#I’m looking through her art again for more CLUES
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DANA FORESHADOWED S3 LUZ’S PRIDE PINS IN THE CHRISTMAS DRAWINGS LIKE SHE DID HUNTLOW I-
#I’m looking through her art again for more CLUES#the owl house#Dana terrace#Luz noceda#foreshadowing
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burn your life down | chef luca x fem!reader | chapter three
summary: while you and luca seek inspiration outside of the kitchen, you finally share a piece of yourself with him.
warnings: fluff, eventual smut, eventual angst not use of y/n, conversations about divorce, second person pov, swearing, danish inaccuracies, very little connection to the world of the bear.
word count: 2.2k
a/n: thank you again for all the shares, reblogs, comments! let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!
part two | masterlist | part four
It’s been a month or so since Luca’s tasting menu for one, and he’s been nothing but a good thing in your life: a friend, a collaborator, a regular diner who gives fantastic feedback. You’ve become fast friends, and after what he did for you, how could you not? You find yourself spending days off with him at a more frequent pace as of late: enjoying cups of coffee, perusing bookstores, following Luca on bicycle as he shows you the city’s lesser known, yet spectacular bakeries. He gives you a heads up when he can’t make it into the restaurant, but most Saturdays, he continues to make his regular Saturday 7 pm date week after week.
Some days you make him something off-menu – something you’re working on, something you’re recipe testing, a dish you’ve bounced ideas around with him over – and other days he’s eager to try whatever new thing you’ve just added to your menu, insisting for you not to go through the trouble of whipping up anything else. It’s a special relationship – something only food-people can understand – and you’re glad that Luca entered your life.
“Hey, your boyfriend’s here,” Jesper says, interrupting your dinner prep as he grabs your attention.
“My what?” you ask him, with no clue in the world what he’s talking about.
“Luca,” he answers plainly, as you and Mathilde both exchange a look.
“Shut up, Jesper,” you both snap in unison, shooting a glare his way.
You exchange another look with Mathilde, almost as if to say: you good? She nods towards the front of house as if to say: yes, I’ve got this covered.
“Yeah, give me a second and I’ll be right out,” you finally direct towards Jesper, as you put down your knife. You reach a stopping point, wiping your hands on your apron, as you leave behind the Mikkelson twins bickering about what Jesper’s previous comment.
Something about ‘you baby her’ from Jesper and a ‘you’re going to scare her away and this is a good thing, you idiot’ from Mathilde in return. At least that’s what you’re able to make out from your basic Danish language skills (you’re working on it, you swear, and right now you know enough to get by in the kitchen and that’s enough)!
You spot Luca with a package tucked underneath his arm as he leans up against the front door, waiting for you.
“Hi,” you greet him, choosing to ignore the fact that your heart skips a beat as soon as you see him.
“Hey. I was on my way to the post office around the corner. Thought I’d stop in and say hello,” he replies with that ever-charming crooked smile of his.
“No, yeah, I-. I’m glad you did,” you return, unable to hide the smile that spreads across your lips.
You don’t want to make a big deal out of it, especially if this is somehow something you’ve made up entirely in your head, but it seems as if Luca’s found different ways – different excuses – to stop in more and more frequently as of late.
“What’s in the box?” you ask him, curiously, gesturing to the package he holds underneath his arm.
“Remember that American I was telling you about? The one who came to stage?” he asks, looking down for a moment.
“Yeah.”
“His restaurant opening is this week. Wanted to send this off. As a gift.”
“That’s kind of you.”
He blushes, just for a moment.
“Think we’ve lost touch with the art of a handwritten note. A novelty these days,” he says, with a quick raise of both eyebrows.
“Absolutely. I mean… it worked on me,” you chuckle, immediately regretting what’s come out of your mouth.
You’re not sure why you said it and what exactly it is that worked on you you’re referring to, but it’s too late to take it back.
“Yeah, I’ve got him to thank, really,” he chuckles, almost shyly. Taking a bolder approach as he continues with, “For reminding me to walk the walk. For bringing me to you.”
You pause, your heart catching in your throat. In the event of fight, flight, and freeze, it really feels like you’re choosing ‘freeze’ whenever Luca’s been around.
“I bet you’re a really great teacher,” are the words that fall out of your mouth, immediately regretting them for how silly your response sounds.
“So was he,” he parries back.
“Sure,” you nod, still reeling from whatever the hell came out of your mouth a moment ago.
Your disconcerting slip-of-the-tongue seems to leave an uncomfortable silence between the two of you, tip-toeing around each other, unsure of who should make the next move.
“Anyways,” Luca clears his throat, collecting himself. “I ehm, gotta get going. Gotta get back to the restaurant here in a few. It was good seeing you today.”
“You too,” is all you reply, frozen and stuck in your own head.
What the hell is wrong with you? You think to yourself as you watch him go.
“Luca, wait,” you say, pushing through the front door to your restaurant as you chase after him.
He turns back towards you, a kind of ‘did I leave something behind?’ look on his face.
“I can’t stop thinking…” you trail off, taking a breath before you continue your sentence, leaving Luca unsure of what you’ll say next.
“...about that dish you’re stuck on. And about what you said.. about finding inspiration. Being open to… you know, what’s out there.”
“Yeah?” he asks, smiling at the thought of you thinking of him.
“Yeah I… I think I have an idea,” you declare boldly.
And it may be a baby step, but it’s a baby step towards him, towards who knows what, towards whatever’s ahead of you.
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You pitch the idea to Luca – to explore different mediums of art as a way of seeking out inspiration (and maybe it’s just another excuse to see him too) – and after a few weeks of busy schedules, covering at the restaurant for coworkers-on-holiday, and lining up days off, you and Luca finally make it happen. It’s been over a year now, since the restaurant opened – and almost two since you came to Copenhagen in pursuit of a dream.
“Wait a second. So you haven’t read Rene Redzepi’s A Work In Progress?” Luca asks incredulously looking for confirmation of the obscene tidbit of information you’ve just revealed to him.
“No,” you admit, guiltily stealing a glance his way.
“My god, it’s fascinating! I’ll have to lend you my copy,” he charges forward, solving the problem at hand without question.
“I’d like that,” you smile, almost to yourself as you think about how much you like being around Luca. “And I’d love to hear about your time at noma – what working under him was like.”
“Uh… that’s maybe a different story for a different time,” he deflects with a chuckle, shooting you a look. “Perhaps after a few pints.”
“Heard,” you nod in understanding, turning to him as the two of you find a good place to post up in the park. You and Luca set your lawn chairs down in Kongens Have, or rather The King’s Garden, right behind a row of other lawn chairs set up that face the tent-covered stage.
“It’s good to see you,” you finally say, really taking him in.
“It’s good to see you too. Sorry it’s just working out now,” Luca apologizes emphatically.
“No, it’s okay! We uh… we’re both busy. We both run restaurants. I mean-, I’m surprised we figured it out in time for the show,” you reply, easily letting him off the hook.
“This is pretty cool,” he says, taking in your surroundings. “First time here?”
“Yeah I-, I didn’t make it when I first moved here… and then this time last year I had just opened the restaurant so… yeah first time. You?”
“Yeah, first time,” he echoes with a reassuring nod.
“Really? I just thought-, well, I thought Copenhagen Jazz Fest was like a huge deal here,” you inquire.
He shrugs, responding with, “I reckon you’re a big jazz fan then, eh?”
“Yeah,” you say.
“Have you always been into it or-?” he questions curiously.
“Uh, no. I… my ex,” you hesitate, figuring you should tell Luca sooner rather than later. “... my ex-husband is a music historian so… I got really into it when we first started seeing each other.
He balks, only for a moment, hoping you don’t notice the strong reaction that briefly flashes across his face.
“You were married?” he asks, barely able to hide the surprise in his voice.
“Yeah,” you admit, nervously.
He waits a beat.
“Do you… want to talk about it?” he asks carefully, with an honesty and genuine curiosity in his voice.
“I-I don’t mind. As long as you don’t-,” you stammer, only a little taken aback by the grace he’s shown you.
“Please,” he encourages, listening carefully. “I like learning about you.”
You freeze for a moment, searching for where to begin, and more than anything, in awe of Luca.
“We met right after I moved back home to Boston – right after I finished school,” you begin, watching him carefully for any kind of reaction.
“And it was good. For a long time. But after a few years of being together, his mom got sick and uh… we both decided that we wanted to move to London so that he could help his sisters take care of her. It was just easier… if we got married… with immigration and stuff.”
“But you loved him?”
“Yes,” you answer. “I think… we knew we wanted to stay together… so we took the leap, unafraid of the fact that everything has its expiration date too. Ours just uh, came a little sooner than we expected.”
“What happened?” Luca asks.
You chuckle dryly, racking your brain for the answer to a question you’ve asked yourself a million times.
“Um… moving back home changed a lot, I think. And we met when we were so young that I don’t think by the time we were caring for a sick parent together, we realized we didn’t really even know who we were anymore,” you explain, putting words to a feeling that’s live in your heart for so long – long enough that you’ve barely shared them with anyone else.
“And… I was living in a whole new country without any kind of familiarity. I was homesick, and all of it – it was just really hard on the both of us,” you think through as you speak.
“I think it just made us realize that we had changed… and that maybe we weren’t the same people who fell in love all those years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Luca apologizes, sending you an empathetic glance.
“It’s okay,” you’re quick to reassure him. “It was tough. Don’t get me wrong. Like… really tough. But nothing… horribly wrong happened. Some people can grow together.” You pause, only for a moment. “We didn’t. We… weren’t those people, I guess. So we grew apart.”
Luca takes a few moments to process what you’ve just told him with a pensive look on his face – and you can’t blame him.
He waits a beat, before returning his gaze to you, a respect for you in his eyes: for your honesty, for your story, for your resilience.
“Are you still in love with him?” he finally asks.
It’s a good question – an interesting one – and even more interesting that he asked in the first place.
“There are parts of me that will always love him,” you share, the vulnerability coming more naturally to you as Luca makes you feel more and more comfortable. “He’ll always be a part of me and… I still keep in touch with his family, you know. They became… my family too.” You pause, knowing that you can say this next part with full conviction:
“But to answer your question, no. I'm not… I’m not in love with him anymore.”
Luca nods slowly, almost as if he’s waiting for you to change your mind – to take it back – to say something that convinces him otherwise. But you don’t, and he’s not sure he’ll be able to help himself from giving in to things he’s been feeling for you.
“I hope you don’t mind that I asked,” Luca finally says.
“No I-,” you begin. “I’m glad you did. It feels nice… having someone ask.”
He smiles, “Like I said. I like learning about you.”
And with that, the two of you settle into your lawn chairs as the performers make their way onto the stage. There’s a shift – within the crowd, between you and Luca – as the musicians take their places, ready to perform. With the first few notes, the tuning of a guitar, a few keys on the piano, you feel yourself relax a little, encompassed by the warmth of the Copenhagen summer night.
It’s almost as if telling Luca, sharing this with him, has lifted a weight off of your shoulders – no longer hanging over your head as you go back and forth of when to tell him, and if you should tell him, and thoughts of ‘why the hell are you worrying about this it’s not like he wants to know’.
Except he did and he does because he wants to know you.
And tonight, because he asked, because he’s proven to be a great listener, and because he looks so damn good doing it, you might just let him.
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a/n: ok how the hell are we feeling now that we know a little more about reader, her past, and why she's been holding back?! i honestly wanted to write a character that felt fresh, and different from me/my make my heart surrender character SO yeah, this where we're at --second chances at love and a story about opening up again -- with more to come.
#chef luca#will poulter#luca the bear#the bear season 2#the bear headcanon#luca x reader#the bear hulu#the bear fx#the bear fanfiction#chef luca x reader#pastry chef luca#burn your life down
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Sing For Me Lovely
By Cannonsoupforthesoul
This is my first time ever posting my own work, it’s 100% brainrot smut. These characters are mine and have no relation whatsoever to any other character or person living or dead 🩷🖤 I do not own the graphic art you see below, if you are the owner and would like it taken down please send me a dm🩷🖤
Content Warnings: TW-NonCon, TW- Kidnapping,TW- Dubcon, TW- Bondage, Oral (f receiving), Fingering, D/S vibes, Yandere vibes, Obsession, Cuss Words Are Used, Masochist Vibes, Blood/Minor Gore(?)
Word Count - 1678
Copyright @Cannonsoupforthesoul aka me, Aava 2023. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.
🌙
Her toes twitched and flexed, legs flung over his shoulders with his broad hands shackled around her thighs. She couldn’t bear to look down and see his dark eyes peering up at her, never once stopping his pointed assault on her pussy.
He’d taken her somewhere, but there were no clues in the dimly lit room. The dark oppressive curtains were drawn shut and the bay window was too far away from the bed. Of course, that was ignoring the fact that she was handcuffed to the headboard. But thinking about that was too stressful, too frightening.
Books lined the exposed brick wall in towering bookshelves amidst gothic art and mirrors on the wall opposite her, a velvet jade loveseat sat in front of the window. There was even a dark wood coffee table, a tv, and a giant black and white photo was hung above the bed.
A studio apartment, or a large bedroom?
Did it even matter?
Iris felt her eyes roll back when her captor laid a particularly rough swipe of his tongue on her pearl, the beads of his tongue piercing pressed against the sensitive bundle of nerves before he sucked the throbbing organ into his mouth. It felt like his was trying to devour her, the sounds of his appreciative groans sang in her ears to the soundtrack of her handcuff chains clanging with her struggling. Tears dripped a path to her hairline as she bit her lip, breaths heavy but desperate to hold in her own sounds of pleasure.
He paused his ministrations, finally relaxing his bruising grip on her meaty thighs and rose from his crouch with a delirious smirk and heart eyes.
“Don’t cry, pretty baby. I’m just gonna make you feel good. The best you’ve ever felt. Think of it as a welcome home, yeah?” He leaned over her, balancing his weight on one hand, shirtless and incredibly broad. His size was simply terrifying; in all her life she’d never seen a man whose presence alone was so daunting. He didn’t need to be so fucking huge as well, there was simply no chance of escaping such a monster. Not in her current predicament.
He swiped his thumb through the tracks of her tears and paused before rubbing the salty taste against her full lips as his eyes lost focus again.
“You’re so goddamn pretty,” he murmured dazedly. “Like a fairy.” His thumb paused its stroke across her bottom lip and he groaned deeply before thrusting it into her mouth, pressing it against her tongue as he panted.
She’d been on the verge of pissing herself in fear since the moment he’d appeared like a shadow in that alley, and there was no telling what he would do with her once he got tired of playing with her body, but that was the moment she snapped. Iris bit down savagely, and didn’t stop even when blood began to gush from the wound she’d created. Mouth bloody, she glared at him fiercely while waiting for him to retaliate.
He did not.
His eyes fluttered shut and he moaned, pressing his hips flush against hers with a roll; that creepy adoring smirk ever present. “Maybe more like a wild cat than a fairy, but what do I know?” He gripped her jaw firmly, just enough to extricate his thumb before she bit it off entirely. “Maybe you’re a goddess in human flesh? Let me worship you.”
Iris trembled while he slithered down her body, leaving hot wet kisses against the tops of her breasts, then more and more on her soft belly as he went until he’d settled between her thighs again.
“I understand why you’re fighting me; you’re afraid. It makes sense, but I would never hurt you. I’d rather slit my own throat. You’re safe with me, I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“Then let me go,” she finally broke her stubborn silence. “Please, please just let me go!”
He grinned wide, revealing longer than average incisors and a scar at the left corner of his mouth that stretched a bit with the movement . His black hair was tied back in a bun at the nape of his of his neck, errant strands clung to his face where her slick had been plastered to his dimpled cheeks during his meal. He was of Asian descent, a veritable giant and built like an athlete. She wouldn’t admit it either, but he was one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen. Covered in tattoos and piercings and somehow, by some cruel twist of fate, exactly her type.
He held her gaze captive as he lifted her legs and placed her thighs on his shoulders, forcing her to rest her shoulders on the bed while he supported the rest of her weight with his hands holding her hips up to his watering mouth while he sat up with his legs folded.
“W-wait!” She stammered desperately through a flood of more tears. “You didn’t even tell-tell me your name you bastard.”
He just chuckled distractedly, cheeks flushed red with excitement. “It’s Shota honey. Remember to sing it real loud for me, yeah?”
With that he went back to work, savoring every inch of her sex. The sounds he made were animalistic, licking at her hole until he could fuck it with his tongue, until her wetness poured freely. She squirmed but there was nowhere to go. Her breath came in quick pants, already over sensitive from from the hour he’d already spent eating her pussy. Breathless whimpers broke free despite her efforts to stay silence once more.
Shota had doubled his efforts, as if his meal might be snatched away from him any minute and made Iris shriek when he began supporting her hips with one arm while his other hand slid toward her beckoning heat. He released his suction on her clit with a pop to the enrapturing chorus of her first clear resounding moans and French kissed her cunt lips with a gleeful smile.
“That’s it lovely, just let me see you feeling good. Can you do that for me? You look so beautiful like this, fucking hell. What about this, how’s that?” He murmured against the flesh of her thigh, and sucked the flesh into his mouth hard while he slid his forefinger into the furnace between her thighs with a groan of his own.
Iris shook against the bed, her feet kicking at the sudden sensation and fluttered again when his thumb rolled over her clit. It was too good, so much better than all the times she’d ever touched herself. Her fingers were never long enough, and silicone was really just plastic, she’d never quite figured out how to use them to their full potential and didn’t bother trying when her hands did the job just fine. He was the real thing, and there was no ignoring that.
“You can take another,” the pussy drunk giant grunted as he replaced his thumb with his tongue and thrust two fingers in oh so slowly. He shuddered as his fingers traversed her silky heat, scissoring his fingers while still ministering to her clit and labia with his desperate seeking mouth.
Iris twitched and whimpered at the onslaught of intense pleasure. She couldn’t think anymore, there was no escaping this moment and she had no choice but to resign her self to be pleasured until she was a mindless quivering puddle.
Time seemed to stop for a moment when Shota’s knuckles hit a small spongey bean in his path within her creamy walls. A wicked cackle immediately bellowed out of him, and with a sinister grin he returned with three fingers. Thrusting fast and deep, angling towards her g-spot.
