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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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Cleantech has an enshittification problem

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

EVs won't save the planet. Ultimately, the material bill for billions of individual vehicles and the unavoidable geometry of more cars-more traffic-more roads-greater distances-more cars dictate that the future of our cities and planet requires public transit – lots of it.

But no matter how much public transit we install, there's always going to be some personal vehicles on the road, and not just bikes, ebikes and scooters. Between deliveries, accessibility, and stubbornly low-density regions, there's going to be a lot of cars, vans and trucks on the road for the foreseeable future, and these should be electric.

Beyond that irreducible minimum of personal vehicles, there's the fact that individuals can't install their own public transit system; in places that lack the political will or means to create working transit, EVs are a way for people to significantly reduce their personal emissions.

In policy circles, EV adoption is treated as a logistical and financial issue, so governments have focused on making EVs affordable and increasing the density of charging stations. As an EV owner, I can affirm that affordability and logistics were important concerns when we were shopping for a car.

But there's a third EV problem that is almost entirely off policy radar: enshittification.

An EV is a rolling computer in a fancy case with a squishy person inside of it. While this can sound scary, there are lots of cool implications for this. For example, your EV could download your local power company's tariff schedule and preferentially charge itself when the rates are lowest; they could also coordinate with the utility to reduce charging when loads are peaking. You can start them with your phone. Your repair technician can run extensive remote diagnostics on them and help you solve many problems from the road. New features can be delivered over the air.

That's just for starters, but there's so much more in the future. After all, the signal virtue of a digital computer is its flexibility. The only computer we know how to make is the Turing complete, universal, Von Neumann machine, which can run every valid program. If a feature is computationally tractable – from automated parallel parking to advanced collision prevention – it can run on a car.

The problem is that this digital flexibility presents a moral hazard to EV manufacturers. EVs are designed to make any kind of unauthorized, owner-selected modification into an IP rights violation ("IP" in this case is "any law that lets me control the conduct of my customers or competitors"):

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

EVs are also designed so that the manufacturer can unilaterally exert control over them or alter their operation. EVs – even more than conventional vehicles – are designed to be remotely killswitched in order to help manufacturers and dealers pressure people into paying their car notes on time:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

Manufacturers can reach into your car and change how much of your battery you can access:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

They can lock your car and have it send its location to a repo man, then greet him by blinking its lights, honking its horn, and pulling out of its parking space:

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/

And of course, they can detect when you've asked independent mechanic to service your car and then punish you by degrading its functionality:

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2024/06/26/two-of-eight-claims-in-tesla-anti-trust-lawsuit-will-move-forward/

This is "twiddling" – unilaterally and irreversibly altering the functionality of a product or service, secure in the knowledge that IP law will prevent anyone from twiddling back by restoring the gadget to a preferred configuration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

The thing is, for an EV, twiddling is the best case scenario. As bad as it is for the company that made your EV to change how it works whenever they feel like picking your pocket, that's infinitely preferable to the manufacturer going bankrupt and bricking your car.

That's what just happened to owners of Fisker EVs, cars that cost $40-70k. Cars are long-term purchases. An EV should last 12-20 years, or even longer if you pay to swap the battery pack. Fisker was founded in 2016 and shipped its first Ocean SUV in 2023. The company is now bankrupt:

https://insideevs.com/news/723669/fisker-inc-bankruptcy-chapter-11-official/

Fisker called its vehicles "software-based cars" and they weren't kidding. Without continuous software updates and server access, those Fisker Ocean SUVs are turning into bricks. What's more, the company designed the car from the ground up to make any kind of independent service and support into a felony, by wrapping the whole thing in overlapping layers of IP. That means that no one can step in with a module that jailbreaks the Fisker and drops in an alternative firmware that will keep the fleet rolling.

This is the third EV risk – not just finance, not just charger infrastructure, but the possibility that any whizzy, cool new EV company will go bust and brick your $70k cleantech investment, irreversibly transforming your car into 5,500 lb worth of e-waste.

This confers a huge advantage onto the big automakers like VW, Kia, Ford, etc. Tesla gets a pass, too, because it achieved critical mass before people started to wise up to the risk of twiddling and bricking. If you're making a serious investment in a product you expect to use for 20 years, are you really gonna buy it from a two-year old startup with six months' capital in the bank?

The incumbency advantage here means that the big automakers won't have any reason to sink a lot of money into R&D, because they won't have to worry about hungry startups with cool new ideas eating their lunches. They can maintain the cozy cartel that has seen cars stagnate for decades, with the majority of "innovation" taking the form of shitty, extractive and ill-starred ideas like touchscreen controls and an accelerator pedal that you have to rent by the month:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474969/mercedes-car-subscription-faster-acceleration-feature-price

Put that way, it's clear that this isn't an EV problem, it's a cleantech problem. Cleantech has all the problems of EVs: it requires a large capital expenditure, it will be "smart," and it is expected to last for decades. That's rooftop solar, heat-pumps, smart thermostat sensor arrays, and home storage batteries.

And just as with EVs, policymakers have focused on infrastructure and affordability without paying any attention to the enshittification risks. Your rooftop solar will likely be controlled via a Solaredge box – a terrible technology that stops working if it can't reach the internet for a protracted period (that's right, your home solar stops working if the grid fails!).

I found this out the hard way during the covid lockdowns, when Solaredge terminated its 3G cellular contract and notified me that I would have to replace the modem in my system or it would stop working. This was at the height of the supply-chain crisis and there was a long waiting list for any replacement modems, with wifi cards (that used your home internet rather than a cellular connection) completely sold out for most of a year.

There are good reasons to connect rooftop solar arrays to the internet – it's not just so that Solaredge can enshittify my service. Solar arrays that coordinate with the grid can make it much easier and safer to manage a grid that was designed for centralized power production and is being retrofitted for distributed generation, one roof at a time.

But when the imperatives of extraction and efficiency go to war, extraction always wins. After all, the Solaredge system is already in place and solar installers are largely ignorant of, and indifferent to, the reasons that a homeowner might want to directly control and monitor their system via local controls that don't roundtrip through the cloud.

Somewhere in the hindbrain of any prospective solar purchaser is the experience with bricked and enshittified "smart" gadgets, and the knowledge that anything they buy from a cool startup with lots of great ideas for improving production, monitoring, and/or costs poses the risk of having your 20 year investment bricked after just a few years – and, thanks to the extractive imperative, no one will be able to step in and restore your ex-solar array to good working order.

I make the majority of my living from books, which means that my pay is very "lumpy" – I get large sums when I publish a book and very little in between. For many years, I've used these payments to make big purchases, rather than financing them over long periods where I can't predict my income. We've used my book payments to put in solar, then an induction stove, then a battery. We used one to buy out the lease on our EV. And just a month ago, we used the money from my upcoming Enshittification book to put in a heat pump (with enough left over to pay for a pair of long-overdue cataract surgeries, scheduled for the fall).

When we started shopping for heat pumps, it was clear that this was a very exciting sector. First of all, heat pumps are kind of magic, so efficient and effective it's almost surreal. But beyond the basic tech – which has been around since the late 1940s – there is a vast ferment of cool digital features coming from exciting and innovative startups.

By nature, I'm the kid of person who likes these digital features. I started out as a computer programmer, and while I haven't written production code since the previous millennium, I've been in and around the tech industry for my whole adult life. But when it came time to buy a heat-pump – an investment that I expected to last for 20 years or more – there was no way I was going to buy one of these cool new digitally enhanced pumps, no matter how much the reviewers loved them. Sure, they'd work well, but it's precisely because I'm so knowledgeable about high tech that I could see that they would fail very, very badly.

You may think EVs are bullshit, and they are – though there will always be room for some personal vehicles, and it's better for people in transit deserts to drive EVs than gas-guzzlers. You may think rooftop solar is a dead-end and be all-in on utility scale solar (I think we need both, especially given the grid-disrupting extreme climate events on our horizon). But there's still a wide range of cleantech – induction tops, heat pumps, smart thermostats – that are capital intensive, have a long duty cycle, and have good reasons to be digitized and networked.

Take home storage batteries: your utility can push its rate card to your battery every time they change their prices, and your battery can use that information to decide when to let your house tap into the grid, and when to switch over to powering your home with the solar you've stored up during the day. This is a very old and proven pattern in tech: the old Fidonet BBS network used a version of this, with each BBS timing its calls to other nodes to coincide with the cheapest long-distance rates, so that messages for distant systems could be passed on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FidoNet

Cleantech is a very dynamic sector, even if its triumphs are largely unheralded. There's a quiet revolution underway in generation, storage and transmission of renewable power, and a complimentary revolution in power-consumption in vehicles and homes:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/12/s-curve/#anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-eventually-stops

But cleantech is too important to leave to the incumbents, who are addicted to enshittification and planned obsolescence. These giant, financialized firms lack the discipline and culture to make products that have the features – and cost savings – to make them appealing to the very wide range of buyers who must transition as soon as possible, for the sake of the very planet.

It's not enough for our policymakers to focus on financing and infrastructure barriers to cleantech adoption. We also need a policy-level response to enshittification.

Ideally, every cleantech device would be designed so that it was impossible to enshittify – which would also make it impossible to brick:

Based on free software (best), or with source code escrowed with a trustee who must release the code if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

All patents in a royalty-free patent-pool (best); or in a trust that will release them into a royalty-free pool if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

No parts-pairing or other DRM permitted (best); or with parts-pairing utilities available to all parties on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best);

All diagnostic and error codes in the public domain, with all codes in the clear within the device (best); or with decoding utilities available on demand to all comers on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best).

There's an obvious business objection to this: it will reduce investment in innovative cleantech because investors will perceive these restrictions as limits on the expected profits of their portfolio companies. It's true: these measures are designed to prevent rent-extraction and other enshittificatory practices by cleantech companies, and to the extent that investors are counting on enshittification rents, this might prevent them from investing.

But that has to be balanced against the way that a general prohibition on enshittificatory practices will inspire consumer confidence in innovative and novel cleantech products, because buyers will know that their investments will be protected over the whole expected lifespan of the product, even if the startup goes bust (nearly every startup goes bust). These measures mean that a company with a cool product will have a much larger customer-base to sell to. Those additional sales more than offset the loss of expected revenue from cheating and screwing your customers by twiddling them to death.

There's also an obvious legal objection to this: creating these policies will require a huge amount of action from Congress and the executive branch, a whole whack of new rules and laws to make them happen, and each will attract court-challenges.

