#Bo gets a juice box because I said so

[echo-coyote]

A conversation that neither are really paying attention to

[kisses4lao]

omg hear me out…kung lao x kitsune!reader where the reader like seduces him and they sleep together

Okay so I ended up doing some research for this bc I'm actually very into demonology and mythology and I found out that at certain ages kitsune can read minds???? Guys. The creative juices are flowing.

Also when I first read this I thought you meant seduction as in a succubus kind but I couldn't find ANYTHING on kitsune being able to do that cries so it'll be a semi normal romance

Tw/cw: certain parts may be mythologically incorrect for the sake of the plot, deal with it or don't I don't fucking care, AFAB reader, as always kung lao is horny, ooc kung lao, VIRGIN KUNG LAO GUYS, piv, readers a fucking tease, cursing

Not proofread fuck you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It all started when he decided to go to Madame Bos with Raiden for the first time in a while.

You were a new server, just starting out as they were one of your very first tables. Kung Lao just couldn't help but notice your cute little ears; how they'd twitch at any sudden sound, and your adorable tails. He was obsessed with it all on first sight!

He'd talked to Raiden about you any time he could, he was so in love with how cute you were! It really wasn't his fault, or at least, that's what he decided to think when his work started to become sloppy because all he could think about was you.

He'd began to make special trips to Madame Bos just to see you. He'd specifically come when he knew there wouldn't be many people just so he could talk to you. The more and more he found out about you, the more in love he fell.

He started bringing you bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolate, which you'd usually share with him. He really relished every interaction you guys had and he ended up feeling bad about having dirty thoughts involving you.

He'd tell himself over and over that it wasn't his fault, it was yours! You were obviously seducing him! It got so out of hand he ended up reading a book(insane, I know) about kitsune and couldn't find anything on them being able to seduce humans.

This made him feel even more awful, now knowing that it was his own fault for having such perverted thoughts about you.

He felt horrible about how often he'd fuck his fist to the thought of you, hoping that one day you'd do it for him. He'd be blushing so hard seeing you afterwards, having such crazy thoughts while talking to you. Wondering what you'd sound like if he was able to touch you, wanting you to know how badly he needed you, but he has to keep it to himself for your sake.

If he would've read that book on kitsune for just a minute longer, he'd know that kitsune are able to read minds. But then again, if he did know that, he'd be too embarrassed to ever see you again. You knew everything that was going through his mind since the first time you met and you'd be lying if you said you didn't love the attention.

You'd end up teasing him just to get him going, seeing the look on his face when you'd brush against him suggestively was all you needed to do to hear his thoughts start to race.

However, on the other hand, you'd be lying if you said you didn't reciprocate his feelings. You were doing this for yourself too, wanting to see how long it takes for him to finally ask you out.

After a few weeks of the most unbearable mutual pining ever endured with multiple friends of Kung Laos being witnesses, he finally asked you out.

He decided to take you on a picnic in the sun, making a small basket filled with fruits sourced from his farm. Or at least, that was the plan. Unfortunately for the both of you, it had started raining as soon as you got to the clearing you planned to have the picnic at.

Kung Lao had apologized so many times that the word 'sorry' didn't sound like a word anymore. You settled on going back to your own cottage, setting up a soft blanket and setting your fireplace ablaze. You decided to have your picnic in front of the fireplace, the crackling sound of the wood burning and the soft rain hitting the roof made a perfect ambiance.

After a while of talking about random things, you decided to just out right tell him everything. "You know I can read minds, right? I could read yours ever since we first met."

The silence in the room was deafening. Kung Lao had stopped chewing on his strawberry just to stare at you in disbelief. You could tell all he was thinking about was... Nothing. Blank. Not a thought behind those eyes.

He turned away and he sighed, swallowing his strawberry before talking. "I'm.. sorry. Truly, I am. I just.. never felt like this with anyone before. I guess my feelings got the best of me. If you want me to leave, I will, but I promise I'll make it up to you, if you let me stay of course." You chuckle lightly at the last sentence, rubbing your hand on his arm while doing so.

"You're cute. Why do you think I agreed to a date? I feel the same way, silly." You give him a soft smile and kiss him on the cheek, resting your head on his shoulder.

You could feel him heat up, hear his mouth become dry by the seconds. "You.. feel the same? I- why didn't you tell me before? I would've taken you out so much earlier."

"I know, I just wanted you to ask me out. And here we are."

"So, you wanted me to ask you out first, that way you didn't have to be the first one to confess, even though you knew I liked you beforehand?"

"Well when you put it like that it sounds bad."

You both share a small laugh at each others expense, finding it silly how this could've been avoided if either one of you fessed up sooner. The laugh ended and you both looked at each other, making eye contact as you began to lean into him. Glancing down at his lips briefly, you connected them with yours in a gentle kiss. Kung Lao wasted no time reciprocating it, deepening it as his hands rested on your waist.

You softly bit his lower lip, being careful not to draw blood as he let out a groan of both pain and pleasure, giving you access to explore his mouth. He began to moan into the kiss more, tugging on your shirt as he leaned into you. Placing your hand on the back of his head, you climbed onto him and straddled his lap, having him moan at the sudden movement.

Suddenly, you could feel him leaning away from the kiss. Letting him go, you both caught your breath. "I've never done anything like this before- let alone kissed anybody." He was trying his best to avoid your gaze while still tugging slightly at your clothes. That when you noticed his aching member, right between your thighs, straining the confines of his uniform. How had you not noticed it sooner?

Everything started adding up. How he was moaning into the kiss, how he was tugging at your clothes, the beautiful moan he let out when you straddled him, he was turned on. You could feel yourself get wet at the thought of you being the one making him feel like this, this tall, gorgeous man writhing beneath.. you. You'd be damned if you let up this opportunity.

"I don't exactly have much experience in this department either. How about we learn together?" You tried to make it very clear that you wanted him, as a friend, a partner, a mate, everything. You wanted him. You climbed off his lap, taking off his belt and unzipping his pants slowly waiting for any protest.

You look up at him, his face is completely red, mouth agape and breathing heavily. The way the fire beside you illuminated him made him look ethereal, like you just wanted to make him feel as good as possible simply because of how good he looked. You pull down his boxers, pleasantly surprised at how big he was, much bigger than anyone you had ever seen before. He let out a soft groan at the feeling of his cock being free, before groaning again at the feeling of your lips enveloping his tip.

Your one hand wrapped around the base of his cock, the other hand gripping his thigh for stability. You slowly took your mouth off his tip before making small kitten licks, flattening your tongue to cover his whole tip. The sweet moans he'd let out were enough to keep you going, making you take his whole tip in again before sinking down on him more.

You attempted to fit as much of his cock in your mouth as possible, bobbing your head up and down and swirling your tongue the best you could- pumping what you couldn't fit with your hand. Your saliva started to trickle down his cock, smearing onto his balls and soaking the blanket beneath him. His moans increased in volume as he gripped onto the blanket more than he already was.

He felt himself reaching his climax, being soo overwhelmed that you were actually here, willingly sucking him off. He had gotten off so many times before to the thought of it that now that it was happening he had no control over his urges. His hand wandered to scratch behind your ear, giving you the incentive that he's close. Your hand that was previously on his thigh goes to his balls, stroking them slightly as you could feel him climax in your mouth.

It caught you off guard and you slowly took your mouth off his cock, licking up the mess. "I'm so sorry- I should've warned you where I'm sensitive- I- I didn't know I'm sorry-" you cut him off by kissing him, making him taste his cum on your tongue still. "You're fine, you taste good, too. I'll have to remember that for next time." You give him a wink before grabbing another blanket.

You drape it behind him and use it to pull him closer to you. "Will you please make love to me by this oh-so warm fireplace, oh mighty Kung Lao?" You say with a chuckle. He laughs as he begins to undress you, "when you say it like that, how could I ever resist?"

You share another deep kiss as he undresses the both of you, discarding your clothes as he places your legs on his side. Leaning closer into you, he lines his member up with your hole, looking at you for permission. "Ready?"

"Never more." You both share another smile before he slowly enters you, your arms instinctively tangling around his neck for stability. Your soft tails poking out from beneath came to Kung Laos sides, rubbing against him as he lay atop of you, waiting for you to adjust. He slowly strokes your ears and kisses at your neck as he awaits your response.

When you give him the green light, he raises himself up, grabbing a hold of your waist as he begins pumping in and out of you at a slow pace. The two of you exchanged soft pleas too one another as he began to speed up. The noises of slapping enveloped the room you were in as the both of you held onto each other like your lives depended on it.

Kung Laos pace had increased greatly from when he started , beginning to make you feel dizzy off the pleasure he was giving you. You began to moan out his name as you could feel yourself getting close. He kissed at your neck, leaving small hickeys around your collar bone as he gritted his teeth in pleasure.

"Lao- please-"

"I know hon- you can do it, come for me, please, I need you."

You came with a harsh moan, practically screaming his name as you came down from your high. Kung Lao followed soon after, he was about to pull out before he came, getting ready to before he felt your legs tighten around his waist, trapping him inside you.

"inside. Please." You begged. At this point, Kung Lao would listen to anything you said. Begging him to cum inside you had his heart melting and he did it in an instant. He collapsed next to you, taking in in how warm you are as he wraps his arms around your waist again.

"I should get you something. Like a water maybe, or a washcloth? You may wanna clean your thighs." You smile at his concern.

"Aftercare can wait for the morning. I just want to be with you right now." You say as you look into his eyes. They soften as his mouth curls into a smile, kissing you on the forehead before cuddling into you more. Letting the heat from the fireplace envelope the both of you as you drift into a comfortable sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/n: ooga booga

[daemonoferror]

What everyone is handing out on Trick or Treat

Did I think way too into this? Yes.

Tabitha

I so badly want her to be the one handing out full sized or king sized candy bars just bc she can afford it. In reality she's handing out the nasty candy noone likes, or coughdrops because she didn't expect any kid to walk all the way to the estate to ask for candy.

Oscar

Would hand out those mini books, coloring pages, or stickers. Also passes out whatever candy Rosalina picked out. He doesn't care much about the handing out candy part, he likes seeing everyone's costumes though and seeing the town happy.

Duke

A random mix of candy, probably hard candy or something that's nostalgic for him. He's not a big fan of Halloween, just gets candy his family likes so they can snack on the leftovers. Might also have soda or juice boxes. Also the guy who asks the parents if they want a beer or cup of coffee.

Stella

Much more excited about the spooky factor of Halloween, her house is the best decorated and may scare some kids away on accident. She hands out the spider rings and glow in the dark fangs.

Sybil

Gives out fruit. Caramel apples on a good year. Believes candy is harmful and kids don't need it. She'd rather hand out teabags but everyone told her that was weird so she stopped. Also maybe crystals.

Kaneeka

Since she lives with Sybil but she thinks it's not right to hand out anything but candy for trick or treat. Since Sybil won't be persuaded, Kaneeka will make caramel apples to make it not so bad for the kids. If she's ever in charge of trick or treating, though? 100% she's taking full sized candy bars from the store and giving those out.

Winnie

The diner has a free hot coco station, with peppermint, marshmallows, whipped cream, and sprinkles for kids to choose from. (It'd be my favorite place on Halloween.)

Avery

Simple but still good: mini chocolate bars and pumkin reese's. It's their contribution to the diner if they aren't throwing a party that night. Trick or treat might be an after thought to them, but they still don't want to disappoint the kids.

Doc Kelly

Suckers or lolipops, easy. Though they might be some kind of sugar free, every allergy free, healthy kind of sucker so she doesn't have to worry about a kid getting sick from them. "Could Reese eat it?" Might be a requirement. I'd also like to add that she'd probably love trick or treat because Stella and Kaneeka said she's great with kids. She'd probably love seeing everyone's costume.

(Bonus) Reese

He'd want to decorate if he had the energy. Also idk if this a universal thing or not but there was always that one person in town who'd dress up like a scarecrow or something and go limp, so when you walked past them they'd jump up and scare you? Reese would want to do that. His mom would probably scold him for it.

(Extra bonus)

Becka, Zane, and Miles definitely TP every house that doesn't have good candy. Miles WILL tp his own house and no he will not get in trouble even if he is caught.

Reese, Stella, and Bo (and maybe Avery) would definitely still try to go trick or treat. Oscar and Winnie are cool with it, Sybil doesn't understand it but gives them teabags because she knows they won't refuse. Duke just really doesn't care- might not even notice cause he might just put the bowl on the porch with a sign reading "take one or get shot" (it's hella effective until Stella calls his bluff). Doc Kelly tells them they're too old for this- but she probably tells Becka and Alexis the same thing. Tabitha slams the door in their faces.

[endeaavorr]

bokuto headcanons (grocery shopping with msby!bokuto)

it’s currently off season, but bo’s got a week before he needs to leave for training again.

you enjoy grocery shopping as a hobby

but you don’t really enjoy stocking up food because you like them fresh and bo deserves only fresh warm meals 🥺

so you usually go for weakly trips instead of those ‘1000$ costco haul’

i can see bo naturally using layers going out bcs he’s a pro athlete

gotta keep dem pores safe from cold air hehe

you’re working on you laptop in the living room and he’s sitting next to you, his head on your lap snuggling your tummy 🥺

and he says he wants attention :((

so you prompted to go grocery shopping :((

you tell him to go change while u finish up work.

by the time ur done he’s waiting patiently all puffed up from the fluffy winter jacket that’s hiding his beeg beeg muscles 🥺

omg that’s so cute i need a moment

ok i had my moment

you’re taking your car

a lambo’s trunk isn’t actually built for groceries.. plus its filled with bo’s spare gym bag and training shoes too.

you drive bcs 🥺 he’s your puppyboy 🥺 he should sit pretty 🥺 and let u love him 🥺

ehehe he’d make excited comments on how the ‘streets have changed since last time i stayed’ and ‘i wonder if the sticker shop you liked so much is still here’

you originally carried the trolley so bo can freely pick things he’d like

but baby bo insisted to push the trolley instead 🥺 bcs 🥺 just wanna be good boy 🥺

holds ur hand below his in the trolley handle accidentally too hard (not that u mind)

but eventually lets go (with a pout) bcs u said it’s hard to grab things with one hand :((

def puts a fruit sticker on your elbow waiting for u to notice 🥺

but u were so focused on picking up the best fruits and didn’t notice at all 😭

if offered samples he’d give it to you instead 😭

one of the sample handlers were a msby fan so they took a selfie together

bokuto best boy 🥺🥺

tried to help checking out but the aisle is too small and he’s just a giant puppyboy.

so he’d contently wait whilst drinking his pre checked out favorite juice box u handed him and his free hand would gently tug the shirt inside your coat to make sure u don’t get lost 🥺

wow i got carried away

def boasts on how he can carry all the bags in one go

but complains later bcs the bags hurt his hand 😭

maybe go eat dinner and watch movie at a nearby theater

idk he seems like the type to order 3 servings of kid’s meal bcs the nuggets has better texture than the ‘adult’ ones.

too tired to unpack so u left the bags near the door and just shower then cuddles before sleep.

wow this is a very self indulgent bokuto hc.

[goldentsum]

━ jealousy

REQUESTS: (seperately) bokuto, hinata, and akaashi x jealous s/o. say that she isn’t a very jealous person to begin with but there’s another girl who seemed to have taken a liking to the boys and she doesn’t like it. add some angst if you will :) hopefully ends with some fluff. 

🎕 asked by: nonnie 🎕

CHARACTERS: bokuto koutarou, hinata shouyou, and akaashi keiji

GENRE: angst, fluff

AUTHOR’S NOTE: i don’t know if i did it right but D: i’m rlly active rn cus im excited idk why-- also hinata has a lot of dialogue in this one

━ bokuto ♡

bokuto is a jealous baby owl and you know it,, know it too well... he gets pouty if your attention is elsewhere even for a minute!

you, on the other hand, is as cool as a cucumber. well, that what it looks like anyway. 

you get jealous quite a lot, to be honest, but your pride won’t live if you show it so you just try to shrug it off every time

but when kou gets a little too much attention it pisses you the fuck off 

you get snappy and your mood is down for the day but kou is always on his way to make it better~ 

the baby owl may be oblivious but when the topic is about you, he pays attention to your every movement and to what makes you tick

so when someone!! a person you hate because of their flirty attitude and rude remarks gets a little too close to your baby--

oh, it's about to go down!

you’re in the cafeteria sitting on one of the free tables, waiting for your hyperactive baby owl, when you see a certain someone clinging to Bokuto and pressing their chest against his arm

aND WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MORE IS THE OBLIVIOUS SMILE ON BOKUTO’S FACE

you turned around and looked at the juice box you bought for bokuto and grabbed it roughly, stabbing the straw to drink it yourself

you knew how popular bokuto was and how ‘plain’ you were but it still hurt when people never respecting bo’s personal space and your relationship as you two were publicly open with your relationship

akaashi, who was lagging behind bokuto, saw this and quickly rescued the dense captain making a certain someone whines about it but akaashi paid no mind and dragged bo away and towards your table

“hey, babe!” 

you looked at him and rolled your eyes, scoffing a little with the straw still on your mouth as you proceed to ignore him

bokuto’s eyes widen at that and sat closer to you, leaning closer and putting his head on your shoulder, nuzzling at you. 

this usually makes you break but nope, your pride said nope and you ate lunch with bo pouting and whining to you. akaashi who watched the whole scene sighed.

the next time you saw bokuto was at dismissal with him racing to your classroom the moment the bell rang. he went inside when your teacher dismissed you and waited on the side for you even though you were ignoring him. but what slightly shocked you was the serious face he has on. 

when everyone else was gone and you were about to go to, bokuto grabbed your hand and made you stay

“what’s wrong? please talk to me...” He whispered, hugging you close to his body. 

you pouted at that, the gesture cracking your cold demeanor quickly. you sighed and hugged back the sweet boy.

“i’m sorry for ignoring you, kou...” 

you felt his smile on your skin making you smile too

“It’s okay but please explain...” 

his innocent words and eyes made you shy. maybe you overreacted a little bit but your ego is too big sometimes

you averted your eyes and looked at your shoes, bokuto’s arms still around you. 

“cus... you let (h/n) touch you and you were smiling too!” 

you whined a bit, looking up at him. his surprised expression then turned into relief and he started laughing

“who knew you were the jealous type too, (Y/n)!” 

you pouted and hid your face on his chest, 

“shut up... i’m human too, ya know... and you’re not one to talk, you’re the one who always gets jealous..”

