#alas that boy was dense as hell

[sanflawoah]

After the finale, many seems to conclude that Toranaga's schemes has always been perfect from the start, that every events and every deaths are all part of his design all along, happening exactly how he wants it. But really it was only half true. His "sacrifices" aren't intentional sacrifices. No matter how clean he plotted, unexpected blunders always occurred beyond his control, he just happens to be very good at letting it flow rather than going against the current.

Tadayoshi and Tsurumaru, Fuji's husband and son. Toranaga never even intended them to die. Before he came to Osaka, he took Ochiba to Edo because her sister was in labour, knowing the regents wouldn't dare to do anything to him while the heir's mother is still in his domain. Everything would've gone all calm and well until at least Ochiba came back and the council voted. But Tadayoshi unexpectedly lashed out publicly with half-drawn katana in front of the regents (in Tadayoshi's defense: he does it out of loyalty for Toranaga), such offense would've sentenced Toranaga and his entire clan to die had he didn't de-escalate the situation. Tadayoshi then asked for seppuku and to end his bloodline out of shame for his outburst. Hiromatsu said he was foolish for it, but Toranaga acknowledged Tadayoshi's bravery, and ensured Fuji be spared from it.

The show didn't quite picture it, but in the book Toranaga was actually quite shocked to found that Yabushige had assembled a sizable army when he arrived in Ajiro, large enough to end him had Yabushige wanted to betray him right there. However, he kept a calm facade and maxed out charisma points to sway Yabu's army into loyalty, right out of Yabu's hands, acting as the true interest of the late Taiko.

Toranaga never intended to draw the first blood with the killing of Jozen. Nagakado was honestly to blame for this, even Omi too for provoking it. But then it turned out to be a W move for him, because in response the entire Osaka would be out for blood for his head into the open field . No matter how strong Toranaga's army is, attacking five armies inside a fully armed fortress would be a foolish instant defeat.

Then Nagakado acted out of place once again. So many had said that Toranaga "sacrificed" his son, when actually this boy is one rabid horse and Toranaga was right to pull his reins. If everyone is somewhat a "pawn" for Toranaga to use, he didn't actually count Nagakado as one. He always tried to keep Nagakado away from the big fight, if not out of love then at least out of wisdom for his son's recklessness. When Saeki handed the order for Nagakado to commit seppuku over the crime of killing Jozen, Toranaga sternly prevented it. Remember that he could've just let Nagakado took it like Tadayoshi did, it would've been a fair retribution and de-escalate the hostility, but still he didn't.

In Nagakado's defense, how would you feel being the son of a great lord famous for astounding achievement at such a young age, and then you, the no swag son. Even if Toranaga didn't expect Nagakado to copy him, the people around them would still constantly compare them. That's why Nagakado was so rogue to prove himself. It was exactly the same with Saeki, so jealous of Toranaga that when the opportunity arise to thwart his brother he took it.

Toranaga was fully prepared for the real Crimson Sky until the earthquake devastated his army, not to mention the unexpected betrayal from his brother. He had no choice but to surrender.

Nagakado's death was the most unnecessary, truly no beauty in it. He was the one blunder that kept blundering himself out of his father's control. But then turns out the mourning period for Nagakado was crucial for Toranaga to plan the next move. Without it, the council would've immediately ordered him and his clan's execution and it would be all for nothing. In the end, he made his son's ugly death into a meaningful one.

Then came Hiromatsu's death, the most costly death for Toranaga. Being friends for so long they understood the cost of the greater goal. Yes Nagakado's death did buy him some time, but the council wouldn't be so convinced of his surrender, the master of trickery™. Plus they took Nagakado's death as a bare minimum L. "Don't give up on our lord, even when it appears he has given up on himself." Hiromatsu knew that they have come so far and they couldn't stop now, so out goes Toranaga's best guy to complete the surrender facade.

The secret ultimate ace card was Mariko. From the beginning, no one seemed to fully catch up with Toranaga, not even Hiromatsu, except for Mariko. The relationship between Toranaga and Mariko was a mutual one, each with their own goals but happens to be intertwined in the same path.

Toranaga didn't even intend for Mariko to die. The book explained that Toranaga had future plans for Mariko after the war, to divorce her from Buntaro and have her as his messenger to England with John. He knows that Mariko was the only one who could reach Ochiba. He just wanted Mariko to come get Kiri, Shizu, and their newborn son to get out of Osaka, at the same time tell Ishido he's a bitch and hopefuly broke Ishido and Ochiba's alliance (the Minowara sends their regards). It was ONE BIRD throwing TWO STONES. Unfortunately, then he lost his ace card too but damn did it worked a little too well, he literally won the war because of it.

People expected John to be Toranaga's secret weapon, setting the expectation of a "Some dude got isekai-ed into foreign world and now he's destined to save it" trope.

To borrow Mon Mothma's quote: "I show you the John in my hand, you miss the Mariko at your throat".

Yabushige was the audience's voice when he asked "How does it feel to shape the wind to your will?" Because everyone saw Toranaga's final reveal and thought damn it was him all along! But then Toranaga went meta and replied, "I don't control the wind, I only study it." No, everything didn't fell into place like exactly how he wanted. He's not the all-knowing untouchable god. Many times he was crossed and blocked, but instead of trying to force his path through, he simply let it flow. His schemes are not a rigid linear one like how his opponents worked, but it branches and found its own way, and that's how he won.

[zenosanalytic]

Life in Plastic: A Modern Galatea

Just watched BARBIE(2023) and: I Liked It!

Spoilers, Obvsl, Beyond this Point, I don't want to readmore cuz I've heard things about those being Weird on mobile? idk

BARBIE(2023) isn't trying to say anything we don't already know, or position itself as a "politically challenging" film. Honestly, having now seen it, the Republican freakout about the movie is even more Pathetic than it looked getting mocked on twitter. God in Heaven, Ben Shapiro, have some dignity!

The first two acts of the film are just a massive sendup of the capitalist mythologizing around BARBIE(2023); it only repeats those advertiser lies to call them the bullshit they are, and even that is done lightly and comedically. The mythologizing of Barbie's creator in the second and third acts somewhat undercuts this, but using her as a By-The-Numbers Deus ex Machina character ala The Oracle(or every god-role Morgan Freeman ever played), AND casting Rhea Perlman(!!!) to play Ruth Handler, AND-And the overall lightness of the film, renders that pretty irrelevant. Like: I noticed it, and |:T at it internally, but it didn't nag at me or detract from my enjoyment at all. It also presents the (all male)executive-suite of the Mattel corporation as a bunch of ridiculous bozos, but I'd hardly say any of this amounts to a "critique of capitalism" in any meaningful sense. Is it pointing out the failings and flaws in capitalism? Sure. But it's all rather milquetoast stuff we already know(I mean: who thinks ANY capitalist knows what the hell they're doing anymore?) presented with a "fondly-poking" tone, and only ever deployed while also serving the film's primary objective(to be funny). There's nothing ideological about it and it doesn't really spend time on it, only developing it while doing other comedic things. If anything, the harshest critique of the movie is saved for anticapitalists; there's a scene where Sasha calls Barbie a "Fascist" which lands so inauthentic and unfairly it basically embodies that "leftists call EVERYTHING fascist" argument centrists(and cryptofascists) have mainstreamed for the last 20-goddamn-years. And I mean: putting it in the mouth of a tween girl is not NOT saying something, right?

BARBIE(2023) Does Not Hate Men; oh my god, please leave your cootie-free zones for three minutes, I beg of you. Again: accusing it of this is SO Ridiculous that it really makes obvious how insipid and GENUINELY CHILDISH, I mean like LITERALLY SCHOOL-YARD BOYS VS GIRLS JUVENILE, contemporary conservative misogyny, and its reading of this film, is. Probably the most entertaining sequence in the WHOLE MOVIE is ABOUT Ken and the Kens! They end up fighting each other in a HILARIOUS Sendup of modern action-movies, equating them DIRECTLY to how kids act out fight scenes in play(with their toys and each other. They even have the Mattel Executives walking right through the middle of it as the confused Adults, unaffected by the make-believe rules), which is ALSO a great musical number, that Then Turns into a Wonderful DANCE NUMBER about self-acceptance and choosing Solidarity over the toxicity of competition. And all this happens, consciously and overtly(like: the film literally says this), as a super-low-stakes, super-ridiculous mirrorverse-version of how our OWN misogynistic society pits women against each other to prop up male entitlement(like: while the Kens are first fighting, then finding, themselves, the Barbies are reinstating their old Matriarchal constitution, with a few Ken-held circuit court seats added as a sop to reform XD Also Alan is there). Gloria's husband(literally credited as this in Spanish) is Cute and Loveably Dense in all two of his scenes. Green!Ken(Simu Liu) has my Heart forever. Alan is also there. The only opinion this movie has on men is that they are at their best when being soft and lovable, and only The Most Excellent Bros to each other, and that maybe treating the people you love LIKE you love them is better than trying to control everything all the time(which is hard, dehumanizing, and doomed to failure anyway??)? Probably the most "political" thing going on with gender here -even WITH a big speech about the contradictions of femininity in a misogynistic society being the crux of the movie- is filming the Kens the way women usually are.

And that really sums the movie up. Low-stakes and Light. Fun and Funny. Barbie's grand reward for the whole ordeal is HILARIOUS and I won't say anything more to spoil it. Alan is also there. The most hyperbolic(though entirely justified, imv) thing I will say about this film is that it understands what a Barbie movie is and nails it, thereby making itself probably the Best Live-Action adaptation since The Lord of the Rings(or possibly the live-action Kenshin movies, if you've seen those[the 2nd and 3rd one are really good; the first one's ok]).

I'd definitely recommend it, it's a fun low-effort(for the viewer; not knocking the crew at all) movie with a tasteful smattering of genuine Cinematic Spectacle, that doesn't let its gags get old. I predict it will be one of those middling movies that lasts; that it will be a staple of mid-day HBO summer lineups in 5 years, and stay such for the next 30. Go see it in theaters if you can.

[youraverageaemondsimp]

i have this headcanon now of bipoc reader being a former child actress who once starred in several disney channel shows. years later, she meets aemond again because he is starring in her fantasy romance book and that was when the two hit it off. she is inspired by bridgit mendler, the former disney child star, who gave up acting and music to become a doctor, lawyer and engineer. and yes. bridgit mendler has a doctorate and is a doctor at the same time. yeah, so she side hustled as an actress and singer to fund her college degrees. she is so impressive and one hell of an intelligent queen!

aemond and reader met once when they were starring in a disney show.

the two of them were just besties, initially, because they were a bit too young.

however, aemond could remember the day when she stood up for him against the strong boys and aegon who were picking on him, leading him to become incredibly touched.

of course, after the loss of his eye, she stood by him and was urged by alicent to keep quiet to protect herself.

nevertheless, aemond became incredibly touched by her actions and grew to have feelings for her.

but, alas, she was dating someone else, leading him to become incredibly upset.

nevertheless, he chose to love her from afar.

he tried to give signals to her that he liked her romantically but, of course, she was too dense to notice.

both of them had study sessions together and he was quite impressed by her wit. they rival each other, academically speaking.

while aemond gradually chose roles where it demands intimate scenes from him to be seen as a true actor, reader chose to star in christmas movies and shows for children in order to fund her college degrees.

the last film she starred in was a christmas movie before fully quitting acting and music to pursue a career in both classical piano, voice, anthropology, law and tech. so, yeah, doctor, lawyer, engineer, piano and singing.

oh yeah. like bridgit mendler, she pursued both her masters and doctorate at the same time. don't ask me how bridgit mendler does it without going crazy. maybe, she time travels? who knows!

the guy she dated with ended up cheating on her but she was like, "meh!"

she was too busy with all that shit, anyways.

years later, when her novels became NYT #1 bestsellers and being turned into shows, that was when she met aemond again.

aemond, at this time, has won a few acting awards and is seen as the most desirable man of King's Landing.

reader, by now, is a CEO of a startup tech company.

what greeted aemond was an incredibly accomplished, beautiful and intelligent young woman.

he became more and more enchanted when he heard her sing and play the pieces for her fantasy books. it was clear that she has matured, both as a person and an artist.

that was when sparks began to fly between them.

initially, she was quite wary of aemond flirting with her because, at the end of the day, the two of them were colleagues.

but, finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore and the two of them started dating.

they kept their relationships under wraps because she wants to be seen as an accomplished individual, not as aemond's gf or wife.

so, you can bet that when the two of them revealed their relationship, the public was completely gobsmacked at the fact that aemond chose someone who is so accomplished to be his bride because they thought that he'll choose an actress or a model. not someone like her.

most of the messages were incredibly supportive from both the cast and public. but, of course, there were a few racist ones.

as for the bipoc women out there, they could not help but feel incredibly inspired by her, that you can be bipoc, proud of your heritage, successful, accomplished, beautiful and incredibly desired.

months later, the two of them were married in a private ceremony.

Wait bridgit mendler is an engineer too? I only ever saw the news of her having a JD in law and a phD in anthropology(? Im not sure) But tbh she is an icon highkey, I loved her from good luck charlie it's insane 😭😭 I couldn't imagine the pressure oof!!

Like she's so girlboss I love her actually 💞💞

BUT LIKE BACK TO THE HCS AT HAND

Reader was so strong for going through that omg, I'm glad she's found him, she's such a nice inspiration for others omg what a queen 💘

Reader really pulled bridgit mendler

[starryse]

Read It

Seungcheol x Reader

Angst, fluff, badboy!seungcheol, highschool!au

2k words

Requested by anon🤍

Summary: The one where Seungcheol is ready to fight anything and anyone for you

You were an infamous duo, you and Seungcheol. He was the student-proclaimed bad-boy into cigarettes and skipping school, you were the self-proclaimed loser into music and getting good grades. But that’s why you worked so well together, you filled in each other’s differences.

When Seungcheol skipped class to attend a dance competition with his friends, you made sure you wrote him down the notes from that lecture and send him pictures of them throughout the day. When you get stressed out from piles of school work, Seungcheol teaches you how to de-stress by taking you with him to his nightly hangout with the boys at the clearing in the woods. It was a great system you had going on, and it sure made both of your lives a lot easier having each other in it.

Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way, in fact, more often than not people tended to think he was using you for sex and passing grades, while you were an oblivious teenager who thought he loved you- which he did, unbeknownst to those who couldn’t bare to keep their opinions to themselves.

Seungcheol wasn’t quite aware of the problems you were beginning to have with your fellow classmates. Sure, he knew you guys got a few weird looks here and there when you walked through the hallways hand in hand, but he just thought that was them simply scanning their surroundings. He was as dense as a brick, but he also couldn’t help give others the benefit of the doubt.

So when the bullying began, you kept it to yourself. Your boyfriend was as protective as a mama bear, he couldn’t even let you smoke with him because he was too afraid it would cause you to have a collapsed lung or something- his words, not yours. Imagining the way he’d react to all of the horrible comments you had been receiving lately? Nah, you’d have to pass on that, even as hot as it would be.

But alas, your boyfriend was a lot more in tune to your life than he made it seem, and there was no way he wouldn’t notice the sudden change in your mood when you arrived at school.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Seungcheol parked the car in his usual parking spot next to the football field entrance, noticing the difference of your mood almost instantly. He grabbed your bags from the back, making sure to get a good look at your face before passing you yours. You sat chewing on the inside of your cheek, a habit he knows you do when you get nervous.

Not getting a response, he sighs, alting to just give you a small, gentle kiss before exiting the car. He waited for you, leaving the palm of his hand face up in front of him so you’d get the hint and latch on. He smiled at you at the feeling of your hand in his, walking into the school with a sweet look on his face- he loved holding your hand.

Your morning schedules were the complete opposite, meaning you didn’t share a class together until after lunch. Seungcheol went to chem first hour, you had pre-calc, the classrooms on opposite sides of the building which really sucked for you when you were left fending for yourself against the side comments students made to you.

“I’ll see you at lunch, mkay?” You pulled the books you needed for your first few classes out of your locker, turning to give Cheol a quick kiss on the cheek as he strode off to class at the sound of the bell ringing amongst the hallway chatter.

Time to face the assholes, y/n.

Class started fine, the usual offenders sitting farther away from you than usual thanks to the group work you had been assigned. You let out a sigh of relief, sinking back into the metal chair as you worked out the problems on the book in front of you.

Just as you thought you were off the hook, something smacked against the back of your head. Your eyebrows furrowed at the feeling, curious as to what the hell just happened. Turning around, you found a crumbled up ball of paper with the words read it written on the front.

“I heard you’re just an attention whore looking for compliments because your “boyfriend” is just using you for sex”

“Close your legs and maybe Seungcheol would stay with you longer”

Your mouth dropped at the foul words written, a small gasp leaving your lips in shock. Sure they had said some pretty harsh stuff to you before, but never had you received anything this bad.

Clearing your throat, you stuffed the note into your bag before raising your hand to use the restroom. As soon as the teacher approved of your request, you all but ran out of the room, heading straight to your locker with your bag in tow.

You fumbled with the locker com, trying to twist it to the correct numbers was harder than ever with fresh tears blurring your vision. The things they said kept running through your brain like a movie script, causing you to cup your hand over your mouth to attempt to muffle the sob that escaped.

You tried entering the com at least a dozen times and it wouldn’t budge, the old gym lock stuck in place. You shook the lock, twisting it around, hitting it against the door- nothing worked. You were practically sobbing now, growing frustrated that you couldn’t gather your things to leave because of the stupid locker, and because you couldn’t even tell your own boyfriend about what was happening.

Hair was matted against your skin from the wetness the tears had placed on your cheeks, eyes reddening and puffy from crying. You were a mess, and desperately in need of your boyfriend. Lucky, or unlucky, for you, he just so happened to be using the restroom himself.

“Y/n?”

The familiar voice had you sniffling, your hands quickly working on wiping the tears away and fixing your hair as much as possible before he could see you; but clearly you weren’t as smart as you’d think because your eyes were still bright red and your boyfriend wasn’t an idiot, he always knew when something was bothering you.

