#was really glad i was able to draw it and actually make it look decent haha

[pekoeboo]

here's a cute little Aya for my good friend @cookieg122's recent birthday!!!! was a little bit late with finishing the pic but I just had to draw this precious girl to celebrate! yay! :'D

tbh, I was really nervous about going over this pic with ink, but I REALLY wanted to do the wings with white gel pen so that overrode my fear of ruining the picture with the ink haha. fortunately, no major mistakes were made and I'm quite happy with this result! A bit challenging, sure, but still a lot of fun ;u;

(oh also! special shoutout to my friend @pixlokita, btw - who was kind enough to offer to draw a wing design for me some time ago, since I was struggling to figure out how fairy wings work, lol. her design was soooo perfect tho so I mimicked it to the best of my ability!! :'0)

Aya Armas belongs to @cookieg122. please do not remove caption or repost. also on deviantart

[factual-fantasy]

28 ASKS! THANKS AGAIN YALL!! 🥰💥

I've thought about this a bit actually :00

Way back when the crew was only four people, (Seafoam, Octo, Ellie and Louis) they got caught in a great storm while out at sea. Becuase there was only four of them, they didn't have enough hands on deck to control the ship.

Blue Beauty saw this ship clearly struggling and in danger so she helped guide the ship back to calmer waters. It was her help alone that prevented the ship from sinking. Seafoam thanked her profusely. She hadn't been treated so kindly before.. So she secretly followed them around for a while before making herself more known and officially joining the crew. :}

XD I imagine that wouldn't fare well for Blue Beauty-

XD Foxy would be like "..Am I malfunctioning or are those cookie talking--"

Hmm.. I assume the textures all relate to the food/animal they're based on. Or maybe their personality..? <:0 I don't know!

OOO these are so good!! Thank you! :DD

XDD Its really tough for me ngl. I've never been the best with names-

@luna-purple454 (Post in question)

The Undyne one is a bit vague.. I pictured the group has a run in with an Undyne. She is able to maybe separate Papyrus from the group and even capture him. Maybe her Papyrus is dead or he's on the other side of the underground. For one reason or another she knows this is "not Papyrus". So she questions this imposter to his face.

..But Papyrus is silent. Its been so long since he's heard Undyne's voice.. he suddenly cant speak..

Now the Alphys is actually an older character in the AU. I mentioned that at some point early on the gang found an AU with an old Alphys. This Alphys had made a bunch of robotic arms for Monster Kid in all different sizes.

Well since MK is all grown up, some of the smaller arm models don't fit him anymore. So she gave some to Goner Kid! I didn't really have intentions for her to come back into the AU in any major way. I just felt like drawing her :)

Oooo that sounds cool!! :DD

ASKJANJ SALTY TENTACLES XDDD THATS AMAZING!

Also thank you so much!! :DD

XDD Well "actively", I don't tend to dip my toes in that fandom too much anymore. I've dealt with a surprising amount of uncomfy stuff there so I'd rather mostly stay away from it-

But I have drawn a decent amount for it none the less! And I'm glad you like what you see so far! <XDD

Oh boy, the Jevil gang wouldn't stay there then! <XDD

@astaherussy

I unfortunately still to this day have not watched the Mario movie. So I cannot answer the first part of that question :( I think I have a problem upstairs-

As for Peach or Daisy breaking down, I believe they would approach them the same way Luigi did Rosalina :00 Very gently and try to figure out what's wrong 🥺

@neo-metalscottic

Thank you!! :DD I'm glad you liked what you saw! And I'll keep Jevil and the gang in mind! :))

AND YESSSS THE CALICO JACK IDEA WAS SO GOOD!! Thank you so much!! :D

And once again- thank you for the compliments to my Toadsworth drawing! I was rather proud of that one! XD When it comes to his relationship with Peach,, that is a good question.. I was thinking it was an Alfred Pennyworth situation. Kind'a a royal advisor turned father figure situation.? :0 He was running the Kingdom while Peach was gone, and he was overjoyed to see her returned safe and sound!

(Post in question)

XD Just wait till you find my Super mario bros tag and all the comics and angst under it

(Also thank you!! :}}} )

@rotting-glitter-corpse (Link in ask)

I NEED!! TO LIVE THERE!!! RIGHT NOW!! 💥💥

Oh man, he'd do everything he could. I'm not sure what kind of demands he would make to the rest of the group. But if there was something they could do to help he would absolutely demand they to it :0

@fawncr33k

<XD I don't know if Seafoam would want to have kids at his age- but its a good question. I'm not sure what a child between them would look like, considering that Blue is a mermaid- :0

@pinkbomb08 (Post in question)

My Welcome Home AU is kind'a all over the place becuase of some changes I'm making to Sally and Poppy.. <XD But I can talk a bit about Julie! She hasn't changed much--

The idea I have for Julie is that her and her sisters are actually these huge grotesque monsters.. much more horrific looking than they are in canon. Anytime anyone saw them they'd run away screaming.. Julie grew up knowing that she was scary and people are afraid of her becuase of her appearance..

Now at some point when she was little, she discovered the Neighborhood. She would see Wally, Barnaby, Poppy and Eddie walking around every now and again. She wasn't sure why.. but she was so fascinated by them and their lives. Something about the way they walked, the way the talked, how they dressed, how they sounded, how they looked. She loved all of it.

She was so fascinated by the Neighborhood and she dreamed of becoming apart of it one day. But she knew that she couldn't show up looking like.. this.. so she used the Neighbors as a reference and began to drastically alter her appearance.

No one has horns, so she was able to greatly shorten hers and make them look more.. cute! All the residents have 2 eyes so she shall as well! Poppy has pretty eyelashes.. so shall she! She cant get rid of her tail but she can make it shorter and cuter! Wally, Eddie and Barnaby all have 4 fingers. So she shall as well!

Now the feet.. She never saw Wally or Eddie without shoes on.. but Barnaby is always bare foot. So feet paws she shall have! A lot of her form was transfered to her mane-hair! To her hair- :DD

Now she was trying to get her legs to be shaped more like Wally's. So she altered them a bit and began to practice walking. But she tripped and fell, letting out a yelp!

Someone heard her, and came looking.. Since she couldn't use her new legs yet- she couldn't escape-

..Poppy found her. .

Julie hadn't completed her transformation from "monster" to "person" yet! So when Poppy saw her she thought she blew it. Surly Poppy would run away screaming upon seeing this horrible monster.. Julie started to cry.. but Poppy didn't run. She saw this poor little child covered in mud and with a scraped knee. She quickly jumped into action, "Oh dear! You poor thing, here sweetie let me help you up," Poppy guided Julie out of the woods. After she was cleaned and patched, they talked a bit about Julies situation.

"Where are your parents, dear?"

"..I don't have parents.."

Suddenly Poppy had adoption papers in her hand XD Huh, wonder how those got there-

(Post in question)

I mean... I got my skin back at least.. 🥺

thh... thank yoiuuuu!!! :33 ✨💖✨

I don't know.. is it offensive in the games for a character to be called a cracker? Are there cracker characters?? <:00

Oooo I'll keep this in mind! :00 Thank you!

@djadecutie

AKJJSD CRIMINAL XDDD

@storylover2

<XD Oh man, I looked through some doodle dumps and found I drew that creature at least 20 times. None of which looked the way I saw it in my head.💀I gave up on drawing Chain Chomp a looong time ago.. 💔💔

(Thank you for the suggestion though! :000 )

I'm not sure <XD Google doesn't want to tell me what real seafoam tastes like. Its only showing me what the candy seafoam tastes like!

I cant really remember much of that movie,, so I'm not sure how they would interact with the residents there. But a world made of candy? I'm sure they'd feel right at home! XD

@beryl-shade

Oh yeah for sure :0 that could be what happened to Tuna! 😱

(Also sorry for not including the gifs! There wasn't a way I could paste them into this ask post :((( )

@yourstrulylightstar283

Aww! That's adorable! :D

[goatcheesecak3]

hii i saw you were taking requests! do you have any headcanons abt rodrick celebrating his partners birthday? please and thank uu :)

I'm glad u asked this bc it gave me the opportunity to use this picture lmao

1) you will never ever EVER recieve a store bought card from him. Instead, he always makes one for you, since he's pretty good at drawing.

2) for gifts, he goes for something he knows you'll use every day and really enjoy, like a new pair of docs or a really nice jacket. One year, he got you a leather jacket with loads of pockets, and in each pocket, he left a smaller gift: a pack of your favourite cigs, a flask of your favourite whiskey, an eyeliner pencil, some black nail polish and a tiny notebook filled with doodles of the two of you and song lyrics that remind him of you.

3) you have an actual party with all your friends for your birthday, but you also get a special birthday date with Rodrick. He takes you out for the day, maybe to the aquarium or a fun fair, then out to dinner. He likes to be able to spoil you, especially on your birthday, so he insists on paying for everything.

4) he invites all his friends to your birthday party, so he can show you off to them (and brag that he's actually got a girlfriend/boyfriend), and of course, he plays a song for you. (Last time it was love song by the damned).

5) he doesn't use social media all too often, but he'll always make a big gushy post about you on your birthday, "happy birthday to my favourite person in the whole world, I love you to bits (even if I'm still mad that you look better in my jeans than me) love you baby x"

6) he can't cook to save his life, but he still tries to surprise you with breakfast in bed on your birthday. If he really really puts his mind to it, he can make a half decent omelet.

7) you get a card and a small gift from his family too, usually a box of chocolates or flowers, you always think it's sweet how much they like you.

8) at your birthday party he always ends up getting emotional drunk, and going on and on about how much he loves you, and insists on dancing with you to soppy music as the night slows down.

9) he takes lots of pictures of you on your birthday, since you're smiling all day and he just LOVES your smile.

10) he loves to sleep, and usually he's late to everything but your birthday is an exception. He wouldn't DREAM of being late to you birthday, even though he's had a few close calls before, he always makes it on time.

A/n hope you enjoyed! This was a really fun suggestion to write :^)

Replies/reblogs are really appreciated :^)

Requests are still open! I do fics and hcs, check my pinned post for details :^))))

[misc-obeyme]

I DID IT, I FINALLY DREW SOMETHING AFTER IDK HOW LONG WHOO

Once I get better at drawing faces, it's over for everyone !! 🤣 My clothes look decent... Ish. I'm just undecided on designs and it's very rough, but I didn't let myself erase too much because I wanted to complete something (because I need to stop being so afraid of creating bad things, since practice helps a ton)

It's literally just my mc but in their demon disguise for nightbringer, and parts of it look similar to Mammon's. Like the wings and there's like, a chain belt situation going on, with a diamond shape connecting everything. They also have a tail (was thinking of Levi with that one)

I just like the idea of my mc's demon form taking elements from the people she was closest to in the present. Anyway present Mammon would have a heart attack seeing this outfit because WHEW, i gotta admit the outfit is hot

I'm actually really happy I created something. I didn't think I would be, but it's a start

- ✨ anon

WOO HOO!

I'm proud of you, ✨ anon!

As creators, it's always hard to ignore that impulse to make everything perfect. But you're right that it's okay to make "bad" stuff! And most of the time, the stuff you think is bad really isn't as bad as you think it is lol.

When you're learning how to do something, it's usually best to focus on quantity over quality for a bit! The more you do something, the more you start to understand how to make it better. Your body just learns the ways, somehow it clicks in your mind.

And then you can slow down a bit, take your time, do a couple of pieces that take you much longer.

I'm glad you were able to create something you're happy about!

It sounds like your MC has a great demon design! I like the idea of the MC sorta taking pieces from the demons they were close to in the present, too. It's like you can't help but manifest that in your demon design because of your ties to those demons, you know?

I've thought about my MC's demon form, but of course I have no ability to draw it lol. But that's okay, it exists in my mind and that's enough for me!

Anyway, I like that your MC has both wings and a tail. I always thought of demons as having both, so I think it makes sense for that to be a thing at least some demons in the Devildom have. Even if we don't know of any lol.

Present Mammon would blush profusely and tell your MC to put something else on! Nobody else gets to see ya like that but him, got it?!

[pumpkinstrawbrew]

I'M DONE

I have spent the last three hours looking for fanfiction on Scarebat that wasn't Nolanverse or Suckerpunch (I love it btw, it's so good, checking everyday for updates🙏🙏)

I didn't only look on Ao3 as you might think, I have looked on Tumblr, Wattpad, Fanfiction.net, Quotev, Deviantart, FUCKING FICWAD, and some others...😔😔 I BARELY MANAGED TO FIND SOME SCRAPS OF CONTENT ON ONLY A FEW OF THEM AND THERE WERE LIKE 3-4 FICS IN TOTAL, MAYBE LESS, DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY

I need to write my own atp but I'm only half-decent at writing (planning to start practicing writing on Tumblr in the future) and I suck at writing two canon characters interacting with each other.... I would be unstoppable if I had the ability to do so

sorry for ranting in your asks, forgive me, but I think you're the only person who can understand this

-🐓

honestly, it’s kinda odd how over so many years, scarebat barely made rounds on the internet. despite how their whole personas an’ things that surround them as characters make a perfect set-up for a gothic romance. yet, somehow it keeps getting overlooked. batman’s most ideally tailored fuel just never gets enough fanon attention. 

an’ like, i wish that i could somehow share with you a link to some alt dimension, where scarebat was given all the attention it deserved. but as it is, we only have like yeah 3 fics an’ prob the same amount of arts. 

on the one hand, it does suck. i admit. but on other, it leaves a way larger fields to explore. way more opportunities to do smth new an’ different with those characters. i’d also go as far as to state, that when a ship is rare, it has a chance to stay somewhat true to source material or have more of different an’ individual approaches. when a ship is super popular, it’s usually slowly, but surely gets flanderized into the ground. after certain point all that you would see is a low-key copypasta of a fic, that you’ve already read about that pair, but from a different author. i had a couple of popular ships back in the day, an’ it had happened with every single one of them. 

so, in a way, i’m glad that those few scarebat fics are all at least different enough, even if i do say, that i kinda felt down by how it was labeled scarebat with it often being barely about the ship. or it was coming off as one-sided. different strokes for different folks, but it’s part of why i sat down an’ began writing my own fic, that would satisfy my own needs an’ my own vision. i just wanted scarebat romance times with some grittiness in between. which is why i do think, that you really should try to write your own story for them too! or even drabbles. anything that might tailor their dynamic in a way you see it. 

an', well, i do get the anxiety of not ‘being good enough’, or feeling insecure about how well you would be able to capture the ‘canon’ feel. or say, just generally thinking like your skill is not on the level you wish it was. i won’t bore you with details about my own uh, writing / art journey. but i will say, that due to a few reasons of my own, i also felt like i could never write an english fic *i'm a non-english speaker*, an’ even more so, i honestly thought that i could never ever draw anything, bc i simply had no idea how to draw at all. but i do kinda know how to draw now lol. an’ i can actually write things in english too. an’ the point of it not me being super good at it or even reaching some unknown highm no. the point is that i can do it an’ i can do it in my own ways. i can create smth, that prob would have never existed otherwise, an’ in the end of the day, it’s pretty cool. quality can be not top notch, but it's like...hey, it exists now. i've given smth back to my otp, that makes me happy an' have fun.

so as someone who was where you are, when it comes to feeling like you can’t do those things, i’d say, you sure can! anyone can! it might take some lil practice an’ a bit of ‘hmm, not what i wanted exactly, but close’, until you get to the level you might have wanted, but i promise, you'd be amazed at what you can truly do, once you get on 'wave'. it won’t be instant leap, but as someone who dealt *still does to a degree* with what i call ‘toxic perfectionism’, i’d say that you just let things go at their own pace. just have fun with the process. in the end, fan stuff should be existing for your own pleasure an' perhaps, it can also be this for some other people, which is always nice. you don't have to be 'professional' about it, if you don't want to.

either way, i’m fine with rants! i mean, i've just ranted back as well lol. i know, that the main theme of this message was being kinda well, dissapointed with lack of content, but i do think, that it's not all that gloom an' doom in the end of the day. it can't be helped, that we sometimes have to basically provide for ourselves in fandoms, but it also gives us chance to 'shine' too, i think.

an’ i also wanted to say, that i’m glad you liked my fic! suckerpunch is one of those works, that i’ve started on impulse an’ till 3th chapter actually had a very vague idea, where to take afterwards, but i was surprised to see way more people interested in this ship, than i thought. so really, for a rare ship, scarebat actually does have at least some audience. an’ that audience is pretty rad an’ cool one too, so it’s not all that bad!

i do get the pain tho. sometimes, i also wanna read an' look at arts of my otps, that aren't mine. but perhaps, with time scarebat will gain more active fans. maybe, one day, we will click on ao3 an' feel like we had walked into a candy store.

[tamelee]

Hello again! I’m so sorry to bother you in any way!

I am really, really wanting to write something based off one of your works, and I was hoping to ask if there were any you prefer over the others. Just in your own opinion; maybe ones you’re more confident of right now. I was wanting to at least try and build off something you yourself might actually enjoy reading about, but if not that won’t dampen my spirits! (No worries! Reading is agony!) I totally understand if reading isn’t your thing. It isn’t mine either, really. Lol. But just in case, I wanted to ask.

If the thought of someone being able to write a story off of your art is more like what you would hope than someone expounding an idea you’ve had on ice for said piece, I completely understand and respect that! (I am an absolute hermit and the internet still scares me, so you are welcome to flee my presence. I do it every Friday.)

You just draw Sasuke and Naruto in the most absolutely most perfect ways my brain likes and I am a little bit feral to write about it, lol. If you happened to glance my deplorable works I have up at the moment, I do have at least a few decently lighthearted ones. I was thinking something soft but complex might go nice with your painting style.

