#my housemate is moving out and the moving boxes and piles of stuff are just cat disneyland

[pangur-and-grim]

old mattresses have such a hold over the minds of cats

#pangur #grim #my housemate is moving out and the moving boxes and piles of stuff are just cat disneyland

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Prompts 8 and 14 with Poly lost boys? (If not Poly, I’ll be good with any of them-)

8. Quiet, she has just fallen asleep!

14. Are you alright?

Thank you so much for requesting! I hope you like this!💜

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The house was quiet. Maria had gone off to work at the videostore, and Shelly had gone out to meet with her boyfriend Greg. Normally, I would have put some music on, doing some chores or making some art now that they were gone. But not today. I woke up feeling off. I had hoped that after some breakfast and some coffee, it would be over, but alas, it only got worse. So that's why I found myself lying on the couch, with the remote control of the telly in my hand. I still hadn't put it on, knowing that the sound - no matter how soft it could be - would only worsen the headache I had.

I closed my eyes as I felt another pang of pain flashing through my head. The headache had been there all day, but now it was slowly but surely turning into a splitting headache. I knew I couldn't ignore it any longer and made my way to the kitchen. Somewhere, in one of the cabinets, I was certain I'd have a package with aspirin. I sighed as I entered the kitchen, seeing the dirty dishes piling out of the sink. The remains of our lunch were lying on the kitchen island. It was a mess. Normally, I wouldn't mind cleaning it up, but now, the thought alone made me want to cry. God, I felt sick.

I opened the cupboard, realising that the package I had had been used up by my housemates. The only thing left of it was the empty box. I sighed as I threw it in the bin, deciding that I'd have to go to the drugstore. I got dressed in some comfortable yet more appropriate clothing - I didn't want to go outside in my pyjamas - and put my shoes on. After locating my keys on the dining room table, I headed outside - only to return to put a jacket on. It was surprisingly cold outside.

As I walked down the street, I was a little relieved to realise that the sun was setting already. It meant that my boyfriends would be going to the boardwalk soon. As much as the idea of being in a brightly lit, loud space didn't appeal to me, the idea of being with them and near them did.

The door to the drugstore opened with a soft tinkle as I pushed it open, the bell above the door signalling my presence. It was quiet inside, the only other customer an old lady. I greeted her quietly before searching the aisles for what I needed. I didn't pay attention when I heard the bell ring, nor did I pay attention to the space around me. So, when I found the brand I needed, and made a move to grab it, I bumped into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so-"

"Shit, you look like shit babe!" I looked up and saw that I had bumped into Marko. I gave him a watery smile.

"I kind of feel like it, I think it hay-fever or something."

Marko nodded, his hand resting on my forehead to check my temperature. "I think it's a bit more than that."

"Fever?"

"Yeah, a bit. Come on," he took the medicine I wanted and walked towards the checkout. "You're staying with us tonight."

"Weren't you going to the boardwalk?"

"You're more important. Santa Carla won't forget who owns the place if we don't show up one night."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. It was suddenly really warm inside. "What were you doing here?"

"Paul's been complaining about a lack of liquorice in the cave."

"He really likes that stuff?"

"Apparently. We can't all be perfect," he paid for the liquorice and the aspirin, also asking for a bottle of water. He grabbed our stuff, opening the door for me. Once we were outside, I stopped walking for a moment, taking some deep breaths.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head slightly. " 'm feeling a little faint."

"Go and sit down, alright?" He handed me the bottle of water and the aspirin. "Have you eaten today?"

I shrugged as I took a sip. "Wasn't hungry."

"You actually got the liquorice!" I looked up as I saw Paul appearing out of thin air in front of me. "And you got our gir- Jesus, you look like shit."

I nodded, feeling a little less faint than before. I heard the loud rumble of motorcycles, and I knew that Dwayne and David were also here now. I looked up, smiling tiredly as David walked towards me.

"Hey."

"Hey darlin'," he helped me stand up, looking me over as I did. I felt myself tremble a little. Maybe Marko was right, and this was more than allergies. "Let's get you home. Do you think you can hold on?"

I nodded, climbing on the back of his bike, and holding on to him tightly.

"We need some food, see if there's a store open so you can get her some fruit and bread and such."

"Sure thing. Is there anything you'd like?" Paul looked at me, and I shook my head. He nodded, kissing me softly on my forehead before driving off. Marko handed Dwayne the stuff we'd just bought, saying he'd be home shortly. He had to feed. Dwayne drove next to us, both David and him driving slower than usual. I was glad they did, mainly because their usual driving style was close to nauseating. Besides, with them driving slower, the chances of me gliding off were slimmer. I closed my eyes for a bit, a sudden tiredness overwhelming me.

"Don't fall asleep, love."

" 'm not." I mumbled, holding on a little tighter.

"We're almost home, then you can sleep all you want."

Dwayne was true to his word. Less than five minutes later, we stopped at the edge of the cliff leading towards the cave. Without a word, Dwayne lifted me up, carrying me in his arms down the stairs and into the lobby of the sunken hotel.

"Couch or bed?"

"Couch," I said softly, trying to stiffle a yawn, "Don't want to be alone."

"Alright, love."

He carefully laid me down on the couch, taking some pillows from Star's bed to make sure I was comfortable. David brought me the blanket I normally used while staying here, a thick and soft fabric covering the whole thing. I mumbled a soft thank you.

"How long have you been feeling sick?" David asked, crouching down next to me, brushing some hair out of my face.

"Since this morning."

"It's probably just a cold or a flu. Is the aspirin helping?"

"A little, I guess?"

He gave me a soft smile, getting up. I closed my eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness before sleep finally came.

I don't know how much time passed before I woke up, but when I did, I could hear an annoyed Dwayne hiss something at Paul and Marko.

"Quiet, she has just fallen asleep!"

"Ah shit, sorry, babe!" Paul whisper yelled at me, causing me to sleepily open my eyes.

" 's okay," I nodded, looking at them.

"I know you said you didn't want anything from the store, but I also brought you some cookies and chocolate."

I smiled tiredly, wincing as I felt my headache return. "Thank you, hon."

"If you're not feeling better tomorrow, we could give you some blood to speed up the healing process?" Marko offered. I bit my lip, not knowing whether I'd like that or not. I did feel sick, but to drink blood? "Just think about it, alright?"

"Yeah."

He smiled before looking outside. The sky was turning a bright red. He went to the back of the cave, climbing through the liftshaft. Dwayne and Paul followed. I pulled my blanket closer against me, curling up, when I felt a pair of arms lifting me up.

"Hm?"

"We're staying with you today, sweetheart."

" 's nice," I mumbled sleepily, already dosing off as he brought me to the bedroom. I was asleep before I even hit the pillow, my boys surrounding me, making sure I'd be okay.

#the lost boys #marko #david #paul #dwayne #tlb #the lost boys 1987 #tlb 1987 #star #the lost boys x reader

[fics-n-stuff]

And They Were Roommates

Pairing: Steve × Eddie

Summary: After moving in together, Steve and Eddie start to realise that they might like each other a little more than they had thought until one night, with the help of just a little weed, it all comes to a head.

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Drug use (just weed)

A/N: I've had writers block for literally two years at this point it's so hard to just finish a fic. I have so many WIPS staring back at me every time I open google docs. If you like this fic I'm begging please let me know because I'm starting to doubt my writing ability 😭

Eddie was starting to regret moving in with Steve. He felt guilty about the fact, because Steve was the perfect housemate - he was clean and caring, respectful of boundaries and good company - but Eddie was struggling. Not because of anything that Steve had done wrong, honestly Eddie was unsure if Steve was capable of doing anything wrong, but because he did too many things right. Steve cooked dinner for them both when Eddie was too busy or too tired, he baked as a hobby so Eddie always had fresh treats to pack into his lunch, he always put Eddie's laundry in when he was doing a wash and sometimes even specifically did laundry because Eddie had let it pile up. He reminded Eddie to take his meds every day, used his employee discount to rent movies on the weekends, and never complained when Eddie spent hours playing his guitar.

Eddie was falling for Steve. He was falling hard.

They were coming up on six months of living together in their cozy little house when Eddie thought he might reach his breaking point. He had slept through his alarm and panicked, thinking that he was going to be late for work. He threw on his clothes, brushed his teeth and threw his hair up into the messiest bun he'd ever done, and was ready to race out the door.

"Don't forget your lunch!" Steve called from the kitchen, stopping Eddie on his way to the front door.

"Steve, I don't have time. I-" he cut himself off as he turned to see Steve appearing in the doorway of the kitchen, Eddie's old metal lunchbox in one hand and his thermos in the other. The thermos itself had been a gift from Steve after Eddie had complained one too many times about not having enough time to drink a proper amount of coffee in the morning (and refusing to wake up any earlier).

"I gathered." Steve smiled, and lifted his arms to hold Eddie's stuff out to him. "Don't worry, I got you."

"Uh, okay. Thanks, Stevie." Eddie said, awkwardly lurching forward to grab the stuff from his hands. 

"Did you take your meds?"

"Yeah, yes, I did. I'll, uh, see you tonight."

"See you tonight. Have a good day at work." Steve replied, before promptly disappearing back into the kitchen. Eddie took half a second to regather his thoughts, looking down at the lunchbox and thermos in his hands in mild disbelief, before quickly getting back on track and leaving for work.

When he sat down for his lunch break that day, coveralls pulled down and secured with the sleeves tied around his waist in an attempt to combat the heat in the shop, he found a post-it note stuck to the inside of the lid of his lunchbox. With an eyebrow quirked in curiosity, he plucked the note from the box and held it up to read.

Six months and this is the first time you've slept through your alarm. I'm shocked, Eds. Hope I packed you a decent lunch :)

Eddie smiled, his chest warm as he folded the note and tucked it back into the lunchbox. Steve had packed him a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, some carrot and celery sticks with hummus, and one of his homemade blueberry muffins. It was more thought than Eddie put into his own lunch most days, he usually just grabbed the first thing he saw in the fridge.

Eddie was falling for Steve because Steve took care of him. Eddie wasn't used to being taken care of like this. Eddie wasn't sure that he wanted to be taken care of if it meant feeling whatever it was that he was feeling for Steve. It didn't seem fair that he could fall so utterly head over heels without Steve even trying.

And Steve hadn't been trying. Not really. He took care of Eddie because he liked to, but also because it just made things easy. He did the laundry because he liked things to be clean, he reminded Eddie to take his meds because treating his ADHD made him less of a hurricane, he cooked and baked and rented movies because it was fun. Steve was good at taking care of people, he had a knack for it. All the things you had to do to take care of people came naturally to him.

Steve wasn't sure he'd made a better decision in his life than moving in with Eddie. He had stayed living at his parents' house for far too long and finally getting out of there gave him space to breathe.

Nancy had helped him find the house. Hawkins wasn't a town that exactly had apartment buildings; there were big houses, small houses and trailers. Nancy was the one who found it, a two bed one bath in a quiet part of town with decently low rent.

Steve had been the one to propose the idea to Eddie. Eddie, who was fine living with his uncle but was ready to be independent, and had recently secured a decent paying job at the auto shop in the next town over, had gone for the idea. And then they moved in together. And it was great. And Eddie was great. Suddenly, Steve realised that Eddie was so great. He was passionate and emotive and energetic, Steve loved to listen to him talk and loved to listen to him play guitar.

Every morning Steve got up and waited for Eddie to come crashing out of his bedroom. Every night he sat on the couch and waited for Eddie to burst through the front door. Every weekend he rented a movie or two so that he'd have an excuse to spend time with Eddie. And it was tough sharing a space with a person that he had become so enamoured with. But he wouldn't want it any other way. He liked reminding him to take his meds every day, and he liked gently nagging him to keep the place clean, and he liked the way he always smiled so wide when Steve cooked dinner or baked a fresh batch of sweet treats. Living with Eddie was perfect.

Steve was working the Friday night closing shift, so it was one of those days that Eddie actually got home first. He was hanging upside down off the couch watching TV when Steve kicked the front door shut and pulled off his jacket.

"Hey! Good day?" Steve called. Eddie hummed noncommittally in reply, haphazardly reaching into a bowl of chips that was sat on the floor and stuffing his mouth with some.

"You rent a movie?" He asked.

"Yeah, three of em." Steve nodded, kicking off his shoes in the entrance way before stepping into the living room. "You wanna watch one tonight?"

"Nah, let's save em for the weekend." 

"Okay. You eaten yet?"

"Nah." Eddie said, and paused slightly before continuing, "Wanna get high?"

"Sure, why not." Steve shrugged after a moment. "I'm not working tomorrow." Eddie flashed him a grin before turning himself right side up and making room for Steve on the couch. "You wanna order a pizza? I didn't prep anything and I don't wanna start cooking now."

"I'm always up for pizza, Harrington."

"Awesome. I'll order the food, you roll the joint."

"Perfect."

They both got up from the couch in unison, Steve heading to the draw by the phone where they kept all the takeout menus and Eddie heading to his room to retrieve his stash. They reunited by the back door five minutes later, pizza ordered and joint in hand.

"Two whole hours." Steve complained as Eddie lit up. "I will never get over it. I hate Friday and Saturday closing shifts, why the hell do we have to be open an extra two hours?"

"Because Friday and Saturday nights are when people wanna go get their movies." Eddie replied, smoke rising from his lips as he passed the joint to Steve.

"Yeah, well, I hate it."

"Yeah, I know." Eddie chuckled, used to hearing a version of this rant every time Steve worked a Friday or Saturday closing shift. "Hey, uh, thanks for packing my lunch today. But I think you might have done too good a job at it."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Steve questioned.

"The new guy at work, Freddie, he asked if my wife packed my lunch for me."

Steve choked halfway through an inhale, quickly passing the joint back to Eddie before he doubled over with his coughs. 

"Shit, sorry." He managed after a few seconds of coughing. "I, um… what did you say? Yaknow, when he said that."

"Uh, I laughed and then I told him the truth. I overslept and my housemate packed it, coz he's nice like that." Eddie smiled. He watched Steve to make sure that he was okay after his coughing fit and took an extra long pull of the joint. "He gave me a funny look, but he said it was sweet."

"What kind of funny look? Like a surprised funny look or a disgusted funny look?"

"I don't know. We were cool the rest of the day though." 

"Hm."

They smoked the rest of the joint in silence, finishing up just a little before the pizza arrived. Steve answered the door, paid the delivery boy and brought it back to the couch where Eddie had already melted into the cushions.

"You sure you don't want to watch one of the movies tonight? I rented Eraserhead just for you." Steve said. Eddie made a shocked wailing sound around the slice of pizza in his mouth and spun to face Steve.

"You rented a freaky scifi horror for me? And you plan on watching it with me?" He exclaimed.

"Well, we did also just get in our first copies of Top Gun and I was planning on making you watch that with me tomorrow so… it's more of a compensation." Steve replied with an amused smile.

"Deal." Eddie nodded enthusiastically, holding his hand out to Steve, who laughed as he shook it. "You wanna smoke another one? I'm thinking I could do with a bit more of a buzz."

"Not if you wanna watch Eraserhead tonight."

"Well, what's the third movie you got?"

"Airplane."

"Oh, we can definitely watch that stoned." Eddie grinned. "Come on, Stevie! Smoke another joint with me. I'll have most of it, promise!"

"Okay, fine!" Steve relented with a light laugh. "Go open the window and put on the movie."

"Yay!" Eddie cheered like a child, springing up from the sofa. He scurried to open up both of the nearby windows, retrieved the tape from Steve's bag that he'd left by the door and popping it into the VCR, and came back to the couch producing his little tin from his pocket.

"You know, you could just smoke on your own." Steve said.

"I could, but social smoking is better." Eddie argued, flipping his lighter in his hand and smiling around the joint between his lips. "And it's a good way to get you to chill out, you collect a lot of stress through the week." To punctuate his point, he plucked the joint from his mouth and held it to Steve's. Steve, whose hands were occupied with tearing apart two partly cut slices of pizza, parted his lips to accept the joint.

"I'm not that bad." He protested. "Go get your ashtray, we're not gonna be able to eat the pizza if we can't put down the joint."

"Yessir." Eddie chimed, rolling over the back of the couch like a chaos gremlin to go get the ashtray from his bedroom.

They ate their pizza and watched the movie, laughing a bit louder and a bit longer than was really necessary. Eddie rambled as they played rock paper scissors after the film ended, telling Steve about his day very overdramatically and not noticing how closely Steve was watching his every move. Steve was always quiet when he got high, which was the complete opposite of Eddie who somehow managed to talk even more when under the influence, so Eddie wasn't too off put by his lack of responses.

"I've got the munchies, what's in the kitchen?" Eddie asked, grabbing Steve's hand as he wrapped paper around rock.

"Hmm, not much." Steve mumbled in reply. "We've got some pretzels. There's the muffins, and the sugar cookies from last weekend." Eddie puffed his cheeks out and rocked backwards before leaning forward into Steve's space.

"I love living with a baker." He smiled dopily before quickly getting to his feet, reaching down to Steve with grabby hands to pull him up as well. "Come on Stevie, to the kitchen we go." 

Steve took the hands offered to him and let himself be pulled up off the floor, let himself be led by the hand into the kitchen, let his arms be wrapped around Eddie's shoulders like a scarf as the other opens the cabinet where they keep the snacks. 

"You want some pretzels?" Eddie questioned as he pulled down the bag, his other hand still holding Steve's where he'd placed it hanging at his chest. Steve replied with a hum that meant no, resting his head on Eddie's shoulder. "We have half a bag of chips left, you want that?" Another hummed no. "Okay, more for me." Eddie shrugged, grabbing the chips and closing the cabinet. He shuffled them over slightly to grab a plate before opening up the tins on the counter and filling the plate with muffins and sugar cookies. Then, he unwrapped Steve's arms from his shoulders and turned to face him, a sudden air of seriousness about him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Steve nodded.