“Sh-shot-ta! Shota, Shota!” She chanted his name, not even noticing when he lowered her body back onto the bed since he never stopped fucking his fingers into her. The squelch of her slick as it dripped down his hand to his forearm was like the melody in the background of her beautiful voice as she moaned.
“Sing for me honey, you sound so fucking good. Let me hear you.”
Her eyes had closed in their own at some point, but they flew open when a hot mouth latched onto her left nipple. He’d pushed her right thigh up to meet her chest, one big hand holding it up while he rested his weight on his other elbow to give him access to her bare chest.
Kidnapping her had taken months of planning and waiting, but the moment he had her in this room he hadn’t been able to wait before cutting through her clothes and feasting on her gorgeous breasts. She’d woken up after he’d spent the better part of two hours suckling and biting at her chest by that time he’d moved on to her lower half, but her nipples were still sore and hyper sensitive.
Shota ground his hips against the bed, sucking harder, groaning at the taste of her skin and the feeling of her hole fluttering erratically around his thrusting fingers.
The burning coil in Iris’s belly had wound tight as he worked her closer and closer to her orgasm, it felt like anything at all would set her off. Every thrust of his fingers fanned the flames of her approaching climax, and just when she began to grow impatient Shota pressed down hard on her clit and bit down on her nipple, hard.
Iris squirted with a scream, eyes rolling blindly while she babbled incoherently, “Shhh- sshhho- shhhhh…” Her feet kicked wildly when he dropped back between her thighs once more to taste the fountain of her juices, it didn’t stop as he lapped at her tender sex, or when he suddenly nipped her clit. She kept cumming as he continued the onslaught of pleasure, fingering her while he drank her nectar even when she stopped cumming and until she did twice more.
Iris didn’t move again for a long time after that. She would wake up clean and dressed and disoriented in a button down that dwarfed her smaller frame, Shota’s giant body curled around her like ivy while he watched her with heart eyes and his familiar dazed smile.
Fin.
Likes, comments and reblogs appreciated. I’d love to know what you guys think 🖤 Should I keep posting my work?
#yandere oc#delusional Yandere#Yandere Shota#Yandere oc x oc reader insert#Shota x Iris#yandere smut#dark!#oc#tw dubcon#tw noncon#tw non con#tw kidnapping#oc fanfiction#fanfiction smut#dark smut#dark! smut#tw. cnc#tw dark content#tw
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Hey You - Pt.1
Clay x Fem!Reader
My first Trolls fic, hope I did alright. I’ll try to post part 2 as soon as I can.
The sun was setting as Rhonda hurried down a dusty path surrounded by hills. Inside sat Bruce at the drivers seat with Tiny on his stomach holding his mini steering wheel. Y/n stood to their left while Branch stood to the right with his arms crossed as Velvet and Veneers popular song, Watch Me Work, played over the radio.
“Oh my kids love these guys, we’re a total Veneer household.” Bruce happily explained.
“They’re the one’s who have Floyd!” John Dory pointed out from further behind them.
“Ah it’s gonna be hard to seperate the art from the artist.” John Dory rolled his eyes and walked off while Branch and Y/n gave Bruce looks of disbelief. As the song finished, a voice came over the radio.
“That’s Velvet and Veneer’s spicy hot new single, Watch Me Work. Catch them tomorrow night at the Rage Dome where they’ll be receiving the Lifer Award (L-Lifer Award!)” Bruce, Y/n and Branch looked at each other with worry before Bruce turned off the radio.
“Guys, will Floyd even make it through that show?” Branch walked down to where John Dory and Poppy were stood by his clue board.
“Don’t worry, we’re gonna make it. We’ve been looking for clues to find Clay.” Poppy placed a BroZone poster of Clay in his funderdraws up on the clue board.
“Oh I’m sorry, the clue board, you mean my clue board?” A quick moment of silence passed as Poppy and John Dory ignored Branch. “That I made?” Poppy and John Dory continued looking at the board, still not giving Branch any response. “We like the clue board now?”
At the mention of finding Clay, Y/n quickly turned around and headed down to the other three trolls while trying to hide her rising panic.
“Do we really need to find Clay?” Poppy, Branch and John Dory turned to face her, confused as to why she wouldn’t want to find him. “I mean, we’ve already got you three.” Y/n gestured to the present BroZone members. “And it would give us way more time to save Floyd if we just headed to Mount Rageous now.”
“Uh Y/n, are you ok?” Poppy stepped forward, concerned for her close friend.
“Wha, me? I’m fine. I’m not panicked, you’re panicked. Like why would I be so nervous to see Clay again after all these years. It’s not like there was anything terrible that happened between us after the band broke up, what makes you think that?” Poppy stepped back to talk to Branch.
“What’s going on with her?” Branch sighed and crossed his arms again, still looking over at their nervous friend.
“Before the band broke up Y/n and Clay kind of had a thing going on.”
“Oh I knew it! There were rumours those two were together!” Branch reached out his hands, signalling for Poppy to calm down.
“But that night, when everyone left, Clay decided to break up with Y/n on the spot and, as you know, leave forever.”
“Oh” Poppy lowered her hands as her energy dropped after hearing the sad story. “That’s why she doesn’t want to find him.”
“Exactly.” Branch confirmed Poppy’s thoughts.
“It’s a shame really” John Dory cut into the conversation. “They were such a cute couple. I even remember when Clay made us pull that whole song together just to ask her out.”
“Oh don’t act so sympathetic.” Branch turned to face John Dory. “You weren’t even there when they broke up.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t care.” John Dory tried to defend himself.
“Ok guys, maybe now isn’t the best time for an argument. Let’s all just calm down and- what is he wearing!?” Poppy cut off her previous sentence and pointed at the poster she had stuck up before. Branch noticed what she was referring to.
“Oh, those are just his…”
“Perfect, perfect, perfect.” The music to BroZone’s old song seemed to play out of nowhere as Branch quickly got an idea.
“Funderdraws!” He smashed open a glass case holding Clay’s funderdraws which unavoidably released a disgusting scent along with a bunch of green ghost that flew around yelling ‘Stinky!’. John Dory whacked them away the best he could while Poppy and Y/n held their breaths from the smell. Branch held up the funderdraws proudly.
“John Dory, I have no idea why you saved these it’s incredibly disgusting. But I’m glad you did.” Poppy stood with a dopey smile on her face while Y/n had her arms crossed, not liking where the conversation was going. Meanwhile, John Dory put his hands on his hips in defence.
“What, they’re memorabilia. But I will be good gosh darned if I know how they’re gonna help us find Clay.”
Next thing you know, Rhonda was sniffing the funderdraws dangled in her face at the end of a stick. Branch, standing on her forehead, called out to her.
“Help us Rhonda!” He turned to face Poppy who had her head stuck out the window while keeping a grip on his vest. “She’s got the scent!” The two headed back inside quickly before anything else could happen.
Inside in the background, Y/n helped Branch and Poppy settle back in safely. John Dory came up next to Tiny and Bruce, who now hand one hand on the larger steering wheel, and leaned on the armrest of Bruce’s chair.
“Hey, Tiny, you see that button?” Tiny Diamond’s gaze followed John Dory as he pointed to a button with a swirl pattern and the word hustle above it.
“Uh yeah.”
“That beautiful, shiny button?” John Dory pressed further.
“Oh you mean the button that’s taking every fibre of my being not to press? Yeah I see it.” Tiny Diamond slid off the button as quickly as he had laid atop it. John Dory stepped forward and lowered his voice to a more dramatic tone.
“Press it.”
“Oh heck yeah ooh!” Tiny Diamond jumped off the larger steering that he had a grip on and jumped onto the hustle button causing it to glow and swirl. ‘Hustle Dimension’ began to play as rainbow lights came out of Rhonda. Her eyes lit up and began to glow.
“Let’s hustle daddy!” Rhonda let out a noise before zooming off into the distance, glowing lights trailing behind. She leapt a few times as she ran and jumped into a glowing, star-shaped portal that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
In the hustle dimension, everything was different. Everyone was placed into a two-dimensional state and the gravity that existed before was now lost as Rhonda floated about.
“Woah” Branch called out as he stumbled into what was meant to be the space in Rhonda behind the drivers seat. Poppy followed after letting out a loud gasp as she took note of her appearance. Everything then melted away and while they were still within a two-dimensional space everything about it had changed, including the visual style.
Poppy and Branch now found themselves walking down a black and white road, dancing along to the ‘Hustle Dimension’ music. Bruce then bounced next to Poppy on her left with John Dory bouncing to Branch’s right and Y/n bouncing, landing in the middle. They all laughed together before John Dory, Y/n and Bruce flew off with rainbow trails. Poppy grabbed her own hand and spun away with Branch tumbling after her.
They all flew side by side down the black and white road in the rainbow coloured world. Branch and Poppy were on the right, Bruce and Y/n were on the left and John Dory flew in the middle. They all then flew through another star that once again changed the visuals of the reality they were perceiving. Each zoomed down in their respective colours. Branch was blue, Poppy was pink, John Dory was green, Y/n was f/c and Bruce was Purple. They flew next to stars and swirled together, combining to create Hustle Man who loudly called out.
“Hustle!” Hustle Man flew off into the sky before disappearing. Rhonda finally flew out of the star portal that they had first entered and settled back down to run normally on the road once more. Bruce and Tiny Diamond had been placed back where they were but John Dory, Y/n, Poppy and Branch were unfortunately thrown onto the floor, on their backs, in a heap. Poppy quickly stood up shaking her head for a second as the song ended.
“Wow! Too much hustle is a thing.”
“Huh, look at that.” Branch waved his hand around, hallucinating rainbows following it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now dark outside. Rhonda nervously ran through a dark forest before stopping in front of a seemingly abandoned building.
“Are we sure this is where Clay lives?” Branch asked as Rhonda opened her door to let everyone step out. Bruce followed behind him with Tiny Diamond in a baby carrier. Tiny decided to reply.
“Are we sure? Our GPS is an armadillo bus sniffing used undies so no, we’re not sure.”
The group continued to walk towards the old building. Bruce spoke as they wandered through the entrance which lead into a bother part of the dark outdoors.
“Eeh. I think this is the place from every true crime podcast I’ve ever listened to.” They continued forwards through the dark, unaware of the ‘golf balls’ rolling around them. The small group of trolls stuck close together until…
“Halt!” Lights switched on revealing a giant clown face with glowing eyes and a giant tongue extending out to them. Rainbow coloured smoke puffed from either side of the clown head as it’s teeth moved while it spoke.
“Who goes there!?”
“Ahhh!” The entire group screamed in fear!
“Agh!” Tiny cried out, quickly climbing out of his carrier and into Bruce’s hair. He poked his head out once before hiding back inside.
“Who dares trespass on these sacred grounds!?” The clown demanded. Branch put on a determined face and began to walk forward strongly. John Dory tried to stop him.
“Branch, what are you doing?” But Branch continued on. He stopped when he was right near the clown head’s tongue, looking up and calling out to it.
“Listen, we don’t want any clown related trouble okay? We’re just here looking for our brother, Clay.”
The clown’s teeth moved down slightly before moving in sync with it’s voice again. “Wait a second, you’re trolls?”
“So what? You’re a clown.” Branch retorted, gesturing to the face in front of him. Unexpectedly, a yellow, golf ball looking thing popped out of the clown’s mouth and rolled towards the group.
“Woah!” Branch stepped back towards the rest of the group as the ball bounced closer to them. The ball then unfurled revealing to be a troll with crazy blonde hair and pink skin. She stood up in a menacing pose for a moment before smiling widely at everyone.
“Oh my gosh, hello! My name is Viva! It is so fantastamazing to see other trolls!” She immediately ran around squeezing John Dory, giving Bruce a big hug, hugging Y/n from the side, spinning Branch around and lifting Poppy up in her own heartfelt hug.
“Hi! Ha!” Viva smiled after quickly setting Poppy down. Poppy slouched froward, feeling slightly drained from Viva’s energetic mood, but stood up properly to hear her speak.
“So fantastamazing is my own personal word it means, um, fantastic and amazing. I used to say amastic but then I was like ‘Mmm, that’s not as good.’”
Poppy immediately tried thinking of her own word to match Viva’s. “Fantasta um awesome.”
“That’s different but that works too! Way to make it your own.” After receiving the complement, Poppy rushed over to Branch’s side.
“Is this how people feel when they meet me?”
“Yes.” Branch replied, just quickly enough to not be cut off by Viva.
“Am I being a lot? Sometimes I can be a lot.”
“Uh I’m not sure we’re in the right place.” Branch mentioned, but Viva easily dismissed his worries.
“Of course you’re in the right place. Any troll is welcome here with us.” Now stood in front of the small group of trolls, Viva clapped her hands and called out. “Okay, Putt-putt trolls, lights on for our new friends” A bunch of trolls had rolled towards Viva and popped out of their golf-ball disguises. Each one was characterised with a vibrant colour, wild hair, and some sort of sweater romper or dress. While most had their hair out, some adorned buckets on their heads while others wore green mossy hats. As Viva finished talking the lights to the putt-putt course switched on, lighting up the whole place in the dark of night. Viva began to tap her feet excitedly, seeing the expressions of wonder coming from each of the new trolls.
“Oh my gosh, are you guys hungry, are you thirsty?”
“Yes!” Tiny cheered, jumping out and back into his baby carrier.
“Fries fries, you guys want fries, I am seeing fries. Bring out the works.” Viva jumped around and gestured to a few Putt-putt trolls who excitedly left to grab the food. “Milkshakes, to celebrate!”
“Coming in hot!” A bright yellow Putt-putt troll called out. Rolling away as a hot dog, fries, banana split, drink and milkshake were placed down around the pop trolls. Viva grabbed onto the straw of the pink milkshake and drank it all in one slurp, wowing the others. She then jumped down and stretched her back.
“Woo that’s better, now I finally have some energy!” Viva ran past Poppy.
“Did you just braid my hair!?” Poppy smiled, noticing the large braid left by Viva who quickly popped back round.
“You’re welcome, it looks so good.”
“I love it!” Poppy smiled brightly as she gripped her hair. Viva then gasped and ran over to Y/n.
“Oh my gosh, your hair is so pretty. How do you get it to sparkle like that?” Y/n laughed and smiled brightly at the compliment.
“Thank you. It’s just naturally like this. The benefits of being a troll, right?”
“Totally.” Viva agreed.
“Wow, these fries are amazing.” Bruce complemented as he lifted up another fry. “They’d really go great with a burger.”
“Aaa!” A blue Putt-putt trolled screamed, leading to a chorus of panic and terror as all the Putt-putt trolls desperately tried to hide.
“What is happening?” Bruce asked.
“Yeah we try not to use that word around here. It’s just that burger sounds a little too much like ah…” Viva leaned towards Bruce and spoke in a hushed tone. “Burgens.” She winced as another chorus of screams were let out.
“We call burgers…” The group looked up to see a mysterious figure walking towards them. “Meat circles.”
“Clay?” Branch smiled.
“Oh no.” Y/n’s face dropped at his arrival.
“Clay, hey what’s up man?” Bruce cheered as he and Clay happily walked to each other.
“Hey, how you been man?” Clay smiled as they initiated their own handshake.
“Clay!” John Dory jumped forward, opening his arms for a hug.
“Hmm, John.” Clay blankly replied, giving him no more than a few seconds of attention.
“Wha?” John Dory’s face dropped at the lack of response he received.
“Spruce.” Clay gave Bruce a fist bump as they finished off hair handshake. “What do you know?”
“Actually I go by Bruce now.”
“Bruce, oh ho someone got fancy. I like it.” Bruce laughed at Clay’s response.
“Look who’s talking, is that a sweater romper?” He questioned.
“What can I say, when you co-run a place you gotta flex the drip.” Clay pulled slightly on the collar of his sweater romper before releasing it.
“Ya, I’m the fun side of the operation and Mr Clay takes care of the boring stuff!” Viva cheered as she slid into the conversation.
“Guilty.” He admitted. The two laughed together until Clay noticed branch. “Woah, baby branch!” He ran over and grabbed Branch’s face. “No way!”
“Actually it’s Big Branch now, or just Branch. Branch is fine.” Branch struggled to speak as his cheeks were squished together.”
“Come here, come here. Yeah.” Clay spoke in a babyish voice as he continued to squish Branch’s cheeks. Only stopping when Branch started to speak again.
“So Clay, this is Poppy.” Branch gestured to Poppy who appeared at his side.
“Hi Clay! So great to finally meet you.” Poppy smiled as she waved and gave Clay a quick hug. “Can you do the Rusty Robot for me?”
“Yeah no, I don’t do that anymore okay?” Clay awkwardly explained.
“Right, kidding. Ha can you imagine? I wouldn’t just ask you to do that after meeting you two seconds ago. Who would do that?” She awkwardly looked at Clay after glancing away for a second.
“Yeah, it’s just that Fun-boy Clay is dead. Serious-boy Clay only does the Well-Oiled Robot.” Clay spoke while demonstrating his new and improved Well-Oiled Robot. “And it is no friki-friki-friki fun.” He stated while ending in a pose, similar to how he would end the Rusty Robot, only with a frown and his hands in the ‘I Love You’ pose.
“I mean, that’s still pretty fun.” Poppy lightheartedly pointed out.
“Ha yeah, same old Clay.” John Dory added.
“Nah, that’s not true.” Clay tried to defend himself. “If I was still fun, would I have chosen the admin building as my bedroom?” Everyone looked over to the admin building, a small wooden shack with nothing but a window, a door, and the capacity to hold barely one troll. “Huh? Huh? Asking the tough questions guys, asking the tough questions.”
“Oh, right.” Poppy nodded.
“Wait, you still haven’t met Y/n!” Tiny smiled brightly.
“No no no.” Bruce looked down at him with worry.
“No no no no no no…” John Dory, Branch and Poppy chimed in, not noticing Clay’s shocked expression.
“Y/n?”
“Oh yeah, you’re other friend. Where did she go?” Viva looked around to try and spot her. Y/n tried to sneak away behind Bruce but was quickly noticed by Tiny.
“Here she is!” He happily exclaimed.”
