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greatkittydream · 2 months

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The Creature from the dungeon. 1

"thinking"

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Journal entry 1

I've kept a collection of my thoughts to keep myself from going fucking insane and that if any sentient life were to find this they may be able to decipher it Leaving the basic letters of the alphabet above obviously.

okay let's recount the day me one Jacob Augustine, I was about to attend my first year of college to become an bioengineer, I just graduated high school with steady A's and B's and was planning to become an bioengineer. One in a medical field at that.

On the week before summer ended, I was making my way down to a convenience store a block away from where I live. mostly complaining that I feel like I'm wasting my life away, thinking of what else I can do to make sure once I die, I won't die with regrets. And then bam, I end up here.

Here being some.... have no fucking idea how to describe this biome, it has the floral density of a jungle yet not nearly enough insects or Wildlife to be a jungle it's more like a collection of plants than anything else. I have met sparse few insects in this jungle? It has animals, but oddly enough, no fungus.

Which is weird given the fact that they're the backbone of most jungles for recycling dead Organic matter. Not to mention, none of these plants show characteristics of jungle plants.

There are no waxy leaves to deposit water close to the roots, nor do they extend high into the sky or grow wide enough to collect any sunlight that bleeds through the trees.

The insects I have found are not poisonous or at least don't present any of the features of poisonous. No brightly colored features or camouflage.

They do follow the basic figure though of six limbs abdomen thorax and head. But they don't follow any other similarities. I found ants if you could call them that but their jaws were aligned in the opposite direction clamping up and down rather from side to side I've seen them used to great effect against Beatles?

if you could even call it that it's the closest approximation I have for a thickly armored insect, they clamped down, piercing the armor, and then ripped the thing to pieces.

I would be in heaven researching the new Wildlife After all, what self-respecting scientist even if this isn't my Specific area of biological interest wouldn't be in love with researching new things I have found right now. If it wasn't for the fact that I somehow ended up in a place against my will that behaves unlike any other ecological system I've seen.

I will somehow have to create a section in the back of my book detailing my research I have found so far. but that is for a later date. Why was I writing this again oh yeah because the fucking sun doesn't exist or the sky.

Allow me to explain to you dear reader, if you haven't already noticed if you somehow managed to find a clearing to where you can look up to the sky you will see not the sky what a collection of bright crystals somehow.

Illuminating this several mile long area as if it were the sun and it never sets. how do I know it's only several miles long easy I can see the fuckin walls. This illogical place pisses me off on so many levels. The biome I can forgive life does strange shit but the fact that this thing has no support structure whatsoever for Miles holding up.

what I'm assuming to be crystals weighing several tons each emitting a light similar to the effect of the Sun some how? do they go through nuclear Fusion or is it some other type of light emitting process which allows life to thrive down here? And if that's the case why does it look like the wild life/Flora belongs on the surface. to some degree life follows the most, well not efficient but the closest to efficient route it can find, not what looks good.

this is taking its toll on me. I have found myself doing my ticks more than usual. Oh yes, I suppose it may be best for me to explain myself a bit more.

self-report subject Jacob Augustine date of birth July the 13th 2005 age 18 state of birth Tennessee. The subject has autism. His ticks include snapping his fingers in a rapid motion, blinking rapidly, or rubbing the sides of his head. While on the low end of the spectrum he does exhibit his own issues such as his picky diet the way certain things cannot touch him or how illogical things piss him off to a absurd. degree we will see how he fares in this illogical hellhole that does not follow principles or Reason.

Okay, these are my findings for day one. I will update my journal if anything happens.

with a quick snap shut of the book, he looks up all around him. Okay, Jacob, you can do this. You're just in some illogical ecosystem. that does not appear to support a variety of life.

you have so far not identified any viable food options. So let's run through this normally. When stranded in the middle of a forest, you tie brightly colored cloth to branches and try to draw attention to your area for rescue squads.

but seeing as I'm in some confined space with no obvious human habitation, I need to start thinking of survival. In this case, I should climb to the top of a tree and look for a large water body that can support life.

And this will more than likely have some type of fish there that I can eat and water that can be processed to drink. However given the fact that this place is not running on normal principles of biodiversity there's a chance this may go horribly wrong. there could be Birds of Prey bigger than me.

There could be crocodiles that can run on land like its long extinct ancestor. alternatively, I could start clearing out areas and hoping that it rains as unlikely as that is. While cutting down a tree without any immediately available resources for such a task is unviable, it is still feasible given the amount of granite I have found in the area.

my current tools for my survival is my backpack, what was supposed to be a study notes book now turned into personal Journal, a packet of pencils a pencil sharpener, a school water bottle a pair of black Crocs a short sleeve t-shirt and gym shorts, I'm so fucked.

Okay, there are no obvious signs of precipitation that can accumulate off the bat, and cutting down trees would take far more energy than it's worth. so while it is a viable option, it's not one that's optimal. leaving only one other option that I can think of, not like I really have much of a choice. I just hope they have some type of fish I can eat without making myself eat it.

That would will make things a lot smoother. Standing up and looking for the tallest tree he can find in his immediate area he begins to climb. The idea of venomous snakes did not concern him from what he has seen so far there's no prey big enough needed for Venom or predators meaning in all likelihood he would be relatively safe from any possible Ambush predators.

Reaching the top of the tree, he saw vast fields of forest and vegetation. Luckily for him, there was a deposit of water fairly big one at that from what he can tell North words. it looked to be about an hour's jog from where he's at as well.

He was a bit of an introvert and not wanting to go outside more than strictly necessary preferring to spend most of his time with his online friends doing research and watching fun fact videos. But he did still do cardio in order to keep his body from getting health issues that could be easily avoided. he knows for a fact that he can run for about 2 hours, which in his opinion is fairly good with this in mind an hour jog with a 10 minute break in between.

He would arrive at his destination and about 3 hours while not as quick as he would like. This is his best option. With that he got to the lowest branch and hopped off. "it's a good thing I like clothing that allows me to breathe I would be fucked if this was winter clothing was that he began to jog".

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Aafje vo eldertree pov

Big sis please don't go, you promised to spend time with me. I know what I promised, but this is a big day because the raxs just got fully healed, meaning we have our tank in the party, and we can finally enter the lower parts of the dungeon. And it's important they have their healer with them. But can't you just hold off for one more day? You promised me this you're always down in that stupid dungeon. I'll have you know that stupid dungeon is the reason why the eldertree family is as influential as it is. We are nobility based around dungeon delving. pretty soon You'll have to start going as well. Now, hush up please I'm pretty sure my party's outside.

Aafje's big sis had turned around and started making her way to the front door. Currently moping and pouting Aafje was upset her big sister went back on her word but then a devilish thought came to her head: if she was supposed to be going down there soon, what's stopping her from going now? She was a genius considering herself, and she knew his sister would never allow this, so the answer was simple.

Don't tell her to make her way to where she knew her sister kept her supplies. she looked around for the bag that her sister took with her for long trips from what she recalled.

Her sister was going to drop straight down to floor 150 today with the rest of her party through teleportation Crystal and start going to the lower levels.

Having found the bag, she knew she couldn't just take stuff out and sit inside her sister could tell immediately. but what she could do was use a bag of holding too cold the stuff inside while she took its place. And so she did just this. Hearing her big sister coming ada, she immediately went into the bag, hurling stuff into The Magic Bag.

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Ada vo eldertree pov

Yeah, my sis was pretty upset about the news, probably in her room pouting and swearing to hate me forever. Until I come back home with some new toys or cool stuff for her. A gruff voice responded to her one Aafje recognized as raxs.

I kind of feel like a dick I mean, this is supposed to be a day for you two. You think she'd forgive me if I gave her something, what do elves like? Just bring her home a new toy and some candy and she'll be right as rain with you, now hurry up we need to go And I don't want to leave your green butt behind Mr I can stop a charging boss monster.

Please stop bringing that up, It was the 60th floor boss. I thought I could stop it on my own I learned my lesson I'm not indestructible please stop bringing that up. Yeah, well we're going to start heading down to the level we're humans start spawning, and as you well know an encounter with a human may as well be a death sentence. So please keep your wits about you, and don't let your ego take over.

walking over and grabbing her bag and swinging it over her back, she never noticed how uneven it felt. She was quite nervous today her party had actually set a record by making it to the 160th floor without encountering a human.

Meeting up with the rest of her party, her raxs, Stone. and Lionheart. a party composed of an elf, an orc, a dwarf and a Dragonborn. Not the weirdest part of you can see, but certainly, an odd one, most species tend to stay with each other. Making their way outside.

They see the great tower of the dungeon 10 miles wide in any direction, going uncountable numbers deep into the Earth. This was their destination. Walking through the bustling Street filled with all manner of species and Monday activities, in the great city of Carthage, anything could be found. The dungeon attracted all walks of life.

arriving at the dungeon management agency, a government-run facility in order to maximize profit and prevent loss of life though most of the time it just ends up being a bureaucrats dream job of having to not do anything. Most people aren't stupid enough to enter the dungeon unless prepared. Making our way down the street, I noticed something. There was a group arguing with the front counter.

"I had a feeling these were rookies". So she walked up to them and introduced herself. I am ada vo eldertree. I couldn't help noticing with the clerk here, I have a feeling you're new to the dungeon. A dark elf responded. How could you tell?

You're arguing with the clerk you never argue with the clerk They hand out the most recent information regarding migrational species in the dungeon updates to terrain and all sorts of other useful stuff but they don't have to give it out don't make enemies of the clerks may I ask what you were arguing about.

Me and my compatriots here, and I wanted to go to the lower levels and fight some of the higher tear of your monsters. we were former mercenaries. After all, we've taken up the adventuring business, specifically dungeon-delivers

I see how that could become a problem. What's your level and what floor were you wanting to go to.

Level 30, and we want to go down to Floor 110.

you wouldn't make it even if you teleport down to that floor, each floor increases by one level you're going to Face Off monsters at level 110 range. not to mention, although extremely rare humans have been known to spawn there on occasion.

We are dark elves, and we come from Noble lineages. Our level 30 is not the same as a plebeians. And why should I care about some monster type they all die the same.

This Comet pissed her off. well, normally monsters are around the same level of difficulty if you could call it that per level. but humans are something completely different. There were known as raid bosses, meaning that every one of their levels is the equivalent to 10 on a regular level. so a level one human is a level 10 standard, and this is for 110, they're level 1100.

Not to mention, there are special species stats that include Mana absorption from the air. or they're insane musculature and stamina. I don't think I need to continue. Just know that if you run into one hide and run, they don't have the best sense of smell.

"Fucking idiots we're going to die if they ran into a human. there's a reason why noble families founded on dungeon dwellers were so strong through generations of survival of the fittest."

Each one of their levels was equivalent to five levels higher and the standard and even they struggled against humans they were the kings of the dungeons you don't fuck with them.

Let's just get going. We don't want to get behind besides I think we can make it to floor 199 if we're lucky we do have a month to do this after all. then they'll start sending Rescuers and that's always a pain with paperwork.

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Lord Vect pov

Who the hell is that bitch think she is talking to me like that, that high elf scum should be kissing my boots that I even talk to her.

Lord, what do you think we should do?

Isn't it obvious we're going to liberate that fine gear from them while down in the dungeonWho knows she might make find slave work, whether it be in the brothels or a whipping bitch it does not matter money can always made on suffering of others.

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Jacob pov

You know this place is actually kind of lovely. Oh God, I'm talking to myself. I'm going insane already. Egh fuck it may as well make a Wilson while I'm here. After seeing the clearing up ahead, he knew that he was getting close to the water source, deciding to jog harder. and farther, he finally made it out of the clearing, and what he saw was beautiful a ring of sand surrounded. A large lake connected into the Great Wall surrounding this place surrounding that wall was purple crystals that were different from the light blue ones up above what surprised him the most, though there are other humans.

naked shortish about 5’4 for humans. But still humans it's not insane to think of nudist culture could pop up, and with how small this area is to live in, and it makes sense that they'd be shorter natural selection dictates with less nutrients available, being smaller is more advantageous.

I just hope they're not cannibalistic or violently aggressive to foreign things. HAY, HAY over Here. Quickly jogging up to the other humans, there were about 10 of them four female six male. They turn their heads to me in a lazy way before going back to what they were doing.

Coming to a stop to the closest one, a young guy, probably about 26, with brown hair and brown eyes and pale skin. Hey, do you know where we are… Do you speak English… I know Germen Wissen Sie, wo wir sind… um shit okay um. Fuck how do you say do you know where we are in Spanish again God damn it 16-year-old Jacob you should have paid attention in Spanish class more, okay. Um I know you don't understand me but you must understand I'm trying to communicate with you so “pointing towards self” I'm Jacob “ pointing towards the guy” you are?.. not even going to find me with an answer okay. Fuck you too asshole.

Looking over to my side, I noticed something peculiar. One of those Beetle things from earlier was walking by one of the shorter guys. He proceeds to squish it flat against the sand before shoveling it into his mouth. I felt a shiver go up my spine and disgust. "Well, at least they're not poisonous." Gags.

Looking around his immediate area, he notices something. The crystals form into the shape of that similar to a great door, thinking quickly, pulling out his phon clicking on the camera featur. And zooming into 10 times, he notices it.

It is a door! victory for vegeta or Jacob in this case i Miss Dragon Ball Z abridged. Well, no time like the present. Wait, how the hell am I going to get my shit over there without it getting wet damn it.

The electronics will be fine for the most part as long as I don't turn them off while they're wet. They should operate normally if dried off .my clothes will be a pain tho.

But given the aired temperature, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the weight might become a problem. And I don't see any shallow Banks leaning up to it. okay, let's think this one through. I could empty out my water bottle, filling it with air and then sealing it shut. That should add buoyancy, which should counteract at least a little weight. and then refill it at the door. The main problem is my journal.

After thinking it through for a good 10 minutes, he got an idea walking over to the tree line. and taking a few sticks, he throws them into the water to see what type of wood he is working with and if it will float or not. He's in luck it does. "Hmmm, I could work with this." Arranging the sticks into a Shape where they'll stick above the water and doing that again.

with three other sets to make sure his journal does not get wet he takes off his shirt and wraps it around the bundle. making sure it sticks together, setting it gently on the water to see if it will float. Or not stay together. To his luck, it does. This also means he can just put his backpack on there and the Crocs. Looking down at himself, he lets out a sigh. Well, not exactly fat, he's not skinny, either he has a healthy Pudge, he'd say a beer gut.

Making his treck across the water, he notices a large shadow following him. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuck I forgot to think about water Predators. okay okay okay okay just don't panic you'll be fine panicking indicates you're afraid and Afraid means food. Ok, if this is a shark or um, oh, a shit God damn it why did i not go to zoology.

Just as the large shadow was approaching him at a rapid pace. Once it got into the distance to tell what the creature swimming was, it promptly turned around and swam for its life. Oh, good the things in massive pussy that or wasn't carnivorous now that i think about a creature that large being carnivorous.

And in this small body of water doesn't make much sense it could just be an abnormally large manatee. Or maybe some other new species. I wonder what type of characteristics force it to grow that size, though? maybe mating fights, but that's the case. Why didn't it get aggressive unless it's not as mating season and it was just curious? Questions for later.

Upon reaching the massive door, he knows the shallow sand pit, allowing him to walk up to the staircase, pulling his makeshift raft along with him. and promptly laying flat on his back onto the sand, letting out a sigh of relief despite that not being a predator.

There are so many things that could have gone wrong in that instance he could have lost all his supplies. It could have been aggressive.There could have been something else parasites bacteria, and lord knows what else lives down in the water. Now that I think about it this was a fucking stupid idea.

oh well, all is well and ends well. After waiting for his clothes to dry off enough to wear and putting them on, he walks up to the great door and pushing it open. surprisingly light for something that looked like it would weigh so much more, and what he saw was an expansive hallway stepping through the hallway he immediately felt better for some reason.

He started to jog down the hallway , and he noticed that he wasn't running out breath as quickly as he would normally. attributing it to the room just simply having more oxygen for some reason, allowing for cellular respiration to happen more, therefore slowing fatigue. He paid it no mind upon reaching the end of the hallway he noticed something a plaque above it reading 199 whatever the hell that meant taking in a deep breath and pushing open the door he saw a cave? lined with purple crystals.

\[Next\]

hey writer here I'm new to this so I have no idea how to link it next chapter which when it comes out I will also say sorry if the writing is bad I'm trying to write it from the perspective of what would you do if you were in this situation if you have any writing tips or World building you think would make a good fit to it feel free to private message me or comment it I'll see if I can include it.

#The creature from the dungeon #hfy #humans #humans are eldritch horrors #strong humans

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mritcg · 1 year

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He will confess his love to you

( part 2)

warning : deviation from canon , female reader , possibly oos , a translator was used ( there may be errors / shortcomings , etc. )

from the author: I'm sorry if what you wrote seems very illogical, I wrote it 2 years ago, so it could turn out so-so, if you liked it, I can publish a couple more characters that I have, by the way are not only guys there :)

Xiao

You've been trying to befriend this adept for a long time. Then you were told that you should cook almond tofu and give it to him. It directly inspired you and you ran at the speed of light to cook it for your future friend.

A few months have passed since then and you are quite good friends. Of course, he doesn't let himself be touched and stuff like that, but otherwise he likes to spend time with you. But of course he won't tell you that. And every day, some strange feeling for him intensified. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, it only got stronger. He was not going to ask anyone, but because he did not know what these feelings were, he had to ask other adepts what they were. They explained to him that "this" is called love. From that time on, he stopped trying to somehow get rid of him and began to think about how you would admit it. But having decided that it was still too early, naturally he was not going to say anything.

From the beginning, you didn’t notice how he began to be around more often, try to find his time for you and see you more often. And so, another month passed after realizing his feelings. And he decided to take the first step and finally tell you the words that tormented his soul.

It is evening now. You go to one place where your friend is already waiting for you. When you reached and saw him, you quickened your pace a little, heading towards him.

“Hi, Xiao!” the girl happily greeted as she approached the adept.

He, turning around and seeing the person to whom he was breathing unevenly, blushed a little, but answered the greeting with a nod.

You are used to such silence of a guy, so often you had to say absolutely everything that comes to mind, the main thing is to get him talking.

When you get close enough and cover your mouth to start talking, you don't have time to say a word before he starts his monologue.

-Y/N, I know it might sound silly, but I've had a crush on you for a long time.... It's just....y/n... I... Love you... With all my heart...

He, turning his head to you and looking into your eyes, was waiting for your answer to his words.

#genshin boys #genshin impact #genshinimpact #genshin impact x reader #x reader #genshin xiao #xiao x reader

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jingledbells · 11 months

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Oo, your ocs look really cool! Is there a specific story line to them at all?

:D I’m so happy you asked, thank you so much!!!

So I have two oc stories, The forests of amenia(fantasy rpg inspired story) and Astrolina(space story)

For forests of amenia:

The story follows a girl named Vivi Hayashi(she/her, post canon is she/they) whose mother sends her to a town near these strange forests in a small town in west coast U.S. for the summer. She’s a bit of a silent protagonist lol. Two other kids come along with her on this vacation, Spencer Rodriguez(they/he) and Mara Rodriguez(she/they) due to their mothers deciding they should spend the summer together due to their children’s lack of friends. They don’t exactly know each other besides seeing each other around at school, and Mara doesn’t exactly trust Vivi at first, whereas Spencer is warm and friendly when meeting Vivi. Mara doesn’t exactly like the idea of this planned vacation and somehow drags Vivi and Spencer into the mysterious forests but then get lost deep into them and discover that the forests are magical(there’s more lore about the forests magic layer but I’m to lazy to discuss it right now). They meet Rosemary(she/her), a teen wood nymph who takes them to her local village where they later learn that the forest is dying and only they can save it.

For Astrolina:

Our protagonist is a teen named Cass(they/them) who’s been running on their own across the galaxy since they were five. Their mother gave them an amulet before never seeing her again, and it’s their life mission to find out what the amulet means. When Cass is 14, they accidentally stumble across legendary space pirate, Captain Leo Clicks(he/him) who then sort of in a way adopts them. Cass starts to travel with Clicks and his crew, and then eventually seeks out to find Leo’s ex, Forest Glenn(he/him) who’s been working on a long time project that would possibly lead to Cass finding answers on their amulet.

Well that’s a basic summary of each story, there’s more lore posts to come explaining the story in greater detail to come!

#oc lore #my ocs #astrolina #the forests of amenia #ask

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intherainbowfactory · 1 year

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Minty Python's House of Horsefeathers chapter 1 regooded!

[A/N internet's still weird but I'm still out here writing! This time, I have edited the scone shop sketch to be hopefully less tonally whiplashing, but since I had to write it in notepad bc google docs was doing its weird lack-of-internet things, there isn't any formatting, so I'll do that tomorrow. I'll also post it to fimfiction tomorrow, maybe...!]

John Cleese merely stared at his old friend for a long while. His old friend, back from the dead after so many years. Currently, the other horse—colt?—was pointedly avoiding John’s gaze and staring at the ground with a hoof rubbing his chin idly. He alternated between performing that motion and staring at both hooves on his haunches—flank?

Eventually, John just had to end the awkward silence with a proper reserved utterance.

“I’m feeling rather peckish. I suppose we should go somewhere for lunch.”

The two of them cantered on through the unfamiliar streets, looking at every alien pony building and saturated pony person to avoid looking at each other. If they hadn’t met that Twilight lady who explained everything to them, they probably would have run around Ponyville screaming like little foals. Well, at least John would have. The other one would have stayed composed thanks to a little trick he picked up from a master anesthesiologist in hospital.

Speaking of which…

The other stallion of the duo, nominally known as Graham Chapman, decided he had to break the tension somehow. True to form, he did so completely tactlessly.

“I believe that I am so hungry, I could eat a horse!” he proclaimed stiltedly to the air in front of him after a minute’s stroll with no conversation.

John just stopped at that and tilted his muzzle down to stare at his friend.

He asked, “What?”

Graham grinned and then gave a look of mock embarrassment as he contemplatively brought a hoof to his chin. “I suppose you’re right. I was rather beating a dead horse by making that joke, wasn’t I?”

John could only chuckle and scoff, though his eyes didn’t register any amusement. “I really must say, I’ve missed you these past thirty years, but I surely haven’t mourned your sense of humour.”

Real embarrassment and awkwardness crept onto Graham’s expression as he asked, “Too dark for me?”

John could only hoof-point with a good-natured scowl at his good friend. “I should ruddy well think not! Seeing as how you’ve been dead for thirty years by my count, you can be whoever the hell you bloody well want!”

“Well in that case,” Graham lowered John’s hoof with his own and started walking in the direction of the nearest food-place, “I think I’ll be me, for certain values of ‘me’.”

John still just stood there, this time with mock astonishment. “Graham Chapman, having values? This is truly a first! Now, what exactly would those values comprise?”

“They consist solely of you shutting up and coming into this bakery with me for a bite to eat.” Graham held the door to Sugarcube Corner open for John. His face was truly tranquil for the first time since he came here.

“I should rather like this new, improved Graham Chapman…”

They walked into the strangely technicolor construction (and it probably wouldn’t cease being strange for a long time) with John leading the way in his big, scary, English-faced way.

There wasn’t anybody at the counter—anymore, since the pink pony appeared in front of the two newcomers in a flash.

“Omigosh! New ponies in Ponyville! We gotta get the Welcome to Ponyville party started for you two!” The pink pony took both of their hooves at the same time and started vigorously shaking.

“What are your favorite colors? What are your favorite flavors? Do you like sour or sweet better? I just bet you’ll love the scones I baked up for everypony! Oh!” Pinkie bounced up and down rapidly at a rate yet unknown to British dimensional timey-wimey hoppers such as John and Graham found themselves.

“My name’s Pinkie Pie! The premier party mare of Ponyville!”

Graham found a smile gaining on his face every second. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

“Ooh! You’ve got funny accents! Are you from Trottingham?” She gasped. ”Are you actors? What are your names, by the way?”

