certain if this blew up in your face Eddie Munson would be no more. It took you no more than 30 minutes to pretend to mark all the essays and put them back into your bag for Monday. With your now gained free time, you decided to outfit plan not only for tonight but for tomorrow with Jonathan and Jim. If you planned today that would leave you more time tomorrow to shower and recover between dates.

At around 4 you decided it would be a good idea to get ready to go on your date with Eddie. You had picked out a pair of fishnet stockings, a short black skirt, an old Judas Priest shirt, knee-high black boots and a black leather jacket. Remnants of your youth that you had wanted to throw away many times but never could. You changed before slipping out onto the street. The bar Eddie was playing at The Hideaway wasn’t all that far from your unit. You enjoyed the short walk to The hideout before making your way cautiously inside. Once inside you found yourself being called from the stage. Eddie stood on stage waving to you. You walked over waving back.

“There's my princess” Eddie jumped off the stage showing off “Hi Eddie” You rolled your eyes smiling

“Uh introductions” The guy on drums shook his drumsticks in the air

“Oh right, y/n meet Garath, Jeff and Sam the other members of Corroded Coffin” Eddie pointed to each man on the stage

“That is such a metal band name” You grinned

“Only the most metal name for the most metal band” Eddie bragged

“Oh that’s yet to be seen” You smirked crossing your arms

“By the time we’re done, you're going to be begging for more sweetheart”

Eddie leaned so close to you that could feel his breath on your face. The scent of cigarettes, mint and that awful cheap axe body spray filled your nose. You became intoxicated with so much so that when Eddie leaned back making his way back on the stage you almost immediately had withdrawals from it. You stood proudly in front of the stage waiting for them to begin playing. After half an hour of warm-ups, the real performance began. Eddie was amazing up on the stage, the whole band was. It was like they were born to be on stage. It was no surprise that Eddie had failed senior year as much as he had. It was clear that he never had an academic future he was also supposed to be an entertainer, a creative free soul. You enjoyed every second Corroded Coffin played and were sad when it had to end. The band wrapped up and started to pull apart their things. You climbed up on the stage in an attempt to help them.

“Anything I can do?” You asked

“Here go open my van for us princess” Eddie handed you his keys pointing to a stage door.

You went the direction he pointed finding his van with ease. You opened the back doors sat on the back and waited. As you waited a group of girls your age or a bit younger appeared from around the front of the van.

“Oh look girls another wants to be trying to steal our boys” One girl looked you up and down

“I’m sorry who are you?” You asked trying to be polite.

“That is none of your business,” another said

“Look I’m sorry but Eddie invited me out to watch Corroded Coffin play If I’m stepping on toes I don’t mean to” You slipped out of Eddie's van moving back towards the stage door

“Hay Sweetheart what's taking you so long” Eddie jogged up beside you he took one look at the girls and tensed “Are these girls giving you trouble babe” Eddie slipped an arm around your waist pulling you to his side

“We’re just talking Eds” The first girl spoke up again

“Well I think it’s time you leave, My girl here is tired and I’d like to get our stuff packed up and get home” Eddie fake smiled at them “Thanks for coming out though”

 “Oh come on Eds don’t be like that” The girl took a step towards you

“I’m asking you to leave” Eddie pushed you behind him

The girl came right up to Eddie practically pushing up against him. She walked her fingers up his chest, grabbed the collar of his shirt and tried to pull him in for a kiss. Eddie pushed her back. She shot you daggers before storming off. Something told you this wasn’t the first time she’d tried something like that.

“Sorry about that” Eddie turned smiling at you

“What was her problem?” You asked

“No idea All I know is she's a few dice short of a set” Eddie made a goofy face

You couldn’t help but giggle at Eddie. Eddie smiled proud of himself for making you laugh. Eddie took your hand and dragged you back into the Hideout. He kept you close by his side as they loaded their equipment into his van. Eddie then locked up before dragging you back inside.

“So did you enjoy the show” Eddie asked taking a seat at the bar

“Did I ever” You smiled “It was amazing Eddie”

“Told you most metal ever” Eddie wore a shit-eating grin

“Wipe that smile off your face Munson”

Eddie threw up his hands in defence. He ordered drinks and the two of you began talking. Despite appearances much like Steve had said Eddie was a great guy. He was sweet, charming, and funny but a bit rough around the edges. You came to learn that when Eddie wasn’t rocking out with his band he was working at a local mechanic which was quite surprising. He shared his dream to get out of Hawkins and travel the world with Corroded Coffin. Apparently, they had been discussing hitting the road for a few months. Touring the states and picking up gigs along the way to support their travels. What better way to get discovered Eddie had said. It sounded wonderful. Eddie asked you lots of questions about yourself like what had brought you to Hawkins. You were so mesmerised by Eddie that you completely forgot to keep an eye on the time. It wasn't until the bartender told you that it was the last call that you looked at the clock. 12:30. Shit.

“Eddie I have to go I should have been in bed by now,” You said

“Why got something important on in the morning?” Eddie questioned

“Well uh yes actually I’m supposed to be going on a photography trip with Jonathan Byers” You answered honestly

“As In a date,” Eddie suddenly seemed hurt

“No just as friends, Photography was something I had done before I came here and Jonathan said he knew a good spot for nature shots” You half-lied

“Oh okay sounds boring to me” Eddie's smile came back

“It's actually quite fun” You played hurt

“If you say so Princess” Eddie smirked downing the rest of his drink

Eddie offered you his hand pulling you to your feet. He opened the door and threw his arm out while bowing motioning for you to step out. Once outside he slid his arm around your waist and asked you to guide the way to your car. You told him you walked so he offered to walk you home. He held you by the waist all the way home. Once you reached your unit Eddie the gentleman, held your door open for you before kissing, bowing and taking his leave. You giggled and watched as he practically danced back down the street.  Eddie too had made your heart race. You made your way inside. Changed into your pyjamas and flopped onto your bed. You fell asleep thinking about Eddie and all the fun you could have on the road. No obligations to tie you down, chasing fame. It would be wonderful, a new town every night. Sleeping out of the van, exploring the places less travelled. You were ripped from your dream by your alarm going off at 6 a.m. You groaned as you ripped yourself from your nice warm bed. You walked into the kitchen and made yourself a coffee. You were going to need a lot of coffee to get through today. After pouring yourself a cup of coffee you began to brew the pot again to fill your thermos. You also filled up your drink bottle with cool water. You had an hour to be ready before Jonathan would be on your doorstep. He had organised to pick you up to save you from getting lost looking for the trailhead you’d be taking. You pulled out your camera gear and the outfit you had picked out for today. You jumped into the shower to remove as much of the alcohol and cigarette smoke smell from last night. Thankfully you weren’t hungover and you could thank Eddie and the never-ending conversation for that. You were dressed and packing your hiking bag when Jonathan knocked on your door. You finished stuffing your stuff into your bag and slung it over your shoulder before opening the door.

“Hay Jonathan” You smiled at him

“Hi” Jonathan smiled looking at the ground

So Steve was right when he said Jonathan was the shy, quiet guy you thought. You followed Jonathan to his car and climbed into the passenger seat. The trip to the trailhead was filled with awkward small talk. It was obvious that Jonathan was trying his best to make sure you were comfortable but it was also obvious that he didn’t have much experience with girls. It was kinda cute honestly. Jonathan finally got you to the trailhead. He offered to carry your bag. He pulled on your backpack before throwing his camera bag over his shoulder. He led the way into the trail. You were a complete beginner when it came to photography but Jonathan from what you had heard had been a photographer for a long time.

The air was crisp, carrying with it the earthy scent of moss and leaves. Rays of sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, creating a mesmerizing dance of light and shadow on the forest floor.

As you walked side by side along a narrow path, your camera slung around your shoulder, and the tranquillity of the surroundings enveloped you. The gentle rustling of leaves and the distant calls of birds added to the serenity of the moment. Rays of sunlight gently kissed the vibrant foliage, creating a stunning interplay of colours that seemed almost surreal.

You paused by a tranquil stream, its crystal-clear waters meandering through the heart of the forest. It was the perfect spot to capture the delicate beauty of nature. Your date watched in awe as Jonathan set up his camera on a tripod, adjusting the settings with precision. With the press of a button, the shutter clicked, capturing the essence of the babbling brook, the sunlight glinting off the water like scattered diamonds.

"Wow, you're really talented," you exclaimed, admiration evident in your eyes.

Blushing, he smiled and gestured for you to join him. "Why don't you give it a try? Nature is the best subject to capture."

You took the camera hesitantly. You focused the lens on a delicate wildflower growing by the stream's edge. The soft petals seemed to beckon you closer, and you crouched down, framing the shot just right. A gentle breeze ruffled the flower's petals, and you snapped the photo, capturing a moment of perfect imperfection.

Laughing softly, you looked at each other. "I can see why you enjoy this so much," you said, your voice filled with wonder.

Encouraged by your enthusiasm, Jonathan continued your exploration, guiding you to hidden spots where the forest's beauty was magnified. The vibrant colours of a butterfly's wings, the intricate patterns of a spider's web glistening with dewdrops, and the grandeur of ancient trees stretching towards the sky – each moment was an opportunity to freeze time and capture nature's artistry.

As the morning turned into afternoon, you found yourselves perched on a moss-covered rock overlooking a tranquil meadow. A breathtaking backdrop for your final shots of the day.

"Thank you for this amazing experience," you whispered, your eyes fixed on the horizon. "I've never felt so connected to nature before."

Jonathan smiled, his heart swelling with contentment. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Nature has a way of bringing people closer together."

