#I’m just super indecisive and can’t pick one I like the most

[steddieunderdogfics]

Our first writer's spotlight feature is: @anthotneystark! With seven works on Ao3 in the Stranger Things fandom (for ao3 users only), they've written five works with the Steddie ship tag!

Nominated by @thefreakandthehair, they recommend the following works by mywarisalreadywon:

Fools in love (Is there any other kind of pain?)

But when it's your brother (Sometimes you look the other way)

I will stay one night beside you, never go back to the sea (I will stay and be thy husband though it be the death of me)

My wounds cry for the grave (My soul cries for deliverance)

Sold your soul (Built the higher wall)

Kat is an absolute treasure and such a wonderful writer! Her ideas are always so fresh and so interesting, and I've never read anything from her that doesn't just hit. All of her works are so well-crafted and well-written, characterization is always on point, and I can't say enough about how much I genuinely enjoy every single thing she posts! - @thefreakandthehair

Below the cut, @anthotneystark answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I just find them so compelling, and there’s so many ways to shift the story around a bit or put them in different universes, like the options are just endless in a way a lot of the ships I’ve loved can’t be.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I’m such a sucker for hurt/comfort, but I feel like that’s such a broad range, right? More specific would be the trop of one or both having insecurities and getting that “I love you and I will choose to keep loving you” moment.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Probably the breakdown moment of finally finding a safe harbor, or realizing that people love you, and it just hits you like a freight train and you can’t do anything but fall apart, and that can go hand in hand with found family, but that’s my specific gut-punch feeling that I want to put in every fic.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Oh this is so hard! I have so many that I go back and read time and time again, so many that I absolutely adore! God, just picking one is so nerve wracking, I’m too indecisive, so I’ll say my top three (in no particular order): Sanctuary by SpicedSage, I’ve seen your face before, my friend,but I don’t know if you know who I am by HMSLusitania, and The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting by badpancake

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Oh for sure! I’ve had a rom-com idea bouncing around in my head for a while, I just have to figure out a good starting place for it!

What is your writing process like?

The majority of the time, I start writing out my stories on paper. I scratch it down at least enough to get me started and use that kind of as a springboard. When I can get to a point of typing it up, having that and editing as I go helps me to really build momentum and then I can just let it flow, but that initial momentum is the hard part between getting the story out of my head and onto a page. If I’m stopping and starting, I reread and edit what I’ve typed up as my springboard, so by the time I’m finished, I’ve reread it all enough times that I’m sure I’ve got everything in the order I want.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I’m very sure that I do! I start a lot of sentences with conjunctions and I try to write, at least in some parts, so it reads like a stream of consciousness without entering first person. For me it’s almost like I type how I talk and sometimes I get a little too far into that and have to reel it back.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

 Oh definitely when it’s finished. I lose motivation for periods of time and have to rotate between projects, so I feel much better about stuff when it’s all just done and I don’t have to worry about being stalled for too long.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I’m kinda torn on this one! Like I’m super proud of all the heart and the emotion I felt and tried to express in But when it's your brother (Sometimes you look the other way), but My wounds cry for the grave (My soul cries for deliverance) was huge for me because that’s my biggest single chapter fic that I’ve ever written. If pressed, I think I’d have to go with the former just because that one in particular was so heavy for me on a more personal level.

How did you get the idea for But when it's your brother (Sometimes you look the other way)?

This fic is honestly so full of my own personal feelings that I get a little choked up thinking about it too much. I’m a younger sister, so I’m constantly in this cycle of making fun of my older sister and calling her names but having this deep love for her. My family isn’t one that really talks much about feelings, but there’s so much love there and I’m finding myself constantly thinking back on my own life about so many moments where neither of us was prepared for what we had to do, but I looked at her and thought she was invincible and I feel like that’s the core of Dustin and Steve. The “that’s my brother, he’s so tough and grown up and he’s always okay” and then the sort of devastation of realizing that this person you’ve always seen like that has a lot of moments where they’re scared and hurt and struggling but not showing it. There’s just a lot of me in that fic.

When writing I will stay one night beside you, never go back to the sea (I will stay and be thy husband though it be the death of me), what was something you didn’t expect?

I don’t know that there was anything I didn’t expect, because I try not to really push expectations onto my work, I try to just let it flow and figure it out from there. But something that felt right that I hadn’t initially planned for was the moment between Steve and Joyce. We haven’t seen them interact really, and I’ve seen a few different takes on them and how they’d see each other, but I honestly loved the thought of him having this moment of trying to hold it all together because there’s so much weight on his shoulders and the moment he sees someone who’s safe, someone who has been judged so much and wouldn’t be judgemental of him, he breaks.

What inspired Fools in love (Is there any other kind of pain)?

This one actually started as a “haha what if Steve was born on a holiday” and then I made it a little angsty. Because I do like the born on a holiday and your birthday gets overlooked vibe, but then it was just a moment of thinking about what if it gets overlooked not because it’s a big holiday, but because people just don’t believe him and how much that would hurt year after year.

What was your favorite part to write from I will stay one night beside you, never go back to the sea (I will stay and be thy husband though it be the death of me)?

Definitely the bit about Steve begging for Eddie to keep him, with that warring feeling of not wanting to be restrained but wanting to be chosen. Feelings are so often multidimensional and that was something that just really spoke to me.

How do/did you feel writing But when it's your brother (Sometimes you look the other way)?

I cried so much. Like I said, there’s so much personal feeling in there, so much of the way that I am with my siblings is there, and we didn’t have any life or death situations, but that sort of love, it just sticks with you forever. In equal moments I’m Steve and I’m Dustin in there, being a middle child and all I’ve got both experiences, so I definitely had a few moments where I needed to step back and let my own feelings settle again.

What was the most difficult part of writing Fools in love (Is there any other kind of pain)?

This was actually my first fic written and published in over three years. So the hard part for me was actually just working up the courage to post it. I’ve been dealing a lot with depression and anxiety and burnout for years now and just the general dissatisfaction with my own writing, so the love I got after posting that was really just so special to me and I can’t fully express how much it means and how encouraging it was knowing people liked it.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

My favorite line is either this one from My wounds cry for the grave: “But right now, he just leans over, laughing with his favorite person ever, his heart soaring and matching hers, beat for beat.” Or this moment: “He drops right there, like a puppet with its strings cut, like a stone in water. Like Atlas being crushed by the weight of the world. Dustin is the only one close enough to make sure his head doesn’t hit the ground; he’ll be grateful for that later. In that moment though, surrounded by people who love him, sprawled on a cold tile floor, willing Eddie to be alive with his whole being, Steve Harrington’s heart stops once more.” Both of these were things I had rotating in my head for so long that I go back to those parts over and over just to feel them again.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Oh I have so many things that are half done, but none that are near finished enough to try and hype them up yet. I literally have a running list of ideas I’m adding to here and there and I just follow the inspiration!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

The only thing I can think to add is that I’m just absolutely so flattered and tickled about someone liking my work enough to nominate me for this! I’ve always tended to be more of a lurker in just about every fandom I’ve been in so this is such a surprise and it means the world that my writing touched someone enough for them to think of me. 

Thank you to our author, @anthotneystarkm and our nominator, @thefreakandthehair! See more of @anthotneystark's work featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer's Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[atopearth]

Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Part 2 - Benkei Musashibo Route

Personally, I'm quite interested in Benkei even though most people I've seen talk about him not being really interested in his route. I always thought him taking away the swords of the Heike samurai was interesting, so I was sad to not see much more about him in Noritsune's route, so hopefully we'll finally get to know more about him now! Tomomori seemed to be taken by Shanao's tears at hearing her mother say she has nothing to do with the Genji anymore, I wonder if he's really interested in people who are able to show their emotions so honestly. I didn't expect Benkei to find out that Shanao is a woman already. Lmao I love how dramatic Benkei is over it, and how he thinks she's an angel for forgiving him since he touched her lolll. To be fair, especially as a monk, it is pretty bad lol. Benkei's reason for stealing swords from the Heike is so innocent and sweet, he just didn't want the Heike to hurt people anymore. Tomomori is certainly very interested in Shanao, and hmmm to think that Tomomori and Shigehira also have that power Shanao displayed, I wonder if that means there's more to Shanao's birth than is said considering Kiyomori told them that only him and another person he didn't mention should have that power. On the other hand, Benkei is like a big cuddly bear. Looks huge and ferocious on the outside but he's such a devoted and silly man haha.

Although I can understand why the monks would hate Benkei for making the Heike have a bad impression of them, I loved how Shanao thanked them for raising such an honest and kind Benkei, it was so cool when she announced that she was Shanao and that Benkei is her vassal. It must have been super heartwarming for Benkei to finally be properly accepted by Shanao. I really have a soft spot for men who would throw their lives away to protect someone precious to them, so when I knew Benkei was going to throw Shanao to Shungen and use himself as a shield against Tomomori, it really made my heart feel very warm haha! I guess that genuine desire to protect the person they regard as more important than their life always gets to me. I didn't expect Tomomori to be so strong though! I was so happy for Benkei when his monk friends appeared to save him. Not only did they save his life, but the fact that they appeared must have allowed him to understand that he has a place in this world aside from being beside Shanao. It was so cute how everyone was staring at Shanao crying over Benkei telling him not to ever sacrifice his life for her ever again.

Alike Benkei, whenever I look at the vastness of the sea,  I feel that similar sense of strength it gives me, it's a mysterious feeling. I enjoyed how Benkei told Shanao that wanting to see your family shouldn't be something she should just let go of, maybe she can't go see her brother now but that doesn't mean she should just give up on it and I'm glad Benkei told her that just because she has her role and responsibilities, it doesn't mean she should have to give up on her own desires. It was really sweet when Benkei said no one in this world is more important than Shanao, I couldn't stop myself from smiling haha! Even though I don't like kids, seeing LIs who are good with kids always makes me happy for some reason, I guess it's because it's something I'll never be good at and seeing a guy so happy and capable of playing with kids shows their sincerity and kindness haha. When Benkei picked Shanao up though, lol!! I think it was very sweet that when Shanao was confused on how she should proceed from now on, and thought that her indecisiveness was weak, Benkei was there to tell her that he follows her because of her kindness and not in spite of it. I think I especially loved how he said if her actions caused sadness to the children, he would make them all smile again. Benkei having Shanao rest her head on his knee is such a sweet gesture. I was already really happy when he was telling her how he would work hard to make her smile as well, but seeing him try so hard to make her comfortable and happy really gets to me. It's just so reassuring to be with Benkei. Honestly, when people said Benkei's route isn't very romantic blah blah, I personally have to disagree with them. For me, what's more romantic than having the person you love share your beliefs and walk side by side with you every step of the way for you to achieve your goals and share those very same sentiments with you? It's very difficult to find someone like that imo and that's why I love them and I think to me, that is romantic.

I didn't think Shanao could get so out of control and hurt Benkei like that..Lol at Shanao trying to feed Benkei rice porridge because he's injured, it was so cute how Tadanobu and them were jealous lol. Shanao taking care of Benkei as he blushed seeing her smile again (she couldn't smile after the fight since she felt guilty over hurting him) was cute. Well, Shigehira is nuts but I actually love how crazy he is lolll. It was actually hilarious when he wanted her to call him her brother, other than that, it was unexpected that this 'power' can consume the spirit of people to kinda heal and strengthen themselves. Glad to know that Tomomori is as weird as Shigehira in a different way, love how he kept saying he wanted to see Shanao cry lmao, he's such a weird pervert with the way he says it. I'm glad that what gives Shanao strength in such a desperate situation is her desire to go back and see Benkei's reassuring smile. I don't know what Kagetoki expects, like why would Benkei and them follow him back to Yoritomo when their lord, Shanao is gone😒 and he's been so rude to them this whole time, why would they want to listen to him especially with how much he disregards Shanao😒 Honestly, I feel sorry for Shanao but I love how insane Tomomori is, enough that he doesn't care if she were really his sister and that she can then love him both as a brother and a husband lolll, what a wild man. I love how Shanao used the power they're so proud of against them to escape, I didn't want to see her get toyed with anymore. Maybe to some, Benkei and Shanao's relationship isn't that 'deep' or anything but I like it. He's not there to solve her problems because those are her own problems to solve, and she has the power to resolve them herself anyway, Benkei is there to comfort her, reassure her and let her know that everything is okay and that she can always lean on him when needed and I think that's what I love about their relationship. They both encouraged each other and supported the other to solve their problems, they grow by being beside the other and supporting them emotionally and I enjoy that. It's nice to see how much Benkei cherishes Shanao, to the point that he'll do anything to protect her from harm, but I'm glad that Shanao reminded him of their mutual dream, their mutual resolve to protect people and their mutual desire to bring peace to the people around them. She didn't need to tell him off for making this decision of whether to continue fighting or not for her. By reminding him of that, he knew he was wrong for withholding information from her, even if it was to protect her.

Benkei not understanding Shanao's confession was so cute but expected haha! I'm glad she didn't give up and blatantly told him how much she liked him. Honestly, a lot of Benkei's lines are corny and Shanao shows much more of her vulnerabilities in this route, but I find them very adorable. It feels like I'm watching a cute little love blossom and it makes me so happy for them. I hate to say this but I'm actually glad Shigehira killed Tokuko when he sucked too much of her spirit lol, she was so annoying and her actions and decisions always caused people to die. Once Shigehira turned into a monster, it was obvious that he would  be the one to kill Tomomori, but it's kinda nice that they both died together. I think it's fitting for them because I feel like even though they're not twins, their lives are both so entwined with each other's, they wouldn't mind being anywhere as long as they're together. Maybe if it was the modern world, I would agree with Shungen and them that the Heike shouldn't throw away their lives in defeat, but considering the era and the fate of the Heike leaders, the Genji would never let them out of prison or whatever, like ever. They'll be lucky if they're not tortured or treated terribly, there's honestly no point in living, whereas being able to choose your death place is a much better way to go imo. The tragic love ending was sad, but it made me remember why I love Benkei. Honestly, the final battle was quite draggy and underwhelming, and there's only so many times I can stand hearing Benkei say he will protect Shanao no matter what, but when I watched the tragic love ending, I remembered why Benkei is such a favourite of mine. Yeah, he says corny superfluous romantic words and it doesn't help that the localisation decided to translate him calling Shanao 'hime' (princess) as 'my love' which imo is so cringy, I want to die, but anyway...Back to why I love Benkei! It's because he's a man of his words. A lot of the time, when the LI says that they'll protect them no matter what blah blah, the story doesn't really show me a situation 'good enough' for me to think yeah, he's a man of his words, but for Benkei, he's honestly showing it all the time how much he's willing to give his life for Shanao with no hesitation at all. And the thing I love about it is that he isn't willing to sacrifice his life for her because of 'love', he's been willing to ever since he became her vassal. His sheer devotion is one of a vassal and a romantic partner where he believes that her life will bring to fruition his dreams (protecting people) and because he also personally doesn't want her to die. I'm weak to people like that haha. I feel so bad for Shanao in the bad ending where she's basically a doll for Shigehira and Tomomori. It's so terrible.

Overall, I actually quite enjoyed Benkei's route! All I've heard were negative reviews of him and the route so I didn't expect to like it at all, especially since I'm not too fond of the blind devotion to their lord kinda types but Benkei was exactly what the story wanted him to be, someone who was always there to reassure Shanao and soothe her heart so she was always able to make the choices she wanted to make and not give up. I guess what can be seen as a negative for Benkei is that he never really changes throughout the route, but that's also a positive imo. From the very beginning, he's always been a devoted man whether it be to love or to his beliefs, and honestly I admire people like that. His perseverance, his unrelenting will, his big heart that accepts anything and everything about Shanao, and just like his teddy bear figure, he is always capable of comforting Shanao when she needs it, but he is never overbearing. He makes some mistakes of course, but he always does his best to understand what he did wrong and how to make sure he won't do that again e.g. hiding Yoshinaka's destruction from her. Honestly, considering Shanao's vulnerabilities in this route and how terrified she was of her powers, having someone like Benkei beside her was very soothing. Maybe his words were repetitive, but his resolve never was. True to his words when he protected her from Tomomori in the beginning and in the tragic love ending, Benkei was always willing to give his everything to Shanao because he loved and believed in her as a person and as his lord. Her kindness made him understand that she would do anything to protect the people around her, and her strength showed him that she was a person capable of actually achieving that dream he wants to protect too, and I think that's why I like Benkei and Shanao. They are fighting for the same beliefs and hopes, and it makes me happy to see them support each other so they don't waver from their goals.

[endofthelinexx]

Roses and Flame | 4

Pairing: Female!Driver!Horner!Reader x Toto Wolff

TW: language, Christian Horner, slow burn, enemies to lovers, age gap, angst

AN: Hi y’all! sorry this chapter has taken me forever, i’ve been packing up for school and have been working. It’s a busy part of the year for me and i’d like to thank everyone for being patient! I’m way too excited for the upcoming chapters, probably more than you guys. Please comment if you want to join the taglist!!

Word Count: 2.1k

Mini Summary: Collins Horner is the eldest of Christian and Geri’s children. She has been raised to be the fastest female racer Motorsport has ever seen and to despise Mercedes while doing it. But what happens when her world turns upside down?

*No permission is given for reposting my work, copying it or parts of it, and claiming it as your own.

| chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 | chapter 6 |

 You stood in your room, staring back at yourself in the mirror. You had gotten home that morning, and it was a day after the incident. You stood in your bra and shorts, your face turning red at the light mark on your collarbone. You were lucky you managed to snap back into your senses in time to pull away from him before it could’ve become much darker and much more noticeable. Your hair was damp from your shower, you thought it would make you feel better, but considering you can’t wash off a hickey your negative feelings returned the second you saw it in the mirror.

 You spent the previous night in Audrey’s hotel room trying to make it all make sense, it was out of nowhere, but what was really confusing to you was your feelings for him. You had never spoken positively of him and rarely did anyone you surrounded yourself with, of course, that wasn’t too shocking considering most of your friends that aren’t drivers are Red Bull fans. But, as much as you hated to admit it, you found him attractive; he’s tall, just as in shape as any of the guys your age if not more, wears collared shirts all the time, hell, he could speak like 500 languages, not to mention he still had all of his hair at 50. And then again, he was your father’s archnemesis and a principal of another team. It was like you were having an internal battle with yourself, you had no idea what to do and your indecisiveness was eating you alive.

 Sighing, you looked away from yourself in the mirror, moving to put some fresh clothes on, you wouldn’t let your mistakes from yesterday ruin today even though they were really making an effort to. You went downstairs and, looking out one of the windows, spotted a Mercedes parked in your driveway. Your breath got caught in your throat, immediately rushing outside, Rooster following right behind you.

Opening your mouth you began to speak as you rounded the corner, “you’ve really got some bal- oh, Lewis, hi..” You were immediately caught off guard when you saw the amazingly dressed man getting out of the car.

He turned and flashed a confused look which was followed by one of his bright smiles, “hey, we made plans to get lunch today, I’m here to pick you up?”

Your eyes widened as the memory of your conversation from the day before flooded back to you, “oh shit, I am so sorry, I forgot!”

Lewis let out a chuckle, “you’re totally fine.”

“Oh my gosh, well you’re welcome to come inside, I’m clearly going to have to change,” you gestured to your extremely casual outfit which was nowhere near the level of high fashion that was Lewis’ outfit. 

He responded to you with a nod and followed you back inside, looking around, “wow, this place is super cool, I love the vibe.”

“Thanks,” you smiled before gesturing to the kitchen, “feel free to help yourself to anything!”

“Okay, thank you,” he smiled back to you in return before you rushed upstairs to do light makeup and change into a nice outfit that covered up the evidence of the night before. After about 10 minutes you headed back down to find Lewis loving on your dog.

“What’s his name?” He asked when he noticed your presence.

“I named him Max, you know since he’s the fastest dog breed on the planet,” you teased, letting out a little laugh at your own joke.

Lewis rolled his eyes, “oh yeah, I’m sure your dad loved that, but seriously.”

You moved to sit down next to him, smiling, “his name is Rooster.” 

“How sweet, he’s very handsome, aren’t you?” He spoke in a baby voice when speaking to the dog which caught you off guard, causing you to laugh hysterically. Lewis smiled a little and looked over, “what?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the world’s coolest person, I mean 50% of videos with you in it are in slow motion while you walk.” You spoke between laughing.

He huffed to pretend to be dramatic, “cool people use baby voices too.” This statement made you laugh harder, causing him to begin to laugh with you. Your laughter was cut off by a firm knock on your door.

“Let me get that,” you breathed, trying to catch your breath from laughing as you got up to open the door. Turning the doorknob, you pulled it open to reveal your father who had an annoyed look on his face. “Um, hello?” You spoke up, slightly shocked to see him standing there.

“Who’s the Mercedes belong to because I’m pretty sure I’ve never noticed one of your friends driving one?” He questioned, causing Lewis to stand up and walk over.

“That would be mine sir, I came to pick up Collins for lunch,” he smiled as he stood behind you.

“Ah, I see. Although you’re the last person I’d ever expect to see hanging out on my property, seems as though my daughter is a traitor,” he joked lightly, though you were sure he probably firmly believed you were befriending the enemy.

You rolled your eyes, “don’t be dramatic, plus we’re about to be off your property, right Lewis?” He nodded as the two of you walked out the door.

“Hmm okay, well have fun!” He spoke as you both walked over to get in Lewis’ car.

Lewis drove you both into town, finding some street parking before walking you to lunch. It was a small French bistro right on the street with a big blue awning out front. A French flag hung in the window and you noticed the rustic interior as you both walked in. 

Of course, the hostess looked at you both with eyes wide like she had seen a ghost, “oh my goodness, table for two I assume?”

“Yes that’d be great,” You smiled, beginning to ask, “could we sit by a window perchance?”

“Oh of course Miss Horner, you both are welcome to sit wherever you like,” she nodded.

You laughed a little a pointed at a table by a window, “is there okay?”

“Yes, that’s perfect,” she grabbed both menus and led you to your table.

You both sat down, ordered drinks and your food, and began to talk about yesterday’s race. After quite a long and knowledgeable conversation your waitress brought your food, which you both thanked her for and began eating.

“I have a super weird question, well it’s not really that weird but coming from me it is,” you looked up at him from your food.

He looked back at you and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Miss Horner?” He began to tease, stirring a kick out of you from underneath the table, causing him to laugh.

“I’m being serious,” you smiled and took a bite of your food.

“Go on then,” he nodded.

“How was Toto this morning?” You looked up, he went quiet and looked back at you for a second before speaking.

“Why do you ask?”

You were quiet for a second before speaking, “well he and my father got into a little bit of a tiff last night.”