That's also true, though it shouldn't stop us from trying to get legal reforms. As a matter of public policy, it's terrible and fucked up that companies can enshittify the things we buy and leave us with no remedy.

However, we don't have to wait for legal reform to make this work. We can take a shortcut with procurement – the things governments buy with public money. The feds, the states and localities buy a lot of cleantech: for public facilities, for public housing, for public use. Prudent public policy dictates that governments should refuse to buy any tech unless it is designed to be enshittification-resistant.

This is an old and honorable tradition in policymaking. Lincoln insisted that the rifles he bought for the Union Army come with interoperable tooling and ammo, for obvious reasons. No one wants to be the Commander in Chief who shows up on the battlefield and says, "Sorry, boys, war's postponed, our sole supplier decided to stop making ammunition."

By creating a market for enshittification-proof cleantech, governments can ensure that the public always has the option of buying an EV that can't be bricked even if the maker goes bust, a heat-pump whose digital features can be replaced or maintained by a third party of your choosing, a solar controller that coordinates with the grid in ways that serve their owners – not the manufacturers' shareholders.

We're going to have to change a lot to survive the coming years. Sure, there's a lot of scary ways that things can go wrong, but there's plenty about our world that should change, and plenty of ways those changes could be for the better. It's not enough for policymakers to focus on ensuring that we can afford to buy whatever badly thought-through, extractive tech the biggest companies want to foist on us – we also need a focus on making cleantech fit for purpose, truly smart, reliable and resilient.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

Image: 臺灣古寫真上色 (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raid_on_Kagi_City_1945.jpg

Grendelkhan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_mounted_solar_panels.gk.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

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mclarensims · 4 months ago

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**NEW** The Princess Peach Challenge 🍄👑

Starter house on the gallery: @AhriOW

Hi there, royal builder! Welcome to the Princess Peach Challenge for The Sims 4! 🌟 In this magical adventure, you’ll guide Peach through her journey to build a castle, grow her kingdom, and prove she’s the ultimate boss princess! 💕 Each phase is packed with fun goals, storytelling, and some epic building moments. So, grab your crown and let’s get started! 👑🎮

🌟 Setup

Before Peach can start her royal quest, we’ve gotta set the stage!

🏰 1. Manage Worlds:

Bulldoze and convert the Von Haunt Estate into a residential lot. (You’ll need the Venue Changes mod by Zerbu 🛠️).

Rename the lot: Mushroom Castle. 🍄✨

🌞 2. Lot Traits:

Add these magical traits to Peach’s new kingdom:

🌱 Great Soil (perfect for gardening!).

☀️ Sunny Aspect (keep it positive and happy).

🌬️ Bracing Breezes (gotta keep fit for all that adventuring!).

💸 3. Starting Funds:

Reduce Peach’s starting funds to 8,000 simoleons (even princesses have to budget sometimes 😅).

👸 4. Create Peach:

Aspiration: Friend of the World (because Peach is a sweetheart 💖).

Traits: Cheerful 😄, Good 💕, Outgoing 🌟.

Career: Politician (Charity Organizer branch) 💼✨.

🏡 5. The Royal Shed (aka Her Starter Home):

Peach starts her journey in a tiny shed (humble beginnings, am I right? 😅):

Inside: A basic bed, desk, chair, mini fridge, and a small bathroom (toilet, sink, shower 🚿).

Outside: A little garden patch for growing flowers and veggies 🌸🥕.

👑 Phase 1: Becoming a Princess

Peach is just starting out, full of dreams and determination! 🌟 This phase is all about laying the foundation for her role as a princess.

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Join the Politician career and reach Level 3.

Use your Charisma (Level 3) to deliver a speech on a community lot 🎤💬.

📚 Writing Goals:

Write and publish your first children’s book: The Toad Who Could 🐸📖.

Earn at least 500 simoleons in royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 5 friends to build your royal crew 👑✨.

🤝 Skill Goals:

Reach Level 3 Gardening Skill.

🏡 Building Goals:

Keep living in the Royal Shed for now—it’s not castle time yet!

🏰 Phase 2: Building the Ground Floor

Time to level up, literally! Peach starts constructing the ground floor of her castle while still living in her Royal Shed (progress takes time, bestie!).

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Build the following rooms:

Entrance Hallway: Add some cute flooring, wall lights, and maybe a rug or table ✨🪞.

Bathroom: Sink, toilet, and shower—basic but functional 🚿.

Kitchen: Fridge, stove, and one counter (no fancy upgrades yet, sorry! 🍳).

Dining Room: A dining table with four chairs (keep it simple for now 🪑).

Office: Desk, computer, and maybe a bookshelf for decor 📚💻.

Grand Staircase (Placeholder): Add a staircase to hint at future expansion—it doesn’t go anywhere yet, though 😅.

⛔ Restrictions:

Peach still has to live in the Royal Shed—no castle bedrooms yet!

Keep the decor modest (save the fancy stuff for later ✨).

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 6 in the Politician career.

Use Charisma Level 5 to deliver another speech on a public lot 🎤.

Raise 2,000 simoleons for charity 💖.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more children’s books: Piranha Plant Picnic 🪴 and Adventure Under the Mushroom Tree 🍄📖.

Earn 1,500 simoleons in total royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 10 friends—your kingdom is growing! 🥳.

Host a Silver-Level Dinner Party in your new Dining Room 🎉.

🏡 Building Goals:

Complete and furnish all ground floor rooms (keeping it basic, there will be upgrades!) 🏰.

👑 Phase 3: Expanding the Castle

The castle gets an upgrade, and Peach finally gets her own fancy bedroom! ✨

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Build the second floor, adding:

Princess’s Bedroom: Luxurious bed, vanity, and wardrobe—time to live like royalty! 👸🛏️.

Second-Floor Bathroom: Fancy fixtures, of course! 🚿🛁.

Royal Hallways: Connect those new rooms for a cohesive look.

Functional Grand Staircase: It finally works—no more pretending! 😅.

⛔ Restrictions:

Still no extravagant luxury items (save the chandeliers for Phase 4!).

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 8 in the Politician career.

Host a public protest on a community lot ✊.

Raise 5,000 simoleons for charity 💖.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more books: Royal Mushroom Adventures 🍄 and The Brave Garden Bloom 🌼📖.

Earn 3,500 simoleons in total royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 15 friends—Peach is becoming everyone’s favorite princess! 💕.

Host a Gold-Level Dinner Party in your castle 🎉.

🏡 Building Goals:

Move into your Princess Bedroom (bye-bye, Royal Shed for now! - do not delete it) and finish the second floor 🛏️.

👑 Phase 4: Restoring Royalty

Peach is thriving now, but there’s always room to level up! 🌟 This phase is all about making her castle shine, expanding the kingdom, and preparing for future challenges (Bowser might be lurking 👀).

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Time to add some extra flair to Peach’s castle:

Grand Banquet Room:

Upgrade the Dining Room into a banquet space fit for royalty. 👑

Add a large table (seats at least 8 Sims), fancy lighting (chandeliers, anyone? 💡✨), and decor.

Royal Garden Expansion:

Add 10 plants (flowers, fruits, or veggies—get creative 🌷🍓).

Include a fountain or pond and some outdoor seating for a peaceful vibe 🪷.

Royal Sitting Room:

Build a cozy living room with:

Plush sofas or armchairs 🛋️.

Optional fireplace for extra charm 🔥.

A creative hobby item like a chess table ♟️ or easel 🎨.

Servants’ Quarters:

Add a spare bedroom with basic furnishings (bed, side table, lamp).

⛔ Restrictions:

No building the third floor or any secret rooms yet—save that for Phase 5!

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 9 in the Politician career.

Host a Gold-Level Royal Fundraiser or Charity Benefit Party in the Banquet Room 🎉💖.

Raise 8,000 simoleons for charity.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more children’s books: Toad and the Great Fountain 🐸💦 and Peach’s Royal Banquet 🍑🍽️.

Earn 5,000 simoleons in total royalties (cumulative).

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 20 friends to show Peach’s growing popularity and beloved status 🌟.

Host a Gold-Level Social Event in the Banquet Room.

🏡 Building Goals:

Complete all new construction (Banquet Room, Royal Garden, Sitting Room, Servants’ Quarters).

Convert the Royal Shed into a greenhouse for gardening 🌱.

😱 Phase 5: Kidnapping and Self-Rescue

Plot twist! A villain (cough Bowser cough 🐢🔥) disrupts Peach’s perfect life by taking over her castle! Peach must now rise to the challenge, prove her independence, and reclaim her kingdom on her own terms. 💪👸

🏚️ Kidnapping Setup:

Story Setup:

Create a rival Sim (your Bowser equivalent) with traits like Mean, Hot-Headed, or Kleptomaniac 🥴.

Move this rival into Peach’s castle (using Manage Households) and lock the lot for Peach—she’s officially kicked out! 🚫🏰.

Peach moves to a rundown micro-home (maximum 32 tiles) on a tiny lot. Use cheats to reduce her funds to 1,000 simoleons.

Living Situation:

Build her new tiny home with only the bare essentials:

1 bed, mini fridge, toilet, shower, and a cheap desk with a broken-looking computer 💻💔.

Castle Rules:

Peach may not return to the castle or interact with it until she completes her self-rescue goals.

✨ Goals to Escape and Reclaim the Castle:

🌟 Career Goals:

Maintain her Politician career and reach Level 10 while living in her tiny home.

💪 Fitness Goals:

Max the Fitness skill (Level 10)—Peach has to train to defeat her rival 🏋️‍♀️💥.

📚 Writing Goals:

Write and publish 1 motivational book about overcoming obstacles: The Princess Who Saved Herself ✨📖.

Earn 2,000 simoleons in royalties during this phase.

🤝 Social Goals:

Befriend 2 new Sims in her new neighborhood to show her resilience.

Meet Mario (add him to the neighborhood!) and fall in love 💕.

💰 Earnings Goals:

Save up 15,000 simoleons through work, writing, painting, or gardening to “fund her escape.”

🎉 Reclaiming the Castle:

Once Peach completes her goals, she can return to her castle! 🏰�� Here’s what she needs to do to fully reclaim her kingdom:

Defeat the Rival:

Win a Fight interaction against Bowser. Show him who’s boss! 💥👊

Host a “Reclaim the Kingdom” Party:

Throw a Gold-Level Party to celebrate her victory 🎉🍑.

