#I'm the one who teaches them adulting but in an exasperated way

[devilander]

in teaching you will learn (chapter 1)

18+ 3k. homelander x tutor f!reader. employer and employee sexual tension. abuse of power. fingering. AO3 link.

You accepted a job proposal to work as a History tutor to Homelander's son. It suddenly turns out to be more than you had bargained for.

prompt sent by @plasticfangtastic, thank you so much! beta'ed by @flaggermuser, love you!

Ryan was a very smart child. Powerful and smart, naturally, as any of Homelander’s offspring would be. So, to sate his endless curiosity, tutors—from the best universities, Homelander would settle for nothing else—of all subjects were hired to teach whatever was needed, whatever Ryan liked.

You had never imagined yourself in this position, History tutor to the Homelander’s son. But when you received Vought’s call, and they told you the paycheck that’d come with it, you immediately agreed. A non-supe, you wondered what it’d be like to deal with such a special kid, if Homelander would disapprove of your ways and send you packing on the first day. 

Insecurities were never your thing—you had received a M.A in History and Literature, for god’s sake! This was your turf. 

But… teaching a child? Whenever you would envision your future, you always imagined yourself as a professor, strict and serious, dealing solely with adults or, at most, young adults. 

You'd rise up, though, you knew it—even if you needed to spend all of your nights, from dusk ‘till dawn, watching videos on gentle parenting, endless courses on “childhood education” and teaching young learners. You would do it, and you would do it perfectly.

On your first day, you had a whole speech prepared, something about how much of an honor it was, how excited you were, how many ideas you already had; your stomach fluttered as you looked at his clear blue eyes, beautiful nose—

Homelander barely let you start. 

“Now.” He raised his hands, effectively shutting you up. “Enough with the yada yada, ‘kay? Let's get some things straight—all of your ideas gatta be approved by me first. And Ryan.”

“I'm sure, sir, I only meant—”

“And you'll not be berating him, for whatever fucking reason. You're not the boss here. I am. And, well, if he complains about anything, anything really, you’ll be… dismissed. That understood?” He had a congenial smile on his face, though you swore his eyes shined red, if only for a second. “Take care of my son, huh?”

He patted you on the shoulder and left. You just stood there, fuming and exasperated. If there's one thing you hated with a passion was condescending men; interrupting and disregarding your words as inane silliness. 

High and mighty as he was, Homelander was cut from the same cloth as them, it seemed. If it weren’t for your student debt piling up, you’d turn around and leave. As it were, you gritted your teeth and stayed. 

After that, though, you hardly ever saw him, and when you did, he only gave you an indiscernible look and a nod. 

Fine by me, you thought bitterly, mad at yourself that he'd surely noticed your flushed cheeks and quickened breath at your first real sight of him.

Ryan was sweet though. Sharp and eager to learn whatever you presented him with, such that you moved on quickly from fifth, sixth, to a seventh-grade curriculum. 

You found a happy medium—keeping it fun and educational. And you knew, you knew, whenever you were there, Homelander was watching you. 

And he was. Of course he was. He’d had his fair share of tutors Vogelbaum would present him with. Condescending little assholes, always thinking they knew better, reporting every minor thing he did, lecturing and punishing at their pleasure. 

As if he'd let his kid suffer the same fate. 

Education was, however, important, so he hired simpering tutors—a school would not do, no place was fit for Ryan—and those who didn't know their place were quickly taken care of. 

Yet you, the third History teacher hired (the first one was such a fucking mess—snapping his neck as soon as he left Vought was not enough for having the gall to rudely reprimand his son) were doing well so far. 

Oh, he had seen how you blushed and stuttered when you two met, and he had seen how you gradually steeled your eyes at his words. 

He had also noticed the sway of your hips, your pink, heart shaped mouth, the addictive sound of your voice—your scrunched up nose as you looked at him in poorly disguised anger.

So, yes, of course, of course he was watching, for more reasons than one. 

One day, when you and Ryan were talking animatedly about the creation of the American Constitution, Homelander decided to barge in, almost knocking the door off of its hinges.

You nearly fell off your seat in surprise, for a second scared and worried, until you saw his face. He looked as happy as a kid. Well, happier than Ryan. 

“Wowza,” he said. “What party do you two have goin’ on here? I could hear you from the hallway.” 

He could hear no matter how loud you were, but you got the gist. Smiling, though miffed at the interruption, you crossed the room, and he met you halfway.

“I was showing Ryan this book. Look.” He leaned down, his face touching yours. Oh God, oh God, wrong move. “It contains all of Thomas Paine's pamphlets published during the war in its original format. We were discussing how Paine's thoughts impacted on the Constitution’s writing.”

“Very nice,” he said, still so close to you the pure heat his body radiated engulfed your senses. And your body kept betraying, and betraying, and fucking betraying you.

“Oh, I love this part.” You thanked the heavens your voice didn't quiver, and started to read out loud. “Tyranny, like hell—”

“Is not easily conquered.” Homelander completed, and you looked up, only to find him already looking at you.

His hand then rested on your arm, lingering for a few seconds too long, his eyes locking you in place. You gulped, heart thumping in your chest—

“Dad,” Ryan bemoaned. Homelander dropped his hand instantly. “This is my class. You're interrupting us!”

Homelander frowned, then almost pouted. 

“Geez, buddy, what a way to treat your old man.” He crossed his arms; you contained a giggle. His eyes glinted mischievously as he turned to you. “Can I be your student for the day? I promise to behave.” 

“I don't see why n—”

“No,” Ryan exclaimed, interrupting you. “No, no and no!” 

Though he tried, there was no convincing Ryan. He wouldn't share the time he had with you. Inwardly, you smiled at the kid’s innocent jealousy; and thanked the heavens for the save, you certainly needed it. 

Huffing and stomping his feet, Homelander left the room, but not without giving his son an annoyed glare and you a look you couldn't—wouldn't—name yet. Maybe ever. 

Weeks passed, classes going smoothly despite your warring thoughts. You were attracted to Homelander, because of course you were; lucky you. Your boss, supe, leader of the Seven. The man who had so far threatened you, talked with you, touched you… 

Fear tinged with desire, confusion with curiosity. He was equal parts charming and infuriating. Would you dare to willingly put your hand in the mouth of the tiger? 

It became routine for Homelander to participate—or interrupt—your lessons to share his own opinions, much to Ryan's chagrin. And you… you were endeared. 

“Think you could've done a better job than Theodore Roosevelt? Really?” Your disbelieving tone didn't seem to put him off, just the opposite.

“I'm certain I could.”

His playful smile and arrogant tone annoyed you. Enchanted you. 

“Well, you should try for president, then,” you joked, catching yourself turning fully towards him. “You'll beat the records of votes and rule this grand nation!”

He hummed, winking at you. “Yeah, no. Not really in my… interests right now.”

“Would you make a Shermanesque statement on that?”

Homelander laughed, shaking his head. 

“Nah, maybe I’ll change my mind.” His eyes roamed over your body. “Couldn’t have that.” 

“What’s Sherman—Shermesque,” Ryan piped in, furrowing his brows as he stumbled over the word. “What are you talking about?”

“If nominated, I will not run; If elected, I will not serve,” you spoke at the same time and giggled, giggled!, together. Stop giggling like a schoolgirl, you chastised yourself, but you couldn't help it. There was such a thrill about flirting with danger in the flesh. 

Turning to Ryan, you explained. “It’s something William Sherman said. He was a popular general during the Civil War and was being considered as the Republican candidate during presidential elections. He, however, refused!” When excited, your arms had a mind of their own, and you found yourself gesturing wildly, enthusiastically. “His words became really popular from then on, such that it's now called a Shermanesque statement, and sometimes used by politicians and the like.”

Homelander couldn’t help but stare while you talked, entranced by your passionate speech, flushed cheeks and shining eyes. You were so fucking cute, deliciously captivating—even in your pitiful stubborn act, or all the more enticing because of it. He wanted to savor each and every moment you walked about the room; wanted to catalog your breath changes, the rises of your voice, your moving lips. 

Would you be just as responsive in another, more interesting scenario?, he wondered. Maybe you would want to take charge, bossy little thing you are. Maybe he’d have to bend you just shy of breaking you only to see you beg—beg him to fuck you, to let you come on his fingers, mouth and cock. 

His filthy thoughts raged on, only interrupted when you announced your time was up. Ryan groans in disappointment and Homelander has a hard time not doing the same. He hungers for more moments with you. Alone.   

“C’mon, kiddo,” he says, noticing Ryan stalling to tidy up his books and supplies as he liked to do. “You gotta get ready for your shooting today.”

Ryan grumbles under his breath. “I hate these commercials.”

Before he can answer, you approach, tousling Ryan’s hair and leaning down to look him in the eyes. 

“Hey, sweetheart, it will be okay. Just play pretend like we talked,” you said. “And if it gets too much, I'm sure your dad will take care of it. I'll bring you a treat tomorrow, how about that?”

He should probably put you in your place for daring to presume you know shit about him and his son—as if your puny mind could understand the greater beings they were. And yet, and yet… Ryan was smiling, rushing to embrace you though his quick heartbeat betrayed how nervous he was. You hugged him back, and looked at Homelander with such sweet grin that he—fuck, he felt fucking breathless.

He wanted to kiss you. 

When Ryan left the room, you snatched your purse, seemingly wanting to leave as quickly as possible. But Homelander stood in front of the door, unmoving, his jewel-toned eyes intensely fixated on you. 

A sudden heat spread through your body, and you let out a breathy sigh. And he noticed; eyes tracking over your face and chest, like undressing you with his mind. 

Perhaps he was. He certainly could. The thought made you desperate, you needed to run. Your apartament wouldn't be enough, maybe you should catch a bus to Jersey. Or a fucking plane to—Russia, or farther—

“Want me to give you a ride?” You were so distracted you barely heard his words, much less the double entendre. 

“What?” 

He snickered. “I said—”

“No! I mean yes. I mean no!” You shook your head, dizzy. “No, sir, I wouldn't want to trouble you.”

“Ah but there's no trouble at all, it'll take a minute. I know where you live.”

“You do?” A shudder ran through you.

“Of course, you silly goose. It's in your resume.” He tapped your nose, a gesture so off-putting you snorted, suddenly aware he'd closed the distance without you noticing. “Let's go, little miss mouthy. Don't make me insist,” he declared, voice still cheerful, but you caught the edge of it, leaving no room for argument. 

“Okay, okay… But only this time!” 

Homelander simply laughed. 

Reaching the balcony, you looked down and froze. Too high, too high!, your brain screamed at you. 

“Hehe, on second thought…” You looked at him pleadingly, a weird laugh bubbling out in sheer nervousness. You gripped the banister as if your very life depended on it. 

“Ah, ah. No takesies backsies.” He wiggled his finger in your face, and, for a single moment, two, three seconds?, caressed your cheek softly. 

Before you could react, he grabbed you by the waist and took off. Panic stricken, you hid your face in his neck, dangling legs instinctively circling his hips; much like a koala, you held on to him in all ways you could—even your fingers found locks of his hair to grip mercilessly.

Through the rush of the wind, you felt, more than heard, his laugh. 

It took some seconds to catch on to the overwhelming closeness between you two—how every inch of your body was adhering to his, how you could feel the impressive strength emanating from him, how his warm breath was hitting your neck, leaving shivers in its wake. 

You could feel it all. No matter the padded suit, you felt the tension in his muscles, the upheaval in his chest as he drew you even closer and fuck you couldn't fucking help clenching your cunt and exhaling right next to his year—

In a second, Homelander had you on the roof of your building.

You didn't want to look up, fearing what he'd throw at you, anger and indifference or lust and temptation. Both shook you to your core. 

“Wakie, wakie,” he said, breathless, a certain roughness to his tone. His hands squeezed your back with surprising care. Each second was too long, and yet not enough. 

And then you felt it, as you started to disentangle yourself from his body, his cock, hard and throbbing, poking your stomach, dangerously close to where you ached for it the most. 

You looked up. 

There was no smirk, no mocking eyes—only a stare so intense your heart skipped a beat. 

“Thank you, Homelander, for the—for the ride. I appreciate it, despite you almost giving me a heart attack at first.” You giggled, trying to dispel the mood.

“How about you thank me by inviting me in? Y’know what they say, actions speak louder than words.” 

“No, I…” you hesitated, trying to think of an excuse but your mind went blank. “No.”

Homelander cocked his head, dazzling smile turning a little unnerving. “No? Is that right?”

“How about another day? I can—”

“I didn't fucking ask for a bullshit, out-of-pity mock invite, did I? What is it, hiding some terrorists in your shithole apartment? Or mommy’s dead body?”

If it weren't for his looming over you, you'd crack a laugh—his mind certainly went places. 

“Listen—” You started again, only to be pushed until your back hit the roof's door, knocking the air out of you. 

“You listen,” he ground out, eyes a kaleidoscope of red and blue. It was painfully exhilarating. “Don’t try lying to me. I can sense you, I can fucking smell you, your pussy is soaked.” To prove his point, he removed one glove and opened up your pants; your panties were shoved aside as he squeezed two fingers inside you. You whimpered at the burn of his intrusion, but you were so wet the squelch was loud even to your ears. “You either invite me in or I'll rip your clothes off and fuck you right here. Your choice, sweetheart.”

Homelander was being nice in giving you a choice, despite the fact you were a rude tease, and a liar to boot. His fingers kept pumping in and out of you, and he found it so fucking hard not to go all the way, not to have you against this door while you moaned so, so sweetly. 

He needed you—to feel you clenching on his cock as you did now on his fingers. And you wanted him. Fuck, you were whining and opening your legs so he could finger you better, clinging onto his waist as your head rested on his shoulder. Still, you dazedly shook your head. What was the matter with you?

“Oh, please, please,” you half begged, half moaned, raspy voice driving him crazy. “We can't, I can't…”

“Give me one good fucking reason why not, huh. One.”

Instead of answering, you kissed him. He seemed surprised at first, but reciprocated in an instant. And it was all you expected it'd be, messy and passionate and hot; he consumed you, drinking in every part of you, all you had to give, and what you wouldn’t give, he would take. 

You gathered his face in your hands, wanting a little bit of tenderness in the violent chaos of you, a little bit of love—if you could.

His hand kept working on you, thumb rubbing your clit in circles and, before you ran completely out of breath, you came so hard your legs gave out. 

Perfect for Homelander to catch, hold you onto his body as you rode the waves of your pleasure—so beautiful he was enraptured. 

After a few moments, you whispered. “I can't let you in. If I do, I won't think straight, I'll just let you do anything you want to me.” 

“Is that a bad thing, sweetheart?”

“I'm… not used to this, I don't… I haven't done much of this. You never even asked me out!” You laughed. The good humor vanished as you continued. “I can't lose this job. I need it, I like it. If we do… What will even happen to me?” You cursed your own inability to talk about this, all your eloquence going to the drain when you needed to speak of something other than History. In those moments, you always felt like mimicking some speech taught to you long ago, as if talking about your own feelings was an unattainable device. 

Yet Homelander found it amusing. Apparently he'd gotten you all wrong, or at least parts of it. For all your bravado in speaking to him, in challenging him—in your fearlessness and spunk—you were inexperienced. Innocent. Shy. Wasn't that his fucking lucky day. 

“So the baby wants me to take her on a date first, that it?”

“I didn't say that.” You raised a brow, crossing your arms. “And don’t call me baby.”

“Also I boy-scout promise not to fire you if you are a bad lay, but I doubt that, baby.”

“Oh, shut up,” you said, though there was no bite to it, only a timid smile on your face. “Okay, alright. This weekend?” 

“Friday. I’ll send someone to pick you up. Wear something nice for me.”

Before leaving, he kissed you deeply, hands nearly shaking with yearning. He wanted to take it all back and drag you to his bed, absconding with you for a day or two. But he’d waited this long and he could wait a bit longer—he’d savor every second and make it worth it.

As you walked down the stairs to your apartment you sighed, drunk in the haze of disbelief; there was no way you could run now. It’s clear you have a problem. What you should wish for isn’t what you want.

[hunnylagoon]

The Killing Moon

PT2 The Colour Wars

Ellie Williams x Reader

It’s the perfect night for mystery and horror. The night itself is filled with monsters.

Premise: Summer camp feels a little different. Could it be newfound feelings for your friend or creatures beyond the imagination stalking you? Either way, it’s time to win the Colour Wars.

Warnings: Raunchy humour / mentions of cryptids / creepy?

PART ONE: Camp Spirit

Hope everything is alright with you because I'm so stressed that I may be spiralling into insanity at any moment. I understand that I'm an adult now but I too need someone to scream my frustration to until my lungs burn and I'm light-headed. "Hey, I'm having like super bad cramps and my flow is super heavy so I can't play this game."

I look at the girl in front of me, she's around fourteen if I had to guess and has two blonde French braids. We were in the middle of the first game of colour wars -the treasure hunt- and this girl was sporting a blue shirt, I didn't know her face nor was she on my team and I hadn't even noticed that she had been tagging along with my group for ten minutes. "Who are you?"

"Laila."

"Why are you here?" I ask but Laila only answers me with a shrug and a sneer "Never mind, I'm not your counsellor and I don't care, go to the nurses."

