#I doubt all over the world but y’know what I’ll take that flag

[thevillainswhore]

Perverse Desires

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Assigned an undercover mission, you’re partnered up with the bane of your existence, Bucky, to pay a visit to a s-ex club. What could go wrong?

Warnings: Smut (s-ex club, oral f receiving, f-ingering, nipple play, voyeruism, exhibitionism, degradation)

A/N: unbeta’d, dividers by saradika

Um, idk where this came from tbh, enjoy tho x

“Are you sure I’m the right person for this, Cap?”

The mission brief Steve handed over to you had stunned you in all honesty. You had been on numerous undercover missions for the team in the past, so there was no doubt in your mind or anyone else’s that you were capable for the job. It was your speciality - having a knack for being precise with discrete sufficiency and perfect timing to be able to get in and get out without making a fuss. But, this was totally new, even for you.

“Agent, I have no concern whether you’re fit for this job. I know it’s… different.” Steve clears his throat and you know this is as awkward for him as it is for you. “But, you were highly recommended and you have a- um, how d-do I say this? You, er-“

Tony interrupts Steve’s rambling from his seat in the corner of the office you were all situated in, decidingly having enough of watching his co-worker stumble from embarrassment.

“What Captain prude is trying to say, sweetheart, is that you have the right look for the job - great features, killer body - y’know? You’ll draw the target out no problem.” He finishes his explanation by throwing a wink paired with a smug smirk at Steve’s flushed cheeks.

“Yes. Thank you, Tony.” The grimace on Steve’s face has you desperate to laugh at his unease, but you manage to keep it in, eager to get out of this office soon as possible. “Your skills and experience are also compatible with the nature of this mission, Agent - it’s imperative we don’t mess this up.”

Skimming over the mission brief once more, you take in the role you have to play. An exclusive member of a popular underground sex club that’s been flagged up by Fury for suspicion of covering up a huge drug ring. Target ‘Antonio Maxwell’ - the leader the Avengers were looking to take down. While it wasn’t a world-ending level threat, the new drug allegedly supplied by Maxwell had already implemented significant damage and a high number of mysterious death cases to those in contact with him, concerning enough for higher ups to ask for help with this.

That’s where you came in.

You had enough background knowledge of ring leaders and crime bosses to call point on this - having worked undercover multiple times in this specific area over your years as an agent. Knowing how men like this worked and their strategies to cover their tracks was your forte. This would be a piece of cake for you. Yeah, the sex club element was a new challenge for you, but you were up for it.

“Okay boys. I’m in.”

Pleased hums and mumbled chatter from Steve and Tony as they finished up the paperwork with your agreement faded to the distance as you read till the bottom of the page of the brief - a new detail you must have missed before catching your eye and making you frown in confusion. Lifting your gaze to the men, you question the two of them one more time.

“Um- guys, it says here I’ll be working with a partner? Can I ask who it is?”

And just as Steve and Tony throw each other a worried look that has your eyes growing wide with realisation, you hear the door click open, a tall, beefy figure joining the room to announce his presence.

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.

“Sorry I’m late Punk, what did’ya need?”

Bucky Barnes.

“Y’know you don’t have to look so happy to see me dollface, I know how much you love spending time with me.”

Hell didn’t have shit on this.

Barnes is the literal bane of your existence. Constantly a pain in your ass since he had nothing better to do with his days than annoy you. Avenger you may not be, but the amount of time you still have to spend around him is ridiculous. Training, gym, drills. He just seems to be in your presence 24/7 and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was doing it on purpose. His teasing and childish remarks at your capability to do your job always has you biting your tongue around him. Frustration leading you to walk away from what you were previously doing, or causing you to snap in anger and scream at him in front of the other recruits - smug smile plastered over the bastard’s face knowing he’d won, yet again.

Bucky was unbearable.

You are also possibly the only one in the entire Shield initiative, who hadn’t fallen for his charm or swooned over him - women and men actually falling over their feet just at the sight of him - never mind what they did to actually have a scrap of his attention.

Sickening.

And so you believe it’s because of this reason, Barnes has made it his business to make sure every day is torture for you. His fragile masculinity unable to comprehend that you’re just not into him. Not desperate enough to whittle your entire being to admiring him.

Even if he did have them ocean blue eyes you occasionally got lost in.

Where the hell did that come from?

“Just because we’re paired together Barnes, doesn’t mean we have to speak - let’s just get this mission done with and go back home. Sooner this is over the better.”

Bucky’s mock gasp at your scolding only boils your blood hotter.

“Okay, first of all, ouch, I thought we were friends, baby.” His low chuckle and his pet names have you fighting the war going on between your cunt and your head.

“And second of all, we kinda have to talk. It’s part of the mission - the whole sex crazed relationship we got going on to be exclusive members of the club, remember? Silly bunny, I know your head gets a little fuzzy sometimes, but catch up dollface, you’re slacking.”

Okay, that shouldn’t be making my panties wet.

Huffing a frustrated sigh and ignoring his efforts to rile you up, you snatch the mission brief out of the compartment of the car and place it over your legs to read it over one more time before reaching your destination. Not giving Bucky the satisfaction of seeing your thighs rub together to stop the ache in your pussy and the butterflies in your stomach.

“There’s a good girl.”

Fuck.

The tacky neon signs and the disco lights of the bar you arrive at almost give you a headache worse than Barnes did on a bad day - you know this is a front to their downstairs adult party.

Stepping out of the car in your knee high leather boots is a task, but you make it look effortless as you smoothly swing your legs round and stand up, shuffling your tight, mini black dress down to cover as much of your ass as possible. Your outfit had to match the vibe of the character you were playing and you didn’t sell her short.

Bucky, however, got the better end of the stick in his full black suit. Top three buttons of his shirt undone to reveal his broad chest with a smattering of hair.

Stupid fucking Barnes and his stupid, slutty chest.

Closing your eyes and inhaling a deep breath to calm your headspace for the mission, you fail to notice the silent ex-assassin creep up beside you and whisper in your ear, “Last minute nerves, dollface?”.

Your eyes open wide in shock at the feel of his breath against your neck, goosebumps running down your arms and you push down the urge to shiver. “Oh Jesus fucking Christ, do you mind? A bit of personal space would be nice please”, turning your head towards Bucky, you realise too late how close he is to you, noses almost bumping together as his intense gaze pins you to your spot.

“Can’t start getting all jumpy on me now, baby bunny. Thought you were good at your job.”

You can nearly feel the motion of his lips moving as he speaks. How easy it would be to just move that tiny bit closer to finally know if they’re as soft and plump as they look.

You’re better than this, he’s making you look weak - that’s his plan.

Your leather heels click as you walk away from him, tearing your body out of danger and berating yourself for acting just like those back at the compound, the lovesick recruits who put Bucky Barnes on a pedestal. You would not be like them. Not in a million years.

You don’t see Bucky cock his head as he watches your hips sway side to side, but you definitely hear his low whistle in reference to your ass - his grunt of laughter following soon after when you stick your middle finger up over your shoulder at him.

Security protocol of the club doesn’t take as long as you thought it would, the tech department handling your fake identity documents with the utmost care to ensure there would be no issues.

Now, you stood at the ominous red door at the end of the hallway, about to be let into the most prestigious sex club known. You couldn’t say you were totally ready, the natural fear of the unknown rattling your psyche. Yet, you didn’t let it show. Face stoic with a subtle sultry undertone to enhance your allure.

Bucky’s coded knocks on the door echoes through the hallway, his cold metal hand snaking over your waist and squeezing the meat of your hip. If the door hadn't opened as quick you would have stomped on his foot.

Would of served the fucker right.

And soon enough, with a private spoken password, only sent to the invited elite, you were in.

Holy. Fuck.

Had Bucky not kept his arm around your waist you would have fell flat on your ass.

Everywhere you looked had your heart beat erratically speeding up. Cocks. Tits. Pussys. All of it was on show without a care in the world. Threesomes, gangbangs, doms and subs. Any sexual position or kink your mind could conjure up was playing out in front of you - the glow of the red strobe lights highlighting the sweat, spit and cum covering numerous naked bodies.

The music blasting over the speakers had no chance of silencing the high pitched moans and needy whimpers of pleasure. Whips smacking against skin and leather cuffs clinking against railings - you didn’t know how to process your senses going haywire.

“What’s a matter, dollface? Don’t tell me you haven’t seen a cock before.”

You don’t think you could have suppressed the tingles shooting through your nerves at Bucky’s use of the word ‘cock’, the image already engraved in your mind of you squirming in his hold as he tells you his filthy thoughts.

Bitch, now is not the time.

Right, you had a mission to complete and you couldn’t fuck this up.

“Shut the fuck up Barnes. We didn’t come here to fuck around and argue, so you scour the left side of the room and I’ll take the right - if you see Maxwell then communicate through the coms.” Without listening to what would without a doubt be another jab at you from Bucky, you stepped away and left him alone, praying that a moment away from him would clear your head.

It had been at least an hour of searching, still no sign of Maxwell or at least any type of drug dealings you could snap a picture of for evidence. The ache ever present in your feet from the six inch leather boots. You had scoured the entirety of your side, ignoring the clapping of wet skin and grunts of feral men. You just needed a minute to rethink your strategy and come up with a new plan - something worthy enough to draw Maxwell out of his hiding spot for the night.

Stepping into the nearest open plan room, you lean against the wall and rub your temples in an attempt to get your brain flowing. Not noticing the growing crowd gathering to watch the spectacle on the sofa in the middle of the room. You really hadn’t paid attention to the man laying a woman down and spreading her legs for everyone to get a good view, too preoccupied with your own situation.

It only registered what was happening when you heard the first breathy whine of a woman, slowly lifting your head to witness a man licking her pussy in languid strokes, thumbs holding her folds open to suck her clit.

Shit, this is really happening.

It also occurred to you that the woman kind of looked like you - same hair colour and body type, enough to have you imagining it was you in her position.

You swallowed the growing knot in your throat, the arousal pooling in your lacy underwear creating a sticky mess. Chest heaving up and down as the scene before you had your breaths coming in heavier.

What the fuck am I doing?

You had never counted yourself as a voyeurist. You most definitely were not inexperienced and had experimented plenty in the bedroom with partners, but this was a total new sensation for you. Watching someone else bask in the pleasure their partner was bringing them, legs trembling uncontrollably. It was really doing it for you.

Without permission, you found yourself stepping closer, greedy to be just that tiny bit nearer to the main event. Your mouth stayed open as you placed your hands on both of your arms, licking your lips with raw need.

As you got a closer look at the man, you took in his mid length brunette hair, tied up in a bun at the back of his head. He had a broad stocky build, beefy and probably big enough to tower over you should he stand up. Wait…

He looks like Bucky.

You shifted on the balls of your feet at your new epiphany, shaking in anticipation on whether to stay and watch or leave.

Surely it couldn’t hurt to watch a little, right?

Bucky was growing fed up with the lack of leads on his hunt for information. No sightings of drugs and no clue where the leader of the drug ring was. He guesses you were still searching on your end too, a silent line on his com alerting him you’d found nothing as well.

He should probably go check to see how you’re doing.

While Bucky knows how irritated he makes you, it wasn’t his intention to make you dislike him, believe it or not. In fact, he had the biggest crush on you and just didn’t know how to deal with it. It’s true he really is used to most people gawking in lust over him and the endless invitations to go out for a drink. So when he first observed your blatant disregard for him, it sent him into a frenzy, powerless to his instant attraction for you. He was desperate to get a reaction out of you, even if it had you wanting to pummel him into the ground.

You’re cute when you’re angry, sue him.

And he’s not stupid enough to not comprehend the tension between you, you’re just unwilling to give in - don’t want the shame of contradicting yourself and falling for him like the rest of them.

Silly little bunny, you’d give in soon enough.

So imagine his surprise when he silently walks into the next room to find you there, hand trembling against your neck as you watch a man sloppily eat a woman’s pussy, teeth biting your lower lip to stop any noise from coming out of your mouth.

His naughty little minx, getting off by watching other people fuck. He was impressed.

Bucky wouldn’t have pegged you as a little voyeur. He can’t say he’s disappointed though.

It’s times like this where Bucky praises his super hearing from the serum, low chatter from the upper floor has him pulled out of his thoughts of you and sneaking a glance up to see a middle aged man leaning over the open plan railing and looking directly out at you. Maxwell.

Fuck, he was onto you.

Options speed through Bucky's head as he quickly concocts a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Throwing the target off your scent and getting to have some fun with you.

Time to play, babydoll.

Glued to the scene in front of you, your surroundings blur, mission forgotten as you focus on the sounds of the woman’s sloppy wet cunt, obscene squelching from the man’s thick fingers that fuck her pussy and her juices spraying out.

All the more reason for the loud gasp that escapes you as a cold hard hand wraps around your throat and drags you back into a firm chest, the whir of fingers squeezing the sides to slightly cut off your airway. Warm breath tickling the curve of your neck as electricity shoots through your body.

“Who’d have thought a stuck up little bitch like you enjoys something as dirty as this, huh?”

Shit.

“You’re a filthy fuckin’ slut, you know that baby? Y’know how disgusting you are getting off on this?” You can’t help crossing your legs to try and create some friction to ease the ache in your cunt and the needy whimpers that echo across the room even with Bucky's hand choking you - blending with the slick noise of the woman’s wet pussy on the sofa.

You weren't banking on your mission partner catching you in the devious act, anxiety bleeding over you as he finds out how shameless you are and how much you want him.

A large number of the growing crowd have turned to watch the display of you and Bucky. Humiliation washing over you from his degradation and how exposed you feel.

Bucky hadn’t felt this horny for as long as he could remember, his hard cock straining against his trousers over how much he’s enjoying turning you to putty in his hands for everyone to see.

You’re mine, little bunny. Even if everyone can see the dumb fucked out mess I’ve reduced you to.

“C’mon dollface, you’re normally so feisty, where’s them claws you like to scratch me with, kitten?”

His condescending words only cease to turn you into a bigger puddle, unable to get your words out without moaning or stuttering, “B-bucky, p-please.”

Even though Bucky wants to hold out longer, he can’t help but bring his other arm up from his firm hold on your waist up to your tits, toying with your peaked nippes over your dress.

Somehow, the little shit knew they were sensitive.

His grip on your throat moves up to hold your jaw, making sure you’re still watching the other couple play as he tweaks your nippes, rubbing his thumb over them and squeezing your tits. He fucking loved it. The broken moans you no longer care to keep down break free as drool drips down your chin.

You didn't think you could like being spoken to the way Bucky does, his harsh words but soothing tone has your head fuzzy and your mind empty, no coherent thoughts other than the man behind you.

Your ass rubs back onto Bucky’s crotch as you squirm in his hold, the throaty rumble he lets out only worsening the throb of your cunt.

“Y’know they kinda look like us don’t ya think, bunny baby? Is that what has you so fuckin’ gone, huh? You wanna know how good I’d eat your pretty little pussy?” He starts to grind his cock into the curve of your ass, the thin material of your dress leaving no guesses to how thick he really is.

It’s helpless as your head flops back onto Bucky's shoulder, boneless in his arms. You’ve forgotten about everyone else in the room with you, only enough room in your head to process who’s making you feel so good.

The tingling of your swollen clit has you wailing needy moans, the lack of stimulation edging you and forcing tears from your eyes.

“Oh dollface, you’re crying now? You need me to make all those tingles go away?”

You couldn’t nod your head fast enough, dragging his hand to place it over your soaked panties under your dress with pleas whispered against his neck. He’d punish you for that in normal circumstances, but right now he really wants to see you cum.

His warm fingers gently start rubbing your pulsing clit, the added friction of your lace underwear making your eyes roll to the back of your head and high pitched whimpers to fill the room. Gyrating your hips to follow his motion, you can feel the knot in your stomach getting tighter, so close to that release you’re internally begging for.

“You’re so fuckin’ desperate, bunny, my cocks rock fuckin’ solid for ya, bet you could take this fat cock in your tight little cunt.”

You can feel the brink of your orgasm on the precipice from his words, his Brooklyn accent spilling through as he continues to rub his huge cock against your back.

But it’s the switch from rubbing to repeatedly tapping your bundle of nerves as he licks the trail of sweat from your neck to groan in your ear that makes you finally let go.

“Now, fuckin’ cum for me before I leave your pathetic ass begging for me.”

Your legs give out as you suck lungfuls of air back in, eyes cross eyed as you see stars from how powerful your orgasm is. You don’t think you’ve ever cum that hard before in your life, and you’d crawl to Bucky on all fours to beg for it again.

Eventually, your high slowly descends and you come back down to earth, body limp but twitching with spasms. Should you even try to take a step forward you know you’d fall flat on your face, so you're grateful for Bucky keeping a tight embrace around you and cooing shushes into your ear as you muster a fucked out smile on your face.

You don’t care to see if anyone’s still around, if the couple that turned you on and got you into this state in the first place are still going at it.

Bucky, however, takes a peak back up to Maxwell, knowing he’d watched the whole show and his worries had been reassured by your brazen display that you weren’t suspicious. He catches the back of his coat, walking down the steps and into a back room.

The smirk grows back on his face as he takes one hand away from your body, your whine of displeasure all the more satisfying for what comes next, he won’t be able to see your face but that’s okay - he’s more than happy to feel your reaction instead.

Sucking his fingers from your juices that are still running down your leg, he presses the button on the com to send an update on status to backup and Steve.

“Target's position secured. Distraction followed through and on route to prepare for arrest, over.”

Your eyes rip open from your hazy daydream as you soak in Bucky’s update to the rest of the team. Blood running cold when it finally processes his motive for your little show.

“My my little bunny, I gotta say I’m impressed you folded so easily for lil’ old me.” Bucky’s murmur against your head vibrates through your entire being, but you can’t bring yourself to move an inch.

His chuckle has fury bubbling up to the surface, yet you’re speechless as he leaves a gentle kiss to your temple and departs with his final words.

“Didn’t know you were a squirter either, doll. I had fun, looking forward to the next time too. But let’s go catch Maxwell for now, yeah? I’ll even keep hush of your unprofessionalism on the job.”

You can only stare as he strolls towards the back room where you can only assume Maxwell is, whistling a tune to himself as he tucks his hands in his pockets, uncaring to the salacious acts of sex still occurring around you.

You’re so fucked.

A/N: I have to thank my angel baby @rookthorne for the inspiration in writing this after one of our little domme sessions 👀 loves you so much kotenok 💗 thank you for reading lovelies!!

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[aspidities]

How do you feel knowing there are women all over the world that are horny for you?

Feels correct

#ask me #lmao #y’all flatterers #I doubt all over the world but y’know what I’ll take that flag #gonna make a United Nations on my strap #anon love #flirts

[muthaz-rapapa]

Let’s talk TroPreCure! (^∀^ 🌺)

i’m so stupidly proud of this dumb pun “tropurikyua~”, hahahahaha

Last post of the year and wow is there are lot to be excited for!

I even had to make a list for the stuff I want to talk about and I’m sure I already forgot one or two things but we’ll get to them as we continue to float~ along the wave to February 28th, mmkay? :)

Now for what has peaked my interest so far. And yes, we have to talk about the following first:

1) HealPre the shortest Precure season??

Unless they plan for double features in February (which I doubt but you never know), HealPre is likely going to reach only 45 episodes long instead of the usual 48~50 before TroPre I’m using this shortening of the title for now so if there’s a better alternative, tell me and I’ll switch out begins its broadcast.

Understandable because the producers probably want to get back to their normal scheduling as soon as possible (toy sales, y’know) and I suspect pushing the start of the new season back by a month is the most they’re willing to compromise.

As for me, I’m quite happy about this since HealPre’s lost its hold on my attention a while ago so the sooner TroPre gets here, the better. Though the downside might be a scrambled climax and a rushed, underwhelming ending for HealPre (I dunno if it’s January’s titles that feel a bit messy or if the hiatus is still throwing me off) but whatever. We’ll refresh ourselves with the new blood Cures so it’s all good.

2) Tropical movie announced for Autumn 2021, no All Stars??

(source)

First saw this mentioned on Youtube somewhere but it’s all over the fandom forums by now. I mean, HealPre’s movie is set for March, the usual time slot for All Stars release. If Toei intended for there to be an All Stars in 2021, there’s no way they would announce the seasonal movie before it so speculations of them skipping it this year are probably true.

To squeeze it somewhere between March and October-ish would force them to readjust their budgets as well and I don’t think even Toei wants to go through that extra hassle after all the trouble the pandemic’s caused for everyone already. It’s just easier to resume All Stars in 2022.

That, and I think Laura being a major character in TroPre despite not having a Cure title (yet) would make for an awkward situation when the three latest teams gather so perhaps that’s also one of the reasons. But I’ll get back to Laura in a bit.

3) Cure Summer is a RAINBOW Cure

So god help me if I see anyone calling her a Pink Cure.

Yes, she’s the lead Cure for this season. NO, she is not a Pink Cure.

Look, even the official website has a rainbow overlay for her profile pic and text font while everyone else’s respective theme colors are a solid hue:

Therefore, RAINBOW.

In promotional material and merchandising, they’re probably going to advertise her primarily with pink bah and at worst, she might occasionally be labeled as a White Cure with multiple subcolors (her outfit is not pink-dominant) but definitely NOT. PINK.

...also, this goes without saying but f***yea, we finally got a lead Cure practically and unabashedly wearing the LGBTQ flag and you cannot tell me otherwise, Toei!

Own up to it! Declare Manatsu/Cure Summer as the Precure queer icon!

I’m not gonna stop yellin’ until you do! 😠

4) Laura = obvious midseason Cure is obvious

First of all, Laura is a babe. I already love her the best and she’s not even Precure yet. <3

Anyways, the set-up is pretty much in the description. Important main character who’s not a mascot, stated to have a self-confident personality and just speaks her mind (oooh, I like~ :D), magical/foreign being from another world looking for Precure to save her home, possesses her own special item(s), has aspirations to become the next Queen (so she’s a princess-candidate or something to that effect, I suppose).

We’ve seen various combinations of these traits in past midseason (and a few starter) Cures so nobody should be surprised when we all guessed that one of the Cures would be a real live mermaid.

The only question is why not just make Laura a Cure from the get-go if she’s introduced to us at the beginning (like Hime or Lala) and having a team of five with no unnecessary extra add-ons later on (like Smile).

Well, there’s a simple answer for that: formula.

Toei is afraid that if they don’t spit out some new animation sequence at the halfway and third quarter points of the show, the kids will lose interest and abandon the series altogether. Which means failed toy sales. Oh nooo... [/sarcasm]

...Yea. 

And this way they can also have Laura available in the Cure lineup for the next All Stars in 2022 instead of making her sit the fight out if we were going to have one in 2021. I’m convinced that’s gotta be one of the reasons. *shrug*

But ok, whatever. Her debut is gonna be later, that’s all. She’s a delayed Cure.  Midseason Cure, same difference.

Moving along to the more important stuff now like what’s her Cure name gonna be, y/y?

Well, knowing Toei, a translation of the term “mermaid” into another language is the most predictable route even though we already have a Cure Mermaid. Not like that ever stopped them from repeating words before (ex. Cure Happy vs Cure Felice). Though if they do go down that road, I hope they opt for the Spanish/Italian “sirena” and not the French “sirène” because the latter sounds too close to how Cure Selene is pronounced in Japanese. And, putting it nicely, we all know Japanese pronunciation of foreign words is as off kilter as can be.

Hell, even the the Portuguese “sereia” sounds aesthetic as hell so it’d be nice if they can just remember there are other languages that exist out there besides Japanese, English and French when making the final decision at the writing table! *stomps foot* >:/

Alternatively, “nereid” or “naiad” are good choices too but they remind me too much of Greek myths and Laura’s from the Grand Ocean which covers more than just a couple of seas (Greece is surrounded by three, btw) so...

I dunno. But whatever it’s gonna be, she’s definitely got a strong association with water and her powers will probably be based on that.

As for theme color, since there’s noticeably no blue or green Cure in the starter lineup, it’s likely she will take up that spot when she debuts around ep 20.

Pink is also open since Cure Summer, again, is technically not a Pink Cure and Laura’s hair and tail fin are hot and light pink respectively but looking at Laura’s design and concept, does anyone seriously believe that?

Her upper torso consists of aquamarine while the body of her tail is definitely some shade of cyan, implying they’re aiming for somewhere around the middle of green and blue on the lighter spectrum.

And yea, I’m aware that green and blue are considered exchangeable in some perspectives with how close some of their shades are to each other but officially, I think Laura’s gonna be grouped with the Green Cures.

Cuz of the hair. If Laura’s gonna keep it the same or a similar shade after transforming, that is. The Blues have always had cool-colored hair so putting Laura in with them might disrupt that harmony whereas if you put her with the few Greens there are (including Parfait), she’d fit right in.

I mean, we’ll see but that makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

On another note, I just want to say that I love how they added frills to her arms instead of letting her elbows go bare naked. It definitely makes her look more like a genuine mermaid than if she didn’t have them (remember, half fish doesn’t mean half the body :P).

5) Magical Items

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing the transformation device being a compact again even though one of the main motifs is make-up this season. But at least, as far as Precure compacts goes, the Tropical one is my favorite cuz of how cute and delightfully colorful its toy version looks! So I guess I’m okay with it.

The Heart Rouge Rod, though? ...I dunno. I think it would’ve been fine without that...straw (?) jutting out at the top. It looks weird, doesn’t it look weird? :S

As for the collectible clip-ons, I can live without those for the rest of my life. Yeesh.

Laura’s items, the Aqua Pot and the Ocean Prism Mirror.

Again with the portable, travel-size housing. *sigh* 😩

Alright, I can let this year slide cuz Laura (I’m so soft for her, omg) probably won’t be getting legs for 20 weeks so she’s got to move about on land somehow. But unless they’re really thinking about turning this idea of carrying your apartment around in your bag/pocket/purse into a reality (cuz that would be effin’ awesome), please be more creative with your toys.

On the other hand, I’m much more interested in the Ocean Prism Mirror but from what Kusyami (the Precure merchandise reviews I follow on Youtube) said in his latest vid, this is the ED dance item so don’t know if it’ll actually have an relevance to the story or not. But I did hear him mention it having something to do with the Queen as well and since Laura wishes to become Queen, maybe it’ll be important after all? Maybe it’s her transformation device?

That’d be super cool. Let’s continue the trend of the midseason Cure having a different transformation item than the starters. Honestly, we should alternate every other year or two but we’ve gone three seasons with all of them using the same henshin gimmicks up till HealPre and I just want a break from that.

6) Fin sleeves??

These look so impractical for combat so maybe it’s exclusive to group attacks.

And/or a sort of precursor to the super forms?

*GASP* Does that mean they all eventually turn into mermaids? 🤩

7) Yui finally became Precure!! 😭

lol, it’s all crack from this point on so don’t take it too seriously but man, after Yuni’s deceptive braids, I thought I wasn’t gonna see anything that reminded me of Yui for a while and lo behold, Sango.

kehehehehehe xD;

Though Yui might be closer to Minori in terms of personal interests (fairytales and storybooks).

8) Akira, the actual Onee-chan version

I didn’t think this when I first saw her but once I read “Onee-san” in her profile, there’s no saving you now. Sorry, Asuka. 😅

Also, damn, do her sandals make her feet look big! Compare them to the heels she wears as Flamingo. Are they even the same?! lololol

9) ...this sounds awfully familiar...

Translation:

Tokimeku Tokonatsu! [Exciting/Thrilling Everlasting Summer!] Cure Summer! Kirameku Hoseki! [Sparkling Jewel!] Cure Coral!  Hirameku Fuurutsu! [Flashing Fruit!] Cure Papaya!

Japanese reiteration:

Mallow/Mao: Pink no tokimeki! Lillie: Blue no kirameki! Lana/Suiren: Yellow no kagayaki!

