#also it's time to give up and recognize that it's fine to make new foods just for me

[23rdhunter]

Someone drank the last of the too-much-carrot ramen broth i made, 😔. wdym i don't get to eat ramen for lunch 8 days in a row because i'm the only one who will consume this entire gallon of homemade broth?

Time to make more I guess. maybe a mushroom broth?

[01zfan]

muscle memory | p. wb

waiter!wonbin x waitress!reader | 5.9k words

WONBIN ANON(S) THIS ONE IS FOR Y’ALL!

contains: random idols mentioned for world building, semi-public sex, unprotected sex

you sat next to the pass waiting for the food you ordered for your table to be put out. it was ironically one of the few areas in the restaurant where you could gather your thoughts despite objectively being in the middle of all the chaos. this was the one place in the restaurant where you could actively see all moving parts in the restaurant coming together. next to the pass was also the personal dining room of you and your coworkers, the designated spot where discarded food was up for grabs. so you basked in the organized chaos of your restaurant while eating almost cold parmesan aioli fries.

from your seat on your barstool you could see the cooks in the open faced kitchen work preparing people’s food. you could see the fire coming to life in their woks, and how they didn’t flinch away. you could hear them yelling out terms and phrases to eachother about dishes. you perked up when you heard the items of the dish you were waiting for be called out. you looked down the line quickly, but went back to your slouching position when nothing you needed was there. 

you sat there eating the discarded food, half focused on putting something in your empty stomach while half focused on the sounds around you. you waited to hear the signature ding of a new dish being done, but all your ears could pick up was the sound of more tickets being printed and the low-volume music playing in the kitchen. if you got close enough enough and if it was loud enough you could sometimes recognize the words and sing along. you had built up a rapport with them that way, singing along to their songs and passing along compliments from the customers. when they were feeling generous enough, they would even prioritize your staff meal and actually make your on the fly items quickly.

you couldn’t decipher the song in the kitchen. it was drowned out by the million other sounds happening around you. you heard your fellow server yelling into the kitchen about something being made wrong. you looked up to see it was giselle, nearly sitting on the pass to lean as far as she could into the kitchen. any argument she tried to start failed. you knew it would be forgotten after closing, but in the moment it seemed intense. curses were being thrown over the wall on both sides and made it down the line. you wondered if you would have to call for shotaro to mediate the situation, but everyone seemed unbothered as they continued with their job. in less than a minute, giselle was handed her food and she had a smile on her face as she made her way back to the dining room. after seeing the exchange, all you could do was shake you head and go back to your fries.

you had learned a long time ago to stand off to the side when altercations happen. you only recently got in the good graces of most the people you worked with. the last thing you needed was to be put on someone’s shit list for rightfully asking for your food to be ready, or to ask them to calm down.

that was a big problem you developed working here. becoming fine with getting the short end of the stick. if anton sat a seven-top, two five-tops, and three two-tops in your section you only smiled and nodded your head. if someone asked you to come in for them even if you didn’t want to, you said yes. if one of your coworkers asked for your helped even if you were swamped you ran twice as fast to make sure you could save them. you never dared to yell, stomp your feet, or say no. you took it as penance for no other reason than simply existing. you knew everyone was aware of your pushover personality, you just hoped eventually they would give you grace.

normally, you would’ve set your foot down by now, at the very least set up boundaries for your coworkers on what they could ask for. you practiced the speech a million times, each one unique to the unfair things your coworkers would ask for. anton it would be about sitting too many big parties in your section. giselle would be how she rushes too much. winter would be about her laziness when it comes to being on the pass. sungchan’s would be that he helps too much, making you feel inferior at your job. but you keep it all at bay for penance, to make yourself pay for how you unfairly judged your perfect coworker.

you had been hired at the company two months ago. it was hard to navigate at first, having to swallow your pride from not finding a job in your career field. any shame you felt melted after hearing their were multiple “young professionals” at your job. you were even more excited to hear that there was actually someone else with the exact same degree as you, and seemingly went to the same school as you. before you could ask any questions the interview went on, and any questions about other people cleared your mind when you got the job.

when wonbin almost ran into you on your first day, you dropped all of your drinks. it came as a surprise, seeing a face you hadn’t seen in so long. he was different, his black hair that never touched his ears went past his chin now, and he was faster on his feet. he also was the apodeictic leader of the waitstaff, earned through his lack of mistakes, ability to speak his mind, and being a guest favorite. in that moment it became clear who the person that had the same major as you was, and it was too late to quit. you had gotten a taste for the money, and this was the only job on the market that would hire you. 

so you stuck through it, swallowing your pride each time wonbin helped you correct a mistake or appease an angry customer. you were grateful for the help, and to have someone who knew what they were doing by your side. something would randomly hit you like a pang in your chest realizing wonbin was better at this than you. all the times you bested him in school seemed to pale in comparison to this, something that actually mattered.

while you were with your trainer sungchan you were distracted, keeping an eye out for wonbin so you could ignore his gaze. what bothered you even more was the fact that wonbin was unbothered. with an exception for the first time he saw you, everything was business as usual with him. he was nothing like the wonbin you used to know, who was petty and didn’t let things go. this wonbin didn’t bring up your past to you or anyone who asked how you two knew eachother. this wonbin only simply said you two went to school together, greatly undermining the time you two together. 

working with wonbin took weeks to get used to. they were slow steps forward, finally making it out of the initial awkwardness to exchange pleasantries. 

you finally were able to have a conversation with your coworkers while wonbin was present. before you would simply go silent when he came around, avoiding eye contact when he would ask you a question directly. 

the conversation was what it normally was during slow mornings, complaints regarding work. you had to spend a ridiculous amount of money on the uniform with no help from upper levels of management. sungchan and giselle shared your complaints, even talking about how later down the line you would have to pay for dry cleaning.

“what would you suggest to fix the situation?” wonbin asked.

it was a question directed at you, unavoidable as wonbin titled his head. you thought for a moment before keeping eye contact with wonbin.

“they could have designated days of the month where they take all of our stuff to dry clean for cheap.” you reasoned.

you felt your heart pound in your chest as you held eye contact with wonbin. you were expecting a rebuttal from him, from anyone before you saw sungchan nod his head.

“there’s discounts for bulk at that place a couple blocks down.” giselle said.

“they could also pay us for buying parts of our uniform.” you added on.

”that would be a dream.” sungchan said.

all of you nodded in agreement before dispersing to get back to your jobs. wonbin hesitated for a second, and your own steps faltered. but he only cleared his throat and went his separate way to tend to a newly sat table.

within two says, there was a list pinned to the corkboard wall for dry cleaning. three times a month, designated days were listed neatly. you already saw a few names, wonbin’s at the very top. you also saw a stack of new waiter aprons and a request sheet to fill out for missing or replacement uniform pieces. you looked around in the break room, feeling angry burn in your chest and eyes. you were hostile the rest of the day, taking it out of your coworkers and customers that were snappy to you first. you didn’t let it out until you caught wonbin in the back of house, sitting in the managers chair as he collected his tips. the anger surged through your fingertips and your feet, causing you to stomp into the room.

“really wonbin?” you called out.

he seemed confused, looking up from his money to your frown.

“what?” wonbin asked.

“i get that this is the first time in your life probably being in a higher up position, but that doesn’t give you the right to claim them as your own.” you quietly yelled.

wonbin sat in the chair, staring at you in shock while your chest finally loosened. the shock and confusion was replaced anger of his own, and you could see wonbin take a deep breath before leaning back in the chair. he looked at you with a calm and even expression now, your exact opposite. he turned in his chair to go back to counting the money.

“i see you haven’t changed one bit.” he said simply.

somehow, that hit you harder than any insult could’ve. it had you averting your gaze from wonbin again, focusing on stacks of paper and the sound of the printer. he said nothing else to you, just letting you bask in the shame of your anger. 

when you turned tail to leave you were face to face with a manager, thanking you for your smart idea about the dry cleaning.

“hands please!” winter yelled down the pass.

you snapped up from the barstool, swallowing the week old memory and the stale food so fast it felt like a lump in your throat. you wiped your face with the back of your hand before using a wet napkin to clean your fingers. 

you made a straight line for winter working on expo while pinching your server apron between your fingers to dry them. winter’s piercing voice was like a bat signal for the servers, when she spoke suddenly everyone was there. sohee pushed open the two-way door from the kitchen to come to her, with sungchan trailing close behind. eunseok and seunghan were lucky they didn’t have to worry about friday nights, but they had their own personal hell on sunday mornings. 

winter handed off everyone’s dishes one by one. you saw more and more people rush off as they had the orders they needed. you waited patiently for winter to hand you the plates. 

by the time almost everyone else was gone, you were left with your ungarnished plates.

“i’m swamped, and desserts are coming out soon. can you finish this off for me?” winter asked.

winter posed it as a question and you knew you could say no, but it felt like an order. she barely finished her sentence before she was moving back down the pass, tearing the tickets off to impale them on the metal spindle next to your fries. the pass was empty, and winter relaxed on the barstool to eat your food. 

your response to winter sat at the tip of your tongue. your stomach growled, and you started to imagine your tables waiting for their food. were they hungry like you were while you watched winter scarf down the rest of your fries? you could’ve told winter no, to tell her to do your job like you had to do yours. but when you saw wonbin coming to the pass from the dining room you bit your tongue before turning to your plates to garnish. 

wonbin saw you finishing the plating. he had empty plates in his hand and was making a path for the dishwasher, but you garnishing your dishes stopped him dead in his tracks. he turned to look at and winter quickly turned to look at him, getting up from her seat to try and look busy working. he saw right through it, tilting his head as she looked at the blank computer screen.

“really winter?” wonbin said.

she quickly shrugged and her eyes got wide to defend herself.

“she doesn’t mind.” she said defensively.

wonbin got a little closer, trying not to make his voice heard.

“she has three large parties all sat within five minutes of eachother. you should do your job so she can do hers.” he said.

winter’s eyes softened sympathetically when wonbin told her about the amount of people. she nodded her head and wonbin headed off to the back of house. he passed by you while you finished your final dish, not sparing you a second glance.

you strategically placed the dishes on the bigger black plate, hoisting it off the pass to rest it on your shoulder. you stole a glance at wonbin for a second, and you could see his eyes dart to the amount of food balancing on your shoulder. the food to feed your seven-top weighed down on you, but you had to start getting the food out now to give yourself grace for the five-top. you could feel winter’s eyes on you as you slowly found the right position for the plate. you turned and started heading for the dining room when you saw sungchan heading straight towards you.

before you could head to the dining room with your food, winter called out to you.

“i have to get this food out to my table.” you said as politely as possible.

“i’ll garnish for the rest of the night. sorry about that.” winter apologized.

the food started to hurt your shoulder, but the acknowledgement and apology from winter made the food feel a little lighter. you nodded your head thankfully before turning back to the dining room. 

the rest of the dinner rush went as expected. things went wrong, you had to be bailed out, you had to bail others out. you got tipped well sometimes but got tipped the worst for the bigger parties. you wore yourself ragged jumping up and down for the customers and your coworkers. you ended up staying behind to do opening duties, something that should’ve been reserved for the openers. you were the last of the waitstaff to leave, saying a goodbye to your manager as he locked the door behind you.

when you finally left through the back door into the parking lot, your shift was nearly eleven hours. a quarter after one, calculating your route home made your slippers drag across the paved parking lot as you made your way to your car. you could feel some gravel find its way between the slipper and your foot. the small sharp rock poked through your sock and was stabbed against your foot, but you didn’t care. it paled in comparison to the pain of being on your feet all day. maybe the acupuncture could relieve some of the stress that weighed down on your shoulders.

the sound of your car waking up to you pressing the unlock button distracted you from wonbin on the other side of the parking lot. it wasn’t until he rolled down his manual windows and called out your name that you saw he was there. you have to blink a few times to realize who it was. exhaustion made your eyes droop and a little blurry. when your vision focussed you saw he was beckoning you to come to him. you looked at your car, so ready for you to get inside and drive home. but the guilt your situation carried your tired legs to wonbin’s car. he motioned you to the passenger side. you pulled on the lock handle once, and after wonbin let out an evil giggle he unlocked the door.

you sat quietly in the passenger seat, listening to the quiet music in wonbin’s car. you were only illuminated by the lamppost in the parking lot and the small light in the front seat. you stared straight ahead, awkwardly sitting upright waiting for wonbin to say what he needed to say. his thumbs tapped on his steering wheel, trying to get out what he needed to say.

“you’re overworked.” he said.

you scoffed and shook your hair lightly. you pressed a finger to your temple and turned to look outside.

“everyone is overworked.” you say.

“you are taking on a bigger workload for no reason.” you kept your head turned outside, desperately trying to ignore the caring tone in wonbin’s voice. “just because someone tells you to do something, doesn’t mean you have to.” he says.

“i do it because i want to.” you say quietly.

now it’s wonbin’s turn to scoff at you. you turn your head and narrow your eyebrows.

“what?” you say defensively.

“you want to garnish your own dishes when you have two five-tops and a seven-top waiting on their food?” wonbin asked you a question, but didn’t wait for your answer before shaking his head “give me a break.” he said.

you clench your hands at your sides, trying desperately to remain calm. but wonbin finds ways to push your buttons, found ways to make you so mad. the fake worry, the way he watched your every move without you knowing, the way he was right. 

“it’s none of your business what i do.” you said. 

“are you just going to keep letting everyone boss you around? do you plan on ever standing up for yourself?” he said.

wonbin had let of of the steering wheel, using his hands to argue with you like he always used to do. you cross your arms into your chest and tilt your head condescendingly.

“you don’t know anything.” you sneer.

“i know you’re making yourself suffer for no reason.” wonbin takes off his beanie, running a stressed hand through his hair. you keep your eye on his hand after sparing a glance to how his hair falls perfectly on his face. “is it because you thought i stole your ideas? so you just don’t advocate for yourself anymore?” he asked.

the incident hadn’t been brought up by either of you since it transpired. you half hoped he would’ve forgotten, but you knew wonbin always remembered. you had to pretend like you didn’t care when you shook your head, turning to look out the window.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about.” you lied.

“oh okay.” wonbin laughed. “just because you think we still have childish beef from college doesn’t mean you get to act the way you do.”

“i’m just not used to you being better than me at things.” you say.

it’s a challenge, the way you look at wonbin from your relaxed position on the door. you let your eyes go over his face a million times, resting on his lips after you lick yours. you almost forgot about the rush you got with pushing wonbin’s buttons. the feeling was freeing after a long day of running around for other people all day without saying a single smart remark. 

wonbin thinks about the type of person he is now. he thinks about how you two have been in this situation before, with you baiting him. you looked at him the same way you did now. back then he perceived the look in your eye as combative. but now, realization dawned on him. how he had never noticed before was beyond him. his eyes got wide as you leaned in with a smirk on your face. wonbin is timid, refusing to let his mind do something he might regret.

you the one that closes the space between you and wonbin by coming over the center console. you linger there for a second, waiting for his hand to come to your neck before you pull away.

”i’m not sorry by the way,” you brush hair out of wonbin’s face. “you should’ve told you were going to do that before you did it.” you say.

wonbin nods his head, completely giving up any argument he could’ve had with you. your smile is bright—you’ve bested him at another thing.

“i’ll do whatever you want.” he said.

you smiled before going back to wonbin’s lips. his hand on the back of your neck kept you in place, and his tilting head forced you to let him take the lead. you fought for it back through an iron grip on his shirt, pulling him forward. 

wonbin settled for letting you stick your tongue in his mouth to let his hand wander your body. he rested over your chest, lightly squeezing your breasts before moving down to your hips. he pulled you forward slightly, a hand underneath your ass lifting for from your seat. you pull away and sigh. wonbin looks at your expectantly, and you let him worry for just a moment before clearing the center console with your legs and straddling him.

“you’re still bossy.” you said matter-of-factly.

“you know, i’m technically not your boss.” wonbin said. 

he waited to say it until after his lips were already glossy with your spit and you were straddling his lap. even if whatever you were going to end up doing to wonbin wasn’t allowed, you were too far in now to back down. nothing he said would’ve stopped you from working the buttons on his shirt, or his hands that cupped your chest.

“we can’t get in trouble for whatever we do.” wonbin continued.

he looked up from your chest to look at you. he let your hand go to the buttons on his shirt before he went to yours. it was deliberate and slow, each button made the tension in the car go up. your shirts weren’t even undone all the way before your lips clashed together again. 

the kisses were messy like they always were. both of your tongues were mingling, the wet muscles causing a mess on the corner of your lips. the sound of spit being swapped filled the car, and wt kisses cooled the heating skin of your faces. your hands gripped wonbin’s shoulders, and his hand went to your pants. the button was stubborn and wonbin got no help from his shaky hands. it took entirely too long to get your pants open enough for wonbin to plunge his hand underneath the waistband of your panties.

instantly, wonbin almost cursed at your desperation. you were so wet the fabric of your underwear stuck to your folds. he wasted no time slowly sliding a finger into your heat, his eyes focused on your face when he made it to the knuckle. he put his second finger in a little faster, bending them when you brought his lips back in for a kiss. 

by the time wonbin put his third finger in your kisses devolved to sucking on his bottom lip. the way you were rutting your hips against his hand and gripping his bicep to keep his hand in place. wonbin watched you use him, unbothered by your desperation. seeing you get wound up so easily and hearing a quiet song about being all alone and needing someone made his dick twitch in his pants.

“been awhile?” wonbin asked.

wonbin’s words were laced with amazement, half talking about himself. the lewd wet sounds and whimpers from you both were already filling up the small space of his car. he was trying to make you feel better while you were still defensive. something in your mind still convincing you everything wonbin said was meant to be sarcastic, even if his pupils were blown wide looking at you.

“shut up.” you whine.

your whiny voice made your words bite less, and the way your hole fluttered around his fingers made wonbin want to keep going. he brought a hand behind your back to pull you further onto his lap. you pressed your chest against wonbin’s, still helplessly rocking your hips into his hand while whimpering into the crook of his neck. he cooed at you and gripped your side to keep you in place. it was the same bruising grip he would have on you in the relationship, one that he would always look at in pride the next morning. 

his fingers pushed inside of you at a skilled pace, wonbin would have to pat himself on the back for keeping such a steady groove while he was getting needier by the second. too many times in your relationship he would get lost and chase his own pleasure, going to fast for your liking. but wonbin was matured now, he changed. he could finger you at a pace that made you want more instead of giving you too much, and he could hit the spots you used to like despite the awkward angling in his car. he bent his fingers, smirking to himself when he could feel your body tense.

“fuck.” you moaned into his neck.

you reached out a tongue to lick the hot skin of wonbins neck. he preened closer to your mouth, the only hint he would drop that he wanted you to mark him like old times.

wonbin figured you got the hint, because a desperate hand pushed down his work uniform to uncover previously hidden parts of his neck and chest. your eyes scanned for a second, trying to figure out how high your marks could go while still being hidden. you went for a place on his collarbone and your lips found the perfect spot as if from muscle memory.

“no one will see.” wonbin said. 

his hands went to your ass, groping you over the fabric of your pants. he wedged one hand into your pants, reaching all the way down until he could get a handful of you. 

you continued sucking on his skin as your hands went down to the tent in wonbin’s pants. you moved so hasty that you didn’t bother with the button. all you did was unzip his pants before reaching into the fly of his underwear to grab his dick. wonbin hiss as he bucked his hips into your hand. his tip was angry and red, glossy from the precum that seemed never ending. his dick sat upright and fit perfectly into your fist. 

you wasted no time running your hand up and down wonbin’s length, the sound echoing off the walls in his car. wonbin started sucking on the exposed skin of your chest and laving any area his tongue could reach. you let your body lean back, a spare hand moving your shirt to expose more skin to wonbin. his hands started at your hips and worked their way up, grabbing anything he could. when wonbin got to the nape of your neck he pulled you in for a kiss. desperation from only getting chaste kisses turned to you pumping wonbin’s length faster. he continued to kiss you softly, hissing when the teeth of his zipper rubbed against his sensitive skin.

“does it hurt?” you asked breathlessly.

wonbin nods, reaching for the button of his pants. your shaking hands work together to unbutton the top, and you lift yourself up so wonbin can slide his pants halfway down his thighs.

you two look so pitiful, clothes only half off with forming bruises on your skin. the two of you were breathless only from making out and close to climaxing only from feeling eachother up. you almost forgot you were in the empty parking lot of your job, acting like a reckless horny teenager. if you had half a mind you would’ve gotten dressed and driven home to get ready for your shift tomorrow. but wonbin’s swollen lips called to you, and his dick twitched in your hand without you doing anything. you felt like you were wearing too many clothes and wonbin’s front seat gave you no space.

“should we go to the backseat?” wonbin asked.

you crawled over the center console a little to quickly. you laid down in the backseat, lifting your hips to take off your slacks and panties while wonbin put the driver seat back up. you kicked off your shoes and socks, putting them in the space behind your seat. your button up and bra followed, leaving you completely naked in wonbin’s backseat. 

the situation barely had time to settle before wonbin was naked and following you to the back. 

“how do you want it?” wonbin asked.

“i don’t know what position is best for car sex.” you said.

you forgot to lace your voice with sarcasm, or something sharp to show wonbin you were still mad. the words only came out whiny, putting a smile on wonbin’s face.

“just tell me what you want,” he runs a finger over the mark on your chest. “it’ll be a nice change of pace for you.” he smiles.

“you’re an asshole.” you said.

you roll your eyes before turning around. wonbin moves back, trying to give you the amount of space you need to get into your position. wonbin knew that you would put your ass up and spread your legs far enough where wonbin could slot between them. he helped you, moving your foot to plant on the floor in front of his so you could find more stability.

”spit” wonbin ordered. 

his hand was underneath your mouth, and you gathered the saliva in your mouth to fall into his palm. wonbin’s hand retreated, and you could hear the sound of him spitting and his hand running up and down his dick.

“i haven’t done this in a long time.” wonbin tells you.

wonbin’s wet hand presses on your ass to bring you down slightly. when you hear him moving forward behind you and his tip prods at your entrance, you feel yourself getting lightheaded. the feeling almost makes you forget that you have to atleast try to be a little responsible. 

“me neither. but you have to pull out.” you say.

