#I love to sprinkle it in to the social media bits and chapters

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

hello I love love love pez dispenser debris with my whole chest. its my roman empire I treat it like its canon.

Its so fun going back and re-reading everything (but especially the social media parts) after seeing your Battle of Yokohama posts. Its not even a fic?? but still managed to make me emotional??

I also notice and appreciate how you're setting up the stage for the whole thing (?) with bakugou. Like. There's Izuku's subtle resentment that's barely noticeable to the naked eye. There's that starburst scar. There's the tremble in Little Izuku's hands.

But then the first time he's really introduced it's through KIRISHIMA's pov!!! Kirishima who only has a boundless supply of love and affection for him. Kirishima who says THIS line: "He’s fucking good, and he’s always known it, and there’s not a single person out there that could ever change his mind about that. "

And the Audience shifts uncomfortably in their seats. They exchange nervous looks. They can hear the Greek chorus in the background. But they don't get the chance to make excuses or hide from reality because immediately after? We find out the awful, heart wrenching detail of that injury....you know, the on that left that starburst scar?

THE DREAD THE DICHOTOMY THE DISSONANCE

its gonna be a shitshow and i am HERE FOR IT

I’m so so glad you like it!

I won’t confirm or deny anything with Bakugou but I am very excited for my plans for him in pez. I hope y’all like it as much as I do.

Bakugou’s one of those characters that I had to shelve for the sake of pacing. The inclusion of some characters precludes certain plots or storylines or arcs for the other characters. So I sort of push them back to give the other characters a chance to breathe.

Yagi had the same issue. None of the very early events in pez would have worked out right if Yagi had been there, because he would have showed up to the hospital room, and putting All Might himself in the room is just a fucking grenade toss into the life of any version of Midoriya Izuku.

It’d fuck up the pacing. “All Might” affirming Izuku’s story kicked off Theory Four for Tiny Izuku. Having All Might in the room from the start would have fucked with Izuku’s initial reliance on theories 1-3, the start of his relationship with Hitoshi, his first meeting with the class, all of it.

So Yagi ended up shelved for the open of action so Tiny Izuku and Hitoshi and Aizawa could have their time developing before his presence pulled the pin on the grenade, so to speak. Which culminated in making up a nebulous fake gala in America for him to be attending and tossing in some jokes about how his agency fucking hated his guts.

It helps with the pacing. Aizawa can’t properly build tension if Yagi’s there to help smooth things over or sort of take the lead on this from the start. There’s a chance (not a good one, but a chance) that Yagi could have swooped in and convinced Aizawa to let him handle this had he been the one to arrive at the hospital wing first. If he had been an option, Izuku probably would have called him first and tried avoiding looping in Aizawa at all.

Aizawa’s had time to start understanding just how fucked this entire thing is. Every single point of his investigation uncovers new abuses with terrifying implications, and the fact that Yagi knew something from the beginning hangs over him throughout like a specter. And by the time Yagi finally comes off the shelf, Aizawa’s at the point of boiling over. It culminated in that contentious, infuriated discussion in the halls that wouldn’t have felt realistic for me if Yagi had been there from the beginning. Aizawa needed to hold his student’s burnt and bloody shirt in his hands and have to wonder if Yagi knew about this to get to the point where he’s punching lockers.

Bakugou’s got the same issues as Yagi. He’s the pin on a grenade that gets pulled as soon as he gets involved. Without even touching on how Izuku got injured, he’s just too tangled in Izuku’s canonical past to properly build up narrative tension and let the other characters slowly figure out how they occupy this story.

Like, obviously I won’t say what I’ll do with him in pez, but it’s one of those things where it’d utterly fuck the narrative pacing if he was involved from the start. It would feel rushed and off balanced. The overall story needs more time to build tension before really addressing him.

So he ends up on the shelf for the first part, and I have him be in the gym without his phone because he exercises without music like a psychopath. The other characters get to meet Tiny Izuku without him Right There, already knowing him and being able to be questioned about what the fuck happened.

Then, when he finally shows up, he gets a very slow assimilation into the narrative. He’s only there in flashes. He’s not doing much actively because he’s trying to talk to Izuku first. We don’t see his POV.

I personally love sitting on a POV, as like, a writing mechanic until the time is right. It’s just so useful for building conflict and avoiding reveals until the perfect moment.

The entire class has a very different understanding of Izuku and Bakugou’s relationship than what happened in canon. Half of them low key believe Kaminari’s theory that they were each other’s disastrous gay awakening and that’s why they were at each other’s fucking throats when school began.

Both Bakugou and Izuku are in a very interesting position where they’ve had the (questionable) benefit of growing and changing and building major relationships without the people in their lives knowing about their past. Now, they’ve found out about Izuku’s past, and he feels like the foundation of those relationships are getting ripped out. Pez is playing a game of jenga with their interpersonal relationship right now. They haven’t figured out yet if the entire tower comes down.

[internet1girl]

Chapter 5: What Happened Here?

Pairing: Johnny Cage x Fem!Reader

Summary: A whole village, depopulated just like that. Does something still lurk within its vacant buildings? Is whoever, or whatever, did this still out there? Something’s going on…

Word count: 11.9k Warnings/Notices: named!reader, angst, mentions of child abuse, dubious content, descriptions of gore and viscera, gross stuff overall, sexually suggestive, flirty johnny, a few curse words here and there

First Chapter / Previous Part / Next Part

A/N: new chapter yayyy :3

y’all the next chapters will be shorter I PROMISE THIS TIME!!!

Midday shines down onto Outworld. The night has ended, and the darkness has given way to the light of the sun.

The carriage was still on its course for the village, now only minutes away from its destination. The vehicle was gearing along the rolling hills of rural Outworld, surrounded by nothing but greenery. Though, just like the prior night was moonless, this current afternoon was sunless. The sky was completely covered by thick grey clouds, not allowing even a single stream of the sun's rays to peak through.

Inside, the vibe from last night had changed. The pink light of the overhead lanterns was completely drowned out by the light of the day, and the background ambience was sprinkled with animal noises and howling wind.

You and Johnny were both awake and had been for some time, you both were busy with your own respective activities. Silence was thick within the air, the both of you were immersed in whatever had captured your attentions in the moment.

Sometime in the night, you broke out of the hypnotism that was the view of Johnny's sleeping form and finally fell asleep. When you awoke in the morning, you chalked that whole experience up as nothing but a dream. Must’ve been a really weird one, considering how you would never take advantage of the fact that Johnny was sleeping to silently admire his beautiful features. Yes... that was nothing but a vision that your subconscious decided to randomly generate for no reason at all… right?

Right now, you were gazing out of the carriage window, your eyes on the fields of Outworld. Despite it being a cloudy day, it was still so stunning to see. You always had a fondness for greenery, an appreciation for nature was something that you carried ever since you were a girl. When on these missions, you loved to do nothing but gaze out of the window, to stare at whatever landscape currently surrounding you. It was nice, calming, relaxing.

Across from you, Johnny was sat, his eyes glued to the screen in his hand as aimlessly scrolling through social media. His free hand would snake behind him to rub the nape of his neck every now and then. He woke up with a crick in it, for some weird reason.

His attention would soon be diverted when he clicked on the Twitter logo on his home screen. To his egotistical joy, the sight of his name currently trending on the app met him, in all its glory. His fans were raving about an up-and-coming action movie that he was to star in. Scrolling through all the ecstatic tweets earned a smile from him, one that only grew as he read through the latest search results of his own name.

"Guess who's trending on Twitter?" He loudly announced, looking up and flashing you a grin.

His voice suddenly breaking through the silence caught you off guard a tiny bit. You’d temporarily forgotten about his presence, as nice as it sounded. The plains outside had consumed all of your focus, leaving little room for anything else. You turned to face him, a little ticked off that he had interrupted your nature watching.

"...Who?"

"Me, of course!” He shoved his phone in your face, showing you the tweets of people going crazy over him as evidence.

There was something he liked about how he was able to capture all of your attention with just his voice, as silly as it sounded. Your eyes on him made his skin prick in anticipation, though he chose to keep these odd feelings confined to his brain.

"Wow, that's lovely." Your tone was comically flat as you stared at the screen a few inches away from your face. You didn't even bother to pretend like you were happy or excited for him in any way.

Your deadpan response got a scowl out of him, his lips pulling down in dissatisfaction. 

“A bit more enthusiasm would be nice…” He muttered as he took his phone back, his voice taking on a more brooding tone. He's Johnny Cage, everyone should be excited and happy when he has news! Everyone loves him!

You roll your eyes, leaning against the back of your seat as you turn your gaze back to the carriage window. Though, a query sprouting in your mind did tear your attention away from the hills outside and back onto him.

"How do you even have reception? We're in the middle of nowhere." Your eyes narrowed as you looked over at him, the logistics of Johnny and his phone now finally coming into question for you.

“Darlin’, I’m Johnny Cage. Wherever I go, I make sure to have access to reception and Wi-Fi. I need access to these to keep in touch with my fans." He huffed, as if this was the simplest, most obvious thing in the world.

You were about to say something in response, but your lips stilled before your vocal cords could form a noise. Instead, you just looked over at him with a baffled expression, your brows furrowed in confusion. This man was just so…

"Why you looking at me like that? You jealous?" He smirked, finding it so amusing that he was able to draw out such reactions to paint the blank canvas that was your usual emotionless face.

Your fog gave way to your typical ’Johnny Cage just pissed me off’ scowl upon his question. This man was so predictable, yet he still somehow kept managing to catch you off guard.

"Far from it, Cage."

"You sure? That's exactly what someone who’s jealous would say.” He teased, tilting his head to the side, a coy smile tugging at his lips.

In contrast, your scowl deepened. ”I would actually hate to have my whole life on display for millions to see."

His smirk didn't even falter at your dismissal, his glittering ego practically impenetrable. “Ah, don't tell me you don't have a desire to be in my spotlight, Jade."

You once again roll your eyes at his arrogance, a small groan leaving you. "I have no desire to be famous."

This made his eyes narrow. Johnny didn't know why, but he felt like your reaction wasn't genuine. Despite their truth, he didn't believe your words. In his eyes, you were too gorgeous to not possess a secret desire to be adored by the masses, to be well-known and worshipped like him. He didn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to capitalise on your perfect looks, to have millions across the globe venerate you. Why would you put your beauty to waste?

“But, why not? You're pretty enough to be famous. Everyone would love you."

His sweet words got a small laugh out of you. Sure, he’d probably said such a line to a countless amount of women in his lifetime, it would be entirely unsurprising. But still, it was nice to be complemented every once in a while.

"That doesn't matter. I value my privacy."

His eyebrows raised, your sincerity finally starting to sink in.

“You serious?” He started, your humbleness something that his vanity couldn’t grasp. ”You really don't have any desire to have fans? Like, at all?"

"No." You replied bluntly, looking him dead in the eyes as you did so. The idea of having millions of people knowing every single thing about you made your skin crawl. As an assassin, you couldn't think of anything worse for you or your lifestyle.

You’re serious. You’re actually serious.

Johnny wouldn't quite say that he was shocked, but he was kind of surprised. Though, it started to fade when he took note of how you weren’t being as snippy anymore. He actually kind of liked this, to speak with you as an equal.

"But... why? It's great having fans. They're like your own army."

"Army?” You look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I don't need others to fight my battles."

Johnny was trying and failing to convince you to enter the world of Hollywood. This wasn't the first time he's done so, either. Over the months, he's tried a multitude of times to hire other Earthrealmers, and even some Outworlders, to star in some of his upcoming projects. Most declined.

He sighed a little. "Fine. You don't need an army. But... don't you want the adoration and praise that millions of people give to you? It's not bad, or anything."

You took a few seconds to ponder what he had to say. It's not like he was 100% wrong, but it's not like he was right either. You just weren’t a public person, something that your celebrity counterpart struggled to understand.

"I won’t lie and say that I don't see how one wouldn't find that appealing, but it's not for me. I am all that I need."

Ever since you and Hiroshi cut contact, you’ve learnt to rely on yourself. Despite your other friends, you were still a little bit of a lone wolf, in a way. Never really allowing yourself to be dependent on anyone else, lest they leave you again. You couldn't help it, it was a trauma response.

A small pause of silence passed between you both, the only sound from the carriage being the trotting of the horse's hooves on the ground. His mind latched onto the latter part of your statement, your last sentence dominating his thoughts. Something about it struck him deeply, your words repeating in his head without let up. He didn’t know why, but your unabashed self-reliance had him zoning out as he stared down at the floorboards below. You’re all that you need. Just you…

This was one of the times that you found Johnny interesting as a person. You couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He was actually a pretty deep person, he was more than just some narcissistic playboy. You’d figured this out ever since the pyramid mission. A part of you itched to know more about this man, to peel back the layers of intrigue that coated him.

"May I ask you a question?" You broke the quiet, the sound of your voice jolting him out of his thoughts.

A smile bloomed on his jaw in response, his face lighting up. As if he would ever say no.

“Sure. Ask away.”

"What was the driving force in your desire to enter the film industry, to become a part of the Hollywood society?” You were semi-careful with your words. This was a genuine question that you posed, the unwanted possibility of offending him like last night being taken into consideration.

He paused for a few moments as he thought of what to say, looking down to his intertwined hands. To say that he was shocked would be… inaccurate. Surprise would be a better word to sum up his current feelings. Such a question from you was new... and, admittedly, very interesting. He took in another breath before he replied.

"When I was young, I guess I always found myself drawn to the spotlight.” He looked up, meeting your curious gaze. “I love being... noticed. It felt good. It made me happy."

You took some time to dissect Johnny's answer, running over the words in your mind. Deep down, you wondered if that desire for attention was a byproduct of his father's neglect, a result stemming from the lack of a brotherly bond, an outcome of his mother’s tragic absence. You refrained from saying any of this out loud, though.

"...l see." You finally reply. A tiny, satisfied smile graced your features.

“So, what about you? Did you always want to be an... assassin?" It was Johnny's turn to ask an actual, non-antagonistic question. He looked over at you, elbows pressed into his knees as he patiently waited for your response.

His question caught you off guard a little. You weren’t offended, it's just that nobody had ever really asked you something like this. You took some more time to think about your answer, running over the key moments of your occupation in your mind as your thumb stroked your chin.

"My career is something that I fell into. It is what I excel at, and, for a while, it was a valuable source of income. Think of Kenshi and his ties to the Yakuza as a comparable example."

"So, what, you enjoy it?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

This was another one of his questions that had you thinking. Nobody had really questioned you about your profession before, such inquiries were admittedly new to you. New, but not unwelcome.

"Sometimes." You admitted. "There’s a particular thrill to it."

His eyebrows raised. "A thrill? Do you..." He trailed off for a few seconds, as if he was searching for the right way to word the question on the tip of his tongue. “…Is it fun?"

"Fun is not the word for it. I have simply become accustomed to what l do."

Now it was your turn to ask Johnny questions, to find out a little more about him as a person. You had encountered few men like him, the fact that there was so much more to him than meets the eye was a driving force for your curiosity. Slowly, you allowed yourself to give in to your intrigue.

"What about you? Are there ever any moments in your life where you find yourself wishing that you weren't famous, but instead a normal person?"

Johnny was surprised by the question, at first. Despite all the interviews, Q&As and fan questions he’d undergone, nobody had really asked him such a thing. He paused for a few moments, humming as he delved deeper into his mind. His expression grew more and more pensive as he thought of an honest and serious response.

"Yeah. Sometimes I do." He took a breath, slumping back into his seat with a sigh. "Fame does come with its perks... but there are times when I do want a break. It can get tiring.”

You hummed in response, nodding your head as his answer sunk in. It was...surprisingly nice to have a civil conversation with him, without the added snark that usually came from you both. Johnny's whole arrogant playboy persona, a leading factor in your disdain towards him, was a direct result of his shining fame. The fact that there were times when he wished for a different life, it was actually surprising to hear.

You were really starting to view him less as Johnny Cage, the character, but more so as John Carlton, the man.

"You gonna fall for me now that you've seen a little of my softer side?" He asked, jolting you out of your reflection. You met his gaze, a toothy grin meeting you.

Okay. Once again, Johnny just couldn't help making some sort of flirtatious comment. Whether Johnny Cage or John Carlton, he was still a nuisance.

Your small smile quickly morphed into an irritated scowl. The interest surrounding your partner made you forget how annoying he could be.

"No." You responded, crossing your arms to your chest.

"Aww, no? Come on!” He teased further, continuing to grin at you. “Every girl I've ever met eventually falls for me, you're no different."

"Your imbecilic attempts at seducing me are futile; save your breath." You retort, looking at him with a slight scowl as the words left your mouth.

Johnny barked out a laugh, your sass was something that he could never get enough of. “Ah, c'mon, are you sure? I’m more charming than you give me credit for."

He took a moment to look out of the carriage window, turning back to face you with a sly smirk. "It'd be nice to see you melt in my arms."

You shuddered a little at his words, you couldn't help it. Your face contorted with disgust as the mental image of your body wrapped in Johnny's arms, intertwined with his own, flashed through your mind. No fucking way.

"See? You're already imagining yourself falling for me." He teased.

You didn't say anything in response, your scowl at his relentless pursuit of you spoke volumes. Once again, this asshat was getting on your nerves. It's almost like this was your thing, Johnny being annoying and you being annoyed.

"You look cute when you're mad, you know that?" He teased, shooting you a wink.

You just rolled your eyes, turning and looking away from him. You refocused your attention back to the rolling hills outside, a much better view to devote yourself to. You’d had your fill of Johnny and his antics, opting to stare out of the window and hopefully relax for the rest of the ride to the village...

...Which didn't last long because the carriage suddenly stopped.

Heavy footsteps could be heard making their way towards the interior. The collision of boots against the ground increased in volume as the owner came closer with each step. Before you or Johnny could say anything, the door of the carriage swung open.

Thankfully, you weren't under attack, or anything like that. All was fine, it was only Geras that was on the other side. He’d stopped because the journey was complete, that’s all. A little warning would've been nice, he was so abrupt.

Whatever, though. That’s not what his job is. He took a moment to let you both gather your bearings before he spoke up.

"Jade. Johnny. Good afternoon. We have arrived at your destination." His voice was as rough and raspy as always, his face neutral and emotionless as his blue eyes pierced through you both.

He stood to the side to make way for you both to exit the vehicle. Once you both were on your own feet, and after all of your cramped muscles were stretched out, you both began to take in your surroundings.

You were outside the village of Kakariko, or what was the village of Kakariko. The whole settlement, once teeming with life, now lay deserted. The small wooden houses, once inhabited by families, stood void of life. Overgrown vegetation was starting to creep along the cobblestone paths and the exterior of the empty buildings, reclaiming the spaces where the townsfolk once walked on and worked in.

A cold wind whispered through the abandoned streets, rustling the unkempt foliage. The bland, grey sky above cast such a dull light down below, making the town’s remains seem even more forlorn.

The carriage was parked on the peak of a hill, overlooking everything. Your breath steamed in the chilly air, your palms rubbing up and down your bare upper arms in an effort to combat the cold seeping through your skin. 

For a bit, you just… stood there, in awe of the eerie sight before you. To see a place that was once so full of life to be completely abandoned sent a chill down your spine. In a way, this location was far more unsettling than the pyramid. Everything about this just felt... wrong.

"What the hell happened here?" Johnny was in a similar state of disbelief, though he was a bit more vocal with his thoughts. He turned to look at you, a look of confusion blanketed across his face.

"You think we're in the right place?"

"We are." The sound of Geras’ voice cut through the silence of the hills, abruptly answering Johnny’s question.

"This is Kakariko Village. Once a thriving settlement, it now lays devoid of life.”

He walked around the stationed horses, towards you both, taking a place in front of you both. "When the two of you have finished your investigation of this settlement, I shall be here to take you both back to Sun Do. I wish the both of you luck."

Johnny nodded in response, taking a look around the desolate, abandoned village once more before finally turning to face you.

"Well… guess there's no use in just standing here. Might as well get started."

"Agreed." You nodded, trying hard to not let your fear unease show.

With that, the two of you left Geras and walked off, headed for the village a few minutes away. Your mind flickered with a barrage of scenarios as you walked, you weren't quite sure what you would discover when you arrived...

...Or what was potentially waiting for you in the empty town.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Your combined footsteps were slightly muffled against the grass, tiny squelching noises being produced every time your soles came into contact with the ground. The silence was unsettling, creepy. The lack of any sound, other than your steps and the howl of the wind, was really starting to set Johnny on edge. He glanced over at you, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke up.

"You not even the least bit creeped out?"

"I am." You replied, not taking your eyes off of the buildings in front of you. The wind had a chill to it, making you shiver slightly as you wrapped your arms around your sides in an effort to retain body heat.

"This is incredibly unsettling. Whatever has occurred here cannot be good."

He huffed in agreement, his breath forming a small, white cloud as the chill wind swept across his face.

"Hopefully we can find some kind of clue that can give us a lead."

"Yes… hopefully."

Eventually, you both reached the centre of the settlement. Surrounding you two was what used to be a peaceful, bustling village… and now, it was little more than a desolate ghost town.

You were looking around, analysing every building for any signs of life. There were none. The entire village, save for a few crows, was completely empty. Besides maybe Geras, the two of you were the only souls around for miles… that you knew of.

The wind whipping through the empty streets blew some strands of hair in your face, something that framed and complemented your facial features quite beautifully. Johnny, despite being thoroughly creeped out, couldn't help but notice this.

"You know... we are all alone..." His voice was low, flirtatious. He leaned closer, a smirk growing on his face as he not so subtly raked his eyes over your armoured form.

At this, you took your attention off of the devoid buildings and towards Johnny, giving him a look of befuddlement mixed with exasperation. Was he serious?

“No one else around to hear us... or see us..." He took a step closer to you, closing the distance separating, his eyes not daring to leave yours.

In response, you took a step away from him, putting some space between yourself and the horndog by your side. Whilst he was looking at you with the filthiest intentions possible, you were looking at him like he had just said the dumbest thing in the world.

"Have you no shame? We’re on a mission."

Johnny let out an exaggerated sigh, pouting slightly at your words.

"Yeah, I know. All work, no play..."

He leaned against a nearby street light, looking you up and down once again with a cheeky smile.

“…But it would be a shame to let this opportunity go to waste."

“Mm, you’re disgusting.” You took a step closer to him, ignoring his dumb flirtatious smile.

"Now... I think we should split up. That way, we can cover the land more efficiently, and maybe find something valuable in the process."

His smile faltered slightly at your words. Splitting up wasn't his first choice, or his ideal choice, in terms of how to go forward. How would he be able to pester you, if he had to be apart from you? But… he had to admit, it would be the better way to proceed. Damn you and your tactics.

"Yeah, alright. Probably the more logical choice. But..." He leaned in a little, a smirk pulling at his lips. "...don't miss me too much."

"Right..." You were so over this man, it was hilarious. "I will search the eastern half of the village, you can search the western half. How does that sound?"

He pushed himself up off of the pole he was leaning on, standing straight again. "Yeah, sure. I’ll take the west side, you take the east. Just try not to get lost, okay?"

You nodded in confirmation. With that, you both parted ways, heading deeper into the village, commencing your search.