🏗️ Unlockable Upgrades:

After reclaiming her castle, Peach gets to add some well-deserved luxury:

Secret Tower Room:

A hidden or private tower room with luxury decor (e.g., yoga mat, meditation stool, or vanity table). 🗝️✨

Expanded Bedrooms:

Add a fully decorated heir’s bedroom for the next generation 🌼.

Royal Garden Upgrades:

Add a gazebo, statues, or seating areas to reflect Peach’s triumph 🌷🪑.

Banquet Hall Enhancements:

Add extra elegance to the Banquet Room, like a piano or bar 🎹🍸.

🌸 Phase 6: The Legacy of the Princess

Peach has done it all—built her castle, defeated her rival, and earned her happily ever after. Now, it’s time to prepare the next generation (and wrap things up with a bow 🎀).

✨ Goals:

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 1 final children’s book about her journey: The Legacy of the Mushroom Kingdom 🍄✨.

Earn 10,000 simoleons in total royalties (cumulative).

💕 Social Goals:

Marry Mario in a lavish wedding 💍🍑.

Make 20 total friends (symbolizing Peach’s beloved status).

Befriend 1 child or teen Sim (as a mentor to the next generation).

👶 Heir Goals:

Have at least 1 female child (Daisy), who will continue her legacy.

🏰 Final Castle Completion:

Peach’s castle must be 100% complete before her heir takes over:

Throne Room: Luxury furniture fit for royalty 👑.

Princess’s Bedroom: Fully upgraded and personalized 🌸.

Heir’s Bedroom: Ready for Daisy’s reign 🌼.

Banquet Hall: Lavishly furnished with chandeliers, a piano, and more 🎹.

Royal Garden: Includes a gazebo, fountain, and 10 Perfect-quality plants 🌷.

🎉 Farewell Celebration:

Before passing the crown to Daisy, Peach must host a Gold-Level Farewell Party to mark the end of her journey and the start of the heir’s! 🌟

Enjoy!!

#sims4 #sims 4 challenge #sims 4 #sims 4 legacy #sims challenge #sims 4 gameplay #the sims #sims community

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thealtoduck · 1 year ago

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Being the son of Roulette and meeting Damian Wayne…

Damian Wayne x Male Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: You’re mom is the villainess known as Roulette and she sends you to attend Gotham City High School, where you just so happen to meet the so-called ”Demon’s son”…

(A/n: I know i was supposed to work on other fics but i got distracted…)

——

So how does one go all the way from Las Vegas to Gotham of all places. Well you see having a mom who runs several underground casinos with secret superhero cage fights. Can be a kinda dangerous environment for a person.

So in order to keep you safe she sent you to Gotham to attend school there. She got you a penthouse and signed you up for Gotham City High School.

Once you started attending the school, word got around that you were from an incredibly rich family, with no specifics on where the money actually came from. And since it was Gotham people knew better than to ask.

You befriended several other rich kids enrolled in Gotham City High School… or befriended was a strong word, took advantage off would fit better.

You didn’t make a real friend until Damian…

The two of you wouldn’t meet until you were paired up for an assigntment. As the teacher called out ”Damian Wayne” and ”Y/n Sinclair” as the final paring. You invited him over to your place to work the next day, he accepted and the two of went your seperate ways.

Damian had heard about you around the school, a future heir of an unknown fourtune sounded sketchy to him, so he decided to some digging that night.

Suprisingly he didn’t have to look very hard. After searching for a bit he found a file on the bat-computer for ”Veronica Sinclair” aka ”Roulette”, a woman who owned several illegal casinos all over the U.S, some which even included ”Superhero cage fights” where she kidnapped superheroes and then forced them to fight each other.

Damian grew suspicious of you, Why were you here? Was this a plot of somekind? Were you an agent for your mother? His suspicions followed him to bed and in to the next day.

Damian made sure to pack an extra set of knives along with his textbooks, just in case.

Alfred then drove him to the adress you’d given him. He stopped outside an expensive looking apartment building. Damian said a quick ”Goodbye” to Alfred and went in to the lobby. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

A man in black suit approached him and stated ”Damian Wayne, follow me. Mr Sinclair is waiting for you”. The man guided Damian in to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. He was then led in to the hallway where a door waited.

Damian prepared himself for what waited behind, Assasins? Armed guards? Your evil mother? The possibilities were endless.

The man in the black suit unlocked the door and as he entered the inside was beyond anything Damian could’ve imagined…

It was just you… Just you…

You sitting at the dinner table with your study books and notes…

You sitting there looking cute in a Spyro the Dragon t-shirt and loosefitting sweatpants…

Damian didn’t know what he had been expecting but it wasn’t this.

You got up from your seat and went over to him. ”Hey Damian, what’s up?” you greeted cooly. Damian looked around in silence for a second and then answered dryly ”Uhm, I’m alright”. ”Cool, you wanna get to work now or…?”.

”Yeah, let’s get to work” he said awkwardly. The two of you went to the dinner table and Damian started bringing out his notebooks. ”I was just gonna make some coffee, you want some?” you offered.

”So this was his plan” Damian thought to himself. Lure him in to a false sense of security, drug his coffee and then throw him in to one of the illegal cage fights. No way he was falling for it.

”No thanks, i’m fine” Damian answered. ”Checkmate, Sinclair, I know what you’re up to” Damian thought satisfied with his detective skills. ”Okay, I’ll be back in a sec” you said walking towards the kitchen.

Damian took a look around the room, nothing seemed out of place. No loose weapons, secret plans or traces of blood. But then he found something, a giant portrait of your mother, Roulette. The painting was probably hiding some kind of secret vault or hidden elevator to a secret lair.

You came back holding a cup of coffee and a small tray of cookies putting them down on the table. You looked over at Damian seeing him observe the painting of your mother closely. ”Oh yeah, that’s my mom she comissioned a portrait of herself so i wouldn’t ”be lonely” here” you stated coming over to stand next to him.

Damian decided to test the waters of what information he could gather. ”Where is she then if you need a portrait for company?” he asked. ”Probably running one of her cansinos” you said, you weren’t fully aware of what she was doing at the moment and you had other things to worry about at the moment like chemistry and math tests.

The two of you eventually sat down and began your studies. Damian took occasional glances at you while you scribbled something down in your notes. There you sat looking all cute and evil, but Damian wasn’t fooled by your charms and he wasn’t gonna fall for them.

You were probably ready to strike at any moment when he wasn’t 100% alert. He knew your type, all pretty and sexy but as soon as he turns around he gets a knife in the back.

Damian played along as if he weren’t on to you, talking pleasantly while you worked on your assigntment together, the leauge of assassins had prepared him well for sirens like you.

Once you finished your work for the day you offered Damian to stay for dinner but he politely declined, he needed to bring his newfound information home before you tried to kill him. He texted Grayson to pick him up.

You followed Damian to the door. ”This was a lot of fun Damian, i hope we can hang out more sometime” you said happily. Damian looked for the right words ”Yeah, me too” he said.

Once he got in to Dick’s car Damian started explaining everything he had found out to his older brother, who listened sceptically. ”I don’t know Damian are you sure he is ”evil” he sounds polite enough for someone raised by Roulette” Dick stated.

”That’s what he wants me to think, Grayson, he’s like a pretty venus flytrap trying to lure you in” Damian said. ”Oh yeah and why do you keep emphasizing that he’s pretty?” Dick asked.

”I DO NOT!” Damian yelled indignantly. ”You’ve called him pretty 7 times during this ride?” Dick noted. Damian ignored him. Thought for a while and then stated ”Grayson, i have a new theory”. ”That you have a crush on him” Dick asked with a smirk.

”Of course not, no! I don’t think he knows about me as Robin yet, which means if i hang around him, i can use him to gain inside information on his mother’s crimes” Damian plotted out loud.

”Are you sure you’re not just looking for a reason to be around him more?” Dick questioned. ”I- No! Don’t say stupid things Grayson…” Damian scolded. He was gonna find out what your pretty and definetely evil self was up to, no matter the cost.

#damian wayne x male reader #damian wayne x male!reader #robin x male reader #robin x male!reader #dc comics x male reader #dc x male reader #x male reader #male reader #x male!reader #batboys x male reader #batfam x male reader #batfamily x male reader

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yandere-sins · 1 year ago

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Yan-Poll #9

[The Stalker Part 1]

Strange things have been happening to you lately.

It started small with the discomfort of always feeling like you were being watched. Of course, you never met someone's eyes when you turned around, and you tried to brush it off as best as you could. But even when you started minimalizing your time outdoors, unexplainable things started to happen in your own house. Things were moved when you weren't looking, the space next to you in your bed was warm when you woke up, and you found strange devices around the house that you couldn't explain.

You went to the police, but there was nothing they could do.

So you installed cameras, and lo and behold, there he was. The creep that had intruded into your life. It didn't even take him a day of caution before you watched on your computer as the black silhoutte stared directly into the camera, his eyes hidden behind a black mask. He made a heart gesture with his hands before breaking into your bedroom window in the early hours of the morning, seemingly with ease. As if he knew what he was doing. Unafraid.

There was no way you could have stayed in the house. But even when you moved from your childhood home to your friends home, your stalker made sure you noticed that he was still around, one way or another. Worse, even with the footage, the police was still unable to catch him.

Feeling defeated and scared, you eventually mustered the strength to go home. Even with him making his presence known, he hadn't done anything to you, and somehow you had to look forward into the future and reclaim the life that his terror had stolen from you.

Everything was clean and tidy, unlike you expected. You found some things out of place, like books that didn't belong in certain shelves, but it definitely looked like he had tried to arrange them correctly, but wasn't sure where they went. It made you smile faintly as you took out your favorite childhood book. But only for a brief moment before you stuffed the book right back into the actual place it belonged and tried to get used to the old but new enviroment of your own home.

Until the door rang.

You didn't expect any visitors. Up to this point, you two had never interacted. At least, nothing more than the few stare-offs through the camera. Yet... you knew it was him.

You braced yourself, your phone clutched in your hand while you grabbed an umbrella standing in the entrance. Things could get messy quickly, but maybe if you were able to just let him know you didn't want anything from him, maybe he could be reasoned with. With bated breath you unlocked one of the locks you had installed on your door, just enough to open a gap, and gathering all your courage you opened it, only to find...

Nothing. Well, not nothing. Just no one.