Soon you packed up your camera, cherishing the memories you had created together. The forest had been your canvas, and your shared moments were the masterpieces that adorned it. Your walk back to the car was spent chatting and getting to know each other a bit more. Jonathan was a really sweet guy but you could see how Steve found him to be an easy target in school. He was much like Eddie in that he was the odd guy out, the loner. Yet part of you wished that others had gotten to know him more. Jonathan told you about his and Steve's mutual ex Nancy. You’d seen Nancy around the school a few times picking up her brother Mike. How Jonathan ended up with Nancy you’ll never understand, She really didn’t deserve him or Steve. Once back in Jonathan's car, he drove you back to your apartment. He walked you to your door.

“Thank you for joining me today” Jonathan looked between you and the ground

“I loved every moment of it” You smiled at him

“Well I better be getting home” Jonathan smiled at you

He quickly leaned into you and kissed you on the cheek before waving awkwardly and walking away. You couldn’t help but stand at your door and giggle for a moment before making your way inside to shower and change. A small part of you was thankful your dates were coming to an end but you were also dreading the choice you would have to make when all was said and done. You pushed that thought to the back of your mind and began getting ready for dinner with Jim. He had told you that he was taking you out to a fancy restaurant so you needed to dress semi-formal. You chose your nice dress and a pair of nice heels. You sighed as you looked at yourself in the mirror. You opted to drive to the restaurant because heaven forbid you had to walk in those heels, especially after walking all day you might just die. Jim was waiting outside for you when you pulled up.

 Underneath the soft glow of candlelight, you found yourselves seated at a cozy corner table in a charming restaurant. The ambience was warm and inviting, the murmur of conversations and the gentle strains of a violin creating a soothing symphony in the background. The air was infused with the enticing aroma of delectable dishes being prepared with love and care.

As you looked across the table, the dim lighting played beautifully on Jim's features, casting a gentle halo around him. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of excitement and anticipation, and the soft smile on his lips made your heart flutter.

The waiter arrived, presenting you both with a menu of culinary delights that promised to tantalize your taste buds. You exchanged glances, sharing a playful moment of deliberation as you decided on your choices. The anticipation of the meal mirrored the excitement of your budding connection.

As you engaged in conversation, your words flowed effortlessly, each topic leading to another as you uncovered shared interests and experiences. Laughter punctuated the air as stories were exchanged, creating an intimate bubble where only the two of you existed, cocooned in the enchantment of the evening.

The first course arrived, a delicate symphony of flavours and textures artfully plated before you. You savoured each bite, your taste buds dancing in delight as you indulged in the culinary masterpiece. The conversation continued to flow, seamlessly weaving between lighthearted banter and more intimate exchanges, creating a bond between you.

As the main course was served, you noticed a brief pause in the conversation, a moment where your eyes locked and the world seemed to fade away.

Dessert arrived, a decadent conclusion to the evening's culinary journey. The sweet flavours danced on your palate, a perfect mirror to the sweetness of the moments you were sharing. The final bite was taken, and you both leaned back in your chairs, content and fulfilled.

As the evening drew to a close, the waiter discreetly presented the bill, and you both exchanged glances once more. With a gentle smile, your date reached across the table, their fingers brushing against yours in a tender gesture. "Thank you for such a wonderful evening," Jim said, his voice soft and sincere.

You smiled back, your heart warmed by his presence. "The pleasure was all mine," you replied, your voice carrying the weight of unspoken emotions.

As you left the restaurant, the night air felt crisper, more alive. The stars above twinkled as Jim walked you out to your car. You turned to smile at him when you reached your car.

“Well this is me” You smiled

“Thank you again, I haven’t had a night quite like this in some time” Jim smiled

“And again the pleasure was all mine” you smiled “It's good to know the sheriff isn’t such a bad guy”

“Well that depends on who you ask, Take Munson and Harrington for example, they probably think I’m the worst”

“They think you’re a hard ass I can tell you that much” you giggled

“Well it’s late and I don’t want to keep a pretty thing like yourself out in the dark” Jim moved slightly closer.

He kissed you softly on the cheek, told you to drive safely and walked back in the direction of the restaurant. You drove quietly home only completely panicking once you were safely inside your apartment. As soon as your heels were off and you flopped on your bed your head swarned with thoughts. The biggest being who do you choose?

[saltydumplings]

hello saltydumpling bae i would like to request a villain x henchman that can put you in horny jail again 🙏

Of course, bae <3

Request #23

Cw: AGGRESSIVE SPICE, SLICE OF FLUFF, SPIIIICCEE

Wrong. It was all going wrong - horribly, stupidly wrong.

The villain let out a groan of frustration as they tore the paper in front of them in two, flinging the scraps off to the side and fetching a blank one as they prepared to start over. This would be their seventh attempt now. It was slowly driving them insane - the supervillain couldn't have possibly given them a harder task if they tried. Breaking into a building of heroes was one thing, but stealing something from its very core and getting out alive was simply impossible: a work of fiction, pure fantasy, the supervillain had to be delusional to think they could pull this off.

If only their superior took no as an answer. The villain would have gladly robbed the bank for them - if the supervillain wanted a fancy weapon then why not just buy one themself?

The villain glared down at the page before them impatiently, willing the plan to manifest itself...It didn't.

They dropped their pen down to the side and hid their face in their hands, the temptation to scream running through their mind more than once - they didn't have time for this! They had problems of their own to deal with: internal vaccancies to fill, documents to sign off on, orders that needed placing for things that should have been delivered last week. Three days ago a hero had thrown a car - a car - through the wall of their HR department. There was so much the villain needed to do - so much that should have been done already - and yet here they were, spending over ten hours of their precious time planning a heist for the supervillain on a budget they couldn't even afford. They didn't have the materials for any of this!

Gods, the villain wished it would all just go away. Why did they have to be the one in charge? It was just too much - they were tired. Why couldn't someone just tell them what to do? It would all be so much easier that way: the villain didn't want to think, they just wanted to--

Three steady knocks sounded from the door to their office.

The villain peered out at it through their fingers, dread pooling in their gut at the notion of another mess in need of fixing. For a second they contemplated sending them away before thinking better on it and instead sitting up straight, taking their pen back into hand and jotting down some vague note upon the paper before them as they ordered the person to come in. The henchman entered the office quietly, closing the door with a soft click. The villain could sense the other studying them from across the room before they approached the desk, standing silently as they waited to be addressed.

"What is it?" the villain snapped.

A pause.

Before them, the henchman frowned, eyes narrowed as they took in the mess of torn papers that littered the floor. "You've been working on that all day..."

"So what?" The villain wrote down something else - nothing particularly useful but at least it made it look like they were making progess.

The henchman continued to stare. "It's getting late. I know you didn't get much sleep last night--"

"Henchman, if I wanted someone to mother me I'd have hired a nanny," the villain said sharply. "It is not you're place to--"

The other reached across and grabbed them firmly by the wrist, a stark line getting drawn down the page as the villain flinched back in shock.

"If I were mothering you," the henchman began, "then I would tell you to stop nicely. But something tells me you might need a little more persuasion than that, am I right?"

The villain swallowed, eyes wide and cheeks tinted pink at the other's brashness. They forced themself to turn away, wrenching their hand free from the henchman's hold. "It's none of your concern."

"It is every bit my concern."

"I'm fine," the villain growled, fixing their subordinate with a stare that could have chased away the devil. "Get out. I have work to do."

With that they turned their gaze back down to the paper before them, eyes twitching slightly at the messy scribble down its centre. They huffed and tore it apart, letting the shreds fall down to their feet as they took out another clean sheet before them, tapping the pen idly against the desk as they waited for the henchman to leave. But they didn't. A minute passed and the other never moved an inch, the villain forced to look back up at them once more.

"Get. Out," they repeated.

The henchman frowned. "No."

The villain's brows drew downward, their patience quickly growing thin. "You don't get to say no: that was an order. Now get out before-- what are you doing?"

The other had started making their way around the desk, heading right for them. The villain dropped their pen and rolled their chair back - fists clenched at their sides as they came to stand.

"I said get out! What part of that do you not understan--mmph!"

The henchman pushed them back down and put a hand over their mouth, the villain's eyes going wide once more as another hand caught in their hair and tugged back - their mind blanking out for a moment at the sudden spark of pain that shot through them. They shuddered, their own hands fumbling to pry the henchman's palm from their mouth but to little avail. They only struggled for a few more seconds before giving in, letting their hands simply rest upon the other's arm as they came to relax in their hold.

"Finished?" the henchman asked.

The villain simply glared.

"Good," they said, removing their hand from the villain's mouth and instead letting it press gently against the villain's neck, enjoying the blush the action brought to the other's cheeks. "Now, are you going to behave nicely? Or am I going to have to drag you away from this desk?"

The villain's mouth opened and closed, eyes glancing to their work and then back again. "I don't have time," they said.

"You need a break. You'll get nowhere in this state."

"You don't know that--"

The henchman pulled back on the villain's hair, the other cutting themself off with a small whine.

"Yes," the henchman said. "Yes, I do. You need to stop."

The villain scoffed. "Make me."

A beat.

The henchman's hand tightened around their neck, the villain letting out a soft gasp at the warning.

"You think I wouldn't?"

"No," the villain said with a slight smile, one hand stroking gently across the henchman's arm. "I know you would: that's why I'm asking."

The henchman's gaze softened a little at that. They leant down, pressing a small kiss against the villain's temple and then another upon their cheek. "What would you do without me?" they asked lowly.

To that the villain chuckled, attempting to lean up and kiss the other's lips. "Probably work myself into an early grave."

The henchman didn't find it funny. They held the other back, eyes filled with concern. "You're too hard on yourself," they said.

The villain's smile faded. "I know..."

"Then why do you do it?"

"Because if I don't then I could lose this," the villain said, their hand moving up to caress the henchman's cheek. "I could lose you."

The henchman shut their eyes, a sigh passing through their lips as they leaned into the villain's touch. "You will never lose me," they assured.

"Promise?"