“Dammit Tiny!” Y/n stomped in frustration.
“Y-Y/n, hey.” Clay awkwardly waved and stepped forward.
“Hi Clay.” The two struggled in finding a comfortable greeting backing out of a fist bump, handshake and high five. After awkwardly trying to move around their hands they tried leaning in for a hug but backed out of that too. Y/n eventually opted to just give Clay two pats on the shoulder as they exchanged awkward toothy smiles.
“Uh anyway.” Clay stepped back, Y/n doing the same. “I can’t believe you all are here. Wait, where’s Floyd?”
“That’s why we’re here. Branch stepped forward. “Floyd’s been taken prisoner in Mount Rageous by superstar singers, Velvet and Veneer.”
“And the only thing powerful enough to free him is the perfect family harmony.” The five adult trolls finished together. Tiny’s face contorted in confusion.
“Okay, either they just made that up or I have not been paying attention.”
“Well why haven’t you just called he authorities?” Clay asked but slowly came the conclusion by himself. “Oh, unless Floyd is being held in an impenetrable diamond prison.”
“Yeah, that.” John Dory confirmed.
“I’m in. I’d also like to volunteer to keep track of our expenses, just cause I think you’re gonna need somebody to be on top of that.” Clay gave the group an almost smug smile.
“Yeah I don’t think you’ll get any pushback on that front.” Bruce spoke up. Branch’s expression turned to a more serious tone.
“Great, but we need to leave for Mount Rageous like now.”
Part 2 coming soon. Have an amazing day/night where you are!✨
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WIBTA if i incorporate an old friend’s oc into my oc’s backstory?
hi!! this is a more lighthearted AITA- i’m basically just gauging proper oc etiquette bc i have no clue if this would be rude.
i (18X) am a d&d player. have been for a long time! i started at 13, with a huge group of my friends. we didn’t get to play much bc there were so many of us, but it was a blast and i ended up loving my character, natphi (a classic tiefling bard) so much that she eventually became a standalone oc for me.
in-game, natphi entered the party alongside her friend, luca (a half-elf ranger), who was played by another one of my friends (18 or 19 X now, 13 at the time). we were baby gays, and natphi and luca had a really fun sort of will-they-or-won’t-they wlw best-friendship. it was a great dynamic, and we both loved drawing them together and discussing them and even rping how they first met over discord. it was a blast, and eventually natphi’s friendship with and pining over luca became an important part of her story and character to me.
however, by this point luca’s player and i were going to different schools and had dropped several friends in that group due to standard teen drama, so it was hard to keep in touch. we stopped talking a couple of years ago with no hard feelings- just a classic drifting apart over time.
natphi is still one of my most beloved ocs (we’ve been through a lot together) and i still daydream about her friendship and such with luca. it gets difficult when i want to draw her in any meaningful way, though. luca isn’t my character, and if i drew her and posted it i would absolutely link back to her creator’s instagram, but it feels really odd to make and post art of the oc of someone you don’t talk to anymore. i can’t go and ask them if they mind, because once again, we haven’t spoken in years.
i’ve been chewing on this dilemma for a bit, but an idea came to me as i started preparing to make natphi a character sheet for a oneshot i’m doing soon: i could make natphi’s relationship with luca a part of her backstory and come up with some tragic separation of them. it would work great with natphi’s current backstory and deepen her character motivations, so there’s no problems there. however, i still feel really iffy using a now-stranger’s character with mine, even if i were to only refer to luca as more of a vague ghost than a full character. part of me feels like i’m “copying” her and just changing bits and pieces so she doesn’t look exactly the same. technically, nobody would actually be able to tell unless i told them, but i’d still feel like an ass for doing it if it’s “cheating,” for lack of a better word. however, i also know i’m a chronic overthinker, so i’m asking all of you instead: would i be TA for this??? i genuinely have no idea. thanks in advance for the input! ^^
What are these acronyms?
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Lumine's Harem (If Aether allows it) - Heizou
Summary: There is a case of serial robberies that has the detective stumped but luckily, he has the twins to help. But when they manage to find an important clue, how far will they go to help the man solve the mystery?
Disclaimer: This chapter contains incest, exhibitionism, public sex, filming/photography (with and without consent), blackmailing.
The new chapter of the series is up on my P&treon! The link is in my bio if you'd like to read it (and many other stories) and support me and my writing <3 here's a sneak peek!
Misaki double checked that the cookies was secure in the box, a smile on her face as she was quite proud of her baking skills. Closing her front door, she quickly started to skip over to her destination: the neighbour’s house. All day she was watching furniture and luggage be brought into the newly bought house and from what she gathered, a married couple had moved in. There was finally a pause in the moving to break for lunch and so she thought it would be nice to go over and say hello with a fresh batch of cookies.
Definitely not for any other reasons. And definitely not for some juicy gossip.
She rang the bell once she was by the front door, having weaved through boxes and furniture that was yet to be placed into the house.
A handsome young man opened the door, his looks taking away Misaki’s breath. With short layered black hair, his eyes a deep blue and a piercing on his left eyebrow, he was easily one of the more handsome men to live in the neighbourhood. But what stunned her the most were his arm tattoos. The sleeves of his Yukata were bunched up a bit, his body a bit sweaty from moving, and it showed off his various tattoos. Misaki could barely make out what was on him but it looked like a mix of different things. From words to art- his arms stunned her, having never met somebody with so many tattoos.
“Hello.” he said, breaking her out of his trance, “May I help you?”
“Oh! Excuse me-” Misaki said cheerfully, a bit embarrassed by her silence, “My name is Misaki. I’m your next-door neighbour! I saw you moving in and thought I'd come by and introduce myself.”
“How thoughtful of you.” the man said with a kind smile, “Just one second.” he turned around towards the house before calling out:
“Sweetheart! Come here for a second.”
A woman’s voice immediately responded: “Coming!”
The two of them waited as the sound of footsteps got closer, the third party quickly joining them. Misaki once again felt her lungs stop working as she came face to face with a beautiful young woman. With chocolate brown hair decorated with small flowers, plump pink lips and wide, adorable green eyes, all complimented by the pink and flowery kimono she was wearing- she looked like a walking angel. Her appearance and demeanour were the complete opposite of the mans and yet, they looked even more attractive next to each other.
“This is my wife, Eri and you can call me Nathaniel.” the man introduced as the woman bowed, his hand gently placed on the small of her back, “Sweetie, this is our neighbour, Mrs.Misaki.”
“Oh, hello!” Eri responded, “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for coming by.”
“Likewise.” Misaki responded, getting a hold of herself as she bowed as well. “Here, I've made you some sweets.” she said, handing over the box to Eri, “I’m quite good at baking if I do say so myself.”
“Thank you so much!” Eri said, gratefully accepting the box, “My husband and I have big sweet tooths. We’ll enjoy this a lot, I'm sure.”
“We don’t have many people in this neighbourhood who aren’t Inazuman locals. Are you perhaps from Mondstad?” Misaki asked, looking at Nathaniel.
“I am.” the man responded with a nod, “I moved to Inazuma once we got married.”
“Oh, how romantic! So, how long have you two been together?”
Eri giggled, gracefully covering her mouth with her sleeve, “I’m sorry, I'm afraid we’re still quite busy with setting up our home. But perhaps, once everything is finished, I can invite you over for some tea and we can get to know each other?”
“Oh? Oh! Yes, of course.” Misaki laughed, a bit embarrassed by her need for some gossip, “I’ll leave you two to it. If you need help with anything, I live right next to you so feel free to call me.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.” Eri smiled with a bow. With another goodbye, she gently closed the door, the sound of the lock latching audible to Misaki’s ears. She stood by their doorway for a second, blinking before she started to giggle.
She couldn’t wait to get to know them better and share all of the gossip!
On the other side of the door, the couple waited until they heard footsteps retreating from their front yard before they let out a sigh of relief, some of the stress leaving their body.
“...Do you think she bought it?” Eri- or rather- Lumine asked, looking over at her ‘husband’.
“I think that was good.” Nathaniel- or rather- Aether responded, giving his sister a nod.
Lumine let out a loud sigh, hand on her chest as she released her breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “It’s been a while since I’ve needed to act like this. I forgot how nerve wracking it is!”
“Don’t get cold feet now. We’re going to have to sell this for a while.” Aether reminded.
“I know, I know.” Lumine said, waving away his concern, “I’ll be alright. Just need to get used to it.”
Her brother gave her back a reassuring pat, “Come on. Let’s continue unpacking.”
“Sure.”
~~~~~
#subby writes#genshin impact lumine#genshin smut#genshin impact aether#genshin impact smut#aelumi#aether x lumine#heizou smut#shikanoin heizou#heizou x lumine
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Human Again
Chapter 5
A/N: I was asked if art could be made of this story, and the answer is of course! Just tag me lol, thank you all for the support <3
—————
The Cat, Spider, Fallen Angel, Princess, and Radio Demon- turned human sat in silence within the midsts of Alastors room. Alastor sat on the bed, dumbfounded by what just happened. I am the radio demon, he thought to himself. There is no way I just made a deal with the Princess of hell. He ran a hand through his curly locks before he felt a pinch in his chest.
Fuck, he thought to himself, leaning over in pain, clutching his chest as some sort of support and stability. The 4 demons looked his way, concern plastered all over their faces. Well what was he going to do about it now? He was injured, and he was human, and he was bound to Charlie Morningstar- what was there for him to do but sit and pray that he morphs back into his old self soon.
“Al, you gotta be careful,” Charlie states, walking over to where the brown eyed man is sitting. “You’re not a demon anymore, it’s gonna take more time to heal. You have to rest.”
“yeah, yeah- I kn-“ Alastor tried to get up, but felt the chain around his neck tighten, making his breath hitch.
“Rest.”
“Okay, fine.” The man obeyed, throwing his hands up in surrender- taking a seat back on the bed. He brought his hands up to his neck as if the force had caused him to choke. Everyone watched in shock as the mans smile began to falter, before placing itself back on his sweaty face. They noticed the tear stains that dragged down his face, dried up- but still there.
What the hell happened?
I need to get out, Alastor thought to himself. He needs to get to his radio tower. His radio tower is safe, and he guesses that even Charlie Morningstar is …relatively safe. But he doesn’t want to be bombarded with questions about his change in appearance, or god forbid his lack of powers.
And if in all holy hell if some delinquent decides to mention his scrawny-
“So…” Angel starts, “this has been a very interesting day- huh Smiles?”
“Very much so, Angel Dust.” Alastor replied, pulling himself out of deep thought- rolling his eyes. His hands stay on and massage on his neck wide eyed at the fact that Charlie had, and was capable of using such power.
“So do you still have your powers?”
“I don’t know, Angel Dust.”
“Are you like… fully human now?”
“Seems so, Angel Dust.” Alastors grin turned into a scowl.
“Can I see your-“
“OKAYYYY-“ Vaggie interrupts, sighing and bringing her hand up to her forehead, massaging her temples, noticing Alastor become increasingly uncomfortable.
Human Alastor seemed to be way more predictable. Maybe even more emotional- which was weird to think about considering how cold hearted he had seemed to be.
“Boss, what the fuck?” Husk cried out, walking closer to the bed- examining every inch of the overlords new body. He still felt the chains around his neck, so he obviously still had some sort of power- or maybe it was similar to how humans sell their souls to the devil? He had no fucking clue.
“Yeah Smiles, you were an injured human in the midst of hell for three days, your vulnerable state could have gotten you killed.” Angel crossed both sets of his arms. His brows furrowed.
“I can assure you both, I am perfectly fine. As soon as I get back to normal I will be ruling my territory in no time.” Alastor smile returned to its normal sharp toothy grin, yellow sharp teeth replaced with white polished ones. It looked so wrong- seeing the radio demon look so… clean?
“Yeah Yeah, sure you will.” Vaggie intruded. “Listen, it’s not safe out there- I’m assuming that’s why you and… Charlie… made that deal.” Vaggie walked closer to the bed, to stand next to Husk. “So we will be watching over you for the time being, making sure no one tries to do any… funny business.”
“Such as the Vees?” Husk asked.
“Exactly. Vox has already broadcasted the fight all over the news-”
“He what?” Alastor looked up, his eyes staring daggers into Vaggie.
Vox did… what? How many people knew? … who knew. Is this why Charlie wanted to own his soul? To protect him from… him.
Alastor sighed, not listening anymore- noticeably pissed off at the fact that he most likely needed, and would be… forced… to accept this help. Especially if he wanted to hide himself from… unwanted interactions.
“Well what are we gonna do? Keep him indoors like a caged dog?” Angel added, finding his way next to Alastor on the bed- who seemed to be deep in thought.
He examined the overlord. His brown hair was so bouncy, each curl so perfect and defined. His face was tan and seemingly soft with blushed cheeks and little freckles… Alastor stared forward at the wall, seeming disassociated- staring into nothingness- but maintaining a small, quivering smirk. He looked at the man’s pink lips, glossy from sweat and possibly tears from before. The man’s white dress shirt was 3/4 of the way buttoned, showing a little bit of his skin underneath. The shirt was a little see through, so he was able to see the bandages underneath. He looked so normal. So… enticing. So-
No he can’t. This is the Radio Demon, having thoughts like that would be absolutely foolish.
He was deep in his thoughts until he heard the sounds of deep breathing from the man, taking him away from his thoughts and onto the face of the radio host- he seemed to be deep in thought, but whatever he was thinking about seemed to not be very great by the way that his brows furrowed, and how his smirk tensed- as if it was ready to fall any moment. The man’s eyes seemed glossy.
Well, this is new.
“Smiles, Hey Smiles- you okay?” Angel asked, inching his way closer to the man. He knew that Alastor didn’t like to be touched, but he took it upon himself to take a leap of faith and place his hand on the man’s shoulder. The man was sweating, and with the sudden contact his breath hitched.
“Alastor?”
If he was still a demon, there would be radio dials in the man’s eyes, but when his eyes met the eyes of Angels, all Angel saw was big, brown eyes staring back at him. Angry, Scared, Weak.
The man’s smile trembled, then fell.
This whole scene looked wrong.
He took his eyes off of Alastor to see if anyone else was paying attention, if anyone else had seen what he had just witnessed, but they were too busy trying to figure out what to do with the former Radio Demon. Alastor looked like he was about to lose it.
“What’s going on Al?” Angel asked softly.
Alastor looked away, tightening his fists until they turned red. He looked like he was about to cry. He looked like he was going to either start puking, or hyperventilating- and Angel did not know which one it would be.
“I need my powers… I need something… I can’t… I need to get the fuck out of here.” The man said quietly- his voice breaking. The spider knew that if the man did have his powers, he would be ripping the room apart right now.
“Do you want me to take you to your new tower?”
Alastor hesitated for a moment, before responding- staring into angels eyes as a noticeably unwanted tear rolled down his cheek.
“If that’s okay dear, yes.”
#alternate universe#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel fanfiction#alastor hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel alastor#human alastor#alastor#charlie hazbin hotel#charlie morningstar#hazbin hotel charlie#hazbin hotel vaggie#vaggie hazbin hotel#angel dust hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel angel dust#hazbin hotel husk#husk hazbin hotel#human again au#angel dust#radiodust
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SF6 Comic Thoughts:
(Spoilers) For those wondering at home why the dude became homeless in SF6, Ken Masters got suckered into a crypto scheme and is tanking his company and a developing country’s budget and his relationship with his son at the same time, and he almost gets politically assassinated by the end of this.
This rules.
Yeah this was great. Completely forgot this was even an Udon thing until I started writing this because this had like, a story, and dramatic tension, a major character facing consequences and minor characters getting attention, things happening besides boring basic pretext for fanservice and special moves which has basically never happened in an Udon Street Fighter comic. I like a lot that this is keeping things in limited scope so far.
Even Bengus’ art is pretty good here. I’m really not a fan of how Bengus’s art style looks nowadays, but the black-and-white heavy shadow palette really works here (seen some scans in color and, yeah just doesn’t hit as nicely), the stylization and paneling’s pretty great, idk man, it’s Bengus with a marginal budget and time to work on his art and having interesting material to work with. This has gotta be a breath of fresh air for the dude after years spent in the SFV mines.
Oh thank heavens the character in the poster isn’t Laura, sweet lord mercy I never want to see Laura again I know she’s coming back at some point but we’re good for now thanks
I’m really liking Mel as the other protagonist here. They’ve been sitting on Mel havin an expanded role since SF3 and here he’s given quite a lot more personality than I expected, lonely and frustrated by a sheltered upbringing and biting back against his father’s indecisiveness and immaturity, a pretty great foil for idiot manchild Luke to bounce off.
Mel Masters as he’s presented here is a frankly pretty terrific idea for a Street Fighter protagonist outside the games: someone who couldn’t be less impressed by street fighting but is bound by blood and circumstance to be a part of this, the anti-Sakura. An introspective kid who really just wants to go hang out with friends his age and play Pokemon, but who’s getting dragged through wolf-filled mountains and putting up with hyperactive fireball-tossing buff dudes because his dad is one of the greatest among them.
I like Luke quite a bit here. Not gonna touch the private military contractor thing here though, I feel like that’s a can of worms to unpack later, but if nothing else, Luke gets a lot more tolerable and even enjoyable when he has someone to bounce off even just visually, whether it’s Ryu or Jaime or the player character or Mel here. I think SF6 in game and here has settled Luke into maybe the best niche they could slot him in, described as “someone who likes to fight but with no intention of getting stronger”. As in, the New Generation but not necessarily the protagonist, but rather the coach who’s showing the ropes for the protagonist, getting you used to the controls or pumping you up or teaching Mel how to improve his camping skills and etc (and in that context him being visually and personality-wise reminiscent of videogame streamers and E-sports celebrities is, a more logical and less grating decision, if nothing else, since those are the guys people go to nowadays in order to learn and improve at competitive videogames).
Curious as to what is Kalima’s deal given she’s making her debut here and what is her dynamic with JP, because I don’t think they’re quite retreading Kolin and it’s unclear as of yet how much is JP masterminding everything.