Just as a tiny whisper: I often think about your art of Sasuke in that fantasy design; it was genuinely breathtaking, and now I use that as my base framework for how his face semi-realistically could look….. I love his cute little nosey. It lives rent free in my head from sunrise to sunset and it makes each one better. 🥹

I’m so sorry to ask this through—well…—ask. You’re more than welcome to answer publicly! I just like checking if there’s anything the artist would like to see written about their work, and if not then I will just go Limitless(ly Cute) Hog Wild on it.

Hi @leechdoggy 💕!

I am never bothered, dw. Also, I’m listening to “Flying Light” OST while typing this which makes it all the more epic. 

Ah, I think it’s beautiful if a fandom can get inspired from each other right? Fan-art creating more fan-fiction and vice versa.. I’d say go for it! For any which you like. Don’t let my thoughts I had about my art myself while drawing limit you as you interpret it in any way for your words/story. Especially if that is how you feel about it. I’ll accept “soft and complex” gratefully, just your kindness overall, it makes me happy- thankyou 🥰 

I’m also glad to hear about the Sasuke fantasy design art, all the talk about my art style really dampened my spirits lately but you made my sunrise to sunset better.. 

We seem to have a lot in common, I too am a hermit (currently at least) and the internet did show me it can be scary as well, but it is Friday today. I have no intention of fleeing you and I do enjoy reading a lot. I wonder, is your name the same on Ao3? I’ll definitely check it out! Happy writing 🧡

[dae-rise]

1st anon you answered here again - Thank you for the article links, I'll deffo check them out. Apologies as well for the assumption that you might not have considered poverty/indigenous ppl etc, as it's not something you can tell unless it's mentioned or known in person.

I think i'm so used to seeing people who are vegan to be on the extreme ends of the scale (extreme hostility towards all others who eat meat vs those who don't care at all abt what others eat but just are vegan themselves), that seeing your calmer view is actually a breath of fresh air, and it actually does make me want to further research the topic.

Whilst I don't think I'd ever be able to be a dietary vegan, I'm actually quite glad and surprised that you can be considered vegan for other reasons, such as just not buying leather - again, I think it's difficult to find views like this as the majority of views online can be quite extreme. Thanks for opening my eyes to this as well.

And finally, I definitely do agree that many ppl can be oblivious to animal agriculture and its effects, and I do think that if people are in the position where they can't eat vegetarian/vegan, they should still advocate for the improvement of animal welfare.

I do hope that you aren't too disheartened by any negative comments you got - I know I'm on anon too, but I'm just a bit scared to speak off anon, and I would feel awful sending hateful messages behind an anonymous mask. I hope you have a decent holiday season regardless.

You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say all of this! When I turned vegan (not so long ago) I felt so much joy and willingness to share my passion for the topic, only to quickly find out that people tend to criticise vegans on the spot. I have sent sources before like I did with you, but they weren't even looked at. It seems like vegans are commonly seen as individuals who are annoying, extreme, privileged and whatnot. And I'm sure some of them are like that, as it is with every other 'group' really - but don't let it mislead you into believing all vegans are like that. Truth be told, I have yet to meet one single vegan who is like that. Besides, where does this idea of the 'annoying vegan' come from? We all have it in our minds, but why? Have we actually met one? Honestly, being at a dining table with others as a vegan has been the complete opposite for me: I'm the one who gets questioned, annoyed, criticised and made fun of. I still remember the very first reaction I got at a restaurant, as soon as I revealed I am vegan: "what, is your dog vegan too? Hahaha!" and from that point on, everyone at the table began talking about veganism and how extreme it is, in front of me, without listening to me. Everybody was suddenly a nutrition expert and began trying their best to show me a point that makes veganism invalid. It felt really bad and uncomfortable, and the same thing has repeated over and over, except for a few nonvegan friends who were simply curious about my choice and asked me normal questions. I shared my experience with other vegans and they've been through the same thing if not worse. Sorry for rambling, I just really want to tell you I understand, and that I had the same idea of vegans in my mind before becoming one. But being one has opened my eyes a lot. I personally don't like classifying myself as me vs. them, that's a dangerous path to take… before being vegan, I am a person, just like you, just like them, just like us. There are no sides, as I see it.

Thank you for apologising, I'm sorry as well if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way. I promise I did not mean to guilt trip anyone with my drawing, and it's absolutely great that you came and told me what you think about it! It means the world to me when someone tells me what they think or feel about my art. You're right, online views can be extreme, and I admit I have reblogged posts that felt like an accusatory finger pointed at nonvegans, but I'm still learning. Those posts feel kind of comforting, especially when others attack my beliefs (which happens a bit too often with veganism). But I'm going to try my best to keep in mind how it might sound to people who aren't vegans.

Oh, and yeah, right? I've always thought that being vegan means not eating any animal product or byproduct. A lot of people have this misconception in their minds, so when I read the actual definition of veganism, I was surprised! I quote, "Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose" it is just so liberating to read, isn't it? All I need to do is whatever is in my power and within my possibilities to reduce, as much as I can, my contributions to the animal agricolture industry. There is no such thing as a perfect vegan. But I can still do something, and that will be enough. For example, I personally chose to go down the dietary route (I just baked a vegan blueberry cake, hehe!) but I have yet to exclude animal products from my clothing (I have some clothes that partially contain wool, but I decided not to donate them for now - I'm taking it one step at a time). As you can see, it's really not as black and white as it is commonly believed. I'm just doing what I can.

It's okay to be on anon. I have an idea of who you are, but of course, I can't be sure. What matters is that you were so very kind with your asks and I'm grateful ❤️ Well, the other anon is clearly going through a lot and I just wish I could've helped more. There are far worse things I could've received so I'm okay, don't worry! Please let me know what you think of the stuff I linked you. Don't let anything guilt you. This will be simply you reading about things and learning from different sources. And I applaud you for it!

Merry Christmas, if you celebrate it ⭐

[mino-diabolik]

#Muse answer to Basic Q&A ★

Mystic Edition

Thank you for the tag @mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat ⭐️

Whats your name? Is there a meaning behind it?

Mystic Tsukinami! Though not so long ago I was just Jomei, which is my mother’s middle name. I still use it, but just for official issues.

As far as I know, one of the servants assisting in my mother’s labor commented something like ‘mystic child’ or something like that after I was born complete healthy and my mother gone uninjured despite all the warnings given in the past, and she thought it was a lovely name.

Any prefered Alias or nickname that you'll like to be called as?

Almost everyone calls me Mys! My name is a bit difficult to pronounce in any other language aside from English, so—

What kind of person do you think you are?

I’d like to think I’m a decent creature. You know, not too demonic and not too human, either. Momma was brought up by humans, after all. Under some cult-like Catholic Church, on that. Suffice to say, she’s passed on a bit of humane morals on me——

….What I’m getting at, is that I’ll most likely treat you better than any other members of my family.

When is your birthday? How do you celebrate it?

My birthday is on September 19!

I don’t do much at home, really. Just some congratulations from my family and a few extra treats throughout the day. But later on—oh, you better believe I’m calling up all them bastards and wrecking havoc until dawn.

What's your age?

‘Will be turning 247 this September. But hey, I don’t look a day over 18, right?

Which… you know, ain’t always good.

People are always asking for my ID when I drop by the States. Terrible. I mean, it is a fake, but who’s gonna believe someone that says they were born before the Revolution?

What's your gender?

Male.

How tall are you? Are you satisfied with your height?

I’m five-foot-seven, or 170 centimeters.

….And well, yeah. I’m okay with it. Momma is 160 and Shin 175. Guess it makes sense I’m somewhere between that. Some people do really like making it a thing to tease about, though——

Where did you come from?

Oh, boy. I’m the creation of my parents’ first passionate night together, after they finally let their feelings loose, and before they were heartlessly torn apart〜 Fufufu… Yeah, Momma was never really shy about talking about it. It was honestly something out of novel and I didn’t mind.

Haah, then I was born in the Kingdom Below, painfully unaware to the shit-show that my life was about to become.

What charm do you suppose that you posses?

I’d say that my smile is one.

People have commented on it on the past a couple of times and, well, I’m quite prideful ‘bout being able to make others light up a little after smiling at them.

Do a voice impression, will you?

[Mystic processed the question for a moment, before his face began lighting up. He smiled, clearing his throat.

He straightened his back and scolded hid expression in a rather out of character coldness. He folded his arms, slowly placing his hands on either side of his arms.]

Are you perhaps an idiot?

[His voice was obviously heightened in pitch, as though to represent one of those mocking royal personas.]

I have said it over and over it again, yet it seems as though that nothing seems to process through that void skull of yours! Have you tried actually going through with whichever plans I give you and not fuck up your missions?!

[Around here, he began having trouble keeping it together. No matter how much he fought it, in the end, he exploded with laughter.]

Name one of your favorite activities, can you?

Outside any unhealthy ones… I really like drawing my charcoal. Surprising my friends with their portraits is always nice.

How do you greet someone in the morning?

I say hi? God, you have no idea how bad it was having to bow and shake hands or kiss a hand.

I’m glad we don’t do that anymore…

What's the last thing you say to someone before going to bed?

I wouldn’t say a person, but after my Familiars and I get fixed on the bed, I each pat them and say good night. It’s quite cute when they’re just so tired and can only whine in response, fufufu.

Favorite possession (item)?

My motorcycle! That thing has carried me everywhere since the day that I got in the 50’s.

Why not talk about your hairstyle a little?

Pff—hahaha! I don’t have one, as you can see. My hair is naturally messy like this. This is the kind of hair that you just can’t comb down! Believe me, my caretakers did their best since I was a kid—even using magic—but nothing worked. And if it did, a bunch of loose wisps will start falling back on place.

Any unique characteristics on you?

The mismatch of my eyes, I’d say. It’s only something I have in my family, after all.

Heh… maybe even my A4 waist—

Do you have a special nickname to call someone as?

I tend to call Kazuha “boss” and “boss lady,” because I don’t want strangers knowing her name. She was pretty infamous in the past, so people putting dots together won’t be good.

Fufu… I called Ayato “Tako-sama” once and he freaked out, hahaha! I still do it once in a while, though. What’s he gon’ do about it?

What's your favorite color and why?

Red.

Any shade of it really. It just gets my attention, whether it’s in the cover of a book or a certain shirt.

What do you enjoy doing?

Despite being worked half to death, I really like doing me job. I never had that amount of freedom and ability to places I otherwise couldn’t have on my own dime.

It’s nice having travel and accommodation be paid by sponsors★

What's your special skill?

I’m pretty good in music.

Singing, playing instruments… you name it.

Demonstrate a short love confession! I dare you〜

A dare? You really think you can get me to spill out my heart with a dare?! Hah, what a joke!

…But fine, I’ll do it—ehem!

I—I like you! I like you a lot, okay?! It’s been driving me insane for the longest of time. I thought I’d finally lost my mind! Do you understand how stupid it is for me to fall in love with you? I must really be an idiot… I really never learn. I never, ever learn… Don’t just stand there saying nothing!

Just… please, answer me.

Your favorite food, and why?

I like seafood a lot. Not sure why, though. I don’t even remember the first time I had it, but I just know that I’ll definitely wold it down if it’s served.

Your favorite drink, and why?

I didn’t drink tea often in the past, but Kazuha once sat me down with a tea pot of berries with a bit of honey—it was real good and sweet.

I normally prefer tangy and spicy things, so she said I might enjoy ginger tea, but she refuses to make it.

Any favorite book?

Said it many times before, but Edgar Allan Poe’s story collection “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” has been one of my favorite rereads for a while.

Any favorite genre of movie? Hmm, why?

I don’t know, really. I never really liked one single genre of movie. All of them include more than one theme, and I like it that way. My favorite combination are mystery and romance with a bit of suspense, maybe.

Favorite game? (If none can skip.)

——

Favorite music? Why?

I like all music. From classical, to jazz—jazz is really good, though—to whatever mess-but-with-nice-lyrics is being made nowadays.

You should play my playlist on shuffle—it’s quite something. Hahaha!

What's your weakness?

Well, my loss of blood, of course. That motherfucker is my biggest pain in the ass.

Anyone that you respect?

All the elders of my family, including Kazuha.

They keep our household together and always have a way to fix any issues they are brought or come across.

Do you have a wish?

…To forget——

Anything to say to those that are watching your interview?

You must really like me to have stuck around until the end? Well, I’m flattered★ Hopefully you learned something new〜

[sk3tch404]

Oh no Nana, what should I do? I am this close 👌 to start writing fanfics (lowkey also wanna draw but I suck at it lol)

Also, how are you :D?

-🪞/Mirror Anon

DO IT!!! You should start out by doing the scenarios and characters you love/feel like doing most!

As embarrassing as it is, I actually started writing on Wattpad like many other creators. They were your average x readers and had the really stupid unfunny quirky humor. Once I found out Tumblr was basically oneshots galore, I quickly migrated here and started reading.

You should set up rules, fandoms, and characters post if you really wanna start.

If there were anything I'd highly suggest for you to do, I'd say to make sure your writing is actually good or at least decent.

Now I'm not saying that to demotivate you or devalue you as a future creator and writer. No no that's not it at all! All on saying is that people like to read good sensible stories.

Grammar, wording, phrasing, separation of paragraphs, vocabulary, etc all come into play when you write. Personally, I enjoy it when a writer can understand common grammar and things as such.

I've made a random post saying this before, but I'll say it again. Personally, I am not a fan when writers have a typing style when it comes to fics.

Things like, " Walking down the hall , I looked to my left . "

"Is that so? Well then,I must have to accept your offer. There shouldn't be any complications on the way,no?"

My brain just can't handle the fact that it's so squished together and incorrect. I'm no stickler for grammar rules, bc trust me, I've had my fair share of bad writing. But this? Nah it's gotta go-

Vocabulary is important! Things like HCs dont really need a large range of words due to the fact they're just short ideas compacted into one post. But with general writing, it's much different. Many people don't mind stories with common language, but expanding your palette makes your story far more expressive and emotional.

Whatever you do, always make sure that your world building makes sense. Everything ties into each other! Making these connections may clear up questions the reader may have after and during the story. They also can have a role with the characters and events later on.

Though that doesn't mean to just lay out the rules in front of the reader. When the time comes to mention it, do it in the most efficient way possible.

Pacing!!! Slow burn is fun, but scanning through the exposition and getting to the good part is such a waste. Though, going too slow is gonna bore the reader.

RIIIIDEEEE OUT THE RISING ACTION AND CONFLICT. People love it when the juiciest part gets the attention it deserves! Though, know that the drama always has to die down sooner or later (The aftermath of the conflict can also be just as exciting)

You can spend your time with your story if it's long, just don't spend too much time on sub plots and irrelevant things when writing! Unless its vital to the plot, then I wouldn't suggest it.

Most importantly, don't exert yourself! Being a creator is difficult. This will feel much more like a chore or a long hour job the more requests you get.

But don't let that stop you from doing it! I'm glad I have my platform and love the people who like it! If I hadn't started, I think I'd be very bored and even lonelier.

I love being able to draw and write and have people to enjoy it with!

All this info basically goes into drawing but more artsy.

Don't be afraid to develop your artstyle and ask for criticism if you want.. :)

And thank you for being my anon! It's so fun to have a nice polite anon of my own to talk to about just anything other than what I make!

I've been really good after I finished my commission a week or two ago! Been grinding on Genshin just for that sweet sweet Archon and Fatui lore (Btw why does Baizhu sound kind of stereotypicalcally anime rich now? You sounded so good when you called ur snake a good girl c'mon now-)

Just having a break from Idv and hopping into something else that doesn't lag 24/7.

Last thing! Don't restrict yourself to my advice! Do what you please. It's your work, do what you want! No like I can stop you from doing what you love. Everyone starts somewhere yk? Anddddd I'm no publisher hehe

Aaaaaahhh I went on a tangent. Sorry if you didn't want my advice or nothin haha.

[vtori73]

Here is the pen I was talking about:

HEFTY boy! It is NOT a light pen, but feels & looks nice. I got it because it has a wider than average bent nip area or however you would correctly say that, lol! It has three tines instead of the usual two making it able to vary the line width more which is the main reason I got it... well that & it got a good review by someone who reviews art supplies a lot and that it's made of higher quality materials for a decent price (was about $30 by itself, if you want the fancy box set, that is mostly the box, it costs between $50 - $60 then). I also figured with bent/fude nib pens they seem to handle carbon inks better and figured one that's bigger would handle them about the same or even better and I tend to prefer those inks since I like watercoloring (although I haven't been doing a lot recently, would like to get back into it).

I haven't used it a lot yet mostly just test strokes and very light doodling but so far I really like it. I had some slight issue with what I believe was the ink drying at the tip (don't really know what caused that maybe I didn't close/tighten the top completely) so I dipped it into some water and after writing a bit to get the diluted ink seems to work fine now! But yeah, I won't lie it does take a little getting used to if you only used lighter art supplies and because of that might not be compatible with everyone (also tbf most of the weight is in the cap but still). Besides that though I do still highly recommend this IF you've had other bent/fude nip fountain pens in the past & liked them because bent nip pens aren't everyone's cup of tea so try a cheaper one first.

Personally, even though i've just recently started using bent nips I so far LOVE them! I actually wasn't the biggest fan of regular fountain pens and preferred brush pens and the few fountain pens I did/do have are mostly felt tip ones that were inexpensive (petit series). Finding out about these was a game changer though! They are exactly what I want from a fountain pen, especially this one. The other fude pens I have, while I still like them this one is definitely better with the main reason being despite the weight issue it's actually easier varying line width with it versus my sailor fude pens when drawing!

And I actually like that you can get thin lines without having to turn it upside down versus the sailor fude pens (I think the thinnest line it makes might not be thin enough for some people though and would still recommend this pen though and to just get a thinner one to fill that need or use a regular fountain pen along side it or something like that, whatever works). UPDATE: Actually, it turns out you CAN make thinner lines with this pen, either by turning it upside down and using a specific angle OR by using a lighter stroker when drawing at a higher angle. And also one neat thing about using the pen upside down is that it can create some interesting/ different line textures (mostly draws dry lines a bit easier but a few other things too) but I have to play around some more with it to be sure!