“Ah, yes, I heard about that. Well, he seemed normal, but he was a lot quieter than usual, looked out the window a lot like he was deep in thought,” he said between bites.

“Oh, I see, my father was a little out of step last night, I think he had one too many drinks,” you sighed.

After your amazing lunch, Lewis dropped you back off at your house and you both said your goodbyes. When you went inside, you checked your phone and saw a text from your mom inviting you to dinner at their main house which of course you accepted. 6pm came quick and you headed up to your family home, meeting everyone else at the table. You all talked and ate an amazing dinner cooked by your mother, but you could tell something was off with your father. And you’d find out soon enough you realized while you helped your younger sister, Olivia, with the dishes. Your father walked back into the kitchen, your mother was already seated at the bar, talking to you both with Montague in her lap.

“So,” your father spoke up when your mom finished talking, “you went to lunch with Lewis clearly.”

‘Here we go,’ you couldn’t help but think before speaking. “Why yes I did, and I had a lot of fun, thanks for asking.”

“Fraternizing with the enemy, are you?” He questioned, causing you to quickly turn around in frustration.

“You know technically I’m fraternizing with the enemy right now considering you’re the principal of one of my competitors,” you snapped at him in response, “I’m really not in the mood to listen to you tell me who to make friends with, it’s not like I stole plans from your engineers to feed to him.”

“You might as well be,” he snapped back causing your mother to sigh.

“Would you both just stop it, you know she wouldn’t do anything like that, you know she has a right to make friends with whoever she pleases, it’s not like Lewis is some criminal. He’s nice and could be a great mentor to your daughter.” She pointed out, “befriending a 7-time world champion wouldn’t do her any harm, now leave it be.”

Your father was smart enough to drop it instead of dealing with the red-head woman’s wrath, she always hated it when you both would fight, and honestly, it happened a lot. After dinner, your father went to his office and you sat in the living room with your mother. A bottle of red wine that you both were sharing sat on the coffee table between you as you both sipped from your glasses.

“So, you never told me what happened last night at the event, I flew in just for it and I didn’t even get a hi from you,” she asked, her voice laced with curiosity.

Your mother was your best friend, you told each other everything and made you hope that she wouldn’t ask you this question just because you knew you couldn’t lie to her. You looked down at your glass before taking a big gulp of your wine.

“If I tell you what happened you have to promise you won’t tell dad,” you began, you were a little tense, it was hard just to tell Audrey what happened, this was going to be hell.

She laughed lightly, “oh please, I don’t tell him shit. But yes, I promise I won’t tell him.”

You took a deep breath and just said it, making sure your voice was low, “Toto Wolff kissed me.”

She almost dropped her wine glass, “Torger kissed you?!”

“Be quiet,” you shushed her, causing her to apologize, “yes he did, and I might’ve kissed him back..”

“Collie!” She quietly exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth, “you know his eldest son is not ever 3 years younger than you.”

“I know... I don’t know why I did it.” You put your face in your hands after setting down your glass.

“I mean, he is handsome, and he has a nice voice,” your mother spoke, trying to help you to justify your actions.

You truly just wanted to break down and cry, between the stress of your job and now these jumbled-up feelings you didn’t even know you had weighted down on you.

“Hey, we all do things in the moment that we regret, the only thing you can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she spoke, standing to move over to your couch to comfort you.

“That’s the thing mom, what if I want it to happen again,” you looked up, feeling a tear fall.

Your mother wiped it from your face and sighed, “ah, now that might be a problem.”

“I know,” you began to cry as your mom pulled you into a hug.

“It’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to,” She pulled away to look you in the eyes for a second before hugging you once more. But you couldn’t help but wonder if the way it was supposed to work out was the way that it shouldn’t.

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tag list:

@lovingroscoee @laura-naruto-fan1998​ @fxshernoizu​

[gallusrostromegalus]

If you ever want to do a "Top 10 home gardening tomato cultivars" segment, I'm here for it. (My folks mostly plant Early Girls, but they have a ridiculously short growing season up there. I grow Sweet 100s, because they taste good enough and I gave up on growing anything other than cherries due to bastard squirrels who like to take exactly one bite out of larger tomatoes.)

OH

IT IS NOW TIME TO INFO DUMP

CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED

Ok so the actual thing with tomatoes is there are- checks google- about 10,000 tomato cultivars out there and every single one of them is different, so you should tailor your tomato breeds to what you actually want to do with them.  10K is a lot a breeds to break down, but fortunately, there are ways to Do That:

1. Determinate vs. Indeterminate 

Determinate tomatoes grow to a genetically predetermined size and start fruiting.  Pros: Tends to have a short time between planting and fruiting, don’t get bigger than a certain size if you only have so much space. Cons: Once they’re done fruiting, that’s it. you really only get the one crop out of them.  Also tend to have sad, watered-down flavor.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow as big as the space will let them, and start fruting when they get around to it. Pros: Maximum Plant for minimum investment, which can be like 10x as big as a determinate plant. Will KEEP fruiting until it gets too cold, so if you can get it in a pot you can move inside you could potentially still be harvesting tomatoes after thanksgiving like my MIL was this year.  If you live somewhere warm like SoCal or AZ, you could keep it alive all year. Cons: MUCH longer time between planting and fruiting.  Indeterminate tomates Get there when they get there. Also may be more prone to disease and pests than the more-modified determinate plants.

There are determinate and indeterminate tomatoes in all 5 of the Greater Tomato Archetypes.  Speaking of:

2. The 5 Tomato Archetypes

I’m so good at segues! 

So tomatoes come in 5 basic types, each which is generally better for something culinary than the others.  You CAN substitute different types of tomato but your food generally doesn’t come out as good.

1. Cherry: Cherry tomatoes produce fruits that are about the size of cherries.  Some people put Grape and Saladette tomatoes in here but they are WRONG, both of those belong in the “Round/All-Purpose” group because Cherry tomatoes specifically have thinner skins, more soluable pectin, and more dissolved glutemates, which means they cook VERY differently.  Cherry tomatoes also produce a shitload of fruits at a time and might be some of the heaviest producers.  Tend to be more heat-tolerant. Good For:  Fresh tomato sauces (i.e. takes less than 20 minutes to make), salads, snacking on directly off the vine like you are a small tarsier discovering a hidden bounty of fruit.

Top reccomendations are: -Indigo Cherry or Dwarf Black Krim if you can find it. I always reccomend dark-pigmented tomatoes as I find they have better flavor, pest resistence and UV tolerance. Taste fruity but not over-sweet and Very Tomato-y.  -Sweet 100/Super-Sweet 100/Sweet Millions: All varietals of the same mass-producing Cherry Tomato. Makes absolute buckets of Tomatoes, sweeter and more fruity than the Indigo cherry, good disease resistence and long growing season.

2. Paste: Paste tomatoes are thin-skinned, meaty and soft tomatoes that... well, they make good tomato paste, the basis for all long-cooking tomato sauces and recipies. They tend to be kind of Oblong and sometimes grow in fun extras like lil tomato “dicks” or weird cthulian shapes, but this doesn’t effect the flavor or nutrition There’s a shitload of great varietals in this category, I’ve yet to hear of a Bad Paste Tomato, just Less Excellent ones.   Good For: Long-cooking Tomato-based dishes like: Bolognese, chili, ketchup, BBQ etc.  Also can and freeze well.

Top Reccomendations are: -Amish Paste: MEATY, and well-suited for growing in a variety of conditions.  Paste is smooth and velvety.  Good for Chili, BBQ and Bolognese. -Opalka tomato: Russian Tomato, little more on the acidic side, grows well in places prone to surprise late frosts.  Paste isn’t as smooth but very thick. makes great ketchup. -San Marzano: THE tomato for making Marinara Sauce (also does good bolognese). Sweeter and lighter, with a slightly runnier paste that clings well to pasta. cans and freezes excellently, does well in places with HOT summers.

3. Beef: Beef tomatoes are BIG motherfuckers that kind of take a long time to grow but are very rewarding.  Beef tomatoes are firm, have a very solid meat and are best eaten raw, typically sliced onto a sandwich or seared under a broiler for a NZ Mousetrap. Not only are the fruits big but so are the Plants, so they take a long time to reach maturity and the fruit takes FOREVER to ripen but if you like a sandwich, they can’t be beat.  Also they look hella impressive on instagram. They also tend to be more prone to Blossom End Rot (which is just a calcium deficiency- just make sure to fertilize with some eggshells and don’t over-water them), and despite the size, don’t tolerate cold well. Good for: Slicing on sandwiches, eating raw like you’re biting into the still-beating heart of your nemesis and enjoying that sweet, sweet revenge, searing quickly under a broiler or putting on a Kabob.

Top Reccomendations Are: -Brandywine: Hefty, great fresh tomato flavor, and PINK.  -Big Zac: Goddamn Massive Tomato. A Real Heckin’ Chonker. meatier flavor and lots of firm flesh with few seeds. -Beefmaster: One problem with Beef tomatoes is that a lot of them are heirloom varietals that aren’t as widely available. Of the ones that are easy to get your hands on, Beefmaster is the best, but it lacks the flavor punch of Brandywine or Big Zac, but it’s not a BAD tomato.

4. Round/Early/All-Purpose: The Workhorse of Tomatoes, the Round Tomato does it all- sauces, salsa, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.  But it doesn’t do them quite as well as the other, more specialized tomatoes.  Also, some of these tomatoes have been Over-Worked and bred to fruit early and transport well, at the expense of it’s Flavor.  I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU, EARLY GIRL AND BETTER BOY, YOU FLAVORLESS TENNIS BALLS, YOU INSULTS TO THE MIGHTY HOUSE OF NIGHTSHADES. Love yourself, don’t get Early Girl or Better Boy. If your season is too short for anything but the earliest of tomatoes, it may be better to grow Something Else than put all that effort in for Disappointment. That said, there are many types of Round/All-Purpose tomatoes that haven’t been overbred into corporate blandness, and I can reccomend them in good concisence if you’re not totally sure what you want to do with your tomatoes: Good For: Indecisive people, people just learning how to grow plants, using one plant for a variety of purposes, people who are not yet prepared to enter the world of Tomato Opinions. Top reccomendations are: -If you really must have an early-fruiting tomato, the Wayahead is an heirloom that people swear comes in early with good size, flavor and firm structure.  I have not personally tied this varietal but people I trust like it. -Black Krim: GOD-TIER TOMATO. It’s got it all- flavor, high yields, firm structure, pest and disease resistence, fucking purple stripes. Cans Well, Freezes well, seeds well and breeds true. Fuck yes. Other tomatoes fucking WISH they had what this Hot Bitch has. -Invincible is a damn-hard-to-kill tomato that isn’t very large but fruits reliably and preforms well all around.  it also ripens 3 fruits at a time so you’re not constantly overburdened with Tomato.  Probably my top pick for beginners that need an Emotional Support Crop.

5. Fun: This is not, strictly speaking, a traditional type of tomato, but I feel like it’s an important category for people who want to do something different or really enjoy all Tomatoes have to offer. Good For: Trying new things, taunting the garden gods with my hubris, showing off at the garden FB group, discovering new flavors of plant.

Top Reccomendations: -Mr. Stripey:  it has a goofy name, it’s yellow-and-pink striped, and it smells and tastes almost exactly like pineapple, but it doesn’t try to digest you back.  I love it. -Japanese Truffle: Dark Brown tomato that looks like someone tried to make ferro rochers at home and bungled it, and has a LONG maturation time, BUT it’s got a chocolately flavor and even at maturity has green insides which give it this. Lightness?  it’s hard to describe but it’s a fascinating flavor. The plant also is more branched and elegant than most tomatoes. Very different, very cool. -I have not personally tried Cherokee Purple but I have heard good things about it. We’ll see how it does in the garden this year. -Tomatillos and Ground Cherries:  Not actually tomatoes, but closely related. Neat herbaceous sort of flavor, like thyme but to the left.  Also comes in a fun Organic wrapping paper. -Ketchup ‘n’ Fries: a Sweet 100 tomato top grafted onto Kennebec Potato rootstock, so it grows both tomato AND potato!  Grafting was invented prbably about a week after the concept of agriculture was, and consists of taking two or more closely related plants and taping a cutting of oone into a hole in the other until the plants heal together.  Like that one gorilla-dude from Umbrella academy, but without the angst.  You can get them pre-made or attempt to make them at home if you’re feeling adventurous and are OK with potentially killing a bunch of starts while you learn.

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

[haik-choo]

I don't write cause I feel I don't have a good grasp on the characters personalities etc, the characterisation of akaashi post is so helpful! 👀👀 Would you do kuroo or bokuto?

a/n: I hope you like both of these! again, if yall want me to do others, let me know! these are across the span of their life, so some may seem college-related and some may seem young-adulty! 

[MISCHARACTERIZATIONS OF BOKUTO AND KUROO]

bokuto kotaro.

clueless: i’ve stated this in akaashi’s post, but bokuto is extremely emotionally intelligent. he can pick up on the slightest changes in people’s demeanor or posture, he can tell if someone is sad or happy even if they aren’t good at displaying emotions. he’s not a dumbass -- and he can pick up on others’ limits and boundaries very quickly. despite his ability to read people relatively well, he has no qualms about pushing people out of their comfort zones and forcing them to do things they might hate at first, but will love later. he pushes boundaries according to your comfort level, and respects your hard limits. 

only positive: a lot of people write bokuto to be someone ho’s only happy-go-lucky, or someone who rarely gets sad (aside from his moods that are less sad and more discouraged), but I think that almost dehumanizes him. he gets back up faster than most, yes, and at the end of a lost game where everyone is crying, bokuto is dry-eyed. he’s the type to get home and plop down on his bed, face-first into his pillow, lips quivering and eyes lightly watering. there are times where he feels insecure, especially when he’s younger, just because he can tell he’s different from the rest. he has a feeling that people are put-off from his personality, he has a feeling that he’s not as (traditionally/academically) smart as everyone else, he has a feeling that some people find him annoying. that’s why when he’s near his close friends he’s very loose -- he doesn’t feel the need to hold back even a little because he knows that they love him for him. this translates to his toxic trait with his lover being that he feels dejected/insecure if you ever want space. while he can read boundaries, he would really benefit from a lover who has just as few as he, because then he can be his truest self.

love-at-first-sight: he’s not the type to fall in love at one glance, he’s just not. yes, he might get interested or you may catch his attention, but he’s not going to fall in love with someone because they have a pretty smile. it’s not that he’s calculated or over-thinks his emotions, he knows exactly what he feels, it’s just that his heart is a little slow when it comes to falling in love. he’s such an energetic all-over-the-place person that love is never really on his mind (he gets into some trouble with accidentally leading girls on because he’s so friendly). when he eventually falls in love, though....oh boy. he stutters, he’s over-thinking all his movements when it comes to you -- he’s usually impulsive but with you he really, really doesn’t want to screw up. he wants everything to go smoothly -- so he’s the type to plan out a confession and actually try to stick to it. when it comes to something like love, bokuto is surprisingly slow and careful, because he knows how fragile a heart is. 

never gets angry: i think most people like to imagine his anger is so rare because the image of an angry bokuto is scary, especially with his stature. and while it’s true his anger is uncommon (because he’s good at processing his own emotions and not lashing out at others), when he does get angry it can be pretty unnerving. he’s the type to slam his fist on the counter unknowingly when having a really bad fight with his lover, and he has a booming voice. he’d never hit someone, but he doesn’t realize how intimidating his physique is. anger is uncommon, but that doesn’t mean he’s not scary. he always apologize afterwards, though.

boundless confidence: i touched on it earlier, that he has bouts of insecurity, but again, i really want to emphasize that he’s not endlessly confident. honestly, maybe in the anime and manga he seems that way, but if you want to make him more human, have more life than a fictional character, you have to create limits or certain traits. bokuto is very sensitive, and the slightest thing can either inflate his ego or deflate it. plays in volleyball constantly not working may dig at his confidence, but he always re-inflates. in real life, outside the court, there are things that keep his confidence low everytime they happen. fights with his lover are one of these things; he’ll get jealous when they leave the apartment after a fight because he’ll worry about you finding someone more stable than him. jealousy alone is a solid sign of chipped confidence, something that someone as sensitive as bokuto gets every once in a while. 

overall, bokuto is a lot more intelligent than what people give him credit for. he’s honest with his own emotions and can read people very well, which is probably why he’s such a people person, but he still has flaws. he does not have boundless confidence or have no perception of boundaries; he’s unbelievably understanding. he may be initially insecure, have intimidating anger, etc. but ,after all, he’s human, isn’t he? 

kuroo tetsuro. 

sex god: don’t get me wrong, I definitely believe that he’s had a lover or two, especially in college, and that he’s played the field a little bit. but i don’t see him as the guy that has had sex with every person in his major. he’s a genuine guy and can’t have sex with someone he’s not emotionally invested in -- despite not being a ‘player’, he’s totally gotten in trouble with a few people because they think he’s leading them on when he walks with them to class everyday. 

intimidating: people always characterize him as this mysterious, sexually intimidating guy, but i just can’t see him as someone intimidating. if anything, he may be a little unapproachable because he has a really tight knit group of friends that he’s always with, but he’s not scary. he’s not the center of attention but he’s not a wallflower either, he enjoys observing people and watching drama play out, but he’s not silent and glaring all the time. he’s quite fun, he’s loud, and he enjoys embarrassing his friends in public. he’s the type to twerk in public and laugh his ass off when akaashi or kenma give him the side-eye and bro-kuto joins in. he likes to have fun, ya know? i don’t know about you, but a guy that twerks in public isn’t very scary, to me at least. 

prideful: I understand why people paint him as a prideful guy, he obviously likes what he does and has a personable personality, but honestly, he’s not perfect. he often has moments where he doubts himself because of his past decisions, his career one of them. kuroo is an amazing middle blocker, and his choice to go into sports advertisement rather than an actual volleyball league no doubt haunts him at night sometimes. he thinks of the ‘what-ifs’, and he dreams of what he could be. especially since his best friend is bokuto, a professional player, it’s often on his mind. it’s a super touchy subject for him, and if someone were to question his job-choice i have no doubt that he’d get really sour and distant from that person because he’s not sure of himself either. 

frat boy: he’s not someone who can’t cook, he’s not someone who sleeps at 5am everyday, hungover. he’s not the type of person to be immature in any way -- he’s got his shit together. i’m sure most people can actually see this, but kuroo is very responsible and realistic (which is part of the reason he didn’t do professional volleyball). he does his taxes, does his homework, gives out good advice, gets up early and eats everything that a healthy person should eat (in all the right proportions, too). he doesn’t even drink often, if anything he’s just a social drinker. he goes to bed at 10pm and wakes up at 6am to work out, no joke. he’s gotta keep that physique somehow. 

decisive: i know i said he’s responsible, but i don’t think that translates to decisive. i can see him having a lot of conflicting things going on in his life, different wants and different paths that he wants to take but can’t keep all open. it happens in love, his career, his college major, etc. he wants a lot in life, he wants success, happiness, a good love-life, everything. when he had to choose between volleyball and a life-long, stable career, he was broken for weeks. was he good enough for his dream? was it wise to chase his dream? would it be better to get more kids into volleyball, do what he did, what he couldn’t do? in his love life he always hesitates, too: does he see a life with them? how long will they love him? will they be able to deal with him once they see that he’s not perfect? is it worth it? it doesn’t matter if he’s in love or not, because his extreme caution can come off as very distant and unwilling to let you in, hence his toxic trait. he’s indecisive, scared, yet passionate and hard-working. 

overall, kuroo is full of contradiction. he wants a lot from life and is willing to work for it. he has dreams and tries to stay healthy and put himself out there, have fun, the whole shabang -- but he’s not perfect. he’s overly cautious when it comes to making important decisions simply because he can see a future with all of the different paths he can take. but honestly, isn’t everyone a little contradictory? 

[stuff-from-the-void-matron]

Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (11)

(c!technoblade x fem!reader)

(people showed chapter 10 some nice love so here’s chapter 11. sorry it took so long to get out. I threw my back out and doing just about anything has been physical torture. but I’m starting to feel better so here’s hoping I’ll write more soon. but remember, please comment and reblog. they keep me motivated! <3)

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

Things settled down pretty well after the election. Almost unbelievably so. Wilbur pretty much completely disappeared afterwards. You felt worried and voiced your concerns with Niki, saying you hoped he wasn’t terribly upset he’d lost the election. You understand he no doubt felt incredibly attached to the title of president, and he may feel resentful of you for ‘stealing’ it from him. Niki smiled at you, glad you were being kinder about this than the other contestants would be in your shoes, but sighed and said,

“Yeah, he’ll probably be upset for a while. But I’m sure he’ll come around to accept you as the new president.”

You gave her a thankful smile, even if you didn’t quite believe her words. But then you paused and wondered if maybe, despite all your reservations about the brunet man, it was possible to smooth things over with him? Maybe all you needed to do was sit and have a talk with him. Perhaps he’d gone insane in the original timeline because both Schlatt and Quackity were… well, for lack of a nicer term, total dicks to him. They were openly antagonistic to the former president, banishing him and his younger brother from the very nation they fought and died for, which no doubt added to his crumbling mental state after L’manberg chose a new leader.

But maybe you could be different from Schlatt and Quackity. Honestly you had no desire to be cruel to Wilbur, though you would not put up with any of his BS, and honestly you hoped to have a neutral relationship with the man. So you decided right then that there was no harm in trying. Your smile brightened and you nodded and said to the blonde woman,

“You’re probably right, he just needs some time. Maybe after a few days he and I can have lunch and just talk. Clear the air between us. I’ve never been president before so I’m sure he’d be a great help in getting me better settled in!”

Niki was super glad you were being so chill about all of this. She knew you were the best choice for president. That’s probably why she’d voted for you. (yeah she’d heard your little speech and was really moved) But she’d never tell Wilbur that. He fully believed she’d voted for Coconut2020, and to be fair she had intended to until she was so moved by your speech. You had a way with words that just put the listener at ease.

“Yeah, I’m sure things will be alright,” Niki replied with a cheerful smile.

-0-

You settled into being president pretty well all things considered. There wasn’t as much work as you were expecting there to be for a president. But perhaps your only frame of reference (the US president) was a bit different than your current job (l’manberg president). L’manberg was super small actually. Especially compared to the United States. Hell, Punz’ house was almost as big as L’manberg if you remember right. 

You’re glad there wasn’t much presidential work to do at that moment. Because you wouldn’t have had time to juggle that work plus going back to your village and packing up some of your stuff in your ender chest before telling the villagers (and azo) what actually happened while you were gone. Which had been an ordeal in itself. You felt bad for just leaving to a new place so out of the blue. But you felt obligated to complete the role of president given to you. You’d feel less obligated if there was some other option you felt safe passing the torch to. Someone not a child. That left out every minor on this server and Wilbur. 