“Hey Cheol, I was just getting ready to leave, I’m not feeling too well” you sucked in a deep breath, blowing the air out through your nose. The locker finally opened, after a million attempts, giving you the opportunity to hide your face just a tad longer.

Seungcheol was now next to you, his hand going to rest on your lower back. He rubbed comforting circles, waiting for you to finish grabbing your things- he was dead set on taking you home, he had plans of skipping the rest of the day anyhow. When you lifted your knee to rest your books on it as you stacked your things, your foot accidentally knocked your bag over. Being the gentlemen he is, the dark haired male bent down to gather all the spilled content up and put it back where it belonged, a crumbled paper catching attention.

He looked up to you first, making sure you were still preoccupied with your locker, before slipping the ball into his jeans pocket. Right as his fingers hastily slipped out of his pocket, you turned around, asking him if he was ready to go; to which he nodded with an innocent smile and ushered you to the door.

He was such a snake, he had to stop hanging out with Jeonghan so much.

———-

As soon as Seungcheol got you inside your house, he locked the door behind him (a habit he picked up from you), kicking off both his and yours shoes and into the basket by the door. Pulling your hand into his, he lead you to your room to get you resting as soon as possible; he hated when you were sick, he swore it made him sick too.

After sitting you down onto your bed, Seungcheol dug through the pile of clothes he kept there, trying to find your favorite shirt of his to change into. Because he really is the sweetest, he sat you back farther against the headboard, telling you to lift your arms so he could pull of your school shirt and tug his shirt of your upper body instead.

“Do you need anything else?” He tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear, rubbing his fingers gently along your jawline when he was done.

You shook your head, already closing your eyes as your boyfriend pulled the blue comforter of you, the thick blanket already bringing you warmth.

Once he heard the soft snores you let out, his sneaky ass was practically rushing down the stairs into the living room. He plopped onto the couch with a loud thud, hand going straight into his pocket to pull out the paper. He didn’t think you were cheating, God no. But he was extremely curious as to why you had a paper ball that said read it on it, so that’s what he was going to do.

And after scanning through the page hundreds of times, he was suddenly wishing he hadn’t. His tongue was prodding at his cheek, eyes screwed shut as he crumbled the paper back into a ball. Seungcheol was ready to kick ass.

———-

You had slept for around an hour before being awoken by the sound of sound of Seungcheol talking roughly on the phone in the room, your nosiness kicking in as you pretended to still be asleep to hear what he was saying,

“I swear I’m going to kill whoever it is, they can’t just say shit about my partner like that and expect me to nothing” seungcheol was furious, his knuckles white as he clenched and unclenched his hands.

You went pale at his words. How did he know about it?? You hadn't told him??

You tried sneaking out of bed, narrowly opening your eyes enough to see Seungcheol leaning against the wall by your window. The cover was ever so carefully moved to the side as you slowly lifted your legs over the edge of the bed, feet just barely touching the floor when a loud creak sounded throughout the room.

You winced, looking up to see Seungcheol sighing and mumbling a I’ll talk to you later Josh before tucking his phone in his pocket and moving to go sit by you.

“H-heyy Cheollie-“

“Why didn’t you tell me they were bullying you?” He cut right to the chase, his dark eyes staring into yours.

Sighing, you looked away, too embarrassed to hold the eye contact, “I know how protective you get and I just didn’t want you to get in trouble-“

Seungcheol, who apparently has a habit of cutting you off, rolled his eyes. He pressed fingers under your chin, forcefully turning your head to look at him, “you don’t have to worry about me when I need to be worrying about you”

“I always worry about you, and that’s why I didn’t tell you. You already get in trouble enough for skipping, I didn’t want you to get expelled or some shit for kicking some kids ass” you frowned, finally gazing up to meet Seungcheol’s permanent stare on you.

He let go of your face, instead lifting his hands under your thighs to place you in his lap so he could lean the two of you against the bed frame. You stayed there for a moment, rocking slowly side to side against his chest.

“You know I’d do anything for you right? Even if that means getting expelled?” Seungcheol spoke up, mumbling into your hair as he tucked his face into the side of your neck.

You tilted your head so you could see him, a small smile gracing your features as you kissed his lips a few times, earning a chuckle from your grinning boyfriend. He figured you did.

[salemorbit]

By Suprise

[MHA x genderneutral!Reader]

Headcanons for Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki

~~~~~~~

first kissesssssss how they would do it bc i'm soft like that hehehe

~~~~~~~

❄️Todoroki 🔥

whoooooo boy this man

when i say This Man

Yes, he's mostly emotionally oblivious but alas...

You had had a crush on Todoroki since the first day of class 1-A

When you walked in and chose your seat, everything was going smoothly

Until He Walked In

And Oh My God

You could've sworn it raised ten degrees in the classroom and it wasn't just todoroki's quirk as you felt your face heat up at the sight of the pretty boy

And then he sat next to you and your entire world froze

From then on, you were always so nervous around Todoroki and flustered whenever he would ask you a question about an assignment or if he could borrow a pencil

You greatly admired his quirk and his control over either side of his body, jealous of the fact that he had such an amazing quirk that caught the eye of tons of hero agencies

Little did you know, Todoroki also had feelings for you as well *eyebrow wiggle*

He thought your personality was amazing, and your skills in battle were astounding when both improvisational and strategic

Poor guy totally fell for you in a matter of days

It wasn't until near your graduation from UA that Todoroki grew a pair and decided to shoot his shot before your hero agency whisked you away from him for good

With proper support from Midoriya and Bakugou Todoroki invited you to a celebratory dinner for your graduation and planned to seal the deal then

Todoroki nervously fiddled with his hands under the table, staring down the candle in the middle of it intensely. It was two minutes until your scheduled meeting time, but Todoroki had arrived ten minutes early to get over his nerves.

A minute later, you walked in with all smiles, and your eyes twinkling under the ambient light, and your hair done exactly the way he liked it, and--

He wasn't over his nerves.

Todoroki awkwardly stood up as you came toward him, returning your smile gently.

"Hey, Shotou!" You said, sitting down across from him. "Long time, no see," you joked. Todoroki smiled at your lax nature and sat down again, gripping his napkin tightly.

"You look wonderful, [Y/N]," he commented, trying not to let the nerves shine through. You felt yourself blush at the compliment, waving it away bashfully.

"Oh, stop that," you grinned. "You look dashing as always, Sho."

Todoroki's cheeks flared as the waiter came over to take your orders. Miraculously, Todoroki didn't stutter or make a fool out of himself the whole night. The two of you just chatted about the upcoming graduation plans and futures with your respective hero agencies. His heart raced at the fear of possibly backing out of his plan last minute, but Todoroki scolded himself for his anxiety. He was going to do this, whether his legs were shaking or not.

At the end of the dinner, Todoroki walked you back to your third-year dorms. Your conversation never slacked, flowing normally between you two with the foundation of your friendship for the last three years.

You walked close to Todoroki, hand brushing against his every now and again, and you would be lying if you said it wasn't on purpose. As you arrived in front of your dorm door, you both fell quiet. It was the first time in the night that it was awkward, neither of you willing to look the other in the face. You cleared your throat and glanced up at Todoroki, noticing his red-tipped ears. A smile flitted across your face.

"Thank you for tonight," you said, rocking back and forth on your feet. "It was really fun! We should do it again sometime, you know, to catch up with our hero agencies and all."

"Yes, that would be nice," Todoroki nodded stiffly. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as silence blossomed between you again.

"Well, good night," you said, turning to unlock your door. Right as you opened it to step inside, Todoroki stopped you.

"Wait," he said, quickly grabbing your wrist with one hand and tugging on it. Your heart skipped a beat as you turned around with his pull.

And suddenly you were right in front of him, looking into his bi-colored eyes that were mere inches from your own. Your breath caught in your throat as you realized the proximity, one of your hands instinctively going to his shoulder to steady yourself while his own hand held your wrist gently.

"I-" You started out, but Todoroki nervously interrupted you.

"If you're uncomfortable-" He rushed out, but you shook your head, smiling slightly.

"No, this is good."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," you breathed out, swallowing thickly. There were a few seconds of quiet before Todoroki's eyes flicked down to your mouth then back to your eyes.

Then his lips were on yours, soft and hesitant, giving you the option to pull away if you'd like. Luckily for Todoroki, you returned the favor, deepening the caresses and moving to interlace your fingers with his.

The moment was tender and vulnerable, spilling out three years worth of pining and stolen glances when the other wasn't looking. You smiled into the kiss, pulling away to catch a breath.

Todoroki looked flushed, an excited gleam in his eyes that bore into yours. You knew how he felt without him having to utter a word, and vice versa.

Stepping backward toward your door, you smiled more fully at him, apparently not able to wipe the look off your face. Todoroki had a dazed look in his eyes as you leaned against the doorway.

"Good night, Sho," you said, squeezing his hand before letting go. He nodded, a stupid grin on his beautiful face.

"Good night, [Y/N]."

••••

💥Bakugou💥

If you think you're making the first move with Bakugou, you are sorely mistaken

With his incredibly spicy attitude, it was no mystery why you would always get so frustrated with Bakugou so quickly

This is kind of like an enemies to lovers situation, ya dig?

Walking into UA, you had known Bakugou sparingly throughout elementary and middle school

There were a few words exchanged here and there, but nothing lengthy until you found out you would be in the same hero course with him at UA

During the first year, you got to know him a little better

You got to see how he fought, how he learned, how he pissed you off

And he also got to see all those same qualities from you :)

But underneath all of that surface level rage and red-haze lay thick layers of admiration and romantic feelings you both had toward each other

tho you totally wouldn't outright admit it

It wasn't until halfway through your second year at UA that things really started to heat up between the two of you (no pun intended)

It all started with a group assignment that paired you with Tsuyu, Kaminari, and Bakugou

Let's just say...things escalated pretty quickly

"You're an absolute ass, and you know it, Bakugou!" Your voice rang through the common area, despite it being relatively late in the evening and most of your classmates were in their rooms relaxing.

Or at least trying to relax, but becoming unsuccessful when your and Bakugou's voices reached decibels such as these. Even Jirou couldn't stand the noise.

"Maybe if you listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have to recalculate all of your stupid equations!" Bakugou snarled back, throwing his papers onto a table. They spread out and fluttered to the floor, creating another mess you would have to clean up later.

Poor Tsuyu and Kaminari watched the back and forth for several minutes, not daring to intervene between your quarrel. With Bakugou's explosions dotting the air around his clenched fists and your quirk making your aura radiate intense energy? No, thanks.

"That's rich, coming from you," you scoffed, crossing your arms. Bakugou huffed and took a threatening step closer to you.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" His voice got dangerously low, but you were determined not to let your facade crumble. You lifted your chin higher indignantly.

"Uh, guys?" Kaminari gulped. "Maybe we should take a break-"

"Piss off, Sparky!" You and Bakugou yelled at the same time. Kaminari withered in his seat, exchanging a worried look with Tsuyu. The frog-girl just shrugged, trying to finish her own work in the meantime.

"You're so unbelievably dense, Bakugou," you let your head fall into your hands. The fiery blond grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Says you."

"You know what? I've had enough of your insults-"

"You've had enough of my insults? Eat shit and die."

"Take your own advice!" You yelled, throwing the last of your papers at Bakugou and finally storming out of the room. Bakugou let out a frustrated roar and fell back into his seat, shoving his hands into his pockets.

For the first time that evening, the common room was quiet. Bakugou was silently seething in his seat, not touching any of the papers that flew to the floor. It went like this for about five minutes until Tsuyu spoke up.

"Bakugou," she cleared her throat, "maybe you should go apologize to [Y/N]. What you said was kind of uncalled for."

"Yeah," Kaminari hesitantly agreed, testing the waters. "You were kinda rough with them."

"Well, maybe if they weren't so stupid then I wouldn't have had to say shit like that," Bakugou grumbled. He was quiet for a moment before he sighed, getting up.

"I don't need you extras sopping all over me," he grunted, walking out the door. "I'll go find them."

The sun was setting as you sat on the bench outside the dorms, trying your best not to cry. Tears welled up at the edges of your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. You couldn't let Bakugou get to you like that. He didn't deserve to get to you like that.

You sniffed and looked down at your hands, feeling a pang in your chest. Did he really think you were that stupid? Did he really want you out of his way? You dryly laughed to yourself, wiping at your eyes. Of course he wouldn't want you, you thought. He was dead set on his future and you were just an obstacle he needed to step over. You meant less to him than you wanted to.

"Hey."

Your head snapped up to see Bakugou standing a few feet away from you, hands in his pockets and eyes trained on you. You frowned, purposefully looking away from him.

"I said, 'hey.' What, did you go mute all of a sudden?" Bakugou scowled at you when you didn't turn to look at him. He sighed deeply before looking out at the sunset himself.

"I'm sorry."

Your breath caught in your throat at the words. Did Bakugou, the Bakugou Katsuki, really just apologize? And to you of all people? You turned a surpised gaze to his standing figure, eyes on his profile. His scowl was softened as he looked at the sun, golden light washing over his features.

In that moment, he was beautiful. And your face heated up at the realization, butterflies swarming your stomach. Flustered, you shifted in your seat, attempting to compose yourself.

"You feel sick or something?" You teased.

"A guy can't apologize without it being weird?" Bakugou shot back, eyebrows furrowed, annoyed.

"It's a little out of character for you specifically," you tilted your head to look at him.

"Yeah? Well, it's 'a little out of character' to just walk away from a fight," he mocked you. You shook your head, standing up to face him.

"Do you ever stop?"

"Do you ever shut up?"

"What's your issue, Bakugou?"

"Maybe you're my issue!"

"What does that even mean?" You spread your arms exasperatedly. Bakugou took two steps toward you.

"It means what I want it to mean," he growled.

"Care to share?"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

Bakugou grabbed your waist and pulled you close, forcefully joining his lips with yours. Your hands found their way onto the sides of his head as he gripped one hand on your torso and the other in your hair. The kiss was furious, passionate, and longing all rolled into one.

It eventually slowed down as soon as it started, your previously knitted brows relaxing as you two found a rhythm in the madness. He smelled of singed wood and something sweet underneath. Exactly what you expected.

Breaking away with a gasp, you let your hands slide down his neck and rest on his shoulders. You searched his eyes for anything negative: regret, disgust, anger. Instead, you found a firm softness looking back into your own.

"Hey," you whispered, unable to raise your voice any louder. He smirked at your speechlessness.

"Hey," he replied smoothly, wrapping both arms around your waist. You smiled, playing with the locks of hair at the back of his neck.

"I'd like more where that came from," you quirked an eyebrow at him playfully. Bakugou just rolled his eyes and took your hand from his neck begrudgingly, pulling you toward the dorm entrance.

"Get your calculations right, and maybe we can negotiate."

••••

Midoriya

soft boy soft boy soft boy soft boy

We all know that if Midoriya finds someone he likes, this boy PINES

Pines like a mfing evergreen forest man

Anyway, you and Midoriya had always known each other in middle school and now in UA

You both ended up in the hero course, but you transferred in after the first year because of some quirk development

Midoriya with his own developing quirk felt sympathy for you trying to keep control over something so new for you

He naturally gravitated toward you, kind of self-appointing himself as your mentor as you went through the different changes and trained with your new abilities

He grew to really like your humor and openness to the situation and how your spirit never died even when you were struggling

And you admired his willingness to help you! He was so kind and you'd never really had anyone be nice to you with no ulterior motives before

It wasn't long, or surprising, when you two started to develop feelings for each other

One day while you were training your quirk, Midoriya thought he'd stop by to spar and test your skills

One thing led to another and....well....

You dodged Midoriya's leg with expertise and landed squarely on the ground. Jetting off to the left, you aimed for a side sneak attack to catch him off-guard. You activated your quirk for a boost, one of the new developed abilities, and swept his legs from under him in a flash. Midorya was sent to the matted ground with an oof, landing on his back. You stood over him proudly, holding out a hand for him to take.

"That's a new one," Midoriya commented, hoisting himself up. "What do you call it?"

"I don't have a name for it yet," you rubbed the back of your neck as he walked to his bag on the bench. "Probably just...sneak attack kick? I dunno, it's not much of a sneak attack if you see it in broad daylight."

Midoriya laughed at that and lifted a notebook from his bag, clicking a pen and writing in it messily. You stretched your arm over your head and attempted to peek around his shoulder to see what he was writing.

"Whatcha doin'?" You asked curiously. Midoriya quickly closed the notebook and turned around, an embarrassed look on his face.

"N-nothing!" He said. You grinned evilly and put your hands on your hips. Midoriya gulped.

"You got a super secret notebook for super secret thoughts?" You joked, pointing a finger in his chest. He nervously shook his head quickly, tightening his hold on the notebook.

"No way! I was just- uh, just making a note, that's all!" He tried to cover up, but you could see through his facade. Shaking your head, you gave him a pitying look.

"After I just showed you how quick I can be, you really think you can keep your little notebook a secret?" You held the notebook up in your hand, causing Midoriya to do a double-take. He lifted his hands from behind his back to see that you put one of your own empty notebooks in his hands, fooling him into not noticing your switch. You wiggled the notebook cheekily.

"Give that back!" He squeaked out, reaching for the book. You held it up and away from his reach just barely, pushing him away with one of your hands.

"If you want the notebook, you're gonna have to catch me!" You laughed, sprinting off to the other side of the room. Midoriya chased you, using his quirk to make his reflexes faster. Fortunately for you, you knew his tricks. Anything he thought of to try to get the book back, you already figured he would do.

"[Y/N], don't make me ask again," Midoriya reasoned, holding up his hands. You shook your head again, grinning.

"I don't think you even asked a first time!"

"[Y/N], please."

"Why don't I just take a little look-see here..."

"No!"