Now again this won't work for everyone, if you have a weak grip or hard time gripping stuff caused by a disability or something or just have small hands you probably will have a harder time using this! Also one other negative I have it that it IS a bit scratchier when writing on paper versus the sailor pens, but it still writes just fine I just feel a tad bit of resistance with the nib and the paper when I use it which does dampen the experience a tad but I do think it's still a good product. Other than that though I do think it's worth upgrading to this pen if you've used bent/fude fountain pens before!

Don't really know what else to say about it, it's great though, glad I decided to invest in it!

[loveelle]

Keep it On

Reggie Peters x Reader Smut

Request from Anon: Can I request a Reggie x reader smut, while reader is wearing Reggie’s flannel?

A/N: Reblogs help inspire me to write more because then more people see!

Warnings: smut (18+)

WC: 2.4K

MASTER

---

5 minutes was all you needed alone with Reggie which, unfortunately, was more time than you’ve had alone all week. You loved the band, but god, you would trade the three of them- Alex, Luke, and Julie- in for just 5 minutes with your boyfriend. Okay, maybe that’s not true, but that doesn’t mean you’re no longer eager for alone time with Reggie.

You were sitting on the couch in the studio, eyes scanning over your boy with his bass hugged right to his chest as the band finishes the last of their song. His hair was glistening with sweat as he pushes it out of his face, focused entirely on Julie singing in hopes he can get his playing on time. You know he does by the small smile he gives himself to celebrate and his eyes flicker up to you briefly.

The look Reggie sends you cause your heart to race as you wink at him, making his eyes widen when you follow the wink with a smirk. He knows that look you’re giving him and he knows exactly what you want, something he’s been aching for lately as well.

“I need a break.” Luke huffs as he falls into the chair next to him, his guitar slumped on top his chest before he picks his head up. “10-minutes?”

You almost cry out in joy.

“Sounds great. I’m starving!” Julie groans loudly when she puts her mic back in its stand and clutch her stomach. Luke follows after her, despite not being able to eat, he won’t leave the young girl’s side. Alex takes one look at Reggie and you who was almost squirming in anticipation before he makes the decision to follow Luke and Julie. As soon as the three of them leave the room, you pounce off the couch and into Reggie’s already awaiting arms.

“I actually thought they’d never leave.” Reggie mumbles as his hands grip the back of your shirt to bring you closer against him and his lips meet yours.

You hum into his touch, your fingers trailing lightly on his chest until they were brushing Reggie’s jaw before you pull from the kiss slightly, just enough to talk. “I was about to ask them to join us.”

You go back in, wanting more than anything to finish the kiss and other things, but Reggie’s gasp and surprised look stops you. “R-Really? I mean, r-really?”

“Me, Reggie.” You mumble, squeezing his cheeks. “Focus on me.” You giggle and Reggie’s eyes widen before he snaps them close, crinkling his face. You giggle more at the sight before kissing his nose, getting him to open his eyes. When they meet yours, paired with Reggie’s smile stretched wide, you were glad he was holding you because your knees became weak.

Reggie’s mouth dips in the kiss from your mouth to your neck, his fingers slowly but surely find the bottom of your shirt and before you could think, it was over your head and thrown somewhere in the studio. As his hands travel your now bare back, you moan softly and cup Reggie’s face so you could kiss him again, pulling the flannel off of him in the process. You smirk at the feeling of Reggie’s biceps, giving them a squeeze before you tug on his tank top and it’s over his head. You pull back, letting your eyes move down Reggie’s bare chest and Reggie looks down your bra clad one, adjusting the growing bulge in his pants and you decide to help out, reaching behind your back and undoing your bra, tossing it into the abyss along with your shirt.

Reggie’s breath hitches as his eyes fall on your chest, your nipples already hardening against the cool air in the studio. “You are…” Reggie’s voice trails off before he looks up into your eyes, “Did you know you are gorgeous? Because you absolutely are.”

You don’t know how he does it, but when he compliments you like this, you can do nothing but believe him as your cheeks flair and your heart races. “Well, come over here and remind me.”

Reggie was in front of you in a second, one hand slips behind your back while the other slowly trails up your front, cupping your left boob and rolling your nipple between his fingers. You moan into his mouth, Reggie’s tongue slipping in you kiss him hard, savoring the minutes you have with him alone. You start on the buckle of his belt, barely getting it undone before someone knocks at the door.

You pull back from a frozen Reggie with wide eyes. “Where’s my bra?” you whisper sharply to him as you look around the room, not seeing your clothes anywhere. “Where’s my shirt!?”

“Here, just take this!” Reggie’s whisper was louder as he shoves something into your hands and it takes you only a moment to realize it’s his flannel. Reggie watches you throw the piece of clothing on quickly and button it up, the view he had of your boobs slowly disappearing, but then something else strikes him quickly.

It was really hot seeing you in his flannel and knowing you had nothing on underneath.

He gulps and the thoughts disperse as the door opens and Julie steps inside, her hands covers her eyes and you stifle a laugh. “We’re decent.” You yell to Julie and she hesitates before letting her hands fall.

“Sorry, just didn’t want to walk in on anything because I forgot my water bottle.” She grabs her bottle, shaking it in the air before her eyes flicker down to Reggie’s flannel on you and realizes just how much she was interrupting. “Okay, have fun.” She rushes to the door before stopping and her eyes narrow at the two of you. “But wipe down anywhere that you um,” she trails off, her eyes widening as she implies ‘anywhere you fuck’ and you quickly stifle your laugh at her before nodding. “I don’t really know how doing it as ghosts work, but I don’t think it’s sanitary.”

Before you can say anything, Julie is out the door and Reggie’s mouth is attached to your neck again, your eyes rolling back immediately along with a moan you don’t even have time to try and hold back. “I see you’re as excited as I am.” You whisper to him, pushing your fingers through his hair and letting your nails scrape lightly against his scalp.

“Oh, you have no idea.” He mumbles and his smirk presses against your skin. You lick your lips, dragging your teeth across your bottom one.

“Believe me, I have an idea.” You reach your hand down Reggie’s chest to the front of his washed-out jeans, palming his hardened erection and causing Reggie to moan in your ear, the sound shooting right to your core. “Take your pants off, Reg.” you whisper and push away from him enough to undress yourself again, pulling the top few buttons undone on the flannel before Reggie stops you, his hands gripping your wrists as his eyes dart between your eyes and your great display of cleavage.

“Keep it on.” He mumbles and you hear him, but the surprise causes you to inhale sharply.

“W-what?”

Reggie drops your wrists, continuing to undo his pants as he talks. “K-Keep it on. I wanna-“ He pauses only briefly, cheeks starting to redden. “I wanna fuck you in my flannel.”

His confidence as he tells you what he wants makes your knees weak and you nod quickly, gulping back how turned on you were. “That sounds… I mean, yeah. We can do… That’s hot.” Reggie drops his pants to the ground, leaving himself only in his boxers as he stands in front of you. You smirk. “And that’s hotter.”

Your pants hit the floor right after and Reggie groans at your black panties peaking out from under his black and red flannel, making his cock twitch inside his boxers. You jump forward, latching lips again tongues clashing together in the kiss. “The bed?” Reggie mumbles amongst the heavy and you nod, only breaking the kiss as both of you teleport to the bed up in the loft.

You fall back on the bed, head thrown back in pleasure as Reggie’s mouth moves down your front, pressing kisses along your neck to your chest, slowly unbuttoning the flannel as it goes. “Fuck, Reg!” you moan out as Reggie takes your nipple between his teeth, cupping and squeezing your other boob in his hand.

Reggie basks in the sounds he’s pulled from your lips, from your gasps and pants to your whines and moans as he slips a hand under the band of your underwear, grazing his fingers over your lips and teasing your clit. He battles between smirking and smiling at you as he pulls the last piece of your own clothing off you, leaving you only in his flannel and he slips his own boxers off.

“How much time do we have?” Reggie asks as he strokes his hardening member, your eyes drawing to the action and a rush ending to your core.

You shake your head. “Not long enough.” You mumble and Reggie grins at you, surprising you with a peck on your lips before he was putting a condom on and slipping into you. You gasp as he fills you, his slow movements causing the gasp to turn into a low moan from the both of you. His head dips onto your shoulder and after a few seconds he starts thrusting, bucking his hips against yours at increasing speed. “God, Reggie you feel so good, oh my-“ Your mouth hangs open as Reggie pulls his head back to look at you with his crooked smile, your eyes catching a beautiful glimpse of him before they roll back gently and Reggie reach your highs within moments of each other. Reggie was mesmerized with the sight below him, your chest was heaving and springing free from the flannel when your back arches off the bed.

Your moans turn to heavy pants as Reggie softens inside you and relaxes on top of you. He pulls out with a groan from him and a breathy moan from you as you kiss his cheek and he collapses on the bed next to you, taking care of the condom into the trash.

“Do we have time for another round?” Reggie asks quickly, his eyes battling to stay focused on yours when your boobs are still teasing him with peaks from his shirts.

You giggle, rolling a button between your fingers as you shake your head. “I don’t think so, baby.” He frowns and decides to leave his eyes on your chest, something that makes you giggle harder. “Why are you-“

“Because they’re going away when the band gets back and I’m gonna miss them!” He argues with a pout but it’s enough for you to cover your mouth as you laugh. Reggie sighs dramatically and pulls the flannel open before pressing a kiss to the middle of your boobs with a sigh. “I’ll miss you.” He whispers to them and you roll your eyes.

“Should I give you three some privacy?” You joke and run a hand through his hair gently. Reggie shakes his head before buttoning the button between your boobs, covering them but also giving Reggie the sexiest look he’d ever seen. You snort. “Why did I even bother with trying to look sexy when we were alive when I could’ve just thrown on a flannel and called it a night?”

Reggie’s eyes flicker up to you. “You could breathe and it would be sexy but there’s just something about you wearing my flannel that’s just hot.” He shrugs, moving his body up to reach to reach your lips. You cup his face you kiss him, only to hear the door open and your friends. Reggie’s eyes widen. “There’s no way that was 10 minutes.” He whispers and you shake your head.

“Reggie? Y/N? Break’s over!” Luke’s voice calls out and you face palm as Reggie scrambles after you, shrugging on his boxers and you slip your panties back on before grabbing his arm. He whips his head around.

“All our clothes are downstairs!” You whisper sharply to him and Reggie glances over the railing to see Luke and Alex chilling downstairs.

“Uh, guys?” He calls out as you button the flannel. He tells them to leave and the duo grows confused before Luke slaps a hand against Alex’s chest and focuses on a small pile of what appeared to be clothes laying by the loft’s ladder. Alex looks and sighs before catching onto why Reggie and you wanted them to leave. No one needed to tell him twice as he disappears to inform Julie not to head inside, however the younger girl was far more perceptive than the ghost boys.

Luke’s face scrunches in disgust as he looks up at Reggie hiding you behind him on the loft. “Really? In the studio?” He asks exasperated as you giggle against Reggie’s back and peak over his shoulder.

“In your old bed.” You tell him with a smirk and Luke fakes a gag, disappearing right in the middle of it. You shake your head and Reggie grabs your hand before you both teleport off the loft and downstairs, separating after a quick kiss to throw your clothes back on.

Reggie watches as you shrug off his flannel and put your bra back on, throwing your shirt back on. “I need a day off from the band.” Reggie sighs out of nowhere as you glance up at him, with a small smile.

“You need a week off.” You joke to him, raising a brow and grabbing his flannel again to hand to him.

Reggie gulps, glancing between you and the clothing article. “And- and with a whole week off, what would we uh…” he stutters and you wait patiently as he tries again. “What would we do?” He rushed out and you furrow your brows in minor confusion before You realize what he was getting at, what he wanted to do all week and you smirk. “Sex?” He blurts out, clocking the teasing smirk on your face. “We’re gonna- gonna have sex all week?” You smirk deeper and shrug, watching Reggie’s cheeks darken when all your friends walk back into the studio. You say nothing as you fall on the couch behind you, Reggie’s eyes don’t leave you as he clutches the flannel in his hand. Finally, he turns to the rest of the band. “I’m gonna need the next week off.”

.

.

.

.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Different Kind of Love Part 2

Summary: Remus adapts to suddenly having multiple people on his side.

Author’s Note: Curses, all of you learned the hack where you praise something enough that I'm inspired to make more of it.

Remus learned two things in the following days: Friends are weird and romance is gross.

Fortunately for that second one, Virgil and Logan were not a couple that engaged in a lot of PDA, so most of the time things were fine.  It did cause him to avoid the two slightly more though, which really sucked.  He wanted to hear all of Virgil’s opinions on The Epic Saga of Bryan and Stacy.  But it couldn’t be helped.  It’s not like he could ask them to stop talking about romance completely for his sake.  But it was like realizing he was broken in the romance department made everything having to do with it ten times more awful.

Luckily, the first one of those things he learned wasn’t such a problem.  Because yes, friends were weird, but not at all in a bad way.  Patton was bright to the point of giving Remus a headache sometimes, but it also meant Remus never once doubted it when he gave him a hug and said he was glad to see him.  Logan had a ton of weird science facts that were disturbing in just the right kind of way.  Virgil and him clicked with a lot of interests, such as horror movies, Halloween, and all things creepy (though he agreed with Roman that Disney was better than Dreamworks, the traitor).  And then there was Janus.

Remus fucking loved Janus.  He was exactly the right kind of sarcastic asshole that made him so much fun to tease other people with, and he seemed to delight that Remus loved to do the same.  He had a tendency to whack other people on the head with self care when they needed it, and Remus learned that he’d often done such for Roman, meaning he instantly gained a ton of respect points in Remus’ book.  He knew how to be suave and charming to talk himself out of trouble, which would be very helpful in their future as world-renowned criminals.  And, of course, he was incredibly hot, which was also a requirement for being a world-renowned criminal, Remus had just decided.  (There was this move he had where he looked at you and leaned in and then smirked— let’s just say Remus was lucky he had yet to be on the receiving end of it.)

And Remus apparently wasn’t done finding things to love about Janus, because the closer he got, the more he found.  And Janus was surprisingly easy to get close to— or maybe that was just him?  Everyone else seemed to think it was weird.

Either way, they’d gotten pretty close pretty quickly.  They’d developed a habit of Janus coming home with him and Roman, as long as he left by dinner so he never had to deal with their parents.

…Well, okay, they hadn’t explained it that way to Janus.  But he was always gone by dinner.

“You know,” Janus mused, as Remus was going over the next plotline in The Epic Saga of Bryan and Stacy where he was going to introduce the zombie antichrist.  “Have you ever considered making merch?”

Remus gave him a curious look.  “You think people would buy it?”

“Your fanbase has thousands of people in it now,” Janus pointed out.  “I’d be surprised if no one wanted any.  You could always put out a poll to see.”

“Huh,” Remus said, considering the idea.  It wasn’t a terrible one.  He was pretty sure making quality merch was different than just drawing a good comic, but he could probably learn.  And Logan was pretty decent at graphic design stuff, he might actually be able to help with shit like the website.

“Alright,” Remus said, shrugging.  “I’ll think about it.”

“You know who to call when you want help pricing,” Janus said, leaning back casually against the wall.

“You’ll just price them too high,” Remus said, whacking Janus playfully on the arm.

“Excuse me?  Is that implying that your work is not worth hundreds of dollars?”

“I mean, it’s just a dumb comic I draw in my freetime,” Remus muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Janus whacked him on the head.

“Hey!” Remus called, glaring at him.

“I’m sorry, it just sounded like you called your comic dumb, and I can’t let that stand,” Janus said, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s still not worth hundreds of dollars,” Remus said, brushing past the real response that had come to mind— that how could it not be dumb, he was the one that made it.

“Hmm.  Agree to disagree, then.  It’s still worth more than you’re thinking, and I’m coming up with the pricing.”

“If I even decide to make merch,” Remus said.

“And if you do?” Janus said, giving him a look.

“Fine,” Remus said, rolling his eyes.  “If I do, you get to help with the pricing.”

“I suppose I’ll settle for that,” Janus said, giving a world-weary sigh.

Remus smacked him on the arm again, and Janus chuckled.

“Hey,” came a new voice, and they both glanced over to the door to see Roman sticking his head in the room.  “Remus, I need your help with my algebra.”

That was the code they’d come up with for ‘Time’s up, you have to get Janus out of here now, Mom and Dad will be home soon’ if one of them ever happened to lose track of time.

“I thought you were supposed to be lightening up on the homework,” Janus said, raising an eyebrow at Roman.

“I am,” Roman said, crossing his arms.  “I’m doing this and then I’m done for the day.”

“Alright,” Janus said, holding up his hands.  He climbed off the bed and turned to face Remus.  “See you tomorrow?”

“See you then,” Remus said, giving Janus an affectionate shoulder nudge as they headed out of the room.  Remus waved to him as he headed towards his car, and then as soon as he had driven off Remus shut the door and turned to face Roman.

“Okay, how are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying not to panic, mostly,” Roman admitted, starting to shake his hands back and forth.  He’d gotten a B on his chemistry test the other day, and their parents were bound to ask tonight, since they knew he’d had one this week.  Roman couldn’t avoid mentioning it forever.

“Okay, okay, let’s think on this,” Remus said, moving towards him.  “We already cleaned the house yesterday, which put them in a better mood, is there something else we can do that won’t make it obvious we’re trying to soften any kind of blow?”

“Well, it’s not like we can make dinner,” Roman said.  “Neither of us know how to cook.  I really haven’t gotten all my homework done—”

“Is anything due tomorrow or big enough that you need multiple days to finish it?”

“No,” Roman said, wincing.