Part of you considered Fundy and Niki for the job but another part of you doubted if they’d be able to handle it. Honestly they shouldn’t have to either. It’s no secret that being president is one of the most stressful jobs a person can have. Being in charge of the safety and well-being of a group of people is enough to turn anyone’s hair grey. Even if the group was just like 10 or so people like L’manberg had. You remember seeing a post about pictures at the start and end of American presidents’ time in office. And each president looked at least a decade older in each after picture. Complete with wrinkles and grey hair. Those happened in FOUR years! Their jobs were so stressful that they aged 10+ years in only 4 years.

You were pulled from your thoughts by Tommy practically shouting “We’re here!!” as you all made it over the hill that led to your village. The first thing you saw was the towering bamboo wall around the perimeter of the place. You’d been so in your own head that you’d actually forgotten about the two boys on either side of you. They’d insisted they accompany you to your village as ‘presidential bodyguards’ despite the fact you said you would be fine. They’d practically demanded to go, to ensure the ‘new prez’ didn’t get attacked on the journey. Amused and touched that they cared, you’d finally relented and let them come along. You’d only be gone a short while anyways. At least that’s what you told yourself. 

It didn’t take long to pack up everything you wanted to take with you to L’manberg. You put all the nice gifts the villagers gave you (as well as a couple of the banners you made) and some of the stuff you made and packed it away into a shulker box you pulled from the Creative inventory before picking up said box and putting it inside your ender chest. Then you just picked that chest up and tucked it safely in your inventory and you were basically done. With packing anyways.. You still had to talk to the villagers and let them know you had to move away for a while. But you doubted they’d be heartbroken or anything. Maybe bummed out but they’d understand. It’s not like they’d be lost without you. They’d been living in this world long before you showed up and they’d probably be here long after you left.

Then you were ringing the village bell. And like every time you did the villagers all poked their heads out from wherever they were to see who rang it and what was going on. And when they saw you they brightened and hurried over to see what was happening. They gathered around you and the bell, murmuring curiously between themselves. You sighed and cleared your throat, gathering their attention to you before you hesitated, not entirely sure what to say. Should you explain the entire story from start to finish? No, probably not. That would take a while and you felt like they’d get bored fast. But just blurting out that you were leaving felt too abrupt and blunt. Though your indecision ended up not mattering because Tubbo finally lost patience with the silence and just let the metaphorical cat out of the bag in his usual laid back candid way.

“Are you gonna tell them you’re moving away?”

Oh that caught the villagers’ attention and suddenly you were surrounded by displeased grunts and hums, like surround sound stereos. You sighed and confirmed yes, you were. So with the news out there you started explaining what happened the day before, or at least a shortened version of it. You mentioned how you’d gone to support Tommy, placing a hand on his shoulder as you said this. Then you said how you’d sorta advised everyone to vote for who they felt would lead them smartly, and how you guess they took that as you entering the presidential ring.. And finally how you’d won the election by some points and how you’d not wanted to reject their trust so you’d accepted the job…

“Reader is our new president!!” Tommy practically shouted, clearly excited. 

Though from the disgruntled murmurs from the villagers they didn’t seem happy.. But you told them it would be okay. You’d come and visit them as often as you could while juggling your new job. But even with that promise they didn’t seem happy. Your shoulders slumped a bit and without thinking you said,

“I’m not happy about having to leave the village and move away either. But I made a promise to the people of L’manberg, one I intend to keep.” 

Despite not feeling the best about this you were determined to keep your word.

“Besides, it’s not like I can just pack up the village and move you all next to L’manberg!” you said with a flippant wave of your hand.

But the idea didn’t sound too bad to the villagers. They basically worshipped you as their guardian deity. So if loading up all their possessions and hauling them to a new place meant they got to stay within reach of their deity then so be it. They’d still be living in squalor if it hadn’t been for your kindness and generosity, so they wanted to follow you wherever you went. Be it sunny skies, harsh rain, freezing snow. 

So they all made excited grunts and you blinked at them, catching on to their train of thought pretty fast. You shook your head, missing the confused looks the two teen boys were shooting between you and the villagers, and said they couldn’t follow you to L’manberg. Hearing this made the boys’ eyebrows shoot up and they started asking if the villagers wanted to come live in L’manberg. You sighed and said they seemed to, yes, but it wasn’t viable because there was nowhere for them to live! Moving them all on a spur of the moment thing would be reckless. Not only would the journey be very hard on them and take quite a while but there’s also no homes available for them in L’manberg. 

“We could make some houses for them if they want to move to L’manberg!” Tubbo said with a little grin, not seeing the issue with them coming over.

You rubbed a hand down your face, careful not to jostle your mask too much. But then you sighed and finally caved in. 

“Okay, you can all move next to L’manberg,” you began, but before they could cheer you cut them off with, “BUT! They can’t leave today. I refuse to let them take the whole long journey to L’manberg just so they can be homeless when they get there.”

You said you and some others (who you would pay) would build a new village next door to L’manberg for them. And once it was complete you would come back and help ferry them all over safely. But you might have to take them over in small groups to avoid hostile mobs and stuff. Though despite all the risks the villagers seemed quite happy with everything. So you pulled out your notebook, the same one you’d used when you first showed up to the village actually, and made a note to start construction on a new village to either the North or East of L’manberg. Or whatever side had better building room. But now that that all was settled you bid the villagers goodbye, saying you’d start construction as soon as possible.

With that out of the way you decided to pay a visit to Azo. You missed the adorable little piglin and hoped she was doing okay. Your boys followed you into the Nether, asking what you needed from there so badly. That made you pause and realize they’d never officially met Azo! You smiled down at them and said you’d sort of taken up guardianship of a little piglin girl who lost her parents. You’d expected questions and some comments but got nothing but silence in return, which left you feeling a bit confused. But when you glanced over at the boys you saw Tubbo looking lost in thought and Tommy looking mildly upset. This caused you to stop short, which made them pause and look back at you. 

“What’s wrong?” you couldn’t help but ask.

But they both waved you off, Tubbo with a soft ‘what do you mean?’ and Tommy with an almost harsh sounding  ‘nothing’, both of which didn’t sound the least bit convincing. So you tilted your head to the side and in a firmer (but still gentle) tone you asked again what was wrong. Tommy’s nose scrunched up and he crossed his arms, adamantly saying nothing and asking if you all could hurry up and see ‘this kid’ since you had to hurry back to L’manberg. Tubbo tried to piggyback off Tommy, his smile attempting to be brighter as he agreed, saying he wanted to meet your ‘new kid’. That’s when it hit you..

“Are you two upset that I adopted a kid?”

Tommy wasn’t very subtle with his feelings, his loud “WHAT?! NO!” didn’t convince you of his supposed ‘uncaring’ regarding the situation. Tubbo however reacted slower than his friend, like he was processing what you’d asked before he gave a laugh that sounded too stilted to be genuine and denied being upset, saying that was ridiculous. Tommy actually started walking away, heading in the direction you three had followed when you were together here last time, with the goatish brunet watching him anxiously. But you called for him to stop and come back, maybe a touch sterner than you’d wanted. But when the blond came back to you he refused to look at you, just scowling down at his feet. You felt your heart ache at the sight and let out a calm breath.

You wrapped one arm around the blond’s shoulders and the other around his back, pulling him into a comforting hug. You laid your cheek on the top of his mop of hair, glancing down at Tubbo who was shifting between watching you both and glancing away nervously. Without much thought you removed the hand holding Tommy’s back and instead used it to carefully tug the brunet boy into the hug. They just stood there at first, still and awkward almost. But once Tubbo wrapped his arms around your hips and Tommy’s back his blond friend quickly caved and sunk into your warmth, wrapping his arms around you both tightly, like he was afraid you’d both disappear. 

You took a breath and gently began to rock the two back and forth, missing how Tommy’s eyes pricked with hot tears as he heard your steady heartbeat against his ear. After a couple minutes of just standing there relaxed into the hug you said quietly but with as much emotion as you could put into it,

“Tommy, Tubbo, please talk to me. I can do many things, but reading minds is not one of them.”

You felt your shirt become warm and you frowned and hugged them tighter,

“If something is bothering you two, if you’re sad or upset or angry then you need to tell me so I can maybe do something to make you feel better. I never wanna see either of you upset, so please… talk to me?”

The air around you three was unintentionally heavy, only the sound of fire crackling nearby broke up the silence. It was killing you to remain quiet but you didn’t want to push them to speak. That would just make them clam up and possibly push you away. So you waited, just holding and rocking them as you did. And your eyes brightened when your patience was rewarded.

“.... Why’d you have to go and get a kid?”

You half expected for Tommy to be the one to break the silence, he was always so against the quiet. But no, instead it had been Tubbo who finally buckled and voiced his thoughts. You couldn’t help but ask what he meant. And he sort of stuttered over his words, not sounding exactly sure what he wanted to say before he got his thoughts and mouth to cooperate.

“I thought you already-.. I mean you have us.. Why’d you-..”

If your heart could physically break like glass then you knew after hearing that it would be in a hundred pieces on the floor. You couldn’t help but pull them closer and bury your face between theirs, unknowingly letting out a softened keening sound. 

“I want you both to listen, just because I take another child under my wing doesn’t mean I no longer care about you two. I don’t think I could ever stop caring about you. You’re my boys, and I-....” here is where you hesitated, not wanting so sound weird but you continued,

“If you both want… I mean since neither of you have one to my knowledge… I’d happily be your mom.”

Shy isn’t exactly how you’d describe the two boys you’d begun to care for, but there was no other word accurate enough to describe how they agreed to your offer to be their mom. Tubbo gave an almost meek, “alright, sure” while holding onto your waist and Tommy gave a long-suffering sigh while trying to discreetly wipe his eyes and said, “I guess you’re cool enough to be my mum. Barely though.” That caused you to let out a loud guffaw, your grip on them loosening enough to where you could ruffle the blond’s hair.

“Ohhhhh, Big man himself thinks I’M cool? Very high praise~”

The heavy atmosphere lightened and your laughter had the two boys laughing too. But then a sly grin took over your face and you chuckled. The sound alerted the boys of your mischievous mood and they looked up when you started talking.

“Well, now that you’ve accepted me as your mom I’m legally obligated to do all sorts of ‘Mom Stuff’, I hope you realize that. Like making sure you both eat things besides bread and meat, make sure you sleep regularly, and do the spit thing when you’ve got dirt on your face.”

They gave you a look that was a mixture of confusion and mild disgust, and Tommy couldn’t help but blurt out,

“What the fuck do you mean by ‘spit thing’??”

Unbeknownst to him, he’d activated your Mom Trap Card and your grin grew into a smirk and you raised your hand, casually commenting that he seemed to have a bit of dirt on his cheek, and then you licked your thumb and moved it towards his face. He shrieked and practically threw himself backwards to avoid your spit covered finger. But you still had your arm around his shoulders so he didn’t get far. He rapidly screamed out a verbal blur of ‘nonononoNONONO!’ that had Tubbo nearly doubling over, howling with laughter.

Though his laughter abruptly cut off with a gasp when Tommy escaped your hold, causing you to turn your sights on him. He let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like the bleat of a goat before turning and running from you. You just cackled and chased after him, your longer legs giving you the advantage. You caught up with him before he knew it and lifted him in a backwards hug. Now it was Tommy’s turn to laugh at Tubbo.

But you did let him down, without cleaning his face, and smiled down at the pair and said sincerely,

“All joking aside… I think you two would make a cool pair of big brothers..”

Tommy took that and ran with it, saying of COURSE he would be! He was practically Tubbo’s big brother already! Which just caused Tubbo to argue with him that uh, NO, he was older than Tommy! So HE was the older brother out of the two of them, if anything! And oh boy that caused them both to go back and forth, arguing about who was the ‘older brother’ between them. Tubbo insisted it was him because he was born first but Tommy insisted it was him because he was taller. You just shook your head and led the bickering duo down the familiar path to Azo’s little ‘house’ you built her. And as you reached the open area you saw her outside the house playing with a couple other baby piglins. But when she looked up and saw you she squealed happily and all but sprinted over to you. You made sure to bend down and hold your hands out to catch her. 

She was so excited to see you again that she totally missed the two boys standing at your sides. At least until she heard them and then she stiffened and stared down at Tubbo from her place in your arms. Neither boy really knew what to say so you decided to intervene and put out introductions. You tapped her hand and smiled down at her, helping her worry ease a bit.

“Azo, I missed you! I want to introduce you to my sons! This,” you gestured to Tubbo, “is Tubbo. And this,” you turned your head and pointed to the blond on the other side, “is Tommy. They’re both very nice. And they wanted to meet you!”

You turned so you and Azo were both facing the boys and saw them smiling genuinely. Relief flooded you, thinking they were actually glad to meet the little piglin, unaware the smiles were more stemming from the fact you’d called them your sons so easily.

But you saw the wariness still on Azo’s face and worried she’d not like her new brothers. Suddenly you got a bright idea and your smile widened as you spoke up and said, 

“Hey, don’t you two have a gift for Azo? Maybe something yellow and shiny~?”

Tubbo’s mouth dropped down into an ‘o’ as he realized what you meant. Then he elbowed Tommy and then pulled open his inventory and started looking through it. Tommy glared at him, moving his arm away after getting jabbed, but then his eyebrows raised when he saw his best friend pull out a gold ingot from his inventory. Then he understood what you meant and hurried to look through his inventory as well. Thankfully he did have some gold ingots leftover from when he was crafting golden apples.

Azo perked up when she saw the gold ingot Tubbo had taken from his inventory. And when he offered it to her she couldn’t hold back the happy snort she let out as she joyfully accepted it. You giggled at how she admired the saffron colored bar. And when Tommy extended his own gold ingot you laughed when Azo’s little tail began to swish back and forth in glee as she took that one too. She looked so cute as she admired her new items. You rubbed her back and said,

“See? They’re pretty nice, right? Why don’t we go have something to eat? And we can hang out.”

The tiny piglin seemed more than happy with that plan and snorted happily. You carried her towards the house, her little friends having long since scurried off. The teens behind you followed your lead, joining you in the house. You sat Azo down and suggested she show off her toys to Tubbo and Tommy, which she started doing gladly. The two played with her while you brewed some tea and crafted some cookies. Chilled rosehip tea and shortbread cookies were on the menu and after it was all done you laid it out on the table before calling them over. The boys were all too happy for the chilly drink, the cold giving them reprieve from the heat of the Nether. But Azo was shocked by the cold, not having experienced something like this before. It took a bit of explanation to get her to give it a try, and despite how it made her shiver she seemed to really like it. And cookies were always popular. So the plate was emptied in a flash.

As you sat with the three, listening to Tommy brag to Azo about how ‘cool and tough’ he was and how he’s practically a hero in the Overworld while Tubbo interjected with contradictions, you felt yourself smile serenely; truly happy where you were right then.

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

@lady-bee-fechin @kacchasu @putridjoy @lunawritesstories @galaxypankitty3030 @paradigmax @zachariethememerie @killmewithafanfic @trinity-1002107 @hufflepuff-demigod @truthdaze @exorcisms-with-elmo @redbloodtea @heythereimhaylz @olyink @jackalopedoodles @nikkineeky @artsimatsu @hufflepuff-demigod @corpiet @beepa99 @anxiousnarwhale @bananaaddictmilkshake @realitycanbeajerk @lostandsouciant @thegeekisheere @sparkling-gayyy @woman-soot @xxtwizztedxx @v10dw4lk3r

[kimbap-r0ll]

Hi I just found your blog and I love it! I was hoping to participate in your event, can I please have a romantic MHA matchup?💕 (pronouns: she/her) I would prefer villains

I’m 22, I’m a Capricorn sun (cancer moon and libra rising) I have brown eyes and bright pink dyed hair I love art like drawing and painting, art history, and baking!

I HATE bugs and I cry if one is ever near me lol. Other pet peeves: people walking really slow in front of me, people coughing in public without covering up

I’m very empathetic and always trying to lighten the mood and make people happy. I’m very chill and don’t have problems with anyone (unless they’re rude or mean to me or my friends) I can’t stand people who are rude ignorant. I’m super indecisive and need a lot of validation. A quirk someone gave me once was reality warping (kinda like the scarlet witch) and they said I would have like choatic / trickster type vibes (like loki) and that’s my dream quirk.

I’m b l i n d so always wearing my glasses haha also I love having a sense of humor. I also have anxiety and can be way too emotional sometimes. I’m an ENFP & also I love tie dye clothes, makeup, and everything pastel.

My love language is probably receiving/giving gifts and words of affirmation. I absolutely love picking out little gifts for people and randomly giving them things that remind me of them. And when people do that for me I just love it!

Sorry if this is way too much! Thank you :)

Hello! This is my first time writing for BNHA so it will be a lot of fun! No worries either if it's too much, it's all good :)

There’s a lot of cool villains in the series (believe me they’re all my favorites) but the one that fits the most with you is...

Mr. Compress

So, you have a trickster type of quirk in this universe, and who wouldn’t be more interested than the magician thief himself? He would love the kinds of tricks you place on the civilians if you as well are a villain, perhaps that is how he first found out about you. You guys met when he was first starting out as a villain, and he probably wanted to work alongside you. Imagine the amount of cooperation and chaos you two would show if working together. Reality warping would be indeed interesting to him, and he might admire how well you control your quirk too. Overall you two match each other's vibes.

Anything like bugs are hated equally by both of you, but he won’t worry about catching them for you if need be. He’s a gentleman after all, and he would treat you with RESPECT! But I imagine how much you two probably screamed when there was a spider crawling on the table where you two were sitting. Shigaraki probably had to show up and disintegrate it for you two as you were both cheering him on from the couch you two were standing from.

He admires how you can make people smile all the time. So many people in Shigaraki’s gang of villains basically need help and you’re like therapy. He really likes seeing how much you can make him smile, and he wants to learn from you how to do this as well. Oh yeah, the entire League of Villains basically adopts you too.

He loves to give gifts as well, so you two will surprise each other often. You two might honestly compete for who has better presentations of said gifts just to be flashier. He will absolutely flirt with you in public, probably to Dabi and Shigaraki’s annoyance. Either way, he will compliment you every time he can. He sees you as a partner in his show, so he needs to push you into the spotlight whenever he can.

Anytime you feel any kind of anxiety, he will do his best to calm you down. He’s good at reading people, so he will definitely know how to make you calm in a few minutes. If anyone’s particularly bothering you, he will not hesitate to make them a volunteer victim in his next magic trick.

He loves your artworks too, and would want you to draw him when you have free time. He might contribute by trying to learn how to draw as well, though his talent in this might be limited. He thinks it’s cute to see how much you look focused when making something. Oh and your fashion sense? Absolutely stunning. He will want to show you off during a crime scene as much as possible haha.

Expect many surprises and magic tricks from this man but know that Mr. Compress will love being part of a duet with you in any act.

[sugarcubetikki]

Bitter Beginnings

Summary:  Despite reaching home, the only thing that Anne can seem to think of is Marcy Wu.

Notes: True Colors absolutely destroyed me and I had to write something to pour my emotions into. Besides, I wanted to explore Anne's reaction to this fully. She saw one of her best friends who she’s secretly in love with being STABBED right in front of her eyes. Like, how the hell is she meant to process that? Regardless of her being home or not, that has to have an IMPACT.

AO3

When Anne used to picture returning home, she’d always assume that the first thing she’d do was run straight into her parents’ arms, engulf them in a hug, whisper in between tears how much she missed them, how sorry she was for disappearing like that and with the gentle reassurance that everything was going to be fine.

But nothing was fine.

She was back home. Finally, back home. She’d been picturing this perfect moment for months now. She’d been expecting this wild rush of euphoric frantic emotions when she came back. She’d been expecting to scream out loud in joy and cherish everything around her.

But what she wasn’t expecting was this.

What she wasn’t expecting was this lone feeling of pain that throbbed within her.

What she wasn’t expecting was this disastrous entrance. She knew nothing was close to perfect. But this was even worse than she could’ve ever imagined.

What she wasn’t expecting was this feeling to crash back into Amphibia. And it was for all the wrong reasons. The things she dreaded the most.

What she didn’t expect was sobbing amidst the familiar signs of shops and streets. Things she couldn’t cherish. Things that just hit her with even more nostalgia. Even more grief.

The Plantars held her in their arms steadily, a gesture of comfort, she appreciated it. But it couldn’t heal her pain. And onlookers stared with their phones, snapping pictures at her pain, under the assumption it was all part of a façade, that it was all just an act. A silly little acting gig. With the frogs as people in costumes. And the tears of the girl in pain just being a raw talent for charades.

No. No. It wasn’t a façade. It was all real. God, she wished it were a façade. She wished that all she’d been through was just a terrible nightmare. But she couldn’t refuse to face reality. Refuse to face the truth. And invent her own silly adventure inside her head.

Unlike the girl who’s name she was screaming. Clear in her ears.

“Marcy!” She yelped one more time. She felt Hop Pop squeeze her tighter into the embrace each time she yelled the name. “Marcy!”

Her sobs grew louder and so did the commotion of the onlookers. More and more came to watch, dropping coins, she’d just about had it. And it appeared that Hop Pop could see that.

“Alright! Alright! Gig’s over!” He turned to the onlookers and gathered the money they had thrown into his hands, stuffing them into the pockets of his oversized trench coat. After being blasted onto the car of a nice family, they had given him that coat under the tangle of many excuses they believed.

After the applause and tossing of coins, the crowd began to subside, Hop Pop wrapped the coat around her, it was warm, nice, consoling in a way. It also shielded her agony from pedestrians on the street.

“Do you want to take this somewhere else?” Hop Pop gently whispered into Anne’s ears.

Anne contemplated for a moment, before staring blankly at the ground, the place vivid in her head: quiet, small, and full of nostalgia.

“Yes.”

---

“It’s still strange that you humans don’t eat bugs.” Hop Pop commented as he took bites into his strawberry ice cream with much discomfort.

“Their digestive system is too sensitive.” Polly muttered, pushing her own chocolate ice cream aside in protest.

“Meh.” She blandly replied, taking another long bite into her mint chocolate chip ice cream, lounging her head onto the surface of the table.

Any other time, she’d have complained at Polly’s comment, or cracked a joke about how the roles had been reversed. But she didn’t really feel like it. At all.  

“This was Marcy’s favourite flavour.” She simply stated.

The Plantars froze in dead silence.  

“She wouldn’t eat any other flavour. I mean, she would talk about trying something different each time. Act all indecisive, analysing which choice would be the best.” She chuckled half-heartedly and felt that painful pang in her heart. “But she would always pick this one. Always.”

