#But. He's also feeling a Get Out Of My School type of way about Gale being hot lmao

[callmekitto]

I'm apparently just a bloodweave brain worms guy now

but OK, a lot of us have seen the idea exploring "Gale is using a glamor spell to give him the dehydrated pack of Hawaiian rolls abs we see in-game"

so picture Gale eventually dropping the glamor and everyone either doesn't say anything because it isn't their business, they straight up don't care, or they are quietly supportive/happy for him

but then Astarion finds out, sees his de-glamored, softer body, and he is pissed

"We have a half a dozen things want to kill us at any given moment, and you were using your energy on a glamor spell? When you look like that? I didn't think you were that particular brand of idiot."

To which Gale is Massively Offended because EXCUSE you, and they end up snapping at each other and getting in an argument

("--none of your business what I do with--" "Oh, on the CONTRARY. Unless that's a cantrip, and I'm godsdamned sure it isn't, I'd say your waste of our resources to survive are one hundred percent my business--")

and then later Gale is in his tent fuming remembering the argument but then goes. Wait a Fucking Second

[whatacaitastrophe]

Everything Has Changed - Chapter 8

Previous Chapter

Chapter Song Inspiration: "Bad Habits" - Ed Sheeran ft. Bring Me The Horizon

Chapter Warnings: alcohol consumption, blood drinking, EXTREMELY miled dub!con (both parties are drunk)

Spotify Playlist: Here

Author Notes: Thank you all so much for reading, reblogging, liking, and commenting on this fic (and the first one)! If you are interested in supporting me in other ways, I have a Ko-Fi link. ya girl has been behind on bills for two months and i've got a dog to feed, and every little bit helps <3

i also have a discord server! it was created to coincide with my twitch channel but you do NOT need to follow/subscribe/watch my twitch streams to come hang out with us <3 we talk a lot about bg3 and share memes and fics.

Chapter 8: My Bad Habits Lead to You

The streets of Daggerford were bustling in the late afternoon light, and Fallon could feel the sense of calm that came from being in a crowd rush over her as she walked with Gale. It was a small town to be sure, but after seeing no one other than Astarion, Gale, and the occasional passing traveler for nearly a month even the small crowd was a welcome sight. Fallon preferred to be in crowds of people for a number of reasons, and all of her reasons pretty much directly contradicted each other. Fallon preferred populated areas because nobody was sticking their noses in other peoples’ business. She could blend in with the crowd and be completely anonymous, if she wanted to be. People were often so engrossed in themselves that they didn’t notice what wasn’t directly invading their space. 

On the other side of the coin, Fallon liked living in populated areas because it felt safer. One would think that based on the idea of blending in with the crowd and the anonymity large groups afforded a single person, it would be more dangerous because nobody was paying attention, but people paid attention when something was out of the ordinary. A woman screaming because somebody stole her coin purse, or a man collapsing in the middle of the street? Those were abnormal occurrences that forced people to get out of their own heads and pay attention. Case in point: Fallon was certain the Szarlnaxi vampires would never have ambushed them in Daggerford, even in the middle of the night.

There was a bookshop across the street from the inn, and Fallon nudged Gale and nodded her head in that direction. “Maybe they’ll have some books on sorcery, or some magic scrolls you can use to re-teach yourself some spells.” She suggested. Fallon knew Gale was eager to get to Waterdeep so he could pour through his personal tomes, and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge likely waiting for him there. Maybe there would be something here in Daggerford that could give him a head start. 

At the sight of the bookshop, Gale’s face brightened. “Have I mentioned recently how grateful I am to have you as a friend? Specifically, as the type of friend who is willing to spend time with me in a bookshop?”

Fallon chuckled as they began walking towards the shop. “You’re not the only person who likes to read, Gale.” 

“Indeed. I seem to recall books being the first thing you and I bonded over.” Gale smiled. 

Fallon was not nearly as hungry for knowledge as Gale, and she preferred works of fiction, but that was one of the great things about Gale. He loved reading for the purposes of learning something from a non-fiction book, but that didn’t mean he never picked up a novel, and Fallon learned early on in their friendship that he had read many of her favorites (including the romance novels).

Fallon smiled back at him, and nodded. “I need something new anyway. Astarion has been hogging the books I brought with us for himself.”

“I thought I saw him reading your favorite last week— the one about the boy at magic school.” Gale recalled, and Fallon stopped walking. It took Gale a moment to realize she was no longer by his side, but once he did he doubled back so he was standing in front of her. 

“Fallon? Are you alright?”

“You— you remembered I like that book?” Surprise shone in her eyes as she stared at her ex-boyfriend. It wasn’t that she thought Gale wasn’t listening back then when she shared information about herself. Fallon just assumed he’d forgotten by now after being apart for so long, or that Mystra had somehow managed to take away his memories of Fallon, too (something Fallon had previously assumed to be unlikely, but that was before the goddess revoked Gale’s access to magic out of spite). 

“I remember everything about you, Fallon.” 

Fallon instantly recognized the soft look in Gale’s warm, brown eyes for what it was: adoration. It was a look she’d seen hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. Even before they were romantically involved, Gale always looked at Fallon like he thought she hung the moon. Seeing that look on his face made her heart stutter in her chest, scaring her both because of how it made her feel, and how it likely meant Gale still felt. 

Despite her fear, Fallon offered Gale a half-smile and stepped towards him. She reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. “You’re a good friend, Gale.”

Gale smiled back at her. “Not half as good a friend as you’ve been to me, despite everything.” 

The two of them stood in the middle of the street just staring at each other for a moment longer as Fallon’s mind reeled from the realization presented to her. This couldn’t be happening. She wouldn’t let it. She couldn’t. For so many reasons, she couldn’t. Gale and Fallon were snapped from their moment when a man pushing a cart knocked into Gale, pushing him towards Fallon as he passed by. “Stop standing in the middle of the bloody road!” The man shouted, and Fallon waved apologetically before looking back at Gale. 

“We should get going.” She suggested, and Gale nodded, his face returned to its usual relaxed expression.   

By the time Fallon and Gale returned to the inn, satchels full of books, scrolls, and potions, dusk had fallen, and Astarion was waiting for them in the tavern at the inn. “Gods, what took you so long? Did you buy the whole town?” 

Astarion was dressed in clothes somewhat nicer than what he’d been traveling in thus far, and Fallon smiled as she took in how beautiful he was. Astarion truly was a work of art, and it was categorically unfair. “You look handsome.” She commented, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. Perhaps appealing to his vanity would soften his annoyance that they were gone all afternoon. 

“We’re in a real town for the first time in weeks, the two of you will be able to have a meal not cooked over a fire, and we’ll all be able to indulge in alcohol we didn’t drag with us from Baldur’s Gate, or find in an abandoned building. Why not show the people of this little town what taste looks like,” Astarion mused, resting his hands on Fallon’s hips. He looked at Gale. “Though I’m sure there’s not anything wrong with your cooking, of course. No offense.” 

Gale smiled and shook his head. “None taken. I too am looking forward to eating a meal not cooked by yours truly this evening.” 

Fallon looked at Gale. “I feel like we’re a little underdressed, now, don’t you?” 

“Indeed. Though admittedly I didn’t bring anything much nicer than this, given the circumstances with which I’m here in the first place.” Gale’s cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. 

“It’s alright, no one will be looking at you anyway, since Fallon will be with us.” Astarion complimented Fallon and her heart skipped a beat in her chest as he leaned down to kiss her softly. Fallon knew Astarion loved her, and believed her to be beautiful, but that didn’t mean she would ever tire of hearing him say it. 

“You make a fair point. It is difficult to outshine her.” Gale agreed, clearing his throat slightly. Fallon pulled back from her embrace with Astarion and saw Gale awkwardly staring at the ground, still flushed. 

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go find us a table while Gale and I go upstairs to put away our purchases and change into something a little more presentable?” Fallon suggested to Astarion, and her lover nodded. 

“I’ll be waiting.” He agreed and kissed her a second time, deeper than the first kiss they shared. By the time they broke apart, Gale had already disappeared to return to his room, and Fallon hated the guilt that settled in her stomach once again. 

Astarion was many things, but he wasn’t stupid. Several weeks ago, Astarion warned Fallon that he did not believe Gale was as sorry for his actions as he claimed to be, or that Gale did not have ulterior motives for seeking Fallon’s forgiveness. After what happened with the Szarlnaxi vampires, and offering to let Astarion drink his blood, Astarion had begun to trust Gale a bit more, to believe that Gale truly only wanted forgiveness and to start over with Fallon as friends. 

Then he saw the look on Gale’s face as the sorcerer agreed that Fallon’s beauty put himself and Astarion to shame. It was a look Astarion had seen on Gale’s face before: back when their roles were reversed and Gale was the one sharing Fallon’s bed while Astarion silently pined for the woman he thought would never be his. Whether Fallon was aware of it or not, Astarion couldn’t be sure, but now more than ever, Astarion was more than certain that Gale was very much still in love with her. 

Astarion was going to get him to admit it, if only for the pure joy he would feel upon hearing he was right. Everything else that followed was secondary, and would be dealt with later. He wasn’t stupid, but he also wasn’t the type of person to plan things out terribly far in advance. For now, he just needed to make it through steps one and two:

One, he needed to get Gale drunk, and two, he needed to get Gale alone. Step two would be easy, as the only blood Astarion drank recently was from a boar they found between Dragonspear Castle and Daggerford the day before last. 

It turned out that step one also ended up being easier than Astarion thought it would be. Between being so close to Waterdeep they could taste it, hot baths, hot meals, and the prospect of sleeping in real beds that evening, everyone was in good spirits. Fallon, especially, wanted to drink, and Astarion knew his lover well enough to know that when she was in the mood to celebrate, she wanted everyone else to be as drunk as she was. 

By the time Astarion carried Fallon up to their room to put her in bed, Gale was right behind him, stumbling slightly to his own room for the evening. Astarion was tipsy, but alcohol never got him truly drunk anymore in the way that it did for Fallon and Gale. No, Astarion knew that as soon as he fed on Gale, that was when his own drunkenness would truly kick in: Drinking the blood of someone intoxicated had that effect on him. 

Astarion pressed a kiss to Fallon’s forehead. “Wait up for me, darling, I’ll be back soon.” He requested, fully intent on spending the rest of his evening with Fallon wrapped in his arms and kissing her until they fell asleep after he was finished with Gale. 

The door to Gale’s room was slightly ajar, and Astarion smirked. “Leaving your door open? That’s brave. Anyone could come in and have their way with you.” He teased.

Gale chuckled, his words starting to softly slur together. “If I didn’t know any better, Astarion, I’d say you were flirting with me.” 

Yes, Gale was most definitely drunk enough that getting the information Astarion wanted would be easy. He stepped into Gale’s room and shut the door behind him. “What, I can’t be concerned for the well being of a friend?” Astarion pouted. Maybe he was flirting. After all, flirting used to work marvelously to get information he wanted out of people– who was to say it wouldn’t work on Gale?

Gale laughed again as he took a seat on his bed and began rolling up his sleeve so Astarion could access the same spot on his arm from the last time they did this. “Are we friends now, Astarion? I think you just admitted it.” 

“I suppose we are, sorcerer. You’re much more fun now that you can do magic again.” He observed, striding over to the bed. He sat down next to Gale, and it felt weirdly more intimate than the first time they did this (even with Gale attempting to lay down last time). Maybe it was the fact that they were sitting on a bed. 

Gale hummed happily at the mention of magic. “Yes, that was quite a marvelous discovery, wasn’t it? I suppose I never actually thanked you for that.”

“Trust me, you’ve thanked me enough by agreeing to let me drink your blood again,” Astarion pointed out. “I’m sure Fallon is certainly grateful to share the duties of keeping me fed with someone.” Astarion didn’t actually know if that was true or not, but for the purposes of getting Gale to talk, it was true enough for tonight. A slight pang of guilt settled in Astarion’s stomach for lying to Gale, but it was overruled by his need to be right. 

Gale offered Astarion a dopey smile at the mention of the woman in the next room, and he sighed. “I just want to keep her safe. She deserves to be safe.” 

Astarion nodded in agreement. “That she does,” he reached for Gale’s arm and pushed Gale’s sleeve up a little further, as it had slipped down slightly. “May I?”

He waited for Gale to nod, giving him consent before biting down on the same spot as before. Gale inhaled sharply when Astarion’s teeth broke the skin, and to Astarion’s surprise, the man kept talking. Perhaps to distract himself from the pain. “She loves you, you know. Deeply. I can see it on her face when she looks at you. You make her happy. I’m glad she found happiness, after everything I put her through.” Gale mused, and Astarion couldn’t help but smile against Gale’s skin as Gale’s blood poured into his mouth. It wasn’t a confession of love by any means, but it still pleased Astarion to hear Gale admit he knew Fallon was happy, and in a good place. Maybe he wouldn’t need to worry about Gale acting on his feelings for Fallon (if they existed), after all. 

Gods, Gale’s blood tasted good. Still not as good as Fallon’s, just as Astarion had told her earlier in the day, but damn. He could taste all of the fine wine Gale had that evening clearly now, too, and Astarion could feel himself becoming more intoxicated with every mouthful. 

Soon, Gale was tapping Astarion’s shoulder, and Astarion pulled away, raising his head and licking his lips as he went. He offered Gale the same dopey smile the other man had given him at the mention of Fallon’s name. “You really do taste exquisite, by the way,” Astarion offered. Yes,  Astarion was definitely as drunk as Gale now. “I didn’t get to tell you when you asked last time– too distracted by the magic.”  

To his surprise, Gale blushed. “Thank you, I suppose. I was curious,” Gale looked down at his arm, where blood was still slowly trickling from the wound Astarion created, and instead of wiping it away, he offered his arm back to Astarion. “Want to get the last bit? Might as well not let it go to waste.” The offer surprised Astarion, but he wasn’t really in a position to say no. Even when he was already drunk on Gale, his bloodlust would never allow him to decline one more taste (even if he could control himself from drinking Gale dry). 

“Well, if you’re offering, who am I to say no?” Astarion reached for Gale’s arm again, and slowly licked away the trail of blood that had begun to run down Gale’s forearm. Astarion hadn’t expected the act to feel sensual, but it had. He also hadn’t expected Gale to let out a soft moan, but he had. Most of all, Astarion hadn’t expected the sound of Gale moaning to go straight to his cock, but it had. 

When Astarion pulled away from Gale’s skin, he was grinning coyly at the sorcerer. “Why Gale, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked that, didn’t you?” Gale blushed deeper, and Astarion’s grin only widened. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, darling. I’m just surprised. I didn’t think I was…your type.”

 “You’re everyone’s type, Astarion.” Gale laughed nervously. Even if Astarion hadn’t been flirting with Gale before, he certainly was now as Gale’s alcohol filled blood coursed through Astarion’s veins. Moreover, Gale was flirting back.

Maybe Gale was drunker than Astarion thought he was. Maybe it was the blood loss. Maybe it was both. All of those things could be contributing to Gale’s lowered inhibitions, but Astarion couldn’t bring himself to stop it. The surprises continued as Gale reached forward and swiped his thumb over Astarion’s chin, wiping away the blood that had trickled out of Astarion’s mouth. Gale offered it back to Astarion in the form of pressing his thumb against the vampire’s lips. It was an action that rid Astarion’s mind of all thoughts of the woman in the next room, and how Gale felt about her. It was difficult to focus on anything, really, with the way Gale looked at him. Astarion greedily accepted Gale’s invitation and he took the sorcerer’s thumb in his mouth and sucked the blood away, refusing to break Gale’s intense eye contact. 

When Astarion released Gale’s thumb, they were both breathing a little heavier as they stared at each other, the air so thick with tension it would have taken a sword to cut through it. Astarion’s eyes flickered to Gale’s mouth, and vice versa. Then, in tandem, the vampire and the sorcerer leaned forward to cup each other’s faces in their hands, and their mouths connected in a crushing kiss.

Chapter List

[winderlylandchime]

I swear i thought i replied to some of your questions a few days ago but i’m starting to think that I might’ve forgotten to and now i feel bad. But to summarize it: When we first started watching, he thought that Gale looked a little bit like Ashton Kutcher (but older version) and it was the funniest thing ever to me. He did only talk about it in the pilot though. Btw I am more and more tempted to later on give him Gale’s out of the box interview to watch. Or Randy’s podcast. He has been asking me about the actors a lot lately and if they still act and where are they and if theyre all still friends and I’m avoiding answering because well, one of them abandoned his podcast and the other one we dont even know if he’s still alive until we get a new photo. But I do wonder how he will react when he finds out Gale is straight ngl because right now he fully thinks Gale is gay irl.

Also yes, he has been going on and on about Brian’s growth and how he’s changed since he clocked it around 4th episode. He is so happy that he’s growing and allowing himself to be happy and in love even if he doesn’t want to admit it, that i just know the second 5x01 will start, he will have a mental breakdown and it will be very valid of him.

Your celebrities/therapist story actually made me curious now because how can a celeb that is well known, even get a therapist then without weirdness. I had no clue this was kind of a thing. And yes! My brother would absolutely launch into a discussion about Gale without shame, he’d have pictures and everything ready for it. I mean his confidence when it comes to talking to literally anyone about anything in his life (usually interests and shit he’s done thats funny to him or in this case the show) is impressive as fuck but also for an innocent bystander like me? actually a nightmare to be around that. He truly doesn’t give a single fuck and has zero shame and all the confidence in the world and idk how he does it. He just tells anyone who will listen (not in a trauma dumping type of way but like his interests and such? No shame) to give an example: when he was in high school he made an entire poster presentation for his class to talk about his love for the movie School of Rock and HE DID IT BY SINGING A FAKE ROCK N ROLL SONG (id give anything to remember the lyrics). Mind you, the presentation was supposed to be about current events in politics/world and School of Rock came out like a year or two prior. So you best believe he would do the exact same for Gale or more importantly QAF/Brian/Britin. And as someone who does shy away from talking about qaf just because it is a lot, he on the other hand truly gives zero fucks. Because when we started watching the show, he was fully explaining to the nurses/doctors/anyone that listened(our parents!!!) about how the show is AND HOW BRITIN MET! He TALKED ABOUT THE RIM JOB! I NEVER EVEN FUCKING TOLD YALL THAT! HE TALKED TO OTHER HUMANS ABOUT THE RIM JOB! AND HE WAS FULLY EXPLAINING IT bc he was shocked and surprised at how they filmed it and couldn’t figure out if that meant gale really did do it or not. So if you ever feel like maybe you’ve overshared about something you like and it keeps you up at night. Fear no more because my brother has for sure shared even more and has zero regrets about it.

It is hard to believe Gale is straight because he is that good of an actor and just went fully into the role and really thought deeply about who Brian is. Ugh it hurts my heart to think about just because it’s so full of appreciation for Gale and Randy.

I think you could show him any media that was released while the show was airing. But maybe avoid anything more current? Until he’s done and his heart is broken. He is going to be so upset by all the back pedaling in s5. Which is the correct reaction.

(I kinda love how as a fandom we’re like this is on the writers because Brian would never. Justin would never.)

I have a specific approach I take when I have celebrity clients and I think I could be a therapist to someone I’m a casual fan of. I could never be a therapist to someone I’m actively in a fandom for. I would have to leave the fandom, for starters.

HE TOLD PEOPLE ABOUT THE RIMMING SCENE!?! Oh my god. Anon you have to at least have him listen to Randy’s podcast episode about bottoming where he essentially said that Justin was too naive to do any prep and therefore someone experienced would have never rimmed him without making him at least shower first.

However I will feel so much better about over sharing now. Because holy shit I’ve never overshared like that.

[the-witching-ash]

Also, any headcanons for any other Raymond crossovers?

Going with your original crossover list for Raymond! 🥺

Amiee Rose Baird

Could be ship vibes after his games but I don’t know if they’d do that because of Lucia? But definitely at least besties?

Grew up knowing each other because of his friendship/relationship with Lucia.

Maybe she’s the one who told him most of Lucy Gray’s story?

Amor

No thoughts head empty besties/older sister/mom-figure vibes because of Cinna starting with Raymond’s game’s? 🥺

Concordia Snow (they have a whole life together but your getting headcanon’s 🥺)

Still not entirely ruling out they could be poly with Finnick 👀

Sometime after Hope and Maude are born, they possibly do a vow renewal type thing but this time they get to plan it how they want?

Elissa Morningstar:

Honestly can’t find that much about info about her?

Could be poly trio with Finnick?

Ginny Cresta:

Ginny is the victor of the 72/71 Hunger Games depending on if it’s the bigger crossover with Hollis and Camden and being the year before him, Raymond was the 73/72?

One of the situations where while Finnick teaches him how to be with male clients, she teaches him how to be with female clients?

Poly trio or besties again?

Raymond’s stress levels are already at an all time high with Katniss & Peeta going back into the arena but he’s even more freaked out by the thought of losing her and Finnick. 🥺

Idk what Ginny is up to in the first have of Mockingjsy but if not captured, will personally fight Coin to get her to get Raymond out of the Capitol?

Lacey Tanner

Poly Trio or besties?

Raymond almost loses his shit when he finds out Snow has been selling her to clients since she was sixteen

Raymond is terrified he’s losing almost everyone he cares about to the arena during the quill again. 🥺

Softest reunion in 13 once he’s awake and has been detoxed from the drugs in his system 🥺

Lux Marcella

Poly Trio or besties?

(Finnick suggests pitching a threesome night with Raymond to show him how a meeting with married clients could go after they’ve taught him how to work with men and women individually.)

“I don’t care you’re a career, why the fuck did you volunteer for the quill?” - Raymond, after the reaping. 🥺

Lysa Undersee

They knew each other through school, his hunting with Katniss and Gale and them bringing strawberries for the Mayor?

She vist’s him a lot once she moves into 12’s Victor’s Village after his games?

Lysa goes farel if she hears Coin doesn’t want to rescue Raymond & the captured Victor’s after quill?

Marisol Odair

Either ship vibes, besties or #1 supporter of Finnick and Raymond/the possible poly trio with Annie?

But either way decides to like him after he’s kind and sweet when he met Annie & Mags for the first time?

Yet again someone who teaches him how female clients are going to be different then being with Lucia?

Raymond’s just always terrified about losing his victor friends to the arena during the quill. 🥺

Marella Flanagan

Listen part of why Finnick likes him is he knows Mags took one look at Raymond after meeting and was like “he’s is my son now” and I feel like Marella would agree to like him after that?

Besties or ship vibes/also supporter of Raymond/Finnick/possible trio with Annie?

Raymond’s own little victor family needs to stop being in the Quill he’s panicking.🥺

Loses her shit when she finds out Raymond got captured after Katniss blew up the arena?

Waverly Coin

Bonds with Finnick in 13, promises she’ll do everything she can to make sure Raymond gets out of the capitol, even before Katniss makes her Mockingjay deal?

