Ok I’m glad I found the actual ask box instead of the EMBARASSING thing I did earlier, aside from that

How long does it usually take you to make a drawing? :3 I know it’s different depending on the caliber of the drawing but for an example let’s say just Barnaby and Wally doing whatever in a scene

I’m very curious about your process!! ^w^

i just saw what you mean and for your sake i'll Pretend I Did Not See lol. its ok tho it happens, Tumblr's a tough cookie to wrangle

hm. it Does vary wildly, both depending on quality, how used to scribbling a thing i am, and how well the art-mojo is flowing! on a bad night, a simple sketch could take an hour while the same sketch on a good night could take 15 minutes

and it's also hard to say since i don't really keep track! for example, The First One in this collage is a more involved sketch and i suspect it took thirty minutes maybe? i remember having some Difficulties so maybe longer? trying to get size differences between multiple characters in the same sketch adds a Lot of time, as does making sure they interact properly. while the last one in the collage (the Nom) probably took closer to ten minutes

i know the Laughingstock in Aziracrow's outfits i belted out in, oh... an hour or three? it's really hard to say! i think it was several bc i was watching gomens at the time, and i think it got through a couple of episodes... clothes add a lot of time! but certain things that i thought i did Quickly took hours in reality, and i only notice when i look up and see the clock has Changed Drastically! i have a very loose perception of time!

it really just depends on my motivation & how used to drawing something i am. like scribbling Eddie takes a while, lots of guidelines and erasing and redrawing. but scribbling Barnaby? easy. takes me seconds in comparison. way less guidelines - i know where everything is and where it goes! drawing dragons takes even less time - This One was done in a Blink, and the only guides i used were head circle / snout circle / jawline.

Emily's Car

A/N: I am seriously running out of Emily GIFS to use, also requests are always open

Working with a bunch of profilers left little to be secret. If it wasn't them profiling you then you were sure your son, James' excited blabbing would reveal anything. One secret he seemed to keep very well hidden was your late night companion. Emily and you originally were just fooling around. You didn't want anything serious just stress relief during cases, your job kept you busy enough the little time you did have you wanted to spend with your son. Despite your best efforts you fell for Emily quickly and even more so with how open she was about your son. It helped that James was well acquainted with the rest of the team so when Emily came over for movie nights, he wasn't thrown off.

Slowly her role became bigger, your heart melts whenever they interact. Emily never complained about it, she would gladly be on daycare duty, and offered to coach his t-ball team when the coach backed out. Which led to her most recent purchase. You were almost annoyed with how much time she took researching and double checking to find the safest possible car seat.

After two hours in the store Emily walks out with the carseat feeling accomplished,

"you know this means he's going to want to go with you everywhere now right?" you inform her and she smiles as she begins to try and install it,

"exactly that's how I get his hot mom in the car too" she winks and you scoff and gently push her aside to help her install the seat.

Just as you anticipated the second James found out about the seat he wanted to go with Emily everywhere. She had already spent most of her time at your place that every morning James would pout until Emily could take him. You would have to drive separate for the sake of keeping things secret from the team.

Though the day was simply a paperwork day you ended up staying a lot later than planned and your sister picked up James and brought him to you. Once your sister put him down Penelope held her arms open for James but he quickly ran to Emily,

"Emmy ! look what I drew today" he squealed as he showed the paper of his scribbles,

"oh who knew you were an artist" she complimented and he giggled before squirming out of her arms and ran over to Penelope,

"you got a new favorite aunt now?" she teased and he kissed her cheek,

"alright I forgive you" she relented and you chuckled. JJ and Derek didn't miss the way the James gravitated to Emily the whole time and decided to plan to investigate further.

When leaving the office that day you left quickly saying how James was getting tired but really you didn't want the team to hear James beg to go with Emily since that would surely give it away.

That night with James in Emily's lap and you snuggling into her side as Cars plays you look at her phone to see her looking at houses,

"baby?" you ask and she looks at you kissing your head,

"just thinking" she comments and you smile,

"send me ones you like" you say and she grins,

"aye aye captain" she salutes but James quickly shushes you both.

about a month later and you are standing in an empty house with James on your hip. Emily's heels can be heard clacking against the floor upstairs,

"welcome home Jamie" you say and he smiles,

"Is Emmy staying forever now?" he asks and you nod with a smile,

"yep we are all going to live together now" you tell him and show him around showing him where his room will be. While you watch James excitedly explain how he wants his room, Emily walks in and wraps her arms around you from behind, settling her chin on your shoulder,

"I think its time to tell the team" she comments and you nod,

"yeah Im surprised Jamie hasn't given it away yet" you joke and she chuckles,

"I want the world to know, also we will have to put in an address change so that might give it away" she says and you smile turning in her embrace and kissing her gently,

"EWWWW!" James runs over pushing your legs to push you two apart,

"well I have to give kisses to someone" Emily teased and chased after him making a kissy face as James screamed and ran giggling. You were so glad that they could run around now, no neighbors to complain about James' squealing, Emily had already ordered a play set outside for Jamie along with a tee ball set and had plans to take him to buy his first glove tomorrow. Telling the team didn't seem so scary anymore. It excited you to be able to tell everyone how happy the profiler made you. Too bad you won't remember telling them.

It was a tough case and Rossi offered to buy drinks and you can't really object to that. The whole team went over to the local bar and drinks were flowing. Emily offered to be the Designated Driver which everyone appreciated but in reality she had to be up at 6 to coach James' first tee-ball game.

Once it was getting late and only Derek, JJ, Penelope and yourself and of course Emily. You all pile into Emily's car,

"Em?" JJ asks as she climbs inside,

"yeah jj?" she asks looking into the rear view mirror and realizing she didn't put the carseat in the trunk,

"oh shit how did that get there" Emily plays dumb and you let out a loud laugh. They look at you confused as you turn to Emily.

"that's Jamie's, he loves being with his Emmy...almost as much as I do" you say clearly drunk and turn to the team,

"now get in the car, James is still with my sister for the night so I want to get laid all over our new house" you wink and relax into your seat closing your eyes as the rest of them stare at you in shock,

"surprise?" Emily shrugs and Derek grins,

"oh I knew it ! you finally bagged the hot mama" he patted Emily's shoulder and she chuckled shaking her head,

"yeah now buckle up I have a tee-ball game to coach" she says and they all buckled with smiles on their faces seeing how happy you two were as you held Emily's hand over the console.

Chapter 2 The watcher (mono x reader)

I stayed back until I could hear them rumble by, sneaking out of my hiding spot I went straight to the Area where I heard them head, it was fairly easy to find them seeing as they were being pretty loud

I heard something hit the floor..? It sounded loud, I hurried up quickly when I assumed the hunter had heard the big noise aswell, I peeked right around the corner carefully seeing.. someone they looked like a girl.. she was wearing a raggedy blueish gray dress shirt

She was just climbing up a ladder 'that must have been the loud noise' I hummed in thought and very quietly crept up the ladder when I reached the very top I took out my notebook and flipped to a new page naming it 'unknown girl'

I wrote down that she was quick and agile also that she seemed to be working with the boy with the bag over his head, they were pushing a suitcase of some sort towards a bigger cabinet I watched as they both hopped onto it

When they disappeared from view of my eyesight I crawled inside the room staying as quiet as possible I got onto the suitcase and peeked over that large cabinet 'damn this cabinet is huge' I spotted the girl waiting for the boy, faintly I could hear who I assumed was the boy whisper "oiiiiii" Watching curiously the girl said "hey"

I guess they were making sure that everything was safe? I continued to observe seeing him appear again he lifted himself up and dropped a lever for the girl, she grabbed it and stuck it inside a hole, he grabbed onto a bag and she starting turning the lever lifting him up

I hummed and continued to scribble down everything that was happening onto my notebook, looking up when I heard a clink I saw a key had fell 'must be for that locked door I had see in front of the ladder.' I wrote quickly doing a sketch of a lock hurriedly

I must have lost track of time or something because I just barely saw the tip of their heads climbing up onto the cabinet 'there is no way im making it back down the ladder I need to hide quick' I looked around me quickly for a place to hide spotting a few boxes I slid over accidentally making some noise

They both had jumped down 'I hope they didn't hear that..' I heard someone go down the ladder right as I was about to come out of hiding I heard someone speak "hello? Anyone there?" Freezing still, I noted that the voice sounded deeper

Finally after a few seconds of waiting the boy went down the ladder. I sighed letting out a deep breath 'that was way too close..' waiting a bit longer before moving

I hopped down the later noticing that the lock was now open and so was the door, they definitely went this way,  deciding it would be best to hide my identity I pulled my bag off of my shoulder and searched through it

Grabbing onto a piece of fabric I placed it over my face like a mask and made my way to the door walking outside while keeping my guard up I needed to be more careful

I could see the two further ahead, I slowly stepped down the three steps and looked to my left seeing the clothes hanging there, I continued up ahead walking past the outhouse looking structure

Walking a bit quicker I could hear them pushing something heavy, I peeked over like usual just as they both jumped through a big square in the wall, sighing I walked inside when the coast was clear, glancing at all the cages and ominous traps placed on top of them

I climbed onto the box and gripped on the opening looking through seeing the two slowly sneaking past the hunter who was busy doing some ungodly thing to that poor animal

Sighing I jumped down and landed on a bunch of animal skins, it was not a pleasant feeling I shivered and crouched following the two silently, 'what am I gonna do?? I cant get past the two without them or the hunter seeing me..' I tried thinking my hardest on what to do

Not to mention my heartbeat going erratic and beating in my chest frantically in fear, I may be use to observing these creatures but that doesn't mean that im not terrified of them, peeking through my fabric mask I saw that they were pushing a hatch looking door open

It seemed to be stuck.. 'This isn't good... if I stay where im at the hunter will get me.. if I move the other two will notice me.. ah what to do what to do.....'

Looking up I sped forward towards the two deciding that id rather be noticed by them than become a floor rug for people to walk over, just as I got there the two finished pushing through the junk opening it successfully but nonetheless alerting the hunter of everyone's presence

They slid down the goop and I followed somehow neither of them had noticed me yet, probably the fear of getting caught was running in their heads, I slid down too.. revolting at how slimy and gross the gunk was

I tumbled and rolled down the goop landing right on the boy with the bag covering his face 'oh shit-' he made a noise of surprise and I dashed away heading left away from all of them going straight towards the fence and hiding efficiently

Until of course the hunter shot the fence that you were hiding at, letting out a yelp I started to sprint for cover heading right for the tree's

While the hunter was distracted and busy shooting at the boxes they hid by I continued to sprint with them just farther away so that none of them could see me

The two of them slid down and hid under what seemed to be a cliff of sorts, I followed them and slid right next to the boy hiding further away, he started to reach a hand out towards me "hey-" he started to speak the girl shushed him quickly

All of you could hear the hunter breathing out and standing right above the cliff searching with his lamp light for any signs of you all

I looked back to the boy and he was already staring at me I started to scoot backwards and away from him not used to being near someone else let alone them trying to communicate with you.

You & Me : chapter 15

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

Sequel to AM CONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4.3k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- notes: i hope you like this chapter? i know. slow burn. im testing your patience. and im loving the sexual tension, dont you? :P

also, if you like this story you may want to read the few blurbs i wrote about it. ill probably write more but here are the few already written

Niall & Liv (fetus) - FLUFF

Louis & Liv - FLUFF

Niall & Liv - SMUT & FLUFF

Liv & Heidi - ANGST

if you read, THANK YOU!

if you want to be on the list of blogs i notify when this is updated, just message me :)

requests! : added a few! spoilers!

Chapter 15 : His chapter

NIALL

When I woke up the next day, I' was reluctant to open my eyes, scared that my head would just explode due to all the alcohol I had swallowed in the past two days but really, the first thing that I caught was Liv's scent. My lips curled and I groaned low, pulling her closer to me and burring my face in her hair. I tried to remember every single detail of what happened the night before and smiled more, wrapping one of my legs around her.

"Mm," she whimpered, slowly waking up too. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, I haven't opened my eyes yet."

Somehow, in the middle of the night, she had moved around and we were spooning again. I could feel my half-erected cock press on her ass and without thinking, I ground against her, making it swell a bit more. She squirmed a bit and I brushed my lips on the back of her neck before hearing her chuckle.

"Move away, Horan, this is way past the friendship stage."

I laughed and she sat up before stretching. I watched her back as she did, leaning my head on my hand, and when she finally got up, my eyes traveled to her ass. She was wearing black panties, contrasting perfectly with the navy blue shirt she was wearing that belonged to me. I licked my lips, gripping the sheets tighter to resist the urge I had to pinch one of her butt cheeks but when she bent down to grab something on the floor, I groaned low and my hand quickly disappeared under the covers to grip my cock.

"Please don't do that." I asked in a low tone, making her turn her head my way and chuckle. "Not funny. Your body changed and i'm dying to touch it."

This time, she turned around and she raised her eyebrows, a smile still gracing her lips.

"You mean I gained weight?"

"Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" I just asked, sitting up in bed and tilting my chin up to look at her. "Why is it such a big deal to you?"

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, moving her hair up in a ponytail and tying it quickly, letting her arms fall on each sides of her body. My eyes traveled quickly on her hips before moving back to her face.

"Because all the girls you date are literally half my weight, Niall." she pointed out, shaking her head slightly, her eyebrows still raised. "You clearly have a type."

I sighed and turned around in bed, moving myself to the edge of the bed and putting my feet on the floor, spreading my knees apart a bit.

"Come here." I asked with a quick head movement. "Please, Olivia, get closer."

She stared at me for a few seconds but finally moved closer, getting between my legs before I trapped her between my thighs and wrapped my arms around her, making her lips curl a bit more.

"There was this girl.. I dated her for almost a year, and I was, and still is, in love with her. And you know what she looked like? She looked exactly like you."

