#High Note: DR Band AU

[purplephloxpress]

总有一天 a place to hide (can't find one near) - yiqie

That’s just the thing, isn’t it? Wei Ying feels nothing. He doesn’t feel anything, and this emptiness should scare him. He knows he should be scared. He wants to be scared. He isn’t. Fear itself is never scary; fear is just a response. It means that your body wants you alive. It’s the absence of terror that scares him.

I had SO MUCH FUN with this bind! This one had a lot of firsts for me, and is one that I really poured my heart into due to its particular emotional impact on me (tl;dr - I was a piano major in college, burned out, this fic helped me fall in love with music again). It's an Untamed WangXian Pianists AU (TW for anyone interested that it deals with attempted suicide and life following that) and I tried to tie that into the design details literally everywhere I could think of. Black and white cover paper, music note scene breaks, and my absolute favorite part to create: sheet music title pages. The particular song used for that is a recurring motif in the fic and one that means a lot to me personally, and I knew I wanted to include it somehow. Unfortunately I couldn't find an existing image of the sheet music that was high enough quality to use how I wanted, so I used a sheet music program to input it myself!

This book was my first time doing any sort of edge decoration, and I had fun figuring out how to splatter paint with a toothbrush (Spouse: is that supposed to be blood? Me: no but also... kind of?) and it was also my first time doing endbands! (Shout out to the friends who walked me through it over voice chat one evening, and then rolled their eyes when I announced that I'd torn them out and done them over again. Twice.) I went with red and black for both of those parts to match the main characters canonical color scheme, and also because I liked the dramatic pop of color against the black and white cover.

Spine titling was done once again with a foil quill, and I decided to paint the Chinese title of the fic on the cover. I couldn't find a paintbrush that let me get as fine tipped and detailed as I wanted so I may or may not have used a toothpick to paint it on.

I prevailed over: somehow deleted half of my page numbers and had to reprint the WHOLE THING! Forgot to measure the boards as part of my spine width and had to do surgery with 2mm strips of paper! (Thankfully had allowed plenty of hinge because I didn't realize until I'd finished ALL of the titling and I would have cried if I couldn't salvage it) Truly this is my child and I adore how it turned out. Is it perfect? No. Are there things I would change? Sure. But I learned and I did and I'm so goddamn proud of it!

(See below the cut if you want specific details on the binding)

What pieces went into making it:

Fandom: The Untamed

Pairing: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji

Pairing: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji

Bookcloth: black Brillianta

Cover paper: black and silver marbled lokta

Endpapers: red cardstock

Titling: foil quill, acrylic paint, acrylic paint pen

Endbands: leather cording for the core, DMC embroidery thread for the bands

Body font: Adobe Garamond Pro

Title fonts: Long Cang and Canva Holiday

Text message font: Nirmala UI

Scene breaks created in Canva

Title page sheet music created using MuseScore

#purplephloxpress #ficbinding #wangxian #the untamed #pianists au #yiqie #fanbinding #renegade bindery #adventures in bookbinding

[askingkyborg]

//nonaskYALLIMSOSORRYIDONTUSEMYMAINITHURTSMYBRAINTOHAVEMORETHANONETHING

WAIAWUAUWAUWAIT I WANT IN ON THE AU STUFF!!!

Here me out :

band au and human au and highschool au. Garage band au. I have thoughts.

bart, kyborg, and mudd are all seniors in high school. Gumgum is a first year/im not from amrica i dont know what thats called.

Bart is sad because its his last year of highschool and he still hasnt made his dream band- hes not been dragged down by gumgum, but he was so focused on him he didnt get around to it- so he decides to wait after the schools music practices and find people to sign up, his only recruit being gumgum on the drums so far. at the same time as this, mudd and kyborg are wrapping up their music classes- piano for mudd and violin for kyborg. They arent friends by any stretch, and mudd straight up doesn't like Kyborg *side note hes usually refered to as ky for the beginning half of it and i'll explain why in a second*, but they happen to be walking close together when bart spots them. Bart and mudd had hung out a few times, bart having taught mudd a few bass guitar things, and so he leaps at the chance. mudd only decides to because hes spent so long being proper (taking piano lessons he hates, coming from a rich and uptight family) he wants to try a hint of rebellion.

kyborg, in an effort to seem cool, asks to join, hiding his violin and saying he can play electric guitar (hes good but hes not as great as he hams himself up to be) .