You stood there for a while, contemplating what was going on, when your gaze fell to the ground, a stark white envelop resting there. You waited for a moment more, expecting someone to jump out if you weren't looking. But eventually, you squatted down, fishing the envelop through the gap and closing it again. Nervously, you messed with the opening until you could pull out the paper inside.

Welcome home, baby! :) Please wear the clothes I put into the closet for you tomorrow ♥ Can't wait to see you in them!

Feeling a sense of panic, you got up, hurriedly walking into your bedroom and throwing open the closet doors. All your clothes had vanished, only a small, neatly-folded pile sat in one of the shelves, a post-it on them.

P.S. I'm glad my little mishap with the book made you smile. I'll do anything to see you smile ♥

Goosebumps ran over your whole body as you realized he must have just been here if he saw you smile briefly just minutes ago and then placed the note here. Maybe he still was? You stopped breathing, listening intensely if there were any other sounds you hadn't noticed before. Your home was silent.

Hesitantly, you pulled out the clothes he had prepare. Soft, expensive, skimpy. The outfit your stalker put together was much too raunchy for your taste but it would still work even in an office setting. You'd be covered with trousers and a blazer, but the top that was supposed to act like a shirt was see-through and lacey as if it was lingerie. You were sure to turn some heads if you wore it to your job.

Refusing him didn't seem to have any immediate consequences, but at the same time, after already being terrorized for so long, could you really refuse such a small request? Certainly, it would prompt him to get bolder... But at the same time, despite showcasing he could, he never confronted you. There was no saying if refusing him would cause any issues, even if it seemed likely. But maybe you had just become incredible paranoid.

(Reasoning and discussions welcome! ♥)

#yan-poll #yandere-talk #yandere #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere scenarios #yandere fanfiction #yandere writing #yandere stories #yandere oneshots #yandere oneshot #yandere drabble #yandere x reader #yandere x darling #Yandere TW

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kinardsevan · 1 month ago

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come and find me (in the valley)

felt the need to write something future-ficcy and slightly AU. so have this.

cw: explicit, mentions of high-risk pregnancy and complications (all are safe!)

In six years, Evan Buckley hadn’t laid eyes on Tommy Kinard. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure when the last time he really had seen the other man. He just knew that after Bobby’s death had settled, and everything changed at the 118 and Eddie had moved back home… he needed to get out of Los Angeles and go elsewhere.

And so he had. With his things already packed up and shoved into storage, he took what he could fit into the back of his truck and left town. Originally, his plan had just been to go for a few months—after all he had plenty of PTO to use up—but when three months had passed and he didn’t feel any better about the death of the man he had considered his father, he didn’t return. As it was, it wasn’t like his phone was ringing off the hook with his friends awaiting his return.

He’d barely heard from Eddie. Maddie had checked in initially, letting him know how the baby she and Chimney had named for Bobby was growing well, but eventually her calls dropped off. Hen would check in occasionally, but he could tell she was trying not to hover too much, and trying to let him grieve as he needed. He’d appreciated that.

Athena texted occasionally as well, but she didn’t push it, at least during his vacation. In actuality, she was truthfully the only one who did reach out when he didn’t come home at the end of his time off.

“You gotta come back home, Buckaroo,” she’d told him insistently. Themothering in her tone had almost been enough to break his resolve and get him back in his vehicle to drive back the near-thousand miles back home.

And yet, from all that distance, and only a short amount of time, he’d told her no. He’d stated that he wasn’t ready, and that he needed more time. And though he’d told exactly no one, it wasn’t that he needed the space…just the time. But trying to spell that out in words verbally was harder than he ever expected it to be.

He tried texting it, so many times.

To Athena. To Maddie.

To Tommy.

But instead, night after night, those words got typed, and then deleted, started, and then abandoned. Nights, became days, became weeks, became months….became years.

Years of seeing his family through a computer screen as he blamed his lack of visiting on the traveling firefighting position he’d taken on, based out of Seattle. It became hidng a part of his life that he hadn’t intended to, but didn’t know how to expose. It became seeing the rarely sent text message from the love of his life, trying to check in, or mention a ‘thought of you today’, or ‘hope you’re doing okay’ and desperately wanting to answer, but knowing that those words would only bring questions that he didn’t have proper answers for.

It was years of silence and loneliness. And so, so much noise.

. . .

Evan drops several bags onto the floor next to a row of chairs. He rubs a hand over his face and yawns, glancing out the window.

He wasn’t supposed to get stuck here, but a freak snowstorm has grounded him, at least for the night, and with every hotel currently full in the surrounding area, the airport gate has become his current landing spot.

He pulls his phone from his pocket and scrolls through notifications, checking to see if he has any new messages. When none appear, he unlocks it and taps out a quick message to Athena before returning it to his pocket. He’s exhausted, but he needs to get in touch with Maddie before he falls asleep, to ensure she’ll be okay.

She’s supposed to be fine—that’s what he keeps telling himself, at least. Her surgery is routine—she’s just having her gallbladder removed. And to that end, it’s not even a major surgery. Granted, it’s been causing her issues for the last little while—hence the decision to have the surgery—but she’s not in any major danger. The surgery had been scheduled weeks ago, and she’d informed him with plenty of time to get a spate of days cleared so he could at least be there for two or three days while she was in the hospital. And truth be told, it will be nice to spend some time with his family. It’s been ages since he’s seen Jee-Yun, not to mention all of little Bobby’s growth. Then again…well. His life has been filled with other priorities.

He scrubs a hand over his eyes again and pulls his phone back out, looking at the screen anxiously. He’s not entirely sure what’s driving his anxiety more; not hearing from Athena, or the fact that since his loved ones have known that he’s coming into town, that he hasn’t stopped hearing from Eddie, Hen, and Chimney. He knows they’ll want him to stay, and that they’ll have questions, but he also doesn’t really want to answer them. He’s not prepared for-

“Evan?”

A wave of heat runs down the center of his spine at the sound of his name in that tone, that voice. He looks up from his phone wearily and off to his left, to a tilted head and a weary smile that makes his chest warm. It’s been six years since he’s laid eyes on Tommy Kinard, and yet it feels like it was just yesterday.

“H-hey,” he stammers, his voice a little rough with exhaustion. His heart stutters in his chest, pitter-pattering like the last time he thought about telling the pilot that he’s in love with him wasn’t years ago…like the last time he looked in those blue eyes wasn’t in the face of the worst pain he’s ever endured.

Tommy crosses the space between them, and Evan sets his phone down, stifling a yawn when Tommy settles into the chair beside him.

“Grounded?” He asks.

Evan nods. “I’m supposed to be flying into LAX tonight, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening.”

“Certainly seems that way,” Tommy agrees. Evan looks back over at him after a moment. He’s a little bit grayer and a little more chiseled in the time that’s passed, but he’s still the same man. Tommy gives him the hint of a smile again, and the crinkles are just slightly crinklier…but it’s still Tommy. Evan’s heart swells.

“What’re you doing flying commercial?” he asks. “Thought you only did rotary wing?”

Tommy shrugs. “My usual rental took some damage by another pilot a few weeks back and is still out of commission. Plus, I was on my way back from a job interview.”

Evan raises his eyebrows, curious. “Really? How’d that go?”

Tommy shrugs. “Good, I think. They’ll probably make an offer, if the way the chief was talking money and plans for the department was anything to go on.”

“So you’re leaving Harbor,” Evan asks.

“Left Harbor a while ago,” Tommy answers, shifting back in his chair. The way his gaze shifts over Evan makes him just a little wary—like Tommy could see right through him if he really tried—and he gulps anxiously, tries to ignore the way it feels like the hair on the back of his neck is starting to rise. “Did some private lessons full-time for a while, and then some travel firefighting during wildfire season for a few years.”

Evan nods. He opens his mouth, half-ready to ask what made Tommy leave, when his phone starts to ring. He whips his head to the other side, looking down at the table where his phone is resting. Athena’s name adorns the screen. He picks it up quickly and answers the call, lifting it to his ear and pushing up out of the chair. He crosses the ten feet between the chairs and the windows looking at the sheets of snow coming down outside.

“Hey,” he states, trying to sound calm. “How is everything?”

“The rascals?” Athena asks. She lets out a chuckle. “They’re down for the count. Had enough ice cream to put down a horse today. Are you stuck in the blizzard?”

Evan glances back over his shoulder towards Tommy. The pilot is staring down at his own phone, scrolling through messages from the looks of it.

“Yeah. I uh, T-Tommy’s here.”

“Really?” Evan can’t help rolling his eyes at how curious Athena sounds, let alone how genuinely enthused her voice is. Like she thinks it’s a good thing.

“You do realize it’s been six years, right,” he asks her.

“Exactly,” Athena counters. “And in those six years, you haven’t dated a single soul. So tell me why talking to your-..”

“Don’t,” Evan cuts her off, keeping his voice soft. “Don’t go there. Not right now.”

“C’mon, Buckaroo. You know if your father was here, he’d have told you to have dealt with this long ago. And if I’m being honest with you, the only thing that’s kept me quiet is the fact that I don’t know where the man lives anymore. So.”

Evan gulps. He never likes it when Athena brings Bobby into the mix. It hardly ever feels fair. Still, any argument he has in him dies when he hears a cry in the background. His stomach drops, replaced by the surge of the need to be there, be a calming presence.

“Carter-..”

“I’ve got it,” Athena states. “We’ll be alright. Let me know when you land and maybe we can facetime. Goodnight, Buckaroo.”

Athena ends the call before Evan can say anything else, and he lets out a sigh, turning to look back in Tommy’s direction. Whether the pilot senses him staring or not, he can’t really tell, but eventually Tommy looks up in his direction, and it stirs something in Evan’s gut as he quickly looks away. He forces down a deep breath and then walks back over to the chairs and sits down.

“Everything okay?” Tommy asks. The way he speaks with genuine concern makes Evan’s heart clench. There’s still so much he wants to say, but he doesn’t even know where to start.

He forces a nod instead, holding his phone in both of his hands.

“Y-yeah. Just Athena checking in,” he repsonds after a few seconds.

Tommy nods. “I heard I just missed her,” he comments. “That she was headed into Seattle as I was heading out.”

His stomach drops. “Your-… I mean, you interviewed in Seattle?”

Tommy nods, his brow furrowing slightly. “Yeah. Why?”

Evan shakes his head. “Oh. N-no. Nothing. I’ve heard good things.”