"Can I go to the nurses too?" Olive peeps up behind me "I think I have a scrape on my knee.":

"Don't we all?" I look back at her "We gotta win this game, we're so close," We were, mostly because every time the blue team gathered treasure I would send out feral kids to ambush them and bring it back to me "We're gonna have all the treasure we can carry." The objective was simple; The directors hid treasure (Cheap jewelry, hats, clothes from the old theatre program, etc.) across campgrounds and we had to source it out, whichever team came back to the sports field with more treasure won.

"We've been out here for hours," Morgan groaned, you'd think that these girls had been sent to war with the way they complained.

"It's only been forty-six minutes."

Olive took a seat on a rock, Leah doing the same, it didn't take long for each girl to have firmly planted themselves on the ground and refuse to get up. Valentina grabbed a stick and began to scratch drawings into the muddy ground.

"C'mon guys, there's like fifteen minutes left, and I know for a fact that there is still treasure to be found." I know how ridiculous I must've looked at that moment, I had been wearing a purple 'royal cape' that was pilling onto my T-shirt and a cheap dollar store crown that kept slipping off my head.

"I'm so bored," Chloe drew out.

"Because you're being boring!" I exasperate. Never had I ever had a cabin that was so apathetic and unenthusiastic, they were a stark contrast to last year when everyone had sunshine running through their veins and mud smeared across their faces; those pitch black summer nights live in my bones.

"This isn't fun, can we play something else?" 

"No," I take a deep breath out, composing myself "You are at summer camp to be outdoors, you're developing important social, cognitive and emotional skills."

I'm met with blank stares from each and every girl sitting below me "I don't know what that means," Leslie said.

"It means we're going through puberty," Kim tells her.

"No," My eyes go wide "No, it means that you're figuring out who you are."

"Am I gonna get my period soon?" Valentina drops the stick from her tiny hands. 

"Maybe- I don't know," I thew my hands out. 

"What's a period?"

"It's where you bleed until you don't have any blood left and then you die," Kim says this so matter-of-factly like she has a degree in healthcare and has been teaching the health unit in PE for a decade.

"WHAT?" Chloe jumps up from her spot on the ground, looking around to see if she's already bleeding out.

"We're gonna die and you didn't tell us?" Leslie looks even more terrified than she did on the night of the camp legend.

Every girl was beginning to panic, fear was clear across their small faces. It's moments like these where I wish I was alone, maybe solo camping or back in my bedroom from high school, somewhere where only the moon knows how I rot and the sun knows how I yearn.

"Guys, calm down, a period isn't a bad thing and it won't hurt you," This was my attempt to soothe the ten-year-old girls who were contemplating how they would spend their last days on earth. The plastic crown slips off my head and I reach down to grab it and readjust it.

"Then why is it called a period if it doesn't end your life?" Kim asks, crossing her arms.

"I don't know but it doesn't end your life-

"Can we just go back to the soccer field until this game is over?" Tamar chimes in, looking like she rather be staring at cardboard boxes. 

"Fine!" I finally gave in, gathering all of the treasure that once sat at my feet into my arms. The amount of treasure was almost overflowing, I had stolen a bunch from some kids in Dean's cabin who were too scared to argue with me. 

"Am I going to die?" Leslie scurries up beside me and I look down at her, behind the thick lenses of her classes, she is holding back tears.

"Not for a very long time," I can hardly bend my neck to look at her with the amount of shit I'm hauling, the girls being little to no help with this. The girls trail behind me and I have to turn my entire body to look at them "If anyone runs off this time, I'm feeding them to the snatchers."

Suddenly they want to listen. The woods aren't scary in the day, just at night when they begin to whisper. As of now, I know the quickest way to every part of camp despite the identical trees so thick that you can hardly see the sky when you're beneath them. 

Leslie holds onto the bottom of my red Colour Wars T-shirt since my hands are full, Valentina holds onto Leslie's hand and all of a sudden I've become a mother hen with little chicks following me around. 

"If magic isn't real then why were people so scared of witches," Valentina asks me while she kicks a rock across matted fallen leaves and dirt. 

"Maybe magic is real," I say "To burn a witch is to admit magic exists."

"How do I become a witch?" Chloe appears out of what seems to be thin air on my other side, I can't see her since my pile of goodies is up to my chin and I'm afraid that if I move all of it will come tumbling down.

"Practice magic," That was my guess, I didn't know squat about witchcraft.

"How do I do that?"

"A real witch will figure it out herself," I say. When you've worked with kids for five years, you get to a certain point where you run out of creative answers. During my first year working here, I was sixteen and a CIT, terribly afraid to mess up because I hadn't lived yet. With each passing year that I've come back, I get more and more comfortable, returning to familiar faces and the smell of petrichor.

Chloe nods excessively like I've just said something extremely profound, I can see the gears turning in her head like she's already thinking of spells to cast. 

It takes a little less than five minutes until we're out of the woods, we emerge by the crafts cabin, the soccer field is in clear sight. The soccer field is built over a little mound, slightly elevated from the ground and on top I can see two piles of knick knacks and a pretty big sum of campers and counsellors alike waiting on the top. 

From the looks of it Tommy and Joel have already begun to count their respective teams mound of treasure, Tommy being on the amazing red team and Joel representing the awful/disgusting/foul/boring/untalented blue team. That might've been a stretch but there were no friends in the Colour Wars.

In what seems to be the blink of an eye a hoard of kids runs past me and my girls, nearly knocking me off my feet. I didn't even process that some boys with too much energy had stolen plyed my well earned (stolen) treasure from my arms leaving me with nothing but my cape and crown until Liza, a girl from the Grizzly cabin snatched the cape right off my back and none other than Ellie herself grabbing the crown off my head.

They were booking it to the soccer field "Go get our shit back!" I yelled ushering my girls to go after the kids who were at least three years older than them. Only two of them actually listened; despite how hard they were trying, Leslie and Chloe's stumpy legs couldn't take them very far, leaving me to be the only one in pursuit.

I summoned back all of my memory from playing rugby in highschool and jumped on Ellie's back, I didn't take her down but she stumbled. I was so desperate to not turn up empty handed. By the time I made contact with her, she had already thrown the crown ahead for Liza to catch. They ran up the soccer field, dumping the double stolen treasure into their hula hoop. Even visually they were in the lead now, thanks to my expert piracy skills and theirs too, I guess.

"I hate you," I slid off Ellie's back, my sneakers hitting the dusty ground. "My girls earned that fair and square."

She looks me up and down, bathing in my anger like some kind of prize "I know you stole it."

"How?"

"Because I know you."

"Oh yeah?" I cross my arms, taking a step closer to my friend "Do you know how I'm gonna kick your ass later?"

She grins "I look forward to it." Ellie leaves me with this while she walks up to the soccer field to revel with her team in their newfound victory.

"What does 'kick your ass' mean?" Olive padded up behind me along with the rest of the girls, except for Leslie who was bent over, one hand on her knee to support her while she clung to her inhaler for dear life. "Are you gonna beat Ellie up?"

"I think she means 'kiss her ass'." Kim said, turning her head to look at Olive "Like they're gonna have sex later."

"What's sex?" Chloe furrowed her eyebrows.

"Kim you need to stop talking," I tell them, hands on my hips, nothing but frustration etched into the forefront of my brain. I glance back at Ellie as Maria rings the bell to signal that the game was over. Softly, with hands gentle as rain, I will wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her.

"Listen up!" I announced to the eight girls in my cabin. To absolutely no surprise, blue won the treasure hunt, now we were setting up for a water balloon fight in the allotted section of woods that Joel taped off in bright pink flagging tape. "I physically and mentally cannot handle another loss, I will be very disappointed in each and every one of you if we don't win-

"That's not true," Daniel cuts me off "The point of today is to have fun, winning doesn't matter, just do your best." The both of us are standing tall on a rock while the campers sit around and stare up at the two of us like we had been mighty gods preparing to throw wine and bread at their little feet.

I eye Daniel from the side and look back to everyone "None of your hard work is going to matter unless you win so do you want to be a whiney loser like Daniel or be cool like me and win the colour wars?"

Everyone fell quiet for a moment as if a curse of silence fell upon us until Kim not-so-sublty yelled "Daniel's a pussy!" I was beyond the point where I cared about the girls cussing, the only thing on my mind was showing my very dear friend, Ellie how awful her team is and rub my win in her beautiful face.

"That's what I like to hear!" I smile "Now let's go win this!"

My girls erupt in cheers and Daniel almost shamefully steps off the rock. I had finally made a breakthrough with my cabin after slightly snapping at them after Maria announced that the red team lost. Maybe the treasure hunt wasn't my thing, but water balloon wars? I had won that every single year, even when I was still a camper. 

The objective was easy, be the last team with players, once you get hit you're out. Friendly fire is strictly against the rules as well as headshots, they had to be hit in the torso, once you get wet, you're out and have to leave the allotted zone to watch. 

We played in a patch of forest that was less dense than the rest, making it easier to run around. 

"Three!" Maria shouted, "Two!" She's standing in the middle of the zone, so everyone can hear her though no one can see her since the two teams are on opposite ends to make it fair. "One!" She blows her whistle and kids are already dunking their hands into buckets of icy-cold water balloons and setting off to the enemy end.

The CITs were responsible for keeping a consistent flow of water balloons and buckets spread evenly in the zone, I remember when I was a CIT and had to miss out on capture the flag to pick up every bit of balloon that at splattered across the ground. 

I had a balloon in each hand, making my way around the perimeter discreetly. I lock eyes with a younger boy in a blue shirt, he immediately turns to run, not fast enough though "Come back here ankle biter!" I yell, decking a water balloon at him, it hits him right in his back.

There was a boy in Sawyers's cabin, one of the wild ones with animal teeth that ran off of energy drinks and the huff of Sharpies. He tried to throw a balloon at me but it missed me by a landslide, his second attempt wasn't much better.

I however nailed him in the chest "You're out buddy!" I smiled, and he met this by giving me the middle finger. "Whatever carrot top, tell Sawyer I send word!"

I was way too good at this game. Every year I thought I could take on the other team single-handedly and every year I'm proven right when I'm the last one standing. After a prompt reminder from Joel that this was supposed to be fun for the campers and I was treating it like World War Three, I had to cool down a little bit.

We played this game straight after lunch so everyone was either hopped up with energy or sluggish from eating too much, alternatively, there was Ashlynn. She was wandering around, a black bleach-stained hoodie thrown over the top of the shirt for whatever team she was on.

Ashlynn had a can of Diet Coke in hand, where did she get it? I'm not too sure, my guess is that she stashed them under her bunk. "Hey," She sits on a log beneath the tree I was hiding behind. "You're way better at this than you should be, you know you're playing against children, right?"

"I didn't come here to fuck around," There weren't a whole lot of people left in the game, I just took out Abby and the only counsellor left on the blue team was Ellie, maybe Ashlynn but she didn't pose a threat in any way shape or form. 

"Do you have any nic on you?" She looked up at me, taking a sip from her diet coke, her shaggy bleached hair was one more dye away from being fried.

"No?" I furrow my eyebrows "I don't usually bring nicotine to a summer camp full of children."

Ashlynn almost looks like she's hungover but then again she usually seems that way "I brought a couple joints and I'm like ninety percent sure two got stolen."

My eyes widen "You brought joints? Ash, you're getting fired if Maria finds out."

She shrugs "I don't mind, I either smoke weed here or I smoke weed in my backyard." 

"Okay but if it actually got stolen then it's probably some little shit that has it, they're gonna say that you gave it to them and that's a whole case."

"It's legalized though."

"Yeah, not for children." I was taken away from the game until I saw the smallest bit of a blue shirt beneath Ashlynn's sweater, I didn't hesitate to drop a balloon on her. She doesn't seem to mind and from this reaction, I'm beginning to think she's the one who smoked those missing joints. 

I come out from behind the tree empty-handed and plant a kiss on her forehead as an apology for getting soaking wet "Love you, Ash, hope you find your weed." I tell her before jogging off. Ashlynn doesn't get up to join everyone else outside of the boundary, she just stays on the log and drinks her diet coke.

Dina is still in the game on my team as well as a few campers, I hear her voice yelling at children somewhere off in the distance. Sadly, the girls in my cabin were picked off almost immediately, I swear I will avenge their little souls.

"You're soaking Conner, get out of here," Dina scolded a kid on the blue team "You gotta play by the rules, so beat it shrimp."

"Nuh-uh," He said. Lord knows I hated this kid, last summer when I went to the bathroom during dinner Conner stole my food and denied it even though he was the only one in the mess hall with two plates, he then kicked me in the shins and waddled away.

"You gotta go, baby hippo," I tell him, his round cheeks are bright red from running and he's short-breathed. He shakes his head and with a final stern look from both Dina and I, he leaves. "Nice, who's left?"

"One camper on our team and just Ellie over there," She tells me "Like best case scenario, just go over there and seduce Ellie."

I raise an eyebrow "Nah, I'm winning with brute strength and incredible strategy."

"I'm guessing that going for the little kids first is your definition of incredible strategy?"

"Yup," I say, walking to a bucket to grab another balloon "Get ready, this could go south."

"God forbid we tragically lose our lives in a water balloon war," Sarcasm drips from her tone even though she grabs another balloon.

"I know, that would be awful," I say with full seriousness.

Dina is struck with a water balloon out of nowhere "Shit," She mutters, looking at her now dripping shirt. I don't think I've ever reacted so quickly to anything in my life, I throw a balloon at Ellie and it barely hits her, but it still does.

"Look, you're wet," I smile, brighter than I had this whole summer "You're wet, you lost!" I'm almost jumping around, I'm so unreasonably happy at such a stupid thing. "I won!" I yell trying to capture the attention of the CITs so my win could go on record. 

"Fuck yeah!" Dina gives me a high five then looks at Ellie "You lost!"

"You lost," I say in a sing-song voice "Red team wins," I grab Dina's hand and raise to the sky like she's just won a wrestling match "We win, you're all wet!"

"You're wet too, D," Ellie says.

"Yeah, but you lost!" Dina wraps me in a hug around my torso, pinning my arms down and shaking me back and forth.

"Ew, get off," I can't help myself from laughing "But seriously I won, put that on record."

"Wow they have their worst player guarding the flag," I say, we were nearing dinner now and everyone was getting tired out, not me though, I had a war to win. Capture the Flag was the last game and that game is my shit, I know I said that about every other game but I really mean it this time. 

"I always forget that you're way too into this," Ellie says, she's unmoving in front of the blue team flag, pole stuck into the ground. 

"Ellie, you need to let me win," I say "Or I will do unspeakable things to you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" She teases.

"Whichever you want," I almost surprised myself by saying this but it just slipped from my mouth like wax off the wings of Icarus. Behind me, I feel a harsh slap on my back and swiftly turn around to see a pudgy kid with a huge smile on his face. 

"You have to go to jail," Conner says and if he wasn't a child who stood at 4'3 I probably would've hit him.

"Yeah, I know, Conner," I glance at Ellie who is biting back a laugh and gives an obnoxious little wave as Conner drags me by the hand towards the jail. He waddles along, clinging to two of my fingers, his hands are greasy and slippery, whatever reason, I'm not sure I want to know.

He takes me to a rope circle laid out on the ground, there's already a handful of people on my team in it. Conner drops me off there, sticking his tongue out before scurrying away as fast as he could (Which wasn't very fast). There's one blue team guard, I recognized him from Jesse's cabin. 

I'm far too bitter for someone playing a harmless camp game, I hold a grudge easier than I hold someone's hand. "Why are you here?" A boy from Miles cabin asks.

"Because I got tagged, Emmet," I say, agitated. "Why are you here? Because you can't outrun an eight-year-old?"

His smile drops "Yeah," He looks down at his shoes, kicking some dirt. 

"How are we supposed to get out and win this?" Another boy asks.

"Jesus," I mutter "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen and you've never played Capture the Flag?"

He nods his head "I mostly play COD and Fortnite."

"Oh my god," I run my hands down my face, fighting the urge to gag "Someone from our team who isn't tagged has to tag us, they can only tag one person at a time and we get a free walk back to our side if we're tagged, to win the game you need to capture the other teams flag- you know what, I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory."

"So who's going to tag us?"

"Probably no one because a kid with Fortnite skills isn't really worth saving" I answer and he falls quiet. Harsh? yes. Necessary? No, but I was annoyed.

"Hey, Crawford," A voice says, she's standing a few yards back with one of her friends giggling.

"Oh, hey," The guy guarding us, coughs, deepening his voice "What's up."

"I can't believe you're actually playing this game," The girl sniggers.

"Nah, I'm just waiting for Lucas," He lies.

"Find him later, come hang out," She smiles at him.

Crawford looks from us to her, and with little to no hesitation, he goes with the girls. Once I see their figures retreat beyond the trees, I look around to see if there are any more people on the blue team around before stepping out of the rope circle.

"I thought you said we had to get tagged by someone else before we could leave," The boy says, looking around nervously as if he was buying pot in an alley.

"Are you a narc?" I ask.

"No?"