Since John elected to say nothing, Graham continued. “Our names are—”

“Now don’t tell me! Let’s see…” Pinkie gazed into the wonder duo’s souls. “You,” she pointed at John, his demeanor flattening due to exposure to Pinkie Pie, “are Sourpuss, and you,” she pointed at Graham, his demeanor curling up into a smug, warm grin, “are Party Boy! Partier?” She looked up at the ceiling. “No, Party Stallion!” She beamed at the two of them expectantly.

“Erm… actually, our names are John and Graham, and we’re just popping in for a quick… pastry?” John uttered, glancing askance at his partner.

Graham was rubbing his square chin with his unwieldy hoof and really starting to regret the loss of his fingers. He supremely wished he still had them so he could stroke his chin and adopt a more wisened expression of amusement.

“Oh! Of course! You’ve come to the right place! Our bakery is the best in Ponyville, rated a whole six super-duper teevee stars out of five! No other bakery around has as many nummy treats for ponies to eat sweetly!”

Pinkie ducked down in front of them and appeared behind the counter. How unusual! Graham Chapman really wished he had a pipe to make the situation more silly, but for now he could only smile silly-ly to achieve that effect.

Pinkie Pie’s expectant wide grin caught John Cleese rather unawares, but he ventured forth anyway. “Ah, yes, well,” he glanced at Graham for reassurance, who nodded, and turned back to Pinkie, “we actually do happen to be rather peckish for some scones, I think.”

“Peck-ish? What the heck is that s’posed to mean?” Pinkie gasped and crossed her heart with her hoof. “You don’t want me to bake birds into pies, do you? I swear, I’ve stopped doing that ever since that one time it made Fluttershy cry! Pinkie promise!”

“Er… rather, we’re hungry. For scones,” John explained slowly. “Tea, too.”

“Well why didn’t you say so you silly fillyfooler?” Pinkie giggled, “We’ve got the bestest scones in the whole of Equus, no matter what Donut Joe says!”

“Very nice. We’ll take some blueberry scones.”

“I’m afraid,” Pinkie unravelled, “we’re out of that kind. Sorry worry!”

“Oh, um, very well. What kind would you want, Graham?”

“Got any dragon fruit scones?”

Pinkie craned her ears towards Graham. “What was that?”

“You loony git, Graham,” Cleese admonished, “they wouldn’t make dragon fruit scones if they don’t even have the organised motorised transport infrastructure system to ship it here!”

Graham just gave him a look that stated quite clearly his experimental intentions. “Oh, sorry, Pinkie. My Equestrian accent is rather atrocious. Let me try that again.” He cleared his throat.

“Oi, lass,” he intoned blandly, “ave ye gotten any uvva wee summat draggin’ fruities fer I could of et-en a pint uv sconce?”

That got John to chuckle, in his heavily prejudiced-against-Scots way.

Pinkie rolled her eyes to the ceiling and pulled out flags proclaiming Sugarcube Corner’s superiority.

“OH, YEAH!” she roared convincingly, “Dragon fruit scones! Those’re our world-famous specialty! We’ve even got a special going on. Buy two scones, get seven more!”

“You really have some?” John asked seriously now, his eyes wide. “You know, I’ve never tried dragon fruit before, but I think I’d love to right now…”

“Sorry, Sourpuss! We never get it at the end of the weak,” Pinkie roared while lifting a two tonne barbell, “only on Mondays! (Those are our wing days! Leg day’s on Tuesday!)”

She added, confused, “Anyway, they also just seem to run out so quickly somehow…”

“Bugger!” John hemmed and hawed. “Orange scones?”

Pinkie had the good sense to look suitably chastised.

“They’ve been in order from a gang by the West Side for two weeks now,” Pinkie decreed, “but they were lost when Screwball ratcheted them,” she whinged.

“Hmm!” Chapman took up the mantle. “Huckleberry?”

Pinkie took in a sharp intake of breath, busting out an inhaler, and orphan foal she adopted in the last wrench and a bandage to release it.

“Sorry! A wacky magistrate relative of mine outlawed them,” Pinkie related judgementally with a guilty look.

“Strawberry?” John replied incredulously.

“Nope. We lost them in a telephone miscommunication accident involving my kid niece getting a dress at Carousel Boutique,” Pinkie recalled fitfully.

Graham was starting to like this. “Peach?”

Pinkie threw up her arms, much to the astonishment of John, who followed the familiar appendages with his eyes as they splatted against the ceiling and stuck there.

"Fuck..."

“Ooh, sorry, we've got no peach scones in stock. They all got lost when an experimental airplane delivering them crashed,” she explained.

“Grape?” Graham continued.

“All smashed!” she whined.

“Raspberry?”

“Stampededed by a cow—from Denmark! A young prince in line for the throne!” she gave a little moue of disdain.

“Plain?”

“Yes!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Wait, really?” John pried his eyes away from the ceiling to stare.

“No, not really. Sorry. They got demolished by a convicted former lover of mine with a crowbar who said they were his. I just remembered he lied to me about it.”

“Damnit! Wait, you had a love---”

“Oatmeal raisin?” Graham ventured.

“Blown up on an adventure spaceship,” Pinkie vented.

John and Graham simply looked at each other at that one.

“Surely you must have some traditional English scones in stock!” John exclaimed.

“Yeppers! Trottingham-tested scones! The best in the business!”

“Great! Graham and I will take some,” John demanded it.

Pinkie Pie just balked at that. “... They’re rather flaky.”

“That’s fine, we’ll take them anyway.”

Pinkie went back and forth for a bit. “They’re a bit too flaky for the customers to eat…”

“We happen to like them like that. We’ll take them.”

Pinkie continued her waffling. “In fact, oopsie poopsie, they might be too flaky to sell…”

“Look, I don’t care how excrementally flaky they are, just give them to me!”

“Oh, wait, silly me,” Pinkie giggled and got up from the floor, “I forgot Mr. Cake bought them all up for his family! I can be such a doofus!” she sighed in contentment. “I guess you could say de man ded it!”

“Look, I’m starting to work up a cold sweat at this—” which was true, since he was starting to panic for no readily discernable reason, “—so, so do you or do you not, in fact, have any scones in stock at all, or are you just, just—oh god!”

John Cleese collapsed upright onto the nearest chair, wiping his brow with his hoof.

“John!" Graham blanched. "Are you alright mate?”

“Graham, do you realise, we’re in the bloody Cheese Shop sketch!

Chapman sat down on another chair, in the comfortable proper Ponyvillian way. “I’ve had a feeling. Sorry for not saying so earlier." Graham stifled a giggle. "Intercoursingly good, isn’t it?”

“Easy for you to fucking say since you’ve missed the last fourty years. I’ve only had to go through it ten thousand times, suffering through morons reciting it from memory like our show still stands as a bastion of what is right in comedy as opposed to a big imaginative gutter that we just pissed the night away in half-assing for fun in the seventies! Honestly!" John put his hooves outward, "can you even comprehend such a hell?”

“Well, there was this one time while I was laying on the hospital bed—but I see you are getting tired of those death gags and so I will stop with them,” he hastily assured his friend at the sight of his wild face.

Graham visibly considered his next words to his troubled confidant for a few moments as he shifted his barrel to not chafe on the chair.

Finally, Graham spoke.

“I’ll tell you my full thoughts on the Cheese Shop sketch, and in being true to form, I shall do so as long-windedly as I wish, which is to say, straight.”

Pinkie Pie’s hoof came up with a pipe, which Graham accepted graciously.

Pinkie decided she should probably butt out of whatever was going on, and she walked to the kitchen calmly as Graham watched her leave.

“Anyway. Yes, I have had fans of our show recite it to me quite a few times over the years after that episode aired, but I really don’t mind it. Oh, sure, it could be a bit repetitive at times, but the sketch really means something to them on a subconscious level, which is why it enjoys the lasting power it has.”

“But,” John sputtered, “you’re missing the point! I don’t want this to just be how people remember me, by a bloody stupid sketch I didn’t even like performing!”

John pointed his hoof accusingly at Graham, his energy coming back. “Don’t you remember what that Twilight woman just told us a few moments ago? She said that the most significant objects and events from our lives would cross over to this universe first, yeah?”

John gestured wildly to the entire world at his table in Sugarcube Corner. “But why in the pissing, bloody, hell would the ancient Cheese Shop sketch be considered so damn meaningful by the fabric of reality that it would be the first thing we get? Not my recent lectures at various colleges, not Terry’s Wallace and Gromit thing, not even your autobiography,” John stressed, “get so much as a bleeding hippie’s glance in all this!”

Graham forgot to take a draw from his pipe in his concern. He drew closer to John, his forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows closing together.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

John’s muzzle muscles unclenched. His eyes grew dull. He talked in a low whisper.

“I just don’t get what it all means. Just… why? Is the universe just doing this to spite me? To punish me for not acting as I should have? I mean, if the universe itself is saying that’s the most significant event of our lives…” John was getting that wild look in his eyes again.

“Then it bloody well ought to be!”

John looked up at the blonde stallion’s outburst.

Graham averted his eyes in his embarrassment, and merely took a drag of his pipe. A couple of bubbles came out.

“Sorry. I don't know what came over me," he mumbled sheepishly. "It's just... well, I rather like all of this," he waved to the interior of Sugarcube Corner. "I like this being able to move from my damn hospital bed, this being with you guys again for the first time in years. Don't you?"

John looked shocked and muttered an apology. "I mean," he looked aghast, "It's not that I regret that I'm here and you're here and we're all here together in this peaceful place," he hastily said.

"Quite alright," Graham nodded. "Now... I know you were the one to always push for something better in our writing,” he expanded calmly, “to push for something more original, or more intelligent in our sketches. To try to make it something you could be proud of, as it were.”

Graham contemplated the inexplicable arms still stuck on the ceiling above the counter for a moment.

“But I just had fun writing with you guys. Writing the sketches with my mates, my drunk writer mates. I wrote the Cheese Shop sketch, you know. I had tons of fun just drafting it.

"You remember the fun? Isn't that important enough for us? Just pure fun all around, buying rounds of drinks from those awful hotels when we were all just poor artists. Pure connection. You remember that? Just having a good time writing some jolly old scenes for a show we wouldn’t have ever expected to get funded by the turgid old BBC in centuries?” Graham cracked a smile and caught a fleeting glimpse of a grin on his good friend’s face. He went on.

“You remember? You said you didn’t get the humour, that we should scrap it—right up until Michael read it and he—he…snrk ! !”

That got a good laugh out of John. “Oh, god! He was laughing so hard he fell on the floor and drenched his face in that awful writer’s rum! He should have been here; he would have loved this!” John yelled to the heavens, good fun freely romping around his eyes.

They spent just a minute more reminiscing before Graham got back to topic.

“Heh heh… Well, that’s all I have to say about that, I suppose. Y’know… that we were just bonding over being silly with all of it. Still a pretty good philosophy for a cold, uncaring world, yeah?”

“Not the worst I’ve heard,” John demurred, still smiling.

“Well, good, and, er…”Graham looked pretty awkward, eyes down cast. ”Sorry about getting cross.”

“It’s all right. I forgive you, you old puppy-eyed widowmaker.” John sniffed into his chest as he lay into the native pony position, his muzzle feeling rather pleasantly warm on his brown fur.

He muttered into his floof, "I just would’ve liked to have a more positive influence, to have a legacy that would let others be just as creative as we were, y'know?"

Graham got up from the table feeling better and smiling goofier than he had in years---years!---, as he said with a yawn and a crick of the neck, “C’est la vie. Now let’s get out of here and find a good pub to drown our putrid spinal columns in.”

“Hold it right there!”

Pinkie Pie was in their faces again.

“Now, I didn’t hear anything about what you two were chatting about but I did hear you say the name Twilight! Are you friends with her?”

John went with it. “Well, yeah. It’s rather a long and horrifying story, but we know her.”

“Oh goody goody goody gumdrops with chocolate whipped cream on top!" She beamed. "Now that I know you’re good ponies with insider connections, I can give you this!”

The this! was a full, round, luscious, chocolate chip scone.

“I was saving this for Twilight later today when I was gonna prank her by saying I didn’t have any scones left,” the two stallions looked at each other, “but I thought you should have it to relax, Sourpuss! Oh, and don’t worry about payment! It’s on the house! Not literally, though, because that’s just plain silly.”

“Why, thank you so very much, Pinkie Pie! Oh, and if it’s too not much trouble,” Graham conspiratorially lowered his voice and put up his hoof to his mouth to whisper to her, “could you teach me how you do that teleportation thing sometime?”

“Sure thing! Now, see ya later!” She waved her hoofsie far and wide to welcome them goodbye.

John Cleese and Graham Chapman thanked the pink ponking pony Pinkie Pie before going on their merry way through the sleepless summer streets of peculiar Ponyville.

#my little pony #mlp #mlp fim #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #monty python #minty python #john cleese #graham chapman #pinkie pie

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moary-overwatch-reunion · 4 years

Photo

music - Michael McCann - Home "After this loss, everything has changed"

#mccree #jesse mccree #mccree overwatch #overwatch #hand mccree #hand #cyberhand #I haven’t drawn his entire arm yet and even here I got confused.#I found the old McCree concept and I really liked the design of his hand #and leaned slightly on it to finish the part above the elbow.#And as you can see it looks somehow strange now. oO

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crystalcow · 3 years

Text

𝑆𝑎𝑝𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑//𝑆𝑎𝑝𝑛𝑎𝑝 𝑝𝑡 4

Masterlist // child reader ML //

Sapnap x reader !p !child reader

Pronouns used: none specified!

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, casinos

➳➳➳➳➳┄┄※┄┄➳➳➳➳➳

𝐊𝐢𝐧𝗼𝐤𝗼 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝗼𝐰??

Quackity was telling you all of his plans

He rambled on for hours of his ideas for casinos and how he was going to marry Karl and sapnap

It sounded great

He had his whole plan set up! He even had Sam helping him with the building

But then he left

Just like everyone else

But that was fine! You were just with sapnap

Before Karl came running over rambling on about needed to move his library

He had a library?

“[Redacted] you need to stay close, please”

You looked at him weirdly

Who the fuck was [redacted]

“Karl my names Y/n you idiot” “flame..” “sorry”

He didn’t even notice it and then you had to spend the next couple days hauling over 100 books

“Oo hey what are these! The covers look really weird”

You had found his time travel books

Woops

That man raced over and in the kindest way possible, snatched it from your hands

“Don’t touch those, they are my special books”

You just shrugged and let him be, he freaks you out enough

So you all traveled to this area in the spruce forest and built a really ugly mushroom hut

But hey it’s fine! Foolish thankfully came around later that day and made everything better

So you stuck around

Maybe you needed this, this new start

Oh but prime knows that wouldnt last long

Karl started forgetting

At first it was simple things as just forgetting where he was or little stumbles with names

But eventually he was going away longer and longer

He started calling you by these strange names, some that sound Victorian and western and others that are unlike you

One day he didn’t call you by your name at all

You were hanging around the Sakura trees and the big yin Yang pond waiting for sapnap to come back with George

Then you saw Karl exit the library, running up to him for a hug

It’s been two months since you’ve seen him

You fucking hated it but you couldn’t help but consider him another parental figure

He loved it

But he just stood there as you wrapped your arms around him

Expecting the usual “[reda]- Y/n, I’ve missed you so much my sweet flame!”

But there was nothing just a sad one sided hug

“Hello? I’m sorry but do I know you?”

You were ready to cry

“I’m sorry, I uh must’ve mistaken you for the wrong person” “No that’s fine! Hugs are nice?”

So you left and ran into the library

Scouring throughout all of the books until you found them

The same 8 books you shrugged away

You read through all of them along with Karl’s other journals

You didn’t like going through his stuff especially, a whole invasion of privacy

The more you read the worse it got

What were you gonna tell Sapnap?

Who the hell is James, and [redacted]?

And why couldn’t he stop

It’s no use anymore

You were simply just forgotten

𝐋𝗼𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬

The closer you got to the large building, the sicker you got

Kinoko Kingdom was supposed to be your free pass

But somehow you always end up here

You called for Sam on the comms waiting for the beep

The inside looked great to say the least

“What are your past relationships with the prisoner?” “No answer.”

“Where are you currently resided?” “No answer”

“Do you believe the prisoner deserves his sentence?” “Maybe”

You put all your shit in the locker and followed him through all the safety checks

“I’m glad you didn’t bring anything with you”

You stood on the platform heart racing as the lava went down

It was like a ticking time bomb

The small squeaks and scratches of the hovering bridge

He just stared at you

That sick stupid mask was broken by tommy that day in the black stone room

So you had to look into his face

Lets just say he looks good in Orange

“Barrier up or down?” “Down”

He backed up into the corner as you stepped in

Smiling

Once the lava cascaded down your smile turned into a sick frown

“Hello” is that all he had to fucking say?

“Screw you. Fuck you. Damn you”

He just looked you a small chuckle escaping from his lips

“Those all mean the same thing.” “Well I’ve been living in cinnamon town for the past couple months, and I’m ready to fucking burn some buns”

Yeah he just laughed

“I’ve missed you Hot shot”

“You ruined our damn life!”

Someone went quiet

“If you didn’t have to have a petty little war, or criminalize children we could’ve been fine! It could’ve just been you, dad, me, and George.”

You were pissed, everyone just kept leaving you.

Tommy and Tubbo, Quackity, Karl, Dream, and hell even Wilbur

“You come and visit me, after not having seen me for months and you just yell? Not a hello or ‘how are you dream?’ ‘How’s prison dream’ ‘how can I help you get out of this damn place’ “

You just sat down ready to just walk out into the lava

“I’ve been stuck here for months! None of you even cared enough to visit me, hell even Tommy came around.”

You might have felt a little bad after leaving him

The prison was cold even tho lava was flowing right there

“Why would you leave the discs alone..” “Because I had to end it.”

What were you doing here

What were you planning on saying?

“So, what do you do in prison”

“I have a clock.”

You got up to go look at the pretty clock

Then threw it at his face

“Ow” “deal with it bitch”

The longer you stayed the worse the feeling in your stomach got

so you buzzed for Sam waving goodbye

“Wait.. Do they miss me?” “Can’t say, but I think this may be for the best.”

He wanted his best friends

But he just got the annoying teenager

Oh but that wouldn’t be the last

𝐋𝐚𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬

You got a letter in the mail one day

Who the hell uses letters??

You were shocked to see the address and the small post card

“Come around some time”-Quackity

Ans on the back it had the cords

Oh well what did you have to loose? Sapnap was focused on Karl

and well Karl didn’t even know you

So you set off

It took you a couple hours travel by horse to get to the desert area

The large sign blaring in the red text

You gotta admit the place looked beautiful

There was a giant dick and different shops

You were shocked to see this random un human like guy

“Hello, I am Charlie a totally human guy!”

Yeah totally not slime

“I’m uh, Y/n?” He reached out for a handshake sort of thing

“Dap me up!” “Another time Charlie”

Maybe when you had hand sanitizer

“Ohh so your Y/n! Mister Quackity talks about you all the time, come on in!”

You were skeptical but followed anyways

Stopping in your tracks when you saw Fundy

“Furry?” “Fire shit?”

You went over to give him a side hug, ruffling his fur

“What the hell are you doing here ginger boy!” “Oh you know, just escaping nightmares”

You were confused then just let him be

You walked to the entry way of the place

A beautiful pond with flowers and an arch

“Did what the place where Mr. Quackity was going to propose!”

Going to?

You shrugged it off following inside

You hated to admit it, but you were excited to see him

Yeah you really needed a parental figure in your life at the moment

So when you saw him, he immediately pick you up in a hug

You didn’t fail to notice his change in appearance

That beanie stayed the same tho

Thank god

“Hey hey! Let me show you around the place, we can also go for lunch and talk.”

The casino looked great to say the least

Loud music booming from the speakers, along with the live jazz band on the side

Slot machines were going off every minute

“Have a chip, something to remember this by”

He handed you a red poker chip

It was a cool one tho, in the middle has a blocky sort of smile

Creepy and dopey.. sick!

So you put it around a spare silver chain

“So how have you been kid? ‘Ts been a while hasn’t it.” “Could be better..”

You both walked around the city in silence, offering to go in the super model shop

“No” “why not” “keep walking”

On your way to lunch you had to squint at what you were seeing

“Oh my goodness you’re still alive?!” “You’re alive!?”

You and revivebur just stared at one another

“Yeah he came back after I died!” “you what now-“

You just stared at Tommy and back to Wilbur

Oh god those shrooms were messing with your head

You should’ve gotten out of there a while ago

Quackity came over placing his hands on your shoulders

“Do I have to execute you both? Get off my damn property”

“Sorry Q. Say, Y/n wanna join Lmanburg 2.0?”

You back away holding your hands up

“I denied that offer once, and I’ll do it again. Fucking zombie freaks”

You obviously muttered the last part

Why the fuck did dream revive those two shits??

When did Tommy even die??

Your visit here has just gotten weirder and weirder

𝐌𝗼𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

Quackity got you away from the brits as quick as he could

So he brought you over to his office

“So kid, how’s your dad..”

Ah you expected this question

“How the fuck am I supposed to know. He’s living his life, Karl’s time traveling! Oh yeah did I mention he doesn’t even remember me.”

He looked at you with wide eyes

“So I’m not the only one they forgot..”

You slammed you hands on the fable dramatizing the situation

“How would you feel about moving here? I mean you could work for me in the casino!”

You thought about it for a second

You have two options

1. Live in shroom town with bubbles

2. Move to las Nevada’s with Quackity

You were sure Sapnap wouldn’t mind

I mean would he even care?

He hasn’t for the past couple months!

“You feel abandoned there, over here there are hundreds of people. You’ll have the time of your life”

You thought about it for a sec

“Alright hand me a contract”

So you signed

Making deals with the devil huh

Little did you know it would cost you your life

Devils little soul

➳➳➳➳➳┄┄※┄┄➳➳➳➳➳

and this is the finale! I will take requests for sapnaps child, and I’ll do some shit with Quackity and the casino and go in more depth if wanted!

As always request and ask anything! And ask if you want to be on a taglist (child reader or general)

For those on the taglist I don’t know if you wanted to be tagged for all child reader shit or just dreams child.. so please tell me :)

@creatorofstars @georgenctfound @samistheidiot @smolbox-png @ghostlysenses @stellarinstigator @bobaducky

#sapnaps child #sapnap x reader #sapnap #sapnap x y/n #karl jacobs x y/n #karl jacobs x reader #quackity x reader #quackity x you #dsmp #mcyt #mcyt x reader #dream smp x reader #wilbur soot #tommy innit #kinoko kingdom #dream smp prison #las navadas #child reader

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nobodyfamousposts · 3 years

Text

Helluva Deal (Miraculous X Helluva Boss)

Well, since Miraculous crossovers with Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel are a thing now, I figured I’d write my own on how I think it would likely go. Since this IS the Helluva Boss universe, expect mentions of death and the afterlife, allusions to violence, innuendos, and general inappropriateness:

“Let me get this straight.”

Blitzo stared down the demon before him.

Said demon simply looked back, unimpressed. The little thing was small with blue skin, dorky-looking round glasses, and uneven horns. It wasn’t even a notable demon. Just a random weaker demon who somehow got the funds to pay for their services.

And normally, Blitzo was hardly one to turn down money—or a job that offered money. But this…

“You want to pay us to kidnap someone from Earth—not murder, which is in our company’s name, but kidnap. Which is decidedly more difficult and less fun.”

“Yep.”

Blitzo steepled his fingers together and held them up to his face. “And you want this person kidnapped—not so you can kill her yourself for whatever issue you may have, but because you want her to make you a jacket.”

“Yep.”

“A plain old jacket you could just get anywhere here in Hell.”

The demon gasped in offense. “It’s not just ANY jacket! It’s an MDC original piece and I want one!”

Blitzo took a breath, getting the feeling he was going to regret this.

“Why?”