Their eyes locked with the villain's. "I promise," they said softly, finally letting the other have that kiss they were so desperate for. Their lips met with a gentle passion, the touches between them soft until the henchman pulled back on the villain's hair once again, revelling in the small moan they stole from them. "Besides," their teeth scraped down the villain's jaw, the other practically trembling in their anticipation, "if I wasn't here to fuck you stupid you'd think too much, and that would be a problem for all of us."

They suddenly pulled the villain up and bent them over the desk, uncaring for any of the items that were lost to the floor as they grabbed hold of the villain's waist, pinning them down.

The villain shot a look back at them, brows raising slightly at the comment. "Are you saying that our sex life is the only thing stopping me from blowing up the city?"

The henchman grinned back at them.

"Yes," they said, nudging the villain's legs wider.

"...Huh."

The villain thought about that for all of a second until they felt the henchman undoing their belt, hands quickly stripping them of the few layers of fabric that lay between them.

They were probably right - the villain likely would have burnt this place to the ground by now. Fortunately for the city, the majority of their scarce freetime was spent on their knees, at their henchman's disposal, and not alone in their office plotting mass destruction.

[intheticklecloset]

Redeemed (Junjou Romantica)

Summary: After a fight, Usagi is overly apologetic and Misaki is beginning to feel guilty. But then Usagi gives him a coupon book for personal favors, and he gets an idea...

A/N: This is a fic I wrote for the one and only @otomiya-tickles several months ago. It was originally going to be part of the 12 Days of Ficmas last year, but when that didn't happen I decided to write it just as a special gift. I've finally decided to share it with the rest of you as well. (This was also the first fic I wrote after...certain events.) Hope you enjoy. <3