Kakariko Village was actually quite a small settlement, only appearing to house a few hundred inhabitants. Compared to Sun Do, this place was tiny. It only took you both some minutes of walking through its streets to get to the village centre. If you each focused, you both could probably complete a thorough search of the whole place in about an hour or so.

Well, if nothing went wrong, that is.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Johnny was mindlessly walking past empty houses, his hands shoved in his pockets as he looked around for clues or anything out of the ordinary. 

The silence surrounding… it was just so creepy. Not being able to hear a single sound, except his own footsteps, was really beginning to weird him out. He would suddenly spin around from time to time, jumping back to face the opposite direction, just in case anything tried to sneak up on him or whatever.

It wasn’t long before he found himself standing in front of an abandoned house. The door was slightly ajar, a small sliver of the interior peeking out from the gap. Having nothing better to do, Johnny decided to cautiously take a peek inside.

Just like its surroundings, the inside of the building was completely void of life. The interior resembled a typical village home, one that a family probably lived in. The floorboards of the home creaked a little under Johnny's weight as he leaned in, aiming to get a better view of the place.

Once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he slowly pushed the door open, wincing at the loud creaking sound the hinges made. He took a few quiet steps inside, glancing around intently.

The home, though abandoned, still somewhat held the warmth of a once well-lived-in family house. The place stood frozen in time, nothing about it indicated that the inhabitants left in a haste. A large stone fireplace, now cold and covered in a thin layer of dust, dominated the room. 

Worn furniture, including a cushy sofa and a few simple beds, sat preserved, their colours slightly faded. Handmade quilts and crocheted throws, once bright, lay draped over the home’s chairs, adding muted splashes of colour and texture.

Shelves lined with books, trinkets, and family photos told stories of years gone by. The wooden floorboards, polished smooth by countless footsteps, creaked softly under every step. The dinner table, the heart of the large room, had an aura of character to it. Crude cutlery was dotted around the surface of the table, sitting on top of a handmade cloth.

The daylight streaming through the small, paned windows, cast a dim glow on the cluttered space. Johnny could see all the dust particles floating in the beams of light, he could even see some cobwebs in the ceiling’s corners. Though paused, every corner of the home spoke of a life humbly lived.

Despite the place being abandoned, the warm aura of the family that inhabited the home still lingered in the air. There was something about this small home that was so intriguing to him, it was such a nice break from the creepiness of the empty village outside. He ran his hand over the dining table, feeling the smooth wood underneath his bare fingertips.

He leaned against the wall, letting out a soft sigh as he crossed his arms to his chest. This home… it was so strangely inviting, despite being seemingly abandoned. He could sense all the love... all the happiness that once filled this home. This was technically part of his search, so it’s not like he was slacking off, right?

Johnny continued to explore the home out of sheer curiosity. He walked around the space, eyes dancing around the various trinkets and items lined up on the shelves. He was curious, wondering who used to live here.

A picture perched on a nearby shelf caught his attention. He picked it up, brushing off the layer of dust that covered the frame. His eyes narrowed as he studied the image before him. 

A photo of a family of five; a mother, a father, and three children, smiling happily was what met his curious sight. This picture and its framing were so crude, yet Johnny could sense all the sentimental value it held. The actual photo itself was worn with age, small stains were dotted around the artefact to prove it. In a way, this just made the item more heartwarming, something so simple yet something so cherished. He couldn't help but smile, feeling strangely warm from what was before him. A genuine reaction of happiness spread across his face, so unlike the dumb smirks he always shot your way.

The happy family, all smiling brightly with their arms around each other in the photo, was familiar to him in such a heartwarming way. His focus was now solely on the item in his hands. Though… after a bit, something about this picture made the warm smile on his face slowly shift into a slight frown. His face dropped, the sweet happiness draining from his eyes.

This was all reminding him of his own family.

Ah. He hadn’t expected anything as simple as a picture to hit him in the heart, honestly. The family in the photo looked so happy, so content. And yet… he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy, bitter jealousy, as he continued to stare at them.

They were… they were just like his own family, down to the last detail. Right before his mother died of cancer, before his father switched from loving to abusive. Before the bitter rivalry between him and Jimmy formed. Before him and Rebecca drifted apart, back when he was convinced that they’d be close forever…

A drop of something onto the picture snapped Johnny out of his thoughts. It was a tear, a tear from him.

Nooo no no no. This can’t be happening. He’s Johnny Cage, he DOESN’T cry. This damn photo, pulling on his heartstrings like this, serving as a stupid reminder of what was once the happy Carlton family. A family… that was now in pieces.

Why did it have to turn out like this?

Johnny couldn't believe what he was doing. He was crying, over a simple picture? A simple picture of a family that he didn't even know? It was pathetic. It was stupid. But he couldn't stop himself.

"Dammit.." He muttered, trying hard to control himself. He held the picture tightly, his hands shaking slightly. He cursed under his breath at the overwhelming wave of emotions coursing through him, it was pathetic. It was stupid. It was all so… ugh. He didn’t even know these people, for fuck’s sake. But… he couldn't stop himself.

No. He was not doing this. Not now, not today. This was a mission, not a therapy session. What would his fans think? What would you think?

He shakily wiped the tear falling down his cheek away with his hand. He used the other one to gently place the picture back down onto the shelf it previously sat on. He took a deep breath in, trying to calm the volatile seas that were his emotions. After taking a moment to push the feelings back down compose himself, he took one final look around the house. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just a regular home. He had a whole half of a village to search, there’s no use in wasting time in one singular building.

After one last glance at the picture now on the shelf, he quietly walked away and out of the home, carefully closing the door behind him. He felt a strange sense of melancholy as he walked down the street outside, one that he tried his best to ignore.

As he continued his search, he tried his hardest to push the memory of that family picture out of his mind, or at least to the back of it. He couldn’t afford to let anything distract him from the mission at hand. That family was not his own and had nothing to do with him.

He had a job to do.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

On the other side of the village, you were diligently enacting your part of the search. You were laser-focused, quickly but efficiently searching every building that you came across. There had to be something related to why the residents of Kakariko disappeared. Your mind was solely on the mission assigned to you, nothing else mattered right now.

Some time had passed. You had thoroughly searched around half of the eastern side, a quarter of the village. So far, you’d found next to nothing suggesting how all of the townsfolk had disappeared. None of the empty homes indicated that their respective residents left in a hurry, everything was preserved.

However, there was something. In every other house, a few small, sharp white stones could be found on the floor. They resembled the teeth of a predator, small sharp fangs. Could they be actual teeth? No, impossible. No Outworlders teeth were that long nor that sharp. They had to be something else, although you couldn’t think of a similar substitute. Perhaps some sort of bizzare cultural practice? Oh well, you were sure to find more answers if you just kept searching.

You had just come across a certain structure. It was too large to be a home, it must’ve been a public building or something similar. You walked around its exterior, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. When you didn’t find anything of interest, you walked over to the open entrance and cautiously stepped inside, your hand hovering over your compacted bō staff strapped to your hip, just in case anyone or anything suddenly jumped out at you.

The interior of this building seemed to be a library of sorts. Large bookshelves lined the walls and singular books were haphazardly spread around the tables dotted around the space, some were even strewn out on the floor. There were certain items on the tables, you recognised those as instruments of magic. Someone was performing sorcery here, though it was unclear what their intentions were.

You cautiously stepped around the library, your eyes darting around the room for signs of something, anything. The magical items on the tables caught your eye, you walked up to them and carefully began to analyse these objects. You possessed some knowledge of magic and sorcery, thanks to the monks of the Wu Shi and the mages of Empress Sindel’s palace. But you were no grand magician. You were staring blankly at the devices before you, unable to deduct their purpose. All you could tell were that these instruments were magical in nature.

You couldn't help but shiver as you continued to look around the library. The atmosphere was just so eerie. The lack of people around, coupled with the silence, made your skin crawl. And this place in particular was just downright creepy. It didn't have the usual cozy feel that most libraries have - instead, everything about this space was just… unnerving.

The books around were a good start in searching this room, you figured. You picked up one of them off of the nearest bookshelf and flipped through some of the pages, skimming the text. Some of the pages contained spells, but this didn’t alarm you that much. Magic was common practice throughout Outworld, these grimoires could’ve just belonged to the village mage or something. It was a little irritating that you couldn’t understand the text before you, though.

You continued your reading, your hands darting out to any book near you. There’s a very good chance that sorcery played a hand in the disappearance of Kakariko’s residents, you couldn’t rule anything out.

Whilst you were walking around, you kept accidentally stepping on small white stones, just like the ones you saw in a few of the empty houses. They were tiny, easy to miss, but still everywhere regardless. Damn it, what were they? Why were they in nearly every building in this village?

They were really starting to make you frustrated, there were so many of them that you struggled to walk around properly.  Unlike the empty houses, there were more of these stones in this library. Somehow, these stones and this building were related. This was something of interest, although you were a little too ticked off to realise this.

Your focus switched from the books of sorcery over to the strange floor stones. It would switch again when a loud shuffling sound cut through the silence behind you.

Quickly, you spun around, drawing your staff and taking on a fighting stance. You were now on edge, hyper-aware of your surroundings, intense amounts of adrenaline were coursing through your veins, you forced yourself to be ready to take on whatever may be potentially lurking behind you.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a person or anything preparing to enact a sneak attack upon you. No, the origin of the noise was a book dropping. You, in your rummaging hastiness, had placed a book right on the edge of a table. As so, it toppled over and came crashing down to the floor. The shuffling sound was the book slowly sliding off of the table, its weight wasn’t balanced enough.

You sighed, folding away and strapping your bō back onto your hip. You keeled over, your hands coming to rest on her knees. You were quick enough in turning around to see that book falling onto the floor. A small laugh slipped past you, between lungfuls of air. You weren’t mad, rather the opposite. Something so insignificant as a book falling getting that big of a reaction out of you made you chuckle. It was so stupid, it was comical. Save for Johnny on the other side, there was nobody in this village. Who could possibly be gearing up to attack you? This was just a subtle reminder from the Elder Gods to stop being so on edge, you thought.

However, the jumpscares of today weren’t finished with you yet. As you stepped back slightly, in order to scour the rest of the bookshelf behind, your boot landed on a ‘book’ on the floor. Expect, it wasn’t really a book. It was a hidden mechanism, a secret button that sank into the floor as you pressed your weight onto it. You’d unknowingly triggered something, and you were about to find out what that something was.

The sound of a mechanism came to life, metal grinding and cranking below. Loud rumbling, so loud that it practically echoed throughout the entire library, cried out. 

“Fuck!” You jolted back, literally jumping in the air at the sudden sound.

There was a pause for a little bit. Everything was quiet, for a moment. Then, the sound of loud grinding came from the floor. A circle in the planks opened up. The wood around the shape split apart, opening to reveal a staircase leading downwards, into the ground. The new entrance was dark and foreboding, almost like it was inviting you to step inside.

You slowly made your way to the top of the staircase, your hand hovering over your bō staff. You peered down, into the darkness below. It was dark enough that you needed some time to properly focus on the details of the space below, but you could still see the end of the staircase, and how it led to a large door.

Unfortunately, Liu Kang didn’t provide you and Johnny with flashlights before you departed, he didn’t see the use for it. You had to investigate this secret staircase and hidden room in the dark.

Well, not completely in the dark. Thankfully, your bō had a slight green illumination from it. As well as serving as a weapon, it could also serve as a makeshift light source in the void down below. How handy!

Re-equipping your staff, you cautiously ventured down the stairs. Your weapon did indeed provide some illumination, but barely. You were starting to have trouble seeing in front of you as you went deeper. You stuck it out, using the handy little thing as a makeshift cane to check for any obstacles obscuring.

The air started to become colder and more moist as you went on, almost as if you were walking into an actual dungeon. The atmosphere was creepy and unsettling, the perfect place for someone, or something, to ambush you. Maybe it would’ve been smart to run and get Johnny before going down here by yourself…

Eventually, you reached the door. It was large, at least eight feet tall, and cast in dark iron. It had a lock on it, only adding to the heap of mystery surrounding. This did nothing to deter you, though. You made quick work of the lock with your staff, a few strikes loosened it up nicely. After the hunk of metal was discarded, you slowly pushed the door open, peering inside to assess any potential dangers lurking on the other side.

You were greeted by the sight of… darkness. The entire space behind the door was almost completely void of light. The dim glow of your staff was nowhere near strong enough to combat the void, you could barely see anything in front of you. The only thing that you could make out was a tiny light coming from the other end of the room, but you couldn’t tell what the source was.

You cautiously took a few steps into the darkness, using your foot to prop the door open just in case you needed to run out screaming retreat. Under the light of your bō, you came across an unlit sconce on the wall. Striking the tip of your weapon on the metal of the sconce was able to generate enough sparks to light the torch. You got more than you bargained for, though. The sconce on the wall turned out to be magical; it was built to be connected to all the other sconces in the darkness. As soon as you lit up one, all the others followed suit, dispersing the darkness around you.

The new light revealed a grotesque laboratory. A twisted chamber of horrors that housed eyesore upon eyesore. Dim, flickering torches cast eerie shadows on the stone walls, revealing a space filled with the macabre results of twisted experiments.

Rows of grimy, blood-stained tables lined the room, each cluttered with crude surgical instruments and sprawled-out notes. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the acrid tang of chemicals. The smell alone made you retch on the spot. Broken and rusted chains hung from the ceiling, some still clinging to skeletal remains and dismembered body parts. The floor was slick with a mix of blood, viscera, and unidentifiable goo, making each step a nauseating journey.

In one corner, there was a large metal cage, something was inside of it. It was too far away for you to get a clear view of its contents, though. It’s not like that cage was the worst part of this room, pretty much everything in the space was as disgusting as could be. There were literally more stains on the floor and walls than there were clean spots.

So this was what was hidden under Kakariko Village.

There was no time to run and get Johnny, this needed to be investigated now. Reluctantly, you ventured further. You used a nearby chair to lodge the door open, just in case you needed to make a hasty escape. Looking around the space was tasking on your eyes, unimaginable horrors met your sight with every head turn.

Those little white stones were weirdly all over the place, much more so than the library above. They were littered across the floor, so much so that you had to kick them out of the way to step around freely.

When you finally walked over to the cage in the corner, you quite literally jumped back in fear. A loud yelp came from you as your body leapt backwards, your eyes couldn’t believe what was in front of them. Your brain refused to accept what lie before you.

It was a Tarkatan!

A dead one, but still one regardless. It was completely hairless, and its skin was red and heavily irritated. The only thing it wore was a small rag covering its crotch. What it died of was unclear, but it was completely unresponsive and slumped over against the wall.

When the initial shock wore off, you cautiously stepped closer to analyse the body. Your eyes settled on its teeth and, by the Gods, they were identical to those stones around the floor of the village buildings. Those ‘stones’ were in fact Tarkatan teeth!

A thick bolt of worry ran down your spine. All those sharpened molars, the ones that you had kicked around just minutes earlier…

You couldn’t look at the corpse any longer, out of fear that you might throw up. You had seen all that needed to see of the body, looking at it further made you feel queasy. You stepped away from the cage, hastily looking around the rest of the laboratory in search of anything else. The missing villagers, the secret underground facility, the dead Tarkatan, what could it all mean? Somehow, someway, everything correlated.

All the notes strewn around on the table next to you caught your eye, quickly walking over to see them. They were damp with something, but you were past caring by this point. You rapidly searched around the table, skimming through all the notes you could get ahold of. Research was written all over the pieces of paper, detailing something to do with Tarkat and an infection. This was strange… Tarkat was a disease, not an infection. What could all of this mean?

And that’s when you found it. A leather-bound book under a few damp sheets. You rapidly brushed the pieces of paper off of the item, and once again stumbled back in shock of what you found.

The cover of the book had a mark on it; the insignia of the infamous sorcerer Shang Tsung.

A chill ran down your spine. The symbol of the sorcerer, right on the cover of this book, was a clear indication of who was behind the horrors around you. He had his hand in this, everything made sense now. The only question left was… what exactly had happened?

You reluctantly opened the book. The first page detailed a record. It was a list of names, presumably villagers that were compromised by Tarkat. You turned the page to find that the book was being used as a journal of some sorts, documenting Shang Tsung’s findings and progress with whatever had occurred here. You were now in the process of studying the journal’s entries, eager to find out something, anything. It read as following:

“Day 1.”

“I have successfully moved into the small village of Kakariko. The locals think me a travelling merchant, in desperate need of shelter. They welcomed me with open arms, even giving me a small home to reside in for the time being.”

“This is the perfect location for what I have planned; small and remote enough that no one will notice if a few people go missing, but large enough that I’ll have plenty of live subjects. I plan to set up all of my equipment in the morning, as well as construct an underground facility to carry out my work in secrecy.”

To say that you were sickened wouldn’t be surprising. Onto the next page…

“Day 3.”

“Kakariko Village is small enough that I’m now somewhat familiar with the layout of the settlement. I have become aware of the local library, a place that few villagers visit day to day. It will be the perfect place to construct a laboratory. I plan to start construction late at night, whilst everyone is asleep.”

Next page.

“Day 10.”

“My facility is just about complete, a secret mechanism serves as an entry point to the room. Truly, some of my finest work. With this, I am now ready to commence my work, I have already selected some villagers to experiment on once I possess a prototype of the infection.”

Ah. Next page…

“Day 22.”

“I am pleased to write that I already possess a few prototypes of my Tarkat infection. The material I drew from Princess Mileena has proved most useful. Finding out that the teeth of the compromised are a rich source of the disease was most surprising. I will be sure to capitalise on this.”

“Tarkat, as it stands, is merely a disease. One that is slow to show symptoms, and even slower to fully take effect. Such circumstances will not do, I plan to create a version that is an infection. I aim for this infection to be highly contagious, transforming the infected into a beast within seconds. When perfected, this shall be the perfect weapon. General Shao will be most pleased.”

Your heart sank at this. General Shao? Shang Tsung? Together? Such a dark revelation had your stomach churning. This was the most horrible wake-up call you’ve ever experienced in your life. You could barely bring yourself to turn the page.

“Day 29.”

“I have already commenced testing how live subjects react to the exposure of my Tarkat infection. So far, it is not what I had hoped. The beasts that come as a result of exposure are too docile. After mutation occurs, they are mostly entranced by a state of confusion, unfit for any form of kombat. No matter, I have nothing but time ahead of me. I will iron out these kinks, and perfect this infection.”

Next page.

“Day 32.”

“Much to my dismay, I am now experiencing the opposite of my prior problem. When infected, the beasts are now too aggressive to reason with. After mutation, the Tarkatans are rendered mindless, too feral to take commands. They barbarically attack any form of life they set their eyes on, even if said life is other Tarkatans.”

“What’s more, the villagers are starting to grow aware that something is happening in the shadows. They are noticing how the population of Kakariko is dropping. If found out, this could prove detrimental to my plan. I must quicken my research, and perfect this infection as soon as possible.”

Next page.

“Day 40.”

“Slowly, the infection is meeting my expectations. Once mutated, the Tarkatans display extreme ferocity, ripping through anything in their path, but not to a degree in which they are impossible to reason with. It is a difficult task, but now entirely possible to tame one of these beasts.”

“Unfortunately, I am starting to run out of test subjects. By now, all of Kakariko is aware of its dwindling population. As such, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain live test subjects, without exposing myself and my true intentions. No matter, I am close to perfecting this infection. It is only a matter of time.”

Next page.

“Day 41.”

“Yet again more unfortunate news. Whilst I was working today, one of the test subjects escaped. It ripped out the chains confining it to the wall, and ran up the staircase to the outside.”

You paused from reading to look at the wall to your side. Indeed, it had indentations plastered on it, the sign of struggle evident. A sigh slipped past you as you lowered your head to continue reading.

“As I ran to capture it, a little village boy had witnessed everything. His eyes were wide with shock upon seeing the beast and me. Unfortunately, he was too quick to catch. The menace ran out of the library, no doubt on his way to tell the other villagers what he saw. Hopefully, this will not be my undoing, not when I’m so close to perfecting the infection.”

Your heart was thumping in your chest now. You could feel it slamming against your ribcage with each fearful beat. Shaking fingers turned the page.

“Day 42.”

“I have been found out, Kakariko is no longer safe for me. A large crowd was gathered at my door this morning, eager for my head. Thankfully, I was able to escape unscathed. There is no choice but for me to flee, and take haven somewhere else.”

“I am gathering up everything I can in this facility. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to abandon it. This location is no longer suitable for me to conduct my work. A shame, truly.”

“As for the villagers, they too will have to be dealt with. Such tales of me and my work cannot reach the ears of the Royal Family, not yet at least. I shall continue my work somewhere else, and finally perfect the Tarkat weapon.”

You turned the page to read more, but there was nothing. That was the last entry, and now you finally understood the whole story.

The disappearance of the villagers was all Shang Tsung’s doing. The madman is planning to weaponise Tarkat, and he used Kakariko as a testing ground. The disappearance of the villagers? Likely victims of his dark magic. Now he was at large, somewhere within Outworld working on his horrible project. Not only that, but he’s working with the disgraced general, too. That machine back in the pyramid? No doubt his vile work.

Your mind was filled with a mix of horror and disbelief. This was all too much. The onslaught of information had you sweating buckets, droplets of moisture dotted your forehead as a result of the sheer shock that you were under.

You closed the book, slowly recoiling backwards as you tried to comprehend everything. Shang Tsung, this Tarkat infection, the presumably dead villagers, General fucking Shao? This was all just so-

The feeling of your back hitting the wall shook you slightly, jolting you back to reality. Instinctively, your hands reached out to stop your body from falling over. 

And that’s when you felt a prick on your finger.

You hissed a little, the sudden feeling sending a jolt of pain through your being. You brought your finger up to eye level, grimacing at the sight of your now-pierced skin. A small bead of blood was already forming on your fingertip, threatening to run down your whole hand.

You turned around to see what had wounded you. Your eyes focused on a small spike on the table behind you, the tip of it now already tinged red by your blood. You cursed under your breath, wincing slightly as you examined your injury. It didn't look too serious, but it hurt like hell.

No matter, there were more important manners at hand than a pinprick. You had to find Johnny, get back to Sun Do as quickly as possible, to tell Liu Kang all that you had found. Pocketing Shang Tsung’s journal, you raced out of the laboratory, running up the stairs and out of the library with haste.

By now, it was late afternoon. The cloudy sky overhead was starting to part, revealing the glimmer of the afternoon sun. The wood of Kakariko’s buildings shone brilliantly under the light of the sun, somewhat subsiding the previous creepy aura of the village.

Not that you took notice. No, you had to find Johnny as soon as possible, and inform him of all that you had discovered.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

After his little moment, Johnny distracted himself by searching through the western half of the village. There wasn’t really much to find, apart from these weird white rocks on the floor of some houses. By the time he was done scouring his portion of Kakariko, there was nothing really to do.

He would walk around the empty streets, his hands in his pockets and his focus lowered as he kicked rocks out of boredom. He hadn’t seen you for about a couple of hours now, he was thinking about you and how you were doing. He missed your beautiful face, and the way you would scowl at him after he said something to piss you off. How your hair flowed in the wind, how your uniform was perfect for your body, how well your breastplate cupped your-

His lewd thoughts were suddenly cut off when you came into view. Finally, you were back! He was so excited to see you again, oh how blissfully unaware he was of what happened. He was so happy to see you that he didn’t even take notice of how fast you were walking and how intense your expression was at first. Ah, that’s just classic you!