“That’s cus my girlfriend is too pretty and too many guys have their eyes on you!”

you scoffed playfully at that, not having the energy to remind bokuto that those guys were just asking for some notes or something to you, knowing well that it would brew into bokuto pulling up his ‘facts’ and arguments on you again that those guys were unto something...

“shut up, you owl”  

“your owl~” 

━ hinata ♡

this small bean is also one of the easily jealous type and he creates a safe and danger distance around you in his mind

there’s only a certain distance a guy can come close to you and if that line gets crossed, he goes pROTECTIVE MODE

tanaka and noya are proud of their pupil as they watch him circle around you like a rabid dog or crow?

he is always with you! ALWAYS! And he always buys you some cold drink or if you don’t bring lunch, he lets you share his bento with the courtesy of his mother as he asks her to make a bigger lunch for him when he knew that you don’t really bring your own lunch.

so when it was lunchtime and hinata was nowhere in sight, that worries you a LOT

you run to the courtyard where you two usually hangs out with kageyama but was surprised to only see Kageyama and his milk box

jogging up to the tall male and you asked him about shoyou and you heard an answer you were not expecting to hear

“some fancy pink letter asked him to go to the rooftop, it said that they wanted to say something to that tangerine” 

(y/n).exe has stopped working

kageyama looked at you with a quirked brow, still sipping on the milk box, he poked you with a curious look

“why did you let him go, you idiot!” you said, surprising kageyama who pouted and glared at you

“why the hell are you yelling? he’s just meeting someone!” 

“you dense blueberry!” you shouted and hit kageyama on the shoulder with a light scowl

kageyama was about to retort when a familiar childish growling caught his attention as you both looked at the side and saw a glaring hinata racing towards you two at a fast rate

“why you kageyama--! don’t get too close to my girlfriends!”

hinata slotted himself between you two and started bickering with the tol blueberry

you sighed at the scene in front of you and a light pink object caught your attention. there it was, a pink chocolate bar in hinata’s hand as he waved it around, trying to punch kageyama. 

you frowned at it and started walking away, leaving kageyama and hinata at the courtyard. hiding from hinata, you ate lunch in the bathroom stall as icky feelings start to grow.

after lunch, you quickly run to your classroom wanting to avoid seeing hinata at the moment 

but luck wasn’t at your side when Hinata dragged you off and got inside the janitor’s closet with you. 

“hinata, what are you doing! lunch is already finished, i’m gonna be late for class!” 

you tried to leave the small room but hinata closed the door when you tried to open it

“no! you left me with kageyama all lunch break!”

“i-i had a stomach ache and went to the nurse’s office--”

“i went there too, you weren’t in there” 

an awkward silence filled the small room while you looked at hinata with surprise

“i-it doesn’t matter--”

“It does matter! If you feel the need to lie to me then it’s a big matter!” hinata said, frowning at you 

you sighed and let hinata hold your hand

“please tell me what’s wrong” 

“i heard you got confessed to”

hinata blew a fuse at that and started waving his hands furiously, “h-how’d you know?! i didn’t accept it, i promise--!” 

“you didn’t?” 

hinata stopped for a moment and looked at you, eyebrows furrowing

“yeah, i got myself the best girlfriend... why would i wanna change that?” 

you went closer to Hinata, letting your body hit his and hugged him

“i-i’m sorry... it’s just that, i thought you would find someone better and leave me...” 

“I WOULD NEVER! You’re the best girlfriend in the whole wide world, (Y/n)!”

“You’re the best boyfriend too, little tangerine” 

━━ akaashi ♡

let’s be real here, you’re definitely the jealous one in the relationship. I mean having a boyfriend who’s too pretty to comprehend and easily attracts a lot of attention can make you like that. but you hide it pretty well, well most of the time anyway...

akaashi always ALWAYS pays attention to you and knows everything that can trigger you to become sad, angry, jealous, and happy

he always makes sure that you’re always fine and happy, that you’re comfortable and content

we stan the perfect boyfie 🥺

bUT he can be quite dense sometimes when it’s not about you or volleyball.. fUKURODANI PPL ARE DENSE 

girls would always flock his classroom before you can get there, snacks and treats in their hands to give it to akaashi and being the petty little gremlin that you are, you were pouty

akaashi sighed because it’s always either you were pouty or bokuto is and sometimes the worst-case scenario happened where both of you are pouty at the sAME TIME! 

akaashi= Mom Daddy

you reached our final form of pouty when you saw a certain someone a bitch dragged akaashi to talk to him or whatever and being the curious thing you are, you followed them and hid behind the vending machine, listening to their convo

“you know, your girlfriend is cheating on you, right?” 

wHY THAT BITCH! She just lied like it’s her common language wtf! 

you prayed that your baby boo won’t believe her cus YOU ARE NOT CHEATING ON HIM! why tf would you cheat on him when you hit the jackpot? tf

“and you must know that spreading rumors and lies about a person can take you off the first string in the track team right?” 

oOF--! YOUR BOYFIE REALLY POPPED OFF HUH

you snickered behind your hands, listening to the lying snake stutter a complain but akaashi cut her off 

“if this is all then I’m going now but if i hear any rumor circling around (y/n), i won’t hesitate to take action myself.” 

the snake scoffed at that and walked away, stomping 

there was silence for a moment but then keiji called out, surprising you

“i know you’re here, (y/n)” 

you stiffened at that and moved away from your hiding spot while coming up with excuses

“i-i wasn’t doing anything! she just dragged you off so i followed--!” 

akaashi smiled softly at you, walking closer and patted your head gently making you feel flustered.

“i know, let’s go? you must be hungry” 

“you won’t leave me for her, right, keiji?” 

akaashi shook his head at your question, a small smile on his face and looked at you, letting his hand fall and held your smaller hand in his

“it’s not like you’ll let me leave”

“HEY! you make it seem like i’m holding you as a hostage or something!”

“hmm”

[nishisun]

DORM BUDDIES

12. what the ✨fawk✨ 😀

summary: you’re in need of a new dorm buddy because your current roommate sucks and tsukishima might just be the perfect candidate.

DORM BUDDIES MASTERLIST

warnings: smut 🙄, bokuto’s a jerk in this one.

Once you arrived at akaashi and bokuto’s shared dorm, Bokuto happily greeted you with a hug.

“Hey bo, how are you?” you said, still not breaking the hug because bokuto was hugging you tightly.

He buried his head in the crook of your neck and didn’t say anything for a while, so you both just stood there for some moments in silence as bokuto refused to let go. You let him because you found it cute how clingy he was.

“I’m good,” he mumbled, his breath tickling the skin of your neck. “just missed you, is all.”

without breaking the hug, he moved his hands that were on the back of your waist and slid them right beneath your ass. He began to softly rub the back of your thigh, all while the entrance door was still open.

When you didn’t move his hand away he took that as an okay to continue. He began to kiss your neck softly, getting a soft moan out of you.

“Bo,” you said softly, trying to warn bokuto that the door was still wide open and anyone could see.

He doesn’t respond, instead he taps your thigh softly, signaling you to jump and carries you to his room.

The place was quiet, so that probably meant that akaashi wasn’t at home.

Bokuto closed the door and pushed you against the wall and pulled you in for a needy kiss, tongues tangling with one another. The kiss was rough, really rough, but you didn’t mind because it’s been so long since you and Bokuto have done this.

This whole situation was escalating so quickly that you forgot why Bokuto called you over.

He placed you softly on the bed and pulled the leggings you were wearing, as well as your panties.

“fuck, so wet,” he kneeled down, then used his thumb to capture your slick and softly glided it against your clit. He blew softly at your pussy getting a whimper out of you.

“How is your dumbass already so wet. This all for me?” He then went in and licked your pussy and any normal person wouldn’t have noticed. In fact, his tounge barely managed to touch it, but you were so sensitive, you could feel the the way the wet muscle captured your juices and you arched your back.

“stop teasing you dickhead,” is all you managed to say. You started to squirm, which made Bokuto laugh at your neediness. He decided to shove one finger in your hole, but didn’t thrust.

“now why should I listen to you?” he said. He waited for you to say something, anything, but as soon as you managed to speak up he shoved another finger, thrusting at an extremely fast pace.

“flirting with tsukishima like that,” he continued to thrust, but this time he thrusting into you slow and hard. “you know i get.”

You tried to respond but the pleasure was way too overwhelming. What did he mean by flirting with tsukishima? Your mind was blurred and you couldn’t really care for what he was rambling about, even though he knew you liked to joke around but flirting? He kept thrusting, his pace getting quicker each second, but this time you didn’t feel pleasure. He was going way too fast and hard.

you felt pain?

“Ah, bo,” you patted his forearm trying to tell him to stop but his grip on your thighs tighten. “Bokuto, ow! Stop!”

The pain felt so unusual. it was weird. this whole situation was weird. Why did bokuto randomly call you over for this? What got him so riled up? You looked up to see Bokuto, who looked like he was in a world of his own, not even aware that he was hurting you. You lifted yourself up and tapped his shoulder trying to snap him out of his haze.

“Bokuto, are you okay?” You asked, hand resting on his shoulder.

“Fuck y/n, I’m so sorry, I didnt even notice what-”

“Hey, Hey. It’s fine, you dumbass.” You teased, giving him a reassuring smile. He smiled back softly, but it was obviously a fake one. Something was up with him. He was acting very strange.

“Bokuto what’s wrong,” you asked, “you’ve been acting weird and I’m concerned. Is there something bothering you?”

He looked down for a moment before you look up at you and didn’t say anything. He used the thumb that was covered with your wetness to softly rub the area.

“You’ve always been so caring.” he said, letting out a small sigh.

“Shut up, you’re so cheesy.” You laughed at and he pouted a bit, which only made you giggle in response.

“I was trying to set the mood again.” He said crossing his arms.

“Well too late for that,” you said, getting up and giving his cheek a little pat before wearing your panties and leggings.

“You’re no fun,” he said looking at you dress up again.

“Yeah, yeah, you say that all the time.” This time both of you let out a small laugh as you picked up your things.

“Uh bo,” you said.

“yeah?”

“Do you want me to do something about.. that?” You pointed at the tent that was formed in his grey sweatpants.

“I’ll fix it, it’s getting late anyways you should go.” He said as he laughed nervously.

“wait but didn’t you want to talk about something-”

“I’ll just text you, you really need to go now, bye, love you y/n!” He said guiding you to the door, basically pushing you the way there.

God, he was acting so strange, you thought to yourself.

AYOOO sorry i didn’t post in over a week 😔 but i already have part 13 made for y’all 😁😁🙏

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[touchmycoat]

on Promising Young Woman

i was hesitant to watch bc i knew a spoiler, but @trixree convinced me to watch it and i’m very glad i did. all things aside, it’s just damn well-written—pacing’s top-notch, every act shift was action-driven with a female lead, and it balanced the pleasure of a revenge fantasy against the soul of the story SO well.

thoughts & spoilers below

elephant in the room: yeah I hesitated to watch the movie because I know Cassie gets murdered in the end. After watching the scenes that followed, I...have a better understanding of why that was the choice. I still hated that it happened, period. I literally said “fuck you” out loud to the morning after shot, with the sunlight pouring down on her in the white outfit and she had her arms outstretched—yes, she’s a martyr, yes, she’s the “morning angel,” but fuck that, I didn’t need her to be a martyr. I so desperately wanted the movie to give her more than that.

Like Jenna and Wesley said, it was a superhero movie. That lasted until the choice to kill her.

Thoughts on why they did it: for the ironic morning after, where the audience sees not-Zac Efron sob and whine about how he’s going to lose his marriage and family and job after he just knowingly murdered a woman. Where we get to see Schmidt (fnjdnfjdnf what a casting choice, i lost my mind) say the words to Al Monroe that women like Nina needed to hear—it’s not your fault. None of it was your fault. We get to see the violent and continuous forgiveness of men that dead girls have and continue to pay for.

But my question is, what part of the movie managed to give the audience comfort that legal authority is the solution to this problem? The ending felt squeaky clean wrapped-up, yes, but the anxiety that ran deepest for me throughout this entire film was the fact that Cassie was leaving these men alive. All the men she’s found in the clubs, the man whose car she smashed, the entire law firm that specializes in burying rape cases—to me, every man she left alive was one more factor that could come back and bite her. That was my concern, and it was by no means alleviated by the scene with Bo Burnham and the detective right before the wedding.

I guess that circles back to the question of what the film is trying to be, though. It’s a different take on a revenge thriller. It isn’t meant to deliver a smash-burn-kill catharsis. Rather, it operates on a realer level. Which I love, actually! When she told the fedora guy that she’s not the only one who does it, it felt like a very enticing call-to-action lmao, and like a moment that ought to haunt the “good guys” that watch this film. The movie did so well to manifest and deliver the “enough is fucking enough” attitude that everybody ought to have about sexual assault under the influence.

More on why they killed Cassie: to really lean into the specter of Nina who has so haunted the entire narrative. Even handcuffed to the bed, Al Monroe never said the word “rape.” Nobody wants to, they keep skirting around it and refusing to acknowledge it for what it is. That’s why the movie does it for us, the audience. Instead of saying it, the movie gives its thesis on what rape actually is—a murder. A squeezing-out of a woman’s existence. Al Monroe rapes and kills Nina Fisher before the start of the movie, and the movie ends with Al Monroe killing Cassie. It ends with the violent burning of Cassie’s body, and fucking Schmidt kicking her hand with the childishly painted nails back into the bonfire. The parallel destruction of women is evident.

Did the ending feel like enough of a resurrection?

On a fandom level, I am happy to do the work of seeing the Romance in it. Cassie evidently anticipated her own death, perhaps even sought it—it’s easy to picture a fic focused on Cassie’s thoughts pre-bachelor party, where she’s just so happy to finally be joining Nina again. Where she gets to sign a text Love, Cassie & Nina. I fucking adore how much of an agent she was in the action throughout the entire movie, and the ending definitely did some work in resurrecting that agency.

On a real life level though, I’m so, so fucking sad she essentially had to commit suicide to get the justice she sought. She really is a martyr, but no part of the story indicated she was happy to be. There’s no relief in what she chose—it was simply what had to be done, because nobody else would do a goddamn thing.

Oh boy, the movie did so well to play Ryan as a good guy up until the very end. When time came for him to own up to his mistakes, he flipped like a fucking dime. Suck it #NotAllMen.

The evocations of childhood were interesting. We have the notebook, the scrunchie, the pink bedroom, the childhood photos, the juice box, the friendship necklaces, the painted nails. What is that doing?

- It’s a visual touch point for the arc words “we were just kids!” used as a protestation by rapists and assaulters to excuse their actions. Men get to be “kids” who made mistakes, women get repeated insistence that their actions have consequences, that they shouldn’t have gotten that drunk.

- It signifies Cassie’s vulnerability, her childhood best friend that she’s never been able to move on from. Functionally, I thought it was a brilliant way of grounding how tender the center of her story is, that she’s actually operating from a very simplistic point of pain and loss, considering how cool and violent she gets to be throughout most of the movie.

- It becomes a symbol for destroyed innocence when it’s the last bit of Cassie we see before her body’s burned. The movie re-positioned the meaning of this word “innocence,” I think. It’s not about women being ruined after rape, it’s about these women being people. Cassie’s last monologue about Nina does so much work to hammer that home—Nina’s value was never about innocence before or after her assault, it was never diminished. She was loved because of who she was as a person, but Al Monroe squeezed the life out of her anyways. Childhood and innocence become about the happiness that existed before men attacked, and the men get to symbolically destroy it one more time with a kick into the pyre. But then comes the resurrection, and in a way, the movie returns Cassie to that happiness with the last texts she got to sign with her best friend and a winky face.

The penitent lawyer was a hell of a narrative choice. I did accept it, and I like it mainly for what it showed of Cassie—that she is capable of forgiveness. By putting the scene with Nina’s mother right after, it transitions Cassie into a spot of hope pretty damn effectively. I also like that it didn’t take Cassie’s emotional labor to get the lawyer to that place, and that he was already self-flagellating (the dead plants behind Cassie in that apartment were a great touch) before she got there. I like the possibility that Cassie could have forgiven herself for not being there for Nina.

That’s why I’m so damn mad she’s dead!!!! She recognized how destructive her pattern of behavior is, and put an effort to stop that for herself and for her relationship with people she cares about. Yeah, Ryan proved an asshole, but it wasn’t even about him!! She laid it clean out for that guy!! No forgiveness. He was not an innocent bystander. He does not get to get away with anything, and all the ways he chose to behave after the fact just further proves it!

Cassie was stunning, and dangerous, and incredible. Narratively, she really could have gotten away with it. I don’t want to buy this finale, that it takes the destruction of another woman to bring justice to the first. I don’t care how neatly framed it was, that was not a happy ending.

[annab-recs]

Can’t Be Trusted - JJ Maybank

Kooks have never really trusted pogues, but you have gained the trust of some as you babysit and dogsit for them. After inviting JJ over as you are dogsitting, a necklace goes missing and who else would have taken it other than the infamous kleptomaniac, right?

Warnings: some curse words

Word Count: 2.9k+

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

"I think someone's mom is home!" You shout from the back door. After playing little game of hide and seek, Austin and Ava wanted to play in their treehouse, so you went inside and chilled out until their two-year-old sister, Aubrey, woke up.

"Okay! We will be out in a minute!" Ava shouted to you as she poked her head out the treehouse window. You rolled your eyes playfully before returning to Aubrey who was still a little groggy from her nap. All she wanted to do was lay in your arms and watch Trolls.

"How were they today, y/n?" Sadie asked you when she walked into her home.

"Absolute angels as always. This one is a little sleepy from her nap, but she just needs cuddles and she'll be fine. The other two are in the treehouse," you tell her as you walk over to where she was standing by the kitchen counter. Aubrey makes grabby hands at her mother and you lean forward to hand her off.

"Hey, I meant to ask you this when you were here last week but how would you feel about dog sitting?" You shot her a weird look as she did not have any dogs, but nodded, nonetheless.

"My sister, Savannah, has three dogs and she and her husband are going on vacation for a week. She just needs someone to let the dogs out and feed them and stuff. I told her about you because you are so great with the kids and I knew that if I can trust you with them, she can trust you with her dogs," Sadie finished.