She laughed and shook her head as I leaned my chin on her stomach, looking up at her. The sight was amazing for some reason and the warmth of her thighs in between mine made me want her even more.

"Lucky girl, uh?" she joked with a smile, raising her eyebrows.

"I was just going to say that."

This time, she laughed louder and moved out of my embrace, turning around again. I watched her body and sighed before my eyes fell again on her tattoo, making my lips curl. I wanted to ask her how much her boyfriend enjoyed to fuck her from behind while my name was permanently on her lower back surrounded by a heart and in my own hand-writing, but I just pressed my lips together. The truth was, I didn't really care how that made him feel, but I loved to see that tattoo on her.

"When did you get the heart around my name? I don't remember seeing it while we were dating."

She stopped moving and it took her a while to turn around. Her smile was gone she started searching in her drawer for something. I looked at her the whole time, getting a bit nervous. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable but I was so curious I couldn't help but wait. I cracked my knuckles and she glanced at my hands before pressing her lips together and clearing her throat.

"The day you broke up with me." she confessed, making my lips part. "A few days before, you left me a note in the morning with a heart you had scribbled and the morning you broke up with me, I went with Louis to get it tattooed around your name. I had no idea it was the last note you'd write me, or that it was the last day I could call myself your girlfriend. I just... I couldn't resign myself to tattoo anything over it."

I didn't expect that answer and kept staring at her until she turned my way and sent me a sad smile. I pushed the covers off of me and got up slowly, walking up to her and wrapping my arms around her neck. I felt her arms slide around my naked chest and her head lean on my shoulder and I held her tight against me in silence for a few minutes, my cheek pressed on the top of her head. It broke my heart to know that while I was trying to find the right words to break up with her, she was getting tattooed a heart around my name and I closed my eyes, breathing her scent.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, squeezing her tighter against me and kissing her forehead. "I'm so sorry Olivia."

She rubbed her nose gently on my neck and I closed my eyes, enjoying the way her body seemed to fit perfectly with mine and her hands on my back. She pulled away and sniffed, making me frown when I realized she was crying and I cupped her face, running my thumbs on her cheeks gently, gathering her tears as I shook my head.

"I'm never gonna hurt you again." I whispered, my eyes roaming quickly on her face. "Never."

I let one of my thumbs rub on her bottom lip and I felt her tense as her hands slipped from my sides. I meant my words and at the same time, I was scared to hurt her by accident. It would be different this time, though, I could feel it. We both grew up and changed for the better, and I was ready to put all the efforts into this.

She blinked a few times and took a step back, tilting her head a bit and sending me a shy smile.

"Are you hungry? Coffee?" she proposed, raising her eyebrows as I nodded.

We walked to the kitchen and she turned on the coffee pot as I leaned against the counter just staring at her some more, barely believing what had happened between us.

"You can borrow some of Louis' sweatpants and shirt while I wash your clothes if you want." she proposed, walking by me as I stopped her with my arm.

"How about you give me my shirt back, first?"

This time, she laughed and raised her eyebrows at me, shaking her head.

"Just wait here." she added. "I don't think Louis would want you rummaging through his stuff."

I chuckled as she reached the hall and bent down to watch her leave.

"But he lets you?"

"What can I say?" she says a bit louder. "He trusts me!"

She came back quickly, pushing Louis' clothes against my chest and I smiled, taking it as her eyes dropped to my boxers.

"I'm gonna need that too if you want me to wash them." she pointed out with a smirk, making me send her one too.

I smiled more at her and wiggled my eyebrows before putting the clothes on the counter and quickly pulling my boxers down. Her smile fell but so did her gaze and I just took them off, handling them to her as she pressed her lips together, making me laugh.

"Stop staring." I let out with a chuckle, making her shake her head.

"You did that so I would stare, so let me stare."

I waited a few seconds and laughed a bit again.

"Is it exactly how you remember?"

It took her a moment but her eyes finally met mine.

"I remember it bigger." she joked with an amused smile, making me raise my eyebrows. "You're not gonna pretend it's a bit cold here will you?"

I smirked again and took a step closer as her own smile faltered again.

"It's as big as it was and I bet you remember really well."

I looked down in her eyes as she stood, unimpressed, right in front of me. She kept her gaze in mine, still smiling, and finally placed her hand on my chest, pushing me away slightly.

"Go shower and dress up." she just said, taking the boxers from my hands.

With an other laugh, I moved past her and walked in the bathroom, leaving the door open. It knew it was a long shot but I wouldn't want her to meet a closed door if she ever decided to join me. I knew she probably wouldn't, and I also knew it was wrong, but at the same time, it was hard to think about the consequences of our actions when it was just me and her, alone together. It always felt like we were in an other dimension or something crazy like that.

I got out quickly and dressed up before joining her again in the kitchen as I rubbed a towel in my hair. She was dressed too with a pair of pants and a t-shit that was not mine and when she turned around, I saw her lips were still curled in a smirk.

"What?"

"What did you do with them?" she asked, crossing her arms on her chest without losing her smile as I raised my eyebrows, a bit confused. "My underwear. My bra and my panties. You brought me my clothes that I had left at your place back but the bra and the panties are missing."

I felt my cheeks turn slightly red when I remembered what I did and scratched the back of my head as I cleared my throat.

"Well, look, this is a bit embarrassing but..." I shook my head and chuckled nervously. "I kept the panties. I mean, I didn't do anything with them. I thought about doing it but I decided that-"

"You thought about doing what with my panties exactly?" she asked with a frown, clearly pleased by how uncomfortable I was getting.

"I mean hey, can you blame a guy? You leave your panties right there, on the floor, in my house!" I tried to justify. "I haven't touched you in over a year and you drive me fucking insane, what was I supposed to do?"

This time, she burst into laughter and I closed my eyes, raising my nose up in a grimace.

"Shut up." I mumbled before letting out a groan. "I'll bring them back to you next time we see each other."

"No it's alright." she chuckled again. "Keep them, they're all yours. You can even start a collection if you want. I'll take the bra back though, these are fucking expensive."

I thought about something smart to answer when I just realized her request and frowned.

"I didn't see a bra... perhaps it got under the bed? I'll check and bring it back to you."

"After using it to masturbate?" she joked, letting out a laugh before I threw her the towel in my hands, making her laugh even more. "You're so fucking rude."

She picked the towel on the floor and walked up to me with a smile. It was crazy to realize how we had both been smiling almost non-stop since we woke up and I liked it. I liked to be the reason of her happiness or at least, one of the reasons.

"You smell good." she whispered, licking her lips as my gaze dropped to them. "I smell so bad." she added with a cute pout.

"Maybe you should take a shower too. And maybe I should go with you, you know, make sure you don't forget a spot."

She bit the left side of her bottom lip gently and got on her tiptoes, grabbing the front of my shirt as I bent down. I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to lay her on the kitchen's table and fuck her quickly and roughly. I wanted to sit her on the counter and shag her until she'd scream. But if she just wanted me to kiss her, that would also be enough for me.

"It's not just sex, right?" she asked in a murmur as my lips were almost touching hers.

"Fuck no, it's not just sex." I whispered back, barely moving my lips. "It's also everything else."

Slowly, she nodded and I could swear I saw her eyes sparkle. I felt my heart jump in my chest and smiled more too, pressing my lips against hers. I was going to deepen the kiss but felt her move away and frowned until I realized her phone was ringing. I was so focused on kissing her that I noticed nothing around us. She ran to her phone and when she walked back to me, she was staring at her screen and I knew I wouldn't get to kiss her, at least not soon.

"It's Dylan. He messaged me to tell me he was coming back home this weekend." she explained without looking at me as she quickly typed something back.

"When am I going to see you again, Liv?"

This time, she licked her lips and looked up at me, her traits softening immediately.

"Soon. I promise."

                                                       ---

'Soon' turned out to be a few days later. The truth was, we spent our time texting each other and I wouldn't let go of my phone, not even to go to the bathroom. We teased each other, we laughed, sent ridiculous memes and sometimes, she'd even say that she missed me. We didn't talk about love, and we didn't mention feelings. All we did was reconnect as best friends through messages and it was fun. We still had inside jokes and things only the two of us could understand and that boosted the hope I had inside me to get her back at some point.

I stared at myself in the mirror before grabbing my wallet and keys and putting everything in my pockets. I decided to take a cab until the club and frowned when I finally stood in front of it. I was more of a pub guy but apparently, everyone wanted to go dancing tonight and I was not in the mood to stay home alone. Heidi had told me she would join us later and I knew she would since she was well aware that my ex girlfriend would be there too. I walked inside and noticed Olivia as soon as I let my eyes travel around the room. I walked to my friends who were laughing and noticed Julie moving closer to Liam, kissing his neck before bringing him to the dance floor. It made me chuckle and brought attention on me. Louis smiled widely and extended his hand to me as I gripped it and hugged him quickly, glancing at Liv who got up to greet me too. I kissed Eleanor's cheeks and did the same with her before she smiled at me. She was already tipsy, I could see it in her eyes and as usual, she was glowing.

"Did you see the puppy video I sent you?" she asked, making me laugh and nod. "I really want one!"

I opened my mouth to tell her we definitely could but closed it immediately again, sending her a smile. We couldn't get a puppy because we were not together and it was a real torture. I didn't really know where she stood and I thought asking her would ruin everything. Were we waiting for something and if we were, what was it?

"You're late, by the way." she pointed out, swallowing what was left in her glass before tilting her head. "And I really want an other drink?"

"You're the worst person for that, Olivia, you're always late, you can't bitch at me for this." I chuckled, shaking my head before taking the glass in her hand. "I'll buy you an other one."

"Or two!"

I chuckled and she followed me to the bar, leaning against the counter as I ordered. We waited for the drinks and I moved closer to her to make sure she heard me.

"I missed you."

She brought her hand on my cheek and brushed her fingertips on it, sending me a smile too.

"Me too, Nee."

I jumped slightly when I heard the barmaid and paid, handing her one of the shots I bought. She grabbed it from my hand quickly and swallowed it, putting the glass back on the counter with a thud and making me smirk. I did the same and finally pushed her drink on the counter as she thanked me. She sucked on the straw and her lips curled a bit.

"Are you gonna dance with me?"

I wanted to say no, that it was not my cup of tea, that I was never the type to dance in clubs, and that she obviously knew that, but the way she had raised her eyebrows and parted her lips made me want to say yes to whatever she was going to ask me.

"If you insist, I may."

"I'll insist, then." she chuckled. "Come on."

We walked back to the table and talked a bit with the others but it was not easy because of the loud music. I watched Eleanor pull Louis to the dance floor and when I turned again to Liv, she was smirking. She moved closer and gripped the front of my shirt, getting on her tiptoes again to bring her lips very close to my ear. I loved when she did that.

"I'm all alone tonight so you're my date." she told me, her lips brushing against my earlobe gently. "Make me dance."

I wanted to know who she used to dance with before she met her boyfriend and to how many of her dance partner she had given herself to but I swallowed my question knowing that jealousy was not a good way to get her back. Besides, I was not really sure I wanted to know and I didn't understand why I was so jealous suddenly but I couldn't pretend it was not bothering me a bit. Instead to let these thoughts invade me, I took one of her hands on my shirt and brought her to the dance floor, making her twirl around when we found a good spot. She laughed and ended up close to me, her arms around my neck as she started dancing. I loved the way she moved and for a few seconds I just stood there, motionless, looking at her hips sway. Her gaze met mine and she smiled more, licking her lips and showing me her finger, telling me to wait a minute. I decided to follow her since I felt a bit stupid waiting in the middle of the dance floor but she got back quickly as we both stood next to the bar. She placed herself in front of me and nibbled on her bottom lip, making my whole body throb. I could pretend it was because of the music and the atmosphere in the room but in reality, it was her. Only her.

She reached for my pants and I held my breath, not really knowing what she was going to do but she ended up pushing her hand in my right pocket as I frowned. As soon as she took her hand back, I put mine in my pocket too to find out what it was.

"You can add those to your collection." she just said, smiling more. "I just took them off in the washroom."

My fingers reached the fabric of her panties and my eyes got bigger at the thought. I imagined her pulling her panties down just to bring them to me and it made my heart skip a few beats, making me laugh again.

"Are you drunk?"

She shrugged. "Tipsy. But tipsy enough to dance with you very, very close."

I let her bring me back to the dance floor and this time, she pushed her back on my chest, bringing one of my hands around her. I loved feeling her body brush against mine and when she ground her ass against me, I let out a groan and decided to dance with her. I didn't really know how to move, I just followed her, trying not to get too horny from the way she was rubbing herself on me, and when I got out of my daydream, I realized someone had shouted something at us. Not many people had noticed because of the music but I looked up only to see my girlfriend standing there and the look she sent Olivia and I meant trouble.

"What the fuck is this?" she let out even louder, making Olivia take a step away. "He is not your boyfriend anymore, he's dating ME!"

Olivia frowned with a disgusted look and walked past Heidi, going back to the table.

I sighed and followed her as Heidi did the same and when we got there, everyone else was also back. Louis had ordered more drinks and he was lighting up a cigarette when Heidi started yelling again. He stopped moving completely and raised his eyebrows at the scene in front of him.

"Leave me the fuck alone, okay!" Olivia let out loud enough for my girlfriend to hear. "You've always been such a fucking bitch to me! Bringing Niall to fuck in the hall of a bar and coming back with that smug smile! You knew I loved him and you did that on purpose! And now i'm supposed to respect you? Fuck you!"

Louis' lips parted and his eyes opened wide in admiration before he let out a laugh.

"Well fookin' said!" he just expressed with an other laugh as Heidi frowned at him.

"Oh fuck off, Louis! We all know why you're always defending her, stay out of this!"

I frowned at her words but when I was about to ask about it, Louis flipped her off and Olivia scoffed.

