#This is part of what I'm calling the “Ring Legends AU”

[bespectacled-bookwyrm]

Ghetsis had managed to follow them to Alola. He has Kyurem with him, and that worries him immensely. Kyurem had sealed itself away, deep within the Giant Chasm. For Ghetsis to have it under his control again. . .

It doesn’t take a genius to know what he’s after: Zekrom. The Deep Black Pokémon had returned to N’s side after adventuring with Rosa, and now stands stalwart, its tail aglow with blue lightning as it prepares to protect them from this madman once again.

With his Pokémon by his side, Grimsley is more than ready to take on Ghetsis. This maniac had been bested twice before, so a third time should be easy.

Ghetsis stamps the ground with his cane. An immense blast of cold erupts, rocketing forward and engulfing them in a devouring chill.

There’s a sudden heat. It wraps around him, comforting and familiar, and chases enough of the chill away to allow N and Zekrom to retreat to the safety of the storm clouds above.

Embers dance through the air. Towering spires of ice reach up to grasp at the sky. A rumble reverberates around him. Wing beats scatter the snow and embers, creating a swirling dichotomy of warm and cold air.

Ghetsis' expression twists into a furious snarl. The cane is driven into the ground with such force that it splinters the ground below.

‘That blasted Colress! Even as a mindless beast, he still manages to get in my way!’

[badasbebi]

the cupid project ➛ 1/2

part two

✦ pairing: bada lee x fem!reader

✦ summary: you and your long-term work crush devise a plan to win a company contest. in the end, you wind up going to extreme lengths to commit to the bit

✦ genre/au: fluff, fake dating, videographer reader, bada's extra sweet here, slight friends to lovers

✦ word count: 7k

✦ warnings: isn't proofread. another unrealistic meet cute that doesn't really make sense. smut in part 2

✦ a/n: another two-parter simply bc my fics are too long. 2nd part is finished and will, again, be posted soon (literally tomorrow). didnt put as much thought into this one as I have with my other stories, which will probably be a pattern from now. still think its fun. enjoy!

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"It's been three minutes. Why are we still waiting on people?" Youngj fusses, running his fingers through his hair, tousling it

"Relax, Jae. You called us here last-minute. People are busy," Minho says from where he is sitting, scrolling through his phone.

Youngj's eyes snap to him. "Too busy for an emergency meeting with their boss?" He retorts, raising an eyebrow. 

Minho looks at him, then shrugs. "Well, that's what happens when you hire a bunch of ultra-talented, sought-after dancers. We don't need you," He finishes, swiftly turning back around, sunglasses concealing his eyes. 

Youngj gapes for a second, then seemingly surrenders, slouching back in his chair with a scowl. 

Meanwhile, you're balancing a camera lens in your hand on the sofa across from them, twisting and turning the machinery in your hand as you stifle your laughter. Still being somewhat new to the team, you weren't sure if you necessarily had the right to take part in Minho's teasing. You became an employee at JustJerk Dance Academy only six months ago, after JustJerk announced that they were looking for new hires. However, you weren't a part of their star-studded lineup of top choreographers and instructors. Instead, you were hired to be a videographer and photographer, working behind the scenes to ensure that every breathtaking move, every impassioned sequence, and every dancer was captured flawlessly. 

Which, it was not like it was very hard. The people here were phenomenal enough as it was, making your time spent at work nothing less than a blessing for someone who's long watched dancers from the sidelines. Even better, the members of JustJerk Dance Academy aren't just a group of talented dancers, but also a lovely group of people. They're kind and caring, often inviting you out to eat after a long day of filming or helping you with the things you struggled with. Sometimes, you still got awestruck around them because it was such a far cry from what you were used to. But, it was beginning to feel like home. And, as the days went by, everyone started to feel more and more like family.

Well, almost everyone.

Suddenly, you hear the doors swing open and glance up to see who's arrived.

"Sorry I'm late," A voice rings throughout the room, revealing none other than the legend herself, Bada Lee. 

Even after having passed by her a million times, the woman never failed to take your breath away. She was gorgeous and had an allure unlike anyone else, with a presence that seemed to shift the energy in every room she entered. In other words, she was also intimidatingly cool, which led to you frequently avoiding her because you were, simply, terrified. Though she's always been nothing but sweet and brilliant during your brief interactions, this kindness almost made things worse. It'd be much easier to disregard her if she was an asshole. Unluckily for you, she was one of the most charming people you've encountered in your life, making it nearly impossible to ignore the magnetic pull that's been causing an increasing amount of debauched thoughts and dreams. 

Bada walks toward the rest of the group with an apologetic smile on her face. Her long, black and blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and her baggy clothes were noticeably wrinkled, suggesting that she came straight from practice. Despite her slightly disheveled appearance, she looked as enticing as ever. 

You avert your gaze and continue playing with the camera equipment in your hands, attempting to appear nonchalant. 

"What happened? You're never late," Youngj asks, sitting upright. 

"I was helping one of my students out with a routine and got a little distracted. Sorry," Bada explains with a pout, sitting down on a separate couch next to yours. You keep your eyes on the camera in your hands.

"Don't worry about it, I just need everyone's attention for a few moments," Youngj says, scanning the room. "Is this everyone?"

"No, Redllic should be coming in soon. She was right behind me," Bada says, looking over at the door.

Your eyebrow inadvertently quirks up at the sound of Redllic's name escaping her lips. 

"Good enough, then. Let's get started," Youngj leans forward in his seat, clapping his hands together. "I want to first apologize to all of you for calling you here so abruptly. Unfortunately, this was the only time I had to get you all here together.”

Everyone eagerly waits for him to speak, the air thick with curiosity as Youngj takes a deep breath, his gaze shifting from one person to another.

"So, to clarify, I didn't call you guys here for anything particularly important."

Minho laughs bitterly. "I fucking knew it."

Youngj gives him a pointed look before continuing. "There's a special event that the company is holding and I wanted to inform all of you about it in-person, because even though it isn’t anything to worry about, it is admittedly a bit...unusual for us."

"What is it?" Redllic asks, appearing out of thin air. Everyone, except for Bada, jumps slightly, surprised by her sudden arrival.

"Redllic!" Youngj says, placing a hand on his heart. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, sorry," Redllic shrugs, plopping down next to Bada, throwing her feet onto the coffee table. "What's going on?"

"Right, um," Youngj clears his throat. "As I was saying, there's an event that we're hosting for Valentine's Day. We're calling it the 'Cupid Project.' Basically, you're all going to get into pairs, and you'll be doing a variety of activities together," Youngj explains, his eyes scanning the group, watching the reactions on everyone's faces. 

Ew, is the immediate word that pops into your head. This reminded you of the group projects your teachers forced you to do in school. You can already see how this project will play out, and it's probably not going to be pretty. Based on the skeptical expressions you can make out, you are at least relieved to see that you aren't the only one feeling hesitant. 

"What kind of activities?" Bada asks softly, tilting her head.

"Just activities to get to know each other. Doing things you wouldn't normally do," Youngj replies, shrugging his shoulders. "Jho and I have some planned activities, but the point is for you and your partner to find things to do voluntarily. If we plan everything out for you guys, then it'll be completely forced."

"Wait, wait, wait," Minho interjects, pushing his sunglasses onto the top of his head. "So, you're telling me I have to go on a date with someone here?"

"No," Youngj shakes his head. "We're not forcing you to fall in love or anything. This is purely platonic, just a fun way to bond with each other. And there'll be a prize," Youngj says, wagging his finger.

"A prize?" Minho echos, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. You and your partner will compete against the others and the pair who does the most activities and seems to have actually become good friends with each other will win a reward."

"How are you measuring that?" Hoyeon, another videographer, asks. 

"We'll conduct anonymous votes and collect them at the Valentine's Day party we're hosting," Youngj explains. "But, it's not supposed to be all that serious, everyone. We're just trying to do something fun and, you know, team-build since we've gotten a lot of new hires recently. And, we'll get a good video out of it. We're planning on making a highlight reel of the Cupid Project for our Youtube Channel, which will be nice promotional material, too."

So that's what this was really about: content. Truthfully, you wouldn't have an issue with this if it were not very likely that you'd be the one filming or editing this highlight reel. You internally groan, realizing you'll have to deal with an increased workload because of this clusterfuck. 

"I think it's a great idea," Redllic says, a mischievous smirk on her face. You watch her glance at Bada, who is staring at nothing with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Well, what's the prize?" Minho asks. 

"600,000 KRW"

Others around the room whisper in excitement. You almost drop your camera. Out of shock, yes, but also because that was exactly the amount of money you needed to buy a brand new camera that you've been eyeing for ages. You've been wanting to record more complex videos, wanting to work on actual music video sets, but your current setup is limiting you. If you were able to get your hands on that camera now, you'd be about a year or two ahead of the original timeline you had in mind. You bite the inside of your lip, hoping Youngj doesn't see the desperation in your eyes.

"Holy shit," Hoyeon mutters. 

The two of you make eye contact, and you already know that the two of you are working together. You were close, having joined the company at the same time and being around the same age. This would be an easy win. 

"Alright, so it's settled, then," Youngj says, a confident grin forming on his face.

"Are we choosing our own partners?" Redllic asks, moving a blonde strand of hair away from her face. 

"No. That would lead to a bunch of people asking to be paired with people they're already friends with, which would make the whole thing pointless. We're drawing names out of a hat," Youngj says, gesturing towards the baseball cap resting on the coffee table.

Everyone collectively groans. You try not to cry. 

"Stop, come on, don't make this difficult," Youngj frowns. "The sooner you choose, the more time you have to prepare. Now, who wants to go first? I already have your names written,"

"Wait, let me go first," Hoyeon volunteers, jumping up and grabbing the hat. She reaches her hand inside and picks a small slip of paper out, then reads it aloud. You bite your lip, praying.

"Howl," Hoyeon declares, holding the piece of paper out for everyone to see. 

Your name is not Howl, but you nearly howl right then and there. Realistically, the probability that you would get who you wanted was unlikely considering the number of people in the room. Nonetheless, it hurt. 

The man with the wolf-centric name quietly stands and moves away from the corner he was situated in. He had been quiet the entire meeting, and most did not really notice he was there until Hoyeon mentioned his name.

"Guess it's you and me," Hoyeon laughs, smiling at the tall figure beside her.

Howl gives her a slight smile, shakes her hand, and they sit back down.

"Alright, Bada. Why don't you come over here?" Youngj says, gesturing to the coffee table.

"The one that everyone wants, I'm sure," Redllic comments with a bemused smirk, causing a clamor of chuckles.

Bada scoffs, and heads over to the table. She reaches into the hat, rustling through the papers. You hold your breath, reminding yourself of the unlikelihood that you'd be the name she pulled. However, as the woman's fingers curl around a single sheet of paper, your heart skips a beat. You feel as if you were the one reaching into the hat.

Bada pulls the paper out and unfolds it, her eyes scanning the sheet. Then, her eyes lock with yours, and your heart leaps. 

"Y/N," Bada calls out, holding the paper up.

You freeze, the room spinning around you. There's no way. 

Bada cocks her head to the side. "It's you, right?"

"Oh! Um, yeah," You sputter, quickly gathering the camera equipment around you.

You hear whispers and feel a hundred pairs of eyes on you as you walk over to the girl. You ignore the feeling of your skin burning. 

"Hey, Y/N. It's nice to officially meet you. I've seen you around a lot," Bada says, eyes warm.

"Yeah, nice to officially meet you, too," You say, extending your hand.

Her hand is warm and soft, enveloping yours like a blanket. Your hand feels cold and sweaty. 

"Interesting," Redllic quips, eyes darting between you two, a glint in her gaze. Bada tears her eyes away from you, giving the blonde woman a questioning look as she retracts her hand.

You take the opportunity to step away, returning to your seat and letting the other dancers pull names. The rest of the pairings are revealed without much commotion, except for Minho's, who loudly complains when he has to partner up with Jaeyong, a good choreographer, but awkward man. 

After all the names are drawn, everyone is dismissed. You're quick to leave the room, eager to return to the comfort of your familiar space behind the camera.

"Y/n! Slow down! We need to talk!" Hoyeon calls, catching up to you.

You turn around, side-stepping out of the way of people walking past you in the hallway. You wait for her to stop in front of you before you speak."With all due respect, I don't really want to talk right now. I just want to record. Then go home, and eat some ramen."

"With Bada?" Hoyeon sings, a cheeky grin forming on her face.

"Shut up," You mumble, rolling your eyes and continuing down the hall.

"Wait, why are you so bummed?" Hoyeon starts, following behind you, "Bada's cool?"

You sigh. "Exactly. She's cool. I'm...not."

"What? Yes, you are. Why would you think otherwise?" Hoyeon scoffs, her eyes narrowed.

"I just," You pause in the hallway again, trying to formulate the words. "I'm a little scared of her, is all."

"Scared?" Hoyeon questions, her forehead wrinkling. "She's nice though. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, but she's so pretty, and talented, and again, I'm not. Not in the way extraordinary way that she is, I mean.” You explain, shoulders slumping. 

A look of realization dawns upon Hoyeon's face, and she laughs menacingly. "Oh, I see what this is. You think she's hot, and you're a scaredy cat who's afraid of rejection. Case closed. I understand."

"That's not how I would phrase things but, essentially, yes," You concede, turning the corner.

"You're being silly. She's not a god. She's literally just a human being...a very sexy human being but a human being nonetheless. Just talk to her like one," Hoyeon suggests, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, are you not going to try to get that money? I know you want it. I saw that crazed look in your eye once Youngj made it to that fifth zero."

You laugh, "I mean, yes, I really want that money. I don't know if it's possible though. Even if I wanted to reach out to her, she’s so busy I doubt she's planning on actually committing to this. Especially because she's already loaded."

"You don't know until you try you wimp," Hoyeon says, nudging you in the arm.