thus the band "the infinights" is formed.

~~~~~~other character specific stuff~~~~~~

mudd: before joining the band he had black hair but bart helped him dye it. Made his parents mad, but it made him really really, and eventually the other infinights convinced him to tell his parents he wanted to quit piano. Also has epilepsy and memory issues gumgum: gumgum is excited about the band, but it makes him sad as time goes on to know their all going to graduate before him. hes in a foster home, but he doesnt like it, so he spends all his time hanging out in barts flat.

bart: adores having a band. Worked in a near reverse of mudd because managing it all actually taught him to be a bit more responsible. Shared an orphanage with gumgum when they were little, till he found his parents, and had him and gumgum live with him till bart moved out senior year and gumgum got taken to a foster home, the finns a bit too old to handle their chaos. kyborg: is neutral about the band. He likes music, but electric guitar isnt his usual pace, so hes hesitant. Violin was his life until his mother died, and hes working on exploring his other interests. He doesnt show anyone hes missing an arm till a practice where hes having bad phantom pains and has to tell them. Was homeless until highschool, struggling to pay for a small apartment.

Additional:

dr ahem: dr ahem is an inventor that had been scrounging for cash, and decided to let a garage band use his facilities to practice, that became a sensation until they deformed. One night coming home he saw them playing a gig and new they'd be a success and offered his guidance to them. brink: a member of paralytes new band the everguards- thinks hes cool because hes in a band with college kids- plays the drums (its later revealed that he actually plays the trumpet and was just forced to play the drums (spectrils old roll) to make luz happy). He messes around with kyborg- and is the only one in the whole school that knows about kyborgs arm.

inku: works for a corrupt business under a man named entropa. Barts parents were both musicians, good ones too, so with the help of hugh manor manages to trap them both in what seemed like a never ending business contract in order to keep themselves a float financially. Not wanting bart to have to bare not having them be around, they tearfully put him up for adoption and continued working under her.

Quadron: a burglar, vague partners with entropa but really just doing the stealing thing. Was born without arms, and dr ahem spent all his money on making him prosthetics- but this sank his brother into heavy debt and into a heavier depression. He started stealing to make money for them, but eventually it became a vent for his frustration with life. One burglary was towards a comfortable house, but they fought back- so he killed the whole family besides a young kydelious, who instead got shot in the arm near fatally. Qudron ran, lighting the place ablaze- but a while later dr ahem brought a child missing an arm into their home. Kydelious. Seeing quadron sent the kid into a panic, and he fled off into the wilderness.

and yeah! Thats most of it!

#tales from the stinky dragon #stinky dragon pod #kyborg #mudd tftsd #bart tftsd #gumgum

[valeriasdream]

visual kei dr stuff

Name: Inoue Hanari - Inoue is my family name/last name, Hanari is my given name/first name.

General vibe and aesthetic, I don’t have a fc since I just scripted I look similar to how I do here!

Age: 23 Height: 168cm/5’6” Languages: English, Japanese, Korean (conversational, not fluent), Mandarin (conversational, not fluent)

Band Information

Name: M.Ø.Ø.N. > pronounced "moon" in english Genre(s): Heavy metal, Japanese metal, alternative, progressive metal, math rock Stage Name: HANA

Band Position: Lead Vocals, head lyricist Other Members: Lead guitar, second guitarist, bass, drums

My band, M.Ø.Ø.N., was formed when I was in high school with a bunch of my friends, I became the lead vocalist. We started out heavily influenced by old school visual kei bands such as Dir en grey, the gazettE, Malice Mizer, X Japan, and many other bands. Eventually after we graduated high school and gained a small following, we began to change our sound to a very heavy metal sound. We are heavily influenced by a lot of American bands too like Nine Inch Nails, Opeth, Slayer, Tool, and many many more. We debut officially when I am 19 years old and gain more and more increasing popularity from there. When asked in interviews why we move away from the visual kei influence and more into serious heavy metal with a focus on our sound and lyrics, we explain that we want to be taken seriously as a heavy metal band, especially with our band containing a female singer since the scene is mostly male dominated.

Influences: dir en grey, The GazettE, Nine Inch Nails, Polyphia (there's more but I'm not going to list them all)

Lyric Style: All lyrics are written 100% by me, with a focus centered around social and political issues, including the topics of how mental health is viewed through a symbolic lens. I also write about some of my spiritual beliefs and my emotional landscape. When writing about love, I don't focus on romantic love, but rather the complexities that love creates, how relationships don't always end up being black and white, and a lot of the love/hate aspects of dealing with a toxic upbringing. My DR is a healing DR to heal from a lot of my childhood trauma (in this reality but I also had to script it into my dr in order to work through it and heal from it), so I often allow my lyrics to reflect that. All lyrics are written in a combination of English and Japanese since I'm fluent in both.

S/O: An AU version of Blade from my Honkai: Star Rail dr, he goes by the name "Ren" since it's Chinese for Blade. (He's still Chinese like in HSR!) Ren is his stage name, letting the universe fill in his real name. Ren is the vocalist & guitarist for his own band and we actually meet through a collaboration when we release a song and MV together. 💙

Ren and I don't start dating until 2027 or 2028.

Style/Aesthetic

Notes

The reality is realistic, as in it's not animated or anything like that. I just use Blade's animated fc bc... I can't decide on a "realistic" fc for him.

My DR starts in 2023!

#vkei dr #visual kei desired reality

[onlytibki]

Straw Hat modern!AU v.1: Jobs and Random Bits of non-plot Headcanons

Yes I know Oda already gave a list and far be it from me to disagree with canon (/s) but hear me out

Jimbei - full-time activist, former soldier/bodyguard. Lorge. Still does work as a bouncer from time to time, this is how he meets Luffy.

(Does karate at the national level. Works out at Zoro's gym, teaches classes sometimes.)

Brook - musician, naturally. Classically trained, accidentally achieved popular fame after the band he was in with his old buddies for fun was scouted out. Lost his bandmates. :( Was depressed for years and just tuned pianos and guitars and other instruments until the Straw Hats brought joy to his life again.

Franky - freelance handyman. Is an engineer, has a engineering degree and certification, but no firm will hire him because he refuses to wear formal clothes (main client is the local university, they asked him only to work at night to avoid students and claims plausible deniability if he chooses not to wear shoes on his own job sites) but he doesn't mind his lot in life because fuck 'em anyway also because trauma and also he's in love with one of the profs

Robin - university professor, teaches history/linguistics/historical linguistics/archaeology. Has like four PhDs. Was wrapped up in some shadiness in Central America while a grad student, but does such high-quality work and is in love with her building's handyman that no one tries to get her in trouble for it

(Robin and Franky meet and bond over keeping the fucking ancient anthropology building both up to livable standards and eligible for the national heritage register. They talk A Lot about historical building materials and methods)

((Note I said 'up to livable standards' and not 'up to code'. Franky's nickname is short for 'Frankenstein' for what he's done to the building's wiring, though somehow it still works))

Chopper - third year med student at 15. Already accepted into the residency program Law is an attending at. Also, he has his driver's license now!! He's the DD for the Straw Hat crew when they go out to bars, and is also self-appointed booze coordinator and hits the brakes for people when he senses alcohol poisoning coming on. Not even Whitebeard Himself can argue when little Dr. Tony gives his super-serious little disapproving pout.

(No, a 15yo cannot legally drive at night, much less operate a car full of drunkards. No one tells him this because he takes the responsibility for the well-being of his friends so seriously, and also no one gives a shit, and also everyone else is drunk anyway.)

Sanji - sous-chef at Baratie (I know, I know, shocker) which is next door to Zoro's gym. He takes classes at the university so that he'll be able to run his own restaurant one day.

(If he finds the FUCKING SHITHEAD who's drawing that Sora, Warrior of the Sea-inspired comic in the school newspaper someone's gonna have to fake an alibi to get him out of murder charges. Even if he does approve of Germa 66's ugly designs and cries over Sora's successful escape and loving words to her lost son)

Usopp - physics major, art minor. Draws a weekly comic for the school newspaper called The Adventures of Sniper King. Picked up boxing due to high school requirements, works out at Zoro's gym.

(Yes it's him. He's got a yellow stripe painted down his back due to the vitriol Sanji spews at his pseudonym daily. He really didn't mean for it to take off! Sanji told them all his story once and Usopp was heartbroken because he lost his mom too and one day he got an itch and he drew a comic about what he thought Sora'd say to Sanji, or what he thought Banchina might say to him, or some weird combination--and then sent it instead of the next installment of Sniper King to his editor ON ACCIDENT and PEOPLE WANTED MORE and HE'S SO SORRY AND HE'S SO SCARED. SANJI'S GONNA KILL HIM AND USOPP WILL DESERVE IT)

((Sanji condemns him into being busboy at Baratie for a month and refuses to speak to him for three days. But he also gives him spicy ginger desserts every night for a week, because Usopp's Sora is truer to life than the original Sora in terms of the love she embodies, and because Stealth Black's rumored escape is shown in the light of triumph. Sanji could hear her in the monologue of Sora's thoughts to her son when she learned he'd escaped Germa 66's clutches. How proud she was that the circumstances of his birth and life hadn't chained him down forever. It was the first time since the age of 9 that he could clearly remember what she had sounded like because, whether through pure miracle or the shared sympathy of orphan-hood, Usopp had gotten her voice exactly right, and it soothed something old and hurting in Sanji to hear it.))

Nami - business/finance, computer science double major. She REALLY wanted to study geography and GIS systems but her family needs the money so she's tilted her dreams--she's going to build the most precise geographic information system in the WORLD and market it to rich assholes while "losing it" to low-income thieves in need.

Stole 50% of her college tuition and negotiated down the other half in a meeting the bursar's office can't actually quite remember fully? But it's their signatures on the papers.

Zoro - business major. Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds. No he is not passing any of his classes. But Kuina had been determined to inherit the dojo and keep it flourishing, even if her dad didn't think a woman could. Then she died; and Shimotsuki-sensei died when Zoro was in high school; and now Zoro has two dear friends' dreams on his shoulders, and damn his lack of an MBA or any common sense but he will succeed. Sanji, Nami, and Jimbe are helping.

He did rename the place, from just 'Shimotsuki Dojo' to Kuina's Asskickers, and opened it to all sports. All classes and all tournaments are co-ed, all ages. He tried to get "ASSKICKER" on the gym's competition uniforms/gi but some of his students are toddlers so that wouldn't fly, so he uses 2001 instead. People think it's the founding year and get very confused when the gym is technically 50+years old; 2001 = the number of fights Zoro lost to Kuina.

(Nami asks him why he didn't use "KUINA"; Zoro looks at her funny. "But that's not [male student example]'s name? Why would I put that on his back? Do you want people to get confused??")

((He does have Kuina's name stitched into his gi))

Luffy - biology major. HEAR ME OUT. Garp insisted he go to college for at least a semester and while still an undecided liberal arts major, Luffy discovered a whole BUILDING FILLED WITH COOL BUGS!!! AND PEOPLE GO OUT AND FIND THEM?? AND BRING THEM BACK!! THAT'S A JOB???? SO COOL!!!

So yeah. Technically he's on the road to become an entomologist, but is struggling due to his undiagnosed (but incredibly obvious) AuDHD and a lack of care for statistics (and math in general) and research writing (and reading/writing in general). Robin, Chopper, and Usopp are working HARD to get him to the general area of passing. Luffy also is getting a minor in Portuguese (which is his first language) because he plans on exploring the Amazon Rainforest looking for cool beetles when he graduates.

Ace - fire fighter with shady connections. (more later?)

Sabo - activist with much shadier connections. (more later?)

#jesus this turned out longer than i meant #op #one piece #opla #if you'd like #this is version 1 #i'll write out v2 at a later date

[nerdygirlwithanxiety]

Creeps rewrites information *not counting OCs*;

WILLIAM GROSSMAN

William was only 18 when he discover the underworld exsist. But has that " just because I see it doesn't mean i have to believe it exsist" mentalism..most likely developed it from his childhood friend Anthony

Fucking loves Christmas. Christmas = snow and snow means winter and winter means...snowboarding season

Great at snowboarding *its one of his favorite hobbies behind playing guitar and skateboarding *

You think his favorite idol would be a killer but ironically in this au he didn't get that mindset until laughing jack brainwashed him. His true idol happened to be a famous skateboarder called " Tex Eagle" his original goal before he wanted to be the greatest killer was to beat Tex's skateboarding record*s*

This said he's not really a fit guy persay he's more average. Not overweight but not under he's more of the middle. Most of the time he's lazy unless he's out doing tricks and shit *only time he's exercising *

He enjoys any kind of music but mainly listens to punk or hard metal

His voice headcanon is currently unknown

He's pansexual /demiromantic

Has a HUGE crush on Anthony but denies it completely

People call him a class clown until a fight broke out now nobody fucks with him. Infact they try to avoid him *he may or may not have almost killed someone before one of his friends pulled him back*

Despite him acting like a idiot at times he has a high IQ making him *EXTREMELY* smart. He built his first hoverboard at only 10 years

He's 5"7 like his Canon counterpoint however unlike that version his birthday is different. His dob is 6.18.01

He never was able to draw until he met the leader singer of his band *anthony obviously *

He could play any instrument but mostly prefer Guitar

His love rival is mercury black *another childhood friend in this au. Yes this is in the same universe as rwby don't judge me*

Will taunt Anthony with Christmas music every November...totally not because he gets kisses to shut him up

He was mostly stuck in the closet out of fear of rejection up until his 20s *that's how long he loved Anthony *

Nearly vomit out of anxiety when he found out about his homophobic violent grandfather Isaac

Just like in one of my rewrite au concept he's suffer from the Grossman curse *half human half demon* just didn't know about it. Only difference is Frankie isn't here to save him..

Short hair will supermarcy

Will's parents are actually very lovingly. His father is named Jax while his mother was named Mary. Their personality is basically like Madeline Fenton and Jack Fenton from Danny Phantom. Both very smart scientists that love eachother and kids. (More info on a separate post about the parents)

Has a fear of BLOOD . he faints everytime he sees at least ONE small drop

That's it for him rn. I may update this later

Frankie The Undead

Just like Canon he's just done with everyone's shit and doesn't want to deal with it

VERY sarcastic *while will's oblivious *

Thinks will's a bit naive

Hates and I mean HATES laughing Jack.

He's well aware he gets his wallet stolen from the idiots and kept extra incase after how many times they misplaced them...and his poor platinum credit cards

Both him and Dr Forenskin made a secret rebellion against Rosalyn *an antagonist you wont meet until...late...late..later on. Shes more important then Issac. Which tells you something* , Zalgo, and Slenderman.

It's a possibility that a certain grim reaper helped them build this rebellion before his " death"

Only once did he punch LJ and nearly broke his wrist *you won't know why yet*

He's secretly Anthony's guardian *kinda like how LJ is will's*

During the human realm arc ending and the beginning of the underworld arc he secretly leaves Anthony's notes on how to find the well to get to Will

Doesn't believe in redemption up until the God of redemption woke up then suddenly realized there was a habit to free all three realms and wake up the fourth.

Owns a hidden weapon room *he mainly uses twin pistols*

New design coming soon

Also has a Australian accent *same voice as mammon from the new helluva boss episode*

LAUGHING JACK

Out if pure irony broke the many walls beyond the fourth. Speaking of which he's well aware of that um...counterpart and cringes at it. So much so he nearly try to delete that universe but couldn't because of Frankie trying to avoid breaking the multiverse and tearing a hole into dimensions nearly killing everyone some point..it was before will and Anthony was born

Can and will dab for no reason

Instead of a clown he's just a shapeshifter that changes into a clown

Did canonically killed Issac just differently compare to how he originally killed him.

Wanted to torture will until he realize what his personality was like so he brainwashed and kidnapped him to his own dismay...mainly because he was bored

Absolutely hates color

Absolutely hates the rebellion but only stuck around for his little puppet

Legit if it weren't for Will as his cover the fucker would be dead by now.

Is a high level demon just not as high as Zango or slender or...HIM

He bleeds candy which was why he craves human blood and organs.

Despise clowns *ironic right?* whole reason he shape-shifting into one is because clowns are a common fear so fuck it. If it gets him victims to unalive he'll do it.

Injured will once learned his lesson immediately.

Can drive people into insanity

And since I wanna make him hateable; he thinks NFTs are hilarious and uses it to piss people off and claim it as a prank.

Legit he will fuck with everybody and uses what everyone's hates. Every. One.

This will get people excited for a underrated character;

DR Forenzik

He is still a scientist

He's basically the commanders of the rebellion while Frankie is the "leader" thinking the original leader died.

He did, in fact, Gave LJ and Will a job to mainly keep an eye on will

He has a Russian accent

Thanks to him traveling around the human realm over the years he devolped many accents and languages basically like mimicry *kinda had too if he wants to steal things from every science lab to get the shit he needs*

Would rather sleep in but everyone wakes him up so now he has that grumpy grandpa attitude like how Frankie has grumpy alchoholic uncle attitude

Cries and scream on the inside everytime will or lj breaks shit in his lab

Cringes ecerytime he hears Laughing Jack voices

" oh god its the beast that squeaks" ~ Devi from I Feel Sick *Johnny The Homicidal maniac spinoff*

Prefer classical music to help him think while experimenting.

And thats it for now. I may come up more later but for now this is it

#frankie creeps #frankie the undead #william grossman #laughing jack #dr forenzik #creepypasta au

[loveforpreserumsteve]

Love Grows (demon!Bucky and pre-serum!Steve omegaverse au)

6

STEVE WAS FLOATING above his bed. Light, like a feather. In wonder, he looked down to see Hodge still sleeping, peacefully. All the while, Steve was floating. Floating high enough to almost touch the twelve foot tall ceiling.

To his left, the window opened by itself, beckoning Steve. So, he moved in that direction. Reaching out, he grasped the frame, trying to ground himself. His feet settled on the window seat and for a brief moment, he wondered if Peter Pan would take him away to be the Lost Boys' papa.

Sliding his hand down the window frame, something crinkled beneath his skin. Glancing away from the stars, he looked at the piece of pale notebook paper. There was writing on it, but he couldn't make it out. Not because it was written messily or because it was in a different language. Oh no, nothing like that. Instead, it was blurry, out of focus.

Reaching for the note, the Band-Aid dropped, letting the paper fly away. Fly right out of the open window. Still, Steve reached for it.

Losing his grip on the window frame, Steve began falling. Falling down, down, down. Faster and faster as the wind slashed at him. Nearly losing his ability to breathe as he continued to fall. He could feel panic starting to set in, but couldn't do anything about it.

Moving his arms about, he desperately tried to grab onto something or to magically learn to fly. But nothing was helping. The ground was quickly approaching. What could he do? How could he stop –

Jerking at the impact, Steve woke with a start and the image of Sharon's pulped face and her one eye that had been watching the sky. His heart raced and his hands were clammy. Yet, Hodge slept on. He was so peaceful with the comforter around his naked hips and a dark eye mask covering the top half of his face and those blond curls messily mussed in different directions.

Carefully to not disturb his sleeping spouse, Steve leaned over to breathe in that relaxing scent. Just a few lungfuls until he felt himself relax. Already he was feeling his muscles ease and his bones turned jelly. Shifting even closer, he melted into the bed and into his husband's –

Creeeeeaak.