"You sure? 'Cause you seem… thoughtful."

"I'm high."

"Yeah but it's a different kind of quiet than usual."

Trust Eddie to pick up on the most minute inconsistency in Steve's demeanor.

"Just…" Steve started thoughtfully, trying to arrange his words in his swirling mind. "Did you ever think you'd be so… domestic?" Eddie blinked.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." He replied with a chuckle.

"Like… when I was a teenager I just kind of thought that I would inevitably end up like my dad. And then I was with Nancy and I started thinking maybe I could have something a little different; a marriage that wasn't loveless, a family I actually care about. But when all the Upside Down stuff happened, and it just kept coming back, it started to feel like I could never have a normal life. But now here we are, living in a normal house, going to work every day and just… living." Steve explained. "I didn't think I would ever get here, and I have no idea where I go from here."

"Well, wherever you want to go, Stevie." Eddie said with such a sweet authenticity that it made Steve feel emotional. He leaned forward to rest his head on Eddie's shoulder with a sigh, and Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve to pull him close. "It's not easy. I mean, Nancy's had her whole future planned out for years and even she got shaken by the Upside Down shit. I never second guessed persuing my music before but months in the hospital got me out of habit with it and I doubted that I could. You know that, you were the one who convinced me not to quit the band. We figured it out, you will too. We'll figure it out together." He moved one hand up to Steve's hair, twisting his fingers through the thick strands and stroking his scalp with his fingertips. Steve sighed and leaned into the touch.

"Okay." He breathed.

Eddie took a deep, hopefully discreet, breath. It wasn't often that Steve showed this vulnerable side of himself, and Eddie was proud that he showed it to him. For all that Steve did to take care of other people, Eddie especially, he didn't often let people take care of him. Eddie learned how to do it in small ways, making sure to regularly ask him how he was feeling and helping him unwind at the end of the work week, not to mention telling the kids to leave him alone for a bit if he was seeming overwhelmed or in need of a break. But this, holding Steve in his arms and giving him advice about something serious, was something he didn't get to do often. And he already loved Steve when he was coasting along nonchalantly downplaying his negative feelings for the benefit of the people around him, but when he opened up and let someone else see what he was really feeling? Eddie could feel his heart melting. 

"You're doing a good job just as you are right now, Stevie. You know that right?"

Now it was Steve's turn to feel his heart melt. Or maybe that was the weed. Either way, he didn't know when he started leaning on Eddie like this but now it was like Eddie had a magic effect on him. His voice, his touch, just being in the same room with him, it always made Steve feel more at ease. He let himself enjoy the feeling of Eddie's fingers in his hair for a few moments longer before pulling back from his hold and standing up straight.

Maybe it was the weed, maybe it was Eddie's big brown eyes, maybe it was the way that Eddie's hands lingered on his waist, but Steve was blurting out the words before his mind could tell his lips to stop.

"Eddie, I love you." He heard his own voice before he realised he was speaking. Then he panicked, and he couldn't stop himself from continuing. "I- I mean, I think I might be falling in love with you. And I- I didn't mean to, I didn't want to, but you're just so great. And we're really good friends and I don't wanna ruin that, and if you don't feel the same - I mean, you probably don't feel the same - you can just tell me and I'll never bring it up again."

Eddie was stunned. He stood completely still, staring at Steve as he continued to ramble, cheeks turning red as he blushed more with every word he spoke. If he wasn't high maybe he would be quicker to respond, but it was like Eddie's brain was ticking so slowly he could barely keep up with the words coming out Steve's mouth. Steve's mouth that he found himself staring at.

Steve was still rambling when Eddie grabbed his face in both hands and cut him off by pressing their lips together. Steve let out a surprised yelp as he was cut off mid word, his hands instinctively going to grab Eddie's hips as he returned the kiss.

This was the moment.

When Eddie pulled back he was grinning ear to ear, hands cupping Steve's face so gently.

"I love you too, Stevie. I love you so much, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He said softly. Steve smiled, letting out a relieved sigh, before pulling Eddie closer and kissing him again.

He pushed Eddie back so that he was leaning against the counter, crowding him in as he deepened the kiss. One of Eddie's hands found its way to take hold of the hair at the nape of Steve's neck while the other fisted in Steve's shirt at his shoulder.

Steve's fingers had just slipped under the fabric of Eddie's t-shirt when the phone started ringing, and they both pulled back with disappointed groans. Steve begrudgingly went to answer it.

"Hello, this is Steve." He answered the phone. A moment later he was pinching the bridge of his nose as the corner of his mouth pulled into an involuntary smile. "Hey Robbie, what's up? No, I'm not stoned… It was just a little, I'm not stoned. What do you want?" Eddie couldn't help his fond grin as he watched Steve on the phone with Robin, free hand moved to sit on his hip in the classic Mama Steve pose as he listened to his best friend. "Well, how am I supposed to know what girls in California are like…? Robin, you go to Stanford so I know you're not that stupid… I can help how!? I didn't even get into community college, you are talking about a league of people that I am not a part of!"

This was going to last a while. Eddie breathed an endeared laugh, picking up his pile of snacks and heading back to the living room, winking at Steve as he passed him.

He lounged on the sofa shoveling chips into his mouth, tuning in and out of Steve's side of the phone call and chuckling at his exasperation with whatever problem Robin had called him to discuss. He hummed under his breath, a melody that he had written and had been workshopping the lyrics for, as he finished the chips and scooped up a muffin.

"Robin, I can't plan dates for you." Steve pressed his forehead against the wall in exasperation. As much as he loved Robin, she really did have a way of finding a problem in practically everything and then also making that Steve's problem. "For starters, I don't know what your neighbourhood is like. And also, I don't know what this girl is like other than what you've rambled at me… Robs- Robin- Rob- Robin! I think you've forgotten that time zones exist, because it's past midnight here and you're keeping me up with your lesbianism." Eddie snorted a laugh at that, shoving half a cookie into his mouth. "Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Eds, yell hi."

"Hi Rob! Bye Rob!" Eddie yelled with an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah, no, he is stoned." Steve chuckled into the receiver. "Alright, bye Robbie. Love you."

"I'm not stoned." Eddie pouted. Steve pushed his legs off of the sofa so that he could sit down.

"More stoned than me." He rebutted, gesturing to the half eaten pile of food scattered across the coffee table.

"That's 'cause you're a pussy." Eddie grinned teasingly. "Is Robin having a wild series of dalliances with cool California girls?"

"No, and I also don't care about that right now. I'll deal with her tomorrow, but for the meantime I think we were in the middle of something." Steve replied with a smirk. Eddie shot upright, his charm only slightly hindered by being under the influence as he leaned into Steve's space with an eyebrow raised flirtatiously.

"Were we?" He purred. 

"Well, unless you don't want to be." Steve teased. Eddie quickly placed his hands on either side of Steve's face, getting up onto his knees as he pressed their lips together to swiftly dismiss that notion. A laugh reverberated in Steve's throat as he kissed him back. He pulled back with a smile and brushed a stray curl off of Eddie's face. "Your bedroom or mine?"

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things season four #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #steddie fanfiction #steddie fluff #steve x eddie #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #robin buckley #roommates steddie #domestic steddie

[walks-the-ages]

Horror story about some kids / visiting family members finding a secret door buried behind stacks of boxes only to discover there's an entire other half of the house / a large basement full of dusty old random things and stuff keeps happening so they're convinced that it's haunted and ~somehow~ they're the only ones who can perceive the room because the Aunt that owns the house acts like the only parts of the house that exist is the "normal" part of it

and the kids bring an old book out of the Secret Basement and the Aunt sees them reading it and is like "oh, where on earth did you find that? I thought I lost that years ago! I sat it down one day and poof, it was gone forever!"

So now the kids are convinced that either a ghost is haunting The Secret Basement or even more horrifying, that there's some random stranger living in the house who comes out at night to steal crap so they're terrified of the vents and jumping at shadows and staying up late at night staring at The Secret Door and the tension keeps building as the kids keep coming up with more and more horrifying supernatural or psychological theories about The Secret Room and the Invisible Thief

And then the Aunt just so happens to wander into the guest bedroom where the kids found The Secret Door buried behind boxes right as they're suiting up in homemade armor made out of pots and pans and just goes "oh my god!" In horror as she stared directly at the door.

Immediately followed by, "I forgot this door was here! No wonder I couldn't find anything, I must have sat then down in the second sitting room and then forgot about it when Gerald piled those boxes up in front of the door! Curse you, ADHD and my lack of object permanence!"

And so it turns out the Aunt literally just has ADHD and when their housemate stuck some moving boxes in front of the door they just never got around to moving the boxes, so the door was out of sight and .... The rest is history.

#actually ADHD #object permanence

[haloshornsinkstains]

Convention Escapades [Leviathan x FemOC]

On AO3 here

Two dorks go to a Convention. There they encounter crowds, self doubt and con creeps and emerge victorious. Smut ensues.

Leviathan x Kore (my Obey Me! MC). NSFW (R18+)  Warnings for: Female OC, self-esteem issues, PIV sex, woman on top, con creeps/mild sexual harassment, sex in cosplay (if you spot anything else I need to add a warning for let me know)

Kore studied her costume carefully in the mirror, tugging at the hemline of the skirt and carefully adjusting the painstakingly styled wig. It wasn’t perfect, the colours a little off in places and several accessories missing. But it had been the best she could do a short notice and with unexpected delays in Akuzon shipping. She’d really wanted to go as Henry, she really had, especially knowing that Levi had a Lord Of Shadows cosplay ready to go and knowing just how happy it would make him. But then Lucifer had piled a mountain of extra homework on her, eating into 90% of her precious little free time and she just hadn’t had the energy to do it. She could have maybe thrown together something passable last minute, even Levi had said as much, but she told him she wanted to do Henry justice and that would require time. She didn’t tell him that she wanted to do Henry justice because the thought of letting him down with an imperfect and rushed version of one of his favourite characters in the whole world was the worst. ‘Next time’ she’d promised him. ‘Next time I’ll do the best Henry you’ve ever seen. We’ll be unstoppable’. He’d blushed, adorably so, and nodded determinedly. She was still fussing over the outfit when she heard someone knocking at the door. “Kore? We’re going to be late for prime queue spots!” Sighing and chewing on her lower lip Kore went to open the door, preemptively wincing ready for him to pick apart the flaws in her cosplay. When there was no noise she warily looked at him. Somewhere beneath all the hair she could see a blush staining his cheeks red. “Is it… okay? I know the colours are off but it was the best I could do last minute after Lucifer dumped all that work on me. Maybe I should have gone for something simpler… cat girls are cool down here too right?” She paused, tilting her head a little to study him. “Um, Levi? Leviachan? Are you okay?” He huffs, giving his head a slight shake. He mutters something under his breath that she can’t quite catch. “We need to go, if we’re not there in time we might not get the limited edition convention special figurine. I can’t miss out on that because some human normie made me late, you understand right? We need to hurry.”

He didn’t realise until they were halfway to the convention that he’d grabbed her hand. He dropped it as if she were made of fire, cheeks burning and eyes wide. “I… um.. I…” He stumbled over his words, refusing to look at her. “Sorry, you wouldn’t want to touch…” She laughed, reaching out for him again. “I don’t mind, how else would I keep up?” Levi was still frozen, staring at her outstretched hand as she wiggled her fingers at him. After a few seconds of staring she reached out and tangled her fingers in his, ignoring his stuttered protests and offering him a bright smile. “Come on, we can’t be late. Not when there are limited edition figurines on the line!”

They got there in plenty of time, early even, but something still felt wrong. Levi would barely look at her, despite his excitement to be there, and it was starting to form a roiling black pit in her stomach. She’d let him down, she knew she had, she should have gone with Henry, even if it wasn’t a good Henry. She was an idiot for thinking one of the main characters from "My Cute New Roommate is Actually a God of Chaos and I Think She’s in Love With Me" would be anywhere near good enough, no matter how much they’d both enjoyed watching the show. She frowned, squeezing his hand a little. “I’m sorry Levi, I can go?” Her voice came out much quieter than she expected and she was lucky he even heard over the chatter of the crowd. Leviathan tensed, grip tightening more than he meant it to as he tugged her to look at him. “W-What? Why… Why would you leave? I-I thought you wanted to be here? Did… did you just come because you felt sorry for me? O-of course you did, who would actually want to spend time with some yucky otaku like me?” The spiral of self loathing came on fast, and it would just get worse she knew, both from her own experiences and from spending time with him. At home she could sit in the calm of his room, gently tell him all the reasons he was wrong, and if things got too bad his brothers were there. For damage control if nothing else. But here, here she didn’t think she had that time, so she did the one thing she knew would shut him up, she flung her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing her smaller body into the warmth of his. It worked. Levi flailed for a moment, startled and embarrassed and not sure what to do, before he gently tried to push her away. Gently enough that she knew he didn’t really want her to let go. If anyone in the line around them had anything to say about the sudden outburst of emotion they wisely kept quiet. “Y-you have to warn me before you do stuff like that. It’s not fair!” “Hush, you adorable idiot.” She grumbled into his chest, before reluctantly letting him go and taking his hand again. “I do want to be here. I’ve been excited about this for weeks. And I really am sorry I didn’t come dressed as Henry, I know you’re upset at me about it and…” she chewed on her lip for a second, gaze fixed firmly on their hands “and it seems like you don’t want me here. I don’t want to ruin your fun.” Levi gawped for a moment, shaking his head so violently he nearly dislodged his headpiece before pulling her back against him. “I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t want you here, idiot.” It was disarmingly genuine, no otaku slang or stammering or yoda speak, and that alone was enough to calm all of her frazzled nerves and let her relax against him. She was happy to leave it at that, to not push him about his silence, but he answered for her anyway. “You just, you look…” “It’s not super accurate I know, I’m sorry. Oh, hey, the line is moving! Time to get our figurines!” Whatever Levi was planning to say was lost in the excitement of limited edition Ruri-chan merch as they headed inside.

Inside Kore was happy to find it was much like any convention she’d been to in the human realm, there were official booths as well as an artists alley type area full of fan merch, special guests and so much amazing cosplay she was honestly a little overwhelmed. Levi was grinning in the way that was usually reserved for new long awaited game releases or rare exclusive merch finds. It was refreshing to see him outside, around people, and still so happy. But, she figured, these were his people. They weren’t going to judge him in the way he was afraid of, they were all here for the same thing. “Where did you want to go first? You’re the expert here after all.” Levi paused for a moment, he looked like he was thinking but Kore would have put money on him having a whole itinerary planned in his head. He opened his mouth a few times, beginning to say something before closing it again, his face flushing bright red. “Um, well, I want to see the Doki Doki☆Angel Gakuen panel, and the Devilmation one, and um, there’s a few booths I want to visit… but, but what do you want to do?” Kore grinned, her heart growing in her chest at the sheer earnestness of his desire to make her happy. Levi was a lot of things, not all of them good, but he really did try to do his best by her and the mere thought of it gave her all kinds of warm feelings inside. “As long as I get a good look at the stalls, and maybe a few of the, uh, manga booths I’ll be happy.” She paused, momentarily distracted by someone walking past with a truly spectacular cosplay of one of the armoured knights from ‘I’ve Been Sucked Into This Game as a Plot to Assassinate Me, but They Forgot I’m Top of the Server Leaderboards so I’m Having a Great Time’ “Maybe a few photos?” Levi nodded, chewing on his lip and hiding behind his hair the way he always did when he was nervous. After a few moments he announced “Do that I can” grabbing her hand again and tugging her off towards the ‘official’ stalls in search of rare Ruri-Chan merch. She followed happily, smiling softly at the way the normally quiet demon lit up with delight when surrounded by things he was passionate about. He talked excitedly with the booth owners in a way she'd never seen before. As he finally handed over his grimm, clutching the box to his chest in delight, he turned back to her. "Are you okay? You're quiet…" She smiled, cutting him off before he could try to be self depreciating. "I'm fine. I just don't think I've ever seen you so happy around so many people before. It's nice." He hid his face behind the box, shaking his head. "Come on, you need to buy stuff too!"

He pulled her along behind him, stopping at several booths along the way. To her surprise he stopped at a couple just for her. Eventually they exhausted the official stalls, taking a break and grabbing some food while they watched the Devilmation panel. Once it wrapped up, not without some grumbling from Levi about their choice of voice actor for the official adaptation of one of the manga he was reading, he gently took her hand again leading her in the direction of the fan-run stalls. "Oh wow, this is all so awesome. Hey Levi, look!" She pointed towards a stall dedicated towards some of her favourite otome games only to find he had let go of her hand. "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." "But Levi I… and he's gone." She sighed, turning back to the stall she'd stopped at. Where did he even dash off to? We got the Ruri-chan merch he wanted… I'm so getting lost in here without him. After a few minutes deliberation she picked out a few pieces of fan merch from her favourite new otome 'My Seven Hot Housemates are Constantly Fighting With Each Other, I Think I'm in Love With All of Them and I Have No Idea What to do About it', a full sticker set and keyrings of her favourites- the shy nerd and the brash adorable idiot. She had wanted the full set, but Mammon had borrowed a chunk of Grimm from her a couple of weeks ago and hadn't paid her back yet. There was still stuff she wanted to buy so she had to be strict with her budget. Levi still hadn't come back so now seemed as good a time as any to get him a thank you gift. Slowly she moved along the stalls, making her way towards one she was pretty sure had Sucre Frenzy prints, when she heard a loud voice behind her. "Oh wow, are you cosplaying Nyar-chan?!" She paused, turning to glance at the voice behind her in mild surprise. "Can we get a picture?" For a moment Kore froze, blinking at them. It had been a very long time since anyone asked her for a photo in cosplay. Maybe it was a trap? But the pair holding a camera looked so happy and earnest, and besides there were plenty of people here… she nodded once, smiling at them. "Sure." That one yes seemed to be the start of a landslide. Suddenly so many people wanted her picture, more than a few just for the novelty of getting close to the human everyone was talking about while the brothers weren't by her side. It was overwhelming, and she barely managed to get the prints she wanted for Levi, her eyes constantly scanning the crowd for him.