“okay baby.” wonbin says behind you.

“i’m not your baby,” you almost recant your statement when wonbin pushes inside of you. “oh my god.” you moan.

“holy shit.” wonbin curses.

he’s still inside of you when he bottoms out. your walls waste no time clamping around him, almost like they’re trying to keep him inside of you. it’s blinding, and your body tries to adjust to the feeling of wonbin being inside of you again. you barely get used to the stretch before wonbin pulls out and pushes in again.

“so perfect. fits so perfect.” wonbin says.

you can only nod and whimper in agreement when he pushes in again. wonbin’s other hand presses to the side of your ass, spreading both cheeks. something so simple has you feeling something completely different. your whimpers turn you both into moaning messes as wonbin starts thrusting into your spread cunt. your skin is clammy, and wonbin’s hips start pressing against your ass faster and faster. you had to place a hand on the door in front of you for stability. when you tried pushing your hips back to meet wonbin’s he moaned behind you.

“i got you.” he said absentmindedly.

you reacted by reaching your other hand back, reaching for any part of him. wonbin gave you his hand, and then leaned forward to press his sweaty chest to your back. 

“wonbin.” you cried.

“i know. i know.” he cooed.

wonbin wrapped his hand around your body, bringing his fingers down to your clit. you could feel his breath hot on the shell of your ear, and you could hear the sounds the sounds he stopped trying to contain. you lifted your back up slightly to be completely pressed against wonbin, so closed you could feel his heart thudding against your back. he sucked on your shoulder blades and let go of your hand wedged between your two bodies to place it over the hand on the door.

“are you close?” wonbin whispered into your ear.

“yes. so close.” you said.

wonbin continued his revolutions on your clit, and started rutting his hips into yours. he was close too, and it took everything in him to not lose himself then and there.

“kiss me baby.” wonbin nearly begged.

you didn’t have to be asked twice to turn your head as far as it would go. wonbin caught your lips hurriedly, placing kisses to your jaw and cheek before kissing your lips successfully. he was overstimulating you both, becoming distracted between all the ways you touched. the fogged windows of his car only made everything worse, heat just circling the area between you two. 

you completely froze and no longer kissed wonbin back when you came. it was too hard to focus, each time your walls clamped around wonbin’s dick made you whine out helplessly. you wanted to cry when wonbin pulled away from your body to pull out. your sweat cooling on your ass and back mixed with wonbin’s hot cum. he moaned and pumped his length. he finally letting himself quickly rub at your clit to match the pace of his hand on himself. he kept going, long after the ropes stopped, trying to prolong the feeling of you both experiencing your highs together. 

wonbin didn’t pull his hands away until your legs shook and a weak hand pushed his away. your ass went lower and lower and you said nothing while you caught your breath. 

wonbin went to the center console of his car, opening it up to pull out napkins from his various takeout orders. he was delicate wiping himself from your back despite wishing he could keep it there forever. you murmured a tired thank you, still in your resting position. wonbin let himself slump into the seat after he cleaned you up, still trying to catch his breath as he pulled up his underwear. he looked at his foggy windows, then to you. wonbin let himself run his hands down the line of your back before affectionately tapping your butt.

“are you alright?” wonbin asked.

your moved from your spot, back on the seat to get more comfortable. wonbin could see sleep pull at your eyelids as you slowly nodded.

“tired.” you said simply. 

wonbin nodded knowingly, moving your body so your head rested on his lap. it wasn’t long before your eyes closed all the way, muttering something about giving you ten minutes.

“go ahead.” wonbin ran his hands over creases of your face soothingly. “you got time.” he said

[writing-mlm]

If you don't mind me asking

Could you please write Wally west x reader? (If not that's alright!)

I absolutely love your writing and there's so little Wally west x m!reader fanfics

Hope you have a lovely rest of your Day/Night or Evening :)

Everyone but you

Summary: Wally notices the newest addition and his quirks, quickly finding himself attached to his hip. Pretty soon, they're attached at the hips and his best friend can't seem to notice. Or After joining The Team, Wally worms his little redhead into your life. Pairing: Wally West x male reader WC: 12.2k TW: religious trauma, implied sex, references to child neglect, lowkey yj slander if you squint a/n: i was close to making this longer but Im p sure tumblr has a word limit LOL

Wally saw the little things, how could he not? Life was in slow motion for him, he’d be the worst speedster to ever exist if he didn’t naturally have faster reaction times. 

They’re practical, both off and on the field. Off the field, he notices when his food is about to drop onto the floor when a bird is about to swoop in and steal his food— it's good for saving his food. And you. 

He remembers when you joined the team. One month after The Team was officially recognized by the JLA Bruce and Diana had shown up with you nestled in between the two of them. You were almost bored, twiddling with your phone as he could faintly hear the music through your chunky headphones as Batman explained you were the ward of Doctor Light— not the bad guy, the woman with the super cool light powers. 

He’d made a stupid joke, calling you Nurse Light, not thinking you’d actually hear him over but for a millisecond he saw you smile. And a millisecond was enough for him.

The others weren’t too sure about a new team member, especially after learning that your powers were a lot like Enchantress. Powers via possession weren’t all that popular, go figure. Especially when you hardly ever spoke to anyone but your reflection. 

Needless to say, your introduction to The Team was rough, especially after your first mission. It was difficult but extremely successful and everyone was going to celebrate by having a pizza party. Wally had picked them up in a minute flat, it would’ve taken less time but he had to pay in cash and when he returned everyone was still on their way to the kitchen. 

But as everyone dipped inside the kitchen, you kept walking. 

“You don’t want pizza?” M'gann asks, the first to notice your absence. You don’t look back as you’re giving her a thumbs down that the others frown at. 

“I’ll save him a slice,” Wally was the only one to notice how your hand kept twitching as you were walking away. Rightfully assuming that you didn’t want the others to know about the quirk, he hurriedly sets out the pizza boxes on the large kitchen island. 

While the others are talking over their pizza, he grabs a plate and guesses what you’d like. He ends up on one extra cheese and one pepperoni; he could always go back if you wanted more or anything else. He also grabs one of the drinks and makes his way to the dorms of Mount Justice. 

Knocking once and then twice, his eyes flicker about. Unsure of what to do, he leans closer to the door. 

“Ah, hey, (Y/n). It’s me, Wally, I brought you pizza.” He says, just below a shout. The door opens before he walks away and you stand there, a little frazzled. He catches several things in the span of a second. He sees how your breathing evens out, how you try and block his view of the mess you made, and how your eyes twitch. They do that whenever the woman possessing you, whom you’ve only referred to as Sculk, talks to you. 

“Thank you,” But you don’t move to grab the plate until he hands it to you. He catches that the tips of your nails are suddenly sharp and a deep black color. 

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like but—“ He trails, his eyes finding yours again. 

“It’s fine,” You nod, the smile on your face short and fleeting. “But you should return to the others. They’d like your presence more.” He doesn’t take it in a serious manner. Truly he doesn’t think you meant harm by your words, he understands that now simply isn’t a good time and you need to be alone. 

“Okay, if you want more, just send down a message.” He doesn’t wait for you to respond before he’s in the elevator. You don’t look to see him, favoring having your door closed again. 

—

Sculk, as no one has pointed out, is named from Minecraft, and appears to you as a bioluminescent blue ghost, covered in a fog of black smoke. She’s nice enough, aside from the constant chatter you have to endure from her. But the trade-off is good, you never get peace and quiet but you get super cool powers.

Like June Moone, finding Sculk was nothing short of an accident. You’d been young, inside the Appalachian Mountains when you stumbled across a cool-looking rock. It was black with crackles of an unnatural blue, seemingly carved to look like a fallen leaf. It wasn’t until you had returned to the car that it broke, releasing Sculk into you. 

While it was cool that you had powers and spoke to someone only you could see, your family didn’t see it as such. Small-town churchgoers didn’t seem to take to the idea of possession and after almost two months you’d run away. 

Self-isolation was tough, but was harder was introducing yourself back into groups of people. 

“Down for a game?” Dick asks, waving a spare controller as you exit the kitchen, digging into a bowl of fruit covered in chocolate syrup. Looking at the game, you see it’s some first-person shooter game, and then down at your bowl. Your fingers are already covered in the sauce and sticking together. 

“No.” You’ve never played that game, and besides, you wouldn’t want chocolate syrup on their belongings. Dick frowns at your bluntness while Conner shares a look with Artemis. 

“You can just watch,” Wally offers, grabbing the remote Dick grabbed. “Or watch me.” He adds with a wink. Only his eyes catch your lips turning up into a smile before you look off for a moment. 

He takes that as a win, even if you once again say no before disappearing. 

—

It takes about three months after that incident for you to join the others on their game nights. That night in particular was another game you’d never seen before; you were more acquainted with board games and whatever games were on a Gameboy you found in the woods. 

Admittedly, you’re frustrated that you don’t understand the controls, that your grip isn’t quite right on the controller, and that you don’t even know what’s happening. It’s a multiplayer game with one point of view, you’d picked some random character that made Wally laugh. Some blue animal with a pair of red shoes. He picked a small pink thing. 

“You’re worse than M’gann!” Dick laughs, nudging your shoulder as you’re the first to die again. Everyone else laughs (was it at you or with Dick?) and you swallow your words, staring at your controller. Your eyes burn and you aren’t sure why. 

It’s a learning curve, kid. Sculk reassures you and you feel her petting your head. 

You felt like shit whenever you denied the others, you wanted to hang out with them. It seemed like fun. But you clearly weren’t the best company. The others are doing good, encouraging each other while also doing their best to win. They’re cheering and laughing, having side conversations in between their shouting and groaning. No one seems to notice your lack of mental attendance, you suppose it’s hardly different from when you’re there or not. 

Fuck it, you should’ve just said no again. Saved yourself the embarrassment. 

When you’re about to get up and leave, Wally places a hand on your arm. It was risky, in his eyes. No one has actually come into physical contact with you, as strange as it sounds. 

“Pick Mewtwo next time,” Wally whispers when his character dies for the second time. “I’ll teach you the controls, just hang on.” Nodding, you watch as he throws himself off the platform and the others don’t question it. One less person to fight against. With his character officially dead, he turns his attention onto you. 

“You gotta hold it like this,” He grins but doesn’t laugh at the way you hold the controller. “For max efficiency, most people hold it like this.” Following the way he’s holding it, he nods and sets his controller down. He then tells you the basic moves you need to know, explaining that for now, you need to focus on getting a grip on that before he moves on special moves. 

It takes maybe four rounds before you finally win. 

“You did it!” You grin when you realize that Mewtwo is the final one on the platform. Wally will never admit that he had spent the entire game making sure you didn’t die, he swears that to himself when he sees you smiling for more than a split second. How you’re much more relaxed than before, enjoying the company of everyone as they congratulate you. 

The games continue, you play several others but your favorite is the volleyball game. You won that one all by yourself. Nearly undefeated, the others were fighting each other to be on your team. 

“You should join us more often,” Artemis tells you as everyone decides it’s time to go to bed. Dick is in charge of putting everything up since apparently, everyone else breaks the consoles when they do. Hell, Conner had broken the controller ten times throughout the night. 

“I know, right!” Wally grins, slinging his arm over her shoulder. She shrugs him off but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

“Perhaps,” You nod. “Peaceful night, all.” And then you’re gone. 

When Wally is inside of his room he sees something on his pillow. 

Thank you for teaching me how to properly play, Wallace. 

-(Y/n) 

He grins at the note and sets it on his desk before he pauses. 

How the fuck did you put that there? 

—

Admittedly, you’re much closer with Wally than the others on The Team. For whatever reason, they don’t seem to like you. Perhaps it’s a natural thing, they’ve instinctively kept their distance. Your nature scares them, perhaps. Maybe Wally’s instincts weren’t as tuned in as the others, perhaps he hadn’t looked the gifted horse in the mouth. 

In truth, you wanted nothing more than to be a part of their group. But you’d missed a key part of growing up, without much time spent around others, perhaps… you came off strange. You’ve read about it before, stunted emotional growth. The inability to interact with peers. 

Not with Wally, though. 

He basks in the fact that he’s the only one you’ve willingly allowed into your room. It’s dark, just as your room was in the cabin somewhere in the middle of the woods. For some reason, he just knows that you hate the large overhanging lights, how you prefer the natural light of the sun but living inside of the mountain doesn’t allow for that. 

Instead, his eyes flicker to the lamps around your room. Placed in odd spots that lit up the room wonderfully when they were on. 

“Dick wants everyone downstairs,” He struggles to tell you, hating the fact that he’s ripping you away from your solace. That you’d been engrossed in creating a paper mache sun and moon. You look up at him, glue dripping from your hands. “There’s a mission request from Batman.” He explains when he sees that look on your face. It’s hard to explain but he knows your expressions by now. 

Call him an expert or whatever, it’s just a little something- something he can do that no one else can. Not that he’s bragging. 

“Thank you, Wallace.” Standing up, he watches as you use your magic to clean the mess from your hands. 

“What’re you making?” He asks as the two of you walk out of your room. 

“I heard that Raquel’s birthday was coming up,” You explain, picking at the skin around your nails. “Everyone likes the sun and moon, no?” It’s not intentional, at least Wally doesn’t think it is. But you’re admitting, in your own way, that you don't know much about her and you’d like to. And if they permit, the others, too. 

“They’re pretty important,” He agrees, smiling over at you. “Just so you know, my birthday is January 16th and I love food.” 

“Noted.” 

—

Raquel’s birthday had come and passed, she was surprised by your gift but accepted it all the same. You’d given it to her when the party was over, feeling there was no proper time to give it. No one else had, so you weren’t sure what to do. 

For Wally’s birthday only two weeks later, he’d been the opposite. He had a small table dedicated purely to gifts, his eyes shining brightly when he had seen a neatly wrapped box in your arms. 

He’d wanted a simple cake, but it was weird. A pink cake with a white border and rainbow sprinkles everywhere, on the edge was a large dollop of green icing with what you assumed were two arms and legs, and the black icing used for the eyes was sliding off. Behind the small creature was the word Forg. He does know it’s spelled frog, right?

That’s the joke. Sculk tells you as you stare at the word with disbelief. Oh, that makes more sense. It’s funny, now that you think about it. Such a silly little icing frog. 

Basking in the attention on himself, Wally dances along to the Happy Birthday song. Although he almost missed it, he caught how you watched him with a smile that lasted longer than a millisecond. 

When it’s time for him to open his gift, he loves everything. The food, the gear, and the tech. For some reason, he’d waited to open yours last and for some stranger reason, you were nervous. Anxious, even. 

“What is it?” He grins, ripping open the paper. Glancing at you, he winks and opens the box. Staring for a moment you worry you’ve done the wrong thing. His reaction is minimal compared to what it had been for the others. “Holy shit!” He gasps, pulling out a set of plates. There are five there and he only looks at the top one; designed to look like an orange slice. He then pulls out the plates that could also be bowls, and then the bowls. 

“Where’d you find these?” He grins, looking through all of the designs. He especially loves the silly little smiley faces on some of the items. 

“I made them,” You correct. “There’s more inside.” Digging inside, he pulls out various utensils. Each of them has their own design, like the alligator knife and the shell spoon. He thinks he likes the Nunchuck chopsticks the most, though. 

“You know me so well!” He gushes, pulling you into a tight hug. For a moment, you freeze. Your whole body tenses but there’s something about the hug, something about him that makes you relax and hug him back. 

Oh no. Sculk mutters but doesn’t explain further. 

—

The moment Wally knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that you like him back is when there’s a fan flirting with him. The two of you were walking together, forced to pair up by Dick and look around for possible leads. The girl, who Wally would admit is his type (everyone is if he’s being honest), clearly meant no harm by the flirting. If he was her, he’d definitely flirt with himself, too. 

But all he could focus on was the fact that your nostrils flared, you looked her up and down, picking apart her appearance in your head before looking away, and then looked at Wally, trying to see if he was showing signs that he was interested. 

A part of him wanted to entertain her; just to see your reaction but he didn’t. He was happy enough that you were jealous. 

“I’m sorry,” Wally stops the girl mid-sentence. “It was nice meeting you but we need to get back to work.” Testing the waters, Wally places his arm across your shoulder. When you don’t move, he takes that as another win. 

“I’m sorry,” The girl tucks her hair behind her ear, shrinking away. “Have a good day, Kid Flash, Ward.” Nodding, you watch as she leaves before looking at Wally. 

“I don’t like her,” He says and your face nearly lights up before you relax again. 

“How’d you know I was going to ask?” You ask, walking ahead to continue your search. He, of course, keeps pace and mindlessly plays with the ends of your hair.  

“There’s someone better for me.” He grins, awfully close to your face. You frown, that wasn’t your question. Sculk groans loudly and you roll your eyes. 

The kid is flirting fuck the question, kid! 

She screams into your ear and you wince. She’s never really yelled that loud before. Is he, though? She groans louder at that thought and you feel the wind smack your head. 

Wally, feeling the harsh breeze, looks behind the two of you. 

“It was Sculk,” You admit and he raises his eyebrows.

“How can she use her powers without you?” He asks. “I know June Moone has control until she says Enchantress, but you don’t?” Nodding, the two of you turn a corner. 

  “We’re partners.” Sculk awes inside your head. “She gets to experience human life, I get powers.”

“Seems a little unfair,” He admits. “Couldn’t she just take over?” 

“She can,” Nodding, you look down at your hand and flex it. It feels as if she’s tugging your hand around, moving each of your fingers. “But she’s not like the witch. She takes over if it’s needed or if I use too much at once and need her rapid assistance.”

“Like that time with the pizza…” The black nails, that’s probably the curse of her true form. He sorta hopes it’s the curse. 

“Yes. Her powers are a curse that I have built up a solid immunity to, but sometimes it’s too much for me.” Your hands flicker with the reddish-purple magic Wally has grown accustomed to seeing. In the magic, he sees a bird forming and watches as it flies away when it’s fully formed. 

“And if she takes over completely?” Wally looks back at you, worried about your answer. As cool as the idea seemed, he knows he’d hate it if he had to fight a possessed you. If Sculk decides she is done with Earth and tries to end it like Enchantress had done before. 

“I wouldn’t know,” You admit as if it’s nothing. “Full control means the other goes dormant until the other sees fit.” It doesn’t ease his fears but he lets it go. 

The main focus for him is that he’s finally gotten more than a sentence out of you. 

Score! 

—

“He’s so in love with me,” Wally grins to Dick, dragging out the ‘so’ while he’s working on his science homework. They’re both in Dick’s room, Wally laying on Dick’s bed while Dick is working on his laptop. Something about detective work for a case he’s working; boring with a capital B-O-R-I-N-and-G. 

“Is he?” Dick asks, sparing Wally a glance. As the team leader Dick swears that he knows his teammates pretty well and you… he seriously doubts Wally is your type. He’s loud, outspoken, adventurous, and quite frankly, Dick couldn’t imagine the two of you together. When he tried to picture you dating someone, he imagined that you’d end up with someone like his father. Not his best friend.

“He told me ‘Don’t eat so fast, you’ll choke’! That’s an admission of love,” Despite hearing his own words out loud, Wally stands by his statement. Huffing, Wally officially puts his homework on pause. “He made me a full kitchen set for my birthday. He learned all the characters of Mario Kart for me. Who does he like being paired with? Me. I get him, he gets me,” He says, his voice a little smaller in the end. He doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for Dick and the others to understand that you’re not some type of robot or a time traveler from 1703. 

It’s been a year since Wally was sure of your feelings, a year of him hopelessly falling deeper for you. A year of pure torture, honestly! 

“I just want to make sure you aren’t reading into this,” Dick sighs, facing his friend. His expression is sullen, hurt that Dick doesn’t believe him. Believe that you’re capable of loving him. “I mean, how often do you talk to him? Does he talk back? More than a one-word response, I mean.” He rolls his shoulders back, trying to alleviate the tension building in them. 

“Oh my god,” Wally sighs as if he’s had this conversation a million times. “Is being quiet suddenly a crime? And you never took the time to talk to him, I did. He’s very funny,” He says that last part the same way a child tells an adult that they know a secret that the adult doesn’t know. 

Dick goes to talk but someone knocks on the door. 

“Come in,” He sighs, their conversation officially put on pause. The door opens and Dick nearly swears you’d been listening through the vents because you stand at the door. 

“Hello, Robin, Wallace,” You call, your eyes cast towards the floor. “Can we talk, in private?” Wally nods, closes his notebook, and follows after you. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks as the two of you enter your room. It’s the same dark that it always is, but it’s a mess. Things are thrown about and there are burn marks surrounding an outline of someone kneeling. The door closes and you stand in front of him, eyes bleary and lip quivering. 

“I read that men shouldn’t cry,” You tell him, unable to look at him as you speak. “Sculk tells me that I should cry.” You add, barely catching Wally’s eyebrows furrow. 

“I cry,” He offers, guiding you to your bed. “Superman cries! Batman cries… plenty of men cry. Why are you…?” Sitting down, you scoot back until your entire body is on the bed. 

“I found out my parents died.” As you say it, your face twists and you scrub your face. He frowns and hugs you. It doesn’t take more than a second before you hug back. “I hated them, they abandoned me. Called me names, vicious and foul. I shouldn’t be crying,” You ramble into his shoulder, your head shaking and his shirt getting damp. 

“It’s normal to mourn,” He coos, rubbing your back. “You loved them, even if it was a long time ago.” 

“I do not wish to feel this,” You admit and he nods. In truth, he doesn’t know how to help you. But he tried his best. 

“When my grandfather died I hadn’t been on the best terms with him. He’d… I found out that he ran a… blog of sorts that spoke about his hatred for heroes. For the speedsters. He called us names and I broke. I stopped talking to him and yelled at him whenever he tried to talk to me. The man I knew had died that day. But when he died for real,” He sighs, staring at the wall. “I knew there was no going back,” His voice goes soft as he tries not to think about him too much. 

“They should’ve loved me, he should’ve loved you.” You mutter, removing yourself from the hug. “Why weren’t they capable of loving us?” Frowning, he shrugs and wipes the tears from your face. 

“It’s better that we don’t know. But you are capable of being loved. Sculk loves you, and Dr. Light loves you. I like you, Artemis likes you—“

“I doubt that,” You huff, fixing yourself before looking around your room. “I apologize for my appearance and the mess of my room. The sudden despondency caused my actions to become rash,” With a spell, your room fixed itself. 