"Then we're good to go," I say, ushering my team out of the circle. The sun has just begun to set, casting an orange hue over everything and making it look like it had been touched by Midas. While the rest of my team runs back to our side where they are safe from being tagged, I have something else on my mind, Ellie Williams. 

I began to retrace my steps back to where Ellie waited with the flag and where I'm sure a bunch of overeager kids were patrolling to protect the priceless flag from the claws of the evil red team.  Ellie was never into these games until I was, the second I had the urge to win something, she was compelled to beat me.

Someone hadn't been looking where they were sprinting when they crashed into me at full speed, they would've knocked me down if they weren't the same height as an Oompa Loompa. She let out an 'Oof' while she fell to the ground "Chloe?"

"Hi," She looks up at me, and quickly the posse rolls around. All of the girls in my cabin, even Tamar and Morgan were actively participating.

Leslie ran up to me and hugged me around my legs "Hi, girls," I said with furrowed eyebrows. The past two weeks I had struggled to even get them to collectively go to breakfast without putting up a fight because they didn't want to. "How's the game going?"

"We know where the flag is!" Valentina peeps up, she has mud smeared under her eyes like war paint. 

"Yeah, but Ellie's there and I'm scared of her," Leah mentions.

"Well, we're all together now so we can strategize," A smile cracks onto my face.

"We should put a scorpion in her hair," Kim has a wild grin on her tanned face, her honey-blonde hair is tangled into a rat nest, with a couple of leaves in there.

"No, good idea though, we'll save that one for later," I point at Kim "I was thinking that I could distract Ellie while half of you keep the other guards away and the other half grabs the flag and makes a break for it."

Kim nods enthusiastically, Tamar doesn't seem thrilled by the idea but she doesn't object to it so I take her silence as a win. This is the exact moment I put on my invisible captain hat, giving each of my girls a specific role with the promise I would sneak them candy on Saturday if they pulled this off. 

With each passing minute, the sky got darker and darker, I wanted to finish this game until Joel and Tommy made the counsellors walk around with headlamps on to keep an eye on everyone. "Hi, El."

"What do you want?" She's been standing in the same spot for a little over an hour, her vexation was shining through in her tone. 

"To be done with this game," I say, prepping myself for the little heist "This is really dragging on and- I saw Crawford run off with some girls from your cabin."

"Who the hell is Crawford?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"One of Jesse's boys, I know it's an unfortunate name."

"Who did he leave with?"

"Uh," I rack my brain for their names "Cindy and the rude one."

She nods, immediately knowing who I was talking about from my vague description "So, when are you gonna run past me and steal the flag?"

"What?" I acted like her question was incredulous "Why would you think that's what I'm trying to do?" I'm so bad at acting, I'm behaving like one of those wasted middle-aged men who get pulled over on the freeway and pretend that they're stone-cold sober by making a bunch of hand gestures while they talk.

"You're awful at acting," She says, crossing her arms, I watch the veins tense in her forearm below her tattoo sleeve.

"Fuck," I muttered "Fine, I give up," I plop myself on the ground, my spine against the trunk of a tree, I look up at Ellie "Okay, I'm officially over these games."

She raises an eyebrow and I can tell that she doesn't believe me. "First of all, you're sitting in mud. Second of all, eleven years of bloodshed and you're giving up out of nowhere?"

"It's not out of nowhere, I'm just getting older," I say the second half a little quieter "I'm in college I need to stop acting immature."

We both fall silent, she doesn't know what to say to this. Ellie usually wasn't the best at comforting me in whichever situation, I remember back when I was fourteen and a wreck because my first dog died and all she could do was give me a hug and ask if I wanted water. 

"You’re not immature," Ellie says, unsure of what to do.

"Alrighty," I press my lips together in a thin line, equally diffident. "I'm just bored of this, it's gotten kind of repetitive."

"Then what do you wanna do?" She asks, in this light she's dimly illuminated by the setting sun. She looks like a sculpture carved from honey.

"Keep looking at me like that and I'll do whatever you want," I smile.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Is it working?"

"Not entirely," She says, behind her, there's a snap and just before she turns around I call her attention back to me. I saw Valentina, Chloe, and Olive emerging from behind trees, just seconds away from victory.

"Okay," I chuckle "Help me up?"

Ellie regards me for a second before taking my hand stretched wide. The second her hand clasps in mine I pull her down with all of my might and believe me when I say this is no easy feat, Ellie was sturdy. Luckily I caught her off guard and managed to pin her beneath me, I straddle over her torso, gesturing for the girls to run.

"Go!" I whisper-shout so others on the blue team can't hear me. Ellie grabs me by the waist and uses momentum to flip me over, now I'm the one with my back in the mud and she sits overtop of me. 

She had been so close that our lips brushed, and I had felt my heart stop, I almost didn't want to move just to see what would happen next but in utter panic, I reached next to me, a handful of mud and smeared it down Ellie's face. "You're so gross," She squeezes her eyes shut, leans back and begins to scoop mud off her face, I use this as my opportunity to wriggle out from beneath her.

It takes me a minute to get off my knees and onto my feet, by this point, almost the entirety of my legs are covered in mud, leaves, sticks, and probably bugs. I try to take off but my sneakers betray me and I fall face-first into the mud.

Of course, Ellie sees this and she's laughing so hard she needs to support herself, one forearm against a tree while her other is clutching her stomach. I scoop up more mud, almost squirming in distaste from the sensation of it caked beneath my nails but I still throw it at Ellie with perfect accuracy. 

She tenses up when I do this. Once again I struggle to my feet but this time I am victorious, I stay frozen in place for a moment to be sure I won't face plant again. When I'm sure that I won't fall, I bend down to throw another mud pie at Ellie for good measure than I'm off to see if my girls completed the mission.

When I finally got back to my side I saw my team already celebrating "Woohoo!" I yell and the crowd immediately falls quiet, regarding my current state. I probably look like a creature who's just crawled out of a stagnant swamp. 

"Why does she look like that?" Ashlynn whispers to Bowie who doesn't respond and from his red eyes alone, I know the reason why.

"C'mon girls," I smile "Bring it in!" I open my arms for my cabin to come in for a hug but they just back away from me with wrinkled noses. 

Tommy looks at me "Why are you dirty?" I knew he was getting sassy when he propped his hands on his hips "What happened in the ten-minute gap since I last saw you that has made you so filthy?" It wasn't malice in his voice but genuine curiosity, Tommy was a fun-loving guy for the most part.

I shrugged "I wouldn't know, mate, you tell me." His eyebrows furrowed as his confusion delved even deeper. He looked into my soul from across the clearing. Eventually, Ellie makes her way to join me, she's a little better off than I am though she's still grimy.

"Oh, great, you too," Tommy says, gesturing to his niece. 

Joel lets out a deep sigh "You two better shower before dinner."

I let the hot water run over my body, dripping down and consuming me whole. Ellie and I are the only ones in the showers, we're separated by nothing more than a divider though the steam is so heavy I wouldn't have been able to see her regardless. 

Since we were sent to grab a change of clothes and clean off Ellie had been almost silent, she wasn't even teasing me back or making a punchline when I had thrown out an obvious setup. 

After thoroughly washing the grime off of my body I turned the shower off, walking over the laminated bench where Ellie and I had out put our clothing only to find them missing. For a minute I thought I was crazy and had misplaced them but after awkwardly pattering around the shower house, I realised they were gone.

"Hey, Ellie," I say on the other side of her shower stall "Someone stole our clothes."

"You're hilarious," She deadpanned, not an ounce of amusement in her tone.

"Yeah, I know but I'm not joking."

I hear the water turn off in her stall, she pokes her head out and looks at the bench "Where did you put them?"

"I didn't put them anywhere," I say, in an attempt to sound convincing. "Someone took our shit," All that was left behind we're Ellie's Converse, knocked onto the ground and my carabiner with keys, a flashlight, and my shark keychain. 

"Fuck," Ellie mutters and looks around for a moment before her eyes land on me and she quickly averts her gaze, "Can you turn around?"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too." I tell her though I do turn around "What's the plan here?"

"I'm looking."

"I already did, dumbass."

"Thoroughly." She adds.

I stare at empty shower stalls and white tile walls while Ellie checks every single spot that I already have. I can hear only her and the plop of dribbles of water splattering against the cold ground. The steam is still heavy and easy on my sharp lungs.

"I can't find them," Ellie says at last. "But I did find some clothes that look like they could've belonged to Adam Sandler.”

"Yeah, no shit," I turn around and see her standing there completely nude, she moves quickly out of my eye line and into a stall "You've changed in front of me a million times, what's different now?" I say, nonchalantly, walking past her.

"Maybe I don't want you to see me buck naked."

"I think I just heard something," I stop in my tracks.

 "not really the time-

"Why do you always think I'm fucking with you?" I ask, furrowed eyebrows.

"Because-

"Shh," I hush her trying to listen for the sound. I walked toward the entrance of the shower house there was a large wall in front of the door so no one could open the door to peek in, they had to go around the wall and properly enter, the same way most locker rooms were set up. I'm about ten yards away from the entrance when I see a figure poke their head out, just a quarter of its face, I can see their amber eye. They spot me in almost a split second and jet out in a blur, I hear the door open and crashing shut, their feet scrambling away. Just like that, I felt my blood run cold. 

"Fuck!" I yell, scuttling back towards the stalls "Ellie, there's fucking someone in here!" My heart is beating faster than I think it ever has before and I almost feel sick with the thought that someone was in here the entire time Ellie and I had been vulnerable and unaware. 

"What?" She steps out of the stall and looks around before she sees me. I'm on the floor, my knees to my chest and eyes wide. "You saw someone?"

"Yes!" I say throwing a hand out to gesture to the divider "They were hiding behind there and fucking watching us!"

"Shit," She says, walking towards the wall and looking behind it, she freezes too. Ellie turns towards me and the doubt on her face is gone "We need to find some clothes and get out of here."

"What?" I say "Did you see something?"

Ellie begins to open every single locker, tossing articles of clothing that people left behind on the ground. She wasn't exaggerating earlier when she said she found clothes that could've belonged to Adam Sandler. No wonder they were left behind.

"What was it?" I press again.

"Just some mud tracks, they were probably ours," She dismisses. "Now get dressed."

This doesn't ease me in the slightest, I'm so on edge that I haven't made a joke about Ellie and I casually being naked in front of each other. How ridiculous the pair of us looked didn't aid me in calming down; Ellie was wearing a black T-shirt about three sizes too large that read 'Ask me about my IBS' with a caricature of a man-eating cheese beneath it, this was paired with blue basketball shorts that had two white stripes running down the side. "How's your IBS?" I tease.

"It's a constant battle." At least she had her shoes, I had to wear flip-flops that hardly fit, so small I almost thought they belonged to a Barbie. While Ellie was moderately comfortable, I was not, I had to wear skinny jeans that were crudely cut into Bermuda shorts, matched with none other than an American flag tank top, how patriotic. 

"I'm almost thinking it would be better to go out in nothing," I say, looking at myself in the mirror. I glance over at Ellie, I know she's trying to play it off but I can tell she's shaken.  "You look so stupid."

"Damn," She says "I was just trying to show my support for those with IBS," Ellie jokes, trying to ease the tension.

The both of us are procrastinating on leaving the perceived safety of the shower house. I feel dread emanating from the woods, we will no longer be surrounded by four walls and engulfed by bright light. As we walk towards the entrance I reach for Ellie's hand, intertwining our fingers. "So we're going straight to the mess hall?"

"Yup," She says, giving my hand a little squeeze, it's her way of saying 'I got you'. I wonder if she can sense the panic pulsing through me or distress pumping in my veins. At the door I saw the tracks Ellie was staring at, they hadn't been ours. We walked in with muddy sneakers, these were barefoot prints, and whoever they belonged to had walked in many circles. I'm sick to my stomach once again, fighting the natural urge to vomit until I cry and my parents come to comfort me.

I click my flashlight on, but nothing lays ahead but forest and a beaten path. We stepped out into the darkness, it wasn't a far walk to the mess hall where everyone was gathered but that didn't stop my heart from racing like a rabbit moments away from getting snagged by a terrifying beast. 

My heartbeat slowed the further we walked, so far we hadn't been kidnapped by a pervert. I take a deep breath, trying to push overtly dark thoughts to the back of my mind, next to me Ellie is calm as a marble statue bathed beneath moonlight.

Each breeze makes me shudder despite the humid weather. Suddenly, regarding my current situation, the summer camp doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like those abandoned houses up the road that my parents had carefully trained me to stay away from. The rustle of leaves is reminiscent of the laugh that belonged to creepy men who used to watch children at the park who didn't belong to them. 

I'm no longer met with the fresh scent of pine but something ancient, something rotted like it's been sitting in the back of the fridge for a decade. It reeks of shit to the point where I'm gagging on nothing like little hands of wind pushing on the back of my throat. 

My hand grows sweaty clasped to Ellie's though she shows no indication of being bothered by this. I hear a rustle somewhere around, whether it's in the trees or the bushes I'm unsure, instinctivly, I freeze. I look around, the gleam from my flashlight gliding across the flora, searching for something that likely isn't there.

"It's okay," Ellie says, her voice tender as a lullaby  "We're fine," She pulls gently on my hand to keep us going but I'm stuck in place. My flashlight is frozen on the body of a rabbit, Its white fur soaked through with red. I break my hand free from Ellie's grip and clasp it over my dry lips to choke down a cry. The entire skin of the rabbit's torso had been torn off on one side from the spine to the stomach, you could see its brown organs, the still beating heart, and everything that made it function was pooling out of it. If it hadn't been for its little head, beady eyes full of fear and perked-up ears, I wouldn't have known it was a rabbit at all. Whatever mauled it did a messy job that it hadn't quite finished like a dull axe to the back of the head. 

Behind the trees, I hear slurping, something wet and hungry. It wretches on what I assume to either be its newest feast or its saliva. It devours every last breath it has, the breathing is shallow and gruff like it's eating so fast it's choking on its meal, though it takes the time to slurp and swallow the remnants of whatever it's chowing down on. I see a pair of golden eyes glint behind a shrub in the cast of my light.

I reach for Ellie's hand again and run like I've never run before. She quickly takes the lead, so fast that she's nearly dragging me along. We don't speak but we understand each other clearly, we need to move. 

Trailing us, I hear heavy steps beating against the dirt pathway. I don't even need to look back to know that it's following u, its heavy, wet breathing is clue enough. I'm starting to feel a burning in my lungs, saliva builds in my mouth and I spit it down onto the pathway, heaving with every quick-paced step.

One of my too-tight pink flip-flops catches a rock stuck in the path and sends me tumbling to the ground. For just a moment I see a pitch-black figure wearing tattered clothing with amber eyes that glow light street lamps gaining on us; I could've sworn it had human hands and feet but I wasn't in my right mind, it's still enough to send adrenaline coursing through my veins. Without even stopping, Ellie pulls me back up and I kick off my other sandal, running barefoot on the trail.

My feet hammer against the dirt, rocks, and pebbles. I can feel the souls of my feet getting sliced and torn though I don't slow down, the sight of the mess hall in the distance makes me run even faster. 

"Hey!" Ellie yells, trying to capture the attention of someone in the mess hall. Her grip on my hand doesn't loosen, in fact, it gets tighter as she pulls me along. I don't know if whatever was chasing us is still there but I'm too mortified to check. 

I wave with my hand clutching my carabiner but it does nothing to garner any kind of attention within the mess hall. Our feet moving faster than we could form thoughts we ran towards the entrance. 

Ellie pulls the door wide open and pushes me in before slamming the door shut behind us. The very second my heaving body hits the floor, everyone's attention falls on us.

"Woah," Miles regards us with confusion before it morphs into a smile on his face "Did you guys just have sex?" He takes a bite of his sandwich, he looks like he got into Ashlynn's stash.

"Why do you look like Adam Sandler and Hilary Duff?" Dina furrowed her eyebrows next to Jesse, he looked like he was trying to work together some type of conclusion for why we were breathing so deeply and why my feet were bleeding. 

I look at Ellie and she meets my gaze, she no longer looks calm. There's a sense of dread written clearly across her features, that thing didn't seem animal, it didn't seem human either and I wasn't sure which was worse, the echo or the answer.  

A/N: Not much to say today but thanks for reading! Love you all.

TAGLIST: @wherearthepilots-blog @diddiqueen my tags are being so weird I’m so sorry if you weren’t tagged

[flametrashiraarchive]

oooh I have a request!! 🙋🏼‍♀️ maybe some headcannons about how kimetsu au nemi would handle a student with dyscalculia who's really trying but is struggling? would he be soft? exasperated? annoyed? I have the biggest crush on this loser but I also have dyscalculia and I fear he would hate me asdfghfifkdlslskdhsj lmao

Hey there! I have big feelings for prof. Sanemi AND math makes me feel like my brain is full of cotton wool and I want to throw up so I'm with you 100% on this. I'm gonna do this one as bullet points because that feels mathematical (is it? Idk.)

Also, I'm doing this as if you're an adult student attending math classes after work to try to overcome your dyscalculia. 

I hope this is okay!

Cw for language (c'mon it's Sanemi)

Professor Sanemi

The first time you freeze up when trying to solve a fairly basic math problem, Professor Sanemi's eye twitches and he bares his teeth.