"Mind your own fucking business!"

"Niall is my business. He's MY boyfriend! Go back to your stupid boyfriend, the guy you're supposed to marry, remember?"

"Yea you say that just because you tried to get in his pants and he didn't want anything to do with you!"

"Yea and that makes him stupid and obviously blind! Have you seen you and have you taken a look at me? You're a 3 at best! What the fuck do you have that's so fucking special that made men like Dylan and Niall want you?"

I saw Olivia's face change and in the expression on her traits, I could see all her insecurities coming back. All the efforts she had made to love herself, to be better in her skin? Gone. Her confidence had faltered and it broke my heart. Suddenly, her face changed again and she raised her eyebrows.

"Clearly something you don't have."

She turned on her heels quickly and left as my lips parted in shock. What had just happen exactly?

"You are the worst person I've ever had the misfortune to meet and you deserve a fucking punch in the face." Louis said before  swallowing the rest of his beer and leaving with Eleanor, Julie and Liam.

"What.. what were you thinking?" I asked, shaking my head slightly when my girlfriend got closer.

Heidi frowned and shook her head, walking past me and disappearing in the crowd. I stood there for a few minutes and finally decided to get out of the club to get fresh air. I had no idea where everyone was but I saw them talk together not too far from the building and joined them.

"Liv, hey, i'm sorry."

Her eyes met mine and her traits softened as she shook her head. "No it's not your fault, Niall. Don't worry."

"We're going home." Louis explained, looking at me. "Just going to get high instead. You're welcome but without your witch of a girlfriend."

My lips curled very slightly and I just nodded. "Alright, I'm in."

I knew I had to talk to Heidi but it could wait. I was in the wrong and somehow, I could understand why Heidi had thrown an other tantrum, but I couldn't forgive the words she told my ex girlfriend. Just thinking about the way Olivia's face had twisted in pain made me swallow a lump in my throat. I turned to her, noticing she was looking down at the ground and seemed lost in her thoughts. I knew she was strong, but I also knew she could be vulnerable, and there was no way I was going to let her believe that she was not perfect. Because she was. I was ready to tell her multiple times a day until I'd die if I had to.

Sup I'm the babysitter

Roman and Remus were currently drawing on spare paper. Well, Roman was drawing on paper, Remus was drawing on the table, but it wasn't like anyone was going to stop him. Their parents were off on a date night and the babysitter had yet to get there.

"Rem, don draw on the table, wha'll the babysittew say?" Roman questioned his brother.

"He'w say noth'n cause he won' come!" Remus continued his mindless scribbling.

"Nuh-uh! He'w come!" Roman argued.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Then where ish he?" At Remus' words, Roman paused and thought.

"Wew, hes jus run'n wate!" Roman used the exscuse they'd heard from their parents a hundred times.

"Yeah wite." Remus ignored his brother as he added eyes to... something.

"Twust me, he'w be here, amd you'w get in twouble!" Roman exclaimed, and as Remus was opening his mouth to protest the doorbell rang. "See." Roman smiled as he stood up and waddled over to the door.

"Shit!" Remus said as he finally processed what was happening. Finally he grabbed Roman's paper and used it to cover his mess.

Meanwhile, Roman finally got the door open. He was confused at first to see no adult looking down at him, until he heard someone speak. "Sup, I'm the babysitter." Roman looked down to the scorce of the voice, down, down, and down, until finally he met the eyes of a tiny adult and was as little as his toys.

"You'w so smaw." Roman gasped out amazed.

"Yep, the name's Virgil. What's your's kid?" They introduced themself.

"Im Roman." The child waved down at Virgil. Then, without thinking Roman picked up the tiny person and brought them inside. "Remus! Wook!" Virgilheld back a yelp at being picked up and held onto the kids hand as he showed them off to who Virgil assumed was his brother.

"Hey kid, I'm Virgil." Virge saluted to the second kid-Remus, as a greeting.

"Itz the babysittew!" Roman exclaimed as he bounced on his toes a little.

"They'w so smaw." Remus smiled as he grabbed Virgil out of his brother's hand, this time drawing a frightened shout out of the human. It also didn't help that Remus had a less gentle grip than what Roman had, squeezing Virgil just a little too much.

"Yeah, I'm very small, so you need to be careful." Virgil slowly explained, trying to keep his voice from sounding as strained as it was.

"Oh, okay!" The kid smiled and loosed his grip. Virgil released a silent sigh of relief at the freedom.

"Thank you Remus, you're doing good." Virgil spoke slowly as he praised Remus.

"I am?" Remus looked confused for a second, until he realized what that meant. "I am! Im do'n bettew dan Ro!" He smiled happily as Roman gawked in offense.

"No you ain't!" Roman argued.

"Yes I am!" Remus smiled bigger as his brother got more annoyed.

"You did good too Roman." Virgil finally said, hoping to calm them down be9he was stuck between two giants fighting.

"Yay!" Roman giggled.

"Aw..." Remus lowered his head in defeat. It was now that Virgil noticed the time on a huge clock on the wall.

"I think it's someone's bedtime." Virgil commented.

"Yeah, itz som'nes bedtim!" Roman exclaimed.

"Hey!" Remus went to argue.

"I meant for both of you." Virgil spoke up.

"Awwww!" The two spoke in unison, but didn't argue any further as Virgil was finally sat down and they went to get ready for bed.

Hiya! this is a little thing that ive been writing for.. 2 hours? yeah, probably that long. anywho! it’s about how Phone Dude died in my au, and it’s quite gorey. if you’re unable to handle things such as vomting, mass amounts of blood, disemboweling, Animal death, and murder please stop reading now, because im on mobile and am unable to put the cut!!!!

Austin slid the key into the rusted lock, twisting it to the left and then to the right. He caught the metal contraption in his left hand as it fell, sliding it into his coat. The blond-haired boy unwrapped the chain that held the big metal door shut, letting it fall and lay still on the floor next to him.

The young man pushed his glasses back up his nose, a loud screech breaking the beautiful night’s silence as the door was slowly pulled open. Austin stepped into the run-down building, greeted by an awful smell and a sickening squelch as his right foot was brought down. He flinched, swinging his leg back up again, his eyes darting to the place on the floor where his converse had landed.

There on the floor was a darkened shape. He couldnt tell what it was exactly, but it wasnt much bigger than his shoe. He sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He turned the shattered iPhone 6 on, and then the flashlight, shining it towards the tiny shape. Austin winced, seeing what he’d stepped on.

It was a mangled corpse of a rat, definitely dead. It looked like something had thrown it back and forth at walls, and then beat the hell out of it like a damn punching bag.

“Well that’s fucking disgusting…” Austin murmured, shaking his foot out and kicking the poor thing out of the way and into a dark corner.

The hallway was barely illuminated, the only light coming from the glowing red Exit sign behind him, and his phone’s flashlight, which was currently pointed at the ground. The blonde turned his wrist up, yawning and walking down the eerie hallway. He was cautious, not knowing where the hell that thing had decided to rest for the day. Mike was always the last person to see him, so no one ever knew where the rotting bunny decided to hide for the day.

Austin turned down the short corridor, pausing. In the stillness, he could hear something being dragged across metal. There was a squeaking sound from the opposite side of the building, then a thump, then complete silence. A shiver ran down his spine, but he kept walking. Whatever it was wasnt moving any more, and there’s no way it was the bunny....That thing was fucking ancient... There was no possibility he wouldnt be able to hear it.

The 21-year-old trotted down the second hallway, turning off his flashlight and sliding his phone back into his pocket as he approached the glowing chica head. There was no need for it anymore. He whistled a tune, completely ignoring most of his surroundings. His chocolate brown eyes scanned the walls for any sight of the animatronic, relieved by the fact he hadn’t come across him this whole time.

He turned down the next hallway, looking to his right down at the arcade, and then to his left. It was the only way to get to his destination, and he got a weird vibe from it. The stoned male shrugged it off, seeing as the whole place gave him a weird vibe. As Austin went to turn right at the end of the hallway, he was stopped by something furry and wet. He stumbled backwards, looking up at whatever the fuck he just ran into.

Towering more than a foot over him was the bunny, it’s odd eyes staring down at him, one a glowing an almost striped purple and the other completely black with a glowing white iris. He was haunched over slightly, his left ear hanging down below his waist and the other torn and tattered near his shoulder. There was a low moan that he emitted every few seconds as if he was exhaling, and he smelt like Satan’s asshole.

“Fucking SHIT sticks-“ Austin yelped, turning to run back down the hallway. He heard the bunny practically roar, quiet footsteps and deep moans following him as he sprinted towards the other end of the hall.

Austin felt his footing falter, and his feet slipped out from under him. He fell to the floor with a thump, and whimpered when he felt something big press against the middle of his back. He looked over his shoulder to find a fluffy, rotting paw connected to the god forsaken rabbit holding him down. A robotic laugh found it’s way out of the monstrosity as it leaned over. Austin could hear muscles and fur ripping and tearing because of the motion, and it made him want to hurl. The rabbit grabbed him by the shoulders, violently turning him over and slamming his back against the floor. The wind was knocked out of him, and he felt an awful headache spurge from his head hitting the tile.

Springtrap’s eyes glowed a brighter shade than before. Finally, something worthy of killing. He was grateful of the little shit for setting him free, but that didnt overrule the fact that he needed something to kill and this was his first opportunity to do so with a person in god knows how long. Austin squirmed, trying desperately to get out from under the giant, metal furry pinning him down. Springtrap held him in place, quickly trying to think of some way to kill him. An idea struck, and a twisted smile appeared on the golden corpses’ face.

Springtrap grabbed Austin’s stomach with one bear-sized hand, the fur and glove torn and nearly entirely destroyed at this point. His grip tightened, causing Austin to cry out in pain. If this demon grabbed any tighter, he could probably shatter his hip bones like glass. Springtrap pulled his hand back a bit, eyeing the young adult’s stomach. His eyes glowed brighter as he cut through the soft flesh there like it was nothing, blood splattering onto the belly of this zombified beast.

Austin screamed in pain, thrashing and kicking like a child. Springtrap reached over, wrapping his freehand around Austin’s neck and squeezing. The blonde let out a choked sob, shakily reaching up to grab at the metal and decayed flesh around Springtrap’s wrist. Springtrap chuckled at the shitty attempt, before squeezing again. He let go, sliding both of his fucked-up hands into the cut he had made before. Austin vomited blood, choking and gaging on it due to being unable to get most of it out of his mouth without getting it in his nose. Springtrap wrapped his hands around Austin’s large intestine, yanking it out with little effort. The other let out a gargled scream, tears and blood streaking down his face.

Springtrap continued to pull out multiple of the young man’s insides, raking his claws along the fleshy walls. Austin eventually lost consciousness, and Springtrap took that as an invitation to plunge his hand into his chest, engulfing the dying male’s heart in his palm and squeezing it till it popped and sent blood splattering all over the hall and Springtrap himself.

The moldy, smelly animatronic stood, grabbing Austin’s small intestine and dragging it across the wall. He did the same to the dead man’s other intestine, and then threw his remaining organs either down the hall or at surrounding walls.

Using the fresh blood now coating his hands and the checkered tile, he scribbled multiple phrases across the damp walls.

Red Robin and Batman walked into a house to gather information on a case. That was it. Their only objective was information gathering.

Bruce cursed the second he heard the whimper, pausing in his rummaging through a filing cabinet and shooting a quick glance at Tim to check if he'd heard, and he prayed his son hadn't.

So of course he had.

Tim was already on his way to the source of the heartbreaking cry across the room and curled tight in the corner of its cage.

"Red Robin," Bruce said in the hard Batman 'boss' voice. Damn it--Tim was more prone to picking up strays than Damian at this point. "We need to finish the objective."

At the command that was his name, Tim froze and stood ramrod straight (Bruce hated that the tone of voice elicited the response it did, but it still worked, even if it stung). He pouted a little, glancing back at the cage, but obeyed and finished setting up the small circular recording devices around the room as Bruce collected the paper evidence.

"But B," Tim whined quietly. "The puppies."

Bruce internally groaned and slammed his head on a wall; outwardly, he barely sighed.

"I know."

When Tim was done with his task, he wasted no time in opening the cage with the puppy inside still cowering, and he offered his open palm to the small dog.

Really, Bruce blamed the bad lighting for missing it. A second puppy's head poked out from behind the first orange-furred one.

The second puppy slowly crawled across the hard floor of its cage to Tim's hand, extending its neck as far as it could to get a sniff or two in, and subsequently hesitantly slipped its head into Tim's hand after giving it a little lick.

Pride bubbling up in his chest for no real reason, Bruce watched his son interact with the terrified puppies patiently.

It took ten minutes for the puppies to warm up fully to Tim, but when they did, they were attatched to him like bees on honey, and Bruce could tell Tim was living for it.

Even though he already had an attention-needy cat, and a beta fish that loved showing off back at his apartment.

"Red Robin, we have to go."

"I'm not leaving them."

"Red Robin..."

"Batman."

They did the stare-battle again, even though Bruce never won them, and he sighed in resignation when Tim handed him the orange puppy, hugging it close as he followed Tim out.

"...you realize we can't take these back with us, right Tim?"

"Names," was Tim's automated response. A second later he hesitated. "Why not?"

"We came on our bikes."

"Call the Batmobile."

"Red Hood is "borrowing" it, remember?"

"B," Tim whined, nuzzling the dirty puppy who licked his cheek. "Come on. The puppies. We need each other, can't you see?"

"Red Robin..."

"Batman. B. Please."

And, damn it, Bruce could tell Tim was giving him those same wide baby blue eyes he had when he was a boy. He sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"We can get them in the morning. Tomorrow."

Tim grinned so wide Bruce had half a mind to test him for Joker gas.