Poly trio vibes forming once Raymond is in 13 and recovering?

Vouches for Raymond to be apart of their squadron thing?

Willow Abernathy

Besties even before his and Lucia’s games?

The hang out a lot at each other’s houses in the Village, partly because she doesn’t want him to be alone and end up turning to liquor like Hamitch? (He hates the taste so she doesn’t have to worry about that)

Helps him figure out what his “Talent” is after his games?

Raymond becomes so stressed Willow could get reaped at some point.

Tells him he’s an idiot for wanting to volunteer for Haymitch (and that they both know Peeta would beat him to it because of Katniss.)

[katnissmellarkkk]

Okay, here we go! Imma do my liveblog of The Hunger Games, Chapter One, for #THGagain :

I’ll put my thoughts underneath the cut so I don’t clog up the dash 🥳

Okay but right off the bat, Katniss says her mattress cover is rough 🥺. I don’t know, this just made me sad all of a sudden.

So okay, but the fact that Prim had a bad dream and climbed in with their mother? I don’t know if that indicates that Prim still sees their mother as a source of comfort whereas Katniss can’t let herself feel the same way or if it’s just because she didn’t want to wake Katniss.

Maybe it’s supposed to be that Prim is too naive to understand that their mother is mentally fragile? Since in Mockingjay, she says “I know there’s only so much mother can hear,” or something like that, as a way to prove she’s not a little kid anymore sooo. I don’t know. Just some thoughts.

Katniss is shady towards mama right off the bat 🤣. Katniss is shady no matter what though. It’s what makes her narration sound like a teenage girl.

If Katniss is so anti-social though, who’s telling her her mother was once beautiful?

As a cat lover, I take offense to Katniss’ insults to the poor one eyed furball 😭.

So coal miners are also women? I suspected as much but I didn’t realize it was explicitly stated? So if Katniss’ life had gone differently, would she have become a coal miner?

So none of the houses in Twelve get electricity outside of a couple hours a night? Or just in the Seam?

I always forget that Katniss had nightmares even before the games 😔😔😔. Nightmares of her father “being blown to bits.” She has a vivid way with words.

Her father made her bow 🥺🥺. I knew that. I just thought I should mention it again. She uses the bow her father handmade throughout the series 🥺.

Also she says Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to “the few of them who hunt”. A few is more than two. Who else besides Katniss and Gale go hunting?

I like that she randomly starts mumbling to herself 🤣🤣🤣

Once upon a time, Katniss was outspoken apparently. But she mentions that she has to hold her tongue even at home because Prim may repeat her words. I don’t know why, but Prim seems immature for twelve years old. At twelve, in today’s society, you’re going into sixth grade. A sixth grader should know how to keep a secret or hold her tongue.

Gale says she never smiles but in the woods but isn’t that the only place they really spend time together? 🤣

“I kind of liked that lynx but I liked the money I got for it’s pelt more” 😂😂😂

An arrow inside bread. How fortuitous 😭😭😭

I do love that Katniss’ first introduction of Gale is “he could be my brother”

“But we’re at least not that closely related” 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

“Katniss, get off your cousin”

Even though the merchant class is smaller

Meaning they’re even more inbred

And Katniss is half merch-

Okay I’m done with this line of thinking 🤭😅

So backwoods 🤣

So did Mrs. Everdeen’s parents disown her? Or what? Do they still own that apothecary shop? Does Katniss occasionally walk by her grandparents in the town square? Like I’d like more context here, Suz 🙃

Aww, I always feel so bad for Katniss when she talks about her mother abandoning her 😭😩🥺

“But to be honest, I’m not the forgiving type” me either. Me either 🤧.

This may be why I so closely relate to her when she’s angry.

And why when people in the book say she needs to be more forgiving (ala Haymitch) I’m like “no”

I’m sorry but on second glance (more like 8th glance because I’ve read this chapter since I was 16) it’s so obvious Gale was hitting on her here 😅.

She’s oblivious 🤣🤣🤣

As she should be 😆

So later on, in the second book at least, Katniss definitely has some high respect for Hazelle Hawthorne. But here it seems to be like she’s implying Hazelle and her own mother are useless without her and Gale, and like they wouldn’t be able to provide for themselves. Maybe Hazelle just wasn’t fleshed out to Suzanne when she wrote the first book, the same way the love triangle you can tell if you look is sort of just tossed in there in the first book too? Anyways, just a thought.

That line about Prim being the only person Katniss is certain that she loves is sweet (it’s actually one of my favorite lines in the series) but it’s also so shady at the same time 😅😅😅. Like girl, you’re not sure if you love your mother or even your best friend (in a platonic way)?

Katniss makes a point in mentioning it took a long time for her and Gale to become friends. And I feel like that has been simplified a lot along the way, but it never really sounded to me like Katniss and Gale were besties for as long as most people think. The movies are a lot to blame for this, I know.

I don’t actually think Katniss is truly jealous here of the other girls wanting Gale? I feel like if she were she would have unconsciously insulted the school girls who were into him instead of just outright saying she was jealous, just not for romantic reasons. But who knows 🤷🏼‍♀️.

It was already mentioned earlier but I think Suzanne made a continuity error here, when Gale and Katniss mentioned fishing at the lake. The lake is a place Katniss explicitly mentioned in Catching Fire, to be private between her and her father. She even specially said she never took Gale there. I feel much better about my own writing continuity errors now.

Okay, both Katniss and Gale are so dumb. I would never prepare a feast for after the reaping. They’re just jinxing themselves. I have OCD really bad no one come for me.

I like how The Hob is a black market that’s literally just sitting in broad daylight 🤣🤣🤣.

Katniss just referenced being attacked by dogs... um I’m sorry, do we have no fear of rabies in this universe? 😭😭🙃🙃😐😐😅😅

Katniss : “me and the mayor’s daughter aren’t friends, we just hang out all the time at school, eat lunch together, sit by each other and are always partners. But weren’t not friends.” 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

I like the mention of hair ribbons for the rich girl. This is just the fic writer in me seeping into my reading.

Gale and Madge’s little dispute ...

I see why they get shipped together 😅. They’re both just taking swipes at each other here.

Awww, Katniss sticking up for Madge, even though Madge is the privileged one 😭. Katniss has such a pure heart.

The entire point of the Madge/Gale interaction though was just to set up the class divide explanation in Katniss’ head to the reader.

But my Peeta centric heart also picks up on the comments in Katniss’ head of how unlikely it is to be chosen at the reaping when you’re a town kid.

In other words, Peeta had a slim to none chance of being chosen and still was.

Now I think of it, so was Prim...

That was just an unlucky reaping for the kids without tesserae 🙃

Also it reminds me of every fic I ever read that mentioned a conspiracy in the reapings and how the kids aren’t actually chosen at random but anyways I digress

I feel Gale though, with the whole idea of knowing something isn’t this person’s fault and there’s nothing they could do but still being so angry at them because it isn’t fair that you have to suffer and they don’t.

My anger issues are really showing 😅😅😅.

Honestly though, if Katniss is saying Gale on a normal day is rational about the class divide not being merchants faults, then clearly his issues with Peeta later on really were just of jealousy and not because he was a merchant vs Seam.

I just feel like I’ve seen that around and I’m not really convinced

In my interpretation of the character, Katniss’ reasons for not sharing in Gale’s rage comes from exhaustion after a lifetime of powerlessness. Some people (re: females more often) just get worn out about the things they cannot change and can’t even let it get inside their brain because there’s nothing they could do about it.

I mean, she is a more understanding person than Gale but I feel like so much of her character is already so tired right from chapter one.

Okay, just a pointless rambling thought

“Where something pretty” these children are so shady 🤣🤣🤣 that’s a line I would say though

The fact that her like 42 year old mother still fits in a dress she wore at like 20 is really a testament to how hungry they are 🤧🤧🤧

Okay but I’m not trying to pick on her mother, but when they were starving, why did either she or Katniss sell the fancy clothes from her apothecary days? I’m nitpicking I know. I’m a nitpicker.

Also good for Katniss trying to forgive her mother.

God knows how hard it is for me to try and forgive people.

Literally, God knows.

I like that Katniss didn’t disagree with Prim saying she’s beautiful, just that she doesn’t usually look this way 😂😂😂.

I just know my sister wouldn’t let me not take tesserae if this was us. She’d be like “you’ll be fine, four entries? Please. We can have more food for an entire year, don’t be selfish.” 😅😅😅

I feel like noting that Katniss and Prim’s age gap isn’t that significant? Four years? That’s not that large. Not even at 12 and 16.

They herd these children off like they’re .... pigs going to a slaughter... 🤭🤭🤭

Katniss casually stating “I could be shot on a daily basis” 😐😐😐

Katniss and Gale agreeing they’d rather be shot than starve is honestly so sad but lowkey sounds like something two teenagers would say. They should have put dialogue like this in the movies.

I didn’t even remember District 12 has 8,000 people.... why’d I think they only had 3,000????

I need to update some of my fics with this information

Katniss just said “televised by the state”. I’ve never heard her call any region a state before?

I like that Katniss calls Effie’s grin scary and white, because tons of people (i.e me) whiten our teeth in today’s society. And to Katniss and probably all of Twelve that’s creepy. I think it’s weird to Europeans too but l digress.

Also do the people in this district brush and floss, they never seem to mention it in the books, ya know?

Honestly the idea of the hunger games sounded cooler without Songbirds and Snakes telling us it was just some dumb guy’s idea that no one ever thought would come true.

Aww, sugar is a delicacy 🤧🤧🤧

I knew already that but lemme fully feel that sentiment for a moment okey

Umm I’m sorry, did Mayor Undersee just casually state Lucy Gray Baird’s name every year and we never knew it? Did Snow just allow this? Seems suspish

Also the idea of Katniss being her distant relative and hearing the name and not knowing the connection... and yeah, anyways. I got wayyyy ahead of myself and off track sorry

Why would Haymitch hug Effie? I’m sorry, but Hayffie having a secret affair at some point in all the years they worked together seems more likely than I thought.

I mean, Katniss never mentions Haymitch hugging anyone besides her and Peeta when they just almost died, are about to die or that one time Katniss was sobbing because she thought Peeta was gonna die.

You know what though? I like that at this moment, when the name is about to be announced, Katniss worried about herself. She spends so much time worrying for her sister, babying her sister, mothering her sister, she deserves ten seconds of worrying for her own safety.

Of course, said sister is the one chosen. Ironic considering the whole encounter with Madge.

Okay, I think that concludes my thoughts for chapter one of The Hunger Games!

[wlwdarlingcharming]

Hii do you have any bios for your eah oc's?? I'm so interested to know more about them!!!

yes my dear <33 these are very messy and i tried to keep some outline but oh boy did it go downhill after godiva.

elias wykkyd, son of the wicked witch of the west and the good witch of the south: he/him/they/them. bisexual. wants to protect the family secret (their mothers were not supposed to get together and if grimm found out, he would lose his shit) but his sister’s outbursts make it very hard. he’s very stressed all the time and would benefit greatly from a nap. they like to hangout with raven queen and thinks she’s pretty chill. he loves the other oz kids, but sometimes they are too much for them. he really, really doesn’t want to fight his sister or try to kill rowan. they don’t know that his destiny is to be the next good witch of the south. rebel.

godiva southgood, child of the wicked witch of the west and the good witch of the south: she/her/fae/faer. lesbian. very crazy. loyal to faer brother, but to no one else. has a “it’s me or them” mentality. believes she’s the hero and everyone against her is a villain. has too much power and probably (definitely) doesn’t use it for good. wishes her brother would understand what fae’s going through instead of blaming fae for everything. has a crush on farrah goodfairy. fae doesn’t know that her destiny is to be the next wicked witch of the west. royal.

rowan gale, son of dorothy: he/him. ace & gay. he’s passionate about photography and is on the bookball team. he never knew his mom, because he was taken away from her as a baby (👀). besides the ozians, he’s very close with alistair wonderland and would go far as to say that’s his best friend because he understands how hard it is to be a leading man. rowan is very scared for his destiny, because he doesn’t want to fight elias (godiva) and almost die. rowan is very sure of himself and has a god complex mixed with deep insecurity. people look up to him which defintely fuels his ego, but it makes him feel more insecure himself because “what if i just disappoint everyone more?”. he also feels like a disappointment to his mom but aggressively covers that up with false confidence. he gets bored easily and looks uninterested a lot. he doesn’t mean to, but school just can’t capture his attention. his destiny is to be the next dorothy gale. roybel.

valora de lioncourt, child of the cowardly lion: she/her/they/them. bi disaster. local furry. GORGEOUS. hangs out with cerise, ramona and rosabella. will do anything that anyone asks of them. gets into many hijinks with the other oz kids. plays for the lacrowns team and is surprisingly good. everyone always assumes she’s really shy and scared all the time (which in their opinion gets really annoying), but she’s very confident in herself. their destiny is to be the next cowardly lion. royal.

tinnafy manns, daughter of the tin man: she/her. panromantic asexual. total party girl. doesn’t sleep, ever. gets called a robot a lot and it hurts her feelings. hangs out with briar, melody and siobhan. close with her dad, but he doesn’t approve of her party lifestyle. rebel.

felix crowfield, son of the scarecrow: he/him. pansexual. coolest guy ever. literally so chill. how does he do it? it’s because he has dealt with godiva and elias’s screaming matches for years and has learned to tune them out. he loves creating costumes, as well as acting, and is apart of the ever after high players. doesn’t want to be the next scarecrow and would much rather make costumes thank you very much. his destiny is to be the next scarecrow. rebel.

lilith whiteford, daughter of the white queen and the white knight: she/her. ace lesbian. badass knight princess. has a cold exterior, but once you get through that, she is one of the most kind and caring people. loves her brother and her parents. loyal to a fault. wanted to be the next white knight of wonderland, but later decides she wants to date the future white knight of wonderland (one darling charming). was taught by her parents to never speak unless spoken to, so that’s how she talks to others. people think she’s just a scary knight princess, but she’s really not. secretly a huge nerd. older twin. royal.

lysander whiteford, son of the white queen and the white knight: he/him (ftm). gay. sad boy. sad, rich boy vibes. makes everyone think he believes he’s above them, but he is so insecure about everything. he wants to be the next white queen (king) more than anything. doesn’t like his mother or his father, but loves his twin lilly. he pretends to be a pompous jerk to everyone, and it pains him to act that way, but it’s the only way he knows how to talk to others. younger twin. royal.

coraline sirenowitch, child of the sea witch: she/her/they/them. lesbian. egirl energy. looks mean, is actually very nice. very, very powerful. besties with faybelle, actively tries to avoid meeshell. hates forks with a burning passion. (coraline: they’re like tRiDeNtS, fAyBelLe) likes to make their own jewelry. vegan. their destiny is to be the next sea witch. rebel.

eira nordskov, daughter of the snow fairy: she/her (mtf). bisexual. oh BOY she is my BABY. her story has developed wildly over the past year. she’s very shy, has limited snow powers and loves ballet and ice skating. friends with justine and duchess. she loves sugar plums (much to siobhan’s dislike). gets very angry really quickly, which causes some mild changes in weather. hate hate HATES her roommate, crystal winter and they have the biggest rivalry. has the biggest crush on nathaniel nutcracker (who i have also adopted from the books). her destiny is to be the next clara. royal?

siobhan plumfairy, daughter of the sugar plum fairy: she/her/they/them/he/him/xe/xem. the coolest out of the nutcracker kids. hangs out with briar, melody and tinnafy a lot. basically only talks to nath, cordelia and eira because they’re all childhood friends. IS the life of the party. wants to be anything other than the sugar plum fairy. has a good control on xer magic, but uses it to make decorations, clothes and lights for briar & mel’s parties. very insecure about their wings and doesn’t like to talk about her parents. uses his “cool girl” connections to get himself things. rebel.

cordelia mouse-king, daughter of the mouse king: she/her. very smart when it comes to sciences. likes to make potions and other concoctions in chemythstry and prides herself on getting good grades. likes to talk to cupid, because cupid’s old school is near where her cousin mouscedes lives. also friends with ashlynn and dexter. very short and small, but can be very scary. has a bad relationship with her dad, and usually spends break with her cousin or siobhan. super awkward around nathaniel and doesn’t like when they all hangout. rebel.

nathaniel nutcracker, son of the nutcracker: he/him. disaster bi. LOVES DANCING. absolutely loves ballet and literally any type of dance. good friends with justine. mostly hangs out with the other nutcracker kids. very uppity and preppy. scared of cordelia’s dad and refuses to hangout with cordelia outside of school, which makes group hangouts really awkward. royal.

jocelyn “jj” hook, daughter of captain hook and the big bad wolf: she/her. pirate lesbian. mostly hangs out with ramona, cerise and winnie. (as well as the hypothetical ever after high fight club) thinks of little red as her mom. refuses to talk to jamie (her mom). has a pirate ship. rebel.

winona “winnie” darling, daughter of wendy darling: she/her. bisexual. badass pirate queen. in love with jj and would fight anyone for her. hypothetical head of ever after high fight club. short queen. very shy, but once you get to know her you won’t be able to get her to shut up. rebel.

[bethpeaches123]

Everlark #46

Okay, this took much longer than I’d hoped, but that’s because every time I thought I was finished, something new popped into my head and I had to include it, so it’s also much longer than I’d anticipated. But, here it is, @mandelion82! I hope you enjoy! I’m thinking of continuing it too, so stay tuned! Also going to post it on AO3. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everlark 46: nanny/single parent au

The Nanny/Babysitter/Minder

When Katniss Everdeen placed an ad looking for a nanny to care for her five-year-old daughter Cassie, the gorgeous blond, blue-eyed specimen of a man standing on her front porch was not exactly what she had in mind.

“Can I…help you? Sir?” she asked, trying to wipe the puzzled expression off her face when she opened the door.

He smiled, his hands shoved in the front pockets of his dark wash jeans, looking slightly puzzled himself. “I’m Peeta. Peeta Mellark? I emailed you about the nanny position for your daughter? We agreed I’d come over to meet her at one o’clock today?” he replied. His eyes flickered to the side at the sound of a car horn behind him on the busy street, then flicked back to Katniss while he waited for her response.

Flustered that Peeta was apparently a man’s name and not an old woman’s like she’d assumed, (Why had she assumed that? What could have it been short for? Petunia? Come on, Katniss) she hesitated and then said, “oh, yes, of course. Um, please, come in,” stepping aside to let the subtly muscular man walk past her and into the hallway.

Hesitating again, she decided to throw caution to the wind and continue with the appointment with this man, Peeta. She hadn’t received any other responses to the ad she’d placed two weeks prior, and she was getting desperate. Her surgery schedule had changed at the hospital, thanks to crotchety Chief Abernathy who didn’t care about her childcare woes, and she needed to find someone to pick Cassie up from school until her current shift rotation changed again in a few months’ time. If it changed. Knowing Abernathy, he’d keep her on this schedule indefinitely.

“Cassie? Can you come out please sweetheart, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” she called down the hall.

She motioned for Peeta to proceed into the living room as a tiny pixie of a girl came bounding down the hall and into the room, her dark brown hair in two messy braids down her back. “Mama, I was playing,” she whined, but stopped and stared, wide-eyed at the blond man standing in front of her. “Who are you?” she asked, curiously.

“Cassie honey, I told you we’d be meeting your new nann-err…your….baby-um…your…minder…today. Remember?” hastily fumbling over what to call Peeta. “This is Mr. Mel-um, Peeta.”

“Hi Mr. Peeta,” Cassie whispered, peering up at him shyly as her little mouth curling into a smile.

Peeta knelt down in front of Cassie and held out his hand. “Hello Miss Cassie, it’s very nice to meet you. You can call me just Peeta, though, if you’d like,” he replied, gently smiling at the girl. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better, I hope.”

“Cassie, why don’t you tell Peeta about school? Cassie just started grade one. Peeta, can I get you something to drink?” asked Katniss, starting towards the kitchen. She needed to put some distance between herself and this gorgeous man. Needed to catch her breath and steady herself – it had been a while since she’d been around anyone who made her feel so flustered. She was usually so calm and cool-headed; she needed to be, being an orthopedic surgeon and all. When Peeta didn’t reply right away, she turned to face him and found him staring straight at her.

“I’m fine, thank you,” he replied, his eyes warm as he looked at her for a beat longer than normal, before turning his focus back to her mini-me sitting before him on the floor. She could feel the heat from his brief gaze go straight to her core. She shivered and spun on her heel, swiftly walking to the kitchen. What was that? As she poured herself a glass of water, she gave herself a mental shake before gulping it down and returning to the living room to sit and observe.

As Katniss watched the two interact on the floor, her initial hesitations began to melt away. Peeta was patient, attentive and gentle with her sweet girl, listening to her talk about her dolls, how much she wanted a cat (Katniss refused - she and felines did not get along) and how nice her kindergarten teacher Mr. Cinna was. Peeta asked her questions about her favourite colour (purple, but also green, like Mama) what she wanted to be when she grew up (a veterinarian) and her favourite flavour ice cream (Rocky Road).

After 45 minutes had passed and the two seemed thick as thieves, Katniss’s worries were gone. Her desperation to find someone to look after Cassie while she was at work had melted away as she watched Cassie, normally a shy, reserved little girl, open up and giggle at the gentle man who made silly faces and showed her pictures of his cat, Cupcake (she could’ve scolded him for that - she didn’t need Cassie getting any more ideas about wanting a cat.) Occasionally, she’d laugh softly at something one of them would say, and she’d catch Peeta’s eye when he’d glance at her and smile warmly, his dimples dusting his cheeks.

With her ex Gale no longer in the picture, and her mother and sister living two states away, she didn’t have any family support. Peeta seemed to be the answer to her prayers, judging from how quickly he and her daughter got along. Plus…he wasn’t hard on the eyes. Stop lusting after the hired help, Katniss. Get it together.

After some more time had passed, Katniss looked at her watch and said, “Well, I think we’ve taken up enough of Peeta’s time, Cassie, and you have to get ready to head out to your singing lesson too,” said Katniss, standing up and motioning to her daughter to go to her room and get ready. “Why don’t you brush your teeth, use the bathroom and get your sheet music from your bedroom while I talk to Peeta?”

“But I don’t haveta use the bathroom, Mama,” Cassie grumbled. She didn’t make any moves to get up from her spot on the floor next to Peeta, who smartly stayed silent as he watched the mother and daughter talk.

“You will as soon as we get in the car and by then it’ll be too late. Go, please, missy,” replied her mother, sternly.

Peeta stood up from where he’d been sitting crossed legged on the floor with Cassie and dipping into a deep bow, offered her his hand to pull her up. “May I be of service to the young lady and help her up?” His eyes twinkled as she giggled again and placed her little hand in his, letting him easily pull her to her feet. “Will I see you again, Mr. Peeta?” she asked shyly, glancing at her mother before turning back to him.