This…made the demon pause and eventually shrug. “Well, I did say I would have died for an MDC jacket. And I’m dead now, so…gimme.”

Well, who was he to argue with that logic?

Although…

“That is going to require quite a bit more effort…” He started, obviously leading…

The demon gave a flat look. “I’m not paying you double. I need the rest to pay her for the jacket.”

“Why would you want to pay for it?” Blitzo demanded. “This is Hell! You’re a demon! Just steal one!”

“It’s a commission! I have to pay for it!”

Blitzo would have spit out his drink if he’d had one.

“What are you even in Hell for, anyway? You won’t kill. You won’t steal. You just want to pay some human for a jacket you could get anywhere. What’s the point of that?” He asked, giving the other demon a strange look because really, what kind of demon WANTED to pay for things?

The demon stared flatly at Blitzo, his tail flicking against the chair in apparent increasing agitation.

"Are you saying that a commission shouldn't be paid for?” The demon asked curiously, sounding a little...too polite. “Because the last guy who tried to skip out on paying for a commission died. Eyes stabbed out and everything. Do you want to risk that kind of thing happening to you?"

…

Blitzo paled.

“Oh.”

The silence lingered to the point of long past uncomfortable as the demon continued to wait for an answer and Blitzo’s not so subtle attempt to desperately press his secret security button under his desk had no effect.

This would turn out to be because of Loona disconnecting the thing due to her hangover. Though in the moment, Blitzo would choose to blame Moxie.

After a good minute of no response from his team, Blitzo started to sweat when the determined artist demon seemed to grow bored and pulled out a pencil.

He jumped to his feet.

“We’ll take the case!”

And immediately fled the room.

_______

Once on Earth, the problem came up rather quickly that they had no idea who MDC was or how to access them. The client only knew the target was a fashion designer in Paris, which narrowed it down to one city at least but still was little help when the city in question was one of the fashion capitals of the world.

Blitzo, naturally, took the lead in trying to work out a means of information gathering.

And by “naturally”, what was really meant was “horribly failing”.

“I’m telling you, the plan is foolproof. We hold someone for ransom until MDC trades herself.” Blitzo said with apparent glee.

“Sir, that would be the exact opposite of subtle and get us the wrong kind of attention!”

Moxie, for his part, was trying to come up with what he would call “sensible plans”. Millie was simply scouting the area while the two argued. Ever faithful Loona stayed behind to try using her own connections…a magazine.

Needless to say, Blitzo was the one carrying the team. Or at least in his not-so-humble opinion.

Blitzo rolled his eyes. “I don’t see you coming up with any plans, Moxie.”

The smaller demon gave his boss a disgruntled glare. “I already told you! We should just go back and ask the client for more information!”

“Hmm…” Blitzo paused, before pulling out his phone. “Hey, Loona. The client still in my office?”

“Yeup.”

Blitzo immediately closed the phone. “Yeah—nope.”

“Sir—”

“He gouged a guy’s eyes out, Moxie! I need my eyes! I’m too pretty to lose them! They frame my face!” Blitzo exclaimed, bringing his hands up to his head in a fit of dramatics. “Is that what you want, Moxie? Do you want me to lose my precious, precious eyes?”

Moxie stared at the man like he was insane. Granted, Moxie had long had doubts about his boss’s sanity, but still...

“Hey, fellas?” Millie called, interrupting the two as she waved them over to the side of the building they had set up a temporary base atop of. “Listen to this!”

Blitzo immediately headed over, with Moxie following along behind looking annoyed. As they got closer, they heard what Millie had called them over about. Blitzo leaned over and peeked into the room in question.

Below them was an open window of the building where apparently a number of teenagers were gathered within for some inexplicable reason. And in this specific room, a group of the teens were gathered around one particular girl with a large forehead and hair that appeared to be made of meat. It was this girl who had their attention.

“—really friends with MDC?” One short blonde asked, looking overly excited like Blitzo did when he got a paycheck.

“Of course!” The meat-girl replied, looking smug. “We go way back! I was even the one who encouraged him to start in fashion and inspired his Heroes line.”

Blitzo looked back up at his team. “I thought MDC was a girl?”

Moxie shrugged. “If no one knows their real identity who's to say if they're a boy or a girl?"

“What else are they saying?” Millie asked, which returned the focus to the room.

More talking from below, using words that none of the demons really understood or cared about.

“—which was why he even made the Fox outfit for me!”

“Wasn’t that design based on Rena Rouge rather than Volpina?” One other girl with blue hair asked from the doorway of the room. She appeared to be rather annoyed for some odd reason.

The meat-girl looked somber. “Well, that was before he had to change it. After all, as bold as he is, not many people would support an akuma line, even if he had kept my idea to donate the funds to charity for the victims.”

The group “oo”-ed over the girl and praised her for her thoughtfulness. The meat-girl preened at the attention. The bluenette rolled her eyes. Some other blond guy looked on in disappointment.

“How amazing!” The little blonde exclaimed, clasping her hands to her cheeks. “I’d love to be able to meet MDC!”

“So would we!”

All eyes fell to the window which Blitzo, Millie, and Moxie used to make their entrance.

Honestly, he thought it was one of his better displays of dramatics. It certainly warranted some applause. Or screams of fear. Maybe one fainting.

“Akuma!”

Honestly, he was rather disappointed by the underwhelming response.

“I know we're demons and all, but I thought this place was French, not Japanese!"

“Nevermind that.” Blitzo replied to his workers before stepping forward to face the students.

Or rather one student in particular.

“Greetings! I am Blitzo. The two behind me are Millie and Moxie.”

The class stared as one of the two glared at them while the other waved cheerfully—or would be considered cheerfully if her teeth weren’t so razor sharp.

“We represent IMP, a for-hire group out of Hell. We take contracts, complete tasks, and make wishes come true!”

The teens looked at the demons in wariness and confusion.

“That sounds nice…” The little blonde in pink said.

“Those wishes generally involve murder.”

“I take it back! That sounds horrible!”

Blitzo grinned. “We are the ‘Immediate Murder Professionals’, dealing with the unfinished business of those poor wretched souls who are seeking some small vindication in their current status in Hell.”

“Then…why are you here?” The bigger male demanded.

Blitzo ignored him in favor of his true target.

“You! Ugly girl!” He shouted, grabbing the meat-girl.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, insulted.

He shook her. “Take us to MDC and we’ll rip out those sausage-links you call hair!”

“…don’t you mean ‘or’?”

He grinned ferally.

“No.”

She shrieked in fear.

“Lila!” Others cried out in horror.

Ah, yes. There was the fear. This, Blitzo was good with. It made him feel better about the previous lackluster response to his entrance.

“Why do you want me?!” The girl—Lila shouted, looking panicked. “I don’t know where MDC is!”

He raised an eyebrow at this. “But you said you were friends.”

She glanced around, taking note of the fact that her cohorts were still in the room. Though he didn’t know why that should matter for her answer.

“We are! But…I don’t know where he lives now! He’s moved since his name got out there and hasn’t given me the address yet!”

A glasses-wearing girl frowned in confusion. “But didn’t you just say that he invited you to his house for fittings?”

“Yeah, you said it was for the latest line that just came out.” Another girl with multi-colored hair added.

“That was months ago. Before he moved.” Lila replied quickly. “So I can’t help you.”

“Sure, you can!” Blitzo replied jovially. “We can just use you as ransom until MDC agrees to hand himself over.”

Moxie approached the two, keeping his gun leveled at the other kids. “We can save some time and see if she can’t call him.”

“Hey, yeah!” Millie agreed, grabbing Lila’s bag off of her and searching for her phone. “If they’re friends, she’s gotta have his contact info!”

“It’s not in there!” Lila replied quickly. “I was worried someone would steal my phone to get his info so I don’t keep his number in my phone!”

Millie frowned, before holding the now open phone up to Lila. “Then just type in the number yourself.”

Lila glanced around the room in growing agitation. “I can’t! I don’t have it memorized!”

“Then where did you write it down?”

“I lost it!”

The demons were looking particularly vexed.

“When and where?”

“It was a while ago. I don’t know where.” Lila replied.

A girl with glasses looked at her in confusion. “But didn’t you say you just called him this morning to congratulate him on the new line? And that he promised you a free outfit as thanks for all your help?”

Lila paled. “I—”

“Then the number should still be in the phone under its call history.” Moxie noted. Millie grinned and looked back to the phone screen to look through the data.

“I deleted it right after!” Lila shouted desperately.

Millie looked up at her in irritation.

Then promptly crushed the phone in her grip.

Lila shrieked, though it would be up for debate as to whether it was in shock at the loss of her phone or in fear that she may soon share that same fate.

Blitzo seemed similarly put out, but ended up shrugging it off as he pulled Lila closer to him. “Then it’s back to Plan A to hold her for ransom. Or torture her to see if she can’t remember the details.”

“No, please!”

“Lila!”

“Let her go!”

Lila grabbed at the arm holding her, panicked but not enough beyond reasoning. She couldn’t afford to reveal she lied now. She could only hope that these monsters would take her somewhere private where she could manipulate them with less witnesses.

Marinette, for her part, was also analyzing the situation.

These were three unknowns. Definitely not akumas. If they were to be believed, they were actual demons. From Hell. Which existed, apparently. And was where Lila would likely find herself in the next hour if she kept this up.

But from Lila’s expression, it seemed she was insistent on staying tight-lipped about her lies. Marinette figured as much due to her history. But she would have thought that Lila would have had some measure of self-preservation. Though perhaps that only applied to the preservation of her lies and manipulations rather than her own well being.

It was clear that Lila wasn’t going to get herself out of this. Not in any way that would spare her and everyone else in the room, at any rate.

As it was, the classmates were about to rally in Lila’s defense. While they had stood their own against akumas in the past,Marinette didn’t want to see how well they would fare against demons. Nor did she want to have to test if the Miraculous Cure would be enough to fix whatever would be left of them if they tried.

Marinette looked to the doorway.

No one was paying any attention to her right now. She could escape. She could go out, find a place to transform, and come back to deal with these…demons.

But by the time she returned, who was to say what could happen. The demons could kill Lila. They could kill all of her friends for being witnesses.

Ladybug may not be able to fix this.

But Marinette…as Marinette, she could.

“I’m MDC.” Marinette admitted.

Everyone froze.

“Come again.”

“MDC.” Marinette enunciated. “It stands for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My name. I’m MDC. I’m the one you want.”

Alya stared. “Girl?”

Moxie looked at her in consideration. “That would fit with the client’s report of MDC being female.”

Millie, frowned in suspicion. “How do we know she’s really MDC?”

Marinette took a breath and slowly pulled out her tablet. “Well, my signature is in the clothes, so if you’ll let me pull up one of the shots, I can point it out and—”

Blitzo cut her off, grabbing her arm. “Yeah, I think we’ll just take you both and let the client sort it out. Sound good? Good, because we’re leaving.”

“Bye all!” Millie said, waving to the group. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”

Moxie rolled his eyes. “That’s a pretty short list…”

Blitzo ignored them an opened a portal, dragging both girls after him. Without a glance back, both Millie and Moxie followed him through the portal. Before anyone else could move, the gateway closed behind them.

A long pause followed.

“Not so fast!”

Suddenly, the door was kicked open as Chat Noir burst into the room.

The much less enemy-filled room.

“Um…did I miss the party?”

_______

The room they soon found themselves appeared, for all intents and purposes, completely normal. It looked like an office of the sort they’d find anywhere in Paris. Complete with a secretary’s desk, a few chairs, and a table littered with magazines.

The difference was made quickly apparent, however, through the view out the window. The landscape the deceptively quaint room was mostly a collage of red and black, with a sunless sky above and a myriad of strange buildings. Also of note where the various denizens of…distinctly non-human appearance wandering the streets outside.

“All right, ladies! Welcome to Hell!” Blitzo announced with a flourish, causing the girls to pale.

Lila fell back with a screech, landing on her butt and immediately attempting to scuttle back away. Her path was quickly halted as she bumped into something. Looking up, that “something” was actually a wolf monster, making Lila panic even further.

Loona, for her part, was not having a good morning—ignoring, of course, that it was actually the afternoon. And as if it wasn’t bad enough that her hangover still hadn’t cleared, now some…thing had shoved into her, followed shortly by an ear-piercing shriek that only made her head feel worse.

Seeing the way the wolf demon growled, Lila opened her mouth, possibly to scream even more when Marinette quickly shoved a hand over her mouth with a smile to Loona.

“Oh my! Your hairstyle is quite lovely!” She lied. Blatantly lied to the wolf girl’s face.

“It’s bed-head.”

“I couldn’t even tell. It looks so sleek and shiny!”

“Whatever.” Loona grumbled and stormed off to the break room, slamming the door behind her (and then immediately regretting it due to the noise agitating her headache).

Marinette decided to take the initiative. “So…what do you want with us, anyway?”

“Our client paid us a pretty penny—”

“Basic contract.” Moxie interrupted.

“Pretty. Penny.” Blitzo continued as if he hadn’t heard. “For a chance to meet with MDC.”

Okay, they had mentioned that before.

“Then what?”

“If you are MDC, you can do whatever the client is wanting. If you’re not, you’ll at least make for a decent distraction while we escape and blow up the building.”

The humans in the room blanched at that.

“WHAT?!”

“I know. She was a beautiful building.” Blitzo said mournfully as he actually wiped a tear from his eye. “And I just got my office arranged how I like it, too. But it

Marinette stared.

Lila whimpered.

“I second that ‘what’.” Moxie interrupted. “Nobody at any point discussed blowing up the building!”

“It was on page 3 of the handout I gave you this morning, Moxie.” Blitzo exclaimed, covering his eyes in exasperation. “At least read the mission briefings!”

“Sir, the ‘handout’ was a paper napkin. There was no third page!” Moxie insisted.

Beside him, Millie for her part was looking over the aforementioned napkin for the part that was supposed to mention the circumstances in question…or really any of the plan.

“We’ll discuss it later.” Blitzo said over his shoulder to Moxie as he proceeded to grab both human girls and drag them over to a previously closed door.

“Hey wait—!”

“Hang on!”

Within seconds, Blitzo opened the door and proceeded to shove both girls through before slamming it shut behind them, the last thing they heard being him mentioning where to buy explosives.

_______

So.

Recap.

Hell was real. Demons were a thing. And the two human girls were getting a first hand view of the less than pleasant or holy side of the afterlife.

Marinette was…actually taking it all in stride.

Lila was less so. She was sitting ramrod straight in the chair, keeping a tight grip on her knees and trying very hard not to move as her eyes glanced quickly around the room at the assembled demons.

Marinette actually felt bad for her. And probably should have been panicking herself, all things considered. Maybe she would have been had it not been for her extensive experience as Ladybug.

Sure, it was Hell, but floating gods and people turning into monsters had already broadened her horizons of the possibilities of the universe. Plus despite the name of the company that had kidnapped them both, murder didn’t appear to be on the table. All in all, despite the circumstances, Marinette didn’t feel that scared.

The fact that the “client” in question who hired the group was actually a fan of hers wanting a commission helped quite a bit with that.

As did the flattery.

“OMG! OMG! I can’t believe it! It’s you! Can I get your autograph?! No—wait! I need to focus! Can I get a jacket with your autograph?!”

“Thank you.” Marinette said, somewhat flustered. Honestly, she hadn’t thought she had gained THAT much fame. Especially not enough for someone to want to commission her from the afterlife.

…was that a thing? Could that be a thing?

“What I don’t get is why the other girl had to tag along?” The demon asked, curiously. “Is she your assistant or something?”

Lila brightened, looking ready to speak—likely to try to lie her way out of this. Or mess up what little peace Marinette had managed to create.

“No!” Marinette interrupted quickly, ignoring Lila’s petulant glare. “No, she’s not. There was just a mix up since they didn’t know where I was or who to bring.”

Blitzo rolled his eyes. “Well, how were we supposed to know?!”

“You could have asked me when I contracted you.” Said the demon, somewhat annoyed.

“I have a website, you know.” Said Marinette, very annoyed.

They paused.

“…the fuck’s a website?”

Silence.

Marinette coughed. “In any case, you wanted to commission me?”

“Oh, yes!”

_______

It didn’t take long to make the arrangements. Marinette named her prices and the demon was more than willing to pay her for her services. They made use of Blitzo’s office to negotiate and fine tune some details regarding the arrangement. From determining the materials to writing up the contract to negotiating the costs, it was all pretty professional.

And ultimately involved the humans not being murdered and the building not being blown up, which was always preferable.

It finally came down to determining just how the demon customer wanted the jacket to look, and Marinette started drawing out some sample sketches on spare paper in the office that may or may not have been important documents for Blitzo which she may or may not have particularly cared given the whole “kidnapping and being used as a sacrifice” matter.

The only issue seemed to be that the demon customer wanted the jacket to be made of materials that were only available in Hell. Which made sense, she supposed, since she wasn’t sure how long anything she made on Earth would last in this environment. Millie and Moxie had been sent out to gather the necessary material in question, and what they returned with was a strange sort of leather. It was unique and of a color she had never seen before, and part of her really wanted to get a bit more detail about the make.

…given how pale Lila had already gotten, Marinette kindly decided to refrain from asking questions.

“Well then, let’s go over a few sketches and determine which one you like.”

The demon looked almost giddy at the prospect. The IMP team looked relieved. Except Blitzo, who still seemed to be pouting over their takeover of his office.

Lila was…less enthused. “WHAT?! What are you thinking?! He’s a demon!”

Marinette shrugged. “Well, I do have a non-discrimination clause.”

“That shouldn’t apply to demons!” Lila hissed lowly.

“The demons who have brought us to Hell and are currently our only way of getting back.” Marinette pointed out, dryly.

Lila huffed and went back to her chair.

So, with Blitzo and his team begrudgingly kindly being forced willing to donate their office for her use, Marinette sent to work to try and design a jacket to the client’s taste as quickly as possible.

The sooner she got done, the sooner they could go back to Earth.

…hopefully.

Lila, for her part, was terrified and miserable and just wanting to go back to Earth. Immediately would be preferable. Even without Marinette.

Yeah, thanks Lila.

“Why do I have to stay here? Why can’t I go back home? Or do anything else?”

The client tilted his head. “Are you saying you don’t like art? Because the last person who told me they didn’t like art had their eyes stabbed out. With pencils. Would you want that to happen to you?”

“…can’t I like art and not stay in Hell?”

“No.”

Lila paled and sunk lower in her seat, where she remained quiet for the next couple of hours while Marinette worked.

It was mostly in silence as Marinette drew one sketch after another. Asking occasional questions about preferred length, how many pockets, special embellishments, and which parts of the various jacket styles did he prefer. Eventually, they had come to an agreement about the set look he wanted, the materials needed, and when he wanted it completed by. And from there came the matter of payment…

“Um…I’m not sure what the exchange rate is for Hell currency.” Marinette said, looking at the coins he handed her.

The demon frowned, tilting his head in consideration. “I could always rob a human bank and pay you with that.”

Marinette paled.

“This is fine. Really. I can probably buy some things from Hell with this.” She said with a forced smile.

“There are tons of things you can only find here.” Millie said, brightening. “We could deliver them for you!”

Well, that was a good point.

“That’s true.” Moxie agreed. “You could make other things with the fabrics here. Hats. Shirts.”

He paused, looking over his shoulder at Millie who was busy chatting with the customer regarding the fabric he chose. Seeing she was suitably distracted, he turned to Marinette. “So…how much would it be to make a dress. Just out of curiosity.”

Aww. Even in Hell there was love.

She smiled. “We can certainly discuss it.”

The moment was ruined as Blitzo stepped in and slung an arm around Marinette’s shoulder.

“How about one of those sexy maid outfits for the bedroom? You’re French, right?” He asked before giving Moxie a nudge. “You could stand to have a little more fun in the bedroom.”

“Sir, I’m 14.” Marinette replied dryly.

“And what we do in the bedroom is none of your business!” Moxie rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t we just have a discussion about this last week?”

Marinette coughed as the two started to argue. “So…um…are we going to return to Earth so I can start working on this?”

Blitzo sighed. “Fine, fine. Killjoys.”

Lila heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God.”

_______

With an agreement forged between Marinette and IMP to have the customer’s order completed and delivered within two week’s time, Marinette and Lila were safely deposited back in their classroom no worse for wear.

…well, physically. Mentally, there were probably going to be a few scars.

Several of their classmates had apparently remained since the earlier incident. Perhaps it was out of worry? Or maybe classes had resumed after their disappearance—akuma attacks and strange circumstances had become rather common, after all.

Still, it was Alya’s cry of surprise and then being pulled into a hug that assured Marinette she was, in fact, back home.

“You’re back!” Alya exclaimed, relieved. “We were so worried!”

It wasn’t every day your best friend and classmate was dragged to Hell, after all.

“—and I’d been trying to reach out to Ladybug and Chat Noir, but only Chat showed up and Ladybug must be busy or maybe she already knew? Did she help you? How did you escape?”

Part of her wondered if Alya had even stopped to breathe. The rest of her was just basking in the happiness that they had made it back safe and nothing too terrible had happened in the meantime.

The absolute LAST thing she needed was to come back and find out Hawk Moth had let loose another akuma that destroyed Paris while she was gone.

Alya suddenly gasped as though struck by a thought.

“Oh my god, Marinette! I can’t believe you did that!”

Marinette smiled. “Well, I had to—”

“You claimed to be MDC just to protect Lila! And here I thought you hated her!”

Happy feeling gone. Gone like a punch to the face. Knocked out. Dead, even.

Alya beamed. “I’m so proud of you, girl! I knew deep down that—”

“Nope!” Came a quick interruption. “That’s not what happened. It was just a lie. Completely and utterly.”

The interruption was half expected.

The fact that it came from Lila was not.

Everyone froze.

“What?”

“I never met MDC.” Lila explained, wasting absolutely no time with subtleties and just blurting it out. “I never knew Marinette was MDC. I just lied about knowing him because I thought he was the next big thing and I knew you would all believe me.”

“…what?”

Lila sighed. “I lied about knowing MDC. And being the muse behind his fashion line—well, hers. Since Marinette is MDC. She never lied. I did.”

The classmates were startled, but seemed to be taking in the information.

Rose, for her part, tried to be positive. “Oh...well, you didn’t have to lie about knowing MDC—”

“No, I mean about everything. Ever. In fact, there’s probably not a single time we’ve known each other that I was ever honest with any of you.”

Everyone stared.

“I’ve been lying since the moment we’ve met.” Lila continued. “I am a liar. Always have been. I am a horrible lying liar who lied about everyone I ever claimed to know and everything I ever said I did just to get you all to admire me because it was easier to manipulate you that way and get you to do things I wanted. From interviewing me for the Ladyblog to carrying my lunch tray to buying me things. I lied about having tinnitus just to get to sit next to Adrien and lied about not being interested in him to manipulate Nino into guilting him into letting me come to his house. Ladybug herself even called me out for lying. And when Marinette got upset that day I came back over the seat change? I threatened her in the bathroom because she was wise to me from the very start.”

A few stares were sent Marinette’s way. She didn’t have any explanation for them though. She was just as surprised as they were. More, even.

Lila shrugged. “Everything I’ve said. Everything I’ve done. All lies. Ever.”

Everyone gaped in shock. Nobody even really knew what to say.

Marinette started. “But why—”

“Because that was Hell, Marinette. HELL. The bad place you go to after you die, reserved for bad people. And until today, I didn’t even think it was real. Or that there could be a chance I could end up there. But I imagine if anything would warrant that, it’d be lying, manipulating, and trying to get revenge on a superhero.”

Nino blinked. “Wait…what was that last one—”

As if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders, Lila sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go join a convent to try and save my soul now that I know I have one.”

With that, she promptly exited the room, leaving the group staring after her in complete bewilderment.

Alya gaped. “...what?”