"Ow," You groan, rubbing the spot in a manner that probably proves her point. "Aren't you going to try for the money too? Where's Howl, huh?"

"We're friends already, it'll be chill. I don't know if we'll necessarily win the money, but, like, we'll have a good time," Hoyeon states, grinning.

"Ugh, gross," You say, sticking out your tongue.

She ignores your immaturity. "What do you wanna do with the money anyway?" Hoyeon asks, leaning against the wall next to an entrance to one of the dance studios.

"Remember that equipment I told you about? So I can start working on sets?"

"Oh, right," Hoyeon says, crossing her arms. "You said that you've been wanting to do that for a while, y/n. Are you really not going to talk to Bada? I’ve recorded with her a few times now and I mean it when I say that she's nice as hell. I feel like she'd probably be down, or, at the very least, will understand if you explain things to her. "

"I'll try. Maybe. At some point. It's not going to be today, though," you mutter, reaching for the studio door before you are stopped by Hoyeon jabbing her french-tipped fingernail into your chest. 

"You better. Or else," Hoyeon threatens, a dark expression coming over her. 

"Move your finger, please," You say, swatting her hand away.

Hoyeon rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Good luck filming. I'm gonna go find Howl. Love ya,"

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun," You wave goodbye to her as she walks down the hall, pulling out her phone.

Once she's out of sight, you release a deep sigh and push open the door, only to be met with the sight of a familiar face. 

"Oh," You breathe.

Bada turns, a surprised expression on her face. "Y/n, hi. Were you coming in?"

"Um, yeah," You reply, slowly entering the room and closing the door behind you. "Are you rehearsing something?"

"Yeah," Bada answers, glancing at the mirror.

"Sorry. I can go-"

"No, no, don't worry about it. If you need to film in here, that's fine. I'll just go next door," Bada says, waving her hand.

You pause, taking a breath. Now’s your chance. "Actually, forget the recording, could I talk to you real quick? About the...cupid thing?"

"Yeah, of course. I was actually hoping we'd get a chance to talk," Bada grins, sitting down on the floor and patting the spot beside her.

You hesitantly walk over and sit down next to her. You take a moment to compose yourself, running your fingers along the smooth fabric of your pants.

"So," Bada prompts.

"Uh," You stammer, wracking your brain for what you were supposed to say. "Um, well, I just wanted to say that, uh, you are really, um, talented. And-oh, this sounds really weird." You finish, running a palm down your face in embarrassment. 

"No, no, it's not," Bada chuckles, a gentle smile on her face. "Thank you, though. But, um, that's not what you wanted to say, right?"

"Right. Sorry," You apologize, a rush of blood filling your cheeks.

"Don't worry. Take your time. We have a lot of it," Bada reminds you, studying the expression on your face. Her voice and words are calming, but her staring is freaking freaking you out further. 

You take another deep breath, hoping to quell your nerves. "Okay. I'm sorry. Uh, I'll try again. What I really wanted to say is, I know that it’s a stupid contest, and that you probably don't care about winning, but I actually really want to participate in that project and win that prize money. And, I was hoping you'd, maybe, help me win?" Before she can respond, you launch into another tangent. "I'm sorry, you're probably busy, which is okay, but I just want to upgrade my equipment so I can get more opportunities outside of-"

"Hey," Bada says, gently laying her hand on top of yours. "Of course I'll help you. You don't have to apologize. I think it'll be fun."

You nearly spiral, but Bada's touch is surprisingly soothing, and you calm down despite your anxiety. 

"Oh, wow. Thank you, so much," You breathe.

"It's not a big deal, seriously. I'm looking forward to it," Bada insists, squeezing your hand.

You stare at her, and her kind, sparkling eyes. What have you gotten yourself into?

You both sit there for a second, a pregnant pause in the air, before you quickly pull your hand away, remembering how sweaty they were.

Bada smiles, unphased. Then, she begins tapping her fingers rhythmically against the ground, a contemplative look on her face as she stares at the space where your hands were previously intertwined. 

"So," Bada suddenly looks up. "If you're just in it to win it, and you really want a fair shot, I think we need to do something a little extreme."

You blink, scared. "What do you mean…extreme?"

She bites her lip and you have to resist the urge to stare. "Youngj said this was supposed to be platonic, so that's how most people are going to approach it. How do we seem better or stronger than other platonic relationships? What’s more intense than that?"

You must be misunderstanding where she's going with this. "Um, a romantic one?" You say, furrowing your eyebrows.

To your shock, she nods. "Exactly. Y/n, I'm saying that we should make our Cupid partnership a romantic one," Bada states, her expression serious.

Your head is spinning. She is taking this much more seriously than you were anticipating. You were expecting to just go out for coffee a few times, and maybe post a picture of your twinning lattes on instagram to sell your friendship. You have no idea how to process this more intense proposition.

"Are you suggesting that we pretend to date each other?" You confirm.

A beat of silence. She leans back slightly, her eyes flickering. "I mean, yeah. Sure," She pauses. "Unless you're not comfortable with that."

"I am," You respond, the lie escaping your mouth with ease. 

Bada's eyes widen and she sits up, a smile growing on her face. "You're sure? If you're not cool with that, we don't have to. I know the idea is a little bit out there. I just, uh, want to help," She babbles, her fingers tapping against the floor again. 

You laugh. Was Bada Lee nervous? "I'm not uncomfortable with it. I trust you. As long as it helps us win,"

"It will, I promise. I'll make it worth your while," Bada vows, her expression determined.

"I can't wait," You laugh again, feeling the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

"Cool," She breathes, her body relaxing. "Well, I should go. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

You grin, nodding. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Awesome," She smiles, standing up. She reaches her down and grabs your hand, pulling you up. "I'm not gonna be able to actually meet-up with you tomorrow because I have something scheduled, but I already have your phone number. I'll text you."

You nod, distracted and unable to speak as her soft fingers brush against your palm.

"Bye-bye," She waves cutely, her long legs swiftly carrying her across the room. You wave back, her departing smile etched into your brain as you watch the door click shut behind her. Then, you're alone. 

You stare at the floor, processing the interaction. You had just agreed to pretend to date one of the hottest and most intimidating women you had ever met. You had no clue why you did it. Maybe the promise of money and fulfilled dreams had blinded you. Still, the whole thing seemed a little too ridiculous. Too dangerous. 

But there was no backing out now. You already went through the trouble of telling Bada about your desperation, and you told her that you trusted her. You'd have to commit. 

"Well," you whisper, hugging yourself in a soothing motion. "Here goes nothing."

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You fidget within the plush confines of your seat, hesitantly glancing around your dimly lit surroundings as you twist a gleaming piece of silverware between your fingers. Your other hand remains in your lap, afraid to touch the red linen covering your table. Your gaze settles on a couple a few tables away from you, clinking their wine glasses together with pompous grins. It crosses your mind that the wine they're drinking is probably worth more than the money you're doing all of this for, and you make the executive decision to reach for the bottle of wine the woman sitting across from you generously bought. 

When you drop your fork to outstretch your hand toward the bottle, the woman in question seems to notice, hurriedly grabbing ahold of it before you can reach it, and pours the liquid into your glass, herself. 

"Thank you," you murmur, retracting your hand and finally allowing it to fall on the table. 

"No problem," Bada replies, her voice warm and velvety, like the wine. She pushes your drink toward you, and you hurriedly snatch it up to take a large gulp, allowing it to trickle down your throat. The heat of the alcohol soothes your anxiety, and you exhale deeply. 

Your relief lasts for approximately one millisecond. Because, in the next, you're putting your drink down and are being reminded of the predicament you've gotten yourself into. Bada's preoccupation with her menu gives you the chance to observe the way the soft glow emanating from a nearby lamp illuminates her features. The light traces the curves of her face, accentuating every perfect line. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration, compelling you to consider reaching over the table to smooth the lines over with your thumb. When you try to look away, your gaze locks on the pouting of her lips as she focuses on whatever she's reading. 

"I'm thinking of getting the Frutti Di Mare," she voices, snapping you out of your trance. She sets the menu down and looks up, a gentle smile on her face.

"I don't know what that is," you respond dumbly. 

She laughs, the sound light and airy, causing the skin near her eyes to wrinkle adorably. "I thought Italian was your favorite?"

"It is," you confirm, feeling flustered. "I just-the Italian places I go to are super watered down. The fanciest thing you'll see there is fettuccini alfredo,"

"That makes sense," Bada nods, her smile turning playful. "Then, I'll let you know what it is. It's basically seafood. I think it's usually served with pasta."

"Ah," you reply, nodding slowly. "Tasty."

Bada laughs again, and you feel like a scratched CD—unable to get any words out, twitching in place, devilish sounds threatening to enemate from you at any moment. "I'll make sure to order an extra portion for you to try. Unless, of course, you don't want me to."

"No, that works. I'm fine with that," you respond, quickly.

"I figured." Bada smiles knowingly.

Your hand clutches your chest. "Hey, is that a little shade? Did I miss it? Please, elaborate," you joke, leaning forward.

Bada giggles. "Maybe. You've been drinking a lot of that wine. And I think you ate most of the breadsticks."

You glance at your breadcrumb filled plate, then at the half-empty basket of breadsticks. "Oh. Wow. I did."

"You did," Bada affirms, her expression amused. She scoots her chair closer and takes a sip of her own drink, her tongue darting out to lick her lips once she's done. You have the overwhelming urge to mimic the motion, but resist, choosing to instead stuff another breadstick in your mouth.

You swallow the last bits of the breadstick, wiping the crumbs off of your mouth, only for a new, smaller, crumb to appear. Bada notices, and when she raises her arm, your breath hitches. You feel her soft hand graze the side of your face, the pad of her thumb rubbing the crumb off your lip.

"There we go," Bada smiles, satisfied. You can't help but lean into her touch, the warmth of her skin a pleasant contrast against the cold room.

You're startled out of the moment when the waiter appears, setting a basket of warm bread down. You jump, moving away from Bada.

"Have we decided what we'd like to eat?" he asks, his accent thick.

Bada nods, seemingly unaffected by the exchange. "Yes, we're ready. I'll have the Frutti di Mare."

"Great choice," the waiter says. "And, for you, miss?"

"Um, Spaghetti," you answer, your voice strained. 

The waiter scribbles down the order. "Anything else to drink?"

"I’m good, thank you," Bada answers, her tone sweet, smiling gratefully at the man.

"I'll be right back with your food," the waiter bows his head, his ponytail bouncing, and swiftly leaves the table, leaving the two of you alone. 

Avoiding eye contact with Bada, you grab ahold of your glass and drink. The air crackles with something subtle, and you find yourself stealing glances at Bada’s pretty face in between sips, your cheeks warming.

But you needed to get down to business. It’s already been two days since you discussed fake-dating, and this is the first time you’ve done anything together. The clock was ticking.

You placed your drink down on the table and swallowed loudly, causing Bada to stop fiddling with the napkin in front of her in favor of looking at you. 

"So," you start.

"So," she copies.

"What's the plan?" you ask, drumming your fingers against the table.

Bada's eyebrows furrow again. "The plan?"

"For the whole Cupid thing," you clarify.

"Oh," she says, blinking. "Right. Well, I was thinking, that this was sort of the plan."

"This being..."

"Dinner. At a fancy restaurant," she responds, gesturing to her surroundings. "People will see us hanging out together here, and it'll get the rumor mill running. I wouldn't be surprised if the media picked it up, honestly. I think it's a pretty solid first step. We're just planting the seeds,"

You nod. "Yeah, okay. That makes sense. How do we get from here to actually dating?"

She leans back in her chair, pondering the question. "Hm. I don't know. An Instagram post, maybe? A soft launch?"

You consider this. "Okay, sure. But, what would the picture be of? This is all so, vague."

Bada shrugs, nonchalant. "We'll figure it out as we go. We're gonna be spending a lot of time together for the next few days so there'll be plenty of opportunities for pictures. For now, I think we should just enjoy dinner. We're supposed to look like a couple in love right now and I don't know if trying to scientifically plan a soft launch is really giving romance."

"Right," you sigh. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Bada says, reaching across the table to give your hand a quick squeeze.

You're interrupted by the waiter returning, bringing the food. He carefully sets the dishes down, and a delectable smell fills the air.

"Bon appetit," the waiter bows his head and disappears again.

"Thanks," you call after him, taking a moment to observe the meal.

"It looks great," Bada comments, reaching for her fork.

"It does," you agree, grabbing your own utensils. You take a tentative bite, moaning loudly as the flavors immediately explode in your mouth. "Holy fuck."

Bada stares at you, wide-eyed and frozen, a piece of pasta still stuck on her fork.

You blush, covering your mouth. "Oh my gosh, sorry."

She gulps, snapping out of her stupor. "No, no, it's fine. That was just, a, uh. It seems like you really like it!"

"It's really good," you confirm, your words muffled by the food.

"I can tell," Bada chuckles, her voice low and her eyes twinkling.

"Sorry. I'm gonna try not to embarrass myself any more," you say, chewing more delicately.

She laughs softly. "There's no need to apologize. You're funny, y/n," Bada says, the sincerity of her words and the fondness in her tone making heat rise to your cheeks. 

You eat the rest of your food quietly, listening to the bustling noise around you, the sound of Bada's utensils clinking against her plate unusually relaxing.

As you're finishing your last bits of pasta, a group of loud voices and giggles pass by your table. One of the girls, a brunette, notices the two of you and stops.

"Oh, my god," you hear the girl not-so-discreetly whisper, clutching her friends' arms. "Is that who I think it is?"

You glance at Bada, and she's looking at you. You raise an eyebrow.

"Bada Lee and...I don't know who that is? Who is that?" The brunette's friend replies.

You look down, pretending not to hear the conversation.

"I don't know either. You think that's her girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?! No way. They're probably just hanging out or something."

At this, Bada drops her fork and reaches across the table for your hand, grabbing it gently.