Tommy stares at him skeptically for a time, but he doesn’t push or ask further questions, and Evan is silently grateful for it.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, and then his phone buzzes in his hand again and he flips it over and sees that Maddie has finally texted him back.

Doing okay. Talked to Athena.

You should say something!

Evan huffs and taps out a response before locking his phone again and turning it so that the screen is facing away from Tommy.

“You sure you’re okay,” Tommy asks him. Once again, he genuinely sounds concerned, and once again, Evan feels like a dick.

“Yeah, I’m-..”

His phone buzzes in his hand again, but this time it’s a facetime call from Athena. If it’s possible, his stomach drops more, and he forces down a deep breath before pushing up from his chair and answering the call. When the screen loads properly, Athena is there, but he can hear hiccuping in the background.

“I’m so sorry, Buckaroo,” she tells him.

Evan shakes his head. “Put her on.”

There’s some shifting around, and then a child comes into view, and his heart twists. There are tear tracks on her face, and she’s still sniffling.

“Hi, monkey. Did you have a bad dream?”

Carter nods. “Daddy, you come back home?”

He gulps again. Even with his back to Tommy, he can feel the way the pilot’s eyes are burning holes in his back with unanswered questions that haven’t even been asked yet.

“In a few days, baby,” he answers. “Remember, Auntie Maddie is sick right now. But you have Nanna Thena there. Maybe she can read you the bedtime story you like so much.”

“I want you,” she sniffles. “O-or Papa.”

Evan inhales a deep breath. He’s really not prepared for this conversation right now.

“‘Thena?”

The older woman comes back into view on the phone after a few seconds. “Yeah, Buckaroo?”

“Can you get her the bear from my bed? The one from build-a-bear,” he asks. “It’s the one with Papa’s voice.”

“On it,” she responds. She passes the phone back to Carter.

“Now you’ve gotta take the bear and go to bed, okay,” Evan tells her gently. “Remember Nanna was going to make you waffles in the morning. So you have to sleep so she can make them for you.”

“Okay, daddy,” Carter answers softly. Her sniffles have calmed, and when Athena returns, she takes the bear gratefully and squeezes it. Through the speaker, a tinny but unmistakable voice emits. “Daddy’s here. Daddy’s got you.”

“Love you, daddy,” Carter states. She blows a kiss to the phone, and all things aside, it warms something inside of Evan as he smiles back at his daughter. She looks at the bear. “Love Papa, too.”

“Love you, monkey,” Evan tells her. She passes the phone back off to Athena, and they exchange goodbyes once more before he ends the call. Purposely, he takes several moments, staring out the window once more because he knows when he turns around, things will have changed.

“A kid?” Tommy asks when Evan finally turns to face him. There’s a hurt expression on his face, and—for the same reason Evan has struggled to even begin to figure out how to have this conversation since he left Los Angeles—his heart sinks. “There’s…” He pauses, and the way his expression shifts, he breathes shallowly, and Evan can see Tommy’s processing all over his face. “Papa, Evan?”

He tries to find the words to start, to explain, but he can’t. After opening and closing his mouth multiple times, he nods.

“So that’s why you didn’t come back,” Tommy states, his gaze on the floor. “You met someone and-..”

“No,” Evan states, cutting him off. Tommy looks up at him, confused. At least for a few seconds, before his mind seems to skate through the last few minutes. “There wasn’t anyone else.”

If the past two minutes haven’t hurt enough, the gutted expression that crosses Tommy’s face makes it that much worse as it dawns on the pilot just what he’s being told. But Evan knows he has the ball rolling, and he can’t stop now.

“S-she has a twin,” he stammers.

He sees Tommy’s throat bob, swallowing at the information. Sees the way the pilot’s eyelids get red, and how his eyes shine with unshed tears, and the realization that, not only has Evan been keeping this secret from him for years, but those years are years that he’s missed in his own children’s lives.

“Why,” he states gruffly when he finds his words. “I would’ve- you should’ve called- I-…” He trips over his words, like he can’t get the questions out fast enough, can’t figure out what to ask first.

Evan shakes his head as he looks down at the floor, blinking away tears. He’s angry, and ashamed, and scared, and he doesn’t even know how to express all of that.

“A-after Bobby, I wasn’t okay,” he comments.

“I knew that,” Tommy counters. “I was there. I-…clearly-… Damn it, Evan.”

Tommy sniffles, and Evan’s throat clenches tighter.

“I didn’t know how to get up from it,” he rasps, hardly more than a whisper. “S-so I left, and I travelled, and I tried to get back in the right headspace. A-and then before I was set to come back, I got sick, and I didn’t get better. So I went in, a-and I found out about them,” he stammers. “Mono-mono twins. High-risk. E…” He forces a breath and shakes his head, unable to meet Tommy’s gaze. “Elliot wasn’t even supposed to make it. A-and after Bobby, I didn’t… you said you couldn’t be my last, and I wasn’t about to beg you to stick around just because-..”

“My kids, Evan,” Tommy growls at him. “I-…Fine. You didn’t call before the birth. But every day after-..”

“I know!” Evan growls back at him, trying to keep his voice soft enough that they don’t draw attention in their direction. “I know, okay? I knew that, then. But every day that I didn’t say something was another day that felt like it had been too long, and I didn’t know how to ask for help or try and change things and…” He shakes his head again, blinking away more tears as he finally looks Tommy in the eyes. Tears are clinging to his waterline, singularly hanging just below his eyelids.

“But you told Athena,” Tommy gathers. “And I have to assume Maddie knows. Which means Chim and-..”

“Yes, Maddie and Athena know,” he answers. “A-and Chimney by extension. But not anyone else.”

Tommy looks up at him disbelievingly. “Eddie-..”

“I’ve hardly spoken to Eddie since I left,” Evan tells him. “We didn’t exactly end things on the best terms; especially after the whole bit of me making everything about myself.”

Tommy huffs, but he doesn’t push the situation. He’d been privy to the things Eddie had said during one of their grief-fueled hook-ups.

They’re both quiet for a few minutes, and Evan looks back toward the snow falling. Tommy sinks back into his chair, scrubbing his hands over his face as he digests the information that’s been shared with him. He’s full of rage, but he’s also aware of how little that matters in the face of the current situation.

After a few minutes, he looks back up at Evan.

“Okay.”

Evan turns toward him. “Okay?”

Tommy nods. “Yeah. Okay. I forgive you.”

Evan raises his eyebrows at Tommy. “I- W-what?”

“I-..It’s been six years, Evan. So that’s five years and change of life I’ve missed out on. So tell me things.”

Evan stares at him for a few moments longer before walking back over to the chairs and sinking down into the seat next to Tommy. He gulps, turning his phone back over and unlocking it, opening his photos. He scrolls all the way back in the album and finds the sonogram images.

“L-like I said, they were mono-mono,” he states. “There was some TTTS, but they kept a close eye on everything. They were uh, the came at 33 weeks, so they were a little early. Elliot was-..”

“Elliot,” Tommy comments. “And? What are their names?”

Evan finally smiles again, scrolling over to an image from their newborn photoshoot. He zooms in to the clearly smaller twin in the image.

“This is Elliot Wade,” Evan explains.

“After Bobby,” Tommy surmises, reaching out for Evan’s phone. The younger man nods and lets him take it. He can’t help but watch as Tommy gazes at the image, emotions flooding across his face in a range as he stares. After a few minutes, he finally moves the image to Carter and looks up at Evan. “Carter?”

Evan nods. “Carter Grant Madeline,” he states. Tommy looks back at the picture and continues to stare at it for a time before he starts to scroll. The next few images are more from their newborn shoot, and he zooms in and out, taking in their features.

“Carter and Elliot Buckley,” Tommy murmurs. “Flows well.”

“No,” Evan comments back. Tommy glances up at him.

“No?”

Evan shakes his head. “No. They-…they have-…Papa’s last name.”

Tommy gulps, surprise crossing his face before his eyes burn red again, and he looks back down at the photo.

“So- so they know-..”

“They’ve always known,” Evan states. He scrolls through a few more images on the phone to a live photo of Carter holding the bear she’d been holding in the facetime call. Tommy glances over at him briefly, and then back down at the photo, holding his thumb down. It starts to play, and in the background, Evan’s voice can be heard, telling Carter to squeeze the bear’s hand. The audio plays, and Carter gives a gummy grin.

“Is that Papa’s voice,” Evan’s voice comes through the video. Carter giggles and pushes the button again.

Tommy lifts his thumb, and then rests it again, replaying the short video again, and then a third time. On the fourth round, a tear falls down onto his hand, and he shakes his head, lifting his free hand to his face and curling a fist around his mouth.

“I know it’s not a justification,” Evan says softly. “I know I should’ve called, or texted, or…just pulled my head out of my ass and gotten over myself and my stupid fear that you wouldn’t give a damn-..”

Tommy’s head snaps back up toward him. His stare is hardened as he looks at Evan, and for thirty seconds, that’s all they do: stare at one another. And then the pilot’s hand is on the back of Evan’s neck, pulling him in to a heated kiss as he sprinkles in a response in between shifts of their mouths.

“I have never…stopped…being in love… with you,” he states against Evan’s lips. The younger man whimpers into his mouth, fisting Tommy’s collar as he kisses the other man back just as fervently. When they finally part, Evan can’t stop staring at Tommy, emotional and yet unwanting to separate from him.

“You-..”

“I’ve been in love with you since before I broke up with you,” Tommy confesses. His shoulders drop as the words come out, as though the confession itself has lifted a weight from him he never fully realized he was carrying.

“I wish you’d said it then,” Evan murmurs, still staring at Tommy as the pilot’s eyes flit between his mouth and Evan’s gaze. Tommy nods after a moment, a breath.

“Yeah, you and me both,” he answers quietly.

. . .

“When’s your flight back to Seattle?” Tommy asks, tightening his arms around Evan’s waist as he presses a kiss into the younger man’s bare shoulder.

“Tomorrow,” Evan murmurs, his eyes still closed as he tries to burrow further into the curve Tommy’s body has made around his. “D’you hear back from the fire department yet?”

“Waiting on some paperwork,” Tommy states, trailing kisses to the inside of Evan’s neck. He rocks his hips lightly against Evan’s, and the younger man sighs.

“What happened to ‘I can’t go more than one round in a night,’ Tommy,” Evan murmurs, his words half-slurring.

