#i came up with the joke and then drew that during a break from commission work in an hour

[floweroflaurelin]

I just love coming to the blog to look at the tags on That new art of yours, and seeing the post before being a 3L anniversary reblog of your dramatic, tender, heartbreaking Dogwarts-end piece with Ren and Martyn. What a whiplash. 10/10 experience

Alsjfkfjskaj I KNOW RIGHT!! Get you an artist that can do both ✨

The reaction on Twitter is also so funny, thank you Sausage

#ask #boonbeenblade #like I was looking at it cracking myself up and wondering like hey can I even post this?? #i came up with the joke and then drew that during a break from commission work in an hour #two of the comms I’m working on rn for different people are proper paintings inspired by pix. he’s almost certainly seen this one. sorry pix #we make Sophisticated Art over here at floweroflaurelin 🫡

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Portrait of a Dangerous Man🎨2

Warnings: (series) non-consent sex and rape; slow creep; cucking; (this chapter) nothing as yet.

This is dark!mob!Clark Kent x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: Your dream of having your work hung in an art show comes true but your first buyer is not all he seems to be.

Note: Thank you for your positive response to this one! I hope you enjoy what I have in store.

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Your Spotify list of redundant tracks flowed through the apartment as you sat typing at your small desk in the corner of the front room. The boxy space was as oppressive as any office space, another reason for your voluntary work at the gallery. Vanessa let you in the studio to paint. Without the privilege, you wouldn’t have the space for your easel.

You stretched your fingers and rubbed your eyes. You felt dizzy from staring at the screen, even with night mode on. The work was monotonous and made you restless. You wanted a pencil or brush in hand, a canvas before you, not this blaring laptop. You yawned and took a sip of your lukewarm water.

Your phone vibrated from across the room and you checked the time. Your lunch started soon but no one was really keeping track. As long as you got your assignments done, it didn’t matter when you chewed on toast and disassociated.

You got up and grabbed your phone from the corner table and leaned against the arm of the couch. You remembered how Marcus woke up there and grumbled as he lifted his head in pain. You couldn’t really feel bad for him going into work hungover. He embarrassed you and it didn’t quite sink in until after Clark left you to stare down at your drunk boyfriend.

An unknown number showed on your screen and you answered tentatively, ready to hang up at the first sales pitch. Your name came from the speaker and you recognized the deep voice in an instant. It took you back to the night before and the canvas hung on the wall.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” Clark said, “I only just had the paintings hung and I thought… well, I thought you might like to come see them in their new home.”

“Um…” you chewed your thumb, uncertain how to respond.

“Sorry, I know I can be a bit… to the point,” he laughed at himself, “how are you?”

“I’m good, just… taking a break.”

“You working?”

“Yeah, but I work from home,” you said as you touched the side of your neck, “I could… I could come see them but it might be a while before--”

“When are you finished work?” he asked bluntly.

“Four but I… maybe another day.”

“I don’t mean to be pushy but I did have something else to speak with you about,” he said, “a commission, like I mentioned.”

“Oh?”

“I kinda wanna get it started sooner than later, it will probably be pretty time-consuming,” he explained and you heard a clink and a soft sip, “I don’t wanna get into details on the phone but I promise, you will be compensated nicely.”

“You can’t wait until tomorrow?” you wondered.

“I suppose I can but it’d have to be during the day,” he responded, “why don’t you take some time to figure it out and get back to me by two? You can text me through this number.”

“Erm, sure,” you said uneasily, “I’m sorry, it’s just… very sudden, I don’t--”

“You can bring the boyfriend,” he said casually, “if you like.”

“He won’t be… home,” you said carefully, “I’ll let you know. Thank you.”

“I look forward to hearing from you,” he replied, “have a good day.”

“You, too,” you said and the line died.

You put your phone down and took a moment. Good things rarely happened to you. You struggled so long it was hard to think that might change. The skeptic in you told you there was something behind it all. That it couldn’t possibly be your art.

You went back to your computer and sighed as you waved away the screensaver with your mouse. The blinking cursor made you want to believe it was your big break.

🎨

You texted Clark at one and at four, you were in an Uber. Marcus drove his car to work and you stuck to buses and the underground when you could. The address was at least an hour out, the house among those estates on the edge of the city reserved for the upper echelon. You’d only ever seen the sprawling yards on your way to the next town.

When the car finally turned up the drive and you passed beyond a low brick wall, you felt entirely out of your depth. You tipped the Uber but didn’t feel too bad with the check from Vanessa sitting soundly in your account. You clutched the strap of your bag and walked along the curve of the brick work towards the stairs.

“Hey,” you stopped as Clark called to you, your ankle still tender from the night before.

You glanced over as he came out of the large garage and peeled off a pair of leather gloves. He smiled as he tucked them into his jacket pocket. You watched him and played with the clasp on your bag.

“Just got back from a drive,” he said, “I almost got carried away. I’m glad you made it.”

“Yeah, no problem,” you replied.

“Well, come on, let me show you around,” he waved behind you towards the front doors, “we’ll go on a tour and then we can talk details.”

“Wow,” you uttered mindlessly as you climbed the stairs to the door but kept the weight on your uninjured ankle, “this place is huge.”

“My contractor went a little crazy,” he scoffed, “but I can’t complain.”

He led you through the doors and directed you to the left. In the front room, your work was hung along the opposite wall, arranged in a way that drew the eye to them. You stepped closer and peered up at your work with a hint of awe. They looked even better in a place like that.

“I had my interior designer make the final call on where to hang them,” he explained, “I hope you don’t mind, I gave her your details. She said she had clients who might be interested in your work.”

“Really?” you breathed, “that’s… too nice.”

“Oh yeah? One day, you’ll be sick of rich pricks like me,” he grinned, “I’ll show you the pool, that’s usually the main attraction.”

“Sounds good,” you said as you followed but he paused and watched your stunted gait.

“I forgot, we can go slow,” he offered, “how’s the ankle?”

“I’ll make do,” you affirmed as you neared him, “just need to get my steps in.”

🎨

As you finished the tour of the second floor, you slowed along the long hall and admired the work of artists you only ever saw in museums. You couldn’t help but be enamoured by the historic blots of paint. You almost forgot where you were as you leaned in to read the initials beneath the pastel flowers.

“So,” Clark’s voice brought you back, you almost blanked him out entirely in your mind, “I think you might have noticed the empty space above the fireplace in the front room. I was hoping you could fill it.”

“Oh?” you looked at him and smiled nervously, “did you have something in mind? A landscape or--”

“Well, your portraits are great. I like the old world style. I was hoping you might do one of… me,” he suggested, “I know, it’s vain but why not?”

“I mean, yeah, I could do that,” you said.

“I’ll pay hourly plus materials,” he continued, “three hundred an hour.”

You almost choked at the number. You blinked and swallowed through your surprise.

“Even a small portrait would take at least twelve hours,” you warned, “are you sure?”

“I know it’s a lot of time for you, so… I was thinking, if you have to miss work, I’ll factor it into your rate. I would really like to get the project started as soon as we can,” he put his hand on his hip as he looked down at you, “the only thing I need from you is a list of materials. I’ll have them waiting for you here.”

“Here?”

“Well, yeah, I figure it makes most sense,” he turned his palm out.

“Hmm, sure, I prefer my own brushes but… you know I can just buy the stuff myself--”

“Ah, no, I want it to be perfect. You send me a list and I’ll have my assistant go out and get it all ready,” he assured, “How does Sunday sound?”

“Sunday?” you blanched. That was two days away.

“Like I said, Marcus is more than welcome to come with you,” he offered, “I’d hate to keep you from him too long.”

“I guess Sunday works,” you squeaked, “I’ll talk to Marcus.”

“Great,” he said coolly, “well, that’s business. How about a drink to seal the deal?”

“I don’t know, I should probably get back,” you fiddled with your bag against your hip.

“One drink won’t hurt,” he said, “go on, call the boyfriend and let him know you won’t be much longer.”

“I… thanks,” you murmured.

“You’re humble for an artist,” he joked as he sidled by you, “once you grow an ego, you’ll be unstoppable.” He neared the stairs as you turned to watch him, “I’ll be at the bar, waiting. You like gin?”

“Sure,” you answered as you pulled out your phone, “I’ll see you down there.”

🎨

When you told Marcus about your new side gig, he was even more excited than you. You were anxious and slightly hesitant. You hated to jump in feet first and risk losing more than a few tubes of paint. What if the work wasn’t good enough?

Marcus was more than willing to come with you when you told him about the size of the place. He knew by the area that it was extravagant. You sat in the passenger seat with the most expensive bottle of wine you’d ever bought cradled between your legs. You hated to show up empty handed after all of Clark’s generosity.

Marcus got lost and went down the wrong driveway before you righted your course. As you drove up, you were once more overcome from the rich rosebuds and sparkling fountain at the centre of the mosaic. You gripped the neck of the bottle and got out as Marcus whistled in awe.

“You weren’t kidding. This place is fucking nuts,” he swore, “I should’ve worn the tux from my brother’s wedding.”

“Please, Marcus,” you rolled your eyes, “let’s both try not to break anything.”

“You’re the clumsy one,” he chirped, “shit, you’re so lucky. You get to hang out here and paint all day? God, I wish I had an ounce of artistic talent. I’d trade it for code in a minute.”

You climbed the steps and clanged the large knocker on the right door. You waited a moment before an answer came and Clark appeared on the other side and beckoned you inside. He smiled as he shook Marcus’ hand.

“Thanks for joining us,” he said, “I would’ve felt awful stealing your girlfriend on the weekend like this.”

“Are you kidding me? She said you had a pool and I snuck the swim shorts into the backseat,” Marcus chuckled and you nudged him with your elbow.

“See?” Clark arched a brow, “the pool is always the seller.”

“Here,” you said as you held out the bottle of red, “for everything you’ve done and welcoming us into your home.”

“Ohhh,” he took the bottle and looked over the label, “I got a spot for this right behind the bar. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, I brought my brushes,” you patted the canvas bag on your shoulder.

“Mmm, yeah, well, I’ll just put this away and we’ll give Marcus the grand tour. Then I’ll get you situated,” he assured and rushed off.

He returned and pointed Marcus through to the front room, “you’ll see, just over here,” he directed him to your paintings.

“Oh, wow, babe,” Marcus marveled at the hung portraits, “you really did it.”

You smiled bashfully and Clark peeked over at you and winked. You squirmed as your cheeks burned and you turned away as he beckoned Marcus past the mantle.

“It’s a big place,” Clark said, “I’d like to get you started before noon.”

Clark led you along the same path as days before and slowed as you came back to the top of the stairs. He turned back and clapped his hands together.

“Marcus, if you wanna hop in the pool, we’re gonna start just in there,” he pointed to the one door you hadn’t looked through, “that’s the studio.”

“What about you?” Marcus asked.

“Well, I’ll be a part of the process so I’m afraid I will be just as busy but if you need anything, Nina, she has a crooked nose and mean mouth but don’t let her fool you, she’ll get you whatever you need,” he said, “just don’t track in water from the pool or she’ll string you up.”

“Oh, well, that doesn’t sound too bad. Some alone time in the sun and a pool,” Marcus grinned, “I really couldn’t ask for anything else… except you, babe.”

“Sure,” you scoffed, “go, have fun.”

Marcus kissed you quickly and thanked Clark again before he excitedly barreled down the steps. You scratched your neck as you looked back to your host, and you guessed, your new boss.

“I’m sorry about him. He can be such a kid sometimes,” you said.

“Nah, it’s fine,” he waved it off, “so, you ready to see your workspace? I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. Also, a bit last minute so it’s not perfect… yet.”

“Uh, yeah,” you answered, “can’t wait.”

He motioned you over to the tall dusty rose doors and hooked his fingers in the slotted handles. He slid them open and revealed an airy room with a tall ceiling and long windows. An easel stood facing the sun streaked glass, an immense canvas bigger than yourself, bigger than him, propped up on it. There was a ladder nearby and the table was set with a rainbow of paints and a large pallet.

Your lips parted as you neared the easel and stared up at the canvas, “you were right, it’s gonna be a lot of work.”

“I hope it’s not too much,” he said, “but you name your price. We’ll make it work.”

“No, no, I think for what you’re paying, I’ll do just fine,” you put your bag down daintily on the table, “so, uh, a portrait, I guess that means…”

Your voice trailed off as he went to the upholstered chair across the room, at an angle so you could see him from your vantage. Behind it, hung a velvet curtain to add to the scene and a bust on a pedestal. It felt surreal, like a dream.

You turned and pulled out the brushes, “I think you’ll get more tired than me, just sitting there.”

“I’ll make it through,” he assured as he sat, “is there anyway you’d like me to sit? Chin up, or…”

“Hmmm,” you turned to look at him, “I think… if you just put your shoulders back and… did you want a profile or--”

“I was thinking front-facing,” he stared at you steadily, unflinching as his eyes stuck to you, “just like this.”

“Perfect,” you said nervously and looked back to the table. 

There was water to rinse your brushes, rags, pencils, blending sticks; everything you needed and more. You took a pencil from the bunch and pulled over the ladder. You climbed up and looked over at Clark as he sat stoic and still. He looked picturesque in real life, you expected paint would only lend to his figure.

His eyes met yours and you turned to start tracing the basic shapes onto the canvas. You had to stop and steady your hand as you did. His gaze made it hard not to tremble.

#clark kent #dark clark kent #dark!clark kent #clark kent x reader #dark fic #fic #dark!fic #series #portrait of a dangerous man #dc #dcu #au #mob au #mob!au #superman

[scoobysnack1107]

So grateful I was able to commission the incredible @rainbow-taishi again for another gorgeous RokuNami piece! As always, Jin did an absolutely amazing job! The colors and atmosphere are warm, the expressions soft, and the detailing exquisite 🥺💞 Thank you again Jin for making making my day and bringing a huge smile to my face 💖

For anyone interested, I wrote an accompanying story!

You can read it below or on ao3: Un Rendez-vous Romantique

(special thank you to @jysumrae for using her French skills to help me with the title 💖 )

                                       Un Rendez-vous Romantique

 Naminé checked the time on her gummi phone again. Five minutes before seven o’clock. Five minutes before Roxas was supposed to arrive at the bistro for their date. Their first date she reminded herself.

    All around her, tables were filled with laughing couples sharing colorful concoctions that were placed onto tables by waiters dressed in well-tailored suits. Naminé, dressed in her signature white dress and blue sandals, was the only one sitting alone.

    She couldn’t help but wonder how seriously he had taken the idea. He had been the one that asked her out with that boyish grin she was powerless to resist. But this was the first time they would be together like this. Unencumbered by heartless, the Organization, Diz. Tonight, it was just the two of them in the most romantic place in town.

    Unless…he stood her up.

    Naminé’s heart sunk, and as the people milling by the bistro cast her curious looks, she started feeling more and more self-conscious. Did they think he wasn’t coming?

    “Don’t worry, Naminé. Trust me, he’ll come.”

    Startled, Naminé looked up and found Sora offering her a comforting grin. He was dressed in a white chef’s uniform and tall toque that somehow managed to stay atop his spiky head of hair. In his hands, he was carrying a large, unopened box decorated with golden fleur de lis and something scribbled on top in black marker.

    “Sora? Why are you—” she trailed off, suddenly remembering that her friend had become an occasional helping hand at the restaurant during his travels. Though, admittedly, it was strange to think of Sora as a chef in a high-end bistro like this. “Thank you. I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

    In the distance, the bell of the clock tower tolled, signaling the passing of another hour. Seven o’clock.

    Sora had to be right.

    “Excuse me! Coming through!”

    Outside the bistro, some kind of commotion had started. The tram stopping in its track as a boy riding a black and white skateboard came racing through. A flock of pigeons wandering the bistro’s checkered plaza dispersed in a flurry of feathers, and one of the waiters nearly dropped a plate of ratatouille before said boy arrived in front of Naminé’s table with an apologetic smile.

    “I am so sorry, Naminé,” Roxas said, finally catching his breath, “I promise I didn’t forget. Really. I got caught up delivering letters again because Lea ‘sprained’ his ankle and couldn’t finish his half.” Roxas shook his head. Of all the days Lea felt it necessary to fake an injury.

    Naminé couldn’t help herself. She laughed, and the anxiety that had been chipping away at her nerves dissipated with the sound. “It’s fine, Roxas. I’m glad you were able to make it. I can’t say I expected that kind of entrance though.” Another laugh slipped past her lips when she noticed a stray feather in his hair.

    Roxas scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I can’t say I really planned it that way.”

    Plucking the feather from the skater’s head unceremoniously, Sora handed his friend the box he was holding. “Well, now that you’re finally here, I’d say it’s time for you two love birds to enjoy your date with a little Tarte aux Fruits, courtesy of Little Chef and I!” Sora patted his toque affectionately, prompting a tiny gray mouse to peek out from beneath the hat before scurrying back inside with a squeak. “He’s a little shy,” Sora whispered.

    “He’s cute,” Naminé cooed.

    Roxas flipped open the lid of the box to examine the dessert. Inside the box was a round and colorful tart decorated with fresh strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, and peaches. “Sora, you know it’s just the two of us, right?” Usually, the bistro only served the desserts by slices. Not entire tartlets like this.

    Sora pushed the lid back down and pointed to the writing on top.

      Enjoy your date!

      - Sora and Little Chef

    “Yep! But you’re my friends and Little Chef insisted. It’s not like you can’t take the leftovers home. I’m sure Lea and Xion would eat a few slices for you.”

    Curious, Naminé stood up to peer inside the box too. Sora really was too sweet.  Everything about the dessert was handled with care, with each fruit arranged so precisely, Naminé could only imagine how long her friend had spent perfecting the delectable concoction. “Thank you, Sora. This is perfect, but you know, we’ll be saving you and Little Chef a slice too. It wouldn’t feel right for our chefs not to taste their own creation.”

    “Heh, guess not,” Sora agreed, scratching his cheek.

    “You can drop by the Old Mansion after work if you’d like,” Naminé suggested, “No one goes to bed early anyway, since it’s summer vacation.”

    “Yeah, and plus, you still owe me a rematch on Classic Kingdom Melee,” Roxas said with a competitive glint in his blue eyes.

    Sora chuckled and laced his hands behind his head. “So eager to get your butt handed to you again?”

    “I have Naminé’s good luck charm this time,” Roxas said confidently, “So, there’s no way I’m gonna lose again.”

    “We’ll see,” Sora said in a sing-song voice. The two boys jibed one another for another minute until Sora was called back into the kitchen by a short, portly chef with a silver whisk and a toque taller than him.

    Roxas set the box with the tart on the table and moved to pull Naminé’s chair out for her with a flourish. “Madame.”

    “How gentlemanly,” Naminé giggled as she took her seat.

   Taking the chair across from her, Roxas signaled over one of the waiters who promptly brought them two plates and utensils to slice their dessert. Naminé, her hands small and adept, cut them each a generous piece.

    The window behind them cast a warm golden glow and was embossed with the bistro’s name, Le Grand Bistrot, in neat gold lettering. Inside, the restaurant’s staff busied themselves, the sound of clattering dishes and whirring kitchen appliances blending with the soft instrumental tune floating from the speakers outside.

    Naminé spoke again first. “So, you and Hayner are entering the Struggle Tournament this year?”

    “We’re gonna win this year” Roxas boasted with a grin. He picked up his dessert but didn’t take a bite as sparks of excitement began to dance in his eyes. “We’ve been training every day since sign ups.”

    “Confident I see,” Naminé teased.

    “Always,” Roxas returned, his grin turning sly, “And besides, I’ve won the digital version once already. The real thing can’t be any harder.”

    Naminé conceded with a smile. “That is true.”

    As Roxas explained his new strategy for this year’s tournament, Naminé listened attentively, offering nods and questions at different intervals as she nibbled at her dessert. She liked seeing him so excited. After everything they had been through, happiness like this was well-deserved.

    “Promise to cheer me on?” Roxas asked. His gaze was intense now, making Naminé’s heart skip a beat.

    Naminé averted his eyes, playing with her hair as she answered shyly. “I’ll be in the front row the entire time.”

    “U-Uh, thanks” Roxas blushed at her words and drew his own gaze away. “But um…anyway,” Roxas coughed, “How about you? You mentioned buying some new paints the other day. Have you been able to try them out yet?”

    This time, it was Naminé’s face that lit up. She pressed her fingers together and tilted her head happily. “I have! I’ve been painting lots of landscapes with them, and I want to try portraits too.”

    “Is this your subtle way of asking me to be your model?” Roxas joked.

    “Mmm, maybe. Though, I’m not entirely sure you’d be able to stay still the entire time.”

    Roxas raised his eyebrows. “That sounds like a challenge.”

    “You really think you can sit still for more than an hour?” Naminé asked dubiously.

    “With the right kind of incentive.”

    Without hesitating, Naminé replied. “Sea salt ice cream?”

    “Bingo,” Roxas said and bit into his slice of the tart.

    Naminé didn’t try to conceal her laughter. Roxas really was predictable. And adorable.  “I think I can arrange that.”

    “Then, we have ourselves a deal!” Roxas held out a hand across the table, and Naminé shook it as if it was actually some kind of serious, contractual agreement.

    The two continued to talk, reminiscing over the new memories they had made in the real Twilight Town. Like the first time they had all gone to Sunset Hill for a meteor shower or when they took that impromptu trip to Radiant Garden because somehow Twilight Town had run out of sea salt ice cream. Granted, it had been a particularly hot day. But still…

    “I feel like summer vacation is too short,” Roxas complained, “and who thought it was a good idea to assign homework? We’re supposed to be on a break.”

    Naminé’s lips twitched knowingly. “You still haven’t started, have you?”

    “I tried, but the computer keeps crashing on me, so I can’t do any kind of research,” Roxas explained, pouting as he crossed his arms.

    “You and computers,” Naminé sighed, shaking her head, “What are you writing your report on?”

    “Not sure yet. Hayner, Pence, and Olette want to do something about the seven wonders, but that’s a little too déjà vu for me, you know?”

    Naminé tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, maybe you can do a report about the beach?”

    “The beach?” Roxas cocked his head curiously.

    “Yeah, like what kind of fish are in the ocean here or ways to keep our beaches clean,” Naminé continued. Roxas loved the beach. The first time they went, Roxas nearly tripped over himself running across the sand to get to the water, and he didn’t come out until it was time to leave.

    “Looks like we’re going to the beach this week then, huh?” Roxas asked with a coy grin.

    Naminé returned the smile.  “Looks like it.”

    By the time they were ready to leave, with their leftovers secured in a to-go bag, the last embers of the twilight sky above had faded, blanketing the sunset hues beneath a veil of stars. The night air was still, the bustle of the usually busy town subdued as most citizens retired to their homes to sleep.

    “I had a lot of fun tonight,” Naminé said, staring down at her feet bashfully.

    “Me too.” There was a brief silence that hung between them before Roxas added in a hesitant but hopeful voice. “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

    “I would love that,” Naminé answered softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

    “Y-You know, there’s gonna be that new movie playing down at the theater this Friday. We could grab dinner here and then go see that?”

    “It’s a date!” Naminé agreed happily, and her heart soared.

    Roxas took her hand and intertwined their fingers. “It’s a date.”

#rokunami #roxas #namine #kingdom hearts #namixas #finally had a chance to finish this story #I loved writing the dialogue #and the tarte aux fruits was one of the prettiest desserts in kh3 #perfect for a first date <3

[kairos-polaris]

Revelations and not so secret crushes

A little gift for @bunathebunny . Also @miraculousmelodies , like I promised

People make mistakes all the time. And it's okay! Failure is a part of progress and if you never fail, then you don't do anything at all.