It was nice to hear a kook say something so kind about a pogue. The adults don't seem to have as big of a problem with pogues as the teenagers do. You were happy to hear that she trusted you so much with her children because you love her kids so much and would do anything for them.

"You can tell her I'm interested," you tell Sadie and she nods.

"Okay, I'll send her your number. Thanks again y/n," she spoke as she handed you some money for your service and you walked out after hugging each of the kids goodbye. 

...

"Okay, so that's all that you really need to know. You can stay here if you want so that you don't have to travel back and forth across the island. Let me show you the guest room." You follow Savannah through her house and to the guest room.

"You can invite your friends like Kiara or Sarah to stay with you, so you aren't too lonely. You can literally do whatever as long as you clean up after yourself, but I know I don't have to worry about anything with you. Sadie talks very highly of you." You blush at the comment and send her a smile. "Do you have any questions?"

"No ma'am. I think I got it all." She smiles at you as Bo, her golden retriever, licks up your leg. The two of you chuckle as you head back to the kitchen.

"Okay well here's the key and the code for the alarm system is 1742. I'll turn it on when we leave and when you get here, just turn it off and then turn it back on at night. Once again, thank you so much for doing this. I could not find anyone and the girl who normally keeps the dogs is going to be gone as well."

"No problem, Mrs. Savannah. I'm extremely excited to get to be with these pups all week next week," you say as you ruffle your hand through Bo’s fur. Her other two dogs, Bleu and Bailey, have been chilling but Bo has been following you everywhere. You said your goodbyes before heading over to The Wreck where your friends were.

"Hello everyone," you announce your presence as your friends greet you. You take the only empty seat at the table that sits between JJ and Pope and sneakily snag a fry from JJ's plate.

"Hey!" He shouts and attempts to grab the fry back, but it is already in your mouth. A giggle escapes your lips as he pouts about his stolen food.

"You owed me that one after all the food I share with you. At least, I have Pope. You'll share your fries with me, won't you buddy?" Pope grins at you before nodding.

"Of course." He slides his basket of fries closer to you and you gladly take one before Kie offers to get you some. You decline, saying you just wanted to tease JJ to which he frowns before ruffling with your hair playfully. After you fix your hair, the pogues ask you about your day.

"I was actually at Savannah's house, Sarah." She shot you a confused look before telling you to continue. Savannah and Sadie are cousins with Ward, so they are related to the Cameron’s. That's how Sarah knows her.

"I thought you babysit for Sadie," she wonders, and you nod.

"I do but Sadie recommended me to Savannah as a dog sitter, so I'm going to be staying there next week while they're on vacation."

"You're basically a kook now, y/n," JJ jokes as you roll your eyes at him.

"No, but I'll be living in the house of one for a week. I'm a full-on pogue right here and you know it." You say as you point to your heart. You had too many responsibilities to look after and pay for to be a kook. You have to help out your dad with money because your mom left you two when you were seven. Things would be a million times better if you were actually a kook but living like one for a little bit would be nice.

...

It was not long before you were living that dream. Savannah left a few days ago and you have been waking up to Bo’s adorable face next to you every morning. As you watched the dogs run around in the backyard, you decided to invite a friend over. You were getting kinda lonely and Savannah said you could invite someone like Kie or Sarah, so you shot Kie a text first.

Y/n: what are you doing tonight? I'm kinda lonely and wanna sleepover with my girl

Kie: my dad has me working all night and then Sarah and I are going to the mainland early in the morning

Y/n: okay I'll ask one of the guys, thanks though

You can't ask John B because you don't want Sarah to get the wrong impression and Pope has work early in the morning with his dad, so your only option is JJ. There is nothing wrong with JJ. You love him to death, but he tends to slip things away without anyone noticing. You want to make a good first impression so that Savannah will want to use you again in the future. You let out a sigh before calling JJ.

"Hello?" His voice sounded through your ears.

"Hey, are you gonna be busy tonight?"

"No, what's up?" He asks as he makes sure to pop the 'p' at the end of his sentence.

"Well, I'm kinda lonely and Savannah said I could invite a friend to stay with me, so I was wondering if you wanted to." You were kind of nervous he would say no but he didn't.

"Yeah sure. I'll be over at like seven and I can bring a pizza."

"Ooo, sounds good. I'll see you then," you said as you salivated at the sound of pizza. You two ended the phone call and went on about your days until he came over. You showed him around the house and introduced him to Bo, Bleu, and Bailey. You made sure to keep a close eye on him the whole night to make sure he didn't snag anything without you knowing.

"Okay I'm stuffed," you announce as you set you unfinished pizza slice down.

"Well, I'm not so..." he trailed off as he grabbed your slice and finished it. You playfully rolled your eyes as you hopped off the barstool and threw the pizza box in the trash. As he finishes, you let the dogs out one last time for the night before bringing them back in, locking the door, and turning on the alarm.

...

After a while, the two of you both get showered and ready for bed. JJ takes one side and you take the other before turning to face him.

"Thanks for staying with me tonight," you whisper, careful not to wake the sleeping Bo that laid between the two of you.

"No problem, y/n. You know I'd do anything for you." His words bring a smile to your face that he can barely see in the low light. You mutter another 'thank you' and then a 'goodnight' as you press your lips to his cheek before turning around and falling asleep.

...

Though the two of you fell asleep separately with Bo between you, you woke up snuggled into JJ's side, your head resting on his bare chest. Bo laid on the other side of him by his leg. You smiled down at the dog as you slid out of JJ's arms. After admiring his sleeping form, you turned off the house alarm and let the dogs out to do their business.

While they were out, you found some eggs and decided to scramble them for breakfast and serve them with some toast. A shirtless sleepy JJ appeared in the doorway as you cooked the eggs. He rubbed his tired eyes before leaning against the counter next to you.

"Whatcha cooking?" He asks as he looks out the window to watch the dogs run around.

"Some eggs. If you want to help, there's bread over there that you can pop in the toaster," you tell him, pointing in the direction of the bread. He nods and does as you asked of him. He looks around in several cabinets before finding the plates and he pulls out two for y'all. He places them down next to you as you finish the eggs and put them on the plates. As soon as you finish with that, the toast pops up.

"Do you want grape or apple jelly?" He asks as he holds the two options up for you to see.

"Grape please." He takes care of the toast as you get two forks and set the plates down on the counter where you two ate last night. You grab two cups and fill them both with some orange juice to complete your meals.

"We do pretty well together," he boasts looking down at the finished product of your work. You laugh and agree before sitting down next to him. As you eat your breakfast, you look around and really take in the beautiful home you have been staying in.

"This place is really pretty," you say softly, still looking around at everything.

"One day, I'm gonna get you a place like this," JJ says as you giggle. He's always joked that you two were going to end up together and that y’all would go full kook. You had always liked JJ but never tried anything. He never initiated anything either, so you just stayed friends. You nodded at him in agreement.

"One day, we will have a huge house and we'll have dogs too," you add on to the dream. JJ wanted to add kids to the dream too but was not sure how you would feel about it, so he kept quiet.

"Yep," he spoke before filling his mouth with eggs again.

...

"Hey y/n! Sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you had anyone over," Savannah asked you through the phone. You felt tense and unsure about what she was getting at.

"Kiara and Sarah stayed with me one night, but that was it. Do you mind me asking why?" You weren't completely lying. After JJ stayed with you, Kie and Sarah spent the night two nights later.

"Well, I can't find one of my necklaces that I thought I had left in the living room on accident before leaving. It was worth a lot of money and my husband gave it to me. I was going to ask if you had seen it and if you had anyone over, would you please ask them if they had seen it too?" JJ's name ran through your mind constantly as she spoke. That little kleptomaniac probably stole it.

"No ma'am. I didn't see it, but I'll ask the girls and get back to you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Just please let me know as soon as possible," she said before hanging up.

"Fuck," you mutter as your mind races. She probably thinks you stole it and she'll probably tell her sister and you won't be able to babysit anymore which is your most steady and good-paying job. You don't even bother asking the girls. Your first priority is JJ.

...

When you walk up to the chateau, you notice JJ laying on the hammock in the back.

"Hey y/n! What's up?" He asked happily but his face changed when he caught sight of yours. "What happened?"

"I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me." He nods, waiting for you to fill him in on what is bothering you.

"Did you steal anything from Savannah's house?"

"What the hell, y/n?" He asks, anger lacing his voice.

"That wasn't a no."

"No, y/n! I didn't steal anything. Why would you ask me that?" He seethes. He's stood up from the hammock now, too angry to sit.

"Because she can't find an expensive ass necklace and you normally like to steal things. Sorry for automatically thinking it was you," you speak sarcastically.

"I didn't steal it, y/n. I never saw a necklace the whole time I was there. You were with me the whole time. The only time we weren't together was when I was in the shower and when you were in the shower, I was in bed. I promise I didn't leave or go anywhere while you were gone." He stops for a minute as he thinks.

"Is that why you watched my every fucking move while I was there? Because you thought I would steal something?" You stayed quiet which gave him the answer he was looking for. He let out a scoff before continuing to speak.

"You know what? Fuck what I said. That whole dream of you and I getting together one day and living like that. I can't do that with someone who doesn't trust me." His words hurt but you shrugged it off as if it did not matter to you.

"That's fine with me. It was a dumb dream anyway. Like we could achieve that." You scoff before turning around and walking home. Tears streamed down your cheeks. You probably just lost your favorite job and your best friend. Could life get any worse? Your phone buzzes in your hand. Reluctantly you look down at it, hoping it was Kie or Pope or Sarah. Someone who could make you feel better, but it wasn't. It was Savannah.

Savannah: hey just wanted to let you know I found the necklace

"Shit," you muttered under your breath as guilt washes over you and you bolt back to the chateau. You had royally screwed up everything and have to fix it. When you walked to the back where JJ was, you saw him sitting in the hammock with his hands behind his head. He glances over at your approaching figure before returning his gaze to the tree above him.

"You here to accuse me of some more shit I didn't do?" He asks bitterly. You deserve it. You were a shit friend.

"Um, no," you whisper as you shake your head and more tears prick your eyes from all the guilt and shame you felt, "I'm so sorry JJ. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and I should've believed you. I know you wouldn't lie to me. I was just scared that I would lose my job with Sadie. You know how much I love those kids. I thought I'd never get to be with them again. I know that doesn't justify me accusing you of stealing but I love you and hope you can forgive me."

You wipe away the last of your tears before JJ stands up to pull you into a hug. You wrap your arms tightly around him, glad he seemed to forgive you for your crappy actions.

"I couldn't have stayed mad at you if I tried. I just wish you would trust me more," he whispered in your ear before pulling away from you.

"That's the thing JJ. I trust you so much, with my life and everything, but the things just added up and you'd be lying if you said stealing isn't something you would totally do." The two of you laugh together before JJ pulls you down onto the hammock with him and you lay together, looking up at the sky through the tree branches. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you before JJ decided to speak.

"You stole first," he said softly. You turned to look up at him with a questioning look upon your face.

"What? No, I didn't. What do you mean?"

"You stole my heart," he smiled goofily at you before you roll your eyes and cuddle into him.

"Oh, shut up." You feel his laugh vibrate through his chest.

"I love you, y/n," he whispered as his fingers ran through your hair.

"Love you too JJ," you hummed.

[dreaminae]

We All Need The One Friend

Chapter 8

Hours rolled by as sunlight shifted to moonlight. Friendly competition soon became dangerous as personal tensions rose within the group.

"Rise of Batman!" One person guessed of Jordan's pose.

"Transformers!" A friend playfully argued.

Jordan changes poses in hopes that it might be easier to guess.

With time up, Jordan cracked up as everyone failed to guess his term.

"Okay, what even was that?" Simone giggled.

"Back to the future." Jordan responded in a 'duh' tone as if everyone should've known. "Greatest movie of all time!"

"I've never watched that movie in my life." Simone chuckled, "Plus, the greatest movie of all time is Parasite. Hello!"

"Jordan doesn't do subtitles." J.J laughed. "Like have you met my man?"

Everyone joined in the laughter, but Simone couldn't help but feel like it was strange that she hasn't known a small detail like that.

The game went on as Vanessa took the reigns.

"One word." One person shouted.

"A place. No no, a person." Another one added to list of clues.

"Uh, a painting.... a movie." Layla interjected.

"No, a plane. Wait, what?" One of them fumbled over when Vanessa switched stances.

"You're on a plane."

Giggling, Vanessa changed gestures again.

"Bald. You're bald. A bald eagle." J.J guessed.

"No, not an animal." Vanessa choked up.

"Aye, no cheating." Jordan chuckled as Vanessa spoke.

"C'mon guys." Vanessa encouraged, ignoring Jordan's rules. "You had a poster of him in your room when your ten." She spat out in Asher's direction.

"Samuel L. Jackson!" Asher shouted, jumping up as if he won the lottery.

Liv glanced between the two of them as if they grew two heads. It was stupid how one small detail held a bigger picture.

"Well, you don't get a point for that one." Simone scrutinized, gaining a careless shrug from Vanessa.

The game rolled on, leading to Spencer's turn.

Galloping his feet and twirling his arm, Spencer caused everyone to gather into fits of laughter.

"A cowboy," Jordan shouted first.

"The rodeo." Asher chuckled.

"Wild, wild west." Layla joined in, holding back her laughs.

Adding to his performance, Spencer shook his foot hysterically, while twirling his arm like a madman.

Finally catching on to his charade, Olivia thought back to the night she made Spencer rewatch all her favorite childhood movies. Quoting one of her favorite lines, Spencer had her in hysterics for half an hour. She could still remember him using her belt as a rope, shouting 'There's a snake in my boot'.

"Woody," Olivia muttered with a small smile.

"What?" Her brother asked curiously, not completely hearing her response.

"It's woody!" Olivia laughed, which Spencer replied to with a smirk.

They met each other eyes, before bursting out, "There's a snake in my boot!"

The entire group fell out laughing, excluding Layla.

Spencer returned to his seat grinning like an idiot, but couldn't help but to notice his girlfriend's harsh mood.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Layla nodded lightly. "Guess I am just tired." She muttered, not bothering to look in his direction.

Sensing there was more to it, Spencer left it alone, not wanting to cause a scene in front of his friends.

"Alright, I have the perfect game to play next," Vanessa announced, as she returned from the house with her bottle of booze. "Anyone up for a game of Never Have I Ever. The more you've done the more you drink."

Her announcement soured the mood as Spencer immediately shut down her idea. "Sorry, Ma." Spencer asserted firmly. "Ain't bo drinking happening this weekend."

His eyes flew to Olivia, followed by everyone else's. She rolled her eyes at their dramatics.

"Oh, please. Don't stay sober on my account." Olivia dryly encouraged. After all, this was the first time in weeks she'd been completely sober. With all of her friends within proximity this weekend, drinking wasn't an option for her.

Noting Liv's bitter tone towards her, Vanessa tried to ease the tension. "Sorry, Liv. I forget that you don't drink. That was so insensitive of me." She apologized, placing the booze on the ground.

"It's okay. It's not something I'd expected you to know, so.." Liv shrugged it off, dismissing the subject all together.

"No, liquor. Got it." Vanessa summed up, ignoring Liv's clear implied diss of Vanessa's newness to their group.

Asher rubbed Olivia's thigh, silently asking her to lighten up. Cocking up a brow, she gave him her iconic 'I could careless' glare.

"No drinks doesn't mean no turn-up." J.J cheered. "Introducing the burns of all burns -- jalapeno-infused pickle juice."

"What don't you have in that box man?" Spencer questioned, seriously wondering where J.J randoms items came from.

"Let the burns begin."

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

"Alright, never have I ever walked in on my parents doing it." Simone started the game off.

First victim up, Asher gulped down his first dose of the throat burning juice.

"Oh, God. Asher. No!" Olivia cringed.

"I don't wanna talk it." Asher chuckled at the memory. "RV trip...'08....super weird."

"Oh, you're gonna talk about it." Spencer and Jordan laughed together.

"Not the one to up to Sanoma. How could you not to me?" Vanessa asked playfully, catching Olivia's attention yet again.

Liv couldn't help but wonder just how much did Vanessa know about Asher, that she didn't.

"Cause I was scarred for life," Asher replied, oblivious to the questionable expression of Liv's face.

"Alright, my turn. Never have I ever bought 300 dollars shoes for my one night in Vegas." Simone teased Olivia's bad spending habits.

Tensing up, Liv looked everywhere besides at Layla.

"No cheating. Drink up, Liv." Simone laugh, unaware of the big secret she just revealed.

Layla's eyes narrowed in Liv's direction, fed up with the secrets.

Spencer gawked at his girlffriend, realizing that he and Liv might have to come clean sooner than expected.

"Alright, never have I ever said I love you just to get someone to hook up with me." Vanessa added to game.

All the boys drank besides Spencer.

"Yikes, that was a test that you all failed." Vanessa taunted, "Besides Spencer."

"My bro is a real one. When he says it, he means it." J.J admired, increasing the growing tension between Spencer and his love interest.

In Liv's case, her heart clenched at the mentally, replayed memory of Spencer professing his love for her. She yearned to have a chance just to tell him how she felt, despite the chance he no longer felt the same.

However, in Layla's case, all the times that Spencer claimed to love her we're burning in a flame of betrayal. Because despite that fact she had no solid evidence, that conveyed her worse thought she knew Spencer wasn't being truthful with her.

"You're a lucky one, Layla."

Layla's sneer went unheard by the majority of the group besides the two people who knew the jig was up.

Unaware of the conflicts brewing, J.J continued the game. His hand already pointing at his aimed victim.

"Never have I ever ran naked through a football field."

Admitting the embarrassing memory, Jordan gulped back his shot of pickle juice.

"Jordan! Tell me you didn't!" Simone teased.

"Okay. Okay. I did it. I run through the field, butt naked." Jordan chuckled. "What was it? Freshmen year?"

He and J.J chuckled laughed over the recollection.

"Varsity team stole all of our clothes, thanks to Ash -- over here --- acting like he owned the place during tryouts" Jordan recalled funnily.

"Cause I did." Asher cockily popped his collar. "It's called confidence."

"Confidence. Okay." Jordan playfully mocked. "Whatever you want to call it. Your dumbass stays getting us in trouble."

Asher nodded with a knowing smile. But Vanessa saw nothing funny about it.

"Wow." She gasped seriously. "Okay. Never have I ever crapped all over folks that we're supposed to be my friends."