“Then that’s off the table,” Remus said firmly.  That was the boundary they’d established.  Once dinner was over, no more homework unless it was major or urgent.

“Well I can’t think of anything else,” Roman said, biting his lip hard enough Remus started to worry he’d draw blood.

Remus sighed and moved to put his hands on Roman’s shoulders.  “This might be it, Ro,” he said.  “You might just have to tell them.”

Being on the same team as Roman again was bizarre.  Remus was pretty sure it hadn’t happened since elementary school, it should not have come so naturally to them both.  But here they were.  Remus had been on the mission of ‘distracting from Roman’s slightly slipping grades’ since he’d started taking more time to breathe.  His grades had really only dropped from A-pluses to B-pluses, but that was enough to get disapproval from their parents.  And unfortunately, Remus could only get in trouble so many times before he was suspended.

Roman wrapped his arms around himself and took a shaky breath.  “What are they gonna look like?” he asked nervously.

Remus winced.  “Uh, kind of like they regret ever having you in the first place,” he admitted.  Roman took a shaky breath and buried his hands in his hair, starting to pull.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Remus said, reaching forward and gently moving Roman’s hands down.  “It’s gonna be okay.  I’m gonna be right here and all that shit.”

Roman made some kind of noise of acknowledgement.

“Hey,” Remus said.  “I don’t know how much this helps, but most people still consider a B to be really good.  Especially in chemistry.  That stuff’s bullshit.”

Roman laughed a little.  “Thanks, Re.  I’m gonna be okay, I just…” he let out a shaky sigh.

“I get it,” Remus said.  “Really.  You do know they’re the ones being unreasonable, right?”

“More or less,” Roman said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Good enough,” Remus said.  It wasn’t, but it would have to do for now.

Before either of them could say anything else, out front came the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, and both of them tensed.

“Okay,” Remus said.  “Let’s do this.  And then we can decompress in your room with The Office afterwards.”

“Oh, yes please, I’m going to need to laugh,” Roman muttered.  They both headed upstairs to wait for their parents to call them down, which tended to take about a half an hour before dinner was made.

Today, however, Mom came up the stairs and poked her head into Roman’s room.  She looked a little surprised when she saw them both together, but moved on a second later.

“Hey, grab your jackets you two, we figured we’d go out to dinner tonight.”

“Oh, really?” Roman asked.  “Why?”

“Just for fun,” Mom said.  “We haven’t been in awhile and your dad just got paid.  Be down in ten minutes, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Roman called.

“And put on something more appropriate Remus, okay?” Mom said, giving his outfit a slightly disgusted once over.

She headed back out, and instantly all of the tension rushed out of Roman’s body.  “They’re not going to ask about grades in public,” he muttered, sounding relieved.

“You okay?” Remus said, leaning against his side in a hope to provide some comfort.

“You think they’re gonna ask tomorrow?”

“I don’t know,” Remus said.

Roman took a deep breath and shifted to sit upright.  “Hey,” he said, turning to face Remus, his tone shifting as he did so.  “I’m sorry I’ve been so useless lately.  If you need help or something I can still try, okay?”

“That’s not you being useless,” Remus said, knocking his head gently against Roman’s.  “Just you being stressed and having less spoons as a result.  It’s all good.”  He stood up and offered his hand out to Roman.  “Let’s go eat too much food.”

Roman smiled a little.  “Deal,” he said, and took Remus’ hand.

…

Remus had been unsure about joining the drama club at first, but Roman and Janus both loved it, and they were two very strong temptations, so eventually he gave in.  Roman acted, obviously, and Janus did makeup.  And it turned out Virgil also worked on the set, so Remus was pretty likely to have company he enjoyed.

He was much better at drawing than he was at any kind of makeup, though he was interested in learning.  Janus offered to teach him, but that didn’t mean he’d be a ton of help this time around, so he decided on next semester.  And it was too late for him to audition, so that ruled out acting, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have wanted to anyway.  He had no desire to be seen as the worst twin once again, as he told Virgil once they started working on the set together.

“Woah, dude,” Virgil said, giving him a look and turning from where they were painting the backdrop.  “Who says you’re the worst twin?”

“Everyone?” Remus said with a shrug.  “Teachers, relatives, our parents—”

“Your parents?”

“And I mean, you guys were only friends with Roman until recently, he’s obviously the favorite.”

“Uh, no, fuck that,” Virgil said, setting his paintbrush down.  “That’s not how that works.  We weren’t friends with you because we were stupid and didn’t realize how much you rule.”

Remus snorted.  “Yeah, sure, thanks Virge.”

“Hey,” Virgil said, grabbing Remus’ arm.  “I’m not kidding, moron.  I don’t have a favorite twin.  What kind of fucked up bullshit is that?”

Remus gave him a look, and it must have come across as disbelief, because Virgil stepped back, looking a little disturbed.  “Dude, seriously, what the fuck.  I’m serious.  I don’t have a favorite twin.”

Remus furrowed his brow, giving that some thought.  “Huh.  Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Huh,” Remus said again.  “Okay.  Thanks, Virgil.”

“Why are you thanking me— dude, are you okay?”

“Oh definitely not,” Remus said, turning back to face the backdrop and finally starting to paint again.  “I’m all kinds of fucked up.  Don’t worry about it.”

“What do you mean don’t worry about it?  You’re my friend.  Of course I’m gonna worry about it.”

Remus shrugged.  “I dunno.  I guess I just mean, there’s not really anything you can do, so… don’t waste your time?”

That just resulted in Virgil frowning more, though, and Remus wasn’t sure why.

“Okay, fine,” Virgil said finally.  “I’ll let it go for now because we’ve got stuff to do, but we’re gonna have future conversations about this bullshit.  Prepare yourself.”

“Uh.  Okay?” Remus said hesitantly, starting to paint again.

True to his word, Virgil didn’t revisit the topic again that night, but Remus didn’t doubt he’d be doing it in the future.

He was still surprised Virgil cared so much.  Remus would have figured he had other things to think about, what with him dating Logan, and having other friends, and Remus being the worst twin— except, wait, he’d said he didn’t think that, hadn’t he?

God, that was bizarre.  A part of him thought he hadn’t explained it right to Virgil or something, because he’d been the worst twin for as long as he could remember.

But other than that thoroughly strange interaction, drama club was surprisingly fun.  Hanging out with Virgil was great, and sometimes Janus showed up to help them bug Roman.  The three of them clicked surprisingly well, and it wasn’t long before Remus could consider them some of the most important people in his life.  Granted, not that he had a ton of other options.  The only other person who was part of that category was Roman.  But Remus still adored it when the three of them hung out together.

Virgil thought Janus’ idea about merch was fantastic, which apparently meant it was happening now.  He had helped Remus set up a good way to ask people what kind of things they’d want, and the most popular answers were T-shirts, bumper stickers, and coffee mugs.  And well, if you could enjoy your coffee in a mug that had an image of a human and a zombie fucking on it, you were Remus’ kind of people.  He was planning on launching the merch next month, he’d hopefully get a couple extra dollars out of it.

“You’re gonna get more than a couple dollars, moron,” Virgil said, nudging Remus in the side.  “I vote you start saving for college.”

“How much do you think I’m going to get?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“When I’m done with the pricing?  At least a couple thousand,” Janus said casually, looking over the sketches Remus had made.

Remus gave him a look, and Janus sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine,” he said.  “But you’re going to get at least a couple hundred.  Saving some of it somewhere isn’t a terrible idea.”

“I don’t even know if I’m going to college,” Remus said with a shrug.  “The only thing I’m decent at is drawing, and I don’t want to try and make a living off my hobbies.  I’ll just work in retail to survive my whole life like the miserable failure I am.”

“Hey,” Virgil said, smacking him on the arm.  “No.  Bad.  We’re not doing self depreciation in this Chili’s tonight.”

“Agreed,” Janus said.  “It’s bad for your self esteem.”

“What self esteem,” Remus deadpanned.

“The self esteem we’re going to build for you out of compliments and merchandise,” Janus said, patting Remus on the shoulder.  “Besides, it’s a blatantly false statement.  Do you know how many people can keep up with Logan in regards to chemistry?  It’s not a large number.”

“Eh, Roman’s better at that class than I am,” Remus said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Not since he’s stopped running himself into the ground he’s not,” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow.  “I’m not saying Roman’s not freaking smart, but he’s not better than you at everything.  You know that’s just kind of not how people work, right?  Everyone’s smart in different ways.  I couldn’t draw a whole comic the way you do.”

“Hmm,” Remus considered that for a moment.  “Fair enough, I guess.  I don’t think that solves the problem of not knowing how I want to make money, though.”

Virgil snorted.  “Fair enough,” he said, and they refocused on the merchandise sketches.

So… yeah.  Remus kind of loved them both.  He wasn’t sure why they both insisted so much on complimenting him and not letting him insult himself, but it was kind of… nice?  It felt good, anyway.  And it was fun to compliment them back and watch them get flustered for a change.

Or, well.  Watch Virgil get flustered.  Janus just agreed with everything you said with that fucking smirk on his face.

Remus was right.  Being on the other side of it was not something he was prepared for.

…

Roman was freaking out about telling their parents about his grades again, so in order to hopefully be helpful, Remus let him hang out with Janus and him after school.  Roman and Janus were both dramatic bitches that reveled in said drama, and so they worked off each other well.  Remus could easily see why they became friends in the first place.

The two of them found delight in making fun of people.  Roman felt bad doing it to people’s faces, but he still loved doing it as long as they wouldn’t get hurt, so Janus was a crucial relationship of his.  And Remus enjoyed making fun of people just as much, so he fit right in with their established dynamic.

Unfortunately, there was still an issue that came with the three of them getting along so well, and that was with the way that they were all reminded time existed— the front door opening and their mother calling Roman’s name.

Roman instantly went stiff as a board, and Remus scrambled quickly for his phone only to confirm what was already obvious, that Janus should have left fifteen minutes ago.

“Woah, what’s wrong?” Janus said, looking between them both.  “Why did you both suddenly freeze?”

“Roman!” called their mother, sounding much more angry.

Roman was starting to shake, and Remus grabbed his hand, trying to figure out what else he could possibly do.

“Roman?” Janus asked, looking more concerned.

“Roman!” called their mother.  “We need to have a talk!”

Well, that sounded delightful.  Remus had a couple guesses as to what she could be talking about, and he also knew Roman was in no place to talk about it.

He looked over at Janus.  “Uh,” he said.  “How do you feel about staying for dinner?”

Janus stared at him.  “What?”

“We’re in here, Mom!” Remus called before she could tell again, and his door opened a second later.

She definitely looked angry about something, but it faded the second she saw Janus.  “Who’s this?”

“Friend from school,” Remus said as smoothly as he could manage, moving forward so he could keep squeezing Roman’s hand behind his back but Mom couldn’t see.  “I was wondering if he could stay for dinner?”

Mom crossed her arms and frowned at them both in turn.  “You both brought a friend over without telling us?”

“He’s my friend,” Remus said instantly.  “It was my idea.  Sorry, I should have run it by you.”

Mom looked again at Janus, and she finally seemed to catch up with the situation, because she sighed and ended in a smile.

“It’s alright,” she said.  “Just let me know next time so I can plan ahead, okay?  It’s lovely to meet you…” she trailed off, looking at Janus.

“Janus,” Janus said, slipping into, ‘charmed guest who doesn’t see anything wrong’ mode fast enough that it almost gave Remus whiplash.  “Sorry for the unexpected intrusion.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Mom said.  “I just hope you’re alright with burgers for dinner.  We were planning on grilling.”

“That sounds lovely,” Janus said pleasantly.  “Do you need help?”

“Not at all.  We’ll call you when dinner is ready, alright?”

“Sounds great,” Janus said, and thankfully after that, she headed out to start dinner.

The shift in tone was immediate.  Janus’ gaze shifted to concern again, and Roman flopped back against Remus and buried his head in his hands.

“S’okay, Ro,” Remus said, hugging him to his chest.  “You’re okay.”

“Are you okay?” Janus asked.  “What was that?”

“She must have found out about the test I bombed,” Roman whispered.  “I can’t think of another reason she’d be angry at me.”

“You bombed a test?” Janus asked in surprise.

“He got an 87,” Remus said.  “But Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad.”

“She’s mad because you got an 87 percent?” Janus asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“It’s worse than my usual grades,” Roman muttered, sitting up and looking away.

“It’s— hang on,” Janus said, shifting to face them both more directly.  “Is this why you were making yourself sick trying to get all your work done?”

“Yep,” Remus said, as Roman crossed his arms and looked uncomfortable.

Janus took a deep breath, looking like he was trying to process all of this and only sort of succeeding.

“Okay,” he said finally, sounding very unhappy with the situation.  “How long have they been putting that kind of pressure on you?”

“What year is it?” Remus grumbled.

Janus didn’t seem to be a fan of that response, and Roman finally seemed to shake off his panic and turn to face Janus.

“Hey, I’m fine.  It’s just… Remus is more used to disappointing them than I am,” he said.  “It’s just new, so it’s kind of harder.  I’ll be okay.”

“That’s not— Roman, she called your name and you both froze,” Janus said.  “You shouldn’t be scared of your parents.  You…” he bit his lip.  “Would it be… safe for you to tell them they’re putting this much pressure on you?”

Remus snorted.  “Fuck if I know,” he said.  “I’d rather not risk it.”

Janus didn’t seem to like that answer either, but he didn’t say anything else on it.  Instead, he hesitantly brought up something that had happened in drama the other day, and the conversation shifted to that.  Thankfully, everything got a little more lighthearted in the time before Mom called up the steps for dinner, and they headed downstairs.

Their parents reacted to Janus about how Remus expected for someone they only knew as his friend and not Roman’s too.  All polite smiles, because priority one was guest, but an undercurrent of disapproval, because if he was Remus’ friend there had to be something wrong with him.

Remus wasn’t going to pretend it made his night, but if they knew he was Roman’s friend too Roman would be getting the exact same looks Remus was for not telling them a guest was coming for dinner.

Janus, thankfully, knew how to charm people.  His parents couldn’t seem to find a single thing wrong with him throughout the dinner.  He kept all the attention focused on him so neither of their parents could subtly glare at them, and casually invited Remus and Roman both over for dinner the following night in a way that seemed perfectly pleasant.

“Just to make up for my intrusion,” he said with an apologetic smile.

Remus found himself wondering by the end of dinner why Janus wasn’t acting alongside Roman.

But even though he seemed willing to keep it up, after dinner Janus got a call from his mother wondering why he was running so late.  So at that point, he really had to go, and Remus waved off the apologetic glances he sent the way of him and Roman with a “See you at school tomorrow.”

Kind of like Remus had been expecting, the second the door closed both of their parents turned disapproving eyes on them.

“Remus,” Mom said, putting her hands on her hips.  “Since when is it appropriate to invite people over without telling us first?”

“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Remus muttered, kicking at the ground with his shoe.  “I thought he’d be gone by dinner.”

“Oh, so it’s okay because we wouldn’t have known about it?”

“I’m sorry,” Remus said, clenching his hands behind his back.

“That’s not even the biggest issue right now,” Dad said, stepping in.  “Roman, we looked at your grades, what is happening with you?  You’re not doing assignments, your grades are slipping, you got an 87 percent on that chemistry test?  You said you had it handled!”

“You looked at my grades?” Roman asked weakly.

“You weren’t telling us what they were, what other choice did we have?  Roman,” Dad said, stepping forward and crossing his arms.  “All we want is for you to do well.  What’s happening?  Is something distracting you?”

His gaze flicked over to Remus, lasting just long enough that they could all be sure of what he meant.

“Nothing’s distracting me,” Roman said.  He shoved his hands behind his back so his parents couldn’t see them shaking, but Remus was standing behind him.  “I— I’m really trying, I just can’t get everything done and still have enough time to sleep or relax.”

“Roman, school should be a priority,” Mom said.  “If you have to sacrifice a little free time to get things done—”

“It’s not a little free time, it’s all of it,” Remus cut in, stepping forward to try and draw the attention away from Roman.  “He doesn’t have any time to do things he wants unless he prioritizes.  He’s still passing his classes, he’s doing fine.”

“This does not concern you, young man,” Mom said, raising an eyebrow.  “And you do not have a good standard for what counts as an acceptable grade.”

“I have a B average,” Remus said, because it was a stupid thing to say but he was trying to be stupid enough to draw attention.

“Remus,” Dad said, narrowing his eyes.  “We are not talking about you right now.  We have more important things to worry about.”  He turned back to face Roman.  “It’s never acceptable to push schoolwork aside.  I think you need to give a serious look at what you’re valuing and how it’s going to affect your future.”

Remus could see Roman’s hands starting to shake more.  He definitely was not in the mental space to have this conversation, and his parents seemed unwilling to let Remus have it for him.  How else was he supposed to draw attention?

“He wasn’t sleeping,” Remus said weakly, though he could tell it didn’t really help when his parents just gave him a warning look and Roman was starting to look pale.

What was he supposed to do, he had to say something.  But what was supposed to draw their attention and keep it?

“Look,” Mom started.  “I understand not getting enough sleep sometimes can be difficult, but—”

“I’m aromantic!” Remus blurted, and three surprised gazes turned to face him.

“What?” Dad asked.

“I—”  Well, now Remus was starting to shake.  “Uh.  I’m aromantic?”

“What the hell are you on about now?” Mom asked, sighing in frustration.

Roman was staring at him, but he still looked terrified, so Remus supposed he was doing this now.

“I uh— remember when Roman was doing that queer history project?” Remus said, trying to get the weakness out of his voice.  “The one identity where you can’t fall in love?”

“Remus, don’t be ridiculous,” Mom said.  “Everyone falls in love.  This wasn’t even what you were talking about, why are you bringing this up?”