"Hey there gorgeous, got time for one more picture?" She blinked up at the man, who towered over her. There was something ominous in his eyes she didn't like, but Levi was nowhere to be seen and kicking up a fuss at this point felt like it would do more harm than good. "Um,  okay?" The demon grinned, his teeth looking far too sharp under the artificial lights. He gently rested an arm on her waist, ignoring her flinch as he did so. His friend took the picture and she went to move away but his grip tightened, claws digging into her hard enough to bruise. "I think I blinked, best take another right?" He looked to his friend, who nodded. Kore swallowed, holding still, eyes constantly flicking through the crowd for that familiar flash of purple. Then she felt his hand drop, no longer digging into her waist but instead dropping to cup her ass, fingers trying to dip beneath the hem of her skirt. She opened her mouth to protest when she sensed it, the dark oppressive pressure she remembered from the ill-fated TSL quiz. "Hands. Off. Her." The demon jumped away, hands in the air as he stared down a clearly irritated Avatar of Envy. "I wasn't doing nothing!" ' In which case you just admitted you were doing something ' she heard Satan's voice in her head at the double negative, chasing away the thought to quickly stride over to Levi, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Levi. Look at me. I'm okay." She soothed, squeezing gently. While his mood was warranted she knew this was a very bad place for him to lose control like that. "I promise, I'm okay. Come on, let's get some air." "But he…" "I know. We can be angry outside." She linked her hand with his, intertwining their fingers and giving him a gentle tug. "Come on." He followed with much less protest than she was expecting, letting her lead him through crowds of demons that swiftly parted, sensing the danger that still hung in the air around the third eldest of the brothers. It wasn’t long before they were outside, though she didn’t let go of his hand until she’d pulled him around to the side of the building away from any prying eyes or further interruptions. “Levi, breathe.” She cupped his face gently, pressing her forehead against his. “Thank you for rescuing me.” She couldn’t see anything but his eyes, though her skin picked up the flush of heat at her words. “I-I didn’t… it’s not like that…” He shook his head slightly. “I didn’t rescue you. Weird normie.” “Yeah, you did. I don’t think he’d have listened to me somehow.” She smiled. “My hero.” “I d-didn’t. I just didn’t want him touching you, not when you look so amazing. And I know I’m just a yucky otaku and he was all... handsome and stuff. But I wanted you to be mine today and I didn’t want him touching you and…” he huffed out a breath, the warmth of it tickling her nose “I’m not a hero. It’s not fair.” Kore just cradled his face in her hands, leaning up to press a soft kiss against his lips. “Whaaa… you’re supposed to warn me if you’re going to do that! I need time to prepare! I wasn’t ready!” “Sorry not sorry. I couldn’t resist. Now hush for a minute.” Her hands remained on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. “You’re not a yucky otaku, you are, in fact, a very handsome and amazing otaku. Who just so happens to be one of the most powerful demons in the whole of Devildom, and the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy. Which makes you a badass. Not yucky. Not gross. Not any of the other bad stuff you say about yourself. Believe me, that dude was not handsome. He was gross. Not you. I think you’re pretty awesome.” “I’m…” “You’re awesome. Don’t argue with me. And… wait, did you say I look amazing.” “Y-yes?” “Okay. I’m going to kiss you again.” This time he didn’t protest, tentatively kissing her back as he pressed her up against the wall. She whimpered into the kiss, one hand tangling in the hair at the back of his head as he grew more confident, his free hand trailing down to gently stroke the exposed skin between her skirt and the long socks she wore. Panting she pulled back, resting her forehead against his as she tried to pull air into her lungs. “Was… was that okay?” There was a tremor of nervousness in his voice that made Kore want to kiss him again just to make him realise how great he was. “It was better than okay. Is this why you’ve been weird with me all day?” He wouldn’t look her in the eyes but she felt the slight movement of his head as he nodded, fingers still tracing the exposed patch of skin on her thigh. “Okay…” She paused, not sure where to go with this, there was still plenty they both wanted to do inside the convention, but the way he kissed her and his fingers trailing across her skin made her want to do all kinds of other things. “Okay. We’re going to finish up inside, and I’m going to stay by your side whether you like it or not. Then we’re going home to finish this.” A whine bubbled up in Levi’s throat and she leant up to press her lips against his, silencing him with a promise. “You know you’d be upset if you missed the panels, I’ll still be around when this is over.” “But my brothers… I know you like them more…” Kore huffed, pressing a hand against his mouth. “I don’t. Leviathan, listen to me. I like you. I like your brothers. Remember that talk we had about sharing? I know it’s harder for you, I know you get jealous, but you have to trust me.” She sighed. “Please?” Swallowing Levi nodded, letting her lead him back inside just in time for the Doki Doki☆Angel Gakuen panel.

The rest of the day went in a blur, the panel was funny and informative, they picked up a few more bits of merch, and thankfully no more pushy demons tried to feel her up. Probably thanks to Levi being near glued to her side, his hand hovering near her waist. He at least enjoyed his panel, and got photos with his favourite voice actress prompting Kore to grin at him and point out what a good idea staying at the convention was really. After all, they had plenty of time later. On the way home she bought him Bufo Egg Milk Tea and promised she'd make up for all the waiting.

Luckily the tea was long drunk by the time they walked through the doors of the House of Lamentation, Levi dragging her straight to his room with barely a hello to Lucifer who had been waiting in the entrance hall for them to return. Only when they got to his room did his newfound confidence falter, his hands hovering over her but not seeming to dare make contact. With a huff she grabbed his shirt, pressing her lips hard against his. "I can't make it up to you if you won't touch me Leviachan. And I want you to touch me." She purred, pressing herself up against him. “A-are… are you sure?” "I wouldn't be in this position if I wasn't." She paused, pulling back a little to look him in the eyes. “Do you want this? You can say no you know.” For a moment Levi looked panicked and she felt terrible, as much as she wanted him (and she really wanted him right now) she had never wanted to push him into anything. It was just with the way he behaved before she thought… But the panic fades from his face as his fingers come into contact with her sides, running gently up and down the soft fabric. He nods once, chewing nervously on his lower lip. “I… I want you.” Kore smiles, pressing up against him once more to capture his lips. This time his hands grip onto her hips, pulling her so he can grind against her. She moans at the contact, fingers clenched in his top, and it finally gives him the burst of confidence he needs to take control. One hand moves up to grope at her chest, a low growl rumbling through his throat as he finds the layers of fabric hinder his touch. He tugs until the fabric moves low enough to uncover her breasts, ignoring what he thinks was a tearing sound as his fingers ghost over the skin, finding where her nipples have hardened against his touch. He's not a virgin, like so many seem to think, but it has been a long time, and these aren't just any breasts. They're Kore's breasts. Small and soft and so perfect his breath catches in his throat and he could swear his heart skips a beat. She makes a low meaning noise in her throat as he rolls one of the stiff peaks between his fingers. He could come from those sounds alone, he thinks dipping his head to flick his tongue over the other, he needs to hear more. Her back arches, pressing her breasts towards him as she fumbles with a hand to try and palm him through his trousers. "Ah- fuck Levi! That… ah, it feels so good." His hips buck against her hand  and she takes it as a sign to try and slide her hand inside, fingers wrapping around his length and stroking gently. Levi lifts his head abruptly to stare at her, expression flickering between shock, embarrassment and pure need. "I-if you do t-that I won't be able to- to hold back." The corner of Kore's lips lifts in a hungry smirk. "That was the plan. Please Levi? I need you." "But you, you're not…" She pulls her hand away and he whines, watching with wide eyes as she pulls his hand from her breast and pushes it up her skirt, pressing his fingers into the damp fabric. He slips a finger past her underwear, sliding through the slick coating her folds before pulling his hand away and staring at it in amazement. "Please? I want you." He nods in response, not trusting his voice to work enough to form words. She moved to take off her skirt but he shakes his head, earning him a raised eyebrow and a look tinged with concern. "I- um, leave it on? Please?" "Kinky." She grins, but leaves the skirt and socks in place, hooking her thumbs through the waistband of her underwear and tugging them down.

Levi tugs them towards the bathtub that serves as his bed, kicking off his trousers as he goes. He falls back into the soft pillows, tugging her down on top of him, her legs straddling his hips. His confidence grows now he knows this is happening, that she wants him like this and it wasn't all just desperate fantasies. “Are you sure?” Her voice was slightly strained, but she hovered above him watching his face. Levi thrust his hips up against her, his cock sliding through the wetness between her legs. “I need you to say it.” “Yes.” It came out as more of a whimper than he intended, but when she lowered herself onto his cock he really couldn’t bring himself to care. His fingers gripped into her thighs, leaving dents in the plush skin that would surely bruise later as she started to move. His body reacted almost on instinct, thrusting up into her warm wet heat. She moaned, back arching as she rolled her hips in time with his thrusts. “Ah, yes Levi. You feel so good.” He growled, thrusting harder into her until she was reduced to a mess of whimpers and moans. “Ah, fuck.” He groaned, tilting his head back. “I- I won’t last much-” She moaned in response, sliding a hand between her legs, flipping her skirt up so he could watch as she rubbed slow circles over her swollen clit. Levi groaned, feeling her walls start to clench around him. “Th-that’s not helping.” Kore laughed, broken and thready. “I don’t know, fuck , I’d say it’s helping. Ah fu- it feels so good.” Levi’s head was tilted back, breath coming in gasps as she started to lose rhythm, her hips stuttering allowing him to set the pace. He could feel the ripple of muscle around him as she got close, her walls clenching and unclenching a few times before they started to tighten. “O-oh, I’m close. Fuck, Levi, ah... ” Her body started to tremble, words lost in a half-coherent moan as she unravelled on top of him. He fucked her through her orgasm, not sure if he would even be able to pull out with the way she’d clamped down around him. As the last waves passed and her body started to slump he lifted her, pulling out just in time to splatter her thighs with his release, her name a low moan in his mouth. She fell forwards, bracing her weight on her arms against the sides of the tub as the room descended into quiet save the sounds of their ragged panting. “I, uh, might need to borrow some clothes.” She chuckled, looking down at the sticky mess on her costume. Levi went bright red, covering his face with his arms, shyness rushing back. “S-sorry! I didn’t mean to!” She grinned. “You did, and that’s fine. That was hot.” He peeked up at her between his fingers. “R-really?” “Mhm.” Shifting gingerly in the small space she pulled off her ruined skirt and socks, tossing them out of the tub onto the floor. “Later.” Slowly she lowered herself next to him, nuzzling her face into his chest and pulling his arm to wrap around her.

#my writing #smut #leviathan #female oc #obey me #halo.writes #halo.afterdark

[for-emilia]

The Start Of Forever.

“Dele, get up! Mate, it’s your stuff and I’ve moved more of it than you have!” Emilia complains, emphasising her frustration by throwing a t-shirt at his head. She was currently sat on the floor surrounded by half of her boyfriend’s wardrobe spanning across the room, neatly folding the garments into their allocated boxes as Dele was ‘taping them up’. “I got up earlier this morning to pack than I would for training.. Let me rest, woman,” he half jokingly crumpled up the t-shirt and placed it under his head as a makeshift pillow. “I’ll leave you to do it on your own,” Emilia warns, raising her eyebrows to get her point across. “Noooo,” he whines, grabbing her ankle and dragging her across the floor accumulating clothes and a few squeals as she goes, “you’re staying right here with me.”

“Handsome, let’s just get through this then we can cuddle in the new house... in ourrrrr house,” Emilia ran her long nails through his hair, scratching his scalp and pulling slightly to highlight the word ‘our’. They left his clothes until last as it was the biggest pain in the arse to sort through but now they wish they did it first. Or at least Dele wished, which is how he was relegated to taping up and labelling boxes; Emilia was having all sorts of fun, imagining outfits she could style him in and getting ideas of which pieces she wanted to ‘borrow’ from him.

After another hour or so of packing away Dele’s wardrobe (and Dele being childish: seeing how many pieces of tape he could stick on his girlfriend before she swatted him on the chest and shouted his name, drawing doodles on the brown boxes etc), they finally sealed their last box and piled them up ready to take out. “Good teamwork,” Dele held his hand up for a high five, knowing for a fact his girlfriend would protest as she did all the work. “Ha ha, very funny,” she pushed him away, not expecting Dele to react quickly to grab her wrist and yank her along with him, surprising her with a kiss on the lips once she clattered into him.

“Cmon, let’s put them in the car,” Emilia spoke out, not fully wanting to do what she suggested and preferring the sound of standing and kissing Dele more. “How ‘bout you sit and look pretty in the car and I’ll do that? You sort out the tunes, pretty girl,” Dele replied, clocking onto the girl in his arms’ fatigue. He watched as she walked away towards the car, smiling warmly at the back of her. God, he couldn’t believe he was moving in with the love of his life. He’d always remember the night they made the decision. 

“Do you know where my fucking heels are?!” Emilia shouted, raking around the tiny duffel bag she brought in preparation for the weekend stay at her boyfriends. “Fuck this man, I think I left them at mine..” she sighs followed by an exasperated scream. “I’m sick of driving backwards and forwards in between places.. I’m not fucking going!” she protests, flopping down on the bed, hair, makeup and outfit already sorted, just missing her shoes and not wanting to take the option of her work shoes or fluffy slides to the club. 

“You’re bare dramatic, yknow,” Dele laughs as he rounds the doorway, “we’ll just get the taxi to stop off at yours on the way, I’ll cover the fare.” He pulled her up and took in her appearance, licking his bottom lip. ”Fuck Harry, man, why does he have to be home when you look like this? The things I wanna do to you,” he whispered into her ear, hand drifting south, “wish he’d just move out.” 

He pulled away from her to look her in the eyes before moving her hair to the side, kissing her neck slowly, gripping the other side tightly with his rings pressing shapes firmly into the skin. Dele felt her hand come up to his chest, leaning into the touch before he realised she was in fact pushing him away, immediately looking up to her face for signs of discomfort or upset, only to be faced with furrowed brows and a look of obvious question. “...What?” Dele questioned, worrying whether she’d asked him something and he’d accidentally ignored it, too busy thinking with the wrong head. “Are we being thick?” Emilia stood with her hand moving under the open buttons of his shirt, “should we just move in together?”

He let out a breathy laugh still looking at the girl of his dreams in the car in front of him, remembering how the pointless night out turned into one of celebration, how they spent the next day in bed looking through countless real estate websites for options, celebrating in a different way once they’d booked a viewing for the following week. 

“Enjoyed that, did ya?” Dele asked, plonking himself down in the driver's seat, sweaty and tired from transporting the heavy boxes and arranging them in the car, knowing fine well Emilia was watching and practically drooling at his biceps the whole time. Moving her face centimetres away from her boyfriends and raking her eyes over the sweaty glow on his face, she quietly whispered, “Too right, jefe,” before biting his bottom lip and pulling away. “Dickhead,” he mumbled back, taking a second longer to compose himself before they set off to the new house.

-

They pulled up onto their spacious new drive twenty minutes later. When they found this house online, they’d already viewed two previous ones and weren’t ecstatic about either but as soon as they pulled up outside for the very first time, they knew it was the one. A spacious entry way with plenty of room for their abhorrent amount of shoes, a massive kitchen with an island, a cinema room adorning a plush, comfy sofa they’d no doubt put to good use, a huge master bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows backing onto acres of land that also belonged to them, 3 guest bedrooms all accompanied by an ensuite… the list went on. Even the driveway went underground, maximising the security as well as the high tech gates and private road. It was also a perfect distance from the hospital and residential home Emilia worked at and Enfield, only a 20 minute drive to work each morning for them both. It couldn’t be more perfect.

“Bienvenido a su casa, mi amor,” Emilia hollered out, receiving a celebratory ‘wooooo’ from her boyfriend as they drove down the ramp into the garage where Emilia’s car already resided. The engine turned off and so began their final trip of boxes into the house, piling them high in the foyer, “they can be dealt with tomorrow”. 

“Wait, bebe, keep your shoes on... come outside,” Dele gestured his head towards the big entrance door. He walked over to set his phone up on the edge of a few of the boxes still outside the house. “What the fuck are you doing, Del?” Emilia questioned before he squashed her and pulled her over into him, catching a candid photo of the two of  them, her bright eyes lighting up the photo as she giggled into his side with their new house behind them. 

He went and retrieved his phone off the boxes and showed her the photos, looking at their matching yellow and black joggers she forgot they were even wearing, completely unable to fight the warm feeling spreading through her chest as she looked at the capture of her own pure happiness and the unmistakable look of sheer love in Dele’s eyes gazing down at her. The joggers made up the photo. She had convinced him to wear them by claiming she’d already packed away all of his bottoms and since they’d just arrived in the post, it made most sense for him to just wear them rather than rooting around a box for a different pair. After protesting a few times once his girlfriend also put hers on, saying it looked like they were wearing a uniform and part of a moving company, he secretly loved it. 