"You okay, baby?" Bada asks, her tone sugary sweet.

You're taken aback by the pet name. But, you decide to play along. You smile at her, placing your other hand over hers. "I'm fine, sweetie. Just a little tired."

"Do you wanna leave, honey?"

"I think I'll be fine," you grin.

"If you're sure," Bada smiles, stroking the back of your hand with her thumb.

"I'm positive, honey bunch," you affirm, biting onto your bottom lip to contain your laughter. 

"Aw, they're cute!" the brunette sighs. "I've gotta tell Sooyoung about this."

"Yeah, we should leave them alone, though. Let's go."

You and Bada watch the pair walk away. As soon as the women are out of sight, the two of you burst into laughter, dropping the facade.

"Did you see their faces?" Bada giggles.

"'Who is that?'" you imitate, your voice high pitched and nasal.

"Baby," Bada says, smirking. 

You laugh, but the endearment sends butterflies to your stomach. "Sweetie."

"Honey bunch," Bada grins.

"Honey bunny," you fire back.

"My love," she replies, tilting her head with a smirk, her voice playful. 

"Lovebug," you answer, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this foreplay?" she jokes, laughing. 

"I mean, if you want it to be, I'm not stopping you," you say, the words slipping out before you can stop yourself. Bada's eyes shoot up, and you feel slightly mortified and shocked by your own brazenness. 

"Do you mean that?" Bada asks, her voice dropping down an octave.

You open your mouth, then shut it. This is odd. You were regretting your lack of filter at first, but Bada seemed a bit too intrigued by the idea of consensual foreplay with you. She could just be joking, or really committing to the fake-dating bit. The look in her eyes was telling you otherwise, though.

However, you're cut off by the waiter reappearing. "May I interest you in dessert, or shall I bring the check?" he asks.

"Just the check, please," she says, not breaking eye contact with you.

The waiter bows, leaving the table once more.

You opt to stare down at the table. "I'll pay half," you offer, avoiding her earlier question.

"It's on me," Bada says. "I brought you here."

"Thank you."

"It's no problem," she says, a small smile on her lips.

Once the waiter comes back, Bada gives him her card. When he returns to your table with the receipt, Bada locks eyes with you, your heart thumping loudly.

"Let's get out of here," Bada says, and you nod.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

You stand at the entrance of the restaurant, a gentle breeze caressing your face. Your hands are stuffed in the pockets of your coat, and the chilly air nips at the tip of your nose.

"Are you ready?" Bada asks from behind you. You turn around to look at her, and the way her eyes reflect the light of the streetlamps above you causes your chest to tighten.

"Ready," you confirm, a hint of a smile on your face.

"Alright," Bada says, shoving her phone, which you don't remember seeing her pull out, into her coat pocket. She leads you to her car, opening the passenger seat door for you.

"Thanks," you smile, and she responds with a nod. 

After the door is closed, she goes around to the driver's seat, starting the engine and driving out of the parking lot. You're both silent as she navigates through the streets. You peer out the window, watching the city lights flicker and blur as you replay tonight's events, attempting to ignore the now obvious tension. 

"So," Bada breaks the silence, causing you to whip your head toward her. "You still haven't fully explained to me what plans you have in mind for that camera you're wanting so badly."

"Well," you begin, relieved that she took the conversation in this direction. "I love what I do at JustJerk. Seriously, watching you guys dance is amazing, and the people are the best. But, I don't want my career to end there. I want to do more on top of that, diversify my portfolio and all. What I really want to do is get onto a music video set. Maybe start directing, too. One day."

Bada hums and smiles. "That's amazing."

"Thanks," you grin, scratching the back of your neck.

"With all due respect, though, do you really need the new equipment for that? You do such a good job with our choreography videos. I don't know anything about videography, but I'd be surprised if that alone couldn't get your foot in the door."

"Well," you draw out, considering your words. "That's probably true. But, I don't think I'm that lucky. The equipment will help, the camera will be useful...the lenses will be nice to have…”

Bada frowns. "Have you given it a shot yet, though? As much as I'm going to try my hardest to help you win this money, realistically, there's a good chance that we still won't win. I'd hate to see you postpone your dreams just because of this camera, or because of this project."

You pause, staring at the car's interior, listening to the sound of the engine running, lost in thought. You weren't sure if it was because you admired Bada so much, or if it was something about her tone, but you were actually starting to rethink things. Perhaps you were holding yourself back a bit. 

"Maybe," you simply respond, unable to say much else. 

"I mean, the equipment will probably help," Bada concedes. "But, not having it won't stop you, I'm sure. Our videographers really don't get enough credit. But, you're all great and you're especially amazing at what you do, y/n. The only reason why I haven't gotten around to working with you is because the other dancers keep getting to you first," she admits, bitterly. 

"Wow," you breathe. "Thank you."

"Of course. You're awesome," she says, the confidence in her words filling your heart.

"So are you," you say, turning away from her, trying not to blush.

"I know. You’ve said it already," Bada smirks, and you simply roll your eyes. 

A more comfortable silence envelops the two of you, and the tension from before dissipates. You lean back in the passenger seat, a smile on your face, feeling content.

Soon, Bada pulls up outside of your apartment, and you're disappointed. 

"This is you," Bada announces.

"Yep," you nod.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," she says, smiling.

"Me too," you reply with a matching smile. "Thank you for dinner."

"It was no problem," she states, waving her hand.

You step outside, but, before closing the car door, you hesitate. "Um," you say, unsure.

"What is it?" Bada asks, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Can I give you a hug?" you blurt out.

Bada looks startled, but her expression softens. "Sure," she nods, turning the engine off and stepping outside.

You meet her on the sidewalk, and pull her into a hug, wrapping your arms around her torso and pressing your cheek against her chest. She hugs back, and you swear that you can hear her heartbeat.

"Goodnight," Bada whispers into your hair.

"Goodnight," you echo, pulling away, already missing her warmth.

She opens the car door again, ducking inside. "Text me when you get upstairs," she instructs.

"I will," you promise.

"Great. Goodnight, y/n," she smiles.

"Goodnight, Bada," you reply, watching her drive away. Once her car disappears, you sigh.

As you trudge up the stairs to your apartment, a single question repeats in your mind: What the fuck am I doing?

You finish cleaning up and getting ready for bed approximately two hours later. As you lay in bed, scrolling through social media, a post from a JustJerk fanpage catches your eye. It's a picture of Bada and you together at dinner, with the caption, "Caught on a date?!"

You laugh at the predictability of the situation, and just as you're about to turn off your phone, you think to check Bada's Instagram, curious. She posted a new story.

You tap it, and it's a picture of you, taken from behind, standing outside the restaurant. There are no words attached to the picture. Just one, pink heart.

You smile, saving the picture, and fall asleep with the image burned into your mind.

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Three days later, you are stationed near your camera, watching Bada teach. The day after your fake dinner date, she sent you a text describing the next stage of the plan, which was attending each other's events and collaborating in public whenever it seemed right. This initially felt like an excellent idea. You'd been dying to watch and record one of Bada's classes since you started working at JustJerk, and it brought you guys one step closer to convincing everyone you were seriously dating. What could go wrong?

The actual execution of this idea turned out to be much more distressing than you previously imagined. It started this morning when you were filming Minho's class. You kneeled in the front of the room, prepping your camera as Minho made rounds around the studio to talk to his students individually. Engrossed with your equipment, you didn't hear the sounds of the door opening and closing, or the following eruption of loud murmuring. It was not until you saw a pair of sneakers stop in front of you and caught a whiff of a now-familiar sweet aroma, that you bothered to glance up. When you did, you found yourself making eye contact with Bada, holding a bouquet.

"These are for you," Bada said, a proud smile on her face. 

Your jaw dropped and you scrambled to get up, almost knocking the camera over. They were roses, vibrant and beautiful against the dull gray of the dance studio. No one had done this for you before. 

"They're gorgeous," you whispered, accepting the flowers.

"I'm glad you think so," she replied, her smile deepening as she observed your reaction. You cradled the bouquet in your hands, inhaling the smell of the roses with a pleased hum and missing the endeared expression on Bada's face. You certainly didn’t see the way she started to lean forward to press a soft kiss to your forehead. Shocked, you loosened your grip on the bouquet, feeling nothing but the rush of warmth spread through every inch of you as a result of her tiny peck. 

She shifted back, as relaxed as ever. "I gotta go, but I'll see you later?" 

"Definitely," you nod, clutching the bouquet once again, head spinning.

"Great." She nodded, then made her way out of the studio.

After she left, you turned to face the room, only to be met with everyone’s staring. Right. That is what this is about. Getting attention. Nothing else. 

You glanced at Minho, who had a teasing smirk on his face.

"What?" you asked him, scowling. 

"Nothing," he laughed, then restarted his class. 

Now you are recording Bada's class. Or at least, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing. But, having to observe her so confidently lead her students through a routine, hearing her call out corrections with a simultaneously gentle yet demanding tone, noticing how hard her abs are when she lifts her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow for the last hour? It's been painful. You're so busy trying not to swoon you've nearly forgotten to press record a couple of times.

She suddenly looks at you, flashing a small smile at you accompanied by crinkling eyes. You give her a thumbs-up and quickly shift your gaze toward the camera as if you were busy setting the frame, even though the shot is already perfect.

Bada returns her focus to the class, and the lesson continues. Every once in a while, Bada walks over to you, checking in and asking how everything is going. Each time, she offers a smile, a wink, or some form of encouragement, and every time, it takes everything in your power not to blush. She's clearly playing it up for the audience, but the effect she has on you is no act.

Her students are buying it, though. The moment she gets near you, the girls (and a few guys) start whispering amongst themselves. It's working.

"Alright," Bada claps, signaling the end of the session. "That's it for today. Good job, everybody."

"Thank you, teacher!" they all exclaim, bowing and gathering their things.

You're packing up your camera when you feel a pair of hands grasp your waist. Startled, you drop your tripod.

"Gotcha," Bada giggles.

"Shit, that scared me," you say, placing a hand on your heart.

"Sorry, sorry," she laughs. "How'd the recording go?"

"Pretty good," you say, bending down to pick up the tripod. Bada immediately crouches, beating you to it. "Thank you."

"No problem" she says, straightening up, extending the tripod towards you.

"Thanks," you say again, taking the device from her. "Anyway, you did good. It's not going to need much editing."

"Really?" Bada smiles. "Thank you. That means a lot, actually."

"It’s no problem," you grin, suppressing the fluttering in your stomach. "And, uh, thanks again for the flowers, by the way. They were beautiful."

“You are very welcome. Just fulfilling my fake-girlfriend duties," Bada beams, and you have to look away.

"Well, anyway, I should probably head home," you say, avoiding eye contact. "Gotta get started on the footage."

She tilts her head. "Uh, I don’t think so. That’s gonna have to wait for tomorrow,” 

"Huh? Why?" you ask, confused.

"Because, y/n, we're going bowling with Youngj and them? Don't tell me you forgot," she chides, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," you say, remembering. "I thought that was supposed to be later."

"It's 7:30," she says, a slight frown on her face.

"Fuck," you curse, running a hand through your hair. "Sorry, I'll get out of here."

"We have to go there together," Bada reminds you.

"Shit. Okay, yeah, let's go," you sigh.

"Are you okay?" she asks, concern etched onto her features.

"Yes. No. Ugh. Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind today. Didn't get much sleep," you say, rubbing your eyes. It wasn’t a complete lie. Ever since your date at the restaurant, you’ve been getting bombarded with messages from friends asking about the two of you, giving you little time to rest alongside your work for Justjerk. There was more going on today, though. 

"That sucks," Bada sympathizes. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," you answer, bluntly.

"Okay," she says, softly. "But, if and when you do, I’m all ears."

"Thanks, Bada. I appreciate it," you reply, and a part of you is telling yourself not to get attached. But the bigger part of you, the part that wants nothing more than to fall into her arms, tells that smaller part to fuck off.

"Of course. Anyway, we should really get going," she says, and you follow her out the door, leaving your thoughts and feelings behind.

read part two

[lovelynim]

Move over

League of Legends/HEARTSTEEL!AU - Kayn x Ezreal

A/N: is heartsteel still cool or are we over the topic already? Anyway, idc, i wanna write for my babies so you can expect more on the way eheheh. Also, I'm lowkey sorry for how I wrote Kayn in this one, I'm still not sure how to make it when someone has a demon speaking inside their head

Summary: Ezreal wants to sit on his favorite spot on the couch, but Kayn is already sitting on it, so... they start bickering each other, yeah.

Word count: 1170 words

Kayn leaned his head back on the couch, looking down to the cellphone in his hands as he mindlessly scrolled through his social media feed. He had just left the practice room and, now, besides Rhaast’s voice, he could also hear Yone’s scolding ringing inside his head. What a hassle.

Still, that was part of being in a band, Kayn thought, and it was probably better than not having a plan. He wanted everything to be perfect, so of course they needed to practice over and over and over, as many times needed - but it didn’t make people less annoying to deal with.

“You shouldn’t have let him have the last word”, Rhaast said inside his head, making Kayn roll his eyes. “It would only make things harder, I didn’t feel like picking up a fight. Now shut it, will you?” The rapper groaned, taking his eyes back to the screen.

“We need to show them who is in charge!”, the demon continued and Kayn tightened his grip around his cellphone. He was already annoyed on his own without Rhaast’s voice occupying the room for his thoughts, he didn’t need another issue to deal with.

“I told you to shut up,” Kayn groaned, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, wishing the demon had a physical body so he could punch him in the face. Maybe if he punched himself hard enough Rhaast would feel it as well? Should he try it?

While considering how he could violently solve the problem with the one inside his head, Kayn’s inner dialogue was interrupted when a third voice called for him. “Who are you talking to?”

