#unless i introduce his character after Dream is back to living normally

[cyncerity]

ok so poll time:

I may have messed something up in the store shifter au.

I have a story that’s set after Dream learns how shifting works and is back to his normal life (its this one but tw for v*re) but my issue with it is that it doesn’t mention George at all when it probably should. When i wrote that i was like “oh yeah he wouldn’t be introduced in this part” but now i’m stupid and have backtracked.

There’s gonna be a next part to the story where Dream shifts for the first time, but i planned to put George in around this time. Then he’s a part of helping Dream learn his new normal and stuff. But then it makes no sense that he’s not mentioned in the linked story, which happens after all that. Idk what to do and i can’t finish my stories till i decide.

#i know it says a week but it’ll probably be less #cause the George story is almost done unless i rewrite part of it #also it can technically be part of the larger Dream Shifting story as it is now #his own little interlude ig #unless i introduce his character after Dream is back to living normally #cyncerity #mcyt g/t #mcyt gt #store shifter au

[windermeresimblr]

🦇 👻 🍂

🦇 Bat: If you could teleport to any point in your story where would it be? You can go back to correct past “mistakes” or into the future to something you’re most excited about.

In Alasdair’s current plotline, I have a few exciting moments, but I need to build up to them first. Kolfinna needs to be properly introduced, for one thing, and for that, she needs a proper set of clothes. So I’ve got to get the pixel sewing machine up and running. 

I also want to flash forward and show his future family, but quite a lot of things need to happen before then. After all, he is currently between nine and twelve in your part of the story, and although he’s 31 in my part of the story (if my math is correct on both counts–1808 minus 1777 ought to be 31, or somewhere around there depending on when his birthday is), he still hasn’t met his future partner. Et cetera.

In terms of mistakes, my only mistake is that I forgot what year Alasdair was “taken” from. Some dialogue, yet to be shot, must be rewritten! But that’s good for me.

👻 Ghost: Do you have a character or a scene that continues to haunt you? Something or someone you wish you had done differently or just can’t stop thinking about?

Alasdair shows up in my dreams every so often, if you want the most literal answer. His last appearance was as a very old man in a medieval castle by the sea, but I would like to reassure everyone that I’m not going to make him do a bunch of time-traveling when he’s too old to be traveling far from home! 

I have scenes in my mind without real characters to tie them to, but that’s another story. I ought to let myself have the “freedom” to post random scenes and snippets without making them series. (Usually people by the sea or doing dramatic things. Or interesting-looking buildings.)

🍂 Leaves: How do you want your story to end? Would you prefer a satisfying, concrete conclusion or keeping it open-ended so that you could continue writing if you chose to pick it back up one day?

I think an open-ended answer to the current plotline for Alasdair; for Kolfinna and Caedmon and the others, they will not make any more appearances once their story is over unless Alasdair remembers them. 

For Alasdair in general, I love the idea of him traveling through history like Carmen Sandiego, but eventually he will need to stop going everywhere and everywhen and focus on living as normal a life as he can! I don’t think his children will inherit his time-traveling ability, although a little bit of magic and mysticism may still follow his side of the family. (Seeing things that aren’t really there…knowing things they have no logical way of knowing…being spookily good at guessing… normal things!) 

So a little of Column A and a little of Column B.

[yandere-mc-yt]

Yandere DS/MP Slasher/Serial Killer Au

Just throwing out some hcs for a few characters off the top of my head :)

Warnings: Yandere Themes, obsessiveness, possessiveness, stalking mentioned, murder, violence mentioned, love at first sight(?), jealousy mentioned, suggestive

Dream

Alright. Throwing it out there: MANHUNT.

Dream's hunting grounds is definitely some small town with large farms or wooded areas around- just places with with not a lot of people at once.

Loves to stalk his pray for sometime but will always kill them in the same day. He tends to leave his victims where he killed them. Most likely dismembered. He likes dismembering people.

He loves the thrill of the hunt- his sole reason for killing someone is that he likes to hunt for sport.....

....which makes him stalking his darling for longer than a day after he first catches sight of them very strange. Something about this one tickles his fancy and he doesn't know why.

Dream ends up going a whole month without killing a single person becuase he's been so fixated on them and it freaks him out. He makes a sloppy kill for the first time in years..... he blames his darling. He needs to punish his darling.

Poor darling starts getting stalked a lot more and their friends start to disapear left and right- most ending up in the hospital and dying of their wounds. It'll probably take them a while to realize they're being stalked becuase Dream is that good at what he does.

When he can't take being at a distance anymore, they might wake up to a man in a smiley mask standing above them with a bloody hunting knife.

Technoblade

Reminiscent of Jason and the Texas Chainsaw killer. He's just hard to run into unless you're a member of a dumb group of friends going to abandoned cabins or camps in the middle of the woods for clout or something.

Where's a wild boarskull and a lot of animal skins/leather. Wild stinky man with an axe and a lot of bloodlust.

Its not like he goes out looking for people to butcher- Techno will almost never leave his area unless he thinks he absolutely needs to.

And when the last group of foolish young party goers looking for an abandoned camping ground to booze around on gets slaughter quickly, he suddenly has a strong need to step outside of his comfort zone.

One of his would be victims gets away because for some reason when he saw them, Techno fucking hesitated. He's never hesitated. He tracks them down out of his woods tockill them but.

He ends up dragging them back to his home and imprisons them. He's never done this before. Its not even from the voices goading him on.

He's going to keep them for a long time before he figures it out. And when he figures it out? He'll never want to let them go.

Wilbur Soot

A very urban serial killer- probably haunts the local university?

I think its obvious what type of killer he is- hidden in plain sight, charismatic and a specific agenda.

Wilbur's darling was supposed to be just another victim. Another notch on his belt.

He has no idea when he started having seconds thoughts. Maybe it was the strange domesticity- normalcy he felt when he was with them. It almost made him feel sick.

He decides to distract himself with a few other victims until the inevitable day comes when Wilbur takes a half conscious darling to the room where he ended so many other lives.

He's on top of them, gloved hands around their neck and he goes to squeeze. He can't fucking do it.

Now Wilbur is panicking- he has a still very alive person in his hideout that he can't kill. He's not supposed to let them live. He can't kill them.

It comes to him hard as an eliphany while he's having an anxiety attack: he's attached. Infatuated. In love.

Wilbur imprisons them. He has no choice too becuase he's in too deep. They likes him- maybe he can convince them to forgive the blood on his hands?

Fundy

I don't know how to classify him properly off of the top of my head. What makes him different is that what drives him to kill is love to begin with.

Fundy was just some normal shy computer nerd until he bumps into the person that he's convinced is his soulmate the brief second he made eye contact with them.

Fundy was obsessed. He starts stalking them immediately. He learns everything about them, from their date of birth, to their allergies. He also unfortunately learns about all the people that are close to his darling that like them more than in a friendly way.

He's convinced himself if he gets them out of the way, he'll have a better chance to be with them. And simply ruining their reputations by performing a few hacks wouldn't be enough.

The first time he kills one of his darlings supposed suitors he's.... brutal. He has no idea what happens to him. Maybe its becuase he lets it spill that he's doing this for his darling and his first victim mocks him.

It becomes a big habit to practically maul them and when the bodies are found, the authorities think its a freak animal attack.

Fundy is actually surprised that he manages ro cover his tracks so well. When the number to potential obstacles to get to his darlings diminishes, he finally makes his move.

Finally, bashful nerdy little Fundy has found a place in his darling's life. But as a friend. He quickly tries to push his luck with his darling. And he thinks he really has a chance until his darling introduces him to their new partner.

He doesn't even think when he follows the couple home, sneaks in and attacks them both. He's so enraged he just draws a mental blank as he violently tortures and carves apart the last person to get in his way.

When he's done he turns to his darling and switches back over to that shy boy they met before, covered in blood and pleading with them to forgive him. He did this all for them after all. And if he can't have them, then he'll make sure no one will.

#yan dsmp slasher au #yan dsmp serial killer au #yandere dream #yandere technoblade #yandere wilbur soot #yandere fundy #sorry if his seems shorter rip

[slashiest-slasher]

Okay but list of slashers by how sexy they are?

I'm factoring this by how easy, realistically, it would be to have an actual relationship with these characters, and how attractive they are.

[[MORE]]

1. OG Candyman OFC. Tony Todd was the perfect actor, with the perfect voice. He and Helen are one of my few het ships I care deeply about. Everything about him is steeped in romanticism: how he died, wanting to be remembered, his endless search for justice and vengeance. He destroys lives, but alluring and hypnotic. You'd have to die first, but I would imagine living out the rest of eternity with him would be a pretty sweet (ha) deal.

Also I love bees and I have the stomach to handle gore so yes <3

2. Brahms is like a discount Candyman but in a good way. His entire goal is to keep someone to love him and tend to his needs. Also the fact that his actor was so handsome that they had to CGI in a mask bc he wasn't threatening enough? Classic. And if I'm being honest, me personally, I could handle a relationship with Brahms. Like, I'm insecure and needy, I don't like leaving the house, I'm good at/need to follow a list of what to do each day. He'd be bratty and annoying and needy, but hey I'm fine with that. I would place him at 1, but c'mon, Tony Todd.

3a. Leatherface (both Bubba and Thomas). Okay okay hear me out. They're both insecure men whose family means the world to them. Thomas would be easier to get in with, as his family isn't completely fucking insane. If you genuinely wanted a relationship, and expressed this to his family (Luda Mae in particular) they'd be elated that someone was actually taking an interest in him (and some fresh blood in the family wouldn't hurt). I could see Thomas being somewhat distant and struggle to be/with affection, but very protective and eventually become sweet. I could see him wanting to play house with you lol. Also younger Thomas isn't that deformed? IDK I'd fuck the ghouls in Fallout so I'm not the best when it comes to standarda, but boy has a rocking bod.

3b. Slightly more difficult to get in with the family. You'd probably have to get Bubba at a time where you weren't breaking in or seemingly like a threat. Asking Drayton permission to date him might also be a good idea, then he could introduce you and Bubba wouldn't see you as someone trying to hurt his family. But yeah good luck with his family after that. Bubba would protect you from them, and you'd give him the much needed confidence boost to stand up to Drayton and Nubbins more. He'd be very sweet though soon after you start dating, and like Thomas, would want to play house. But it's be much, much harder to ignore the insanity, depravity, and cannibalism with the Sawyers. So pick your poison.

4. Pamela Voorhees cause she's one of the OG slashers and she reminds me of my grandma. She's sweet and loves so much and was honestly a good mom. Probably one of the only slashers you could have a normal relationship with. You'd have to work to woo her tho, and accept and love her son unconditionally. Which isn't that hard. But if it's post Jason she might kill you so good luck with that.

5. Leslie Vernon is the other slasher you could have a normal relationship with. But it's a 50/50 if you'll be his final boy/girl or an accomplice to help him prep. But as long as your chill with his slasher dream, it'd all be pretty normal. You'd probably have to deal with Dr. Halloran harassing you, and would have to pick up and leave if Leslie had to go underground, and there's a chance hell die and you'll have to cope with that. But yeah, chill dude, not as romantic as the other slashers unless you're the final boy/girl. If you are, and manage to survive and not kill him, ESPECIALLY if he falls for you while prepping. There's just something about falling in live with your victim and them falling for you back.

6. Vincent Sinclair is an artist and will worship you. He would treat you like a masterpiece and revere you as the pinnacle of beauty. But when it comes to actual romance he wouldn't know what to do, but he'd probably let you teach him. I can see you probably being locked down in his workshop, naked, where he doesn't have to share you. As long as you entertaine his whims and treat him kindly, he won't kill you. But he will probably make sculptures in your image!

7. Hannibal. Yeah. He's a romantic by nature, and a generous lover, but yeah there are few people who are in his level and capture his attention. You're more likely to become a victim than end up dating him, and if you do end up dating him he'd manipulate and gaslight the shit out of you. But he won't he rude or hit you. A double edged sword, really. If you does kill and eat you, it will no doubt be beautiful and probably very romantic.

8. Pinhead. You PROBABLY will regret this, as you will die and spend the rest of your afterlife in agony, but Pinhead is nothing if not a gentleman. He'd take the utmost care with you, and it all will be an extremely romantic and sensual affair, but it's a one-time deal and it will be extremely painful. Choose carefully.

9. Bo Sinclair is not romantic, at all. He'd be a suave fuckboy through and through, but if you can prove your worth he probably won't kill you. But he is unstable and might snap, or at the very least lose his temper at you. He'd be okay to date, but there really are better people you could settle for. He would be able to sweep you off your feet and could fuck like a champ though!

10. Billy Lenz. Almost no romance here. He's more likely to kill you than anything, but I could see in certain scenarios being able to have sex with him once without him killing you. He'd probably be pretty good, in a sense, and the way he'd devour your body and imerse himself in you could be construed as devoted in a semi-romantic sense. But he's delusional enough that he might kill you during or after sex.

11. Nothing with Freddy. You have nothing here at all. You might be able to get some dream sex out of Freddy, especially later, campier Freddy. Heavy emphasis on the might. And if it's good enough, he might keep you around, but 9 times out of 10 he's going to kill you. And if you express any interest in him, he's going to take advantage of it to make your death that much worse. Even if you do manage to get some sex out of him, it's going to be quick and dirty, and absolute no romance or anything sensual at all.

12. Jason Voorhees does not date. He has negative interest in sex, and would realistically try to kill you before you proposition him or even try to ask him out. The only reason he isn't dead last is because earlier, nonzombie Jason, especially Part II Jason, you might be able to interact with without dying. Dare I say, you might be able to befriend him. And if the rare chance you could, there's be a sense of vulnerability that would be heartbreaking. But that's be a slim to none chance.

13. Michael. What's there to say? He's the embodiment of evil. Theres no conceivable way to even get close to him without being killed. He will brutally kill you. If you're one of the unlucky few who he disguises himself to sneak up on, you might get to touch or be touched by him for a few moments before you die. Maybe even kiss him! But he takes no joy in it, and will slaughter you. The literal only way you might even have a chance at touching or having sex with him would be if you exist in the Thorn timeline, and the Cult of Thorn has him fuck you (like it's implied they did with Jamie in the producers cut, gross). Other than that, if you were a patient at Smiths Grove, and weren't mean to him, you might be able to touch him without being killed.

#candyman #leatherface #friday the 13th #behind the mask #leslie vernon #house of wax #hannibal lecter #pinhead #black christmas #nightmare on elm street #halloween #michael meyers #jason voorhees #freddy kruger #billy lenz #bo sinclair #vincent sinclair #the boy 2016 #pamela voorhees #bubba sawyer #thomas hewitt #Brahms heelshire #candyman hc #brahms hc #cannibal hc #leslie hc #shape hc #billy lenz hc #hannibal hc #nightmare hc

[itsclydebitches]

About Bakugo, I actually think his original characterization is partly why his arc doesn't work for me: it seems like his contempt for others and desire to hurt them is innate, because he was already insulting and humiliating Deku for fun when they were in kindergarden, and at this age I'm not sure it makes sense to blame the adults around him for this behavior. This is also why I don't buy the "childhood friends" narrative, even before the infamous river scene Bakugo was toxic to Deku.

Hard agree, anon. I'm willing to give some wiggle room to the "Bakugo had a messy childhood and that's why he's like this" argument just because I'm not caught up (and thus might be missing some flashbacks/revelations), no one's life is ever perfect, and there's a subjective line between what we read as innocuous tropes vs. realistic traumas (example: is his mom hitting him something we take seriously, or just classic anime "comedy"?), but honestly I'm... not persuaded by that stance. Largely due to what you've said about this contempt being around since the very beginning. Bakugo's cruelty is the introduction to the entire series, the very first thing we see:

First, they're young here. Maybe not kindergarten young, but as we see in the above narration, it's at age four that Bakugo acquired his "I'm the best" thinking (more on that in a second). They're kids. This is not something that developed slowly over the years until Bakugo crossed some kind of line, he's been like this since the very start. Since a kid is capable of forming thoughts, opinions, and making decisions: like attacking another. In what way does this establish them as friends? Izuku literally shaking as he tries to protect another kid Bakugo is has hurt? Bakugo calling him worthless? Gleefully attacking and punching Izuku in the face? They were never friends! Izuku followed Bakugo around because he was paid some kind of attention by him and Bakugo poisoned the well — no one else in class will befriend Izuku. We see this both by the two willing to help beat him up here and, later, when Izuku says he wants to got to U.A. the entire class laughs at both the idea and Bakugo blowing up his desk in response. The bullying is the only kind of "friendship" Izuku has, so he embraces it with a smile and a nickname. Meanwhile, Bakugo allows Izuku to tag along because he makes him feel good in comparison. All Bakugo needs for an ego boost is to look at Izuku. He's the useless, quirkless nobody whose name can be read as "Deku." What's not to like? Izuku makes Bakugo feel good because Bakugo will always come out on top — always win — when pit against him. Did they have a few good moments gushing over All Might? Yeah, but anyone who has been bullied knows that it's not a clear cut "They were consistently awful every second of every day." Sometimes, those moments of pretend or conditional friendship make everything worse.

(As a side note, I keep hearing the more intense fans of Bakugo saying that those who criticize him identify with Izuku "too much" and it's like... yes? He's the protagonist. You're supposed to identify with him. To say nothing of the question of why you'd include such an explicit bullying subplot — arguably at the heart of the narrative in regards to characterization — if you didn't want readers who had experienced bullying to relate to this story. So it's all about victims like Izuku, you're allowed to care, just don't care in a way that holds Bakugo responsible?)

"But Izuku cares about Bakugo. He tried to help him out of the river." Yeah, because Izuku cares about everyone. Overlooking his warped idea of what friendship is due to having no one but Bakugo, Izuku is the kind of person who is going to extend his hand to anyone who needs it, just like All Might would. His extreme compassion and lack of other friends is not good proof that he cares for Bakugo in any true, healthy fashion, let alone that Bakugo cares for him.

As for when this all started, yeah, it was when they were even younger than in the scene above. Toddlers when Bakugo realized he had a strong quirk and Izuku was told he had none. Bakugo's reaction to these events — deciding he's better than everyone else and that justifies harming those "lesser" than him — is instantaneous. That desire was there all along. He just needed an excuse to act on it. After the conversations about the adults' influence on him, I went back to the anime scenes of Bakugo showing his quirk to his class and it's... pretty normal? I mean yes, there's praise, but in what world wouldn't there be praise? A bunch of other kids are going to ooh and ahh over mini explosions and the two teachers, unless they're entirely heartless, are going to tell this kid that he'll indeed make a wonderful hero someday. Those are standard responses for very young kids who aren't going to understand something like, "That is a powerful quirk and you could be a great hero... just don't let that potential go to your head!" There's nothing in those scenes that imply an excess of praise, at least so much that it would totally warp a kid's perspective of others to the extent Bakugo has going on. If I recall correctly, Bakugo's parents are quite disappointed in his behavior, but that never had an impact on him. And as I mentioned previously, we have incredibly talented characters like Momo (getting into U.A. on recommendation), people like Ida who come from families with other heroes they want to impress, Todoroki dealing with a crazy legacy to live up to, tied up in his abuse... yet none of them turned out like Bakugo. All of that didn't kill their compassion, but adults telling Bakugo he has a strong quirk made him into this person? Bakugo wanted to be that person, right from the start.