Eyes snapping open, Steve lifted his head and directed his attention to the open door. There, in the doorway, was a man. Wasn't there? There was certainly a person. Right? A dark mass blocking out the little moonlight streaming in through the window. Something – someone – obstructing the doorway.

No, Steve shook his head. He was just seeing stuff. It was all in his head.

Rubbing at his eyes, Steve quickly blinked and looked back at the doorway. Only, nothing – no one – was there.

Laying back down, Steve started scenting Hodge again. Desperately wishing to just fall asleep and not think of anything. He didn't want to think about how Hodge was struggling with his career. He didn't want to think about what happened with Sharon. He didn't want to think about everything that Dr. Erskine had said about Stark Tower. He just wanted to –

***

The Lost Boys wanted a story, and who was Steve, their new papa, to turn down their request? They deserved love and deserved to have good things. They were all such sweet little things. Well, when they wanted to be.

So, Steve let the boys crowd around him as he looked down at the book in his lap. He had expected a typical nursery rhyme, not this. Instead of Mother Goose, it was a dark, devious book with pictures of gore and carnage.

"This is the one we want," a little boy hugging Steve's legs assured.

"It is?" The boys nodded, so he read from the book on his lap, "And then the feral pups were found in the basement... eating a poor, helpless... little –"

Baby, Steve internally finished. He didn't want to read them this story. He didn't want to burden them with that fear.

The little boy on his left looked up at him with such innocent eyes as he accused, "Sometimes I wonder how come you're the leader of anything! And please don't tell me what Angie said because I'm not interested!"

Brows furrowing, Steve studied the boy, but was soon drawn away to the little boy on his right. In a posh accent, he argued, "If you'd listened to me, we wouldn't have had to do it! We'd be all set to go now instead of starting all over from scratch! We'd have been all set to go now instead of starting over from scratch!"

Steve's brows furrowed. The boy on the right side continued, "I told you not to tell her anything in advance! I told you she wouldn't be open-minded. There would've been time later to tell her. To let her in on it!"

"So this is my fault?" The boy on the left questioned. "It could've been anybody! All they had to be was young, healthy, and not a virgin!"

Although he didn't know why, Steve's heart was pounding aggressively against his ribcage. Why were they saying this? What did it all mean?

"You're scaring him."

Head whipping up to the doorway, Peter Pan approached from out of the shadows. Only... it wasn't Peter Pan. At least, not the one from all of the books and movies Steve had grown up with. This Peter Pan was a man with high cheekbones, a prominent jaw, and dark tousled hair that shaded eyes the same color as the sky before a storm. He was beautiful.

Soon, the man was crossing the room to him. It took Steve a little too long to realize that the Lost Boys were gone, and that it was just him and this man. Steve's frame was frozen in his spot, but he wasn't sure if he'd try to leave even if he wanted to.

Cautiously, the man outstretched his hand to Steve. His gaze burned into Steve's, searching for something. Seemingly, he must have found what he was looking for because he brought his hands further, cradling Steve's face in his large hands.

"You're a good man," he told Steve. "You're going to make a good father."

Then, the man was leaning forward, pressing a soft, sweet kiss to Steve's forehead.

[snailstrailz]

I don't feel like drawing rn so here's some hcs for NSR x Stray x TF alinged continuity

Spoilers ahead!

- after the outsiders, and several others emerged they learned that the world outside ended... in a chain link fence. Turns out, the world had rebuilt after the plauge. Walled city 99 had been isolated and and completely abandoned due to fear the virus was dormant there, but was located in the countryside near Vinyl city.

- the human-like companions were all over the news for a while, and B-12 was placed into a robot body (courtesy of Neon J) to help translation of the language both ways.

- many companions moved into Vinyl and the surrounding areas, and all is good for a while.

- until the remnants of MECH lead by Dr. Morroco would rear their heads and decide that they had an opportunity for controlling Vinyl City. After experimenting, a Scraplet/Zurk hybrid was made and dubbed "Scurks". These creatures, with no known weaknesses can eat almost anything, including organic material.

- Scurks would be used to sabotoge NSR, forcing Tatiana to sell the company to Morroco, who built 'Monolith Records' a music/power company of his own making.

- rebels in the form a band with a character from each of the crossover components (either canon characters or ocs, i can't decide) would soon come to fruition, hijacking the Monolith concerts. They learn that Skurks are killed by high frequency sounds, and nearly take Monolith down.

- Morroco releases all of his Scurks at once (a lot) and in a last ditch attempt to save the city and the world from the Scurks' apatites, they would unite everyone in the city to play the highest notes they can and make it rain dead scurks.

- Nsr is reestablished and Morroco goes to jail

Ok that's it. I accept asks about this AU (idk what to call it, no stray formers? Stray straight formers?) And reblogs appreciated!

#no straight roads #nsr #stray #stray game #transformers #maccadam #stray spoilers #long post #crossover au

[tricksteroftheheart]

The Band’s Name

It was hot, and sweaty, and how the fuck was Nagito still wearing a coat-? All of the band had decided to meet together at the gym after school, to talk about 'important matters' according to Leon. Kokichi was already in a bad mood, so he honestly didn't really wanna be here. Not that anyone knew that other than Shumai and maybe Kaede, of course. "Okay!" Ibuki slammed her hands down on the table, starling Nagito and making everyone look over to her. "Role call!" "Why do we need a role call, we-" Kaede was swiftly interrupted by Ibuki, pointing at Leon. "You?" "Leon Kuwata, guitarist." Kaede leaned backwards a bit as Ibuki pointed at her. "Kaede Akamatsu, keyboardist-?" Ibuki pointed at Kokichi, and he huffed, fanning his face. "I'm actually Twogami, Kokichi's asleep in the kitchen." Ibuki gasped and got up to go find Kokichi, not seeing Kaede jab Kokichi in the side and glare at him. "Kokichi... Ibuki, no, this is the real Kokichi, come back-" The violette hummed proudly, still fanning his face from the summer heat. God, why did they have this meeting in the gym instead of somewhere cold...? "It's not Twogami?! Ibuki thought they just lost weight! Oh... Ohhh, okay." Kaede wasn't audible over her, not that she needed to be. Ibuki pointed at Kokichi again, causing him to roll his eyes. "Kokichi Ouma, lead singer." Nagito stayed quiet and patient, waiting until Ibuki pointed at him to speak up. "Nagito Komaeda, backup vocalist." "And I'm Ibuki Mioda, drummer!" Kokichi looked around, confused before tilting his head. "Uhh, Ibuki, I thought we all already knew each other? We are in a band, after all." "That's the issue!" Leon spoke up, brushing some hair out of his eyes. "We all have roles, and names, but the band doesn't! We need a band name!" "Yeah! Ibuki can't sell tickets without a band name!" Ahhh. So that's why it was so urgent. He sighed and stopped fanning himself, watching as Ibuki and Leon immediately started throwing out ideas. "We could combine our names together-" "Five names? That's... A mouthful." "Shorten 'em!" "Liikkeee... KomaKaeLeoBukiOuma!" "Mioda-san that's far too long-" Or... "What's something that symbolizes all of us? Like an animal or word?" "Music!" "Fire!" "Red?" "Loud." "Hope!!" "Nags, we aren't gonna name ourselves 'Hope,' that's dumb-" "But imagine it! Us, coming onto the stage, shining examples of hope and-" That's when Kokichi started zoning out. Orrrrr- "What's a color we all like?" "Brown!" "Red." "Ibuki likes black, white-" "Black and white aren't colors, they're shades." "Why do you know?" "Ultimate Artist is in my class. Anyway, purple." "Pink!" "Well first off we're vetoing brown, that's not a cool color." "Brown is a cool color!!! Have you seen Hajime or Naegi-sa-" "Oh my god not this again" Kokichi sighed and rubbed his face, really just wanting to go to his nice, air-conditioned room and NOT have to sit in the gym for three more hours while Nagito went off about how the color brown was nice because of his boyfriend's hair. "Guys, guys. I got an idea." They all looked towards him, Kaede immediately suspicious. He hadn't brought up any ideas this whole time. "So, when people ask you what you do after school, Leon, what do you say?" "Oh, uh, well I say I'm in a band." "What band?" "The band, the one here. There's no other bands." The Ultimate Supreme Leader looked over to Ibuki. "And you?" "Ibuki tells them she's in the band here!" "Kaede?" "I do piano after school, and every other day I have band practice. I'm in the band that always takes the gym." "Nags?" "I'd tell them I'm the band in the gym, of course!" Kokichi looked at his hand, acting like he was thinking really hard about this. "Well... We all call it the band. Why don't we just name it The Band? That'll make it simpler on us and others." Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking that idea over, before Nagito spoke up. "I think that's an excellent idea, as I'd expect from an Ultimate such as yourself!" Leon spoke up next. "The Band, huh... Kinda edgy, kinda stylish... I'm not against it." Then Ibuki. "The Band is a cool-ass name!!" Kaede was just about to speak up, but Kokichi spoke first. "So we're all in agreement, we're called The Band now. Cool. I'm gonna go get some soda." And that was that, Kokichi being the first to leave and everyone else, besides Kaede, leaving soon after. Shuichi woke up to two very different texts, both from the same time, but from two people. 🎹 : Shuichi your boyfriend just doomed us into getting The Band merch And 🍇 : SHUMAI YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT I JUST GOT THE BAND™️ INTO 🍇 : FIRST HINT: THE TRADEMARK? NOT A JOKE

#High Note: DR Band AU #kaede deserves better #saiouma #komahina #kaede #leon #kokichi #nagito #ibuki #Kokichi is an idiot #kaede akamatsu #kokichi ouma #ibuki mioda #leon kuwata #nagito komaeda #danganronpa fanfiction

[aforrestofstuff]

My fruity little OPM band AU:

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I’m so glad to share it with y’all!

I’m this AU, everyone resides in the middle of Buttfuck Nowhere, USA, and are slightly aged up (one or two years) just to fit the timeline better since it takes place after all the teenagers are out of high school and have already made up their minds about going to college/university. There is also a short time-skip.

The band is called S-Class after a journalist used the term to describe them in the local paper after their first show in the bi-annual Battle of the Bands competition, held by the nearby university: A gritty, dazzling performance of S-Class proportions. Badd Fukuchi’s vocals are as rough as the strings Garou Takanaka plays. Zombieman joins the picture shortly after that.

Here’s their roles and additional backstories. The notes are a little fucky because I wrote these all down on a napkin and then copied them to docs but anyways:

Badd:

Drummer, backing vocals on most tracks, lead vocals on slow songs.

Badd works two part-time jobs, one at his grandpa’s diner The Comet and another coaching the town’s little league baseball team. He and Garou have known each other since first grade, when Badd stood up for him after he was bullied heavily for his hair and just generally being a weirdo. Badd’s dad passed away when he was in 4th grade and his mom, Sasha, turned to alcohol to cope. She’s been clean for four years, but it was hard on him because he was Zenko’s full caretaker for a while, and still sorta is just out of habit. Graduated high school and stayed home instead of going to college. When he’s not working, he’s on his drum kit at Ace Storage, inside the unit his dad rented and got a 20-year lease on when baby Badd was hardly six and couldn’t even hold the sticks right.

It’s a small town, so everyone has an opinion on everyone. Badd is generally known to be well-rounded, although a bit erratic and on a short fuse. He was a problem kid in school alongside Garou, but for different reasons.

Garou:

Strings (except bass, although he insists that he can learn and be even better than August), backing vocals. Not good enough of a singer to be lead vocals on anything but can hold a note just good enough to be kept on tracks so he’s just there.

Garou’s dad stepped out on him and his mother shortly after his born, and his grandfather Bang (running joke that nobody knows his actual name) moved in to help his mother cope. Helped out in Bang’s dojo since he could walk. Garou was always the weird kid in class, but didn’t care because Bestie Badd was always there no matter what. Behavior got worse in high school when his mom passed away, started doing things for attention and developing bad habits. Graduated high school and went to college on a sports scholarship due to being a martial arts prodigy, but flunked out after a single semester and came home empty handed. Bang didn’t even let him have his own room back. He keeps his guitar next to Badd’s drum kit. They practice together 24/7, and sometimes even works shifts alongside Badd at The Comet just for funsies.

When not at The Comet, he does have a full-time job at Bang’s dojo purely out of obligation. He doesn’t get paid, and he is not allowed to move out until Bang kicks him out. He does genuinely enjoy martial arts and teaching, especially kids, but is not happy with where he is in life and how everyone generally thinks of him as a bad influence. The band changes that.

Also a prodigal guitarist, can copy any riff from just hearing it once, and is commended by critics for his ability to improvise.

Genos:

Lead vocals (born with the gift of perfect pitch), synths, keys.

University student. Genos was involved in a freak car accident when he was just 15 y/o, killing both of his parents and taking out his arm and left eye as well. He was taken in as an apprentice under Dr. Kuseno, and with university funding they engineer new, innovative prosthetics for people just like him. His talents lie in (singing, and) robotics, mostly, and in their free time they enter those robot fighting competitions and enjoy reigning championships. Genos lives off the prize money. His mechanical arm is not being sold commercially, and only he knows how to fix it if something ever happens. He has a glass eye, which makes applying his sclera contacts easier before performances. Singing is his one trueeee loooveee and he’s been following around this nobody called Saitama for a while because legend has it Saitama is the best singer to ever live, and he’s hellbent on being this dude’s student.

He has ties to the band through Isamu (Badd’s cousin), who is also in the robotics program and paired together with Genos on a project. People think Genos is a good kid, although way too private, awkward, and overall antisocial. His lack of friends worries Kuseno, who eventually convinces him to join the band before their first performance even though he kinda thinks Garou and Badd are weird.

Zombieman:

Bassist, manager, guidance counselor, guy who owns the touring RV, general person who keeps this shit together.

Augustus Wicker got his stage name Zombieman at the age of 22 while traveling around the US with his first band, the House of Evolution—a Rob Zombie tribute group. They broke up after he was offered a position in famed pop star Amai Mask’s backing band as lead bassist. The news coverage was limited, but it quickly spiraled out of control later on, when journalists looked back on his history with Genus and wrongfully dubbed him as “impossible to work with” after a very public romance and subsequent breakup between him and Mask. Now, years later, he’s in a small town on semi-retirement, and decides to get back into the game when a People magazine article featuring him and Mask is titled: The Walking Definition of Washed-Up, How the Legendary Bassist Zombieman Fell With Classic Rock’s Popularity.

He’s also surrogate dad to Badd’s cousin, Isamu, because he’s best friends with Isamu’s mom, who is a lesbian, and has a giant crush on Badd’s Mom, Sasha. August refers to Badd as his “Nephew by Association'' and is, evidently, not against nepotism. Isamu is also on the baseball team Badd coaches (because Isamu’s mom made him), and that’s how they grow an acquaintanceship.

Saitama:

Roadie. Literally just there until they need him for something. The only reason he’s even with the band is because Genos convinced them to let him in on the tour.

—————

After they were discovered during their stellar performance at the Battle of the Bands, which they won, August is convinced to join the project and ride their success back to stardom. His presence in the area sparks buzz and with his generous connections in the industry, he secures a tour deal ten months from their first rehearsal. That means the band’s only got just shy of a year to put together an album (or, if they run out of time “A very lengthy EP,” as August puts it) and a live set, which they have never done before (besides that one time). They’ve also gotta renovate the touring RV, which August got for free and insists that it’s safe to drive across the country.

Thirteen shows. Thirteen cities. One RV. Bankruptcy. Five dudes and a hell of a lot of equipment. Fic pending.

Edit: fic is now out! You can read it here. It’s called And So Many Highways to Travel Upon and it’s the brainchild of myself and my two beta readers/husbands/landscapers/parents to my children, @metalbatandzenko and @kaincuro. Love y’all forever kiss kiss whatever letmeseemykidsplease. (In all seriousness, please enjoy the fic! Your support and opinions mean a lot to me :] thanks for everything so far!)

Lastly, here’s the timelapse for the fake Rolling Stone cover :)

#one punch man #opm #band au #zombieman #garou #metal bat #child emperor #Genos #Isamu #Saitama #art #my art #fanart #Amai mask #zombiemask #batarou

[boldlyvoid]

Intro and masterlist

✨about me ✨

this is a mature blog, I trust all minors to be responsible and avoid everything marked NSFW!

NSFW sideblog: @pervstash-spencer

Hi! my name is emily, I'm 23 she/they

Capricorn, bisexual, non-binary, autistic, and I have fibromyalgia ✌🏻 overall just a fun time y'know.

ao3

i love: supernatural, star trek, marvel movies, criminal minds, this is us and grey's anatomy !!

Accepting requests for Spencer Reid x Reader fics currently

all my tags are listed below if you want to see other posts about said fics, also here is my Spotify for the fics <3

Dad!spencer Masterlist

First times Masterlist**

all links to my fics below the cut!

Updated: July 28th, 2021

** for smut

~~ for angst

Spencer Reid x Reader fics

Hypothetically**~ Ao3 | Tumblr -- 27 chapters, complete. 89k

reader and Spencer were friends in kindergarten, she watched him grow up and explore the world while she was still trying to catch up to him. now that they work together, they fall in love incredibly fast.

friends to lovers, case of the week style story

touch me**~ Ao3 | Tumblr 5.8k

Spencer is incredibly touch-starved and hard on himself since coming home from prison. Luckily, the medical examiner in this small town is really good at reading people, and exactly what he needs.

amethyst you so much P1 Ao3 | Tumblr 6.4k

Spencer has had a crush on Y/N since she started working at the bau. She only ever works the night shift after a case, handling all the aftermath gracefully. one night, Spencer stays back and they strike up a conversation about rocks, causing their feelings to dig a little deeper.

of quartz i will P2** Ao3 | Tumblr 6K

after 2 years of dating, Spencer decides it's finally time to get Y/N something to match her Amethyst bracelet.

Amoreena**~ Ao3 | Tumblr Completed 83k

Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Seven* Tumblr WIP

Summary: Spencer’s been married to Y/N for 7 years now, they have 7 children together and each one is going through something different. Spencer’s always wanted to be the best dad, now he gets to figure out how to be.

the guy at the rock show Ao3 | Tumblr 5.6K

Y/N lost their parents when they were 17, finding a new home and solace in Penelope Garcia and taking the Garcia name. They're the top forensic specialist in D.C, in a band and they drive a motorcycle... not to mention they are madly in love with the cute doctor who works with their sister.

journey to Camelot** Ao3 | Tumblr 3.8K

When Penelope introduces Spencer to online games, he expects to be spending his nights alone. Yet, somehow every time he comes back from a bad case, he logs on to chat with the ever so lovely user FairlyGwen and getting a lot more than just a helpful tip from her.

Exploration** Ao3 | Tumblr 4.7K

request: season1/2 spencer walking in on reader while she's watching porn in their shared hotel room

Expedition** Tumblr 1.2K

Summary: there's a first time for everything... including joining the mile high club with your boyfriend on the work jet.

10 Days Ao3 | Tumblr 1.4K

it's spencer's first father's day and he's extremely emotional about the little love of his life that he's only just met. he spends the day with his baby, Edwin, and his wife, crying and happy about how wonderful new little lives are.

ain't it fun?** Ao3 | Tumblr Masterlist 11K

reader just needs an NA meeting before they have a meltdown, they end up with the best friend they could ever make.

I'm not kidding!** Tumblr 6K

Spencer keeps getting little notes from a secret admirer, they're nice and sweet at first as they tease him with their crush until she's sending him notes about all the dirty things she wants to do to him

Perfect Timing** Tumblr 1K

spencer and reader have been spending the last month together in the same hotel room during a pretty brutal case. tension has been rising and she's completely in love with him.

what happens when they both think the other won't be back for a while and they want to shower?

Redamancy** Tumblr 5.4K

the co-op librarian at the FBI Academy has been secretly crushing on the smartest agent in the Bureau, TA, Doctor Spencer Reid, and he's been crushing on her too.

Being Neighbourly** Tumblr 1.9K

Request: reader is Spencers neighbour and she can hear him masturbating every night that he's home how do you have her deal with that?

Professional Hair Dresser (Ph.D)** Tumblr 6.4K

summary: after Spencer's knee injury, he starts visiting a salon every week to get his hair washed