….........

@Toei 

Care to explain yourselves, punks?! 

୧(ʘ ∀ ʘ ╬)

#it is 1:30 AM and im hungry and still have to do work on new year's eve so i'll come back to amuse-rage later #tropical rouge! precure #precure 2021 #cure summer #cure coral #cure papaya #cure flamingo #laura la mer

[hedwigstalons]

High Expectations - ch2

Ok, I’m already regretting setting myself the art challenge.  It’s hard.  Huge kudos to all you artists out there.  Still, the clue for me should have been in the word ‘challenge’.  No, I don’t know why Alan’s hand is a different colour to the rest of him and shading features is pretty much impossible.  Maybe by the end of the fic I’ll have got the hang of it.  I might have to pick and easier idea for the next chapter

Huge thanks to @willow-salix​ for all the read throughs and pointers.

Earlier parts: One

Chapter Two

The early light of dawn was just visible around the curtain edges in the lounge.  The reflected light off the large screen projection illuminated the figures staring avidly at the screen with a soft blue glow.  The occasion had been deemed worthy of setting up the large cinematic screen meaning the whole glittering spectacle filled nearly a whole wall of the generously proportioned room.

 Jeff sat back in an aged leather armchair shipped specially from Kansas.  The form of it had moulded to his body by the passage of many years although he rarely had time to relax in it now.  Across the room Virgil and John, both on vacation from university, book-ended the sofa; a sleek designer affair that manged to combine both style and comfort.  Both looked sleepy and a little unfocussed.  Virgil had never been a fan of early mornings and it was entirely possible that John hadn’t actually made it to bed yet if he had spent the night engrossed in the stars.  His youngest son, still a child and growing into his talents, sat on the floor leaning back against the sofa rather than sitting on the chair itself.  In Alan’s hands was a cup of popcorn chosen especially for the cinematic treat.  He sat there in rapt awe, barely blinking as he popped piece after piece of white fluff into his mouth.  Jeff nursed his own mug of inky black coffee.  The aroma of the beans filling the space around him with a rich warmth.

 At last the moment they had been waiting for arrived.  Team USA marched into shot; processing around a stadium half a world and many time zones away.  Ranks of the chosen few strode across the screen in all their athletic glory.  The athletes were bedecked in pristine white trousers and shirts topped with navy blue blazers.  Red trim to the lapels completed the patriotic ensemble.   The young men and women chosen to represent their country trailed behind the flag bearer, their lines arranged with military precision. Jeff rather thought the effect was spoiled by the individuals walking out of step with each other and waving to the crowd in the surrounding stadium.  It jarred with his Air Force history which much preferred the uniformity of troops marching smartly in time.

 A squeal broke through his internal criticism of the scene.

 “There he is! There he is!”

 Alan’s voice, still high pitched in its youth, filled the space with an exuberant joy. The cup of popcorn was tilting dangerously towards the floor as the youngest of five spotted his next in line.

 The fourth Tracy son crossed the screen and disappeared out of sight in a matter of seconds and Jeff was forced to pause, rewind and replay the footage several times before Alan had got his fill of the sight.  

Gordon looked happy.  Happier than he had done for weeks.  Happy didn’t do justice to the beaming, grinning individual with sandy blonde hair slightly tinted by chlorine who strode between his fellow countrymen and women. He seemed to bounce along, riding the waves of the atmosphere that swirled around the stadium.  

 Jeff had seen little of his second youngest son lately despite technically living in the same house.  Both had demanding schedules; one filled with work and business meetings, the other filled with school and pool training.  The moment school had finished Gordon had been whisked away to the pre-games training camp, missing both his high school graduation ceremony and the senior prom. The young man on the screen was almost a stranger and definitely an enigma to him.

 Jeff’s eldest three sons were of a mind-set he could understand.  They were studious, clever, indeed highly gifted in their chosen fields.  He had been immensely proud when Scott had been accepted to Yale and then followed him down his own career path into the Air Force.  The young man was making quite a name for himself in the service if the regular updates sent through by old colleagues were to be believed; he had already been promoted to First Lieutenant and it looked like he would soon be a Captain.  Virgil excelled in engineering but also retained a quiet compassion that allowed him to see the world as more than just a set of variables and constants to be manipulated.  John had followed him to the stars and Jeff had no doubt that his quietest son could follow him out of Earth’s atmosphere and beyond just a theoretical study of space travel if he so desired.

 Gordon was evidently gifted too but in a direction he couldn’t quite comprehend. Physical ability was a facet he appreciated and even John had submitted to his requirement for regular structured exercise.  But a strong body needed to be a vessel for a keen mind and Gordon just hadn’t shown any particular leanings towards an academic field.

 He was as proud as any father could be that a son of his had reached the Olympics and at such a young age but he still worried for his son’s future prospects.    

 A sigh from the floor broke through his contemplations.

 “I wish we could have been there for the opening ceremony.”

 “Now Alan, we’ve been through this.  Gordon’s heats don’t start for another week.  I’ve got us tickets to his events and we will be there to see him compete in person but I just cannot spare the time to take you out there for the whole duration of the Games.”

 “But Virgil could have taken me.  Or John.” The voice was a petulant whine now.

 “Virgil and John might be on summer break but they both still have work to do.  The last thing either of them need is to be responsible for you at the biggest international sporting event in the world. Watching sport has never been your thing before.  It’s normally hard enough to prise you away from those video games you play.”

 Both Virgil and John looked infinitely relieved that neither of them was expected to be responsible for an excitable young teenager in a foreign country.  It was bad enough taking him bowling or to the cinema. Alan seemed to be well and truly gripped by Olympic fever, hence them all watching the live coverage of the opening ceremony at some hideous time of the morning rather than watching a recording at a more socially acceptable hour.  It seemed to mean so much to their youngest brother to get the chance to watch out for Gordon live that they hadn’t had the heart to refuse.  It was just as well Gordon had had his few seconds of glory on screen otherwise Alan would have been beyond devastated not to have seen him.  

 “But it’s the Olympics.  And it’s Gordon.”  As if this explained everything.

 “And you will get to see Gordon compete in every race he is in when we fly out next week. Even Scott has managed to arrange some leave so he can join us.  Gordon will be well supported.”

 Alan huffed slightly in response but went back to staring at the screen, the popcorn once again being shovelled in as figures from all nations strode across in a seemingly never ending stream of competitors.

 Once it became clear that Team USA would not be making another appearance Virgil and John sloped off.  Virgil to reclaim his bed, John to find his for the first time that sleep cycle having reverted to a near nocturnal pattern without classes to drag him away from his beloved stars.  Both had willingly joined the spectators in the lounge but the time difference left a lot to be desired and both were exhausted after a long and difficult semester. Jeff followed after but for him the destination was to work rather than bed.  Alan was soon left to watch the conclusion of the carefully choreographed spectacle alone.

 xoxoxox

 Virgil padded towards the kitchen, he socks making no sound on the hardwood floor. He could almost forget that there was anyone else in the apartment.  He had barely seen his brothers all day and Jeff was still at the office.  John had spent much of the day sleeping after grumbling that the city skies really hadn’t been worth staying up for.  He assumed Alan was engrossing in another gaming session. Part of him wondered if he ought to have a word with their dad; his youngest brother seemed to spend an unhealthy amount of time hooked up to a console.

 He paused at Alan’s door, taking a moment to take in the view through the crack. Rather than being strapped into a VR headset as expected, Alan was instead sprawled on his bed.  A screen was propped up on his knees.  The murmured one sided conversation suggested a video call rather than another game.  He wasn’t normally one to eavesdrop but curiosity overcame Virgil as he wondered who on earth Alan could be talking to.  He didn’t talk about any particular school friends and beyond Grandma they had no family to speak of.  He stayed to one side of the doorway out of sight and listened.  If he stood absolutely still he could just about pick up the other voice on the line.

 “The stadium looked huge.  What was it like?  Did you get some photos for me?”

 “Yeah, it’s massive.  Kinda makes be glad I’m not in the track and field events.  No photos though, we couldn’t take cameras in to the opening ceremony.  We didn’t even get to see the show afterwards, just lots of waiting around to go in then straight back to the Village after.  You probably saw more than I did.”

 Gordon then. He figured it must already be the next morning for their absent athlete.

 “Aww. We saw you, y’know.  Who was the cute blonde you were next to?”

 Virgil smirked.  For all he might bounce like an excited puppy Alan was evidently growing up and the hormones were kicking up.

 “Which one? Amber the high jumper or Brad the hockey player?”

 “Amber, I’ll leave Brad to you.  Think you can introduce me when we’re over there?”

 “No chance. Firstly, she already has a long term boyfriend.  And secondly, you’re about five years too young for that sort of stuff.”

 “Hey, I’m not that young.  Not that you’d think it the way things go round here.  There’s something going on and Dad won’t tell me about it.  Since John and Virgil got back Dad keeps having meetings with them in the study.”

 “Rather them than me.  You know as well as I do the study only means bad news.”

 “I don’t think so.  And since when has John ever been chewed out over anything.  It’s not like he ever missed curfew or turned in a bad report card. I don’t know what’s going on but this place is full of secrets.  They all just treat me as a kid though, like I wouldn’t understand.”

 “Try not to worry about it Al.  Why don’t you get John to help you finish that sim you were coding?”

 “Maybe. He just seems so busy though.”

 “Look, I’ve got to go, I’ve got training soon.  I’ll try and call same time tomorrow if that works for you.”

 “Sure.”

 “Don’t forget to eat your vegetables and clean your teeth.”

 “Yes Mom. Now don’t you need to go put some water wings on.”

 “Cheeky brat. Speak to you tomorrow.  Bye.”

 “Bye Gordo.”

 Virgil watched as the screen was put to one side, the smile sliding off of Alan’s face, before continued his journey to the kitchen to grab a drink.  That brief conversation with Gordon was more words than he had heard out of his youngest sibling in one go since he had arrived back home.  He had put it down to sullen teenage moods but evidently Alan could be quite chatty when he wanted to.

 Alan was clearly missing Gordon.  The youngest two had always been close.  Despite Gordon technically being closer in age to John than Alan the sibling friendship pairings hadn’t worked out that way.  Virgil realised how little he knew about the youngest pair beyond Gordon’s swimming.  Since when had Alan been able to code simulations? And what sort of simulations?

 He shrugged it off as a conundrum for another day.  They would be flying out to the Olympics in just a few days and he wanted to get a project plan sent off to his supervisor before that happened.  The meetings with Jeff, which Alan had evidently picked up on, had changed the direction of his post-grad project and he wanted to get the revisions in before travelling.  Bonding time could happen once the work was completed.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #high expectations #my art #Olympics #Gordon Tracy #Jeff Tracy

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

KH OC Week 2020--Day 7: Summer’s End

Road Trip!

[Hoo boy this turned out long. But that’s how I write, apparently. 😂 This week was real fun as always! I’m hoping one day I’ll get to writing Erica’s story. Of course you can’t rush things like that so we’ll see. Maybe if there’s another OC Week next year I might have a new character idea to use. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! This was real cute to write.] @khoc-week

————

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Erica.”

“We’ll be really careful, I promise. And besides. I’ve been there before.”

“But it goes against the rules. You know that.”

Erica frowned. Summer was drawing to a close, and they had all had a great time so far. But she wanted to do something special before it was over. “But they’ve gone to a different world before.”

“. . .Well, you’re right about that. . . .”

“It’ll just be for a day. Then we’ll head home, I promise.”

The dream eater tilted their head in thought. They knew Erica was careful when it came to these kinds of things. But a lot of things could happen if people from different worlds were to meet. “If anything happens, you have to leave as quickly as you can.”

“I promise.”

Chirithy studied her for a bit before sighing. “All right. Just this once. But after today, no more ideas like this, okay?”

“Yes!” Erica picked up Chirithy and hugged them. “Thank you so much! This’ll be great, I know it will!”

Chirithy held back another sigh. I hope nothing goes wrong.

She set them down. “Now I just have to figure out which world to go to.”

————

Olette stifled a yawn as she waited in an alley in Sunset Terrace. “What do you think’s going on?”

“Beats me,” Hayner said, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

“Her message was pretty vague,” Pence mentioned.

“But why so early?”

Pence rubbed his chin. “Maybe she’s found another wonder here!”

“Maybe,” Olette said. “We’ll just have to wait until she gets here.”

A few minutes later, the others came around the corner. Yet Erica wasn’t with them.

“Any idea what comin’ here so early is about?” Lea asked before yawning.

“Pence here thinks Erica’s found another wonder,” Hayner said, reminding Roxas of the time he had to dodge balls flying out of the wall he had been trying to get to. “But I doubt that.”

“Perhaps this is something she wants to remain between us,” Isa guessed.

“Maybe,” Roxas said.

“Oh, here she comes!” Naminé said. Hayner, Pence, and Olette peeked out from behind the corner to see Erica jogging her way over to them. But her stealing a glance over her shoulder raised a yellow flag for everyone.

“Good. Everyone’s here,” Erica said.

“What’s going on?” Xion asked.

“I have a surprise for you guys.”

“Really?” Hayner said.

“And here I thought something was up,” Lea said.

Erica checked her surroundings again. “Okay, this way.”

Everyone followed her further into the alleyway, and she took one more glance behind everyone.

“So, what kind of surprise is this?” Hayner asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s a good one,” Erica replied. Starlight appeared in her hand, and she faced the wall before pointing her Keyblade at it.

“You’re not doing what I think you’re doing, are you?” Lea questioned. A corridor of light appeared, pulling surprised noises out of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. “Yeah. You are.”

“Hey wait. That’s that portal thing!” Pence realized.

“It’s a corridor of light,” Erica explained. “I want to take you guys to a new world before summer ends.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lea asked.

“We’ve all been to a different world before,” Roxas said.

“I know that, but . . . this is different.”

“Lea’s right,” Isa said. “This might not be the best idea.”

“I’ve been to this one before,” Erica said.

“That doesn’t matter. It could be dangerous.”

“Aw come on you two!” Pence said. “This could be fun!”

“It’s like Roxas said,” Olette pointed out. “We’ve all been to a different world.”

“And it was awesome!” Hayner added.

“I wouldn’t mind going,” Xion said. “It might be nice.”

“Yeah,” Roxas agreed.

“I’m sure Erica wouldn’t do this if it was dangerous,” Naminé pointed out, and Lea and Isa exchanged sideways glances.

“You guys have to make sure not to say a peep about Twilight Town,” Lea said. “Not everyone knows about other worlds.”

“Got it,” Pence said. “We have to become one with our surroundings.”

“And no wandering around,” Isa added.

“No problem,” Hayner said.

“Then let’s go!” Olette beamed. Erica smiled, and the group entered the corridor. They were met with silence for a few moments before waves brushing against the shore and the smell of the sea welcomed them.

“Woah! Where are we?” Pence asked.

“This is Atlantica,” Erica said. “Well, actually we’re closer to Prince Eric’s castle.”

“Prince Eric?” Roxas repeated, only to remember he had been inside Sora upon first hearing that name.

“You know a prince?” Olette asked.

“Yup, and he’s really nice,” Erica said. “Oh! I think there’s a town here we could go to.”

“Well, you’re our expert here,” Lea said.

As Erica led everyone down a path through a sort of archway of rock, Lea and Isa kept an eye on the group from the rear. Along the way, she told everyone as much as she could about the world (with the exception of what was under the sea. Some things were probably still lurking down there). She also mentioned knowing a seagull named Scuttle.

“He talks?” Xion asked.

“Mmhmm,” Erica said.

“This is like a whole other dimension!” Pence said.

“That’s one way to put it,” Lea commented.

“We should head back to the beach after this,” Olette suggested.

“I wonder what kind of shells are there,” Xion wondered.

“Maybe they’re different from Sora’s world,” Naminé said.

“Heeeeyyy!” someone shouted, making the group stop.

“Who’s shouting?” Pence asked.

“Heeeeyyy!” This time the voice was closer, and moments later wings flapping brought everyone’s attention above them. “Look out below!”

A seagull came in for a rough landing, pulling startled noises out of everyone.

“Boy I really gotta work on my landings,” the seagull commented as he dusted himself off.

“Did he just talk?” Pence whispered.

“Yeah,” Hayner replied. “I bet that’s—”

“Hi Scuttle,” Erica said.

“Hmm?” Scuttle looked up at her before squinting. “Y’know, you look very familiar.”

“It’s me Eri—”

“Wait don’t tell me. It’s right on the tip of my tongue. . . .” He rubbed his chin. “You’re a friend of Ariel’s right? The one with the reeeally curly hair?”

“Yup. That’s me.”

“Is he serious?” Hayner whispered.

“I got it!” Scuttle said. “Erica! Hey it’s been a while!”

The wielder in question laughed a bit. “It’s good to see you.”

Guess he didn’t get it memorized, Roxas thought.

Scuttle finally laid eyes on everyone else. “Woah. That is a lot of humans.”

“They’re friends of mine,” Erica said, and Naminé and Olette waved before the curly-haired girl introduced everyone.

“Nice to meetcha!”

“Nice to meet you too,” Olette said.

“So, what are you up to today?”

“We were going to head to the town to walk around for a bit,” Erica said.

“Y’know what, there’s a shortcut I found just a couple days ago that’ll get you there in minutes.”

“Really?” Xion asked.

“Yeah! C’mon I’ll show ya!” The bird took off in the opposite direction after a couple flaps, and the group exchanged looks.

“You sure we should be trusting him with directions?” Lea asked.

“He can be a bit . . . off sometimes, but we can count on him,” Erica said.

“All right. If you say so.”

The group then proceeded to follow Scuttle.

“I can’t believe birds talk here!” Pence said, trying to keep his voice down. “Are they the only animals that talk here?”

“I know a fish and a crab that talk, too,” Erica replied.

“No way!” Hayner said.

“Y’know, so far this hasn’t been a bad idea after all,” Lea commented to Isa.

“You could say that,” Isa replied. “And taking directions from a talking seagull is certainly something. But, every world is different.”

After a couple more minutes Scuttle stopped before a cave that made a few eyebrows rise.

“We have to go in there?” Hayner asked.

“Are you sure about this?” Erica questioned.

“Positive,” Scuttle replied. “Oh uh might wanna watch your step in here. Y’know since humans can’t fly and all.” He squinted at the cave. “I don’t think I remember it being this dark last time.”

Lea shot the bird a look that went unnoticed before sighing and stepping away. Grabbing two sticks, he checked to make sure Scuttle was still facing the cave before igniting the sticks with a brief fire spell. “Well I have our light. Lead the way.”

Scuttle looked to Lea. “Huh. Fire. You humans really know how to use that stuff.” The seagull went inside, and the group followed him in with Lea right behind him.

“How many times have you been through here?” Roxas asked, holding the other stick.

“Ahh a couple times, give or take. But don’t worry. I got this cave mapped out perfectly up here.” The seagull knocked on his head briefly, and Lea once again gave the bird a look that Isa caught.

The cave didn’t really have much to it other than the dozens of small rocks and pebbles tossed around here and there. Lea and Isa both had a couple inches of room above them, but that really didn’t seem to make them feel any better. But, after a short while Scuttle proved true to his word, and they could hear the sounds of bustling people ahead of them.

“And here we are!” He pulled back fabric that acted as a curtain before squeezing himself through a space between two of the several boards that were shoddily boarding up the hole.

Managing to find a loose board that could be pushed aside to form a way out, Olette made her way through, and she brushed the curtain aside. “Woah! Guys, over here!”

“Huh?” Roxas put his torch out before following after her, and the others followed suit. Lea was the last one out once he put his torch out, and he and Isa could already see how excited the others were.

“Thanks, Scuttle!” Erica said.

“Any time, Erica,” Scuttle said. “I’ll see ya later!”

Once he was off, Xion tugged Lea and Isa along, and the rest finally ventured out into the open. People were going to and fro all around them, some looking at those selling their wares while others simply enjoyed the atmosphere. There was a puppet show going on that was capturing their young audience very well, and a couple stands in the streets were situated at just the right angle to catch one’s eye.

“It’s very different from home,” Naminé said. “But it’s a good different.”

The scent of flowers caught Xion’s attention, and she noticed some very familiar ones.

“Forget-me-nots,” Isa said. “I haven’t seen those in a while.”

“They’re really pretty.”

“Hey can we check out what’s down that way?” Pence asked, pointing at an archway.

“They’re selling paint over there,” Naminé said. “I’ve always wanted to try painting.” Lea and Isa exchanged looks.

“All right, here’s the deal,” Lea said. “We’ll meet back at that fountain over there in two hours.”

“Stay in pairs or groups of three,” Isa said. “And don’t stray too far from one another. Understood?”

“Yes!” Pence said, and he nudged Hayner. “C’mon guys!”

“Wait up, you two!” Olette said before hurrying after them.

“Where’d you see that paint?” Lea asked.

“That way.” Naminé took him by the hand and led him to the stand.

“H-hey!” Roxas said. Isa watched him leave, and he looked to see Erica still with him and Xion, the two girls’ attention already captured by the flowers.

“There’s so many here,” Xion said. “It’s almost hard to pick.”

“Which one did you see first?” Erica asked.

“Those blue ones there.” Xion pointed to the forget-me-nots.

“I have some munny if you want them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mmhmm.”

“. . . Then, I’ll get them. Please.”

Erica bought the flowers, and Xion’s eyes drifted to the rest of the stand.

“What about those?” She pointed to a few other ones, and Isa pulled out some extra munny.

“You have quite the eye,” he said. The seller gave her a basket for the flowers, and Xion thanked both him and her friends. After the trio moved aside, Xion carefully sifted through her basket before pulling out a forget-me-not and giving it to Isa.

“There’s enough for everyone else, so I thought I could share them.”

He glanced between her and the flower before gently taking it. As for Erica, Xion gave her one of the blue chrysanthemums. But there was another flower attached to it.

“A dandelion,” Erica said. Just the very word reminded her of Master Ava and her friends. It was strange how one word could bring up so many memories. . . .

“Some say you can wish on those.”

“I uh, I think I’ll try to keep it in one piece.” Erica tucked both flowers behind her ear, making sure they wouldn’t fall. “Thank you.”

Xion smiled. “Let’s try to find everyone else.”

It didn’t take too long for the trio to find Lea, Roxas, and Naminé. The blonde-haired girl couldn’t stop looking at the bottles of paint she had acquired, already thinking of what to paint once they got home.

“That’s a lot of flowers,” Roxas said as both groups met.

“They do look nice,” Naminé commented. Xion picked out a daisy for Naminé, an orange chrysanthemum for Lea, and a white one for Roxas.

“Looks just like your hair,” Isa commented as Lea stuck his flower in his hair with pride.

“I bet it brings out my eyes, doesn’t it?” Lea replied, earning laughs from the girls.

Naminé gently picked a forget-me-not from the basket and placed it in Xion’s hair. “You should have one too.” Xion gave her a smile.

Erica looked around the square, but she was unable to spot Hayner, Pence, and Olette. “Um, should we look for the others?”

“You might wanna look over there,” Lea said, gesturing with his head to the trio in question running toward them. Hayner had a sort of box in his hands, and Olette had some smaller things in her hand. As for Pence he wasn’t too far behind them.

“You got excited,” Isa said with a small smile.

“They have pretzels here!” Hayner said. “Oh, and we saw this girl with long red hair. She was pretty nice.”

“Was she with a guy with black hair?” Erica asked.

“Oh yeah. He was nice, too,” Pence answered.

“I think that was Ariel and Prince Eric.”

“That was them?”

“Yup.”

“They looked really sweet together,” Olette said. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She held out her hand, revealing beaded bracelets much like her own and some wristbands. “I got these for us.”

“You did?” Roxas asked.

“Mmhmm.” Olette passed her gifts out.

“You didn’t mention anything about where we’re from, did you?” Erica asked.

“Don’t worry. We kept quiet about that,” Hayner said.

Xion turned her wrist to admire her new silver bracelet. “Thanks, Olette.” Going through her basket, she picked out flowers for Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Olette looked at her orange chrysanthemum. “These are for us?” Xion nodded, earning a smile from Olette. “Thanks, Xion.”

“So, we ready to head back to the beach?” Hayner said.

“Sure, if you want to,” Lea replied, leading the others to agree.

“All right, then let’s hit the road!”

Lea and Isa held onto the baskets of paint and flowers, letting the rest of the group chat away excitedly.

“Best. Day. Ever!” Pence beamed.

“Yeah this was awesome!” Hayner agreed.

“Heh heh. I’m glad you liked it here,” Erica said.

The redhead’s eyes drifted to the flowers. “Y’know, our home world had a lot flowers there.”

“I remember them,” Isa replied. “I wonder if they’re the same.”

“I figured they’d be, what with the people in that world restoring it and all.”

The blue-haired man glanced to the others, spotting Hayner playfully shoving Roxas, who shoved back. “Perhaps one day we’ll see it again. Properly.”

“And maybe once we find her, we should take her with us.”

“I think she’d like that.”

Eventually the group reached the beach, and the sun was beginning to set. A soft breeze passed through as they sat in the sand, making sure not to sit too close to the water. However, Isa noticed Erica had stayed behind, her distant gaze on the dandelion in her hands.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

“Hmm?” She looked to him. “I’ll catch up in a bit.”

Her usual smile didn’t reach her eyes, but he decided to leave her be. Erica waited for him to keep walking before closing her eyes. She could just imagine herself back at that beach with those other wielders. She could just hear their laughter as they messed around with each other, the leader of the group trying her best not to laugh with them.

Of course, that was in the past. She had other friends that she could share memories with now. And . . . maybe one day they would all meet.

One day I’ll see them again.

Erica blew onto the dandelion, and she watched the wind carry its seeds far, far away. . . .

“Hey Erica! You coming?” Pence called.

“Be right there!” Pocketing what remained of the dandelion, she briskly headed toward everyone else. As she sat down, Roxas noticed she had only one flower in her hair.

“Your dandelion’s missing,” he said.

“I decided to make a wish on it.”

“What did you wish for?” Xion asked.

“Can’t say. I’m hoping it’ll come true.”

“Maybe it will,” Olette said. Once she opened the box of pretzels for everyone, their heavenly buttery scent filled the air.

Pence pulled a piece off of his to pop into his mouth. “Hey these are better than the ones back home.”

“I guess the baker here’s pretty good,” Lea commented.

“They taste the same to me,” Roxas said.

“I think so too,” Xion said.

Olette swallowed a bite. “Do you think we could do this again?” The former Organization members and Erica exchanged glances.

“Uh we’ll see about that,” Lea said.

Naminé looked to the horizon, feeling the breeze against her face. “At least we got to spend time together like this. That’s what matters the most.”

“Yeah,” Xion agreed.

“I guess we’re pretty lucky,” Roxas said. But thunder followed by sudden rain decided to say otherwise.

“Aw man!” Hayner complained, gathering his shoes.

“Q-quick, head for that cave!” Pence said, and everyone collected their things before darting off. Erica couldn’t help laughing a bit, which led to Naminé laughing as well. And luckily the group made it just before the rain got any heavier.

Erica puffed out a brief laugh. “That came out of nowhere.”

Hayner poured some water out of his shoes. “No kidding.”

Olette glanced to Roxas, and she couldn’t help snickering. “Roxas, your hair.”

“My hair?” He parted the hair from his eyes like a curtain.

“You look like a hippie,” Hayner teased.

“Axel’s hair got kind of long,” Xion pointed out with a laugh.

“And Pence’s hair looks like a wilted plant,” Lea quipped, and the group shared a laugh.

“I think our pretzels got soaked,” Pence said. “But at least the flowers got some water.” Naminé laughed a bit only to sneeze.

“I’ll see if I can get a fire going.” It wasn’t very long until a small fire was made, and the group huddled around it as they listened to the rain.

“I hope we don’t get sick tomorrow,” Hayner said. “That’d really be a bummer.”