One may argue that mistaking potions for milk and eating someone's special macaroons wasn't this type of mistake. "He should have been more careful," they say. But did you try to make coffee in a kitchen littered with potions while also being sleep deprived? No? Thought so.

The last paragraph was specifically written for Dick's younger brothers, Jason Todd and Tim Drake. Those two decided that it was a great idea to make fun of their dearest elder brother and his very unfortunate mistake. And even if Tim was perfectly aware of struggles that came with making coffee while being sleep deprived, he didn't have to worry that white liquid may be a potion, not milk.

But in the end Dick was very grateful for that small mistake. It has resolved several conflicts and had very unpredictable consequences.

***

It was morning. Just a normal winter morning. You know, when it's too dark and far too cold and you don't want to leave your bed? That was a morning like that.

Normal men don't get up at six a.m but Richard "Dick" Grayson wasn't one. And it's good, because his family was neither normal nor sane.

"Being normal is boring," his girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would say. If it were someone else, Dick would wholeheartedly agree with them while hanging upside down from the chandelier in the manor.

But because it was Marinette, Dick had to immediately assume she hasn't been sleeping or eating healthy for the last 48 hours. Usually, he was wrong, but he did enjoy taking care of her.

Another proof that shows how much Dick Grayson isn't a normal or sane man is vigilantism. You see, normal people deal with trauma by talking about it with a therapist or their friends. And do you know what did Dick do? He donned his family's colour and decided to beat up criminals. What a great idea! And Bruce Wayne allowed it because, apparently, fighting crime is an appropriate hobby for a nine-year-old boy. (Don't worry, Brucie, we know that Dick Grayson is too stubborn and he forced you to make him your sidekick, we don't blame you much)

No matter how much not normal or insane Dick was, he was a good man who wanted to help people. That's why he didn't complain to Bruce about being tired after patrols. Much.

It didn't mean he didn't complain to Marinette though. Hugs and kisses were an added bonus to her being a very good listener. But that morning Marinette was too busy to even notice him. Dick tried his hardest to swallow his disappointment. He knew how important every commission was to Marinette. It was her passion and her life.

He sighed with the most miserable expression he could muster but Marinette didn't even look up. She continued sewing and ignoring his brilliant performance. Dick huffed with annoyance. How could she ignore him when he was sitting on their bed looking so sad and exhausted and hot?

***

Kitchen was the best room in their apartment. It was also the safest one because of Marinette's protection charms and spells. There was always a faint smell of pastry and delicious food.

Preparing coffee was completely mechanical. His tiredness didn't let him comprehend his own actions. That's why he didn't notice the strange taste of the drink as he should have.

Dick immediately felt better after finishing his coffee. He felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders. It made him think about Marinette. His lovely girlfriend. He wanted to, no, he craved to see her. He could bet she smelled amazing.

Marinette was still working when he entered their room (she preferred her bedroom to any office). His heart swelled with tenderness at the image before him. Marinette was biting her lip, strands of hair in her face. She was also wearing his sweater, which made him roll his eyes, because it was the very same sweater he had lost. She was so concentrated that she didn't even notice him entering their bedroom.

Dick slowly approached Marinette to not spook her. "I love you, Cupcake," he confessed out of blue. Marinette jumped at the sound of his voice making Dick cringe internally. "I'm sorry for startling you, Mari." The woman just laughed and took off her glasses. Apparently, sewing in deem light isn't good for your eyes. And how could she know that?

"No, don't be sorry. I should pay more attention to my surroundings," Marinette suddenly stopped mid sentence. "I'm sorry for ignoring you earlier, Birdy. Do you want a hug?" Dick grinned at her offer and immediately scooped her in his arms.

"I know it's been a stressful week. What do you think about staying in bed the whole day? We can watch a movie. We can watch the Ladybug one and make fun of inaccuracies. Or any other superhero movie," he ranted excitedly. Marinette laughed a little and pulled back slightly. Dick's was adorable, but Marinette had a feeling that he wouldn't appreciate her laugh.

"I have to finish this dress for Clara, you know that," Marinette sighed tiredly. She really wanted to take a break and spend the day with her boyfriend. He always knew when she was too tired to continue working. Maybe, today was a day like that?

It was unfair to keep Marinette from her passion and Dick knew it. But! He wanted to spend some time with his wonderful girlfriend. It wasn't his fault she was the cutest person he has ever met. And he still couldn't make her choose between her passion and him. Dick sighed and started moving slowly to let Marinette out.

"Hey, I didn't say no," Marinette laughed at his hopeful gaze. "Yes, I would really like to spend more time with you."

And that's how Marinette found herself suffocating in a tight grip of her boyfriend. She actually didn't mind it. Feeling his weight on her body was the best feeling ever. It reminded her that he was with her, grounded her, when she was too concentrated on her work.

Marinette didn't really focus on the movie that was playing. Something was off and she couldn't focus. Dick was talking but she couldn't understand a word so focused on her feelings.

"...Marinette? Marinette?" Dick's worried voice drew her out of haze. She could see concern in his eyes so she tried smiling as reassuring as possible. Dick didn't seem convinced but hard lines on his face relaxed a little bit.

"I'm sorry. I dozed off. Cuddling with you always makes me sleepy, you know that." Dick sighed and hugged her even tighter. "What were you talking about?"

"I wanted your opinion about the next Titan's mission. You see, Wally has offered this strategy…"

Marinette listened to his every word very attentively. His excitement was obvious in every line and small movement. He was proud of Wally and his ideas, he wanted to share it with her.

"Do you know that you've spent more time complimenting Wally than actually relaying his strategy?" Marinette asked with a teasing smile. His face and neck were immediately covered with red spots.

"I… I… I have a crush on Wally!" Dick blurted out and Marinette felt like all air from her lungs disappeared. Colour left Dick's face immediately after realising what he had said. He started babbling how much he loved her, how important she was for him, he kissed her cheeks and hands. But all Marinette could focus on was that… she had lost a bet. Jason would be unbearable for the next several weeks. Or maybe even months. Marinette shuddered at the thought.

"Marinette, please, say something. Please. I'm sorry," Dick was clearly panicking and for a moment Marinette wanted to prank him. Pretend that she was hurt and then explain that it was because of her bet with Jason. But it felt too cruel, so she took his hand and smiled reassuringly.

"I knew it," she said, and Dick's bewildered expression was worth her honesty. "And it's okay, because it's possible to love multiple people at the same time. You loving Wally doesn't mean you don't love me." Dick stayed still for a long moment before leaning to her and knocking her breath out with a kiss. Marinette tried to lean away but he chased her lips every time, continuing kissing her.

"I love you so much. I don't know what I have done to deserve someone like you, but I will keep you until the end of the Universe," he whispered into her lips when they finally pulled a part.

"I love you, too. And falling for you felt like the easiest thing in the world," she said breathlessly, making Dick snort. He let out an involuntary whine when she leaned even further away.

"Why were you so upset?" Dick asked after several minutes of silence. Marinette murmured something into his shirt but he couldn't understand a word. "Can you repeat it please? I didn't understand a word you've said."

"Because I've lost a bet," she repeated just barely louder, but thankfully Dick heard her clearly this time.

"A bet?" he asked with the most confused and bewildered expression possible.

"You see, both Jason and I knew about your crush on Wally. And one day we were bored, so we started talking about you two. Jason said that you would blurt it out during an inappropriate moment but I thought you would sit me down and explain everything. So now, because of you I will have to give Jason 10 dollars," Marinette explained, carefully gouging hir reaction.

Dick prepared himself to hear a lot of different explanations. They varied from "I was surprised and didn't know how to react" to "I am unhappy with this and everything I said was for your comfort". He did not expect that the reason for her surprise was a bet. A bet. With his brother. His brother who also knew about his crush on Wally.

"How… How did you two find out? I thought I was doing a great job concealing my baby crush."

"Oh, it was so hard! You totally don't look at him with a stupid lovesick grin. And you totally don't laugh at his stupid jokes. You don't hold hands and touch each other all the time. You don't look both at me and him when you make jokes or laugh. Oh no! You do all of that and more!" Marinette exclaimed with a fake surprise.

"...I do?" Dick asked, his voice so small. "And you really don't mind it?"

"I really don't mind. As I said before, I'm secure in our relationship and I know that you love me. Also, I really like Wally. You have a good taste," Dick's smile at her words was brighter than thousands of suns. He picked her up and started spinning her around. Marinette's laugh filled their apartment, and in that moment Dick knew everything was going to be alright.

***

Later, much later, Dick was panicking. Everything sounded so easy when Marinette was with him. "Just go and confess to him,"she said. "I'm sure he feels the same," Marinette said, patient as ever, when Dick was panicking about every possible negative outcome.

"What if he rejects me? What if he wants me to break up with you?" he asked Marinette then. He tugged his hair from the frustration, but Marinette just smiled and took his hands.

"If he rejects you, I will hold you until you feel better. We will eat ice cream and watch cheesy movies. And Wally is a good person, I'm sure he would never ask us to break up." Dick briefly thanked all gods for giving him Marinette before leaning in to kiss her.

"I love you," he murmured into her lips.

But now he was alone in their apartment, because, unlike him, Marinette had a job to do. Dick sighed the tenth time in a row. He didn't have to worry about Marinette's reaction to his confession, because she was the one who had asked him out. "I don't hesitate anymore," she had said with a brilliant smile.

Well, Dick knew one thing for sure: he was a coward and would never confess to Wally without Marinette being there. And he couldn't ask anyone for advice. How does one explain that they are in love with two people at the same time? Should he just google it?

His musings were interrupted by a series of long knocks and a loud voice. Was it Jason screaming. "Hey, Dickhead, asking someone to hangout with you and then not showing up is such a dick move!" Yes, that was Jason. Dick scowled before remembering that he had invited Jason and Tim to spend time together.

He grinned and leaped out of the bedroom. Hanging out with his brothers would be a perfect excuse to not confess to Wally! A great timing on their part.

"Hey, guys..!" he was rudely interrupted by a shirt thrown into his face.

"Get dressed, Dickie bird. I don't want to see proofs of you and Pixie having a healthy sexual life." Dick flushed bright red when he realized that he was naked. He ran back to his bedroom followed by both Tim's and Jason's laugh. God, how embarrassing.

***

Wally was bored. He felt like he could die from boredom. And the day had started so nicely. He woke up early and prepared himself a very tasty cup of tea. Wally finished every small task around his apartment. He started reading several different books but none of them piqued his interest. There was nothing interesting on TV.

Wally sighed again. And again. And again. He felt like an aristocrat, laying on his coach with a wine glass full of water in his hand. The only thing missing was a manor. And nicer clothes. And servants. And wine. Actually, a lot of things were missing.

Jason's invitation to hangout felt like a blessing. Finally, something interesting to do. His heart totally didn't flutter in his chest when he found out that Dick would be there, too. No, sir, no. Dick was his best friend and nothing more. He was also dating Marinette, Wally's another very good friend.

Wally was the first one to arrive at the bar Dick had offered to meet in. It took all of his mental strength to not start bouncing from all the energy.

"Hi, Wally," Wally's smile dimmed a little when he realized it was Jason, not Dick. "I thought Dickie would be here first. You know, considering it was his idea."

Wally nodded at Jason's words. He thought he would have at least several minutes alone with Dick, who seemed to avoid him lately. And if he did pay attention to Wally, Marinette would always be there. It wasn't a bad thing per se, because Marinette was amazing, but Wally wanted some alone time with his best bro.

"I wonder why," Wally mussed at loud. Jason smiled in agreement and started talking about neutral themes. Wally could do that. After a day of pure boredom everything was interesting.

Twenty minutes later Tim was there, but Dick was nowhere in sight. Wally frowned. Did something happen? Dick would never miss family hangouts.

"You are late, Replacement," Jason chided Tim, conveniently forgetting he himself came later. Wally laughed at the sheer hypocrisy, but it was a very Jason move.

"Well, Dick is not here, so I don't think it counts," Tim shrugged. He was holding a half-empty cup of coffee (what else could it be?) and clearly needed more sleep. Wally internally shook his head. Sleeping as little as Tim was surely wasn't good for his health. Where were Dick and Bruce looking?

"Where is Dick anyway?" Jason asked, letting out an annoyed huff. "Did he do that so Timmy and I could hang out together? Not a very smart move, because I can just leave now and he will never know."

"He could have just forgotten about it," Wally suggested. He was met with two doubtful gazes. "Yeah, it's very unlikely. Something has happened and he can't leave?"

"Why didn't he say anything then?" Jason asked. He was leaning down on the wall of the bar with a small frown. "We should call him or Marinette."

"Marinette is working so she can't know where he is. We should call Dick directly," Tim said, already holding his phone. He was the one who dialed Dick, but Dick didn't answer not after the first call, nor the second, nor the third. Wally was worried. Dick always answered when someone called. Something must have happened.

"I was right. We should go and check on him. Should we walk or should I run to his apartment?" Wally asked, worry laced in his voice.

"Let's ride. I parked my car nearby," Tim said and turned around, walking to his car. Wally looked at Jason who just shrugged and went after Tim. Well, it seemed like he didn't have a choice then.

The ride to Dick's apartment felt longer than it should have. Wally was burning from all the anxious energy. What if something has happened to Dick? What if they were too late? What if Dick just didn't want to see them? Wally didn't know what would hurt more.

The apartment's doors were locked, which was a good sign. It meant that nobody had broken inside. It also meant that they couldn't enter. Fortunately, Tim had his own key so it wasn't a problem. ("Marinette gave it to me," Tim answered Wally's silent question. "She wanted me to know that I'm always welcome here". "Oh, Pixie didn't give me my own key! Does she not want to see my handsome face?" Jason asked more dramatically than needed. Wally totally wasn't disappointed that he didn't have his own key. It didn't mean that Dick didn't trust him, right?)

The apartment was clean, no visible signs of someone breaking in. Wally looked around, trying to find some clues that would help to understand the situation. Jason yelled something, but Wally didn't pay enough attention to understand him.

Wally turned around at the sound of Dick's voice only to look away immediately. He did not expect to see Dick naked. Wally blushed, thinking about the man's muscles and biceps, small scars on his chest and arms, scratches, and hickeys… Wally paled immediately. Oh, yes, hickeys, because Dick Grayson, his best friend, was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Wally couldn't let himself forget.

It was easier to think after Dick had left. Now, Wally didn't have to use all of his mental strength to not ogle his best friend. Wally wondered why he had reacted this way. It's not like he had never seen Dick naked before. "You saw him when you were changing. You were both naked then. But here, it's much more intimate," his traitorous mind whispered.

"I'm not waiting for the golden boy to get dressed. I'm going to the kitchen. Pixie always has something sweet there," Jason said and walked out of the living room. Wally looked at Tim who just shrugged and followed his brother. Well, it seemed like he had no choice but to go to the kitchen.

The room was full of light and delicious smells. The table was littered with numerous vials, pastry, herbs, and other things Wally couldn't identify. He breathed out, feeling more relaxed than ever, despite his complicated feelings. Marinette's presence and influence were obvious there, and she always had the way to make people feel better. She was just magic that way.

"Wally! I didn't know you were here," Dick's excited voice interrupted his thoughts. Wally didn't even hear him coming in. Do not think about his body. Do not think about his body. Do not think about his body. "I'm really sorry about forgetting our hangout. I'm deeply ashamed."

"You wish I said "it's okay, I forgive you". But I won't! I will always tease you about it, so get ready!" said Jason, while rummaging through a freezer. "Where is milk, Dickhead? I wanted to make a cup of tea for myself, but I can't find anything here."

"Oh, we ran out of milk," Dick replied easily before a panicked expression settled on his face. "Wait… If we ran out of milk, then what did I add to my coffee this morning?"

"Welp, I hope it wasn't one of Marinette's potions," Wally offered sympathetically, but one look at Dick's panicked expression hinted that it was most likely what had happened. And wasn't that funny? Judging by Jason's laugh, he also thought it was hilarious.

"We can call her and ask about the effects of that particular potion?" Tim offered, trying to be serious but burst out laughing. Dick did not appreciate the lack of concern from his brothers. What if the potion hurt him and the effects could never be reversed? "It's very funny, but we really should call Marinette. We don't know how it can affect Dick. It could be really harmful," Tim said after calming down. Even Jason stopped laughing.

They did call Marinette. It must have been the smartest decision in several hours. But she didn't answer. Calling her five more times didn't help. They just were directed to voicemail. Marinette's cheery voice telling them "Hi! You've reached Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm very sorry, but I'm busy and can't answer you right now. You can leave me a message and I will call you later! Bye!" didn't help.

"And what should we do?" Wally asked, interrupting the awkward silence. Well, it wasn't awkward per se, but Jason desperately trying and failing to suppress his laugh did make Dick feel uncomfortable.

"You can try and recall everything that happened. This way we can know how exactly the potion affected you," Tim offered with a small shrug. "Start from the morning and up until this moment."

"I was really tired after patrol last night, so I tried complaining to Marinette, but she was too busy so she ignored me. I decided to make a cup of coffee. I actually felt better after it, but I had this strange need to go and hug Marinette, tell her how much I love her." Wally totally didn't feel a pang in his chest. He wasn't jealous. He didn't want Dick to confess to him, because they were best friends and nothing more.

"What happened next? Or are you hiding something?" Seemingly innocent questions (especially, considering it was Jason who asked) flustered Dick so much he was completely red. He's so handsome…no, bad, Wally, stop. "Oh, you are hiding something."

"Marinette and I cuddled, while watching movies," Dick answered, still as red as a tomato. "And then we had sex!"

Wally wasn't jealous Wally wasn't jealous Wally wasn't jealous Wally wasn't jealous Wally wasn't… Oh, he was so jealous

This time silence was certainly awkward. Very awkward. Dick was burning from embarrassment. Wally was trying to convince himself he wasn't jealous. Tim was thinking about anything other than his brother's love life.

And only Jason was amused. The day was working out great for him. He won 10 dollars. Yes, it wasn't much, but the satisfaction of winning the bet with Marinette was worse so much more. It would be even better if Dick blurted out that he has a crush on Wally with him nearby. But it seemed that his dearest older brother would rather embarrass himself than confess.

"Is it everything? Because I think you have left out something," but Dick just glared at him. Well, time for big guns. "Were you and Pixie talking about something? Something very important? Something that will have a big influence on your relationship?" he then feigned a scandalised gasp. "Did you confess that you have cheated on her?! Did you cheat on Marinette?!"

Dick's glare was the funniest thing in the world, and Jason's snickers just made him angrier. "Nothing like! I just told her that I have a crush on Wally!" His satisfied expression slowly morphed into one of shock. "I meant to say that I had told her about my crush on Wally! No, not that! About patrol! Yes, patrol!"

"Your crush on me?" Wally asked, his voice small and soft. He clearly was shocked by Dick's confession. He looked even more surprised than Dick was. "Are you serious?"

Tim felt like he was in a tv drama. Secret crushes? Check? Oblivious main characters? Check? Mean brother Jason? Check. The drama of the reveal? Check. Friends to lovers? Check? Another love interest? Check. The only difference was Marinette. That woman certainly wasn't the "evil and annoying wife". He briefly wondered how she had reacted, but judging that Dick was still alive she was very nice.

"How unpredictable, how surprising," Jason stage whispered, leaning down to Tim. This time both Wally and Dick glared, which was somehow even more amusing. Even Tim was cackling.

"Get out of here. I… Wally and I have to talk about my stupid slip. Go!" Dick shouted, basically throwing them out of the kitchen. Tim and Jason exchanged a knowing look and burst out laughing. Knowing that it pissed Dick off made them laugh even harder.

Dick didn't know what to say or how to react. He wanted to wait for Marinette to confess to Wally. She would know what to say and how to explain his feelings better than he could ever do. Her presence would give him strength and courage. He didn't want to blurt it out. Again. He was an idiot and Wally would never like him back.

"So, you like me?" Wally asked with a nervous chuckle. His crush liked him. His crush liked him. His crush liked him. Wally could not believe it was real and he wasn't dreaming.

"I..yes. Yes, I do," Dick stated, more confident than before. "You are smart, amazing, and incredible. You have a beautiful smile that lights up every room. Your plans are brilliant, but you don't always see it. You are very important to me so yes, I like you."

Wally felt like his head was spinning from Dick's compliments and the sincerety in his eyes. Blush rised to his cheeks. He was at loss of words. How should he react?! Compliment him back?

"I… I really like you, too," Wally finally answered, his throat dry from nerves. Dick broke in a brilliant, brighter than the sun grin. "How did Marinette react to that?"

"Do you want her exact words or just generally?" Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Generally."

"Well, she said that polyamory exists and that me loving you doesn't mean I love her any less," Dick answered with the same gentle smile he always had when talking about Marinette. But this time Wally didn't feel envious or jealous. Dick suddenly looked more nervous than before. "Would you date me? You don't have to date Marinette, but I don't want to break up with her, you know?"

Wally didn't know. He has heard about polyamory and open relationships before, of course. He didn't know what to do or how to act. Would he and Marinette have to share Dick? Would they have a schedule, so they could spend time with Dick? Would they have to be together all the time? But Wally did know that honesty was important in every type of relationship so he took a deep breath and explained everything to Dick.

"Well, neither I nor Marinette have the experience of dating two people at once, so we will have to figure it out. Trials and errors, you know?" Dick offered with a small 0shrug. He looked away, suddenly more nervous than before. His main concern was confessing to Wally, he didn't think how the whole thing would work. "We can try anyway."

"We can try, yeah," Wally repeated with a small smile.

"Now kiss!" Jason groaned from annoyance and lack of patience. Dick felt blush from embarrassment (the amount of times he blushed today was concerning). Jason was not affected by his glare at all. "Well, I'm waiting. Marinette wanted to see your first kiss and I promised her to take a picture," he said gesturing to his phone.

"We won't kiss on camera. We can wait for Marinette," he growled before realising that he hadn't asked Wally how he would feel. Dick could hope the sudden realisation wasn't obvious, but judging by Jason's and Tim's expressions they both have noticed. Nothing to lose then. "Would you mind kissing me with Marinette there? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Wally was silent for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly. "We can try, I guess," he said before realising one very crucial detail Dick had missed. "When did you two return? Because I remember Dick throwing you out of here."

"When Dick confessed to you? I'm not sure," Tim said with the same tone one would discuss weather, not their brother's love life. Jason nodded in agreement. "Now, we can leave you two alone. Right, Jason?"

"Eh, we all have to make sacrifices for the happiness of our elder brothers," Jason said with a dramatic gasp, but nothing new, nothing new. "Let's go, Timmy, let's go. We are not welcome here." Wally could swear he had heard Tim mutter "it's not like I am the one who suggested to leave" under his breath.

"So, are we waiting for Marinette?" he asked with a nervous chuckle. God, having Dick's undivided attention and being completely alone with him was a nerve-wracking experience. Wally locked his eyes on Dick's lips. They looked even better than usual. Was it because he could kiss him now? Must be. "No, I wanted to kiss you for too long to wait even a second more," Dick murmured before leaning towards Wally.

Kissing Dick blew up his mind. It wasn't something Wally hoped would ever happen but desperately wanted to. Dick's lips were a little bit chapped, just enough to notice but not enough to make their kiss uncomfortable. Wally didn't want to lean away even for a second to take a breath. If it was his last kiss with Dick (and it certainly wasn't), he would enjoy for as long as he could.