“You should see my room,” He laughs, nudging your shoulder with his. Staring at him, you smile and look away. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell the others.” Not that you thought he would’ve. 

“Thank you, Wallace. You’re a great company, your grandfather was wrong about whatever he had talked out his ass about.”

“You cursed?” He belts out a laugh and you raise an eyebrow, snickering at his reaction. 

“I am grown enough to curse, Wallace! This isn’t the Regency era!” Never did you think you’d have to defend the fact that you cursed. And yet, here you are. 

“Isn’t it?” He grins. “If you had a British accent, you’d make the perfect actor for Bridgerton!” 

“What is that?” 

Wally, having deemed that a crime, insists that you have to watch the show. He drags you out of your room and into his. It isn’t as messy as he had led you to believe. Some thrown-around items, an unnamed bed, and empty bottles on the desk. But he quickly fixed the bed and grabbed his laptop before placing it in between his two pillows. 

“Wall or open?” He asks, pointing to the two available spots. You look between them before pointing to the wall. “Hurry! You gotta watch the show!” Tugging you over to his bed, you climb in and sit with your legs crossed. He doesn’t comment on it, aside from saying your back is going to hurt if you stay like that and he lays next to you.

“What is this show about?” You ask, watching as he logs into his Netflix account. 

“Uhhh,” He drags out as he’s finding the show. “During the Regency era in England, eight close-knit siblings of the powerful Bridgerton family attempt to find love.” He reads. “Season one is about one of the daughters, Daphne.” He further explains as the show starts.

Three episodes in, you somehow found yourself on your stomach, unable to look away from the screen. You’re completely engrossed in the show, the two of you missing the call for dinner as you’re on the final two episodes. 

“I am Daphne and you are Simon,” You whisper as they have sex during their honeymoon. He glances over at you, a smile spreading across his face.

“I’m Daphne,” He shakes his head, his voice an equal whisper. 

“Ah, yes,” Grinning, you look at him. “The red hair, my mistake.” Bowing his head into his arm, he snorts and leans into you. 

“So we’re married?” He asks. 

“Dating, perhaps,” You settle on. Play it cool, he tells himself and nods, skipping the rest of the sex scene. “Dating, totally?”

“Dating, officially.” You agree. 

Suck it, Dick. Haha, get it? 

—

Surely, Wally would be the one with dating experience, you tell yourself as you prepare for your first-ever date. He’d given vague details about the date, telling you to wear something comfortable but to also bring a sweater because he expects the date to last well into the night. 

What even is comfortable dress wear? Wally's comfortable wear is shorts and a graphic design shirt but your comfortable wear is a good button-down and slacks. 

Groaning, you settle on jeans and a white shirt. That’ll have to do. Yes. Grabbing a pair of jeans from the depths of your closet, you try to not second guess yourself again.

Tucking and untucking the shirt, you stare at yourself in the mirror. 

“Sculk,” You whine, throwing yourself onto the bed. “I do not appreciate this anxiety I am feeling, please take it away.” 

“No,” She laughs and you stare at her in the mirror. “This is fun, my baby's first date!” Rolling your eyes, you fix yourself again before smelling your breath. “You’ve brushed ten times. Give your human mouth a rest,” She groans and pulls you towards the door. Clinging to the wall, you feel the metal bending before she nearly tossed you out of the room and to where Wally was waiting at the elevator. 

“Nervous?” He grins as you stumble next to him. 

“Truly,” You laugh, trying to shake your nerves out. Looking him over, you see that he has a woven basket in his non-dominant hand. Ah, a picnic. The jeans were appropriate.

“Hi to you, too, Sculk.” He adds as the doors open. 

“She says hello and that she’ll go dormant soon. Something about privacy,” 

Outside, you feel the warm breeze that signals the start of summer and Wally nearly basks in it. Like a plant. 

“Get on my back,” He grins, lowering himself in front of you. 

“Whatever for?” You ask while climbing on. He stands up and holds onto each of your calves, his mind immediately catching that he’s never noticed your calves are built. Swallowing, he clears his throat and looks back towards you. 

“You’ll see! Hold on tight,” Bracing yourself, you feel the wind nearly punching you with how fast he’s moving. In fear of losing an eye, you close your eyes and hide your head behind his. It gets a bit chilly and you can tell he’s crossing the ocean because of the sound of water being hit. 

Soon enough, he stops and lets you down. When you open your eyes you find yourself on the shores of a beach with tall rocks and tall trees.��

“Google said Anse Source D’Argent is the best beach in the whole world,” He explains, guiding you toward a patch of sand large enough for the blanket he had stuffed into the basket. 

“It is lovely,” You agree, looking around. There’s no one around for miles. The sound of the water was damn near hypnotic and you bet you could climb those rocks in less than three seconds. 

“And I know that you’ve never been to a beach before… so why not bring you to the best beach ever?” He grins, grabbing your hands to pull you over to the blanket. It’s large enough that the two of you can comfortably lie down and have space for the food and drinks. 

“Thank you,” Settling on your knees, your eyes scan over the water. Watching the water roll in and get pulled back into the ocean. 

“Wanna swim?” He asks and you hurriedly nod, rushing up and leaving him in your dust. He calls for you, calling you a cheater, and rushes into the water, splashing you in his wake. Diving after him, he laughs at your puffed-out cheeks and barely open eyes. Pulling you deeper into the water, you watch as the fish swim away from the two of you. Surfacing for air, you see Wally do the same, his hair clinging to his face as you’re sure your hair does the same. 

“Why do you do that?” He asks, mimicking your puffed-out cheeks and closed eyes. 

“What else am I supposed to do?” You ask back and he shakes his head as if to say rookie before showing you. He inhales, his cheeks never puffing out, and then dives back down, looking at you with his eyes open. Copying him, you do as he did and feel the sting in your eyes almost immediately. 

After a few seconds, you get used to it and he nods, giving you a thumbs up. Giving one back, the two of you continue swimming. 

Sometime later, you’re floating on your back as Wally dives back down for a while. When he comes back up, he carefully places a couple of shells and pebbles on your shirt. 

“They reminded me of you,” He grins, the lack of air clear on his face. Lifting your head, you look at the rocks and shells. It’s hard to see them, but you smile all the same. “Let’s go eat, you can look at them on the sand!” He suggests and collects the items again. 

On the sand, you’re shaking yourself dry, suddenly realizing that swimming in jeans wasn’t the best idea. Waking Sculk up, you dry yourself off and she goes back to sleep. 

Wally is already dry, something about super speed and running laps. 

“I love this one,” You tell him, picking up the nearly intact knobbed whelk shell. With various shades of pink and beige on it, you hold up to Wally’s face and grin. “You match!” Rolling his eyes, he grabs a piece of foggy sea glass similar to the color of your eye. When he finds it, he grabs his phone and you watch as he opens his camera, placing the sea glass next to your eye. 

“Smile,” He urges and you do, hearing him take at least a dozen pictures, he shows you the ones he deems the best. Doing the same with him, you have him hold the shell to the side of his face and take three pictures. He does something with his phone before he opens up the basket to pull out the food. 

The rest of the date was spent with cloud gazing, building sand castles, and talking each other's ears off until you were interrupted by a call from Dick. He frowns but the both of you understand and pack up, quickly heading back to the others. 

—

Five months into dating, Wally mentions the idea of you meeting his family. Thanksgiving is coming up and the others agreed to go home and spend time with someone other than the team for a change. Your plans were to go back to your cabin or with Doctor Light for the weekend but…

“Would they like me?” You ask from your spot on his bed. He looks up at you, his face once firmly planted on your chest. “I mean, you’re the only person who enjoys my company thus far. I’d hate to make them uncomfortable,” Sitting up, Wally pulls you up with him and holds your face firmly in his hands. 

“I’ve told my family all about you and they’re dying to meet you, smokey!” He explains and the stupid nickname makes your eyes roll. “Besides, we’re pretty serious, right?” Nodding, he nods back. “So why not meet my family?” 

“If you’re sure… I don’t see the harm. But I’d need them to approve of it first,” 

And that’s how you ended up at the West house the day before Thanksgiving. Dressed in a brown sweater with thin white stripes, a pair of Wally’s baggy jeans, and your dress shoes; you stand next to Wally as he spam rings the bell. 

“I think they’ve heard it,” You slowly tell him, lowering his arm. 

“You think?” He grins, sliding his arm through your hand until you’re holding his hand. He’s dressed in a simple button-down and jeans, the best you’d get him to wear to the event.

“Wally!” A woman with darker red hair than Wally greets as she opens the door. “And you must be (Y/n),” Nodding, you fumble your hands before extending the hand that Wally wasn’t holding as he chuckles. 

“Hello, Mrs. West, thank you for having me.” She smiles and shakes your hand. 

“Please, call me Mary. Come on in, it’s chilly out.” Following Wally inside the home you see various pictures of him and his family hanging up. Baby pictures, first day of school, major events like weddings. 

“He pooped himself that day,” Barry tells you as you’re staring at a picture of Wally when he was in middle school, holding a science trophy. First place. 

“Barry!” Wally groans. “He’s lying,” He tells you and ushers you away as you’re waving at Barry. Barry laughs and heads towards the kitchen where you see Iris. 

“That’s Jay and Joan. He was the first Flash,” He whispers as the two of you enter the living room. 

“So,” Rudy says from behind you and you nearly jump out of your skin, spinning around to look at Wally’s father. “You’re the boy my son is dating?” He asks, his eyes scanning over you. Letting go of Wally’s hand, your nails mess with the thread of your sweater, pulling and picking at it. 

“Yes, sir,” You nod, swallowing your fear. With his eyebrows raised, he rubs his mustache. Lord, that’s a big mustache. 

Do not focus on his mustache! Sculk shouts. 

“You do drugs?”

“No, sir.”

“Drink?”

“No, sir.” You shake your head, feeling your chest tighten and suddenly your heart is in your throat. 

“Dad,” Wally almost scolds before his father can ask another question. “How about I show you my old room?” Nodding, you wave to the others and hurriedly follow Wally up to his room. 

“I cannot breathe,” You admit once the door closes. “I have never felt this nervous before, perhaps this was a bad idea.” Helping you to the bed, Wally opens the two windows of his old room. 

“It’s normal to be nervous,” He reassures you as he sits next to you. “Plus, you’re super powerful! They can’t hurt you,” As he’s speaking, he’s drawing chemical bonds on the back of your hand. Each of their names pops into your head, but it does nothing to take your attention away from your fear. 

“I do not wish to harm your family!” You bark, covering your face. “But what if they go astray? Wallace,” Looking at him, he frowns and rubs your back. 

“Ask Sculk to go to sleep if you’re worried. How about we stay for an hour if you still want to go and then we can. I promise,” Slowly, you nod. 

“I need to use the bathroom, but I’ll be right back, okay?” He stands up and you go to stop him, about to beg him to stay but nod. He smiles softly and slowly kisses you. “Sit and breathe, maybe look at my embarrassing pictures.” He points to a shelf with various pictures and a picture book mixed in with textbooks and comics. Nodding, he pecks your forehead and leaves. 

Laying flat on his bed, you hold your hands over your chest. Feeling yourself breathing and your heart stop beating so fast. Once it’s calm enough, you walk over to the window and sit out on the porch roof. Watching as cars drive past and as families greet each other around the block, you frown. 

Maybe if you hadn’t picked up the stone that held Sculk, those kids could’ve been you. You could’ve seen your family again. You could’ve grown up being loved by your family, and seeing your siblings grow up. Go to school, graduate. 

Sighing, you lay your head on the wall behind you, now staring at the sky. 

In truth, it probably was always going to end up this way. With you away from your family, shunned and cast out. But this was probably the best outcome because now you have Dr. Light and Wally. You have Sculk, too. 

“Hey, babe,” Wally climbs out of the window. He knows how you find the word odd, but he loves your reaction to it. “Ready to go back down?” He asks, sitting next to you. 

“Not yet,” You mutter, laying your head on his shoulder. He nods, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and the two of you stare at the clouds together until your legs go numb and you’re forced inside. 

“I promise, they’ll love you.” 

Downstairs, everyone is seated in the living room and watching some show. Unsure if you should greet them, you wave once again and sit next to Wally on the couch. While you’re nervous and unable to watch the courtroom show, you try your best. 

“Oh,” Iris says as she checks her phone. “I hope it’s okay but I invited my friend and her husband over; her parents just died and I didn’t want her to be alone.”

“That’s fine, hun,” Rudy nods and everyone tunes back into the show until Wally suggests playing Just Dance. 

“(Y/n), partners?” He grins as his father loads the game. You’ve played the game before, maybe three times but Wally is infinitely better than you. 

“Sure,” You agree and the two of you pick a song. Apparently, they play in teams, and whoever scores the most wins. He picks Kesha’s C’mon. 

“You always pick this,” You chide, standing next to him. 

“I gotta show off,” He shrugs. 

After three rounds, it’s decided that Jay and Joan got last place, Rudy and Mary got third, Barry and Iris got second, while you and Wally got first. He cheers, of course, holding up the Wii controllers as if it was a trophy. 

“I’d like to dedicate this win to my amazing boyfriend! His support means everything!” He says as if he’s at the Oscars, accepting an award. Grinning, you laugh alongside the others. “And as the winners, we’re deciding on Salvadoran food for dinner!” 

“Are you sure there are Salvadoran restaurants nearby? I’d hate for the food to get cold,” As you finish, Wally and Barry stare at you blinking before staring at each other. “What?” You ask and Wally chuckles, leaning down and kisses the top of your head. 

“Babe, you’re asking the Flash and Kid Flash if a place is nearby.” He explains and you feel stupid, shaking your head. 

“Forgive me for being concerned,” Rolling his eyes, he sits next to you.

“(Y/n) loves Salvadoran food,” He explains. “I don’t think they’ve ever had some, so you’d have to give recommendations.” He tells you and your eyes widen. No way, what if you give them food they hate? “Baby, they love all foods.” 

“You say every time it’s my turn to pick dinner,” 

“And I’m always right,” He grins. “Right, guys?” He looks at his family, silently urging them to agree. 

“I’m sure we’ll love whatever you pick,” Mary nods. Sighing, you agree. Explaining various foods and drinks, they all pick their food and Barry says he’ll pick some up whenever Iris’s friends text back what they’d like to eat. In the meantime, Wally drags you up to his room. 

“See!” He basically cheers as he closes the door. “They love you!” Sitting on his bed, you nod and watch as he dances around his room. Doing his victory dance. 

“For once I was wrong,” You admit and he nods, still dancing around. “Your family is truly nice.” Scooting back in his bed, he closes the windows and the curtains before joining you. On his way to the bed, he grabs his old picture book. 

“Prepare to see the most amazing baby ever!” He grins, his twin-size mattress hardly big enough to hold the two of you. The two of you must’ve stared at pictures for an hour before he puts the book back and the two of you just lay in the bed. 

“Yknow something I always wanted to do?” He grins over at you. Looking away from your phone, you hum and look at him. “Make out in my childhood room.” He winks. 

“Sure,” You grin and climb on top of him. He giggles and you raise an eyebrow, your hands trailing along his jawline. 

“I’m excited,” He huffs, his hands finding their place at your hips. “Sue me.” 

Kissing him, you move your right arm down to the small of his back, pulling him closer to you. He hums and wraps his arms around your neck, mindlessly playing with the hair at the base of your neck. Feeling his nails drag along your scalp, you relax against him. Your left hand gently holds his jaw, keeping his head tilted high enough for you. Your lips mesh against each other, pressing and gliding with each turn of your heads. Eventually, his tongue slips past his lips and you let yours do the same. 

He sighs out of the kiss, staring at you with barely open eyes and a spit-covered grin before leaning back in. Biting your lower lip, Wally picks back up where the two of you left off. Whatever chapstick he had used is fading at this point but he can taste it on your lips, quickly deciding he’ll buy more of it before he loses it. Cupping his neck, you press his lower body deeper into the bed while he makes a move for your belt. 

Shifting his left leg higher, you start breaking the kiss, leaving slowly kisses trailing down his neck when the door swings open. 

“I was right!” Barry shouts, laughing at your expressions. “Come on, dinners ready and Iris’s friends are here.�� He closes the door, still laughing as you and Wally fix yourself. 

“That part wasn’t on my bucket list,” He jokes, wiping your mouth of spit as you fix your shirt. 

“Your family knows we kiss,” You groan. “Your dad knows I’ve kissed you! In his house!” He’s going to try and kill you, get Barry to create a tornado, and deprive you of oxygen. 

“My dad knows I tried to have sex in his house!” He groans back. “We can still leave with our dignity.” 

“No,” You huff, kicking the air. “That would be worse. Let’s just go downstairs and act as though Barry never caught us.” It takes him a second but he agrees and the two of you start your walk of shame down to where the rest of his family are. 

“There’s the lovebirds!” Barry cheers when the two of you finally emerge.  Wally rolls his eyes while you stare at the carpet. It’s too late, you can never look any of them in the eyes again. “Sorry, I interrupted your little make-out session,” 

“Babe,” Iris scolds, putting her hand on his knee. He holds his hands up and Iris clears her throat. Wally guides you to a smaller couch than the one you sat on earlier and you finally look somewhere other than the carpet. “Mary this is my brother, Wally, and his boyfriend—“

“(Y/n)?” Mary finished for her. Looking over at Mary, she seems familiar but you can’t tell from where. 

“I apologize, but do I know you?” You ask and she frowns. Everyone looks between the two of you but her husband seems to have already placed it. He grabs her hand, giving her his silent support. 

“It’s me, Mary,” She says and you’re still no closer to knowing who she was. Her frown grows deeper when she figures that nothing is clicking for you. 

“Your sister.” 

“Oh,” You breathe. Wiping your hands on your pants, you lick your lips. 

“Where’ve you been all these years?” She asks, scooting closer to the edge of the couch. When you look at her, you hate how you don’t feel anything. There’s no connection with her, she’s just another stranger to you. 

“I don’t believe right now is the most appropriate place for this conversation,” You tell her with a tight smile. 

“We tried to get ahold of you for the funeral. Mom and Dad would’ve loved to see you—“

“No.” You tell her. Now it’s Wally’s turn to offer you moral support. “They wouldn’t have. If they didn’t want me in their life then they wouldn’t have wanted me in their death. As I've said before, now is hardly the time or place to be having this conversation. I believe you’re making the hosts uncomfortable.” 

“Can we talk outside?” She begs. “Please, I haven’t seen you in a decade. (N/n).” The name stings. It stings more than any injury you’ve ever gotten. The name sounds like nails on a chalkboard. It reminds you of everything you’ve lost, it reminds you that you’ll never be that child again. But maybe, she’s different. Mary might not be like your parents, she could love you again. 

“Fine.” You coincide. “Wallace will join us, though.” She nods, anything to get to talk to you. Wally is up before you are, guiding the three of you out to the backyard as his family awkwardly eats their food. 

“Why did you leave?” She asks once everyone is settled in the deck chairs his father had set out earlier in the day. 

“That’s far from the truth,” Shaking your head, you stare at the moon. “I was kicked out. They’d given up their rights to me, tried to get me sent to a wilderness camp.” 

“Mom never would’ve done that!” Mary’s eyes narrow and you huff, looking back at her. 

“Mary, what use is lying now? If I ran away wouldn’t they have looked for me? Reported me missing— tried to get me home?” It settles on her, how your mother and father only cried for you and prayed during church for you. But they never asked for you back. Her eyes lower, almost ashamed of her actions. 

“Where were you?” She reaches for your hand but you move it away on instinct. 

“A cabin in the woods. I lived there until recently,” 

“Your father,” Mary’s husband started after silence had fallen over the group. “He always told stories about you being possessed. A she-demon who took over your body,” 

“I guess he meant you being gay…” Mary trails before she sighs. “(N/n), I’m so sorry I didn’t help you. That I didn’t fight for you. I’ve missed your entire life, all because I believed our parents without question. But God has brought us back together, God is letting us be a family again.”

“I don’t believe in such a cruel man,” You tell her and she falters. “Your god and his cruel ways are what led to me being abandoned. It’s what led to me living in a broken-down cabin until I was found almost ten years later. Your god isn’t someone deserving of my love and my devotion. He’s never helped me,” You spit. “I helped myself. I found solace, I found joy, I found love. Look, Mary,” Wiping your face, you grab Wally’s hand, giving it squeezes to comfort yourself. 

“I will not tell you that you’re wrong for choosing that god, I will not tell you that your religion is cruel. I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times over. What I am telling you is that your god played no role in my life. I am here because I am meeting my boyfriend's family. I met Wallace because the woman who found me is friends with Barry’s friends. I am still alive no thanks to god, no thanks to your mother and father. If you wish to have some sort of relationship with me, you’ll need to understand that.” It was awkward, saying that in front of Wally’s family and all but clearly Mary wasn’t going to let the situation go. 

“I understand,” She nods, her hand rising to press against her cross. “I’m sure our other siblings would love to see you again. I know your birthday is coming up—“

“It is?” Wally gasps, effectively changing the whole conversation. “You’ve never told me your birthday!” The realization hits him like a truck and he gasps, clutching his chest. “Babe!” Mary stifles her laughter, watching the two of you. 

“I haven’t celebrated my birthday in years, Wallace,” 

“We’re celebrating!” He shakes his head. “I’m already planning the best surprise birthday for you,” He grins, leaning closer to you. 

“Please, look up the definition of a surprise.”

“My dad told me the same thing,” 

—

December arrives faster than you’d like. You know Wally and your sister have been texting about your surprise party. You’ve seen their messages— and the subsequent group chat with all of the people who are going. It’s Wally, his family, your sister, your family, Kimiyo and her kids. No one from the team, though. Wally understood well enough that you’d hate to have them there. They know next to nothing about your biological family and you’d hate to have them learn in that way. 

Sculk isn’t the happiest with this. She’s against the idea of you rekindling things with your family but you’ve explained that nothing is set in stone. You’re testing the waters, unable to let yourself get hurt like that again. 

“Happy birthday!” Wally cheers as you enter the training room. Everyone else is already there, starting their warm-ups. 