“Yeah, see, the thing is they don’t though,” Remus said, moving over more towards Roman and starting to inch them both slowly towards the steps.  “Some people don’t fall in love, because… well, there isn’t really a reason, but they don’t do it.  And I’m one of those people!  Never even had a crush.  Don’t think I ever will.  So aromantic kinda describes me pretty well, and I think that’s what I’m gonna identify as from now on!  Thanks for listening, so glad I got that off my chest, now if you’ll excuse us.”

At that point they’d reached the steps, and Remus turned and pushed Roman up them, hard enough that they could both start sprinting up the steps and towards their rooms, and ignore their parents calling after them.

“I’m calling Janus,” Remus said, grabbing his phone.  “We’re gonna stay with him for the night if he’s okay with it.”

“Why did you do that?” Roman asked, whacking Remus on the arm.  “That was a terrible idea!”

“Hey, it got us out of the room, didn’t it?”

“Re, you— don’t come out to Mom and Dad if you’re not ready just because I’m scared!” Roman exclaimed.

“Well, it’s a bit late for that,” Remus said, raising his arms in a shrug.  “I’m calling Janus.”

Roman stopped talking long enough for Remus to ask Janus to turn around and pick them up and for Janus to agree, after which Remus hung the phone up and realized their parents still hadn’t come upstairs.

Roman gave him a curious look, and Remus shrugged again.

After a second, Roman sighed.  “I really don’t like that you did that, Remus,” he said.

“It worked,” Remus pointed out, trying to ignore the way his stomach felt like it was curling in on itself.

“Don’t put yourself in danger for me,” Roman said, crossing his arms.  “I don’t ever want you to do that.”

“I didn’t put myself in danger, I came out to our parents,” Remus protested weakly.  “We’ve both done it before, for crying out loud!”

“That was different,” Roman said.

“How exactly was that different?”

“That isn’t… you’re not… you’re weren’t ashamed of it,” Roman said.  “You weren’t ashamed of being gay.”

Remus looked away.  “It’s fine,” he muttered.

“It’s not fine.  Remus—”

Roman was cut off by a car horn honking outside, and Remus moved over to his window to see Janus’ car out front.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Remus said, grabbing Roman’s arm and starting to pull him towards the door.  “Get ready to run past Mom and Dad.”

Roman did quiet down as they both headed out, but for some reason, when they went downstairs Mom and Dad weren’t there.  They ran out and climbed in Janus’ car without any issues, and then drove away from their house with no complaint.

“You guys okay?” Janus asked.

“We’re fine,” Remus said, before Roman could say anything.  “Just get us away so we can spend all night watching movies and avoiding our problems.”

“You got it,” Janus said, pulling away.  And that was the last time Remus wanted to think about his parents for the night.

…

Remus decided Janus’ parents won in everything ever, because they walked in on all of them curled up on the couch the next morning and promptly said they all got to take a mental health day.

As a result, they all slept long into the day, and woke up to eat some food.

Remus managed to text Virgil what was going on and ask him to tell Patton and Logan, and then they all curled up in the living room again.  They started another movie marathon, and made it through one movie before Janus decided he needed popcorn and headed into the other room to make some.

The second he was gone, Roman turned to Remus with an intensity Remus hadn’t been expecting.

“Okay,” he said.  “Now we need to talk.”

“Uh.  Do we?”

“Yes!  I don’t want you to do stuff like coming out for my sake, Remus.  That should have been something you did when you felt ready, if you ever did.  Don’t… don’t do that for me.”

“You were freaking out,” Remus said, looking away.  “I was just trying to help.”

“Did you forget the fact that we’re supposed to be in this together now?” Roman said, crossing his arms.  “It’s not solely your job to make my life easier, it’s our collective job to make each other’s lives easier.  And coming out when you’re not ready in order to draw attention off of me is the kind of thing that unfairly tips the balance.”  Roman leaned forward and knocked his forehead against Remus.’  “Let me protect you too, Re.”

Remus didn’t know what to say to that.  After a moment, he leaned back and shook his head.  “You don’t have to care about me,” he said quietly.

“Stop it,” Roman said, whacking Remus half-seriously on the arm.  “That’s not how this works anymore.  We both watch each other’s backs, okay?”

Remus considered that for a minute.  And apparently he considered it for too long, because eventually Roman asked, “Remus?” again, sounding more concerned.

Remus looked up at him.  “Do you think I’m the worst twin?” he asked.

Roman winced, and looked down.

“It’s okay if you do,” Remus said quietly.

“No, it’s not,” Roman said, looking up quickly.  “And I don’t.  But—” he looked away again.  “I… I did.  For a really long time.  And I didn’t start to see differently until you helped me.  Because I suck.”

“You wish,” Remus said on instinct, and to his surprise Roman laughed a little, though it might have been more due to his being emotional already.

Remus leaned his head against Roman’s shoulder.  “You don’t suck,” he said.  “Dummy.  I love you.”

“I do suck,” Roman mumbled, leaning against Remus too.  “I was awful to you because I felt shitty.”

“So was I,” Remus pointed out.  “We both had growing up to do.”

Roman sighed, but didn’t say anything to that.  “You’re not the worst twin, Remus,” he said instead.

“Virgil and Janus say there isn’t a worst twin,” Remus said.

Roman slumped down further against the couch.  “They’re wrong,” he mumbled.

Remus nudged at Roman until he sat up, and Roman turned to face him.

“You know Janus and Virgil also both have this thing about being nice to yourself,” Remus said.  “When I’m with them I’m not allowed to say mean things about myself or deny a compliment they give me.  And I’ve kind of started to try not being mean to myself even when I’m not with them.”

Roman looked skeptical.  “And that helps?”

Remus shrugged.  “It doesn’t hurt.  It feels really good when I can kind of believe it.”

“Yeah and how easy is that?” Roman muttered.

“It’s not.  But I think it might be worth it,” Remus said.  “Eventually.”

He reached over and squeezed Roman tightly.  “There’s not a worst twin, Roman,” he said.  “You’re not worse than me.”

Roman sniffed and squeezed Remus back.  “Fine,” he said.  “Then you’re not supposed to make bigger sacrifices to help me.”

Remus huffed.  “Touché,” he grumbled.

“I love you, Re,” Roman whispered.

“I love you too,” Remus said.

Roman sniffed again.  “I… I believe you,” he whispered finally.

Remus smiled a little at him.  “Good,” he said.  “Me too.”

They both sat there in silence for a long minute, until finally Janus called loudly from the kitchen.  “Wow, I’m so sorry guys, I forgot that popcorn totally takes almost fifteen minutes to make, especially when you’re standing on the far side of the kitchen and humming really loudly!”

“Thanks Janus,” Remus deadpanned.  “We’re done.”

“Cool, cause I have popcorn,” Janus said, appearing in the doorway to the living room holding three large tubs of it.

He moved over to sit with them and set them on the coffee table in front of them, then turned to give them a serious look.

“I’m not going to start a super in depth conversation right now,” Janus said.  “But I’m assuming your parents haven’t ever hit you, or done something you could be removed from their household for?”

Roman and Remus both shook their heads.

Janus sighed.  “Okay,” he said.  “Then for now I’ll just say you can always come here if you want to.  And my moms and I will work on something, okay?”

Remus smiled at him.  “Thanks, Janus,” he said quietly.  Roman didn’t say anything.

Janus just nodded at them both and turned to start the movie.

…

They both went back home after dinner, and though Remus had been expecting it, it still wasn’t easy to walk in the front door and see their parents waiting for them at the kitchen table.

Neither of them looked happy, though other than that Remus didn’t have a clue what they were going to say.

He and Roman stopped at the entryway, and Janus was waiting outside just in case, which their parents seemed to pick up on when they left the door open.

Mom sighed and moved forward, already looking like she didn’t want to be having this conversation.

“Okay,” she said, stopping in front of them both as Dad came up behind her.  “Your father and I had a talk last night.”

Neither Remus or Roman said anything.  Roman was biting his lip.

After a second, Dad stepped forward.  “Alright,” he said.  “So I don’t think we realized how much pressure we were putting on you, Roman.  If you’re not getting enough sleep, it… might be okay to let a couple of these things go.”

Remus’ eyes widened slightly.  That was very much not what he expected to happen.  Roman seemed pretty shocked too.

“So here’s what we’ve decided,” Mom said.  “If you’re willing to work a little harder at get all of your grades back up to As, we won’t say anything about the rest.”

And serves Remus right for getting his hopes up.  He narrowed his eyes, and was about to step forward when Roman put a hand out to stop him.

“No,” he said, turning to face their parents again.  “That’s not what I’m doing.”

Remus blinked, somehow surprised for a second time.

“Roman,” Mom said, crossing her arms.  “We’re giving a little here, you have to meet us halfway.”

“This isn’t a halfway thing,” Roman said, clenching his hands into fists to hide the way they were starting to shake again.  “I’m not avoiding assignments for fun.  I’m not doing ones that don’t matter as much because I was miserable and making myself sick trying to get it all done.  I have a system worked out, and the grades I’m getting are the ones I’m getting under the new system.  I’m getting enough sleep and I have time to do stuff I want and time to do stuff with friends.  Those things are important too.”

“Roman, we’re not saying they’re not,” Dad said.  “But you’re a student, and school should be your priority.”

“It is,” Roman said.  “But I’m going to make myself a priority now too.”  He turned to face Remus.  “Come on.  I want to see the next part of your comic.”

And, without giving either of their parents a chance to say anything, he took Remus’ hand and pulled them both past them, then up the steps towards their rooms.

They ended up inside Remus,’ and the second Roman closed the door he collapsed back against it.

“Oh my god that was so scary,” he whisper-yelled into his hands.

“Holy shit, Ro,” Remus said, gaping at him.  “I didn’t know you had that in you.”

“I didn’t either,” Roman said, pushing his hands back through his hair.  “I…”  He buried his head in his hands and whined, then stood back up and started shaking his hands.

“Are you… okay?” Remus asked hesitantly.

“I will be,” Roman said, jumping up and down in place a couple times.  “I just need a minute to get my nerves out.  You should… you should text Janus, tell him he can go home.”

“Okay,” Remus said, pulling out his phone to do just that.  After Janus gave him a thumbs up and they heard a car driving away outside, Remus turned back to face Roman.

“Hey,” he said.  “You… I’m really proud of you,” he said.

Roman smiled at him, still shaking his hands.  “Thanks.  I think I’d be prouder of myself if I wasn’t so fucking terrified while I was doing it.”

“Are you kidding, that made it more badass!” Remus said, grinning at him.  “Ro, that was awesome!”

“Thanks,” Roman said again, starting to pace back and forth.  “Uh… pace with me?”

Remus laughed and joined Roman in the nerve-filled walk back and forth across the room.

It would take a little bit for him to get his nerves out, but that was okay.  Remus would be right with him the whole time.

…

Remus had kind of expected his parents to bring up the whole ‘coming out as aromantic’ thing eventually, but he’d figured it would have happened at dinner, the only time of day they were all really forced to be together.  Looking back, he wasn’t sure why he’d assumed that.  They had to have seen the way he and Roman were backing each other up now.  Why would they bring it up when Roman was around?

“Come in,” Remus called casually when there was a knock on his door, assuming it was Roman.

“Remus?” called Mom, and Remus looked up instantly, dropping his face into his usual neutral careless look he used when talking to his parents.

Both her and Dad walked into the room.  They looked concerned, but Remus had known them long enough to know that look was fake.

“What?” Remus asked, looking back down towards his comic, continuing what he was sketching before.

“We wanted to talk to you about thinking you’re aromantic,” Mom said, and Remus tensed.

“I don’t think it,” he grumbled, trying to keep his focus on his comic.  “I know it.  That’s why I told you.”

“Remus, we’re not denying that some people might be aromantic,” Dad said.  “But this just kind of came out of nowhere, and we didn’t get a chance to talk it through with you.”

“That’s because there’s nothing to talk through,” Remus said.  “And if you want more information, look at Roman’s queer history project.”

“We just want to know what made you think this,” Mom said.  “Before you’ve said you’re gay.”

“Still am,” Remus muttered, refusing to look up.

“So you have two sexualities,” Dad said, sounding skeptical.

“Sure, I guess so,” Remus said.  “Look, I don’t know much about this either.  Can you just do some research on your own?”

“You don’t know much about it?” Mom asked.  “You said you are it.”

“Did you have a point in coming in here?” Remus asked, finally looking up.  “Since when do you care about what I’m doing anyway?”

“Hey, watch your tone young man,” Mom said, crossing her arms.  “We’re trying to understand what you’re telling us.  It’s just new to us, so we’re trying to understand it.”

“I don’t know anything about it either,” Remus said.  “It’s new to me too.  I just know I’ve never had a crush, and that’s what the aromantic thing is apparently about, so that’s what I’m going with.  I don’t want to think about it right now.”

“What do you call Janus, then?” Dad asked, raising an eyebrow, and Remus went still.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“He talked like you two were pretty close the other night, you’re telling me you two are just friends?”

“Yes,” Remus said firmly.  “Just— I want to talk about this another time.  I’m busy.”

“Hey, you don’t have to give us attitude,” Mom said.  “We’re just trying to understand what you’re telling us—”

“Remus, oh my gosh,” Roman said, rushing into the room and grabbing Remus off the bed.  “I need your help with something really important, it can’t wait a second longer!”

He pulled them both out towards his room, giving Remus just enough time to grab his sketchbook and follow him.

“Sorry,” Roman said once they got there, shutting and locking the door after them both.  “You just didn’t look super ready to have that conversation.”

“I wasn’t,” Remus muttered, moving to sit on Roman’s bed.  “Thanks for the save.”

Roman nodded, moving towards his desk.

“I’m ready for us to be able to have honest conversations with Mom and Dad that don’t end with us running away,” Remus said, resting his chin on his hand.

Roman gave a huff of laughter.  “Me too,” he said, giving Remus a weak smile.  “But for now we can sit in here.”

“Not objecting to that,” Remus said as Roman turned back around.  “Hey, you’re not doing homework, are you?”

“I’m writing,” Roman said.  “I have an idea I’m thinking about.”

“What’s the idea?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Uh, excuse you, don’t worry about it?” Remus asked, jumping up to go stand next to Roman’s shoulder.  “I think you’re underestimating my annoyance skills again.  What are you writing about Roman what are you writing about what are you writing about what are you writing—”

“Okay,” Roman said, shoving Remus’ head backwards.  “Enough.  I just didn’t think you’d be comfortable with it.”

“You didn’t think I’d be comfortable with something?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.  “I would’ve thought that’d be something you have to deal with more than me.”

“Yeah, I just… I’m writing about an aro person,” Roman said.

Oh.  Well then.

“I’m learning recently that they’re really underrepresented,” Roman said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “And that’s… I don’t like that.”

Remus bit his lip and turned to perch himself on top of Roman’s desk.  “Do you think they’re actually trying to understand?” he asked, glancing back towards his bedroom.

“I don’t know,” Roman said, following his gaze.  “Either way, you’re not ready to talk about it.  Which is fine.”

Remus sighed and pulled his feet up to rest them on Roman’s notebook, ignoring Roman wrinkling his nose at the action.  “I want to stop talking about it now,” he said.  “Cool story, though.”

“Thank you,” Roman said, clicking away to a new tab.  “Now watch this analysis of Shrek’s cultural impact with me.”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Remus said, hopping up again as Roman moved over towards the bed.

…

Roman said something to their parents that apparently got them to back off.  Remus wasn’t sure what it was.  He supposed he should just be grateful the two of them decided not to add ‘arophobia’ to the list of things that made them awful.

He hadn’t loved what they’d said about Janus, though.  It made him realize how close they were, and all the potential that was there for that to try to develop into something he didn’t want.  He loved Janus, he really did.  Just not like that.  Was he getting too close to him for normal friends?  Was Janus going to assume something?  Was he going to be mad about the way that Remus loved him, or want it to be something else?  Or worse, what if he already liked Remus… like that, and just assumed Remus liked him the same way?  What if he was going to confess soon, and then get mad when Remus didn’t love him the way he was supposed to?

Or… what if he could prevent that?  What if he just had to get over himself and tell him, and that would solve all of the problems?  Or what if he didn’t do it in time and everything went to shit and he lost Janus?  God, nothing could be worse than that.

So he had to tell him then.  Great, decided.  Now he just had to work up the courage to do it.  Janus was still coming over after school, but he could never seem to force the words out of his mouth.  He didn’t want to ruin their relationship and then have to watch Janus get up and storm out.  But how else could he do it?

It took him a few days to come up with a solution, and he still didn’t love it.  But he didn’t think he could reasonably force himself to do anything else, even if this particular one made him feel like a coward.

“Hey, Virgil?” Remus asked, setting his paintbrush down and turning to face him.  He’d waited until they were painting a part of the set in a back room so they could at least have some privacy.

“Yeah?” Virgil asked, turning to face him.  “What’s up?”

“Can I give you permission to tell Janus something for me as long as you promise to do it even if you hate me for it?”

“Woah, what?” Virgil asked, setting his own paintbrush down before turning towards him.  “What are you talking about?”

“I just… I think I need to clarify something so that Janus doesn’t assume things and hate me for them but I don’t want him to hate me because I tell him so I don’t think I can say it to his face.”

“Remus,” Virgil said, narrowing his eyes in concern.  “Why are you assuming Janus is going to hate you?”

“Well, because it’s weird, and I’m broken.  Wait, no,” Remus shook his head, stopping himself before Virgil scolded him for being self deprecating.  Besides, Roman had told him there was nothing wrong with it.  “I’m not… broken,” he amended.  “It’s just weird.”

“Okay,” Virgil said, sounding unsure.  “Shoot.”

“Um,” Remus said.  He swallowed and looked down at his hands, starting to fiddle with them.  “I’m kind of aromantic?”

“Wait, that’s it?” Virgil asked in surprise.

Remus looked up.  “What do you mean that’s it?”

“Well why do you think Janus is gonna care about that?” Virgil asked, sounding baffled.