Word Count: 2,642

~~~

This coupon book was ridiculous, but it had been given to him with good intentions and a sincere apology behind it, so Misaki sighed resignedly and flipped open to the first ticket, beginning to read.

One free massage. One day without interruption. Wow, really? One fancy dinner of choice. One shopping trip. One…

The list went on and on, each page more intriguing and confusing than the last. Misaki felt his heart warming. He appreciated that Usagi seemed genuinely remorseful for what he’d done the other night – forcing himself on him so much the younger boy cried for an hour straight, feeling violated and unsafe in their shared home – but this almost felt…too much.

Then he flipped to the last five pages of the small coupon book, wrinkling his brow when he saw that they were blank. It took him a few moments to notice the small text at the bottom of the page:

Write-in. Whatever you want, I’ll do it for you, Misaki. I love you.

Misaki’s heart officially melted.

It was almost too bad that Usagi was out of the apartment right now. He felt as though he could go to the man this instant, wrap him in a hug, whisper that he’d been forgiven. Really, he’d been forgiven before the coupon book was even handed to him – his partner’s profuse apologies upon seeing his tears had been enough, even if they hadn’t felt enough in the moment. But now he felt their roles had been reversed, that he needed to go and comfort his boyfriend this time.

Well, he could cook them a nice dinner and they could have that conversation later. For now, Misaki put the coupon book back in his pocket and flopped sideways on the couch, curling up comfortably, mind swimming with possibilities.

Of course he would use the write-in space – it was too good to pass up. But what could he ask for that hadn’t already been offered to him in a different coupon? He could always ask for another full day of no interruptions if he wanted. That was truly beneficial to him on several levels and appealed to him the most out of everything he saw. An opportunity to get his work done without being snatched away for a spontaneous makeout session or tickling? That would be amazing.

Wait.

Misaki’s eyes flew wide open. No. No way. I get enough of that already – I can’t ask him to—

But he was already searching for a pen, heart hammering in his chest.

After all the apologies and all the thoughtful coupons, truly, this was the least he could do to meet Usagi halfway. Pen now in hand, he clicked it open and shakily began to write in his first request.

*

The door to their apartment clicked open. Misaki glanced up from where he was making dinner at the stove and smiled shyly. “Welcome back.”

Usagi hung up his coat and removed his gloves, maintaining uncertain eye contact with him the entire time. “Thank you.”

Things hadn’t felt this awkward between them in a long time, and Misaki was determined not to let it last. “Did you have a good day?”

“I did.” The older man approached the kitchen cautiously, like he was afraid of spooking his partner. “Did you?”

Misaki smiled genuinely then, remembering the coupons, thinking of the one in his pocket he intended to hand his boyfriend after dinner. “Yes.”

Usagi nodded. “Good.”

There was a beat of silence, then the younger man couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Aren’t you going to kiss me hello?”

Usagi blinked, then seemed to relax, sauntering around the counter to meet him and pull him gently into his arms, kissing his lips tenderly, with none of the harsh determination he usually exhibited. “Hello, my love.”

“Mmn.” Misaki groaned, pulling away when he heard the contents of his pot about to boil over. “All right, that’s enough. Go sit down; I’ll bring you a plate.”

The older man opened his mouth – probably to protest that he could do it himself – then seemed to think better of it and did as he was told for a change. Misaki smiled to himself, turning off the burner and stirring up the last of their dinner before reaching for two plates out of the cupboards overhead. Usagi was kind of cute when he was being docile, though he knew that once that coupon was out of his pocket and in his boyfriend’s hands, that would end quickly.

Dinner was uneventful, if a bit strained on Usagi’s part. Clearly he was still feeling badly for how he’d behaved before; his conversations were empty of their usual teasing cadence and flirting comments. He was polite, interested, and tame.

Misaki couldn’t wait to get him back on track.

When they’d finished eating, Misaki glanced at the clock. Half an hour, he decided. That’s what they say for swimming, right? I’ll wait half an hour and then give him the coupon.

In the meantime they migrated to the living room after putting the leftovers away for tomorrow. Usagi seemed relieved when his boyfriend sat beside him on the sofa, cuddling into his side like he did when he wanted comfort or affection.

“How did you like your coupons?” Usagi asked him after a while, voice soft.

Misaki tensed at first – thinking of the one in his pocket – then remembered that wasn’t one of those that Usagi offered and relaxed again, humming contentedly. “They were really thoughtful. I appreciate it, Usagi-san.”

“Any that caught your eye?”

“One day without interruption?” Misaki said, voice teasing. “Can you really do that?”

“For you, I can do anything.”

At this, the younger boy lifted his head and looked at his boyfriend, surprised to see how serious Usagi was about this. He felt himself melt again, though this time it came with a pang of guilt. He was definitely feeling too badly about what had happened for too long. He glanced at the clock. Forget the half hour – he had to do this now.

Misaki shifted, throwing a leg over Usagi’s lap. The older man looked surprised in the split second it took the brunette to lean down and kiss him. After a long moment strong hands wrapped around him, pulling him closer, holding him almost reverently.

“I’m sorry, Misaki,” he murmured for what felt like the hundredth time since that night a few days ago. “I know I can be pushy, but I never meant to hurt you—”

“I forgive you, Usagi-san,” Misaki whispered into another kiss, reaching into his back pocket. “In fact, I’d…I’d like to redeem one of those coupons now, if I can.”

Usagi pulled back, eyes darting to the paper in his boyfriend’s hands. “Of course. Whatever you want, my love. My Misaki.”

Misaki whimpered at the endearment, blushing as he held out the coupon. Usagi took it and angled it until he could read it.

“Oh, one of the write-ins?” he mused, then fully took in what the words said and what they meant. He blinked. He glanced at his partner. “Oh?”

“Don’t ‘oh’ me!” Misaki protested, shoving at his chest lightly, feeling heat rising in his cheeks.

“Are you trying to tell me something?”

“N-No! I mean…” The brunette hesitated, certain he wouldn’t even be allowed an explanation before he was attacked, but surprisingly, Usagi was sitting there patiently, watching him, waiting for him to speak. Misaki whimpered again, averting his eyes. “I don’t…don’t entirely hate it, you know? Just…maybe we can have a safe word this time?”

Usagi’s curious look gradually shifted into a sly grin that made Misaki’s heart race. He tossed the coupon aside and pulled him in closer, earning a squeak in response. “What word would that be, my little tickle toy?”

That did it. Misaki covered his face with both hands and flopped into Usagi’s chest, groaning. “Don’t call me that! It’s embarrassing!”

“Answer me, Misaki.”

He whined. “I-I don’t know…why not the same one we use in the bedroom?”

“Because I want a different one for this.”

Of course he did! “Fine! You pick one, then.”

At this, Usagi gripped his waist tightly and got to his feet, hoisting him over his shoulder and beginning to trek upstairs. “You’re the one who will be laughing himself silly. You decide.”

Misaki’s eyes widened. He knew – he knew they’d be doing this now, but still! He gripped Usagi’s sweater and yelped, “W-Wait!”

“You wrote it,” the older man said matter-of-factly, swinging their bedroom door shut behind them, plunging them into darkness without bothering to turn on the light. “You wanted this.” He tossed Misaki onto the bed, making the smaller boy squeal and start giggling already even though he hadn’t been touched yet. Usagi loomed over him, and the brunette could tell he was smirking even though he couldn’t see him perfectly. “Choose a safe word, Misaki.”

“P-Purple,” Misaki stammered, not at all sure why that was the only word that came to mind in the heat of this moment. He shrank back on the bed, arms glued to his sides preemptively.

Usagi chuckled. “Purple it is.”

“Eeek!” Misaki cried when his boyfriend pried his legs open to sit between them, leaving his thighs vulnerable to the first tickles, which came swiftly once their word had been established. “Ehehehehehe wahahahahahait! Wait, I d-dihihihihidn’t have tihihihime to gehehehehet reheheheheady!”

“Did you need time?” Usagi teased, amused by his partner’s weak attempts to swat at his hands. “Would it really have helped you?”

“Shuhuhuhuhuhut up!”

“So, tell me, my love. What inspired you to use one of your write-in coupons for this?”

Misaki desperately wanted to cover his face despite it already being dark in here. “I tohohohold you alreheheheheady!”

“Explain it to me again.”

“Jeheheheheherk!” Misaki whined, bucking his hips with a near scream when Usagi moved up to pinch his hipbones in warning. “Okahahahahay, okay! I l-lihihihihike it, kihihihihind of! A lihihihihittle bit!”

Usagi hummed. “Like it how?”

It took a moment for the younger man to process what the question meant in his ticklish haze, though thankfully his partner had moved up to his sides instead of his death spot. “Nohohohohot like thahahahat, you pehehehervert! Just for fuhuhuhuhuhun!”

“All right,” Usagi chuckled, shoving his hands under Misaki’s clothes to get to the bare skin beneath. “But don’t think that means I won’t try this in the bedroom, too. Just to experiment.”

Misaki couldn’t even bring himself to protest or fight back; he was too lost to his giggles already. It had only been a few days, but he didn’t realize until now how much he’d desperately missed Usagi being on top of him, making him squirm and let out involuntary noises that embarrassed him beyond belief.

And really, after how tense and awkward things had been between them since that night, seeing the outline of his boyfriend’s happy grin made all of this worth it.

“Tickle, tickle, tickle,” Usagi teased, fingers scribbling and scratching at his sides and tummy. “Look at you squirm, Misaki~ Does it tickle here? What about here?” He darted up to his underarms without warning, earning a loud shriek and even harder giggles, legs kicking the air but doing him no good with the way they were positioned. “I’ve missed your laugh, my love. It’s been a while since I’ve tickled you, hasn’t it? Were you missing it, Misaki?”

“Stahahahahahahap!” Misaki pleaded, tossing his body this way and that, going nowhere fast and feeling a little thrill from the knowledge. “Quit teheheheheheasing me!”

Usagi leaned down to bite his earlobe playfully, fingers digging harder into his armpits while his body pinned the smaller boy to the bed so he could hardly move at all. “Never.”

“Ahahahahahahahaha! Usahahahahahagi-sahahahahahan!” Misaki cackled, throwing his head back with waves of mirth, the reality of his situation sinking in more and more the longer he felt those strong, singing, unbearable sensations wrack his body. “Plehehehehehehease!”

“Please what? Use your words.”

“Jeheheheherk! It tihihihihihihickles! Please, it tihihihickles so bahahahahad!”

“Does it?~”

“Mohohohohove somewhere ehehehehehelse!” Misaki begged, frantically trying to dislodge his boyfriend’s fingers from his underarms. “Plehehehehease, new spohohohohohot!”

“Oh? Would you prefer if I tickled you…here?” Usagi’s fingers moved down to his ribs, pressing and digging into each one, clawing and raking and drilling in rapid succession that left Misaki near breathless with hysterical giggling. “You do seem to like it here, don’t you, tickle toy?”

Misaki cursed, surprising and pleasing Usagi immensely. “Stahahahahahap with that crahahahap! Don’t call me thahahahahahat!”

“Tickle toy,” Usagi chuckled darkly, still pinning him in place with his body. “You just want to laugh so loud for me, don’t you? Laugh and squirm and kick and beg me to stop? Hmm, tickle toy?”

Misaki dissolved into silent laughter at the incessant teasing, shaking his head, mirthful tears springing to his eyes. “Plehehehehehease!” he wheezed, barely able to catch his breath. “Dohohohohon’t!”

Usagi seemed to sense he needed a moment, so he sat back up and slowed his tickling to a light tracing along his body, up and down his chest, digging in randomly just to watch the brunette jolt and giggle helplessly.

“You’re mehehehean, Usagi-sahahan.”