-

Lying tangled together atop of the mattress on the floor, having successfully christened the house with a takeaway, a bottle of prosecco and a symphony of moans, Dele tore his eyes away from the sparkling sky that hung above them, visible from the enormous windows surrounding him, to grab his phone. With a quick glance down to see his girlfriend, best friend, housemate, still asleep on his chest, he opened up Instagram and selected two photos: the one of them laughing with the house behind and another one of them smiling and posing at the camera. He added the caption ‘Welcome to our new home 🏡 Got more room for our matching gear now 🤪’ and hit post, ready for the text from Eric calling him whipped. But when he was in his new home, with the love of his life in his arms about to begin the serious part of their life together, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

[shy-magpie]

RQG 155

Wherein there are unexpected visitors. Live blog under the cut

Pre episode babbling:  there really wasn't any way quarantine was going to last as long as the dungeon crawl, and (for all I joked about it) I really am satisfied with what we got. That was a lot of backstory and character moments in a short amount of time. Now we have a kobold, a mysterious attack on the inn, and an episode title referencing dragons? Nice consolation for them almost certainly being forced out of the basement or having plot come to them. Please be Skraak? Please be Skraak either trying to rescue them or at least be here as an ally? Oh well time to hit play: Weird energy? That’s promising Inevitable locked in a Cel(l) joke Zolf needs to be nicer about the Kobolds Alex needs tell us if this is Skraak or not before Hamid gets the blame Skraak(?) Just unlocked the trap door Nice outfit Alex, is it our Skraak? It seems to be Zolf wants Skraak to join them in quarantine. Cel doesn't see why to bother when Skraak's been in contact with hundreds of Kobolds Skraak gestures for them to leave and Zolf is going to be force the issue. This will go over well. Beats his defense by 1 Hamid is trying to play peacemaker again. Really Zolf? Couldn't have calmly refused to leave and explained through the door? I know you are under stress but you are low charisma, not stupid. Love you Cel, Skraak has been speaking to varying degrees since "My Liege" Hamid tries to explain, Zolf speaks over him to say they didn't explain because they forgot. Hamid apologizes to Skraak. Skraak starts to leave. Azu backs Zolf in preventing him from leaving. Skraak is subdued by Zolf & Azu Skraak is locked in with Hamid? No Zolf has some limits thank goodness. He did call Skraak one of them.  Bound but not gagged as Hamid apologizes. Skraak points out that he just has to wait for the rest (of his team?) Skraak "monitor"ed them!?! Holy... I was merely comparing the situations, did he actually scry and see them held by a human in a small space underground beneath a trap door disguised by a table? If he thinks Wilde is their Shoin then how many pieces is he going to be in when Zolf gets out? Kobold lore please! Hierarchy is important and it was "considered a good idea to keep track of the saviors". Skraak is sarcastic in his tone when he uses the term and it sounds like at least Hamid & Azu object the instant they hear it, possibly others. Cel makes a pitch for quarantining the whole inn. Wilde is in the cupboard Zolf asks about the kobold numbers and makes some unnecessary remarks about the village & Jasper in particular being lost as he writes off Japan. Zolf is far too relatable for some who needs to stand the flame down before someone takes it personal. Deciding you've already doomed yourself along with everything you care about is a crappy way to avoid panic in the face of uncertainty. Cel tries to call him on it, he switches to "everyone else is infected and it will be our job to fight them". Scary thing is, while in the long term it would be a suicide mission, with their combined abilities they could make a serious dent in the numbers. Hope they are aware of the Hiroshima comparison if this is leading to calling for a air strike on Japan. They explain what little they know to Skraak who insists none of the Kobolds were sick but may not understand the symptoms. Possible kobold immunity? Gonna be annoyed if something Shoin did protected them. Skraak seems to be saying that no new people were exposed since his party of 7 followed the route of the party. Zolf wants to send them back under Skraak's guard to prevent any more coming for them. And they're back. Cel points out its better Skraak came since the kobolds didn't know to implement quarantine. They go upstairs. They form a phalanx and draw spear against the party when they don't see either Hamid or Skraak. Alex & Ben are doing the "these lines are already written we have but to speak them" routine while Bryn points out Alex doesn't get to sound like that when he's the one doing it. Very Hamid, if you know how this is going to play out and don't like it, just make another choice. Initiative and a lot of dice. Grapple rules. Not clear where Cel is/if they got grappled but it sounds like Zolf did and is throwing them off so he can check on the inn keeper. Hamid runs upstairs and every one of them kneels like Skraak did at their first meeting. Helen & Bryn both sound distressed. Should have cleaned up that unreadable little ficlet I made of Hamid going bad because he didn't know how to handle Kobold worship and accidentally took over Japan because he thought autonomy meant respecting their decision to look to him as their leader. The innkeeper is bound but fine. Zolf unties him and looks for Wilde. "Wilde is also bound and... Has a look best described as "the bleep? "" Zolf is a stress cooker and Barnes updates Hamid is flustered and embarrassed which buys him some small grace from Skraak who explains Hamid is "the biggest dragon here" Cel: Also you could introduce the concept of democracy. Eh skip em straight to anarcho communism if you ask me. Group decision meetings rather than just vote for the head dragon Hamid tries to side step a bit by suggesting they explain the situation and asks for their names. Hope Alex thought to name all seven before the cast does.  Siggif the kobold might be pushing it. "Hamid the polite tyrant"-Lydia Break Alex skips them to "a large dinner" cooked by Zolf who got a nat 20 on how good it is. Cel speaks draconic. Neither Zolf nor Azu can make out the difference in their names. Because Alex is like that: didn't want to come up with 7 names, did want to block anyone else naming them. Bryn however has all 6 names and is going to give Azu & Zolf their translations. They aren't interested in the rest of the party and "insist on maintaining a guard phalanx around Hamid at all times". Helen points out this is Bryn's fault. Yeah he's been playing with Alex long enough to know "King of the Kobolds" would come back to bite him. Hamid should be embarrassed. Hamid is sat at the head of the table by the Kobolds. Skraak: it'll pass eventually Zolf: good Aw Cel asks about traditional kobold food and Skraak has to struggle to remember. (Cel seems disappointed meal worm burgers would be poisonous to non kobolds) Zolf is a grumpy boy Long story short it seems to be a controlled risk: no contact off the island; no reason to believe the kobolds are infected Kobolds might be immune Oh screw Shoin (sent waves of Kobolds as dungeon monsters) Zolf doesn't think that the level of contact the Kobolds had with infected adventurers without being infected is proof since they don't know how the infection is passed or activated. Hamid says they shouldn't rely on it but its reason to hope. Zolf needs to remember that team moral is a thing and quit taking things from Hamid especially in a way that could piss off their new housemates. Thank you Azu! Hamid is not stupid! You can say there is reason for hope and still be careful Hamid calls him on jumping down his throat at the slightest provocation, reminds him they talked about this and that trying to stay positive is not a crime. God it's weird relating to both sides of this argument. My bias is towards Hamid as being right, but Zolf is so relatable. You have any idea how hard it can be not to snap at some of these kids they are setting themselves up for heart break when they talk about school in the fall or hug piles at cons? Thank you Cel Zolf is going to leave and sit on the coast behind the inn because he considers the quarantine broken not expanded. Backing out of an unproductive conversation, especially one were others have pointed out you are being harmful is valid, giving into "burn it all" moods is not. Hamid moves to stop him because he gets that the inn is now their cell Wilde calls him back and says he was building to them talking to the borb. So there is a reason he's the boss. Zolf declares he wants some time not thinking about this, which is what he should have done several paragraphs ago. Ffs this can not be the first time he's had it strike hot/destructive instead of cold/immobilizing; it sucks but you don't let yourself make any permanent decisions, stay away from the breakables and try not to talk to much, it passes. Cel suggests he go to one of the upstairs rooms instead, he accepts the redirect with ill grace but does accept it. Barnes has pointed out that locking everyone in a small box makes things worse not better before. Aw did Alex not like the fandom begging for the platonic version of the lock em in a closet until they sort out their feelings trope? Azu: I thought we could make friends Cel: he seems quite opposed to that Azu: I feel like he'd be a really good friend but not very friendly if you know what I mean Cel:we I know he hasn't been at all friendly Azu: you're friendly! Cel: well thank you, I do try Azu: I think you are my friend Cel: I am so honored! Thank you so much Azu! That's delightful Carter declares Cel the only friendly one because he is grumpy about Azu stepping on him, stopping him from breaking quarantine, and drank all the good stuff. Barnes suggests they start fresh in the morning. Skraak explains the kobolds are expecting Hamid to step into Shoin's role as tyrant just one they like. Skraak: even if they know you're not a tyrant, neither they nor me will be abandoning you because that's how Kobolds work. Good Hamid is taking this seriously Oh no pressure Skraak The most chill inn keeper in the world Skip to lunch time Zolf is still making himself scarce, which is not the worst way to handle it  dawning on you THAT YOU TRIED TO DESTROY A RELATIONSHIP YOU VALUE BECAUSE YOU WERE IN A MOOD Bryn makes the "he's secretly infected" joke. Bryn spotted the veins in discord avatar thing and Alex sounds so pleased Wilde is fine, stop asking Oh really we needed that insight in how Wilde thinks Brorb on the table Cel asks for a list of stuff to make into a Brorb access device. Between their bags of holding they have enough stuff for them to make do. Azu seeks out Zolf while Hamid & the Kobolds help Cel. No strike that she waits until someone needs to grab him for the Brorb interview. Alex! Ending on Azu finding Zolf staring out the window.

#RQG spoilers #Rusty Quill Gaming #long post #RQG 155 #RQG season 4 #live blog thingy

[arcanemoody]

Gotham Secret Santa

Title: Songbook

Author: arcanemoody Tags: Season 5, post-S05E07: Ace Chemicals, Bickering Like an Old Married Couple, Referenced Past Trauma, Pre-Slash, Developing Relationship, 78prm, Happy Ending Summary: Whatever Ed needs, he can have. Oswald isn’t sure how he can make that any clearer.

For @ckatattack for the @gotham-secret-santa. I hope you like it!

--

Oswald sorted bolts at his ally’s behest. He helped push the tables together in the library, cleared the combined space so that his partner could work on the engine of the submarine while maintaining a clear view of each schematic. All while humming to himself and emptying boxes of scrap on the side table designated for his work; filing bolts, screws, and other detritus into separate piles and compartments for easy retrieval.

Contrary to the accusations Edward liked to throw at him, he hadn’t intended for his old friend and enemy to be doing the majority of the work -- conceptualizing, working from schematics, redesigning schematics. Oswald himself found none of this intuitive, and had hoped by making himself scarce, Ed's progress could continue uninterrupted. His 10th-grade shop teacher had said once, with a screwdriver in his hand, Oswald Cobblepot was essentially a gremlin. He couldn’t even wire a lamp from a kit; couldn’t sand or carve the blocks used to make a simple standing clock. And his lack of technical acumen was matched only by his inability to commit to physical labor. A submarine was seriously outside his expertise. Seeing to their cargo and procuring the niceties and basic needs his colleague eschewed in favor of managing his labor was much more his speed. He checked on (and added to) their pile of treasure. He made sure Ed had decent food and untainted water. He sorted bolts. He worked very, very hard to tamp down any indignity he felt in each task.

"Are you humming Dinah Shore?"

It took a moment for him to realize that Ed was addressing him. "What?"

"That song. What are you humming?"

Oswald shook his head, slightly dazed. "I-I don't know. It's just something I remembered… maybe from one of my mother’s records? Put it in a box, tie it with a ribbon—'

“...would surely fill the deep blue sea,” Ed finished in his gentle tenor. “That's Dinah Shore.”

“Is it?” Oswald shrugged. “Huh. Well, if you're that desperate for me to not sing it, I think I must have the actual record somewhere.” Ed’s brow furrowed.

“78RPM? Red label? Columbia logo?”

“I think so.”

“That‘s my record, Oswald!” he shouted, taking a large step forward.

His brain froze up in the way it tended to do nowadays any time Ed leveled an accusation at him, grappling with whether it was warranted and whether the vehemence required a match in tone. This did not. He took a deep breath.

“Technically speaking, it’s my record. I bought it.”

“Yeah, along with the rest of my records, my books and my clothes,” Ed shot back. “Well, excuse me for wanting you to feel at home when you got out of Arkham!”

The lot at the police auction had been purchased through an intermediary -- the same intermediary that made a hefty donation to the policemen's union under the name of the Van Dahl living trust. Oswald had known that if the GCPD had felt free enough to use his name to trap Edward into a confession, they would probably be vindictive enough to refuse his name on a purchase order. 

"And anyway, since you left them all at the manor, I'd say that still makes them mine.”

“Technically speaking,” he replied, mimicking Oswald’s earlier tone. “I didn't leave.” “You certainly weren't living there when I got back!” The air in the house had been stale the day he and Fries forced the front door open. Only the kitchen had maintained its normal, spotless, lived-in atmosphere, due to Olga’s continued employment, salary operating on an automatic deposit. The rest had fallen into a cluttered disrepair that illustrated the descent of Riddler’s madness.

“I wasn't not living there.”

“Of course not. You were on the run. Well, you were 'not living there' just enough that I gave Ivy your room.'

“No you didn’t.” Ed’s statement was dismissive rather than outraged. Not an accusation; a fact. Confirming that he had evidence to back up his claim. 

“How do you know?” Oswald asked, curious. 

“Because when I went there in March, my room was as I left it.”

March. 

Two months before Sofia had been taken out for good.

When Riddler had broken him out of Arkham, the purple panel coat with the fur trimmed collar  (flattened now and in desperate need of dry cleaning) had been slung across the passenger seat of the truck. The coat he had left in Ed’s apartment after Galavan’s murder, the coat he’d subsequently gotten back after the GCPD delivered the lot from the auction. He had been too preoccupied at the time to question its presence or how Ed might have retrieved it when Oswald himself had changed the locks a year earlier. 

“You broke into my house!” “It was hardly breaking in — the windows weren’t even locked,” he paused at Oswald’s shocked expression. “I never did it when you were home. Just after you were arrested and, later, when you were squatting at Falcone’s place.”

“Right, because that makes it better! What were you even doing there?”’

“Looking for my things, mainly. I wore the same suit for months and it wasn’t like I had a lot of loose change to throw around, even with Lee’s help.” “So you turned to house breaking. How clever of you.”

“One house. And I didn’t take anything that wasn’t already mine.”

‘Just as before.’ Oswald flinched at the thought, turned away. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, refrained from upturning the table with all of the bolts he’d sorted. One could afford to pick one’s battles during a long-form escape attempt. .

“Well you can go back for your precious record collection any time you like! If the front door is still on the hinges, I’ll even loan you my key.”

Said key disappeared from his keyring two days later, around the time Oswald found the library work space empty.

-- He did not turn up to sort bolts, shuffle schematics or retrieve provisions for Edward the next day. 

Or the next day. 

He arranged trades. He drank wine on Barbara’s sofa, listening to her talk through the physical transformations of her second trimester and Lee Thompkins’ warnings about high heels being a fall risk and, therefore, a risk to the fetus. 

“As if I would ever fall,” she scoffed. 

He refrained from stating the obvious, pouring himself another glass to avoid grinding his teeth.

On the third day, he turned up to an empty room. He sat waiting in the empty library long into the evening. The sun was setting, filling the room with an orange glow when a member of his security team turned up, an anxious expression on their face. 

“Boss.”

“Where is he?”

-- First Bank of Gotham. A historic granite and lime building measuring half a city block on the edge of the industrial sector on the north side.

The Court of Owls had done a good job of hiding their centuries-worth of dirty work in plain sight. Post-No Man’s Land “restructuring,“ the alley where he and Edward had made their bloody escape two years earlier was on the edge of Firefly’s territory, frequently disputed by Fries’ minions staking a claim. The odds had been in Firefly’s favor recently and Bridgit, to Oswald’s surprise, allowed him to pass through with barely a nod of encouragement. 

“String Bean entered through the southwest staircase. My scouts say he’s been there a while,” she lifted her mask, giving him a pointed stare. “You’ve got an hour, Pengy.”

Oswald nodded, leaving his guards under his former housemate’s watchful eye (and flamethrower). This was Firefly being sentimental. He knew it wouldn’t last long if they overstayed their welcome. 

There were more stairs than he remembered. Each floor opened onto a circular hall of doors with the door knobs either broken or missing, papers and files scattered, the mundane facade of an centuries-old evil organization that still needed three floors of pencil pushers to move their assets and occasionally serve as cannon fodder. Oswald remembered their holding cells being on the sixth floor, close to the roof. The trip to the ground level had been a whirlwind of improvised carnage -- guards, personnel, people in uniforms, people in office wear, he and Ed and tore through everyone on their way out, before crashing onto the pavement outside, covered in the blood of violent rebirth.

He found Edward on the fourth floor, door ajar on what had once been a holding area, dilapidated desks and disabled security gates, loose wires where key panel locks had once been. Long legs folded into a too small office chair, eyes downcast, his friend’s visage brought a lump to his throat.

“Reliving old memories?” Oswald asked, annoyed even as the fear and agony he’d been holding in check all day melted from him.

Ed didn’t look up.

“Edward?”

Another long moment passed before he finally spoke. 

“I found my overcoat,” he said, gesturing at the pile of green plaid slung over the crook of one arm and draped over his lap. Nearly two years in dark storage, no doubt covered in mildew, dust mites, and other unspeakable things. 

“Were you looking for that recently?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I hadn’t even thought about it, or this place in quite some time. I was looking for scrap steel for the outer panels, maybe some extra supplies... I took a notion once I realized where I was. Have I been gone long?”

“Six hours.” Eight, though Ed didn’t need to know just how early Oswald had turned up to the library.

“I couldn’t find any of your stuff. Or anything that looked like it might be yours. Sorry.”

Oswald did his best to contain his reaction, that Ed had done something thoughtful. For his sake. He winced against the ripple of familiar warmth, butterflies. Things he could not afford in the midst of a long-form escape attempt.

“It doesn’t matter. Are you ready to go now?” 

Ed nodded, walking half a step behind as they descended back down the stairs.

--

“How long were you their prisoner?” He asked, after they had crossed the perimeter, doubling back twice to avoid whatever shadows Ed seemed positive were following them. The sun had long since set and what little light they had was from the security teams flanking them, throwing long shadows on the broken pavement.