“I would like that, Miss Cassie. How about I chat with your mama while you get ready? It’s a good idea to listen to her - she knows best,” he replied gently.

Cassie huffed, but turned and bounded out of the room, the chorus of “Let It Go” echoing down the hall as she went.

Peeta chuckled and shook his head amusedly, shoving his hands in his front pockets, adopting his stance from earlier. He turned his gaze to Katniss once again, his piercing blue eyes warm and kind. Before she could speak, Peeta beat her to it.

“She seems like a wonderful little girl, Mrs. Everdeen. I’d be happy to look after her for you when needed,” he said. “I can provide a list of references and my child CPR certification if you’d like. I mean, if you’d like me to...if you’d like t-to hire me?” He stuttered, watching her face spread into a wide, amused smile.

“It’s Dr. Everdeen, actually. Ms. Dr. Everdeen, really. I’m not married. Ever. Haven’t ever been married. I mean, not that that matters, I’m jus-I mean Cassie’s father and I weren’t married, we were just together, but he’s not around anymore, he-” what was wrong with her? She was a top-notch surgeon; a strong, independent woman, raising a child on her own. Why was she so tongue-tied around this man? She took a deep breath and said, “Katniss is fine. And your references and other files would be great. Could you email them to me please?”

Amused by her stuttered response that mirrored his own, Peeta replied, “Okay. Katniss it is, and yes, I’ll send them over today.” He seemed relieved that she was as nervous as he was.

After they discussed hours and rate of pay, the one questions that had been nagging in the back of her mind finally couldn’t be left unasked. “Why do you want this job?” She blurted.

Mortified, she continued before he could even open his mouth. “Sorry, it’s just...when I placed the ad, I expected to find an old, grandmother-type woman. Not a young, handsome guy. I mean-I just...I haven’t come across a lot of male...nannies,” she trailed off, embarrassed by her word choice. Did I just call him handsome? To his face? Oh god, I wish I could bury MY face in my hands right about now.

Peeta shifted somewhat uncomfortably from one foot to the other before replying. “That’s a fair question, I guess. I work in my family’s bakery in the mornings, but my day is finished by noon. I wanted something to fill the rest of my days and I love kids – I have a niece and nephew who are just the greatest, I love spending time with little people that age, they’re so inquisitive and honest. I’ve actually thought about going back to school to become a teacher – I mean, I haven’t ruled it out yet, I’m only twenty-six, that’s not too old. Plus, I thought about how much of a struggle it must be sometimes to be a single parent and if I have the ability and capacity to help someone out, well, then I want to do that.” He realized he was rambling a bit and flushed with embarrassment. “Is that weird? I just thought I’d combine helping people and kids and...well, here I am. Here we are.”

“Here we are indeed,” mused Katniss, staring at him wonderingly. “That seems like as good a reason as any, I suppose.” She started to turn away but stopped and looked at him once again. “And I do appreciate the help, by the way…can you start Monday?” Her lips curved into a small smile, Peeta beamed back at her, this time his dimples on full display.

“Great! Yes, Monday’s great. Okay. Good. I think this will be...great. I’ve said great a lot. I’ll stop,” said Peeta sheepishly, running his hand through his messy blond curls. His face flushed bright red again, a shade Katniss found endearing.

Before she could respond again, Cassie came bounding down the hallway, her teeth clean and music bag in tow. “I’m ready, Mama! Mr. Peeta, so will I see you again?” She asked hopefully, peering up at her new friend once again.

Peeta glanced at Katniss, who smiled and nodded, before replying to Cassie. “You will! I’ll be there to pick you up from school on Monday. I have a very serious question for you though, Miss Cassie. Are you ready to hear it?” Her brow furrowed as she nodded slowly. “Do you like to have fun?” She little face broke out into a grin as she nodded again, more enthusiastically this time. “Well good,” he continued. “Because we’re going to have lots of it.”

Hearing her child break out into giggles again melted her heart and stirred something inside her. Looking at Peeta, she met his intense gaze with one of her own, grateful for this kind man to care for the more important person in her life.

“Well, it’s time to go, sweetheart. Peeta, thank you so much again. We’ll be chatting before Monday to go over the rest of the particulars,” said Katniss, ushering Cassie out the front door and turning to Peeta once again. As he moved past her to go through the front door, his hand lightly pressed against the small of her back to step around her, and Katniss felt the heat of his touch through her coat. It spread from her back throughout her body, right down to her toes. She froze as he passed through the door and hopped down the steps, turning back to look at her and flashed his dimples once again. Oh my. This is going to be interesting…

“I’ll speak to you very soon, Katniss. Cassie, I’ll see you Monday afternoon!” he called, cheerfully as he waved and headed to his car.

“I like Mr. Peeta, Mama. He’s nice. And he has a cat!! Do you think he can bring Cupcake over to play with me sometime?” Cassie babbled as Katniss strapped her into her seat, her mind replaying the memory of Peeta’s touch on her back over and over. She flushed again, thinking of how close his muscular body had to hers been when he walked by, how his blue eyes sparkled when he stared at her, how his dimples seemed to make an appearance when he beamed at her….how his ass looked when he bent over to help Cassie up...

Oh no. She was in trouble.

A young, hot, (she has to admit he was hot, there was no denying it) kind, patient man was going to be looking after her child and thus very, very involved in her life for the unforeseeable future. This would be interesting indeed…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[jlalafics]

Modern Au dabble where Everlark connect on the roof of one of their houses and then cute kiss leading into ya know? Thanks! You and your books are amazing! -Zeffie ♥️♥️

Hey love! Thanks for this amazing prompt. I hope you wanted this ficlet with a good amount of spice...

Enjoy @hungergamesfangirl02 (Zeffie)!

_____

The moment she steps onto the roof, Peeta spots her.

She is circling the space with her roommates; the sharp-tongued woman with blunt bangs and crimson lowlights and the blue-eyed blonde wearing a crown of flowers. His roommate, Gale, had a one-night thing with the blonde. Peeta can still remember the muttered moaning of her name through the thin walls of their apartment: Madge…Madge…Madge…

Peeta drinks from his red cup, trying to quietly observe the girl in the middle. She’s wearing a cropped jean jacket and a shift burgundy dress with embroidered straps. The ankle boots lengthen her rich-colored legs and he wonders, albeit briefly, what he would see if a sudden gust of wind were to sweep through.

However, it’s summer in the city.

Balmy and warm, the sun just going down and it’s practically another day.

“Peeta!” He turns, spotting Finnick, his other roommate, and Annie, Finnick’s girlfriend. It’s his friend’s birthday and a possible engagement party. Annie doesn’t know, but Peeta and Finnick just picked up the ring from the jeweler this afternoon. “Why are you hiding in the corner?”

“You know that I’m not the party type,” he tells them with a smile. Peeta eyes his friend. “So…anything interesting going on?”

“Not quite,” Finnick responds, throwing an arm around Annie’s shoulders. “Maybe a little later.”

Peeta nods, trying to suppress his smile. It’s not often that his friend is uncertain; he’s known Finnick since they were in diapers and his bronze-haired friend has always moved forward, unafraid of what was ahead of him.

However, when it comes to Annie, the man is total mush.

“You need to circulate,” Annie tells him, her green eyes full of kind concern. “It’s been a year since Delly.”

“Who’s Delly?” comes a brash voice.

They all turn to find the woman with red hair standing before them.

And, right next to her is—

“Katniss!” Annie is rushing towards the pretty girl to give her a hug. Then she goes to Miss Blunt Bangs, embracing her as well. “Johanna!”

They all pull apart and Annie introduces them to Finnick and Peeta.

“I’ve seen you before on campus,” Finnick says to Katniss—Peeta is already in love just hearing her name. “You’re a voice major, right?”

Katniss nods. “Yup, but more song writing and composition than singing.”

“Well, you should talk to Peeta here.” Finnick waves at hand at him, clover eyes sparkling. He knows Peeta well enough to identify when he’s interested in something…or someone. “He’s exceptionally talented when it comes to playing. I don’t think there’s an instrument that he hasn’t experimented with.”

Katniss turns, grey almond-eyes on him. “I’ve seen you around before.”

“I don’t go to Juilliard,” Peeta stammers out.

“No!” She grins and he finds himself smiling back at the way her face completely blooms with loveliness. “I’ve seen you sitting on this roof. You play out here sometimes.”

“Yeah, Katniss has been mini-spying on you,” Johanna informs him.

“Really?” He eyes her and Katniss’ cheeks color—geez, now she’s even more gorgeous. “I’m flattered.”

“I actually live over there—” Katniss points to the adjacent building. It’s at few floors higher, but just enough for someone to look over and see clearly onto their roof. “—sometimes I go up to write or to look at the stars.”

“Don’t lie to the man,” her friend retorts, earning a glare. “At least tell him that you’re a little hot for him holding a guitar.”

“Johanna—” Annie thankfully interrupts. “Thresh has been looking for you.”

“I gave him a blowjob last month and he’s been hitting me up ever since,” she replies. Looking over at Katniss, Johanna winks. “Have fun with your mystery man.”

The two girls walk off, leaving Finnick, Peeta, and Katniss standing together.

“Oh!” Finnick looks around. “I think I better make sure that we still have enough ice and prepare for my birthday speech.” He pats Peeta on the back. “Have fun.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more obvious setup,” Katniss tells him when they’re finally alone.

“They mean well,” Peeta replies. “At least, Annie and Finnick do. Johanna is a bit of a mystery.” He looks over to the bar. “Did you want a drink?”

“Sure.” They head to the bar; Peeta tries to keep cool as Katniss joins his side. Their hands are a muscle movement away from touching and he stiffens his hand. “I’d love a Corona and lime.”

“Very summer of you,” he replies before requesting it from the bartender. “How do you know Annie?”

The bartender places the tall neck bottle, placing the lime wedge at the opening, before handing it to Katniss.

They find their way to a spot at the far corner of the party and settle down together on a lone bench. Finnick is talking to the DJ and he sees Annie talking to Madge, whose arm is around Gale’s waist. Johanna has found Thresh and they are dancing, both decently tearing up the floor.

It’s the perfect summer night.

“She works with Johanna,” Katniss explains. “I think they’re EAs for the two CEOs, so they’re always working together. I’ve known Johanna my whole life. When I found out I got into Juilliard, I didn’t hesitate to ask her to come with me. She didn’t hesitate to say yes. Her home life was less than ideal.”

“That sucks.” Real smooth, idiot. His tongue is so tied around her, but Peeta takes a breath and searches for another topic. “How about you? What’s your family life like?”

“I have one sister. Sweetest girl you’ll ever know.” Her smile goes soft and sad, lost in thought. “My Dad passed away when I was five.”

“I’m sorry.”

His hand goes unconsciously to hers resting between them. Peeta motions to pull away, but her fingers entwine with his.

Their eyes meet, silently agreeing that it feels right.

“It’s fine. He was sick for a long time,” Katniss explains. “When I was 12, my mom met Haymitch and we all kind of loved him from the start. They got married when I was 13 and have been thoroughly happy ever since.” She moves closer. “And you? Tell me about your family.”

“My Dad’s a businessman,” he starts. “Have you heard of Mellark Bakery?”

“Yeah, they have that huge factory across the bridge,” Katniss replies. “Your Dad work there?”

Peeta holds out his free hand, wondering if he should have open this can of worms. However, if this is going anywhere (is it too early to propose?), he should probably tell her about his family.

“Nice to meet you. Peeta Mellark.”

Katniss let out a laugh, putting down her Corona to shake his hand.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was meeting with a son of industry!”

“My Dad is actually pretty cool,” he tells her. “He’s always been very encouraging and supportive of me and my older brothers, Emmett and Noel. Emmett is an artist and Noel is a chef.”

“And your mother?”

“Pretty opposite.” Katniss squeezes his hand, listening intently. “She’s a society woman. Very beautiful, but very cold.”

“Oh, she is going to hate me,” Katniss replies.

Peeta grins at her words. “Already planning to meet the parents?”

“Of course. We’ve connected, you know?” she proclaims. “Now that I’ve seen you up close, there’s no going back.”

“And your family?” he counters. “Would they like me?”

“They’re going to love you,” she says, her grey eyes on him. “You seem so easy to care for.”

Peeta looks at his feet, overcome by her words. “How do you know?”

“Last month, I was coming home from school and you were walking out of your building. There was a little old woman coming out of her taxi and she seemed to be struggling to even open the door. So, you opened the door for her, and you helped her set up her walker on the sidewalk. Then, you paid for her cab and helped her inside your building. Nobody does shit like that anymore. Everyone always seems to be looking out for themselves, nowadays.”

“Mags has lived here the longest, so she’s kind of building royalty,” Peeta explains. “Also, her husband died a while back and she has no kids. The people in this building are her family and we take care of one another.”

“I like that,” Katniss tells him.

“I like you,” he blurts out. “I mean, if it hasn’t been obvious enough.”

Katniss doesn’t respond, but she shifts a little bit closer to him as she stares into his eyes.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Peeta is intrigued by her abruptness. “What did you have in mind?”

She pulls him by his hand to stand up. He rises and their chests brush against one another. It is brief, but it is enough to light a fire in his belly at the feel of peaked nipples against his thin flannel button-down.

“We’re going stargazing.”

++++++

“For some reason, Johanna has a deal with the maintenance crew in the building,” Katniss recounts as they step onto the roof of her apartment complex. “No one else but myself, Johanna, and Madge are allowed up here.” She leads him over to a set of lounge chairs. “I don’t really know what kind of deal she cut, and I’ve never bothered to ask.”

“That’s probably for the best,” he tells her. “Are you allowed to bring people up here?”

“I’m pretty sure that Johanna and Madge have brought guys up here before.” Katniss turns to him, her eyes glowing under the light of the moon. “You are the only person that I’ve ever brought here…the only person I want to bring here.”

Peeta isn’t sure if it is the moon…or the Corona…or the heat of the night…but something dances inside his chest, telling him to go to her. Her eyes are on him, hunger so intense in them that there is nothing he could do but go to her. Katniss follows suit, marching towards him with determination.

A groan escapes her lips at the feel of him hard against her pelvis. “Peeta, please…”

They meet in the middle of the roof, breaths heavy and Katniss reaches to cup his cheek. His arm rounds her slender waist, pulling her close to let her feel what she does to him.

“What would you like?” he asks, voice roughened with need. His free hand moves along the lines of her body and she whines, pressing closer to him. “Tell me what you want, Katniss.”

“I want you to kiss me.” Katniss’ mouth grazes against him and he nearly crumbles at the feel of heat between her legs. “Then, I want you to fuck me until we both see stars.”

His mouth is on hers, slotting them together. He sucks harshly at her upper lip as her hands reach for him, holding his face in place as she bites at his lower lip. They both moan into one another, tasting lime and alcohol and the fire between them.

Katniss moves them towards one of the chairs, her hands traveling down and reaching to the buttons of his shirt as her tongue sweeps into his mouth. His own hands move to yank at her jean jacket until she shrugs it off.

“Touch me, Peeta,” she says into his mouth. His shirt has been tossed to the ground and her hands roam unabashedly against his heated skin.

Peeta reaches for the hem of her dress and Katniss complies, lifting her arms up so he could pull the dress over her head. Once it is off, he steps back and looks at the beautiful woman under the summer moon.

Every inch of her skin is caramel and Peeta licks his lips ravenously as his eyes rove over lush breasts with rosy nipples…the graceful dip of her waist…full hips…and nude mesh panties that cover a thatch of dark hair.

“You are beautiful,” he rasps.

Katniss slowly sits down on the lounger, resting back. Her chest heaves, nipples pointed in the warm air, as she waits expectantly for him.

Peeta kneels before her. Carefully, he takes her boots and places them next to the lounger. Then, he is at her center, mouthing her through the mesh and sampling the honey pleasure of her core. Her hands go to his hair, fingers running through his hair and nails scratching at his scalp as he sucks and tongues her through the scrap of nothing.

“Fuck! Peeta!” Her wails are like gold and he moans, vibrating against her cunt. “More, please!” He moves the scrap of cloth away from her quim and plunges his tongue inside her. “Oh my God!”

Part of him is thankful for the party next door, the vibration of music sheathing her cries in the air. Peeta loves the sound of her, unabashed in showing him how good she feels. Katniss pushes herself against his tongue, legs wrapping around his head as she humps his face.

He is drenched in her; his new favorite drink for a summer’s night.

Peeta’s hands move to his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them quickly.

Pulling away, Katniss whines at the motion until she sees his pants undone. Her eyes, already smoky, have gone obsidian at the sight and he pushes his briefs down, his erection jutting out.

She sits up, one hand pressed to the seat as the other reaches to his length, wrapping her fingers around him. Her thumb moves to the mushroomed head, spreading the precum and he almost seizes at the sensation.

“You’ve given me what I want,” she tells him, her hand stroking him slowly. “What do you want?”

“I want to show you the stars,” Peeta replies, his hand reaching to her panties and she lifts her hips, letting him slide them off until it joins their pile of discarded clothing. He stands before her, reaching for the waist of his jeans and boxers before pulling them off in one motion. His shoes and socks followed, joining her boots.

He stands before her, naked and obviously wanting.

Katniss lays back, pushing herself up onto her elbows, admiring the sight before her.

“I did watch you from here,” she says, her voice strained. “You’d fiddle with your guitar and I’d fiddle myself.”

The image of Katniss, hands on herself…fingers dipping into that dripping cunt is just too much.

Peeta falls to his knees, yanking her down until ass is at the edge of the chair, the backs of her legs pressing along his front.

Then, in one motion, he thrusts roughly into her sodden quim.

The moment Peeta slides into her, her whole body growls.

He can feel her contracting around him and he begins to move, savoring the feeling of being surrounded by her slick. Peeta leans down and their lips meet, her body practically folding in half so he can taste her.

Katniss moans into their kiss, tasting her essence against his tongue as they move against one another. The chair creaks under the pressure of their fucking and he can’t imagine that it feels very comfortable.

He attempts to lift her in-between thrusts, but Katniss frantically shakes her head.

“No, just like this,” she gasps into his sweaty skin. Her legs spread away to wrap around his waist. “Won’t be long now…”

She feels too good, silk and sopping around his cock. Her grip on him is the perfect pressure and as he thrusts, Katniss arches up, bottoming out.

“Holy fuck, you’re amazing,” he groans. “There is no way in hell that I’m letting you go now.”

Hell, Peeta is already convinced that this woman with the dark waves and smoky eyes is the woman that he’s going to marry. In his mind’s eye, he already imagines her in a white dress…carrying her over the threshold of her dream home…of fucking her against every wall of the house…of filling her to the brim until she’s swollen with his child.

“Don’t let me go,” Katniss cries out, her insides beginning to flutter around him, and he juts his cock shallowly knowing that he’s going to spill inside her at any moment. “I wanted you since the moment I saw you…fuck….oh…” Her muscles pulsate around him and her pelvis rises to meet his thrusts.

Her cries are swallowed into the starry sky above them and Peeta watches her in the beauty of her climax. Her hair flows behind her, her skin glistening, and she’s smiles up, her eyes full of love.

She’s watching him, jaw clenched, as the sky above is suddenly illuminated by fireworks, creating a halo around him.

Peeta comes undone, filling her, his pelvis pressing to hers until he is spent.

After, he lays, pillowed against her chest, her hand smoothing down his mussed hair.

“I see stars…” she whispers against him.

“Annie must have said yes,” he explains. “I picked up the ring with Finnick today.”

Katniss snorts. “When Finnick does something, he goes hard.”

“So do I,” he tells her.

She kisses the top of his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

They are married three months later.

 FIN.

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia - Chapter 76: Return to Normalcy, Hero Boot Camp!

Presenting the next installment of my on-going, nextgen, MHA fic! Earlier chapters can be found here

“U.A. Hero students… think you’re pretty high and mighty, don’t you?  We’ll show you all how weak you really are.”

Koharu tensed as the challenge was issued, even as she realized that the challenger was a teenager, like them, as were the other four she was with.  The challenger was tall for a girl, with reddish-blonde hair, and powerful muscles that matched Kirishima-Bakugo’s build.  Her stance projected utter confidence and maybe a little contempt.  She relaxed slightly.  There wasn’t a guarantee they weren’t a threat, but given that the Rookies weren’t reacting with alarm, she guessed that this wasn’t a sneak attack or anything serious.

Behind the tall girl were four more, two girls, two boys.  There was a slim, dark haired girl with an extra set of eyes above her normal set, and another set below, near her nose, all of them solid red.  It looked like she had some kind of black projections coming out of her back, just barely visible, like seeing the Iida twins and their Jetpack pipes from the front.  There was something about her that set off a deep, primal panic that Koharu couldn’t place or understand.  She looked, if anything, kind of embarrassed at the other girl’s threat.

The other girl had long, dark hair with a streak of white, which mostly fell on the left side of her face. Koharu couldn’t be positive, but she looked foreign.  She had her arms crossed and her eyes swept back forth over the U.A. students and their teachers.  Her expression suggested she was judging them.  It also suggested that whatever criteria she was using, they weren’t measuring up.  

The first of the boys was athletic, with a mane of purple hair, and cat-like features.  She wasn’t the world’s greatest judge of what counted for attractive in guys (except for the near-universal agreement that Daisuke Shoji was incredibly attractive), but she’d use the word “pretty” to describe him instead.  He looked bored, as though he was expecting what was happening, but didn’t particularly care about the outcome one way or the other.    

And last of them was a practical giant, though not as tall as the actual giant in Class 1-B, with muscles clearly visible against the tight fabric of the t-shirt he was wearing.  If not for a bit of youthfulness to his facial features, she would have guessed he was an adult.  He had dark hair, slightly long.  Of all of them, he looked the most upset by the goings on, as though he wanted to object, but had been silenced.  

There was a long, tense moment of silence before the dam broke.

“Shinji!” Shinso called out, happiness radiating from every syllable.

“Babe!” Mineta yelled. She sounded… genuinely affectionate? Was that a thing she did?  She’d been more flirty than anything in the time Koharu had known her, but she also vaguely recalled some mentions of a “giant boyfriend.”  Was this him?

“Good to see you Shinji, though I confess, this is a surprise,” Todoroki said, as calm as ever.

“Sonnuva… What’re you doing here, Windbag?” Kirhsima-Bakugo growled, taking a step forward.  “You know this wannabe?”

The tall boy just looked confused and uncomfortable with the bombardment of questions, though he did also look happy to see Mineta.  Definitely the “giant boyfriend” then.

“You!” Aoyama snapped. The French (Was he actually French? Or did he just speak it?  Koharu was pretty sure she remembered hearing, ages ago, that Can’t Stop Twinkling had adopted.) He pointed at the cat-like boy. “Quoi?  How are you here!?”

“Miss me, glowstick?” the cat-boy asked, teasingly.  “Told you I’d be seeing you again.”  There was definitely a story here she was missing.  