_________

Epilogue:

Marinette completed her commission to the demon and later for Moxie. Her fame increased in both realms and she eventually did open up her own design house. The only issue came in the customers who wanted to pay her by removing her competition, which she was mostly able to prevent until IMP took a hit on Gabriel Agreste. While Marinette did stop the attempted murder, this did still reveal his secondary identity of Hawk Moth, allowing the Butterfly and Peacock to be recovered and peace to return to Paris.

The classmates were shocked at the reveal of Lila’s true nature, but were more bewildered than anything given how it happened. They did all feel foolish and embarrassed for trusting Lila, but considering what could have happened, they all chose to take it as a life lesson to be more cautious in the future. They all remained friends and moved on to live quite fulfilling lives.

IMP formed a contract with MDC and gained a secondary job of delivery service as well as assassins, which increased their profits.

And Millie loved her new dress.

Lila Rossi convinced her mother to send her to a convent, where she became one of the most pious and devout members, spreading the message of being good in life more than any other.

#ml fic #ml crossover #marinette dupain cheng #Lila sucks #lila redemption #helluva boss

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blookmallow · 3 years

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rating spirit halloween’s new animatronics for 2021

or at least what’s showing as New Arrivals on the site for me. looks like we got 15 new arrivals listed here and im HYPE about them so here we go

the caretaker

pretty standard reaper character with a Gravedigger theme to it. hes... fine? nothing about this particularly stands out to me, but i dont dislike it at all. i like his gravestone. would be good for a graveyard set. i guess ill give him... 6.5/10

mr. dark

at first glance he also just looks like a standard reaper character (or voldemort. he definitely looks like voldemort now that i think about it) but it turns out he SPRINGS UP RIDICULOUSLY TALL LIKE A CURSED WACKY INFLATABLE TUBE MAN and the spring motion in the video is actually really fucking fast so, while this isn’t a lot different from other jumpscare animatronics, i gotta give him credit bc i guarantee this would have scared the fuck outta me in person. according to the site he’s almost 9 feet tall at his full height

i expected him to jump out and scream but i did not expect. That. i feel like if you put him up on a stage or something to make him loom over people even more he’d be very menacing indeed. would also be really good if you put him behind something so you don’t see him until he's suddenly There

i like him, 8/10 springy spook man

click for more

grave grabber

pretty much just a zombie but he’s cute i like him. i like the green eyes. i dont know what it is about him in motion but the video makes him kind of endearing to me for some reason and i dont know why. 6/10

ophelia

at first for some reason i thought the monster’s name was ophelia but i think that’s supposed to be the name of the victim? i think the idea here is “girl haunted by a Nightmare” but the fact that the monster itself is so small and doesn’t actually have a body for the most part makes this unintentionally hilarious to me

like. it. it’s so small. it’s just a little shoulder demon. it’s so cute

psst. hey do we have any more cheetos

anyway i like how the girl’s eyes move back and forth but the sounds she makes are uncomfortable and she just looks so. stiff and solid and there doesn’t seem to be any movement at all other than her eyes and the monster peeking out so it’s just kind of weird to look at. it’s an interesting concept but the execution is just strange and unintentionally hilarious. 7/10 bc i still think its really funny

someone should buy this and mod it into chrona and ragnarok

harriet hustle

WE DID IT KIDS WE FINALLY GOT A FEMALE CLOWN ANIMATRONIC im so happy i could cry i wish my store had her set up i want to meet her

i love how they have her hanging upside down like this, it makes it so much more visually interesting than the figures that just kinda stand there looking spooky, even though she doesn’t really Do much (she just swings and her head moves around a little, just laughs, doesn’t have spoken lines)

i love her outfit i love her hair shes SO cute i love this little murder gremlin i love her i love her

im still waiting on spirit to give us a female clown figure that isn’t “creepy little girl” (ive commented before on how their only female figures tend to be either the Old Hag or the Creepy Little Girl and not a lot else) but i absolutely love this all the same 20/10

this one is fun too because we also have:

henry hustle

according to the description he’s actually harriet’s dad!! we have an evil clown father and daughter duo here and im LIVING for it

i dont think ive ever seen spirit do characters that are related to each other like this that’s so cute,

apparently his wife/harriet’s mother left them and ran off with the ringmaster. he’s a single father clown trying to raise his evil daughter clown and i support him wholeheartedly

there doesn’t seem to be any more animatronics on this storyline, we don’t have the mother here and the only ringmaster animatronic they have is the rotten ringmaster who was released previously, but i doubt he’s the homewrecker ringmaster in question. he Could Be. imagine if your wife left you for That. we dont even know if henry’s wife was also a clown or not. spirit halloween clown lore going on here

anyway i absolutely LOVE this clown, he does something INCREDIBLY STARTLING AND UNEXPECTED which i dont want to spoil for you. go watch his video and see what he does its great

my absolute favorite type of halloween animatronic is the “does something completely unexpected” category and this one is ALSO a clown and a GOOD clown at that

and he’s got this great vintage clown style i really like, i love scary clowns like this that actually look like they could believably be a real guy and not just some kind of mutant Clown Monster

and hes got cards!! card suit motif!!! i love it i love him this is a great clown 20/10 for him too

w. raith

we have this one at my local store and listen to me. im completely obsessed with this ghost

it’s pretty much just a ghost but it’s SUCH A GOOD ghost. especially in this photo here with proper spooky lighting and everything. i would absolutely LOVE to see this in a haunt attraction, it looks SO good even in bright store lighting. i feel like this under the right lights and in the right environment could look SO fuckign cool

the shredded rag look!!! the ethereal glow!! the weird jellyfishy movement!!! the classic wooOoO oO o o ooo noises!! this may perhaps be the ideal ghost. it is without flaw. a perfect specimen. i fuckign LOVE this ghost i want it so badly but i do not have the space or the money for this thing 15/10 w. raith my beloved. my true love. maybe one day

buzzsaw

at first i was slightly disappointed to see that this guy didn’t have an actual name, but then in the description apparently his name is Bill “Buzzsaw” Jackson and his backstory is he tried to be a wrestler but it didnt go very well so he grafted weapons in place of his hands. i guess. you know, to be better at wrestling. i dont really understand it and i definitely would not have gone with “disgraced former wrestler” as the concept for this guy

but anyway we have mr jackson at my store right now, he’s Big, i like him. he doesn’t really move very fast and doesn’t jump at you, he just kinda swings his saw around. for some reason he just seems friendly to me and i dont know why. makes me think of like an uncle dressed up for halloween rather than an actual murderer guy. i dont know i cant explain it but i like him hes my friend 8/10

wacky mole

this guy’s also at my store this year, i didn’t know his name was wacky mole fsdgjsdg

he’s listed as a new arrival, but i thought i remembered seeing him before, and the description says he’s a returning fan favorite, so. i guess this is a re-release

anyway pretty standard Scary Monster Clown. his teeth look like candy corn. i like it but i think they should just Be candy corn. i like his colorscheme and his silly giant buttons. light up eyes are always a nice touch. he doesnt really stand out but hes overall a pretty good clown. 7/10

grim

good ol’ classic skeleton. he’s pretty nicely modeled though and i highly recommend watching the video for this guy because he moves REALLY well for a spirit animatronic, he’s got a way wider range of movement than most of them do and his head moves really nicely. one of the benefits of a skeleton animatronic is you don’t have to deal with lip movement, so his jaw movements match with his lines a lot more realistically. i like the animated glowing eyes too, it really gives him a lot of personality. he’s really interesting to watch. like, it’s just a skeleton, but it’s a really really good skeleton, so, 8/10

BEETLEJUICE!!

i love love love franchise character animatronics and spirit has so much great beetlejuice stuff this seems well suited to them but looking at it............. hm. hm

he just looks so. stiff and his face comes across like, deer caught in the headlights to me. it Does Not look very natural but it looks slightly better in motion (he just swivels from side to side and says a few phrases but it somehow looks less. shellshocked when he’s moving)

maybe not the greatest execution but maybe he looks better in person and im still hype to see him so 8/10 regardless

night stalker

we have this guy at my store too, im still not really sure what’s going on with his arms (did he just rip loose from them and leave them behind? did someone do this to him? i dont know) but i love a good spooky scarecrow. love his Wiggles. hes a pretty good boy. 6.5/10

here we have another pennywise, it pretty much just pops out at you, but it’s still pretty good. i like the full size one they had before better, but this one’s slightly cheaper and would be easier to integrate into a haunted house attraction since he comes with a built in set piece. it looks good but doesn’t do much. 7.5/10 i guess

GHOSTFACE!!!!

FUCK YES I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

please. please spirit halloween set him up in my store so i can see him

anyway hes got kind of the same issue beetlejuice has where the figure just. looks kind of stiff, and he looks more like a spooky ghost decoration than like, A Person. he doesnt seem to have any lines or anything either, he just kinda pops out. but then again i guess whenever we see ghostface in person in the movies he doesn’t usually talk anyway. i dont really know how id make this better but it seems a little underwhelming somehow. still hype to see it though. 7/10 i guess

now if we could just get a jack torrance and a bela lugosi dracula id be content

i would LOVE to see Red from Us but i doubt they’d do one. my other horror beloved is norman bates but i know if they made one of him it’d just be him in a dress waving a knife around (not that i wouldn’t still be hype to see him, but, y’know) (anyway. tangent. moving on)

mr. howle

it’s. a werewolf. he howls. that’s....... about it

it’s a very nice looking werewolf, it’s a well designed figure and definitely looks very imposing, but it’s... just a werewolf. there’s not really anything particularly interesting or creative here. its a perfectly good werewolf. i dont have anything to say about this. 6.5/10

i also just am not a werewolf person so maybe someone out there who has a greater appreciation for werewolves might like him more

#spirit halloween #spirit 2021

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al3x1ss · 3 years

Text

Just a friend to you

Chapter 15: What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

“DOLL HURRY THE FUCK UP IM HUNGry!”

Opening the door, she stares at Osamu as he finishes screeching. Hearing the door click, he turns suddenly, his face going from annoyed to immediately brightened.

“Y/N!” He says, his voice going high pitched as she giggles, giving him a quick hug, then hugging both Suna and Atsumu. Bending over slightly, Atsumu allows Y/N in his back, the 4 now traveling to a cafe with Y/N holding Suna and Osamu’s pinkies, Atsumu keeping his arms tight around her legs.

As the 4 eat, Y/N is quick to stare at Atsumu who has checked his phone about 6 times in the past 5 minutes of eating.

“Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Atsumu?” The boy drops his phone, his eyes immediately widening as he hears a small collision from where his phone was dropped. He picks it up, dusting it off and placing it down before looking at the girl across from him.

“One of my friends is around the area-“

“You have friends besides us?”

“SHUT UP Y/N!” He sighs, stabbing another piece of his meal with his fork as he looks at her again.

“I met her when we were partners for a project and we just clicked and stayed as friends.”

Suna and Y/N being oO-ing as Osamu pokes his side repeatedly, with Atsumu swatting his twin’ hand away quickly.

“Wait- a lady friend? What kind of sane female would deal with your piss ass willingly?”

“YOU DO!”

“No, I was forced by Mother Miya.”

After the endless bickering, Suna takes the check in hard, heading to the counter as the twins and Y/N wait outside.

“Would you guys mind if said lady friend joined us?”

Samu shook his head no, while Y/N also said no, speaking for herself and Suna who had just exited the doors of cafe.

After 2 minutes of waving, a new face comes towards the group with a smile and a wave. Atsumu waves back, going towards and and smiling.

“Guys this is Keiko, Keiko this is my twin Osamu, that’s Y/N, and then that one over there is Suna.”

Hearing his name, Suna’s eyes lifted, falling on the girl in front of him. His eyes widened, afterwards a quick smile following. Turning his eyes to his feet, he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh my god!” Y/N’s eyes widen as the girl, a smile immediately coming on her face.

“I love you’re earrings so much, Keiko!” Both girls smiled at eachother, Keiko getting on one knee.

“I have determined that you are sweet as fuck as that I want you to marry me.”

“I have determined that I accept.”

With Keiko getting up with help from Y/N, the two link arms, beginning to walk to their next destination. The boys blink repeatedly, staring at eachother then staring at the two girls giggling.

“Samu what the fuck just happened?”

“I don’t know Suna, I don’t fuckin know.”

The twins argue over the frog hat with Suna holding out his phone, getting content for his Instagram followers is what he says is “his only passion in life”. Covering her mouth, Y/N laughs, pulling out her phone with her other hand to see a text message.

“Who’s Keiji?” Keiko asks, Y/N’s eyes now facing hers.

“Well-“

“LET GO OF THE HAT YOU OLD MAN!”

“AT LEAST MY HAIR DOESN’T LOOK LIKE I GOT PISSED ON!”

“OH YEAH MR.MY BONES HURT AT PRACTICE CUZ I GOT ARTHRITIS! WHAT KINDA EXCUSE IS THAT?”

“BETTER THAN THAT SAD EXCUSE OF YOUR DYE JOB!”

Y/N’s eyes widen, gently grabbing Keiko’s wrist as the two back away from the boys. After being enough away, Y/N sighs, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Long story short, best friend of 3 years, I liked him for 3 years, confessed and got denied, and now we just talked a few days ago after like a month of not speaking and it being awkward.”

“Well I mean, do you still like him?”

“Uh-“

“Alright lads, let’s bounce.” Atsumu says, walking up with Suna and Osamu behind him, the girls looking at eachother before nodding.

The 5 enter a small pizzeria, with Atsumu and Keiko’s stomachs growling as soon as they entered. The 5 laughed, with Y/N handing her jacket to Suna while she went to order with Osamu.

“Hi! Can I get a large cheese pizza with a side of-“

“Suna?”

Hearing his name, he lifted his head, looking at the other two at his table to see them also looking around. Turning to look at the door, he sees Kaori with her fellow manager, along with their very own setter and ace.

“Oh, hi guys.” Suna says with a wave. Atsumu and Keiko look up to see who Suna was talking too, with Atsumu smiling and Keiko giving a shy wave.

“Hey! You guys are just eating?”

“Yeah, Samu and Y/N are ordering now.” Atsumu says, pointing over it to the counter with Y/N poking Osamu’s cheeks.

“Cool, well enjoy your meal! We should totally hang out sometime!” Bokuto says, following Yukie to go to a table, with Kaori dragging a tired Akaashi along.

Plopping down, Kaori and Bokuto look at eachother before nodding, sitting straight back up.

“I can feel 3 pairs of eyes on me, what.”

“Akaaaashiiii, don’t you think it would be nice to, oh I don’t know, please can we invite them ice skating?” Yukie says, staring at him with large eyes from across the table.

“Are you asking my permission or are you asking me to do it, because I’m very comfy.” He murmurs, his head laying in his arms.

“I’ll go ask!” Bokuto says, getting up while the other girls nod. Akaashi sighs, rubbing his eyes carefully as to not irritate his contacts as Bokuto walks to their table.

With the twins messily eating, and the rest starring st them as if they were pigs, Y/N sees another figure approaching, smiling at Bokuto.

“Hi Bo! They told me you were here, what’s up? How ya been?” Y/N asks, wiping her hands on a napkin before looking back at him.

“I’m well, thank you! So the rest of us were wondering if you 5 wanted to come with us to go ice skating? Obviously we haven’t met you yet,” he says as he gestured to Keiko, “however any friend of Y/N’s somehow becomes a friend of ours! And I’m not complainin’!” Bokuto says, his hands landing on his hips with a bright smile.

Looking at Suna and the girls, Osamu nodded, turning his eyes back to Bokuto as he smiled.

“We’ll be there.”

Lacing up her skates, Y/N got on the ice and began to skate around, seeing some of her friends on the ice while Atsumu and Bokuto were still on the bench trying to figure out how to tie them.

“Sometimes I’m shocked he’s a third year.”

Turning around, Y/N faces Akaashi with a small smile on both of their faces.

“It surprises me as well.” She said, both of them beginning to skate next to eachother. With Akaashi looking around at the lights, Y/N turns her eyes to face him.

To her, it was strange. To not feel the butterflies, the rollercoaster in her stomach each time he said hello.

“You excited to see the fireworks?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun to ring in the New Year with you guys.” Akaashi says, a smile coming to his face as he looks back at Y/N.

The two turn straight, Bokuto waving over Y/N as she nods, getting ready to skate towards him.

“Hey, Kaashi?”

“Hm?” He says, turning back towards her.

“Save me a seat.” She says, giving him a small wave and proceeded to skate towards Bokuto, said male waving and beginning to skate as she caught up.

The pair speak amongst themselves, speaking of their holiday and upcoming plans for New Years. For a few minutes, Bokuto surprisingly goes quiet, prompting Y/N to nudge his side.

His eyes turn towards hers, curiosity on his face.

“Hey, I just had a question.”

“Yeah, shoot.”

Bokuto’s eyes face forward as she still looks at him, his eyes turning again as he nudges his head. Y/N’s eyes follow in the direction to see Osamu skating with Kaori and smiling.

“Does Osamu like you?”

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Osamu turns, seeing Y/N staring at him. He smiles, giving her a wave then returns back to his conversation with Kaori.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“And there’s one minute on the clock folks!”

The group of friends all sit huddled together in the cold, while other bystanders around them buzz with excitement, confetti and snow flying around already.

Kaori shows Y/N tiktoks, with Akaashi occasionally looking over her shoulder, the uproar of the already booming noise blasting.

“Hey Y/N?” Hearing her name, she leans closer to Akaashi to hear him better

“Yes Akaashi?”

“I just had a question”

“Go ahead.”

“Maybe it’s much too early in the game.”

“Oh, but what the hell, I thought I’d ask you just the same”

“I really enjoyed tonight, Y/N.”

“Me too Akaashi, me too.”

“So”

“What are you doing next New Years Eve?”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Notes

Akaashi does not like Y/N

Y/N does not like Akaashi

The Inarizaki friend group has had this tradition for about 3 years, but they all agreed having more friends with them was nice

For once I’m going to give clarification :D

Akaashi was talking about all of them hanging out on New Years Eve, he wants to do it again next year even though this year just began

Atsumu and Keiko are NOT dating

Atsumu and Keiko do not like eachother

Suna does not like Keiko

Keiko does not like Suna

Back to Masterlist

C. 14 <- C. 15 -> C. 16

Tagging: @winunk @kurushiisaboss @lexysclubhouse @haikyuu-appreciation-club @pumpkiethepie @mint-mai @writingfreakk @tendousfingertape5 @bbyouamazin @navymacaroons @helloalex80 @heavenini @tchalameme @foxxtrot-116 @kageyamasgirl @noya-sleftankle @mariachiii @rory-cakes @sailorstrawberi @iidanotlida @animeflower26 @anngelllla @kneekoteen @reina-de-tay @ish-scribbles @javj @little-dark-empress @athenarosaline @sugawaras-simpsquad @elianetsantana @peteunderoos @thatswhatmakesyoumiserable @ntimacy @i-have-randomthoughts @420-uwu @halesandy @immxnty @yamayoomi @ohmsjedi @tazzi-baby @marissaraeblr

Leave a message, comment, or an ask if you’d like to be added!

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Have a safe n happy New Year!

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creativia10 · 3 years

Text

Janus in Intrusive Thoughts

What if Janus was there during Intrusive Thoughts? Pairing: Janus x Remus

Word count: 1427

Warnings: Innuendos, Suggestive Themes

Notes: I don't know what this is. It was just fun. I had the urge to write this. Not to be taken too seriously. Also posted on my AO3. Let me know if I've missed anything.

Janus stretched his multiple limbs in the background. They were all distracted with dear Remus’ appearance, they didn’t even notice he was there. Which was perfectly fine with him. He was just there to watch the drama unfold anyways.

He lounged in a chair in the background, that he summoned, and sipped his wine. He didn’t have a particular desired outcome from this, despite having prompted Remus to reveal himself to Thomas (although he did have exasperatedly explain he did not mean to go in the nude). It was fun to be included in his little cameo in Remus’ song intro though. Every time he looked over to Roman on the ground, he couldn’t help but snort. Ah, sibling dynamics. So, Janus was literally just sitting there, commenting and reacting to Remus’ shenanigans, not even bothering to try and seem inconspicuous. They were literally too distracted to notice.

Then, he perked up when Logan mentioned the only way it would be faking it was if Thomas were to actually do something and then lie about it. Which prompted Remus to say,

“Oo, how fun. You know who could help us with that?” Remus said with a little shoulder wiggle. Janus’ theme song played during that. Janus rolled his eyes. Well, he didn’t need further prompting. As Thomas started to protest, Janus suddenly appeared next to Remus.

“Oh dear, if you wanted my company you simply needed to say so. ” Everyone balked. Thomas held his head and groaned. Virgil glared at him. Patton looked around in concern. Roman mumbled something, and Logan simply looked annoyed.

Remus gave him an unhinged smile. Janus pointedly did not look.

“You aren’t even part of this.” Virgil sneered. Janus simply shrugged.

“Oh I know, I’m just here. Not really going to participate unless needed.”

Virgil looked at him suspiciously. Remus clapped his hands excitedly.

"Oo, Dark side buddy! Now I have someone to actively innuendo while I’m here!”

Janus sighed, already starting to regret this, but not moving. Partly due to pride. They all seemed to just keep looking back and forth between Remus and Janus in surprise.

“What, no comment Dee-Dee?”

“When have I ever said you could call me that?”

“You haven’t said that I couldn’t!”

Janus simply hmmed and pretended to check his nails, as though he weren’t wearing gloves. Because he was just like that.

Patton hesitated,

“Uh…do we continue?”

Thomas sighed. Virgil kept darting his eyes between the dark duo and Thomas. Remus simply smiled and leaned his chin onto Janus shoulder, Janus pretended not to react. Remus wiggled a bit against him. Janus sighed. He was not blushing from everyone watching. If anyone were to ask, he would blame Remus. Blaming Remus was always a good plan. It didn’t hurt that Remus usually didn’t mind.

Thomas twisted up his face, seeming unsure how to react to the two of them, especially with how Remus was being with Janus.

They somehow tried to continue, as Thomas and Virgil had deigned this important to resolve. It was clear everyone else’s attention was divided though, at the atmosphere had drastically changed from the moment Janus appeared, despite him not doing anything for the current conflict.

“I’m sorry, this is very distracting. Can we get him out of here?” Virgil asked, gesturing at Deceit.

Janus rolled his eyes and waved his hand, obscuring his appearance.

The others blinked at his sudden seeming disappearance.

Remus snorted.

“Oh, Dee-Dee. That’s not gonna help. Don’t think I’ll stop touching you just cause they can’t see you anymore.” To which Remus wrapped his arms around Janus, looking like he was hugging air. He moved his hands lower, like he was about to imitate a physical innuendo, but Janus reappeared and pushed his arms away.

“That’sss unnecesssary.” Janus turned completely towards Remus as he said that so the others in the room wouldn’t see his returning blush. Remus simply smiled and laughed again.

Somehow, they jumped back into things. Patton barreled back into it as though to keep from another distraction to come about before they could help Thomas. Remus returned to his spot against Janus. He continued his shenanigans almost as though he wasn’t practically leaning on Janus. Janus was, more subtly reacting to the drama unfolding around him. Virgil pointedly glanced at Janus when he asked about if Thomas was lying, despite Janus not saying anything on the matter. Janus almost wasn’t sure why he wasn’t doing more. It totally wasn’t because of the distraction of Remus’ warm body pressed up against him. No, of course not at all.

Remus had definitely calmed down since Janus showed up as well. Even when Remus went through other transformations, he was still touching Janus in some way. It didn’t really make sense with what they were trying to do, but whatever. Janus knew fully well he could leave at any time. He was only there to watch this unfold, after all. Totally.

Janus pointedly sighed and stepped away, not looking as Remus started to undress before Logan clarified his wording, having known where Remus would go with that.

He hmmed when Remus revealed his name, tempted to say something about a lack of drama in withholding his name, if he hadn’t just witnessed all the crazy stuff Remus had been doing that episode, like an entire song intro that was so totally extra. Fitting for a creativity.

