#Anyway this has been in my notes for a couple months I am glad to toss it into the world

[blue-dream-rhapsody]

On Kugo Ginjo, Part 5 - Side A: The Blade

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I broached the subject of Kugo’s sword once a while ago, but I don’t think I really backed it up with much canon material. Then a little bit ago I saw MrTommo’s video about Ichigo’s Horn of Salvation form and it made me want to take another look, so here we go!

(Note: the numbered asterisks sprinkled throughout are more like tangents than proper footnotes. You can save them to the end without much trouble I think, the mark just notates what point I was making that I think it relates to best.)

————

So even though Kugo and Ichigo are both hybrids, the differing circumstances that make Ichigo ✨ special ✨ mean he’s not very helpful as a point of reference for the rules of existence Kugo operates under. There are a handful of things about their abilities I think are clearly meant to match up between them, or at least point the way—and that is disregarding the obvious use of Getsuga Tensho as a blatantly stolen ability—but it doesn’t give us a full picture. So today I just want to take a look at Kugo’s sword, its various forms, and what I think is going on with his powers in the current state of things.

To begin, I do want to go back to the farthest in the past we have seen Kugo—Tsukishima’s memory of when they met, at which time Kugo appears to have still been a Soul Reaper and presumably acting as a Deputy.

Purely, to confirm that he had a completely standard asauchi at this point, which he carries on his hip like any other typical Soul Reaper.

Tite Kubo stated at one time that Rukia knew of the method for transferring Soul Reaper power to a human in an emergency because it had been done before, and that Ginjo was at least the successful example. Upon his own acquiring of said power, given Ichigo is the only one who ever has, as of years later, had his sword spontaneously appear rather than be forged by Oetsu Nimaiya (*1)—it would make complete sense for Kugo to have to take up the blade of the Soul Reaper who gave him their power, at least in the moment, to survive that situation. Whether he was issued his own asauchi to imprint later, or the former owner was no longer able to wield it and he ended up keeping it to make his own, I can’t say. The latter isn’t an unprecedented event either, as Tosen got Suzumushi from his friend Kakyo after her death. And truthfully, I couldn’t tell you if it makes a difference either way, at least for what we’re discussing here. What matters ultimately, is that this is so far as we can tell, a completely standard-issue zanpakuto that a typical Soul Reaper would have.

Now we never see that zanpakuto in anything other than its sealed state. No shikai, no bankai. This means, we don’t know what shape it would have in its unsealed states, so we can’t compare that to what we know of now as Cross of Scaffold. (Keep in mind, just because it’s slender sealed doesn’t mean its shikai is the same shape. Zabimaru is an easy example.) We don’t know anything about its ability, either, nor any name it goes by. But we know that in the present time, Kugo does use something he calls “bankai,” notably without ever saying a name. So is that a real bankai? Does that mean the sword is a zanpakuto even in the present, that is just no longer sheathed like a zanpakuto?

Well, to begin to answer that, I want to bring forward a specific set of panels:

What Kugo’s saying tends to get the focus for the plot reasons, but it’s his actions that interest me here. He pulls his own Combat Pass out of his pocket (*2) and Kubo makes a point to show him putting it against his sword, and that it changes.

As a reminder, here’s a clearer view of what the sword has looked like up until this point:

And in fact, let’s look at what’s visible of the sword when he used it on Uryu when he cuts him at the very beginning of the arc, too, for good measure:

You can ignore the actual blade part for most of this post, as it doesn’t significantly change at any point, but focus on the guard in particular, where the hilt passes through, and the hilt extension as well. Between these two moments they are clearly the same, meaning at least from the point of Uryu’s getting attacked, this is what Cross of Scaffold has looked like for the entirety of the arc so far.

Yet, once his Combat Pass makes contact with the sword, and they seem to combine, it looks like this:

The skull is of course the most obvious addition, clearly reflecting the image depicted on the Pass itself. But notice too that the hilt extension is no longer cross-wrapped like the rest of the hilt is (or like most zanpakuto hilts are, if in different wrapping styles). It’s become what looks to be a column of vertebrae, like the skull’s neck.

I point this out because it is critical to note that this transformation occurs before Kugo even begins to take Ichigo’s powers. It is purely a result of combining the Pass with the sword we’ve known as Cross of Scaffold. And keep an eye on these two specific aspects, the skull with cross marking and the bone hilt, as they will continue through additional forms—leading to a certain conclusion we will discuss in a bit.

Now the next change that occurs, we don’t see until after he has taken Ichigo’s power and his own form has changed. And I’ll actually give us a couple views, because it’s hard to see everything in any one image, and it also proves consistency in the design.

There are two major differences in this new form. The first is the addition of a backing shape beneath the skull, as best seen in the first two, which while far from an exact shape match, still evokes the plaque part of the Combat Pass. And the second, as seen in the latter two images, is that the entire hilt is now a column of vertebrae, not just the part extending into the blade.

And lest you think these aren’t new aspects, but merely Kubo forgetting to draw part of his design in the first form, here’s a second panel from before Kugo begins taking Ichigo’s powers showing both of these things still absent:

(With a bonus Ichigo at the bottom still clearly having his Fullbring.)

It’s a “change” in a sense, from one to the other, but more than that these are additions, still in line with what we already have. That is not the case, however, for the last version we have to look at. With the form Kugo calls bankai, we have this:

The skull with X-markings and the vertebrae in the hilt extension both still remain, as ever. Notably though, the normal hilt has morphed again to an unrecognizable form which, quite frankly, I’m not sure how to describe. Its irregular shape makes it unclear if it’s still (the semblance of) bone, though it’d probably be a safe bet given the rest of what’s present in his entire design, not only the sword. There’s also resemblance, in the slightly arced shape, to part of the markings that appear on his face, but that’s not necessarily intentional.

The new hilt of Kugo’s blade does not resemble at all, however, the twisting horn shape the guard has taken on, which is also completely unlike the fleur-de-lys like pattern it has had even from its most basic form. And this is, notably, the most obvious thread connecting the sword and pendant forms, so it’s interesting it is absent here. Also worth noting this is completely different from the horns Ichigo’s Hollow has.

Incidentally, the plaque-like backing to the skull has also disappeared, though the skull is a more concrete tether to the Pass.

There is one more addition which is maybe the one I find most unsettling by visual alone. The skull, though I haven’t mentioned it, has only ever been the top portion without the lower jawbone. (*3) And this still continues; however, the opening that the hilt extension passes through is now lined, top and bottom, by a row of teeth, like a giant gaping maw. And from the “gums” of the bottom row, another row aims out the other way toward the blade. Which is. Horrifying.

It’s important to take the context of this particular blade into consideration, too, because Kugo makes a point to say that this “bankai” form includes Hollow elements. And from bones to horns to teeth I would definitely say this is reflected. (Especially horrifying as, while I am not a dentist or a zoologist, the sharpness of those teeth strikes me as carnivorous. With the whole of this sword I overall get this sense of a hellish humanoid entity with a too-big mouth full of too many teeth, a neck that’s too too long. And it’s screaming.)

————

Now that we’ve seen all the forms at play, let’s come back to the fact that two elements remain consistent from when the Combat Pass is added in, up through his strongest form. You’re probably wondering why I keep hammering this home, and the reason is because these elements existed independently of Ichigo’s power. And while with the bankai form in particular, there are certainly some independent components, there are also changes that seem to just be extrapolations of what’s already there. What this means is that, while Getsuga Tensho is clearly Ichigo’s, and Ichigo’s completed Fullbring form was designed on a meta level, per Kubo, with the intention of being better suited to Ginjo from the start, it just can’t all be derived from Ichigo.

I think we have to consider what it means, too, that he combines the Combat Pass and Cross of Scaffold before he begins extracting Ichigo’s power from him. Not just for the divide between what’s from who, but for why he would take the time to do so before.

Keep in mind, there was no need to power up in preparation for a battle. The original plan had been to take Ichigo’s powers, so he would have nothing to fight back with, and then leave. When the Soul Reapers showed up, it was clearly a surprise to Kugo—and with Ichigo’s loved ones from the human world already also under Tsukishima’s thrall, they really expected no significant opposition. The chances it was in anticipation of a fight are certainly never zero in a series focused on fights, but with all of that being the case, they’re still very low odds. There must be a reason to do this at this point, though, so if not for a boost in power, then could it be for a change of power?

Kugo tells Ichigo that a Deputy Soul Reaper was able to take Fullbrings from those who had them, when he explains why Xcution wants to help him become a Soul Reaper again. While there was a ruse at play here, Kugo was not aware of it when he said this; he’s likewise not aware that he was himself the Deputy in question. Now the rule that Tsukishima’s ability can’t actually add or remove events or people, only modify them, didn’t get established officially until Can’t Fear Your Own World, but that rule dictates the power exchange between him and those Fullbringers did happen to at least some extent—and we see Kugo exchanging powers in canon regardless. He takes from Ichigo, but also gives to the others in Xcution. The question here isn’t whether this occurred in the past or not, but rather, is this ability one a Deputy Soul Reaper, generally speaking, has with Fullbringers? Or is it just that, without realizing it, Kugo was attributing the nature of his personal ability (as the only Deputy before Ichigo) to being something Deputies can generally do, since he didn’t know it was him from the start?

If it was his own ability all along, then, why did we never see it used during the bulk of the arc? Well, this is where we come back to the question of combining the Pass with his Fullbring. Why do so before taking Ichigo’s power? Perhaps because, without doing so, he would not have the ability to with the ability he currently has?

Was something contained within the Combat Pass, with the purpose of hiding it away? Something he wouldn’t realize was hidden away until the bookmark on him was undone and he remembered who and what he was? Something hidden as to not arouse Ichigo’s suspicion when he did start to become spiritually aware again, because Ichigo would recognize it as something other than the nature of a Fullbringer as someone who’s been exposed to other types of spirit energy before?

Is it a coincidence that, for all the other forms we’ve seen a Fullbring take—animate plushies, digital entities, destructive boots, time contracts, strengthened skin, hairpin spirits, brass knuckles—one of only two Fullbringers who aren’t Ichigo, a Soul Reaper, who has a sword as their Fullbring’s form, was also a Soul Reaper?

Even if it’s not the nature of his personal ability, and is instead just something Deputy Soul Reapers can do—doesn’t that mean he needs to already have Soul Reaper power at that moment to be able to take the Fullbring from Ichigo? And if it was something he did with the other Fullbringers prior to the slaughter that caused him to start killing and stealing from other Soul Reapers in the first place, doesn’t that mean that power can’t have originated from the Soul Reapers he killed?

If Kugo’s Combat Pass monitors and controls him, and he hates that, why keep it on him like he has? And given that he has, why have the Court Guards been unable to track him down with it until Ichigo flushes him out? Something Hitsugaya explicitly says they were waiting for?

Any one of these things, or even any two, you could of course just handwave away, or find an explanation for. But altogether, these questions call to mind a possibility I find it hard to ignore: that Kugo is not entirely without Soul Reaper power prior to taking what he does from Ichigo—or at least, not without it stashed away, but close at hand. And that what is called Cross of Scaffold is perhaps not just a Fullbring object, but the physical vessel of his zanpakuto transformed by Fullbring into sword and pendant in turn—because isn’t a zanpakuto, in a sense, an object with a soul? The very thing Fullbring works on? In combining his Combat Pass with the sword, is he therefore bringing the spirit of his zanpakuto back to its home, adding it back into the mix of his power?

Of course the last of this is more extrapolation, but with no real precedent for this specific mix of power, it’s certainly interesting territory to tread.

————

Notes:

*1. Per Oetsu himself, he knows the location of every sword he’s ever made, so you may be thinking about the fact the Court Guards have been hunting Kugo as a fugitive for a couple years at least and wondering, “Well, if he has his sword still, shouldn’t Oetsu be able to find him so the Court Guards can catch him?” But keep in mind what Squad Zero’s job is. Their focus is the Soul King and preservation of the state of the worlds themselves. Kugo shows zero interest in the former, and of the latter, at most an interest in destroying the Court Guards soldier by soldier, and maybe usurping the social structure, neither of which does he really come anywhere close to. Being the all-overseeing Squad Zero as well, they may be aware of the circumstances of his heel-turn being orchestrated to begin with, and do not get involved not so much out of a sense of justice but just due to a lack of need to pursue him for not having particularly done anything. Soul Reapers just die all the time, what else is new? Even if Kugo had the desire to interfere with the Soul King, he’s no Aizen in terms of ability to do so, and they didn’t even interfere with him. 

(Also if you take Klub Outside answers, Kubo stated this was meant in a more metaphorical sense than a GPS tracker, so do with that what you will.)

*2. Ichigo’s isn’t on a chain like this, is it? More like a leather cord? Is this meant to be a match to Kugo’s necklace chain? That said, Ichigo’s newest bankai at this point does still have the chain at the end of the hilt. This isn’t important, just something I noticed.

*3 You know what? The markings on the skull of course reflect markings Kugo’s face has in his bankai form, and the skull only being the top half also matches the Pass; but doesn’t that raise the question of which came first? Are they a change resulting from the Combat Pass being integrated in? Or was the Pass designed with the imagery it has because it was made for Kugo specifically?

Also, it just occurred to me that Ichigo and Kugo both have the Pass integrated at the base of the blade. Ichigo’s is much more literal about it, but the image on it does change to suit what form he’ll have in his upcoming shikai state. Suiting it moreso than it does his current Fullbring form, so that’s… interesting. Either way, this particular imagery that appears on Ichigo’s doesn’t present itself in Kugo after taking Ichigo’s powers, at least in any way he isn’t already connected with X imagery (like his belt-thing). It does seem to influence how Ichigo appears later, though, even after it’s taken away.

[cherryrikis]

ONE LESS LONELY GIRL - 014 ! im one less lonely girl

PAIRING idols riki x fem reader

SYNOPSIS fans always point out the chemistry between you and riki, and it only continues to grow after you become mc’s together on music bank. but as your feelings rise, so does the tension. and people begin to notice, so you try not to let riki know how you feel. but unbeknownst to you, he feels entirely the same way.

authors note so thats a wrap! just like that, its over. this is technically the last official part bc ep15 is more like an epilogue/can be read as a standalone, but its still just as meaningful to the plot. i had so much fun writing this and i gained so much support and so many new moots. i love you all and thank you for staying here even though i struggled to update while juggling school and work. 💗

previous <> masterlist <> next

“i’m so sad to announce that today will be our last show together, as our contract has reached its end.” you read off the script, lightly patting your waterline with the pad of your pointer finger.

“but, i hope this won’t be the last time we see each other. i am very thankful for this opportunity.” riki spoke as he looked into the camera lens, before moving closer to link his arm with yours.

“this was newjeans’ y/n,” “and this was enhypen’s ni-ki! please look forward to our future projects. we may no longer mc together, but we will forever be a couple together. thank you everyone!”

the cameras stopped rolling, and the red light turned off which signaled the recording was over.

staff and crew rushed to the both of you, so you were immediately bombarded with baskets of fruit, chocolates, snd two flower bouquets.

“this is for a good few months of connecting together. thank you for your hard work and dedication.” the head of the staff greeted, as his assistants handed out your gifts.

“thank you sir. we look forward to seeing more of you in the future!” the two of you bowed, before leaving to head backstage.

“dani said she’s gonna come with everyone else to pick us up. they want to get dinner at that chicken spot to celebrate our contract ending.” you informed riki, turning to show the texts in the group chat as he finished changing out his stage outfit.

hyein! - ‘congrats, you’re free from the chains music bank had you bounded into!🥳🎉’

danii 💗 - ‘me and enjeans are gonna get u guys from work so we can get chicken. great job on mubank :)’

riki chuckled, before handing your phone back to you. “sunghoon and heeseung are gonna get so drunk. so, beware.” he emphasized.

“no worries. im stuck with you anyway.” you sighed, gently punching his shoulder.

“here’s to riki and y/n, for finally being free from kbs! i hope none of us ever have to mc again.” sunghoon toasted as he raised his glass, after jake poured everyone shots.

“for real. we barely saw you guys while you were signed to that contract.” minji nudged your shoulder.

hyein burst out laughing, almost spilling the drinks scattered around her place at the table. “if you guys weren’t dating, y/n would’ve been sobbing because she’d never see you again!”

“is.. is she, drunk?” sunoo raised a brow, gently pulling hyein’s hood over her head.

“sunoo! she’s underage! all i got her were 2 shirley temples.” danielle gasped.

“okay! enough. we’re in public.” riki announced. “baby? go ahead my love.” he gestured sweetly for you to make your speech.

“thanks ‘ki.” you smiled. “i’m pretty happy our managers decided to let us have a joint interview that day. if we didn’t, me and riki probably would’ve never met. so, i’m glad music bank happened. otherwise, i couldn’t call this kid here my boyfriend.” you spoke, moving to wrap your arms around riki in a soft hug.

“cheers!” everyone exclaimed in awe.

as your group members around you yelled out congratulatory speeches, all riki could think about was you.

because now that you could be in his arms in public with no repercussions, that was all that mattered.

you looked at him with a bright smile, and riki could feel his heart melt as your expression.

the world had one less lonely girl.