“Same here.”

Olette readjusted her flower. “Thanks for taking us here, Erica. It was amazing.”

“You’re welcome,” Erica said. “But um, we should probably head home once we’re all dry.”

The group voiced their agreements. They’d get home eventually, but for now, they were going to remain just how they were—gathered around a fire and listening to the rain and the ocean.

Together.

————

#Yeahhh Lea and Isa kinda became parents here. XD #In case you were wondering about the other bracelets: Naminé’s is white and Erica’s is lavender. #I was gonna give Xion a black one but I thought a silver one would be nicer. #For the boys Isa has a blue wristband; Lea's is red; and Roxas has a black and white one. #Even though he kind of already has one. #I imagine Hayner's to be green but I have no idea what Pence's would be. #Also I picture Erica's first trip to Atlantica to go much differently than KH II. #Scuttle will be a thing but the details are still up in the air. #I've never written him before so I hope I did good. #KHOCWeek 2020 #KHOC Week 2020 #KH OC Week 2020 #KHOCWeek2020 #Hayner #Pence #Olette #Roxas #Xion #Lea #Isa #Naminé #Chirithy #Erica #Scuttle #Ariel and Eric were mentioned so that's counts. #Key Kid

[twokinkybeans]

Jar Of Dirt Chapter 11: Hot Red [Starker Fanfiction NSFW/18+]

Kink/Sexual Warnings: Daddy Kink, Praise Kink, Lingerie, Lipstick/Gloss, Sex Toys, Teasing, Anal, Slight Exhibitionism Other Warnings: None

All Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11 . . . Masterpost (More to come!) 

---

Chapter 11: Hot Red Peter’s humming happily as he stuffs his backpack with everything he might need this weekend. The sweet Italian tune has been stuck in his head ever since they got back from the island last weekend. Ned’s sitting on Peter’s bed, his back propped against the wall. Ned doesn’t go home every single weekend and he always complains how he wants Peter to stay as well. He doesn’t like how quiet it is without him there. 

Next weekend, he’d promised his best friend. Next weekend he’ll skip out on his boyfriend to stay the weekend with Ned to go out partying, studying together, maybe some gaming. It’s been too long since he’s done that. “Pete?” “Hmmm?” “You actually love him. Don’t you?” Ned’s voice is so serious it has Peter stop pushing his sweatpants into the already fully stuffed bag. He looks at the other boy, slowly nodding. “I… I do? Why?” Ned shrugs. “At first I figured it might just be some,” Ned waves his hands into the air, “-some power trip thing or whatever. Just fucking, y’know? Kinda like your Poe crush,” The other student sighs grinning at the memory and Peter looks down trying to hide his blush. Yes, Dameron had starred in many of his late teenage fantasies - the poster still very much taped to the wall next to his Tony Stark one. “Nevermind, I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you, dude.” “Thanks, man,” Peter answers softly, a warm feeling spreading in his chest as he pushes the Star Wars comment out of his head. He’s happy to hear that his best friend is actively accepting his relationship. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed Ned’s confused expression when he first told him. He understood that. No one really got it in the beginning. How could a rich, famous man like Tony Stark ever want more than just sex from an awkward college kid like himself? It’d seemed highly unlikely. Even Peter had had his doubts the first few weeks. However, over the course of their time together, it’d become very clear that this was so much more. With every passing day, Peter had more trouble remembering what it’d been like to be single. “That means a lot.”

“You should ask him over next weekend.” “What?” Peter’s eyes widen and he snorts - an image in his head showing him Tony sitting on his bed, eating chips and gaming with them. “You can’t be serious.” “I am. I’m your best friend , he’s your boyfriend or whatever. You’ve been hanging out in his luxurious wealth for whoever knows how long. Don’t you think it’s time for him to come spend time in our world?” Peter’s quiet for a moment. Ned might actually be onto something here. Peter enjoys every single minute he spends at Tony’s place, but it’s a very different life. Sometimes, it almost feels as if he’s living two separate lives. He’s not very secretive about either one of them, but they’re not yet… Merging.   “Are you sure?” Ned nods happily, handing him his phone charger. Peter scrunches his nose, not sure if it still fits in the backpack. He decides to lose a few of his shirts and then pulls the zipper down, sighing happily. “Alright, I’ll ask him.” “Sick.”

-

Peter’s nervous to ask Tony. So he waits. For now. He’ll ask when the moment’s right. Tony’s sauntering around the kitchen, trying to cook for the both of them. Peter’s seated on the barstool, going over his notes once more. He has to give a presentation next Monday and he decided to practice as often as possible this weekend. Tony points at him with the big kitchen knife as Peter mumbles something about the way vortices would’ve scattered superfluid spacetime according to professor Mazur. “That theory, kid, has not exactly been proven true or false yet.” “I know,” Peter mumbles, “-we don’t have to talk about reliability. It’s about the way theories arise and how they influence other ones.” “That sounds… Philosophic.” “Yup, it is. It’s fun though, we get to explore so many theories like this! Do you know just how many possibilities there are, Mr. Stark? If, for example, Mazur’s theory would actually be true, okay? Do you see how that influences our work as Avengers?” Peter’s eyes are wide and passionate and it has Tony smile proudly. “You mean how it’d influence the expansion of the universe?” “Exactly!” “Well, when you finish this project, tell me about your conclusion.” “Oh, I will.”

Peter scribbles down a basic overview of how to set up the presentation itself and puts his books down when Tony carefully places two plates on the countertop. Peter raises his eyebrows as he lifts up to watch what Tony’s made. “Wow, that actually looks like food,” he grins and Tony waves the comment off. “Hush, kid, I can only have so many talents.” Peter snorts at the comment and pulls the plate towards him, grabbing the cutlery with his other hand and diving right in. It’s a simple pasta made with frozen spinach and pesto and smoked salmon and Peter loves it. “I mean it, though. You’re improving. This is great,” Peter says before stuffing his mouth with yet another spoonful. “Thanks, sweetness.”

-

“Soooo,” Tony says nonchalantly, his legs propped up on the coffee table. “-I’ve got an idea.” “Oh?” “Hmmm, why don’t you get the jar out? I added two new notes this week.” Peter stares at Tony’s face. God. He’s serious. Peter’s cheeks flush at the idea of Tony wanting to try even more stuff with him. So far, they’ve had so much fun already. His head’s nearly spinning at the idea of their being so many more things they can still explore. “Still in the lab?” “Uh-huh.” “Alright. Don’t move,” Peter grins. He doesn’t know why he’s feeling so energetic today, but he is, so he jumps up and takes the stairs down to the lab instead of the elevator. Too giddy to stand still. He waves at Dum-E before grabbing the jar. Obviously, he knows the robot doesn’t have feelings, but sometimes it feels like he does and Peter doesn’t want to be disrespectful just in case. Heck, F.R.I.D.A.Y. understands freaking sarcasm. Who knows what Dum-E responds to. Maybe Peter needs the robot one day, he better have Dum-E get used to him.

“Alright, I’ve got it!” Peter exclaims as he walks back into the living room. “I would’ve spanked you if you’d come in empty-handed,” Tony mutters growling, actually surprising himself and blushing at his words. He sends Peter a sheepish smile. “Oops, think I just gave one away.” “You want to spank me?” “Someday, yeah. Only if you want to, though.” Tony shrugs, trying to stay composed. But the dark, hungry look in his eyes is evident and it makes Peter hot all over. He smiles at him. Tony doesn’t usually ‘slip’ whatever’s on his mind. Meaning he’s starting to feel comfortable around Peter and it has the boy’s heart flutter. He can’t shake the feeling that maybe they’re getting to a point where they won’t necessarily need the jar to talk about their fantasies anymore. The thought alone makes his groin tingle. “I’ll think about it, daddy.” Meaning: I’m willing to try. “We’ll see about it once we pick it from the jar, alright?” Tony nods slowly, his lips curling into a smirk as he catches upon Peter’s thoughts. And excitement. “Perfect.”

Peter sits down on the couch next to Tony, the jar resting in his lap. He’s not exactly sure who picked the last time. Well, Dum-E did obviously, but before that. He doesn’t remember. It doesn’t necessarily matter either, so he takes the lid off and sticks it out to Tony. The older man smiles, reaching in and grabbing a note right away. No cheating. No evading. He takes his hand out again and carefully unfolds the piece of paper while Peter puts the jar down Tony gasps and Peter squeezes his lips together anxiously. Yes, he’s getting more comfortable too, but that doesn’t mean that not knowing what’s coming up isn’t nerve-racking. “Peter, baby, we are such a perfect match,” Tony whispers, voice hoarse as he turns the note around.

Lingerie

“Lingerie,” the boy whispers, blushing and pursing his lips. Fuck. “It’s one of your own, Pete, why aren’t you happy?” Tony frowns, discarding the note and grabbing Peter’s hands in his own. His thumbs rubbing over the back of Peter’s hands gently. “Well…” Peter pauses and looks away, his face contorted as he tries to sort his thoughts. “I’m not sure if, uhm, this is the right time.” “Why not?” “I- eh…” Peter turns bright red. “I don’t have any lingerie. I-I was eyeing a set online but it’s expensive and with your birthday I couldn’t save enough to buy it, I’m still saving up, so-” “Peter.” Tony cocks an eyebrow, interrupting his boy. He tilts his head, taking a deep breath. He knows Peter doesn’t like to have conversations about Tony’s money but this situation calls for it. He looks at the black credit card that’s been laying on one of the bookshelves for weeks, waiting for Peter to pick it up still. Peter’s lip trembles, catching up on what Tony is trying to say, but it takes him a few seconds before the kid breathes out a shaky sigh and musters up the courage to ask his question. “Tony, uhm. Can we… Maybe go shopping together?”

“Yes,” comes Tony’s instant answer. Finally. He understands why Peter doesn’t want to spend Tony’s money. Why he wants to try to work through everything by himself. But this is lingerie. Not just lingerie, obviously, but very different than his ex who wanted to buy his own apartment within the first week of them being in a relationship. God. Red flag. A few sets of nice lace panties is nothing compared to the numbers on Tony’s bank account. He wouldn’t even notice. He wants to treat Peter. Perhaps the boy had been right all these weeks ago. “You’re such a Sugar Daddy, you know that right?” Well, better live up to it then. “I would love that, Peter. So much.” Peter gives him the cutest little smile and Tony groans happily. “You’re going to look amazing.” “You think so?” “Mhhmm, got hard just thinking about it.” Peter grins, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes when he sits upright and crawls into Tony’s lap. “Maybe, we can have some fun then? Shopping mall’s closed till tomorrow morning anyway.” “Hmm, c’mere, my sweet boy. Daddy wants to eat you out.”

-

When they get to the store, Peter’s so nervous. He stares at the Victoria’s Secret logo and gulps. “Are you sure we should do this, I’m a guy.” He whispers as he peeks inside the store. There’s literally only women in there. And a couple of bored boyfriends. If he walks in, everyone will know how odd he is. “What if there’s someone who recognizes us, Tony?” “Shh, it’ll be okay. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but you’re not the only male walking in here to buy something pretty for themselves. Believe me.” Peter looks inside again and sighs. He does want this. Not wanting to buy anything online. He wants to make sure it fits perfectly before spending Tony’s money. “Uhm. Mr. Stark?” “Yes, honeybunch?” Just as the Italian tune, the name stuck with them. “I- I think I want to go in alone? They won’t recognize me as easily, and… Then it’ll be a surprise for you?” Peter’s voice is nearly trembling and Tony gives him a gentle kiss on his forehead. He would’ve loved to be there, but he gets the reasoning so he gives Peter a slight nod. “I’ll go get myself a coffee then. You want some?” “N-Nah, I’m good. Thanks, Tony.” “Of course, now, go for it, sweetness. Can’t wait to see what you’ll choose.” Peter smiles at him, giving him a quick kiss before turning around and actually walking into the shop. He’s been to fucking space. Sure he can take on something as mundane as this. Something so mundane that some people can lose their shit about it, that is.

It’s a bit weird at first, walking in the shop, but soon enough he’s sorting through all the different shapes and colors. The soft, lacey fabrics sliding through his fingers. There’s so much and he has no clue where to start. “Peter Parker, is that you?” Peter squeezes his eyes shut. He recognizes that voice right away. He mouths a quick ‘fuck’ before turning around, trying to put a smile on his face. “Oh, uhm, hi, MJ!” “What are you doing here, loser,” she grins jokingly and walks up to hug him tightly. “Haven’t seen you in ages!” “N-no, yeah, uhm, y’know, just hanging around,” he stutters. “So good to see you!” MJ raises her eyebrows and looks at Peter’s hand, still lingering on one of the black lace panties. He quickly takes his hand back, but it’s clear she knows what he’s up to. She nods slightly, eyeing him carefully before continuing. “You need any help getting pretty for your man? I sure know my stuff.” Peter’s at a loss for words at her kindness. Her smirk is obvious, but her eyes are sweet and caring. Seeing her here makes him realize how much he missed hanging out with her. “That… Would be nice?” “Figured. All right. You like lace then?” She eyes his hips once more and skillfully rummages through all the different pieces before she makes a satisfied noise and picks one for him. “Think this should fit you just fine. You need stockings too?”

Half an hour later, MJ made him try out a bunch of different styles and types. Peter needed a little time to loosen up first, but, MJ is actually is an amazing help. She’d been right stating she knows her stuff on this. He ends up with three different panties, fishnet stockings, and a garter belt, because “Tony won’t be able to resist that. Believe me, pretty boy.” It all fits him perfectly and it has him buzzing with excitement. “I’m just gonna get what I need for myself,” MJ smiles, “-you go pay for these and I’ll meet you outside? I don’t need more than 5 minutes.” “Of course!” So that’s how Peter ends up in the line. He feels some of the customers stare at him but he tries his best to ignore it all. He’s checking the sales boxes to divert his attention and his gaze falls upon a box with all different types of fruit-flavored lip gloss. Fuck him. He grabs one quickly, not even paying attention to the flavor in the hopes that no one will see it.

“That’ll be $97,99, please.” Peter takes a deep breath as he swipes the black credit card, his credit card past the card reader and swallows when he sees the approval sign. It’s official. He just spent nearly a hundred dollars on lingerie and it feels strange and exhilarating. He’s never spent this much on something that’s not a necessity, let alone using someone else’s money. God. He felt bad enough asking May for a new backpack each time. But he needed those. This… This is for fun and he doesn’t know how to even grasp that this is his life now. He waits for MJ and smiles as they walk out of the store together. He wonders how they haven’t been hanging out anymore. Of course, they don’t live at the same campus, but they should meet more often. He’s missed her. "So, Parker, you want to grab a drink or what?” MJ grins. “Uhm, yeah! I’d love to, it’s just that Tony’s actually waiting for me at the coffee bar at the other side of the mall, so-” “Awesome, I’d love to meet your man. Let’s go!”

-

To Peter’s surprise, MJ and Tony got along so well that they spent the entire afternoon hanging out at the coffee bar until Tony got an urgent work-call from Mrs. Potts. “I told you that could wait ‘til tomorrow-” Peter eyes Tony, who’s trying to get out of work with a groan. The man sighs and rolls his eyes. “Sure, fine, I’ll get it done- give me two hours.” Peter’s mood immediately sours. He had different plans for them when they got home. He’s not sure if he could wait much longer. Tony hangs up and gets up from his spot, tugging at Peter’s sleeve. “Come on, honeybunch, let’s get you home.” MJ snorts. “Honeybunch?” Peter ducks his head, but follows anyway. “Yeah, I don’t know why that one, of all the nicknames he’s called me, stuck around.” “Car’s outside, kid, we gotta go.” The older man winks at MJ. “Nice to meet ya.” “Right!” Peter turns to MJ and brings his hands together. “Was great catching up! I’ll text you, ‘kay?” MJ smirks with her lips pressed on top of each other and nods. “Sure, honeybunch.” When Tony has walked out of the store, MJ shouts for Peter one last time. “Yo, Pete!” Peter pauses and looks at MJ curiously. She wiggles her eyebrows and uses her head to gesture at the bag in his hands, all while grinning wide. “Have fun.”

Two hours. Two hours, he said. They’re far into hour four now and Peter is done waiting. He’s been eyeing himself in the mirror all this time, working himself up, softly caressing the black lace of his panties. If Tony won’t come to him, he’s just going to go to Tony. Peter takes a deep breath and musters up the courage to step outside the bedroom. He feels pretty, that’s for sure. But all of this is new and still slightly embarrassing somehow. He’s covered, yet so bare. What he’s wearing was made to be stared at. Made to be ripped off. Fuck, he can’t wait for Tony to undress him. His cock is already straining against the thin fabric and when he catches his own reflection in the long hallway mirror from the corner of his eye, he pauses, silently repeating the word he absentmindedly described himself with before he realized it was him in the mirror, not someone else. Sexy.

Tony’s typing as fast as he can, Bruce Banner is on speaker. They’re bouncing ideas, concepts, problems, solutions, that were due yesterday. Why Tony’s feeling like a workaholic all of a sudden, he doesn’t know, but he’s in a flow right now that he can’t just get out of. Not without the right incentive at least. He doesn’t look up from his screen when he hears the door opening. Pete’s probably joining him with his homework like he usually does when Tony’s in his office. He silently hopes the boy is here to bring him a strong cup of coffee as well. A smile creeps on his face when, indeed, a cup of coffee is placed on the desk next to him, but it falters. Peter’s arms are bare. Wasn’t he wearing a long-sleeved shirt today? Tony grabs the cup of coffee and glances up for a second. He chokes on his sip when he sees Peter. Or, more specifically, what he’s wearing. Tony quickly has to put down the cup and coughs. “Tony? You alright?” Bruce asks. Tony cocks an eyebrow at Peter, who smiles down at him with a grin. “F-fine!” Tony chokes out. Lingerie. He can’t stop staring at his boy, black lace panties, garter belts, see-through stockings, fuck. Peter pushes out one hip and whispers. “I’ll go get you some water, Mr. Stark.” He turns around and walks back to the door, Tony’s eyes glued to his swaying ass. “Coffee’s too hot, isn’t it?” “Is Peter with you?” Bruce asks innocently. Tony coughs one more time before he collects himself, but his cock throbs in his pants when Peter closes the door with a wink. A fucking. Wink. Fuck. “Yeah, kid brought me some coffee, but we all know I can’t function like a normal human being so I choked.” Not a lie. He didn’t lie. Right.

During the rest of the phone call with Bruce, Tony was thoroughly distracted. Whatever workflow he had, it was gone, but he was far too deep into this conversation with Banner to just end it right then and there so he could go out and tell Peter what he thought of his little stunt. The boy hasn’t come back to bring him a glass of water yet and Tony both dreads and looks forward to the next time Peter walks in. Something in him tells him Peter will.

He was right.

Again, no knock. The boy just opens the door and saunters in like he owns the place. Tony’s eyes glide over Peter’s body and he swallows, noticing how dry his mouth has gotten. Soft. Pastel. Pink. The set is disgustingly adorable and the white-pink striped stockings go all the way to halfway his thighs. Tony lets out a shaky breath when he sees how hard Peter is. How the elastic is having a hard time containing his boy’s shaft. That- “Tony?” Bruce snaps the older man out of it. “You still with me?” “Yeah! Yeah, I am, it was a little late last night.” Tony forces himself to look back at his screen, ignoring how Peter takes a sip of the promised glass of water and places it on the desk, slowly pushing it in Tony’s direction. The boy is looking directly at him and Tony’s jaw clenches. He needs to control himself. Otherwise he’ll never get this done. “It’s late for you every night, Tones, you can tell me if I’m boring you.” “You’re not! I promise.” Tony clears his throat and aggressively waves at Peter to leave. “You know me. Scatterbrained. Got four tabs open to get everything done on time.” Bruce laughs. “Maybe if you plan better, you get your work done a bit longer before the deadlines.” “Livin’ on the edge,” Tony forces out as he eyes Peter once more.

Tony picks up the glass of water to take a sip, but notices a stain. He blinks a few times and then looks back up at Peter, who decided to take a seat on the desk, crossing his legs and rhythmically twisting his foot. “So- where were we?” Tony asks quietly, trying to get Bruce to fill time as he stares at Peter opening up a compact mirror to look at his lips, fixing his gloss. God. Fucking. Dammit. “Well, we-” “Bruce, do you have a second?” Banner scoffs a laugh. “Of course.” “Peter?” Tony asks sweetly. “Could you maybe go and grab the black box from the lab? It’s got a couple red x-es on it, easy to spot. I’m gonna need something that’s in there.” “You’re not in the lab?” Bruce asks. “Nope, but Peter’s on his way there now, isn’t he?” Peter nods slowly and steps off the desk. He smiles innocently as he steals some glances at Tony while pulling up the stockings, before making his way out the door.

By the time Peter comes back, Tony is in the final stages of his project with Bruce. However, the boy once again becomes a terrible distraction. Tony’s hands hover over the keyboard, shaking, as he stares Peter down. Hot red. The boy bought a hot red set. Tony scoffs and shakes his head while sucking at his teeth. “Bruce- I’ll call you back in a second.” Without waiting for Bruce’s reply, he ends the call and he stands up, hands resting on his desk, leaning over to eye Peter up and down. The boy has his head angled down, looking up through half lidded eyes. His fingers play with the hem of his panties while one knee is turned inwards, creating the most innocent look Tony’s ever seen. Yet, his eyes tell a whole different story.

“The more you do that, the longer it takes before you get what you want, you know that right?” Tony raises his eyebrows, giving Peter a condescending look. The boy immediately straightens his back. “Thought it’d make you… Finish quicker?” He smirks and Tony groans as he steps away from his seat. “Where’s the box?” Peter turns to look at the door, where the wooden black box rests on the ground. Tony rolls his stiff shoulders. “Go get it.” Peter hurries off, but seems to slow down with every step he takes. He starts swinging his hips more and Tony swears quietly. Instead of squatting to pick it up, the boy keeps his legs straight as he bends down, stretching his arms to lift the box. Tony bites his cheek as he stares at Peter’s well rounded ass. When Peter stands up straight again, he quickly walks back to Tony, fluttering his eyes. This kid…

“Do you know what’s in here?” Tony asks, pursing his lips as he puts the box on the desk. “No, daddy.” Tony holds back a growl and side-eyes Peter, who still has a smile on his face. Tony sniffs once and presses his finger on a hidden reader. The box unlocks and twists open. Peter stares wide-eyed at its contents. There’s nothing in there. Nothing but leather cuffs. “These…” Tony picks them up and holds them in front of Peter’s face. The boy stares at them, nearly going cross eyed with how close Tony pushes them. “...Are supposedly stronger than you are.” Peter swallows. “Another project of yours, daddy?” This time, Tony grins a toothy smile. “Had them for other purposes. Strong villains, stuff like that. But well…” “Well?” “You’ve been a bad boy.”

-

Peter is gently forced to his knees next to Tony’s seat. Just far away enough that he won’t be able to reach it. Tony restrains him with the cuffs and stands up, inspecting his work. “Hope you’re not too uncomfortable,” he mutters before getting back to his seat. “Mr. Stark,” Peter says quietly. Tony looks down at him and the boy smiles. “Green.” Tony nods content and drops himself in the seat. He puts up his thumb again and holds it against one of the drawers. It opens automatically. Peter wonders what’s in it, but he can’t get a good enough view from his position on the floor. Tony takes out another black box. A black box that has Peter’s eyes go wide yet again. This is a box he knows. Tony opens it and swiftly takes out what’s inside of it. Peter’s mouth goes slack at the sight. The older man leans forward on his chair, looking down on Peter and presenting the Swissy. Peter’s cock twitches at the idea of using it again. He knows this is a big step for Tony. Last time he used it on Peter, the boy got severely overstimulated and lost his Spider senses for two days afterwards. Peter never brought it up afterwards, knowing Tony felt enormous guilt about it all, so the fact that he’s the one who takes it out again while Peter is in front of Tony, on his knees, cuffed, is very special.

“Want this?” Tony whispers, grabbing his phone from his desk. Peter nods slowly, not able to take his eyes off the Swissy. “Tell me you want it, boy.” Peter moans quietly, trying to push forward, but the new cuffs hold him back. “Please, daddy- want it- need it,” he whimpers. His hips buck and he presses his legs together to find the slightest bit of friction. Unsuccessfully. Tony smiles and presses a button on his phone. The Swissy changes into a shape Peter’s never seen before. He looks at it curiously while Tony brings it closer to his crotch. “It’s not exactly a cock ring, it won’t stop you from cumming, but…” Peter jolts when the man attaches the piece onto Peter’s cock through the fabric of the red panties. “But…?” Peter asks nervously, staring at the device that’s now indirectly attached to his body. “If Bruce finds out you’re here…” Tony pets Peter on his head before sitting up straight and moving away from the boy to sit properly at his desk again. “...I’m the only one who cums tonight.” “But daddy-” “Hey, Bruce! I’m back!” Tony half shouts with a smile. “Had to take care of something, but I’m all yours.” The man eyes at the app on his phone and then at Peter. Now the fun can really begin.

-

Peter is panting quietly, his upper body resting against the side of the desk. He can’t touch himself, he can’t turn around, he can’t find any friction whatsoever. But the buzzing. Oh, the buzzing is driving him insane. It’s agonizingly slow. Enough to have him throbbing, a stain of precum giving the hot red a deeper colour. But it’s not enough. It’s not enough to come and if he makes any sound, anything that could alert Bruce that Tony is not alone in his office right now, he won’t be getting any release at all. And he needs it, fuck, he needs it. His body has a soft sheen of sweat covering it and his eyes are rolled back as he twitches, biting his tongue to hold back the sounds he so desperately wants to make.

Is Tony distracted? Yes. But at least he has Peter exactly where he wants him to be. Directly in his line of sight as he works. He glances at the counter on his phone. The call with Bruce has already taken another hour, but at least they’re finally finishing up. Grammar checking the last page of their paper. By the time they get to the last paragraph, Tony is nearly fuming. For some reason, Bruce is getting more nitpicky with every sentence, as if he’s trying to… Drag this out. Tony scoffs as he picks up his phone and types.

Tony: What do you think you’re doing?

Bruce: Checking this paper with you?

Tony continues their conversation as if he and Bruce are not chatting via a messaging app at the same time. Peter would notice if Tony suddenly goes quiet and he doesn’t want the boy to get suspicious. “I do actually think that sentence flows well. You’re the doctor, aren’t you? Don’t you like sentences that take up at least two lines?”

Tony: You’re dragging this out!

Tony’s eyes go wide at the reply.

Bruce: 😏

“You’re right, you’re right,” Bruce replies. Tony can hear he’s smiling. “Though, I’m not so sure about the comma after ‘cancellations.’ It seems unnecessary.”

Tony: You’re unbelievable.

Bruce: You two might think you’re quiet, but Pete’s not the only one who’s been panting.

“It’s an Oxford comma, Banner, it’s not too much, it’s supposed to be there. You use Oxford commas all the time!”

Tony: Why do all the innocent people in my life turn out to be filthy?

Bruce laughs out loud. “Alright, alright, let’s leave the comma then. Moving on to the next bit.”

Bruce: I’m not filthy, Stark. You are. This is quite entertaining.

“I think that was actually it, wasn’t it?” Tony tries as he furiously types.

Tony: S a d i s t.

“You know what?” Bruce says cheerfully. “You’re right. Why don’t you finish up so you can go to Peter. He must’ve been waiting forever for you.” Tony glances at Peter, still panting and twitching and quietly moaning to himself. “He has,” Tony replies through gritted teeth, trying to stop himself from moaning along. “I think it’s time I’m gonna relieve him.” Bruce chuckles. “You go do that.” It’s quiet for two seconds. “Right, so I saved the doc, if anything changes I’ll hear from you?” “Yeah, Bruce, but I think I won’t be online for a while.” “That’s okay! It’s been a long day for all of us.” Peter jolts at Bruce’s words, letting out a soft cry. Tony could throw his phone through the window. This guy… “Good night, Bruce.” “Night, Tony!”