36 Questions to Fall in Love Tumblr 8K

Summary: When Derek bets Spencer that he cant make someone fall in love with him in a week, he doesn’t expect Spencer to marry the girl the next day

New Romantics** Tumblr 23k

Summary: She needs help studying for her Case Exercises at the Academy, He needs a date for the annual Banquet... they just so happen to be neighbours who aren't afraid to lend a helping hand, or in this case, a helping kiss.

Million Dollar Man** | Tumblr WIP 5k so far

summary: Spencer's therapist recommended he branch out and meet new people who don't want to talk about his work... she didn't expect him to sign up for a Sugar Daddy website.

Sugar, Honey, Ice Tea** | Y/N version | 1-4, 5-9, Epilogue 25.6k

Summary: Fix-it-fic: Dr. Y/L/N and Savannah Hayes have been best friends since their medical internship at Bethesda General. When she receives a frantic call that Derek's best friend is being transferred to the prison she works at, an unlikely friendship bubbles.

Eventually falling head over heels for the innocent man.

Warnings: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Prison, Prison Violence, Assault, Blood, Depression, Murder, Self-Hatred, Hurt Spencer Reid, Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Drug Addiction, References to Drugs, Drug Use, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Romantic Tension, Forbidden Love, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Strangers to Lovers, Requited Love, Falling In Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, past abusive relationship, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault

Spencer x Ethan

Ruin it.** Tumblr 5.4K

Summary: Spencer never had sleepovers as a kid, so now that he's an adult he's always sleeping over at Ethan's house, ad he'll take any excuse to crawl into bed beside him.

Warnings: mutual pining, love concessions, blowjobs, handjobs, anal sex (both top and bottom spencer in this), childhood friends to lovers

400 Celebration fics

Reid Me Tumblr 2.5K

Spencer has noticed a beautiful woman at a spirituality booth at the farmers market every Saturday for almost a whole year now. he finally asks her to give him a reading.

mystery of love Tumblr 700

Spencer surprises his wife with a trip to Italy.

Spy Kids Tumblr 900

Spencer and Y/N's kids think that they are secretly spies and request a mission story before bed.

a father's greatest weakness Tumblr 1K

Princess Y/N is betrothed to the Viking king in an effort by her father to keep the peace between their countries, he doesn't expect her to join in the fight to free Scottland.

Luke x Reader

Best Dad Ever 2.8K

Request: angst with a happy ending, reader and luke have been divorced for a few years but have a child, she tries and tries to fall out of love with him but he's around so often that she can't

Spencer x OC

Sugar Honey Ice Tea** Ao3 | WIP 9/10 chapters complete 25.6K

Fix-it-fic: Dr. Beth Pattinson and Savannah Hayes have been best friends since their medical internship at Bethesda General. When she receives a frantic call that Derek's best friend is being transferred to the prison she works at, an unlikely friendship bubbles.

Eventually falling head over heels for the innocent man.

Intro to Criminal Minds: Why They Did It Ao3 | Tumblr WIP 6K+

Spencer is teaching a 7-week seminar on the most interesting criminal cases, explaining their actions to understand why they took place. Only, not everyone in the audience is a student.

Criminal Minds x Mindhunter AU

Spencer x OC Peggy Carr

Franklin x Reader

Voulez-Vouz** | 3.2k

Summary: in a small town, everyone knows each other… or at least they think they do.

Warnings: porn with plot, smut, Dom reader, Sub!Perv!franklin, making out, teasing, face sitting, oral (female and male), hand jobs, overstimulation, prostate message, multiple orgasms, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, let me know if I forgot anything.

Chip x Reader

forever is the sweetest con** | 6.2K

Summary: Reader’s dad is a carpenter; sometimes he takes on apprentices and sometimes, if they’re lucky, they get his daughter’s number at the end of their training. Chip Taylor, however, hits the jackpot when her father invites him over for one of her homecooked meals.

Warnings: reader’s mom passed away, mentions of parental death, strangers to lovers, random acts of kindness, mutual pining, falling in love, steamy make-outs, oral sex (male and female receiving), fingering, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, dirty talk, sub!chip, food mentions, praise, love confessions.

Raymond x Reader

Alone Together ** | 2.4K

Summary: Raymond moves into a haunted house and ends up sleeping with the ghost who lives there... only he doesn't know that when you fuck a ghost you also become one.

Warnings: details of suicide and murder, blowjobs, pegging, bottom!raymond, top!reader, becoming a ghost, major character death.

Star Trek Masterlist

Star Wars fix it fic

Supernatural masterlist

thanks for all the love, as always,

-Emily <3

#masterlist #my fics #star trek #star wars #spn #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #mine #amoreena #hypothetically #amethyst you so much #the guy at the rock show #journey to camelot #spencer core #mgg core #420mgg #amoreena asks #garvez #spencer reid smut #spencercore #blurb #me #my face

[lady-divine-writes]

Good Omens one-shot - “When God Closes a Door, She Opens a Window, But It's Up to You to Find It” (Rated T)

Summary: Crowley goes through unconventional lengths to escape a bad blind date...

... and ends up finding an angel in an unexpected place. (2770 words)

Notes: This is a re-write of an older story, but I think I like this version better. Human au. Fluffy as heck. CW: If you get squicked out by being covered in food trash, proceed with caution.

Read on AO3.

"Bollocks... bollocks... bollocks... bollocks... " Crowley mutters as she paces back and forth, simmering behind her eyeballs with so much anxiety she's about to tear her hair out by the roots. The only plan she can come up with to solve her current dilemma grows hotly in her mind, but she's searching for something - ANYTHING! - to take its place. 

Maybe something along the lines of acting like an adult, womaning up, and admitting this isn’t going to work? Be upfront about it and say it to the man’s face, for Heaven's sake! 'Go on, Crowley!' she thinks. 'Go ahead! One foot in front of the other. Steady on! You can do this!'

But she’s become so tired of the grind – going to bars, faithfully tending her online dating profile, endless blind dates set up by well-meaning friends, the rejecting and the rejections. She can’t face one more. It physically hurts, knots her stomach muscles until the pain turns her world monochromatic.

Crowley had had high hopes for this one, too. Her date Steven is the new doctor of the boy she nannies. He and Crowley have plenty in common – a love of theater and fine dining, and an appreciation for fashion. Crowley thought dating a pediatrician would be fascinating. After summarizing the pertinent details of her own life, perhaps her date would talk about getting through medical school, toss in a few whimsical stories about the joys (quote/unquote) of working with children - baby’s first shots where the parents cried more than the infant, or the tale of a precocious little girl who demanded he put a Band-Aid on her teddy before he helped her (the way Crowley's young charge had with his first doctor when he was around three). They could swap war stories, bond in that way.

But Steven’s favorite part of his profession is pediatric surgery, and, unfortunately, he loves to talk shop. Every morsel of conversation has been inappropriate for dinner and graphic in nature - appendectomy this and tonsillectomy that, abscesses and pus and untreated sores - until Crowley’s face turned as green as her salad and she couldn’t look at her steak anymore.

Neither could their neighbors, who flagged down a passing waiter and requested a new table. They've been sat near the kitchen, which most diners would loathe, but they look heaps happier.

Crowley excused herself as delicately as she could and raced to the loo, needing to escape any more gruesome talk. 

That was over fifteen minutes ago. 

She’s trapped with no way out.

She pictures the layout of the restaurant in her head. There has to be a back way in and out of this place. All restaurants have an exit through the kitchen, right? But the toilet, the kitchen, and the front door are all in full view of their table. Steven is sure to spot her sneaking out no matter how stealthy she is.

Crowley turns on the cold water and splashes her face, scolding herself to think, think, think! She’s an intelligent woman. She can come up with a way out of this. Could she phone someone to come down to the restaurant and make an excuse for her? Not likely, not on short notice. Her friends Anathema and Newt wouldn't be able to find a sitter - ironic, seeing as Crowley is a nanny, and if the tables were turned, she'd be more than willing to lend a hand.

Could she phone her employers, ask Mrs. Dowling to claim an emergency at home? No. She doesn't want to get them tangled up in her personal woes, especially when they concern a man they think of so highly.

She could look up one of those services that make fake calls to your cell phone to get you out of sticky situations, but that would mean going back out there to make the ruse believable. And from the way her hands lock around the lip of the basin every time she thinks about taking a step outside the door, she knows that isn’t happening.

Crowley looks at herself in the mirror, looks into her eyes, and reminds herself to calm down. Slow her breathing. She’ll find a solution. 

And suddenly, there it is. 

In the reflection of the mirror, she sees what might be her only way out.

A window. 

The only window in there, propped open enough that she’d be able to fit through. 

It’s kind of high, sort of narrow, and definitely a last resort. But what other choice does she have?

Loads, in reality. It just doesn't feel like it.

But does she really have to resort to jumping out a window? She’s already been in there for (she checks her watch and her eyes open wide) twenty-five minutes! And her date hasn’t come to check on her once. Maybe the man got the hint and left (hopefully after paying what should be close to a hundred-pound check). 

Crowley tests her luck, opening the door a sliver, praying silently don’t be there, don’t be there, don’t be there...

But there is no God - not one on her side, anyway - because there sits Dr. Steven Malory, talking to the waiter, telling him about another fascinating surgical procedure. He makes an exaggerated cutting motion across his stomach with a butter knife. The poor waiter, weighed down by a tray of soup bowls, nods politely, but looks like he may vomit in the tureen.

She winces. That poor waiter. Who knows how many times he's been called upon to lend an ear since her absence, or how many more times he'll be forced to endure another gory tale before Dr. Malory realizes she's gone. She peeks over her shoulder at the window, then back to the table, where Steven has his phone out, Googling something to the waiter's dismay. She slowly closes the door and backs away.

Window it is.

Crowley shelves the nagging feeling that she's perpetuating the most pathetic trope in the dating world and starts constructing a platform. There’s not much available – a small stepstool underneath the sink; a short, square, plastic rubbish bin that looks less than steady; another taller rubbish bin, dented along one side, looking like someone else already used it to make a break for freedom; and the toilet and basin, both miles away and completely unmovable.

Crowley does some quick engineering in her head and figures that if she turns the small bin over onto the stepstool, she might gain the height she needs to grab the lip of the window and hoist herself up, which would eliminate using the dented bin. She doesn’t like the odds that she won’t slip, fall, and crack her head open. She’s not so much worried about doing any permanent damage, but of having to explain to her date why she’s lying on the floor, covered in trash, and bleeding profusely.

With her luck, he'll giddily insist on stitching up any gashes, drawing a crowd of bystanders around to watch.

Crowley pushes the stool up against the wall with her foot. She dumps the trash from the small bin into its larger counterpart and sets it on the stool, centering it as best she can to keep it from sliding. With a hand on the wall for support, she puts a foot on the bin and attempts to pull herself up. It wobbles back and forth, then gives one backward lurch that nearly sends Crowley flying. 

She determines quickly that this isn’t going to work the way she had planned and makes a desperate leap for the window, using all her upper body strength to get her halfway through.

Crowley shudders when the cold air hits her skin, shocked by the drop in temperature, but mostly from fear of death. She looks down. 

A huge mistake on her part.

A horribly placed streetlamp keeps her from seeing into the alley, but she’s pretty sure she remembers a dumpster underneath this window. She had parked her Bentley in the lot across the way and saw it on the walk in. She looks out into the rows of cars and spots her vehicle. She sighs with relief. 

Now she’s a little more sure, but still not 100%.

Worst case scenario, she lands in food muck, probably not rotten since it’s still actively dinner, and ruins an expensive designer outfit.

Of course, that’s not actually the worst-case scenario, is it? Worst case scenario, she misses the dumpster altogether, hits the pavement, and breaks her leg, but she’s determined to remain optimistic. At this moment, when her anxiety-ridden brain has her convinced that the only logical route out is through this flippin' window, that’s a chance she’s willing to take.

She swings her right leg over, grateful that she chose slacks over a skirt tonight, till she’s straddling the narrow sill, bent in half by the metal lip of the window frame. She balances there, the dull edge digging into her sternum, her belly, and her crotch, but she can’t make herself jump. 

She’ll need to trick herself into it. 

She forces herself to relax, teeter-tottering back and forth, not dwelling on the possible outcome, just trying to work her way to the right far enough that she knocks herself off-kilter.

Fate lends a hand in the form of a drunken passerby yelling, “Oi! Oi, lookie there! There’s a big bird... human... thing hanging out that window!” 

Crowley panics, afraid she's about to be mistaken for someone breaking into a busy restaurant and not out. She fumbles, flails, starts falling head first, scrambles to get a hold. She hears a distant, “No! No, wait!” as her fingers slip. There are three seconds of cold wind and a sinking feeling in her stomach before she lands on her bum, thankfully in the dumpster, surrounded by the smell of not-too-rank food, the squish of something under her body that she thinks might be mashed cauliflower... 

... and a scream.

“Ouch!”

“Oh my God! I’m sorry!” 

Crowley yelps when her body lifts, something extraordinarily strong underneath pushing her up. She reaches around the slippery mess and wet plastic bags, struggling to pull herself off whoever is in the rubbish under her while trying to ignore the gravy seeping into her slacks, or the rice pilaf embedding itself beneath her freshly glossed fingernails. She knows she's broken two at minimum. 

How much worse could this evening get?

“I’m sorry!” Crowley scrambles to her knees, crawls away a few feet. “I’m so, so sorry!” 

“It’s alright, my dear.” A voice underneath her chuckles, its owner emerging from a layer of poached fish and au gratin potatoes.

Crowley turns in time to catch a glimpse as they move into the light. A woman wearing a vintage-inspired emerald gown covered in Hollandaise sauce and ranch dressing smiles sheepishly at her. The white light overhead gives a halo effect to her silvery-blonde hair, and her blue eyes almost glow.

She's quite breathtaking. 

“I thought I had reserved a private dumpster,” she jokes. “I’ll need to have a word with the maître de."

Crowley stares at her, stunned. “I… I don’t understand. What are you doing in here?”

“I suspect I might be here for the same reason as you,” she says, wiping mayonnaise off her hand before offering it to Crowley. “I’m Aziraphale.”

“Crowley. I’m sorry I landed on you.” She takes Aziraphale’s hand, forgetting to wipe hers off before and smushing creamed spinach between them. Crowley groans in embarrassment, but Aziraphale laughs.

“No worries.” Aziraphale doesn't let go immediately the way Crowley thought she would, her smile becoming brighter the longer she holds on. “It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened all evening.”

“So... I take it you’re running away from a bad date, too, huh?” Crowley asks, regretting when Aziraphale finally lets go.

“I'm afraid so.” Aziraphale glances down with a long sigh. “A friend set me up, but I swear, the only men she knows are unemployed, torpid, and skeevy.”

“Wow. That’s some A-plus word usage right there.”

“Yes, well, the written word is my passion."

“Does that mean you're the one who wrecked the silver rubbish bin?"

“Did I?” Aziraphale looks up at the window and grimaces. “I should probably offer to replace that then, shouldn't I? What about you?” Aziraphale turns her soft blue eyes back Crowley's way. “How bad was your date going?”

“I can now perform an appendectomy with my eyes shut.”

“Yikes. I take it that’s not a turn-on for you?”

“Not in the slightest. I appreciate medicine as much as the next gal, but I’d rather not know the gritty details." Crowley stares at Aziraphale until Aziraphale notices, then the two look away, blushing like giggly teenagers flirting in a coffee shop instead of two adults stuck in the trash. Crowley can't help herself. Regardless of the stench of curdled butter and cheese that will probably be with her for life, Aziraphale is a calming presence. And she looks like an angel. An honest-to-God angel! 

And Crowley found her in the trash. 

What are the odds?

“You know, we might want to get out of here before anyone else drops in,” Aziraphale suggests, rising to her feet and lending Crowley a hand.

“Yeah,” Crowley agrees. "Guess that's my night over. Though... " She looks down at her blouse and trousers, positively caked with sweet potatoes, chicken grease, tomato sauce, and chutney "... I’m not looking forward to driving home like this.”

"How far do you have to go?"

"I'm in Mayfair."

"Oh!" Aziraphale gasps. "Isn't that a lovely part of town?"

"I enjoy it," Crowley replies, never having felt quite so proud to live in Mayfair as she does in this moment. "And you?"

"I have a shop in SoHo."

"Lucky. You're just a hop, skip, and a jump, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am... " Aziraphale chews the inside of her cheek as her words hang, balanced in the air between stopping a thought or continuing it. “I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward, but if you come back to my shop, I have a shower. We could clean up there... " Aziraphale sputters when Crowley's eyebrow arcs sharply upward. "S-separately, of course! A-and order in some pie. I know a great spot nearby. I dare say they have the best pie in the world! And they deliver.”

“I don’t have a change of clothes,” Crowley says, wary of taking Aziraphale up on her invitation. Garbage notwithstanding, meeting her has definitely been an improvement to the way things were going. 

"I might have something that would work for you." Aziraphale sizes Crowley up, but not in a creepy way. In a surprisingly nurturing way. "It would be nice to salvage the evening, don't you think?"

"It would." But one disastrous date is plenty for the night. Should Crowley jump straight to another with a woman she met in a dumpster? Then again, it would be wrong for her to assume that spending time with Aziraphale would be disastrous. Plus the story of how they met is way too fantastic to waste on self-doubt.

Crowley took a chance on jumping out a window with only hope to guide her. She’d be stupid not to take a chance on this.

“Sure,” Crowley says, confident with her decision. “Your car or mine?” The words slip out before she considers the fact that she's talking about her baby. A vintage car that she, due to an extreme case of sheer luck, has been the sole owner of. She won't even wear muddy shoes in her car. Or rayon! On top of her own ruined outfit, which will need to be dry cleaned twice and then set on fire, if she lets Aziraphale in her car, she'll have two sloppy, food-stained seats that she’ll need to have scoured. 

Maybe Aziraphale will laugh her off and offer to take her own car. Why would she want to leave it behind, anyway?

“Oh, I didn't drive,” Aziraphale says, looking down sadly at her own destroyed dress. “I took the bus.”

Crowley's heart clenches. There's that decision made. There's no way she's going to suggest Aziraphale take the bus while Crowley drives her car. She just prays that, with time, her baby will forgive her.

“My car it is then.” Crowley loops her arm covered in soup through Aziraphale’s arm covered in whipped cream and leads the way. Aziraphale smiles, holds Crowley's arm a wee bit tighter, and Crowley becomes certain this new development will be worth the money she'll spend detailing her car in the morning.

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #ineffable wives #ineffable idiots #crowley x aziraphale #aziraphale x crowley

[starryevermore]

hitting the books ✧ colby brock

pairing: colby brock x fem!reader (college au)

summary: sam convinced him to take a stupid philosophy class. but, after meeting you, colby decides that perhaps philosophy isn’t that bad after all.

word count: 2,083

warning(s): sorta dumb colby (but not in a mean way!!), mentions of cheating on tests, colby’s a big ole sap

note: dr. doctor named after a professor of my own lmaoo (not a professor of philosophy of course lol, but the philosophy class itself is loosely based off of the one I just finished taking lmao). as always, the gif is my own. if you want to request I write anything, you can do so: here. 

