#thought i could air out the spaghetti boi

[tarnussy]

posting Rykard in Altus for no reason

[newlynova]

MDNI. every night you wake up in a cold sweat— arms and legs too heavy to move, tongue weighed down by blocks of cement. you can barely breathe on your own, stale air trapped in your lungs as the glowing eyes in the shadow of your bedroom watch you squirm. pinned under by the weight of darkness, it seems that the demon in the corner of your room wants to give you more of a reason to squirm. cw void!stiles stilinski, sleep paralysis, somnophilia, dubcon. 1k.

"you're finally awake, hm?" a low voice breathed into your ear, the ghost of a fingertip brushing along the thin strap of your tank top. their touch was cold, sending an uncontrollable shiver down your spine as their fingers danced along the length of your chest.

"but not truly, are you? if you were… you'd be recoiling from me in disgust, you'd be screaming," they gave a sharp tug on your spaghetti strap, pulling on the elastic band far enough that when released, it made a harsh smack against your skin, the pain from the snap would have made you wince, would have at least prompted a scared whimper from your lips. but, you could barely make a sound— your limbs betraying you, laying uselessly by your side.

the edge of the bed dipped under the weight of the demon, the shadow of the night concealing his features with a dark mask. "i can see why the boy is so fond of you," the figure murmured to himself, their voice barely above a whisper. their fingers danced up the curve of your shoulder, ghosting over your neck before settling beneath your jaw, shifting your head in their direction.

"you're a lot stronger than you seem… a lot more stubborn than i realized," the figure leaned over you, their face just mere inches from your own. "but, you're not strong enough to evade me. you're in my domain now, and i will not allow you to break free from me so easily."

underneath the pale white glow of the moon, you could finally see who the intruder was— your best friend, your childhood crush: stiles stilinski. but, it wasn't really stiles, was it? no. no, it wasn't.

his skin was too pale, and the warmth in his chocolate brown eyes had transformed into something more… predatory. the hold stiles maintained on your throat tightened, his chapped lips curling up into a wicked smile. it was as if the boy you knew had checked out, and something else, something darker had checked in instead.

"you're a beautiful girl, did you know that? with such a pretty face, i can understand why the boy has allowed you to consume his every waking thought," stiles gave your neck a gentle squeeze, your pulse growing faster beneath his grip. you could barely breathe, the cool slivers of air you were allowed in barely filling your lungs. "i think i'll keep you here… make you mine and toy with you whenever i need. how does that sound, hmm? for me to keep you around like a pet?"

stiles leaned closer, the tip of his nose mere centimeters away from yours. you could feel the coolness of his breath fanning over your lips, his hand twitching against your throat. you wanted to scream, to push him, to hit, to do something. but, your body was powerless and the weight of his control over you was suffocating.

his other hand lingered over your hip, thumb brushing along the curve of your hip bone before shifting over to the warmth between your legs. your stomach grew sour as he peeled your thighs apart, your limbs stiff as he opened your body up to him. the smile on his lips grew larger, the white pearls of his teeth exposed as a cheshire grin painted itself across his face.

"look at you," he whistled as he straightened back up, his eyes now locked on the sight of your vulnerability. a damp patch had formed at the front of your panties, the thin fabric clinging to the outline of your folds. "look at how your body betrays you, darling. i'm not even touching you yet… but, here you are… already wet and aching for me like the good little pet you're meant to be."

the hair along your arms and legs stood on end as stiles licked at his lips, a glint of hunger swirling in his eyes. you wanted to throw up, the feeling of his gaze on your body making you grow nauseous. "i can feel your mind fighting your body, darling," stiles's tone darkened, his voice dropping an octave as he shifted into a comfortable position between your legs. "you're trying to convince yourself that you don't want this… that your body doesn't want to be bent, and stretched, and spread by my hands,"

"but, guess what?" stiles tugged the silver zipper of his jeans down, the rustling of fabric making your mouth grow dry. "it's better if you don't fight it. you're mine now, after all, it'll be better in the long run if you give in now, darling."

the weight of stiles's cock slapping against your cunt almost made you jolt in surprise, the heaviness of his erection prompting your cunt to flutter around emptiness. your clit twitched beneath the weight, his hips grinding against you at a languid pace. you wanted to push him away, wanted to hate the feeling of his dominance consuming you. but, even under the spell of sleep paralysis, you couldn't quite push him away. at least, mentally.

"that's my good girl," stiles praised with a wolfish grin, his large hands cupping the back of your knees, forcing your legs up towards your chest. he had folded you into a position of his desire, pushing your panties to the side with one hand while the other squished your thighs together to keep you in place.

the head of his flushed cock glided through your messy pussy lips, collecting and smearing your arousal around before dipping slowly into your entrance. your brain couldn't fight against him anymore, the burning stretch of his cock diving deep into you almost coaxing a moan through your dry lips.

"open yourself up to me, pet," stiles grunted as his hips slowly began to rock into you, the hooked curve of his cock catching against the sensitive gooey spot along your walls with each thrust. your cunt clenched around his cock, strangling his length and drawing him in deeper and deeper. "and, let me make you mine."

[literary-motif]

I Don't Forgive You

Asirel Cain x Reader

Warnings: misogyny and profanities (you get to kill the guy that does it)

His sister's despicable ex shows up at Asriel's home. You get dinner.

“What?�� Asirel asked curtly, picking up the phone.

His employee stammered, clearly taken aback by his harshness. Asirel was not usually this brash with the people working for him — being calm, collected, and polite fed his image better — but today his schedule was rather busy and he did not care to be inconvenienced by frivolous things. 

“There uh,” the employee cleared their throat nervously. He rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue impatiently. “There is a ‘Richard’ here to see you, sir.”

Asirel frowned, his eyes darting to his calendar. He had no meeting scheduled for today, least of all at his own home. “A what?” he huffed, distantly recalling the name being dropped in conversation before. 

Richard. It sounded familiar. His sister had talked about a Richard when they had last met.

“Send him up,” he said, placing down the telephone.

“Oh and Richard, that jock-type bad boy I was seeing?” she had said, waving her fork in the air between them as she got excited about spilling some tea. “He’s history. Never met a man that entitled in my life and that’s saying something considering the dudes I’ve met. Anyways—”

He had smiled fondly at her, continuing to eat the spaghetti as he listened to her talk about the cute woman she had met at the butcher shop. 

How had his sister’s ex found his way here?

The door to his study was thrown open violently, bouncing off the wall with a loud bang. A disheveled man stepped inside, not bothering with an introduction as he barged in.

He rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache forming. He did not have time for this nonsense or whatever the hell this Richard wanted. He could see you standing in the doorway, silently hovering by Richard’s shoulder as you took in the scene before you and gave Asirel a raised eyebrow. 

You looked both incredulous and amused. ‘Who’s he?’ you mouthed, pointing to the guy and chuckling quietly at his behavior. Most of all, you were shocked at Asirel for allowing it. 

He rolled his eyes at your question.

“Listen, man,” Richard said, slamming his hands down on Asirel’s desk and looming over him in an effort to appear threatening. Out of the corner of his eyes, Asirel could see you slap a hand over your mouth to keep from laughing. Impassively, he continued to look at the Buffon in front of him as you licked your lips in anticipation. 

Oh, today you would have a feast.

“Listen, I don’t know what that bitch told you” — Asirel blinked, expression unreadable — “but I didn’t do shit to her, alright? She can come off her fucking high horse and call me back, yeah? Damn man, tell a woman to suck you off once and she gets all pissy, right?”

Your mouth hung open in shock, eyes wide as you looked at the Richard guy. Shit, the tea was real. Shit, oh that guy was dead. 

“That whore can’t tell me anything, yeah? Fucking slapped me when I pushed her to her knees, you hear me? Can’t believe I took her out for dinner for that. See, I’m a nice guy, but sometimes sluts just piss me off.”

Asirel did not betray his thoughts. 

The silence in the study was thick, laden with tension that the guy only now seemed to catch up on. His slight panting was the only thing breaking the silence as Asirel pinned him in place with a look. 

Richard suddenly grew uncomfortable as he took in the room around him, catching up to the fact that he was standing in Asirel’s quiet but threatening presence, whose aura seemed to darken with every second he breathed in his company.

He chuckled nervously. “Right, man?”

You could not contain your laughter anymore, snorting as you heard the guy’s heartbeat pick up in a sudden surge of fear. “Can I?” you asked, giddy with excitement as you tried your best to give Asirel convincing puppy eyes. “Oh please, I am literally begging you.”

“Just one moment,” Asirel said, slowly rising and taking one of his overflowing binders to slap it down on the guy’s hands, successfully getting them off his desk as Richard jumped back. He stared into the confused and fearful gaze of the scum sullying the peacefulness of his study.

For a moment, he contemplated ending Richard himself. 

It would be an easy thing. Asirel could beat him to death with one of the iron rods he used to tend to the fireplace beside him. He could probably beat him to death with his bare fists as well, watch as the life left his eyes and the useless jerk went limp in his grip for daring to talk about his sister in such a way.

He could kill Richard. Draw it out and have his screams of pain echo through the mansion until he tore his throat to shreds and all he could muster would be a strangled plea for mercy that Asirel longed to deny him.

He could do all that if he wanted to. 

Taking a breath, Asirel sat down again. “You’re not worth the effort,” he said, returning to his papers. “Don’t make too much of a mess,” he added as you stepped up to the guy, making him jump as he felt your breath on his neck. 

“What the fuck?” he exclaimed, trying to take a step back. You took hold of him, pushing him to the ground with no effort. 

His death was quicker than you’d liked, but Asirel did say not to make too much of a mess and the screaming and desperate pleading was annoying both of you. 

“Think I need an aspirin after that one,” you said, wiping the remnants of blood from your mouth. You were quite proud of yourself. Not a single drop of it had stained the carpet. 

“Agreed,” Asirel said, shuffling his papers.

“On a scale of one to ten though, he was maybe like a three?” you said, snatching some papers from his desk and disinterestedly leafing through them. “Tell your sister to get in touch with tastier people next time.”

“I’ll pass on the request.”

You laughed, tossing the papers back to him. Asirel reassembled the stack with a groan. “He had some balls showing up here.”

“He had no brain,” he said, resting his head on his hand and looking up at you sitting on the edge of his desk. “What kind of idiot thinks it is a good idea to seek out me to insult my sister? That is insane.”

“People are insane sometimes,” you said, stretching. “So, any crazy ex I need to be worried about when it comes to you?”

“Certainly not.” 

He fished out an aspirin, passing you the container. You took it in amusement, relishing that Asirel had not caught up on your joke. He would grunt at his absentmindedness come morning when you reminded him that drugs did not work on vampires. 

“I’ve never had the time for a relationship. You see how work takes up most of my life.” 

You hummed, running a hand through his hair, which he quickly batted away. “Good thing you’ve got me then, boss.”

“That’s not what you should call me.”

“Oh, I meant to tell you, but then I totally forgot. Sorry about that,” his sister would say the next time he called to check up on her, “I gave Richard your address. He wouldn’t stop bothering me and I honestly couldn’t take it anymore. Also, I thought your little pet would appreciate a home delivery, my treat.”

“They told me his blood left something to be desired and that you should choose your partners more carefully from now on.”

“Really? Well they’re not one to talk.”

“Play nice.”

[juniperss]

This is Our Space

Darry Curtis x Reader

A/N: Based off of this gif and maybe a bit out of character but i mean....come on!!! Consider this an AU of sorts!

This was originally written on my main account a few years ago but I decided to move it here since I don't change this URL as often and it makes easier to find my writing! Also It's been a while since I wrote these so I'd like to think that I've improved somewhat since then!

Almost any other guy in the neighborhood would've been embarrassed to admit he was working as a dance instructor part time up at the lake over the summer. But Darry Curtis wasn't like the other guys in the neighborhood. People were either too scared of him or respected him too much to say anything, even the Socs left him alone for the most part. Only Soda had the guts to laugh when it was announced that the younger Curtis boys would need to keep the chores up at the house while Darry was gone.

“Hasn't it been like four years since you've danced?” Soda inquired once the laughter died down, plopping onto the couch next to Ponyboy. Darry ignored the question. It had been a while. He hadn't had much reason to dance after their parents died. Didn't have the time either. It hadn't been his plan to teach dance when he sent in an application for an extra job, but when the head of the activities department had seen his name and recalled how well he played ball, in addition to how he remembered his daughter fawning over him dancing at the high school formal, it had been sealed. So when Darry wasn't fixing houses or helping the grounds keeper with the cabins he was found in the back building reserved for dance lessons. But he wasn't going to shrug off the good pay he'd receive.

Setting up the studio hadn't been hard once he'd cracked the windows to let it cool off. The smell of the lake was carried on the breeze and if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine he was on a vacation instead of working. But that image of him with his fishing pole enjoying the sun on his face and the quiet around him was wiped away at the sound of the door squeaking as it opened. “Hi.” The greeting was soft, quiet, almost nervous at the notion of being there and as Darry turned around it seemed his intuition was correct. You were nervous.

“Hey.” It was a lame return of introductions but small talk wasn't really his area of expertise. For a moment the two of you stared at one another from across the room. He observed the way you fiddled with the strap of your bag that was slung over your shoulder, your fingers tugging absentmindedly at the pink material. You were most definitely a Soc, but there was an aura of humility about you that didn't make him want to retreat immediately.

“You can put your stuff down.”

If Dally was here he'd probably make a joke about the way your eyes widened or about the way you ducked your head as you carefully set your things down. But Darry only shook his head to himself before walking over to the stereo. “I'm Darry. You know how to dance? At all?”

“Uh I don't. I mean I can slow dance kind of....”