Bruce: Have fun!

Tony shakes his head and puts his phone down. Slowly, he shifts in his chair, looking down at Peter. The boy’s staring up with him, eyes so desperate and needy it makes Tony’s blood rush south. “D-Daddy, please,” Peter whimpers, thrusting his hips up into nothing. Tony loves seeing him like this. Loves the nearly pained expression on Peter’s face as he’s desperate to do anything just to get a little more friction. Tony licks his lips as he slowly rises from his chair, only to crouch down in front of Peter. “Well, well, well. What have we got here,” Tony whispers, smirking. It takes every last bit of willpower he has to not drag his baby up over the desk and fuck him right there and then, but he knows that playing around for just a bit longer will be so worth it. “Fuck, Pete, you’re so hard.” Tony cups his hand around Peter’s cock through the smooth fabric barely covering it, feeling the buzz of the toy. “How’s it feel, Pete?” Peter presses his hips into Tony’s hand, gasping. “G-Good, Mr. Stark!” “You look so pretty, darling. The prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.” He notices the blush creeping up Peter’s cheeks and smiles. Right where he wants him. “But you’ve been bad, huh, haven’t you? Teasing me with that sweet ass of yours.” “M-m’sorry!” “Are you, though? Seemed you knew exactly what you were doing, parading around with Bruce on speaker like that.” “J-Just wanted to- aah!” Peter chokes out when Tony slides his hand into the panties to trace his fingers across the tip. His cock jerks a little and it has Tony breathless. Peter’s so responsive to him. So hyper-aware of every little touch. “Tell me, Pete. What’s that lip gloss taste like, uh?” He asks quietly, his fingers still circling around Peter’s cock. “It’s-”

Before Peter has a chance to answer, Tony leans in, pressing his lips on the boy’s ones harshly. Demanding. Peter groans, parting his lips and melting into the kiss. The overly sweet fruity flavor sticking to Tony’s tongue. “Hmmm, peach,” he grumbles against his boyfriend’s lips, kissing him harder. “I like it. Though it’s not nearly as sweet as you are.” He shifts a little, taking the toy away and loves how Peter whimpers at the loss. “Shhh, don’t worry, you’ll get your pleasure. Be patient.” Tony whispers, standing up again to undo the cuffs. He keeps them secured around Peter’s wrists though, then buckling them together behind the boy’s back. “Get up, sweetness. Want you to kneel on the couch, bending over the armrest.”

Peter stumbles as he tries to get up, his legs tired and sore after having been in the same position for so long. Tony licks his lips as he watches Peter struggle. The boy manages and chuckles proudly once he stands upright, hands still very much bound together behind his back. It does something to Peter’s posture that makes Tony dizzy with lust. “What are you waiting for?” “Don’t you like watching me?” Peter smirks, pushing his arms even further back. God. This boy knows exactly what he’s doing. Well, two can play this game. Tony grabs the boy’s shoulder, pushing him forward only to grasp the chain locking the cuffs together. Pulling the cuffs up, making Peter struggle to stand straight. “I said, get on the couch,” he growls and he drags the boy with him, enjoying the surprised gasp coming from Peter. He knows how much the boy likes to be manhandled like that, and the cuffs only make it better. “You’re being a naughty boy, baby. I’d watch your steps if I were you.” “Yes, daddy,” Peter moans and lets Tony bend him over the armrest without any resistance. Legs falling apart, ass pushed into the air. Tony smacks it lightly and fuck, he can’t wait till the day where they pick spanking from the jar and he gets to turns Peter’s butt all pink and warm.

Tony’s hand rests on the red lace. He softly rubs his fingers on Peter’s ass, scrunching the fabric under his touch. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, Pete,” he whispers as his hand trails up Peter’s back. Peter arches into his touch, but yelps when Tony suddenly pulls at his hair. The older man’s mouth inches closer to Peter’s ear and he growls. “You gonna take it?” He gently bites down on Peter’s ear. The boy moans and twitches, struggling against his restraints. “Gonna take me like the good slut you are?” Peter nods frantically, closing his eyes and letting out a whine. “Y-yes, daddy, please, need you-” Tony raises his eyebrows. “You need me?” He laughs, slightly condescendingly, as he moves back to Peter’s ass, hooking his fingers in the hem of his boy’s panties. Peter barely dares to respond- isn’t even sure if he’s able to at this point. He’s so hard. Aching- yearning for Tony’s attention. Peter’s startled when, suddenly, he feels pressure around his waist and the sound of fabric tearing and elastic snapping. “T-Tony!” He exclaims. The boy can practically hear Tony grin. “Uh-oh,” the older man says nonchalantly. “Guess we’re going to have to go shopping again.” Tony pulls the panties away from Peter, who twitches when the fabric glides past his cock. It springs free, and the open air tickles his shaft. Tony dangles the ripped panties in front of Peter’s face. “I’ll be joining you in the fitting rooms this time, though.”

Tony walks around to Peter’s front side, keeping the panties where they are, right in front of Peter’s face. He squats down to Peter’s height and cocks his head. The boy pants, smelling himself on the fabric. Tony studies the ripped panties with both hands and glances at Peter when he feels the damp spot of precum. “What’s this?” he asks rhetorically. Peter’s jaw hangs slack and he indirectly stares at Tony, through the sheer parts of the panties. There’s a mischievous glimmer in the older man’s eye. “Since you seem to be so hungry…” Tony brings the panties closer to his own nose to take a whiff before pushing it against Peter’s mouth, making his cheeks flush bright red. “Go and have a taste, sweetness.” Peter opens his mouth further and Tony places the red fabric on Peter’s tongue. He can already taste himself and his eyes roll back as his hips buck through his moans. “Now… Don’t let go, sweet thing. Or I will reconsider making you cum.” Peter’s eyes go wide and he locks his jaw immediately. Tony tugs at it playfully, finding it’s stuck in Peter’s mouth and then lets go of them. He caresses up Peter’s face, through his hair and over his back while he moves to Peter’s behind again. “So, Pete…” Tony squeezes Peter’s ass with both hands, causing the boy to arch his back. “How do you taste?” All Peter can do is moan, clenching his panties between his teeth. Tony smiles and licks his lips. “That good, huh?” The boy nods slightly and Tony lowers himself, grabbing Peter’s cock without warning. Peter jolts and Tony rubs his thumb over the boy’s head, taking some of the newly formed precum. To Peter’s dismay, the older man lets go of his cock again. Tony brings his fingers to his mouth and studies them. “Guess I’m going to have to taste it for myself.”

Peter wishes he could turn around. Wishes he could see Tony right now, licking Peter’s precum from his fingers, but he can’t. Not with the restraints holding him back. Not without getting out of this position. Instead, he only gets to listen how Tony lewdly licks his own fingers clean, moaning around his own digits. “Mmm…” Tony sighs. “So sweet…” Peter squeezes his eyes shut, arching his back as far as he can, trying to get his daddy’s attention. He wants to be filled so bad. But the panties in his mouth prevent him from vocalizing it with anything other than a deep moan.

“Alright, sweetness. I’ll stop stalling,” Tony’s smirk evident in his voice. “I know how badly you’re aching for me to pound you.” Peter drops his head low, nodding feverishly.  “And so am I.” Peter hears how Tony rummages around for a bit and he waits patiently, shifting slightly to release some of the strain on his arms. Suddenly he feels the cold lube trickling down and he gasps, clenching around nothing. “My sweet, lil’ needy boy aren’t you…” Tony’s voice is low and rough and it sends a jolt through Peter’s body. His mind’s starting to get hazy again and Peter lets himself drown in the familiar sensation. He feels how Tony’s fingers slide towards his entrance, and then slips one in gently and it makes the boy shudder.

“Good boy.”

Peter wants to gasp, but instead clamps his teeth on the fabric tighter. His legs falling apart even wider as if asking Tony to please, please touch him more. He wants to be touched. Wants Tony’s rough, big hands on his skin. Marking him. Claiming him. Wants to feel how the man’s fingers dig bruises into his hips as he pounds him. He whines when Tony’s finger gently rubs along his prostate, pleasure flaring from his abdomen through his entire body. He feels how Tony slips a second finger in. A third. Stretching and playing until Peter’s nothing more than a moaning mess.

“Fuck, baby, I can’t wait any longer,” Tony’s voice rumbles from behind him, and the sound of Tony’s belt unbuckling sends off another jolt. He’s so used to that clanking noise, knows exactly what it means. What’s coming for him. And he wants it. Soon, he feels Tony’s warm, bare chest on his back and he melts into the embrace. Safe. Tony’s hands slide down his sides, towards his ass where they grip onto his hip bones. “Brace yourself, honeybunch, I’m not gonna go easy on you. If you need me to slow down, kick your leg up alright? Nod to me if you understand.” Peter understands and nods, and then cries out in pleasure when Tony pushes into him all the way. Tony grunts, his breath hot against Peter’s neck.

“Oh, you feel so damn good, making daddy lose his mind.” Peter wants to answer. Wants to chant Tony’s name over and over again as he pounds into him without mercy. It feels so good. So amazing. After hours of teasing and begging, finally getting what he wants, it’s mind blowing. He feels how Tony’s hand creeps up, clasping onto the cuffs. The leather creaks when Peter angles his hands, trying to hold Tony’s by bending his fingers. The tips brush against Tony’s skin, causing goosebumps to run over his entire body. Tony’s other hand sneaks around Peter’s waist. Peter’s entire body tenses when he feels Tony’s fingers wrapping around his hard on - jerking him fast and rough. “Hold on, baby, don’t come just yet. Want you to drag it out,” Tony growls, “-when you really can’t hold back, drop those pretty panties and scream for me.” The older man slams into him harder and Peter’s trembling all over, his fingers tightening on the slight grip he has on Tony’s hand. The cuffs seem so sturdy and strong, holding him in place, and then there’s Tony on top of him, keeping him down.

Peter tries. He really tries. He just can’t hold it. His mouth opens wide as he throws his head back, dropping the panties on the floor. “A-Aaahh! I… Mr…” Peter’s sobbing, body clenching, his wrists pushing into the cuffs and -  a loud, ripping noise pierces through the room as his arms suddenly shoot apart. He falls forward, gasping in surprise and laughs almost hysterically as he rides through his orgasm. “Baby, oh fuck, you’re so strong, so pretty, g-gonna- I-” Tony’s fingers dig deep into Peter’s hips, holding him tight and close as he pushes forward, grunting and moaning as he releases deep inside of him. He collapses on top of Peter, and the boy closes his eyes. He’s disoriented in the very best way. Tony’s hot, heavy body weighing down on him making him feel secure. And loved. And most definitely fucked-out.

“T-thought you said these were unbreakable,” Peter gasps, trying to catch his breath. Tony chuckles wrapping his arms gently around Peter’s waist. Holding him as close as possible. “Strong, yes. Unbreakable… Not for you, it seems. Fuck, I love you.” The older man closes his eyes, his head resting on Peter’s back. He can hear the boy’s racing heartbeat matching his own and he smiles. “Pete?” “Hmmm?” comes the boy’s soft reply. “You’re gorgeous when you destroy things.” Peter chuckles, not moving from his spot. He’s too content, too blissed, to even consider it. “Oh, and by the way-” Tony absentmindedly presses a kiss on Peter’s back, causing the boy to shiver. “Next time you wear something on your lips, throw in a little hot red, would you? None of that nude stuff.” Peter hums. “Why?” Tony smiles against Peter’s skin. “I wanna see it when I smear it all over your pretty face.”

--- More: Chapter 12: Yet to be posted Masterpost

#starker #peter parker #peter x tony #tony x peter #adult peter parker #ironspider #iron man x spider man #iron man #ironman #spider man x iron man #fanfiction #fan fic #fan fiction #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #kink exploration #spiderman #spider man #spider-man #marvel #mcu #twokinkybeans #jar of dirt #jarofdirt

[chameleonwritess]

Feels Like Home (Ch 1)

Myriad of Stars

Not-So-Secretly in Love

Feels Like Home (Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3)

Forever Starts Today (Epilogue)

Extras:

Infirmary Duties

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairing: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace

Nico's summer has been amazing thanks to Will but he isn't ready to face the following year when it ends. He knows there are going to be a lot of changes this year and that frightens Nico. Luckily, Will is there for him through everything.

Word Count: 7446

Read the whole Myriad of Stars series on AO3

Chapter 1- Demigods and Parents

Nico di Angelo was pretty sure that he’d had the best summer of his entire life.

Minus almost being destroyed by Gaia, of course, but he was grouping that with the rest of the year which had, quite frankly, been dreadful.

Still, as soon as the impending threat had vanished, Will Solace had stepped into Nico’s life and suddenly everything seemed to make sense. Nico had found not only a place where he belonged and could be himself but a person with whom he belonged and could be himself with. As the son of Hades, that in itself was a miracle Nico had never seen coming.

The fact that Will was attractive, funny, caring, utterly charming and the most infuriating demigod Nico had ever met just made everything so much better.

Of course, summer didn’t last forever, though. Nico knew it didn’t and yet he’d somehow hoped it would, causing reality to crash down around him during the last week of the holidays.

“My mom’s picking me up from Camp next week,” Will announced very suddenly one afternoon whilst the two were sitting inside Nico’s cabin, playing with some of Nico’s old mythomagic cards for the sake of nostalgia and because the two of them were huge nerds.

Nico’s eyes snapped up immediately.

“You’re going home?” he asked in a slightly strangled voice. So much for concealing his emotions.

“Not exactly,” Will said. Nico raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

“Meaning?”

“Well, I go to school but not properly,” Will started to explain, “We need a healer at Camp all the time and now that Lee’s dead, I’m the best healer we’ve got.”

“How does that work, then? I thought school was a full time thing?” Nico asked. He knew he’d been to school in Italy but the memories were very faint. He hadn’t even thought about going to school since; he’d always been too tied up in monsters, Titans, giants or whatever else was deciding to destroy the world.

“It usually is. My mum has a special agreement with the headteacher, though. I go to school for a few weeks each term so that I can collect all the work and then I return to Camp so that no one dies from falling off the lava wall or getting a leg sliced off in Capture the Flag,” Will explained.

“So you won’t be gone for long?” Nico checked. Will chuckled.

“Why, you gonna miss me?” he teased, nudging Nico’s leg with his own. Nico rolled his eyes.

“I was just thinking about how peaceful Camp would be without you. No Jackson bugging me, no Grace bugging me, no you bugging me,” he said wistfully.

“Hey!” Will complained, “we only bug you because we love you. Besides you were totally upset when I said I was going home after summer.”

“Was not,” Nico spluttered.

“Was too,” Will retorted.

“Not.”

“Too.”

“Alright, shut up, of course I was going to miss you,” Nico finally relented, shoving Will, who had decided to lean his body right over Nico’s, in the chest. It was suddenly dawning on Nico just how much he would miss Will, though.

Even before they’d started dating, Nico had still spent the majority of his time with Will and over the last month or so the two had practically been inseparable. Now he was going to have to go for weeks without seeing him. Nico already felt suffocated. Never had he expected to become so reliant on one person.

“Ha, that’s pretty gay,” Will smirked in retaliation to Nico pushing him. Nico inhaled deeply.

“I changed my mind, can you leave today?” he deadpanned. Will laughed and flopped down on his back besides Nico on the bed.

“I’m bored of mythomagic,” he stated.

“You get bored easily,” Nico shrugged.

“True, but I wanted to ask you something,” Will replied, looking up at Nico from the bed from what Nico assumed was not a very flattering angle on his behalf.

“Go on, then,” Nico encouraged with an unenthusiastic eye roll to accompany it.

“It’s going to be weird spending time apart after we’ve spent all summer together so I was wondering if you wanted to come over and stay at mine during the first weekend? My mom will love you, I can sense it, and she’s always happy to let my friends stay over,” Will offered.

Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. Meeting Will’s mom had not been something he’d ever even considered and being new to the twenty-first century, never mind just dating, made Nico panic a little that he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to act around a mother.

The only parental figure in his life was Hades and Nico doubted he could just nip down to the Underworld to pay his dad a visit and ask a few questions about his love life. It wasn’t really the father-son relationship they had.

“Don’t worry,” Will jumped in, noticing Nico’s hesitance, “it’s just an offer and I don’t want you to feel like you have to. I know you’ve probably not done anything like that before but just so you know, my mom is lovely. She’s the kindest woman I’ve met. She already knows I’m gay and will be so thrilled to meet you. I can already tell she’s going to love you.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. People didn’t exactly have a habit of ‘loving’ him upon first encounters.

“Really?” Nico asked, surprising even himself at how weak his voice sounded. Will sat up on the bed and placed his hands on Nico’s shoulders, forcing him to look into his dazzling blue eyes.

“I mean it. I’ve never disliked you and people say the two of us are pretty similar. She’s also one of the most stubborn people I know. When I was younger she’d keep me quarantined if I got a slight tickle in my throat so if you think I’m bad, wait till you meet her,” Will reassured Nico. He smiled slightly at Will’s anecdote.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone more stubborn than you,” Nico smirked.

“I’m not just Apollo’s good looks and charms, y’know,” Will teased, sending Nico a wink. Nico laughed at the action and allowed his head to fall against Will’s chest.

“I’ll think about it,” Nico agreed. Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s chest and kissed the top of his head.

“Thank you,” he said, “it means a lot to me.”

Nico still felt anxiety bubble up inside of him at the thought of spending a weekend with Will’s mother but after everything Will had done for him, this was the least he could do in return, especially if it meant a lot to Will.

He just wished it didn’t feel like such a big deal to him.

Will had to return to his own cabin before long (ever since it was confirmed that the two were together, the Apollo cabin had taken to threatening Will in order to ensure he returned back each night) and Nico was left to his own thoughts.

He knew how much Will’s mother meant to him. It wasn’t really school that Will was going home to- it was Naomi Solace. He always spoke so highly of her which just made Nico even more anxious. Normally, he didn’t care what people thought of him. The first time he’d realised he cared about what Will thought of him was when he’d begun to realise that he viewed Will as a little more than just ‘that annoying healer’.

Still, he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to ensure Will actually liked him. Never before had he felt the need to make a dedicated effort to ensure someone didn‘t dislike him..

It was terrifying.

Nico also had literally no clue how he was supposed to interact with his boyfriend’s mother. The only adults he ever even spoke to were Chiron, Mr D, Hades and occasionally Persephone if he was in the mood for an argument. All of whom were immortal beings- definitely not mortal mothers.

Feeling Cabin 13 growing gradually stuffier as his panic increased, Nico stood up abruptly and decided he needed to take a walk outside to calm his nerves and get some fresh air. It was still half an hour until curfew so luckily, the cleaning Harpies wouldn’t be around to tear his flesh apart just yet.

Instead of wandering to Nico and Will’s usual spot, Nico continued further down until he was sat by the far edge of the canoe lake where few campers ever seemed to go. Nico himself rarely sat by this side of the lake, despite its proximity to the Hades cabin.

If Nico had been hoping for some brooding time to himself, though, he was severely disappointed as a tall, dark figure appeared from the darkness of the trees and made his way to Nico’s side. Nico had recognised him immediately.

“Father,” he greeted, sounding distinctly unimpressed with Hades’s sudden appearance.

“Hello, son. It’s been a while,” Hades commented. Nico looked at him sternly.

“You closed off the Underworld so I couldn’t enter,” he pointed out. Hades chuckled nervously, a sound that seemed utterly strange coming from the Lord of the Underworld.

“That I did. I apologise. It wasn’t to prevent you or Hazel from entering, I assure,” Hades said awkwardly. Nico let out a sigh.

“What is it that you want?” he asked. Whilst Nico knew he saw his Dad far more than other demigods saw their Olympian parents, Hades still only tended to appear when he wanted something from him. Either that or he was going to gift him a skeleton chef to go with his skeleton Chauffeur, Jules-Albert.

“I just wanted to catch up with you, Nico,” Hades said simply. Nico raised an eyebrow.

“That’s unnerving,” he commented. Hades sighed.

“I still can never tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” he complained. Nico shrugged. He wasn’t entirely sure whether he was or not, himself.

“Anyway,” Hades continued, “the Apollo sprout.”

Nico’s cheeks flushed, “Wait, this is about Will?”

“Oh, that’s his name. I couldn’t remember if it was Bill or Will. Yes. You seem… infatuated with him, correct?” Hades asked. Nico groaned and placed his head in his hands. The last conversation he’d ever wanted to have with his father was about his love life.

“Do you have to talk to me about this?” he asked.

“I’m not allowed to get involved with my son’s personal life?” Hades questioned. Nico nearly willed the ground to open up and swallow him. He was tempted to do it had he not known that Hades would just follow him anyway.

“Fine, yes, I’m happy with him. If you have a problem with it I don’t care,” he snapped. Hades looked almost taken aback.

“I have no problem. In fact, I’m quite relieved. He isn’t Jackson or Grace and he has a good sense of humour,” Hades said in an almost approving tone. Nico’s father’s words suddenly sunk in. How did Hades know that Will had a sense of humour?

“Have you been watching me?” Nico spluttered. If Hades skin hadn’t still been so deathly pale, Nico would have thought he was going red.

“Not exactly. I just like to check up on you sometimes. I noticed an abnormal amount of laughing so wanted to assure you were okay,” Hades explained. Now it was Nico’s turn to go red.

“Yeah, well, he does have a good sense of humour,” he mumbled. Hades nodded thoughtfully.

“Invite him down for dinner,” Hades suggested, “I’d like to meet him personally.”

“Please don’t threaten my boyfriend,” Nico begged, thinking how strange it was to refer to Will as his boyfriend in front of someone else for once.

“I would never. I simply want to get to know him better. If the Apollo sprout is important to you, he should be important to me, too,” Hades stated.

“He can’t eat food from the Underworld, y’know,” Nico added.

Hades glared at him, “Do you take me for a fool, Nico? I am well aware of that.”

“Of course, sorry,” Nico apologised, rolling his eyes, “I’ll have to discuss it with him. He- er- might be a little apprehensive about nipping down to the Underworld just for dinner.”

Hades nodded in understanding and if Nico didn’t know better, he would have said Hades almost looked hurt by his comment.

“I hear you’re going to visit his mortal mother,” he finally added after a moment of silence. Nico groaned again.

“Do you listen in to all of our conversations?” he asked, wondering exactly what his father had overheard.

“No. Just that one. I was planning to pay you a visit but noticed you were preoccupied,” he said. Nico flushed and tried not to think about what Hades had overheard or accidentally observed.

“I don’t know if I’m going to visit her or not, though,” Nico explained, “I’m… nervous.”

“Naturally,” Hades nodded, “my own relationship with Demeter has not been ideal over the years since I married Persephone.”

Nico didn’t point out that there may well be a reason for that. He also didn’t point out that Hades was definitely not helping his nerves calm down.

“Right,” Nico stated, “any helpful advice or were you just here to interrogate me?”

“I just wanted to see that you were happy,” Hades said, “I know it isn’t easy being my son. You deserve a good life.”

Nico had had this sort of conversation with his father before. Last time, he’d thought to himself that there was no way he’d ever be truly happy. Now he felt as though his old self really had been wrong. Life felt pretty great for Nico right now.

“Thanks,” Nico said, allowing a genuine smile to cross his face, “you don’t need to worry. Will does make me pretty happy.”

It felt weird to say so to his dad but it was the truth.

“I can tell,” Hades smiled in response, “I think the Harpies are coming. I should probably let you get back to your cabin.”

Nico nodded and got to his feet again. Hades had already turned around and was walking away back into the darkness.

“Dad,” Nico blurted out on impulse, before his father walked away. Hades turned around in shock. It was the first time Nico had referred to him as anything other than ‘father’ or ‘Hades’. “Thank you for checking up on me,” Nico finished.

Hades looked at him and gave a warm smile, something that looked so foreign on his usually cold and stern face.

With that, Hades vanished into the darkness and Nico was left alone again to clamber back up to his cabin before the cleaning Harpies swooped in to eat him for their dinner.

He’d made his mind up about what he was going to do- he was going to visit Will’s mom. Family was important, after all.

It was the last day of summer before Nico knew it and there was a very melancholic feel around Camp. Whilst some campers never went to school, instead staying on at Camp year-round like Nico planned on doing, there were an awful lot of people leaving for the year, some of them for good.

Percy and Annabeth were the first to say goodbye to Nico.

“We’re going to go to college in New Rome,” Annabeth explained to Nico when they caught him wandering past the big house, “but Percy needs to pass his SATs first.”

“It’s going to be a painful year of studying,” Percy added with a grin. Nico huffed a laugh. He couldn’t remember what going to school was like but from what he’d heard, studying was not a fun activity.

“Yeah, I don’t envy you,” Nico said. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to visit soon. Probably sooner than I want knowing how things tend to go at this place. I don’t doubt that gods will have some new problem that needs fixing soon,” he added.

“Don’t you miss the days when you were told not to go on a quest and snuck your way onto it anyway?” Annabeth asked with a nostalgic sigh.

“I would gladly go back and smack my younger self. What was I thinking?” Percy laughed. Nico could sympathise with that.

“At least you didn’t go crazy and start raising dead spirits,” Nico pointed out. Percy laughed harder.

“True, true,” he said and before the three of them knew it, they were laughing about all the ridiculous trouble and near death experiences they’d had over the years.

Nico had never considered using humour as a coping mechanism considering laughing was something he rarely found himself doing, but as he found himself recounting tales with Percy and Annabeth, he realised the memories didn’t hold quite as much sting as they usually did. Nico absent-mindedly wondered if that had been partly Will’s influence on him.

“Remember the time I gatecrashed my own funeral?” Percy asked Annabeth. She burst into laughter again.

“I was about to go saying all this nice stuff about him and then he just wanders over like it was no big deal,” Annabeth said.

“Oh, Nico, what about that time you came over to my house on my birthday to tell me to take a swim in the Styx but got distracted by cake,” Percy reminded him.

“What was I thinking?” Nico asked with a laugh, “at least the cake was good.”

“Sally’s blue food is the best,” Annabeth agreed as Percy wrapped an arm around both her and Nico, squeezing them into a group hug. Nico reluctantly complied. He didn’t mind it anywhere near as much as he pretended to.

“I’m gonna miss you a lot, Nico. You’d better visit us in New Rome, too,” Percy said, “don’t pretend you don’t know me this time!”

Nico smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Hopefully this time you won’t be losing your memory,” Annabeth scolded as she gently smacked him on the arm.

“I never forgot you, Wise Girl,” Percy said fondly and Nico averted his eyes, already knowing what was about to happen. He scanned the inside of the Big House as he looked away, peering into the infirmary to see if he could spot Will. Will hadn’t said goodbye yet so Nico hoped he didn’t plan on leaving without doing so.

Percy and Annabeth didn’t kiss for long due to Nico’s presence which he was grateful for. He was also glad to notice that he didn’t feel any twinge of jealousy towards Annabeth at all anymore. Percy was just a normal guy to him now. A friend, even.

“I really am sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you over the years,” Nico apologised. Percy shrugged.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ve caused you trouble, too. Besides, it’s what friends are for,” he grinned, using his knuckle to mess up Nico’s hair as Nico attempted to bat his hand away. Annabeth laughed.

“Look after everyone at Camp for us, Nico,” Annabeth smiled, “I trust you to make sure everything stays orderly.”

“As orderly as Camp Halfblood can get,” Nico pointed out as an appropriately timed fight broke out behind them on the volleyball court between an Ares and an Aphrodite kid.

“Don’t go breaking Will’s heart,” Percy added with a wink. Nico rolled his eyes and flushed red.