“I— because I do,” Remus said, and Virgil’s face softened.

“Oh.  Is this new for you?” he asked.

“Really new,” Remus muttered, looking away.  “Just before I met you guys new.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Virgil said.  “But I really think you can ease your mind on that point.  Janus isn’t going to care if you’re aro.  And no one’s gonna think it’s weird.”

“How are you so sure?” Remus asked, crossing his arms.

“Uh…” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck.  “I really can’t say.”

Remus blinked.  “What?”

“Sorry.  I’ll get back to you on that.  But trust me when I say, Jan isn’t gonna care.”

“Uh.  Okay?” Remus said, not sure what to make of that.  He considered Virgil for another moment.  “Do you care?” he asked after a moment.

“Why would I care?” Virgil asked, looking confused.

“I mean, you’re dating Logan.”

“What, I’m dating someone, so I have to be super mad when someone I have no interest in dating doesn’t want to date anyone?” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I just kind of… I don’t like… talking about romance stuff.  It grosses me out.  And you’re dating someone,�� Remus said.  “I just… isn’t it kind of unfair to ask you not to talk about him?”

“Remus,” Virgil said.  “How often do we talk about Logan when we’re together?”

“Uh…”

“Exactly.  Logan and I don’t like talking about our relationship in public anyway.  I don’t need to mention it.  I’m all good.  You want me to let Logan know too?”

Remus nodded.  “And you can explain about the aro part too.  If you really don’t care.”

“I don’t, and I’ll let him know,” Virgil said, picking up his paintbrush again.  “Was that all?”

“Can you still tell Janus for me?  Actually just… could you tell everyone?  Sorry, I know that’s a lot to ask, I just… I kind of want to not be asked about it and I don’t think I could actually make myself tell any of them.  It was really hard to just tell you.”

“Of course,” Virgil said, looking genuine.  “Don’t worry about it.”

Remus let out a breath and reached down to grab his paintbrush and go back to the set.  “Thanks, Virgil.”

Virgil smiled at him.  “Anytime.”

…

Janus never made any mention of Virgil telling him aside from coming up to him one morning at school, giving him a hug, and making a joke about how glad he was that he didn’t have to date him.  Remus laughed, set at ease in more ways than one.  And Logan just gave Remus a smile in science that afternoon and told him quietly that he was proud of him, and that stuff like this wasn’t easy.  Remus was more touched than he’d expected to be.  Thankfully Logan seemed to get that he didn’t want to talk about it and redirected the conversation towards what chemicals would cause explosions if mixed together.

After that, Remus assumed those interactions were finally going to be everything that happened relating to his identity for a long time, but to his surprise, after school, when he was about to go meet Janus so he could drive them all back home, he was approached by Patton of all people.

“Hi, Remus,” he said, and Remus glanced curiously over at him.  He liked Patton, but the two of them didn’t really click as easily as he had with Janus and Virgil.  He definitely couldn’t remember Patton ever approaching him.

“Can we talk for a minute?” Patton asked.

Remus stared at him.  “Sure?”

Patton led them both outside and over to the side of the school, where there weren’t any other people around, giving Remus just enough time to wonder if he had secretly been a serial killer all this time.

Patton turned to face him, clutching his hands in front of him.  “Virgil said you didn’t want to be asked anything about being aro,” Patton said, and Remus tensed.  “So I won’t ask.  I just wanted to tell you I’m proud of you.  And, well… I am too,” Patton said, smiling nervously and pushing his glasses up his nose.  “Aromantic, that is.”

Remus’ eyes widened.  “Wait, really?”

Patton nodded.  “Janus and Virgil know, but no one else does.  I… well, I kind of got outed when my Mom saw my phone, and she… didn’t take it well.  It makes it super hard to tell people.”

“Fuck,” Remus said, wincing.  “I’m sorry, Pat.”

“Language,” Patton said, smiling in a way to show that he was okay.  “And I’m alright.  It was a while ago, Mom’s better about it now.  It’s just… scary.”

“I get that,” Remus said, nodding.  “Sometimes it still feels like it’s something wrong with me.”

“It isn’t,” Patton said.  “But I also get feeling that way.  I really just wanted to say that if you ever want to talk about it, you can with me.”

“I…” Remus said, not knowing what to say to that.  He’d never even considered the idea that he’d find another person like him, much less already be friends with one.  “Uh, thanks Patton.”

Patton smiled at him, and after a second it faded slightly into something warmer.  “Wow, it’s uh, it’s nice to not be alone anymore.”

“Yeah,” Remus said, starting to grin, glad they were on the same wavelength.  “I didn’t think I’d ever actually… you know!”

Patton nodded, starting to grin back.  “I do know!” he said.  “This is so cool!”

“It is!” Remus said, starting to bounce slightly in place.  Patton did the same thing a second later, and then they were both just excitedly geeking out together.

“Hey,” came a familiar voice a second later, and Patton spun around as Remus spotted Janus over his shoulder.  He was grinning in a way that meant he knew exactly what they were talking about.

“I’m not trying to put a damper on your fun, but we probably should get going soon.  You want to come, Patton?”

“Sure,” Patton said, smiling at him.  “Where are we going?”

“Back to my house today,” Janus said.  “Roman and Remus are both staying over.”

“Slumber party!  I’ll let my mom know,” Patton said, pulling out his phone.

“Go ahead and invite Logan and Virgil too, it’d be fun,” Janus said.

“Hell yeah, let’s all hang out at your place on a Wednesday night,” Remus said.

“I’m glad we agree that it’s a tremendous idea,” Janus said, as they all started towards his car.

Remus was still grinning by the time they made it there, thinking this was probably one of the best days he’d had in a long time.  There were definitely plus sides to having people who loved and supported you.

So, as they all climbed into Janus’ car to head towards an impromptu sleepover, Remus found himself deciding to stick around for a long time yet.

[strawberrywritingfiction]

Golf Outing

Tom Holland x Reader

Word Count: 1.5k 

Synopsis: Invited by he and his family, you go golfing with Tom

^^^

       You were sat at the dinner table among the Holland family members. Having met the twins, Harry and Sam through friends, and having had brief interactions with Tom, the eldest- You were invited as more or less a family friend. At least, the boys’ parents were interested in you, and in the exchanges you’d had with the boys through work and mutual connections. Plus, you thought you were a relatively pleasing house guest. Nothing abnormal about it, you thought.

“You play any golf Y/n?” Harry asked you, amidst the dinner conversations.

The rest of the boys’ heads snapped up at the question posed by Harry, most of the bunch being avid golfers and all.

“Well, sort of. But I’m nowhere up to the boys’ level.” You said with a laugh.

“You should join us for a round Y/n, we’re having a go at the nearby course tomorrow,” Tom said with a smile.

“Yeah, just a casual one, for extra practice.” Sam chimed in.

“I really couldn’t. Can’t even remember the last time I held a club - I’d have to practice in advance to get remotely close to being able to play you all.”

“Nonsense,” said Dom, “We’d love to have you join- and you wouldn’t even have to play if you’re not up for it. You can just have a few hits at the range down there, If you’d like.”

Finding it difficult to say no, and feeling Tom’s gaze held on you, you impulsively agreed to join.

This brought you to where you were now- driving mid afternoon on a Sunday, having just been to a sports store trying to pick up an appropriate looking golf outfit that fit the course’s, ‘formal attire requirement.’ Along with purchasing various balls and tees. Thankfully though, you hand a spare set of clubs at home.

Upon arriving, you met the boys in cheerful spirits, clad in their golf attire. Prepped and ready for play. So, you and the Holland clan got out on the green quickly. First hole, and your driver shot was unmistakably crap. You were glad the boys hadn’t winced at the horrible shot. You tried to play off the embarrassment with conversation between hits when being driven in the cart. The boys had 2 carts out. You sat alongside Harry and Sam in one. Tom in the other with their dad.

1st shot on the second hole though, and it was equally as bad as your previous. But luckily, the boys were distracted and missed the poorly executed swing. Finally after arriving at the beginning of the third hole, however, you stepped up to the tee, and hesitated.

“Listen guys, I think I’ll step out on this one- maybe head back, or tag along for the rest, but I think I’m out on playing. Don’t want to hold you guys back,” you said with a light chuckle. You definitely had the highest score of the bunch, and you were aware that the boys were just being polite, waiting for you to hit your past chipping shots and putts, as you were moving at a slower speed than the rest of them. Then again, they could practically be pros.

“You’re not holding us back, this is all good fun, so there’s no worries if you do continue. Otherwise, one of the boys can step out of the game and join you up in the cart, to go back to the front.” Dom said, looking to his sons. The twins made no effort to offer, which was fair, as they were in front with the lowest scores. But, to your surprise, Tom offered.

“I’d be happy to, I’ve been playing a shit game anyway,” Tom said with a laugh, placing his club back in his bag and hoisting it on his shoulder, “Only, I’d be willing to play with you on the rest of the holes for practice, If you’d be up for it. I’d... I’d Like to help improve your game.”

“My game?”

“Yeah, I think with some slight improvements to that swing of yours, you could be looking decent.”

You scoffed, “You sure? I don’t think you’ve noticed, but if you continue on with just me, you’ll be here for another few hours.”

“Time well spent.” Tom said with a smile.

The rest of the boys wished you well as they drove off to continue playing, leaving you and Tom with the remaining cart.

“Right well, you have a go first.”

“Alright,” you said, fishing through your bag for a wood club.

Interrupting as you removed one from it’s bag, Tom said, “Er- hold on, let me check.”

He too dug through your clubs before picking another one- “I reckon this one here’s a good fit,” he said, handing it to you.

“Ok then, I trust you,” You said, stepping up to the tee, “you got any other tips Holland?”

“Maybe. Give me a practice swing and we’ll take it from there,” he said, stepping back from your side.

You did as you were told, and Tom kindly gave you his input.

“Right well- this arm,” he said motioning to his own, “you’ve gotta keep that straight even on impact, no getting flimsy elbows before making contact with the ball there.”

You were trying to correct yourself, copying his directions, but upon your confusion, Tom walked up behind you to help demonstrate. “Okay so this arm,” he started, his hands gripping both of your own from behind, “You’ve gotta keep it like this through your back swing,” he said, drawing your arms back behind your shoulder. You couldn’t help but loose brief focus as he gave his directions soft spoken from behind.

He stepped back to examine your practice swing, “right that looks better, but uh- may I.”

“Go for it,” You said.

“Right, so-“ he placed his hands on either side of your hips “-you wanna kind of turn your body this direction, and move the opposite knee forward as you do.” You did just as you were told.

After the few tips, and Tom was satisfied with your practice technique and form, you took the swing, proving to have a much better result.

“See? That’s so much better! Your swing will be looking like Tiger Woods’ in no time, I bet it,”

You laughed, “All thanks to you Coach.”

Next, Tom stepped up to take his own swing. You watched, and to no surprise his form was practically perfect, landing him a nice spot on the green. You complimented his swing as the two of you hopped in the cart to head over to the next ball.

You drove the cart, and the cart rides throughout the day gave the two of you an opportunity to talk. Also, on each hole Tom continued to give you tips. You admired that he was so patient, and never got frustrated with you, or exasperated if you didn’t happen to pick up his directions quickly. He claimed you significantly improved by the end of the day. Surely enough though, by the time you got out of the course, the rest of the Holland’s had left, and it was practically dark.

The two of you carried your clubs to the car park, utterly exhausted. What was meant to be casual, fun and quick, felt as if it were never-ending.

“You got a ride Tom? You asked.

“Shit, well- no, really. Harry and Sam must have taken my car back to our shared apartment,”

“I’m happy to drop you off- least I can do. You practically gave me lessons for free today, forfeited your game too.”

“Nah, It was good fun, and I’d prefer to have forfeited than to have lost another game to those twats this month,” he chuckled.

The two of you continued to chat, and on the car ride home you both stopped for some takeout at a drive-through, seeing as now it was dark and neither of you had had anything for dinner.

You thanked Tom again once whilst dropping him off, “I’d love to do this again, actually,” he said, fumbling with the strap of his bag of clubs slung over his shoulder.

“I don’t think I’m up to anymore golf for a while,” You said, with an awkward laugh.

“Well, we won’t do golf again then,” he smiled, “maybe just a dinner.”

“Sounds good,” you agreed. Saying good night, you left to head home and upon arriving, you immediately began to receive messages from the rest of the boys.

* Sam H - Already, he won’t shut up about you 😐 9:37 pm.

* Harry H - 10 bucks said he’d be too much of a wuss to ask you out before the end of tonight and I lost 🙄 9:41 pm.

^^^

[tothemeadow]

How Genshin Characters View the Traveler (aka crushes galore)

I know this isn't a Genshin blog but I need to get this off my chest and organize my thoughts because I believe in Aether harem supremacy ✌

Disclaimer: this is meant for fun, so don’t get your knickers in a twist

Albedo

Albedo blatantly admits that the traveler fascinates them. He'll usually ask to hear of their numerous journeys and take notes on them. He quite enjoys their company, but Albedo is pretty clueless about his own feelings, especially those of the romantic sort. He wonders why he catches himself staring at them so much.

Amber

Amber is easily one of the traveler’s biggest supporters. She almost gets a bit too excited whenever they’re around, but she’ll also outright deny that she has a crush on them if anyone were to poke fun at her. If time allows it, she’ll often ask them to go gliding around Mondstadt with her.

Ayaka

Ever since she first heard of the traveler, their accomplishments genuinely impressed Ayaka. However, once she first met them in person, she was taken aback by how attractive they were. Furthermore, once they helped her out, she gets more insight of how truly wonderful they are and her affections (hence the dance performance).

Barbara

Barbara truly believes they are an actual gift sent by Barbatos himself. Not only are they kind and helpful, but they treat her with respect as a person, not some glorified object. She tends to get flustered easily and turns shy whenever the traveler compliments her.

Beidou

Beidou likes to laugh, and she thinks the traveler is funny. She often swaps stories about fights and adventures with them, so there’s definitely a bond between them! She especially appreciates their fighting spirit and would be honored to have them join their crew or at least be a drinking buddy (despite what the traveler says).

Bennett

The traveler is essentially an idol in Bennett's eyes. He admires them so much, but it never gets to the creepy level of obsession. He jumps at the opportunity to travel with them every time. Bennett isn't really good with distinguishing feelings, but knowing that they treat him as an equal makes his stomach flutter.

Childe

Hey girlie 😏 Childe gets off to the idea of someone successfully kicking his ass or potentially being able to kill him, so he is an absolute simp for the traveler. He genuinely loves it when they show disinterest at his flirting, and he swoons whenever they're sarcastic with him. He's not pathetic, he's just a sadomasochist.

Chongyun

Frankly, Chongyun’s just happy to have another friend besides Xingqiu. He also really likes the way they don’t push him out of his comfort zone, but instead try to gently coax him out. He’s often very cold to the touch and constantly chilly, but he feels oddly warm whenever the traveler is beside him.

Diluc

Appreciates the fact that the traveler isn't full of shit (unlike some people). He's impressed by their competence and their fighting abilities, so he doesn't hesitate in complimenting them. He usually says things without really thinking through them, so sometimes Diluc says something sappy or embarrassing without meaning to.

Diona

Diona thinks the traveler may or may not be cute. She won't admit it, though. She won't admit that she cares about their wellbeing either. The traveler is just another person who's going to come and go, so there's no point in getting invested in them. It's a relatively simple crush, nothing more.

Eula

Eula is more or less impressed with the traveler. She views them as a truly reliable person that is able to get the job done. Although she may seem skeptical at times, one of her greatest fantasies is to find more rebellious people like them and break free of Mondstadt and her lineage.

Fischl

Perhaps the traveler is a dashing monarch from another world! It genuinely excites her that they follow along with her roleplaying, even when some of her messages get lost in translation. She appreciates their friendly gestures and the fact they don’t treat her like an outsider.

Ganyu

A lot of people have a difficult have a hard time understanding Ganyu’s feelings, so it came as quite as a surprise that she and the traveler clicked almost instantly. The traveler treats her as another person, not as some ancient being; this type of behavior is what made her become flustered around them in the first place ☺️

Hu Tao

Thinks they’re super cute! She’s one who’s playful and flirty; however, her ways are a bit odd. She usually tries to tell what kind of casket she’d lick out for the traveler, what she’d dress them in, etc. Sometimes, she’ll bake “special cookies” in the shapes of bones just for them.

Jean

Much like Barbara, Jean sees the traveler as a blessing. However, unlike Barbara, Jean doesn't swoon over their looks or mannerisms; frankly, she's just glad that someone rational is willing to help and not make too much of a commotion (like some certain members of the Knights of Favonius).

Kazuha

Has feelings for the traveler and makes no effort to hide them. Often times Kazuha will write them poems or haikus; sometimes he'll add dried flowers or a pretty leaf. He truly has a way with words, and it never fails to stir something inside the traveler's chest. He's very gentle and mild-mannered, so he never forces anything too heavy on them.

Kaeya

Kaeya is a humongous flirt and everyone knows it. However, he seems even more so once the traveler is in the picture, and he has the tendency of showing off in some sort of way. He knows he's attractive and uses his looks to advantage whenever he can, though he makes sure to keep it somewhat subtle.

Keqing

Keqing isn’t the type to deal with people’s shit and isn’t fond of fools. Fortunately, the traveler doesn’t fall into either of those categories, so she gets along with them quite well. She can find similarities in their personalities (like working constantly), so she appreciates the fact that she can openly discuss these sort of problems with them.

Klee

Genuinely sees them as an older sibling! Klee often goes to them for advice or to spend the day together; often times, she'll send letters or drawings whenever they're apart (and yes, the drawings usually consist of her and the traveler blowing something up).

Lisa

Another flirt, no problems asked. Lisa makes euphemisms quite a bit, and it truly brings her joy when her comments make the traveler blush. Despite being scolded by Jean to tone it down a bit, she genuinely can't help it. The traveler is her personal cutie, and it's only natural for her to treat them as such, isn't it?