TAGLIST (italics = couldnt be tagged) @hannicorpse @luvvhaerin @chaevibes @en-verse @ren2jay @choppedballoondetective @heartheejake @imanalien143 @istglevi-gotmesimping @yndairy @eleanorheartschishiya @lonelylandofan @gweoriz @jaemified @onlyhyunjin @softpia @frecklesbrownies @riksaes @wensurr @rikifordmiami @brideslit @ant-onie @yumilovesloona @aeminju @hoonics @catecita @clampclover @rei4sunoo @addictedtohobi @rikidaze @baekxo07 @xotyla @melancholy-z @rikisgeef @jung1w0n @tocupid @onlyseung @i03jae @iheartshopping @istphanie @queenriki7 @academiq @1117promises @nctislifue @haechansbbg @rairaiblog @nabia-bia @pkjay @lixiebokie @hiekoo @r1kizerr @d-dilemma @kingofthekards @iilwji @hoonatic @woorcve @enhaz1

[fadingdaggerr]

Can you make a fic based on my two fav melissa schementti fantasies

melissa calling reader by pet names and making them completely flustered x melissa making reader jealous on purpose

basically all this happens before they date/confess

and when melissa has had enough of reader not making any moves and hiding from her, melissa takes charge and ends up making out w reader.

i know this is a little difficult to write but tysm i really love ur fics 😭🫶🫶

wishful thinking

pairing: melissa schemmenti x gn!reader

summary: request above!

warnings/includes: ridiculously clueless!r and a not clueless mel, gary but only for plot purposes, making out

translations: gioia (joy/happiness), tesoro (darling/treasure), gavone (pig/slob)

note: i’m so sorry i haven’t been active. i’ve been dealing with a lot the last few months and haven’t had even a second to breathe. better note at the end <3

Melissa would never admit to anyone how much she liked the effect she had on you. She loved to watch your head duck down nervously when she complimented you or guided you along with a hand on your lower back. Every single time she left the light tremor of your body, but not once did she mention it. You were glad she couldn’t feel your heartbeat the moment her attention was on you.

—

The first time she noticed it changed her entire perspective on you.

Melissa wasn’t the kind to talk to the new hires, the turnover rates at Abbott were laughable and they never stayed more than a couple of months. But after a few months, she started to pay attention. Over time, she got to see just how much you really cared for the kids. She had stopped by to ask if you had an extra purple whiteboard marker, but she was met with the sight of you kneeling in front of one of your students, big, sad tears in her eyes. She could just barely hear the mutterings of I know it hurts sweetie and the one that made a little smile cross her lips, of course I have shark band-aids, what am i? A chump? She sees you start to stand to grab the bandage and decides to move now before she gets caught staring.

Right as she steps close to you, you rise and spin around. Your action staggers as you notice her form too late, and nearly falling as you try to avoid running into her, nearly. Strong hands grasp your upper arms, saving you from landing flat on your ass.

Your head tilts up to face her, finally registering that it was Melissa. It takes you a second to breathe before you let out a little, “thank you.”

“Of course, hon. My fault anyways,” she says with a small smile. There’s an almost too long pause before she realizes her hands are still on your arms, dropping them immediately to fold them across her chest. You’re almost in a daze just looking at her, but you have to keep up appearances.

“Did you need something?” You say with a soft smile. Melissa noticed how your eyes never left hers for a second after she called you hon, she also thinks that you’d never looked her in the eyes before then. It had never gone unnoticed that you always looked at her bangs or the frame of her glasses whenever you’d spoken before.

Interesting... Melissa thinks to herself.

—

And then Melissa began to see a pattern.

You’d given her the extra dollar she needed for her iced tea, four quarters stacked tails-up in front of her. She didn’t ask anyone, only sighed when she checked her purse.

“Thanks sweetheart,” Melissa said without really thinking.

Your eyes widen for a fraction of a second before you catch yourself, accompanied by a quick inhale. Licking your lips and averting your eyes from her, you quietly say, “yeah. of course, anytime.”

Barbara must notice Melissa’s intrigue suddenly and speaks up, “dear, why don’t you come sit with us? I don’t think we’ve gotten a chance to know each other just yet.”

This marked the start of yours and Melissa’s friendship.

—

“You got plans Saturday?” Melissa says as she pours a cup of coffee into her Tucci mug.

You look up from your phone and take a breath in, “I have lunch with my cousin at noon, but I’m free later on. Why, what do you have planned?”

“That flea market’s coming back around, the one with the good antiques and the petting zoo,” you almost speak but she cuts you off, “oh, and that apple cider you liked.”

You smile at her remembering that detail before responding, “yeah, that sounds perfect. I can text you when I leave the diner.” Your voice thankfully doesn’t seem to give away how nervous you were trying not to seem. You take a sip from your mug to hide yourself for a moment.

“Great. I’m looking forward to it, babe,” she says through a sip of her own coffee. She stays just long enough to watch you nearly choke on your tea, and then slips out to walk to her classroom with a satisfied smirk on her face.

—

At the development week meeting, she turned to see you looking around for a place to sit. When you miss her wave to get your attention, she decides to yell your name across the gymnasium to get you to look in her direction. Your head whips her way, a grateful smile on your face when you see her waving you over. She decidedly loves the shy smile that was reserved for only her.

Stepping over nurse Makiah to get to the free seat, you finally plop down next to the redhead. Something possesses Melissa and her arm moves on its own to rest across the back of your seat, hand resting on your arm. She feels you stiffen for a moment, almost thinking she’d overstep, but you relax into her touch.

“You didn’t have to save me a seat. These are prime real estate to bleacher-leaners,” you mumble to her as one of the eighth grade teachers goes on about something that wasn’t as important as her fingers tracing little patterns over your shirt.

Melissa chuckles lightly, squeezing your shoulder lightly. She leans in to answer, “but then I wouldn’t have you sitting here, tesoro.” Your eyes go to your lap as you fail to hide the smile from her words, making the redhead’s heart rate pick up.

“You’re too nice to me, Schemmenti,” you say as you lift your head, with what little courage you have, to look at her and smile, leaning into her for a second.

—

Then an idea struck Melissa

Tuesday was vending machine restock day. Tuesday was your new least favorite day of the week. Totally unrelated.

Gary, the vending machine guy, had started a habit of flirting with Melissa. He started with giving her a free iced tea straight from the truck, and then chatting, then complimenting, and then just straight up checking her out with no shame. Every time he entered the room, your voice died in your throat, and your eyes stayed trained on him with a special kind of hatred. You were at least thankful Melissa hadn’t noticed the rage you felt when he had a conversation with her breasts. Melissa, in fact, did notice.

She watched how you stared daggers into his back as he spoke to her, completely unaware of her attention flicking to you every now and then. Your fork angrily stabbed at the lunch she’d brought you, not a single bite being taken since the vendor walked in the door. The more forward Gary got, the quieter and angrier you became. Once he left and Melissa’s focus went back to you entirely, as it always was, your shoulders relaxed and the assault on the pasta stopped.

Melissa decides she has a theory to test. She plays into Gary’s flirting some more, enough that the man is clearly picking up on it, and your hand stills. By the third week, Barbara is begging her to go on a date with the man.

“Girl, he likes you. You should give it a shot, he’s a nice man. Handsome too,” Barbara says with enthusiasm. Your eyes roll as you look at your phone, trying to tune out this conversation. Your resolve cracks a little when Ava mumbles that’s generous in response to Barbara’s comment, a tiny chuckle espacing you.

The kindergarten teacher nudges your hand, “don’t you think she should go for it?”

You struggle with trying to not just flat out say no so instead you settle with, “yeah. Gary seems really nice.” The thin smile on your face is unconvincing to both women, and it’s easy to read on both their faces. You quickly grab your stuff and stand, “I’m gonna head back to my room and pass out their math quizzes. I’ll see you later.”

Once the door closes behind you, Barbara looks at Melissa, “what was that?”

Melissa just shrugs, feigning obliviousness.

When Gary finally gets the nerve to ask her out, she laughs and agrees. You think the gods above must have it out for you, not letting you escape any interaction between the two. The fork in your hand just stabs harder at the food in the tupperware. After watching with a tinge of regret, Melissa finally speaks up.

“You alright over there, gioia?” She asks, her voice filled with real concern. You look at her for a moment, considering what to say, but settle with a nod. When your gaze drops again, you miss her lips dipping into a small frown.

—

Monday morning after the big date, you realize that being in the lounge was a mistake. You should have known to go straight to your classroom, but the need to see Melissa overrode your actions.

As you walked in, everyone was facing Melissa and asking her about every little detail of the date. Where’d they go? Was the food good? Did he offer to pay it all or ask to split the bill? What did she wear? She gives them all they want to hear, and only Ava asks what you didn’t want to know.

“Cut the bull. Did you let him hit or not?”

A chorus of AVA! goes around the room.

The redhead just sighs before answering, “why did you say it like that? And no, I did not ‘let him hit,’ Ava.” You hate that some tension leaves your shoulders after that. The rest of the time is spent with your eyes trained at the floor and ringing in your ears.

Melissa regrets her idea a lot more when she stops seeing your smile altogether and your eyes stop meeting hers.

—

She finally snaps.

Janine had planned to make a whole outing for the Abbott crew, inviting everyone out to a new arcade-bar that Erica had told her about. She’d told Melissa that she should invite Gary, saying that everyone wanted to meet him in a social setting and not just in the ten minutes he was in the school every Tuesday. Inviting Gary couldn’t hurt, she reasoned.

Gary’s phone went to voicemail for the fifth time and all eight of her texts were unanswered. He said he would come, that he wanted to meet everyone for real, but now he was a no show. Melissa felt like a teenager again, getting stood up by her date to homecoming while she waited outside for him. She turned to walk back in, almost running into you as you were coming to check on her.

“Everything alright?” You ask, knowing the answer already since she can’t hide her emotions well when she’s upset.

She huffs a laugh, “peachy. Jackass said he would be here almost an hour ago and won’t return my calls or anything.”

“Want me to beat him up for you?” You ask jokingly, but there’s a certain hope she’ll say yes that sits in your chest. Your heart almost can’t handle it when she smiles at your words, arm looping with yours as she drags you to the pinball machines.

You’d probably lost a student-loan payment in quarters by the time either of you had even won a single game you played. In the course of two hours, both of you had only managed to get a collective hundred tickets that could maybe win you each an eraser. Melissa pretends to not notice you cheating in the driving games, and you pretend not to notice her taking quarters from your cup.

You watch an equally competitive Ava and Melissa play a scary-good match of air hockey, each of them likely to have bruises on their knuckles by the end of the night from how hard they played. Each time she scored, the redhead’s eyes moved to you for approval, and each time she’s met with a little applause and smile from you.

“Wasn’t your man supposed to be here? Or were the Kit-Kats not behaving?” Ava says when they finally take a break from the game to take a drink.

Melissa just shrugs, “he hasn’t answered anything. If the gavone decides to say anything, then he’ll be getting an earful, or a bat to the head. Depends on what he says.”

“Do you even like this idiot?” Ava asks incredulously, saying exactly what you’d been thinking for weeks since they’d had their first date.

Melissa shrugs, “he’s alright. The first date was nice, but the rest have just been him trying to get in my pants.”

“Well,” Ava’s brows bounced a couple times, “are you gonna let him in or not?”

You check out entirely before listening to Melissa’s answer, not even caring how suddenly you left the conversation, just letting your legs carry you until you could finally breathe. You find yourself back with the old pinball machines that no one but you and Melissa had played. Only a few seconds of silence manages to pass before you hear the muffled stomp of boots on carpet, stopping right behind you.

“You gonna tell me what that was?” Melissa asks with your back facing her.

You should have known it was her that would follow you. Part of you wanted to lie and say that the drinks made you feel sick, but you both knew that they were too watered down to even intoxicate a toddler. The other part of you just wanted to scream about how it should be you on those dates with her, driving her home and walking her to the door. You turned to meet her eyes and any courage you had left, feeling like putty when she was so focused on you and you alone. Even though you know what her response will be, you just say, “it was nothing. I’ll be back inside in a minute.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” she says, stepping closer, “you’ve been doing that a lot lately. Just... I dunno, just leaving. You can be in the same room as me and it feels like you’re miles away.”

Your gaze drops to your feet, suddenly feeling insecure now that you know she’s noticed your behavior. You put all your energy into stabling your voice and keeping your lips from quivering at the thought of upsetting her. All you can muster in a tiny voice is, “I’m sorry.”

Melissa surprises you by pulling you into a tight hug, whispering to you, “is this about Gary?” Your heart stops at her words, knowing you’d been found out. The lack of answer and the way your body stiffens tells Melissa everything she needs to know, what she already knew.

Melissa knows that you’ll likely try to explain away anything the second she loosens her hold on you, that you’ll run and she’ll never get this close ever again. So she does the only thing that she can think of at this moment.

As she pulls away, Melissa’s hands cup your face, pulling you into her lips. Your eyes nearly bulge out of your head as you feel her lips press against yours, soft and eager. After a moment, she realizes you’re not kissing her back, her heart cracking as she pulls away from you, ready to run. Her hands drop from your face, eyes blinking rapidly as doubt clouds her mind. Your mind catches up, realizing what had just happened. Melissa begins to turn to leave, but is stopped by your hand in hers. You tug her back to you, cupping her face and leaning forward to finally kiss her back.

She tasted like lipstick and watery vodka, her hands were warm against your wrists where they held tightly. Your mind was in hyperdrive as you took in her lips and her touch, hardly noticing her moving you until your hips met the game behind you. Melissa’s lips parted, her tongue brushing across your bottom lip to ask for entry. You were quick to allow her in, letting her dominate your lips as her hands dropped to grab at your waist. The taste of her lips and tongue became quickly addictive, the feeling even more so. Your hands migrate from her face to her hair, pulling her even closer to you as the kiss turns sloppy from the sheer desperation radiating from both of you.

Melissa’s hands grab at your hips harder as you tug at copper strands, cold fingers creeping under your shirt to rest against warm skin. The force of her body leaning further into you boggles the machine you’re pressed against making a loud buzzer sound and the automated voice yell just a quarter to play! The sudden noises make you both jump, breaking the kiss. Your eyes meet and you both stifle a laugh at the whole thing. Her lips immediately gravitate back to yours, this time softer. The smile you feel against your lips brings your own out, breaking the kiss again. You drop your head against her shoulder, basking in her presence and her hands on your skin.

“You knew,” is all you say, voice muffled against her shirt.

She smiles and rests her head against yours, “I did.”

“How long?”

“The whole time, give or take,” she’s a little surprised when your head pops up, almost smacking her chin.

Your eyes stare straight into hers, “and you said nothing?”

“You didn’t say shit either, don’t even start,” she says with a laugh, no malice hiding in her voice. Her only response is a grumble that sounds something like touché.

There’s so much love behind your eyes, it chokes her up. The way your eyes never left hers, something she missed in the last month, made her feel like the most precious stone. She looks at you for a moment longer before quietly asking, “can I kiss you again?”

The smallest smile crosses your lips as you answer in an equally quiet tone, “you can kiss me whenever you want, Schemmenti.”

feedback appreciated as always <3

note: again i’m sorry for not being active. i started school again and have been working full time while also being a full time student. i also had a death in the family that hit me very hard mentally and i had to take a step back as to not end up in the hospital. i’m going to try to be more active and take time to write more. thank u for being so patient. ilyvm

[cvnt4him]

Hello!! I'm the same girl who requested for IT reader a while back, and I really liked it!<3 I wanted to try out requesting again so I'm here once more😭😭 Anyway, are you fine with family-centered stuff? Could you do heavy angst with Father!Number One!Izuku with his little girl? You can decide whatever for the child, really!(but personally I prefer daughter) So, since Izuku is the number one, Y/N is probably the one mostly taking care of their kid. What if there was this huge accident that killed Y/N because the heroes were too late to detain the villain? Plus points if Izuku was the hero assigned. So ever since the death, Izuku is suddenly the caretaker and tries his absolute best to make his kid happy but fails since the kid absolutely loathes him for being absent and for being too late to save their mother. What do you think Izuku will do?? So, yeah!! It's up to you if this isn't weird</3

Its not weird at all my love, thanm you for the req and I'm so glad to have you requesting from me again, feel free to stop by once more and leave some more, youre always welcome<33 I would also like to apologize to you and everyone else who has made a req and I haven't gotten to it. I won't get into detail but I've been busy, I've closed my reqs so I can get all my old ones out, most of my reqs are like months old anyways so here i am clesning out the closet.

...

“mr midoriya, where would you say your life went wrong?”

“ ....when I left my wife.. ”

Izuku was always infatuated with you, your beauty, your strength, how compassionate and caring you were. He thought you were just neat. You didn't have a quirk yet like him you still made it into UA. You were pretty smart and tried hard at everything you did. He admired you for that, he watched you closely and studied you. Not in a creepy way, but in a "I'm in love with you, notice me" way.

In your second year you'd finally taken a liking towards him, he was quite cute despite his odd haircut. You understood it was due to the trouble he went through in the war, he was strong reliable and terrifyingly selfless. Izuku midoriya was a great guy and you had really liked him, the two of you started going on sweet little dates together, walking in the park sharing an ice cream, going to the movies to see whats new, going to a carnival with some friends and sneaking off alone.

Those were the days izuku wished could've lasted forever, where nothing was wrong, peace was restored and everyone was happy. But as life does. It moves on. The world changes right before tour eyes and before you know it, it's been 8 years. The two of you are still happily together in fact married now, and expecting. Izuku and you had gotten out of college a couple years ago, he became a pro and you were in charge of the Deku Foundation. A silly name for a silly little guy.

Izuku was a family guy, he didn't see his father much growing up so he knew this was what he wanted. He wanted to assure to you, the mother of his unborn child, and to his unborn child that he would be there, always and forever. He held you at night and made you breakfast in the morning, he wasn't always there to eat it with you but he made sure to leave adorable little notes for you to feel special, you kept busy doing work for his company, exercising to try and reduce stretch marks and baby weight in the future, and cooking for fun. It was hard being pregnant but it was worth it. Is what you'd say.

Izuku could never forget the moment you had his baby. Those were the absolute happiest moments in his life, no doubt about it. Watching his baby leave from your birth canal, he seen the way you screamed in agony with the final push. He was so mesmerized by it all, his wife just gave birth to his... beautiful babygirl.

“congratulations, mr and mrs midoriya, it's a girl.”

When the doctors gave you your baby, he watched closely as she stopped crying immediately at the contact of your skin, your soft voice shushing her sounds away, he pleas and cries powering down as she calmer herself. Its like you were a magical being, izuku was so enamoured with it, with you. With his new baby.