“Aaa, there she is! So what, did ya miss-"

“Shut the fuck up.” You were never in the mood for Johnny or his antics, but you were especially not tolerant of him after what you had just discovered. You didn’t even care to ask what he had found in his time searching around the village, whatever it was was probably far less important.

“Listen. I found something.”

He was admittedly slightly taken aback by your aggression. Not that it really bothered him, though. He’d gotten used to your iciness, but the fact that you were acting stranger than usual did pique his interest.

"Oh yeah? And what’s that, exactly?” He folded his arms, waiting for you to speak. Your no-nonsense attitude and seriousness… it made you even hotter in his eyes.

You knew that Johnny was blatantly checking you out, but you honestly didn’t care. Your mind was solely focused on Shang Tsung and Shang Tsung alone. You looked around for a second, as if to check for something, before turning back to speak to him.

“…Shang Tsung was here.”

His expression changed instantly. Now his interest was fully piqued.

"Wait, what? You serious?” He asked, unfolding his arms and raising a suspicious eyebrow. “You got proof?"

You nodded, bringing out the journal from behind your back. You handed it to Johnny, concern plastered all over your face.

“Read this. It’ll catch you up to speed.”

He was intrigued. He slowly took the journal from you, opening it gingerly. Johnny had a bad habit of skimming through pages and skipping lines whenever he read, but with the sheer amount of information here, paired with your intensity, he actually forced himself to slow down and take his time with this.

Meanwhile, whilst Johnny was flicking through Shang’s journal, you started to feel a little… off. Your injured finger was starting to really hurt, and you were beginning to feel so overheated, despite being outside. Your mind was slightly fuzzy, the effort to concentrate on your thoughts became increasingly harder. Ah, no matter. It was probably all the stress that you were under, nothing more. You’ll be fine… right?

He took some time to properly read through the journal’s content, his eyes widening with each turn of a page. Finally, he finished reading, shutting the book and looking up at you in disbelief and shock. Confusion would also be added to his mix of emotions when he took notice of you. You were acting weird… like, weirder than usual.

"You alright, Jade? You look… I dunno, like you’re sweating a lot. Also, you’re not scowling. You got a fever or something?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.” You quickly responded, wiping the accumulating sweat off of your forehead. This wasn’t the time for checkups. You were fine and he was fine. The focus should be on Shang Tsung, not whatever you had going on.

“There’s this secret laboratory, right under the village library.” You looked away from Johnny for a minute, pointing in the direction of the library. “It’s opened by some sort of mechanism, that’s where I found the room and the journal.”

"Cool, cool… a secret lab? This is some James Bond shit right here.” He nodded, following your finger and turning to look in the direction you were pointing at. “How do we get to it?”

He glanced over at you. "And how’d you even find it anyway?”

“Some sort of… button… I stepped on…” You were starting to find it hard to speak. You were getting so warm, like you were in a furnace or something. Your head felt so fuzzy, and your finger was throbbing like crazy. What was happening?

“Mmm… you’re acting weird.” He stated bluntly. Johnny took a step closer to you, his eyes narrowing on your flushed face. This was so out of the ordinary for someone like you, he was honestly a little concerned.

"You’re sweating a lot. And you’re stuttering your words. Seriously, are you sick or something?”

“I’m… fine…”

A lie, an unconvincing one at that. You were stumbling around now, it was a struggle to stand still. You shut your eyes for a bit - when you re-opened them, your gaze fell onto a concerned Johnny. To you, there was something about him that just looked… delicious.

You composed yourself, standing up straight as you cleared your throat. You couldn’t afford to make a fool out of yourself, especially considering who was in front of you. Whatever was going on, you would just have to put up with it.

“…Yes, I’m alright. I’m just a little tired.” You pointed in the distance, the direction in which you both came from.

“Geras is waiting for us. We’ve found all that there is to this mystery. We need to go back to Sun Do and tell Liu Kang of Shang Tsung and his intentions immediately.”

"A little tired"? Yeah right…

Johnny didn’t believe a word out of you, he saw straight through your lies. Still, he chose not to question you. You were so damn stubborn, you would just double down anyways, there was no point. But, he was still concerned.

"Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed, mostly out of defeat. “Let’s go tell Liu Kang. Maybe he can-“

He was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit coming from you. You keeled over, your body heaving as cough after cough came out of you.

This lasted for some seconds. When your outburst finished, you looked back up to an even more concerned Johnny.

For a bit, you just… stared at him, looking him up and down. Johnny, being the idiot that he is, took that as a sign that you were into him, a small smirk forming on his lips in the process. 

"What? You checking me out?” He teased, his smirk widening into a smug grin. He held his hands behind his back as he did, showing off more of his figure.

But… it wasn’t like that. To you, he looked delectable. Not like an attractive man, no, but like a well-seasoned piece of meat. A dark hunger started to stir within your belly.

Though, Johnny’s arrogance, as well as his stupid posing, snapped you out of your trance. Whatever was going on, he had broken you out of it by being his usual self.

“Ugh, Gods no…” You muttered, stretching slightly and wiping the sweat off of your forehead, despite already having done so a minute earlier.

“Come on, we should head back to Geras.”

"Hey, you’re lucky. Any other woman would be drooling at this body.” He quipped, pointing at himself as he gave you the biggest, most arrogant grin, one that faltered a little as he noticed how pale you were becoming.

“Then they have no standards…” You muttered again as you walked past him, trying to ignore the beads of sweat already forming again on your forehead.

"Right, you’re going to tell me that even you don’t think I’m attractive?” He followed behind you, snickering slightly at your jab towards him.

That was when you stopped in your tracks and turned around to face him. Your eyes darkened as you started to… growl at him? A deep, guttural noise emanated from your core, you looked at him like a predator would prey. Your damp brows furrowed as you bared your teeth, like some sort of cornered animal.

“Whoa, whoa!” Johnny exclaimed, his eyes widening, his hands shooting up defensively. “The hell’s gotten into you?! I was only messing with you, damn!”

His shocked reaction snapped you out of whatever was going on. You realised what you were doing, looking down out of confusion. Your overheated temperature, your dizziness, your sudden hunger, what the fuck was happening?

When you looked back up at a confused, borderline scared Johnny, that hunger returned. Gods, he looked soooo good, like a piece of perfectly seasoned steak. The thought of what his flesh would taste like sprouted in the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if you just-

Focus! For the Gods sake! This was your teammate! What the hell has gotten into you? Something was wrong, you needed to get back to Sun Do immediately and seek out medical attention. You’d probably picked up a bug or something from that filthy laboratory, you wouldn’t rule it out.

“…Sorry.” You mumbled, looking down out of shame. “Don’t know what’s coming over me…”

"You’re… uh, fine. You just gotta chill out, alright?” Johnny spoke hesitantly, keeping a cautious eye on you just in case you snapped again. 

“Mhm...” You hummed in agreement, meeting his gaze as he stepped a little closer to you. You tried your best to push your sudden cannibalistic thoughts about him to the back of your mind, you really did, but by the Gods it was getting hard.

This was no place to linger. The two of you started the walk back to Geras’ carriage. It was only a few minutes away, it’s not like you were going to be trekking for miles. It wouldn’t be long before you’d be safely on the way back to Sun Do, nothing else would be happening in the meantime… right?

As you walked out of the village, and along the grassy hills, your cannibalistic thoughts became too much to ignore. By this point, your pupils were inhumanly dilated. Your eyes were glued to this fine piece of meat in front of you, you were looking at Johnny like a starving kid would their favourite meal. He looked tantalising, so tempting.

Your pricked finger was swollen by this point. It hurt like a bitch, but your current fixation on Johnny distracted you from some of the pain. You held your inflamed finger in your other hand, caressing it slightly as you stared your companion down. By now, the sweat from your forehead was dripping down your face, the front strands of your hair now slightly wet as a result. Not that you cared, though. Your mind was so cloudy that it was impossible to focus on a single thought…

…Except how appetising Johnny looked.

He looked soooo good, sooo sweet. How good would he taste if you just took a bite out of him? You licked your lips, running your tongue over your teeth in the process. Weird… were your teeth always that sharp?

An uncomfortable few minutes passed by. Uncomfortable for Johnny, that was. He could feel your gaze on him, it made his skin prick. You looked crazy, like a drug addict going through withdrawal symptoms. He was honestly really worried, both for you and his own safety. There was a look in your eyes that shook him to the bone, every time he glanced back at you and made eye contact, he would regret it.

Before you both knew it, you had reached the carriage. Geras, who was sitting on a rock right next to the vehicle, met your approaching gaze. He hopped up, walking around the horses to greet you both.

"You are both back quite early. Everything went smoothly, I trust?”

You would usually greet Geras back, you liked the construct. But this time, you didn’t even say anything in response. Your eyes were still locked onto Johnny, slightly baring your teeth and curling your fingers like you had claws. You wanted to pry that suit off of him, like his meat sack body was some sort of macabre present. The need to do so was getting harder to resist by the second.

Johnny, having now turned around to face you, saw your condition clearly for the first time. He saw the sweat, the dilated pupils, the twisted smile, everything. You were looking at him like a hungry tiger eyeing a bleeding, half-dead gazelle. All of it had him scared shitless.

“Are you well, Jade?” Geras asked, keeping a wary eye on you. He’d caught on to what was going on by now, his eyebrow raising and his concern growing.

A guttural noise was emitting from your throat, your lock on your next snack Johnny never once daring to falter. He gave Geras a look, one of fear, one that the construct seemed to understand immediately as he took a step closer to you.

Out of nowhere, your feral snarl morphed into a frown of discomfort, then one of pain. You keeled over, clutching your stomach like it was being ripped open. Your groans of discomfort turned into screams of pain, so much so that you were now kneeling on the grass, yelling out loudly. Your body felt like it was on fire and your jaw hurt like hell.

In this process, your eyes snapped shut. Neither Johnny or Geras could see your brown pupils turn red, nor could they see your irises morph into thin lines.

“What’s wrong?!” Johnny was now beyond worried for you, his previous fear now totally overridden by overwhelming concern. He ran to your crouched form, kneeling down and grabbing your shoulders, Geras following after him.

You didn’t respond, you couldn’t respond. The pain coursing through your body was so intense that you didn’t even hear him correctly. Your screams of pain started to carry a… certain roughness to them? Your usual sweet voice was starting to sound deep, rough.

And your jaw, by the Gods. It hurt so much. Like it was changing or something. It felt like something sharp was starting to rip through your lower face. Not that either Johnny or Geras could tell. Your head was buried in your arms, a futile attempt at easing your searing pain.

Johnny didn’t know what the hell to do. Never in his years had he seen a person react in such a way. This went far beyond a simple “not feeling well”, this was a damn otherworldly phenomenon.

“Geras, is there anything you can do?! Literally ANYTHING!!” He looked over to him, he was practically shouting now.

“Take her into the carriage, we must get to Sun Do as fast as possible!” He frantically answered, a weird change from his usual emotionless demeanour.

Johnny immediately followed Geras‘ command, scooping you up into his arms. He ran to the carriage, carrying you inside before gingerly setting you down on one of the seats.

Well… that’s what he would’ve done. Instead, when he went to pick you up, you swatted his hand away with a grunt, looking up at him in the process, revealing just what had happened to you.

Your… by the Gods. Your beautiful face was completely deformed. Your big brown eyes were now red, cat-like and buzzing with ferocity. Your lips were nowhere to be seen, the lower half of your face was replaced by rows of razor-sharp, jagged teeth, resembling those of a Tarkatan. This gruesome dental display was such a nasty shock to both Johnny and Geras, a loud scream came from the former as the two men stumbled back in shock.

You were infected with Tarkat.

A/N: lmfao not the cliffhanger ending-

jokes aside i really liked this one :) i had a lot of fun writing this and this is lowkey one of my fav group of scenes so far in this long ass story

now to start chapter 6…

[a-court-of-lust-and-stardust]

*taps microphone* Is this thing on?

I'd like to give my perspective on something, from someone who started out in the ACOTAR fandom as part of the general audience, and who has a sister that is not apart of fandom but has read the books.

I read the series back in November 2023 in about 2 weeks. I stayed off of social media for a bit until I decided to make a Tumblr account.

After reading the books, I wasn't sure if the series was complete. It didn't feel complete. The first three books focused on Feyre. Nesta had an entire, almost 800 page book dedicated to her. For me, it was natural to assume, "Oh, Elain is next!" because logically, that was the only thing that made sense. Why would two sisters have books, but the third wouldn't? The series would seem incomplete.

Flash forward, and I find out that yes, there will be more to come in the series. However, at this point, I was still unaware that a bonus chapter for Silver Flames existed until a friend casually mentioned it. I asked where to find it and I began reading.

The first part of the bonus chapter confirmed what I already believed from reading the books. Azriel and Elain share mutual feelings. Truly, I didn't need confirmation in the bonus, because there were moments in the books that I already had picked up on. The bonus was just a nice surprise. Something fun.

But imagine my shock when I decided to insert myself into fandom space as a casual reader, and see folks who are 110% convinced that the next book's main character is going to be a secondary side character that was introduced about 40% of the way into the 4th book.

You don't have to imagine my shock, because I'll tell you. The moment I set foot into this fandom, I have been beyond confused. Bamboozled. Befuddled. And honestly, a bit gaslit.

Prior to this bonus chapter, I assumed everyone thought it was obvious and picked up on the pattern. The first sister gets a few books to explore her powers, heal, and fall in love. The second sister gets a book to do the exact same thing. The third sister would get a book...to do the exact. same. thing.

There was a week where I had zero idea that the bonus chapter existed. There are STILL people who have no idea that the bonus chapter exists, and may never end up reading it. These people are not on Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram, or Discord, discussing in depth theories and potential love squares. They are solely relying on canon text.

So, genuinely, what do you think their reactions are going to be, if the next book does not focus on Elain, the third sister, but rather a priestess, who was part of someone else's story, who was only just introduced in the very last book, who does not have any ties to the plot? Yes. They will be lost, too.

My sister, who is part of the general audience, and is not present in fandom spaces, has the same opinion. The idea of Azriel and Elain not ending up together doesn't make sense to her. Prior to showing her the bonus, she had already assumed Azriel and Elain would be the next pairing in the next series. Because she had only read the canon text. The canon text that is available to everyone. The bonus is not.

So, essentially, what I'm trying to say is, if the next book does not feature Elain as the main character, and Azriel as the main love interest, with sprinkles of Lucien here and there because he is still important because of the mating bond, then there will be a gigantic chunk of casual readers, who are not involved in fandom spaces, that will be utterly confused at the direction of the story. Because for people who are not on social media, they are only using the canon books. Their information is only coming from the canon books that are available for all readers. If information in bonus chapters is supposed to be important, then it would be featured in books for everyone to read.

[honeywyrdie]

Sweet Spot {part 4}

{part 1}{part 2}{part 3}{part 4}{part 5}{part 6}

Baker Felix x Florist reader

summary: At the reception, you're in the spotlight in a few different ways. Felix seems to be a little too good at this fake dating stuff, making everyone at the wedding believe you two are madly in love. While you try to figure out your own feelings, your ex certainly doesn't seem to handle it well. // genre: fluff, angst, eventual smut // word count: 5.9k // warnings: adult dialogue, sexual themes //a/n: Thank you for being patient my little cherubs! Life has gotten hectic, but this is a bit longer of a chapter than I expected. 💘 if you're not on the taglist and would like to be, please reply to this post or send me an ask!🥰

(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

I have only posted this here and on AO3 - user: spookwyrdie

The weather couldn’t be more perfect for this reception. A cool breeze flutters through the cream table cloths in the reception area. Felix has his hand on your lower back as you walk in, looking at the small place cards to find your names. You can tell by the dueling decor of the reception that the bohemian switch was recent. Your arrangements bring that artsy, free spirited vibe with the traces of twine, lace, and grasses, but most of the decor follows the standard wedding trends. The drapery is pressed and pristine, the tableware was white with gold detailing, and everything is shiny. It definitely isn’t unattractive, but you know that it clashes a little in terms of taste.

The table setting for the bride and groom was front and center, currently empty while the wedding photographers took advantage of the golden hour sunset in the vineyard. At one end of the table sits a large light green, tiered cake. The theme of the cake is very floral - there are small bunches of pointy, textured leaves surrounded by a pattern piped on meticulously to look like macrame, adorned with small round sprinkles like scattered pearls in the frosting. It’s a gorgeous cake, complementing the floral decorations you had worked so hard on, as if you and whoever the baker is were on the same aesthetic wavelength.

“I’ll grab us some drinks, go sit down,” Felix says, trailing his fingers across the small of your back before leaving. You feel the loss of heat from his hand immediately and miss it. 

“Something sour for me please!” you call after him as you wander over to the table where you and Felix will be sitting. 

“Y/n!” a voice squeals behind you. Johnny’s younger sister comes up behind you and wraps her arms around your shoulders with a giggle. “It’s been ages! You look fantastic.”

“Lily! Look at you!” you said, spinning around to greet her. “You look like a whole-ass adult now!”

When Johnny had introduced you to his family, Lily had loved you right off the bat. You told her all about the flower she was named after and for a birthday gift one year, she made you a small ceramic garden pot with a pattern of lilies. One thing that Johnny could never take from you was the fondness his family still felt. When the two of you broke up, you were determined to keep in contact with some of them, mostly checking in on them from afar on social media.

“You have to sit right next to me!” she beams at you. Nudging you with her shoulder, she says, “You are also required by law to tell me about the pretty blonde boy you’re with.”

You beam at her. “That’s Felix, we’ve been dating for a few months. I’ve known him for years now but we only recently started dating. It still feels brand new.”

“Between you and me,” she says, leaning in with a whisper, “I like Jenny but I was really hoping for you to be my new sister-in-law back in the day. Johnny’s an absolute ass for losing you. But I’m glad you found someone! Especially someone who looks like they walked out of an elven forest.”

“Who walked out of a forest?” a deep voice questions behind you. Felix smiles down at the two of you, drinks in hand. He sets down a mojito in front of you, the mint and lime perfectly muddled together.

“You, obviously!” says Lily, excitement tugging at her lips as she gestures towards Felix’s appearance up close. “You’ve got a whole Legolas thing going on.”

Felix chuckles as he sits next to you, scooting his chair close enough that his knee touches yours. There’s a shiver that runs down your spine the longer you feel his body heat seep into you at this simple touch. 

The wedding party starts to walk in as the music swells from the DJ’s booth. It’s like a second wedding processional, the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk in, this time a little more loose and casual. 

Felix drapes his arm around you and places his hand at the back of your neck, thumb resting right at your hairline. You look over at him and smile. He’s so good at this, it almost feels natural. The way his hands easily find your body, the way you lean into his touch, it’s like you two instinctively orbit around one another. You fell into this so easily, it’s easy to forget that after the wedding is done, it’ll be over. 

It’ll be over. 

You clench your teeth together hard at the thought, dejection filling your veins. In an effort to drown the bittersweet feeling, you knock back the rest of your mojito, the mint cooling your throat.

Jenny and Johnny make their way in, smiling and waving at everyone as the DJ announces them. Johnny’s eyes scan the room and he falters for a moment when he spots you. At the same time, Felix starts to massage the tense muscles of your neck, fingers gently trailing up into your hair with a light scratch. You lean in to the comforting touch, your eyes glazing over, fully forgetting Johnny’s sharp gaze. The cool sensation of the mojito does nothing to quell the warmth building in your stomach. It’s a bold feeling, a confidence simmering in your body under Felix’s kneading hands. Fuck it, you think. If this is the one night you get to be with Felix, you’re not going to let the opportunity slip through your yearning fingers. If there’s a night to let the delusion take control, tonight is that night. You put your hand on his thigh, squeezing into the muscle of his thigh, mirroring his motion on your neck. Out of the corner of your eye, you see him readjust in his chair, lurching slightly in his chair.

After the couple sits down at their table, the food is served. The vineyard must have a special deal for big events like this, because the food is also fairly boring. The focus is definitely on the wine pairings over the actual dinners served. There’s bland chicken, sauteed summer squash, and some kind of starch. What they lack in interesting food, they make up for in wine selection. A sommelier flits around the room with the medallion shaped tastevin around their neck.

You’re not even paying attention to the meal to be honest, with the way that Felix has shifted his chair so close that his thigh presses up against yours. He seems like he’s attached to your hip, obsessed with the way you brush your fingers up his leg absentmindedly. Even when he’s just chatting with the rest of the table, he finds a way of touching you somewhere, his body needing to be in constant contact with yours as much as possible. Your hand finds its way onto his body just as often, wanting to soak up as much of this feeling to burn into your memory.

A hush falls over the room as the toasts begin. The bride’s mother makes a teary eyed speech about a new chapter in life, the best man makes a thinly veiled sex joke, and the maid of honor gently threatens Johnny’s life if he’s not able to keep Jenny happy. There’s a strange tone the maid of honor has when speaking about Johnny, a sarcastic sneer marring her face that feels a little too genuine to brush off as a joke. Jenny keeps nervously sipping at her champagne, a rosy hue painting her cheeks, eyes downcast. 

Felix’s arm is resting on your shoulders, pulling you into him more and more as the speeches go on, to the point where you have to wrap an arm around his waist to stay balanced. He smells so good, the slight perfume from the glass of wine on his breath and his fresh scented cologne mix together, swirling around you. Every time he chuckles at one of the toasts, it rumbles through you, a feeling more than a sound. Before you know it, you find yourself leaning your head onto his shoulder, tracing your nails over the embroidery of his shirt - your hand having slipped under his suit jacket a while ago. 

As the speeches drone on, Felix leans down towards you, face inches from yours, and murmurs, “Have I told you how good you look this evening?”

You look up at him, focus shifting back and forth between his dark eyes, he’s so close. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.”

“Well, allow me to mention it again,” he chuckles, as if the two of you are sharing a secret. He whispers even lower, “Did you see the look Johnny gave us when they walked in?”

“Barely.”

Felix hums. “Distracted?”

“Yeah, someone was massaging my neck so well, it made me forget where I was,” you say, a coy smile playing at the edge of your lips.

“Well…” Felix responds, his whisper at ASMR levels in your ear, making your skin tingle. “I could see why he’d be jealous.”

“Time for the cake!” Jenny’s voice squeals out, her volume rising as much as the color in her cheeks. She and Johnny stand as one of the event staff workers brings them the cake cutting knife and the photographer hovers around, flashing pictures as they both grasp the knife. 

They slice into the bottom tier of the cake, the green frosting giving way to a dark chocolate cake inside. They each take a piece on a small plate to feed to the other, Jenny laughing as she takes her fork and boops Johnny right on the nose with the frosting. Everyone in the crowd giggles as Johnny stares at her with a gob of green on his face, cheeks reddening.

The giggles turn to a collective gasp as Johnny takes his small plate, picks up his piece of cake, and smears it all over Jenny’s jaw, smashing it into her face. She yelps in shock as Johnny cackles. 

“Hey babe!” he cries, teeth glinting in the flash of the camera. He points to his chin, mocking her. “You got a little something right here!”