Zero clue as to who decided to have JP talk like a German cartoon here when he’s Russian and otherwise has little accent in-game. Would love it if they just revealed this was part of the ruse he was pulling on Ken and would even be in-character, since JP’s so far been defined as a duplicitous gamemaster, a brutal crimelord masquerading as a benevolent oligarch and someone who quite literally hides his winning hand the whole time he’s fighting you. I could buy that guy putting on a fake accent to trick a foolhardy American into underestimating him just enough to sweeten the pot.
In what is already a multi-layered scheme to ruin this guy and involves weaponizing the public spectacle of Street Fighter tournaments to leverage viral fame and, having a tragic child king beg Ken to fight in the tournament right in the middle of the guy having the worst time trying to manage his relationship with his son. JP is ice cold, I’m loving it. I’m loving this role he’s having as Ken’s biggest personalized enemy.
I’m loving having a Street Fighter villain who actually does have to take the slower route of planning and masterminding and backstabbing his murderous fighting tournament plots instead of just brute-forcing calling the fighters to take shots at him. JP seems significantly underpowered by fighting game villain standards, and this might make him dramatically more interesting as a villain proper.
I’m really liking the lengths that this is taking to ground Street Fighter in the here and now. IV and V took the Alpha route and moved the series onto a sort of comic book fantasyland where they’d never have to grapple with dates and timelines and so they could slide things into prequel territory, where as this seems closer to SF3 in that it wants to place Street Fighter firmly in the Now, with modern concerns and styles and changes to the world shaping the whole thing.
Almost didn’t think Street Fighter would ever bother telling a story with Ken that was actually about Ken and not just his relationship with Ryu. I’ve gone to bat for the guy before but this is easily the most interesting he’s ever been fucking ever, just this massive reversal of fortune grounded entirely in him finally not getting to have it both ways. His lore said he was facing “accusations of orchestrating a criminal plot” but little did we suspect he really DID assist in a huge criminal plot by sheer negligence. Bison would have pulled some ridiculous super brainwashing plot, but all JP had to do was just get Ken into crypto and hook him into a Nigerian Prince scam.
Ken wants a lot of things, he HAS a lot of things to deal with, and he can’t commit to any of them. He wants to be there for his son, but he can’t be there for what his son actually wants to do in life, so he drags his son into an anciliary role in his life instead. He wants to do right by the family name and company, so he blindly follows lifestyle mottos his dad used and tanks a billion dollars into a humanitarian project while constantly rejecting everyone who asks him to slow down or reconsider what exactly he’s sinking that money into.
He wants to use his privileged position to help those in need, so he funds a project intended to help a developing nation by, what else, a fighting tournament, and funds a nation into speedrunning through technological revolutions. He very clearly desperately wants to be a fighter in his prime again and do more than just fight “with paperwork”, and in the whole comic he only really comes alive when he gets to spin kick a drone, and he has this brief little moment when he has to will himself back into Business Mode to complete a deal with the least trustworthy man of all time, and the whole time he’s patently unsure about what he’s doing and the comic calls him out on it.
It calls him out on just how selfless this idea is and how much is it really about him wanting to help Nayshall’s uncertain future, and how much is it him desperately just trying to achieve something, or even deep down how much does he just want to fight again and feel good about something the way he does when he’s fighting, and the comic makes it clear it isn’t just one or the other. Ken has always been the guy who had everything, who had everything Ryu didn’t. In at least two games his plotline is “things are going great for Ken in his home life and company as usual, but he heard Ryu is showing up at the tournament so he’s dropping literally everything to go fight the one guy who makes fighting worthwhile for him”.
This is what happens when Ken’s character catches up to reality, of what it’s like for Ken Masters, immature carefree good-hearted fighting hothead, to try and manage being himself against being a global titan of philantropy and industry (and having had this entire thing thrust onto him from birth) and being a wholly attentive family man all at the same time. Something’s just gotta give. You can’t be as wealthy and connected as Ken and be irresponsive and impulsive and immature, no matter how well-intentioned or good you are. I’m frankly shocked that this went there at all after the trailers mostly implied Ken was just framed injustly.
Street Fighter has never ever even so much as gestured into the idea of Ken’s position and money as anything other than a point of contrast between him and Ryu, so to go from that to this where the whole thing’s predicated on the idea that Ken, while every bit as well-intentioned as ever and certainly a lot more mature than he’s ever been before, fucked up badly and is doing some real damage to people he cares for? That he tried to have everything and now stands on the precipice of having nothing? That’s good shit my dudes.
He hears “You said you were doing this for all the people in this country. So...haven’t you already decided?” and solidifies his decision, while the panel focuses very clearly on him clutching the red headband, the object that’s always been strongly associated with both his and Ryu’s trajectories, the thing that he gave Ryu all the way back in the Alpha series as a reminder to stay focused and not give in to the Satsui no Hadou, the monstrous thing that was tearing Ryu apart and costing him every ounce of concentration to stave off, a thing that’s come to represent their friendship as well as Ryu personally. The thing that he now clutches to stay focused in his decision, before everything goes wrong and he pays the price for it no matter what his intentions were.
This is some primo shit and easily the most I’ve ever been ecstatic about a Street Fighter plotline in a very long time. Seems like they set out hardcore to undo Ken’s long-standing role as a secondary character to Ryu and not rely on their traditionally hackier stuff with superpowered dark sides or Shadaloo plots. Thoroughly impressed and I can’t wait to see more.
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could u do an imagine for xavier based off the song i love you by billie eilish where it’s angsty but with a fluff ending?
I most certainly can! I love getting requests, makes me feel like a real Tumblr fanfic writer. Just forewarning you, I did not understand the song at all, I listened to it, I read the lyrics, I had to look at someone’s else note on the lyrics, have zero clue what I’m working with
I Love You
Pairing: Xavier Thorpe x Hispanic!Reader
Summary: Xavier tells Y/N he loves her but she doesn’t say it back and asks for a break. Xavier doesn’t know why.
Warning: errors because I don’t proofread til it’s posted, me self projecting, some thoughts that go through my head for some reason, I guess ED but not really.
Y/N is a person who is very much has her guard up. When she was younger, she was bullied for not looking like the other girls so whenever someone was nice to her, she proceeded with caution. Not to mention her own mother commenting on her weight whenever she was eating, trying on clothes, sometimes her mom would look a at old pictures of her and say ‘look how skinny you were’ and would even text her old pictures of herself and say ‘you looked so pretty, try to lose weight’ (yeah…that’s my mom, everyone). Years of receiving mean comments from her classmates and her own mother made her think she did not deserve a happy ending, didn’t deserve to be loved. She is very insecure, has self image issues, it’s a whole thing. However, with Xavier, she let her guard down, all those voices she has in her head suddenly go mute when he’s around, everything was going well. She likes the way things are. Xavier and Y/N were in the Weathervane.
“Y/N, you already had three brownies,” Xavier said,
“Then can i get one more brownie to make it even?” Y/N asked with her puppy dog eyes, she’s comfortable eating with him. Xavier looked away but then looked back and Y/N also added a pout.
“Anything for you.” Xavier said, kissing her cheek, and going to the counter to buy another brownie. Xavier came back. “Here you go, sweetheart, all warmed up.”
“Thank you, Flaquito.” Y/N said, kissing cheek. “Now what did you and Ajax do again? I still don’t understand how you guys could stone the principal.”
“It was an accident! The principal didn’t know that Ajax was a gorgon and they reached over and took his beanie off, I covered my eyes, the principal got turned to stone. Besides, he shouldn’t try to take someone’s hat away without asking ‘why are you wearing a hat’ so that is their fault completely.” Xavier said.
“Alright, fine, i believe you.” Y/N said. They talked some more, then took an Uber back to Nevermore, and now they are in Xavier’s art shed. “Why did you bring me here? Are you going to kill me or are you trying to kidnap me?” Y/N asked jokingly.
“Those are the two conclusions you came up with? Damn, sweetheart, you’re slipping.” Xavier.
“Haha, pero de verdad, why am i here?” Y/N asked.
“I wanted to show you something, hold on.” Xavier said as he pulled out a big canvas underneath a white tarp. When he unveiled it, it was a portrait of Y/N. Since Y/N has the power of botanokinesis, she can control plant life, Xavier painted Y/N surrounded by plants and with flowers in her hair.
“Flaquito, this is so beautiful, thank you.” Y/N said, hugging Xavier.
“I know we’ve only been dating three months but…I love you.” Xavier said. Y/N’s heart dropped. She backed away from Xavier.
“You’re kidding, right?” Y/N asked awkwardly.
“Kidding? No, Y/N, my feelings for you are real, i love you.” Xavier said, walking towards Y/N but she out her hands up in defense and back up.
“Xavier, you can’t love me, it’s only been 3 months, not even 6 months, not even a whole year.” Y/N said.
“Love isn’t a timing thing, it’s just what you feel and I feel great when I’m with you, you make me feel safe, you feel like home, I love you, Y/N.” Xavier said,
“Can you please stop saying you love me?” Y/N asked exasperated. She looked at Xavier and he had tears in his eyes.
“You don’t love me, is that it? You want to break up?” Xavier asked through tears.
“I don’t think you understand something, you can’t love me.” Y/N said.
“You don’t understand, you can’t tell me what my feelings are for you, why can’t you just accept the fact that I love you.” Xavier said.
“Oh my gosh, please stop saying that. I like that you painted me as Persephone, that’s how you see me, cool, I accept that, but I’m not Persephone, I am not good for you.” Y/N said,
“I think that’s for me to decided. You don’t get to decide whether or not you’re good for me.” Xavier said.
“I think we need a break, Xavier, just to think things over, so I can think things over.” Y/N said. Xavier gave Y/N a weak smile and left the shed, slamming the door. Y/N began to cry. She loved him, but she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t deserve it. It’s amazing how Xavier could see her as Persephone when she doesn’t see herself like that at all.
She was on the couch, crying, thinking about how sad she made Xavier, that made her cry even more. He didn’t need Y/N to burden him with her problems, but she also didn’t want him to think she doesn’t care about him. After a few more minutes, she went back to her dorm she shared with Enid and Wednesday.
“Hey Y/N, wait, why are you crying, what’s wrong?” Enid asked her, immediately getting off the bed to comfort her friend.
“Mm Nothing, Xavier told me he loved me and I said I needed a break, so here I am.” Y/N said as she was wiping her tears.
“You really liked him, Y/N, why did you decide to have a break?” Enid asked.
“Enid, It’s clearly a personal decision to Y/N, she doesn’t need to tell why she wanted a break, it was up to her, she did it, leave it be.” Wednesday defended Y/N.
“Thank you, Wednesday.” Y/N said. She went to the bathroom to do her business, brush her teeth, wash her face and change into her pajamas. She walked out and went to bed. However the events of today replayed in her mind and she hated it so much.
The next day, she did her morning routine and went to the quad for breakfast in her uniform. Out if everything, Y/N just grabbed a banana.
“You’re not going to eat anything else, mama?” Ajax asked.
“Just the banana, papito, I’m not very hungry.” Y/N said, gotta make up for eating four brownies yesterday, she thought.
“Okay, just checking.” Ajax said and walked away to sit next to Xavier,
“Did you notice anything weird?” Xavier asked immediately after Ajax sat down.
“I just saw her grab a banana for breakfast, that’s it.” Ajax informed him. “I’ll ask Enid if she knows anything if that helps.”
“Yes that would help, thank you.” Xavier said. He was looking at Y/N’s table. He didn’t take his eyes off her until the bell rang. As everyone was leaving the quad, Ajax went to talk to Enid.
“How’s Y/N doing by the way?” Ajax asked.
“She was crying yesterday because of Xavier, but she hasn’t told me anything about why she asked for a break. She really liked him, I don’t understand what could have happened, she was so happy to go to the weathervane with him.” Enid commented.
“It’s a mystery, Xavier is also curious about what changed. Maybe it’s a shapeshifter that looks like Y/N and the real Y/N is trapped somewhere!” Ajax exclaimed.
“Are you stoned?” Enid asked,
“Of course not, it’s too early. I’m gonna sit with Xavier today.” Ajax said,
“And I’ll sit with Y/N.” Enid said. They went to their classes and as promised, she sat next to Y/N in all the classes until school was over. During lunch, she noticed that Y/N only ate a salad and nothing else. Which is fine, nothing against it, but she chose a salad over her favorite food. Enid was starting to get worried. “Wednesday, you like observing people, have you noticed anything strange happening with Y/N?” Enid asked.
“Not really, just looks like her habits have increased.” Wednesday commented.
“What do you mean about that?” Enid asked.
“At lunch, she only eats half her food and saves the rest for later, right now, she’s eating half and throwing the rest out, meaning she doesn’t intend on eating later anytime soon.” Wednesday said.
“Thanks, Wednesday.” Enid thanked the goth girl. She was about to talk to Y/N when Xavier approached her.
“Y/N, we need to talk.” Xavier said. Y/N agreed and went to the woods with Xavier. As they were walking, Y/N tried making wildflowers grow in the grass, she succeeded and that brought a smile to her face. “Why did you ask for a break?” Xavier asked and Y/N stopped playing with her powers.
“What?” Y/N asked.
“Why did you ask for a break?” Xavier repeated.
“Xavier, i love you, i really do, but im not emotionally stable for you, don’t you see? The longer you’re with me, the more you are going to see how broken I truly am. I don’t love myself, I can barely believe that you love me, what I see in the mirror is nothing like what you painted, there are going to be moments where I would restrict myself to much that I will go to bed starving because the last meal I ate was at 3pm (which does happen to me often), I don’t want you to regret being with me. As the months this go on, you’ll see how much of a burden I am after you have to reassure me time and time again that you only love me, and you’re going to resent me because I’d be holding you back. I don’t want you to resent me, okay?” Y/N explained, at this point she was full on crying so Xavier went closer to her and pulled her in a hug. That’s when she let out a sob. Xavier’s eyes started to water, he started letting Y/N’s hair, trying to soothe her. After her sobbing has calmed down, Xavier pulled her away and lifted her chin up with his finger so he could see her face.
“You are not a burden, okay. As for the self love part, we will work on that together. I’ll be with you no matter what, I won’t resent you, if you see that I’m unhappy, although I doubt that I would be unhappy by your side, talk to me about it and break it off. If you feel like you’re broken, we’ll put the pieces back together. I would never regret being with you, you just need to talk to me about all these doubts you’re having. When did it start? How long have you been feeling like this?” Xavier asked, wiping away her tears.
“It started since I was younger, you know how ethic moms are, they always have something to say about your weight. My mom still makes comment about my weight, then there’s the elementary school bullies, so I always felt like this.” Y/N said with glassy eyes.
“You never told me that before. You have been carrying that around for years, have you?” Xavier asked. Y/N nodded, holding back a sob with teary eyes.
“I didn’t want to tell anyone but it feels so good to let it out.” Y/N said.
“I’ll be with you every step of the way, okay. We will work on your self esteem, you will learn to love yourself, we will do this together.” Xavier said. Y/N nodded and hugged him. “We won’t date until you’re ready, okay.”
“Thank you, i need that.” Y/N said.
“Anything for you.” Xavier said, kissing the top of her forehead.
The End
Don’t know how to feel about this. I will admit I cried a little since I’m technically writing about my own experiences, it came out a little short but hope you liked it though!
#xavier thorpe x reader#xavier thorpe#percy hynes white#xavier thrope imagine#hispanic reader#latina#latinx#hispanic
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A Notable Meal
A King of Mirokan story by Kerwynlar
Chapter 1: No kink. Nate meets someone important to Lawrence and learns a lot more about his husband.
Chapter 2 (will be in the reblog): Nate discovers that he likes it when Lawrence eats a lot. Really likes it.
5,350 words.
Read it below or on AO3.
~*~
Chapter 1
Nate tried not to let his driver see his frustration. It wasn’t Joshua’s fault that there was terrible traffic returning to the palace from the opening of the new exhibit at the art museum, and Nate always felt awkward raising the privacy screen mid-drive. He thought most of the staff liked him well enough but he did try to actively combat the “haughty foreign prince” stereotypes.
Nate looked at his phone again. He was absolutely going to be late for his next appointment which was dinner with Lawrence and Irina Hubbert. Nate had no idea who Irina Hubbert was and the calendar entry on his phone had no further details or briefing materials. With nothing better to do while the car crept along through traffic, Nate texted Sophia Kelling, one of Lawrence’s aides.
Sent: Who is Irina Hubbert?
Received: If HM didn’t tell you it’s probably best to let him introduce her.
Nate sighed and tapped his phone against his forehead. Great. He was going to be late for a mystery date. He knew “HM” (their shortened version of “His Majesty”) valued everything running smoothly, but surely Lawrence would understand the traffic.
By the time Nate reached the door to the drawing room, he was only ten minutes late. He paused to straighten his jacket and run his hand over his hair, then opened the door.
“Oh, but darling you look so well!”
Nate stopped in his tracks, surprised by the warm tone, not to mention the pet name.
The speaker was a tall, broad woman who Nate guessed was in her sixties, and as he watched, she reached forward and hugged Lawrence. Nate blinked. He was pretty sure he could count on one hand the number of people in the world who would be permitted to hug Lawrence, and he was one of them. But the king was smiling broadly. They pulled back and the woman reached down and patted Lawrence’s belly.
“You’ve finally managed to put some meat on your bones,” she said, “I’m so pleased.”
Lawrence had recently had to have all of his suits let out to accommodate the weight he had gained. While it wasn’t obvious to the casual observer, Nate felt (and Lawrence’s doctor agreed) that Lawrence had gone from too thin to a healthier weight. He had even started to gain a very slight paunch at his middle that Nate absolutely treasured.
Whoever this woman was, she certainly seemed to be fond of Lawrence. Nate cleared his throat and started forward again, and both Lawrence and the woman turned to him.
“Your Majesty,” Nate said, bowing to Lawrence, “I’m so sorry I’m late. Traffic coming from the museum was a nightmare.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Lawrence said, reaching for him.
Nate took his hand and Lawrence pulled him closer, wrapping his arm around Nate’s waist and giving him a squeeze.
Lawrence turned back to the woman. “Nathaniel, may I present Mrs. Irina Hubbert. Mrs. Hubbert, I’m very happy to introduce you to my husband, Prince Consort Nathaniel.”
Mrs. Hubbert gave an old-fashioned curtsy. “I’m honored to meet you, Prince Consort.”