Midoriya launched at you, but you twisted your body at the last moment to catch him with your legs. He fell to the ground with you pinning him and sitting on top, still holding the notebook. He was dazed from the landing as you began to flip through the pages tauntingly.

"Let's see..." You began, not noticing the terrified look on Midoriya's face. "Stat records, costume ideas...Ah! Hero notes!"

"[Y/N]-" Midoriya groaned but you hushed him.

"You've taken notes on almost all the heroes you've encountered. Impressive!" You nodded. Midoriya covered his reddening face with his hands, admitting defeat. You remained perched above him, straddling his torso.

"I'll pay you fifteen dollars to let this whole thing go," Midoriya reasoned. You just ignored him, scanning through the entries until you found one on yourself.

"Wow, my first fan!" You laughed, looking over the page. "Such detailed notes, too. You've got my special attacks, my defense moves, my favorite color-"

That made you stop. You instantly shut up, staring at the entries that Midoriya had made on you. Looking over the list, and it was long, you saw that his notes stretched far past just what made you a hero.

He had noted your favorite color, what you liked to eat, your favorite animal. He had your likes and dislikes neatly scrawled on the pages, front and back filled with different tidbits about yourself that he had picked up. You looked past the notebook and down at the embarrassed boy.

"I don't know if I find this flattering or creepy," you admitted. Midoriya quickly removed his hands from his face urgently.

"It-it's not like that, I swear!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "I'm not weird, I promise. I just...thought you were noteworthy, that's all."

You felt something blossom in your chest as your own cheeks went red. Clearing your throat, you glanced back at the notes he had taken on you, no doubt things you had told him or ranted about in the past. He really thought you were noteworthy?

Further down the list were things that were less surface-level and more of his own opinions: your personality, the sound of your laugh, how your eyes looked when you were excited. You couldn't help but smile at the effort.

"I'm sorry if it's weird, I just-"

"I think it's really sweet," you interrupted him, laying the notebook on the ground. His chest warmed at the sight of your sincere smile, you looking down at him like that.

"Y-You do?"

"Yeah! No one's ever really paid that much notice to me," you admitted sheepishly. Midoriya's eyes softened at your comment.

"I don't see why they wouldn't," he said impulsively. "You're amazing. I couldn't help but notice you."

You smiled stupidly down at the boy who had shown you so much kindness these past few months. He had shown that he cared about you in so many ways, all of them small and unique to who he was. You felt so incredibly lucky to have found someone like him.

"I know we just sparred," Midoriya blurted out, "and I know we're kinda sweaty, but you look really cute right now, and I don't really have much else to hide so I guess it couldn't hurt to maybe just-"

"Yes, you can kiss me," you finished for him. Midoriya sucked in a breath, smiling thankfully, before pulling you down to meet him halfway.

Your hands rested on the mat on either side of his head as he pulled you down by your shirt, gently moving his lips against yours. The kiss was soft and sweet, just like the way he treated you daily. You couldn't help but smile into it, allowing yourself to get lost in the moment that you'd dreamed of for weeks.

Breaking apart, neither of you had much to say as your faces were both incredibly red and Midoriya could barely process how his dreams had come true just like that. You leaned down to give him one last parting kiss before attempting to get up from the floor.