Honestly, I think a lot of fans latched onto Bakugo — which is awesome! — but didn't want to admit how horrible he actually is. So they took moments largely out of context and repeated them enough until they became fandom staples. Bakugo and Izuku were close childhood friends who just had a falling out they need to come back from. Bakugo was only like this because the adults in his life drove him to that behavior. Izuku loves Bakugo because he can see how good he is, deep down inside, and definitely not because he's been stuck with him since they were toddlers, unable to escape him even at U.A. It's a very sanitized look at their relationship, embraced because fans want them to be friends or lovers. Which is fine! God knows I'm into a ton of "problematic" ships, I just like acknowledging that they're problematic, not trying to sweeten the situation because fandoms have made others feel guilty for liking anything that's not squeaky clean and pure. Bakugo tormented Izuku for their entire childhood. He encouraged him to commit suicide. He tried to keep him from achieving his dream, both by undermining his confidence and outright threatening him (remember burning his shoulder?). He then reworked that obsession when they both got into U.A., trying to prove Izuku's uselessness, failing, and continually struggling with the thought that he's actually a great hero. And it's like... why do I care? This guy is a horrible person, he's been a horrible person since he was a kid, and his greatest challenge for more than half the story is acknowledging that other people aren't worthless trash. His improvement still hasn't gotten him to the standard of an average person, let alone a hero. If Bakugo were a villain, great, or if the story was going to really highlight the corruption of the hero career as a whole (we take anyone with powerful quirks, no matter how awful they are), great, but as a main character hero whose behavior is supposedly just a cover for a fantastic guy, please overlook everything he does and assume he's worthy of your respect anyway? Ehhh. Why do I care about him as a good guy when there are characters like Ida and Uraraka I could stan? To be clear, I'm not saying other fans can't enjoy whatever characters they enjoy, just that from a storytelling perspective I think it's a failure to introduce Bakugo as such an extreme, make him one of the heroes, give him such a selfish struggle, and then expect a lot of the audience to care. Bakugo either needed to be more balanced from the start — regular flaws instead of such an intense adoration for cruelty from the age of four — or the story needed to unpack his behavior in a way it never bothered to.

#BNHA #My Hero Academia #anti bakugo #mymetas

[thornztli]

i've been thinking about this since bbh's stream where he killed skeppy and i think i know what happened at the end

i’ve mentioned this to a few friends but never actually posted it so here

so if you didn't already know, skeppy's and bbh's canon lives are intertwined. they're soulmates. bbh cannot lose a canon life until skeppy has lost all of his. he's basically immortal unless skeppy canonically dies, which is what has made the egg shit so annoying. nobody can kill bbh. and as we know, at the end of the stream, bbh accidentally pushed skeppy into lava and skeppy refused to get out, so skeppy lost a canon life.

a lot of people thought that this was some sort of weird dream or hallucination but i’m inclined to believe that it’s real life.

so if you remember back when skeppy first became infected, ant and puffy had suggested that bbh kill skeppy to try to get rid of the egg infection since nothing else seemed to be working. not holy water, not sand, or diamond, or the number 14, nothing. bbh refused, and puffy almost killed skeppy, but skeppy just kept running away, and they gave up. however now that skeppy has actually canonically died, i'm thinking that ant's and puffy's theory was right.

at the very end of the stream, you see skeppy in his house in big daddy island, which he and bad built together on skeppy's stream. it was non-canonical and just a place for them to mess around and hang out. you see him calling for bad, and he's blue and normal again.

my theory is that ant and puffy were right. when skeppy died, it got rid of the egg infection. remember how skeppy wasn’t at the red banquet? if he was still infected by the egg, even if he had died, wouldn’t he have been there to see such a major event for the egg? and remember that skeppy’s spawn was set to big daddy island at the time as well. it makes total sense for skeppy to be normal again, just stuck at big daddy island, far away.

(for the record, skeppy didnt know tommy and wilbur were doing lore when he accidentally killed friend and i don’t think it should be counted as an important plot point for skeppy’s character)

nonetheless, skeppy’s death leads me to believe the egg arc is probably coming to a close soon. remember that bbh's entire motivation for joining the egg is that he didn't know how to cope with the loss of skeppy. skeppy got infected by sacrificing himself to save bad first, and his sacrifice was eventually, a sacrifice in vain, as bbh got so depressed about skeppy that he joined the egg in order to be with skeppy again. but we saw how bbh was acting there. skeppy still didn't want him, infected or not. and so, bbh just kept losing faith in the egg. he was promised skeppy, and he got nothing. he was constantly telling the egg to shut up, to be quiet, and only apologizing when skeppy told him to. now that skeppy's okay, bbh's entire motivation for being with the egg is gone. i think bbh might either a.) gamble away a canon life at quackity's casino to break free from the egg, b.) go back to the original plan with the egg, which was to destroy it to become the heroes of the smp, or c.) break free of his own accord, now that he has nothing keeping him with the egg.

of course, bbh doesn’t know that skeppy could be cured now, but he implied at the end of the red banquet that he would be on his way to big daddy island, the last safe place he knew.

(it could also mean l’sandberg, but that’s unscripted as far as i know)

nonetheless, bbh is probs not gonna stay with the egg, leaving the eggpire as basically, just punz and ant. we have no idea what the egg has offered punz or ant, since we know nothing about their motivations. back in november or december, there was a theory going around that the egg offered ant his bf, velvet, and it would be how they introduced velvet to the smp, but that never happened and ant has refused to speak on his character's motivations (which probably isn’t an accident). punz isn't gonna do lore anyway lmfao he never logs on but if i had to judge, i'd say the egg offered him money, since it seems to be the only thing that works with him. as for ponk, ponk has lost a canon life and was only pretending to be with the eggpire in the first place to spy on them, and if my theory is right, he isn’t actually infected, just staying with the egg to stick it to sam for hurting him, since he lost his canon life after being infected.

purpled wasn’t actually infected, just a mercenary, and obviously sam, foolish, and puffy aren't a part of it. this also connects back to quackity’s casino. if gambling away a canon life can cure someone from the egg’s influence, how many people would take that chance? would bbh himself take it if it meant being able to be with skeppy again? would quackity take the lives himself if he came across that information?

just a thought.

#dsmp #dsmp theory #badboyhalo #skeppy #antfrost #punz #quackity #ponk #eggpire

[jemmahazelnut]

A roommate obsessed with tidiness

Summary: Laxus is looking for an apartment and finds the ideal place with the ideal roommate (as well as the boyfriend of his dreams). Too bad he's engaged. [Freed/Laxus]

Links: AO3 - Fanfiction

I tried to write something a little longer about these two lovely guys. Hope you like it :) As always, sorry for my English, I try to do my best.

P.S. There are references to sex, but nothing explicit.

A roommate obsessed with tidiness

-1-

It had been Bickslow who had told him that a friend of his was looking for a roommate to cover the bills, and since Laxus really needed an apartment, he had agreed. He had struggled enough to find a place to stay, a little for bad luck and a little for his character. The first time he had fought heavily with his roommates, so after a while he was gone. The second apartment he had been in had turned out to be a disaster: the lift didn’t work, the boiler had continuous problems and the washing machine was broken. It was actually his fault, such a low price should have alerted him.

So, he hoped that at least that third try would go well. From what Bickslow had told him, Freed was a quiet guy, they would get along well and the apartment in the photos didn't look like a mess. Despite this, Laxus was by no means positive, not after his first experiences.

He rang the bell and after a while a short woman with long blond hair came to open the door. If Laxus hadn't known that she was the homeowner, he would have mistaken her for a girl his age, if not younger.

“Hi, you must be Laxus, right?” she asked with a gentle smile. The blond nodded as the woman introduced herself. Her name was Mavis and as she led him into the building, she began chatting quietly asking him what he was doing. Laxus explained that he was a college student, second year of engineering, and was surprised at how easy it was to talk to that woman. She immediately took him to the second floor apartment to show him, and as soon as Laxus entered he was quite relieved. He looked really good, and the fact that he was tidy proved that his roommate had to be a nice guy. Unless he just did it that day.

He entered directly into a small sitting room, with a sofa in the center and a small table in front. On the front wall there was a television and some shelves. The style was modern, simple and clean. Mavis guided him to the various rooms showing him everything there and his bedroom. It was small, but Laxus was just fine. The price seemed adequate and he really liked the apartment. Despite that, he already knew it was all too good to be true, surely something bad was going to happen, and now Laxus really wanted to get to know this roommate and make sure for himself that he wasn't a freak. Although, to tell the truth, he probably would have accepted the same. He didn't really want to look for another apartment.

“The other tenant?” he then asked.

“He should be here in a moment, in the meantime we can discuss the last things” the woman told him. Laxus nodded and followed her into her living room, but just then they heard the house keys turn. “It must be him” Mavis said. In fact, shortly after the door opened and a boy with long green hair entered. Quite a handsome guy, to be honest. Laxus was honest with himself, that, at least physically, would have been his ideal type. He smiled at them and immediately introduced himself.

“Hi Mavis. Hi, I'm Freed” he said, closing the door behind him.

“Laxus” the blond introduced himself immediately. He gave it a quick look. Except for his hair so green it looked straight out of a manga, he looked like a normal guy. He must have just returned from university, because he had a computer on hand and some books in a bag. He set them aside and walked over to them, offering to make coffee for everyone, while Mavis and Laxus sat on the sofa and discussed the latest things. Laxus was more and more convinced that he wanted to accept the position, not that he had much of a choice.

When Freed returned to the living room with three coffee mugs and a small tray of pastries, Laxus almost thought that was too good to be true. He couldn’t believe he had finally found a decent apartment, with practically the boy of his dreams of him sitting on the other side of the sofa. A guy who also seemed kind. There was certainly a deception.

-2-

The deception was obviously there, but it was nothing so serious. After two weeks living under the same roof, Laxus had found out more about his roommate. Meanwhile, that he was engaged, with a bit of disappointment for the blond who, however, immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. Luckily Freed was very discreet, and those few times his boyfriend stopped to sleep didn't make a mess.

Then, he discovered that Freed had a real fixation for cleanliness. Which shouldn't have been a downside, but when he moved Laxus' things the blonde couldn't help but get annoyed. Laxus was not untidy, he just put the keys on the cabinet in the hall, and promptly Freed moved them on the shelf to the left. What difference it made, Laxus didn't know. Or, he couldn't even place a sweatshirt on the sofa for a moment, which Freed took it and hung it on the coat hanger. And he did that for every little thing, and if Laxus hadn't said anything at first, now he was starting to get on his nerves.

Another vice of Freed was that no matter how tidy he was and how much he always cleaned everything, that didn't apply to the moka pot. No, that was always in the sink, and Laxus always had to wash it before using it. Quite annoying, especially in the morning when he was in a hurry. Another thing that bothered him was that every time Freed came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, he felt like entering a sauna. Laxus wasn't kidding at all, he didn't understand what the hell he was doing in the bathroom for so long, it was probably because of his long hair that he took hours.

And that had happened that day too. Freed had just come out of the bathroom, his damp hair pulled back into a high ponytail leaving a cloud of steam inside him. Laxus stared at the completely fogged mirror and then walked out, turning to his roommate.

“What are you doing in there, the sauna?” he asked. Freed turned in surprise to him.

“I like to take a hot shower” he replied with a shrug. Laxus snorted.

“Well, you could at least open the window when you finish” he pointed out. Freed nodded absently and leaned over to the sofa, where Laxus had momentarily placed his sweatshirt. That boy really had a fixation. “Can you leave it there and stop moving my things around?” he blurted out nervously. Freed immediately pulled his arm back and snorted lightly.

“I can't stand the mess” he said frowning. “There’s a coat rack if you hadn't noticed it. It's right there” he added pointing it out.

“Fuck, I just put it down, two minutes and I'll take it” Laxus objected.

“No, you didn't just put it down” Freed retorted. “It's been here since before I went into the bathroom, so it's been here for at least twenty minutes” he pointed out. “And this is not only true for the sweatshirt, but also for the glasses you leave in the sink, what does it cost you to wash them? I always have to do it myself” he asked.

“Nobody tells you to do it, maybe if I leave them there, there is a reason. You know, I get thirsty several times a day, I don't wash a glass every five minutes”.

“Then take it to your room and don't leave it in the kitchen” Freed snapped. Okay, Laxus hadn't expected that from a single comment Freed would start throwing everything at him. Well, sometimes he forgot to put things in the dishwasher, but it's not like he was creating chaos around. It was just a damn glass.

“Well, you always leave the moka pot in the sink” he pointed out, just to have something to throw at him too.

“Because it's morning and I'm tired. And anyway, it's the only thing I mess up. It doesn't seem like a big thing to complain about” the roommate objected. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“You always move everything around and every time you come out of the bathroom it's... like this” he said, pointing to the small room still full of steam. Freed crossed his arms. “And you never open the window” the blond added.

“I just forgot today” Freed defended. It wasn't true, and Laxus was about to tell him, but the green-haired boy preceded him. “And you could still go and open the door when you order food? Every holy night I have to go, because you always have those damn headphones on” he told him. Well, Freed was right about that, Laxus couldn't say anything. And in any case, he didn't want to fight, Freed wasn't really bad as a roommate compared to the people he had found himself with the first time. He took a deep breath.

“Look, I don't want to fight. You're not bad as a roommate, I'll try to put the keys in their place, just… don't move my stuff” he told him trying to be more understanding. The last thing he wanted was to live with tension in that apartment. Freed seemed to calm down at that point.

“Okay” he agreed. “And I'll try to clean the moka pot in the morning” he muttered. Laxus smiled slightly, relieved that they hadn't made things worse.

“And the window in the bathroom” he reminded him as he entered the sauna. Freed rolled his eyes and Laxus heard him mutter something. He didn't answer him and shut himself in, starting to undress to get into the shower. Actually, he didn't think Freed was so bothered by the glasses he left in the sink. Well, even if Laxus thought it was bullshit, he would have forced himself to be more careful. But when he was in the shower and heard the doorbell ring, he remembered ordering the kebab.

“You have already broken the pact!” Freed yelled at him from outside.

Damn, Laxus thought. That timing really sucked.

-3-

The next evening Freed had offered to make him dinner, as he had noticed that the blonde almost always ordered take-out. So Laxus was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for it to be ready. The boy had told him that he would make him an Italian dish, Laxus just hoped he was capable of it, but since Freed spent a lot of time in the kitchen, he assumed he would.

“Where did you learn to cook Italian?” Laxus asked.

“I have relatives who moved there” the boy explained, draining the spaghetti and then throwing them back into the pot with the eggs and bacon and starting to mix. Laxus watched him curiously, until the roommate brought the pasta to the table and put a large portion on his plate.

“So, have you ever eaten carbonara?” Freed asked. Laxus nodded.

“Yes, I think. I don't know if it was like this, since I've never been to Italy” he said as he began to pick up the spaghetti. He had to admit, it was really good. Freed smiled.

“Well, this is the recipe my cousin gave me. When I go there she always makes me taste something new” he revealed.

“You’re lucky” Laxus commented. “Do you often go there?”. Freed began to tell him that he had gone more often when he was younger, usually it was his cousin who came to him. Laxus began to find out more about the boy, and told something about himself as well. They had never talked for so long. Not that they hated each other before, on the contrary, simply everyone had their own commitments and they had never found themselves alone for long. The argument suddenly ended in Bickslow, the friend they had in common.

“By the way, this Saturday we're going bowling. We are three, if you want to join us you’re welcome, so we make two teams” Freed told him. Laxus nodded, he had nothing else to do and maybe it would have been fun. So, he agreed and then started washing the pots and dishes, as Freed had cooked.

“Have you ever watched 'Fiore’s kingdom'?” Freed asked, getting up and starting to dry the pots.

“To tell you the truth no, it's that fantasy series that's going a lot right now, right?” he asked as he passed the sponge over the pot. Freed nodded.

“Yes, they do the first episode tonight. You can see it, if it inspires you” Freed said. Laxus nodded. Why not? Anyway, his alternative was to stay in the room listening to music on headphones until he fell asleep. So, after finishing cleaning, he moved to the living room and the two boys sat next to each other. Laxus put his feet comfortably on the coffee table as Freed fiddled with the remote. They chatted a little longer before the episode began, and then concentrated on TV.

Laxus immediately found himself immersed in the story, and even though Freed had already seen the first season, he didn't seem bothered to have to see it again. Indeed, according to him, he enjoyed watching the episodes several times to capture every detail. Neither of them knew yet, but that would become their routine in the next month.

-4-

Saturday night arrived and Laxus and Freed went to bowling together. When they got there, they already found Bickslow and a girl Laxus had never known. In any case, she didn't seem ready for a bowling night as she wore heeled ankle boots and an overly elegant blouse.

“Finally, guys, we've been waiting for you” Bickslow greeted them. The girl turned to Laxus and introduced herself.

“Evergreen, you’re Laxus, right?” she asked. The blond nodded. “So, what's it like to live with Freed? Is he still stressful and obsessed with tidiness?” she asked as she entered the room. Laxus smiled, then it wasn't just his impression. Freed rolled his eyes and sure he was ready to argue but Laxus anticipated him.

“Actually yes, I can't put anything anywhere even for two seconds that he curses me” he joked.

“I know the situation” Evergreen chuckled.

“You're just messy and you don't want to admit it, that's all” Freed objected.

“No Freed, if everyone says you're exaggerated, then you are” Evergreen pointed out. The boy didn’t reply because the four went to the counter to request a lane. When they got to theirs, they changed their shoes and looked around, on Saturday night the place was always full. If Bickslow hadn't booked they probably wouldn't have found a place.

“So, how do we split up?” Bickslow asked. Laxus shrugged, it was the same for him.

“It's enough for me not to be with Freed” Evergreen commented.

“Same” said the boy concerned.

“Well, then I'll be with Freed, while Laxus with Ever” Bickslow decided for everyone. So, the boys split up and began to take the balloons. “Oh Laxus, I forgot to tell you, we usually make those who lose the game pay for a drink” he warned him with a grin. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“You could have said that before you teamed me up with her”. He realized too late that it wasn't really something nice to say, and the girl immediately frowned at him.

“What do you have against me?”

“Nothing. Just... you came here in heels” Laxus muttered a little embarrassed, while Freed and Bickslow smiled in amusement.

“Yes, because I always have to be perfect. Don't underestimate me, and mind you, if we lose because of you, I'll make you weigh it” she said.

“Listen to her, she can be really competitive, that's why I hate being with her on the team” Freed told him.

“Why does she fuck you every time you make a pitiful figure?” he couldn't help but ask Laxus with an arrogant smile. Freed gave him a dirty look.

“You're underestimating too many people tonight” he commented. Laxus grinned.

“Okok, I'm not saying anything more” he said as a sign of peace. Anyway, he would find out everything soon.

Laxus had really misjudged Evergreen. Other than competitive, that girl didn’t accept losing and she was good too. Definitely a good bowling partner, they were giving the other two guys a hard time. The first three games had been won by Bickslow and Freed, but those last two were his and Evergreen’s. They were still at a disadvantage, but only by one, and ultimately the evening was fun. At the end of each game, they would order drinks and something to munch on and, Laxus had to admit to himself at least, it wasn't bad at all to see his roommate play. This was thanks to those jeans that wrapped around his backside, on which Laxus was now focusing his eyes on almost every shot of him. At the umpteenth strike Freed turned to him, with an amused and satisfied smile on his face.

“Tsk. I admit, you're not as mediocre as I thought” Laxus then told him, slightly amused. Yeah, because even though he was losing -and he hated losing- he was still in a good mood, maybe it was Freed's view, or maybe the fact that for the first time in a while he was having fun with other guys. He and Evergreen lost the game and went back to the counter to order more beers and two plates of chips.

“So, you were Freed's roommate too?” Laxus asked. The brunette nodded.

“For a while, I honestly don't know how you can handle it. He always took the make-up I left in the bathroom and hid them from me just to annoy me” she told him “He thought that this way I understood that I shouldn't leave them lying around, until I made him understand that he should no longer allow himself to touch my stuff even if we were friends” she explained. Laxus nodded.

“I understand. Well, considering the terrible roommates I've had before, he's not bad” the blond commented. Evergreen smiled.

“I think we all have stories to tell about roommates. Anyway, let's get Freed something heavy” he said, ordering a cocktail for his friend. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“Why?” It seemed to him that Freed wanted a beer. Evergreen smiled devilishly.

“Because if he drinks, he'll start to miss shots” she explained. Laxus laughed.

“You play dirty, I like you” he escaped and Evergreen chuckled. Then the two returned with everything they had ordered from the two boys, who were talking to each other.

“Ohhh, here are the losers!” Bickslow exclaimed theatrically.