“And some other people!” Kaminari shouted.

There was a brief pause as everyone turned to look at her.

“What?” Kaminari asked, shrugging, the motion copied by her Cords. “I didn’t want to be left out.”

“And this is who you’re into, Monoma?” the 1-B girl with the crab-shaped pigtails asked.

Aizawa sighed in annoyance. “These are students from Shiketsu High,” he began.  “As part of an inter-school cooperation program spearheaded by the Hero Public Safety Commission, we’ve been asked to incorporate students from outside our school into the training camp.”  His irritation practically dripped from his voice.  

Shiketsu?  It was the second most prominent Hero school in Japan, though some would contest that.  It had produced Heroes like Gale Force, Glamour, and Hairbag, among many others. It was renowned for its stricter standard of discipline, as well as its eternal rivalry with U.A.  Koharu had even thought about applying there, but being on the other side of the country, it just hadn’t been a feasible option, even with its own dorm system.  

“We’re here to show you all that Shiketsu is second to no one,” the girl who’d issued the challenge said, clearly growing impatient with all the banter.  Her aggressive posture hadn’t changed one bit.  She moved towards Kirishima-Bakugo.  For a moment, Koharu could swear she saw her skin shifting slightly. “You want to take those ‘wannabe’ words back?”

Kirishima-Bakugo tensed, one foot sliding back and her arms coming up in a fighting stance.  She really was built like a small tank, Koharu realized.  She was fit, she knew, but the explosive girl looked like she could break her in half and wouldn’t even need her Quirk to do it.  

“Katsumi…” Midoriya began. He started to take a step forward, starting to reach out.

“Tatsuma…” the Shiketsu giant, the one the others had called “Shinji” said.  “We’re guests!  Don’t dishonor Shiketsu with squabbling like this!”

“Best to let her get it out of her system now,” the purple-haired cat-boy said, covering a bored yawn.

“Stay out of it, Toshi,” Kirishima-Bakugo growled.  “This is between her and me.”

“This is a matter of honor, Yoarashi,” Tatsuma said.  “I’m proving their reputation is undeserved.”

There was a long, tense moment again. It was the feeling you got when two cats were staring each other down before one or the other started smacking the other.  

“Nope,” Ground Zero said. His eyes were narrowing sharply.  “Not happening.  Either of you.  My first act as teacher isn’t going to be breaking up a fight.  Especially with my own damn kid.”

“He’s right,” Ravenous, one of the Rookies, said.  He’d manifested a few of his Bing Bing Balls, which were now floating around him. “This is a training camp, for you all to get better.  Not to take out your petty grudges with each other.”

“So no unsanctioned fighting,” Lady Luminous added.

“You’ll have plenty of opportunities to get that aggression out,” Boost Rush, one of the other Rookies added.  He looked over at Ground Zero.  “Though I’m not surprised one of yours started it.”

Vanish Veil, also known as Mahoro Shimano, shot Ground Zero a look.  “She gets that from you, Blasty.”

Ground Zero gave her a look, then looked heavenward in frustration.  “Trust me, I know.”

“If we’re all done?” Aizawa said.  His eyes flashed red and his hair started to stand up.  Koharu didn’t feel anything as his gaze swept the crowd, since her Quirk as a Mutant-type, but many of the rest let out small squawks of surprise. Kirishima-Bakugo and Tatsuma stared each other down for a moment longer, but let their aggressive postures drop.

“This isn’t over,” Tatsuma said.

“You’re damn right it isn’t,” Kirishima-Bakugo shot back.  

Vanish Veil gave Aizawa a small nod of thanks before proceeding.  She pointed to one of the buildings.  “Boys’ barracks are there, girls’ barracks to the right.  We’ll give you twenty minutes to get your stuff stashed, use the toilet, and get settled in.”   She looked over the students. “Most of you will get to pick your own bed, but we have special spots marked for Aoyama, Fukui, and Bondo.   Kocho, Koumori, and Tsuchikawa, you’ll also be happy to know we’re prepared to accommodate your dietary needs.”  

Koharu looked over and gave Koumori, the bat-like member of 1-B, a wave.  Outside of her new classmates, he was the only other Hero Course student she knew.  Being that his Quirk made him like a fruit bat, she and he often got the same food from the same section of the cafeteria.  Judging by how Vanish Veil had said it when she’d looked at him, she assumed Tsuchikawa was the cat-boy.  Maybe he was an obligate carnivore, like a real cat?

Aoyama, she understood, needed darkness when he slept.  Fukui was the giant, and Bondo the slime girl.  Not surprising they’d need special beds.  The Rookies really had thought of everything.

“Right, back in twenty, everybody!” Super-Ball said, clapping his hands. They made a rubbery, boing sound. “And then your training camp experience begins!”

***

There was another one of the Rookies waiting for them inside the barracks.  He was of average height and built, with light brown hair, and wearing a costume in green, white, and black.  It looked a good bit like some of Deku’s older costumes, Isamu realized. He knew Deku was an inspiration to an entire country and even some other parts of the world, but this seemed more than a little blatant.  

“Uncle Katsuma!” Midoriya called out, beaming at the Hero.  

The Rookie smiled. “Good to see you too, Toshi.”  He turned to the crowd of students at large. “For those who don’t know me, I’m the Metabolic Hero: Bioshock.  I’d also like to apologize for anything my sister said or did out there.  Mahoro is a bit… of an acquired taste.”

Bioshock gestured around to the beds.  “Go ahead and find yourself a spot.”  He gestured to a spot in the middle, to a bed that was more than twice the size of the others.  “Fukui, that one’s yours.”  He then gestured to what looked like a capsule.  “Aoyama, that one’s yours.  I’ll show you how to open it.  Once it’s sealed, it’ll be completely light proof.”

“Merci,” Aoyama said.  Isamua knew he lived under certain limitations because of his Quirk constantly absorbing light and needing to either avoid it or discharge it regularly in order to function at least somewhat normally.  He rarely seemed to let it get him down, which was, frankly, astonishing.  

“Oh!  Oh!  Take the one next to me, Shinji!”  Shinso insisted to Yoarashi.

The larger Shiketsu boy just laughed at that. He had to be at least as tall as Shoji and nearly as powerfully built too.  He seemed vaguely familiar too.  Hadn’t he seen Yoarashi congratulating Mineta after the Sports Festival? And he was pretty sure he’d heard the horned girl mention “Shinji” more than once. “How could I resist such a request?!”

With that, the members of 1-A, 1-B, and the two Shiketsu kids got to work getting settled at their beds, stashing their suitcases and supplies underneath.   Unsurprisingly, the 1-A kids and 1-B kids were mostly grouping together. Isamu ended up with Midoriya on one side and Shinso on the other, with Yoarashi on Shinso’s other side.

“So how do you know Bioshock?” Isamu asked Midoriya.  “Not that I’m surprised.  Kind of seems like you know pretty much everybody in the Hero community.”

Midoriya smiled. “Maybe not all of them, but Uncle Katsuma and his sister are kids Dad rescued when he was still in school. Kind of like Aunt Eri and Uncle Kota, actually.”

Isamu gave him an incredulous look.  “Exactly how many children did your dad rescue while he was still a student?”

Midoriya looked a little flustered at that.  “Ah… hang on, I’m going to need to count…”

“Forget I asked.”

Before Midoriya could say anything else, the green-haired boy tensed suddenly.  Isamu followed his gaze across the room, to where Sero, Sato, Iida, and Aoyama’s beds were.  The Shiketsu cat-boy, Tsuchikawa, had claimed another bed near them and Aoyama was shooting him dirty looks.  

“Tsuchikawa…” Midoriya said, “I wonder if he’s related to Pixie-Bob?”

“He is!” Yoarashi volunteered.  “She adopted him at a young age!”

“Should we be worried about him and Aoyama?” Isamu asked.  “It kind of sounds like they’ve got history?”

Yoarashi shook his head. “I don’t think so?  I know Kaz ran into him shortly before we went to U.A., but I don’t know what happened beyond that.”

“Hmm,” Midoriya said, watching the interaction carefully.  

Isamu turned to watch too. It was Sero who spoke first.  The pink-skinned boy was grinning smugly.

“So,” Sero said, “how’d you get Aoyama so riled up? Usually you have to be super-annoying for that to happen.  I mean, I’m super-annoying and I’m usually only second place in that competition. Mineta’s got me way beat in that category.  But I don’t even know you and I think you’re even beating her.”

“You’re about to take first if you don’t shut up,” Aoyama snapped.  His glow strobed as he grew more agitated.  “And don’t encourage him.  He’s infuriating enough without your help.”

“We should be welcoming to our fellow campers,” Iida said.  “It is only proper!”

“Bro, don’t start a fight already…” Sato started, a palm over his face.

“I do appreciate that, handsome,” Tsuchikawa  said with a wink to Iida. “My name’s Kazuchika Tsuchikawa, and to answer your question, Pinky,” he said the nickname with what sounded like flirty endearment, “I merely expressed my belief that I have a superior sense of style to Glowstick here.”

Sero sucked in a sharp breath.  “You questioned his fashion sense?  That takes guts, man.  Real guts.”

“As if you have any,” Aoyama said to Sero.  “You dress on purpose as though you got dressed in the dark.”

“Thank you,” Sero said, mock-bowing.  He turned his attention back to Tsuchikawa.  “Go back to the part where you said ‘Pinky’ like that.”

“Ahem,” Iida cleared his throat.  

Sero let out a yelp. “Right, sorry, don’t do that.  I’m taken.  Happily taken.  By Tensei. Who’s standing right here.  My boyfriend.  Who you have already noticed is very handsome.”

Iida, however, powered through all of it with incredible self-control.  Either he hadn't noticed he was being flirted with, or he didn’t care. “I am Tensei Iida,” he said.  “You have apparently already met Aoyama.”

“Kenta Sato,” Sato volunteered.  “Nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Takuma Sero,” Sero added.  “Webshow star?  With Kenta and Kimiko?  I assume you’ve heard of me.”

“You’re together? Well that’s mildly depressing,” Tsuchikawa said with a sigh and a shrug. He looked at Aoyama. “Random happenstance. I knew of him, but couldn’t help playing coy that we’d be meeting again here.”   He thought for a moment, then frowned a bit at Sero’s question. “Sorry, Pin-er, Sero, but I have not. What do you do on it?”

“Well, my buddy Kenta here eats stuff, that’s his Quirk, so we’ve got him eating all kinds of weird stuff, and Kimiko has this whole gossip show, and I mostly do stunts like swinging off of stuff, or narrating other stuff that I film.  I’m good off camera commentary, which is a shame, because this face, this face was meant to be seen.”

“You are very aesthetically pleasing,” Iida agreed.  It sounded like there may have been just a hint of possessiveness in his voice.  

Aoyama shook his head. “That’s it, I’m ignoring all of you.”

“Fine by me,” Sero said. “We’ve reached our quota of gay or bi pretty boys here already and Kenta’s our token straight.  Somebody’s got to leave and I’d vote for you or Monoma anyway.”

Tsuchikawa’s ears seemed to twitch a bit. “Gossip? Hmm, I may have to make it a point to start watching.” He gave a slight smile at Sero, but nothing more, seeming to respecting Iida’s discomfort. “Oh Glowboy, you and I both know you won’t be able to stay out of matters for long.” He gave Aoyama a wink before looking back to Sero. “I consider myself more pansexual than anything else. The human race is so fascinating. There’s so many kinds of beauty to be found.”

Sero laughed at that. “You sound like Mineta.  She’s always saying she doesn’t want to limit her options.”

“Mineta?” Tsuchikawa asked. “Oooh, you must mean Shinji’s sweetheart. The stunning girl with the horns? Oh he’s all a flutter over her. I’ve never seen him so smitten. Even when we were dating. I’m a tad envious.” His tone sounded nostalgic, though there was no bitterness when he confesses his envy.

Fortunately, any agitation between them seemed to break up, as Aoyama made good on his promise to ignore them, instead calling Bioshock over to him to show him how the sleeping pod worked.  Midoriya let out a sigh.  “Crisis averted,” he said.

“Think it’s any crazier on the girl’s side?” Isamu asked.

Midoriya shook his head. “I sure hope not, but knowing Katsumi…”

***

As they were putting their things away under the supervision of another princess-themed Hero, this one with flowers growing from her hair and who had introduced herself as Petal Princess, Koharu heard Ojiro and Kaminari talking.  

“So, Kaminari, about you and Monoma,” Ojiro began.

“Shut up,” Kaminari snapped.

“Are you two dating?”

“I said shut up!”

“Are you sweethearts? Is this a secret love?  Because you’re going to have to be way more discreet than that…”

“Ooooh!”  Anime Fukidashi, the girl who looked like something out of an old cartoon, joined in the conversation.  “This is just like My Boyfriend is My Rival!”

Kaminari was just getting madder.  “I can’t believe you don’t shut up!”

“Hey!  Leave Chi alone,” Mineta called out.  “Let her boink Shiro on her own time!”

“Mika,” Kaminari said, growing increasingly red.  “You. Are.  Not.  Helping!”

Koharu looked over at Tokoyami.  “Are they always like this?”

The bird-headed girl pressed a finger to the side of her beak.  “The Monoma angle is new, but otherwise, yes.”

Kana Tetsutetsu, the red-haired and shark-toothed Class Representative of 1-B, nodded her agreement. There was something about her that reminded Koharu of Kirhsima-Bakugo, though other than both being muscular young women, the two didn’t really look anything alike.  “Fukidashi has a… questionable relationship with the separation of fiction and reality, but she’s basically harmless.”

Were all Hero students a little bit weird?  Koharu was starting to wonder.  Haimawari and Midoriya seemed pretty harmless, though they were both fanboys.  And even though Sato was more normal than Sero and Ojiro, he still let himself get swept up into their antics.  But she was a little weird herself, she supposed.  You had to be, to want to throw yourself into danger, when other people would run away.  

On the plus side, at least Kirishima-Bakuago and the Shiketsu girl, Tatsuma, weren’t trying to start another fight.  They’d very deliberately chosen beds that were as far from each other as possible, though they were occasionally shooting each other looks which suggested things were far from over.  But right now the message seemed to be, “I don’t feel like fighting you now.  But if we did fight, I’d win.”

Koharu wasn’t particularly sure who she’d put money on in that fight.  Especially since she didn’t know the Shiketsu girl’s Quirk.  

Nor did she know the Quirk of the girl with the extra-eyes and the black spikes on her back.  But something about her definitely set Koharu’s instincts on edge.  She spotted her across the room and watched as the spikes extended into long, spider-like limbs that she stretched out for a moment, before retracting them back into her body and joining the foreign Shiketsu girl to head outside.

Oh.

That explained that then. The primal reaction of one animal-based Quirk to another, the moth and the spider.  That happened sometimes and was usually a little embarrassing for all parties involved.  She didn’t have a reaction like that to Tokoyami, of course, even with the other girl’s bird head, but Tokoyami was so kind and thoughtful, it was practically disarming.  And Tokoyami’s   Quirk wasn’t actually anything bird-like.  Maybe she could try and befriend the spider-girl, or at least talk to her to dispel some of the awkwardness.  None of the other Shiketsu kids seemed as stand-offish as the one who had picked the fight with Kirishima-Bakugo.

“What do you think about the Shiketsu students?” Tokoyami asked Tetsutetsu.

“I think we’re going to have to break up at least one fight,” Tetsutetsu said.  “And also probably keep Monoma from doing something stupid and antagonizing someone from your class.  He actually seems a little less high strung lately, but competition brings out the worst in him.”

Tokoyami nodded.  “I fear you are right.  But I believe Toshi and Awase shall do what they can do keep the boys in line.”

“And we’ll do the same for the girls,” Tetsutetsu agreed.   She looked around the room.  It looked like most of the girls had gotten settled.  “Okay, ladies!  Five more minutes, then everybody outside!”

“You’ve got it, Mom!” Kitiara Kaniyashiki, the girl with the crab-shaped pigtails, called out, saluting smartly.

“Stop calling me that!”

***

Koharu’s wings beat heavily, speeding her through the air.  Just a little behind her, if the senses she was getting through her antennae were correct, was Hizashi Koumori, the white-furred, bat-like member of 1-B. Unlike her, his wings were on his arms, making use of entirely different muscle groups to fly.  

“You’re going to have to do better than that, Koumori!” she called out, as she sped through one of the floating rings.  He actually had the speed advantage on her, with more muscle power to devote to flight. But she was a lot more maneuverable, something that had helped her keep the lead.  He was at a disadvantage too; he couldn’t use his sonar without stunning her.

“You’re, like, being a total bummer, Kocho!” Koumori shot back.  “We don’t all have pretty little wings!”

“Oh, you think I’m pretty?” she laughed.   She pinned her wings against her body, going into a steep dive to make it through the next ring, before flaring them out to stop herself and pull up.  

Again and again, she flew through ring after ring, darting this way and that, climbing and diving. Finally, as she came upon the last of them, a white-blur zipped past her.  Koumori, in a last burst of speed, pulled ahead of her.  

With his speed, though, came a lack of control, and he smacked into the ground.  He lay there for a moment, before he brought a hand up in a thumb’s up.  “I’m okay!”

With a flutter of her wings, Koharu landed beside him and helped him to his feet.  He was heavier than he looked.  “You’ve really got to work on your brakes,” she said.

He gave her a fang-filled smile.  “Yeah, I guess.  It’s just, like, so totally hard, you know.  Flying’s the easy part.”

“Good work, both of you,” Boost Rush said, the blue and red of his uniform standing out brightly in the sun.  He made an adjustment to the device in his hands and the floating rings adjusted to a new path.  “Still a lot of work to do on maneuverability and speed, but we’re getting there.”

Koharu nodded.  She’d practiced flying drills at home and at some of the flying parks and gyms where she could, but she knew there were plenty of Heroes and Hero students out there who surpassed her.  Still, she felt pretty good that she’d been able to keep pace with Koumori, even with his no sonar handicap.  He didn’t seem like the type to have gone easy on her.

Koumori through both arms up in the air and Koharu had to dodge out of the way of his wing membranes. “Most excellent!” he shouted, before dropping his arms and squatting low, playing the air guitar.

Boost Rush passed them both water bottles from a near-by cooler.  Koharu accepted it gratefully, inserting her proboscis and sucking up greedy gulps.  She was already sweating heavily and she could tell she was going to be sore later. “Take a couple minutes to cool down and then we’ll go again.  That was just to get a baseline.  We’ll do Level Five this time.”

All around, she could see the other students being put through their paces by the Rookies and their teachers.  Most of those with Emitter type Quirks were either doing target practice or were otherwise working on strengthening their output.  Those with more physical Quirks were working on agility, coordination, or physical output, with a few of them sparring. She watched for a moment as the girl from 1-B sliced a huge rock clean in half, just be getting her arms on either side of it, while Shinso did the same with a tightly focused beam of sound. They all had robust schedules, working with different trainers.  Koharu herself had time booked for self-defense and for practice with her String-Shot and Scales as well as her flight training.

Looking up, she could see the Iida twins and Yoarashi racing through the air, the former with their Jetpacks and the later by manipulating the air with his Whirlwind Quirk.  They were making tremendous noise, like thunder, even though it was a near-cloudless day.  They all possessed a speed that she couldn’t help but envy.  

“Whoa,” Koumori said. “Check out that speed!  Sweeeeeet. Man, we’d have to flap, like, a million times to do that.  My arms would be soooo tired.”

Koharu smiled at that. “Then we better get practicing.”

***

Kenta offered Monoma a hand up, but the other boy brushed him off.  “I’m fine,” he said.

“C’mon, man,” Kenta said, still offering the hand.  “No shame here.  You have almost as good as you got.”

“I said I’m fine!” Monoma snapped, before leaping to his feet.

Kenta shrugged.  The two of them had been assigned sparring, since their particular Quirks were a bit unusual.  Monoma could copy any physical action he’d seen, but had no physical augmentation to go with it, so he needed to be able to reliably think on his feet and switch between skillsets.  Kenta, on the other hand, could bite through and eat just about anything. It was well suited for rescue work and it would be almost impossible to trap him anywhere.  In training, it worked incredibly well against robots.  He’d even used it to dig his way through the ground and brought down a streetlight on a faux-Villain during their Final Exam. But it was also not a Quirk well-suited for use directly against people.  So he needed to work on his hand-to-hand as much as possible.

Monoma was a good fighter, objectively better in that regard than he was, no matter what attitude problems he had, though the line between skill and Quirk got a little blurry. And he was definitely fighting like he had something to prove.  There was a kind of desperation to him, as though everything rested on whether or not he won the sparring match.

Kenta didn’t get why Monoma constantly seemed to have to stir the pot, but he could respect the skills. He mixed in everything from Gunhead-style martial arts to moves Kenta was pretty sure he’d seen Aizawa use, to even Ground Zero’s signature right hook.  Kenta’s own style was largely based in boxing and wrestling moves, from working out and practicing with his dad.  So far, it’d left him mostly open to Monoma’s flurry of kicks and punches, along with way more bouncing around than he’d have expected.  But he’d gotten lucky and landed a blow that had knocked the blond down.

“Go again, guys,” Super-Ball said.  1-B’s homeroom teacher was splitting his attention between a few small groups of sparring, but kept enough focus to make sure no one was getting hurt.  Kimmie was squaring off against Fukidashi, playing up something of a rematch of their fight from the Sports Festival, while he could see Shoji pitting his Extendo-Arms against the spider-legs of one of the Shiketsu girls in a limb-to-limb match.  “Try and vary up your moves more, Sato,” he added.  “And don’t forget your own skills, Monoma.  Not everything’s got to be something from your Quirk.”

“Yes, Sensei!” Monoma barked, dropping back into a fighting stance.   Kenta thought it was one he’d seen the Kung-Fu Hero: Slaying Mantis use.

He brought his own fists up, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  “Yes, Sensei!”

Monoma made the first move, launching a sweeping kick towards Kenta’s knees.  Kenta dodged out of the way and struck out, a pair of quick punches he knew wouldn’t connect, but forced Monoma to back up.  Kenta pressed his attack, throwing body blows. He had a bit of muscle on Monoma, but not much.  Physically, they were pretty good matches for each other.  

Monoma dodged again, this time throwing rapid-fire palm strikes that left him wincing.  It looked like the speed of the move was pushing his body pretty hard.  Kenta was sympathetic, but he couldn’t afford to give him a break.  Especially since those blows had hurt.  He’d parried some, but a few had gotten past his guard.

Kenta grunted, then faked left jab.  Monoma pirouetted away from it with some kind of dance move, but Kenta was ready for him, bringing around a good right hook of his own.  Or so he thought.  Monoma slipped under his strike and grabbed his arm.  The world shifted rapidly and Kenta found himself flat on his back.  

“Oooffff.”  Kenta let out a grunt.  