“Before you arrived?” Ed shrugged. “A few weeks maybe? I was interrogated before they put me in the cage. It was difficult to keep track but not impossible. It wasn’t like Arkham -- their  objectives involved keeping me alive. Though what keeping me alive meant in a city they wanted to destroy is anybody’s guess.”

Probably holding his sage intellect in storage for future endeavors, as Barbara had. Oswald felt angry on his old friend’s behalf as well as himself. He hadn’t been interrogated -- just sedated, stripped, and thrown in a cell. For the formerly missing mayor of the city, it was beyond insulting. 

Ed wasn’t finished.

“They gave me haloperidol so they could question me. That was bad. I was still detoxing at first -- that was worse.”

“From what?”

“Amphetamines, mostly. And whatever psychotropics Tabitha gave me. Withdrawal symptoms ideally shouldn’t last as long as those did. I tapered off to avoid complications with my heart muscle, adrenal glands...”

Oswald held his breath.

Following Riddler’s progress after his death had been difficult from the distance of Ivy’s greenhouse hideaway in Bludhaven. Even after returning home, tracking headlines and articles stopped at a certain date, bleeding into coverage of the mayor’s disappearance. One of those articles included a grainy shot of Ed leaving a press conference at city hall, face a mask of composure, but for the downward cast of distressed brown eyes in rubbed gray newsprint.

He knew Ed had tripled his original kill count in less than two months. And that he’d kept the authorities on the run right up until Jim Gordon decided handing him over to a cabal with designs on child abduction and mass murder was a charming notion. That Ed himself had crossed that threshold virtually without a fight.

“...why?”

“I wasn’t sleeping.”

“Uppers tends to do that--”

“I didn’t want to sleep,” his tone took on a sharp edge and he was glaring at Oswald again. “I don’t even know why you’re asking me. You know exactly how long I was there. You went to Jim first. You always go to him first.”

That jab… felt oddly personal. Oswald wondered what he was missing in that accusation— the narrowed gaze and the resentful pinch to his mouth. Never mind that Jim Gordon was the one who arrested and subsequently reported the “Riddler’s” escape and Ed, a forensic investigator, should have known the importance of following clues.

“If I could gauge what Jim knew, I had a bead on what the rest of the GCPD knew and I could plan accordingly. So, yes, I went to him. And he lied to me and I knew it -- just like I always know when he lies to me. The man has a terrible poker face.”

“So do you.”

“So stop playing with me,” he said, choking up. Having his own methods questioned was galling. And it wasn’t as though his talent for shallow subterfuge hadn’t fooled him once— back when Ed cared about him and a blind spot was established. Memories that brought a salty weighty to the back of his throat and behind his eyes. “Did you even find out ‘who runs Gotham?’”

The question was flippant, almost cruel. Ed’s answer was not.

“That and more,” he replied, somber, almost pensive; enough to deflate Oswald’s ire. 

“Well. Good for you, then.”

“There are things they told me,” he said, serious now, neither chiding nor angry. “...I can’t talk about it. Not yet.”

Oswald kept his eyes on the dark path ahead, tried not to think about what could be worse to talk about than his anguish over the deaths at Haven or the almost blissful oblivion of his first murders. A distant part of his brain reminded him that it could be still another play, but he had seen Ed devastated enough over time to recognize truth from fiction.

“Okay,” he nodded. 

“Things that involve you.”

“I understand. Save it if you want, Ed. You can tell me whenever you want to or hang onto it forever. I don’t care.”

The walk back to the library seemed longer than before. Oswald was surprised that Ed continued to shadow him even as the streets (what had once been streets) diverged and he headed in the direction of city hall.

“Don’t disappear again.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You’re not capable of scaring me!” he said. Patently untrue and Ed knew it, too. “Anyway, I thought you might have gone to the manor.”

“I tried that first,” he replied, producing his keyring from the pocket on his boilersuit. “Yesterday.”

“And?”

“I want to say the front door is still on the hinges, but I couldn’t get more than a few yards away to look. Nature seems to have taken back a good portion of your father’’s estate and... some of it was not happy to find me there.”

“Ivy. Well, it’s good to hear that she's kept up her hobbies,” he laughed, breathlessly. Guilt was rare and pulsed dully in the same pained spot in his stomach where heartbreak loved to dwell. The teenage plant maven had kept Oswald company when he had wanted no one near him and he’d rewarded her generosity of spirit with contempt and vitriol. Forgiveness was, as ever, too high a price to ask for. He’d have to settle for just knowing she was alive. 

“Hang on to the key, anyway. We may need it eventually.”

If they ever went back (and if Ivy killed him on sight), Ed would still need to get inside the house.

—

After the bolts and the sonar, after Penn’s arrival and subsequent dispatch, aborted departures and new arrivals and scrambling to recover what they could from the bottom of the river, they managed to fight through the vegetation and rehome the manor.

Oswald arrived with lunch one afternoon and found a 78rpm in a battered paper sleeve on the dining room table. He reached out to touch it, wondering briefly if it was a trick of his remaining eye.

“Ed?” he called out. 

“I found your record,” Ed said, closer than he’d initially guessed, initially in his blind spot and then moving over to his left side. No longer disputing ownership. “Not here. It turns out the library’s music archives weren’t completely depleted.”

Oswald smiled, turning the record over, noting the red label, the Columbia logo.

“Do we still have a working turntable?”

Ed smiled, amused, offered an arm to guide him.

“Back here.”

It took more than a few breaths to blow the dust off both record and player, more than a few minutes to turn the crank on his father’s old gramophone without overwinding, and finding the appropriate place to drop the needle. The voice that warbled out was familiar in a way that conjured images of his mother’s living room, frying onions in the kitchen, the sharp bite of paprika and heavy salt in the air… none of which echoed Ed’s place in his mind. 

“This isn’t Dinah Shore.”

“No, it’s Doris Day,” he replied, a hint of amusement breaking through what, no doubt, had to be a heavy sense of injustice (Ed’s impeccable brain turning on him yet again). “I got the song and the label right but the vocalist wrong. Such an obvious detail to miss.”

Oswald shook his head, reaching out to take his partner’s other arm, squeezing lightly.

“It’s an easy mistake,” he replied, his non-bandaged eye focused on his dearest friend’s shifting expression; dark eyes misty, a hint of a smile. “No worries, my friend.”

Oswald watched Ed swallow, feeling an answering squeeze on his arm. The two of them leaned against each other, swaying, almost in a dance. Oswald hummed. -- A/N: The song Oswald sings is “Put ‘Em in a Box, Tie ‘Em With a Ribbon,” sung by Doris Day. Ed’s thinking of “Love That Boy” sung by Dinah Shore (and actually misremembers it with a lyric from “Mad About Him, Sad Without Him”). Both were released by Columbia in 1947, Doris is singing about taking romance and chucking it in the river, while Dinah is still in the bloom of loving someone from afar, alternately delighted and miserable.

#gotham secret santa #nygmobblepot #my writing #my fic #happy solstice

[nightblightowl]

About what happened in the last 4 days

So back in April, I’d agreed to move into a townhome with 2 friends. The landlord of this home is someone me and my family have known very well for a long time. I babysat his boys for nearly 7 years.

Around that same time, he told us that the house needed lots of work, and that he would be starting renovations soon. He also promised that the man and the two boys living there would be out a month before the move to make sure the house was ready.

We talked about this for nearly 4 months, and every time I asked for updates, things were apparently going really well. We had seen the house twice in those 4 months. It was full of the other guys stuff and a little run down and dirty but nothing that a good scrub and tlc can’t fix.

When we signed the lease, I had added an agreement that the floors, ceiling tiles and windows needed to be repaired and the house painted and cleaned BEFORE we moved in.

Come the day of the move, we’re all packed up and ready to go, we call the landlord to ask him if they’re ready to receive us/ meet us at the house. He said yep everything is great, you’re good to go.

We get there, with our 27ft truck full of stuff for 3 people, booked only for the day..... only to see that the previous tenant is still there. And the moment he saw my dad walk towards the house, he booked it, drove away.

We walk into the house, my landlord is standing there like there is nothing wrong.

We look around in disbelief. NOTHING has been done. Nothing. In fact, the house looked worse than the last time we saw it. We were so in shock we couldn’t even bring ourselves to cry.

Instead of simply moving in, we found ourselves stuck in the middle of a full cleanup and renovation.... done by ourselves and our parents, while the landlord just stood there. We picked up brooms and furniture that was ours, we dumped everything outside and swept the biggest area so that at least we had a clean space to pile up our boxes. There was garbage on the floor, the fridge was full of food, the cabinets were full of stuff and covered in a layer of DIRT.

The floors were barely finished, half the stairs were bare. It smelled like cigarette smoke and alcohol. The ceilings were covered in old cobwebs.

My room wasn’t finished at all. For 2 days I slept in my friends room, which barely had space for 1 person with all the crap piled up everywhere.

4 days in, we’ve only managed to repaint and clean and repair the kitchen and living room space, but it’s finally starting to look like a home. The landlord refuses to hire people to do this shit. He had his youngest son doing some repairs, and he’s never done handiwork in his life. The poor kid was fuming and constantly apologizing to me on behalf of his parents.

The landlord was getting so much shit left and right from me, my housemates and our family members that he left and came back drunk an hour later.

We told him that this was an immediate breach of our agreement. As such, all the repairs still need to get done, and we got a months free rent and 2 months free hydro as a result. So that’s one upside. But there are some repairs he’s not willing to throw money at because he deems it not ‘necessary’.

So much more happened, but some things are looking better now. I’m going to bed

Have some pictures:

#personal #house problems #bad landlords #fucking hell #moving in #long post

[minhoslut]

♡ summary: Y/N is a fairy in a world of magic hating humans, who moves into a house with seven young men after being kicked out of her old dorm. She learns about all their secrets while hiding hers for as long as she can. Lots of parties, games, sex and maybe even love.

♡ pairing: ot7 x fem!reader, fem!reader x various idols

♡ chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | ? |

♡ series warnings: alcohol consumption, blood mention, drug use, mxm, fxf, threesome, foursome, orgy, swearing, anxiety, depression, past trauma, past abuse

♡ series genre: fluff, smut, slight angst

♡ series rating: R

♡ word count: 2474

♡ posted on: AO3

♡ chapter two: housemates

You could feel butterflies in your stomach as the voices gained volume. You took a deep breath and stepped onto the main floor. There were seven beautiful men staring at you as you walked towards the kitchen, fourteen eyes watching your every move. “Hi, I’m (Y/N) the new housemate, nice to meet you all.” You offered a simple greeting feeling out the atmosphere of the new people.

“Hey, I’m Jimin.” The boy with black hair  said, “I’m Jin.” Said pink hair, “Taehyung’s the name.” Blue hair, “You can call me Hoseok.” Blondish-red hair. “I’m Yoongi.” Lavender. “Jungkook.” Dark red. “And Namjoon but we’ve met.” And silver. These guys were a rainbow of colours, easy to tell apart at least, not that you could say anything, since your own hair was white. They all seemed nice, offering small smiles with their greetings.

“So, do you want help putting away groceries?” “Sure, you can learn where everything goes!” Jungkook said, moving over to the large stack of grocery bags. He handed you stuff while you put it in the fridge, Jimin stacked cereal boxes into the cupboard, Taehyung shoved things in the second freezer. It’s nice to be part of this, comfortable.

With so many hands even the huge pile was sorted quickly and once it was, each boy eventually left to go to their own rooms. It was fairly late after all, 11ish by now, you’d arrived early evening and they had been gone for most of it. Eventually it was only you and Hoseok left in the kitchen.

“So, (Y/N), what brings you here?” Hoseok asks you, “Mm just needed a new environment, my old one wasn’t very, uh, good for me? And my family kicked me out a long time ago so…” “I didn’t mean to pry sorry.” He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Oh no don’t worry, I’m very open about my life and I don’t particularly care about not living with my family.” This was true, you had never really been one to hide things (other than you not being human) and your family could fuck off since they were so stupidly traditional.

“What about you guys, how did you all end up here?” “Well the place is Jins technically, left to him by his late grandmother. He was looking for other people to live in the house with him cause he hated being in such a big place alone, so he put out an ad and we all came across it one way or another. We’ve been living together for about 4 years now.” “That’s a long time, you guys must be really close.” “Yeah it’s a lot of fun and they are all good people.”

You felt a little bit bad about lying to Hoseok and the others, but you could never tell what a Humans reaction would be. You brush some of your hair out of your face and smiled at Hoseok. “I’m gunna retire for the night, talk to you tomorrow?” “Yea sure, night!” With that you headed up the two sets of stairs and went into your bedroom.

They seem like nice guys, it might be hard to sneak into a 4 year friendship though… You changed into a fluffy pink nightgown and dramatically cast yourself onto your bed. All seven men were extremely attractive and you couldn’t wait for your chance to tease them. You had a ‘bad’ habit of not caring how much of your body people saw, you heard the words ‘slut’ ‘whore’ and ‘prostitute’ quite often in your old town, but you just didn’t care. In your opinion bodies were there to be viewed and touched when given consent, your own was no exception. Humans were silly for trying to decide what was appropriate and what was too revealing, a body is a body and only becomes sexual when you decide it is.

You liked to dress in many different styles, whether it be silks and lace or leather and vinyl, you wore whatever you pleased. You often wondered if this was why the fairies from your colony refused all human contact and had subsequently kicked you out when you had initiated contact. Humans may be stupid but they were anything but boring. You liked watching the way they pushed themselves in work or pleasure, even though they had such short life spans. It often confused you that they didn’t take more risks in life when they could.

Fluffing your pillows, you plugged in your phone and turned off the lights with a simple flick of your hand, deeming it a safe time to use some simple magic. If pained you to live like a human sometimes because they always had to do such trivial things that were much simpler with magic, but you couldn’t risk being exposed so you had to refrain. Settled in your bed you closed your eyes and let sleep take you into it’s warm embrace.

Sun was coming into your window when you woke up early the next morning, you never slept for very long, you didn’t need to. You stretched your arms and padded out of the room, on a mission for some cereal. No one else seemed to be awake, so you just grabbed a bowl and spoon and poured some cheerios for yourself. Sitting at the table, you ate slowly while  lazily scrolling through social media. Normally you would be blasting music and dancing with your old friends at the dorm.

Frowning, you tried to shake the unsettled feeling away, it still hurt that they had been so quick to give you up when they had found out. You had always had so much fun in the mornings with them and basically all the time really. Fuck them, they betrayed me after all. Tired of feeling bad you cleaned your dishes and walked out to the back deck, despite still being in your night dress.

It was a cool morning but the sun was shining and you took a deep breathe of fresh crisp morning air. The forest was calling your name so you began to wander the grounds, not caring about how you looked. The trees in the forest were tall and beautiful and you brushed your hands along them as you walked, connecting with them. The sound running water peaked your interest and you picked up your pace, heading in it’s direction.

Eventually you came to a clearing and you almost squealed in joy. There was a small waterfall that fell into a lake, the water clear and inviting. You had been secretly hoping there would be some kind of lake nearby since you were out in the forest area. You walked to the water's edge and crouched down, trailing your hands in the cool water. This is my new home, my new space. Overjoyed with your discovery, you couldn’t help but giggle happily and began to sing to the forest. “Lullaby of birdland, that’s what I~  always hear, when you sigh~ Never in my wordland could there be ways to reveal~ In a phrase how I feel~” It was a favourite of yours. Feeling better, you turned to head back to the house, walking slowly through the forest, glad to have found such a beautiful spot.

When you arrived back at the house, the boy with lavender hair, Yoongi? was sitting on the deck. “Good morning~” You called as you walked up to the deck. Yoongi seemed surprised to see you and somewhat shocked at your appearance. “You’re up early, where did you go?” “Oh just for a quick walk, and I always get up early.” “A walk… In your nightgown?” “Oh. I suppose so, well I’m headed in for some tea do you want any?” He shook his head, “I’m good.” He gestured to the cup of coffee beside him, you nodded and went in.

Namjoon was in the kitchen and seemed just as surprised when you entered through the deck door. “I went for a walk, yes in my pajamas.” You said before he could ask, he nodded in response and turned back to his phone. You gathered the necessary items for your tea, and boiled some water. “Oh! We were thinking about watching a movie tonight if you wanna join.” Namjoon said as he watched you stir your tea. “Yeah sure, sounds fun.” The two of you sat in a comfortable silence for while as you sipped your drink.

“Good morning~” The one named Taehyung sang as he entered the kitchen and started shuffling through the cupboards for breakfast. “Morning.” Both you and Namjoon replied. “So, (Y/N) how do you like it here so far?” Taehyung asked as he settled into the chair across from you with his bowl of cereal. “It’s a really beautiful place! I love the vibe it gives off, if that makes sense?” “I totally get you, this place has the perfect air to it. It’s the best!” You smiled at his enthusiasm, it was endearing and his own smile was contagious.

Excusing yourself, you headed back to your room to get dressed for the day. Some black high waisted skinny jeans, a white peplum top with flowers scattered on it and some silver diamond shaped earrings with a smaller gold diamond inside was the look you decided on after searching through your drawers. You spun around in the mirror and smiled before heading back downstairs.

The rest of the boys had made it down when you came down and gave you various greetings, which you happily returned. You appreciated their kindness when you had arrived just yesterday. You sat down on the couch beside Jimin and Jin, “So what do you guys usually do during the day?” “Play games, watch shows, generally lounge around, not very much honestly.” Jin answered tapping his chin, “When you put it that way we sound so boring!” Jimin complained, “We have a lot of parties too, but since it’s Tuesday it isn’t a good time for one.” You hummed in reply, giving a nod.