“Very nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Hubbert,” Nate said with a friendly smile. He glanced at Lawrence for some clue about what came next.
“Mrs. Hubbert was my nurse and then my governess when I was a child,” Lawrence told him. “She and Mrs. Zeese basically raised me.”
“Mrs. Zeese was on night duty,” Mrs. Hubbert said.
“Oh!” Nate exclaimed. “Oh how wonderful! Mrs. Hubbert, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to get to know you. I want all the stories of His Majesty as a child.”
Mrs. Hubbert laughed. “I suspect if I told you everything I might be guilty of treason.”
“Mrs. Hubbert, you couldn’t commit treason if you tried,” Lawrence chuckled. “But Nathaniel and I have been married for less than a year. I think there are some things that can wait a little while.”
They moved to the sofas and Nate sat close beside Lawrence, facing Mrs. Hubbert.
“So were you here when he was first adopted, Mrs. Hubbert?” Nate asked.
“Oh yes,” she said. “The butler at the time hired Mrs. Zeese and me right after the vote. I don’t think he even asked Princess Saraphina.”
“The vote?” Nate frowned in confusion.
“When Parliament formally rejected my parents’ proposal to change the constitution to let their biological children inherit the throne,” Lawrence said, smoothing his hand over his waistcoat. “Once they had been formally rebuffed, they had to take the next child eligible for adoption. And obviously that was me.”
“I didn’t realize it had come down to a parliamentary vote!” Nate said, aghast.
Lawrence nodded. “Part of the reason they were so old when they got me was because my grandfather stayed on the throne until my father was 50, but then my parents delayed adopting and lobbied for years to try to change the constitution.”
“I don't think there was a single Mirokanian who was pleased by the royal family pulling that stunt,” Mrs. Hubbert said with a frown. “Including palace staff. Even if the king and princess consort weren’t going to prepare for the rightful heir, by god the staff was.”
“I knew your father was unpopular,” Nate said, racking his brain for information on the prior king of Mirokan. “Is that why? Because he tried to change the succession?”
Lawrence nodded. “It was one of the first things he tried to do when he took the throne, and I think people never forgave him or my mother for it. I think my people tend to give me the benefit of the doubt when I change things or try something new. No one was willing to do that for him after the business with the succession.”
“The heir to the throne is ours,” Mrs. Hubbert said. “That’s what the old king and the princess didn’t understand. It matters to us that the heir is of the people. That but for timing and luck, any of us might have been the heir.”
“So Parliament forced my parents to take me, more or less against their will,” Lawrence said. “And by that time they were well past their years of wanting to deal with a baby, even their own. Then to top it all off, I was difficult-“
“You were not difficult, Lawrence,” Mrs. Hubbert said sternly. “You were in pain and had no way to express it besides crying. It was not your fault.” She turned to Nate. “The poor little love was such a colicky baby. It took us months to work out just how serious his stomach issues were.”
Nate’s heart broke a little and he squeezed Lawrence’s knee.
“In the meantime,” Lawrence said, “my parents were more than happy to hand me over to Mrs. Hubbert and Mrs. Zeese. And I will be forever grateful to them for taking such good care of me.”
Lawrence and Mrs. Hubbert shared a warm look.
“How old was he when he was adopted?” Nate asked after a moment.
“Nine months,” Mrs. Hubbert said. “He was a little darling when he wasn’t crying. Desperate to be held all the time. Loved anyone who would give him a cuddle. We didn't get much information but it seemed like he was not cared for well before he was adopted. When he got here and had the whole staff fussing over him, he just couldn’t get enough of hugs.”
Nate glanced fondly at his husband, who was looking a tad embarrassed. He knew Lawrence liked physical affection but it was sweet to hear that he had always been that way.
“Was he terribly precocious?” Nate asked, turning back to Mrs. Hubbert. “I’ve always pictured him reading macroeconomics textbooks at age five.”
Mrs. Hubbert chuckled. “Maybe not economics quite that early, but he was reading when he was 4, I think. And we started teaching him some signs as soon as we got him and he picked them up immediately.”
“I think dinner is going to be served soon,” Lawrence said, in a transparent attempt to change the subject. “Mrs. Hubbert, did you hear that Helen is the head chef of the palace now?”
“I did.” Mrs. Hubbert beamed. “I also heard that you paid for her to go to culinary school.”
Lawrence nodded with a smile. “I did.”
Nate looked between them. “Why did you pay for Chef Helen to go to culinary school?”
“Helen was a junior kitchen assistant or something when I was a child,” Lawrence told him.
“She lied about her age to get a job here!” Mrs. Hubbert put in.
Lawrence chuckled. “That’s right. She couldn’t have been more than 14 when she was hired. But she stayed, and kept getting promoted. And when Chef Tucker told me he was retiring, I really wanted someone who was part of my wonderful memories in that kitchen to take over. So I asked Chef Tucker to stay at least part time until Helen could finish culinary school, and he was kind enough to do it for me.”
“What kind of good memories?” Nate asked quietly, slipping his hand into Lawrence’s.
“Oh, I spent hours and hours there,” Lawrence said, his eyes alight. “I didn’t like being alone as a child, so especially when I was supposed to be studying, I would go tuck myself into a corner of the kitchen where it was nice and warm and bright, and I would have the bustle as background noise while I did my work. There was always fresh-baked bread for me and they were always bringing me bits of this and that to taste. Chef Tucker said that even if I couldn’t eat things, I should know what they tasted like, so he would give me little bits of whatever he was cooking in quantities that, in theory, were small enough not to bother my stomach.”
Mrs. Hubbert snorted.
Lawrence grimaced and scratched his cheek. “That theory was not always true in practice.”
“On orders from his doctor, I was trying to keep an accurate food log for this child,” Mrs. Hubbert told Nate, “and I would ask him what he had eaten in the kitchen, and he would say so sweetly, ‘it was just a taste, Mrs. Hubbert!’ And then when he was writhing in pain an hour later I had to march down to the kitchen and deal with a chef who ‘cooked to taste, not to recipes’.” She rolled her eyes extravagantly.
“My food log got easier once the ministers started kidnapping me and I spent less time in the kitchen,” Lawrence said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Before Nate could get an answer, the door opened and one of the servants entered.
“Your Majesty,” the servant said, “dinner can be served whenever you are ready.”
“Shall we eat?” Lawrence said as he started to get up.
“If Mrs. Hubbert is ready,” Nate said. “But I want to hear about getting kidnapped by ministers!”
Mrs. Hubbert stood. “Oh, I’m very excited about a meal cooked by Chef Helen!”
When they were seated, Nate noticed that Lawrence had a huge smile on his face, but his eyes looked a little misty. Nate reached out to touch his arm. “Lawrence? What is it?”
Lawrence covered Nate’s hand with his own. “I’m just very happy.” He looked from Nate to Mrs. Hubbert. “Having the two of you here with me…” he shook his head. “It makes me very happy.”
Mrs. Hubbert reached over to squeeze Lawrence’s other hand.
The moment was broken by servants entering carrying steaming dishes. Fresh, warm bread (a staple on Lawrence’s table) was placed in the center and each diner was presented with a bowl of fragrant stew.
“I asked Helen to make Chef Tucker’s chicken stew,” Lawrence told Mrs. Hubbert. “It was your favorite, wasn’t it?”
Mrs. Hubbert frowned at Lawrence’s dish. “Yes, but they’ve brought you the same thing!”
“Mmhm,” Lawrence said, picking up his spoon and going to take a bite.
“Darling, you can’t eat that!” Mrs. Hubbert exclaimed.
Lawrence chuckled. “You still remember all my dietary restrictions, Mrs. Hubbert?”
“Of course I do!” she replied indignantly. “But it would be hard to forget onions!”
“I’m trying to build up more of a tolerance to them,” Lawrence told her and took a bite.
“Oh, your poor stomach! Why?”
“You heard I’m going to Elendria to meet the president in a few months?”
“Yes, and I heard that you did the Rite of the Seven Glasses.” She gave him a stern look.
Lawrence put up his hands. “For diplomacy, Mrs. Hubbert! I wasn’t just getting drunk and I only did it because the minister insisted!”
Her expression softened. “You must have been quite ill afterwards.”
“I was a mess for a couple days.” He looked fondly at Nate. “Fortunately, I had my wonderful husband looking after me.”
Mrs. Hubbert turned to Nate. “And what does the wonderful husband think about the king exposing himself to a food that his doctors have said he shouldn’t eat?”
Nate quickly swallowed his mouthful of stew. “I’m in favor only because the king’s current gastroenterologist has signed off on it and is monitoring him closely,” he assured her.
“He’s ultrasounding my stomach every two weeks to make sure I’m not causing damage,” Lawrence said. “I’ll stop if he finds something wrong, but my trip to Elendria will be much smoother if I can eat the food without undue discomfort and the Elendrians seem incapable of preparing food without onions.”
Mrs. Hubbert ate a few bites of her meal before asking, “Does your doctor think exposure will work?”
“He thinks it’s worth a try,” Lawrence said.
“Is it worth making yourself repeatedly feel unwell?”
Lawrence glanced at Nate with a smile. “I’ve gotten better at handling the indigestion. That’s how I’ve gotten fat.”
“You’re not fat, Lawrence,” Mrs. Hubbert and Nate said simultaneously.
They all laughed.
“I’d rather have indigestion here and at times of my choosing if it means I might have an easier time in Elendria,” Lawrence said. “I figure you of all people would understand if I’m a bit sluggish after the meal, Mrs. Hubbert.”
“Of course, darling,” she said. “I hope the exposure works and makes eating Elendrian food easier.” She turned to Nate. “Are you going with him to Elendria, prince consort?”
“Oh, please call me Nate or Nathaniel,” Nate said with a smile. “And I understand that the diplomats are working out now whether or not I’m going. Vyrian’s relationship with Elendria is very different than Mirokan’s. I’ve been there several times and I speak a little Elendrian. I haven’t met the current president but I met her predecessor.”
“I very much want Nathaniel to join me,” Lawrence said. “But since the president is unmarried, I believe the diplomats are trying to figure out the logistics of what to do with him while the president and I are meeting.” He glanced warmly at Nate. “I’m sure I would benefit from him being in the room with me but we’ll have to content ourselves with him advising me after a recap in the evenings.”
Nate smiled warmly at the praise and ate a little more stew before remembering the prior conversation.
“Wait!” he said. “What was that about being kidnapped by ministers?”
Lawrence chuckled. “When I was… eleven?” he looked to Mrs. Hubbert for confirmation and she nodded. Lawrence continued. “I was coming out of school one day, and the car that was waiting for me wasn’t my usual one, or my usual driver. I looked at my bodyguard, and he said it was alright, but I did have a moment of fear that he had sold me out to kidnappers or something.”
“Was that Gerald?” Mrs. Hubbert asked.
“Yes, it was,” Lawrence told her.
“He was sweet on me,” she said with a sly grin.
“Oh, I know,” Lawrence said emphatically.
Nate considered pulling on that thread, but decided to leave it alone.
“So Gerald opens the back door,” Lawrence continued with his story, “and inside was Peter Morvan, who was the Secretary of Finance at the time. And he said to me ‘Come along, crown prince. It’s time you learned how the Treasury works.’ So I got in and he took me to his office and kept me there until suppertime, explaining exactly what it was he did and a very broad overview of how the Treasury works. Then he sent me home and told me he’d see me in a week or two. The next day, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs picked me up and did the same thing. After I’d cycled through the whole cabinet the Finance Secretary was back and this time he dropped me off with one of his undersecretaries.
“It kept going more or less until I went to university. Four days per week, I would go to a government agency after school and sometimes the secretary would take me to a meeting or something, but most of the time I was babysat by a civil servant who would talk to me about their job and tell me what they thought the future king should know. Some people were awkward and uncomfortable with it, but most people were enthusiastic. It was the best education I could have asked for.”
“That’s incredible!” Nate enthused. “Did the ministers just take it upon themselves to educate you?”
“For a time I assumed my father had directed them, but apparently he knew nothing about it for years,” Lawrence said flatly.
Nate felt a lump in his throat at the thought of Lawrence believing that his father had done something kind for him, only to realize it wasn’t the case.
“The king’s personal assistant realized that, based on the king’s schedule, he couldn’t be spending much time with the prince,” Mrs. Hubbert was saying. “The assistant came to me, and I confirmed that the king really only spent time with him at formal events.”
“The monarch is supposed to teach their heir to govern,” Lawrence said in the same flat tone. “If they don’t, then we might as well pick someone at random to take the throne when the monarch dies. When the assistant realized that wasn’t happening, he went to the Secretary of Finance, who talked to the rest of the cabinet.” He sighed and smiled a little. “I’m grateful to the entire cabinet. They all helped me with the vote on dissolving the regency and many of them stayed in their posts through the regency and for at least the first year of my reign.”
Nate frowned, trying again to remember recent Mirokanian history. He knew that the old king had died when Lawrence was a teenager and there had been regents in charge until Lawrence was coronated. “The vote to dissolve the regency? Didn’t it dissolve when you graduated from university?”
Lawrence nodded. “But many people wanted it to dissolve when I turned 18 and have me take the throne. I had to lobby Parliament to let me go to university instead. In the end Parliament voted to keep the regency in place until I turned 22 or until I graduated, whatever came first. I had to promise that I would do my best to graduate in three years and participate in meetings with the cabinet and the regents regularly.”
“The regents were very unpopular,” Mrs. Hubbert told Nate, “and the people wanted their king.”
“I wasn’t ready,” Lawrence said firmly, eyes on Mrs. Hubbert. “The entire cabinet agreed with me that I should continue my education. If I’d taken the throne that young it would have been a disaster.”
Mrs. Hubbert opened her mouth and closed it again, pressing her lips together.
This was clearly an argument they’d had before, and Nate decided to steer them back to safer waters.
“It all seems to have worked out well,” he said with a bright smile. “Do you have other children, Mrs. Hubbert?”
~*~
Please continue reading Chapter 2 in a reblog.
#kerwyn's writing#belly kink#belly rubs#caretaking#indigestion#stuffing#weight gain kink#burping#the king of mirokan
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Life Must Have It's Mysteries (Ch.3)
Nobody asked me, but the thought of sending my beloved couple on a new journey didn't let me go. Welcome to a new adventure! No idea how many chapters there will be :) Pain continues leading me to art :)
English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) Masterlist is here.
Description: Buggy and Catherine have clues as to where to find the map. Our treasure hunt is picking up speed!
Warnings: Fun, fluff, adventureee! Shitty shit :)
Words: 4112 (sorry again)
Buggy x OC from my “You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me” series.
Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots, @hey-august, @rorywritesjunk
The title is taken from "Life Must Have It's Mysteries" by Hans Zimmer (OST Inferno).
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Chapter 1, Chapter 2
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
“Could you be more focused, Buggy? Please!”
“What? I do nothing!”
“Stop grabbing my ass, asshole!! I’m trying to read and collect all the information we have into one whole. And you're distracting me!" Catherine threw his hand off her buttocks.
“It's not me! Baby, it's you!” Buggy made innocent eyes and poked Catherine's nose with his finger. “You're lying naked next to me. Can you imagine how hard it is not to touch you?!”
“You're pissing me off already! For the last time, I'm not naked! I'm in a t-shirt! See?” She tugged at her clothes.
“That’s mine! So it counts as you being naked!”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You're disgus… Hey! What the fuck?!” Catherine moved her hand under her buttocks and reached for his separated hand. "Really? Damn you and your chop chop abilities, fucking clown!! That’s it! You're behaving badly and I’m keeping your hand!”
“Hey, give it back!”
“Nope!!”
“You'd think that would stop me?” Buggy pulled Catherine towards him with one hand and began kissing her neck.
“No, let me go!!” She tried to fight back with the papers and his hand. “Can I ask you..oh, shit..a question, my blue-haired bastard?”
He nodded and continued kissing her neck.
“Have you ever.. oh, fuck so good… had a girlfriend before me? I feel like they've either been gone a long time or never existed.”
“Of course I had girls. But cotton candy, you are not just a random girl. You’re my one and only favorite pie.” He looked into her eyes and kissed her lips.
“That's it! Let me go, fucking octopus!!! Or I'll rip your Buggy Balls off.” Catherine playfully hit him with the papers again.
“Shit!” He loosened his grip.
Catherine finally sat down, leaning on the headboard of the bed. “Are you kidding me? We had sex for two hours! Give me a break!” She ruffled his hair with his hand she held in hers.
Buggy looked upset. Catherine glanced at him, smiled and pecked him on the cheek. “Oh! Don't be sad!” She pointed at her shoulder with his hand. “C’mere, my silly clown!”
Buggy happily scooted over to her, took his hand back, put his head under her armpit, and began to run his fingers over the sheets.
“Any of your favorite riddles in here?”
“I don't see any yet and hopefully I won't.” Catherine hugged him around his shoulder, kissed the top of his head and heard her stomach murmur. “See what you did to me, my insatiable clown? I'm hungry now!”
Buggy turned his head slightly and looked at her from under his eyebrows “Do you want me to go get you something?”
“Can you?” She stroked his cheek and made puppy eyes.
“Baby, for you, I'll walk through death, scary sea currents and I’ll even go to a cafe to buy you fast food.”
“Then get me a bucket of chicken wings, fries, and a Coke, please!” She kissed his temple.
Buggy got out of bed, exhaling loudly, pulled on his pants, t-shirt, sneakers and walked out of the room.
“Thank god I'll at least get a break from him!” Catherine pulled on her pajama pants.
She was lying on her stomach with her legs dangling when she heard the sound of the door opening.
“I'm back, my cotton candy! I allowed myself the nerve to buy you your favorite double cheeseburger with extra cheese. And just for your information, a nice girl wanted to ask for my phone number but I happily told her I was already occupied with some pretty red-haired bitch.”
“Oh, stop lying, clown. Who needs you besides me! No one will put up with your whining every day. This punishment went to me.” She pushed the papers aside, got up off her stomach and sat on the bed on her knees.
“Ouch! A blow straight to the heart!” Buggy flopped down beside her, placing a large bucket of wings on the bed.
“Your burger, ass.” He handed her the box.