The rapper opened his eyes, looking to Ezreal, who was idly standing in front of him. The vocalist had already changed into a more comfortable outfit, with a pair of flannel shorts and an oversized hoodie and just that sight alone was already enough to make Kayn feel something stuck at the back of his throat. An insult, he thought (or hoped so).

“None of your business, little prince,” he teased, making Ezreal roll his eyes. 

“Whatever. Move over,” Ezreal ordered and, before Kayn could process the meaning of those words, the vocalist was already trying to squeeze in the little space between Kayn and the couch’s arm.

The pink-haired guy groaned, half confused, half annoyed, not able to figure out what his bandmate was about. “Really? Fuck off, Ez, there are plenty of spots,” Kayn hissed, being pushed to the side despite his attempts to stay.

“Yeah, but I like this one,” Ezreal replied like the spoiled prince he was, the rapper thought, pressing himself against the couch in an attempt to put up a battle.

But it was all in vain.

After a couple of grunts and pushes, the vocalist managed to sit - or, at least, partially. Without enough space in the little corner, Ezreal decided to shamelessly rest his legs on top of Kayn’s. 

“See? No one respects you here, Kayn”, Rhaast promptly said inside his head, making Kayn roll his eyes. “Don’t you think I had enough of you?” He barked, saying each word out loud.

“What?” Ezreal raised an eyebrow, moving his eyes up from his cellphone’s screen to stare at Kayn. “I just got here, besides, I told you to move over .”

“Not you, I- I wasn’t- agh, forget it, loser,” Kayn groaned, finding himself cornered in a losing battle against those two. Ezreal crossed one ankle over the other, humming happily when he noticed Kayn was too busy… well, being Kayn to shove him away. The vocalist got comfortable while the rapper, on the other hand, became more irritated. 

Just as Kayn was about to snap - not sure if at Rhaast or at Ezreal - an idea of how to turn the tables in his favor popped up in his head. He smiled, slowly resting his hands on top of Ezreal’s legs. 

Feeling Kayn’s touch, Ezreal sighed, lowering his cellphone to look at him. “You know, this is not half-ba- h-huh? What’s with that face?” He stuttered, feeling scared as Kayn stared at him like a predator to its prey.

“You sure you don’t wanna move, prince?”

Ezreal blinked, trying to figure out what he was about, but shook his head, shrugging off any doubt. “Duh, yeah? I want to sit here,” he pouted, fearing the consequences those words could have, beginning to think of a thousand ways Kayn could be mean to him - but not this one.

“H-hey, what ahahar- ah, nohoh! K-Kahayan, stohohop it!” He giggled nervously, trying to jerk his foot out of Kayn’s reach, but his leg was firmly held back, leaving his foot at the mercy of Kayn’s mean tickling.

Scribbling right over Ezreal’s arches, Kayn chuckled at the other’s reaction. How could he not have thought of this sooner?

“Tickling? Seriously?”, Rhaast barked inside his head, but Kayn could barely pay attention to the demon’s word, way too entertained with finding out a way to make Ezreal laugh harder. “Is our little prince ticklish? Of course he is,” Kayn teased, tracing his fingers down the middle of Ezreal’s sole, making the vocalist squeal in mirth.

“K-KahAHahayn, lehehet go, you ihiHIH- OKAHAY! S-sohohorry!” Ezreal cackled when Kayn quickly retaliated his offense with tickles near his toes, a spot that seemed to be awfully effective for Kayn’s goal.

“What’s wrong, Ez? Am I being too harsh for your delicate porcelain skin?” 

“S-shuHUHup uhup! I sahAHaid I’m sohOHOrry!!” Ezreal gasped, hitting Kayn’s leg with his free heel, trying to not fall off the couch as he squirmed with laughter.

“So will you quit being a brat?” Kayn demanded, scratching the bottom of Ezreal’s heel when he didn’t get an answer in the first seconds after his question. “Or should I make this lesson a little longer?”

“YehHEHEAH- AhAHaha, c-cohohome on! PlehEHEhase! Just s-stahahap!” Ezreal pleaded one last time before finally getting a break. He laid down in defeat, feeling like his body would melt on top of the couch, but soon realized a thing: Kayn hadn’t push him away - nor moved at all.

Was that just a way of messing with him, Ezreal thought, just to make him laugh or have some fun? The vocalist narrowed his eyes, staring at Kayn in confusion, having some ideas that made his heart skip a beat. He didn’t know why, but Kayn seemed a little more relaxed now, even allowing Ezreal to rest his legs on top of his again - this time with no tickles.

About 10 minutes later… or what is 20? Anyway, a couple moments later, when getting ready to get out, K’Sante let out an amused, but proud chuckle when he saw the duo sprawled over the couch together. “Good to see you two are getting along.”

“We’re not”, they replied together, talking as if Ezreal wasn’t comfortably laying on top of Kayn’s lap. 

K’Sante shook his head, thinking it would be better to not disturb those two - surely they would figure themselves out… eventually.

[atierrorian]

♡​🇴​​🇺​​🇷​ ​🇷​​🇪​​🇩​ ​🇸​​🇹​​🇷​​🇮​​🇳​​🇬​​🇸​ ​🇨​​🇴​​🇳​​🇳​​🇪​​🇨​​🇹​​🇮​​🇳​​🇬​♡

Summary: As the legend goes, a red string will appear that will connect you to your soulmate. And seems like Riddle found his soulmate through the red strings.

Tw/Cw: None.

Characters: ♡Riddle Rosehearts♡

Note: While continuing to write the continuation of "Fairytale Madness" I decided to do a soulmate AU! And I will make other soulmate AUs with the others and other fandoms as well, soon, at least. Btw ooc Riddle most likely.

Ah, the famous legend of the red string, he has heard a lot about it.

The famous red string of fate that would supposedly lead you to your soulmate. As a kid, he always wondered what it was like, a red string appearing on your ring finger and connecting it to where your soulmate was, he always wondered what it was like.

But, his Mother told him that it would be better if he stopped thinking about it and continue with his studies, after all, it was merely a legend and he need not a soulmate.

And so that's what he did, he tried to forget all about it by putting his face in books and committed to his studies to get his mind off about it.

For a while, it seemed to be effective. He went on for years without giving it much thought or consideration. Though, on some occasions, it would cross his mind briefly before shaking off the memory away once more.

And now he is a part of NRC and is the dorm leader of Heartslabyul.

It was going great until the second year began.

♡♡♡♡♡

I sighed and placed my elbow on the table and placed my chin on my hand. I looked at the red string that was wrapped around my ring finger.

How was this even possible? I thought they were merely a legend...

And it appeared that my "Soulmate" was the new student that had no magic. It just suddenly appeared when they came into view. I have already known the prefect of the Ramshackle for a couple of weeks now and I cannot deny that I may have something felt for them by now.

But, what would my Mother say about this? She would be so disappointed, and upset.

I felt conflicted, I'm happy about my feelings for the prefect but at the same time, my Mother would never approve of them, for she would deem them as imperfect in her eyes. And as for the red strings...

But, the prefect has helped me a lot throughout their time in NRC, they even helped me when I needed it the most and when I overblotted and stayed by my side after that.

The book on the table was long forgotten as I felt too conflicted to even continue reading or study, this was all too much, and it seemed like no one else can see the strings.

Not even the Prefect.

But the red strings did connect to them, no doubt about that.

I banged my head against the open book and exasperated loudly, luckily, it was muffled, so no one was able to hear me. Besides, they would call me a hypocrite if they knew I was still awake.

This is all so confusing, should I even tell them? Should I tell my Mother?

No, I can't tell my Mother, she would go berserk if she ever knew and would most likely forbid me to see them again or even talk to them again.

While lost in thoughts, I didn't notice my finger tugging until I was practically being dragged by the red string.

"What the??"

The red string that used to be loose became tense and seemed to be dragging me to the garden, but what for? And why are they suddenly tugging me??

When we were at the center of the garden, the strings stopped and became loose again, but this time, the strings were shorter.

I heard a small gasp as I looked up from my finger, I saw the prefect, it looked like they were also dragged here by the string...

They looked confused before looking at where the red string was, wait, could they see it now? If so then why now?

I didn't know what to do besides just me freezing up before finally getting my cool.

"Uhm... Hello Prefect, I'm sure you're confused about what's happening and that is understandable considering you were suddenly dragged here without knowing, right?" I said as I looked at their expression, they still looked confused but looked more relaxed now.

"Can you see the red strings?" I whispered, they nodded and looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

Are they upset that I'm their soulmate? Do they not like me?

All these thoughts kept circling around my mind before they said chuckled and smiled at me, noticing my worried expression.

"Riddle, if you're thinking I don't like you, I do, I really do." They said while I completely froze again, is this... A joke? They liked me? They continued talking while I just stood still.

"I'll be honest with you, I'm glad that my string is connected to your string, Riddle." They said before walking towards me and opening their arms wide.

I processed what was going on and before I knew it, I was already embracing them, tightly as I laid my head on their shoulder.

"Really?" I barely muttered, still in disbelief that they would like me back despite all the harsh things I've done.

"Of course, although yes, you were not the best person, you still try to change after knowing what you've done is wrong and I'm proud of you for staying strong and managing, I really admire your strength Riddle." They said as they stroked my hair.

I never knew I needed to hear those words, no one has ever said they were proud of me unless it was about my achievements.

And before I knew it, tears were staining their pajamas.

"There there, it's alright."

I held them tightly in my embrace as I realized.

They were really my soulmate, and I couldn't ask for someone else to be mine.

[dragons-and-magic]

More question time, lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?

How do dragons react to lemon? (LOL)

What’s Emily’s origin?

Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?

Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?

Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?

OH MY GOSH. I'M ABOUT TO DROP SO MUCH LORE. THIS WAS MY EXACT REACTION WHILE MAKING THIS.👇 I AM UNHINGED. :D

Anyone reading this, you're gonna want to pull up a seat! This is gonna be long! Lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?: I would say yes. But they are very far and few between. At first. Let me explain a few things! So, in the golden days of dragons, there were many species. And they were all sorted into different classes. Titan, Standard, Dwarf, and Fey. (And there's Leviathan Class, but it's too big to show here.) In addition, they are subclasses like Seadragons, Serpents, Wyverns, Drakes, (Normal) Dragons, Fey Dragons, and Longs (Eastern Dragons). They sometimes also are sorted if they had any kind of magical abilities. And each of these would almost always mate only within their own species.

But then something happened. Humans got even smarter and started using tougher and more deadly weapons. Slowly dragon numbers began to dwindle and dragons began to migrate out of their usual habitats and into other species. These dragons started to find mates from other species in the areas they wandered to. Sometimes it was simply a matter of their species just dying out. Or the smaller territories crossing over. Either way, Hybrids were the results. They weren't super common at first. But by the time this AU's version of Journey Beyond Sodor comes around, they're WAY more common. In fact, Hurricane is a cross between a Titan Class (Gordon's Class) and a Standard Class (Thomas's Class)! EDIT: I forgot to mention! For this same reason, clans made up of multiple species also started to occur. Before, Dragon Clans were usually made up of only one species. But after families got separated and almost whole species killed off by humans, dragons began to bond with others outside their kind. Found family baby! :D

2. How do dragons react to lemon?: Weeeeeeeell...

That's a definite NOPE from Thomas.🤣 Yeah, I don't like they would like them much. Lol!

3. What’s Emily’s origin?: Okay, so here's the thing. She is literally NESSIE. Aka The Loch Ness Monster!

Well, she's what started the legend anyway. Albeit accidental. Lol. Here's the story. Emily is chilling in her Loch one day, minding her own business. She had just gotten up, so she isn't really paying attention to her surroundings. A camera flashes. Emily freezes and looks toward the shore. Two very nervous photographers are standing there. She panics and dives back down! But, she's a bit too late. Because, blurry as it is, that photo is enough to start a whole monster hunting craze. Suddenly the Loch is swimming with boats and flashing cameras, and Emily's whole clan has to relocate! And that's how she ended up on Sodor.😂

4. Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?: Do ghosts count? Sailor John is a pirate ghost in this story! But he disguises himself as a normal hooman. He has to find his old treasure chest, so he can become mortal again and rain terror across the seas again! Also, there's a few dangerous monsters and such. Trolls, Rock Monsters, Sand Worms, etc. (Beresford the crane is a bridge troll in this!) Sodor is actually part of an archipelago called The Golden Isles. So there's plenty of habitats for monsters to dwell. As for wolves, that's not such a bad idea! Perhaps something like Wargs could exist. They're the giant evil wolves from Lord Of The Rings. Something like that maybe.

5. Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?: Absolutely! He loves the animals! And knows a lot about them! Because he's closer to animals than the others, he doesn't like to partake in hunting. And he has a more vegetarian diet.

Of course, most dragons are predators, and need food to survive. And of course, if there was too many prey animals, the ecosystem would be unbalanced. So there has been a compromise made. Any animal located within fifty feet of Henry's den, (Located under the Wishing Tree!) is safe from hunting. Also, one more cool fact about him is he has plant magic! He can grow plants, and has something called Root Connection. He can basically telepathically sync up with the trees communication signals and find out what's going on anywhere in the forest! His horns and eyes get all glowy and everything!

6. Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?: Definitely! There's three whole clans that live by the beach! Salty's clan is on the Southern Coast of the island. And you know Salty loves the ocean! His clan is made up of himself, Porter, Cranky, and eventually Big Mickey and Carly. Cranky is a big Leviathan Class Seadragon as you can see. Porter and Salty can ride him.

And then there's Belle's Clan! (This AU's version of the Sodor search and rescue team!) They live on the northern coast and watch out for incoming dragons and ships! They're like the watch men of the island! They live on a sea mount called The Roost! Her clan is made up of Flynn, Harold, Captain, Butch, and Rocky. Don't have designs for them yet. Sorry.😅 (Flynn x Belle is thing in this too!)

And then lastly, we have Duck's clan. And while they live more inland than the others, they are still located on the northern coast! Duck's clan has Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Skiff, Daisy, and Ryan!