“Not for long, Bix” Laxus said, handing the cocktail to Freed, who accepted it willingly with an amused smirk on his face. He strangely didn't ask any questions and the boys started the next game. They went on to play for a while, and with each round new glasses arrived. Time passed quickly and Laxus found that Evergreen was right, Freed's shots were getting worse and worse, and Laxus enjoyed seeing him tipsy. Freed was throwing the ball and as always Laxus's eyes were on him, on his arms on which he had rolled up his sleeves and on his backside. Damn, he was handsome. Honestly, if he hadn't been engaged and if he hadn't been his roommate, Laxus would have hit him. Freed completely missed the shot and the ball went out of the lane hitting no pins. The boy snorted and sat down next to the blond, who laughed loudly.

“Nice scene, really. How many pins have you hit? Because I still see them all there” he teased.

“Just because you made me drink” Freed objected. Laxus chuckled.

“You can't handle alcohol much, you only drank a few beers” he continued with a mocking vein.

“Actually, it's the third time Ever has brought me something weird, I don't even know what this stuff is” he said, taking the glass and observing the dark contents. Laxus laughed heartily and Freed turned surprised a little red in the face.

“Did you really go out with a few drinks?” he asked amused.

“Hey, you only had a few beers. Ever gave me this stuff” the boy said offended and Laxus smiled to see him like that.

“Let's say you can't accept defeat”.

“Actually, it turns out to me that we're ahead” Freed said.

“Not anymore” Evergreen trilled indicate the score on the scoreboard. Laxus looked up, actually the girl was right: they were even. He glanced at Freed, but he still seemed to be focusing on the writing. After a few seconds he snorted.

“You play against the rules” he said. Laxus patted him on the shoulder.

“Sure, in the meantime, go get something to drink. Try not to trip over your feet, even if it would be fun to see” he told him. Freed stood up giving him a dirty look, then walked with Bickslow towards the bar. Laxus stretched his legs out in front of him, stretching before hearing the girl laugh. He looked up confused.

“You missed the scene of Freed about to stumble on the steps” he told him. Laxus smiled and turned, but apparently the boy had already recovered, because he was walking towards the bar. He was sorry he missed the scene, but if he stared a little longer then one of the two friends would have suspected something. He had been glancing at him all the time, it was really time to stop it. “I think they're closing” muttered the brunette. Laxus only realized then that in fact they were practically the only ones left there. Shortly thereafter Freed and Bickslow returned empty-handed.

“The bar is closing. Do you want to play one last quick game in order to declare who is the overall winner or shall we get out of here?” Bickslow asked. Evergreen was about to answer, but Freed hit the coffee table and wobbled it with all the glasses on it. “Hey look out” the friend next to him warned him.

“You're really drunk” the brunette chuckled.

“I'm only slightly tipsy, and then it's your fault. How many drinks did you make me drink?” Freed complained running a hand through his hair.

“Maybe I exaggerated” laughed Evergreen, who on the contrary had only taken soft drinks after the first three laps, not wanting to have a hangover the next day.

“Well, I guess we'll have to stop the game here, or it risks rolling with the ball” Laxus said.

“I can go on” Freed replied immediately “And anyway we have to establish a winner, even if, considering that you played dirty, I can already say that we won”.

“Played dirty? We all drank” Evergreen said.

“No, you took fruit juices” Freed objected. Bickslow rolled her eyes and eventually a girl from the club came to warn them that they were closing, so they were forced out of there. They said goodbye and Laxus and Freed made their way to their apartment, which thankfully was not far from there on foot. Laxus threw an amused look at the roommate, who was more likeable when tipsy, since he chatted more than usual and was more relaxed. They arrived at the building and Freed threw himself into the elevator, while Laxus rolled his eyes.

“Are you really that lazy? It's just two flights of stairs” he said as he entered.

“Honestly I'm not sure I can do them without tipping over” he muttered, leaning his head against the wall.

“Yeah, Evergreen told me I missed the scene you tripped over” he chuckled.

“I've never tripped, I just got my foot badly for a moment” Freed immediately retorted.

“You mean you tripped” Laxus insisted.

“No, there's a big difference ... have you ever played 'The Elevator Game'?” he asked changing the subject completely. Laxus turned to him.

“Never heard of it” he replied.

“Of course? It's a fun game, Bickslow and I used to play it when we were kids. It’s more a ritual than a game, it allows you to reach the Otherworld with an elevator, as long as it reaches ten floors or more. Too bad this building is small or we could do it. You basically have to go to the fourth floor first, then the second, and then the seventh. Or maybe it was the sixth. No, maybe you have to start with the sixth and…” he said thoughtfully. Laxus stared at him amused and perplexed. The elevator had arrived.

“Maybe you can explain it to me tomorrow, huh?” he amused himself by stepping out and pushing Freed out with a hand on his shoulder. Freed got carried away with no problem continuing to mumble something about that game, or ritual, or whatever it was.

“Anyway, at a certain point you will meet a woman who will ask you where you are going and eventually you will reach the Otherworld. The point is that once you get there, it's very difficult to get back to reality” Freed finished as Laxus opened the door.

“Did you really do this shit as a kid?” he asked skeptically.

“Sure, I even had a Ouija board” Freed said and Laxus found himself laughing as he pushed Freed into the apartment.

“Seriously? I didn't really expect that from you” he commented as he closed the door behind him. “But now stop talking about these things and go to sleep” he told him. Freed turned to him with a soft smile on his face and placed a hand on his chest. Laxus tensed slightly and stared at him a little surprised, trying to ignore that closeness and the warmth of his hand.

“I like you, you know? You're a good roommate, even though I always complain” he told him. Laxus stared at him again in surprise, and for a moment he thought about how good those words sounded. He smiled trying to ignore that vague feeling of warmth that was starting to build inside him.

“I'll remind you tomorrow” he told him with a half laugh, trying to hide his embarrassment. Freed chuckled.

“No, don't do that” he told him and then took his hand away from his body, much to Laxus' chagrin, and walked away to his bedroom. As soon as he closed in, Laxus sighed and closed his eyes. Whatever he was feeling he had better stop.

-5-

Laxus and Freed had been living together for two months now and it was getting better and better. Freed had learned to open the window after taking a shower, and Laxus was trying not to mess with anything. Furthermore, watching the TV series on the sofa and having dinner together had become a habit. Quite a nice habit, to tell the truth. It was weird but Laxus liked Freed's company, he liked chatting stupid things with him and listening to weird rituals he had done as a child. He liked to discuss books and movies that they both liked. And he also discovered that they had the same tastes in music, they both listened to the same band. Freed would occasionally come up with some weird recipes and they would often hang out with Evergreen and Bickslow, either going bowling or having fun in other ways. It was really good.

Except for one small detail, Laxus didn't like Freed's boyfriend. The reason was actually pretty obvious, he just didn't like the fact that Freed had a boyfriend, even though he didn't come often. Usually, it was Freed who went to his house, and anyway they were always very respectful, besides a few giggles he didn't hear much. They didn't bother him in the least.

Except that evening. That night the two were wreaking havoc, and they were clearly fucking in the next room. Actually, Laxus was quite convinced that Freed didn't know he was there, since the blonde had told him that he would go to see a friend and that he would be back late. In the end, however, Mirajane had stood him up and Laxus had returned earlier than expected, and now that he was lying on the bed, he could hear almost everything. He was pretty sure that if he knocked on the wall the two would calm down, as they weren't usually that loud. But Laxus still hadn't.

Partly because he felt guilty, Freed had had to organize that evening with the boy taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't there and he thought they would finish shortly, partly because... because ok, imagining Freed doing certain things was quite intriguing. Sure, if he had been more honest with himself, he would have admitted that he would have preferred to be in that room, but he tried not to think too much about it. To tell the truth, it was also dangerous to imagine Freed in certain situations.

At that point, however, it was too late to think about it, because the two had finished having fun. Thankfully, so Laxus could stop imagining Freed's face, or his body, or his lips and, okay, Laxus just had to stop thinking about Freed and be done with it. He had a boyfriend, what the fuck.

He closed his eyes trying to think about the least sexy thing in the world when he heard a door slam. He frowned and opened his eyes again.

“Well, then I'm going home to sleep!” he heard screaming.

“Why do you have to do this?” Laxus heard Freed ask aloud.

“Maybe because you're an asshole”.

Okay, the last thing Laxus wanted to do was go about Freed’s business and see a fight. But if he left the room, he would admit he heard everything, and that was equally embarrassing. Fuck, that shouldn't have happened. He should have just been out of the house.

“You're misrepresenting all my words, why can't we have a quiet evening without fighting over some bullshit?” Freed snapped on the other side.

“Bullshit?” he yelled that. Laxus, however, only heard an incomprehensible mutter, because Freed must have lowered his voice. Better this way, he thought. After a while he heard the front door open and close, and then total nothing. Well, that must have been a shit night for Freed. Laxus didn't want to think about it anyway. He turned over in bed, now tired, and closed his eyes, after a while he fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Laxus found the moka pot on the stove and a note.

“The coffee is ready, you just have to turn it on. I'm sorry I bothered you last night, I didn't think you were home.

P.S. Your keys are hanging in the new wall key holder I bought”.

Laxus was quite surprised. So, Freed knew he was there, he must have noticed when he went into the living room and saw his keys on the usual cabinet where Laxus left them. He put a hand through his hair, understanding why the two boys had lowered their voices at one point. He lit up his coffee and sat down wearily at the table, just hoping that Freed wouldn't come up with the conversation anymore.

-6-

Fortunately, the speech never came out. Laxus hadn't asked for anything and Freed hadn't talked about it, things were exactly the same as before. The only thing that had changed was that Laxus no longer saw Freed's boyfriend around, every now and then he was tempted to ask him if they were still together, but it seemed really bad as a thing to do, so in the end he kept silent and kept his doubts for himself. And things were fine like that. Maybe he would get Bickslow to tell him later. Speaking of Bickslow, he had just written to him.

“Wait, do you play the guitar?” Laxus asked surprised opening the photo that his friend had just sent him. Freed looked up from the book he was reading. He had a puzzled expression and Laxus turned the phone towards him. The photo showed Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen when they were teenagers. Freed had the guitar in his hand, Evergreen the bass and Bickslow was on the drums. The boy's face turned red and Freed covered it with his hand.

“I'll have to kill Bickslow” he moaned. Laxus laughed and looked at the photo again. All three of them were younger. Evergreen had much frizzier hair, Bickslow had a faded blue crest, while Freed had hair down to just below the shoulders. And all three were dressed as if they were part of a punk band. Freed had a red leather jacket and a rock band shirt, Bickslow a studded jacket and Evergreen a bright green miniskirt.

“Were you really serious, did you want to start a punk band?” Laxus asked.

“Please, I don't want to think about that time” Freed mumbled embarrassed as he looked down at the book again. Laxus, however, had no intention of stopping there. He zoomed in on Freed's photo and chuckled.

“You even decorated your guitar” he noted.

“I said I don't want to talk about it” Freed snapped.

“Okay, then I'll ask Bickslow” Laxus said with a smirk. Freed at that sentence jerked his head up.

“No” he said right away. Laxus grinned.

“So can you tell me something about this?” he asked curiously. Freed rolled his eyes.

“Well, we wanted to form a band. We had also decided on the name, but… in the end luckily, we didn't do anything with it. Are you happy now?” he said shortly.

“Hey, I want to know more. Have you played around? Wrote your songs?” Laxus asked.

“Yes, we played around the streets. No, we haven't written any songs. We did covers, or at least… we tried” Freed said. “Now that's enough, I won't say a word more” he decided dryly.

“Come on, I'm curious to hear something. Sure you recorded your covers” Laxus insisted.

“Yes, but I eliminated them all” Freed said dryly. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“So, if I ask Bickslow he doesn't have them...”.

“Why do you care so much about it?” Laxus's phone vibrated and the blonde looked down at the message, as soon as he saw it his smile widened.

“He sent me an audio”.

“Oh God, no” Freed snapped and leaned over to grab his phone, but Laxus moved his arm faster. “Laxus, don't... I swear that if you start that audio, I'll make your life hell here” he threatened him. The blond chuckled.

“Why are you so upset? Relax” he said raising his arm so Freed couldn't get there. The boy was obviously annoyed by this, and Laxus was just happy with it. The phone vibrated again.

“What the hell is that jerk sending you again?” Freed snapped. Laxus looked up at the phone and watched. It was a message: “Bickslow: Freed still has his guitar, if you ask him to play you something I'm sure he will ;)”

“So, do you have a guitar?” Laxus asked.

“I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him in the worst way” he blurted out more and more irritated without answering the question.

“If you don't play me, I'll ask Bickslow to send me all the photos and recordings from that period” Laxus said at that point. Freed's expression became shocked.

“Don't you dare” he said only worried.

“Hell, I'm really tempted now” Laxus laughed. “So, would you rather play me something or put the threat into action?”

“I don't have a guitar here”.

“Too bad” Laxus said, turning his gaze to the phone and starting to write. Freed grabbed his arm and tried in vain to pull him down.

“Okay okay. I'll play something, but please shut the damn phone. Blocks Bickslow directly” Freed told him probably anxiously gripped. Laxus locked the phone and slipped it into his pocket satisfied. He sat on the sofa while Freed went to retrieve the guitar in his room. Laxus looked at her curiously. There was a drawing of a lightning bolt above, and the word 'Thunder'.

“Don't comment, I was 13” Freed ordered badly. Laxus raised his hands in peace. Freed snorted as he began to tune the guitar.

“You still play it, right?” Laxus asked. If Freed kept her in that apartment, there must be a reason. The boy shrugged.

“Sometimes” he admitted sitting on the arm of the sofa. Laxus looked at him curiously. For him who had always been passionate about music, it was nice to be able to hear someone play. He had never had the opportunity to learn how to do it, and he doubted he even had the patience for it. “Well, if you want, I'll play you an old Phantom Lord song” he told him. Laxus nodded, he was fine with anything. Freed began to play a song that the blond recognized immediately. Indeed, the boy had to play often, as his fingers moved safely on the strings.

“Aren't you singing?” Laxus asked him suddenly. Freed stiffened.

“No” he said dryly.

“Who sang among you three?” Laxus asked.

“Ever” dry reply again. “And sometimes I” he admitted after a moment's pause. Laxus chuckled in amusement.

“Are you out of tune or do you not like to sing?”.

“I'm terribly out of tune. This is why we never continued. Bickslow didn't sing too busy playing drums, Evergreen doesn't like to sing and I'm not capable of it. Honestly, I tried. And I suck, I know for myself and before you ask me, I won't sing” he clarified. Laxus smiled.

“Now I'm curious” he retorted. “I think the audio Bickslow sent me is really a cover of yours, who knows, maybe you sang it yourself” he then commented slyly.

“Laxus, no” Freed warned him. “I'm serious, I don't want to hear that stuff, whatever it is”.

“Then sing me a song” Laxus urged him “Come on, don't be a brat”.

“Settle for the guitar, what the fuck. I'm already playing for you”.

“I don't think I've ever heard you swear as much as tonight” Laxus teased, settling himself comfortably on the sofa. Freed gave him a dirty look and then smiled.

“You sing” he told him. Laxus raised an eyebrow in surprise at that request. “After all, you’re always with headphones on, sometimes I hear you sing”. Laxus snorted but nodded. He had no problem singing.

“Okay, but you first. I'm two seconds playing that audio” he reminded him. Freed snorted and blushed slightly as Laxus curiously watched him. After a few seconds he began to sing. Laxus stared at him in surprise. Actually, he wasn't quite as in tune, but not as terrible as he had said. And, Laxus couldn't do anything about it, he felt his stomach flutter. Freed had his eyes on the ropes fortunately, so he couldn’t see the expression Laxus had on his face. Because Laxus was completely fascinated by him, by his voice, by his fingers moving, by his hair set to one side, by his whole being. And damn it, Laxus wanted to kiss him. He wanted to take his face in his hands and join their lips, run his fingers through his hair and hold him close. He wanted to stretch out on that couch with him and spend all night there, no matter what, he just wanted to be with Freed. His throat went dry, and when Freed finished singing, he tried to make himself feel good.

“Your turn” Freed said, looking up at him. Laxus found himself blushing for no reason, just from catching his gaze.

“Uh... sure” he grunted awkwardly, just hoping that his friend thought he was in those states for the fact that he was forced to sing, and for nothing else. Freed looked at him in surprise.

“Strange that you haven't made any comment on my intonation” he said then amused.

“You... you're not bad” Laxus muttered. He felt more heat radiate on his face and just hoped it wasn't too visible. The expression on Freed's face changed softening and for a few seconds he remained silent looking at him. The desire to kiss him grew more and more. Laxus didn't even realize it but he was pushing towards Freed, closing the distance and only when he was close enough to smell his shampoo clearly, he realized how far he had moved. Too close. Too much, he could feel his friend's breath on his face. But then Freed jumped off the couch.

“I… sorry… I forgot about an appointment” Freed said agitatedly. Laxus sat stiffly on the sofa.

“Yes sure”.

“Sorry, Rufus... he's waiting for me” Freed stammered gesturing like crazy. At that name Laxus stiffened. Fuck. Freed had a boyfriend. How the hell had he forgotten it? “Ye… see you, huh” Freed said. A moment later he took his jacket and left the house. Laxus stood there, feeling like an idiot.

-7-

Laxus and Freed hadn't talked about it. In reality they pretended that nothing had happened, unfortunately they were forced to see each other at home but the conversations had become much shorter. They no longer dined together, and Laxus had started ordering food again and their TV series had been abandoned. Or at least, Laxus had abandoned it, he didn't want to look it without Freed. It seemed silly to be honest, but he'd tried it once and it just wasn't the same. Not without his friend's comments. Not without the popcorn they enjoyed making together. So Laxus was concentrating on his study, still trying to have as normal conversations as possible, even though he clearly felt a certain nervousness and tension when they were together in the same room. And the worst part was that Laxus had no idea what to do to improve it. He hadn't wanted them to get to that point, why the fuck had he had to come forward that night? It would have been better to be silent and still as usual, instead he had had to push himself towards him like an idiot.

Even the outings with Evergreen and Bickslow had dwindled, and usually, if he went, Freed wasn't there, and if Freed did, Laxus avoided showing up. If the two friends had noticed anything they hadn't said anything.

Annoyed he opened the book to study, until he noticed that his phone had been vibrating for too long now. He took it and saw it was Bickslow.

“Hey” he greeted him.

“Hey, hi Laxus. Listen, is Freed alive?” the friend asked. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“Yes” he replied dryly. He had seen him that morning before he left the house.

“So, can you pass him to me? He hasn't answered me for days!” he exclaimed. Laxus made a face, the last thing he wanted was to talk to his roommate.

“He's studying” he said lowering his voice, hoping Freed wouldn't hear. After all, if Freed didn't want to talk to Bickslow, he wouldn't have to. He heard his friend snort loudly on the other side of the phone.

“I hate him when he does that” the boy muttered.

“As well as?” Laxus asked.

“He broke up with Rufus, and now he's closing in on his silence and refusing to talk to anyone about it” Bickslow explained. Laxus was silent. He didn’t know what to think of what his friend had just told him. Had they broken up because of him? No, it was all too presumptuous to think about it and after all nothing had ever happened between them. Moreover, from what little he knew about them, the two had already been arguing for a while.

“Are you alive?” Bickslow asked.

“I… yes, look, I have to study. I'll tell Freed to call you back” he told him. He greeted his friend and closed the call. Maybe he would have preferred not to know, because now he was doing too many mental journeys and it wasn't his business. He closed the book knowing that he wouldn't be able to think of anything and put his fingers to his temples. As much as one part of him was happy that those two had broken up -one part rather bitchy, he considered- the other was thinking about what Freed was going through. It was never easy to deal with a breakup, right?

He snorted and got up from his chair entering the living room and hearing that Freed was fumbling in the kitchen. Laxus was already about to order something to eat but finally decided to talk to the roommate first. So, he walked over to the kitchen door and leaned his shoulder against the door jamb.

“Hey, Bickslow called and asked for you” he told him. Freed glanced at him, then turned back to the pan on the stove.

“He just doesn't mind his own business” muttered the roommate with some irritation in his voice. Laxus stared at him in silence for a few minutes.

“He's worried” he said after a while.

“Well, you can tell him I'm alive” Freed said dryly.

“I think you should tell him” Laxus objected. “Look… I'm sorry for you and your boyfriend. If you want to talk about it, well…” he said vaguely, not quite knowing how to continue the sentence. Freed whirled towards him, as if he had said something he shouldn't have. He glared at him, then turned back to the pan.