“Haven’t touched you in years,” Tommy murmurs, his lips still attached to Evan’s neck. “Haven’t been inside you-..”

Evan moans, meeting Tommy’s grinds, feeling the pressure of his hardening erection between his thighs. Tommy’s hand reaches around the front of Evan’s leg, lifting it as he grinds deeper, the head of his cock pushing closer to inside. Evan moans again. He finally opens his eyes and turns his head. Tommy shifts up, meeting Evan’s gaze when the younger man turns toward him. He leans down and kisses him as he tilts his hips upward, drinking in every single cry while Evan’s fingers dig into his scalp and Tommy fills him. It’s been years, and it’s been five seconds, and it’s like becoming one all over again.

“I love you,” Evan whispers like a prayer against his lips before Tommy’s are on his once more, searching. Devouring. Loving.

#bucktommy #sloth writes #mini fic #ficlet #tevan #kinley #firepilot #firebeast #post-canon

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nemisuki · 9 months ago

Text

A Simple Click

Gamer AU | Finding an outlet to cure her boredom was desperately needed, so much so that she downloads a game full of magic and chibi characters. But what happens when she stumbles across a certain blonde spamming her to join his guild? She takes the offer of course! Gaining a new way to level up, make friends and perhaps even love.

᧔o᧓ || katsuki bakugo x f!reader, no manga spoilers, no nsfw, online meeting, bakusquad involved, silly moments, slow-burn, 6.3k word count

The app ‘Wispy Guilds’ soon popped up on the computer's home screen with a ding!

Y/N clicks on the icon and loads up the game, not aware of the future chaos she brought into her life. Perhaps it was fate that brought her and a certain blonde together. And it all started with a simple click.

The program opens and Y/N is welcomed into the opening screen of the app. Faced with a pretty scenery of what looks to be a mythical oasis, different shades of greens and blue filling her screen. It looks to be a forest with a castle-like building in the middle of the area. Little chibi characters walk in and out of the place, majority dressed as wizards and others as knights. While others occasionally wear funny costumes or props.

Y/N clicks on the bubble letters displayed in the bottom of the screen ‘Create Account’. She types in all her necessary information but pauses when she sees the username section.

“Aw man you have to pay to get a custom username! This sucks..” she sighs with a hint of disappointment. Her eyes lock on the small dice icon and she mumbles a plea beneath her breath as she hovers the cursor over it.

“Please nothing too bad” she says as she clicks the icon to generate a random username. Her eyes darted to look at the result…. ‘StarHae’.

“Oh you've gotta be kidding me! But it could be worse I guess” she whines with a small pout on her face. With that now out of the way, she clicks continue and goes to the next page. The character customization page pops up and Y/N gets right on it.

Unfortunately there's not much options since she's only level one but she tries picking the cutest options. With no access to the higher level equipment, she decides to put on a starter black cape accompanied with a common level sword. Due to the lack of unlocked accessories, she settles with that and then clicks ‘Finish & Join’.

Her screen turns into a small loading scene that resembles a portal, almost like she's being transported into another world. Then a few seconds later she is in the game. Her small chibi character spawns in what seems to be in the center of a town. Other chibi players roaming around and visiting merchants or chatting with other people.

Y/N clicks on the W key on her keyboard to move forward to explore. Her avatar shifts left and right as it explores the town square. This place seems to be the lobby where everyone is able to spawn in and purchase items or trade. She looks around at the other players and notices they're all higher levels from her, as to be expected of course. An occasional low level player here and there is seen roaming around as she walks around the shops, but few are seen.

A bright yellow arrow appears on top of her screen seemingly leading her to this npc character under ‘Quests’. She follows it, her small avatar running towards the yellow area that's lit up to grab her attention. A small tab appears in the middle of the screen once she steps close enough to the character. The npc is an older man with white hair and a beard, a small beginner cape on his avatar. Y/N clicks on the tab and a tutorial quest appears on her screen.

“Lets see….. Kill five wolves in the hunting grounds” she mumbles out loud to herself. She doesn't have a choice to exit the tab, so this must be required. She accepts her first mission and a few seconds later, another yellow arrow appears to lead her to the different area. Her avatar runs to the yellow circle near the grand fountain in the middle of the town square. And soon a loading screen appears on her screen for a brief moment as her character gets teleported toward the hunting grounds, a forest more specifically.

A health bar appears and a small tutorial plays to show her the mechanics of the game. She clicks to take out her sword and runs along the path of the forest. The game was surprisingly good quality, she was so engrossed in the beauty of the forest that she was caught off guard on the ambush. A gray wolf suddenly appears running towards her and the game pauses. Text boxes and pointers pop up to teach Y/N some attacks she can use against her first opponent.

After a moment of reading, she follows the instructions and moves around to find a good angle, then charging at the wolf. It attempts to claw at her but she clicks the ‘block’ button as instructed and avoids taking damage. Then clicking ‘strike’ as the tutorial orders and continuing her attacks.

Soon the wolf's health bar reaches zero and its injured body disappears with a poof!

Y/N smiles and continues following the tutorial as follows, slowly learning and understanding how to attack these beasts. Eventually she strikes the last wolf in the area and confetti appears on her screen. She completed her first mission and she even leveled up!

“Hm, this game isn't so bad! Maybe I should do a few more quests to level up” she says as she teleports herself back to the lobby and walks back to the quests section. Her eyes land on a castle button on the right side of her screen that's locked. Her cursor hovers over it and it states ‘Guild’. She's never heard of that term, but it unlocks at level 15 so she’ll see eventually.

(੭˃ᴗ˂)੭ time skip a few hours⋆｡𖦹 °✩

“This game is addicting” she mumbles to herself as she stares at her new level above her avatar's head.

Level 15!

She should be heading to bed right now… yeah she should call it a night.

Just as she's about to click log out, she sees the server chat icon wiggle at each new message. Usually it does once in a while when some players request to trade but not this frequently. It's moving like crazy like it wants her to open it. The universe won so out of curiosity, she clicks to open it and sees some players spamming the chat.

A/N ||| I added the cuss words in between brackets so you all understand what Bakugo is originally typing. It's simply to help you know what the censored words are. Ex : [curse words] Anyways back to the story ໒꒰ྀི ´๑ ̫๑` ꒱ྀིა

-Public Chat-

Bakugo : someone join my guild.

Bakugo : cmon you extras I need one player.

Bakugo : oi you ##### [fucks]

Kirishima : bakugoooo don't be so rude and curse or you'll get banned again!

Bakugo : tch shush it, we just need one more extra to join so we can do the guild wars.

Kirishima : cmon man no one's gonna join if you ask like that!

Bakugo : i shouldn't need 6 players max in my guild to do the war anyways

Bakugo : this is #### [shit]

Kirishima : hey bakubro come back! Don't be so mean!

-End of Public Chat-

Y/N watches as the character with blonde hair and red eyes goes around to every high level person trying to force them to join his guild. He seems to be max level 100 and has the knight kit equipped, already giving her the impression that he is someone who prefers combat over healing or protecting. His chibi character runs around typing censored profanities to everyone who ignores or denies his request, it was a funny contrast.

A friend of his, a character with both red hair and eyes, follows him around apologizing to everyone for his friend's rudeness. He seems to be the nicer one of the two and clearly trying to calm the situation down. She could tell he equipped the animal shifter kit due to the red scales on his avatar, and like his friend he is a high level but of 95. Her curious mind wonders what animal he could turn into. Animal shifters are a rare kit and can transform into one animal with a lucky roll of the dice for it to be randomized.

She doesn't have much more time to think as the blonde avatar starts moving over in the direction she is, near the quest station. His red haired friend trailing behind him like a puppy. Quickly she hides in the crowd of other players at the quests station, not wanting to be the blonde's next target.

-Public Chat-

Bakugo : one of you extras better join my guild

Kirishima : pretty please? We just need one member!

Bakugo : all of these ####### [fuckers] are low level

Kirishima : Bakugo!

Kirishima : They are all new! Be nice!

Bakugo : tch none can even join a clan anyways

Bakugo : they are too low level

Kirishima : lets try a different server then?

Bakugo : tch we've been at this for a hour

Bakugo : Oi someones high enough there

Bakugo : hey level 15

Bakugo : join my guild.

Kirishima : which one?

Bakugo : that girl with the cape

Bakugo : hey you.

-End of Chat-

Y/N reads the chat and whines under her breath, “I'm the highest level out of this small group of newbies… just my luck”. She tries to ignore them and moves her character to the side and walks to the fountain. Only to be followed by the chibi characters of the blonde and the red hair.

“Damn they won't leave me alone…. But I don't even know what a guild is. I only just unlocked that feature” she mutters with a sigh as she runs around the map. The two characters follow her wherever she runs to. She could just leave but she IS curious about this whole guilds thing. So after much pestering by these two, specifically the blonde, she reluctantly types in chat.

StarHae : no thank you..

Bakugo : so you do speak

Bakugo : join my guild noob.

Kirishima : Bakugo cmon!

Kirishima : hi can i call u star :3

Y/N couldn't help but giggle at the dynamic between the two, finding it humorous that they're so different. They seem to be in the same guild, a symbol of an explosion above both of their heads confirms her thought. She reads the message from the red haired person and smiles, typing a response.

StarHae : sure! hello kirishima :3

Kirishima : Just call me kiri!

Bakugo : so you gonna join my guild or what

StarHae : what is a guild?

Bakugo : ugh just join and find out.

Kirishima : a guild is a team basically!

Kirishima : we go on missions together and earn more prizes

Kirishima : its better than playing solo and you level up faster!

Bakugo : just join my guild.

StarHae : um…

Kirishima : bakugo is the guild master and i'm his vice captain!

Kirishima : please join us!

Kirishima : we need one more player so we can do the clan war

StarHae : um…. whats a clan war?

Bakugo : you have got to be kidding me.

Kirishima : ah basically all the guilds compete in challenges

Kirishima : its sometimes quests but we fight with other guilds in matches sometimes

Kirishima : whoever wins gets 10k gold and rare items!!!

Bakugo : tch this is taking forever

Kirishima : bakugooo cmon have patience

Kirishima : if we get first then the guild gets popular and more people will join!

Bakugo : tch we WILL win stupid.

Kirishima : so will you join us star?

Kirishima : you'll level up super quick with us!

As Kirishima explains this all to her, Y/N thinks about this offer. It's not bad at all, and there seems to be advantages to being in a clan. Her level is so low compared to theirs, is it okay for her to just join them so easily?