Janus sighed when Remus screamed to distract them as they got closer to a resolution. At one point, not long after, Remus leaned in, not even bothering to keep his lips from touching Janus’ ear as he whispered,

“Watch this.” Right before he disappeared, only to jump out before Logan could stop them with,

“Nails on a chalkboard!”

Janus didn’t jump and then snort. Nope. Things started to calm down eventually. Boring. As it seemed some of them were about to sink out, Janus prepared to as well.

“Well, that all certainly seemed exciting,” Janus started. Remus snorted.

“Oh, exciting?” Remus stepped over, to where Roman would have room to get up now. “You haven’t seen exciting yet. You know I could do more,” He said with another shoulder wiggle and suggestive eyebrows.

Janus waved a hand at that.

“Oh please, that’s unnecessary. You don’t want to draw this out too much, there’s a sense of good tension. Some creativities are good with that. So, I think I shall take my leave, it’s a good moment for it, before all the mushy stuff."

Remus pouted at him. “Aww, we didn’t even get to make out in front of everyone though! Voyeurism, you know?”

Janus suddenly sunk out at that, into his room. His face was burning as he glared at nothing, fists at his side. A few moments later,

“Oh Jaaaaanuus~”Janus sighed as he felt Remus sidle up to him again. He touched him way more this time, and Janus felt the weird slide of Remus’ tentacles against him as well, starting to prod and play with Janus’ clothes.

“Remus,” Janus said simply.

“Were you impressed~ with my introduction~?” Remus asked.“

In case you couldn’t tell, I don’t often say if I’m impressed by something,” Janus said. Remus growled and pushed himself even closer. Janus couldn’t withhold his shiver, sure the other was smirking.

“Aw, Jan~” He faux whined, then leaned in to say into his ear, “You know that whole thing got me really riled~ up.” He wiggled against Janus again. Janus feigned a sigh and smiled as he said,

“Like that really takes much.” He turned around and they both grinned at each other.

“You get on from mischief just as much as me,” Remus said.

“I will say nothing on the first part of that statement.”

“Mhmm.”

“Are you satisfied? Even though they think they beat you?”

“Oh, I don’t know about satisfied. I just found myself driven towards my snaky even more.”

Janus rolled his eyes again, but he was still smiling.

“You see me all the time.”

“Hm, so? Today was still fun, you must admit.”

“Hm perhaps. Even though they thought they ‘won’?”

“Eh,” Remus shrugged. “I was more for chaos, which still happened, so I don’t really care.” Remus grabbed Janus’ hand and dragged him toward the bed.

“But now I need to get this excitement out of my system, who better than with the chaotic side.”

“Chaotic? I don’t know if I can agree to that.”

“Mm, you’re more of a reserved chaos.”

“Hmm, I suppose.”

and with that Remus pushed Janus onto the bed, their strange banter continuing.

#ts Janus #ts remus #janus sanders #remus sanders #sanders side fic #sanders sides #fanfic #demus #dukeceit #romantic demus

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mc-lukanette · 3 years

Text

Elf Preservation (continuation)

(original/first chapter)

[AO3] [FF.NET]

Luka was surprised when he was not only allowed to deliver presents again, but that there was no sort of punishment for the fact that he'd both been found by and interacted with a human. Apparently, Santa just hadn't told anyone, and was even the person to suggest that Luka go with him again next year for Christmas.

He didn't really get it, but didn't complain either. Most people rolled with whatever Santa said without question, and Luka supposed that he somehow managed to be a good enough assistant.

Besides, he had a promise to keep, and it kept ringing in his head since the take-off to go around the world: "If I can make it happen, it’ll happen."

He told Marinette that they'd meet again as long as it was in his power to do so. No matter what her reason was for wanting to see him again - whether genuine interest or mild curiosity - he wanted to see her too. He couldn't explain it, but she was special, and there was an allure to her that had him looking over the side of the sleigh to try and spot her house when they arrived in her city.

He considered what he might do if Santa refused to let him go into the house. Plead? Beg? Explain the promise? Offer not to tell anyone that he secretly feeds cookies to his reindeer if he lets him see Marinette?

As they landed on the familiar house, Luka's mind was still racing with options when he suddenly heard Santa ask, "Why don't you take this one again?"

Luka blinked, needing a moment to register that, then turned with a confused look on his face. "What?"

Santa didn't reply at first, though clearly noticed that Luka had a thousand questions playing in his head that he was resisting asking. Smiling at him, he finally answered, "Let's just say that I owe Marinette a favor and leave it at that, hm?"

Luka wasn't sure how to take that, but knew that Santa wouldn't lie to him. He was also reminded of what Marinette had implied when they first met, referring to how she was "used to magic." He was getting more and more interested in her by the second, hoping that it didn't look too apparent by how quickly he hopped off the sleigh.

"Thank you." It was really all he could say, not wanting to pry when he'd been told not to. Santa merely gave him a nod in return, leaning back to take a breather and relax.

Luka walked to the back of the sleigh, then opened his arms for the sack of presents to jump at him. Once it did and he had it slung securely over his shoulder, he navigated himself off the roof and through the window of the house.

He noticed immediately that Marinette had decorated the room differently the year before. The furniture had been moved and the tree had been put in a different spot. She'd even changed the color of the lights, though it didn't make things feel any less warm because of it.

He paused to take in the view, then headed for the tree to put the presents underneath, not wanting a repeat of last year where he'd delayed getting everything set up and got a non-verbal scolding from a sack of all things.

Taking out the gifts one by one, he began sliding them under the tree and making them look nice resting there. He hummed last year's melody while he worked, more for the happy memories it brought than any sort of need to fill the silence. Given that the Christmas tree's lights were on, he wasn't concerned that Marinette wouldn't be home.

Sure enough, he heard footsteps not too long after, and he may've hurried a little to finish setting all the presents under the tree. He checked them over once more, then stood and turned to greet, "Hey, Marinette."

"Hey!" She smiled, having just walked into the room. She approached with a wave, eyes unfairly bright and happy. "You really came back!" Then, dread washing over her face, she asked, "It wasn't hard, was it? Did you get in trouble?"

He smiled back, his heart warmed by her concern. He also noted idly that she was more dressed up than before, though it made sense given that she knew he might show up, so she sported casual wear instead of pajamas.

Answering her questions accordingly, he replied, "No and no. It was actually easy; Santa let me come back here."

"Wait—" She blinked a few times, processing that. "He let you? Do you mean—"

"He figured it out." Luka shrugged, then grinned sheepishly and turned his head to the side, reminding her of the earrings she'd given him.

Marinette gasped, then pounded her forehead lightly with the heel of her hand, whining, "Oh, Luka, I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about that!"

"I didn't either," he pointed out gently, amused when she sunk down to the floor in misery. It was probably the one time he'd feel taller than her. "But it's okay. He didn't tell anyone and he was the one who suggested that I come back."

She peeked up at him, surprised and wordlessly questioning the decision.

He rubbed the back of his head, simply explaining, "He said he owed you a favor?"

Her eyes lit up with recognition at that. She looked away, tugging at one of her earlobes, and he noticed that she still didn't have any earrings on. He'd originally presumed that she hadn't been wearing any last year due to being in pajamas, but now he could be sure that she either didn't have any or chose not to wear them.

"That—that makes sense," she replied. "I never said he had to pay me back, but—well—I'm glad you're here!"

He nodded in agreement. "I'm glad I am too."

She beamed, then pushed herself up and glanced back at the kitchen. "So, do you want any cookies again? I could do a different kind if you're afraid of it being boring."

"You don't have to make me anything," he gently insisted. "I didn't come back for that."

"I know." Though she said that, her smile widened significantly. "Still, it's a long sleigh ride, isn't it? And it must be hard bringing enough food for one person, much less two, and you need food. I don't want you to starve or even just be hungry, so I want to make you something—ah... well, I guess sweets actually wouldn't be that filling, but—"

He giggled. "Elves actually aren't that crazy about sweets anyway."

Her head snapped up, eyes wide like he'd just said something insane. "What? Really?"

"We don't mind eating sweets every now and then, but almost all the sweets are for Santa." He grinned playfully. "I guess it just became a note we play every time we cook that says we'd have to share with him if it's something sweet."

"Oh." She looked positively fascinated. Had he known that she'd get so enthused over a simple fact about his species, he would've spoken up about it last year. "So, how about something savory then? It doesn't have to be anything big, but..." She looked around, her eyes eventually settling on the TV. She brightened up, asking, "How about a movie?"

"A movie?" He promptly realized how dumb echoing her sounded. "That sounds great. I'd love to."

"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We could do sandwiches and popcorn! Oo, what would you like best?"

Her positivity was contagious. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he followed her out into the kitchen, though he nearly bumped into her when she abruptly stopped to turn to him.

"Wait," she muttered, "so—those cookies I made for you last year..."

"Like I said, we do have sweets every now and then," he reminded her, "but I guess I didn't have them that much until a while ago."

She tilted her head, then turned to continue her walk around the kitchen. "What changed your mind?"

He watched as she pulled out a loaf of pre-sliced bread, which he thought was strange - considering that her parents were bakers - until he remembered her 'Safety Hazard' apron. He had to debate whether he really wanted to answer her question, but smiled when he acknowledged mentally that she deserved to hear it.

"...It was when you baked me some, Marinette."

The way her face heated up was both satisfying and left him feeling abnormally happy.

"W-wh—" She cleared her throat, fussing far too much with opening the clear bag covering the bread. "—t-then, was marshmallow even a flavor you thought you'd like?"

"Honestly," he began, reaching a hand up to ruffle his own hair, "it was just the first thing I thought of while I was looking at you... after you asked."

She turned away to stop looking at him, but he didn't have to see her face to know how she felt. Being as quiet as he was, it was rare for him to have such an effect on people.

It was nice, having someone who genuinely enjoyed his company and reacted in such a way when he spoke up.

As Marinette pulled out various ingredients for sandwiches, Luka removed his gloves and joined in to help her. He may've been shorter than her, but he was still tall enough to handle anything on the counter. It was also the least he could do since she was already letting him hang around her house.

If their arms brushed every now and then, they didn't make any mention of it, though he would've caught her blushing again had he looked up.

Given the sliced bread, it only made sense that she opted for bagged popcorn rather than making her own, though he didn't mind and wouldn't have wanted her to go so far out of the way anyway. They conversed on the way back to the couch upon the realization that they hadn't agreed on what to watch, and what started as a joking suggestion from Marinette to watch a movie featuring "his people" became very real very fast when Luka saw her scroll past a few strange-looking characters on the TV screen that clearly were supposed to be elves.

They started with just one, but it soon became a whole marathon, the two going through movie after movie while Luka was critiquing the whole way through about the things they'd gotten wrong. At first, it was just an easy way of telling Marinette more about elves, but as Marinette began to giggle at his more biting critiques, he took to being more dramatic about it. He'd gasp in offense when the movies "insulted" his elf kind, clutch his chest, and pretended to walk out at least once.

Marinette's laughter was easily his favorite part of the whole thing. It was warm and bubbly, and she'd even start giving off critiques of her own if she remembered something he'd said before about elves. By the time the last movie had hit, they were both at the movie's non-existent throat, and it was easily the most fun he'd had all year.

It made it all the more sad when Marinette went to look for another movie and noticed that their time was running low; they didn't have to part yet, but they definitely didn't have time for another movie.

Luka sat back, looking down at the empty box of popcorn and the empty plates that once contained their sandwiches. Glancing up, he said gratefully, "Thanks, Marinette."

She tilted her head at him. "For what?"

He shrugged. "Everything? Being you?" He stared back at the now-blank TV screen. "I'm just glad you're letting me be here and hang out with you."

"Why wouldn't I? We're friends, aren't we?" she asked, though began to blush after a few seconds. "I-I mean, unless that we just me assuming things, in which case—"

"No, we're definitely friends," he insisted, "as long as you want that too."

"Of course!" she replied immediately, the offended tone making him chuckle and reminding him of their Christmas movie roasts. "You're really nice, and funny, and you're so—I don't know—different? From everyone else I've met? Not in a bad way, obviously, just..."

She trailed off, and he imagined that his expression assured her that she didn't need to ramble. His words followed suit, "I feel the same way about you."

Her smile was soft, her eyes almost sparkling at him. They remained there for a moment, just enjoying each other's company and the warm Christmas lighting around them.

Then, Marinette's gaze drifted down over him, then just barely above his face. "...Hey, Luka?"

He went to ask her what was on her mind, but stilled as her hand seemed to - almost unconsciously - reach upwards to hold a strand of his hair. "Marinette?"

Her expression was a mixture of thoughtful and curious. "Do you mind if we do something before you go? It might be a little boring for you."

"I don't mind. What is it?"

"Well..." She smiled hopefully at him. "I'd like to take your measurements."

~ ∘˚˳°✧°˳˚∘ ~

The third year Luka showed up at Marinette's house, she was already waiting for him in the living room, sitting on a chair a few meters away from the tree. His brows rose in surprise, but she just gave him a smile, waving her hand vaguely at the sack over his shoulder as if to say, don't worry, I'll wait.

He returned the smile, a small skip in his step as he made his way to the tree. He noted that she'd clearly been waiting for him for a while, a quarter-full mug of hot chocolate in her hands that definitely wasn't emitting any more steam. The delightful fuzziness in his chest he got every Christmas wasn't due to the holiday itself, and he was very much aware of it.

Kneeling down, he reached into the sack of presents, pulling out the first gift his fingers touched. He was suddenly conscious of his abilities to set down the gifts - considering Marinette was watching - but he knew she wouldn't judge him if it wasn’t perfect.

As he went to place the first gift down, he stilled, seeing that there was already a singular gift under the tree. He briefly wondered if maybe the sack had been messing with him and spit out one of the gifts itself, but then he noticed the sticker.

To Luka, From Marinette

He paused, rereading the words twice before turning to Marinette. She was glancing away, smiling innocently, but he could see the way she tried to hold herself together even with her legs very subtly vibrating in excitement. He turned back to the gift, then debated with himself before setting it off to the side, trying to get Marinette's presents under the tree first.

He'd never be able to focus otherwise. Their conversations from last year were already replaying in his head as he wondered what she could've gotten him, or...

"I'd like to take your measurements."

what she could've made him?

Once he'd finished placing all of her presents in a nice-looking order, he picked up his gift, hesitating at how beautifully Marinette had wrapped it. He tore quickly but carefully - not wanting the clean-up to cause any problems - then opened the box that was inside.

Before he could even ask, her voice confirmed, "I made them for you," and his heart skipped a beat.

Clothes. She'd really designed and made him an entire outfit. The color was different than he was used to wearing - elves usually wore specific colors depending on where they were working - but that didn't make it bad; in fact, he loved her choices. He probably spent a good minute just looking and feeling at the fabric, moving everything around to see every bit of them while trying not to disturb Marinette's expert folding.

"You really like them?"

He looked up at her. It was obvious that she already knew his answer - her smile was far too wide for her to think anything else - but wanted to hear him say it anyway. Knowing that it'd be answer enough for her, he asked eagerly in reply, "Can I try them on?"

She beamed, immediately directing him to the nearest room that he could use to change. He knew from the past times he'd been there that she had a full-body mirror in her bedroom, so he avoided getting too lost in admiring the clothes as he put them on so he could be properly surprised in front of her.

After he was fully dressed, he set his other clothes off to the side and left to join Marinette outside the room. She nearly squealed at the sight of him, then hurried for her bedroom, apparently having the same idea that he did with how she encouraged him to follow. They went into her room together, the full-body mirror blatantly moved so that he could see himself as soon as possible. He approached it, Marinette looking him over while tilting the mirror appropriately.

He had no idea how she'd done it. The clothes were comfortable, both in warmth and in how they fit him, and the combination of blue, white, and black was something that felt strangely right. He knew nothing about fashion, but he knew he looked good and that any person would find it hard to come up with any critique on it.

"This—Marinette, I don't know what to say." He shook his head, realizing that wasn't entirely correct. "I mean, it's amazing, I love it, but I haven't done anything. I wouldn't even know how to accept this."

She giggled, walking over to stand next to him and smile at his reflection. "Wearing it is already a good start."

He nearly pouted at her - he knew that she knew that wasn't what he meant - but settled for smiling back and turned back to the image reflected in the mirror of them standing next to each other. He was already used to the height difference, though now he could actually see himself standing next to her using the mirror. He wasn't dense enough to ignore the slight pang in his chest that he wasn't taller than her like what one might expect from what was "conventional," but...

he also noted that both of them looked really happy despite it, and it made him feel weirdly lucky.

As he cherished the thought, his mind registered a familiar shape off to the side of the mirror. He glanced over, eyes widening at the actual guitar resting against the wall.

Marinette looked at the mirror, noticing his shifted gaze, then followed it to the guitar. "...Oh." She laughed, wandering over and kneeling to point at the signature along the base. "Jagged Stone gave that to me. Apparently it's the something-something anniversary of me working for him - I'm pretty sure he made it up as an excuse - and he insisted that I have it. I told him over and over that I had no idea how to play it, but—" She gestured to the guitar for emphasis, as if it were showcasing Jagged's complete refusal to back down.

Luka could only nod, feeling somewhat embarrassed that he couldn't provide any commentary on the matter. He shifted in place as he stared at the guitar, trying not to be obvious about admiring the intricate design and professional quality of the build.

"Do you play guitar, Luka?" Marinette suddenly questioned.

Okay, maybe he wasn't as subtle as he thought. "Hm?"

"The first Christmas we met," she began, "you said that you didn't have any instruments with you when I asked you to play your tune for me, so I thought that meant that you played a few but just didn't have them on you?"

He was surprised she remembered something so insignificant, but answered anyway, "Yeah, I only make instruments I know how to play." He added with a smile, "Guitar's my specialty though."

"Would you like to play this one then?" she asked with a big grin, clearly trying to suppress any excitement and failing spectacularly.

"Really?" He approached, tilting his head at the fancy guitar. "Would that be okay?"

"Oh, absolutely!" She took care in picking the instrument up - despite her haste - then offered it to him. "Jagged would be so sad if this just sat here and collected dust!" She paused, considering, then corrected, "Plus, even if he didn't, it's mine now since he gave it to me and I'm saying that you can play it."

He chuckled, reaching out to take and settle the guitar into his arms. "Hard to argue with that."

She moved around him to sit on her chaise lounge, staring at him expectantly. It was cute, and he followed suit by sitting down next to her, only turning enough attention to the guitar to make sure it was tuned.

He was confident enough in his abilities that he didn't feel nervous playing in front of her. Music was his element, and she already seemed to like his style when he was simply humming, which was more than enough reason not to worry. Even just having a guitar in his hands brought a certain sense of familiarity and comfort, though it wasn't the same kind of feeling he got with Marinette.

As he tested the strings once more to confirm the sound was correct, he caught sight of the signature again and admitted quietly, "I... actually don't know who Jagged Stone is."

He didn't know why he said it; Marinette had spoken the name so casually as if he should be expected to know it. There was just something about her that made him want to tell her whatever came to mind.

"Wh—really?" she asked. Catching herself, she held her hands up and insisted, "N-not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm just—"

"Surprised," he supplied. "It's alright. Santa makes sure we have stuff to do in our spare time but it's from all over. We all speak English since that's the original Claus language, but we get to learn two or three more depending on where we are in the workshop." He figured it went without saying that one of his was French. Stroking along the guitar, he played a quick melody and added, "Anyway, we only get a few notes from everywhere, and we don't always have time to listen to the whole song. We're kept really busy and—" He hesitated, debating on if it sounded like he was complaining. Deciding he didn’t want to stop short and leave her wondering, he continued, "—there are a lot of elves. It's why I'm glad I don't make things like toys."

"It's a lot to deal with?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

It felt strange to say it out loud; he'd never done so before. It was easy to forget such thoughts when he was with Marinette because he was so far away from the workshop, but that was only for a day (excluding all the timewarping). Even while riding with Santa in the sleigh, he was still reminded that it wasn't forever and he'd eventually have to return.

He didn't hate working there, but getting to make and test out instruments was the only part he liked. There was no such thing as "peace and quiet" when it was Santa's workshop, and almost all the elves were lively and social with each other, chatting while they worked to keep themselves energized. Luka was glad for them, but it meant constantly hearing a bunch of songs that didn't go together. When everyone tried to be close with everyone else, no one was truly close, and Luka preferred a smaller, tighter group of friends; not that he had any as an example though.

His family had always been different, he supposed, but he was just the right amount of different for it to be inconvenient. His mother actually enjoyed all the chaos, always moving and having more energy than probably any other elf in the whole workshop. Juleka, his sister, while not actively engaging with the other elves, enjoyed that she was never the center of attention and could be quiet without anyone caring, as they believed her to be invested in her work and respected that.

He didn't have such luck, and meditating was the only way to gain any sort of temporary silence; the book that taught him how to do it had been in a different language, but it had pictures and he'd figured out the rest eventually. It was just the life of an elf, and he imagined that he'd used to it eventually.

Maybe.

"...Anyway," he said suddenly, flashing Marinette a hopefully-reassuring look. Getting his hands in place to place to play, he added, "Any requests? I don't know that many songs, but if you can play one for me first, I can—"

His voice choked off with a gasp as Marinette threw her arms around him, his body going stiff in surprise. His left hand's grip on the guitar slipped, causing the neck to drop awkwardly against his chelidon. He didn't even notice, too focused on the warmth and gesture that'd caught him entirely off guard.

"M-marinette?"

"Sorry," she whispered. "You... you looked so sad."

Had he? It'd shown on his face? "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Don't apologize." She squeezed him in reassurance. "I—I'd just never thought of it like that."

"Like what?"

He heard her breathe like she was about to speak, but then she hesitated. "...Promise not to laugh?"

"I—"

"No, I know you wouldn't. I'm sorry."

She sighed, but her voice was lighter when she spoke again. "...I actually wished I could be an elf when I was younger. Getting gifts on Christmas always made me so happy, and I wanted to be able to give that same happiness to all the other kids my age." She hugged him tighter, the lightness fading into sorrow. "I never thought about how elves must live, trapped on the North Pole with so much of the world being a mystery to them, being non-existent to people who don't believe in them. Santa and Mrs. Claus could go out if they wanted by traveling, but it's not that easy for someone like you, working with other elves because you have to and not being able to leave even if you want to."

Luka couldn't bring himself to react, barely managing to do so much as breathe. He'd never had someone so easily able to feel out his worries like that, and she'd voiced things that he'd always thought about but never said.

Despite being surrounded by people, he was lonely. He didn't want the company of dozens of others that he could barely put care to remember the names of; he wanted a connection.

He wanted Marinette.

That thought in particular struck him harder than anything else had that day, though he knew he'd prodded at the idea in his head for a long time. Even beyond filling a void, he'd fallen hard for her and couldn't deny it even with all of the obvious problems it presented.

He also wished the atmosphere hadn't been so sad so he would've been able to properly enjoy the concept of her actually being an elf and growing up with him, but that wasn't as important at the moment.

Realizing he'd been quiet too long, he managed to get a grip on himself, shifting and finally letting the headstock of the guitar fall onto the chaise lounge so he could turn more easily towards Marinette. He had too many words in his head for her, but managed to settle on a quiet, "Thank you. I'm sorry I brought the mood down."

She stiffened, then pulled away and put her hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to apologize for that; you can't help how you live or what you think about it. Besides, I want you to feel like you can rely on me whether you need it or not."

He smiled fondly at her, hoping his look wasn't too intense. "I definitely feel like that now."

She smiled back. "I'm glad." Her hands lingered on his shoulders until she seemingly noticed that they were still there. She pulled away, blushing in embarrassment and adding hurriedly, "A-and sorry for hugging you out of the blue like that."

He giggled. That was the third time she apologized in the past five minutes, and the second time she'd apologized specifically for hugging him.

"I don't mind at all," he assured. Still riding the emotional high from her hug, he insisted, "You can hug me whenever you want."

She blinked rapidly, raising a hand to her mouth in thought. "R-really?"

He nodded. "Really."

She looked him up and down, as if to check that he really meant it. Just to make sure she understood, he turned further towards her, though it was slightly awkward with the guitar on his lap.