“Of course he told you” he growled in a low voice. “Well, I'm not sick anyway. As you can see I’m alive, I eat and I continue to do the things I’ve always done. I'm not a teenager with the first crush” he then added aloud. Laxus stared at him puzzled.

“You know there’s nothing wrong with admitting...”.

“Do you need anything else?” Freed snapped interrupting him. Laxus fell silent.

“No” he just said, then left the kitchen and went to order himself something to take away.

-8-

Laxus had just taken an exam, it also went well for him so he was very satisfied. Although the situation with Freed had not improved, in fact, since he had told him about the boyfriend, it had even gotten worse. Despite this Laxus continued to move on with his life. A little more boring and a little sadder, but he couldn't do anything about it. Freed had become a wall.

Laxus walked into the house and as soon as he stepped inside, he saw that something was wrong. Freed's shoes were in the middle of the hall, and there was an empty plate on the coffee table in the living room. Freed never left anything messed up, so that was kind of weird. Laxus put the keys down partly closing the door behind him and took two steps into the living room, noticing only at that moment that Freed was lying on the sofa and sleeping. Laxus frowned as he approached him, looking at him a little surprised. Since they had lived together, he had never caught him even taking a little nap.

He glanced over his figure, he was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and his hair was loose and untidy, Laxus smiled slightly at the sight, at least until he saw a thermometer beside his arm. At that point he bent down and placed a hand on his forehead, only to feel it was actually hot. Surely he had a fever, and this explains the mess. At that point Laxus went to get a blanket from his room and covered it, then took the plate and went to the kitchen to clean it. Once finished and back in the living room he noticed that Freed had woken up, and he was yawning sitting on the couch.

“Alright?” Laxus asked him. Freed turned confused to him and ran a hand through his hair.

“I haven't had a fever for years, thanks for the blanket” he muttered hoarsely. Laxus smiled slightly.

“I asked you if you’re okay” he pointed out, as the roommate had avoided his question.

“Yes, just a little headache and cold” he replied, hugging the blanket. “For once you’re the one to put in order what I leave around” he commented.

“Yep, you're really messy. Shoes in the middle of the hall and flat on the coffee table” Laxus teased. Freed snorted.

“I know without even turning around that you didn't hang the keys in their place” he retorted. Laxus laughed slightly.

“Indeed” he admitted.

“Put them in place, it bothers me”.

“You don't even see them, it can't bother you” Laxus retorted. Freed yawned again. “Do you need something? Tachipirina, moment ...?”.

“No, I don't like taking medicine. I just need to sleep” Freed mumbled standing up with the blanket on, but immediately sat back on the sofa and hid his face in his hands. Laxus approached a little worried.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked him.

“Yes, just a dizziness. Come on now, I just need to sleep. Fuck, I never get a fever and I’ve an exam in two days” he snapped. “I guess I'll really have to fill myself with medicine” he said with a grimace.

“Eh, this is bad luck” Laxus commented “Come on, I'll make you something hot.”

“Why? Can you cook?” Freed teased him.

“You're sick but you're still whiny” Laxus commented with a smile. As much as he wasn't happy that the roommate was sick, he was happy to be able to talk to each other normally again. “And anyway, yes, I can cook. I just don't like it. Stay on the sofa, I'll be right back” he said and went back into the kitchen. When he returned with a plate of hot rice and vegetables, Freed made a smirk.

“You should have made a broth” he told him. Laxus rolled his eyes as he sat down beside him.

“You don't feel so bad if you keep complaining” he noted, observing his friend's pale face as he began to nibble without appetite.

“Admit you don't know how to cook broth”.

“Hey, stop complaining, or I'll mess up the whole apartment” he told him. Freed smiled faintly, continuing to nibble on small bites. Laxus finished ahead of him and set the plate down on the coffee table. After a few minutes Freed put the plate down with some more food on it, simply because he had no appetite, although he joked that if Laxus cooked better he would finish it. Then he took the thermometer again and measured his fever, which seemed to have subsided. At that point the boy got up, he was obviously tired and just wanted to sleep, even though he had already done so in the afternoon. Laxus took the dishes to wash them, relieved that they had talked a little about the last few days. He turned to go to the kitchen but Freed called him.

“Look” Laxus looked back at Freed. “I'm sorry about how I've treated you these days. I just don't like talking about my stuff, and I tend to close in on myself when something is wrong, I don't like people minding my business” he told him. Laxus noticed how stiff he was, a sign that it wasn't easy for him to talk about those things.

“Ok, you know I didn't want to mind your business, right? Just… well, if you needed a shoulder” he told him then.

“I know. I know, I just… I don't like talking about it anyway” Freed repeated. Laxus nodded slowly, scrutinizing his friend, who was evidently not well, and not just because of the fever.

“Sometimes it's good to let off steam, you know?”.

“I guess so” Freed whispered. “Just… saying things out loud makes me feel like an idiot. I mean, I'm not a teenager at the first crush and anyway it wasn't good between us, but still, it's not nice” he threw out.

“I'm sorry” he said not knowing what else to say. Freed shrugged.

“We haven't even been together for so long, just... it doesn't matter, anyway, I guess it just takes some time” he added with a small hint of a smile. “And you’ve some dishes to wash” he added then. Laxus smiled.

“Yes, as soon as you recover, know that I'll give all the work to you” he said with a hint of amusement.

“Sure” Freed said walking towards his room with the blanket still wrapped around him, and the blond chuckled at the view. The friend turned to him, frowning. “What do you have now?”.

“Oh, nothing, you know you're walking around with a blanket, right?” he teased him.

“Yes, and know that I won't give it back to you until I'm healed, it's hot and I'm not going to get out of here” Freed declared seriously, stealing another laugh from Laxus. Freed smiled faintly. “Thanks for everything, goodnight” he told him and then shut himself in his room.

“Night” Laxus whispered and returned to the kitchen with a smile. That had definitely been a good day.

-9-

“You mean you've never done an Escape Room?” Freed asked surprised. Laxus rolled his eyes.

“Never. I'm not crazy about that bullshit with demons and zombies and weird rituals, or whatever is in there” he said.

“Is that another way of saying you're afraid?” his friend teased him and Laxus rolled his eyes and gave him a grim look.

“I'm not afraid, it's just not things that amuse me” he objected. Freed, however, had a smirk on his face and didn’t seem to want to give up.

“Well, if you're afraid there are rooms with other themes, mostly they are logic games, they don't have to be horror themed. However, you shouldn't worry anyway, you know, zombies are fake”.

“I never would have imagined it” Laxus said ironically. Freed grinned as he pulled on his jacket.

“Come on let's go, Bickslow and Evergreen are waiting for us”. Laxus shook his head in amusement and put on his coat, then left the house and followed Freed, who was already walking down the stairs. He began to tease him that he shouldn't be scared, even though ghosts could appear from time to time because they were attracted to the horror-themed rooms. Laxus found himself listening to the boy with a smile on his face. That game didn't inspire him much, but the idea of spending an entire afternoon with Freed wasn't bad at all.

In the end it was more fun than expected. Mainly for the company, Freed was definitely the most into those things, while Bickslow had more fun fooling around with all the items he found around the room. Evergreen was equally into that game, perhaps she even reached Freed’s enthusiasm. Laxus smiled slightly as he saw the roommate struggling with a code to decode, while the girl looked for an image of a sun somewhere.

“How are you with that code?” Laxus asked him.

“Ah, I think I understand how to decode it, I just need a pen and paper”. Laxus handed him a sheet. “Your usefulness in this game is great” Freed said ironically taking it and the blond chuckled.

“You were the one who dragged me here” he pointed out. Freed looked up at him and Laxus saw a glint of concern in his eyes. “Come on, tell me how you're decoding this stuff” he said before he cared if he was having a good time. Freed for a moment showed some uncertainty, but then he began to explain to him and Laxus found himself being dragged by his friend into the game. Eventually they came out early to the great satisfaction of Freed and Evergreen.

“We’re too smart” commented the girl “Not many manage to get out within the allotted time, you know?” she asked Laxus, who glanced at Freed.

“Well, I guess we couldn't expect anything else with a nerd” The boy concerned gave an amused smile.

“I'll take that as a compliment” he decided. Laxus giggled and then they said goodbye to Bickslow and Evergreen to go back to the apartment. They got into Freed's car, which he started and began to calmly walk through the streets. He turned on the radio at a low volume, leaving the music that was passing by.

“Did you have fun? I don't get offended if you say no, you know” Freed said after a while. Laxus turned towards him in surprise and noticed that the boy had stiffened a bit. He was almost imperceptible, but the blond now knew enough to understand him.

“Sure” he replied truthfully “I mean, I’d never go alone, but if you're with the right group of people you have fun everywhere, right?” he added. Freed nodded slowly and Laxus noticed that he was nervously nibbling his lip. “What's up?” she asked him. Freed gave him a surprised look without saying anything. “Come on, there's something you're worried about” Laxus said.

“Well… it's nothing, I just didn't want to have dragged you on a boring afternoon” he admitted. Laxus smiled faintly at his concern.

“Well, it's a little hard to get bored when you have a brat next to you who shoots bullshit one after another” he retorted. Freed frowned.

“The brat would be Bickslow, right?”

“No, that would be you” Laxus laughed.

-10-

Laxus cursed as he heard the doorbell ring. Who the fuck rang the doorbell at three in the morning? Extremely irritated he got out of bed, whoever the asshole was he would have yelled at him about everything. Annoyed, he went to the intercom.

“Who the fuck are you?” he growled without any moderation. Not that he wasn't justified, he was sleeping so well before that guy woke him up.

“It's me” he heard him mutter from the other side and Laxus widened his eyes: that was Freed's voice. “I forgot the keys” he added with a sneer. “I'm so sorry” he added. Laxus took a deep breath.

“You're drunk?” he asked him.

“No... just a little tipsy”. Only from the tone of his voice did Laxus realize that he was more than just tipsy. Annoyed, he opened the gate for him.

“Wait for me there. The elevator is broken and I'm sure you’d overturn from the stairs, even if you deserve it” he grunted. He put on his shoes and left the apartment, going down the stairs cursing over and over again, until he got to the ground floor. Freed was standing with his back against the wall, his eyes closed and his head dangling from side to side.

“How the fuck did you drink?” Laxus snapped as he approached. The roommate opened his eyes.

“I don’t know. Bickslow kept ordering stuff” he mumbled. Laxus rolled his eyes and grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him towards the stairs.

“You owe me a favor, and expect revenge. You fucking woke me up” he blurted out as he climbed the stairs with his friend staggering in front of him. “My goodness, I've never seen you so drunk. You weren't like that in bowling either” he commented.

“It's Bickslow's fault, he wanted to make a challenge. But I won” he added with a smirk.

“I doubt you won, Bickslow has more resistance than you” Laxus retorted annoyed.

“No, that wasn't the challenge” Freed chuckled. “He said I'd be a stupid drunk. Obviously, he was wrong, I recited the time table of seven and I solved a physics problem perfectly” he declared with great satisfaction. Laxus shook his head in resignation as he held him straight so he didn't squash his face to the ground.

“Too bad you can't walk straight” he grunted he still irritated by what he had to do at that time. Freed laughed and Laxus just hoped no one would come out complaining.

“I can recite you the whole monologue from the Lord of the Rings opening” Freed said.

“Please, no” Laxus begged, but Freed didn't listen to him and began to mumble.

“It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings…” Laxus nevertheless found himself smiling amused. Freed didn't walk straight, but he really had memorized that monologue. When they arrived at the door, the friend was still talking, and the blonde let him do it wondering if he was going to play the whole movie for him too. He pushed his friend into the apartment and after a couple of seconds the boy fell silent.

“See, I've said it all. Without slackening or missing a single word” he declared with great satisfaction. Laxus ran a hand wearily over his face.

“You're weird” he mumbled and Freed chuckled again. He had to admit it though, seeing him like this was fun. Finally, he had broken down all the walls, his usual composed and mostly impassive expression was gone.

“I'm hungry, do you want some popcorn? I make them for both of us” Freed said.

“It's three in the morning, I'm not hungry. Go to sleep” Laxus told him. But Freed ignored him and headed for the kitchen.

“So, I know you eat them later!” he exclaimed.

“Don't fucking scream, people are sleeping” Laxus warned, following him into the kitchen. He would have gladly gone to sleep, but Freed had tipped some popcorn out of the pan and forgot to take the lid off. “So, they'll blow up all over the kitchen, and tomorrow you'll complain about how dirty you've got it all” he pointed out.

“I'll clean it all up” Freed retorted, lighting the gas. Laxus finally agreed that it was best to stay there and make sure he wasn't in trouble. He put a lid on the pan and forced him to sit down. Luckily Freed didn't reply and sat down at the table, resting his head on his hands.

“I thought you were more responsible, you know?” said the blond. Freed looked up at him.

“I'm responsible” he said immediately. “It was just a fun night, you could have come too, it would have been more fun” he added. Laxus found himself surprised to hear those words.

“It was a guy's birthday party I've never seen before” he reminded him. Freed shrugged.

“It would have been more fun anyway. You missed Bickslow doing karaoke, a rather pitiful scene” he said in amusement.

“Didn't you do it? That would have been fun” Laxus commented.

“No, as I said I’m responsible. I knew I was going to make a fool of myself, and I pretended to go to the bathroom when Bickslow wanted to drag me onto the stage” he said. Laxus smiled as he imagined the scene, then fell silent in the kitchen. The popcorn began to pop and when they were ready the blond transferred it to a bowl, mixed it with the salt and then put it on the table. Satisfied Freed began to eat while he told him what else Bickslow had done. Laxus listened amused. A little bit he regretted not going, it would have been really fun to see Freed playing darts when his coordination was pitiful with alcohol in his body. But it was just as nice to see him like that.

When the popcorn was finished Laxus was no longer tired, by dint of talking and listening to his friend he had woken up, so he cleaned the bowl and the pan while Freed talked to him about the game of billiards and how they had all lost to Evergreen. Once he finished cleaning the kitchen, he heard his friend yawn.

“You're finally tired, huh?” he commented turning to Freed, who had risen from his chair and was closer than he expected. The friend smiled and placed a hand on his chest.

“Thank you very much. And I'm sorry for waking you up and keeping you awake, you didn't have to” he said sincerely grateful. Laxus softened his gaze trying not to focus on how far their bodies were now inches apart.

“I know. But I'm not an asshole like you, who surely would have left me out of the building” he said and Freed chuckled.

“I wouldn't have done that, I’d have helped you. I probably would have been less willing to make popcorn and would have insulted you a lot more than you did me, but I'm not bad enough to leave you in the cold”.

“Yeah, you probably would have told me to exhaustion how irresponsible I am.”

“That I definitely would have done” Freed agreed and then smiled warmly at him. Laxus felt slightly agitated under the intense gaze of his friend, who suddenly fell silent and just looked at him. Then Freed grabbed him by the collar and pushed him towards him, bringing their lips together.

Laxus didn't take long to respond to the kiss, although he hadn't expected it. Although he felt it was wrong, because Freed was drunk. And he knew it, he should have stopped it before it got too much. But it was already too much and the feeling of Freed's lips on his thrilled him enormously. Freed put a hand through his hair, while Laxus wrapped his arms around his back. The kiss became more intense, deeper and both pushed against each other. Now Laxus could feel Freed's hand descend along the undershirt and rise under him, touching his bare skin. Too much. It was definitely too much.

Before they pushed past Laxus broke away, slightly panting and staring in surprise as Freed kept running his hand up his abs. Something that Laxus wouldn't have wanted to stop, because the feel of their bodies so close sent flashes of excitement down his body. But he had to stop it. He took his wrist and took his hand away. Freed looked up at him surprised and disappointed.

“Don't...” Laxus's voice came out hoarse. “You're drunk” he said.

“Yes, but it's something I've wanted for a while. Since you almost kissed me two months ago” Freed replied. Laxus opened his eyes slightly, while a feeling similar to euphoria filled him. “I wanted to reciprocate, but… it felt wrong” he said. Laxus swallowed hard, for now his self-control was wavering. He wanted to take his face in his hands and kiss him, because that was a statement, but Freed was still drunk anyway.

“And it was, because you had a boyfriend” he decided to say after a few seconds. Freed looked up at him. “Freed, I like you, seriously, but you're drunk, I don't want that to happen now. We can talk about it in the morning” he revealed with a hint of courage. He saw a smile open on the boy's face.

“Ok” he whispered. Laxus smiled in turn.

“Ok” he repeated. They looked at each other for a few seconds in silence, both red-faced and smiling. “Let's go to sleep” Laxus said after a while, because he was sure, if he had stayed there, he would have risked kissing him again and never stop. And he didn't want it. Not like that. Freed nodded and pulled away from him. Then they both went back to their rooms, and Laxus fell asleep with a smile.

-11-

When he woke up the next day it took him a few seconds to remember what had happened and he felt anxiety fill his chest. He was obviously happy, but now doubts assailed him. Freed had been drunk the night before, maybe he didn't really mean what he said. Obviously, he was stupid to think so, it's not that he was completely out of his mind and damn, Freed had recited the entire monologue of ‘The lord of the rings’. He obviously thought about what he said. But that didn't help him calm down. Laxus put his hands to his face and forced himself to get out of bed, when he came out of the room he smelled an inviting smell, but he forced himself to go to the bathroom and wash himself before entering the kitchen. Freed was cooking pancakes. He turned to him with his lips folded in a slight smile.

“I made you coffee” he told him, pointing to the moka pot. Laxus came over, muttering a thank you and pouring it into his cup, trying not to look too much at his friend. He definitely didn't know what to say and almost hoped he was the one doing it. He took a sip and leaned his back to the fridge, barely glancing at Freed who was placing pancakes on a plate. When he finished he turned to him and spoke.

“I'm sorry about last night” he said. Laxus just nodded and Freed went on “I haven't drunk that much in a long time, I didn't really want to wake you up, and you were kind nonetheless”.

“You've been forgiven” Laxus said, pointing to the pancakes and coffee, which he threw down in another gulp and then set the cup on the counter. Freed nodded.

“Yeah, well, I hope so” he added. The silence fell again and Laxus met his eyes for a moment, Freed was thoughtful, as if he were considering something. “About what happened next ... I didn't lie, I've wanted to do it for quite a while. Doing it drunk was stupid but… I didn't regret it. I like you Laxus, and I'd really like to try dating you” he said. A slight blush colored his cheeks, and it was evident that he was a little insecure, even if he didn’t show it openly. Laxus felt a sensation of relief and adrenaline filling his stomach. Knowing that Freed reciprocated was all too exciting. A smile broke on his face without Laxus being able to hold it back.

“Well... yes. I mean, I want to go out with you too” he said. Freed's face relaxed and a tiny smile appeared. After that Laxus put an arm around his waist and pushed him towards him kissing him. And that was even better than their first kiss. Because now there was no doubt about what they both wanted. And that sweet coffee-flavored kiss proved it.

#fraxus #freed justine #laxus dreyar #fairy tail #fanfiction #freed x laxus

[webswingers]

welcome to avengers campus, isn’t it nice to be back, PETER PARKER ?  it’s been so long since i’ve seen you being a typical TWENTY-TWO year old INTERN AT OSCORP, the image of TOM HOLLAND against the retroreflective panels of headquarter buildings.  feels like forever since i’ve seen you hanging around PIZZA PLANET. i don’t blame you, though;  it fits your vibes perfectly given everyone associates you with BATTERED CONVERSE, INK SMUDGES, HALF EATEN TAKE-OUT.

death mention tw

...... hey, have you seen the news reports lately …?  i heard you’ve been getting visions from MARVEL beginning to return, waking up from dreams of J. JONAH JAMESON REVEALING HIS SECRET IDENTITY.  must be something in the water …  say, did you always have A LEGO ANAKIN SKYWALKER on hand ?  i’ve never seen you leave home without it.