Thank you, Wallace,” Nodding towards him, you start your warm-up. He watches you, a stupid grin on his face because he doesn’t think you know his plans. He’s already created a great cover story. Barry and Kimiyo are going to call the two of you away for a mission. It’ll do two things, create a reason for you two to leave and ensure that the two of you aren’t called back for an emergency. 

Double win! 

“Happy birthday,” The others rush out and you thank them all the same. 

Around twelve, Wally tells you to put on something nice. He says nothing fancy, but not jeans either. Essentially, your version of comfortable wear. Surprisingly, he’s dressed up. 

He’s wearing a new shirt and pants, a black turtleneck, and a pair of brown plaid pants. Of course, he puts on his usual shoes. 

“Ehh!” He says, gesturing to his outfit. 

    “We could skip it and I could enjoy this outfit in my room,” You offer, slowly trailing your eyes over him. For a moment he genuinely considers it. His eyes flicker something almost desperate, yearning, but he shakes his head. 

“I have an amazing day, plus backups planned,” He tells you, smoothing out your collar. “We can do what you said when we come back, yeah?”

“If you can wait that long,” You chide. His eyebrows raise, seeing that as a challenge he is more than willing to accept. 

The two of you leave Mount Justice with help from Sculk. Appearing in the backseat of Barry’s car that’s parked outside of the venue Mary had rented out, he looks back at the two of you. You’ve spent more time with Barry and Iris since Thanksgiving, actually enjoying their company. Iris often invites you out for coffee on the weekends. 

“No getting freaky—“

“Shut up!” Wally groans, covering his ears before loudly repeating lalalalala. You just stare at him, unblinking. That’s the guy you’ve fallen for. 

“You ready?” Iris asks as she looks back towards you. “Because you can always leave.” Her hand reaches for her knee and Wally catches that for once, you don’t jerk away from the sudden touch. His eyes twinkle as he stares at you, even if you’re unaware of the shine in them. 

“I’m sure I’ll be prepared for most of the possible outcomes,” You reassure. 

Heading inside, you see faces with features that you see in yourself. You see your hair color, your eye shape, your skin tone. Your family. They’re all so foreign to you, you know their names and their relation to you but you don’t know them. They’re like an urban legend in your mind; except you’ve always figured the Moth Man was more real than you reuniting with Thomas again. 

“(Y/n),” He smiles at you, his height matching your own. Thomas was your twin growing up, he was born a week after you to your mother's brother. You’d been inseparable since birth. Damn near identical, too. 

“Thomas,” You greet him. “Wallace, this is my cousin. Thomas, this is my boyfriend, Wallace.” 

“Call me Wally,” He introduces himself with a handshake. “He’s a stickler for full names.” He smiles back at you and you smile back. Thomas laughs before patting your shoulder. 

“Glad to see that hasn’t changed! Come on, Pop is dying to see you again.”

And thus begins an hour of reuniting with family. Having Wally hear whatever stories they’ve retained over the years, small pieces of your childhood that Wally never thought he’d get to hear. 

“You had a stutter?” He whispers to you as the two of you look to find Mary. 

“Used to,” Humming, you spot Mary talking to her husband near the drinks table. “It stopped when I merged with Sculk.” Who, just for the record, is hating every second of this. She hates when they greet you, when they talk fondly of you. when they hug you. She hates the way they act as if you’ve been off to a different country to study and not cast out from their family entirely. 

She hates how the elephant is being ignored.  

You find it amusing how not only are you meeting your family, but so is Wally. Although, he’s much less nervous than you were. He’s chatting away, doing most of the speaking for you (bless him, honestly), and mingling enough for the two of you. 

“(Y/n)!” A woman smiles as she pulls you and Wally over. Removing your arm from her grip, she looks down at it but doesn’t vocalize her thoughts. “I was just telling Imani how you’ve grown into a strong young man.” She grins, beckoning her daughter over. Imani, who you remember through Thomas, is his neighbor. But they’re considered family by the older generations. 

“I remember him crying over a trapped mouse,” Imani grins, nudging her shoulder with yours. Rolling your eyes, you see Wally grin and lean his head on your shoulder. 

“You cried over a mouse?” Wally asks and you nod. 

“I had just read the Crime of Being Small poem. It was cruel to let the creature starve in the trap when I could simply release it. But my father never permitted me,” You explain. “It never stopped me though,” 

“What a hero,” Imani remarks, a lighthearted smile on her face as she watches her mother leave. It drops once she’s out of earshot. “I can’t believe you came back,” She frowns and you frown back. Was she not happy to see you? You understood you were never that close but, damn. “No offense, but you’re better off.” She quickly adds and guides you over to seats. 

“Before you went on that mountain trip, our parents were thinking of setting us up,” She explains, scratching her neck. “They started up that betrothal shit again; I’m actually engaged.” 

“We could help you get out,” Wally immediately offers and you nod. She sighs, wringing her hands together. 

“I don’t have my diploma… I don’t have anything,” She admits and Wally glances at you, urging you to take the lead. 

“Neither did I,” She looks at you as if she remembered that you’d been alone, without any documentation for years. “But I can set you up with someone; get a place to live while you get your GED and raise enough money to support yourself.”

“Really?” She breathes and you nod, offering a smile. 

“Give me your number or…” Thinking about it. “I could ask them to collect your belongings now and we can leave once the party is over.”

“That quick?”

“That quick.” 

Connections, connections, connections. That’s the name of the game, at least that’s what Kimiyo tells you. Getting into contact with Bruce was easy, he’d prepared a safe house in Central City until Imani picked a different one. Clark and Doctor Fate collected Imani’s things, setting them up in the safe house. 

All the while, you and Wally are hanging amongst everyone at the party, eating snacks and drinking fruit punch. Imani is nervous, having to excuse herself to the bathroom enough that her mother starts to worry. So, the two of you bring her into your group and talk until Mary says it’s time to sing Happy Birthday. 

You’re reluctant. But you can’t say no, it is your party. 

It’s a tower of a cake, covered in your favorite color with small white details. There are little emblems and when you look at them, you see Lady Whistledown. The gossiper in Bridgerton. 

Everyone sings Happy Birthday, recording videos with obnoxious flashlights and trying to get you to smile. 

The song ends and you’re handed the knife, everyone waiting for you to make the first cut. Hand the first slice to someone incredibly important to you. You know Mary wishes it was for her, she stands next to your other siblings, watching as you cut the slice and carefully plate it. Her hands almost reach for the plate instinctively, but you hand it to Wally. 

He doesn’t know the meaning of the plate. He doesn’t understand that you’re basically declaring your love for him. He doesn’t get why everyone is stunned when he’s handed the slice. But you smile at him and wipe frosting from the knife onto his nose. The same thing he’d done to you for your birthday. 

Barry takes over cutting the other slices, handing you the second slice so the two of you could sit in peace for a little bit. 

“Did you enjoy it?” Wally asks as the two of you make your way to the outside area. 

“More than I thought I would,” The cake is lovely. It tastes good but you’re sure Wally has incredible tastes for these sorts of things. “Thank you, Wallace.” 

It’s too early for an ‘I love you’, but both of you can feel the words lingering in the air. Your feelings are mutual, trying to outshine the other but you match his love in your own ways. 

To be loved is to be seen. To be loved is to be changed. To be loved is to be known. 

You love Wally. You love how he catches your moods, how he knows when you need a break, when you need a push. You love how you’ve slowly noticed his little quirks becoming your own. His eye rolls, his laugh, his gaze. You love how he knows your favorite color, your favorite flavor, and your favorite food. How he knows certain things would never be something you’d enjoy. 

Laying your head on his shoulder, you stare at his free hand. He’s since finished his cake, the empty plate left on the ledge next to him. 

Saying I love you feels right. Saying I love you would be like saying the sky is blue. Of course, it is, of course you do. But you’ve heard it’s too soon in the relationship. It’s too soon to feel that strongly about someone. But in truth, you think this is only the beginning. 

—

“How're you holding up?” Wally asks as he rushes over to you, watching your back as you fight against two of the zombie soldiers. He attacks the third zombie that had slipped behind you. 

“Good,” You huff, using Sculk’s powers to rip one of the zombie’s heads from its body. “I broke one of their jaws and used it as a shovel.” He makes a noise akin to that’s good and you hum. 

“Can you two focus?” Conner grunts, having five zombies on top of him. Flinging them off of him, you roll your eyes and pull the zombies to the center of the room. There’s about a dozen or so left and Dick had wanted to get some in to see what spell or curse they were under. It was a little difficult to knock out a zombie, they didn’t have a stream of consciousness or any sort of pain receptors. 

It was a matter of switching off their mobility, essentially paralyzing them. 

“Thanks, Ward,” Dick sighs, wiping his face of zombie flesh. Nodding, you check over Wally. He’s fine, talking to Artemis. His hair is messy and his black suit is working wonders for his body. Damn, runner's ass was a real thing. 

Snapping out of it, you clear your throat and head over to M’Gann and Zatanna, helping with the magic side of everything. 

“I want Ward and Miss Martian with me to dissect them,” Dick tells everyone as Zatanna binds them together. “Zatanna, could you make sure that nothing follows us back?” She nods and scans the area as you help M’Gann load up the zombies. It makes the jet smell horrid, surprise, dead things without ventilation smell horrible!

On the way home, you can’t help but stare at Wally. His black suit really is nice, but when he switches back to the yellow and red, you shift in your seat. 

“Zombies moving!” Conner shouts and you whip your head around, seeing the twelve zombies surrounded by a magical sort of aura. 

The Witches doing. Sculk sneers as she helps you put them back down. This time, she encases them in a magical prison. Cool, totally cool. 

“It’s Enchantress,” You tell them. “Someone needs to alert Batman that June has lost control of her.” Dick nods and calls his father. With Enchantress, you know you’re in for a long night of undoing spells and magical traps. So long that you’ll overuse Sculk’s magic and probably do something stupid. 

Dammit. 

—

Looking up from his phone, Wally gets up at the rapid knocks on his door. It opens and he smiles when he sees you, about to greet you before you start speaking. 

“I want you,” You tell Wally as you stand in front of his door, covered in sweat. He stares at you, confused. He hasn’t even known that you returned from the dissection room. 

“You have me…?” He trails, letting you in, and checks the hallway to see if anyone else is awake and in the hallway. It’s the middle of the night, he’d thought about going to sleep so it’s probably around two in the morning. 

“No, I want you sexually.” You groan as he closes his door, although you’ve come close more than a dozen times, nothing has gone past a couple of hickeys. “Ever since this—“ You gesture between the two of you. “I’ve been feeling weird shit. Horny shit. And fuck your suit? It’s really doing things to me, man!” You admit and he has to pause. Never has he heard you say any of those words before. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, putting his hand on your forehead. When he does, you start giggling and hold his hand in yours. 

“Yes— Sculk thinks I should mention I get weird when I overuse her powers— but I’ve been jacking it like a pre-teen for months to the idea of you. So, can we fuck? That sounds so rude.” You frown and drop his hand. “I’m willing to have sex if you are. Like so willing,” You rephrase your sentence. 

“Yes, please,” He laughs, already discarding his shirt as you grin and start to do the same. “Wait— are you sure you want this? I feel like this should wait until you’re clear-headed,” He says as he places a hand on your chest, keeping you away from him. 

“Ugh, you’re too nice. And sure, Sculk is about to knock me out, anyway,” In preparation you go to sit on his bed but your body gives out and you collapse. Wally even with his amazing sight can’t tell when your body changes from you to Sculk. Black and blue cover takes your body like moss on a tree and Sculk sits up. 

“This’ll be short,” She says, her voice like that of an audiobook for children. “Yes, he’s in a clear state of mind. Too clear, it’s basically anti-lying drugs when he overuses my powers. So, good luck. I will not be here for when you two…” She makes a face. “You know. I’ll be locked away, trust. That’s my son, I already hear his thoughts about you.” She gags at the mention and he doesn’t know if he should feel insulted. 

“Son?” He echos and she laughs. It makes him feel warm, like a child again. 

“I’ve raised the kid, that’s my son. He really likes you, by the way,” She smiles. “Thank you, for that. But I’ll kill you if need be.” And just like that, your body is back on his bed and he’s left trying to grasp with the knowledge he’s been bestowed.

—

With much encouragement from Wally, you agreed to hang out with the others for dinner. He thinks it’s the perfect time to have dinner with the team. With summer approaching again, he’s hoping for a weekend vacation with the team. You wanted to stay inside his room, perhaps continue your activities from the morning. But this was fine, too, you supposed. 

Everyone is in the kitchen, discussing what to get. 

“I’m tired of pizza,” Artemis says, immediately cutting Wally off when his lips press to make the P sound. “We should branch out for once! How about Salvadoran food?” Nodding in agreement, you can already picture what you’re going to eat. 

“My boyfriend loves Salvadoran food!” Wally beams, pulling you into a sideways hug. The others pause their conversation and look at the two of you. 

“Boyfriend?” Dick echos, looking between the two of you. “You’re his boyfriend?” He asks you. 

“I do enjoy Salvadoran food,” You nod. His eye nearly twitched, technically yes, that answered the question but it totally didn’t at the same time. 

“How long have you been dating?” M’Gann smiles, her arm wrapping around Conner’s shoulder. 

“One year and one month,” Wally happily tells them. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed. (Y/n)’s been super touchy, it’s cute.” He grins before kissing your cheek. “And my lock screen is him.” As proof, he shows them the picture of you smiling with the sea glass next to your eye. Yours is a picture of you and Wally on a date to the local fair where he ate too many deep-fried Oreos. 

“They don’t notice me,” You shrug, just wanting to eat. “It isn’t surprising that they haven’t taken notice.” Frowning, Wally rubs your arm and looks at the others with an accusing glare. 

“That’s not true,” Klaudr shakes his head. “You’re a valuable teammate, we notice you.” The others nod but do not offer anything of value. 

“I don’t mind,” Shaking your head, you lean away from Wally. “I understand I am not the most approachable or the most… friendly person on this team. There’s no ill intent nor malice.” 

Before anyone can speak again, your phone buzzes and you see it’s a call from Doctor Light. 

“I am needed elsewhere,” Excusing yourself, you kiss the corner of Wally’s mouth. “Enjoy your dinner.” He nods and sees you off, but doesn’t return to the others for dinner. Instead, he makes a bowl of cereal and heads towards his room. Only, the elevator door won’t open. 

He tries every door and nothing works, he’s stuck in the common area until you or Zatanna returns to fix it. Great. He’ll just eat his food in the living room. 

The others don’t eat much before heading to the living room. 

“Wally,” Dick starts but Wally doesn’t listen. With his back to everyone, Wally lays down on one of the shorter couches, making sure no one could sit next to him or talk to him. For extra measure, he puts on your pair of headphones that he stashed in the living room and immediately, the sound around him drops to nothing but his own breathing. 

Dramatic, probably. But he would’ve thought that the team, his friends— supposedly your friends, were still excusing you. He’d straight up told Dick that he basically ignored you, surely he would’ve thought ‘Hmm, my teammate is being excluded, we should include him especially since he was alone since he was five until four years ago’ but no. He thinks it especially hurts because Dick is his best friend— his best friend can’t be bothered to take the time to be friends with his boyfriend. 

That shit really stings. 

He must’ve watched videos for three hours before he saw the mist of your powers roll over him. Pushing one of the headphones away from his ear, he looks back at you and smiles. You’re dropping your hero outfit on the ground, revealing your daily clothes and your tired expression. He catches the signs that you’ve overworked yourself and frowns. That mission must’ve been tough, but you’re not injured. 

“Aw, babe,” He draws out as he scoots back, offering space between him and the back of the couch. “Wanna cuddle?” The offer is met with a simple nod and he lets you crawl over him. He smiles as you lay in front of him, throwing one leg over his legs to pull him closer. 

“Thanks, ‘missed you,” You mumble, digging your head into his shirt. With barely open eyes, you stare at him. He can basically see the heart eyes you’re making and he smiles, tracing chemical bonds on your cheek. 

“I missed you, too,” He whispers, pulling the headphones off with his free hand. 

“Nah,” You laugh and his eyebrows raise. “I missed you so much more!” You tell him, running your fingers up and down his arm. 

“How much?” He asks, just to milk the situation. 

“Oh,” You sigh, eyes wide. “Like so much! Ugh, Kimiyo wouldn’t let me leave to come and see you!” He fake gasps and you nod, acting as if that was going to get her in trouble. 

“She didn’t?” Wally shakes his head. 

“She did, baby!” You whine, cupping his face. “I was so lonely and I kept thinking about you and me and you kissing, us having se— Sculk is telling me to shut up.” You laugh into his chin and he knows the party is over. “She says I’m gonna regret this when I wake up— oh, she’s making me fall asleep. Night,” Immediately, your head falls onto the pillow and your hands drop into your face. He fixes you, of course, laying on his back with you on top of him. 

When he flips onto his back he catches the others staring and stares back. 

“We’re sorry,” Dick speaks first, looking amongst the others. “We should’ve made more of an effort with (Y/n).” He nods, carefully fixing your hair. 

“Our normality and judgment blocked out any potential interactions,” Kaldur adds. “We understand that looking from the outside doesn’t provide the full story, especially regarding Ward.” 

“Who knew he was so cuddly,” Artemis adds, making Wally chuckle.

“I did,” He speaks softly despite knowing Canary’s screams won’t wake you up in that state. 

[galedekarios]

waterdeep's festivities & celebrations

(credit: midnightfriday)

in contrast to baldur's gate, which has few festivals and gatherings, waterdeep in contrast has a great variety of them, prompting volo to write the following about waterdeep in his chapbook about the city:

"At many times of year, hardly a tenday can pass in Waterdeep without the staging of some rite, race, or rousing ceremony of civic pride." (from: Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion)

in this post, i want to give an overview of these holidays and festivals. some of them are mentioned in the game, like fleetswake in a banter between gale, lae'zel and wyll, but most of them are not. they give an interesting insight in the city, its history and its people.

the most used calendar in faerûn is the calendar of harptos. it's pictured above to give you an overview of how the months and seasons work in faerûn.

The days making up a tenday did not have formal names. If precision was required, the number of the day and the number of the tenday were used, as in, "the fourth day of the first tenday of Flamerule". Days of the month were typically written as the numerical date followed by the month name, for example, "15 Hammer" or "15th Hammer". Informally or poetically this could be spoken or written as "the 15th of Deepwinter". [x]

the names of the months in faerûn are:

hammer (deepwinter)

alturiak (the claw of winter, the claw of cold)

ches (the claw of sunsets)

tarsakh (the claw of storms)

mirtul (the melting)

kythorn (the time of flowers)

flamerule (summertide)

eleasis (highsun)

eleint (the fading)

marpenoth (leaffall)

uktar (the rotting)

nightal (the drawing down)

hammer 1: wintershield

Marking the start of the new year, this observance is a widely recognized day off work, when folk sip warmed ciders and broths (often laced with herbs for health and to bring on visions) and stay inside. They tell tales of what interested them or was important in the year just done, and discuss what they intend to do or should deal with — or things that everyone “should keep a hawk’s clear eye on” — in the year ahead. Such talk inevitably leads to discussions of politics, wars, and the intentions of rulers. Maps are usually consulted, and it’s widely considered lucky to possess and examine a map on Wintershield. Map sales are brisk in the tenday preceding this holiday.

alturiak 14: the grand revel

Led by the clergy of Sune, Sharess, and Lliira, the Grand Revel is a day of dancing, music, and the consumption of sweet treats of all kinds, from chocolate to red firemint candies. Although some of the dancing is wanton and performed for show, large-scale ring dances in the street for all ages are also popular. All the dancing ends at dusk, after which bards and minstrels perform at “love feasts” for families. Couples — or those desiring to become couples — slip away together to kiss, exchange promises, and trade small tokens of affection (often rings blessed by clergy with prayers of faithfulness). Even if you have no paramour, indulge a little in the dance and food of this fine tradition. The night might be cold, but your heart will be warmed.

we learn in the game about sharess, we hear a bit about sune, the goddess of beauty and her temple of beauty in waterdeep in a banter between gale and shadowheart, but lliira is mentioned only in passing: llira is a minor goddess in the faerûnian pantheon. she's called the joybringer and is the embodiment of freedom and happiness, inspiring many poets and musicians. gale does mention her in game - or at least the llirian suites that his piano is enchanted to play.

ches 1: rhyestertide

This holiday is named in honor of Lathander’s first prophet, Rhyester, a young blind boy who was cured of that blindness by the dawn’s light on this day more than seven centuries ago. That holy event occurred in the vicinity of Silverymoon, but Lathander has long had a much larger temple in Waterdeep, and a following to match. Each of the faithful dons bright garb of sunrise hues and keeps one eye covered until the next dawn in honor of Rhyester. If you want to feel like a local, catch the eye of any celebrant you see and wink. Fine friendships have grown from far less.

ches 19: fey day

The veil between this world and the faerie realm of the Feywild is thought to be weak on this day. Though this phenomenon provokes caution in rural areas (with folk avoiding woodlands, putting offerings of food on doorsteps, and the like), it is an occasion of much drinking, singing, and dancing in Waterdeep. The wealthy host elaborate masked balls, while poorer folk don costumes of their own make and travel door to door, gaining brief entry into the celebrations in exchange for performing a song or a short play. All adopt the guises of fey beings and the supposed rulers of the Feywild, such as Queen Titania, Oberon, and Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools. Those inclined to remain sullen in the face of such frivolity had best stay home, for celebrants do their utmost to evoke a smile from those they meet.

chest 21 - 30: fleetswake

This festival celebrates the sea, maritime trade, and the gods of the sea, navigation, and weather. It spans the last tenday of Ches, and includes a series of boat races, the Shipwrights’ Ball at the Shipwrights’ House, and guild-sponsored galas at the Copper Cup festhall. According to custom, the winners of the various competitions don’t keep their trophies and earnings, but deliver them to the priests of Umberlee at the Queenspire, her temple on the beach by the east entrance to the Great Harbor, at the conclusion of the festival. The last two days of Fleetswake are the occasion of the Fair Seas Festival. During this time, there is much feasting on seafood, the harbor is strewn with flower petals, and City Guards go from tavern to tavern collecting offerings for Umberlee. Collection boxes also appear at large festival gatherings. Upon sunset of the final day, the collected coin is placed in chests and dumped into the deepest part of the harbor. This festival has existed in a number of forms since the first trade-meets occurred here more than two millennia ago, and an uncountable amount of wealth remains sunken in what has long been known as Umberlee’s Cache. The area is closely watched by merfolk guardians, whose standing orders are to kill anyone attempting to disturb it. Rumors abound that the chests have magical protections; one story tells of thieves who stole some of the collection years ago and tried to leave the city under false pretenses, only to see a squall spring up as soon as their ship left the harbor. A huge wave shaped like a hand swept the thieves overboard, but spared the ship and its crew.