He wasn't expecting her to hug him right away, but his body reacted even while his mind froze. He finally set the guitar aside, leaving him free to turn towards Marinette completely and hug her back. They took a few seconds to fully adjust, but it was total and complete comfort the whole way through. Part of him almost thought it was for the best that he wasn't with her for the whole year; he'd never get anything done otherwise.

Then, Marinette suddenly gasped, breaking the hug with an, "Ah, I know!"

Luka watched as she got off the chaise lounge and hurried over to her table, a small set of drawers resting on it. She searched it from top to bottom, then checked the middle drawer again and brightened, seeming to find whatever she was looking for. She also picked up a sanitary wipe and scrubbed at something that was attached to it, though she was turned too far away for him to see clearly. When she finally did walk back to him, he could only see a hint of white peeking out from her closed fingers and that the object seemed to be rectangular.

"Here," she said, holding it out and opening her fingers for him to see. "It's an MP3 player. I know it won't block out everything, but it's full of songs, and there are a lot of Jagged Stone ones in here already."

He was familiar enough with the concept of an MP3 player; it wasn't where he worked, but there were more tech-savvy elves who made them. He just couldn't believe that she—

"Oh, and don't worry!" she told him with a wave of her free hand. "I was planning on getting a new one anyway, so you'd be doing me a favor! Besides, I figured you probably couldn't take those clothes, but an MP3 player is more subtle, so you'll still have something of mine to keep with you!"

He simply sat there, staring at her and probably looking silly doing so.

She seemed to realize something, pulling back and hiding the device in her hand again. "U-um, gosh, that makes me sound really selfish, doesn't it? Like I'm only doing it so you'll remember me more, or like I'm only giving it to you because it's used? I swear I'm not, it's just—"

He stood up, walking over and placing his hands over hers. "Only you would worry about sounding 'selfish' when you're giving me a gift." He laughed, positive that it was too warm not to be noticeable. "I'll take it. I'll carry it with me wherever I go."

She beamed, though acknowledged a moment later, "Oops, that's right! You'll need both chargers; one for the MP3 player and one for the wireless earbuds. Um, give me a moment." She hesitantly pulled back from his grip on her hands, then gestured at the guitar as she assured, "I swear I still want to hear you play if you don't mind—um—setting up again?"

He smiled to assure her that he didn't, already walking back to the chaise lounge to sit down and get the guitar back in his lap. He could only hope that his playing didn't come out too much like a love song, or at least that Marinette wouldn't notice if it did.

She was too much; sweet, thoughtful, and extremely adorable. He loathed the very concept of time itself, wishing he could stay in the moment with her forever. He didn't care whether she returned his feelings or not; they were both smiling and happy, and he wanted it to stay that way. She'd done so much for him, giving him gift after gift, and he—

Luka paused, no longer paying as much attention as Marinette pulled out a small drawstring bag and began slipping the objects inside. He realized just how much she'd done for him, or more specifically, how much he hadn't done for her. He didn't doubt that she enjoyed having him around - they wouldn't be here if she didn't - but...

“They’re Santa’s gifts for you, not mine.”

His brows furrowed with concern at the memory. Marinette had given him multiple gifts and he hadn't done anything in return. They were supposed to be friends, yet he'd missed two of her birthdays without making up for it, never even giving her a Christmas present that wasn't from someone else. Playing her music was a start - he'd already hummed her a melody the first time they met too - but it wasn't enough and couldn't make up for what she'd already given him.

Already musing over the matter, he decided that he'd definitely get her something next time. He didn't know what, but it'd be something meaningful and full of thought.

She deserved that and so much more, but he'd settle on the gift for now.

~ ∘˚˳°✧°˳˚∘ ~

For their fourth time meeting up, Marinette greeted Luka with a full-on hug that he eagerly returned. Despite the chill from the window behind him, it was too warm in her arms to care; she was even wearing extra layers than usual.

When he pulled away, he noticed a smile on her face that he immediately recognized. Grinning, he noted, "You look like you have an idea."

She somehow smiled even wider, replying, "I left your clothes where you changed last time. Get changed and meet me in my room?"

Her voice shook slightly at the last sentence, a mixture of anticipation and nerves. Whatever she was planning, he figured it must be different actually telling him about it, regardless of how eager she was in planning it.

He smiled back, hoping it was enough to assure her that it'd be okay no matter what. "I'll see you there."

She hurried to her bedroom after that, Luka having to force himself not to rush putting her gifts under the tree. Her excitement was too contagious and he didn't want his work to come out sloppy because of it. Still, he ran to change the second he was done, cherishing the feeling of the clothes made by Marinette's hand for him and him alone.

Needless to say, he missed it over the entire year, though didn't miss how the outfit was noticeably warmer than he'd remembered, as if it'd been just taken out of a dryer before he got there.

Once he'd tucked away the little gift box he'd brought into the deep pocket of his outfit, he left the room to meet Marinette in hers. He saw her sitting on her chaise lounge, some type of clothing held tightly in her hands as she practically bounced in place.

She stood up as they made eye contact. "Hey," she greeted.

He was very curious now. "Hey."

She walked over to stand across from the mirror, holding up the fabric while looking at him expectantly. He approached, getting in front of her and watching her reflection to see what she was doing. The fabric in her hands matched colors with his outfit, and his only guess as to what that meant was confirmed as she slipped it onto his head; it was yet another gift for him.

Regardless, she had to be excited over something specific about it, so he let her put it on him without a word. He noted that it was a beanie, loose but comfortable, Marinette leaning to his side and hunching over to get a closer look at it, struggling a bit at first due to wearing gloves.

Though he was briefly distracted by the way her tongue stuck out in her focus, he felt and saw the fabric slipping partially over his ears. "Marinette?"

"That's not uncomfortable, is it?" she asked, voice filled with hope.

He shook his head, then turned his head to the side so he could see the effect through the mirror; the pointed part of his ears was completely covered, making him look as if he were just a short human.

"You can go out with me now," she said softly.

Luka whipped his head back to look at her, eyes wide. She blushed in realization, then flailed her arms in reassurance.

"Outside! You can go outside with me!" she corrected. "See, it was just—um—"

She took a moment to breathe and he let her, his heart still pounding too hard from what he'd thought she'd meant.

Now calmed, she explained, "I... I couldn't stop thinking about what happened last time we talked. I know I can't magically fix everything—" There was a brief shift in her expression that made him feel like there was something deeper to what she'd said. "—but I wanted to give you the chance."

"The chance?" he echoed questioningly.

"Yeah." She smiled sheepishly. "To get out; to be somewhere that's not here or the North Pole. It's late, the entirety of Paris is basically asleep, and even if someone saw you, the elf part of your ears are covered. You don't have to if you'd rather just stay inside, but... I thought that—maybe—just knowing you had the option is nice."

She was making it impossible for him not to fall harder for her, and he really liked it. He couldn't imagine what luck he must have, or maybe it was all of his bad luck finally leaving him instead. He didn't really care; he was happy and she looked happy to be there with him.

"That sounds incredible," he admitted. "Could you lead me around? Can we go right now?"

"Yes!" She paused, then added quickly, "Um—to both of those."

He chuckled, but realized belatedly, "Oh, I should probably ask Santa—"

"No!" she protested. She pouted, insisting, "You want this, don't you? Consider it your Christmas present."

"Elves don't get Christmas presents. We get birthday presents, but—"

"Details." She waved dismissively. "Anyway, if Santa wants to go on about owing me a favor, then fine, this is part of the favor."

Brimming with twice as much confidence as before, likely since he'd answered positively to going with her, she strolled up, pulling a set of gloves out of her pocket and handing them to him. He was smiling too much at her energy to argue, slipping on the gloves and wondering if she'd made them for him as well.

Scratch that, he was sure she had.

The moment he had both hands gloved and they were ready to go, she took one of his hands in hers, gently tugging him along to lead him to the front door. He happily let her lead him, feeling almost childish for how excited he was at the prospect of just going outside, but...

It was Marinette. He knew she wouldn't judge, so he let himself smile.

They didn't let go of each other's hands even after they were out the door.

—————

It took Luka a full minute or so to fully take in the sights while they walked. He'd only ever seen Paris and its Christmas scenery from up in the sleigh or from a rooftop, and while both views were nice, it was something completely different to be actually down on the ground, seeing it from the point of a normal person. All the Christmas lights were on, contrasting the dark sky, and decorations were hung just about everywhere they could be placed. Mrs. Claus changed decorations at the North Pole every month, but it was different seeing a whole city decorated.

He didn't realize how long he was staring at everything until he saw Marinette staring fondly at him in his peripheral vision. She seemed embarrassed to be caught, blushing and turning her head away from him.

"I-it's a nice night," she commented weakly.

He chuckled at the attempt of distracting him. "Yeah." He glanced down their hands, still linked together. "It is."

Looking at anything except him, the blush still on her cheeks, she observed thoughtfully, "There really aren't any people around tonight." She dared a glance at him, a slight smirk on her face. "Maybe you don't need that beanie after all?"

She pretended to reach for it with her free hand. Luka ducked out of the way in dramatic fashion, placing his free hand protectively on the beanie to keep it on his head. She laughed, dazzling him once again with the sound.

He continued walking with her, feeling the beanie a moment longer to make sure he hadn't accidentally shifted it, then followed up on what she'd said. "You were right about Paris being asleep. It's like the whole city is, except for you." He raised a brow at her, curious but also teasing, "Are you nocturnal, Marinette?"

She pursed her lips in thought, eyes drifting up to look at the night sky. The former shyness she showed slowly turned into a bout of playfulness. "Not really. At least—I didn't use to be. I wasn't a morning person, but I wasn't a night owl either; the only time I stayed up late before was by accident, like if I got lost working on something or got really inspired."

He tilted his head at her, now even more curious. "What changed?"

A soft hum sounded at the question, Marinette raising her free hand to rub her chin in a gesture that was clearly her pretending to think. He squinted, half-suspicious, then leaned forward so she was in his peripheral view.

She peeked down at him, then turned her head fully towards him, answering, "...It was when you visited me for the first time."

He straightened in surprise, his hand accidentally slipping from hers as he earned another laugh out of her. The words not only struck him, but felt weirdly familiar in a way that took him a few seconds to realize: she was echoing his words from when he'd told her that he didn't have many sweets until he had her cookies.

He wasn't sure what his face looked like - though it felt plenty warm at the thought that they'd done similar things while he was crushing on her - but she must've enjoyed it with the way her smile widened.

"You're blushing," she teased, as if she had a right to do so despite earlier.

"So what?" he challenged shamelessly, not bothering to deny it.

She nudged his arm with hers, her hand slipping back into his slowly enough so that he could pull away if he wanted to. He wasn't so daring as to consider it romantic on her part, but knowing that she was that comfortable around him was heartwarming enough for him.

"You're so refreshing, you know?" she asked, leaning over slightly to meet his gaze better. They were about to cross the street when she looked off to the side and gently pulled him to a stop, pointing down the sidewalk. "Hey, can we go this way instead?"

He glanced down the way, half-suspecting that she had some sort of plan. "Sure, I trust you." He waited until they'd turned and headed down the path she'd suggested to continue their conversation. "So... refreshing, huh? No, I didn't know."

"Because you're different from the other elves so they've never said anything?" She stretched the words out dryly. "Classic case of jealousy."

"You're spoiling me, Marinette," he accused fondly.

"Good. Feel spoiled." She squeezed his hand for emphasis. "It's your Christmas present."

He dug his free hand into his pocket at the mention of Christmas presents, pressing the gloved tips of his fingers and thumb into the corners of the box inside. "And the gloves and beanie weren't?"

"Your second Christmas present then," she corrected. "I count clothes as one full gift." Leaning over, she added with a hint of concern, "By the way, the MP3 player I gave you still works and everything, right?"

"Yeah, it's great," he answered immediately, jumping at the chance to compliment her back. "You have amazing taste."

"I know~"

He had to convince himself that he was just imagining that she gave him a once over when she said that.

They walked a little longer, Marinette's gaze occasionally flicking up to the buildings they were passing. He kept feeling tempted to look, but forced himself not to in case it would ruin whatever she was thinking about.

When she glanced up once last time, she brightened and finally came to a stop, tilting her head at the building behind him. "Have you ever seen a music shop before?"

"Hm?" He caught onto what she was getting at and turned, needing to take a step back to properly look over the building next to him. He knew what a music shop was - even if he didn't, the words said more than enough - but he'd only ever been able to glimpse the symbols in the shop titles if he leaned off the sleigh and squinted.

Marinette released his hand, walking over and leaning against the glass. "What do you think? Selling CD, instruments, and other music-y things? Would you want a place like this, if you could?" He blanked, and she grew sheepish in response, adding, "S-sorry, is it weird? I thought maybe it'd be nice to think about, but if it just makes things more sad—"

"No, I mean—it isn't weird, or sad," he assured, just happy to be thought of. Since the opportunity to think had presented itself, he took a few more steps back, careful of the sidewalk's edge as he did so. He let his mind wander as he took in the shop, trying to piece it all together even with its lights off and figuring that a little fantasizing wouldn't hurt.

After a moment of thought, he explained, "I'd still want to make instruments at least. I don't know if it'd be everything I do, but... I'm good at it. I enjoy it." He shrugged. "I've never really gotten the chance to try anything else."

She nodded in understanding, and it was hard not to include her in his little fantasy when she was posed in front of the shop like she wanted to be. It was almost cruel, asking him to dream and then standing there like the absolute beauty she was.

He took a few more minutes to stare at the building, admiring the way the owner - or whoever had decorated - had hung the lights like staff lines. Candy canes and wreaths were a poor substitute for notes, but he nevertheless appreciated the effort.

Once he was satisfied, he turned his attention back to Marinette and considered how to approach their walk again. He debated on whether it'd be appropriate to take her hand again when he remembered that she'd happily slid her hand back into his earlier. Given that, he had no problem doing the same, offering his hand out and smiling when she graciously took it.

"I don't have a lot of experience with music myself," she admitted as they continued walking. "I just know a lot of people who are into music." She paused, then glanced at him curiously. "Do you play the drums?"

"A little." It wasn't one of his favorites, but he could play it decently enough if he was in the mood.

"Well, a friend of mine plays the drums. He always wanted to be in a band, but couldn't find all the members he needed for it." She raised her free hand above her head. "Big guy, but kind of that looks can be deceiving type; he's a total softie. I bet he'd like you."

Luka was half-tempted to imply that she was trying to set him up with someone, but settled for joking, "If he doesn't accidentally step on me first."

Marinette gasped in offense, then pouted and pushed against him just enough to make him stumble. "You are not that short!"

He laughed, quickly regaining his balance and giving a one-armed shrug. "To him, I'd probably seem like it."

"Still." She huffed. "You're not allowed to joke about that. I like your height."

That caught him off-guard, and he stumbled without Marinette giving him any sort of push. She was already holding his hand, so she helped steady him.

"Luka?" she called with concern.

He looked up at her, blurting out immediately, "You mean it?"

She blushed at his directness. "Y-yes? Why, did you not expect me to?"

"It's not like that. I know you enough by now, but—" He frowned, eyes darting around as he struggled to find a way to explain how he felt.

She smiled sympathetically, gently tugging on his hand to bring him back to reality. He let her, and they continued walking down the path.

"Since I'm a fashion designer, I deal with models all the time," she began, "because they're always the one who have to wear the clothes I make. They're basically the spitting image of perfection: tall, hair that never tangles, camera-ready smile, the works. It's not like they're all bad, but I know they're not all angels either. I'm polite enough to all of them since it's my job, but I still think things that I just never say out loud." She glanced up at the sky, seeming to reminisce. "My parents always raised me not to judge people based on appearance or where they came from, and to judge them based on how they act instead. I've always believed in and followed that." She laughed, adding, "I mean, that's kind of standard, isn't it? It's one of those things that just sounds right."

He looked at nothing else but her as she talked, anticipation building in his chest while he wondered what she was leading up to.

She paused for a minute, rubbing her face with her free hand while she gathered her words. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter but no less genuine.

"I... guess I cheat in a way," she admitted. "Because I do judge people on appearances, but only the appearance I've built up in my head after I really got to really know them. There are some really stuck-up models that I can't stand, and I think they're some of the ugliest people in the world, but then there are friends I have who I've heard people snidely whisper about behind their backs, and then I don't get it because I look at my friends and think they should be the ones modeling my clothes instead."

His gaze briefly flickered down to the clothes he was wearing, then up to the scenery around them. He didn't know exactly where they were, but they'd apparently left all of the buildings behind at some point, now standing near the center of a large area with small Christmas trees all around it. The lights were all gentle shades of white and yellow, strung around everywhere to the point where it was almost too bright for him to handle. Still, it brought a sense of calm to the atmosphere, with the bonus effect of making Marinette almost seem to glow.

She brought them to a stop, her hand releasing his and then raising up to rest on the top of his head. He looked up at her, noting how she wasn't condescending to him, but rather admiring him.

"Maybe it's a visual thing for me, because I see patterns and design wherever I go," she supposed, "but no matter what it is, it doesn't make it any less true." Her gaze turned soft, smile widening. "I meant what I said during movie night, Luka. I think you're really unique, and only in all of the best ways. I guess it's a little weird to say that I like your height, but... it's a part of you, so I like it. Too many people carry the traits or posture or designs of other people because they're not comfortable with themselves, but you are. You're 100% Luka and it's obvious in everything you do. You carry everything about yourself like it's really yours. I love that." Apparently, she couldn't make eye contact anymore and averted his gaze, dropping her hand from his head but remained smiling. "P-plus, your size is perfect for hugging, or maybe that's just me?"

"...It's... it's not," Luka replied, his voice was perhaps too quiet for her to make out; judging from how she blushed though, she must've heard it or at least felt it in his reaction.

She was too much, and his heart was doing flips in his chest. It wasn't like being around the other elves where they were playing a bunch of songs that didn't go together; with Marinette, it was only one song, and it was loud without being piercing, blocking out everything else so all he could hear was her. It occurred to him belatedly how they could've not met so easily had he just not delivered presents to her house, or left before she'd seen him, and the thought was painful. Maybe it was the high-intensity emotions that always came with Christmas speeding things up, or maybe it was just her being as amazing as she was, or maybe it was a combination of both.

It didn't matter to him either way. He was in love with her, and he was certain of it. Factor that in with the lighting and mood, and he knew the moment was perfect.

He dug his hand back into the pocket, the box still comfortably waiting there. Gripping it gently, he looked up and called out, "Marinette?"

She tilted her head at him, then glanced at his hand in his pocket, curiosity joining with the fondness in her expression. He pulled the present from his pocket and held it out to her, opening his hand fully to let it rest in his palm.

She stiffened in surprise, blinking a few times before pointing at the little box. "For me?"

He nodded, smiling because of course it was for her; not because she was the only one there, but because the gift was specifically designed with her in mind.

Her hand raised, hesitated, then slowly came down to rest on the box. Luka brought his hand up and set it down over hers, briefly making eye contact as he insisted gently, "I couldn't ask you why without ruining the surprise, so just know that you don't have to wear them if you can't, or even if you just don't want to, okay?"

Her brows arched up in surprise, but she nodded, now seeming even more curious than before. He let his hand drop back to his side so she could properly take the box, and she turned it around a few times to really take in the gift. She even smiled at him, as if to thank him preemptively for the present.

He found himself holding his breath, trying not to hope or set any expectations and reminding himself that she might not like it.

Then, the lid came off, and she immediately dropped it as she saw the contents of the box. Luka hurried and caught the lid before it hit the ground, his eyes darting up to search her expression, noting the wide eyes and parted lips.

Inside the box was a pair of rose gold earrings, shaped and with the pink flower he'd occasionally seen in the clothes she wore painted right in the center. Only able to stand there and wait for her to say something, he took the time to explain, "That flower always seemed special to you, so I... wanted to get you a different way of wearing it." He gestured to it, grinning sheepishly at her. "I know it might not be perfect; I had to draw it when I got home and then pass it to one of the jewelers to make. We're allowed to ask other elves for specific gifts and it's considered impolite for them to ask questions, so they just got right to work." He turned his hand up to look at his gloved palm, chuckling as he added, "I felt bad making them do all the work when you always put your whole heart into making me gifts, so I tried to help where I could even if I wasn't great at it."

She gasped, finally tearing her gaze away from the gift to look at him. "Y-you did?" she asked breathlessly. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

"A little, but—" He stopped when she grabbed the edge of his glove with her free hand, pulling it off and putting it in her pocket so she could inspect his hand and fingertips; she’d even removed her glove to be as precise as possible. He smiled like a fool, continuing, "I'm alright now. It healed up pretty quickly, and I was just happy that I could do a little bit of the work."

Despite him saying that he was okay, she didn't release his hand. Her eyes were misty, her hand turning his palm back down so she could grab his hand by its fingers. She took a step towards him, closing a distance that was already lovingly close, then leaned forward and brought his hand so close to her face that she could've kissed it if she made the effort to.

She exhaled, and he blushed at her warm breath against his fingers. After a few seconds of relaxed silence, she told him, "I ended up having to give up my old earrings. There... wasn't as much use for them anymore." She shut her eyes, clearly overwhelmed. "But I couldn't just replace them; they had too many memories to replace with any old earrings. My friends offered to buy me new ones a long time ago since it seemed like a shame to not have earrings while my ears were still pierced, but I always rejected them."

She stared at him meaningfully. He swallowed.

"Thank you, Luka," she whispered. "I-I love them. They're perfect. Of course I'll wear them."

His heart leaped in his chest. "Really?"

She nodded eagerly. Though, despite saying that, neither of them moved from their positions, Marinette still holding his hand in hers and him never pulling away from it. They were in a trance of sorts, lost in each other's gaze and the intensity of the moment.

Then, Marinette dropped his hand, though only to take the one that still held the lid of the box. She guided it to her other hand, Luka sliding the lid back on to keep the earrings protected.

Neither of them knew who moved first. Someone must've had to, or maybe it was both of them, but the result was that they were suddenly kissing each other, with Luka raised up on his tip toes and Marinette leaned down to meet him halfway. She had the present clutched delicately against her chest, her other arm snaking around his waist while he had his hands on her shoulders.

He never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined being able to kiss her, yet they were there and the lingering taste of hot chocolate and marshmallows from her lips confirmed that it was real. As close as they were and for as long as it was, he realized that she had a strong scent, like she'd made sure to shower, dry, and dress for the cold weather just before he'd gotten there.

It only made him kiss her more, and she responded just as fervently. It was as if they'd both wanted it for the longest time and didn't think they'd get it, now taking advantage of the opportunity as much as possible.

Luka shuddered as he felt Marinette's hand move slowly up his back. He responded eagerly, slipping his hands past her shoulders so he could wrap his arms around her neck. She hummed contentedly, her hand leaving his back so she could slip her fingers underneath his beanie, her nails briefly tracing along the outside of his ear. He whined into the kiss, though certainly not protesting, then relaxed as her fingers went further to run themselves through his hair.

He was cherishing the feeling, far too happy to care about anything else, when the kiss suddenly broke with a soft click, followed by Marinette gasping.

"A-ah, I... I'm sorry!"

He opened his eyes, blinking dazedly at her. He worried briefly that she was apologizing for kissing him, but then he felt the beanie being pulled back over one of his ears; he could only guess it'd shifted when her hand drew further back into his hair. His head and heart were pounding from the thrill of the kiss, and he noticed that Marinette's cheeks were flushed red even as she looked around to make sure there hadn't been anyone around to see him.

"M...marinette," he managed, still a little out of breath.

She met his gaze, her blush reddening further. She brought her free hand to her face, her lips pressed together in contemplation before turning into a nervous yet silly smile. "I-I guess... we should go home and talk?"

He could only nod. Their conversations had already been personal, but it only made sense to talk about that back at her house, especially because he was still waiting for his brain to start working again.