I don't have concepts for everyone yet. But here's Ryan, Daisy, and Duck's prototype designs! (Oh, and Ryan x Daisy is a thing in this!❤️)

And that's everything! For now.😉

Thanks for sending in so many questions! I had a ton of fun making this!

[skyloftian-nutcase]

✨It’s the random wip fairy!✨ share a random part from a wip, then send this to five other people. Let’s encourage some writers!

LOL OK so the Great WIP Fairy must have sent a veritable army because I got eight of these in my ask box. XD It's both hilarious and heartwarming. So I'll just put a WIP for almost everything I'm working on!

Breath of the Sky

The healer’s soft hands started on his face, making him jump slightly. She apologized briefly, but her formal manner was lost in favor of an analytical eye and practiced movements. Satisfied that she felt no fever in his cheeks or forehead, she pulled out an object that, based on how she placed it in her ears and moved towards him, seemed to be some kind of listening device. She warned briefly that she would be reaching under his tunic to place the device against skin, and he watched her try to fiddle with his chainmail to little avail. He blushed in embarrassment; he supposed he shouldn’t have put everything back on if he was going to get an assessment from a healer.

Waving her off with an awkward laugh, he said, “Sorry… maybe I should take some of this off.”

Or at least, he was going to say that when his eyes fell on Zelda, who looked immensely ill at ease. He choked out “Sorry,” and then stood, ignoring the healer and walking to his beloved friend. “Zel, what’s wrong?”

Zelda took a deep breath, looking at the ground uncertainly, and then smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s… just weird. They’re doing a celebration for us today. It starts this afternoon and goes on through the night.”

“A… celebration? For us?” Link didn’t know how to process that. “What are they celebrating?”

“Just… us.”

“What did we do?”

Zelda shrugged. “I guess… the stuff we did… a while ago.”

Elastic Heart

Four hopped on top of Twilight’s back and the pair moved around the edge of the forest as Twilight sniffed the ground. Then the wolf turned around, marching straight through camp before stopping dead at the edge of the cliff.

“He went over the cliff?” Legend surmised, his voice pitched in worry.

Wind stomped his foot. “Well standing here panicking about it won’t find Sky! Let’s go!”

With that, the sailor charged ahead, pulling out his Deku leaf and leaping off the cliff. Time automatically flinched, stopping himself from calling out to the sailor, and then he strode after him. Pulling out his hookshot, he aimed for one of the sturdier looking trees down below, hoping his item could reach the branches. Twilight had his clawshot out and ready while Four slipped a ring on each index finger and started to climb down the cliffside.

Healthcare AU

Twilight shrugged. “I mean, I barely remember meeting Malon, and I think I was a little kid when it happened. It’s just—my parents are just—these people, I don’t really know them, you know? It’s weird. I’ll be quick, though.”

Wild huffed out an amused snort, stepping away from Twilight. “Honestly, you act like a mother hen. I can survive without you, you know; I’ve been doing just fine on my own.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Right. Because dumpster diving and starving and being homeless counts as doing just fine.”

“I wasn’t homeless—”

“You said yourself that you didn’t have any place to stay for two weeks.”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“No.”

Wild waved a hand in a shooing manner while sighing dramatically. “All right, all right, go deal with your crazy relatives, then. I’ll be waiting with bated breath at home, big brother.”

[saltynsassy31]

hayy so you mentioned some “black market” in an ask 👀 if you don’t mind………what’s that about

Cjdksjaj nosy I see. 😏

Well, if you must know, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tel you. 😌

Basically, for Skipper's au, I made things a lot.....darker? I mean, okay, there was a reason I was so shy to share about him.

But I really, and I cannot stress this enough, really like those underground fighting rings plot in shows and movies and such. My most recent example would have to be Shang-chi and the legend of the seven rings where, while searching for Shang-chi's sister they end up in this, sort of, illegal fighting ring?

It's super cool and I'm obsessed with these types of stuff and I decided to do the same thing with Skipper.

It's where the rich of the rich go, and the scummiest of people stay at while all the cool people go play turf war in the surface.

After Skipper ran away from the octarian arm, he ended up being roped in to this type of buisness. Though he didn't just do underground fighting, there is basically a whole black market ring, or this is the best way I can put it.

Cherry had been working way before Skipper had with their circle (circle is just basically your buisness or team, there is the head boss and their team, the boss set their team up with, as they call it, "surface jobs" and "Red jobs", surface jobs being normal jobs you see day to day and Red jobs being the illegal work).

Cherry did modeling and turfing as her surface job and selling unauthorised weapons + illegal substances as her Red job.

Skipper did turfing as his surface job while he did underground fighting as his red job.

El wasn't part of their circle, or any circle of that matter, he just worked as a freelance hacker of sorts in the black market, jumping from circle to circle as long as they payed well, and he was the top of his game.

Now, it goes much, much deeper than this and I could go on and on about the inner workings of this buisness and all that but I'd be writing a whole book if I were to get into the details of things and probably end up spilling lore, of course, if you're curious I can always elaborate but yeah, this is basically what it's about.

[ducknotinarow]

[Foot Clan AU] 2k12 Karai Casey - #

| send me “#” for cell phone headcanons about our muses including:        

   "And what makes you think you can just look through my phone? Fine. Not like you find anything it's not related to anything with the clan anyway."

- what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone        

 'Cae'

"Casey was annoying when we were kids" She pauses a moment and moves to change her wording. "Caseys always been annoying even when we were kids. He started to call me Rai so to get on my nevers why he thought it would I don't know. Not like it worked." It did. "So I figured if I was Rai, then he was Cae.  And well I guess it just kind of stuck for me to keep with the nickname? Sure I still call him by name, but i'll admit when Shredder and such aren't around or its just us, he quickly goes back to being Cae to me. Don't think much on it."

- what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone                  

[image description] It's a quick shot taken just as Casey seems aware of a camera on him. There is an ice rink behind him, a few hockey players can be see in the distance. Casey seems to have a faint smile on his face even as hes catching Karai taking said photo of them. Of course she would deny it and tell him she was simply seeing if she had any bars. Claiming she was bored, but it wasn't a good lie for once.

"Sometimes the three of us just sneak out to get away from the compound. It drives Shredder mad when ever we do, claims he doesn't want anything happening to us. Which is why I point out I brought Casey along for a reason. In truth it just feel so damn cramped in that place at times. Like i'm suffocating. Don't get me wrong sometimes I get a kick out of how the foot soldiers seem to sweat and shake at the mere thought of getting on my bad side, because they fear" she gives a roll of her eyes "dear old dad." The word come out bitterly before she continues to talk.

"Not when I with them however, I don't get hockey in truth I can follow the basic rules at least but well. It makes Casey happy." She smiles a little "I know Casey got it pretty tough" She just never fully knew the extent "And well sure hes annoying, and a pest a lot. Always hanging around to annoy me cause he just can..doesn't mean I don't feel he should get a break himself time to time."

           

- what your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone                

Big by Betty Who            

If legends are loud and built to stand out Guess that's who I'm meant to be Ten feet tall and I'm proud of it

"Cause Casey's a gaint and take up space clearly." She wont say the real reason and normally for these one I have just been letting the charter talk. But I feel this needs explanation so imma expose her here today. When picking these ring tones its meant to be a song that makes the my muse think of your for one reason or another. I just really feel this song fits well for Casey in this AU. Because Casey in a sense is made to feel sorry for being who he is because of Shredder. Karai is one who sort of falls for how Casey portrayals himself though with this over bearing confidence hes hiding behind in part Karai isn't fully blind and knows its not the full case, seeing how she dose like to try and sneak them out to places that makes Casey happy. Reminds him of his real family and such. But this is very much how Karai sees and views Casey as well. As someone who should be loud and proud of who he is. After everything happens? She keeps the song because this is how she wants Casey to live after knowing the truth.

She wants him to live Big to be obnoxiously and unapologeticly himself.

- my muse’s last text to your muse

[text] look i'll cover for you so you can see Raphael but don't take forever again this time?

[text] if your staying out late with him just stay with the turtles so im not staying up to help you sneak back in

----

[text] I swear Casey if you took my eye liner i'm breaking all of yours!! and will sneak into your room to make your face look like more trash than it already is!

----

[text] hey

[text] I sort heard Dad getting after you eariler. So thought maybe

[text] well wanna sneak out?

----

[text] Casey, i'm going to find you no matter where you went I will find you.

[beakeoghan]

4 am and a bottle of champagne

Pairing: Shang-Chi x fem!reader

Summary: It's 4 am and your roommate finds your broken heart in the kitchen.

Word count: 1.2k words

Warnings: Roommate!au, mentions of cheating, very minor cursing, slow burn. In this story, Shang-Chi is referred to as Shaun since I pictured that the events of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings occurred before he moved in with her, and she doesn't know about his double life.

Author’s note: This little story is very self-indulgent and I wrote it for the lovely@tonystarksfavoritedaughter writing challenge! Thank you so much for tagging me on this and I'm very happy about your incredible milestone ❤ There are a lot of references to songs because that's how my mind works dhsdjkh The reader calls him “boy-scout” because she sees him as someone very honest and friendly.

Likes, comments and reblogs, as always, are very appreciated <3

You knew it was around 4 am when your body urged you to wake up and get out of bed. Truthfully, you hadn't even slept at all. Your eyes didn't seem to shut for a minute without flashbacking to the scene you'd seen earlier.

The cold floor against your feet was the only thing keeping you alert and present. You made your way to the kitchen, careful not to wake up your roommate. Against your will, though, the tears started lingering by your puffy eyes — you fought them, unsuccessful.

A glass of water in hand, only the dim lights of the table lamp by the sofa illuminating your face, you heard the tingling of the keys wiggling around when the front door unlocked. You didn't even realize he wasn't at home.

You stared at Shaun, squinting your eyes. "I thought you were here." Even though your friend was quite outgoing, frequently going to karaoke parties, he never came back home so close to dawn. "What were you doing out so late?"

Shaun took a quick breath, trying to make up excuses on cue. "I was at Katy's?" He said, but even he couldn't believe his response. "I was doing groceries?" He closed his eyes taking the hit of being so bad at making believable excuses to you.

The slight shake of his head and the funny tone of his voice made you giggle softly. On any other day you would joke around and confront him, making him confess, but not today. You turned your distant gaze away from him, thinking about hiding in your bed again. "Alright, good night, boy-scout."

"Wait, wait." He said, closing the door behind him after taking off his shoes, cautious not to make too much noise. "You're never up that late. Or early, I'm not sure anymore." He hung his jacket in the open closet where all the coats are usually stored. "Is everything fine?"

You knew he couldn't see your face. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have asked if you were okay. The spaced curtains let the moonlight and the slightly greyish blue sky come through the apartment windows. You sat down on the comfy chair nearby, grabbing a blanket that you would always leave in the living room.

Shaun approached the space, joining you on the other couch. His tired dark eyes stared at you with concern as soon as he noticed the red sheen on the tip of your nose and the sparkle on your eyes - the kind of sparkle he didn't wish to see. He hated to see. "Who did this to you?"

"Who do you think?" As soon as you let out the sarcastic huff, the other emotions started to show, and you felt like crying again. "I saw him cheating on me with another girl at that party. And the worst part was that he seemed so free like I didn't even exist."

Shaun shook his head in disbelief, almost pleading with himself not to say what he was yearning to say for quite some time now. He sighed, searching for the right way to let the words reach you.

"He is a fucking moron. That's what he is." He seemed so angry, but not at you. His hand gestured as if a single punch could knock another person out in one go. You recognized his face when he was so upset he could storm out - luckily, he never did that to you. The veins on his arm and forehead popping out, his jaw clenched, all very contained, yet, quite terrifying at the same time.

Your unexpected laughter made him jump out of the couch, taking his focus out of the feelings he was farming under his skin. "Thanks for sugarcoating it.”

"I meant to say that he isn’t worth it.” He said, cupping your hand onto his. "I'm sorry that it happened."

"I know." You nodded with a weak smile showing off for the first time that night. "I did break up with him if you were wondering."

"I was going to ask you that." He chuckled. "You know I've never been a fan of his, so I can't be partial on that."

"Can we pop out the champagne? Or is it too early for that?" You snorted a bit with your restrained laughter. After that little confession from Shaun, you lightened up a bit. You knew he wasn't the type of guy that despised people, but you always had that gut feeling that his senses were almost like a moral compass — if he doesn't like someone, there's something wrong.

"We can do whatever you want to, pretty girl." He smiled, mimicking your new mood. "Anything that makes you happy."

You reached him for a side hug and whispered a sweet thank you, resting your head on his shoulder. "Even at 4 am, you never fail to make me smile, boy-scout."

"It's just my duty ma'am." He saluted with a grin. "But seriously though," he cleared up his throat. "I hope you know that love doesn't feel like this. I don't have a single doubt in my mind that you loved him, but... Love isn't supposed to give you anxiety, cold feet, and make you second guess yourself as he did."

And as I would never do. He wanted to say but kept the last part for himself. “You’re going to be okay.”

”Thank you, Shaun." You nodded. His warm eyes reached you in a mellow embrace as if with one look he had snugged you with a blanket and gave you a sweetened cup of coffee. "And I'll keep my guard up for the future."

Shaun seemed satisfied with your answer and smiled. You stood up and walked back to the kitchen again after remembering the leftover cake from last night. You glanced over to him asking if he wanted a piece, but he refused, just watching you from the couch he was still comfortably sitting on. “Oh wait, look what we have here.” Your figure suddenly vanished inside the fridge lights, and your swift smile accompanied a half-opened bottle of cheap champagne. He guffawed at your suggestive grin and nodded, pointing at the shelf where you kept your very inexpensive glasses.

He knew he had to give you time to heal. There was this innocent understanding that whatever type of love he felt for you, it was enough for now. He didn't need to be your lover, not as much as he needed to be your friend.