"It was just like I imagined it," Wally blurted out when they stopped kissing. He felt breathless and higher than ever.

"So you imagined kissing me?" Dick asked with a smug smile. "Well, I am me and I'm awesome."

"Where was the confidence when you were panicking about confessing to Wally?" Dick and Wally immediately wiped their head towards the voice. There was standing Marinette with a teasing smile and a Polaroid in her hands. "Don't worry! I wasn't standing here creepily and watching you two make out! I just took a photo and left immediately. Didn't want to intrude," she explained upon noticing Dick's and Wally's reaction.

"Why did you take a photo?" asked Dick.

"For my scrapbook, my heart. I have a photo of our first kiss, our first date, from the day we moved in, and when we finally organized everything. And I wanted to have photos of every important milestone in your relationship, too," Marinette explained, while moving gracefully around the kitchen. Her chaotic moves seemed to have a complicated system Dick couldn't understand.

Wally… didn't know what to say. Sure, he knew that Marinette wasn't against their relationship, but he didn't expect her to be so supportive and kind. He felt warmth bloom in his chest. He wasn't in love with Marinette, but right at that moment, in hers and Dick's cluttered kitchen, he felt like falling for her was the easiest thing ever.

But they still had some questions for Marinette to answer.

"Marinette, you love me, right?" Dick waited for Marinette to nod in agreement before continuing talking. "I may or may not have drunk one of your potions! But it was an accident!"

Marinette sighed tiredly. Then she sighed again. And again. And again. Wally stopped counting after five consecutive sighs. She pinched the bridge of her nose before talking again. "It's okay. I shouldn't leave my potions in the kitchen if I don't want anyone to accidentally drink them. I'm not mad, not disappointed. Accidents happen and it's not your fault. I just need you to tell me from what vial you took it and how it affected you, okay?"

It didn't take long for Marinette fo realise what potion Dick had taken. And when she did, she burst out laughing. Unfortunately, Dick and Wally didn't share her knowledge of magic, so they couldn't appreciate the irony of the situation without her help.

"I've been trying to make a way to free kwami. Tbe potion you've drunk? It's a result of my experiments. It didn't free kwami but it freed you," Marinette explained before laughing again. And this time Dick and Wally did join her.

#maribat #dickinette #birdflashbug #birdflash #fluff #and even more fluff #love confessions and oblivious idiots #I hope it's a good gift

[bigfrozenfan]

Frozen III plot / fanfic

I have read many opinions about Frozen II in the last half year, many of them very contradictory and almost dividing the Frozen fandom. So it took me a while to put everything together to form a personal overall picture. Many people know that I’m an F3 supporter and after a post from yesterday about Elsa’s humanity and how the makers of Frozen see her, an idea came to my mind. This idea would solve many problems and questions and finally bring Elsa back to Arendelle and to Anna. Furthermore, this idea holds a lot of fuel and possibilities for a full-length film with many flashbacks and plots for really every one of our beloved characters. Everyone would get their money’s worth without it getting boring at any time.

It’s been a long time since I tried writing and I’m not good at it. But the form of a ficlet seemed to me to be the most suitable to convey an F3 plot idea with much tension in it. Maybe one of my favourite writers or anyone who would like to dare to take up my idea and write a real fanfic with several chapters. I would be the first who would like to read it!

I hope you like my idea.

Big thanks to @fericita-s​ for beta reading and correcting my text and also for making me aware of a big logical problem that i had overseen! After one sleepy night i solved this issue and now my movie plot idea is even better than before :-)

The story takes place shortly after the events of the reunion and afterwards in the Enchanted Forest…

Of course it had taken a while until the people of Arendelle understood everything, until they accepted the new friends in the far north and the abdication of their queen. It has taken a while before Anna herself was ready to take on the mantle. 

In her new role as Fifth Spirit, accompanied by Gale and Nokk, Elsa was quickly accepted by the Arendellians. Most were grateful after witnessing the rescue of the castle. Some of them, however, were afraid of so much power in their midst. 

Elsa noticed this very quickly and decided to limit her future visits to what was necessary and to enter the castle without being seen.

The official coronation took place in the castle chapel, where all the kings and queens had been crowned. When the choir finished singing, the bishop carefully put the new crown on Anna and she received Arendelle’s insignia from the velvet cushion. Then she turned to her people with pride and dignity. 

Elsa was in exactly the same place where Anna had been during her own coronation. Anna was calm and composed during the whole ceremony. Fear had almost overwhelmed Elsa. She saw in her memory the ice that slowly formed on the scepter and orb as clearly as if it had been yesterday.

As the applause broke out she smiled at Anna. She was so proud of her little sister. Anna looked over at her for a moment and smiled back in relief. Then she carefully put the insignia back on the pillow. She had made it through. She was now Queen of Arendelle.

As they left the chapel in a royal recessional past an overjoyed looking Kristoff, the enthusiastically clapping people of Arendelle, the invited guests and dignitaries, Elsa involuntarily drew a comparison. There seemed to be far more people present than at her own coronation. Some representatives of the Northuldra were even present including Yelana and Honeymaren in their traditional colourful festive dress, now bowing to both of them. The people loved Anna. And Elsa was happy to have made the right decision for both of them and for the kingdom.  

The Coronation Ball in the evening was cheerful and exuberant. Every dignitary paid respects to the new queen. She was glad that the Duke of Weselton was not invited this time and that she did not have to dance with him. This time she could choose her own dance partner and she chose Kristoff. As a precaution she had arranged for Kristoff to get some dance lessons a few weeks before. She still remembered too well how Weselton stepped on her feet back then and Kristoff was a good deal bigger and heavier.

***

Anna, with Elsa’s help, had commissioned the royal sculptor to create a large bronze statue. She wanted to show her parents at a young age, as a monument and eternal symbol of the peace between Arendelle and the Northuldra. Elsa would not be able to be present in person, but she gave her promise to visit regularly. 

Anna’s second official act was to appoint Lt. Destin Mattias as General. He had been loyal to Arendelle all his life and was instrumental in helping her break the curse of the mist. Ultimately, it was Mattias who reached for her hand at the very last moment to save her from falling into the depths of the breaking dam, saving her life.  

Together with Kristoff, of course, and that brought Anna to her next thought. She had been overjoyed to accept Kristoff’s marriage proposal and that would be the next big event in Arendelle. Her own wedding. But first she wanted to unveil the monument. The sculptor had promised her that it would be finished very soon.

***

Peace had returned to the Enchanted Forest.  The Northuldra lived their lives as before, in harmony with the Spirits of Nature. The giants helped the inhabitants over abysses, Nokk helped a bit with fishing, Gale, playful as she was, helped to convert creative ideas into stone sculptures, and Bruni was content to help start cookfires and clear areas with fire as needed for growing food or reindeer herding. 

Elsa had her own kota in the village, but she spent most of her time in Ahtohallan to learn and find out more about the past and about herself and her magic. She even finds out more about Kristoff's past. The only thing she knew about him was that he has been raised by trolls and learned to be an ice harvester. But now she knows everything. About his parents and what happened to them, and also the circumstances around why Kristoff ended up among the trolls.

One balmy early summer evening she sat with Honeymaren and a few others around the campfire in the village and told them a little bit about Ahtohallan. Everyone was quite curious about it because not one of the Northuldra living today had ever seen it. 

At first she decided to reveal only a little of the deeper secrets there and limited herself to the description of the place itself. She wasn’t sure if this would anger the spirits but assumed that she would quickly notice when trouble was approaching. The Northuldra hung on her every word while she talked and now and then someone asked her for more details. But Elsa left out the pictures in the memory hall and the deeper levels of Ahtohallan with the living ice sculptures of her own past. That was a bit too private and perhaps risky. 

Now that she had accepted her ability and her new task as Fifth Spirit, she hardly thought back to her old life in Arendelle. In the beginning she was there every Friday and sometimes stayed over the weekend to be with Anna and help her with her new duties as Queen, but she had changed. Something had changed her. And it became rarer and rarer for Elsa to visit the castle.

Eventually it even became rare to find her in the forest.

The Spirits were appeased and there were no threats and no strangers in the forest. Everything was calm and in harmony. It was almost as if it had never been otherwise. Many peaceful weeks passed.

Until that one day in the early hours of the morning, when one of the Northuldra men was about to go fishing and he found a human lying at the beach motionless half in the water. The man ran back to the village to get help. 

A short time later he returned with Yelana, Honeymaren, and a healer.  They took in the sight before them and drew back in shock. In front of them lay Elsa, motionless and without any clothes. 

The healer was the first to kneel down next to her and check if she was still alive. She confirmed it to Yelena with a relieved nod and together they carried her back to the forest.

When they arrived in the village there was excitement and a small group discussed gesticulating and pointing towards the lichen meadows and other directions. The only thing they understood in the tangle of stories was, that the spirits had apparently all disappeared and were no longer helping anyone as they always did. 

Yelana immediately linked the two incidents and came up with the only possible explanation. Elsa was on her way back to them when all the Spirits suddenly disappeared, and so did Nokk. So Elsa must have swum almost all the way from Ahtohallan through the Dark Sea. A wonder she could survive that at all. If the magic disappeared, this could only mean one thing.

***

Meanwhile, Anna was seriously worried in Arendelle. It had been more than a month since Elsa’s last letter and since then Gale hadn’t shown up either. 

Even Olaf had been acting very strange lately, insisting they remove the ice embellishments from the castle and find more “Anna” decorations.  He was also uncharacteristically calm. He didn’t visit Sven as often anymore and his curiosity and jokes had become rare.  

Anna made a decision. If Elsa did not come to her, she would have to travel to the Enchanted Forest herself. She asked Kristoff to gather all the necessary material and asked General Mattias to accompany her. He agreed as long as he could bring Halima.

Anna agreed and the next day they all left very early in the morning for the north. Sven pulled the wagon, Kristoff sat in the front and Olaf sat in the back next to Anna. Mattias and Halima rode side by side on two of their own horses behind them. Since there was peace between the Northuldra and the Arendellians, they declined a retinue of guards. It was supposed to be a comfortable trip with a reunion of old friends in the Enchanted Forest.

Late in the evening they reached the four big monoliths at the edge of the forest and the sun was already setting. They got out of the wagon and Mattias helped Halima dismount. Everyone was in a good mood and grabbed the contents from the wagon. There were presents for the Northuldra and specialties from Arendelle for a small feast in the village. They had barely finished when a few Northuldra with serious expressions ran towards them and asked them to hurry. Something bad had happened. Anna held on to Kristoff in shock and said only one word. “Elsa!”

When they entered the village there was an oppressive silence and many lowered their eyes as they passed by. Honeymaren ran towards Anna, bowed briefly to the queen and took her hand.

Anna’s lips trembled as they looked into each other’s eyes for a brief moment. Finally Honeymaren pulled Anna gently behind her towards Elsa’s kota and said softly to her that Anna had to be strong now. They entered the low and gloomy dwelling. Then Anna saw her sister lying on a bed lined with furs, her eyes open. Anna rushed towards her, kneeled beside the bed and grabbed Elsa’s hand. She was unusually warm, but did not return her gentle grip. Elsa just looked up and did not react in the slightest. Anna laid both hands on Elsa’s cheeks and gently turned her head towards her. Their eyes met.

“Elsa! What has happened? What is the matter with you?”

Agonizing seconds went by.

Elsa blinked a few times and then tightened her eyebrows.

Her voice was weak and sounded fragile when she finally replied, “Who are you?”

*** 

—

Ok, there were or are some difficulties for me to bring some facts together and explain them conclusively. One of them is the loss of Elsa’s powers and what would happen to her creations. Olaf, the Snowgies and Marshmallow in particular. It was simple and easy to do with Elsa’s ice decorations at the castle (if it should be Elsa’s suggestion or Anna’s decision as new Queen i’m not sure about). Arendelle and especially Anna must not notice in the story too early that Elsa is now a “normal” person. But the other thing? That Ahtohallan is the reason should be clear, after all that was the source of Elsa’s power. But what happens when all the magic vanishes? Would Ahtohallan have a remaining residual magic to ensure the continued existence of Elsa’s living creations? Or would Elsa possess some kind of residual magic that she can no longer use willingly, but is still a deep part of herself? The other thing is how would it be possible to bring back the magic or to "heal" Ahtohallan? Would this be permanent? Would it be wanted? Questions over questions and this time Ahtohallan doesn't know (pun intended...LOL).

Well, the rest of the story remains to be determined…

#frozen2 #f3 plot idea #frozen3 #frozen au #ficlet #mine #fericita-s #fanfic #part 1 #prologue

[thetravelerwrites]

Fuzz (MLM Mothman) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Male Human/Male Mothman Additional Tags: Exophilia, Mothman, Male Reader, Male Monster, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons, Tabletop Gaming, Interspecies Romance, Social Anxiety, Gay Monster, Gay Male Character, Gay Sex, Anal Sex, Safe Sex, Condoms Words: 7185

A fun commission for @severedreamerbeard​. A man meets a shy silkmoth mothman in a hobby store during a free comic day, and invites him to play D&D with his friends. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

Free Comic Friday always drew a huge crowd in your favorite local comic shop, but it was packed to the rafters today. The first issue of a graphic novel reboot had dropped and they were offering five hundred free copies, first come first served. You��d been dying to get your hands on it since the reboot had been announced, and you couldn’t believe it was finally out.

Happily swinging the bag around, you didn’t leave immediately once you got your copy like most of the crowd had done. This was one of your favorite places to hang out. It wasn’t like a lot of comic shops that seemed to only attract one demographic; there was always a nice mix of different people. Tabletop gamers, comic enthusiasts, collectors of various nerdy things, cosplayers who needed supplies to make their costumes: all sorts came through here and you loved it.

You got a text from your friend, Shannon, who knew you’d be there and snickered. She’d lost her D20, again, and wanted you to pick up another one in blue, preferably with sparklies so that it matched her current favorite set. Rolling your eyes and smirking, you headed for the dice aisle.

To your surprise, there was a very large, tall mothman standing there, though he was hunched over a little, rolling a die over and over. It was a new type of die that lit up when you rolled it, and the moth’s eyes brightened every time he saw the lights inside activate.

He was almost all white and extremely fluffy; the fluffiest part of him was the ruff around his neck. His large wings were folded against his back, complete with long tails on each like a lunar moth. He had four arms, the top pair larger than the lower pair, which were sort of wrapped around himself, and his hands had two long, large fingers and a thumb each, all a velvety brown in color. He wore no clothing, only a baseball cap with his brown, feather-like antennae sticking out of the holes at the top. The cap said “Will Work for Cuddles” on it.

Mothmen were rare, and you’d seen one or two before, but you’d never been close enough to one to actually talk to them.

“That’s a great set,” You said. “They just got them in last week.”

The mothman jumped, startled, but he grinned a little. “Heh…” He stammered nervously. “Yeah. I… I hate to perpetuate a stereotype, but I am attracted to things that light up.”

He spoke softly, like he was nervous people would hear him. It was cute, but you almost worried about him. The poor thing must have been terrified to come in here with so many people, but the pull of nerd junk can be strong sometimes.

“Do you play?” You asked him, gesturing at the die.

“Play?” The replied, confused.

“Yeah, D&D,” You said, and after a moment of him continuing to look confused, you elaborated. “Dungeons and Dragons. The tabletop game. What you use these dice for.”

“Oh!” He exclaimed, fidgeting. “No, I… I’ve never played. I’ve always wanted to, but… none of my friends are into nerdy stuff like I am. That and I’m kind of new in town, so I haven’t met many people yet. I was lucky to find this hobby shop. I was just walking past and saw it and figured I’d stop in. Is it always this busy?”

“On free comic day, absolutely,” I said with a smile. “So... not to be creepy since it’s literally the first time we’ve met, but my friends and I play every Sunday evening. We’re actually about to start a brand new campaign. You’re more than welcome to join. If you like, you can come ‘round Saturday at lunch and we can build you a character sheet, so that your prepared for the campaign.”

“Really?” He said, his voice timid but excited. “I’d love that! Thanks so much!”

“It’s no trouble,” You said, pulling out your phone. “Here, put your info in my phone and I’ll text you my address.”

He took your phone with a big grin on his face and put in his number. You took your phone back and looked.

“Fuzz?” You asked. “That’s a little on the nose, ain’t it?”

He laughed, a really pleasant sound. “It’s a nickname. Uh…listen… I… I’m actually on my lunch break, so I need to get back to work, but… I’m really looking forward to playing with you and your friends. I’ve always wanted to try.”

“We’d love to have you,” You told him, smiling. He bade you farewell and left, looking back before he headed out of the door and smiling widely at you one last time.

You looked down at the light-up dice, pursed your lips, and snatched up a whole set of them plus a carry bag. You were halfway to the check out when you realized you forgot Shannon’s D20 and doubled back for it.

The next day at lunchtime, Fuzz arrived at your home with pizza in his hand. You were going to throw together some grilled cheeses, but this was way better.

“Thanks, man,” You said, taking it and setting it on the counter in your apartment.

“No prob,” Fuzz replied. His neck ruff seemed to have been brushed shiny and the hat he wore today said “Nap Champion.” “I didn’t know what kind of toppings you’d like, so I just went for a good ol’ cheese.”

“I love cheese,” You told him. “I’ve got you a fresh character sheet printed out and the manual ready. You can look through it while I’m plating this up. What would you like to drink? I’ve got soda, beer, water, and apple juice.”

“Is it… weird if I ask for juice?” He said shyly, hunching his shoulders. “It’s better for my stomach than the other things.”

“Apple juice it is,” You said, pouring a glass. You took the plates and cups to the table, watching Fuzz go over the character sheet with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“I am very confused,” He murmured, almost to himself.

You laughed. “Well, that’s why you’re here. I’ll teach you.” I sat next to him and took a big bite of pizza. “Okay, so, first, you’re going to choose your race. It makes everything after that a little bit easier. I know this sheet tells you to choose a name first, but choosing a name is easier if you know what race you are, because certain races have naming conventions. Like, Tabaxis have tribal naming conventions, so you can’t choose a name like… Frank, for example.”

“Got it,” Fuzz said.

“Take a look at mine,” You said, pulling out your own character sheet full of annotations and stats. “My character is a calashite human cleric, which is like a priest, devoted to the god of knowledge, and my alignment is Lawful-Good. Now, most races will have default alignments, but you can decide what you want yours to be.”

“Okay,” Fuzz replied, trying to keep it all straight. “Hmm… are there any insect races I can play as?”

“Unfortunately, no,” You told him. “But, the cool thing about fantasy is that you can be whatever you want.”

“But I want to be a bug,” He said dryly.

You snorted. “Just look through and see if there’s something you like.”

“Oh!” He exclaimed, pointing at a drider. “That’s a bug!”

“That’s an arachnid,” I pointed out.

“Same difference,” He said.

“Don’t spiders eat moths?” You joked.

“I will take my pizza and go home, mister,” Fuzz said, poking fun right back. You were glad he was getting comfortable enough with you to joke around.

“Driders aren’t playable either,” You replied, laughing. “What about a shifter? That way you can take on aesthetic characteristics an insect, if you like. And the single-skins have white hair, like your fur.”

“Okay, okay,” Fuzz said. “What about a name?”

“Shifters usually have monosyllabic names, so anything you can think of with a single syllable.”

“Like Fuzz, you mean?”

“Are you really going to call your character by your real name?” You asked, smiling.

He smiled back, his lips the same velvety brown as his antennae and hands. “I told you, it’s a nickname. Trust me, it’s better than my real one. Only my parents and siblings know that.”

“Not even your girlfriend?” You asked him.

“Ah… no girlfriend,” He said, shrugging shyly and ducking his head, his antennae waving a little erratically. “I.. uh… don’t lean that way, if you know what I mean.”

You waved your hand. “I’m bi, so no judgment,” You told him, and he relaxed.

You both settled on alignment, level, and class, and then it was time to roll for his stats.

“Oh,” He said with a frown. “I… shit, I don’t have dice.”

“No worries,” You told him, taking out the bag you bought and rolling out the light-up set he’d been admiring.

“You bought those for me?” He asked, his shyness returning, reaching for the bag with a cautious grin.

“Yep,” You told him. “It’s no big deal. I knew you’d need a set and you seemed to like these, so I just--”

You were cut off when he grabbed you with his large upper arms and hugged you. God, his fur was soft. You’d never actually touched it before now, but with your face pressed against it, it was softer than angora and smelled like fresh herbs.

He released you suddenly, as if catching himself doing something he hadn’t meant to do. “Sorry, sorry… that was just… really nice of you.”

“Hey, it’s totally cool. I’m a hugger, too,” You told him, patting his upper shoulder. “Alright, let me show you how the dice work and then we’ll roll for your stats.”

You’d had a great time with him fleshing out his character, and once he got over his initial shyness, he was one of the funniest people you’d ever met. He had you in stitches until dinnertime, when he told you he had to go home and unpack. Apparently, when he said he’d just moved there, he meant just. You got another hug as he left, and it was just as soft and warm as the first one.

You felt a little disappointed after he was gone and couldn’t wait to see him the next evening.

For the next twenty four hours, you felt fidgety and restless, excited to see Fuzz again and start the new campaign. Rick had been working for weeks on the plot and obstacles, and he was always the best DM.

Fuzz met you at your house wearing a ball cap that read “Don’t Mess with Me*” and in fine print under the asterisk, continued with, “I’ll Cry A Lot and It Will Be Uncomfortable for Both of Us.” He gave you one of his warm, cuddly hugs and rode with you to Rick’s place. Rick, Shannon, Dag, and Jenna were standing out on the porch with sodas and beer, talking and laughing, and they saluted you with their various beverages as you drove onto the driveway.

“Hey, buddy!” Rick said as you got out of the car. “This your new friend?”

“Fuzz,” The shy mothman said, tentatively reaching out a hand.

“Ha! That’ll be easy to remember,” Rick said, shaking his hand. “I’m Rick. This is Dag.” Rick pointed at a large orc with a sort of a gold tan over his light green skin who gave Fuzz a half-salute. “Jenna.” She was a human with dark skin and tight curls who waved at Fuzz with a bright smile. “And Shannon.” Shannon was part fae, you knew, but you were never sure what her exact nature was. But, then again, all fae were like that. She had pearlescent skin and rosy hair cut short and buzzed on one side. Her bright green pupils were slitted and just a bit too large for her face. Fuzz ducked his head and and gave a little nod each time someone was introduced, trying to make eye contact.

“We’re just waiting for Russel. Can I get you something to drink?” Rick asked Fuzz.

“Do you, um… do you have water? Fizzy stuff makes me a bit sick,” Fuzz said.

“You got it, bud,” Rick said, reaching for a bottle out of the cooler.

Russel was Rick’s twin and lived next door, but he was always late. You didn’t understand why, but Rick shrugged and said he’d always been like that. It’s why Russel wasn’t allowed to DM.

Russel wandered over about five minutes later, and an a minute or two after that, the sushi that Rick ordered showed up. After paying, the seven of you went into the house to get started.

“Okay, so, everyone has their completed character sheets ready to go?” Rick asked, and you all held up your papers while stuffing your faces with california rolls. “Good. Dice? Minis?”

“We didn’t have time to make Fuzz’s mini,” You said.

“No big deal, I’ve got a ton of spares. I always keep a few blanks on hand because of this dingus over here.” He gestured at his brother. “He always forgets to make a miniature.” Rick handed Fuzz a box with blank miniatures in it, carefully separated by foam. Fuzz picked a slender humanoid and set it in front of him.