The laughter stopped, and the smiles dropped in reaction to Vanessa switch up.

"Uh, Vanessa it's alright." Asher tried to jump in before she took things too far.

"It's just jokes." Jordan defended himself, not seeing the harm in messing around.

Vanessa's scornful expression was enough for Jordan to see that she couldn't disagree more.

Maybe it was her role as a protective sister that came into play. Perhaps, it was the jealously towards Vanessa knowing things about Asher that Liv didn't. Or maybe it was simply that Liv didn't feel Vanessa had any right to make presumed assumptions on any of the dynamics within their group when Vanessa barely knew any of them beyond a first-name basis.

Whatever it was, Vanessa's attempt to trash talk her twin was Olivia's last straw. And with that, she felt it was only right to return the favor.

"Hmm, well, Never have I ever spent the summer getting to somebody else's boyfriend a little too much." Liv snapped at Vanessa.

"Liv! What the hell!" Asher choked up, unable to believe that she publically humiliated Vanessa in that manner.

"Yo, Ash. Relax. Let's just play the game." Jordan instructed, trying to ease the tension he caused.

"You wanna play? Fine." Asher groaned. "Never have I ever cheated a concussion protocol to play in a game." He added spitefully.

"What is he talking about?" Simone inquired seriously, over the entire game. "You cheated your concussion protocol? How could you not tell me something like that?"

"You mean like you told me about Princeton?" Jordan asked, trying to guilt trip her right back.

"Wow!" Simone gasped in awe, tossing her blanket aside before storming off.

"Ah, babe, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Jordan quibbled, following behind Simone. "Baby, wait. Sweetie!"

With the fun atmosphere ruined, the remainder of the group broke off to deal with their own problems.

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

"Can you believe Liv?" Asher groaned, as he and Layla entered the kitchen.

"Not really. Find it hard to believe anyone with all the secrets that's been hidden." Layla replied harshly.

"What do you mean?" Asher asked, clueless.

"Simone's Never Have I Ever!" Layla responded in a duh tone. "When has Olivia ever gone to Vegas."

"Olivia wouldn't lie about going to Vegas. She has no reason to." Asher scoffed.

"You mean like she had no reason to lie about being in Mexico." Layla revealed.

"Liv came to Mexico? When?" Asher asked desperately. "She never told me."

"She went to Mexico to surprise her boyfriend." Layla groaned, annoyed that she had to be the one to tell him. "Only when she got there she saw you and random girl boo'd up." She gestured towards Vanessa as the brunette and J.J entered the room.

"Wait, you and Asher?" J.J asked heartbroken, catching the last part of Layla's statement. "Since when?"

"Where's Olivia now?" Asher requested to know, needing to hear all of this from her.

"I don't think that" Spencer began to suggest against going after Liv, but was interrupted by his girlfriend.

"She's down by bonfire," Layla interjected before her boyfriend could continue to shield his side piece from the mess they made.

Bypassing the other three teens, Asher went to find his girlfriend and demand some answers. Meanwhile, Vanessa and J.J left Spencer and Layla to handle their business in private.

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

[letsunity]

Not Afraid - Chapter 2

Summery -  

The Bad Batch go to Tatooine to resupply and avoid the Empire. As per the usual, Omega gets separated from the group. Fortunately for her, Krayt's Claw just so happens to be nearby. Bossk and Embo guide her to Boba Fett, who takes interest in why the Kaminoans want her. It's a reluctant partnership, with the Bad Batch having to rely on Krayt's Claw to navigate non-military life.

Come the morning; Omega awoke inside of a ship she didn't recognise. It was cosy, the padding she lay on was soft, and the covering was warm. The smell of Kamino eased her anxieties, adding to the comfort. As she sat up, she saw carvings in the walls. They looked like stories, but she couldn't read them.

She heard chatter outside, the sound of Bossk and the Dengar man. The girl calmly slid off the bunk, not having slept like that in a long while. As she stepped outside, Dengar gave a short wave.

"Got some new clothes for ya," said the man, snapping his fingers as he pointed at the 'base'. "Sonic shower is just downstairs. High's down there if ya need a hand."

As they watched her walk inside, Bossk sighed, uncertain of the coming days. If the Kaminoans wanted her, Bane would be sniffing around. Whenever he's involved, things get complicated.

"She looks like Boba, don't she?" Dengar said casually, not bothered by the similarities. "Maybe those long-necked guys mixed his juice with someone else?"

The moron could be right, although Bossk couldn't be sure. That was something to investigate later on.

"All the more reason to keep her around. Where's Boba?"

"Buggered off with Black San. They think they've found the ship or something."

"Yes, the ship you were supposed to look for."

"Hey, if a lovely lady wants to grind my gears, I'm not gonna say no."

"What mental deficiency did she have?"

"I can get women!"

"Kidnapping doesn't count."

"You're just a total buzzkill; you know that? You're killing my vibe. It's Vibemicide right now."

"How about I move up to homicide?"

"I'm too pretty to die."

"How'd you know? You crack any surface showing your reflection."

Back and forth like that could go on for hours. Dengar had an answer for everything, prolonging verbal combat.

Omega entered a makeshift basement, a larger area containing their weapons. The droid tried speaking to her, but when that failed, they motioned for her to follow. They guided her to the 'shower', providing a box to put her old clothes.

The showers on Kamino were more like gusts of air. It was freezing and felt like sand against her skin. She hated them, even though they were infrequent.

Instead of a small tube, it was more spacious. As Omega touched a button, vibrations surrounded her body. The grime the days since Kamino fell away, stripped from her skin. Her hair felt funny, sifting out dead skin and natural oils. It wasn't long but didn't need to be.

When she stepped out, the droid had turned away from her, which was odd. The Kaminoans preferred her without clothing so they could examine her easier, even if it was uncomfortable. Omega looked at some folded clothing left on a tale for her, new and fresh.

As she put them on, the feeling was abnormal. She expected it since she was wearing new clothes, better suited for the outdoors. Her new shoes were heavier, made to last a while in tough terrain.

"Thank you," she smiled, earning a nod from the droid.

She ran back upstairs, greeted by Marrok and Embo. Embo gave her a thumbs-up as Marrok licked her cheek.

The atmosphere changed as the door opened, revealing a human in dark armour with similar colours to the Bad Batch. Marrok whined at the human, tipping as a treat flew his way.

"Any luck, Bo?" Bossk asked, coming from the back with Dengar, who had a bloody nose.

"I left a note," 'Bo' shrugged, turning to the kid. "You must be Omega. I'm Boba."

"I'll make breakfast," Bossk stated, moving to their pantry. Dengar protested, insulting his 'Mando' food. "Shut up, or you're breakfast!"

Highslinger beeped, making Dengar throw a tin at the droid. Embo supported the droid's statement, tipping his metal hat.

"Welcome to Krayt's Claw," Boba introduced, used to their antics. "How're you with spicy food?"

"What's spicy?"

"You're about to find out," he assured, removing his helmet. She was stunned to see a clone. He raised a scarred brow like he was reading her. He tossed a blaster to her, smirking. "Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, kid."

She had her own blaster, all for her. Finding a holster, she pushed it in, feeling secure.

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

No matter where they looked, they couldn't find her.

It was terrifying. She was swallowed by the crowd, vanished without a trace. Tracking in the sand is a nightmare; there were too many trails to choose from. Wrecker felt responsible, which he partially was, even though Hunter might've done the same.

"There is a new development," Tech said, pointing to a 'note'.

Someone took a knife and carved a message into their ship. Angry, Hunter walked up to it, reading each symbol carefully. It was made roughly half an hour ago, meaning that they missed whoever has Omega. It gave coordinates, but Hunter was cautious. It could be a trap.

"If they're looking for credits, they aren't going to get any. We barely have enough for fuel and less for rations, let alone the kid," Echo pointed out, sounding incredibly irritated. "It's not like we have the resources to fight our way to her."

"If they wanted to fight, they'd have set up an ambush," Tech countered blandly, wanting to repair his ship. "Though cautious, we should investigate."

"Who's to say it isn't a Bounty Hunter wanting us as well as Omega?" Echo asked, rightfully unsure.

"Regardless, we're getting her back. We don't leave our own behind," Hunter affirmed, ready to get her back.

Warily, they followed the coordinates, weapons ready for combat. In the distance, they could see a black Wookie staring at them, observing quietly. He was probably steaming hot in this weather. The female Zabrak next to him stared as well, starting to talk in her comms.

Everyone was aware of them, which wasn't good. They came to Tatooine to be hidden but only became more obvious.

As they grew closer to the location, they saw fewer people. Those who weren't carrying blasters, many illegal, avoided this area. Not far, they could see a few ships, their style telling of Bounty Hunters. Bounty Hunting ships are usually very colourful, a warning to space pirates that they're a threat.

A few people got the idea to imitate Bounty Hunter ship styles for safe travel, but it didn't always work.

They saw a droid sitting outside without a care in the galaxy. With typical robotic movement, it pointed to the door, waiting for them.

The degenerate observed, unintimidated by Wrecker's size.

Hunter went to enter first, expecting a hostage situation.

That's not what he got, though.

Sitting on a bar table was a young clone, playing an instrument while singing some space shanty. A Trandoshan and man were singing along, playing along for the joy of it. Omega on a chair nearby, trying to learn the fun shanty with a Kyuzo. She wore different clothes and had a bowl of food in front of her.

This was a weird bunch.

The singing stopped when they noticed Hunter, but the young clone kept playing the guitar. Omega smiled, overjoyed to see her friend again. She jumped from the chair and ran to him, hugging him tightly.

"You've made some friends?" Hunter questioned, glad that she was ok.

"The Trandoshan is Bossk, that's Dengar, he's Embo, the one outside is Highslinger, and that's their boss, Boba."

Everyone had heard about that little shit.

The clone that destroyed the Endurance, who nearly killed General Skywalker and General Windu. He was the same scamp that played a part in the prison break and was nothing but trouble for the Republic. He stole, killed, captured and traded on the black market, a prominent figure in the underworld.

He had every reason to take Omega to whoever put a bounty on her but chose not to. His crew fed her, gave her shelter and new clothes. Although Hunter was thankful, he was suspicious.

"This could work to our benefit. They know more of the underworld than us, and we need supplies," Tech announced plainly, observing the Trandoshan. He was hissing protectively, though he couldn't tell who he was protecting.

Boba jumped down, eyeing the four curiously. After crossing his arms, an idea came to mind.

"Since you're protecting little Omega, you're not loyal to this Empire garbage. You're fugitives, and I'll postulate that criminal life isn't easy, hm?" He mused, finding potential profit in their presence.

"What's a postulate?" Wrecker asked, expecting an answer from Tech.

"I wouldn't use that exact word, but it's a synonym for suggest."

"Cinnamon?"

"No. It's a word that has a similar meaning to another word. An antonym is the opposite of a word, such as ice and fire."

"I hate this brainy word stuff!"

How funny, these idiots were similar to Boba's band of morons. That'll make working with them around a whole lot easier.

"Word meanings aside, it hasn't been easy," Echo admitted, feeling weird from the boy's gaze. He was looking into him; it felt violating. "You offering a hand?"

"Until I figure out what the Kaminoans want, sure. Whatever they want Omega for, I want to be in their way."

"Why?" Hunter questioned.

"Because fuck 'em," Bossk casually answered, getting an agreeing smirk from Boba.

Omega was happy to know they could stay. She liked them, even Dengar, and especially Marrok. He was so cute and fuzzy, and Embo was nice too. She wanted to play the guitar and learn how to make food. She could learn to use her blaster, so she didn't feel like a liability to the others.

She's a part of the Bad Batch and wanted to prove herself.

"Eh, what's that smell? Whatever it is, it smells good!" Wrecker announced, looking like a happy puppy. Bossk grinned at Dengar, claiming some kind of victory over the cyborg.

If it wasn't already chaotic for Hunter, it was about to get crazier.

[earlysunsetsoverambrose]

Kodachrome (4/5)

Lester Sinclair x f!Reader 

Warning: Cursing

You crawled back up into the house from the trapdoor in the office. It was around two in the afternoon nearing the absolute hottest, most miserable time of the day. You made your way to the kitchen to get started on making some lemonade. You made sweet tea yesterday, so it could sit overnight. You figured the boys would enjoy a cool drink with all the heat. You got out the ingredients you bought on your last trip into town.

You juiced the lemons and dumped the sugar straight in and let it dissolve. After adding some water, you put it in the refrigerator to sit for a while so it would hopefully be cold by the time the boys came home. You tossed the peels in the overflowing trashcan only for them to roll right back onto the floor. You sighed, knowing you’d put off taking out the trash for too long now. You stuffed the peels back in and hoisted the bag out and tied it off, hauling it towards the cans out by the side of the house.

You lifted the lid of the trash can as you were about to toss the bag in without a second thought, but a movement from the corner of your eyes stopped you. You looked to your right to spot something scurrying into a beat-up cardboard box with what sounded like a sneeze. You stared at the box for another moment before it rustled again. You let out an involuntary shriek, dropping the lid and the garbage bag as you practically leapt up onto some old milk crates. Perhaps it was an overreaction, but you had no idea what was creeping around while you were minding your own business. You craned your neck to look in the box, but you couldn’t see anything. You let out a sigh as your heart rate slowed once more.

“What’re ya doin’ up on them crates for, Y/N? Is the floor lava or somethin’?” a familiar drawl called out to you, drawing closer. You looked up to see Lester happily making his way toward you with a goofy grin lighting up his face.

“No!” you said as you felt heat rising to your cheeks as you knew how childish you’d sound when you explained to him that you were startled by a small animal and sought the safety of the milk crates, “It so happens as soon as you were walking up I got jump-scared by something hiding in that box over there and I may have overreacted a tad.”

“Aw, that’s nothin’ to be ashamed of. Animals can be sneaky sons-a-bitches at the worst of times. I once near died choking on chili when a rat ran across my boot a few years back.” Lester said supportively.

“I appreciate your understanding. It’s probably nothing.” You said as you moved to step off of the creates.

“Was it this box, here?” Lester asked moving toward the cardboard box without a second thought.

“Yeah, but be careful, we don’t know what’s in there.” You said quickly, gesturing for him to leave it. Lester got on all fours in front of the box and tilted his head to peer inside, “Lester!”

“Well, what’ve we got here? What’re ya doin’ all by your lonesome?” Lester cooed as he haphazardly reached his arm into the box and pulled out a small baby opossum, “Looks like this little girl got left behind?”

“Oh my god, you just scooped it up, like it was nothing!” you said equal parts horrified and amazed.

“I seen plenty of these guys runnin’ around. Ya get used to ‘em eventually.” He said as he held a firm grip on the squirming opossum, so it didn’t scurry off.

“Shouldn’t you at least have gloves or something?” you asked.

“Probably, but this one ain’t gonna hurt me. Are ya?” Lester asked fondly as he addressed the baby in his hands, “You’re too little to hurt a fly, ain’t ya?”

“So, what do we do now? Do we let it go?” you asked, completely clueless on how to rescue a baby opossum.

“Ya kiddin’? We’re eatin’ good tonight! Ever had opossum stew?” Lester said, holding the baby out to you.

“Lester Sinclair, you take it back!” you chastised, with a horrified expression and a light swat to his arm.

“I’m only foolin’, I wouldn’t do that!” Lester said through a belly laugh, “’Sides, she’s too little for that anyway.”

“Then what are we actually going to do?” you asked

“Well, she’s too small to be on her own, but it don’t look like her mama’s anywhere to be found. And I don’t hear any other babies neither.” Lester said as he scanned the area and listened close for any sound, “If she’s here by herself, her mom’s not comin’ back for her.”

“That’s really sad.” You said sympathetically, suddenly feeling a deep emotional bond with the baby that just scared the daylights out of you, “What happens now?”

“I’ll drive her to the animal rescue in town, it’s ‘bout an hour out. If I leave now, I can make it ‘fore they close.” Lester said simply.

“Can I go with you?” You asked, surprising him with your request.

“Well, sure ya can. It’s kind of a long ride there and back, ya sure ya wanna go?” Lester asked.

“Yeah, I know I’m not really any help in this situation, but I want to see this through.” You said excitedly.

“Fine by me!” He said with his classic, toothy grin, “Wanna help me find a box to put her in, so we can head out?”

“Sure!” you answered. As the two of you turned to go into the house you asked, “How’d get to know so much about opossum rescue?”

“Ya wind up meeting a lotta animals that need help, doin’ what I do. Sometimes it’s a relief to find somethin’ that’s still kickin’.” Lester said, “I know it’s rotten bein’ left behind, all alone. Most of the ones I find don’t got no one to look after ‘em, so I try to do what I can.” You felt your heart twist at Lester’s words. He had such a lonely childhood; it was no wonder he felt so much empathy for creatures that just needed someone on their side.  

“You’d make a great vet.” You said

“Ya think?” Lester asked, flattered.

“I know.” You answered, “You’ve got a way with animals.”

The two of you went back into the house with the baby opossum still in Lester’s hold. Bo would kill you both if he ever found out you brought her into the house, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. You found an old shoebox and punched some holes in the top and grabbed some rubber bands from the office before meeting Lester in the kitchen. He was using his free hand to soak up a dishtowel to microwave to make a makeshift heating pad.

“I’ve got the box!” You said, placing it on the counter with the lid and rubber bands.

“Great! I’m almost done over here too.” Lester responded, setting the time of the microwave. “Hear that, won’t be long, now.” He said to the baby opossum, lightly scratching her head. It was ridiculously adorable how nurturing and careful Lester was being. The baby opossum was remarkably calm in his grasp, comfortable even. You picked up your camera from where you left it on the kitchen table and took a quick snapshot of the two of them, their attention trained on one another. Lester looked up at the sound of the click and perked up, “Nifty camera! Where’d ya get that?”

“It was just sitting in the warehouse. I’ve been taking pictures to pass the time, but also because I found an old photo album that was pretty much empty and I wanted to try and fill it.” You said as you placed your third picture in your back pocket.

“Well, I think that’s real nice of ya.” Lester said in awe of your new project. You knew you wouldn’t have to debate with Lester about the importance of photos, unlike his brothers. He was always very supportive and interested when it came to whatever it was you were doing. “I wish I had some pictures.”

“I bet.” You said as your smile faltered for a millisecond, remembering Lester wasn’t in any of the photos you found. You moved toward the microwave and put the now warm towel in a plastic bag and into one side of the shoe box. You put another towel over that and Lester placed the baby opossum in her temporary bed.