Colby trusted Sam, for better or for worse. The kid had always had his back, always stuck up for him and vice versa. There was nothing they couldn’t or wouldn’t do together. It was Sam and Colby vs the World, as they liked to joke. Perhaps that’s why they ended up going to the same university together. Sam had better offers out there, of course, to more prestige places, given his good graces and practically spotless record. But academics didn’t come as easily to Colby as they did Sam. He wasn’t dumb, of course. Perhaps a bit naïve, but never dumb. It’s just...some things were harder for him to grasp onto and he needed someone to help walk him through it. He’d get there eventually, he just needed a little more time than Sam did. And perhaps that’s why Sam decided to deny the offers from the prestige universities and stick it out with Colby in the university that was...okay, but certainly not on the same level as the ones Sam receives offers from. If Sam wasn’t there to help Colby when he was confused, who would be? (And...let’s be honest, the boys would really, really miss each other if they went their separate ways right after high school. You don’t become as close as Sam and Colby did during their geeky band kid days and not miss each other if you’re forced apart by the dredges of adulthood.)

And that’s how they ended up at an okay, decently priced university not too far from their parents so that they could run screaming and crying when they really, really struggled, but far enough away that they could have the independence they so longed for. They ended up getting a dorm together and, unlike other high school friends who share a room, it actually turned out pretty well. The fall semester went off with only a few bumps in the way, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t work through. 

Then the spring semester came and Colby wanted to smash his head through a wall. Sam and Colby majored in different fields, but both fell under the College of Business and had enough overlap that allowed them to take a few classes together every semester. However, this semester they weren’t so lucky in getting major classes together. Instead, they had to get a gen ed class together. Colby allowed Sam to pick, but good God did he hate himself for doing so.

Sam, ever interested in philosophy, chose for the two of them to take Beginning Philosophy together. Which was fine enough because the professor, Dr. Doctor, had really good reviews, as they found out via ratemyprofessor.com. Apparently, everything was straight from the lectures, which he would always record and upload to Blackboard later, complete with the PowerPoint slides and even a transcript of the lecture. And the readings were relatively light, with many of them averaging only five pages in length, with the longest reading being ten pages. But, still, there was something about contemplating human nature and if God exists and morality and—FUCK! It just hurt his brain to even think about.

Colby somehow managed to get through the assignments with easy B’s and C’s. And the exams for each units were more of a struggle, but he never once dropped below a C. He could’ve gotten a high exam grade, since Dr. Doctor graded on a curve but fucking Sam and some other girl in the class always, always, always wrecked the curve with their perfect fucking 100′s and getting all the fucking bonus points. Honestly, fuck them. Fuck them. 

God, Colby was so frustrated. Finals week was fast approaching and he was sure that he would be able to pass all of his business finals. Perhaps not with flying colors, perhaps not with grades not nearly as high as Sam’s grades, but you know what they say: D’s get degrees. But fuck, he wasn’t sure he could pass this stupid fucking philosophy final. It was cumulative, so they’d be tested over everything they learned over the semester. And Colby forgot that shit as quick as he finished each unit exam.

Sam was a saint, though, and agreed to tutor Colby every chance they had until the day of the final. Granted, the final was online, so he could technically just ask Sam for help if they took the test in their room or booked a study room in the library but...he wanted to prove himself. Prove that he wasn’t as stupid as he knew people thought he was. Sure, school wasn’t exactly a place he excelled at, but didn’t mean he was dumb! 

...Right? 

One weekend in mid-April, Sam and Colby went to the library. The library was practically empty on the weekends. Most students went home, or otherwise went off-campus to study, so they knew that they could find a good place to study. 

He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised when they accidentally ran into you, the only other person in their philosophy class who’s grades rivaled Sam’s. And, there you were, on the third floor of the library, books stretched out across the table, as you chewed on your pen and typed notes furiously on your computer. 

Sam nudged him, whispering, “Hey, wanna ask her if we can join her?”

“...why?”

“Two genius beginning philosophy students are better than one.”

“...and how do you know she’s studying philosophy?”

“Trust me, no one looks that pissed off unless they’re trying to figure out what the hell an ontological argument is.” 

“...a what?” 

“Oh, yeah, we’re definitely asking her for help.” 

Colby let Sam walk up first, not wanting to handle the embarrassment if you weren’t up to helping them—him—out. But you grinned, motioning for Sam to sit and for him to come over. 

“Hi,” Colby said, sitting across from you and opening his backpack. “I’m Colby Brock.”

“Y/N,” you said. “So, you’re the hopeless dolt who can’t tell me what an ontological argument is?”

“I couldn’t tell you anything we’ve learned all semester.”

You snorted, your nose wrinkling slightly. But not in a “oh shit this kid’s real dumb” sort of way. No, it was more of a cute—holy fuck, Colby, chill! This girl’s nice enough to be helping you out! You don’t need to be thinking about how pretty she is, or how kind her smile is, or how he oddly wanted to reach across the table to old her hand. 

“Well, you’ve come to the right place, Mr. Brock,” you laughed. 

...could you please keep calling him “Mr. Brock”?

Four hours later, and Colby was...not struggling. Okay, he was, but it wasn’t as bad as usual. You were running through everything you’d learn so far in the semester, trying to gauge what Colby really really really needed help with and what could wait a little bit longer to go over. 

“So, Berkeley—” Colby started, trying to make sense of his notes.

“You’re mispronouncing it,” you said, cutting him off.

What? No he wasn’t!!

“Huh? It’s the same thing as the college, and I know how to pronounce that.”

“Yeah, in terms of the college that’s named after him, it is burr-kly. But, when you’re talking about the philosopher, it’s bark-kly.”

“That’s so fucking dumb.”

“Yeah, but it’s right, so really you’re the dumb one here.”

“...I hate that. I wanna cry.”

But you smiled, and the tears that had started to prick at his eyes from the frustration of not understanding a damn fucking thing started to disappear.

Yeah, perhaps this wan’t going to be so bad after all.

Until, an hour later, when you switched to a different philosopher and Colby wanted to break the chair he was sitting on over the table. 

“And Kant—” you began.

“—killed someone.” Colby finished.

“Excuse me? I...I don’t think he did.”

You...You almost looked cute, with your eyebrows knitted together, trying to figure out what the hell Colby was talking about.

Sam laughed loudly as Colby said, “He’s about to. I’m fucking bored to death and don’t understand a damn thing!”

But, then you reached across the table, taking his hand in yours, rubbing your thumb over the top of it. “It’s going to be okay, Colby. Not everything comes easily to some people. But that doesn’t mean you’re dumb, or you can’t understand it. We’re just running through topics right now. I promise, we’ll start getting into them deeper and exploring them more thoroughly so you’ll know what’s going on when the exam date arrives.”

Colby stared at your connected hands and swallowed hard. “...promise?” 

“I swear on all my A’s that I, and Sam, will help you get through this with at least a low C.”

“Thank you.” 

And swear it you did. Every other day until May the three of you met in the library. You didn’t always talk philosophy. Sometimes you talked about each other’s lives, the struggles of other classes, your plans for the future. And, God, you only became more attractive every time you spoke. 

Colby hoped this lasted long after the semester was over. There was something so kind, so alluring, about you and your presence. He wasn’t quite ready to let that go.

It was the last weekend before the exam. The exam, conveniently, opened the next day, on Sunday, and closed on Wednesday. But you had to take the exam in one sitting, as it was limited to two hours and the time would keep going even if you closed out of the exam. After finishing the last of the reviews, Colby was struck with an idea, an idea to get at least one more meeting before the semester ended. 

“Hey, we should all take the exam in the same room and help each other with the answers!” Colby suggested. 

“..That’s against the rules, Mr. Brock.” 

“Baby, there ain’t nothing wrong with bending a few rules. Besides, Dr. Doctor won’t even find out.”

You couldn’t hide the smile that was stretching across your face when he called you “baby”. And he certainly couldn’t miss the way you got so flustered, blinking rapidly and stumbling over your words as you realized that, perhaps, Colby Brock was flirting with you. “Well...well....I, uh, suppose, we could do that. Perhaps it’s better that way. Since, you know, if there’s any problem with the technology, we can cross-reference with each other to make sure it’s not a larger issue?” 

“Sure, Y/N, sure. Do you wanna get the exam over on Sunday?” 

“I’m fine with that.”

“Sam?”

“Yeah, that’s okay with me.”

“Great! I’ll go book a room!”

And the next day, after a grueling two hours and with only five inquiries to you and Sam about the questions, Colby made it out of the exam alive. 

The nice thing about taking an exam online, in the case that it was multiple choice, was that you got your answers immediately. And Colby wanted to practically cry when he saw that he had gotten an amazing, a beautiful, a perfect 85.6%. Not an A, not a 100, but...it was his 85.6% and nothing could ruin it.

And, certainly, nothing could ruin the feeling he had when you jumped to hug him when he cheered.

“I’m so proud of you, Colby!” you said. “I knew you could do it!”

Sam had a shit-eating grin when he saw how red Colby’s face had turned, and said, “Congrats, brother. You’ve earned it.” Then, he pretended to look at a watch and said, “Oh shit, I need to get going. See you guys later!”

...And Colby knew that Sam didn’t have anywhere to be. But he knew that he was giving Colby the opportunity to do the thing he wanted to do all those weeks ago.

“So, uh, Y/N,” Colby stumbled, “do, you, uh, wanna maybe like...goonadatewithme?”

“Huh?”

Colby squeezed his eyes shut and said more slowly, “Would you wanna go on a date with me?” 

There was a pause, and he worried that you were mad. But then, you leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his cheek and said, “I was beginning to think you’d never ask.”

“So, is that a yes?” 

“It’s a yes. It’s a definite yes.” 

And it was then that Colby decided that maybe, just maybe, taking that stupid fucking philosophy class wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

#sam and colby #sam golbach #colby brock #snc #xplr #traphouse #traphouse 2.0 #trap house #trap house 2.0 #sam and colby imagine #sam and colby fanfic #sam and colby fan fic #sam and colby fanfiction #sam and colby fan fiction #colby brock imagine #colby brock oneshot #colby brock x reader #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock fic #colby brock fan fiction #collegecolby #*written by: me #starrybrock

[geekgirles]

Look Me in the Eye

Whelp, it’s officially Novmeber 27th here where I live, so... HAPPY BIRTHDAY @tipolover22!!!! LOVE YA TO BITS AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS LITTLE SOMETHING!

READ ON AO3

“A retelling of ‘Eye’ll Be Watching You’ set in the Betrothed AU.”

It all started just like any other day. Poppy was showing Branch around her kingdom as she promised to do once she learned that, apparently, her father had only shown her husband what he’d seen fit for his plans and training. In other words, only anything that could be related to safety procedures. Everything else had been temporarily shut down until her subjects were in the advanced stages of their training.

But now the time had finally come. Her people were almost ready to defend themselves without the prince and his men’s help. And now that they had finally become two sickening sweethearts —like she’d always dreamed of being with whoever troll she’d end up marrying—, it was high time her dear husband learned of the wildest side of Rainbow troll fun.

At first Branch was hesitant. Whatever Poppy had planned had planted the seed of doubt deep inside his chest. In all fairness, it could have very well been because she refused to tell him what it was since it was a surprise. And while his adorable wife was incredibly thoughtful and a master at surprising people, he still did not like surprises.

Only when he was the one giving them.

And 9 out of 10 times when it was Poppy he was trying to surprise.

When they finally made it to the course race of the Flyer Riding event, his mind was conflicted. On the one hand, he could feel the anxiety spiking in his heart because Flyer Riding could be extremely dangerous if one didn’t have the proper safety equipment, which of course the Rainbow Trolls, being easy-going, fun-loving creatures, did not have. And on the other, those bugs were very promising steeds their subjects could use since there weren’t many hummingbirds in the Valley.

Hummingbirds had to be the only friendly critter that was scarcer in the Valley than in the Forest.

Despite his —countless— worries, everything seemed to be going alright. After all, as unexpected as it was to a Forest troll, Rainbow trolls were seasoned pilots when it came to Flyer Bugs. Poppy even made a point to remind him that too much safety could be smothering before flying off with her very own steed.

For a few, glorious minutes Branch couldn’t do anything else but gaze lovingly at the pink beauty he married. There she was, flying with a confidence and ease most of his soldiers would’ve been envious of when they were learning to fly their hummingbirds. And she did it so beautifully, too. The wind caressed her silky, magenta locks as it carried the melodious sound of her laughter, and for a moment, he was jealous of the wind. The sun hit her skin just right, giving it a rich pink hue. And her face was the pure definition of excitement. Just from a glance, one could feel the adrenaline coursing through their own veins, very much like she was experiencing at the moment.

Yeah, that gorgeous, brave and charming princess was his wife, and he didn’t know what he’d do if he lost her.

But, of course, he had to jinx himself.

Everything happened so fast he barely had time to register it.

At the same time as Poppy was trying one of her signature moves she’d learned a few summers ago from Vanessa Heitz, Aspen Heitz’s late sister, Suki, who was on her free day, collided with her in a moment of uncharacteristic irresponsibility. And while Suki managed to regain balance on her bug, Poppy wasn’t so lucky. She plummeted to the ground, her terrified screams promising to hunt Branch in his nightmares until his last breath. But the second most terrifying thing was that Branch could only watch as it all happened right before his very eyes, the scene before him so shocking it paralysed him completely.

But the most terrifying thing was, without a doubt, the few agonising moments where he thought he’d lost his wife forever. As she fell, he could see his entire life flash before his eyes. It was said that such thing could only happen to the person whose life was in danger, but in all honesty, if Poppy didn’t make it, Branch’s own life was as well as over.

His heart was pumping so wildly it could’ve shot off of his chest at any time. Dread overflowing him, he hastily peaked his head from the cliff he stood from to catch a glance of his wife, “Poppy!” he cried.

From his vantage point he could see a mass of trolls circling around Poppy’s form. Her eyes were close, and he begged to all things above him that she was just unconscious. With dread as his only motivation, he strode down to where his wife lay, kneeling by her side, her hand in his, “Somebody call Doctor Plum Plimsy, quick!”

The trolls around him could only gasp in astonishment. In all the months the Forest Prince had lived with them, his voice had never hold such fear. The pain inside him so overwhelming it manifested in the form of his breaking voice. It was such a stark contrast to the stoic, collected leader who worked so well under pressure they’d come to know, that it rendered them speechless. And to Branch’s frustration, motionless.

“Are you deaf?! We need Dr Plimsy, pronto!” he bellowed.

“Branch, she’s with me! She’s here!” Smidge said. True to her word, the purple troll with band-aits adorning her neon green hair was right behind her.

Dr Plimsy kneeled down beside Poppy, opposite from the princess’ distressed husband. “Your Highness, please, if you would be so kind to tell me what happened.”

“Poppy was riding her Flyer Bug when she collided with Suki. She lost control of her steed and came plummeting to the ground, hitting a few leaves and branches in the process.” He recounted, his hand never letting go of Poppy’s. “Please, Dr, will she be OK?”

The purple troll took a deep breath, “I must figure out what the trouble is first, Your Highness.” She then proceeded to examine Poppy, gently touching and rubbing the areas that seemed to have taken the worst of the fall. When she rubbed the princess’ ankle, Poppy finally stirred.

Relief washed over him in waves when he saw her eyes opening. And he could have cried of joy the moment he heard her voice. “B-Branch…? Wha-what happened?”

Branch was about to answer when he felt Dr Plum’s hand on his shoulder, interrupting him. “You fell and sprained your ankle, Poppy. But let’s take you to your room so I can examine it further just to make sure.” She then turned to Smidge, “Smidge, could you please help me lift her up so we can take her to the Castle-pod?”

Smidge did as she was told, but before the green-haired troll could reach them, Branch addressed her, “Dr Plum, shouldn’t I accompany my wife? She just had such a nasty fall that I…” I thought I was going to lose her, that thought was so horrifying, Branch didn’t even want to say it aloud.

Fortunately for him, the lab coat clad troll spoke first. “Your Highness, I believe it is best if I make sure Poppy has just sprained her ankle, and I will work better if it is just her and me in your room.” Seeing his anxious expression, she added, smiling softly, “But you’re free to spend as much time with her as you want once she’s all patched up. I know how much she’ll appreciate having you near.” After patting his back gently, she made her way to where Smidge was waiting for her, a disoriented Poppy leaning on the teaspoon troll’s shoulder.

As the three girls became spots in the distance, Branch’s expression hardened. “Commander, we have got to talk.”

.......................................................................................................................

Inside the Castle-pod, in the hall that led to the Royal couple’s bedroom, a furious Branch was pacing in front of Suki, her head hung low in shame. If she hadn’t known she was in trouble the moment she crushed into Poppy’s bug, she was well aware of it the moment Branch called her ‘Commander.’ He hadn’t called her by her military title ever since Poppy started help him to lower his guard, and even before that he only really called her like that in the Forest when they were on duty or the circumstances were serious.

Just like now.

“I just don’t understand!” Branch ranted, just like he’d been doing for the last half hour. “How could you be so irresponsible as to not look where you were going?! And while you were flying, no less!” The grey troll was so far gone in his own rage and bewilderment, he still hadn’t moved on from asking that same question. But it was surreal! The whole situation didn’t make sense! Suki had been so reckless she didn’t pay attention to where she was going, which could have resulted in Poppy getting gravely hurt… He could have expected that kind of behaviour from Mulberry, or Fiona and Finnick, but Suki?! “Do you have any idea what could have happened?! Poppy could’ve-!”

“Branch, enough!” Under any other circumstances, the DJ would’ve never raised her voice at her Prince when he was scolding her for something that was her fault. But he went too far, acting like she wouldn’t be shaken too if something serious had happened to Poppy. “I know what I did was one of the most stupid things I have ever done, but you don’t get to treat me like I’m not perfectly aware of it either!” She was so stressed out, she could feel the tears in her eyes threatening to spill. “I know you could have lost the love of your life, but I…” she pointed at herself, her eyes red from unshed tears and her teeth gritted from helplessness, “I could’ve killed my best friend. So you don’t have to beat me up about it; I’m doing a fine job at it myself.” And with that, she hurried down the halls, her hands desperately trying to hold back the cries coming from her throat.

Branch looked down in shame. While it was undeniable Suki had been too reckless, she was right in being angry at him. He was being too selfish. Even if the both of them were clearly shaken for what could’ve happened, it was Suki who would’ve had to live with the guilt, not him.

He made a mental note to apologise to her as soon as he’d checked on Poppy.

At that moment, Dr Plimsy exited the room. “Just as I thought, just a sprained ankle. She just needs a few days of rest and to keep her foot high while she’s in bed.” She gave him a coy, knowing smile. “You can go see her, Your Highness.”

Branch was convinced he’d never moved so fast in his life, but he had to see her. He just had to see her smile. After the absolute terror he’d experienced not long ago, he was sure he would die if he couldn’t enjoy her radiant smile again. He needed it like oxygen.

Lying on bed, with her right ankle high, was Poppy. And the moment she saw him enter the room, she breathed air into his lungs. She smiled at him. Even when she was weary from what had soon become a very long day, she still found the time to gift him with the object of the sun’s envy. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her in his life.

“Hey, honey. Are you OK- Branch?!”

He fell to his knees beside the mattress, startling his darling. Taking her hands in both of his, he started peppering them with desperate kisses, he could already feel the moisture in his eyes. Finally, he choked out, “I am now.”