It was a quick walk to the nearest shelter, and the receptionist at the main desk didn't bat an eye to see Red Robin and Batman walk into the establishment, each vigilante carrying a puppy. She just popped her gum and blinked slowly.

"Y'wanna 'dopt 'em?"

Heavy slums accent. Lives around here. Native Gothamite, then.

"No," Bruce responded in the gravelly tone of Batman's. "We removed them from an unsafe home. We're here to drop them off, is all."

She shrugged and looked to Tim, raising a brow. "Y'sure y'don't wanna take 'em?"

Bruce looked at Tim, cooing gently down at the puppy in his arms, and he sighed. The puppy Bruce was holding had fallen asleep on the walk to the shelter, but it appeared Tim's was still awake.

"Red Robin," he sighed again. "We talked about this."

Tim pouted, but nodded.

"Yeah, ma'am. We're just dropping them off." Quiet enough for her not to hear, he whispered to the puppies, "for now. I'll be back for you. I promise."

Glancing back at Bruce, the girl popped her gum again, shrugging. "A'ight."

Fifteen minutes later they were walking out of the shelter. Puppiless.

"First thing tomorrow," Tim started, turning and pointing at Bruce, "we're coming to get Ham and Cheddar."

Bruce blinked. "Who?"

"The puppies!"

"..."

"I'm hungry, alright?"

"...fine. First thing after breakfast."

Tim shook Bruce's hand. "Deal."

And in the morning? Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne and Bruce Thomas Wayne, sweatpants, crocs, and baggy t-shirt and all for Tim, showed up at the exact same shelter Batman and Red Robin had been at the night before.

The girl was the same one from the night before, and she was still chewing gum.

Her perpetual gum-chewing was concerning.

"We're here to adopt," Bruce said after offering a grade-A Brucie greeting. "For my son."

She looked to Tim disinterestedly. Popped her gum again.

He smiled a little and waved, clearly not embarrassed, and she shrugged.

"'kay. Dog or cat?"

"Dogs," Tim quickly replied. "We're here for some pups, actually."

The pups comment made the girl--Farah was her nametag--frown.

"Right. Follow me then."

Bruce was hardly concerned about Tim adopting more dogs than the ones he'd already bonded with as they walked past well-kept cages of puppies and kittens. It would have been worse with Damian.

They stopped in front of a large cage, and Farah gestured to the dogs inside. "'ese guys came in last night," she said. "The Batman and Red Robin brought 'em."

Leaning forward to see over Tim, Bruce saw the two puppies from last night--corgis, from the paper on their cage--and they were huddled in a corner, asleep.

"We'll take them," Bruce said.

Farrah nodded.

"They all?"

Just as Bruce opened his mouth to say that, yes, they were only getting the two corgi puppies, Tim spoke up.

"No, actally."

Farah seemed to perk up. "Oh?"

"Yeah--there was an older pitbull back there...?"

Bruce was stunned silent, but at Tim's choice Farah seemed to radiate joy as she popped her gum again and smiled.

She smiled, for the first time since they'd met her.

"Ya int'rest'd in 'im?"

Tim nodded and next thing Bruce knew, he was being led back two aisles to a large enclosure. Inside a mean-looking white and tan pitbull paced its space. When they stopped outside the gate, the pitbull bared its teeth and started growling, backing away slowly with its ears flat on its skull.

Bruce sighed. An abused dog, then.

"Tim?" he asked. "You're sure?"

Warmth and affection glinted in Tim's eyes as he watched the dog, and Bruce didn't need the verbal affirmation. "Yeah."

"Okay." Looking up at Farah, Bruce said, "We'll take him too."

She grinned, nodding. "I suggest you get in there with him. He'll need to warm up to you. He acts all tough," she said, looking back at the growling dog, a tad sadly, "but he's just scared. He's got a great heart. It's just been broken too many times."

Bruce looked to the dog again. He didn't meet gazes with it, but he could see the pain and fear in its body, and it broke his heart a little.

"Okay," he said. Tim was already slowly slipping inside, and Bruce went to follow him.

Farah watched them, and said, "I'll bring the papers."

Once Tim and Bruce were immediately inside the small enclosure, Tim closed the gate behind him and sat down right where he was. Bruce mimicked him.

When his son started talking to him about work, it surprised him, but Bruce endulged him, figuring Tim knew what he was doing. Tim looked at Bruce as they spoke, and Bruce held Tim's gaze.

Even being Batman he didn't notice the dog's approach until twenty minutes later and it sniffed at his palm.

Surprised but unafraid, Bruce opened his hand more and held it out to the dog, the way he'd seen Tim do it the night before with the corgis.

As the pitbull sniffed at his palm, Bruce noticed all the scars the dog sported. Jagged cuts along its side and flanks, smaller ones on its muzzle, a curving one over an eye, and a chipped ear.

Rage threatened to build but the dog sensed it and froze, so Bruce forced it down for the dog. He earned a hesitant lick to the palm for his efforts and the dog switched to smell Tim's palm, tail slowly starting to wag in tentative hope.

Farrah appeared with the papers in hand, apologizing for the wait, when the pitbull's tail was wagging carefully and Tim was scratching at the dog's head. She smiled at the scene again, and asked what they wanted to name the dogs.

"Ceddar and Ham for the corgis," Tim said with a little blush, "and I think I'll name him... Jay."

Bruce met Tim's gaze and raised a brow at the choice.

"Jay?" he asked.

Tim nodded once, firmly. "Yes."

Farah scribbled the names down, then told them they could pick the dogs up in three days. The wait seemed to disappoint Tim, but they agreed, thanked Farah, and stood to go.

As they opened the gate to leave, Jay's tail wagged a little more and he tilted his head as if to ask where they were going.

"I'll be back," Tim promised the dog, crouching to pet him again and making sure the dog saw where his hand went. "I promise. We're springing you from this joint."

Bruce snorted, lips quirking up.

Three days later they walked into the shelter dogless and walked out with Ham, Cheddar, and Jay.

"I'm gonna keep Jay at the apartment," Tim said as they entered the car with the dogs. "Because I don't think Titus would like him very much."

Bruce nodded, starting the car. Jay sat in the passenger side, sniffing at everything, pawing at the odd surfaces. In the backseats Tim was being smothered by his corgi puppies.

A minute passed in silence.

"Bruce, I think I'm gonna need a bigger apartment soon," Tim's muffled voice spoke up from under his corgis.

Bruce silently agreed as he drove to Tim's apartment. At the rate he was going...

"Don't tell Jason you named the pitbull after him."

His muffled voice spoke up again. "Why not? They both pretend to be mean, and they're both sweet deep down. Pitbull Jay has lots of scars, Jason has lots of scars--the parallels are too obvious! Jay is Jason in dog form."

Bruce's lips twitched and he shook his head.

"You know I'm right!"

"No comment."

"That proves it!"

@belovedbratwonder there you go.

Amara

Dust motes danced in the airy light of Anis’ study as he shifted through a storm of essences.

He had called his desk an ‘aromatic apothecary’. Amara had dubbed it a ‘scent bench’. Racks of essence bottles curved around him as he furiously scribbled formulas on to wafers of paper. Occasionally he would un-cork one, releasing a burst of scent that filled the room before dissipating just as quickly- rose oil, hyacinth, slowly burning sandalwood, even that metal stench Amara had always associated with the Void gates back home. Anis would take stock of it then return to his scribbling.

Another uncorking. A fierce note of burning pepper-bush flooded Amara’s nostrils. Then it was gone. More scribbling.

“That was a good one.”  

“Hmm.” Anis sounded unconvinced. “Bit too overpowering, might need a modifier, maybe a citrus ester or a floral one. But that’s in my rayiha so I’ve been told and I don’t think it’s very becoming of me to aim for a signature just yet...”

He continued on in this manner. Amara really didn’t mind. She’d learned a lot over the past week thanks to Anis’ ramblings- his role as a student in the school of extracting (itself part of the house of sciences) the nature of his craft, the Soljin’s nature as part of a greater whole- one of four peoples that had split apart from days spent as Void-wandering nomads, different in many ways but bound by the faith that had united them so long ago- the faith of midãd, the pursuit of the divine substance. Anis considered his work to be the greatest expression of that history, crafting multi-layered scents from countless differing essences.

“So, how’s your work coming along?”

“Oh.” Rising herself from her stupor, Amara glanced back at her sketches. Though Anis had provided a desk to study at right next to a disused alembic, her mind had been elsewhere. It was with Tia and the others now searching for ingredients in the shops and markets. Ingredients for Met’s...treatment.

“Something is in you.” She had said to her, sitting her down in the lovers’ small home. “Call it a baran, call it kaba, call it whatever you like. Just know it isn’t getting out unless we force it out.”

“A...” Amara remembered. “The bolt.”

“Yes, the bolt. The one you were struck by. It came from the god-grounds.”

“You knew about that?!” Tia had been aghast

“I sensed something in her when we shook hands. You telling me about the storm destroying your district confirmed my suspicions. Why do you think I chose to let you stay after your friend’s treatment?”

“So, you were keeping things from us.” Udana said. “Why should we trust you now?”

“It’s not about trust. It’s about necessity. You think the wights you met in the desert were bad? Whatever’s in you now is far older, far darker. I don’t know how it got into you but I know I’m the only one in this city that can get it out. You need more than a doctor, you need someone who understands the dead.”

Silence. Then Khedes had spoken up.

“We can help you.”

“Amara?”

Amara blinked. “Sorry... just thinking about-”

“About your condition?”

She nodded. Setting his work aside, Anis came up and laid a hand on her shoulder. Thankfully he wasn’t shocked back 10 meters.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more. That way you wouldn’t have to rely on that frightful pair.” He rubbed his neck. “If only I could be more like En-Kindi.”

“Who?”

“En-Kindi, the founder of the school of extracting, part of the house of sciences first master’s council. He could do everything: perfume, metallurgy, astronomy, cryptography. A true polymath! He once said that “time exists only with motion.  Body with motion, motion with body. If there is motion there is necessarily body, if there is body there is necessarily motion.”

“How does that relate to all my problems?”

“It means if you keep moving forward then things will definitely work out in the end!”

They both chuckled at that. Then awkward silence resumed.

“You know” Anis continued. “He also said we should devote ourselves to the truth. Always keep looking for it, even if it came from peoples distant and nations different from us. I think he approve of you coming all the way out here...and that he would want me to help you.”

Amara gave a gentle, tired smile. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Anis smiled back. He was about to say something more when suddenly there was a wrapping at the door. Perplexed, he went and opened it. He returned with a small wooden box. Lifting its lid revealed 4 small perfume bottles and a note with 4 words in the Soljinn script written on it. Amara recognised them as street names.

Anis’ smile faded.

“Come on. Time I showed you the other part of my job.”

Kuru’s house of sciences was an alternating mix of interior and exterior spaces. Shadowed hallways would lead to fragrant courtyards bordered by rounded pillars of Aban-Sad stone. Its student body a mix of promising young scholars swelled by the patronage of established academics and those who had been sent by less established families to rise through scholarship and intellectual endeavour. Anis was one such student.

“Wish you could have seen things when everyone was here. Boys would wear off-world jeans under their work robes. We dared each other to flip them up when to get a glimpse of what style they were trying out.”

“Did you really?”

Anis blinked. “Please don’t assume every strapping young Soljinn man is as socially awkward as me.”

That of course had changed with the Corvus’ arrival. The school was backed by public funding, along with that of the social elite- bankers, merchants and military officers. When the Corvus assumed command that wellspring quickly dried up. Students and teachers alike dropped out, some seeking to get jobs as translators and scientists, others hurling themselves against the walls of the Nest in protest.

So now the school Amara walked through was a ghost of its former self. A time when the sound of scratching pens on paper and all manner of scientific, philosophical and theological discourse that fell under the banner of falsafa- Natural studies- filled the air. A time when so many Rayihas joined together it was hard to tell when one person’s soul ended and another’s began.

“That’s one sad story.” Amara said sympathetically, as they head out through the school’s main embossed arch.

“Not half as sad as where we’re going, I’m afraid.”

Where they were headed was a street in the city’s old quarter. En-Yaqut it was called, the birthplace of some of the city’s finest biographers and renowned for its scroll-stores, literary cafes and abundant collections of ornate manuscripts. After all, was it not said that the ink of the quill was holier than the blood of the martyr?

Amara couldn’t see that beauty now. As they followed the street downhill, the air began to smell of smoke. Shutters covered the front of shops, emblazoned with graffiti of a bird spreading its wings between two trees. A young boy flicked rocks at these shutters, which quickly burst into flames, alighted by security lasers.

“Oh no...”

Amara turned to see what Anis was looking at. Standing at a bend in the road was a charred husk of a building. It looked like it had come from Amara’s ruined district, though it stood alone instead of being surrounded by others like it. A crowd had gathered, some dousing the charred walls with water jets.

“Not Shaba...”

“You!” An old woman cried, in black robes with embroiled cuffs. “You from the house?”

“I am... I am.” Anis confirmed. “Please Shaba...the owner of this place...he isn’t...”

The lady shook her head. “Some of his clients were translators for the Corvus. A fight broke out over it and then the fire started. He didn’t survive.”

Anis fell to his knees, his breathing ragged. Amara knelt with him.

“A friend?”

He nodded shakily.

Amara didn’t need to know any more. But she needed to snap Anis out of this.

“Anis, we came here to do something. Do you remember?

Another nod. With trembling hands, he took out one of the vials and poured its contents on to the ground, murmuring what sounded like a prayer under his breath.

Slowly a rayiha surrounded them. It smelled like drying paint and fresh parchment. Amara almost thought she saw it, as a hazy silhouette of a man standing before them.

Anis seemed to glimpse it to.

“You always were so accepting, Shaba.” He turned to the woman. “Make sure the Clerics find his body and give it the rites. We have others to see to.”

He then swerved back up the way they had come. Amara nearly had to run to keep up with him.