“Now,” Rick said. “If we are all ready to proceed?” He looked around the table and everyone nodded. Fuzz was shifting in his chair with both nervousness and excitement. “Very well. Our adventure starts in the midst of chaos! Inside a small inn of the road inside the land of Turmish, on the edge of the Sword Coast, a bar fight is raging. The bar is affectionately known by travelers as The Drunken Worm, and for good reason. Currently, though, windows are being smashed up, tables are being thrown, people are flying through the air, there is an absolute roar of voices drowning out any other sound. And in the midst is someone trying to calm the turmoil, only to have a chair smashed over her head. Shannon, that would be you, please describe your character.”

“Okay,” Shannon said, bouncing a little in her seat. “I am a very large, dark blue dragonborn named Anshez. I have a shortish snout with sharp teeth jutting out of my lips. I have two sets of horns on my head, which now have bits of wood dangling from them, and three lines of ridges down my back to the tip of my tail. My eyes are blue as well, and I’m wearing contrasting light blue robes with slits up to my knees for easier movement, and I have a large bastard sword strapped to my back.”

“Excellent,” Rick said, writing that down. “Now, for the unfortunate person who was wielding that chair.” Rick pointed at you. “What is your character?”

“I’m calashite human cleric,” You said. “My name is Khemed Pashar. I’m quite up there in age, as far as humans go; before I decided to travel, I spent forty years in a monastery in study and prayer. I have greying hair and a pale complexion, and I’m wearing white robes with a green panel down the front lined with silver embroidery. The panel has the insignia of the god of the pursuit of knowledge, Oghma, my patron. My only companion is a guide I hired a few days ago.”

“Why is a cleric hurling chairs?” Dag asked.

“I’m just going with the story, man,” You said.

“Anyway,” Rick said. “Anshez, who was once trying to calm the situation, is now slowly drawing her blade from the sheath on her back. Suddenly, someone appears and grabs her arm.”

“That would be me,” Jenna said. “I am a mustard yellow tiefling ranger named Varan, with horns and hooves that are shiny black. My eyes are also black and reflective. I’m wearing a knee-length dress of tightly woven chainmail and a leather vest over it. I have bracers on both my lower and upper arms. I grab my friend’s arm to stop her from hurting the frail looking human and try to calm her.”

“Roll a persuasion check,” Rick said.

“16, and I have a +2 advantage,” Jenna said.

“You are successful in talking down your partner, though she is still angry.”

“If I apologized, would she forgive me?” You asked.

“Roll for it,” Rick said. You rolled. Nat 1. The table burst into uproarious laughter.

“She would not,” Rick said with a chuckle. “In fact, she can barely hear your apology over the din, so she thinks you’re mocking her and she’s now holding a grudge against you.”

“Shit,” You said, grinning.

“Can I jump in?” Fuzz ventured cautiously.

“Definitely,” Rick said. “Your character?”

“I’m a wildhunt shifter druid,” Fuzz said. “I’m just under seven feet tall, and my current mask takes on the characteristics of a brown bear. I’m wearing a hat with a veil that covers most of my face and a pair of loose pants that doesn’t obstruct my movement. I’m in the employ of the cleric; he hired me to be his guide.”

“Good, good.” Rick makes notes. “Your name?”

“Fuzz,” He said.

“Your character name,” Rick said.

“That’s is my character name,” Fuzz said with a shy grin.

Rick snorted. “Okie-dokie. What are the two of you doing in all this?” He asks Dag and Russel.

“We’re bards,” Dag said. “I’m a halfling playing a fiddle.”

“A halfling? Really?” Tiny Shannon said, snickering.

“You’re a dragonborn, shut up,” Dag said, and Shannon giggled, playfully slapping his arm. “My name is Taurin Goodwort. My companion and I are on the small, dingy stage in the corner, trying to play over the noise. We’ve been paid, so by gods, we’re going to do our jobs. I’m wearing a coat that’s slightly too big but my clothes underneath are finely tailored and well fitted. I’m a dapper dude.”

“I’m also playing, but I’m a lute player,” Russel said. “I’m a grey tabby tabaxi not much taller than my halfling friend. My name is Game of Chance, but I go by Chance. My clothes are flashy and covered in shiny trinkets and bells that jingle to the beat when I stomp my paws.”

“Aww,” Jenna said, scratching behind Russel’s ear. He whacked her hand away, and she grinned.

Once the introductions were finished, the campaign was underway. Despite the chaos of the bar fight, the six of you hear the woeful tale of a patron of the bar, a missing son, an actual dragon, an actual dungeon, and all the traps that is implied. Fuzz opened up slowly as the campaign waged on, and his druid had the party in howling with laughter by the end of the night. When the seven of you wrapped up for the night, Fuzz had an open invitation to come back, with or without you.

Fuzz came to every Sunday session from then on, and though it took him some time to get over his anxiety around people, he swiftly became friends with everyone at the table. Despite how much he and the other were getting along, though, he always sat next to you. Perhaps even though he was getting over his shyness, he was still more comfortable next to you.

You weren’t complaining; you liked being close to him. In fact, the two of you had become really good friends, having lunch twice a week and texting constantly. You had your phone in your hand at all times, waiting for his response. You’d woken up with a dead phone on your chest on a number of occasions.

One weekday, after painting his miniature, he took you for dinner, although he didn’t know any good spots since he was still new in town and told you to pick. You decided on Japanese, though the restaurant was a bit full, and it made him nervous. You offered to go somewhere else, but he said it was fine and that he’d brave it, but only for you, making you blush a little. You grabbed his hand and led him through the throngs of people, and his grip tightened on yours.

It took a month for you to realize that… maybe you weren’t just feeling friendship for Fuzz. You liked him a lot. You thought about him all the time and looked forward to his hugs and touching his fur and listening to his laugh and the chittering noise he made when he was happy or excited.

Then, one late evening after the two of you had said goodnight, you had other thoughts. You wondered what his… intimate parts looked like. What they felt like. What they tasted like. And the idea excited you. Thinking about it, you felt yourself getting hard, and you stroked yourself to the thought of touching him, finding out where his private places were and playing with them, and teasing them. Kissing him and cuddling him and getting him to make those cute noises you loved to hear. You moaned at the thought, jerking faster as your imagination ran away with you. You came all over your hand and stomach, gasping and sweating, but it wasn’t what you wanted. You wanted him. Nothing else was good enough.

During the sixth session after Fuzz had joined the campaign, when he wore a cap that just said, “LAMPS!” in big, bold letters, your party had located the lost bar patron’s son, but he was a mind slave to an aboleth, one of many, enslaved to dig out an enclave for the creature to built it’s own small hold, so it could rule by itself. Aboleth’s are extraordinarily selfish creatures, and while they often group together, this one’s desires had driven him to make its own place to lord over. The trick was going to be defeating the aboleth without hurting any of the enslaved, as they were all sons and daughters of the local villages.

It was hard to concentrate on the game with Fuzz next to you. He always sat next to you during every game, but he seemed especially close this evening. You’d glance at him surreptitiously to find him looking at you. When you caught him, he’d smile and look away. He seemed to find reasons to touch you, whether it was to pass you something or to reach past you for something. His fur smelled as good as it always did.

You were filled with such doubts, though. Could you just be reading to much into it? You hadn’t really dated a lot, and you’d never dated a non-human. What if he was just overly friendly to compensate for his shyness? What if you told him how you felt and he didn’t feel the same? You enjoyed spending time with him, and he was so shy that you were scared of pushing him away with your feelings. You tried to push it out of your mind. You had an aboleth to defeat.

“For my turn, I’m going to make a mad dash an possibly take the hit so that I can cast Dispel Illusion to get rid of the aboleth’s secondary illusion,” Jenna said.

“Uh…” Rick checked his notes. “The aboleth is at level 13, and you are level 7, so you only have slightly more than half a chance of this working, so roll for it.”

“Um…” The clattering of Jenna’s die as it rolled across her board. “13, and I have +5 intelligence.”

“Okay, so your spell was successful, but it won’t stop him from creating another in a few minutes and that’s the end of your turn. You’re surrounded by enslaved and they are being driven to rip you apart.” He rolled his die. “They pretty much tear you to shreds. You take… 63 points of damage.”

“Gah!” Jenna said, flopping back into her chair and huffing. “Balls. I’m down.”

“I’m going to use the diversion to summon fiendish monstrous scorpions to draw the enslaved away,” Fuzz said.

“Nice,” You told him in an undertone. He grinned sideways at you.

“Chance and I take this opportunity to check the pond for other enslaved that we hadn’t seen.” Both Dag and Russel rolled. 18 and 12.

“You don’t see anything, only the aboleth growling menacingly at you, preparing to summon another illusion,” Rick said.

Shannon and Jenna then began pulling unconscious enslaved away from the pond.

“Alright, so my big finishing move,” You said, tugging at your sleeves confidently. “Now that I know the pond is free of collateral damage, I cast Lightning Bolt.”

“Roll for your attack.”

“Buh… Ooh! 27!”

“Lightning Bolt is affective!” Rick said. “But the aboleth is not completely destroyed.”

“So we all bum-rush him?” Fuzz asked.

“Hell yeah!” Shannon exclaimed. “Except for Jenna, cause she dead as fuck.”

Jenna stuck her tongue out. “Hey, I broke through enemy lines, gave you guys an advantage, and died like a goddamn hero, so you can suck on all my balls.”

“You ain’t got balls!” Shannon said.

“You don’t know my life!” Jenna shot back.

“I’m your wife, dumbass!” Shannon retorted.

“Would you guys shut your cakeholes and kill this thing, please? I would like to go to bed before 2 A.M. this time,” Rick said.

With the aboleth destroyed and the slaves freed, you collected a hefty bounty from the grateful townspeople and wrapped up the session with big hug all around.

As the night was winding down, with people finishing off snacks and getting their coats and belongings together, Shannon cornered you in the kitchen.

“So, what’s going on with you and Fuzz?” She asked in an almost-whisper.

You looked back over your shoulder anxiously, worried that Fuzz overheard, but he was talking to Dag and Rick.

“What are you talking about?” You asked.

“Oh, please, you are so obvious and oblivious at the same time. Everyone in the group know the two of you are practically in love with each other except for you and him.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” You told her dismissively. “Even if I did like him, I have no way of knowing if he feels the same way. And I’m not saying I do have feelings for him.”

“Oh my god, are you serious?” She said exasperatedly. “I’ve watched the two of you make goo-goo eyes and ‘accidentally’ on-purpose touch each other all night. He’s head over heels for you. And you are for him, I can tell. We can all tell. Hell, we have a pool going for when you guys are just going to give in and fuck.”

“Shannon!” You hissed. She had said that last sentence a little too loud for your liking.

“Look, you guys have lunch by yourselves all the time, so it’s clear you’re comfortable being alone. Just ask him to go out with you!”

You sighed, looking back over at Fuzz, wearing that sweet smile on his face and laughing at something Dag said.

“I’ll think about it,” You told her.

“I bet I win the pot,” She said, grinning cheekily, and you shooed her off with an impatient grimace.

On the way home, you scratched the back of your neck and asked, “So, I know you’re new to the area, so I’m sure you don’t know much about the local events, right?”

“Nothing at all,” He replied. “Why?”

Your heart was hammering in your chest. You wondered if he could hear it. “Well, next week’s session is postponed because of our town’s fireworks festival. Do you like fireworks?”

He chirruped excitedly, which was probably the most adorable sound you’d ever heard in your life. “I love fireworks!”

“Awesome! That’s awesome…” You gulped a little. “That’s really good, because I was… wondering… if maybe… you’d like to go with me?”

“Yeah!” He said. “Is the group going?”

“Oh, yeah,” You said, clearing your throat. “They’ll be there, but I, uh… I was thinking maybe it could, you know, just… be the two of us?”

“Sure, that’ll be fun, but why aren’t we going with the group?”

“Because…” You said, struggling to get the words out. “This is special. I want to spend time with you. Just with you, you know what I mean?”

You pulled into your driveway and parked before turning to look at Fuzz. He was gaping at you.

“You mean, like a date?” He asked.

“Yeah,” You said. “If that’s okay?”

“That’s totally okay,” He said, a slow grin spreading across his face. “I’d love to go with you.”

You laughed in relief. “Awesome. I can’t wait.”

You both got out of the car and he gave you a hug before leaving, lingering a little longer this time. You ran your fingers through the fur of his back, up and down, and he sighed before pulling away.

“See you?” He asked.

“See you,” You replied.

The next weekend, you picked him up at his apartment. He had a basket in one hand and a quilt over his shoulder. His hat said “I Like Shiny Objects” on it. Apt for the situation, you thought.

He raised a free hand in greeting. “Hey!”

“Hey,” You said in return as he got in. “Ready?”

“Very much so,” He replied, and you smiled at him. “I’m glad you asked me out. I wanted to ask you, but I was too anxious.”

You felt a blush creep up your neck. You were glad it was already dark.

“When do the fireworks start?” He asked.

“Seven-thirty,” You replied. “I want to get there early to find a good spot.”

Fifteen minutes later, you arrived at the fairgrounds to realize that you weren’t the only person to have this idea. The place was already packed. You frowned.

“Well, so much for that idea,” You said.

“What’s behind that fence over there?” Fuzz asked, pointing past the field.

“Oh, nothing but forest,” You told him. “There’s supposed to be wildcats out there, so it’s to keep kids out.”

“We aren’t kids,” Fuzz said.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where the the gate is, and that’s too high for me to climb,” You told him.

“Oh, no,” Fuzz replied a little sarcastically, fluttering his wings a bit. “What a dilemma. Whatever shall we do?”

You smirked, feeling your heart flutter as well. “You want to fly over?”

“Got a better idea?”

You put your hands on your hips and ducked your head, unsure. You felt one of his hands on your cheek and you looked up at him.

“Trust me,” He said softly.

His large thumb was achingly close to your lips, but you resisted and urge to kiss it. “I do.”

He grabbed you around the middle with your arms around his neck and flew you up and over the fence from a secluded corner of the field. He managed to find a hill with a very small clearing, perfect for a quilt, sitting right next to a big oak tree.

“This is amazing,” You told him, looking down the hill with a clear view off the field and the sky. “You can see everything from this vantage.”

“You like this?” He asked, setting down everything he brought.

“Yeah,” You answered. “It’s incredible.”

“Good,” He said in a soft voice, coming up behind you and wrapping both arms around you. “We can be alone here for as long as we like.”

His voice was low, almost seductive, and you’d never heard him use it before. It sent tingles down your spine and in… other places.

The two of you lay out the quilt and the spread he’d prepared. It was the quintessential date picnic: fruit, cheese, wine, crackers, all kinds of fancy things that you’d never actually had before, like fig jam and stuff. It was all really cool, but it felt strangely “by the book.”

“Fuzz, can I ask you something?”

He looked at you with a surprised expression. “Sure, anything.”

“You’ve never been on a date before, have you?” You asked him.

His face fell a little. “That obvious, huh?”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” You assured him. “And this is amazing, and I’m having a great time. I just don’t want you to think that you have to do all of this,” You waved your hand at the picnic. “To win me over. You’ve already done that. I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t like being with you.”

He smiled. “I do have a tendency to second-guess myself. It’s just… being gay is difficult for humans, but it can be more so for non-humans. I don’t know why, but there’s this expectation that if your not human and sentient, you have to like girls. Human beings would be shocked how many non-humans aren’t straight.”

“I wouldn’t,” You said. “Shannon’s a lesbian, and I’ve known her forever. I know full well that non-humans don’t live by the same standards that humans do, and humans can be blind to that, even among their own people. I guess that explains why you’re so shy.”

He laughed. “Nah, I’ve always been like that. I’ve never really--”

At that moment, the first shell when off, catching Fuzz’s attention. He got up from the quilt and walked to where the hill just began to slope downward and watched the fireworks with a look of pure joy. Wanting to be close to him, you stepped in front of him and pressed your back against his front. He circled his arms around you again. And for a moment, the two of you just watched the lights.

You turned your head and looked up at his face, seeing the bursts of colored embers reflected in his large, black eyes, and you were mesmerized. He noticed you watching him and looked down at you, smiling his soft, sweet smile.

And he kissed you.

His lips were as velvety as they looked, and you spun in his arms to reach yours around him, pressing your body as close as you could. The pop and crackle and flashes of light against your closed eyes made this seem like a dream, but you were bathing in the sensation of having his body wrapped around you. God, you had wanted this.

When you broke apart, you were both breathing heavily.

“So…” You began stroking the fur on the back of his neck. “I had a question…”

“About?” Fuzz asked.

“Well… you don’t wear clothes… but I’ve never seen your… well… your dick…”

Fuzz’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He seemed momentarily at a lost for words.

“O--oh,” He breathed finally. “It’s… that’s because… it’s tucked away. Inside me. I comes out when I…”

“When you’re aroused?” You guessed. He nodded, not meeting your eye. “Is there some way I can… make that happen?”

He looked back up at you with wide, huge, terrified eyes, “Yes,” He whispered. He took your hand and led you back to the quilt. Cautiously, he reached out a hand and tugged at your shirt, but stopped short before actually removing it. You helped him get the shirt off you and he continued to undress you until you were naked in front of him. He ran the fingers of his upper right hand down your torso, starting at your collarbone and stopping at the tuft of hair that sat just about your ridged length.

“This is definitely helping,” He said breathlessly.

“What can I do?” You asked eagerly. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while now.”

“You have?” He asked hopefully. You nodded and he laughed in relief. “Me too.”

He sat back against the oak tree and opened his legs in front of you, reaching down with his lower pair of hands to part the fur at the apex of his legs. There, you saw a slit, mostly brown like his hands and lips, but fading to pink as it went inward.

“Just touch,” He said. “It’ll open.”

You knelt down in front of him and pressed a finger to the slit, slowly rubbing it up and down. A low trill issued from Fuzz as he let his head fall back against the tree and his breathing hitched. The hands of his upper arms took your face in his hands and pulled you forward for a deep kiss as you massaged the opening, feeling it begin to pucker and pulsate at your touch. It widened slowly, and you daringly inserted your pinky inside, feeling the tip of a slick organ begin to push itself out.

Fuzz gasped at this new sensation and moaned a little. Slowly, it came out and you were able to see it at last. It was pink like the inside of the opening and darkened to the familiar velvet brown at the tip. You put your hand around it and pumped it a few times before bending down and pulling the tip into your mouth. It was sweet, like honeysuckle. His hips convulsed and he started to whisper, “please, please.”

You felt around for your wallet and pulled out a condom and two single-use packets of lube. You tore open the condom with your teeth and started to work it down his shaft.

“I’ve never…” He said, gulping. “I’ve never done this…”

“Do you want to stop?” You asked him, your hand stilling on his hardened girth.

“No!” He said. “No, no, I want this. I just… I’m sure I won’t be any good at it.”

“That’s okay, Fuzz,” You said, kissing him as another shell popped in the distance, lighting up the sky and trees around you. “I’ll teach you. Trust me.”

“I do,” He whispered.

You took a packet of lube and tore it open, squeezing some of it onto his fingers.

“First is to open me up a bit, so to speak,” You told him, turning and kneeling over. “Massage it into the skin for a few minutes, and them push a finger in.”

You felt him follow your instructions and groan into the ground as he pressed and rolled and circled the sensitive skin, finally pushing one of his thick, long fingers inside you. You gasped at feeling and encouraged him to move it in and out, eventually adding the second finger.

Once you felt like you were ready, you told him to sit back against the tree, and he complied. You took the second packet of lube and squirted it into your hand, lubing him up before pulling yourself to face level and kissing him as you positioned yourself over him. Slowly, you slid down onto him, feeling him slide against the bundle of nerves deep inside you. Both of you gasped at the same time and clung to each other as the fireworks continued to light up your naked bodies in the darkness.

You started to ride him, listening to his trilling and chirping, and all four of his hands found interesting things to do. The pair on the bottom held your hips as you rocked back and forth, up and down, in his lap. His upper right hand caressed your face while the left reached between you and began to stroke you slowly, sweetly, in a way you had been dying to be touched.

You sped up, and his trilling got higher in pitch. You reached up and gently pulled his hat off, careful of his antennae.

“We should both be naked,” You gasped, laughing. He laughed too before moaning your name, kissing you and tightening his grip on your cock slightly. You held him close to you, whispering into his ear that you were going to cum. He said he was close, too.

You came before him, spraying yourself all over his stomach. He grasped your hips harder and thrust faster for a few moments, then he released a high pitched chirrup that repeated over and over, and you could feel him releasing into the condom inside you.

You could barely hear the sounds of the fireworks over the rushing in your ears. He held you tightly with both of his arms, gulping down air. Finally, you got up and pulled off the used condom. You had a small bag and a couple of single-use wipes in your wallet for such… situations. You cleaned him up and wiped yourself off, too. Then, the two of you lay there, nude, on the quilt and watched the grand finale.

Best first date ever.

The next day, you woke up in his apartment pressed into the fluff of his chest. You stretched and groaned sleepily, looking at the collection of ball caps displayed proudly on every inch of his bedroom walls. He roused himself as well.

“Good morning,” He said with a happy smile.

“Good morning yourself,” You replied, giving him a quick kiss.

“Do you work today?” You asked.

“No,” He said, stretching like a cat. “I took today off. I was hoping we’d end up like this, so I… planned for it.”

“Aww,” You said, scratching his unusually bare head. “Wanna spend the day together?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” He said, grinning. “Breakfast?”

“Breakfast sounds good,” You told him. “Is it alright if I run back to my place to grab some fresh clothes?”

Breakfast will be ready when you get back,” He said, bouncing out of bed.

You laughed at him, but really, you felt just as happy. You dressed quickly and headed out, popping up on tiptoe and kissing the back of his neck as you passed him in the kitchen.

Just as you got into your car, you got a text from Shannon: >Did you guys do it?

You rolled your eyes. >None of your business.

As you started your car, you got a reply. >Ha! I won the bet!

At your place, you grabbed a change of clothes and a couple more condoms and packets of lube, and started back for Fuzz’s apartment. While driving, something in the window of a store caught your eye and you decided to stop in. It was a little early for gifts, but… what the hell? This was the perfect thing and you knew he’d love it. How could you not buy it?

Back at his place, he was putting plates on the table.

“Hey, you okay? I was getting worried you weren’t coming back,” He said.

“Nothing of the sort,” You replied, handing him a bag. “I just saw this and thought of you.”

“You got me a present?” He said, both confused and delighted. “Why?”

“Cause I like you. I don’t need another reason,” You told him.

He laughed loudly and opened the bag. From inside, he pulled out a baseball cap that read, “My Boyfriend Thinks I’m Funny.” He smiled softly at it before putting it on his head.

“How does it look?” He asked.

You smiled widely. “It suits you.”

He grabbed your butt, pressed you to his side, and kissed you, wrapping you in his arms like the cuddlebug he was. Then fed you the best breakfast you’d had in a decade.

You guessed you owed Shannon a new set of dice. A nice set.

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#Exophilia #Commission #MLM #Mothman #Male Reader #Male Monster #Interspecies Romance #Silkmoth #D&D #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #Reader Insert

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Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 3648 Chapter: 35/42 Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

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Chapter 35

For as many times as he had yelled at his brother for spouting similar flowery nonsense it was possible he owed Hashirama an apology or two and yet even that thought wasn’t enough to stop him from noticing just how bright the sunlight was today, how crisp the shapes of first frost on every windowpane. Every smile he passed only increased his cheer and if it wouldn’t be so out of character he might have stopped to laugh with some of the happy citizens walking by. Not even the much more reserved atmosphere of the Senju district was enough to dampen his spirits, a spring in his step all the way to his brother’s house where he let himself in without knocking as was his habit. Mito took one look at him and turned her head away to smother a laugh. 