Poppy couldn’t take it anymore, she hated to see him sad, especially because of her, so she did what she knew best; she brought him into a hug. “Oh, Branch!” She began to gently stroke his hair to calm him down, just the way he liked it. “Oh, honey, I’m so, so sorry I worried you like that! But I’m fine! …Well, mostly… But really, there’s nothing to worry about, I’m safe.” He didn’t answer, just held her tighter. Knowing it would take a while for Branch to calm down from such a scare, she just hummed appreciatively and returned his embrace with the same intensity and love as he offered.

But Branch’s mind was made up. That one had been way too close for his liking. He could take many things as the king-to-be of two nations, but losing the love of his life was something that would certainly end him. If there was anybody he wanted to keep safe at all costs, that was Poppy. He would do anything in his power to keep his wife by his side.

And he knew just what he had to do.

.........................................................................................................................

Walking down the tunnels of the bunker he and his men had been digging for months ever since they arrived at the Valley Kingdom —the very same bunker he still hadn’t shown to his wife, who was sure to kill him for making her wait for so long—, Branch approached the fortified door that hid away the key element of his plan.

Guarding said doors were the siblings Arum and Mulberry. Any other day, Branch would’ve made a point to let them know they had better behave and not argue while they were on duty. But today he just had one goal in mind: retrieve one of the items behind that door and make sure no one ever got hurt on his watch again.

“Mulberry,” he called the yellow troll, “open the vault.”

Mulberry nodded before he began unlocking the door. While he was putting the codes and turning the keys, he asked, “How’s Poppy?” Suddenly, someone smacked him on the back of his head. “Ow! Why’d you do that for?!”

Arum sent him a glare, “Because you’re on duty, so stop socialising!” While that was what she said with her words, with her eyes she was trying to let him know that he should have a little more tact when speaking about the princess before their leader.

But of course, Mulberry was never good at taking a hint. “Well, excuse me! Maybe you’ve only socialised with Cybil since we got here, but I happen to be friends with Poppy! I’m worried about her, OK?!”

Arum felt like face-palming herself. Even though the idea of face-punching her brother sounded much more appealing at the moment. But before she could sock the idiot she had the misfortune of being related to, Branch spoke up. “She’s doing OK; just a sprained ankle. She should be fine in a few days.”

Arum almost let out the breath she was holding when she saw their prince wasn’t going to try to kill her brother for being an insensitive idiot. Again. Mulberry wasn’t quite the same ever since the Valentine’s Day scare…

“Well, I’m glad. From what I’ve heard, that sure was one nasty fall…” OK, nevermind! The idiot wanted to die, so she would grant him his wish. By the time he said this, Mulberry had finished opening the vault. He stepped aside to let Branch in.

Again, Branch only sighed. “Yes, it was. Despite our best efforts, the Valley has proved itself to be a challenge time and time again, and after what happened yesterday…” he shook his head, he didn’t even want to think about it. “I am initiating Plan Five Delta Zero.”

Arum and Mulberry gasped. Plan Five Delta Zero was so extreme they agreed on using it only on desperate circumstances, like finding out there was an impostor or a spy in their midst. “Branch?” The prince turned his head slightly to Mulberry, humming a little to let him know he’d heard him, “Are you sure we wouldn’t be going overboard? I mean, compared to us, the Rainbow trolls aren’t as-.”

“Well-prepared? Cautious? Ready for anything?” Arum suggested.

“I was going to say paranoid, but sure, that works, too.”

“Mulberry, we’ve been too lenient lately.” Branch said, his back turned to his soldiers as he scanned the room, trying to find what he was looking for. “Believe it or not, Poppy’s accident was because Suki was too reckless when flying her bug.” Again, the siblings could only gasp. “Had we all been in top shape, their bugs wouldn’t have even brushed against each other. So, no. I’m not taking any chances.”

Finally, he spotted what he’d come for. In the far corner of the room, resting on a shelf was a little bag. He used his hair to pick it up before going back the way he came from, leaving behind too flabbergasted trolls.

“…I am so making fun of Suki for being the reckless one for once… Ow! Would you care to stop that?!” This time, Arum had punched him on the arm.

.............................................................................................................................

Poppy lay in bed, sleeping soundly. Normally she would hate not being active, which is why she hated training so much when they first started —well, that and because her husband was one Hair of a smug little motherhugger about it back then—, but now that she was recovering from her sprained ankle, she could welcome a few extra hours of rest.

If only her husband were there to cuddle with her…

In her semi-unconscious state, she felt the weight of the mattress shift. She smiled, it looked like her wish had come true. “Hello there, handsome…” She said groggily as she turned around to face Branch, “How’s it going-what in the name of everything trolly is that?!” When she opened her eyes, instead of her husband’s handsome features, she was greeted by one big, bulging eye. She was so spooked she jumped out of bed. But before her face could meet the floor, the thing’s arms —wait, were those arms, or were they leaves? Arm-leaves? — wrapped around her and tugged her safely in bed once again.

“Poppy,” Branch’s voice caught her attention, “meet the Eyestalk. These little guys are my people’s ultimate form of surveillance.” He sat on his side of the bed, right next to her, and gently began to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. “I was thinking about using them in the kingdom. That way we can avoid any more unfortunate accidents.”

Poppy made a face. “Branch, I know you just want to keep everyone safe, but don’t you think this might be a bit much?”

“Actually, I think I was settling for too little before.” He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand just a little tighter. “If we’d been more on guard yesterday, you wouldn’t have fallen. You scared me to death for a moment there, Poppy. I can live without a lot of things, but I can’t live without you. And I don’t want any more of your trolls going through the excruciating pain of losing someone dear when it could’ve been avoided.” He looked her dead in the eye, his expression so vulnerable she felt her heart constricting in empathy for the troll she loved. “Please, Poppy, let me introduce the Eyestalks to the kingdom.”

His words held so much emotion, he almost moved her to tears. Even to this day she still couldn’t believe how much Branch loved her. It was so wonderful knowing somebody cared about her more than anyone else in the world… Still, she was Acting Queen and needed to think about her trolls and their reaction to those creepy plants.

“Branch, this could be such a great idea, I mean it!” Branch’s grin widened at her words. “But…” and then it fell, “it would also be a huge change for us, Rainbow trolls. We’re not used to such things, it could become very invasive very quickly. How about I get acquaintanced with this… little fella… first and then I tell you if it’d be a good idea to plant some more?”

Though he was a bit disappointed that things didn’t go his way, Poppy was taking her role as Acting Queen very seriously, and she offered a very good compromise. He could wait a little. “Deal.”

............................................................................................................................

Now that he’d agreed on giving Poppy some time to reflect on the use of Eyestalks in her kingdom, Branch knew he had some matters to take care of. After talking a little with Poppy about their day so far —although she insisted on listening mostly to his because, as she put it, “Branch, I am confined to our bed. There’s literally nothing going on for me.”—, he told her he had to go, much to their mutual disappointment, but promised some extra cuddles for the next day.

He was following the path to one particular pod. One he didn’t really visit often but that the troll he was looking for certainly did. But as he was making his way to the twins’ pod, a troll riding a Flyer Bug passed by him, missing him by a hair. The troll in question yelled a quick “Sorry, Your Highness!” before focusing again on flying.

That troll caught Branch’s attention. Now wherever he looked, all he could see where trolls acting recklessly on their bugs. Hadn’t they learned anything from the previous day’s events?

The more trolls flew around, carelessly doing tricks and antics that could cost them greatly, the more anxious Branch grew. His eyes kept darting from one troll to another, one wrong movement shy from disaster to another. He couldn’t take it anymore. He knew he’d promised Poppy he’d wait for her verdict, but this was for everyone’s sake. She would thank him later.

Using his hair to swing from one branch to another, the grey troll landed on top of a particularly big mushroom, took the bag containing the Eyestalk seeds out, and planted one on top of the platform. Immediately, it grew, and declaring danger with its nasal little voice, it extended its vines to carefully tie the Flyer Bugs around it until the plant deemed the activity safe.

“Don’t worry, everyone!” Branch tried to reassure the now bored trolls. “You’re all safe now.”

He was about to resume his previous walk when the Eyestalk stopped him dead in his tracks. “Danger!” It said while pointing somewhere else with its one eye.

Intrigued, Branch took a look at the direction the Eyestalk was pointing at. When he registered what the plant was trying to warn him about, a knowing smile appeared on his face. “Ah, so you want to solve that too, right? Well, little buddy, you read my mind.”

And so, Branch spent the best part of the morning planting Eyestalk after Eyestalk in places where potential dangers could take place. Such as the Jumping Mushrooms, or Cooper’s cupcake stand, or Guy and Biggie’s “fencing.”

“Well, that should do it.” He declared proudly. With that taken care of, he finally went back the way he came from. He still had some important matters to discuss with one particular troll.

Unfortunately, he failed to see the Eyestalks’ ambition growing, as well as their cunning…

..............................................................................................................................

When he finally made it to the unusually big pod that held the Fashion Twins’ shop, he tried to compose himself. What he came to do wasn’t going to be easy, but it needed to be done. He knocked on the hairy wall a few times when he arrived at the entrance. Satin was the one to greet him. “Oh! Hi, Branch! How’s Poppy?” she asked, worried about her best friend.

“She’s fine, just needs to rest her ankle a little.” He tried to sneak a peek from over the fashionista’s shoulder. “Can I come in?”

Satin looked hesitant. “Um… I don’t think it’s a good idea, actually. Suki’s in there and she’s told Chenille all about your little spat yesterday.”

“So you’re saying Suki doesn’t want to see me?”

“Well…yeah.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “But mostly I’m saying Chenille’s livid at you for talking to Suki like that. So unless you want to lose your royal jewels, I’d stay away if I were you.”

Branch gulped, who knew Rainbow trolls could be this vicious? But then again, the time Poppy told him off for his behaviour she’d also been a force to be reckoned with. So maybe it shouldn’t have come off as surprising. But he had to see Suki. “Satin, please. I know I was out of line yesterday, that’s what I came here for.”

Satin was about to retort when a voice coming from inside interrupted her, “Let him in, Satin.”

Branch and Satin turned their heads to see Suki, arms intertwined with Chenille’s (who looked like she was trying to hold back from glaring at her future king). Suki, in turn, turned her head to her fiancée, “Can you guys leave us alone for a while? We need to talk.”

“Are you sure?” Chenille asked, clearly worried for her mate.

Suki nodded before giving her a reassuring smile, “Positive.”

“OK.” And with that the twins left them alone inside the pod.

Suki and Branch looked like they were uncomfortable in each other’s presence. Something that hadn’t taken place ever since Suki’s first few months at the Forest. Each of them opened and closed their mouths a few times, before realising they were looking at each other’s eyes and promptly avoiding all eye contact.

Just when Branch had gathered enough courage to speak up, Suki beat him to it. “Look, Branch…” She took a deep breath, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. You’re my prince, I should’ve never done that.” She averted her eyes again, obviously ashamed, “…especially when you were right; I put Poppy in danger. And I know that you were also in very bad shape after the accident. I know that it takes you so long to let people in because your greatest fear is losing them forever. And considering I have never seen you so in love with anyone before, I could always tell from a mile away that Poppy means the world to you.” She finally looked him into the eye again, “Branch, I’m-.”

“I’m really sorry, Suki.”

The Commander’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? You’re sorry?!” She couldn’t believe it! “Branch, I’m the one who acted recklessly and put your wife’s life in danger, not the other way around!”

Branch chuckled lightly. “I know,” he shrugged nonchalantly, “but you were right too, Suki. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I think I took all the day’s stress out on you, and that was unfair of me.” He rested one hand on her shoulder, making her look at him. “Suki, you were too reckless for what I’m used of you, that’s true. But you had a point; while I would’ve been devastated had anything happened to Poppy, you would have had to live with the guilt.” He chuckled again, confusing her. Couldn’t he read a room? This was not the sort of subject that elicited a chuckle. “And you and I know that Poppy is unknowingly good at making guilt feel even worse because of her sunny, forgiving nature.” He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a pang of regret now and then (or every day, really) when she offered him her love and he remembered how cold he’d been to her during their first months together.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I forgive you. Can you forgive me, too?”

She smiled, “Of course I do, my prince.”

Now that the air had been cleared between them, Suki felt confident enough to sass him. Crossing her arms and aiming a smirk at his direction, she dared to ask, “So, what’cha been up to? Couldn’t stay away from your wife to come see me sooner?”

Branch actually laughed at that. “No, I was actually planting some Eyestalks on my way here. You could say I got distracted.”

Suki’s eyes were as wide as saucers at the revelation, “Wait, are you saying you’ve set Plan Five Delta Zero in motion?”

“Yes, after what happened yesterday, it was necessary.”

“And Poppy’s OK with this? I dunno, Branch… Such a surveillance system is a huge change in the Valley’s lifestyle. I mean, even in the Forest Kingdom we only use it on very extreme cases… And-, why are you looking at me like that?” When realisation hit her, she gasped. “Oh, Branch! You didn’t!”

The moment Suki mentioned Poppy’s opinion on the Eyestalks, Branch started sweating bullets. “Suki, don’t worry! I mean, sure, Poppy asked me to give her a little time to think things through, but the moment she sees what the Eyestalks can do for the kingdom, she’ll be totally on board with it!”

Suki wasn’t so convinced, “Are you sure about that? ‘Cause it can either go your way, or it can make Poppy think you’ve been stepping on her toes.” She tapped her fingers on her chin in a contemplative manner, “And now that I think about it, as Acting Queen, she’s higher up in the hierarchy than you Branch, and you should know better than anyone what if feels like to be ignored even when you have the last say in something.”

Branch waved it off, “Suki, relax. I know what I’m doing. And Poppy just wants what’s best for her kingdom. Trust me, the moment she sees what those babies can do, she’ll agree with me. Anyway, I gotta go back to her, it’s almost lunch. See you around!”

As Branch’s form retreated in the distance, the DJ’s gut told her not to be so sure about what her prince promised. “You’d better be right, Branch. For your own sake.”

...........................................................................................................................

Branch was walking down the Castle-pod’s countless halls, making his way back to his and Poppy’s pod-room, a skip in his step due to how productive the day had turned out to be. “The moment Poppy sees how useful the Eyestalks are, she’s going to want them everywhere.” He optimistically thought to himself.

But just as he was rounding the corner to his room, a tray with their food in hand, a scream came out from inside. Hastily placing the tray on the floor, he ran towards the room where his wife was; he could recognise her screams anywhere. The day she’d almost been taken by a tarantapuff made sure to engrave the sound in his memory. He slammed the door open with a powerful kick…

Only to find his pink beauty wrestling with the Eyestalk he’d left with her.

“Listen up, you horticultural menace!” She cried out with an apparent note of frustration in her voice as she struggled against the plant’s vines. “The only ones I allow to lovingly tug me in are my father when I was a trolling and my husband when I’m having a bad day. And you’re neither! So if you step your boundaries one more time, so help me!”

Taking advantage of the plant’s fixation on his wife, Branch snuck behind it… And effectively took care of the problem by simply smacking and breaking the pot. He looked up at his wife, “You OK, Poppy?”

The pink princess let out a sigh of relief once she’d regained her breath. “Yeah, thank you.” She wiped the sweat in her brow away. “Boy, those things are crazy. I’m so glad we didn’t use them in the village.” She giggled.

The moment she said that, Branch started blushing furiously in embarrassment and turned his back on her so she wouldn’t see him. “Y-yeah! M-me, too!” He stuttered.

Poppy raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, “Why are you turning red?”

“O-oh!” He jumped at her question. He could still get his plan to work if he played his cards well. “I just remembered how much I love you, that’s all!”

Of course, he’d spent his whole life staying clear from bets and card games, so he was terrible gambler material. “Yeah…” Poppy drawled. “You gonna have to do better than that, Branch. ‘Cause you remembering how much you love me would imply that we could possibly forget, which you and I know it’s impossible.” She crossed her arms. “So you’d better spill: What’s. Going. On. Branch?” She made sure to enunciate every word slowly and clearly enough so he would get the point that lying to her was not the way to go.

Her husband tried to come up with a convincing enough story to stall her until he’d made sure what happened to her Eyestalk was just a fluke. Unfortunately, the moment his eyes landed on the broken pot with the dead plant, Poppy’s narrowed on him; her mind finally connecting the dots. She gasped. “Wait. Branch, did you use the Eyestalks in the village when I specifically told you not to?”

“W-well, yeah… But!” he put his hands up in defence, “…But they’re really useful Poppy! You’ll see, the kingdom’s never going to be safer than with these beauties.”

“Beauties?!” She all but screeched. “That thing basically put me under house arrest! It wouldn’t even let me go to the bathroom!”

The uncharacteristic scowl on her face as well as her exasperated tone indicated she was not in a good mood. But just as Branch was racking his brain to find something that would reassure her that everything was under control, she spat at him. “You know, Branch? For someone who’s been raised his whole life to respect hierarchies and protocol, you sure don’t give a cupcake when it applies to you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I”, she pointed at herself, “am currently the Valley Kingdom’s Acting Queen, while you,” she was then pointing at him, “are my Prince Consort. According to your precious hierarchy, my decisions are above yours, and you should respect them!”

She was mad. Very, very mad. She was very, very mad at him. She was sure she’d never been this mad at him before. Not since she supposedly called him out on his behaviour on the Coming of Autumn Ball. But he’d crossed the line. It was one thing that they had different ways of looking after their subjects; that was what upbringing was for. But it was another thing entirely that he’d deliberately ignore his own kingdom’s teachings and her judgement on a matter that involved her kingdom.

She was so angry with him, she was sure she could’ve set her hair ablaze. But what he said next froze her to her very core.

“Look, Poppy. I know you were just trying to look out for your people, and that’s great! But really, when it comes to safety procedures, I’m the expert, so just leave it all to me. Just like I would leave party planning to you!”

For a moment, Poppy was completely motionless. His words repeating in her head on a loop. She was numb and disoriented from such a low blow... Until the numbness made way for the crushing weight of disappointment, accompanied by the freezing waves of sadness. Feelings that were sure to break her poor heart. Unconsciously, she gripped her sheets tighter, so tight her knuckles turned white. So that was what he thought of her? After all this time? He really saw her as a dumb pinkette, a funny but not very bright party girl who couldn’t take proper care of her trolls. After all they’d been through, he still thought she wasn’t good enough to rule. To him, she was still the lost child he scolded and belittled during his first months there. A child who clearly didn’t know anything about running a kingdom. He still treated her like an inconvenience, not a capable life partner who was worthy of being Queen by his side. Before she knew it, the tears were threatening to spill.

Worried from her lack of response, Branch tried to reach out a hand to her, “Poppy…?”