"I didn't say I was done," he muttered, pulling you down again and smiling before going in for another kiss.

~~~~~~

AHDKFISHWNEKDDJ these all ruined me completely goodbye i am deceased from the adorableness

requests are welcome! :)

[drwcn]

CQL!AU: Everyone is an orphan except Wei Wuxian, and the Twin Jades are dark practitioners. Needless to say, that changes things. (canon what canon) 

Master Post

~

[1-3]

[1] Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan were the ones who died early. Wei Changze returned to Lotus Pier to become the guardian and regent of his best friend’s son and heir. 

Lotus Pier was black and white. Lifeless. 

That was the first thought that crossed Cangse Sanren’s mind when she and Wei Changze docked at the port, swords in hand, and their little son in toll. 

The people mourned. Posts were temporarily closed, the market suspended. Windows and doors of their bustling riverside town were firmly shut, with white and black drapes hanging from its sills and fluttering in the wind. 

Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan were dead. Two young cultivators, parents, taken from this world too young, gone before their time. 

“A-Ying, come child,” Cangse extended a hand to the boy who glanced around at the unfamiliar place with timid curiosity. 

“A-niang, what’s going on?” 

“No questions. You must behave yourself today.” Cangse brought her son closer to her, watching her husband’s usually smiling, gentle face pull taut into a mask that betrayed none of the grief he felt underneath. He held himself taller today, shoulders pulled back, spine rod-straight and jaws clenched. She’d forgotten, after all these wonderful years of travelling the world with their family, that this place was once his home. 

“Er’shixiong,” a man greeted them at the pier, flanked by a party of younger Jiang disciples, all appropriately garbed with white sashes around their waist. “Cangse-daozhang.” 

They had spoken in depth about returning. Cangse knew there was nothing she could do to stop him; Changze’s devotion to Jiang Fengmian ran deeper than she understood. It was never herself that Yu Ziyuan should’ve resented; though however misplaced Madam Yu’s jealousy had been, it was a moot point now.  

Chang’ge, I will not ask you to choose between your love for him and your promise to me. If Lotus Pier is where you wish to go, I will go with you. I cannot promise however that I will always stay. That — is not my nature. 

Thank you, Wumei*. I understand. 

They found Jiang Wanyin, the little lord, and his sister Jiang Yanli, in their mourning robes, kneeling and crying before their parents’ funeral altar.  

Wei Changze sunk to his knees beside them, and folded his body until his forehead hit the ground. “Shixiong,” he spoke to the spirits. “I’ve come back.” 

“Who are you?!” The boy Jiang Cheng, five-years-old and hurting, blurted out rudely through his tears. His sister held him from behind and gave a trembling nod of deference to the older man. 

“Wei-shishu.”  

Beside her, clinging to her skirt, Wei Ying looked up and asked quietly, “A-niang, are we going to stay?” 

Cangse Sanren, the favoured fifth pupil of Baoshan Sanren herself, smiled down quietly at her only child and smoothed back his hair. “Yes, A-Ying we will. Lotus Pier is home now.” 

(JC 5 yro; WWX 5 yro; JYL 8 yro)

[2] When Qingheng-jun’s respected mentor died - murdered - he made a very different choice. He turned his back on his clan and his responsibilities, and escaped into the wild with the woman he loved. They were just an ordinary family, living away from the chaos in a paradise of their own. But even Eden eventually falls, and nothing gold ever stays... 

Take A-Huan and A-Zhan and go! Do not stop until you are safe. Do not turn around. Do not come back. 

Shijie! You’re injured! Let me help you - 

Zhao Ming! Zhao Zhuliu, you listen to me: their names, Lan Xichen for the older, and Lan Wangji for the younger. It’s what their father and I wanted for them. 

Shijie - jiejie - 

Now go! Go! 

A-Niang, come with us! A-Niang, don’t go!! A-Niang!!! 

The forest burned like the autumn sun at dusk descending from the sky, red and golden and glorious. A single figure stood amongst the flames, corpses littered at her feet. Bichen fell from her grip, barely making a sound as it landed against dampened earth, soaked with Lan blood.  Those who fought her were dead, but she feared that she did not have long either.

“Rong-gege,” Qiu Baiti collapsed onto her hands and dragged her body towards the man who lay still amongst the carnage, arrows piercing his front, his sword Shuoyue still clutched tight in his left hand. 

Lifeless eyes remained open, as though he could not rest. 

“Rong-gege,” Baiti called helplessly, crawling to him and laying her head down against his chest. There used to be a heartbeat there, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost hear it again. “Wait, don’t go without me...” 

She was so tired and bled from so many places. It was not until a sharp cry and a familiar face descended from the sky that Qiu Baiti realized the inferno which surrounded her was not yet hell. 

"Qiu-jiejie!" Cangse rushed forth, almost tripping over the corpse of a dead Lan disciple in her haste. “Lan-da’ge, he -” A horrified gasp drowned the rest of her words. 

“Cangse...you’re here...” 

Cangse gathered her bosom sister into her arms and immediately drew upon a torrent of spiritual energy from her core, channeling them into her fingertips to heal her friend. She could tell that whatever combat Qiu Baiti had been through, it had already taken the little life inside her, and now hers was following it to the other side.   

“Hold on, I can save you - hold on -”

“Cangse - Cang - stop, it’s too late.” Qiu Baiti lay limp there.  

Death, it drew near, but she was ready. She closed her eyes as a slip of tear escaped beneath her lashes. "I did this to him, to all of them... if I hadn't...it’s all my fault. I was the one they wanted; he was just trying to protect me. A-Huan, A-Zhan...."

Trembling and in near hysterics, Cangse sobbed, “No, don’t say that! Where are the boys?” 

“Safe. A-Ming has them...you mustn’t tell anyone. Not anyone, promise me. Not even Lan Qiren. Especially Lan Qiren... Rong-gege trusts his brother, but I - I - promise me - promise -” Qiu Baiti gasped for breath, gurgling blood in her throat with each laboured attempt. 

“Qiu-jiejie, please - don’t - I - I promise.” 

“Good...Cangse...” Qiu Baiti clutched her hand and smiled, a crimson wound cutting across her pale, beautiful face. “Good.” 

And then she died, with the red of the forest flames still in her eyes. 

Cangse held her friend - dear, damned, dead - and allowed a scream to tear through herself. From the depth of her grief, she released a pulse of unrestrained spiritual energy that rippled through the dense woods as though the storm of her anguish could not be contained. And like a measly candle-light assaulted by the winter wind, the forest fire was extinguished in an instant. 

The sun was gone, and the night was dark.  All was quiet, but there was no peace to be found. 

 Cangse buried Lan Cenrong and Qiu Baiti in two unmarked graves side by side beneath a tall oak tree. She sifted through the bodies and the grime and collected the spiritual weapons they left behind — Shuoyue, Bichen, Liebing (cracked in two places) and the strings of Qiu Baiti’s shattered guqin — and stored them away in her qiankun pouch. She hoped one day that she would find Zhao Zhuliu and the sons Lan Cenrong and Qiu Baiti had left behind, and return these items to their rightful owners. 

It was not until three years later, not too far from her shifu Baoshan’s sacred temple nestled in the snowy mountain peak, where Jiang Yanli had been brought to strengthen her health and train as Cangse’s direct disciple, that Cangse perchance came across Zhao Ming again. 

He was accompanied by two youngsters, two beautiful jade-like children who called him jiufu. Cangse was not surprised in the least to find that both of them have learned the technique for which their mother and jiujiu were hunted: the core-melting hand. 

(LXC 9, LWJ 6 -> LXC 12, LWJ 9 ) 

[3] They called her “The Little Queen”. Wen Qing never wanted to be Sect Master, or Deputy Sect Master, or Regent Sect Master. She just wanted to live quietly with A-Ning and Wen-popo and study the art of healing that her parents practiced. But alas, life had other plans. 

Wen Qing was a month short of her tenth birthday when her life changed forever. 

Wen Ruohan, her father’s older cousin, who’d always been close with her family, had come to visit Dafan. Wen-bobo didn’t have siblings, and her father Wen Ruotian was as close as a brother to him, more than any other Wen descendent of their time. 

Wen Qing liked Wen Ruohan well. He was doting and found her intelligent. Her parents chose the simple village life, but they often spent New Years and holy days at Nevernight at Sect Master Wen’s behest and invitation.  

When Wen Ruohan came to Dafan and told her folks that there was a piece of the Yin Iron inside the Stone Fairy, her father had been eager to help, though weary he was of those powers he could not understand. 

He’d been right to be afraid. 

The extraction had gone horribly wrong, and the rebound of dark energy had eviscerated all those near by, her mother, her father, and Wen Ruohan himself. It was by the skin of her teeth that Wen Qing managed to yank her baby brother Wen Ning out of the way. Then, without thinking, she caught the vile, wretched thing as it sailed through the air. It landed in the palm of her hands, and there she stood, regarded with fear and bewonderment from all those in witness as the cursed item, which burned the life out of cultivators much older and seasoned than her, quieted in her small hands. 

The Elders said she had...a nature affinity. For what, they could not say. 

Wen Qing was brought back to Nevernight and given the name Yuefan: to exceed mortality. Within days, the heavy crown of Sect Master of Qishan Wen was placed on her head. 

It was then that she learned that her Wen-bobo, with no inclination to marry and bind himself to another, did not leave behind a legitimate heir. His young sons, 4-year old Wen Xu and 2 year-old Wen Chao were born to him by women of ill repute.  They were kind, good boys, but they were infantile and illegitimate. Wen Qing felt for them, but she could not change their fate. So for the time being, she accepted what she had to. 

The adults did what they could for her, but there was no one in the cold, vast palace of Nevernight to mind her or nurture her. She stood alone upon the towers where the eternal flames, fuelled by Qishan Wen’s combined spiritual energy, burned in their iron brazier, and watched over the lush volcanic mountain range that was hers to govern and protect. Those beneath her - servants, disciples - feared her and her unknown powers. Those advising her - Elders, mentors - had their own agendas. In any case, they stopped seeing her as a child the minute she held the Yin Iron in her hands and lived to tell the tale. 

It was a secret, they told her. She must guard it well. 

The Chief Cultivator Jin Guangshan sent his ambassadors to congratulate her succession. Gusu’s Lan Qiren and Qinghe’s Nie Heqiu both arrived consecutively to pay their respects to their ten-year-old colleague and fellow Sect Master. 

There was a momentary rumble amongst the Wen Elders about whether Nie Heqiu’s older son Nie Mingjue would be a good match for her someday, but as he too was set to inherit, the idea was put aside as quickly as it was brought up. 

Then came Yunmeng’s regent Wei Changze, bringing along an entourage of Jiang disciples and a boy one year her junior, the son he conceived with the revered Cangse Sanren. 

Wei Wuxian. 

Wen Qing liked him enough. He was spontaneous, agreeable, and clever, and he found her aloofness fun to provoke. They would’ve both been satisfied with the arrangement had she not met Yunmeng Jiang’s young Jiang-zongzhu some years later, and had he not crossed paths with the vengeful and infamous Lan Wangji. 

But life, as the gods have planned it, must have its mysteries. 

(WQ 10, WWX 9) 

TBH?  

Note: 

Wumei - fifth sister, Wei Changze’s nickname for Cangse. 

Details of Cangse and Wei Changze’s name as well as Qingheng-jun and Madam Lan’s name can be found here .

jiufu 舅父 - maternal uncle, formal.  

[mello-jello]

CAN I REQURST LRBI SYAIGN I LOBE YOU TO HANEG FOR THE FIRDY ITME?? 🌻🌻🤲🤲💨

ILOBEYOUSOMIHXTHATIAMVEINGSOFTFORYOU,PLEASEANYHTIGNYOUWRITEORDRAWAREABSOLTELYAMAZING,HABEANICEDSYBRO

I LOBE YUO MOON BRO 🌻

Okay… Okay, it’s okay. It’s just Levi, there’s no need to be afraid.

Hange’s parents were out for the night and they had given her permission to have Levi over for the first time, unsupervised. They would be completely alone. Hange wanted to finally tell him. She wanted to tell him that she’d slowly come to realize she saw him as more than a friend. More than a best friend.

But she had to admit to herself that she was nervous as hell.

The school year had come to an end and next year would be their last in highschool. So much was going to change. They would each be deciding their futures: where to go to college and what for. There was a nervous thought in the back of Hange’s mind, that grew more incessant as time went on. “What if we never see each other again?”

No, stop it!

She internally squashed the intrusive thoughts in her mind.

We’ve gone over this! Levi has been there since before I can remember.

She had looked at it from every angle, analysed every little detail. There’s no way Levi didn’t love her back. The evidence was plain as day. Hange was allowed to break Levi’s rules. She was allowed to touch him, she was allowed to share his food, she was allowed to push his buttons farther than anyone else. And on top of all that, Levi still chooses to hang out with her. If he was just being polite when she was around, he wouldn’t actively seek her out in the cafeteria. He wouldn’t have asked to be lab partners, and he wouldn’t have accepted her invitation for tonight.

He also wouldn’t have kissed her the other day.

Right, that’s right. We’ve already come to that conclusion, no need to second guess ourselves now.

Who’s “we”?

Never mind that now, we’re on a mission.

“We” again, huh?

Oh I get it, this boy is literally driving me crazy!

Us.

Stop it!

Hange checked herself in the mirror for the hundredth time that evening. She never cared before, but somehow she did tonight. She wanted everything to be perfect and go exactly according to plan. Levi would come in, they’d chat a bit, sit on the couch and maybe watch Netflix. Hange would make sure to brush up against Levi’s arm. Then, Hange would turn to him, sweep his hair out of his eyes and look into them as she said it. She was going to say I love you and demand a response.

Oh yes, she thought to herself. She would be cool and confident and this was going to be romantic as shit.

She heard a familiar knock on the door. She took one more deep breath and nodded to her reflection. Okay.

She opened the door to see Levi standing with his backpack casually slung on one shoulder.

“Hey Levi!” She exclaimed a little too excitedly than she would have liked.

“Hey,” he said, nonchalantly crossing the threshold of her apartment.

Hange’s smile was replaced with a scowl. UGH.

Levi kicked his shoes off and neatly placed them on the mat. “Well, shall we?” he gestured to the living room.

“Right! Come on in,” Hange led the way as if Levi hadn’t been to her place hundreds of times. She sat down on the couch, expecting Levi to take the spot beside her. But Levi opted instead to take the chair at the end of the coffee table. Hange’s mind was reeling.

OH MY FUCK-WHY IS HE LIKE THIS?

WHY CAN’T THIS BE EASY?

Levi, you dense fuck, I love you so much

SO TELL HIM

I will!

Levi placed this backpack between his legs and unzipped. He pulled out a small square container and placed it on the table.

“My mom made us brownies,” he stated plainly, opening the lid for Hange to see. They were cut into little heart shapes.

Hange gasped at the aroma: they were fresh. “Mmmm, thank you Kuchel!”

Levi paused for a moment, as if deep in thought. Hange stared back, not knowing what to do.

“I’ll uh… get us some plates,” Levi stood up and made his way to the kitchen. Once he was out of sight, Hange slumped back onto the couch. She was such a bad host.

It’s okay, he just knows where everything is, this is fine. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Hange rubbed her palms on her knees, suddenly aware of how warm she was. She swallowed hard.

Get it together!

I’m trying!

Levi returned with two small plates and two tall glasses of milk. He silently placed them in front of Hange, and much to her delight, he sat on the couch beside her.

Oh thank goodness!

The plan was back on track. Hange did her best to hide her smile. They watched a random show together, and each time Hange leaned forward to grab a snack, she made sure she leaned back ever so slightly closer and closer to Levi. He didn’t seem to mind. The episode was coming to a close and now was the perfect time.

Oh shit, my hand is sticky. No! How am I supposed to sweep his hair back now?

Maybe he won’t notice?

This is Levi, we’re talking about, of course he’ll notice!

Shit, you’re right.

“Hey, Hange-”

“I’ll be right back!”

They spoke at the same time, Hange launching upwards and out of the room. She went to the kitchen to wash her hands. The cool water helped her feel less clammy. She poured herself a glass of ice cold water and chugged the whole thing. Resting her arms on the counter, she took a few more deep breaths to collect herself. She refilled her glass and poured a second one to bring to Levi.

When she returned to the living room, Levi was gone. Her heart sank.

Oh no, we weirded him out!

Calm down, his stuff is still here, he’s just in the bathroom.

Oh yeah!

She sat back down and waited for Levi before resuming the show. She sat in complete silence, just trying to stop sweating.

He returned and to Hange’s absolute horror, he sat on the very end of the couch, much further than before. Great, all that progress during the last episode, wasted. Clearing her throat, she reached for the remote.

“Hange, can we talk?” Levi’s voice sounded small and uncharacteristically nervous.

“Uh, sure absolutely,” she answered, putting the remote back down and turning to face him, giving her undivided attention. The look on his face twisted her guts. He looked pensive, apprehensive, and like he was about to tell her he didn’t feel the same way.

“Listen, I was talking to my mom about love, and we got talking about different types of love; familial, romantic, platonic, etc and while there are different types, there is certainly a spectrum…”

Hange starred, unblinking and completely bewildered. Levi had never said this many words in one breath before. He was looking everywhere but at Hange. She stopped listening to his words and just started sinking in her own thoughts of doubt.

This was so stupid.

She braced herself for rejection. Levi was rambling on way too long. She guessed he didn’t want to lose their friendship either, but there would be no going back after this.

“... and so after that, I realized...” he looked directly at her now, pulling her back from her reverie. He took one shuddering breath. “... I love you, Hange. I always have.”

Oh. OH!

Her jaw fell open as she processed his words. She was caught up between the disappointment of not getting to say it first, and the relief of knowing he felt the same. What does she do now? Kiss him? Make a joke? She should definitely do something, right? He was getting worried because Hange hasn’t moved.

Tell him you love him back, you idiot!

She blinked and remembered how to breathe. “I love you too!” She blurted out.

Levi’s face washed over with relief and he let out a nervous laugh-something Hange hadn’t seen on him before. She also laughed as the tension in the room dissipated.

Levi’s face turned a bright pink and he looked up to the ceiling. “Why was this so hard?” He asked nobody in particular.

Hange crawled across the couch, closing the gap between them. She sheepishly admitted, “I’ve been freaking out all day!”

“Same here!” Levi reached out, and cupped Hange’s face in his hands. He stroked her cheek with his thumb as he searched her eyes. “Although, I have no idea why,” he murmured before pressing his lips on hers.

It was the best kiss of Hange’s life. All the stress, anxiety, and doubt melted away with it. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered at the moment. His lips on hers, pressing deeper and more passionately than she’d ever experienced before, awoke a strange feeling from within. It was warm and welcoming and she never wanted it to go away.

Alas, they were both humans that needed oxygen, and so they broke off their kiss for a moment to breathe.

“I love you, Levi,” she repeated, a little more confidently this time.

“I love you, too,” he whispered, before kissing her again.

[softkuna]

Yuuji Itadori || Training

Content   ║ Yuuji Itadori x Reader. You and Yuuji train quite often and like to make a competition out of it. However, his quick learning and your insecurities get the best of you.

Count      ║ 1,514 words.

Consider ║ Fluff. Fighting. Probably grammatical errors. 

Creator    ║ Aight! First little drabble up. Hope you guys like it! It’s not nsfw but I was feeling fluffy and Yuuji is a literal sunshine child. Also, whenever I write for the students, I automatically have it be that Jujutsu Tech is a college rather than a high school and everyone is over the age of 18. 

“Sir, we’re surrounded!”

  “That just means we can attack in all directions!”

  A smug smirk tugged the corners of your lips, “I mean… you’re not wrong, Yuu.” The boy gave an overly enthusiastic thumbs up, pearly white on full display. Training with him was always a delight.

  You were back to back, crouched in a way that your back right foot was slipped between his wide stance. You made a few enemies from ink, letting them drench the field’s grass in black gel. Five human-sized creatures were your limit after training for what seemed like years. No one needed to know they were the shapes that haunted you at night, paralyzed with fear as they came from all corners of you bedroom. That fear is what strengthened them. You channeled it into them, strengthening the cursed energy behind the specialized ink.

  Right now, they were just npcs in a videogame to the two of you, “These ones are 3 points, right?” Yuuji looked over his shoulder at you and you nodded. Training with him was always a game. Human-sized blobs were three points. Child-sized ones were two. Rabbit-sized ones were one. Anything larger went up by every two feet of height. So far, he somehow managed to kick your ass every time. Today would be the day you showed him up. Maki had shown you a few decent moves and like hell you’d let him trample over your personal best with this up your sleeve!

  With a springboard hop forward, he drew back a fist, “I’m gonna kick you’re ass!”

  “Oh like hell-“ You bent back at the knees, left hand keeping your back from fully colliding into the ground. An ink blob came right for your neck, swiping dangerously had you not ducked, “OI, play fair!” Both palms planted into the blades of grass, balancing you as your legs vaulted upwards. The tip of your tattered sneaker connected crisply with its lower ‘jaw’. The shoe had swept through the inken mandible, triggering the creation to melt to the earth. As the handspring flowed through, you recollected yourself on both feet only to propel forward at the next targets.

  Alas, there were only two by the time you had gotten through your first. Yuuji was always fast. Faster than a goddamn car, too. Exceptional physical prowess was presented with each corded muscle before he had even eaten the first few fingers. Rumors from his high school years didn’t fail him once, not even here amongst elite Shamans. It was something you always admired and envied about him. Your own form had been delicate, feminine, and rather weak. Some rumored it to be a heavenly restriction in exchange for your expert control over your Ink Children. You refused to believe that, however. Like hell you’d allow yourself to be restricted like that.