She gazed fondly at the ice-cream, the overwhelming grief rose to the surface again, and her eyes building up with tears again.

With a slight stifle, she turned to glance at the walls of the ice-cream parlour. Butterfly-patterned walls. Oh no.

“Sh-she loved b-butterflies.” She said shakily, tears rolling down her face. “Th-that’s why I d-designed her a butterfly costume for the battle of the bands…b-because sh-she l-loved them.”

A loud sob escaped her mouth, and she buried her face in her arm.

Hop Pop’s comforting hand once again landed on her head, brushing her hair in an assuring manner.

“Anne.” His voice drooped as he merely said her name. Nothing following it. Neither a ‘it’s all going to be alright’ nor a ‘we can fix this’.

Because it wasn’t alright. They couldn’t fix it.

How the hell could they fix Marcy getting stabbed like that?

Right in front of their eyes. Right in front of her eyes.

“I c-could’ve s-saved her. I COULD’VE SAVED HER.” Anne’s voice went from a frail sense of longing to a shriek in pure anger. Her breaths and sobs grew heavy, she felt herself shivering as Polly and Sprig rushed over to hug her again.

“Anne, please. Don’t put this on yourself. You’ll regret it.” Hop Pop warned.

“No! Hop-Pop! It’s the truth. I couldn’t help her! I had to watch Andrias pierce that sword through her chest without being able to anything! The strength of the portal held me in place. I couldn’t move!” Anne’s voice grew louder. There weren’t any customers at the parlour on a Tuesday morning, and no staff was at the counter as they were having lunch. They were on their own. Alone with their agony. “She knew it! Okay! I saw it in her face! She knew she was a total goner! Yet…y-yet…the o-only words she managed to say in th-that m-moment w-were…I’m sorry for everything��before…b-before…dropping dead to the ground.”

A harsh silence hung thick in the air.

All of them froze at the reminder of the moment. She watched the devastation dawn over the Plantars’ faces, before pulling away from their grasp, straightening up. Her vision blurred with tears as she stared at the melting mint chocolate chip ice-cream.

“Sh-she didn’t deserve th-that.” Sprig meekly said as he blindly fell back into his own chair. “Sh-she was nice, smart, sweet and despite what she did…she was good to you, Anne.”

“I-I know.” Her voice cracked in response.

“She let me into super cool facts and information. That you guys would think I was too young to understand! I liked how she didn’t think like that. When I asked her why she’d tell me all this, she said young was the best age to gather knowledge.” Polly murmured as she squeezed against Hop Pop firmly.

“She w-was very open-minded. Liked a lot of stuff and had an incredible nature to persevere ahead.” Hop Pop added. “She absolutely didn’t deserve that…but…Anne…don’t put it on yourself.”

“I-I s-still c-could’ve s-saved her though.”

“I could’ve saved Sprig and Polly’s parents too!” Hop Pop burst out and the tense cloud in the room grew thicker at the mention of their parents.

“Hop Pop- “Anne began meekly.

“Don’t! Don’t! Anne, we keep tying the grief we face on ourselves, try to go back and see how we could’ve stopped it, but the truth is…w-we d-don’t know what else to do. We don’t know how to get through this. Or how we could’ve.”

Hop Pop’s words broke something out of her chest that she didn’t even know was there, leading her to wail once more.

“I-I d-don’t know what to do, Hop Pop. Things were never meant to be like this. Marcy and Sasha were meant to be with me here today. We were supposed to celebrate our homecoming together. Or at least that’s what I thought we all wanted! But none of us got what we wanted. I’m back without them. Sasha…she’s never going to get back the way things used to be. And Marcy, M-marcy…she won’t get anything back.” Anne acknowledged woefully. The dreadful thoughts in her brain pouring out. “All I know is that I can’t stay here forever. I have to find a way to get back to Amphibia and do something, Hop Pop. I can’t leave things like this. I don’t know what I’m going to tell my parents when we meet them. Or Sasha’s. Or Marcy’s. I don’t know. But I’m not leaving things like this. We need to get back to Amphibia…somehow…”

“I know.” Hop Pop replied. “We do need to get back to Amphibia. We won’t leave things like this.”

“We have your back, Anne. Always.” Sprig added. “The Plantars stick together.”

“We lost Frobo. We lost Marcy. We lost a lot. But we’re not losing anything again. This time, Andrias will be the one who loses.” Polly finished indignantly.

“Thank you, guys.” She wrapped them into a hug, which they greatly reciprocated.

She was going to find Sasha.

Regardless of all complications, she was going to find her.

She was going to find Marcy.

Regardless of whether she was dead or alive, she was going to find her.

And she was going to find King Andrias.

Regardless of how much power and force he had, she was going to find him and stop him.

[httpjeon]

lovebug — jimin (m.)

jimin/reader | angst, fluff, smut | hybrid!au

wordcount: 12k

contents: spider hybrid!jimin, hybrid mistreatment/bullying, love self esteem/self-worth, arguments, crying, physical altercation between jimin & reader, name-calling, attachment anxiety, possessiveness, kissing, scenting, dom!jimin, manhandling, size kink/difference, fingering, dirty talk, cunnilingus, sensitivity kink, wet & messy, lots of cum, cumflation, jimins duality

— synopsis: hybrids are lovable companions for humans. unfortunately, most people simply want a cat or dog with which they can cuddle and love on. while looking for one to adopt, a lonesome hybrid of an unusual breed catches your eye.

note: part of the unadoptable series; masterlist will be coming soon!

blog masterlist

© httpjeon 2019. do not repost, modify, or translate.  

Deciding to get a hybrid is a big responsibility. They require abundant care and love — having been genetically modified as an attempt at a 'super species' when the human race was close to dying out as an attempt to preserve the DNA of humanity.

Now, however, through years of evolution, they have simply become a daily part of life as companions for humans.

After moving out of your college dorm and into a new apartment, you found yourself extremely lonely. So, you decided that perhaps you could look into getting a hybrid. You saved as much money as you could — hybrids were expensive after all.

"Are you sure you want to get one from the shelter?" your friend, Minah, asked as you walked with her on the bustling streets of Seoul, "I mean, a couple more months of saving and you could find a hybrid breeder—"

"I don't really care about that," you waved her off, "I'm not looking to get the best hybrid out there. I just want someone to keep me company."

"Still...a shelter...you don't know where these hybrids have been," she cringed, opening the door which made the bell above it ring to indicate the store there were customers, "They could have diseases or be aggressive."

"I assure you, all our hybrids are tested for diseases and aggressive ones are rehabilitated to become suitable companions," a lady wearing a uniform smiled, hands clasped behind her back. Her name tag read 'Nayeon', "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm looking to get a hybrid," you said sheepishly, heart pounding in excitement as she grinned.

"Excellent! Do you have a type in mind? We have an excellent selection of feline and canine hybrids," she looked at you expectantly as you thought it over.

"I...didn't really think about it," you shrugged, "I just figured I'd look and see if any caught my eye, you know?"

"I understand," Nayeon nodded, seemingly unbothered by your indecisiveness, "Well, you can go through those doors and have a look at the hybrids available."

"Thanks," you smiled, tugging Minah's hand until she began to follow you.

Once you pushed the doors open, you were met with a long hallway that seemed to divert left and right. The floors were white linoleum and the fluorescent lights made the white walls seem glaringly bright. The walls were lined with large viewing windows that allowed you to peer into each hybrid's room.

As you walked, you could see the cat hybrid sleeping and dog hybrids busying themselves energetically. You reached the end of the hallway and paused, looking both ways to decide where to go.

"It looks like it's mostly empty down here," Minah said as she walked a couple of feet into the left hallway.

"Then we'll go right," you smiled, taking a look in the windows. It seemed they were mostly rabbit, rodent, and reptile hybrids in this section.

You were just beginning to give up when something caught your eye — a quick flash of purple. Pausing, you backed up a couple steps to look in once again.

"Whoa...creepy..." Minah squinted into the room that was seemingly covered in webbing with a purple haired hybrid sitting with his back to you.

He didn't have any hybrid ears or a tail and he looked strikingly like a human. Minah picked up the clipboard that held the information on the hybrid inside.

"Spider hybrid?" Minah cringed and made a sound of disgust, "Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"I haven't, no..." you tore your eyes from his vibrant purple hair to look at the clipboard. "He's 24...no specific breed."

"Don't you think the concept of having a hybrid that'd older than you...strange?" Minah asked thoughtfully, "I think I'd have to get one that’s younger than me...the power balance seems weird otherwise."

"I haven't really thought about it..." you mumbled as you looked around his room.

There was no bed, instead there was a concentration of webbing in one corner that you assumed he probably used for a bed. You could see that he was messing with something in his hands but since his back was to you, you couldn't make out what exactly it was.

"Do you have your eye on anything—" Nayeon approached the two of you and paused. "I see you've found Jimin."

"Yeah, what the hell is up with him?" Minah asked, tapping on the glass. The hybrid inside showed no signs of caring. "I didn't even know spider hybrids existed."

"Ah yes...Jimin is quite special. It's very rare to have insect hybrids," Nayeon said.

"Spiders aren't insects," you said suddenly, taking the clipboard from Minah's hands, "They're arachnids."

"Same thing," Minah mumbled, "Quit looking at him."

"There isn't much information on him," you said, looking to Nayeon as Minah scoffed at you ignoring her.

"Oh um...Jimin is..." Nayeon shifted on her feet, "Well, he's a spider...not many people want a spider hybrid. They'd prefer one they can hold and hug and show affection to. Also...he makes webs and it’s such a huge mess...just not a very house-friendly pet, you know? Most people are creeped out by him."

"Me included," Minah mumbled, side-eyeing Jimin inside his room as Nayeon nodded in agreement.

"I can't go in there...he gives me the creeps. None of the staff really go in there and to be honest he's not very social," Nayeon explained. "Jimin, can you say hi?"

"He can hear us?" you asked, eyes widening as she nodded. You were shocked to hear her speak meanly of the hybrid when he could hear her words.

"See? He doesn't really care about anyone," Nayeon explained, motioning towards where Jimin kept his back to the window as he continued to mess with whatever was in his hands.

"What can you expect from a spider? I'm pretty sure spiders are just like..." Minah motioned vaguely with her hands as she spoke, "Emotionless. They don't have like...consciousness like cats and dogs do, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Nayeon nodded with a sigh. "So, have any hybrids caught your eye, ma'am?"

"I actually..." you smiled lightly towards Jimin's figure.

"Oh...you really don't want him. Trust me," Nayeon shook her head. "Lots of people think they do but the second you go in there and meet him..."

"He's weird and creepy, I swear to God _____ if you get a spider hybrid I will actually beat you up," Minah grabbed your arm and tugged on you, "Please just get a cat or something I won't ever be able to come over if you get him. He's gross!"

You sighed, placing the clipboard up as you got fed up with Minah's whining. As she began to tug you away, you caught sight of what Jimin had been messing with in his hand — a little figurine made of web.

"I swear I'm never going to get the idea of a spider hybrid out of my mind now," Minah mumbled as you made your way home, "Are you seriously not going to check out any other shelters today?"

"Nah," you waved her off, "I'm pretty tired. I'll go tomorrow and see if I can find anyone."

"I have work tomorrow, I won't be able to come!" Minah whined, tossing her head back as she groaned.

You smiled, shrugging your shoulders, "I'm sure I can survive on my own. I'm a big girl."

"You say that as if I didn't stop you from getting a spider as a hybrid!" she cried, shoving your shoulder playfully, "Promise me you won't get any weird hybrids."

"I promise nothing," you turned your back to her, ignoring her whining your name as you disappeared into your apartment building.

You held your bag by your side, swinging it mindlessly as you stood in the elevator on the way up to your apartment. For some reason, your heart felt heavy and you couldn't help but flop onto your bed with a big sigh the second you stepped into your bedroom.

Staring up at the ceiling, your mind drifted to Jimin — unsure why the hybrid left such an impact on you.

When you woke up the next day, you still felt that heavy feeling hanging over you. As you got ready, you were looking up hybrid centers you could stop by to look at their selection.

Instead of going to the one you decided, a small family owned adoption center, you walked the same path as yesterday until you ended up in front of the same hybrid place you went to with Minah.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you looked at the door as you tried to decide what to do.

Suddenly, the door opened and a couple walked out snickering.

"Did you see it? How weird," the woman mumbled, "I couldn't even look at it without feeling sick."

"A hybrid like that should just be put down, no one's going to adopt it..." the man added, shoving his hands in his pockets, "It's probably just going to die in there."

"It probably doesn't even care...it's just a bug," the woman said before taking her partner's hand as they walked away.

After hearing them talk like that, you found yourself filled with determination to enter the building.

"Hi welcome!" a new woman was working at the main desk — her name tag indicating her as Yuri, "What can I help you with?"

"I'd like to adopt Jimin," you blurted out, watching as she froze where she stood blinking as if your words had thrown her through a loop.

"You...the spider, Jimin?" she asked, mouth falling open in surprise when you nodded, "I...are you sure? I mean there are plenty of other suitable hybrids—"

"I want Jimin," you said, crossing your arms over your chest.

"This has to be a joke," Yuri scoffed, customer service attitude dropping as she stared at you, "No one wants Jimin. You're just going to regret it."

"Whether I do or not isn't any of your business," you snapped, growing tired of her refusal to let you adopt him.

"How can you want a hybrid like that? Are you crazy?" she spat, narrowing her eyes to glare at you.

"What's going on here?" a sudden, masculine voice emerged from a once closed door behind the reception desk.

Yuri visibly tensed, her eyes going wide as she turned around to look, "M-Mr. Namjoon, sir...I-I didn't know you were in..."

"Right..." the man named Namjoon frowned down at her before looking at you, "Is everything alright?"

"I want to adopt Jimin and she's not letting me," you quickly ratted the rude girl out, not caring for her job after her attitude.

"Jimin?" Namjoon asked, shock evident on his face. "Are you sure?"

You were getting ready to argue again, when he suddenly reached over the reception desk to pull out a form. As he handed it to you, you realized it was an adoption form.

"M-Mr. Namjoon...surely you can't—"

"Yuri, you're dismissed," Namjoon snapped, pointing towards the door without giving her a single look. She scoffed, angrily grabbing her bag from by her chair before storming past you, muttering under her breath as she left.

You grabbed a pen and began to fill out the information on the page, acutely aware of Namjoon's eyes on you. He didn't say anything, however, so you tried your best not to pay him any mind.

Just as you were about to sign your name on the bottom, he placed his hand on the paper to stop you.

"If this is a joke..." he said, looming over you with a frown on his handsome face, "Then it's gone far enough."

"Why does everyone keep criticizing me," you mumbled, standing up straight to look at him.

"No one has ever...genuinely adopted Jimin or even really tried to adopt him," Namjoon explained, "He has been here for over 10 years...in that room, alone," you were shocked to see the way his eyes became glassy with tears, "So if you're planning...to get his hopes up for a sick joke...I really don't think he can handle it."

"I thought no one cared about him here?" you asked, watching his brows furrow,

"Who said that?" he asked.

"Girl named Nayeon," you shrugged, "I came here yesterday and she and my friend told me not to adopt him. I got annoyed so I left and came back without Minah so I could do this without her yelling at me."

"Well she's wrong," Namjoon said, "I own this center. I care for each and every hybrid that comes through those doors no matter where they come from, what breed or species they are, or how they act. Jimin is..." he sighed, "Jimin is special. No one ever looked twice at him unless it's to belittle him."

"Do people...try to adopt him as a joke?" you asked, your heart aching at the sympathetic pain that was in Namjoon's eyes as he nodded.

"A couple times," he said, "Stupid dares or attempts to look cool...they always get his hopes up only to be told it's a joke and that no one really wanted him to begin with."

"That's terrible..." your eyes burned with the appearance of tears at Namjoon's story.

"So please..." Namjoon whispered, voice cracking, "I am begging you to only do this...if you really want him."

"I really do," you said, meeting his gaze as he stared at you for several seconds. He seemed to be thinking it over, whether to believe you or not. Slowly, he removed his hand and nodded, "I'll go get him."

You nodded, watching him disappear down the hallway before signing your name on the indicated lines. Standing there, you couldn't help but think back on Namjoon's words. No doubt Jimin faced a lot of cruelty and ugliness in his lifetime. The very thought of him being shut in a room, forced to listen to people call him names for 10 years had your eyes filling with tears.

You would do everything in your power to make him happy with you.

"You're still here..." Namjoon's voice had you jumping and you spun on your heel to find him standing there — alone.

"Um...of course..." you shrugged, "Where's Jimin?"

"I didn't get him yet," Namjoon explained, walking up to you with his arms crossed over his chest, "Usually when I leave to get him...people run away. So..."

"You decided to test me," you said, chuckling when he nodded, "Did I pass?"

"You'll pass when you pay for him first," he said, rounding the reception desk to take a seat in front of the computer.

"Locking me in with the cash, huh?" you shook your head, slightly offended that he believed you were such a bad person but also understanding his desire to protect Jimin.

You opened your purse and pulled out your wallet, passing your debit card over to him. He held it in his fingers for a moment, looking at it with his jaw clenched. As you were about to question him, he punched a few things into the keyboard and slid your card into the chip reader.

"Alright," he printed the receipt and stood, handing it over to you.

"Hey..." you stopped him before he could get too far, "You only charged me $100. Isn't it supposed to cost $1,000?"

"Keep your money for Jimin," Namjoon said, giving you a dimpled smile before turning and disappearing into the double doors leading to the hybrids once again.

You stuffed the receipt into your purse and inhaled deeply as you waited for them to come back. The doors were pushed open and you turned around to see Jimin face-to-face for the first time.

He met your gaze for a fraction of a second — long enough for you to get a look at his face. His eyes were a striking amber brown with split pupils — two in each eye. The vibrant color seemed even more so against his black sclera. You could see the faintest sign of fangs poking out from between his lips. He quickly looked down at the floor as he and Namjoon approached you.

"Hi Jimin," you greeted with a smile. He didn't respond to you and you deflated slightly before looking to Namjoon, "Thank you so much. We should probably get home so he can get settled in."

"I think that's a good idea," Namjoon said, placing his hand on Jimin's back to urge him forward. The hybrid easily moved closer to you and you were able to see the wisps of web that were attacked to his hair, clothes, and skin. "Bye Jimin."

Jimin froze for a moment, looking over his shoulder at Namjoon. You watched for a second as Namjoon's eyes grew glassy and it occurred to you that Namjoon was losing Jimin after 10 years. Jimin reached out to place his hand against Namjoon's arm.

"You know..." you paused, making both of them look at you, "You have...my address and phone number on the file now. So...if you want to visit any time...you are more than welcome to. I don't live far from here...just a few blocks. I walked here today."

"Really?" Namjoon brightened up, smiling until his dimples appeared, "I appreciate that. I promise I'll visit you, Jimin, okay?"

The hybrid nodded, a smile of his own appearing — letting you see the sharp fangs in his mouth. The way he smiled caused his eyes to scrunch closed and you couldn't help but smile alongside him. He was cute.

"It's not much..." you mumbled, suddenly feeling self-conscious about your little apartment, "There's a spare room you can have but you'll have to share the bathroom with me."

He stood in the entryway, looking around with wide eyes at the living room. His mouth was open a bit and he looked amazed.

"It's...nice," he said, speaking the first words to you. His voice was soft, holding a gentle melody to it.

"Thank you," you smiled, waving him over to follow you, "I'll show you your room."

He eagerly trailed behind you, hot on your heels as you made your way down the small hallway to the last room — right across from yours.

"Is this it?" he asked as you pushed the door open, "My room?"

"Yeah, mine's across the hall," you said, stepping aside to let him step into the room. "It uh...doesn't have a bed but...I saw you didn't have one at the center so..."

"I don't need one," he said, confirming your suspicion, "Is it...alright for me to...web?"

"Um...yeah, it should be," you bit your lip, accidentally meeting his curious gaze.

"Do you not like the webs?" he asked, the happy glow around him vanishing, "I-I won't web anywhere else in the house, I promise. Or...if you think it's gross I can try not to but—"

"Hey, it's alright," you chuckled, shaking your head, "I was just worried that the web might mess up the walls or something. If there's damage then I won't get my deposit back on this place."

"Oh..." he relaxed and looked around, humming, "I don't think it will do anything. It's really soft and it's never pulled paint or anything."

"It should be fine," you waved him off with a smile, "If something happens we can lie or something," he smiled, a soft chuckle leaving his lips, "I'll leave you to do...whatever you gotta do."

"Okay," he said, a smile still lingering on his lips as you stepped out and closed to door behind you.

As you stood in the kitchen, you suddenly realized that you had no earthly idea what Jimin would eat. You hummed, going over your options before deciding you'd just ask him.

He'd been holed up in his room for a couple hours so you hoped it'd been long enough. Stopping at his door, you knocked a few times as you waited for him to answer.

"Come in!" he called and you pushed the door open.

"Whoa," you paused, looking around at the changed room.

There was a thick cave of web in the corner that he was sitting in front of, softly smoothing his hands over. He looked over his shoulder with a smile.

"I got my nest done," he explained proudly, "I didn't get to do anything else but...oh well, I have time."

"Yeah, you do," you nodded, "Hey Jimin...what do you eat?"

His smile disappeared immediately and you were worried you'd offended him somehow but before you could apologize, he spoke up, "What do you eat?"

"Um...mostly ramen or cereal, not really healthy stuff," you shrugged, "I get take out a lot — chicken or pizza."

"I eat whatever you eat," he smiled, nodding his head.

"Are you sure?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest, "If you're just saying that because you're worried about bothering me, please don't. I have money saved up specifically for you so if there's anything special you need, Jimin..."

Jimin looked anxious for a second, twirling a piece of his web around his finger, "I really do eat anything you do but...there is something..."

"What is it?" you urged, kneeling on the floor beside him.

"It's really hard to get a hold of and I think it's kind of expensive..." he meekly met your gaze, giving you a small half-smile, "There's a special treat that Namjoon sometimes got for me — it's called SpiderSnack...it has supplements and things in it that...help web production and other stuff..."

"Do you know how to get it?" you asked, which Jimin hummed in response.

"I think there's a website online, Namjoon always told me it was delivered so..." he shrugged, sitting back on his hands, "You really don't have to get it though."

"I have no problems getting it," you smiled, patting his shoulder before standing up, "Now come on and help me decide what to get for dinner."

"Alright," he stood up and quickly followed you out of the room and into the living room.

It didn't take long for Jimin to decide he wanted a cheese pizza, which you happily ordered for him.

Once you were both finished eating, he decided to head back into his room to rest. After bidding him goodnight, you curled up on the couch with your favorite movie playing.