Jenny just stares at him, taking in the situation. No one is cheering or laughing other than Johnny, the room is full of uneasy murmuring. Slowly, Jenny begins to laugh, diffusing the tension only slightly, as she begins to wipe the cake off of her face. Her laughter doesn’t meet her eyes, you can see that much from where you’re seated. Felix looks at you with wide eyes, silently asking you what the fuck just happened. You shrug, just as shocked as he is. 

As the maid of honor rushes up to fuss over Jenny and her makeup, the DJ grabs the mic. He laughs nervously before trying to redirect everyone’s attention. “Alright everyone, line up for some cake! No need to use your face, we will provide you all with forks!”

A cautious titter runs through the room as people get up to join the line for cake. Felix smiles at you, biting at his bottom lip with his teeth. “Want to go get a slice?”

“Sure,” you say as he pulls you up from your seat.

“I won’t smash it into your face, I promise.”

As the two of you wait in the line for cake, Felix gets giddier, smiling wide and bouncing on his toes a little. You watch as different people in the crowd grab their plates, take a taste, and have a strange reaction. Some gasp in delight, mutters of wow echo around you, while others take their bite and their faces twist, bewildered at what they’re tasting. You have absolutely no idea what to expect when you get your plate as a staff member hands you and Felix a slice. The green icing and dark, moist cake look gorgeous, at the very least. You start to lift your fork to your mouth.

“Wait! Don’t take a bite til we’re back at the table,” Felix says suddenly, an impish look on his face. “I want to see your reaction.”

You cock an eyebrow at him, but oblige his weird request. You sit down, just the two of you, and you look at him, silently asking if you can finally take a bite. Felix is watching your every move, smiling with his bottom lip captured between his teeth. He looks like he’s about to unwrap a Christmas present. You lift the fork to your mouth once more, sliding it between your lips.

Mint... and chocolate? Your whole face scrunches up, it’s like toothpaste invading your dessert. One of your least favorite combinations, whoever popularized mint chocolate deserves jail time in your eyes. It dawns on you, looking up at Felix suddenly.

“You made the cake for this wedding?”

He’s giggling now, eyes disappearing into little crescents. “Yes! I told you mint chocolate was a controversial flavor.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” you exclaim. “Is that why you showed up so early?”

“Yeah, this was the delivery I made in the morning,” he says.

“So you’ve known Johnny and Jenny this whole time?”

Felix wipes his eyes from laughing at your reaction to the strange cake combination. “No, no - only Jenny. Johnny never came to any of the tastings, I didn’t put two and two together until today that we were working the same wedding.”

“So he was up my ass about the floral arrangements while he couldn’t even be bothered with any of the others?” you muse. What was it with Johnny constantly trying to undermine you? He neglected other wedding planning responsibilities while making sure he found the time to critique you. Then he stressed Jenny out by implying you’re incompetent. Is this the only reason he invited you?

“I guess. He really seems like an asshole, Y/n. How long did you guys date?”

“Just over four years. It was during college, we broke it off when we started drifting apart. Y’know, career stuff, different future plans.”

“Was he always this much of a dick?” Felix asks, taking a bite of his own cake. 

“Not really, when it ended, it sorta just fizzled out, but he wasn’t angry or rude when it happened. We agreed that whatever spark had been there previously had fully died. It got weird after we broke up when we tried being friends, so we became the kinds of friends you only see at big group functions.”

“He seems bitter. You don’t deserve any of that, whatever it is.”

“Maybe he is, I don’t know,” you say, pinching your brow. “Remind me in the future to never work at an ex's wedding ever again.”

“If it were up to me,” Felix mutters under his breath, looking away, “you wouldn’t have any future exes.”

“What?”

Just then, the mic turns on in the DJ booth, whining from the feedback for a second, drowning out any other conversation.

“Alright party people! It’s time for our two lovebirds to have their first official dance as a married couple!” The DJ says in a corny radio announcer voice. Jenny and Johnny shuffle to the dance floor, their smiles a little too tense to look natural. The DJ cues up their song, some slow ballad. You can’t even tell what it is because the way Felix laces his fingers with yours, squeezing gently, has your heart rate doubling.

Johnny and Jenny start their dancing, swaying back and forth. They’re not looking at one another, their movements stiff and a little awkward. Johnny steps on Jenny’s train, leaving a gray mark on her dress. She starts whispering angrily at him, their expressions fill with irritation. As the song ends and everyone politely claps, despite the awkward tension between the two. The DJ gets on the mic again.

“The bride and groom have requested that we open up the floor to all the couples in the crowd. If you’re in love out there, grab your partner and come to the floor!”

Felix grins wide at you and grabs your hand, pulling you out of your chair. You balk at him, following as he drags you to the dance floor. You join the other couples as another slow dance cues up. Johnny’s parents are there, arm in arm. His mother catches your eye and gives you a wink. 

Felix pulls you into his arms, clasping your hand in one of his and the other wraps around your waist. He brings your knuckles to his lips, placing a feather-light kiss on them. Your heart skips a whole beat, pounding extra hard as it catches up - you didn’t know it could do that. That’s something that only happens in romance novels.

He spins you around slowly, eyes locked on yours, his gaze soft and eyes sparkling. You’ve literally never seen a more beautiful person in your life, your breath catches in your throat just looking at him. The room fades away, you barely even notice the other couples that dance around you, the only person that matters is the one radiating sunshine in front of you. Warmth seeps into you where your bodies are pressed up against one another and you imagine the rhythm of your heartbeats match in this moment. 

You don’t even notice when the song changes and other people join in on the dance floor, filling all the extra space on the floor. Lily comes up and bumps you with her hip, smiling at the way you jolt in surprise. 

“You two look really good together!” she shouts over the upbeat music that blares through the speakers now.

She turns to Felix, who is still holding onto you, affection etched in every crevice of his face.

“We have a very fond place in our hearts for Y/n. You better take care of her, Legolas,” she says, playfully threatening him with a poke to the shoulder.

Felix laughs, pulling you closer, taking your hand and placing it over his heart. “I plan on it, you have my word.”

Satisfied with his response, she saunters away to dance. Felix takes your hand and spins you around, breaking the thick tension between the two of you. It’s so easy to get swept away by him, you almost let yourself believe he genuinely returns your feelings. He presses your back against his front as a sultry song comes on, swaying against you. He nuzzles into your neck, sending a shock of arousal through your body.

“I like putting you on display like this,” his voice nearly growls in your ear. 

Throwing caution to the wind, you decide to lean into the flirting, emboldened by the growl in his throat. Consequences be damned when he’s breathing into the sensitive skin of your throat.

“I like when you put me on display,” you respond.

He leans away from you, throwing his head back as he groans. You smile as you innocently grind your ass into his hips. His hands shoot out, grasping at your hips, fingers digging into the flesh. “You’re gonna get us both in trouble if you keep doing that.”

You laugh as you grasp his hand, spinning away from him like a ballroom dancer, yanking him towards you. He stumbles into you, laughing as he nearly tips over. Your arms wrap around him in a big hug as you both end up a giggling mess as you sway on the dance floor. 

Eventually, you find your forehead pressed against Felix’s, calming down but still beaming at him. 

“Hey…  I want to say thank you,” you murmur. Your voice is low, but he’s so close so you know he hears you.

“I’m a really good dancer, I know,” he replies, chuckling. “No need to thank me.”

You smack him lightly on the shoulder with a huff of laughter. “No, I’m serious. Thank you for being my date tonight.”

“Of course,” his voice dips low again. 

“You don’t have to keep up the act though, I think we’re believable enough,” you mutter, looking down at your feet.

Felix reels back at that, pulling his head away from yours to look at you. There’s a confused frown on his face. “Who’s acting?”

You avoid his eyes. “I just don’t want you to feel pressured to keep up a fake identity. You’ve definitely impressed everyone with the boyfriend treatment.”

“I’m not feeling pressured to do anything, Y/n. I’m acting this way because I enjoy doing it.” he mutters back intensely.

You roll your eyes. “Be for real, Felix. I know you don’t feel that way about me.”

“Who said I don’t feel that way about you?”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“Who’s lying?!”

“Shhh!” you whisper. Your voices weren’t raising too much to be heard over the music, but you still wanted to be cautious. “I don’t need you getting my hopes up like that.”

“Y/n, I swear…” Felix says, clenching his jaw, looking away from you while he composes himself. His hands find your waist, gripping into the fabric of your dress, looking you deep in the eye. “You want to talk about getting hopes up? You want to talk about long nights chatting and trying my baked goods even when I had work at 4 AM? Or brushing up against me and holding my hands while I help you with floral stuff? Being there for me when I need you, knowing you will drop everything at a moment’s notice to help me? Today is the first time I’ve ever felt like you might actually feel something for me after years of being obsessed with you.”

“What?” You halt in your tracks on the dance floor, shock freezing you in place. He leans back into you, pressing his forehead against yours with a sigh.

“I have loved you for ages now,” Felix murmurs, his eyes fluttering shut. “I’ve just been waiting for you to notice.”

You are silent, a thousand different emotions quaking through you as you listen to Felix confessing. Anger that he didn’t do it sooner. Fear that he might be lying. Shame that it took you this long to figure it out. But overwhelmingly you feel elation, your heart soars into your throat. Words escape you, knowing that there’s only one real way you can respond.

You grab him by the lapels and pull him into you, connecting your lips in one quick motion. His lips are plump and malleable, molding over yours as he gets lost in the feeling. He gasps, stealing the breath from your mouth, when he realizes what you’re doing. Pulling back slightly, he checks to see if you really want this, if your desire matches his. All he sees is your fierce gaze, dripping with lust as you lick your bottom lip, waiting for his response. This will change everything, but you’re ready to trust Felix as you fall. 

His hands cup your cheeks as he swoops back down, capturing your lips again. Plush and warm, your lips gliding against one another, pulling his bottom lip into your mouth and nibbling lightly. You don’t care that you’re in view of everyone else at this reception, right in the middle of the dance floor. All you care about is the way Felix licks your bottom lip, asking to deepen the kiss. You surge into him, tongues entwining, falling into him further as you both battle for dominance in this heated moment. Arousal sears through you as you press your pelvis into his as your hands clutch the material of his jacket. You lose track of time and space, all that matters is Felix and his constellation of freckles.

You hear someone cheer, some applause, even a wolf whistle. You detach from Felix long enough to realize that the attention is on the two of you. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment as you pull away slightly from Felix, sheepishly smiling at those around you. You notice Bobby and Peter off to the side, beers in hand, as the source of the wolf whistles. You’ve never been so happy to be so embarrassed.

The reception continues, the two of you continue to dance and steal kisses throughout the evening. There’s a kind of magic between the two of you on the floor, one that other people notice. After all the stress of the planning, prep, and setup, you feel all that melt away as Felix encircles you once more, singing along to some of the songs in his deep voice.

The night continues, most people are a few drinks in at this point. The dance floor is getting louder and messier. Shoes have been kicked off, faces are red from exertion, voices are slurred. You have been so wrapped up in Felix to do anything other than flitting around the dance floor, depending on the song that’s playing. You catch up with your friends and some of Johnny’s family members that you’re fond of, introducing Felix to them. They offer him warm welcomes and knowing smiles.

 Jenny and Johnny are nowhere to be seen on the floor, staying behind their table for most of the evening. Jenny ventured onto the dance floor a few times for her bridesmaids, but for the most part, there’s a bit of a dark rain cloud over the newlyweds. Jenny leaves her new husband at the table and goes to whisper in the DJ’s ear.

The feedback from the mic squeals again as the DJ starts a new announcement. “Who’s ready for the bouquet toss?!”

You feel bodies move past yours, gathering into one area as Jenny stands at the front, ready to chuck the bouquet behind her head. One of your least favorite parts of any wedding, knowing how hard you worked on the bouquet. You and Felix stand off to the side to give the grabbing hands more room. Felix can’t be bothered to look at anything or anyone else in this room, staring at you with hearts in his eyes as he holds you at the waist.

“Just a heads up, I’m really bad at throwing!” Jenny says, with a grin as she turns around. She goes to fling it over her head towards the crowd, but it doesn’t go in a standard arc up and over. Somehow, physics worked differently with this bouquet. She tosses it over her head, it shoots out to the side, hitting Felix in the face.

He scrambles to pick up the bundle of flowers as it topples to the ground, spluttering through some of the pampas grass that got stuck to his mouth. The laughter that comes out of you is a deep belly laugh, you double over. Felix waits above you as you take a few moments to stop cackling in his face before he hands you the bouquet with a peck to your cheek. Even though there are a few disappointed faces in the crowd, you get another round of applause as you hold up the bouquet.

The mic squeals again, the constant interrupter of the evening, as Johnny grabs it suddenly out of the DJ’s hand. His eyes are bright and his cheeks are a ruddy shade of red, he’s definitely had too much to drink tonight. 

“Yeah! Everyone give it up for Y/n!” he slurs into the mic. “Our florist and my ex!”

There are a few scattered claps of confusion from the crowd, unsure of what’s happening. 

“We’re celebrating love tonight, me ‘n Jennyyyy,” he draws out the last syllable of his wife’s name, trying to sound cutesy. “Y/n, we’re so happy you finally found someone. We were starting…. to get worried!” 

He takes a few gulps of air to calm his hiccups, you start to feel the color rise in your cheeks.

“Cuz…y’know. That clock…. Tick-tock, tick-tock!” He waggles his finger back and forth like a swinging clock pendulum. “And you chose the baker! Give it up for the baker everyone! He made the cake tonight…”

You and Felix just stare in shock at Johnny’s impromptu drunken rant. Your heart drops into your stomach. Why is he doing this to you? 

“Y/n, why’s he so pretty? Too pretty for a guy, amiright? When… you first showed up with him… I thought! You had gone lesbian!” He guffaws into the mic. Peter, Bobby, and some of the other groomsmen start to make their way towards him from the back of the crowd, trying to get to their friend before he makes a bigger ass out of himself. Johnny takes another sip of his drink, “FUCK YOU GUYS, that’s funny! Hope you guys are happy, because I’m REALLY FUCKING HAP-”

Jenny yanks the mic out of Johnny’s hand, arguing with him in a low voice. Peter and Bobby come up to him, trying to grab him by the shoulders to take him out to the vineyard for some air. He tries to wrestle out of their grasp, shouting “HAPPIEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!” as they force him out of the reception.

At the same time as Johnny’s outburst, you’ve already turned on your heel, marching out of the reception through the main hall. You have no idea where you’re headed at this point, you just need to get away from all the chaos. Even though he was drunk, that gives him no right to insult you like that! Who the hell does Johnny think he is? Your face burns as the anger and embarrassment crash through you.

“Y/n, wait!” Felix catches up to you, grabbing your hand to get you to slow down. 

You’re panting, trying to get as far away from the reception as possible, but you stop at Felix’s gentle grasp. As you turn, he pulls you into a tight hug.

“I could go beat his ass for you if you want. I have like… a lot of medals in taekwondo,” he says. Your heart rate starts to slow at the deep pressure he wraps around you. Somehow, you manage a small chuckle as all of the anger pumping through starts to dissipate. 

“No, don’t do that,” you murmur into his shirt. Your eyes prick with tears, but you’re too mad to cry at the moment. “Just get me out of here.”

“Will do!” he says, pulling you in the direction of the main lobby. As you get to the door, he stops short. “Wait! I have to go grab you something! It’s important!”

Felix jogs away towards the kitchens, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You take a couple deep breaths, the summer evening air gentle and breezy still. It makes you so angry that Johnny needed to make himself feel big by trying to cut you down. 

-Putting you on the spot like that and attempting to insult you was the perfect cherry on top of this shitty event for you. You had worked so hard to make their floral arrangement look good, roll with the punches when there were huge changes at the last minute, and take it on the chin when he tried to insult you again and again. Attempting to insult you by bringing up your fertility, sexual orientation, or commenting on anyone’s gender was laughable to you, that wasn’t the issue though. Your issue is that Johnny continued to be the worst version of himself in an attempt to be spiteful towards you. He ruined multiple people’s night, including his new bride, by shining his horrible spotlight on you.

Felix jogs back with a small paper box and fork balanced in hand. He grabs for your hand with his free one as he continues down the hallway. He peeks his head into one room, the groom’s dressing room, finding it empty. Pulling you inside, he whirls around and shuts the door. On the nearby vanity, he sets the box down, opening it gently.

“I made you something,” he says, handing you the box. You peer inside and it’s a slice of speckled cake with a light yellow frosting. “I knew you weren’t going to like the mint chocolate one, so I made sure to grab a slice of the earl grey with lemon before I left this morning. I remembered it was your favorite from that batch I made last week.”

Your eyes water at the gesture. Felix always  remembers all the small details. He cares for you in a way you don’t even think about until it’s been sitting in front of your face for ages, plain as day. Of course Felix returns your feelings, he’s been so obvious about it now that you know! He would ruin his sleep schedule to stay with you, coax you to bed when you were too stubborn to do it yourself, bring you your favorite treats on your worst days without you asking - almost like he knew intrinsically what you needed. All the signs have been there for years that he wants to be more than your friend, your insecurities were just clouding the view. 

“Felix…” you murmur. Setting down the cake, you bring your hand up to his cheek, caressing your thumb over his cheekbone before placing a chaste kiss onto his lips. You pour all of your unspoken feelings into this kiss. Pulling back, you say, “I’ve loved you for so long, I got too comfortable in the unrequited feeling. I always talked myself out it.”

“I know you’ve had some…baggage with dating in the past,” Felix says, gesturing to the outside, as if pointing to Johnny. “So I’ve been waiting for you to catch on at your own pace.”

You smile at him, like dawn breaking on your face. “I’ve caught on.”

He leans down to kiss you again, hands cupping your face gently like delicate porcelain. The crisp, clean scent of his cologne wafts over you, and your hands clench in the fabric of his shirt as you tilt your head to deepen the kiss.

“Wait, wait,” he murmurs against your lips. “I want you to try the cake first.”

You huff out a laugh. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously,” he says, biting his bottom lip with a smile.

With a feigned sigh, you pick up the box and fork, stabbing into the fluffy cake. You take one frosting heavy bite. It’s just like you remembered - the herbal flavor complementing the tender white cake with the tang of the lemon curd and frosting burst in your mouth. It’s a beautiful combination of sour and sweet. Felix watches your eyes flutter shut at the taste.

“Fuck, Felix, that’s delicious,” you say.

“Y/n, you’ve got a little-” Felix starts, tilting his head towards you.

“Oh my god!” you lick your lips, trying to get the extra frosting that escaped. Felix’s eyes are glued to your mouth, watching your tongue slide over your bottom lip. You thumb over the area, trying to wipe any excess off. 

“Did I get it?”

“No, not like that,” Felix says as his eyes darken. 

He grasps your chin in one hand, lifting ever so slightly, as his other hand drags a finger through the frosting of the cake, picking up a dollop, and smearing it on the side of your lip. 

The touch is electric, eyes locked onto his as he brings that finger to his mouth again. He licks the rest of frosting off of it, gaze never leaving yours for a second, watching your eyes dilate with want. “Let me help.”

He drags your face towards him, his tongue lapping at the frosting he’s smeared on your lip, pulling your mouth to his. This kiss is different, all the chaste feelings are gone. All that’s left is pure lust, a deep desire to claim the thing you’ve both wanted for so long.

taglist:

@binniesbabe @jeonginsleftcheek @ivydoesit23 @stayatinykatsy @mong---mong

@palindrome969 @dottydarling @chiaki-nanami-aesthetic @minnieprincess85 @jabmastersupriseee

@birdfool @jaquisos

[misslillianvalentine]

BG3 Fics Round-Up

I figured it was probably time for me to make one of these! I mostly write goofy Bloodweave one-shots, but I sometimes sprinkle in serious fics and multi-chapter fics!

Current/Main WIPs

Bad Decisions Make Bright Futures Rating: Explicit Length: 14.7k words (7/? chapters) Summary: Gale's marriage to Mystra has grown cold. He knows he needs to end it, but he struggles to find the nerve to stand up to her. His best friend, Karlach, decides to get involved and give him a nudge in the right direction by throwing a house party. Astarion is bored with life and desperately needs something, or someone, to shake things up a bit. An opportunity arises one night as he’s playing wingman for Shadowheart at a house party her crush invited them to. OR There's a massive house party at Gale's place and things get crazy!

Heaven on the Fouth Floor (or what I lovingly call the pigeon fic) Rating: Explicit Length: 12.6k words (7/? chapters) Summary: Gale and Astarion work at the same lawfirm - Gale as a reseacher and Astarion as a top lawyer. They barely interact at work and never outside of the office, but that all changes when Astarion's personal homing pigeon delivers his flirtatious messages to the wrong person.

My Favorite Finished Bloodweave Fics

My Love isn't Trivial Rating: Explicit Length: 9,268 words (3 chapters) Summary: Gale has a horrific performance at trivia with his friends, so Astarion plans another game for them to play the next night to heal his ego.

You're Late Rating: Mature Length: 1,421 words Summary: Astarion is working as a librarian, and Gale never remembers to pay his late fees.

Leave Your Message After the Beep Rating: Teen Length: 736 words Summary: 90s AU Romcom told through voicemails

Beach House Rating: Explicit Length: 13,872 words (7/7 chapters) Summary: Gale's heart is broken, and his friends drag him to the beach for the summer. He meets an alluring bartender named Astarion, and he forgets all about his ex.

Bloodweave Listens & Sometimes Judges Rating: Mature Length: 723 words Summary: Astarion talks Gale into making a video for his social media followers, and it is very enlightening.

First Winter Without You Rating: Mature Length: 900 words Summary: Astarion decorates the holiday tree for the first time since losing Gale.

DM vs. DM at the Pride Parade Rating: Explicit Length: 2.5k words Summary: It's the morning of the pride parade, and Gale and Astarion are fighting over the same spot for their floats. OR They fight then bang in a float during a parade

Destiny is Overrated Rating: Explicit Length: 6,421 words Summary: Astarion was on vacation with his friends at a ski lodge when he developed a passion for snow tubing. Meanwhile, Vampire Hunter Gale Dekarios and his trusty sidekick, Thay, were on the hunt for their next target. OR Gale chases Astarion down a hill on snow tubes, and they get infected with snow pollen.

Series

Gale for Waterdeep Political AU one-shots where Gale is Governor of Waterdeep, and Astarion is his top political advisor (later his husband).

Gale for Waterdeep

A Waterdhavian Prenup

First Gentleman of Waterdeep

Cookies & Cream

Good Pups Throw Milkshakes

I am Once Again Asking

Memes I love turning memes into fics. These are mostly unrelated one-shots.

Bae Sized Hole

Penance

Weekend Crack Fics I like to sometimes get together with friends and write crack fics. These are mostly unrelated one-shots.

Undead Diatribes

An Unfortunate Landing

Love Me or Stake Me

Laser Tag My Frosted Heart

Who Ordered This Cake?

Too Many Books for a Disney Cruise

Fly Me to the Spirit Halloween

Kiss Me Under the Fluorescent Lights of the Bass Pro Shop

Underdark Blasphamy

Get Your Gucci Sunglasses Out of the Wendy’s Dumpster

Other One-Shots/Two-Shots

Comedy

Too Many Mimosas in the Bitch Queen’s Dress

Bandit Band Abandons Banned Bandanas

Dicks and Daggers, Darling

Smut

Gale Dekarios is a Very Good Boy

Prematurely Perished Protocol

Astarion's Chosen

Teeny Tiny Lamp

Sending Spell Sexts

Getting Together/Fluff

Be My Valentine?