  A pout found its way onto your lips as you ducked another straight punch from the last standing enemy. As you swung your punch, a fist made its way to you first, kissing the space between it and your nose. With barely enough time to dodge, you managed to slip to the side, arm hooking into the one that had aimed for your face. Ink exploded onto your clothes and face. Some splattered into your open mouth, triggering a coughing fit. Your shoulder ripped backward as you were practically hauled into a spin with the aggressor’s arm still linked with yours at the elbows. One of you lost stable footing. Your heart squeezed at the impact of dense earth hitting spine, followed by Yuuji landing directly onto your chest with a resounding, “WOAH!” He popped up, forearms caging you in at either side of your head, mouth sputtering apologies, “Didn’t even see you behind that thing! Are you okay?”

  Your eyes blazed against his with explosive fury. Words ripped from your throat before thought could come before it, “Yuuji, what the fuck was that?!”

  “I wanted to get the last point!” The goof-ball grin sloppily made its way to his cheeks. The world still spun around him as it always did with you. It wasn’t until you spoke again that the grin slipped down, dragging away any semblance of pride with it.

“You were already nine points ahead!” A pout made accompanied averting eyes. Chin nudged to the side to emphasize the massacre of ink littering against the ground, “You couldn’t have saved me the last one?! C’mon man.” You knew it was irrational to cut into him for something so silly. It was just training. He knew how much this meant to you, though,  how hard you had to work to even take the impact just now.

 Yuuji’s mouth opened the slightest, guilt trickling into his chest like a steady faucet. Whoops. You had always been competitive. Much more competitive than Nobara, even, and temper to match it, too. A large hand came to rustle the back of his hair, moving to scratched his temple, “Sorry. I got caught up in it. And…” Rose crept up subtly to his cheeks and ears to match his rose colored locks, “I wanted to impress you.”

 Your head snapped back into place, locking hues with his honey-browns, “Wha-“

  “You always make such strong opponents to fight against! I wasn’t even able to hit one last week!” His brows lowered slightly, lips jutting in their own embarrassed pucker, “Just wanna show you I’m strong too. How else am I supposed to protect you?” The sentence trailed out in a grumble, gaze meandering to the space next to your cheek rather than maintaining the kerosene-lit gaze of yours.

  A warmth crept up your own cheeks, lips slightly parted in surprise. Really, you shouldn’t be shocked by this. He was always considerate of your safety. The sheer concept that it displayed during something as inconsequential as training was the bolded punctuation mark to his statement. You hated to admit it but, it made your heart flutter in its boned cage.

  He wasn’t your stereotypical muscle head (despite that being your first impression of him.) He didn’t look down on you like the men in your family did for being physically weak. In fact, Yuuji looked up to you. He acknowledged your strengths and hard work. For the hours of grueling training to even be able to move the way you did, the boy made it a point to come out and watch you. Yuuji saw how you overcame challenge after challenge. It dowsed gasoline on the fire lit under his ass. Even when it seemed like he was selfishly destroying your own target, he simply was trying to meet your bar of approval. He admired your strength, your graceful movement, your technique, and most importantly he admired you.

  “Yuuji,” You began, voice softening from its resin casing, “You don’t need to protect me. I just…” Your hands moved from their crossed position to your cheeks. Eyes fluttered shut briefly before opening again, “I just want to be stronger physically is all. I don’t want to feel like you have to protect me every time we go on a mission because of these noodle arms,” To drive the point home, you wiggled your arms beside his head before lazily resting them at his shoulders, “How the hell’s that fair, huh? Can’t a girl protect herself, Mr. Knight-in-Hooded-Armor?” You playfully stretched his cheeks, tugging the goober’s mouth this way and that, “’sides, you beat my ink kids way too quickly this time! I gotta step up my game.”

  A sunshine laugh beamed from the boy above you. His hand swatted yours away, “Alright, alright! It’s almost like I like you or somethin’!” He dipped down, nuzzling your noses together. The way his lashes dipped as his lips connected with yours was transfixing. Why did boys always have the prettiest eyelashes? Why did they have the softest lips? You leaned into him, hands clasping behind his neck and locking him in place. A content hum harmonized between the two.

  It was a moment you wished to last forever. The warmth of his sprite-flavored Chapstick slid against your teeth-bitten lips. One calloused hand cradled the side of your neck, thumb stroking the pink lingering on your cheekbone. He was so delicate and careful with you, yet somehow so sure in each touch and movement that it left you breathless every time. No matter how strong you were, he had an ability to make you weak for him every. Single. Time.

Bonus:

  The thonk of a used paper towel roll whacking a cardboard box broke the sweet moment apart. Yuuji shoved his face into your neck with a puppy-like yelp before ripping up like an angered Pomeranian, “WHAT WAS THAT FOR, NOBARA?!”

  “Maybe if you weren’t sucking face on the training field-!” The two growled at one another. The only thing tearing away their standoff was your shrill cackle. In comedic synchronicity, the two shouted, “What?!”

  “D-did you hear the sound h-h-,” Words barely escaped your lips, chest heaving with each labored cry-laugh, “His head made! Yuuji! Oh my god you’re a basketball!”

[stellar-imagines]

HEADCANONS REQUEST: ❝just anemic.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Aizawa Shouta ] 

「Headcanons of Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki and Aizawa with fem S/O who’s exhausted, dizzy and cold most of the time and ends up fainting during a training session. Who ends up being brought to the nurse only to discover that she’s anemic. 」

MIDORIYA IZUKU

♤ The guy is super worried for you and always asks you if you need anything. When Midoriya sees that you're feeling unwell, he does everything he can to prevent the worst from happening. This cute little bean is always by your side to help you with anything and when you're cold, he's handing you his blaser andHe doesn't really pick up everything from the get go but all he knows is that you were exhausted which was probably due to lack of sleep. Midoriya might seem very annoying, clingy and repetitive but he means well okay?

♤ He seems to be hesitant with training. You have been working hard with your quirk and wanted to test out a new move. Midoriya wouldn't say no when you're looking so eager to try out this new move of yours. The green haired boy tries to convince you to just try another day when you're feeling much better but alas you were quite persistent and he gave in. He eventually comes along with you to the gym for some training. With him around, at the very least, he can watch over you.

♤ When you actually end up passing out after the training session, he's panicking and carrying you to Recovery Girl's office for treatment. When Recovery Girl revealed that you were anemic which was the reason why you've been tired, dizzy and cold most of the time. Midoriya is asking a whole ton of questions about what he can do to help you. Once you were okay to leave, this guy doesn't let his guard down and takes responsibility over your well-being.

♤ This guy is at your beck and call. He sees you shivering a bit, he's already bringing a blanket or jacket for you. When you mention about wanting to eat something, Midoriya is going to get it for you. He's super worried for you so let him babysit you for a few days until he's convinced that you've recovered. He pays more close attention to your health from that day onwards and muttering about the benefits of certain fruits or food.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

☆ Bakugou pretends not to care that you're feeling under the weather at all. But in reality, he's very concerned. The guy sees you tired while you're sparring, he goes a bit easy on you. When he sees you starting to fall asleep in class, he's taking notes for you even though he blames you for not getting enough rest and having a fucked up sleeping schedule. He starts noticing that you get a bit cold easily and he will complain about how careless you are while throwing his jacket/blazer at your face.

☆ We all know that this guy is a softie for you and always thinks that he's doing a good damn job at taking care of you, even though he was quite aggressive with it. Bakugou decides to take it upon himself to start watching over you. But of course, you ended up dragging him into sparring with you. At first, he was against it but when you pulled out the right cards — saying that he's a coward and doesn't think that he could win against you — he agreed faster than you anticipated.

☆ Oh boy, when you ended up passing out, he's already blaming himself for getting riled up and forgetting his responsibilities. Bakugou is bringing you to the nurse to get you checked. This guy stays by your side the entire time until you regain consciousness. Everything the nurse advises you not to do, he's taking mental notes of all that for you.You were told to rest for a few days to recover you strength. When he catches you training a bit, he's scolding you like mother would and forces you to rest.

☆ Even after you recover from your condition, he's still very serious about ensuring that you're healthy at all times. Bakugou is making sure that you have a healthy diet, exercise often and get enough rest every day. During training, he works you to the bone but makes sure that you have a lot of time to rest. He tends to scold you when you skip meals, consume a little bit too much junk food. This guy even goes as far as to cook for you and honestly, you're not complaining.

TODOROKI SHOUTO

♡ Todoroki is kind of dense but he notices you being exhausted and cold most of the time. This guy doesn't think too much of it and is more gentlemanly about this whole thing. When he sees you shivering a bit, he's offering you his blazer/jacket and sits next to you to warm you up. If you're tired, he tells you that you can rest or take a break. This guy just thinks tat you need a bit of rest. He doesn't know what he's supposed to do when you're feeling a little sick.

♡ When you both were training, he was a bit hesitant on letting you continue because you looked ready to give in. Todoroki suggested taking a break to regain your lost energy for a few moments. But you were quite stubborn and insisted that you were fine and that there was nothing wrong with you at all. One side of him is telling him to be more assertive and forceful for your sake. But the other is telling him that it would be rude of him to hold back against you.

♡ He's panicking when you actually pass out during training. Todoroki stands there for a while, like what the hell is he supposed to do, did you die? Are you still alive? Do you need medical assistance? Are you playing dead? It was until someone yells at him to bring you to the nurse for a check up. This guy sits patiently next to you, fidgeting a bit as he awaited for your results and for you to wake up. Todoroki is pretty worried about you and is always by your side when you're supposed to be resting in bed. He brings food for you and don’t expect anything homemade because thus guy can’t cook for shit.

♡ More observant after that incident. The next time he sees you shivering, he's a bit scared and asks if you need to go to the hospital. You know that Todoroki is looking after you but he's just making it a big deal because of that time you passed out. Whenever he sees you sick even though it was only a small sneeze, Todoroki is already bringing blankets and warming you up, asking if you feel like dying or anything. He’s overreacting a bit so just bear with him a bit, this guy is scared that if he ignores you, something might happen.

AIZAWA SHOUTA

♧ Aizawa watches over you like you're the problem child in the class. But you were both adults and he knows that you're capable of handling yourself. He knows that you're not yourself. You're always exhausted, dizzy and cold up to point where you had to bring a jacket with you to keep yourself warm. Sometimes you would ask for cuddles when the two of you are just relaxing and you crave for warmth. This guy doesn't look like the affectionate type but he welcomes cuddling.

♧ He enjoys watching you train and he actually likes getting involved with your training. You were both heroes and you both occasionally train together to improve your skills and get to know your quirk even better. Aizawa noticed the signs that you're feeling a bit under the weather but he never expected for you to pass out.

♧ He's very worried when you pass out because he has been watching over you so much and assumed that you weren't suffering from any illness. When it was revealed that you were anemic, he's super worried and blames himself a bit for not paying more attention to your condition. Aizawa ensures that he know every single little thing about your condition so he can do everything he can to help you.

♧ Somewhat similar to Bakugou, he will be scolding you for not being careful and taking of your health properly. Even so, he will always be by your side when you're resting on bed. He stays in the room together with you and does his own thing while keeping you company as you sleep. He brings you food, medicine and everything you need without you having to ask for it. Aizawa asks Recovery Girl about everything he needs to do for you. This guy has you under strict supervision and makes sure that you are always resting instead of training and tiring yourself out.

Total: 1457 words Published: 19.06.2020

Thank you for requesting! ｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و*｡ OMG, my assignments are killing me. And to top it all off, I have a report, poster and presentation to make for a competition uwu ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting! While Lou is suffering despite her one week break, I’m drowning in my own problems. I hope everyone else is doing better than we are.― author Natsuki

Requests are closed for now! Matchups are closed!

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[kiranogareru]

VIOLENT BEAUTY OF LOVE

Warning: Mention of blood, death, Hanahaki disease and probably cursing, because I curse a lot, may give you the feels

Pairing: Bakugou x reader

A/n: Tried 3rd person view for this, feedback is welcome! Also, I don't know where I'm going with this, so let's take this journey together😅

Katsuki jolted up in his bed, eyes wide and holding a wild look of horror in them!

His throat feeling like it was being ripped apart from the inside, as the burning sensation of brutal scratches from within began to restrict his airflow!

'No, not again..' he thought in realization as he started coughing

He choked and gasped, desperately trying to force some air into his aching lungs! His eyes welling up and unintentionally staining his cheeks with tears

The feeling was unbearable, the agony making him subconsciously reach for his neck with both hands, in a futile attempt to somehow soothe the pain, but alas..there was nothing that could be done

Katsuki kept his condition a secret, not wanting anyone to think he's weak. He's been dealing with this for months all on his own, fighting it day in and day out and the worst part is he doesn't even know what's wrong with him!

At first it wasn't as bad, so Katsuki brushed it off as a stupid cold, but the symptoms kept worsening and no medication seemed to work

As the all-too-familiar metallic taste rose to his mouth, Katsuki knew exactly what would happen

He pushes himself up and off the bed, planning to run to the bathroom, using the last of his strength, but as soon as he stands, his legs give out and he drops to the cold, hard floor of his dorm, knees scraping upon Impact!

Katsuki is now supporting his weight with one arm and gripping at the collar of his shirt with the other,as his coughing fit continues, until his pain spills itself on the tiled surface beneath him

Y/N was so concerned about Bakugou, he had been missing several classes, he seemed disconnected and tired during most of his training sessions these past few weeks

Losing sleep and performing anything less than perfect on the battle field, isn't like him, in fact it is so uncommon that it became an instant tell that something was wrong with the normally, fierce blonde!

Though the weirdest thing ought to be the unusual aura that radiated off of him. He was mostly calm and very quiet!

Y/N is one of the few people that Bakugou has allowed into his life, he trusts her! They're personalities are very similar and that provides Katsuki with a sense of comfort and understanding!

This lead the duo to become close friends, but without realizing friendship turned to love...the one-sided kind to be exact

Y/N had just woken up to multiple messages from Eijirou, saying how Bakugou sounds sick again

Kiri: Do you mind checking on him? If any of us go he'll feel like we're looking down on him for being sick

Fuck, Eijirou was right, Katsuki would mistake the Bakusquad's concern for pity

Y/N found herself at Katsuki's door, worried at the sounds coming from the other side

She was unsure whether she should knock or simply enter and help him, but his shaky breaths and quiet sobs convinced her to do the latter!

She cracks the door open and pushes it gently, slipping into the room

What she's met with, leaves her in shock, her mind unable to form words at the sight in front of her and her gorgeous orbs prickled with building tears!

Right there on the floor, was a barely conscious Katsuki, lying in a pool of flowers, petals and what she could only assume was his own blood!

Never before had she witnessed a thing so mesmerizing, yet so damn cruel! She didn't even know such a combination could be achieved!

It made her angry that this...this violent beauty of love was possible!

Why did such tragedy, such pain have to befall the boy she loves?

Y/N kneels next to Katsuki and cradles his exhausted form, observing her dear friend closely. His vermillion eyes glassy and puffy, tear-streaked cheeks, blood and petals smeared on his lips and chin!

The saddened, soft expression she was wearing, while gently caressing his cheek, made him wish he could dissapear! As much as he loves being in her warm embrace, he despises the fact that she is there!

Bakugou never wanted her to see him like this, so vulnerable and beaten down, so- so fucking weak! He'd rather her think of him as anything, but weak!

He hated that out of all people, she had to be the one to walk in and catch him at his lowest!

His handsome face, was tainted with pain and she fucking hated that! It made her sick to her stomach, to see someone so strong, look so distraught!

Y/N carefully rested Katsuki's head on her lap, brushing some stray, spiky locks of ash blonde hair, out of his face

She couldn't help but wonder how long he's been suffering for and who could possibly be the cause of the heartbreking disease, the one of unreturned feelings, better known as Hanahaki!

How could someone that managed to win Katsuki Bakugou's heart, throw away their chance and deny his love? It just didn't make sense to her!

Some sort of awkward tension was thick in the atmosphere of the room, as silence spread between them, but she couldn't quite pinpoint why..

"Why didn't you say anything dumbass?" She asked, with a halfhearted smile on her lips, using his nickname for her, in an attempt to lighten the mood

"I can handle it on my own, I don't need these extras thinking they can surpass me just because I'm sick" He grumbled, his voice coming out strained

"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that?" Her question was clearly rhetorical, since both of them knew the answer

"So...who is it?" She finally questioned, voicing the thought that was stuck in her head

Katsuki gave her a strange look, one that implied he had no idea what the Hell she was talking about!

"Huh?" Was all that left his lips

"Who are you in love with?" She hesitantly asked

Bakugou quickly sat up, his back now facing her, as he suddenly started coughing once again, his breaths shallow and sharp!

She couldn't bare the scene that was unfolding in front of her very eyes! His body was a trembling mess, while he struggled to breath, flowers coated by his blood spattering from his mouth and hitting the floor, like some type of poetic murder scene!

She desperately wanted to help him, but didn't know how, or what she could possibly do!

As Katsuki started to calm down, Y/N went to get some wipes from his drawer

Both teens sat down, this time on Katsuki's bed. She cupped his face and begun to clean him up

"Whoever the fuck said I'm in love? And what does that even have to do with anything?" His voice was hoarse and his tone cold as he spoke

His words took her by surprise, since she was so shook up that she forgot she had even asked him something!

'Did he not know?' Y/N thought to herself

"I figured- because of..the flowers?" She stuttered out, her statement sounding more like a question if anything

"What about those damn flowers?" He spat in confusion, with a scowl on his face

"Katsuki..." She softly spoke, taking a hand of his in her own, her other resting on his cheek "do you not know why you're sick?"

He felt his chest tighten at the contact, but kept an unfazed facade, as he proceeded to lock eyes with her

"Don't look at me like that!" He suddenly snapped

"Like what?" She asked, perplexed as to what she did wrong

"I can see the fucking pity in your eyes!" He growled "It's just an illness! It's not like I'm fucking dying Y/N!" He angrily yanked her hand off of him and looked away

"Katsu you- you are dying..." Her voice cracked and trailed off, eyes brimming with tears, that were threatening to spill

"You have Hanahaki. Look around you, the plant in your lungs has grown so much, that you're coughing up fully grown-" Her words caught in her throat, as she pointed to the blossoms, picking one up to examine it closer, only to discover that these were her favourite flowers, even the colour was right!

"Hanahaki?" Bakugou looked heartbroken "I thought it wasn't real"

He'd heard stories about it ever since he was little, but never knew anyone who had actually experienced it! But apparently life has a funny way of teaching you things

It all made sense to him now! He already knew he was starting to fall for her, but now he also knew how Y/N felt and this only gave him two options!

He could either, suffer a little more as a lovesick puppy, until he dies, or get a surgery that will remove the problem from it's literal roots and risk losing all memory of the girl he loves and possibly the ability to love again!

As he was deep in thought, Y/N turned to him, flower in hand and with tears streaming from her eyes to match her broken smile

"It's not me..it can't be me" She mumbled out, gaze on the floor as she couldn't bring herself to face him

"Y/N it is you! I'm in love with you!" He confessed, his head resting against hers, those lively ruby orbs of his staring at the flower in her palm, while his hands cupped hers

"Please don't say that.." She sniffled, reaching into her pocket with her free hand and pulling something out "I don't want to be the one who did this to you"

She opened her fist, showing him petals of a flower he didn't recognize "I don't want to be the one who hurt you!"

'How could I have been so dense, so oblivious? Of course she loves someone else' Katsuki felt his heart shatter like a mirror, the pain returning, as he let out a sigh and pulled her into a tight embrace

He tried his hardest not to break down in tears, not to let the flowers suffocate him and allow this moment to be his last memory! Just her in his arms!

"Don't cry Y/N, I'll be alright! This is not your fault! I'll get the surgery and I'll be alright!" He rubbed the small of her back to soothe her