“Perfumes are an accompaniment to someone’s soul. Naturally they can be used to guide and heal lost ones. When a body is prepared for the rites, we provide perfumes to guide the rayiha back to it.”

He gave Amara a gentle, tired smile.

“The house of sciences may be fading, but that line of work keeps me occupied a lot nowadays.”

Why had they come?

To dethrone tyrants of course! The rulers of Kuru had become depraved and needed removing. Had they not rounded up dissident scholars, removed them from public office? Had they not charged exorbitant fees for the stone of Kuru, exploiting them over the years? Had they not acted to the detriment of every non-Soljinn in the city and punished those who practiced tolerance? Men like Shaba?

“Well that was a fucking lie.” Anis growled.

The Corvus’ defeat of these men- the feared mihna lawgivers- had been like something of out of a legend. The air had suddenly filled with white light. Spears of it leapt down to strike the lawgivers palace. Then ship after ship had floated down to continue the assault.

Such talk there had been! Anti-regime cells had gathered in the coffee shops whispering of plans that would never see fulfillment. Some wrote and translated advisory letters to the Corvus, others hoped that translation schools would be built to speed negotiations between the people and the invaders.

Such dreams- of translation, of communication- had died swiftly when the Corvus demonstrated how they translated with their first routine survey.

So, the days went on. Anti-Corvus groups making a scene, the Corvus themselves appearing out of nowhere to make a bigger mess of it. Men like Shaba- known for his tolerance of all peoples and the generosity of his spirit- killed in the crossfire, while others like Anis trailed after the violence, hoping to help in whatever way they could.

“So, you still don’t know why they are here?” Amara asked. By the time they reached the House of Science’s entrance the sun was setting. A day spent attending similar sites to the one on En-Yaqut street had left her drained. She would need to talk to Tia tonight.

“Don’t know don’t care.” Anis’ voice had seemed to age over the day, becoming as rough as Met’s at times “I’m just trying to survive.”

Just trying to survive. Made her little treasure hunt seem silly by comparison. Then Amara reminded herself she was doing it to help her own people survive as well.

Turning to the path to Met’s house, Amara thought about the violence she had seen here- how it could spread so easily to her own home, how many homes it had already taken. She thought about the artefacts lying discarded in the God-grounds and the wreckage of Shaba’s slowly burning shop.

As she did, the taste of electricity filled her mouth and goosebumps spread across her skin.

Scribble-Doodle: Edomei

Malec. A scene I want to see in 301. Regarding the Edomei...

Alec grumbles silently, rubbing his temples. His eyes burn and his head aches fiercely and he’s still no closer to finding his answer.

Something tweaks his nose and when his eyes fly open, he jerks back, startled, because there’s a glowing purple dust mote hovering in front of him. It explodes in a shower of sparks - and Alec sneezes.

“Gesundheit!”

Alec twists around and there, in the doorway of his office, Magnus is standing, grinning wide.

“Magnus!” Alec exclaims.

Magnus enters the office and waves a hand. “Sorry about that, I just couldn’t help myself. I did try to knock, though. It looked as if you were in a different universe.”

Standing up, Alec walks around his desk and kisses Magnus on the lips. And then again, for good measure. Magnus tastes like old wine and fresh grapes.

“I didn’t miss lunch - dinner,” Alec corrects himself, noticing the time, “again, did I?”

Magnus laughs. “No, don’t worry. Izzy called me,” he explains. “She was afraid you would keel over from lack of nourishment.”

Alec frowns. “What?”

“She tried to get you to eat something but, apparently, you just hmm’d at her.”

Alec blinks. “She did?”

Magnus nods. “She was quite exasperated.”

“She was?”

“So, she at least left you a sandwich.” Magnus points and whispers, “Don’t worry, she didn’t prepare it herself.”

Alec looks to where Magnus is pointing and blinks. On the corner of his desk a quite… tired looking thing sits on a plate, lettuce all wilted and bacon rather dry around the edges. Huh. Alec didn’t even notice.

With a wave of his hand Magnus replaces the sad excuse for a refreshment with a real hamburger, smelling so heavenly that Alec’s stomach gives an embarrassing gurgle.

“Thanks,” Alec mutters sheepishly and takes a large bite. Raziel, just as he likes it.

“I wouldn’t want to have you on my conscience,” Magnus says, winking.

Then he turns and looks around the office. There’re papers everywhere, but the most interesting are arranged on a glass board that Alec had brought in, aerial shots with red dots, a lot of them, converging on a circle drawn with a blue marker, getting closer and closer in each print.

“What is this?” Magnus asks, stepping closer and studying the pictures.

Alec takes his plate and his half-eaten burger to the board. “It’s a time-lapse of the flying patterns of the Edomei. We’re still trying to figure out where they disappeared to. I had the patterns analyzed, and it seems that they were all headed for this spot.” He taps on the blue circle.

Magnus glances at him. “What’s there?”

Alec sighs in frustration. “Nothing, that’s the problem. At least not above ground. Underground, that’s a different matter entirely. There are layers and layers of tunnels down there, sewers and abandoned train stations, natural caves…” He shakes his head. “Hundreds of places where the demons could be hiding. I sent my people to the City archives to search for some comprehensive maps of that place.”

“You think they’re down there, then?” Magnus asks, leaning closer to the board and squinting at the shots, one after the other.

“Well,” Alec says, stuffing the last of his hamburger into his mouth, “they’re not above ground - they are kinda hard to miss, what with them flying around! - and we know that they didn’t return back to Edom or leave the City premises before they disappeared since the shield was still up. And we didn’t kill them. So they can be either down there or…” His voice trails off.

Magnus straightens up and looks at him. “Or?”

“Or they can be in the Seelie Realm,” Alec says reluctantly. “But since there’s no way to actually confirm that, we’re concentrating on the underground.”

“You could ask the Seelie Queen directly,” Magnus suggests reluctantly but not even he looks convinced that it could work.

Sighing, Alec sets his plate down. “Mother always says that people who can’t lie find more... creative ways to hide the truth from you.”

Magnus grimaces. “She has a point.”

“Besides,” Alec adds, “the concept of the Seelie Queen using the Edomei for Raziel-knows-what is honestly too frightening to contemplate, so… I would rather not, at least till we exhaust all other options.”

“Quite a scary thought that searching for demons in the City sewers is less frightening than the idea that the Seelie Queen could be behind this, isn’t it?” Magnus comments, wrinkling his nose.

“Yeah…” Alec whispers.

Then Magnus catches a sight of something behind Alec, a book lying open on Alec’s desk, and his face brightens. “Oh, I know this one! The Ancient Lore of Edom,” he exclaims and walks past Alec to the desk. Seeing the other books there, he raises his eyebrows. “Demons and Other Ancient Creatures? The Encyclopaedia of…? What is this, Alexander?”

Alec joins him at the desk, sighing again. “I thought that if I knew more about Edomei, I could maybe figure out what they’re after.”

Magnus glances at him. “You could’ve just asked me, you know?”

Leaning closer, Alec kisses him on the temple. “I know. But I wanted to do some research first before I ran my theories by you because…” He hesitates. “You see, I had this thought that, well, it sounded really dumb even in my head at first, so I wanted to find some evidence that would support it.”

Turning around, Magnus plants his butt on the edge of the desk. “Do tell! What theories?” He sounds intrigued.

“Well, you saw how the flying demons broke apart when shot or hit by magic? They splintered into these smaller demons,” Alec explains.

“Yes,” Magnus says, nodding.

“And since we can’t seem to find the flying monsters--”

“You think they broke apart and slithered down into the sewers to hide?” Magnus guesses.

Alec hesitates. “Actually, no. Just the opposite. We tried looking for the smaller beasts and haven’t found any. But! If the Edomei are made of smaller creatures then what if… could they also be just the smaller parts of something bigger? A monster we haven’t seen yet?”

Magnus blinks. “That’s… quite a terrifying thought.”

“But is it possible?” Alec asks.

Tilting his head to the side, Magnus thinks about it for a moment. “Knowing the Edomei, it’s certainly not impossible, if you know what I mean? But wouldn’t a bigger monster be much more easier to find?”

“Well, that’s where my other theory comes in - to fit down there, into the tunnels, comfortably, the creature would have to be rather small, definitely smaller than the flying things we saw. So… could it be smaller in stature but stronger in power?”

Magnus turns very quiet. Then he whispers, “Like a nuclear bomb of a demon?”

Nodding slowly, Alec whispers back, “Yeah. Could it be possible?”

“It… could. But out of the combination of so many Edomei, only something truly powerful could be born. We’re talking a Greater Demon here at the very least, Alexander,” Magnus says, still talking very quietly. He’s clearly unnerved, maybe even a little afraid.

“I know.”

Magnus shudders. “Suddenly, the prospect of the Seelie Queen herding the Edomei doesn’t sound as terrible anymore.”

Alec leans against the table next to him. Their shoulders touch as he seeks comfort - and offers it back. “Yeah. I sent Jace and the others out there, to find me some evidence that I’m on the right track here - or totally wrong. I really do hope I am wrong!”

Resting his head against Alec’s shoulder, Magnus slips his arm around Alec’s waist and pulls him closer. “Me, too, Alexander. Me, too. Because if it’s one of the ancient, powerful ones, loose in our world... “

Nodding again, Alec hugs Magnus around the shoulders. “It could mean war with Edom, a war like we have never seen before.”

Catching (Peter Parker x Reader) Hogwarts AU

Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Part two of the Improper series

*Please don’t plagiarize my work, thank you :3*

Summary: A game of Quidditch leaves both you and Peter injured, but he definitely gets the worst out of it.

Warnings: Mention of broken bones, minor violence, cursing, and Wade Wilson.

Words: 4,111

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You sat in the Great Hall, moving your carrots around the plate with your fork. Today had been awesome. First week of school, no homework, aced that surprise Charms quiz, food served for lunch was the best so far. Today was supposed to be great, and it was, except for one small detail; Peter wasn’t sitting next to you like always. No, he was talking to Inigo down the table. You stabbed a carrot so hard the fork bent. Peter was talking to Inigo and it didn’t look like the usual conversation, entailing Inigo being a jerk and Peter trying not to punch him. This time, Peter looked happy. He was laughing and smiling and absorbing the attention like a sponge. You observed him from afar, hearing pieces of what they were talking about. “Quidditch” and “finally” were used a lot, and you stared down at the food, wishing you could sneak off to the Slytherin table and talk to Abby, Keira and Erin. If I could just crawl under the tables. You think, devising a plan. Maybe McGonagall won’t see-

Peter sat down next to you and began putting food on his plate, humming under his breath.

“You excited for the quidditch tryouts?” He asks, shoveling chicken in his mouth. Like nothing was wrong. Like he wasn’t just talking and laughing with your bully.

“Definitely. Yeah.” You answer, cheering up a bit, but not enough. The image of Peter laughing with Inigo was burned into your mind and it left bitter thoughts floating in your head. I just need to get away for a bit. You reason. Peter will understand.

“Can you cover for me?” You ask hurriedly. “I don’t want Morgan catching me sneaking off.” Peter gave you a blank look at why you would want to distract the Gryffindor prefect but you didn’t wait for his response and slinked off the bench, briskly walking down between the two tables and turning to continue towards the Slytherin table. It would have been easier to go around the other way, but that was nearest to the professors table at the front, and they could not know that you were sitting at another house’s dining table. Your friends looked confused and alarmed when they say you approach the Slytherins. Abigail frantically motioned for you to sit at the empty space between her and Erin.

“Why the bloody hell are you here?” Erin asked wildly, looking around to see if anyone knew of your table change. When she knew no one saw, she faced you, grinning brightly. Erin loved breaking rules, from scribbling on the bathroom stalls to secretly giving Professor Barton a rabbit tail and cat ears. “Did that little shit give you a hard time again?”

She was referring to Inigo of course, but instead of feeling better you saddened even more. “I think Peter-he was, I mean I’m not-” You began, stumbling over words. Huffing, you calm down and try again. “Peter was talking to Inigo…”

You finish the sentence in a dejected whisper, realizing how stupid the problem was when said out loud. “Talking to Inigo how? Like usual? Or was Inigo being an even bigger twit than usual?” Keira interrogated at lightning speed, becoming irritated and heated at the mention of the boy she hated so much.

“Please,” Abigail scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Would she really come here if it was just ‘Inigo as usual’? God Keira, think about it! Peter wasn’t just talking to him-they were having a good old time. Didn’t you see them? Peter was loving the attention, that little-”

Erin jabbed Abigail slightly in the rib to make her stop talking. “M’ sure Peter didn’t mean to leave ya out.” Erin says soothingly, slinging her arm over your shoulders. “You know he loves you very much.”

Keira smirks and Abigail snorts, which does not go unnoticed by you. “‘Course he loves me, we’re best friends.” You say slowly, narrowing your eyes at your friends.

“Yup, of course. Best friends,” Keira assured gleefully in a somewhat suspicious manner. “And-oh look! He’s staring over here right now.”

You whipped around to see Peter sitting at the Gryffindor table, watching you. He waved sheepishly when he saw you turn around, and you returned the wave more enthusiastically, giving him a wide smile.

“‘ell ‘im oo liek ‘im.” Erin says through a mouthful of truffles. You tilt your head to the side and snigger at her puffed out cheeks. She swallows thickly and grabs her glass of pumpkin juice, downing it it a couple gulps.

“Tell him you like him” She repeats, smiling smugly.

“...What?” You ask, trying to hide the redness seeping across your cheeks and nose. “What are you talking about?”

Abigail raises an eyebrow. “Cut the crap, we know you like him, even if you don’t know it yet.” She says, breaking into a smile and turning your head to where Peter is sitting. “I ship it so freaking much!”

You swat her away and put your head in your hands, hiding the embarrassed blush before pulling your head up to give a comeback.