He's frustrated.

Is this some kind of joke to you?

It isn't a joke, it's math!

But once it becomes apparent you're not doing it because you're lazy or goofing off, the focus of his frustration is himself.

How the hell are you not getting this??

He should be able to teach you this. 

But no matter what he does, it doesn't seem to go in. 

Math is logical. It's universal. Why aren't you getting it?

God fucking dammit. 

He leans over you, one hand braced on your desk while he explains the problem again. 

Holy shit he smells good. 

Even without the dyscalculia, it's hard to concentrate when he's leaning over you like this.

Sir, crush my head between your boobs.

"Are you listening? PEMDAS!!!"

No matter how he explains it it just doesn't work.

When you explain you have dyscalculia to him he just stares and then walks away.

He doesn't speak to you for the rest of the class.

Avoids eye contact and everything. 

He goes home after class, so damn frustrated

and spends the night researching teaching techniques for students with dyscalculia.

Gets ohagi all over his laptop

You are getting through this goddamn course if he has to kick your ass every goddamn step of the way.

The next lesson he doesn't make you answer in front of the other students. 

He stands behind you as he watches you go through the worksheet he made for you. 

It has little illustrations and diagrams and everything.

He drew them himself.

You won't see it, but he smiles when he sees you actually get one right.

[abubblingcandle]

Augusnippets Day 24 - Bear Trap - Ted Lasso

cw mention of traps from the Saw franchise

Roy comes home to the aftermath of one of the Greyhound film nights and doesn't do the greatest job at managing his team's fears

A day late but still counts!

Here on AO3 @augusnippets

"What the fuck are you two idiots up to?" Roy growled, pushing Jamie backwards to flop over the arm of the settee. He landed with a little sharp exhale and flopped to lie across Dani's lap. 

"We're never sleeping again," Dani proclaimed, holding a screwdriver firmly in white knuckles fists up in front of him. 

"Why ... no I don't care. Go to bed," Roy huffed, pointing at the stairs. In the coaching courses they don't teach you that footballers in their twenties are idiots and you'll spend most of your time parenting them. It should at least be a seminar. 

"Nope, can't sleep. Researching," Jamie nodded, rolling off Dani only to shoot back up and burrow into his side. 

"That can wait until the morning," Roy raised his eyebrows as they both shook their heads in unison. 

"What is he comes in the night?" Dani whispers. 

"We need to know what to do!" Jamie waved his iPad in Roy's direction that was showing a video about escaping from bear traps. 

Roy sighed, massaging his temples. He had just done yoga. He should be calm, refreshed, centred not frustrated, annoyed and tired. 

"One of you. Speak. Full sentences. Now!"

Jamie and Dani both looked at each other, nervous flickering eyes. 

"We went to movie night at Isaac's with the team and he showed us the most horrible of films. The man who comes and takes people and puts their head's in increasingly awful situations," Dani rambled. 

Roy groaned, "why were you watching Saw at a team film night?" They should not be watching films like that without adult supervision. 

"Isaac said it was gruesome but in a fun way!" Jamie protested. "And now every time I close my eyes I think the puppet man is coming for us so I ain't closing my eyes for nothing!"

Roy prayed to anyone and anything that was listening for strength to get through this conversation. "The film isn't real. No one is coming to kidnap you and especially no one is coming to kidnap Dani and put your heads in a bear trap," Roy sighed. 

"Why is Dani less likely?" Jamie yelped, snatching the defensive screwdriver from Dani's hands. 

"Your whole personality," Roy replied blankly, fully prepared to have to dodge a flying screwdriver. 

"Now I'm definitely not sleeping," Jamie nodded, turning back to the iPad. 

"Fucking hell. Even if, which it won't, it does happen. You'll just get the key or ..."

"Wedge the bars shut and try and break the spring!" Dani supplied helpfully. 

"There you go," Roy waved his hands in exasperation. Maybe finally they'd go cuddle in bed like the little idiots usually did. 

"But what if there isn't anything to wedge it with?" Jamie supplied unhelpfully. 

"Then I'll avenge your deaths. I have plenty of saw trap ideas," Roy replied with a shrug. Time stopped, both Jamie and Dani froze eyes wide open in panic. 

"Dani run!" Jamie screamed, diving over the back of the settee with Dani in tow in an uncoordinated mass of limbs. They both screeched as they clattered up the stairs and Roy heard the guest room door slam shut and click locked. 

Ok maybe that was a mistake. 

Roy: I am going to kill you

Isaac: I'm sorry! Jamie said it would be fine and then it was too late

Roy: You never believe the idiots

Isaac: I know, it’s captain 101

Isaac: But in my defence Jamie said he had been meaning to watch it but then they ran screaming about sharks???

Roy: Think about it pretending to be Jamie

Isaac: ... I don't think I get it

Isaac: Oohhh I got it ... Jaws 

[airplanned]

Terrible AU of the day:  Zeff and Bellemere get married. Nami, Nojiko, and Sanji are step siblings on the Baratie.

With extra details, because I spent 11 hours in the car today:

He's buying supplies for the Baratie at Coco Village, and gets tangerines from her and asks if she wants to get dinner.  She thinks this is a business dinner and he's going to buy tangerines exclusively from her.  Heck yeah money!  Once she gets there, she realizes pretty quick that he meant it to be a date.  She panics and talks about tangerines the whole time.  He realizes she doesn't know it's a date, gets embarrassed, signs a contract to buy way too many tangerines on a regular basis.

She's embarrassed and keeps sending the girls to the dock to deliver the tangerines in her stead.  Zeff is like, "These girls are too damn skinny," so he'll buy the tangerines, feed them lunch, and hand them a couple casseroles to take home.  Zeff's approval rating with the girls are off the charts.

Bellemere comes down to give him a piece of her mind about how they don't need charity, and he's like, "It's not charity.  My dumbass brat of a kid said he was too good to make casseroles, so I made him make 20, and now I have too many damn casseroles."  She's like, "...IDK what to make of any of that.  You have a kid?"  And he's like, "Yeah.  He's a shit.  I love him...Want to get dinner?"

Even though all three kids are in weird pseudo-adoption situations, they still have big step-sibling energy.  Mostly because Sanji is wary of siblings and has a meltdown any time Bellemere is nice to him.  Eventually they get to a place where the kids are friends who live on the same houseboat, but no one's ready to use the "sister" word or the "brother" word.  That would have to happen later at an emotionally climactic moment.

Nojiko and Sanji are both exceedingly well dressed.  Everyone else rolls their eyes at them, but they're bonding and look amazing.

Nami teaches Sanji to steal things.  They do a tag-team kind of thing where one of them distracts.  No one can prove they've done anything, but everyone knows and is exasperated.

Zeff is the worst girl dad.  But the girls and Bellemere are consistent with calling him on his shit, especially when Nojiko starts hanging out in the kitchen.  Sanji starts teaching her to cook.  Then Patty starts teaching her to cook.  She's a really good, solid cook, and is less of an asshole about it than everyone else, so after a couple months Zeff gives up and throws chef whites at her.

Bellemere takes over the administration stuff and organizing the vendor purchases, because Zeff would rather be cooking and is shit at it.  I mean, look at how much he's spending on tangerines!

Nami is great at charting courses that will get them the best business and avoid storms and minimize time for supply trips.

As the kids get older, they all keep banging the customers.  One of them will do it, and the adults will yell at them, and that kid will calm down for a bit, but as soon as they do, another kid is at it.  It just doesn't stop.

Nami stands up to Zeff for something he said to Sanji, and Sanji has a meltdown.

Okay, I think Bellemere has to die?  Something with Arlong.  Because then Nami leaves to get vengeance or whathaveyou.  Zeff throws himself into his work, Sanji shuts down for a while and starts smoking Bellemere's cigarettes.  Nojiko has to keep the restaurant running.  She's pretty pissed at Nami.

When the Going Merry rolls up to the Baratie, Nami's like, "Aww shit.  I'm not here," and hides on the boat until Zoro has his show down with Mihawk.  When Luffy and the rest of the crew go in to eat, Luffy's like, "Hey, do you know Nami?" and Sanji stares at him and says, "Yeah, we're not gonna tell Nojiko she's here." Immediately goes to the Merry to be like, "Sooooooo..." in the most asshat brother kind of way.

She and Zeff end up having an all-out screaming match on deck.  Luffy's standing off to the side like 😶 horrified and trying not to be noticed but unable to look away from this car crash.   Sanji's 😶 too.  And Usopp 😶.  And the chefs 😶😶😶😶.  And maybe Mihawk 😶.

When they finally calm down and come to the end of their fight, Zeff's like, "Alright, fine.  But nobody tell Nojiko."

[achairwithapandaonit]

I wish you would write a fic where... Ran, Conan and Haibara are skaters? Could be a skater AU, could be just an aside of canon, however you want. (Brought to you by me remembering these very cute figure/illustrations where they're skating! Ill show them to you if you remind me to)

this is definitely not what you were asking but there is a skateboard and ran, conan, and haibara lol. also i haven't proof read and didn't really know where i was going with this so there's no telling how good this is

Ordinarily, babysitting the shounen tantei-dan would be a lot of fun. Their earnest enthusiasm is always infectious, and the way they all look to Conan-kun like ducklings to a mother tugs at Ran's heartstrings and makes her want to coo. Conan's adult posturing is especially cute.

Sitting on a bench at the park, watching the children crowd around Conan as he tries to teach them how to use his skateboard, Ran can only feel empty.

"Ayumi's got it now for sure!" Ayumi-chan says, puffing out her cheeks as she tries to balance on the skateboard. Her legs shake beneath her from the determination behind her attempt.

"Well done, Ayumi-chan!" Mitsuhiko says.

"Go for it, Ayumi!" Genta cheers her on. "Soon you'll be better than even Conan!"

Conan raises an eyebrow. "Oi, oi," he sighs. Still, he steps forward and gives the back of the skateboard a nudge. "Now you've just got to learn to get it moving without falling over."

Ayumi wobbles and steps off the skateboard with a pout, grabbing hold of Conan's arm for balance. "That sounds hard," she whines.

"Aha," Conan says dryly. "So you're just not gonna try, huh."

"It's fine as long as we're friends with Conan-kun! Since you can do so many things it means Ayumi can do so many things too!"

"Yeah! You're expecting too much here, Conan!"

"Aren't you the ones who asked for my help?"

"Still..."

Beside her Ai-chan calmly flips through a fashion magazine, unconcerned with the scene.

"My turn!" Genta says, jumping onto the skateboard. He wobbles dangerously.

"Eh?! You're gonna fall over, Genta!"

"Be careful!"

"Don't push off yet, Genta-kun!"

Ran winces as Genta trips over the skateboard. She goes to get up, but...hesitates.

"Ow, ow, ow," Genta winces, clutching at his grazed knee.

Conan cuffs him lightly on the head. "Barou," he says, exasperated fondness leaking into his tone. Then, looking in Ran's direction, slightly to the left (because he can't meet her eyes these days), "Oi, Haibara! You got any bandaids on you?"

Ai closes the magazine between her palms, a quick movement as if she'd been anticipating this call to action. As she gets up, folding the magazine into her inner coat pocket, her cold gaze lingers on Ran for a fraction of a second. She quickly moves along, joining the children and leaving Ran by herself.

Ran can't help but be relieved to not have the girl sitting beside her anymore.

-

"It bothers you, doesn't it."

The statement is said dryly. Ran heaves in a breath, eyes straying down to the small girl walking beside her. Ahead of them, the shounen tantei-dan and Conan are slowly making their way along the pavement, Ayumi holding onto Conan's hand as she tries to move the skateboard along.

"Um...I'm not sure what you're talking about?" Ran says. She tries to keep her hesitance out of her voice but she knows that Ai picks up on it.

What couldn't Ai pick up on, being who she is.

"You've been keeping watch for a week now," Ai observes. "Yet you still can't seem to see Kudou-kun and Edogawa-kun as the same person."

Ran swallows. "I..."

"You don't want to see them that way. Because as soon as you do, you lose something, right? You're wondering which one it will be - the boy you're in love with, or your beloved little brother."

Ran drags her eyes from Ai, focusing on the children in front of them. Ayumi's let go of Conan's hand by now. She's doing very well on her own.

Conan looks impressed.

"Can you blame me?" Ran asks, throat dry.

Ai looks at her for a second before flicking her gaze away.

"I suppose not," she offers. "Really, you have my sympathy."

Ran's been learning that Ai is the kind of person to say what she means without hesitation, so she knows the girl's probably not lying. Still, the knowledge doesn't do anything to temper the tension Ran feels between them.

Folding her arms behind the small of her back, Ai steps past Ran so she's walking just in front of her.

"You'll lose them both if you keep it up," she says. "You know that Edogawa-kun and Kudou-kun are one and the same now, so there's no point in trying to separate them. You'll waver because of your uncertainty forever, and eventually the connection the two of you have will fade away until you're just strangers. It would be a shame if that happened, don't you think?"

Ai doesn't wait for a response before pacing ahead and joining the others.

-

The week has been a hard one, filled to the brim with an overloading intensity that her father has easily picked up on. As Ran stares into the fridge, trying to cobble together some kind of recipe to make with the ingredients they have, Kogoro leans into the kitchen, knocking on the wall to get her attention.

"Oi, Ran," he says. "Me and the brat are gonna eat at Poirot. You wanna come?"

True to his word, Ran can see Conan lingering behind her dad. He doesn't look like he wants to be there, but Kogoro's gotten into a habit of bullying Conan into going places with him this whole week. He thinks they're arguing, and she supposes they are. In a way.

It's an argument without words or any kind of a point. Ran got past her anger already, so all that's left is whatever this halfway point is.

Usually Ran says no to Kogoro's offer, but...

"You'll lose them both if you keep it up."

"Sure," Ran says, closing the fridge door.

She swallows past the lump in her throat and decides that maybe it's worth it to lose Shinichi, if only so she can get to know him again.

[willxtoxsurvive]

𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙳𝙾𝚄𝙱𝚃

@hauntedreality said -> I'm not going in there, and you can't make me./Sherry for Ghost

This is why he doesn't have kids– well, this and many other reasons. But this, the refusal to just do as told no matter how dire and dangerous the situation is, is inching its way closer and closer to the top of reasons why Ghost won't have kids any time soon.

You can't make me. He almost laughs at that. He could make her. He could probably lift her under one arm like a football and carry her into the building kicking and screaming, but he didn't want to be the bad guy in every scenario. Even Ghost got tired of being the bad guy sometimes, especially when it came to children being scared of him. Still, Sherry was making it really difficult for him to do this whole 'gentle approach' thing. If she was an adult, he'd have probably already shoved her in– hell, if she was an adult, he probably would have left her to die.

But she's just a kid...

Ghost huffed, exasperated. "And WHAT-" he started, paused, forced himself to take a deep breath and to control his temper, lowering his tone. "What do you suggest we do, then? I'm sure you've noticed by now that staying out on the streets isn't any safer than going in there."

Now, he hoped this was what people meant when they talked about gentle approaches to interacting with kids: asking her for suggestions, acknowledging that this whole mess was probably scarier for her, a child, than it was for him, an adult carrying a Beretta PMX submachine gun, who also happened to have worked for the company that had been creating these monsters for longer than he'd worked for them, for a few years now.

Looking around, Ghost made sure no long-tonged abomination, tall and well dressed freak, or opportunistic walking corpse would take his moment of distraction as a chance to finish what that monster Birkin started back at the NEST a few days back —dammit, it'd really been DAYS of being trapped in this hellhole— before he got down on one knee in front of Sherry. Now, what he was about to do would NOT qualify as a gentle approach, but he thought it was the wisest thing to do: he reached for the holster strapped around his thigh, and pulled the Glock 19 free, handing it to Sherry.

"Have you ever shot one of these?" he asked. "It's not a toy, it's a tool. I'm going to teach you how to use it, and trust you to be smart about using it. That way, we can watch each other's backs and you can protect YOURSELF if something happens to me." he grabbed her hand, made her hold her palm facing skywards, and placed the handgun on her hand so she would have a chance to get used to its weight before they did anything else with it. "No more running unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"

[generalobi]

So I know you like just continued this, but I'm addicted to your Medlida/Daan story. Totally at your own pace, I would love to see more interactions between Obi-Wan & Jango & Jaster's possible arrival. Your writing is absolutely brilliant and I love how you wrote the Mandalorians reacting to these children forced to grow up so quick. Fantastic job.

Nield doesn’t look happy that Obi-Wan is giving them another lecture on Mandlorian culture. It’s not like Obi-Wan wants to be teaching a group of twelve teenagers a history he only half understands. Sometimes, the Force works in mysterious ways.

“The Manda’lor is usually a successive position,” Obi-Wan taps the word he’s scrawled on the wall, “Handed down either from parent to child, or from Manda’lor to a chosen successor. Te Sol'yc Mand'alor, or Mandalore the First in Basic, was supposedly the one who conquered Mandalore and exterminated the mythosaurs. The Manda’lor leads the clans, each clan has their own clan leader.”

Herti frowns, “Usually successive?”