Darry had to bite back a sigh and instead settled for a small nod.

“Okay.”

“Those are spaghetti arms.” Darry corrected, his hand leaving your waist to grab your arm. His grip was firm, his calloused fingers digging into your soft skin. The room had been quiet since the two of you began going over the basics only the music playing in the background. He'd told you to ignore it for now and to focus on the movement. “Like this.” Darry nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips as your form improved. At least....you thought it was a hint of a smile. 

“This is my dance space,” Darry let go of your arm and motioned to the air in front of him before doing the same thing in front of you, “This is your dance space. I don't go into yours. You don't go into mine.”

Once again Darry took your hand in his and placed the other on your waist. The warmth of your skin didn't go unnoticed. You were watching your feet, trying to memorize the way he gracefully led you in the dance. It seemed so natural to Darry and you couldn't help but be impressed by how fluid he was. “Look up. Your feet will figure it out.”

His instructions were always firm and stern and at first it had taken you aback, but you realized as you forced your eyes away from the floor to look at him, that his eyes were softer than his tone. And that the way he held your hand and waist were intentionally gentle. Darry was less intimidating then he let on.

It had been two weeks since you two had started lessons and Darry was surprised that he hadn't grown to dislike you. Finding people he got along with was difficult as he wasn't talkative and his stoic expression and attitude tended to keep people from wanting to talk to him. But you seemed to warm up to him after the first day and though he wanted to be annoyed by your smiles and questions, Darry found that he was actually excited to come to class. He liked the way you still glanced down at your feet every now and then, more so now that you had accidentally stepped on his toes more than once, before you snapped your gaze back up to look at him with that shy smile. He didn’t mind answering your questions about his work on houses, talking about his brothers and the gang. He liked that you remembered little things like how he took his coffee and his addiction to chocolate cake. He enjoyed sitting on the deck, dangling your feet over the edge and sipping on lemonade when you two would take breaks from dancing. 

“Darry?”

He blinked twice as his eyes focused on your face. It surprised him how close your face was to his, the distance between you two almost non-existent, and instantly his cheeks flushed a soft pink. You were still following his lead. But when Darry went to step away the hand in his squeezed gently and held him where he was. The music continued and the technical dancing morphed into a swaying with your chest brushing against his, your fingers moving from his shoulder to the back of his neck until they curled into his hair. You were both surprised by the confidence that seemed to have taken control of you  body and for a split moment you wondered if you had gone too far and ruined the moment. Until Darry leaned forward to rest his forehead against yours, lips brushing against yours testing the waters that he so desperately wanted to jump into.

“Please...”

You practically pleaded, voice once again a whisper. He responded with the same firmness and care that he showed every time he took your hand in his, but with this kiss came an uncertainty that was new. You could taste lemonade on his lips and hummed sweetly against him, only parting when air became a necessity.

“You know...you're...you're... in my dance space.” You teased, stepping back away from him, mimicking his motion from the first day.

For a moment the joke hung in the air between the two of you until Darry laughed. It was a deep rumbling that started in his chest, warm and somehow comforting and exhilarating at the same time. The smile on your face grew and grew until you were sure it couldn't get any bigger before you too began to laugh as well.

[gachawolfiebloom]

SMG4 Tale

Chapter 1: Falling Down

What was supposed to be a nice day for a hike in the forest had turned into a constant headache thanks to Mario's whining and complaining. Five minutes in and the Italian was throwing out the common excuses of

"Mario's feet hurt!"

"Mario is-a too tired! Someone carry him!"

"Mario's hungry! Can we go back to the castle?"

"Go on...without...Mario...*cough*"

This was all just because Mario hated getting his exercise and would rather watch TV or eat a plate of spaghetti than go outside. Smg4 was absolutely fed up already as he groaned and told his best friend "Mario, we've only been walking for five minutes." Meggy sighed and tried to convince him "Come on Mario. It's not that bad. It's good to get the fresh air in your lungs and look at nature."

"Pffff what is Mario? A caveman?"

To be honest, Smg4 wasn't sure about this either. It was nice to spend time with his friends, but he could be working on his latest video right now. Those memories of being chased around in the woods at night, only to find out the watermelon man was Melony's dad. And all those horror games Mario forced him to play where they would throw the classic situation of walking around in a spooky forest with nothing, but a flashlight.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Meggy suddenly stopped and said "Uh Smg4...has this mountain always been here?" The other two came up to see what she was looking at. There stood a giant mountain that looked oddly familiar, but Four couldn't remember from where. "I don't think so. It seems a little tall to be from around here." Mario approached the mountain and began kicking the base, screaming "Move you stupid rock!" You're blocking the way!" Meggy looked around and said "It's too wide to go around so I guess we'll have to climb it."

"Uggggg Mario doesn't want to!" Smg4 motioned "I second that. This thing could take hours to climb." Meggy didn't listen and started up. "Come on guys. Let's just check it out for a second. If it's too tall we can just head back." The boys watched her, still unsure as Four sighed. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick peek...right? He carefully followed Meggy behind with Mario's brain still stuck on a loading screen.

"Hey! Wait for Mario!" Both had already taken off. Didn't this seem a little weird? Climbing a strange mountain that didn't belong. Maybe they should have just booked it out of there, but these intrusive thoughts of Four were telling him to make his way up there. Mario tried to catch up with his friends, refusing to be left out. He then noticed a sign that was poking out of the ground on one of the cliffs and Mario stopped.

Mario's face began to melt into panic as he studied the message. The walls felt like they were closing in, until everything went back to normal and Mario shrugged. "Sorry Mr sign, but Mario doesn't like to read. Oh well." He continued on his merry way while the sign said "WARNING: Do not go into the cave at the top of Mt Ebott. Those who climb this mountain have never returned. I repeat, DO NOT GO INTO THE CAVE AT ALL COSTS!" Meggy and Four were almost to the top at a steady pace while Mario was racing to beat them.

He used the umping abilities he developed over the course of many games to quickly get to the top. "Hey! Don't leave Mario-" All of them were looking down a giant opening in the ground. "Ooooo look! A strange hole in the ground!" Meggy was curious, wondering "How far down do you think it goes?" It seemed foolish to test it. I mean there was some vines and small cliffs you could use to climb down a little. You'd have to be someone really stupid or gullible to even try to go down there. Then Mario got an idea. An awful idea. Mario got a wonderfully, awful idea.

"I don't know and I don't want to find out." Four then noticed that Mario was looking at him with a conniving grinch face. "Mario dares Smg4 to climb down that hole."

"WHAT!? NO! WHAT HAPPENS IF I FALL!?" Meggy nodded and said "He's right Red. That's not very safe." Mario didn't listen and began teasing Four to get him to go down. "You're being a whiny baby Smg4. Just climb down to that platform...unless you're too scared." Now this was Four's weakness. That and a million other things. But every time someone challenged or pressured him to do something, he never missed an opportunity to prove them wrong. "I'm not scared!"

Mario was not thinking of the dangers at all and continued with the banter. "Oh lookie Meggy! Smg4 is scared! He's too chicken to climb down!" Mario began mocking him by making chicken noises and laughing at him. "You're afraid of the dark! You're afraid of heights! You're afraid to go alone!"

"No..."

"Stop it Mario!"

Neither of them were paying attention to her as Four wasn't sure what to do. It was made pretty clear you would be stuck if you fell, but all Mario was asking him to do was jump down to a platform that was a few meters away. The teasing and laughter got the better of him as he told them "Fine! I'll prove it! Watch me!"

"What are you doing Smg4!?" Meggy questioned as he reasoned "I'm not going to let him call me chicken! Let me just get it over with and then we'll leave." Four grabbed a nearby vine and started climbing down. His friends watched him, Mario in excitement and Meggy in concern. Carefully he swung over to the ledge that was pointed out to him and he leaned his back up against the wall. A few minutes later, he called out "Alright! I did it! I'm coming up now!" Meggy breathed a sigh of relief as Four started heading back up.

All was going well until he felt a tug on his foot. "Huh?" He looked down and saw his foot caught in a vine on the ledge. He struggled, but it was really tangled and the plant had a strong grip. "Uh...timeout guys. I've got a problem here." Meggy bended over and saw the issue. She facepalmed and said "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Wut?" She pointed a finger in the Italian's face and said "Because of your stupid dare, Four is stuck!" Mario looked down, noticing Four tussling to pull the vine off. "Uh oh..." Meggy wanted to slap herself again, but consoled Four's nerves by telling him "Hang on Four! We'll find something to pull you up." They began tying vines together to make a rope. Four kept struggling when he thought he heard a snap. His eyes widened and he looked down to see the vine he was caught in was starting to break. "Hurry guys! I don't know how long this vine will last!"

"And...done!" The two of them thew the rope of vines down and called out "Grab this!" Four reached his hand out to grab the rope, but it was too late. The vine had snapped into pieces and Four lost his balance, sending him falling down the hole. "SMG4! NOOOOOOO!" Mario cried out, extending his arm. Meggy held her hands over her mouth in horror. They were speechless, tears fighting to get out.

Meggy's trembling hands clenched into fists as she swung around and yelled "MARIO YOU IDIOT! THIS IS ALL YOU FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T MADE THAT STUPID BET WITH HIM, THEN FOUR WOULD BE OKAY! BUT HE'S GONE NOW! HE'S GONE AND-"  Mario took back the dumb things he said in great regret and said "Mario's so so sorry! He just meant it as a funny joke! He didn't mean to make Smg4 fall! Pinky swear!" Forcing Four to do something so stupid and reckless. How could he have done that to his best friend?

"Smg4 will be okie dokie right?" She sniffed and said "I don't know Mario." She carefully got up and said with a croaking voice "But maybe we can still save him. Let's go home right now and get out friends to form a rescue party." Mario definitely agreed to that plan, ready to fix this mess, but he still found himself just staring down the hole. Who knows what could be happening to Smg4 right now. Whatever it was, Four was going to be incredibly pissed once he got out. Meggy could sense Mario's deep worry and placed a hand on his shoulder. They started to head down the mountain as Meggy called out "Don't worry Smg4! We'll get you help! Just stay right there!"

...

"Ugh...what happened?"

Four opened his eyes as he felt a slim ray of light on his face. It took him a while to gain back his memories, but then it all came flooding back to him. Mario had dared him to jump down and he had stupidly agreed. God, what was he thinking? Why didn't he think this through? Sitting up, he felt something underneath him. A bed of beautiful golden flowers on a patch of grass. Is this why he didn't die? I mean, the fall was pretty far down. Four observed more of his surroundings and saw a hallway past the flowers. The added darkness made it a little creepy.

"Oh absolutely not! I'll take my chances climbing out of here instead!" Four instantly sprung out of the bed that had saved his life. Not even one bit of gratefulness. He was probably too blinded by sheer panic. Desperately, he tried grabbing onto the wall and scrambling his way up in hopes of escaping, but he kept slipping off. It wouldn't work anyway. The opening was way too far away for someone to climb their way to escape. His next option...screaming!

Hey began yelling as loud as he could "MARIO!? MEGGY!? ARE YOU THERE!?" No response. Maybe someone else nearby would hear him. He began calling out the names of his other friends, wishing anyone would answer and help him. "SMG3!? TARI!? SAIKO!? BOOPKINS!? BOB!? SOMEONE!? ANYONE!?" He kept screaming to the point that his voice became quite hoarse. Slowly he rested his head against the cold, cavernous wall and whimpered. He slid down to the ground and buried himself in his knees, whispering "Please...someone...help me..."

Suddenly...he heard...a voice?

Smg4 tilted his head up and glanced down the hallway, hearing someone mumbling. He couldn't quite make out who it was, but at least it could be someone who would help him. He stood up and forced himself to go through the dark hallway. As he got closer, the mumbling got louder.

"Finally...someone has finally fell down..."

"The final pure soul I need...."

At the end of the hall was a huge doorway that held a room with nothing, but a small patch of grass in the middle. Four peeked his head around to see an ominous figure standing on that little spot and worked up the courage to investigate. "Uh...hello?" He reached his hand out shakily to the person while he thought "Is this a bad idea?"

The guy looked behind him as he jumped back in surprise. Four pulled his arm back, but he still couldn't see the stranger clearly because of the lighting. "Who are you?" Finally, the person sighed and stepped out into the light, offering a warm smile. Four was suddenly taken aback as he instantly knew who this was.

"NILES!?"

Niles waved and said "Howdy new friend! I'm Niles! Niles the Meme Guardian! Well, actually an artificial one, but it's fine!" His smile looked a little fake when he said that last part. Smg4 was at a lost for words as he stuttered "B-But w-we defeated you! I thought you died!" Niles looked at him confused and said "You must be new here to the underground. Aren't you?"

"Um...I guess so?"

Niles made a playful shrug and said "You must be so confused." This time Four shot back in a more stern tone "Actually, I have no idea what the heck is going on here!" Niles thought to himself for a moment and told Four "Someone must teach you how things work around down here!" He looked around as if he was checking to see if anyone was there when he knew he was the only one. "I guess you're stuck with me! Ready?"

"NO!"

"Here we go!"

He snapped his fingers and Four suddenly felt a strange feeling inside him. He looked down and saw a heart that was glowing bright red in his body. "What the hell!? What did you do to me!?" Niles ignored his anger and pointed at it. "See that heart? That is your soul. The very culmination of your being!" Four looked at him in displeasure and rolled his eyes. "Yeah. No kidding Sherlock, but why is it glowing?"

Niles ignored him again and continued on. "Your soul starts off weak, but you can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV." Four started to ask him "What does L-" but Niles already knew what he was going to say and told him "What does LV stand for you ask? Why LOVE of course!" Four gave him a deer in headlights look when Niles inched closer to him, making things really awkward. "You want some LOVE don't you?" Four began to tense up. Was Niles seriously hitting on him or was he just having a weird dream because of the fall?