“Urvarity throw,” Monoma said, grinning smugly.  “Not as useful without Zero Gravity, but when you telegraph that much…”

Kenta wanted to get better. So he could protect people, so he could be a Hero.  He wanted to get better so that he could make his dad proud and honor his mom’s memory. He knew, especially after the exam, that he needed more than just his Quirk to do it.

But damn if right now he didn’t want to get better just to wipe the grin off Monoma’s face.  He popped back up, ready to fight again.  He didn’t have the animosity for Monoma that, say, Kirishima-Bakugo did, but damn if he didn’t want to hit him good, just once…

He felt a strong hand take his wrist and bring it up over his head. As he was turning to look, he saw the large figure of Boost Rush bringing his other hand to slap into his open palm.  Up close, the family resemblance between the two was undeniable.

"Tag out kid. Go see Bioshock, he's got some questions about your Quirk and a few ideas for optimizing it in combat. Ball, fliers are on a break, so I'll handle Tiny for a bit."

Super Ball shrugged and sighed exaggeratedly. "Far be it for me to get in the way of family drama. Just leave him in one piece."

As Kenta jogged off towards his next instructor, he heard a soft 'Dammit' from Monoma.

***

“Gravity Times Five—METEOR SMASH!”  Toshi lashed out, smashing a fist through the boulder in front of him. Fragments went flying in every direction, but he’d kept his gravity up to increase his own toughness, so none of them did him any harm.  

“Yeah, no, that sucked.”

Toshi gulped, then looked over to where Uncle Kacchan—no, Ground Zero while he was teaching—was watching him.  “What?” he asked.  “How? Should I have hit it harder?  Or maybe come at it from a different direction? I was trying to get it in one shot…”

Ground Zero brushed a piece of rubble off his shoulder.  “I’ve been watching you, kid,” he said.  His tone wasn’t unkind, but there was definitely a little annoyance in his voice. “You’ve only got two sets of moves.”

He went on, holding up a finger.  “First style is like that crazy old man.  You take a running leap—telegraphing like hell by the way—and bouncing around until you hit something.  Works good when you’ve got the space to do it in.  You might even get good at doing it in tight spaces if you work at it.  But that also isn’t going to do you any good when you’re out in the open and there isn’t anything to bounce off of but the bad guy.  That happens, you get one shot to hit him, and if that fails, you’re sunk.”   Another finger went up.  “Which is where you fall back on trick number two, which is what you did fighting Kana at the Sports Festival.  You tank up and try to land one big hit.”

“Hey, I,” Toshi protested, “sometimes I jump up and try to stomp on stuff too!”  The words sounded hollow as soon as they left his mouth.  He’d worked some on upping his mobility and figuring out where his opponent was going to be when he was working with Uncle Mirio, but he did still have some weaknesses in his fighting style.  But to hear it put like that…

“I’ve seen you practicing in the backyard with your old man,” Ground Zero went on.  “And Deku isn’t a shitty teacher.  So I know you know how to do more fighting than just that.  So why don’t you?”

Toshi frowned.  “The higher I turn the gravity up, the slower I can move.  So I have to go for really strong single strikes and switch as quick as I can.”

Ground Zero nodded. “I figured it was something like that. Kind of like when you dad’s Full Cowl started hurting him if he turned it up too much.”   He got a wicked glint in his eye.  “This isn’t the only thing I’ve got in mind for you… but we’re going to work the hell out of your endurance.”

Oh boy.  Toshi knew he still had a lot to work on.  Even with all the training he’d done before U.A. and all the training he’d had since, he was still just a first year student.  As angry as he came off in his public persona, it was easy to forget that Uncle Kacchan was really intelligent too.  Intelligence that had just been turned on him.  Toshi had pushed himself hard, but he suddenly felt as though that was nothing compared to what he was about to experience.

Was this how Dad had felt during school with Uncle Kacchan?!

***

Katsuki crossed his arms as he stood back and watched the students with Aizawa and Fujii (Super-Ball was a stupid name.  He was not calling the other man that.).  He’d done a lot of walking today and been on his feet a lot.  Part of him ached to have a seat, but he wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him have to do that.  Especially not any of the damn Rookies.  And especially not Mahoro.  Damn brat would never let him live that down.

He probably did need to rest at some point.  His doctors and physical therapists had been very insistent on the fact that he not push himself too far.  And he’d probably have Katsuma clucking over him the second he showed even the slightest sign of weakness.

Dammit.  He’d worked thirty-six hours or more straight before, without taking any kind of break.  He wasn’t some weakling.  This wasn’t who he was.

Maybe there was a way to talk to All Might about living with limitations without admitting he was talking about himself.

“So,” Aizawa said, “you’ve studied the Sports Festival and exam footage and you’ve had a chance to observe today.  What’re your thoughts?”

Katsuki looked around, watching the Rookies put the students through their paces.  Some of them looked like they were about ready to collapse, while others looked like they could go all day and all night if they had to.  Yoarashi’s kid was still zipping around like he’d had a liter of coffee injected directly into his veins.  Katsuki did enjoy a small, petty smile when he saw the two Monomas arguing with each other.

“They’ve not bad,” he grunted.  “You can which ones have had prior training though.”  As much as he’d never admit it to them, his former classmates had done a decent job teaching their kids the basics, even Pikachu and the Grape. Though he could probably chalk those two up to the mothers.  The Class-B kids were pretty good too, even Copycat Bastard’s brat. “Gap’s not too big for the ones that aren’t second generation though, so you two and All Might must have been doing something right.”

“Thanks,” Fujii said. Then, hesitating, he added, “I think?”

“I heard a “but” in that sentence,” Aizawa said, perceptive as ever. Age had not diminished the hobo-bastard’s shrewdness. “Don’t make me pry it out of you.”

“Relax, old man,” Katsuki replied.  “When have you ever known me to keep my mouth shut?”

Aizawa didn’t even bother to look at him when he responded.  “When trying to process your own emotions, including your feelings of inadequacy.”

“You’re one to talk, Aizawa!” Fujii said.  “We’ve worked together for years and you almost never talk about yourself!”

It was becoming obvious that Fujii trying to get a rise out of Aizawa was a common occurance. Aizawa didn’t rise to the bait.

“See?” Fujii went on. “This is exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Don’t keep us waiting, Bakugo,” Aizawa said instead.

“They’re good,” Katsuki said.  “Some of them are even going to be great, if they don’t screw up before graduation.  But…  There’s no edge to them.  By the end of our first camp, we’d already been attacked by Villains multiple times.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful Katsumi and the rest haven’t had to experience that… I just worry that life’s going to smack them hard.”

His thoughts stalled for a moment when he thought about what Shota Shinso had endured.  He was carrying the kind of trauma Katsuki remembered from after the League had kidnapped him and he’d watched All Might’s last stand. The kid was doing all right now, or at least it seemed that way.  But the rest of them…

“Some of the kids got mixed up in the Nomu fighting a couple months back, but most of them weren’t going anything direct,” he continued.  “It’s all been so damn safe.  As a parent… I want to protect them.  But as a teacher, I feel like they need a reminder of what it could really be like out there.”

Aizawa nodded, while Fujii looked slightly horrified.

“You want to scare them?” Fujii asked, cautiously, as though testing just how crazy Katsuki was.

“A reality check wouldn’t hurt,” Aizawa agreed.  “Even with some of their experiences, their world’s been a fairly safe place.”  The old hobo frowned, and when he spoke again, he sounded a bit sad.  “You and your friends built a safer world, for your children, and a lot of other people’s children.  They shouldn’t be thrust into the kind of stuff you had to deal with.  But you’re not wrong either.  Let’s talk with the Rookies tonight and see what we can come up with.”

[cadcnce-archived]

          BIG ASS CHARACTER SHEET FOR                    FANTASY VERSE WYLAN

I found an image while going through my files for cursed pics to send @spiritmaiden​, they had the audacity to take it and fill it out for the fantasy verse of their sky-zel, so I of course have to match the effort for Wylan because I’m not about to be shown up. It’s hella involved, nobody’s getting tagged but damn if you want an exercise in hitting your character then give it a shot. Most is under the cut because of length.

Character’s Name: Zachary Reis (Born) Wylan Rechtur (Used) Character’s nicknames: Ze (by his sister) Wy (by his friends and preferred) Zephyr (mercenary name, also what you’d see on any wanted posters) Gender: Male Righty or Lefty: Righty Age: 25-26  Height: 6′-0″  Weight: ~180 lbs Eye Color: Emerald green, bright and wide filled with a mix of confidence and playfulness. Hair color: Dark brown, messy and falling to his ears. Unkempt may be a good descriptor, but he generally keeps it down flatter at the least.  Distinguishing marks: His body is pocked with marks and scars from fights and other disagreements, but the ones most easily discerned are knife scars on his hands, and a short arc above his left brow. Describe physical traits in one passage: A good way to view him is concealed strength and agility. He’s toned and in good shape but doesn’t often dress or carry himself in ways that would flaunt this. His posture and pose are loose, and his expressions can be lazy and playful. So the moment he flips that switch and uses the full brunt of his power? It’s a surprise. He’s also a bit on the lanky side, his body size doesn’t fully compliment the size of his limbs. 

FAMILY/ RELIGION

Parents: Mother and father were disappeared/dead when he was just a bit over 6 years old and his sister was an infant. They were involved with the church but not royalty themselves. Wylan never spent much time figuring out what. They had a life left for him and his sister that he threw away as well. His father was a gentle soul while his mother was razor sharp and firm. Siblings: Younger sister, Katelynn Reis, but goes by Lyn with her friends. Wylan calls her Kat. She’s ~5 years younger than he, and remains with the church training and working as a healer. Whereas Wylan ran away from being a Paladin, she stayed strong to become a Cleric.  Significant Other: Verse dependent, Wylan typically is averse to romance and prefers casual encounters.  Children: None, nor is he open to them initially in his canon.  Other relatives: None remain living that he is aware of. He and his sister were raised by his grandmother on his father’s side, but she passed away shortly after he left the knight’s academy, when Wylan was roughly 16-17.  Pets: None. But he does enjoy talking to cats. Friends: Wylan is the type who ‘knows a guy’, he’s close with many tavernkeeps and makes nice with the adventurer’s guilds and their members as well. His work as an informant necessitates things like this. Wylan is also the type to consider most anyone he encounters and converses with a friend, whether they like it or not. His best friend though would easily be a wandering adherent by the name of Emke. I don’t care what the thread is about in some way she’s involved in his life. They’re platonic soulmates. Enemies: As a mercenary and hunter, some others in his craft would consider Wylan to be their rival, and in many cases he would view them just the same. It’s hard to say he has any enemies outside of pointedly evil factions however! Relationships (other): His relationship with his sister is an odd one. They’re still in touch via letters and the occasional visit, and he does what he can to support her with his money, but they’re not close like conventional siblings. There’s a strange codependence between them. Wylan depends on Lyn as a ‘rock’, and she depends on him as the ‘sea’. Ethnicity: Human! His origins are mostly a mix of Germanic/Portuguese if you wanted a comparison to Earth races/ethnicities. Religion: He recognizes the existence of higher powers but his relationship with them isn’t the best. As if being rebellious to his parents wasn’t bad enough he has to be tsundere towards The Light. This is noted when he uses holy magic such as wards and smiting spells and getting rebound into his own body upon use. Superstitions: He’s incredibly wary around the undead and spirits. So catch him spreading salt when he has to camp somewhere less than lively. Also give him a moment to sharpen his silver weaponry...  Diction, Accent, ETC.: His dialect is pretty clean, though this depends on who he’s speaking to, being the travelling sort he is he’s capable of lightly ‘faking’ various accents, or just being lazy with his own manner of speech. Traces back to proper speaking that was drilled into him as a child and then his own rebelliousness. SCHOOL/ WORK / HOME Education (Highest): He was well learned with the academy work that he actually accomplished. While he never finished and never put his all into his studies, it was clear to his teachers that he had a gift for learning but a problem with conviction.  Degrees: None! But just so I still have something here, one of his informal titles is ‘The Gale’s Fang’. Vocation/Occupation: Jack of several trades, wrapped up best as a mercenary informant, and a monster hunter. He’s good at tracking both people and monsters and taking them down- lethally or not so much. Employment History: Wylan was fully involved with the knight’s academy from the age of 6 to 16, so for those 10 years he had his hands full dealing with that and trying to figure out himself (poorly). Upon leaving the academy after the accident, he took up arms and was given tutelage by the thieves’ guild which taught him how to use his senses and move quietly through the shadows. Wylan didn’t make a good pickpocket, but he was good at reading other people and exceptional at duels. It wasn’t long before he took the advice of the guildmaster and made better uses of his talents. Not necessarily for good, but for more profit. By the age of 22 he was an accomplished and well connected informant, bartering information as well as putting his swordwork to use headhunting and slaying monsters that made issue outside the cities in which he frequented. This continues to current/canon start of interactions. Salary: He’s affluent enough not to worry too much about his state of living, but he can be prone to splurge spending that puts him in a bind for a few weeks at a time, at least until the next job puts money back on the table. Status and money: Continuing off the above, he’s decent enough with his funds (after sending money back to help out his sister) but wouldn’t be well off enough to be considered rich compared to his modern verse. Fortunately he has enough renown that jobs aren’t too hard to come by for him. And many barkeeps and friends are willing to open a tab for him. So he’s not too desperate.  Own or Rent: Wylan typically rents inn rooms when he stays in the cities, and camps when he’s out in the woods. Technically he also owns if you count helping his sister keep her own place running (thought it’s really about 30-70, with his sister funding most of it)  Living Space: Wylan never stays long at the room. It’s a place to go back to and sleep. Personal belongings? Very few. Most things he owns that he wouldn’t want to lose stay back with his sister kept in a basement or separate room that he uses on the rare times he’s back in the capital/holy city from which he originally hailed. As you can imagine, this isn’t very often.  Work Space: N/A! He doesn’t have one! Given his work is almost entirely in the field. Main Mode of Transportation: CATCH A RIIIIIDE. Though he’s apt to have a horse around for transport if he isn’t going too far. Long voyages for when he changes locales would probably be hitching a ride with a caravan. He also doesn’t mind voyages on foot too much. PSYCHOLOGY Fears: Externally he has an aversion to ghosts and spirits. The concept of the dead coming back to haunt you isn’t something he much cares for. Having access to light magic should mostly assuage this, and yet it can give him goosebumps anyhow. Ironically he has a fear of large mammals in his modern verse but that shit doesn’t apply here given he’s a monster hunter! Internally he fears being forgotten, not making a name for himself, and dying before he can truly feel alive.  Secrets: His birth name, Zachary Reis, isn’t something he will bring up with anyone. It’s not necessarily a ‘dead name’ for him, but it’s one he threw away the same time he decided he was going to toss away his ‘fate’ as a paladin. Taking the name of Wylan was another way he took his life for himself in his mind. Despite this being a path of self destruction. His sister is also something he doesn’t often bring up unless he very much trusts that person.  IQ: Surprisingly high. He picks up a lot of information doing the work he does, but you wouldn’t be blamed for not believing this. Eating Habits: They could be a lot better. He eats enough to get by, but his diet isn’t as varied as it could be. Wylan hunts small game when he can, but he isn’t an exciting cook so ALAS. This boy prefers hitting up taverns and getting basic meals like stews, jerky, sandwiches, etc etc. Sleeping Habits: Wylan is a very light sleeper. Typically if you so much as step into the room he’s sleeping in he’ll snap into awareness. It takes a loooong day of exertion to keep him sleeping deep otherwise. Frustrating is how he ‘fakes’ being asleep. So someone could come in and start rummaging and he would still breathe and move as if he were still sleeping. Up until he sits up and stares or cracks a joke. Dare you to kiss him when you think he’s asleep.   Book Preferences: History tomes every now and then. Wylan doesn’t read much fiction and prefers any time he spends reading to be somewhat productive! Make up for other education he missed as part a result of running on the academy. He also reads up on magic and sorcery to work on the wind affinity he also has.  Music Preferences: Wylan doesn’t play any instruments but he DOES love love love to dance and sing. He’s an entertainer at heart and loves to rally people however he may. Suffice to say he’s amusing to go drinking with. And not just because he starts bar fights to amuse himself. Groups or Alone: He’s primarily a lone fighter. Some hunts he will of course work with a team of other hunters, he’s not stupid enough to take on the larger beasts by himself, but there’s a preference for doing things on his own terms. He’s self aware enough to know that his ways and methods can be grating, but ah... how all of that clashes with his desire to show off and have an audience. Being Wylan is suffering. Leader or Follower: He’s both, but prefers to be a follower if he can help it. Let other people make the plans then nudge them this way and that to better fit your own methods. He’s a prankster and a good compliment to most parties after all, so you’d be wise to utilize him! Lest he utilize himself... but that said, he’s an anti-hero, so there’s possibility in there for him to be a leader as well and take charge. It just isn’t his default nature and he’d rather not. Planned Out or Spontaneous: Wylan is chaos incarnate. Most everything he does outside of necessity/work is spontaneous. All his mischief and plans are cobbled together and thrown out there. Sometimes he’ll do a bunch of things at once, like throwing a bundle of darts at the wall to see which ones stick. And oh my fucking god don’t get me started on being romantic he can’t plan for shit in that department. Journal Entries (Do they keep one?) Nope. Not a daily journal at least. He’ll keep notebooks and the like for jotting down intel and what have you for jobs he takes up. But most of the time he’ll just have little notes in his pocket, and not really chronicle his life. He may also make ‘fake’ entries to tease people or trick them. See what he did to Zelda the one time. Be careful what you believe... Hobbies, Recreation: Tricks!! Sleight of hand!! Cards and dice!! Part of growing up and learning with a thieves’ guild is getting involved in lots of things that make use of your hands and dexterity. He likes playing random games with folks and oh! People watching. Stalking. Not the cutest thing but Wylan makes a hobby out of ‘testing himself’ and exercising his talents. His hobby is unfortunately annoying people, to summarize. How Do They Relax: His hobbies help him to relax! Also, if you can believe it, sitting back in a group conversation and watching the conversation happen and move forward. Learning about other people is something he likes doing, which is hypocritical since he can make himself so difficult to learn by contrast. BUT THE REAL THING HE DOES.. is practice sword fighting. Slow rhythmic swings of his blade, almost like a dance. He focuses his thoughts and calms his soul when he practices. It’s like a mix of swordfighting, dancing, and yoga. Controlling himself. Feeling himself. It’s multiple things.    What Excites Them?: PEOPLE. Things! Happenings! The unknown and pushing himself to new limits. Honestly one of Wy’s biggest drives is doing something or becoming something that will make him ‘Feel Alive’. Because for all of his antics and frivolity he’s very much fighting an encroaching darkness in his soul. So he’ll search out bizarre things to get involved in. It’s one of the reasons he’s bugging Zelda, because her involvement in witchcraft and his own suspicions have him interested huehue. Pet Peeves: Being ignored. Like perfectly disregarding his existence and whatever he’s getting up to. If you’re not reacting to him being him then that means he’s not being effective and he’s losing. It’s his only real weakness...  Prejudices: None. He’s not the most respectful person so most everyone, royalty or important or otherwise gets subjected to similar treatment. If anything, the more important you are the more likely you are to get annoyed! Attitudes: He’s usually with a front, a mask if you will. His general attitude is curious and nosy, but that’s fronted with a playfulness and proclivity for being annoying. Don’t be fooled, he’s usually something more pensive and calculating underneath that exterior. Wylan actually quiets a fair bit once that mask is taken away, his mood swings down and his tone is a touch deeper. Stressors: Things going awry and his friends being put in danger. He absolutely does not do well with people he cares about being hurt. One of the worst things that can happen to him is his sister dying for example, and has lead to one of his most self destructive plots I’ve written, in this verse especially. Lovers? Don’t hurt them. Don’t endanger them. The idea of rivals or enemies going after people he cares about.. hoo. MAN. None of that please. He can be SO damn possessive. In relationships he’s very self conscious as well of fulfilling their needs. So if his partner remarks, regardless of how offhandedly, they’d like more of something he will TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.  Obsessions: Being an absolute pain in the ass. And in cases where someone has wronged him or someone close to him? Tracking them down and getting closure/revenge. That shit takes him to the brink of killing himself. Addictions: None to the point of being problematic, but he does love eating pickles.  Ambitions: To make a name for himself, to be renowned and respected. To feel alive and accomplished as a person. He’d also like to take down a dragon someday. Get some armor from its scales and a sword out of that shit. As Seen by Others: Capable and dangerous, but impossible to work with for long periods. Keep a tight lip around him lest he use that information against you and learn things you’d rather keep secret. A lecherous womanizer. As Seen by Self: A body of broken glass, encased in a shell, covered in masks. Who are you? What are you? Where are you even going? You’re lost. You’re aimless. You’re swimming and swimming and eventually you’re going to be tired, aren’t you? ASTROLOGY/PHISIOLOGY Birth Date: October 10. Time of Birth: Evening. Western Astrological Sign: Libra Traits Associated with Western Sign: Social, Clever, Unreliable, Diplomatic Traits Associated with Chinese Zodiac: N/A, seeing as I don’t age Wylan with the years this doesn’t really apply. Handwriting: Clean when he needs it to be, but otherwise a quick script with lots of pen strikes. He’s capable with drawing diagrams and the like as well! This boy can throw out monster diagrams with weak points and other ecological notes oh yes yes. Sexual History: Wylan was already exploring that sort of thing before he left the academy, so yes... as early as 16 he’d already lost the v-card. He doesn’t really do relationships and enjoys casual encounters. Many a maiden at the bar or elsewhere has taken him for a spin. Typically partners aren’t reoccurring in fantasy verse, however. He’s... well, very good in the performance category.   General Health: A+ healthy aside from the sleep and subpar diet bits. Strong and good stamina. Medical History: He’s nearly died one times too many. Been stabbed, cut, poisoned, bitten, but hey he’s still alive! And that’s what he’d argue matters with this business. Allergies: SHELLFISH. Chronic Illnesses: None to speak of. Handicaps: He’s somewhat of a type B tsundere. It’s awful.  OBJECTS Purse / Bag: He’s got a coin purse that he’ll carry spare gold around in for spending on what have you. Supposedly food but he’s weak to splurge purchases. Most everything else he keeps on him in his pockets and his belt. Wallet: Uhhh see above, coin purse!!! He’s got enough for the week or so!! Don’t try and pickpocket him because he will catch you and you will feel stupid. Fridge: He doesn’t keep food around. He more or less has to scavenge for everything he eats either through buying or hunting. That’s kind of the life for the vagrant he is, isn’t it? Medicine Cabinet: N/A, but he does keep bandages and salves at his room.  Glove Compartment: N/A!! Junk Drawer: NNNNNN/AAAAAAA Kitchen Cabinets: Wylan get a house so I can fill this out challenge. Bedroom Hiding Place: Behind a wall panel or somesuch if he can manage. Otherwise in the floor or outside the window. Closets: His wardrobe typically includes tunics, coats, leather armor and harnesses for his weaponry! He’s got a couple swords in fantasy verse, and he’s got throwing knives and a grappling hook!!  Backback: Yeah uh see above, what a question. Locker: None Desk: WYLAN KEEP ITEMS AROUND CHALLEEEEENGE.  Clothes pocket: Daggers, notes, maybe a writing implement and paper so he can jot things down. He’s also got little knick knacks like a gem or a monster tooth to show off. Isn’t it cool??? Also lint.