At some point, you'd fallen asleep. However, you were woken up by a soft sniffle coming from beside you. The sound had your eyes fluttering open, frowning as you saw Jimin sitting on the floor watching the TV play.

"Jimin?" you asked drowsily, sitting up.

He looked over his shoulder and you could see, off the reflection from the TV, there were tears on his cheeks, "S-Sorry...did I wake you?"

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" you asked, sitting up and kneeling on the floor beside him. "Why're you crying?"

"I...I don't know," he chuckled humorlessly as he wiped his cheeks, "I was trying to sleep and came out to get a drink and saw you sleeping here...I just...got emotional."

You smiled, placing your hand on his back, "A lot happened today, it's okay."

"Why did you adopt me, ______?" he asked suddenly, turning his teary gaze to you.

You were quiet for a moment, staring into his eyes — his double pupils trembling slightly, "I don't know...I couldn't stop thinking about you when I went home. I woke up that morning and I just knew that...I wanted to have you here with me."

He smiled, more tears falling from his eyes as he leaned forward and engulfed you in a warm hug. You smiled, wrapping your arms around his middle to hug him back.

"I'm so grateful..." he whispered, "No one but Namjoon has ever treated me the way you have. Even if you decide to give me back...I'll be happy because I've now felt kindness from someone."

"I won't give you back, Jimin," you promised, your own voice becoming watery with your tears, "You're here to stay and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey...how old are you?" Jimin asked, taking a bite out of his toast.

"22," you replied, jumping when he gasped.

"I'm older than you!" he laughed, fangs glistening in the sunlight.

"Don't let it get to your head," you mumbled, a slight pout evident in your voice.

Jimin laughed happily, his smile contagious.

"Hey, can I watch TV?" he asked suddenly.

"You don't have to ask, go for it," you said as you collected the dishes to prepare for washing them.

Just as you turned on the water, however, your doorbell went off. Jimin was standing in front of the TV, remote in hand as he stared at the door. You noticed the strong frown on his lips and the dark look in his eyes. He watched the door as if he were ready to attack whoever was on the other side.

Opening the door, you gasped when you saw Minah's beaming smile.

"Hey!" she giggled, stepping into the apartment. "Did you—" she froze when her eyes landed on Jimin.

"Um...Minah..." you swallowed nervously, "This is Jimin. I adopted him yesterday."

"You did what?" a look of what you could only describe as disgust crossed her face as she looked at Jimin.

Jimin had lost all light to him, curling in on himself as he kept his head down. You could see his hands were shaking as he held the remote. Your heart ached at the sight.

"_____, this is ridiculous!" Minah cried, turning to you almost angrily, "You got a spider hybrid? What is wrong with you? Who the hell goes to adopt a hybrid and thinks 'hmm gee a gross webbing freak would make a good pet!'"

Before you could say anything, Jimin dropped the remote to the floor and took off down the hallway — slamming his bedroom door shut.

"Minah!" you snapped as you turned back to her, "Just because he's different doesn't mean there's anything wrong with him! He's been called names all his life, I'm not going to let someone come into my house and do it to him!"

"_____, I'm sor—"

"Just save it," you hissed, yanking the front door open as a signal for her to leave.

"You can't be throwing me out over him!" she gasped, offended, "I told you if you got that bug—"

"Just get out!" your words made her flinch and she pursed her lips before storming out.

Slamming the door, you let out a sigh. Running your hands through your hair, you realized you were shaking. You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself before making your way down the hallway to Jimin's room.

"Jimin?" you called through the door, tapping on it a couple times. He didn't answer and you sighed, "I'm coming in, okay?"

He still didn't respond and you pushed the door open. You jumped when your face was met with wisps of web. Waving your hand in front of your face, you broke the strands and stepped inside the room.

It was basically fully webbed and it felt almost like cotton beneath your feet — soft and fluffy. Making your way across the room, you stopped at the opening to his nest, kneeling down to peer in.

He was sitting down, knees drawn to his chest as he cried. Your heart ached at the sight and you sighed.

"Jimin..." you reached inside the nest to touch him but were met with a sudden, sharp slap that had you retracting your hand. You hissed in pain, bringing it to your chest as the skin burned from the impact.

"I should have known you were just like the rest!" he hissed, the glare on his face was nothing short of hateful.

"Wh-What're you talking about?" your own eyes becoming teary. You felt hurt that Jimin had hit you and was now speaking and looking at you like he couldn't stand you.

"Bringing your friend over to make me feel like shit!" he snapped, a curse surprising you, "I know you think I'm just a disgusting little insect you can step all over but I'm not!"

You gasped, flinching when he shouted the last word. Quicker than you could react, he was shooting from the entrance, knocking you to the side as he stood above you. His shoulders were heaving with anger but there were still tears falling from his eyes.

"Jimin—"

"Don't!" he shouted, shaking his head, "You're just like every other human. You're never going to accept me...I should have known you could never love me..." his anger seemed to dissipate as quickly as it appeared, "I'm not a cat or a dog but...I feel just like they do. Why...why aren't I deserving of affection and care like they are? I always have to watch normal hybrids go to good homes and find someone who will hug them and make them happy. I thought," he paused as a sob broke through his lips, hanging his head, "I thought I could be like that but instead I get stuck with a bitch who thinks it's fun to hurt me for a good laugh!"

Your mouth fell open at the insult, unable to say anything as he turned his back to you. Scrambling to your feet, you breezed past him, pulling the door shut behind you before going into your own room to cry.

The impact Jimin had on you was incredible. In just a day, you already felt nothing but love for him. But in the same amount of time, you'd managed to become the source of hatred. His words continued to bounce around your head as you stayed holed up in your room. Your phone went off, showing a few texts from Minah but you ignored them, intent on letting her know you weren't willing to forgive her for this.

What hurt the most, however, was the guilt you felt over allowing him to be hurt so severely. You'd brought him into your home to make him feel safe and just one thing went wrong and that safe space was shattered for him.

A few days went by with no sign of Jimin. You could hear him leave the room in the middle of the night to get some food or to use the bathroom before he shut himself away once more until the next night. He was doing everything in his power to shut you out and you were too scared to try and corner him. You didn't want to upset him like that again — listening to the way he cried and talked down about himself broke your heart.

He was so wrong, thinking he wasn't good enough to be loved. You wanted to tell him, but there was no way he would listen to you.

You sat on the floor of the living room, typing away on your laptop as you had an essay due for your class. You were on a roll when the doorbell ringing broke you out of your groove. Sighing, you got to your feet and opened the front door.

There was nobody at the door, however, instead there was a package sitting on the floor. Bending down, you scooped it up and brought it inside, kicking the door shut with your foot before bringing the package to the kitchen. With the help of the scissors, you managed to slice the tape and pull the cardboard flaps open.

The words SpiderSnack popped out in bright red letters and you smiled. Pulling it from the box, you took a look at it. Inside the bag looked similar to Chex Mix.

Tapping your fingers on the counter, you debated what you could do. You took a look down the hallway. He most likely wouldn't answer if you knocked on the door.

He would come out later that night, however. Taking a sticky note from the magnetic ones that were on your fridge, you wrote a quick note and stuck it onto the bag.

An olive branch, perhaps.

Smiling, you went back to your computer to attempt to complete your essay.

Entering the kitchen the next morning, you paused when you saw the SpiderSnack still sitting on the counter. The sticky note had been pulled off, crumpled, and tossed away like trash. You bit your lip to keep your tears at bay as disappointment washed over you. Attempt apparently not accepted.

You were laid in bed, watching a stupid reality TV show to pass the time as you had no desire to be up for the day. Suddenly, your phone being to angrily buzz from its place on the nightstand. Jumping, you snatched it up to see an unfamiliar number calling. Swiping to answer, you brought it up to your ear.

"Hello?" you asked through a mouthful of Lucky Charms.

"_____! It's Namjoon," you froze and sat up.

"Oh...hey, Namjoon," you winced at how stiff you sounded.

"How is Jimin doing?" the dreaded question had you casting your eyes downward in shame. How were you meant to tell the man that entrusted you with Jimin that you'd essentially broke his heart, "Is something the matter?"

"I..." before you could get any further, you burst into tears. Namjoon hurriedly spoke from the other side, urging you to calm down and tell him what was going on. After a moment of you attempting to get your breathing under control, he fell silent.

"You regret it, don't you?" his voice was dark, "Thought you wanted him and now you realize...you're trapped with a creepy hybrid you don't actually like as much as you thought you did."

"No!" you cried out immediately, your own volume startling you, "Th-That's not it at all! I just...something went wrong and now he just...he won't come out and I'm pretty sure he can't stand me now."

"What happened?" Namjoon asked, sounding less angry than he did a second ago.

"My friend came over...she got mad that I chose to get Jimin instead of another hybrid," you explained, sniffling as another wave of tears came over you, "She started saying awful things in front of Jimin and now he thinks I set him up for that."

Namjoon sighed, "What'd she say?"

Um," you thought back, "She called him a freak...I can't really remember it, Jimin and I got into a fight afterwards."

"He's rightfully upset," Namjoon's words had a sob breaking from your lips.

"I know...I-I'm so sorry, I didn't think it through. I-I was so caught up in-in getting him settled I forgot to let anyone know," you explained tearfully, covering your mouth as your breathing stuttered slightly, "Maybe I should just...give him back..."

"That would only hurt him more," Namjoon said, "Jimin's more fragile than he looks and when he's hurt he gets tunnel vision...he only wants to see what he thinks it the truth and refuses to listen to anything otherwise. I don't think giving him up is the right thing to do."

"He's only miserable here now," you mumbled, "He stays in his room all day and only comes out for a few minutes each night. It's not fair for him to live like that so he can avoid me."

"I see..." he fell silent once more, "I'm going to hang up now. Please call me when you've made a decision."

Before you could reply, he hung up and you were left with just the TV once more. You buried your face in your hands and cried out everything you needed to before laying back down to try and nap.

You heard a door creak open, rousing you from sleep. Your eyes burned as you opened them, feeling swollen from crying. Sitting up, you realized the TV was still on and night had fallen. You'd slept the day away.

Sighing, you grabbed the remote and began channel surfing for something more interesting to watch as you flicked the lamp on. It was going to screw your sleep schedule up but you didn't feel like sleeping anymore.

As you sat against the headboard, holding a pillow in your lap, you heard three delicate knocks on the door. Your heart stuttered in your chest and you called for him to come in.

He pushed the door open slowly before peeking his head inside, the mop of purple hair untamed and hanging in his face.

"I saw...your lamp turn on..." he said as he stood in the doorway anxiously.

"Ah...couldn't sleep," you explained, shrugging your shoulders.

It felt so tense and awkward around him now and that broke your heart. You bit your lip to keep yourself from breaking into tears again. Jimin slowly approached the bed, weight causing the floorboards to creak beneath him. He was silent as he stood beside you, running his tongue over his fangs.

"Please don't send me back," your head snapped up when you heard him whimper out the words. "I-I heard you on the phone...I'm sorry, ______. I'll do anything, I don't want to be put in that room again to have people stare at me like I'm a freak show."

"Are you sure?" you asked, your own tears breaking free, "I don't want you to have to live with me when you hate me."

"I don't hate you!" he cried, tossing his head back in frustration, "I'm such an idiot."

You watched as he reached up to knock himself on the head with his fist. Reaching up, you grabbed his wrist to stop him, causing him to look at you before sobbing.

"Th-The first person who takes me in and I-I go and ruin it," he whispered, breathing stuttering, "I knew I didn't deserve this."

"Jimin..." you tugged on his wrist so he would sit down on the bed with you, "I don't want you to go either. I-If you'll stay then I want you here."

He paused, meeting your gaze before wrapping you up in a sudden hug, "I want to stay here with you for as long as you'll have me. I'm happy here and I love you."

"I..." you smiled, burying your face in his neck as you smiled, "I love you too, Jimin."

The two of you exhausted yourselves from crying and you both decided to lay down. You reached over and turned off the lamp, snuggling beneath your soft fleece blanket with Jimin pressed against your side. You were pleasantly surprised by how warm he was.

"_____," he said, voice vibrating in his chest where you head lay, "I'm so sorry..."

"Hm? For what?" you mumbled sleepily, vision blurring as you watched the TV. His heart was faster than a humans and calming to listen to.

"I...I hit you and I shouldn't have done that," he said, his hand finding its way around your waist, "And I had no right to call you a bitch. I was angry but there's no excuse so I'm sorry."

You smiled, snuggling closer to him, "It's okay, Jimin. I forgive you."

Things seemed to calm down quickly and you fell back into an easy rhythm. You were happy to find Jimin eating out of the SpiderSnack that you had bought him.

"I really appreciate this, you know, ______," he said with a mouth full, "I'm sorry I didn't eat it earlier I just..." he sighed, "I felt bad for how I treated you and it felt wrong for me to take these."

"It's okay," you reassured, patting his back as you sat down with a bowl of cereal, "As long as you can eat it now."

You and Jimin dissolved into a conversation about the dream he'd had the previous night, wondering if he could look up the meaning of it. Just as you pulled out your phone to open google, your doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," you said, missing the anxious look on Jimin's face as you made your way to the door.

Pulling it open, you were pleased to see the glasses-clad face of Namjoon. He smiled sheepishly, hands tucked into his pockets.

"Hey! Come on in!" you grinned, opening the door wider, "Hey Jimin! Namjoon is here!"

There was a momentary pause before you heard the loud scrape of Jimin's chair being pushed back. His hurried footsteps grew louder until he came into view with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey Jimin!" Namjoon greeted, opening his arms as Jimin threw himself towards him for a hug, "How are you doing?"

"I'm great," Jimin breathed as he stepped back, "How are you?"

"Really good," Namjoon replied, nodding his head, "It's really good to see you. I really hope you don't mind me stopping by. I had you address from the adoption form."

"No, it's perfectly fine," you smiled, closing the door before motioning the man to come inside, "We were just eating breakfast. Would you like anything?"

"No, I'm fine thank you," Namjoon said, taking a seat on the couch.

"_____ found SpiderSnack for me," Jimin blurted out excitedly, making Namjoon smile.

"Really? That's great, now you can gorge yourself on it," he teased, making the hybrid laugh.

The atmosphere became one even brighter with the appearance of Namjoon. You could tell how happy he made Jimin and you felt thankful that Jimin at least him him outside of you.

As you stood in the kitchen, eating your cereal to give them some time alone, an idea came to mind and you smiled.

When it was time for Namjoon to leave, you asked to speak privately with him. As you stepped out and shut the door, you met his gaze.

"Do you think it'd be a good idea to introduce him to others...you know — get him some friends," you asked, flushing when he smiled.

"I think it'd be a good idea," he nodded, "Either your own trusted friends or some hybrid friends. There's lots of groups that actively get together in the community for hybrids to get to know one another."

"Really? Other hybrids don't...think badly of him?" you asked, frowning.

"Not typically," Namjoon replied, "They're typically quite uncaring of other hybrids' species...all they really care about is that they're hybrids as well."

"Alright," you smiled, "I have some friends with hybrids of their own. I'll meet with them and see if I can set something up."

"It's a good idea to slowly introduce them," Namjoon advised, "Too many new faces and scents could freak him out and make him insecure. Just expand his circle slowly and at his own pace, okay?"

"Alright, thank you, Namjoon," you smiled, bidding him goodbye.

When you stepped back inside, you were filled with a new found determination to brighten Jimin's life even more.

Your friend Taehyung and his dog-hybrid Jungkook were the first ones you contacted. They lived nearby and you had worked with Taehyung at a local cafe for about 2 years where a friendship had budded. His adoption of Jungkook was what opened your eyes to the possibility of getting your own hybrid.

"Jimin," you called from the front door, pulling your shoes on as you heard his door open. He came into view with bedhead and tired eyes, "I'm going to see some friends so I'll be gone for a little while, alright?"

"Alright," he yawned, "Be safe."

"I will," you waved him goodbye and left.

"_____!" the overexcited voice of Jungkook had a smile spreading across your face as you walked into the ice cream shop that you'd decided to meet at.

"Hey guys!" you greeted, walking up to the table but pausing when you found them, only to pause at the two new faces.

"I hope you don't mind..." Taehyung chuckled nervously, "I brought a couple friends...Hoseok and his hybrid Yoongi."

"You mentioned you have a new hybrid you're looking to integrate?" Hoseok asked, an almost blinding smile on his face.

"Um yeah, that's right...it's nice to meet you both," you smiled, taking a seat.

"What kind of hybrid is he?" Yoongi asked.

"He's actually a spider-hybrid," you said, watching all four faces turn to that of surprise, "I know it's unusual...but he's really sweet."

"Hey I didn't say anything," Taehyung chuckled, "I've just never heard of a spider-hybrid."

"They're like...crazy rare," Jungkook gasped, leaning forward, "I think they're basically an endangered species of hybrid now. There are so few of them, to be honest, I thought they were extinct."

"How'd you find him?" Hoseok asked in interest, leaning forward.

"I found him at a shelter," you explained, "He'd been there for like 10 years because no one wanted him. People are...surprisingly cruel to him."

"Poor thing..." Yoongi sighed, shaking his head, "I think it's great for you to introduce him to some friends."

"Humans can be so cruel..." Hoseok sighed, shaking his head.

"I guess we could hang out at your place in the future?" Taehyung asked, looking towards you.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Jungkook mumbled, "He probably won't like having strangers in his space right off the bat."

"How about a park?" Yoongi asked, "If he spent pretty much all his life in that shelter then...I'm sure he'll enjoy being outside for a while."

"You know...I haven't taken him out yet..." you admitted, "Do you think I should?"

"I don't see why not," Yoongi replied, "Expand his world, he may enjoy the bonding with you."

You smiled, thanking them for the advice before you all finally ordered your ice cream.

When you returned home, Jimin was sitting in the living room with a plate of pizza rolls while he watched TV.

"I'm home," you said, closing the door behind you as you kicked your shoes off and hung your jacket up.

"Hey! Welcome home!" Jimin greeted, looking over his shoulder as he stuffed a pizza roll into his mouth, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!" you grinned, making your way over to the couch to have a seat.

As you did however, you felt Jimin stiffen beside you. You reached forward and stole a pizza roll, popping it in your mouth with a sigh.

"You..." he turned to look at you, a dark look on his face that sent a chill down your spine, "You smell different."

"Eh?" you raised a brow, looking down at yourself, "I...have a new body wash..."

"No you..." he leaned forward, his nose meeting your neck before he took a slow inhale, "You smell like other hybrids."

"Oh," you smiled, shaking off the flutter in your chest from his proximity, "I met with my friend Taehyung and his hybrid Jungkook and they brought their friends Hoseok and hybrid Yoongi."

"I don't like that..." he growled, running his tongue over his fangs, "I don't like their scents on you, _____..."

"I..." the deep tone of his voice has your heart skipping a beat and you flushed hot in response, "D-Do you want me to shower then?"

He didn't say anything, simply nodding his head. You could feel his gaze burning holes into you until you disappeared down the hallway. When you reached the bathroom, you placed your hand over your heart to steady it as it continued to race.

There was something about sweet, soft Jimin acting so dark and commanding that just had goosebumps rising all over your skin. You quickly decided to jump in the shower before your thoughts could go any further.

Once out of the shower, you towel dried your hair as you made your way to the living room once again. Jimin was still sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees as he gazed at the TV. He didn't seem to notice you and as you looked at him, you couldn't help but admire his features.

A sharp jawline and pretty, plump lips that he mindlessly ran his tongue over up to the soft slope of his nose and pretty eyelashes that fluttered against his cheeks.

You stepped up to the couch, finally getting his attention and he turned to look at you. His eyes traveled up and down your body, as if inspecting you, the golden glow of his eyes making those double pupils even more prominent.

He stood up, gazing down at you intently, making you shudder. Reaching up, he cupped your jaw and roughly turned your face away to expose the column of your neck. He leaned forward, nosing at the skin. Your breath hitched as you felt his lips ghost of your pulse, pausing to inhale deeply there.

"Much better..." he breathed, suddenly pulling back and dropping to the couch with a smile, "Come on, I was just about to watch A Star is Born."

As he patted the seat, you couldn't ignore the flame he'd lit within you. His sudden behavioral change left your head spinning but you took your seat beside him anyway.

"Hey Jimin?" you asked, a few days after that incedent. Jimin hadn't brought it up and you pretended it never happened. The two of you easily fell back into a rhythm.

"What's up?" Jimin asked from his bedroom.

"Do you want to go shopping?" You asked, smiling when you heard his muffled footsteps before his bedroom door opened.

"Really?" he grinned, bits of web stuck to his hair.

"Yeah, come on," you reached up to pull the whisps from his hair before he stepped out.

It was endearing how excited Jimin was as you made the short walk to the nearby shopping district. He had his hands shoved in his coat pockets as he talked animatedly about anything that came to mind.

The place was bustling, you and Jimin having to weave in and out of the many people you passed. Jimin looked around in wonder at all the shops.

"Do you want to stop inside?" you asked as he paused in front of a men's clothing shop, "You haven't gotten any new clothes since you came here..."

"Really? Can I?" he asked, eyes sparkling when you nodded.

You followed behind him into the store, the scent of cologne in the air making you wrinkle your nose. Jimin disappeared into the racks of clothing as he located the hybrid section. You decided to follow his lead, taking a look around to see if anything stood out that you could make gift him.

You reached the back of the store, finding a wall of shoes. You heard muffled voices from up front and you turned around to see the top of Jimin's purple head. Frowning, you realized there was someone in front of him.

As you approached, you could make out the words, "What are you?"

"Um...wh-what do you mean?" Jimin asked timidly.

"Your eyes...they're fucking weird..." the stranger mumbled.

"I'm a uh...spider..." Jimin replied, though you could hear his voice tremble.

"Ew, seriously?" the man, you realized, asked in disgust, "Can you make webs and shit?"

"Hey!" you snapped, making both men look at you. Jimin relaxed in relief and the stranger raised a brow, "Leave him alone."

"This bug yours?" he asked, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Don't call him that!" you spat, breezing past him to grab Jimin's hand, "Come on Jimin."

"Careful and make sure he doesn't end up splattered on a windshield!" the man laughed.

You felt Jimin's hand tighten around yours as you both left the store.

"Jimin..."

"I want to go home," he mumbled, releasing your hand before slowly making his way in the direction of the apartment.

"Okay..." you whispered, trailing behind him.

His form looked so sad, head hung and shoulders hunched. You cursed that man for ruining what could have been a perfectly lovely and fun day for the hybrid.

Once you entered the apartment, he made a beeline for his bedroom but you grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Don't, Jimin," you sighed.

"Don't what?" he asked, sounded so dejected that it broke your heart.