StarHae : are you sure you guys want me?

StarHae : my level is only 15…

Bakugo : tch we know idiot just join or else

Kirishima : our clan has only 5 members

Kirishima : and you need 6 minimum to participate!

Kirishima : your level doesn't matter

Kirishima : dont worry we will protect you!

Bakugo : speak for yourself shitty hair

Bakugo : just click accept.

Kirishima : pretty please?

Kirishima : we need a sixth member by today or registration closes!

Kirishima : star dont worry

Kirishima : we can teach you as we play :3

Bakugo : -_-

After that explanation, a small tab opens on her screen, an invitation to join the guild ‘The Bakusquad’. Y/N looks as Kirishima runs around her avatar in circles trying to convince her, while Bakugo is busy spamming her mailbox with many invitations. She sighs in defeat, this was supposed to be just a calm game for her to play once a while but….. Click!

Accepted Invitation : The Bakusquad

Y/N watches as the explosion guild emblem appears on her head, the three of them now having matching symbols. Kirishima's chibi avatar now jumping up and down in front of her, clearly happy. The guild button suddenly starts blinking in gold obviously wanting her to click on it. She does and sees she now has the option to teleport into the guilds HQ and have access to the guild chat room and quests.

Bakugo : tch finally

Bakugo : ill sign us up for the guild war now

Kirishima : thank you star!

Kirishima : you totally saved us!!!!

Adam : can you guys leave now?!

Adam : your spamming the chat!!!!

Elis : Yeah shush it!!!

Bakugo : HAHH

Bakugo : FIGHT ME YOU EXTRAS

Kirishima : ah sorry guys ;(

Y/N couldn't help but burst out laughing at the random messages and the way Kirishima's avatar was bowing in apologies to the random players. While Bakugo was spouting more profanities to the people who were typing in chat. At least this was entertaining, yet what has she gotten herself into….

✦ ⎯⎯ㅤִㅤ୭ ୨♡୧ ৎㅤִ ⎯⎯ ✦

It's been around 2 weeks since Y/N has joined the guild and to her surprise she is having a blast. Unlike solo quests she can level up much quicker now, to prove it she’s currently level 40! Now she has the option to equip a kit which is very useful for the upcoming event, it unlocks new attacks and weapons available to use.

“Hm… I think I want to be a mage. I'm not very good at close combat and no one in our guild is one yet. So I'll choose this! Plus I can help give my guild mates some boosts and protection spells!” she says happily with a smile as she makes her selection. She clicks on the mage option and squeals with excitement as she receives her new gear. An enchanted cloak with an adorable dress and boots. She even got a wizard hat and a wooden staff for her spells!

Y/N didn't waste her money on outfits before, wanting to save it for the future. So this new look was certainly needed! Especially for this week.

It's gonna be the first time since the guild wars started that they'll be fighting another clan. Up til now they've just been completing clan quests like raiding dungeons. Soon it's gonna be her first fight against other players so she's more nervous than she expected. She doesn't want to let her new team down.

Since she joined she has met all the other members of the guild. Kaminari, Sero and Mina! All of them are nice and often talk in the guild chat whenever they're online. Apparently they go to the same school and forced Bakugo to play with them. Hence why Bakugo is never online whenever clan stuff happens, only joining if 6 players are needed for a specific task. Then leaving right after whenever it finishes. He never turned on his mic either. He's a complete mystery to her.

The game offered voice chat for clan members so Y/N and the others often talk on there instead. At first she was hesitant, inserting herself into a new group that already knows each other. Yet she found herself enjoying her time in the presence of these people. She never thought this game would lead to new friends yet here they are.

Soon the day of the first guild vs guild match came.

Y/N starts up her computer and logs into the game, feeling a bit uneasy about the outcome of this match. If they lose then they won't be able to qualify for the next round. Thankfully she practiced with the rest of the guild beforehand to strengthen their teamwork skills. However not once has Bakugo joined them on their practice matches. She can only hope this won't cause a problem later on.

She sees the other members already at HQ and chatting happily through the proximity voice chat they have activated. No nervousness at all detected in their tone.

“Ah Star you're here!” Kirishima says as his avatar runs over to her excitedly.

“Heyoooo, we're just waiting for Blasty to join in” Kaminari adds on with his usual hyper tone as he chases Sero around the table who shouts out a quick “Hey Star!”

“There's my fellow gal! Was worried you wouldn't show up, girl! Thank you for not leaving me with these dummies” Mina says happily as she walks over to the group.

“Sorry sorry but i'm here now” Y/N says softly with a smile to everyone as her eyes scan the guild room. And a few seconds later, Bakugos avatar teleports inside the room with fresh new battle gear. It looks both enchanted and incredibly rare.

“Wow man! So this is what you've been doing while you were alone huh?” Sero says as everyone starts crowding around Bakugo to admire his armor. Bakugo says nothing back in voice chat as usual and simply types.

Bakugo : get away from me you damn extras

Bakugo : be ready

Bakugo : we start in 1 minute

Bakugo : don't die.

Everyone scrambles to equip their best armor and gear, it's complete chaos as everyone asks for extra supplies and potions. Y/N already was prepared beforehand so she calmly stands to the side and waits. She watches as Bakugos avatar approaches her and stands there almost observingly. Ah he hasn't joined in a while so he must've just now seen the new kit she equipped for the first time.

Bakugo : You're a mage?

Y/N reads the chat box and nervously types back, now seemingly too shy to speak through her mic. She hasn't spoken much to Bakugo in general but she wants to earn his approval. He's the guild master after all. But she can't help but to feel a bit intimidated by him.

StarHae : Yes I can offer support and do long distance attacks :3

She watches as his avatar stares at her for a while, silently analyzing her new look and skills she presumes. It takes a while, so long that she wonders if he's gone AFK right in front of her after the message. Until she sees a short chat bubble appear in the corner.

Bakugo : Good.

A bright smile forms on her face at his message. Sure, it was short and blunt. But from Bakugo? She'll take this as a massive compliment. She watches as he quickly leaves her side to start the battle. From his message alone, she feels motivated to do her best. Hopefully they will.

It was now time for the guild battle to start. Once Bakugo made sure everyone was prepared, all 6 of them got teleported in front of their castle HQ. The building seemingly teleported onto the battlefield in the middle of a forest.

“Let's do this!” “Yeah, let's go!” “Just follow bakubro!” “On it!’

The group of 6 slowly walk through the woods, cautious of any potential traps or ambushes from the other guild. It's 3 rounds in total without a chance to respawn til a new round starts. 1 life each round. The other guild must be doing the same thing, sneaking around the forest trying to find us.

“A forest huh” a deeper voice echoed through her headphones, so rough yet smooth that it made her jump a little. Huh?

“Finally using voice chat huh Bakubro?” Kirishima responds eagerly as he chuckles at the end. You can basically hear the smile on his face from just his voice.

“Tch shut it shitty hair. Can't type while we're fucking fighting against another guild” Bakugo responds with a small scoff. The others snicker through the mic making Bakugo grunt in response.

“Oi Star, get over here to the front” he says in a somewhat commanding tone.

His voice…. It's the first time she's ever heard it. She didn't expect that at all. Its deep but nice to hear-

“Oi! Mage! You have ears don't you?” he huffs out seeming to already be annoyed. Ah so he DOES talk in the same way he types. Guess that answers the question she's had for weeks.

“O-Oh! Yes yes! Sorry i'm going” she says quickly as her head shakes to stop her daydreaming. Her cheeks feel warm to the touch from embarrassment and she's forever thankful this game doesn't have a webcam feature. Or she might really die from shame.

Her small character quickly runs to get behind Bakugo who's currently leading the group. His avatar looks back at her for a moment then forward again. Clearing leaves and making a path for the group.

“So that's how you sound like huh” he mumbles almost incoherently through the mic. It makes her heart skip a beat oddly. God what's wrong with her. Getting flustered over a voice when she doesn't even know what he looks like. And what does he mean by that?

“Oh yeah! You're rarely online so you've never properly had a conversation with Star huh?” Kaminari says as he skips along following the group.

Bakugo simply grunts in acknowledgement, “Hey Mage. I don't know what training you've done with these extras but just stay out of my way okay? And get ready to use buff enhancement spells on me” he orders out to her.

Sero sighs at his friend's snappy remark, “Don't mind him Star, he's always like that. Just do your best, we got your back”.

“Mhm… I know… I'll try-” she says but quickly gets cut off when shots are fired towards the group from the other side of the forest.

The rounds have begun.

It didn't take a genius to predict the Bakusquad would easily take the first round. When Y/N watched Bakugo run into the open battlefield attacking with no mercy, she knew he was a force to be reckoned with. She was in a trance as he sent out orders to the rest of them, giving them better positioning to win this. He was amazing, too good.

So much as when the second round approached, the other guild changed tactics and decided to focus solely on Bakugo. Sending all their attacks at him at once, to which Bakugo must've predicted as he yelled out to Y/N, “Defence spell!”

“On it!” she says as the spell charges up and envelopes Bakugos character in a green force shield. Healing some minor damage taken as well, a nice bonus she learned a few days ago while training.

With that everyone except Y/N runs out to take the enemies down at closer ranger. A full fledged group attack and an array of magic blending in the air, metal clashing against each other as well. She tries her best to heal her guildmates while hiding behind the rock, occasionally sending out spells to slow the other guilds movements down.

Unfortunately she wasn't quick enough to cast a protective spell on Kirishima and Kaminari. Both of them disappearing with a poof as they were cut down by the enemies. Though they didn't die in vain as they took 2 down with them. Mina and Sero successfully took out their foes, winning their individual battles.

2 PLAYERS REMAINING

Quickly her eyes roamed across the battlefield, the other enemy was currently fighting against Bakugo in a heated clash of swords. Sero and Mina were both low on HP but nonetheless started running towards him to help him out. The Bakusquad had the advantage of 2 extra players, this could be a clean sweep. However her confidence was short-lived as Y/N spotted someone in the air hovering above them. A wizard casting a spell as a large fireball started to form in the sky. This was no low level wizard, bad news.

“Guys look out!” she says as she emerges from her spot and starts running towards them. Y/N is low on energy and she has no more berries to replenish her magic. Thinking about her options she makes a beeline to Bakugo, “Sorry you two just trust me on this!!!”