Falling for You at the Fall Festival

Snow & Bourbon

Ready for It

Vortexes & Vices

clouds do more than woo you, they wow you

Gale's First Pride

Whump

Last Dance

do you want to live forever with me?

Not Bloodweave

A Missing Oath & A Missing Heart (Karlach/Oathbreaker Knight)

Escaping Avernus (Karlach Pre-Cannon)

What Morti Wants, Morti Gets (Nepo Baby Durge)

DOGE vs. Fearún Federal Employees (Emails)

Family Line (Pep Talk form Jaheira)

Two Severed Hands, One Murder Tribunal (Bloodweave but make it both cursed and superior; Gale's Hand/Dribbles's Hand)

Other WIPs (Slow to Update & On Hiatus)

Sun-Walker (Slow to Update) Rating: Mature Length: 5,328 words (2/? chapters) Summary: Gale is settling back into life in Waterdeep after getting rid of the orb. He spends his time researching powerful magical artifacts and learning new spells. Astarion is on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance after two centuries of torment. Working as a mercenary, he accepts any job that will take him somewhere new. When the two cross paths in Waterdeep, their lives change forever. OR Gale and Astarion set off to find the Ring of the Sun-Walker. Hijinx ensue and they eventually seek out the help of the tadpole crew.

In Need of Sugar (Slow to Update) Rating: Mature Length: 1,578 words (1/2 chapters) Summary: Astarion just wants to smoke some weed and zone out, but his annoying dealer refuses to leave his house. Gale runs out of sugar while baking brownies, so he asks his neighbor for some. OR They get stoned and watch The Lord of the Ring.

I'm Not Above Enjoying This (Slow to Update) Rating: Mature Length: 2,389 words (1/? chapters) Summary: It is the 50th anniversary of defeating the Nether Brain, and Astarion is making his way from the Underdark to Baldur’s Gate for some sort of celebration at Shadowheart’s insistence. A chance encounter with Yenna's granddaughter one night sets him on a path to kill a duke.

Devil Like Me (Slow to Update) Rating: Explicit Length: 1,585 words (1/? chapters) Summary: Astarion is a renown tattoo artist who travels to Waterdeep at the behest of a wealthy client. Gale just finalized his divorce and needs an embarrassing tattoo covered up.

Hello My Old Heart (On Hiatus) Rating: Mature Length: 14,798 words (14/25 chapters) Summary: It’s been a year since the fall of the Netherbrain and Gale deciding not to ascend to godhood. He moved to Waterdeep after breaking-up with Astarion months ago, but he is dragged back to Baldur’s Gate by his good friend Rolan who is very worried about him. Astarion has moved on and hardly thinks about his ex anymore until Gale walks into The Blushing Mermaid one night. Their reunion sets off a chain of events that will not only change their lives, but potentially the lives of whole worlds.

Influence (On Hiatus) Rating: Mature Length: 6,190 words (2/3 chapters) Summary: Astarion is an influencer on TikTok, and he’s not sure what to do as the ban approaches. Gale, the ever devoted husband that he is, tries to help him cope.

Invisible String (On Hiatus) Rating: Mature Length: 10,070 words (8/? chapters) Summary: Gale and Astarion have a bright future ahead of them if they follow the right paths. Only time will tell how this story ends.

[thesestories]

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Thanks for bearing with me while I stepped out of my comfort zone and jumped into posting more forward facing imagery and tons of business promo. My heart lives behind the lens, or focusing on operations / innovation / creating + designing, so the last few months have been an adjustment for me and if I look like I am finding my sea legs, it’s because I am! Social media has always felt like a weird landing place for me because it is admittedly a platform built for promoting oneself, in a space where I am most drawn to promoting the work of others, and what I see through my lens. And of course, I love to sprinkle in a bit about my businesses that I am so proud of too! But if you have followed along for a while you know that I love to highlight the work and wisdom of other artists/makers/companies, while talking in depth (sometimes too in depth I know!) about health, wellness and sustainability. At my core, I think I am a bit self-conscious in this “selfie world”. And at the risk of sounding silly I had to jump on to say THANK YOU for hanging with me here while there has been a shift in content, as this chapter of business required a bit more “self-promo” than I normally put out and I appreciate you all coming along for the ride and also supporting /liking/sharing that content! Whew had to get that one off my chest! Ha! Thanks for coming to my TED talk this morning! Now back to your usual programming!! (x)

[rindouheart]

— white nights

rindou haitani x y/n l/n

first night | mlist | wc: 1.3k (next chapters will be longer)

synopsis: after another date went wrong, rindou comes over to your house and check how your love life is going. he wished he never asked.

contents: just pure fluff and cuteness, alcohol consumption and a few swear words.

“so, can I call you by your first name, rindou?” asks the girl sitting at the table, in front of him. he hums, “sure”.

ayaka mikoroshi is her name, a porcelain-skinned doll who has got long black hair, deep brown eyes and peach lips. she really looks like a model and fits with all the beauty standards imposed by society. “let’s start our dinner, shall we?” she smiles. 

“what would you like to eat? don’t worry about the price, i’ll pay for you” he says while reading the menu of the fancy restaurant they’re in.

[a couple hours later]

“was it that bad?” you ask your friend, almost laughing at his exhausted state.

“it was boring as hell” rindou mumbles while fixing his purple mullet. since ran is busy, you were the one who had to pick up rindou at the restaurant.

“do you want to come over? instead of spending a night alone at the bonten headquarters” you purpose. he nods in approval.

it has been ages since your bet and still no one has won it. more than a bet, it seems like a real curse to your love lives. none of you has been capable of finding a soulmate and end this bet.

“my date wasn’t the best either” you sigh while driving to your house. “the guy i had dinner with yesterday kept talking about his love for fitness and his physical skills, i was about to pick my stuff and leave”.

rindou, by hearing this, is kind of relieved. at least he’s not the only one to be haunted by bad luck. anyway, he doesn’t have a clue about the fact that you still haven’t found a boyfriend. he was sure you would have won the bet in a week or so.

“the girl i‘ve just had dinner with was only focusing on her instagram home page” you laugh at his words. “she was taking photos of me and the food for her social medias, i can’t believe she used me to look good in front of her followers”.

“rin, you know you’re a handsome man, why are you surprised about her behaviour?” you smile at him and stop the car in you parking lot.

“honestly i’m more surprised about the fact that you haven’t found a boyfriend yet. i thought you would have won this pretty easily” rindou jumps off your vehicle and follows you to the entrance of your home.

“i’m more complicated than you think” you laugh. it has been years since the last decent date you’ve had. every boy you’ve came across after it was only looking for a not-too-serious thing. you realised that, being a big name in finance and economy, is more like a curse than a good thing a bit too late: everyone was looking for your money and your good appearance, not for a long lasting relationship.

“anyway, how’s the new job you’ve applied for?” asks rindou, sitting on the couch and looking for the tv remote.

you go to the kitchen to take a pair of beer bottles, in order to save the evening at least for rindou. “it’s a good workplace, my new colleagues are pretty friendly and talkative. the job is similar to my old one, money, calculating, writing down and save the files on the database” you describe.

you join him on the sofa, putting the beer in front of yourself. “i’ve never heard this brand before” your best friend picks up one and checks the label “is it expensive?”.

“it isn’t, just a couple of euros in italy. one of my coworkers loves that country and always goes there when she has the opportunity. she gave me a pair of these as a welcome gift” 

“ich– ichnusa?” he reads while trying his best to pronounce its name correctly. “never thought italian was so complicated” he adds.

“she told me it’s from sardinia, an island where people both speak italian and another difficult language called sardinian” after that, you take a sip and nod. it’s good, the taste is similar to lemonade, a bit a sour with a sprinkle of alcohol. its percentage is pretty low, so it’s very unlikely to you to get drunk with it.

“do you know if there is any website which sells this? it might become one of my favourites” he asks, looking again at the label.

in the meanwhile, you turn on the tv and scroll through your netflix homepage. as usual, the network has recently added a bunch of teen romance and teen dramas, the ones created with a cookie cutter, as you define.

“any chance of watching a boring romance comedy where you know the couple will get together from the first two minutes?” rindou asks with sarcasm. he only watches those kind of stuff just to comment how dumb and no-sense are the protagonists’ actions and dialogues.

“have you ever thought about how good would be living in a romance movie?” you say, turning your face to him “i mean, some weird shit happens, you find yourself locked in a situation with your childhood friend or enemy and then, boom! you’re a couple! the end” you joke.

“sounds cheesy and cringe, really cringe” he comments, drinking from his bottle. you just sigh and roll your eyes. why is he always like that?

“back to our discussion” rindou speaks again, “are you going to go out for another date these days?” demands, curious.

“hmm, well, i have one planned for saturday night, and i might have found the man who will make me win our bet” you smirk and take another sip of beer.

“are you sure about it? give me information, i want to know everything” he really sounds like one of those high school girls in drama movies, but he has always been your best friend, so why not?

“he is about our age, he has got pink hair and two unique scars–“ in the exact moment you start talking of his scars, rindou stands up.

“is that sanzu? sanzu haruchiyo? that sanzu haruchiyo?” his voice raises more than usual. “why are you acting like this?” you ask, intimidated by his sudden reaction.

“don’t go out with him, just don’t” there’s a point of anger in his voice, which doesn’t get unnoticed. “why?” you try to ask again, standing up too.

“he’s a dangerous guy, he works for bonten with me and ran, cancel the date” he shouts, then, he goes towards the door and, without even saying goodbye, exits your house.

rindou doesn’t know what made him snap in that way. was it because you are going to go out with sanzu and not him? is he jealous of you, his best friend? why you having a date with sanzu makes his blood boil just at the thought? he shakes his head. he doesn’t want to spend time thinking about this useless stuff. he isn’t jealous, he has just warned you about a dangerous man, that’s it. 

you’re still standing in the middle of your living room, too busy in realising what has just happened. your childhood best friend has shouted at you and got furious without giving you a decent reason. “he’s dangerous”, yeah, and you’re a grown adult who can decide on their own. you won’t ditch the date with sanzu, it’s your life and you don’t have to ask rindou’s permission to meet someone. although, he never asked your opinion before one of his dates.

you want to say you’re angry with him for what he has done, but more than rage, you feel something more like delusion and disappointment. you know he cares about you, but you can’t be put under his control, it’s a wrong and obsessive behaviour.

“ran, i literally can’t believe it, she is going on a date with that fucker” remarks rindou, holding the phone with one hand and fiddling with a lilac strand of hair with the other. “you know sanzu is sitting right there and can hear us?” says ran, with his usual provoking voice. “i’m joking, he isn’t here at the moment,” laughs after his brother’s long pause. “you pri-” rindou mumbles, before being interrupted by his older sibling “are you nervous because sanzu asked her out and she might like him? instead of you?” suggests ran.

“fuck you” is the only answer that comes out from rindou’s lips before ending the phone call. he takes a big breath and exhales. he hates admitting it, but his brother is fucking right.

taglist: @xbabybajix @ilykii + ask if you want to be added (comment or inbox with your @)

rindouheart’s original fic — please don’t copy or steal — 123121

[nicka-nell]

≡ Masterlist     |  ∇  prev  | chapter 31 |  next  ∆

Pairing: Osamu x reader (main route), Atsumu x reader

Genre: Social Media-AU (SMAU), writing

Warning: mention of alcohol, drinking game - Tequila Bodyshot, mdni

Risky game: 2021/07/11 - Sunday

The amber-colored liquor runs into the small glasses, before Osamu puts the bottle aside without closing it. He jumps from the counter and holds one of the two glasses over to you.

“So ya said you know the game? So I don’t need to explain?”

You know the game, but in order not to embarrass yourself, you ask him to explain it to you again, not that you think of a completely different game for whatever reason. Playful, he smirks, places his glass down before he approaches you, stops in front of your dangling legs as his warm hands briefly touch your knees. His face is so close to yours that you can already smell the scent of alcohol coming from his lips.

“So you pick out a body part, which I lick with my tongue and sprinkle salt on it, then I drink the shot, lick the spot clean again, and steal the lime slice that you guard nicely for me with your lips. Of course we’ll switch then.” He says in a deep voice, look at the utensils you need for the game before he examines your reddened cheeks.

Would it have been better just to clean up quickly and then bring you home to Atsumu? Definitely. Has he been playing with fire way too much the entire night? Risking too much with all the touches, the fleeting kiss, the looks he has given you… and probably will regret it tomorrow when he is sober again? Oh damn, definitely yes. Does he give a shit about all that right now because he enjoys spending time with you, being so close to you, having you all to himself now, your attention fully on him? Pretty much, yeah. But what if you only said yes to the game because he's your boss?

“Well, we can still just clean up and I’ll take ya to Tsumu.”

“One shot for each of us and then we clean up!” You answer him unsure.

Your whole body yearns for him. You feel your abdomen tingling only at the thought of his lips on your skin. A shot should be fine. But you’re afraid that something will happen with more shots you may drink, that you’ll regret. What if you accidentally tell him you’ve developed feelings for him? You know you’re usually honest when you’re drunk. But nothing would happen with one shot, at least that’s what you think.

Like a toddler, Osamu is happy with your answer. Is excited about what place of your body you’ll make available for him.

“Ya wanna start?” He asks, wants to let you go first, but you just shake your head. You already know where you would love to point with your fingertips but you would never do that. After all you can't point at your lips, right? Unsure about the body part you would show him, you give Osamu the opportunity to show you the part of his skin you should sprinkle with salt.

“All right.” He smiles softly, takes one of the lime slices between his teeth before pointing at his neck. Actually, he was just doing this to watch your innocent expression, because you look pretty cute when you don’t know what to do. He just wanted to tease you a bit and then point at the back of his hand. Yet, he didn’t expect you to nod and bend forward to him, press him with your hands even closer towards you between your legs so that you can better reach for his neck.

If he lowered his gaze now, he would surely see part of your slip as far as your dress slid upwards. Osamu tries not to let the surprise be seen on his face, nor does he stop you from bringing your lips to his neck. Instinctively, he closes his eyes, enjoys the affection, your warm lips, and the wholesome feeling which flows through his whole body. Just then the place gets cold and he senses how something crumbly crackling on his skin.

“Cheers!” you say with an unusually high-pitched voice, feverish expression, before you drink your glass empty to chug and for a moment twist your face. You shake your head due to the bitter taste on your tongue and the sudden burn in your throat through the alcohol. Even now, you’re incredibly pretty, Osamu thinks and knows that he shouldn’t have suggested this game.

This isn’t right. No matter how good it feels right now, he’s going to regret it. But before he can think about canceling all this, your lips brush his for a second when you pull the slice of lime out of his mouth and drink the sour-bitter juice. Osamu doesn’t know what to say, just knows that he won’t like to stop.

Still, the bitter-sour taste is on your tongue, mixed with the harsh alcohol. “It doesn’t taste as bad as I remember it.” You laugh up, still grimacing, while Osamu’s expression relaxes, and he laughs with you.

“Then I should probably drink my shot right away in order to give my opinion, huh?”

Embarrassed, you nod, look into his playful face, and see how he glances at you. “What’s the matter, Osamu?”

“It’s Samu for ya. I’m still waiting for you to show me a spot I can sprinkle with salt.”

Suddenly, your cheeks are getting warm again, as you turn silent. What would be the right place for your boss to moisten your skin? The back of your hand? Maybe just a finger? Even though you’re still thinking, your body acts on its own, as your index finger taps on your neck. When you feel the typing, your eyes grow big and you try to talk yourself out of the situation. “Eh I -”

“So the same spot, huh?” He grins and cuts off your words before he approaches your neck. His breath tickles your skin. You feel this tingling again, even though he hasn’t even touched you. Just then your eyes met before he kisses your neck, sucking it lightly and wet a small spot. If you’d known it would feel so good, you’d have given him another body part, one that wouldn’t drive you so crazy. The last time you felt this way, had so much fun, feels like an eternity.

Uncontrollably, a quiet moan slips from your lips, makes Osamu stop for a moment, as you freeze. You hope that the music that still runs quietly in the background was louder than your voice, but Osamu giggles deeply, proving otherwise as he makes sure to tease you a bit. Because for a second time his lips touch your neck, followed by his canines nibbling on your wet skin.

Although the spot is more than wet, he gives you another, hungry kiss, making you moan quietly before you sense the salt on your skin and don’t dare to look Osamu in the eye. You can already feel his teasing smile on your lips. Yet, he pushes his finger against your chin, draws your attention back to him while he shows you a lime slice with his other hand.

“Open your mouth.” He almost whispers when you obey him and spread your lips. He pushes the lime slice a bit into your mouth, letting you taste the bitter juice, while your eyes are locked for the whole time. You’re so excited for some inexplicable reason, obey like a good girl waiting for her reward.

Smiling, Osamu reaches for the glass, holds the dark liquid against you before he drinks it, does not even blink an eye because of the bitter taste as he turns to the place on your neck, which shimmers through the salt. His tongue is so hot, as you feel his canines nibbling now more softly on your flesh. It’s wrong, but it feels so good. So good, you would like to moan again, but the slice of lime prevents you from whining again. Still, you’re glad you can’t make a sound, because you don’t want Osamu to think in the wrong way of you, knowing that you want more from him than just being his co-worker. After all, you know from Atsumu and also Bokuto that he’s not really interested in a relationship because he still has feelings for his ex girlfriend. Such a lucky girl, you think… However; you don’t want to think about that right now.

It feels like a pleasant eternity how Osamu licks your neck clean of the salt. How his hair tickles your skin, when his hand suddenly lies on your bare thigh and strokes it with his soft fingertips. Slowly he lifts his head, comes close to your face before stealing the lime from your mouth. Your lips meet a third time that night and you look deep into each other’s eyes as Osamu lets go of you. He throws the sucked-out lime slice into the small trash can under the counter, supports his arms left and right beside you, as he focuses on your beautiful eyes once again, just a few inches apart from each other’s lips.

“Clean up?”

“Clean up… Or... O- one more round and then we clean up?”

The words come out of your mouth even though you didn’t want to say them. First surprised, then entertained, he nods before filling the two glasses with the dark alcohol again. Anew, you give him to understand that he should start. Again he nods and this time points to the other side of his neck. You, too, imitate him and point to the same side where you licked off the salt off Osamu’s skin earlier. But you should have known that it wouldn’t stay with just the second shot.

You play several more rounds, first the left cheek, then the right, then the earlobe, and then the collarbone. You’re much too sensitive to his kiss on your collarbone, don’t know if it’s the alcohol or Osamu’s kisses that drive you crazy. But your inner burns want more and you notice the area between your legs tingling, getting wet.

A muffled moan escapes you through the lime, so quietly that you are sure Osamu did not hear it. As so many times before, your lips brush against each other just so that he can take the citrus out of your mouth. Again he throws away the lime zest, looks at the small bowl where the fruits lay inside, which is now completely empty. Focused, you follow his gaze, realize that this was probably the last round, really the last round.

“Looks like tha- this’s the last round.” You almost babble sadly and look at Osamu, who has become even more irresistible in the last half hour, while he is still incredibly close to you. He took off his shirt some time ago, is only in his black and tight t-shirt in front of you and you’re not sure, but these upper arms, how could they get even sexier?

From the corner of his eye, he sees how your lips still shine, almost as if screaming for him to kiss you. No… that’s only what he imagines. It’s not good to think of stuff like that again. So he tries to distract himself, looks straight into your eyes, and is magically attracted to them. To them and to you in general. Why can’t he think clearly? He should never have drunk so much alcohol, the alcohol makes him careless. You are his employee. His beautiful... lovely employee...

“Looks like it was the last round.” He whispers, doesn’t move away from you.

“So…. Should we… clean up?”

“Yeah… clean up’s a good idea.”

Nodding, you press your hands against Osamu’s chest, wanting to push him away so you can jump off the counter, but he stops you. He doesn’t want to clean up now. He doesn’t want to let you go already. He wants you to stay with him. Is that wrong what he’s about to do? More than wrong, it’s the worst thing he could have in mind. But right now, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to think about what’s going on inside of him. Whether his heart beats so fast and loud because he knows he will do something wrong, will break his promise to his brother and will not listen to his best friend Kita or if you sneak more and more into his heart, while he must admit his feelings for… you.

Almost aggressively, he reduces the final distance between you before pressing his lips on yours, setting his one hand around your back, the other around your waist to move you as close as possible to him. Passionate and wild, he gives you several kisses before he realizes what he is doing here and his lips tear from yours.

“Sorry, I’m -”

“No…” You interrupt him and return the kiss, without thinking about your action and all the risk. Your kisses become wilder and faster, your tongues dance together and your hearts beat uncontrollably. You know you’re making a big mistake right now, but you can’t do anything about your feelings that have long prevailed over your mind.

Silently you moan between your kisses, bury your hands in his hair and ignore everything that happens around you. Greedily, Osamu strokes your thighs, shoving his fingertips under your dress and under your panties. Both of you breathe against each other’s lips, are thirsty for the other person.

“Ngh Samu…” You groan, form a hollow cross with your back, and tilt your head backwards. You just look too sexy for him, make him so crazy with your whine and how you wound your body. How’s he going to hold back when you’re making such lewd sounds, such an attractive face?

“Let’s go upstairs.” He breathes on you as he nibbles on your collarbone to then lift you up and stagger with you up the stairs to his apartment, where you can be completely undisturbed. Where he can elicit more such naughty noises from your puffed lips.

---

Note: Sorry for the early update, but I won't be online later. 😖

Taglist: @xmyshya @boosyboo9206 @alienvarmint @namyari @koukamisblog

[footballfanfictions]

The thrill of the chase - Chapter Six

Pairings: Mason Mount/OC, Ben Chilwell/OC

Warnings: Grovelling Ben and a very upset Mason. 

------------------------------------------------------------

Katie

  Three more days passed with radio silence from Ben. I stormed into my office on Thursday morning feeling incredibly grumpy and resentful towards everyone else. That was until I opened the door and the smell of fresh flowers hit my nose. 

Every available surface apart from a small workspace on the desk was covered in vases filled with white roses, lilies and purple flowers that I didn’t recognise. 

As I moved some of the vases to make space to set up my computer and tablet next to my screen I realised that there was someone stood in my doorway.

“Billy! I’ve not seen you for days. How are you?”I asked chirpily, my bad mood already lifting.

“Ye good darl, see you got Chilly’s flowers then?” he stepped closer to one vase and inspected the flowers before saying “I think mine for Bri were better.”

I laughed, shaking my head at him. The start up screen on the computer flashed up and I logged in. Immediately I started to get google alerts and other pop ups for our social media channels and some of the players’ personal accounts.

“You’re going to be busy today. Mason’s mrs has been all over social media going bat shit crazy all evening, accusing him of cheating and allsorts.” 

I narrowed my eyes at the screen trying to pick out Mason’s name in the pop ups. 

“Are you sure?” I asked as I scrolled through.