“Uh, yes. Jaster Mereel, the current Manda’lor, was chosen by his faction as their Manda’lor and given the official title when the Haat’Mando’ade, the True Mandlorians, won the civil war. He’s elected his son, Jango Fett as his successor. I’m pretty sure I told you all this last time.”

Daria rolls her eyes, “We’re a Council of twelve equal leaders, idiot, most us weren’t listening to a word you said last time. You and I are the only ones who needed to know. Wait, did we ever tell them we were the planetary leaders?”

“That was in the original missive I sent them,” he says, exasperated, “Whether they realised exactly what that meant or not, I don’t know. Anyway, carrying on. Jaster Mereel has been Manda’lor for twenty years, officially for seven.”

“So about the same time we’ve been leaders?” Nield observes thoughtfully, “Remind me why he’s somehow more qualified than us?”

Obi-Wan resists the urge to scream, “Because, he was a leader for thirteen years before he was officially Manda’lor. Like I just said. He’s been Manda’lor for as long as I’ve been alive. We’re plenty qualified, but that doesn’t mean that we always were. We were just children, Nield. You know that as well as I do.”

“Obi-Wan is right,” Mal says, “Now, shut up and let him teach us history so we can keep our nice new trade deal.”

¬

Jango finds that the full MelidaDaan Council is a lot more impressive than he was expecting. Facing twelve battle-hardened veterans is intimidating, even if none of them are older than twenty-one. He imagines even his buir is feeling it.

“It is an honour to meet you, Manda’lor,” the oldest one bows stiffly, “I am Minister Nield. We are pleased to welcome you to our city.”

His buir bows back, “The honour is mine, Minister Nield. I only wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Indeed,” another Minister inclines their head, “We understand you have some questions about our history. We would be more than happy to answer them over dinner, if you’d follow us?”

They’re lead into the same large hall Jango and Myles had been given their first meal in. This time, it’s just the Mandalorian delegation and the Council.

Jango finds himself seated across from Minister Kenobi. The polite smile on his face is a far cry from the genuine joy Jango had seen when he was surrounded by children. That joy… that laugh. He found that he wants to be the one who makes him laugh like that. Maybe, after they’ve got their answers and are no longer in the middle of a negotiation, he can try.

Food is brought in, all of the servers clearly of age. Maybe as a statement, maybe not avoid making anyone uncomfortable.

Jango’s buir has never cared for niceties, or stood on formality. Sometimes, he wonders if Jaster prefers his political opponents and allies uncomfortable.

“So,” his buir says, “We have questions. The first is, do you use child soldiers? Because Mandalorians do not stand for the abuse of children, no matter the reason.”

Minister Kenobi hums thoughtfully, “That is a more complicated question that you know. As you have probably noticed, there are very few adults among us.”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

A girl with short cropped hair raises an eyebrow, “It’s not. Not here, not for us. Your children come of age at eighteen in war time, yes? My name is Jyfn, I was ten when we retook our planet. My parents did not want peace, so I ran away and joined the Young. We are all members of the Young. The Elders bombed and killed each other for hundreds of years, and the few left by the end were killed in the final battle, imprisoned for the crimes they committed or exiled themselves to the farmlands.”

A boy with scarred eyes continues, “The Elders blinded me. We were all child soldiers. We do not want to make the children fight, but many of us are children ourselves. Nield is the oldest, he is twenty-two this year. How do we define what an adult is, what a child is? We fought a war when we were nothing but babies ourselves.”

“Children younger than ten don’t work,” Minister Kenobi says, “Children younger than thirteen don’t learn to fight. Ten is how old our youngest Council members were when we won the war, and thirteen is how old I was. As we grow older, as our population grows, the ages will no doubt change. But, by your definition, we do have children soldiers. Some of this Council are child soldiers. I understand your discomfort, Manda’lor, however we cannot overcome our past in isolation from the galaxy.”

“I see,” Jaster scans the assembled Council, “Well, this food is very good.”

¬

It’s late, later than is acceptable to be wandering around. But Jango can’t sleep. Myles and his buir are still talking, trying to find more information without asking the Council to relive more of a traumatic past.

He’s hopelessly lost when he stumbles about Minister Kenobi. He’s sitting on a balcony, gaze on the cloudless sky. Jango debates just leaving him to it, but they might as well both not sleep together.

“Hello, Prince Fett,” he greets, without looking, “Can I help you?”

“I can’t sleep, and it seems you can’t either.”

He shrugs, “Oh you know, old memories and the usual insomnia. What about you?”

“Mostly horror,” Jango settles next to him, “We have a word for your Elders on Mandalore.”

“I know,” he smiles slightly, “Demagolka, right? The description certainly fits the Elders, though they never experimented on us. At least not overtly. They settled on lesser war crimes.”

“Like the murder of children?”

“Maybe not that lesser.”

Jango looks at Minister Kenobi’s moonlit figure. The sharp lines of his silhouette stark against the dark blue sky. He looks older and wearier in the strange half-light of the night. The subject of his stories to the children rises up in his mind. He spoke of Coruscant and Shili and Alderaan. With a civil war like the one here, there’s little chance he would’ve had the opportunity to visit them.

“Were your parents Elders, like the others?” Jango asks cautiously, wary of the answer.

Minister Kenobi doesn’t look at him, “No, at least not to my knowledge. I believe they were from Stewjon, and that they’re Stewjoni. I didn’t grow up with them.”

“Where did you grow up? And how did you end up here?”

“I think that is a story for another time,” he stands, “I must bid you goodnight, Prince Fett. Tomorrow is another busy day.”

“Goodnight, Minister Kenobi.”

He watches as the man slips back inside the Fortress, feet soundless on the tiles and a suspicion forming in his mind.

[kiri-ah]

With A Bow Tie s.jn

(click header for high quality)

I am so sorry about this but this is a female/non-binary reader insert, I can't think of a way to make this work for a male reader, it's too self indulgent. I'm so sorry, really. You can still read it of course, but there are some details that might be a wee bit off.

taglist because i think my friends will like this: @danishmiilk @lebrookestore @leejunini @allegxdly @hannie-dul-set @alicanta77 @multifandomcoffeebean @batshitcrazyauthor @bluejaem @mingiswow and if I forgot you please send me an angry message lol

You've never understood how a bow tie works. Any male figures in your life used full-on ties or the little clip-on bow ties that you don't actually have to, well, tie. Then you started dating Johnny Suh and discovered that bow ties were relatively common, most of his (humongous) friend group used them more often than a long tie. 

The morning of his friend Taeyong's wedding, the two of you are getting ready in your shared hotel room, him in his suit and you in your best clothes. Johnny looks absolutely stunning and you find yourself wondering how he would look if you were to walk down the aisle towards him. You nearly melt from the image; even in your head, he has the prettiest smile. You snap out of your thoughts when he asks you to help decide which of the two ties he brought looks best. You raise your eyebrow in amusement.

"You brought two ties to the hotel?"

He goes to run a hand through his hair before remembering the gel in it and freezing his hand mid-air. "I couldn't decide yesterday, I thought maybe I'd be more sure today," he tells you, and you can see he's just as exasperated with himself as you are.

"Okay," you say with a laugh. "I'll help, but you have to teach me how to tie a bow tie, and not laugh at me." 

He doesn't hesitate even a moment before saying, "deal."

You tell him that you think the red tie goes better with the occasion and he nods, ready to take your word for it. In exchange, Johnny shows you exactly how the oddly shaped fabric turns into a bow.

"Okay so you start a little bit like tying shoes," he says, showing you. "Then this bottom piece gets folded in half, making one half of the bow. Then you wrap this other side up and around, securing it." You watch with something akin to awe as he twists the fabric with nimble fingers and makes half a bow. "Now this other side gets folded in half as well and you tuck it through the back to make the other half of the bow. Then if we just tug a little it straightens out into a nice bow!"

"You make it look so easy," you breathe out. "Can I try on your other one?" He looks down at his watch, smiling at your enthusiasm. 

"When we get home, I'll let you practice until you can make a million perfect bows," he tells you, "but we're going to be late for the wedding if we take much longer, and I'm a Best Man. I can't be late." 

You huff out a breath but follow him out the door after grabbing your things. You're more eager than you'd like to admit to see the mystery fiancee of Taeyong's. He's kept her to himself for too long. 

When you arrive at the wedding there are people streaming into the church, Johnny's whole enormous group of friends is here, some with their significant others, and so are older adults and- is that Xing-Yi?!

You gasp, looking at Johnny. "I think I know those girls! I'm gonna go see if they know who the bride is." You kiss him on the cheek and before he's even answered you're speeding off towards the group of surprisingly familiar faces. 

"XING-YI!" you call. She turns all the way around and it is her, and around her are Krystal, Nini, Storm, Felix, Allex, Bruna, Bean, Taytem, Aditi and other friends from your high school years. 

"Y/N!" she exclaims delightedly, and opens her arms for a tight hug of welcome. "I didn't know Brooke invited you!" 

"Brooke?" you echo, confused. "I'm here for Taeyong, I'm dating his friend Johnny." You barely have a moment to consider the fact that Brooke forgot to invite you. Then again, Taeyong did, and they couldn't invite you twice. Brooke is the bride?

"Taeyong?" says Allex. "Skinny kid, always dancing, all the girls and the gays wanted to have sex with him?"

"Yeah, he got more attractive, and he's also the groom," you tell the group.

"And Brooke is the bride?" Nini is all out squealing. You wince at the shrillness. "Dude, I can't believe they kept this a secret for so long!" 

"I can't either," remarks Sicheng, coming up and putting his arms around Xing-Yi's waist. You roll your eyes. They're ones to talk. It took ages to get Xing-Yi's name out of Sicheng's mouth and even longer for you to meet her and realize that it was your Xing-Yi. Allex seems to have the same thought and her mouth is halfway open before she appears to think better of it and closes it again. She's been dating Jaemin for years, a fact you were very jealous of until you met Johnny. They're rather… flamboyant about their love for each other.

Then finally everyone is sitting down and of course you sit with the girls because Johnny is up with Taeyong, who looks gorgeous as ever in his suit and (actual) tie. Allex wasn't kidding; all the girls and a surprising amount of guys wanted him back then, and probably still do. Now he'll be Brooke's to hold and to cherish forever. You desperately hope that she's not the jealous type. 

All of a sudden music starts playing and Brooke walks through the doors to the chapel in all her glory; her dress swishes around her legs as she walks, train falling gracefully to the floor, thin veil over her face and she looks amazing, and you find yourself beating back jealousy. You will not ruin this beautiful occasion with envy. Her smile is visible even though the veil and she just looks so happy. 

After the service everyone is socializing and most of the chatter, from what you can tell, is about how ‘it was Brooke all along’ or ‘can you believe she's married to Taeyong?!’ Apparently they kept it a secret from everyone except their parents. Eventually the bride and groom come in themselves and people are swarming them; your group stays back. You have all the time in the world. Johnny comes to find you in the crowd and then finally it's your turn to go congratulate the couple and tell them how fantastic they looked. They're a great match. 

When you get home the next morning after sleeping in and driving from the hotel, Johnny lets you practice how to tie a bow tie on him, patiently instructing you.

Life is good.

[leelysian]

Hyunjin as your older brother AU 💖✨

genre: fluff

word count: 2.2k

warnings: swearing

Disclaimer: I do not personally know Hyunjin. This work is purely fiction and my own idea. I took inspiration from his on screen persona. Please do not translate or re-upload my work.

☆ Let's start with you as babies.

☆ Hyunjin wasn’t too bothered with the idea of having a sibling.

☆ When your parents first broke the news to him, he was pretty indifferent.

☆ Your parents honestly thought he’d throw a tantrum or something but indifference was something they didn’t have in mind. 

☆ They slowly tried warming up to the idea of having a younger sibling to him, things like protecting them, taking care of them, sharing things with them etc.

☆ He wasn’t too keen on sharing. 

☆ Your parents diverted his mind from that thinking they’d deal with it later when it came to that in the future. 

☆ Initially Hyunjin would be nonchalant but once he saw how invested your parents were for your arrival- creating a nursery, making baby clothes, buying baby stuff etc. Hyunjin slowly got more curious. 

☆ Y’all know how his unnerving stare is, he’d just stare wide eyed in blatant curiousity at his parents preparing things. 

☆ He’d look at his mum eating weird things to satisfy her pregnancy cravings with disgust and sometimes mild curiousity. 

☆ “Why are you eating *insert craving*?” he’d ask. “Baby likes them.” your mum would say. "Oh. Baby's weird."

☆ That would make her laugh.

☆ Days pass by and finally the third trimester arrives. The baby is healthy and kicking.

☆ The fam was watching tv one fine evening when your mum felt a kick and gasped. Both dad and son jump up "What's wrong?"

☆ "Thebabykicked!" she said quickly in a word vomit. "What?" "THE BABY JUST KICKED!"

☆ *cue the freaking out*

☆ She grabbed Hyunjin's tiny hand and pressed it against her big bump when Hyunjin gasped in shock. "WOAH! BABY REALLY KICKED MUM!"

☆ "You were like that too, son." your dad would tell him. "I was?" he'd ask and point to himself and both your parents hummed in agreement.

☆ "You should talk to baby more, I'm sure baby can hear you." your mum told him as she ruffled his hair. "Okay mum."

☆ Thus, in random times he'd say things like "Come quickly." "I can't wait to see you." "I'm eating *insert food*, I think you'll like it but you have to come quick."

☆ Occasionally, he'd cuddle with your mum and rub her belly with lotion or body oil and he'd feel another kick which resulted in the room filling up with giggles.

☆ "Stop kicking mum so much, you'll hurt her." he'd scold. "It's okay baby. I'll be fine." your mum would say.

☆ Finally, the time for your birth came. Hyunjin was somewhat calm but inside he was all sorts of jittery with nervous excitement.

☆ After your parents had a moment with newborn you, Hyunjin was lifted up on the bed by your dad.

☆ The entire time he was quiet but wide eyed in barely concealed curiousity.

☆ Your mum gently placed you in his arms and your dad supported his arms so you were held securely.

☆ Hyunjin stared at you. Your eyes were closed. He raised a small hand and stroked your soft cheek and you stirred so he quickly pulled away.

☆ You opened your eyes into uneven slits and yawned and he smiled. "Cute hehe."

☆ He stroked your cheek again and your even tinier hand grabbed his finger. He gently shook your hand and rocked you in his arms.

☆ Hyunjin vowed he'd protect his new sibling. "He’s/she’s so small." he couldn't help but wonder out loud. "They grow quickly." your dad said.

☆ Fast forward, you were growing, and soon you started to babble and crawl.

☆ Hyunjin would always be keeping an eye on you.

☆ As all babies do, you had a habit of putting everything in your mouth. Everything.

☆ "NO Y/N DON'T EAT THAT." he exclaimed as you were about to put some sort of scum you found on the floor from your crawling adventure in your mouth

☆ He'd scream suddenly graced with the scene of you playing with the toilet water.

☆ Since you have the tendency to put everything in your mouth. He took a sour candy and handed it to you.

☆ You stared at the small, weird, colourful thing. He waited for you to do something.

☆ You put it in your mouth, grimaced heavily, dropped it from your mouth and frowned.

☆ Hyunjin had the time of his life and his stomach hurt from laughing so much.

☆ He'd walk and do things, you'd always follow him.

☆ He tried teaching you how to walk. Standing with you at arm's length as he held your shoulders.

☆ You took quite a few tumbles but he was there to catch you and cushion your fall.

☆ Then he took a different approach and stood behind you as he held your shoulders while you walked.

☆ Slowly with help from Hyunjin and your parents you learned to walk. Now the following became easier.

☆ If he went left, you went left. If he went right, you went right, if he ran then you ran. Then you'd stumble, fall and cry but Hyunjin would laugh and help you stand up.

☆ Soon, you learned how to climb and it was chaos everyday which made your parents exasperated and Hyunjin want to pull his hair out.

☆ "Y/N GET DOWN FROM THERE. THAT'S DANGEROUS!" as if you understood what he was saying. You giggled gleefully.

☆ Once your mum cut your hair. It was so bad. Hyunjin cried because you looked ugly. 

☆ Which made you cry.

☆ Both of you were crying. “MUM WHAT DID YOU DO TO Y/N’S HAIR?”

☆ You’d bother him when he was doing something wanting to be involved. He could be playing a game and you’d grab at him to get his attention. “Y/n stop!” he’d grumble.

☆ this is a true story. My mum cut my hair when I was like 1 and my older brother cried because it was so bad and I cried too

☆ Fast forward, you two are older but you’re still a smol child.

☆ You two played hide and seek. You picked the most obvious places to find.

☆ Hyunjin definitely knew where you were hiding because you always chose the same 3 spots but he'd pretend not to know.

☆ Just so he could jumpscare you. *cue the Hyunjin HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE laugh

☆ TICKLE FIGHTS!!!!

☆ Once Hyunjin was playing games. You went to him because your mum told you to go play for an hour. Hyunjin said no. “MUM HYUNJIN WON’T LET ME PLAY!” “Y/n you can play later. It’s okay.” Hyunjin has a smug look. 

☆ Hyunjin reaches to grab the remote to watch tv, you snatch it before he could. “Please let me watch!” he’d ask. “You didn’t let me play before, I’m not giving up the remote.” you say and hug the remote to your chest. 