“I used to wish I had a picture or two of my parents after they died. Or at least one of me and my brothers to take with me to that other family. But I know my folks were busy, with Bo and Vinny and all.” Lester admitted with a small sigh. He tried to make light of the bleak memory, “I’m frankly surprised I recognized ‘em when they showed up lookin’ for me.”

“Well, I plan on taking a lot of photos. So many in fact, you’ll never forget anything ever again. You can keep the one I just took after it develops if you want.” You offered, hoping it gave him some form of optimism.

“I’d like that! Thanks, Y/N!” Lester said with a smile that lit up his warm, brown eyes. He secured the rubber bands on the shoebox, “Now, let’s get goin’! No time to waste!”

You both went out to Lester’s truck and took off down the road with the boxed baby opossum sitting between you. You were at the animal rescue center in no time. Passing the time with Lester was always so easy since talking to him was a breeze. There was no shortage of conversation topics with him. You even managed to take a few more pictures of each other along the way. On your way back towards Ambrose, you flipped through the pictures you and Lester had taken. You both looked so happy and carefree with the windows rolled down, the wind rustling your hair. You smiled to yourself, embracing the photos close to you. Lester was certainly right. There was no time to waste.

[into1-wonderland]

Baby!Into1 x Daycare au | Intro

(ft. Bo Yuan as the caretaker of the 10 chaotic bunch, ranging from the ages of 3-5)

a/n: hello hello yumi here~ so this is the first into1 au of mine that will ever see the light of day. at first I was going to write things for it, but honestly I'm going to make it into a series with incorrect quotes to attach with it. this post will be the bios of all the babies and our lovely caretaker Bo Yuan, so enough of me babbling and I hope you guys could enjoy~

First off, we have the Caretaker™ Bo Yuan:

my mans is like in his 20's rn

wanted to open up a little day care as like side job/internship because he wanted to teach kids in the future so he was like “might as well start working with kids now!”

and so

he did it

only regretted his life decisions when his devil number 1 and devil number 2 does something bad

other times he really enjoy looking after them! and he doesn’t even feel like it’s a job!

has been thinking about taking a field trip with all 10 of them but he’s afraid: 1) he might lose one 2) he might lose himself 3) can they behave themselves

his favorite thing to do is having all of them gather around while reading a fairytale to them for nap time

or sometimes he would sing a song

he has a lot of favorite things in day care, literally having all 10 of them just there makes him happy

except when lin mo and nine is having a scream off:

lin mo: ahh

nine: aHH

lin mo: AHH

nine: AHHHHH-

bo yuan, running into the room: what’s wrong?

ak: screaming

bo yuan: why?

patrick, with his hands over his ears: TO SEE WHOS LOUDER

all the other boys: *nods*

isnt always watching the kids 24/7, since day 1 when the kids came in he told them the rules of the daycare and kinda just let them familiarize the place

(bo yuan: its a daycare, and they are kids, they are suppose to have fun!

keyu, in the back, mumbles: i wanna climb the tree in the yard

bo yuan, turns around: keyu no)

///////////

And now we have the kids!!

Liu Yu:

4 years old

very quiet, just likes to sit and read and draw

the most obedient one, and likes to follow around bo yuan

well,, most of the time

he’s played a few pranks on bo yuan like:

bo yuan: liu yu nap time is over you have to wake up

liu yu: *not moving*

bo yuan, gently nudged liu yu: liu yu wake up!

liu yu: *continues to fake sleep and not move*

bo yuan: *leans closer to liu yu’s face to make sure hes not sick or has a fever*

liu yu, scares bo yuan: WAH

bo yuan: liu yu dont do that! you scared me!

liu yu: *giggles*

likes to stretch and bend himself in odd positions

(bo yuan: everyday I’m in fear that he will snap himself in half)

kinda an introvert but once he hangs around everyone for a bit he will open up to them and fit himself in very well

likes to organize and keep things how he found them/have special places where he organizes his toys

jiayuan: *moves liu yu’s fan*

liu yu: hey! put that back!!

has really good etiquettes and never really fights or argues or bicker with the other kids

but likes to joke around and mess around with once in a while

patrick: wahhh i put my cupcakes here who took one!

liu yu, hiding it behind his back: idk maybe keyu took it?

the least of bo yuan’s worries since he’s always in bo yuan’s sight, also he’s aware of his surroundings so he actually helps bo yuan make sure everything’s okay

(bo yuan: i made a checklist for myself on the whiteboard and liu yu likes to check things off for me, he said “coloring in the boxes is fun” so now he's the reason why i get all my work done)

-----------

Santa:

4 years old

riki’s best friend

super happy and bright, like a ray of sunshine

is easily scared

lin mo: hi

santa: WAHHHHH BO YUAN GEGE

really likes bo yuan, would stick on to him a lot and ask him about everything

santa: bo yuan gege whats this?

santa: bo yuan gege what’s that?

santa: bo yuan gege what are you making right now?

hangs out with liu yu and mika a lot (other than riki)

riki is older than him but would hold riki’s hand and take him around like a didi

also really likes racing with mika for E V E R Y T H I N G

(bo yuan: yeah couple days ago they tried to race who can fall asleep faster but because they kept on peeking at each other so they basically didn’t sleep till i said i’ll watch for them)

really likes to dance, every time he hears music he would start grooving around

loves learning new things, which is probably the reason why he always asks bo yuan so many questions

also least one of bo yuan’s worries, just gotta make sure jiayuan and lin mo don’t pull pranks on him

(bo yuan: well they dont really pull prank pranks, its just once lin mo grabbed a frog and started running around and showing it to everyone, but lin mo lost grip and the frog jumped on santa)

-----------

Rikimaru:

5 years old

looks like he’s 3, acts like he’s 3, but is actually 5

best friends with santa! always sticks around him and likes to tug on a corner of his shirt out of habit

bo yuan: alright everyone it’s nap time! i’ve made the beds for everyone

riki, sees his bed is not next to santa: bo yuan gege can you switch my bed next to santa? i wanna be next to santa

he didn’t start speaking till he was 4 so he often stutters when he talk and just looks confused a lot (it's because he’s thinking and formulating his words)

santa and the other kids would always have to interpret for him

bo yuan: riki I brought some snacks today do you want cookies or marshmallows?

riki: ???

santa, motioning with his hands: bo yuan gege said do you want the white fluffies or brown crunchies

riki: oh! crunchies!

squishy cheeks,, bo yuan’s favorite thing is to squish his cheek everytime he sees him

riki: gud mooning bo yuan gege!

bo yuan, squishes riki’s cheeks: ahh I haven’t seen you in so long good morning!!

nine: wait wasnt riki here yesterday??

also likes to stretch,, often seen around with liu yu and they just help each other

(bo yuan: i am afraid he will snap himself in half too)

not too much of bo yuan’s worries, besides the fact that he might get kidnapped because he’s so oblivious

(bo yuan: we were playing outside in the yard once and riki just wandered off because he thought the neighbor’s flowers were pretty)

-----------

Mika:

4 years old

also kinda an introvert, doesn’t interact with too many people

usually it’s santa that approaches him first or keyu^^

found a ukulele in the toy bin one time and wouldn’t let go of it (he claims it’s his now)

his favorite activity at daycare is when they all sing together, that’s when he smiles the most and has the most fun

the one that likes to nap the most

also likes to help bo yuan cook once in a while (mostly just having mika washing vegetables and passing things to bo yuan)

very laid back and not noisy (till he starts playing the ukulele)

often gets scared by lin mo’s sudden screams (actually, lin mo scares a lot of people, sorry to mika’s ears)

also not one of bo yuan’s worries, literally there’s nothing to worry about with mika, all the kids just likes to sit around mika and pet his head so he keeps everyone safe

(bo yuan: one time I couldn’t find any of the kids in the play room, apparently they were all in the napping corner petting mika’s head since he just got a hair cut)

-----------

Nine:

4 years old

loud, very loud.

pouts a lot

everyone calls nine cute, even the boys who are younger than him

likes to boss around patrick because he’s older

nine: patrick gimme that juice box!

patrick: you’re closer you get it!

nine: i’m older than you!

literally scared of everything

if he hasn’t seen it before and it’s living, he’s scared

jiayuan: *holds a bowl of tadpoles*

nine, several feet away: WAHHH WHAT IS THAT

the happiest when he gets snacks + real food food

also really likes to sing!! his favorite thing is watching disney movies because there’s so much music in it and he just loves to sing along

he’s not part of bo yuan’s worries because he’s literally scared of everything, but nine is really naive and would do things that the other kids tell him to do so, it’s a 50/50 on nine

(bo yuan: there was an edible decorative flower on keyu’s birthday cake couple days ago, and somehow jiayuan convinced nine all flowers were edible. so today during outside time nine almost ate the neighbor’s flowers)

-----------

Lin Mo:

3 years old

LOUD. VERY LOUD.

probably the craziest most hyper one out of them all

he and jiayuan always have something bad planned

literally doesn’t have a moment where he’s calm

constantly in bickering mode with ak

lin mo: NO IM RIGHT

ak: NO. IM RIGHT

patrick: what are they arguing about?

keyu: *shrugs*

but is also best friends with ak so he’s also calm around him

(bo yuan: yeah these two have on and off days, you can never predict it)

and also constantly naruto runs around the daycare

bo yuan: lin mo stop running!

lin mo: *nyoom*

he also once nyoomed into keyu

keyu: ow what was that for?

lin mo: you were in my way!

and now he nyooms into keyu for fun

a very good mood maker

likes to smile/laugh a lot

would calm down if you show him a movie or a cartoon

number 2 on bo yuan’s worry list because he’s the "bad influence" for everyone, also he reduces hearing for everyone

(bo yuan: i’ve secretly made a tally book on how many times i have to say “lin mo” in a concerning tone this week and he came in 2nd. he was only here for like 3 days!)

-----------

Zhang Jiayuan:

3 years old

YOURE THREE STOP SMIRKING LIKE THAT

couple months younger than lin mo but this is the real culprit under a lot of his and lin mo‘s plans

it’s just because jiayuan has a lot of crazy ideas and he says them out loud and lin mo is just like “yes”

also sometimes they are just accidents, but he's always doing weird questionable things with lin mo

got really sad one time because he brought tadpoles and put them in the fish tank and killed them since the fish went nom

but then started to constantly catch for tadpoles to feed the fishes

bo yuan: jiayuan stop, you’re killing the frog population!

jiayuan: but the fishies are hungry *pouts*

likes to fight/mess around with keyu for no reason

keyu: *sitting there, drawing*

jiayuan, with a squishy hammer: *bops keyu’s head*

but also will protect keyu if anyone tries to mess with him

lin mo: *nyooms into keyu for the 3rd time of the day* jiayuan, hugs keyu: stop hurting him!

the calmest thing he likes to do is taking care of plants, probably because he saw bo yuan spraying the plants one time and he like to squeeze the spray bottle

number 1 on bo yuan’s worry list, this child is literally not safe alone or with anyone. they were trying to celebrate keyu’s birthday and jiayuan tried to touch the candles, while it was lit, by the flame.

(bo yuan: i just got the tablets and haven’t set up children mode, so i’ll take the blame for this one. but also why are kids so good with technologies nowadays??)

-----------

Patrick:

3 years old

squishy :D

smiley :DD

favorite thing is nap time and snack time

somehow knows every location where bo yuan hides their snacks

bo yuan: *getting the snacks that he hid in the piano*

patrick: *sitting next to the window sill with the snack* hi~

of course bo yuan can never get mad at patrick for eating the snacks because patrick doesn’t do anything bad

also he's a growing child

best friends with keyu,, and drags him on to “adventures”

*the daycare got a new toy play house*

patrick: bo yuan gege, keyu and I are moving out so we can go on an adventure!

keyu: I didnt agree to this??

wants bo yuan to add dress up into the daycare games, since he wants to dress up the other boys in the daycare

patrick: i call it, patrick fashion!

not part of bo yuan’s worries till he’s on his hunt for the hidden snacks, just because bo yuan is afraid he might hurt himself

(bo yuan: i started hiding the snacks higher up and one time i saw him trying to climb on keyu’s shoulders to grab it)

-----------

Zhou Keyu:

3 years old

smart, but really clueless at the same time

tall, but has the personality of smol

likes to draw

also likes to read with patrick,, but usually patrick falls asleep so it’s him, the book, and a sleeping patrick

wears glasses all the time since his vision isn’t so good but somehow he makes glasses look good on him???

has a chain with his glasses because there too many glasses incident with keyu

glasses #1 keyu: I don’t like them! *takes it off and loses it*

glasses #2 keyu: *takes them off for nap time, but riki accidentally rolled on to them and snapped it*

glasses # we don’t know how many: *disconnected from the keyu universe*

also like a month younger than lin mo but literally has to make sure lin mo doesnt “blow” the place up

lin mo: what if I stuck this fork into the pluggie thing?

keyu, picking lin mo up: nope you’re not

when keyu is clueless he either stands there or just sit there and space out, not really noticeable but bo yuan ran into him doing that a couple times

(bo yuan: I thought he was an ai that was malfunctioning, it scared me at first but now I know he just doesn’t remember what he’s doing)

oh did I mention this,, even though he’s one of the youngest, he’s the tallest, with that advantage he likes to try to pick people up

jiayuan: keyu pick me up!

keyu: no

patrick: keyu likes me more he will pick me up!

keyu: no

patrick: *pouts*

keyu: *tries to pick both jiayuan and patrick up at the same time*

bo yuan, running over: ZHOU KEYU PUT THEM DOWN YOULL BREAK YOURSELF

not too high up on bo yuan’s worry list, give him a piece of paper or book or anything he would just calmly sit there and do something with it

(bo yuan: every time when we do art or reading its so hard to pry keyu away, he has to finish what he was doing and he’s so concentrated he doesn’t hear anybody)

-----------

Liu Zhang (AK):

4 years old

loud, VERY LOUD.

he doesn’t know he’s loud

bo yuan: ak you don’t have to yell

ak: OKAY

monopolized over all the instrument music type of toys in the daycare

bo yuan: ak you know you have to share your toys right?

ak: I gave the ukulele to mika

honestly having ak is like having a walking megaphone so bo yuan ended up actually making ak his little helper for announcements

bo yuan: ak go tell everyone is lunch time

ak: alright!

ak: *da da da running to fetch his little stool*

ak, stands on a little stool in the middle of the play room: ITS LUNCH TIMEEEEEE-

nine, swats ak’s leg: YOU SCARED ME

the only time ak is quiet is when he’s around lin mo, he kinda just likes to watch lin mo and follow him around so that’s that

unless lin mo starts messing with him, then you just lose your hearing for the day

also at first bo yuan was trying to see what ak is interested in, and he taught ak hot cross buns on the bells and thought that would calm ak down,, but oops ak ended up making more noises

patrick: I WANNA SLEEP AK

(bo yuan: I swear something happened to this kid or something. he’s not hard of hearing but he’s just naturally so loud)

i too would lose my hearing if im around ak so much

not to high on bo yuan’s worries but he just make sure ak isn’t being too loud and bothering the other kids, usually he’s pretty good about that but you never know when a little patrick will start napping or anyone really so gotta contain his energy

(bo yuan: ak is usually the first one that’s awake from nap time but its usually like 5-10min before everyone else so i told him he can go and play but he just has to be quiet)

///////////

alrighty !! now you've met everyone in the daycare, what kind of fun and chaotic adventures are they going to have??

(all future daycare au things will be incorrect quotes + short little one shots, this intro mostly served as a bio so you understand their personalities a bit, and i hope you enjoyed it!)

[mirdance]

No Matter How You Look at it, My Loving Girlfriend is a Cat Now!

Working with Gam has been such an honor! Her art is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm so glad she enjoyed my whimsical cat idea enough to draw it. Working with her MC, Cho, was a lovely experience, and I hope Cho forgives me for turning her into a cat. <3Thank you to @mysme-rbb for providing this opportunity! Link to Gam's art Instagram: gammam0n Read the story on A03 Summary: Saeran and Cho have been living together for a couple weeks in their new apartment. Co-habitation has had its up and downs, but Saeran thinks he has started to get the hang of everything. He’s even able to cook her favorite breakfast and separate the laundry. Things are looking swell. That is, until his girlfriend turns into a cat.

Saeran’s life really was something out of a fairy tale, if you gathered all the Brothers Grimm tales and mashed them into one horrifying short story with a Snow White happy ending. He thought he had his shit together by this point; who wouldn’t after helping run a cult and years of therapy? You kinda learn something about life in all that mess. But the love of his life, his one and only, Cho, turning into a cat, was something life nor therapy taught him how to deal with. While cute for fiction, the actuality of seeing her curled on the bed, white fluffy tail around her body, sent his eyes twitching.

Earlier, he’d been making them omelettes. She was always waking up early to cook them breakfast, so he’d wanted to do something for her for a change. They’d been living together in their new apartment for just a short while, but she seemed much more put together and relaxed in the fresh environment. He admired her strength, even if he was a tad jealous of her ability to adapt. She was independent, something he could never be, no matter how much he strove. Even with his progress, he still found himself leaning on her too much. Hell, when they’d first met, he’d been running around in the rain for so long, trying to figure out the bus schedule, when she’d stopped to help. She never asked for help, though.

He flopped his finished creation on a plate. Ray nudged the forefront of his mind. Saeran sighed as he prepared a glass of orange juice. All things considered; he was doing so much better than he could have ever imagined. Waking up to cook, laundry, working, they were hard, but he’d endured more and could get through this. He made his way down their tiny hallway with a skip in his step. Just thinking about how it was theirs, and how he was no longer alone. Sure, he had his family and his friends, but having Cho to hold him on those rough nights was simply different. A different kind of home.

He pushed open the bedroom door with his hip. “Time to wake,” he whispered with a grin. “I’ve made you—”

The plate fell to the floor with a clatter. Eggs flew across the floor and landed near the foot of the bed. Saeran coughed. His throat began to itch, and he pulled on his collar. “I…I’m sorry,” he reached down and began cleaning up the mess. “I thought…thought. We were going to pick out one of the kittens from the shelter next week? Because they’re overrun and all…”

Sleeping on the bed was a fluffy, white, cat. It resembled Elizabeth the 3rd in some ways, but its fur was not nearly as long, and its eyes glowed amber in the sunrise of the window. It stretched and yawned before jumping off the bed and eating the eggs off the floor.