“Good morning, ane,” he called, too cheerful to find any annoyance in her reaction to what was surely a foolish look on his own face. She waved him further in to the home without a word. With a low chuckle he followed the direction she had waved in and found Hashirama watering a few plants in a small side room they frequently claimed was meant for an eventual child. Judging by the sheer amount of flora contained within these four small walls Tobirama sometimes wondered if they weren’t a little more nervous than they let on about the idea of procreating. 

“Hi Tobi! Good morning!” His brother offered a blinding smile, trying to wave and water a small potted tree at the same time only to shake water all over the floor. 

“It certainly is a good morning. I trust you fared well while we were away?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Hashirama dropped the watering can and hurried over to feel his forehead. “Tobi are you okay? Did you get sick on your trip?”

“Begging your pardon?”

“Oh dear! It’s worse than I thought!” 

To his utter bafflement Hashirama pulled him back out to the living room and pressed him down in to the closest chair, babbling to Mito the moment they entered her view. “Darling, my dearest, something is wrong. Could you fetch me the blanket from the couch there? He’s not acting himself!” 

“I am perfectly fine, anija.” Tobirama chuckled and then chuckled harder when the sound elicited a small fit from his sibling.

“You asked if we were okay while you were gone! You never ask that! And you’re being all polite and kind and – oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. I hope Madara isn’t sick too!” he turned to his wife with an indecisive frown. “Should we check on him or do you think it would make him angry?”

“For goodness sake, man, I said that I’m fine! Control your husband ane!” 

“Ane!?”

To his great amusement Hashirama's eyes rolled back in his head and he sank down on the couch next to his wife, fanning himself with one hand like a gentlelady experiencing the vapors. On any other day Tobirama knew he would have been fuming with temper at so many insults against his character – to be so worried about him simply for a little politeness! – but his mood was too good and today nothing felt wrong with the world. Today he had enough patience to simply recline in his chair and watch with a mild expression as Mito lost the battle with her own self-control and let slip one single string of giggles.

“Peace, husband, he’s perfectly fine,” she told him. 

“Now you too!?” he cried. “What is going on with you two?”

Reaching over to pat him on the knee, Mito took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “He had sex, darling, he’s just in a very good mood.”

Like the brave woman she was she made it all the way through her entire sentence before breaking down and exploding in to a full on giggling fit. Tobirama cocked his head to watch her, wishing for a moment that he could record her like the Sharingan could. What excellent blackmail this would have made. 

A very small piece of his mood was soured when Hashirama shot up on the couch with a ramrod straight back and a smile bright enough to light the entire village at the witching hour. “Oh! Excellent! Finally! I really was beginning to worry about the two of you again. Madara explained his clan’s customs to me – and I respect them! – it just doesn’t seem very healthy to me for a married couple to ignore that part of their relationship.”

“What if one person in the couple doesn’t like sex?” Tobirama asked, more in the mood for gentle teasing than to allow Hashirama of all people to offer opinions on something he thought had been going fairly well for a while now. Also it was fun to watch the man flail as though terrified he might have offended someone.

“Of course! It’s their choice! I just meant–”

“Did you ever ask Madara if he was even interested in that? How do you know I didn’t just tie him to the bed and have my way?”

Hashirama clapped both hands to the sides of his face, horrified. “Tobi! You wouldn’t!”

“But how do you know I didn’t?” He was so glad he’d come here first before visiting Touka. This was much more entertaining than her easy acceptance would have been. 

“Please tell me you didn’t? Oh Tobirama, I’m so disappointed, you two have been getting along so much better lately. He’s going to be so angry. Do you think I should go see him? Maybe I can settle him down, talk to him and keep him calm. You should apologize!” On and on he went, completely unaware of Mito rolling her eyes beside him, until finally Tobirama cut him off with a loud huff. 

“I am, quite frankly, very insulted you’re taking this so seriously. Do you honestly think I would ever force anyone in such a manner? I know I was just joking about it but it’s not actually a joking matter.” Tobirama frowned reprovingly. “Honestly, what must you think of me?” 

He was pleased to see that brought Hashirama up short. The man fell utterly still and one could almost physically watch the wheels turning in his mind and he processed the fact that he’d been had. It seemed to take even longer for him to figure out what to do with that information but eventually he sagged back next to his wife and drew one hand down his face as though exhausted by so much difficult thought all at once. When he met Tobirama’s eyes again he was grinning in relief. 

“You really had me going there!” he said and Tobirama only shook his head.

“Only because you make it too easy for me to do so. Truly if I weren’t in such a good mood I would be very upset with you right now.” 

Hashirama laughed nervously and offered a dozen or so apologies before Tobirama let the subject drop, turning to strike up a conversation with Mito instead. The visit ended up being quite a pleasant one despite the insult he suffered at Hashirama's assumption. After all the personal gossip had been traded and Tobirama had made enough hints at the events of his rather delightful night without actually giving them any details their chat finally turned back towards the purpose of his visit. 

Where most might have spoken with their coworkers or others in their department to catch up on what had happened in the village during an absence Tobirama knew better. The best method was to hope Mito was available and in a proper mood to spill a few secrets. Butsuma may not consider her part of the official spy network but the size of her web of connections was rivalled by very few and Tobirama knew no better hub of information than his dear sister in law. All it took was a few questions worded just right and he was perfectly caught up not only on the official things he had missed but also a few unofficial ones as well, gossip that didn’t really pertain to him but could be useful if he encountered the right circumstances. 

The one little tidbit which caught his attention the most was from a team who had travelled in the opposite direction of the capitol and came back reporting strange chakra activity in the area. Without a sensor in their group they hadn’t been able to say anything more specific than that but it was just odd enough of a warning to make Tobirama curious about what anyone else travelling through the area might have to say. For a non-sensor type to feel strange chakra activity there had to be quite a large amount of it. If he were a less responsible man he might have skipped out of the village to go look in to things himself. 

Once Mito finally ran out of gossip she was willing to share he stuck around for a little while longer, bearing his brother’s teasing about how often he smiled in the few short hours of his visit and quite proud of himself for resisting the urge to retaliate even once. At least his sister in law wasn’t quite so loud and brash about her own ribbing. When he left he made his way through the backyard to pop in on Touka where he suffered through more than twice as much teasing as he’d gotten from the other two, though once again he managed to let it all flow off his back with the help of his unnaturally good mood. It was, he told himself, nice to see his beloved family so happy even if it was at his own expense. 

Leaving Touka’s he was still in high enough spirits he had to concentrate in order to keep his face from breaking out in to a ridiculous smile as he walked back home. The office could wait for tomorrow. Whatever paperwork had piled up in his absence would still be there when he was actually on the clock; maybe if he was lucky then the people who were supposed to have been covering his duties while he was away might be inspired to actually do the work before he got there. Probably not but he could hope. 

A very small bit of his good mood dissipated, however, when he reached for the front door of his home and caught a minute flare of chakra from inside. Evidently Izuna had come to visit while he was gone. Tobirama hovered with his fingers wrapped around the door handle, waffling with indecision, hoping neither of the men inside were paying enough attention to feel him there. On the one hand he wanted nothing more than to step inside and spend the rest of his day cozied up next to Madara watching his husband shiver at every touch, hyper aware of him after last night. On the other he knew that Madara had as much right as he did to catch up with family and Izuna had proven time and time again that he just couldn’t be comfortable with Tobirama in the house. Should he leave? It would be the decent thing to do. 

But when had he ever professed to be a decent person? 

In the end Tobirama turned away from the door with a sigh only to creep his way around the outside of his own home and slip in through the window like some common burglar. As long as he stayed quiet and kept his chakra low he could at least be productive here in his home office without disturbing Izuna’s visit. The man couldn’t stay forever, after all, and it wouldn’t hurt him to let his husband have at least one decent visit without the two of them ruining everything with their pointless feud. All the white flags in the world wouldn’t matter for shit if Izuna refused to accept the ceasefire he had offered. Stubborn pride would be the death of them both.

The first thing he did was wrinkle his nose and find a rag to wipe off the desk with. After so many hours in their offices at the tower this room didn’t see quite as much use as it probably should. On the all too frequent occasion either of them brought something home to finish they prefered to work in the living room where there would still be a warm body to cuddle up with in reward for being responsible. With his work space a little easier to look at Tobirama was able to comfortably settle himself in the chair he sort of wanted to steal for his own office, pulling out enough parchment to keep himself occupied for a good long while, and settled in to lose himself among the ink. A very small part of his consciousness remained focused on the other side of the house where both Izuna and Madara remained pleasantly calm; it was nice to know they weren’t fighting for once. But for the most part he pulled his chakra inwards and kept his own presence as unobtrusive as possible.

Given a chance to guess he would probably have said he expected to stay in the office for at least a couple more hours if not several. With how volatile things had been between the Uchiha siblings and Izuna stubbornly instigating fights when they were entirely unnecessary he fully understood them taking their time to enjoy a good bonding session. It was therefore quite a surprise to have the door open and both men step in to the room after barely more than a full hour had passed. They stopped as soon as they spotted him there, of course, and Tobirama was so startled all he could do was blink back at them with his own stunned expression.

“When did you get home?” Madara demanded. 

“An hour ago.”

“I didn’t even hear you come in.”

With as straight a face as possible he admitted, “I came in through the window after I sensed Izuna’s presence.” His brother in law squinted and he hurried to add to his statement. “There didn’t seem sense in disturbing you.”

As he’d thought, the man couldn’t seem to find anything wrong with that. Madara, on the other hand, was wearing a pinched face caught halfway between gratitude and annoyance. He could easily guess what thoughts were going through that beloved head, wished he had a better solution than crawling through windows in his own home. 

“Suppose I was gonna get going anyway,” Izuna murmured eventually, cutting through the awkwardness. Tobirama waved one hand. 

“Do not leave on my account if you’re enjoying your visit. I had planned to stay in here.”

“No I really was leaving anyway. Mads was just grabbing a book that I wanted to borrow.” He looked almost irritated that he didn’t actually have anything to be irritated about. 

Rather than fight him on that – he was hardly going to complain about getting what he wanted after all – Tobirama remained silent as Madara rifled through the shelves and kept his eyes on his work in an effort to ignore the tense atmosphere in the room. It was a relief when the book was finally located and Madara shooed his brother towards the front door so they could say goodbye to each other in peace. With the door left open he could have heard what they were murmuring to each other but he chose not to invade their privacy in such a manner, not after going to so much effort just to give them privacy before. 

He had bent his head back to the papers before him by the time Madara came back in to the room but dared to peek up in the hopes that he would not find irritation there, thrilled to see his luck holding out still. His husband was leaning against the door jamb with his arms folded and a particular tightness around his mouth that said he was holding back a smile. Tobirama liked to think that smile would have been at least half as soppy as the ones he had been fighting off all morning.  

“You’re home a little earlier than I expected you to be. Thought you’d be trapped at Hashirama's forever before you made it over to your cousin’s.” 

“Ah.” Tobirama gestured with one hand for his partner to come closer. “They did both have quite a bit to say.”

“Izu says it’s super obvious that we had sex last night!” Madara immediately clapped both hands over his mouth, clearly not having meant to blurt that out. He glared when Tobirama laughed but still allowed himself to be coaxed across the room. 

“My family told me the same thing – well, Mito did, it took Hashirama a while to figure out the context for my good mood.” As soon as the man was near enough Tobirama hooked his waist with one arm and tugged, pulling Madara in to his lap where he could bury his face against the neck he had so liberally covered in love bites. All under the massive volume of hair, of course, and with the way his husband usually wore it he was fairly sure they had so far gone entirely unnoticed. He wasn’t cruel enough to embarrass either of them like that. 

After squirming a little at first Madara eventually melted in to his touches with a low purr. “He said I looked really stupid.”

“Not the word I would choose to describe you. Well, not today anyway.”

“Hey!”

Tobirama laughed and distracted the man with a few more kisses to some choice locations. 

Despite having spent most of their visit sitting around the kitchen table gabbing like old men with nothing better to do apparently Madara never bothered to actually get up and make food for him and his brother, though he decided to rectify that the moment he heard Tobirama’s stomach growling. It took a bit of play fighting but eventually Tobirama relented and allowed him to get up so they could move back to the kitchen together. He did offer to help cook but Madara shooed him in to a chair with one stern finger and that was just cute enough to convince him to listen. 

While he cooked for the most part he nattered on in a way reminiscent of his best friend, though Tobirama was smart enough not to make any such comparisons out loud, and the large majority of what he talked about had to do with Izuna. He spoke on what his brother had been doing with the ANBU since being given control of the project or what he had been up to in general and all the while didn’t really seem to remember why he usually wouldn’t talk about his brother in front of his husband. Tobirama soaked up every word with a beatific smile. He might not be terribly interested in the subject matter but married couples were supposed to be able to speak to each other about anything at all; seeing Madara so free did wonders on his heart. 

As he listened Tobirama played with one of the empty mugs still sitting on the table and tuned out a little, falling in to his own thoughts. The issue of Izuna was one he could not solve himself, clearly, making peace required the cooperation of both parties. But should he really give up so soon after only a single gesture? Did a lifetime of training how to schmooze and ingratiate himself with potential allies mean nothing? If he were completely honest with himself there were many actions he could take from here and he’d known that all along, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Hadn’t wanted to be the one to back down and show himself as the weaker party. Really his own stubborn pride had been getting in the way almost as much as Izuna’s had and that meant he probably had almost as much of the blame on his shoulders for the ongoing state of this ridiculous feud. 

He didn’t realize just how badly he had slipped away in to his own head until Madara set a plate down in front of him with a playful scowl that said he knew he’d been ignored. Tobirama apologized by tugging him down far enough to kiss the pout from those lips. When he looked down at his lunch, however, it stirred an idea that he wanted immediately to reject off hand yet forced himself to stop and reconsider. A feud with such deep emotions required a deep gesture. His problem up until now had been that he was thinking too small. 

“I don’t know if I like the smile on your face right now,” Madara said cautiously as he sank down in to the opposite chair. 

“What do you mean?”

“You look like you’re up to something. That is an evil smile if I have ever seen one. And I lived with Izuna for most of my life, I’ve seen more than my fair share of evil smiles.”

Tobirama resisted the urge to snicker at the irony that Madara should still be so focused on his younger brother even without knowing what thoughts had led to the expression that so worried him. Instead he reached for his fork and filled his mouth with rice to excuse himself from offering any sort of reply. His husband scowled but that was fine. He could fix that again with more kisses after they had eaten. Until then he simply continued to eat and kept his plans to himself, somehow just a little more hopeful for a happy future than he had been even just this morning. 

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #hashirama #mito #touka #fanfiction #i don't think i've ever written tobi having the morning after happies #it was fun lol

[imlovethomassanders]

DLAMP Human AU

So someone asked for human DLAMP headcanons

This started out as headcanons but then turned into a mini fic? I shouldn’t be surprised with myself.

This is post-college for all these boys

After graduating college, Logan is working on writing his first book as well as looking for internship opportunities.  He needed a roommate and found Roman online. Roman is an actor who always lands rolls for the local theater and who dreams of moving to New York to make his Broadway debut.  Between Logan looking for internships and Roman’s shows, the two work at coffee shop together, a job they both dread.

Virgil and Patton became best friends in college as they are both art majors.  The two of them live together and do commissions to help raise money, but it isn’t enough to help ends meet so Virgil works at a music store and Patton takes part-time jobs wherever needed.  His favorite is at the local animal shelter.

Deceit (let’s just call him Damien as that’s the placeholder name I chose) majored in theatrical makeup and has a rising YouTube channel for glamour and SFX makeup.  To help make ends meet he works at a makeup shop in town part-time, but hopes he can eventually do YouTube full time.

Roman lands the lead roll for a show.  Patton sees an ad for the theater saying they need painters for the sets and he quickly applies.  Damien decides to apply to do makeup for the theater as the pay was better than the barely-more-than-minimum-wage he got at the makeup store.

Patton meets Roman first.  They both get their early and find themselves chatting before work, the two hitting it off right away.  The two found themselves going out together on their lunch breaks every day.

Once all the sets were built, Patton didn’t want to leave the theater so he quickly asked for a different job backstage.  He was so friendly and helpful no one else wanted him to leave, so he got a job as an assistant for costuming.

Damien wasn’t needed until dress rehearsals started.  Damien’s general demeanor and snarkiness drew everyone away from him at first, but damn he was good at makeup, so they dealt with him.

At first, Patton seemed to be the only one Damien tolerated.  This surprised no one, as Patton got along with everybody.  Damien was assigned to help Roman with his makeup.  And while at first the two quipped at each other often, the two dramatics found their “arguments” becoming more and more joking and friendly, the two eventually growing to like each other.

The three were an unlikely trio, but they worked well together nonetheless.

While Patton was off working at the theater, Virgil was stuck at his job at the music store.  Which was fine at first, but his boss and his coworker were starting to drive him up the wall.

Virgil usually had trouble sleeping, but one night it was really bad.  The next morning he was exhausted.  And just his luck his coffee machine broke.  So he grabbed a few spare dollars he had lying around and stopped by a coffee shop on his way to work.

He was literally frozen in his tracks when he saw how cute the barista was.

At first he wanted to just leave, but then another wave of exhaustion hit him and he decided that he really needed coffee.

Logan was tired. Physically and mentally.  He hated this job and really just wanted to go home and check his emails to see if any company had responded.

And then there was a cute boy at the counter and Logan was much more awake.

Virgil went up and practiced his order in his head over and over.  He walked over to the counter and glanced down at the barista’s name tag.

Logan.

Virgil decided he wanted to stay at the coffee shop a little longer, so he sat down at a table by the window and pulled out his phone to text his boss.

Hey, bus ran late.  I’ll be at work later than usual. Okay, Virgil.  See you soon.

His boss didn’t need to know he walked to work everyday.

He found himself glancing at Logan from time to time, and was embarrassed that Logan caught him almost every time.

He was mortified when Logan actually sat down in front of him.

“You keep staring at me.”

All Virgil could do was continue to stare at Logan.  He felt as if Logan’s gaze was piercing his skin as he felt the blush rise into his cheeks.  He quickly picked up his coffee to give himself something to do.

“Do you want my number?”

Virgil almost choked on his coffee.

That evening, Virgil and Patton sat in the living room together while a movie played on the TV.  But neither of them were watching.

Virgil was too busy texting Logan, and Patton was in a group chat with Roman and Damien.

A similar scene occurred at Logan and Roman’s place that night.

Patton begged Virgil again and again to come see the show.  He was so proud of Roman and Damien and everyone else’s hard work, he wish everyone could have the chance to see it.  

So Virgil took an evening off work to go see the show, and (with support from Patton) invited Logan to see it with him, which Logan happily accepted.

Virgil and Logan arrived early so Patton could meet this “infamous Logan Virgil wouldn’t stop talking about.” (Virgil made Patton promise he wouldn’t say that in front of Logan.)

Logan was surprised at Patton’s... friendliness.  Sure, he was warned by Virgil before they arrived, but Logan never thought someone could be this genuinely friendly.

Before Virgil and Logan went to take their seats, Patton had hugged both of them.  And while Logan was usually not a large fan of physical contact, he was surprised that he found this hug from Patton not unwelcome.

The two were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the show, and (both would refuse to admit it if asked) they were definitely enraptured by the man playing the lead roll, which Virgil noted by the program that this was the “Roman” character Patton seemed smitten with.

During intermission Logan bought both of them drinks, and throughout the second act Virgil tried to build up the courage to hold Logan’s hand.  Logan noticed almost immediately, but wanted to see how far Virgil would be willing to go.  After a bit Logan took pity and grabbed Virgil’s hand himself.  He noticed Virgil tense up before relaxing a bit, entwining his fingers with Logan’s.

After the show, Patton dragged Virgil and Logan backstage as he wanted to introduce Damien and Roman.

Virgil and Logan complimented both of them.  Roman responded with an over the top thank you of his own, thanking them for coming and supporting the theater.  Damien would blow off the compliment with a wave of his hand. (The action may seem rude to others, but Patton and Roman knew it was because Damien got flustered easily with compliments.)

Roman invited the other four out to go to dinner with him - to celebrate the successful opening of the show and to get to know new friends (gesturing to Logan and Virgil.)

Virgil was immediately hesitant, Patton could tell.  But after a soft gaze from Patton and a squeeze of his hand from Logan, he felt assured enough to go.

The five ended up talking for way longer than any of them anticipated.  Though Virgil was wary of both Roman and Damien (Damien especially, given his snarky attitude), he found himself enjoying their company by the end of the night.  And if Roman, Damien, and Patton didn’t have to leave to get enough sleep for another show the next day, they would’ve talked through most of the night.

The five get together as much as they could, given their busy work schedules and the show, but after the shows run the five got together even more.

As bonds were built and friendships grew, feelings began to blossom.

Though Logan and Virgil were dating by this point, that didn’t stop them from growing fond of the other three.

Roman thought he would be the first to tell them.  He had it all planned out in his head, from what he would say to where and when.

Then Patton blurted it out at one of their regular movie nights.

It was messy.  Right after he said he started crying and stuttering through how he “knew it was unlikely" but he “just loves you all so much” that he couldn’t keep it to himself anymore.

They were quick to aid and calm him down, assuring him that everything was going to be okay.

After Patton calmed down considerably, Virgil dragged Logan into the other room, just to confirm they were both okay with this and that they still loved each other.

They came went back into the room and sat down, and Roman was the next to confess his feelings to all of them, followed by Virgil then Logan.

Damien, to no ones surprise, was the most hesitant.  After all, he’s never had the best experience with relationships or people in general.  The friendship he found in the others was unknown territory, and stepping out of that was scary to him.

So they took it slow.  It took a while for Damien to open up to all of them, but after the first time he kissed all of them they knew it was all falling into place.

In a couple of years they would find themselves in New York.  Roman made his Broadway debut in the cast of “Wicked”, Virgil and Patton’s art careers were finally starting to pick up, Damien could do YouTube full time, and Logan found a publishing company and was able to focus mostly on writing.

Roman would propose, and though they couldn’t actually get married, held a ceremony anyways, and everything would be perfect.

Cheesy, unrealistic happy ending? It’s what I’m best at. If you made it all the way down here I appreciate it.  This ended up too long whoops.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #dlamp #lamp #prinxiety #analogical #moxiety #anxceit #royality #logince #roceit #logicality #loceit #moceit #polyamsanders

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

A Second Chance

Steve Rogers x OFC

A/N: Set between Civil War and Infinity War. LISTEN GUYS I KNOW IT’S AN OC WITH STEVE BUT YOU HAVE TO READ THIS. I love it so much and it’s in first person, so just read it! Thank you @firefoxcaty for commissioning this!

Summary: Caty and Steve are each other’s person until the Accords divide them.

It started with the Accords, a thick well written document that Tony Stark had presented to the Avengers; and off the bat, everyone had disagreed on whether to sign it or not. There was no surprise on my end that Steve was the forerunner of the opposition, but man, it pissed me off. I remembered that night, after Tony said everyone had some time to think it over, I had read through half of the Accords. Around two in the morning my eyes started to hurt, and the words started to blur, so I went to find my best friend.

Steve was in the gym, abusing the punching bag as I walked in, admiring his ass a little, because the man had an ass. Although, that thought quickly vanished as they always did, when he turned to look at me.