Mona

She could easily tell right away that the traveler was someone special upon first glance. Mona sometimes dreams about them - especially about how they helped her out and landed her a place to stay in Mondstadt. She’s grateful for everything that the traveler has done, yet she’ll deny any feelings for them with a bright blush on her face.

Ningguang

The traveler is seen more as a pet. Ningguang is straight up the sugar mama type, and she openly flaunts it. Granted, she respects the traveler highly, but something about their being Liyue’s hero sounds very, very charming. Whether or not she makes a romantic move is entirely up to her, but it’s not out of the question.

Noelle

Needless to say, Noelle gets flustered fairly easily, so whenever the traveler shows affection and support towards her abilities, she somewhat short-circuits. She'll usually try to play off the fluttering in her heart and simply convince herself that the traveler is only being nice, but she can't deny the fact that she has feelings for them.

Qiqi

Another one that looks up to the traveler as an older sibling. She often refers to her notebook to remind herself as to why she likes them so much; they’re patient with her and genuinely try to help her remember things, plus they’ll bring her candies from Mondstadt sometimes.

Razor

Razor has no idea what romantic feelings are or how he should identify them. All he knows is that he gets excited whenever he sees the traveler, and his metaphorical tail wags furiously. He's keen on protecting them and bringing them food, plus he likes to lie next to them when they relax by the fire.

Rosaria

Like Diluc, Rosaria likes how the traveler isn’t full of shit and can actually put up a decent fight. However, she isn’t the type to compliment them, but rather points out how they can further hone their skills. If anything, she acts more like the traveler’s drunk aunt.

Sayu

She’s mostly indifferent towards the traveler, but - like with most people - she envies their height. Sayu appreciates that they don’t make fun of her size, plus they somehow always manage to find her when she’s hiding for her nap, so she’s fairly interested in what kind of person they are.

Sucrose

Like with most people, Sucrose is quite shy around the traveler, but for some reason she feels more comfortable around them than anyone else. She respects them much like she respects Albedo. She also thinks the traveler has a very nice smile.

Thoma

Thoma is another flirt, but he’s much more reserved in his ways. He’ll often make encouraging comments or flatter the traveler with a bright smile. His flirting either makes the traveler blush or it goes right over their head. There is no in between.

Venti

Venti has a slight... obsession for them. Not in a creepy way, but more in a clingy sense. He practically hangs from them whenever he's messing around, and he unashamedly writes them songs. Venti is also a big fan of hugs! When he's drunk, though, that's when things take a darker, more seductive turn...

Xiangling

Xiangling’s poor little heart goes doki doki whenever she gets to cook for the traveler, have them cook with her, or eat a meal that they prepared. The way to her heart is definitely through her stomach! It’s a fairly small crush since cooking is her true love in life, but if the traveler pops up at Wanmin Restaurant and specifically asks for her again… Oh boy.

Xiao

Secretly has feelings for the traveler, but he refuses to admit it. Xiao thinks feelings like these are a waste of time and only bring pain; since he's been through much and the ultimate emo, he's even more emotionally constipated than the normal person. Although he doesn't outright say it, he'll often show his affection through actions.

Xingqiu

Two words: library dates. Whether if it's meant to be romantic or not, Xingqiu has an affinity for those who show genuine intelligence and is willing to discuss stories with him. Xingqiu could literally sit there all day and listen to the traveler tell him about the different worlds he's been to. It's quite refreshing!

Xinyan

Like Venti, Xinyan will write songs for the traveler, but she's more timid about showing them since rock music has yet a long way to go in Liyue, much less in Teyvat. She'll casually invite them for a jam session and ask for their opinion on how her songs sound. All in all, she thinks the traveler is pretty rad 👀

Yanfei

Yanfei is very skilled and knowledgeable in a wide range of topics, but when it comes to the art of seduction… not so much. She isn’t entirely sure if she has affections towards the traveler or not, but she enjoys being in their company nonetheless. However… she may or may not have tried to teach them Liyue law while over tea 😅

Yoimiya

Thinks the traveler is a lot of fun! She was already interested by the mere fact that they were an outsider, but once they showed their worth and came to her aid, it really sealed the deal. Viewing fireworks with them was an incredibly crucial moment, and she’ll keep that memory stored in her heart for all time.

Zhongli

Zhongli is very protective of them and wants to spoil them, but at the same time, he's also very, very broke. It's not sugar daddy status, obviously, but he enjoys treating them out to a dinner or a night on the town. The traveler thinks he's doing it just to be nice, but Paimon calls bullshit.

[things-we-cant-say]

pretty little liar

Pairing: Ten x Female!Reader

Summary: In order to get your annoying ex off your back, you tell a little white lie that takes an unexpected turn.

Genre: College!AU

Warnings: Smutty smut, dirty dancing

Word Count: 4,867

A/N: Unable to withstand Ten’s power any longer, I had to start writing about him…or a version of him anyway. Hope someone out there enjoys my first dip into the ~imagines~ pond. ☺️

The party was in full swing by the time you and your best friend Amy arrived, the music so loud it could be heard down the street. It was a wonder the cops hadn’t broken it up yet but hey, the night was still young. Ducking through the arched doorway with Amy hot on your heels, you let her guide you into the foyer where you both stopped to take in the scene. The place was packed with people dancing, drinking and laughing—everyone apparently having a great time. Which was perfect for you because all you wanted to do was blow off a little steam and pretend you hadn’t spent the day fantasizing about committing the perfect murder.

You enjoyed school for the most part and you enjoyed your classes, but really you couldn’t wait for it all to just be over. Two extra years and your master’s degree in linguistics was almost within your grasp. You still weren’t one hundred percent what you planned to do with it (teaching was definitely out) but either way you were ready to dive into the real world. To no longer be stressed out about exams and papers and boring ass professors that constantly seemed to have a stain on their tie.

And to get far, far away from your stupid ex, Adam.

“Uh oh you have murder face,” Amy said as she peeped around to look at you. “What’s wrong?”

You shrugged. “Just in my head I guess.”

Amy hummed. “I get it. That’s why we are here though! To get fucked up and do something we regret in the morning.”

You laughed. “Guess we’re Uber-ing home.”

She grinned and grabbed your wrist, pulling you over to a table loaded with different types of alcohol. The guy ‘tending bar’ as it were winked as you two approached. “What can I get you for?”

“Something with alcohol but where we can’t taste the alcohol!” Amy exclaimed happily. “Oh! And if you’ve got any little umbrellas I’d like one of those too.”

He did finger guns and proceeded to cook something up in two red cups, sticking in two pink umbrellas when he was done. You and Amy took your drinks and after a cursory sniff, took a sip. The tequila wasn’t as strong as with a single shot but you could still detect it just not enough to make you stop drinking. Unlike Amy you didn’t plan to get completely fucked up but you weren’t going to say no to a nice buzz.

Cups in hand you migrated onto the dance floor and fell in with everyone else, bopping to the beat and scream chatting over the loud music.

“I really needed this!” Amy yelled. “Statistics is kicking my cute little ass!”

“I know what you mean!” You shouted. “But hey! Soon we’ll be done and actual jobs will be kicking our cute little asses!”

Laughing, Amy bounced up and down, sending her blonde hair flying. “Is that why you’ve been so grumpy lately? Or is it…he who shall not be named?”

With a sigh you took a big sip of your strawberry margarita. “Yeah. He keeps fucking calling me and leaving me these stupid ass messages, apologizing and shit. I’ve blocked him but he just uses someone else’s phone.”

Amy’s eyes stretched wide. “That’s like stalker behavior! Or maybe he really is sorry for what he did.”

You snorted. “Sorry for having sex with his ex in the backseat of my car? As far as I am concerned he can take his ‘sorrys’ and shove them so far up his ass they come out his mouth as safaris!”

Amy choked a little on her drink, hitting you hard on the arm in admonishment after she stopped coughing. “I hate you! I could have died!”

Her words made you smirk. “But did you? No but for real, fuck Adam. Fuck Adam and anyone who even looks like Adam!”

“Woo!” Amy threw both hands up into the air, yelping as liquid sloshed down onto her head. “Oh shit! Drink emergency I’ll be right back!”

Before you could say anything, she turned and hurried back towards the drink table. Alone in the middle of a dancing crowd, you didn’t know whether you should slink over to a corner or just keep dancing. That last thing you wanted was some random dude trying to groove with you. Of course if you decided to hold up the wall nothing would stop some random dude from trying to hit on you either. At a bit of a loss you drained the rest of your drink and did a I don’t really know anyone two step, hoping Amy would return soon.

The tequila settled nice and warm in your stomach, making you feel more at ease. Most of the people at the party were from your school but not ones you associated with on like, a daily basis. Sure you recognized a few faces from the library or cafeteria but there was no one you’d had more than a surface conversation with.

And then your eyes landed on him. Ten.

Ten was a…different sort of person altogether. He was the kinda guy CW shows thought actually existed in college, except he was very real. And very much fucking gorgeous in that unattainable way CW shows also loved. However, that sort of did him a disservice because as far as you knew, he was just a decent guy who happened to be able to do some pretty awesome things.

For example, he was an amazing dancer. The kinda dancer that just freaking mesmerized you when he moved. Had you wondering how in the hell had he taught his body to do that shit? One minute he was in total sync with everyone else and the next he was performing his solo and blowing your mind. He’d done some show a few months ago with a friend and you’d nearly flipped out of your chair watching him work. The body rolls, the attitude, the way he’d just commanded the stage…whew. Was it possible to be a fan of someone who wasn’t famous?

Then there was his art; things he designed himself or drew from memory. Art class was essentially where you’d sorta came to be acquaintances with him. You weren’t exactly good at drawing but you liked it enough that you wanted to improve, plus it helped you de-stress after particularly hard days. Ten on the other hand excelled and just like with dancing, it was interesting to watch his process. He’d described himself as a sensory artist so he wasn’t always as concerned with the end product as the professor sometimes wanted him to be. From your eye though he’d yet to create anything that wasn’t remarkable. In fact, more than once you’d wanted to ask him to design a tattoo for you, but felt it would be kinda weird. He had no idea what you were into after all. So far your conversations with him had consisted of colors and that one time he’d asked to borrow one of your brushes.

You were pretty sure he’d sold something to an art gallery.

Anyway so Ten could dance and he could draw and he could sing and he was fluent in several languages; as far as you knew the only thing he was kind of shit at was cooking. But who hadn’t set a class kitchen on fire once or twice? Or three times…

If he were an asshole—well people would probably still crush on him—you’d count that as a major flaw and want to keep your distance. But the kicker was that he could do cool things and he was nice. Dorky even especially when it came to cute animals. Was always posting pictures of himself at the animal shelter playing with the kittens and the puppies, or just acting like an idiot with friends. Yet it was that confidence that made him seem untouchable, and also made him sexy as fuck. More than once you’d fantasized about biting his Adam’s apple.

Heh.

Shaking your head, you fanned lightly at your face with both hands. Maybe stepping outside for some fresh air would be a good idea.

“Y/N!” Amy nearly tripped over her pretty sandals in her hurry to get back to you. “Weewoo weewoo weewoo!”

“Um…”

She grabbed your shoulder. “It’s a police siren! We have a code red situation here, I repeat a code red! Adam just walked in!”

“What?” You blinked and immediately looked towards the doorway, brows narrowing when you saw she was right.

Standing there in a white t-shirt in his formerly handsome glory was your ex-boyfriend, Adam. Once upon a time you’d thought the world of him; thought he was the kinda guy you could probably marry someday. The kinda guy you’d introduced your family to. Turns out he was the kind of guy that hooked up with his ex in your car repeatedly until finally being caught in the act. Sure it had been gratifying to make him and her walk home half naked but it had done nothing to quell the pain left behind. Thankfully though your pain quickly turned to anger and now you usually focused on not murdering him when he popped up. There was a lot you could forgive but cheating was firmly in the do not cross zone. Everything you’d felt for him evaporated the moment you saw him with her.

And he’d promised he was over her. Lying piece of shit, you thought to yourself.

“What the hell is he doing here?! Does he even know anyone here?” you asked with a frown.

“I dunno!” your friend said slowly. “It’s possible, big campus and all. Do you want me to help you climb out of the bathroom window?”

“Yeah my boobs aren’t fitting through one of those skinny ass windows,” you replied wryly. “Though to be honest I’m almost willing to risk it. C’mon let’s—”

It was too late. Adam spotted you like an arrow searching for its target, eyes registering shock and then elation. He reached you in three quick strides, opening his arms for a hug that he was damned crazy to expect. “Y/N. Wow you—you look amazing. I’m so glad we ran into each other.”

You huffed. “I’m not. I told you we’re over Adam. Or does me blocking your calls not get the message across?”

He exhaled deeply. “Look I know I messed up but I’m sorry. Classes were just really tough and—and Lucy and I would reminisce about old times…”

“Do I look like I give a shit? You cheated on me and we’re over.” The lie came so easily. “Besides, I’ve moved on.”

“Yeah!” Amy poked him in the chest. “She’s moved on so suck it!”

Adam arched a brow. “You’ve moved on?” He sounded skeptical and that made your blood boil. “Since when? And with who?”

You’d once heard that Hippocrates came up with the saying drastic times call for drastic measures though it wasn’t something you’d be willing to bet money on. However, standing there with your ex eying you like he just knew you were lying brought a whole new meaning to the idiom. You would one hundred percent be damned before giving him the satisfaction of gloating.

Tequila’s kicking in…

Without missing a beat, you put a hand on your hip and motioned to Ten. “Him. I’m seeing him.”

Amy made a sound like a cat having its tail stepped on while Adam gaped at you. “What? I—no. No way. You’re totally lying. I’ve seen the people he’s dated and you’re not his type at all.”

This bitch.

Twirling on your black heels, you strolled across the room to where Ten sat in an arm chair, chatting with a few of his friends. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you straddled his lap and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I know this is awkward as fuck—I’m so sorry—but if you just play along I will owe you big time. I’ll give you anything. You need a kidney? You can have a kidney.”

Ten’s friends had gone mute and as you sat back to gauge his reaction—or to possibly be thrown off of him—you bit your full bottom lip. His dark eyes were watching you calculatingly, his own lips pursed together like you were a riddle he needed to solve. Up close he was utterly breathtaking, all smooth skin and silky black hair that fell artfully across his forehead. He smelled incredible.

And then he spoke.

“There you are baby,” he said wrapping an arm around your waist. “I’ve been looking for you.”

That was when you figured you owed him your first born but it was fine. “Well, you found me. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He chuckled. “You’re worth waiting for.”

His friends still looked confused though they didn’t have time to voice their opinions. Adam stalked over seconds later like a man on a mission. “So it’s true? You and Y/N are together?”

Ten tilted his head to the side and you saw the moment the lightbulb went off for him. “Yeah we’re together.”

Adam huffed. “Since when? For how long? Where did you two meet?”

Ten smirked. “Are you taking a survey or something?” He brushed his lips across your jaw, making you shiver. “The only thing that matters is that she’s mine. Let’s dance, Y/N.”

“I would love to,” you replied with a smile. You were also grateful he’d remembered your name.

You climbed off of his lap and took his hand, sending Adam a you thought look before pulling Ten out into the thick of the crowd. Your heart was beating a mile a minute but you felt too giddy to pay much attention to it. Plus, you knew Adam was watching you like a hawk and you didn’t want to let on how nervous you actually were. If he found out you were lying he’d never leave you alone and consider you pathetic to boot. Besides the nice buzz that was finally creeping down your spine told you everything would be fine. How could it not be?

Ten’s hands settled low on your hips and he gave you a little tug, pulling your back to his chest. You fit rather perfectly with him, his chin brushing the top of your head. Picking a rhythm in the song that thumped with bass, you began to move together. You rolled your ass against him and leaned your head back to rest on his shoulder, focusing on his breath as it ghosted across your neck. A silver of light wouldn’t have been able to get between you.

Normally you wouldn’t have dared to do something like this with a near stranger but your desire to make your ex suffer was bigger than your nerves. Besides Ten appeared to be all in on the ruse; his body twisting and curving in sync with yours, fingers on his right hand sliding up between your breasts to wrap lightly on your throat. His teeth nipped at your earlobe and you gasped. Reached around to his side to clasp his shirt for an anchor. You heard him chuckle and suddenly you were spun away from him only to be reeled back in, this time face to face.

The room felt like it was two hundred degrees. You weren’t exactly wearing much—a slinky black dress with tiny ties at the hem—but even that seemed too much. Without missing a beat though you and Ten continued to grind with one another, his thigh just barely pushed between your own. Every time you swayed forward to meet him the denim of his jeans rubbed deliciously against you, sending sparks sprinting through your veins. Both of his hands were on your ass as if helping to guide you, and as you met his gaze you couldn’t help but bite your lip at what you saw there. Desire, lust, hunger—no one had ever looked at you like that before. Like they could just devour you and still not have enough of you.

It made you feel powerful.

You grinned and wrapped an arm around his neck, fingers giving his hair a little tug. He hissed and lowered his head so that he could mouth at your bare shoulder, hands squeezing your ass so hard it nearly hurt. You weren’t sure when you started to get wet—maybe it was the moment you sat on his lap or he decided to play along with your dumb stunt—but you could tell it now. Your panties were sticking to you, your skin was on fire and it was becoming difficult to think straight. Honestly however you didn’t want to think at all, especially not if it meant not being in Ten’s orbit.

“Ten,” you whispered into the skin under his jaw.

He hummed, the sound vibrating through your body. You plastered your hand to his chest and pulled it down, nails catching on the thin material of his shirt until they were brushing along the zipper on his jeans. You gave him a quick squeeze—he was hard and straining—and he cursed loudly. Between one second and the next he was dragging you down a dimly light hallway, past kissing couples and one guy passed out drunk in the doorway of someone’s room. He swung you both into the first vacant room he came to; a lavish bathroom at the very back of the house. The door was closed with a swift thump and the lock clicked shut.