this festival is one of the few mentioned in baldur's gate. as stated previously gale, wyll and lae'zel mention it in one of the banters between them in act 1:

Lae'zel notes that Gale knows a lot about mind flayers. He responds with information about his training. If there, Wyll chimes in as well. Lae'zel: You strike me cleverer than most istiki, Gale. Multiple tutors, I should guess.devnote Gale: Many a wise man and woman indeed. Waterdeep is the home of myriad scholars. Wyll: Ah, the City of Splendours. Spent a whole Fleetswake there with my father. What a delight.

tarsak 1 - 10: waukeentide

This festival has long gathered a number of older holidays under one name, stretching those celebrations into a holiday season that lasts a tenday. Among the rituals in homage to the goddess of wealth and trade are these: Caravance (Tarsahk 1). This gift-giving holiday commemorates the traditional arrival of the first caravans of the season into the city. Many parents hide gifts for their offspring in their homes, telling the children that they were left by Old Carvas — a mythical peddler who arrived with the first caravan to reach Waterdeep, his wagon loaded down with toys for children to enjoy. Goldenight (Tarsahk 5). This festival celebrates coin and gold, with many businesses staying open all night, offering midnight sales and other promotions. Some celebrants and customers decorate themselves with gold dust and wear coins as jewelry. Guildsmeet (Tarsahk 7). On this holiday, guild members gather in their halls for the announcement of new policies and a celebration of business concluded for the year. These gatherings culminate in a gala festival and dance sponsored by several guilds, which lasts from dusk till dawn and overruns the Market, the Cynosure, the Field of Triumph, and all areas in between. Leiruin (Tarsahk 10). In times long past, Waukeen caught Leira, the goddess of illusions and deception, attempting to cheat her in a deal, and buried her under a mountain of molten gold as punishment. A commemoration of that event, Leiruin is the day for guild members to pay their annual dues and for guildmasters to meet with the Lords of Waterdeep and renew their charters for another year.

waukeen is a goddess and her domain is trade and wealth.

mirtul 6 - 9: the plowing and running

Rural areas around the city observe this holiday in the traditional sense of shared activities of plowing fields and moving (or “running”) livestock. But within the city, the holiday is celebrated with a series of races. Foot, horse, and chariot races are run through courses in each ward, and the winners from each ward compete at the Field of Triumph. If you really want to see the wards come to life, this is the time. Pick your favorite, wear its colors, and cheer alongside its residents. Better yet, if you’re of an adventuresome bent, register in your favored ward and compete! Who knows? Your name or visage might soon have a place in the House of Heroes.

kythorn 1: trolltide

On this day commemorating Waterdeep’s victory in the Second Trollwar, children run through the city acting like trolls, banging on doors and growling, from highsun till dusk. Home and shop owners are expected to give the children candy, fruits, or small items. Those who give no treat can expect to become the target of a trick at sundown. This mischief typically takes the form of “troll scratchings” at doors and windows. Those with more malicious intent sing screechingly in the wee hours, and hurl raw eggs at windows, signs, and the heads of those who try to stop them. Have some candy on hand or some sweet rolls, and all will be calm where you live.

kythorn 14: guildhall day

This day is a time of trade fairs. Most shops are closed, and street sales are suspended for all but walking food peddlers. Guildhall Day celebrates the fruits of everyone’s labor with revelations of new products, innovations, fashions, and signage extolling the extent and quality of guild members’ services and wares. These offerings usually take the form of glittering displays, but guilds sometimes also sponsor brief plays or other hired entertainments (jugglers, singers, magic shows put on by hedge wizards and professional raconteurs) at which prizes or free samples are distributed. Many guilds try to recruit during this time. Guildhall Day is an excellent time to browse the city’s merchandise — and it doesn’t matter if you can’t afford what you see, because you can’t buy it that day anyway.

kythorn 20: dragondown

This day in Kythorn is celebrated with bonfires and rituals to “tame” or “drive down” dragons. In Waterdeep, the celebrations take the form of parades that center around effigies built of wood and cloth and filled with straw. Each effigy is named and has a traditional depiction, for it represents one of a handful of dragons the city has faced in its history. After being paraded to a square near where the dragon was defeated or driven off, the enormous effigy is burned. The height of the celebration comes when the effigy of Kistarianth the Red is burned on the slopes of Mount Waterdeep. A dracolich version of Kistarianth is then carried up the slopes and burned as well. These proceedings symbolize the defeat of Kistarianth first by the paladin Athar, and again decades later by his son, Piergeiron. Tradition dictates that the winners of the races run during the Plowing and Running take the role of the dragons’ slayers, with the champion of the chariot race representing Athar and the champion of the horse race playing Piergeiron.

flamerule 1: the founders' day

This day commemorates the birth of the city. The Field of Triumph is the site of illusory displays that chronicle the history of Waterdeep, as well as martial exhibitions by the Guard and other worthies. Many festhalls sponsor Founders’ Day costume contests, with prizes going to those who wear the best recreations of the garb of historical personages. Once banned as frivolous and distracting, the practice of veiling Castle Waterdeep with an illusion has been reinstated. Several mages come together to produce the effect, which seemingly transforms the castle into the ancient log fortress of Nimoar. The illusion typically lasts from midday to sunset (unless someone has the audacity and magical might to dispel it) and is regarded as a stunning work of magical art.

flamerule 3 - 5: sornyn

Sornyn is a festival of both Waukeen and Lathander, and is used for planning business, making treaties and agreements, and receiving envoys from unknown lands and traditional foes. Much wine is drunk over this three-day occasion when, as the saying goes, “My enemy is like family to me.” If you are a newcomer to the city, this time is an excellent opportunity for you to engage with new partners in business or to gain financial support for some endeavor. My agreement to write Volo’s Guide to Waterdeep was signed on a warm Sornyn evening many years ago, so who knows where your own initiative will take you?

flamerule 7: llira's night

Originally a celebration held only in Waterdeep, this holiday has since spread up and down the Sword Coast. It has received a recent boost in popularity from the custom started in Baldur’s Gate of lighting celebratory smokepowder fireworks — all purchased from Felogyr’s Fireworks of that city, and utilized only by the City Guard, of course. This nightlong festival honors the Lady of Joy with dances and balls throughout the city. Pink beverages, ranging from healthy juices to deadly strong intoxicants, are imbibed. The boom and crackle of smokepowder explosions go off all night long, so you might as well stay up with the locals and enjoy the show.

eleasis 1: ahghairon's day

Many small rituals are held throughout this day, dedicated to honoring the first Open Lord. The Lords of Waterdeep toast Ahghairon and the Watchful Order, and guildmasters toast the Lords in Ahghairon’s name. Commoners leave violets (Ahghairon’s favorite flower) around Ahghairon’s Tower, on his statue in the City of the Dead, and atop the altars of the House of Wonder. Bards perform songs in honor of the wizard all over the city. The Open Lord visits taverns and inns throughout Waterdeep to wish the people well — giving short speeches, offering toasts to Ahghairon’s memory, buying rounds of drinks, or paying for meals or accommodation. Needless to say, establishments of those sorts are generally full throughout the day.

if you are interested to learn more about ahghairon - who is mentioned too by gale in passing - or rather his lost nose - you can do so here: i've written a more extensive meta about him in this post.

eleint 21: brightswords

On this day, the City Guard, the City Navy, and the City Watch — all in glittering array — conduct parades, give demonstrations of martial skill, and stage mock battles. Those desiring to join their ranks are given a chance to demonstrate their prowess, usually with wooden practice weapons in contests against veteran soldiers. Makers and vendors of weapons sell their wares openly in the markets, experts who can hurl or juggle weapons show off their skills, and the wards compete in wrestling and boxing matches. The most anticipated part of the day is when horses are cleared from the Field of Triumph and the surrounding streets so that the Griffon Cavalry can perform aerial displays over the crowds in the stadium. Members of the Watchful Order present the cavalry with illusory foes to fight, allowing the griffon riders to engage in thrilling battles as the people watch.

marpenoth 3: day of wonders

The imaginative inventions of the Gondar are revealed on this day and paraded through the city. These devices range from something as humble as new cabinet hinges to massive mechanical constructs that walk or roll about. Failure is the paramour of invention, though, meaning it is a rare year when there isn’t some notable disruption of the celebration. The flying chair of Marchell was one such recent oddity — a device that worked marvelously on the way up but was incapable of descending. Marchell was rescued by the Griffon Cavalry, but his flying chair drifted away and was never seen again.

marpenoth 7: stoneshar

Stoneshar is an all-faiths day during which folk strive not to be idle. Even children at play are encouraged to dig holes, build sand castles, or construct crude models. Waterdavians consider Stoneshar the best day of the year to begin construction of a building, either by digging out a cellar or laying a foundation. The common wisdom is that folk who undertake new projects on Stoneshar can expect blessings upon their works in the coming year, whereas individuals who do nothing constructive on this day can expect all manner of misfortune to rain down on them in the year ahead.

marpenoth 10: reign of misrule

Swift on the heels of Stoneshar comes the Reign of Misrule. This day honors Beshaba, goddess of misfortune. People of the city are expected to break trust, belie oaths, and disobey the normal order — as long as no laws are actually broken and no rift is made that can’t be later bridged. During the Reign of Misrule, nobles serve meals to their servants, children take control of schools, priests give worship to their god’s foes, and any who wish to may participate in a guild’s trade. Pranks are played by and on many, from simple tricks to those requiring elaborate planning. Sundown brings an end to the festivities, and most folk spend much of the night cleaning and reordering things for the following day. Many visitors decline to participate, but doing so often inspires misfortune rather than avoiding it. For fear of catching the bad luck of cynics, citizens do their best to avoid talking to anyone known to not have played along, or dealing with them in any way until Gods’ Day.

marpenoth 15: gods' day

This holiday observes the anniversary of the end of the Godswar in 1358 DR, when the gods of Faerûn returned to the heavens. Private shrines are brought out into the open, and many people wear holy symbols of their favored deities. A Gods’ Day tradition in Waterdeep strictly limits the use of magic, in remembrance of the wild magic wrought during the Time of Troubles. Though not outlawed fully, spellcasting is allowable only in self-defense or in cases of extreme need. At night, this holiday becomes solemn and serious, as many Waterdavians offer prayers in thanks for the lives they have under their gods. The Griffon Cavalry sets up an immense bonfire at the peak of Mount Waterdeep, honoring the fallen and the risen gods Myrkul, Cyric, Kelemvor, Mystra, Helm, and Ao who appeared here. In thanks for their defense during Myrkul’s invasion and the resulting fires that raged through the Southern, Dock, and Castle Wards, Gods’ Day is also a semiofficial “Be Kind to the Guard and Watch Day” in Waterdeep. Feel free to participate by handing out small gifts and kind words, but be aware that any gift of greater value than a few nibs might be interpreted as a bribe.

marpenoth 30: liar's night

This holy day pays tribute to Leira and Mask. To placate those deities and ward away their attention, folk of all walks of life don masks and costumes (magical or mundane) to disguise themselves and play at being other than what they are. Commonly seen mask styles include the black mask symbol of Mask and the mirror face of the priests of Leira. But there are no bounds on the disguise you don, and the more elaborate and outlandish it is, the more celebrated the wearer. The festivities begin in the evening, when people place candles in hollowed-out gourds or pumpkins carved with faces. Each pumpkin represents a person donning a mask, while the light inside represents the truth of the soul. For as long as the candle remains lit, lies told and embarrassing things done don’t sully a person’s reputation, so celebrations often descend briefly into anarchic hedonism. Misfortune is said to come to anyone who returns to their pumpkin after celebrating to find it unlit, so buy a candle of good quality and put your gourd beyond reach of the wind. Intentionally blowing out someone else’s candle or smashing someone else’s pumpkin is taboo, and risks the wrath of both gods — yet it does occur. Tricks and pranks of all kinds are common on this night, and folk expect lies and foolishness. Pickpockets are rife on this day, so few carry much coin with them, having secreted it away somewhere the previous evening. Instead, people fill their pockets and belt pouches with candies. Traditionally, a pickpocket is meant to take the candy and leave a token in return (a tiny toy, a colorful paper folded into a shape, or the like), but this has changed over the years into adults exchanging candies among themselves and simply giving candy to children who ask for it. By custom, no deals are made nor contracts signed on Liar’s Night, because no one trusts that parties will abide by them. Illusionists and stage magicians (whether through magical or practical abilities) make the rounds to entertain private parties (having been paid in advance the previous day) or to perform in public spaces, in the hopes that a good show will earn them a meal, and perhaps a place at a private party in the future.

uktar: selûne's hallowing

On whatever night in Uktar the moon is fullest, Waterdavians celebrate Selûne’s Hallowing. The goddess is the focus of worship throughout the full phase, of course, but the major ceremony on this night is a parade of worshipers leaving the House of the Moon at moonrise and moving down to the harbor, where the high priestess wields the Wand of the Four Moons in a ceremony blessing all navigators. This holy relic is said to be the mace wielded by Selûne in her first battle against Shar, and again in a fight with her sister during the Time of Troubles. It miraculously appeared in Waterdeep after the Godswar, and has since been the focus of many divine signs. You can view it in the House of the Moon at other times of the year, but only from a well-guarded distance. If you’re lucky, you might see the Wand of the Four Moons weep. Droplets said to be the tears of Selûne manifest on the mace from time to time, and are collected by the priestesses for use in potions that can heal, cure lycanthropy, and be used as holy water.

uktar 20: last sheaf

Sometimes called “The Small Feast,” this day of residential feasting is held in celebration of the year’s bounty. Small gifts (traditionally hand kegs of ale, jars of preserves, or smoked fish and meats) are exchanged among neighbors, and “last letters” are gathered for carriage by ship captains and caravan merchants — so called because they are the last to leave the city before travel becomes difficult. Of Waterdeep’s many celebrations, this one is perhaps the most relaxed and relaxing. Plan to spend a little extra on good food and enjoy a meal with those nearest you, be they dearest hearts or the folk across the hall in the inn.

nightal 11: howldown

In honor of Malar, members of the City Guard leave the city in groups on this day to hunt down known threats to farmers and travelers, including brigands, wolves, owlbears, ogres, and trolls that haunt the roads and wilderness. These hunts typically last no longer than a tenday. During the same span of time, the City Watch engages in its own rigorous hunt for malefactors within the city walls. If you’ve any reason to doubt your standing in the eyes of the law, avoid Waterdeep for at least a tenday after Howldown. With no real hunting to do of their own, the children of Waterdeep spend Howldown engaging in mock hunts of adults dressed up as monsters, and play at the killing of these predators.

nightal 20: simril

When dusk comes on this day, folk go outside to locate particular stars that were lucky for their ancestors, or that were associated with their own births. They then attempt to stay up through the night, celebrating outside with bonfires, song, and warmed drinks. Cloudy nights often draw larger crowds than clear ones, since glimpsing your star through the haze is thought to be a blessing from Tymora. Inside buildings, service folk keep roaring fires and engage in making food to keep celebrants fed throughout the long night and into morning of the next day. If you have no particular star of your own, you’ll find many vendors of star maps willing to divine which is yours — based upon your place and date of birth — and to point you in the right direction for a shard or two.

all information is taken from volo's waterdeep enchiridion.

i hope this was helpful and information to some of you!

🖤

[sorensolsikke]

here's some punk diy tips and ideas

[other than crusty pants and battle jacket, although we still love those greatly.]

why should you diy, when you can just find decorated items everywhere, you can ask. what if you are clumsy at painting or anything?

firstly, good questions. we diy so we don't give credit to the big companies who rule the world. we diy to get more independent from the system we dislike. we diy so to save money. to express uniqueness, recognize eachother and be recognized. and especially to have fun and feel cool. diy is not only about clothing, but anything you can set your mind on. of course, one cannot make EVERYTHING for themselves, there isn't enough time and energy. but making at least small steps are already a statement and more than nothing. also, helping small artists by buying their products is also pretty punk.

that being said, i provide you with some tips of mine, all gained from experience:

anything you drew/painted on, you will WANT TO protect. acrylic paint/markers + acrylic paint varnish/transparent nail polish/textile medium are your best friends. read after anything that's new to you.

i highly recommend working with old clothing or thrift shop finds when it comes to textiles, as it is environmentally friendly and you will stay in budget. Anyways, always make sure that the material you use isn't gonna be problematic. for example, if you want to do some patchwork, the material shouldn't decay easily (if it does, it will come off so quickly.). if you want to paint on it, it shouldn't be rugged.

you can not only draw/paint on your canvas shoes, but can also sew, embroidery (just make sure to use a thimble, plus floss instead of thread could make your work more durable), and add beads and trinkets to your shoelaces. in the case of shoes, never use glue (neither hot nor instant glue) – it will come off quickly. for some inspiration, i'll show you my shoes!

(the fake moss is literally unstoppable from falling off or getting dirty. risky idea.)

it's good to carry around water and food!! you don't even have to pay for decorative water bottles and food boxes, as you can draw on glass and plastic just fine with acrylic markers. just don't forget to paint transparent nail polish all over your drawing. in at least two layers. don't be lazy or laid-back. even posca comes off while washing the dishes. and you WANT TO save your reference pictures/final designs, as the case of emergency is likely. but after all, my water bottle is exactly fine after six months, with no accuring problem.

if your current best option to get stickers from is aliexpress or overpriced decor stores, search for local artists and shops on instagram and tiktok, as it may be their most efficent way of getting you to know them. if it seems like you have no chance, you may can still find a print shop with the option of printing on self-adhesive sheets (at least in hungary, those are pretty cheap). and if you want drawings to print out as stickers, you may use your own or –ONLY IF YOU GET PERMISSION– other artist's work. not only good for decorations for like, headphones, but for vandalism too. WAIT WAIT who said that. who said it. not me. no never

(in case that's also impossible, you can create stickers by printing out/drawing a picture, cover it up in transparent adhesive tape, and then put some two-sided adhesive tape on the white side of the pic. it won't be that durable, but it functions.)

if you want to bleach-paint clothing, get some plastic brushes!! any other brush dissolves. draw your design first with chalk!! never forget to put cardboard inside the clothing, and to wash the finished work in a washing machine before you'd put it on. prepare to be patient with the process. and it's not dangerous to touch 5%-9% household bleach, just wash your hands soon after.

if you want your crusty pants to last veryyy long, wax them. look up on youtube jeans waxing.

some more things i made for myself so to give you some inspiration: totebag with pockets, a small crystal holder cabinet, badges, and i decorated some t-shirts, button-ups, an id card case, phonecase, laptop.

theoretically speaking, there is nothing that an individual would be unable to learn how to make, when it comes to diy. you can't imagine how easy it is to bake bread at home. consuming-focused media makes people believe that it's hard to make anything. of course, everyone has to decide about their own priorities, i don't want to convince or change anyone in here. and if you have any questions, send an ask!! i hope i had been helpful.

[fluff-n-cookies]

Hey, love! I’m new to this, so sorry if I’m doing this wrong :) You can call me Moon btw. I love your writing and appreciate how it’s all platonic!!!! I was wondering if you could do Aizawa (and maybe Mic or whoever else you want) with an introverted teen he took in asking to braid his hair, and getting lost in thought and humming while listening to him complain about work or something. It’s fine if not <3333

Hi Moon! It's nice to meet you! I am so so so so sorry for replying so late. I was feeling burnt out and just really needed a break. I hope you understand. I was also hoping I could use this prompt for other characters so if you’ll give me permission I’d love to use your idea again for different characters. :)

Aizawa never liked coming home. He never liked the blinding white light bulbs that came with his crappy apartment and was too lazy to change, he didn’t like the smell of coffee and dirty dishes he felt were too overwhelming to do. He used to only have the energy to eat some soggy cereal and pass out on the couch before getting up to do hero work in the morning, or 2 am, or come home at 11 pm but that didn’t matter, it was just the same thing every day. 

But now, he had you. Being the sole survivor of a strange house fire at 1 am and having no memories whatsoever and having been considered shy and introverted. You were one with no guidance, no past and a future unknown and uncharted. And while you had been proven to have the intelligence of a child your age and then some, you had little to no knowledge of much else. You were a young girl in need of love and protection. (at least to him.)

So he took you in, begrudgingly, at first, but he soon felt a sense of comfort in your presence, a sense of happiness even. 

He even decided to pick up a parenting book or two, and found some mommy bloggers as well. I mean, what else is a man to do except try and be a good parent to a child he loves ever so dearly?

He learned he needed to make food for said child, instead of living off take out and what he can find at the convenience store next door. Children also need to live in a clean environment, so that is what he did, he tries to at least do the dishes and laundry regularly now. 

Guess he needs to listen too, because he often finds himself listening to your rants about school and homework, as well as the rants of your hobbies, about what you did today, how you felt today, so many things. And I guess, just a hunch, that his life was finally falling into rhythm. 

But it remained mostly the same.

Tonight was no different.

It goes;come home, take off shoes and coat, check if you’re awake, make some ramen (and some for you too if you are awake.) complain, go to bed. 

So here he is, tiptoeing to your room at the end of the hallway, careful not to wake you if you are asleep. Only to find that you are, in fact, awake. The warm light bulbs he installed in your room peaked through the crack in the door you had left for the cat to come at the ungodly hours of the night. You could also see the various trinkets and hobbies you had picked up over your 4 years of living together and made your room the heart of the whole apartment. Lively and bright. And there you were, hunched over your desk watching a video on your computer, fiddling with a piece of origami paper, attentively following the instructions from the video to try and make an origami frog. 

It took about 10 seconds to recognize he was there, smiling, happily at your antics. You smiled a little, but that smile made it all worth it to do what he does, be a hero and a single parent both at the same time, a smile that could light up even the darkest of nights. You did a little run too, you ran a little run to get to him but still tried to be light on your feet so as not to bother the neighbors.