He wanted to be the one you would drunk text to and the one you would sing series openings with late at night. He wanted to be next to you when you woke up and brew you a fresh cup of coffee — or tea, which one you would prefer that day. He wouldn't mind going out to buy you boba tea or put gas on your car when you didn’t feel like it.

Maybe he, too, had a misconception of love. Love was what he felt for you, even today when all he could do was comfort you and watch you dance on the kitchen tiles with that oversized t-shirt you had stolen from him. Love isn't one special moment in time, it's this constant friendship and reassurance feelings that come with it.

And for sure, if the time comes, and you feel the same, he will be there to hold you and rush in like a fool. But for now, your smile is the only proof of love he needed right now. The only one he fights to protect.

[zabrak-show]

In the Absence of Light

Part 1

Words: 2.5k 10 min read time

Warnings/tag: talk of ghosts and haunted houses etc, eventual romance but nothing explicit, modern/crack au

Summary: What happens when two rival Ghost Hunting teams are trapped in the same haunted mansion for the night?

AO3

Dead leaves ripped off the sprawling snake-like branches of ancient trees flanking a dilapidated mansion. They drifted across the overgrown yard, settling themselves in the corner of the stone garden wall. The air was chill and crisp, leaves crunching under the three companions' shoes.

A young man clad in all black holding a camera pans over the mansion before focusing on the older man in front of a large locked gate. His wavy gray flecked auburn hair dusted the collar of his beige button-down shirt. His closely shorn beard gave him a professorial air like he was about to lecture on the literary themes of Proust. Clearly, this crew was not here to discuss literature.

"Here we are outside the Mortis Mansion. Said to have been the home of a family of occultists. Legend has it they were able to open doorways to the spirit realm. The father, son, and daughter, known to the townsfolk as recluses, mysteriously disappeared almost 100 years ago. Since then, many have tried to live here, but no one can last more than a year. The stories of murder, disease and hauntings are all that's left of those who once walked these halls. It has remained vacant for 50 years. The rumors of the haunting precede the place. My two crewmates, Anakin and Ahsoka, and I are about to spend a full 24 hours locked inside the estate recording the entire time. My name's Obi-Wan Kenobi, and you're watching Ghost Knights."

"And cut, we got it!" The young man set his camera down on a tripod. He wore a faded band shirt, 'Cannibal Corpse,' and ripped-up black skinny jeans. His dark brown hair was long enough to get into his eyes. He shook it back and leaned down to the camera. "Now, we'll get some time lapses of the building here." He futzed with the camera's controls, kneeling down on the broken pavement littered with leaves and old yard waste.

"How did it sound? Was it too formal?" Obi-Wan asked, stroking his beard.

"No, boss, it was great!" The chipper young Togruta woman reassured him. She wore a plain black sleeveless dress with a choker, while several rings and bracelets adorned her hands and wrists.

"Hmm, well, next, we should try to get some interviews with the caretakers of the place."

"Already taken care of, boss. They'll be here in about-" she paused to look at her watch, "-uh 20 minutes or so."

A light gold sedan pulled up to the driveway. Once it parked, the two occupants, elderly blue and orange Twi'leks, stepped out and walked towards the team.

"Hello, disaster trio," the frail man's voice called out. "I'm Carl, and this is my wife, A'rina. Let's go inside so we can sit and discuss everything." Carl gestured for them to follow him.

He unlocked the padlock at the front gate and swung it open with a spine-chilling creak.

"Spose we should take care a that," he chucked to his wife, and they both smiled. They made their way up the drive towards the house, making small talk as they went.

Carl unlocked the front door through a series of padlocks and deadbolts. His frail hands shook with each lock he undid. The last lock clicked open, and the heavy wood door swung open as if by its own desire.

Somehow, it was even more extensive on the inside. Two open grand staircases at the front entrance welcomed them in. Whistling air carrying secrets of the past chilled the trio to the bone. Dusty floorboards creaked under their feet, some of the boards feeling dangerously thin.

Carl and A'rina showed them around the central part of the estate. To give them a full tour would take hours, so they narrowed it down to a few critical locations while Obi-Wan interviewed them and Anakin filmed. Ahsoka would stop to leave markers in certain rooms where she felt a distinct otherworldly presence. Anakin would pan the camera over to her for a dramatic effect as she closed her eyes and meditated on the supposed spirits of the room.

The entire estate was still furnished in its 1920s opulence. More bedrooms and bathrooms than anyone could ever need. Old velvet furniture, some covered in white sheets, missing legs, or devoid of upholstery, lavished all the rooms. The group lost count of the number of chandeliers hanging in many of the rooms. Ancient cracked mirrors and paintings were decorating the faded walls. The wallpaper in many rooms so peeled it begged for the mercy of someone to tear it away.

At the end of the tour, they settled into the sitting room off the central kitchen. Despite the dankness, the room gave off a cozy feeling. Of course, it was still daylight and warm yellow light pooled in through the tall windows, the long maroon curtains pulled off to the side. At night it was beyond a doubt to give a different ambiance.

Obi-Wan gazed around the gaudy room while the caretakers went over the rules and details of the house. He half-listened with an intent look at the couple as though he hung off every word. It was the same spiel every time. "Leave things better than you found them." Yes, yes, it was apparent.

"Well, we'll leave you to get settled then," A'rina said, getting up from her chair, "we have another meeting to attend to."

"Thank you so much," Obi-Wan got up and shook both of their hands, "the house is in good hands with us."

"I've no doubt, dearie," A'rina smiled, scrunching up her entire small blue face.

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

Obi-Wan and Anakin busied themselves by setting up cameras and ghost-tracking equipment while Ahsoka settled into her room. The caretakers had at least cleaned each of them a room to stay in for the night. Obi-Wan doubted anyone would be getting any sleep tonight, but it was still a nice gesture.

"Anakin, please pay attention to where you are setting these trackers. This is expensive equipment. We can't have us accidentally stepping on them." Obi-Wan picked up a delicate black metal device from the floor and set it on the glass-top side table near the orange velvet sofa. The sofa had worn impressions of a seated figure permanently featured on its once plush cushion.

"Yes, boss. Maybe if people watched where they were going, it wouldn't-" a loud crash and thump boomed through the walls. The two men stared at each other in bewilderment.

"That couldn't have been Snips…" Anakin trailed off his face full of concern.

"No, no, Ahsoka is on the complete opposite side of the house. I'm not even sure what is behind this wall." He walked closer to the wall, about to press his ear against it, when another loud scream and thump shook their corner. The two men jumped back, and the multiple picture frames shuddered into skewed positions on their hangers.

"Anakin, grab the electrometer! We need to collect data on this room NOW!" Obi-Wan shook with excitement and fear. His face lit up, and his blue eyes glittered with delight. This was precisely what they came here for. It didn't usually happen so fast that something paranormal would make itself known, but don't kick a gift horse in the mouth.

Anakin hurried off to find the electrometers while Obi-Wan stayed to further inspect the room, taking the camera with him.

"We've heard quite the disturbance from the other side of this wall." He placed his hand on the maroon wallpapered wall and shook the dust that came off onto his hand. "This may already be the sign we've been looking for. The proof of a haunting. I've sent Anakin to grab the electrometers so we can collect more data on this room. Until then, we'll record everything to not miss it if it happens again."

Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks, hearing a light tapping from further down the wall. He panned the camera over to it, adjusting the microphone to pick up the muffled noise.

"Something or someone is knocking on the wall," he whispered.

"Hello?" he thundered out with his voice, "Are you a spirit in this house?"

A distorted voice answered through the wall. Obi-Wan was shaking with delight but remained calm to steady the camera.

"My God, I can't make out what they're saying, but we'll analyze the audio in post-production." He breathed out in hushed tones to the camera again.

"What happened in this house?" he asked the spirit. More muffled voices and the hair on Obi-Wan's arms stood on end. He couldn't believe this was real. Where was Anakin? And Ahsoka? They needed to be here to get all this down. To collect data and reach out to the spirits. Gods, how many could there be?

The knocking grew in volume, as did the voices. Obi-Wan could almost make out what they were saying.

"Right here, brother, you can see the outline of a door."

Huh? Did he hear correctly? The camera rested on his shoulder, glued to the spot where he observed the knocking. His breath was shallow, and sweat clung to his brow and underarms.

"Anakin! Ahsoka! You need to be here!" He yelled out behind him towards the hallway.

The wall began to creak, the wood sounded as if it were splintering. Something was trying to get out of the walls. Obi-Wan had no idea what to do if something did come out of the walls. The most they'd dealt with before were whispering voices, doors slamming shut, that sort of thing. This was unheard of. His heart raced, and his stomach filled with acid.

He backed away from the creaking wall in small steps. Still wanting to be sure to capture everything but also keeping a safe distance. If there even was a safe distance from whatever was behind that wall.

The wall groaned in protest. Whatever wanted out was putting the structural integrity of the house to the test. The voices grew louder. There were too many of them overlapping to make out any specific words. A loud metal crack and Obi-Wan's jaw dropped as a cloud of dust and debris exploded from the wall. Through the haziness, three figures stood there bickering with one another. As the dust settled, Obi-Wan saw the three Zabrak brothers before him. Was he hallucinating?? No, it couldn't be.

"Kenobiiiii!!" The red Zabrak yelled out, lunging towards Obi-Wan, but held back by his larger yellow brother.

"I'm sorry I don't believe I've made your acquaintance," Obi-Wan said in a calm tone, backing away from the three.

This only further enraged the red Zabrak, "I'm surprised you could have forgotten me, Kenobi," spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. "After I ruined your boss's career and you left me stranded in that abandoned mental institute."

"Maul? It is you! I thought I must be hallucinating." Obi-Wan said with a confused look on his face. "What are you all doing here? We got a permit to do our show here. This is really quite pathetic, Maul, even for you. To try and sabotage our show." Obi-Wan shook his head in disapproval.

"Your show? We got a permit, and WE are shooting our own show. You just couldn't stand to hear I was back in business, I guess, Kenobi. And now you're trying to sabotage us and somehow pin it all on me. I'm on to your ways, ghost boy."

"Ha! I can't believe you, Maul. This is ridiculous."

Maul growled at Obi-Wan and looked to start an accusation again, finger pointed towards the man. Anakin and Ahsoka interrupted him by rushing into the room, each carrying way too much gear and spilling it as they halted to a stop in the room.

"Boss, we grabbed everything we could… hey, what are they doing here? Isn't he your nemesis?" Anakin pointed to Maul.

"I don't have enemies, Anakin. There seems to be some confusion as to why exactly they are here. But we'll get to the bottom of it."

"I mean… aren't we all kinda locked in here for the night?"

"What's your point, Snips?" Anakin responded to Ahsoka, but his gaze and growl pointed at the three Zabraks.

"Well, we might as well try to work together or around each other as best as possible. No one is leaving until the caretakers come back."

"Ha! Fool! If you think I won't be immediately calling the caretakers to kick the lot of you out, you are sorely mistaken. I will not tolerate this offensive transgression. What's next? A coven of witches settling up for the night here as well? Why don't we open the doors to the public? Let everyone stop in and look for paranormal activity with us. What could possibly go wrong there?"

"Brother, you're spiraling again," his larger brother put his hand on Maul's arm, holding it down with gentle firmness. Maul ripped his arm away with a hiss before stomping through the hole in the wall and disappearing.

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

Once Maul left, the other two brothers introduced themselves and were civil about everything. It was all some big misunderstanding, no one to blame, it seemed. Not knowing what else to do in the situation, Obi-Wan headed for the kitchen to make tea. The others congregated in the sitting room nearby.

"I've put the kettle on if anyone cares for a cup," Obi-Wan said as he looked through the kitchen cabinets for mugs.

"I'd love some tea," Savage said, walking into the kitchen from the sitting room.

"I'll make enough for everyone. You can sit with the others in the sitting room."

"Nah," Savage replied, pulling out mugs from the cabinet nearest him. "I'd rather busy myself with something."

"So it seems we'll be sharing the mansion for the evening," Obi-Wan added tea bags to each mug.

"Yup, I don't mind so much. It could be fun for us to team up."

"Well, you aren't very much like your brother."

"I'm a lot like him. I have never understood the contempt he holds for you, that's all. I wasn't there when, when everything went down," Savage leaned back against the kitchen island, his large frame causing the wooden structure to groan against his weight.

"There's not much to know. When you break it all down, we were never meant to get along. I'm not going to pretend I'm some innocent bystander while your brother was the complete antagonist to the story. While I do disagree with many of his methods, specifically ones used against me, I don't believe him to be an all-bad person or anything of that sort."

"He'll calm down. It was such a shock to find you all here. I think he kinda imploded on himself."

"Yes, well, I do believe it was a shock to everyone," Obi-Wan mused, pulling a jar of sugar out of the pantry.

"My wish is for you two to make amends," Savage offered with a calm collectedness.

The tea kettle screamed. Tea time.

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

Chapter 2 will be posted next Thursday, October 14th

taglist: @always-on-tatooine @dinsbeskar @maulpunk @hornystarwarsbisexual @dawdreygore @l1feisapigsty @maulieber @botherbother-blog @emissarydecksetter @wolfpack-arts-industries99 @mock-ing-bird @spookiifi

[moonlitdiane]

Hello! I moved from my old blog, @dianethus​ to here, you can probably call this a re-intro!

Diane | 18 | Filipino-Chinese | She/They | Pansexual | Scorpio | xNTP | Neurodivergent | Psychology Major | Graphic Designer | Practicing Wiccan

I’ve been trying to write since I was around 12 years old with silly little k-pop and percy jackson fanfics. Even though I cringe now whenever I think about the things I wrote, I still believe it was a necessary phase that all writers have to go through to become better.