Holding her for the first time was his dream, it was even better than he could've possibly imagined. He sighed and tried to hold back tears, yet they fell asleep if a water faucet was left on, he sniffled and hiccupped as he tried to hold her closely, he took off his shirt so she could feel that skin to skin contact that babies are supposed to love. He read a book about parenting, of course the book would've been better for you to read because it was how to prepare for child birth but either way; it worked.

This moment, truly was the happiest one yet; but as life does. It moves on. And before he knew it 6 years had passed, you're beautiful babygirl was in first grade! She was making friends learning a lot and laughing and playing like kids her age should. She loved the outdoors and loved animals, she enjoyed small things like butterflies and rabbits. She was such a vibrant little girl, a splitting image from izuku too, mind the couple of genetics of yours that had shined through. Izuku loved his girls so much, watching the way you two played together, when you did her hair, read to her, his favorite thing of all was to watch you to crochet.

It was so calming, you would hold her close and show her carefully how to apply the yarn, teaching her how to swap colors smoothly and humming gently to her. Izuku watched you both closely, he's a very observant man, with that being said watching his girls was hos favorite thing to do. It's like you two were a show he could never get tired of, a program that was played just for him.

Izuku was a pro now and as much as he loved you both, he had a job to do. One that he couldn't fail, it ate him away that hr couldn't just sit with his girls all day long. Listen to little stories his baby has to share about her day at school. As much as he disliked it, he would even love to listen to his wife rant on and on about a little dream she had the other night, how the washer was in the kitchen instead of the laundry room and looked like an oven instead. Such odd dreams you had.

Izuku hadn't even realized it, but he had been spending more and more time at his agency, accidentally sleeping there and coming home 4 hours before he had to go back up there. It was tiring, he was tired, yet he had a job to do. And he wouldn't fail. You two started seeing less of him, it saddened your daughter deeply yet you tried to remind her constantly that he is a hero, and heroes have jobs to do. She would nod and give you a smile still laced with disappointment, sadness.

What really pissed you off was when he promised your little girl he'd be there for her science fair, yet didn't show. She won and everything, he promised her he'd help with making it. Whoops he couldn't do that because he was working. No matter! He apologized so you both just slid it off. However this was the last straw for you. Driving home you were furious, seeing your little girl in the mirror with a frown as she fiddled with her ribbon.

You stayed up late that night. Assuring that you'd catch him, and once you did you two argued. Which is something you'd never done, of course you two would bicker and disagree on things, but this was unlike those times. You were both yelling and had possibly woken up your daughter, but neither of you could care. Too blinded by your own fury, you had banished him and he left without a word. Without a second thought, without looking back.

“ I wish I looked back.... I wish I would've apologized, I wish I could've been there when she needed me; when they needed me... ”

That was the last time he'd seen you alive.

It was a normal day for the most part, besides the fact that you two had argued two nights before and hasn't spoken since. Izuku hadn't seen his daughter nor spoken to her either, it was eating away at him but he didn't have time to focus on that right now.. he was getting a signal from one of his sidekicks out on patrol.

“ deku! We need you! There's been an accident! There's a huge fire breathing villain who's trapped a woman and her daughter!”

A woman and her daughter.... That had to be a coincidence. It was, it had to be. Tons of people have daughters and just so happen to be women as well. Hell, he bets it's not even her daughter!!

“its- it's your wife...”

A loud scream was heard on the sidekicks line, izuku was terrified, he moved without even thinning jumping out of the nearest window zooming through the air trying to reach you. So many things going through his mind, why were you out? What were you doing? You never go out, why now! Why was his daughter there?

He was trying his damnedest to reach you, he couldn't help but feel like time was slowing down. Like he wasn't fast enough, meanwhile in actuality he was moving faster than the speed of sound. So why wasn't he there yet? He groaned in annoyance at this, he couldn't shake the terrible shrieking sound that came from the other line.. it terrified him.

“ come in! Is everything alright?! What's the situation?! ”

“i...”

“ what?! what is it, spit it out?! ”

“ I'm sorry... ”

Sorry? Sorry for what? Why the hell was he saying sorry? The only question izuku could find himself wondering. Upon arriving he sees people running, fire burning everywhere and debris filling the air, he coughed through the smoke putting on his mask and zooming through the thick fog. He found his sidekick, no wonder his voice was so hoarse and dry, he had collapsed and passed out. Izuku took him to the nearby ambulance that was present before going back through the smoke to find you.

Other heroes were arriving on scene and searching for other civilians, trying to get them out while others tried taking down the villain, he was huge and was not going down without a fight. Izuku couldn't even try to worry about the villain, you and his daughter were his main focus.

“ daddy! Please help us! ”

The sound of his daughter wailing with a cracky voice, it shattered his heart he followed the sound of crying until he found the two of you, your daughter by your side holding your arm tears falling down her reddened cheeks, she was dirty and covered and muck. She also just so happened to be covered in...blood.

“ princess... what.. what happened.. ”

His daughter ran into his arms bursting into even more tears hiccuping and sobbing. Her cries were loud and full of sadness anyone within a mile radius could tell and even hear, izuku picked you up in his arms not even taking the time to assure you were okay, not checking a pulse or to see if you were breathing. He just swooped you up in his arms bridal style and had his daughter on his back, telling her to cover her mouth. He zoomed through the smoke and handed you both over to the ambulance, they were quick to ail you both.

Izuku was soon to go help the other heroes in scene but first he looked back to you, to see them giving you air and performing CPR, his eyes widened and just as he was about to go back over to you, he tried to rush to your side before being caught by none other than..

“ deku, c'mon we need you. ”

“ kach- erm- dynamite. I can't, I have to— ”

“ come. on. ”

The fiery blonde yanked the large green haired male by his suit and dragged him back into action, he thought this was for the best. Leaving your side this last time to finish slaying this beast.

The fight was over and everyone who had been injured was taken to the nearest hospitals, the villain who had caused all of this trouble was taken into custody and was going to be behind bars for a long time. During the fight people could tell izuku was letting out pent up steam on the villain, he could've killed him. He was sure of it, everyone was. He had be pulled off in order for him to stop. You were hurt and his daughter could've gotten hurt. Izuku felt the villain deserved far much worse than to be behind bars. But at least he was rotting.

Izuku went to see you in the hospital, waiting for hours on end, pacing back and forth a million things on his mind. His daughter had been released a while ago, she was fine apart from the smoke inhalation. He couldn't believe she didn't have a single scratch on her, but he was glad and very much thankful. She sat in the nearest seat taking it easy, watching izuku pace around before finally, some news..

“ mr midoriya— ”

“ what- what's going on is my wife okay?! what's the problem, can I go and see her?? ”

“ I uhm... ahem. I'm afraid I have some bad news.. Mr midoriya. ”

Izukus expression fell, his eyes widened yet his face was completely blank. His heart dropped and completely shattered at the words the doctor said to him. His daughter immediately broke down. Tears were brimming in his eyes, he was borderline shaking in his red boots. He felt bile rising in his throat, the burning sensation making tears fall. They fell and never stopped. He held his daughter close that night. Never letting her go. He was afraid if he did... She might leave him.

....

“ I see. and how does that make you feel?”

“ ... are you seriously asking me how my dead wife makes me fucking feel. ”

“ yes. It's been 9 years, you've retired from hero work and have been seeing me for quite some time yet we never seem to talk about her. ”

Fuck... 9 years had completely flown by him. He hadn't even realized.. you'd been gone for 9 years....

“ I... I.. ”

“ your daughter will be a freshman at UA this year, correct? How does that make you feel? Have you checked in with your daughter? Have you asked how she's been? How has she coped with her mother's death? ”

Izuku was speechless. 9 years had passed, he can't seem to remember much and his daughter.. the last piece of you he has, is starting school at the very high school you two met at. Where did the time go...

AN: I'm not good at angst if you can't tell, this is a shite ending and uhm I've been feeling like shit so I hope this makes you feel shitty, but in like a good way yk? I want you to feel so hurt and sad that it makes you think 'wow.. this is some good shit right here.'

[drunkhee]

lonely beds, different cities ────── ⵌ YJW

pairing: uni student!yang jungwon x afab! reader genre: hurt wc: 1.29k warning !! mentions of alcohol + swearing + vomiting (due to alcohol) , lowercase writing

ft. enhypen members + yujin (ive)

synopsis; you and jungwon broke up as you were going to different universities

long, handwritten note deep in your pocket

‘my dearest jungwon,’ the note began. that was all jungwon had read before folding the letter back up after recognising your handwriting. he shoves the letter deep into the pocket of his jeans as his train made his way onto the platform.

it has been several weeks since you and jungwon’s breakup. weeks of torturous conversations of who ended it and why it ended with your peers. weeks of tears and ice cream. weeks of avoiding each other.

the breakup wasn’t amicable… to say the least. as you both approached the dreaded results day, you both came to the conclusion of a breakup before going into university. it wasn’t uncommon for couples to breakup, especially if they were going to universities hours away from each other.

‘you don’t even want to give it a try?’ you huff at him. this has been the third time this week where you are both arguing about what to do after receiving your results.

‘y/n, we are going to be… hours away from each other. we’ve always been attached by the hip, we’re not going to cope well with this!’ he shouts back.

‘you don’t even want to try and see how it goes? you’re the one who wanted to go to uni far away!’ you yell as he plops onto the couch.

‘oh! so now it’s my fault that the uni i want to go to is so far away! you were the one who said you would be fine with it!’

‘i was going to be! until you pull this shit! i was fine with you being so far away because i know that you going to this university, has been your dream wonie. i wasn’t going to let my selfish needs get in the way of your dreams and i was willing to travel to see you no matter how long the journey. and you pull this shit. i get it now. we should end this.’ you finally say, leaving jungwon before he could say anything.

in dreams, i meet you in warm conversation

‘i love you, y/n.’

‘i love you too, jungwon.’ you smile at him as he held you closer into a tight hug. jungwon gives a small kiss on your forehead as you lay in his small university single bed. ‘i’m so glad you decided to stay close to my uni, baby.’

‘i am too, i don’t know how i’d cope with you being so far.’ jungwon’s replies as you notice a bright light coming out of his window. slowly, your vision was engulfed in white and you awaken from your slumber.

you are back to reality, in your own university room. most definitely not jungwon’s who is hours away. it has officially been 6 months since you and jungwon broke up, not like you were counting anyways. many of your friends have told you that you would have forgotten him by now, but it seems like time sure is taking their sweet time.

is jungwon doing alright? is he eating well? does he have someone new? you have so many unanswered questions, yet no means of getting the answers. you have both cut off all contact and have mutually agreed on unfollowing each other off of all of your social media accounts. you occasionally spot him in heeseung and jake’s instagram stories on how they turn up to lectures almost an hour late or in riki’s who goes up to visit him and flirt with the older women.

you make your way to your university’s café. it was one of many littered around campus, but this one tends to be less busy as its farther away from all the busy buildings. yujin, a girl you met in your course who became one of your closest friends, waves her hands at you as you make your way to her. setting you bag down, she gives you a smile.

‘y/n… you know how it’s almost my birthday…’ she starts, tugging on your sweater. ‘i wanna celebrate back home! i really wanna introduce you and the others to my hometown friends! you can say no!’ she beams at you.

initially, you were really up for the idea, not until you remembered where she’s from. she notices the slight shift in your face.

‘it’s totally okay if you don’t want to come y/n, i know you’re scared of bumping into him…’ as  much as you are scared, a part of you also is thrilled with the chance to see your ex. you reassure yujin that it was okay.

‘i mean, your hometown is quite big. i doubt we’d run into him, right?’

oh boy …

and you've got your demons, and darlin they all look like me

another day, another shot of vodka to start a university students day – or whatever heeseung said. exam week has finally come to an end for the boys, and such momentous occasion must be celebrated at their local wetherspoon’s with cheap pints of beer and jaeger bombs.

well, that’s not the only thing jungwon is drinking to tonight.

as the boys pull up to the pub, busy crowds of university students surround the entrance with the security guard occasionally checking ids for those who look underage. with the boys going inside, they try and look for a seat and ended upstairs – barely securing the table due to the busy friday night.

‘first round is on me boys!’ heeseung yells as he makes his way to the bar, god knows what drink he’s gonna bring this time. last time, he brought out some type of thick vanilla liqueur that resulted in jungwon puking out his halloumi fries.

sunghoon and jungwon watch heeseung charge to the bar as more friends join their table, namely jake, jay, and sunoo.

‘while heeseung is getting, probably the most horrendous drink ever, i’ll order us a round of tequila.’ jay announces as he orders on his phone, unlike heeseung who is probably now distracted by the pretty bartenders. thanks were given around the table as they all catch up with one another.

‘ayo, won.’ jake starts. ‘i heard that y/n is gonna be out partying today.’ he says looking up from his phone to jungwon, who now looks confused. his y/n never really went out, let alone partying.

‘well, uhm, that’s not really any of my business, man.’ jungwon shrugs at jake, beginning to feel uncomfortable that the whole table is now paying attention to him.

‘yo, i’m sorry man. i didn’t know you guys were still not t-‘

‘oh look! tequila shots, thanks jay!’ jungwon cuts jake off taking two of the shots. ‘i forgive you jake.’ he smiles at him before downing both shots. as more drinks were ordered and drank, jungwon was almost at his limit.

‘won, you should chill.’ heeseung advises the younger boy, before getting a scowl as a response.

‘god, i’m fine! i’m gonna go take a piss.’ he mumbles as he gets up from his chair. his view was slightly blurry and wobbly, but he made his way to the toilets. he waved at some other students he recognised before pushing the door open to the toilets to do his business.

leaving the toilets, he bumps into a person. a girl?

‘i’m so sorry, didn’t see you.’ he mutters as he meets the girls eye. your eyes.

‘jungwon?’ you looked at him shocked – not expecting to actually bump into the boy.

before you receive a response, he bolts off into a different direction. he looked at you almost scared and… disgusted? you couldn’t quite figure it out.

silence, the train runs off its tracks

vi’s thoughts;

hey hey!! this is my first written piece on here and honestly idk what to write here LMAO hope u guys like this tho!! (based on sm of the lyrics of tswifts sad beautiful tragic!!)

part two here!

(c) drunkhee 2024. pls don't steal/plagiarise my work !

[strwbnnie]

i am so upset. we’ve been moots for like a month now and i haven’t come to throw some filth in your ask box yet 😩 buT it’s not too late!

alsO hI miya it’s nice to officially greet you 👉🏾👈🏾 i’m glad you enjoyed reading warm bodies! how are ya?

clears throat this is so long and i’m sorry but i like to ramble when i have ideas

So, I was lowkey just scrolling through your blog (i need to read more of your tasty ass work fr fr) and I noticed you reblogged a short fic about villian Kiribaku… A concept that has been untouched by my brain and was probably for good reason because now all I can think about is Red Riot the hardening villain who uses unbreakable to strike fear into civilians, heroes, and villains who dare to threaten his authority. Red Riot the villain is fucking huge and bulky and still has a smile of sunshine but a heart darkened by a selfish society. He honestly gives me Pain vibes, and idk if you’ve ever watched The Boys but I think he’d fit in perfectly with them, he definitely wants to kill heroes who don’t deserve to be called heroes.

Red Riot is very meticulous about the crimes he commits but there is one thing for sure— he loves a good fight. Doesn’t matter where the fight is or when it is, if there’s a fight brewin’ he’ll be there to find it. Also, random fact, he likes rocks soooo… he robs a lot of jewelry stores when he wants to add to his collection or he goes “shopping” at museums.

For example, big boy Riot has left the headquarters in search of a way to get his knuckles bloody, cruising around, looking for a hero to pick a fight with. Listen, even he’s got standards. He’s murdered a couple of people but never innocent ones, only heroes that don’t deserve their titles. And for that, he’s wanted by the Japanese government… Why’s he still walkin’ around like he’s some regular civilian though? I don’t even know. But… oh! Look at that, a hero.

The name of this hero doesn’t matter, he’ll scrapbook it later. A grin spreads across the villains face, a set of razor sharp teeth reveal themselves as he begins to approach the unsuspecting hero, following them to a more secluded part of the city to minimize witnesses as well as collateral damage.

This particular hero has quite a destructive quirk, so it’s truly no surprise that as soon as Red Riot attacks him, the hero begins to lay in blows that aren’t held back in the least. Indiscriminate waves of the disastrous quirk, that Red Riot easily dodges or blocks, cause nearly irreversible damage to nearby buildings, which no-doubt is putting civilians in even more danger than Red Riot’s presence alone. This is exactly /why/ he does the things that he does. With just one stupid fucking test, anyone could become a hero, even psychopaths like this.

As the hero is attempting to knock Red Riot down, the redhead villian doesn’t halter in anyway, getting closer and closer to the hero that looks like their about to shit their pants right in the alley. He’s nearly a foot away from the hero when he hears a blood-curdling scream that appears to be coming from above. He takes a moment to glance up and sees a woman plummeting to her death from the destroyed building that was just beside the alley. Then he looked back at the hero to see if he would do anything.

No. He was far too busy trying to keep his own ass safe. And for some reason, that pissed him off beyond comparison. He’d been holding back since the fight began, giving the hero a chance to defend himself, but it appeared time was running out. Hardening his fist, he aimed a blow directly to the hero’s face, satisfied with the sickening sound of flesh and bone breaking from the heavy punch, and watched the hero fly back into a pile of garbage bags, deserved.

With the screaming come closer and closer to where he was, Red Riot used the debris of the crumbling building to propel himself upwards and easily captured the woman who’d been falling, only then taking note of the bundle of life that she had protectively curled over. As they approached the ground, he hardened his legs and landed with ease, causing quite an indent in the earth.

While she’d been falling, hero eyes remained shut the entire time, but when she stopped falling, suddenly becoming hyper aware of her surroundings and the big strong arms that were wrapped around her rather protectively, she slowly opened one eye to take a peek at her savior.