“I rather think you like it.” The older man went back down to his thighs, pinching in tandem with his teasing intonation of, “Mi-sa-ki.”

Misaki tossed his head back, spewing even more giggles, wiping a tear from his cheek. “Mehehehean.”

Usagi grinned at him, gently pushing his legs down flat on the mattress so he could straddle them, unbuttoning his boyfriend’s jeans. “Relax,” he said when he got a wide-eyed, horrified look from the younger man. “I’m not doing anything like that. Just getting easier access.”

Misaki’s eyes only went wider at that comment. He smiled wobbily, knowing full well what was coming next. “Wait!”

“Nope.”

“But it tickles so bad—!”

“I know.”

“No! Wahahahahahait!” Misaki squealed, then screamed full-on when Usagi’s thumbs pressed into those super sensitive spots along his hips where they met his thighs. He arched his back and yelled his ticklish agony into the air, and not for the first time he wished he had a way to cover himself up, this time to muffle what had to sound like him being murdered horrifically. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!! NOT THAHAHAHAHAHAHAT, USAGI-SAHAHAHAHAHAN!!”

“But I love hearing you scream and laugh like this,” Usagi replied reasonably, drilling his thumbs in deep, adoring the way Misaki’s body thrashed beneath him at the simple touch, shrieks and curses and loud, desperate laughter filling the air around them.

“STOPSTOPSTOHOHOHOHOHOHOP IT PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!! PLEASE USAGI-SAHAHAHAHAHAN!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Usagi chuckled, shifting just slightly downward toward the ultimate prize, smirking when Misaki’s laughter when silent a second time, wheezes and gasps for breath replacing the ear-piercing noises he’d been letting out moments before. He didn’t stay there long, thankfully, lightening his touch and scribbling gently over his belly, swirling into his navel a few times as Misaki panted for air, his giggles having turned whiny and exhausted.

“Purple?” the older man asked, checking in. It was clear he was trying not to go too far again, and for that reason alone, Misaki felt like he could withstand a little more, his love for his partner swelling up inside him twice as much as usual.

“No,” he replied breathlessly, even going so far as to pull his own shirt up further, exposing more of his bare torso for Usagi to tickle. “Not yet.”

Usagi looked both elated and touched. He leaned over him again, kissing him so hard Misaki saw stars. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Misaki replied just before being sent back into a world of ticklish bliss, giggling and squirming uselessly on their shared mattress, loving the feeling of Usagi’s hands on him, making him melt, making him submit as he always did.

It was good to have him back.

[ninjaturtlemaniac]

John Dory and Sable ❤️

Short Story - One Shot

CONTEXT

The night before the Met Gala John Dory visits Sable after one of her shows. He basically wanted to confront his childhood bully. He wanted to be an adult about it and get some stuff off his chest. He ends up blowing up at her. Sable is of course hurt, but lets him yell. John realizes he is basically yelling at her for every mistake that HE has made. He is suddenly embarrassed for directing his rage at her, clumsily apologizes and leaves.

The next night at the Met Gala, Sable has just finished performing for all the guests and John Dory has retreated to a huge, empty wing of the museum, filled with nature themed paintings.

***

John absentmindedly stared at a huge painting. His mind is somewhere else.

Sable appeared at a corner doorway “I didn't know you were a connoisseur of the arts, John Dory. I'm impressed.”

“I’ll have you know, I'm a regular one of those art ugh…consumers.”

They both look towards the huge abstract painting.

“‘East Meets West.” Sable begins to explain the painting in front of them “A portrayal of the end to a timeless conflict. Merging of cultures. Both to grow greater than ever seen before.”

Okay, he was a little impressed that she knew that off the top of her head “Wow, really?”

Sable snorts “I have no idea, it sounded pretty real though, didn't it?”

JD smiles a little before sighing “Sable. About last night. I was acting like a moron. I was taking things out on you. I shouldn'ta done that and I’m sorry.”

“You’re right, you are a moron.”

John deadpans.

“However, I think it needed to happen. It seemed like you had been holding that in for a while?”

“Does twenty years count as a while?”

“One would think so.” she shook her head.

They both stare at the painting again.

“I forgive you for your outburst. However, some of your anger wasn't misdirected, John Dory. I am aware that I wasn't kind in my youth. Try as I might, I can't change who I was then, but I'm trying to be a better Troll now. You don't have to forgive me, but I do sincerely apologize for the way I have treated you in the past.”

“Did you practice that?” he frowned.

“Unfortunately, due to my behavior I have had to make this apology to quite a few Trolls.” she sighed sadly.

John Dory considered her words carefully.

And he stuck out his hand.

“Truce?”

Sable offered him a grateful smile and accepted his hand.

“Truce” They firmly shake hands.

“I would very much still like to make it up to you, John Dory. I would love for you and your wife to be my dinner guests.”

“Nah, you do have to make…hold on, me and my what?”

“You… your wife?”

“I don't have a wife” he laughed awkwardly.

“Then… who's Rhonda?”

John Dory suddenly understands the confusion and chuckles.

*cuts to outside, where all the critters are ‘parked’ Unfortunately the water from the Techno Trolls critters had turned the ground into a thick mud which Rhonda had evidently been rolling around in.*

JD whistles and a muddy Rhonda comes bouncing over to the edge of the pen.

John opens the pen gate before realizing his fancy gala cape will drag in the mud. He unties it, not quite sure where to put it. Without thinking he drapes it over Sable’s shoulders.

Sable is startled at first but quickly takes hold of the cape before it falls off.

“Look how muddy you are! Just couldn't resist, could you girl! No, you couldn't. Had to pay back Daddy for making you have a bath today huh?! Yes you did!” JD cooed to Rhonda as he scratched under her chin. It causes her back leg to twitch.

Sable smiled at the sweet sight.

John gestures between them.“Rhonda, Sable. Sable, Rhonda.”

“Good evening Rhonda, that is a lovely pink bow. Very elegant.”

Rhonda frowned, looking Sable up and down. She hadn't decided yet whether she liked Sable or if she should eat Sable.

“Sable invited us to dinner, Rhonda. Isn't that nice of her?” JD leaned his ear in. Rhonda did not make any kind of noise in response. “Rhonda says thanks for the invite, but gosh darn, wouldn’t ya know, she’s got plans.” John shrugged.

Rhonda frowned at JD. What in the world was he talking about?

“Oh Rhonda, what poor timing I have.” Sable reached out to stroke Rhonda’s face but Rhonda quickly leaned away from her touch and shifted closer to JD.

“Yah, regular party animal, she is.” he chuckled.

Rhonda side-eyed JD.

“Well, Rhonda with your permission, I request to borrow John Dory tomorrow night as my dinner guest.”

Rhonda frowned at her.

“In return, perhaps when your schedule opens up, you and I can schedule a mud bath together.”

Rhonda huffed.

“Rhonda, what has gotten into you?” John Dory raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Rhonda raised an eyebrow at him as if to say “Me?”

“She's quite territorial of you.”

“Yah, she's a good one. Aren't ya Rhonda? Who's my best girl? Always looking out for meeeeee!” He cooed as he scratched her cheek.

Rhonda accepted the scratches but still kept one eye on Sable.

Rhonda pulled away from John Dory and stretched out her legs.

Oh no.

“Rhonda, don’t!” he warned.

Shake shake shake shake shake

Mud goes flying and lands on JD and Sable.

JD was horrified “Rhonda! We don't cover nice Trolls with mud! Bad Rhonda!”

Rhonda rolled her eyes and wanders off.

“What the… where is this attitude coming from, young lady?”

Sable giggled as she looked down at the mud covering her.

“I am so sorry about Rhonda, Sable” he pulled the cape off of her shoulders. “I do not know what her problem is but she will be getting a stern, talking to when we get home.”

Fancy cape be darned, he used it to wipe the mud off of Sable.

“No harm done. Rhonda is just protecting you. It's sweet really.”

“If you wanna cancel dinner, I totally get it.” he sighed almost sadly.

“A little mud won't scare me off but if you don't wanna have dinner with me you could have just said so. You didn't have to send your attack armadillo after me.”

He hesitated with the cape but then wiped the mud off her face “One look from a pretty Troll and she's immediately jealous.”

“Careful John Dory. You just called me pretty.” she smirked.

Oh sugar.

“What? No I didn't…I…I said that you think that you're pretty.” he blushed just a little bit.

She raised an eyebrow at him but let it slide.

He flicked out the mud from the cape the best he could and threw it over his shoulder “Ya sure you wanna be seen in public with me? Gossip magazines will be all over it.”

“I am fully prepared to risk such a scandal, John Dory.”

“Ya sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

“But are ya sure?”

“Jonathan Dorian!”

“Alright alright, you don't have to beg. I'll go to dinner with you.” he smirked. He offered her a hand to help her down from the stone they were standing on.

“Very well, it's a date then. However, I'll have to let you know the details later. They should be serving the entrees right about now.” She turned to make her way back to the Gala.

He smirked at the thought of food but suddenly stopped in his tracks, falling behind as she continued on.

Hold on, it's a what?

[xemily-similex]

Paper Hearts Break All The Same (PT 1-2)

Here is a snippet/draft for the Mechanic v Y/N DCA fic I've been writing. I just need opinions???? I might use it in the fic or it can be just a stand alone thing. Also, this exact scene/chapter is going to be three parts on here bc of the word limit. PT 2

Set right after the Y/N gets into the picture. Mechanic confesses (Oh my!) and Sun is taking a page from his Help Wanted 2 book and just shredding it! (Not literally but close enough)

TW- Destruction (possibly accidental) of crafts we worked hard on, Sun is being an ass, Y/N makes an appearance, Reader has is bad for DCA (cue Usher's You Got It Bad), DCA is mean for a minute, not slay bestie (Does this seem too cliche, does it make sense, is reader an okay person? Relatable? BAD?! what is off about it? Help chat)

You fidget, pressing down on a sticker you put on the big flashy heart in your hands. You bought out the school supplies section of the local super store to make them.

An exaggeration, but not by much.

You used your neon posterboard and cut it into two wonky looking heart shaped cards. You tried making them look fancy with squiggly lined edges. It's uneven but you're out of any posterboard for more attempts.

You tried making up for it by bombarding it with stickers and cutesy doodles and glitter.

So much glitter.

Glitter glues, pens and loose glitter itself is plastered all over your admittedly childish confession letter.

Of course, you've written the cheesiest, corniest declaration of love.

You wrote from your heart and that is what matters, isn't it? It will certainly get your point across.

You are smitten with the Attendant. You want to kiss them until they blue screen. Hold hands romantically.

It felt fitting for the goof you were giving it to, but you are worried that they'll hate the glitter and you by extension. They use glitter all the time in the Daycare but it's so messy and Sun is always saying how much he hates cleaning it up and-

What's done is done, there's no going back now. You mustered up enough courage to give them this, literally and metaphorically, your heart and you were going to do it tonight.

No more chickening out. You were going to do it this time.

Going back and re-doing your letter will just give you time to back out and you can't afford that. Not everything can be perfect, and if they feel for you like you do for them even a little, it'll be just fine. They have surely gave off enough hints that they did.

But what if they didn't and you are just being hopeful?

Shut up, brain.

The Plex was nearing closed, and the Daycare should be empty besides the Attendant and his assistant. You can't place it, but the assistant gets on your nerves. Hopefully they have already gone home for the day.

You smile, feeling giddy and dizzy and stupid and your legs and arms were shaking, and your stomach felt like it was twisting but in a good way? It was hard to explain, you felt like you were going to be sick, but it was a good feeling.