BASICS:

birth name: peter benjamin parker

alias: friendly neighbourhood spiderman, pete, kid, queens, etc.

species: mutate: superhuman abilities/powers stemming from a bite from a radioactive spider

date of birth: august 10

sexuality: bisexual 

gender and pronouns: cismale, he/him

occupation: intern at oscorp industries 

CANON: 

“canon” timeline wise, peter’s taken from the mcu so everything on this wiki are the specifics if you wanted to know in depth, but long story short:

super secret superhero living with his aunt in queens (until the Reveal), only the four people closest to him know about this; Ned, May, MJ, and Happy

lived a relatively normal ‘teenage’ life when he wasn’t a vigilante: a little bit of a loser, friend-group of one (his guy in the chair) for the majority, had crushes, got good grades, just tried his best to make his aunt and tony stark proud after the death of his mother, father, and uncle.

joined the avengers to help iron man, got a little bit out of his depth but stark helped him become a better supe, he’s a lot better but he’s still learning.

the death of his mentor and third father figure heavily influenced his behaviours and added to his constant need to keep the people he loves safe, but somehow never manages to do so and it keeps him up at night.

trusts men too easily still for some reason??

everything that has occurred in peter’s arc in the mcu timeline to this point is all canon for him, he obviously is just slowly remembering it.

EARTH 200000:

for peter’s alternative timeline, i wanted to incorporate more of who he is in some of his comic arcs, in some of the cartoon tv shows, too, but primarily his personality/some relationships are inspired by the ps4 spiderman game.  i realise this can get a little confusing given all the different characters and plot lines, so if you’re confused at all please feel free to message me and we can talk about it ! i wanted to incorporate his canon relationships with people outside of what they’ve introduced in the mcu for peter, but this will be something that needs to be plotted out, so pls lmk if you wanna do so ! here are the basics:

still a super secret superhero living a few floors above aunt may, so he can still see her whenever but he has some adult privacy.

slightly older than the spidey on screen currently, is an intern at oscorp industries and admires what they do there (this is not his first internship rodeo, but he gets paid a lot better at oscorp)

still has a relatively small friendship group, peter will never be mr popular but he’s absolutely okay with that.

wants to help people constantly; other than his spidey work, he volunteers with his aunt at F.E.A.S.T and works with the people staying there so he can learn how to help the people who don’t get helped.

big believer in justice, probably rants a lot to his friends and co-workers when he’s in That Kinda Mood, but ultimately keeps to himself and stays in his lane (unless he feels he needs to intervene)

he is a lot more confident as spidey than he is as peter, so his personality shifts slightly depending on what he’s wearing

has been known to sell some of his photography when he’s a little low on rent 

just a big nerd who luvs his aunt < 3 

inspirations for earth 200000:

ultimate spider-man (tv), spider-man (2017, tv), spidermen (comic), mcu spidey, the spiderman ps4 game-- these are just inspirations for his personality and interests, but if there are particular plots you’d want to write out from these i’m more than happy to plot that out !

#i really really hope this makes sense #feel free to message me for plots or any clarification !! #afm.intro #intro: parker

[lazyliars]

A Theory on Canon Lives

Canon lives have always been a subject for debate, both within the story and in the meta around it. The idea has received mixed responses from fans; criticism for how it confuses the storytelling (namely, what constitutes a “canon” death, versus a normal one) and punishes non-PVPers, who need to walk on eggshells when dealing with geared people, and praise for adding a heightened sense of stakes and weight to character’s decisions.

However, I’ve been sitting on a theory about canon lives since they were confirmed by Wilbur, and recent events have me re-evaluating it’s relevancy in the current story-line.

So, lets start by looking at the two* canonically dead characters we have so far.

Schlatt: Jschlatt was the first person to lose all three lives and die.  His first death came from Techno at the festival, in the crossfire of Tubbo’s execution. His second, from Quackity after Schlatt basically disowned him. His final death was via heart attack or stroke, when he was alone and surrounded by the people he’d hurt and failed.

Wilbur: Our second canon death was Wilbur. He lost his first life in the same place the rest of the L’manberg OG’s did, the final control room, with Eret. His second was by Punz during his escape from Schlatt at the election. His third was by Philza, after he’d blown up L’manberg, begging his dad to kill him for what he’d done.

*(Note; Mexican Dream and Jack Manifold have also lost all three canon lives, and Jack came back again with all three lives restored.

However, the validity of considering them canon with regards to this theory is uncertain, for two separate reasons:

Mexican Dream because his existence is one of the most enigmatic on the server and his life and deaths follow suit,

And Jack because he hasn’t to my knowledge been involved with the writing of the greater SMP story-line, so his take on canon lives might only apply to himself. )

The pattern remains consistent throughout – the final death occurs at a moment of hopelessness, when the character in question cannot imagine a way out. Neither of them technically die to suicide, but they both lose the will to continue living - Wilbur actually begging for death.

So, I propose that third canon deaths cannot occur unless a person wants to stop living. This would mean that for a bulk of the server, canon deaths functionally do not exist.

But this would make the entire cast basically immortal! Why would they treat their lives as precious if they only risk dying when they actually want to?

And that brings me into the second half of this theory – that NO ONE on the server knows that canon deaths are optional, except for Dream.

Now how would Dream learn about the canon lives? How would he know that they weren't real, even after death was demonstrated in front of him just as clearly as the rest of the SMP?

Jschlatt was the first Canon Death. Before he died, he made a deal with Dream; In return for fighting alongside him, Schlatt gave Dream a book containing information that Dream believed was dangerous even to him. The contents of that book are still unknown to this day, and we still don't have a good grasp on what someone like Schlatt could've possibly had to tempt someone like Dream.

Considering Schlatt was the first to die, It's possible that his death itself was part of the deal; a deal made by an alcoholic man with nothing to live for, willing to die to spite the people who would survive him, and leave them under the thumb of an even bigger tyrant than him.

Wilbur too, made a deal with Dream just before he died. Both the people who made deals with Dream died soon after, one entirely of his accord, permanently. Something that had never happened before on the server.

People have criticized the Canon Life System for unfairly favoring the PVPers, perhaps none more than Dream himself – and it's true, after canon lives were introduced, Dream suddenly became an even bigger threat. But if canon lives are a lie? Then a huge portion of the power Dream holds over the server is also a lie.

Dream's goals always orient around gaining control over others, to what ends we still don't know. But his go-to method of dealing with rebellious groups and individuals has always been to contain and threaten important objects. He threatens to kill only when his other methods fail. We see this most obviously with Tommy's Exile.

During the exile, Dream constantly focuses on punishing Tommy using things – his armor, his builds, Logstedshire – and only ever threatens death when Tommy asks to go back to the SMP. He also stops Tommy from Looking Menacingly Into Lava, which could actually kill him; but if canon lives aren't set in stone, and Tommy wasn't far gone enough for the death to actually take? The ruse would be up, and Dream's power would be drastically diminished.

There are many times that killing someone outright would be easier for Dream; Exiling Tommy in the first place could have been replaced with taking his last life. Or threatening to kill him, or Tubbo or any of the Cabinet. But instead, Dream opts to build a wall around L'manberg. It's almost like Dream has a vested interest in no one losing their third life.

Cat and Mellohi alone are basically Dream’s main method of controlling Tommy and Tubbo, who are both on their last life and have little means to defend themselves. He could threaten to kill them in order to assert control, but what if they called his bluff? Would he actually kill them?

It also makes sense why Tommy is so frustrating to Dream; he’s the worst combination of suicidally reckless and unendingly determined, that if he died there’s no way he wouldn’t come back, and there is also every chance he’ll get himself killed. He’s the most likely person to see through the lie.

And in my opinion, that's the lens through which Dream's actions make the most sense; if he's doing everything he can to prevent anyone from learning that he isn't the only immortal, it puts all of his actions into perspective.

...

So, if this earth-shattering, red-string, challenge-the-fundamental-rules-of-the-story type theory turned out to be true, what would that mean for the future of the server?

Well, it comes back to the Status Quo. Control. Chaos. Amusement. For the server to be one big happy family. Each of these pillars is benefited by people living in fear of death. It makes them easy to control, makes them run like mice in the face of the powerful, and can end with them growing closer due to the shared trauma.

But what if someone learned the truth? What if someone was killed in a way that couldn't be anything but canon, and came back anyway?

Then there would be need of a place to put those people. Somewhere secure, isolated. Somewhere they couldn't ever spread the word and disrupt the game. Somewhere that could house people who can't die.

Somewhere with enough room to hold an entire server of people who can't die.

#Dream Smp #Dreamwastaken #Dream #Tommyinnit #Pandora's Vault #Lazytext #Canon Lives #suicide mention #i've tried to write this thrice before and failed #i keep wanting to add things or change bits but its done its done and im not gonna touch it anymore #i wanted to get it done before the 16th tomorrow and I FUCKING DID LETS GOOOOO

[gayregis]

What do you think Regis and Ciri's relationship would be like? I was always a little upset that Geralt said he wanted Ciri to meet Zoltan and Reinart but he didn't say that about Regis or anyone from the Hansa. Do you think he wanted Ciri to meet Regis? What do you think their relationship would be like? I didn't understand why Regis was so impressed by Citi in Stigga, if she was obviously scared and they had like 5 min to talk. I don't like that all the characters are thrilled with Ciri at first sight. I also afraid that Ciri won't overcome her dislike of vampires as a witcher, and she and Regis won't have become friends :( What your thoughts on it?

this is such a good series of questions!!

i think that geralt did want ciri to meet the hansa, and i suppose she did - she mentions that they buried the bodies of geralt’s comrades outside of stygga when they left - though in the case of regis, of course, there was nothing left to bury. but i imagine that, in these moments, geralt told ciri about each member, their memories “living on” through story, which, in the witcher, is a form of immortality after death. but i think he specifically mentions wanting ciri to meet reynart and zoltan specifically because he thought (incorrectly, in reynart’s case :( ) that they were still alive, as opposed to the hansa, who he all saw either die in front of him or their corpses later when they buried them.

specifically for regis, i think geralt would have wanted ciri to meet him as they did become close and also regis helped a lot in terms of being geralt’s confidant during the quest to save ciri. but i also think that geralt would be still concious of how bizarre his and regis’ friendship is, and would think about it before any introductions - then again, the witcher seems to have less of these “planned introductions” and rather more of “by the seat of your pants introductions,” like when dandelion first meets ciri, it was both somewhat expected as (iirc?) they knew they were going to meet up with the other party (geralt and dandelion, yennefer and ciri), but how they actually meet up is a different story, because nothing in the witcher can ever be a calm summer afternoon, of course. so i believe that “the best” circumstances would be something like a formal introduction of ciri to all of the hansa members, geralt would simply introduce them all at the same time, because they’re each equally important in relation to him and ciri. i don’t thnk it would make sense for geralt to introduce regis separately from the rest of the hansa, because it would just take his character out of context (unless, of course, they were in some situation where the rest of the hansa wasn’t around). (and besides the point, but i think the most awkward formal introduction would be between cahir and ciri, because, it wouldn’t be an introduction at all, rather a third meeting. and canonically, cahir had dreams of ciri, so it would be even weirder since he’s already seen her a bunch and she hasn’t seen him at all.)

i think, honestly, a formal introduction between regis and ciri would go well, i don’t think too much would occur, even if only because of having questions but feeling that it’s not the right place or time to ask them -- like in a class, when a teacher asks, “any questions?...” and the entire class holds their breath because everyone is confused but no one knows exactly what to say -- i think it would be like that, because regis and ciri are BOTH very very naturally curious! regis would want to ask, so this is the child of destiny, this is your daughter, etc, etc, and ciri would want to ask pretty much everything about him to understand who he is. but i think both would understand, through experience, that a first introduction isn’t the time to ask every single question you have about a person. so it would be kind, but maybe overly formal becase of that awkwardness.

 i of course have all these headcanons and such about regis becoming a parental and mentor figure to angouleme, so i’m inclined to compare their relationship to that with ciri, but i think that would be a mistake. because angouleme and ciri are similar in build and appearance, and some traits and experiences of course, but they’re still different in my opinion, and their difference is exponential when you consider the differences of how angouleme and regis met VS how ciri and regis met, and that angouleme had no one else in her life VS ciri already has parents she loves. so instead of being more parental and advice-giving, i think regis would be kind to ciri of course, but i don’t think they would ever spend a lot of time together because ciri already has parents to spend time with, so regis would be still a sort of avuncular figure, good for advice and to listen, but not the main source of support. which is fine, i think. i think that the thing that ciri would most rely upon regis for would be dealing with her actions from when she was a rat, i think both regis and ciri have come out of a period where they have been the source of a lot of violence, and ciri may struggle with this and need advice from someone who’s been through it already.

i feel like regis also wasn’t overly impressed with ciri when he met her, his reaction seems more like dandelion’s to me, where she just appears as some young girl, the young girl that she is. i think only the observant or the close to ciri will understand that she is powerful (geralt, yennefer, milva (observant), cahir (half and half, i think he only understands it later)). regis and dandelion are observant in that they are intelligent and academics, but they often miss the background, the “fabric of reality” as i’ve referred to it -- things like the horseprints in the snow, regis was very willing to explain away as being somthing mundane, not considering it could have been something else. i think this logicalness of his character and unintentional insensitivity to the “powers that be” would make him more stumped than astute with ciri, unable to really figure her out despire having experiences in common with her. another trait that ciri and regis both share is being mysterious and a little closed-off if one doesn’t pry, and since they have no real reason to pry, i don’t think they’d be as close as characters that are more opposite to one another in this respect.

although regis did frighten ciri when they first met in stygga, i feel like they would totally get over that after a while. although dandelion aphoristically says in a little sacrifice that there’s never a second chance to make a good first impression, i think to how geralt and ciri got off on the wrong foot, as did yennefer and ciri -- and even though it was a more severe misunderstanding with yennefer, she ultimately became closer to yennefer than anyone else. so i don’t think that regis’s first impression to ciri would affect their friendship down the line that much, since ciri seems to have a knack for getting into poor first impressions with adults. but i do think it would influence how she sees him, because of course it would. everyone else met regis as he is normally, the pinnacle of kindness and thoughtfulness -- ciri saw him basically turn an entire room into hellish chaos and rip a guy’s throat out! it’s comical to us as the readers because we know regis and his very mild-mannered side, but to ciri, this would have been terrifying, of course demonstrated by her clenching her jaw so her teeth wouldn’t chatter. i don’t think that there’s any reason that they couldn’t eventually get over this, but i think it would definitely influence how ciri sees regis overall -- i think that even geralt sometimes forgets about what regis is capable of, like in lady of the lake when he vehemently defends regis’s right to be present in a coversation, when regis can actually just overhear the entire conversation although he walked away. to sort of summarize the situation, if your friend, who is a normal guy to you, had epic powers that you saw a couple of times, but he never really used them around you that much, you might not think of him as some kind of force VS, when you met your friend for the first time he was demonstrating his epic powers in full force... you would be way more aware of his power. but, these friendships may not have been super different at heart, because there’s still the same people involved in them. this is what i think, that ciri would just be the one who’s most aware that regis is a vampire, because she’ll never forget the first meeting -- but that does not necessarily mean she would end up trusting or liking him less at all!

i feel with the context of ciri being a witcher, it’s interesting because by the time regis appears in the series, the term of “witcher” is beginning to be unraveled with its threads examined for the readers. regis is part of this, and cahir is as well -- though regis is a monster, geralt has no desire to kill him, and yet cahir is a man, and geralt has a desire to kill him. the term of “monster” is questioned to hell and back throughout the entire series, but especially in regards to i think to these characters: geralt, regis, cahir, ciri, vilgefortz, and bonhart. each is a “monster” in some respect, either being labelled as one or doing monstrous things, or both. in ciri’s case, it becomes way more about “good” and “evil” than it does for geralt, who is more concerned with the original exploration of “human” and “monster.” for ciri, she actually became evil, she was a monster. but through many things, she learned her lesson and becomes something much more vague than just “good” or “evil” in the end. this is a lot like regis, who transversed the dichotomy of “evil monster” and “good human” to become something that’s neither of each (well, regis strives to be a good human, but just because he strives for it does not mean he 100% is that). so i think that because they have that similiarity, they would be more understanding of one another. especially with time as ciri begins to understand herself and the concept of evil more (as she had difficulty with vysogota -- the paradox is that she herself became evil, but then of course has her famous “repay evil” speech -- by that logic, she would want to exterminate herself, her ethical logic being clouded by self-preservation... but i think by the end she comes to realize that her evil was wrong as well, that she is not innocent, and even though this is true, she can still work against evil).

tldr ciri and regis are very similar characters, they would be friends due to this mutual understanding, but he would not be the most important figure in her life. they would likely bond over their shared struggles with good & evil, and also likely bond over making fun of geralt (as everyone does in this series)

#ask #dogdeputy #regis #ciri #the witcher #lady of the lake #tower of the swallow #long post /

[gooobert]

YOUR DOMESTIC FELIX HEADCANONS. HAND EM OVER

DOMESTIC????? ;)

Alright!! SO I'll try to keep these hcs related to a unisex S/O (so you can insert any character in, like male/female [his gf, or any male/female surv]). This excludes killer dynamics bcos killer x surv just. *vomits*

But that's just my opinion ;))) when it comes to domestic Felix...

I'll take it in a couple of spins, all of which will focus on an 'after/escape The Entity' type of au. If you're also interested in a version that includes a general "pre-Entity" tidbit, I'd be more than happy to provide!! Just ask!!

In Felix's case, it's going to be something like his disappearance at Dyer Island being for a potential 1-3 years (depending on the life of this game going forward), so it's safe to assume that in all of these headcanons, his girlfriend is going to have moved on with her life, especially in regards to care for his now-alive child. You can still insert her into the headcanons if you wish, but realistically (imo), they would be separated.

Felix is actually more than understanding when it comes to his girlfriend moving on - the disappearance was something of a red flag, but authorities attributed it to a workplace accident/stress, or potentially even commitment issues - the restoration project along with the news of being a father isn’t a foreign recipe for a partner just up and disappearing. Felix's girlfriend wasn't exactly aware of his Imperiatti past - which can be summed up by the organization's secrecy, or Felix's repression of his former trauma - she never connected the dots when it came to his familiar clientele. She moved on, had their child, and even began seeing another man. Felix couldn't blame her, especially with how difficult it is to be a single parent. He feels a strong sense of empathy when it comes to that topic, especially when it was just him and his mom after his father’s disappearance.

It's not exactly clear - the whereabouts of Felix's mom, in present time - but I like to assume that he would move back into his former home, the Richter manor, and try to piece his old life back together again. He is able to regain partial custody of his child, and he is introduced to... his daughter. Before The Entity, Felix initially hoped for a son, so he could be the exact father figure he desperately needed when growing up (after all, he spent plenty of time in the realm thinking about how he would be the perfect model for his “son”), but he wouldn’t trade her for the world. It comes almost as a shock when his daughter prefers to play with more “masculine” toys and gets into a lot of the hobbies he enjoyed as a kid - especially reading/storytelling. She’s not exactly old enough to read books on her own, but Felix won’t hear the end of it unless she gets her nightly bedtime story. He fabricates fables and tales about people he met “from work,” and their various trips to foreign and unfamiliar realms. He can’t help but see the same face of wonder and skepticism that he used to have, just like when his father told him similar stories in his youth.

Felix also has this taut outlook and anxiety when it comes to raising his kid. Anybody is expected to be stressed over their first/only child, but Felix’s former worries and lack of social development drives him to be a parent that wants to teach his kid how to be independent as soon as possible; so she could have all the skills she needs when she’s older. He was privileged enough to live in a household where he never needed to cook, clean, or handle anything financial when he was growing up - everything was done by either the manor’s maids or his parents. Knowing the fear and self-doubt he had back in his early 20s, he is super serious about being there for his daughter. His other half may think he’s being a bit dramatic and a “helicopter parent” with how stressed he is, but he just wants to make sure she can hold her own in case an unfortunate circumstance ever did occur - it was an all-too-familiar threat for Felix when he was growing up; especially when he still desires to set an example for his late father.