Marinette turned away, paused, then looked back at him and shyly extended her hand out, her other hand still holding his gift to her chest. He reached out, paused, then switched his gloves around and took the hand offered to him with his ungloved one so they could start the walk back.

Naturally, they held hands the whole way.

—————

Luka sat back on the couch, taking a deep breath as he waited for Marinette to finish making hot chocolate. He'd offered to help, but she'd insisted that he sit and relax for a while.

"B-besides, your smile is really distracting."

He grinned to himself, reaching up and removing the beanie from his head so he could admire it. They'd ditched their gloves and shoes earlier for the sake of comfort, so he could properly feel along the fabric and appreciate Marinette's talent. He knew they had a serious talk coming up, but he couldn't help feeling as calm and content as he did, even sighing in delight at the memory of their kiss.

He looked over as he heard footsteps and saw Marinette emerge from the kitchen, two cups of hot chocolate in her hands. As she headed towards him, he noticed a shine on her ear caused by caught light from the Christmas tree, his breath briefly catching as he realized what it meant.

She was really wearing the earrings.

She sat down on the couch slowly so as to not spill the drinks, then offered him one. He gratefully took it with one hand and set the beanie onto the table with the other, positively beaming at the sight of her earrings. His big smile must've made her grow sheepish, what with the way she averted her gaze, so he cupped both hands around his cup to steady himself with the intense heat.

It didn't take long for Marinette to speak, "So, what do we do now? I really like you, Luka, but... I mean..." She looked over at him, more easily maintaining eye contact this time. "Have you ever heard of a relationship between a human and an elf?"

He racked his brain, trying to think of anything even close to that, but came up empty. "No. Maybe it happened a long time ago, but I guess elves don't interact with humans enough. I just got lucky because I was helping Santa out." He stared into the hot chocolate, watching the marshmallows idly float around. "And I can't - I wouldn't - ask you to give up your life for me."

"I wouldn't ask you to give up yours either!" she countered. "I know you don't have it as nice, but it's still uprooting your entire life. You'd still have to learn how to live here and constantly hide your ears."

"I wouldn't mind doing any of that," he argued. When she stared at him in surprise, he added, "But I wouldn't want you to have to deal with that."

"What?" She tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You having to teach me everything," he explained, "and supporting me until I'd figure out how to live like a human would. We'd have to think up a fake story for how we met if anyone asks, and I know you don't care about my height, but—"

"You've thought about this a lot," she said, though fondly rather than accusingly.

He shrugged, taking a larger sip of his drink and swallowing one of the marshmallows in the process. "It was the only thing I could think about on the way back."

It was a half-truth; he'd been wondering about it for a while, even before they'd kissed. There was a part of him that'd fantasized about staying with her, even if it was strictly friendly on her end, and the requirements were similar regardless.

Marinette giggled. "You're too sweet." Despite her happy tone, she was frowning and staring off at the wall not even a minute later. "What about rules?"

"Rules?" he echoed.

"Of the North Pole. Are there... rules to elves deciding they want to leave?"

"I—" He paused to think. "...probably not, but only because we can't really leave in the first place."

"Because it's the North Pole," she supplied.

"Yeah."

Troubled, Marinette looked down at her cup, slowly moving it in a circle to watch the liquid swirl around. She took a thoughtful sip, then sighed, admitting softly, "I know you were worried, but... I wouldn't have minded dealing with all that."

"Huh? You—" He cut himself off, remembering what he'd said earlier about not wanting her to deal with all the problems that came with staying with her. He still didn't want to trouble her, but it made him happy knowing that she'd accept him even with all the troubles that came with it. "...Thank you." Then, recalling that he too had something he hadn't properly responded to, he told her fondly, "I really like you too, Marinette."

He knew that she already knew that, but he could tell that the words filled her with emotions regardless. She gripped her pants with her free hand, taking a shaky breath, then seemed to consider finishing off her hot chocolate before simply setting it down on the table.

"I guess we're both bad at being selfish," she admitted.

He could only nod. At the very least, he couldn't stay now without having said good-bye to his limited family. He tried to imagine explaining the situation to them, but his sister would probably call him a fool for bothering coming back in the first place and not prioritizing his happiness, whereas his mother would roll her eyes and chide him for not stealing a reindeer to make it back to Marinette (how would it make it back without him anyway?).

It was his fourth year knowing Marinette, but their meetings were annual and he couldn't predict what could happen in her future. It may’ve not be against the rules for him to stay, but more because it hadn't been something anyone had really thought of; not technically against the rules, but not allowed either.

He eventually settled on saying, "I wish I could stay," knowing that said enough without saying much at all. He set his hot chocolate down beside hers, staring at the two cups before looking over at Marinette. "I can't ask you to..." He stopped short. "Marinette, if you find someone else—"

A flash of hurt flickered across her expression. "Luka."

He winced, but she took his arm before he could respond, pulling and guiding him onto her lap. She took his face in her hands, then brought him in for a quick kiss.

The hot chocolate tasted so much better from her lips.

She held the kiss for a few fleeting seconds before breaking away, promptly pouting at him. "I could say the same thing to you."

He felt the same flash of hurt that she had, immediately regretting what he'd blurted out. "I'm sorry."

"No, I know you just..." She stroked his face with a thumb, smiling sadly. "I know you care. That's what I love about you. I get that you don't want me waiting on a yearly meeting for my—" She blushed, dropping her gaze. "—boyfriend."

He broke out of the sad mood enough to blush as well.

Marinette shook her head, quickly getting back on track. "But I want you, okay? I'll wait, and maybe we'll figure something out eventually, but—well—" She took his hands in hers, peeking up at him shyly. "I can't imagine not kissing you when you come back next year."

Getting emotional himself, Luka let out a breathy chuckle. "I can't imagine breaking up with you when we just got together."

She nodded vigorously in agreement, arms raising for a hug that he immediately accepted. They squeezed each other, their remaining time suddenly seeming so short.

"I'll do whatever I can, Marinette," he told her. "I want more of this; more than just Christmas."

"If you can make it happen, it’ll happen?" she asked softly, echoing their first meeting together.

He smiled. "Yeah."

Once they’d properly cherished the moment, she placed her hands on his shoulders. He obeyed the wordless order by pulling away, but she kept him firmly in her lap.

"For now, there's still some time left," she reminded him, bringing a hand back up to his face. Brushing the back of her fingers along his cheek, she added, "I don't know how much I'll need from you to hold me over for a year."

Her voice was still sad, but there was a playfulness there that made him feel like he could smile more genuinely. He leaned in, reflecting her earlier actions by taking her face in his hands. "I planned on giving you everything anyway, Marinette."

Hours later, he'd leave for the sleigh with her love in his heart and a bittersweet smile shaped by kiss-bruised lips.

~ ∘˚˳°✧°˳˚∘ ~

Luka spent a year looking for answers and ultimately found nothing. He'd searched for everything he and Marinette had talked about - an elf having a relationship with a human, and any rules on elves leaving - but there weren't any records about such things. He wondered if maybe a relationship between an elf and a human had happened, but no record had been made or it'd been purposefully kept under wraps. He also figured he might've been overthinking it, as it was like every relationship between elves were carefully cataloged; it wouldn't have been fair to the ones who chose not to get together with anyone at all. As for rules, he couldn't find any; he knew his mom would've known all the rules since you have to know them to break them, but she'd never heard of a rule saying that elves specifically couldn't leave. Still, Luka imagined it was an unspoken rule, and he was also the best instrument-making elf the workshop had, so would they really be willing to part with him anyway?

He wasn't sure. The days leading up to Christmas were chaos while he searched further for anything confirming that he could leave and be with Marinette. Even his sister and mother had been acting strange, though he knew he hadn't told them anything about Marinette.

Still, they'd hugged him before he'd gotten on the sleigh with Santa.

The ride around the world felt both long and short at the same time; short because he was dreading telling Marinette that he hadn't found anything useful, and long because Santa was taking a different route. The latter was something Santa did every year, but it was particularly strange this time around.

Luka used the MP3 player Marinette had given him to pass the time while he gathered his thoughts. He supposed that no one could technically do anything if he just chose not to go back; he was important, but certainly not needed. It was selfish, but it was also very in-character for someone who was "Anarka's son" and he was living a life he never asked for otherwise.

Of course, he also had no way of contacting Marinette from the North Pole, and thus no way to ask her if that would really be okay. What if someone came back to look for him and tangled her up in his troubles? He'd hate that more than only getting to visit her once a year.

He wasn't any closer to coming to a conclusion by the time they got to Marinette's house, and he quickly realized that it was their last stop of the whole trip.

Luka glanced at Santa with a raised brow, then down at the roof.

He could hear the shrug in Santa's response, "Might as well save the best for last, hm?" With a pat on the back so forceful that it nearly knocked Luka off the sled, he added quickly, "Good luck, Luka!"

Luka mentally dismissed the idea of questioning it, his mind already having too many thoughts to deal with. He got the sack of presents as always, then descended down from the roof and through the window, climbing in with care.

Marinette had rearranged the tree and decorations, as always, though Marinette herself was nowhere to be found. He knew he was technically late due to the different route, so perhaps she'd gone off to occupy herself until he arrived? Hoping that was the case, he walked over to the tree and knelt down, setting the sack to his side like always. Once he'd opened it up, he reached inside to grab the first present.

His fingers touched nothing.

He stiffened in shock, then tried again, outstretching his arm as far as it would go. Maybe the sack was just messing with him?

Yet, he still couldn't find a single present, and patting at the sack - in hindsight, he probably should've done in the first place - revealed that there was definitely nothing inside. He didn't understand; why would Marinette not get him any gifts, and why would they stop there in the first place if there wasn't?

His thoughts were cut off as he heard a sharp gasp from behind him. He shot up - half in surprise, half in excitement at the voice's familiarity - and spun around to see Marinette standing there. She was dressed in some mix of casual and nightwear while her hands were clasped over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at him.

He blinked, thoroughly confused at the reaction, then searched nearby to see if maybe something was wrong. He couldn't see anything off, though the sack had apparently made itself scarce while he wasn't looking.

Regaining some of her composure, Marinette moved one hand away from her mouth and silently pointed to her back. He tried to look at his back over his shoulder, but when that failed, he reached behind himself and blindly moved his hand around.

He jumped a bit when he felt something that definitely wasn't fabric. He struggled to grab hold of it, as it had apparently been stuck to the fabric somehow, but he eventually managed to snag a corner and slowly peel it off.

He held it out in front of himself, needing to rotate and flip it in order to properly read what it said.

His heart skipped a beat.

To Marinette, From Santa

He glanced up at Marinette, his mouth agape, and was now able to see the beaming smile on her face. She couldn't hold back anymore, rushing towards him, and he quickly threw the note aside so he could spread his arms out for her. She hugged him tight, spinning him around before leaning down to bury her face in his shoulder.

"I asked for you this year," she whispered.

Suddenly, everything made sense. Santa knew that he'd wanted to leave. His family knew because they'd been told. Marinette hadn't received any other presents because she'd wanted nothing else but him.

He shook, overwhelmed with emotion. How was she the solution to everything for him, all the time?

Marinette pulled away from the hug after a solid minute, though that still wasn't long enough for him. She blushed, embarrassed as she explained, "S-sorry that I look like this, by the way. We're b-boyfriend and girlfriend, so I thought that maybe I should dress up, but then I thought that it might be romantic if I dressed up like I did when we first met, or like I did when we watched our first movie together, but then I heard the window and—"

"Marinette..."

She paused to look at him attentively, stopping her talking just long enough for him to reach up and pulled her down to his level. He kissed her, slowly at first and then more greedily as he realized that he was finally with her for the whole year and not just Christmas. Marinette was surprised at first, but it didn't take her long to start kissing him back.

Their height difference seemed so small when they were kissing, and once their legs started getting tired, they simply moved to the couch to continue. They both knew there were serious things to think about, like fake backstories, different headwear to hide Luka's ears, and what their living situation was going to be like...

But for now, it was enough for them to just enjoy the moment.

#type: story #story: multi chapter #event: Christmas #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Elf Luka Couffaine #Short Luka Couffaine #((Sit in for the long haul on this one because it's over 10000 words.))#((Not a ''triple threat'' like last year but it's longer than all of them combined so--))#((yeah I wasn't gonna do another one lol.))#((I know I left the original open-ended but it bothered me that I didn't give these two a resolution~))#((Enjoy your human/elf whirlwind romance.))#Pro LukaMari #Lukanette

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wonderland-in-bloom · 4 years

Text

suspicions ?!

[savanaclaw boys x big sister of jack!reader]

@edgymcmytrash asked: Oo good luck with all the requests! Is it okay if i request a scenario where a pretty well known savanaclaw girl student turns out to be jack's older sister. (Like how would the others react, would they figure it out cuz she just started hanging out with him a lot?) I kinda want you to feel free to come up with anything you want with the scenario since it could be fun to have a bit of freedom writing, though if you want me to detail it more feel free to say so.

aaa thank you so much!!! i’ve been taking smol breaks here and there lol sorry if i don’t update as frequently as usual guys! and incoming requests in my inbox will be deleted as it does say requests are closed, sorry!!! hope y’alls enjoy this, i might write something with just the bois tomorrow who knows :))

♡

A group of savanaclaw students huddled together, eyeing their junior, jack howl. currently situated in the middle of the savanaclaw magift field, they all exchanged glances with each other, and somehow understood what each other thought about with just their eyes. ruggie noticed this strange little circle. “oi leona-san, check that out.” he pointed out to his senior who was lounging around the bleachers. leona groaned but turned his head anyways. “what a bunch of idiots. what the hell are they doing there?”

curiosity got the best of the savanaclaw dorm leader and he started marching to the group of students huddled up. “oi. what the hell are you losers doing?” he’d expect them or at least one of them to flinch like they normally do, but this time, they just turned to leona and made a shushing motion with their fingers. “what?! how dare you-” one of the students pulled leona and made him join in their little huddle. ruggie was a little curious too so he managed to squeeze himself inside to hear what they were talking about. “what is the meaning of this?! seriously!” one of the students shushed leona. “senpai...have you ever noticed how close (y/n)-chan has become with jack ever since he enrolled here?” now that they mentioned it, leona thought of one scene he saw the other day. it was right after alchemy class and he was about to head to the fields before he saw jack and (y/n) talking to each other before (y/n) gave jack a pat on his head, and his tail wagged non-stop.

“what do you think they’re a thing?” ruggie asked the group of students. “EXACTLY! senpai do you not see it too?” ruggie put a finger on his chin, trying to recall the moments he saw with the two. he had to agree that the two were very close...but he had a bit of trouble remembering jack and (y/n) acting like a couple. “last week, i saw the two go to mostro lounge together!” one student mentioned. “really?! i saw them go somewhere after magift practice together!” another added. “i think (y/n)-chan fell during practice and he helped carry her to the infirmary!” now the students were just whispering among themselves. ruggie held a blank expression. there was no way you were dating jack. meanwhile, leona was slowly starting to get convinced. you didn’t talk to him as much anymore as when jack didn’t enroll into night raven college yet. “maybe you’re right...” leona muttered to himself.

“right about what?” all the students including ruggie screamed when they heard the familiar voice behind them. “(Y/N)-CHAN!!!” good thing they ended the conversation with silence and leona whispering something barely audible. who would’ve guessed, jack was standing beside her, confirming their suspicions once more. “why the hell are you all out here dawdling instead of training for magift?! don’t we wanna beat royal sword academy’s ass?” you snapped your head to face leona. “and you! come on leona, just try to be a better leader.” he rolled his eyes. “alright alright. everyone start with warmups...or whatever.” leona shrugged, causing you to growl and elbow his arm. “come on! be responsible!” he sighed. being responsible was too tiring. “you want to watch your ass beat by some spoiled, prince-y princes?” you threatened him, putting your hand on your hips. “alright fine!” leona’s voice boomed.

“we’ll be starting with warmups that requires partners. so everyone pair up!” the group of students in the huddle, including ruggie, knew what leona was trying to do. he wanted to see who you would choose and if you did choose jack, what their interactions would be like. leona still got the feelings and the vibes that the two of you are dating...or at least becoming closer. but ruggie...had different vibes. of course you paired up with jack and leona paired up with ruggie. this pained him slightly as you used to always pair up with leona. you’d be nicer to him, even compliment and praise him if he did something well. this was why he concluded you were dating jack. either that or he was just jealous you didn’t spoil him with as much attention as you used to. throughout the whole warmup activity, leona was just eyeing the two of you, along with several other students. ruggie tried his best to rationalize this situation.

although you didn’t show him and leona as much attention anymore, he got the feeling that you treated jack the same way you treated leona and himself. based on his knowledge, he knew you didn’t have a crush on him or leona, and you treated other savanaclaw students similarly. ruggie thought that you even gave off older-sibling-type of vibes. maybe that was it. maybe you and jack were related...“alright time for the main event! i got the teams sorted out!” of course leona placed you and jack together. he was still trying to crack this mystery. ruggie was just standing on the sidelines with a whistle to start and end the game, as he was also in charge of keeping track of everyone’s progress. and of course pay attention to you and jack. that’s basically what all the savanaclaw students were thinking at the moment. head empty, no thoughts, just trying to solve the mystery whether you and jack were dating.

the high-pitched whistle pierced the air as the game officially started. three students teamed up to try and aim for you and see what jack would do. when you were on your broom midair, standing on top of it with the disk in your hands, they purposely shot the broom to make you topple over and fall. leona’s eyes widened and zoomed on his broom (even if he was on the opposite team). he knew what those three students did and glared daggers at them while speeding for you. he was curious, but he wouldn’t use means that could’ve hurt you. ruggie dropped all his things and started running to the field. jack also positioned himself to where he thought you would fall so he could’ve caught you in his hands. you closed your eyes, preparing for the impact but instead you felt strong arms catch you. “hmph, who’s not taking it seriously now?”

your eyes fluttered open to see green eyes staring back at you. “leona...” he landed safely on the ground and placed you down. “(y/n)-chan! are you okay?” ruggie waved as he was still running to you. “nee-chan!” all of the savanaclaw students’ paused as their ears twitched. “nee..chan..?” you smiled and patted jack on the head. “don’t worry about me, i’m alright.” jack pouted. “but nee-chan...i don’t want anything happening to you, so of course i worry!” all of the students’ jaw dropped. so you two were siblings. ruggie was taken aback for a while before he started chuckling. so his predictions were right after all. “why are you all looking at me like that?” you asked all the boys in front of you as they looked like they all had just seen a ghost. “YOU TWO ARE SIBLINGS?!” they all (including leona) blurted out at the same time. “yes you idiots! what did you think we were?” you growled. “i don’t know?! dating!?” you facepalmed, and jack was just there like a confused, lost puppy. “how stupid can you all be?! did you all forget my last name?! (y/n) howl!? legit the same thing as jack’s! and besides i’m a wolf too! even our tail and ears have similar colors!” they all were quiet. “jeez you all are such idiots!”

and that day, all the savanaclaw boys (excluding jack and ruggie) came back to their rooms with bumps on their heads and bruises from your...lesson. they also probably had deaf ears after listening to you ramble and scold them about misunderstanding a situation and how you and jack were siblings. all the students from the other dorms stared at all the savanaclaw students like they were crazy. “and i thought you were already ugly. now you’re just uglier with the bandage around your head.” vil commented as leona fiddled with the bandage. “shut up.” he hissed. “serves you right, kingscholar.” you slapped the back of his head, causing him to groan in pain. “okay! okay! i’m sorry! jeez.”

“this is why (y/n) gave me big sister vibes. shishishishishi.”

♡

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #night raven college #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland oneshots #savanaclaw #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar oneshot #ruggie bucchi #ruggie bucchi x reader #ruggie bucchi oneshot #jack howl #jack howl x reader #jack howl oneshot #savanaclaw boys #savanaclaw trio

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queer-disabled-activist · 3 years

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Masterlist sex mentions/references in Journey's/Steve Perry and Neal Schon's songs

This is something I've been thinking about doing for a while now, and now I've finally did it! Journey songs comes on shuffle as they do and I discovered a lot of songs that refrenced sex somehow and I thought to myself "how many of these do they have??" because it just felt like they kept coming.

This list will focus on Steve Perry's time with the band from Infinity to Trial By Fire, his solo work and Neal Schon's first solo album. You will notice that Frontiers isn't on this list, well that is because there's no sex references on Frontiers whatsoever. The list will go in cronologial order and I will mention some key lyrics to why these songs are naughty. Steve Perry will get hoe points for the songs he has written all by himself without input. As you will notice "Departure" is the sluttiest album of them all. Also here’s a playlist of all the songs available on spotify (X) For the songs that aren’t available on spotify I’ve added a youtube link in the title. Hope you'll enjoy!

Infinity

- “Feeling That Way” - This is kinda semi, but it still goes. Key lyrics:

“A new road's waiting

You touched my life, whoa

Soft and warm on a summer's night

You're the only one, I told you

The only one I love

The lovely one (lovely one)

I'm thinking of”

- "Anytime" This is also kinda semi, but this list will get naugthier as we go along. Key lyrics:

“Ooh, ooh anytime that you want me Ooh, ooh anytime that you want me Ooh, ooh anytime that you want me to Ooh, ooh anytime that you need me"

- "La Do Da" - Key lyrics

"Whey you touch me sweet so fine I feel it, I feel it When your body's close to mine"

Evolution

- "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" Steve Perry wrote this alone so he's getting his 1st hoe point. This is probably the most obvious track you can think of when it comes to sex references. Key lyrics:

“When I'm alone all by myself You're out with someone else Lovin', touchin', squeezin' each other"

- "When You're Alone (It ain't easy) This song mostly hint at teasing, but teasing is also somewhat of a sex reference. - Key lyrics:

“When you're alone it ain't easy, You're like a dog that roams. Ain't got no girl to tease me, Ain't got nobody home."

- "Lovin' You is Easy" Key lyrics:

"Come on girl, give me that good lovin', oh baby Come on girl, keep the motor hummin, oh, woh, baby".

- "Just The Same Way" Key lyrics:

“Oh, no, you should be holdin' on to him girl. Oh, yeah just like, just like you want to do. Oh, no, just love and squeeze him girl. Oh, yeah just love and squeeze him yeah."

Departure

- "Any Way You Want It" - This is also kind of an obvious one, it's basically in the title. Key lyrics:

"Ooh, all night, all night Oh, every night So hold tight, hold tight Ooh baby, hold tight"

- "Walks Like A Lady" - Steve Perry wrote this song all by himself and is now up to his 2nd hoe points. Key lyrics:

“She moves like a lady When I'm in her arms She loves like a lady Lovin' all night long"

- "Where Were You" - This is the most lyrical graphic one of some sorts and honestly the theme makes me a bit uncomfortable. It's describing the girl he's dating as a hoe and that if she was about to leave him he can just hook up with her sister anyway. The whole song is basically a key lyric, but I'll go with the second verse. Key lyric:

"I know where, baby You been running around loose on the side Cause I know where, little lady You been running around with something to hide I don't mind, darling, if you're feeling fancy and free, yeah I don't mind, little baby Because your sister's looking real good to me"

- "Line Of Fire" - This is just a semi sexual reference, very mild, but I decided to keep it in. Key lyric:

“He said, "Now Suzi, don't you lie. Did Stevie, did he catch you with another guy?""

- "Stay Awhile" Steve Perry gets a hope point for this one, now he has 3. Key lyric:

"I'd go anywhere to touch you. I'd do anything you want me to,"

- "Homemade Love" - This song is a song full of sexual references packed into cooking. This is one of the few songs were Smitty/Steve and Neal all has writing credits, Smitty is not really known for his writing credits, so that is cool. Key lyrics:

"I need a jelly roll sweetie. Now, spread it oh spread it on me, babe. Feels so good, on the top."

Captured

- "Dixie Highway" - This is also a song filled with sexual references that they've packed in to be about a highway. A fun fact, this is the second song were Steve Perry has namedropped himself, the first is "Line Of Fire". Stevie is obviously him. Key Lyrics:

“I want to hold on you, come with you, love with you all the night"

"Escape"

From Jon Cain's entering the sex refrences instantly went down, on Escape there is only one.