Always so considerate. He thought. 

It was a regular routine really, for him to get you from your room and make some ramen, but as you two sat on the couch, TV was buzzing with the latest new stories (who needs a dining room table? Just use the couch! Why waste the space? It is the perfect space for your plants so for your plants it will be!) Something different happened today. 

For in the smallest little voice, he heard you squeak out,

 “c-can I braid your hair.” a slight tremble in your voice 

Now that was a surprise,

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m sorry, I meant it as in can I do your hair, I’m sorry I shou-”

“Sure.” he replied nonchalantly.

“What?” 

“You can braid my hair. Go on, the hair ties are in the bathroom.”

“Oh.” there was a pause. “Okay.”

Here he was, out in the dead of night at 12 in the morning, a young girl braiding his black locks of hair while he complained about PresentMic’s antics while eating convenience store ramen. For once in his life he felt at peace, as the world slowed down he felt himself slowly understanding. Understanding that it may be over, the repetitive nights of the never ending loneliness. It’s over.

And it starts here, with you, with tonight where you braid his hair and listen to him rant about the outside world. But here it’s safe, in this crappy apartment with the cool light bulbs and the distant stench of dirty dishes and the coffee he had this morning. It's okay. Life is okay.

Maybe he wasn’t doomed to have the same routine every day over and over again.

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Karam, plus a cut for more; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good!

The walk over to the diner is quiet, mostly. Billy tells Lynn where some things are in Fawcett and points some stuff out in the neighborhood, but Lynn doesn’t really say much back. He nods along, though, and Billy's pretty sure he's listening. 

Maybe sure, at least. 

Worst case scenario, he figures he'll just repeat himself later. If Lynn's a little too stressed or overwhelmed to really be listening right now, well, he definitely wouldn't blame him. He's a baby, basically! Everything's gotta be so new and weird and overwhelming for him right now.

Billy isn’t gonna push. Not on day one, when they don’t even know each other yet. Lynn can take his time all he wants right now. It’s not like he’s hurting anyone, or even himself. So Billy just has to be patient with him while he learns stuff, same as any little kid he’s met in the system or on the streets. 

They get to the diner and Lynn hangs back a little bit. Billy suspects Cadmus did really not prepare him for restaurant etiquette and stuff like that, considering. He’s pretty positive it didn’t, in fact. Billy doesn’t go to many restaurants himself, but . . . 

It’s fine, he figures. He just needs to be a good example for Lynn, that’s all. And that’s what he always needs to do right now, so it’s no big deal. 

He hopes he’s being a good example, anyway. He really wants Lynn to be able to trust that he is one, so he can know he has someone to learn from, so . . . yeah. 

Billy goes to the counter, politely gives their fake last name–Batman would not appreciate them half-assing the new secret identities–and tips the waitress twenty percent and thanks her. It’s kind of a lot of food, but they have super-strength and a fridge for leftovers, so he figures it’ll be fine. 

He does feel a little nauseous over how much money he just spent, though. 

Batman gave them way more money than that, Billy reminds himself as he gathers up the bags. And there’ll be more next week. And if they actually somehow run out or just have an emergency, he can just fill out the League paperwork to requisition funds to make up for it. They could spend way more than this and still be fine. 

He’s pretty sure takeout is still gonna be a special occasions only thing, though. And couponing. Couponing is definitely gonna be a thing. 

It’s just a lot of money. 

Billy gets all of the bags juggled into his arms. Lynn looks awkward again and shifts Tawky under his other arm. 

“I can carry it,” he says stiffly. 

“Well, if you wanna,” Billy says. “We could split it?” 

“. . . sure,” Lynn says, still stiff. Billy smiles at him and offers him a couple of the bags. Lynn frowns, but takes them. Billy figures it makes sense Lynn wants to help; that’s pretty normal with little kids. Like, they always wanna do what the older kids are doing, or the adults, or just whoever. So it makes sense Lynn would too, especially if Cadmus didn’t teach him this stuff to begin with. He’s learning, basically. So yeah, it’s normal. 

And also a good sign, Billy hopes, if Lynn trusts he knows what he’s doing enough to copy him. It’s even sorta cute, actually. 

. . . okay, it’s really cute, but Lynn’s kinda a teenager so he might not appreciate hearing that. 

Still cute, though. 

They walk back to the apartment–back home, which is a weird thought, Billy recognizes fleetingly but tries not to focus on right now–and Billy unpacks all the food onto the coffee table in the living room. He figures that’ll be lower-pressure than the kitchen table for their first meal together, and they can put a show or a movie on if Lynn doesn’t want to talk too much or anything. 

Lynn sets Tawky on the end of the table, looking a little awkward about it. Billy smiles encouragingly at him. Tawky doesn’t really need to eat either in his stuffed animal form, but it’s nice that Lynn’s including him at lunch. And food does still taste good, obviously. 

“What do you wanna try first?” he asks, nudging the open box of onion rings over towards Tawky. He knows he likes them. Lynn frowns, looking a little wary. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he says stiffly. “Just . . . whatever.” 

“Okay,” Billy says, figuring that means he’s a little overwhelmed by the options. They did order a lot, so . . . yeah, that makes sense. “How about the soup, then?” 

“. . . sure,” Lynn mutters, and warily pulls the takeout bowl over to himself and takes the lid off. Billy offers him a spoon. Lynn frowns, but takes it. “. . . thanks.” 

“You’re welcome,” Billy says cheerfully. Setting a good example, and all.

[little-pondhead]

Prompt Idea:

Original post here cause I don’t know how to imbed links properly.

So I read this post basically about Danny Phantom being unable to get drunk. His core recognized alcohol as a dangerous substance, so the chemicals just don’t make it to his system. His core gets rid of it before it can do anything.

And I raise you, this: What if Danny wasn’t affected by anything that was made with potentially dangerous poisons or chemicals?

Danny is no longer affected by coffee, as much as it pains him. He can’t enjoy anything remotely spicy, as his core blocks out the capsaicin. Maybe he can’t have anything mint, either? Menthol is deadly in high doses, but Danny already died once. His core is not taking any second chances.

(On the plus side, Danny became the king of tide pods when that particular internet trend came about. He also drank bleach once on a dare from Red Huntress.)

Extra:

To combat the overwhelming lack of spice in his life, Danny goes out in search of new foods that he can actually eat. With guidance from Frostbite, he discovers the wondrous joys of ghost cuisine.

Ambient ectoplasm is all around Amity, so Danny has no issue “feeding” his ghost side. But as it turns out, the more solid type of ectoplasm-the goo stuff-can be used to substitute spices in various dishes. Each region of the GZ gives the ectoplasm its own unique taste, allowing Danny to experiment with this new form of cooking. And if you do it right, the food won’t even fight back!

After he learns to cook, Danny goes on a month-long trip every year. He visits most parts of the Ghost Zone and some parts of the mortal realm, just to refill his “Ghost Spices” so he doesn’t have to eat oatmeal for the rest of his afterlife.

Extra(x2):

The Lazarus Pit is like chocolate to ghosts.

The only reason is Jason feels like shit all the time is because he’s essentially been living off a five-year-old’s dream feast since he was revived. He’s been experiencing the ghostly version of a sugar crash for years now. Yeah, it might’ve been fine at first, but the angry crime lord with murder tendencies needs to eat his ghostly vegetables:(

Danny turns up, and forces the entire Batfam into a “healthier” eating style. Which kinda just means their food glows, now.

[infiniteeight8]

OH MY GOD

can you please make a sequel to "I'm not letting you go through my fingers" prompt?

Thank you!

The ficlet to which this is a sequel can be found here.

-

Tony’s not sure what he was expecting from a date with Stephen Strange. A portal to another country, maybe, or even another dimension. A display of magic. Expensive formalwear and exclusive events. Something grandiose, anyway. Something meant to impress him.

But when the day comes, a week after Tony had agreed to the date, Strange arrives wearing skinny jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. They do take a portal, but it only delivers them across town, to an out of the way Greek restaurant whose name Tony doesn’t recognize. 

As Strange ushers him inside and greets the hostess by name, Tony finds tension that he hadn’t really been aware of easing out of his shoulders. Fancy dates could be a lot of fun, but they were also a lot of pressure, and Tony… Well, he was still only a week out from his divorce. He didn’t particularly want to perform for anyone.

The hostess leads them to a table tucked into a back corner, but not too near the kitchen. No one gives either of them a second glance as they sit. The anonymity is nice.

“I’ve been coming here since med school,” Strange explains.

It quickly becomes apparent why. The food is incredible and the staff expertly manage the fine balance between unobtrusive and attentive. The conversation ranges from their school days to heroing to research projects and down a dozen marginally related tangents, and by the time they take a portal to a sculpture garden for an evening walk (probably in New York, but who knows?) ‘Strange’ has become ‘Stephen’ and Tony is already thinking about the timing for a second date.

“I was expecting something more grandiose,” he admits as the date winds down.

“There’s a time when that’s exactly what I would have gone for,” Stephen says, smiling wryly. “Half my dates with Christine involved awards dinners where I was receiving the award.” He pauses and winces. “Maybe more than half. But you don’t actually get to know someone very well at an event like that. I wanted tonight to be more… personal.”

“It was,” Tony says, bumping his shoulder against Stephen’s. “How about we do it again?”

The way Stephen lights up at that is, Tony decides, very attractive.

[raggstorice]

FLASH HEADCANONS!

Where I take a fandom and give a Headcanon for Every. Single. Character.

Twisted Wonderland! #1

Here we go!

Riddle: whenever a bug lands on him he freezes. Just stops.

Ace: His parents always shut down his beliefs. Very much a 'Stay in line and You'll be fine' type of family. (If requested I will rant on my HC Ace backstory)

Deuce: He calls his mother every day and one day she just starts crying and is all like 'Im so proud of you. You've changed so much and I love you.' and Deuce started crying too.

Cater: Does not actually care that much about Magicam. He just needed something to base his personality off of.

Trey: Uses southern insults All. The. Time. People talk to him and he's just 'Well good for you!' and people think he's the nicest.

Leona: If you put a weighted blanket on him he will just fall over like that one scene in Lilo and stitch.

Ruggie: Knows everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. Try to introduce him to someone new and he'll just be like 'OMG my old friend!' yeah.

Jack: Named his cactus Paula. Also Talks to it and uses it like a doll. (Like that one scene in DRDT)

Azul: His first experience with a land dweller was when he saw a coin fall from the surface and he followed it. There was a language barrier so he couldn't talk to them. He wonders how they're doing some days.

Jade: Had a bonding moment with Jack over their love for plants (mushrooms and cacti) also eats mushroom-spinach pizza (like me!)

Floyd: He bites. Also he's banned from playing against other schools in Basketball because of the sheer amount of fouls he gets. Jamil is so done.

Kalim: Will summon a rainbow to cheer someone up. He's precious.

Jamil: Doesn't actually hate Kalim. He just needs to be mad at someone. Oh also he cooks for the Basketball club and brings food to practice. Ace is his biggest fan.

Vil: Godly eye makeup. He's the one who gave Rook his feather in his hat.

Epel: Bad Ass Mother Fucker. He prefers to fight with his tounge rather than his fists. The only one to realize Trey's passive aggressiveness.

Rook: Will bring back fresh meat from his hunts. Him and Jade bring the best ingredients to the Cafeteria and no one knows.

Idia: one time he hid from people in an empty classroom for several hours after school. Ortho almost sent a search party.

Ortho: Spends hours analyzing his friends. Like as a hobby. He brings them perfectly planned gifts and they all love it.

Malleus: Lilia cuts his hair. He also polishes his horns. He secretly really enjoys Sebek's loyalty just wished he was quieter.

Silver: Takes care of the horses so well. They love him and will only accept food from him.

Sebek: He can be surprisingly quiet if you ask nicely. He gets loud again if he gets worked up. Autistic.

Lilia: He loves his sons. He ends up taking care of the whole Campus. No one in NRC can take care of themselves properly so he does it. Mockingbird by Eminem coded

Crowley: He shows up randomly and helps students. Lilia is taking a student to the infirmary? He's there and takes them for him. Leona is asleep in the botanical garden? Crowley kicks him away from the path. The teachers are so done with the chaos and are ready to combust? He's there. He will make the chaos worse and somehow contain it at the same time.

Crewel: He stays stocked up on potions ready to help any students that are ill, tired, or in any sort of pain. He will let you sleep in his classroom and will pull you into his office if he thinks somethings up. Many students have cried in front of him.

Trein: Will go out of his way to include history not taught in textbooks. Stuff about gay rights, racism, trans right, war crimes, fun facts about political leaders, etc. He does it all in the most monotone voice ever.

Lucius: The best cat. Used to be a stray wandering campus. Will bring gifts to students it likes. Recognized Leona as one of its own.

Vargas: Always down to help students. Oh you have Asthma? Good thing I have SEVENTEEN EXTRA INHALERS. You seem to be struggling a little why don't you sit down? Exercise without rest is as good as no exercise at all.

Sam: Will give freebies to students who need it. Oh you skipped lunch to study for a test? Good thing I have a sandwich just for you! Your pen broke? Which one do you want? Also will tell you all the tea.

Grim: Whenever he eats those blot crystals he suddenly knows all of the victims trauma which he reports to Yuu.

Yuu: Has serious conversations with Overblot victims. The best non licensed therapist.

Authors Note: It's 1:23 AM. I'm going to sleep.

[dehydration-stati0n]

Yandere!WhiteBeard Pirates x Reader HCs

If you have another member you want me to add, please feel free to ask! These were just the ones I could think of off the top of my head :)

Rules Word Count: 1.4k Spoilers: None TW: Yandere Themes, slight non-con?, abuse

Whitebeard

The ‘overprotective and overbearing parent’ trope

He’s the one who most likely got you roped into him and his sons’ obsessed grasp

convincing you with promises of a loving family and protection from anyone who would ever want to harm you.

He doesn't have any punishments for you and prefers to leave it up to the others (Marco and Ace)

He would refuse to let you leave the ship under any circumstance, and if he does allow you to leave, he makes sure you're within someone's sight

Unlike the others, he doesn't see you in a romantic light, he sees you as one of his children

He recognizes that he likes you in a different way than he feels about the rest of his sons, but he just kinda chalks it up to you being weaker and way more defenseless than the rest of them.

It's how he justifies his possessiveness over you too. You just need more attention because you can't protect yourself

He'll have your biological family killed, whether you were close to them or not

Why would you need them when you're real families right here?

He has everything he could ever want right within his grasp, and he'd gladly give you it all as well, as long as you obey them

Play along and you might even find being with them enjoyable

As intimidating as Whitebeard can be about where you go and who you're with, he’s a fairly laid-back guy

Do whatever you want whenever you want. The main thing is that you're not leaving the crew in any way.

Stay within sight of someone and you’ll be fine.

Marco

Whitebeard got you on board, but he’s who convinced you to stay

he’ll tell you that you have a sickness of some kind and he just so happens to have the cure, although, it’ll take some time to fully take effect so stay a while! Relax! He and the rest of the crew got you covered :)

I imagine him being very easy to talk too

He'll snitch on you if he catches you or you tell him about doing something out of line tho

He's ridiculously manipulative

He'll guilt trip you for literally anything

"We've given you all this and you're just going to leave? Don't you think you're being selfish, yoi?

Marco is really clingy and likes to hold you in some way.

Usually, he’ll wrap his arms around you or hold your hand.

Not afraid to chain or tie you up to keep you still

he also isn't afraid to break a bone in order to get you to stay, although it's more of a last resort for him

Very regular checkups that are definitely not meant to allude to anything sexual at all, it just always seems to happen to go there coincidentally

Works with Thatch a lot to drug your food

He honestly just loves taking care of you. It makes him so happy when he can fill some sort of caretaker role.

Ace

He's the most violent, either to you or others

He has a bit of a jealous temper when it comes to you and sometimes his emotions just get a little out of control

He'll apologize after, surely you understand why he did it.

He just wants your full, undivided attention, and why would you want to pay attention to anything that's not himself?

He’ll probably put a tattoo on you. Whether that be the crew's symbol or some other sign.

He likes that you have that permanent mark on you to show your gratitude and devotion to your new, loving family

Ace can be violent and jealous, but he’s also extremely oblivious?

Like he notices everything and nothing at all

He'd notice someone flirting with you but then wouldn't realize you're trying to leave if he found you halfway out the window with all of your stuff

It's 50/50 whether he catches onto something or not and you have to pray that he doesn't notice

You’ll have little burn marks all over you from when he’s gotten out of control. Thatch hates them and always scolds Ace for doing so. Marco doesn't mind since it lets him spend more time with you in the infirmary.

Your only scapegoat for him is his sporadic sleep habits

If you catch him while he's asleep, you can have a solid 10 minutes by yourself.

He likes throwing little parties for you on the ship, he really does want you to feel comfortable and safe with them and this is how he goes about it

It's always a lot of fun and he makes sure that he's near you so you don't feel nervous or awkward.

Thatch

the sanest?? Least self-aware??

he’s also gonna be the nicest

Unlike Marco, he will not tell Whitebeard about anything 'bad' you did

Refuses to hurt you in any way, it makes his skin crawl just thinking about him causing you pain

He'll even cook for you! Anything you want. Just tell him and he'll do his best to make it perfect :)

Sometimes he'll drug your food so he can admire your sleeping form

He loves taking care of you while you're asleep

He'll bring you a blanket as your head rests on the kitchen table then he'll sit right next to you and watch, occasionally brushing strands of hair out of your face. Sometimes he might even gently style it for you.

He follows you around like a lost dog

Wouldn’t be opposed to you putting a leash on him

He’d honestly do anything you asked of him, even if it meant killing one of the others

He's suffocatingly clingy and always just seems to be nearby. You can rarely leave his sights.

He absolutely adores the size difference between you two and will constantly hold you in his much larger arms

Every once in a while he'll ask if you want to sit in the kitchen with him while he cooks. He likes to talk to you and especially likes it when you ramble on about anything to him

It's great cause you could rant about how you hate being on the ship and would apologize, laugh it off, and not tell anyone

You'll most likely end up being closest with him due to how friendly and peaceful he is to you

Izo

Izo is very loyal and loving until you disobey one of them in some way

He gets almost emotionless when he's mad and it's terrifying if you're on the receiving end of it

He loves showing you off, especially if you're wearing things he gifted you

Those gifts always consist of jewelry he found or bought. No price is too much if it's for you after all.

He expects you to wear at least a couple of gems at any time. If you don't he gets a little upset and insecure.

"Do you not like it, my love? I can get you something better if you'd like. You can even come with me if you'd prefer."

Some of the jewelry he gives you has little trackers so that they could better find you if you ever managed to escape.

He’d buy you kimonos and stuff too

Really likes to introduce you to his Wano culture and also just loves seeing you in more traditional outfits

He's a samurai and as such, he'll act as a sort of bodyguard for you

You can be the respectable ruler and he'll be your fearless protector

Like Thatch, he also would refuse to harm you, but he has no problem getting Ace or Marco to do it for him

He has zero tolerance for others in public and if he thinks their getting too close or sees them as a threat in any way, he'll kill them right there in front of you

He'd do pretty much anything if it meant you were safe

His loyalty lies with you above anyone else and even though he'll get the others to punish you for your actions, he wouldn't punish you for speaking your thoughts on the entire situation. If anything, he's touched you trust him.

He's very strict about that code of his. He will only ever have you punished for your actions and NOT your thoughts.

[sanjisboyfie]

๑ keep safe : the dogs are hounding on [name] (18)

one piece x male reader

i nearly killed somebody, 

don't you mind? don't you mind?

i gave you something you can never give back,

don't you mind? 

『 prev 』

they just narrowly escaped the marines that were chasing them, but were still on the run in case they caught up. if you add on the emotional distress the entire situation caused the straw hats, then they were all beyond exhausted.

thankfully, as they were running through the town, chopper had picked up on their scent. and now he was riding on top of a giant crab. [name] didn’t know where he got it from, but he was going to be thankful either way. his eyes turned into stars as he realized that it was a crab…something edible.

”sanji, sanji, do you think we can eat him later?” the question was enough to make the chef hum in thought and chopper’s jaw drop in astonishment.

“don’t eat him! he’s helping us!”

“i meant after he was done helping us, i’m hungry, that’s all,” [name] said, trying to justify his question to the young reindeer. but chopper wasn’t hearing him out at all. simply muttering under his breath how heartless and food driven [name] was.

“[name]’s right, it looks real yummy,” luffy said, also salivating to the thought of eating the crab.

just as [name] began to laugh and relax as they were getting away, vivi’s screams echoed in the air. he whipped his head around, searching for what she had begun yelling about. and when he saw that she was starting to get whisked away by a hook, he cursed under his breath.

him and luffy acted first, but zoro held [name] back. the man fought against his grip, but then realized why he was stopped. zoro recognized the fact luffy was able to stretch and switch places with vivi whereas [name] wouldn’t have been able to really do anything.

so he watched as luffy selflessly replaced vivi’s position and threw the princess back at the crab. [name] caught her, but his eyes were still trained on luffy. he held his hand out, shouting, “come on, luffy! grab on!!”

“no! i’m gonna beat this guy’s ass!” luffy shouted defiantly, making [name] grit his teeth, “make sure you deliver vivi back to her home!!!”

[name] wanted to chase after luffy, but the sure smile that his captain had on his face made him stop himself. [name] restrained vivi, holding her tight as she desperately tried reaching for luffy as well.

luffy’s eyes were trained on [name] the entire time, smile so wide that his pearly whites were visible to [name] despite being so far. as if he was trying to show to [name] he’d be fine.

“luffy!!” [name] shouted, the veins in his neck protruding, “you deal with him and then you come right back, okay?! no fucking around!!!”

“of course!” luffy answered within seconds, as if he anticipated it — like he knew a warning from [name] was coming. [name]’s threatening tone only made his smile grow wider. and when [name] heard his reply, he slumped down where he sat and tried to make himself feel satisfied with the answer.

no matter who the opponent was, even if they were stronger, luffy would find his way back to the rest of his crew. [name] assured himself of that fact, thinking of all the times luffy went and did something stupid like this when they were children. he’d always emerge with new wounds, but at least he came home.