"Don't shut yourself away," you begged, feeling the prick of tears when he pulled away from you and made his way down the hall once again.

Instead of going into his room, however, he turned and went into your room. A small smile played at your lips in relief before you followed his lead.

He was sitting on your bed, hands folded in his lap when you entered.

"It's just a stupid name...I don't know why it bothers me so much..." he mumbled as you stood in front of him.

"It's okay..." you mumbled, running your fingers through his hand, making him shiver, "Your feelings are always valid, Jimin. If the name makes you hurt then...we just have to find a way for it not to."

"How do we do that?" he asked, looking up at your with teary eyes.

His lashes fluttered as you brushed a stray tear away, "How about we turn 'bug' into something positive?"

"Positive?" a small smile was finally playing at his lips as he looked at you, his glassy eyes shining once more, "What, you going to start calling me a love bug?"

"Jimin the love bug," you cooed, watching how face turn red until he had to break his gaze. You giggled, "Does that make you happy? Being called a lovebug?"

The way he wrapped his arms around your middle, hugging you as he laughed. You couldn't resist wrapping him up in a hug in return.

It had been such a long week and you felt drained. Jimin was bustling about as usual, happy as could be. You were bored, thinking of something to do when your phone went off.

You were elated to discover some of your girlfriends were going out to party.

"Hey Jimin!" you called as you began digging through your closet for something to wear, "I'm going to go out!"

"Huh? Where?" he asked, startling you as he appeared in the doorway of your closet.

"Out drinking with some girlfriends," you said, finally picking out a dress.

"Drinking? Will you be safe?" he asked, following close behind you as you picked a pair of shoes and placed the slowly forming outfit on the bed.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," you reassured, feeling giddy at the idea of going out to have some fun.

Jimin lingered, watching you almost anxiously until you shooed him out so you could get dressed. Keeping your makeup light, you opened the door to find Jimin leaning against his bedroom door.

"Alright, I'll be back late okay?" you said, making your way down the hall as you slid your phone into your purse, "Don't wait up."

"_____..." Jimin whined as you opened the door, making you pause. You could see he wanted to say something but he only sighed and gave you a fake smile before saying, "Have fun."

You did feel bad leaving him alone when it was clear he didn't want you to, but you needed to go out and have fun. You adored Jimin but you needed some time away from him, just some simple girl-time with your friends and drinks.

You got buzzed pretty quickly — not wasted but you were feeling pleasantly buzzed. Naturally, such a state interfered with your inhibitions and logical decision making.

Which is why you ended up bringing a man you'd met at the bar home.

It didn't occur to you, as you kissed the man and let him pin you down to your bed, to think of Jimin. He pushed the hem of your dress up and roughly yanked you close to him, making you squeak in shock.

Pinning your wrists down, he began trailing his lips across your exposed collar bones. Before his hand could reach your panties, there was a low growl that ripped through the room.

"Oh shit!" the man gasped, jumping back in shock at the appearance of Jimin standing in the doorway, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Jimin," you mumbled, sitting up to push the hem of your dress down properly.

"Get out," Jimin snarled, approaching the man aggressively.

"Wh-What the fuck are you?" the man sputtered, scrambling out of your bed as he met Jimin's eyes — his double pupils easily following his every move.

"I...y-you should probably go..." you mumbled from the bed, biting your lip as you watched Jimin bare his fangs in warning to the stranger.

"Y-You're kidding right?" the man scoffed, shaking his head, "Fucking freaks."

With his departure, you were left with a very tense Jimin. His chest was heaving with anger as he stared at you, taking a few easy strides to you.

"Did you enjoy that?" he growled, crawling onto the bed. The way he crawled over you was predatory and you couldn't help but squeeze your thighs together in response.

"Wh-What?" you breathed, keening at the feeling of his lips meeting your neck.

"Making me angry," he whispered, "Letting him taint you with his disgusting scent when you know...my scent is the only one you should have on your skin."

"I-I'm sorry Jimin..." you whimpered, your panties growing damper by the second, "I'm drunk I wasn't...thinking straight."

"Right..." he scoffed, the dominance he oozed nearly had you moaning, "I want you to go take a shower, wash his stink off of you and when you come back...I'll make you smell like you should."

He leaned back to let you slide off the bed. The way he scanned over your body, tongue sliding over his bottom lip made you clench pathetically in your panties. As quickly as you could, you made it to the bathroom and haphazardly stripped.

When you stepped back into your bedroom, Jimin was still sitting on your bed. The shower had significantly sobered you up and as you stood in front of him, you felt shy with his dark gaze on you.

"What's the matter?" he asked, a smirk growing on his face as you shifted on your feet, "You look nervous..." he stood up, the way he walked was confident and he had his head held high, "Do I make you nervous, _____?"

"I..." you licked your lips as you looked up at him, "I just really want to touch you."

"Oh?" he chuckled, cupping your chin, "Don't you mean you want me to touch you? Hm?" he leaned closer to you, his nose brushing against yours with his close proximity, "Isn't that why you brought him here? I saw the way you let him treat you, pin you down...is that what you like? You want to be treated roughly?"

Your eyes fluttered as you whimpered in arousal, the very idea of being pinned beneath Jimin's powerful form so tempting. Licking your lips, you met his gaze. You were able to see his eyes so much better and they were so beautiful and unique you could get lost in them.

"Is that a yes?" he asked, breath fanning over your lips. It took a second for you to remember where you were before you quickly nodded.

Then a fraction of a second later, his lips were on yours. The kiss started out soft, like Jimin was taking his time to enjoy his first kiss with you. Quickly, however, it turned hotter until he was licking feverishly into your mouth.

As your mind was occupied with his mouth, he reached up to pull at the hem of your towel. It easily came undone and fell to the floor — leaving you completely naked. You gasped at the cool air against your damp skin. He grinned against your lips and stepped away, leaving you feeling vulnerable. 

Those enchanting eyes traveled over every centimeter of exposed skin. The urge to cover yourself was tempting and your fingers twitched by your sides.

“You are…” he breathed, tongue sliding over his bottom lip, “Stunning.” 

“Jimin…” you breathed his name and you saw his jaw clenched at the desperation in your voice. 

He could hear your heart pounding, could see the way your pupils displayed, and could smell your building arousal. His own cock was hard in his pants, dripping precum and no doubt making a mess. 

“On the bed,” he ordered, watching as you scrambled to crawl on. 

You turned and sat down, facing him. He grinned, showing those sharp fangs, at the sight of you sitting so prettily — waiting for him. You were under his control, giving your body up for him — trusting him to take care of you. The thought made his cock throb and he released a slow groan. 

You bit your lip as he began to approach you, taking his time while keeping his eyes locked on you. When he was within arms reach of you, he inhaled deeply and grinned. 

“I can smell how wet you are for me…” he whispered, making your cheeks flush hot. 

“Y-You can?” he nodded, reaching up to gently wrap his hand around your throat. Your breath hitched as he leaned in, nosing your neck before inhaling deeply. 

“Of course,” he breathed, “My senses are much more acute than yours are…and might I say, you smell delectable.”

“Y-You sound like you're going to eat me,” you whispered, making him pause.

He leaned back and met your gaze, his beautiful eyes trembling slightly as he rested his forehead against yours. Then, his eyes slowly scrunched up and he let out a little giggle that had your heart skipping a beat. 

How could he go from taking your breath away with starling dominance to making your heart skip a beat with how utterly endearing he was? But as soon as that cuteness appeared, it vanished again. 

“Of course I wouldn't eat you,” he whispered, slowly sinking to his knees, “But I wouldn't say no to a taste.” 

You gasped as you were suddenly pushed flat onto your back. Rough hands roughly gripped the back of your knees, yanking you forward with surprising strength before pinning them open.

Your cunt was completely exposed to him and he groaned at the sight. There wasn't even a second for you to feel embarrassed before his tongue was diving between your folds. 

The first thing you noticed was how hot his tongue was. The second thing you noticed was the foreign texture — similar to a cat's tongue only much softer. You could feel the barbs slide over your clit, making your hips jump. 

Jimin moaned, sliding his tongue against your entrance to collect more of your sweet arousal. His lashes fluttered, enjoying the way you tightened around the intrusion.

Your fingers found purchase in his hair, not pulling but holding on. He grinned against your pussy, using two fingers to spread you open. Pulling back, he watched your hole spasm and your clit twitch in arousal. 

“So small…” he whispered, bringing two fingers to your entrance, “How will you take my cock?” 

“Fuck…” you gasped as he worked the two digits in. Your eyes rolled back at the light stretch, biting your lip as soon as he started scissoring them. 

“Does that feel good?” he asked.

“S-So good...another finger, please,” you whined, a beg he quickly abided. 

Jimin let out a soft moan of his own as he worked to fit the third digit in. Your walls were squeezing him tightly, trying to suck him in deeper. 

“Y-Your tongue, please make me cum, Jimin,” you begged, lightly tugging on his hair. 

He groaned at the feeling, the slight pain making his cock pulse. He had never been harder in his life. 

Leaning forward, he swirled his tongue around your clit. Your reaction was instantaneous, your back arching as your walls squeezed tight. 

He felt your body trembling, tensing and your breathing picking up. Working harder, he worked his fingers inside of you. Suddenly, he hit a spot that had you exploding. 

You cried his name, arching so beautifully as you gushed around his fingers. He groaned at the feeling of his fingers becoming soaked in your cum. Diligently, he worked your spasming clit until you were pushing him away from the sensitive bud. 

Pulling back, he pulled his fingers from your cunt. Your thighs immediately snapped shut as you trembled, coming down from the high. 

He brought his fingers to his lips, enveloping them one by one to lick your cum off of them. He could feel his underwear sticking to his length from the amount of precum he was leaking. His cock ached, desperate to be buried inside of you. 

He stood suddenly, gaining your attention once more. You had more or less settled down while he was in his own world. Sitting up, you watched as he stripped. 

His shirt was first, dropped to a pile on the floor. Then he pushed his sweatpants down, revealing his boxers. You licked your lips at the sight. 

He was big and it made your throb with want. 

Finally, he pulled the last article down and he was as bare as you. 

His cock was very similar to a humans in shape. It was thicker than any you'd ever taken and it was drooling precum in strings to the floor. Your mouth watered at the sight and you shuffled forward.

Jimin watched you curiously as you grabbed his hip, urging him to the edge of the bed. You looked up at him and wrapped your hand around the base — your fingers not able to touch around him. 

He shivered visibly, goosebumps rising all over his skin as he reached out to grab your wrist. 

“F-Fuck…” he whimpered. 

“Are you sensitive Jimin?” you teased. The glare he shot you sent shivers down your spine. 

Leaning forward, you took the thick head of him into your mouth. His head fell backward and he moaned — a long, drawn out moan you'd only ever dreamed of hearing a man make. 

You sucked the head of him, mouth already stretched without going any further. His cock was so fat and drooling precum on your tongue with every pulse you could feel of the thick vein on the underside. 

Swirling your tongue around him, his breathing hitched you could see his body tense before a bitter taste coated your tastebuds. 

Your cunt was soaking by then. He had cum just from you sucking the head of his cock. 

When you pulled off, his cheeks were flushed and his lips were parted with his heavy breathing. You swallowed his cum down, the consistency a little more watery than a human’s cum. 

Things were still for a moment before you noticed he was still just as hard as before — and leaking more precum. He moved forward, wrapping a hand around your throat to maneuver you into moving you backwards. 

You were laying with your head in the pillows, Jimin sitting on his knees. He wrapped his hand around his cock and stroked himself with a sigh. 

“Pull your knees up to your chest, show me your little cunt,” he whispered. 

You did as your were told, hooking your hands beneath your knees to pull them to your chest. You were completely exposed, your dripping pussy utterly vulnerable to him.

He shuffled forward, positioning his cock at your entrance before pausing. 

“Will you even be able to take me?” he asked, the fat head of him sliding over you sensitive clit. 

“Y-Yes please, please give it to me,” you begged, watching the way his length parted your folds. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, finally looking up at you, “I don't want to hurt you.”

Your heart fluttered as you smiled, “It's okay, Jimin, it'll feel good.” 

He seemed to relax slightly before the tip finding its way to your entrance once again. 

Neither of your breathed as he began to sink into you. The stretch burned, your pussy not used to taking something so big. Reaching down, you circled your clit as he stuffed you full.

He watched as more and more of his cock disappeared inside of you. Quickly, he bottomed out — bumping against your cervix. You gasped at the feeling and he pulled back slightly.

“Does that hurt?” he asked, cocking his head to the side curiously.

“A-A little…just don't go all the way, okay?” you asked, making him smile and nod.

Of course he wouldn't do anything to hurt you. 

Replacing your hands on the back of your thighs, he pulled out — your juices clung to his cock and made his mouth water. Pushing back in, he was mindful to not go all the way just like you asked him. 

Your moans rose in volume and he could feel your body tremble beneath him. His eyes were on the way your cunt was stuffed so fucking full with him. He didn't know how you were even taking him but it was the hottest thing he'd ever seen. 

You were so wet that every movement was mingled with the slick sounds of your arousal. Reaching down, he brushed his thumb over your clit, making your mewl in pleasure. He could feel the way you clenched even harder around him as he circled the bud. 

“Jimin...y-you'll make me cum…” you warned, voice wobbly as your body was jostled with the movement of his thrusts. 

He looked up at your face finally, your mouth was open and your eyes were glassy with pleasure. You were beautiful and it made his heart flutter. 

“Want you to cum,” he whispered, working his thumb in circles as he continued to fuck you. His cock was so big he didn't even have to try to touch your spot — he couldn't avoid it. 

He worked you for less than a minute before you were cumming. Your walls spasmed around him and he felt the hot gush of your cum sprinkle across his skin and over his cock. He cursed, his own cock throbbing in pure arousal at the sight of your squirting for him. 

Your cries were of pure ecstasy and it sent him to his own high.

You felt him still, his mouth falling open before a low whine escape his lips. His cock pulsed a few times before he was filling you with cum. 

You were surprised by how much there was — much more than he'd released in your mouth. It filled your cunt up and kept coming. His cock plugging your entrance made it impossible for it to leak out. 

It was hot and you could feel his cock throb with every spurt of cum he released. You felt so full and for some reason it turned you on to be so full of his cum. 

Finally, after what seemed like ages, he began to pull out. As expected, his cum gushed out once able to. It leaked to the bed and you mentally cringed as you realized what a mess it'll be to clean.

Jimin seemed transfixed on the way your ruined cunt drooled his cum. He had marked you as his — it was his scent on you now. 

“_______…” he whispered, crawling up to cover your body with his.

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours, meeting your eyes. You were still obviously recovering but you still reached up to cup his cheek.

“I think...I think I really love you,” he whispered, watching as your eyes widened, “You're the only person who has ever...cared for me. I want to stay with you forever.” 

You smiled, wrapping your arms around him in a hug, “I love you too, lovebug.”

He beamed at the nickname, pulling back to press his lips against yours. It was soft again, he was pouring every ounce of his love into it. 

His touch was soft as he treated you like you were the most precious thing in his life. 

And to him, you were. You were his everything.

[emma-d-klutz]

IF I were to write a Maribat fic

It would be mostly a played for comedy and drama take on “Marinette picked up this whole Bat thing way too quickly.”

Like, post Miracle Queen, Marinette is just overtaken with so much guilt about Master Fu and is also desperate for a new mentor to be a replacement and a distraction from the blame she puts on herself and the burden of being the new Guardian. She is absolutely sure she is not ready to be in charge.

She calls Damian and asks for an audience with Batman. Damian is like, “Oh, isn’t this the girl who kicked me out of Paris? What was it you said? ‘No Gothamites in my city.’ Isn’t that what you said? Didn’t you say you can’t have our “type” of vigilante in Paris, because we’re too, what was it, overemotional? Is this that girl who is on my com right now? The one who rejected joining the Teen Titans? That’s you? You want me to TALK to my FATHER? I would barely ask him a favor for someone I actually LIKE.” Except then she kind of blows up at him and tells him the situation, and Damian gets real quiet and listens, and he feels a little sick because he’s remembering the Ric Grayson situation and also Alfred’s most recent death, which he ALSO blames himself for, so like... they got shit in common. He says he’ll talk to Batman about a video call.

Cut to three months later, Marinette has just THROWN HERSELF into being Batman’s disciple. She calls him Master. She practices fighting day and night out of the suit, and IN the suit she uses her powers for training and is often seen sprinting for miles or scaling the Eiffel Tower with only her upper body strength. She comes to school covered in bruises and with the darkest circles under her eyes, and her friends are WORRIED, they really are, but she’s like 80% less bubbly then usual, so no one is really confronting her and are just silently wondering what the heck happened. Most people assume that this has something to do with her taking Adrien and Kagami being an official couple really hard. 

For fashion design, well. Marinette has gotten really into armor lately.... huh.  (It’s because the Batfam encourages her to not rely on a magic suit that can turn off at the worse time, and she is convinced she must be prepared to be Ladybug at any and all times. If anything, she’s lamenting that she doesn’t know how to make weapons.) (She got a grappling hook styled like a yo yo as a present from Master Bat.) 

She texts Kagami out of the blue one day like,  >>Hey. Come over. I am in the process of making my masterwork >>Oh and bring a sword >>A sharpened one, not a training sword And Kagami comes over to see a twitchy (”ok that’s pretty normal”) super serious (”well that’s not. she’s usually so flighty and indecisive”) Marinette. And in the place where there was once an Adrian shrine and stalking schedule is now what seems to be a Hawkmoth shrine and stalking schedule. Marinette brings out what looks sort of like shiny silk with jewels woven in, and Kagami’s assumption is corrected. No. It’s a polymerized titanium she synthesized herself with light elemental defense crystals woven in by hand. Marinette is very proud. It’s a prototype. She plans on making a material that can be beautiful formalwear and as stab-proof as any kevlar. But it’s still a prototype so Kagami can you pretty please do some slashing and stabbing on it pretty please? See she wants it to be really good before giving it to her other Sword Friend, because Dami is a really harsh judge, and her motivation just won’t be able to take it if she gets notes from him this early on in the process. Kagami is actually really on board and helpful in this venture. 

She does like indirectly ask Marinette if she’s heartbroken of if she’s with Luka or what have you, and Marinette just gets really harsh and says she has other priorities. She also makes some grandiose proclamation that neither of them are good enough for Adrien, because Adrien is pure goodness, he’s kindness and forgiveness personified, and it’s just... it’s just... it would be really clear to anyone who has ever heard Batman wax poetic about Superman where she is getting this highkey cringe behavior.

She’s on video calls with Batman all the time. They definitely have a conversation that goes something like this:

“I am certain the mean girl from my school is working for my main supervillain.” “Good. You can find him through her.” “Yess! I have been looking forward to the chance. I am going to interrogate her.” “Ladybug, no.” “I am going to tie her up with my yoyo and dangle her over the highest skyscraper in Paris and tell her I’ll drop her if she doesn’t tell me the identity and location of Hawkmoth.” “Befriend her at school and track her movements.” “Ok but wouldn’t it be quicker to dangle her off a building?” “You’re letting your emotions about someone from your civilian life interfere with your judgement and letting yourself act hastily and with negligence, which is exactly how you lost your first mentor.” “Ah....... you’re right. I’m sorry, Master. I won’t be reckless.” “Good. Tap her cell phone.”

As for Chat Noir, he is FREAKED OUT by her change and all the secrets she’s keeping now. And her behavior towards him has REALLY changed. Well not too much, but it’s noticeable in a way that unnerves him sometimes. Like she’s become a super serious workaholic, but she’s also insanely protective of him, to the point where he feels a bit resentful that he’s not being treated as a competent partner. He’s really trying to get Ladybug to talk out what she’s going through, and he’s anxious all the time that she’s on the cusp of becoming akumatized. Honestly, he���s not wrong on that part. He knows that this is all because she blames herself for Master Fu, and he is also aware that she is spending much more time in contact with that Robin from Gotham who they met once or twice, and he knows she’s keeping some secrets, but NO he is not aware for at least half of the story that she is being remotely trained by Batman. She’s telling him to shut up a lot more and bossing him around more and seems to know way more about Hawkmoth’s movements than him and it feels like he’s out of the loop, but she’s also, like, often spewing out how important he is to her as her partner and keeps giving him handmade pastries and saying, “An army crawls on its stomache,” so like honestly wtf mixed signals much

Batman agreed to mentor her temporarily and has been trying to find someone else from JL to take over, preferably Wonder Woman or Flash, because he agrees with Ladybug’s assessment that to be a hero in Paris it is necessary to have weaponized optimism, or Zatanna or Shazaam, because they could train Ladybug in her magic hopefully. He is told several times that it would be easier to get her mentorship if she agreed to join Teen Titans or Young Justice, which of course they all know, so thanks, but Ladybug would def refuse to leave Paris and her partner, so her joining YJ isn’t really up for discussion. 

Flash said that she’s great but that, “She’s SUCH a Bat,” and that clearly she’s so attached to him that she should just stay one of his. Batman asserts that she is only being like this because she is desperate for a mentor, and if someone else took her on, she’d probably/hopefully change again just as fast. Flash says he isn’t so sure, and that at this delicate point in time, being handed off to someone else might, like, retraumatize her or smth. 

Ladybug literally started breaking fingers interrogating someone.

It is on camera.

The LadyBlog is in SHOCK.

No one knows what to do.

Even Hawkmoth sees the video footage and is like, “Jeez, am I... Mayura, are we in over our heads here? Did we break the teen hero? Is this our fault?”

Anyway, those are all my favorite ideas of the ones I’ve daydreamed so far. There is also stuff about how she interacts with the other members of the Batfam and that she uses the Horse Miraculous to travel to Gotham to be trained in hand-to-hand and also to just sob for hours and scream at things because she CAN’T let her emotions out like that in Paris and the bafflement of the Batkids like “you... came to GOTHAM... to NOT repress your emotions. um, k.” And Cass loves her and thinks she is Baby Sister and if someone is mean to baby sister in front of her she will stare into your soul until you are quiet ect ect many ideas. 

The reason this is an IF and not a WHEN:

dudes I have no plot

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: F Boy (again)

Debut: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

It feels so strange to look back on my very first post for this blog! It’s so... dry! Where’s the passion? Back then I really had no idea what I was doing and was just kind of imitating Mod Chikako hoping nobody would notice... but thanks to all the love this blog has received, I think I can write with a lot more confidence now! Not to get all sappy on the first paragraph, but I really appreciate everyone who reads this blog with all of my heart. And that includes You!

But if I’d known I’d spend several years using the moniker “Mod F Boy”, I probably would’ve put more thought into the name I picked, huh? I’m not even sure I’m a boy anymore! I just thought the name was funny and that was that! But given how indecisive I can be, maybe it’s a good thing it was so spontaneous... Like it or not though, I am more attached to the concept of “F Boy” then I was three and a half years ago, so it’s only fair I give F Boy the post he deserves and write a whole lot more about him! 