“With extra cheese!! Thank you, my blue-haired hero!!” Smack, smack, smack. “Have I told you I love you?"
“Nope, first time I've heard.” He kissed her temple and stroked her back with his hand. “Did you find anything?”
“Actually, yes!” Catherine took the burger out of the box and took a bite. “God, it's delicious. Here, try it.” She brought the burger up to his mouth. “Tasty?”
He took a bite, nodded and mumbled with his mouth full. “And what did you find?”
“Geeez, I still have to teach and teach you manners! Chew on that first!” Catherine laughed, took a napkin and wiped his mouth.
“Screw you!” He swallowed the food and pecked Catherine on the cheek. He snuggled against her, put one hand on her waist and stared at the papers.
Catherine made herself comfortable beside Buggy. She couldn't contain her smile and gave him another bite of her burger.
“You're so warm, my Buggy Bear. I love you. So… While you were gone, I looked at what's available and what this girl told us-- Vivi or whatever her name is. Anyway, look. The map and possibly this cryptex are right here." She jabbed her finger at the map and then reached for a french fry and put it in Buggy's mouth. "You see, there are some coordinates and arrows mentioned in these copies. There seems to be some kind of building here. Vivi wrote down two letters in my notebook. BW. I don't know what that is..”
“I know only one group with these BW. Baroque Works. Shit! And if so, we have a little problem!”
“What? Why?” Catherine turned her head towards him.
“Let's just say I have a little problem with them.” Buggy smirked.
“What? Who are they?” She turned to face him and crossed her legs.
“Well.. They're a criminal syndicate." He scratched his cheek.
“What??” Her jaw dropped.
Buggy shrugged.
“Oh my God! What have you done?” Catherine blinked her eyes and didn't take her eyes off him.
“Oh, Cathie-pie, I did a lot of things.” He chuckled mischievously, took her hand and kissed it.
“My dear Buggy Bear. I love you and hate you with all my heart but.. Can I ask for a favor? If you gonna ask me to marry you, tell me more about yourself. Ok? So.. you know. There won't be any surprises later.” She took a couple more sticks of potatoes and put them in her mouth.
“What? Afraid of that one day I’ll run away and leave you with our ten kids?”
Catherine choked on french fries. “Are you crazy? We will never have ten kids. No…” She turned and pressed her back against his chest. “I’m just afraid that based on the information that suddenly came over me, one day you will be captured and put in some prison.”
Buggy scratched his head and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Well, I got out of an underwater prison once and I can do it a second time, I guess.”
“Holy crap, what?! You were in jail? For what?” She goggled at him.
“I'm telling you, I did a lot of things before we met.” He took and kissed her hand again.
“So you're not just a mentally unstable clown who runs the circus?” Catherine squinted her eyes, slightly pursed her lips and ran her hand through his hair.
“Na-ah!”
Catherine stared at him for a long moment and didn't know what to say back. She suddenly laughed, causing him genuine surprise.
“You're not running away from me screaming in disgust?” Buggy raised his eyebrows.
“Why would I run away? Are you still hoping to get rid of me? I have bad news for you, my silly clown. I'm not going anywhere.” She reached for the fries and put them in his mouth again. “Eat up. You've had a busy life and I love it. These are the things that make you special." She noticed his surprised look when she said the word “special”. “But you're gonna tell me everything one day, right?”
He kissed her temple. “Better give me some more fries, baby. It’s yummy! And from your hands it tastes even better.”
Catherine took one potato stick and put half of it in her mouth. “Take one yourself!” She looked at him intently and squinted her eyes.
He leaned toward her to take a second bite, hoping to kiss her and continue their evening as he wanted, but Catherine quickly grabbed a new potato stick and put it in his mouth.
“Ha! Gotcha!!” She chuckled and did a little victory dance with her hands.
“Little shit!” He hugged her around her waist tightly.
“Ok! Back to our business. I don't understand one thing. If it all lies in a building owned by these Baroque Works, why don't they go looking for this diamond? It's worth a lot of money.”
“I don't know. Maybe they don't even know they have the map.” Buggy rested his chin on Catherine's shoulder.
“Great! What are we gonna do? You're suggesting we break into a mob syndicate building, look for the map and cryptex, even though we don't even know exactly where to look.”
“Sounds cool, doesn't it?” He chuckled.
“No! Not cool at all, Buggy! Do you even think with your head once in a while? It's one thing when you're talking nonsense at home, but here–”
“Cathie-pie, don't forget you're with me! We don't need a plan!” He stroked her hands.
“That's what scares me, that I'm with you! And besides…” Catherine kept silent for a moment.
“What?”
“I'm worried about you now.” She took his hand and started running her thumb over his knuckles. “You said you have troubles with these mobsters, it's dangerous for you to go in there. They can't cut you up, but they can kick your ass or torture you. I don't want you to get hurt or.. to lose you.”
He hugged her tightly and kissed her temple. “Don’t worry, my cotton candy. I’m Buggy the Clown. And Buggy the Clown always gets out of trouble.”
“Maybe Buggy the Clown needs to stop getting into trouble?”
“How boring my life will be then!”
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“Either you and I are the luckiest people in the world, or I don't know how to explain it.” Catherine sat cross-legged on the hood of the car, staring at the copies of the pages. “Look. Apparently, this building keeps the map here.” She pointed her finger at the map. “It may or may not have been bricked up when the building was built. I don't know exactly. A circle with a line below is mentioned. This is Shen.”
“What the hell is this?” Buggy asked when he was rearranging things in the trunk.
“This's a protective sign on stelae or in tombs, and also as an amulet. And it was closely associated with many gods.” Catherine tapped her toes.
“Oh, no! No gods again!” Buggy grumbled loudly.
“We live in Egypt, my little bear. There are gods everywhere.” She stared at her notes.
“What about the cryptex?”
“I don’t know.. Let me see. I don't know. It's somewhere…under the floor?”
“What do you mean under the floor?” He walked up to the hood.
“Directly. Two lines and a circle. You see, two lines and a circle are drawn here. And apparently we need to look under this drawing.” She ran her finger over the drawing.
“Sounds like their sign.” Buggy crossed his arms and look at Catherine.
“Whose?”
“Baroque Works. Two crossed swords instead of lines and a skull instead of a circle. You know, in the spirit of pirate Jolly Rogers. Shit! I like that! You and I are just like Bonnie and Clyde, cotton candy!” He rubbed his hands contentedly.
“I don't want to be like Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Why?”
“They were killed, Buggy. Anyway, what if the cryptex is not under this sign? I don't know when this building was built or when the cryptex was hidden there. I have one theory, of course.” She glanced at him. “Okay. So how do I get there?” Сatherine pointed at the large gray building near which they had been standing for a couple of hours.
“How do I get there? Have you lost your mind? You won't go there alone! No!”
“You won't go there either.” She called him with her hand. Buggy came closer to her. Catherine wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll find the map. I can handle it.”
“I know you can handle it, but I said no.” He stroked her arms. “There's no way in hell I'm letting you go in there alone. The conversation is over.”
“My hero!” Catherine hugged him tightly and glanced at him. “I love you.”
“Oh, my God. We're not dying! Why all the drama, Cathie-pie?” Buggy rolled his eyes.
“You spoiled my romantic moment, jackass.” She raised her head and straightened his ponytail with her hands. “So. What’s the plan?”
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“I don't even know how I got involved with you.” Catherine grumbled as they made their way through the underground passage. “Couldn't we have gotten to them some other way?”
“How? Through the front door? Oh, sorry, Baroque Works, we're looking for the map and the cryptex, can we come by your place for a couple hours and walk around the building. Is that how you envisioned it?”
“Oh, sorry. I bet you know better how to break into buildings, Mr. "You know, Catherine, I was in jail!” She imitated his voice.
“Quiet!” Buggy covered her mouth with his palm and looked up. “Do you hear footsteps? We're somewhere under the building.”
"Afhrjeen?”
“What?” Buggy turned around to her.
Catherine slapped his palm and pulled his hand away. “Where are we?”
“How on earth would I know where we are? We'll have to check. Wait here.” Buggy separated half of his body and reached up top, pushing back a small hatch.
“What's up there?” Сatherine asked in a whisper.
“The corridor.”
“Get me up!” Catherine continued whispering. Buggy gathered himself back, he placed one palm on top of the other and held his interlocked hands out for Catherine.
She climbed with her feet on his arms. “Why don't you use your chop chop thing and pick me up?” She watched him shrug in response. “Idiot!” She shook her head.
Catherine climbed through the trapdoor and found herself in a wide hallway decorated with large columns. On the floor she saw a red carpet.
“Buggy, where are you?” She leaned over to the hatch and gave him a hand.
“I'm coming.” He climbed out of the hatch and crouched beside her. “Further where?”
“I don't know! The notes said the east side of the building.”
“Where are we now?” He stood up and helped her to get up.
“Jesus, Buggy, I don't know!” Catherine grumbled in a whisper.
They heard footsteps approaching.
“Get back!” Buggy pushed Catherine behind a column. She pulled him by his pants toward her.
“Hey! Careful!!” He looked at her unhappily.
Catherine pulled him to her and glanced at his face.
“I bet you're getting turned on by all this!” Buggy winked at her.
“God, you're disgusting sometimes.” She rolled her eyes.
A man with two figures in the shape of swans on his shoulders and a fat tall man with the number 4 on his clothes passed by.
“Why do they look so weird?” Catherine asked in a whisper.
“Do you really want to talk about this now? Let's go!” Buggy took her firmly by the arm and dragged her behind him.
They tried to walk as quickly and inconspicuously as possible to the east side of the building.
“You know, I think there must be the cryptex around here somewhere. The buildings on the inside look like the ones the Tania communities built under the Pharaohs. You know, Cretan-Mycenaean cult and all that.” Catherine whispered and pointed at the walls and doors.
“I have no idea what you're talking about!” Buggy started grumbling and getting nervous.
“It doesn't matter. Listen, in buildings like this, cryptexes or something important was hidden in the central chambers of the chief lord. I wish I knew where the head lord's office was.”
“Over there!” Buggy pointed his finger at the door.
“How do you know?”
“Well, I was there once.” He shrugged one shoulder.
“Oh, my God!” Catherine squeaked loudly.
“Quiet!” Buggy put his hand over her mouth again.
They walked down the corridor, sometimes hiding behind columns so no one would see them. They were sneaking down one of the corridors when Catherine noticed the circle on the wall.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! We're close!” She quickly looked around the walls, peeked under the carpet, and looked at the walls again. “I don't understand. The map should be on the east wall. We're definitely in the east. It's still pretty early and the sun is still shining on this side.” Catherine felt the wall with her hands. “There must be some kind of ancient safe or something. It's the way they've always done it.”
“Maybe they moved it.”
“What do you think they were doing, tearing down the wall? No! The map's been buried here for a long time.”
“Dammit, someone's coming.” Buggy heard footsteps approaching and pulled her by the hand to hide behind a column. “Catherine, over here.”
“They're messing up the walls.” She pulled her hand away and began to move both of them along the wall.
“What?”
“They messed up the walls! Probably the building was built by people who don't understand geography.”
“I don't care about fucking geography! We need to hide now!” Realizing she wouldn't budge, he separated his arms and dragged her behind a column. “Are you even listening to me?” He looked at her angrily, attaching his hands.
As soon as the footsteps passed, Catherine looked around the spatialization once more.
“The office!!” She shrieked and rushed into the room.
“Сatherine, goddamn it!” Buggy rolled his eyes.
“Run to the other wall, look for the map. I'll look for the cryptex here.”
“No! I'm not leaving you here!” He ran after her into the office.
“The two of us can get out of here faster!”
“Are you kidding me? We're in the building of one of the most dangerous syndicates in the world! I said no!!”
Сatherine was poking around the office when a voice came from behind her. “Hey! Who are you??”
She froze and turned her head. Catherine saw a young man who wore a golden crown on top of his red hair and had number 9 written on his cheeks. He also wore a green suit with white lace along with a ruffled red scarf.
Catherine looked around the room but didn't see Buggy. “Fucking clown!” She thought.
“Me? Me..I'm your new cleaning lady. I'm cleaning up.”
“You're lying to me. Who are you?”
“I’m…”
He suddenly pulled out a bat and stood next to the table.
“Oh shit! You know it's wrong to hit girls, right?” Catherine took small steps backward.
“But you're not the girl, you're a thief.” He swung his bat in his hand.
“But still the girl!” She tried to look out into the hallway out of the corner of her eye and understand whether she would have time to get there somehow.
The man slowly walked away from the table. “Should I take you to our boss, baby?” Said the man.
Catherine was about to clam up but she saw a detached hand tap the shoulder of the man with the bat. The man turned around and a flying fist slapped him in the face and he fell to the floor.
“Shit, I hate it when someone other than me calls you baby!” Buggy crawled out from under the table and attached his arm back.
“Where have you been?”
“As soon as he came in, I hid under the table, but you didn't hear me or see me because you were yelling so loud that the whole building could hear you!” He came closer to her.
“I wasn't yelling, idiot! How could you leave me and watch that psycho threaten me?”
“I was right there!” He pointed to the table. “I was waiting for the right moment! Cotton candy, I realize you like to take it out on me but there's no time for our squabble. The cryptex, remember?”
“Right! Watch the hallway!” Catherine started to move the carpet, “Fuck! It's heavy. But the cryptex has to be here. It was always hidden in the center of the room!” She saw Buggy's hands helping her move the rug out of place. “I told you to watch the hallway. What the hell?”
She looked up and didn't know how not to laugh out loud. The body stood beside her while the head peered out the doorway. “You're amazing, my silly clown.”
They pulled back the rug.
Catherine looked closely at the pattern on the floor, it was faintly visible. “Look! Look! The drawing!”
“Better hurry up, because Baroque Works' agents could be here at any moment.” Said the floating head near the door.
“Yeah, yeah! Wait!" Catherine tapped the floor lightly. "It's moving! The drawing's moving! What was it like? Three east, two west, one east and one south.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It's a part of stupid old counting rhyme I read in a book about pharaohs and communities like that.”
“Jesus, have you ever had a life?”
“Shut up, clown!” Catherine rotated the drawing several times according to the words of the counting rhyme. “It's open! It's open!” She quickly put her hand through the gap. “It's gone!”
“What?” Buggy asked in surprise.
“There's no cryptex!”
“Are you sure?”
“No, I took it and then hid it again. Of course I'm sure. Where is it?” Catherine started crawling on the floor.
“Fuck the cryptex, someone's coming.” Buggy put his head back on his body and grabbed Catherine's arm. “Let's get out of here. We should at least find the map.”
“But-- “
“No buts. We'll figure it out as we go. If we get caught, trust me, it's gonna be bad.” He dragged her toward the exit of the office.
They both stuck their heads out the doorway and looked around.
“Where to now?” Buggy asked in a whisper.
“Well, if it's not the east side of the wall, we need to go to the west side. It's that way!” She pointed the direction with her finger.
“Let's hurry up then, shall we?” He grabbed Catherine and threw her over his shoulders.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” She started squealing.
“Can you stop yelling? Someone's coming this way!”
Footsteps and voices were getting closer by the second.
Buggy ran in the direction Catherine pointed.
She was hanging on his shoulder. “This is completely indecent, Buggy. I can see your ass.”
“Like you've never seen my ass before.” He grumbled and laughed.
“I hate you!”
They heard shouting coming from the office where they were a couple minutes ago.
“Ooh, this is bad. I bet they're sending their aides to search the whole building to look for us.” Buggy turned down another hallway.
Catherine tried to focus on the walls.
“Wait! Wait!” She started hitting him on the back. “The Shen!!!”
Buggy stopped and lowered Catherine to the floor.
She ran her hands along the wall. “Arrows. I got it! The arrows in the map weren't just arrows. There are serifs on the rocks. They need to be turned. Help me!”
The adjacent corridors were becoming noisier with each passing second.
“Catherine, honey, we don't have more than a couple minutes. Which way to turn?” There was worry in Buggy's voice.
“You turn these rocks, I'll turn these rocks. This way and this way.” She pointed in the right direction. “Ready? One, two, three!”
They turned the stones at the same time and heard a click.
“It's open!!! It's open!!!” Catherine put her hands on the rock with the drawning.
“Yeah, that's great. But hurry up!”
“Hey, you!” A man’s voice came from the hallway.
They both looked in the direction of the voice. The man with a number 4 on his clothes called out to them.
“Oh, my God. He's like an overgrown child!” Catherine's eyes widened.
“Shit!" Buggy pushed her behind a column and pressed the center stone.
The man rushed toward them. Buggy slipped his hand through the gap and pulled out a roll of paper from there. He quickly ran toward Catherine.
“Good news, my Cathie-pie. I stole the map. Second news, we have to run.”
#one piece#buggy the clown#buggy x oc#oc fanfiction#oc character#buggy the clown x oc#buggy live action#one piece live action#buggy one piece#opla buggy the clown#buggy fanfiction#buggy fic#buggy x catherine#opla buggy the clown x reader#buggy the clown x reader#opla buggy the clown x you#buggy x female reader#buggy the clown x you#opla buggy x reader#buggy x you#buggy x reader#one piece au
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// Promises // Pt. 1
Eddie Munson x Reader
Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4
Word Count ~ 3,004
Summary ~ When a new girl in Hawkins strikes the younger members of Hellfire as one of Eddie’s ‘lost sheep’ types, he’s encouraged to reach out. She’s standoffish, for the most part, but Eddie manages to break the ice with a genuine admiration of her art. It’s a start, but by the time the bell rings, he’s thankful to have at least gotten a foot in the door...
Warnings ~ Profanity; bullying; Tolkien lore(?); use of she/her pronouns, though the main character’s details are kept to a minimum, only being plus-size is explicitly stated - so I hope it can still be enjoyed as a “reader” experience!
Author’s Notes ~ So, I’ve been messing around with this one for a while, and it really just started off as some private comfort drabbles for myself. I connected with Eddie’s character almost immediately, especially since I went through some similar experiences in school - up to and including some unflattering rumors. Some of the main character’s details, interests, and expressed sentiments may be specific, but all-in-all, I wanted to keep it a “reader” friendly experience for my fellow Eddie lovers. I'm disabled, so I can't promise a consistent posting schedule, only that they'll arrive as soon as I can finish them - that said, my addled brain can sometimes overlook some editing errors. If it's glaring, I don't mind being notified, but if it's passable, let it pass~
I did make a small time adjustment to be able to (time appropriately) include some themes and media I plan to reference in the future - so the year is 1987. Enjoy!