“that idiot,” [name] said under his breath. his arms were still flexed around vivi and caging her in, so she wouldn’t go to luffy.

“once the royal army and the rebel army meet, this land, will be done for. this country’s only hope, vivi, is you! if anything, you’re the only one that matters right now, you have to survive. no matter what might happen to any us, from now on!” zoro tried easing vivi’s worries, reminding her of her duties as princess. she couldn’t spend her time thinking of luffy when she had a whole country to save.

sanji smirked, walking ahead and standing towards the head of the crab, “vivi-chan, you might have started this fight, the one who challenged this unknwonn organization, all on your own. however, don’t go around thinking that you’re fighting this alone now.”

in comparison to sanji and zoro’s very confident tones, usopp spoke up in a shaky tone, “d-d-d-don’t worry, vivi!!! captain u-usopp will take care of everything!!”

[name] stifled his laughter, hiding his grin behind the hand that was resting on his forehead. vivi, who was still in his arms, turned her head back to luffy and shouted out to him, “luffy-san!! we will be waiting for you in alubarna, okay?!”

luffy’s laughter echoed in the air, “yeah!!”

[name] held her in his arms, feeling her body shake. he rubbed up and down her back, trying to ease her worries, before standing up. she looked at him in confusion, but he could only grin back at her.

“if luffy says he’s gonna beat crocodile’s ass, he’s gonna do it.” [name] said simply, turning around and sitting next to chopper instead. if he was going to kill time, he wanted to be cuddled up with the fluffy crewmate instead. maybe he’d even be able to catch some sleep.

and with chopper as his pillow, anything was possible. so he shut his eyes and soon fell into slumber. nami looked at [name] in annoyance, wondering how he could be so calm when something so stressful was happening.

the rest of the crew began to think of how to plan for their entrance to alubarna. as they talked, they allowed [name] to rest, although zoro did want to hit him awake several times.

he somehow slept through the carb travelling through the water, until he was completely submerged in it.

“what? is it still night?” he asked, swiping his wet hair out from his face. the crew gave him an incredulous look, which he ignored, and he just yawned into his hand. “why are we swimming?”

just as the crew were all going to collectively yell at him for being so absent, they were all rushing forward with the speed of a boat. [name] blinked lazily as his hand was making motions underwater. in seconds, the crew had reached the shore.

[name] stretched once they reached land and looked at the crew, “well? let’s get going then, since you guys are in such a rush,” a flurry of insults were thrown his way, colorful language used in each one, but he just turned his back to them, “i was sleepy, you can’t blame me,”

“just shut up!!” nami shouted, bonking him in the head.

“wait, no i hear something,” [name] said, ignoring the shouting woman, which only aggravated her even more.

everyone turned and saw that there was actually something approaching. it started as a dust cloud, but as they got closer, vivi was able to make out what it was.

“that’s karoo!! and the supersonic duck squadron!”

[name] bursted out laughing, “what the fuck is that?!” his howling laughter was heard throughout the desert and he only stopped once the supersonic duck squadron were in front of them.

“well, now we just need a plan,” zoro smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“and you’re capable of doing that…right…” [name] said under his breath, voice trailing off as his expression showed that he didn’t think zoro would even be able to think of a plan. his comment made usopp and chopper hold back their giggles.

“i’ll cut you up! seriously!” zoro threatened, the shine of his blade glinting in the moonlight.

“jokes, jokes!” [name] said, but zoro definitely wasn’t convinced.

“let’s get back on track,” nami spoke in a deathly calm voice, “zoro’s right, we do need a plan and [name]’s right, zoro definitely shouldn’t be the one to form said plan,”

zoro’s forehead was littered with angry tick marks.

“alright then this is how it’ll go,” nami said, making everyone gather around her in a circle. she spoke with confidence, laying out the plan she had been thinking of to the rest of her crewmates.

in the end, it was decided that they’d all pretend to be vivi to throw off the awaiting baroque works members. all except for the actual princess and [name]. those two would wait out the distraction ploy, then charge in on their own ducks to go straight to the royal palace.

now everyone was wearing identical white robes over their regular clothing, covering the bottom half of their face for extra protection. [name] grinned in excitement, eager to start and end this long awaited fight. with him acting as vivi’s protector, though, he still had to play it smart.

he couldn’t get too eager or else she might get injured. and that was definitely the last thing anyone wanted.

“if she comes back with the littlest of bruises, [name], so help me-”

“i get it, i get it,” [name] sighed, rubbing his forehead at sanji’s nagging.

“do you?! this is vivi-chan’s life at stake, be on your best game in protecting her — even if it means risking you life!!” sanji shouted, showing his obvious favoritism towards vivi.

fake crocodile tears streamed down [name]’s face, “after all we’d been through sanji, i’d hope you’d be more concerned for me,” he whined, weakly punching the blonde in the chest.

the chef rolled his eyes, turning away and hopping onto his own speedy duck. [name] wished all of them good luck, climbing onto the back of karoo, with vivi in front and steering. he shot them a wide grin and thumbs up.

“you got this, everyone!! beat their asses!” [name] cheered, earning shouts of agreement, and fear, in return. and in a second, they were all racing off, leaving [name] and vivi in the dust.

then the h/c haired male held onto vivi’s waist, the princess directing them to a completely different entrance way to the capital. karoo was running as fast as he could, quacking every now and then. eventually, they had reached a completely different side of the kingdom. karoo ran right in front of the entrance, to properly stop the rebel army from entering.

[name] hopped off first and then assisted vivi, sighing as he could feel the trembling off the sand beneath their feet. there were so many soldiers that were coming. his glare hardened when he saw them all having their weapons raised, ready to draw blood.

[name] took a seat, propping his arm up on his knee as he waited for vivi to start her intervention.

in his mind, trying to project your voice towards an entire brigade of soldiers was useless. there’d be no way they could hear her over their trampling steps, even if they did, there was little chance that they’d actually be able to stop for her.

[name] squinted at the crowd, lowly whistling when he saw how many of them were charging. he sighed, standing up and holding his hand out.

no matter how stupid he thought it was or how pointless it all seemed, there’s no way he’d let vivi be trampled by all these people. and if they weren’t going to even stop to listen to her, then he’d force them to.

his hand was outstretched, palm facing the people. and his face was stoic as he concentrated as hard as he could in stopping the swarm. just when he thought his focus was completely locked in, a sudden bang and cloud of smoke cut him off.

he grit his teeth, looking up at the royal army who had just fired a canonball into the charging army. he cursed in his head, “those bastards, i had them!!”

but trying to refocus and stop them all now, with how close they were, it was useless. so he thought fast, “sorry, karoo!!” he shouted right before he tossed the bird up into the air, “i hope you can fly!”

just as vivi was about to shout at him, he tackled her down to the ground. his elbows were propped up on either side of her head, his legs completely covering her own as his torso shadowed over her face.

“don’t look so scared, princess,” he grinned, keeping his arms flexed and strong so that his positioning wouldn’t falter at all. “i won’t allow you to get hurt, not now, not ever!”

she looked up at him in fear, the sound of the stampede’s footsteps echoing in her ears. the ground beneath them was shaking violently now more than it ever was before. and when her wide blown eyes stared back at him, she couldn’t believe how he could so calmly smile at her.

and then it happened. all the hooves of the camels were beating down into [name]’s back, making him grunt at the pain. he bit his lip, hard, to suffocate any sounds that were threatening to come out.

vivi grabbed onto his robes, trying to push him off of her as he was taking the blunt force of all their steps. but he didn’t budge. not even when she began beating on his chest and crying for him to move out of the way, he stayed completely still. it was as if his body was glued to the ground and was rooted there like a tree.

it felt like hours, for [name]. the pain of their hooves breaking into his skin, the repeated actions. it really did hurt. but he couldn’t move, he wouldn’t allow himself to. vivi was right underneath him and if he moved even an inch over, she’d get hurt.

so he smiled through the pain, laughing almost as he saw the concern etched so obviously across vivi’s features. and when the crowd eventually passed over, he collapsed next to her, the smile still plastered on his face.

“that’s a pretty big army,” he breathed out, coughing blood onto the sand next to his hand, “man, i really hope karoo can fly,”

“[name]!” she cried out, rushing to his side and moving her hands to his face, “don’t worry about karoo, you-your back has-”

“i’m fine,” he grunted, waving his hand, “are you alright?”

“of course, i’m fine!” she shouted at him, her worry turning into anger, “why?! why did you do that?!”

[name] began laughing, putting his hand on his stomach — to ease the pain but also because it was that hilarious to him.

“why? to protect you, obviously,”

her eyes filled with tears, but she shook her head to rid herself of them, “will you be alri-”

“don’t even ask, that wasn’t even anything,” he said, sitting upright, “i’ve been through worse and i’ll go through worse if it means you’ll stay safe. now, let’s focus on getting to the palace. where’s karoo?”

vivi remained silently, her hands clenched in her lap at [name]’s selfless statement. “i’ll go through worse” he said so confidently and casually. it echoed in her mind. and all she could think about was how quick this war needed to be finished.

she couldn’t just keep allowing the straw hat crew to take care of her messes. luffy sacrificing himself to fight against crocodile, [name] giving up his body in order to protect hers — she’d had enough. enough of being looked out for.

a mighty quack answered that question for him and the duo turned their heads. vivi was knocked out of her daydream when she saw the state karoo was in. his feathers were barely touched by the rampaging swarm of soldiers, his wings were proudly held high in the air, and he was shouting for their attention.

“then, vivi-”

“vivi, [name]!!! this is where you guys are!!”

[name] lifted his head, seeing usopp’s face in the sunlight. he was grinning ear to ear, seemingly happy to have finally met up with the two.

“ah, usopp,” [name] said, in relief, “let me hop on the back of that camel, mighty duck over here needs to be as fast as possible when he takes vivi,”

“usopp-san!” vivi cheered in delight.

“no problem, [name]! let’s go already!” usopp cried in urgency, “vivi, come on! we can’t waste anymore time!”

vivi turned to karoo, nodding her head as if in agreement with usopp. she was about to climb onto her duck, who was eager to get running. her back was turned to usopp and [name], a gentle smile on her face.

she mounted karoo, turning around to [name] and usopp, about to tell them she was ready, but she was instead greeted by the sight of [name] holding his sheathed sword to usopp’s neck. a drastic change in demeanor was surrounding [name].

“so mosshead really wasn’t lying,” [name]’s deep voice drawled, disinterest laced in his tone, “it’s really identical, huh?”

“woah, woah, [name]!! what’s the big deal?!” usopp cried out, kneeling in front of [name] with his hands in the air, “what’s going on?!”

“vivi, ask usopp to show his proof,” [name] spoke, the end of his sword dangerously close to usopp’s nose. testily, he pressed it onto the tip, watching with careful eyes of usopp’s reaction.

and instead of batting [name]’s weapon away and yelling something like, “don’t mess with my nose, bastard,” the man instead stayed completely silent. he didn’t even flinch from [name]’s weapon, simply staying put and maintaining eye contact.

as if that were the right thing to do.

vivi gulped, understanding the situation now. “usopp-san, prove yourself,” she said carefully, watching for his actions.

confidently, the sniper lifted his arm and showed off the bandage, “you doubt me? that’s alright, look!!” he waved it about in the air, making [name] scoff.

“vivi, run! now!!” [name] shouted, swinging his arm back and about to dutifully decapitate the man’s head. but it seemed the imposter had wonderfully fast reflexes as he flipped himself far away from [name]’s deadly weapon.

vivi did as she was told, urging karoo to run ahead and left [name] and the impostor to stand in their dust. [name] didn’t remove his eyes from the man who still had usopp’s face.

“oi! i’m your opponent, take your eyes off of her,” he said, smirking in delight at the idea of being able to freely spill his enemy’s blood, “if you don’t look at me,” he used soru, appearing in front of the man in an instant, “it might cost you your life!”

a finger was jabbed into “usopp’s” side and it caused him to stumble backwards. [name] looked at him in satisfaction, licking his lips as blood began to immediately poor out of the wound.

“ohh, that’s a shame!” usopp said, clutching the hole in his abdomen, “i thought i was pretty spot on,”

finally, the man revealed his true face. it was a man with heavy make up, a ballet outfit on, and a jacket that had swan wings extending outwards. the interesting appearance made [name] tilt his head in interest.

“pretty,” he said offhandedly, effectively catching the man off guard.

“really? you think so?” the man said bashfully, waving his hand at [name] in attempts to win him over.

[name] smirked, dashing forward and punching the man’s legs, making him kneel on the ground. and now that the man was at his hip level, he was able to knee him in the face, “definitely not! idiot!”

the man’s body went flying away. and [name] used that time to run to catch up to vivi and karoo. annoyingly, though, the man he was fighting against was very fast in regaining composure.

he could hear him running closely behind. so [name] turned his body around and stuck out his arm, effectively making the man run into his limb, causing him to flip in the air a couple of times and then fall flat on his face.

“fuck off already!” [name] shouted, trying to slam his fist into the ballerina’s face. in the last second, though, the man moved aside and went to kick [name] in the face. with a look of disgust, [name] easily dodged it and grabbed the man’s shin. a dark look was on his face as he grimaced at the enemy, “you want me to break your leg?”

the ballerina tried gaining control over his leg, but [name] had a tight grip on him. his knuckles were white, his hand shaking in anger, “hm, i don’t think that’s sufficient enough though,” he hummed, genuinely thinking of how to maim the man, “vivi…she’s suffered for so long because of you idiots! you’ve ruined her country,”

[name] twisted the skin of the man’s leg, making him yowl in pain and writhe on the floor. his screams were high pitched, making [name] cringe. he mindlessly threw him away in some direction, as if he were trash.

“i can’t waste my time on lowlives like you,” [name] grinned, seeing the dust cloud that erupted from the body he had just thrown. he turned around when he saw that the man couldn’t get up and ran off towards vivi.

he saw a staircase up to the city, moaning in annoyance as he saw how high it was. he shook his head, pushing forward, reminding himself that after they saved this city, they’d have all the food and water in the world.

so he used soru multiple times, trying to conserve his actual fighting energy into protecting vivi. when he heard the royal guards beginning to yell, going on about how someone was charging at them, but he blocked them out.

“someone capture him!! he’s apart of the rebel army!”

“like hell i am!” [name] shouted in annoyance, punching one of the guards that were charging at him. they slammed down onto the floor at the intensity of the punch, the ground cracking beneath their head.

he looked at the crowd, clicking his tongue once he saw that it was all just a mess. everyone was out for blood and there were bodies laying everywhere. he cursed under his breath.

just as someone else was going to slash his head, he jumped up in the air and kicked their face in. using that as leverage, he jumped off of them and into the air. and the process repeated. he kept kicking up and up into the air, projecting himself forward simply using the air beneath his feet.

some onlookers got distracted mid-fight as they watched the man seemingly “fly” through the sky. their enemies took advantage of that, slicing them down. and [name], who was in the sky was too busy searching for a princess with blue hair, didn't pay any mind to those around him.

which is why he missed the sniper that was hiding out in one of the buildings.

a bullet lodged itself into his abdomen, making him lose focus on his technique and causing him to fall from the sky. he cursed at the inconvenience, putting his hand on his wound and immediately tried to stop blood from overflowing.

his body fell limply to the floor, making him spit out some blood onto the ground beside him.

“the cursed orphan, set sail three years ago from his home— no, from foosha village that he had lived on for the past 7 years before leaving at the age 17. has relations with portgas d. ace and monkey d. luffy. the main caretaker that had watched over you is dadan, apart of the mountain bandits. occasional visits from makino the bartender, as well as the mayor.” the voice drawled out, their shoes clicking against the stone road.

they were in a secluded street, the shouts of the main fight being nothing but background noise.

“you lived on foosha village due to garp sending you there in hopes of you getting a normal childhood, prior to that you were on board the red hair pirates ship, the captain shanks acting as your mentor. that is where you obtained that cloth on your wrist,” a boney finger pointed at the black material on [name]’s wrist, “as well as that sword,”

“you're leaving out a pretty important detail,” [name] grunted, propping himself up on his elbows to glare at the figure, “when the fuck are you gonna get off my back, you dog?!”

“when you’re dead, of course!”

standing above [name], a tall lanky figure wearing all black stood above his bleeding body. he had a sniper rifle strapped to his back and a large dagger resting on his hip. a rigged scar stretched from the bridge of his nose, blinding his right eye, and ending near his skull, the right ear he would’ve had was completely missing. a trench coat that almost touched the ground, combat boots that made an annoying clacking sound every time he stepped anywhere. he was skinny and lanky, standing at least two feet taller than [name].

“if they really want to kill me that badly, they should’ve sent someone worth while,” [name] grunted, letting his hand fall from his bleeding abdomen to push himself off of the ground. “thought i was wanted only alive, though?” the teasing tone in [name]’s voice made the face grimace in front of him.

“special orders, i get to be the one to assassinate you,” he drew the dagger on his side, a sadistic grin on his face. “i’ve been promoted now, there’s been a lot of change since you’ve left us. we’ve got a whole operation squad made to kill you! haha!!”

[name] looked unimpressed, a bored look on his face, “if it gives me more of an excuse to kill you dogs, then i don’t care.”

“remember your place, [name]!! who’s the one with the real control here?!” the voice shouted in anger, not enjoying the way his taunting remarks didn’t affect [name] at all.

“don’t make me laugh, we’re on different levels completely,” [name] smirked, shooting the blood that coated his hands towards the figure, successfully slashing into his cheek. he rushed forward, disarming the man from his dagger immediately, “don’t you remember who used to kick your ass during our training days together?! answer me, kosuke!!”

[name] voice lowered as he pressed himself closer to his assassin, “don’t you remember who’s the one who gave you that ugly scar?”

the sharp dagger pressed into kosuke’s skin, making [name] grin in delight as a marbled drop of crimson fell from the point he pierced, “come on, tell me, i wanna know!!”

“Eradication of Subject 0001: a strictly confidential mission that the World Government hopes to complete with swift professionalism. The goal to publicly execute [REDACTED] D. [name]. Those employed to take on this task are a small group of individuals who are believed to be able to match or out-do the subject’s prowess. The group was hand selected by Admirals Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu, as well as input coming from Vice-Admiral Garp.

MISSION IS STRICTLY ON A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS. INFORMATION LEAKED TO ANYONE OUTSIDE OF THE ALLOWED PERSONNELL WILL BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY.”

the scarred man moved quickly, pushing [name] off of him with enough force that it made [name]’s feet skid on the ground beneath him.

“shut up!!”

“ooh, someone’s angry,” [name] teased, smirking as he saw the man equip himself with his sniper, “say, you should be thanking me,”

[name] abruptly moved his body in different directions to dodge the bullets, “i’m the reason why your aim is so good, aren’t i? permanently shut that eye for you so your other in always in focus, haha!!”

his laughter echoed at the poorly made joke, obviously not taking the fight seriously. this only made kosuke more eager to injure [name], more than he already has.

“just give it up, kosuke, you’re never going to be stronger than me,” [name] grinned, pressing his hand to his wound, “you’re pretty idiotic for even maiming me,”

“i’ll kill you before you even have a chance to-”

[name] hand flicked forward and the blood he had pooled in his palm shot forward and pierced through kosuke’s shoulder.

“huh? i couldn’t hear you,” [name] taunted, walking forward with kosuke’s dagger in his hand and ready to stab into his enemy’s flesh.

the assassin clutched his bleeding wound, glaring at [name], “all that confidence, but for what? you can’t even protect your own captain!”

[name]’s movement stilled the moment the words left kosuke’s mouth.

“ha! you didn’t know?!” the man taunted, taking [name]’s surprise to his advantage, “crocodile had killed him only minutes after you guys left him to fight!! it was a pathetic showing, i watched the life drain out of your precious boy’s eyes! there’s no doubt, he’s dead, [name]!”

the light was hitting the silver necklace around [name]’s neck just right to make it look like it was sparkling. that made kosuke’s eyes squint in interest, then a look of realization crossed his face.

[name] still hadn’t moved, but his expression showed nothing. his eyes were devoid of any emotion as his face was stoic, not giving kosuke any idea of what he was thinking.

but if the assassin could have even had a glimpse into [name]’s mind, he would’ve acted on better judgement and ran away from the fight. because the atrocities [name] was mulling over on committing were horrific.

-

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taglist (lmk if u want to be tagged ! <3 :

@skullr0se, @strawberrii-tea, @triangulartriangles, @anotherlovefool, @haratatsu, @sinmp, @3v37773, @taru-nami @disc0dild0s, @boredwithlifeatthispoint, @kaulitzer

[vanderlesbian]

rdr2 x autistic reader headcanons

saw someone else do this but i wanted to give my headcanons too! enjoy tehe... includes arthur, john, dutch, and charles!

gn!reader + no warnings / fluff

arthur morgan

arthur is so patient and understanding with you

from the moment you met him, you never felt the need to mask around him because he never questioned your behaviors or belittled you for them

if any problems ever arised, arthur would always be quick to come to your defense

hes very careful with you; he handles you like he's holding a butterly. not because he thinks youre fragile or incapable, but because he cares for you too much and never wants to hurt you

he also knows that youre sensitive to things and will take mental notes

if he sees that you cover your ears when something loud happens, he'll be sure to be quiet around you

if you express that you don't like how a certain food feels, he'll start bringing other options along to make sure you're eating

he's not very good at being upfront with his emotions, and you can't always catch onto his hints which ends up with you being confused

but he's trying to break that habit

all in all he's a very understanding partner who prioritizes you above all

john marston

lets be real john is also autistic

youre both very understanding of each others needs and its nice to be able to completely be yourself around your partner

in a relationship he can be very touchy sometimes, but he can recognize when you dont want to be touched. if hes unsure, he'll ask

he will wait or ask for permission to do pretty much anything

"can i kiss you?" "can i hug you?" "is it alright if we hold hands?"

hes definitely awkward but he just needs the confirmation

he is veryyy blunt but to you its a good thing

it makes me feel like neither of you have to worry about if the other is beating around the bush or something because both of you say whats on your mind LOL

both of you are trying to figure out this relationship thing together

from an outside perspective, people might think the two of you are moving really slow, but for both of you its a perfect pace

dutch van der linde

dutch is your biggest fan when you start infodumping

he will listen to you speak about whatever for days on end, and you'll do the same with him as he talks about whatever philosophical tangent he has for the day

hes so infatuated with you its crazy

you will finish your infodumping tangent and he will scoop you up in his arms and go,"you're so beautiful/handsome, you know that?"

like oookaaayyy huhehehehehhehhshsh

he will SPOIL you with things related to your special interest. anything he sees that he knows you'll like, he'll snatch it up so quick to give it to you

he'll definitely boast about you to the other members

"they're so INTELLIGENT and HARD WORKING...perhaps the rest of you should take a note or two"

he lets you fidget with his fingers because you like his rings

he makes sure that your shared tent is perfectly up to your standards

the feeling of the blanket overwhelms you? suddenly hes sending arthur out to fetch a new one

he definitely pampers you a lot and sometimes it might feel suffocating at times but not bc you dislike it, you just need a moment to recharge

you'll tell him you need a moment to yourself and he'll oblige

charles smith

the two of you love parallel play omg

you two will be completely silent while he makes arrows and you partake in one of your hobbies but its so comforting to both of you

charles will always be the first to notice when you start to get overstimulated, so he'll tell the others to quiet down, give you space, or whatever else you need to calm yourself

hes kind of overprotective of you, so sometimes you'll have to reassure him that youre fine

he just cares about you more than anything

now that im thinking about it charles is also probably autistic

he's usually very quiet but with you he'll never shut up because he knows that you'll listen and show genuine interest

he will craft things for you to fidget with omfg

he'll notice that youre very antsy with your hands or legs and one day you'll come back to your tent and see a small handmade doll sitting on your bed

"did you make this for me?"