In all his glory stood the infamous new Hero Killer, staring down at her with an arched brow on his handsome yet rugged face. The childhood scar on his eyelid had somewhat faded but fresh scars had been added to his face, a few nicks on his chin, cheek, and forehead, but they didn’t take away from his handsome appearance. He’d been wearing a red sleeveless hoodie, that showed off his muscular arms and a sleeve of ink that started from his right wrist, up the entirety of his arm, and disappeared under the hoodie no-doubt covering his right pec with a decorative tattoo, along with some plain black cargo shorts. His hair was spiked in the front and the rest flowed down his back in a mullet of sorts. She hadn’t realized she bad been silently staring at him in awe until he cleared his throat, asking if she was alright. Weirdly enough, she felt comfortable enough to answer him honestly, along with thanking him for saving her life. Unexpectedly, a cocky grin spread across his face and an idea came to mind.

“I’ve got other ways you can thank me, lil’ diamond.”

Next thing she knows, Red Riot aka Hero Killer 2.0 is mumbling some name that starts with a ‘K’ and a portal of purple smoke suddenly forms beside them out of thin air. Poor girl is basically kidnapped right then and there, but who woulda thunk Red Riot wanted a reward for taking down another hero and that reward just happened to be the lil’ milf who’d just dropped from the sky (or destroyed apartment building more specifically).

Don’t worry though, he may be a villain but he’s sweet and kind when he wants to be. And that includes taking care of you and your kid. Just like any normal abductee you question this motives and why’s he suddenly taken you from your home. He easily corrects you, saying that your home no longer existed and it was the manly thing to do to offer his surface to provide for you until you were able to get back on your feet.

(insert that one Soulja Boy audio where he says ‘HUH?!’ hella loud)

Why in the flying fuck would this man offer to take care of you? He had to have some kind of objective. But… to your surprise, he didn’t. In fact, you were free to leave whenever you wanted, and he made that clear.

Much to your surprise, Red Riot didn’t live in the LoV headquarters, he lived by himself in his own lil’ cabin in the woods that could easily fit a family or two. It was strange. You were thankful that he saved you and your baby’s life, but he was still a villain. A really, really handsome one at that. After his oh-so-caring suggestion, he mentioned if you wanted him to he would drive you back to the city and drop you off wherever you wanted to go. You dunno how it happened exactly but he’d been holding your baby while he was speaking to you, rocking the sleeping infant in his arms like he was their biological father. How was this man so fucking charismatic and sweet to you? He HAD to have some kind of ulterior motive.

Spoiler alert: yes, yes he did, but not the one you would expect from him.

Y’see… he’s always wanted a family. And here you were, dropped right into arms for the taking, and you didn’t seem to want to leave anytime soon, so he was going to use this opportunity.

A day turned into a week, a week turned into a month. And just as he promised, he took you out the house whenever you wanted and asked you each and every time if you wanted to be left in the city after your daily adventures (shopping and shit y’know, yes this man goes grocery shopping). But you always went back to his cabin with him, each and every time. Was this Stockholm Syndrome? No… couldn’t be, he openly told you to leave if you wanted to, then did that mean you were falling for the rugged mass-murdering villian? Looks that way.

As expected, the developing relationship between the three of you was not normal in the least, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He’d even introduced you to some of his buddies from LoV, only the ones he trusted tbh, and after that— you now had some willing and ready babysitters on call whenever you two needed.

Who wouldn’t abuse this opportunity? After some time convincing you, Red Riot, who had disclosed to you his real name was Eijirou Kirishima, managed to get you to go on a real date with him with just the two of you. And soooooo, ya did.

Who knew a villain could be so romantic? Certainly not you. He’d wined and dined you like his life depended on it and you were now putty in his hands. Perfect. The real games could begin.

He’s called a driver to take you both home and before you know it, Eijirou’s carrying you over the threshold like the two of you had just said ‘I Do.’

cracks knuckles

Now, this is where the real fun begins.

Red Riot, the hero-killing, tall, muscular, BDE, long-haired, thick-thighed, scarred, tattooed, smiling, thieving, hardening villain… has a breeding kink. And not just that, he’s got a big fucking dick that’s usually impressively hidden behind his usual wardrobe of loose fitting pants. But, you’ve seen him adjust himself more than a few times when he thinks you’re not paying attention, but you’re sure he just does it subconsciously without even realizing.

So there’s no real surprise when he’s dropped you onto your shared bed after a date and you can see the imprint of it through the black slacks he chose to wear. You coulda swore you saw the fuckin’ thing throbbin’ through the fabric but maybe your mind was playing tricks on you.

He’s now staring you down, noticing how your eyes have stayed glued to his crotch, with a timid look with some worry hidden behind your eyes. He grins and decides to have a little show for you. You’re struck back into reality when he suddenly grabs it, giving it a lil’ squeeze and a tug, causing your thighs to rub together in anticipation.

“No need to be nervous. It ain’t gonna hurt ya, baby. Promise.”

He purred, stroking his cock a few for times for you through his pants before moving his hands to start unbuttoning his shirt.

“Think you could strip for me, mamas? I like that dress on ya… Think I’d rip it to shreds if I tried to take it off.”

Sweet fuck, when’d you become so obedient???

Before you know it, you’re both naked and on top of the bed, not even bothering to get under the comforter or the sheets. Seems you two were impatient.

Eijirou was splayed out on his back, cock on fully display as it rested against his stomach that wasn’t exactly chiseled with abs, it was a lil’ squishy but the muscles in his arms and chest were hard to ignore. And would ya look at that, you were right, he did have a nagasode and hikae style tattoo with a dragon, flowers, and other symbols. His monstrous cock was almost teasing you with its ridiculous width and length, how was that going to fit in you? With its thick tanned shaft, and its fat brink pink circumcised tip that was dribbling precum despite being only half erect. The happy trail that led to a trimmed bush of onyx hair made you think about the hyped mane of hair on his head.

He’d decided to leave the gel out of his hair this evening so the bright crimson locks flowed in waves under his head… what kinda conditioner did this man use? Them locks shiny as a muhh’fucka- No, no, no, don’t get distracted.

Where were you?

He’d had you sitting on his chest, beckoning you to straddle his face with your thighs, and when you hesitated he took matters into his own hands and grabbed you by the hips, pulling you right onto his face.

Maybe I should have mentioned earlier that he’d got a forked tongue…? Y’know, the kinda tongue a snake has… He kinda got into a bit of body modification after dropping out of U.A.

And the way he uses his forked tongue on you is heavenly. So heavenly, that you nearly hunch over and run away from his skilled tongue, whining and whimpering his name, pathetically asking him to calm down and give you some time to adjust. The iron grip on your hips forces you stay right where he wants you, thick digits easily sinking themselves into your plush hips like memory foam. He’s absolutely ravishing you with the rapid fire motions of his tongue, writing out every Hiragana symbol in the charts, observing how you react to every trace of ever symbol. And when he draws out that one symbol, his tongue acting as a brush drenched in ink and your pussy acting as the paper, he notices the way you shudder and let out a guttural moan, clenching at his hair hard enough to make his scalp burn just a fraction— he smirks, abusing this new power.

ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki.

Ironically, the symbol that makes you shudder and silently scream sounds a bit like laughter, and laughter you shall receive. It is the best medicine after all.

Abusing this particular symbol, it is no surprise that the hardening villian soon rips an orgasm right out of your body, the searing heat that builds up inside you releasing into his mouth as you squeeze his head between your thick thighs.

Easily, Eijirou laps up your sweet nectar while groaning about how sweet and delectable you are, and gives you a moment to collect yourself, hearing the sweet pants and huffs that escape you as he rubs comforting circles onto your hips. That won’t last long, however.

“Think ya can cum on my tongue a few more times, lovely? Gotta make sure you’re slippery enough to bounce on my cock a lil’ later after all, hm? Be a good girl f’me, ya know ya can.”

my bad, my bad… went a lil’ crazy on this one 🧍 do with this as you please, aLsO i had an urge to draW hIm but i haven’t colored the lineart yet 😩 ill show ya when im doNe

You’ve been reduced to nothing but a whining, whimpering mess on the redhead’s tongue. He’s flipped and twisted your aching body so many times to get you in the perfect position, but nothing beats that good ole spread eagle.

Your hero turned villainous lover has both of those big hands holding you wide open for him, fingertips sunk into your plush flesh.

One knee is flush against the bed, the other is up against your chest, leaving nothing hidden from his fiery gaze. Your pretty pussy is his to abuse, at the mercy of that dexterous tongue and those razor sharp teeth.

Your moans and sounds are so cute to him, so pretty he wants nothing more than to keep fucking you on that long tongue.

You peer down at the beast between your thighs and the sight has you immediately tossing your head back, a breathy sigh passing through your lips.

Eijirou looks so precious—crimson eyes hooded and low, the thin sheen of your slick spread around his mouth while he licked and sucked you to another release.

‘Cu-cumming.’ Is how you’ll warn him before your pussy is creaming around that tongue again. You’re so sensitive, clit so swollen and red even the waft of his breath hurts.

But Eiji loves seeing you squirm, so much that he’s lathering your poor clit in spit, sucking the nub into his mouth just to hear you squeal as you claw at the sheets.

“Ei, p-please baby.” You’re begging, pleading for just an ounce of mercy from your lover’s tongue.

He raises his head to look up at you, or what’s left of you, granting a brief intermission as he flips you onto your belly.

He’s palming the fat of your ass, spreading you until he’s face to face with your delicious cunt and puckered asshole, his moistened lips curling up into a devilish smirk.

He loves this. He loves you and your perfect fucking pussy so much that tonight he plans on making you a mommy again. As soon as you cum for him one more time he plans to split you open and breed you.

“Just one more pretty girl, I promise.”

It’s nice to meet youuu, I love your work 🥺❤️Villian Kiri makes my pussy brain melt 🥹 I hate that it’s so short but I’m writing like 4 other one shots and my brain is a can of baked beans right now 😭

Hey bae, care to join us? @darkmajesty-xo

[papaver-decervicatus]

Cat/Mouse/Den: Pt. 4, Mus Urbanus

Fatal attraction is one thing but stuck on a stakeout, a certain little mouse decides to push her luck with the cat who's been chasing her... just how far is too far, and how much more can they take?

CW: Obsession, stalking, canon typical violence, intrusive thoughts, unsanitary wound care

Authors Note: Hahaha, remember how I said I was going to do shorter updates? Yeah well, I felt really bad for missing the previous week but I did have a lot of terrible IRL shit happen, so working through that was a priority. That being said, going back through all the amazing comments and everything everyone has written has been absolutely keeping me afloat! Thank you all so so so so so much, you will never know how much it all means to me.

There are a couple of Hannibal references in this part that, hopefully, will start to make sense by the last part of the story (which was, coincidentally, the first part written!) Not going to lie, I am just glad to publish this so I never have to think about this damned part again as I have been stuck on in for literal months. Also sorry if Soap's accent sucks, the only experience I have with anything remotely Scottish in the way of language tendency is my grandmother whose father was a Scottish immigrant and that's it.

Anyways, I hope you like agnst and interrogation scenes, because next week, König loses his faith in god and in mouse while tied to a chair! See you there!

❣️Cura ut Veleas ~ Caedis 🥀

PREV | Pt. 4 Mus Urbanus | 4.2k words | Mouse POV | NEXT

“Mouse?” A voice from in front of her calls out, but only after she deliberately drags her feet into the threshold of the neutral ground, alerting him of her presence. 

“Quiet as a.” She utters her usual response, stepping into the little flat in Buenos Aries, Argentina. She hears the smile as Soap sucks in a breath at her little joke. Her callback should be old by now, shouldn’t make him smile anymore, but he does anyway. He’s easy to get along with, something hard to come by in war. She crosses the minimal space between the two and takes stock of his little setup. 

For a mission, it’s luxurious. He’s sitting, in a chair might she add, with a scope poking barely out of an antique window on the 7th floor of an apartment building, looking into a busy market square. His arms rest on a table littered with little signs of life, a map of the area adorned with notes and coordinates in inexpensive ink, no less than 7 pens whose caps are chewed through (everyone’s got bad habits but this little sin of his drives poor Price up and down the goddamn wall), two disposable cups with sediment rings denoting how much instant coffee was drunk from them at a time before they returned to their places besides their drinker. Most notably, however, are two radios in a strange moment of near fornication– backs ripped open and wires crossed in an almost pornographic display of field ingenuity. 

Damn demolition specialists, she hears the echo of Gaz say in her head and she absentmindedly rubs the scabbed over cut on her left hand where the shrapnel of a certain someone’s frag grenade got her two weeks ago. She wants to be mad but-

“Hear any good ones, lately?” Soap turns to her, he’s disengaging from his post, changing his guard for her to take his spot, just as command ordered. He’s been in this little nest for about 6 hours and she can feel his desire to scuttle and tinker about radiating off of him. As he takes apart his gun, already aware and familiar that she refuses to use anyone’s but her own, his eyes shine to life. The color of sky blue permafrost, yet they radiate a certain lived-in warmth impossible to distance yourself from. Eyes almost like-

She bites her tongue at the thought. Bad time to be thinking about König… she mourns. But, speaking of the man.

“Yes, but it’s bad,” she offers, in fake warning as she sheds her outer jacket before moving to unhook the case that stands between her and the assembly of her gun. She knows the warning will only intrigue the poor pyrotechnic more. 

His smile is nothing short of sadistic as he raises an eyebrow.

“No, like, really bad,” she emphasizes, throwing a pleading look his way. His grin gets even more shit-eating-er if that sort of thing were even possible. “I mean it, MacTavish. Pass it along to your long-suffering Lieutenant, and you will be picking teeth out of your shit.” “I’m sure I’ve done worse to Ghost,” he supplies, rolling his shoulders. Yeah, I’m sure you have, she thinks but is much too self-preserving to say, especially aware that the Frankenstien’s monster of a radio he’s resurrected from two dead circuit boards is likely not secure enough to promise any real privacy. She would rather not alert Simon Riley that she’s become a dealer in his and Soap’s arm’s race of terrible jokes. He does not take prisoners, after all… 

“Alright, alright, just don’t tell him it’s from me,” she smiles, putting her hands up defensively in a quick jest. “Okay, play along with me now,” he nods along as he steps away from the perch and lets her take his spot at the table. 

“So, what's the difference between a piano, a fish, and a gluestick?”

“I know about two-thirds o’ this one.” 

Mouse trap baited. She smiles.

“Give it a go, then.” She wiggles in the chair, pressing her cheek to the crux of the sight and its metal holder. She sighs into the familiar feeling of control that settles into her bones as she hunches over.

“Can tuna piano but’cha can’t tuna fish?” He supplies, half teasing her already.

“Yep, but you’re forgetting something.” She sighs and goes to fiddle with the red-light optics extension, Command is confident enough in her abilities that she was specifically told to take it off for this one. She hears Soap whisper a quiet ‘oh shite’ behind her when he realizes he probably forgot to himself and she laughs a little. 

“What about the glue?”

Mouse trap set. Poor Soap, always getting himself into ambushes…

She smiles wide and hums remembering how excited her kitty-cat was to tell her this part. 

“See, I knew you’d get stuck on that one.” 

Mouse trap sprung. A moment of silence.

“Oh fuck me, that one is bad.” Soap chokes out a hearty laugh as he collects his discarded coffee cups from her side.

“No thanks,” she purrs as she finally sets herself into position. “Use it at your discretion, soldier.”

“Aye, that I will.” 

Soap goes to rummage through the kitchenette to her right and she takes the moment she lacks supervision to indulge herself. She does not move her sights to alert the man with her of the wandering of her eyes, instead, she scans windows and alleys without visual aid. The stale air threatens to choke her as she rakes over the golden-hued morning scene with desperate efficiency. 

After what feels like an eternity of stolen glances switching between her targeted area and anywhere he may be, she sees him. 

Technically, she has no way to know for certain that it’s König, she doesn’t have his usual wave or cheeky grin (affectionately referred to as a Cheshire Cat Smile in her own belabored heart) to alert her to his presence. That being considered, there is a masculine figure barely peeking out of a window into an alleyway who is just shy of 7 feet tall and his face is covered. Yeah, probably König. She smiles despite herself and her company. She wonders if he has radio access to her little hideout. 

(She remembers the seemingly endless weeks of his arrival to her perch. The early morning light hits the streets the same way it had hit the forest ground that day. Like a fairy tale prince, beseeching a princess on hand and knee, he would always somehow appear in her sights, nearly as though it was just meant to be! 

His form stands out tall and proud from its surroundings and she recounts every single reason he should not be here. By the third time their eyes caught she’d decided he was doing it on purpose, but she never let him get away with it without some acknowledgment on her side. She can only imagine that if she’s getting hunted for sport, her calling out his position will, at least temporarily, halt his advance. 

But by this rate, she’ll be in his mouth by the end of the year. 

His eyes are cold and bloodshot red. Painted tears lick their way down the hood she’s never seen him without, possibly a feeble attempt at impersonality? Maybe if he looks enough like a monster people will just trust their first assumption and leave him alone. But she’s never been one to judge a book by its cover…

“I see you, König.” She warns out to him. He stills among the foliage, bathed in sweet-honey-like warmth from the rising sun. He does not shy away from his imminent death on the business end of her rifle, of course not! Instead, he raises his chest proudly, seemingly aware that the loneliness in her yields to whatever greater magnetism the loneliness in him commands. He’s an enigma, it bothers her that of all the people to put the effort into finding her, it has to be him. Mostly she curses herself for promising him a next time all those encounters ago, if she’d known what sort of a game it would inspire in the predator stalking her like prey despite her flipping sniper rifle, she never would have said a thing. 

He may be in her scope, but he’s got her under a finer microscope to seek her out so faithfully. She wishes she got this sort of dizzying devotion from someone, anyone else. It is the third day this week he has found her.