Walking past the SLIDE INTO FUN, which you're tempted to go down but decide that it could very much crumple the hearts you spent hours making, so you pass it by.

Stealing yourself a look over the railing and down into the Daycare because you can't help yourself, you see Sun cleaning the Daycare with the assistant.

Something ashy settles in your chest when you see them, the assistant. You can't put a finger on it, but maybe it'll pass as you get to know them. They were a new hire after all, and you warm up to people like an ice cube in the sun. (Slowly)

Their being here could hinder what you're about to do, but you're too excited to let them stop you. They can probably use a break from Sun, anyways. He is terribly known to be quite harsh with anyone new working with him. You are usually the one to help Sun clean up, but he insisted earlier that the assistant can take that over since it was in their job description and he has this crazy check list in his head that his handlers have to go through to be deemed worthy, and therefore needed tested. You didn't argue with it.

After going down the steps two at a time, you knock on the open door. "Knock, knock?" You announce yourself, and yes, it's cheesy but you are giddy from love, okay?

Sun doesn't automatically bound up to you like normally, and you're a tad bit disappointed, but you can't expect him to just up and drop everything for you, especially since he still has company and work to do.

You aren't that kind of person.

You'll even help them, but you wanted to talk to him first. Confess.

You would wait until later, but you feel your stomach trying to come out of your throat in anticipation.

You enter, looking around for your jester. Yours. You giggle excitedly, the idea that hopefully after you can find them and give them your sappy cards that they will be yours, and in turn, you theirs.

Maybe you should have a modicum of self-awareness that they can very easily say ew, no just as well. You try to keep a balanced outlook, preparing for both outcomes.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist that you are failing to do that as you skip to the back looking for them.

[sweetbuckybarnes]

Hey Stephen

Pairings: Colin Bridgerton + Penelope Featherington

Summary: Colin watches from the sidelines as Penelope considers suitors.

Masterlist | Albums | Fearless Album

Hey Stephen, I know looks can be deceivin', but I know I saw a light in you. And as we walked, we were talkin', I didn't say half the things I wanted to. 

For years, Colin was oblivious to Penelope's feelings. Well... he wasn't completely oblivious. 

He knew she had a crush on him when she was a little girl, in the early days of Eloise and Penelope's friendship. 

Like crushes he had harboured as a teenager, he thought it might have been a passing fancy - she would 'get over him' eventually.

'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel. Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so, come feel this magic I've been feelin' since I met you. Can't help it if there's no one else. Mmm, I can't help myself. 

He doesn't remember his callous words during Penelope's second season. So much so, that he didn't understand why Penelope never answered his letters like she had done previous summers. 

Penelope gave him the cold shoulder, for weeks. She was no longer hiding in the shadows (she was a self-proclaimed, 'wallflower'), it also seemed like her mother no longer cared what colour dresses she wore. Penelope no longer wore her yellow dresses. She had been wearing greens, blues and even a pink dress. Her current dress could almost be classed as Bridgerton Blue . 

He had always thought Penelope was cute in her yellow dresses. But in her green and blue dresses, she was a woman. 

Hey Stephen, I've been holdin' back this feelin', so I've got some things to say to you, huh. I've seen it all, so I thought. But I never seen nobody shine the way you do. The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name. 

"Good evening, Miss Featherington," Colin greeted, standing next to Penelope, looking down at her. "Is there room on your dance card for me?" 

Penelope lifted her arm, where the dance card was hanging from her wrist by a ribbon, she looked over the open spot (there weren't many left, which is surprising to say she had been here for about fifteen minutes!). "Just one." 

He looked at her. "One? You have one dance left?" She nodded, looking up at him with curious eyes. Why was he questioning him as to why there was only one dance left on her card? If he wanted more than one dance, he should have got here sooner. Not that she would give him more than one. He produced a pen and wrote his name down. In between a dance with Lord Debling, and one with Harry Dankworth. Her third dance would be with Lord Fife of all people! "Why on earth are you dancing with Fife?" 

"He asked. So I accepted," she says simply, not wanting to say many words in Colin's presence. 

"Pen, you hate Fife. Almost as much as I do." 

"I have to take every suitor into consideration," Penelope tells him, as Colin's eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. 

"Are you seriously considering marrying Fife?" 

"Of course not, mama believes I should consider Lord Fife mainly because of his title and his money."

They're dimming the street lights, you're perfect for me. Why aren't you here tonight? I'm waitin' alone now, so come on and come out. And pull near me. And shine, shine, shine.

[acaseforpencils]

Sarah Kempa.

Bio: My cartoons and comics have appeared in various publications, including The New Yorker and McSweeney’s. I also had a short little comic-activity book published with AMU titled, Where Did My Roommate Put My Charger?: A Kind-Of Activity Book for Kind-Of Adults.

Find this print here!

Book link

Excerpt from book

This is my favorite cartoon they've published, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my true favorite (no offense cartoon!) which is this comic, done in honor of Dolly Parton and the Moderna vaccine.

Tools of choice: I draw all cartoons I pitch to The New Yorker on an ipad using Procreate.... I will forever appreciate the grace it gives me in making mistakes, and the speed of switching tools and adding a wash. I draw anywhere from 7-10 cartoons a week to pitch to the New Yorker, which for me honestly feels like a lot of drawing!! (Bravo to all the other cartoonists who accomplish such a feat without breaking a sweat!)

For the cartoons I pitch, I don't need everything to be perfect, but I do want it to feel like it could be a cartoon in the magazine, so I do my best to add a wash and make them look the part. The most wonderful thing about Procreate is I can do all that while sitting on the sofa watching/not watching Real Housewives, with a small dachshund napping on my lap, and not spill one drop of ink. Just as the cartoon gods intended!

For idea generation, I use Strathmore recycled newsprint, essentially a giant 18x24 pad of scrap paper. I will cuddle up with this pad and go through my different idea generation exercises, until I find something I want to make into a cartoon. The paper is nothing fancy, and I can fill it up with as many things as I want without running out of space. It seems like it's not very practical or portable, but I actually find it to be the opposite. I carry it around the apartment with me, take it outside, use it as a tray to move my workstation from the sofa to table, and have even leveraged a sheet or too as wrapping paper! It's perfect. I use these Muji gel ink pens with it and they pair nicely.

Tool I wish I could use better: Right now I'm working on using watercolors. I like the idea of bringing a little portable watercolor set to the park, and then painting nature, but those are both things I have never put into practice, but sound really nice in theory. 

Tool I wish existed: I always make a mess whenever I use ink, wash, water colors, pastels... you name it. I'm thinking it would be nice to have those invisible ink markers that only work on a certain type of paper, but instead with markers, my paints, pastels, inks, etc that I can't use without making a mess.

Tricks: I'm trying to quite literally do less. I burn out creatively more easily these days, so I'm making the decision to do less, and affirm to myself that it is okay. :) Maybe that means submitting less cartoons in a batch, or not drawing everything I think of that could be a cartoon, just trying to be a bit more intentional to keep the burn out away.

Website, etc.

My book! I think it would make a good gift? 

Instagram

Etsy

———–

If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi  account as well! I do this blog for free because accessible arts education is important to me, and your support helps a lot! You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

[cheswirls]

ta da!!! :D super codependent magic au early concepts for part 1!!!

i wrote let me / for you this year and used a set of three designs at different pts of the story for my illustration class this semester. to go along with each part's concept art is one fully painted illustration.

here's the in depth analysis to go along w p1 and then here is the fic itself on ao3 :)

design notes below the cut! these aren't the final versions but they're p close tbh. p1 illo + final concepts will be out along with p2's whenever i get around to finishing that section of the fic!

for ace: most of ace's initial concepts and early changes were done on pen and paper!! his i already had planned and didn't undergo a lot of change so the only thing of note from these first digital drafts to the final is color correction.

i also drew ace's hair wildly different with every new sketch bc he's not supposed ot have a single hair model to go off of for p1 - aside from it being the longest at this stage (it gets shorter thru p2 and p3 to contrast sabo's getting longer!!) it's meant to be got-out-of-bed messy and unpredictable.

for sabo: gee wow. with the second set (v2) i was focused on color and so some design elements were left out for simplicity/time's sake (cinched waist, pants seam+pocket). i did a split accent color also for time' sake but when i found the color combo i liked i went make to solid (v3).

lots of changes made in v3 and final bc i felt like it wasn't "fancy" enough for a sabo design! not illustrated great here but i added a collar attached to the lining of the hood @ the stitching of it to the body of the jacket. instead of being a split hood that closes w drawstrings, it now buttons together in front! the magic cloak also gets upgraded to shiny accents and in the final vers ends up with ornate swirly motifs meant to mimic lace :) v3 is also where i finally created a galaxy swatch to use from now on (it's p colorful but i used an edge of mostly cool colors for v3 and then saturated it w a sorta dark blue+periwinkle overlay to further this)

i altered the height of the boots between v2 and v3 bc i decided to used the knee height for the p2 sabo design! no notes on the last 2 of sabo's bc i submitted like a full written page of notes w each design update lmaooo n im not sharing those when i can jus type the impt stuff here. all of the clothing folds for sabo and ace are rough traces of pictures jus for practice so i could quickly get a feel of what i needed to do to portray what i liked best :)

[fixfoxnox]

If you have any free time im requesting some camboy au headcanons about roach :0? Or letters to love headcanons about roach!!

Let's do some Letters headcanons! I haven't done one for Letters Roach and it gives me an opportunity to explain some things for the story!

Warnings: Stalker type behavior from Makarov, nsfw implied, slight non-con mentioned

Trans! Roach in the letters universe, which you guys probably knew, but he didn't come out until he was about sixteen

He is currently in his early-mid twenties in the fic and has been transitioning since he came out

Only person who knew he was trans earlier than sixteen was Eddie

Eddie is still a doctor in this AU and provided Roach with fantasy hormone blockers until he was ready to come out

So Roach essentially never hit a female puberty which has worked out for him because he doesn't have to bind his chest or anything

He was raised with a females education because he didn't come out until later

When he did come out, there was discussion of sending him through the classes for male aristocrats, but he would have been learning with small children, so they decided to just teach him the basics

For this reason Roach has no idea how to really fight (outside of a few things that we'll get to later), no idea how to hunt, and is a little less educated on things like war tactics, math, and history (he's learning though!)

Roach earned Makarov's affection when they were very young, which is part of why he doesn't remember it