“Abigail, shut up for god's sake!” You whisper yell urgently. “I came here to vent about Inigo and you start shipping me with Peter? Seriously?”

Erin laughed good naturedly, giving your shoulders a squeeze. “Start shipping? We’ve been shipping you for what-a year and half now?”

“I don’t like Peter,” Keira stated, throwing a dark look in his direction. “And he did just talk to Inigo like they were freaking friends… He better not start being a bratty Gryffindor.”

“Hey!” You piped up, crossing your arms and feigning a hurt pout. “Not all Gryffindors are bratty!”

“You’re right.” Erin says seriously, nodding at you. “It’s just you then.”

You pinch her side and she lets out an ‘oof’, clutching her stomach as Keira and Abigail giggle, both of them reaching over to tickle her too.

“I want a good clean match!” Coach Wilson yells to the teams. He gives them a stern look, then doubles over, cackling like a witch.

“Just kidding you losers,” He manages between wheezing giggles, wiping his eyes for tears of laughter. Just as suddenly, he becomes deathly serious again. “Go do whatever the fuck you want. Just remember if anyone dies your body will be burned out behind Hagrid’s shack because I am not going to Azkaban again.”

The newest members of the quidditch teams look at the older players with wide eyes, deciding whether asking if the coach was serious would provide the answer they wanted. You couldn’t help but chuckle at Coach Wilson’s attempt to scare you. Peter on the other hand, actually seemed alarmed.

“He’s kidding, right?” Peter asks, his knees shaking as he held his broomstick tightly. “Tell me he’s kidding. Does he know me and you are only second years?”

“Good luck Peter.” You say pointedly, trying to get him to focus on being the Gryffindor chaser and not worrying about Wade Wilson being his usual asshole self. In reality though, you were just as nervous as Peter. This was the first game of the season after all, and tension was high with the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. You stood in position on the field, gripping the sleek handle of your Firebolt Supreme and preparing for the whistle that starts the game. The crowd spoke in hushed voices, taking bets about who would win. When Coach Wilson blew the whistle, you kicked off the ground as practiced and rose into the air, enjoying the cool breeze that came with being so high up. A Hufflepuff chaser flew past, closely followed by Liz Allan, the Hufflepuff team captain. You observed the scene below, searching for any signs of the Golden Snitch. Being the seeker, you trained your eyes to see the flashes of gold and wings from many meters away.

You saw a shimmer of polished metal zoom downwards and you dove after it, the wind rushing through your hair. Reaching forward, the tips of your fingers were almost touching the Snitch’s delicate wings as it flew past the other players. Dodging and pushing the speed of your Firebolt, your hand almost closed around the small golden sphere when a body rammed into your side, slamming their elbow into your ribcage. You screamed and grabbed the broom with both hands as you were sent spinning off course. The Gryffindors in the stands exploded with rage as the whistle was blown and you barely managed to whirl around and stop without colliding with the viewing stands. All the players descended down to see Coach Wilson yelling at a small Hufflepuff girl who, instead of being terrified, looked unimpressed at most.

“Cobbing and blocking? Really Leslie-Macy?” Coach Wilson shouts, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“My name is Lisa-Marie.” The girl answers coolly, straightening her quidditch robe.

“I don’t give a flying horse fuck you stupid shit!” The Coach yells. “One more penalty and you’re out!”

Lisa-Marie began to protest but Coach Wilson pulled out his wand and in a flash of light it changed into a katana blade, which he pointed at her menacingly. “Don’t test me you shitty excuse for a quidditch player.” He growls and the katana changes back into a wand. He tucks it into his pocket as if nothing had happened.

“Are you alright?” Peter asks frantically, darting around you to find any damage. “Does it hurt? Can you still play? ‘Know what-you shouldn’t play. Oh Merlin, wait ‘till I get my hands on-”

“Peter!” You shout, stopping his rambling. “I’m fine, honestly. Doesn’t even hurt that much. C’mon, we gotta get back to the game.”

All the players kicked off the ground once more and the match continued as planned.

“There goes Liz Allan of the Hufflepuffs chasing after Fredericks of the Gryffindor team!” Flash Thompson yells into the microphone. “She takes a dive for the quaffle and catches it, obviously. Never seen Allan miss a pass. Never.” You stop paying attention because at that moment, the Snitch had flown past you at high speed, its little wings beating rapidly. Chasing after it once more, you knew that this time, you would catch the Snitch. The score was tied and this could guarantee Gryffindor the win.Your long quidditch robes whipped behind you as the little golden ball was centimeters from your palm, and with one final jerk forward you trapped it in your hand, skidding to a halt mid air. The people in the stands roared with approval or booed as Flash announced the closing of the match. You were on cloud nine, high on happiness and pride. Peter was a small distance away, pumping his fist in the air and cheering you on. All you were feeling was elated, like you were in space and you could never come down. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a furious Lisa-Marie use her beater's bat to angle a bludger. You didn’t have time to react before it hit the hilt of Peter’s broomstick. He wasn’t given the chance to scream.

Peter fell in slow motion as you gave an strangled shriek, plunging after his flailing form. Blood pounded in your ears from the sudden altitude drop but it was nothing to your panic stricken self. The ground was nearing fast, your eyes stinging as you shot your hand out to grab Peter’s arm, robe, leg-anything! If it would just slow down his fall. Right before his back hit the grass field you latched onto his wrist, jerking him up. Peter’s spine slammed against the earth, not as roughly as it could have but you still feared for permanent damage. The wrist you had grabbed was bent at disgusting angle, the sight of which made you want to empty your lunch. You still held his wrist when you threw your Firebolt aside, falling to your knees next to Peter. His chest heaved but no oxygen entered his lungs and he gasped for air.

“Peter! Peter!” Your breathlessly cried his name, hands traveled from his pale face to his neck, checking for pulse in your state of hysteria. “Oh my god, oh my god, answer me dammit!”

You raked a hand through your hair, at a loss of what to do. Peter opened his eyes and groaned, snaking his clammy fingers through yours. You almost wept with relief, a laugh bubbling in your throat. Teachers and students alike crowded around you and Peter, someone attempting to pry you away from him but you dug your nails into their arm, scratching them until they jolted away.

Nurse Maximoff appeared next to you, lifting Peter into the air on a stretcher of red mist and you followed her, not listening to the yells of the teachers. The nurse didn’t seem to notice your presence during the trek back to the school or as she laid Peter on a bed in the Hospital Wing, her scarlet magic flying bottles and flasks of medicine around. Peter gave another sharp cry and you stuffed your fist in your mouth to keep from wailing at his misery. Nurse Maximoff’s red magic began to forcefully push you out of the Hospital Ward, shutting the big wooden doors behind you. Footsteps thunder down the hall towards you and seconds later a hoard of people turn the corner, stopping in front of the doors.

“Holy shit you’re fast.” Keira puffs out, leaning on the wall to catch her breath. Keira, Abigail, and Erin crowded around you along with a couple people you don’t know. You looked around helplessly at your friends, dizzy from attention.

“Oh, I forgot,” Erin says, noticing your lost expression. She pointed to four other students behind her, three of them clad in yellow and black. “These are some Hufflepuffs who felt Lisa-Marie was barking for doing’ what she did. Think they wanted to say sorry-since the bitch won’t say it herself.”

“Hello.” A pretty dark skinned girl shook your hand, and you recognized her as Liz Allan, the captain of the Hufflepuff team. “Erin’s right, we’re sorry about Lisa. She’s been known to be-”

“Bat shit crazy.” A younger boy finishes, earning a glare from Liz.

“What? It’s true-I have no idea how she became a Hufflepuff.” He burst out, probably relieved to say it aloud. “Not a nice bone in her body. Nope.”

“Lisa isn’t too bad.” A small, frizzy haired Hufflepuff girl defends.

“Ned’s still right.” A tall Ravenclaw girl agrees, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. “She’s a damn pain, man.”

The tall girl extends a hand, shaking yours lazily. “Michelle Jones. Ravenclaw, art club founder, Stella’s personal babysitter.”

“Michelle,” The little Hufflepuff girl whines, bouncing up and down on the heels of her shoes. “I don’t need a babysitter!”

Michelle gives her a cheshire cat grin. “Hush child, mummy’s talking. Anyway, how’s the loser who fell?”

“He’s not a loser.” You grumble, staring down at your feet.

Abigail grunts in amusement and shakes her head. “She’s just saying that ‘cus she fancies him so much.”

You sock her in the arm.

Visiting Peter in the Hospital Wing was tricky. Combine tons of homework, tests and the “no sneaking around after dark” rule and the result was the few times you could actually see him. Every Saturday and Sunday were spent almost entirely with Peter though. You’d practice weird spells, eat all kinds of junk food, and Nurse Maximoff turned out to be a very nice lady who you now had the permission to call Wanda. She was a lot younger than you thought, and most of the time was like a big sister to you and Peter, helping you sneak in sweets and keeping your night stays with Peter a secret. You walked briskly to the Hospital Wing, ready to relax and have a good evening when giggling reaches your ears. You stop in your tracks at the doors, inching forward to hear more.

“I’m still sorry the Hufflepuff prat got you like that, Pete.” You internally groaned at the high pitched, annoyingly nasally voice. Oh for the love of-why does Inigo have to be where I plan to be all the time?

“If I’d been out there flying you would be here, right Ned?” The mention of Ned made you want to groan again. Ned was an incredibly polite, shy, dorky nerd who didn’t deserve to be sucked into Inigo’s gang of idiots.

“I-I guess.” Came Ned’s uneasy reply.

“Bet I’d have saved you, no problem. How’s that friend of your, huh Pete? Didn’t she break your wrist tryin’ to save you?” That sentence made you nauseous. I broke Peter’s wrist? No, no, no. I was just trying to help, I-

“She didn’t mean to!” Peter assures and you instantly feel better, even just by a smidge. “It slowed my fall. I might be dead if she didn’t help.”

“Where is the little savior you talk about so much now, anyway? Isn’t she always here on the weekends?” Inigo’s question was seemingly innocent, but you knew the scheme behind it.

“She’s just held up a little.” Ned’s chimes in.

“Well then,” One of Inigo’s friends announces. “We’ll stay here ‘till she get’s here. Y’know, keep you company.”

Your hand hold the door handle, face growing pale. I should go in there. You think, knuckles turning white as your grip on the handle gets tighter. I should march in there and maybe Inigo will leave. Yup, just open the door and move your feet… The aura around you is hot and timid. Walking in would be so easy, only a few steps and you would be at Peter’s bed, talking and laughing with him and Ned. But Inigo’s still there… A small, anxious voice in your head reminds you. What happens when you leave and he comes with you, with all of his huge gorilla friends? You, alone in the hallway, with Inigo and his gang. The thought makes you even jumpier than before. It would be so, so easy to walk in and plop down next to Peter and Ned.

But your grip on the handle is removed. And you walk, head low, back to the girls dormitory. A coward.

“This is so wrong.” Stella squeaks excitedly, caught in the moment. Abigail peeks around the corner and gives you a thumbs up without looking back. The rest of the group, namely Keira, Michelle, Erin, you and Stella, tiptoe forward, wary of the distant sounds of talking in the dark corridors. Slinking around the halls at night was sort of a new hobby as your friends tried to find an obscure hangout to use when escaping the stress of end of year schoolwork.

“No offence Stella but can you hush up for a second.” Michelle quips, pulling Stella along to quicken their pace. “Abby mighta found a great place down near the Slytherin commons.”

“The Slytherin-the Slytherin commons?” Stella yelps, automatically being shushed by everyone.

“We’re almost there and… Aha!” Erin explains, also being shushed by the group. She gives an exaggerated eyes roll. “Well, here’s the entrance.”

You squint in the darkness and pull out your wand, muttering “Lumos” so a helpful burst of light emits from the tip of your wand. What Erin was referring to was a particularly old statue of a witch that had its back connected with the wall a bit away from the doors to the Slytherin common room.

“I suppose this needs some sort of charm to activate it?” Keira asks, leisurely waving her wand around.

“No, we’re just going to sit here until morning.” You deadpan, sending Keira a bored look. “Of course it need a charm! Now, who knows it?”

“Need you even ask?” Abigail answers snobbishly, brandishing her wand.

“Káto apó ti límni.” She whispers, making a little swirling motion with her wand and swishing it to point at the witch's chest. The statue rumbled as moved to the side, making you hope no one heard. A gust of cool wind swept out, pleasingly chilly compared to the hot mid June weather. All girls gasp and marvel as they walked through the passageway. The old brick walls were just like the rest of Hogwarts, but the roof was a clouded glass, the waves of water above creating beautiful shimmers of light that illuminated the passage, along with old metal lamps that decorated the brick. You could see schools of fish dart by, seaweed slowly drifting along with the current. This passageway-

“It’s under the lake.” Stella gasped, tilting her head up to take in every detail.

“Uh huh…” Keira answered meekly, distracted by a grindylow that was swimming past the roof, growling when it saw them. The passage only ended when you entered a small circular room, also with a glass roof, marble columns supporting the structure. Someone had scattered fur rugs around the floor, and old coffee table was put in one corner, surrounded by pillows and blankets.

“Didja bring the stuff?” Erin asks, sitting cross legged at the coffee table. Nodding, you pull strings of lights, stacks of DVD’s, books and hoards of stuffed animals out of the bag you had on your shoulder. You silently thanked Merlin for undetectable extension charms and everyone began to string up the fairy lights, putting the DVD’s and book on the table. Stuffed animals were handed out and all of you sat down at the coffee table.

“Exactly why did we bring DVD’s?” Michelle questions, looking at Abigail. She grins and pulls something from under her pillow.