Billy was right though, Mason’s social media was flooded with people commenting in the defence of his girlfriend, asking how he could ever dare cheat on her. I clicked through from Mason’s page to hers and listened to the short clip from her tik tok where she explained that Mason’s head wasn’t fully in their relationship and she felt that could only mean one thing, that he was cheating on her. I rolled my eyes but at the same time I didn’t quite know what to think. Was Mason really that type of guy? Footballers have a really shit reputation for cheating because they can basically get any girl that they want but we had that chat the other day when I was upset about Ben and he had told me that he didn’t want to end things with her because he was scared of being alone.

“Do you think he actually did it? I can do a better job of squashing this if he didn’t” 

Billy shook his head and straight away said “No way. Ok he’s not really in it anymore but he feels really bad about that because they’ve been together so long and she even went with him when he played for Vitesse.”

“Do you think that you can send him my way when he’s free? I’ll do my best to block the trolls and we’ll deal with the rest when I see him.”

 --------------------------------------------------------

  “I am so sorry for running out on you last weekend.” 

Ben had come in from training to spend his lunch break with me and was currently grovelling. I was quite enjoying having his attention again and wasn’t going to let him off the hook for disappearing that easily. 

“Can I ask what was so important?”

“It’s going to sound stupid but I went back to Leicester. There was this kid there that I used to give my shirts to every week and he tweeted that it was his birthday and that he never got my shirt from the last game I played so I kind of panicked and drove up there with it.” he said.

He seemed genuine and if true, that was a very nice thing to do for a young fan. I felt the ice wall around my heart melt a little. 

“I guess I can forgive you then.” I smiled.

“I hope no one told you to stop seeing me.” he mumbled, his head slightly turned in the direction of the door as if he was checking no one was listening.

I laughed and took a dramatic pause before I responded. “Bri was too loved up with Billy to give any kind of real opinion on the matter and the only other person I spoke to was Mase who told me that I should give you another chance.”

Ben shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of Mason’s name which seemed a little bit weird but then again he probably knew about what was happening in Mason’s relationship right now so dropped whatever he was going to say about it. 

“Do you want to go and see a movie later? Mads has been going on and on about one he saw recently. Can’t remember the name of the top of my head but it sounds good.” 

“That sounds nice. As long as it’s not a horror film then I’m up for it.” I responded.

Then feeling bad that I had been a bit stand-offish with him, I leant across the desk and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. As I sat back down in my seat he mumbled “tease.”

“Sorry you still don’t get to go back to full benefits that easy Mr Chilwell.” I grinned. 

“Ok then gorgeous. Can I pick you up at about 7? I’ll look at the film times and see if we can squeeze dinner in before.” he said, standing from his chair and subtly trying to brush crumbs from his sandwich onto the floor. 

“Yeah ok, I’ll be ready by then. I’m hoping that I won’t need to stay late tonight.” I stood from behind the desk to see him out and pecked him again on the lips just outside my office. 

“See you later.” he grinned before leaving in the direction of the training pitches.

Just as Ben turned the corner, Mason came towards the door from the opposite direction, his brow furrowed. 

“Are you here to see me?” I asked him.

“Of course, you asked for me?” 

He sounded very upset so I tried my best not to get snappy at him.

“Sorry, I just wasn’t sure if you had gotten the message that’s all. Come in and I’ll make us a drink.”

His expression softened a little then and he entered the office, heading straight for the more comfortable chairs over the in the corner.

Thinking that it might be more comforting than a coffee, I made him a hot chocolate and finished it off with whipped cream on top. The only thing missing from it was some chocolate sprinkles.

He laughed when I passed him the mug and said “hey where are the smarties or the dolly mixtures?”

“It does seem like it needs something on top of the cream doesn’t it?” I laughed.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes while Mason sipped his drink and tried to calm himself down. 

“I’ve seen her video.” I started.

“It’s a load of shit. You know it’s a load of shit right? Do you know what brought her to post that? They have a fucking new song coming out that’s about cheating and revenge and she wanted to use our relationship to promote it so their PR people told her to post a video about suspecting me of cheating to get her social media engagement up!” his voice escalated in volume as he spoke.

“Are you telling me that it was fake?”

He nodded. “Sorry for getting so angry and aggressive about it but how dare she shit on me and my image to further hers?!”

“Fuck, ok. I’m trying to think about how we manage this. If we come out and say that you haven’t done anything then I’m sure she’ll make your life living hell for it. If you were to break up with her over this, she can then make it spiral even more out of control and can use that to almost confirm her story.” I sighed, feeling so frustrated and angry for him. 

“I want to break up with her now. I can’t stand the sight of her face. I don’t think I can go home and see her tonight. I don’t know what to do. I know you say she can then make it worse but I don’t know if I care at this point.” he put his head in his hands.

“Speaking to you as a friend, I think you need to do what is best for you and we will deal with the fall out from it together. We put out something this afternoon on your socials that deny her claims and we continue to do that until the story dies.” I said.

He looked over the top of his hands at me and nodded.

“Do you trust me to do this for you?” I asked.

“Of course. I’m grateful for your time. I know this isn’t exactly part of your job.”

“Marina would never forgive me if I let this get out of control and it started to affect your performance of the pitch or brought the image of the club into disrepute.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, hoping that he found the little bit of contact reassuring. 

He looked at me, the hands that had been covering his face now in his lap and bit his lip. There was a silence between us again, and just as I was about to ask him if he felt any better, he leant in and pressed his lips against mine, his left hand coming up and cupping my cheek.

It took a lot longer for me to react and pull away from him than it should have, and he looked shocked when I did.

“Fuck!” he shouted before scrambling out of his seat and walking quickly to the door, running his hands through his hair. “Fuck!” he shouted again before slamming the door shut behind him.

[hollowandmerciless]

So it was a love story after all

One of the things that has been said over the years about Attack on Titan is that it had no romance. Isayama, was the general consensus, didn’t write a love story. AOT is not about ships. It’s about the nature of humanity, about hatred, about racism and the will to survive. It’s got its roots in Norse mythology, in real life events from the recent past and a more ancient past. But love and romance, so everyone thought, never had a place in this story.

How wrong we all were.

As it turns out, Eren’s motivation for everything he did was always his eternal and undying love for Mikasa.

Here’s where I stumble.

I never saw any convincing signs of Eremika in this story. I didn’t like their dynamics in the first place – Eren seemed annoyed with her a lot of the time, or at best consider her his adopted sister – and what really rubbed me the wrong way during the entirety of the story was Mikasa’s unhealthy obsession with Eren. Yes, he saved her, and yes, she’s an Ackerman, who are known for their intense bonding to their host (although this was a false assumption as well, according to Zeke), but her obsession was unhealthy and annoying to the point that I was unable to see her character development or her actions. 

Her looks didn’t make her special to me (contrary to a lot of male fans I encountered on social media and irl), to me she was just one of the characters, albeit a rather uninteresting one, so I wasn’t paying as much attention to her as they did – we all pay most attention to our favourites (which in my case are Eren and Levi and to a lesser extent Hanji and Connie), and as a result I may have been blind for any character development she had. 

Maybe it’s because I’m a woman and I feel like she’s one of those poorly written -“the man is my only goal in life” -women. Women who in a story solely seem to exist as an appendage to the main character and have no life or will of their own. Eren and Mikasa were, in my opinion, never equals in this story.

I know many people do see Mikasa’s character development, and do see meaningful interactions between Eren and her, but I’m sorry, I can’t see them unless I use a microscope, and I think this is the main flaw in Isayama’s writing: with all the twists and foreshadowing (which I so thoroughly enjoyed), some hints he left are way too small, while some of his red herrings are too in your face to ignore. 

It also feels like Isayama changed the ending too often and forgot about a lot of foreshadowings along the way.

This is why it feels that we’re left with so many plot holes – if you read closely, there aren’t many, but the red herrings were sprinkled so abundantly throughout the story that we may have expected way too much. The origins of the Ackermans, the importance of Historia’s’ baby and “who is the father”, Zeke’s presumed 4D chess and Eren’s 5D chess, the Underground cities as protection against the rumbling, what caused the titan forest trees to grow so large, what happened 854 years ago in the year 0, Reiner heavily being foreshadowed to become the new Helos, what is the Hallucigenia thing, where did it come from and how does it create titans, where did Ymir’s first titan come from if there was no one in PATHS yet to build it – we don’t need all these answers, but somehow Isayama made us believe there was more to this than there actually was, and that’s why many of us feel robbed of the ending we wanted or expected.

The Historia storyline bothers me the most. The dynamics between her and Eren were much more interesting and realistic than those between Mikasa and Eren. To begin with, they were equals. Whatever happened, they always had each other’s backs. So it made sense to me that Eren had at least something to do with her choice to have a baby, especially because he was so vocal against it. Instead, she too married a guy who hadn’t been particularly nice to her in the past and nothing of it had anything to do with Eren or his plans, or their shared memories of previous founders. 

Parallels between OG Ymir and Historia seemed abundant, but apparently, in the end, we were supposed to see an essential parallel between Ymir and Mikasa. Her Stockholm-syndrome-love for the first King Fritz felt like a sort of deus ex machina (and yes, if you reread chapter 122 there were hints, but so scarce, so small, that they didn’t seem to hold much significance).

I find the fact that OG Ymir needed to see someone break loose from the clutches of obsessive love in front of her own eyes to finally break loose from her own love for Fritz a bit far-fetched, especially since I consider that this is what the entire story hinges on.

(Now we do understand why Isayama had Levi so severely wounded in chapter 114 (the explosion). Had he been fit, then he had most likely been the Ackerman who killed Eren (because this has been foreshadowed too, multiple times) – and that wasn’t supposed to happen. It had to be Mikasa, or else OG Ymir wouldn’t understand how to break loose from her bond.

Another thing that bothered me was Eren’s sudden confession of his love for Mikasa to Armin. Like I said, I found the Eremika dynamics particularly uninteresting, so this confession felt very unnatural and far-fetched to me – but, again, this is what the entire story is built upon. 

He does what he does for them, specifically for her.

It’s actually kind of sad that some fan theories were better/more interesting than the canon ending, but Isayama is the creator of this story and we’ll have to accept his ending – I do know that the more I’ve been rereading the final chapter, the less it bothers me how the story wrapped up. I might even come to like it, and when I reread the full story (which I will certainly do, I LOVE this story) I’ll pay more attention to the small hints Isayama sprinkled between the lines for us about the love Eren felt for Mikasa, to see if his words in 139 will finally make sense to me.

For now, Eren’s motives don’t feel real or grounded. If he’d cried about the millions (billions?) of deaths he’d caused instead of about Mikasa, it would have made more sense in the grand scheme of things. He’d cry for the lives he’s taken, and for the realisation that it has all been in vain, because the ones he tried to protect so that they can live long and happy lives, will now be consumed with grief and survivor’s guilt.

Still, could any of this have gone differently?

No.

Eren was rightfully desperate when he, from behind the bars of his cell, yelled at Hanji if there was another way. Because there wasn’t.

The irony was that Eren always fought for freedom, but all his life he had been a slave to his own destiny. He was unable to change the future, and could only try to influence it. Or else, as Kruger said, this cycle would repeat itself, again and again.

All in all I feel there was more to this story than what we got, it could have gone deeper, more foreshadowing could have paid off instead of being a red herring.

A bittersweet ending

Levi surviving and finally getting closure with the knowledge that this was what all of his old SC friends died for, brought me to tears. And that smoke, was that the disappearing of his Ackerstrength? 

The frame where he travels the world with his carers/adopted children Gabi and Falco and his new best friend Onyankopon (friend? lover? just look at that glance they share) made me so happy that this is now the desktop background of my laptop.

(I hope they’ll travel to the AOT equivalent of the UK so he can finally enjoy some decent black tea)

To me, at least this part was sweet. The rest: bitter, even the fates of the Alliance members. This is a story with an open ending. We don’t know if they’ll succeed on their peace mission, we don’t know what the Yaegerists will accomplish, we don’t know what the rest of the world will do; all options are open again, but maybe that is the point. Eren never meant to end the hatred, there’s no fighting the nature of humans. Erwin knew this already: mankind won’t stop fighting among themselves until there’s only one person left. 

Eren’s goal was to end the titan era, and at the cost of his own life and that of 80% of humanity, he succeeded. 

Learning that Eren, who held freedom in such high regards, was a slave to his own destiny all along was painful and ironic, but in a way he lives on as a bird, finally free, finally Vogel aus dem Käfig.

Thank you, Isayama.

[peaceoutofthepieces]

chapter 20

Fake Making-It

Social Media AU

previous chapter

~^~

Jens opens the door either a moment too soon or a moment too late. Sander and Lucas are already standing outside, as he’d thought, and are deep in conversation. Jens stands frozen in the doorway and waits for them to notice him. In that time, he takes in Lucas’s frown and Sander’s comforting hand on his shoulder. Lucas had been speaking before Jens opened the door, then he cut himself off abruptly.

Now they’re both staring at him. Silent.

Jens takes in the tension laced through Lucas and the frustration obvious in his face and feels nerves bubble up in him. He thought he had come prepared today, but now he’s doubting himself. He swallows as Lucas meets his eyes, but miraculously manages not to look away. They’re sort of friends, now, right? They’ve come a long way since their first meeting, at least. He doesn’t have to be so anxious. One simple look from Lucas should not tear his stomach to shreds.

It’s a little nerve-wracking, however, when Lucas slips away from Sander’s hand and brushes past Jens without a word.

Jens twists his head to look after him for a moment, then turns back to Sander and tries not to appear too awkward or concerned. “Everything okay?” he carefully asks.

Sander is still looking after Lucas, seeming pained, and then he looks at Jens and blinks. “Yeah, of course,” he smiles. “Sorry, we’re a little late.”

Nothing about this is very convincing. Jens wouldn’t consider himself a people expert, and he’s especially not overly familiar with Sander, but even he can tell that his smile is a little forced and his body strung a little too tight. He doesn’t think they were fighting. It didn’t even really seem like they were arguing.

But there’s definitely a shared tension between them. Jens doesn’t understand why this makes him simultaneously curious and more anxious.

“You’re fine,” he says, stepping back and beckoning Sander in, shutting the door behind him.

They’re using the front room in Jens’s apartment as a studio space. He hadn’t thought much ahead before offering it up, but Sander had barely paid attention when he first showed up and gave Jens no reason to fret. He hadn’t really cared what Sander would think either way.

He may have taken a little extra care this morning. (Or in the last hour, after waking up late and proceeding to rush around like a mad man.) Robbe may have raised his brows at him in teasing surprise when he showed up, and it may have made Jens feel even more silly for being so nervous.

But no matter how friendly their texts seem to have gotten, Lucas is still very intimidating.

Jens has no idea how they’re supposed to interact in person, and it doesn’t help that Lucas already seems to be in a rather dull mood. He isn’t sure why he expects Sander to continue to try to do something about it. Instead the blond lingers back with him as Lucas greets Robbe, smiling now as Robbe offers him a bro-handshake. Jens lets out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding at the sight, feeling a smile of his own grow as Robbe immediately strikes up a friendly conversation with the other man.

It’s not that he’d been nervous about Robbe, but well, he imagines that it isn’t easy. He doesn’t know how Robbe does it.

Lucas is already shrugging his bag off his shoulder and pulling out his sketchbook and his camera. Jens feels anticipation bubble in the pit of his stomach.

“Hey,” he greets, once they’re close enough, and to his delight, Lucas glances up and offers him something like a smile. “Everything good?”

Robbe nods as Lucas says, “Yep. Or, well, depends. What’s the plan?”

He looks to Jens for direction, and Jens forces himself not to stutter, instead simply turning to Robbe for help.

“Uh, well,” Robbe thinks, glancing between them all before finally settling on Sander. Jens hopes he’s the only one who notices how Robbe’s cheeks flush. “You don’t urgently need to work with Jens today, do you?”

Sander blinks at him, then quickly shakes his head.

“Okay, well I filmed a little bit of your shoot with Jens the other day, and I’ve been thinking I could edit it into like a promo to sort of announce things before we release the actual pics? But I was hoping I could maybe get your opinion on it first.”

“That’s a really cool idea,” Sander says, brightening. The smile on his face appears much more genuine than before. Jens supposes that’s what a passion can do. He hopes it’ll have the same effect on Lucas.

Robbe looks to Lucas and then to him, smiling as well. “That’s if you guys are happy enough to work this out yourselves? I’m sure Lucas knows what he’s doing, and I mean we’ll just be here if you want another opinion on anything.”

Jens raises his brows as Lucas glances at him.

Lucas offers Robbe a nod and a smile. “Sounds good.”

Jens notes that he doesn’t speak to or even glance at Sander as Robbe guides him to the small table in the corner while Jens and Lucas remain at the island. Jens hesitantly takes a seat, then gestures for Lucas to do the same, trying to remind himself to be both chill and professional. He’s usually able to manage it at meetings. Maybe it’s being in his home that makes it feel a little more personal.

“Hi,” he repeats, watching Lucas’s concentrated frown as he skims through his sketchbook.

Lucas looks up at him and seems, again, vaguely amused. “Hi.” He skims his gaze over Jens, tilting his head curiously. “Are you always this nervous?”

No, Jens thinks. Just with you.

“Sometimes,” he says.

Lucas huffs, smiling now as he looks back down. “Don’t be. I’m the one preparing to be criticised this time.”

“You were very intimidating last time we spoke.”

“Because I told you to watch it?” Lucas raises a brow at him.

Jens blanks, then remembers their text conversation from yesterday and flushes. “No, I mean, the last time we actually spoke. At the first meeting.”

“Ah.” Lucas nods. “In person. That usually makes me less intimidating.”

“Why?” Jens’s brow furrows.

Lucas raises his brows again and gestures at himself. Jens takes him in. His curls are as artfully styled as ever, falling over his forehead in messy waves, and below that his eyes are a stunning blue. He’s wearing another loose shirt, this time black with a light floral pattern. Jens can see the collar of a tee poking out underneath. Along with that, Lucas is wearing skin-tight jeans and shiny black boots along with his usual assortment of jewelry, rings adorning his fingers and silver bracelet glinting from his wrist. Jens wonders if any of them are gifts from Sander.

“I don’t get it,” Jens says. He means it. Lucas is beautiful. He looks like the true model here. It’s part of what intimidates Jens so much.

Lucas wiggles his fingers at him, showing off dark purple nails, then flexes a skinny arm. “Very intimidating, I imagine.”

Jens frowns. “You don’t need to be brawny to be intimidating. Honestly, I think I’m probably more intimidated by pretty people. Especially when they’re confident.”

Lucas stares at him for a minute, and Jens must imagine the flush on his cheeks, because then he snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay, you basically just described yourself.”

Jens grins in surprise, but before he can say anything else, Lucas is spinning his sketchbook around and shoving it towards him, then digging back into his bag. Jens drags his gaze away and down to the paper in front of him. It’s littered in designs, different emblems and patterns interlocking across the double page. There are a few combinations of his initials, which he supposes also work well with a self-titled album. As much as Jens felt creative with words in the songwriting process, naming the songs and especially the album had been a frustratingly difficult task, so much so that he’d eventually just settled on JENS.

Robbe has been very skeptical, but Jens’s label seemed to think it was a good choice, and that was good enough for him. It wasn’t about the names or the titles, anyway.

Lucas seems to have also recognised this, and there are some heavy references to the actual music in some of the sketches. Lucas has sprinkled waves and rain and other forms of water throughout some of the designs, or focused on them entirely. Along with that are cages and chains, locks and keys, and beautiful wings.

Jens instantly falls in love with all of them, and then turns the page only to find more. He lets out a long breath. “How much time did this take you?”

He looks up in time to see Lucas shrug. He’s now staring down at an iPad. “Not that long. I might’ve stayed up a little longer than I should have, though.” He shrugs again, and now Jens believes the flush crawling up his neck has to be real. “The album gave me a lot of ideas.”

Jens nods. He hovers his fingers over some of the sketches, leaning down to admire them in closer detail.

Lucas makes a small sound of triumph, and then slides the iPad on top of the sketchbook. “I did a few out then on some rough clothing sketches, just to get an idea what they’d look like brought to life and put together. This doesn’t take that long, so if there’s any ideas you’d like me to group or something we could spend a while messing around with that. Or as long as you tell me, I can do it when I go home.”

“Everything is amazing.” Jens shakes his head, awed. He blows out another breath and laughs slightly as he looks up at Lucas. “I don’t know how you expect me to choose anything. None of these should be left out. Fuck, this one’s amazing.” He taps his finger on a sketch of drooped wings encased in a golden birdcage. He takes the iPad and lets Lucas draw the sketchbook back towards himself to examine, humming quietly in agreement.

He knew Lucas was talented. He’d gone after him for that exact reason. But seeing how quickly he’s managed to create all of this, how easily he’d brought the images in Jens’s words to life—he’s in awe. As well as that, he’s managed to implement the designs onto hoodies and t-shirts and sweatpants and hats and everything in between. Excitement floods through Jens at the prospect of getting to wear one himself, never mind seeing such items on anyone else. He smiles secretly to himself as he imagines Lucas donning a sweatshirt with his initials embroidered on the chest.

He doubts Lucas would ever sacrifice his beloved reputation to such an extent, or like Jens that much in the first place, but he’s allowed to dream.

“Yeah, I’m never going to be able to choose. I’m so sorry for making this more difficult but you’re just—this is just too good.” Jens shakes his head, still scrolling through the different images, and Lucas huffs.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a suck-up,” Lucas teases.

Jens looks up at him, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes. Then he lets his expression turn earnest and shrugs. “I’m telling the truth, like I hope you did with me.” He’d been relieved, and pleased, when Lucas had given such a kind review of his album yesterday. It was almost hard to believe. He’d instantly gone and listened to the third and last songs again, the ones Lucas had said were his favourite, and had a smile on his face for the rest of the day.

Lucas’s smile slips now, and some of Jens’s nerves come back. Lucas clears his throat and snaps his sketchbook closed, setting it aside so he can pull his camera towards him. “We can ask Robbe for his opinion, later? It might help. Even if you’re just able to rule things out together.”

Jens suddenly remembers his best friend only a few feet away, and Lucas’s boyfriend with him, and quickly glances over his shoulder. He’s been doing well, every other day, at keeping an eye on them. He knows how easily Robbe could get hurt or upset, no matter how much he protests that he’s getting over his crush perfectly fine. Jens knows it’s far from the truth, both because he knows the full capacity of Robbe’s feelings and because it must be ten times harder to get over someone you see every day. He knows Robbe avoids contacting Sander now outside of work as much as he can. He knows it isn’t easy, and he’s been doing his best to provide a comforting buffer.

Now, though, he turns around just in time for Robbe to start giggling as Sander talks animatedly. Robbe is staring at his laptop screen instead of Sander, and his cheeks are flushed, but he’s smiling wide. Not upset, not yet, but quite possibly digging himself into a hole. Sander, at least, appears oblivious, happy and excited as he makes a dozen hand gestures and leans farther across the table to get a better look.

“Yeah, we’ll do that when they’re done,” he agrees, shooting a smile back at Lucas.

Lucas is watching Robbe and Sander, too, the furrow back between his brows. Jens remembers the sour mood that he’d arrived in, the tension between him and Sander, and resists asking if everything is okay. He’s told Robbe enough times, when he was mourning over Sander, that it’s none of their business. He shouldn’t be the one to butt in now.