Makarov was about eight while Roach was about five

Essentially Makarov was being a pouty bratty young prince

Little Roach got tired of it and came over to smack him with a book and tell him to shut the fuck up with his tantrum because he was trying to make flower crowns

Roach got in trouble for it, but Makarov was already smitten and it did not help that Roach later apologized to him with one of the flower crowns he made

Makarovs obsession was mostly innocent until he hit puberty then he started getting full on creepy and weird which is most of what Roach remembers

Roach and Jackson became bffs in this AU when they were kids. They were around the same age and their families estates are right next to each other, so it just made sense

Jonathan and Eddie fully believed that Roach and Jackson were sneaking around together when they were teens

Technically they weren't wrong, its just that rather than having sex, Roach and Jackson were going into town together and sneaking back to the estates with stray cats (the estates still have a cat problem because of them)

Makarov fucking despises Jackson, but he can't say or do shit because Jackson's family are the Kingdom's record keepers/treasurers

A list of creepy things that Makarov has done to Roach in this AU:

Stolen some of his clothes

Cut a piece of his hair to keep

"Accidentally" spilled wine, water, and mead on him several times

Had specific outfits made and sent to him (and since he's the prince, guess what Roach was wearing to any functions??)

Had copies of any portraits made of Roach made for himself (as well as hired some artists to draw Roach for him secretly)

Bought literally the exact same fragrances that Roach uses just so he can spray them in his room (and be creepy)

Followed him around secretly and made visits to Roach's families estate to sneak into his room

Literally tried to start rumors about the two of them to try and force them to be married

Straight up felt him up several times during big events where he could get away with it during like dancing and what not

There's other stuff but thats just some of the stuff off of the top of my head shdhdhdjjd

Roach is known for his penmanship in his kingdom! Its a highly valued skill in the kingdom and he's penned out letters for the royals before (including Makarov)

So when Soap is like 👁👄👁 with how fancy Roach's letters are, he was not exaggerating, like Roach is very very skilled

Soap is only Roach's third kiss in his life, not necessarily because there haven't been people interested, but rather that Roach hasn't been interested (take your guesses on who the other two kisses were lol)

Because Makarov is so solely interested and focused on Roach, Roach tends to get a lot of flak from other noble families

They want their own daughters/sons to marry the prince, so its very frustrating to them that Makarov has shown no interest in even trying with anyone other than Roach

It doesn't help that everyone can see how uninterested Roach is in the attention. They consider that to be a huge disrespect

So Roach has very few friends/support among the nobility, something that his mother has tried to fix but has often just resulted in Roach sitting in a room being made fun of all day

One last one: Roach is very much deeply attracted to the idea that Soap is a warrior king and has seen so much battle and all that, but he absolutely will not admit it

That shit is staying in his fantasies until after he is married thank you very much

[nyxnightshade1332]

Expectations When Expecting (Book 1)

Chapter 13

Chapter 14:

"Okay, now we just sprinkle on a little powdered sugar, and..." Yuu watched in fascination as Trey expertly sifted powdered sugar onto the tart.

The entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, when Trey stood back.

"Finished!" Ace and Grim remarked excitedly. Yuu smiled, pleased with the image.

"Fin...ished..." Deuce said halfheartedly.

"Hey." Ace nudged Yuu slightly, leaning in to whisper. "Did something happen to him while you were shopping?"

"Yeah. He's still in shock." She laughed awkwardly. "I think I broke him."

"For sixteen years, I was so sure..." Deuce lamented, returning to muttering.

Ace watched with a raised eyebrow. "... Yeah, whatever." He said dismissively. "I'm pretty beat. Making tarts sure takes it outta you."

Yuu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is the big tough fella tired?" She teased. "Guess you should be lucky we agreed to help~" She grinned, noticing Ace's embarrassed blush.

"Yeah, fine. Thanks for the help." He huffed, looking away.

Yuu chuckled kindly. "You're welcome!" She said, returning her gaze to the table she was wiping down.

"Hey fam!" A voice resounded in the kitchen, making Yuu jump slightly as she looked up to see a familiar ginger.

"Holy shit, this ain't moving!" She grumbled to herself. "Oh yeah! 'Sup Cater!" She called back, attempting to scrub off a bit of solidified paste from the wood.

"LOL, You look wrecked." Cater remarked. "Are the tarts done? Ooh, those look sooo cute! Lemme snap a quick pic for Magicam!" Cater smiled, scampering over to where Trey was, holding a very pretty-looking tart.

"What, NOW you decide to show up?" Ace retorted, annoyed and cranky.

"I just came to see how hard my little newbs were working." Cater said, leaning against the desk nonchalantly.

"It's tough work if you're not used to it. But there's no better cure for the ails of fatigue than something sweet from the oven!" Trey announced, placing a warm tart in front of the group. "Help yourself to some of this tart."

The group celebrated at the thought of getting to try their work.

"Pretty funny how you managed to show right when it was ready to eat, Cater." Ace remarked, scowling slightly when Cater laughed.

"Someone's gotta be the official taster!" The older ginger smiled.

"That smells so good..." Grim purred, sniffing the air as his mouth began to water. "Glossy chestnuts on top, fluffy cream below... I can't wait another second, I'm going in!"

Grim seemed to jump into his tart, completely disregarding the fork and simply taking a large bite. Yuu felt her stomach growl at how hungry she was, making her pick the fork up and take a small piece.

"Yuuum! Liked and subscriiibed!" She heard Cater beside her as she put the fork in her mouth.

"This is like something from a fancy bakery." Deuce praised.

"Rich in flavor, yet not too sweet... It's like chestnuts are dancing across my tongue!" Grim laughed.

"Is that... a good thing?" Trey questioned, seeming to look at Yuu, who had remained silent as she took her first bite.

Yuu had been hit with a sweet flavor, but it didn't have a heavy texture that would overwhelm her. She smiled. "Wow. It's good!"

Trey chuckled at her childish delight. "I'm glad you like it!"

"Oh, Trey! You gotta do the thing." Cater smiled.

"The thing? Oh..." Trey asked before his features lit up at the realization. "That."

"Uh, wanna fill me in here?" Ace suggested, completely lost.

Yuu watched as Trey pulled out his magic pen, confused. "What's that for?" She asked him. The taller boy simply smiled at her.

"You'll see. Now, what's everyone's favorite food?" He gestured toward the first year ginger.

"Me?" Ace questioned, pointing at himself. Trey nodded. "Probably cherry pie. Or hamburgers." Ace said.

"Canned tuna's at the top of my list. Then maybe cheese omelets, roast meat, pudding..." Grim began to list, wracking his brain in a pathetic attempt to decide.

"Dude, just pick one." Deuce muttered before answering. "If I had to pick, I guess I'd say... omelet rice?"

"I like a nice lamb chop with diablo sauce." Cater announced with a smile, turning to Yuu excitedly.

"I'd say..." Yuu thought for a while, eyebrows furrowed while she narrowed down her list. She felt the slight pull of her craving something that she'd been longing for for years. "Maybe my grandmother's tamales. Specifically the ones she called chope." She said, recalling her family's rare visits to Mexico in her youth, and the mouthwatering scent that wafted out of the pot as the tamales cooked. She felt her stomach growl at the thought, making her blush.

Yuu looked over to Trey, who had an amused smirk on his face. He lifted his pen. "All right, you've got it... Let's 'Paint the Roses'!" He called.

Yuu watched the room bathe in rose red light for a brief moment before disappearing. She watched, eyes wide and curious.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Deuce questioned.

"Take another bite of your tart and see." Trey remarked with a cheeky smile, pushing his glasses up.

Ace tentatively took one more bite before his eyes widened. "Huh? How- Now it tastes like cherry pie!" He looked at the tart, as if conforming that he was still eating a chestnut tart.

Grim picked his slice up, taking another bite. "It's just like canned tuna!" He yelped, taking another bite. " Now it tastes like a cheese omelet! And grilled meat!" He swallowed, excited with each bite. "And pudding!"

Yuu took her fork, lifting it up to her nose, smelling it. Its scent seemed to not have changed. He put the forkfull into her mouth.

She froze, recognizing the familiar saltiness of the masa, and the spice of the pork. Her eyes filled with tears, threatening to cascade down her face. She wiped them away.

"Wow." She said, untrusting of her ability to speak without crying. She took another bite, melting at the flavor.

"Neat trick, eh?" Cater shot her a smile. "That's gotta be a hit when Trey's having tea with the ladies."

"It's very impressive." Deuce smiled, eyes bright. "Is changing flavors your signature spell, Trey?"

"Technically, it's 'overwriting characteristics.' I can change taste, color, smell, whatever." Trey informed, eating a bit from his own tart. "It only lasts for a little while, though. But it is kinda like covering up the real thing hence, 'painting.'" He explained, handing Yuu a napkin which she accepted gratefully, wiping away any stray tears.

"If I had magic like that, I could be eatin' canned tuna every meal of every day! That's way better than Riddle's stupid collar magic!" Grim remarked with a gulp.

"Oh, that's in a whole other league. His signature spell is a weapon. Mine's just childish prestidigitation." Trey said, hiding his face a bit. "Speaking of Riddle - it's too late to give him these now. Let's call it a day and do it tomorrow." He suggested, quickly changing the topic with ease. "Don't forget that tomorrow's the unbirthday party. You don't want to be late."

"Yuu, can I crash with you again? It doesn't sound like I'll be allowed back in my own dorm tonight." Ace asked the young woman, who simply nodded, pushing back the empty feeling in her heart.

"Yeah. But you still have to clean if you want to stay in a room." She informed, placing her fork down on the now empty plate, before Grabbing Grim's. She smiled as Ace gave a loud groan.

"Again, seriously?" Cater asked incredulously.

"It isn't right to keep mooching off of Yuu, Ace." Deuce said, a strange look on his face.

"Yeah, it ain't! If you wanna stay tonight, you gotta pay for the privilege! Ten cans of tuna!" Grim demanded, standing upright to glare at Ace.

"Aww, What?! Guess I'm sleeping outside, then." Ace sulked, throwing his best puppy-dog eyes at Yuu. She rolled her eyes.

"Nice try, Trappola. But I have the high ground." She teased.

"Why don't you go and stay at Yuu's dorm too, Deuce, so you can keep an eye on him?" Trey suggested, making Deuce seem to perk up. "As vice housewarden, I can issue you a sleepover pass."

"That's our Trey, always spoiling the newbs. What fun for you." Cater chuckled before looking at her. "Ooh, maybe I'll come too! What do you say, Yuu?" He wrapped his arm over her.

"No pass for you." Trey said, shooting down Cater's idea.

Cater sighed, sulking. "Aww. Sad trumpet... Womp womp wooomp."

Trey shook his head, turning to Yuu apologetically. "Sorry to dump them all on you, Yuu. At least it's just for tonight."

She sighed, looking at the boys. "Nah, it's fine. I could use a bit of help cleaning my rustic, 'dump of a dorm' anyway."

Trey's eyes widened and he blushed in embarrassment, realizing that she'd just quoted him. "Ah- I..." Trey began, making Yuu laugh.

"Relax, I'm just teasing." She assured, turning to leave with Grim hopping into her arms. " I'll see you guys tomorrow, if I can successfully wake Ace, Deuce, and Grim."

.

.

.

Once Yuu opened the door to Ramshackle, she watched Ace throw his bag to the couch. "Tomorrow's the unbirthday party. Finally, I'm gonna get rid of this stupid collar! Just you wait, Riddle!" Ace announced, stretching as he jumped onto the couch, sending a literal cloud of deep seeded dust out into the air.

After a couple of minutes of hacking their lungs out and having no choice but to open all of the windows, Yuu turned to Ace with a glare.

"Really?! Was your goal to kill us all by suffocation?!" She cried.