“How did you get a computer to Hogwarts?” Keira asks, in awe at the sleek new model. A couple hours and movies later, you yawned loudly and shut the laptop. You nudged Stella, who was leaning against you, fast asleep, and gathered your things. The six of you make your way back out, rubbing your eyes to keep from falling asleep. The statue slid back into place and you were about to mumble a sleepy goodbye to your friends but were interrupted by a snicker.

“Well if it isn’t Pete’s little friend.” Inigo says, sickening glee dripping in his voice. “And you brought the whole gang. Wonderful.”

Too tired to find a witty comeback, you sighed and turned to him. “What do you want?”

Inigo tutted, shaking his head. “Oh, nothing really. Just wanted to tell you how sad poor Pete was when you were a no show all those weekends.” He simpers. “Very rude, if you ask me.”

Bastard. You think. He knows perfectly well why I skip a lot. “Go boil your head Inigo, or I’ll do it.” You snap, trying to pull your friends away from him and his gang. Too late. His mates moved between you and yours, separating your group.

“But that wouldn’t be as fun.” Inigo sneered, walking around you. And just like that, the air was suffocating you, choking you with its denseness. “Look at yourself, hanging out with these Slytherins. A right disgrace, if you ask me.”

“Drop dead you moronic git!” Abigail retaliates, pushing away Inigo’s friend who was closest to her. “The hell do you think you’re going to do to us?”

A boy shoves her back and she stumbles into Stella, who grabs her arm for support. Anger boils in you, picking you up from the previously sleepy state.

“Don’t touch her!” Michelle yells, then cries out when the boy circling her pulls on her messy ponytail. Stella’s chest was heaving, and you knew she was going to freak out if anyone got hurt more. Inigo dug his nails into your jaw, which must have been a funny sight, him being the same height as you. It wasn’t funny to you though, it stung badly.

“I want,” Inigo pauses, glancing at your friends. “I want you to stop being such an embarrassment to the Gryffindor name. A couple Slytherins? A Hufflepuff I could excuse, but Slytherins?”

“Let. Go.” You growl, your words coming out choked because of his death grip on your jaw. Inigo looked about to hit you but footfalls somewhere down a couple corridors stopped him. He let go of your face and motioned for his friends to follow him. They run off towards the Gryffindor commons and you massage your jawline, knowing there would be red marks by tomorrow.

“Run!” Erin whisper yells. All of you sprint in different directions, each to your individual common room.

You panted heavily, barely muttering the password to the Fat Lady. Going to your bed in Gryffindor Tower was bittersweet, knowing that very close is the boys dormitory, where sleeps your enemy and the boy who is your best friend. Who you have avoided because of a stupid bully. Who waited for you to come visit when you never did.

Authors  Note: 

Okay no one reads authors notes but I thought I would warn you guys. It’s going to get real heavy, real quick. Angst, betrayal, gossip, and that weird tingly feeling you get when something really unfair is happening to a character and you just wanna give them a hug. Yeah that character is you, so... Anyway, the chapters have been pretty fluffy so far. That’s going to end as of this chapter. And if you’re confused at why the reader was a first year in the first two parts, but is now a second year (because they’re allowed to play quidditch in second year) then let me explain. Every chapter is another full year, unless I say otherwise. The very first part was a prequel, it doesn’t count. I may split a chapter into two parts if it gets too long, or a special edition over the Hogwarts holidays... I don’t know. Hope you love it, hope you aren’t offended by the cussing, yada yada. Stay weird!

-A

Tags: @madithemagicalfangirl

Mermaid au Shownu please?? I love how well you write Monsta X, especially Shownu and Wonho! (I also wanted to request Wonho but I didn't want to overwhelm you bc I know you said you worry abt the way you write him but I really think you do him the most justice as a writer ❤️❤️❤️ feel free to do either or both if the inspiration strikes! Love you and your writing so much!!) 😊

i actually have an idea for shownu,,,it’s a little bit more angsty than what i usually write, but i hope u like it!! ill write wonho soon too~~find mermaid!minyhuk (here) & mermaid!kihyun (here) 

you’ve been working as a lab assistant to a group of marine biologists for almost a month when you overhear that finally,,,,,,the scientists have caught a mermaid

and at first you don’t believe,,,,,,,,a mermaid??? do those even exist??? but everyone in the lab is in an uproar about it that you assume,,,,it has to be true

and a couple of days later the big tank in one of the labs is apparently home to the newest experiment and when you go over the room is packed with scientists, interns, assistants, divers,,,,,,

and you can barely see the mermaid but you catch a glimpse of the huge tail as he swims by and everyone is chatting about how BIG he is,,,how he must have swam too close to the shore or something

but since you can’t see anything you just decide to leave it at that,,,,,but something feels weird,,,,,,

thankfully the scientists trust you enough to close up every now and then so after most of them have gone home you sneak carefully into lab room 3 where the tank is clear ocean water,,,,, and you see him,,,,,,

 and he’s nothing like what you read about in fantasy books,,,,no scary gills or yellow eyes,,,,,,,he’s,,,,,beautiful??

and the closer you get the more you see ,,,, the toned upper body,,,,which makes sense he swims to stay alive,,,,but also the pretty emerald color scales on his tail,,,that shimmer whenever the lights in the lab reflect into the water

and even in the water it’s obvious that his skin is slightly golden,,,,,and in his ears u can see earrings,,,,pearls,,,, and you’re so caught up that you don’t even notice that you’ve come so close to the glass

and when you put ur hand on it he finally seems to notice you,,,,whipping around in the water and swimming toward you

so fast that you even jump back a bit,,,,but his face oh god,,,up close ,,,,, you swear no man you’ve ever seen has looked like,,,,,,That

but even though he’s so big,,,his broad shoulder and handsome face,,,there’s fear in his eyes and you can’t really read lips all that well but he’s saying something 

cautiously you get closer to the glass and you’re like ??? pointing to your ears and trying to motion that you can’t hear

so he slows down and you can make out the words : where am i

and you look around,,,hurriedly finding a notepad and scribbling down ‘laboratory’ showing it to the boy and the fear in is eyes gets even deeper

so you change the subject and write ‘what’s your name?’ turning to show it to him and ,,,,, he hesitates,,,, but slowly says it and you focus on his lips 

“shownu?”

and you write down ur own name and show it to him,,,,,but u can see he still isn’t settled so u add ‘they’re not going to hurt you here. they just want to look at you because we’ve never seen mermaids before’

and shownu suddenly puts his hand against the glass and you turn around because you hear footsteps and you duck under a nearby desk

when two scientists walk in,,,chatting about how they forgot their IDs but also,,,,,about some experiments they’d like to perform on the ‘mermaid’,,,,,take samples from his gills,,,,,,maybe do some other procedures

and when they’re gone,,,,,you can see that shownu has retreated to the back of the tank,,,,,and u feel,,,,,horrible

because as much as you’d thought there was something good about discovering mermaids,,,,,was there really if the scientist forgot that even with his body?? shownu,,,,is still a person,,,,,

and you don’t know why but you can’t think of anything else but that you have to get shownu out of there

and you get up to leave but hear a knocking on the tank,,,turning around to see him there,,,,,,so powerful and strong but also,,,,trapped

and you motion that you have to go but you smile and somehow,,,,shownu understands what you mean

and for the next week you see shownu,,,,being ogled by the scientists,,,,the poor boy has an identification tag clipped to his fin and on the daily you see blood samples, scales, and more being taken from him

and you realize that there are stairs the scientists use to get to the top of the tank and finally,,,when its ur turn to lock up again u visit shownu except you motion for him to swim to the top

and as you go up the stairs,,,,the surface of the water in the tank comes into view and suddenly shownu swims toward it,, head poking out as he throws his wet hair out of his face and shakes off the droplets that run down his neck

and once again ur mesmerized by his beauty,,,,,but u shake it off to and kneel down to the edge so you can speak with him and you’re like “i want to get you out,,,,but it’s going to be hard,,,,,” and shownu nods,,,not saying much and you bite back your lip and you’re like

“they’ll probably be transporting you to another bigger lab soon,,,when they put you in the smaller tank on wheels i might be able to get you out then,,,,the ocean is really close by,,,,”

shownu reaches out,,,and you look at his hand,,,,worried but you put yours in it and he looks at you,,,,,,,,,

eyes a dark,,,,beautiful brown and you hear him for the first time 

“ill trust you.”

his voice,,,is softer than his appearance,,,,but it makes your heartbeat and shownu seems to sense the rise of heat in your body because he makes a concerned expression that you just play off with laughter and ur like!!!! i,,,thank u ill do my best,,,,,ill be back tomorrow!!!

and you get up,,,,slightly stumbling in embarrassment of blushing in front of a mermaid you met a WEEK ago

but shownu swims down toward the glass as you leave the lab and with a wave you say goodbye

another weeks goes by and every evening you try and sneak in to see how shownu is doing,,,it’s obvious not being in the actual ocean where his family and friends are is hurting him

and you try to find out when they’ll be transporting him

and the day comes,,,finally and luckily some of the scientist tell you to wheel the tank down the hall to where the other assistants will take over and you agree

lifting the lid slightly as shownu sits,,,cramped in the space,,,tail scrunched up and big shoulders threatening to burst the damn glass 

and youre like “shownu,,,im going to get you out of here!” and even though he doesn’t reply,,,you see him turn his head and smile,,,,,so cutely,,,,,,,

and so instead of going down the hall you wheel him toward the back door of the lab,,,,which has a ramp thankfully and you’re shaking in fear that someone will notice but it’s only until you’re at the dock where the scientists come in on their boats that you hear the alarm 

and as quickly as possible you try to tip over the tank,,,but shownu is heavy and big and so you do what you can only think off,,,

with a running start you push the tank and the cart it’s on into the ocean,,,,, shownu seems to get the idea and as soon as it hits the water he pushes himself out,,,,,,,,and you can hear people shouting and they’re going to find you soon

but as you stand there on the dock,,,,frightened,,,, you feel someone grab your ankle and pull you down into the water

strong arms catch you,,,holding you tight to their chest and you hold your breathe as you go underwater,,,shownu swimming as fast as possible away from the dock 

and once you’re far out enough,,, and he makes sure to take into account that you can’t breath too long underwater,,, he swims back to the surface of the water and lets you go as you gulp for air and cough a bit,,,

and you can see that you’ve got to be at least a good 5 miles away from shore and you turn to shownu,,,,who has lost the fear in his eyes,,,,replaced instead with gentle concern as he reaches out but then stops,,,,,dropping his hand and sheepishly looking away

murmuring out,,,,are you ok? and you nod,,,,still a bit out of breath

but you smile and go “i think i can’t go back there,,,,they’ll probably know it was me,,,” and shownu gives you a slightly upset look,,,something between remorse,,,but also,,,,even with his big frame he reminds u of a puppy dog begging for forgiveness

and it makes you laugh and ur like “don’t worry,,,,i was just an assistant anyway,,,,but also,,,,,”

you look around and there’s nothing but ocean and you’re like “i need,,,,to get back to land,,,” and shownu nods, coming closer and scooping you back up into his arms

and ur like “wa-wa-wha-wait- wha-”

and once again you’re being held and shownu is swimming so fast,,,but this time ur not clutching your eyes closed in fear,,,, and it stings a little but the water passing by you two is so pretty and shownu,,,,is so big comfortable 

that you wish you’d be able to stay like this a bit longer,,,,but you do need air

and once you’re close enough to the shore to swim back on your own shownu bows his head and lets you go and says that he’s grateful you helped him

and you’re like “oh! one thing!”

and you duck underwater,, swimming and finding his fin,,,unclipping the ID and coming back to the surface holding it and you’re like “i don’t want it to bother you anymore,,,” and shownu ,,,,,,

seems shocked,,,,but his expression goes soft again,,,,and u swear u see him blush this time,,,, and he goes “,,,,do you visit the ocean often?”

and you shrug,,,saying that you probably won’t since you’ll have to quit at the lab,,,but then you stop yourself and look at him and go “but,,,,ill come by every now and then,,,,,,will i see you?”

and this time u see the blush,,, the way he puts up one hand to cover his mouth and nose,,,,,but he nods and u grin telling him you’d like him to take you swimming again 

but shownu catches you before you start your swim back and from around your neck he motions to your own ID and he’s like “m,,,may i?”

and you take it off,, passing it to him and he points to his ID that you’re holding and he’s like “to remember,,,,,me by.” and you’re like “yes, to remember you by.”

and you start swimming back,,,,shownu diving back toward the depths of the ocean,,, clutching your ID in his hand and bring it up once more to see the smiling photo of you,,,,,,the human that risked so much for him,,,,,,,(and that he finds immensely adorable) 

Ninja Brian’s Closet

okay,,, once again,,, this turned into something bigger than what i initially expected,,, but im totally feeling this one. thank you @devilgate-drive​ for the prompt and i hope you love it, yo!! i actually really like this one (i’ll get to ur other prompt sometime today or tomorrow, at this rate who fucking knows lol)

Prompt: How Danny found/bought the Dannequin.

“Brian, for the last fuckin’ time, you’re not gonna kill my girlfriend!”

“Well, she’s not really your girlfriend if you’re planning on breaking up with her.”

Danny stammered on his words a bit, realizing that Ninja Brian was technically right. “Yeah- well-- okay, yeah, fine, whatever,” he frustratedly threw his hands in the air, rolling his eyes. “Not my girlfriend. But still, you know what I mean. We’ll figure out a way to get her off my tail without killing her.”

“Whatever. This situation could be solved as easy as pie, but fine, take the hard way out.” Brian signed, giving Danny a deadpan stare. “Why haven’t you just broken it off with her, like you always do? Why’d you even let it get this far?”

“I’ve tried to!” Danny collapsed onto the couch, letting out a heavy sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. “That’s the thing. Every time I tell her that we should break up, or that I’m not really feeling the relationship anymore, she either brushes it off or thinks I’m joking! But I’m not joking!” He threw his hands in the air again. “She just doesn’t get it, man!”