"Don't worry! I'll share some with you!" Niles gave him a playful wink and made a stance like a video game character posing. Okay...things were getting really freaky now. He then created a bunch of glowing balls that was most certainly meme energy. "Down here, LOVE is shared through these little round orbs." Was Niles playing him like a fool? Smg4 was a meme guardian too y'know.

Niles directed the spheres around him and instructed the blue eyed man "Move around! Get as many as you can!" Smg4 was beyond confused on why Niles would try to get him to interact with his meme energy, but he shrugged it off. Eh...why not? Hopefully it would transport him out of this hellhole. He reached out and touched one, but was immediately shocked by a course of pain. "OW!"

Niles started laughing and said "YOU IDIOT! In this world, it's kill or be killed!" Four became incredibly panicked when he saw Niles' eyes turn to red and he flashed an evil smile. Four tried to run back out the door, but multiple orbs blocked his path. "Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!?" The balls of evil energy closed in on Four, surrounding him until he was trapped with no way out. "DIE."

He laughed manically as the orbs drew closer and closer. Four couldn't bear to watch this and shut his eyes tight, screaming out "SOMEONE HELP!" The spheres were about to attack him when out of nowhere they just...disappeared? Niles tilted his head in confusion while Four opened one eye to see what happened.

Just then, another seeping ball of light came from behind Niles and knocked him into the wall. Four kept staring at the unconscious man before a girl emerged from the shadows. "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent boy..." Smg4 whipped his eyes around when he recognized that voice. "Ah, do not be afraid sir. I am Melony, the caretaker of the Ruins." Four was instantly overjoyed that one of his friends had finally come to save him. He rushed up and threw his arms around her, crying "Melony! I'm so glad to see you!"

She warmly smiled at him and said "Of course. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down." He slowly let go as she told him "You are the first one to come here in a long time." Four's smile soon faded when he realized something. "How did you get down here?"

"What do you mean? I've lived her for ages! But that's besides the point. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Melony turned around and signaled him to follow her with a wavering hand. "This way." She went through another doorway in front of her as Four ran after her. "Wait!"

Little did Four know, this was the beginning of a long journey...

[dieaverage]

ROSE-COLORED BOY — eddie munson x female reader as childhood friends to enemies to friends again to sickeningly-in-love lovers

eddie munson x female reader

series summary: six months after the death of your mother darlene byers, you return to hawkins, indiana to try and make sense of everything. what you don’t anticipate is how much running into him on your first night back, five years after your desertion, will break your heart (and his) all over again.

author’s note: hi! going to be so unapologetically real with you all and say i have no clue of where this is headed, but after my hyper-fixating ass decided to host an eddie munson revival party of one on the cusp of the year of our lord 2024, i knew i had to write something so other people could at least be subjected to the workings of my mind. i hope you like it, and if you don’t, well, that’s a you problem i fear! but seriously if you do have any ideas/directions you would like to see this heading, please please please do not hesitate to let me know! this is my first time posting any of my work on tumblr *gasp* so i mean it when i say criticism is warmly welcomed. <3

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chapter one — spaghetti and meatballs

word count: 1.6k+

NEXT

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A thin mist descended upon the forested thoroughfare to the town you once felt you knew so well, though were no longer so sure. The weighty four-worded acknowledgement bounced around in your head over and over as you approached the deceptively disarming "Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana" sign, so heavily you were almost convinced it was rousing a sleeping migraine, and yet no matter how many times you repeated the seemingly familiarising phrase under bated breath, it felt no less alien to you.

After all, this was never truly your home. Countless summers spent at your cousins' house, even four begrudgingly defining years clocked up at Hawkins High School, had never allowed you to feel like you had earned the right to label it as such. It was your mother's home, as if she had beat you to staking any claim on it, and now that she was no longer around, any ties you thought you might have had to it felt well and truly severed.

Precarious ties aside, it was here you found yourself, in Hawkins. Mere months after the death of your mother. The offer had unfalteringly been there, "whe- if- it ever gets to be too much, Daphne, you know you can come stay with me and the boys", and yet your eventual acceptance of it made you feel nothing short of an imposter.

Any hopes for a discreet arrival were instantaneously dashed as your Cavalier pulled onto the unforgiving gravelly driveway, your tires connecting with the stones to create a disturbance you were sure could have woken any nearby animals out of hibernation, had they assumed an early one. Hawkins air had a perpetually wintry quality, after all. The front door swung open before you even had a chance to remove your keys from the ignition, and the sight of the emerging sixteen year old boy unwillingly brought a beaming smile to your face.

"Daphne!!!!" he called out, advancing towards you at an incredible and equally terrifying speed.

"Hi, Will!" a laugh couldn't help but escape your lips as he wrapped you into a tight hug, the force of which setting you off balance momentarily. He used to be so... delicate. "You've gotten so big!"

"He's got what, like, a foot on you now?" a voice exclaimed from the doorway, the discerning sarcasm of it all widening your already unshakeable grin.

"Lovely to see you too, Jonathan. And it's a couple inches, at best!"

Soon the three of you were embraced in a group hug, which although you would never admit it, had been long overdue. The slight stinging sensation in your eyes signalling the impending flood of tears prompted your swift ejection from the embrace. "So, where is my darling pseudo sister?" you questioned as you walked through the threshold of the Byers abode, attempting to inject some humour into what had already become a far too confronting display of emotions, and almost as if on cue Joyce emerged from the adjoining room.

"Oh, Daphne!" she cried out, consuming you in a hug that could only be described as motherly. You felt it considerably harder to fight back the tears this time. "Hi, Joyce." you exhaled into her shoulder, trying with all your might to resist crumbling in her arms right there. You had been alone for, what, six months? This exhibition of emotion, or rather, the suppression of it, left you feeling weak, and was perhaps the very reason you had avoided coming for so long.

Darlene would never have earned an award for her maternity, and you often thought that if there were such a scale to measure someone who would, your own mother would, against all odds, find a way to fall below it. She wasn't well, that much had been evident for the entirety of your time together, and increasingly so in the end, but in her wake you wondered how much longer you could accept it as an excuse. Above all else, you felt abandoned. Joyce, and the boys, they were wonderful. Truthfully speaking, Joyce had been more of a mother to you in your formative years than Darlene ever was, and Will and Jonathan, they would always be your little brothers as far as you were concerned. But still, in their house now, observing the three of them together, you helplessly felt like a guest, as if years of intimacy had been erased. Nothing had occurred to suggest this, of course. No, these thoughts were all of your own creation, from the mind you had so wished to desert so many times in the last six months.

“Daphne, honey, you must be starving. What can I whip up for us?”

"Spaghetti and meatballs, Mom, please?" Will exhorted, snapping you out of your self imposed hypnotic state.

"I think we should let Daphne choose, Will." Joyce sweetly urged him. "Daphne, what would you like?" You looked up at her from your place on the couch which you hadn't even recalled assuming, and then over to Will who was waiting in anticipation for your answer.

"Spaghetti and meatballs sounds great. Gotta love Italian!" you exclaimed, and Will and Jonathan high-fived quietly from across the room. Joyce shared a knowing look with you and giggled before turning back towards the kitchen. It brought a certain degree of reassurance to you that some things truly never change, one of which being the Byers boys' inability to grow up.

"Joyce," you scurry behind her, "thank you. I- it's been a... weird couple months, but being with y'all, it's already helping."

"Oh, Daphne," Joyce pushed a stray strand of hair behind your ear, "I thought about you constantly. I wanted to make the trip down to Austin, to be there for you, but with the boys and then work-"

"I know. It's okay. I'm here now. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Easier said than done." Joyce gave an unassured look. "Please, just... don't hesitate to talk to me, okay? If it's too much. You're like a daughter to me, Daphne, and I know the boys think of you as a big sister. This is your home. For as long as you want it to be."

You promptly gave her a cuddle, hoping it could express your gratitude in a way you knew your words couldn't without risk of activating the waterworks, before announcing, "Hey, I think I might head out for a while after dinner. Check out that booming Hawkins nightlife. I can't even remember the last time I got a drink here."

"And legally, at that!" Joyce countered playfully, you giving her a slight push to quiet down, afraid that Will or Jonathan might wish to learn a thing or two of your teenage antics, ammunition you certainly were not ready to equip them with.

"Hey, I handled my alcohol well, okay!" you argued, though not compellingly.

"Law enforcement might disagree." she laughed, her head elsewhere, presumably recalling your countless run ins with the Hawkins police department.

"Okay yes, somewhat of a troubled teen..." you admitted, "but you know, I got over it. I went to college. I grew up." Joyce met your eyes with a smile, "I know you did. I'm so proud of you, Daph."

Eventually, dinner was ready, and the group had no sooner sat down at the dinner table before Will had engulfed the contents of his plate, now proudly demonstrating its emptiness to Joyce. "Finished! Can I please go to Mike's now?" he asked her with eyes so wide you feared they could momentarily eject from their sockets, making the question posed that much sweeter.

"Alright, alright." she giggled, "Just be careful, okay? Biking at a reasonable speed will not hinder your chances of escaping dungeons or slaying dragons, I promise."

Will met his mother's failed attempt at understanding his favourite game with an unforgiving roll of the eyes before the table burst into laughter with Will pulling Joyce into a hug, and then Jonathan.

"See you later, Daphne!" he exclaimed before wrapping his arms around you and hurriedly darting out the front door, leaving you once again with an aching smile plastered on your face. What a sweet boy, you thought to yourself.

"A couple hours and he already has Daphne wrapped around his finger!" Jonathan said jokingly, sending both you and Joyce into laughter once again. "What can I say, he's a good kid!"

"Once upon a time, you were too, Jonathan!" you said wiggling your finger at him with an air of mockery, giving a playful nudge to his shoulder before grabbing your bag and heading out the door.

Closing the door behind you, you catch sight of Will wheeling his bike down the rough driveway. "Hey, wait up!"

Even from a distance you could make out his cheesy grin, and you couldn't help but think about what a heartbreaker he would make one day.

"So, Will the Wise! Off to another campaign?" you proclaim as you reach him, and the use of his nickname only causes his smile to grow wider.

"You remembered?"

"How could I forget?! I was only gone a couple years. Will the Wise's legacy, now that will last centuries." you tease.

"I really missed you, Daphne. So did Mom, almost as much as Jonathan!"

"Jonathan? Wow, he said that? Can we get that in writing?"

"Seriously!" he slapped your arm lightly as the briefly shared portion of your journey came to a close, preparing to mount his bike for the ride to the Wheeler house, "I'm so glad you're home."

With what felt suspiciously like watering eyes approaching, you swallowed harshly before taking his hand in yours. "Me too."

[candiedspit]

HEARSE

I kill the world with only my little fingers. I kill Joss beneath the shade of the everglade and Ludwig with chewing gum in his mouth. Pew! I kill Molly painting her nails. I kill my own momma out on the porch with a long cigarette between her teeth. Pew! I don’t have a daddy to kill. I topple onto the lawn, all skinny limbs and big ideas. Remember this moment. And the weight of the light. I aim for the grinning sun. My back presses against the grass.

And I shoot.

—

It was summertime.

I was eleven years old, an odd limbo state; too young to hang with the teenagers but too old to play in the sandbox. And all around me, the sun fell like a fist. Most of my time was spent with Ludwig and Joss, kids I went to school with who lived on the next block in the slant of the culdesac. We played everything: Armageddon, House, finger guns.

Sometimes we went to the movie theatre and watched giant cowboys complete giant shoot outs in the cool glisten of the air conditioning. My older sister Molly hogged the fan at home as she spoke into the telephone all afternoon. Molly spoke in tongues: an assortment of boys and red carpets and what certain motions meant. I thought her more knowledgeable than any of us though I would never admit it. Momma sat out on the porch playing cards with our neighbors, laughing amok, laughing arrows into the air. Sometimes we went to our uncle’s house where Momma drank from green bottles and sung along real low along with the radio. I liked when she sung.

Most of the time we stayed on our street, Bends Street, pinging from corner to corner; flailing into the net of our imaginations. Ludwig was my age and clever at numbers. He liked to play out whatever scenes he saw on television that weekend: art museum robberies, police investigations. Joss was still only ten. I felt I had to protect him against the needle of the light. He liked to crush bugs between his fingers; to see what iridescent colors the guts made. Sometimes, we hung out with Ryder. He often hung around like a restless specter; chewing on gobs of cheap tobacco and spitting on the ground. Ryder was thirteen, almost fourteen. He gave himself tattoos with a sewing needle and blue ink. On his thigh was a drunk kitten. His shoulder read: I AM THE LIGHT in large, crooked letters. I once thought Ryder was the epitome of everything a man could be. He was the tall tree of manhood I aspired to climb. I wanted to be like him until I realized he was still only a boy with miles of skin.

When I was nine, he took me to the back of his house. He kneeled down and reached beneath the wooden stairs. There, he had a bird in a box. A finch.

What’s wrong with her? I asked.

Her wing’s all broken, he said.

What should we do? I asked him, looking at the slow way the bird blinked.

Not we. Here, he said, placing a cool rock in my hand. My heart ran.

What do you mean? I asked.

You’re going to put this bird out of her misery, he said. It’s hurt. It needs to be put out. Come on, you’re not gonna be a pussy about this are you?

I’m not, I defended. I’m not being a pussy.

Then, he said.

I gripped the rock. And the sunlight fell.

I still see the bird’s eyes in the dark sometimes.