Believe it or not, F Boy is a fire enemy! A single flame with dot eyes, the classic design they’ve been using since Fire! I’ve expressed love for them in the past, but this little dude is a little different... it isn’t found in a lava or castle stage like you might expect, but the spoooky scaaary stages, AKA Pumpkin Zone! Why’s that?

Enter the hitodama! Literally using the characters for “human soul”, these ghostly wisps of fire from Japanese folklore are probably something you’re familiar with even if you don’t know it! The Litwick Pokémon line, the flames on Jibanyan’s tail, the little flames around the boy from the toilet anime, or even the Embers from Paper Mario... that’s really just a couple of specific examples off the top of my head, but they are in basically anything associated with Japanese ghosts! 

Though... all this time I’ve always called them hitodama, but I should probably specify they aren’t the only kind of ghostly fireballs! Onibi (demon fire) are often described similarly, and I’m not totally sure what the difference is! I suppose they would be more demonic hence the name, and probably less of a good idea to get close to. Also, if they're made by fox demons, they’re kitsunebi (fox fire)! Isn’t that neat! But there are no foxes to be found here, so F Boy definitely isn’t that (Unless it stands for Fox Boy...?).

However, you might be more familiar with the concept of will-o’-the-wisps, a similiar kind of legend from Europe- in fact, a whole number of cultures around the world have stories of ghostly lights and flames! There’s two explanations for this, either that it is a misunderstanding caused by some chemical reaction (boring, lame) or that hitodama are real and really exist for real (fun, exciting)! I encourage everyone to go outside with a net and catch as many as they can. 

Even though hitodama can be red or orange in some traditional accounts, they’re mostly described as blue and most modern media sticks with that! Which makes it quite weird that F Boy... isn’t! He is a rather fetching orange of course, and without the added context of spooky old Pumpkin Land you wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking he is a lava enemy that just got lost or something! 

Now, moving on to a completely different topic, something else that is great about F Boy is his little cheeks. Have you seen them? Here is the picture one more time in case you forgot after all that. He doesn’t have one in the sprite, so isn’t it quite weird to give a fireball enemy such distinct little cheeks? I want to squeeze them, even if they are probably intangible. 

And finally, we come to the part we’ve all been waiting for- the name! You were thinking it, I was thinking it, it’s probably the only reason I chose to write about him in the first place! Because F Boy is a funny name for an enemy! I think it’s just quite silly to describe a fireball as a “boy” in the first place, as a term of endearment. It is just a boy! A little guy! He’s not hurting anyone! 

But then they add to that name- one letter. That one letter, F. It changes everything. All of a sudden, there’s a question floating in the air- what, pray tell, does the F in F Boy stand for? 

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you might remember we added an addendum to the original F Boy post, saying the mystery had finally been solved- the English version of the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia lists his name as Fireball Boy, which is a pretty definitive answer right?

But since then, it’s been more or less exposed that this translation took a bunch of unsourced and conjectural names from the Mario Wiki, leading to something of a controversy and a Mario Wiki page that is essentially just roasting the whole thing! If even the Wiki doesn’t accept this book as an official source, I wonder if there’s any merit to the name Fireball Boy at all! Either way it’s odd how this is the ONLY name they changed... do they know something we don’t? I dunno! 

My next evidence to present to the court is something that isn’t really related to F Boy at all! Rather, in Super Paper Mario, the Lava Bubble enemy has a tattle that reads the following:

It's a Lava Bubble. This fiery magma boy loves the heat... Max HP is 1 and Attack is 4. Obviously, it's quite immune to fire... It pops out from below when people approach, so take care when jumping over lava...

Fiery magma boy! The chances of this bit of text being intended as a reference are very very slim, but what if, you see? What if? It’s still a fun coincidence, but what if though??

But of course, my favourite possibility is that it isn’t a word related to fire at all and is actually something completely different! I looked up a list of adjectives beginning with F and I’d like to highlight ones I want F Boy to have. Fabulous! Friendly! Faithful. Fantastic. Fascinating! French? Fresh! Fun, and Funky! Faultless. Fetching. Feminist! Festive. Formidable. All these and more describe the complex soul that is F Boy. 

After all is said and done, that is F Boy! Who would’ve thought that a little monochrome fireball enemy from a Game Boy game could have kicked off so many months of writing for this blog? I said in the first paragraph that I would not get too sappy, but now we are in the last one I can be as sappy as I dang well please! This blog has brought me such incredible joy and friendship that you can’t even imagine, and my only hope is that I can convey these feelings to even one person who reads these silly posts. If you are reading this? I hope you have a wonderful day! I hope you have a wonderful life! I hope you never forget to be passionate about the things that really don’t matter at all, because no one else can decide for you what is worth caring about! Mwah! A kiss goodbye. I’m not sure how to end this post. 

[renaerys]

Prompt 50. But Berserk & Boomer😔👉👈💕

50. “I thought you left.”

We’re calling this one Unfortunately, She Impressed Him. This is a pair of characters I love with all my heart in any flavor of relationship and can’t wait to write more of in my ongoing multi-chapter fic Trinity House over on AO3.

This fic is part of a prompt challenge that is now closed to new requests, but you can read all the completed submissions here. Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we’re getting creative here.

xxx

Boomer was halfway across the deserted lobby of Faust Keating Rogers, LLP when he realized he’d forgotten his keys at his desk. He groaned aloud because it was 8 p.m. and no one was around to hear him because they had all gone home to their families hours ago like normal people. Boomer didn’t have two to three kids and a house in the suburbs, though, and neither did his boss. The three hour lull reserved for dinner, baths, and bedtimes before the evening work-from-home grind offered him no alternative but to power through. He fully planned to grab take out on his way home and enjoy an episode of whatever was on HBOMax before getting back to the tedious work of reviewing the draft prospectus statement his boss had sent him to proof by tomorrow morning.

Except, his keys were forty floors up and he now had to risk running into her again when he’d managed to slip away so neatly. He’d even removed his tie on the elevator ride down, and now he rubbed his exposed neck, flushed with anxiety over what might happen if she saw him and asked him to stick around to finish the work here.

“Nice going, dumbass,” he lamented as he stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the fortieth floor.

It wasn’t that Boomer disliked his job. In fact, he didn’t mind it at all. It was better than slinging drinks or waiting tables. He had health insurance, a steady paycheck, and a resumé that could proudly display the name of one of the most elite accounting firms in the country. He could pivot his career if he wanted to, as Brick would say. Boomer wasn’t thinking about his next job right now, though. Right now, he was thinking about this one and how his boss was a hard-ass and a workaholic even if she was brilliant, and how there was a one hundred percent chance she would detect him coming back to his desk (which was annoyingly set up right in front of her office so that he could answer her calls, manage her meetings, and deal with whoever passed close enough to her event horizon to get suckered into the latest heinous audit in need of staffing).

There were his traitorous keys sitting on the desk next to the framed picture of his brothers. He glared at them, as if they were a forgotten household item that had developed a supernatural grudge like in those old Japanese folktales he liked to read online. He half expected them to jingle and alert his boss to his presence, just to spite him.

They didn’t, and he slipped them into his pocket as quietly as could be. He released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and took a beat. It was quiet. Most of the offices were dark, save for a few poor souls in the large conference room stuck on the ongoing year-end audit for one of the firm’s most important clients: Unicorn, Inc. His boss’s office was also lit up behind her closed door, but she hadn’t called out to him like she would during the day when he got back from his lunch break hoping for a few minutes to catch up on emails in peace before she dumped more work on him.

This, of course, was odd. The small legion of assistants who had come before Boomer were notorious for their short-term employment working this specific desk. The work was demanding and so was the boss, but there was something else that set her apart from other senior associates in the International Tax Services division, something that seemed to intimidate away any support the higher ups sent her way. Denise a couple desks down had warned Boomer not to bring too many personal effects to the office; chances were he wasn’t going to last long. Boomer had smiled thinly and thanked Denise for her advice, and brought the picture of his brothers in the next morning because he had his pride and Brick told him it was healthy to indulge that once in a while. Brick would certainly know.

So here he was, uncertain. Anxiety over having to sit here for another two hours finishing work and having tepid Doordash delivered pulled him toward the elevator and escape, while that annoying, rare pride demanded he check on his boss and make sure she knew he was here to support her, lest she get the idea that he needed to be fired.

The longer he stood there, indecisive, the greater his curiosity grew. What was she doing in there? It was quiet, even when he strained his Super hearing. He could hear Dean Matheson pouring whiskey a few offices down (that guy had a drinking problem and everyone knew they only kept him around because he had the Unicorn, Inc. account), Adebayo Hansou on a conference call with Dubai that was escalating to profanity, Shelly Kim with her head down and typing away at an Excel spreadsheet like a pro. Their assistants were long gone for the night, but here was Boomer, loitering and indecisive and what is she doing in there not yelling at me when she definitely knows I’m here?

He couldn’t take it anymore. He knocked on the closed door—rap, rap, rap—and called out softly, “Berserk?”

A beat, then: “Come in.”

Finding his boss in upward facing dog while still in her pencil skirt was not a sight Boomer was prepared for. Berserk had her eyes closed as she stretched at a near ninety degree angle and listened to music on her Airpods. Boomer had never seen her with her heels off and her mane of red hair thrown together in a messy bun; it was so casual that it was almost obscene.

“You’re staring.”

Fuck, he was staring and now she was looking right at him down her nose, even though she was the one on the floor. He stood up straighter, unable to help himself when she took that tone that reminded him so much of Brick’s when he was about to criticize, but he didn’t avert his gaze. “Sorry.”

She breathed in deeply through her nose and hoisted herself up into downward dog position. “Why are you here?”

Forgot my keys seemed like a really lame excuse that she’d probably laugh at him for, but he also was not in the habit of making shit up on the spot if he hoped to make people believe him. “I forgot my keys.” He took them from his pocket to show her, as if she might not know what keys are, as a concept.

“Smart locks.” Berserk exhaled and slowly walked her hands back on the yoga mat until she reached her feet and began to swing slowly left and right.

Huh? he almost said like an idiot, until he caught himself. “Don’t think my landlord would approve of me installing that.” Also, those things were like $200 a pop, which was not worth the occasional inconvenience and shame of forgetting his keys and then catching his boss doing yoga in her office after hours.

Berserk made some noncommittal sound like whatever, peasant and slowly uncurled upward one vertebra at a time. Boomer realized he was back to staring again, literally lingering in her door watching her and trying to equate this subdued, casual version of Berserk with the terse, no-nonsense businesswoman he was used to dealing with on a daily basis.

When she finally achieved her full height, she popped her neck. The hair that was too short for her bun fell in around her narrow face in a stylish, athleisure sort of way. The top buttons on her blouse were undone. She wore a small, golden necklace he’d never noticed before because he wasn’t in the habit of checking out his boss. “I thought you left.”

The accusatory nature of her words were totally at odds with her flat tone, only the barest hint of curiosity dangling there at the end, like she expected him to respond.

Oh, she expected him to respond.

Boomer took another step into her office because he was full of poor judgment today. “I forgot my keys.”

At which point he showed her his keys again and also had a mild stroke, because what the fuck are you doing, mate?

Berserk smiled. “Yeah, I got that part.”

Was she laughing at him? He had never heard her laugh before, unless it was at Dean Matheson, that comb-over in denial who, in addition to being a high functioning alcoholic, also had a reputation for throwing associates under the bus when a client wasn’t happy.

Boomer smiled back, because that was what he did when people smiled at him, and ‘people’ now included Berserk, apparently.

“Well, since you’re here,” she said as she padded around to her desk.

Crap, there was the work he was afraid of soliciting from her by remaining in the building. He debated an excuse to give her: picking up dry cleaning? Plausible, but transparent. Meeting up with his brothers? No, she’d probably make him stay all night for the chance to ruin Brick’s plans.

“Thai or Mexican?”

Boomer stared dumbly. He was becoming quite good at that (10,000 hours and you can become an expert at anything, they say). “Huh?”

The yoga must have put Berserk in an exceedingly gracious mood, because she actually repeated her question without getting that look on her face like she was picturing him getting trampled by stampeding monsters. “Thai or Mexican? I don’t have a preference.”

Oh.

Oh.

Boomer’s stomach picked that time to snarl at him—8 p.m. and still no dinner, the fiend.

Berserk snorted in laughter and fanned herself with her phone. “Jesus. Mexican it is.”

Which was how Boomer found himself on the small sofa tucked in the corner of Berserk’s office, shoes off and belt loosened, with enough tacos, tamales, and rice and beans to feed a small family. He even had a beer from the mini fridge Berserk kept under her desk.

She hadn’t stayed late to work. Well, she had, but only because she didn’t have a reason to go home.

“I just hate getting home to a dark apartment sometimes,” she said in between bites of food. She had her legs tucked up under her on the sofa close enough to brush Boomer’s thigh if he reached to grab the salsa.

“I thought you lived with your sister?”

“Brute got her own place a few months ago. The arrangement was only temporary while she was in between jobs.”

It was weird knowing so little about a person whose whole family had been in Boomer’s inner orbit since childhood. As far as he knew, Berserk wasn’t close to any of her cousins, not even Blossom. Boomer himself had never been more eager to leave a room than when Brat walked into it. Only Butch, Brute, and Buttercup had ever found common ground among each other once the sworn rivalries and blood feuds of their youth gave way to teenage rebellion against their respective overlord fathers and then the slog of adulthood that was inescapable even for a bunch of Supers flying high on Chemical X.

The fact that Boomer had gotten this job surprised him more than anyone. After drifting from restaurant jobs to office temp placements over the last six years, he’d never thought he would dust off his economics degree and land a temp-to-permanent position that seemed way above his qualifications. And he never thought it would be working for a woman he’d most definitely electrocuted in battle at least a dozen times before puberty.

“What?”

Boomer blinked. He’d been staring again, Jesus Christ. “Sorry, I was just thinking… I didn't know that. I’ve been working here for five months and I don’t actually know much about you at all.”

“Hm.”

Her magenta eyes were wine-dark against the murky sky beyond the window forty stories up. Boomer did avert his gaze this time to reach for the salsa, but he didn’t use it.

“I don’t even know why you invited me to stay for dinner in the office if we’re not going to do any work.”

“Why did you stay?”

“For the free food.”

Berserk grinned—the third time she had smiled at him tonight (or ever). He needed to stop counting; he’d be disappointed when it stopped happening tomorrow.

“Don’t get used to it. Much as I appreciate the company now and again, there’s no need for both of us to be stuck here while Matheson’s breathing down the associates’ necks. Can’t have him poaching you out from under me.”

“Well, I don’t work for him; I work for you.”

“It’s sweet how you don’t understand office politics.” She ate a lone slice of avocado with a fork. “He landed Unicorn back when they were early stage, and back when he was still putting in the work to earn his reputation. But since they IPO’d three years ago and make up twenty percent of our revenue now, he’s just another big name coasting by on associate work. You know he regularly schedules client calls and just doesn’t bother to show up? He forgets half the time, and the other half he’s busy playing golf or buying a yacht or whatever the fuck rich, white Boomers do.”

“Well, as a Boomer myself, I can say I’ve spent exactly zero hours buying yachts.”

She chuckled. Fourth time. “Oh, really.”

“Never even thought of yachts. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not even real.”

“Thanks for your expert opinion.”

“Any time.” Boomer turned his body to face her and draped his arm over the back of the sofa. With only the soft light from the floor lamp in the corner, he imagined himself adrift in the darkness, the sky scraper lights nearby stars. It was a lonely thought, one made romantic in the knowledge that she was here too, and he wasn’t actually alone.

“Matheson almost did poach you, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Boomer couldn’t recall exchanging more than a few words with the man.

“When we were filling support positions. Someone recognized you from the news a few years back, when the Cyclops Monster attacked the marina district and you and your brothers took it out. Matheson got it in his head that you’d be able to work at Super speed and help lower his billables.”

“Wow. Maybe you should’ve let him. What do you think the net savings would be in yacht units of measurement?”

Berserk rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again. “I claimed you before he could get the paperwork in.”

Boomer hyper-focused on that word: claimed. He also pointedly ignored it entirely, much in the same way he ignored the new count of five smiles tonight. “Showed him your bending powers, did you?”

Berserk’s Corona bottle turned frosty under her hand in a totally unnecessary, big dick energy display of said powers, and she took another sip. “No. Sharon from HR likes me. And I promised her I wouldn’t fire you after three months like your predecessors.”

Flattered was not how Boomer would describe the feeling of being claimed by Berserk and eluding Matheson’s vampiric clutches. But he was a bit tickled all the same. This was the woman Butch had once described as essentially Brick, if he were constipated all the time.

And then he realized what she was doing. “Hey, you’re sharing things about yourself.”

She clinked her bottle to his, and Boomer shivered at the frosty chill she transferred on contact. “Aw, you figured it out all by yourself.”

“Ha ha.”

She didn’t quite smile, but she did look kind of serene then, content even, as she lay back against the arm of the sofa and yawned. Her gold necklace—just a simple disk with an engraving Boomer could not make out—reflected the lamp light when she moved. It rested just beneath her collarbone, which had suddenly become the single-most interesting part of Berserk, and oh no, was he interested—

“You’re staring again.”

Son of a bitch.

“Sorry,” he said automatically. “I didn’t mean to.”

Hard no. He was not allowed to be any percent attracted to Berserk. First, she was his boss, and there was a cliché here that, while subverted on the gender role spectrum, was still very risky for both of them. Second, she was Berserk, a fellow Super, cousin to his best friend Bubbles and a shrewd, stiletto bitch in Brick’s estimation, which sounded bad. Not that she was bad, or even evil, unless you counted helping rich corporations accurately report their taxes while taking advantage of the many egregious loopholes in the Internal Revenue Code. Which, okay, point taken, but he also worked here and anyway, people should not be deemed good or evil so much as their choices ought to be—

“Are you thinking about fucking me?”

You shrewd, stiletto bitch!

She was smiling again, and Boomer pathetically logged that as the sixth time, although he wasn’t sure he should count it given the overt malice behind it.

Unfortunately, Boomer was, as had been previously established, very bad at making shit up on the fly. So he miserably said, “Yeah.”

“Hm.”

She sipped her beer slowly, and of course he watched. If it was out in the open, as fleeting a bout of insanity as it may have been, at least he could wallow in it without worrying about appearances.

It was the yoga. That fucking upward facing dog, Jesus Christ.

It was more than that too. Over the last few months, he had worked closely with her, watched her navigate the cutthroat halls full of piranhas like Matheson and other account managers, getting herself work on the best clients while managing her juniors with efficiency and professionalism. She was excellent and sharp, and she demanded excellency and sharpness in kind. After years of going it alone or temping for bosses who didn’t care enough even to learn his name, much less provide him with guidance and mentorship, it was an unspeakable relief to work under someone who knew how to rally the troops. Someone who knew how to lead, how to motivate, and how to reward loyalty with loyalty in return. It didn’t hurt that she looked amazing in her daily stilettos, either.

Unfortunately, she impressed him.

“I have some work to get done tonight.” Berserk stood up and smoothed her skirt.

Boomer scrambled to his feet. “Of course! Um.” He began closing food containers and repackaging them in the bags they’d come in, because he was panicking. “I’ll get rid of the trash. Do you want the leftovers in the fridge?”

“You take them. Otherwise my office will smell like a burrito for a week.”

“Okay.” Numbly, Boomer finished packing everything up, while Berserk made her way back to her desk and logged into her computer to check her emails.

Boomer lingered at the door. “I’ll have the prospectus back to you later tonight.”

“Thanks.”

Wow, way to go, stud.

He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

“Boomer?”

“Yeah?”

“Friday is good.”

He stared back at her in expert mode. “Huh?”

Berserk poked her head around the side of her large, external monitor. She was smiling again. Lucky number seven. “For fucking.”

“Okay,” Boomer said.

Okay?!

She pulled back behind her monitor. “I was going to get a cat, but you’ll do much better.”

Because she didn’t like going home to a dark, empty apartment alone. With no one to fuck.

“That was a joke.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he croaked.

Friday is for fucking, he thought, which was delightful alliteration and also completely insane and one hundred percent something he was getting more on board with by the nanosecond.

“See you tomorrow,” she said.

Boomer clutched the leftover Mexican food in his fist. “Okay. Goodnight.”

It took him the time to fly home and put the food away in his small fridge to realize that he had a sort-of date with Berserk lined up for two days from now.

He Y-posed at the window and whooped, “Hell yes!!”

Loud pounding in the floor followed by old Mrs. Cruikshank’s muffled Keep it down! couldn’t bring down his mood.

Boomer leaped onto his threadbare, living room sofa with his work laptop and took to the prospectus with alacrity. He’d send over superior work product and make Berserk’s job just that much easier tomorrow morning.

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House (which has a lot more Berserk and Boomer content, btw!) and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

[tangledinmdzs]

MDZS (you pick ;) ) characters coming back to their room and seeing their girlfriend shoving a sweater of theirs in her shirt and she makes up the excuse “I think I left my ____ in the car” and they grab her (like snuggle, tickle, hug, kiss. You pick again ;) ) thanks in advance!!

my friend, how could you ask the most indecisive writer to make a choice (haha). alright, i think i’ll go with characters that i have been meaning to write more about: Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, Nie Mingjue & Lan Xichen 

as for the rest, you’ll just have to read and find out (⌒.−)＝★

here’s to your request~

»»————-　♡　————-««

Xiao Xingchen

Xingchen opens the door to his room, planning on popping in to grab his sweater when he clearly sees said sweater being balled up 

and pushed under your very baggy hoodie

which was also his

you turn around and freeze in your steps, a culprit caught clear in the act

you blink at him as you both stare at each other

when he lifts an amused eyebrow at you, you stutter out the excuse that was forming haphazardly in your head

“i-i think i left my wallet...”

the excuse dies in your mouth when Xingchen lifts your mini wallet up from his side, walking into his bedroom with a teasing smile on his lips

“i thought someone told me that they had already gone out to the car,” Xingchen asks when he gets close enough

he’s cornered you into the little space in front of his closet

and now he’s figured out the mystery of his dwindling hoodie supply

“well...that’s where i’m going now,” you try, your final attempt at an excuse when he simply puts an arm against the closet door, and one a bit lower when you try to squeeze past him

he’s bracketed you in

and he thinks its cute that you’ve even attempt to escape anyways

“i’ve finally caught the hoodie stealer,” Xingchen teases at you and you avoid his eyes, squeezing his balled up sweater under your hoodie tight

“can i keep it?” you ask, suddenly, using your magical powers of cuteness to hopefully amp up the persuasion

Xingchen looks down at you a little surprised at your face

a lot love struck by your adorableness

seeing the silent yes in his eyes, you try to sneak out of his arms only for him to close in on you

easily he leans in for a kiss, melding so well with your lips that his sweater drops from under your tight hold onto the floor soundlessly

he gets his sweater back and a kiss from you 

Song Lan

“is that...?”

you quickly turn away at the sound from behind you, pushing the sweater up and over your chest area

acting like it was part of there

you turn around, arms akimbo, accentuating the floppy way your sweater was wrapped around your chest

Song Lan huffs out a half laugh, and you take it as belief, for you simply walk up to him and get ready to leave his room

but he doesn’t budge from the doorway

“...i....think i left my phone in the car...let me go get it...”

but Song Lan leans comfortably on the doorway, leaning down closer to your height

“your phone’s in the car? i thought i remembered you using it when you came in,” Song Lan recalls, rebuffs you so easily 

“well...i have another phone” you tell him 

“no you don’t-” 

at that you try to sneak past him

and it would have worked, if it wasn’t for his super long legs

you trip and nearly fall losing your sock and his sweater

but he pulls you into his chest at the last second, arms hugging you tightly 

for a moment, you don’t breath, just reveling in the scent of him all around you

but then...