The times when the German architect does “calm down,” he does his best to be there for his daughter. He’s got a nasty habit of spoiling her and his loved ones with gifts, despite being conscious about his wealth. Splurging on such activities/gifts gives Felix a sense of relief, where he can see his little girl raised with an innocent, positive childhood. One would assume he might be even jealous over her adolescence, but he’s just thankful he could be there physically and emotionally for his kid, and stop the painful cycle from ever reaching her. As much as Felix wishes he had his dad in his life to guide him, he takes it as a learning experience that made him stronger, and more deliberate and genuine with his parental responsibilities.

His parental approach is more about empathy and reasoning, and prefers to treat his little girl as a smaller adult rather than just a kid - he tries to soothe any of her anxieties about friends and school, but without sheltering her from the reality of the world once she’s old enough. He won’t admit it, but having her feel brave enough to confide in him with her personal issues/thoughts is his favorite part about being a father. He might have lost his father at a young age, but at least he can act as a mentor to his own child. It reminds him he’s doing the “right thing,” and this bond was what he dreamed of having in his youth. He can’t help but feel sentimental!

The Entity left Felix with more questions than answers, and as much as he wants to find out the mystery behind his dad, he decided that it was time to move on. The timeless years spent in The Fog gave him severe trauma, and he’s lucky he was able to resume a relatively normal life - a second chance to be there for his daughter and his S/O. He went into the realm to voluntarily search for his father, and he wasn’t able to uncover much during his time spent there. His partner may support him in his grief, but he’s come to understand that his feelings of loss may simply never go away - he’s just going to have to live with them. For him, his loss still feels like a fresh wound, but it’s not going to get any better than it is, currently. Felix wouldn’t consider himself hopeless, but he’s left with a sense of acceptance. He needs to be there for his new family, and he would rather be focusing on the domestic chapter in this new part of his life than reminiscing on the past. He did it long enough with The Pariahs before they disbanded, and he’d rather learn to live more in the present than caught up in the past.

If he doesn’t have custody over his kid, Felix is spending a majority of his time at work, where Lauren gladly takes him back into their architectural firm. He’s left with a lot of trauma from the trials, though, so it’s not unusual if he can’t make a business meeting or show up physically to work. He still carries his occupational responsibilities, but there’s just certain aspects of his old life that he could never get acclimated to doing again. He’s afraid of turbulence (the shaking and rumbling of the plane is too similar to the endgame collapse) and if he NEEDS to be at a business meeting/networking event, he has to leave early since the drive, of course, takes a lot longer than a flight.

When he is able to find some time alone with his other half and not feel any work pressure, they like to treat themselves to a vacation getaway! Even if it’s for a weekend, he takes holidays depending on if they need time to release some energy by doing something strenuous (skiing in the Alps) or maybe unwinding with something romantic or a new experience (wine/artisan goods). Felix isn’t the best with his words, and so he likes to show PDA to his partner when they have time together. Rather than asking, he simply does - a peck on the forehead when he gets ready in the morning, adjusting the clothing/jewelry on his spouse, or even just mindlessly rubbing/massaging his hands on their back. He knows how it feels to be touch-starved, and likes to make it a conscious effort to show his love through constant reassurances when his words fail.

#WHERE DID MY MOTIVATION GO #as soon as i asked for messages in my inbox i just :)))) #motivation gone :))) #but i hope these are good!!! #AND IN CHARACTER!!!!! #ty for the ask bby ilysm #dbd #dbd headcanons #felix richter #ask

[ash-rabbit]

An Autopsy: Mag200 Last Words

I will preface this by saying that, one (1) this is my opinion, and that I am at best ambivalent towards Martin and Jmart. And that this influenced the emotional impact of the episode for me, and likely many other viewers.

Additionally, I don't have a transcript open so we're going off memory. And spoilers below, obviously.

I. Everything that I wanted to see

1. Jonah

I'm very glad he showed back up and was coherent. That was definitely a highlight since bastard he may be, but he's my favourite.

I would have liked to hear him monologue or give a statement, but I don't mind Jon cutting things short. It's deserved, and I'm sure Jon was sick to death of Magnus' voice anyway.

I really liked how his last words were so very scared and vulnerable. "I don't want to die." and then Jon's retort of "Neither did they" before going through with it was excellent.

Being the vessel for the eye being like a wonderful dream was also very good, because I can only imagine that it would be similar to Jon's nightmare walking for someone who actually enjoys the suffering of others.

Something that was odd was that I could swear that it contradicts 193, where Jonah was referred to as nothing but a husk when serving as the eyes conduit. I had thought that meant his sense of self had been eradicated and he was nothing but his eyes for all intents and purposes. Clearly not. So I suppose all those fics where Elias survives and is aware of everything after Jonah gets gouged out of his skull are still plausible, seeing as Jonah still remained, even after being crushed beneath the weight of his eldritch patron.

2. Jon doing his own thing

I said this after 198 and 199, but I though the Web's plan was dumb, and everyone completely misunderstood the Trolley Problem, because just like the average Tumblr user, the Archival assistants are illiterate. But I suppose that happens when you have two influencers, a cop, and a high school drop out debate ethics. I'm just saying Tim with his anthropology degree would have called bullshit on their moralizing, he might not have disagreed with that plan of action, but he wouldn't have tried to justify it.

3. Jon going through with the 193 plan

Technically a merger of point 1 and 2, but it had Jon having a completely decent plan for once. It worked for the most part, it was cathartic and wholly satisfying to watch for him as a character.

As stated in 193 the conduit position is meant for him, so he doesn't suffer any ill effects outside of becoming a bird in a gilded cage, but he already spent the series as that. And it wasn't as if Jon hadn't been acting as a conduit with the constant statement taking anyway.

3.b a late addition to this but why does Jon need to keep taking statements?? It feels entirely superfluous in a fear saturated landscape, unless it was the Eye really wanting that Archivist pupil.

II. What Didn't Hit, or the Deflated Souffle

1. Jon and Martin

Hinging the emotional weight of a finale on a couple doesn't work if you don't have any feelings invested in the couple. I didn't care for Martin from the moment we were introduced to him in Season 1, and my interest to become invested in Martin was ignited and subsequently extinguished within Season 4. I find Martin hypocritical and self righteous and it's a bad mix for me personally. I didn't like his character trajectory over Season 5, so Jmart did nothing for me across the Season.

The misquote of LotR also just doesn't do it for me. It's sort of romanticizing the whole Romeo + Juliet thing, which is always not good. I think being unable to live for Jon undercuts any growth Martin could have gone through since in season 4 he was running a suicide gambit, and I think if he had been able to live as a person at the end of it, he would have come out a stronger character.

2. The Knife in the Gut

So Jon went through with his actually good plan, and Martin acts like its the worst possible thing. Jon is mostly himself, more himself then across Season 5 for the most part actually. But it's treated like the worst betrayal, and then Martin has the gall to go "we expected this so we're burning the Archives at this very second"

Like okay?? You're mad he went behind his back, even though everything previously stated had your plan set up to fail from the get go. It just made me irritated at Martin for being short sighted.

Worse then that was how quickly Jon caved to Martin and saying fine kill me and go through with your plan. And then Martin did it. They condemned countless dimensions because when Martin show sup and say anything contrary to Jon, Jon's spine disappears. It defeated the purpose of Jon going behind their backs in the first place. Though I'm glad Martin wasn't there when Jon spoke to Jonah.

I think the damnation of countless realities should have been framed as a tragedy, and not as the heroic thing. So I guess it's just fridge horror now. The framing just, it really doesn't work for me here, I was horrified by the moral ramifications and how it's the one thing Jon didn't want to do, to have more people face the same horrors he had.

3. The Archives are Burning: One of the Best Paying Academic Institute's is in flames.

So Jon was called the Archive by Jonah, and it never felt like that meant anything. We don't know if the burning Archive affecting Jon was because he's the Archive or if it's because burning knowledge hurts him as burning Gerry's page did.

Also I'm just against the burning of centuries of knowledge in general, that was probably the part of the episode that hurt. Cursed or not, the Magnus Institute seems to have incredibly pay for a research institute of all things, I mean a flat in London and it can pay for a care home? I know biology researchers who make around minimum wage at best. I'm just saying, I would work there despite everything the series has laid out.

4. The Girls Started a Fire

I don't mind that they survived, but they blew up a gasline?? And survived, no Helen to save them, but they survived.

It's weird.

5. Back to Business as Usual

So they ejected all the fears into other universes and everything is back to normal. But I have questions!! How are people's state of mind?? Are some people catatonic from constantly experiencing constant fear? The Admiral is fine which is great but, there's so much mental scarring that even with a fix it band aid slapped on, the whole population is mentally fractured at best. I don't have the words to elucidate, but it bothers me.

In Sum

The finale didn't hurt me. Which in and of itself hurts. I signed up for a tragedy/horror, and it felt like the romance shift undercut a lot of character growth and impact. But that's because I don't like who Jon and Martin are when they're together, and that's a normal thing to fell around new/codependent couples.

I was hoping for something that was soul crushing for the characters, but death isn't really the worst fate, and I suppose it's grim if only because they made the selfish choice. Which is weird, for Jon at least, he stopped making selfish choices after Season 2 for the most part and was punished every time he did something that was necessary for his continued survival in Season 4. I have thoughts on the statement dependency being a food thing more then an addiction thing but I'm ending it here.

The series is good, but I'll probably just relisten to S1-4 only, I don't care for romance or apocalypse settings, and 160 is a good stopping point if you want a soft tragedy of sorts.

#Mag 200 #the magnus archives #tma #mag 200 last words

[rons-wheezely]

Ron || Inseparable

[Requested]

Genre: Fluff

Summary: this dude you don’t know really wants to be your friend??; Ron x reader “...I mean, I guess he’s cute or whatever, so it’s fine.”

----

It all started in charms class. Ron dreaded that class more than anything in the world, spells and incantations were definitely NOT his thing. Today, Professor Flitwick set up a bunch of locks in front of each student. He cleared his throat and said," Today, students, we will be learning blah blah blah.."

Every time Flitwick speaks, it's like jibberish to Ron. He's tried many times to concentrate, but last time he pulled a muscle or something because he had migraines for a whole week. Hermione says it's because his brain was smaller than a pea. What in the bloody hell was a "pea"? Definitely not piss, he hoped. He sucks at this class and it's painfully obvious..

"Ah, everyone play close attention to y/n's incantation and the subtlety of her wand. It's near perfect for a first try."

Ron turns his sights to you, who is now burning a Gryffindor red, as you redo the spell for everyone in the class. There was something beautiful about how you casted the spell, dare I call it magic. Ron Weasely couldn't take his eyes off of you like a star struck fan meeting his favorite quidditch team.

After that, Ron kept spotting you in crowds from class to class. He didn't want to sometimes, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't escape the memory that replayed in his head. The way his heart leaped out of his chest, how his fingers itched to shake yours for the first time and introduce himself. It was like you radiated some type of aura that drew him in. It's an overused description, but there was no other way to describe the way you pulled him in like a sinking black hole.  A problem still stood between him and his desires, however.

"I just wish we weren't strangers and that I could ask her out already, but then I'd--" Ron pouted to his friend Harry, who always seemed to get the girls. "You wouldn't understand though, since everyone seems to think you're the 'chosen one'." He mocked the voice of the masses. Everyone loved Harry, after all.

"Why don't you just talk to her?" Harry shovels his lunch into his mouth,"There's nothing stopping you, is there?" Harry says this so nonchalantly as if he's done it several times himself. "Unless you're chicken of course."

Half out of spite and half out of impatience, he wanted to prove that he could be friends with you. He introduced himself to you in the next class he shared, and days after that he'd wave to you when you two made eye contact. He thought it was embarrassing to be so excited to see someone he didn't know well, but it didn't stop his heart from beating faster than it had before.

After a week, Flitwick assigned a new project. "You shall team up with one person of your choosing and begin today's work." Before he was even finished speaking, you could see people making eye contact with their friends across the room. You didn't really have anyone you knew, as per usual, until you suddenly make eye contact with Ron Weasley.

His eyes are sparkling and it's like his whole life has lived up to this moment. He coughs into his elbow as he dusted off his robes when he stood up. Did he remember to brush his teeth this morning? God, he hopes so. He takes a deep breath and walks over to your seat. "Do you, uh, want to be partners?" He shifted under the feel of your gaze,"For the project of course; only if you want to."

Of course, you aren't in the position to say no, being that you've never been asked before, so you agree. However, that was just the beginning of your friendship with Ron. Overtime, it was like you two were always joined at the hip. You two would meet up and walk to class together, eat together, and even get caught up in Harry's adventures together. You never expected to be this close with Ron, or even anyone for that matter.

After school hours, you and Hermione hung out in the courtyard. It was her move in Gobstones when she brought up an interesting question. "I'd never actually think I'd see the day that Ron could be tolerated for more than a week. How do you do it?" She paused and mulled over her words. She spoke up again saying," Do you ever think he's clingy sometimes? It's like you two are conjoined twins or something... I'd say he was in love with you if it wasn't for Lavender Brown."

You hesitated in your response, feeling as though you were revealing too much," ...I mean, I guess he's cute or whatever, so it's fine." you attempt to shrug it off and focus on the game. Hermione's eyes burned holes into your skin as you tried to shake her uneasy stare.

Hermione gasped so loudly, it caught you off guard. Did you say too much? Did you say something wrong??? You shushed her in a panic, looking around at the other students staring at you. She recomposed herself with a deep breath, but she exploded in a flurry of whispered questions.

"So you think he's cute?? As a friend or... as something more? How long have you felt this way? Does anyone else know about this?" Hermione bombarded you with so many questions it was like the room started spinning.

"I wouldn't mind if we were something more," You could see Hermione about to gasp again," BUT I really don't think this is the kind of love story you think it is. He dated Lavender Brown up until two days ago, so he probably doesn't think of me that way, like you said earlier." The more you talked, the more you felt like you were giving away the secret krabby patty formula. Why can't you shut up?? "He probably likes girls like that."

"Or maybe he wanted you to be jealous?" Hermione spoke and won the game in one smooth turn,"Think about it." As you clean up the game pieces, she puts her hand on your shoulder. "I know that when he was dating Lavender, he walked with her to class, right? But don't you normally walk with him?" Hermione strolled the hallways with you. This situation was so stiff the outside air of the courtyard was suffocating you, leaving no room albeit to give in.

"I.. I don't know, Hermione. Maybe we're thinking into it too much?" Your head drifts to the outside scenery of Hogwarts. "Besides, why would he want to date me?"

A couple days later, Ron came back to the old routine of walking with you everywhere as if he'd never left. You wouldn't have even noticed if it weren't for that conversation with Hermione. It itched in the back of your mind like a spider on the back of your neck. You felt like you were reading too far into his jokes, and when he laughed at one of yours, there was a flip in your stomach and blood rushed to your face.

Now, his touches set your skin ablaze. It lingered and danced along the surface of your senses. Every breath of his that reached you was warm, his hands were a little too soft, and you could list a thousand other things that sent your mind running. Does he really like you like that?

"I thought she'd crack by now, Harry." A frustrated Ron brewed in his own bits of misfortune. "What if she's not into me like that?"

Harry looked at him. Harry's eyes glance at the clock before responding," Ron, it's like 11 pm and you're thinking about y/n?"

Ron nodded with a pout on his face.

Harry sighed," Why don't you just tell her?" Before Ron could reply with a flurry of doubts, Harry interjected. "You've literally had a crush on her since like First year, and I haven't seen you make your move. If you're that worried, you could try..." He looked around the dormitory room for a clue. His glasses glinted like an anime character when his eyes settled on a potions book. "You could always make a uh, forgetfulness potion?"

That seemed to satisfy Ron's stress and he laid back down in bed. He predicted that in the next 24 hours, he'll have confessed his feelings and then forced you to take his concoction of a "forgetfulness potion."

"Y/n." Ron had taken you outside the Great Hall during lunch. His palms are so sweaty and cold it could be a slip 'n slide (except he wouldn't know what that was.) You were talking to Harry about the next Quidditch game when he decided to confess. It took some persuading to leave the conversation, but you eventually gave in.

"Yes, Ron?" You prodded his shoulder. His face was pale, and the awkward silence was becoming unbearable. "...Ron? Are you monologuing or something?"

"I... I like you."

"Uhh me too? That's why we're friends." You weren't sure if your mind was playing tricks on you again. He wasn't confessing.. right?

"No I--" He stammered. "I like you. Like a lot. Since first year.." This was it. Any second you would reject him, and then he'd have to whip out his potion and apologize profusely while you guzzle it down.

"Oh." You blinked. Once. Twice. "Really? So this is a confession?"

"Will you go out with me?" He looked into your eyes. He was done for, he knew it. But, the disgust of rejection never came.

"Yeah.. I'd actually like that, Ron." You hugged him with all of your might. If this was a dream, then you hoped you'd never wake up. You were trying so hard not to let your feelings get the best of you, if only you knew he felt the same way. This past month's emotional procrastination was futile, and you can now admit the blooming feeling in your heart.

Ron was stunned. It was only until his robes were getting wet that he looked down. You were crying, but they were tears of joy? He really was prepared for the worst. Once the shock had died down, he embraced you. He never thought this day would come, but when it did, it was the greatest emotion he'd ever had. He kissed your forehead as the rest of your face was buried in his arms. "I love you."

---- 

-A/N-

Just a heads up, in the future I’d like to write and include other HP characters if y’all don’t mind (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ It’ll be about other HP characters in the same year probably, except for the other Weasleys. Love you guys ♡

p.s. I’m sorry that I took so long on this rip I wrote a whole different ending where you fake date Harry for a hot second, but it got out of hand and I scrapped it lol

#ron weasley #ronald weasley #ron weasley imagine #ron weasley x reader #x reader #hermione granger #harry potter #HP ron weasley #HP imagines #harry potter imagine #hogwarts #hogwarts imagine #hogwarts x reader #fanfic #hp fanfic #ron weasley fanfic #imagine #hp x reader

[fmdtaeyong]

restructuring update prompts

a prologue to officially re-introducing ash kwon // aka i decided to re-do this because i changed some parts of ash’s backstory and established career claims after i did this the first time and half of this wasn’t really true anymore rip

also there’s nowhere for me to put this in the answers anymore so i’ll put it here: circles is ash’s best song

content warning: mentions of alcohol abuse and drug use / abuse, but none of it is in-depth

assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different?

for the most part, ash’s general personality and character has stayed the same. he’s the same angsty, creative, romantic dude at heart, but he’s a little more jaded in some ways.

ash moved around before he became a trainee now. he lived in san francisco, sydney, and seattle. when he lived in sydney, it was just him and his mom and he grew really close to her during that time. he doesn’t really feel like he has a home at all since seoul is the longest he’s ever lived somewhere, but he’s less happy so that’s not home either.

ash is a better technical singer now ig, being a main vocal. he focused more on singing as a trainee now instead of dancing. his ankle injury in 2018 was a little more serious now, which is why he doesn’t dance much in his solo music anymore. it’s also why he’s less interested in dance, but, at the same time, i think it leaves more potential for him to re-develop some love for it again.

he’s also now the maknae, although it’s a common joke in the fandom that he doesn’t act like it. he debuted a year and three months younger than before and he feels a lot more beholden to the industry now. has even less of an idea of what he’d be outside of it at this point, even though he got closer to actually leaving it than previous ash ever did.

he’s still had a couple of minor attitude controversies in titan’s early days caused by cultural differences. he was in public relationships in 2016 and 2019. neither were received well for their own reasons. his clubbing habit has gotten him into some controversy, though bc has never issued a statement on it beyond that one time they had to confirm the woman in a picture of him clubbing was his girlfriend because people were trying to accuse him of cheating. he has a passionate anti gallery and obsessive sasaengs that make his life a living hell.

since renewing his contract, ash has also had a few hiatuses of varying lengths due to his physical or mental health. this was true before with how he naturally developed, but it’s more tied together now as a result of generally poor physical and mental health he’s been experiencing for a few years now after his dating scandals and his ankle injury in 2018.

his image is more streamlined now too! he never really had the era of being pushed as a cleancut boyfriend that old ash had around 2018. he’s been marketed as a musical genius / sexy bad boy rockstar / artist with a tortured soul for as long as he’s been majorly pushed individually. this means he’s still very sexualized, but he hates his image a little less because he can be a little more himself as far as personal style and self-expression through tattoos and piercings goes.

what does your muse think of their company and their group?