He gently hands Lucas’s iPad back to him instead, then raises his brows. “Meanwhile, do you want a snack? Or something to drink?”

Lucas smiles at him. “Oh, he remembers to be a good host.”

Jens pulls a face at him. His heart flutters when Lucas actually laughs in response. “Five seconds and I retract my offer,” he threatens.

“Water would be nice, maybe,” Lucas acquiesces instantly. “And if you have any chocolate, I won’t say no.”

“Huh, sweet tooth. Noted.” Jens winks at him, pushing to his feet and glancing back at the other two co-workers. “Sander, can I get you anything?”

Sander quickly looks at him and shakes his head, and his eyes slide on over to Lucas and he tries for a smile. Lucas either truly misses it or pretends not to notice.

Jens bites down his questions once more. “Robbe?” He waits for his friend to shake his head and then goes to fetch water and chocolate for Lucas. A few minutes later, when Lucas has eaten half of the biscuits on the plate Jens had left out and is taking a sip of his water, Jens decides on a safer line of interrogation. “So, how many times did you actually end up listening to the album?”

Lucas rolls his eyes. “Those two times. And then the first few songs again because Sander joined me and he’d missed those.” Lucas pauses, blinking at Jens with wide eyes. “I hope that’s okay.”

Jens waves him off. “Yeah, obviously. I don’t expect you to keep anything from Sander, especially when you share a room.” He raises a brow. Lucas doesn’t react. “Besides, you both signed the contracts. Sander’s in our trust, too.”

“Okay,” Lucas nods, smiling slightly again. Jens’s chest warms. “That’s good, then.”

Jens smiles back at him, and they sit in silence for a moment, considering each other. Jens realises Lucas’s attention isn’t making him as anxious anymore. Their texting relationship seems to have actually carried over into real life, and he’s relieved.

Lucas takes another sip of his water and then grabs his camera again. “How do you feel about doing a practice shoot? I might even be able to mess around and edit some of the designs onto you then. Plus it’ll be a lot easier when the time comes if I’m already familiar with you and your angles and the lighting and everything.” Lucas waves a hand.

Jens bites down his smile and nods in acceptance. “Okay, sure. Just tell me where you want me.”

It turns out his nerves aren’t entirely gone. It’s different, when he’s sitting on a stool and Lucas is focusing entirely on how he looks. It’s different when there’s a camera pointed at him and Lucas is the one behind it. He doesn’t want to mess up. He doesn’t want to frustrate Lucas, and he doesn’t want to look like an idiot.

It turns out this makes the whole process more difficult.

“Are you always this tense?” Lucas asks, vaguely concerned, and Jens’s shoulders tense further. Lucas sighs. “Don’t act so much like you’re posing. Just, do whatever feels comfortable.”

Jens wriggles on the stool. He draws a leg up. Puts it back down again. He leans forward to rest his arms on his knees and almost falls off the stool, which is too high for that position to work. He leans back and crosses his ankles, tucking his hands in his pockets.

Lucas snaps a photo, then considers it with a frown. He examines Jens again. “Maybe spread your legs?” He suggests.

Jens instantly raises his brows and smirks slightly, just to see Lucas rolls his eyes and set an unimpressed hand on his hip. Jens relents and spreads his legs, planting his feet and letting his hands dangle between his knees.

Lucas takes another photo and stares at it for a moment. Then he says, “How about we go outside?”

Jens blinks at him. “Why?”

“Because if you’re just walking around, not posing, I might get something more natural. I can tell you’re not feeling this.”

Lucas isn’t exactly wrong. The only thing Jens is feeling right now is sick. He’s twitchy and his stomach keeps rolling and Lucas’s gaze is too intense. He can’t sit still. Maybe it will help if he doesn’t have to.

“You’re the expert,” he says. “I can go wherever you want me.”

Lucas shakes his head. “No. Wherever you want. Somewhere you’re a little more in your element.”

Jens thinks, then nods. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Lucas grins, letting his camera settle around his neck. He moves back to the island and collects the coat he’d abandoned there, the same denim jacket with the fluffy collar he’d worn the first time they’d met. He slides his arms into the sleeves and turns to the other two men in the flat, clicking his fingers once to get their attention. “We’re going out to take some photos. Do you two wanna come with?”

Jens doesn’t know if he wants them to. The possibility of being alone with Lucas is terrifying and thrilling all at once. He decides this thought in itself is enough to make up his mind. He shoots a panicked, pleading look at Robbe, but Robbe is already looking at Lucas and nodding his head. He doesn’t seem to notice Sander’s frown.

“Yeah, sure,” Robbe agrees, and Jens lets out a breath of relief. He supposes his friend likely doesn’t want to be left here alone with Sander, either. “Where are we going?”

“Wherever Jens wants.” Lucas fiddles with his camera for a moment. “He needs to chill.”

Robbe raises his brows as Sander blinks. There’s a hint of a laugh in Robbe’s tone. “Jens needs to chill?”

“He’s always been chill with me,” Sander agrees, confused.

Lucas looks up to blink at them, then at Jens, amused. “Do I scare you that much?”

Jens flushes and pointedly ignores Robbe’s giggle. “No. I’m just, stressed. We’re releasing the first music video and announcing the album in two weeks and I’m very aware of all the things that could go wrong and how shitty I’ll probably feel.”

That shuts them up fairly quickly. Sander simply offers a sympathetic smile and Lucas’s expression softens as he seems to search for something to say. It’s Robbe, however, who raises to his feet and grabs Jens by the shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. “You won’t. It’ll be amazing, and we’re going to spend the entire day celebrating. Right now, Lucas is right. We should go out and have fun.”

“You definitely need it,” Lucas agrees, tilting his head towards the door, brows raised.

“Come on.” Robbe slaps his shoulder. “Skate park? It’s been a long time.”

Jens sucks in a breath, then slowly lets it out as he nods. They spend a moment collecting coats, keys, and boards, and then Jens ushers them all out and locks the door behind them. Robbe leads the way outside and down the sidewalk, and Jens half hopes Lucas will instantly rope him into conversation and start giving orders. Instead Sander slips an arm over Lucas’s shoulders and speaks to him quietly, and after a moment Lucas is nodding and leaning into his side.

Jens looks away and catches Robbe’s gaze, then falls into step alongside his best friend, bumping his shoulder. “Okay?” he asks quietly.

Robbe gives him a tight smile and a nod and Jens ruffles his hair.

The skatepark is relatively empty, but the people who are there continuously sneak glances at the group, whispering and grinning between themselves. Jens sees a guy pointing his phone at them. This isn’t entirely unusual, but it doesn’t help him destress.

“Just ignore them,” Robbe reminds him. “But be aware I’m gonna post a few stories because people are starting to ask if you’ve died.”

Jens rolls his eyes, but he does his best to listen. He looks to Lucas first, who merely waves his hand in a ‘go ahead’ gesture. He realises soon that it does help. It’s been a while since he’s skated, but it still loosens him up like it used to, still gets his blood rushing and allows him a few moments of freedom. He flips off Robbe’s phone and winks at Lucas’s camera and doesn’t really allow himself to think about either, or the way Sander is watching over Lucas’s shoulder and occasionally directing him, both of them smiling and bickering now.

He finally rejoins them and plops himself down on top of the half pipe, where Lucas immediately comes to kick at his thigh. “Weird question, but can I have a go?”

Jens blinks up at him, noticing how he’s rocking on his heels with barely constrained energy, and raises his brows. “Skating?”

“Yeah?” Lucas raises his eyebrows back. “Is that a no?”

“Uh, no, go for it. I mean, if you can.”

Lucas huffs, carefully setting his camera and his jacket on the ground next to Jens before picking up his board. He plants it at the top of the ramp, a foot balancing it on the edge, and cocks an eyebrow at Jens again before he’s racing down the ramp with a wave.

Jens stares after him, astonished, as he navigates the park on Jens’s board with ease. He barely notices Robbe and Sander sitting down with him until Sander wolf-whistles and Lucas flips him off as he passes. Jens feels something thrum in his stomach as he watches Lucas and can’t quite figure out what it is.

When Lucas finally comes to a stop below them, flicking his hair off his forehead, Jens gives an exaggerated clap. Lucas simply grins up at him, eyes considering as he holds the board up for Jens to take, then requests, “Pass me my camera?”

Jens does so without question, and Lucas’s lips curl as he looks up at him and then snaps a photo. “I just have to capture the utter shock and awe on your face right now.”

Jens sets a hand on his thigh and stares down at him, unimpressed, but his brow furrows slightly as the camera goes off again.

Lucas takes it away from his face and examines the image he’d taken, pursing his lips slightly. “Not bad. Who knew you could actually be sort of photogenic.”

Jens pulls a face at him as he grins and draws himself up next to Sander, who immediately leans in to look at the photos he’s taken. Lucas doesn’t hesitate to lean towards him, this time, and then he’s laughing at whatever Sander says, turning towards him with a dazzling smile Jens hasn’t seen yet. Their faces are so close they could kiss.

Robbe seems to have the same thought and looks away, showing Jens his hurt expression for an instant before focusing steadily out at the skatepark, his pinched lips the only visible sign of jealousy.

Jens has to look away, too, and finds himself mimicking the expression. It’s only then that he recognises the heavy feeling in his own stomach as the same emotion. He doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it before. Jealousy has never been foreign to him.

He darts another glance at Lucas, in shock and slowly expanding terror, and notes how his heart flutters and then pinches as he throws his head back and laughs and Sander reaches out and fixes his hair for him.

Oh, fuck.

~^~

tag list: @allthewayornowayy @wedarkacademia @lockerfivethreefive @yellowballoon @gucciboner @nora-keinwitz @moonskam @painfully-oblivious @zoenneforever @akucecilia @hischbabe @evaksobbe @alittleemo @boring-side-effect @franboos

next chapter 

[recollins]

! HIATUS OVER !

Hello, my precious lil rays of sunshine ❤️

I know it's been a while, and I wanted to start off with saying I'm so sorry for that hiatus. I feel like a broken record at this point always saying this, but I can't even begin to tell you how much your love and support means to me. This is the first time logging back in to everything since January and I am so blown away by all the love you've given me.

Under the cut, I've put a longer explanation for those that want to read it. For those that don't have time to read my ramblings, the brief version is this:

-I'm alright, I just absolutely suck at handling stress (I know, I hide it so well...) and needed to step away from everything for a little bit to get myself back in a better place.

-SLAS will be updated next Monday! I aimed for this Monday but missed the mark and don't wanna rush out a half-assed chapter. But it'll be there for you next week. I promise.

-I have read all your messages here, on AO3, and FF.net. I will be responding to all of them, I promise! It just might take a bit but I promise I'll get to anything I've received.

Again, thank you all so much. I love you guys, I appreciate your patience, and I'm really happy I had all of you to come back to. I hope you're all still invested in Aria's story because I've got so much more to share with you!

❤️, Rea

As mentioned above, my ability to handle stress is absolutely abysmal. My go-to for coping has always been to just shut down and pull away from literally everyone and everything. This time was no exception, and life was just not done dropping everything onto my shoulders and it just got to be too much.

You all pretty much know by now I was in an abusive relationship for 13 years, and I ended that last April (which is what kicked off SLAS). 2020 was ridiculously stressful enough with COVID, and that was sprinkled on top. I bury my emotions (wow, shocker, I know) and had kind of been just pushing aside all I'd gone through because I didn't want to deal with it. The repercussions of that came out when I lost my Grandma and I was in a rough spot. After that brief hiatus, I was trying to convince myself I was alright and I just sort of ignored the signs of distress and depression until they blindsided me. My work has been incredibly stressful, my financial situation is stressful now that I live alone - Colorado is ridiculously expensive for no reason - and I was trying to help my sister and my best friend simultaneously deal with their own depression and stress and everything came together at once. The cherry on top was officially getting diagnosed with ADHD, it's something that had been on the table for a while but now with it official, it all just felt like too much and I retreated.

Social media can be extremely stressful and overwhelming for me and Tumblr is no exception. I love the site - love all of you - but when I'm in that headspace, everything is too much and I didn't want that extra stress on top of everything else. I hadn't written anything since the beginning of January and felt really, really terrible for not updating - then worse for just disappearing - and instead of just taking time to log in and be like 'hey guys I'm not dead I'm just stressed' my mind rationalized that the best thing to do was literally nothing. Like I said, I know I don't cope very well.

In March, I was finally getting ahold of things, and felt a little better. I was getting back into writing, and was getting back on the social media wagon, when I lost my other Grandma suddenly and unexpectedly. My family is about as open with communication as Hotch is, and we don't really tell each other things. Like, my mom was in the hospital for a week with life threatening blood clots and no one told me anything until a week after she'd been released. I found out last year I have two uncles from both sides of my family that I've never heard about. I'm 28. My baby cousin (who's like a brother to me) moved cross-country with his wife and has been living in North Dakota for 2 years, and I found this out not a month ago when they announced she's pregnant. So, it's no surprise no one mentioned that my Grandma had stage four lung cancer and was on the way out, until I got the call that she'd passed away. My gramma, lost in December, had been on the decline for a while and in hospice for a couple months before she passed, so it was hard, but I had time to brace for it. Losing my Grandma in March hit me unexpectedly hard and it had me pulling in once again.

I can say now that I'm doing better. Taking a step back and using the time to get myself in the right headspace has been long-needed, and for the first time in a while I can say I feel like I'm on solid ground again. I'm back at writing and I finally got over the anxiety of just logging in and reading all your comments and messages. It might sound a little odd, but I'd put off logging in for a while because I didn't want to see how much I'd let you all down. I've really, really missed talking to you guys and updating the story. It was really and truly the highlight of my year, and I've felt awful for leaving you all like I did. You guys have been so sweet and understanding. All your messages have assured me you were more concerned about me than the updates, and that touched me more than I can say. I know you've all missed the story too, and I just want to say I'm really sorry for dipping out the way I did.

If you read all of this, bless your heart, because that's a lot and I know I'm ridiculously long-winded with my writing. I really appreciate you sticking around if you've been with me for a while, and if you're new to all of the chaos that is my life, I'm so sorry this is what you came into lol. I promise things are better now and like I said above, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to writing for you guys again.

I love you all ❤️

[loudlypanickinginvenezolano]

Fallin down, little bit of chapter one.

Sonic started noticing certain things, as, how caring is Shadow, how pretty is Shadow, how HOT is Shadow… And, oh, would you look at that?

Apparently he has a crush.

Where Sonic is thirsty and Shadow doesn’t have a clue.

Sonic didn’t feel proud for how long it had took him to realize it, but damn it.

Why was Shadow so pretty?

He was no genius like Tails, or as good in social-handling like Amy, but he had always prided himself in not being as stupid nor as blind as many people thought he was. Sonic was quick, he had to be quick, and picking up things about the people around him was, and always had been, a must.

That being said…

He usually didn’t dwell too much in this kind of thing. Why would he, right? There usually were more pressing matters at hand, so, unless he was thinking about himself, because hell, self-love was important, all right? Or if he wasn’t picking someone to spend his night with, why waste the time? He could admit, quietly, certain facts about his friend’s appearance occasionally, more in a passing manner than actually focusing on it, so, him not realizing the pretty thing sitting right in front of him was a mistake he could be forgiven for, right?

It just…felt weird. Actually being aware of this, giving the time to think about his friends or rivals appearance, it…it wasn’t something he actually did, like, what good would that do for him?

It felt strange, the idea of going from “What the hell, Knuckles, can you please stop getting bulkier?” or “Fuck, Why does Amy looks so good when she is actually using her hammer for other things besides threatening me?” or “Oh Gaia Eggman please turn around! My eyes, my poor eyes!” and very little’s “Shit he/she/they is so cute” sprinkled around to actually acknowledging them, and checking out his friends.

But, there was that thing that just has to have happened to everyone, at least once, as Sonic refuses to be the only one that has gone through it. That one where you notice one thing, and then there is also a second thing, a surprising third one, and even a fourth! You just…keep finding things, little details that seemed inexistent before but that now that you can see them in action you just need to ask yourself if you are freaking dumb or just that blind.

Of course, he would like to announce that this doesn’t apply to socks, as he had been unpleased to discover.

Just, where the hell does his laundry thinks it is going? He needed his special socks, for Chaos sake! It wasn’t even that messy around… not anymore, at least.

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, he is pretty aware of how weird his next statement was going to sound, most of the time he wanted to cringe himself while remembering it but the first thing he realized and did made him think more about this case… Shadow had a cute tail.

He hadn’t been checking the other`s butt, he can swear! It hadn’t been in purpose, in any way! They just, well, kind of had a very rough fall during a fight. He had been whining quietly, dizzy and disoriented even though the ebony`s body had kind of cushioned his landing, when he picked himself up and just, looked.

And looked for a bit more, staring and blinking in shock because.

Oh my goodness, oh, my, dear.

It was white fluff.

Actual, white fluffy fur in the underside of Shadow`s ebony tail. He could see how tiny smears of white and some red also showed up in his left inner thigh, in the underside of one knee, and, well, middle. Cute, little markings they were, almost completely lost unless you searched for them with a good eye.

It looked just so, well, fluffy, and was such a pretty cute thing his hands ached just to squeeze it or touch it and see if it was so soft as it looked.

Oh man.

The thing wiggled a little as the ebony stirred, and suddenly a breathless Sonic was on his back, Shadow reacting even on his confused daze and rolling them out of the way of an attack Sonic hadn’t…Hadn’t even noticed?

Oh, so that was why it perked up in the first place.

The movement wasn’t appreciated by his stomach, however, neither for his still aching head. Rolling in the ground and injuries where things that you really should try not to mesh.

Also, Shadow spines weren’t joking around.

“Uuugh. Let’s just-just…destroy that thing, all right? it really is on my list, now. For real this time! It’s going down, Totally…” Sonic plopped down on the ground, giving up in trying to stand. His arms felt too shaky, and his vision was slightly blurry. He groaned, lifting up his hands to rub at his face, fingers digging in his eye sockets and thumbs massaging the side of his face. Not cool. Totally, not cool.

“I can’t believe you fell on top of me as if I was some kind of damn cushion, and you still managed to dangerously hit your head, what the hell, Sonic?” When the only thing he got as answers were babbles and other non-intelligent sounds, Shadow sighed, feeling somewhat despaired towards his friend. he couldn’t even tell if the blue one was seriously going to faint or was just messing around! He glared. Yes, yes, not a new thing by any means, no surprise here. Being honest, by this point it was a trademark move on his part, and yet, what else could he do but lightly purse his lips (No, He wasn’t pouting. He doesn’t pout, Rouge.) and glare in displeasure? Well, thinking about it, there may be other thing. “Though, I don’t know… I wonder if the change is that big, actually...You are starting to sound the same as ever.”

“No sass, no sass, pleeease, I can’t take the sass now! Don’t you have mercy for a fallen man?”

“Nop.”

They did end up saving the day, a bit dizzy and injured, indeed, but it wasn’t that much of a hardship. Weirdly enough, it wasn’t Eggman who they were battling, but a mad barista that decided they had have enough bullshit and went mad set in destroying as many establishments of the cadena they worked for. And well, a few customers that were just disgustingand that Shadow may or may have not tripped on their way down the stairs.

It wasn’t like anyone would really dare to question him if he did.

Turns out, they could seriously kick some ass, and that brand was shit as fuck with a lot of greedy dickheads fat bastards commanding, as a fuming Shadow so lovingly put it.

Sonic always had been aware of how vicious he could get when mad, but boy. Sonic for a moment thought that Shadow was going to whip out a gun and join the lynx in the destroying spree. He had been absolutely livid, face made on stone and ruby eyes blazing in fury, with just the hint of bared fangs peeking from his lips.

He wasn’t…used to seeing the ebony like that, even with the years of fighting together they shared.

And Chaos send help, he turned then, piercing Sonic with his fiery stare as he asked what he was planning on doing, because, Sonic was going to do something, wasn’t he?

As he babbled for an answer, Shadow scowl deepened, almost becoming a snarl, crossing his arms over his chest which just made Sonic speak even quicker thanks to his nerves.

Why had he even asked, in the first place? Easy peasy. Sonic had more pull on the social media than Shadow, they weren’t…afraid of him, exactly, and kids loved him completely. Even if it was uncomfortable for the hybrid, it was going to be easier to actually gain something if they worked together… He just wished he didn’t actually needed to ask him… or you know… Hadn’t said the last part.

Shadow sometimes was such an idiot… had it been too impatient? Insecure?

Maybe threatening? Sonic was rambling, after all…Oh man, he really

hoped it hadn’t been insecure…

Once everything was contained and kind of wrapped out, Shadow actually sued that people and somehow managed to get Sonic to “start” a movement on the reds about their abuse towards their employees and their disgusting high priced products of low quality. Sonic was just the face of it, basically, as Shadow was the one really putting an order to everything and doing the researches and calls, together with the lawyers, even if most of the conversations were held by Sonic.

Soon enough, they had a big pile of evidences and incriminating stories, and people were actually paying attention and well, mad.

[polymathicdragon]

I posted 2,372 times in 2021

65 posts created (3%)

2307 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 35.5 posts.

I added 2,147 tags in 2021

#the hobbit - 391 posts

#art - 297 posts

#fanart - 238 posts

#thorin oakenshield - 204 posts

#fanfiction - 186 posts

#bagginshield - 177 posts

#lotr - 171 posts

#personal - 166 posts

#bilbo baggins - 162 posts

#tiktok - 155 posts

Longest Tag: 99 characters

#there's something about her faces throughout this that is like screaming at me female bilbo baggins

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Finally had the chance to start my reread of Sansûkh by @determamfidd in honor of its completion! I’m currently 8 hours in and on Chapter 19! I’m absolutely loving every moment!

It’s a fandom treasure of all treasures for sure and I highly recommend it if you’ve never read it.

19 notes • Posted 2021-07-05 06:00:55 GMT

#4

It’s here! A preview of the story I wrote for @bagginshieldzine​!! This is my first ever zine contribution and this story is really special to me.

It’s looking like a November 28th launch and there are a lot of great authors and artists participating. Be sure to check it out, we’d love the support!

[Image Description: Text is on a cream colored background that fades into green on the bottom. Title is bolded and says “The Music Between Us”, followed by the author name, Polymathic Dragon. Preview Text begins below the author:

Thorin shifted slightly, his hands fidgety, and Bilbo couldn’t help but think he seemed nervous. 

“How are you liking the playlist?” he finally said. 

“Oh! I really like it. I’ve listened to the whole thing multiple times.” 

Thorin smiled and nodded, “I’m glad. Listen, I was wondering…” Thorin started, but then stopped, looking away. He looked back at Bilbo, who was waiting expectantly. 

“Well, um. They are actually playing here next weekend. Well, in downtown. And I was supposed to be going with a friend, but he had to back out. And I was just. I didn’t know if you. Um. Wanted to go?” 

Bilbo blinked a few times, processing the question. Thorin wanted him to go to a heavy metal show with him? Bilbo almost laughed at the thought, but caught himself. He’d hate to make Thorin feel like he was laughing at him, so instead he smiled. 

“Sure! That’d be great.”

Text ends. Below the text the green background says, “A Bagginshield Zine: Acorn & Arkenstone” and lists the social media handles. 