What she expects to happen is what has happened for weeks now, 1) he hears her transmission, 2) he smiles at her as a predator smiles at pray, his eyes find hers and her hackles rise in utter terror, and 3) he hums to himself and turns away, self-satisfied enough to have won hide-and-seek for the time being.

That does not happen. 

Instead, König sits down, right where he is, and pulls out that monster of a knife he keeps strapped to himself. He throws it up and catches it without looking at it, instead his eyes are laser-focused on Mouse. This is, of course, despite the fact he should have no earthly idea where she is. He plays with his knife idly for what must be an hour, but she does not- no, can not- look away from him.

She remembers her trigger finger twitching with sinful power, she remembers choking back the insistence at killing another lonely person, devoid of their autonomy on a basic level when they signed up for a mercenary-issued ticket to hell.

She remembers hopelessness. She remembers refusal. She remembers the smile reaching his eyes when she played along with his joke. 

“Why don’t rats like cats?” Her radio labors out. 

She half forgot what his voice sounded like, surprisingly excitable and shrill for a man of his stature. Her brain stutters around the implication of the only words she’s heard him say to her since the fateful ravine that gained Mouse her own personal 6’10” shadow. 

She blinks a few times in surprise, genuinely pondering if her long hours hiking through the woods have made her susceptible to hallucination and general hysteria. She is not thinking when she timidly responds-

“Why?” 

“Because they are weapons of maus-destruction.” Konig replies like it’s not the stupidest thing she’s ever heard in her goddamn life. Perhaps it's pity at the memory of his discomfort around his comrades. Of the thought of the way he tries to make his body so small when around others (truly an impossible task he routinely fails.) Maybe it’s irrational fear, twofold and buried in her instinct to shoot despite the clear disadvantage on his behalf and her insistence that she does not do her damn job, or fear of the inhuman man in front of her stalking her through the woods. Or it could be discomfort, no one ever prepared her for dealing with whatever the fuck this is in basic training or field school. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what it is.

In the sparkling, decadent light of a sunrise, her heart hammers in her throat at the first joke he’d told her, in some strange and desperate attempt to fill the meters of silence between them.

She laughs. 

And he hears it.

And with his wide stance, his ghastly executioner’s hood in the place of a crown, and his knife back in its holster- his beautiful eyes seem to smile. Suddenly, his eyes look lived in, like someone has just put up new curtains in an abandoned house. His whole affect changes hinging on what was an irresponsible outburst on her behalf at best.

And for the first time, she does not fear a monster hunting her through the woods, silent and purposeful in his pursuit of prey. Instead, she wants to understand a man, whose eyes have lit up like a princess has just laughed when he kissed her hand.) 

Soap wanders back into her small perch with two cups of coffee and sets one down next to her. She takes a quick glance and hums with appreciation. He takes another sip out of his and she remembers that they’re supposed to share shift for about an hour before his rotation ends.

“You treat all your girls to coffee in the morning?” She quips.

“Only the pretty ones,” he returns with an effortless charisma and her breath catches.

Not because of Soap, but because in that alleyway, where she really shouldn’t be looking, she sees the uneasy rise of two massive shoulders and-

Oh my god, did König just… get jealous? 

The next idea she has is downright evil, really this is not the place or the time or any of that but-

Fuck it. She’s already flirting with the enemy, what more could this do? She’s already told the poor mountain of a man something dangerously adjacent to “God I really missed you when we didn’t talk to each other for three weeks like a horny teenager and by the way I love you desperately and think about you when I’ve got my hands down my pants,” and she probably imagined him tensing up, anyways. No harm, no foul. 

Maybe, it's dangerous, to wave a steak in front of a mountain lion, but what if she wants to get mauled?

“Hey Soap, what page are you on?” She says, putting her terrible plan into action. She sees him look up from his report, or more likely an idle sketch, on her periphery. 

“Ah, only the second chapter, did'ya move my bookmark?”

“Nope, the book’s in the leftmost pocket in my duffle.”

“Thank ya,” He says and moves from his spot to go fetch the book from it. She takes a quick sip of her coffee, delighted to realize he’s made it to her specifications as far as milk and sugar go, as he rummages around in her bag.

The impromptu book club started nearly eight months ago when Nova passed her copy of Emma by Jane Austen off to Gromsko to help him with his English. That turned into Mouse recommending the book Jane Eyre to Nova on the pure suspicion that she would hate it, which she did. Gromsko still needed to practice and enjoyed the spirited discussions so he joined the blossoming group with an English copy of The Doll by Aleksander Głowacki after he finished Jane Eyre. Never one to be left out, and surprisingly well-read when he wanted to be, Soap had pitched the idea of The Lord of the Flies (because to quote “Fucking Brits,” and he wanted to subject others to his high-school reading list.) If she remembered correctly, Farah and Reyes had also started sharing copies of books they enjoyed occasionally.

“Can’t believe it was Gromsko that put it in rotation.” Soap says, pulling out a well-worn copy of The Silence of the Lambs from the bag.

“He said he picked it up years ago in Polish thinking it was a cooking field guide.” She offers, as the man next to her idly thumbs through pages.

“Yer shitting me, yeah?”

She just shakes her head and smiles into her scope. Soap laughs and removes his homemade bookmark, a pencil sketch of a stake-out view somewhere in Mexico scribbled onto scrap paper. He keeps his thumb on the page and flips through to where hers is, much further along.

“Yer a right romantic, ain’cha Bonnie?” Soap laughs somewhere between the pages and somewhere behind her. “Hmm?” 

“This part, that’ya highlighted,” she hears a well-meaning sneer in his words. “The one you put the hearts by and everything…”

Mouse’s mouth tethers itself into a terse line and she attempts her best noncommittal shrug. 

Somewhere in her line of sight, a mountain shrugs himself chuckling lightly. She wonders what it would feel like, to lay on his broad, muscled chest as he laughs, how closely he would hold her, how she could rest entirely on top of his chest and not touch the ground beneath them and-

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” She lies through her teeth. Soap’s laugh behind her is loud and proud. Suddenly, his casual sadism isn’t so amusing when turned around on her. 

“Do you think it's because I like to look at you and think about eating you up—“ he reads from the book, voice dripping in mock chivalry and breathless romanticism. “About how you would taste?"

She feels her cheeks and ears heat up as Soap loudly proclaims her funeral to all those who may care, and she doesn’t miss the way König leans a little too close to his radio as he goes about mocking her. His stance shifts as if he hangs on the very words like he’s found a secret buried deep in her subconscious. Technically, she has no way of knowing, but Mouse knows in her heart that König is smiling. At least someone is having fun. 

Once Soap comes down from his laughing fit he puts her bookmark back to its spot and talks at the back of her head. 

“With your pressed flower bookmark and everything. Oh, it would be sweet if he wasn’t Hannibal the Cannibal.” Soap hisses out. “I always figured you were…” he pauses searching for the right word, “adventurous from how Gromsko talks bout ya, but seriously cannibalism?”

If she’s not mistaken, König’s hand grips ever so slightly tighter on the radio attached to the best. Maybe the battle plan has to change, but she’s still got some ideas. 

Soap is completely oblivious to the electricity licking up the air between her perch and one man on the ground. He looks around frantically, seemingly desperate to find her, and look in her eyes. Mouse is a sniper, she really should hate the attention, but something fatalistic descends into her smile as she lets Soap continue his little outburst. 

“I swear. You and him, yer sure there’s nothing there? He’s even given you special field medicine lessons, no one gets treatment like that from Gromsko.”

“His name is Sobieslaw.” Notably, it is not a denial. Technically, everything that’s just been said is the truth. 

König’s shoulders rise. 

He looks right down her site. 

She smiles. 

Come and get me, kitty-cat. 

“See! That’s what I’m talking about. You’re the only person who calls him by his first name.”

“Because you never put in the effort to learn it.”

“That don’t mean a thing since I don’t have tits.” 

“You do, just not as good as mine.”

“Aye, off it. Gromsko is into you.” She can hear from the way Soap’s voice carries haphazardly around the room that he is pacing and talking with his hands. She doesn’t turn her back, gaze still fixated on the looming shadow in her sights. Soap continues, entirely unaware of the exact type of beast he is tempting. “He swaggers around you, never even bothers to fucking ask to pick up your boxes, he just does it. His voice gets all soft around ya, too, like he’s cooing at a goddamn pet animal or something. He nearly got into an actual pissing contest with Ghost the other day when he bitched about you beating him in poker. Face the facts, Bonnie, he wants you.” 

König’s eyes have focused with the ferocity of an apex predator and his chest labors out concentrated and sharp inhales and exhales. He resembles a recently sharpened knife, desperate for some carnage after a particular kind of attention. His body is crumpled in on itself not unlike a cat getting ready to pounce. His heels dig desperately into the cobblestones beneath his feet. His hand flicks out his beloved Glock field knife with all the reverence of a praying man.

In short, he looks every part like he does in immediate battle. He looks like he did the split second before he started sprinting for her in the snowy woods, the scene that occupies her lonely nights when she tries in complete vanity to recreate the feel of his hands cradling her sides.

Mouse should be scared of König.

Instead, she sees before her a scene of complete and hopeless adoration focused so intently on her alone that she should be afraid of. Realistically, she recognizes the clear and present danger of the moment. Is König upset at her? At Soap? At a potential adversarial suitor by way of Gromsko? She doesn’t quite know, but after a career of intentionally hiding like a coward, she basks infatuated by the calamitous captivation he exhibits.

He looks like he wants to maul something to death.

As keen as she is on getting him close enough to try to get over to her (and ideally, throw her under him,) in her infinite mercy, Mouse decides the teasing has gone on long enough.

“I like Gromsko just fine, but not like that.” Soap audibly scoffs and König’s entire form relaxes. Both men mutter something to themselves before an encore of gunfire breaks out. Mouse’s heart stutters to a stop when her radio comes in.

“Visual on Gaz, he’s hit!” Nova calls out, clearly alarmed. Soap grabs for the radio right next to Mouse and brings it to his face, holding onto a few loose wires as he does to ensure the amalgamation does not fall apart in his fingers.

“Where is he?”

“Two blocks from south from you, Gromsko is a click out.”

Soap looks at Mouse with his heart bobbing in his throat. The pain and worry on his face is palpable.

“Go.” She says. Soap looks around frantically at their supplies, seemingly taking a split second worth of inventory, making as many life-or-death decisions as he can in such little time.

“Soap, listen to me,” Mouse soothes. “I keep overwatch, you take my TAC vest and stabilize him until he can get a medic.”

“Mouse, I can’t just leave you-” “You can, and you will. Go.” She says with all the finality of a door slamming shut. Soap doesn’t look at her again as he gathers her supplies and nearly sprints downstairs. 

Soap leaves. Quickly. Quietly. He never looks back.

Her stomach settles into discomfort and she looks through the door he closed with the same sad nostalgia she looked through falling snow and monumentous trees. She can’t help but think she would not get the same priority in Gaz’s situation. Like some terrible premonition, she imagines bleeding out on the ground as Soap turns away, never once looking back.

Would König come for me? She ponders, before she smothers the paranoia-induced delusion with the memory of his large hands on her sides. She looks down at her shoelace, where she carved a cylindrical hole through his effigy to attach it. The birchwood mouse carving that sleeps at her right toe gives a silent reassurance: he never really left you, did he?

By the time she looks back into her scope, in between the all-too-familiar white noise of war that’s broken out around her, she sees a shadow dart out from the alleyway one down from where König is. The figure is cloaked in the specific type of military fatigue denoting his affiliation, one that is unluckily for him, kill on sight. It ducks behind the building to the right, where König is. It stalks out, lining itself up behind the hooded man, brandishing a drawn pistol.

König doesn’t have the time to react to the blood spray that litters across his back from the other man’s head once Mouse pulls the trigger on her gun, silently thankful (as awful as it is,) that Gaz getting hurt allowed her to take the shot without Soap inquiring into her actions. (But maybe it’s her fault in the first place that König was distracted enough to allow someone to get the drop on him…)

König looks back towards her and his head lulls to the side like a heavy flower bloom weighed down by morning dew. His eyes, somehow the softest she’s ever seen, are also carving a large chunk of her soul like a knife cuts through soft wood. When he lifts his hood to blow a kiss to her, she knows she will never get her traitorous heart back.

“Danke, mein Engel,” the radio on her table whispers in his voice.

“It’s only fair. I did owe you, after all.” She responds, all together unconcerned with whether or not he can hear her. She smiles, thankful she can see those bright eyes another day. 

When he turns away, she feels her entire heart walk away with him. With every step of his fleeting form, she feels less and less herself, as though someone had separated her shadow from where it meets her feet. Something has changed in the air between them, a sad resignation settles into her trigger finger when she releases it.

For the first time, she does not feel as though she wouldn’t run if he took her, but rather that some integral part of her is with him as he leaves. 

All is fair in love and war, but she’s not sure just how much longer she can stand to play cat and mouse.

taglist!

@kneelingshadowsalome @sprout-fics @bucca2 @dead-cipher @gallowsjoker @lostagoodcigar @berryjuicyy @haisebo @crowbird

And special thanks to @bucca2 and @ivymarquis for finally kicking my ass into gear to write this. Can't wait to read yall's WIPs!

[campbyler]

i have so many things i want to say about everything but i do remember the moment where mike (playfully) accused will of lying and it makes so much more sense now i thought he was just being smug as hell like “oh ofc you would’ve kissed me two months ago i am just that spectacular” but no. i’m sorry for doubting you michael you DEFINITELY had grounds for that claim. out of focus eye to eye kidnapped my firstborn and left a changeling in its place. lives were ruined in the best possible way.

exactlyyyyy you get it! the way you worded this ask actually made me want to make a little note about why we wrote the reference in, because it was very intentional and there were a couple different reasons for it which i think are both very important !! (but obviously could not mention here before out of focus dropped)

1. obviously it was a Reference, in that we thought this is a big enough piece of lore that it would be weird for it to never ever come up even once, but the whole idea of the companion fic was that it kind of has an ambiguous ending and even mike was not super duper 100000% sure of will’s intentions (due to the #inebriation). so it was unlikely at this point in their dynamic that they were going to have a real fleshed out conversation about it because it would definitely need both of them to be vulnerable in a way they were Not ready to be at the time (will admitting to wanting to kiss mike/mike admitting to having wanted to be kissed? noooo way). mike is kind of testing the waters here (and being annoying on purpose) but from his pov will either still does not remember or does remember but does not want to talk about it, so it doesn’t really go anywhere anyway. but alsoooooo

2. another remnant of the post ch05 era specifically was a lot of people commenting things along the lines of “omg mike is being so flirty” “where did that confidence come from” etc etc which is so true bc poor will got absolutely blindsided by it and it was so fun to write but!! the idea also is that half it was that confidence boost you get after realizing that someone is also into you/attracted to You and i think mike would’ve taken that and ran with it for sureee (esp bc will initiated the ch04 kiss And the ch05 morning kiss mostly) and the other half was mike having information that the readers and will both did not have! a majorrrrrrrr driving force of acswy is the fact that neither of them are ever working with All of the information, hence the unreliable narration, hence the drama and history and them both being so annoying and unserious, etc etc etc. i think that’s important to keep in mind, especially now that we’re in the ch09 era where their dynamic has shifted pretty drastically since their rivals era in the beginning, or even chapters 04/05. 😗😗😗

i’m actually very glad no one Really picked up on this being a Thing when ch07 dropped bc it was supposed to be super subtle (obviously a couple people said 🤨 am i missing something? and we said No 😌) but the reactions we’re getting now have been incredibly fulfilling and have been just what we were hoping to get, which tells us we are writing this story right! sorry for ruining your life and the changeling baby but thank you sooo much for the lovely ask <33

[12timetraveler]

Something In The Orange

Chapter 12

Summary:

The Matthews family take you and Charles to their cabin in Big Valley for a winter vacation.

Notes:

Y'all I am SO SORRY for how long this chapter has taken.

I hit some major burnout over the last few months. So much so that I've actually been put on short-term disability leave from work. I'm starting to feel a bit better and I've been able to do more writing, but I'm still pretty worn out if I'm honest.

As always, this chapter was written entirely on my phone, so any weird typos, autocorrect words, etc you can blame on my phone haha.

Anyway I hope I haven't lost all of you who've been here since the beginning.