—

It was one in the afternoon. A wishbone sat pressed against the window pane, left to dry in the brittle rain of sun. A single, orange dead tulip. The television playing The Wondrous Misadventures of Quack and Kazoo. Momma outside cracking the deck with her hands as her friends drank bottles. Molly was wearing a white spaghetti strap and hanging upside down from the couch. I was halfway through with my popsicle when a sudden commotion interrupted the scene. A commotion will do that. Someone knocked on the door while Ludwig peered in through the front window. I went to open the door and Joss spilled in, Ludwig trailing behind like a planet’s moon.

What’s going on? I asked.

Guess what we saw, Joss said. You won’t ever know but guess.

What?

A limo-zeen! Joss exclaimed. It was black and huge.

Headed towards the main street, Ludwig added.

Let’s go catch it, Joss said. Maybe it’s the President. Or ShooMama from the Shotguns! And maybe she’ll sign my chest. Do you have a pen?

The President would have pens, Ludwig said.

Let’s go, I said.

Shut the door! Molly said from the couch.

Where you going? Momma asked.

There’s a limo in town, we’re gonna go catch it.

Careful, she said. Love you.

As a trio, we walked from Bends Street towards the main street which was where the parents did their shopping. The police station. A library. We sat against the wall of the supermarket, our knees drawn to our chests. Out of nowhere, seemingly out of Heaven, there came Ryder in his cologne of sweat and golden dust, smoking a cigarette.

What are you kooks up to? He asked.

We’re waiting on a limo, I said. Joss said he saw one.

Maybe it’s a supermodel, he said. Supermodels like to pretend they’re like us.

Half an hour passed in the length of our shadows.

A woman tried to give us a dollar but Ryder told her to fuck off. I liked the way he said it, as though demanding a door open itself. Another few minutes; we were getting red. I got up to stretch. I pretended to take a puff from Ryder’s cigarette and coughed myself out.

As we were about to return home to bother Molly and steal the television, — a long, black car came passing through the street. It brought a presence so divisive I wondered if it actually was the president. There were flowers crowning the back shaped in a heart. The gleam of the car hurt my eyes. Joss and Ludwig leapt from where they’d been sitting and began to wave their arms through the air; I waved with my hand, hoping to get a glimpse of whoever was inside.

Ryder sat in silence.

Not once did he reveal to us what we didn’t know. Perhaps he felt it wasn’t his responsibility to peel back the flesh of truth; to reveal what went on out there in the glorious, awful world. It was enough to soak in the elation for a few minutes. It was enough that the sunlight was thin enough to peer through. He must have known.

Even a second outside of the heat was enough.

[wasabidottie]

midnight swim (Jschlatt)

A/n: Thank you guys for all the love on "my boy" i tried to include a bit more of soft schlatt, soooo we'll see how this goes :)

Summer camp had always been a place of adventure, a chance for kids to escape from their everyday lives and embrace the thrill of the unknown. For you and Schlatt, that summer was no different. It was a place where friendships were forged, and memories were made, although neither of you would have guessed it at first.

Your first encounter with Schlatt was far from pleasant. On the very first day, he had managed to spill a plate of spaghetti all over your clean camp t-shirt. You couldn't help but shoot him an annoyed glare, and he had responded with a wink and a "Sorry, Toots" that only fueled your irritation.

For the next few days, you two barely exchanged a civil word. Schlatt seemed to revel in getting on your nerves, and you couldn't stand his cocky attitude. It was a classic case of oil and water.

But the summer air held the promise of transformation, and the relentless charm of camp life began to erode your initial irritation. Slowly, begrudgingly, you began to see beyond Schlatt's antics. He had a knack for making you laugh when you least expected it, and there was an undeniable charisma that you couldn't ignore.

One hot, starry night, Schlatt couldn't sleep. The cabin was stifling, the air heavy with the day's heat. With an impulsive decision, he sneaked out, tiptoeing across the sleeping camp to reach the girls' cabin.

You awoke with a start as you felt someone gently shaking your shoulder. Groggily, you opened your eyes to see Schlatt crouched by your bed, a mischievous grin on his face.

"What are you doing here?" you whispered, trying not to wake the other girls.

"Shh," Schlatt hushed you, his voice barely above a whisper. "Come on, we're going for a midnight swim."

You blinked, still half-asleep. "Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night."

"Exactly," he replied with a wink, "Trust me, it's worth it."

Reluctantly, you decided to go along with his madness. He led you to the quiet, secluded dock by the lake. The moon hung low in the sky, casting a silver glow on the water. The night air was surprisingly cool against your skin as you stood on the wooden planks. The two of you slipped out of your clothes and into your underwear, feeling a rush of adrenaline at the thought of breaking curfew. Schlatt's eyes lingered on you for a moment before he turned away, his cheeks slightly flushed.

With hushed laughter, you both tiptoed to the edge of the dock. Schlatt was the first to dip a toe in the water, testing its temperature. "It's not as cold as you'd think," he whispered.

Without warning, he lunged forward and pushed you into the water with a playful grin. The shock of the cool water was followed by your indignant splashing.

"You asshole-!" you hissed as you surfaced, pushing wet hair out of your eyes.

Before you could finish your sentence, Schlatt jumped in after you, sending ripples of laughter and water splashes into the moonlit night.

You retaliated by splashing him back, and soon you were both engaged in a spirited water fight. The tension and hostility that had defined your interactions seemed to wash away with each splash and laugh.

"Hey!" you exclaimed, swatting at the water.

Schlatt laughed, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "What's the matter, can't handle a little water?"

For a while, the cares and worries of the world melted away, and it was just you and Schlatt, sharing a summer night that felt infinite.

As the laughter subsided, Schlatt treaded water, his eyes locking onto yours with a newfound intensity. "You know, for someone I didn't like at first, you're not half bad," he admitted, his voice soft.

You grinned, a warmth spreading through your chest. "You're not so terrible yourself."

In that moment, the playful banter faded, and the space between you seemed to shift. Schlatt moved closer, his hand brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. The air was thick with anticipation as he leaned in, his lips meeting yours in a sweet, lingering kiss.

As Schlatt's lips met yours, it was as if the world around you faded into oblivion. The soft sigh of the breeze rustling through the trees and the gentle lapping of water against the dock became nothing but a distant echo. The only thing that existed in that moment was the warmth of his lips against yours, a sensation that sent shivers down your spine.

The kiss was tender, a delicate exploration of unspoken feelings that had been simmering beneath the surface. Schlatt's hand cradled your cheek, his thumb tracing the line of your jaw. His lips moved against yours with a softness that was in stark contrast to his usual bold demeanor, as if he was savoring this rare moment of vulnerability.

Your fingers found their way into his hair, tangling in the messy locks as you pulled him closer. There was a sweetness to the kiss, an intimacy that was both surprising and deeply cherished. It was a silent confession of the connection that had grown between you, a connection that transcended the boundaries of friendship.

When you finally broke apart, a breathless smile graced Schlatt's lips, his eyes filled with a mixture of affection and gratitude. He rested his forehead against yours, his warm breath mingling with yours in the cool night air.

"Sorry if that was too forward," he murmured, his voice low and gentle.

You shook your head, a soft chuckle escaping your lips. "No, Schlatt. It was perfect."

Schlatt's gaze was filled with a tender sincerity that left you breathless. "Summer camp just got a whole lot more interesting."

And as you looked out at the moonlit lake and the endless possibilities that stretched out before you, you couldn't help but agree. Summer had a way of bringing people together, and in that moment, it was clear that your summer was just beginning.

[lesbicosmos-writes]

chapter 2 of my palasaki fic is finally up!!

summary: the boys put their plan into action... notes: oops apologies chapter 2 has taken so long, i got caught up getting everything written for payneland week and then started planning my own event so...yeah this fandom has me going insane so happy i'm finally back with this fic tho, i love writing these two SO much

chapter 2

The next day, the girls didn’t take a rest day. Well, they had turned up to the office in the mid-afternoon with the intention of continuing work, but no new clients had shown up, so everyone was simply lounging around the office. Niko and Edwin were sat at the desk watching Scooby Doo on Niko’s laptop, sharing her earphones, While Charles and Crystal sat on the tiny sofa. Crystal was mindlessly scrolling on her phone, while Charles was bouncing a tiny ball at the opposite wall.

“I’m bored,” Charles groaned dramatically.

This was all part of the plan, but it wasn’t a lie. He enjoyed a chilled-out day as much as anyone else, but this was just getting dull.

“We’ve really got to do something as a group that isn’t a case, ‘cause whenever we finish one you guys are too tired to do anything else.”

“I mean I’m up for a group outing if you’ve got any ideas,” said Crystal, looking up from her screen.

Niko and Edwin both removed their earphones.

“Lucky for you guys, we just finished an episode,” Niko grinned.

“You’re right, Charles, we should do something. We should go out!”

“Go out where, though?” Crystal asked.

“Well, if we don’t want to do anything too physically strenuous after last night, we could always go into the town for the evening. We could go to a restaurant!” Edwin suggested, glancing towards Charles, who was smiling at him.

The plan was beginning.

“Would you two really wanna come with, though? I mean…you can’t eat, going to a restaurant seems kind of pointless,” Crystal reminded them.

“It’s not about the food, Crystal!” said Charles. “It’s about spending time with friends!”

“And I’d love to spend time with you guys, but in a public place where people are gonna notice us talking to the air? I’m fine with weird looks on the street, but surrounded by people sitting down, that’s different.”

Ah. That was one part of the plan the boys hadn’t thought of. Sure, they weren’t actually going to be joining them, but they weren’t going to know that.

“Well, if we go to the Italian round the corner from the library, they’ve got booths that are kind of tucked away in corners,” Charles suggested.

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you really miss spaghetti?” Niko giggled.

“Okay, you got me there, but it does have tables that are kind of hidden away, it’d be perfect!”

Crystal seemed hesitant.

“Well, I’m up for it!” Niko said excitedly.

And how could Crystal say no to that face?

“Sure, I guess. Want me to reserve a table?” she asked, already pulling her phone back out and searching for the restaurant.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Charles, trying to hide a satisfied smile.

“Wait! Don’t reserve it too early, I need to get ready!”

“Niko, you look great as you are,” Crystal said.

“Oh I know, but there’s this one outfit I’ve got that I’ve been wanting to wear for ages,” she explained, dragging out her voice on the last word.

“Should we say 7pm then?” Edwin offered. “That gives Niko chance to get ready, and for everyone to get there.”

“Sure.”

“Niko, are you nearly ready?” Crystal knocked on the door of the room Niko was staying in for the week. “It’s nearly, 6:40, we’re gonna be la…”

Crystal’s voice trailed off as the bedroom door opened, and Niko stood before her. She was in a monochromatic outfit: red wide-leg trousers with a sheer red collared shirt that allowed the thin-strapped top she was wearing underneath to be visible too. Her make-up matched the outfit, as it always did – red graphic eyeliner drawn into tiny perfectly-shaped hearts at the outer corners of her eyes.

“What do you think?” she asked, doing a little spin in front of Crystal, who was really trying not to stare in awe.

“Niko, you look…” Crystal tried to come up with an adjective that didn’t give away the truth of her thoughts. She couldn’t think of one, so she settled on the one she thought sounded the most casual. “You look so pretty! The red is amazing.”

“I figured you’d be in purple, so I thought this would match a bit!”

Niko had been right – Crystal was wearing her purple mesh top and black dungarees, and had her purple coat ready to put on when they left. They’d certainly be a bright-looking pair, that was for sure.

“Anyway,” Niko started, leaning behind the door to grab her white chucks. Rather than sitting on the bed or the sofa to put the shoes on, she simply sat on the ground where she was, earning a quiet chuckle from Crystal. “We’d better go, wouldn’t want to keep the boys waiting!”

They grabbed their coats on the way out of the flat and left for the restaurant.

As it turns out, they needn’t have stressed at all about being late because of the boys – they were nowhere to be seen when they arrived. They were led to their table, a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, out of view of most of the other tables. And, there was a huge mirror on the wall above it. Crystal assumed that’s where the boys would come from, when they finally showed up.

They’d been seated for ten minutes, and had just put their food order in, and there was still no sign of Charles and Edwin.

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” Niko said, excusing herself from the table and heading to the opposite side of the room.

Crystal nodded at her, trying to subtly look around the whole restaurant, checking they really weren’t there. ‘They’ve probably gotten distracted with each other’ she had been thinking, when she was scared out of her skin by Charles leaning out of the mirror.

“Fucking hell!” she hissed, one hand over her chest in shock.

“Oops, sorry,” Charles apologised.

“Where the fuck are you guys? We said 7!” she said, not much louder than a whisper.

She knew no one could hear her, but it was still awkward talking to someone she knew no one else could see, especially since Niko wasn’t there. Charles just chuckled.

“Yeah, about that…”

“Charles. What have you done?”

“Hey, I haven’t done anything!”

“Well you’ve got the scheming smile on your face so you’re up to something.”

“Okay fine. This was a set-up.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Edwin and I were never gonna come, we just tried to get you guys to go somewhere so you could…y’know…” Charles smirked.

“So we could what, Charles?”

“Y’know! Talk!”

Crystal closed her eyes and sighed in realisation.

“This is your payback?”

“Yep! And oh look, she’s coming back! Have fun,” Charles winked as he retreated back into the mirror.

Crystal groaned, mentally cursing him, as Niko approached the table.

“Are you okay? Was that Charles I saw?”

“Yeah,” Crystal said. “They’re not coming.”

“Awh! Why not?”

“Uhh,” Crystal tried to come up with a lie. “They had a case come up.”

“Oh! Should we go help them? We can do this another night,” Niko turned towards the exit, but Crystal grabbed her wrist.

Niko looked down at where their skin touched, then back up at Crystal. When Crystal made eye contact with her, she let go immediately.