Saeran bapped it away. “I don’t know if you can eat everything in this…”

Much to his dismay, the cat did not listen and only ate faster. What was this, a dog in a cats body? He lifted the cat as he stood and stepped over the egg mess. “Cho? Did my brother put you up to this?” He glanced around the corners of the room to find the hidden camera. There was nothing in the bed or closet. His heartbeat throbbed throughout his skull.

“Cho?”

He called her name several more times. She’d just been right here, sleeping under the covers. He hadn’t heard her move from the room. The window was intact. This had to be some joke his brother put her up to. Instinctively, he kissed the top of the cat’s head, and it rubbed its chin along his jawline. He couldn’t help but smile even through his disappointment.

“We said we’d pick one out together. I know, it’s probably dumb of me, but I’m kind of let down. It’s nothing against you, I promise.” He sat the cat on the bed and scratched behind its ear. “Please stay here while I clean this mess. I need to find Cho and see what’s going on.”

As Saeran bent to place the omelette back onto the plate, the cat jumped down once again and dove into the food. He lifted the plate into the air. “You must be hungry. I think we have some wet food.” He grimaced and checked around the floor once more. Cho hadn’t even set up a litter box. Hopefully, it hadn’t peed anywhere.

“I’ll be back.”

He’d said that, but the cat followed him to the kitchen, anyway. Were cats always so friendly? Well, in his experience, some were, but only after lots of food and getting to know one another. Maybe there was a reason Cho picked this one out? He didn’t want to assume anything bad. She was probably on her way to get emergency supplies or something. He discarded the eggs. The cat pawed at the trash can.

“I’m getting you food, hold on.”

He rummaged through the cabinets as the cat circled between his legs. They kept wet food for the stray cats that ran around and were hoping to prepare for a kitten of their own. “I hope you like chicken flavor,” he murmured as he popped open the lid. He dumped the food on a saucer before setting it on the ground.

“There you go. Doesn’t that look yummy?” The cat turned its nose up, and Saeran swore it shook its head. It turned its back to him and sat on the ground. Saeran cleared his throat. “Well, I guess it might be a bit hard to eat.” He grabbed a fork from the cabinet and began cutting the wet food into bite sized pieces. “I guess it does kinda stink, huh?”

The cat squeaked somewhat but did not meow. It jumped onto the counter and stared down at him.

“Oh, do you want to eat it up there?” He sat the plate before the cat.

The cat knocked it to the floor.

Thankfully, it was a plastic plate.

Saeran took a deep breath before anyone impatient could co-front. Maybe Ray would be better at dealing with this. “Okay, chicken is out of the question. Unfortunately, that’s all we have at the moment. The big stray Bo outside loves beef flavor and ate it all up. I think…we have turkey? For sandwiches. Hold on.”

It was a good thing he was off work today. How could Cho leave a cat behind with nothing to eat? He was still expecting his brother to pop out of a corner, but the apartment was eerily silent. Cho had never been so unprepared. He quickly grabbed his cell phone from the top of the fridge (Why was it on top of the fridge? Who left it there? Somehow, he remembered it being up there, so one of his brain mates was probably laughing their ass off.) He dialed Cho.

And it rang.

And rang

And rang

Saeran stared at his phone for far too long until he realized her phone was ringing in the bedroom. He darted for the room, only to find the phone buzzing on top of the dresser, still charging from the night before.

“Cho, this isn’t funny anymore.”

Saeran lunged for the phone and tried to type in the password. Wasn’t it her birthday? Not that they went through each other’s phones all the time, but occasionally they played games together and traded. The phone vibrated in defiance. He didn’t want to lock himself out. He logged into messenger on his own phone, but no one was awake. Not even Jumin Han or Jaehee.

Clattering noises echoed from the kitchen. Crap. He jogged back to the cat to find it…on the table, turkey on bread. A literal sandwich laid before a cat with the cat nibbling the edges. He laughed. Had he made this cat a sandwich and forgot? No, he simply thought about feeding it turkey. Maybe Ray had? No, Ray didn’t show up as far as Saeran could remember. Wait, were cats supposed to have bread?

He set the phones on the table and slid the turkey from the bread slices. “Not for kitties,” he mumbled. “I don’t know how you made yourself a sandwich, but you’re one smart animal.”

A low growl rumbled from the cat’s throat as it sat on its haunches, but otherwise it seemed at peace. Its ears were perked normally, and its tail rested softly at its side. At least it hadn’t mauled him. Maybe Cho had noticed how picky it was and ran out to get groceries. Maybe she’d forgotten her phone? He couldn’t see it, but it was possible.

“Hm, I wonder if you’re a boy or a girl?” He was tired of calling it ‘it’. It didn’t have a collar. “Excuse me,” he went behind the cat and lifted its leg. Both Cho and Saeran had learned to tell the differences between sexes while volunteering for Yoosung’s vet office, so this was nothing but procedure at this point. Its ears laid flat against its head. Saeran apologized once again before putting the cat’s leg down and allowing it freedom. “Well, it’s a girl,” he said, smiling and scratching behind her ear. “I wonder when your mom will be back. Should I got out and look for her? I’m super worried.”

She ignored him, walking past him and to the phones that lie on the table. Her tiny paws tapped the screen of Cho’s phone before it lit to life. Saeran sat down at one of the chairs and blocked the corners of the table with his hands. “Please don’t start knocking over more stuff,” he begged.

His phone began ringing. He quickly picked it up, only to find Cho’s profile across the screen. His eyes darted from Cho’s phone to his. This cat…had called him. Wait, this cat had unlocked the phone!

“I guess you got lucky,” Saeran said, hanging up both phones. He began looking through Cho’s. Everything was normal, her schedule, the menus. He sighed and sat the phone back down. “I guess I’m going to have to go out and find her myself. She’s probably just at the corner store looking for…”

Once again, the cat called him. He jerked the phone out of the cat’s paws and hung everything up. He wasn’t one to believe in the supernatural, but hell if this wasn’t weird. Against his better judgement, he locked Cho’s phone and set it back down. There, cat. See if you can unlock it again.

The cat seamlessly tapped its little paws on the screen, unlocking the phone with what seemed to be Cho’s birthday. Saeran wanted to smack his head on the table. “You can’t be serious. I swear to god if my brother is in here, he will not live to see tomorrow.”

The cat used its nose to click around, smudging the screen in the process. Sarean wiped it with his sleeve. “You’re going to ruin the screen.”

The cat, resigned to its fate of only using its paws, eventually opened up notes and tapped at the keyboard. Saeran--still not believing that the cat knew what it was doing because how could it—chuckled and pet its flank.

Hhji itds mje cvho I lolve u

Saeran slid the phone over to himself and read the garbled message. What…no. Ha. Hahahhahahahhaa. No. That looked an awful too much like Hi it’s me, Cho, I love you but typed with fat cat toes.

Everything was too much of a match for Saeran to doubt. Even the cat’s eyes were the same color. “Cho…is that really you?”

The cat placed a paw on his hand and nodded…cats didn’t nod. Well, unless they were in some cartoon, which Saeran was very much beginning to feel like the protagonist of. Did someone sneak elixir in his juice? Had he taken too much medication?

He gulped. “If…if you’re really Cho, spin around two times.” He wanted to laugh more, but part of him was deathly afraid of his own mental state. The other part of him was afraid for hers.

Saeran almost reached out to stop her as the cat spun around twice. She sat and seemed to glower at him, as if daring him to ask for more party tricks. Saeran lifted his hands in the air in defeat. “Okay, okay, Miss Cho. I believe you. I’m either high as a kite or you’ve somehow turned yourself into a cat, but either way, I trust you.”

Cho nudged his arm with the side of her cheek. God, it was so cute. He couldn’t think like that, though. He had to gather his thoughts. How could they turn her back? Whether he was off his rocker or not, it was important to settle the matter. Cho was a cat for a reason, and even though it was super cute, it was probably not the most comfortable. After all, how could she go to the bathroom? Would he need to get a litter box? Or maybe keeping the lid up on toilet was enough. Could she eat human food, or would that hurt her stomach? While they get to the bottom of this, maybe it would be best to try and get her to eat cat food. Should he take her to the vet?

“Merow.” Cho rolled onto her back, and Saeran’s heart thumped against his ribcage.

“Ha…you’re so cute. I know cats down like belly rubs but…” He reached out tentatively and gently ran his fingers across her belly fur. So…soft. She put her paws around his hand and nibbled his knuckles. “Is that too much?” He tried to pull his hand back, but she bit down harder. “Hey, that’s not fair. Stop that.”

Cho licked his hand apologetically with her sandpaper tongue and let go. Saeran would have to remember not to give too many belly rubs. Hopefully, she would poof back into a human any time, but it would be good to take mental notes of her likes and dislikes. It sort of reminded him of the fairy tales his brother used to tell to put him to sleep.

“Oh, maybe the princess needs a kiss from the prince?” He rested his head on the table and pushed his nose against her wet nose. But how was he to kiss a cat? He pecked her nose and mouth area, but nothing happened. “Well, it was worth a try.”

Cho licked him on the mouth; her sandpaper tongue felt pretty gross, but he tried not to grimace. He thanked her for the kiss and sighed. Maybe whatever was wrong with her would eventually wear off? He’d need to make a list of quality-of-life necessities and see if she agreed with them. In addition to food and toiletries, she probably needed toys. Maybe Jumin could recommend some cat trees.

Jesus Christ, he was beginning to sound like the man himself.

“I’m going to take care of you, Cho. Even if we can’t figure out how to change you back, I’ll love you. Just the way you are.”

Cho stretched into a stand and rammed her head against his several times. He couldn’t help but laugh as fur danced around his nostrils. They’d need several lint rollers, too. Would she want to go out on walks? He couldn’t keep her cooped up in the house, no matter how much he wanted to protect her. It would be fun if she could speak to other cats.

“By the way,” he whispered as he ran his fingers along her back. “I didn’t get to mention it the other day before I left for work. But thank you. You’ve worked really hard to help me despite my struggles. I know it’s not easy living with me. I can be an airhead sometimes, and I shouldn’t have put your shirt in the wash like you said. I just wanted to get it clean because it’s your favorite. Now it’s ruined. Gah, I don’t know anything about this stuff.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and Cho placed a paw on his cheek. He smiled shakily into her paw and pecked it.

Her paw grew warm until it was almost scalding. Before Saeran could freak out, cat paws turned to fingers. Her nose turned human, and the rest of her body followed, save for the cat ears on top of her head. Saeran’s face tingled, and he quickly looked away from her naked form.

“Omelette is ready,” she said. It almost sounded like a morphed meow, but he could tell it was her voice.

Saeran cocked his head to the side. “What?”

“Merowwake up.”

The top of his head began tingling and sent a cool sensation down his neck; he went to scratch his head, but his hands were fuzzy. As he stared at them, they grew into paws. He sneezed as fur tickled his nose. Wait, no. He didn’t want to be a cat, either! How could he learn to cook with his girlfriend? Pick out the kitten together?

As he cried out, only meows echoed against his skull. The kitchen stretched into ginormous walls as he shrunk and shrunk and shrunk. He reached his little paws as far as he could to grab hold of Cho, but he fell off the chair.

Before he hit the ground, his surroundings changed. Bedsheets stuck to his back, and his fingers gripped the comforter. Fingers. Good. He stretched them out in front of his face to make sure he hadn’t grown paws. There were no ears on the top of his head, either.

“You’re acting lively,” Cho said. She set a glass of orange juice on the nightstand. “I hope that means your fever is down.”

Saeran rolled his head over on the pillow. Cho held a plate of omelettes and sat next to him. The bed creaked as she crossed her legs and stabbed the food with a spoon. She wasn’t a cat. He wasn’t a cat. And in the end, he hadn’t even woken up to make her breakfast.

“I’m sorry I’m so useless,” he mumbled. “I meant to wake up and make you something since you’re always doing it.”

She rolled her eyes. “You went to bed with a fever, don’t even start. And I enjoy doing these things. It gives me a sense of freedom.”

She pushed the spoon towards Saeran, and he took the food without complaint. He’d stayed up all night over the toilet; no wonder his dreams were whack. He debated on telling her, but the thought embarrassed him. He didn’t want to seem as cat obsessed as Jumin. Saeran couldn’t lie, though. He was a bit nervous about taking care of something totally reliant upon him, but Cho said they were ready.

After his meal, Cho gave him cold medicine and ran her fingers through his hair. “I know you’re stressed about postponing with the shelter,” she said, gathering the dishes. “But it’s no big deal. Just get some rest.” She leaned down and kissed his nose.

He closed his eyes and touched where she had kissed, making sure to imprint it into his memory. “I’m sorry about your shirt,” he mumbled.

She sighed and pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “Don’t worry about it. Make it up to me by feeling better soon, okay?”

He nodded as she left the room with dishes in tow. His eyes were heavy even though he had just slept. Part of him wanted to jump up and offer to do the dishes. Offer to make her food. Offer something, anything. Yet his body fought against his mind. There was no energy left in his limbs. He’d make it up to her eventually. He’d promised her that he’d take better care of himself. Thus, he allowed the voices to quiet down in his mind and sleep peacefully.

[metalbatandzenko]

Grief and Other Intangibles

Based off of this very sad but somewhat goofy scenario from @opmheadcanons. 

AO3

This was supposed to be a ficlet. It’s over 5k words.

Oops.

Anyways, heads up for major character death.

---

Zombieman turned around just in time to see it happen.

The second that the cybernetic spider legs stored in Child Emperor’s backpack found their mark, the monster’s talons found theirs.

The boy’s eyes widened in shock, and he looked down at the talon protruding from his chest, at the rapidly spreading red stain. He looked up, making eye contact with Zombieman.

He looked so young.

The monster let out a death screech, rearing up. The hand holding Child Emperor flailed out.

Zombieman could only watch as the boy hit a nearby building with enough force to crack the cement.

Child Emperor crumpled, and did not rise again.

He might just be knocked out, part of his mind tried to reason with him. But he knew.

Zombieman had been dead once. He’d been in positions where he should have been dead countless times since then.

The kid wasn’t coming back.

The acknowledgement sent a chill through his already cold body, radiating from his empty chest all the way to his toes.

He turned to the remaining monsters.

The hero’s almanac said he liked killings that created a river of blood.

He was about to prove it right.

---

The rest of the fight was brief and brutal.

The moment the last monster fell, he dropped his axe and sprinted towards Child Emperor’s unmoving body, not bothering to look back.

He’d known before that his kid was gone.

But seeing it, seeing the trail of dried blood leaking from his mouth and ear, feeling how cold, and limp, and small he felt when Zombieman picked him up…

Zombieman had been dead once. He’d been in positions where he should have been dead countless times since then.

But that didn’t mean he was prepared for this.

He’d long since lost the ability to cry. Whatever the mad scientist had done to him had messed with that.

But as he cradled Child Emperor’s corpse to his chest, a tremor shook his body.

He cried, even as tears refused to fall from his dried up tear ducts.

His sobs were low, guttural, pulled from somewhere primal, somewhere low in his belly where grief and bile were stored.

With a shaking hand, he tapped his earpiece.

“This is Zombieman. The threat in City F has been neutralized.” He swallowed.

How would he say this? How could he sum up what had been lost?

The words tumbled from his lips.

“But they got Child Emperor.”

Got.

He wasn’t ready to use the stronger word.

---

When the Hero Association representatives made it to City F, they found Zombieman holding the boy’s head to his shoulder, as if by hugging him tightly enough, he could bring him back.

They reached out to him with gentle hands and coaxing words.

Zombieman, it’s okay. We’ll take it from here.

They didn’t expect the frenzied rage in his eyes, or the way he held Child Emperor even closer, looking back and forth between them like a caged animal.

They didn’t respect his response either.

“No.”

He shook his head, as if he was unsure they’d understood what he said.

“No,” he repeated. “He’s just a kid. I’m staying with him.”

The representatives looked back and forth at one another.

Finally, the woman in the front spoke.

“Alright,” she said gently. “You can stay with him.”

She extended a hand and after a moment, Zombieman took it.

She led him to the Hero Association vehicle and he climbed inside, still clinging to the child’s body like a lifeline, a vacant look in his eyes.

As the vehicle took off, she sighed. She’d seen that look all too often in her line of work.

It was well known the two were close, that Child Emperor was the closest thing the man had to a family.

Watching the hero cling to the boy’s broken body made her wonder why they authorized children to fight in their wars in the first place.

---

Zombieman felt a hand on his wrist.

“Hey, Zombieman, right?”

He turned and found himself facing the kid he’d seen at the S Class hero meeting.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he said, figuring it was best to humor the boy.

The boy extended a hand. “My hero name is Child Emperor. But you can call me Hikaru.”

Zombieman took his hand and shook it once. “Child Emperor, huh?”

Child Emperor nodded. “I’m the go to tech guy for the Hero Association. It used to be Bo—Metal Knight, but ah—” he flushed.

Metal Knight: one of two no shows at the meeting. He took it the hero wasn’t exactly popular.

Child Emperor continued. “Anyways, if you ever need any weapons upgrades or equipment, let me know.”

Zombieman gave him a half smile. “Thanks kid, I appreciate it.”

“Do you need help navigating to the exit?” Child Emperor asked.

If anyone else had asked him, he might have suspected they were mocking him. But the kid looked up at him with such earnestness that he let the unintended insult roll off his back.

The boy must have taken his lack of response as a sign he’d gravely offended Zombieman, because he stuttered.

“I’m not trying to say you can’t find your way out alone! I just—” he took a deep breath. “Occasionally I get lost trying to get out of here,” he confessed. “Bo—Metal Knight designed the place and he’s a bit paranoid, so he made it hard to navigate on purpose.”

That was the second time the kid had slipped up on the name.

He catalogued that detail for later.

“So if you get lost, what’s the point of taking you with me?”

Child Emperor opened his mouth. He closed it again and looked away, but not before Zombieman caught the gleam of dejection in his eye.

He nudged him. “I’m kidding. Apologies, I’m not the best at jokes. I’d be happy to have your company, Child Emperor.”

“Hikaru,” the boy corrected him.

Zombieman sighed. “I’d be happy to have your company, Hikaru.”

The two walked in silence for a moment.