As always below is a little preview. Read the whole chapter and the entire work (so far) on AO3

Reminder: You must be logged in to an AO3 account to read my works as I've had to lock them down to protect from AI Scraping.

~~~~~~

You couldn't help but smile as you examined the three pins on your Christmas stocking. Three Christmas seasons with the Matthews family, each marked with a little pin. The silver horse-drawn sleigh from the first year. Then a little mouse sleeping next to a piece of cheese with a bow from the second year. And this year was a cowgirl boot and hat dusted in snow.

Christmas was a month ago, of course. Hosea hadn't had time to take down the stockings. Or all the lights. Or the menorah. But you were actually kind of glad about that. It was nice to see the cheerful sight, even in late January.

Going back to campus after the winter holidays this year had been awful. You tried your best to be a good student, to get excited for your classes and get right back into studying. But you found your thoughts drifting more and more to your beloved. Wondering what he was doing. Missing his sweet voice, his herbal scent, his long cock. It had been torture.

Monday was a bank holiday, meaning the high schools and the universities had a three-day weekend. So Friday afternoon you and Arthur drove up to Firwood Rise to pick up Hosea, John, and the horses to go on a little weekend trip. The plan was to go out to a cabin Hosea and Dutch shared out in Big Valley, West Elizabeth.

Aside from a couple ranches, it was still mostly wild, and even in the winter the trail rides were unforgettable. Or so Arthur said. This was your first expedition with the Matthews men out to this cabin. You'd never been to Big Valley, but it was legendary for the beautiful, natural scenery.

Charles was going to meet you at the cabin early Saturday morning, since he had a late class on Friday. His old beat-up truck was a beast when it came to snowy mountain roads, so you weren't worried. And then the lot of you would spend the weekend trail riding, maybe doing some snow sports, just having a good time.

So that's how you found yourself standing in the Matthews living room, smiling at the stockings while the others loaded up the truck. You could hear John and Arthur yelling out in the yard as John backed the truck up to the horse trailer to hitch up. Occasionally Hosea's voice would cut in if the two got too close to an argument as John insisted he could do it while Arthur was adamant he was doing it wrong. Typical of the two brothers.

You heard the truck turn off, and the driver door open. “Told you I had it covered,” John's voice echoed just loud enough that you could hear from inside. You couldn't make out Arthur's retort, but based on the way John began to snap back, only to be cut off by Hosea’s sharp scolding, you could only imagine it was more brotherly banter.

The door opened a moment later. “Those boys,” Hosea tutted, stepping into the house, looking a little irritated, cheeks rosy from the cold. His face softened when he spotted you, and he shut the door behind him, glancing out the window to make sure John and Arthur weren't near before stepping toward you and pulling you into his arms.

“Hey,” you murmured, tilting your head up expectantly.

“Hi,” he whispered before granting your request for a kiss. “I've missed you.”

“I missed you too.” You nuzzled against his chest, the fabric of his jacket cold from the winter chill, but the warmth of him underneath still seeping through.

“The boys are loading up the horses and then we'll be good to go.” Hosea hummed.

“Okay,” you said, stepping back. “Before we go, I need your help with something.”

“Oh?” He asked. You jerked your head towards the stairs, gesturing for him to follow you. Once upstairs you led him to the bathroom, pulling him in and locking the door behind you.

“Dove, it'll only take a few minutes for the boys to get the horses loaded.” Hosea chuckled, immediately clocking what your intentions were.

“Five horses. It'll take them at least ten minutes right? Probably more.” You mumbled, guiding him backwards until he was pinned between you and the sink.

“Something like that,” he sighed as your hands settled on his waist. “The horses are all pretty good at loading.”

“That's enough time for what I have planned.”

[lemonbalmgirl]

Been dealing with a lot of brain weasels this week (crappy mental health).

1. Roommate's dad has been back in the hospital, which obviously blows for a number of reasons. It also brings a certain level of stress to the house.

2. The lawn-care person who had been tending our house... hasn't been. Before figuring something else out, the landlord had Roommate's parents' lawn-care person come over to get things back down to a manageable level. That happened today and started when I was still in bed (I sleep late).

Because I became aware of it after they'd started, by herb bed that isn't in a raised bed...got completely weed-whacked. I hadn't done anything in the bed yet this year, but there was lavender, borage, and Japanese mugwort among the grass and I did kind of care about those. 🫤

3. Money is tight. I finally finished paying the months bills, but I'll be short on paying down the credit card that I put the phone & water bills on. But I also haven't been able to willpower myself to plasma this week, because of the brain weasels.

I just...fucking hate capitalism?

4. I think I've mentioned previously that there's probably rats in the ceiling somewhere? Well, pretty sure they're now ALSO hanging out on my side of the house, right under the laundry room & pantry, which are directly next to my bedroom.

I've been woken up by gnawing (I think?) at around 7 am, basically every day this week. Cute Girlfriend was around to hear it on Wednesday. Originally, I thought it was incessant clawing of the scratching post by the cats, but you can hear/feel it coming from under the floor in the laundry room. 😬

I was annoyed enough the other day that I tried to record the noise. I tried to talk to Roommate about it, but she basically dismissed my concerns - apparently when a plumber was under the deck the other week to fix the water line to the hose, he noted that there were multiple rat holes on the house's facade. (I'm so glad no one told me about this when it was noticed. 🙄)

I texted the landlord this morning, separately from the text chain that includes Roommate, basically saying what I just wrote, and also that I'd been semi-seriously wondering what to do if a rat suddenly appeared inside my house.

I guess it's so frustrating because the noise doesn't happen when/where Roommate would notice it. And maybe she thinks I'm crying wolf, given neither she nor the landlord have heard or found evidence of anything in the ceiling.

Anyway, kind of in a hate everything mood this week. Hoping my brain meds will kick in before I head to monthly craft group in a couple hours. 🫠

[sitchski]

OMG!!!! more steve harrington x fem!black!reader smut PLEASE!!!!

hmmm.. only cuz you said please 🤭 no but lowkey i’m glad you asked this so i now have the excuse to post this yayyy!

off limits.

summary: your boyfriend loved to gloat about how lucky he was to have you, but what he didn’t know was that steve had you first.

pairing: steve harrington x fem!black!reader

includes: unprotected sex, rough sex, oral stimulation (f receiving), choking kink, pet names, dom!steve, older!sinclair!sister, cheating

author’s note: so idk if y’all have heard the song restroom occupied but that song is a BANGER. and i’m not sure why but it inspired this oneshot. so did scandal i have been watching aLOT of scandal. idk where i was… lost but i am now found. anyways enjoy !

steve harrington was a good friend. he was so good! you, him and robin became such a cute little trio even though he was to graduate pretty soon.

even while at school, he managed to keep a watchful eye on your little brother, lucas, and his friends, mike, will and dustin. the party as they liked to call themselves.

steve harrington was a great guy. so why was he doing something so bad? and why, oh, why did it have to be you?

"your boyfriend has some real fuckin' attitude, y'know that?" he muttered discreetly, pretending to look for something to drink as he caught you in the kitchen.

a house party, one your boyfriend was throwing. he was sweet... a little boring but ugh so sweet! you had been dating for a couple of months now and were truly starting to feel comfortable.

but ofcourse, right there to disturb your peace was him.

"attitude? you really wanna sit here and talk about attitude?" you countered through gritted teeth. you absentmindedly grabbed the first thing infront of you in order to get your eyes to look anywhere but at him.

you settled on a coke bottle, unscrewing the cap and pouring it into your cup as you continued, "this night has been so good. he invited you to his house in confidence. can you for once not let your pride get in the way and act cool? please?"

he rolled his eyes dramatically. he was over your pathetic pleading. he knew that wasn't what this was all about.

"y/n, look at me. look at me."

"nope. i've got a drink to make."

"look..." he emphasised sternly but still quietly. this caused you to put the bottle and glass down, sighing as you didn't give in just yet. "...at me."

though you did some internal fighting, you caved. locking eyes with him. you only saw admiration; pure admiration. so raw it turned ruthlessly animalistic. you knew, because of how well he inflicted it on you.

"d'you think it's been easy? watching—" his breathless laugh interrupted him, his head turning away for a brief moment. "watching him kiss you? touch up on you? stare at me with a fuckin' smug face like your thighs weren't locked around my head this same week?"

your mind instantly pulled up vivid screenshots of the act, causing you to inhale sharply. you couldn't look away, though. he didn't even touch physically to force you to hold that gaze but there was something strong, almost magnetic, telling you you didn't stand one chance.

he was the one to break it though, glancing down, at your dress. black, sleek, tight. his jaw clenched as he drank you in, parched the whole evening.

"fuckin' teasing me with that dress. you know, we know he's not the one you wore it for. like- like he would know what to do when the dress is off. like he would know how to make those thighs shake," he mumbled. his voice got lower the more he talked, supposedly jumping onto a train of thought himself. one that stopped at the same destination as yours did.

he looked back up at you again. "go to the bathroom in about ten minutes. i'll meet you there in five after."

you scoffed, looking away to give a studious laugh. "like that isn't gonna be any more obvious?"

"nope," he chugged his full cup and slammed it on the countertop, "was just leaving."

you watched as he said goodbye to all of your shared friends, stopping at your boyfriend, where the exchange was done awkwardly and tensely.

silently, you screamed. in your head there was only one reaction. your consciousness had sat down your heart in a chair where she was repeatedly getting beat up. but it didn't matter. no matter how hard the blows were, your heart was still beating. for him.

and it beat in a happy and excited rhythm as you waited in the bathroom. you leaned against the sink, arms folded and anticipating.

it was pathetic, really. how consumed and controlled you were by the connection you two shared. you fixed your hair in the mirror, smoothed out your dress and, out of nervous habit, nearly chewed through your pinky nail.

that was until he showed up. climbing through the window like this was the heist scene in a big action blockbuster. speechless, you eyeballed his terribly indiscreet entrance and the way he dusted his knees as though it was a job well done.

"james bond, everybody," you slyly commented on his overt performance, arms folded like a true member of the audience.

"shut up," he bluntly demanded before claiming your lips with a cup of your cheek.

he appreciated your banter, he always did, but not right now. you were doing something to him. just standing there you were doing it. as long as that dress stayed on your body there was no need for talking. it needed to come off you.

you moaned softly through your lip lock, hands moving to tug at his green sweatshirt. he stopped you though, pushing your hands away quite forcefully. breaking away from the kiss to stare at your body. sorry, the temptation known as your body.

"off."

the word was muttered at first but when you didn't do what he had ordered, he glanced up at you to repeat himself. "off, angel. take it off for me."

you were going to listen. obviously. but it didn't mean you weren't going to have fun while listening. slowly, one of your hand reached back to the zipper. it took a lifetime to undo a few zips, though in your world it was only a few seconds.

already way too much time. he gave up, grabbing you by the arm and spinning you around so your back could press up against his front. the bathroom mirror being right infront of you both, you kept your eyes on him as he began to talk. his right hand makes sure to wrap around your neck so your eyes don't do him the disservice of wandering.

"you tease me every single day, y/n. every day you're with him. kissing him, hugging him- quite frankly, i don't wanna talk about what you two do together, it'll just piss me off," he interrupted himself, breathing in for a second.

"but i finally get to have you all to myself, alone, and you fuckin' stand there and tease me in that dress? d'you have any idea how hard this night has been for me, baby?" he questioned as he pressed his lips against your cheek. while putting emphasis on the word, he decided to also make you feel something very hard that was growing in his jeans.

you hummed in pleasure, moving your ass against his hard slowly. this made him hiss, tightening the grip on your neck.

"i think you're gonna have to take all of me now. make up for it, no?" he proposed. but he didn't even have to; he knew that he has you trapped in an imminent chain. all signs only pointed to:

"yes."

"then take off your dress, beautiful."

that was how it all lead to this point. you sat on the sink, naked and legs spread wide open. how it lead to steve mercilessly rutting his cock inside you to the point where your mouth wasn't even capable of moaning his name anymore.

"good God," he groaned, hands grabbing you by the thighs and roughly pulling you closer. one hand gripped your neck again, forcing you to lock eyes with him.

the green sweatshirt he wore here was off quite quickly, though his pants were simply pulled down  as well as his boxers. he clearly didn't want to waste anytime but that didn't matter to you. the quicker he got inside of you the better.

your g-spot was being bruised and abused by this man, each thrust giving you that same wondrous sensation that got you closer and closer. there was something so specific about the way he stretched you out, how each vein from his girth caressed your walls and the way it almost hindered his roughness.

"look at you," he murmured with a hinge of endearment, "my good girl, my good pretty girl. taking every inch of my cock for me."

'my'. he always used that word 'my' when he knew it wasn't (totally) true. this was bad for you, it was so bad. but you couldn't never bring yourself to the focal point of guilt. not when your focal point was wrapping your legs around his torso as he lifted you up, slamming you against the wall beside the sink.

claiming your body with his strokes, giving you no real option but to scream his name.

"you gonna cum for me, angel? tell me, has your precious boyfriend ever gotten you this close?" he asked as if this whole ordeal was normal, as if it was normal to fuck a taken woman.

it was humiliating as it was gratifying. but you answered every question, gave into every taunt, moaned at every position, fuck, flick of his tongue. you were his. some stupid boyfriend didn't matter.

you answered sheepishly, "no, steve. only you. it's always been you."

your arms were wrapped around his neck tightly as you felt your stomach grow heavy and your legs grow weaker. he seemingly felt it too, burying his head in the crook of your neck after grunting loudly.

"shit," he cried, turning his head to the side so he could plant some sloppily placed kisses on your skin, "and you love it don't you? love my cock buried deep in you. love cumming all over my dick while your boyfriend wonders where you are, you love it don't you baby?"

him whining his words, begging you to release like he needed it more than oxygen seemed like pure mockery. jeering at your pathetic desire. your walls sunctioned around him, much to your dismay, as it let him know how powerful his words were.

he finally hit that spot that made you scream with pleasure, forcing him to quickly wrap his hand around your mouth. he wanted to scold you until you creaming all over his shaft felt way too good to focus. he grunted harshly, dropping his hand and nearly sinking from the feeling.

but you didn't even get a chance to ride out your high, as you were already being lifted. physically. steve had literally picked you up, throwing your legs over his shoulders and burying his head inbetween your legs.

naturally, you were petrified of falling. somehow, this thrill and fear added to your elation. it almost felt like a sick form of punishment for what you had done earlier — you were literally convulsing and he was eating your cunt like he wanted you to feel pain.

"fuck, steve!" you cried, bunching fistfuls of his hair against your palms. there, he stopped, muttering, "my thighs, my beautiful angel. mine," he looked up at you, hopefully.

breathlessly, unconsciously, you confirmed to him, "yours."

him beneath you like this, watchful and attentive eyes made you get a surge of power. maybe the feeling was shared. steve harrington possibly feels controlled by you and not the other way around.

although, that thought is soon gone as he let you down. his eyes didn't leave you once. not even as he grabbed your hand and lead you to the door. he didn't open it, he didn't unlock it. all he did was press your bodies against it.

"s-steve?" you murmured, "what are you—" you glanced back to see him removing his pants fully from his body, wanting to get comfortable is what you presumed.

"oh, me?" he reiterated, "i'm taking my pants off."

you rolled your eyes at his fake cluelessness. stopping you from opening your mouth was the jolting force that was him grabbing you by the hood and forcing his backside right against his front.

"and i'm also fucking you against this door so he knows exactly who you belong to."

[paalove]

just reread nothing to lose and i am once again thinking about "pran doesn’t listen to his parents about much, right?" pran doesn't listen to his parents about much... pran doesn't listen to his parents about much... AHHHHH!!!

also thinking about how the week I finished bad buddy I was like PRAN ELLA ENCHANTED AU and just rotating this in my mind along with that concept. idk if you have read ella enchanted but as a possible prompt— a bad buddy, pran cursed with obedience! au

HEY. YOU SENT THIS MONTHS AGO AND I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT WEEKLY SINCE. 🥰

first: thank you ily, im glad you like that tiny little au it's one of my favourite pocket-universes <3

second: main fic coming in... hopefully the next couple of weeks? meanwhile here is a scattered little multi-pov intro to the fic i HAVE been calling "ella enpranted" xoxo

...

“Listen to me, Pran,” his mother says.

He does, because she’s his mother, and he does because he has to.

Concern etched into the lines of her face, deep deep worry and upset in her eyes, she orders him, “Stay away from that boy as much as you can,” and Pran will, because he has to.

As much as he can.

…

It’s hard to track him down this week – sometimes Pran gets skittish – but Pat finds him on Wednesday! It’s just been art, and Pat is taking the not-allowed-but-whatever shortcut that goes behind and around the weird little separate building that’s been used for art since they switched where all the languages rooms are, and there-

“Pran!” he calls, running over.

As he does, Pran’s head jerks up and he looks over and his eyes go wide, face startled, but he doesn’t look mad so Pat knows he’s only stashing his books away because he likes an escape route, he’s not mad at Pat.

So, Pat grabs the folder furthest from Pran and picks it up, flipping through and seeing a bunch of physics notes in Pran’s neat handwriting and smooth, black ink, because Pran never seems to have a pen go dry in the middle of writing anything, it’s all so even and careful.

Pran reaches out for it, then his hand freezes like an inch away from it and he says, “Pat, give that back.”

“No,” Pat says, but he’s smiling at Pran and Pran smiles back.

Shaking his head and turning – saying with his shoulders I’m not waiting for you and saying with the half smile but you can follow me if you want, I guess, it’s whatever – Pran says, “I need the folder back at some point.”

“I’ll give it back later,” Pat agrees.

Pran runs off when he doesn’t have something hostage, but he’s never mad about Pat taking his stuff. It’s just a game they play.

…

“Has someone told you to do something you don’t want to?”

She’s genuinely concerned, he knows that.

But she hasn’t ordered him to be honest, so he’s got enough leeway to not say you, Mae, it’s always you, because that would hurt her feelings and it wouldn’t change anything anyway, and Pran instead says, “The teacher assigned us both to be in the band,” and lets her remember all that trial and error, years ago, when they had to figure out how the orders worked.

Pran’s parents know that his too-powerful, too-flighty aunt’s gift was for them, so their orders normally take precedence over anyone else’s; they also know that their later orders take precedence over earlier ones, unless they specifically build something in, like telling him to disregard later ones that contradict the one they’re making right now. This pause is, he’s sure, letting his mother remember telling him to always consider teachers’ orders to outweigh all but a select few of her own.