- "Stone In Love" - Key lyrics:

"She pulled me down, ooh, and in clover We'd go around, yeah In the heat with a blue jean girl"

"Raised On Radio"

- "Positive Touch" - Key lyrics:

"She (she's) has got the positive touch (touch) She's bringing love back to me, yeah, back to me. I said-- She, (she's) to me means so much (much) She's saving it all for me, yeah"

- "Suzanne" - This is a semi reference, but since the list really dries up bc of Jon Cain I left it in anyway. Key lyrics:

"You're making love on the silver screen I want you more than you will ever know Temptation...Infatuation"

"Trial By Fire"

- "Baby I'm Leaving You" - This is very, very semi. Key lyric:

“Tell me girl it ain't true The rumors that I hear about you About all the boys you knew before Who come and go right out your door"

- "I Can See It In Your Eyes" - The only song where Journey has mentioned the word sexy ever. Key lyric:

“No you..Make me mad...The way you cat around With your lips, your legs And all your sexy ways Do you got another lover now"

"Street Talk" - Steve Perry

"I Believe" - key lyric

"You want it too - Oh you want it You'll know the way - Know the way."

"Go Away" - a hoe reference. Key lyrics:

"I'm cruisin' many So are you That's the way we both should do"

"Strung Out" - I find this song uncomfortable. I have mentioned that Steve Perry has a lot of solo songs where he refrences women as something that should belong to him, I don't like it at all. This is a semi sex reference packed in in lovin'. Key lyrics:

"They're sayin' that he's never been good to you And he's always hurt and let you down, If what you need is good lovin', I'll be around"

"Harmony" - Steve Perry wrote this all on his one and is now up to 4 hoe points. This is very semi. Key lyric: "Ooh yeah special kind of love Ooh yeah la la la la"

- “My My My” - This is a bonus track on Street Talk and isn’t available on streaming services, so I simply forgot it. This is a demo from Steve’s Alien Project days and it’s yes you probably guessed it; it’s a sex song. Key lyrics:

“M-m-m-m, my, my yeah

M-m-m-m, my, my yeah

I've got somethin' for you, yeah

You've got somethin' for me, oh

Let's put 'em together, oh yeah, oh

Ooh, I want you to squeeze me

Come on and hold me

Oh, baby, love me!

M-m-m-m, my, my yeah

M-m-m-m, my, my yeah”

- “Makes No Difference” Another bonus track from Street Talk that isn’t available on streaming services. This is another demo from his Alien Project days and it’s yet another sex song of course. This man here he is very naughty indeed. Key lyrics:

“Theres a sweep right to the bone

And I love to feel you baby

I I I get excited, oo to be with you

C'mon baby, whoaa oo oh oh oh”

"For The Love Of Strange Medicine" - Steve Perry

Before going in to this I thought that FTLOSM would be an album full of sexual refrences because it has a lot of sexy melodies, and well that one song you know, but as it turns out it doesn't have a lot. It's like Steve Perry decided to put all the sexual references in one single song. There are som other semi ones though.

- "Donna Please" - Another song where he sings about women that should belong to him, no. Key lyric: "Wanting you Touching you" and "If he wants you tonight Will you tell him no"

"Listen To Your Heart" - This is also a bit semi, but it needs to be here. Key lyric: "I was lovin' you baby You were lovin' me Every word I said Every word is true I was on the inside But he was lovin' you" and "You felt so good"

- "Can't Stop" - The song we all knew would be here. This entire song is a sex song and it's no going around it. In all honesty the entire song is a key lyric, but lets go with this part:

"(Can't stop) Your magical potion (Can't stop) The feel of your ocean (Whoa, whoa) Yes, I'm in shadows Talk real nice (nice) You know, just a little bit of that, uh Sugar and spice Some cutchie-coo, ooh"

"Greatest Hits + 5 Unreleased" - Steve Perry

- "Against The Wall" -Steve Perry is in a relationship, but he really wants to cheat like the hoe he is. Key lyric: (updated)

“Believe me I want you, I'd like to

More than I show

But I belong to somebody else, baby, please

“Walk out that door, yeah, oh

Before it's too late, listen

In the middle of your touch

In the middle where your heat starts rising

Oh, girl, I want you so bad”

- Once In A Lifetime, Girl" - This is also somewhat of a semi reference. Key lyric: "Baby, so come on Let's do it again More than a lover You're more than a friend"

"Traces" - Steve Perry

"No Erasin'" He wrote this himself and is now up to 5 hoe points. Maybe this is a surprising choice, but I found something here. Key lyrics:

“You laughed with me and sheltered me and Turned me on"

"Call On Me" - very semi, but it still goes. 6 hoe points. Key lyric: "If you want loving And you're alone Stay, you no lonely Pick up the phone

- "Could We Be Something Again" - 7 hoe points, that is Steve Perry's score for songs with sexual references he has written alone. Key lyric: "Oh, do you wanna, do you wanna? Yah-yah Do you want a little? Yah-yah, yah-yah Do you wanna love again, baby?"

- "Late Nite" - Neal Schon

- "Rain's Comin' Down" When you listen to this song it is very obvious what it is about. Key lyric: "When the rain's comin' down, I wanna make love When the rain's comin' down, gonna make you feel good now"

- "Softly" This is mostly a pure love song, but we need some pure love as well and it is very sweet, I adore this song. Key lyric: "When I hold you in my arms (Softly) When I hear you call my name (Softly) The tears fall, the tears fall like gentle rain (Softly) Softly in the morning (Softly) You touch me and I feel so right"

#journey band #steve perry #neal schon #gregg rolie #aynsley dunbar #steve smith #ross valory #jonathan cain #masterlist #tw sex mention #tw sex #ask to tw

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salandition · 4 years

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Dizzy

Leon/Male!Reader

Summary: When you stop making the room spin, an unsettling whistle leaves your lips and Leon slowly backs away from you as you keep stalking toward him- and all of a sudden he’s aware of the feeling you’ve been giving him the entire night. Something intoxicating that makes him feel like prey.

Warnings: Rated T. Consumption of alcohol, making out while inebriated, and sexual themes, but no smut. Just a lot of tension and dancing.

A/N:My first Leon fic! Hoo hoo! I wasn’t sure how I felt about making my first fic a male insert, and I juggled with the idea of making it gender neutral instead, but the narrative of a male reader fit better. Plus. I am... very gay for Leon, and I wanted to indulge. SO i hope you all don’t mind the assigned gender in this fic!

--- --- ---

Maybe it was the drinks. Maybe it was the atmosphere- the dancing, the bodies pressing against each other, the neon lighting flashing in the dark room, painting everyone's skin with its fantastical colors. Maybe it was the music that Leon could feel in his core as he was tossed around the crowd, from person to person, his hair sticking to his sweaty neck that glowed pink and blue.

But something was happening. There was a certain energy in the air, buzzing around the entire bar, and it lit Leon aflame, stumbling and falling as he tried to keep up with it. Keep up with you.

You felt untouchable. You looked ethereal- your body and your voice that swayed with the lyrics you sang on stage, guitar in your arms strumming chords that Leon felt vibrate through his spine. Your eyes that trailed him up and down-

Everything about you was so intoxicating that it might be dangerous .

Raihan was the one that suggested they go out tonight. ‘To loosen up,’ his friend had said. Leon didn’t think he needed to loosen up, he felt just fine, but spending a night out drinking and relaxing with friends didn’t sound like a bad idea. And Nessa had insisted that she ‘knew a place’. The perfect place, apparently.

That’s what led Leon underground in Spikemuth, to a bar he had no idea even existed; and at first, it was fine. The group sat at their private little booth in the corner because Leon had a reputation of being seen and ruining the vibe with his fans, not that anyone would admit that out loud (besides maybe Raihan). But this place was special. It was dark in the bar, the only light provided was from the neon lamps placed on bar tables, the rings that people wore, and the poles and stands that were on the stage in the back.

When Leon asked what the stage was for, Raihan said they liked to play music. It wasn’t much later after that when things started to turn.

The drinks the bar served were full of flavor. Citrusy and sweet, lulling you into a false sense of security that you weren’t really drinking that much alcohol. They seemed to glow as well, leaving your teeth a sticky color, which Leon had laughed at when he first saw it.

It didn’t seem as funny when it was used against him.

The champion had gone to the bar alone, ordering the next round of drinks for his table. He was feeling confident with the dark atmosphere and the fact that no one had noticed or pulled him aside yet. The confidence seemed to falter when the bartender asked him what he wanted, and he realized he didn’t know the names of their glowy-type sweet drinks, and it was too dark to read a menu. If a menu even existed.

That’s when someone had slipped behind him. He could feel someone’s chest lightly touching his back as they leaned over, placing a hand on the bar counter beside him. The champion bristled but didn’t say anything as he turned around, expecting it to be Raihan messing with him-

Instead, he met your eyes, and that’s when the fire in his belly started.

You didn’t meet his gaze. Your teeth were glowing, like his, and your lips were stained and smeared with purple as you listed several words he wasn’t familiar with to the bartender, and suddenly the man was working, his hands busy as he whipped up several drinks.

That’s when you looked down at Leon, and he felt like his throat was suddenly drier than it should be.

“Are you new?” You asked him quietly, only for Leon to hear, and Leon felt the need to suddenly shiver.

“Ah- I suppose it’s obvious, isn’t it?” He laughs lightly, joking at his clear inexperience with the bar, and your teeth disappear when you smile at him.

“Just a tad. I don’t mind lending you a hand, though. You should have a good time, this place can get overwhelming,” you lean a little closer, making Leon feel the heat radiating off your body, and it’s making him sweat, “if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Leon opens his mouth, but no words come out. Thankfully, he’s saved by the bartender, who places several different drinks on a tray and puts it on the counter. You smile again and push the tray toward him, and Leon looks at you in confusion before reaching back for his wallet.

You’re already close enough that you easily stop him by placing a warm hand on his arm. “It’s on me. Bring the drinks to your friends.” You lead his hand to the tray, and you finally take a step away from Leon, giving him room to breathe. Leon really shivers then by the sudden shift in temperature- he was suddenly much colder than before. “Have a good time, new boy,” you told him with a wink, and suddenly you disappeared as if you were never there at all.

Like a figment of his imagination.

Leon tried his best to shake it off. If you were real, you were certainly strange. The aura you carried and the way you talked to him-

No one ever talked to him like that.

But, again, he shakes it off. He brings the tray of drinks to his friends, all who holler and cheer when he returns. When Sonia asks what took him so long, he doesn’t know what to say, so he just hands her a drink instead.

Raihan gives him a look, and Leon ignores it.

Things start to fall back like they were before. Leon laughs, he jokes, he wrestles with Raihan. Ordinary things for a night out. And then, finally, people start to set up on the stage. Somehow it gets even darker in the club, but the light stands that surround the borders of the stage glow brighter.

You step onto the platform, electric bass in your hand, and you go right for the microphone in the center. Leon once again feels his throat dry up when he sees you, for reasons that he really can’t find the right words to explain.

Music starts to play, slow and sweet and alluring. Leon can’t help but ask because he can’t seem to tear his eyes away- “who is that?”

“Him? That’s ___,” Nessa replies, resting her head in her hand as she looks at the stage. Her body naturally sways to the beat. “Him and his band play here a lot. Not sure about the name of the band because they never really announce themselves. They don’t really have a schedule either. They just come up and play, and no one says anything. They’re really good, though.”

Hm.

The slow beat only lasts for so long. The bass players behind you and the drummer all start to amp up, and eventually, your voice comes through the speakers of the club. “It’s about time we livened things up, don’t you think?” The patrons of the clubs all woot and cheer, making you laugh. “Mm, I thought so. Alright. I want to see some of you pulling your best moves, then.”

You strum your guitar, and the mood changes.

Here I am, tied and bound,

Every night, feeling low,

Bad days come back whatever,

Raihan chuckles from beside Leon as his head starts to bob to the beat, and Sonia wiggles out of her seat. “We should get up and dance!” She suggests, and Nessa seems to agree as she leaves the booth.

Leon doesn’t want to dance, not really, but he’s basically torn from his seat and pulled into the crowd by his friends as they all begin to move with the beat. The lights on the stage begin to glow and change color, reflecting on the sea of people in waves, bouncing and sinking into sweaty skin as Leon keeps his eyes on you.

In the sun I bathe, in everyday light,

You draft me down for a split second tomorrow,

What am I supposed to do?

Somehow, your eyes find his. They stay on him, bore into him as you sing, even as Nessa twirls him around and laughs at how distracted he is.

I know you would make me happy,

Girl, I found my way out,

I found it at last now I’m sober

Oh-oo-oooo-

Your eyes practically shine as your head raises high,

Let’s go!

The bass guitars thrum loudly and everyone enjoys the rift, and Leon’s forced to tear his eyes away as he dances and laughs when Sonia nearly trips, falling into Raihan instead, and then he twirls her across the floor until she falls into Nessa’s arms and the two start to dance in sync together.

Leon distracts himself with the music. He tries to ignore the feeling of your eyes burning into him as the music continues, gets louder, vibrates through him just like your voice had done to him earlier. He lets himself enjoy the sweat and exhaustion that comes from dancing so much, the ache in his feet- he thrives in it.

You had told him to enjoy himself, hadn’t you?

His cheeks hurt from how much he was laughing and smiling, and he starts to forget about your purple-stained lips, but then you did something unexpected.

The songs you and your band made, easy to dance to, come to a quiet, and Leon had noticed how you removed your guitar and set it to the side. Music comes again as you walk up to the mic with a whistle, but the intense beat had him stopping in his steps to stare up at you. Slowly your hands went around the mic as you sing,

Woke up in the morning feelin’ cynical, typical,

Tryin’a rub the sleep out of my bloodshot eyes,

Did I just die? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

You smile as you take the mic away from the stand, but your eyes remain somewhat neutral and cold as you look out to the crowd.

I’ve been feelin’ self-destructive, but I love it,

I can’t help myself- your taste is so seductive,

Leon’s surprised when you hop off the stage, the line of the microphone following behind you as you twirl the wire between your fingers, but no one else seems to think it’s strange. Maybe you do it often. Naturally, people move out of your way as you continue to sing, but Leon finds himself frozen in place.

I’m feelin’...

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- on my mind, can’t rewind,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- all the time, that’s my life,

And you’re headed right for him.

Somehow, he felt like he should have predicted it from how your eyes bore into him as he swayed and danced to your voice. But now? Again he realizes he doesn’t feel like dancing, but you reach for his arm just like before and pull him toward you anyway, making him twirl with you, everyone’s eyes on the two of you.

He doesn’t see them, and neither do you. The two of you are too busy twirling, twirling, twirling.

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- on my mind, can’t rewind, you sing,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- all the time, that’s my life,

When you stop making the room spin, an unsettling whistle leaves your lips and Leon slowly backs away from you as you keep stalking toward him- and all of a sudden he’s aware of the feeling you’ve been giving him the entire night.

Something intoxicating that makes him feel like prey.

Frontin’ about my day, I’m feelin’ criminal, habitual,

I try to hide my pain behind a broken smile, so out of style,

Leon keeps backing up until his heel meets a surface- the stage. He backs up as far as he can against it, and you reach for him again, your hand smoothly running against his stubbled jaw as you move in close. Close enough that he can feel that same heat from before, the kind that makes him want to shiver.

Your hand holds his jaw, keeps him in place as your chest's touch and the microphone is the only thing keeping you away from his lips as you stare deep into his golden eyes.

I’ve been feelin’ self destructive, but I love it,

I can’t help myself, your taste is so seductive,

The tension is left unresolved as you pull on him again, away from the stage, and once again, you spin with him.

I’m feelin,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- on my mind, can’t rewind,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- all the time, that’s my life,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- on my mind, can’t rewind,

Dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy- all the time, that’s my life,

At the end of your chorus, you wink at him again and send him flying, twirling toward the crowd and right into Raihan’s lean, firm chest. You meander around the crowd some more as you sing, but after that, you eventually hop back on the stage to finish your song.

Leon, to put it simply, is out of breath, but you don’t look affected in the slightest. Maybe because it’s your job. Maybe because you're from another planet?

“Holy shit, man,” Raihan laughs from behind Leon as he grabs the Champion’s arms, twirling him once again, and Leon thinks he might just vomit if someone makes him spin like that one more time. “What the hell was that?”

The song isn’t over, but he can’t even hear it anymore as he’s swarmed by his friends. Nessa looks blown away. “We can’t take you anywhere, can we?” She laughs.

“Apparently not!”

“Har har,” Leon groans, a hand moving to clasp his sweaty forehead. “I think that’ll be enough dancing for me.” Behind him, he’s mildly aware of someone messing with his hair, and suddenly it feels a bit cooler as his hair is tied up into a ponytail, away from his neck and shoulders. Half his mind still intact, he reaches behind him, clasps a hand that feels like Raihan’s and squeezes it as a form of thanks- and then he’s stumbling away, back to his booth where he can catch his breath.

Time swirls in his head unsteadily, his head throbbing with the beat of drums and electronic noise. Leon still feels so hot- a heat in his belly that’s swirling and twirling and making him woozy. Resting in the booth he undoes a few buttons on his dress shirt, just wanting to cool down, but his tight pants keep him constricted and sweating.

Cool down. Leon just wants to cool down.

Blurry visions of purple lips and teeth cloud up his mind, and his pants are so tight, and a painfully unfamiliar and alluring voice still bounces in his skull. He hardly even notices when imaginary becomes reality as you eventually sit next to him in the booth, your hand on his thigh, and your chest pressed against his arms as you flash those bright teeth at him again. Weren’t you singing on stage? When did you leave? Where were his friends?

Are you really real?

He wants you to prove it to him.

Your laughter rings out, and suddenly you’re closer than before, and his disoriented mind hardly cares when your hands wander around his form. Purple lips press softly against his own, probably stained another hideously lovely color, but Leon’s so hot that it feels like a fever as his body moves to straddle you and he kisses you again. Again.

Something pulls on the loose strands of hair spilling out of his ponytail, and he moans, and then his hair is pulled once more- harder- and there’s a tongue in his mouth that tastes like razzberries.

Are you real?

Your lips trail against his jaw, hands holding his hips firmly- when did you get under his shirt? Leon can feel warm breaths on his ear, and there’s a whisper that rings through his hazy, clouded mind.

“I’ll prove it to you.”

It sounds like music.

---

Waking up wasn’t pleasant when it felt like you were only waking up to a nightmare.

His dreams- he had barely dreamt- but his dreams were fuzzy and warm, pleasant. Nothing like the painful throb that he woke up to, thrumming through his whole body and his skull. The Champion doesn’t even have the pleasure of waking up in his own home.

When he opens his eyes, he sees that he’s in a living room of some sort, but he’s never been to this place before.

Which begs the question of how he got here at all. He has a feeling it’s not because of his horrible sense of direction- especially when he moves up from where he was sleeping on the couch and the blanket draped over him pools in his lap, letting him see the various marks that scatter across his body.

Hickies, love marks, predatory bites. Call them what you will.

There’s a lot of them.

“I see the Champion is finally awake,” a voice that’s only vaguely familiar cuts through his thoughts. Leon looks up, finding a blurry form of a body in a doorway. He can’t make out who it is, but when they step closer, his mind quickly catches up and does the math for him.

It’s you- that singer from last night. No longer bathed in neon lights, you look dramatically different- especially because you’re wearing a loose shirt and no pants, and Leon can easily see the bright marks scattered on you just like they’re on him.

He must have done that. To you.

“You know,” you speak up again, breaking Leon out of his thoughts. You move to sit carefully on the coffee table placed in front of the couch he’s on. You keep your distance, and the gesture is appreciated in the back of Leon’s mind. “I was surprised when I woke up this morning. I had no idea it was you.”

“You didn’t?” His voice is croaky and dry, and that’s when you hand him the glass of water that he hadn’t noticed you were carrying, along with two white pills that are probably aspirin.

“To be fair, the club is really dark. And I had already had a few drinks in me when I went up on stage.” You watch as Leon chugs the water you gave him. “But I was miles more sober than you were. I should have noticed.”

The information doesn’t make him feel better. There’s an uncomfortable feeling spreading through him from his gut, making his shoulders tense-

“We didn’t do anything,” you say. “Besides making out and all that. You were certainly tempting with how eager you acted,” you smile impishly at him, chuckling, “but I knew you were also out of your mind. Nothing happened besides some innocent grinding. You passed out on my couch, too, after a while. Woke up again and threw up all over yourself, but I cleaned that up. Should probably shower when you get home, though.”

Leon blinks once, twice, three times as he processes the information you gave him. There’s a chance you could be lying. The Champion hardly remembered anything from last night, just flashes. But when he looks at you, sitting half-naked as you twiddle nervously with your hands in your lap, he feels like he can believe you.

Especially the throwing up part. His stomach feels unsteady enough that he can certainly believe that part.

“...Thank you for doing that for me,” Leon murmurs eventually. “Do you… have any idea where my clothes are?”

“Ah,” you nod and stand up, hands on your thighs. “Yes, I had put them in the dryer earlier. Since you threw up on your clothes and all that. I’ll go see if they’re done.”

You leave for a separate room, leaving Leon alone in your living room. His head is still throbbing, but the aspirin is slowly kicking in.

As he slowly starts to assess the situation he’s in, the only words he can find to describe it is… odd. Very odd.

Getting drunk and making out with strangers isn’t like him. Especially male strangers. Especially coming home with said male strangers.

So what happened that made him so drawn to you, anyway? Leon honestly doesn’t know. You were attractive, that’s for sure.

Maybe he was lonely. Desperate.

He doesn’t get to think more about it because soon you walk into the room again- wearing some shorts this time- his clothes in your hand as you smile at him.

Your teeth aren’t glowing purple anymore, but there’s still a tint to them that makes him huff out a chuckle as he takes his clothes from your hand, murmuring a thank you as he does. You also hand him his phone, which he hadn’t even thought about until he saw it.

Turning the screen on, he sees a headache of messages waiting for him, so he turns it off for now.

“So where, uh… Am I, exactly?” He asks you as he puts his shirt back on, fumbling with the buttons. You sit back down on the coffee table.

“My apartment in Spikemuth, not that far from the bar. I know you’re pants with directions, so I can help you head back to Wyndon if you’d like. But I,” you look away from him again, and Leon notices how you twirl your hands in your lap again, “uh, I understand if you probably would like to head home by yourself, too.”

It clicks in Leon’s head then. For someone who acted so confidently last night, the confidence that lured Leon in to begin with- you were oddly cute once you were pulled into the light. It’s almost endearing.

Leon doesn’t reply in favor for shuffling on his pants instead- you glance away and hide your eyes with your hand as you do, which Leon audibly chuckles at since there’s not much for him to hide that you haven’t seen already, but he appreciates it none the less.

Instead of replying to your request, he asks a question. “What’s your name?” Your eyes meet his, and he smiles in a fluster. “I never really caught it last night. If I did- well- I forgot.”

“Right,” you nod and you don’t look like you mind. “The name’s ___.”

“___,” He tests the name on his lips. It sounds a bit familiar- so perhaps he did learn your name last night. “Well, ___. To be quite honest, last night was very unlike me. I’m a bit out of my comfort zone,” he says, and now his own hands are twirling around. “But I’d appreciate the invitation to get to know who I was smooching on last night if you’re willing to chat as we head to Wyndon.”

Your eyes light up in surprise- perhaps you weren’t expecting that. Again, the word ‘cute’ crosses his mind, especially when you smile at him. That was the most familiar thing- your smile and how you managed to still send anxious twirls in his stomach. It was odd…

“Yeah- that’d be nice. I’ll get changed and- well- you probably want to use my hairbrush. And maybe we can slap some make-up on your neck, too,” you laugh as you stand, Leon following close behind as you lead him to your bathroom.

Yes, the feeling you made him feel was odd… But not bad.

Not bad at all, really.

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