“No, they’ll be fine without us for one case. And we’ve ordered now, we should just enjoy our evening.”

“Okay. Yeah, I was looking forward to having a bit of a break,” Niko laughed as she sat back down. “We deserve it.”

Niko was clearly tired. Was Crystal really about to bring up her feelings and stress her out even more? She knew it probably wasn’t the best time, but when else was she going to do it? Sure, she was a tiny bit annoyed at Charles for the deception, but him and Edwin had practically set up a date for them, so it would be a shame to miss the opportunity.

She’d decided: she was going to do it.

She hadn’t done it.

They’d nearly finished their food by now, and Crystal still hadn’t figured out how to bring the topic up without shocking Niko. She’d been fidgeting in her seat the entire time, and Niko had noticed.

“Crystal, are you okay?”

“Hmm?” Crystal hadn’t fully heard her, too lost in her own thoughts. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.”

“Is it about Charles and Edwin? You don’t have to worry, they’ll be fine! Like you said, they can handle one case without us, they’ve done it more than enough times before.”

“I know, it’s not about them.”

“It’s about something, then?”

Despite not caring what most thought about her, Niko really was amazing at reading people. This was her chance, Crystal supposed.

“There’s…there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Okay. You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I know,” Crystal smiled. “It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “Since…everything…I’ve been thinking, and I’ve realised some things.”

Niko nodded. She didn’t say anything, didn’t interrupt her. She was good like that. She could tell when a response was wanted and when people just needed to say what was on their mind.

“It's not like I hadn't thought about it, like, I’d had a bit of a moment before, but then, nearly losing you when we fought Esther, it really made me realise…”

Crystal was fidgeting with her hands again on top of the table, twisting a ring around her finger and not looking directly at Niko. Her hands started to shake slightly at the memory of Niko lying there on the ground, blood seeping from the wound on her chest and staining her shirt, eyes staring at her, glazed over, unblinking. Crystal couldn’t bear to think about what would have happened if it weren’t for that lucky bear Mick had given her. It had slowly closed the wound. She had still lost a lot of blood, and it took a while for her to recover, but she did. And now she was here in this restaurant with Crystal, who was desperately trying to put words together into sentences.

Niko had clearly noticed her shaking, and took her hands in her own, holding them tightly and smiling in encouragement.

“I think I’m in love with you,” Crystal finally said, looking up at Niko.

Niko let go of her hand, her eyes widening in surprise.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” Crystal apologised, moving her hands towards herself, away from Niko. “Sorry if I made things weird.”

“No!” Niko said, louder than she had intended. She reached out and took Crystal’s hands once more. “No, that was…I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Oh.”

“In a good way. I…I never thought you’d feel the same.”

Crystal’s jaw dropped slightly.

“You…you feel the same?”

“Yes!” Niko said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Crystal couldn’t do anything but laugh softly, and Niko joined her.

“So…” Crystal started. “Does this mean you’ll be my…girlfriend?” She had her head tilted downwards slightly, looking up at Niko curiously through her eyelashes. It was so awkward, but in perhaps the best way possible. This was the first time she’d ever felt awkward asking someone out, and it felt more right than anything.

“Obviously!”

“Charles, I really do think we should give them some privacy,” said Edwin, standing in front of the mirror back at the office.

“I just wanna see how it’s going!” Charles argued. “Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t wanna be a fly on the wall for this.”

Charles raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling in that specific way he knew Edwin couldn’t resist. Edwin sighed in defeat.

“Okay, I’ll admit I am intrigued. But I still do not think we should disturb them.”

“We won’t, I’ll just open the mirror connection.”

Charles raised his hand towards the mirror, and Edwin nodded. Charles closed his eyes, picturing the mirror in the restaurant, and tapped the surface. The mirror seemed to ripple, still faintly showing the reflection of the office behind them but more importantly revealing the image of the two girls at their table. They sat opposite each other, both beaming with joy. They seemed to be playing with each other’s hands on top of the table, interlocking their fingers.

“Do you think it went well?” Edwin asked, whispering even though he knew they couldn’t hear them through the mirror.

“I think so! Oh, this is aces.”

They kept watching as a waitress walked over to their table. They let go of each other as Crystal paid for their meals, then they both stood up.

“Should we head home?” Crystal asked, her voice quiet and sounding vaguely as though underwater from where Edwin and Charles were stood.

She held her hand out to Niko, who, instead of taking it, leapt forwards out of the booth and hugged her tightly.

“Sorry, just had to,” she giggled as she stepped back, intertwining her fingers with Crystal’s. "Yeah, let's go home."

“Yes!” Charles cheered triumphantly, swinging his arm around Edwin’s neck and kissing his cheek in excitement.

“I’m glad our plan worked out for them,” Edwin said. “Now, let’s leave them be.”

“Alright,” Charles laughed, tapping the mirror to revert it back to its original reflective properties.

[nuctoria]

Child of Prophecy (Part 1)

A young boy of about 11 years old, wearing a red cap, ran around his home, evading his various family members so he won't be interrupted. Most told him to be careful or to not run at all in the house but no way he was stopping now that he had started. Until he was caught by two big hands and lifted into the air.

"Daaad!" whined the boy, pouting at his run being interrupted. "Don't start whining at me, kid, you're lucky you didn't hurt yourself. Again." scolded his dad, carrying him to the dining table to eat dinner.

The dad sat the boy down on the chair next time him, the boy still pouting until his mom set a plate of spaghetti in front of him. The boy perked up before making a disgusted face upon seeing the mushrooms on his plate.

"Ugh, mushrooms again? I don't like mushrooms!" whined the boy. "Come on, son, everyone likes mushrooms!" teased his dad, taking a big bite from his own and making a loud humming sound. "Not me" pouted the boy. "Come now, sweetie, they're healthy for you. At least try them" encouraged the boy's mom, patting his shoulder. The boy hesitated but mastered up the will to try and lift the smallest piece of mushroom to his mouth for his mom, only to gag the second it touched his tongue and for his two uncles to start laughing their butts off. The boy's only auntie shook her head at her husband's attitude and kindly offered to take the mushrooms off of her nephew's plate to which the boy happily agreed to instantly. Dad didn't approve of it but said nothing and kept eating his own portion.

The family sat together, chatting and eating happily as they did every day. The boy didn't pay much attention unless someone talked to him directly, focusing on his food so he could run off again to play. That was until he heard a car stop right outside their house to which he rushed to look out of the window. His dad told him to sit back down but the boy didn't listen, watching eagerly from the window at who got out of the car outside. He was very disappointed and sad when he saw only adults leave the car with no young boy his age with them. He returned to his seat and looked less happy now. "What was that just now?" asked his dad, confused. "I thought it'd be him this time..." mumbled the boy, poking at his remaining food with his fork. "Who? A friend from school?" asked the dad again but his son shook his head. "No, my brother" answered the boy, frowning when he heard almost everyone sigh or groan, especially his dad. "We've been over this, you don't have any siblings" his dad told him in a displeased tone. "Yes, I do! I know it! I've seen him! A man took him!" the boy raised his voice, frustrated that no one believed him. "It was just a dream, buddy. If you had a brother we'd all know" tried one of his uncles in a more calm tone but still keeping it a tad bit stern. "It wasn't a dream, I saw him! He's out there and I have to find him! Why won't anyone believe me?!" shouted the boy at this point, fired up. "MARIO!"

Everyone went dead silent when the boy's name was shouted out by his dad with a harsh slap on the table, rattling everything on it. Mario was momentarily frightened but the anger quickly came back when he was ordered to go to his room. He did but he was fuming, tempted to slam his door in retaliation but knew it'd make things worse. He shut his bedroom door and curled up under his blanket, hugging his hat. He fumed silently under there, gripping his hat to death before the tears started making their way out of his eyes, along with quiet sobs.

He knew he had a brother. He saw him that night. But why doesn't anyone know him, not even his own family? Where was his brother now?

---

The boy stared at himself in the huge mirror of the room, moving his body all around so he could see how his new outfit looked on him. It was a mostly black outfit, with only his cap and the green bandana around his neck.

"Well, what do you think?" asked the short, robotic lady next to him. "I-it looks nice, thank you Mimi! But um... Does it have to be so black?" the boy asked nervously, hoping he didn't upset his friend. "But of course! Black goes with everything, plus you need to look the part for this team!"

The boy nodded, jumping in fright when there was a knock on the door. Mimi allowed whoever was on the other side entry, which so happened to be the man who'd brought him here and his assistant.

"There you are, young man! I trust Mimi has been treating you well while putting you in your new attire? Asked Count Bleck" "Y-yes, my Count, she has." the boy replied nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. "It does seem a bit baggy, but you should grow into it soon" commented the Count's assistant, adjusting her glasses as she critically evaluated the nervous boy.

The boy get another look at his attire as Mimi chastised the assistant, Nastasia, for being rude to a little boy. He didn't really listen, however, having something else on his mind, he was too reluctant to ask though. Despite this, the Count was quick to notice the child's busy mind.

"Well, boy, do speak your mind if you wish. Offered Count Bleck" the boy flinched when the Count addressed him and made the two ladies in the room stop bickering. "I-I... I..." the boy struggled to speak. "Well?" prompted the Count. "I... Why must I fight my b-brother? Can't we simply...you know, recruit him t-too?" the boy kept his gaze down as he asked that question, knowing full well what the response would be.

He was proven right when he heard a loud sign from the Count as he approached and knelt down next to the boy, moving his head up slightly with his cane.

"Your brother is the enemy, child. It is as the Dark Prognosticus says and we must act according to its plan. He will attack you, he will hurt you, so you must learn to lock away those feelings of yours and win. Do you understand me, Luigi?"

Luigi nodded and the topic was dropped that very moment as if it didn't happen. This was always the answer he got from the Count and the other team members so he really didn't understand why he kept asking over and over again.

Why didn't it feel like this was true? Why didn't it feel like his brother is his enemy?

--------

@istadris @itsavee4117 @darknadaworld @fruitytiff @billinshoes @ceo-of-kirbandee @keakruiser @peaches2217 @kuramirocket @amybizarre

[jimcornflake]

Ch2 - Mantis

A/N: This is my last blorp before I pass out. It’s 2am, I’m caffeine crashing so incredibly hard, and I need to sleep. But here’s my life’s work while I’m at it, so here you go.

🎀

It wasn’t before long that you managed to lose your entire purse, your phone, one of your contacts, and- oh yeah- all the people you came in with. Your eyes were heavy and cloudy, pupils blown wide. Your body felt like a wet spaghetti noodle as you stumbled past people.

“Can anybody find me water?” You asked the nearest group of people. They were familiar faces, but for some reason you couldn’t recall their names.

“Bathroom!” A boy in a white beanie told you and pointed behind you to the door to hallway off to the side.

You mumbled a thank you and urged your jelly-feet to carry you to the nearest bathroom sink so you could drown yourself in the faucet to get rid of the wicked cottonmouth that had set in.

The fluorescent lights that greeted you on the other side are less than pleasant. You cringed away from them, shielding your eyes with your hand. You stumbled around blindly till you felt a door and decide that it was the bathroom that you’d been looking for.

You pushed it open and uncovered your eyes to find that it wasn’t even close to a bathroom at all. There were no stalls, no air-dryers, no tampon-dispenser that hadn’t been touched since 1988; only a dirty red box in the middle of the room.

At first glance you thought it looked like dirt smeared across the bright, chipped paint. You blinked a few times and looked again and realized that it was closer to blood.

The box moved and you startled immediately. You almost ran out of the room and may have peed yourself only just a bit.

After waiting to see if it would move again and being met with stillness, you moved closer. You crouched down beside it where the old rusty locks were and undid them one by one.

“Hey, tiny. It’s okay, how’d you get in there?” You clicked your tongue and cooed.

As soon as the last latched had been slid open, the box burst open and you were tackled to the floor by a grimy man with wild, wide eyes. The air was knocked from your lungs, leaving your chest aching and tears pooling in your eyes and in that moment, all you could think was, why the fuck did I expect it to be an animal?

“Run! Run! Okay? You need to run!” The man panicked and dragged you up to your feet while you instinctually struggled and protested.

He threw you in to the hallway at the same time that the doors to the party burst open and people came stampeding through screaming something awful. He tried to stop them, yelling something about traps and getting caught while he grabbed on to people who only wanted to wriggle out of his grasp.

You soon saw why he was so desperate in his attempts. It all happened in seconds.

Razor wires caught on to ankles, blades swung down from the ceiling in to throats, sharpened stakes sprung out of the floor and impaled abdomens.

You’d never seen so much blood. You’d never seen the way skin can be sliced through so effortlessly as if it were paper. You’d never seen somebody’s brain fight to retain basic function of the body and you’d never seen the light leave the eyes of their limp body.

The shock was setting in. You felt like the blood running through your veins was ice cold and the static cloud around your eyes grew as did your progressively tunneling vision.

Suddenly the hallway was a hell-tunnel filled with dead, mangled bodies; some of which were half-alive and reaching out for your help; and at the end of that tunnel was the man you’d freed from the box.

He stood at the window, looking at the street that was a two-story drop down. He kept switching from the window to your face.

His eyes suddenly widened and he pointed, “Behind you!”

You felt a sudden mildly painful constriction around your arms and waist as you were lifted off the ground. You watched as the man gave himself a running start in to the window and fell to the ground with the shattered glass.

Now it was only you and the person who was grabbing you so tightly. You wiggled and kicked and finally got your arm free. You jerked it back as hard as you could and heard a grunt as the pressure was released and you fell to the ground.