Of course, most of what Pran’s figured out, he hasn’t told them.

Or even written down.

It’s safer to keep what he knows to himself.

His mother closes her eyes, nods, and says, “I suppose it couldn’t be avoided at that school.”

Pran wishes he had any way of stopping what comes next.

…

Dissaya’s son is honest, kind, and good.

Those are things she knows about him, things that she needs to protect and nourish and help to grow, and things that can’t be poisoned in him the way they were in her. She doesn’t like making him sad, dragging him away from his friends, but Pran is so vulnerable.

Moreso because of the gift.

It made her heart freeze in her chest the first time she saw him on the playground, some smaller child cheering him on, Higher! Higher, and the face of frozen fear on Pran’s face not even slightly getting in the way of how high he was swinging-

She still shudders to think of it.

Her sister-in-law was unrepentant when she called. Of course a gift of obedience doesn’t stop at the walls of their household, she’d laughed, but it’s always going to be stronger for family, isn’t that nice?

It’s not in her nature to yell, really, especially not at her husband’s beloved little sister, but she made an exception that day.

And then she had started to plan.

The idea that her careful planning and careful instructions to Pran haven’t been enough, haven’t kept him safe…

She’s never a coward except when it comes to Pran.

Dissaya sends him away.

…

It’s not written down, not anywhere, but Pran has a list of things he knows to be true about his gift.

His parents’ gift.

If his parents tell him, directly, to do something, he can’t help but do it. There’s no resisting directly, from the second he hears the order he begins to carry it out.

Physically impossible orders are an absolute exception – they arrive at Pran’s ears like normal, non-magical words, just the way a normal sentence works for anyone else on earth. He won’t try to fly if someone tells him to.

If anyone outside his family tells him directly to do something possible, it depends on what his parents have said first, but normally… he has to do it.

Pat telling him to race counts.

Pat whining at him to stop ignoring him also counts.

Pran has some leeway in deciding what counts.

In fact, Pran decides what an order means. He can know his parents meant one thing, but if the actual words they used mean something else… Pran can pick, kind of. Only kind of. He’s been experimenting with those limits for years.

The final part of it, the part that he’s known from the start and can never let himself forget or forgive, is the part that’s least useful and most essential.

8. It’s not a gift.

Because Pran has those old orders – keep yourself safe, don’t hurt others, and always prioritise teachers over other kids – and they make something like a shield, but one that it hurts to hold. The order to ignore other people’s orders no matter what never, never worked.

They must be physically impossible. Or something like that.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

The Dream - Chapter Twenty.

I’ll be honest, I was in two minds whether to post this after yesterday, but I realised that not doing so would be ultimately punishing people who don’t deserve to be, people who have always been so nice and kind, all because one person wasn’t. I feel a bit sad and dejected today, even though I understand that I need to improve and do accept that. I have a kind offer of help from someone close to me, which I’m going to accept with anything new I write. 

Until then, I’ll keep posting this as normal because I’ve finished it in the writing now, and I don’t want to mess with it too much and compromise what I’ve built, whether that’s authentic characterisation or not. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Previous chapters - Prologue  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen  Sixteen  Seventeen  Eighteen  Nineteen

Tag list - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed (note: those not engaging will be automatically removed from the tag list, FYI)

Words - 2,823

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

“Look, Aaron. I ain’t gonna expect us to be instant best friends or whatever, and I don’t expect you to instantly change your opinion on me, but I just wanna settle something for you. Who I am and what I do, they’re not the same. The MC, while it’s a big part of me, it ain’t all of me, you get me? Your friend out there, she’s gonna become a big part of me, too, and imma treat her right. Fuck, I haven’t always been the best guy in that respect in the past, but it’s different with her.”

Aaron didn’t look away once as Angel explained himself, the latter seeing at last what Keri had always mentioned she loved about her friend, how engaging he was when someone was talking to him. “Hey, we’re good, alright? I think I had my head shoved up my ass a little, not to see the plain simplicity you’ve just pretty succinctly explained there. I mean, I still have my reservations, but at the end of the day, it’s Keri’s choice to be with you. I think I’m just naturally being more protective as any guy friend is with his girls, who has witnessed this one in particular get involved with a couple who’ve been fucking walking disasters, too.”

From the few conversations they’d had about exes, Angel did get that distinct impression. Her last significant relationship, which had been with a guy name Christian had ended badly, Keri at least glad that when he’d finished with her, he’d been honest about the fact that he’d found a connection with someone else he wanted to pursue prior to actually acting upon it. What had angered her was that the connection had been to Faye, her former friend. It was something she didn’t mention often, and he understood why she didn’t.

In the months that had followed, any other guy she’d dated had turned out to be, as Aaron correctly stated, a walking disaster. Angel got it, his need to be protective. On paper, he was another walking disaster, if his past with women was taken into consideration. He hadn’t really shown the maturity or the inclination to be part of a committed, adult relationship prior to when he’d got together with Lucy, his most recent ex-girlfriend. She’d made him better, though, and he would continue being better now he was very much with Keri.

“Yeah.” Angel raised his eyebrows, swigging his beer. “She told me about a couple of those guys. I ain’t them. Might have been, once upon a time, but I’m thirty-six, man. Gotta grow up at some point.”  

Aaron nodded, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “I appreciate your honesty, I really do. You’re not trying to con me with any bullshit to make me like you, and thus that makes me see the sincerity in you all the more. Anyway, enough of this. Shall we go and get Ash wasted? Won’t take much.”  

A smile widened his mouth. “Apparently, he’s getting better. I think that’s a theory we should test.” Aaron began laughing, reaching for the bottle of Fireball he’d brought with him as Angel scanned the apartment. “Hey yo, Ash! Get over here.”

The man himself made his way over, Keri, Jaime, Frankie and Rachel all joining them, shots being sunk as the party continued like nothing bad had ever happened. However, Keri did touch upon it, when it was just her and Angel, after very rapidly pulling him into the bedroom when no one was looking.  

“What you did for me, wow,” she began, pulling him down to her level, stroking his face, kissing him softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy stand up for me like that before. It was a little scary, but also, sexy as hell to witness just how much you love me, the lengths you’d go to in order to defend me.”  

Their kisses quickly gained heat, Angel confirming what she’d just told him wordlessly, clasping her body to his as she walked him backwards over to the bed, pushing him to sit, moving to kneel astride him. “Now, you’re going to lie there and let me say thank you properly.”  

He smiled through their kisses, Keri slowly sliding down, kissing him through the dark grey, long sleeved t shirt he wore, the one that hugged his arm muscles deliciously, moving to kneel between his feet as her hands slid over the bulge in his jeans, nails dragging in caress over his thighs, reaching to unfasten his belt. Her fingers were slow, pushing up his t shirt and circling his navel, running licks over the line of dark hair leading down from it, pulling his cock out and giving it a few gentle squeezes.  

His chest stilled for a moment as he felt her mouth close over him, tongue swirling all over the head of his cock, each slow rotation evoking little glimmers that made the eventual breath he let out shudder, his fingers tangling in her hair.

He groaned faintly as he watched himself disappear into her mouth, almost every last inch of him impressively sheathed in the warm hug, his head thudding back onto the bed as her mouth got to the base and tightened around his shaft.

Dragging her lips slowly back up again, she grazed his chest with her nails, pinching his nipples and rolling them between her thumb and forefinger through his shirt, until the stood as stiff as the thick cock in her mouth. The content moan she emitted vibrated every last inch of him, her tongue fluttering back and forth against the thick vein on the underside of his shaft.

Reaching the head once more, she tightened and relaxed her mouth around it, feeling his hands begin to gently pull at her hair as he groaned sinfully, his abdomen twitching, the pleasure utterly consuming him. She was utterly ruinous, so skilled with her mouth he could barely stand it, his fingers flexing in her hair as he tugged at it, feeling his cock enveloped completely by wet heat once more.

She continued to repeat those actions again and again, watching his movements, knowing as each raspy breath left his throat faster, his chest heaving up and down and his cock like hot iron within her mouth, he was about to reach his peak. It licked through his veins like a fiery tonic, his muscle tensing as his breath caught, waves of ecstasy starting to pulse.

“Fuck... fuck!” His growled exclamation preluded the twitch of his cock, spilling hot and deep into her throat, Keri slowing as she swallowed back every pulse of cum, slowly releasing him from the soaking enveloping of her mouth, licking her top lip seductively. She gently fastened him back into his jeans, moving to kiss his neck at few times as she stroked his chest.

“I’ll leave you to come back down to earth, save it looking obvious, too, both of us leaving the room together.” The desire danced in his eyes as she looked down at him sultrily, his hands moving to run swirls over her neck.  

“Uh huh.” he nodded, still blissed out, his entire body humming with an afterglow he was in no rush to cease. She kissed his forehead, sliding off the bed and exiting swiftly, going to grab herself a beer. It took Angel a while to surface, Keri outside having a cigarette and a chat with Ash and Aaron when he finally came out, finding Frankie on the couch, sitting and swinging his feet up, resting his head in her lap.  

“Having a good night, big guy?” she smiled, combing his hair with her fingers affectionately.

He grinned. “I’m so drunk.”  

“You are?” she questioned, finding his statement somewhat contradictory to what she’d noticed. “I haven’t noticed you throwing them back? And you’re coherent, too.”

He shook his head, laughing dirtily. “Nah, bro. Orgasm drunk. Keri just blew me and I’m... yeah.”  

Immediately, she began to laugh. “Awww, are you all blissed out?”  

“Mm,” he hummed, eyes closed, smile wide. He opened them for a second, trying to articulate himself a little more. “You know when... and it’s... you know... all the way from the top of your head right down to your feet?”  

She grinned, thinking of her love. “When you feel like you just touched heaven, and took a little part of it back with you?”

He pointed vaguely in her direction, nodding. “That’s it.”  

His legs were then disturbed by the arrival of Jaime, who sat down, pointing at him while she gestured to her girlfriend. “Is he alright?”

“He’s all blowjob drunk,” she confirmed, Jaime laughing as Angel began to grin again. “Look at him! Wasted out of his mind!”  

“Your friend is gonna get it later.” They didn’t doubt that for a second. Revived from his state of pleasurable catatonia with a few more shots and a couple more beers, Keri had to drunkenly fight him off every step of the way back to the hotel at 2am. As soon as they were in the elevator, though...  

“What the hell has gotten into you?” she cried, Angel yanking off her top, her bra following, shoving them into the back pocket of his jeans as he lifted her up, levelling her tits with his mouth, teeth locking onto her nipple.  

“Eight shots of Fireball and a fucking desperate need to show just how absolutely out of my damned mind you made me feel earlier,” he replied, gathering her skirt, Keri wrapping her legs around his waist as the elevator dinged, both locked at the mouth as he staggered out.  

Her back hit the nearest wall, their kisses all sultry magma and groaned smoke as they pawed at one another, Angel reaching between them to unzip his jeans, freeing himself and tugging her underwear aside, dropping her down on his cock, Keri biting her lip to prevent her shrill cry, his mouth ravenous at her neck.

“What if someone catches us?” she panted, although truly, she was about four shots and one very hard dick past caring.

“Then they gonna see me piledriving my beautiful girl against this wall, ain’t they? Because god fucking damnit, I can’t even wait to walk the length of this hall, querida. I gotta have you right the fuck now.”  

Truly, Keri had never felt as desired by anyone in her life as she did by Angel, his hunger for her unmatched, the heat of his need smouldering upon her skin as they panted, staring into one another’s eyes before their mouths met again in fever, her nails dragging his neck as the thick heat of his cock scraped sparks through her core.  

Desire tore through him wildly as he railed her against the wall, feeling himself reaching a scorching finish as he came with a deep grunt, slowing in the aftermath, his hot breaths blasting the side of her neck. “Sorry, didn’t get you there, too. I fucking will, though.” He carried her down the rest of the hallway, still fused together, having to put her down eventually to locate the room key card, Keri standing with her legs together and a pained expression.  

“Hurry!” she hissed, giggling. “What you left in me is starting to trickle!”

He snorted laughing, opening the door, that laughter escalating as she shot past him, running knock kneed to the bathroom to go and clean up. Exiting a few minutes later, she pulled off the rest of her clothes, kissing his chest as she assisted with the removal of his before being picked up and launched onto the bed, Angel grasping her thighs, pulling them apart and promptly burying his face between them.  

His tongue was slow and swirling to begin with, tasting every last bit of her hot, pink flesh languidly, watching her as he did it. “You taste so beautiful, mamas. Fuck, I love the way this pretty pussy feels against my mouth.”  

The verbalisation of how she made him feel never failed to have little wells of pleasure pooling within, Keri mewling softly as her hands went to the soft black of his hair, nails grazing his scalp, her head thudding back on the bed as she closed her eyes and awaited the utter ruin she knew he’d lavish upon her.  

The firm grip upon her thighs as he held her spread kept her in place, tongue quickening against her clit, alternating between speedy and a slow, firm rolls in a circle, decreasing in circumference, focusing on her, increasing, her folds tingling, his lips wrapping to suck as he groaned quietly. She lay back in utter bliss, feeling the trickle of her arousal caught by the thirst of his licks, his fingers pushing into the aqueous velvet of her cunt, crooking, raking gently, evoking mind-melting glimmers to skitter down her spine.  

Watching how his fingers sparkled in the low light coming from the bedside lamp, he felt his cock beginning to stir, little twitches sending sparks through him, moving his mouth to her inner thigh, kisses and gentle bites marking her. “I wanna watch you touch yourself, it’d turn me on so much.”

She felt a little internal flare of embarrassment at his request, never having pleasured herself for a man before, something so intimately personal. To hear him vouch how much it would arouse him, though, Keri eventually slid her hands down, wetting her fingertips as she splayed the petals of her cunt open a little further, her fingers slowly starting to rotate upon her clit.

Her eyes focused upon the ceiling at first, those little slithers of bashfulness still coiling within her, until she was brave enough to look down. She didn’t meet his eyes at first, Angel transfixed upon the sight of her stroking herself before him, his breaths hot as they fluttered over her, hitting her folds, his lips planting kisses upon her inner thigh, but when he finally did look up at her, the lust he returned made her walls clench around his fingers.  

A dark wave broke over her, her fingertips quickening as his tongue circled over a rise of muscle, kissing it, her thigh bouncing against his mouth as he held her gaze, knowing their combined effort was getting her close. It began to tumble through her in ceaseless pulses, her muscles locking as she panted hard, a wail breaking from her throat as she felt it rush and burst forth through her, the addition of Angel’s tongue adding to her fingers further gilding her upon the horizon of utter ecstasy.  

He grasped her hand, sucking wetness from her fingers, his own still rooted deep within her, enjoying the flutters as his rotations gentled, his other hand weaving through her fingers and squeezing, the move a gorgeous, unexpected display of affection.

“Oh, no, no,” she gasped as his mouth closed over her clit, his lips bathing her sensitive bud in soft heat. “It’s too much still.”  

His thumb drew a circle of her palm, looking up at her with a wink. “Won’t be for long, baby.” He continued to squeeze her hand as his tongue softly began to circle her bud, until she started to shake from the overstimulation, Angel wrapping his hand up around her thigh to keep her still, the fingers inside her slowly trawling back and forth.  

Each lick was lightly placed, gauging her reactions, waiting for the little spasms still wracking her to calm before he became feverish once more, licking at the honey of her cunt with aplomb, groaning against the soaking velvet of her as his tongue flicked rapidly over her bud. Her hands fisted the sheets, her body arching, his free hand stroking a path of heated tingles all over her abdomen as he gorged himself upon her, bringing her to another howling ascension... and still refusing to stop.  

He ate her like ripe summer fruit until she shattered for him again, shaking violently, so wet that she’d puddled the sheets beneath her, Angel wiping the slick from his mouth before leaning to kiss his way up her body, reaching between them, guiding his cock to her and sinking in, teeth closing around her nipple.  

“I think I enjoyed that,” she panted, pulling him to her, the taste of herself on his tongue wickedly sinful.  

He pinched a tiny gap between his thumb and forefinger. “Just this much?”

Her chuckle was like music through the air. “Yeah, just this much.”  

Their mouths met again, kissing with syrupy heat, hands wandering all over one another as their bodies rocked together in divinely slow, steamy union. It was like that for a further couple of hours, talking as they cooled down and readied to enjoy one another again, until they fell asleep in a blissful entwine not long before the sun rose.  

As far as starting weekends well went, theirs was a good way to begin.

[secrets-of-everwich]

02-1 A Link?

[Click]

{Callie}

Hello, this is Callie Hewitt and is it okay to say it’s spooky season yet? (Even though it started in July). This is the 1st October 2021, and I am excited for Halloween. Though, that isn’t relevant. At all. Oh well!

The Secret of Everwich I’m going to talk about today happened in the 60s, with two people called Adam Ives, and Jill Harris. I think there were more in the group, but the names are left without surnames. By this point, Manor Road would have been in construction. Oh – Manor Road is the road that leads up to Everwich Manor. It was built due to a lack of residential houses, and the owners of Everwich Manor not having enough money to keep the epic driveway depicted in photos from the 1800s. So, a lot of the land for the gardens of the Manor had been sold, and, to kill 2 birds with one stone, Manor Road sprung up!

It's still one of the more expensive roads in Everwich, but that’s probably more because of the Manor. The street isn’t as nice. Anyway, this all takes place on the other side of Everwich, on the other side of the High Street, near Lilacs Lane. That’s a road on the outskirts of Everwich, closer to the city. Quite a few medium sized houses, where nowadays a lot of older couples live. It’s a nice place to have a walk, I sometimes go there myself, and- I’m getting offtopic.

What I was wanting to talk about today is the interesting newspaper report from then, written by Michael Grenn in 1962. Please note, that this is not the Everwich Post, but a newspaper from the 60s which seems to report a lot of what nowadays we may call conspiracy theories. But, if you weren’t happy with those, I don’t think you’d be listening to this.

    ‘Latest Disappearance Close Call Suggests Serial Killer?’

    ‘For the past month, there has been a string of mysterious disappearances that have been sowing fear into the citizens of Everwich. Starting with Christopher Newell, a bus driver, who was known to be friendly and beloved by most of the community, this batch of disappearances may be linked.