“Can’t sleep either,” he asked. I walked over and asked if he’d mind the company. “Of course not, I can’t sleep, a lot on my mind…”

“I know, same,” I sighed, sitting down on the bench against the wall. He sat next to me and the two of us fell into that usual silence; the comforting one, where no one has to talk because it was enough the we were together. It was like that, Steve and I; close friends, confidants, the person you came to for those long deep conversations, the tough conversations. He was my person, in the Gray’s Anatomy sense and it had been like that for a while.

“So, I read some of the Accords.”

Steve’s eyes flickered over to me; his mouth pursed into a frown. “And?”

I shrugged, the edge of my shoulder touching his. “It makes sense.”

“You got to kidding me, Caty.”

His accusatory tone had surprised me and for a moment I wanted to punch him, and I had never felt that way before, not towards Steve; never him. Was he the one that was kidding? Sure, the Avengers had saved people, that was our job but at what cost? Tony had told me the story of the young man killed in Sokovia and we all had seen with our eyes all the collateral damage during all our battles. I had witnessed the people shouting for help, their lives slipping away as we rang victorious each time; the blood on my hands were just as red as the enemy, maybe more. I thought, yes, Steve would have his reservations, but come around eventually. Sitting next to him, his eyes wide in surprised, had made think different.

“Steve, Tony’s right, we have to sign.”

“Come on, that’s not freedom,” he argued, back pressing into the wall. “You want the government to decide what we do? The way SHIELD did? Hydra was running the show, what makes you think it won’t happen again?”

“Talk about paranoid.” I stood up from the bench and glared at the man, unable to understand. “People die because of us; innocent people and you think what you want trumps that?”

“No,” he replied coldly. “I don’t think that, but why should we have someone else tell us what we need to do?”

“You got to be shitting me,” I shouted, throwing my hands in defeat. “I can’t with you right now, I have some more reading to do. I mean, you should at least do that.”

I walked out the night, knowing in my heart that signing was the right thing to do, and if Steve refused, as did the others, things were going to hit the fan.

…

And they did.

History would show that the Avengers divided into two sides that ended in an airport fight; Steve vs. Tony, and I was certain Steve was on the wrong side. He had stood across from me, eyes zeroing in on me as everyone stood still for a moment, waiting for someone to say or do something. He called out my name, asked me to rethink my position.

“Caty, please.”

It hurt, badly, the pain in his voice as he said my name, and something snapped inside me. Clarity came over me and it was like I was seeing Steve for the first time. He was so pure in virtue and I knew he thought he was doing the right thing, and hell, maybe he was, but it all seemed to late. Just as Steve was certain signing was wrong, Tony was deadest on making sure everyone signs – he wanted the team to stick together, but I knew it wasn’t going down like that.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” I said to him, ignoring everyone else, because in that moment they didn’t matter. “Reconsider and we can fix this before it goes any further.”

He looked over to Bucky, a man who looked withered down and shook his head, holding up his shield. “I can’t.”

That’s how it started, the fight; teammate against teammate, friend against friend. Wanda had come for me; I fought her, holding my punches until I realized she wasn’t and before I could really fight, I was thrown yards away, arm broken in an instant. I shouted in pain and Steve saw me, rushed to my side, forgetting what was happening all around us.

“You’re going to be okay,” he reassured me, helping me sit up against a metal crate. His eyes drew down to mind and my heart raced as he touched my face. Blood from a cut on my forehead stained his fingertips and tears started to fall down my face. I hated feeling weak, but with Steve, it was different.

“See,” I whispered, closing my eyes for a moment to relish the way his hand felt on my skin. “We both have blood on our hands now.”

Steve’s head hung low for a moment before he took a deep breath and grazed around his surroundings. “I didn’t want this.”

“I know, but this is it now. What are you going to do, Steve?”

A part of me then wanted him to give up, to end it all, and when his blue eyes studied mine, I wanted him in a way I never realized. Sure, I noticed how attractive he was, I wasn’t blind, but it never occurred to me that it was more. That he meant more to me than being my person or that he was my person, and that’s why I was feeling these things now, realizing them now.

Tears, again, filled my eyes as he sighed. “I’m sorry, Caty.”

My lips trembled in pain, and not the physical kind; my heart was breaking because it seemed I wouldn’t be seeing Steve for a long time. I wouldn’t be able to spend time with him, going to baseball games and late movie showings, spend time talking about nothing as the night wore on. It was ending in the middle of an airport in Germany before it could even begin.

“God, I’m so sorry,” he repeated, his hand running through my hair. Slowly, he leaned in forehead against mine and for a second, I thought he’d kiss me, but he didn’t. Instead he took a deep breath and got up, saying he had to go.

“I know,” I nodded, holding my arm against my chest; it hurt almost as much as the entire conversation. “I know, Steve.”

He walked away then, not looking back and I felt it then, that it was for the best.

…

Something was going on in the city, I sensed it in the air as I walked out of the deli, lunch in hand. There was a strong rumble as I held on to a light pole, head whipping back and forth to try to figure out what was happening until my watch beeped. Rhodes had Tony make them for the remaining Avengers, they were faster than waiting for someone to answer a call. Touching the holo-screen pop up button,  I saw Tony.

“We have a problem.”

“I can see that, where you at?”

He gave the location and said he’d send me a suit; twenty seconds later, a special mark he had made for me landed at my heels. Sighing, because I was damn hungry, I suited up and flew to Tony. I was shocked to see Bruce, then the wizard man and his friend, but none of that mattered because New York was being invaded again. The lot of us fought, but in the end, Tony and the wizard had disappeared, leaving Bruce and me alone. After a brief hug hello, because I hadn’t seen the man in a long time, he handed over a dated cell phone.

“You have to call, Cap; we need his help.”

“Tony didn’t explain to you everything that happened while you were gone, did he?”

Bruce shook his head in defeat. “He did, but none of that matters. Make the call.”

Staring at the cell in my hand and the chaos around us, I knew the past didn’t matter; Bruce was right, this was more than hurt feelings and longing, it was another fight all the Avengers needed to come together for. So, I sucked it up and pressed Steve’s name, hesitating for a moment as it started to ring until Bruce gave me a supportive nod.

It rang twice before he picked up, his voice hitting me like a ton of bricks; it felt magical, warm, and sad.

“Tony?”

“No,” I whispered, holding back tears. “It’s me.”

…

Bruce and I sat on the kitchen counter, a cup of coffee in each of our hands. I listened as he explained what had happened to him since Ultron and how he was in space, I joked that at least someone was able to go to space. The two of us laughed until we both heard voices in the other room; one was Rhodes, but the other I recognized immediately, and my face fell, as did my heart.

We both left our coffees in the kitchen as I followed Bruce towards the voices. He gave me a wild look when I shoved him first into the room and I watched as he hesitated before walking in, calling to Natasha, who looked different from the last time I saw her. Sam, Wanda, and Vision were looking worse for the wear, but my eyes were deadest on the man in front of them; Steve Rogers.

He had a beard, he looked good considering it all and when he saw me, his face lit up in a smile that said the past was the past; he was just happy to see me. I couldn’t move for a moment as he started towards me, the others gathering together for hellos and hugs. My chest ached and I wanted to cry, but I wanted to be tough too, so I didn’t.

I just watched as he stormed up to me, his mouth slightly opened, as though he was ready to speak all the things he wanted to for so long. I hadn’t seen him in about two years, but it felt like yesterday- the two of us at the airport, my broken arm and his conflicted heart. I wished I had said something then, but there was no time for that now.

“Steve,” I whispered as he embraced me in a warm, tight hug. “Steve…”

“I know,” he whispered back, his mouth close to my ear. He held my close, hands around my waist as he rested his chin on my shoulder. “God, I’ve missed you.”

Both hands slid up his back and my fingers caught the strands of hair at the nape of his neck. I touched them carefully and knew I couldn’t lose him again. Even though a big fight was coming, the big fight, I knew this was our second chance. Our first real chance at something more than friends, something more than what we had, and I wasn’t going to miss out this time.

“I’ve missed you too.”

#steve rogers #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x reader #captain america x oc #captain America #marvel imagine

[finnwolfhardd]

Things I’ve done that are definitely Richie Tozier™️ Esque

Someone dared me to jump from 10 feet from the ground and i only did it cause they called me a four-eyed loser

Befriended my teachers to make the stupidest jokes in the middle of class time so that they couldn’t yell at me

sent memes to the teachers i had the phone numbers of

been blocked by one of my teachers

Casually walk up to cats and just lay down by them

also repeatedly mewl at them until they respond

I bark back at dogs

stole a skateboard because i was too chaotic to walk into the store and buy one with the money i had

never learned to actually use that skateboard, resulting in many ass bustings

i cant smoke weed or cigarettes because of my asthma, so i would take paper and light it on fire to pretend i was smoking

on the topic of asthma, i tried out for track and ran 8 laps in a row because i thought it would impress a girl

it didn’t

i went to the hospital

broken my glasses in the dumbest ways possible. ex: been thrown on top of them; decided to reflect a volleyball off my face; plain out threw them at a kid during a fight

i got into a fight with a highschooler and everyone was scared of me cause i kicked the dude in the groin but i was too embarrassed to tell them that my leg was asleep and i was trying to get the feeling away

accidentally sent a shirtless pic of me to a guy friend and instead of panicking i demanded equal pay

stayed awake past sleep hours in the hospital to spite the TECH that told me i couldn’t stay awake with the sleeping pills he gave me

challenged that TECH to voice off (making impressions)

walked 3 miles in 100 degree weather to just ask my friend when we were going to the arcade

invited a friend over to my house when i was alone, didn’t have a key to my house that day, walked outside to call her and in a habit locked the door

pushed said friend through the window and made like 6 jokes about how the police were gonna be called

a sex worker stopped me on my way home and i panicked and told her about the heelys i really wanted

casually sat in my teacher’s desk and proceeded to change everyone’s grade to an F except mine

commissioned by my teacher to make a long comic and procrastinated until the day of to make it

a boy gave me his phone to hold while we waited for the bus and i forgot to give it back. i then emailed him a photo of me putting it on ebay

got called by a friend at 4:25 am to just be told that he was having sex and the girl fell asleep so he wanted to talk to me. we spoke about aminos and his girlfriend

had a 1000 word essay due the day it was given, it was supposed to be abt the human mind and such but all i did was write about aminos and nintendo’s E3

i got an A

made a post online abt fake friends and was confronted by like 4 people when it was really about how my cat didn’t come hug me when i asked him to

made an acc to post the same photo of my friend every single day

always screaming the lyrics to Africa because my friends absolutely hate it

called my best friend at 3 am to blast Africa into her ear

drew dickbutt on like 200 different stickie notes and proceeded to slip them into everyone’s locker before school started

a guy friend came out to me as bi and i laughed and said mood

transferred out of a school to only months later crash their beach trip and let the dudes bury me in the sand

walked outside with a thin sweater in 23 degree weather and ended up getting lost outside for 30 minutes

was too excited about getting contacts to listen to the guy talk abt cleaning the solution out, i ended up burning my eyes the next day.

learned all the lyrics to Despacito just because it became a meme

learning all the lyrics to Country Roads rn

did improv with my cousins because their mom wasn’t home for hours; ended up in the bathtub because i deemed it my bedroom

paced around a 500sqft kitchen for 4 hours because i didn’t take my meds

is constantly dehydrated because i forget to drink water, blamed it on a “drinking strike”

went on a hunger strike because my friend told me i was the most dramatic person ever.

within the first month of moving into my cousin’s house, i watched them get stuck climbing out the window and all i did was take a video.

i dance to everything. my sister reading? break it down. the microwave went off? oh shit there she goes

dislocated my shoulder dabbing that one time

#richie tozier #it 2017 #in this case im literally richie tozier #me???

[seddm]

Daron’s Q&A at Creativa Fest

I transcribed the questions Daron answered to during a panel at the Creativa Fest 2017. Below, a summary of what she said; after that, a complete transcription. Thanks to Alfrely on YouTube for having provided the video!

Continues after the Keep Reading

RECAP

- Daron has an idea for the series' finale.

- The original plan was for Marco not to have any friends: "Star and Marco are kinda like these only children, and they connect together, and they have like this special bond", but Disney executives wanted him to have male friends as well, and they came up with Alfonzo and Ferguson. Since they didn't really know what to do with them, they have been absent from S2. They are going to "come back a little" in S3.

- Daron has no real reason for Marco being Mexican, she just wanted him to be the average angelino.

- Daron originally pitched the show, when she was still a CalArts student, to Cartoon Network (to Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti) for a project called “The Cartoonstitute”. They didn’t want to make anything out of it, but later Renzetti introduced her to Nickelodeon,where a one minute short was created, without them wanting to tale it any further, though. She eventually pitched it to Disney, where a pilot episode was and then greenlit into a full show (the whole process took about a year).

- In Blood Moon Ball, when Marco heard a voice talking to him, seagulls sounds were supposed to play, making it immediatly obvious how the one speaking was the Sea Captain in the frame, but the sound was forgotten during the episode's mixing. What or who he is might be “a bit” relevant in the future.

- There will probably be more "Tomco moments". “I am a fan of Tomco myself” said Daron, laughing.

- Daron couldn't say if we're going to learn something about Star and Tom's past, but there will be more on them.

- According to Daron all the dimensions seen in the show are “in the same space”, as if they were always “on the same planet”, but in different dimensions [imagine it as a stack of papers, the scissors allowing to go from one to another]. But, at the end of the day, “It’s fantasy. I think we are always like trying to make it logical, but I also think that at a certain point if you overthink it nothing probably actually makes sense”.

- Daron is happy to see the fandom being so excited about shipping, but also believes that fans likes to be “upset”, and that a show has to keep things interesting, no one would watch a show that were to be just “"Star and Marco get together and they will be like so happy, the end”. She also specified that they don’t let the fandom influence their writing, and that it’s understandably impossible to make everyone happy.

- Jackie is not a mermaid, nor magical. She sees her as a typical Venice Beach girl who is into skateboards and the ocean. And Janna is not a witch.

- Daron sometimes sees a fan theory and thinks "Oh that was really good!" (in relation to the show being written so much in advance compared to what airs). She also mentions liking a theory about Moon having been an exchange student in Toffee's dimension [specifying that's not what they actually did.]

- Adam had to audition to be cast as adult Marco in Running With Scissors, since Daron initially think his voice would have been too young sounding.

- Since Star has been a thing for Daron years before the show's production began, she doesn't really feel like she's "talking to Star" when she talks to Eden -while several of the crew members do feel that way, same with Adam.

- There's some shared background to Moon and Toffee's story.

- Writing is Daron's favorite part of making an episode, and she doesn't impose her ideas, but goes with the best one, discussing it with her crew. She also feels like, while the original idea for the show is hers, it would have never become as big as it is now without all the people working on it.

- There's going to be more about Eclipsa.

- Daron has ideas for other shows, but hasn’t really had time to develop them so far, being busy on Star.

- Star is her favorite character, as she is "close to her heart".

- StarFan13 was originally a one-time gag in Brittney's Party (boarded by Ian Wasseluk), but they then liked and kept using her.

- What Star did in Storm the Castle is a "precursor" to dipping down, she was channeling magic through her.

- Daron wanted to do some kind of "cameo crossover" with Rick & Morty and Gravity Falls, placing a common object in a scene, but while they ended up doing it, she didn't manage to. Talking about the idea of an actual crossover, she “feel like it could be... maybe Gravity Falls, maybe...?”.

- While some might have saved themselves, most of Ludo's old monsters died in the explosion in Storm the Castle.

- Daron doesn't know yet what she's going to do once the series is over, she might take a break, or eventually make a new show.

- Daron wishes Disney would do SVTFOE toys, and suggest fans to bother them to do it [Disney apparently values a lot people asking for products at their stores, when it comes to choose what merchandise to make]

- While talking about the show's animation, Daron said that they "had some troubles-", but then got interrupted and didn't pick up the question again. This might be related to the " number of difficulties producing the first season" she mentioned in this interview.

- While drawing a Marco on a fan’s book, Daron accidentally gave him heart cheeks, thus making the first official (?) Marar cosplay. If you want to hear Daron almost saying “Oh shit”, click here.

- Daron sometimes gets surprised by seeing fans liking episodes or scenes that she felt like were bad. "I think people connect with different parts of the show". She chose not to say if she has least favorite episodes, as not to lessen all the hard work everyone puts into the show, but said that first season was a little rough, since they still had to figure out things.

- Mewberty, Blood Moon Ball, Storm the Castle, Into the Wand and Face the Music are (among) her favorite episodes, and she was very excited about Ludo in the Wild.

- Most of the tapestries in Into the Wand were designed by one of the storyboarders, Jushtin Lee, and then got turned into the final designs seen in the episodes by background and layout artists.

- There are going to be songs in future episodes as well.

- There are probably going to be more guest stars in S3, but that's something for Disney to announce.

- We might see Star's "mewberty form" again [related post by show’s producer Hammersley].

- Daron designed Star and Marco, but for most of the other characters she just gives rough sketches or ideas to the designers. She described Hekapoo to Becky Dreistadt, the artist who designed her, as "a kinda fiery elf thing".

- Daron is not familiar with drawing Tom, since she didn't design him. It kinda shows.

- We might get to know what Lekmet's role in the Magic High Commission was, and Daron answered to a question about him being really dead or not with "Well he's gone to ashes, so...".

- Daron wants her characters, and villains, to have a perspective, and she feels like they did that with Toffee, comparing him to a Magneto-like character, who is not wrong, but is going about things the wrong way. He has "his own perspective" about how Mewmans treat monsters.

- Daron and Cheyenne Curtis (S1 designer) drew "like 100 dresses", since the executives at Disney were very concerned about it, not wanting them to be too girly or to have puffy sleeves (but Daron managed to put them in S2).

- The livechats, which were Disney's idea, are not “totally canon”, but they had an outline.

- The Star and Marco Guide To Mastering Every Dimension was supposed to be published after the first 14 episodes in S2, and the events into it are a little bit after Bon Bon The Birthday Clown and before the episodes that aired in February.

- As seen in Crystal Clear, Eclipsa, frozen in Rhombulus’ crystals, moved her arm, and the glove remained stuck in place just like Star's socks.

- Daron can't tell where Toffee's finger ended up when Star's room disappeared from Marco's house, nor if the color coding of dimensions in Heinous' metallurgy book in St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses has a connection to the wand/magic.

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTION

Q- Do you have a finale planned for the show? A- Yeah, I kinda got an idea.

Q- What happened to Al & Ferg A- It's funny like you know pitching a show for a network and stuff, so... and Disney is so awesome, they just let me do so many cool things in the show and they've been like so awesome, they really are trying to do amazing things in animation. But one of the things they really wanted for the first season with Marco, is that they were like "He doesn't have male friends. And we want him to have male friends 'cause we want him to be more... male, I guess? I don't know." So I didn't know... my original plan was for, you know it's like Star and Marco are kinda like these only children, and they connect together, and they have like this special bond. And I didn't really see Marco as having like friends. So I had to came up with some friends, so I created Ferguson and Alfonzo. I have to say that I didn't feel like I was getting a lot out of them. Like I really didn't know what to do with them. They are - they do come back a little in the 3rd season, I can tell you that. They are not gone forever, but honestly, I really didn't know what to do with them, they were kinda hard for me to write. But I'm glad that you like them. It was almost becoming a joke, we were like "Oh, we don't like them". They are in the comic, though.

Q- Why is Marco Mexican? A- Well so, you know, I grew up in Los Angeles, and I just wanted Marco to be your average angelino, so he's mexican, makes sense, you know? So no real reason other than that, you know. Asker: he looks a lot like you husband Daron: yeah a little bit, there's my husband, everybody look at him. I'm just embarrassing him a little bit

Q- In the Blood Moon Ball chapter there was this voice that talked to Marco, will we get to know who it was? A- Ok, that's a funny story too. So the voice is supposed to be the Sea Captain in the frame. And when we were doing the animatic. You know when we do the animatics, it's all the storyboard drawings, and they are all timed to be animated, we had the sound effect of seagulls, right? So that when you saw the picture you heard the seagulls, you'd knew that it was the sea captain. But when we did the final mix of the episode, the mix is like... we put all the final music and sounds and dialogues together, and check the levels and make sure that all- it's what you see on TV, for some reason the seagulls dropped down. We forgot, we didn't notice the seagulls were gone. And then when it was on tv there were all these people like "Who was talking to Marco? Was it the moon? Was it-" and I was like "Ah damnit we forgot the seagulls!". So it's the sea captain. Who does actually... maybe tie a little bit later. You'll see.

Q- How was it to pitch the series? A- I was kinda lucky, I went to school at CalArts in Los Angeles, and a lot of our teachers are actually coming from the studios to teach. You know so they are coming from CN, Nickelodeon, Disney... to each class, and you have the opportunity to know the teachers. And somewhere I heard that cartoon network, actually, they were taking pitches, they were taking pitches from students, from anybody. You just had to sign up, and it was called "Cartoonstitute". So I signed up for that, and I had been drawing Star for a little bit, and when I got the opportunity to pitch for Cartoonstitute I came up with a plot and some of the characters, and I actually pitched it to Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti, which was amazing, I was like twenty. You know, Star is like ten years old, I created Star like ten years ago. My original pitch to them... and you know, CN ultimately didn't want to do the project, but I made a connection with Rob and Craig. So when I was in my fourth year at school Rob recommended me to Nickelodeon, so I brought it to Nickelodeon, they liked Star, so we did a one minute short that we produced, and they ultimately didn't want to take it any further, so... and I was like out of school, trying to find a job was very hard, it took me like a year to find a job, I was very broke, and then I brought it to Disney, eventually, and they wanted to try it! So then we made a pilot, which is a long process, right? It was very exciting just to get the pilot, and then I... I don't know how many pilots a year they do. I mean I feel like if I had to guess, maybe Disney they hear like a hundred pitches, and then they take like 10 pilots- probably less, probably more like five pilots, and then maybe they pick one to make a show. So it's very exciting to get to the pilot phase. And that took about a year, just to make the pilot, and then they tested it on kids and- you know there's a whole process for that, and in the meanwhile I was working at different studios, I was working at Warner Brothers doing a little bit of animation, I did storyboard revisions at Nickelodeon. Which is actually a really good- if anybody, like you know, wants to work in animation like at places like CN or Disney and stuff. Storyboard revision is a really good step in the door, you are basically cleaning up storyboards and stuff like that. And they were eventually like "Ok we want to make it into a show", and I was like "Aaah!", very exciting. But yeah, so... I think the thing I'm happy about with Star is that it really... I pitched a lot of other things too, but I feel like Star was close to my heart, like it was important to me, and I think that came through, you know? Like I think that if you are coming up with the ideas there has to be like a personal connection, or it's just not- or else you are just making something to sell them I guess, and it's never going to feel authentic, you know?

Q- I really love Tomco, so are we going to see more Tomco moments or episodes like Friendenemies? A- Oh, ehm- I can say... probably yes? There will some more Tomco happenings. I am a fan of Tomco myself.

Q- Will we know more about Star and Tom's past relationship in the future? A- There will be more on Star and Tom. I can say that. There will be more on them. I like Tom, Tom's fun.

Q- There's a theory about Jackie, that she's a mermaid, that she's half Mewman A- I like the theory that she's a mermaid, but... she's not a mermaid. She is, she's- I feel like she is like a Venice Beach girl, she likes skateboard, she's into the ocean... but she is not magical. Although I do like the theory, like you know she is a mermaid, and Janna is a witch, you know, it's cool... but not real.