Ninja Brian climbed up onto the arm of the couch, and sat cross-legged, looking down at Danny who was lying down in front of him. “Is she stupid, or is she in some kind of weird state of denial?”

“Look, I don’t fuckin’ know. And now she’s talking about moving in, and getting married, and having a family and shit, and I’m like, NO! DEAR GOD, NO. You know how I am, Brian!”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I just… need to find some way to get her away from me.”

Brian lifted his hand up, ready to sign something in response, but before he could even sign anything, Danny interrupted,

“Without killing her.”

Brian immediately put his hand down, and exhaled with frustration.

“I’ll figure this out later. I think I’m giving myself a headache,” Danny said in defeat before he turned onto his side, and faced the TV at the front of the living room. After feeling around for the remote and eventually grabbing it, he turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels. Most of them were on a commercial break. There were commercials for condoms, Wendy’s, life insurance, Rita’s Water I--

 Wait, life insurance.

 He flipped back to the channel with the life insurance commercial on, and listened to the monotone voiceover talk about the death of loved ones and crap like that.

 Oooh, that’s an idea.

A lightbulb turned on in Danny’s head.

 “I got it!” He exclaimed, launching himself off of the couch and standing up. He turned to Ninja Brian, whose eyebrows were furrowed into a confused expression. Danny grinned, and said, “We’re gonna fake my death!”

Brian’s confused stare quickly turned into an “are you fucking kidding me” glare.

“That’s the best idea you’ve got?”

“Hey, you’re the one who suggested killing her.”

 -----

 After about 30 minutes of plotting the fake death of Danny Sexbang, which involved a dummy look-alike of Danny, some fake blood, and the assistance of Ninja Brian, the duo had everything figured out. All they needed to do now was gather the supplies to carry out their plan.

“Okay, for the fake blood, we can probably find a DIY video on Youtube somewhere.” Danny said, looking down at a notepad in his hand that had all of their materials scribbled down into a list. “And for the dummy?…” He tapped his pen on his chin in thought. “We can probably find one at Party City, and get a wig and fake eyes and stuff.” He looked up at Brian for approval.

“No need to worry about the dummy look-alike, I already have one.”

“Oh, okay.” Danny looked back down at his checklist, then did a double take and snapped his head back up to Ninja Brian. “What?”

Ninja Brian’s eyes widened, regret immediately plastered onto his blue eyes. He didn’t sign anything in response. He just kinda stared at him, eyes wide and body frozen.

“Wait, what did you just say?”

“... Nothing.”

“‘Nothing’ my ass! Did you- you said you have a fucking look-alike dummy of me!?”

More guilty stares from Brian. “Yes. I… I have a dummy of you that we can use. And it’s... already… dressed up like you.”

 God, you could cut the tension and awkwardness in the air with a knife. There was a dead silence that lasted at least 15 whole seconds.

 “... Where- wh- jesus-- Where is it?”

More awkward silence.

“In my closet.”

 And sure enough, it was there. Danny went into Brian’s room, swung open the closet doors, and…

Well, there he was.

A life-sized ragdoll dummy, with a cheap, short black wig, googly eyes, drawn on lips and eyebrows, and one of Danny’s kimonos thrown onto it. Huh. That’s where his green kimono went. He hadn’t even noticed that it was gone. The dummy hung from the top of the closet, swaying back and forth lightly.

Danny stared up at the dummy in utter awe. His mouth hung agape, eyes wide with a range of emotions: shock, fear, amazement, disgust, and many other emotions that all seemed to blend together into one huge “what the fuck.”

Ninja Brian hesitantly walked in the room and stood next to Danny, darting his eyes from the dummy, to Danny, and back to the dummy.

“I have… just a few questions.”

Brian nodded in response, ready to answer them.

“Okay. One: what the fuck. Two: what in the actual fuck. Three: why is the dummy covered in stab marks and lipstick stains?”

Brian turned to Danny, and Danny looked over to Brian.

“Depending on the mood I was in, you either got stabbed and murdered, or…”

Danny opened his mouth to say something, but nothing but air escape his throat. He shut his mouth, curling his lips into an uncomfortable grin, and nodded. The only thing he could utter in a shaky, cracking voice was, “Ah.”

Danny took his hand out, grabbed the dummy by its arm, and spun the dummy around so that the back side of it was facing them. He grabbed a hold of the kimono, and pulled it up as far as he could to expose the bare ass of the dummy. Okay, there’s his butt. What’s that hole doing ther--

 Oh.

 Oh.

 Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.

That’s... that... Brian has been fu... okay. 

Another long stunned silence from Danny.

 “You, um… you must’ve… been in a… passionate mood a lot, lately.”

Brian very slowly and shamefully nodded.

“That’s a… big… ho…” He couldn’t even finish his sentence, he just shut his mouth again and put the kimono back over the dummy’s butt. Then, he turned the dummy back around, and took a step back, not taking his eyes off of it.

“Ya know what, Ninja Brian? Let’s forget about all of this. Forget about our plan, forget about the dummy, just… fuckin’... you can just kill her, and call it a day, and we can just pretend that none of this ever happened, okay?” Danny said, his eye twitching and his smile trembling.

Brian would nod very quickly, looking over at Danny.

“Okay. I’m. I’m gonna go and, uh, slam my head against a wall until I pass out and purge the memory of this day from my brain.” And with that, Danny turned away from the closet, and walked out of the room.

All Brian could do was stare at the dummy, a powerful feeling of shame washing over him. And yet, even still, he couldn’t resist the urge to caress the dummy’s face with the back of his hand, as the sound of banging echoed from another room of the apartment.

would you mind 68. (awkward hug) for Marco&Sabo or 26. (a kiss on the temple) for Makino & Luffy?

SO ive been trying to think of one for the first request since I got this and ONLY JUST realized it says Marco n Sabo, not Sabo and Ace like i thought it did bc im a dumbass who doesn’t know how to read SO LIKE THAT ONES COMING i already have a little fic fragment i was working on the other day that’ll work for it but ayooo have some temple kisses (n forehead kissed) from Makino and Luffy

-

“The locals say that the hurricane on the next island lets up once a year for a week and that the log pose only takes a day to set.” Nami entered the library where everyone was gathered with a sigh. “And that window’s not for another five months.”“So what’ll we do in the meantime?” Franky kicked back in his chair.“We could take a damn vacation for once where we’re not trying to escape being eaten for two years straight.” Sanji grumbled.Zoro snorted. “If anyone here was in danger of being eaten, it was me. You were just on crossdresser island.” He dismissed.Sanji looked pained. “They wanted to eat me one way or another.”Robin and Jinbe laughed. “You’re too cute not to eat.” Robin comforted, sending Sanji into spinning delight. They all looked at Luffy, one at a time. He was thinking, face screwed up. “We should go back and visit everyone!” He finally cheered. “We can start at my hometown and then work our way back here! It didn’t take us that long to get here the first time, if you don’t count all the butt-kicking we did on the way here! Right Nami?”She was already scribbling in her notebook. “With Sunny’s speed, travel time will be reduced, letting us spend more time at everyone’s islands. So Foosha village, Syrup town, Cocoyashi village, and the Baratie back in the East Blue, then we can hit Reverse Mountain before we hit Drum island. If we have time between Drum and Water 7, we can stop by Alabasta and Skypea. We can also probably spend some time in Sabaody before we head down to Fishman island. Do we need to stop by anywhere else? I can work on a timetable tonight.”“I’d like to stop by one of the revolutionary bases.” Robin chimes in. “It’s in East Blue, so it’s not very far out of our way.”“I’ll pencil it in if you can get me exact coordinates.” Nami agreed. “We should visit Hammock too!” Luffy added. “But we gotta visit Foosha first! And make sure Shanks isn’t there!”“You got it, your majesty.” She grinned.Luffy tipped his head back and laughed. “Let’s set sail then!”-“So this is where you grew up?” Chopper asked as they approached the calm looking island.“Yup! That’s Goa kingdom over there, they’re total assholes! Then over that way is Foosha! Brook! Further south!” He called. After a moment, the Sunny tilted slightly to their new course.“And this is where Dragon brought you?” Robin asked.“Nah, he gave me to Gramps. Gramps brought me and Ace here when we were little to live with the mountain bandits.”“Mountain bandits, Marines, Pirates, and Revolutionaries… You know everyone!” Chopper marveled.Luffy looked surprised as he processed but then laughed. “I guess I do! I’d never thought about that before!”“Don’t forget bounty hunters.” Zoro joined them at the rail. “Only the fun ones!” Luffy threw himself at Zoro, utterly confident that Zoro would catch him.Zoro didn’t disappoint, catching him with one hand and offering him one of Sanji’s smoothies with the other. “If you wanted one, you could ask.” He pointed out.Luffy grinned. “That’s not as much fun.”They landed shortly and disembarked, Luffy leading the way up through the village, pointing out “That’s where Shanks and I used to fish!” or “One time I beat up a tiger over there!” before they reached the tavern.“Are you even old enough to be in here?” Jinbe asked, concerned.“I’m 19.” Luffy pouted up at him. There was a gasp from behind the bar before a woman was rushing around it. “Luffy! Is that really you!”Luffy’s face lit up. “Makino!” He grabbed her in a monster hug, wrapping his arms around her several times over before spinning her. “I missed you!”“Luffy, I can’t believe you’re here, back on Foosha, after everything!” She beamed back. “We came to visit!” Luffy released her to turn and introduce his crew, chattering away.Makino seemed genuinely enthused to meet everyone, Robin reflected. People like that were rare in this world, she’d found. She was glad Luffy had her.Once word got around that Luffy was in town, the bar was packed and he was surrounded by well-wishers. The rest of the crew was surrounded by their share of fans as well, everyone wanting to know about them or asking them for more stories about Luffy. They ended up staying the rest of the day and well into the night, the pub throwing a huge party for them. Around nine o’clock, a huge red-haired woman burst into the building, yelling.Zoro had his hand on his swords in a heartbeat, and up on the impromptu stage, Robin had her hands crossed. She dashed across the room to try to deliver a flying kick at Luffy but he ducked under her leg with a grin and an excited laugh, wrapping her up in much the same way he’d hugged Makino. She struggled and kicked and yelled but she looked secretly pleased around the corners of her eyes and at the twist of her mouth. Makino and the Major were laughing at the spectacle like they’d seen it before, so Zoro and Robin and the rest of them stepped down.The party died down around two or three in the morning. Brook was up on the stage playing a quiet melody on the piano. Dadan and Jinbe were drinking by the fireplace. Zoro was leaning up against Jinbe and snoring while Robin was sitting on the other half of the piano bench with Brook. Nami was drinking against Sanji and Usopp, while simultaneously teaching Chopper the proper way to take a shot. Franky was elbow deep in the stove, making improvements after his seventh bottle of Soda. Luffy was sitting on the bar, talking to Makino, just as energetic and excited as he had been earlier. Makino looked a little frazzled around the edges, but equally happy.“We’ve got your poster here, see? I was going to show you earlier, but then everyone got here and wanted to talk.” Makino gestured to the wall where a blown up copy of his poster was hung with care.“So cool! Can I sign it?” Luffy bounced on the counter.“Of course!” She handed him a marker. “We have Shanks’ too, but we made yours bigger because we love you more.” She winked.Luffy grinned widely, jumping off the counter. “Well duh! I’m gonna be king of the pirates and he’s just an emperor!” Makino laughed. “You’ve been saying that all these years, and now you might actually make it.” She watched him scrawl his loopy signature across the bottom of his photo. She giggled when he added a scrunched sketch of his Jolly Roger. “Of course I will.” Luffy replied when he was done, having been biting his tongue in concentration. Makino cupped his face gently, smoothing back his bangs to look at his face.Luffy stood still and let her examine his entire face in the yellowed lighting of the bar.“You’ve gotten so old.” Makino murmured. “I can’t believe one of my boys is the pirate king.” She shook her head with misty eyes before pressing a kiss to his forehead.Luffy slung an arm around her neck with a softer smile. “I’m not the pirate king yet, Makino! Don’t tell me you’re getting sea-bile in your old age!”“Senile.” She corrected with a laugh. “Huh, that makes more sense, huh?” Luffy rubbed at his chin. After another hour or so, they left to go sleep on the ship. Jinbe was carrying a snoring Zoro like one would carry a baby, and Franky was carrying Sanji slung over one shoulder, Robin perched on his other shoulder.“Let’s put them in the same bed together, bro! It’ll be super funny!” Luffy could hear Franky laughing with Jinbe. Nami laughed with him, carrying a tipsy Chopper. Robin was laughing as well. Usopp was laughing and avoiding Brook’s grabs to try to carry him back to the ship as well.“You just want to see my panties!” Usopp was cackling.Brook groaned. “You never use the hamper! I don’t want to see them!”Makino laughed at the antics of her patrons and Luffy grinned at the sight. “We’ll be back tomorrow.” He informed her. “I’ll probably take them up to Dadan’s tomorrow though!”Makino giggled. “Dadan is asleep in my bed right now, give her ‘til about noon at least.”“Oh, okay! We’ll probably have a late night anyway!” Luffy slid off the counter. He noticed that he was finally taller than Makino, now that she’d taken off her tall shoes. He wrapped his arms around her in one last hug for the night and pressed a kiss to her temple. “But either way, see you tomorrow!” He stretched out an arm to grab Usopp by the back of his overalls and yanked him over. “Want a piggyback?” He asked brightly.“Luffy’s the best captain!” Usopp declared. “Free piggybacks for life!” He screamed to the ceiling.Makino laughed out of her moment of surprise. “I’ll see you boys tomorrow then!” She waved and watched Luffy lead a mad dash down towards the docks. That boy never did anything slowly, she reflected as the rest of the crew broke into a run to follow, laughing all the way. She was glad he’d found people to run with him.