    ‘Jill Harris, 22, was found bleeding in Lilacs Lane last night at 11pm. Sources suggest she was coming back from a meeting when attacked. Her friend, Adam Ives, who lives nearby, explained how he saw Jill lying on the floor, semi-conscious:

    ‘I had heard a commotion close to my house. I knew things weren’t right in this town, so went out to investigate. When I saw my friend lying there, I knew something was wrong. I thought I saw a pale child run away, but I didn’t recognise him.’

Well, I’m glad Adam was walking nearby. The article continues to explain that there’s a serial killer, and suggests a family as the source, but I don’t buy that theory. I’m sure this was the Everwich Ghost. Come on, a pale child running away from a dead body? What other creepy pale children do we know live in Everwich who nobody seems to know. It may seem like a stretch to you, but almost every sighting of the Everwich Ghost are accompanied by deaths, disappearances, or injuries. I think Jill Harris was about to become the next victim.

What I am interested in, however, is the quote: ‘I knew things weren’t right in this town’. Now, there’s not much else about Adam or Jill that makes me think they’re the sort to believe in conspiracy theories from publicity – Adam became a CEO of a fancy company, and so did his son, while Jill left Everwich to pursue acting. Both are retired now. So that quote is interesting. I’ll have to do some digging. One of my brother’s friends is Adam’s granddaughter, so perhaps I can ask her to get me in touch with him!

Anyway, Adam was right. Things aren’t right in this town. There’s a lot of people like Christopher Newell, mentioned in the paper, who have disappeared. I’m missing a piece, I’m sure of it, but I know it’s the Everwich Ghost. It’s just, I don’t know how a ghost could travel the entire length of the town, when my best theory suggests the Everwich Ghost’s primary base should be this manor. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s been a lot of sightings in the Manor, but most of the deaths occurred outside. People got to know that the Manor was haunted, so stopped going in.

[Pause]

I want to know if there was a pattern. A pattern between all the disappearances. Did they know something? Were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Is the Everwich Ghost targeting descendants of those who ridiculed them in life? There’s definitely a link between the Florences’ deaths and the near-death of Jill Harris. I just need to find it.

Until then, this has been Callie. Thanks for listening!

[Click]

[fioreofthemarch]

Finding Her - Chapter 8

Link makes notes, takes photos and keeps time on his quest across Hyrule, in the hopes of finding Zelda and staying sane until he does. [ Previous | Next | First | AO3 ]

A photograph of Blachery Plain in Necluda; the ground undulates gently between small knolls and shallow ponds. Ruined walls dot the landscape, and now among them are chunks of sky islands that have fallen to the surface. Between the ruins, wildflowers grow. 

A photograph of Fort Hateno and the aftermath of a fierce battle. In the foreground is a motley crew of Hylians and a single Goron, lead by their Captain, Hoz, who carries a hand sewn Hyrulean banner. They stand with fists raised, victorious. 

A photograph of Hateno Village from a distance, the lights from its houses twinkling in the dusk. Wafting lazily across the horizon is a dragon, Naydra, a tail of silvery blue light following in its wake.  

A photograph of a lone house in Hateno, in the old pre-Calamity style. It has a single chimney and a rendered brick exterior. Beside the house is a small garden with a large oak tree and a pond that glints in the moonlight. There are frogs in the water, strategically located beneath a concert of fireflies that have gathered at the pond.  

Caption: Haven’t felt like writing. But Hyrule is still beautiful, so had to snap a few photos. 

---

Log date: 20:30 6th month, 19th day, 104AC Location: Hateno Village Weather: Mild, clear skies. 

Well Zelda, I’m here. Our house is just how we left it.  

Did we ever call it ours? It was always just ‘the house’. I’m going to stop by the house. We’re out of Hylian Rice at the house. Did you close the shutters at the house? It gets hot during the day. 

I guess I’d always assumed that, after the Calamity, you’d go back to Castle. But you said you’d prefer somewhere with people, so we came here, and I offered to sleep on a mattress while you took the bed on the loft. That didn’t last long, did it? Two teenagers, with no responsibilities or parental oversight, spending all day together and sharing a candle-lit dinner every night? I think I woke up in your arms before the summer was over. 

Not that I’m complaining. We made our own little world here and fell in love in the quiet comfort of home. I’ll never be able to praise Hylia enough. Now that it’s been a couple years I was thinking of adding a few extra rooms. Enough space to live comfortably, for a library or a world-class pantry or… or a nursery. I never told you any of that. Why did I never tell you any of that? 

Silver linings. The house is safe, just like the rest of Hateno. I know you’ll be glad to hear that, wherever you are. 

A photograph of the pantry underneath the stairs. It is mostly empty except for a few jars of staple goods like wheat and rice, some limp looking vegetables and an empty bottle of milk. There is an old loaf of bread, tough as rock salt, and a half-eaten nutcake, blooming unpleasantly with mold. 

Caption: Need to get provisions for the house. 

---

Log date: 12:00. 6th month, 20th day, 104AC Location: Hateno Village Weather: Humid. Summer showers later in the day. 

Busy morning. My gut tells me something is brewing in Hateno, otherwise I’d be back on my horse and riding out of here by now. Started by nosing around the new well next to the house. Definitely didn’t read Zelda’s diary and definitely don’t have some new gear that she made to hunt down in Hyrule Castle. But if I did, I would be very grateful, just so that anyone reading this knows, and am sorely missing a certain someone’s expert tailoring. Because I do miss it, quite a bit. 

Anyway. Bought carrots and goat butter from the general store. Traded some nuts for milk with Dantz up on the hill. Making creamy vegetable soup for dinner. 

Popped in on Robbie at the Tech Lab. He asked if Josha managed to reach me with the Message Medallion and laughed at my shock. He said he wasn’t mad, more proud she’d been brave enough to try. To show he meant it, he added a sensor to the Purah Pad and gave me a Travel Medallion, which he swore to Kakariko and back was 100% reliable. We’ll see. 

From there wandered back down the hill. Stopped by the school. Symin looked harangued. Half a dozen kids in his care and no second teacher to help wrangle them. I promised him I’d come back tomorrow and take a class if he wanted. He said he’d just be happy to have a moment to sit down. 

Saw Mayor Reede tending his field. Tending is the wrong word. Attacking, more like. Taking to it with a farm hoe with so much vigour the dirt was flying five feet into the air. His wife Clavia saw me passing by and pulled me aside to ask if I had a moment, but seeing my arms full of groceries she said she’d find me later. Next ran into Medda by his new Hylian Tomato crops. He asked if I still wanted a garden put in at the house and I told him I’d have to check with Zelda first. Eugh. So used to saying that, in the past when her being away meant she was down at the shops or working late at the Tech Lab, or on a research trip and home soon. Medda just sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. Real sorry, we’re all real sorry, he said. 

Next dropped into Sayge to get the paraglider serviced. He said to come back in a day, and asked if I had any photographs of wild animals he could use for new designs. I showed him a photo of a cucco I took in Kakariko Village and he said ‘Everyone knows what chickens look like’. Gotta dig through the dozens of photos I have on this thing now. Gotta be something good on here. 

Finally, to Cece’s, for a new Hylian hood — except she’s not open for business at the moment. Something about a new collection of hers. Can’t say I’m holding my breath. Not really a mushroom fan. I’ve eaten too many on the road that turned out to not be mushrooms and to actually be poisonous fungi. But I suppose that’s not the mushrooms' fault, and her designs seem really popular now, especially after Zelda took a liking to them. She had this pretty mushroom dress she used to wear around town, wonder if it’s still here…  

Back at the house now, making the soup. I’ve laid out dinnerware for two, lit a candle, and said a prayer to the Goddess, which used to be done just before we ate, one hand in Zelda’s as she sat across from me at the table. Old habits, I guess. 

Overall, nothing seems amiss in Hateno, just yet. Will stay one more day. 

A photograph of the cauldron outside of Link and Zelda’s house. A carrot, mushroom and wild greens soup bubbles gently. It’s at least enough to feed four, or more. 

Caption: Maybe Medda will accept soup and an I.O.U for the garden. 

---

Log date: 16:00. 6th month, 21st day 104AC Location: Hateno Village Weather: Warm, partly cloudy.  

Nevermind, something is indeed amiss in Hateno. Should know to trust my gut. 

It happened in a flurry. I was back at Cece’s to bargain for a hood (really need some new, clean clothes) when Reede barged in. Stamping his foot and red as a pepper, demanding she take down the mushroom lamps, and she, unphased, called him an out of touch old fool holding Hateno back from true prosperity. Your mushroom decor is ugly! Your vegetables are boring! Pointed fingers and lots of shouting. The tension in the room was so thick I was prepared to Ascend through the roof to get out of there. 

It all came to a head when Cece proposed an election to decide the fate of Hateno. Now every other resident is asking who I’m voting for, Clavia suspects her husband is up to something, and Cece’s sister Sophie claims she has a dark secret. Plus Reede and Cece both want my help with their campaigns — Cece gave me a stack of mushrooms to hand out (like… bribes?) and Reede is trying to hunt down an old family recipe (unsure how that will help him).

It would be so easy to teleport to a shrine on the other side of the Kingdom. Or build a Zonai glider and soar away. Or throw myself into the nearest Chasm. Politics was Zelda’s expertise. And every moment I’m here is another moment I could be out looking for her. 

But. I’m still here. Hateno might not be covered in Gloom or under threat from some monster but… this is my home, and these are my people. Zelda’s too, aren’t they? It’s something we haven’t had since the Calamity. And now they’ve asked for my help. I’ve never said no to that before. It would be wrong, to start here, to start now. 

Whoever we choose as the new mayor, I hope we choose soon. 

A photograph of two large racks inside a Hateno-style house belonging to the dairy farmers Dantz and Koyin. On the shelves are wheels of cheese - a novel invention once thought lost to Hyrule. Koyin poses happily in front of her creations, blushing as her photo is taken. 

Caption: Forgot to mention. It’s cheese! Cheese! They make it out of milk! It’s gooey and rich and perfect. I bought as much as I could carry. 

---

Log date: 21:00. 6th month, 23rd day 104AC.  Location: Hateno Village Weather: Cool and clear. 

Well, sometimes the trouble sorts itself out. 

Cece’s big secret is that she likes Reede’s vegetables, and Reede’s big secret is that he likes Cece’s designs. Who would have thought. After another argument between them on Election Day, Sophie and Clavia banded together to help them see that they could just work together, and all agreed. Reede is still mayor, but Cece’s designs remain the new life blood of the town. My role in the end was to be just nosey enough to uncover all that needed uncovering, and to cook a great meal in the process. It’s Hylian Tomato Pizza all around while the town celebrates the end of the election. I managed to get a new Hylian hood from Cece, plus a hat she made that in all honesty reminds me of some of the poison fungi I once ate… 

First light tomorrow I’ll saddle up Spot and we’ll head back on the road. Earlier today I saw Naydra heading north, towards Lanayru. Was standing just outside the school when she passed overhead (I made good on my promise to help Symin out for an afternoon). One of Zelda’s students, Aster, took my hand and pointed towards the sky. ‘You see it too, don’t you Mr. Link?’ I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know anyone else could see the dragons. I just nodded and told her I was thinking of heading the same way. Lanayru is nearby, and from my map looks to be having trouble with its water. I could be there in a day. 

I’ve since checked my notes and it looks like the next geoglyph (and next clue to Zelda’s whereabouts) is actually in the Gerudo Highlands. It doesn’t change my plans. I’ll get there, in time. I want to help the people of Hyrule in the here and now, rather than chase memories of the past. I know given the choice Zelda would want me to put their safety ahead of hers, as hard as that is to accept. I have to believe that doing so will lead me to her, or otherwise go mad with worry. 

And if she really is different now? If her journey to the present changed her? I guess… we can try coming here. We can have dinner. Light a candle, say a prayer, share a meal. It’s where we started after all. I’d do it all again if it meant just one more day, with her, here in our home. 

A photograph of the school in Hateno. The children play out the front of the modern, colourful building, while Symin supervises. He wears a large sun-hat and carries a whistle. Naydra flies high overhead, heading north, and much, much higher above is a golden dragon, heading south. 

Caption: Didn’t notice the Light Dragon there too. One is an omen, two is a sign. Off to Lanayru it is.  

[rontra]

your art is making me go absolutely feral about wondermagic. I never looked at Zatanna comics before (or much comics in general), do you have any recommendations on where to start? I need more of this funky gay stage magician and her huge dork girlfriend in my life.

oh god. I MEAN first of all YES!!!!! WONDERMAGIC W!!!!!!! im so happy to hear it. they make me actually crazy im glad youre enjoying The Art

however SECOND OF ALL i must confess (as i have confessed before!) that i am a fake ass comic book fan. i've barely read Anything for Any character (LOL) i am not at ALL versed in her various appearances/history. so tbh i hope my more knowledgeable followers can drop recs for both me and you if there's anything particularly noteworthy

but i can talk about what i HAVE read bc my journey with her has been very . memorable to me. THIS IS NOT A HELPFUL POST this is just me infodumping--AT LENGTH--about my and zatanna's relationship. but i do talk a little about what ive read. like casual rontra followers can stop reading here its just rambling

anyway my first exposure to ms zatanna was in the first proper dc comic i ever read. which doesnt count because its extremely not about her (this is a tangent) but its notable for making me out loud go "who is this MAGICIAN" which prompted my partner to immediately reply "you mean zatanna zatara". oh you know her. you know the magician. bitch who the hell is--

you gotta appreciate the experience here. its babys first ever comic. i know superman i know batman ive seen them around (from being alive as a human). i have never in my life heard of the stage magician who hangs out with them (in full costume??) and is their friend(?????)

SHES VERY MEMORABLE. WHO THE HELL IS THIS MAGICIAN

anyway that's all a tangent. flash forwards to last month. i was already working on CTDE from the kara^2 angle (bc i majored in n52 power girl w a minor degree in supergirl: woman of tomorrow, of course) but i was like "i should expand this roster". my friends suggest their blorbos ofc and i have a fun time reading wiki pages from multiple storylines/continuities just getting a wide array of impressions from different places. just snooping around the Vibes. and im like. man i should look at that Magician. read some of HER pages

you gotta appreciate knowing nothing at like 3am, to figuring out ctde zatanna's palette at 5:43 am

i can't resist her.

anyway i already knew here that i was going to do something weird with her in the CTDE that wasn't necessarily connected to any of her published material. i was cooking independently. the stove was on before i had ingredients on hand bc i had the IDEA first. but i was like "i should look at some of her stuff first-hand and try and refine the Vibes" yknow. like theres limits to how much of a fake zatanna fan i can be

so we put out a call in the Mutuals Network and someone was like "you Could watch the justice league dark movie from 2017 she's in that". i was like ok 1hr15 animated movie i can handle that EASY

i didn't love the movie. so i'm not going to say anything else about it. however something VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

thats right. wondermagic took hold before i read a single zatanna comic. just as it has for you anon.... we're not so different you and i...

couple days pass. im just relaxing. hanging out. looking at random tumblr blogs that post comic stuff bc im curious. so i stumble on this one post and it has a clean edit of This Fateful Image 👇

this. GODDAMN image

i was like Wonder Woman is HOW TALL? excuse ME? (>he has also never engaged with a single piece of wonder woman content)

SHES SO TALL........??? and Next To Zatanna? (diesel voice) back in my day we called this spitting distance. and we would post it on /u/

im like okay what comic is this from im going there and im going NOW. to view her. like it's that easy folks. just show me wonder woman, Tall, next to another woman. and i'll go read it

nyway this is Justice League Dark from 2018-2020 it's like 30 issues or so and theres a stretch of chapters where diana is a real hunk its unbelievable. then the art changes but it was amazing while it lasted

(and then i immediately stumbled and wondermagic ctde real)

i really enjoyed this comic actually. i have NO idea how its generally regarded by zatanna nation, but i had a fun enough time. absorbed a lot of DC Comics Magic Lore for my AU which is important

at some point it starts doing Weirdly Umineko Coded dialogue totally unprompted so if you've read that it might tickle your funnybone to see comic book characters asking each other "was this a trick or was it magic 😏". made me feel right at home

my main complaint is that SHE'S NOT DRESSED LIKE A FUCKING MAGICIAN IN IT!!!! COME ON!!!!! they chickened out on the full magician garb in this whole era. which is just so sad. the fishnet fingerless gloves are funny though i might steal that. but i think she is so funny when she's wearing the full magician costume. like call me shallow but her commitment to the bit is so important to me

on the upside she interacts with wonder woman A Lot. the rest of the team is fun too. the justice league dark team is just wonder woman severely failing to put together a squad with any star power at all and i think that's adorable. her failgirl era. now she's out here with her also-rans. i like them all im fond of them

diana scruffs zee like a cat??? she's just hanging there like she's ok with it LOL

it technically jumps off of another comic but tbh if you're willing to hit the ground running and just Accept some stuff in medias res and go with it it's pretty easy to pick up if you wanted

("Just Going With It" is a vital survival skill for getting into comics in general because even if a comic isn't part of a longer continuity its always like "omg glup shitto is here!!! for the fans!!!" and you just have to be like Okay someone else will know who that is. ill just go w it. yknow 😭)

anyway i got a lot of DC Magic Lore (Strangely Familiar Edition) and Zee Content AND!!! Wondermagic Content. in this one. so even if i had an inkling about them before, this comic is really what detonated the charge so to speak. they interact so much

and the dynamic created w their relationship to magic and stuff is really interesting. brainwormy for sure. it took me from "who the hell is this magician" to "DO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT WONDERMAGIC????? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO???" in one comic. i have a LOT of thoughts about them like genuinely i think there's meat on the bone conceptually for wondermagic

but i think pretty much any time they appear together in general they're just Like That. whenever theyre both in a comic they have to be gay about it (what the fuck did she mean by this). i was losing my mind when i was catching up on DC/RWBY (ABHORRED. avoid if possible) and zatanna is immediately on her bullshit again. IS THAT HOW YOU GREET HER

anyway to sum up my rambling here's a peek into my league of comic geeks library of Shit Ive Read Since Then (that had zee in it). basically i have no further wisdom for you but for the knowers this is where i'm at (click to enlarge)

it's a totally random selection LOL my strategy is that i look at comics that list her as a cast member and spin an actual roulette wheel in my brain to decide whether i should read it or not. there's very little else going on here. just monkey sees funny magician -> neuron activates

that pretty much catches us up on my zatanna journey. youll notice if you paid attention to the date/time stamps that it took a mere matter of Days to go from "yeah i can watch a movie" to "i think about her kissing women every night before i sleep". it is DIRE in here. im not sure ive ever had such a Severe escalation of worms

i love her. she's my funny girl. anyway. zatanna nation. if you're still reading this. if you're still with me. what is your wisdom. what should me and anon read. please.

this is a matter of international consequences.