You licked your lips as he crowded you back into the counter, looking down at you with a tiny smirk. That part of your brain that yammered on about bad decisions was surprisingly quiet, so you figured it was beyond okay to pull him down for a kiss. As with most of the stuff he did, Ten was a damn good kisser. His mouth was soft and warm, his tongue playful and coaxing. He kissed you like he’d been waiting to kiss you for a long time. Until it grew deep and sensual. Until you were both panting with the need for air but neither wanting to let go of the moment.

With a gasp you tilted backwards a bit, your knees suddenly weak. “Fuck me,” you said absently.

“Can I?” Ten asked, chest heaving. “Can I fuck you?”

“God yes,” you replied, already pulling your dress up until it hitched around your waist.

Ten hooked his thumbs onto the band of your pink panties and slid them down your legs, laying them next to the sink. He looked you over with that same eye he used for his art but you could tell he liked what he saw. You grabbed his hand and brought it between your legs, spreading them wider for him. Two of his fingers slipped inside of you without any resistance to find you damp and aching, already so hot for him. He started a lazy rhythm—in and out, in and out—like he was in no hurry at all. Like he wasn’t driving you crazy all the way down to the tips of your toes.

He kept his eyes locked onto yours as he touched you, lips slightly parted like he couldn’t believe this was happening. That rang true for both of you. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever really be friends with Ten, let alone about to hook up with him. It was like you’d stumbled into some alternate universe.

Bringing his free hand up to your cheek, he smoothed his thumb across your lips, pressing lightly until you let him in. You sucked his thumb into your mouth and gave it a little nip, smiling when he smirked. When he deemed it wet enough, he pressed it to your clit and you moaned, your hips stuttering upward with a will of their own. He began a firm massage, working your clit this way and that, fingers still thrusting in their maddening motion. Of course he’d be great with his hands. Of course he’d be able to play your body like a finely tuned instrument.

Pressure started to build low in your stomach. “I—I’m…”

“Turn around.” Ten took a step back and made a show of sucking his fingers into his mouth, tongue darting out to lick between them like he wanted to savor every drop.

You whimpered but did as he requested, your eyes finding his in the wide silver mirror. You watched as he unzipped his pants and pushed them along with his dark colored briefs down to the floor. You hadn’t seen him pull out a condom but he had one; ripping open the packaging with his perfectly straight teeth before rolling it onto his hard cock. It was a delicious looking thing you had to admit, long and thick with a slight curve. If you’d had the time you would have gladly went to your knees for him.

A low breath shuddered out of Ten’s lungs as he pushed inside of you, his hands gripping your waist so strongly you were bound to have a few bruises later. “Fuck, you’re tight.”

It had been a while since Adam and nobody after him until now.

When he assumed you’d adjusted to the size of him, he pulled nearly out before driving back inside of you. You moaned and pushed back to meet his thrusts, feeling the pleasure shattering through you. Your breasts bounced as he moved and he reached a hand forward, tugging down the top of your dress so that he could cup one. He rolled your nipple between his fingers and pinched, bending over you so that he could bite down onto the tender skin of your shoulder. The motion sent him even deeper and you both groaned at the feeling.

“Te—Ten,” you stammered, losing your train of thought when he rolled his hips liked he did on the dance floor. “Oh fuck! Fuck!”

The picture you made in the mirror was a very erotic one; you could see every single expression on Ten’s handsome face. The utter enjoyment he was obviously finding in fucking you was written all over it; there was nowhere for it to hide. His head was tipped back, eyes fluttering closed only to pop back open so that he could watch himself shove into you over and over again. He had you up on your tip toes, nose just an inch from the mirror itself. He was always sexy but tonight that word took on a whole new meaning.

All you could do was try to give as good as you got.

You slapped a hand onto the sink to steady yourself and clenched around him, reveling in the low whine that escaped his throat. It kinda sounded like your name.

And then he was pulling all the way out, dick bouncing as he stumbled backwards. You blinked in confusion. “Wh--what’s wrong?”

Ten ran his fingers through his hair. “C’mon. I want you to ride me.”

He sat down on the closed toilet seat lid and you straddled him without a second thought, sinking down onto his dick with a full body shudder. With your dress around your waist and your breasts jiggling in his face as you bounced up and down on his cock, he traced his tongue around your nipple before lightly biting down. You tangled your fingers in his hair and panted out his name, letting out a squeak when his palm connected with your ass for a hard slap. Planting his feet on the floor, he leaned you backwards a bit as he drove into you repeatedly, eyes watching how well your pussy took him.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against your collarbone. “Gorgeous—you feel so good.” He bit you again, this time on the side of your neck. “So good.”

With one hand on his shoulder to brace yourself, you rose up and let yourself come down hard over and over again, feeling him pound so deep it was almost criminal. Had the music not been so loud you knew exactly what you would have heard; the sound of skin hitting skin as Ten fucked you like he owned you. Just for tonight, maybe he did.

You weren’t sure how long it went on but when you came it still managed to take you by surprise. Your body lit up like a Christmas tree from the inside out and you cried out Ten’s name, clenching around him, your nails digging into his shoulder blades. He muttered a drawn out fuuuuck and pinched your clit with this thumb and forefinger, making you jerk so hard you nearly tumbled off his lap.

“Ah! Ten!” You shouted as he kept it up. “I—no—oh god—”

Your pussy tightened around him again and he shivered, thrusts growing erratic as he came with a grunt. You trembled through a second orgasm almost in disbelief—usually the only thing that could get you off twice in a row was hidden under your bed in a shoe box.

Seconds later you flopped against him, attempting to catch your breath. He was still rolling his hips just a tiny bit, making all the too sensitive areas ping.

“Whoa,” he said breathlessly, wrapping both arms around your waist. “That was…”

You chuckled softly. “Yeah…” Chancing a look at him, you admired the way strands of his dark hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. He was glistening, shirt sticking to his chest. He smelled like hints of your perfume and you smelled like hints of his cologne. It was all so intimate.

Reluctantly you sat back and gazed at him, wondering if things were about to get awkward. But Ten just smiled and ducked his head a little, a barely there blush creeping up into his already flushed cheeks. It was so adorable you couldn’t have resisted kissing him if you tried. From the way he melted into you, he’d had the same idea.

After a few minutes of just enjoying the feel of his lips against yours, you forced yourself up off of him. Your legs shook; you had to grab the counter to keep from tripping in your heels. You could already tell you’d still feel him tomorrow and the thought made you kinda dizzy, but in a good way. Blinking at your reflection—your hair was a dark mess—you knew there was no way you’d be able to hide the love bites that adorned your skin. They stood out stark red and purple like a bruise.

Ten remained slouched on the toilet for a couple of moments before removing the condom and tossing it into the trash. He dabbed at his dick with a handful of toilet paper, and then pulled up his underwear and jeans. “So…can I ask you something?”

You fixed your dress. “Sure.”

“Who was that guy?” he inquired with a grin. “The one you obviously wanted to get away from.”

Oh shit you’d forgotten all about Adam! “Oh he—he’s my dumb ex. He jumped stupid at me and I—I wanted to show him that he’s an idiot. That I’m totally over him. I—I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

He laughed as he patted down his hair. “No complaints from my end. I think he got the message though.” Reaching behind you he handed you your panties. “Don’t wanna forget these.”

It was ridiculous to be embarrassed considering what you’d both just done, but you couldn’t help it. You took them from him and pulled them on, keeping your eyes on the ground. “Thanks… Look Ten—”

“I’m hungry,” he said interrupting you. “Have you ever had grilled dried pollack?”

“Um yeah once I think,” you replied uncertainly. “It was pretty tasty.”

Ten motioned behind him. “I know a place that makes it if you wanted to go. And…maybe afterwards we could just hang out. Talk.”

That sounded amazing. “I’d love to. But…”

He picked up on your meaning. “Y/N I sit next to you in all of our art classes. I make conversation with you for no reason. Do you really think I of all people forget my brushes? Honestly I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while but you’ve always seemed…disinterested.”

You were dumbstruck by his admission. “Me?! That’s just my face! You’re the unattainable ingénue or whatever!”

Ten chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. “Oh please the only thing standing between me and being a serious cat dad is having an apartment that allows animals. However, this conversation is pointless. You owe me and I’m collecting…if that’s okay?”

You huffed but couldn’t stop grinning. “It’s perfect.”

The walk from the bathroom to the living room had everyone staring with a few people letting out loud whistles. Adam had disappeared but Amy was there to give you a big thumbs up. You promised to call her later and then let Ten pull you outside into the warm night air, your fingers happily entwined with his.

[vincememes]

banana fish starters

WARNINGS: IMPLIED SA, VIOLENCE MENT, DRUGS MENT spoiler warning .    to make it less long, the rest is under a cut.

feel free to adjust pronouns / names as needed !

ASH LYNX

❛   even if i did know something, what good would it do?  ❜  

❛   even a stupid street punk like me knows that  ❜  

❛   i envy you … being able to jump like that.  ❜  

❛   what could be more relaxing than three days away from these guys?  ❜  

❛   i wish i could hate you. i need someone to hate.  ❜  

❛   someone is dead. not that you’d give a damn one way or the other.  ❜  

❛   treating him like you’re giving the pope a bath isn’t going to help.  ❜  

❛   aren’t there any decent parents in this world?  ❜  

❛   that guy always regarded me as a human being with a real heart, not some sort of tool.  ❜  

❛   this little act of charity, you’re going to regret this.  ❜  

❛   i tried to forget.  ❜  

❛   stay with me... i won’t ask "forever". just for now.  ❜  

❛   well, i already know you’re a sick man.  ❜  

❛   ready to lose your life over a pizza?  ❜  

❛   my name... has become the signal for a massacre.  ❜  

❛   what on earth... have i become?  ❜  

❛   what do you think i am...? i’m a murderer... okay?  ❜  

❛   i told you before. i kill people.  ❜

❛   they paid the price for their decisions— that’s all.  ❜  

❛   what the hell do you know?!  ❜  

❛   let‘s say i am ‘exceptional’. the problem is, i never, ever, my whole life wanted to be.  ❜  

❛   you said i am not like ordinary people.  ❜  

❛   there’ve been countless times in my life when i thought i’d be better off dead.  ❜  

❛   that nothing could be worse than what was happening to me right then.  ❜  

❛   at times like that...death looks sweet and peaceful, and unbearably enticing.  ❜  

❛   war is always good business for those in power.  ❜  

❛   sorry to destroy your youthful innocence.  ❜  

❛   you have any idea what those guys made us do?  ❜  

❛   don’t tell me you still believe the pen is mightier than the sword.  ❜  

❛   if you ask me, the white house can go screw itself.  ❜  

❛   i wonder if i’m dying somewhere.  ❜  

❛   i wasn’t expecting the law to protect me.  ❜  

❛   i’ve ignored it all my life... i sure as hell don’t plan on hiding behind it now.  ❜  

❛   just keep them away from me— please!  ❜

❛   this town’s my backyard, remember?  ❜  

❛   sunrise and sunset are about the only times this junkyard of a city looks good.  ❜  

❛   even if i said no, you wouldn’t go back anyway.  ❜  

❛   if you went home i’d probably worry if something happened to you.  ❜  

❛   so it’s better you’re right here, where i can keep an eye on you  ❜  

❛   some people never change.  ❜  

❛   vulture got together with the viper. you make a great pair.  ❜  

❛   why now after all this time— does it have to be you, of all people...?  ❜  

❛   i don’t stand a chance. i’m dust against him.  ❜  

❛   over my dead body. if anybody hurts you... it’ll be over my dead body—  ❜  

❛   i don’t care who it is. i am not letting anybody hurt you.  ❜  

❛   do i scare you?  ❜  

❛   dont give me your stupid advice.  ❜  

❛   i’m happy, goddammit!    ❜  

❛   i know there’s at least one person in this world who cares about me. who doesn’t want anything from me.  ❜  

❛   do you have any idea what that’s like? i never did... not once in my entire life—until now.  ❜  

❛   and that’s worth more to me than anything else.  ❜  

❛   go back home! don’t look at me!  ❜  

❛   i don’t want you seeing me like this!  ❜  

❛   my hands are dirty with other people's blood.  ❜  

❛   i don't even know how many people i've killed.  ❜  

❛   i'm bad news.  ❜  

❛   i wish i could’ve been like you.  ❜  

❛   it’s just that… i always picture the worst-case scenario, that’s all.  ❜  

❛   guess it’s because i’m a coward.  ❜  

❛   i just can’t relax. it’s turned into a habit.  ❜  

❛   i was so scared i couldn’t speak, i couldn’t cry, and i screamed in my head, but... nothing came out.   ❜

EIJI OKUMURA

❛   if i ever lose you too... i'll go crazy.  ❜  

❛   come back safely. i'll be waiting for you, forever.  ❜  

❛   if you feel responsible, the same goes for me.  ❜  

❛  my words might not mean anything now, but just remember one thing.  ❜  

❛   even if the world turns on you, i'll always be on your side.  ❜  

❛   humans can change their destiny.  ❜  

❛   if i'm going to die anyways, at least i'll die trying!  ❜  

❛   don't apologize. that's something for people like me to do.  ❜  

❛   i'd do anything for you.  ❜  

❛   i know we'll meet again, no matter how far apart we are.  ❜  

❛   you're the greatest friend i'll ever have.  ❜  

❛   you're not alone. i'm by your side. my soul is always with you.  ❜  

❛   you asked me over and over if you scared me. but i never feared you. not once.  ❜  

❛   i'm really glad i came here.  ❜  

❛   i met lots of people. and more than anything, i met you.  ❜  

❛   that’s when i decided. i would always believe in you, no matter what.  ❜  

❛   no matter what happened, he would always have at least one person...  ❜

❛   i am very worried because i haven’t seen you and i don’t know if you are okay.  ❜  

❛   but so what? we are friends. isn’t that enough? what else do we need?  ❜  

❛   actually, i always felt that you are hurt, much more than me - that your spirit is wounded.  ❜  

❛   i know you are much smarter than me, and bigger, and stronger - but even so.. i always wanted to protect you.  ❜  

❛   but what did i want to protect you from?  ❜  

❛    i think i wanted to protect you from your future.  ❜  

❛   because your fate was sweeping you away, like a flood.  ❜  

❛   but i’m not saying “goodbye” to you... because this isn’t goodbye.  ❜

❛   are you going off on your own again?  ❜

❛   somewhere far away.. without a word?  ❜

❛   i want to see you. i wish i was with you right now.  ❜ 

YUT-LUNG

❛   a bloody history is inevitable when you are the one ruling.  ❜  

❛   what's wrong? you hated him, right? guess what? so do i.  ❜  

❛   no need to glare. i won't eat you up.  ❜  

❛   there's nothing you can do to help.  ❜  

❛   and what can you do to help?  ❜  

❛   you really irritate me.  ❜  

❛   you make people want to protect you or make them want to tear you apart and crush you.  ❜  

❛   so, what to do with you now.  ❜  

❛   i heard you tried to escape again. you have some spunk.  ❜  

❛   we have hired him, his target is your friend.  ❜  

❛   i have other things for you to do for me.  ❜  

❛   we still have two more scorpions.  ❜  

❛   i am a monster, too.  ❜  

❛   i'm not hearing any good news.  ❜  

❛   you become all tame when you’re around them.  ❜  

❛   you’ve degraded from a lone lynx to a content pet cat.  ❜  

❛   depending on your answer, i may not forgive you.  ❜

OTHER CHARACTERS (shorter, max, sing, shunichi, etc.)

❛   his face when he laughed was cute, and childlike, and totally angelic.  ❜  

❛   it's my problem too! if you go alone, you'll just be killed.  ❜  

❛   you'll die for nothing!  ❜  

❛   i won't let you go alone.  ❜  

❛   i'm sorry, but believe me when i say this: i'll die before i let them lay a finger on you.  ❜  

❛   i can't anymore. set me free. i'm in so much pain.  ❜

 ❛   we need to stay apart so at least one of us survives  ❜   

❛   if the former boss gets hit then it's the duty of the new boss to make the drop.  ❜   

❛   if we don't fight back now, we'll forever be expendable tools. ❜  

❛   you asked me to look after them.  ❜  

❛   yes, honey.    ❜  

❛   that’s for you to decide for yourself..  ❜  

❛   what’s wrong? you can’t punch me from that far back.  ❜  

❛   this will be the last time i give you a word of advice.  ❜  

❛   time is an ironic thing. for us, it means to age. but for people like him, it means to grow.  ❜  

❛   i love all women. they're beautiful and strong. like life itself.  ❜  

❛   it would only be making another one of us. ❜  

❛   one more wretched being, unloved and unloving, whose only sustenance is hatred and nihilism.  ❜  

❛   don’t fight your memories, cuz you’re never going to win.  ❜  

❛   i guess home isn’t something you want to remember if you ran away from it.  ❜  

❛   in one second i knew he could read everything on my mind.  ❜  

❛   i wondered when this boy had started to watch out for his soul, then i knew how much he had suffered.  ❜  

❛   you are the most beautiful and the most dangerous, of all the beasts i have ever known.  ❜  

❛   rather than hate and be triumphant, you chose to love and be destroyed.  ❜  

❛   i staked my life on that choice. please try to accept it.  ❜  

❛   one who does not love cannot be loved, either.  ❜  

❛   you at the very least knows what it is to love.  ❜  

❛   how can you expect someone who suffered so much to have any respect for authority? ❜  

❛   fine line between offender and victim it’s hard to know where to draw it.  ❜  

❛   there’s something about you that i just can’t hate.  ❜  

❛   'cause you’re hurt your soul’s bleeding-even now.  ❜  

❛   you’re just like me that way.  ❜