“What’s your real name?” Hikaru asked. The boy immediately balked, apparently realizing it might not be the politest thing to ask. “You don’t have to tell me,” he added quickly. “I know a few of the heroes don’t like giving out their civilian names. I just wasn’t sure if—”

Zombieman waved him off, doing his best to hide his amusement.

The kid might be a genius, but he was obviously still a kid.

“My name is Experiment Sixty-Six,” he told the boy. “But that’s doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so I don’t really use it.”

Hikaru’s face darkened. “You don’t have a real name?”

Zombieman shook his head. “Why don’t you give me one?”

Hikaru stopped in his tracks.

Zombieman looked back at him. “Hikaru?”

“That’s a lot to put on a person you just met,” Hikaru said, his voice rising in pitch with every syllable.

Zombieman shrugged. “You don’t have to decide now. But I figured we’ll probably be spending quite a bit of time together with work, so you’re as good a person as any to decide it.”

He started walking again, the faintest smile on his face.

---

The Hero Association asked him to speak at Child Emperor’s memorial.

He declined.

He’d already spoken at the boy’s funeral, and that had been hard enough. But the thought of speaking at the Hero Association’s memorial for him—which was just a thinly veiled publicity stunt and cash grab—would have made any living human’s stomach turn.

He went to the kid’s plot in the cemetery instead.

They’d interred his bones and ashes in the base of a statue of him. The statue showed him mid battle, held up by his mechanized spider legs, his trademark lollipop peeking out from between his lips.

On the plaque, in big, bold letters was his hero name.

Underneath was some meaningless platitude, probably supplied by a Hero Association minister.

And underneath that, in smell letters, was his real name: Hikaru Sato.

As if by making his name so small, they could hide the fact he was a person beyond his work. 

That he was a child sent to fight while a bunch of suits sat around and let him take the risks they weren’t willing to take themselves.

Zombieman rummaged around in his pocket, pulling out an underdog figurine he’d made for the kid before he passed.

He placed it on the base of the statue, knowing it would soon be joined by many more offerings.

“Here’s to you, kid.”

---

It took Hikaru a month to come up with a name for him.

He threw open the door of Zombieman’s apartment, and Zombieman idly noted that giving him the key may have been a mistake.

“Augustus,” he said.

Zombieman raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee. “Is that supposed to mean anything to me? And I told you the key was for emergencies only.”

Hikaru hopped onto the stool next to him. “You asked me to give you a name: Augustus.” He conveniently didn’t respond to Zombieman’s complaint.

Zombieman reached under the counter into his mini fridge and passed Hikaru a juice box. He’d started stocking up on them when the kid started coming over more regularly.

“What made you choose that?”

Hikaru stabbed his straw into the juice box. “I figured an old fashioned name would suit your old fashioned sensibilities. I can choose a different name if you don’t like it, oji.”

Zombieman chuckled at the nickname and shook his head. “No, it’s got a nice ring to it. Good choice, kid.”

---

Zombieman stood in what had been the kid’s lab, a pack of cigarettes in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other.

He’d managed to buy the property before it could be sold off. It’d pretty much cleared out his savings to do so (he had a feeling the realtor could smell his desperation and priced the building accordingly) but he’d done it.

It felt strange to be in Hikaru’s lab without him. It looked so much smaller without him there to buzz around the stacks of papers, or look for a specific book in his shelves (organized by subject, author, and color, in that order).

He made his way over to the desk and computer.

Hikaru had a few pictures framed on his desk.

The first was a picture of the kid and his parents before they died. He held his backpack by the shoulder straps in the picture, his gap toothed grin so wide his eyes had closed.

Zombieman smiled.

Next to it was a photo of the Hero Association’s cherry blossom viewing the year before.

And next to that…

His breath caught in his throat.

Next to that was a picture of them.

It was set of photos technically.

He remembered a civilian had taken of them after a fight with the promise to send them to the two.

The first one they were obviously posing for the camera. Zombieman had his axe slung over his shoulder and his other arm slung around Hikaru’s.

Both of them were absolutely covered in beast blood.

But despite that, they were grinning. And it wasn’t the tight, half smile he put on for fans. The exhilaration of battle and the stupid pun Hikaru cracked the second before had him grinning from ear to ear.

The next picture showed the aftermath of Hikaru’s terrible pun. Zombieman had him in a headlock and was giving him a noogie. Hikaru’s small hands grabbed at the arm locked around his neck, but both of them were laughing.

He took a step forward, his fingers ghosting along the edges of the photograph.

He leaned back against the desk, and took a drag of his cigarette.

“It’s weird being here without you, kid,” he said into the empty space. “I guess—I guess I should have known I would outlive you. But I thought we’d have more time.”

He swallowed down the lump in his throat.

“I didn’t think it would end like this.”

He leaned his head back, taking a swig from the bottle of whiskey.

A light turned on.

“Hey oji!”

Zombieman liked to think he was hard to startle.

But hearing that voice made him spit take.

He whirled around and found himself facing Hikaru.

The bottle of whiskey fell from his hand, shattering on the floor.

The boy raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. “Planning on drinking and smoking in the lab?”

Zombieman took a step back. “How are you here? You’re—”

Dead.

The word got caught in his throat.

Hikaru nodded. “This was the backup plan. You’re speaking to a hologram.”

To prove it, he pointed at his feet, where Zombieman found a small projector.

Zombieman found himself smiling despite himself. “You really think of everything, huh?”

“Yeah, well the plan was to not have to deploy this for at least another few years,” Hikaru said. “But obviously, that didn’t work.”

“I’d hope the plan was to never have to deploy it,” Zombieman shot back.

The hologram shrugged. “Everyone dies at some point, even if it’s from old age. This would allow me to continue researching even after that.”

Zombieman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course it would. Kid, as someone who won’t get the chance to go back to being dead in a very long time, believe me when I say that once you’re that old, you’re not gonna want to kee—” he stopped.

In his confusion, he’d forgotten who he was talking to.

Hikaru laughed. “It’s okay. Talking to someone from beyond the grave must be weird.”

Zombieman nodded. “Yeah. It is.”

“I do have something I need to ask you,” the hologram said.

Zombieman’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

“Since this program was a few years out from being ready, the device a bit buggy. The AI is fine, but the projector itself will need maintenance to get it upgraded enough to be stable.”

“How much maintenance?”

“A few years’ worth.”

Zombieman sighed. “Leave it to you to leave me homework. I guess we better get started then.”

The hologram clapped its hands together, and to Zombieman’s surprise, the action was accompanied by the sound of a clap.

Hikaru really did think of everything.

“Great! I’ve got some books complete with pictures and diagrams that will walk you through the maintenance.”

Zombieman noted how Hikaru refused to make eye contact with him.

“Hikaru, how many books are there?”

As if on cue, a mountain of books dropped from the ceiling.

Hikaru winced. “Thirty-six.”

Zombieman gawked at the pile of books in front of him.

“Do I really have to—”

“Yep.”

Zombieman paused.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

Zombieman sighed and picked up the first volume.

He immediately closed it.

“What the fuck is a CPU?”

---

Sitch cleared his throat. “That is all we have on the agenda for this meeting. I will stay behind to answer any questions you have.”

Zombieman shuffled out of the meeting room, eager to get away from the Hero Association officials.

“Oji! Wait up!”

Zombieman stopped and turned around, letting the kid catch up to him.

Hikaru stopped next to him and hunched over as he caught his breath.

“You know, you didn’t have to run,” Zombieman said, a small smile gracing his lips. “I would have waited for you either way.”

Hikaru righted himself. “I need a favor.”

Zombieman cocked his head. “I’m listening.”

“I’m working on a new bot, and I need data to program it with,” Hikaru began. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to help.”

“I don’t know anything about programming, kid. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Hikaru shook his head. “It’s not that. I’m making a cooking robot, but I don’t know how to cook.”

Zombieman arched an eyebrow. “And what makes you think I do?”

Hikaru glared at him. “No person has your kitchen and doesn’t know how to cook.”

“I can guarantee you that Blue-Hair has a kitchen fit for a chef but doesn’t know how to fry an egg,” Zombieman replied.

“Hence why I’m asking you, not Mask.”

He paused.

“Also, Mask scares me.”

“And I don’t?” Zombieman quipped.

Zombieman felt an arm get slung over his shoulder. He turned his head to find Metal Bat standing between the two of them, as if he’d been summoned by the chance to mock Amai Mask.

“Aw, Karu, there’s no reason t’be afraid of Mask,” he said, pressing his knuckle to the boy’s cheek. “He’s jus’ another dipshit.”

Hikaru crossed his arms. “A dipshit with inhuman strength and speed.”

“Language!” The teen chided.

“You said it first!”

Metal Bat straightened his posture. “Ah, but I’m yer elder,” he said imperiously. His face split with a grin. “But if Mask gives ya any trouble, jus’ dump a bucket of water on him. He’ll be too busy worryin’ about his meltin’ makeup t’retaliate.”

Zombieman hummed. “You wear makeup too, Badd. Could we say the same for you?”

The teen shook his head. “Nah. All mine’s waterproof. This shit could weather th’apocalypse.”

He turned back to Hikaru. “None of these heroes are worth bein’ afraid of, ‘kay? Yer too smart fer that.”

“Not even me?” Zombieman asked.

Badd laughed and slugged him in the shoulder, hard enough that he felt the bone break. “Bah, yer not foolin’ anyone Auggie. Y’can play tough all y’want, but yer as gentle as a lamb.”

Before either of them had time to respond, the teen had extricated himself from their side and was halfway down the hall.

He sent them a salute. “See ya at th’next meetin’.”

Hikaru turned back to him. “Auggie?”

Zombieman shrugged. “I told you, I liked the name. Now about helping you with your cooking robot—”

The boy perked up.

“—I suppose I could show you what I know.”

---

“The nice thing about being a hologram is I can’t smell your cigarettes,” Hikaru said one night.

Zombieman looked up from volume three of thirty-six. “That’s your takeaway from all this?”

The hologram nodded. “They reek.”

He looked back down at the book. “Yeah, I know. I didn’t smoke them around you for a reason.”

A thunderclap shook the building.

“Uh-oh.”

Zombieman sighed. “What is it?”

He looked up again to find the hologram flickering and distorting.

“A fuse blew in the east wing of the lab and if you don’t fix it in—calculating—ten-point-two minutes then I will fizz out.”

Zombieman groaned. “But it’s raining outside.”

“Do you want me to die again?”

Zombieman’s throat closed up.

“Too soon?”

Zombieman nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oji, I’m sorr—”

Zombieman stood, the scraping of his chair against the floor cutting off the rest of Hikaru’s apology.

He grabbed his trench coat.

“I’ll go fix it then.”

---

“Are the dots necessary?”

Hikaru nodded. “They’re reading your brainwaves and helping me map the AI. Just try and go about cooking as normal.”

Zombieman chose not to mention how cooking as normal might be hard to achieve with all those wires on his head. “Do I even have brainwaves?”

Hikaru nodded again. “You wouldn’t be conscious if you didn’t.”

That seemed fair enough. But Zombieman’s physiology was anything but ordinary, so he had to check.

“Hey kid, come over here.”

Hikaru’s eyebrows furrowed, but he complied.

Zombieman passed him a rectangular knife. “Now, I’m not gonna teach you everything, but the least I can do is teach you some basic knife safety.”

The boy crinkled his nose.

“Hey, no funny looks. Teaching is the best way to show you know something, right? This should be helpful for your AI charting.”

“Mapping,” Hikaru corrected him.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Zombieman placed a bunch of green onions on the cutting board. “Now what you’re using is a Nakiri Bōchō. It’s the standard vegetable knife. The cutting edge is sharpened on both sides, so it’s good for making straight cuts.”

He held up his knife. “This is an Usuba Bōchō. It’s similar in silhouette, but it’s only sharpened on one side of the cutting edge. You can get much thinner cuts with it, but it takes more practice to master.”

Zombieman turned the knife over in his hands.

“We’ll cover all the different types of knives, but for now, let’s focus on your form.”

 He curled his fingertips under his knuckles, and pressed the flat side of the knife against them. “See how I’m protecting my fingers?”

Hikaru nodded and copied his form.

“Good. Now push straight down.”

He demonstrated, pushing the knife through the air in one decisive motion.

Hikaru mirrored the action.

“Good. Now let’s try that with the green onions.”

---

This kid was going to destroy his life savings.

Zombieman walked out of the hardware store carrying a couple hundred-thousand yen’s worth of parts.

“This is so fucking heavy,” he grumbled.

“Hey!”

Zombieman stiffened.

“Hey is that you?”

Oh god.

He sped up, hoping that the minister would leave him alone.

But the minister was never one to take no for an answer.

He felt the hand clamp down on his shoulder. “Hi there! Long time no see!”

Zombieman glared at the hand on his shoulder. “Yep.”

Minister Sitch looked him up and down. “You look…” he hesitated. “Wonderful.”

Zombieman resisted the urge to raise his eyebrow.

He hadn’t shaven in two weeks, his hair was disheveled, and he was covered in coolant and oil.

A few words came to mind for how he looked.

Wonderful was not one of them.

He gave the minister a flat stare. “Thanks.”

If Sitch could tell how much Zombieman wanted the conversation to be over, he didn’t show it.

He slung his arm around Zombieman’s shoulders and Zombieman resisted the urge to throw it off of him, spare parts be damned. “You know, I get it. After everything that’s happened and Child Emperor’s…” his voice trailed off, and he coughed.

At least he had the decency to look guilty.

“After his passing, it’s only natural that you’d take a while off of work. Although, it has been three months. Everyone’s itching to see you again.”

“I’m sure they are—”

Sitch cut him off. “I kid, I kid. Take your time, really. If you ever need anything, just call me.”

Zombieman shook the man’s arm off his shoulder. “Cool—”

“What’s in the box anyway?”

“I’m building a robot,” Zombieman replied.

Sitch’s mouth opened, then closed again.

“Well, maintaining one,” he clarified.

Sitch looked him over. “That’s…neat.”

Zombieman nodded.

The minister coughed again. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it.”

Before Zombieman could respond, the minister scurried off.

---

“Hey Gus-jisan? How do you tell someone you like them?”

Zombieman took a sip of his coffee. “I’m probably not the person to ask about that one, kid.”

Hikaru’s face fell.

“But, I can try my best,” he said. “Tell me about them.”

“She’s in my class,” Hikaru started. “She’s really smart, and sweet, and she’s stubborn—”

Zombieman cut him off. “—And I’m gonna stop you right there kid. Rule of thumb, people don’t like being called stubborn.”

The boy tilted his head. “I guess that makes sense. Is it better if I say she fights for what she believes in?”

“Much.”

“And she’s really pretty,” Hikaru added. “And she played the piano for me last week.”

“Have you tried talking to her about it?”

Hikaru nodded. “I’ve even given her little gifts. I made her a mechanized flower that opens when it hears her voice.”

Zombieman smiled. “That’s sweet.”

“And I think she likes me too,” Hikaru said.

“Then what’s the problem?”

The boy chewed his lip. “She has an older brother.”

Zombieman furrowed his brow. “Are you scared he’ll beat you up?”

Hikaru shook his head. “No it’s not that it’s just ah—her older brother is one of our coworkers.”

Everything snapped into place.

Zombieman pinched his nose bridge, an action he’d become all too familiar with.

“Hikaru,” he started. “Please tell me you’re not talking about Badd, ‘My-Sister-Is-All-I-Have-In-The-World-And-I-Will-Protect-Her-With-My-Life’ Fukichi’s sister, Zenko.”

The boy grinned sheepishly.

Zombieman sighed. “Kid, you’re in deep shit.”

---

“I need you to change my coolant canister.”

Zombieman groaned and set aside volume twenty-six of thirty-six. “Again?”

The hologram shrugged. “Well, somebody deciding to turn the heating unit all the way up—”

Zombieman stood. “Fine, fine. I’ll do it.”

He opened a metal cabinet, pulled out a new canister and a wrench, and made his way over to the system in the corner.

He heard Hikaru’s voice from the other side of a pile of papers.

“Hey, stay positive!” He said. “By this time next year, you’ll have learned enough from taking care of me that you’ll be eligible for three PHDs in robotics! Isn’t that exciting?”

Zombieman crouched and loosened the bolts on the old canister. “Oh, joy!” He yelled back, keeping his voice as flat as possible.

He could almost hear Hikaru stick his tongue out.

The thought made him chuckle.

He slid the new canister into place and connected the nozzle, then tightened the bolts around it.

Zombieman stood, taking a look at his handiwork. “How’s that feel?”

“Much better!”

As he turned to return to the main section of the room, the wrench slipped from his fingers, falling on his foot.

“AH FUCK!”

---

“Hey, kid, can I ask you to do me a favor?”

Hikaru looked up from the project he was working on. “What do you need, oji?”

Zombieman placed his Desert Eagles on the table. “I need ammunition with greater stopping power.”

The boy disassembled the guns with shocking ease. He examined one of the bullets. “Is there a reason you’re not using hollow point ammunition?” He asked.

Zombieman shrugged. “Call me a sadist.”

Hikaru sighed, and placed the bullet back on the table. “Well let’s start with that. No way you should be coming in here asking about stopping power while using round nose bullets.”

He pried open the casing, pouring the black powder onto the table. “Plus, that’s already about as much powder as you can use without destroying the gun or your arms.”

Zombieman nodded. “Well, the recoil destroying my arms isn’t an issue here. The pistols are another story.”

Hikaru hummed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

---

“It’s been good having you back,” Zombieman said one day. “When you were…when you were gone, I worried I’d never see you again. Or at least, I’d have to wait a very long time, long enough that you wouldn’t remember me.”

Hikaru smiled. “How could he forget you?”

Zombieman paused. “He?”

The hologram stiffened.

Zombieman swallowed. “You—you’re not him, are you?”

The hologram sighed and shook its head.

Zombieman pressed his lips together.

He’d forgotten how much betrayal felt like heartburn.

“Then what was the point?” He grated out, hating the way his voice cracked.

“Like I told you, to continue his research. But also—” the hologram hesitated.

“‘But also’ what?”

“He was worried about what would happen to you if he died before he finished his deadman’s switch. The research I could continue no problem, my AI’s been programmed for years. But this hologram was for you. He hoped it would help you grieve.”

“His deadman’s switch,” Zombieman repeated.

The hologram nodded. “He’d been working on a way to upload his consciousness to this lab when he died since he first joined the S Class. I estimate he was only a year or so out from the switch being completed when he died.”