“Shut up,” he complained, “I will miss you guys, though. Camp will feel strange without you here.”

Percy and Annabeth smiled so widely at Nico’s admission that he almost regretted it. He regretted it even more when the two engulfed him in another huge hug.

“Goodbye till whenever we next see you, then,” Percy said. Nico nodded.

“Enjoy college,” he greeted. Annabeth smiled.

“Oh, he’s going to love it,” she smirked a little evilly. Nico chuckled and gave them one last wave as the two made their way over to the top of Halfblood Hill where they would undoubtedly be swamped with even more Campers wanting to say goodbye.

Camp really was going to be weird without Percy and Annabeth there. Nico had never really stayed without them there since the time he sent Percy off on the quest his sister died on. All of that felt like aeons ago to him, now.

“It doesn’t seem real, does it?” a familiar voice came from behind Nico. Will had snuck up on him and wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist which he’d usually complain about in such open view of all the camp but it was Will’s last day before he went home for a while and his arms were warm. It wasn’t because Nico actually liked when Will held him like this or anything.

“Percy and Annabeth have just always… been around,” Nico agreed, “I guess I can visit them but it just feels like they’re going away.”

“Jason and Piper are going to New Rome for the year, too, aren’t they?” Will asked. Nico nodded, hoping Will could feel the movement of his head against his chest.

“And you’re gonna be gone. Camp’s going to feel pretty lonely,” Nico pointed out. Will released his arms around Nico and grabbed his shoulders instead, turning him around to face him. His face didn’t look mad but Nico could sense a certain anger behind his eyes.

“That doesn’t give you an excuse to shadow travel off anywhere you like,” Will said, “you’d better still be here when I return each holiday.”

Nico rolled his eyes, “I know, I’ll stay here, I promise. I might go and visit Hazel once or twice but other than that-“

“Good,” Will interrupted him with a sigh of relief, “I think you have some visitors that want to talk to you, though.”

Nico turned around to see where Will was looking. Piper and Jason were stood at the other side of the Big House, observing the scene at a distance. Nico could already tell the two had been spying on them and sent a premature glare in their direction.

“Go on, I’ll wait here,” Will promised with a smirk. Nico nodded at him and made his way over to them.

“So,” Jason started, “this is it for a year.”

“Don’t say that,” Piper accused, “you can still come and visit us. Reyna, Hazel and Frank would want you to visit too.”

“I know,” Nico agreed, “I will do. I hope you both have a good year.”

“I’ll miss you, Nico. Stay safe at camp. We’re only an Iris message away,” Jason reminded him. Nico nodded and felt the beginnings of tears prickling his eyes. He quickly blinked them away but Piper was doing nothing to hide her tears.

“Aww, Neeks,” she sobbed and then threw her arms around him. Nico almost fell back from the impact but slowly embraced Piper back if slightly awkwardly.

“Don’t call me that,” Nico complained but there was no annoyance in his tone. Jason sniffed loudly and Nico glanced over Piper’s shoulder to notice that Jason too was getting teary-eyed. Nico lifted one of his arms and Jason took the invitation, enveloping Nico in a hug too.

As both Piper and Jason were taller than him, he found it difficult to breathe pretty quickly and had to stretch his neck to free his mouth.

“Guys, you’re kind of crushing me,” he spluttered. Jason and Piper released him immediately with apologies rolling off their tongues.

“We will really miss you,” Piper said.

“Yeah,” Jason added, “you’ve changed a lot in just the short space of time we’ve known you. I’m really glad.”

“Well, I think you know who to blame for that,” Nico smirked, throwing a look over his shoulder at where Will, as promised, was still standing.

“Take good care of him,” Piper said with a wink, “have you made up your mind yet?”

Nico took a deep breath in and nodded.

“I know what I need to do,” he said, “and Jason, Will may have helped me but you were the catalyst that set the reaction off. You accepted me when I felt like no one could and I- just- thank you,” Nico managed to stammer out.

Jason looked like he was going to cry again and before Nico knew it, he had been enveloped in yet another hug. Feeling left out, Piper joined in again, squeezing the two boys tightly.

“You really need to stop trying to kill me,” Nico gasped for breath, “There’s still plenty of monsters left to do that.”

Piper and Jason laughed as they relented their tight grip.

“Don’t die whilst we’re gone,” Piper instructed. Nico gave her a wry smile.

“I’ll try not to. Make sure Jason doesn’t get himself killed, too,” Nico said.

“I can look after myself!” Jason complained. Piper laughed and Nico gave a snort.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” he said dryly. Jason rolled his eyes and pouted before taking Piper’s hand.

“We’d better go and say our goodbyes to Percy and Annabeth before we take off,” Jason said, “we’ll see you soon, Nico.”

Nico lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

And with that, he departed and made his way back up the hill to Will. This was his next goodbye and he knew this one would be the hardest even if he’d only be spending a short time away. Luckily, he had until that evening. Whilst most campers left in the afternoon, Will’s mom worked a day shift at the hospital so could only pick him up later on in the day.

“You okay?” Will asked with a concerned look as Nico approached. Nico wiped away any stray tears that may have been remaining at the corner of his eyes.

“Yeah,” he lied, “just going to miss everyone.”

“Aw, you’re such a softy,” Will teased, hugging Nico from the side, “help me clear up in the infirmary before I leave? It needs to pass inspection.”

“You’re the one inspecting it, you nerd,” Nico complained with an eye roll. His complaints ended when Will pecked his cheek and grabbed his hand, pulling Nico inside the Big House.

As soon as they stepped inside, Will switched straight over into Doctor mode, something Nico was pretty used to by then.

“I need all the thermometers back in the tub on the second shelf up and bring me some latex gloves whilst you’re there- someone’s left medical waste on the table,” Will instructed. Nico nodded and turned around to go to the back before adding,

“Is that a shelf I can actually reach this time?” recalling an incident only a week or so ago.

Will raised his eyebrow in response as he turned around with stethoscopes in his hand.

“I doubt you’d complain much if it wasn’t,” he said pointedly. Nico blushed and muttered a quiet ‘Shut up’ before marching into the back.

Nico was pretty sure Will hadn’t been the last person in here because the boxes were a mess. Will was such a perfectionist when it came to organising the infirmary that Nico knew he’d probably need medical attention himself if he came in and saw the state it had been left in.

With a sigh, Nico shoved the thermometers in the box on the second shelf and started work sorting through the other boxes, attempting to return everything to their correct place.

Nico hadn’t remembered about bringing Will the gloves until a pair of hands tickled his waist and caused him to make an embarrassingly high pitched squeal, dropping the packs of gauze he was holding.

“Sorry,” Will chuckled quietly in Nico’s ear, sending a shiver down Nico’s spine, “what’s taking so long?”

Nico picked up the gauze and stood on his tiptoes to put it back in the box before turning around to face Will.

The son of Apollo was stood closer than Nico had realised and his hands were still hovering over Nico’s waist, ready to pull him even closer. Nico’s heart caught in his throat as he felt his breath catch. Will still had an uncanny knack of taking his breath away. It was very infuriating.

“It- mess- decided to sort it,” Nico said intelligently. If he’d been hoping to disguise from Will how much his sudden presence and closeness had affected him, he was doing a pretty lousy job.

“What?” Will asked, having not understood Nico, not surprisingly. Nico took a breath in and tried to remember how to compose comprehensible sentences as he looked up at Will’s blue eyes.

“Someone messed everything up. I was trying to sort it out again because I know you don’t like it disorganised,” Nico finally managed to say without sounding completely stupid.

Will looked down at Nico with a soft smile on his face. Nico was glad that it seemed he’d actually done the right thing.

“Thank you,” Will said quietly, leaning down so that his nose bumped Nico’s gently. Nico’s breath was taken away once again as Will’s hands tightened around his waist. He wondered if there was such thing as dying from spending too long too close to your boyfriend. Nico at least hoped his father would take pity and resurrect him if that did happen.

After what felt like way too long, Will finally tilted his head and captured Nico’s lips. Letting out a sigh, Nico reached up, wound a hand in Will’s hair and pulled the blond against him hungrily. Will was far too much of a tease and Nico wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Will didn’t seem to be complaining as Nico kissed him back harder, though, instead letting his hands move from Nico’s waist to his back, one of them slipping underneath Nico’s black t-shirt and tracing the bare skin on his spine. Nico shivered at the touch, despite Will’s hands being as warm as always. Will was permanently warm. Nico suspected it was because he was Apollo’s son but he didn’t really care- he only cared about whether those hands were touching him.

Nico pulled back to take a breath for a second but Will had other ideas, chasing Nico’s mouth with his own and pressing their bodies together again. Nico felt his back touch the shelves behind him and he removed his hands from Will’s hair to place them on the shelves and push the two of them off. He hadn’t just spent all that time organising them for Will to ruin it, no matter what his tongue was doing as it slid into Nico’s mouth and elicited a gasp from him.

“Don’t ruin my tidying,” Nico murmured against Will’s lips.

“Nico, shut up and let me kiss you, I don’t care about the tidying,” Will muttered in response, not giving Nico a chance to respond further as he kissed Nico again, the hot press of his lips making Nico finally give in and decide that the shelves really didn’t matter all that much.

He allowed Will to push him back against them this time as the taller boy’s tongue returned to his mouth. Whilst Nico did like to be the one leading the kiss, drawing small noises out of Will and leaving him a blushing mess, he definitely was not about to complain if Will wanted to push him up against a wall and kiss him senseless.

“Nico,” Will moaned lightly, the sound of his name on Will’s lips causing blood to rush straight to Nico’s cheeks and possibly other places he was trying hard to ignore. Nico just pulled Will’s lips back to his.

The sudden sound of a horn caused Nico and Will to jump apart in shock, Nico’s head hitting against the shelf above him and Will’s nose bumping into his a little harder than anticipated.

“Ow,” Nico said, not entirely sure his mouth was capable of forming any more than a sound at that moment anyway.

“I guess it’s time for dinner,” Will said breathlessly, “I can’t believe I didn’t manage to clean the infirmary.”

Nico rolled his eyes at Will’s pout.

“Don’t blame me, I was trying to help. Besides, you’re the inspector so it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged. Will scoffed.

“It’s basic patient hygiene, di Angelo,” he said, sounding scandalised, “and don’t feign innocence, you were being too distracting.”

“I was literally just tidying a cupboard,” Nico pointed out.

“Exactly,” Will teased, draping an arm over Nico’s shoulder as they made their way out of the Big House and to the mess hall, “distracting.”

Nico blushed and rolled his eyes.

“Catch me after dinner- I don’t want to leave without saying goodbye,” Will ordered. Nico nodded in agreement.

“Me neither,” he said. Will gave his shoulder one last squeeze before releasing Nico and going over to the Apollo cabin, now consisting of only Kayla, Austin and Will.

Nico sat himself down at the Big Three table that was feeling even more vacant. Percy and Jason had both left, leaving Nico alone. He hated sitting alone to eat. He never would have admitted it to Percy and Jason but it did really help having them there when they’d first suggested the idea.

When Nico sat alone to eat, it brought back memories. Memories of buying Happy Meals in desperate attempts to speak to his sister. Memories of sitting trapped in a jar, surviving only off pomegranate seeds and thinking that no one was coming to save him- he would die alone.

They weren’t exactly memories Nico wanted to dwell on, especially now that his life was looking up for once, but the scars ran deep and no amount of happiness would ever truly dispel the nightmares and feelings of hopelessness that occasionally threatened to overcome Nico.

Absent-mindedly, Nico wondered if it would be at all possible for him to convince Chiron that he needed to sit with other people to stop his powers from playing up. Maybe Chiron would let him sit with Will if the son of Apollo played his ‘I’m a doctor’ card.

For a second, Nico was tempted to raise skeletons right there and then but thought better of it. Will would be leaving Camp in about an hour, anyway.

Distracted from his own memory with thoughts of Will, Nico happily bit into his pepperoni pizza.

Despite Will’s promise that he would say goodbye to Nico before he left, Nico spotted the son of Apollo leaving his cabin with a packed bag and heading in the direction of Halfblood Hill- not in the direction of the Hades cabin.

Luckily, Nico had been paying attention so muttering to himself in aggravation, Nico shrugged on his aviator jacket to guard against the cool evening breeze and stormed out of his cabin, not caring that the door slammed shut behind him.

Due to Will’s naturally larger strides (curse his long legs), Nico had to jog to catch up and finally reached him just as he arrived at the top of the hill.

“Going somewhere?” Nico asked pointedly. Will jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Ah, Nico!” he gasped, “uh, sorry, I was going to come and say goodbye but, well-“ Will broke off with a shrug and Nico raised an eyebrow at him. With a glance down the hill, he spotted a woman with curly brown hair, blue eyes as clear as Will’s. Her face was smattered with freckles and she wore a smile Nico would recognise anywhere. She was Naomi Solace- unmistakably Will’s mother.

“Oh,” Nico muttered, drawing his attention back to Will. He’d felt a hint of panic rise up inside him at the sight of Naomi accompanied with the disappointment that Will hadn’t intended to say goodbye to him. Nico was going to be spending a weekend with just her and Will way sooner than he was prepared for.

A thought suddenly hit Nico as to why Will hadn’t been going to say goodbye and it was completely and utterly Nico’s fault.

“Oh!” Nico repeated in realisation as he grabbed Will’s arms, “Will, I forgot to tell you- I made up my mind. I want to visit you at the weekend. I mean, if the offer still stands.”

Will’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Why didn’t you just say so, you idiot?” he asked and before Nico could even respond, Will dropped his bags and picked Nico up, spinning him round. Nico had to try hard not to shriek in shock as he grabbed Will’s shoulders to steady himself.

Still laughing, Will placed him back on the ground and hugged him.

“Of course the offer still stands,” Will promised, “do you want to meet my mom now? She’s heard a lot about you through Iris messages.”

Nico didn’t even think before he answered.

“Yeah, sure!” completely forgetting to panic. Will grinned and grabbed Nico’s hand, picking up his bags again and pulling Nico down the hill with him. They were through the magical Mist barrier before Nico knew it and he was faced with the most daunting task of his entire life. Talking to Will’s mother.

“Will!” Naomi Solace squealed as soon as the two demigods stumbled past the magical barrier. Nico didn’t even complain when Will released his hand so he could engulf his mother in a huge hug.

He was easily taller than her, resting his head on top of her’s as he hugged her. Nico guessed she was about the same height as he was.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, “you haven’t been overworking yourself, I hope. If you have a single blister on your hand from over-healing then I swear-“

Whatever Naomi Solace had intended to say next was forgotten as she pulled her son in for another hug. Nico couldn’t help but smile slightly as he observed the scene, despite the panic still rising inside him. At least Will would be in good hands away from camp; Nico doubted he needed to worry too much about Will overexerting himself.

Still, if there was a monster-

Nico shook the thought out of his head quickly. Will had always been fine in previous years. He was going to be fine now. His scent wasn’t as strong as Nico, Percy or Jason’s anyway- he wasn’t a son of the Big Three.

“Mom,” Will whined in complaint, pushing her away, “I’m fine, honestly.”

Despite his complaints, Nico knew how much Will had actually missed his mother. He never shut up about it.

Just then, Naomi happened to look up over Will’s shoulder and her eyes connected with Nico’s. He felt his heart rate immediately pick up in fear. She was going to hate him already.

“Will, I think there’s someone you might be forgetting to introduce me to,” Naomi said, raising an eyebrow at her son expectantly in a way Will so often did to Nico whenever he forgot to look after a wound or help out in the hospital. Nico was already starting to realise exactly why Apollo had been so taken with her. She had a lot of similarities to her son.

“Oh!” Will seemed to realise as his eyes shone. He grinned and walked over to Nico again, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards his mother. Nico allowed himself to be pulled and stood there in shock. “Mom, this is Nico.”

“So you’re the guy Will won’t shut up about when he Iris messages me,” Naomi Solace said with a sly smile. Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He was supposed to say something now.

“Um,” Nico started, “it’s nice to meet you. Will talks about you a lot, too.”

“Oh, does he?” Naomi Solace asked, turning to Will.

“Pfft, as if,” Will pretended but his mom just tackled him in another hug.

“You big softie,” she teased, “you do love your old mom after all.”

“Mom, stop, you’re embarrassing me in front of Nico,” Will complained, attempting to flatten his hair again when his mom released him. Nico fought the urge to run his fingers through it. Will’s mother was right there.

“It really is lovely to meet you, though, Nico. I’m really glad Will’s found someone as good to him as you,” Naomi turned to Nico again, still smiling.

“Good to me?” Will huffed. Nico elbowed him.

“Thank you, Miss Solace,” he said, “I do my best to keep him in check.”

“Please, just call me Naomi. Or mom if you want- anything’s fine by me!” Naomi said. Nico thought he would have felt a little bit awkward calling her ‘mom’ but it didn’t seem like she completely hated him so that was a good thing at least. “I don’t know how you manage- he really is a nightmare.”

“Trust me, I know,” Nico smirked, surprised at how easily he was managing to have a conversation. He hadn’t messed up. He could do this.

Will was apparently not as pleased with his achievement.

“Nico! Mom! I didn’t introduce you to each other so you could gang up against me,” he complained.

“You should have expected this, really,” Nico pointed out.

“Honestly, it’s like he doesn’t even know us,” Naomi shook her head in offense.

“Mom!” Will whined.

“Sorry, did you hear something, Nico?” she asked in a sly tone.

“Nothing at all,” Nico agreed with a shake of his head.

“I changed my mind, you’re uninvited this weekend,” Will huffed.

“You agreed to come?” Naomi asked suddenly, turning to Nico excitedly. Nico had never seen anyone look so glad at the news that he was going to be somewhere.

“Oh, um, I-I’d like to if you don’t mind,” Nico stuttered. Naomi grinned.

“Of course I don’t mind! The more the merrier. I’m sure you’ll help me wind up Will, too,” she said.

“I wouldn’t ever pass up the opportunity,” Nico promised. The tenseness of first meeting Naomi Solace was slowly easing away and he felt his shoulders relaxing. He wondered what he’d ever been so worried about. Naomi was lovely and she shone just as brightly as her son. Maybe Will hadn’t received his sunny disposition from his father, after all.

“Right, I’m leaving,” Will huffed, folding his arms stubbornly. Nico nudged him with his hip.

“So I really don’t get a goodbye?” he asked.

“Will, were you really about to leave without even saying goodbye to Nico?” Naomi asked in shock.

“I wasn- no- I just-“ Will stammered.

“Yes,” Nico interjected. Naomi looked at him sternly.

“It’s a good job your boyfriend actually cares about saying goodbye to you, then, isn’t it?” she pointed out. Nico’s cheeks flushed at the words. It felt weird for Will’s own mother to say that. Weird in a not entirely unpleasant way. “Go on, I’ll wait in the car and I promise I won’t look.”

“Mom!” Will protested, “that means you totally will.”

Naomi shrugged her shoulders and took Will’s bag, taking them back to her blue Honda.

“So I’ll see you this weekend,” Nico said after a moment’s silence. Will smiled at him.

“Thank you. I know this isn’t easy for you but you’ve already done such a good job just talking to her. She really likes you,” Will said.

“All I’ve done is insult you,” Nico muttered. Will laughed and put his hand on Nico’s upper arm.

“I know, but you’ve made an effort to find something in common with her and talk about it. You think you’re bad at talking to people but you just did a really good job of it,” he explained. Nico chewed his lower lip as he considered Will’s words. He hadn’t even been thinking about it like that.

“I suppose you’re right,” he conceded, “but I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been there.”

“I’ll always be here if you need me,” Will promised in a soft voice, pulling Nico even closer to him.

“Your mom is watching,” Nico reminded Will although he wasn’t really sure he minded, Will’s closeness sending a frenzy of incoherent thoughts scattering around his brain.

“I don’t care,” Will said, his breath dusting over Nico’s lips. Nico didn’t care either as he closed the distance between them, raising himself onto his tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on Will’s lips.

Will pulled away way sooner than Nico would have liked but it was still enough to leave his head feeling fuzzy and his lips tingling with warmth.

“Goodbye,” Will said.

“Goodbye,” Nico repeated, releasing Will’s top from where he’d grabbed hold of it to kiss him. Will smiled softly as he trailed his hand along Nico’s arm, releasing it, before walking away towards where Naomi Solace was waiting for him in the car. Nico smiled and waved as he watched Will go before turning around and heading back through the magical border and up Halfblood Hill.

He only had to wait until weekend.

#solangelo #percy jackson #pjo #will solace #nico di angelo #willico #solangelo fanfic #my fanfic #fanfic #percy jackson fanfic #hoo #heroes of olympus #myriad of stars

[looselucy]

Out of Reach

May 25th “I literally can’t get over it. Like… it doesn’t seem right.” Louis exhaled beside me, the two of us stood shoulder to shoulder behind the counter at work.

“It’s not right. Chloe and Sam?” Libby seemed almost disgusted, standing on the other side ahead of us. “It’s messed up on so many levels, I literally… I still don’t know what to say about it.” We’d seen them together that morning, meaning that something we’d all been ignoring for the past ten days could no longer be evaded. I suppose since it had all been happening behind closed doors, that made it easier to ignore, reject. But we’d seen them holding hands just outsides PJ’s café, and since they’d decided to take their little affiliation public, it opened up the discussion I’d been dreading. “How’re you feeling about it?” Libby asked me. “Um… I don’t even know. I’ve been trying not to think about it, to be honest. I don’t wanna be mad, it’s too draining and it… It won’t get me anywhere. I just don’t want them to be together. At all.” “What a mess.” Louis huffed. “I dunno how to feel about any of it.” “Same. Like, she rang me the other day and I didn’t even answer.” Libby told us. “I couldn’t!” “Fuck that, I don’t want that!” I cried. “Oh god, I hate this so much. When did everything get so fucked up?” I didn’t want people ignoring her, through sheer awkwardness or for my sake. I didn’t want people feeling like they had to pick sides or be angry on my behalf. I didn’t want any of the bullshit that was happening, but I couldn’t be surprised that the rest of them were feeling the affects of this new coupling too. We were all too close for me to pretend I was the only one who had strong thoughts on the two of them getting together. “I don’t know what his aim is, y’know.” Louis said to me. “Like… when was the last time you saw him? Harry’s birthday, like a month ago? And he was still bitter as fuck about you two breaking up, like… I don’t know. It’s just a bit of a red flag.” “You don’t think he even likes her?” Libby yapped. “I just dunno how you can switch from being bitter about your ex to being with her best mate so quickly. Like, that doesn’t add up to me.” “If he hurts her, I swear to god I’ll actually fucking murder him.” I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. I hadn’t even thought of it like that, but he made a fair point. Ever since we’d broken up, Sam had shown one minor sign of being civil and okay with it all, and even then, he ended it by making foul comments about Harry and how he predicted he felt towards me. Sam had been consistently awful to me thanks to his bitterness about our breakup, but I didn’t think he’d stoop that low, to be with Chloe just to hurt me. He’d shown the worst of himself in recent months, but I still didn’t believe him to be all bad. “I know I need to talk to her, have a proper conversation, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.” I eventually heaved, bringing my head back upwards. “Don’t rush it.” Libby shrugged. “I mean… I’m sure you’ll fix things, in time, but you’re allowed to be pissed off. I mean… it was a shit move. I’d be out for blood if I was you.” “But it wasn’t done to hurt me, was it? It wasn’t done through spite.” “But she still did it.” Libby was tough, as ever. “Like… If me and Lou broke up… I wouldn’t care how bad stuff got, if any of you lot ever went near him, I’d lose my head. I wouldn’t get over that, no matter the circumstances.” Louis seemed to like her statement, each syllable she’d spewed lifting his lips into a bright and beautiful smile. “I love you.” He told her sweetly. “I love you too.” She softened, like she only ever really did for him. Seeing them so happy and madly in love was both amazing and excruciating. To have them share those words with such ease and such honesty, like love was the easiest thing in the world. My envy was irrefutable. “You two are so lucky.” I mumbled. “It seems so… perfect.” “We took our time though.” Louis said. “Too long! I can’t believe after we kissed you went all defensive! Acting like it didn’t mean anything and you didn’t want more!” “What? I was scared!” He wailed, the two of them laughing at his foolishness before Libby leaned across the counter to share a quick kiss with him. “Okay, I’ve gotta go to work.” She told us. “Don’t have a fun Saturday night without me, right?” “I’ll probably just come sit on the other side of the bar. Keep you company.” Louis smiled. It was like they never wanted to be apart, and though I wanted to smile and blush over the way they were with each other, I found my face unable to be anything but stern as I watched them say their goodbyes, Louis walking around to the other side of the counter to do it properly. I thought of Harry more than I cared to admit. More than I could admit, given I felt I was going through the whole thing entirely by myself. I’d rang my dad a few days earlier, poured my heart out, cried for a solid hour as he tried to make out my words through my tears, but it wasn’t quite the same. When I shared with my closest friends, my words were accompanied by a brutal honesty that simply wasn’t quite there with my dad. But then there was this other part of me that was glad none of them knew, that I could just get through it on my own without it being a constant concern or conversation. It was tiring enough having to discuss what was going on with Chloe and Sam, I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have them asking me about Harry too. He'd been absent from my life since he’d told us all he planned on moving away, and I believed it was likely he’d already gone. It wasn’t like he received a positive reaction from any of us, and I thought he would have found it easier to up and leave without a word. It certainly wouldn’t have been out of character either. I was almost angry at myself for missing him as much as I was. I wished I could be stronger than that, see it all as a good thing, because if he truly couldn’t love me then there was nothing more to give, nothing left to say. I didn’t want to miss him and have my heart ache so much, because how he’d acted and the things he’d said and the way he’d dragged my heart around, teased it with the idea of love, was not something to be desired or missed. And yet. “See you soon!” Libby called after their kiss, the bell ringing as she let herself out of my shop. “Don’t work too hard!” “Even if I wanted to.” I groaned bitterly. For a Saturday we were exceptionally quiet, which was sometimes a blessing, but as the year went on with more speed than I could fathom, my financial worries were at the forefront of my mind during most of my days at work. Whenever it got too quiet, all I could think about was the thousands of pounds that I needed to fund my mother’s care that I didn’t have. Quiet days made me feel so uneasy. It sort of felt like everything at that time made me feel uneasy. “Right… Do you need me to do owt?” Louis turned back around to face me. “I don’t think so. We’re all caught up, even with the boring work.” “Need me to go and… drag innocent villagers indoors and force them to buy wine?” “Yes!” I chuckled. “Brilliant idea.” He crinkled his nose momentarily before leaning on the counter and speaking gently. “Don’t worry about money. We’ll sort it. We’ll figure it out, I promise.” “I appreciate the positivity,” I sighed. “M’just not really feeling too positive about it myself right now.” “Understandable. But… if we’ve gotta take some extra steps, then we will.” “Like what?” “I dunno, I’ve been thinking maybe like… tasting events? Invite people here, get ‘em all drinking.” “That’s not a bad idea!” “Right? Get people drunk on half decent wines that we don’t sell much of, next they’ll be spending too much money on overpriced wine, and we’ll be laughing.” “How have I not thought about this? Why do I have zero initiative?” I wailed. “You’ve got enough on your mind. We’ve already got the license to have people drink here, so it’d be easy to sort.” “You’re a genius. If you weren’t madly in love with my best friend, I’d propose right now.” “Anything to help.” He shrugged, totally nonchalant. “Also, I have to say… Pretty bold move. Turning Harry’s money offer down like that.” I groaned, even rolled my eyes, stumbling across another conversation I’d wished to avoid. I was glad it hadn’t come up earlier; I suppose money is always a touchy subject, always difficult to discuss. “I know you probably think I’m stupid-” “I don’t.” He cut me off quickly. “I thought it was class, to be honest. And I think it took guts, so props to ya.” “I feel like there’s a but…” “But-” He confirmed my suspicions, chuckling lightly. “I just don’t want you to forget that it’s an option, y’know? Even if it’s just… the last bit of money you need to get to the final amount. I know it’s a weird thing, and probably not the most comfortable, but… Sometimes you’ve gotta put pride and comfort aside for the greater good, know what I mean?” “Well… I doubt the offer will be on the table from New York.” I dismissed. “And I don’t wanna set out to do this with a fallback plan anyway, so…” “Alright. I just wanted to put my thoughts out there.” I heard the bell chime before I noticed someone had welcomed themselves into the shop, the two of us greeting our new customer with friendly smiles. I was thankful for a route out of that conversation. “Afternoon.” Louis chirped. “Hi.” The woman chirped back before heading out onto the shop floor, looking carefully through our collection. “M’gunna go make myself look busy.” Louis leaned across the counter and whispered. “Gimme a shout if you need anything.” He walked away, heading towards a nearby shelf to do something close to nothing so it appeared as though we were actually running a business rather than just chatting and drinking brews all day. “Are you looking for anything specific or just browsing?” I offered my help, eager for a sale. “Browsing.” She turned to me and smiled. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.” I wasn’t even sure she’d finished talking before my face completely dropped, staring at her in disbelief, wondering if my mind was simply playing tricks on me, convincing me of something completely false, finding familiarity within a face I’d actually never seen. I knew I recognised her, but it was where I recognised her from that seemed impossible to believe, impossible to even comprehend. But my gut was telling I was right. I kept thinking of the picture of her that I’d once seen, and I knew. It was Harry’s mum. Harry’s mum was right there in my shop. For a while I didn’t move, my mouth wide as she perused the collection we had, none the wiser. There was a part of me that was worried I was jumping to conclusions, but the likeliness she had with the picture I’d seen was far too close to dismiss. She almost looked exactly the same as she had in the photo Harry had shown me; a few more wrinkles, shorter hair, but I could see so clearly that it was her, there wasn’t really any doubt in my mind, just complete disbelief. “Holy shit.” I whispered to myself before leaping to my feet and darting over to Louis, grabbing his shoulder briskly and whispering harshly in his ear. “Please keep her busy, I need to do something.” “Huh?” “Just make sure she doesn’t leave! Do what you’re good at, get your charm on, I’ll be… two minutes.” “Everything okay?” “It’s fine!” I rushed towards the back of the shop, needing to get out of earshot from the two of them, so I headed towards the cellar, scrambling to get my phone out of my pocket as quickly as possible. As I got to the top of the stairs, I managed to finally yank the item free, so frantic in my attempts that I immediately dropped it, hearing and watching it smash down each and every step before it landed with an almighty thud right on the concrete at the bottom. “For fuck sake.” I seethed, bolting down to the stairs and cursing as I took each step. I crouched down and grabbed my phone from the floor as soon as I could, falling backwards and sitting myself on one of the steps as I inspected the damage, the screen completely shattered but it seemed to still be working. As quickly as I could, I squinted my eyes, found Harry’s name in my contacts and called him, checking back over my shoulder to see the empty doorway at the top of the wooden stairs before turning back around, feeling sick over the sound of the dial tone. I didn’t even think he’d answer to me, not after everything. I thought he’d see my name on his screen and purposefully avoid the call. But he answered. “Fee?” “Harry, where are you? Please tell me you’re still in Rosebury? Please.” “I’m here, I’m at home. What’s happening? Where are you?” He picked up on the panic in my voice and immediately panicked himself. “You need to come to the shop right now.” “What’s happening?” “Please just-” “Alfie, you’re worrying me! What’s happening?” “Shit. I don’t… I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just gunna… spit it out.” I took a moment, calmed myself down. “Your mum’s here. Your mum is here in my shop, right now.” He was quiet for so long that I pulled my phone away from my face to check he was actually still there and we hadn’t been cut off, but of course he couldn’t find the right thing to say. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he felt hearing that, knowing his mother was just minutes away from him after he’d waited for so many years, looked for her, written to her and bought a house for her. How could he possibly find the right thing to say? “I can keep her here, I can stall her, but you have to get here now.” I blurted after a while, but he still didn’t say anything. “Harry?” “I… Yeah, m’here. Sorry.” He murmured. “You don’t have to be sorry. I get that this… This is a lot, but… you have to get here before she leaves. Please. Please get here as soon as you can, okay?” “Okay.” He replied, voice monotonic. “Okay.” I shuddered. “I’ll see you soon.” “Yeah.” He said, and then the line cut dead. I placed my phone down beside me and dropped my head into my hands, needing to gather myself before heading back upstairs so I didn’t end up just driving her away. I had to try and remain calm, casual, not let onto the fact that I knew exactly who she was and that her son who she hadn’t seen for almost seven years was on his way to see her. I felt the complete opposite of calm.