You didn’t care to look back, you made a mad dash for the window to hopefully dive out and have your fall broken on that strange dirty man. You didn’t make it as in the next second you felt a sudden sharp pain in the back of your right thigh.

It stung and you stopped and trembled, shrieking through your teeth as your hands hovered uncertainly over the wound. You collapsed to your hands and knees as your shaking legs could hold you no longer.

You clenched your jaw and clasped your hands together so tightly that your bones were almost breaking under the pressure. You pressed your head against your forearms and tried to block out everything around you.

You felt a hand yank your head back by your hair and then a tiny prick in your neck. Your pain began to melt away slowly and you involuntarily relaxed. You grunted at the sharp pain and squelch that accompanied a blade being pulled out of your leg.

The last thing you knew before you completely surrender to unconsciousness was that you were picked up from the floor as if you were nothing more than a sack of potatoes and hauled back to the room with the red box.

🎀

Hi! Did you like this? If so, please check out my other works! Thank you and have a beautiful day! 🩷

[hufflepuff-16]

Always There ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+

Tom Riddle x g!n reader (platonic) ( ≧∀≦)ノ

Summary: Tom has joined you for the summer in your home for his apprenticeship. You learn more about Tom and the secrets he keeps, as you become closer.

Warnings: tiny angst, mostly fluff and a slight ooc Tom

A/n: Boy, this took a long time to make. Let me know what you think of it. Should I make a part 3? What would happen in it, and would you and Tom live happily, or would it all go wrong.

Or should I keep ending like this ( I have no idea what I would write)

Link to my masterlist, which has part 1 and other fics

It was the summer now, and you were helping Tom to unpack his things and put them in your guest bedroom.

"This doesn't feel real." He looks around the room as if to remind himself that he's finally free from the orphanage. He looks at you with a mixture of excitement and disbelief on his face. "I honestly... I never thought this day would come." His eyes are brimming with tears, and his voice is breaking, but an overwhelming sense of joy washes over him, and you're glad he feels this way. "Thank you... thank you so much..." His green eyes are locked on yours for a few seconds before he suddenly wraps you in a tight hug again.

you laugh at seeing Tom so affectionate, "Darling. You don't have to keep thanking me, you know, but I do appreciate the hugs!" You said, giving him a squeeze.

Despite the tears still streaming down his face, he laughs with you a little bit and smiles before he lets go. He wipes the tears off his face with an embarrassed look. "Sorry... I know I've been saying that a lot lately. But I really do mean it. You're... you're a great person for doing this for me. Not many people would... or even could do something this big. I... I just can't express how grateful I am..." His words sound genuine, and you can see the genuine emotion in his eyes. It's clear you have impacted his life.

ﾟ.+: ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+ ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+ ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+ ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+ ﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.+ ﾟ ﾟ.

"What would you like to eat for dinner, Tom?" You ask.

Both of you are now sitting in the kitchen. You had been teaching Tom about more advanced non-verbal spells.

He seems to take a moment to collect himself, then he takes a deep breath and looks up at you. "Hmm... how about a... some spaghetti bolognese?" He answers with a small smile. "Do wizards still eat regular muggle foods, even though you guys can just magic it out of thin air?" He chuckles and gives you a side eye. "Sorry, I had to ask." He's trying to make light of the emotional conversation you had earlier.

you giggle, "unfortunately, food that we conjure out of thin air has no taste and has no nutritional value. So we do have to still make food as muggles do."

"That seems like a bad design flaw, honestly." He says with a chuckle. "So you're telling me I have to actually learn how to cook? Now that's a tough assignment." He looks over at you, his emerald eyes shining with a hint of mischief. "Luckily, I have you to help me." He flashes you a grin. "Are you a decent cook? Please tell me you're a decent cook." He leans back in his chair and folds his arms again. "I'll be the judge of that."

You chuckle, "Whatever will I do the great and powerful tom Marvolo Riddle," you say dramatically, bowing down to Tom.

"What's with these bows and all these dramatic reactions?" He gives you a playful look. "It's strange, I kinda like it, though." He chuckles gently. "I guess I must be more powerful than I thought. I will gladly accept that." He leans back in his chair once again, still giving you a friendly smile. "What're you making us for dinner?" His voice is calm and friendly again, and all signs of the tears he shed earlier have now completely disappeared. He seems to have forgotten about his past for the moment. "You better not make anything too disgusting."

"I'll make bolognese as you said Tom."

You had made the spaghetti, and Tom really enjoyed it he even asked for seconds. You were now both sitting on your couch in your sitting room.

"Mmm. You are definitely a good cook. Not too many people can manage to make spaghetti that tastes this good. But of course you would be good at it." He smirks. "Where's my dessert then?" His eyes are playful, and he gives you a smirk again, clearly joking around. "You can't just feed me all this delicious food and not have a dessert waiting. I'm not just some dog who can be pleased with a piece of meat, you know." He laughs and makes a mock look of disappointment. "Come on. Give me something sweet!"

you gasped jokingly and teased him. "You rude, little boy!"

You laughed again, "Truthfully, Tom, I was thinking about making dessert, but at hogwarts, you never seemed to like to eat dessert, so I just assumed you didn't like it."

He giggles. "Hey, hey... I was only kidding. I'm not really rude... I think..." He chuckles and looks over at you, his eyes glinting with mischief again. "You could have at least made some ice cream or something. Ice cream never hurt anyone.... I think." He smiles again. "I'm just playing, though. No dessert is required. I was just messing with you." He gives you a small wink and a teasing smile.

You smile. "I actually have a gift for you, Tom,"

you hand over a rare copy of a book on different forms of magic. Which even included dark magic.

His eyes light up when you give him the book. "Oh my goodness, I could kiss you right now. Where on earth did you get this?" He looks up at you in amazement, and he can barely hide his excitement. "This is... this is amazing. How did you know it was on my wishlist?" He looks back at the book again and opens it up, immediately beginning to read. "Is there a special occasion as to why I'm the lucky receiver of this book, or are you just being nice? Because it was probably not cheap."

"Hmm, consider it a gift for being a great student."

You both sat in silence Tom intently reading. You had been thinking about the way Tom acted when you found him in the hallway during the school year. His cold and predatory stare haunts you at night. He seems fine now.

"Tom.....why....can I ask you what you were doing in the hallway that day I found you.....you were acting very strange almost predatory."

He freezes and immediately goes red. It's hard to tell what emotions are racing through him at this moment, but it almost seems like... fear. He closes the book quickly and looks up at you, as if trying to get a sense of what you now think of him. You see him debating with himself what to say before he finally responds. It takes him a few moments to collect himself before he begins to talk. "What... what do you mean?" He speaks in a slow, deliberate way, his eyes still locked on you as he carefully watches your reaction.

"Tom, you know exactly what I mean!" Your voice firm. You realise you may be scaring him.

"I'm not mad, I just want the truth." Your voice was soft again.

The look of fear in his eyes has now been replaced with that same predatory gleam from before. His tone turns cold, and his eyes narrow in suspicion as he leans forward. "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about..." he replies evenly. "What is it that you think I did wrong?" A slight quiver passes through his voice. He's clearly getting agitated by the conversation. He knows what you're talking about, but he's still refusing to admit it. He seems to be getting nervous because he doesn't fully know what you're thinking or where this is going.

you give him a small smile, "nothing Tom, I just don't want you hurting yourself. I care a lot about you," you said, gently snuggling close to him.

His face seems to soften again as you say this. He sighs deeply and stares at the floor for a moment before he reaches forward and takes your hand. He squeezes your hand gently before he brings it to his mouth and gives you a soft little kiss on your knuckles. "Thank you." He says quietly with a small smile. "That means a lot to me, especially coming from you. I care a lot about you too, in case you couldn't tell." He smiles again, though you can tell this smile is a bit more genuine than the last, and a slight blush graces his cheeks.

"I....."You look at him with love. "You need to tell me, Tom...... I don't want you going to......."You press a kiss to his forehead, not wanting to finish your sentence.

He seems to think about it for a moment. "Well..." he starts slowly. "I don't know if you're ready to hear the truth..." He closes his eyes. "But if you really want to know..." He takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, his emerald stare piercing into you as he speaks. This is the truth he's been hiding from you, and you get the feeling there's something very dark and sinister on his mind. "You're right... I do have a dark side..."

You have a look of worry on your face, but gently stroke his cheek, "and what is this dark side, Tom?"

His face hardens, and his eyes narrow again. You can tell he's uncomfortable talking about this, but he wants to tell you so you can understand him better. He hesitates for a moment before speaking, and he's almost hesitant in his response. "Have you ever had thoughts... dark thoughts... ones that you know you shouldn't think?" His voice is soft, but his stare is piercing, as if he's staring into the very depths of your soul. "Things you know you should never do... and yet you want to do them?" He gives you another slight squeeze of your hand.

"Like violence?" You said casually.

"I had those thoughts when I was in the orphanage, and I was relentlessly bullied."

He squeezes your hand again and nods in acknowledgement. "Yes, like violence. Like violence... and worse, if that's even possible." An intense rage passes over his face for a moment, and his eyes narrow. "There is a darkness inside me, a darkness that wants to unleash itself upon the world. It's like... when I think these things... a great rage inside of me awakens, and that darkness wants out. It calls to me." He pauses once again and looks at the floor, and you can sense his intense emotions.

"Yes....I know," You lift him onto your lap and cuddle him. "We are going to make these thoughts go away, my darling!"

He leans his head back on your shoulder and closes his eyes, a small smile on his lips as your arms wrap around him. "What if I'm too far gone?" He asks, his voice soft and almost gentle again. "How do you know the darkness won't one day take me over?" He whispers the next part. "I... I haven't done anything bad yet, but what if one day... what if I can't stop myself and I hurt someone?" He looks at you anxiously, trying to gauge how you'll react to the heavy truth he just confessed.

You don't respond and just press a kiss to his forehead.

His face softens. "Please tell me..." he says quietly. "Please be honest with me and tell me that you think I'm not a monster. I am... terrified of myself. I want to be loved, and I want to love, but not like this..." he says, almost in tears. It's rare to see him show such a vulnerable side of himself. "Is there... can we beat this darkness? Can I be someone I'm proud of? Someone that you could... love still?" His voice breaks at the last part.

"We will beat this darkness, Tom, and I will always look out for you. Im more than just your professor and mentor. I'm your guardian."

A wave of relief instantly washes over him. He sighs deeply and closes his eyes, pressing his face into your shoulder. "Thank you..." he whispers before he reaches up and gently takes your face into his hands, brushing your cheek with his thumb. "I can't even express how much that means to me." His voice is sincere, and he looks at you seriously. "You don't know how much I need that... I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hopefully, you never have to worry about that. I think it's getting quite late, Tom. I think you should head up to bed."

He nods and stands up before quickly bending down and giving you a small kiss on the cheek. "Thank you once again." He smiles softly, and you feel yourself blushing a little despite yourself. "But I think you're right... it is getting a bit late. I guess I shall be off to bed then. Are you sure you're alright... that you don't want anything? Would you like me to walk you back to your quarters by any chance?" He gives you one last, genuine smile. "It was nice talking to you tonight."

"No darling, you go to sleep. It's been quite an emotional day for you, Tom."

His face softens once again. "Yeah... you're right, it was." He looks at you for a moment before he starts walking away. He pauses near the door and turns around with that same small smile on his face. He gives you one last wink, and then he turns around and walks out the door, waving behind him as he goes. "Good night."

It had been a few weeks into summer. Tom was excelling in your apprenticeship, and you even introduced him to the minister of magic. You and Tom had become really close. You saw him as a son.

He has truly become a great wizard over the past few weeks, and he's really impressed the minister with his skill and knowledge. You've become his personal mentor and guardian, and you feel a strong bond growing between both of you. You've been teaching him more than school lessons... you've also been teaching him life lessons, the ones that can't be taught in books. You feel good about the role you play in his life, and you think that you're beginning to gain something else from this... love.

You had managed to convince Dumbeldore with the force of the ministry to allow you to adopt Tom and become his parent, you had the adoption certificate and wanted to give it to him after the ice cream you bought for dessert.

He walks into the kitchen and smiles as you give him his adoption certificate. His eyes seem to light up as he reads it. "Wow..." He says after taking a moment to look at the certificate, then he looks at you and smiles. "You really... adopted me?" He seems speechless, almost tearing up. "I- I don't even know what to say... I can't explain how happy I am right now." He walks over and hugs you tightly, a huge smile spreading across his face. "Thank you so much. I... I really can't even express how much this means to me."

"I love you, Tom. I want you to become my son!"

He smiles softly at you. "I love you too, and I... I want nothing more than... to be your son." His smile grows. "I can't believe I actually have a family now. This is... it's like a dream come true." He wraps his arms around you again and presses a soft kiss to your cheek. "I can't thank you enough. What... what does this mean? Are we all official now? Is it official?" His smile is almost contagious now.

You giggle. "Well, I need you to sign your name on the certificate!"

He giggles too and signs the adoption certificate. "There we go... It's all official now. That makes me very happy." he says, his smile growing even more. "I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life, to be honest." he looks into your eyes. "I'm just so thankful for what you did for me. You've changed my life... and I intend to make you proud for being my parent."

The End

[softquietsteadylove]

For the wildfire one. Gil’s alarm goes off. Out of instinct Thena slightly jumps ready to run out too. but when she realizes she may asks herself if she would go back

Thena slurped up her spaghetti loudly. It was just the absolute best whenever Gil made it, and it was everything she missed while she was out patrolling: it was hot, it was meat that wasn't dehydrated, and it was easy to chew.

Gil said nothing across from her. If he thought her manners were off-putting then he was too sweet to say anything about it. He ate much more politely, twirling his fork and everything.

This was their third dinner together this month.