“I’m,” she tried to say, but the lump in her throat and the tears blurring her vision made it almost impossible, “I’m never gonna be good enough for you, am I?” She finally choked out.

The sound of his wife’s voice cracking and her tear-stained face immediately sent him into a panic. “What? Poppy, no! Y-you’re perfect for me!” He tried desperately to reason with her. “I just need you to trust me…”

“Trust?!” She screeched. He just put the last nail on the coffin. “You are talking to me about trust when it’s obvious you can’t trust my judgement?!” She let out a sardonic laugh. “That’s just rich!”

“Poppy, listen-“

“Get out.”

“What?”

“I said ‘get out’! I don’t want to see your face, you hear me?!”

The pink troll chose to ignore the pang of guilt she felt when she saw the hurt reflecting in his eyes; he wasn’t the one who’d just had a reality check that proved he’d never be someone she could count on. He wasn’t the one who’d just got two months of emotional abuse shoved back right in the face at full force.

But the plant lurking by the window didn’t choose to ignore how the troll their beloved prince claimed to care so much about just gave him the cold shoulder when he was just trying to help. It did choose, however, to get rid of the dangerous female once and for all…

............................................................................................................................

Still dumbfounded at how badly things had turned out, and hurt by Poppy’s words, Branch was stomping down the kingdom while grumbling to himself. “How could Poppy react like that? One little fluke and she just decided the Eyestalks aren’t good enough?” he rolled his eyes, “But of course, her father losing his mind was the sort of fluke she could totally ignore…” His eyes widened in shock when he registered his thoughts. He felt like slapping himself. Poppy was worried sick about her father and having a really hard time dealing with his condition. No matter how mad he might be, he should never use it against her.

Raising one hand, he rummaged through his hair until he found what he was looking for. When his eyes landed on the picture Biggie took of them during the cupcake fiasco from his birthday, he couldn’t help but tentatively stroke his wife’s laughing face. Seeing how happy they were even before confessing their feelings for one another always gave him hope that things between them would turn out OK. Funny how one little photo could bring him the hope he’d been missing for most of his life…

“I guess it’ll be best to let her cool down a little before bringing the Eyestalks up again…” he muttered quietly to himself. Before he knew it, he’d made it to the main square, but when his eyes landed on the scene before him, he stopped dead in his tracks. Wherever he looked, there were vines covering every inch of the place, trolls were being held against their will by the plants, and some of them were basically breathing down their necks about how they should live their lives. What had the plants done?

A familiar voice shook him away from his reverie. “Hi, Branch. Your friends like hugging, don’t they?” Biggie said from his vegetable confinement. Guy Diamond was as tied up as him. As if on cue, the vines started holding them tighter, almost cutting out their oxygen.

“We…loooooove…you…too!” The glitter troll choked out.

“What happened?” Branch asked in fright.

“Oh! W-we were just working on Guy’s fence w-when this weird plant, that seems to be everywhere now,” he muttered under his breath, but Branch’s enhanced hearing allowed him to make out the words, “came o-out of nowhere and s-started doing the job for us.” Biggie explained.

“Y-yeeeeah! And because we were s-suddenly free, we thought about t-taking a bath at the lake. But the moment I mentioned I hadn’t p-properly digested my lunch, the plant went craaaaazy! In the blink of an eye, there were dozens of them c-capturing trolls.” Guy finished in his auto-tuned voice.

“Sorry we couldn’t fight them off, but they caught us by surprise.” Biggie apologised.

“And where are my men?!” Branch was already trying to come up with a plan. If he assembled his men, together they could get rid of the plants. But there was one little problem: they were nowhere to be seen.

“Over here!”

When Branch turned around, he saw Suki, Mulberry, Arum, and Sap. They were captured as well. While Mulberry was upside down and blindfolded, Suki was glaring daggers at him.

“Oh, Sap! My darling!” Biggie cried, “Are you alright!?”

“I am, my love. Don’t worry. And you?”

“Better now that I know you’re safe.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly identify being held hostage by a safety-obsessed plant as ‘being safe’ but… Ow! Really, Arum? Even now?!” Somehow, his sister had managed to find a way to smack him even when the both were tied up. Muttering obscenities under his breath, the Sargent returned his focus to Branch. “Hate to say it, but told ya! The Valley was not ready for Plan Five Delta Zero. Hm…you know what? I don’t hate it at all! Feels good to be in the right for once.”

“And I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Suki said, “but I so agree with you, Mulberry.”

“OK, now this is just weird.” Arum muttered.

Suki decided to ignore the two siblings bickering to address her prince. “I warned you this could blow up in your face, but did you listen? Nooooo.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Well, in all fairness, you warned me about the consequences this could bring to me and Poppy’s relationship. You never mentioned the plants could go rogue.” Branch tried to defend himself the best way he knew besides hand-to-hand combat; he used technicalities.

Suki merely hummed. “And how did that go?” The sight of Branch flinching was all she needed. “Yup. Told ya.”

“Look, never mind that. Because I’m going to put an end to this.”

“We’re afraid we can’t let you do that, Sire.”

The captured trolls’ eyes widened in shock, and Branch turned around just in time to witness how the Eyestalks had morphed themselves together into one giant plant with several eyes. Its voice a combination of the plants’ it was made of. “We have accomplished almost all our goals, Your Highness. The Valley Kingdom has never been safer!” They rejoiced.

“Why are you doing this?” Branch demanded to know, ready to unsheathe his sword.

“Why, because it is what you planted us for, of course!” They answered in their creepy monotone. "You wanted the kingdom to be safer, and that is exactly what we did. Are you not content with the result, Sire?” The plant seemed to be genuinely confused by their master’s disapproval of their actions.

“Of course not! You’re more of a danger to my subjects than anything that could come out of the forest!”

Despite Branch’s very specific outburst, the Eyestalks ignored his reasoning completely. “Oh, right! You are disappointed because we have not completed all our goals! But worry not, Sire. Our last objective is about to be met.”

For some reason, the grey troll had a bad feeling about that. “And that is?” He asked with caution.

“Why, to eliminate the pink menace who dare hurt you, your Highness!” Then it proceeded to play a scene where Poppy was being dragged through the floor by the all-seeing plants towards the mouth of a bigger, carnivore plant. “She is, by far, the biggest danger of all.”

Branch’s eyes widened in terror at the sight of his beloved about to be fed to the giant plant. She told him. She told him the Eyestalks were a bad idea that needed to be carefully thought through and he refused to listen, believing he knew which one was the best way to handle her kingdom. No wonder she was so upset. He’d unintentionally looked down on her and her leadership like he hadn’t done since the beginning of November. And now he was paying the price. He started all this because he didn’t want to risk losing her? Well, he was closer to losing her now than ever.

“Oh, my gah! Poppy was right, too much safety can be smothering! What have I done?” While he was on the verge of a full-scale panic attack, the distant sounds of Poppy’s screaming brought him back to reality. Right, he had to save her. He had to save her, and make everything right in the village, and apologise to Poppy for being an idiot. With a determined look in his eyes, Branch used his hair to swing from one branch to another, swiftly avoiding vine after vine. Landing on top of Cooper’s cupcake stand, he picked up a plater full of them and threw the tray at some of the Eyestalks that were coming his way, cutting their heads off with it. Just as he threw the plater away, he tossed the cupcakes that were on top of it inside his hair, and morphing it into a cannon, began shooting them at the safety-obsessed menace, effectively blinding them.

As he battled the vicious plant, there was but one thought running cross his mind, “I’m coming, Poppy.”

Poppy was rightfully terrified. First she had a Flyer Bug accident that forced her to go through several dreadful days of bedrest, and now she was about to be eaten by a glorified insecticide? This clearly wasn’t her week.

The worst part was that her sprained ankle made it impossible to fight back when the Eyestalks were first capturing her. She felt so useless… Maybe Branch was right and she didn’t know how to take care of her kingdom… Seeing how she was getting closer and closer to the carnivore plant’s gigantic mouth, she closed her eyes shut. Her biggest regrets were not living long enough to become the queen her people needed and deserved, and parting ways with Branch in bad terms. How she wished they could just be cuddling in bed, instead of being about to die.

She prepared herself for the upcoming crunch! she was sure to feel when the giant plant bit her, but instead she heard something being sliced. Right before a hand swoop her up and positioned her protectively behind a very strong body she knew very well. Hair, she wished she could hug that same body one last time just seconds ago! “Branch?” she gasped.

“Yeah, Poppy. It’s me.” He sent her a small smile before turning serious again. “Now stay behind me! I’m about to end this!”

She did as she was told and witnessed her husband unsheathe his sword. While she felt extremely uncomfortable around sharp objects that could injure others, she had to admit her husband was an expert swordsman. He moved with ease, blocking any attack that came his way and slicing any Eyestalk that was foolish enough to get too close. But after a while she could feel him growing anxious, his breathing shallow and his eyes darting to any direction.

“Branch, what’s wrong?” She gently put a hand on his shoulder.

“They’re cornering us, I’m running out of moves!” He panted. The Eyestalks took that moment of distraction to strip him of his sword, rightfully declaring it was a danger. Seeing no escape and understanding he’d brought it on himself for being too impulsive when trying to be cautious, Branch slumped his shoulders and sent a regretful look at his dear wife. She was the most important person in his life and he’d been enough of an idiot to endanger her.

“Poppy, you were right. I never should’ve acted before having your approval on the matter. I’m so sorry.”

The pink-haired troll smiled at him, tears already forming in the corners of her eyes. She threw herself at his arms and hugged him tightly. “You should be.” She broke the hug slightly to give him one last slow, passionate kiss on the lips. “I love you.” She whispered.

“I love you too.” He said back, hugging her just as tightly.

They awaited for their bitter end, but when it didn’t come, they both opened their eyes to see the Eyestalks weren’t responding. “Not…danger?” One of them asked.

“Yes!” Branch exclaimed. “She’s not dangerous! She loves me and I love her too! Sure, she hurt my feelings, but I hurt hers, too. And…she was right; too much safety can be smothering.”

Poppy could only smile at her husband. He admitted to her being right! She was so happy she could just kiss him all over again. But before she had a chance, she was interrupted by the Eyestalks malfunctioning, incapable of processing that there could be something as ‘too much safety.’

Soon, only one remained. “Awesome!” it chanted.

“Branch, look! This one seems to get it!”

“Yeah…” he wrapped his hair around his sword before pointing at the plant with it. “Well, better take care of it!”

“Wait!” His wife put a hand on his chest to stop him. “I think I have a better idea.”

...............................................................................................................................

The pod-room’s window was placed so Poppy and Branch could have a perfect view of the kingdom even from bed. Which was a good thing, considering the princess was still on bedrest and standing up would certainly tire her out. But they had a perfect view of the harmless Eyestalk, who was now directing the Flyer Bugs so there wouldn’t be more accidents, from where they lay.

“You were right, Poppy. That is the perfect way to keep the village safe.” Branch said as he put one arm around her shoulders before bringing her close to him.

“Told ya!” she giggled as she snuggled closer to his side.

“Yeah, you did…” he whispered, “Just like you told me too much safety could be smothering, and I ignored you…” he looked away, ashamed of himself.

“Aw, Branch… It’s OK. Sure, it was a very stupid mistake, but we all make those sometimes!” she wiggled her eyebrows at him in a playful manner. “Have you forgotten already about that time I ate a poisonous berry that turned me into this huge, round thing?”

That earned her a snicker from her husband. “Besides, I was too harsh on you. Sorry I yelled at you.”

“Sorry?” He asked, incredulous. “Poppy, I’m the one who’s sorry!” He used his free hand to point at himself. “I didn’t get it when we fought, but the moment I saw what the Eyestalks had turned into, it was crystal clear.” Gah, how he hated when Suki was right…”I stepped on your toes. As Acting Queen you decided to think things first before changing anything in the village, and I, as your husband, the troll who’s supposed to trust and support you more than anyone else, acted like I knew best…” He finished, the guilt apparent in his voice. “I’m truly sorry, Poppy.”

Poppy just sent him one of those radiant smiles that ignited a fire in his heart every time he saw them. Just what was life before this wonderful creature became a part of his world? “Thank you, Branch. That’s all I wanted to hear, a sincere apology.” She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “And I forgive you.” Feeling like he’d fallen even more for his pink beauty, the grey troll brought her into a sweet kiss. When they broke it, she snickered, “Though, gotta warn you! Another stunt like that and my most reliable troll will end up being Smidge! And you know she’ll physically fight you for that title!”

Branch burst out laughing at that. It was true, the teaspoon troll’s devotion to Poppy was deep enough to rival his, and he was her mate! “Then I sure hope it doesn’t come to that!” he joked, making Poppy giggle. With eyes full of love and a fast beating heart, he whispered, “I love you so much, Poppy.”

She smiled back at him, “I love you too, Branch.” Then she began getting comfortable in bed, “Now, c’mon! I believe someone owes me some extra cuddles!”

And the two drifted to a peaceful sleep in each other’s arms…

.............................................................................................................................

“The end!” A male glitter troll with watermelon pink skin and sparkling white hair said, closing a binder full of notes. “And with that it can be concluded that His Majesty, King Branch, didn’t always care for his wife the Queen as much as he was known for doing.”

A completely disinterested female glitter troll, who looked very much like her brother except for having bright red skin, simply rolled her eyes from where she was standing. “For the last time, Charles,” she said, exasperated. “How many times do I have to tell you to check your sources?! That is clearly not how the Eyestalk Crisis happened!” She walked to where he was, until their faces were barely a hair apart. “King Branch was hopelessly in love with Queen Poppy since day 1! Stop with your nonsense, already!”

“It’s not nonsense, Monique!” Charles retorted. ”Their Majesties didn’t always have the loving relationship they are known for today, and I can prove it!”

She sighed, “How?”                    

“Simple.” He grinned before holding out his binder for her to see. “Grandpa told me everything!”

Monique face-palmed herself. “And you believed him? Charles, Grandpa has a fondness for making up stories! You might as well have used Trollipedia and it would’ve been much more accurate!”

“Oh, yeah? And how do you explain the Mandolin Incident, huh?!”

Her brother would be the death of her and of the entire historian community. “For the last time! The mandolin wasn’t properly made, the princess got stabbed with a splinter and the prince, in an act of overprotectiveness over his dear wife, got rid of it for hurting her. Seriously, dude! Check your sources!”

Apparently, the truth behind Queen Poppy and King Branch’s marriage would be one of the best hidden secrets in Trolls history.

#Trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls the beat goes on #ttbgo #eye'll be watching you #look me in the eye #poppy #branch #broppy #dj suki #chenille #pop n' posh #satin #biggie #guy diamond #smidge #dr plum plimsy #trolls ocs #trolls fanfic #trolls fanfiction #betrothed #betrothed au

[tricksteroftheheart]

Boyfriends Singing for Their Boyfriends (Two Unconnected Oneshots)

Word Count: 836 Summary: He’d do anything to entertain Izuru, honestly. Any additional infomation:  No Despair, Band AU, everyone goes to Hope’s Peak, Nagito is very gay, song is Arms Tonite by Mother Mother  What was Hajime so worked up about all of a sudden-? He blinked, confused, as the Reserve Course student video-chatted him suddenly, glaring into his pale green eyes. "Nagito, did you break the vending machine?" "Why do you ask?" "Makoto just texted me saying 'hey, the vending machine has a cat stuck inside of it, Gundham and Ryoma are not exactly happy.'" Nagito blinked, confused. "A cat? Why is there a cat?" "I don't know, that's why I'm asking." Hajime glared at him, then sighed and rubbed his head, his heterochromatic eyes locked with Nagito's. "..." He kind of zoned out for a few moments, staring out at nothing for around a minute. Nagito tilted his head, watching as the entire aura around Hajime changed. "...Komaeda." "Izuru! Hello." The luckster smiled at him, looking around the gym. "Izuru, is there practice today?" "No, you had practice yesterday." "Ahh." He hummed as he looked around, sitting down at the piano. He tapped absentmindedly at the keys, trying to play that one song Kaede had been teaching Shuichi earlier. "...Komaeda." "Yes?" He had a different aura to Hajime, which made sense considering he was an alter. Nagito was still kind of getting used to Hajime's DID, but he always put his best foot forward and Hajime appreciated it. "Can you play something?" Nagito blinked, confused, looking around before tilting his head. "You want to hear trash like me play something?" Izuru sighed, leaning his head on his hand. "You're not trash, Komaeda, far from it. And yes, I do. I'd like to hear you sing without Ouma stealing the spotlight." The luckster nodded, looking around before walking away from the phone. He came back a few moments later to izuru fiddling on a fidget cube, clicking a few of the buttons in a steady pattern. "What's a song I can sing alone... Um..." He found one of Ibuki's acoustic guitars, tuning it as he thought. "Ah, well... Okay." He breathed in, then breathed out and started strumming softly. "I fell... In your arms tonight... I fell, hard, in your arms tonight, it was nice..." He could see Izuru relax, smiling softly. "I died, in your arms tonight... I slipped, through, into the afterlife... It was nice." There was a smile on his face as he sang, cheeks tinted pink. "White light... In your arms tonight... I lost sight... In your arms tonight. It was nice..." He looked to the camera, eyes glittering like stars in a dull green sky. "And hey, you! Don't you think it's kinda cute that I, died?" Izuru raised an eyebrow, and he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Right inside your arms tonight? That I'm, fine? Even after I have died because it was in your arms I died~" He had to stop the note a bit early because he had to giggle, mostly because he was nervous but also because the look on Izuru's face was adorable. He didn't often show emotions, but the fact his cheeks had dusted to a faint shade of red made his heart do flips in his chest. "I cry, in the afterlife... I cry, hard, because I have died... And you're alive!  I, try... To escape afterlife... Well I try! Hard! To get back inside... Your arms, alive..." Izuru seemed to perk up a bit, eyes flicking from Nagito to something else before he relaxed again. The Ultimate Luck didn't pay it any mind, and neither did Izuru, considering he didn't interrupt him to bring it up. "And hey, you, don't you think it's kinda cute? That I, try, to escape the afterlife? That I, try, to get back in your arms alive? That I died in your arms, that... I fell... Hard~ In your... Arms~ I went and died in your arms that night... I fell... In your arms tonight... Suicide~ In your arms~!" He breathed in, then breathed out softly as he started playing, enjoying the time he didn't have to sing. "And hey! You! Don't you think it's kinda cute that I, died? Right inside your arms tonight? That I'm, fine? Even after I have died? That I, try, to escape the afterlife? That I, try, to get back in your arms alive? That I died in your arms, that night~!" He breathed in, then breathed out, not good as so many words so quickly- "I fell... In your arms tonight... I died... In your arms tonight... White light... In your arms tonight... I fell... In your arms tonight..." He sighed and put the guitar down, breathing just a tad bit heavily before- "Nice, Komaeda-kun." He jumped and looked backwards to see Chiaki, idly playing on her handheld. "Fujisaki-san, Iruma-san, Kiibo-san and Souda-san need the gym." "Oh, okay! Thank you, Nanami-san." She nodded and walked off, not even mentioning the fact Nagito was just... In here. Alone. Video chatting his boyfriend. "...I'll talk to you soon, Izuru-san." The boy nodded from the other end of the screen, legs crossed. Entertained. "I'll be waiting." ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Word Count: 794 Summary: Shuichi isn’t in the best of moods, and Kokichi would do anything to help him. Any additional infomation:  No Despair, Band AU, everyone goes to Hope’s Peak, Kokichi is very gay, song is I Don’t Care by Fall Out Boy The violette leaned his phone against the piano, smiling softly at the detective on the other end. He was in bed, as usual this week, but he said he still wanted to hear Kokichi play. Anything for Shumai, of course. The short Leader walked around, grabbing a guitar, a speaker, hooking them up, making sure they were okay for Shuichi and weren't too loud... "This okay?" He strummed a few chords, watching the Detective smile and nod softly. He had Kokichi's bandana wrapped around his neck, and for some reason that detail made his cheeks flush a light shade of pink. "Okay, um..." He looked around for some of his Grape Panta, drinking some of it down before picking the guitar back up. "Say my name, and his in the same breath... I dare you to say they taste the same...." He hummed as he tested the chords, half-mumbling the lyrics. "Let the leaves fall off in the summer, and let December glow in flames, mmm hmm..." He closed his eyes, patting one foot against the floor. "Erase myself and let go, start it over again in Mexico... These friends, they don't love you, they just love the hotel suites, now-" He perked up, knowing this part better than the other part. "I, don't, care what you think, as long as it's about me! The best of us can find happiness, in misery~! I, don't, care what you think, as long as it's about me! The best of us can find happiness, in misery..." He started mumbling again, cheeks flaring up at the fact he didn't know this song as well as he thought he did. Well, it was Leon and Ibuki's cup of tea, anyway. "Oh, take a chance, let your body get a... A... Oh! Tolerance-" Shuichi giggled a bit, watching him play. "I'm not a chance, but a... Mmnnnmmmn... Mmmmmmnnn... I'm the oracle in my chest, let the guitar scream like a fascist!" The parts where he normally sang and the parts where Nagito did were coming in very obviously right now, but Shuichi didn't mind. The humming was part of the charm, honestly. "Sweat it out, shut your mouth, free love on the streets, but in the alley it ain't that cheap! Now I, DON'T, CARE what you think as long as it's abooouutt me! The best of us can find happiness, in misery! I! Don't! Care! What you think, as long as it's aboout me, the best of us can find happiness, in misery..." He kept humming, singing more of the background vocals than the actual lyrics. Shuichi hummed along with him, and it made his heart flutter. "Hmmm, I don't care! Mmm, I don't care! Said I don't care, I don't care! I don't care! Mmm-hmm-mm... I said-a, I! Don't! Care!" He started jamming out, closing his eyes. "I! Don't! Care! What you think, as long as it's abooouut me! The best of us can find happiness, in misery! Mmmm, hmm, mmm-hmm-mm, in misery." He finished strumming the last two chords, looking to Shuichi who was now curled up in his blankets, a blush visible on his face even though the bad video quality. "You really rely on Nagito for that one, huh?" "We're a band, not a single act." "No matter what you would like me to believe, right?" The Detective smirked at the camera, causing the Supreme Leader to stick his tounge out at him. "Boooo! Shumai's trying to use my lying against me!" "Who is what-?" The violette JUMPED at the sudden voice, falling off the stool and clattering to the ground, electric guitar landing safely on his chest. The Ultimate (Un)Lucky Student blinked and looked over him, confused before looking at the phone. "Oh! Hello, Saihara-san. Was Kokichi-san singing something for you?" "Um... Yeah, you can say that-" The blush on his face was back, less enthralled with his lover and more out of sheer embarrassment. Kokichi grumbled as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Thanks for killin' the mood, Nags. Don't you have a boyfriend to bother?" "Ah, no! Izuru said he didn't want me bothering his studies, so I left. Little did I expect some trash like me would have found you, playing a solo! It really is my lucky day." The underclassmen stared up at him, locking eyes, face completely neutral. Purple met pale green with a silent stare. "..." He sighed and shook his head, getting back onto the stool. "We play in a band together, you hear me sing all the time-" "Ah, but not by yourself! Others always play over you, since you sing so quietly during practice-" Shuichi chuckled as he watched the two, a soft feeling encompassing his heart. God, he loved that adorable lying idiot.

#sorry not sorry #kokichis was written first #love the gays #sorry about the massive block of text #im not excited for all these tags #high note: dr band au #danganronpa #dr #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #dr1 #super danganronpa 2 #sdr2 #dr2 #dr3 #kokichi #kokichi ouma #nagito #nagito komaeda #hajime #hajime hianta #izuru #izuru kamukura #shuichi #shuichi saihara #komahina #nagito x izuru #nagito x hajime #saiouma #kokichi x shuichi #chiaki

[luke-patterson-owns-my-soul]

Positive

Luke x Julie

Title: Positive

Words: 2106

Summary: AU. Luke and Julie have been a couple since High School and Julie gets sick. Luke panics it’s more serious than it is, but it’s still life changing.

Requested: by @5sosmukefan TW: None (unless you don’t like mentions of someone being sick) Author’s notes: I hope I fit the request well enough for you! Song featured is Lauv’s Like Me Better.

Source: sabonhomeblog

Letting himself into the apartment to hear Julie throwing up in the bathroom wasn’t the best end to Luke’s workday. He’d been insanely busy at the music store he managed. It was the lead up to Christmas, and every parent in the state was buying their kid a musical instrument.

“Babe, you okay?” he called out, dropping his keys in the bowl on the side as he moved through the hallway to the bathroom where he found Julie on her knees, her head over the bowl.

“I think my breakfast burrito’s trying to kill me.” She groaned, sounding pretty pathetic. Luke grabbed a wash cloth, ran it under some cold water, rung it out, and placing it on the back of his girlfriend’s neck. “That feels amazing.” She moaned before retching again.

“How long have you been like this?”

“About an hour. All of a sudden, I felt really nauseous and light-headed.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I could have got someone to finish up at work.

“Luke, it’s only a bit of food poisoning, I’ll be fine tomorrow,”

Getting her to her feet, Luke led Julie into their bedroom and helped her undress and get into bed.

“I think I’ve got some of mom’s soup in the freezer. I’ll get it heated up for you, see if it settles your stomach. Then I’m cancelling practice with the guys.”

“Yes to the soup, but go to practice. I’ll be alright on my own for a while.” Luke looked down at her. “Honestly, I’ll probably just sleep it off.”

“Let me get the soup, then we’ll see how you are.” Julie waved at him in acknowledgment of his words as she began to doze, looking like a cocooned caterpillar in their bed.

As Luke moved around the kitchen, he hummed a melody that had been plaguing him all day. It had been so busy, he’d been unable to get five minutes to get it down on paper. While he defrosted the leftover chicken soup his mom had given them when she’d last made a batch, he thought about what Julie had said about him going to rehearsal, leaving her alone. Realistically, he knew she would be fine, but he still worried. In all the years he’d known and loved Julie Molina, he’d never known her to get sick like this.

As a compromise with himself, he sent a text to Flynn who promised to head over and sit with Julie. Just in case which relieved him. He decided to cut rehearsal short so he could get back home to make sure Julie was okay.

Pulling a breakfast tray off the top of the refrigerator, he poured the soup into a bowl, filled a jug with some ice water, and carried everything into the bedroom.

“Julie?” He spoke quietly, the bundle in the middle of the bed didn’t move. “Jules… I got your soup.”

With a groan, Julie poked her head out from under the comforter and sat up so Luke could place the tray over legs.

“I’m going to cut rehearsal short and Flynn’s on her way. If you need anything, call me and I’ll be straight home.” He placed a soft kiss against her forehead before leaving her to eat. He grabbed his guitar and keys and left the apartment, passing Flynn on the way down to the parking garage.

:: ::

For years, while at High School and college, Luke and his band, Sunset Curve, had used Bobby’s old garage to rehearse in, but after their rhythm guitarist had left the state on a music scholarship, they’d had to make other arrangements. Luckily, the music store Luke worked at has a space in the back that he had constant access to.

“Boys, I can’t stay too long tonight. Julie’s sick and although Flynn’s with her I don’t want to leave her too long.”

“We can always reschedule.” Reggie looked worried about the girl he considered a sister. Alex nodded from behind his drums.

“She told me to come, so let’s at least get something done before I go back.”

Luke ran through the new melody that had been running through his head all day. By the time Reggie had added his bassline to it and Alex the drums, it was almost complete. All it needed were lyrics, but Luke couldn’t concentrate, his mind constantly wandering to the woman he’d loved since junior year.

“Go on, go home. We’ll lock up here.” Alex patted him on the shoulder. With a smile and a round of hugs, he left his friends and returned home.

“She’s sleeping.” Flynn called out softly from the lounge where she was working on her laptop.

“Did she eat?” He asked, sinking into the chair opposite Julie’s best friend.

“Yeah, and she kept the soup down.”

Relief flooded through Luke. He’d had visions of coming home to find Julie throwing up again, unable to keep anything down.

“Thanks for staying with her.” He loved Flynn like the sister she may as well have been.

“It’s cool. I’m not worried about her. She’ll bounce back within a couple of days.” She closed her laptop and shoved it in her bag. “I gotta go. Let me know when she’s better.” She bent over and gave Luke a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, will do.”

Hearing the door click closed behind her, Luke stood up and made his way into the bedroom to check on Julie. She was fast asleep, looking better than she had when he’d left. Flynn had taken care of the bowl and tray, so he returned into the lounge, grabbed his acoustic and his journal. The melody was still playing on a loop in his head, and he sat down to try and put some lyrics to it.

To be young and in love in New York City (in New York City)

To not know who I am but still know that I'm good long as you're here with me

To be drunk and in love in New York City (in New York City)

Midnight into morning coffee

Burning through the hours talking

“That sounds great.” Julie’s voice behind him made him jump. Putting his guitar and pen down, removing the pick from his mouth he turned to face her. She was bundled up in her pajamas.

“Hey, c’mere.” He held out a hand and pulled her onto his lap when she took hold of it. “How you feeling now?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her and placing a kiss on her hair as she curled herself into his embrace.

“Better. I should be good to go tomorrow.” She looked up at him, knowing he would have a smirk on his face, hearing a double entendre where there wasn’t one planned. Giving him a soft punch on the arm, she snuggled back into his hard chest. “Dork.”

It had amazed her how much more he’d filled out since High School, and she constantly felt safe in his arms. For the past six years, she’d felt protected and loved more than she’d ever expected.

“You make it too easy Molina. Now, let’s get you back into bed.” With a practiced ease, he stood up with her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. As she made herself comfortable in their bed, he stripped down to his boxers and climbed in next to her. In an  instant, she’s back in his arms, and Luke knows how lucky he is.

:: ::

It’s been three days, and Julie is still throwing up. Luke’s worried as hell, so he makes her book an appointment with her doctor. Naturally, because she hates feeling like a burden, Julie tries to refuse, but he’s adamant.

“Babe, this is more than food poisoning. Just let the doctor check you over,” he turns on the puppy dog eyes she’s never been able to resist, “for me?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” Julie grumbles as she picks up her phone and calls her doctor’s office.

“Cute? Is that all?” He pouted as she ended the call. “I was cute in High School. Now I’m so much more.”

“And totally modest too.” She gave him a quick kiss before running into the bathroom to throw up the lunch she’d eaten.

“When’s your appointment?” he asked when she returned into the lounge.

“Tomorrow at four.”

“I’ll get the time off, come with you.”

“Luke, it’ll be okay. I’ll come down to the store after seeing Dr. Harrison.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

He wasn’t happy, but he knew how stubborn she was, and she wasn’t going to let him go with her. They spent the rest of their Sunday curled up on the couch watching old Friends reruns.

:: ::

Watching the clock as it got closer until four p.m. was driving Luke insane. The store had been fairly quiet, and the hours were dragging. All he could think about was Julie’s doctor’s appointment. He was close to ducking out of work when Reggie and Alex entered.

“Hey, Buddy. You look pretty wound up.” Alex commented as he and Reggie join Luke behind the counter.

“Julie’s at the doctor’s office. I’m just on edge.”

“I’m sure it’s all okay. Probably a virus or something. A course of antibiotics and she’ll be better than ever.” Reggie’s mom was a doctor’s receptionist, so naturally, the bassist thought he was an expert.

“I hope so.” Luke muttered as his friends shared a look.

Eventually, time seemed to move and Julie was soon entering the store. Leaving his friends behind the counter, Luke rushed over to her.

“What did Dr. Harrison say? Is everything okay? Did she give you anything?”

“Slow down Luke and let the woman breathe.” Alex chuckled.

“Can we go and talk in the office?” Julie’s voice sounded so small to Luke and his heart shattered. Something was seriously wrong and this was the moment he was going to lose her. He just knew it. Taking hold of her hand, he led her through to the back and into the office. “You better sit down.”

“Jules, please. You’re scaring me. Whatever you’ve been told, I’ll be there with you, every step of the way.” He held onto her hands, panic filling his entire body as she stood in front of him in silence.

“Well, I never doubted that. It’s one of the main reasons I love you so much.” Julie let go of his hand and rummaged around in her bag. Before she withdrew anything, she told him to close his eyes. When he did as he was told, she finally allowed a smile to split her face and place an envelope into his hands.

“What’s this?” He looked down at it, a worried look on his face.

“Open it.”

In silence, Luke flipped the envelope over and slowly opened the flap. Before he withdrew the piece of paper, he looked up at Julie who nodded at him to continue. He sucked in a deep breath and withdrew the slip of paper and stared at it.

“What is it?” he knew what it was, having seen them on TV and in the movies, but somehow his brain had short circuited.

“It’s the first photo of Baby Patterson.” Julie laughed as his features expressed every emotion he was thinking in the few seconds it took for her words to register.

“So… you’re not sick?”

“Nope.”

“We’re gonna be…”

“Yep.”

Julie squealed as Luke gathered up in his arms and peppered her face with kisses. Within seconds, Reggie and Alex ran into the office, clear looks of fear on their faces.

“Is everything okay?” Reggie asked, his cheeks flushed pink.

“Everything’s great, boys.” Luke looked at Julie.

“Tell them, you won’t settle until you do.”

“We’re having a baby.”

:: ::

Throughout Julie’s pregnancy, Luke was beside her for everything. Morning sickness – which he suffered sympathy symptoms of - OBGYN appointments, Lamaze classes, and finally the birth.

Seeing the woman he adored more than he ever imagined possible in so much pain killed him, but as his daughter was brought into the world, he was struck dumb. Tears flowed down his face as the tiny, screaming bundle was handed to him.

“She’s got a musician’s lungs.” Julie spoke from the bed, exhaustion lacing her voice, but a look of love and wonder on her face. Luke nodded like a marionette, unable for the first time in his life to formulate a sentence. Instead, he walked to the side of the bed and passed the baby to Julie and kissed her.

“I fucking love you, Julie Molina.” He kissed the baby’s head. “And you Emily Rose Patterson.”

Tagging:

@ lovesanimals   @morganayennefertyrell @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ @xplrreylo​ @wayward-leigh​

If you’d like to be added to my tag list, please let me know. A message is preferable as I sometimes miss comments

#jatp fic #au Juke #Luke patterson fic #Julie Molina fic #fic request #Mich writes fic

[sadcxzcf]

It doesn't zapatillas de tacos futbol say much about Washington.

Washington is a big place. If you hang around cynics and frauds, that says something about the company you keep and the cohort you've chosen. It doesn't zapatillas de tacos futbol say much about Washington. CITY GIRLS' WATER POLO Quarterfinals, Friday Eagle Rock 13, San Pedro 0 Cleveland 12, Birmingham 8 Venice 4, Granada Hills 2 Palisades 13, Los Angeles CES 4 Semifinals, Tuesday at Contreras 1 Eagle Rock vs. 2 Palisades vs. 4 San Marcos vs. Avec les chiffres, on peut voir que nous sommes l. On va voir une allocation trs importante pour le Qubec. On va commencer maintenant travailler avec eux, et a va tre bon , a t il dit.Le projet de REM, dont les premiers travaux doivent s'amorcer au cours des prochaines semaines, comprend 27 stations couvrant 67 kilomtres. Psycho hunter B. Rabid dog C. Bees D. Many tonyafumagalli people assume the sitemap shops are bars rather than clothing dealers. One step inside dispels scenario of mistaken identity. There are lots of garments available in cool beach setting. European Psychologist, 18 (4), pp. 245 252.Blackwood, L., Hopkins, N. And Reicher, S., 2013. You can eat and drink as normal before some blood tests. In other cases, you will be instructed not to eat or drink (other than water) before your test. This is known as a fasting blood test. NEW YORK, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire szemüveg csúszásgátló FirstCall/ Polo Ralph Lauren announced today маратонки puma mercedes amg that professional golfer Luke Donald has signed a new multi year contract with the luxury apparel company. Mr. 27 year old Marquis Taylor, 39 year old Jermaine Ricky Johnson and 46 year old Louis Mathis are charged in a theft at the Macy's in Moorestown, New Jersey. A photo of 30 year old Hasan Knight, a fourth suspect, was not available. Officials believe the men are involved in several other thefts at local department stores and a car dealership.. 666(a)(1)(A), was unreasonable. Id. At 354. Female pilots have been flying Navy F/A 18s since the mid 1990s and have flown patrol missions over Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. Military helicopters since 1973Alaskan is first female pilot in combatABOARD THE USS szemüveg csúszásgátló ENTERPRISE The word raced from sailor to sailor like gossip around the office water coolerShe is just smučarski kombinezon hlače 26. She beat her squadron commander into battle. Morning Star Peters was the winning pitcher, with Kailey Jolliffe taking the loss. On Wednesday. Luis Adamo also scored for Excel, which tried a bunch of folks in goal, including Tynan, Carlo Beltrano and Randy Heslop. The next weekend, my husband begged off the second part of my outlet experience. So I enlisted my friend Nikki, who buys everything off the World Wide Web even groceries and маратонки puma mercedes amg we set out for Freeport, Maine, where the outlet shopping could not have been more different from Wrentham's. Beginning with the food.. Band intends to let the music evolve. sac camelbak lobo Just try to have a good time, he said. Next album may sound different. Every road in Kamloops has at least some slope. Even our airport runway extension had to be sloped on a 1% grade to ensure that the river dike did not intrude into the glide path of arriving aircraft. 1% doesn't sound like a lot but it meant that one end of the 2,000 foot extension is twenty feet higher than the point where it joins the older portion of the runway. The following are some of the side effects that are nike hip pack known to be associated with this medicine. Just because a side effect is stated here, it does chanel ágynemű not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect. If you think you. While many women are known to hoard beauty products, many men are guilty of not using enough. And you know what can wreak havoc on a guy's skin? Using just body wash and shaving cream, and calling it a day. To find some middle ground between these two extremes, we consulted three men's grooming experts to ask which items all guys nike black tn 001 need in their medicine cabinets.. If you are near the upper scores for this category, do consider a short spell of counselling with an expert in eating disorders. This may help prevent your problems from getting worse and causing damage to your health. To learn more about these categories, please click on the links below. Heat 50 ml of the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat and cook the onion for 6 8 minutes, or until golden. Add the lamb, garlic and 1 tbsp of the salt and cook for 8 10 minutes, or until lamb is well browned on all sides. Add the water, reduce heat to low and cook, skimming surface occasionally, for 1 hours, or until lamb is tender. I think this risks the impoverishing of our imagination and the shrinking of our sense of the world. A . Ralisation des objectifs du Millnaire dump the dveloppement (OMD), principalement celui de rduire l pauvret de moiti d 2015. The dramatic increase in autism prevalence over the last decade increasing 600 percent in the last two decades underscores the need for more research on environmental factors. "Our understanding of typical brain development combined with what we've learned from examining the brains of individuals with autism indicates that it is important to investigate the roles of the prenatal and early postnatal environment," explains Dr. Dawson. You can have heard this so normally with motives which say that it continues you wholesome and sturdy. However what most of the people do not know is that theyre attain in antioxidants that flushes out the ones harmful pollutants away from your frame. And as we noted earlier those pollutants can reason your skin appearance dangerous and unattractive.