"But what if you forget about me? I don't want to lose you!" She cried

"I would never forget about you!" He told her sternly

"Do you promise?" She asked, like a line from some cheesy love story

"I promise, but only if you go into surgery too! I don't want you to end up in pain" He admitted

"Okay, I'll do it" Even though Bakugou tried to reassure her, she feels guilty and is willing to do this if it means he will be happy

As the days passed and the time for the surgery came around the teens went their separate ways, since their appointments were registered in different hospitals, or at least that's what Bakugou told Y/N

In reality he had simply asked principle Nezu if he could visit his parents that day for personal reasons and stayed with them

Mitsuki gave her son a whole lecture, but after he got fed up, he decided to tell her and Masaru the truth...or part of it anyway

Meanwhile Y/N was in another part of Musutafu, lying on an operating table

Two days later they were back to UA, trying to catch up on assignments. Y/N had no recollection of her prior love interest and Bakugou had no intention of telling her that he never went to the hospital!

"Yaho Katsuuu" She greeted, as he entered the kitchen. It was their turn to clean it today

"Huh?" He tilted his head to the side "Which extra are you again?" He asked playfully

Her shocked expression made him laugh "That's not funny!" She pouted "You scared me!" She said, before smacking him on the head

"It was funny to me dumbass" He said as he proceeded to wipe the table

Y/N was happy that everything seemed to have gone back to normal, she loved seeing him smile

But little did she know...

By the end of that same month, Bakugou was found dead in his dorm, which resembled a cursed garden of blood-soaked flowers! Some stems and thorns were coming out of his mouth, while others had pierced through his lifeless chest! The scene was gut wrenching!

Aizawa was the one who found him, after Y/N pointed out that he had never followed the rest of the class out of the dorms

The dorms were immediately sealed, so none of the students could see the traumatizing sight!

However Y/N had a feeling that she knew what had happened to the fiery hero-in-training and she couldn't help but blame herself for it

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #950: Tekken Night (SSBU x River City Girls)

9:34 p.m. at Smash Mansion's Living Room...........

TV Screen: K.O.!!

Misako: Ha! (Starts Smirking in a Cocky Fashion) Another point goes to yours truly~

Dark Pit: (Annoyedly Drop his Controller Down onto his Lap) Shit! It's always the Ten Hit Combos that screws me over in the end.....(Turns to Misako Beside Him) How the hell are you able to pull them off to begin with?

Misako: Kyoko taught them to me. She's surprisingly really good at this sort of thing.

Kyoko: (Smiles Brightly) I cam even do Infinite Combos!~

Dark Pit: (Stares at Kyoko in Disbelief) .....You do Infinite Combos.........with EVERY character.....in Tekken......

Kyoko: (Giggles Softly) Not all of them, silly~ I just pull it off with the characters I'm more familiar with. Like Steve Fox. Ooh! Miski! (Turns to Misako) Remember all the times we play Tekken 5 together growing up?

Misako: (Starts Rolling her Eyes) Oh yeah....How can I ever forget all the times you kept spamming Cobra Weave over and over again?

Kyoko: (Starts Smirking in a Smug like Manner) Hey, don't blame for your subpar gaming skills. The master is always more superior than their rookies~

Misako: (Gives Kyoko an Annoyed, Deadpinned Look on her Face) .....How is it possible that you're annoying and cute at the same time?

Kyoko: (Puts on a Cutesy Look on her Face) Well, being adorable is one of my strongest suit in life~

Dark Pit: ('Scoffs') Yeah. Adorably dense.

Misako: Pffft Hahahahahahaha!~

Kyoko: (Gasps Loudly Before Giving Pouting at Dark Pit Beside her) Pitto-Kins!~

Dark Pit: (Raise his Hands Up a Little with a Smirk of his Own) Sorry, babe. Can't pass up the perfect opportunity to roast ya. And besides, you were asking for it from the get go, so don't even try to act surprised.

Misako: (Sticks Her Tounge Out of Kyoko While Lowering her Eye Gland Down)

Kyoko: But I- (Groans in Defeat While Poutingly Crosses her Arms) You are SO lucky love you to pieces, you rude angel boi.....

Dark Pit: Yeah, yeah. Love you too, babe. (Holds up the Controller Close to Kyoko) Now take the controller already. It's your turn now.

Kyoko: (Immediately Smiles Brightly in Excitement) Eeeeeeeee!~ (Takes the Controller from her Boyfriend's Hand) I can finally try out my girl Juila!~

Dark Pit: (Looks at the Woman Wearing Glasses on the Character Select Screen) You mean the streamer click? Didn't she used to fight for mother nature at one point?

Kyoko: Yeah, but I guess she's more interested being internet famous now. Which is fine by me cause she looks Fabolusss!~

Misako: ('Scoffs') Please. She looks more like a nerd if anything.

Kyoko: Hey, nerds can be good looking too, ya know?

Dark Pit: Kyoko's right. (Yawns While Stretching his Arms Up in the Air) You'd be surprised by how many people are attracted those with glasses.

Misako: (Gives Pitto a Bit of a Playful Smirk on her Face) Getting tired there, DP?~

Kyoko: (Starts Getting Worried a Little) Have you been getting enough sleep as of late?

Dark Pit: I have. I just usually get tired in this time of hour.

Misako: Well, you're always welcome to lay your head on my lap if you want.

Kyoko: Or mines!~

Dark Pit: (Looks Back and Forth at his Girlfriends) Hmmmm......Both choices are tempting....(Shrugs) But alas....(Lays his Head on Misako's Lap) I choose the badass.

Misako: Bitchin.

Kyoko: Aww....Can I at least try and paint your toe nails after this? I know it'll look amazing in black color.

Dark Pit: ('Sigh') Sure. Just try not to go too crazy about it, alright?

Kyoko: (Smiles Brightly) Okay!~

TV Screen: Get Ready for the Next Battle!!

Dark Pit: So that Heihachi guy.....Is he really dead or....

Kyoko: I think he is. He did fall into a boiling, hot lava after that intense fight....

Misako: You say that, but the guy survived from worse before. Like that whole self destruct fiasco that happened before Tekken 5 even started.

?????: I say he's dead for good this time.

The trio gets startled once the person standing beside the sofa they're sitting is none other than.....

Dark Pit: Kazuya? The hell did you come from?

Kazuya: Kitchen. I was looking for some more of those.... Sea Salt Ice Cream to eat until I realized that SOMEONE is eating them all as we speak (Turns to See Wario Quickly Speed Walking Away While Holding a Box of Sea Salt Ice Cream and Whistling)

Dark Pit: ('Sigh') Not surprised by that outcome.....

Misako: (Raised an Eyebrow at Kazuya) Do you really think your dad kicked the bucket in that lava pit?

Kazuya: I do. And I made the most necessary method possible to keep it that.

Flashback

Kazuya angrily uses his Devil Beam to shoot down at the pool of lava he threw his father on with a loud, crazed, and piercing scream to boot. The beam itself was strong enough to cause the lava to erupt right in front of his very eyes.

Back to the Present

Kazuya: (Crosses his Arms With a Satisfied Smirk on his Face) Necessary method possible.......

Kyoko: (Eyes Widened in a Bit of Horror) I.......see........So I uhh......Take you're happy that your dad is gone now.....huh?

Kazuya: Very much so. I even threw a three day party around it afterwards. It was.....interesting to say the least.

Another Flashback

Kazuya: (Raises his Glass Up While Singing his Heart Out With his Two Subordinates in his Desk) I'M HERE NOOOOOWWWWWWW!! I'M DOING THE BEEEST I CAAAAANNN! ('Urp') WHERE ARE YOU NOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!-

Back to the Present

Kazuya: Fun party. I wonder if we should do it again sometime in the future..... (Starts Walking Away While Thinking Out Loud) Perhaps host it beside his resting place......

Misako: (Watches Kazuya Walk Out if the Room) That guy has issues.

Kyoko: Yeah, but....(Shrugs Sheepishly) At least he won't have to deal with dad anytime soon.....

Dark Pit: What about his son?

Kyoko: Oh yeah. I forgot about Jin......Hey, you guys think his mom is still alive out there?

Misako: I'd be surprised if she isn't.

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@ma-lemons

@caleb13frede

@albion-93

@26shann

@chompycroc

[secondhand-trash]

Ms @dimplesum , this is a notice to you from the secondhand match making agency regarding your match under our holiday kissing booth branch. We are glad to inform you that our client, Mr Nishinoya Yuu, had taken a great liking to you after reading your form and we have arranged for you two to meet according to the plans our client submitted. Please be waiting at this random pier in Sicily, Italy at 11am next weekend. Your date will be waiting for you.

You had so many questions about everything.

The fact that the location was “a random pier” should be concerning enough. You tried to reply to the shady-looking email, but only received a map resembling a middle-schooler’s doodle for geography class with a huge red circle on one of the many piers in Sicily.

But you still hopped on that midnight plane, obviously, like you weren’t confused at all.

No matter who your supposed match was, at least you get a free vacay.

Where led us to where you were now, behind some alleyway in sunny Italy, shielding your eyes from the blazing sun as you stared at the badly drawn map on your phone.

This was the place, wasn’t it? Then where the hell was he-

“hhhhHHHEeeeyy!!!!!!!”

??

“ovER HEReeeeee!!”

You looked up, and then to your left, then to you right, trying to follow the booming voice that floated across the sea to you.

Wha-?????

“loOK FUrther!!!!”

There he was, your date, waving at you with his entire body. His arms were flailing above his head as he tried to capture your attention, looking very much so like how you would imagine someone with his voice would look like.

Except he’s only a blurred silhouette to you, because he was very far away, in the middle of the sea, on a boat, quite a good distance away from the pier you were standing on.

“Um,” you gulped, before sucking in a deep breath, “HELLO!?”

“hI IVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS,” he yelled back, even though it’s like a whisper when it finally reached you, “COME Over here!!”

Your gaze flicked between his still waving figure, and the boat he was standing on, and the water in front of you.

Ok, how the fu-

➽───────────────❥

Playlist of your relationship

The “you’re the dense city girl, he’s an eccentric boy you met while (reluctantly) travelling abroad, together you are the epitome of a 80s feel-good romcom” playlist

Waterloo - ABBA

I Think We’re Alone Now - Tiffany

Closer, Faster - Against The Current

Shower - Becky G

This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole

➽───────────────❥

Some oddly specific facts about your relationship that might make you go “wha...”

He tries to “rolling thunder” you out of habit when you trip sometimes (it never ends well for either of you)

You introduced him to kdrama which might be a mistake, because he is starting to get a bit too emotionally invested...

You have a wall of questionably-tacky shamelessly-touristy souvenirs he bought you from all his trips that you couldn’t make time to tag alone (you always try to convince him that you don’t need more bottle openers or fridge magnets or those snow globe things or really god damn ugly graphic tees that has “I LOVE (insert location)” on it but alas)

➽───────────────❥

Your receipt

➽───────────────❥

Thank you for employing the services of secondhand kissing booth. If you haven’t already, please go and hang around the other booths of the Spaghettown Holiday Market. We assure you that it’ll bring you the holiday cheer you might just be looking for right now with our fun activities!

[midnightmoonkiss]

Spooky AU!: the reader thought taking a short cut to get home would be a good idea. Wrong! The forest was not the best shortcut to go. Suddenly the reader hears groaning and moaning. The reader looks behind her and notices...a zombie!Izuku coming after her. Blood dripping from eyes and his arms were reached out towards reader. The reader screamed and started running away. The zombie chasing after her...

Oh geez!! Tryna scare me, anon? 😭

Ahh thats so cool tho!

Ughh i love zombies.

Oh oh oh!!

What if its like that zombie movie, Warm Bodies.?💙💙💙. This got out of hand im sorryfesgfjdrs

———-

Forest Of Flesh.

Izuku Midoriya X Reader

Zombie Au

Summary: Perhaps you should never have took that shortcut, but you wouldn’t have met such a cute, rotting rod of meat if you didn’t.

Category: Fluff?? Maybe?

Word Count: 700+

Of course, you never should have gone through those terrifying woods. You never should have even really thought about it.

No, you were always warned how they were haunted, some sort of Blair Witch Project spooky shit going down in its dark depths.

Perhaps you should have known something like this would happen.

That you’d get lost, searching tirelessly for where you came from but only finding places you haven’t been.

If only it was light enough that you could see, the damn trees blocking out the moon, if only it wasn’t 3 AM, and if only you have more than 15% battery percentage on your dumbass old iPhone4, then maybe you could find your way out.

But alas.

Instead, you’re left to sob in a forest all too dense and all too quiet, your own steps echoing in your ears as you crunched down on dead leaves and frail twigs.

But then you heard it, a noise other than the ones you were making.

It sounded like a moan of sorts in the foggy distance, a human one at that, the type to send a heat flash across your body and burn your cheeks red.

Surely no one would do something so sinful in a forest like this, right?

Even as you pushed on to try and find the potential human saviors, you lost your trail once more, ears straining for more noises to follow, even if they were potentially lewd.

It wasn’t until you heard something fumbling a little ways behind you that suspicion grew and momentary arousal got replace by spine chilling fear.

Whatever it was, it was coming closer, its step pattern irregular and the pant of a groan under its breath.

You wanted to run, but that stupid voice inside you told you this could be an injured human seeking help.

Until finally, it was right behind you.

Huffing, you whipped your head around, only to let out a shrill scream at the sight before you.

Cold green eyes bleeding syrupy blood, the red staining his pale, pudgy cheeks and jaw hanging open as if it was broken. Dirt stained fingers reached out to you-

But you didn’t think as you began running in a random direction, forcing yourself to believe it wasn’t chasing you despite the irregular steps still licking at your ears.

Your breath screamed in your body, tears flying from your eyes as you ran and ran, a breathy voice calling out to you - one that could only belong to whatever the hell you just saw.

You wanted to run until you left the forest, but exhaustion was already chewing at your bones before you even saw the creature, and it all went downhill when your foot caught on a tree root- one you couldn’t see.

You screamed as your knee scraped against the jagged wood, palms burning as you slid on them on the rough forest floor.

You expected to meet your end, and yet- you never did.

Instead, there was a thump beside you, clumsy hands shaking in front of your face, “Oh  gosh! I’m so sorry ma’am..!” Something thick and cold splattered onto your bare arm, but you could care less at that moment, too shaken up about being chased and suddenly not dying.

Hesitantly, you glanced up, flinging yourself away from the figuring in front of you as soon as you connected eyes with it. Your back slammed against the large tree’s trunk, nearly knocking the breath from your lungs.

“W-wh-at a-are you..?” you sputtered out as if on instinct, cradling your stinging hands to your heaving chest.

“My name is Izuku!” ‘he’ cheerily responded, smiling boyishly at you with strangely perfect teeth as blood framed his face. Reaching into his pocket, he handed you a clean handkerchief to wipe your palms with, as well as wipe his own blood off that fell to your arm.

“I’m-”

The moonlight suddenly dripped down between the forest’s thick canopy, cascading down just to shine brightly on the figure in front of you. You finally got a good look at this thing, and boy.. Were you confused. Previously horrifying features we softened by the moons everlasting embrace, lighting up his viridescent orbs and caressing his soft, freckled cheeks, you could even see your reflection in the blood dripping from his eyes, something that never seemed to stop flowing down his dirty yet cute face. Twigs and leaves were stuck in his bushy green locks, and his clothes were torn and stained by grass and mud. He looked like some sort of cosplayer-

“A zombie!”

His eye suddenly fell out, and you promptly fainted.

[leotssukinaga]

Only Fools Fall In Love

requests • masterlist

Summary:  You were perfect. At least, that's what Kageyama thought every time he saw you. Not that he'd ever told you that- the setter was far too awkward to get those words out (or indeed most words, unless he was angry.) Until he did, he'd never know that the feeling was entirely mutual.

You were perfect. At least, that's what Kageyama thought every time he saw you. Not that he'd ever told you that- the setter was far too awkward to get those words out (or indeed most words, unless he was angry.) The animated way you talked as you told Tanaka and Nishinoya another anecdote, the way your laugh echoed through the gym louder than anything to else ever seemed to (which of course had nothing to do with the fact that he couldn't focus on anything but you right now.) Nobody seemed to notice how he was falling apart at the seams because of how close you were, despite being at least 30 feet away from him. He'd rarely spoken to you, maybe three times since you started showing up to practices, and he was convinced you were scared of him. Of course, this wasn't the case.

He was the whole reason you were there in the first place. The option had always been there, your brother being the captain now meant that an invitation to watch (you were good at volleyball, having played in your backyard with Daichi most of your life, but never harboured a desire to play with a club) was extended before you even started at Karasuno, but as much as you loved volleyball (and Daichi) you always figured you'd just turn up to cheer for them at games. Until Daichi mentioned Kageyama by name for the first time, and you remembered the middle school tournament he'd taken you to, and the intimidating but beautiful boy you'd had on your mind ever since. Just your luck that he would end up going here. Great.

Just as nobody knew about Kageyama's crush on you (they knew. He was too awkward around you to be subtle about it), as far as you were aware nobody knew about your crush on Kageyama. Daichi had picked up on it almost immediately. He knew you almost as well as you knew yourself, so if anyone was going to work it out it would be him. And maybe Suga, but he didn't actually need to since Daichi had told him pretty much the moment he'd figured it out (how was he supposed to deal with his younger sibling having a crush? Protective older brother mode had activated and he needed advice. He was sure you'd forgive him, eventually.) Your few conversations had been awkward as all hell, and played through your head every time you shut your eyes. You were a stuttering mess around the boy, and you were certain he knew you liked him. Subtlety was not your strong suit. (It wasn't his either, but you were both so worried about making fools of yourselves that you never noticed the other acting in the exact same way. Maybe things would've progressed quicker if you had.)

It had been 3 months since you both started at Karasuno, and 2 since you started regularly coming by the club. The excuse of "I feel safer when I'm walking home with Daichi" was bullshit, but considering most of the members of the club didn't have two brain cells to rub together unless they were thinking about volleyball that didn't really matter in the end.

All of this is of course to say, Kageyama Tobio was helplessly in love with you, and you were too busy being helplessly in love with him to realise it. ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤  The light clicked on in Hinata's head eventually, at least a month after everyone else (did Kageyama really think they wouldn't catch on?) One would think that with all the stuttering and mumbling and blushing the boy did the second you were nearby it would take anyone 3 minutes to figure it out, especially someone who spent as much time with him as Hinata. Alas, what the spiker lacked in height he did not make up for in thinking skill, unfortunately. But he'd have to be completely and utterly dense to miss it this time.

The bright sun, poised perfectly to get directly in their eyes if they turned at the correct angle, seemed to have no negative effect on their Saturday morning practice. Sure, they had access to the gym, but sometimes it was nice to go outside. A little bit of vitamin D could do no harm and in the warmer months, the fresh air was a huge help. You'd been watching them (morespecifically, him) for the past half hour, leaning against a tree a few feet away. Your presence had not gone unnoticed (did it ever?), and you looked particularly stunning today (but he thought that every day.) He was distracted, off his game, and his anger at himself for letting himself get distracted was only distracting him further. When you pushed yourself off of the tree to go get a drink, he momentarily lost all ability to focus and sent the serve too far. Time slowed down as the ball soared towards you. Visions filled his mind of you being hit in the face, of bleeding noses and angry words and being brutally murdered by Daichi and never, ever having the chance with you he so desperately clung to the hope of. The one scenario he did not imagine was you noticing the ball's trajectory and taking a step back before effortlessly receiving it, sending it back towards them before continuing on your way. Kageyama Tobio had never looked so smitten in his life.

"WHERE DI- HOW DID YO- THAT WAS AMAZING Y/N! WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO DO THAT?" It was the easiest he'd ever complimented anyone, and the most complete sentence he'd ever directed towards you. The rest of team smirked and/or smiled at him as he stood there, amazed. He could be an idiot sometimes. You were far too flustered by the compliment to offer an actual worded answer, so you just gestured to Daichi before running to the vending machine, beet red. Oh, right, he thought to himself, I'm a fucking idiot. The boys were cracking up at him, and he was far too embarrassed to even get angry at them for it. You'd never like a dumbass like him. (Yes, you would.)

You, meanwhile, were low key hyperventilating by the vending machine. Holy shit. Kageyama complimented my recieve?? You were far too freaked and flustered to register that his question had been idiotic at best, at least until you'd had a drink. When it hit you, you stifled a giggle. How was he so effortlessly cute, even when he was being a dumbass? You realised he was probably feeling incredibly embarrassed right now, and didn't want him to think you were secretly laughing at him or judging him when you got back. A split second decision was made.