“I’m gunna play some games, who wants to join?” Jungkook announced, getting up. “I’m down, if thats ok?” You said, “Me too!” Jimin and Taehyung chorused. “Nice we can play a 2 vs 2 match in Smash!” The four of you headed to the den and played a quick game of rock paper scissors to decide teams, ending in you and Jungkook on one team and Taehyung and Jimin on the other. You played for hours and you didn’t stop laughing most of the time, except when you were super focused. You and Jungkook were constantly beating the other two and only lost once when Taehyung had attacked you with tickles so you couldn’t fight properly and ran off the map.

“Taehyung no fair!” Jungkook whined when he lost against the two of them. “S-sorry Jungkook.” You said between gasps, after Taehyung released you from his terrible tickling. “Don’t be they’re just sore losers!” “Are not! You guys are too good to be on a team!” Jimin argued. “Mad just cause you suck dick at Smash.” Jungkook said shaking his head before darting away from Taehyung who began to chase after him yelling, “Take that back!” You laughed at the two of them running around and stretched your legs from sitting for so long.

“Foods ready!” Hoseok called from the kitchen. Jimin and you got up, heading to the dinner table where everyone else, minus Taehyung and Jungkook who were running about outside now, were seated. You sat between Hoseok and Namjoon and served yourself some spaghetti. “Did you make this? It’s so good!” “I’m something of a chef, no need to praise me!” Jin said smirking. “He’s lying he loves the attention.” Yoongi cut in, causing the whole table to snicker. Jungkook and Taehyung finally joined you after everyone else had served themselves, and tucked in as well.

It was a lot of fun to eat dinner with them, teasing each other and discussing your winning streak, all smiles and happy moments. It was really nice and you were happy with your decision to move in. “So (Y/N), why did you go out for a walk in the woods barefoot wearing your nightgown?” Jimin asked. “When did you see that? Well, I wanted to go out to clear my head this morning and couldn’t be bothered to get changed or get shoes.” You shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, I guess that makes some sense, and I saw you coming back from my window, not in a weird way though.” You laughed at his hurried excuse, “It’s fine, not like I care. I don’t bother caring how others see me.” “That’s a good mindset to have.” Yoongi said nodding his head in approval, making you smile at him.

You insisted on washing the dishes after dinner, joined by Jungkook who was in charge of drying them. “We have to have a 1 vs 1 game sometime, you’re pretty good!” “You’re not so bad yourself, but I bet I could beat you.” “Oh yeah? We’ll see about that!” You both laughed and were soon finished cleaning up. “Movie time!” Jungkook called up the stairs. “Can they even hear you?” “They’ll hear me, promise.” Like he said soon the six others had joined you in the den.

“(Y/N) you pick, to celebrate your moving in!” Taehyung suggested, everyone gave their approval so you began your hunt through Netflix. “How about Insidious?” You suggested. The boys agreed to the dismay of a few of them. You adored horror movies, loving the thrill of watching the humans in them so frightened. Though you stayed away from any horror creature ones because they usually portrayed magical beings as inferior and awful, which was frankly disgusting in your opinion.

You were sat between Hoseok and Namjoon, which turned out to be quite an experience since Hoseok had his head buried in your shoulder for most of the movie, but you found it very cute. The other problem was Namjoon had his arm around your shoulders, he had stretched out part way through the movie and it was somewhat distracting, he smelled really good and you wanted to cuddle into him, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. When the movie ended, you apologized to Hoseok for picking a scary movie. He turned red and waved his hands, “It’s fine!! I don’t hate them, I just get easily scared!” You let it slide, but you were sure he didn’t like them.

You all went into your respective rooms after exchanging goodnights, and you quickly stripped out of your clothes. You pulled out a silk black slip that had lace on the neckline and a tiny slit on the side. Slipping it on, you threw your clothes back into your drawer and got into bed. It was fairly late and you were quick to fall asleep.

#bangtanhq #bts x reader #bts #bts polyamory #park jimin #kim taehyung #kim seokjin #kim namjoon #min yoongi #jeon jungkook #jung hoseok #everything is not what it seems

[hunterinabrowncoat]

Today is a Sunday, so I was at church this morning. I didn’t have much time to get ready before I was picked up, so I left the sheets that I’d put on to wash last night in the washing machine and texted my partner asking him to put them out to dry. And he did, which I’m thankful for.

But I am completely confident that, despite the fact that we share a bed and he also uses those sheets, if I hadn’t texted him, they would have stayed in the washer all day.

We had a few drinks last night, some friends and I, so there were a few glasses and bottles when I came down this morning. I left for church with a vague sense of hope that maybe it will occur to somebody else that they are also perfectly capable of taking them in to the kitchen to be washed up. By half past 7 in the evening, it evidently hasn’t occurred to anyone.

Yesterday I cleaned the bathroom. It hasn’t been done since we moved in a month ago and it took me a good hour or two. Being chronically ill, cleaning the bathroom yesterday meant that today I have been too tired to do much of anything. There is a significant pile of washing up on the side. I know it will still be there tomorrow, with a few more additions.

The other week I told my partner my friend was coming to stay on Friday, so the spare room - which is a jumbled mess because piles of boxes and bags remain unpacked - needed to be cleared before then. I know he has trouble remembering things and organising himself because he has ADHD, and I want to be as accommodating and understanding as I can be. So I gave him almost a week’s notice with a clear deadline, I offered to help, and I reminded him several times. On Tuesday he said he’d do it on Wednesday. On Wednesday he said he’d do it on Thursday. On Thursday he said he’d do it on Friday. On Friday he didn’t come home from work until 45 minutes before she was due to arrive.

This week I asked my partner if we could try and unpack and sort some more things in the spare room on Saturday, knowing that it’s the only day it will ever get done because he’s too tired after work on weekdays, and I am often out on Sundays. He agreed. When I reminded him at about 2pm, he headed to the living room and told me to come get him when I wanted to get started. He made a start at about 5pm. Almost all of the stuff still unpacked is his, so I cleaned the bathroom.

Almost every day since we moved in to this house, I have done some washing up. I don’t always manage to clear the dirty dishes completely, but I make a good dent. And almost every day I come to the sink and find it full of crockery and food and greasy water that’s backed up because the drain is blocked. So I clean it out and rinse whatever crockery is now covered in slimy residue, and put the drain cover back in place so that more food doesn’t go down the drain.

And I contemplate whether or not to message the group chat and ask my housemates to clear food out of the sink when they use it. To help with the washing up. To put the drain cover back when they’re done if they’ve removed it for some reason. To not leave sponges in the sink full of water because they’ll go rancid.

I don’t think it will make any difference. No message or reminder ever really does. And I don’t want them to think I’m a constant nag, or really pedantic, or anal about cleaning the house.

Because I’m so fatigued, and because it’s supposed to be my religious day of rest, I really wanted to just spend today... resting. So I haven’t really done anything. But it doesn’t feel much like rest because if I ever take a break, despite living with three other adults also perfectly capable of doing all the things I do, I know that I’m piling up more work for myself tomorrow.

Because unless I say or do something myself, those wine glasses will stay in the front room for days. The washing up will continue to pile up. The spare room will become a permanent dumping space that never gets sorted. The sheets will never get washed. The bathroom will never get cleaned.

As we were drinking last night, we watched some Steven Universe, and joked about what characters we were. A friend said she hates to admit it, but she relates hard to Pearl. My partner said there is more than one Pearl in our group. I know he meant me.

I shouldn’t be offended. It was all in good fun. But I know that’s how he and my friends probably see me... Pedantic. Anal. Perfectionist. Nagging. Condescending. Controlling. Everything has to be just so.

And it feels so unfair, so invalidating. Because I don’t need everything to be just so. I just want things to be mostly clean and tidy. I want to know that if I take one day off from doing an endless, ever-repeating list of chores, that other people will see what needs doing and pick up the slack. I don’t want to be the only person who notices that things need doing, and then does them.

And I’m tired. I want to be able to take a break and actually enjoy it without feeling stressed because every day that I don’t keep up with everyone else’s mess as well as mine, is another day of work piled up.

But I don’t have any faith at all that things will change. Because despite sending messages to our house’s group chat, despite bringing up all of these issues before, despite making rotas to delegate cleaning responsibilities, despite reminders, despite bending over backwards to try and make it as easy as possible for others to get it and for things to change...

Nothing ever does.

#personal #long post for ts #emotional labor #the mental load

[jenatwork]

So this started out in my head as a vaguely serious fic about Kouda’s parents and their expectations of his hero work versus the reality of being a hero in the city. But then I had some wine, and suddenly the idea of asshole housemates seemed like the funniest thing ever.

Dear Mom and Dad,

The letter was long overdue. He’d have preferred to e-mail, but his parents weren’t so great with technology. Grandpa was the only one who used the internet much, and that was mostly so he could watch the horse races that didn’t get broadcast on TV. Phone signal was never reliable out on the farm, and text messages could take hours to get through some days. Phone calls had a habit of cutting out, and that was assuming Kouda was feeling up to talking for that long.

So, letters had to do.

Kouda had a make-shift desk in his room, an old dining table shoved against the wall under the window, with cardboard box files stacked up at one end for any paperwork he took home. A desk lamp would use too much electricity and they were trying to keep the bills low, so sitting by the window meant he could make the most of the daylight.

Chewing on the end of his pen, Kouda thought back over the past month, trying to decide where to start his letter.

It’s been six whole weeks since I started as a support hero! Graduation feels like ages ago - so much has happened since then.

Shouji was the only one who’d fully inspected the share-house before they signed the contract. He’d shared pictures with the rest of them and told them it was fine. They should have known better than to trust Shouji ‘furniture is for the weak’ Mezuo.

“Out of five rooms, only one has a bed. Shouji, you said it was furnished!” Ojiro thumped down the last few stairs as Shouji and Sato brought in yet more boxes labelled ‘kitchen’. Shouji opened his box, while Sato left the room again.

“Don’t you all have futons?”

“Yes, we have futons. We also have aches and pains from fighting people on a near-daily basis and I, for one, would like to come home at the end of the day and collapse on to a beautifully supportive orthopaedic mattress.”

“I will fight you all for the bed.” Tokoyami added another box to the kitchen pile. “One by one or all at once, it doesn’t matter.”

“Tokoyami, you fell asleep on a pile of laundry once. You don’t need the bed.”

“Dark Shadow needs the bed.”

“Is Dark Shadow paying rent?”

“Dark Shadow has no comprehension of financial matters.”

“Then Dark Shadow doesn’t get a bed.”

While the three of them bickered, Kouda quietly took one of his boxes up the stairs, checking each room one by one. He found the bed on the third floor. Unfortunately, Sato had found it first.

“Uh...Dibs?”

Kouda took his box down to the floor below. Sato might have the bed, but he also had three flights of stairs to climb at the end of each day. He claimed a room, then went back down to the kitchen, where Shouji was apologising for the shortage of dining chairs.

“We could buy another chair. How much do dining chairs cost?”

Kouda rapped a fist on the doorframe to get their attention. He pointed upstairs, and signed Sato’s name.

“If Sato has the bed, he doesn’t get a chair,” Tokoyami announced. The other two looked at each other, and shrugged.

“Problem solved.”

Adjusting to life out of the dorms was strange at first, but we’re getting used to it. Doing our own cooking, cleaning and laundry - we’re all helping each other out and learning from each other.

“Tokoyami, why is my hero costume grey?” Ojiro held up his gi, still slightly damp.

“That could be a good look for you.”

“Why is your black T-shirt in the machine with my white uniform?”

“It was dirty. You didn’t have a full load.”

“You can’t mix dark clothes with white clothes in the washing machine!”.

“Is that so? I’ve never had a problem mixing my clothes in the wash.”

“All your clothes are darks!”

Living in a share-house means we share our meals, and it’s good to cook and eat together after a hard day’s work.

Shouji opened the cupboard door. The same cupboard he’d already checked three times.

“Sato, can you google ‘how to split one pack of ramen between five people’?”

“We just did grocery shopping two days ago!”

Kouda was busy measuring rice into the cooker. He tapped Sato’s shoulder and held up three fingers.

“Okay, so three servings of rice and a pack of ramen. That should cover all of us. What about meat? There should be some diced chicken in the fridge.”

Tokoyami appeared in the doorway, a juicebox in one hand.

“There’s no chicken left.”

“Tokoyami, you’re literally the smallest out of all of us, so how come you can eat more than any of us?” “I’m eating for two.”

Dark Shadow hovered over his shoulder, and stage-whispered in his ear. “Chicken?”

“No chicken.”

Shouji checked his pockets and pulled out a handful of coins.

“Sato, how much meat can we get for this much?”

Sato counted the coins.

“Two portions of chicken nuggets?”

Kouda checked his own pockets, and dropped some coins into Shouji’s hand.

“Three portions.”

“CHICKEN!”

“Dark Shadow, behave.”

Working as a support hero keeps me busy, but I’m meeting lots of new and interesting people. Last week I helped some other heroes to save a girl from a kidnapping, and her family were really nice to me afterwards.

Kouda was breathing heavily when he finally got back home, and he took a moment to lean against the inside of the door. Ojiro stepped into the hallway, in the middle of drying a pan with a tea-towel.

“Nakamura-san again?”

Kouda nodded, before bending down to unfasten his shoes.

“Kouda, I keep telling you to just take a different route home.”

Kouda made a series of gestures, while rolling his eyes.

“You did? So how’d she find you?”

He pointed over his shoulder.

“She was outside the house?” He nodded. “Oh, man, that’s rough. Is she still there?” He shrugged. Ojiro put down the pan he was drying, and called the other three housemates into the kitchen.

“Nakamura-san is still hassling Kouda. She found out where he lives.”

“Where we all live,” Sato countered, as Shouji threw up all six hands in frustration. “She makes me nervous.”

“Can we call the bar and make a complaint?” Shouji looked to Kouda, who shook his head.

“We already tried that,” Ojiro explained. “Since she’s not doing anything while she’s working for them, they said there’s nothing we can do. Kouda, if your agency tries to send you on any more jobs in the red light district, you have to say no! I don’t care how many rats and roaches there are for you to work with - you’re under-age! You shouldn’t be seeing the stuff that goes on in those bars.”

“I have an idea,” Tokoyami said. “But you won’t like it.”

They all looked at Kouda, who considered for a moment, then gestured for Tokoyami to explain.

“If she’s taken to following Kouda home, then we could invite someone else over to walk home with him.”

“Tokoyami, Kouda doesn’t need anyone to fight for him. And Nakamura-san isn’t violent, she’s just...affectionate.”

“Aggressively affectionate,” Shouji corrected.

“So we invite someone even worse.”

Three chairs scraped back from the kitchen table. Sato was already standing, so he couldn’t do the same, but he stepped back all the same.

“Nope.” “No, it’s not worth it.”

“But he would - “

“Tokoyami, we are not inviting Mineta into this house.” Ojiro’s tail twitched as he spoke. “Kouda, we’ll all go to the bar with you, when Nakamura-san is working, and we’ll have a talk with her. Explain to her that saving her from that gang was just part of your job, and that she’s a very nice lady but you just don’t see her that way.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

Ojiro took a deep breath, considering their options.

“Then we have to move.”

I’ve seen all sorts of new places all over the city. Every day is an adventure!

“Kouda, we’re definitely lost. No, don’t shake your head at me - look! Look at the little blue dot on the map. The dot is moving away from our apartment. That’s us, we’re the little blue dot. We are heading in the wrong direction. What do you mean, it loops around? The train does not loop. Trains go in straight lines, and this line is pointing the wrong way. Why did you pick this route? A cat? A cat told you which train to catch. Does the cat know how to use Google Maps? Because I do, and Google Maps says we’re heading in the wrong dir - what are you doing? Leave my phone alone! Why are you spinning the map? Don’t - wait, you can do that? So we’re heading east, not - Oh my god, Kouda, you have blown my mind, I did not know you could rotate the map like that! I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have - wait, was that our stop? That was our stop! We missed -”

I miss you both, and grandpa. I know you said you’d visit, but you really don’t have to - it’s a long trip and the trains aren’t cheap, and besides, I can come home and visit you soon.

“This place is like a pig-sty! When was the last time anyone mopped this floor?” Ojiro had broken out into a sweat. Kouda felt tired just watching him. “Guys, my parents are going to be here in less than two hours, why are there still cobwebs up there? Kouda, I thought you told the spiders to stay away!”

Tokoyami looked up from his seat on the kitchen counter, where he was flipping through a magazine.

“Kouda says the spiders have unionised and are threatening to stop catching flies if we remove their webs.”

Ojiro swept past him, his tail ‘accidentally’ knocking Tokoyami’s magazine out of his hands.

“Maybe if you cleaned the dirty dishes in your room, there wouldn’t be any flies in the first place.”

“Dark Shadow likes the ambience.”

“Dark Shadow’s a lazy slob.”

“Yes, he and I have had words about that.”

Ojiro shoved the broom into Tokoyamis’ hands.

“Sweep. Like your life depends on it. Because it does.”

In the doorway, Shouji wiped a feather duster over the lintel.

“Ojiro, the place is clean enough. And your parents are hardly going to inspect everyone’s bedrooms.”

“Yeah, that’s what they want you to think.” Having delegated the sweeping, Ojiro switched to spraying the kitchen surfaces with spray-cleaner. “But my father would find dust in an operating theatre, and and threaten to cut off the surgeon’s allowance for it.”

“You don’t have an allowance.”

“He’ll find something to cut off.”

“See, this is why I don’t invite my parents to visit.”

Kouda interrupted them all with a powerful sneeze. They all turned, startled, as he succumbed to a second, then a third.

“Too much dust?” Shouji asked. He nodded. “You should go upstairs out of the way.”

As he climbed the stairs, he heard Ojiro scolding Tokoyami once more.

“See? That’s how much dust has built up. You made Kouda sick.”

“I would never!”