An hour passed before Julia had left my store, a smile on her face and three new bottles of wine purchased. An hour we’d managed to keep her there. Harry had never shown up. It wasn’t uncommon that we’d get chatting with someone friendly, give them a drink or two and form a nice little relationship with them, not only because it usually guaranteed a sale, but it was nice. However, an hour was a rather substantial visit, and by the time she was buying her bottles I felt like any more attempts to make her stay would have been too irregular to pass off. Besides, Harry had made it clear that he wasn’t going to show up. His house was less than a five minute walk away from my shop, and she had been there for a fucking hour after I’d called him and he hadn’t shown up. I had to admit to myself that there was no need for me to keep her there. We’d closed up shop not long after she’d left, and my plan had been to go upstairs, have an evening to myself and attempt to ignore what had happened, but I couldn’t. I needed to speak to Harry. The sun was beginning to set when I found myself taking the path leading to his home, all too familiar with every stone beneath my feet, every tree surrounding me that sheltered his home. It wasn’t the first time I’d taken that path feeling so restless, so unhappy. But I imagined it would be my last. I hadn’t wanted to go there feeling so wound up, but it seemed to be an emotion I couldn’t supress, so by the time I’d pounced onto his porch and knocked on his door, I was loud, brazen. He was bound to know it was me. I was the only person around who was kind of in the position where I could go to his house, because even after everything, it was still a place he kept completely closed off from everyone other than me. So when he answered the door with his head already down, I wasn’t surprised. He must have been expecting me to show up. “Where were you?” My voice was quiet, stern, but he didn’t say a thing. He didn’t even lift his head to look at me. “Why didn’t you show up?” Even when I’d gathered that he wasn’t going to turn up, I hadn’t wanted to intervene too much, to tell Julia what I knew and send her his way. It had needed to be him coming to her, not the other way around. It didn’t even feel like an option to tell her where he was and put that weight in her hands. He remained quiet, a look of guilt heavy around his tired eyes. “She was right there, Harry! She was right fucking there!” I cried. “This was your chance and you… you let it slip through your fingers.” “I… I couldn’t.” He hushed. “What… What do you mean?” “I just couldn’t. I tried, but-” “How the hell do ever expect to feel better about what happened when you don’t even dare see her? How do you think you’re gunna be able to move on and feel okay if you don’t let yourself?” “It’s not as easy as that.” “It is!” I yelped, tears in my eyes. “You were looking for her a few weeks ago! What the fuck changed? I don’t understand!” “I’m leaving tomorrow.” He was shaking, maybe ashamed. “I… I couldn’t see the point, I-” “That’s bullshit. You’re such a coward. You’re such a fucking coward.” My tears finally began to fall as I produced my words with quite some bite. “She was right there, Harry! You chose to miss her and I… I don’t understand why. I’m just so frustrated with you, it breaks my heart! That was your chance to get what you’ve wanted for years and you just… You just…” I burst into tears. I was utterly irritated with him and the choice he’d made that afternoon, but more than anything I just felt so terrible for him. Because I knew it wasn’t some simple choice; that he’d thought it over and decided not to see her because of idleness or indifference. I knew full well it would have absolutely killed him, and all the damage and agony that had occurred over the years had lead him to believe he shouldn’t see her, or couldn’t see her. It was so heart-breaking to witness him deprive himself of growth that way. It was so reflective of the boy I’d first met, not the boy I’d fallen in love with. “I’m not gunna force myself back into her life. I can’t do it.” He lifted his head, nostrils broadening as he held back tears. “I won’t fucking do it. She’s better off without me. She-” “Snap out of it, Harry! Do you even hear yourself? You won’t know unless you try, and this was your chance! I know it’s scary and I know you fucked up before, but that was a long time ago! You owe it to yourself!” I blubbered, reaching to grasp my fingers tightly at his t-shirt. “I’m so angry with you. I’m so fucking angry.” “I’m sorry.” He was physically shaking, tears finally beginning to pour over. “You can’t talk about how much you miss her and how much you wanna fix things and then not fucking show up when she’s here. You’re a fucking coward.” I yanked him forward only to push him back. “Stop being so scared! Stop pushing people away!” “But Jack-” He blurted, and very swiftly stopped himself. “Jack what?” I snapped. “Nothing.” “Harry!” “I’m sorry.” He wept, wrapping his hand around mine, not to try and tease my touch away from his clothing, more like he just wanted to feel my skin against his. “Stop saying you’re fucking sorry and just fix it! Fuck.” He pulled me into him, the two of us throwing our arms around each other and just hugging, holding each other as tightly as we physically could. My suspicions over exactly what had happened with Jack and what he had said to him the night he turned up were becoming more sinister every single time it entered my mind. I knew that what he’d done, stealing his work and his faux apologies, had been bad enough in itself; but I was sure something had been said that he wasn’t telling me. It was after that night that everything seemed to change, that I could literally see the evolution of his character diminish before my eyes. Something menacing must have been said, because it wasn’t just that Harry seemed like he had when he first appeared in Rosebury, because he was worse. He moved there with the intention of finding his mum. Mere weeks earlier, if he’d known she was in town, he would have been there in seconds. Jack had fucked with his head so much that he couldn’t even bring himself to face the one person who he’d been seeking for years. His arms trapped themselves around my waist, mine around his neck, running my fingers through his hair as he buried his face against my neck, the feel of his lips light against my skin. It was difficult to comprehend how being close with him pained me so much but felt so right. He practically pulled me inside without unwrapping himself, taking steps backwards and dragging me with him. “Please talk to me.” I gasped gently. “I just wanna understand what changed, please.” “I… I can’t.” He mumbled bleakly. “Please, Harry.” “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” He wept. “It’s just not right. I don’t wanna fuck it up. I’d fuck it up.” “You wouldn’t.” I shuddered, squeezing tighter. He really thought she would be better off without him. And even though he was totally wrong about that, it was clear that he wasn’t as ready as he once had been, for whatever reasons. He needed more time. He needed to take a step back and see things clearly, heal once more, because in recent weeks a haze had built around his life that he could not shine a light through. The real problem was that from what I could see, he wasn’t even trying to. He lifted his face and put his hands on my waist, gripping me forcefully as he rested his forehead against mine, eyes closed, noses touching. We were too close, too overwhelmed with emotions to think straight. I took a step back, my attempts to distance falling flat as he moved with me, my back crashing against the wall as he opened his eyes and stared deep into mine. The composition of my beaten breath was fluctuating, watching his eyes fall down to my lips. I tried to block it out, but then I picked up on his breathlessness, the minor way in which he pulled at my waist to bring my body closer to his, the subtle tilt of his head, his lips lulling themselves closer to mine. “Harry-” I whispered. “Please.” His voice was dull, a desperate call for forbidden affection. “No. We can’t.” I gasped. The only thing I wanted more than to close the miniature gap between our lips was for my heart to start healing, and that wouldn’t happen if I let myself kiss him. “I can’t leave without kissing you, Fee. I can’t.” “Stop!” I cried, losing my patience and pushing him away from me. “You can leave without kissing me, because that’s exactly what you’re doing!” “Well then I don’t want to!” He snapped, voice raising. “Harry stop fucking with my head!” I yelled back at him. “I get that you’re having a hard time right now and your feelings are all over the place, but I am not just some fucking void for you to try and figure that out!” “Fuck, that’s not- I don’t-” “It’s so unfair! Think of my feelings!” “I AM!” He shouted, before immediately dropping his head, like he was stopping himself from saying something he might regret. “I’m sorry, but I… I’m sorry. I didn’t think, I’m sorry.” It was quite clear that he wasn’t in a good place, and it hurt to admit that I didn’t feel like I was strong enough to help him. My heart had completely shattered when he’d told me he couldn’t love me, and I wanted to look out for myself, care for myself before caring for him even though it was clear he needed it. But due to the state of my heart and with him moving away the following day, it left me feeling powerless. “I need to go.” “Fee-Fee, I need you to know how sorry I am.” “For what? Which part?” I scowled. He stopped breathing for a few seconds, looked right me, and then exhaled. “All of it.” I wiped away my tears, lifted my head up high, composed myself. Harry genuinely looked weak. I hated what had happened to us. “I have to go. I can’t drag this out anymore, I have to go.” It was difficult to truly comprehend exactly when things got so disordered, so completely excruciating. It seemed to me that the days where I’d seen the two of us and our relationship as this beautiful, powerful thing were only just out of reach; something the tips of my fingers could still touch, the taste of us still resting lightly upon my lips and heavy upon my heart. It was so close but so far away I could barely see it, barely recognise what we were, or what I thought we’d been. Shaking, I stepped towards the doorway, about to walk out, walk away from him completely, but then I stopped, remembering something I knew I needed to share with him. “She lives in Cheshire.” “Huh?” “I was talking to her, and I found out she lives in Cheshire now. Holmes Chapel. So if you ever pluck up the courage, that’s where she’ll be.” He looked completely amazed, lips parted and eyes wide but silent. And in those seconds before I left, I understood why he’d wanted to kiss me, regardless of everything. Because I had to look at us then and accept that this was our goodbye. This pain. This uncertainty. This agony. It didn’t feel right and we deserved more than that, but there was nothing more to give. Maybe I should have kissed him. I’d never know whether kissing him would have made our goodbye sweeter or unbearably bitter. “And if you ever pluck up the courage… this is where I’ll be.” I sighed. With those words, I left, hoping that I’d see him again in brighter times, when he’d learnt how to destroy thunderous clouds in order for the sun to finally shine and give light to a life he’d allowed to be shrouded in darkness. I hoped I’d see him again in days where I’d be able to smile when I saw his face again rather than feel like I’d been hit in the gut. I hoped he’d come back one day, even just to visit, so we could have something good, something kinder than that awful goodbye. I truly hoped that a shared sense of peace wasn’t completely out of reach for us. But until then, that goodbye was all we had. And it hurt.

#HAPPY READING MY FRIENDS #HBS39 #how are we genuinely getting into the last ten chapters??? I'm sad

[allondonboy]

Medicine for the Soul (Ch 9)

Chapter 9 - Andante: tutti  (Ch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

very much tutti. 

bind responsibly folks. if you need information my tumblr is open or please contact your binding person of choice

thanks for your patience with this little fic, feedback is always welcomed

thanks as always to @jjeanmorreau

J’onn gives them a list of accompanists to work through. It’s long, with maybe twenty names, and Alex lets the list sit on top of their pile of music for a full week before having a closer look. The issue, they realise as their stomach twists, is that they have to be open with whoever they choose. They have to make themselves completely vulnerable with whoever is playing the concerto with them.

And that involves coming out.

They haven’t bothered with declaring their pronouns to the rest of their academic year. It doesn’t affect how well they work in the lab because they never hang around long enough to have a conversation. They’re polite to the staff and the staff are polite back and somehow they’ve avoided any situation in which they hear themselves referred to in the third person. It’s a complete non-issue.

One-on-one, for an hour, maybe hours on end, is a different story.

Their accompanist will be the first time they’ve opened their social circle – even if it’s for the purely perfunctory purpose of entering a competition – since Maggie, and Maggie was definitely a special case of at-least-she’s-heard-the-terminology.

Before they know it, they’ve spiralled, and they crush up the list of names in a tight fist.

Lucy doesn’t really do affection and that’s probably one of the reasons they’re such good friends. There’s no time wasted with feelings when you can blurt what you’re thinking and know the other person will roll with it.

This is the one time Alex hesitates about talking to Lucy. The memory of Lucy coming out to them as bi plays itself on loop. It helps, knowing that Lucy was nervous about that. It makes it okay to be nervous about this.

Because they’ve done the reading and the research, and they have the back of a notebook full of evidence and analysis of their thought process, and they have a conclusion, underlined twice.

Non-binary.

It makes sense.

Lucy feels like the natural person to tell first. Secrets are part of her life, partly because so many people keep secrets from her, and if there’s one person Alex knows they can trust with this next jigsaw piece of their life, it’s her.

They’re still nervous, though.

What if Lucy is one of those people who can comprehend sexuality but not gender identity?

What if gay is okay, bi is fine, but this is a step too far?

What if their pronouns are where she draws the line in this friendship of over a decade?

Logically, there’s nothing in Lucy’s character that would result in the What Ifs becoming real. Alex has listened to enough of Lucy’s rants about how justice should be for all corners of the community to know that the chance of Lucy completely accepting them is greater than 95 %.

It’s then that Lucy pops up next to their shoulder with her bag on her back, waving a spare water bottle under Alex’s nose until they take it.

“Race ya,” is all she says in greeting before she takes off up the path with the grace of a mountain goat. Alex sighs and trudges after her.

It’s pure chance that Alex is walking past the practice room when its occupant stretches. Around their wrist is a woven bracelet in rainbow colours and another in what Alex knows with heart-stopping familiarity is the non-binary flag.

Alex pauses outside the ajar door. The person reveals themselves to be a pianist when they crack their knuckles and launch into a set of whirling scales. Alex stays outside for another half hour until the pianist stands, shovels their music into their bag and abruptly stops when they see Alex watching them.

“I need an accompanist,” says Alex bluntly. “How much do you charge?”

“Depends who it is,” the pianist says. They cross their arms and look Alex up and down. “What’s it for?”

“Concerto competition.” Alex doesn’t budge from the doorway.

The pianist nods. “Instrument?”

“Violin.”

“I’m Vasquez.” They hold out their hand and Alex shakes it firmly, and they can’t stop their eyes flicking down to Vasquez’s wrist.

“Alex. Danvers.”

“My card, Danvers. Now, I have class, if you don’t mind?”

Alex makes a mental note to get something to put their growing collection of business cards in as they take it and sidestep out of the way to let Vasquez past.

They don’t choose their moment. It just sort of happens as they near the top of the hill and pause for a snack.

“I want to start using they/them pronouns,” Alex says abruptly and Lucy keeps her eyes trained carefully on their face.

“Sure,” she says, an air of nonchalance about the word though it’s loaded with an invitation to expand.

“I’m non-binary,” offers Alex by way of explanation and Lucy’s gaze still doesn’t waver.

“That’s really cool, Al.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you figured out whatever was on your mind.”

“Wait – you knew?”

The corner of Lucy’s mouth twitches in a part-smirk, part-smile. “Crinkle.”

Alex repeats it under their breath with a scowl.

“Yeah, like that,” Lucy points. “I knew something was bothering you. I didn’t know it was gender-related.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

Lucy smiles properly now, eyes soft and Alex feels like they’ve just been hugged. “I’m fine with it. You know, we’ve been through some tough shit together. It’ll take more than an identity crisis to get rid of me.”

Alex exhales loudly. “Thanks.”

“Thanks yourself.” Lucy digs into her bag and chucks Alex a bag of trail mix. “Who else knows?”

“Just you.” Alex watches her out of the corner of their eye. A flicker of confusion, then pride, passes over Lucy’s face.

“Did you want to have a play through now?” Vasquez waves them into their apartment and shuts the door, leading them through to a room at the back of the house which, Alex sees now, houses a gleaming upright piano, music stacked in piles all around the room. Alex fidgets with the strap over their shoulder.

“I only really came to give you this.” They hold out the accompaniment. Vasquez takes it and sits on the piano stool, kicking their feet out as they open it up. “Markings are inside.”

“Finally, a musician who knows what they’re doing,” Vasquez mutters and spins to lift up the lid and fold the music out in front of them. They wiggle their fingers and quickly play the first couple of measures with their right hand. Making a pleased noise in the back of their throat, they turn back to Alex who has their eyes closed, and coughs quietly. Alex’s eyes fly open.

“I’ve got a couple of hours free just now. You can put your case there.” Vasquez points to their rather large windowsill. “I’ll get a stand.”

Free of having to make the decision themselves, Alex does as instructed and takes a series of deep breaths as they apply resin to their bow, trying desperately to calm the panic that did its best to overcome them every time they even thought of playing in front of someone new.

“Have you thought about telling Kara? And your parents?”

“Kara yes, Mom and Dad no.” Alex sighs.

“From what I know about Kara, I don’t think she’ll have an issue with it,” says Lucy carefully.

“Is it fair to her for me to tell her, though?”

“Is it fair to you to not?”

“But can I ask her to keep it a secret? I mean, you know what she’s like with secrets, Lucy.”

“She’s okay with important stuff. You want to tell her at some point, right?”

“Yeah.” Alex sighs again and rubs their forehead. “I don’t like keeping things from her. But I don’t want to spook her.”

“Spook her?”

“I don’t want her to think that I’m not me anymore. I am still me.”

“She’ll know that, Alex.”

“How will she? She still has nightmares about the family she’s already lost. I can’t go to her and say ‘hey, the sister you thought you knew, the one who promised to protect you and love you no matter what? Well, she’s not who you thought she was.’”

“You said it yourself. You’re the same person.”

“Yes, but she doesn’t know that.” Frustration leaks into Alex’s voice and they hunch further into themselves. “She doesn’t know that I’ll still protect her and love her. She doesn’t know that I’m not abandoning her.”

“Give Kara some credit,” says Lucy. “She’s not going to think you’re abandoning her.”

“No? Lucy, she thinks I know everything. Not – not school stuff, not smart stuff, but she thinks I know everything about how this world works. So how can I confess that I am just as baffled by it, by my own mind as any other human being?”

“Alex,” breathes Lucy. Alex knows then that she’s seen straight through them. “None of this makes you weak.”

“I know, but…” Alex struggles for a moment. “The one thing I’ve always been able to rely on is my mind, and now I’m doubting everything I’ve ever known about myself and that is fucking scary.”

“But it’s also okay. Kara will get it. Doubting yourself is part of being human.”

“Oh yeah, Kara will get that,” snorts Alex. Lucy sticks her tongue out and some of the tension seeps out of Alex’s shoulders.

“Not my fault you have an alien for a sister. Some of us have flawed humans instead, thank God.”

Alex is silent for a moment. When they speak again, they can’t stop the panic clinging to their words.

“Lucy, how do I tell her I don’t want to be called her sister?”

They don’t hear Lucy’s reply the first time she gives it. They force their eyes to refocus on Lucy whose hand is squeezing their shoulder tight.

“You don’t have to stop being her sister. Gender neutral language is there if you want to use it, but you don’t have to.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been her sister,” says Alex. They stare at Lucy, who is still watching them with more patience than they’ve ever seen her exhibit. Their heart continues to pound. “Ever since she arrived, we’ve always been the Danvers sisters. People have taken us as a package deal. The Danvers Sisters, who should come with a warning. Y’know. All that stuff. A unit. But I don’t think I’ve ever felt like a sister, exactly. It’s not a wrong description, just not the best fit. So maybe sibling is.”

Being around Vasquez is comfortable. There’s no personal information exchanged at any of their meetings. They interact for the music only, and it’s freeing.

Alex doesn’t bring up gender, and neither does Vasquez, though Alex suspects they have an inkling. Alex runs into Vasquez’s girlfriend as they’re leaving a rehearsal one evening and they shake her hand with a tight smile.

They know for sure that Vasquez knows after their first attempt at playing while binding. It’s only then that Alex realises how long their break from the violin had been. By the time they’d found both the courage and the funds to buy their first binder, their violin had to have been collecting dust for a matter of years, so they hadn’t thought twice about scheduling a two-hour practice with Vasquez on a binding day.

Alex plays for half an hour before their side twinges and their bow stutters on the strings. Vasquez waits patiently for them to stretch and they continue, fingers hammering away, barely making it to the end of the movement before they have to stretch again. They think nothing of it until they enter a fast passage and the number of breaths they’re taking isn’t getting them the amount of air they need and they stop abruptly.

Their heart is pounding and their head starting to swim a little, and Alex takes three stumbling steps to the side to put down their violin and lean against the wall, breathing as deeply as possible and feeling more claustrophobic than they’ve ever felt in their life.

“Bathroom?” they manage to squeeze out, and Vasquez points them to it without a word. They fumble with their shirt buttons and grip the hem of their binder as tightly as they can, peeling it up until they can take an unrestricted breath in. They begin to relax, binder still tangled around their shoulders, arms around their head, and give two hefty coughs.

“You have to learn to breathe with the music.”

Alex frowns as they take in these new instructions. “Why?”

“Think of this piece, any piece, as a series of musical sentences. It makes no sense if you play it without phrasing those sentences, just as it makes no sense to perform a play in a monotonous voice.”

Alex doesn’t look convinced.

Eventually, Alex pulls their binder off. They stay in the bathroom, sat on the closed lid of the toilet, running the material through their fingers as they work out an escape plan.

Vasquez comes to the rescue when they knock, and Alex realises how long they’ve been in there.

“Danvers, all okay?”

“Yeah,” they reply shortly. Embarrassment runs up their neck, red.

“Do you want to borrow a baggy hoodie?”

Alex sits up a bit. “Please.” They listen as footsteps retreat and then return, and they pop the lock on the door to crack it open. Vasquez’s hand dangles a deep blue, almost unfairly soft-looking hoodie where they think Alex’s hands are and Alex takes it, gratefully.

As they pull it on and fold their binder into a small enough wad to stuff in their back pocket, Alex concedes to themselves that Maggie’s point, made as she set up in another bar, about meeting other people in the community being useful and nice might have been a good one.

“Have you ever watched a really, really good orchestra play? Have you noticed that before they start, everyone takes a deep breath, together? String players, percussionists, the conductor, as well as the musicians who need to actually blow into their instruments. That’s because it’s part of the music.”

Alex did the research before they bought the binder. They know the risks, the safety concerns, and as much as they hate it, they take a week’s break from binding while their ribs recover and they get their confidence in their playing back. It’s okay for the days when they don’t mind their chest not being so flat. It’s okay for lab days, where they’ve long made their peace with the fact that an eight-hour lab session followed by another five in the library is several hours’ binding too many – and anyway, their lab coat covers most of what they want to hide. The other days?

They’re hell.

There’s no reason, absolutely no reason at all why they should feel like this.

But they do.

It’s unsettling.

Both in how it just appears and how it feels, the sensation of something being not quite right and yet they can’t put their finger on what.

The dysphoria sets in early one morning before they’ve even properly woken up, and for the first time, Alex seriously contemplates skipping classes to hide under their duvet. Instead, they bundle up in far too many layers for the weather with their favourite beanie and jeans and brave the unsuspecting lecture theatre.

They barely last the day. As soon as their last lecture finishes, they’re rushing back to change into their baggy shorts and two-sizes-too-big hoodie. It’s the wrong size by accident, but when they wear it and slouch a little, it’s almost as good as their binder, and brings with it a sense of relief that nearly makes Alex cry.

Rao.

It’s

dysphoria.

And

and suddenly that makes so much sense because if there is one feeling that characterises discomfort or distress at the mismatch between what Eliza says and what their heart feels then this is it, this is it,

it’s dysphoria.

But having the label for this godawful feeling that they’ve had before doesn’t help and if anything, it makes it worse because there is nothing they can do.

Nothing.

So they go for a run.

They bind.

They contemplate, just for a moment, pulling out their violin but no, no, bad, bad idea.

They bind and they wear their favourite jeans that hide their hips and their favourite beanie that makes their jaw look sharper and their favourite shirt that hugs their shoulders and their hoodie, their faithful hoodie.