The poor boy just about died when you came back and marched right up to him. This is the way the world ends, he ruminated, not with a bang but with my crush laughing at me for being a dumbass, or shouting at me for nearly killing them. Humiliation turned into confusion when you shoved a carton of milk into his hand with a sweet smile. "You'll serve better next time, Kageyama! I believe in you!" You weren't quite sure whether it was the right thing to say when you said it, but it was all you could really think of. You couldn't just say nothing. What seemed like a genuine smile (it was) appeared on his face and you hurried back to your tree before your cheeks could give away the fact that he'd instantly melted your heart with his stupid dumb face. You could see Daichi smirking and glancing between the two of you and you realised he probably knew how you felt. Excellent. ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤  Kageyama spent the next few days trying to work out what drink you usually got from the vending machine without making it seem like he was stalking you. Not only had he nearly killed you and then made an utter fool of himself, but you'd bought him a drink afterwards, and your simple "I believe in you!" had bolstered his confidence a lot. He had a desperate need to return that gesture (and keep returning it until you fell for him.) Of course, the idea of asking someone- Daichi would be the smart choice, or even Yamaguchi since you were in the same class and seemed to be friendly- never crossed the poor fool's mind. Luckily for him, you were far too busy freaking out that he was around you at all to ever notice that he seemed to follow you every time you went to get a drink.

For you, on the other hand, the next few days were dedicated to trying to pry how much Daichi knew- and who he told- out of him. He knew what you were up to, and refused to let on. By Tuesday, you'd given up. It was 9:30pm when you knocked on his bedroom door and although his face didn't betray it, he knew exactly why you were there. "Yea, what's up?" You decided to just come right out and say it, giving yourself no time to back down. "So, I have a crush on Kageyama." "...Yeah." He said it like you'd just told him the simplest fact in the world and expected him to be surprised. "You knew, didn't you? You bastard!" You slapped his arm playfully- he pretended to be hurt as he always did (you both knew you would never hit hard enough to hurt him and that you'd probably cry if you actually did)- before crossing your arms in front of your chest. "How long have you known?" "Pretty much since the start. You asked me if you could come to practice less than 5 minutes after you grilled me about him being in the club." You chuckled a little, and he couldn't tell whether it was meant to hide embarrassment or upset. "Yeah, subtlety isn't my best skill." By which you meant that you had absolutely none whatsoever and probably never would. "So, now the cat's out of the bag- and apparently has been for months- how awkward would it be if I talked about him?" "Only a little. Come sit down." The two of you sat on his bed for a few hours, and you poured your heart out about Kageyama. You and Daichi had always had an open book policy, and it felt nice to be 100% truthful with him again. Besides, his advice had always been pretty solid (not as good as Suga's, but since there was no way in hell Daichi was about to tell you that he knew as well, you'd never ask for it.) He didn't once tell you to just confess, knowing you too well for that, but he helped you come fully to terms with your feelings, and figure out how to cope with them just a little better. You left his room feeling far lighter than you had in a while. ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ Three weeks after what Kageyama simply called The Incident in his head, he followed you to the vending machine yet again. This time, he didn't watch you from a distance, but instead rushed ahead of you (making you jump a little, you hadn't even noticed him behind you), and bought your drink before you got there, holding it out to you when you arrived.

"Kage-" He cut you off, speaking so fast it took you a moment to catch up. "I really, really like you. I like you so much I feel like I'm gonna explode when you walk in the room, and if Daichi doesn't murder me for telling you this then the embarrassment I'm feeling right now will probably do it for him but you didn't need to know that and you look incredibly confused which means that not only do I look like a rambling fool now but I'm a rambling fool who's made you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, I won't bother you again." He turned to walk away, not sure whether to cry or just give up on living right there. You finished processing, and a sudden rush of confidence led you to do something you never -not in your wildest dreams- would have seen coming. You caught him by the collar of his shirt just as he began to turn, pulling him back to face you and then down a little, so his face was only a few inches away. Before that action registered with either of you, you kissed him. He felt like he'd been gasping for air his whole life, like your lips on his was the oxygen mask he so desperately needed to survive. It was almost cruel how quickly the kiss ended, how even with time moving at a tenth of its normal speed it felt like you'd been there less than a second. "You can be an idiot sometimes, Tobio." You whispered, a soft smile on your lips (where his lips should be, instead.) He couldn't agree more, and he'd tell you that once the high of hearing his given name spoken in your angelic tone wore off.

[subsequentibis]

this is a DELIGHT to read, thank you so much for submitting it!! publishing for the aforementioned class, everyone pls take notes. p.s. i do have a wheelbarrow in my garage so if you ever need to transport sixteen stone of injured sea captain hit me up

-ibis

~~

hello, i’m fairly sure you know exactly which silly person is writing this at this point.  yes, it’s me again.  i really truly hope that this works and doesn’t do a weird thing, i’m a tiny bit alarmed about doing this.  i am a tiny nervous horse when it comes to internet stuff and i’ve attempted to proofread this maybe three times in order to put off actually sending this to you.  i guess i’m just going to have to get this over with, so here are my debatably comprehendable ideas, mostly exactly as they were written in yesterday’s four-hour spiral of madness.

breaking news: local goof observes a tumblr post and proceeds to attempt to hack reality in order to see if they could in theory achieve this.  am i ready to haul nearly six feet of incapacitated and extremely thick local captain to the nearest medical facility?  part of me says no, part of me says hell yeah.  let’s go find out.

okay, what do i get and what skills do i have.  (time to invent some rules for this strange game and figure out just what i’d do.  focusing on stephen and jack because they were the two characters you mentioned, this could probably apply to other characters but i’m going to only reckon with these as this project is strange enough as it currently stands.  i’m expecting this to quickly go off the rails.)  (note as i edit this over: this is extremely chaotic and you should be warned.  i thought way too much about this and it shows, and it kind of terrifies me, not only because of the baffling sentence structures (or lack thereof).  rereading this after having properly eaten and communicated with human beings for the day has shown me that i sound like an alien for much of this.  terribly sorry to sound like an alien, swear i’m human and just kind of a bit strange inside.)

so: i can have anything currently on the property where i currently reside (garage and driveway included) and all my real skills.

i cannot drive because:

i do not have the physical ability to drive

i do not have the legal ability to drive

i can’t get help from any other person: this is an imaginary situation where exists in this house just me and a fictional lad who needs to be got to a local medical facility.  (this is a very weird imaginary situation but honestly the peak of my own interests colliding.)

so what do i have here anyway (all of this is written assuming i personally am the one having to do this and am moving one of them from my place of residence to the nearest medical facility):

arms: not very strong (could potentially lift stephen since i can lift some of my friends and he’s both shorter and thinner, definitely cannot move jack an inch)

legs: i assume walking is not an option for reasons of either necessary speed of delivery or actually he cannot walk.  oh yeah and also reasons of narrative whatever.  continuing.

cars: cannot and will not drive, he is from the 1800s and cannot drive either, or in the case of stephen even if he could drive should not be trusted behind the wheel even in the peak of health.  anyway given this vague situation we none of us should be driving.

bikes (various): i’m a fairly good biker, i’ve got pretty good stamina and can haul rather well on my own bike.  with a little work (as seen in yon post) might be able to even sort of rig something up to perch stephen on my handlebars.  this will not function with jack.  *with a great deal of effort i drag him onto the front of the bike, wait a beat, then watch in horror as the bike tips back wheel up and dumps him back on the floor with an unpleasant thud* so that’s not going to work.

wheelbarrow: very cool and possibly functional plan.  unfortunately we do not have a wheelbarrow.  alas.

wagon: pros and cons.  pro: we can haul the boy in this.  con: we have to haul the boy.  the boy can fit in this in a balanced manner, but let me restate: my arms are not very strong and jack is near six feet of unhelpful heavy meat.  as usual this is more of a viable option for stephen.  but god jack is just a big dense boy and i’m just a wobbly little person with noodles for arms.

alright.  local noodle-armed goof is trying some new approaches regarding wagon/bikes: using my dad’s old bike with the board on the back and sort of tying him on there somehow so he faces backwards and sort of leans on me.  he could even put his feet in the little saddlebag things for balance!  although again i’d be worried about the sheer weight and size if i’m basically just dragging this man like a deceased sack of meat all the way to the hospital.  so that depends.  one more for the list of could potentially work with stephen.  (although if he was anything less than utterly out i would have zero luck getting either of them to take part in any of these increasingly ridiculous plans.) (actually, depending on the situation it might work out if he was in a certain mood?  anyhow, did not come here for these considerations.  only for increasingly less reasonable methods of transportation.) 

okay forging boldly onward.  if i don’t want to try to do a huge hill with the wagon and my little noodle arms and hundreds-odd pounds of floppy boat lad i could try to rig up something where i tie the wagon to the back of a bike, but that wouldn’t end well because on downhills it would slide forward unless i distributed the weight somehow to make the front of the bike heavier than the wagon… which is not gonna happen because that would either be impossible with the supplies i have or render the bike entirely nonfunctional.  leaving the wagon to clunk back and forth is also an issue given that i am trying to get this man medical attention asap and not actively make the situation worse.  i’ve done this wagon and bike thing before when both people involved were starting out fine and even that didn’t end well.  (in case you were wondering, we careened down the street crashing into one another and came to a stop by hitting a parked car.  we are all fine now and so is the car and we do not do things like this anymore.  it was a terrible idea that i regret every day.)  no go.

vacuum cleaner: bad idea.  no.  did i think of these as an option just because i have one and it has wheels?  i did, didn’t i.  do not attempt.

razor scooter: no.  why.  how.  please stop this.

boards: possibly a viable option.  we got skateboards, we got surfboards, we got actual just plain old wooden boards.  (none of the ones in my home actually belong to me, but ignore that bit.  trying to save a life here.)  probably the best route would be to stick some skateboards under something big enough to bear up an entire human person, slap a few pillows or something over top, and get shoving.  don’t ask about what happens when we get to the big hills.  (yeah i live in an area made entirely of hills and it’s a long steep way down and a long steep way up to get anywhere of interest, and if you’re on wheels then sucks to be you i guess.)  in retrospect perhaps not as good of an idea.

so i guess four hours later i’ve come to the precise conclusion that you did.

put stephen on a bike.  put jack in a wagon.  maybe learn to drive?  jury’s still out on that one.  anyway that was a fun four hours that i won’t regret spending this way at all no sirree.

alright!  hope this wasn’t too strange or unreadable!  have a nice day, you’re wonderful!

[sareyen]

The Price of Hope (Cherik): Part 2/4

Read on ao3

Legion (2010) AU: The apocalypse is coming, and the key to humankind’s survival lies in a pregnant waitress and a rag-tag group of strangers, all broken in their own ways. Charles, the oldest of the archangels, sacrifices everything - his wings, his Gift, Erik - to help the humans that Heaven has given up on. Because, he believes, that even if they stumble and lose their way, it doesn’t mean that they are lost forever.

Chapter 2

“At that time Charles, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.

There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.

But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”

Daniel 12:1

Erik’s mind was always like a beacon to Charles. It was so bright that Charles could pinpoint its location anywhere, in any plane in existence, if he only closed his eyes and envision the seemingly glacial man.

Right now, that beacon was glowing like hot embers, anger radiating from the angel as he sat perched on a mottled rooftop at Auschwitz. Erik watched with rage bubbling in his belly as walking skeletons stumbled to their deaths, the numbers etched into their skin stark against their frailty.

“Erik,” Charles said, landing daintily beside the taller angel, white robs fluttering. Erik, unlike Charles, wore his dark battle leathers, his winged helmet resting beside him on the roof tiles.

“Look at them, Charles,” Erik said, voice simmering with anger and disgust – not at the prisoners, of course, but at the men that chained them and treated them like they were less than cattle. Charles shivered, lowering himself so he sat beside Erik, their wings bumping with their closeness. “Look at what they do to themselves, to their own kind.”

Charles swallowed thickly, the air thick and dense with misery, making it hard for him to think clearly. Charles has gotten good at blocking out such powerful emotions, he had to be – if he let go, he could hear all of the voices in the world at once, and he was sure it would overwhelm him. It _had _overwhelmed him, a long time ago, and Erik had been there for him.

But even as Charles became stronger as time passed, the human population was growing exponentially and the world population much more vast than it had been when He had only created the first two humans; En Sabah Nur and Nephri. Now, humans were many and more, and though Charles had an eternity of experience in bolstering the strength of his Gift, the constant influx of new minds weighed heavily on him.

Erik’s mind was unlike those of others, human and angel alike. It wasn’t that Erik’s mind was empty nor calm that made his mind so comforting to Charles. No, Erik’s mind could be tumultuous at times and infinitely impassioned, even if on the exterior his face was cut like cool marble, the tight line of his thin lips the only feature that betrayed his internal rage.

No, Erik’s mind could be as passionate and wild as anyone else’s, but it was the way in which it was passionate that Charles so cherished. Erik’s mind was always unclouded, always clear; other people could be muddled, lost and confused, but Erik’s was always so sure and resolute. So bright. Erik’s mind never faltered, and that always made him a steady anchor for Charles to latch on to when other voices threatened to overwhelm him.

“Yes, I can feel their agony, their suffering,” Charles said, voice quiet, face pinched with pain. Erik turned to look at Charles then, eyes softening slightly.

“That pain, how could humans willingly cause such torment?” Erik murmured, reaching out to overlay his hand on Charles’s, squeezing tightly. “These humans, they haven’t learnt, even after centuries and millennia. They still hurt and torture each other, and torture _you _with their pain and suffering.”

Erik’s hands trembled as he spoke his last words, clipped and bitter. Charles felt a spike in Erik’s vehemence.

Charles just let out a short hum, leaning into Erik’s side, and dropped his head onto the taller angel’s shoulder. Erik’s armour dug into his cheek a little, but Charles didn’t mind – Erik felt warm, as warm as an angel could feel – but maybe that was just the way his mind was enveloping Charles in an embrace, warming him from the soul his angel self did not possess.

Charles and Erik watched as a young Jewish boy tripped in the mud as his mother and father screamed for him, the gates closing slowly in front of his glistening eyes. The young boy cried out, rushing forward but was stopped by the hands of officers clad in stiffly starched uniforms. The boy’s knees dragged in the mud as he desperately called out for his parents who were being shepherded to their deaths. The boy yelled and yelled, but the gate still closed.

Erik’s fists clenched tightly, and the gate rattled a little, but nothing more than what could be passed off as a tremor due to a light breeze.

Charles’s eyes locked onto the forlorn boy, whose mind was like a knife twisting in Charles’s chest. As an angel, Charles did not have parents, not like humans did. Charles didn’t know first-hand what a bond between child and parent was, how a mother’s embrace felt, what a father’s protective touch meant. It was only through sharing the minds and souls of humans that Charles could understand, and it made him weep.

“Oh, Erik. That boy… his mind… what he feels…” Charles sobbed, turning his head away from the boy whose feelings were mirrored in his chest. Charles buried his head in the curve of Erik’s neck, the other angel a little stiff but wrapping his arms around Charles’s shoulders tightly nonetheless. Erik could feel a wetness seeping through the seams of his armour, but he didn’t care, not when Charles’s trembling made what could be his heart stutter and clench.

“How could humans do this to you?” Erik murmured, pulling Charles closer, breathing in the scent of his hair. Sunlight. “And how could you be so willing to bear it? To believe in them and love them, even when they hurt you like this?”

Charles let out a shuddering breath, pulling his head back to return to the scene playing out before him. The officers had let go of the young boy, who sat unmoving with his head hung, despair cloying around him. Charles watched as a young girl around the same age as him knelt by his side and gently chook his shoulders, murmuring in his ear. The boy nodded minutely, allowing the girl to slip her arm around him, pulling him to his feet. She smiled at him, urged him, gave him hope.

And Charles, tears still in his eyes, smiled, the clouds parting overhead.

Erik wasn’t looking down at the camp but at Charles, whom Erik thought was made of the same energy as the sun that now peeked through the break in the clouds.

“That, Erik,” Charles whispered, voice light and diffuse with warmth.

‘That is why I still believe.’

“Alex, Moira – barricade the windows. Hank, find anything we can use as weapons and gather them here. Sean, make sure that the back door is blocked, too. Logan, come with me,” the mysterious murderer – Charles – said, and even if he was pushy, his voice carried a sense of ‘this is absolute’ that made everyone jump into action. Before Charles lead Logan outside to his stolen borrowed car, Charles looked at Raven, who had since regained her wits, sitting in the corner booth and drinking a glass of sugar-laden juice.

“Raven,” Charles said, voice gentle. The woman startled, but didn’t shy away from the man, who was looking at her so carefully. For some reason, Raven sensed – knew – that this Charles fellow wouldn’t hurt her. Never. Still, Raven narrowed her eyes at him, but the man just continued to smile.

“What?” Raven asked, taking another sip of her drink and rubbing her belly.

“How are you? And your child?” Charles asked, Raven snorting.

“Well, we just saw a man dislocate his limbs in ways that are reminiscent of The Exorcist, and I saw said guy get his brain blown to bits. Those brain bits are still on the wall, you know. Like a bloody, gory, Jackson Pollock painting,” Raven said, shivering. “So, how do you think we’re going?”

Charles smiled, a little wryly to himself – if he still had his Gift, he would know _exactly _how Raven was feeling. But alas, without it, Charles was left stumped. Angels were more unfamiliar with feelings than humans with low EQ, and though Charles was more empathetic due to his Gift, he was simply blind without it.

“Ah, I see. That is… understandable,” Charles said, Raven raising her brow. “I hope that it brings you comfort to know that I’m here to protect you.” Charles smiled at Raven, who just gave him a confused and wary look. Charles turned to Logan before Raven could ask him exactly what he was protecting her from, the mystery man patting Logan’s arm.

“Come, Logan. I have some equipment in my car that would be of use to us,” Charles said, Logan grunting in response and trailing after the shorter, barefoot man.

When they stepped outside, dust swirling in the unnatural darkness, Logan spoke.

“So, Chuck, care to inform me about what the hell is going on?” Logan said, Charles humming.

“I still question why everyone uses ‘Hell’ as a curse. I suppose it makes sense in another context, but this is the apocalypse spearheaded by Him, so ‘Hell’ doesn’t quite fit the bill. But, I assure you, Logan – I’ll explain everything in due time. Time, which is short as it is, so we better get moving,” Charles said, bumping his fist on the boot of his commandeered car, the metal opening up to reveal bags of… weapons. Logan whistled, Charles letting out a small laugh.

“Where’d you scrounge all this up?”

Logan peered at the man beside him, who was busy pulling out a bag of machine guns and ammo. This man, with a disarming baby-face, who was wearing a scratchy tweed suit and a _lilac _sweater, for God’s sake. Logan felt like this man belonged in an office or a lecture hall, not in the middle of a desert with blood speckling his bare feet and a bag of AK-47s slung over his shoulder.

“Well, I just picked up a few things here and there on my way here,” Charles said, shrugging. “Now, could you so kindly help me carry our provisions in?”

Logan didn’t hesitate to grab the rest of the weapons from the boot, the two of them hauling them inside just as the rest of the group had finished boarding up the windows. Darwin emerged from the back room with a shelf, propping it up against the door after Charles and Logan returned.

“Woah,” Sean said, staring as Logan and Charles dumped the small armoury of weapons onto one of the booth tables. Hank, who had returned from scouring the kitchen for anything weapon-like, looked gobsmacked as he looked at the range of guns on the table, the kitchen knives and frying pan in his arms suddenly dead weight.

“I guess we won’t need the saucepan then…” Hank said, dumping the knives onto the table a bit sheepishly. Charles smiled at him, plucking one of the larger knives and twirling it in his hands, the blade whizzing around with practised finesse. Everyone just stared at him as he played with the knife, nodding.

“Mm. Very sturdy craftsmanship, I must say,” Charles said, throwing the knife and catching it, blade-side cradled in his palm. Sean clapped wildly, whistling. Charles handed Hank the knife, handle forwards, the taller man taking it shakily. “Now, guns are probably more efficient, but the knives will be good if we need to resort to close combat.”

Charles’s smile quickly fell from his face as he winced, letting out a quiet groan.

“What is it?” Angel asked, Charles shaking his head.

“They’re here,” Charles said, quickly grabbing guns and passing them around. “Now, who’s used a gun before?”

Logan, Alex, Darwin, Angel and Raven raised their hands. Hank shook his head.

“Do water guns count?” Sean asked, Moira elbowing him in the side, giving him an incredulous look as the boy glowered. “No for me, then.”

“I used a gun at a range once, but that’s it,” Moira said, Charles nodding.