Zombieman raked a shaking hand through his hair. “So if he’d focused on completing the switch instead of you and these damn manuals, he’d be here.”

Hurt flickered in the hologram’s eyes. “No,” it said quietly. “The hologram took him less than a day to make.”

“THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT?” He exploded, swiping the volumes off the table. “What was the point of him making you—what, to help me grieve? How is any of this—” he gestured wildly at the hologram “—helping me? What, by prolonging my grief? By making me think he’s still around? Now I’ve lost him twice, and I’m no closer to closure than I was when he left!”

“When he left?” The hologram repeated. “He’s dead, Augustus. And in the entire time you’ve been working on maintaining me, you’ve never once said that word.”

Zombieman crumpled on the floor in front of it.

“You think he wanted to die Auggie? Do you remember the fear in his eyes? He was just a child. And yet here you are, saying he left, as if he had a choice in the matter! Like he chose to leave to spite you!”

“Of course I remember,” Zombieman said, wishing—not for the first time—that his tear ducts still worked. “God, I remember he looked so young, and so fragile and so scared. And I couldn’t get to him in time.”

His shoulders shook with sobs. “It should have been me,” he choked out. “I should have done a better job dissuading him from going on that mission. He’s gone, and it’s my fault.”

A blue glow entered his periphery.

He looked up to see the hologram crouched in front of him. “It’s not your fault,” it said. “Hikaru was going to do what he was going to do. He was stubborn.”

“He fought for what he believed in,” Zombieman corrected.

The hologram laughed. “Maybe so.” It sobered. “But oji, we need you to say the stronger word.”

Zombieman shook his head. “I can’t,” he whispered. “I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

“You never are. But you have to.” It reached out and placed its hand on Zombieman’s shoulder. While he didn’t feel the pressure of a hand, he did feel warmth radiating from the spot.

“August, you need to move on. He wouldn’t have wanted this for you.”

“Yeah, well he’s dead,” Zombieman spat out.

The second the word was off his tongue, he recoiled.

The hologram flickered. “That’s what I needed to hear.”

It disappeared, and Zombieman was left in a dark room, alone.

Hikaru’s computer screen blared to life.

Zombieman looked up, and there he was.

He stood, and walked over to the computer as if in a trance.

“Hey Gus-jisan,” the recording said. “If you’re watching this, that means I’m dead. It also means I didn’t finish my deadman’s switch before I died.”

Zombieman’s fingers touched the screen.

Hikaru shifted in his seat. “I’m not good at speeches, so I’ll try to keep this brief.”

“I know this has probably been hard on you,” he started. “And I’m sorry to leave you behind. I hope Holo-karu has been of some comfort to you.”

Zombieman snorted.

“If I know you, you’re probably blaming yourself for this. But this is not your fault.” Hikaru paused, a wry grin on his face. “And if it makes you feel any better, I think I did well enough this time around to land myself a spot in the Pure Land. And if that’s the case, when your time finally comes, I will greet you at the gate as a friend.”

He sobered. “I want you to know it is okay to grieve. But it is also okay to move on. I hope by the time you’re watching this you will have returned to work, even if it’s not hero work. I instructed Holo-karu to play this when they thought you were ready to hear it. I’m sorry if that means you didn’t hear it when you needed to.”

The boy straightened in his chair. “Before I close this out, a bit of housekeeping. There’s a locked file cabinet under the desk, I’m sure you’ve noticed it. The combination is 4766. Inside you’ll find a collection of drives. They’re labelled with the names of who they’re for. You’re welcome to invite people over here to view the message I left them. But keep the Hero Association, Metal Knight, and Drive Knight out. I don’t want them exploiting Holo-karu.”

Zombieman opened the drawer and sure enough, there were a dozen drives stored inside, names inscribed on them in Hikaru’s familiar scrawl. He dumped them on the desk.

Hikaru smiled, his eyes brimming with tears. “I’m gonna miss you, oji,” he said. “But I’m grateful for the time we had together. And I’m so incredibly honored to have been part of your family. My only hope for you is that you don’t stop seeking that family now that I’m gone. There are people out there who would love to be a part of your life if you’d let them. Invite some of them over for dinner, show off your cooking skills. Ojisan, it’s time for you to put yourself out there.”

He gave one last smile. “Good luck Uncle Augustus. I believe in you.”

The screen went black.

[dc41896]

Hideaway

Hey guys!! So I randomly had a dream that included Ransom even though I haven’t seen the movie yet (I know I’m trying lol). Although my whole dream wasn’t about him, this imagine is based off of a small part and hopefully you guys like it! 😊💕

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Black Reader

Warnings: None

“ARE YOU MAD?! YOU THINK ITS OK TO STORAGE FOOD LIKE THIS?!!,” Gordon Ramsey yelled at yet another restaurant owner while going through their pantry.

Shaking your head, you laugh in disbelief as the kitchen staff begins the blame game pointing fingers at everyone else on why things aren’t correct. While sitting at home on a Friday night watching tv might not be ideal for everyone, you had been looking forward to it all week.

Although you loved your job of being a kindergarten teacher, and your students, you definitely needed some me time on the weekends. Thus why you were currently snuggled under your blanket in your pajama shorts and an old graphic tee with your favorite snacks beside you and loving every minute of it.

Just as a commercial comes on, a strong knock on your front door slightly startles you from the noise as well as the fact that you weren’t expecting anyone. Making your way to your front door, you look through the peephole to meet an unpleasant surprise.

Dressed up in black pants and dress shoes along with a white button down shirt stained with red wine, there stood your best friend since 3rd grade, Ransom Drysdale, looking rich and smug as always.

“Cupcake!,” he smiled with open arms.

You hated that nickname ever since he gave it to you in high school, and he knew that too which is why he kept using it. Long story short, never ask Ransom to pretend to be your boyfriend so a not so secret admirer can leave you alone.

“Hugh,” you smile back, arms crossed in front of you as he rolls his eyes. Just as you hated “cupcake” he hated his first name, Hugh, which was all the ammunition you needed to annoy him.

“What are you doing here and what happened to your shirt?”

“Well, lets just say Candice isn’t my biggest fan right now,” he explains, walking into your apartment and sitting on the arm of your couch.

“Ok so I’m guessing that’s where the wine stain came from, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re here when you have your own place you could be at right now.”

“Because she kicked me out of said place,” he sighs rubbing his temple. “We we’re having dinner and one thing led to another and she kicked me out, which is why I’m here.”

Knowing him for so long, you knew when Ransom wasn’t fully telling the truth. But in a situation like this, you thought it best to just leave it alone.

“Here give me your shirt,” you finally speak after a few moments of silence.

“Cupcake?!,” he gasps, hand on his chest and signature smirk across his face. “You know I always had my suspicions that you might have a thing for me.”

“Give me your shirt so I can wash it genius,” you retort holding your hand out. Laughing, he unbuttons his shirt before placing it in your hands.

“Let me get this started and I’ll bring you a new pair of clothes. Until then there’s food and drinks in the fridge, and don’t break anything,” you reply before disappearing to your laundry room.

He may not seem like it, but Ransom was grateful you were always there for him. Anytime he needed to get away from everything, or an irate girlfriend, he knew you’d welcome him in for as long as he needed. Well within reason that is.

That’s why Candice, or any of his exes for that matter, didn’t like you. No matter how many times you assured them that you and Ransom were just friends and you wouldn’t dare do anything to compromise their relationship, they still didn’t trust you. And in those times they found out he was hiding out at your place, it always made the situation worse resulting in a screaming match or a flat out break up.

Wrapped up in Gordon Ramsey gagging while trying entrees at a restaurant, a knock at the door makes him sigh at having to move from his spot on the couch.

“Oh hi I’m Bo, I live across the hall over there. Sorry for interrupting your evening I was just gonna give Y/N her mail, they accidentally put it in my box again.” About an inch taller than Ransom, a muscular man with short black hair and deep brown eyes stood in the doorway clearly just getting back from his workout from the clothes he was wearing and water bottle in hand.

“Thanks I’ll make sure she gets it,” he answers with a dry smile, taking the few envelopes from his other hand.

“So you must be her boyfriend,” Bo speaks up just as Ransom moves to close the door. Looking puzzled with one eyebrow raised, he crosses his arms in front of him to discretely show off his muscles and subtly say “yea, you’re not the only one who lifts.”

“Who wants to know?”

“Oh I don’t mean any disrespect, I just assumed since I’ve seen you around here a few times, plus I mean you did just open the door without a shirt,” he nervously laughs. “I mean if you guys are just friends though, I wouldn’t mind taking her out. Don’t tell her I said that though!”

“Hm, well good thing she already has a boyfriend then huh?,” Ransom smugly smiles before closing the door in Bo’s face.

“Who was at the door?,” you ask returning with a pair of sweats and shirt for him to wear.

“Just one of your comical neighbors giving you your mail, and are you hoarding my stuff now?”

“No, more like holding it in a lost and found since you keep leaving stuff over here!”

“Like you don’t like having little momentos of me here,” he smirks putting on his plain dark grey shirt. “Plus I know you wear my shirts sometimes.”

Scoffing, you laugh as you sit down on the couch to continue your “Kitchen Nightmares” marathon while he goes in your room to change his pants. In all honesty though, he was right about you wearing his shirts. So yea you sometimes wore them when you wanted to feel extra cozy, what girl doesn’t like oversized shirts?

And yea you might’ve also liked how they somehow still smelled like him, that didn’t mean anything!

Before he could sit down coming back from the bathroom, he looks down at his vibrating phone before sucking his teeth.

“Yes?,” he answers sounding exhausted and not in the mood to talk as he leans against the counter.

“Where are you?,” Candice asks. Shrill voice traveling all the way to where you were sat on the couch.

“Why does it matter, you kicked me out remember?”

“I know but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you or want to make sure you’re ok.”

“Well don’t worry I’m fine.”

“Why are you talking so low? Wait are you at her place?!”

“Candice don’t-,”

“No Ransom Drysdale are you at Y/N’s apartment yes or no?!”

Hearing him get quiet, you slightly turn to see him look at you before looking down at the floor. “Yes”

“Why am I not surprised. You know what, since she’s the one you always want to run to, she can have you because I’m done! Hope you both have a nice life!”

And with that, her voice was gone and you could hear Ransom put his phone in his pocket as he sat beside you.

“I’m so sorry Ransom, I didn’t mean to cause anything-,”

“Don’t apologize. This happened because of something going on way before I came here tonight,” he interrupts looking straight ahead at the tv screen.

“But that’s the thing, I’m what’s been going on and it’s been that way for a while now,” you respond. “Look Ransom, maybe it’d be best that you not come over anymore or that we not even be friends.”

Muting the tv, he turns to look at you. The intensity from his blue eyes making you slightly nervous from never experiencing it before.

“Is that what you want?”

“I mean of course not, but your girlfriends-,”

“Let me worry about my at the time girlfriend, ok? But if you don’t want to be friends anymore, or want me over, then say the word and it’s done. So I ask you again, is that what you want?”

“....No it’s not.”

“Then it’s settled,” he responds turning the sound back on the tv. “So how are those germ infested piranhas of yours?”

“1. Don’t call them that and 2. They’re good,” you laugh taking a few sips of your juice. “You should come during story time one day and read to them!”

“I think I’d rather swim with actual piranhas,” he answers stealing a few of your chips.

———

Waking up with a stretch, you look at your phone to see that it’s 2 am and that both you and Ransom had fallen asleep on the couch.

“Ransom, wake up we fell asleep.” Lightly shaking his shoulder, his eyes flutter open as he yawns lifting his head.

“What time is it?”

“A little after 2 am. Since it’s so late you can crash here if you want.”

“Ok just hand me a pillow and I’ll sleep out here,” he sleepily answers, rubbing his eyes as he sits upright.

“You can sleep in the bed you know, it’s not like we haven’t shared before.”

“Trying to take advantage of me in my vulnerable state huh?,” he smirks removing part of the blanket from his lap.

“Whatever I was just offering because I know a certain spoiled brat is gonna complain about his back in the morning if he does sleep on the couch,” you counter with a smirk of your own.

Rolling his eyes, he helps you clean up before following you to your room and taking off his shirt and sweats before sliding into bed. Wrapping your hair up in your bonnet, you climb in your side of the bed, cutting off the light on your bedside table.

“Night cupcake,” Ransom smiles.

“Night Hugh,” you softly laugh, turning away from him towards the starlit sky outside your window.

Feeling the bed shift beside you from his movements, you start to turn your head to tell Ransom to calm down, but are cut off by his strong arm wrapping around your waist and gently bringing you towards his chest. With his breath lightly tickling the back of your neck, you weren’t sure if it was your heart racing or his from how close you were.

Again, you’d shared a bed plenty of times, but never gotten this close before so you were definitely caught off guard. However, you couldn’t lie that being there made you feel comfortable, secure, and more relaxed than you had been in a while.

“Um Ransom you awake still?,” you ask barely above a whisper.

“Hm,” he replies basically telling you that in the next few minutes, he’d be in a deep sleep.

“I doubt you’ll tell me, but what did you and Candice fight about over dinner?”

Only hearing his soft snores, you figure you’ll never know what happened, and took that as a sign that you probably shouldn’t, since he would just tell you not to worry about it if you asked him tomorrow. Before drifting off to sleep yourself though, you hear him mumble something you couldn’t quite understand.

“What did you say?”

“You,” he repeats burying his head into the back of your neck as your heart beats so loud, you doubt you’ll ever get back to sleep.

Again hope you guys like it and sorry if it’s super long or non-canon😬 (hopefully it’s canon though since I tried really hard to capture Ransom and his Ransomness lol)

Taglist: @nunubug99 @crushed-pink-petals @honeychicana @fumbling-fanfics @themyscxiras @lady-olive-oil @lovelymari4 @melinda-january @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @itshinothey @wildfirecracker @nina-sj

If you want to be tagged, have asked to be tagged and don’t see your name, or only want to be tagged for certain people I write for just let me know🤓!

[nishisun]

DORM BUDDIES

09. why is tsukishima kinda nice in person

summary: you’re in need of a new dorm buddy because your current roommate sucks and tsukishima might just be the perfect candidate.

DORM BUDDIES MASTERLIST

You put your phone back in your purse as you heard footsteps approaching the front door. You ended up not going with your plan to “seduce tsukishima” and just wore some jeans and a cami top instead.

Opening the door was a man, who most definitely wasn’t tsukishima. He had Black hair, and although he was pretty tall himself you don’t recall tsukishima having black hair.

“Well hello to you,” the man said in a flirtatious manner, leaning close to you but not too close. “You must be y/n.” he brought his hand towards you for you to shake, but you hesitated because you thought you had been catfished.

“a-are you tsukishima?” you stuttered, sounding frightened and looking rather disgusted, but not at the fact that the man in front of you wasn’t attractive, no. But maybe at the fact that you were being catfished?

“Kuroo, God, don’t scare her away with your perviness.”

or maybe not.

To say you were satisfied with the way tsukishima looked was an understatement. He was huge and he was dressed causal, wearing grey sweatpants and a plain white tee. He was wearing wasn’t wearing his glasses, and his hair seemed wet? Maybe he had jsut taken a shower you thought.

“Huhh?” Kuroo said, “What are you talking about? I was just trying to introduce myself before you rudely interrupted me.”

You stared at the two who were still bickering back and forth and admired the way they casually had their hands in their pockets. You could smell both of their cologne, not too strong.

“I apologize for his behavior,” tsukishima said as he turned his attention to you. He had to bend his head down a bit to look at you, then he invited you inside the dorm and started to show you around the place.

You were too busy paying attention to the tall man in front of you to realize that Kuroo had gone somewhere else.

“Do you want something to drink?” the way tsukishima turned around suddenly and asked you that question caught you off guard because:

1. He was literally huge and was basically towering over your small frame.

and

2. He seemed nicer in person?

“uh s-sure” you said.

curse your stuttering. truly it wasn’t your fault, you were just a bit nervous.

“Huh,” he chuckled, “You’re so shy in person. You were being so bold over text. You sure this is y/n?”

“s-shut up,” you said, playfully hitting his chest, “you’re like a giant towering me, you’re so intimidating without even trying.” he laughs out a little and leads you to the kitchen. “Plus, you’re way nicer in person, it’s seriously weirding me out.”

“Well excuse me for wanting to make a good first impression.” tsukishima says, playfully acting offended and placing a hand near his chest. “It’s okay if you’re shy, it’s kinda cute.” he says casually.

what the hell is wrong with him, he knows if he says stuff like that you’ll take it as flirting. You just roll your eyes and let out a small laugh to not seem so awkward.

“Hey! Hey! Hey y/n!” you hear a familiar voice call out.

“Bokuto, can you please stop being so loud?” tsukishima scoffs.

“Bo? Akaashi? Hey! What are you guys doing here?” you go to the two who were waving and went to go greet the two with a hug, delighted to see them here.

“We came to make sure you wouldn’t harass tsukishima.” Akaashi says as he breaks the hug.

“Shut up, you know that was a joke.” The three of you laugh as you turn to go properly greet the rest.

“Kuroo was it? Sorry for the way i was acting earlier, I thought that I was being catfished and a weird hot guy was tryna kidnap me.” You laugh as you offer your hand for him to shake.

“Oh, you think i’m hot-“ Kuroo said, but shook his head to focus on the person in front of him, you. “it’s fine, I get it. Sorry for scaring you.” He laughs, shaking your hand and holding it for what seemed a bit too long for your own liking.

“Oh, for God’s sake Kuroo, let go of the poor girl’s hand,” You hear another voice say. “Sorry about him, he’s so weird,” the man says, scratching his head and laughing, “I’m Yamaguchi, but you can call me Tadashi and you must be y/n was it? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, really?” You smirk, turning around to face tsukishima, who seemed rather annoyed.

“Yamaguchi shut up, don’t make things sound weird like that.” Tsukishima crosses his arms but everyone just laughs at the comment.

You, kuroo, yamaguchi and tsukishima sit down in the living room and catch up with eachother, just getting to know more about them while bokuto and akaashi seemed to be having their own conversation in the kitchen still.

——

You leave the living room to go ask bokuto and akaashi if they knew where the bathroom was and one of them pointed to it’s direction.

—-

OKAY IM STOPPING IT HERE JUST BECAUSE 😏 but i really hope you all are loving this series just as much as i am 💕

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