“Trees of Valinor” photo by Aronja-Art!
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It was a long-awaited Friday, one of the first of the new school year, and the cafeteria buzzed with electricity. Mostly due to the anticipation of some sports ball game, or another, but in a friendly corner, toward the end of a familiar table, a group of voices clamored amongst themselves, excitedly, blissfully ignoring the energy generated by the rest of the room.
"New semester, new campaign! C'mon, Eddie, man!" A scrawny sophomore groaned. "We've been doing nothing but one offs for weeks now!"
Sliding a pretzel between his lips, the head of the rattling table lifted an eyebrow with a coy smile.
"By failing to prepare, Wheeler, you're preparing to fail. S'not my fault if you've refused to see my, mmh, readiness exercises as anything more than mere placeholders." He chuckled with all the sinister theatrics he could muster, bringing a laugh to the table, and gasps from a cluster of girls seated nearby.
"My sincerest apologies." Eddie gave them a cordial half-bow from his seat, which garnered him only a few odd looks and an eye roll. ‘Can't win 'em all.’ Though he'd grown quite used to that, thinking nothing of it as he turned back to his flock. "...a-a-anyway, we'll see how that lack of preparedness serves you in your daunting trials ahead."
"Daunting trials, he says. This guy!" A heavy-set boy to Eddie's other side droned in a tone half in disbelief and half in delight.
It was Hellfire Friday, once again.
"Indeed, and I expect you, one and all, to come prepared. Each of my, ahem, 'one offs', came packaged with a lesson." He rolled his head toward Mike with a smarmy grin. "A clue, if you will, that will aid you in your arduous tasks. An' no repeats if you weren't paying attention, been writing that shit for weeks. Not my fault if you refuse to appreciate it."
"At least give us a hint, man!" Gareth pleaded over the rim of his soda can.
"'Fraid not, my little adventurers! All will be revealed in due time, now huddle up; got a few things to keep in mind, yeah?"
In his best commanding voice, Eddie began to ramble a bit, seemingly enjoying the sensation of spinning an intricate tale - or the sound of his own voice, it was hard to be certain sometimes. All heads leaned in, hanging on his every word, save the far-gazed Dustin at Mike's arm who continued to gaze, curiously, out the window.
He sipped chocolate milk through a straw, idly, as he sat pondering something in the courtyard. For a moment, he looked as though he might get up, but quickly sunk back down into his seat. He had seemingly gone ignorant to the hum of voices around him, until he was snapped out of his daze by a pretzel grazing the tip of his nose.
"Am I borin' you, Henderson?" Eddie asked, another pretzel between his fingers, ready to be flicked.
"N-No, it's just-" Dustin began, grabbing for a napkin.
"Then why, oh why, is my little sheepie looking so lost again?"
"Rude, dude." Gareth mumbled under his breath.
Dabbing at his chin, and a few spots on the table, Dustin looked to Eddie apologetically; nodding, reflexively, if only to keep peace at the table for the time being.
"S-Sorry man, I just… n-noticed something, that's all." He gestured toward the window he'd been staring out.
"Well, clearly it wasn't all the effort I've been puttin' in for you guys, eh?" Eddie eyed him for a moment as he got to his feet, turning on his heels toward the row of windows behind them; the smirk on his face betraying the fact he was hardly upset at all.
A few short strides, and Eddie pressed his nose flat to the window pane, dark eyes scanning the busy school yard for whatever could have pulled Dustin's attention away from the gory details of their impending campaign. For several long moments, he noticed nothing particularly out of the ordinary, just the regular passing of the odd group of students here and there.
"Not sure what's got you so utterly transfixed out here, Henderson." His voice was slightly muffled as he comedically kept his face pressed to the glass, gathering him more than a few strange looks.
"So, as I was saying-" Eddie began again as he started to turn around, stopping only when his gaze crossed with that of a group of wild jocks.
Rather, he noticed them as they continued to enjoy pretending he didn't exist, lest it suited them - all the better for him, really, when it came down to it. Though their utter unawareness of the twisted, mocking face he made at them against the window pane was, admittedly, a bit disappointing. Content that whatever had been interesting had passed, and his antics would go unnoticed, Eddie made to turn around once more, before spotting what must have surely been the point of Dustin's fixation. Maybe?
At the far side of the yard, a girl sat hunched intently over a broad sketch pad, utterly engrossed in her task. Her ample thighs giving support to the wide, thick paper as she rested her back against the warm bricks - an array of fine colored pencils sat upright in a pouch by her knee, along with several others spread out within easy reach.
"Whoops!" An unfamiliar voice bellowed overhead. The girl barely had a moment to look up, before catching sight of her pencils scattering across the pavement and grass, neatly punted by one of the boys as they passed.
"My bad!" Said another, purposefully skipping a step to ensure his heel came down hard on the few that remained at her side, splintering the wood, and crushing the soft cores to a useless dust.
Snickering to themselves, the group didn't even take a moment to break their passing stride as the girl, with more patience and grace than the situation deserved, placed her work aside to gather her belongings back, before more were carelessly ruined underfoot by students scurrying by.
"Should be more careful!" A cocky blonde at the head of the group called over his shoulder with a mock tone of concern.
Jason Carver. Eddie was unfortunately familiar with the popular, well-liked, golden boy. He could almost remember a time when the two of them might have been friends, or at least not so stereotypically the antithesis of one another, but that time had long passed. Though Jason rarely participated, actively, in the antagonistic antics of his peers, he was woefully slow, if not completely unwilling to stop it.
Eddie grimaced sympathetically as he watched the girl gingerly weave her hands between passing legs, trying her best not to get her fingers stepped on. Holding his tongue between his lips for a long while, his train of thought was broken only when Dustin's gently inquisitive voice beckoned to him.
"I mean, I'd just never seen her before. Out there, by herself, never talking to anyone, and it's been that way for days. Weeks? I don't know, I guess I was just thinkin', y'know… little lost sheep?" He grinned and shrugged, unsure if it was his place to make such a suggestion. Eddie spoke often of passing the mantle to his younger group members but, at present, seemed rather content to be in the position of decision making.
Turning back toward the table, his face stern, Eddie opened his metal lunchbox and swept anything he hadn't finished, inside and slammed it closed. Lacing his fingers he cracked his knuckles, and nodded to the group members in turn, wordlessly. He hadn't anticipated playing shepherd today, on this, the day his longest and most brutal campaign yet began, but when had anything expected ever really happened to him? He'd made it his duty to look after people like those he called friends, those like Dustin, Lucas, and Mike - and they were the ones for whom he strived to set an example.
Besides, Higgins couldn't keep him here forever. Right?
"Good lookin' out, Henderson." Eddie clapped an amiable hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hellfire's gonna need people like you, when the rest of us ascend to the great beyond, eh?"
"Like that'll ever happen." Gareth snorted at him.
"Never say never, big boy." Eddie pointed a finger under his nose, giving it a friendly flick before skipping a few steps away.
"I'll catch up with you all tonight, same time, same place. Come prepared." He tossed a wink in Mike's direction.
Eddie had never considered himself much of a hero; it was easier to play one behind an inch tall figurine. Better even yet, to devise the machinations that would drive little would-be heroes toward their goals. On paper anyway. Damsels usually found him a cause for their distress, or at least tended to cross the street or double check their car door locks when he passed by.
Yet there he stood, a few bold strides away as Dustin's Damsel gathered the last of her sullied supplies, looking rather helpless, knees down on the sidewalk. Yeah, that looked enough like distress… and there was a first time for everything. Usually.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted one of her pencils that had likely been scattered in the brief fray and stooped to pick it up. Letting it roll across his palm, he admired the deep red hue or "crimson lake" as the silver, inlaid label called it - he knew next to nothing about art and what supplied it, but it was clear these were no discount bin Crayola. ‘Crimson Lake’ he thought to himself, lost briefly in thought; almost worthy of being the name of a campaign landmark. Leaving his dungeon planning for tonight’s festivities he finally stepped toward the girl, who'd yet to get to her feet, and held the pencil down to her eye level with the most genuine smile he could muster.
"Missed one!" He tried to twirl it, smoothly, between his fingers like a baton and only succeeded in sending it clattering onto the concrete. Critical miss.
"Ugh." The girl cringed at the sound and snatched the scuffed pencil off the sidewalk, securing it before more damage could be done. "Thanks, I guess?"
“Oof, hey, that’s not usually how that trick goes, my bad.” Eddie grinned, trying to smooth over his moment of embarrassment, quickly looked for any distraction from his fumble, a segue back to his trademark charm. Scanning for any additional pencils she might have missed, his eyes instead fell on her sketchpad and he was immediately, unabashedly, drawn in.
“Oh, this, th-i-i-s here? This is sick!” Resisting the childlike urge to snatch the paper up for a better look - he figured her belongings had been mishandled enough for one day - he crouched over the drawing she'd been working on and rubbed his hands excitedly. He licked his lips, eyes scanning the page back and forth, taking in the level of detail she’d managed already, and even he could tell it was only half finished.
"Sweet! It's… it's the Trees of Valinor, right? Oh man, this is so wicked. A lady of culture and taste, I see, to suffer the Silmarillion." He mimed tipping a hat, cordially, in her direction before turning back to admire the piece once more.
The girl was quiet for a few long moments as she got to her feet and dusted herself off, hopeful to preserve any shred of dignity she had left. Eyeing the strange boy for a moment she was flattered at his admiration of her work, to be sure, though curious as to what had drawn him to it now.
"Yeah… yeah it is. You, um, you recognized it? Just like that?" She asked gently; her encounters thus far at Hawkins High, including today, had seemingly left her unsure of who could be easily talked to.
"Oh, hell yeah!" Eddie lit up again, with no small amount of enthusiasm.
He'd been a rabid fan of Tolkien since he could remember knowing how to read. Even if the text didn't always make sense to his young mind, he'd devoured them again and again, enamored by the high fantasy lore. He could probably quote them by page number at this point, but one step at a time.
"Look at that, Laurelin, there…" His fingers traced the curve of golden boughs on the paper, again, careful not to actually touch it. "...and Telperion. Oh man, how'd you get it to look like true silver like that? I know, I know the magician never reveals their secrets but, damn, this is bitchin'!"
She watched curiously as he pored over her drawing, like a frantic boy, never having seen someone so enamored with art derived from, what most would call, nerd literature. Nevermind being able to recognize it at first sight. It brought a tentative smile to her face for a moment, before she laid eyes on the remains of a pale gray pencil, now mostly splinters.
"Doesn’t matter how, guess it'll never be finished." She bent to pick up the pencil, surprised at how well it still clung together, even if it was entirely useless now.
"Huh?" Eddie broke his gaze with the drawing and glanced up; he was fairly sure whatever was in her hands used to be a pencil. "Ah, damn, ruined, huh? Those dudes are such pricks, let me tell ya', don't feel too special, they pull that kinda’ shit with everyone who doesn't fit their mold."
"I'll try not to let the royal treatment go to my head?" She raised an eyebrow, knowing he meant well, but it was difficult to see much good, given the circumstances. "Fuck, these are expensive. Ack, uh, excuse me."
"Far be it from me to judge the speech of a woman scorned." He raised both hands with an unapologetic grin, though behind it lay a bit of an empathetic gritting of his teeth. Something in her voice told him they wouldn’t easily be replaced - a feeling he knew well.
She sank in on herself for a moment, and he couldn't tell if she was simply embarrassed at the outburst, or if something else was eating at her entirely. He knew the cost to have and keep something important to you, and the fear of having it ruined or lost… so quite likely the latter.
"I'm Eddie, by the way." He scuffed the toe of his shoe against the awkward silence blooming between them.
"I know."
"You… know?" He tilted his head to one side and studied her profile as she set about packing her things. His uncle had always warned him overindulgence in the herb would stunt his brain, but he was certain he'd never spoken to this girl before today.
"We have chemistry together. Though, you tend to spend most of it asleep, yeah?"
"Ohh, yeah that's right after lunch! Full tummy, it's nap time for growing boys, you know?" He patted his belly, hoping to elicit a laugh - but understood her sustained silence, all things considered. "Those who know me, call me ‘The Freak’, those who love me call me The Dungeon Master."
She tilted her head in his direction with a slight eye roll and a smirk. It wasn't the laughter he had hoped for, but it was a start.
"I see, and which would you prefer I call you?" She studied him for a moment as she hoisted her bag onto one shoulder, just in time for the bell to ring.
"We-e-ell, that remains to be seen. Right now, I figure you're hovering pretty close to 'freak', but if you churn out sick pieces like that?" He gestured to her sketch pad again. "I'm hopin' we eventually land at Dungeon Master."
His infectious grin failed to rouse her, yet again, as she pointed to the bound drawing book just behind him.
"Mind handing me that?"
"Oh, yeah, sure, sure, here…" Tenderly, he wrapped his fingers around the edges of the paper and handed over her collection of masterpieces. Clicking his tongue as he watched her fold it closed and tuck it under her arm, wondering what other treats for the eye it held. "Eddie. Eddie is fine for now. We can work with that, yeah?"
"Right. Well, 'Eddie Is Fine', I've gotta' be off. We, uh, both do… I guess."
"Yeah, right, 'cause the bell… oh, wait, I had something for you. Red, red, your red." He patted his pockets a few times, remembering vividly picking up the pencil he'd used to break the ice between them. Ice that was rapidly reforming.
"You… you gave it to me already." She wiggled her fingers, teasing him about his prior, pencil twirling mishap.
"That I did!" He said with feigned, and utter confidence. "Just makin' sure you remembered, you know? Sweet shade of red, by the way. ‘Crimson Lake!’ Hey, so listen…"
He looked up to see she'd already turned and begun to walk away, and he hadn't even made his proper pitch yet. Not a man to take no for an answer, at least not the first or third time, he jogged boldly to her side, trying to stoke the embers of conversation again.
"So, listen, mind if I talk while we walk?" He grinned down at her as his presence parted the hallway crowd for them.
"I don't think you've stopped talking yet. You pour all your points into charisma? I'd say that investment isn't paying off."
"Whoa! Attack of opportunity, and she knows when to strike. I like it… so uh, you're new, and I've got this thing I'd be interested in you being interested in…"
Hopefully, he could get his spiel out before they reached the door; not that he was averse to talking through another boring lecture, of course. It’d be a refreshing change of pace for his typical nap period, anyway. Still, she at least seemed to be listening, so far, and utterly unashamed to be seen walking with him; he'd thank a lucky roll for that.
#eddie munson#eddie munson fanfic#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson x plus size reader#eddie munson x female reader#stranger things#stranger things fanfic#promises#promises fic#slow burn#fluff n stuff#honestly nervous as heck to be sharing my stuff again but here we go#yes I named it after the Megadeth song#I love it so much
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hey, 9w1! hope you're having a great day.
genuine question, no intention to debunk or anything, just curious:
so, karlie is a model, right? that means, it's a part of her job to wear all the newest clothes and accessories, and then those stuff get sold to other people eventually, right?
isn't it possible that karlie possibly just has worn all of the new stuff already and it is a coincidence that some of those new stuff were bought by taylor because they're trendy or being sold at shops now? would it be likely that karlie and other celebs have matched clothing too coincidentally?
(disclaimer: i have no clue about how modelling or clothes work, i just saw a more eloquent version of this argument against koincidences/kaylor a while back, and wanted to hear your perspective on it. thanks!)
thanks for your question!
from my perspective, i think that this argument can work as an explainaway for a certain number of instances, but i do not believe it covers the breadth and depth of what we consider twinning.
because it’s not just about what taylor wears after karlie (or visa versa), but when, or for what special occasions, or the particular time elapsing between when things happen, or what taylor is doing while she is wearing said thing, similarity in composition, etcetera. and it’s seeing these things happen time and again, in aggregate, over time, and in combination with all the many other things we look at when we think about kaylor. whittling it all down to the point that models wear clothes before they are trendy is a little dismissive of the thought, intricacy, and planning that we as a fandom also laude taylor for in the same breath. taylor is a mastermind genius who says herself she hides easter eggs in clothing and jewelry… except for anything related to karlie?? hmm.
that is to say, while these explanations against twinning might be convincing if considered in a vacuum, they lack a consideration of the particular context of kaylor, and how people view taylor and karlie’s relationship.
for example, if the argument is to be made that taylor hates karlie and that they are feuding, it is so curious to me how she seemingly incorporates looks that are strikingly similar to what karlie wears into her art (music videos, live performances) which everyone can agree are personal and important to taylor. and if we get into some of the more intricate gaylor insistencies that taylor is broken hearted and karlie is just doing this to make money, well first of all how rude karlie is an established supermodel and businesswoman and it’s not even worth the investment to try and excite several dozen broke tumblr kaylors into spending money 😆 i can go more into detail on this point but i’m not exactly in the mood to throw down rn so i’ll leave it at that for the time being.
now, i recognize that this kind of thing will not do it for some people. and that’s fine! different types of things are compelling to different types of people. for me, as someone who was quite skeptical of twinning at first (back in 2017-18 when i first encountered kaylor), i’ve become quite taken by it all over the course of the last 4-5 years through the act of keeping tabs on it.
i encourage you or anyone curious but not swayed by twinning to take a look through these posts, and maybe keep it in the back of your mind for the time being. maybe at some point it will click!
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Adore You (Part 4)
A/N: I don't even know if people still look at this blog, but someone messaged on AO3 asking me to finish this series, so I decided why not!
Ashton IrwinXFemale Reader
Part 3
Warnings: talks of alcohol use, embarrassing moments, food, fluff
A groan of pain left your lips at the bright light coming through the curtains. Your head was pounding and your mouth felt dry as the Sahara Desert. You peeled your eyes open only to squint once again at the bright light. You turned away from the window and found yourself facing a nightstand with a picture of Ashton and some people you didn’t recognize. “Oh fuck,” you moaned out, placing the pillow over your head. You had almost forgotten you had called Ashton drunk last night. Worst of all he saw you puking your guts out and you asked to go home with him. “Take a deep breath,” you whispered to yourself, breathing in deeply through your nose and slowly out your mouth.