Their mind is fogged up and numb. It lingers for days, and they know Lucy has noticed now because Alex is not quite as sharp with their comebacks as they usually are, they’re not as bothered about the mud on the floor or the noise Lucy makes coming in early in the morning.

Maggie notices, and Alex fights the instinct to push her away and hide.

Instead, they try to do their best to explain. Maggie tries to understand. They’re sure they botch the explanation of what’s wrong amid disgusted mumbles about silhouettes and reflections and clothes that don’t hang the way they should.

It’s just one of those things, they suppose, that’s hard to understand if you’ve never experienced it.

Nevertheless, the discomfort sits on the back of their tongue and they curl up on their bed with the latest edition of Nature – the one piece of post Eliza is never late at sending on – and retreat behind the familiar shield of science. It helps, the tiniest bit.

Gone is the unease they’d felt at the idea of grieving in the room they shared with Lucy. In its place is the terror at being anywhere outside the room where they could be seen, and it completely slips their mind that they’re meant to be meeting Maggie at the library.

“Danvers?”

No.

No no no no Maggie can’t see them like this, no. Telling her about it and seeing her react to them as this wreck are two completely different things.

“Al, you in there?”

There’s scraping of keys in the lock and Alex wonders just for a second when they gave Maggie a key (and how they had a key to give her) but then two of their three favourite people are pouring through the door and the concern isn’t just on Lucy’s face but on Maggie’s too.

Concern, and not disgust.

Alex’s initial reaction is to dart off their bed and stand awkwardly by their desk, hand in their hair as though everything is fine.

They ignore the exchanged look that means Maggie and Lucy have seen right through them.

“Hey, guys,” they say. “Good day? How’re you both doing? Everything’s good here.”

“Cut it out, Alex.” They can tell Maggie means business in that take-no-shit way of hers. She folds her arms and shifts her weight onto one leg and eyeballs them, hard. “What can I do? To help you?”

Alex shrugs and folds their own arms.

“What do you usually do?”

“None of that’s working,” Alex grits out. “I – it – usually I can work my way through this but it’s not working, and I don’t know why.”

They slowly slip back onto their bed. Lucy and Maggie settle either side of them. The three sit in silence until Maggie gives a deep sigh, squeezing Alex’s knee.

“I have a friend – from my own support group, you really should give them a try – who’s dating someone non-binary. I can see if they’d be willing to meet you, or we could meet up the four of us, or something. It’s got to be better than this, right?”

She has a point. And even though they can think of very few things worse than having to talk about feelings with a stranger - even a stranger vetted by Maggie – the prospect of someone understanding what this feels like is quite attractive.

***

It turns out to be the thing that helps most in perhaps the most surprising way, because this non-binary acquaintance is actually Vasquez.

They didn’t know Maggie and Vasquez’s girlfriend knew each other.

Vasquez didn’t know that Maggie and Alex knew each other either, apparently.

Maggie goes to introduce Alex to Vasquez and Erin and sees the nods of recognition the three of them share.

Somehow Vasquez knows them well enough to let them take the lead and Alex stumbles through an explanation because gender and music in the same space? Unchartered, unsettling territory. Maggie, thankfully, doesn’t press it, but with the furrow in her brow, Alex can see her marking it as a conversation for later.

Maggie and Erin head for the pool table while Vasquez settles opposite Alex at the booth. Alex can sense it coming – and it’s hard to not bolt, but they trust Maggie and they trust Vasquez to a point and if Maggie thinks this could help them, then, well. It’s worth a try, they reckon. In their head, they nod decisively, and they sit a little taller.

“Alright, Danvers?” says Vasquez casually and Alex nods again, leaning back and taking a sip of lukewarm beer. Vasquez leans closer, clearly not one to beat around the bush. “Erin said that Maggie said you wanted to meet more people like us.”

Alex stiffens despite themselves.

“I’m part of a group who do game nights and trips to the movies, stuff like that. It’s a group where none of us are cis.”

Impossibly, Alex stiffens more.

“You don’t have to make any proper commitment,” continues Vasquez as they study the collection of beer mats on the table, avoiding eye contact that Alex doesn’t want to make. “I can let you know when we’re meeting and you can decide on a case by case basis, if you’d like.”

Alex gives a shrug. They want it to be dismissive, but it ends up more curious.

“And listen. This kind of chat isn’t my forte either, but I know what it’s like to feel alone with…stuff like this, and I want you to know that I’m here for you as much or as little as you want me to be. It doesn’t change anything that happens musically between us. And we never have to speak about this again.”

“Sounds great,” manages Alex. Vasquez’s eyes twinkle at them in a relieved smirk.

“What do you say we go and show them how to really play pool?”

Alex gratefully follows them to where their girlfriends are setting up a new game. Alex leans into Maggie’s side and wraps an arm around her waist, leaning down to whispers a ‘thank you’ in her ear. Maggie squeezes their hand briefly and hip checks them as she hands them her cue.

***

“Why do you not talk about your music?”

It comes out of the blue as they walk hand-in-hand to Maggie’s room. Alex sighs.

“It’s not a criticism,” clarifies Maggie. “You’re intensely private about it, even with me. Even with Lucy.”

“Are you not?”

“How could I? I play in public more than anything else. I guess, I don’t have the luxury of privacy when it comes to music.”

Alex chews their lip. “Kara…and my mom. They’ve been the priority since Dad died, y’know? It never ends well if I express any sort of opinion at home and I think,” they say slowly, “that part of me still feels ashamed that I’m doing something that lets me be angry at the universe for taking Dad.”

Maggie hms beside them. “I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Oh, it’s, eh,” dismisses Alex.

“No.” Maggie spins them so she can look up seriously into Alex’s eyes. “The days of you pushing down your feelings are officially over, Alex.”

Alex doesn’t know what to do with that, so they just kiss her.

#nb!alex #sanvers #sanvers au #sanvers fic #alex danvers #medicine for the soul #my fic #i appear to have lost the ability to put in page breaks #hm #hey ho #enjoy?

[colossalcryptid]

hey so u made that great post about age gaps in dating and i was wondering if u could give me an opinion. 1 of my guy friends (im female) is 25 and we were discussing dating. he thinks that if a girl is mature enough he could date an 18 year old. ive tried explaining that 18 is too young, but he not getting it. im feeling uncomfortable and grossed out, but idk am i overreacting? like he a good guy, but the way he justifies it sends flags up in my brain

Hi! I’ll try to be thorough since I don’t think a black and white “yes or no” would really cover what’s goin on here.

I think the first point I should bring up is: no, you’re not overreacting. Your discomfort at the situation and his words are valid, and they are warranted. I want you to know that.

But continuing on, I think where we should start is: Should a 25 year old date an 18 year old? They are both legal adults! But I would say no. Here’s my issue.

(Entire discussion under the cut!)

First point: if you have to make the argument that they might be “mature enough”, that’s a red flag. 

This is someone who, even though they are a LEGAL adult, most people would rightfully not view as an “adult adult”. They are still a teenager. They have JUST finished high school. What life experience do they have? How independent can they really be?

Even if they ARE “more mature” than others of their age group, what does that really mean? Maybe make the point that if he, as a 25 year old, wants to date someone “as mature” as a 22 year old, or a 23 year old– then he shouldn’t be cherry picking someone younger that “might” meet those standards.

If someone young “doesn’t act their age” it’s often out of necessity or out of a desire to be seen as more adult, more competent, etc. by those around them.

 If they have to continue to act like someone 7 years their senior, even on a deeply personal level when they should be able to just relax and be their age, just to keep him interested if they really like him. Is that fair?

And maybe they are mature enough to handle a complex relationship. That’s not always related to age, y’know? There are 30-year-olds that are emotionally immature. Maturity isn’t some end-all-be-all, and it definitely isn’t a gotcha to prove that someone is or isn’t “ready to date”.

Second point: I have met about zero eighteen year olds that are capable of being completely financially independent. There are some that have managed! But that is often, again, by necessity and personal hardship.

There is the very real possibility that this hypothetical person that he is SO interested in, depending on the nature of the relationship he wants, might become dependent on him in a way that’s hard (for them) to remove themselves from.

Again, this affects the younger person disproportionately. If they feel that their living situation, their financial comfort, or even just their day-to-day experiences will be put in jeopardy by raising issue with or upsetting your friend- how can they speak freely about things that bother them?

Even if he doesn’t hold it over their head in any way, that’s a lot to consider when deciding what you “can and can’t let slide” in a relationship. Y’know?

Third Point: So say they act like a mature adult, and they’re financially independent. What then? Well, let’s take into account their past relationships.

Even if they have had relationships in the past, those were adolescent relationships. No matter how long they were together, or how much they grew as people because of it, those were not adult relationships.

The responsibilities, financial realities, and personal struggles that adolescents have are VERY different from those that adults experience- and ALL of those things affect how relationships play out, and what your priorities are.

Beyond that, they often don’t have experience recognizing red flags or addressing problem behavior in their partner. Again, this is something that comes with experience that just… isn’t available to them.

There’s a clear, one-sided advantage and the potential to sway this younger person’s standards or sense of boundary by dictating to them what you, an adult, deem acceptable. It’s not much of a two-way conversation when one person has a huge advantage in experience and personal development.

And what if they DO have experience with adult relationships? What if they divulge the fact that they’ve been with older people before?

Well, then there’s a non-zero chance that they’ve been groomed by another adult in their life & it’s ENTIRELY on the New Older Adult in this scenario to recognize that they are now–without a doubt–guaranteed to be taking advantage of this younger person’s shifted boundaries.

SO

With all that in mind, I hope you can make a convincing argument toward your friend as to why he shouldn’t be okay with dating an 18 year old. Even if he’s not TRYING to be predatory, there’s no way that that relationship susses out where he doesn’t have every clear advantage over this person.

That isn’t fair, and I don’t think he wants to be responsible for the development and personal standards of an ENTIRE human being as they start to navigate the world of adulthood. After all, he wants someone that’s “mature” and “already has all that stuff figured out”, or at least I assume.

No 18 year old has all that stuff figured out, even if they try to act like it. Please let teenagers be teenagers.

#long post #Anonymous #void.txt #this advice and opinion was given with the assumption that the older person isn't TRYING to be actively predatory #predators often know all of this & use it to their advantage #I assume that that is a fact that doesn't need to be expanded upon

[a-table-of-fics]

Cull Goes to Octo Canyon, Chapter 1, Draft 1

The cool blues of the shade. The muffled music coming from the Square. The dismal little drips of water. The back alleys of Inkopolis weren’t exactly fresh, and Cull knew that perfectly well. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to go out there. He wasn’t sure how he could participate in the sporting events that everyone bonded over. He was an artist, not a fighter.

Besides…Cull looked from side to side and shifted his beanie, ensuring it covered his hair.

No, he would find a different way to make a name for himself. Hopefully he would make his art stand out from the rest, and he could get respect that way. Yes. His graffiti. In a major city. In the back alleys. Unsigned.

He sighed, checking his phone. He would never live down that unsigned piece over by the studio. The angular crab was one of his worse works, and of course it would be the one publicized and praised by Off the Hook. Cull silently thanked Cod that so many others tried to take credit for it. They could have it for all he cared.

Shaking his head, Cull looked around. This alley wasn’t exactly prime canvas material. Not only was it a dead end, but it was way too cramped, and too far from where people actually were – even by Cull’s standards. Really, the only reason he came this far was so no one got hit by his Slosher. Even if it was just mashed-up plants, and not the ink that could be used as a weapon, that was one panic he didn’t want to start. Even with the respawn points everywhere, it would be a nightmare.

Well, maybe the wall over by Grizzco was cleaned by now. It was a little close to the Battle Lobby, but if he could get there unnoticed and paint over the stencil, he could get recognition for a good work of his. He already had the white and blue paints with him; all he needed was to remember the order of his stencils to make the freshest whale Inkopolis had ever seen!

Cull looked around, thinking of the quickest route there. Hopefully a discreet way, but so long as he got there quickly, it should be fine. He sprinted forward, leaping before briefly turning to squid form whenever there was an opening to the Square. So long as he moved fast enough, and shifted back before he landed, he figured he could get there unnoticed. Still, he couldn’t help but adjust his already-snug beanie; even if he wasn’t the freshest, he was certainly going to keep what looks he had.

Luckily, there weren’t too many hanging around Grizzco. Aside from that one sketchy-sounding bear radio, there wasn’t really much business for anyone back here. Still, Cull could make out some fresh art people had made with their own ink. Even if the ink would evaporate, he had to respect the detail and quality of the pictures while they lasted. He gently ran his hand against the wall, marveling at the art and having some doubt about the piece he was going to add. A reassuring piece of prose, promising all Inklings who cared to see it that they would have better days. A picture of that historical figure, that red human with the strange mark on his hat, proudly shaking hands with an Inkling. A shockingly detailed picture of the Off the Hook duo.

Almost as if on cue, the jumbotron on top of the Battle Lobby played the familiar song to announce more news from Pearl and Marina. Most people, Cull included, didn’t even bother to look up to see the stages available. Everyone enjoyed hearing the two’s quips and tips for the locales, but for many, it became background noise.

When the music skipped a beat, and there was the sound of distant yelling, however, everyone looked up, to see the top two idols of Inkopolis similarly baffled. Cull nearly dropped his stencil as Pearl hollered out to stop the show from cutting.

Marina barely contained a gasp, quickly hitting a few switches to bring the B-roll on their monitor. It was live footage of the tower above them. All the Inklings in the Square murmured to each other as they looked above the screen; something seemed to be missing.

“THIS JUST IN! The Great Zapfish has just… disappeared?!”

Cull gulped as he saw the complete absence of the giant catfish on the tower.

“Th-there’s more…?” Marina spun a record, and the image changed from the Zapfish-free tower to a picture of a young woman in a sun hat, with black hair and a playful grin, striking a forever iconic pose. The image on the screen flickered briefly but managed to stay on long enough for recognition to set into most squids. Cull, however, only recognized her vaguely. Maybe he saw her in a movie or show somewhere, but that was as far as he knew.

“Pop superstar Callie of the Squid Sisters has gone missing!”

“NOOOOO!” Pearl cried out, dashing over to her partner-in-crime. “Not Callie! Marina, do something!”

“Uh, r-right! I’ll put together a search—”

And then the jumbotron faded to black, as the sound went with it. Many of the lights and adverts around the square began to power off as well.

Cull never thought he’d hate the sound of silence this much. He looked at his stencils and shook his head. With so much happening right now, his art didn’t amount to a hill of plankton. He quietly put them away and started to head home. Maybe he could salvage some of his food before it all went bad. To say nothing about the forecasted heat wave…

He froze dead in his tracks when he had the feeling he was being watched.  He tugged his hat down as he spun around just in time to see someone disappear into a grate in the ground, leaving light green droplets in their wake.

Cull blinked. He had been around Inkopolis Square for around three months, and he had never seen such a strange hole in the ground. It didn’t mesh at all with the general Inkopolis style, being a huge orange lump, and it didn’t look like it would be much good for collecting rainwater or anything.

A horrible thought occurred to him. Was someone sucked down there, to who-knows-where? If so, what, or who¸ did such a thing to some poor Inkling? He peered into the grating, but he couldn’t see much. He could hear what sounded like someone swimming in the distance. There was no way to be sure if that was the Inkling who went under. Shouting a “hello” didn’t seem like a good idea either; not only would it be a little mortifying to be caught shouting into a random drain, but if this other person was caught by someone or something, drawing its attention might cause issues of its own.

He gulped and looked around to made sure no one else was looking at him. Luckily, everyone was too focused on the energy crisis. He took a deep breath, turned into a squid, and dove in. It was slow going, but Cull found that this was a linear pipe. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to lead to any sewers, but that just raised the question: where was he going?

All he could hear was his echoed breathing as he traveled through, and the awkward chatter of the others in town faded away. It was far too dark to see anything, but the walls of the pipe felt surprisingly smooth, even when they started to get thinner and squeeze on Cull a little bit. It was almost as if they were meant to be moved through…

Finally, Cull saw a light up ahead. He breathed a sigh of relief. Not only could he breathe easy, getting out of squid form and this tight tunnel, but he could also be happy that nothing was in the sewers attacking Inklings.

Still, where did this lead…?

He emerged, swiftly turning back to kid form. He squinted in the sunlight, looking around. This didn’t look like any place he had ever been. If the floating rocks weren’t a dead enough giveaway, there was also the fact this place looked like it was carved out of a mountain over a century ago; it was a far cry from the modern comforts of Inkopolis. Mossy, mostly stone, and a lot of gargantuan tentacle statues. All this ancient architecture made the relatively new flags and somewhat beat-up shack stand out. Was that a barbeque grill over there?

His eyes settled, and he saw someone with their back to him, obscured by a green oil-paper umbrella. Slowly, the umbrella moved, and the Inkling behind it turned around. Clad in a well-kept kimono, she had a beauty mark and gold, starry eyes, not unlike Pearl, and she had grey tentacles tied into a bow.

“Hey!” She smiled slightly when she saw him, with the well-trained look of a comedy actor performing after a messy divorce. “You showed up! As soon as I saw you wandering around in the square, I knew you were the one…”

“Uhh…” was all Cull managed in response, as he took a step back.

“I’m Marie,” she said, putting a hand up. “I know you’re probably a bit starstruck, but I need you to get over it. Yes, I’m that Marie.”

She let both of her wrists go limp, in a manner not unlike Off the Hook did to conclude their broadcast.

“Y’know…from the Squid Sisters.”

After a few seconds of looking around awkwardly, Cull tilted his head.

“Wait, you’ve never heard of me?” Marie asked, eyes widening. “For eel?”

“Ah, see, I don’t really watch TV…” Cull said, idly tugging his beanie down. “Sorry…”

Marie huffed. “Well, you’re obviously not very cultured, but you’ll have to do. See, I’ve got a little… thing I need help with.”

“Not very cultured? I mean, I…do art…” Cull mumbled, trying to sound indignant.

“The Great Zapfish isn’t just lost…it was squidnapped by the Octarian menace, and--”

“Um, are you sure?” Cull asked. “It…seems unlikely that anyone could just grab the Zapfish like that…”

Marie shrugged. “Fair point. But I’m not just an absurdly talented pop star; I’m also Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon – a secret society of heroes who save the world from Octarians!”

Cull swallowed. “O…kay, then…”

He looked down at the grate he was still standing on, and back up at Marie.

“I know this sounds unbelievable,” she sighed. “But believe me, I’ve been keeping an eye on those slimy Octos for some time, and I’m sure they’re behind this!”

If only Callie was here to back me up… she thought.

“Huh?” Cull asked.

Marie blinked, realizing she said that out loud. She shook her head.

“Ahem, as I was saying, I need your help to recover the Great Zapfish. What do you say? Are you in?”

Cull looked again at his feet. Most of him wanted nothing more than to run home and hope he wasn’t chased by a madwoman. However, the rest of him thought of Flow. She had done so much for him; given him employment, advice, a back room to hide in, a shoulder to cry on…

What kind of friend would he be to turn away from a possible lead to the Zapfish that visited her every day until recently? She absolutely adored “Miffens”. She still smiled and greeted customers warmly, but Cull noticed she was talking a lot less, and was starting to stay by the back door. Even her shrimpy companion Craymond was less zippy these days.

If Marie was right…

“…I take your silence as a ye—"

“Yeah,” Cull sighed, not lifting his head back up. “I’m in.”

#cull goes to octo canyon #chapter 1 #draft 1 #all together now #splatoon 2 #cull to adventure full chapter

[undertaleimaginationland]

(Wheezes on floor.) You are amazing. You are the most amazing of persons. How would the boys react if after that, the S/O's confidence grew and when Undyne was training with them, they wore crop tops and jogging pants, showing off their tats and scars to everyone? But the second someone other than the bros or Undyne mention them, they get spartan kicked away. Someone tried to touch once, and his arm was broken in half a second. Only the Bros get to touch anything on the S/O without permission.

My Heart = Kablammo

You speak with such kind words, Anon! Of course I shall answer your amazingly edgy ask!!

Underfell

Red-

Red was glad that you were able to open up to him and show off the scars of your past, figuratively and literally. In all honesty, he found your quirks and past life quite interesting and hot. So when Undyne had busted down that door, it became a blessing and a curse. She had quite literally opened the door of opportunity for you.

 A curse because duh, he’d have to fix the door, but also because Undyne was the toughest thing alive. Like seriously sweetheart, are you sure about this?

On the other hand though, Red starts to notice those small flares of self-confidence rise out from within you. It puts a smile on his face knowing that the true you was starting to show. The true blue tough you.

Plus, the more revealing clothes were an extra incentive in his eyes.

It was after another long training session with Undyne that you had experienced your first little…ouburst.

“Nice job today, nerd!” Undyne patted you harshly on the back as she slurped up a whole bottle of water in one pull. “Your stance was a little bunked up, but hell, your agility makes up for it! You’re a damn good fighter, punk!” She ruffles your hair, making your head spin.

“H-hey!” You choked with a smile. “Knock it off, fishface!”

“FISHFACE?!” Though she sounds mad, you can hear her stifling her laughter. “WHY YOU LITTLE-”

A loud wolf whistle interrupts her rampant yelling and obliges both of your heads to turn. There stood a monster with a devious gaze, eyeing your body up and down like a piece of meat. “Nice tats and cat scratches, girlie? They actually real, or is you just a little girl tryna make it out alive in the underground?”

You look down at your torso and know he’s talking about you. And you didn’t know what came over you as you high kicked that monster into the oblivion of the waterfall. 

Landing square on your feet, you received an encore of clapping from your dear fish friend. “YEASSS!!! YOU FINALLY GOT THE RIGHT STANCE DOWN!!!” Undyne whooped, and were those tears in her eyes???

That same day, Red had decided to treat you to some burgs and fries at Chillby’s. “hope you’re hungry doll, cause i sure am.” 

You sat next to Red’s stool with an empty stomach and full spirits. “Of course I’m hungry, nerd. What kind of person do you take me for?” You ask, exasperated.

Red laughs and puts his hands up in defeat. “alright alright, doll. you’re hungry. i get that.” Sans flags down the flamesman bartender with a wave of his hand. “two orders of burg and fries, my good man.”

Chillby is visibly repulsed by his presence as he nods his head and disappears into the backroom.

You eyed the flamesman and your jovial bonefriend.”He doesn’t seem to like you that much, Red.” You mused teasingly.

Red seems surprised at your assumption. “what? pfft, nah. chillby loves me. he’s just not good at showin’ how he feels, ya’ know?”

You roll your eyes, obviously not believing his lie. “More like he LOVES you.”

“oh ha ha ha. your wordplay never ceases to amuse me, sweetheart.” He rewards you with a slow clap.

You giggle, curtsying in your seat. “Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all night-”

“Yo guys, its the tattoo girl!” Someone exclaims from behind you. 

You jolt as an unfamiliar finger prods at your back. “I hear humans stab themselves to get the ink to stay on!”

Another hand pokes at your back, “Oh shit! That’s fucking meTAAAAHHHH!!!”

Oh stars, did you accidentally just snap this guy’s arm like a a twig? Oops.

You were about to apologize when a hand grabs you. “we’re gonna leave now, doll.” The world warped around you as Red quickly teleported you onto the bed with a plop.

He seems a little breathless as he sits next to you, his hand still firmly holding your wrist. “okay. i’m gonna be the first one to ask. what. the hell. was that?!”

You start to panic. Oh my, you’ve been screwey all damn day, haven’t you? “I-I’m sorry, Sans! I p-panicked!” You raked your fingers through your hair. “Gosh, it’s like some awful nervous tick or something.”

Sans couldn’t stop himself from yelling. “some nervous tick that was, huh?!” He can’t believe you just snapped some sad sap’s arm. He cringes as he recall the event. Oh stars, that noise.

Red eyed you nervously. You were the exact definition of hell’s little angel, presenting danger in such an innocent body. Well, innocent for his standards. Negative thoughts started to shroud him. ‘what if she turns against me?’ ‘does she hate it when i touch her?’ ‘am i a nuisance to her?’

His thoughts are interrupted as you guide his hand to rest on your chest. He looks into your reassuring gaze and blushes. Your fingertips brush against his wrist, leaving the sensation of you fresh in his senses. “Sans, you know I trust you, right?” You asked.

Red breaks from his daze. “o-of course, doll. i never doubted that.” He bashfully scratches his skull with the other hand. “a-and i, uh, trust you too, s/o.”

You smile, planting a kiss on his forehead. “Good. Don’t ever forget that.”

“oh i won’t doll.” Red feels his soul flutter in hid ribcage. It was moments like these that not only helped to reevaluate his relationship, but his own relationship with himself. He leans his forehead against your. “not ever.”

“And Sans?”

“hm?”

“I promise to never break your arm in two.”

Red pushes you away and chuckles. “well that’s a relief!”

Edge-

“I-I DON’T UNDERSTAND, PET?” Edge stared at your looming form as you held a sword to his neck. “H-H-HOW DID YOU-”

“Training,” You smiled. “Lots and lots of training.” You draw your sword back and help your bonefriend up.

He begrudgingly accepted your pity, a scarlet blush illuminating his skull. “W-WHATEVER. I SHALL DEFEAT YOU NEXT TIME. I WAS MERELY GOING EASY ON YOU.”

“HA! Didn’t you say that three matches ago, PUNK!?” Undyne interjects from afar. You realized that all of you training has payed off as you watch Edge turn a darker red.

“SHUT IT, SUSHI BAR!” Papyrus retaliates, making you nearly choke on air.

“WHAT?!” Ho boy, this will not end well. “THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME, SKELETOR?”

“SKELETOR?! HOW DARE YOU REFER TO ME AS SUCH A HEINOUS TITLE?!” 

Okay, time to play peacekeeper. “Now hold on just a second, guys-”

With a sudden force, Edge and Undyne are swept down to the ground, with only you left standing. You look for the source of the attack, cautiously eyeing your surroundings. Who knows what could be out here?

“Nice tats, babe.” A voice cooed in you ear. Instinctively, you delivered the harshest round house kick you could deliver and made the sneaking monster fly into orbit. And as quick as you were to attack, you were even quicker when it came to helping your friends up.

You weren’t quite sure who that monster was, but you sure as hell didn’t want to know. Just as long as they stayed away, you were fine.

You were with Edge when one of the snow monsters had decided to touch your tattoos, mind you without your permission. So it came to no surprise that you decided to snap their arm in two.

“NYEH!?” Edge yelped, jumping back at the loud cracking sounds. “S/O? DID YOU JUST-”

“I’m sorry!” You whined. “I-I didn’t mean it. They just s-scared me!”

Edge had a grin that could outshine a Christmas tree. “DO IT AGAIN, BUT TRY BREAKING THE ARM IN EQUAL PIECES!”

What??

You blinked. “What?”

Edge nudged you forward to the wallowing victim. “YOU HEARD ME! DESTROY THIS PERVERTED CREATURE!”

Your hands hovered over the monster hesitantly. “B-but I don’t think they-”

“NONSENSE!” Edge assured. “THIS VILE PLEBEIAN TOUCHED YOU WITHOUT ASKING NICELY! PUNISH HIM FOR HIS CRIMES! NOW!!!” 

You sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. Powering your fists back, you get ready to attack once more.

“Sorry dude. Duty calls.”

You and Edge sit peacefully on the couch, your hands coated freshly in blood and dust. “Y’know, I think we were a little too hard on that guy.”

Edge scoffs, flipping the channels. “AND I THINK YOU’RE GOING SOFT, PET.”

“If you consider beating a guy to death soft,” You snuggle into his side. “Consider me damn stuffed animal.”

Edge smirked as he ran his fingers up and down your arm. He absolutely loved not sharing you. It was like winning the lottery and choosing to not donate a portion to charity, thus leaving him with the whole shebang.