“Better a little experience than none at all. Now, there’s going to be a bit of a steep learning curve, but here’s how you use a gun,” Charles said, grabbing Moira’s hands and wrapping them around an M4 Carbine. “Okay, safety here, aim…” Charles said, stepping around to stand behind Moira, arms wrapped around her as he held her hand. Moira sucked in a tight breath. “And – Raven, please cover your ears – shoot.”

Charles pressed the trigger, bullets spraying against the wall. Plaster flew into the air and the gun-shots made most of the group shriek, covering their ears (apart from Raven, who had already plugged her ears with her fingers). Logan was unphased and just checked the ammo of his own weapon.

“And that’s how you use a gun. Well done,” Charles said, patting Moira on the back, the woman trembling like a leaf.

“A little warning, next time!” Sean whined, Charles chuckling.

“My apologies, but time is unfortunately a luxury we don’t have,” Charles lamented, nudging Logan. “Logan, how good of a shot are you?”

“Three tours in Iraq, rifle marksmanship medal, some other shiny shit too,” Logan said, Charles beaming.

“Wonderful! Then, I’d suggest you get on the roof to them out before they get too close. Raven, Hank, you two should stay safe in the back because of the child. The rest of you should go up to the roof as well,” Charles said as he began ushering Raven carefully into the secure office, shoving the junk off the worn sofa so she could sit. Raven looked at Charles gratefully, while Hank looked at the gun Charles shoved into his hands.

“Hank, protect Raven, alright?” Charles said, Hank nodding frantically while Raven huffed a little, blonde hair flipping over her shoulder.

“I’m pregnant, not helpless,” Raven said, crossing her arms over her chest. Charles gave her a soft look.

“Of course not,” Charles said, meaning every word of it. “But that doesn’t mean you or your child should be put in needless danger. But here, take this, just in case.”

Charles handed Raven a hand gun, the young woman taking it firmly. Charles chuckled as she deftly checked the ammo, gun mechanism sliding and clicking. Patting the anxious Hank on the shoulder in parting support, Charles lead the rest of the group to the roof. Logan immediately set up the sniper rifle he had carried up in a bag, lowering himself down on the roof and looking through its scope. Alex, Sean, Moira, Darwin and Angel followed suit, their rifles pressed against their shoulders, eyes nervously darting out into what seemed like a desert abyss.

“Aren’t you going to tell us _what’s _coming?” Moira asked, turning to glance at Charles, who stood upright and proud on the edge of the roof, gun slung across his chest.

“Angels,” Charles whispered, the word carried away by the wind. Everyone looked at the man, bug-eyed.

“Angels,” Sean repeated, glancing at Angel, who rolled her eyes.

“Don’t look at me, man. That’s just the name my parents gave me,” Angel said.

“Angels. As in, God’s messengers?” Darwin asked, Charles chuckling.

“Yes, those angels,” Charles repeated, eyes narrowing as he raised his gun.

“You’re sure you don’t mean demons? Because that dead dude downstairs… He wasn’t wearing a toga and I didn’t see a halo,” Sean said, Moira elbowing him in the side again.

“Don’t rely on popular culture. What’s coming are definitely not demons,” Charles said, blue eyes seeing far into the distance, where a blip of light peeked through the dim. Logan noticed it as well, shifting his sights to the moving light. “Logan, what do you see?”

Logan was silent for a moment, peering through his scope, before letting out a snort.

“An ice cream truck,” Logan said.

“An ice cream truck? What, like a Mr Whippy?” Alex said, raising an eye brow.

As the ice cream truck neared, its catchy tune became audible through the silent night – the ice cream jingle made the hairs on the necks of the humans stand up straight, a chilled shiver running down taut spines.

“This is some horror movie shit,” Sean whispered, Alex nodding in agreement.

“An angel driving an ice cream truck though? This is a joke, right?” Angel asked, everyone staring at the approaching ice cream truck, which stopped in front of the diner. Its lights stayed on, but the jingle cut off when the driver’s side door opened with a clatter.

Two legs encased in a bright yellow and red polka-dot jumpsuit stepped out, revealing a slender man with an angular and slightly gaunt face, pompom covered hat perched on his head.

“He looks normal,” Darwin said, Logan letting out a bark of a laugh.

“So did that guy downstairs, kid.”

“Fair enough,” Darwin sighed, the ice cream man stepping forwards in the headlights of the car, casting dark shadows across the ground.

“What do we d-” Alex started, just before the ice cream man began to scream, a high-pitched whine that echoed across the desert. The noise was shrill, and nothing human vocal cords could ever reproduce, even Sean, who was a self-professed King of Karaoke. Angel let out a startled noise when the ice cream man’s jaw seemed to dislocate and stretch, falling downdowndown as he continued to scream. His arms began to elongate, as did his legs, his whole body stretching and stretching into something skeletal and utterly grotesque.

“Holy shit! He doesn’t look normal anymore!” Sean cried out, just as Charles began shooting, spraying bullets down at the man. The screeching continued as bullets riddled the man’s polka-dot suit, body jerking backwards before falling into the dust. His deformed mouth opened and closed a few times with rickety breaths before stilling completely.

“Oh God, you just killed another person,” Moira breathed out, finger shaking on the trigger. Looking up at Charles, who was still perched on the edge of the roof, Moira was surprised to see that the man had tears running down his face, though he did not sob. Charles’s beautiful face was still and serene, and Moira would’ve thought he were a statue if not for the way the tears slid down his face and the gentle sway of his chestnut hair as the wind ran its fingers through the thick locks.

“You okay, Chuck?” Logan asked, sparing a glance at Charles, who wiped at his eyes with his tweed sleeve and nodded.

“Yes, thank you,” Charles said quietly, eyes still locked onto the horizon. “And they aren’t ‘people’ any more. At least, not what you consider ‘people’.”

_‘They’re my brothers and sisters,’ _Charles thought sadly to himself, reloading his gun, spent shell casings rolling around and cooling on the rooftop by Charles’s feet.

Logan suddenly whistled, everyone bristling.

“More lights in the distance,” Logan said flatly, twisting something on his scope.

“How many?” Darwin asked, Logan’s mouth pulling into a grin bordering the line of deranged.

“A shit load.”

Logan was right – a procession of lights began emerging from the cloudy fog that had descended on the desert down, Alex cursing at the sight.

“Shoot them,” Charles said, everyone besides Logan hesitating. Logan fired a shot, one of the cars skidding to the side and colliding with another, bursting into flames. Charles began firing as well, cars skidding and swerving.

“There are people in those cars!” Angel said, as the cars that weren’t hit by Charles and Logan pulled in with screeching tires in front of the diner, their drivers pouring out of them like ants.

“They aren’t people anymore!” Charles yelled out over the sound of his and Logan’s bullets, the beings beneath them screeching and rushing at the diner. At the inhuman noises erupting from the invading mouths – mouths belonging to people that looked like plumbers, grandmothers, shopkeepers, children and businessmen – Alex yelled out and began firing. Darwin followed suit, as did Angel.

The bodies rushing in twisted and morphed, turning into terrifying caricatures of human beings – mouths gaping abysses, limbs long like spiders, eyes black as death itself. No, it was obvious that these invaders weren’t people, not the ones their bodies used to be, at least.

“Keep shooting them! I’m going down to make sure Raven and Hank are okay!” Charles said as he began to notice some of the angels beginning to make it past their line of fire, approaching the barricaded windows of the diner. Logan nodded in affirmation, Charles darting back down the stairs and into the diner, just as one of the angels had crashed through the window.

Charles gritted his teeth, firing his weapon. The angel was fast, scuttling across the ground and along the walls, leaping as it screamed through the mortal body that it stole.

_‘Charles!’ _the angel yelled, hurtling its crab-like form at the fallen angel, who turned his guns towards it, shooting it in the shoulder. That didn’t deter his sister though, the angel in the body of what appeared to be a youthful cheerleader jumping off the ground, tackling Charles.

Charles grunted when his back collided with the floor, a shard of a broken plate slicing his shoulder. Charles hissed and rolled, throwing his spent gun away and taking the hand gun out from his pants, firing. A bullet whizzed into the ceiling, another into the faux-leather booth, sending fluffy white seat stuffing puffing into the air.

The angel screeched again and clawed at Charles, fingers smashing down into the ground with inhuman strength, Charles grimacing.

_‘Disobeyer! Traitor!’ _the angel screamed at Charles, large maw snapping at the fallen angel who rolled again and brought his knee up to pommel his sister in the gut. The rabid angel skidded on the ground and righted itself quickly – but Charles was quicker, gun out and aimed at the angel’s crown.

“I’m sorry,” Charles said, squeezing the trigger. The angel fell back with the bullet’s blow, red oozing out onto the ground. Charles bit his lip as he looked at his fallen sister, mouth moving in a silent prayer, just as a window smashed behind him.

Whirling around, Charles raised his hand, but he had moved too slowly and too late – one of his brothers had thrown themselves through the window, teeth bared at Charles and about to tear out his jugular.

At least, it would have, if not for the bullets colliding with its temple and chest. Two rapid bangs lanced through the air, the angel skidding to a stop by Charles’s bare feet.

Charles turned to the source of the noise, surprise colouring his angelic face.

Raven was there, smoke still curling from the gun in her hands, eyes focused and brow determined. Hank hurtled out after her, gun awkwardly held in his hands, and his eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw the carnage in the diner.

“Oh God,” Hank said, wobbling a little on his legs, wrenching his eyes from the dead bodies on the ground.

“I told you I wasn’t helpless,” Raven said, giving Charles a small smile, which he returned.

“No wonder it’s you,” Charles said, Raven tilting her head to the side questioningly, before her eyes widened and her body keened over. Charles rushed forward as Raven bent, a pained gasp leaving her parted mouth as she clutched her stomach. “Raven! What’s wrong?”

“Raven!” Hank chorused, rushing behind the pregnant woman to support her, arm looped around her torso to help hold her upright.

“No, I’m fine,” Raven pushed out, waving her hand in the air. “The baby… The baby just kicked. Hard.”

“He’s a fighter,” Charles said, chuckling. “Like his mother.”

“He?” Raven echoed, curious. “How do you know it’s a he? I never confirmed the gender.”

Charles just smiled as there was a flurry of footsteps coming down the stairs, the group on the rooftop flooding into the ripped-up diner.

“Look at the mess!” Moira exclaimed, almost on the verge of tears. “I… I just mopped the floors this morning!”

“That’s the least of your concerns right now, Moira,” Angel said, mouth quirking up in a little amusement, despite the situation.

“They’re running,” Logan reported to Charles, nodding his head out the window. Charles hummed, shoulders seeming to loosen slightly.

“Well, it seems we have earned a moment of reprieve,” Charles said, walking over to one of the booths, brushing off a seat and setting himself down on it. Charles looked at the group before him, patting the expanse of faux-leather beside him. “Now, take a seat and rest your weary legs. I suppose it’s time for an explanation.”

Charles and Erik sat on a beach, wings resting in the golden sand. It was 1962, though time often seemed to blend into an incoherent expanse in their long existence.

“They were gifted with so much intelligence, and yet they use it to create tools of death and destruction,” Erik spat, standing up. Erik’s feet, clad in battle leather, did not leave any imprints in the sand as he stalked towards the water, wings unfurling in his anger.

Charles quickly got up too, following his closest friend across the sand to where the waves lapped at the shore.

A swarm of ships drifted across the sea – Russians and Americans – and were locked in a tense stand still. Charles could feel their fear and uncertainty swirling over the waves, their endless questions, the wondering if this was going to be their end. Charles knew it wouldn’t be, not yet, because He had not willed it to be so. But, these events were beginning to test His patience, Charles could feel it.

“What are their minds thinking, Charles?” Erik asked, grey eyes hard. “I can never understand them. What compels them to act like this? To make these choices that will only end in the destruction of their kind?”

“They are afraid, Erik,” Charles said, stepping to stand side-by-side with his fellow angel, who snorted.

“Afraid,” Erik repeated, Charles nodding. “I do not know what that is.”

Charles huffed, turning away from the stalemate of ships and their bombs, instead choosing to look at the profile of his friend. In the Cuban sunlight, Erik’s hair appeared more copper than brown, and at the angle of the noon sunlight his cheekbones were more angular than normal, making his jaw appear sharper. Charles always teased the man that he was the inspiration for the Italian statues of old, the old masters using the beautiful planes of Erik’s face and body as a model for the statues of their kind. Erik just snorted, but his eyes always lit up like the stars whenever Charles waxed lyrical about him.

“Fear is not exclusive to humans, Erik. Angels can feel fear, too, just not as often. We haven’t been given many opportunities to fear with our immortality and power,” Charles said, Erik beginning to grin, showing a flash of white teeth.

“Yes, because He made us powerful. More powerful than the humans, who die so easily yet spend their lives so recklessly. Compared to the foolish, foolish humans, it’s clear that we are superior, is it not, Charles?”

“My friend, you know I don’t believe that,” Charles said, placing his hand on Erik’s bicep, squeezing the taut muscle there. “We are not superior, nor are they inferior. They just don’t see like we do, Erik. Their lives are short compared to ours, their collective knowledge is eons shorter than what we have already experienced. We… We see things from above. We don’t live with our feet on the ground like them, with their emotions. Even I, who has the Gift to feel what they feel, only do it second hand. They live with their feelings, _by _their feelings. That is a power in itself, Erik. One that, I must admit, I find amazing.”

“Careful, Charles. It almost sounds like you are envious of the humans,” Erik said, glancing down at the man by his side, who just chuckled, stepping in front of Erik to dip his bare feet into the sun-kissed water.

“No, not envious, my friend. Just awed,” Charles said, gazing out across the sea. Charles listened – felt – at once; Charles was the Russian soldier longing for the conflict to end to be reunited with his infant daughter, and he was an American shipman twisting his new wedding band around his finger, praying that what he does today will protect the future for his wife at home. Most of the people on those ships, they all made decisions based on their hearts – of course, there were the few whose minds were tainted with darkness, but in the end, most of the men out there wanted to protect their countries and the people they loved that lived within them. That was a warm feeling that made Charles tingle, warming him up from the inside.

They just couldn’t see that the other side wanted the same thing.

“Awed at the humans who are ruled by fear?” Erik asked, Charles turning, wings dragging in the water.

“You don’t understand because you have never known true fear, Erik,” Charles said, Erik rolling his eyes.

“What do I have to fear?”

Charles just smiled, shrugging.

“Your fears are your own, my friend.”

“And you? You have fears that are your own? Fears that the humans don’t force upon you?”

Charles looked at Erik, deep into his blue-grey eyes, before dropping his gaze, the look in Erik’s eyes burning too bright.

“Yes, I have fears that are my own,” Charles said gently, stepping further into the water until it lapped at his thighs, the white fabric he wore billowing out languidly.

‘I fear that we will be torn apart one day.’

“So, angels,” Raven said, voice monotone. Hank’s mouth dropped open, having only heard this for the first time, unlike those on the rooftop. Still, hearing it for a second time didn’t make it any easier to digest.

“Yes, angels,” Charles repeated, Moira and Sean returning to the table with trays full of hot coffees and marshmallows. The group all took a cup each, but only Charles blinked as Moira placed a steaming cup in front of him. Curiously, Charles pulled the mug towards him, taking a careful sip – Charles had never consumed anything before, his body not needing human food for sustenance. But, now he had fallen, and Charles did not know what he was any more.

Charles decided that he didn’t particularly like this concoction called coffee, but that he did not mind the sweetness of the fluffy marshmallows that were like the clouds at home. Erik would probably prefer the coffee, though – the thought made Charles’s chest squeeze tightly.

“I suppose I should start from the beginning,” Charles said, pushing his coffee away and nibbling on another pink marshmallow. Everyone around the table nodded, the coffee forgotten as they listened attentively.

“The last time God lost faith in man, he sent a flood,” Charles said, breaths hitching all around the table. “This time, he sent what you saw outside.”

“So, this is the apocalypse? Is that what you’re saying?” Alex asked, coffee cup thudding on the table.

“Hm, I suppose so. That’s what you all call it. At this point, it’s more like an ‘extermination’,” Charles said, smiling wryly.

“What, so we’re like cockroaches? Pests?” Alex piped up again, clicking his tongue.

“Divine fumigation?” Moira offered, Logan snorting a little.

“That’s the short of it, yes,” Charles said, smiling a little at the analogy before sobering again. “Those beings that you saw outside, they’re just vessels. Possessed, you could say. The weakest willed are the easiest to turn.”

“Possessed by angels then? You sure they’re not possessed by demons? Because that’s what the movies say, man. The angels are supposed to be the good guys,” Sean said, Charles shaking his head.

“Your popular culture is amusing, and oftentimes quite flattering,” Charles said, taking another marshmallow and squishing it between his fingers. “But no. This is not the work of demons, but of His angels.”

“Wait, how do you know so much about this? Are you a… pastor, or something?” Raven asked, Charles giving them a serene smile.

“I know all of this because, yesterday, I was technically on their side,” Charles said, back beginning to burn again at the reminder of the appendages he had recently lost.

“So you’re a-”

“Was,” Charles said sharply, cutting Alex off, the boy flinching. Giving him an apologetic look, Charles lowered his voice. “Sorry. It’s… sensitive.”

“Right, sorry Chuck, you say that you were an angel or whatever, but I’m not about to believe that so easily,” Logan said, dumping the rest of his flask of whiskey into his coffee and stirring it with his finger, chugging it down. “That being said, I also don’t believe in God and shit either.”

“Well, that goes both ways, Logan. He doesn’t believe in you either, not right now,” Charles said, everyone tensing. Logan just stared at Charles, almost challenging, the fallen angel heaving out a prolonged sigh. “I do suppose this is all hard to believe. Piety has waned in recent centuries, and pop culture has reduced us to shiny white-winged beings. Unfortunately, things aren’t so glamourous.”

Charles shuffled from where he sat, shrugging off his tweed coat – now soaked with blood and what Moira was denying were bits of temporal lobe – and subsequently pulled his lilac sweater over his head. Moira, who was standing slightly behind Charles, gasped. Charles laughed dryly.

“Yes, I can’t imagine that it’s a pretty sight,” Charles mused, everyone getting up to get behind Charles, wondering why Moira looked so pale. It was obvious once their eyes fell upon the two red and puckered wounds on Charles’s back which almost met in a V-shape, long bony protuberances jutting out like sawed-off stumps from the jagged cuts.

“Oh, wow. So what are you, like Michelangelo or something?” Sean asked, Moira giving him a look.

“You mean Michael, the archangel?”

“Or Gabriel, and Raphael,” Darwin added, Charles laughing.

“Oh, yes and no. Our names seem to have gotten lost sometime during the past millennia. Instead of Raphael, try Emma. And instead of Uriel, my brother would prefer to be called Janos.”

And Gabriel’s true name is Erik. Erik, Erik, Erik.

“But your wings… they were…” Hank asked, staring at the wounds on Charles’s back curiously.

“…Taken as a punishment for my betrayal,” Charles said quietly, taking another sip of his bitter coffee.

“Betrayal?”

“Yes. You see, I’m supposed to help with your… fumigation. Evidently, I was against it, and threw myself from Heaven to try and save humankind. Obviously, He did not take too kindly too it, nor did my brothers and sisters, and hence my wings were torn from my back and my Gift taken away,” Charles said, voice airy and light but stilted despite trying to sound unaffected.

“So you’re here to protect us? Like a guardian angel?” Angel asked, Charles leaning on the table.

“Well, not entirely,” Charles said, turning his eyes up from his coffee to look directly at Raven, the blonde girl blinking. “I’m here to protect her.”

“Me?” Raven asked, alarmed. “Why me?”

“Because your child is the only hope humanity has of surviving,” Charles said simply, the diner growing silent. Heads turned back and forth between a still Raven and a calm Charles, who continued to chew on his marshmallows.

“Well, shit,” Alex muttered, sinking into his chair.

“No way. Nope, nuh uh,” Raven said, standing up as she shook her head. Raven threw her hands up, pacing around the diner as Hank hovered around, trying to get her to sit down. “Why me? I’m nobody. Hell, I know what everyone says about me. I’m just the girl who got knocked up by some random guy a few states over, the girl that threw away my future because I didn’t use protection! Why. Me?!”

“Because you’re strong,” Charles said, voice soft but cutting through Raven’s near-hysterical rant, the girl silenced by Charles’s words. “Because you’re a fighter, and brave, and good. Because you’re the only person that is strong enough to carry this burden.”

“I’m just a waitress,” Raven whispered, letting Hank guide her back to the booth seat with worried hands.

“No, you’re Raven,” Charles said, like that meant something. “You’re stronger than you know. Trust me.”

After a long moment, Raven’s mouth curled up.

“Well, who better to trust than an angel?” Raven said, Sean laughing, Darwin and Alex cracking smiles. Even Logan let out a snort, while Moira and Hank exhaled soft chuckles.

“So, let me get this straight, Chuck,” Logan said, crossing his arms over his burly chest. “To survive the apocalypse, we’ve just gotta protect the girl and her bub until it’s born?”

“At the very least,” Charles said, eyes growing dark. “Let’s get to that stage first, because once the baby is born, the vessels out there can’t touch him. But after that…”

Erik will come to kill the child.

“More of them are coming, then?” Darwin asked, Charles swallowing around the boulder in his throat and nodding.

“Yes, which is why we need to prepare. This first wave was them testing our strength. Next, they will test our weakness.”

“Okay,” Moira said, leaning on the table. “Charles, what do we need to do?”

Next chapter (3/4) →