She quickly clicks on her limited spell options, there's enough energy to cast one final spell. This might be a risky move but it's the best one in her opinion. Sero and Mina are both extremely low on HP while Bakugo has more. She quickly approaches Bakugo who got knocked back by the other player.

“Bakugo!” Y/N calls out as she runs behind him and holds onto his avatar with one arm while the other rests on his back.

“Oi! What are you doing?! I told you to not get in my way!” Bakugo yells out as the enemy he was fighting starts charging at the two. Y/N ignores him as she quickly puts a protective bubble around Bakugo, the attacker falling back as his sword hits the barrier. She focuses hard and gives any last bit of her energy to him knowing what's coming next, he'll need it.

“You got this Bakugo! I believe in you!”

Before he could respond, the wizard from earlier shoots the fireball down onto the ground, with a large blast. As predicted Sero and Mina were eliminated by that large blast due to their previous low health. Y/N knew she didn't have enough magic left to protect more than one person, so she decided to put her trust in Bakugo. He was their guildmaster after all, and she knows that the others would have agreed with this decision instead. Her avatar in one swoop, dissolves into thin air from that explosion.

The green shield she casted on him earlier dissolves immediately but leaves Bakugo unharmed from the attack. Without a second thought he rushed his previous opponent and cut him down. Easily making this a 1v1 with the wizard floating in the sky.

He curses under his breath as he looks up at the wizard and then back at the spot where Y/N sacrificed herself. He ponders for a moment just frozen on the battlefield as the other guy starts zooming down on his broom.

“Now I'm pissed off” he mumbles to himself as he glares up at the last remaining enemy.

It was an intense battle but he knew he needed to win. Bakugo doesn't take anything else but a perfect victory, and he refuses having to go to round 3. With this new motivation, he sends attack after attack towards the foe. Taking advantage of the energy Y/N gave to him before she was eliminated. Somehow, he managed to break the wizards broom with his moves, leaving the enemy completely defenseless. After losing his main way to escape, it was a solid victory for the blonde.

Was anyone really shocked?

After the victory was granted, the guild was teleported back into HQ. Everyone celebrated and cheered through their mics. But it seems like another person had a different thing in mind. Almost immediately, Bakugo walked straight to her once they respawned at base, not saying a single word to anyone else.

“Don't pull that self sacrificing crap ever again ya got that?” he spats out as he approaches and stands in front of her. Kirishima quickly tries to deescalate the situation, “Hey man relax! Because of her we won-”

“We would have won either way shitty hair so shut it” he huffs out pushing Kirishima's avatar out of the way. His avatar grabs her hand and pulls her to the side, away from everyone else. The others watch nervously and attempt to approach but Bakugos avatar turns back around causing them to stay. It was funny to see his chibi character look so scary, he might be the only person in the world that can do that. He looks back at her and sighs seemingly calmer than before.

“Oi if you pull a stunt like that again i'll kill you myself. I don't enjoy watching my teammates die because of me ya hear me? I dont give a damn if it's just a game” he huffs out as he drops her arm.

“Got it… sorry” she says shyly through the mic as she tries processing his words. A moment of silence passes between them until he speaks.

“....what's your name anyways?” he says with a softer tone almost as if he's aware of her nervousness.

“Huh? It’s Star-”

“Tch. No you idiot. I mean your real name.”

“Oh…..” she can already feel her face grow hotter the more he speaks to her. Seriously, what's up with this? I guess she should tell him, she hasn't told the others yet either. She doesn't understand why she feels a bit self conscious now but she knows it's because of him, “...Y/N. It's Y/N.”

“Y/N” he repeats back to her. Her name sounds oddly better whenever he says it. She likes it. She wants him to say it again.

“Log onto the game at the same time tomorrow” he says as he takes off his expensive armor.

“Huh? Why? Is there some sort of mission?

“Because I said so. And don't tell the other extras. So you're gonna join or what?”

“Wait, why can't I tell anyone?” she says confused as she tilts her head.

“Cause me and you are gonna train alone! You need to practice, don't need you to pull another stunt like you did today. So we're training tomorrow before the next battle” he groans at her slowness.

“Just… me and you?” Y/N responds a little happier than normal, the idea makes her feel… special to just receive training from him.

“Hah? Yeah didn't you just hear me! Now don't go blabbering to the other extras, it's a secret.”

“Okay! I promise I'll join!” she quickly says with a smile.

“Good. Now i'm logging off, wasted too much time today” he huffs and clicks some buttons about to disconnect.

“Ah bye-” but before she could finish her sentence his character disappeared.

Bakugo has disconnected.

“That jerk! He totally left without saying bye!” Mina says as Y/N walks back over to the group.

“Hey Star! What were you and Blasty talking about? We couldn't hear from all the way over here” Kaminari chimes in with a hint of curiosity.

Y/N remembers her conversation with Bakugo and keeps her lips sealed, she was looking forward to tomorrow after all, “Um nothing! He was just telling me to not get in his way haha..”

“Sheesh! Seriously, that guy is a hot head to the bone. Don't mind him Star, he was just embarrassed being saved by you of all people. Since you're new and all” Sero says while he snickers with Kirishima.

“Well that should be it for today you guys! It's getting late, so we should log off. Good work today!” Kirishima says happily as they all say goodnight and eventually logging off.

Y/N clicks the button on her computer, shutting it off as she stretches. She sighs and leans back in her chair. Smiling to herself about tonight. Maybe tomorrow she'll finally get to impress a certain blonde in the game.

(੭˃ᴗ˂)੭ time skip⋆｡𖦹 °✩

“That's 10 losses for you and none for me. You're worse at close combat then I thought” Bakugo huffs out as they have a break from training. Eating some berries to gain some of their energy back. Bakugo surprisingly has been using his mic lately which is something she's certainly not complaining about. They have been secretly training together for about a whole week now. Practicing together for hours each day. Yet she hasn't won to him once yet.

Way to go on impressing him y/n….

“I can't do it! I'm a mage, close attacks aren't my specialities” she says with a sigh at her failed attempts from earlier.

“I've seen plenty of mages be good at close attacks. You just gotta try harder idiot” he says as he stands back up ready for another round of training.

“I don’t know…” Y/N says not wanting to get up and add another inevitable loss to her name. She was embarrassed at him seeing her struggle so much, she just wants to crawl in a hole and never come out.

“Y/N” he says through the mic in a rough yet soft tone.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Her heart quickens at the sound once again. It's been like this ever since that day he first said her name.

“Y-Yeah Bakugo?”

“Stand up and fight. No one in my guild is weak, ya got that? Tch cmon dumbass” Bakugo scoffs out as he walks over and picks her character up like a sack of potatoes. He leads them both towards the training grounds again, “If you lose then you try again. If you win you keep training. There's always room for improvement, so get that into your skull. No one is perfect.”

“Even you Bakugo?” she says with a smile at his kind words hidden under his blunt way of speaking. Over time she's gotten used to him by now and knows he means no harm.

“Eh i'm almost there though” he huffs as he speaks in a serious yet cocky tone.

Something about the way he said that compared to his earlier words was amusing to her. He was cocky of course, yet he knew that even he had limits. She couldn't help but to burst out in laughter through her mic. Her stomach felt heavy from the laughs escaping her mouth

“Hahhhhhh?! What's so funny?! You picking a fight?!”

“Sorry sorry! It's just that you're cute” she says in between giggles while putting a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. She didn't even realize what she said at the time, that her inner thoughts slipped out for a split moment.

Silence was on his end of the mic while she was busy laughing. She calms down eventually when his character completely froze mid walk.

“Hm? Bakugo?”

“What did you…. Erm, actually I'm logging off for today!”

“Huh?! Why?”

“Because I'm tired, you idiot! Now log off and get some rest!”

A split of a second later his avatar disappeared, her character falling on the ground, no longer being held up by him. She blinks a few times at her screen confused then logs off as a result. Guess Bakugo got tired of training I suppose.

After that incident, she noticed that Bakugo hadn't logged into the game for a whole week. Y/N asked around yet the Bakusquad didn't know why either. Apparently he was just busy and didn't have the time to join. She felt a bit disappointed whenever she joined and he wasn't around. Her eyes always scanned the room in hopes of seeing him.

Until one day she logged in and there he was alone, fixing and adjusting his gear. Quickly she waddles her avatar over, “Bakugo there you are!” she says with a bright smile clearly happy. She sees the way he pauses then turns to look at her, just staring at her for a moment before…

Bakugo : Yeah im here.

Huh? Why is he not talking…

“Why… are you not talking with your mic?” she decides to ask hesitantly, the smile slowly dropping from her face.

Bakugo : Cause

Bakugo : Don't wanna.

Y/N nervously fidgets with her fingers as she reads the chat. He always used his mic now whenever they were alone. Did she perhaps do something wrong? So he's back to how he used to be? She doesn't like that….

“U-Um…..” she speaks before she can think. Her eyes shut as she says her next words, forever thankful no one is around.

“....I wanna hear your voice… please”

Silence.

After no response she says it again in case he didn't hear her.

“I missed your voice”

It's quiet for a moment and she's too scared to open her eyes and see in case he responded in chat. That came out weird didn't it? God she's embarrassed. Maybe she should just log out-

“You're an odd one ya know that?”

His voice echoes through her ears causing her eyes to snap open. Her whole body felt incredibly hot to the touch. He actually turned on his mic for her? He sounds…. less hostile than normal too. Softer.

“I'm not the nicest guy. Why would you want me to talk in the first place” he scoffs out loud but she can hear the hesitance in his words. Like he wants her to answer him.

“Because… I like the sound of your voice and talking to you makes me happy!” she says a bit too eager to please him. She mentally facepalms at her cheesy words.

“Y-You….” he stumbles over his words like he's caught off guard at her boldness. He huffs and continues, “C'mon your level is still too low! Have you not been training while I was gone?! We have to train more!”

His avatar starts walking to the training grounds with purpose expecting her to follow.

“Oh okay!” she says as the smile returns to her face, excited to spend more time with him. As they exit HQ and walk together towards the forest, he speaks once more almost as soft as a whisper.

“....I like it too”

“Hm? Like what?”

“Your voice.”

He speeds up his walking pace so he's far ahead of her, leaving her behind in a complete daze. Was he embarrassed?

Her hands rise up from the keyboard and cover her warm face as she processes what just happened. But her smile only grew wider. If she only knew how red faced the blonde was behind his monitor. Maybe joining this guild wasn't so bad after all.

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