this hasn’t really changed. ash has no real love for bc entertainment and wouldn’t really care if titan disbanded tomorrow. some of their music is good and some isn’t (though he considers less of it terrible without wolf and gorilla in the mix lmao), but he feels he’s mostly outgrown it as an artist. not that it’s below him, but it’s not what he connects with creatively, which is far more important to him now than it had been when he’d first debuted. he doesn’t hold ill will toward his groupmates unless he feels they’ve given him an individual reason to, and actually feels more guilty toward them for getting involved in scandals and taking hiatuses more than anything, but they’re also not his best friends. he views titan as a purely work endeavor and he doesn’t feel bad about the fact he got about as close as possible to leaving them without actually doing so that he could back during contract renewals. after all, they’d be fine without him. he’s a main vocal, but they’ve got two others. he’s a dancer, but they’ve got two others. he can write music, but titan has never been his main priority there and others are more than capable of doing it. he wants out of both the group and the company but is starkly aware of the fact that he did this to himself when he re-signed out of what he now perceives to have been impulse and greed.

since titan is the seniormost active group under bc, ash tries to be a good senior to his company juniors in general, but there are certainly more welcoming alternatives than him. he worries about them from a distance more than anything else.

is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract?

he’s on his second contract and he definitely regrets renewing. he hadn’t planned to renew for the longest time the lack of privacy and the public criticism and the hate he’d received were just too much, and he had plans that would require him to stop being an active idol, namely marrying his girlfriend of two and a half years at the time. their relationship wasn’t stable enough at the time for that to be a good idea and that was proven when they broke up shortly before final negotiations for contract renewals, but ash wanted an excuse to escape and the idea of a happy, normal life more than he wanted to be rational.

spite after the (very brief lmao) break up was part of his decision to renew, but bc entertainment also offered to support him as a songwriter and producer in addition to allowing him to regularly release solo music. he still really loved music and his first taste of promoting as a solo artist had been right before renewals as a proposal to sway him into re-signing, so he was swayed to sign on for seven more years. they followed through on their promises, but he struggles to weigh the recognition he’s earned as a solo artist and songwriter-producer against signing his life away again and doing a number on his physicla and mental health. most of his health issues and his hiatuses have happened during his second contract, as well as several behind-the-scenes situations that could have become scandals if they’d had any less luck, mostly stemming from ash drinking too much and his occasional recreational drug use, so he’s not sure bc even really feels the contract renewal was entirely worth it.

what are your muse’s goals and motivations?

if you asked ash this, he wouldn’t know what to answer. he doesn’t feel very motivated these days and pretty much feels like he only does anything because he’s contractually obligated to. making music as a form of expression has long been his main drive, and beyond that, the desire to make a mark on the world he can be remembered by through his music, but he often oscillates now between feeling like there’s not much more he can realistically achieve and the sense of hopelessness that he can try as hard as he wants, but his music’s never going to be what he’s defined by when he’s a public figure with an image.

he also feels a duty to make his parents proud. though i could argue that might be less now than it was in the previous iteration of ash, it’s still very much there. they let him come to seoul when he’d just turned thirteen to follow a dream that many never get to follow all the way through to the end and they believed in him fully. they express how proud they are of him when they do talk, but he doesn’t know that he believes them. he doesn’t feel that anything he’s done has been deserving of paying them back for everything they’ve given to him.

right now, he wants to be able to feel excited about his life and what he’s making again. he’s trying to better himself internally in regards to the way he views himself and his mental health, although he’s more prone to still taking steps backwards there than he was at this point previously. a lot of the ways ash has found to feel that excitement and creativity he wants (such as recreational drugs and excessive alcohol consumption and fleeting, sometimes toxic, relationships) do damage to his mental wellbeing, so it’s a balancing act at the moment.

what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future?

i covered this partially with the last one, but one major conflict remains his internal conflict about his passion for music. this was very much where ash was before as well, but now that i’m really pushing songwriting and producing as his main career path, it presents a more equal professional and personal challenge for him.

more than having truly lost joy in making music, he’s burnt out. his latest album lovesick was emotionally exhausting because it was a partially rushed, deeply personal and vulnerable album exclusively based on an unhealthy relationship that had stretched its hold on him out over for almost six years, and then he went into making music that he couldn’t relate to at all and didn’t really fit his image all because bc thought it would sell well.

the burn out in his personal life has affected the burn out in his professional life he would be feeling anyway and made it ten times worse. it feels more hopeless because he doesn’t have much else going for him. in the past few months, his relationship with alcohol and drugs also reverted back to unhealthy after he was doing better with it for a while, not helped by a really bad stint with his mental health. all of this was at its worse in june before he went on hiatus, and in this universe, his behavior was more of a factor in his hiatus than him practically begging to leave the group because ash is more resigned to the fact that he chose to sign back on with bc and that that’s on him. instead, there was more of a push by his manager, who knew that ash was on the road to a major scandal if action wasn’t taken.

almost all of his conflicts are internal right now. he’s become successful enough that external factors other than the large umbrella of having to remain in titan can be negotiated, but he’s too tired to do so because of everything going on inside of him. there’s a lot of negative feelings going on inside of him, and he’s trying to deal with them one by one, but it’s hard to see the weight of them easing that way.

if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why.

ash has been able to establish himself a little more as a songwriter and producer outside of his solo music. he wrote “universe” for titan in 2017, and after that, as promised, bc hooking him up with the right opportunities and connections to establish himself more. since then, in addition to his heavy involvement in his solo music (his 2020 album lovesick was entirely written/composed/produced by him alone), he’s worked on calypso’s “rollin’” in 2018, polaris’s “fake love” (a korean music awards song of the year!) and “the truth untold” in 2019, and lily’s “i’m so sick” this year. i’m planning on more being added there with these extra ecp and maybe some refunded since i think i’m going to drop some of his points claims to streamline his career better.

his canon discography creative claims reflect his progression as a songwriter, from very earnest and romantic to more sensual to very uhhh angsty and personal to developing a more polished and professional sound as he grew in experience as a songwriter and producer.

ash is praised for having several representative works as a songwriter that all speak to his individual style, and ash is happy with what he’s gotten to do since he does genuinely enjoy working as a songwriter and producer.

he’s planning to continue branching out in this direction, so look for quite a lot of ash dabbling in canon discographies in the future. before, i’d say ash’s primary push was solo music, but my plan for him is for songwriting and producing to be his main career path from now on with solo music as a close secondary.

#famedrstask1 #+10 ecp

[deadratio]

Morning Delights/Stormy Evenings

Pairing: young Noah x Sylvie LaChance (OC)

In which the day begins warm and loving, but ends in a storm of life-changing events. 

TW: death

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: Hey y’all! I just wanted to say thank you in advnace for reading this! I know that OC pairings in the Dark fandom are not all that common, but @nikkzwrites and I have talked extensively about our OC’s in Nikkz’s AU Origin world. I personally do not feel comfortable writing young Noah/Hanno with Elisabeth, so that’s why I do nor write for them. If you would be interested in any of the Dark characters in a reader insert type of fic, then please let me know! I’m open to suggestions as well as constructive criticism! 

Also, to clear some things up: Silja does not exist in this AU. Noah is the son of Martha and Bartosz. Regina and Aleksander no longer live in Winden. 

-Katie

A soft breath fluttered its way through her lips as her eyes opened, finding herself wrapped in sun-kissed warmth. Yellow rays mixed with orange danced on the walls, her hands meeting her tired face, the breathing behind her coming from a soft slumber, which she hoped was filled with the sweetest dreams of all. Tanned arms constricted her waist, preventing her escape to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She turned her body to face the still-bodied boy, his hair falling into his face, and his mouth slightly agape. A giggle filled the air as her fingers gingerly brushed the hair away, pressing her forehead to his. 

Stirring slightly at the touch of the girl next to him, Noah blinked open his eyes, being met with the hazel ones of the girl who he loved most dearly. A smile broke his stoic features, a hand moving to brush against her cheek, his fingers tangling into the edges of her hair. “Good morning, my love.” His voice was slightly hoarse from sleeping, but it’s one of the many things Sylvie loved about him. Instead of a verbal response, Sylvie pressed her lips against his tenderly, quickly pulling away before chuckling at the boy. 

“Bonjour mon amour. Comment vas-tu?” She asked him this every morning. Though he understood very little of the girl's native language, she always greeted him by asking how he was. He found the little things of their morning routine to be some of the most special because Sylvie was usually busy writing her thesis for university. “I’m always my best when I wake up next to you.” He responds, pressing another kiss to her lips. Pulling him to her, Sylvie kissed him back passionately, smiling against his lips before breaking the kiss, running her hand over his face. “I’m glad you’re so well. We should get out of bed, we have to be at your mom’s house by two today.” She stated, a soft glance moving his way. Her smile was still soft, her hands moving to detach his arms from around her. Pouting, Noah leaned back onto the pillows, his arms resting behind his head. Though he loved his family, he did find them to be a bit overbearing when it came to his relationship with Sylvie. That would always ask the most personal questions, when was he going to propose, when were the grandkids going to come, the ones they find the most important. It had been two years since she showed up to his cousin’s birthday party slash aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary party, and had taken his breath away the minute he laid his eyes on her. 

She had already moved from the bed, her shirt riding up as she stood, arms stretched high into the air and towards the ceiling. Turning to face her beloved boyfriend, Sylvie let out a soft laugh, looking down at him. “If you don’t get out of the bed, I’ll only make my coffee and toast.” Teasing, she moved towards the door of the bedroom, only turning to look back at him as she turned the knob. Groaning playfully, Noah rose from the bed, picking up his discarded shirt from the night before, finding that both the covers of the bed and the body heat of his dearest love to be rather overwhelming. Bare feet padding against the wooden floors, he followed the girl down the hallway and descended the staircase, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he went.

Shuffling into the kitchen, Sylvie began to make the coffee, also grabbing the sourdough loaf off of the microwave along her way. A soft sigh could be heard from the taller of the two as he opened the front door to find the newspaper laying on their front step. Though he didn’t read the paper in full, Noah still found it the easiest way to keep track of what was going on in their small town of Winden. The wafting smell of fresh coffee filled his nostrils as he closed the door, stepping slowly towards the kitchen, leaning against the archway. He watched her movements. This has become a daily routine for them; wake up, eat breakfast, get ready, and do what needs to get done. Though they deferred their decisions sometimes, Sylvie enjoyed having a typical set of activities to do before she had to bear her eyes on the computer monitor for the majority of the day. 

Turning to find him looking at her, Sylvie felt a slight heat rush to the cores of her cheeks, turning back to face the slow-burning coffee pot. Soon after, comforting arms wrapped around her waist, rubbing soft circles into her sides. “I love you.” a tender whisper filled her ears, chills running their way down her spine. In all her years of living, he had been the only person able to make her feel so warm and giddy. Anybody she had dated in the past had been cold-blooded and reckless towards her. Spinning around in his embrace, a wide smile graced her features before she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. 

Just as he went to kiss her back, the coffee pot shrieked with its cruel tone, signifying that it had finally finished brewing the steaming black liquid. Though he preferred his without any additions, Sylvie typically added sugar and cream. Noah blames it on how sweet she is, but she brushes it off unless she’s in a particularly playful mood. Pouring two mugs, Sylvie hands one to Noah, careful not to spill any on his bare feet. She’s done it before, and she surely does not want to go to urgent care early in the morning again. Thanking his girlfriend, Noah takes his seat at the kitchen bar, watching the dark-haired girl as she, what he would say “dumped,” sugar and cream into the steaming ceramic cylinder. Facing Noah, Sylvie let out a chuckle, pulling the chair next to him out as so to sit next to him. Moving her free hand to his, she gripped his hand tightly. Though it felt like a normal weekend morning to her, she also had a haunting feeling in the back of her head. She typically ignored this and brushed it off as anxiety for the upcoming day, but this time it felt different, eternal, almost. 

_________

A few hours had passed since the two young adults had finished their coffee and started to unpack the day ahead. Noah’s grandmother and grandfather, Regina and Aleksander, were visiting from America for the next couple of weeks. Sylvie had only been introduced to them over a video call, which was nice, but she was excited to meet them in person. Regina and Aleksander adored Noah and therefore were very adoring of Sylvie, who had brought light into his life. Black strands of hair flew amongst her face as she brushed her hair, attempting to style it more neatly than she normally would. Through her excitement, Sylvie was rather nervous to meet the two elders. Though she had already met the rest of the Tiedemann’s long ago, she still valued Noah’s love for his grandparents and did not want to disappoint the two on their return to their hometown. 

Spending another fifteen minutes on her hair, Sylvie was finally satisfied with the simple braid she had put it in. Noah moved in the doorway, pressing a kiss to her temple while preparing to take a shower himself. A gentle smile sat upon the girl's features as she closed the bathroom door, stepping into the closet to decide on an outfit for the occasion. Though she wouldn’t consider her wardrobe to be all that special, she still valued her appearance and kept certain items for times such as these. Sticking out to her particularly was a deep forest green top, tiny polka dots freckled throughout the pattern. The sleeves were wide and almost whimsical, the bottom cinched at the waist and flaring out again. Setting the blouse on the tousled blankets of the bed, she moved to the dresser to select a pair of pants. She knew jeans would likely be okay with the Tiedemann’s, but her desire to please the two in-person won her over as she selected a pair of cropped black trousers. She knew she had a pair of flat, suede sandals that would go perfectly with the two items. 

In the process of changing clothes, Noah stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrangling with his sopping wet hair. Having changed into clean clothes right out of the shower, he was more ready than Sylvie was. He hadn’t hugged his grandmother in years and missed the long, thoughtful conversations he shared with his grandfather. Sylvie looked up at him from her position on the corner of the bed, one shoe strapped, the other sitting next to her feet. A wide grin exposed itself to the boy, who returned his own. Slipping on the other shoe, Sylvie stood from the bed, straightening out her shirt. “Are you ready?” The question was filled with both concern and excitement. Walking over to stand next to her, he grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together. “I’m always ready with you by my side, my love,” A playful laugh ended the sentence as he leaned to place a kiss upon her lips once more. “I must fix my hair though, my grandmother would have a fit if I showed up to the house without at least combing my hair.” He chuckled, moving towards the dresser. He thought back to when he was just a young boy and his grandmother would come over to fix lunch occasionally, her fingers parting through his hair just as the heat of the day reached its peak. He missed her tender touch and her gentle words of reassurance. 

_______________________

Standing at the kitchen sink, Bartosz peered through the window. The sun bore down on the trees surrounding the Tiedemann household, the leaves dancing in the light breeze. Today his mother and father would return from America to visit the family for two weeks, the first time in nearly five years. With both of the kids out of the house, it had become alarmingly quiet as Martha had been busy with the school and preparing for the coming months. The scruff along his chin had not bothered him for what seemed like decades at this point, but he knew his mother and decidedly made his way towards his and Martha’s shared bedroom to make himself more presentable. He feared the tension between his mother and his wife. Ever since Agnes had been born, admittedly out of wedlock, Regina had been rather brash towards the former Nielsen girl. He hoped that the day would go on without issue, though lingering in the back of his consciousness was a deep dark shadow. It was eerily detached from him, leaving a lingering trail in the distance. He shrugged it off as his nerves had got to him as he prepared himself for the day.

______________________

  The time had finally come for the two young adults to make their way to the Tiedemann home. Sylvie pressed a kiss to Noah’s cheek before running to the front door of the house, a playful smile breaking through her lips as she looked back at him. Their shared coupe sat in the yard, sleek and toned. Noah, amused by his girlfriend’s antics, closed the locked door behind him, running just past her to open the car door for her, laughing. Closing the door behind her, he headed to the driver’s side, sliding in next to Sylvie. Her green-toned eyes were lit with excitement, but he knew that behind them, the feeling of butterflies and anxiety were mixing into it. The engine revved up as he started the car, a soft musical tone filling the cabin from the previous drive. Putting the car into drive, Noah and Sylvie made their way to the other side of Winden. _______________________

Pulling up to the curb, Sylvie could see multiple cars in the Tiedemann’s driveway. She knew that Annalise and Jonas would also be there, maybe even Jonah and Michelle. Taking a deep breath, she watched as Noah walked around the front of the car to open her door, his veined hand gently encompassing her own. Twisting her legs, she stepped out of the car, smiling at Noah. His fingers tangled themselves with her own as they made their way to the front door together. His lips pressed against her hair before he knocked on the door. Appearing almost immediately in the doorway was Martha, a pleasant smile adorning her features. She first moved to hug her son, a kiss landing upon his cheek before she turned to Sylvie. Sylvie returned an eager smile to the woman she had come to admire dearly, her arms wrapping around her shoulders tightly. “Come in! Annalise brought us some hors d'oeuvres to enjoy while we all visit!” She exclaimed, moving back into the house. Noah let Sylvie step in first, following closely behind her. Martha, looking back at her son, smirked while following the couple, soon taking her place next to Bartosz. 

 The first person Sylvie saw in the large gathering space was Annalise, who joyfully waved at the two. Jonas acknowledged them with a smile and a nod. Standing next to Bartosz, Sylvie was able to recognize the red-haired woman as Regina. Attached to her shoulder was a man who she immediately assumed was Aleksander. His grey hair and slight scruff was a signature Tiedemann look amongst the older men. Bartosz was not quite there, with strands of grey peeking through the brown locks atop his head. A wide smile was set on Sylvie’s face as Martha announced their presence, both of the oldest Tiedemann’s turning to greet their grandson and his girlfriend. Regina, overwhelmed with excitement, rushed over to the two, embracing her youngest grandchild into a near bone-crushing hug. A giggle was heard from Sylvie, Aleksander approaching her in greeting, his hand jutting out to shake hers. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, Miss. Sylvie.” He said, his mellow voice welcoming to the girl. Her hand molded with his, a firm shake swinging their arms in sync. “It’s such a pleasure, Aleksander. I have been looking forward to this for so long!” The excitement was evident, in her voice. Before Aleksander could reply, Regina had already made her way to Sylvie. One would think that the woman’s cheek would break from the big smile on her face. 

“Sylvie! My darling! I am overjoyed to finally meet you in person!” A laugh erupted from Sylvie’s throat, Noah leaning slightly closer to her. Regina squeezed her shoulders, Sylvie’s arms gently grasping her back. Pulling away, the two moved back towards their respective partners. Noah and Sylvie joined the others in the lounge, sitting directly next to Annalise and Jonas. Annalise, eager to see the two again even though she had seen them mere days prior, hugged Sylvie from the side. Sylvie leaned into her, watching Bartosz set the hors d'oeuvres onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. Thus began the afternoon and evening of many laughs, stories, and embarrassing moments between the eight of them. 

The day turned into evening seemingly quickly, the whole family chattering away. Sylvie, having enjoyed herself so far, excused herself to the bathroom. Noah squeezed her hand lightly as she stood, her gaze meeting his, a gentle smile etching its way into her face. Moving through the legs of the others, she made her way down the hall, pulling her phone from her back pocket. She had put it on “Do Not Disturb,’ having found it disrespectful to not only Noah’s parents but also his grandparents had she pulled it out in front of them. Clicking on the screen, she found multiple missed calls from her family, as well as nearly thirty text messages mostly from her aunt. This was immediately a red flag for Sylvie. The darkness that had encompassed her being early this morning returned to claim it’s stake. Moving further towards the back of the house, Sylvie changed her settings and found her mother’s contact, pressing the call button. Anxiety gnawed at her stomach and chest. Her aunt never called or texted her. Her mother had cut her off a few years ago due to a disagreement regarding a family matter. 

The phone was pressed to her ear now, her fingers on her free hand clenching and unclenching. The phone went to voicemail, which she found more outrageously weird than her aunt texting her. Her mother always picked up the phone. Hands shaking now, Sylvie leaned her head back, taking a few deep breaths before calling her mother again. Waiting, it rang three times before being picked up, the voice on the end was not the one that belonged to her mother. “Sylvie! Oh, thank god! Why haven’t you been picking up your phone?” The question was full of concern, anger, and subsequently, unrecognizable sorrow. Swallowing her fear, Sylvie pressed, “Who is this? Why are you answering my mother’s phone?” 