I mainly write for the #OwnVoice movement that focuses on the South East Asian experience and especially the experience of being queer in an Asian environment. I aim to give the queers of Asian history whose stories never got to be told a voice. I write to expose the world to Philippine Mythology and the stories passed down from ancestor to ancestor. I also aim to conjure up nostalgic imagery in the readers' minds.

low fantasy. I'm not that really good at world building but I'm in love with the idea of everyday magic.

supernatural.

historical.

angst. I'm SORRY but writing and describing pain is a different kind of joy for me.

found family. I'm gay.

cosmic motifs.

enemies to lovers. oh for someone to see all my worst parts and still fall in love with me. also consider: childhood friends to enemies to lovers.

religious trauma & guilt. I went to a catholic school what did you expect?

The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified.

Evil Is Sexy.

Trapped In Another World. I want to be Isekai-d so bad.

Song Fic. Most of my titles are actually song lyrics or my basic outlines follow the structure of a song.

“Slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl,”

Somewhere In Limasawa Street is a queer historical fiction story set in 1898 when the Philippine-American war is just beyond the horizons and 19 year old mestiza, Lucena Candella is in the middle of a war with herself. Sheltered and painfully aloof, she meets brave but brash, Urduja Kalangitan, who is as emotionally aware as a rock and who happens to be the Revolutionary Army's best gunman—maybe that's what pulled quiet Lucena to her.

Between paper planes, porcelains, and battle scars, Lucena slowly learns to love, and that scared her. It scared her because she wasn't allowed to love that woman with the scarred smile and wild hair.

This is my main WIP and my passion project. I really wanted to write something that I can dedicate to the queers of history, the indigenous and people of color whose queerness is never told.

The title is a reference to Limasawa Street by folk pop band, Ben&Ben, I actually used the album and a few singles as inspiration for the plot. 

WIP Playlist. This story will be unapologetically Filipino.

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil,”

The Devil’s Choir is a low fantasy story following the adventures of seven unlikely friends who just want to go apeshit and run away from their shitty town. That is until they’re thrown into a you-need-to-save-the-whole-world mess without their written consent. Lucifer and Dionysus show up at their door step, dragging them head first into an abyss that even the Gods refuse to fall into. A war between the golden age and the future, it’s now up to this peculiar gang to save the world from the real threat.

The seven deadly sins but make them moody teenagers. this story has gone through so much revising for years! Found family, enemies to lovers, and unwilling heroes? check.

Unintentionally a copy of American Gods. It was too late until I realized the plot was kind of similar to American Gods. Help. 

WIP Playlist. I smell chaos, don’t you?

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

Manila Encounters is a paranormal urban fantasy story unfolding right in the pearl of the orient seas. When the clock strikes 3 AM and the lights of the skyscrapers turn dark—when the city sleeps, the monsters roam free. Deep between the alley ways of Manila city, look out for kids with a certain glow and bite behind their smiles. Look for the ones with sunkissed tans who speak in tongues. Look for the ones whose feet barely dip into murky bay waters and fingertips grazing moonlight. 

A dummy’s guide to Filipino folklore. Manila Encounters was inspired by a hashtag on Twitter of the same name where people wrote their own twist to Filipino urban legends and folk stories.

Oh great, another Percy Jackson rip-off. the main characters are demi-gods or descendants of Gods. Original, I know.

WIP Playlist. driving at midnight sort of vibe.

"You may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us."

And I Love her is a queer romance story about a girl who just recently moved into an old but well maintained cottage in some seaside town in Europe—and she finds in the middle of dusty furniture and underneath cobwebs, a rotary telephone sitting there unused for decades. It rings unexpectedly one day and what greets her is a soft voice belonging to someone who lived 60 years ago.

a dreamnotfound fanfic inspired this. and the South Korean horror film, The Call. 

gay yearning agenda. so much yearning. so much. I’m projecting.

WIP Playlist. My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, taking mine, but it's been promised to another

A selected list of fics from my AO3 account. It’s gay.

I drowned a long time ago. Sakusa Kiyoomi isn’t in love. He’s devoted. Serial Killer AU.

Maaaring bang magkunwaring akin ka pa? A Tagalog Haikyuu fic based on the movie, Camp Sawi.

Marupok na puso ko. A Tagalog Haikyuu fic where they do the Filipino thing and get drunk.

My good puppy. My first try at writing smut. Jesus Christ.

Be my mistake. Where Kuroo Tetsurou calls up Tsukishima Kei one last time.

Make it hurt. The two times Atsumu Miya saw the entire universe behind Sakusa Kiyoomi’s eyes.

I still have a lot of stories that I hope to finish, I find it hard to discard or erase story ideas. So I hope one day, you can all watch me finish this list.

We Don’t Belong Here / Viva La Filipinas / Luna De Sangre Conspiracy / Lilith and Lysander’s Guide To Immortal Godparents / Lonely Hearts Club / A Lady’s Guide to Princes and Principles / Attack Block / Empty Thrones /  A Double Take / Stupid Cupid / Idle Town / Alice? / The 30 Day Deal / Lost Stars / The Apocalypse Program / Heartstrings  / Disastrously Danae

[monomonomagines]

Can I please get a drv3 boys monster au w a human s/o? I'm sorry if this is vague and you can choose the monster each boy is!!

Heyo, Anon! I had a lot of fun with these since I love writing about monsters. However, I ended up making these way too long so I’ll post this in two parts. I hope that you’ll enjoy it even if I got a bit overzealous.

Part 1

(Part 2 here)

Rantaro (Vampire)

As vampires typically are masters or seduction it isn’t much of a surprise that you met Rantaro through him bringing you home one night.

It was surprising at the time though, when he thought you were asleep and was looming over you with his fangs visible.

Thankfully, Rantaro is still pretty civil as a vampire so he struck a deal with you when you were about to scream.

Basically, he’d do whatever you want as long as you’d allow him to drink from you.

You could have anything, he had riches as well as a body that you could use however you wanted to.

However, instead, you refused. You agreed to let him drink from you but only in exchange for him targeting no one else.

He allowed for you to move in with him even and you began your symbiotic relationship. One that would change into a romantic one as you grew to get to know this vampire.

He was surprisingly kind and gentle for a monster even when he’d drink from you.

He’d care for you since you’d still be kind to a monster like him and would end up confessing to you after instigating a candlelit late-night dinner.

“I love you S/o, stay with me forever.”

Ryoma (Nekomata)

You had been on a late-night stroll in the mountains when you came upon a strange makeshift tennis court.

Despite it being strange you didn’t think much of it until a deep voice rang out from somewhere in the mountains.

“You know you’re not supposed to be up here, right? No one comes to the mountains. It’s dangerous up here.”

Why was there some disembodied voice here? As you’d struggle to respond you’d hear that same voice ring out closer this time, as though it was below you.

“You do know the legends right? There are monsters in these parts.”

Ok. Time to get out of here! You’d start to run across the makeshift tennis court, ignoring the voice when you’d trip over something.

Is that a dead body!? Before you can scream you catch sight of a two-tailed cat slowly ambling towards you, the same deep voice coming out of it as it says menacingly.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

As scared as you were that’s when an idea hit you. You’d propose a deal. A match of tennis actually! You were on a tennis court after all so he must like games.

“Wait wait wait! You like tennis right? Well then let’s play a match…you can play right?”

As you looked down again that same cat transformed into a small man with cat ears and a tail. The rumors of a nekomata were true!

However, he seemed intrigued by your proposition, ignoring your shock as he asked for the terms of this “game”.

“If I win, you let me go and if you win you can….you can kill me or whatever it is you do.”

“Deal.” He agrees rather quickly to the match, throwing you a racket from who knows whereas he’d give you a small amused glance.

Whether you were ready for it or not he’d play at his full capability, not even allowing you to get a single point.

You were done for you’d think when he’d only smile at you. You never gave up that whole match, he was impressed so he had no choice but to change his terms.

“You lost, but you never lost your spirit. Even if you have a long ways to go in tennis, I do with spirit. I won’t kill you. I’ll stick with you.”

What? As much as you were happy to not be dead you were confused. He was going to come live with you? But as he said he did exactly that, walking alongside you on your trek back home as a cat.

Now you were stuck with a rather affectionate, albeit weird looking house cat that can turn into a man. Did he like you or something?

You can’t complain since you got to live but Ryoma will definitely show his love in some unique ways.

Korekiyo (Naga)

To say that you’d expect to be caught in a trap like a wild animal when you went into the forest would be unthinkable.

But here you were, now hanging from a tree in a large net that albeit was trapping you was also quite spacious.

What kind of animal was this person even trying to catch you’d wonder to yourself as day was beginning to turn to night.

You’d sit there for hours until it was the dead of night. That’s when you’d begin to be lowered into something’s grasp.

It was too dark to see but once you were brought back to some sort of cave still in your bounds you’d panic.

“Do not scream or else.” A voice gently but firmly orders.

You immediately quiet yourself, fearful of dying when you’d be pulled out of the net and bound to the cave walls.

You didn’t dare to speak or move out of fear of what the voice would do.

As you lay there you’d hear some shuffling when the figure would suddenly light a torch within the cave revealing itself to be a naga.

He was going to eat you. This was it you thought when he instead began to embrace you.

“Ahhh such beauty.”

Beauty? What was he?

“I was planning on killing you but I couldn’t bring myself to do that to someone so breathtaking. I’ll just keep you here, alright?”

Unlike with the others, Kiyo is immediately enamored. You looked so similar to his sister before the hunters got to her and left him here alone.

The way that you squirmed it all reminded him of her and it drove him mad.

He’d treat you well even for being in a life of captivity. He was rather affectionate even if he could be a bit sadistic at times.

You could tell he was lonely. From what you heard from him his own sister had died leaving him all alone but that really didn’t make the whole kidnapping thing all right.

You’d have to agree to stay with him for him to let you free and even then he’s stuck to you like glue.

He’d need a lot of help with healing after losing the only person he had left but after he’d be as loving as even Rantaro.

You saved him, and he was never going to leave your side.

Gonta (Frankenstein’s Monster)

You lived near a lake, so you were used to seeing some animals come near it to drink or to lay by but you were quite shocked when you looked out the window to see what looked like a human body hunched over it.

Worriedly you’d stepped out of your home when you’d notice the giant human figure jump at its own reflection cast in the lake.

“Are you ok?” You try to ask gently enough as to not scare it when you notice it jump again, this time to cover its face from you with its hands.

“No, don’t look. Gonta is so ugly you’ll scream!”

He’s so ugly…you’d scream? What did he mean by that?

“I won’t scream, I promise so don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

“You won’t scream?” He asks innocently like a child.

“I won’t scream.” You promise, giving him some time to think.

At first, it seems like he’s just gone quiet but then you notice him moving his hands away from his face.

When you catch sight of it you can’t help but gasp.

He wasn’t ugly at all. However, as soon as you let that sound escape he does flinch.

“No no no! I wasn’t being scared just now it’s just….you’re really pretty.”

“Gonta is pretty?” He looks at you with wide eyes with a small bashful smile. “No one ever calls Gonta pretty.”

“Well, I think you are.” You add. He definitely was a freak of nature but he wasn’t as terrible as he thought. He should know that.

“Oh thank you!” He picks you up into a bear hug in his massive arms, swinging you around as he declares that he should stay with you now.

“Gonta love you! You only one that show kindness to Gonta, so Gonta never leave you!”

Wait, isn’t he like seven feet though? Also doesn’t he have a home to go back to?

When you’d try to ask you definitely wouldn’t expect for him to tell you that some people set fire to his house because of how he looked.

This poor baby. You couldn’t leave him out here so you had no choice but to kidnap someone’s science experiment.

At least he’ll be shown some love for once though.

[primeemeraldheiress]

Can you please recommend some recent good Jason fics? I'm kinda still falling in the fandom, but already finished all the most recommended stuff like Not so outlaw or Retrograde motion

I can give you a few recent bookmarks of mine and I’ll give you a few of my favorites. I assume you know what I write so I’m not gonna warn for the possible types of fics you’re gonna find here. 

Runneth Over and All That Jazz - thenafics

If it weren’t for his chest, Jason would be nearly impossible to recognize as an omega. He’s taller and more muscular than most omegas so with his deep voice, no one would ever guess. If it weren’t for his body’s absolute betrayal. Jason, like pretty much all adult omegas, produces milk. It’s meant to help reinforce pack bonds and keep pups adopted into a pack fed. That’s not the problem, that part of it is manageable with absorbent pads in shirts and semi-regular use of a breast pump. It sucks, but it’s not the problem. The problem is that Jason’s pack bonds are weak, so his body will let down and start producing milk on a hair trigger. He’s peak fertile age and tangentially part of a mostly alpha pack, but not bonded well enough to balance his hormones, so his body has decided to try and tempt his pack into bonds with milk.Is it working?-The finished version of my most asked after WIP from evil author day-

Rescue Night - strikeyourcolors

(AU) Jason is trying to make a food delivery when he stumbles across a hostage situation. The captors claim he’s Nightwing, the guy claims he’s just a stripper, and Jason just wants to go home. Unfortunately, it seems he’s going to have to launch a rescue operation. The night just keeps going downhill.

like falling apples - wajjs

If Gotham’s a force of nature, so much akin to gravity itself, then he is the very apple succumbing to its rules and desires.

Daddy Bats and Mother Hen - River9Noble

Jason Todd is back from the dead and pissed as all hell that Bruce hasn’t killed the Joker. Red Hood wants nothing more than to turn his back on the entire Batfamily - but instead, every time he turns around, they’re watching him. He just wants to be left alone… but that chicken noodle soup does taste delicious.

Keeping Secrets From Yourself - WithTheKeyIsKing

Looking back, the signs are all there. But they never noticed it about themselves.

They never noticed how Bruce did.

No Place In Heaven - DarcySkat

Martha and Thomas talk to Bruce about his son.

Bruce thinks it’s Damian.

Lightweight - taugex (I love this story)

Bruce returns to his office after back to back meetings to find his good brandy opened and his sidekick drunk.