“You would and you did. Clean, birdman, or I’m going to let my mother see your room.”

“Betrayal!”

But no matter how strange and new it all is, and no matter how far I am from home, I have my friends with me. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

The only light in Kouda’s room came from the streetlamp right outside his window. Downstairs, he could hear Sato rattling around in the kitchen, cleaning up his latest kitchen experiment. From the room across the hall, came the sound of Ojiro banging on the floorboards, annoyed by the sound of Sato cleaning up his latest kitchen experiment. From the room next to Kouda’s, Shouji’s meditation music filtered through the walls, as Shouji tried to drown out the sound of Sato cleaning up and Ojiro banging on the floorboards.

His futon was spread out at the very edge of his room, and he sat up, a pile of cushions between him and the wall. Tokoyami lay beside him, his head in Kouda’s lap.

“You lived underneath Shouji in the dorms in first year. Did he play his music so loud back then?”

“Thicker walls,” Kouda whispered. His fingers stroked slowly over the black fluff at the nape of Tokoyami’s neck.

“At least I’m not due at work until tomorrow afternoon.” Tokoyami stretched, and turned so that he could look up at Kouda. “How about you?”

“Morning shift.”

“That’s rough.”

They sat a while longer, as Ojiro left his room and went to knock on Shouji’s door to complain about the music.

“There is a way we could drown out the noise,” Tokoyami said, reaching out for Kouda’s free hand.

Kouda looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Really loud sex.”

Their laughter brought footsteps to Kouda’s door. They apologised profusely to Ojiro, promising they would try to go to sleep as soon as they could.

I miss you all, and I’ll try to write more frequently.

Love,

Kouji

#bnha #bnha fic #background boys #kouda kouji #tokoyami fumikage #shouji mezou #ojiro mashirao #sato rikido

[robustcornhusk]

we’re wanting to go on a longer bike ride this weekend: cool

i went looking for some of my bike gear .... and it’s just missing, less cool. 

lost: my nice bike shorts, my custom saddle bag & randonneuring bag, the mount for the bike computer, a pile of bungee cables, multiple tents, sleeping pads, picnic blanket, ...

and i can’t remember: was it in the box my mother was supposed to send to me and instead stuck in storage? did it get lost when when we moved from oldold apartment to old apartment? did it get stolen from old apartment? did it get lost in the move from old apartment to here? did it get stolen from here? have i just misplaced it?

since none of us drive we have permission from landlords to just use our spot as storage, great. but it’s 4 people: one person’s burning man stuff, one person’s old art, and two wannabe-bikey-camping people, just sorta piled. 

and we kept having well, it works well enough and we already have this box... ways to store things... but it’s decayed a lot, nothing really fits what it’s holding, ... a bunch of bike gear is scattered in a mismatched pile of boxes missing lids with outdated labels. it’s not even that it’s upsetting from an aesthetic standpoint, it’s upsetting because i can’t stack them on each other; i can’t see what’s inside; i can’t keep bugs out ... 

i did try to sort a bunch of it a few months ago, and at least i can reach all of it now, mostly, except that some stuff that was trash that my housemate claimed they get rid of is still there, burning-man housemate will never organize theirs because they don’t see the point ... and it’s not in the main room, so it never enters anyone’s mind (including mine), and i know it’s going to take a bunch of back-and-forth trips somewhere to get actual things to hold everything in a way that tessellates, and it’s going to be obnoxiously expensive, and i’m going to hate it if i do it by myself and i’ll hate having to deal with Unhappy Helpers if i do it with people.

but i guess at some point “replacing shit that i’m sure we have” and “did i misplace that or was it actually stolen?” will be more expensive and unpleasant.

#king midas is an ass #king midas has the ears of an ass

[analogical-trash]

Wands, Spells, and Emotions chapter 1 rewriten

summary: hogwarts au rewrite, this chapter virgil gets what they need for Hogwarts, virgil is trans in this fanfic but will be figuring that out later.   pairing: none right now we have to wait see what happens ;) Warnings: none Words: 1520

ao3 wattpad

“Anny darling those robes are way too big for you. You can’t wear baggy clothes all the time you're going off to school you need to make a good impression” her mother grabbed some more fitted robes and handed them to anny. She added them to the pile in her arms. “Also anny you are a lady you need to wear a skirt put those pants back” Anny had put the pants in the bottom of her pile hoping her mother won’t see them. Anny sighed going back to the changing room she put on the outfit that her mom wanted. The robes and shirt felt too tight and the skirt was way too short for anny liking. She wasn’t a fan of showing off that much skin. She really wanted to just put the pants back on but she put on a half smile and walked out to where her mom was waiting. “Oh anny you look beautiful” her mom cooed pulling her into a hug “my little angel is going off to Hogwarts and she is going to look gorgeous in Ravenclaw blue and bronze” “Mom” anny’s mom let go and grabbed a few more of the outfits “You go change into your clothes and I’ll buy all these for you” I can get them, mom, if you wanted to go ahead to Flourish and Blotts and start picking up the books I need” after a minute her mother nodded and handed her some money. “I’ll be right next store if you need anything” anny nodded and smiled, once her other left she changed. She got two of the outfits her mom liked and five that she liked. She made sure to put the ones her mom liked on the top of the two bags. Anny walked over to Flourish and Blotts, her mom already had a stack of books picked out. She gives a quick look at the bags anny hold her breathe. She nodded smiling anny was glad she got away with it at least for now. She took a look at the books her mother had “Mom I won’t be needing Break with a Banshee until next term” “You need to start studying early if you want to be in the top of the class” ann’s mom when back to putting more books on the pile. Once they were done they walked by the Magical Menagerie she looked at it wanting. “Hey beth is that you” ann’s mom stopped and started talking to one of her friend's anny slip away and when into the pet store “Hello young lady” anny looked up at an older man “can I help you find something?” “Um where are your toads?” anny knew her mom wouldn’t be happy with her precious daughter having a toad but anny always thought they were cute and she had a little extra money since the pant wasn’t as much money as the skirt would have been. The man showed her to a tank there was a little toad in the back that cake her eye. He was sleeping ann thought he was cute, she pointed to him. “How much is that little one” “That little guy is 3 Galleons” ann took out her money she was 8 Sickle short she show the man how much she had “well know what that little guy has been here for a while and you're the first to be interested in him I’ll give him to you for 2 Galleons and 9 Sickles” anny smiled at her thanks the man. She gives him the money and she pulled out the toad who wasn’t happy about being woke up. He was placed in anny’s hands the toad looked and anny and blinked. anny stack her tongue out at him the toad ribbit back at her she smiled. She carefully put him in her pocket he when back to his nap after a few more ribbits. Anny walked back to her mom who was still talking and didn’t notice her leave. After what seemed like forever they finally said their goodbyes and made their way to Ollivanders ann was very excited she was finally getting her very first wand. They walked into the shop, there were boxes of wands everywhere. Anny walked up to the desk Ollivander was stacking wands he looked up. “Well hello there my young wizards” “witches” “Of course my mistake now let’s see if we can get you a wand” Ollivander walked over and looked a shelve of wands he pulled one out. “Why don’t we try this one first” he headed one to anny who took it and waved it the lamp on the table broke into a lot of pieces. Anny slowly set it down “no not that one” “What about this one” he handed her another this time boxes thought out and landed on the floor in a big mess. After three more wands and a lot of broken things later Ollivander when into the back and pulled out a dusty wand handing it to her “let’s try this one” Anny took it and give a small wave expecting another thing to break but instead a box flooded up and when back in the right spot anny smiled and try to do it again but the box only when up half way before falling again. “Well it seems like we have found your wand it will take some time for you to learn how to use it properly” “What kind of wand is this one?” “Yew wood and dragon heart” Anny didn’t know what that meant but her mom seemed to like it and nodded paying him. Anny walked out with her wand in head it was a nice light color anny though it looked amazing her couldn’t wait to learn how to use it. They were done shopping for the day anny was excited tomorrow she would be off to Hogwarts. Once they got home ann run up to her room with her stuff planning to pack up everything and make sure her toad was okay. Once in her room, she set the bags on the bed and then carefully reached into her packet. Her little friend gives a ribbit as she pulled him out, he blinked up at her. “Your a cutie but you need a name” he just blinked up at her “hmm how about Mr frog” The toad made an unhappy sound at that “Okay okay okay how about Mr toad them” he still didn’t look happy “Thomas?” “Joan?” “Well how about Gaston” he gives her a little ribbit “Okay gaston it is then” Anny finished packing and when to bed excited for tomorrow Gaston laying on her table beside the bed. Anny walked onto the platform pushing her cart, Gaston was in her pocket but this time didn’t really seem interested in staying there. Anny looked around there were so many people she couldn’t wait to get to Hogwarts she was worried but try to push that back. “Well here we are” anny’s mother gives her a big hug she gave a small hug back, she was happy when her mom pulled away. “You are going to do great, you get into Ravenclaw make sure you keep up your studies and you be perfect” Anny nodded “That’s my girl” she gives Anny another hug it didn’t least to long “okay now go get on the train and meet some people” Anny walked away and onto the train, there was a compartment with a boy her age, he was wearing glasses reading a book. Anny thought he had a good change being Ravenclaw and would probably be her housemate. Anny walked in. “Hello my name is Anny, can I sit with you,” she asked he set his book down “Go right ahead, my name is Logan” he heads his head out and shook it. She places her stuff up and took Gaston out he ended up sitting on her shoulder. she sat down and was about to ask him what he was reading when an owl came flying in and sat itself down on the poles that hold the luggage in place. Two boys run in the one without glasses when right up to the owl “Maleficent get down from there” the owl just looked at him then looked away not moving “Maleficent come one we have to go find somewhere to sit stop being a pain” the owl didn’t even look at him “You can sit here it just the two of us,” logon said “Oh, can we that would make things a lot easier,” the boy from behind said, anny and Logan nodded. “Thank you” they put their stuff away the owl didn’t even look at them. till one boy tried to pet the owl. Maleficent just bit him “ow” he put his finger in his mouth. They both sat down “Hello my name is Patton,” the new boy with glasses said “Hi I’m roman” The boy took his finger out of his mouth. “Greetings I’m Logan” “Anny, it’s nice to meet you all”

#Wands Spells and Emotions

[imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch]

I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Chapter One

Previous Chapter (Prologue) 

Nico had been officially living with Will Solace, professional rich person and minor celebrity for a grand total of one and a half days. It had, so far and against all expectations, been uneventful. Will hadn't actually been around all that much, though what he during the day Nico wasn't sure because he was pretty convinced Will didn't have an actual, proper job. The only evidence Nico was sharing a very nice apartment with another human being was the leftover pizza that had appeared in the fridge, an empty bottle of vodka that had appeared in the recycling and a memorable 5am rendition of the circle of life followed by a long period of rapping and Will shouting Alexander Hamilton over and over again. Nico hadn't known if Will were coming or going, waking up to go out, or drunk and coming in, and by the time he himself had gotten up several hours later at a far more sociable time Will was nowhere to be found.

Nico heated up the pizza, and tossed the note inviting him to help himself in the trash. He wandered around the apartment as he ate, picking pineapple off his slices as he went. He still couldn't believe he had ended up here, rent free. He was still slightly suspicious about Will's motives. No one let a stranger stay with them rent free. No one. Maybe there was some kind of bet involved. Or maybe Will was running some kind of scam, or was avoiding taxes.

Still even though he might be an unwitting accomplice to a crime, Nico had to admit the benefits of living with Will, for the moment, outweighed the projected cost of a lengthy court case and some time behind bars for misconduct unknown.

It was weird, though, having so much space and time to himself. Nico didn't usually crave human interaction, in fact he usually attempted to keep it at bay with a long stick, dark clothes and a bite-me attitude, but it was odd being on his own. Living with Leo had been living with constant noise. Leo just did not have an off-switch and so Nico had been constantly working to tune out an endless feed of useless chatter. And even in those rare moments when Leo wasn't talking, he was usually hammering at something that didn't look like it should be hammered. That or taking part in dubious DIY tasks that either worked against all odds, or failed spectacularly and required a visit from one of Leo's many and undefined relatives who between them seemed to fulfil the complete home construction spectrum.

Life for Will, aside from the 5am shower concert thing, was apparently going to be quiet.

In an attempt to be a decent housemate Nico washed up the plate he'd used as a morgue for the rejected pineapple and only used two exclamation marks on the note he left for Will on the fridge questioning the inclusion of the topping on pizza. Then he wandered around the living room for the sheer novelty of having enough space to be able to wander around the living room. It had been a long time since he'd been in an apartment this fancy, back before Leo when he'd lived with his father, or more accurately a series of housekeepers and au pairs while his father worked. They hadn't really been home, those apartments, any more than the family mansion they drove to every Christmas. With his father Nico would never have dared wake up at two-thirty in the afternoon, to wander around eating pizza, not even in the school holidays. His father had instilled in him, that there was always work to be done, and more importantly there was always someone watching. He should conduct himself with decorum.

He suddenly felt very self-conscious. He wasn't sure when Will would be coming back and even though Will had insisted he make himself at home, Nico felt strange being in the clothes he'd worn yesterday to move in in. He'd slept in them, curled up on the bare mattress, because he couldn't be bothered to search through his meagre possessions for his pyjamas and sheets. But he didn't want Will to get the impression that he was a slob, however accurate that impression might actually be so he retreated back to his room, not quite running but definitely moving at something quicker than a walk.

The boxes and bags he'd brought with him from his old apartment were stacked in a corner of the room that was now his. He really didn't have much. One bag of laundry he hadn't had time to do before leaving Leo's. A small box of assorted nick nacks, toys and other items he didn't really know what to do with: his mythomagic cards banded together with a corroding rubber band, an old notebook he'd used as a diary for a couple of weeks before he'd gotten bored with the idea of writing every day, other junk. Then lastly there was a black duffle bag which had his clean clo-

He withdrew a bright top he'd never wear, followed by a strange hat and what looked like part of an engine.  These weren’t his clothes. This was Leo's bag. Which meant Leo had his clothes, Leo who was now probably half way across the country had his clothes. And Nico had a jacket, the outfit he was wearing and a three quarters full bag of laundry. He didn't even have his bed sheets: he'd shoved them in the bag along with his clothes.

Okay, he thought, it's fine. There was the laundry, he'd just have to do that. That would give him one work outfit, a pair of jeans that had seen better days and a couple of tops. Then there were the clothes he was in. He could wash those too. And, in the meantime, he'd just have to wear -

He looked back at Leo's bag with growing horror. He tipped it all out on his floor and there was a worrying clanking sound. He sorted through all the stuff, moving mechanical devices, screwdrivers and a chocolate bar over to the sell-for-scrap pile (and if Leo was upset about that he should have thought about it before making off with Nico's stuff). That left him with a handful of crumpled t-shirts that were small even for him, and a pair of shorts that were faded, stained and so threadbare it was hard to tell if Leo wore them or used them for cleaning.

It wasn't a great selection but he pulled on one of the bigger t-shirts, and the shorts. The t-shirt was bright yellow with a sunny, tropical picture of a parrot and some fruit. It ended too quickly and was far too tight. The shorts were little better: too low and, since the elastic had gone, worryingly loose around his hips. Now he really prayed that wherever Will was he was planning on staying there a long time.

He scooped up his own clothes and hurried to the washer. He dumped the lot in the machine and scouted around for washing powder. He closed the lid and then had to come to terms with the fact he had absolutely no idea how the washing machine worked. He stared at the control panel for a full minute trying to decipher symbols and pictograms that littered a control panel that looked like it should be controlling the enterprise rather than just washing your clothes. He stabbed a few buttons at random, and hoping he hadn't accidentally summoned a demon, ran back to his room like a skittish rabbit lest Will enter and see his bright yellow t-shirt and shorts of shame.

The washing machine was making comforting washing sounds that Nico could hear even from his room so he let it get on with it and focused on the other box he'd brought with him. Some of the items, like the mythomagic cards or his older sister’s teddy bear, he knew he'd never be able to part with but most of it was trash. Broken toys and memories had been heaped on the pile of useless junk from Leo's bag (he'd claimed the chocolate bar as his own). He was reading through his diary with the self-aware pain that came from reading the things his younger self had found angst-worthy (if only he'd known) when he first noticed that Will's nice wooden floor suddenly felt kind of wet.

Nico swore resolutely and scrambled to his feet. The washing machine was still rumbling happily but was now disgorging oddly tinted water on the floor in torrents. A panicked ten seconds of button mashing yielded no immediate halt to its attempt to flood the place so Nico decided to end it at the source and seek out it's kill switch. That proved to be harder than he'd imagined. He just couldn't find the lead and was beginning to think he'd discovered the world's first washing machine that could run on pure spite alone.

He slapped it since he had the impression this usually worked with computers but that only left him with a sore hand. Grumbling furiously, he ran into his bathroom, discovered he had also managed to forget towels were a necessity, backtracked to Will's. Towels in hand he began trying to limit the progress of the flood with an improvised wall, so that he would be less worried about the concerningly purple water damaging anything expensive, or creating an interesting reaction with anything electronic in the living room before he could subdue the poltergeist residing in the washing machine.

Barrier temporarily holding the flood at bay, he proceeded back to the washing machine with phone in hand.

"You are making me look on forums," he told the washing machine. "I officially hate you."

In response the machine began spitting up heavily fragranced bubbles.

Nico swore again, this time with even more feeling.

Okay, forget forums, it was time to call Leo.

Leo answered on what felt like the nine-hundreth ring. At the exact same time, Nico saw his mythomagic cards floating gently past amid a happy scattering of floral scented bubbles. He vocalised his feelings about this in no uncertain terms that made Leo threaten to clean his mouth out with soap the next time they saw each other.

"You probably won't need to," Nico said darkly as he bent down to pick up one of the cards and ended up with a nose full of bubbles. "Not if this keeps up."