She was circling tighter and tighter, going less far out each time. And she was stopping by his cabin at least once a week, sometimes twice if she was feeling restless.

He always greeted her warmly, welcomed her inside, asked if she'd eaten and if she wanted to shower. If she was outstaying her welcome with him, she had no way of knowing.

A sharp and rapid beeping sounded from close to the door.

They both looked up sharply, the sound eliciting an instant and instinctive response. They were both trained to recognise that sound above all others.

Gil leapt up from his seat, abandoning his meal and running to his beeper. "Brush fire, there are at least two families in the area we have to make sure don't get trapped."

Thena's gut clenched. Families getting trapped by wildfire were exactly the reason she was no longer part of search and rescue. If anything, her boys were probably already out there. Gil was part of local forces. She didn't have to go out there. She didn't even know if she could anymore.

"You don't have to."

She hadn't even realised it, but she was beside him, leaning over to see the info coming through to him. She had jumped up to respond to the call just like he had. It had happened as automatically as the breath she took.

Gil looked at her more directly. "Thena, look at me."

She must have looked insane for him to be speaking in soft tones, trying to talk her down like a caged animal. "I'm fine."

"You don't have to go out there," he reasserted, squeezing her shoulder. "You're not on rescue duty, you're patrol. The fire is a freak accident, probably a camp that wasn't extinguished properly. It'll be an easy job."

But all she could think about was the hot lick of flames around her, the harsh glow of red and yellow searing her eyes. It consumed her nights, kept her waking in a cold sweat. She loathed and missed it.

But then she thought of Gil. He hadn't been called out in the time she'd known him, at least not for her to witness so directly. He wasn't technically search and rescue--he wasn't a jumper. He was part of ground forces. He had a team, and reported to the local station, and he had training and turnout gear just like the rest of them.

But the idea of him walking into that monster, flames biting at him like white hot teeth--she shook her head.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He patted her hand, which she was just realising she had put on his arm. Her subconscious was clawing at him. He started to pull away, the soft cotton of his t-shirt sliding out from under her fingers.

"Don't." Both of them were surprised that she said it. She didn't sound like herself. She sounded like a trembling thing, begging him not to go and do his job. Her hand tightened against his arm, "don't."

"Thena," he lamented, already trying to gently peel her off of him. "I have to. But-"

"No!" she snapped, and at least sounded more like herself when she did. Last thing she wanted was to sound like some crying pup with him. "Gil, if it's a brush fire you know it's already twice the size it was when they spotted it."

"You don't know that-"

"Yes, I do!" she bellowed, stepping forward and forcing him back. "I know the wind, I know how it moves with the fire. I know how it swallows things and I felt the air out there today! It was prickly, I should have known better."

Gil's brow furrowed, "lightning? But the towers would have-"

"Sometimes they don't even bother looking, she dismissed. She had radioed in to them and been dismissed enough to know that they were not overly concerned with routine checks. "There must have been a quick strike that started something in the dry lands."

Gil looked at his watch. "That's a lot of time for it to spread, if it's not a small brush fire."

Thena looked out the window of the cabin. There wasn't any smoke, which meant the wind was in their favour. "I have to tell my guys. And you should tell the station to call and ask if there's been any precipitation reports from the other towers."

"What are you doing?" he asked as she went to her bag, digging through it. "Thena?"

"I'm coming with you," she snarled, digging out the heavy gear in her pack that took up more than half the room in it. It wasn't the heaviest, and it wasn't even necessarily the right suit for what they were going to face out there. But it was still fire protection. "You'll need a tracker with you if there are civilians out there."

"Thena, you're not cleared for duty."

She sighed as she pulled on a longer sleeved shirt and then her jacket on over it. She pulled off the elastic she had around her wrist at all times and dragged her hair into a low ponytail she could tuck into her jacket back. "I am."

"But I thought-"

"I was cleared for duty last year, but I didn't think I could take it."

Not even her old crew knew this. She had failed her initial psych eval after her last rescue had resulted in three very young casualties--that part was real. And she had been relegated to patrol duty as a means of sequestering but not firing her. It wasn't good PR to fire a rescuer with severe PTSD (or PTSS, it was being called now, she'd heard).

But she had been cleared to return to work last spring. Technically, she was fit for duty. The only one who didn't think so, was she herself. So she had asked to remain on area patrol. She didn't mention it to her old station, or her boys--no one. No one needed to know she woke every night, shaking and screaming. No one needed to know she couldn't search or rescue ever again.

At least not until she'd gotten Gil out of his cellar and he'd held her like she was the only thing standing between him and death. One stupid hug and she was going soft again.

"I didn't know."

"No one does," she sighed. She stood, kicking off her boots so she could get the incredibly heavy pants on and up her legs. She secured the suspenders and tipped her shoes upward again to jam her feet in. "But I think this is bigger than they even know right now. Finding those families in time will need all hands on deck."

Gil just nodded, also gearing up. He only ever lazed around in standard issue clothes until he could well and truly go to bed anyway. He got his own suspenders clipped as well. "You sure you want to do this?"

Did she see those kids' faces every time she closed her eyes?--yes. But would she think about these families as well if she didn't go with him now?--very much.

"I have to, and so do you," she sufficed to say. "You ready?"

He nodded, pulling his helmet and goggles off the hook by the door last. "You?"

She ignored the question, unclipping her helmet from the outside of her bag and fishing her goggles out of her jacket pocket. It felt familiar, but also foreign after two whole years without it. "Let's go."

They left, Gil not even locking up behind them. He all but threw himself into his truck, Thena climbing in beside him. He picked up the radio first and foremost. "This is Gil, two miles off the 147 southbound. I can hit the lake area and move from there, ETA ten minutes."

"Copy that Gil, we'll have units meet you out there."

He set the radio down, driving full speed as far as the truck could get them before they would have to go on foot. He barely even glanced at her. "Hey."

She didn't respond verbally, gripping the door as they bounced around.

"Wolf," he addressed more fittingly for the situation. He caught her eye darting over to him and decided it was enough. "There's no room for pride out there. It gets too much, you tell me and you fall back. Clear?"

She smiled. The last thing she needed was coddling, no matter how sweet, or well intended. And of course Gil - the big, sweet softie - knew that. She puffed, "clear."

"Copy," he also puffed out a faint, sardonic burst of air. They both had to steel themselves for the fight ahead. But at least they were on the same page. They were ready to be a real team.

And she could have no better partner out there.

[mtdthoughts]

Moonlight Pt. 1 (Migi & Dali Fanfiction)

At the time I'm writing this post, it's New Year's Eve, and I wanted to finish 2023 with something that I've been cooking up for a while.

Never in my life did I imagine that I would write fanfiction.

But I really do love this series, and I thought that I could help fill in some of the story that wasn't shown. In particular, this fanfiction occurs during Chapter 43 of the Migi & Dali manga or Episode 13 of the anime. It is told from Migi's perspective, and I wanted to add some context based on my interpretations of the characters and my (limited) imagination.

Be warned, I am not an expert at writing, so I can't guarantee that the reader will enjoy reading this, but I hope they do. Tumblr is probably not the best place to post this, but it'll do for now. I might post the other parts here too.

I decided to title this fanfiction "Moonlight" as a reference to the "Water Flea Song" that the twins are so familiar with.

CHAPTER 1

It was the night of Christmas Eve, and I laid in bed excited, unable to sleep. Because Santa would come tonight, or at least that's what the old couple said. I don't know if Santa's real or not, but that doesn't matter, because I'm a good boy and I’m getting a present!

"Perfect, if I continue to pretend to believe in Santa, I can get presents forever. Right, Dali?"

Dali was on the other side of the bed, but I couldn't feel him move or hear anything from him.

"You asleep?" I asked. No response.

Dali has been acting strangely lately. I know that the old couple would accept us both, but Dali says he's fine with just me being happy. That can't be true, right? To be honest, I'm not sure what Dali was thinking, but I thought that if I cheered him up, maybe he'd change his mind.

"Let's split the presents in half..." I whispered.

But was that okay? Did Dali really want to share my presents?

Oh well, no use in thinking now. Better get to sleep, or else Santa won't come tonight...

I was now sitting at the dining table, and as usual the old couple was sitting across from me with smiles on their faces, and the golden beast was pacing around, looking hungry. The table was set with lots of delicious food like jambalaya and turkey, and the air was filled with the smell of cherry pie. We talked and laughed as we usually did, but then I noticed a familiar voice. I turned to my right, and there was Dali, with his scar, sitting next to me, laughing with a joyful expression that I had not seen in a long time.

Huh?

"Dali...?"

I was now lying in bed with my pajamas on. Oh, it was just a dream.

I yawned and got up from bed, and saw that Dali was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at something. At our little Christmas tree, there were two presents that looked the same.

"Huh? Did the present split in two?"

A knock came at the door. Dali reacted, and quickly ran to the wardrobe to hide himself. Right, we still needed to be Hitori. Rather, I still needed to be Hitori...

The door opened, and it was the old couple, with the same warm smiles on their faces.

"Good morning, Hitori!" said the old woman.

"Good morning," said the old man.

Before I could greet them, I remembered that it was time to open my present. I looked back toward our little tree. Oh right, there were two presents.

"Hey, I thought that each child only gets one present. Did Santa make a mistake?" I asked.

The old couple turned to look at each other, then looked back at me with the same smiles.

"Santa doesn't make mistakes," said the old woman.

"Why don't you go ahead and open them?" said the old man.

I went ahead and tore open the presents and revealed what they were.

"Whoa, a clay pasta set!" I exclaimed. I could make so many delicious-looking creations with this! Spaghetti, cherry pie, omelets, and so much more! I turned to the next present.

"And this is, an exciting and exhilarating science set?" I said, confused. Huh? I don't think I could play with this. This looked a bit too hard for me to figure out. I returned to marvel at the pasta set.

"I see," said the old woman, "It looks like this house has a gluttonous and creative child, as well as an intelligent and sensitive child."

"It took us a while to notice the differences," said the old man.

Huh? Did they figure us out?

"We'll be waiting downstairs with seats for the both of you," the old lady said, as the old couple smiled and walked away.

I can't believe this; they finally accepted us! I was so happy that tears came out of my eyes. Dali and I could finally be ourselves now! We could finally live the lives we always wanted!

Or so I thought. I ran to the wardrobe and called for Dali's name as I tried opening the door, but Dali kept it shut.

Why? What was Dali thinking? Even though we’re twin brothers, I still couldn't understand what Dali was thinking. Dali usually knew what I was thinking, so why couldn't I do the same for him?

Still, I knew that Dali was suffering, just like the time when I ran away from him. Ever since we came home from the Ichijo house, he spent every day sitting under the dining table just eating the scraps I gave him. He told me he was fine with being my shadow because we would always be together, but for some reason I still felt his loneliness and sadness.

I wanted to help him, but I wasn't sure how. I just wanted Dali and me to be happy together...

That’s it!

"Dali... it seems like we're different after all. And maybe we'll only be getting even more different from now on, with what we like, what we dislike, and how we feel about things... But there will still be some things that'll never change, like my happiness being Dali's happiness, and Dali's happiness being my happiness!"

That's right. It didn't matter that we were different, and it's okay that I didn't understand everything in Dali’s mind. What mattered was that we understood each other’s hearts, and that we would always be together helping each other.

Please Dali, let my feelings get through to you…

"..."

It was silent for a little while before the wardrobe door started creaking. As the door slowly opened, Dali came out, facing down so that I couldn't see the face he was making. As soon as Dali stepped onto the floor, I ran to him and gave him a big hug.

"Dali!" I exclaimed as I embraced him tightly.

He returned my hug, and I felt that he was slightly shaking.

A few seconds later, we released each other, and Dali had his usual confident grin.

"Well then, let's get to breakfast, Migi. We don't want to keep them waiting, right?"

Tears continued to flow from my eyes as I gave him a wide smile and replied, "Yeah!"

[aelloposchrysopterus]

Ballroom Dancing and Other Monsters

Bang hates fancy parties. She hates formal etiquette. She really hates anything where she can’t solve her problems with knives, ideally in someone else’s body. But she was going to suffer through — the horrors — prom because Violetta and Zeetha wanted to go, and she wasn’t going to be a lousy friend. (She also didn’t want Gil to go alone, which would have happened, since Agatha refused to go, Tarvek was going with Violetta, Xerxesphina was Colette’s date, and Zeetha had her mysterious boyfriend, and Klaus had told his son that he was going, whether he wanted to or not.)

Bang, above all, hates formal dresses. She’d called Tarvek to find an outfit for her. He’d thought she was going to try to kill him, but when it became clear that she’d kill him if he didn’t get her a dress, he made sure to find a very pretty one for her. It was a lovely cream with crimson beadwork on the bodice, spaghetti straps, an A-line full skirt, and a deep V-neck. She did have to admit that she felt pretty in it, even if it did make her vulnerable.

“Eep,” she yelped as Zeetha zipped it up.

“Thought you were invulnerable to pain,” Zeetha remarked.

“I’m not invulnerable to having all the air squeezed out of my chest!” Bang almost reached for a knife but stopped herself. Zeetha is a friend. She means well.

“Okay, Zeetha, try to murder me now,” Violetta laughed. She was in a deep purple off-the-shoulder dress with a tiered tulle skirt. Another Tarvek selection.

Zeetha obliged, yanking Violetta’s zipper up. She was wearing a golden mermaid dress that glistened in the light, with heels and bracelets the same hue of green as her hair. Tarvek hadn’t had any hand in her outfit; she’d picked it out herself. (He had almost been insulted that she hadn’t consulted him.)

“Are we ready to party?” Zeetha asked, rolling the r in a flamboyant manner. “Come on, the limo’s waiting outside!”