OTHER Halloween Costumes: Werewolf!!! Get him in either just a lazy one with gloves and ears or deck him out in the whole garb. Love that idea on him. In one verse Big Bad Wolf is his nickname, and in another he flat out IS a werewolf! So yeAH. Tricks: He’s very skilled at sleight of hand!! Card flourishes and dice rolls. Cup games. Illusions and dexterity... he’s a slippery one! He’s also likely to catch you in words, using things you say against you. He gets really meta and oh how annoying that can get... Talents: SWORDPLAY- He learned from a very early age at an esteemed academy where only the best knights get trained. He mixes that style with a more ‘street’ type that he picked up with the thieves’ guild and even further as a monster hunter and mercenary. Suffice to say that all mixes together into multiple stances he can switch between depending on what he’s up against. Strong sweeping strikes, vicious stabbing and leaping, poised dueling and parrying... he’s a TOUGH fight. MAGIC: Wylan is at odds with his use of holy magic that utilizes the light to bless and heal. Until he comes to terms with himself and the power he wants to channel it’ll have ‘blowbacks’ on himself. Fingers will burn, head will ache, and his stomach will flip. But it’s still undeniably effective for where it is! Aside from that he knows some wind magic to supplement himself. He’s not known as ‘Zephyr’ for nothing after all! Gusting steps, slashing winds, REALLY BIG JUMPS!!! If you throw him he’s a fantastic projectile! And lets see- DANCING! He learned it first as part of his etiquette as a knight, but it’s something that’s evolved with him and oh does he enjoy festivals for that reason. Ballroom styles are what he’s most familiar with. Dance with him. Please dance with him. Politics: Indifferent! Doesn’t care for authority figures to begin with so in any case or kingdom with a monarchy he’s very buh about it. He’s very self-accomplished and his beliefs would push him towards meritocracy over anythign else if you ask me!  Flaws: Suspicious, possessive, and very persistent. This could be a strength too but for the most part can be seen as a detriment because of how it ends up being applied. Which is in self-destructive tendencies WOO. He’s also very lustful, and can be distracted by a fine woman and let himself be swayed by his desires over time. Have I mentioned he isn’t the most reliable? He’s apt to lie to people and give intentionally wrong impressions just to make it easier for him to slip away. You gotta go up a few levels to unlock that... So yeah, sins are WRATH, LUST, and ENVY. Strengths: NONE. Okay if you earn a solid place as his friend there is almost NO limit to what he’ll do to protect you. Wylan has a ridiculous amount of determination and mental fortitude and he can and will strike down a GOD to keep those things that are precious to him. He’s also an amusing character to have around, if you are feeling bummed he is almost guaranteed to find a way to cheer you up and support you if only so he can not feel as guilty teasing as he usually does HUE. He’s got a very up beat personality! Sure, a lot of it is a mask but he WANTS it to be real and that’s what really matters if you ask me. His reckless optimism can be endearing. There’s a lot of other surprising mental qualities such as how clever and quick witted he can be. Part of that mental fortitude lets him think and fight on his feet regardless of how much pressure he’s under. It takes a LOT to dampen his thought processes. Drugs/Alcohol: He drinks frequently, but he wouldn’t be counted as a drunkard. Wylan rarely drinks to excess, and prefers to do so among friends and good company. Passwords: Uh, do ritual prayers count? Magical spells? Heh. Email Address, Home Page, Blogs, etc.: Oh if only this were for modern verse... Time and place: Medieval fantasy! Magic and creatures! I also love throwing Monster Hunter vibes in for the big monsters he goes up against. Special Places: For him? Cliffs overlooking the ocean. Abandoned temples he can just chill at. For all he enjoys being around people now and then he really appreciates quiet isolation. Special Memories: Lots of memories with his sister before they more or less split ways. There’s one in particular where he was trying to teach her swordplay when she was just a little girl, and she about stubbed his toe when the wooden practice sword fell right on it. Her panicked attempts to try and heal him were something that really stuck with him.

[winderlylandchime]

The fact that he kind of dreamt your future fic is making me laugh so hard. He really is an idiot by day and a psychic by night. This also now made me excited for your future fic, can’t wait for when that comes around. I might fuck around and actually do give him fics to read ngl.

Also yes! When we first started watching the show, he did think that Gale looked a little bit like Ashton and it was the funniest thing ever to me. He did only talk about it in the pilot though. Btw I am so tempted to later on give him Gale’s out of the box interview to watch. He was asking me yesterday about the actors and if they still act and where are they and I didn’t answer because well, one of them abandoned his podcast so i don’t know what he’s up to and the other one we dont even know if he’s still alive since theres been no new photos. I do wonder how he will react when he finds out Gale is straight though because he mentioned to my neighbor and i did get the feeling that he thinks everyone is gay. So i am tempted to ask him questions about what all he thinks of the cast since his only introduction to them is the show.

And yes! He has been going on and on about Brian’s growth and how he’s changed since he clocked it around 4th episode. He is so happy that he’s growing and allowing himself to be happy and in love even if he doesn’t want to admit it, that i just know the second 5x01 will start, he will have a mental breakdown and it will be very valid of him.

Your celebrities/therapist story actually made me curious now because how can a famous celeb that is known everywhere, even get a therapist then omg. I had no clue this was kind of a thing. And yes! My brother would absolutely launch into it, he’d have pictures and everything ready for it. I mean his confidence when it comes to talking to everyone and anyone about anything in his life (usually interests and shit he’s done thats funny to him or in this case the show) is impressive as fuck but also for an innocent bystander like me? actually a nightmare to be around that. He truly doesn’t give a single fuck! He just tells anyone who will listen (not in a trauma dumping type of way but his interests and such? No shame) When he was in high school he made an entire poster presentation for his class to talk about his love for the movie School of Rock and HE DID IT BY SINGING A FAKE ROCK N ROLL SONG (id give anything to remember the lyrics). Mind you, the presentations was supposed to be about current events in the world and School of Rock came out like a year or two prior so it had no relation to the exercise and yet that didn’t stop him. So you best believe he would do the exact same for Gale or more importantly QAF/Brian. And as someone who does shy away from talking about qaf just because it is a lot, it is insane watching him talk about the show because he truly gives zero fucks. When we started watching the show, he was fully explaining to the nurses/doctors/anyone that would listen about how the show is AND HOW BRITIN MET! He TALKED ABOUT THE RIM JOB! I NEVER EVEN FUCKING TOLD YALL THAT! IMAGINE MY SHOCK WHEN HE RANDOMLY BROUGHT UP THE SHOW FOR THE FIRST TIME TO SOMEONE RANDOM! AND HE DECIDED TO DO IT BY BRINGING UP THE SEX SCENE! HE TALKED TO OTHER HUMANS ABOUT THE RIM JOB! So if you ever feel like maybe you’ve said a bit too much about something you like? Fear no more because my brother has for sure shared even more.

Dear sweet anon. I just signed onto tumblr on desktop and it looks like I never responded to this message?!?! It says it’s from 4 days ago.

I thought I did. I’m sorry <3 <3

I am still dying over all of this. Your brother has no embarrassment. Maybe we can all take a page from him (although don’t corner people at their place of work to discussing rimming, even fictional rimming).

[fizzypunks]

its a date but its not a date

fandom: My Hero Academia/ Boku No Hero Academia word count: 3.8k/oneshot rating: t summary: hizashi takes shouta to a little festival and insists its not a date... just pure fluff bc <3

ship: Aizawa Shouta/ Hizashi Yamada | Erasermic

note: this reads better in AO3 because it keeps formatting for italics, which tumblr does not!

AO3

___

Yamada Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – it wasn’t even a quirk thing, it was just his nature, and it was something he was proud of. Sure, he’d been called loud and obnoxious, and some have been less than kind about his quirk when it’s gotten out of control. His quirk control wasn’t great for a very long time, but none of what he’d been called or heard had really changed the way he carries himself, and that  includes  his extroverted nature.

 He was, however, a panicked person, when it came to matters of  interest .

 Love. 

  Whatever .

 And, because love was the one thing that made him think twice about what he says, what he does or doesn’t do, that has landed him in the exact predicament that he’s facing right now.

 Hizashi tapped his pen against his essay, the half filled pages of his stationary blurring together into a mass of lines and half-assed penmanship. He’d been staring at it for the past five minutes, when he’d given up on trying to ignore his annoying problem.

  Shouta .

 It’s been getting harder to ignore the stupid pull of something he’s recently identified as  yearning  that comes every time he thinks of his best friend. Stronger than any hurricane gale, it pulls in every thought he has until there are no more to be had. Just Shouta, and his messy hair, and the eyes he thinks are pretty despite always being so blood-shot.

 Hizashi groans, faintly feeling heat spill across his cheeks. “God, why must I be so fucked?”

It’s not like he’s even asking him out on a  date  – no, he’s not bold enough to do that in their last year  and semester of school– there’s no need for distractions like that right now, whatever outcome may or may not come from it…. no, he’s just asking to take Shouta to the Autumn festival at the park, because Shouta should do something fun and get out of his room and not explode from stress.

 The poor guy has been spending all his time studying and stressing and sleeping even  less , so of course Hizashi would want to help his friend out and get him to relax.

 Yeah, that’s what it was – one friend asking another friend out because stress is bad.

 That doesn’t change the nervous skip in his heart right now, as he sits at his desk and thinks about…

 Hizashi groans again, tipping back in his chair and hooking his foot against the back of his desk so that he’s less likely to tumble. Theoretically, at least.

 Why does it feel so  significant  right now? He’d asked Shouta to do countless things with him! He’d gotten him to agree to go to the movies a bunch of times, and to a party or two, and, most recently, he’d even been able to rope him into going to a karaoke club! He didn’t sing, they left earlier than he’d planned, but Shouta had fun!

 Hizashi narrowed his eyes at the white ceiling and the ceiling fan that whirled past his vision, playing with the very edge of the wooden panel that kept him from tumbling onto his carpet.

 This wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but somehow it did.

 It felt like a declaration, no matter how he phrased it in his head, and he doesn’t understand the logic behind it.

  Fine. Whatever! I’ll just ask, and be blunt, and do it right before I leave so there’s no room for thinking, and it’ll be okay! 

 Something like,  “Hey, Shouta, let’s go to this festival! It’ll be so much fun! PLUS, I think you’ll look cute sharing cocoa with me!”

 Hizashi’s eyes widened, his foot slipped in that one moment of lost focus, and he fell –

 “ Fuck!”

 It was a little too loud, bordering on quirk use, but he had other problems to think about beside  that .

 He rubbed the back of his head.

 “Man…”

 If he can’t even imagine it the right way… how was he supposed to  actually  ask? It would be pretty stupid to try when he knew he could act a little too carelessly and, potentially, damage the good friendship they had going on.It was probably better left un-asked.

 Unsaid, un-asked, and out of mind.

 ~

 It was most certainly not out of mind, that is clear.

 Shouta is sitting across from him, half-mast eyes scanning the copy of his English text book in a way that looked a lot more performative than informative. Their booth was tucked more toward the back of the cafe, and it would normally be a bit more secluded and quiet, but midterms brought students from the woodwork and into any coffee-scented establishment, which their happened to be.

  What great luck.

 All around them was the sound of machines grinding coffee, books being shifted around, and light conversation in between bouts of half-silences – and a heavy vale of constant movement that proved to be less than ideal for studying, despite all the students trying to do  just that .

 It was to be expected this time of year, but it was still enough to bother Shouta. He concentrated better with silence, and he happened to be struggling a lot more on English than he does on his other subjects.

 Hizashi, thankfully, understood the material enough for the both of them and then some, and already finished his homework – the papers in front of him were notes, ready to be explained the moment Shouta needed it, with hand-writing that was still pretty bad but…

 For Shouta, he’d made an effort. The result was somewhat-legible scribbles lining the papers, and when he referenced it, Shouta didn’t have to ask too many questions about,  “what is this right here?”

 “I’m not going to pass.”

 Hizashi turned his eyes to Shouta, like he hadn’t been trying to find a reason to look at him longer. He was wearing a big, thick red scarf, which his hair was somewhat tucked into. He didn’t look up, he just kept his eyes on his text book. His irises weren’t moving on the page.

 “Oh man, don’t say that! How’d you think you’re gonna pass if you don’t believe in yourself?”

 “It’s because I don’t believe in myself.”

 Hizashi grabbed his warm cocoa and took a sip, if only to busy his hands with  something . “Shouta! I don’t like this type of negativity!”

 “Well, you’ve chosen the wrong friendship then.”

 “Or, maybe, the  right one!”

 Shouta looked up, and Hizashi held his gaze. His eyes had been given a break over the past few days of written work, so the redness that often lined them was almost completely gone.

 His skin looked soft too…

 His hair, it was fluffy and cute, also..

 “Hizashi?”

 He’d been staring and not talking and he leaned back into his seat like a magnet to metal. He started laughing, holding his drink up to his face. “Well, maybe I can cheer you up! What are friends for, right? And maybe it will turn that attitude around, ya think?”

 “You’re not making any sense?”

 Hizashi hated that it was true but there’s no going back now – his mouth was ten steps ahead of him anyway, and not even  he  could stop it.

 He smiled widely at Shouta. “I mean, maybe I’m here to make sure you don’t stress yourself out so much! You always do so much but never  check  yourself, and I’m here to fix that!”

 Shouta huffed, head bobbing just a bit. Then he smirked and Hizashi had to concentrate on his breathing. “And how do you propose you’d do that?”

 Oh, it was so easy – this was the opportunity the  gods  gave him after seeing him fall on his ass just a few days before.

 Hizashi leaned forward, and set his elbows down on his notes, a hot cocoa between them. “One word.  Festival .”

 Shouta’s eyebrows quirked down just a bit, and he tilted his head to the side, his hair tilting with him. “Festival?”

 “What do ya say? The park next to my neighborhood has one this weekend, and it’s free, and there’s food, and I really wanna go!”

 Hizashi grew pink at the admission, fought against the urge to cover his mouth, but Shouta didn’t comment. 

 Then, a little surprisingly, instead of arguing or finding reasons why it wasn’t logical to take time away from studies so close to exams, he gave him a smile.

 A small, intentional,  Shouta  smile. “Sure.”

 Hizashi tried to not sound over-enthused – just nodded his head and almost squeezed his cup too hard. “Yes! I finally got you to agree to do something!”

 “You always get me to do things.”

 “Yes, and I did it again!”

 Shouta rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back down to the English he’d never really understand.

 ~

 Hizashi was certain he looked fine. He wasn’t sure if it was  great  , but it was probably fine, and  whatever.

 Beside, had many other things to worry about, that were a lot more important than whether or not his shirt matched his shoes. Like, for one, how he still couldn’t quite shake the feeling of  significance .

 It was back, that nagging intrusion into his thoughts that insisted that something was supposed to be different this time. As he looked over his outfit in his body mirror, pulling over his heavy, long jacket, he had to remind himself that there was nothing different about today. Even if he really, in his heart,  wanted  there to be something different. 

 Huh.

 So maybe the difference was the  amount of yearning – Hizashi sighed, thinking about his feelings last year and comparing them to now. 

 He huffed, a huge sigh finally making itself known.

 Yeah, the feelings he had now were bigger and grander than they’d been last year and they threatened to take over his life if he let them…

 Hizashi sighed, rubbed his hands over his face, and pushed his hair back only to reveal his pink, flustered expression to its fullest.

 “Sweet lord, have mercy on me! I am an idiot with a crush!”

 He collapsed onto his bed and waited out the last of the thirty minutes before Shouta was going to arrive at his door.

 ~

 Shouta knocked, and Hizashi was already ready – his heart doing flips like he’d never experienced, but oddly enough, it didn’t feel bad. It felt exciting, and loving, and when he opened the door to the crisp autumn air, it felt like  home .

  Stop that!

 Shouta, for all his questionable outfits, looked  nice . And he always looked nice, but now he was wearing black boots, and brown khakis that somehow sort of matched Hizashi’s own, and a black tee underneath a black jacket.

 He never went anywhere in the cold without a scarf, either, and today was no exception. A red variety  was ceremoniously draped around his neck, loose enough to not be covering his face.

 Hizashi tried not to beam, but felt the shape his eyes took at the other and knew it wasn’t working. “Ready?!” He asked, a little too loud.

 “Yes… you said it was close, right? At the park?”

 Hizashi nodded, stepping out and slipping his hand into a pocket to make sure he had his keys and wallet. Confirming quickly, he shut the door behind him, again, with a little too much enthusiasm.

 He was  buzzing . Some type of energy that he normally had built up in him, that he normally kept pretty good reins on, was taking over –

 He was so excited, but, even more – he was just  happy .

 He looked to Shouta, and smiled, and then led the way down his steps and onto the quiet street. The sky was clear, save for some cloud further down on the horizon. The trees were starting to make themselves barren, and the smell of wood burning fires started to break out as soon as the sun hit its peak.

 The neighborhood, secluded and at peace, was quiet, and Shouta walked beside him in comfort.

 Hizashi never struggled to say anything, and now is no different – except it is, when he thinks he’ll say something dumb like  “hey i like you so much, you make my world right, also I love you. ”

 He can’t say that. 

 But he really,  really wants to.

 He’s wanted to for years, and he’s almost said it more than once, and now he’s let the silence build around them…

 Shouta often takes mercy on him, and so he did it again this time. Their pace was slow and there was a little bit of space between them, and he sighs. “This is really nice.”

 Hizashi smiles, keeps his eyes on the road as it winds forward. “I’m glad you think so! We’ve stressed so much, it’s a good weekend getaway, don’t you think?”

 Shouta laughs – it’s more of a chuckle, but it’s a laugh where Shouta is concerned. “Yeah, you’re right. I needed this, a lot, I think…”

 They reach the corner, looking for cars that weren’t coming. The crest of trees a few blocks ahead could be seen above rooftops, and that’s where Hizashi fixes his gaze. “Me too,” he says softly, and leaves it at that because he’s always on the verge of  too  many words.

 “You seem really… energized.”

 Hizashi fumbles with his hands, pretending to warm them up and not like he’s nervous. “When am I not!”

 Shouta hums, and it’s so deep and close that it makes Hizashi wish he could just…

 But then Shouta reaches out, and grabs at the hands Hizashi is cradling in front of him, blunt and to the point. He takes Hizashi’s left hand and slots their fingers together in his right, and Hizashi knows he can feel the clamminess…

 He looks back, sputtering, his heart erratic, “Shou – wha– I’m –”

  Does he know this is messing with me?

 And Shouta, in that calm, stupid way he always carries himself, smiles. “Maybe that’s what I’m here for.”

 He squeezes their hands, and Hizashi must look confused because Shouta laughs.

 “You always try to bring me up, so I think I can help bring you calm… You seem nervous, so,” he looked at their hands, swung them just a bit for emphasis. “Calm.”

 Hizashi feels every bit of himself crumble, falls away like a cliff against a storm, and smiles because it’s all he can do. He blushes and he can feel how it spreads, and he doesn’t say anything because every sentence ends in  I love you .

 ~

 The festival was a pleasant and home-y affair, and after they’d gotten there, they’d learned that it was quite bigger than either of them anticipated. Though it was still a neighborhood one, hosted by the local families and park itself, it was still filled to every corner.

 They’d gotten there during the peak of the sun, but it quickly descended as they wove in and out of the scattered foot traffic. The air was crisper where the lake sat in the center of the park, and the trees casted half shadows around the food and merchant vendors.

 They were walking around for less than an hour before the lanterns and torches were starting to light around them.

 Shouta still held Hizashi’s hand, and once he’d accepted the lovely fact, he’d loosened up enough to feel like his mouth wasn’t going to get him into trouble.

 “Wow! Shou! Look!” He pointed out, across the deep blue lake, to the hovering lights that surrounded it. 

 Shouta hummed warmly. “It looks very nice.”

 Hizashi was still smiling, still enamored by the lights as they floated out across his vision – the way the cool air from the dipping sun brushed against his skin and somehow made all the warmth in him  that  much warmer.

 He quickly cast his eyes down to Shouta, and found him looking at him.

 Hizashi’s ears burned and he looked away really fast, heart thumping deep in the cage of his chest.

  Oh don’t you dare say it. Don’t you DARE.

 “Um…” He said softly, intentionally because otherwise his quirk might get the best of him – he didn’t know if he was embarrassed by his enthusiasm, or by the way Shouta was watching him, but it all went away when Shouta tugged them along the side of the lake.

 It’s a few more moments before Hizashi gathers up the right words to say – the ones that aren’t gushy and filled with emotions he’s certain Shouta wouldn’t reflect. 

 “So!” He starts, looking around now that they were near the cluster of food stands. The air was filled with burning wood, meat, sauce, alive with the sound of simmering and laughter. “Want food? My treat! We can’t walk away without trying everything at  least once!”

 “I didn’t know you were rich enough to do that.”

 Hizashi chuckled. “I’m serious, though. Whatever you want!”

 Hizashi ignored the eyes tilted his way, right before leading off to Hizashi’s right. Hizashi turns around enough to look at the little stand and it’s cloth menu.

 It was a takoyaki shop, with different bao, and there was no line. 

 Hizashi smiled, and it was his turn to tug Shouta forward. He couldn’t really  look  at him, not just yet any way, but he could hear the light lilt in his voice when he ordered from the kind eyed older man at the register. Hizashi made his order quickly, and paid, and they walked away with various stacks of food.

 It wasn’t even a question where they’d go, and they found a spot under a tree to sit with their food. 

 The grass was cut, and the little hill they sat on overlooked a great deal of the sprawling festival that surrounded them. Up here, the voices that surrounded them, the chatter, the laughter that Hizashi was not interested in, was duller – muted, and when Shouta hummed in hungry appreciation at his bao, it made his heart ache all the more.

 He snuck a look to his right, graced by the mercy of Shouta closing his eyes. He’d just taken a bite, had unravelled most of his scarf to do so, and was now enjoying it for all it’s worth.

 Hizashi’s eyes softened at the sight.

  God.

 And Shouta opened his eyes, in his direction like he just knew.

 Hizashi looked down and took his bao. “This looks good! I should eat like this more.”

 “You should take me to more festivals, too.”

 Hizashi choked a bit – he recovered fast, and cast a glance toward Shouta. “Sure thing!”