Q- What's your favourite fan theory A- There are so many that are really cool. It's funny because you know sometimes- we are writing the show so far ahead, like right now we are writing the fourth season, since it takes so much to produce the episode, so we are like so ahead, sometimes I see fans came up with some things and I'm like "Oh, that was really good". But you know I- god, there was this whole one that people had that was like that Moon was an exchange student in Toffee's dimension, kinda like Star is to Marco. I was like "Oh that's a cool idea". We never did that, but that's a cool idea [inaudible part about her looking at theories on Reddit?] sometimes they say something and I'm like "Oh they already know, they already guessed!"  Like I know people are excited about Eclipsa, so that's cool.

Q- How is it working with Adam McArthur like in Running With Scissors A- He's great. I mean, Adam has has such- all the actors, Adam and Eden and... Ryder Strong, who is Tom, everybody, the cast is so good. Alan Tudyk is Ludo, everyone is really great. Oh my god, I got to work with Jeffrey Tambor, who is Glossaryck. It's so cool. But yeah, Adam is like he is so- what's cool about Adam is like he, you know, as opposed to like Eden, she is on, this television show she is very busy, Adam is busy too, he does lot of acting, but he makes time to really interact with all the fans and stuff. "Running With Scissors", I got a story about that. So I was gonna cast- since he sounds so young, Adam, I wanted to cast, like, a manly man to do adult Marco, I was gonna cast somebody else, 'cause I didn't know Adam could do it, but he was all like "Let's try" and he did a great voice and I was like "Ok, you're good". He was like "I had to do try outs to be myself". Sorry.

Q- When you talk to Eden Sher, since she's the voice of Star, do you ever feel like "Oh my god I'm talking to Star"? A- Well, I mean I know someone of the crew, like sometimes Eden comes around, to say hi to the crew and stuff. Or you know, we do a party for the crew and she'll be there. And other people from the crew would come up to me and be like "Oh my god she sounds just like Star". For me, I mean, we had try outs, so Star was kinda real before Eden, I guess. [inaudible] but I guess Star was a character already. So for me maybe not, does it make sense? And people tell me the same about Adam too, "Oh my gosh he is Marco". Actually Marco has a funny story, he was like at a comic convention thing, he got snubbed by a Star fan. He saw a girl in a Star costume and he was like "Can we take a picture together?" and she's like "No!" and she walked away. And I told Adam he should have called after her, you should have been like "Staaar!". You gotta be careful not to snob people at comic conventions.

Q- Some theories say that Moon and Toffee had a relationship, not necessarily romantic... A- Well you saw the scroll (tapestry?) right? You saw "Into the Wand". So yeah, there's, there's... there is a background to them

Q- In the episode Mathmagic it was revealed that there is this multiverse. We saw multiple realities of Mewni, the Earth. So I was kind of confused, does it mean that Mewni and Earth exist in like one universe. For example, you can build a, I don't know, a spaceship or something to travel from Earth to Mewni? A- Well, I was like- I always liked the idea of other dimensions, I always thought that was cool. So I guess everything is in the same space. That's why they use scissors and they kind of cut into different realities, so they can kinda go through, but they are all on the same planet, I guess. I know sometimes it feels like it's other planets- I don't know. It's supposed to be- it's all like a dimension, that you can kinda travel through with the scissors. I think it- it's fantasy. It's always like- I think we are always like trying to make it logical, but I also think that at a certain point if you overthink it nothing probably actually makes sense. I like the idea of different dimensions, that's cool. So they are all in the same space, and uh- they are connected, you know?

Q- How do you feel about the fandom making all... weird relationships and... do you feel pressured by some people going "We want Tomco, we want Moonfee, we want everything"? A- That's so funny. I mean, you know- I'm very excited that the fans can be excited for whatever they want, you know? I mean, any "-co" they like, that's great. We don't really let that affect the writing in the show. Like I don't look at that when I'm writing the show. You can never make everybody happy, there will always be people- but I also think people like to be upset, you know? If you think about what's the show, what is like- what show would it be if it were just "We're gonna have Star and Marco get together and they will be like so happy", the end. There's no show, what is that show? No one would watch that show. So you have to keep it exciting.

Q- When you are working on an episode  what part do you like the most? A- I like the writing, I guess... yeah, I like the writing and I like working with the team, like, it's amazing- you know, I've been on the show, I don't even know how long, I feel like I've been working on the show forever, I think it's been four years, I think? And some of my crew have been with me since the very beginning and I see them everyday and I really love my crew and they are really really cool, and I think the most fun part for me is- yeah, it would be, you know, the pitch of a boarder, there would be the boarders, the director, me, the writers, and we'd be going "Oh why isn't this working" or "How can we make this better", if someone has an idea it's like "Yes let's do that" and it's so cool that- like I love working collaboratively and it's amazing to see... I don't know it's just like- I came up with this one idea, you know, the idea was this big, but then it got this big this big this big, bigger and bigger, and I feel like I could have never made it this big, but then with all these great people who really care, you know, and it only gets better 'cause they care. I think the worst thing like anybody like a boss or like a show runner, I think the worst thing you could do is just go like "No this is my show, it's my idea. It's all about me, it has to be my idea, maybe you got a good idea, but let's use only my idea" cause I think it's, I mean, A) it's not fun for anybody, and B) I don't think you're going to get the best thing. My theory is always like- the best idea wins. You know if there are like three people with different ideas on how to do something I always try to go "Ok what's interesting let's do this idea", you know. So it's- it's good, I like it.

Q- Are we going to see in the season something about Eclipsa? A- Yes I think you're going to see more Eclipsa

Q- Do you have any ideas for other series? A- I do! You know, sometimes I come up with ideas, but I don't really have time to develop them ,as the show is really... consuming, you know?

Q- Who is your favorite character in the show? A- Star. Star is close to my heart (asker asks about Starfan13) I like Starfan13. You know I think who came up with Starfan13 was Ian Wasselik, he was a storyboarder during the first season. He just had her in that episode, you know with the locker? It's like "I filled my locker with pictures of you!" and I liked it, you know, so we kept using her.

Q- Did Star dip down in Storm the Castle? A- Yes. She did dip down, like a precursor to dip down, she was definitely like channeling, you know?

Q- Would you do a crossover? A- You know, I really want say I know... I know Alex Hirsch, I know Justin Royland, and I was like "I want-" 'cause they all go into dimensions, and I was like could we place an item, and they kind of did, and then I- didn't get to do it. It's just that's hard to coordinate that stuff, but... like if it were like a real crossover? I feel like it could be... maybe Gravity Falls, maybe...? (someone says "Mabel and Star would be really good friends") I think so. Yes, they are very- very positive people. (someone says "Why not Rick and Morty?") I do like Rick & Morty too, although I feel like Star and Marco would get in trouble, it'd be really bad for them to hang out with Rick and Morty.

Q- What happened to the monsters who were in the castle when it exploded [in Storm the Castle]? A- I think they might be dead. Maybe not all of them, some of them probably got out, but I think some of them are dead.

Q- What do you plan to do after the end of the series? A- After the end of Star? I don't know! I hope the series can go for a long time, you know? But you never know... So after Star I'll maybe just do another show, eventually, maybe take a break. But uh- 'cause it takes so long, you know? I've been on Star for maybe four years already, so...

Q- Is the show classic animation, or does it use puppets? A- Ok so it's like a bunch of things- we had some troubles with- oh shi- [Daron realizes that she was drawing, while signing for the fans, heart cheeks on Marco, interrupts herself and doesn't continue with the answer later]

Q-  Do you think Disney is going to make a Princess Marco action figure? A- I wish they'd do toys! Everybody should keep bothering them to do the toys... but I... yeah, princess Marco, he's- he's fun

Q- Is there any episode or character you don't like? A- Oh! I- I don't know, you know it's funny 'cause there are certain episodes you are just "Oh this is terrible" and then it goes on TV and people like it, you know? Or some people like part of it, and it makes me feel better, I think people connect with different parts of the show. First season was a little rough, you know? 'Cause you are figuring stuff, but... I mean, I could say- I don't know, I don't wanna diss any of them, 'cause everybody works hard on them you know. I can tell you some of my favorites, first season definitely I loved Blood Moon Ball, Mewberty, Storm the Castle... Into the Wand is very nice- I really loved Ludo in the Wild, I was really excited.

Q- Did you design the tapestries in Into the Wand? A- No, they were actually- so the storyboarder who did that, Jushtin (Lee), he had those in the storyboards and they were really cool, and then our painters and layout people followed up on them and made them really awesome. And uh, our characters have designers too, you know, fleshed out from the board, but Jushtin originally came up with a lot of those.

Q- How was working with Patrick Stump? A- Oh my god, that was really cool. That was one of my favorite episodes too. That was cool, that was like so... our casting- we have like a casting person it was her idea to hire Patrick, and like oh man, it was awesome, and he was so nice. And each time someone has to sing in the show- something about singing just gets to you, you know? Like when Adam sang in Friendenemies, our supervising producer Dominic Bisignano tried it.

Q- Will we get more songs in the future? A- I- yeah, I think so. Songs... well yeah, there are some songs. God, they're like so all over the show, that I'm trying to remember like where- where they are.

Q- Are they going to be more special guests in the future? A- I- probably, I can't tell you that. That's one of those things like Disney castings, you know they want like to "get the story".

Q- Are we going to see Star in her mewberty form? A- Maybeee.

Q- Will we see new villains? A- I can't give spoilers guys!

Q- Did you design all the characters on the show? A- Uh- well I designed Star and Marco, and I have the ideas, like a rough sketch. You know what's awesome? Like, running a show is like- I have like Becky Cheyenne Stephanie- I have like characters designers who are really good, so I can just do some crappy thing and give it to them and it's like "woooa" it's like amazing, and that's really fun. Like I remember that with Hekapoo, Becky designed her, and I was like "Ok she gotta be like this kinda firey elf thing" and Becky did like this whole page full of things and I was like "That one!" and that's exactly what she is. And that's very lucky for me. But like- like with Tom, for instance, I didn't design him, I think it was Cheyenne? Someone asked me to draw Tom earlier and I was like "Uuh no sorry!" 'cause I don't know him as well, you know? But Star and Marco, I designed them.

Q- What inspired you, or how did you come up with Toffee? A- So Toffee kinda came from like- you know Ludo started as a villain, right? But he was not a scary villain, he's a goofy villain, which is fun too, but I wanted somebody who is a real nemesis, some really evil foe to fight. And I've never been really like- all the characters in the show, everyone has a perspective, you know. I really don't those kind of over the top villains who are just "Hahahah I'm evil I'm going to take over the world!". You know, it's not very interesting. So I always wanted the villain to have a perspective, and definitely with Toffee, I always thought of him more like a Magneto character. You know, like he is not wrong, but he's going about things the wrong way, you know? So I think it's more interesting. 'Cause I think you guys noticed, but we hinted to it- we begin to hint to it, but, you know the Mewmans are not maybe treating the monsters the best, and that's something Star is really learning about, and Toffee of course has his own perspective about it.

Q- Did you design all of Star dresses? A- Ok so the dresses were the funniest thing. It was like, you know- there are the executives, at Disney, you know, this guy, he was very concerned about the dresses. Like me and Cheyenne, I think we drew like a hundred dresses. And I wanted her to have different dresses, but he was like "We don't want puffy sleeves, we don't want it to be too girly" and I was like "Oh my gosh we drew so many dresses". But I think the one she ended up with are cool. And in the second season I got the puffy sleeves.

Q- What's going on with Eclipsa's arm in Crystal Clear? A- I can't tell you what's up with that- I can tell you her arm it's not missing, and it just looks like that. But uh- well, I want you to know that this is not a spoiler or anything, but, like, you know how Star was trying to get her foot out of there? So Eclipsa she just got her glove kinda in there

Q- Is Lekmet really dead? A- He's kinda gone to ashes, so... I love Lekmet, he's so sweet too. And poor Rhombulus, right? They are so- they are so close

Q- Are we going to know what was Lekmet's job? A- Yeah I think so, yeah.

Q- (talking about livechats) A- They are fun like, this was Disney's idea, these livechats- we got to have a good time. I wouldn’t say they’re, like, totally canon, just because it's... we try to like, ya know, make it in—we got like the outline.

Q- (talking about the Star and Marco Guide To Mastering Every Dimension) A- The book was actually written- season 2, it was written- it was supposed to come out after the first fourteen. So it's a little bit after the first fourteen and before the ones that aired in February, you know? So it's not quite... to the ending, you know?

Q- In Running With Scissors was actually there something between Hekapoo and Marco? A- I don't know, Marco went a long time- on his own...

Q- (talking about Marco being mentally 30) A- You know he's always been an old soul, I feel like, and I think that, uh, just, he's an old soul, still. But he has his memories.

Q- At the end of the season we see Star's room disappearing from the Diaz's house. I was wondering what happened to Toffee's finger- A- I can't tell you that!

Q- In Miss Heinous' metallurgy book there were colors for the many dimensions, and Earth was color green, which was also the color of the wand. Is there a connection or- A- I can't tell you!

Q- What is Starfan13 going to do now without Star? A- I don't know-

#star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #star vs evil #star butterfly #marco diaz #daron nefcy

[todaynewsstories]

EU ′can no longer rely on US,′ says France′s Macron | News | DW

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said his government would unveil proposals “in the coming months” to boost security across the EU, in a bid to diminish the bloc’s reliance on the US for its defense needs.

“Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security,” Macron said during a speech to French diplomats and lawmakers. “It is up to us to guarantee European security.”

Macron said the EU needed to “take new initiatives, build new alliances” to ensure its preservation. “I want us to launch an exhaustive review of our security with all Europe’s partners, which includes Russia,” he added.

Differences on defense

Macron’s remarks come as the White House continues to question US relations with Europe. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on Washington’s commitment to the NATO military alliance, saying the US pays far more for defense than other member states.

In 2014, NATO nations agreed to stop cuts to defense spending and pursue a target of 2 percent of GDP by 2024. But Trump has called for alliance members to reach the goal sooner or see the US “moderate” its commitment.

Although their relationship has been dubbed a “bromance,” French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized US President Donald Trump’s decisions to pull out of the Iran deal and impose tariffs against EU steel and aluminum

‘Counterweight to the US’

But defense spending isn’t the only problem straining EU-US relations. Brussels has criticized the US for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last month managed to avert a trade war by negotiating a deal with Trump after Washington imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum exports against its economic ally, the EU.

Read more: When does a trade spat become an actual trade war?

Last week, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made similar remarks to Macron’s in a guest article for German business newspaper Handelsblatt, saying Europe must “take an equal share of the responsibility” and “form a counterweight to the US.” 

“If we go it alone, we will fail in this task,” Maas said. “The outstanding aim of our foreign policy is to build a sovereign, strong Europe. Only by joining forces with France and other European nations can a balance with the US be achieved.”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

The new statesman

This cover from the end of 2016 most likely pleased the newly elected US president. Time magazine picked Donald Trump as Person of the Year, a title that was also once given to Konrad Adenauer, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King — as well as Hitler and Stalin. The annual end-of-year feature picks someone who, “for better or for worse … has done the most to influence the events of the year.”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

With a Hitler mustache

Even before Trump’s election, the Mexican magazine Letras Libres made its opinion on Trump absolutely clear, using the words “American fascist” to form a Hitler mustache on his portrait. Building a wall on the US-Mexico border and clamping down on Mexican immigrants were some of Trump’s electoral promises.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Walling in

Two weeks after Donald Trump’s election, the New Yorker creatively commented on the president’s border wall project. From subtle to explicitly insensitive depictions, international magazine covers featured a broad range of styles while commenting on Trump’s policies throughout the year.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

A rhetorical question

Renowned for its confrontational style, Charlie Hebdo also took on the newly elected US president. In a depiction referring to Trump’s infamous “grab women by the pussy” comments, the November 16, 2016, issue asked: “Did we have to entrust him with the nuclear button?”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

The prescience of the Simpsons

Donald Trump as US president: What was supposed to be a joke in The Simpsons turned out to be true 16 years later. British tabloid The Sun referred to the sitcom’s prophecy on its cover, showing Homer shocked by the turn of events, reacting with his catchphrase, “D’oh!”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

American psycho

The center-left French newspaper Libération reacted to the election with biting sarcasm. The headline was borrowed from a Bret Easton Ellis novel, “American Psycho.” Its narrator and main character, Patrick Bateman, is rich, superficial and narcissistic. There are numerous parallels to be drawn with the US president — but the fictional character is also a serial killer.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Nothing to see here

Some commentators hoped Trump would soften the tone he used during his campaign once he took office. On this Time magazine cover, illustrator Tim O’Brien used fine paintbrush strokes to depict Trump’s chaotic first weeks in the White House.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

At the wheel

After Trump’s inauguration, the New Yorker commented on the childish behavior of the man who would from then on be steering the country. “Every so often, you hear stories on the news about a toddler who somehow manages to start the family car and drive the vehicle across town, where the law finally apprehends him,” said the artist behind the cover, Barry Blitt.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

An insurgent in the White House

The British weekly The Economist was inspired by Banksy’s famous artwork of a rioter throwing flowers for last February’s issue. It reacted to Trump’s first weeks in office, when he “lobbed the first Molotov cocktail of policies and executive orders against the capital’s brilliant-white porticos,” wrote the magazine’s editor, adding, “With Trump, chaos seems to be part of the plan.”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Beheading freedom

A cartoon figure of Trump holding a bloodied knife and the Statue of Liberty’s head: The cover of German weekly Der Spiegel made headlines worldwide. It reacted to Trump’s “America First” policy and his threats to democracy, including his executive order to bar people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country. The cover divided opinions within the country and abroad.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Take your kids to work every day

It’s both a challenge and a goldmine for satirists: Trump’s politics and habits are often more bizarre than satire itself. On this cover, Mad magazine commented on the White House role given to the president’s daughter Ivanka and to his son-in-law and presidential adviser, Jared Kushner, who was morphed into the traits of the magazine’s iconic mascot, Alfred E. Neuman.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

The mouthpiece of white supremacists

After a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a participant drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman and injuring 19 people. Trump then declared that there were “very fine people” marching with the white supremacists that day, a comment which drew praise from former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke. The Economist reacted with this cover.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Tailwind from the president

Following the Charlottesville rally events, The New Yorker also took aim at Trump’s remarks equating neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan to the counter-protesters. “President Trump’s weak pushback to hate groups — as if he was trying not to alienate them as voters — compelled me to take up my pen,” said artist David Plunkert of his cover, entitled “Blowhard.”

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Breaking a taboo: a Hitler comparison

The German weekly Stern went one step further by unsubtly portraying Trump draped in the American flag and giving a Nazi salute. The cover story was headlined “Sein Kampf,” (His Struggle), a play on Adolf Hitler’s infamous “Mein Kampf” book. It drew sharp criticism from the Central Council of Jews for belittling Hitler’s crimes. Misappropriating Nazi symbols is taboo in Germany.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Lazy boy

In early August, Newsweek magazine depicted Trump as a fast food-eating, bored TV junkie — descriptions also found in the book “Fire and Fury.” Headlined “LAZY BOY: Donald Trump is bored and tired. Imagine how bad he’d feel if he did any work,” the issue also pointed out that during his six months in office, he had spent 40 days at golf clubs, but had seen zero pieces of major legislation passed.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

A prominent phony

Trump likes to describe any media criticizing him as ” fake news,” but he’s also renowned for his own twisting of the truth. This fake Time magazine cover praising Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice” in 2009 was framed and on prominent display in at least five of his golf clubs. When the story came out last June, it felt like the perfect embodiment of Trump’s narcissism and lies.

President Trump’s first year on magazine covers

Russian bride of the year

Twitter went wild after the fake Time magazine cover story came out. Thousands of memes poking fun at Trump were created using the magazine’s iconic template. This one photoshopped the Person of the Year issue to turn Donald Trump into the “Russian bride of the Year,” commenting on Trump’s questionable Russian ties.

Author: Torsten Landsberg (eg)

ls/es (AFP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW’s editors send out a selection of the day’s hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

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[fanofawesomethings]

Halloween Run

Another commission piece for @bixbitesmeepmorps‘s Gem OC’s.

If you want a commission of your very own, message me and I will tell you my prices

Bixbite kicked the ends of her heels on the limestone outside her cave. The green forest had changed into shades of orange and red, almost overnight. The air was no longer warm and the days seemed shorter. Bixbite named this part of the year the Orange time, not knowing that the season already had a name. Like the years before, she loved to sit and watch each brittle leaf fall from its tree until the forest floor was painted with the orange and red color. But Bixbite was especially happy during that fall season because for once she had someone to share the season with.  

The wind Onyx sat on her back and watched the heavy cloud sail away. There wasn’t a particular reason why she did so; it certainly wasn’t to enjoy the pleasant calm associated with watching the clouds. Unlike most, Onyx didn’t see the beauty in staring at nothing and often times she’d have to ask Bixbite what the point of little things like cloud watching is; Onyx was artistically blind. But Bixbite wanted to sit and watch the leaves and Onyx was unable to refuse her. The minutes seemed to droll on like a slug and though she’d rather be moving something heavy or punching the boulder she always punched when she was bored, out of the corner of her eye, Bixbite was smiling with glee, so Onyx kept her boredom quiet, for her.

Bixbite would point and laugh when another leaf landed on the growing pile forming a little mountain like theirs. When Onyx snickered to humor her, Bixbite’s smile grew. Onyx followed suit by pointing to a cloud she watched and asking Bixbite what it looked like to her. Bixbite’s answers were always better than hers so at some point Onyx gave up trying.

Onyx tapped Bixbite’s butt which startled her like a jolt of lightning, unpredictably so. While she found it interesting to know another of Bixbite’s secret weakness, Onyx did it to get Bixbite’s hand. Small and dainty magenta hands were swallowed by strong yet gentle black hands.

Before both of them knew it, the sun reached the peak of the sky and began to reseed to the mountains. The tree Bixbite watched lost half of its leaves and the cloud Onyx watched changed from being the shape of a wolf to a lumpy crab. It hardly felt like hours to them.

“Do you want to do something else?” Bixbite asked, finally breaking the calm silence.

Onyx basked in the warmth of her Bixbite’s hand and the softness of her hair which caressed her hand when the wind pushed it. Truthfully if Bixbite asked her this question a couple of hours ago, Onyx’s response would be to immediately suggest something physical, maybe training. But sitting in blissful tranquility did wonders to change her mind so all she could think about what sitting next to Bixbite—forever if she could.

“Let’s stay like this for a little while longer,” said Onyx.

“You don’t want to train, or punch something, or try that thing we tried last time?”

Onyx choked on nothing, caught off guard by the last thought. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of this ‘doing nothing’ idea you had,” she said. She gave Bixbite a small wink. “But you know, I’d be in the mood if you wanted to start again.”

Bixbite blushed despite suggesting it herself. Her lips inched to say yes, a moment that was changed when all of a sudden the two were startled. Rustling in the forest echoed in the sereneness, making the rustling thunderous as it drew closer. In addition to the forest brush being parted they heard the ground being cut as though a chainsaw struck the earth. They didn’t recognize it at first glance but it wasn’t until the sound drew closer, and they could see the spinning purple sphere, that Onyx and Bixbite could drop their guard.

The splicing sphere form of Amethyst collided with the bottom of the mountain below them. Colliding with the limestone with her strength and speed, the top of Amethyst’s head made an indent on the stone. She wobbled backwards holding her head in a silly fashion.