“The… limo?” Was not expecting this. Bang awkwardly laughed.

Zeetha rolled her eyes. “We’re picking up the boys in style, gals!” She grabbed Bang and Zeetha by the arms and yanked them outside, plopping them in the limo. “First stop, Tarvek!”

Tarvek was waiting for them when they got to his house. He hurriedly jumped into the limo — Bang could tell that he was worried about his father and his sister trying to stop him. His father was controlling to an extreme and his sister was… ill. She knew his home life wasn’t great, which was why she felt a twinge of guilt each time she stabbed him.

“Hey, Tarvek, if you need somewhere to stay tonight, my place is yours,” she said.

He jumped up in his seat. “Thanks! I don’t think I’ll need it, but thanks anyhow!” He was wearing a purple suit that matched Violetta’s dress exactly, with a purple and blue tie and a blue pocket square. The blue was Wulfenbach blue. Don’t say a thing. Let him pine on his own. He idly adjusted his cufflinks.

“So, Zeetha, who’s getting picked up next?” Violetta asked, fiddling with her amethyst necklace.

Zeetha smiled. “Gil, of course.”

“If he’s in anything other than green, blue, and purple, it’ll be a miracle,” Tarvek muttered.

“Oh, Tarvek!” Zeetha giggled. “Don’t worry. I made sure he got a suit. It’s black, with a cream shirt and a red tie and pocket square. It matches Bang perfectly!”

Tarvek breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Zeetha. A weight has truly been lifted off my shoulder.”

Bang suddenly realized that the beads on her dress were the same shade of red as Tarvek’s hair.

At Wulfenbach’s, Gil leapt out of the house in the suit Zeetha had bought for him, bounding into the car like an excitable puppy. He flopped down next to Bang, who noted that his new shoes were scuffed up already. Tarvek saw the exact same thing and tossed some black shoe polish towards Gil.

“You’ll need to open the window while applying that,” Tarvek said.

“You had this on you?” Gil asked, incredulous.

Tarvek shrugged. “A well groomed man is always prepared… your cuffs are sewn together, aren’t they?”

“It’s better that than Gil losing a cufflink again!” Zeetha retorted. “Remember when he did that in front of Queen Albia? The Baron was embarrassed for years.”

“Hey,” Gil rolled his eyes. “I’m not the one who showed up in traditional Skifandrian attire to the wedding of one of Albia’s daughters and nearly gave her a heart attack.”

The siblings looked like they were about to punch each other for a second, but the situation defused itself. Good, that’s one more time I won’t have to patch up Gil’s outfit tonight. Zeetha slouched back in her seat as Gil rested his right leg on his left.

“Who’s next?” Violetta eagerly asked.

Zeetha tensed. “I hate to do this,” she said, “but please keep this under wraps. He’s a Jager.”

“What?” Gil turned to his sister. “Dad’s going to kill you! And how did you let the prom committee to give a guest pass to a Jager?”

She twiddled her thumbs. “I pulled some strings, and Dad doesn’t need to know about it. For what it’s worth, Mom approved. He’s a nice guy, not any fangier than I am, just, y’know, immortal. I met him at the MMA gym.” She sighed. “His name’s Axel Higgs.”

The car was silent.

“Zeetha has a boyfriend! Good job, girl!” Violetta yelled.

The mysterious Axel Higgs was picked up outside a defense contractor’s office headquarters. His suit was a distinguished ecru, with a pale golden shirt and a green tie and pocket square. He carried himself with an air of dignity and refinement. A man of many hats.

Nobody said anything when he entered the limo. He smiled at them. No fangs. He sat next to Zeetha, who silently wrapped an arm around him.

“Should we, uh, do introductions?” Bang asked.

Zeetha grinned a fangy smile. “Yeah, sure! Do you want to start?”

“Okay,” Bang said. “I’m Bang Dupree. It’s short for Bangladesh. I met Zeetha last year, I think, at a karate tournament. Our match was a draw because the refs stopped us before one of us killed the other.”

“Gil Wulfenbach, short for Gilgamesh. I’m Zeetha’s long-lost twin brother. Our parents are divorced, so I’m stuck living with our dad, who’s some high-up in the defense industry.”

“Violetta Mondarev. I met Zeetha in our film class. We were watching The Princess Bride and we bonded over the inaccuracies in the fight scenes and the poisoning scene.”

“Tarvek Sturmvoraus, Violetta’s cousin. I’m not really all that close with Zeetha — I’m a friend of Gil’s and I’m close with my cousin, so I run into her a lot, but we’ve never really hung out.” Gil blushed at “friend”.

“Axel Higgs, Zeetha’s boyfriend and Jager. I wish I could tell you more about me, but that’s unfortunately classified information.”

Violetta and Tarvek were waltzing respectably well. He’s an excellent dancer — of course he is — and she’d learned from him. She was holding her skirt up just right, and when she twirled, it was glorious. Tarvek’s pince-nez gave them the general impression of being a relic from the Victorian era.

Colette and Xerxesphina were dancing quite well, too. They were enjoying the quick tempo of the Viennese waltz, taking advantage of it to twirl about the dance floor in a modified grapevine step. This was neatly avoiding the question of who was really in the lead.

Zeetha and Higgs were in such a close embrace that it was a surprise they were able to move at all, but moving they were. Their technique was subpar, particularly when compared to Tarvek’s meticulous footwork, but they were in tune with each other in a way that almost no other couple was.

Gil and Bang, on the other hand, were miserably failing at dancing. It wasn’t just the waltz. The saraband had been such a disaster that Tarvek had broken etiquette to whisk Bang off to dance with her while Violetta attempted to instill the basics in Gil. It didn’t help matters that Gil seemed to have two left feet.

“I hate this,” she whispered.

“I know,” he hissed back. “Could you at least try a bit harder?”

“Why should I keep trying when you’re the one who’s blundering the moves?”

Gil looked like he was ten seconds away from being arrested for attempted murder. “How about you think of this as a monster you want to kill?”

“Already trying,” she said. And it’s not working.

Later, they were all taking a break from dancing. Colette and Xerxesphina had gone off to “brush up their makeup”. More like “brush up on making out”. Tarvek was fixing his tie knot — his Eldredge had become asymmetrical, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. Gil and Higgs were enjoying discussing Jager history.

This meant that Bang, Violetta, and Zeetha were sitting at a table, drinking Arnold Palmers and munching on cake, chatting a little bit as they pleased to. Zeetha was a bit pissed that her brother was monopolizing her boyfriend (“especially since he’s got his own boyfriend here, too”), while Violetta was complaining about how sore her feet were (“with him, it’s always aesthetic over function, and it’s not like he’s ever tried dancing in these shoes”). Bang was just fiddling with her straw, listening to her friends.

She was also the first one to notice the monster when it came crashing through the ceiling.

“Guys. Look.” She gently shoved Violetta and Zeetha. “Is that just me, or is that something we can fight?”

“Oh yeah,” Zeetha’s eyes glazed over as their classmates began screaming. “Let’s go fight this thing.” She snatched one of Violetta’s shoes and snapped the heel off. “It’s improvised weapons time!”

Violetta took her other shoe and snapped its heel off, while Bang took an entire table leg. Zeetha passed the other heel to Violetta to grab an entire chair. Violetta complemented her heels by taking a hair pin out of a nearby dancer’s coiffure.

The Fighting Girls Tea and Cake Society started running after the monster, ready to take it down.

Maybe formal dances aren’t all so bad.

Read on AO3.

[sailtomarina]

My submission for the HP Drizzle Fest 2024, Hot Girl Summer, has been revealed! Click the link to read on AO3, and see below for an excerpt.

Hermione POV | Rating: T | Post-Hogwarts, Flirting | WC 5K

﹒˚ ₊ ︵﹒⊹ ๑ ︵︵ ๑ ⊹﹒︵

Hermione considered her silk blouse and cotton skirt. She’d thought them sufficient at the start of the day, but now the knee-length material felt confining. The silk had already proven shite, sticking to her sweaty skin as it did. Fingering the linen covering her thighs and eyeballing Luna’s transfiguration, an idea formed.

“There’s plenty of cover behind the tree.” Luna was already a step ahead of her, waving a pale hand towards the thick beech trunk.

When Hermione returned, it was with her silk blouse in hand and a newly transfigured linen sundress that skimmed halfway up her thighs. Thin spaghetti straps allowed her arms to breathe. She twirled in place the moment she held her friend’s attention.

“Nicely done!” Luna exclaimed, nodding in approval at the sight.

A series of curses burst out above them. Hermione had to block the sun with a hand to look for the source.

“Foul! That’s reckless flying, Charlie!” Percy waggled his finger at the burly Seeker.

“Me? What about Fred? He was just as reckless as I was!”

The accused twin shrugged, not even bothering to argue the point. “Can you really blame me?”

Hermione felt like she was missing something. None of the boys were looking at them, but from the way the rest of the family kept shooting her looks and how Luna erupted into giggles, Hermione was convinced she was somehow involved.

“What is this about, then?” She propped both hands on her hips as she questioned Luna.

The witch only giggled harder, shaking her head and waving a hand at Hermione as if she were the one causing a fuss.

Nonplussed, Hermione sought out Arthur and Molly’s attention, only to find that they, too, wore similar expressions of amusement. Was everyone in on it, whatever it was?

She was just about to storm off, perhaps splash her face with some cold water, when she caught Charlie sneaking a peek in her direction. The instant he noticed her watching, he jerked his head back around so hard that his broom nearly fishtailed and sent him off the end.

Oh.

A theory now in place, Hermione settled back onto the blanket next to Luna. She stretched out as if to nap, letting the hem of her dress ride up to the top of her thighs.

“Want to make them even more obvious?” Luna whispered conspiratorially. Her grin showed she knew exactly what Hermione was doing. At her nod, Luna turned onto her side, head propped on one hand as she leaned over Hermione. Their eyes locked on one another, pale turquoise on gold-flecked umber.

They did nothing but smirk at one another, ears pricked for a reaction. They didn’t have to wait long.

A loud whooshing sound preceded the gust that felt refreshing in the otherwise still air. They turned as one to take in the sight of Charlie in all his glory–rippling muscles covered with tattoos and scars, a sheen of perspiration coating them like oil, and a blinding smile underneath piercing sapphire eyes. “Hey.”

Hermione choked on her response, prompting him to grin even wider.

“Hi, Charlie!” Luna replied, lacking none of her usual poise. “I love your Ridgeback.” She pointed at the figure gracing the upper right part of his chest where the dragon’s wings stretched outward.

“Thanks, love,” he said with a wink.

Hermione made room for him as he moved to settle down next to her. It took two throat clears before she could finally speak. “I like them, too.” She motioned towards his body, then hastily added, “The tattoos.”

“Thank you. I like what you did with the dress.” His eyes ran appreciatively down her figure.

Rather than feel insulted at the blatant way he checked her out, Hermione’s stomach flipped in place. “Th-thanks. I got the idea from Luna.”

The other girl saluted them both, then rolled over onto her side in a clear bid for a nap. They turned their attention back to one another, tension filling the space in between.

Hermione had always found Charlie attractive. There was an air about him that screamed danger, much like the dragons that were his livelihood. He’d always seemed out of reach for anything more than a girlish crush. Surely, there were sexy witches closer to his age, ones who could run circles around Hermione’s awkward attempts at conversation. But, here he was, propped up next to her and the bottomless blues of his regard reeling her in.

“I–”

Whatever he’d been about to say was lost to the shouts.

“Watch out!”

“Duck!”

“Hermione!”

Faster than her eyes could follow, Charlie was in front of her, his broad back obstructing her view of the pitch. It was only when he turned that she saw the unmistakable red leather clutched in his hands. Beside her, Luna murmured and continued to sleep on.

“You’re a git, you know that?” Charlie yelled, before chucking the Quaffle straight at Fred with enough force to knock the wizard’s broom back.

“I’m not the one out on a foul!” Fred threw back. “You alright there, Hermione?”

“Yes!”

“No thanks to you!”

Her and Charlie’s responses overlapped.

“You’re out, Fred. Charlie, you’re back in.” Percy’s no-nonsense orders garnered groans from Fred’s team now that they were the ones a man down.

“Guess that’s my cue,” Charlie said, looking reluctant as he scratched at the back of his neck. He straddled his broom, then hesitated. “Would you–”

“Hermione, love!” Fred’s voice boomed over his brother and emphasised the interruption with a clap to the other man’s back. “Mind if I keep you company?”

She had to fight the laughter threatening to bubble up her throat at the way the two men growled at one another. Hermione wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d bumped chests. “I don’t mind at all.” She padded the invitation to one with encouragement to the other, “Good luck, Charlie.”

“I don’t need luck, darling,” he said with a wink. Fred scoffed, but Hermione couldn’t help but bite her lip at the confidence.

﹒˚ ₊ ︵﹒⊹ ๑ ︵︵ ๑ ⊹﹒︵

Read the rest on AO3, where your comments and kudos are appreciated <3 Make sure to check out the other @hpdrizzle works in the collection!

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hermione Granger/Charlie Weasley, Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley, Hermione Granger/Percy Weasley, Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger & Luna Lovegood Characters: Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, Angelina Johnson, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Percy Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley Additional Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, The Burrow (Harry Potter), Summer at the Burrow (Harry Potter), Quidditch, Flirting, HP Drizzle Fest 2024 Summary:

With the war now over and a summer heatwave in full force, the last thing anybody wants to do is worry about what the future holds. What about Quidditch and a birthday barbecue at the Burrow, instead?

Or, Hermione finds herself the willing eye candy of not one, not two, but three eligible Weasleys? How can a girl choose? Why should she have to?