  This feeling... 

 Maybe this is what he had been feeling – the lead up to whatever moment this was. The way Shouta really took the time to look at him, not through him. Like he was paying attention.

 Maybe…

 Hizashi held his oversized bao in both hands and looked forward. It suddenly didn’t feel like such a bad idea to speak. To say whatever it was that he was going to say, because for Shouta, it would always be okay…

 Didn’t make him feel any more at ease, not with the stupid thought in his head that maybe he was misreading whatever today was. Who knows, maybe Shouta always paid attention to him like this? And sure, the hands thing… that was new, but maybe Shouta just really likes holding hands but he needs to be comfortable with the person, and now after three years he’s  finally comfortable with Hizashi?

  If you’re gonna say something…

 “Hey,” he started. 

  Say it now.

 “I’m having a really good time.”

 He doesn’t take his wide, blown-out eyes from the festival. It was dark enough that every lantern stood out like little stars, and the breeze was so nice…

 “If you want… we can, um, do this again. I’ll find another festival, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be free this time, but I’ll try! And I’ll see if I can sneak in some home made food too so we can spend more money on like, cute stuff from the merchants. I saw this plush down there, actually, and it was a  cat , so maybe –”

 No, Hizashi wasn’t a timid person – but,  still , it was probably for the best that Shouta was the first one to move. He grabbed Hizashi’s hand, urging it away from the bao so that he could hold it again. 

 He’d pulled his attention to the forefront, and his eyes to finally meet his, and he realized that Shouta had moved so much closer…

 The dark of his eyes was so close, and he was  smiling …

 “You talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

 There wasn’t a way to hide the flush, so Hizashi looked down, feeling too open. “I’m sorry…”

 He couldn’t see his eyes, but he could see his smile. “I like it, though.”

 “What about if I say I like you...  Will you still like it?”

  Please…!

 Shouta didn’t leave him any time to doubt.

 “It makes it a lot easier… for me to say I like you, too… yeah, I’d like it…”

 Hizashi’s entire body was fireworks – explosions and exclamations and that same buzzing energy that gripped him every time he thought of Shouta. He grinned, and looked up to see Shouta was just as embarrassed and flustered as he was.

 He’d normally have to look away, but he assumed he had permission now, and…

  God you’re so pretty…

 His eyes, his eyelashes, the way his eyes bend against his smile and how he’d never seen him smile like this before… 

 Hizashi abandoned the bao in his lap and pushed away the hair that framed his face, slowly, not sure if it was too much to hold his face – 

 “I’m – I’m sorry, can I?”

 Shouta nodded. “And you can kiss me too, in case you weren’t sure…”

 That was all the reason he needed.

 He’d had so many reasons, so many countless reasons he  loved him...

 He cupped his jaw, still acutely aware of the way Shouta was still holding on to his hand in the grass – 

 It was cold, that was true, but right now he was warm with nerves and excitement and  love , and he leaned in –

 His breath, so warm –

 His lips, so soft –

 And neither of them were particularly experienced or daring, so after a few seconds when he finally parted their lips just a bit, they pulled away, just enough to speak.

 “Mmm, you taste like bao,” he said, and then wished someone was there in his brain to stop whatever dumb shit was trying to get out.

 Shouta just laughed. “So do you.”

 The rest of their night was spent on that hill, kissing and talking and, eventually, finishing their food. When they finally left, Hizashi found that plush cat at the vendor near the entrance of the park and gave it to Shouta. Shouta blushed, and Hizashi glowed with comfortable warmth, glad that he can now get cute things for his boyfriend.

[gryffindorcls]

More Than Just a Friend:  Chapter 1

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Hello, lovely readers!  Thank you for taking the time to read!

This fic was inspired by @gale-of-the-nomads ‘s chat post.  You can find it here.

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After patrol, Adrien face planted onto his bed and groaned.  Plagg watched as his holder mumbled incoherent ramblings into his comforter.  There was only so much a Kwami could take, and he was really close to reaching his limit.  This kid needed help.

“Adrien,” Plagg called out in a sing-song voice.

“Hrrrrmmm,” his chosen responded without removing his face from the bedspread.

“You okay there, kid?”

“HRRRRRrrrruuuuGH!”

“So...is that a no?”

Adrien breathed deeply and pushed himself up into a sitting position.  “I’m frustrated, Plagg.”

“Yes,” Plagg responded, nodding his head, “That much I can tell.”

“I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“Are you going to make me listen to you talk about it all night?”

The visibly distressed teen ignored the Kwami’s question.  “It’s just...why couldn’t Ladybug be someone I know?  It would make all of this so much easier!”

Plagg shook his head and sighed.  “I will take that as a yes.  I guess I should get comfortable.”

“You don’t understand.”

“To be perfectly fair, I rarely understand you.”

“She feels so unreachable and yet strangely...close?  I don’t know anymore.  If only she was someone like...Marinette...you know?  That would be great!”

Plagg choked on air.  “Woah...wait?  Why bakery girl?  What’s so special about her?”

Adrien scrunched his face in thought.  “Well, I guess it’s because she’s already an everyday hero.  She’s always standing up for others and making sure that everyone feels included.  Marinette may get nervous sometimes, but she’s also brave, smart, kind, and helpful.  She’s pretty and super talented.  It would be great if Ladybug was someone like her...or even if it was her.”

“Are you sure it would be great if it was her?  Didn’t you tell me that she liked Luka?”

“Plagg, I’m not saying that Marinette is Ladybug.  I’m saying it would be nice if Ladybug was someone close to me like Marinette.”

“Kid…”

Adrien walked over to his window and gazed off into the distance.  He rested his head against the glass and released a shaky breath.

“Regardless of Luka, it would never work if she was Ladybug.  I can’t date Marinette...she’s just a friend,” he said softly, keeping his eyes glued on the Parisian cityscape.

“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” Plagg began, “You sounded pretty sad when you said that just now.”

His chosen turned around and looked at his Kwami with a befuddled expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Adrien,” Plagg cleared his throat, “hear me out.  What if...and stay with me on this...what if she wasn’t just a friend?”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Okay...let me try to explain this differently.  You are miserable all the time because you can’t capture Ladybug’s heart.  How am I doing so far?”

Adrien rolled his eyes.  “You’re not completely wrong, but I would like to point out that I’m not miserable all of the time.”

“Kid, that was a yes or no question.”

“Just continue explaining.”

“Fine.  You wish that Ladybug was someone you knew in real life, and you just gave Marinette as an example, and not someone like...angry sword girl.”

“Kagami?”

“Yeah, that one.”

Adrien huffed.  “You and I both know that Kagami definitely isn’t Ladybug.  She was Akumatized and we fought her...twice!”

Plagg threw his paws into the air.  “Still, you said you wished that Ladybug was someone like Marinette.  You never said you wanted her to be someone like Kagami.”

“I’m still not getting your point.”

“What if you tried going out on a date with bakery girl?”

Adrien’s eyes grew wide.  “No!  I can’t date Marinette!”

Plagg crossed his arms.  “And why not?”

“Because she’s just a friend!”

“You obviously have a crush on her.”

The black Kwami carefully observed his holder’s reaction to his last statement.

Adrien’s cheeks were bright red.  “No, I don’t.”

“The fact that you’re blushing tells me otherwise,” Plagg pointed out.

The teen buried his face in his hands.  “I can’t have a crush on Marinette!  I like Ladybug.”

“Did you not just say to me that it would be great if Marinette is Ladybug?  Why not give it a shot and see if you’re right.  Even if she’s not your partner and you wind up falling for her, would it be the worst thing in the world?  You might even be happy for a change.”

“But Marinette is just a…”

Plagg cut him off.  “I swear, kid, if you say ‘just a friend’ one more time, I’m going to lose it...and the last time that happened Krakatoa erupted.”

Adrien fell silent and sat down on his bed.  He hung his head low and folded his hands in his lap. 

The Kwami decided to try a gentler approach.  “Look, for just a moment...I want you to pretend that there’s no Ladybug and you’re not Chat Noir.  Just imagine that you’re a normal boy with a normal life.  Now, think about what it would be like to date Marinette.  She’s nice, and she smells like bread.  I know she enjoys making things, and her parents seem to like you.  You’ve told her that she’s amazing on multiple occasions, and you just told me that you think she’s pretty.”

Adrien looked up and stared off into the distance.  Plagg could see the wheels turning in his chosen’s brain, and he really hoped that something would click this time.  Suddenly, the teen groaned loudly and doubled over onto the couch.

“Adrien?” Plagg asked after watching his holder moan in anguish for a solid minute.

“No!,” he exclaimed, “I can’t have a crush on Marinette.  I CAN’T, BUT I DO!  Why did you have to point out all that stuff to me!  She’ll never agree to go out with me.  She hasn’t started a relationship with a single person who’s shown interest in her all year, and I’m pretty sure half the class has a crush on her.  AND NOW I DO, TOO!”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think you’ve liked her all along.”

“Oh my God, Plagg!  I can’t like Ladybug and Marinette.”

“Sure you can.  You were still in love with Ladybug when you took sword girl out on a date...right?”

“I HAVE A CRUSH ON THREE GIRLS?  What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” Plagg shrugged, “You just have a type.”

Adrien sat down in a huff.  “I can’t ask Marinette out on a date.  She doesn’t think of me that way.  She likes Luka.”

“Does she have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Then you are more than welcome to ask her out.”

“I will be humiliated.  I don’t think I can handle rejection from Ladybug and Marinette.”

“Isn’t it worth exploring though?”

Adrien shook his head and started walking towards the bathroom.  “I can’t do this right now.  I’m going to get ready for bed.”

The tiny, black being chased after him.  “Can I at least have some cheese before you go to sleep?”

“PLAGG!”

“What?  Giving life advice makes me hungry!”

***

Two hours after Adrien fell asleep, Plagg phased through the window and flew into the night.  He zipped down the quiet roads and around the corner towards his holder’s school.  If memory served him correctly, bakery girl was right across the street.

Once he found the bakery, he flew to the top window and phased into the attic room where Marinette lay sleeping in her bed.  Plagg scanned the room until his eyes fell on a small red mass curled up in a heap of fabric on a desk.

“Tikki!” he whispered loudly from the other side of the room.

Plagg zoomed over to his counterpart and tapped her with his paw.  

“Tikki!” he said with more force while still maintaining an appropriate volume.

The red Kwami began to stir in her sleep.  Plagg poked her again, and she finally opened her eyes.

She gave him a confused look.  “Plagg?  What are you doing here?  Are you okay?  Is your holder okay?”

“I did something,” he said plainly.

Tikki glared at him.  “What did you do, Plagg?  Don’t tell me another species went extinct.  First, it was the dinosaurs.  Then, it was the dodo birds, and you completely crossed the line when it came to the unicorns.”

“You and I both know that those unicorns were a bunch of lying thieves.  They had to go.”

“They were cute.”

“They were monsters.”

Tikki took a deep breath and massaged her temples.  “We’re getting off topic.  Please just tell me that the squirrels are still okay.”

Plagg rolled his eyes.  “Yes, the squirrels are fine...for now.”

“Just explain to  me what you did.”

“I may have convinced my boy that he has a crush on your girl.”

“Chat Noir has never been quiet about liking Ladybug.”

“No,” Plagg said, making eye contact, “I made him realize that Adrien likes Marinette.”

“Oh,” Tikki responded.

“That’s it?”

“Does this mean that he figured out Ladybug’s identity?”

“No.  He came home from patrol and started going on about how he wished that Ladybug was someone he knew ‘like Marinette’.  I then questioned him on why he chose her out of all his friends, and then I told him to try asking her out.”

“How did he take that?”

“He had a full-blown existential crisis.  Adrien thinks that Marinette doesn’t like him romantically and that she’ll turn him down if he asks her on a date.”

“Are you kidding?  The girl is obviously in love with him.”

Plagg shook his head.  “He’s going to need proof.  He’s that kind of guy.”

Tikki paused before answering.  “The Valentine.”

“What about it?”

“Marinette wrote it.”

He curled his lips into a smile.  “I knew it!  But we don’t have any concrete evidence that it’s from her.  I’m telling you, he’s not going to believe me unless I have something irrefutable to show him.  Not even a sample of her handwriting will be enough.”

Tikki formed her own mischievous grin.  “Do you really think that the Valentine he got was the only draft?”

The red Kwami zoomed over to the trunk on the opposite side of the room.  She phased through the top, cracked open the lid, and slid a slightly crumpled paper onto the floor.  Plagg flew over to the chest and began examining the paper.  He saw that it had three different drafts of the Valentine poem, “Marinette Agreste” scribbled in the margins, and a drawing of a smiling hamster.

Plagg looked up at his counterpart.  “This is perfect.”

Tikki gave him a serious look.  “Now, I have nothing against them finding happiness and starting to date each other, but we will need to make sure that they are careful when it comes to their identities.  They can’t know.”

“What if...just try to follow me here,” Plagg began, “what if they did?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if they knew each other’s identities?  Would it be that bad?  Fox Girl and Turtle Boy learned each other’s identities, and they’re doing great.”

“But Master Fu…”

He cut her off.  “Doesn’t have to live with them.  He doesn’t see what I see.  You asked me if my holder was okay when I came here tonight.  You want to know the truth?  No, he’s not.  His dad sucks and he’s always alone.  Here we have two kids who love each other and they don’t even realize it!  Do you know how much better their relationship will be?  They’ll become better partners and heroes.”

Tikki softened her expression.  “You really care about him.”

“I always care about my cats, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t have fun with them along the way.”

“Maybe...maybe you’re right.”

Plagg grinned.  “What was that, Sugarcube?  I didn’t quite catch that.”

Tikki rolled her eyes and sighed.  “I said that maybe you’re right.”

“Finally!  You admit it.”

“I’m not saying that you’re always right.  You just so happen to be right this one time.”

“Come on!  There were plenty of other times that I was correct!  I was right about Archduke Franz Ferdinand.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“Oh, yes I was.”

“You started World War I.”

“Agree to disagree.”

“Fine,” Tikki said, making a dismissive gesture, “So, what are we supposed to do now?  Are we just going to let them figure it out on their own?”

“No, we nudge them.  They need help,” Plagg explained, “I will give this paper to Adrien tomorrow morning, and I will try to convince him to ask out Marinette.”

“How is that going to help them figure out each other’s identities?”

“We’re just going to have to improvise when opportunities arise.  It’s not like we haven’t done that before.”

“Okay.  I’ll do my best with Marinette.  I’ll try to figure something out.”

“Just think, once they’re a couple, we’ll get to spend more time together.”  Plagg nuzzled Tikki as he spoke.

“I’ve missed you, too, Stinky Sock.”

With the paper in hand, Plagg flew over to the window that led to the balcony.  Tikki followed behind closely.

Before phasing through the glass, he turned to the red Kwami.  “Just one more thing.  Adrien feels like he can be himself when he’s Chat Noir.  There are very few people in his civilian life who see that side of him.  Ladybug has turned him down more than once.  I have to ask...how does she really feel about her partner?”

Tikki smiled as she responded.  “She values his friendship and cares for him deeply.  While she gets frustrated by his recklessness and when he jokes around during a fight, she has a soft spot for the cat.  She won’t admit it, but I think she’s starting to fall for him.”

Plagg beamed.  “Good.  We might just be able to make this work.”

Next ----->

AO3

Fanfiction

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Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following my other stories.  Now that “Chat for a Day” and “Please Tell Me I’m Awake Right Now” are both on their last chapters, I have started to write new fics!  Let the fluff-train continue!

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.  Seeing all your responses fills my heart with joy!  You are all wonderful!

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[ofhoneyblood]

BRYCE ATLAS WINSLOW

pronouns: HE , HIM , HIS

age: THIRTY - EIGHT

species: HUMAN

nationality: IRISH , ITALIAN , AMERICAN

sexuality: PANSEXUAL / DEMIROMANTIC

sign: AQUARIUS SUN , LIBRA MOON , VIRGO RISING

occupation: OWNER & BOUNCER @ RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS

+ traits: INVITING. FAIR. FUNNY. OPEN-MINDED. TOLERANT.

-- traits: GUARDED. DETACHED. DESPERATE. SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. 

faceclaim: MILO VENTIMIGLIA

soundscapes: HERE

aesthetic: HERE

yo yo you yo , it’s lydia ( yes , that’s my real name ) here with my noble beast bryce winslow ! i have had bryce as a muse longer than any other and it’s been literal years since i’ve written him so i’m extremely excited. this is the first time he will be milo though and i’m super hype to get things going ! i have headcanon after headcanon for him , so hit me up if you want to do something bc i am ready to do some shit !! again , i’m lydia ( or nary , nettle , snottie , etc. ) and i love a good name change , twenty five years old , pansexual demigirl ( she / her & / or they / them ) residing in the central timezone.

this is THIRTY-EIGHT year old BRYCE WINSLOW , the OWNER OF & BOUNCER AT RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS BURLESQUE AND BOOZE who uses HE / HIM pronouns. he grew up in DUBLIN , IRELAND but came to pleasance in JULY 2006 ON HAPPENSTANCE AND TO RUN AWAY FROM HIS PAST and now enjoys spending his time at FOR KEEPS AND RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS. BRYCE is written by LYDIA.

PERSONALITY

element: air ruling planet: uranus — planet of originality body part: ankles good day: communicative , original , open-minded , fair , logical , inviting , tolerant , funny bad day: guarded , detached , self-destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , desperate , lonely favorite things: dancing , teaching , team sports , anything with a cause or mission , independent films , working out , baths , animals , preserving plant life / flowers , reading least favorite things: injustice , drama queens , feeling isolated , owing money or favors , having to choose just one thing , personal questions , gossip , cigarette smoke secret wish: to experience total freedom how to spot him: a cute smile lighting up a tired face , quirky movements , tired eyes , long legs , big hands , flannel , old beat up truck where you’ll find him: backpacking or hiking , protesting , coaching a team , revolutionizing the industry he works in , the gym , red hot pussy liquors , alone at home , working on a project , taking a walk by northwood lake keywords: friendliness , eccentricity , teamwork , humanitarianism , technology , groups , avant-garde

first thing to know about bryce winslow is that he’s a free-spirit that prizes individuality and plays well on a team. he has been known to do things his own way , moving on a path different from everyone else’s. some call him eccentric , others appreciate his cutting-edge originality and authentic style.

one of the many ways that the irishman is a paradox ? he’s highly individualistic , but also an amazing team player. he might look like the fresh-faced guy next door on the outside , but inside he marches to his own beat. naturally popular , as he’s vibrantly social and loves to be among people , telling jokes and introducing thought-provoking conversation topics.

people truly do make his world go round , and he can become friends with the most random strangers. can be a bit of an alien — a little “ out there ” in his approach to different things. not that he cares about offending anyone ! loves a good casual connection , bryce can disengage as quickly as he connects. in fact , platonic pals sometimes get better treatment than romantic partners. 

while he can be a bit unsentimental on a one-on-one level , he can be moved to tears by the plight of animals , the environment or other social justice issues. yes , this big irishman is a bohemian at heart in some ways , but he also gets the job done. as a tenacious aquarius , he can be quite hardworking when he devotes himself to a goal. 

a competitive ( and lesser-known ) type a streak can emerge when he really wants something. nothing turns him on like progress , especially in the name of his grander ideals ! playing hard to get REALLY works on him lol

philanthropic and objective , bryce is in a lot of ways innovative and avant-garde. from experimental electronic music to community-oriented living , there’s nothing that this man hasn’t or won’t explore. as someone who loves being a part of a good group or team , bringing people together is also one of his specialties. 

intense bryce energy is cutting-edge , “ out there ” and even a little strange at times. a total nerd for all things futuristic , science fiction and wacky inventions. no topic is too cutting-edge with this irishman: extraterrestrials , stem cells , cloning , robots taking over the earth…yup , bryce will go there. 

while he likes to influence rebellion and detaching from reality ( c’mon bryce , back to earth ! ) , he likes to help others see possibilities they wouldn’t otherwise. the essence of his true energy is: community-oriented , original , open-minded , fair , logical , humanitarian , connecting , and inviting. 

the negative expression of bryce’s energy can be: guarded , detached , destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , and desperate.  reluctant to express emotions — the irishman prefers rational reasoning and cool-headed logic to the messy tapestry of the human feelings. 

one of his favorite authors is ayn rand , founder of the objectivist movement , and that’s pretty much all you need to know. objectivism has been a major influence on the libertarian movement , which has a real bryce flavor. it’s an organized system that also preserves individual freedom and limits government intervention. it’s very “ fringe ” and mainstream all at once , a fascinating paradox and something that really intrigues him.

playful gusts and a social butterfly whirlwind combines into a gale force of humanitarianism for all. bryce is a visionary , dreaming up quirky utopias and alternative realities that can shake up the status quo.  emotional detachment , unpredictable energy and rebellion are major factors in the irishman’s personality. not going to lie , he can be “ type a “ and totally quirky all at the same time ??

a stabilizer — the one who sets up a solid goal or foundation then starts building. bryce can take the enthusiastic idea that someone else sparks and craft it into something real. he picks up the ball when another passes it , running the distance to the goal. 

the trustworthy type who likes “ to-do ” lists and fancy titles. if a friend says , “ let’s go on vacation ! ” he’s already calling the travel agency , booking the tickets and hotel , and sending everyone a list of what to pack.

true believer in friendship and teamwork , so bryce tends to be more focused on a group than an individual. freedom is important to him , which is why he likes to keep things light on an interpersonal level. that way , he won’t feel bad about running off to the opposite corner of the world at a moment’s notice. 

at times , this nomadic strategy backfires , leaving him lonely and disconnected. in truth , the irishman is uncomfortable with too much intimacy. this free spirit belongs to the world and feels off-balance giving his considerable energy to just one person. 

while bryce’s friends get first-class treatment , family and lovers see a different side of him: moody , brooding , anxious and neurotic. he may pick one ( and only one ) person to open up to , getting attached to the point of obsession. 

learning to accept and express his emotions would help him avoid the massive freak outs and anger flashes that come from pretending everything’s cool when it isn’t. bryce appreciates a quirky or eccentric twist , enjoying colorful characters and people with counter cultural personalities.

BIOGRAPHY

bryce atlas winslow was born into a very straight lace , play by the rules , catholic family.  his father , matteo winslow , was an italian military man and his mother , deirdre winslow , was a cold irish homemaker. matteo was every bit the ‘ man of the family ’  and bryce grew up only answering to his father. deirdre would only every answer a question with ‘ ask yer da ’ or  ‘ dija’ ask yer da ? ’

she was a mostly spineless , god fearing woman that was afraid of her own shadow and that’s what made her such a good puppet for matteo. bryce’s father was a stern , angry man that only grew angrier when drunk , no one dared put even a single toe out of line with him around. 