“YOU’RE A VERY VICIOUS STUFFED ANIMAL, THEN” Edge commented.

“Ha!” You started to shake with laughter. “I suppose I am.”

 After minutes of silence and idle chatter on the TV, you and Edge fell asleep peacefully on the couch. 

Edge, even in his sleep, forever treasured these moments because by gosh, no other man truly deserved your affection as much as Edge did.

#sans #papyrus #uf sans #uf papyrus #underfell #ask #headcanon

[miraimaina-blog]

Introducing my newest project! This one’s been in the works for several months, and I’m finally at the point of getting it uploaded! Those squid doodles? They lead up to this. The story begins under the cut. 

     The call to adventure can take many forms – the cries of a damsel in distress, the roaring of a wicked monster, the sobs of someone miles from home. For a young Inkling, it’s the sound of the B train to Inkopolis speeding on the tracks as she leaves home for the first time. The three-hour ride from Ikayaki County was nearing its end. The buildings flying by increased in number and size every few minutes, and with them, her excitement. A sunbeam struck her in the eye as the train turned a corner and she put a hand to the window to shield her vision.

     “Hope, you’re gonna leave a handprint,” said her brother, not even looking up from the travel guide on his phone.

     “Then I’ll just squin—oh, wait, nope, I’m good now.” Hope removed her hand from the glass. “Y’know, you ought to be looking out here instead of on your phone. This is a lot more interesting.” She squeaked with a grin as they passed a huge warehouse with its roof adorned by colorful flags bearing SquidForce logos.

     He glanced up at her. “I’m reviewing Mom’s instructions. Inkopolis is huge and it’s just the two of us against it. The last thing I want to do is get lost.”

     “Mom and Dad wouldn’t have let us go alone if they didn’t have faith in us. Come on, Drake.”

     Drake sighed and put his phone down, straightening his glasses. He knew what his sister said was true, but it was still unnerving to be so far from home. He’d been out of town before, sure, though that was to debate camp. His week-long, one-hour-away experiences were nothing compared to now. Even more daunting was the notion that he wasn’t ever really going back. It felt dreamlike, and the motion-blurred landscape out the window wasn’t helping him convince himself that this was happening. He didn’t want to believe that their dad hadn’t gotten the job at Ancho-V Games, however. A shiver shot down his back.

     “Let’s go over it again,” he started. Hope rolled her eyes, smirking. “We’ll be arriving in the southwest station where Aunt Lucille should be waiting. If she’s not on our platform, we go down two. Failing that, we head into downtown and go to… hold on.” He drew his phone again.

     Hope turned to the window while he checked, but they went into a tunnel. She huffed softly and leaned back into her seat. Her brother’s phone locked with a click, signaling her to resume eye contact, but not without adjusting her tentacles. She loved their emerald color, though she had a love-hate relationship with their length.

     “Café Cardamari. If we end up going there, we call Aunt Lucille when we leave and when we arrive.”

     “Go to some café downtown? I’m down for that, but,” she paused to stifle a laugh, “aren’t you afraid of getting lost?” She barely finished her sentence before he rebutted.

     “It’s in Inkopolis Plaza, near the Tower. I doubt we can miss it.” He continued, trying to talk himself out of his nervousness, but there was nothing he could do to hold Hope’s attention now as she spied the light at the end of the tunnel. The light grew and grew. Her heart raced as they reached the exit, the world briefly bathed in white. When the color returned, Hope smiled a big, toothy smile and held in her happy screams, putting both her hands on the glass with total abandon.

     “Drake!” But he kept talking. She called for him once more with feeling, unwilling to turn around and miss a moment of the ride. Getting no response, she blindly grabbed at his collar and pulled him to the rectangular portal displaying their future. “Shut up and look!” His struggle was but momentary as the horizon struck him with awe.

     Downtown Inkopolis stood before them, skyscrapers and winding roads and ramps as far as they could see. Panes of one-way glass glittered like stars. Signs affixed every which way were festive and busy, promising a neon light show after sundown. As the train drew closer, smaller structures and storefronts of every imaginable hue came into view; bright banners and awnings dotted the scene as well as scattered graffiti. The City of Color lived up to its name. Once the train descended to near-ground level, they could see anemones and urchins and many, many Inklings – not to mention all the jellyfish, half of which were probably tourists. The streets were bustling more with people than vehicles by a long shot. In that way, it reminded them of home. They couldn’t tell if people were carrying umbrellas like most people back home did at these speeds, though.

     Cruising into another bend, the PA sounded. “Attention, passengers. We will be arriving in Downtown Inkopolis Square shortly.”

     Hope and Drake bolted upright and looked each other in the eye. “That’s our stop,” he muttered.

     “That’s our stop!” she echoed, jumping in her seat. “We’re gonna be fresh, turf-warrin’ squids before we even know it!”

     “Then what are you waiting for? Get your stuff together; I can see the station from here!”

     They scrambled for their bags and suitcases. Since they were going to be living with their aunt for a couple months, they had to bring more than a week’s worth of clothes, their electronics, and etcetera. It wasn’t everything, of course, but enough to make their temporary quarters feel like their own. Four bags apiece: a backpack, a shoulder satchel, a rolling suitcase, and a regular suitcase. Drake’s looked like anybody else’s, but Hope’s were decorated with stickers. They were a real hassle to get together what with the narrow isle, and especially with Hope’s long tentacles getting in the way. She whined in pain as Drake accidentally squished one between her seat and one of his suitcases.

     “For once, I envy your super-short tentacles…” she admitted as she pulled away from her brother’s luggage.

     By the time they’d gotten themselves together, the train had well and done reached its destination. Inklings were filing off the train nonchalantly all stuck in a line at the back two doors. Hope, too excited to be proper, made a mad dash for the door next to the driver. She asked him if they could go out the front, to which Drake tried to restrain her and apologize, but the driver was an older man with kind eyes who simply chuckled and said he could let it slide just this once. The door opened with a whir and a hiss, and light and sound flooded in.

     From the ground, Inkopolis’s grandeur was overwhelming. Sun flared off glass, bouncing to and fro as though competing with waves from the many speakers pumping out the latest pop songs. Large monitors played lively ads with voices indistinguishable amongst those of the mingling population surrounding the station. And the people, they were nothing like the folks back in Ikayaki. They all wore brands a town without Turf Wars would never see, and no, no one carried umbrellas, not that they would need them – there was plenty of shelter from heat and rain.

     The siblings stepped away from the train, out into the crowded platform. Hope waved goodbye to the driver as the door slid closed.

     “Would you just look at this place!” She twirled, laughing giddily. Drake reprimanded her for a) letting go of her luggage for even a second, and b) hitting him with her tentacles. He forced her things back into her hands and steadied her.

     “We’re looking for Aunt Lucille now.” With that, he nudged Hope in the direction he was walking.

     They didn’t get two steps, though. A voice called behind them, masked somewhat by quick, pronounced footfall. “Then you’re looking the wrong way!”

     Hope pivoted on her heel (hitting her brother again), met with the sight of an Inkling woman with bobbed yellow tentacles wearing a dull cardigan and a patterned neon skirt; she’d recognize that look anywhere. The woman ran towards them, dodging and sidestepping passersby, an arm raised high.

     “Auntie Luce!”

     Hope and Drake turned and made a dash for her, all three of them coming together in a tackle-hug. They nearly went down, but Drake managed to prop them up with his rolling suitcase long enough to stand. Lucille put her hands to their shoulders, getting a good look at the niece and nephew she hadn’t seen in person for two years.

     “My stars; Hope, Drake, you’ve really grown!” She noticed Hope’s tentacles brushing her leg. “…really.”

     Drake turned a proper smile for the first time since they left. “It’s like she has neon kelp on her head. You wouldn’t even think she was related to us spear squids.”

     “Well, she’s her own special kind of squid. Remind me what that was again?” Lucille knew and knew well already, but she always got a kick out of how proudly she declared it.

     Hope put her hands on her hips, straightened up, and straightened again after giggling. “I’m a hope squid!”

     “That’s right you are! And don’t you listen to your brother, he has no right to say you look like kelp when he’s rose pink.” He let out a cry of fake-offended protest. The girls poked and prodded him until he laughed, having to adjust his glasses after shaking their hands off. “Alright, alright, let’s get a move on. You two have a lot ahead of you and I don’t think anyone here wants to wait.”

     And so they began the trek to the parking garage, talking and telling stories, unaware of what the universe had planned.

NEXT: Coming soon!

FIRST: You’re here!

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #ocs #fanfic #diaries of a hope squid

[gettingintoheavencanbehell]

frank iero/girls against interview - written

Someone wrote to me asking for the written version of the Girls Against x Frank Iero interview because English isn’t their first language so they have difficulty understanding my accent so here it is:

I caught up with Frank Iero before his show at Vicar Street in Dublin with Taking Back Sunday to talk about the new Frank Iero and the Patience record, shows being a safe space, dogs and more! Words by Blathnaid McElduff.

Hey, how are you today?

I’m doing alright, doing pretty good. I forgot how cold it is here. But it’s like a different kind of cold, you know what I mean?

Obviously you only started last night but how’s the tour going in your opinion?

So far so good. But I mean, anyone can have a good show, you know what I mean?

Yeah true, the rest of the tour could be completely fucked.

It could be fucking disastrous! But I’m sure it’s gonna be great.

What’s it like touring with Taking Back Sunday again? You toured with them and The Used a while back, right?

Yeah! It’s funny because it feels like every time we do a record and start to tour we set up a secret show the first time around, we did an Aerosniff show, and then we did a couple of headliners and then we went on tour with Taking Back Sunday. And then this time around we did an Aerosniff show, we did a headliner, and now we’re on tour with TBS again. I don’t know, it feels like the right thing to do. It’s tradition, you know what I mean? But also they’re just amazing people and an amazing band, so.

How do you think the new songs have been going down live?

I feel like they’re going really well. It’s funny, when I’m writing a record it’s hard for me to finish without having the bookends. Like if I don’t know where and how it starts and where it ends I can’t kind of place things and I can’t visualise it. So when writing a lot of these songs, especially when World Destroyer came about, I knew that was going to be the beginning of the record, I knew that was the sentiment I wanted to start with, and then immediately knew that I only wanted to play it first live at shows. And now I get to do that and that’s really fun.

Obviously magazines etc. are going to review albums when they come out – Kerrang! gave Parachutes 5 K’s and Upset Magazine made it album of the year for 2016. Were you expecting that or what was it like to see that kind of reaction?

It’s kind of crazy, I didn’t get to see a lot of that stuff because of how life happened. It’s nice when other people appreciate something you’ve put a lot of work into. When I was making this record I got to a point on it where I was so invested in it and so depleted from making it, and I felt really proud and really happy with it. And I feel like very rarely, you get one moment every ten years, where you feel like ‘alright, this is the sentiment I can go out on and I’ll be fine’. And I felt that when making this record so selfishly inside I just didn’t care what anyone thought of it. I was curious what people would think but ultimately it didn’t matter because I was so proud of what I had made.

Was it much different working in a way where the rest of the band kind of contributed whereas on Stomachaches you did it completely alone?

What was nice about writing Parachutes was that I was able to go into the studio every day with really talented musicians, like Evan (Nestor, guitar) and Matt (Olsson, drums) are just a dream to play with. And every day I could go in and be like ‘alright, let’s play it like this’ and then I would go home and listen to what we had done and continue to mess with it, and change everything we’d done that night and then the next day go in and like ‘alright we’re changing everything!’ I’m surprised they didn’t wanna kill me. But to go in and perform it live in the studio with the musicians that you shaped it with was an amazing feeling. It makes the record feel alive, as opposed to Stomachaches which I think was very sterile.

Was it cool working with Ross Robinson and Steve Evetts?

Oh my God, yeah. There’s so many records that I’ve looked to over the years that Ross and Steve have done, individually and together, and that was a dream team pair that I always wanted to work with. And when I found out that that would work schedule-wise and that they wanted to work with me as well, I was like- I was really scared. Basically over the years those names have come up but you hear these stories and you get really frightened about it, you don’t know what to expect. I thought it would to be a very imposing force, but it’s not? It’s so much more welcoming and supportive than I ever could have imagined. It was probably the single greatest creative experience I’ve ever had. Absolutely, without a doubt.

The first tour for this record was Australia and then obviously that whole bus crash situation happened so what’s it like having to fly over to the UK and Ireland etc. and be back on tour after something like that’s happened?

Y’know, it’s strange. We did an unannounced show with our friends in Circa Survive in Jersey and that was a really hard night for me. I didn’t know how intertwined the experience of the accident and playing a show was until that day and there was a lot of emotions that flooded in for that. The weird thing about it though is I feel once you do it, once it happens, you kind of get over that initial uneasiness and fear and then each time gets a little bit easier. I think doing a headline show at home with familiar faces and friends at the show was really nice. And then to go out with a band that you’ve known for so long and feel a kinship with also makes it feel not as scary. To be honest the scariest part is to be behind a trailer and loading equipment, that’s real fucked up.

In regards to the live shows, do you think you’re becoming more comfortable as a frontman now that you’ve been doing the whole ‘solo’ thing for a while now?

Yeah, I feel like before all this craziness happened I was really hitting a stride with that. But now… Just to have such a life-changing event happen, you know? I feel like a completely different person. I’ve had to kind of relearn how to play guitar a little bit differently because of how I feel now and because of things that happened. I feel like a different person so even things I’ve been doing for a long time are new. It’s kind of strange, I don’t know if I can put that into words just yet. I don’t know if I have it all figured out. I’m just kind of existing right now.

The campaign that I represent is called Girls Against and it’s all about raising awareness for how shows are meant to be a safe space where everyone can go and have fun. You can tell from your shows that there’s always a wide range of different people – there’s always older people and younger people, and…tall people and short people! Do you think that’s important at shows – that everyone knows they can come and nobody will have a bad time?

I think so. That was the community that I always wanted when I was going to shows. I didn’t always get that, there’s definitely a faction of the scene where it was, you know, fear mongering? Like trying to be tough guys, or show off and beat up on little kids or weaker kids or girls. If there was outskirts of the pit they’d purposefully donkey kick and try to hurt somebody. There’s always going to be that but I don’t feel like it’s a sub-genre, there’s just always going to be assholes in every walk of life so you’re going to find that. But as far as the scene being accepting or coming to shows where you feel like you can belong and have a safe space – that really should be the whole point. There’s no future in this if we don’t do that, if we don’t take the younger kids under our wing and show them the way a little bit? I got into punk rock and I got into hardcore and music in general, playing shows, because I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere else. I wasn’t like a sports guy, I wasn’t really great at school – that’s not the kind of shit I wanted to do. I always just wanted to be in a band, and when I found out that there was kids putting on shows, starting bands, doing it just for us… That really appealed to me. It was this other world, this secret society, and if you were in the know then that was pretty awesome. I don’t want people to come to shows and feel like they have something to prove or that they’re not cool enough to be there. So for me if I see that kind of aggression or that ousting of people who are different, if I have a say in that I like to kind of squash that as soon as possible. But just as people I feel like we’d be better off if we lived in a way where we treated each other the way we wanted to be treated.

Just to finish off, I got some people to send in questions over Twitter. Josh from Ireland wants to know will you ever release Xo by Leathermouth on vinyl! Great first question...

That is a good question! I actually have talked to someone about that. I feel like me saying anything though is going to make people be like ‘alright, where is it? Give it to me right now’, but it’s not going to happen right away. But I think it will at some point, I really want to see that happen.

Steph from Long Island in New York wants to know what it’s like getting to work with bands like Taking Back Sunday and The Homeless Gospel Choir, and then about your announcement with Rise Against, Thrice, and Deftones!

It’s rad – here’s the weird thing, our scene and our touring community is very small and tightknit. We kind of all know each other through other people, you see people that you may have toured with ten years ago showing up in other bands, other tour groups and crew and stuff like that. So when you get to do tours with bands that you’ve grown up with and look up to and admire, it’s really fun. And it’s nice too to meet new people, like Derek (The Homeless Gospel Choir) I met through Chris #2 from Anti-Flag. Chris did the Homeless Gospel Choir record and was like ‘yo, I think you’d really like this – this is my friend’s band’, gave me a copy of it, and then him and Derek came out to a show one time and I met Derek and we just hit it off. And now we’re just friends, you know? Derek’s… Yeah, he’s amazing. There’s no one like Derek, there’s absolutely nobody like Derek. He’s incredibly talented, he’s incredibly funny, and he’s just such a positive person to have around. And when he’s not around everyone in our band will do an impression of him! Somehow it pops out and it always makes us laugh.

The final question – Anna from Ireland wants to know how your dogs are.

They’re good, man. They’re getting old! We’ve started to lose a few, I think we’re down to five right now. But Sweat Pea, I don’t know man…

Oh yeah, I saw the patches at the show last night!

Ha! Yeah, she’s doing good. Somebody wrote me on some social platform or whatever and was like ‘isn’t there an intellectual property issue that you should probably address?’ and I was like ‘yo, Sweat Pea ain’t got no lawyer, fuck you!’

The Instagram account that she has is hilarious.

Yeah! Evan runs that, he does a good job.

Well, that’s it! Thank you very much for taking the time.

Always a pleasure, thank you.

#frank iero #frank iero and the patience #3 months late but ok #the filmed version has been on youtube for months though #girls against interview

[muggycuphead]

TH!FPA_VB – Lord of Lies and Deceiving

Yo, been a while since I posted something on this account, but here we are, back at it again with a casual VB drawing like in good ol’ 2020

…Though, this time things got built on a different road of events as you can see, not to mention this is a spoiler to what’s to come for VB (but tbh I stopped caring at this point so yea)

First and for most however, there are quite a few questions surrounding this fic’s development I have to answer for our sake (mostly mine since I feel like mold spaghetti for not keeping up on things oml-)

Yes, I once said VB was on the way of getting completed and all that, I know

Problem is, the changes I want to do to the ‘lore’ (if you want to call it that way idk) are also retroactive to the events in the present timeline (aka past events that are mentioned but not entirely shown because ugh-), some characters that have some relevancy on the story but only come up at the very end chapters on VB itself, etc. etc. which are things that I personally find bothersome as its writer and the reason why I’d rather not make the ‘sequel-prequel’ of it where things get explained and all that

Instead, I’ll fuse both VB and TAF (the sequel-prequel’s name acronym standing for ‘The ‘ANOMALY’ files’ fyi) so it can focus on one party alone and I don’t waste any more time than what I already have done so (haha funny cuz me late to party amiriteeeimsorry-)

…And about the format for it, I’ve decided I’ll ‘upgrade’ it to a comic instead since y’know, I do art and it’ll also make my writing simpler so yea

Still tho, I’m kinda paranoic on if I should get going with the prologue by the time I finish its script or not since I don’t wanna make the plot a mess or leave things (important* things) unfolded by accident, but we’ll see how it goes (and hopefully I’ll make it out alive-)

Also, keep in mind that by the moment I’m writing this, I’m stuck in the Friday Night Fuc- I mean Funkin’ fandom, and y’all know what happens when the fandom switching happens…

My concept-creation-obssessive-self starts grinding gears like cuckoo -doesn’t mean I’ll abandon everyone else tho, it’s just that my focus splits on multiple parts and all that balloney

So, now that I did my little defense statement up there, let’s get rolling to the mainpoint down here

First, who’s this spider guy?

Well, he’s a ‘side’ antagonist, more specifically the person DPM is after (but doesn’t realize he is until very later)

His name is Q-Ross Sid, a ‘camel spider’ that lives in the Spider Kingdom as the royal executioner and prison head-guard/-caretaker

He’s what I’d consider to be an ‘anomaly’, since he’s a genetic fusion of graphite (20%), chalk (10%) and correcting fluid (70%), with the graphite being his ‘stabilizer’ component (osseous structure and skin/muscular tissue mostly) and the chalk his ‘cooler’ component (mostly on his defense and assimilation mechanism), not to mention he can only consume either correcting fluid matter derivatives…and/or ink matter derivatives, including living beings (mostly as an energy source and which his body somehow can partially convert into graphite)

…And by that fact alone you can tell that yes, he killed Isea -also known as Dizzy/Izzy Pants Girl (YESss I fINALLY GAVE HER A NICK ASDFGH-) in VB mostly due to her ‘special ability’ and stuff- by Queen Aris’ command. And yes, he can shapeshift, which explains why he got DPM to blame FPM for what happened, this that (but I think you might have figure it out already by the drawing alone so yea-)

However, although at first I thought his ability would be limited to mimick FPM’s appearance only, I now decided to amplify it a little, and instead he can shapeshift into any sketch/graphite-alike/related being, with FPM being his ‘link’ to them most of the time (stalkey tatics are not okey dokey my man but you do you I guess)

Though he can only shapeshift into stickfigs since he doesn’t have that much of ‘color filling’ for a human drawing itself (yeah ik they’re humanized in the story but things will make sense sooner or later I promise, for now just bear with me as we go on on this plz), and he cannot shapeshift into ink/liquid-alike/related beings because they’re not compatible and it’ll only lead him to corrupt his physical form –not meaning he can’t recover from it tho

But he can’t replicate them entirely, as his eyes and the ring are the two main red flags to spot him (but with some contact lenses and a little pocket, it can be fixed y’know-)

As for his robotic arm, it was after a fight that I’ll rather not explain due to not being that relevant; and even thought doctors refused to give him a prosthesis at first since he could simply let it rebuild naturally (yes he can regen too, but in a slower phase bc reasons), he got it anyways due to the fact limbs regen take way longer than physic injuries and/or internal damage (some even assumed that they probably wouldn’t actually regen anyway), which can be a bother on his job most of the time…and maybe out of spite too –he wanna look tough, yo-

Fun fact, during the hype I got from making this bad boi, I ended up attaching him to grandson’s song called ‘Blood/Water’ due to the lyrics kinda resembling his defamatory actions towards FPM (and also his wild and sometimes desperate hunger towards ink beings, yikes)

Second, what’s VB’s main plotline now and why did I expand it?

To resume it in the ‘signature phrase’ I made for the new version (which was also inspired on MARETU’s ‘Magical Doctor’ song –mandoilovethisvocaloidsongcomposerasdfgh)

**THIS WASN’T MEANT TO HAPPEN**

Venomous Bittersweet (which I’ll rename in the future due to the fusion with TAF) started off with a simple plot -FPM going on a mission for himself to get cured from a spider bite he got all of a sudden, but failing in the process (bc plot convenience idk) and CPG is the one who goes to his rescue instead while showing off the things she learned from him, this that, wholesome ending blah blah blah- you know the drill if you read it to end.

But by the moment I began making those little ‘inside stories’ –specially DPM’s backstory explaining why he became so reckless and outgoing- I started to extent myself on how things worked on this AU, even how drawings come to life (ik it’s weird but that’s how I though it to be so ff-), and by such I felt the urge to give almost everything a background story, such as Aris’ reason to kidnap and take control over FPM’s body and mind (and maybe his soul too oops-), the Spider Kingdom’s origin and even the portals and ‘reality deterioration’ in SFPA, passing by DPM’s origins and stuff.

And even if I felt like hitting walls and taking things a little too in-depth most times, I think it did bring some good things for the new plotline I’m going for now

So, in the new story, all the weird, whacky (and disturbing) things that happen after SFPA and during OG VB plotline came by what I’d express as some sort of ‘time-space anomaly’ that made everything slightly unstable on the ‘other side’ of the studio (I won’t explain too much my brain is about to boil rn so take that as you will for now tysm), having a passive (but not unnoticeable) effect on the sketchbooks.

I can’t give much context why, how or where did the anomaly came to be exactly (you can make theories if you like, I’d love to read them 4real <3), but it’s main purpose is to take control over all existing worlds just to corrupt them to its will, to the point there is basically nothing left but despair and desolation to which all entities will be forced to endure and all that edgy jazz.

…And by that, the ‘anomaly’ will create incompatible matter amalgams –ink and graphite being the most coming-to-mind example in the story so far- in order to conquer all the sketchbooks, but as a consequence of this ‘anomaly’s’ arise, new worlds came to be fully developed (in other words, they finally exist as a whole), and with that, new ‘heroes’ are brought into the situation, each representing a type of artistic material alone –watercolor, oil paint, etc-, heroes with which FPM will encounter and interact with, as he’ll also help them in how to use their abilities to fight the baddies and stuff.

And because we need conflict to make things interesting, Q-Ross and DPM indirectly (but kinda) ‘team up’ to fabricate fake evidence and such in order to mess with FPM’s reputation towards the heroes by incriminating him and/or even mislead his actions (confusing wrong by right and vice versa, etc.) (because ink man is salty and corrector ass is a dick by nature –ofc), and even ocassionally with Q-Ross starting the job, just to get DPM to finish it; and sometimes they get the aforesaid characters to hold grudges –if it comes to succeed, or instead making them get more on his side by the same feeling of doubt –if they mess up on something, no matter the size.

As about his sickness, well, it also got a little twist.

We know that new worlds and material compositions come with new squiggle types, and even if ‘dust-related’ types don’t affect him for too long –chalk being the closest example I can bring up-, liquid or clayish matters, such as oil and crayon squiggles respectively, are toxic towards him, so in the way the more he interacts with incompatible squiggles, the more harmed his health condition gets, to the point it grips into the weakest part of his body –his core (I’ll later explain this just…let me get this out first plz), which limits him on doing most things he’s used to do normally.

…And well, the spider bite (which is also an abnormal matter amalgam times two, though I’ll keep it secret for now) was the last nail in the coffin on fucking him up entirely to a new level of corruption (damn is that a stretch I’m seeing-)

Long story short, this was also because I wanted ArPM to have a backstory that’s more than just ‘I’m evil nao bc me get poisond and mindcontrold by spoders out of spite hahahaha-’

Third (and lastly), who’s Ahetzo exactly and what’s his main purpose on the story?

This is a short one

In case you didn’t see my tweet on my Twitter account (here a linkie), this is a side character I made that’s supposed to be some kind of ‘spirit’ or something alike who’s the one in charge of the studio while ya dev boi is gone

In other words, he’s basically like Brad’s subconscious self (IK YIKES- YOU CAN HIT ME WITH THE CHAIR NOW I WON’T MIND-)

…and even though he tried to keep the anomaly thing contained as long as he could while figuring out how to disarm it or at least neutralize it (yes it was there way before, like during fpaw3 events or before so because AU logic lol), the more he tried to condense it, the more it multiplied itself until, well, y’know, shit blew up and everything just sdfghjk’d

And yes, he was the one who released the new worlds to keep the crazy stuff at range, this that

Oml my brain-

And before I finish here, I’d like to make a little ‘self-critic’ regarding my artwork here…and I gotta say, I’m really proud of it on most parts

As I began to retake on digital art lately –mostly due to my slight entering onto the FNF/partially NG communities and other things, I’ve been testing out new techniques and stuffs on GIMP 2 with the ‘routes’ tool and all that (that’s also why it looks almost symmetrical, but don’t fool urself it did took its time-), I even corrected some of the lines to make them sharp and fancy (haha funi joek im so quirkee-)

In here, I wanted to try mixing both solid and blurry shadows as well as replicating a ‘crystalish’ effect –as seen on Q-Ross’ eyes- and some line effects with the ink tool such as the liquid dripping out of Q’s mouth (yes that correcting fluid saliva now stfu-) and the graphite/correctfluid webs coming out of his clawtips/fingertips

And though I haven’t made an official palette for him, I think the colors I picked here suit him well enough in my own idea of such

Overall, I had fun making this, and I love how it came out

Still though, any criticism, opinion and commentary is welcome, both about my art piece and my little showcase over here

That’s all I got for now, see you all later on

K bai-

#The Fancy Pants Adventures franchise (C) belongs to Brad Borne (DrNeroCF) on NewGrounds #FPAVB + Q-Ross Sid| Artwork (C) belong to me