☆ “You can go play now.” he put an innocent face. “No.” you refused. “What if I let you play tomorrow?” he asked but you didn’t budge. He did this way too many times. “How about I get you your favourite candy and you can play tomorrow?” 

☆ “How do I know you’re not lying?” you interrogated. “I promise.” he said. You mulled it over for a while. “Fine.” you toss the remote and rush to play your game. 

☆ Next time you were watching tv, Hyunjin didn’t let you play again. This time you were watching your favourite program. 

☆ He snatched the remote and changed the channel. “HEY I WAS WATCHING THAT! GIVE IT BACK!” Of course he raised it out of your reach, “I’m watching now.” 

☆ “If you won’t let me watch then you can’t either.” you’d move and block the tv’s receiver. He’d chastise you, “Y/n go away or else.” 

☆ “I’m telling mum.” you marched. “OKAY FINE HERE” he’d exclaim and give you the remote.

☆ He loved teasing you. As a kid you were a picky eater. Hyunjin didn’t complain as much as you, of course because he’s more mature.

☆ “Y/n you should eat your vegetables. Carrots are good for your eyesight. You don’t want to start wearing glasses now do you?” your mum would lecture you.

☆ “Yeah y/n, be like me. I have good eyesight. You watch too much tv as well. That’s not good.” he’d snicker and you’d glare at him. “You play games all day which is worse.”

☆ “Hwang Hyunjin, is that true? You should be studying more.” your dad would start lecturing him and Hyunjin would glare at you for that while you smiled triumphantly.

☆ Lowkey bullied you by calling you nicknames. 

☆ He’d ruffle your hair playfully but 9/10 times it was annoying for you.

☆ You two would wake up together early morning on the weekends to watch morning cartoons.

☆ Cuddle together under the same blanket until you fell asleep again because you woke up very early.

☆ He’d stand innocently somewhere, you would walk past him and he’d either pull your hair from behind or push you. “HEY!”

☆ He was probably the one who told you some childhood fantasy is a lie. Like the tooth fairy is not real. “Oops.”

☆ Fast forward you’re tweens/teens/young adults

☆ Hyunjin was tolerable but still annoying, as expected of a big brother.

☆ One of his tics were hogging the bathroom for long periods of time.

☆ It got worse because he hit puberty and now he’s OBSESSED with his hair.

☆ You’re going to the bathroom to freshen up, it’s the morning, you have school and he intercepts you quickly and locks the door. “5 minutes y/n!” You bang on the door, “HYUNJIN GET OUT! I’M GONNA BE LATE!”

☆ You need to pee, he’s already in the bathroom. “HYUNJIN GET OUT I NEED TO PEE REALLY BAD! PLEASE!”

☆ He steals your charger. “What’s your percentage at Hyunjin?” “I can’t find my charger, but mine’s at 76%.” “WHAT THE HELL GIMME MY CHARGER MY PHONE’S AT 23%”

☆ You’re chilling in your room. He barges in without knocking.

☆ “Can’t you knock?” you sigh.

☆  “Which shirt should I wear?” You choose one. “Okay thanks.” he says and leaves without closing the door.

☆ “HYUNJIN CLOSE THE DOOR!”

☆ He barges in without knocking to tell you something. He leaves but not before grabbing something closest to him and throwing it at your face.

☆ And once again, he leaves without closing the door. “HYUNJIN CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!” haven’t you ever heard of closing the damn door nOOO

☆ You’re sleeping. He sneaks into your room. Plays something really loud. You  fall off the bed. He bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach. “HYUNJIN I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!”

☆ He shakes a soda can. You walk in. “Hey y/n you want this?” You shrug, “Yeah sure.” You take it from him and open the can.

☆ PSSSSSHHHHH

☆ And you’re sprayed in sticky liquid, it’s up your nose and your eyes.

☆ You get him back of course. Spray some shaving cream on his face and his outstretched hand. Phone recording in hand. “Y/N!”

☆ You undo some of the stitches in his pants while he was in the shower.

☆ He went out wearing them. He bent over. 

☆ RRIIIIIIPPP

☆ The thing is he has no idea you’re the reason his pants are torn from his ass.

☆ Since fashion is subjective these days, you two share clothes but mostly you borrowing his.

☆ You sneakily use his perfume/deodorant stash. 

☆ He’s having cereal. “Can you pass me the box?” you politely ask. “Hm oh yeah sure.” he hands it to you after he finishes pouring then walks off.

☆ You tip the box and only a handful of cereal bits fall out.

☆ “Think fast!” *throws bottle* and you fail to catch it.

☆ You two take a lot of photos. You take good photos of him and he takes good photos of you. Neither of you half ass this. Photography is serious business.

☆ What’s annoying is that he takes photos with your phone and then tells you to send them to him afterwards.

☆ “Take photos with your OWN PHONE!”

☆ You two dance together at home. Your parents bought just dance for your birthday. And you two have dance battles together.

☆ You two made tiktok videos together.

☆ It’s mostly goofing off though. Hyunjin is always laughing his ass off. *cue HEHEHEHEHEHEHE*

☆ He had a habit of teasing you with embarrassing childhood stories. 

☆ “I remember when you were drinking out of the toilet.” he would burst out laughing.

☆ “Yeah well I remember when you nearly shit your pants because of getting your tooth pulled out.” you retorted.

☆ “Oh really?” he’d stand tall and menacing. You pulled a Naruto. “Y/N GET OVER HERE!”

☆ Despite the constant bickering and small *cough* pranks, he was still a reliable brother. 

☆ You knew he’d have your back no matter what and he knew you would do the same for him.

☆ He was always looking out for you even if that may not seem like it.

☆ There was never a dull moment in your house because of you two acting like cat and mouse. 

☆ He’d sometimes say comforting things when things got too hard for you, if he had nothing to say, his shoulder was free to cry on.

☆ But that’s something you’d never change. Yet.

[indigoh4ze]

the original link is this, and I did this with google translator and didn't check it twice LMAO

There was a knock on the door, but he didn't look away from the tests he was correcting. With a vague "Come in" he invited his visitor to pass.

The person who walked in stared at him, regretting having to be there.

"Professor Snape, I come to do my punishment," Draco said coldly, angry with his godfather for punishing him. It had been Potter's fault! He had provoked her! If I didn't say those things about him ...

"Don't speak to me in that tone, Draco," the master hissed. You know very well why you are being punished.

The door slammed shut and Severus soundproofed the room. He wasn't willing to let them hear his argument, because he knew it would end up, they would argue, because Draco was stubborn and because Severus cared about him.

"It was Potter who provoked me, that's why I did it," the annoyed blonde defended himself.

.-Yes, but it was your fault for following him. Also, don't you know more curses? I remind you that you used one of the dark arts, Draco. Everyone knows that these curses are only used by Death Eaters.

-And what did you want me to do? the boy said in an even louder voice. I'm not going to let anyone make fun of me. Never.

"It's fine with me that you don't allow it Draco," the professor reasoned, "but you should know that Dumbledore adores Potter; As soon as the damn kid tells him what you've done, he'll kick you out of school. And then you will no longer be able to serve the Dark Lord, you will be worth nothing. You will have to live and earn a living as just another Muggle because you can be sure that your father will not even want to see you.

.-I don't care, do you understand? For once he could teach Potter a lesson ...

. -And you do not care if your wand is broken? Do you care to be disowned by your own family and friends? Do you care about everything you have fought for? the adult reproached, softly, but in an icy voice.

The boy didn't answer, he just looked him hard in the eyes and changed the subject immediately.

.-What does my punishment consist of? he asked, drawled.

"I want you to clean the whole classroom, and without making the slightest noise, I have to work," Severus ordered immediately.

The boy knew without the need for words that he should do it without magic and without protest, although inside he was cursing with all his desire. He set about serving the punishment, wanting to finish soon and get rid of Snape once and for all.

And the professor began to correct the exams but, having a Malfoy so close to him, he came to mind what had happened to him with Lucius.

All that night he had gone wrong; First, Lucius hadn't wanted to sleep with Severus, and when Severus had finally succeeded and the blonde was putting his entire erection in his mouth, he could only think of Draco. And when he had said the name of his godson inadvertently, he stopped feeling Lucius's mouth on his penis. Malfoy was frowning at him, arms folded, kneeling dignifiedly at the foot of the bed.

-Can you know why the hell you stop? the dark-haired man had asked, without realizing what he had said. Lucius narrowed his eyes and pouted his lips, on the verge of bursting.

"Well Sev," he had said in a dangerously soft voice, "it may be that I don't like it much that, while I'm doing this," she pointed to his penis, moistened with her saliva, "you say my son's name."

The dark-haired man had widened his eyes, surprised. And then the eldest of the Malfoys had dressed and left the bedroom, with his eternal and pride of him, without needing to say that their relationship was over.

He looked at the boy, he still had a lot to clean up. His blond hair was damp with sweat, he had removed his tunic and his hands were working quickly, cleaning cauldrons, vials and tables without stopping.

With a wave of the teacher's wand, the rest of the class was completely clean in seconds. The blonde stopped when he saw that what he was rubbing did not have any stains and looked at his godfather, who returned his gaze. Draco asked a question with his eyes and the adult shrugged.

"It was too much to clean," he said as the only explanation.

-Yes, but I deserved it, right? I shouldn't have cast a spell on Potter, ”he drawled.

"Enough Draco," he said, starting to get angry at the boy's behaviour.

The blonde looked at him, still annoyed with his teacher for having punished him, but he didn't say anything; he only stared at him for a few moments, and Severus stared back, intently, waiting for Draco to look away. But he didn't, and they kept looking at each other, not taking their eyes off each other, trying to make the other give in.

Slowly, Snape approached his godson and, when his bodies were barely an inch apart, he kissed her. Like this, suddenly. At first, gently, expecting Draco to pull away at any moment, but contrary to what he had thought, Draco dug his hands into his black hair and pulled him even closer, completely pressing their bodies together, and the teacher circled the boy's waist and he pressed him against him, kissing him more intensely now.

"Sev ..." Draco whispered as they parted for air; The man did not answer, he was too busy licking and kissing the skin on the neck of his godson, who was breathing hard next to his ear.

And he kissed her on the lips again, exploring the offered mouth with his tongue, lowering her hands to his buttocks to clench them tightly and lift him into the air. The boy wrapped his legs around the narrow waist of his master, making his limbs brush against each other, causing the erections to arouse quickly. Severus groaned, bringing his hips even closer to his pupil's, hoping his hardness wouldn't lose contact.

Without stopping kissing him, the man approached the wall and imprisoned Draco between it and his body, to then caress his sides and put his hands under the young man's shirt, caressing the boy's soft skin.

Draco quickly unbuttoned the buttons on his godfather's robe, exasperated at how many there were.

When he managed to undo them all, finally making use of his wand, he observed the perfect torso of his mistress. Beneath the robe, she was wearing soft black pants, and Draco was surprised how the hell could she wear so many clothes?

The professor seemed to read his thoughts, as he answered his silent question.

.-You should know that in the dungeons it is very cold and I spend most of the day here.

And Draco said nothing, just indulged in a new kiss, allowing the man to explore the inside of his mouth again.

They parted many minutes later, anxiously searching for some air, as the eager kiss had taken it away. Draco then uncoiled himself from his teacher's waist and kissed his neck, slowly moving down to his nipples.

He slid down to her belly, and as he unbuttoned the man's pants, he kissed and licked her belly button, drawing gasps from his lover, discovering that contact drove his godfather crazy.

He slid the pants down his legs, running the palms of his hands over the burning skin, kissing the bulge that was guessed inside the boxer shorts.

Severus made him rise to his level again and kissed him, unbuttoning his shirt, slowly, driving the blonde crazy, that he was crying out for him to undress him completely.

And then it was his turn to kiss the length of his godson's body, starting at his neck, kissing and licking softly, increasing the intensity and force of the kisses as Draco moaned, faster and more agitated...

As he sucked on the neck, leaving a quite visible purple mark, he was unbuttoning the pants of the uniform and sliding them down to the ankles, leaving them abandoned until later.

He lowered himself to her nipples and bit and sucked hard, being careful not to hurt her at any point. And Draco cupped his cheeks lovingly and lifted him up to kiss him.

Severus answered the hungry kiss on his lover's lips, taking her by the waist, hitting his body and kissing him more hard, almost furiously. And he felt his godson detach his boxer shorts, leaving him completely naked.

He undressed him, as he was pulling her underwear down he slid down. when the boxer joined the pants on the floor and the man had his member in front of him, he shoved it into his mouth. And he began to lick, suck, and then nibble gently. The blond began to moan and gasp madly, gradually increasing the volume of his crazed moans. He grabbed his godfather's head, guiding him in the suction and thrusting against his mouth.

When he sensed that he was about to arrive, Severus stopped, pulling away slightly to look at him. Her blond hair tousled and damp with sweat, her veiled eyes and dilated pupils, her lips parted and let her breath out in heavy gasps, her body beaded with sweat, her chest rising and falling in agitation, her hands clenched into fists ...

He seemed beautiful to her. He approached him and stroked his hair gently, causing the boy to close his eyes in satisfaction.

Then he kissed him, and it was a kiss so deep that Draco's knees trembled and Severus had to gently hold his waist, making the blonde wrap his legs around the body of his godfather, positioning himself in the previous position.

And then Draco felt a finger dig inside him, and he hoped he wasn't the only one to do it. That intruder began to move slowly, in circles, and soon after to enter and leave his body, always delicately, trying not to harm him in any way.

He rippled his hips crying out for more contact, and his godfather did not disappoint. He inserted one more finger and began to move them almost instantly, in turn stroking Draco's buttocks with his other hand.

"Come on Sev ... do it," the boy whispered, with laboured breathing, into his teacher's ear.

And he couldn't wait any longer. Taking his fingers out of the inside his godson, penetrated him. Gently and carefully, stroking the blonde's sides and whispering loving words to him. The blonde winced at the feel of him inside him but, in a matter of seconds - what it took Severus to brush against his prostate - it turned into a moan of deep pleasure.

"God ..." the man moaned as he felt caught by the boy's soft interior walls. He shifted slightly, slipping out of the inside of him, then back in, very careful not to damage her more than necessary. Draco squirmed against him, feeling a surge of pleasure rush through his body, and then he squeezed his teacher's hips even tighter.

"Ah ... Sev ..." he murmured when the man came out again, almost completely this time, and then impaled him again, faster than before. The boy bit down on his neck and sucked the spot, leaving a quite visible purple mark, and then moved his hips to impale himself deeper.

And Severus couldn't keep his self-control from him. He began to get out and into the young body with an almost maddening movement for the blonde, who was moaning and gasping without being able to breathe, but that didn't seem to matter to him. He dug his nails into his godfather's shoulders, making him feel more pleasure than pain and move even harder.

The thrusts increased in intensity, the moans echoing off the classroom walls as their entwined bodies slammed against the wall they leaned against.

A hand from Severus sought out the manhood of his young ward and caressed her in time with his thrusts, making her moan even more crazily than before.

Draco felt his orgasm so close and so intense that he couldn't help crying out in advance, burying his face into his godfather's neck.

And he came too, squeezing the hips of his godson so hard that he knew there would be marks left, and drowning his moans in the boy's mouth, who offered himself gladly when he could stop moaning his brutal orgasm...

And they fell to the ground, sweaty and with arms and legs tangled together, still panting.

"I love you," the grim professor whispered then, panting and still trembling from the intensity of his previous orgasm, as they lay down, very close to each other, on the floor.

"I love you too," the blonde replied, gently kissing his lips and then leaning back on his chest.

😃

the use of the word godfather just creeped me out tho- LMAOJASB

[katherinewilliams221b]

I'm going to shoot some soldifying Qs at you as well, t'was my main intention to lure you on for a reblog at least 😂 Please choose anyone you feel like, Kate or Charlie or both...1 (bc K's father gives me some kinda vibes), 4 (bc BOTH grandpas are so different, and also her parents...), 5&6 (your Charlie??), 24 (!), 32 and 35. And 41 to cap it off. I'd ask every single one of them, so sorry abt it 🙏

Aaaaaaaa okay, okay, here it is! I've been out of business for a while, taking exams and such. Uni takes all my strength away. Thank you for asking💜💜💜😍 and OF COURSE I'm going to make you participate in every ask possible 😌🤷‍♀️😍

---

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

Joseph Williams is an interesting piece; he is the youngest son of Nicholas and Aurora Williams (for another conversation). He has two siblings: Evira (stop calling her Elvira or else), the oldest, and Erick, in the middle. He was raised in a typical purist family and it’s a miracle that he didn’t turn out like his father and grandfather.

The loss of Jacob shook him to the core, but his stoic demeanour never showed it. This is something that Kate demands of him, that he could show a little more emotion or at least share his opinions. The man just talks with facts.