"You're making no sense Nico."

He lunged for another card - Hades, that had a permanent place in all his decks - and slipped. He managed to stay upright but went skidding along on his towel barrier which had pretty much reached the limits of it's effectiveness. In an effort to stop himself from faceplanting the floor and/or banging into anything that looked breakable he threw out his hands and while remembering to keep a firm grip on his childhood cards, forgot about his phone which went flying at the front door.

The front door which was open and framing a very confused Will Solace.

"Oh gods," Nico had time to say before his phone hit Will in the nose.

There was a pause while Nico tried to find the words to explain the water and the bubbles and the cards and - oh hell - his clothes. Will surveyed the chaos with an unreadable expression. And then he burst out laughing.

It was unexpected but it was better than the yelling.

"What happened?" Will asked. "Are those mythomagic cards?"

He too another, longer look at Nico taking in the outfit and Nico's unsuccessful attempts to stand in slippery socks on a sodden floor.

"I like the t-shirt," he commented. "Very subversive. I can see you are really trying to mock -"

He broke off dissolving into laughter.

"I'm sorry," he said between giggles, "you - just - look- "

"Yeah, yeah," Nico grumbled. "Well the bubbles in your hair look ridiculous."

Will put a hand up to his head and as he did Nico threw a handful of bubbles at him. They missed, by a long way, because bubbles weren't a particularly reliable throwing material. Will laughed even harder and tried to throw some back but his aim was even poorer because he was giggling so much. Nico fell down again and he though he tried to stop himself he couldn't help but start giggling too.

Will had left the door open and an older lady with perfectly coiled hair and a fur coat was looking in at them in obvious consternation and disapproval. Nico waved and Will turned.

"Good afternoon Mrs Dodds," Will said. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"

Mrs Dodds scoffed and turned her back on them. Nico began laughing at the stupidness of the situation and his laughter set Will off again. Will looked cute when he laughed: nose (red from where the phone had struck) all scrunched up like a kid he looked less like some unattainable-rock-star-minor-god-model, and more down to earth. Nico felt his heart skip a beat and a few tentative butterflies preparing to take flight in his stomach. The feelings were oddly sobering and he felt the laughter dying in his throat.

"I really am sorry about the mess," he said. "I must be the worst housemate you've ever had."

"Oh, not by a long shot," Will said amiably. "I once had someone who collected dead frogs.”

He tried to lever himself to his feet and after several attempts managed to get to his feet and with an awkward, penguin on ice like shuffle made it to the front door which he shut very firmly.

"How about I order food, we put on some music and have a cleaning up party?" he suggested.

"You don't have to help," Nico said. "I'll do it, I did make the mess."

"I forget to warn you the washing machine can be temperamental," Will said with a shrug. "Though I've never seen it do this before. You've got some quite incredible machine-messing skills, Di Angelo."

Nico grinned. It was an automatic response to Will's light teasing that he didn't have time to think through, or dampen down.

"Gotta be good at something," Nico said. "And for me that something is riling up the demon ghost that resides in your washing machine."

"They should write a film about your exploits," Will commented, completely straight faced. "I bagsie the rights."

"Only if you promise to hire

Will ordered Chinese. He put on some music - something upbeat and poppy that Nico wouldn't usually necessarily enjoy but actually worked pretty well trying to clean up a lilac coloured flood with his new landlord.

Will brought out more towels from the bathroom and tossed some to Nico. Then he paused.

"I don't have a mop," he said as though it had only just occurred to him.

"Why don't you have a mop?" Nico asked.

"Did you have a mop at your old place?" Will demanded.

"Yes!" Nico said. "We weren't heathens! We just didn't have a hoover, or a dishcloth for a long time, or plates for the first few weeks. But a mop! Of course."

"Yeah well I'd offer you a discount on your rent for forgetting such an important life-changing item but you're not actually paying me anything so-"

"You could always start paying me to live here," Nico mused.

Will stuck his tongue out and then sighed.

"One of my neighbours probably has one."

He sloshed his way over to the door.

"Be right back. Wish me luck."

"You're asking to borrow a mop from your neighbours, how much luck can you need?"

Will pulled a face that indicated he had shocking, horrifying knowledge that no mortal should posses.

"You don't want to know," he said in a deep whisper and then darted out, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, the butterflies that had been previously hesitant and timid took full flight in Nico's stomach. He realised he was smiling and wiped the expression off his face and focused very hard on extracting sodden mythomagic cards and leaving them all lined up on the counter tops to dry.

Will returned some ten minutes later with a mop and a chastised air.

"Nancy was of your view that mops are a basic human right and she could not believe I do not own one."

"See," Nico said.  “It’s not just me who thinks you are a heathen.”

Nico was not usually a fan of cleaning but working alongside Will was kind of fun. It may have had something to do with Will, who was in charge of mopping and was utterly distracting. He spent more time dancing with the mop and singing along to whatever song was playing than actually mopping. Nico could hardly drag his eyes away from him, so he pointed out, perfectly reasonably, that it was an inefficient method of mopping and that Will's music choice sucked.

"Alright what would you put on?"

Nico hadn't been expecting that.

"I don't know. The Ramones maybe?"

Will held his gaze while he retrieved his laptop and then changed the song with a slight smirk.

"What you didn't think I'd have the Ramones?"

"I thought it would be all Disney songs and show tunes."

"Disney songs and show tunes?" Will asked sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

"I don't know," Nico admitted, "I have no idea what you like."

"They come on later," Will promised him with a grin.

Ten minutes later they were both jumping up and down to Blitzkrieg Bop and Will was singing and he was actually not all that bad when it wasn't 5am. They were halfway through the second verse when someone began banging on the walls.

"Oh ignore it," Will said. "That's Octavian. He's always complaining about something. Like when I hoover at 3am."

"Why do you -?"

"Because the night before Octavian was grinding breeze blocks and some sheet metal in his blender. I assume that's what he was doing. That's what it sounded like he was doing."

The banging sounded again, on the door this time. Will rolled his eyes but he stormed over and yanked the door open, shutting down the music with a wave of a remote as his did so.

"Hello Octavian," Will said with a forced polite smile. "Is everything alright? If you've come to borrow a mop I'm afraid I'm lacking that basic necessity."

Nico laughed and Octavian cast his sharp eyes over to him. Octavian was pale and thin. His eyes were faint blue and his hair was thin, and almost colourless. The general impression he gave was of a scarecrow that had been modelled on a skeleton. All the right features were there and they were all in the right places but the proportions and the colour scheme was entirely off.

"Can you keep it down?" Octavian asked. "I'm trying to work. Not all of us get money handed to us on a silver platter you know."

Will shrugged at that, but Nico thought that something about the jibe may have hit home because he seemed a little tenser.

"So sorry to interrupt your work. I know it's all you have since you can't seem to keep friends."

"Look who's talking," Octavian sneered. "How many housemates have you gone through now? How long do you think this one will stay?"

He glanced over at Nico again, looked him up and down and then turned away without comment as though he didn't think Nico was worth it.

"We'll try to keep the sounds of us enjoying our lives from disturbing your emptiness," Will snapped and closed the door in Octavian's face. He didn't turn around immediately and Nico got the impression he was trying to force himself back towards cheerfulness.

"To be fair," Will said when he did turn. "We probably were being kind of loud."

He put the music back on but in deference to Octavian it was no longer deafening and could be classed merely as noisy. In deference to the fact that Will hadn't freaked out when he'd come home to a flood, Nico didn't bring up what Octavian had said about the other housemates. It didn't stop him wondering though. Will seemed nice enough but Nico still couldn't get past the no rent thing. It made no sense to him. He couldn't figure out why Will would be so desperate to have someone in his spare room that he'd offer it to them for free.

By the time the food came, the flat was pretty clean. Nico's jeans, now several shades lighter than their once jet black, and other clothes had been shoved in the dryer. The floor was mopped, all of Nico's cards were drying on the counter tops. Order had been restored.

Will put on a movie while they ate. Will had seen it before and Nico was more interested in watching Will out the corner of his eye so he often missed big plot points. Will seemed happy enough but Nico got the impression he was worried from the way he picked at his food rather than just eating it. In the end, Will put it to the side entirely and picked up a fortune cookie gazing at it like an unexploded bomb.

"You know they are mass printed somewhere right?" Nico asked eventually when Will still hadn't cracked it open.

Will gave a rueful smile.

"I know. It's stupid. I usually ask them not to give me fortune cookies though. I don't know what it is, they just always seem to come true."

"Well how bad can that be?" asked Nico. "It's always, you'll find happiness when you least expect it or time waits for no man. Stupid, meaningless stuff."

"I know," Will said again. "Believe me, I know."

But he didn't open the fortune.

"Here I'll do mine," said Nico.

He grabbed his off the table and opened it up.

"Okay," he said unfolding the paper. "Mine reads: help! I'm trapped in a fortune cookie factory!"

Will burst out laughing and reached for it.

"Let me see that!"

"Alright it actually says good news of a long-awaited event will soon arrive. Stupid and meaningless."

Will grinned.

“I guess you’re right.”

But he still didn’t open it, and when Nico went to clean up the food later that night he couldn’t help but notice the cookie was missing.

Next Chapter 

#writing #fandom #Will Solace #Nico Di Angelo #will solace/nico di angelo #solangelo #percy jackson and the olympians

[weliveourdream]

Hola everyone.

And welcome to another week. And to December. It’s freaking December. When did that happen? I feel like I’m stuck in between two places right now, where I want both summer back and a load of snow at the same time. But one thing is definitely clear – time is flying by and 2020 is gonna be here in a snap and I still feel like I just moved to London, like, yesterday. Honestly, all of this is way too crazy. And as fast as it all has happened, I still have the slight feeling that London has already taken its toll on me. In a good way. But please let me explain.

.

I’ve always had quite an interesting relationship with fashion – and yes, this means this post will be about fashion. A true miracle is happening right now. Anyway. I recently talked to my housemate about this. How in my youth I used to buy and wear any stuff that was popular at the time. Simply because I wanted to be popular, because which teen doesn’t want that? So I dressed like everyone else. And, to be brutally honest, we all looked pretty dumb, I’m not going to lie. I still get the shivers when I think about the shirts we all got from the same stores with their stupid cartoons on them or the black tube tops preferably worn with leggings. One fashion faux pas after another.

.

But then the moment came when I truly realized, for the very first time, that we did, in fact, all look exactly the same and mostly very unfashionable on top. So I started to develop my own style, which was heavily inspired by all the holidays and vacations I went on with my family. I made it my hobby to only buy clothes in and from different countries. They became a type of souvenir. Something I would wear and always connect to a certain trip. And on top of that nearly everything I got was unique, as the chance of someone visiting the same store in the same foreign country and buying the exact same shirt or pair of trousers was incredibly low to non-existent. Suddenly I started looking like nobody else in my class, which was met by mixed reactions – some of my classmates liked it, some, I am sure, hated me for it. But that didn’t stop me from my travels to finding own style.

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And then uni and moving to Vienna hit me in the face with the statement “you thought you were dressing in a special way? Ha. Cute.” like a truck. I felt like I had just got a glimpse of the box of Pandora. Of paradise. Suddenly everyone looked special and different and cool and I felt like the ultimate wallflower again. The girl from the countryside in the big, uber-fashionable city. Surrounded by all these new impressions and more importantly inspirations, I again went for a little hunt for my own, new, improved style. Of course, I still kept true to my roots – band t-shirts, black skinny jeans, destroyed Converse – but something had changed. I didn’t shop as much anymore but rather looked for pieces of clothing that had the potential of being in-style for all of eternity and therefore staying with me for my whole life. Obviously, I’m not one of the rich kids that can actually afford clothes that will never show any signs of wear or destruction, but I was still trying my best. I started buying stuff that complimented my style, that I could easily add to already existing outfits and clothes that we like to call basics, which is probably one of the most important rules I ever learned when it comes to fashion. Basics are your friends. Keep them close to you. They will serve you well, trust me.

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So I went on my journey, developed my style, stumbled over pieces that I still adore with all my heart and that are still a part of my daily wardrobe, but I knew there was still something out there waiting for me. The big leap. I had to think outside of the box. And that’s when Brighton and more importantly London came in. It is a known fact that London is one of the best looking cities with some of the best-dressed people living in it. And I am in the middle of this huge pile of awesomeness, attractiveness and immenseness of style. And even before moving to this fashion dream of a place, I knew I had to leave my comfort zone once and for all. Or at least widen it. Because London is very out there. And I am not. Or was not. I feel like that has changed in the past week, at least in my own little style bubble.

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Here are a few things London and the experience of living here have taught me about fashion so far:

fast-fashion is your enemy, avoid it as much as you can

sustainability for the win

comfort and style do really go together (miracles, I tell you)

you don’t have to follow every trend – they go away anyway

pride and confidence are the best two accessories

you can be and look like anyone/anything you want

be out there, it’s fun

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I know, sounds quite cute and all, but it’s actually more difficult to tick all these boxes than you would think. Being out there is a real chore and takes a lot of confidence. And for an introvert like me – who’s slowly becoming an extrovert, funnily enough – fitting in is always a bit more comfortable than sticking out. But when you go to a music university in London, which basically translates to Hipster HQs, the rule is stand out or die (not literally, obviously). So I’ve been soaking up the city and all the other inspirations like a sponge and the result is the style that I am calling mine today. And I am damn proud of it.

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You know, for someone like me, who’s from a different country and who recently moved to London, it sometimes is a bit tough to not feel like you’re just a long-term tourist. Suddenly you start asking yourself whether people look at you and think you’re from the city or just someone stopping by. And a few weeks ago I would’ve said the second option, but I’ve had a slight change of mind. Let me tell you why – I went for a little shopping hunt, inspired by all the people and things I’m surrounded by in this incredible city on a daily basis and by all the fantastic outfits I see online, and I found two outfits that have turned my whole world on its head. And this isn’t simply about a shirt and a fitting jacket in the same color. No no. I’m talking about actual two-piece sets, consisting of the most amazing pants and the coolest jackets ever to go with them.

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To be honest, I’ve been on the lookout for a nice monochrome set for quite some time. I see it in the city all the time and I felt like it was time for me to be part of the movement. And after a long and exhausting journey that included lots of late-night scrolling through clothing websites and weekend trips to Carnaby Street, I finally found the perfect set on Asos by the brand Daisy Street (click here to check it out). Corduroy. Orange. Oversize. And comfy as hell. It had to be mine. And after a few days of waiting, it finally was. And still is. The moment I put it on, I knew I had stumbled across something very special. Something that would change my style completely. And it did. Because it opened my eyes to a whole other world of fashion that had been hiding in my closet. But it didn’t just end there.

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I would definitely say I reached peak coolness when I bought what I would describe as the ultimate two-piece a few days ago. The ultimate suit. The one and only. It all happened during a Lazy Oaf sample sale that I went to with my friend Lauren last Saturday. Some of you might already know this incredible London-based brand that creates anything but boring fashion. In a nutshell, it’s my favourite brand, but usually way too expensive for me. Hence the trip to the sample sale. And there I saw it. The perfect set that I immediately had to get (click here to check it out). In total, we spent over two hours in that industrial building, digging through endless piles of clothes, completely focused on our mission of finding the perfect piece. I’m not gonna say how much I paid for the whole thing (pants + jacket), but I can promise you one thing – if you ever want to find a bargain and feel a deep love for Lazy Oaf, then the sample sale is the way to go. The prices are out of this world. I mean, they don’t throw the clothes after you just to get rid of them, their quality is still way too high and good for that, but compared to the original prices, the whole event is one big bargain.

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The set I got is basically awesomeness in the form of clothing. Oversize. The most beautiful colours with the most fantastic check pattern. Wide leg trousers. The perfect fit. Extremely comfy. And literally the best quality. The moment I tried it on in that big hall, I knew it had to be mine. But besides the nice fit and the awesome look, there was something I felt while I was walking around with it still on, contemplating of whether I should get the whole set or not – it made me feel like I was part of London. Something that the first set had already achieved as well a few days beforehand. And that certain feeling is essentially the reason for me writing this post. Because both things make me feel like I belong in and to London. Like I am part of this city, part of its style, part of its people. It makes me feel like I am a Londoner. Like someone who people look at and might think that they live in this city and are part of it. And that is something so incredibly important for me, something that fills me with so much pride and confidence that I can’t possibly put into words how happy it makes me. I’ve always wanted to live in London and be part of this dream. But being here and feeling like you actually belong here are two different things. At least they were for me, but not anymore. And it might sound a bit strange to say that simple pieces of clothing make me feel that way, but I think they did more than just that. They make me a better, cooler, more confident me. And for that, I am incredibly thankful. Also, the Lazy Oaf set definitely makes me feel like the ultimate boss and that’s just the coolest thing ever. But just look for yourself.

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So, in short: I’ve been in this incredible city for nearly three months now and I am finally starting to feel like I really, fully, truly belong here, which is simply the most incredible feeling ever. And it might be weird to have clothes be the reason for that, but for me, they are just so much more than that. I’m carrying myself differently and that’s all thanks to this fantastic adventure I’m on right now and to this city. London has changed me. And I’m happy about that.

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For those of you who’re currently looking for a bit of a changeup in your wardrobe, I can highly recommend going for a two-piece suit. It doesn’t just look absolutely stunning, but also has the perk of making you feel like a boss. And if you go for a simple one, you can easily add the separate pieces to other outfits and wear them with different clothes. That’s what I call highly functional. And yeah, besides that I can only hope that you enjoyed this post and that it maybe serves as a bit of inspiration for you. As always, I’d totally love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. And, of course, I hope you’re all doing good, wish you a great week and thanks for reading. x

The London Style Hola everyone. And welcome to another week. And to December. It's freaking December. When did that happen?

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