( TW: implied child abuse ) with bryce being the first born and only son he was expected to be perfect , from a very young age he felt the pressures of that. it was like walking on eggshells , always afraid of making a mistake or displeasing his father. he did not have the fun , happy-go-lucky innocence a child should expect of their early years ; instead for bryce winslow there was not much more than discipline , hard work , and punishment.

for the most part , bryce succeeded at being the perfect son his father expected him to be — a robot more than an actual living boy. nothing more than a machine , a machine being bred for war. 

it wasn’t until the beginning of his secondary school , when puberty and hormones began blossoming , that things became precarious. voice cracks , uneven patches of hair…. oh , and a sudden sexual desire for the same sex. 

( TW: suicide ment. ) now , the winslows were catholic - extremely devout catholics - and bryce grew very self-loathing and afraid in this confusing time. he contemplated suicide , all because ‘ homosexuality was wrong ‘ and ‘ you go straight to hell ‘ if you engage in anything associated with it. it didn’t matter how good of a son you were , because ‘ man shall not lie with man. ‘  he kept it hidden for years , he also managed not to act on it until well into the last year of secondary school. 

despite bryce’s fears and shame , when he was sixteen he fell in love for the first time. first loves can be explosive , dangerous even and this one was nothing short of just that. the boy kept his forbidden love a secret from everyone , his family and father above all others.

all good things must come to an end though or so they say , for the boys it came far sooner than later. matteo , bryce’s father , happened upon a note from the boy bryce was seeing , cian , and in said note was all sorts of information including a meeting spot. as you can imagine , matteo flew from the house in a drunken rage in search of his “ sinner “ of a son only to catch him red-handed. 

( TW: assault , child abuse ) bryce managed to save cian from his father’s wrath , taking the brunt of the attack. cian watched as bryce was beaten , begging and screaming for the man to stop , that he was killing him. the drunken bigot was turning on the younger boy when bryce told him to leave and never come back , so that is what he did. 

( TW: implied abuse ) to this day , he has never laid eyes on his young lover and that was probably for the best. after his father had tired himself out and satisfied his rage , he left his son there in the dirt and the beaten boy didn’t bother moving. 

( TW: suicidal thoughts , conversion therapy ment. ) will to live depleted , too tired to go on , pain too much to endure — he just slept there until the next morning. he was awoken with a kick of dirt in the face , his father telling him that he was being sent to a ‘’ special ’’ facility where they would get rid of his ‘’ ailment. ’’ 

( TW: conversion therapy / facility ) time melded in the facility , but he estimated nearly a year of his life was wasted away in there. resistant and defiant for most of his time there , it wasn’t until his father visited him , the one and only time . that things changed. 

( TW: suicide ment. , homophobia ) his father brought news that his mother had killed herself but this was a vicious lie , a last ditch effort to get bryce to change his ways and boy , did it work ! hardly a month later , the young man was discharged from the facility only to find his mother was indeed very much alive.

matteo up and moved his entire family to england after bryce got out of the facility. his father gave him nonsense about wanting to get away from the bad memories , starting over new , and ‘ lead not into temptation ‘ by sending him back to school with ‘ sinners ’ and ‘ sodomites. ‘ 

so , bryce finished out the remainder of his schooling in england and went straight into the forces as per his father’s wishes. sadly for him , he would never become what he so longed to be. he had just finished boot camp and life had just started to seem somewhat normal - if you can call anything the winslow’s had normal - when he lost it all.

( TW: eye injury ) the young man was honorably discharged after an accident that left him legally blind in one eye , when he returned home after his short stent in the defense forces there was no longer a place in the family for him. his father quite literally disowned him all for something he had no control over , a mere accident , but there was nothing more disappointing to matteo than a son that was ‘ kicked out ‘ of the forces.

( TW: gang ment. , human trafficking ) fast forward a year , bryce had found himself in a gang. this part of his background is the most unresolved seeing as it’s not part of his original backstory. long story short , he was involved with the gang until he was twenty three but it all became too much for him after his boss tried to involve him in human trafficking. 

( TW: gang ment. , suicide , death ) when you join a gang you don’t usually do it thinking someday you might one day retire or quit said gang , but then as you get older you realize you’re not as tough as you thought. bryce was twenty-three when his mother finally really did ‘ commit suicide ‘ , the first time his father spoke to him since he returned home from the forces was only to blame him for her death. 

( TW: death ment. , implied murder ) honestly , it was just the straw that broke the camels back. bryce wasn’t allowed at the funeral or anywhere near it , he’s almost certain his mother’s death wasn’t by her own hand or an accident but he’ll never truly know. after he was certain she was in the ground , bryce fled to america in the hopes of outrunning the gang and getting lost in the melting pot. 

once in the land of opportunity , he got his hands on the cheapest ride he could find first and just started driving. it was well after his twenty-fourth birthday , right smack in the middle of a hot ass summer in ‘06 ,  that he found himself in pleasance of all places. he never had any intention at all to grow roots there , it simply happened.  

other than that , the man busies himself with drying and preserving flowers , taking baths , working out , and playing with his dog.  he parades around like this big , tough hard ass when in reality he’s quite the domestic goofball type.

ETC.

has a dog ,  it’s a beagle named shiloh literally 

a big hobby of his is preserving flowers in his spare time , he keeps a small book of pressed flowers and plant life on him a lot of the time in the chance he comes across something he wants to preserve

can play guitar and doesn’t have a bad singing voice either

legally blind in one eye , but doesn’t wear his glasses often

has a younger sister that he does keep in contact with , but not very well ( WC ? )

a guilty pleasure of his is taking baths ; he enjoys adding bath salts , flowers , and other so-called ‘ feminine ‘ products like bath bombs , etc. to them and honestly takes one nearly every day

he was born and raised mostly in dublin , ireland and has a thick accent that only gets thicker when intoxicated or angry. he does use a lot of uncommon terminology to american’s ( yes , i own the feckin’ book of everything irish. . . it’s that serious ) but i’ll lyk in the tags what it means unless i forget

@phqextras​

[chiaki-translation]

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT: Event Translation Ch8-10

I’m back~ Anyway, I really forgot that my school’s starting tomorrow, but to be fair it won’t really change my schedule so much. The classes are all online and I don’t have a lot of classes this semester so I think I’ll still be able to keep up with the translation for now~ I might get slower in the middle/end of the semester though, but that’ll come later. Anyway, the last few chapters ended with a cliffhanger, so I’ll be uploading the epilogue in about an hour or so. Enjoy~

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT Ch1-4 / / Ch 5-7 / / Ch8-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber’s Entertainment

Azuma:

We’re really lucky to pick the mini car with no task earlier.

Taichi:

Right!

If we continue this way, maybe we can actually win!?

Azuma:

Ah, the next one seems to be the last checkpoint.

Turn right on the next junction.

Taichi:

Okay!

<Shifts to Checkpoint>

Spectator A:

Oh, the second one is here!

Aaron:

It’s you guys again…

Fuh, our path of destiny overlaps so many times…

There’s no place for us to fall behind in our evaluation.

Azuma:

Doggy-kun, let’s use this chance to pick the task from the mini car.

Taichi:

Yes.

Aaron:

You guys, listen to what other people say!

Taichi:

Eh, Azuma-san, this checkpoint…

It gives us 2 choices!

Azuma:

2 choices?

Taichi:

The task if the navigator has a driving license and the task if the navigator has no driving license.

Also, if we choose the task for the navigator who has a driving license, it said that we will get some extra points!

Azuma:

I see. So what should we do.

Taichi:

Uh, we don’t know what kind of task will come up…

Aaron:

It seems that you’re caught among the lost thorn.

If you’re that worried, I’ll go ahead and choose first.

Our task is… “say a line towards your victory” huh.

Isn’t it too easy.

To all the spectators who have gathered here today, listen to me!

The gale’s reverberating through the earth, towards the words of our victory!

Moderator:

Aaron and Jack pair, task cleared!

Points have been awarded!

Taichi:

Woah! He got another easy task!

But anyway, his pair didn’t come out of the car at all?

Azuma:

It was like that earlier too.

Maybe he’s just too absorbed in navigating.

Aaron:

We will be the one to reach the victory land first.

I’m going to look forward to see you guys got defeated.

Kukukuku…!

Taichi:

Ah, they’re gone!

Azuma:

Getting to the goal earlier doesn’t guarantee the victory, it’s alright.

Calm down, let’s try to think which one we should choose.

Taichi:

Yo, you’re right!

Azuma:

Let’s see… Why don’t we try to go for the extra points?

The other 2 groups don’t seem to be able to choose this one.

Taichi:

You’re right, Kazu-kun and Tsuzuru-san don’t have driver license after all.

Alright… Then let’s pick the task with the extra points!

The task is… “Driver change”!

Azuma:

I see. I guess it’s impossible to do if any of the participant doesn’t have a driver license…

Taichi:

Azuma-san, are you alright with driving…?

Azuma:

Eh…?

Taichi:

You said you prefer to be in the passenger seat previously, so I thought maybe you don’t actually want to drive…

Azuma:

…Thank you for your concern, Doggy-kun.

But I really don’t hate driving.

We can’t proceed if we don’t do this task, I just don’t have the incentive and motivation to drive recently and I’m getting used to it.

That’s why, it’s fine.

Taichi:

Azuma-san…! Then, if Azuma-san wished for it, I’ll gladly take the passenger’s seat for you!

<End of Chapter 8>

Azuma:

…Fuh…

Taichi:

Azuma-san, are you a bit nervous…?

Azuma:

It’s been a while since someone leaves the driving to me.

…Just a bit.

Taichi:

The passenger’s seat is great, but being in the driver’s seat feels good too right!

There are views that you can’t see unless you’re in the driver’s seat, you can see everyone who rides with you and the places you’re going to, isn’t it so exciting!

I felt it when everyone was riding with me during the trip back from the training center recently.

That feeling, is something that I won’t know if I didn’t get my driving license.

Hehe… I started because I want to get popular, but I think I’m really glad that I get my driving license!

Azuma:

Fufu, I see.

Taichi:

Ah, but if you don’t like it, don’t force yourself!

Azuma:

I don’t hate it. I really just didn’t have the chance.

Somewhere in my heart… Maybe I’m actually looking for the chance.

Thank you, Doggy-kun.

…Alright, let’s go.

<Shifts to Circuit Lane>

Moderator:

Nanao and Yukishiro pair, Goal Line!

Task cleared! Points have been awarded!

Taichi:

Yeay! Goal!

Aaron:

Kukuku… You’re late, MANKAI company.

As expected, this eden of victory, we are the first one who step on it, the Scarecrow.

Hahaha, engulf yourself in the fire of regret!

Taichi:

Uhh! But it doesn’t mean that we already lose!

Azuma:

Ah, everyone’s here too.

Kazunari:

Goal!

Misumi:

We’ve arrived~!

Tsuzuru:

Good work.

Kazunari:

Azu, you’re so fast!

Tasuku:

By the time we realized, we were quite far apart.

Misumi:

Everyone, I’m glad we all can clear the tasks~!

Taichi:

Perfectly! But my team, we got the task to change driver on the last checkpoint--

I got Azuma-san to drive!

Kazunari:

Seriously!? That’s nice!

Tsuzuru:

So Yukishiro-san’s driving. I’m quite curious too.

Tasuku:

So you’re really able to drive when push comes to shove.

Azuma:

Fufu, it was quite fun.

Tasuku:

If you find it fun, why not you drive once in a while.

Azuma:

…Until now, it’s not that I’ve been avoiding driving, somewhere in my heart, there’s a feeling compelling me to try driving again.

But there’s a portion where I pull away because of my family’s accident, I feel that if it’s not needed then I don’t need to do it.

Even more so because there are people who will drive me around here.

Tasuku:

Right.

Azuma:

But, after driving again since so long, I think it’s not bad to drive once in a while.

Tasuku:

It’s great if you can think that way.

Azuma:

Yeah, I think so too.

Announcer:

The points have been calculated.

We will be announcing the result shortly, please gather around.

<Shifts to Podium>

Moderator:

We’ll start the announcement…

The winner of Veludo Race is…

MANKAI company, Nanao Taichi and Yukishiro Azuma pair!

Taichi:

Azuma-san! We did it---!!

Azuma:

Yeah, we did it.

Like what Doggy-kun said, I was able to see the views that I wasn’t able to see from the passenger’s seat, it was fun.

Taichi:

…Hehe, I’m glad!

Kazunari:

So coolz! Congratulations the both of you!

Misumi:

Amazing amazing! Congratulation!!

Moderator:

The spectator’s evaluation of your performance is pretty high…

Also, adding the extra points you got from changing drivers, Nanao and Yukishiro pair’s victory is determined!

Aaron:

Damn you…!

You’ll lose next time…! I’ll remember this!

Moderator:

The two of you, please come up to the stage!

Nanao-san, Yukishiro-san, congratulations on your victory!

Then, please come over here to receive the trophy!

Azuma:

Thank you so much.

Taichi:

Thank you so much!

Amazing! The trophy is really big!

Azuma:

I wonder if the dorm has a place where we can display it?

Taichi:

When we’re back, we have to find a place carefully!

Moderator:

For the victorious MANKAI company, we’ll have you to perform a performance after this, thank you for your enthusiasm!

Taichi:

Let’s deliver a performance that suits the race theme!

I’m happy that a lot of people will be watching!

Azuma:

Please enjoy the show.

<End of Chapter 9>

Director:

Everyone, good work for the race!

You guys were so cool!

Also, Taichi-kun and Azuma-san, congratulation on your victory!

Azuma:

Fufu, thank you.

Taichi:

Yeay, we did it!

Director:

It will be the stage performance after this right. I thought you would be able to take it easy after the race, but just one more hurdle, do your best!

Kazunari:

Leave it to us~!

Misumi:

I’ll do my best~!

Director:

(The tension was pretty high during the race, so everyone seems to be in a good condition now.)

Tasuku:

Then, we’ll be going.

Tsuzuru:

We’ll go first.

Director:

Good luck!

<Short Time Skip>

Sasahara (Kazunari):

This will be the new driver joining our team from today onwards, Amano.

Amano (Taichi):

I’m Amano! Pleased to work with you!

Sasahara (Kazunari):

He will be participating in the next tournament too.

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

Nice to meet you. Let’s do our best, new member.

Amano (Taichi):

Yes!

Sasahara (Kazunari):

I already introduced myself earlier, but I’m Sasahara, the chief engineer.

Nice to meet you.

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

I’m the mechanic, Yasuhiro. And then over there is our racing driver, Naruse.

Naruse (Azuma):

…

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san, as a fellow driver, I hope we can work together from now on!

Naruse (Azuma):

…

Amano (Taichi):

Ah…

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

That guy’s always like that. Don’t mind him.

He doesn’t try to get used to the people surrounding him… The lone wolf type.

Amano (Taichi):

I see.

Sasahara (Kazunari):

That’s that, but there’s the driver change in the middle of the race, it’s impossible not to exchange any words at all…

Amano (Taichi):

…

<Short Time Skip>

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san! Good morning!

Natuse (Azuma):

…

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san, let’s go and eat breakfast together.

Naruse (Azuma):

…I won’t go.

<Short Time Skip>

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san, let’s go and train together!

Naruse (Azuma):

…Do it yourself. I’ll do it by myself.

<Short Time Skip>

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san! Do you need help with anything today?

Naruse (Azuma):

You’re so persistent every single day.

I don’t need any help from you.

Amano (Taichi):

But! I heard that we will be exchanging drivers in the middle of the race, me and Naruse-san it is.

That’s why even just a bit, I thought it will be good to interact with you.

Naruse (Azuma):

I have no interest in you.

Amano (Taichi):

But I have! Please tell me more about you, Naruse-san!

I will never give up after all!

Naruse (Azuma):

…Hah…

<Short Time Skip>

Amano (Taichi):

Do you have anything today?

Naruse (Azuma):

Then, I’ll leave this to you.

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

Oi, did you see that?

Sasahara (Kazunari):

Yeah, Naruse is talking to someone else like that, he even ask for assistance…

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

Fuh, you’re moved by his persistence huh.

Naruse (Azuma):

Shut up.

Sasahara (Kazunari):

Hahaha. But I really have a good feeling from you right now.

Naruse (Azuma):

Huh…

Amano (Taichi):

With this, let’s do our best in the next tournament!

<Short Time Skip>

Amano (Taichi):

It’s finally the tournament day…

Naruse (Azuma):

Are you nervous.

Amano (Taichi):

Uh, just a bit…

Kurata (Tsuzuru):

What? It’s the lone wolf Naruse, it’s rare to see you talking to someone else.

Naruse (Azuma):

You guys…

Amano (Taichi):

Ah, that’s the rival team…!

Shiarishi (Misumi):

Oi Naruse, why don’t you show me your terrible one-man race again?

Naruse (Azuma):

Fuh… I have reliable comrades, so I’ll be fine.

Amano (Taichi):

…!

Shiraishi (Misumi):

Hee. Why not you let me see your skill then.

Kurata (Tsuzuru):

Then, during the race.

Amano (Taichi):

Naruse-san…

When you’re talking about reliable comrades… Are you maybe talking about me?

Naruse (Azuma):

Who knows.

Come on, the race is starting.

<Short Time Skip>

Sasahara (Kazunari):

Goal!!

Yasuhiro (Tasuku):

They did it!! It’s victory for our team!

Kurata (Tsuzuru):

Damn it…

Shiraishi (Misumi):

God damn it…!

Amano (Taichi):

We did it!

Naruse (Azuma):

Fuh… Ah, good work.

<Short Time Skip>

Director:

Everyone, good work! The stage performance was amazing too, I’m glad.

Taichi:

I did my best!

Tasuku:

Good work.

Azuma:

Good work today.

Doesn’t it feel nice.

Tsuzuru:

More than anything else, the audiences seems to be enjoying themselves too.

Misumi:

The race and the acting too, everything’s fun~!

Kazunari:

Right! It’s super lit!

I took a lot of pictures too, let’s upload them to Insta and the Blog!

Taichi:

Ah, right!

I have something to ask from you, Azuma-san…

Azuma:

Something to ask from me?

<End of Chapter 10>

[pearl-kite]

I (stupidly?) decided to do a lineup of some of my current OCs as a way to help visualize their heights, which I’ve always been terrible at, and get a sense of how many I actually have. This is not a comprehensive list of every OC I’ve ever created, but they’re the ones I’ve focused on most over the years or created recently enough that they’re stuck in my head.

It turned out way wider than tumblr is comfortable with so I cut it in half?

Some basics about them and their years of creation below the cut.

Akos Colton - 2006

My oldest that I’ve consistently made content for. Originally just a younger brother to a character in my first nanowrimo attempt, I ended up liking him more. He’s changed a lot over the years, though, as I keep trying to find a good place for him. Currently I use him for Greenwarden, where he’ll be romancing Bautista, and I’m trying to flesh out an original concept that he’ll work for. Would probably align as neutral good. Considered using him for a dnd game (lol as if I ever get to play) as a celestial warlock.

Gale Maziya - 2007

Gale was a sketch in a school planner before anything, and they eventually fleshed out into the luck demon that they are today. They’ve got an intense guilt complex and go out of their way not to inconvenience people. They’re very good at hiding problems from others and almost always looks happier than they really are. I slid them into Fallen Hero, and to be honest they make an absolutely terrible villain because they feel bad about everything. Aligns as chaotic good.

I also kind of want to change their last name because it was silly from the get go, but it’s hard to come up with a different surname that sounds decent after using it for literally 13 years.

Claire - 2007

Claire is a succubus and Gale’s adoptive sister. She can be abrasive or charming, sometimes within the same interaction, and she takes no shit. Where Gale would prefer to hide from problems, she prefers confrontation to get the problem out of the way. Collects manatee-related objects. She’d align chaotic neutral.

Gabriel - 2008

Gabe has been a nanowrimo subject twice as Gabe and once as Relen, and each time he’s been a victim of possession by a sapient shadow that goes by Itzal. Haven’t quite got his setting or plot down right, but he’s stayed fairly close to his first iteration: generally quiet, does his best to be kind, and hates being stuck with a shadow in his head that doesn’t understand why it’s so terrible to kill some people. Gabe is more of a neutral good type of person while Itzal is somewhere between chaotic neutral and chaotic evil. I’ve kind of blended the two for use as my Newman in The Passenger, kind of how Itzal would eventually mellow out over time. RO for that is Roach <3

Kirehn Saugleph - 2016

Kirehn is my au ra in FFXIV, and she kind of fits in a lineup because I’ve drawn her off and on over the years. Focuses on more crafty peace-keeping tasks, but punches shit when she needs to. Idolizes Y’shtola but tries to keep it on the downlow. Has a house in the Mist that she’s been trying to decorate but she keeps being interrupted by people asking for help with Garleans or dragons or Ascians or helping hang someone’s laundry or something like that. Tries to garden, but for the same reason her plants tend to just die because she’s away when they need watering.

I did not realize how fucking short female au ra are until this, holy shit, and she’s technically above average for an au ra.

Xenia - 2018

My first dnd character, totally has absolutely nothing to do with Kirehn, no inspiration there at all nope. A Way of the Open Hand monk, she ended up being the mom of the group. An accident in her youth lost her about half of one of her horns and her eye. At one point the group was offered a wish each, but they had a hard time trusting the wish giver, so Xenia jumped in with a simple wish to have her horn fixed to test how exactly the wish-granting was working, or if it would at all. It did work, and everyone else ended up getting really cool wishes granted. Chaotic good, she was generally one of the two party members trying to remind the others that they didn’t need to kill everyone and everything they came across.

Charlotte “Charlie” Miller - 2020

Charlie’s the first OC I made specifically for a CoG, and she was made for Fallen Hero. She’s responded to the trauma by looking out for herself. While she doesn’t go out of her way to be cruel, she is only concerned with achieving her goals, of which the ultimate one is revenge. To do so she will use people and she isn’t terribly bothered with collateral damage. She’s trying to keep her distance from her past, because she’s aware that she’ll feel conflicted and she’d rather keep things simple. True neutral, aromantic.

Sloane Greenfield - 2020

Sloane is my first and main detective for Wayhaven. They’re focused more on deduction and science, but likes to think they can hold their own in a fight if necessary. Sometimes they actually can. Has a decent to good relationship with their mom, but wasn’t pleased with the secret keeping and is becoming less and less likely to react well to new secrets from her. Romancing Mason but trying to keep things a bit distant, as they have a history of falling a little too hard for people. Has a mainly minimalist apartment but indulges in a large planted aquarium. 

Aoife Lane - 2020

Aoife is an accident, I was testing other Wayhaven ROs and she was supposed to be a throwaway but that didn’t work. Outgoing and friendly, but stubborn. While she was very confused about the whole vampire thing, she just went with it very quickly. Very bitter towards her mother. “Romancing” Ava, though she’s not going to be the one to make the first move, so it’ll be a while.