Another thing that truly exasperates Kate is the fact that, seemingly, he doesn’t stand up to his father. What she doesn’t know, but will learn later in her life, is that her father is the only one of the three siblings that broke a lot, if not every, rule his father had. One of them: marrying a girl with mixed blood. Nicholas is a man with a plan, probably having a member of his blood in every important position that could exist. Kate’s father probably wouldn’t have chosen a Ministry career, but at the time, he thought he didn’t have much of a choice when he found out that his father arranged it all. He insisted in dragging Jacob and Kate along, both refusing fervently and, when his father started arranging their lives, he finally put an end to the situation. This made him somewhat of an outcast, no one messes with Nicholas Williams. He is a truly terrifying man. Although aware of her grandfather’s severity, Kate didn’t know he had made plans for her and that her father was opposed to the idea.

He is hard-working, tenacious and has a way with words that help him in his job (He works at Dpt. International Magical cooperation) and that Kate also admires. She knows that you must be very careful if you talk to him, for he could be manipulative if that makes him accomplish a purpose.

Probably the most interesting thing that Kate could have learnt from him is crisis management (see #35 for more info). She does not agree with his “the end justifies the means” policy that was the cause of many arguments, but she tries to be more pragmatic and keep a cool head when a new problem arises.

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?

6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?

(I felt like these were together)

Kate was homeschooled before Hogwarts. Numerous tutors with the best qualifications were selected to prepare Jacob and Kate for school.

Jacob described the process as 'unnecessarily tough and strict', not very keen to rules, Jacob used to skip classes and wander around the grounds of the house.

Both siblings were extraordinarily brilliant and it was reflected in their studies, nevertheless, little Katie showed interest in learning new things, unlike her brother. Their schooling never included anything that had to do with learning magic. They were instructed in basic math, english, french (Kate doesn't remember much of it), music, biology and introduction to what muggles would call botanics. Kate was supposed to learn piano, but they had trouble finding a good teacher that was willing to go to the house. It is a bit scary.

There were strict rules that Kate had to follow; her grandparents respective studios were forbidden as well as the kitchen and the guest area and Kate never dared to go to the basement. Her room was situated on the far end of the house and although it had a decent size it lacked personality, it was just decorated with dark colours that suited the house but not her.

The remain space for living was the grounds of the place, big enough to explore at leisure and maybe find a hidden spot to spend the afternoon. Usually the siblings were allowed to disappear for hours without a word if that meant that they didn't annoy the family or the guests.

Kate remembers her only contact with magic before Hogwarts days, happening two times a week, when she was brought to Diagon Alley to play.

Kate remembers a lonely but happy childhood. Her parents lived in the house as well, petition of her father, that wanted to protect her half blood wife, Natalia. He used all the family name power to shelter her and her parents (Natalia's mother was a muggle and at the time, Voldemort killed and tortured muggles, probably half bloods and as well as blood traitors). The name of the family was never questioned because of all the influence they had in the Ministry, but the chances of a visit to her  grandparents were limited and very controlled.

She does not blame her parents for being away all the time, or her grandparents for ignoring her. She was happy just learning, playing and exploring.

24. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

-At Hogwarts, Kate participated in the Hogwarts gobstones club and she was very much like her grandfather Bernard when he plays chess. She rarely lost a game and she was known for her lack of compassion when playing. She quit after Hogwarts and its unusual to see her play.

- At the same time, she was a member of the Duelling Club, where she excelled. Flitwick said to Harry Potter that she could be the best duellist of the century. The club dissolved to be re-founded again several years later, but she managed to be one of the leaders for a year. A picture of her hangs in the duelling room.

- Later in her life, she takes French and Spanish classes, the last accompanied by her mother. She is not very fluid with languages but after a while, she starts to enjoy the bonding moments with her mother.

- As a mediwizard, she attends multiple conferences and symposiums, she usually goes as a guest. Later she would participate more actively, giving talks about the importance of international techniques around the world, promoting communication, sharing perspectives and open-minded politics.

Regarding medicine, she founds a small association of healers in St Mungo’s, that teaches basic healing magic and procedures when facing an emergency situation to children, teenagers and also adults.

Kate claims she is not a leader, probably out of modesty or lack of confidence. However, she likes to take the initiative in her projects and she eventually learns how to make herself respected. She finds that, after all, she likes taking the lead.

-Kate and Charlie made an effort to go to dancing classes, to spend some quality time together. Being both very private creatures, they hated it. Not wanting to hurt each other’s feelings they didn’t mention anything about it and kept going to class. After a year they became very elegant, not only in their dancing, but in their stance as well. Needless to say, they are the focus of all stares in whichever event they attend to.

After some years, they would reveal and laugh about how they despised those classes, and how they prefered to dance alone at home. They do not regret it.

32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

Kate is a well balanced combination of all three.

If one thinks about stress because of work or studies, she doesn’t fear hard work she is very assertive with her goals.

While working for the Order, she was forced to face whoever wanted to hurt her, ad although she prefers the ‘run’ option, she knows how to stand and fight if necessary. While duelling, she prefers defense spells, which give her time to know her opponent and think of a strategy according to them.

Arguing with her can be difficult and oftentimes it ends in both parts hurt. She matures considerably in that aspect and learns that some things, even if they are true, are better left unsaid.

35. Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?

Kate’s father had a lot to do with her discipline in front of failure. He feared that her grandfather’s hard education would make Kate afraid of taking the wrong direction or ever scared of making decisions Through the years he taught her how to face mistakes, work around them and accept that one can’t change the past. Easier said than done, she is only human, and from time to time she needs reassurance that she is doing the right thing. She knows that she can count on her friends to help her fix any errors and give her support when needed.

This chances the day she loses a patient for the first time, and she has to reorganize her thoughts. It was a very philosophical and exhausting day.

41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony?

She knows perfectly who she is, thanks to long talks with Charlie about everything. She is not afraid to change an opinion if she realizes she is wrong. Kate’s way of living is an state of evolutiotion; she is not only hungry for academic knowledge, she likes to discover herself and others everyday. Talking with Charlie is somewhat therapeutic and she values how he is patient enough with her to participate in those deep conversations she loves to get lost into.

She is not scared to be herself because she knows that to be loved for who you are is more precious than pretending to be someone smarter, fancier or cooler.

Bill, Tonks and Charlie like to pick on her, of course without malice, because they enjoy the friendly banter that always follows.

[desertdollranch]

what would maryellen or samantha's life be like as adults? i'm loving all the 'future' asks! :D

I had to think about this one overnight because I have a few different ideas. 

Samantha would have a LOT going on. With no need to work and no desire to settle down as a wealthy man’s wife, then I’m sure she would focus a lot of time on things she cared about. Grandmary won’t live forever so eventually she’d leave the house and her money to Gard, who’d be happy to give Samantha access to both. He’s got his own money, and always felt that excessive greed was in bad taste. He’s so proud that Samantha wants to use it for good.

After university, Samantha and Nellie would be running a school for girls in New York City, similar to Crampton’s Academy but for girls from the working class, from immigrant families, and orphan girls. Free tuition and free lunch. Bridget and Jenny would be involved in some capacity. Possibly it would be connected to a settlement house some way, so that Cornelia could also be involved, as she so enjoyed doing.     

The 30s are a little rough for Samantha and Nellie but they make it through okay. During the Great Depression, Samantha would have done something like the Kittredge family and opened the Parkington house as a boarding house. No need to hoard such a huge house for one person when people are being evicted and turned out on the street. I think it was Welcome to Kit’s World that talked about how wealthy people with huge houses were pressured to do this, since one or two people occupying a house was seen as wasteful and unfair to the people who had nowhere to live. 

Hawkins and Mrs. Hawkins are old and retired by then and Samantha makes sure they’re well cared for. Jessie has several more children, and so Samantha pays her a little more to work from home when she feels up to it. She offered to support Jessie without working, but Jessie still considers the dresses she makes for Samantha to be pieces of art. 

Despite all of her charitable pursuits and caring for others, Samantha still makes time for herself. She hangs out with Agnes and Agatha a lot and plays cards and board games with them while drinking lots of wine. She takes her young cousin William sledding any time there’s enough snow. She visits all the museums in New York City.

And once a month in the warmer months, she makes a solo trip out to Piney Point to work on her paintings. Sometimes she paints what she sees, sometimes she paints what she remembers, and sometimes she what she neither sees nor remembers. She visits Teardrop Island so much that she builds a little one-room cabin there, and calls it the Crying Cottage. Both it and the island certainly live up to their names.

Maryellen I have a vastly different feel for. I think that around the time she turns twelve, her mother would have a seventh child, a girl, and at that point Maryellen would be a little exasperated. Joan had just moved out, and now they’re back to six kids again? And this one is moving into the girls’ room, which had just cleared some space? Maryellen loves her new little sister, of course, but after Carolyn moves out the year after, Maryellen is the oldest child at home and has a lot of responsibility for the younger kids. 

So she’d be eager and anxious to get out on her own, and at 18 she moves out to Missoula, Montana to attend university there. That road trip she took at ten years old had a huge impression on her, as she realized that the rest of the world is very much not like Florida. She loves the big sky, the dry air, the beautiful and colorful autumns. She never lost her love for science, and decides to study geology. She gets to go on lots of field trips to Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.  

In addition to her research and teaching at the university, Maryellen also does a lot of volunteer work with her local Girl Scouts. She gives regular lectures and leads activities teaching about earth sciences, and does guided hikes with them to places that are geologically interesting, which are easy to find in the mountain west. She also gives presentations at elementary and middle schools, since she has such a gift for communicating science in a way that kids understand and connect with. 

In the 90s, Davy wants to do a documentary about the volcanoes of Yellowstone, and he asks Maryellen to be part of it. This puts some of her research on the map and gets a lot of people interested in it. 

She travels a lot but always comes home to Montana. She forms her own family of other women who grew up in the 1950s and felt the pressure to be anyone but themselves. The 1970s are good to her. She’s very happy with herself. She keeps pet snails and frogs and bird feeders in the yard. 

[zerablackwell]

Chapter 1: Crashing Reality Part 2

Awaking with a start, Zera covered her mouth to muffle her scream. Then she took a moment to try to calm herself, successfully doing so. Realizing she had been crying, Zera wiped her eyes with shaky hands. Her mind was foggy, disoriented, Zera looked from herself to her surroundings to find that she was in the same clothes from classes today and in confusion she looked around to see where she was.

Zera was in her room, she took a pained deep breath, her lungs feeling like they were on fire. Slowly regaining her composure, she took in the comfort of being in her own home. The white walls of her room reflected the sunset shining in through her large windows, her silver sheets slightly messy from her tossing and turning. She tried to think back to her nightmare but could not recall it for the life of her. The only thing that came to mind was amber eyes.

Shaking her head, she focused on her surroundings. Zera sensed her best friend's presence as well as Elijah's. However, she noticed there was someone else in the house, Zera dragged herself out of bed, smoothing out her school uniform. She then walked to the stairs; halfway down she could hear Azazel blowing up on, Zera assumed, his younger brother.

"You irresponsible, annoying little pest!" Azazel screeched at Seth, Zera quietly walked down the stairs, stopping at the door frame of the room. Carefully she peaked in, the supposed adults too busy arguing to notice her snooping. Just as Zera peered in, Azazel had punched Seth square in the jaw, throwing the younger on the floor who then spit out blood.

"Are you done?" Seth hissed angrily, eyes flashing crimson.

Azazel growled and pulled on his jacket to smooth it out, "Now. I am done." His lavender eyes were once again that ice cold blue.

"Good." Seth stood as he wiped the blood from his mouth, "She has a right to know, she isn't a child anymore Azazel." Seth then picked himself up, only a couple inches shorter than his older brother.

"She is my daughter and I will decide when and if she needs to know anything about those-those-" Azazel growled and took a deep breath. "Seth, I am trying very hard to keep my calm."

"She is my niece, and she wants to know everything you are hiding from her. I see it every day, she's constantly distracted, and I've been watching how she behaves towards others."

"Yes, I can see how she speaks to Elijah. We are working on that, but she is none of your concern."

Family is my concern Azazel, you can't keep shutting me out." Seth pleaded, "I just want her to know who she is, where she comes from! She deserves to know!"

"You're playing the same tune Seth, it's getting old. You don't care, you only care about yourself, not the well-being of others. Even if you did, you are only her uncle, I am her father. Her welfare is my responsibility not yours." After this, Azazel began to speak in a foreign tongue, one Zera did not recognize.

They continued to argue in this strange language she had never heard before, and Zera let it continue for a good several minutes before she had enough. Zera walked in and stayed in the doorway, "Father, Seth."

"Zera, you should not be up and about, you need to rest." Azazel huffed as he walked to his daughter who did not budge from the doorway.

"I feel fine, what language was that you were speaking in?" She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning on the door frame.

"Don't fret," Azazel began, but Seth continued.

"Your family's native tongue, the language of angels, it is called Veraiyaka."

She stared blankly at the two, "Why do you know it? You were born a demon, weren't you?" Zera directly asked Seth who merely chuckled.

"I was, but the demon's language wasn't used in heaven. I only ever knew my father's language, I never truly knew my mother's heritage." Seth explained patiently, a hint of delight in his eyes.

Zera nodded slightly, "So they tried to erase your heritage?"

Azazel snickered and hid his mouth with his hand while Seth stayed quiet, a frown growing on his face. He stuttered before clearing his throat to answer, "N-no, no they didn't. Father just..." Seth's voice trailed off, uncertainty in his eyes as the gears seemed to turn in his mind.

"Father just what little brother?" Azazel pressed, smirking deviously. "Why was it that you only knew Veraiyaka? Why you never met Lilith? Why was I the one who had to teach you Raiwadahkre? Or even how to tame your hunger?"

Seth visibly tensed up, "Father was always busy Azazel, you know this. Besides, none of them were familiar with the demons' culture."

"You have always made excuses for him, for the love of- just open your damn eyes Seth!" Azazel snapped, throwing his hands in the air, exasperated.

The green-eyed male began to tear up, clearly trying to calm himself. Zera found the whole interaction between the brothers' confusion and irritating. Azazel wasn't letting up on his little brother, and Seth was just an emotional wreck waiting to explode. She wasn't sure how to keep his walls from crumbling and didn't know how to diffuse the situation. Zera was more comfortable escalating but didn't want to deal with the consequences of doing so.

"Azazel..." Seth's voice was soft and wavered a touch, "Brother, why do you do this? I just want us all together. To put the past behind and start fresh... What is so wrong about doing that"

Azazel's face was void of expression as he spoke in a calm and even tone, "My wife is dead." His eyes turning from lavender to ice cold blue, at this Seth had frozen up. "Mrai sharaiz pehtekwarya Seth."

"May I remind you both that I do not speak that gibberish." Zera chimed in, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.

Seth cleared his throat, looking from Zera to Azazel, "Should I translate or you?"

Azazel hissed at Seth, "I merely told him I protect my own."

"How truthful was he being there?" Zera asked her uncle who seemed pleased by his answer.

"For the most part, accurate translation."

Zera watched them for a long while before she was satisfied, "Fine, now why don't we keep to English? I'd prefer you to be straightforward. If you hide things from me, I promise I will find out the truth."

"There is nothing to discuss Zera." Azazel shook his head, his lavender eyes showing now tired he was. It was a strange sight for Zera, seeing her father this vulnerable. "Seth was just on his way out, right little brother?"

Seth stared at Azazel for a long while, when Zera was about to say something he spoke up, "No. I'm not leaving, I want to talk, I want to just work things out."

The older male glared, "I'm not talking anymore." With that in Azazel's place was Elijah.

Elijah took his jacket off and set it down on the couch, glaring at his alter's brother. "Seth."

"Bro-"

"I. Am not your brother Seth, Azazel is. Not me." He pointed a finger at Seth, "Now, Azazel does not want you here. Zera is not ready to hear whatever it is you have to say, respect her father's wishes."

"I don't believe you are the one to determine that Elijah." Zera hissed at her guardian, who took a step back. "Not you and not Father. The both of you are withholding information from me, cheating me out of my humanity."

Elijah tensed, Seth stared at them in disbelief, "I'm sorry, they what?"

"I made a deal with Father and Elijah to help me get revenge on my adoptive father and figure out my origins." Zera explained, her eyes never leaving Elijah. "Supposedly, the contract was completed long ago. However, with everything you've informed me with now it appears that I have been deceived. Although, what should I have expected from a pair of demons?"

"So Azazel and Elijah..." He turned to the white-haired male. "You two took her humanity?" Seth's shoulders slumped, "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I don't believe that is your place." Elijah huffed, visibly uneasy.

"I'm really wondering what kind of parenting you are doing, I can not believe you!" Seth screeched, he looked at Zera, then back at Elijah. "What would Marnie think of this?"

"She doesn't agree either, but it's all done. Nothing changes what has passed. However, we can attempt to amend those mistakes by telling me the information that I am due." Zera snarled at Elijah.

"Okay we need a breather, need to take a break." Seth stood between the two, he looked at Elijah. "You and Azazel need to stop and look at this whole mess." He then looked at Zera, "You need to think about the way you go about things."

"We are done here, really. Seth. Leave." Elijah demanded, for the first time, Elijah seemed visibly shaken.

"I'll leave, as soon as you two take some time to cool down. Elijah you have to see that this is not healthy and not good for any of you." Seth put a hand on Elijah's shoulder, Zera watched as for the first time Elijah looked completely helpless. It was an unnerving sight, one she did not like. "Elijah really look at this, look where you guys are. Marnie never wanted this, she never wanted you and Azazel to do all this."