“you can’t...” you stutter out, trying to get out his arms

ever since his diagnosis with mysophobia, he hadn’t held you in a while

and you don’t know what would happen if he would

you don’t want anything to happen to him-

“it’s okay, i want to hold you” he says, wrapping a solid hand tighter around your shoulders

it takes you an extra moment

but at his words, you ease into his chest, finally hearing his heartbeat against your ear

after much too long

the sweater of his that you’re hiding warms between your embrace

Nie Mingjue 

“i think i left my...”

Nie Mingjue lifts an unimpressed eyebrow at you, crossing his arms at the way you’re very very clearing folding his grey hoodie

god knows you’ve stolen enough of them already

he only has like one left

“y/n,” Mingjue begins, low voice echoing in his bedroom

but you’re undeterred, continuing to fold his clothes into a tighter ball so you can stuff it into your bag

“it’s for important purposes babe,” you tell him, seriously and Mingjue’s face breaks out into a half smile despite himself

“more important than keeping me warm?” Mingjue questions

because it’s winter and he’s stuck walking around the house in t-shirts because his lover decided to hijack his entire sweater collection

“yes”

and that answer seals your fate

you know that your attempt to get pass pro wrestler Nie Mingjue is futile, but as his long time partner you think he has enough mercy on you to spare you anyways

but he doesn’t, obviously

his arms wrap around your waist the moment that you’re close enough, lifting you up and over his shoulder 

“put me down put me down!” you laugh and shout at the same time

you get your command soon, thrown onto the bed,

his sweater flies from your arms as he lands on the big king side mattress beside you

before you can even move, he’s swaddling you up in the blankets that he has out, making his favorite look on you

“hi little burrito” he greets, when he’s wrapped you so tightly in blankets that only your face pops out

“Mingjue!” you pout at him, and it just makes his efforts all the more worthwhile

you’re a little annoyed at how tightly you’re wrapped

but when Mingjue’s arms come up to wrap around you again, and you can feel yourself safe in his hold (even amidst all the blankets you’re wrapped in)

you can’t find it in yourself to mind

Lan Xichen

you smile, a very very light attempt at lying

Lan Xichen smiles back at you too

but he can see the sweater your hiding

it’s bulging from your stomach

“whatcha got there?” Lan Xichen asks, as he walks into his room, closer to you

you don’t say anything

because if there’s anything you’ve learned from Xichen it’s that silence can mean anything

yes,

no,

maybe?

who knows!

“i think i left something in the car...i gotta go get it,” you try to divert attention away from the bulging sweater that you’re hiding only for Lan Xichen to surprise you

with a tickle attack!

you squeak and squirm instantly, 

Lan Xichen knows all of your laugh points

and each sensitive area of your body

his hands fly to you so quickly, that when the sweater drops down from all your movement, you can’t even deny him

Lan Xichen laughs, pulls you to the bed to continue to tickle you until you can barely breathe

after he is finished with his relentless prank, his arms stays warm and solid on your waist, 

before you both can fall into a tired sleep (energy worn from laughing too hard), he pulls you into his arms

sleep is easy there

[supercorpkid]

@hermen0404 is this what you had in mind?

Friday is for Family.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader.

Word count: 1471.

You walk in the front door, drop all of your things on the floor, and look around. It’s late, later than what you’re used to get home from school. You hear laughter, and you smell pizza. You’re tempted to leave your backpack and books on the floor by the door, but you know this would probably cause World War 3, so you pick them up again and make your way to the living room.

You’ve been in school all day. There was this physics program you absolutely did not want to join, but Lena suggested it would be good for you, so you can use your brain for something other than robotics, and you went with it. It’s been weeks since you lost the will to disagree to anything. You’ve been saying yes, and oks, and keeping your distance from everyone. At home, at school, at life.

“Hey! There she is!” Kara celebrates your presence like she hasn’t seen you in weeks. It hasn’t been weeks, but last time you actually saw her like this was Monday, and now is Friday. To think that you two live together. “C’mere little one, we bought pizza, potstickers and your favorite dessert for family movie night.” She points at the box of donuts and your lips almost open in a smile. Almost. Not quite.

“Hey babygirl, come join us.” Lena pats the couch next to her with a warm smile and you wonder if they can see how tired and standoffish you are right now.

“I…” Your words falter. You don’t want to join their snuggle on the couch, you don’t want to watch a fluffy film about family, you don’t want to talk about your day, and physics, and powers, and school. Right now, you don’t even want to be a part of this family. “Can’t.”

“What? Why? It’s Friday!” Kara faces drops, she looks genuinely disappointed. Lena furrows her brows. “Friday is for Family.”

You stop yourself from rolling your eyes. Friday is for fucking lame, is what it is.

“Yeah, well. I’ve been in school all day, so.” You hope that will make them understand, but they still look lost at your refusal. “Been talking about physics for hours.”

“Would it help if I agree to watch a musical?” Lena asks expectantly, and on any normal day that would make you jump on the couch next to them and make her watch Mamma Mia, or something cheesy and great like that. But today, you don’t feel like yourself.

“Maybe next family night.” You shrug, and now they are both looking at you like you are the alien in the house. “If you two don’t mind, I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed.” You’re already turning on your heels, and you hear Kara getting up behind you.

“Little one, what’s wrong?” Kara asks, touching your shoulder.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Everything is wrong. Can’t she see it? Being a powerful being at the age of 15 is weighting you down. Everyone that knows that you have superpowers expect you to be doing so much more than just training once a week with your momma. You can see it on their faces. Every time you miss a punch, every time you lose your balance, every time you try to use one of your powers and they just don’t come out. They slightly flinch and you can hear them thinking ‘she’ll never be as good as Supergirl’. And you know this. Rao, you know you’ll never be as good as Supergirl because you are half human. You’re a freaking Frankenstein your mom put together in a lab.

“Are you sure you just don’t want to talk about it?” Lena asks and you inhale deep, and exhale slowly. You don’t want to be rude, but they not letting you simply go take a freaking shower is getting on your nerves.

“Yes. One hundred percent sure. A THOUSAND percent sure.” That you need to talk about it. And you know it. Deep inside you know you have to let them know that the Luthor name is probably one of the worst things that’s ever happened to you. People bully you; they hate you for absolutely no reason; no one in school likes to be around you because they think you might go crazy like Lex and kill them all, and if it wasn’t for your cousin Jamie you would be totally alone. And if that isn’t enough, they also expect you to be this freaking brainiac and know everything. They seem to forget that, yes, even though you’re smarter than other’s 15 years-old, that is still your age and, no, you’re not supposed to be taking over L Corp already. Hell, you don’t even know if you will want that someday.

They know something’s wrong and they are about to push a little further. They know you and you know them. And right now, you can’t do this whole dance.

“May I go take a shower, please?” Oh, you’re not being polite. They know that. You’re being your annoying little brat self they have been welcoming home every day for weeks now.

They don’t answer and you take this time of indecision as a loud yes and you make your way to the bathroom. You can hear them talking about you, trying to figure out what’s wrong.

“Do you think it is an age thing?” Probably.

“Do you think is because I made her do the physics program?” Abso-freaking-lutely.

“Do you think it is about her powers?” Uh, duh?

“Do you think she’s being bullied because of me?” ding ding ding.

And the genius award goes to both of your moms.

After you take a warm bath, you’re a little less angry, upset, annoyed, whatever the hell you’ve been feeling all day. But you still make your way to your bedroom instead of the living room, only to find both of them sitting on your bed, looking as nervous as you feel.

“Kid…” Kara starts. “Come sit with us.”

“Not in the mood to be scolded. Can I please rearrange this scolding session for after I sleep a little?” You complain. They don’t answer, they know you’re just trying to run away from this conversation. Lena takes your hand and sits you down between both of them.

“Do you want to quit the physics program?” She asks and your heart almost skips a beat.

“Luthors don’t quit.” You mumble under your breath.

“Luthors-Danvers do, especially if it’s something that is making them this unhappy.” Lena says holding your chin and you know she can see how wrecked you are. “Baby, whatever it is, nothing will ever be more important to me than your happiness.”

“I’m good at it.” You roll your eyes. “I don’t love it, but I don’t think it’s what is making me unhappy.”

“Well, then what is it?” Kara asks and you face her. She looks so worried there’s a wrinkle in the middle of her brows. You want to make it go away.

“Just… Being a powerful kid with brain for days…” You head falls down with some tears. “Just didn’t wanna have to worry about not breaking things with my super strength, not listening to people’s conversation, not using my heat vision to destroy an entire gym because my glasses were broken.”

“Oh, little one.” Kara hugs you so tenderly and tight and it’s exactly what you needed. “I’m sorry you have to go through this. I had to go too, and I know how hard it is. It will get easier with time, I promise. But no matter how hard it gets before it gets easy, I’m going to be by your side every step of the way, okay?”

“Baby, there’s no pressure for you to be perfect at controlling your powers. You’re allowed to make mistakes. Everyone is.” Lena adds.

“There’s so much pressure, mom. Having Luthor on my name. Everyone expects me to be either a genius or a murderer.”

“Well, not in this house. The world outside might ask whatever they want from you, but in this house, we want you to be yourself. We want you to be 15.” She kisses your forehead like they always do and this time a smile comes. “And most of all, we want you to cuddle with us on the couch on movie nights.”

The three of you laugh, and make your way to the couch to watch Mamma Mia and eat tons of food. Well, you and Kara eat tons of food, Lena just eats a slice of pizza and is good to go. You look around and you don’t know why you denied you wanted and needed this. Snuggled up between your moms; Listening to Kara’ singing, and Lena’s laughter; Smelling like pizza, home, sunshine and flowers.

Friday is so absolutely for Family.

[crystalelemental]

Common Grid War, Act 8!  After looking things over, I’ve come to my decisions on their placements.  Hopefully no one’s too disappointed.

NEW ARRIVAL SPECULATIONS

Brawly - C-tier.  I’m not going a step above this until I get a feel for his actual performance.  Brawly’s a difficult one to determine utility, because he’s so...all over the place.  Rock Smash with On a Roll is great, and Trip Up on Brick Break is nice, but that’s -1 only, and the Trip Up is only a 50/50.  Potion is great, but his defenses are not.  His sync also leaves a lot to be desired based on low stats.  In essence, I’m not...super impressed overall, despite how much he has.  But the bigger thing that bugs me is that an eggmon in Hitmontop is more effective than him at his own debuffing game.  I can’t consider that anything above C-tier without a functional assessment.

Crasher Wake - C-tier.  His damage output is actually better than Siebold...but only if you can hit the foe with flinch.  Which is inconsistent and time sensitive.  His Waterfall Aggravation is nice, but at a base 20%, it’s far from consistent.  There’s also Shower Power.  Which...look, a part of Siebold’s rating is that he can explode Moltres’ second HP bar without needing MPR on Rain Dance from an ally.  Wake cannot do that.  The rapid self-setup is enough to definitely get C-tier, but the difficulty of setting up his sync and low move damage makes his damage output questionable.

SS Brock - I’m indecisive on this.  On the one hand, his sync damage is...really sad.  Even with Cakewalk at full power, which is already a hefty demand, his sync nuke is about half that of Siebold’s.  It’s pretty bad.  But on the other hand...Rock Slide Aggravation.  That’s a really nice tool, especially considering Moltres.  Remember Sophocles, and how his Aggravation flinch with SS Erika allowed us to truck Moltres without changing the weather?  SS Brock may be in the same bucket.  I can’t guarantee it, I’d need to see his performance.  But given the inconsistency of flinch, top of D-tier is where I wound up.

CHANGES IN PLACEMENT

Winona -> S.  Holy shit.  Okay, look.  On an F2P budget, Winona probably isn’t the best pick.  But her move damage off of Hurricane is pretty amazing, with a solid sync nuke to back it up.  Lack of MPR hurts, but her optimized team was able to off-type pretty easily.  Sure, that means SS Kris and Anni Skyla, but a common off-typing 2k Master Mode first try?  That is...really something else, trust me.

Mina -> A-tier.  Charm was always a strong option, but I’m really surprised just how strong her sync nuke actually is.  Play Rough’s also not bad damage.  Basically, Mina’s got some pretty impressive skills.  I was really impressed with her.

Brycen -> B-tier.  This guy just keeps being useful.  Haze was unexpectedly huge for Gauntlet, and Hostile Environment 2 on Ice Beam, while inconsistent, pulls through often enough to make itself a nuisance.  Bottom of B-tier feels more appropriate to just how often I pull this guy out for something.

Thorton -> F-tier.  I...can’t.  I know he has utility, but for the life of me, I can’t get him to work right.  Even with outrageous tools at his disposal.  Part of it is the same issue as Wake, where he needs the flinch, but his own natural flinch rate is only 20%, so even Aggravation doesn’t make it better than a 50/50.  Part of it is just not being that good a tank, despite the tools in his grid for it.  Thorton just...consistently fails to impress or make his mark.  It’s bad enough that I’m putting him under Valerie, who’s at least shown herself capable of sometimes tanking.  But Valerie sure isn’t a D-tier, her grid is a war crime, so he’s in F now instead.

FINAL THOUGHTS S-tier is hard to figure out, truth be told.  Cheryl’s position is actually in danger.  She’s still incredible, make no mistake at all, but I’m legitimately impressed with Roxanne.  I dunno, man.  I think she’s just a bit ridiculous.

A-tier feel like the most sensibly oriented.  Candice is fantastic, Bruno’s really good but not quite as useful overall, Gardenia’s fantastic but highly reliant on Sun and special attack boosting support, and Mina’s generally useful but overall weaker than the other three.

B-tier feels like this odd amalgamation of general utility options, and units whose offensive presence is too good to write off, but not good enough that they’ve left a lasting impression on me.  Siebold in particular might drop, just because so much of what seems to make him impressive is the EX.  Without it, he’s...really hard to use.

C-tier is where I seem to be putting all the supporters that are good, but really hard to use.  Ramos can sleep-lock fights, but...man, I hate sleep chaining.

D-tier is where all the characters that feel like they have potential but can’t make it work go.  SS Brock is limited by his stats, Bugsy and Kahili by lack of EX, and Grant by...look, Grant’s almost an F-tier in my book.

F-tier is the failures.  Valerie’s grid is a war crime.  Sure, she can sometimes function, but it’s so bad regardless.  Thorton can’t really do much on offense or defense.  And Wulfric...man, Wulfric is just painful to me.  He’s really not good.

[baroquebucky]

“my judgement's clouded like tonight's sky”

in which steve has a little too much to drink and confuses himself even more

a/n: i lost the ask for this request ,,,, pls forgive me for taking so long to do these omg I’ll try to upload as many as i can of the 1d anniversary special one shots this week !!

you weren’t exactly sure what to expect when bucky called you, first you thought oh god did i do something to piss him off and this is the end of me and then you thought is Steve okay?

Your crush on America’s golden boy was nothing short of obvious, small touches and sweet smiles were only scratching the surface of how you acted around steve, always making sure to dress somewhat decent and doing your best to impress him. Steve however was as oblivious as always, he thought that’s how you were with everyone and he was nothing special; plus why would someone as amazing as you settle for him and all his baggage?

You rubbed your eyes as you answered the phone, pausing the show you were watching to listen to bucky on the other end of the line.

“can you please just come get Steve and tell him you’re in love with him” the sergeant groaned and your face flushed.

“what? no!” You shrieked, getting up and turning off your tv. You put the phone on speaker as you quickly tried to find some socks and shoes to quickly slip on.

“y/n he’s been so pathetic all night! going on and on and on about how he will never find love because, and i quote, ‘the one i love will never see me in the same light’” he gagged as he recited Steve’s words. That man did tend to get poetic when he was shit faced.

You smiled as you slipped on your comfiest shoes and picked up your phone, “I’m on my way, but not to tell him i love him” you huffed and hung up before bucky could talk you into anything else.

Music softly hummed through your car as you drove to the compound, you could hear the sound of thunder as you drove, you hoped it didn’t rain before you got back.

As you arrived at the compound you realized how poorly you were dressed, an hoodie way too big for you and fuzzy pants with snowflakes on them, as you passed by a mirror you realized your hair was all over the place and you felt yourself get nervous to see Steve. You quickly walked through the long hallways, following the sound of laughter and music.

Almost the whole team was there as you were now even more embarrassed of your attire. You debated turning on your heel and leaving but Bucky quickly noticed you, curse his super soldier senses.

“y/n! finally, just grab Steve and take him out somewhere please we can’t handle him anymore” he groaned, hugging you and shoving you towards Steve.

“guys y/n is here!” Bucky announced and everyone cheered, getting up to hug you and thank you, just by looked at nats tired eyes and Tony’s sigh you laughed at how miserable they must have been to hears Steve ramble on for an hour.

“alright wheres the golden retriever” you sighed and they all pointed at the bar, and sure enough there he was pouring himself another asgardian drink. You quickly jogged over and swatted the drink from his hand before he could down it.

“nope, I’m cutting you off right now” you stated, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the bar, you could feel him wanting to resist (you were glad he didn’t because you didn’t stand a chance) but he eventually gave in and followed you.

“y/n! what are you doing here” he smiled, his eyes slightly hooded as he followed you, shaking your head you mumbled “probably making a bad choice” you sighed, saying goodbye to everyone as you and Steve walked back to your car.

“where are we going? can we go to your apartment and i can make that lego set you haven’t finished” he giggled and you rolled your eyes at him for teasing you, “you’ll see” you mumbled quickly opening the car door and shoving him in, putting his seatbelt on for him and he gave you a kiss on the cheek.

You flushed red and quickly shut the door, getting into your seat and driving away from the compound.

“Bucky tells me you’ve been yapping all night” you say, seeing Steve roll his eyes at the mention of his best friend. “Bucky doesn’t understand me” he states, and you can’t help but burst into laughter.

He looks at you confused and you wave him off, “you sound like an emo teen” you giggled and he huffs, “I’m not” he complains and you hum as he crosses his arms across his chest.

“where are we going” he asked as you drive past your apartment, “to a park” you state simply and he furrows his brows.

“you won’t be drunk in about 20 minutes give or take and i need you to be sober when i tell you everything” his face is laced with confusion as he looks at you and then back out the window.

By the time you get to the park 15 minutes have passed and you can tell he’s starting to sober up as he flips through your music settling on the same song he skipped four times before looking out the window again.

“okay we’re here” you smiled and Steve got out of the car quickly after you, walking slightly behind you as you took him to the swings.

“why are we at a set of swings in the middle of the night?” Steve asked, raising a brow and you just smiled softly.

“i come here to think all the time, it’s nice to just swing and let everything go, i think you should try it” you encouraged him as he seemed apprehensive of the idea before you sighed.

“I’ll start then,” you breathed in deeply before starting, “i worry too much that i won’t be enough for the people i love, i think too much and talk myself out of being brave because i think i don’t fit the role” you mumbled and turn to look at Steve who was listening intently, as you started again he stared up at the sky, dark clouds covering the bright moon.

“your turn” you whispered and he nodded.

“I’m too indecisive about the things i want.” he simply stated and you swung lightly, staring at your feet as you encouraged Steve to continue. “I know what i want, i know who i want, but my judgements clouded” he grumbled, “like tonight’s sky” you added with a smile and he let out a breathy laugh, nodding his head in agreement.

“Bucky told you what i was upset about didn’t he” Steve sucked in a sharp breath before looking at the moon and then back at you, who nodded softly.

“and?” He asked, voice soft and slightly trembling.

“and i think whoever it is, most definitely sees you in the same light mr. America” you teased and he laughed, crinkling his nose at the nickname.

“do you?” he quickly looked at you and you nodded, “yes stevie boy i just said that i do” you laughed, quirking a brow at him and checking to see if somehow he was still drunk.

“no i mean- what i meant was do you see me how i see you” his blue eyes piercing into your side as you quickly set both feet down, causing an abrupt stop to your calm swinging.

You opening your mouth to say something but nothing came out, your mind going a million places at once and you weren’t sure what to say, ‘yes Steve I’ve loved since the day you bought my beta fish a bigger tank because you knew how badly i wanted to have a themed aquarium but couldn’t afford it’ or the deep poetic course ‘of course i do, how could i not when your the light that helps me through all my dark times.’ In the end it was neither.

“we’re under the same moon” was all you came up with and you have never hated yourself more. You could almost hear Steve’s heart crack and you quickly got up and cupped his face in your hands, pressing your lips together and squeezing your eyes shut. He took no time to return the kiss, quickly putting his arms around your waist.

You pulled away breathless, red and scared, you didn’t know what the hell was gonna happen now, before either of you could say anything steve pulled you in again kissing you again, this time softer and with a small smile; then a loud crack of thunder causing you to jump forward, you teeth hitting each other as rain poured onto the two of you.

Both of you burst into a fit of laughter as you went back in for another kiss, Steve effortlessly lifted you up and ran to your car for cover, he set you down softly as you reached into your pocket for your keys, quickly unlocking the car and both of you hurrying in.

It was quiet, with only the pitter patter of the rain outside and the thumping of your hearts.

“does this mean you do like me?” Steve asked innocently and you turned to look at him with wide eyes, “obviously!” You laughed and he blushed, nodding his head with a small smile on his face. “now what?” He asked as you drove away from the park and to your apartment.

“now you stop acting like you’re in a Shakespeare play everytime theres asgardian shots” you teased and he rolled his eyes, intertwining your fingers together as the two of you headed back to figure the rest out.