“Whoa that was a hard stop. Err, sorry about dent in your house,” said Amethyst casually as an attempt to make the collision seem like part of a joke. Bits of rubble fell out of her hair.

“Hello Amethyst,” greeted Bixbite.

“Oh yeah, the short Amethyst,” said Onyx, only vaguely remembering her. “What are you doing here?”

“Geez, what’s with that greeting? Hey, big Onyx with the giant shoulder pads. We came to check up on ya’, of course.”

“We?” Bixbite repeated.

Amethyst climbed the mountain to reach them and put her arms around Bixbite. She squeezed Bixbite tightly and then scurried behind her like a mischievous cat to play with her long, magenta hair. Reasons had nothing to do with it; Amethyst simply loved running her hands through Bixbite’s soft hair and playing with its excessive length.

“Yeah, Steven and Pearl were way too slow for me so I had to leave ‘em in my dust,” she grinned.

“Steven’s coming!” Bixbite cheered.

“The Pearl is coming?” Onyx griped.

“Yup. We’re gonna do this thing that happens every year where people dress up like weird things and get free candy,” explained Amethyst, grabbing a strand of hair and putting it over her lip to look like she had a mustache.

“What’s candy?” Bixbite asked.

“No way, you’ve never eaten candy before?! It’s way weird. Sometimes they’re hard, other times they are all chewy, sometimes they get stuck in my teeth. They’re super good and humans just give you them for free today!”

“So you eat too? Gems don’t need to eat,” said Onyx.

           “Come on, you sound like Pearl. If you wanna eat, just eat, that’s what I think,” said Amethyst.

           Onyx balled her hand, very displeased about being compared to Pearl.

The bushes up head rustled. Onyx groaned, for up until this point she had been enjoying her day alone with Bixbite and then before she knew it she has to deal with the Pearl she disliked more than every human on Earth, combined. But Onyx’s dislike for Pearl mattered little to Bixbite who was just excited to see her friend—she was confident enough to let her guard down knowing Onyx wouldn’t pick a fight.

“Bixbite, Onyx!” Steven’s voice rang from the brush. Bixbite stood up to greet him.

           The green parted and Steven emerged, but looking differently than Bixbite remembered, much to her horror. Steven’s pinkish skin had turned gray, his hair was covered with white streaks, red outlining his mouth, and white rib bones exposed on his stomach. His clothes were torn apart, some tears were painted red. Steven had his arms extended in front of his chest as he moaned, a ghoulish moan. Everything about his appearance fired a surge of fear into Bixbite and she screamed loud, running immediately behind Onyx while continuing to scream. Onyx herself raised her guard to protect herself and her friend. Tears showed on Bixbite’s eyes as she trembled.

           “S-S-S-S-Steven i-i-i-s a-a-a m-monster!” Bixbite cried.

           Steven and Amethyst looked at each other puzzled, both discovering that she was serious.

           “Bixbite, it’s okay, I’m fine,” said Steven. He padded the side of his bare stomach and rubbed the rib bone off, revealing it was nothing but white paint. “It’s just my costume.”

           Bixbite peeked from behind cover.

           “Oh, Steven, you messed your makeup again. Really, if you insist on being this ‘zoombie’ thing, you should at least make sure you stay in character,” said Pearl, coming up behind him.

           Pearl raised both her index fingers to her Gem and closed her eyes in concentration. A little circle cup of white makeup appeared and she diligently reapplied it to the spot where Steven had rubbed off. Onyx shot Pearl a disgust look as she painted.

           “It’s nice to see you again, Bixbite,” said Pearl, and stopping there. Bixbite was still unsure of Steven’s costume so she didn’t respond.

           Steven tapped his stomach. “See, nothing to be scared of, it’s just a part of Halloween.”

           “Hahllowine? Is it the thing Amethyst was talking about where you get candy?” Bixbite sniffled.

           “Yeah that! But you gotta be dressed up like a weirdo,” said Amethyst.

           “We came to ask you two if you wanted to come along,” said Steven.

           Onyx pointed to Pearl, intentionally meaning to be rude. “So why is she here then?”

           “Pearl’s our chaperone. Garnet couldn’t come, even though I had such a good costume in mind for her,” said Steven with a sigh of disappointed because he had a plan to dress her in a witch’s gown whose red and blue colors were split down the middle.

           “I could’ve been your guard if you asked me first. There’s not really any need for two,” said Onyx.

           Pearl made no face in response, choosing not to humor Onyx. Her ability to ignore annoyance, no matter how big, was a trait that took years of living with Amethyst to master. The tension between them was still as dense as it was when they first met, the only difference Bixbite, Steven and Amethyst could tell was that neither one was getting ready to cut the other down—some restraint was shown.

           “S-So, do you guys want to come?” Steven asked, feeling the awkwardness.

           “That might be fun, but we don’t have any coostumes,” said Bixbite

           Steven grinned proudly to Peal who sighed with a smile of her own. He predicted this would happen and asked Pearl to hold their costumes, which at the time she didn’t believe they’d need. Pearl touched her forehead with both hands and two orbs of lighting stretched out, molding and growing until they took their original shape and fell into Steven’s arms. He held them out in front of them.

           “Bixbite you get the orange one and Onyx you get the gray one,” said Steven, handing their individual costume.            Both looked at each other at a loss at what they were supposed to do with the clothes. They figured it out as they went inside the cave to change while the others waited outside. In the dark cave, neither could see each other’s costume, and it would remain a mystery to each other until they finished. Amethyst kicked her feet on the ground as she laid her head on the limestone, bored after a while. Steven paid close attention to how the sun began to set, the opportune time to start trick-o-treating, he thought, was soon impending. Finally the two emerged from the shadows to an audience who awed at their appearance.

           Bixbite wore a sunset orange leotard-esque outfit with a fluffy skirt around her waist that was made up of brown and green leaves. Leaves and twigs were scattered around the suit with thin yet sparkling veils over her arms that reached to her palms. The costume came with accessories—a crown of bright orange and red flowers with red berries strung in between them, four elongated twigs that Bixbite placed in the middle of the crown on top of her head, and smaller pink flowers as clips that hung to her hair like a forest floor. She had a difficult time wearing the forest flip-flops the costume demanded; she wiggled her bare toes against the strap, uncomfortable.

           Onyx was comparably not as impressive. Her costume was a knight’s outfit, but it was far from the real thing. She had slipped into a body suit with most of the armor painted on the surface. Foam grieves, gauntlets and shoulder, and a cheap red rag as a cape completed the lackluster look. Steven was incredibly disappointed looking at the costume now, especially with how Bixbite’s turned out. Onyx, however, didn’t notice how pathetic her costume looked; she was immediately stricken by Bixbite’s new appearance.

           “Hey you know, you should tie up your long hair, girl,” suggested Amethyst sneaking up behind Bixbite.

           “You think so?” She wondered. Because of all the things pinned to her hair, for the first time Bixbite considered the thought.

           “Here, lemme help you out,” grinned Amethyst.

           Amethyst grabbed two handfuls of Bixbite’s hair, but even that wasn’t enough to contain the massive length. Onyx watched liked a slack jawed buffoon, expectant to see the outcome of Amethyst playing. Nothing came to mind until suddenly Amethyst got an idea and was quick to make it a reality. While attention was off them, Steven whispered into Pearl’s ear and she reluctantly compiled with the request, just as Amethyst stepped away from her finished work.

           Half of Bixbite’s hair was free and wild as it always was, but using the costume’s clips to disconnect them, Amethyst tied an array of pigtails using the ends of her hair. But she soon realized she wasn’t finished. Amethyst ran to Bixbite’s sides and tied two long strands around her neck like a necklace. The last strand behind her ear that bothered Amethyst tied behind her head like a ring. Onyx couldn’t look away.

           “Yeah, I got the hair moves,” Amethyst said to the speechless Onyx. She pushed her to Bixbite.

           Onyx was extremely unprepared to face Bixbite then. Her face was blushing.

           “Do you like it?” Bixbite inquired.

           “You’re beautiful! I—I mean i-it looks nice,” said Onyx, exploding at first. Bixbite blushed which only sent Onyx into a flurry of emotions.

           Metal pieces clanked as they fell to the ground, startling everyone and immediately breaking the mood. The individual pieces of the white armor proved to be too heavy for Steven to carry and they fell on him like dead weight while he crumbled beneath them. Pearl, the one who summoned each piece, jolted to his aid.

           “Steven—oh my gosh—are you alright?!” She threw the chest piece, the biggest part, off his with one arm. Onyx caught the flying part.

           Steven raised his thumb, weakly. “I’m good!”

           Onyx saw herself in the crystal clear reflection, behind a symbol of an eagle the chest plate bore. Beneath the eagle was a sun and below that were two large stars.

           “What’s this?” Onyx asked.

           “It’s your costume, Onyx. This one is way better than that one!” Steven proclaimed. “This one is an actual knight’s armor Pearl had in her Gem.”

           Onyx looked at Pearl with odd perplexity. “You keep an entire suit of armor inside your Gem?”

           “I like to see it as being prepared for anything. Do you want the suit or not? Unless you’re content with looking absolutely ridiculous,” said Pearl.

           Onyx only then realized how ridiculous she actually looked. Bitterly she had no choice but to take the pieces of shimmering white armor. But not before tearing the flimsy bodysuit off her with a single tug, unaware that Steven had paid money for it and he could’ve easily returned it. Trying the leather straps to her body, tightening the armor pieces until they pressed on her muscles, and carrying the immense weight of steel felt nostalgic to the warrior Gem. She never wore armor when fighting, but she didn’t think any less of the Gems who did. As she the suit was fully guarding her body, Onyx ignored the memories of war to be in the mountain, with Bixbite.

           Sharing her friend’s reaction, Bixbite couldn’t hold a thought or a word when she saw Onyx in her costume. The black Gem’s large muscles made the armored plates bulge out and the chainmail greaves stood out prominently with the great build underneath; the crystal sheen on the metal gave Onyx a glisten like stardust that worked well with her nature beauty—at least it was what Bixbite seemed to think. She didn’t say any of her thought out loud, but Onyx guessed from her mindless drooling that Bixbite liked the costume; she blushed.

           “Alright, everyone, let’s go trick-o-treating! Mwahahahahaha!” Steven imitated a nefarious laugh befitting a mad scientist, though the same effect wasn’t apparent with his size or voice.  

             “Mwahahahaha!” Amethyst mimicked with a stronger voice.

           Pearl refused to take part.

             Bixbite and Onyx were given a small treat before they got their candy. When the group of Gems reached the nearest Warp Pad they teleported to inside Steven’s house, where the two new Gems were finally given a chance to see a new setting. There were so many simple things that would surely capture Bixbite’s attention for hours, but time was of the essence according to Steven and they could only stay for a minute to get shopping bags and then leave. Bixbite extended her neck so she could see more as she was being led out the door; she managed to see the TV and the coach, which was accompanied by Garnet who waved goodbye as they left. While Bixbite was disappointed she didn’t get to see more, what awaited her outside was even better.

           A glare hit the side of Bixbite and Onyx’s eyes when they stepped out onto the wooden patio outside Steven’s house. The citrine-colored glow of the setting sun was mirrored on the azure surface of the ocean. Bixbite and Onyx froze. Where the sun went after it set over their mountain had been a mystery to both of them—for Bixbite it remained a mystery for as long as she lived in the mountain. In addition to the setting sun, the unfamiliar Gems threw their mouths open at the ocean, an endless area that was as vast as the valley behind their mountain but painted blue. Steven gave them the time they needed to indulge.

           With a few coercing pushes to get Bixbite and Onyx moving again, the group of Gems made their way to the boardwalk. Everything around them was new to Bixbite and Onyx and to Steven, Amethyst and Pearl it felt like they were leading them on a tour of the city rather than a walk to the houses. While Bixbite walked forward as she spun like a top, Steven led the group to a blue house at the end of the boardwalk. This house wasn’t decorated and there wasn’t anyone out in the frontyard despite the garage door being open.

           “Hey Onion, we’re here! Let’s get going!” Steven shouted.

           “What’s an Onion?” Onyx asked.

           “He’s my friend Vidalia’s kid and Steven’s buddy,” said Amethyst.

           Onyx gave a look of disgust. “Humans have weird names.”

           A light on the second story window lit up and a shadow moved inside, most likely Onion. The group waited outside, a silence on the group during the short moment waiting. Behind them a whisper so sly it was carried by the breeze so none of them could hear it. A figure, draped in a long black cloak that touched its knees, wearing a mask of a face turned upside down, an eerie sight that crept up behind them. None of them heard its advances until its thin hand rose up with boney fingers. Bixbite saw a shadow creep on her shoulder and she turned around; for that moment she was unable to scream as the figure grabbed Amethyst’s shoulder with a pinch.

           “GAAAAAAAH!” Amethyst shrieked.

           “AAAAAAH!” Steven shouted in response.

           “WHAAA?!” Pearl jumped hearing Steven scream.

           “HEYAAAAAAH!” Bixbite was the loudest scream out of all of them, which in turned caused Onyx to suddenly pick her guard up.

           The series of screams was triggered by the mask figure who upon seeing the fruits of her devilish prank revealed herself to be Vidalia.

           She laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. “Man, for a Gem warrior you get scared really easily.”

           “Do not!” Amethyst denied. “What’s with the mask, Vidalia? Your normal face is scary enough.”

           “I’m headed to Sour Cream’s Halloween rave so I needed a good enough costume.” The older woman then noticed the extra two Gems, one of which, Bixbite, was hiding behind the other. “Wow, you got some new friends? Gonna give me an introduction?”

           “Yeah, that red one’s Bixbite and the big beefy one is Onyx. We helped them out with some serious Gem biz, you know how it goes.”

           Vidalia went up to Onyx who was a great deal larger than the mature woman. She invaded her personal space to analyze the Gem’s face clearly. Onyx looked cornered, not knowing how to respond to a human staring so intensely at her.

           “You got muscles for days, big gurl. I could use you to move some stuff next weekend. I won’t pay you though,” said Vidalia.

           Onyx had too many questions to single one out.

           Vidalia passed her to get to the magenta Gem hiding behind. Without the creepy mask, Bixbite felt a little comfortable peeking out of her guardian’s back but she was still apprehensive. And just like with Onyx, Vidalia scanned Bixbite intensely.

           “Sick hair color, gurl,” said Vidalia. “Back in my hay day I tried to get that shade but I always got red or pink. You’re lucky, Beet. It’s what I’m gonna call ya’ since you look like a big ol’ beet.”

           “What’s a beet?” Bixbite poked her head out of her cover like a gopher.

           “Geez, you make the lamest nicknames,” said Amethyst.

           “And I’m callin’ you Olive,” she said to Onyx who didn’t get the name either.

           Onion, the smallest of all Steven’s friends, emerged from his house wearing only a blank, white face with eye holes as a costume. He stood like a statue and waited for their responses; his costume didn’t trigger fear in any of them, but it did send a freezing chill down their spines.

           “L-Let’s get going,” said Steven, hesitant to take Onion’s hand to keep him close.

           “Keep all ten eyes on this little imp, and have him back before midnight,” said Vidalia. She patted the top of his head. “Don’t give ‘em too much trouble.”

           Onion nodded. Vidalia slipped her mask back on and waved her hands in an overly spooky manner as she retreated into the garage.

           “Get ready, Bixbite and Onyx, we’re about to finally get the candy,” said Steven.

           Bixbite got over her fright for the sake of the delicious treats she’d been promised.

           With the final member added to their roster, Steven and the others were finally headed to the houses on the other side of the street. However, others had the same idea Steven had for the ideal time to start trick-o-treating. As they made their way they heard crowds of doorbells being rung and doors being knocked. Onion pulled away from Steven and rushed around the corner. Steven took Bixbite and Pearl’s hands and pulled them. Bixbite smiled with anticipatory enjoyment. That is, until they rounded the corner.

           Vampires. Ghouls. Mummies. Evil clowns. Werewolves. Aliens. An wide assortment of costumes on people ranging from small to huge, all in a cluster moving from one house to the next. Bixbite was petrified immediately. Her wildest nightmares could not compare. So many scary things all around her, each one invoked a fear that she didn’t even know what there. Steven felt Bixbite’s hand suddenly go limp; he looked back to see her eyes blasted open. Her throat grew with the impending scream she was about to let loose. Steven’s shocked expression caused the others to become aware of Bixbite’s impending scream. She panted rapidly and swallowed the air she needed. Everyone scrambled to calm her, but they were too late. Bixbite let out an earth shattering scream that was quickly muffled when Onyx slapped her hands over Bixbite’s mouth almost instinctively. Bixbite had the chance to let out all her fright and Onyx’s quick thinking prevent it was becoming an incident.

           “Bixbite, its okay, everyone’s in costume! None of it is real,” said Steven. Bixbite was still in mid-scream so they waited until all of the air had been exhaled out of her body before explaining things.

           “Relax, Beet Bix, there are no monsters here that can get ya’,” said Amethyst.

           Bixbite sniffled behind Onyx’s hand—she wasn’t convinced of her safety. Onyx saw all of the excitement Bixbite at the start of the new adventure had left her; her expression now read her hurry to get back to the cave and hide. A knife cleaved Onyx’s stomach seeing Bixbite so miserable. Suddenly, Onyx lifted Bixbite off the ground and into her arms.

           “I’ll hold you the entire way, I’ll keep you safe, Bix,” said Onyx.

           The color returned to Bixbite’s face, along with some additional shades of bright red. They were caught in each other’s eyes; their faces inched closer to each other, completely ignoring the audience they had. Steven blushed and Pearl had to cover his and Onion’s eyes. It was only when Onyx felt Bixbite’s gentle breath hit her lips that Pearl cleared her throat to remind them they were still there.

           “Not in front of the children, you two, please,” commanded Pearl.

           Bixbite and Onyx shared the same flustered look like they had made a big mistake. Onion pulled away and ran to the nearest house.

           “Bixbite, Onyx, there’s our first house. When I ring the door bell you gotta say ‘Trick-o-Treat’, okay,” Steven instructed.

           Bixbite understood the steps clearly enough, but there wasn’t any way she saw herself getting down from inside Onyx’s arms, for more reasons than being afraid of the monsters around her. Thankfully the house Onion picked for them was at the start of the block and the other costume children had long since visited it. Onyx ducked her head and squeezed her body tight closed to fit on the patio. Onion rang the doorbell. The owner, a small old lady, must’ve been nearby because the door opened fairly quickly.

           “Oh my, such scary youngins,” said the lady in a weak voice that matched her poor eyesight.

           “Trick-o-Treat, ma’am,” said Steven politely.

           “Gimme my candies!” Amethyst commanded.

           “Trice or Teet!” Bixbite said, misunderstanding what exactly Steven said before. Onyx wasn’t going to say it.

She adjusted her thick, golden glasses. “Two strapping young lads and three pretty young ladies.”

           “Ladies? We’re Gems,” said Onyx, taking it as an insult.

           “Kids these days and their costumes, it’s hard for an ol’ lady like me to keep up.” She reached behind the door and picked up her candy bowl and handed Onion and Steven a handful of candy. “Don’t go eatin’ all your candy tonight. Thas what I did thirty or twenty teeth ago.”

           The handful of candy landed at the bottom of Bixbite’s empty shopping bag. It was only a few wrapped single flavor hard candy, what looked like a single popcorn kennel, and a mini bar of chocolate; Onyx got the same. Bixbite poked her head inside to see the wrapped sweets glistening like treasure; she didn’t know what any of the brand names meant, what the candies were, and what exactly she was meant to do with them other than eat them, but she was happy to receive them. She looked to see if Onyx shared her happiness in receiving candy, but Onyx’s response was a bit more complex.

Onyx was just as oblivious as Bixbite towards what the purpose of the candy was. They looked like the same pieces of trash that she’d previously seen piling up in Jason’s trashcans. They weren’t weapons or anything interesting that would make her excited. And yet, Steven showed his candy to Onion with a bright smile on his face and Bixbite’s eyes widened with joy. The joy of the candy was easy to them but an enigmatic mystery to her. Bixbite quickly unwrapped her mini bar of chocolate and held it to Onyx’s lips. She awkwardly munched on the mini edge, but oblivious once again as to what made it “good” as the others often said when eating. Bixbite giggled because of bit of chocolate hung on Onyx’s lips; she took it off Onyx and ate it, smiling back. Onyx smiled too.

“Honestly you bunch and your food. I will never understand it,” said Pearl.

“What, don’t you want some Pearl?” Amethyst tore the wrapped of four of her six pieces of candy, mashed them together in a ball of various colors and held the ball of sugar at Pearl’s face. “Come on, P, its good!”

           Pearl backed away. “Oh no, Amethyst, don’t you dare get that thing close to me!”

           “It’s full of sweetie goodness!”

           Amethyst chased Pearl around the street like a cat and mouse, holding out the ball of candy which she used as a weapon against her. Finally Amethyst made Onyx laugh, at Pearl’s expense of course.

The night went by before any of them noticed, which was often the case when they had fun. Steven and the others visited every door they could, collecting candy that quickly made their shopping bags heavier than they were. The sun had long since set and the moon was out by the time their bags were halfway full. When they couldn’t carry the heavy load any longer they gave them to Onyx who held them and Bixbite the entire night; it was Onion who originally threw his bag on Onyx when it got too heavy for him. Sweat from too much walking had begun to wet the makeup on Steven’s body; for an autumn night it wasn’t at all cold. The last of the houses within a good walking distance was hit and the group rested on the block curve to catch their breaths while children much younger than Steven were still going strong.

“Kids these days, I’ll never understand where they get their energy from,” said Steven trying his best to sound like an old prune.

“It’s gettin’ kind late. Didn’t Vidalia say she wanted him to be back before midnight?” Amethyst reminded.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! We really should be getting back now,” said Steven. “Come on, On—”

Steven trailed off when he discovered his little friend wasn’t seated next to him. His head swished to his left but only found Amethyst where she’d always been. He looked behind him and even out in front of them. No Onion to be seen.

“Onion!” Steven called out.

No answer, not that he half expected one.

“Guys! Onion’s gone!”

“What?!” Pearl squawked. She too looked around. “I-I wasn’t even paying attention!”

“No way! Vidalia’s gonna kill us!” Amethyst shouted.

“Your little friend?” Bixbite asked.

“What’s the big deal? He can probably find his way back,” said Onyx.

“Of course he can’t, he’s a little human!” Pearl barked at her.

Onyx stood up to meet her challenging stance. Before a new problem came, a shiver ran down Onyx’s spine. Her hairs stood on end and her body locked in place as though the chill that tickled her spine had also frozen her.

“—off,” Onyx muttered.

“What’s wrong, Onyx?” Bixbite inquired.

“Get this thing offa me!” Onyx cried.

The group looked around her massive frame to see a creature latched onto her back like a beetle. Onion climbed her back while attention was drawn away and Onyx only noticed him after he began to poke her Gem. He grabbed it with his tiny palms and even tried to pull it out.

           “Off! Get him off! Get him off! OFF!” Onyx pleaded.

           Bixbite picked Onion off her friend and held him with perplexity. He wriggled free and quickly retreated behind Steven. Meanwhile Onyx hadn’t loosened, her face sweating and her face completely pale.

           Pearl, Amethyst, and even Bixbite shared a mischievous grin with devilish intent brightening their eyes. They discovered Onyx’s fear and they weren’t about to let her forget it or that night.

#steven universe #steven universe au #au #writing #bixbite #fanfiction #fan fiction #commission