Blanket, I rec anything by Skalidra, firefright, scandalsavage, WithTheKeyIsKing, daemoninwhite, WorkingChemistry, lurkinglurkerwholurks, and Ellegrine. I’m going to stop there because, frankly, there are a lot of authors I’d blanket rec. 

Requiem - scandalsavage

He blinks as his brain takes it’s sweet fucking time processing what his eyes are seeing.

“So you’re me, huh?” the kid says, rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes like he can’t sit still for three god damn seconds.

“That’s pretty cool. You’re huge.”

Jason hates him. He hates those stupid fucking curls. He hates that stupid bubbly energy. He hates that fucking earnestness, that eagerness to please. He hates that goddamn costume.

He hates the way the kid clings to Bruce’s shadow.

He despises that hand Bruce has on his shoulder.

The poisoned apple (far from the tree) - inanhourofdreaming

“I mean, your first mother wasn’t…fuck, how do I say this?” Tim pauses to breathe. “You’ve never met your mother, Jason. Her name was Ophelia Frump.”

Where Jason has blood family after all, but they’re a little, well…weird.

The legends and the myths - Syngaly

Jason Todd is the best liar Bruce’s ever met.

Jason Todd is the worst liar Bruce’s ever met.

It’s a problem.

Unspoken Rule - YukinaZero

In an alternate universe where Jason Todd finishes his training with the League of Assassins and simply returns home, Damian asks him why he has never confronted Bruce on the matters surrounding his death.

Or: Jason and Daimion have a heart to heart, and I fail miserably in an attempt to write angst.

You’re Alone ‘til You’re Not Alone - WorkingChemistry

Dick has moved to Bludhaven to get away from Bruce and is doing his best to establish himself as Nightwing. It’s going well, but it would probably go better if he didn’t come running every time Bruce calls.

This time Bruce needs him on babysitting duty, and it’s not just for Gotham. Bruce has League work, Jason can’t leave the state, and Alfred’s on vacation so that leaves Dick to pick up the slack once again. Jason isn’t pleased with the situation either, so there’s that… Dick’s just hoping he can bribe Jason into spending the weekend in the library so he won’t have to deal with the prickly boy.

Then they find evidence of a prostitution ring sending young children into forced heats and kidnapping them. Can they set aside their issues, or is Roy going to be stuck playing referee the whole time?

Familiar Faces - firefright, Skalidra

A mission to save a group of slaves from auction goes swiftly wrong when Jason, a former slave himself, runs into a familiar face while undercover at the party preceding it. And unfortunately for both him and his partner in crime, Dick, Slade has no intention of letting his property go again.

Want - Take - Have - daemoninwhite

Dick presents as an alpha and eventually leaves. When Bruce takes in Jason, he decides to do everything in his power to stop history from repeating. (Bruce will never be alone again.)

Mutually Beneficial - scandalsavage

Jason knows who Slade Wilson is and that he should stay away from him.

He knows the man is a vicious competitor of his father’s with a business ethic firmly in the dark gray to black side of the spectrum.

He also knows that his older brother drank too much one night, while he was in college, and fell for Wilson’s sweet talk, whatever that could possibly sound like, and that the older man still, years later, finds ways suggestively drop Dick’s name into conversations with their father.

So when he sees the man’s signature white hair and eye patch approaching his position at the bar, Jason makes a real attempt to avoid him.

Take Your Finger Off The Trigger - Skalidra

Jason Todd was Talon, the enforcer and right hand of Owlman, right up until he was killed. But then, when he comes back to life and his killer is still running free, with no sign of mourning by the two people who always claimed he was theirs, his agenda changes. He becomes Red Hood, a mercenary bent on taking down any and all operations run by the Owls. Finally, one of his jobs lands him back in Gotham, and he comes face to face with his two former allies.

Happy Reading.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Oh goodie! *no sarcasm* A "By Myself But Not Alone" snippet! Yay! Again, genuinely no sarcasm. (I'm working on my communication skills and trying to make sure people know I'm not being sarcastic when it potentially could be seen that way.) Love your work. Have an awesome day!

#relatable on the communication front, friend. And I’m glad you’re enjoying the AU— I get the feeling it’s more of a ‘snapshot here, snapshot there’ sort of thing than what I normally go for.

…and it’s happening again. Sorry not sorry:

.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hereby call this meeting to order.” Fury said, voice ringing out over the din in the relatively-cramped room.

“What are we calling it anyway? Time Travelers Anonymous?” Clint asked conversationally as it died down, only to straighten up at the Deputy Director’s quelling glare.

“People, this is serious. Chatter’s picking up on the Winter Soldier being active again, and we all know what it means.” Fury continued, and now everyone snapped to attention.

“Wait, we’re sure it’s him?” Natasha cast a glance at him, and he nodded soberly.

“His reputation can’t be anyone else, unless anyone knows another idiot with a metal arm who’s been running around off and on for the past few decades.”

“Damn.” Clint whistled lowly. “Why hasn’t this come up before?”

“He’s equal parts urban legend and cryptid.” Fury snorted. “Only shows up once in a blue moon, and he’s as camera-shy as ever.”

Natasha leaned in with a slight frown. “But we’re sure it’s him, and not…”

Hill rifled though her notes, and spread them out on the table, talking as she went. “His appearances fit with the timeline I’ve compiled, almost on the dot. But the effects are different— see here, with the Chilean elections? We thought he was the shooter for one, back home, but here the vic reported a masked man saved his life. And it’s not the only case, either.”

“You did that just by memory?” Clint sounded impressed. “And here I can barely remember what I had for lunch last week.”

“So I’m assuming we’re bringing him in?” Natasha asked, not looking away from the last data point. “Or are we trying to get word out some other way?”

“That’s what we’re here for.” Fury replied, and Clint gave him a sharp glance.

“You mean we might not?”

“By all rights, he’s the first one to show up and try to micromanage the timeline.” Fury shrugged. “I’d say that’s enough to cut him some slack, don’t you?”

“But—”

“If it is him, he’s been doing well enough by himself. If he wanted to reach out, he could’ve left a message— but he didn’t.”

“Because he doesn’t think he’s not alone!” Clint retorted, and Hill held her hand up, expression darkening slightly.

“Evidence points otherwise.” She said simply, then turned towards Fury with a slightly questioning look.

He nodded at her, then addressed the rest of them. “We’ve been monitoring Steve’s crash site. Absolutely nothing’s been touched, and given the rest of the evidence? Barnes could’ve gone there, could’ve recovered him. He just chose…not to.”

Clint blinked, at that, even as Natasha’s expression cleared up. “Why?”

“Because he didn’t want to.” Phil Coulson cut in from his corner of the room, looking at them over his steepled fingers. “Because he didn’t want to prevent some people from being born. Like Wilson. Or Tony. Or T’Challa’s younger sister, who I heard he was friends with, or the Spider-Man who sounded really, really young, or…”

He trailed off, but everyone knew was thinking it.

They were all so, so glad to be alive— but there’d been so, so many they’d somehow left behind, in their home reality. People who they had yet to meet, people who hadn’t even been born, and every time they noticed or caused another change in this world, it was accompanied by a niggling tendril of fear that this was it, this would be the butterfly that would trigger a hurricane that would seal their fate.

It hadn’t happened [yet]. But it was the reason they’d started the meetings in the first place, such as the hours-long argument they’d had discussing the pros and cons of not recovering Steve ahead of schedule, or the one on the fate of Obadiah Stane, or the problem that was Howard Stark. 

Sometimes, this strange new world felt like a little piece of heaven. Where SHIELD and HYDRA were sworn enemies, old friends were still alive and well, and a surreal lightness that even now felt too good to be true. 

It was…even though there were a lot of new unknowns to contend with, for good or bad, there was still a fragile sort of hope in the air their own home had lost sometime after New York.

And they would all fight tooth and nail to protect it. 

[the-origin-story]

Origin Story Text Posts and Onion Headlines Part 9

Kira: one of these days i'm going to roll my eyes too hard and i'm going to go blind, i just walked into this room at a party and someone yelled "dibs!", I'm sorry you must be at least a level 4 friend to unlock my tragic backstory, I'm developing all these feelings it's disgusting., how ones one turn their emotions off, idc (I do care), This Shit Again, i hope common sense is the next cool trend, no offense but i hate myself and i hope i die in my sleep, i need a tall boyfriend so he can get things for me off of tall places. i changed my mind boys are demons ill get a ladder, "your eyes hella red u been smokin??" no I been crying bitch leave me alone, why do ppl think its ok to waste my time, who let me adult I can't adult, japanese legend says that if you shut the fuck up you wouldn't be so annoying, "yall need to chill" says me, who isn't chill not even a little bit., here i am, cuter and more kissable than ever, and how many kisses am i receiving? zero, why doesn't anyone appreciate my sarcasm and bitterness as much as i do, what the hap is fuckening, current mood: angrily bisexual., buying clothes that aren't black is hard, are those feelings get them away from me, girlfriend: why don't you take off that battle armor and slip into something a bit more.....comfortable me: i am most comfortable when i am impervious to most forms of physical attack, "I need to you to totally straight with me-" *nervous bisexual laughter*, i can't stop laughing at the fact that i used to think that i was straight me a heterosexual, ever wonder how different your life would be if that one thing never happened, Youve heard of Best Buy, now get ready for... me (the best bi), ATTENTION! The rumors are true! i AM beautiful AND hilarious at the SAME TIME. yes it is a lot to take in take ur time my beauty is timeless, Fact: Bisexuals are open to everything. Coffee dates, crowded parties, underground robot fighting rings, secret witch covens. We're open minded., bi people are are wonderful and magical and their identity is so so valid pass it on, Your Safety Is Our Second Concern, anyway sorry I sound really gay and bitter, list of things i'm handling well currently 1., my life's resume: i tried, anyway *goes to push my glasses up my nose by the bridge and accidentally gets fingerprint on lens* fuck okay hold on, do you ever just look at someone and think "I'm glad your parents had sex", If I had a dollar every time someone called me ugly I'd have 0 dollars bitch you thought lmao, I may be short but you're still beneath me

Jean: me 300 times a day: im so done, that person you just called a nerd? they are a giant nerd. you made a good call on that one., "if u like someone just tell them!" yeah sure goodbye, why does life feel like i'm playing on expert difficulty, the robot apocalypse will be caused by people talking about the robot apocalypse so much that the robots will think that's what we want and they're just trying their best, i want to give him (Becket) things like blowjobs and self esteem, I am awake but at what price, me: *discussing w/ myself in my head* me: my thoughts exactly, I'm like four days past my bedtime, no offense but some of us *looks pointedly at self in mirror* need to fucking chill, reasons to date me: 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: please lol, "its dark im scared" don't worry bae i got this *stomps foot* *sketchers light up*, me: *talks for 30 minutes straight on a subject no one cares about just because i love sharing information*, me:*lies down* things:*continue to happen* me: lieS DOWN HARDER*, friend: you look stressed me: haha yeah it's the stress, it's raining but it's not men so what's the point

Cypress: is it gay in here or is it just me?, im the seductive malicious forest spirit your parents warned you about, me: hangs out w/ little kids and tries to reach them self love and feminist ideas, I am a dream girl I already know, i'm a good person i don't deserve to be mistaken for a heterosexual, *me flirting* hey wanna suffer together, "sit up straight" how dare you i'll sit as gay as i please, Area Women Not Listened To Again, "women are weaklings!" i'm strong enough to carry your corpse to the woods, I'm in love with this girl. She's gorgeous, smart, talented, funny as hell, and totally badass. That girl is me. boy: says something sexual or flirtatious me: right...anyway, "you can't wear that!!!! people will get the wrong impression!!!" the impression that i am a hot babe with an ass that just won't quit??" honey that ain't wrong that's just a fact

Becket: am i a complex carbohydrate because i am slowly breaking down, I'm usually that person who has no idea what's going on, no offense but what the fuck am I doing, eyebrow game strong?, more like eyeBAG game strong. i'm fucking exhausted. haha lol, au where i'm not crying, i expect the minimum and am still disappointed, INCREDIBLY ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE who are simultaneously GIANT DORKS are my ULTIMATE WEAKNESS, me: knows exactly what i have to say me: stutters and fucks up a 5 word sentence, me, a sensitive and very emotional person who cries easily and can't take any criticism: i wanna fight someone

Liam: im fluent in talking shit, is it morally okay to pray that your crush's relationship doesn't work out, I walk this broken road on the boulevard of broken roads Don't know where it broke but it's only me and I broke the road, can you not date people that are not me? it's rude., i think i stole all of the wrong personality traits when when making my identity because no one fucking likes me??, hot people who know they're hot are the worst and can't be trusted, I thought you were in love? just with myself, *avoids even people i love w all heart*, I may look calm but in my head I've killed you three times, Child Development Experts Say Boys Not Fully Mature Until Avenging Father's Murder, i bet you thought you'd seen the last of me, i try not to sound like an asshole but it's really hard because i am an asshole, why are 15 year olds so angry

Bean: wanna make a secret handshake it involves us touching our mouths together for three hours, don't look at me i'll fall in love with u, Do you ever look at a person and get the urge to just drop everything and yell I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU, here's a little song i like to call "i cherish our friendship so i won't tell you i would totally have sex with you if you asked"

Cyra: IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD I'M GOING TO GRAB YOUR FACE AND kiss it because you're cute , do you ever just want to hold someone in your arms for about 37 years, QUICK. PUT YOUR LIPS ON MINE IT'S AN EMERGENCY, @god thanks for making girls so pretty, they're just really cute and in love, my kink is a happy n fulfilling relationship, my seduction style is is genuinely caring about your life & wanting you to improve & be happy, otp: smol and tol, you can't be hot and just expect me to act normal

Jean and Kira: I'm Always Open To Feedback I Can Get Defensive About And Ultimately Ignore

The Squad: Group Of Good-Looking People All Headed Toward Same Place