Elijah glared, "Don't. Don't use her name. Do not dare. You have no right to use her name."

"Elijah, you're overreacting, Mother is dead, she has been for over a hundred years. It is long past time to move on." Zera huffed loudly, "Mother, I'm sure, is turning over in her grave listening to you both."

"Young lady, watch your tone." Elijah was shaking.

"She was human, humans die. They live short lives, she was going to die no matter what." Zera snapped, "Why are you lashing out at him for talking about her?"

"She is dead because of them!" Elijah began to raise his voice, then covered his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Zera eyed him closely, growling. "John told me she died from giving birth to me, if there is anyone you should blame for her death it is me. Just as John did. Unless there is something you are not telling me."

Seth was at a loss for words, before he could say anything Elijah spat in Raiwadahkre, "Karwajeh chesah ena, tahkreth chesah cha."

"Rai jehkar Elijah." Seth sneered, causing Zera to almost explode.

"What is he lying about then? How did she die?" She screamed at them.

Elijah shook his head, "No." He stood his ground, though Zera could see just one push and he could topple, "Seth...I am begging you..." His eyes watered even as he tried to keep his expression firm, "I am begging you to leave."

There was a long pause between the three parties, a long time passed before Seth broke the silence. "Fine, I'll go. I'll leave for now, but I will not give up on this family." He turned and faced Zera, "I'll see you in school, and I do expect you to do the homework, no excuses."

Before Zera could respond, Seth vanished and she groaned loudly, "I hate

"Zera..." Elijah began, but his voice trailed off.

"Elijah, for the time being, I want nothing to do with you or with Father." She then turned and walked off, leaving Elijah in stunned silence.

Zera made her way over to the backyard, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath and sat down on the stone steps.

Birds sang in the trees at the edge of the yard, the breeze was light and warm. Sun beamed down on Zera's pale skin and she closed her eyes, taking in the surroundings. With each deep breath, Zera could feel the overwhelming negative emotions slowly subside. The peace did not last long, her thoughts found their way back to Elijah and her father's betrayal. Growling, shadows began to surround her, and a familiar voice chimed in her ear, "Child, if you dwell on this, you'll give them power. Clear you mind in order to keep your eye on the prize."

Looking around, Zera did not see who the voice belonged to, "Who was that?"

"I'm hurt, you've forgotten me already? When you come to me for assistance in finding the truth behind your father's web of lies?" Listening to the disembodied voice, Zera felt a sense of relief overcome.

It seemed like a light bulb went off in Zera, "Luz."

"Correct." He cooed, and it felt like he was practically breathing against her ear, "You did so well with your father and your uncle."

"It wasn't enough." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, angrily glaring at the grass. The shadows once surrounding her began to recede back into her being and appeared to vanish from sight.

"Give yourself a little more credit, you gained quite a bit of information. Now you need to pull back just a touch, if you dig too deep too fast, then you will set yourself back ten steps." The voice acknowledged and reassured her, Zera let out an irritated sigh. "I understand how difficult it is to be patient, but you must wait. Bide your time then you can get a bigger payout little one."

Zera thought it over for a long moment, "Fine. What plan do you have Luz?"

"The goal is to get you the history that you have been denied, to retrieve the full story we must find Madeline. In order to find Madeline, we must get you into Heaven's record room. That may have hints towards her last known location, considering they do so love to keep tabs on everyone. Only one slight problem."

She sighed, "And pray tell what that problem might be?"

"We need to get you past Archangel Metatron, the scribe of Heaven. He will be guarding it closely; however, if we get past him, we can find the key to answering your mysterious family history."

Zera mulled this information over for a long while before nodding slowly, she had already killed an angel, how much more difficult would an archangel be? "Very well, how do we get into Heaven?"

[someobscurereference]

fe anon here! Woah I'm actually crying your answer was so Intense and just So Much. Thank you! I love hearing your thoughts on their relationships. Out of curiosity tho, I sent an ask a while back about whether or not you'd be willing to share some more headcanons on how the Nohrian sibs+Beruka and Niles would interact with/react to the deaged awakening trio (and vice versa)? Bc I know u weren't sure you'd continue. Did Tumblr eat that? If ur comfortable talking about it I'd still love to know!

Oh, no, Tumblr absolutely ate that! My inbox is empty 99% of the time, so I definitely would have remembered something like that. If I don’t answer something within a few days, definitely feel free to re-send any asks because that means I didn’t see it!

As a whole, the kids would be wayyyy more wary of the Nohrians right off the bat, even if they’re told what happened and they believe it. They’d be like, “Really? A world without Risen?” and everyone else would say, “what the fuck is a Risen” and then they’d shut up real fast because these are Strangers. All three would probably be convinced they were actually in Plegia somehow until proven otherwise. 

Also, they’d still want to fight because that’s what they’ve been used to their whole lives, but the war is probably over at this point? So it’s just wandering packs of bandits and Faceless to take care of, and if one of the Royal Sibs or even someone the Trio knows goes out to take care of Faceless, the Trio wants to go too because they’re used to protecting their home and they feel restless and anxious to just be sitting around doing nothing. 

“No?” Literally everyone else says. “You’re like fourteen???”

“Yeah, and so’s Elise?” the Trio says, even though Elise is a few years older by this point. “It’s the same thing. But we actually have swords.”

“It’s different.”

“It absolutely isn’t.”

It’s uncomfortable for everyone. 

Also if they actually did sneak away and fight a Faceless, they’d probably be very efficient about it and work together really well, despite bickering almost 24/7 amongst each other in every other minute of every day. Risen are undead, so they don’t “die” the way most enemies would, and Faceless, though without souls, don’t work the same way? A Faceless is bigger but it will fall if you slice it enough times, unlike a Risen that takes extra effort and energy. So Faceless are actually a little easier to kill, but the fact these 13/14 year olds have so much experience fighting to kill would probably bother anyone that thought about it for 0.2 seconds. “Like. I know we grew up in Nohr, but that’s Not Good.” 

Fighting bandits is a different story, and I think if the Trio had to see actual humans hurting other humans, it would mess them up a lot because they came from a time where everyone who didn’t work as a group probably died already? Since lone figures cannot win against a pack of Risen by themselves. So humans vs humans is not anything they really think about until now. Laslow and Odin would probably take this extra hard because their moms were pretty caring and kind people (especially as healers/dancers, whose job it is to help and encourage people), while this would also fuck with Selena but she maybe got a talking to a little more explicitly from her mother or father before they left. (I’m taking this from Laslow’s conversation with Odin in…either the Hot Spring or Harvest Scramble DLC, where Laslow admits that taking his first human life after jumping through time nearly destroyed him because that wasn’t something he thought he’d ever have to do.)

Honestly, living is a peaceful world without fighting is probably the most important thing for their mental health. 

Odin

I’ve been lowkey thinking about this for a long time, but Odin would probably gravitate towards Elise a lot? Both because she has a very accepting and bubbly personality (she RP’d with Odin just because it was cool, and now they’re even closer in age so she’d probably do it again) and honestly she probably reminds him of Lissa. Straight up. Blond hair, pigtail style, youngest sibling, healer, cares a lot, etc. Even if he hadn’t recently lost his mom (which was probably semi-recently, since I hc Lissa being the last to go in the doomed timeline), he still would gravitate towards her. So they chill a lot. 

Leo is probably like lowkey jealous? Because Odin isn’t as interested in him anymore whereas he’d been totally devoted as an adult. He just wants to chill with Elise and other “cool” people and sometimes be by himself to fight imaginary enemies, so Leo actually gets a little more grumpy. Plus Odin uses swords now? Even though Leo had figured out Odin hadn’t used tomes all his life, it was still something they connected on and now this kid is insisting that swords and swordsmen are the coolest (like Xander) and Leo is very :/// about it. (Until maybe Odin sees Leo use Brynhilder and gets all starry eyed. Doubly so if you hc Odin’s dad as a mage. Leo coughs and blusters and pretends it’s not super strange to be the loudly admired person out of all his sibs for once.)

Niles would put on a big teasing front for Odin and probably follow him around a lot even though Odin probably is really distrustful of him, both because he loves annoying little punk kid Odin who takes himself so seriously and because Niles feels like he has to make sure Odin doesn’t run off and hurt himself. (Either Leo or Niles is always hanging around Odin, actually, or at least has someone they trust watching all three kids because magic is strange and they don’t want anything bad happening because the kids got spooked in this new world or something.) 

Actually Niles probably spends the most time keeping an eye on Odin because of that interaction they had when Odin was first de-aged, as Odin’s reaction was so uncharacteristic of his adult self. He’s actually concerned about the kind of world Odin grew up in, and he might not pry too hard, but he’s definitely keeping an eye and ear out for any concerning stuff. 

(Odin, meanwhile, thinks Niles is Evil because he’s a creepy guy who keeps following Odin around and he’s heard bad rumors about Niles and Odin’s brain is insistent that this guy Has To Be A Villain.)

(Maybe that changes, but they’d have to have some kind of heart-to-heart first. Maybe because Odin really does go too far and Niles has to pull him out of some trouble.)

Selena

Camilla probably wants to dote on Selena pretty hard, but Selena is Not Having It. 

“But this will wear off soon, and it’s not every day I get to see my darling retainer so young and cute,” Camilla coos. “Just enjoy yourself. When you’re an adult again, I’ll having you running errands again in no time.” 

Selena: “I don’t know you!! You’re not my mom!! Stop acting like it!”

Camilla, serious: “I’m absolutely not your mother and never will be/want to be.” (Back to cheerful) “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do X/Y/Z together.”

Basically she treats Selena a lot of the same way she treated baby Corrin, only Selena resists it a lot more. As time goes by and they realize through context clues that the Trio actually had a really rough life, Camilla maybe has a few conversations with her about what it’s like to grow up in a world where you can die at any moment and the whole world is out to get you (Selena via the Risen/Grima and Camilla via assassins/the other mothers of her half-siblings and Garon’s wives.) It’s a tough life, and Camilla gets where Selena’s need to fight and get better is coming from.

Beruka probably doesn’t really have any experience with children at this point? She doesn’t know what to do except treat Selena or the others like smaller adults, which Selena actually appreciates a lot but also maybe stresses her out a bit. 

When they first meet, Selena looks up at Beruka (probably not too far because Selena is really Tall for her age and also in general and Beruka is probably shorter than adult Selena) and says, “So you’re Lady Camilla’s retainer like me, right?”

“Correct,” Beruka says. Because it is.

“Am I a better retainer than you?” Selena demands, hands on her hips, and Beruka. Stares. Because it’s really driving home that Selena’s insecurities started Young.

(Also if Subaki is ever around, she probably hates his guts because he has red hair like her mom and is viewed as “perfect” because he strives to be so all the time and it makes her too uncomfortable and she Hates It. Niles loves laughing at this 13/14 year old girl chewing the hell out of this grown ass man just for existing.)

Laslow

Laslow is super short, worse about hiding his shyness than he was at twenty-something, and stumbles sometimes when talking to adults (especially beautiful people and people with a lot of power, so Xander is a double-whammy, but so is half the army), but by golly, does he try to flirt with anything that breathes. He’s not as smooth as his adult self, but sometimes he pulls off some okay lines. Even though everyone is like “You…are a child.” 

(Laslow gets that he’s a kid and he doesn’t even usually flirt seriously as an adult, but when people keep using that line on him even when he’s trying to do some good and fight, he gets really internally frustrated because he wasn’t a child when everyone died and he had been fighting a war where half the army was his age, was he? Lot of complex feelings there.)

Xander can Relate a lot because he was also super shy as a child and if this is how Laslow overcomes that in his own way (especially since this was apparently his mother’s advice, who Laslow values a lot), Xander doesn’t really want to be the one to stop him. But also he is Exasperated because he keeps getting complaints that this bratty 14 year old is flirting with half the women in the army and town and can he Not??? Can Laslow just chill for like two minutes?? Is there no better solution????

Sometimes he helps teach Laslow how to spar properly, just like he did for Corrin and his other sibs, and he respects Laslow’s apparent drive to protect others and sees somewhat through Laslow’s cheerful, flirty facade to the more struggling kid underneath.

Peri coos over Laslow a bit, but he’s not big enough to fight with her/by her side anymore and she doesn’t want to kill him, so there’s not a ton they can do together. She watches him when told to, though, and sometimes even withought even being told, and they manage to get a long surprisingly well. (She’s a great cook and sometimes shares her snacks with him, and they bond through that.)

All three kids probably interact the same way they did with each other as immature people, so they actually don’t get along very well? When not in immediate danger? Like Odin’s bffs were Cynthia and Brady, probably. He and Laslow keep getting into brawls, which is… mildly concerning, actually. Laslow keeps stealing his journals (”It’s not a diary! Give it back!” “It absolutely is, and no”) and Odin keeps insulting him. Selena and Laslow don’t get along because Laslow is too flirty and Selena thinks he’s just making fun of her. She’s a little better with Odin (who in their FE13 support I think was said to have still treated her with kindness, even when she was mean to him) but she keeps getting flustered and fed up with his antics and growing up?? Is so hard??? It’s so hard, and nobody understands. 

The difference between getting along as kids and how they get along as adults is astounding. 

(All three of them worry about their friends back home, even though they don’t say anything. Supposedly those guys and gals are all adults now too, but?? Who’s gonna walk Noire to the bathroom at night? Who’s gonna protect Brady? Who’s gonna make sure Gerome doesn’t become too much a loner and die???? They Worry.)

(If you wanted me to expand on something more specific, let me know!)

EDIT: Also one of the kids at some point definitely asks how old they were and get old “like 25” and they are all Shocked. Like. One of them (probably Odin, who also expected to die a heroic death by 16) says aloud “I made it to 20??!??” shocked.

Everyone else takes a moment to compose themselves and remind themselves that there’s a lot they don’t know about these three

[frogsandfries]

I feel like I'm frustrating

Hey guys, again, friendly warning, I'm on my tablet, and I left my laptop in Wisconsin, so I can't put this under a cut.

This post is definitely going to contain adult themes/content. If you don't want to read, please scroll through.

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Hi I'm Soph and I'm a late bloomer. I didn't make my sexual debut until I was twenty-four. And when I did, it was with someone who was emotionally toxic, not very nurturing and honestly not as interested in sex as I was. Honestly, I think they were only with me because they'd been horny for a while, and they told me they completely projected a totally wrong persona on me.

I tried several pretty standard tricks with this person, but it was pretty discouraging that if I did it wrong or hurt them even a little, they would get angry. For example, if I expressed interest in giving head, they would shove their thumb in my mouth and after I rolled my eyes, they would tell me off for using my teeth. If I expressed interest in being on top, they wouldn't help guide or steady me at all and then yell when I hurt them.

Not the best environment for someone eager to make up for lost time.

And honestly, the more I let my friend teach me and show me, the more I realize, even if he can't see me as a romantic partner, my friend, in his way, loves me more than my ex ever did. Or even if he's just using me to his ends. That's fine. I see this as a mutually beneficial exchange. I get to tackle all of these basics that I've been interested in trying out for myself and I get to do so with someone who is calm, patient and nurturing.

Also, I chose possibly the worst first sexual partner.

But as with the video game thing, all I can think is, he has to be getting either really bored or really frustrated with me. How exasperating must it be to have to start from scratch introducing your sexual partners to the basics. How exasperating it must be to introduce all the women in your life (intimate or not, because he did start wanting to share games with me before all this drama) to games almost from scratch when at the same time, all you want to do, as he's described to me, is go full force. Video games, mostly, but there are things he wants sexually that maybe he could get from his girlfriend of almost three years if she was here and up to it, but we simply haven't built up to that sort of thing...... if he would even trust me with the sorts of things he's interested in......

Who knows, maybe I'm just being insecure. Maybe this is a different kind of fun, like having a new toy, learning a new set of rules. He does seem to enjoy teaching.

It's actually kind of funny. I wonder if his girlfriend knows how much her boyfriend is a lot like their troublesome, mischievous husky, perhaps getting into things he shouldn't, to sate his curiosity and need to learn something new. Maybe we couldn't date. I don't know him at all in some ways, but I think in some ways, I simply know him too well. Like, this. This is not a surprise to me; I could absolutely see being in his girlfriend's position, believing that he made a mistake and wanting to blame the other woman--but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it might have been a mistake the first time but didn't stop after the first time. It would still hurt, but it wouldn't be a surprise. But as much as I know about him, I guess there are things I never could have learned about him through my phone--I love when he spots something that's exciting to him and he lights up. I'm used to feeling like I'm simply over-enthusiastic, but knowing someone else, someone who I treasure, does it too, it's one more reason I hope we'll always be friends.

I already know that he's frustrated that I still don't have a job. I wouldn't be surprised that my ineptitude is frustrating to him.

He teases that I should seek hugs from our host, but he's started to add to that teasing reasons we're incompatible. That's confusing. I don't know if I should just ignore it or read out the teasing and take it at face value....... I don't know. Are they serious factors or are they actually as silly as they can sound? Combined with how frustrated he's expressed being with video games and sparring, ......

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