You timidly pulled the pillow off your face and sat up straight in the bed. You were still wearing the same clothes from last night. You didn’t remember falling asleep, but must’ve done so in the car. Your eyes scanned the room, taking in the bits and pieces of Ashton that you could gather. Your attention landed on the picture again, taking in the people surrounding him. They all had a similar shade of hair as him, bright smiles painted on their faces. You concluded it was his family after a few minutes and a smile embraced your own face at their happiness. After placing the picture back into its spot, you slipped out the bed. You sucked in another deep breath and decided to finally leave the room and face the embarrassment.
Ashton wasn’t anywhere inside the one bedroom apartment. A computer desk in one corner being disheveled and a waste paper basket overflowing with crumpled up paper. There was a pillow and blanket on the couch, letting you know Ashton had slept on there last night. Your fingers traced along the back of the couch as you made your way towards the desk, eyes locked on the pictures clipped around the space. Ashton didn’t just take pictures for the school journal. The ones in front of you now showcasing various places and people. The way he took pictures captured the true essence of the subject. It was an art and he was damn talented. You continued to look through his stuff, trying to find out more about Ashton. It was the sound of the door opening that made you turn towards the entrance and see Ashton coming in. “You’re up!” he grinned, closing the door with his foot.
“Uh yeah,” you muttered, hands going behind your back in embarrassment at being caught practically snooping. “I was just looking at the pictures,” you finally admitted, watching as he sat a bag down on the kitchen counter.
“Those are from my trip back home,” he said, walking over to you to grab one of the polaroids. He smiled at the picture and then handed it over to you. “That one is my sister for her birthday. She wanted me to take some professional looking shots,” he told you. Your fingers grazed over the picture and you laughed at the clearly non-professional pose of cake being smashed into her face.
“She’s pretty,” you commented, handing back the picture. He nodded at your words, setting it back in its spot. “Do you travel a lot?” you questioned, eyeing a section that showed landscapes.
“Only when I can. Harder to do now that I’m in school,” he commented, heading back towards the counter. There were a couple of the same location, but with a timestamp to show the progression of the light change. It was then you realized you had no idea the time of day. Did you sleep through the morning? Was it late afternoon? You had absolutely no clue.
“I thought you might be hungry when you got up, so I went out to get lunch,” Ashton said, answering the questions running through your head.
“Thanks,” you muttered, suddenly shy in front of him now. You hadn’t contacted Ashton in two days and when you finally did, it was because of a drunk call. He didn’t seem to mind, digging into the bag to take out containers of food. Yet for some reason you felt guilty. “For everything,” you added on, finally walking towards him.
“You don’t have to thank me. I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” Ashton reassured. You shook your head at his words and his eyebrows furrowed at the action.
“No, I just-” you began, swallowing hard. “I was going to call you today and say yes to your date proposal-I’ll admit I blanked when you had asked me the question because no guy has ever been that up front with me.” You began to pick at your nails an action of you being nervous which Ashton had picked up on.
“I’m sorry I drunk dialed you and that you had to see me like that.” He had been sitting at the counter, elbow resting against the counter and chin in the palm of his hand. A chuckle left his lips at your words. “Don’t laugh at me!” you exclaimed, only making him laugh even more.
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you,” he began, “It’s just-you’re cute when you’re flustered.” Your mouth clamped shut and your eyes widened in shock. Ashton tossed the bag into the trash bin and slid over one of the boxes to you. “Eat,” he said, digging into his own food. You stared at him dumbfounded for a second, then climbed into the barstool next to him. The two of you sat in silence for what felt like an eternity as you began to eat at the food he had gotten you. After some time you chanced a glance in his direction. He had already been watching you with a phantom of a smile on his face. Ashton had been trying to figure out what to say to you since your apology. He didn’t mind that you drunk dialed him. Didn’t mind that he was the one to come and get you. Ashton was in fact quite pleased that you even asked to stay with him last night. It showed how much you trusted him and it made him feel relieved.
“Usually a few dates have to go by before I reach this stage with someone,” he finally spoke. His heart warmed at the smile that came to your face. “But, I seem to have a soft spot for you.” You giggled at his words and relaxed in your spot.
“Well, we’ll have to fix that then,” you replied, earning a nod in return. The rest of the afternoon was spent with you and Ashton making plans for a proper date. One that wasn’t on campus or as a result of a drunk frat party night. After the food had been finished, Ashton offered to drive you back home. The next time you would see him would be for the date and you had to admit you were excited for it.
#5sos#5SOS#Five Seconds of Summer#5 Seconds of Summer#Ashton Irwin#5sos au#5 Seconds of summer au#Ashton Irwin au#5sos blurbs#5 Seconds of Summer blurbs#Ashton Irwin blurbs#5sos imagines#5 Seconds of Summer imagines#Ashton Irwin imagines#5sos writings#5 Seconds of Summer writings#Ashton Irwin writings#5sos series#5 Seconds of Summer series#Ashton Irwin series#5sos fic#5 Seconds of Summer fics#Ashton Irwin fics#5sosimagines
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Dragon Ball Super 116
GOKU VS. KEFLA: THE FINAL ROUND
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This is it! The climactic conclusion of the best fight in Dragon Ball Super! There must be a winner!
Against all odds, Goku has somehow tapped into Autonomous Ultra Instinct for a second time! Whis never dreamed he would figure it out ever again, much less a few minutes after the first time! So Kefla’s doomed, right? Well don’t write her off yet. Kefla’s still got a lot left in the tank. For example, she decides to see Goku’s Ultra Instinct and raise him Super Saiyan 2! Well, that might not sound like a big deal, but when a Fused Saiyan does it, it means a lot.
And there’s the abs. When I got to these episodes, I was kind of shocked by how skinny Kefla was in her base form, and then she went Super Saiyan and bulked up, but not as much as I remembered. Now at SSJ2, she’s starting to look more like I remembered. The key to this is that she’s combining Caulifla’s SSJ and SSJ2 forms with Kale’s Legendary Super Saiyan form, which gets more muscular the stronger she becomes. So I guess they had to start with a pretty skinny Kefla, because they couldn’t have her beef up as big as Kale, or that would defeat the idea of it being a fusion with a smaller character.
Oh this is a really cool shot of the arena.
So it’s pretty much like we saw the last time Goku used this power. Jiren couldn’t touch him, and neither can Kefla now. And it’s not for lack of trying. As strong as Kefla is, I think there’s a solid argument that she could give Jiren a run for his money.
Okay, I think her hair tie is gone now, the same way Kale always loses hers when she transforms. Kefla’s hair has always confused me so just knowing that there’s been a hair tie involved is a relief.
Meanwhile, Vegeta watches Goku playing the artful dodger and he finally gets a clue: this was the ideal style that Whis told them about in Resurrection F. Vegeta’s all mad that Goku went and surpassed him again. Sure, Vegeta, he did it just to spite you, because that’s what everything is about, after all.
Here’s a cool spot where Kefla flies after Goku who falls off the side of a cliff, and then he digs his heels into the rock and leans back so Kefla can’t hit him. Wild.
Or, rather, he does this so he can hit her. But that’s the trick, you see....
As powerful as Goku has become in this state, he’s mostly only able to use it for defense. Kefla can’t even touch Goku, but on the other hand, Goku’s attacks aren’t nearly as strong as Kefla was expecting. He makes a little headway with it, but he’s still not hitting her hard enough to defeat her. And maybe he could take his time with this and wear her down, but he doesn’t have that long. The UI power could wear off any second now.
As Whis explains to the others, even those who can use Ultra Instinct have trouble using it offensively. Goku’s problem is that he’s still having to use his brain to tell his body how to attack, and that interferes with his body acting autonomously for defense. That’s why his attacks are so weak. And if he doesn’t figure out a solution soon, he’ll run out of juice and Kefla will win.
So Goku calls his shot: He’s going to end this fight with one more attack.
Kefla doesn’t take kindly to this, and ramps up her power even further. Now she’s shooting concentrated ki blasts in every direction, and they rip up everything they touch.
She just starts slinging all this red shit everywhere, and Goku hops and flips through it as he moves in closer to her...
And the whole time, he’s chargin’ up...
Kefla’s just screaming and cackling like a maniac. I really have to hand it to the dub VA’s for this, Elizabeth Maxwell (Caulifla) and Dawn Bennet (Kale). DBS was the first time I ever watched a Dragon Ball series in Japanese first, and I was curious how the dub would handle the new characters, and I’m really pleased with Kefla’s manic energy. They nailed it.
She keeps firing red lasers, but Goku’s getting closer and closer... Finally he jumps toward her, ready to fire...
Ah, but that plays right into her hands! Remember, no flying in the Tournament of Power, so now that Goku’s jumping at her, he can’t steer or dodge! So now she can concentrate all that power she was slinging around every direction, and aim it right at him!
THE POWER OF...!
CHRISTMAAAAAASSSSS!
But then Goku just does this sweet midair flip and skates along the front of her blast, using his ki ball like a weird little skateboard!
HOW THE FUCK IS HE DOING THIS?!
KALE LOOKS UP AND SHE’S LIKE “AWWWWW SHIT!”
HAPPY...!
HANUKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Kefla gets blasted through the stage! Then her Potara shatter, and coincidentally...
... the Fusion dissolves, and so it’s Caulifla and Kale who tumble to the bench!
They’re OUT.
Kale apologizes for losing, while Caulifla cries out for revenge. Yes! Fight Goku again! Give us Kefla/Goku II! Make it happen!
So now Team Universe 6 is down to just two fighters: Saonel and Pilina. They vow to win, but come on. What chance could they have?
Meanwhile, that last round with Kefla finally got Jiren’s attention. At least he’s not meditating like he planned to do for the second half.
As for Goku, he’s tapped out all over again. I guess it’s a net positive, since at least this time around he won a fight with Ultra Instinct instead of eating a super punch from Jiren. But still, if he plans to defeat Jiren, he’ll have to do Ultra Instinct a third time, and can he even handle that? Well, those are matters for later episodes. As for this one, what else can I say but:
This was a brilliant finish to a classic fight. A lot of dumbasses out there were only happy to see Caulifla and Kale eliminated from the competition because they hated those two. But discerning Caulifla and Kale likers, such as myself, know the truth, that Episodes 113-116 were a bona fide barn-burner, and the best of what Dragon Ball Super had to offer. Show me a fight in GT that came anywhere close to this. No, don’t bother, because I already watched GT recently, and I have 65 haikus that say there isn’t one.
I’ll admit, there have been times where I thought this liveblog was a mistake, because most of the stuff I’ve been covering has been pretty weak. A lot of it is downright terrible. But I knew the Tournament of Power would cheer me up, and that these four episodes in particular would really cheer me up, and I was right. It’s like all the frustration and regret from before has metled away. There’s 15 episodes of Super left to go, and I’m refreshed and ready to tackle ‘em!
Well, later, I think.
#dragon ball#dragon ball super#2023dbapocryphaliveblog#tournament of power#goku#kefla#caulifla#kale#113-116 are the best episodes
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The Scientist and the Stranger [ch 3]
Viktor x Fem!reader
Summary: After days and (mostly) restless nights trying to figure out the hexcore, Viktor found a combination for a successful transmutation. Except it wasn’t, and now there’s a stranger in the lab. Passed out and in critical condition the stranger has to bring Viktor to the hospital. However, there is a misunderstanding about the identity of the stranger (both sides are at fault and not at the same time) and Viktor realizes that he fucked up.
Warnings: unwanted exercise (thanks Jayce)
Author’s note: well the last chapter’s support surprised me and I couldn’t wait to churn this one out. Thank you all for reading this!
—————
“An old friend is waiting for you out side,” Jayce states plainly.
“Who?” Viktor inquires softly.
“A woman, says you two met during your time at the academy,” Viktor turns his head to Jayce.
“…I wasn’t well liked when I was a student,”
“She said you did her homework in exchange for money,”
“I never did such a thing,” Viktor coughs out.
“We’ll she also said she offered to do some art assignments for you out of guilt?”
“Still, I don’t have a clue—wouldn’t do fraudulent work… Very risky, others with a vendetta would’ve exposed me… I would be kick out of the academy.”
Silence
There’s suddenly a loud thud at the door that startles both of them. Jayce gets up to investigate and finds the face of stranger struggling to open the door.
You barely recognizes him through the glass window and start talking with a muffled voice, “Jayce! I need to talk to Viktor, it’s very important!”
You see him and he sees you clearly trying to get in, but he doesn’t do anything except side eye you and something or someone else outside of your view.
He sort of steps out but you can see him cover his mouth and his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Inside the room Jayce unwillingly bothers Viktor.
—————
“Okay,” Viktor pauses to let out a dry cough again, “I’ll make this clear. I did not have any friends during my time in the academy. People either avoided, disliked, or ignored me.”
Jayce looks at Viktor with concern, obviously wanting to say something, but Viktor just sighs and relaxes his head on the pillow. Getting Viktor to tell him more about his social experiences will be Jayce’s next priority once… Moving on.
—————
Jayce returns to the door window with a friendly face, but his eyes don’t convey the same feelings.
I don’t think this is going to go well.
He opens the door, pulling it inwardly instead of out.
That’s a fire hazard, right? Do they have OSHA here?
“I’m sorry but Viktor is not feeling well enough to talk,” he closes the doors behind him and scans everything above you, looking for something. You step back to prevent colliding into him.
He caught my lie. Is he going to beat me? Shit, he could definitely fuck me up, and not the fun way.
“Why do you have a doctor’s coat?” He asks in surprise.
You look at your outfit as if you forgot about it, you actually did. You stole it and tried to find some records about Viktor’s condition. A HIPPA violation you always secretly wanted to do because you’re a nosy motherfucker.
“I got cold,” you spit out.
You both stand in silence.
“Okay,” he rubs his eyes, clearly upset, “I don’t know who you are—“
“I’m an old friend of Viktor,” you should just shut up.
“Rrright, well you’re a stranger to me and as you saw early Viktor is no state for visitors. Anyways how about you tell me how you got into our lab?” he begins his interrogation.
You feel your armpits and neck feel warm.
“It was unlocked,” you answer.
“The lab is always locked at night, wouldn’t want to risk theft,” he has you hushed.
You make eye contact with him and let his comment sink in.
Theft? Huh? Thief. I forgot their lab was ransack… By Jinx.
You bolt.
He’s going to put me in jail.
You metaphorically scatter like the rats from ratatouille.
You’re already around the corner when you hear Jayce hot on your tail.
The exit is right in front of you. You look back and see him right by you with his hand hovering over your shoulder. Then something appears in you blind spot , your body suddenly collides into the side large metal cart rounding out of a corner. Your momentum moves it a bit, but Jayce full body rams the thing over. You trip to the floor, while Jayce tumbles over as it’s metal utensils and porcelain rattle inside, attracting everyone’s attention.
You recover from your stumble, looking back again, seeing a concerning dent, a liquid leaking out of the cart, and a pained and disoriented Jayce on the floor.
Taking your chance, your feet dashes across the exit doorway without stopping.
Running through the streets, slipping through tight spaces, just trying to follow the direction the car drove from until you stop in a sketchy ally way
There’s no one around. No insomniacs, no drunks, not a light on in a window.
Some crickets, your heavy breathing, and the buzzing of the street lamps.
Unbelievable.
A character you briefly admired eons ago, kidnapped you from your world, didn’t even ask your name (you had a goal on your bucket list to introduce yourself as “y-n”), who brought him to the hospital, and now his partner chased you out of the streets because he was going to incarcerate you.
Like a shitty knock off of lost in Paris.
Despite the calm of the night, something you haven’t felt since that attending invalidated a you best friend’s panic attack when you both were interns.
That thread of reason and calm isn’t on its last fiber anymore.
It fucking snapped apart with the jaw force of a rabid hippo on a human femur.
Who cares about the hipocratic oath, I’m going to strangle that skeleton.
—————
Viktor jolts awake from his superficial slumber. Just the common feeling of falling to your doom like he experienced with the hex-teleportation.
Ah, he forgot that happened. He looks over at Jayce, who looks like he was about to fall asleep also, somehow his head movement alerted his partner.
“Was there a woman in our lab?”
Jayce perks up a bit, “Yes, she managed to sneak in and find you passed out. Luckily Sky came by and found you two, you were in her arms actually. Who knows what that stranger could’ve done if Sky didn’t visit you?”
“Is that stranger here?”
“No, she ran away,”
“What?” He clears his throat, “Why?” Viktor asks, slowly feeling troubled.
“I guess they found out that I caught on to their lie.”
Viktor pauses for a moment.
“What lie did they tell?”
“They said they were an old friend of yours,” Jayce’s answers silences Viktor.
That was her!
He continues talking, unaware of Viktor’s dumbfounded expression, “Maybe whoever sent Jinx thought her job was too messy and tried to send someone who was cleaner?”
“Jayce, what happened to her?” Viktor tried to ask with a neutral tone but it wavered slightly.
“I told you, they ran away when they figured out I knew what was up. I tried to chase her but we crashed and she got up more quickly than I could recover.”
“So she’s in the streets?”
“Yes…You know what? They might go back to the lab, I should go back before they try to finish the job.”
As Jayce got up, preparing himself to leave, Viktor could only stare at him in horror at what he had just done.
“Viktor, don’t you dare discharge without me, I promise you I’ll be back. This shouldn’t take long, so just take this time to relax,” Jayce hesitates, “You deserve it,” he’s already at the door but Viktor still speechless and computing.
“Wait!” Viktor tries to call out loudly but his it feels like something is raking his throat. However, Jayce does hear him before he disappears into the hallway.
“Yes?” He turns and looks back at him.
“If you find her, don’t hurt her.”
“I’m not cruel, Viktor.”
“Surely, but I want to ask them some questions.”
“Me too, I’ll keep that in mind when the thief is apprehended,” Jayce finally leaves with only the ghosts of their enlightening conversation replaying in his head.
He can try to convince the doctor to discharge him in a few hours, but what is he suppose to do now?
He feels more awake than he was with five cups of coffee and sweet milk in his system.
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