“Sylvie, it’s your aunt Odette…” There was a silence on her end, Sylvie was gritting her teeth now. “Odette, why do you have my mother's phone? She hasn’t spoken to you since Papa passed away.” Sylvie wanted to interrogate the woman, but she was more concerned with the extremely odd situation at hand. 

“Dear, I do hate to be the one to inform you, but your mother was in an accident this afternoon.” Sylvie’s stomach dropped to her feet hearing these words, her heart beginning to race. She didn’t know what to say. How to ask “Is my mom okay?” Or worse. “Sylvie?” Odette’s voice shook the girl from her numb state of mind. “Odette. Tell me everything you know. I need to know immediately.” She ordered the woman on the other end of the phone. Her body was becoming hotter with each passing second, a rush of emotions overwhelmed the girl. 

“Sylvie...she didn’t make it…” Sylvie’s jaw was agape, pure terror filling the veins in her body with a stiff coldness like no other. She could not fathom the thought, or even the existence, that her mother was dead. A muttered “I will be there soon” was all she could muster before hanging up the phone. Heavy tears began their journey through her tear ducts, spilling over onto her pale cheeks. She didn’t want to go back out to Noah and his family this way, but she had no choice but to do so. She had to get to France as soon as she could. A sob wracked its way through her body, her throat caught in the pain of the loss. Her hand cupped her face, her eyes twisted shut. Her jaw shuddered with another sob, her breathing ragged. Before she could fully reason with herself to take herself back to Noah, her anchor, she heard footsteps down the hallway. Her face had become blush-toned, her hands still shaking. Looking up through the flood of tears, she saw Noah. 

Noah, concerned that Sylvie hasn't returned from the bathroom, made his way towards the back of the house. Martha also asked him to bring fresh water to the table on his way back. He had placed the pitcher on the kitchen counter, making Sylvie a priority since she had been gone for longer than ten minutes. Turning the corner towards the dining room, Noah was shocked to find the love of his life sobbing, tears dripping from her chin onto the wooden floors. Panicked, he rushed over to her, his arms embracing her immediately. He could feel her body shake with each sob, his shoulder becoming wet with her tears. Tangling his fingers in her dark locks, he whispered to her, “What’s happened, my love? Why are you so upset?” His voice was soft in her ear, only a slight comfort. 

Shaking her head almost violently, Sylvie stuttered her words, barely willing, or able, to say the words out loud. Her fingers grasped the chambray fabric of his shirt as if her life depended on it, her forehead buried deep into his shoulder. Noah hadn’t met her mother, but he knew how close her and Sylvie’s bond was. She had grown up with her alone for nearly the entirety of her life until she met her father several years ago. Noah, concerned for his love and her wellbeing, proceeded to maneuver her towards the scarred dining chair, much like he expected her heart to be at this moment. Pulling out the chair, he gently placed her upon it, his hand moving to caress her cheek. He brought another chair in front of her, taking a seat in front of her. Knee to knee, he pulled her closer to him, his hands rubbing soft circles into her shoulders. Her sobs were quieter now, the tears continuing to streak their way onto her skin.  Her breathing was more rhythmic now than when he had first found her, though he knew on the inside she was torn into pieces. Though she saw Martha as a mother figure, you cannot replace the love a biological mother and daughter have. 

Martha had also excused herself from the gathering, stepping into the kitchen to find the water pitcher on the counter, unfilled. Finding this rather odd, she filled it herself and took it back to the others. Annalise, looking up from her spot, asked the woman, “Where are those two? Surely they cannot be canoodling at a family gathering? The only people I’ve known to do that are you and Bartosz!” Martha, taken slightly aback by this, stifled a laugh and shook her head. “Annalise, they are more respectable than that. I’ll go to find them. Also, it was only once!” She stated, turning back to walk towards the other end of the house. She shook her head at her dearest friend, a wide smile pinching the corners of her lips.

Noah whispered soft affirmations into Sylvie’s ear, promising that they would immediately pack and leave for France the moment they arrived home. The girl had moved to be sitting in his lap now, her legs scrunched up atop his thighs. He had begun to rub circles on her hips as he held her close to him, becoming silent. The only sound was their breath leaving their bodies until scuffled footsteps could be heard. Opening his eyes to find his mother standing in the entryway, a sad look glazed itself throughout his features. Martha, confused and concerned, approached the two slowly. Noah, whispering to Sylvie, set her feet back onto the ground, moving her to sit in the chair he had previously occupied. “I’ll be just a moment, love.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Nodding, Sylvie looked up at him before glancing over to Martha. Seeing her made her chest tighten, threatening to spill more tears. 

Grasping his mother’s hand tenderly, Noah guided her to the pantry next to the dining room, closing the door behind them. Turning the light on, Noah faced his mother. “Noah, what’s happened? Why is Sylvie crying so?” She questioned, a frown replacing the smile she had worn on her way to find the two. Noah, sighing deeply ran his hand down his jaw, biting his bottom lip.

“I believe that her aunt has just called her,” He started, the tears beginning to well in his eyes as well. “Her mother was in an accident back in France. She didn’t make it,” He looked at his mother, his chin trembling. Martha gasped, her hand reaching for her son’s shoulder. He leaned into her touch, the tears making their trek down his face. “We must leave at once for France. I hate to cut our visit with grandma and grandpa short, but Sylvie means the world to me. Not being there with her in her time of need would be negligent of me.” Nodding, Martha understood his reasons for needing to leave. Pulling him into a tight hug, she kissed his cheek. 

“Well, don’t keep her waiting. We will be here for you both when you get back, Please send our condolences to her and her family. She’s like a daughter to me, you know that. I love you both dearly.” Noah cracked a small smile at his mother’s words, squeezing her shoulders before turning to open the pantry door. Walking back to Sylvie, he crouched down, his hand gently taking hers in his. 

“Mama said we could go. I’ll carry you to the car.” Sylvie nodded, her arms already moving to secure her reach around his neck. Slipping his arms under her knees, Noah lifted the girl from the chair, his mother watching them from the doorway of the pantry. A sad smile made its way through her features, following close behind them. Slowly stepping into the living area of the house, Noah glanced over at his family, the same sad smile of Martha’s etched over his face. Annalise, shocked at the situation, stood almost immediately. The rest of the family followed suit, Martha walking towards them. Before Annalise could move to ask the young couple what the matter was, Martha gently grasped her wrist, shaking her head. Together, the six of them watched the two exit the house and make their way towards their car.

Looking at Martha, Annalise began, “Martha! What happened to the poor girl?!” Martha’s eyes could have told the whole story, but she obliged the woman, as well as the others in the room. “Her mother passed away. They are going to France immediately.” Martha’s lip began to tremble as Bartosz gripped his wife’s shoulder. Annalise, shocked, grabbed onto Jonas’ shirt, looking up at him. The three couples moved to the window to watch the two slip away into the car, pulling from the curb. She leaned into Bartosz, fear for her son’s love digging its way through her chest and stomach. She couldn’t imagine or even fathom the pain Sylvie was going through. Though things were changing for her son, and undoubtedly Sylvie, Martha could only hope that the two of them would make it through this, and come back with a new lease on life. 

#hanno tauber #hanno x oc #hanno tauber x oc #hanno tauber imagine #hanno tauber fanfic #young noah #young noah x oc #young noah imagine #young noah fic #young noah fanfiction #young noah dark #Dark Netflix #Dark (Netflix) #Noah Dark #Noah Dark au #AU #dark netflix au #dark netflix fanfic #jonas kahnwald #martha nielsen #Bartosz Tiedemann #regina tiedemann #aleksander tiedemann #annalise dahlheim #nikkzwrites #katiewrites

[dahmerthepeoplenomer]

Hey how goes it! This is a ‘Death Becomes Her’ oneshot for Ernest Menville. I was happy to get this character suggestion because I love this movie. Bruce Willis😍👌🏼! So this takes place after he tries to regain his sanity and leaves Helen and Madeline behind. Hope you like it. Enjoy! NSFW!

Forget and Remember

“Ern.” I say softly and rub the man’s arm.

“Ernest.”

Nothing.

“Ernest!” His eyebrows start to furrow in...distress?

“ERNEST!” I shout just loud enough to get through to his sleeping state. He instantly springs up, glasses crooked and hair a mess.

“Huh?” He looks at me with wide yet tired eyes before adjusting his glasses.

“Everything okay?��� He doesn’t usually fall asleep in his office unless he’s highly stressed about something or is in a restless mindset. He looks around before stretching his arms above his head. He cocks his head to the side and instantly grabs his neck. A low groan of pain escapes his lips.

“Mm, what time is it?” He adjusts his cardigan before standing up.

“Quarter past 10. I was gonna let you sleep for a bit longer but I figured I’d come check on you. You don’t normally sleep this late. Are you feeling alright?” I move my hands up to feel his face. His arms encircle my waist.

“Yeah I’m okay. I’m glad you woke me up when you did. I was having a ridiculous dream about them again. They were chasing me and threatening to hurt me if I didn’t stay and take care of them. Good God, can the memories of those two just go away? It’s farcical at this point!” He rests he chin on top of my head in defeat.

I wrap my arms around him and gently stroke his back. If there was a way to wipe his brain clean of the names Helen Sharp and Madeline Ashton then I would. Post traumatic stress comes in all different shapes and forms I’ve come to find.

“I know it’s hard to deal with the past stress they’ve caused. If I could fix it or take it away then I would.” I say in an attempt to ease his tension.

He just continues to rest against me - his thumbs making little circles against hips. After a moment of silence, he breaths in deep and releases a relaxed sigh.

“Doesn’t help to dwell on the matter when I have you to focus my attention on now.” He mutters above my head.

I pull back to smile at him before saying, “Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.” I lean up to peck his cheek and he follows me out to the kitchen.

~~~~

Ernest was broken in every sense of the word. He was only a shell of man when I first met him. I remember the day we met very clearly. I was on kind of a soul-searching trip of my own when I noticed him. Ern was seated by the elegant fireplace in the winter lodge we were both staying in. He wore a casual dress coat with slacks and a trapper hat - the flaps were pinned up exposing his ears. The chair he sat in was partially turned toward the window. He wasn’t focused on anything in particular as he stared out at the falling snow. I do, however, recall the forlorn expression in his eyes. That’s what drew me to him.

I had just finished unpacking my duffel bag in my room before coming to relax in the the upper lobby with my book. The whole resort was beautiful - tall cathedral ceilings with skylight windows. There were mahogany wood pillars with stone wall detailing, giving it that true rustic cabin feel.

I made my way over toward the rocking chairs by one of the fireplaces and took a seat. Pulling my knees to my chest, I gazed around the large room. There weren’t many people. Just the lady at the front desk speaking with a young couple, an older gentleman with his dog, and...him. When my eyes spotted him, like I said, I was instantly drawn in. He looked a little lost inside himself. I turned my head in an attempt to refocus but found myself looking back to him. It was like a gravitational pull. I started to wonder if everything was okay.

After a sigh and shake of my head, I began on the first page of my book. Anyone who knows me can tell you that whenever I start a book, I get lost. Try to ask me a question and you’ll most likely receive a low ‘mm’ or small noise of acknowledgement even though I have no idea what was said.

I continue reading, occasionally glancing at the man no more than fifty feet from me. Time starts to pass - hours possibly. The suns sinks lower. People are coming and going. But he’s still there - unmoved and unfazed by his surroundings. I peek over my book to steal a look only to notice his eyes are already on me. They quickly flick back towards the window. After a moment, he looks back to me, making eye contact. I lower the pages in my hand to deliver a small smile. Unexpectedly, he matches my expression only to look back outside. I pull my lips in and continue my story.

The sun is now completely set. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with daylight savings time. I like that it gets dark because it gives me an excuse to wear pajamas and cuddle up in bed early but sometimes I like to have just a little more daylight to go out and do things.

About halfway into the novel, I decide to mark my place and close it up. I stretch my arms up and yawn. He’s looking again. I raise my eyebrows and make a face that says ‘hiii what do you want’ but in a playful manner. He smirks and again returns his gaze towards that damn window. I smile at him and wait to see what he’ll do next. ‘What an intriguing person,’ I think to myself. In an instant he whips his head my way, squinting his eyes to feign suspicion before slowly turning away. I then let out a giggle. ‘Looks like im going over there.’

I start over towards him. He starts to look a little nervous as he adjusts himself in his seat. “Well, if you’re gonna flirt with me then you might as well introduce yourself.” I joke, earning a slightly timid smile from him.

He clears his throat and says, “E-Ernest. My name’s Ernest.”

“Nice to meet you, Ernest. I’m (y/n).”

A moment of silence goes by before he stutters out, “Oh, uhm, why don’t sit down?” His hand gestures to the chair in front of him.

I sit down cross-legged and look to him. “What brings you here, Ernest? Hidden snowboarding talent?”

“Yeah sure, me?” He laughs. “No, It’s the serenity and scenery for me. What about you? Extreme skier?”

“Absolutely not. Same reasons as you actually.” I smile at him.

“Absolutely not? What about ice skating? That’s not too terribly hard.”

“I’d fall on my face or crack my head on the ice,” I purse my lips and add, “but i don’t fail at anything so I’d fall in style.”

He chuckles saying, “It’s not that difficult, but I don’t doubt that. You appear to be a very smooth person.”

“Smooth? This dork? Nu-uh, nope!”

“Ah come on, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“You’ll believe it when you see it.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Well you’ll just have to prove it to me sometime.” He laughs gently.

“Ernest! Are you asking me on a date? Calm down we only just started talking and now you’re making plans!” I fake a look of disgust before smiling.

“I..hah..uhm - well I..you are very beautiful.” He stumbles over his words and quickly looks away, taking off his hat. His fingers fiddle with fur on the inside.

I smile at him and give him a thank you.

“You’re welcome.” He’s looks down bashfully.

What a sweet, kind soul. He’s been hurt in the past, that much is evident. I watch the way his hand reaches up to stroke his face. His green eyes flicker around the room and land on me a couple times. With pursed lips, he lets out a soft sigh. “Sorry, I-I’m not really that exciting. I understand if you want to go back to your room or if you’d rather ME leave then I..”

“What? No! I want you stay. Of course I can’t stop you if you want to leave but I’d rather you stay.” I give him a reassuring smile. He doesn’t say anything but stares at me as if searching for any indication of dishonesty.

“Alright?”

“Okay.” I finally get a smile back.

We continue our small talk for a little while longer before I suggest getting a drink. He agrees and we head down to the bar room. This room is just as beautiful as the rest. We sit the farthest away from the other people in here. The live piano player strings out a beautiful melody.

A few beers and a couple of old-fashioneds later, he’s telling me stories of his life - his body becoming more animated as the alcohol sets in. I find myself thoroughly enjoying his company. We discuss topics ranging from music tastes to embarrassing childhood memories. I wasn’t expecting him to say that he’s a doctor.

“No way, a doctor in what?” I ask curiously.

“Well I was a surgeon early on. I then ‘downgraded’ by transferring over to mortuary practices. Not exactly the best conversation piece.” He laughs through his nose.

“No that’s really fascinating! Better than anything I’ve ever done. I never really had a ‘calling’ as one would say.”

“Yeah well I wouldn’t say doing these jobs were my calling per se but they pay the bills. Hence me being here, trying to find some sort of inner peace.” He says.

“I understand that completely. Same goes with me. So should I now refer to you as Dr. Ernest?”

He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head trying to look as pretentious as possible. “That’s Dr. MENVILLE, Ms. (y/n).” I snort a laugh at him.

“Well excuse me. That’s Ms. (Y/L/N) to you, Dr. Menville.” He laughs as well.

As another drink gets placed in front of me, Ernest walks his fingers towards the glass. He lightly pulls it his way. I flick his hand, shooing him away. That doesn’t stop him. Continuing his ministrations, I grab his hand and hold it down onto the bar as I down my drink. After I place my glass down, I realize my hand is still over his. He looks at them and flips them over, running the tips of his fingers along my palm. I eye his hand and then start a trail to his face. He’s already looking at me. My gaze floats up and down from his green orbs to his lips.

Not sure how or when, but we found ourselves crashing into one another in an attempt to walk down the hallway to his room. His fingers fumbled with the key to open the door. Once inside, I wasn’t expecting what he did, or rather said, next.

“(Y/n), may I kiss you?”

I wanted nothing more than to say ‘aww’ and hug him but desire was too heavy to ignore. I grinned instead and pulled him down to me, lips crashing together. This seemed to be enough encouragement for him seeing that I was pinned to the wall - hands running up and down my body. His mouth exploring quickly from my lips to my jaw and neck. I moan out, fingers delving into his hair.

Ernest picks me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. He places me down onto the bed and I can feel how aroused he is through the fabric of his pants. Our mouths connect once again as our tongues begin an endless dance.

“Are you sure about this? Absolutely certain?” He mumbles against my mouth. “I mean, if you’re not comfortable then I understand.”

“Yes, I’m positive. I trust you.”

He nods in return.

We shed our tops and as he starts to unbutton his pants, he stops dead in his tracks. “Shit.” He mutters. “I..uhm, don’t have any..uh..”

“It’s okay, I’m covered.” I groan out.

With that Ernest discards the rest of his clothes allowing me to see him fully. He’s not the biggest but he’s perfect for me and utterly handsome. He then pulls my jeans all the way off. I’m already wet and ready for him. His gaze doesn’t linger on me too long but the look of hunger and lust on his face doesn’t go unnoticed. His double take almost made me giggle. He pushes me up towards the top of the bed and climbs onto me. His hand guides his member into me softly and we moan out in unison. I yank his head down, our mouths connecting. God, does he feel good. It’s like his body was made for mine. We just fit together.

As his pace becomes sloppy I know that he’s close, as am I. My climax comes first as I yell his name and cling to him. He’s not far behind, following me into waves of pleasure.

After collapsing beside me, I cuddle up next to him. His arms hold me as if i might disappear. After a minute or two my breathing returns to normal.

“Ernest?” I question.

“Yes?”

“What just happened?”

“Well I just had sex with a beautiful lady who I already enjoy having in my arms. I can’t say the same for you, but I hope it was at least half decent.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Oh it was a little more than half decent, Dr. Menville. You know you’re stuck with me now, right?”

He wholeheartedly chuckles before saying, “I wouldn’t mind that, not one bit. But, of course, that means you’d be stuck with me.”

I push myself up to look at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I state. He shrugs, giving me that same self-deprecating look from earlier. I kiss the look away and pull back to see a genuine smile plastered on his face.

I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol or if I’m already intoxicated by this man but I feel so content laying here with him...on him. I listen to the steady rhythm of his heart beat as it lulls me to a deep, tranquilizing sleep.

~~~~

I watch Ernest spread some grape jelly on his bagel and take a bite. His eyes scan over the Sunday paper as he enjoys his meal. I sit down across from him and lean onto one of my arms.

“Ern, do you remember the day we met?” I ask.

“How could I forget? I remember how much I drank to calm my nerves after we went to the bar.” His chest rumbles with a chuckle as he folds the paper in his hand in half. I smile sweetly at him.

“I remember everything about that day. That was probably the lowest point in my life. But when you sat down across from me, I could only stare at you in awe. I didn’t want to seem like a creep so every time you looked up, I would look away. You looked so beautiful....then of course you caught me gawking at you like a moron so I had to make a joke of the situation.”

“You had to throw in your Ernest charm.” I wink and smirk.

“Yeah well I’m glad I did now but in the moment all I could think was ‘shit shit shit shit she’s coming over here’. I could’ve been sick, that’s how nervous I was.” He laughs.

“I know, I could tell.” I giggle. “It was adorable though. I quite literally almost said ‘awe’ when you asked to kiss me in your room.”

“Well, I didn’t want you to change your mind once you realized it was possibly just the alcohol making you feel the way you did so I was cautious.” He shrugs. “That was a beautiful night nonetheless.”

“It very much was. I was thinking we should plan a trip up there again. Weekend getaway or something, it’d be nice.”

“Yeah, let’s go. We never did get to go ice skating - too busy with more...important matters.” He smirks and turns back to his paper.

#dr. menville #Ernest menville #death becomes her #madeline ashton #bruce willis #meryl streep #Goldie hawn #dr. menville x reader #Ernest menville x reader