End Image description]

36 notes • Posted 2021-11-12 21:11:19 GMT

#3

I’m so sad now. My hard copies of Sansukh were on their way but my tracking says delivered and they are nowhere to be found. 😫 so now I have to put in a support claim with Lulu because FedEx was absolutely no help.

36 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 14:24:13 GMT

#2

Terms of Endearment

A Bagginshield Fanfic (also available HERE on ao3)

Summary: Khuzdul terms of endearment are pretty common and Bilbo has heard them all, though he's a little wary of using Hobbit terms of endearment as he's not sure how well they will translate. But after so many years of being together he decides he can't help himself anymore...and it turns out to be the best decision. 

Rating: General audiences

This story is all because I had a random headcanon based on this tiktok. I posted it into our Bagginshield discord and it ran away from there and I knew I needed to write it!

I wouldn't have been so excited to write this without so many amazing ideas and Hobbit endearments from my friends over on the discord. They include: @the-game-is-up @curiousartemis @lesbiankiliel @imsoconfused16 @mulasawala @mandolinearts

Story below the cut!

Bilbo had settled into his new role as husband and King’s consort well, he had tried hard to make sure that he understood and respected Dwarven culture and customs, while also sprinkling in a bit of Hobbit sensibility where he could. Thorin had always called him sweet terms of endearment in Khuzdul, which he now understood much better having learned the language and its meaning, and Bilbo would smile and reply in kind. It wasn’t that Hobbits didn’t have terms of endearment, but he didn’t think that they’d quite translate well, so he let them slip from his mind. Until one day, he couldn’t help himself.

It was one of those rare occurrences that Thorin and Bilbo actually had a day to themselves, which seemed to be less and less as the years went on and the mountain fared better than it ever had. Bilbo was laying in bed still, covers strewn around him, while Thorin had gone to grab them breakfast. As he returned and handed Bilbo a steaming cup of tea, Bilbo grinned.

“Good morning honeycake,” he said as he took the cup from Thorin’s hands.

At first Thorin just nodded, “You’re wel--” but then blinked, “what did you call me?”

Bilbo just laughed and Thorin cocked his head a bit but just let it go, instead climbing up into bed with his own tea and as they enjoyed a quiet morning together.

---

It was a few weeks later and Thorin had been working late at his desk, pouring over paperwork. A pile that no matter how long he sat there, never seemed to diminish. Bilbo walked in quietly, placing his hand on Thorin’s shoulder.

“Hello, my lovely potato.”

Thorin leaned back, smiling up at Bilbo, “Hello, ghivashel.”

“How are things going?” Bilbo asked.

“As well as usual,” Thorin sighed, then he looked up at Bilbo, a small smirk, “Am I a sweet potato?”

Bilbo broke into giggles and Thorin dragged him into his lap, placing lingering kisses all over his face and neck.

---

And so it began, Bilbo didn’t want to overdo it so he waited for the right moment, whenever Thorin was distracted doing something else he would break out a Hobbit endearment.

Thorin was sitting in his favorite chair, reading a pile of documents. Bilbo came in from a meeting and walked up to him, reaching out his hand which Thorin took instinctively.

“Hello, my handsome parsnip.”

“Hello,” Thorin said, distracted still as his eyes scanned the document. Until it seemed he had processed what Bilbo actually said. He blinked and shook his head, looking up at Bilbo, “What is a parsnip?”

---

Bilbo found Thorin one day in his forge, he had been working on a project for weeks and had come to bed late most nights, smelling of smoke and metal. It was a smell Bilbo had long gotten used to. He stepped carefully into the forge as Thorin pulled a piece of metal out of the fire. Thorin smiled at him, lifting his hammer in a slight wave.

“Hello my darling mushroom king,” Bilbo called, a smile plastered on his face.

Thorin paused, setting down his hammer, a slight frown, “Now that’s just offensive.”

Bilbo laughed as Thorin put down the red hot metal he was working with and pulled off his gloves to come over to Bilbo. Bilbo took his hands, “But you're my mushroom, a rare one at that. And I’m so lucky to have found you.”

Thorin leaned down and kissed Bilbo, pulling him into his arms, “As sweet as that is amrâlimê, I hate mushrooms.” Bilbo laughed into his chest.

---

Thorin had been in council meetings for the past two days, they were hosting Men, Elves, and Dwarves of the Iron Hills, hoping to expand trade agreements in the north and also strategize safety and security. Orcs had appeared more frequently recently, coming from the north out of Mount Gundabad. Thorin felt like the headache forming behind his eyeballs would blind him permanently. Bilbo had been in meetings as well, and so they had barely seen each other at all. Finally everyone was free to have an informal lunch together, giving everyone a much needed break. Bilbo swept into the main dining room alongside some Elves and Dwarves. He walked over to Thorin and couldn’t even help the fact that they were surrounded by others.

“How are you my sweet-tasting cantaloupe?” Bilbo said, taking Thorin’s hands.

A few heads nearby turned to look at them, clear confusion on their faces. Thorin’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide, “What?”

Bilbo just smiled. Thorin groaned, a bit mortified, “Why can’t you just call me normal names?” he whispered.

Bilbo frowned, feeling a bit offended, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song, it would be a merrier world.”

Thorin softened then, realizing his error, “Of course, ghivashel. You are right, I’m sorry.”

---

Thorin had been away for far longer than he ever wished. He had needed to visit the Dwarven kingdom in the east to rebuild trade agreements and secure allies as rumors had begun that an evil was building in the south. He finally arrived home late, much later than he would’ve liked. There was little fanfare as it was the middle of the night. Thorin departed from his companions, heading straight to his rooms. There was no way that Bilbo would still be awake. As Thorin opened the door to his rooms, he saw that the fire was still going. The door to their bedroom opened and Bilbo’s face lit up, and he quickly strode towards him.

“You’re finally home! My prize-winning tomato!” Bilbo said as he wrapped himself around Thorin. As strange as it was, Thorin’s heart soared at the endearment, pulling him in tight, never wanting to let go. Somehow, he found himself falling more in love with Bilbo every time it happened.

---

Bilbo was tucked comfortably under the covers, waiting for Thorin to climb into bed. Bilbo had let his eyes droop a bit, sad that they had just been so busy lately as to barely see each other before exhaustion overtook them both. It seemed they would be this busy forever, and he thought about what it would be like to convince Thorin to retire and they could travel and live in the Shire. It was a pleasant thought.

He heard the door to the bathroom open and he opened his eyes. Thorin’s hair was loose and wet on the ends from where it had dipped into the water of his bath. He was only dressed in loose pants and Bilbo couldn’t help but stare. He’d seen his husband naked hundreds if not thousands of times by now, but it always made his breath catch, and the familiar feeling tingle down his spine. Bilbo was hopeless and grinned like a lovesick fool, which Thorin caught on as he climbed into bed, giving his own winning smile.

“Well hello my sexy roast beef,” Bilbo stated, more sultry than he expected.

A slight blush came to Thorin’s cheeks as he looked at Bilbo for a long moment.

“Can I marry you for a second time?” he said, his own voice deep and husky.

Bilbo nodded but the words he meant to say were lost as Thorin pulled him in close, kissing him soundly.

---

Thorin had told Balin he was taking the afternoon off. It had been one of the first nice days after a hard winter and he had hoped to catch Bilbo by surprise and spend a restful and carefree day and evening with his beloved. The possibilities were endless and he knew that this kind of day would be a hobbit dream.

He went first to the kitchens and got a quick dessert that he had pre-planned with Bombur that morning and then went to their rooms. He found Bilbo writing at his desk. Thorin quietly set down the pastries and wrapped his arms around Bilbo from behind.

“Hello my gorgeous steamed cabbage” Thorin said, hoping he had gotten the endearment correct. As far as he could tell after many, many times it was a positive and loving adjective and then a vegetable or fruit of some kind. He wasn’t very well versed in growing anything, but it was the first one that came to mind.

Bilbo stilled in his arms, the pen where it had been moving even as Thorin wrapped his arms around Bilbo had stopped, the ink pooling a bit on the paper.

Then what sounded like a laugh, followed by a cough from the Hobbit in his arms. Bilbo put the pen down and turned slightly in his chair.

Thorin knew immediately by the mirth on Bilbo’s face that it was not correct, “steamed cabbage?” Bilbo said flatly, though amusement played in his eyes.

“Have I offended you, ghivashel?” Thorin pulled his arms away, frowning.

Bilbo started, and then stopped, a few times trying to find the words. “I’m not offended, but it just...your heart was in it…”

“But it doesn’t quite work…” Thorin supplied, disappointed.

Bilbo stood, smiling and took Thorin’s hands, “It was a good effort, but you should stick to Khuzdul, my perfect potato.”

77 notes • Posted 2021-03-05 03:56:00 GMT

#1

Ahh!! Just got my Lore Olympus (Hot Topic) sweatshirt in the mail! :)

78 notes • Posted 2021-02-26 17:07:33 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[unmanageable-day]

Come to me

previous chapter. 1 - 2 - 2.5

PART 3 - next

Summary. After what happened in a relationship in the past, you found  it difficult to trust someone with the gentleman image. 'Gentleman' seems like merely a concept and it was probably impossible  for someone to be a genuine one. Now that you're stuck with the number one gentleman at campus for a  group project, how would you cope with the one and only Joshua Hong?

Genre. College!au, non-idol!au / friends to lover

Pairing. Joshua x y/n x a little bit of S.Coups, and a sprinkle of Wonwoo

a/n: text au/social media au parts coming soon!

The biggest wish you had during work group in Joshua's house was to leave as early as possible. You ignored your stomach growling since it was already dinner time. But the house owner insisted you to stay since he already prepared meal for two. Never had you been in such a dilemma when you were hungry, the smell of his cooking was quite appetizing, and at the same time you just wanted to go home. And at this random time, Johnny always popped up, now in a form of phone call which you picked up without bothering to walk away from Joshua's sight.

"Girly, did you forget I invited you to the party at Nakamoto's?" "Oh, shit, I totally forgot." You checked the clock. "Sorry, John, I lost track of time." "What exactly are you doing? Studying?" "Uh.." You stole a glance at Joshua, hoping that Johnny’s voice on the phone was not that loud. "You definitely are." "Uh.. yeah.." A teenie tiny interruption from Joshua sneezing and a loud 'bless you' he said to himself were something you never knew you would be immediately clowned at by sincerely yours, John Suh. "Wait. Where are you? Did I just hear Josh—" "No, you didn't." "Yes, I absolutely did. You're studying with the Hong dude!" "I'm not!" "Yes, you are. Babe, he's at your place? Wait, no, you wouldn't do that. You're at his place?" ‘Why does this guy always get to guess anything right? Ugh why am I friends with him?’ you screamed internally. "You still in his house right now?" "That's because we're not finished yet." "Well, good luck and happy studying, I guess?" "Just hang up, Suh." "Yeah, sure. Better not make Hong dude feel neglected." "Johnny, I swear to God, stop." "Have fun. Take a breather because it's weekend. And don't forget to use protection." "I will murder you one day." "Love you too."

What a funny lie. You and Joshua had completed the presentation and ended it with a thank you page since 20 minutes ago. Now he basically just kept talking about finding more references when you thought it was not mandatory. You just had to convince him that what you both had done was more than enough.

"Is it Johnny?"

"Yeah."

Joshua nodded his head, somewhat understandingly. "There's nothing much left, I guess?"

"Yeah." Now going home early really sounded great, but how do you tell that politely to the house owner? But, isn't it normal to go home once you finish everything? Like, saying 'hey it's past 7 PM, you and I definitely deserve a good nap so I'll get going now, see you tomorrow' sounds pretty casual, right?

"Do you want to hang out for a while?" he asked even before you finished your thoughts.

You shrugged in confusion.

"Look, we've been hanging out but all we do is studying and getting this project done. So why not trying to do something else, like normal friends would? I mean, you know my friends, and you're pretty close with them. Isn't it weird that I'm the only one who is like a stranger?" He tried to read your face, which was still looking puzzled. "That's if you think of me as your friend. Because, I do.. and I want to get to know you more.." He sounded unsure as his voice faded away.

"Oh, yeah.. yeah, yeah, of course," you blabbered without thinking. You were so going to be the weird one if you blurted out that you saw him only as a project partner. The future of having awkward relationship between him and the other guys seemed crystal clear if you rejected him befriending you.

He smiled, feeling relieved. "Do you like watching movies?"

"Yeah, sure." At this point you had no idea how many yeahs you have said.

"Do you want to pick a movie?"

"Anything would be fine."

"Okay. I hope you're fine with horror movies."

You smiled, wondering if you looked panic when he said horror movies. You were so bad at horror movies. Mingyu was one of your victims as he became your personal punching bag whenever the jumpscares were about to pop out. Johnny also hated you for screaming hysterically on every jumpscare scene. Now, should you fake something and just run away to go home, or ask him nicely to pick another movie?

Joshua started setting up a folded mattress, some pillows and a blanket on the floor. His act just distracted you from your escaping plan. You stared at him, question marks were running around in your head, internally rambling 'what's with the mattress and why not sit on the couch?'.

"Oh, this is what I usually do when watching movies, either alone or with the guys," he said, as if he could read your mind. "Come sit here. I promise it's super comfy."

You were practically hypnotized by his sweet voice. All thoughts of running away or asking him to change the movie just magically disappeared as you slowly adjusted your position on the mattress. Joshua naturally shifted to sit closer next to you. To share popcorn, in his defense.

You had been telling yourself to be brave once the opening started. But somehow you just kept shrinking while hugging a pillow throughout the first 10 minutes. Joshua noticed how tense you looked now that your head was on the level of his shoulder, even lower, and the back of your head resting against the folded foot rest of the sofa. You were almost completely lying down with your knees bent to partially cover your sight towards the TV screen.

He chuckled quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I am perfectly fine," you quickly answered.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm comfortable." You hugged the pillow tighter, slightly burying half of your face against it. And finally that moment that you'd been expecting came. Yes, the jumpscares. Followed with one of the biggest reaction Joshua had ever seen, after Seokmin and Mingyu, which made him laugh although he had to be your next punching bag. You practically shoved yourself towards him, quite with force he would say, and ended up hiding behind his shoulder. At this point it didn't matter anymore that Joshua Hong was not more than a project partner and you wouldn't even talk to him outside the project activities. You just desperately needed something to hold on. And to hit while screaming.

Joshua's masculine yet sweet scent sometimes distracted you. The way he laughed at you also started to get in your head. But you can't really focus on that because horror movies always got the best of you. Even you unconsciously wouldn't let go of his arm. Your sanity was split as you cursed yourself for being weak.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, still chuckling. To your surprise, his hand reached yours and gripped your fingers, still resting on his other arm. You immediately pulled away once you got your yourself together, realizing how physically close you were.

"Yeah. I may not look like it but I do like horror movies." Okay. You didn't know why you just talked gibberish. But then your act showed otherwise because you just almost jumped before finally going back to your hiding spot: behind his broad shoulder. He giggled again.

You could feel Joshua adjusting his sitting position with you on his backside. His head was slightly leaning towards yours, effectively making your heart flutter due to the sudden escalation of physical interaction. Eventually he tilted, making contact to your head for a few seconds before he turned to look at you.

"Should I just turn it off or change..." He half whispered while his eyes were searching yours. His eyes moved quickly from your eyes, to your lips, then back to your eyes again. You were sharp to catch his movement when he started leaning in and slowly decreasing the distance between your face.

Your loud ringtone just saved the day so you could release yourself from the awkward scene with him. Scooting a bit away from Joshua, you loudly picked up the phone. "Oh, Mingyu sunbaenim. With Soonyoung and Wonwoo? Okay, sure.."

Joshua silently kept his eyes fixated on you. He rubbed the back of his neck while waiting for you to finish the call.

"Is that Mingyu?" He began speaking to break the silence when you were occupied to your phone after hanging up.

"Yeah." You pretended to look at the time on the clock and be surprised. "It's getting late. I think I should go home."

"Y/n, I'm sorry about earlier.. I wasn't think-"

"What about earlier?" you quickly interrupted. Talking about what just happened during the movie was the last thing you wanted to do. You simply didn't want everything to be even more awkward than it already was.

Joshua opened his mouth, and quickly shut it. "Nothing. It was nothing.." He tried not to look flustered. "I'll take you home?"

"No, no need to. I can catch the bus."

"Okay then. Anyway, it's fun today. Do you think.. we can do this again.. next time?"

"Yeah, sure." You faked an excited tone. "I'll tell Soonyoung and the others, I think they can manage to arrange it."

Joshua almost choked himself, slightly gasping in disbelief. "That... would be great."

[aubrey-plaza]

hope you're doing good during this crazy time! was wondering if you have any recs for crossbow canary fics to read?

so I have another fic rec list here that also has some dinah x helena recs so check that out too if you need more. 

You can always go to the tag and sort by kudos but the ones below are some of my absolute favourites and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :)

Crossbow Canary / Dinah x Helena:

In my darkness I remember

by ThanksForListening / @thanks--for--listening (13.154, complete)

summary: Helena gets stabbed, Dinah blows her powers, and everyone needs therapy.

notes: this is hurt/comfort at it’s FINEST. Two chapters, one from each POV with a delicious exploration of backstory and characterisation, and a story that will rip your heart out still beating. It’s a beautiful fic and honestly, any words I say won’t do it justice and you should just read it.  

would you like to cuddle under my weighted blanket?

by tonksremus (3721, rated M, ½ chapters)

summary: Dinah discovers Helena’s weighted blanket and then decides to wife her. Really. That’s the basis of this entire fic.

notes: there are simply no words to describe how fucking hilarious this fic is. Even before the big laugh out loud moment, the author sets up smaller bits and pieces for you to laugh over and the whole time I was reading it I had a smile on my face. I recommend not reading this in public. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much while reading a fic. Add to that a delicious cameo by Poison Ivy and great characterisation all around and you’ve got yourself a pretty stellar piece of writing. I cannot wait for the second part to this!

hoping to find (what i can’t figure out yet)

by sinandmisery / @sinand-misery (6863, T, wip)

summary: “I realized after I got to my class, I never got your name.”

“Oh, um- Helena.” She stands, hand outstretched awkwardly for a handshake. “Helena Rosa.”

“Dinah Lance,” she says, laughing as she shakes Helena’s hand. Her hands are cold from the bottles of beer, but Helena’s hands are warm - so warm - and Dinah doesn’t want to let go.

OR;

The college AU where they become friends and fall a little bit (a lot) in love.

notes: anybody who knows me knows I don’t read WIPs. full stop. I try to keep up and really love supporting my friends but wips are just so hard for me to keep up with and YET. There’s this college AU that’s so riveting and well written that I eagerly await the email that brings the next chapter with it. There’s intrigue and a solid backstory laced with a delicious banter and characterisation that’s just *chefs kiss*. I love it so much I made a social media AU for it.

For a Little While Longer

by Ciocco / @suolasirotin (1664, rated T, tw in story notes)

summary: ‘Psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for.’

Helena has a choice to make.

notes: the way this was written had my throat in a knot and my chest warm the whole way out despite knowing that it would end well and there’s a beauty to the prose and the internal monologue that gives it such an authentic feeling. Your heart will hurt for Helena and sympathise and the way this moment was written, you will want to be drawn to Dinah. It’s so well written and I keep coming back to it.  

i don’t wanna be your friend (i wanna kiss your lips)

by MontagueBitch (porcia_catonis) (1090, G)

summary: Helena practiced this moment in front of her mirror a dozen times, and somehow, it still doesn’t come out right. How typical.

notes: Helena is a goddamn disaster and I love her so much. This fic reads like a movie, perfectly described with the right amount of dialogue and feels so natural and like them.  

Quarantine Oneshots / Chapter 17 - You’re So Vain  

by BlueJay_Silvertongue (1588, rated T)

summary: Helena and Diana attend a funeral in Italy, and Dinah finally confronts her feelings for Helena.

notes: so this is I think the second one shot in this series that’s CC, but in the first one it’s basically revealed that Diana and Helena sometimes sleep together. Still, it’s a short piece and manages to be so compelling and really stuck with me and I keep coming back to it. Part of a quarantine collection so I’m p sure author is doing a ficlet a day and I have to say the notes at the end are really uplifting as well!

I Don’t Deserve This (You Look Perfect Tonight)

by Dash_El (1168, rated G)

summary: “What’s wrong, Helena?” Dinah asks curiously. “Never danced with another girl before?”

“No, it’s not that.” Helena’s arms are rigid, her hands balling up into fists. She breathes out slowly before admitting the truth. “I’ve never danced with anyone before.”

notes: is there anything better than two people slowdancing together? the answer is yes: this fic. It’s slow and simple and practically evokes the imagery in your head.  

I’ve been at war for so long.

by D_writes (2235, rated G, will leave you hungry)

summary: One shot exploring a bit of Helena’s Italian heritage and some habits she brought with her from the old continent.

notes: Carla Lalli Music said Love is a thing you can taste, and she was right. I love a fic based around food and eating because what’s more caring that wanting your loved ones to be well fed? The Italians are good at this and having Helena connect with that part of her heritage and basing a story around it? Absolute pinnacle of poeticism.  

Pegasus

by catfishofoldin99colours / @catfishofoldin99colours (3617, rated G)

summary: A chilly rooftop evening, half a bottle of brandy down her throat, and the entire sky mapped out above. Not what Dinah imagined when she’d first thought of kissing Helena, but she’s not one to argue with the universe like that.

notes: will I ever stop recommending this fic? unlikely. I am a SUCKER for pining Dinah. Most fics in the tag are written from Helena’s pov but the absolute deliciousness that is a yearning Dinah is just. There are no words. They’re so goddamn awkward and I love them so much.  

Sleepover

by emmer_gency / @cleanquean (4549, T, wip)

summary: It’s not like Dinah doesn’t realise she’s got it bad for Helena; she knows that all too well, thank you very much. The problem is, what the hell do you do about it when it’s right there in your face, at work, at home, in your kitchen and in your bed? And how do you keep Harley Quinn from unintentionally ruining all of it?

notes: I just. I love this fic so much. Harley is the perfect foil these two morons being incredibly awkward around each other but I still just cannot get enough.  

i’d like it if you stayed (and i like you)

by mess_is_mine (3269, rated E)

summary: Living together, when Dinah hasn’t been laid in months, when they’re spending their nights in situations that get Dinah’s adrenaline going, when Helena has a habit of walking around in sleeveless shirts or even just a sports bra and low slung joggers?

Yeah, it was only a matter of time before Helena walked in at an inopportune moment.

notes: this is. very hot. features a very pent up Dinah being walked in on and hot and (surprisingly) tender smut.  

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

by zxywrites / @zxyjxy​ (3790, explicit)

summary: They have sex in a church. Not sure what else to say.

notes: relapsed gay catholics unite! but seriously, note I didn’t put an E but instead wrote out the word explicit. It’s explicit. They’re in a church. and yet, my favourite line isn’t a piece of smut but instead a section of gorgeous prose sprinkled throughout this story that really elevates it from being gratuitous smut to something absolutely beautiful. But it’s also really hot.  

no fic specifically but all of @thewomanofwonder / thewomanofwonder’s stories are good!

and of course you can read the fics I wrote

Happy reading, Anon!