"Forgot how dusty it was..." Ace said awkwardly, shaking the dust off of a new blanket. With about a half-hour of Yuu's scolding, she managed to get Ace to clean a room while Deuce had agreed to clean his own.

Once the cleaning was done, the group sat around a table, reading cards. Yuu read over her cards awkwardly, barely understanding the game, which had been old maid.

"Hahaha! How're you THIS bad at playing old maid?" Ace snickered as Yuu helplessly looked over her cards.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I've never played!" She huffed, before setting down her cards, noticing Grim's ears flatten and droop when he looked at his cards.

"Darn! I got the old maid again!" He cried, throwing his cards down.

Yuu groaned, as she picked up the cups, walking to the kitchen and placing the cups in the sink. Those are future Yuu's problem. She thought to herself, making her way to the lounge again.

"Bed time, boys!" She announced, making them groan.

"Aww, c'mon! One more game?" Ace suggested, anxiously tugging at his collar. Yuu rolled her eyes, empathy pooling into her heart, swaying her judgment. She sighed.

"...Fine. But we're playing one of my games this time." 

Chapter 15

[glitterdustcyclops]

while i'm thinking about pens, here's a lil "what's in my pencil case" post cuz it's been a minute since i've done one. can you tell my favorite color? lmao.

detail shots, writing sample & notes about everything under the cut

first we have our basic, "staple" pens and such, in order from the top left down and to the right:

+Zebra bLen FM2 Ballpoint Pen 0.5 mm - this particular version was a limited edition but JetPens sells other colors/models. to be honest i mostly got this because of the aesthetics of it, but the gimmick is that it's supposed to not "rattle" or shake as much as other pens, making it a smoother "stress-free" writing experience and i suppose that would be true if the ink didn't skip so ding dang much. i give it a 4.5/10

+Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Pen 0.5 mm Black - ohhh now we're talkin. my first true stationery crush. i own these in every color they come in. you're never gonna go wrong with a zebra sarasa. as a lefty i'm wary of smudges and these puppies dry fast and don't skip. i would marry this pen if i could.

+Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Hard Tip - my preferred choice for doing brush pen lettering. i like the fude touch sign pens from pentel too but their ink tends to be too juicy for me as a lefty & it's a smudge hazard, but tombows are perfect.

+ Sakura Pigma Micron 10 (0.6 mm) - this is actually a new thing, i was messing around with different headers a few weeks ago and after i was done i was too lazy to stick this back where it goes with its family, so i put it in my pencase. but you never know when you need a nice thick black marker to do headers and stuff in your bullet journal, you know?

+Sakura Gelly Roll White 10 & Glitter - these two are almost impossible to swatch but very useful for doing fun ~effects~ on ur headers. the white is about as opaque as i've found in a gel pen, and the glitter is transparent so it goes over pretty much everything and just adds a hint of bling.

+Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil 0.5 mm Hello Kitty & eraser - no joke the best mechanical pencil i've ever tried, i will never use another. it's one of them fancy japanese over-engineered sorts of things, and it's got all sorts of mechanics in it to keep lead from breaking, and it WORKS. as someone who prefers a fine lead in my pencils, having your pencil constantly shatter is frustrating as hell but i have literally never had that problem with these. the eraser is, i think, from sun star, idk. i got it cuz it was cute but it's really nothing special.

+Midori Multi Ruler 30 cm - this thing is super helpful for getting straight lines when doing bullet journal headers. the hinge helps it fold up compact & also lets it work as a compass but i typically don't worry about that.

next up, our ~fun colors~ starting with our minty greens

+Pentel Energel Clena w/ Turquoise Blue refill 0.5 mm - this originally came with a black ink refill but i wanted it to match so i bought a turquoise one separately and i think it's super cute. in case it isn't obvious mint green/teal are my favorite colors and so i love carrying around multiple options to give my notes a lil pop of my fav shade.

+Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen Emerald Green - another new addition to the pen case, i honestly just stuck it in here because i didn't have enough room in the green section of my brush pen/marker organizer lol. but you know, it's my go-to fav color, it's helpful to keep around. like i mentioned up above i sometimes struggle with the pentel brush pens cuz of how juicy the ink is, so i don't use them as often, but the color is really pretty and they write very nicely.

+Zebra Mildliner Highlighter Mid Blue-Green - of course i am a basic bitch who loves mildliners. i own literally every color & this one is only here because it's a duplicate, and so i just stuck it in the pencil case to match everything else. but you know, every situation can be improved with a mildliner i think. (also stationery confession- am i the only one who likes the brush pens better than the regular highlighters? cuz i do. they're fun!!)

+Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight 1.0 mm Pastel Green - another pen i am only keeping in here because it doesn't fit with the rest of my gel pens (i may or may not have a problem) but again, it matches.

finally, we have the Zebra Sara Push Clip Gel Pens 0.5 mm in Vintage Colors. did you think i was kidding when i said this was my favorite pen & i own every color? i meant every. color.

i really like these vintage ones because they're more readable than some of the bright/pastel shades of the regular pens. very sophisticated. also that green black matches so beautifully with all my favorite minty green shades.

so there you have it, everything i keep in my everyday pen case. if you're wondering this is a Sun Star Delde pencil case, this colorway doesn't exist anymore but i love these slide kind of pencil cases that turn into standing pen cups. very convenient to keep out on your desk. and, of course, it matches everything else. :D

[mellowquint]

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog Liveblog!

Part 1; the Dining Car

OKAY WE'RE FINALLY DOING THIS READY, SET, LEGO (wait wrong fandom–)

So insert character is first time working for the train huh, okay cool cool

Oh god now i have to name them uhh (yes i will be referring to they/them, non-binary characters ftw)

… I went with Trainee (get it cuz uh train and yeah I'll see myself out)

Darling your scribbles are fine, better than mine actually

Trainee is a nervous train wreck *ba dum tss* yeah ok I'll stop making train jokes

Oh dang here comes the conductor. Apparently todays the conductor's last day after thirty two years.

OOHH THE TRAIN IS CALLED MIRAGE EXPRESS

I like how the sonic crew didn't forget about spagonia Jejdkddlfkkdkfk thought that was a one time thing

The menu only has 3 things, Why? lmao

Wait they're ALL MICROWAVE MEALS?? Can't they afford a chef? This is someone's speaking who has not gone onto these fancy train cars yet so forgive me

Oh fun tidbit the trains actually used for event's only.

"So I'll need you to do everything in your power to make sure our paying guests are well taken care of, understood?" Sir yes sir

AAAHHHHH AMYYYY SHE LOOKS SO ADORABLE WITH THE BIRTHDAY CAKE HEADBAND AND THE DRESS

HELP TAILS IN HIS DETECTIVE OUTFIT HE'S SO CUTEE

oh so it's Amy's birthday party!! Murder mystery theme eh? Someone's an Agatha Christie fan~~

ROUGE AND KNUCKLES YES also Rouge girl you just got on the train don't go stealing gift shop pens just yet lmao

"What cast of characters am i stuck with" OH SHOOT HE KNOWS 🤣

"Why can't i be normal for one second" you and me both Trainee

Also Sonic immediately bolting to get chilli dogs lmao, never change blue gumball dork

WHOOOO LOOKIT ALL OF THEM, ALSO HOLY MOLY BLAZE IS HERE TOO???? COOL COOL COOL 

EHH okay so now i collect the tickets, like a normal person, this wont be an embarrassing trip

"well the birthday discount certainly helped!" You and me both Amy

OH NEW LORE DROPPED, AMY'S A FAN OF TRUE CRIME PODCASTS!!! (I wonder if she would like the Magnus Archives…)

"Here's the key that unlocks any door in the train" hmm seems kinda sus, but oh well birthday girl gets the birthday key

and Blaze is here to grace us with her presence and elegance, reminding why I love her. Love how she just casually tells us that she's visiting from a separate dimension like it's nothing lmao

Sooo Blaze has sweet tooth cannon? Yes.

LMAO TRAINEE NO "Why can't i win in this group"

Rouge darling please give the conductor his money back it's to early to steal anyones lunch money 

Y'know it's a bit awkward knowing that Trainee just realised he's talking t The Sonic The Hedgehog, like my dude did you not know what he looks like? Either way Sonic's pretty chill

"I brought my own sparkle gelatin. It's a jelly that can melt away even the most jaded hearts" Tails imma need you stop being so cute and wholesome for ONE SECOND OKAY I CAN'T TAKE IT ✨🥺

Awww Trainee and Tails are jelly buddies!!!

"Thank goodness someone on this train is normal" buddy wait till you see the kid fly an airplane and can fly with his two tails lmao

Espio why you holding that rose who is it for 👀

DID ESPIO SERIOUSLY READ TRAINEES MIND?? (Edit he did in fact, something about his Ninjutsu or something)

"Can you cling into walls" "i most certainly can" okay just tell the conductor that, I'll now know where to find you then. In the air vents.

"Do you sell gift bags here" ….. shadow you didn't forget to bring Amy a present her birthday party right?

"Robot arm reminding me that one AI from Wall–E, hopefully we're not going to that route 

"Actually, uh Train, the conductor wants me to have the whole plate" lmao you ain't slick Trainee

Okayyy last but not least we have Vector, who does not in fact have his ticket, aanddd now we're supposed to find it

"I wonder what cake topper Sonic picked out for me" "...shoot, i was supposed to give Amy a cake… what am i supposed to do?" Ya done goofed you blue gumball dork

"You don't need to bow everytime you see me" sure Blaze it's not like i was stress responding. definitely.(seriously tho i love her dialogues)

Okay imma take a gamble and ask shadow if he sees any tickets 

"Only three items on the menu..? You don't even have drinks listed" THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING!!! Also we only have like three drinks too, water, coffee, and chaos cola

"I'll have to take you up on the coffee soon. Just the beans and A spoon, though" …… shadow um what??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BEANS AND A SPOON ONLY YOU HOT TOPIC WANNABE??? NOT EVEN WATER OR MILK???

I spent 5 minute hitting every random object where's the ticket – OH WAIT LEFT ARROW

NAPKIN IT'S IN THE NAPKIN

"Lost ticket added to you inventory" YES BUD LET'S GOO

Poor trainee has to double shift on being the microwave expert AND security guard smh, Trainee better has a good paycheck

I'm hoping up on here saying to PLEASE TELL ME WHO DID ALL THE SPRITES IN THE GAME THEY'RE ALL SO WONDERFUL AND EXPRESSIVE MY GOD 

…. Oh. OH!!  SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ALL WEARING SPECIFIC CLOTHES. Amy's you nerd she even got them all lore cards i love this girl

So Sonic's role is to be the ship captain. I do wonder why a ship captain of all roles since their in a train setting but ill take

AJDHKJHFKJSLKJFLKJFFKJLA I LOVE THIS SCENE

Oh shadows supposed to be a locksmith?.... I wasn't the only one who thought he was gonna be a barista stationed at the cafe right? My guy might have to dress a little bit more specific for a locksmith

and of course we;ve got our birthday girl as the journalist!

Sweet got a map of the train baby!! Alsooo the lounge looks suspiciously close to the conductor's car…

Well with that out of the way let's get started!!!

Oooohhhh ok cool cool cool got i

"This way there's always a neutral party" yes tails you go you smart cookie

Y'know it's very sweet of all of them to play along with the murder mystery roleplay. Everyone wish they have friends like that

Tails you adorable smart nugget how come you keep getting cuter and adorable by the minute 🥺✨

"My lore is that I'm a nosey person turned journalist" aww c'mon birthday girl don't bring yourself down lol

SUDDEN MYSTERIOUS SHAKE 

Oh wait it's just the train moving

Why is it even shaking THAT much???

Anndd screen goes dark, welp i guess that's it for the dining car scene for now

Aanndd that's all for part 1 hope you guys enjoy and see you guys around part 2!!