"i noticed you play with your fingers a lot"

he's genuinely the sweetest ever and he will just have heart eyes for you all the time

[mdhwrites]

https://www.tumblr.com/everysongineverykey/709979889023008768/the-owl-house-was-really-like-oh-yeah-by-the-way-a?source=share

Thoughts on this post?

So my immediate thoughts were two things: One was that I always feel awkward responding to other posts because I try not to shit stir most of the time. Two though was that I just agreed with it. The reality of the Hexside kids is purely played for laughs despite being horribly traumatizing on pretty much every level. That's just true.

Then I saw the tag saying it wasn't a criticism.

So was it okay for Hexside to be treated like this? Wartwood had a similar rebellion and it had its own silly things like a themed food Friday and people still being their quirky selves. It works there however because while dealing with what life throws at you is a theme of the work, trauma specifically isn't really. It's there, I've talked about how smart Amphibia is with it to keep its tone consistent but that subtlety also makes it so that not dwelling on it is fine.

If I were to give TOH S3 a theme of some sort... It WOULD be trauma. I don't think it does this theme well, at all, but it is a consistent motif. Hunter's trauma about Belos, Luz's trauma about... Fucking everything if I'm frank but her core trauma is resolved at least once in each episode, technically twice in the finale. They graft on trauma out of nowhere for Willow. She's never dependable Willow, soft spoken and never complaining at all times, but now she is so she has some sort of trauma to deal with while also dealing with Hunter's new trauma of losing Flapjack. One could even argue that Belos has it running throughout because his desperation is potentially fueled by trauma of losing his brother and having his world shatter around him by his brother betraying what ostensibly would have been both of theirs core beliefs. You even have the Collector going through his shit with having been trapped alone for so long.

And then you have Hexside where no one cares about how traumatic all of this has been... Except Boscha. And Boscha is played subtlely, much closer to Amphibia, rather than the capital t TRAUMA that the rest of the cast is going through. As such, most people who watched didn't give a shit and just saw it as a half baked redemption arc rather than continuing a theme because yeah, why would you? What does she even have to say about trauma? That you'll get kicked even harder while you're down and the only option is to move on by yourself and just pretend like it didn't happen?

And that's honestly a problem with the theme in general. So much of the answer to "How do I deal with this," for TOH is to go "I'm awesome and amazing and fuck you for ever thinking otherwise!" It's the conclusion for Hunter's trauma with Belos, we don't get a conclusion with Flapjack really, it's the statement that Luz makes for her character finish of just how much she wants the entire world to recognize she's a bombass nerd -_-, and it's even how the series wraps up with only Luz getting the Titan's power and only her, while she quotes her favorite books, actually attacking Belos. This is your reminder that all the co-op attacks with King and Eda were done far away from Belos, fighting random slime for literally no reason besides the fact that both Luz and the show got lost for about a minute. Willow is the only one where compassion for needing to actually, you know, process your pain and be supported and helped with it might be the answer but again, it's not a core trauma to the character. It's a clumsily grafted on element that also has Willow force Hunter to confront his trauma with Flapjack which IS the answer for him so it's also contradictory. It's not given nearly the same weight as the stuff with Hunter and Belos or ALL OF LUZ where their answers are just 'deal with it'.

(Bonus points to Luz's core problem theoretically being that she was WRONG about Philip and at least two of the endings to that trauma, with her friends and with the Titan, are her being told "You're wrong for worrying," like that would help at all.)

So then you have Hexside where their trauma is ignore and played for laughs so you can just do normal fantasy rebellion stuff mixed with teen rebellion stuff. It's not bad when measured that way but it's contradictory to many of the points that the whole abridged season is trying to make. It's an element that conflicts with your core theme. It's akin to how we're supposed to take Hunter leaving the EC seriously and as this grand pain of his... And then also have people mocking Lilith for it and even having her go "I'm realizing I was bad at my job" back in S2 because fuck her and her trauma I guess.

And don't tell me it's because it's a kid's show. Boscha could have easily been the surrogate for all of Hexside and then you kick out Miki and just have Boscha to deal with. Focus the episode around getting her to open up, be defenseless, maybe almost get turned into a puppet for it as it seems her fears were justified... Before she looks up to find she's behind one of Matt's pillars and everyone is coming out to help protect Boscha. Because the only reason they've gotten through this is together and while they're happy Boscha has actually helped them despite her pain, she shouldn't be dealing with this alone. All of them will do better if they share this pain and so we get them kicking the ass of one of the Collector's hunter stars and the plan be to ride it up to the Archive for the main crew before they get snatched off of it. It has more to say about the complexities of trauma and how you can't just power through it, allows an acknowledgement of what this world has done to these people, all while still allowing the rest of Hexside besides Boscha to be silly and upbeat because they've been doing what they need to handle all of this.

So yeah, I think the blog itself is correct. I think calling itself not criticism though means ignoring what all of these conflicting elements mean for the season overall. Yeah, it's a cute segment as is but when you have a show like TOH that is trying SO HARD to say something... Shouldn't we be critical of when it's failing to do that or even muffling it's own voice?

Because the hex on this side of the Isles could have been used to do something more but instead was treated like a cute charm to fill time. That's not okay. See you next tale.

======+++++======

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I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

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[somberjoon]

METANOIA [10]

✩ pairing: wolf hybrid nj x cheetah hybrid reader (f) - eventual ot7 x reader

✩ genre: soul-searching , romance🔞 , found-family , healing , angst , happy ending

✩ word count: 6.1k

✩ chapter warnings: uncertainty in behavior and emotions , anxiety , crying and loss of a grasp on what to do , SA without major details !! Please look out for * at the start and beginning of the conversation she has with Namjoon. It is not detailed in a way that would tell exactly what he does, but it's more of a panicked description of what she felt. Lots of mentions of suffocating feelings and her skin being touched and hurt and feeling gross, but nothing more than that. Please go into this understanding that this conversation with nj is put in a way that I resonate with / would prefer in my experience, so it obviously won't be preferred by everyone! Please take care of your mental health, and skip that section if you are not up to reading of these themes. Blood mentioned, knife and stabbing mentioned but not detailed.

✩ summary: She doesn't know. There is so much about her and her cheetah that she hasn't had the privilege to understand. Unknown backgrounds and unknown emotions clash with feelings of want- hopes of being herself unapologetically. Namjoon seems to be someone that can help her- but can the rest of his pack truly be what she has wanted and needed?

✩ cover: me

ch.1 , ch.2 , ch.3 , ch.4 , ch.5 , ch.6 , ch.7 , ch.8 , ch.9 , ch.10 ...

Y/N

To wake up refreshed, warm, and content seems totally cliche. It’s unreal and shouldn’t be Y/N’s reality after everything she’s been worrying about. She faces the window where the early morning sun is rising to greet her. She remembers the night before, turning in the bed to find Taehyung in the same spot he was before, but this time his head is propped up and sniffing towards the door. She must’ve awoken to something outside her door if Taehyung is also paying attention to it. 

“What is it?” She asks, her voice still groggy from not being used. One of his low energy ‘chuffs’ tells her exactly what she needs to know, already recognizing how he feels about Namjoon in her space. 

“Is it only him in the house?” His head lifts to give an too-human head shake that takes her aback only slightly. 

“Who else?” She asks, wondering how he’ll respond. Taehyung stretches towards her nose first. The light touch of his snout digs into her stomach, his head lying atop her lap to make sure she understands. Her stomach. Food?

“Seokjin?” Another ‘chuff’ leaves him and closes his eyes to try and push himself into her lap farther. She sits up and crosses her legs to accommodate the weight he pushes onto her. She can’t help but smile at the sweet gestures of his cheetah. He wants her to scratch here and there, which she does with no issue. It doesn’t take long for a loud purr to rumble through him and into her own skin where he lies. A light knock at the door doesn’t bother Taehyung, so she waits for a voice. 

“Y/N?” Namjoon. She pulls herself out from under Taehyung’s weight, earning a disappointed chuff as he sprawls out in the now empty space. She slips on her slippers and hurries to unlock the door to find a tired Namjoon still in his PJs. 

“Hey. Sorry, was I loud?” 

“No, not at all, just wanted to make sure Taehyung wasn’t bugging you.” He leans in to look at Taehyung and Y/N only hears that same annoyed chuff. She lets a puff of a laugh out at him. 

“He’s fine.” She assures, staring far too long at his soft morning features. It should be odd seeing him in this new way, but all she feels is content mush. He looks well-rested and carefree. Safe- just as she felt last night. She doesn’t care to control her dopey smile aimed up at him. 

“That’s good.” He looks down at her with his own soft smile, “You want some breakfast? Seokjin and I are the only ones here at the moment.” 

“Yeah, are you-?” 

“I’m gonna eat right now as well.” He answers with a nod. “Let’s hurry before it gets cold.”

The house outside of the room she slept in smells wonderful. It always seems to- whether it’s from scented candles or colognes and clean home, or just the lingering scent of every homey meal. She’s hesitant to step into the kitchen with her bruises and scratches so on display, but she makes an effort to stay in stride with Namjoon, placing herself behind him slightly just so they’re not the first thing Seokjin notices. Luckily, she rounds the kitchen island and sets down on one of the stools next to Namjoon without Seokjin turning around. 

“Good morning.” Seokjin greets them, still chopping away at something Y/N can’t see. 

“Good morning.” The two say at the same time, causing them to share an intense look for just a moment. They melt into matching smiles that Seokjin turns to find. 

“A sleepy pup and a sleepy cub- my favorite customers.” Seokjin pokes at them, setting matching bowls in front of each of them. “Chicken porridge, lean meats for Y/N’s stomach and extra of it for strength.” He finalizes with a smile, obviously proud of himself. He should be proud, it smells delicious, and the green onions sprinkled on top make the presentation look so pretty. 

“Thank you, Seokjin.” Y/N shyly thanks. Unlike last time, Y/N is ready to dig in. It must be how good Seokjin’s food always is- or maybe she realizes it’s because she actually feels safe in their home, at least in the presence of the three at home at the moment. She takes a few hungry bites before saying anything, content with filling her desires of just eating in comfortable silence. 

“It’s very good.” She hums, looking up at a content Seokjin. He looks even more satisfied, seemingly only waiting for her opinion to continue his morning. He rounds the corner of the Island, greeting Namjoon with silent gestures that she decides to give them complete privacy for- focusing only on her food. Seokjin leaves after that, mumbling something about Jungkook and giving Y/N a little wave. 

“Did you sleep well?” Namjoon asks after a few moments of eating in silence. 

“Really well. I don’t even think I dreamed. It was- peaceful.” Y/N admits now that they’re alone. 

“I’m glad to hear that. I know Taehyung doesn’t take his presence in your room lightly. He was mostly there to guard you more than anything. He can sense it more in his cheetah form, like smelling out your emotions.” Namjoon explains. 

Her thoughts get the best of her- still set on wanting and yearning to meet her cheetah. 

“Is it like that for all animals, or just him so far?” 

“Do I think you’ll be able to do it, you mean? No clue. But, all of us have our own little thing in our animal forms. Taehyung can sense when we feel certain ways, without us wanting to admit it. Seokjin somehow knows when something bad happens, his fox always waiting patiently  and then- poof, someone cuts themself on accident or sprains their ankle on the treadmill and he’s right there.”

“Wow.” She can’t help but listen in awe. 

“Hoseok’s tiger is a guardian, as well as my wolf- but I’m a lot more…active.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“It’s the reason I wouldn’t want to shift for a while if you decide to stay with us, at least not if you’re uncomfortable with what I do. I just get really- protective. Unnecessarily protective. I’ll want to groom and nag and be glued to anyone  I feel needs it most. He would definitely pick you at the moment, and it would be more overwhelming than anything.”

“That’s very sweet, though. That they have you two in the pack as protection, I bet it makes everyone feel safe.” Y/N tries her best to make their protectiveness be a positive to him, not an overbearing thing he thinks it may be. 

“I hope so.” His smile is aimed at her but she feels as though he’s thinking about his pack, not including her at all. 

“Anyways,” he continues. “Yoongi is also protective but his panther is a lot more…cuddly.” 

“Really?” It’s a little surprising having his personality a contrasting thing despite Namjoon saying he’s not the talkative type. She can’t say she’s any different though, more set on touch and active attention rather than talking all the time. Maybe she can become closer to him. 

“Oh yeah, he’s like that in human form too though.” He gives her a smirk before continuing. “Jimin is very active in his wolf form, he wants to get everyone into trouble and be a pest honestly. But, he knows how to have fun, even if it is overbearing sometimes, he’s not pushy- he’s just…wanting. He wants to do so many things and he’ll drag anyone along to join him. Finally, Jungkook. He’s actually not one that has displayed anything major. He’s still trying to get used to everything, but he’s a lot more confident in his bunny form. He’ll not speak all day but the second he’s a bunny he’s all over you, wanting the attention he didn’t want in human form. That’s normal by the way.” Y/N turns to give him a questioning look.

“The confidence in your animal form. You’ll find that whatever you don’t allow yourself to do in human form, your animal form will absolutely get what it wants if the other is okay with it. It’s normal and shouldn’t be anything to be embarrassed about.” 

She understands him and feels as though there is something he’s not specifically saying. But he is saying something. Something she can’t quite pinpoint, though. 

“I would never judge. Taehyung was really sweet, and was taking care of me. It felt…nice.” She admits. “Really nice. It’s all really nice. It feels too good to be true.” 

Namjoon seems to hold his breath at the statement, waiting and waiting for Y/N to say the unsaid. It’s morning, they’ve eaten and they’re very well rested. It’s all pointing to her wanting and hoping she can stay here and have a safe place to live. But, she still needs to tell him. 

“I still want you to know. I thought about it a little more and- I’d want someone to know anyways. Even if I took advantage without making sure the pack leader knew what I did, I’d want someone that I trusted to know. Just so I had a place with someone where I don’t have to worry about this thing haunting me and everything I do.” 

“Let’s finish up and we can go wherever you’d like. You can still wait if you’d like-” 

“I really need you to know, Namjoon.” He gives her a long, observing look. Maybe he’s really savoring this last normal moment they’ll have before she pulls the rug from underneath him. Maybe she’s doing the exact same thing, looking over this pretty, just awoken Namjoon that’s comfortable in her presence. It’ll probably be the last time she gets to see it. 

“Okay.” He finally whispers. 

*

The guest room she used is now empty, Taehyung nowhere in sight. ‘He’s probably in the sunroom.’ Namjoon told her without having to ask him. She doesn’t question it, content with only telling Namjoon right now. 

“I don’t know where to start.” She says after some time of quiet thought. Namjoon sits on the edge of the bed near the spot Taehyung settled the night before. 

“Can I ask something? It may help.” Namjoon confesses. She only looks at him with awkward question. “That night you seemed fine, and then- you weren’t. I was very hesitant with leaving you home alone, and I really regret it, honestly. I just- I guess I think that’s when something happened.” 

His confession causes her heart to ache in remembrance. That was exactly when it started, but honestly- she could go farther back in time. 

“There’s this man. He’s Richard’s coworker.” Namjoon shifts uncomfortably in her peripheral vision, but she’s too focused on her thoughts to pay attention. She shifts and paces, biting at her nails as she recalls everything. “I met him that first night Maria was out of town over the weekend, and he- he called me ‘exotic’. He-” She stops, not wanting to give those specifics yet. “He made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t see him after that so I thought that would be the last of it.”

There’s no ‘right’ way to tell him the rest. She just needs and wants to do it. 

“The night I was here, with Maria gone, I was glad to be out of the house. I didn’t want to chance having dinner without Richard with his coworker there. It was pretty late, and I thought Richard would have already had him over, eaten, and had gone to bed. Richard had texted me and I checked it in the car. His coworker needed to stop by and grab some tools from the unlocked garage.” 

She thinks and thinks, her breathing picking up. She wants to calm slightly before she goes on. 

“I was hoping- praying- that he had already come and gone since the text was a little old.”

“Y/N…” Her breathing picks up despite her recent stop. Namjoon notices, but tries not to interrupt her. His plea is soft, asking more than anything. 

“I really wanted you to stay. I was so scared. Something inside of me knew. It’s like, my cheetah knew I needed you.” She honestly confesses. “I stayed by that door before heading to my room. I was stuck there, my cheetah wouldn’t let me settle. But, I ignored her.” 

“Y/N.”

“When I heard his truck, I thought- I thought it was Richard. I memorized the sound of their cars. It sounded just like Richard’s. I was so relieved, so happy to have someone slightly familiar there. But, he didn’t come into the house, and it confused me. His truck was shut off and he’d been in the garage for so long. I thought he was putting tools away, maybe- I don’t know.” Her eyes start to water at the stupidity she feels recalling those thoughts. Why else would he be in there for so long. If only it was Richard in that garage.

“I was so desperate to see him and feel at ease. I heard the garage open finally, but he didn’t turn on the lights. So, I met him in the kitchen, asking for him, searching.” She has to stop and breathe, her voice becoming louder and her words more unstable. “I didn’t see anyone, but…I felt him. His hands. His body. He was on me before I could even blink. He held my mouth shut.-”

Y/N That Night

Panic sets in immediately. She thrashes against the hold, desperately trying to get away from the grimey hands- one keeping her quiet, one keeping her arms at her sides. She doesn’t know how, but she gets loose.

She fights. 

She yells and pushes herself away, trying to scramble for purchase on anything. Why would Richard do this? He must be drunk- this can’t be what she thinks it is. He doesn’t give up, reaching for any body part he can get to as she trips over his waving arms. She pulls and pushes away from him, her voice a loud plea that she can’t even understand herself. She can only hear him, him and his scrambling body trying to get to her. 

She finds herself pushed into a counter as she finally stands. The counter- she can grab something. Grab something. Grab Something. As her hands roam blindly, the man is on her again, his nails being used to dig and dig into different parts of her. He pushes her down once again just as she grabs onto something with a handle. She’s able to twist so her back lands on the ground underneath him instead of face planting. The handled utensil clatters to the ground and a wail of irritation falls from her mouth. 

He just tries to pry at her, touching her here and there with hands that aim to hurt her. Nothing is gentle about his touches. But neither are hers. She pushes and pries his hands from her face, her body, her arms. 

“Stop. Please- Stop!” She begs. He’s so much stronger, though. He sits up, his knees bracketing her torso in place as he pushes her arms to the ground. She just about goes limp, her legs the only thing free enough to keep fighting for her. Her hand stretches out onto the floor, hoping something is within reach. As she loses the will to try, his hands move down as she tires, feeling her body underneath him. Her wet eyes wouldn’t even be able to see in the light- but within the dark she still searches and finally-

The knife. 

He’s choppy and not attentive, as if he thinks she’s just giving in to him after a short while of fighting. She still can’t see him, can’t aim or direct this properly. She has one chance. 

-

Y/N Present Day

“I struck true. I don’t know what I hit, but the second my adrenaline got the knife sunken into him I pushed and pushed and he just fell to the ground. I- I thought it was Richard and he was limp- I was more worried that I killed my guardian. I was fucking terrified.”

“I turned on the light after some time. I had just felt the blood on me, I felt his hands still all over me- it took me a while to finally decide to see him.” She lets out a shaky sigh. “It was his coworker, of course.”

“Is he?” 

“They said he’s in critical condition.”

With telling him comes the feeling of those hands upon her, his body pressing into her. It’s the worst part every time she recalls it. She doesn’t remember what she said or how hard she yelled. It’s the feeling of him that stuck. The worst part stuck. Her tail wraps so tightly around her it feels suffocating. But it’s just not enough right now. She can’t get the feeling to go away. 

“Y/N.” His voice is steady but kind. “Is there anything I can do to help you right now?”

Just as he was in the hospital, just as he knows whenever she needs literally anything, he knows when to ask. She can't give in just yet, that's not all that haunts her. 

"He was so easy to hurt, Namjoon. It was so easy to get him so close to death. What if I- what if I hurt someone else?" She whispers the last question.

"You're not dangerous Y/N. He is. People like him deserve to be hurt. People that hurt people deserve to be hurt." Namjoon tries to explain and explain as Y/N tries her hardest to see it that way. 

"I would never think of hurting you guys." Y/N whispers to him. 

"I believe you'd never hurt us. You are not the one that did anything bad. You protected yourself, you did exactly what you needed to do." Namjoon urges a bit. 

"I'm just so scared that I could hurt someone. I don't want to hurt anyone. Not like they've done to me, I can't let that happen to you guys. And if everyone else in the pack doesn't know I did that- and I live here- I feel like I'm betraying them."

Namjoon gives a heavy sigh at all her confessions. She understands it’s not towards her, but she can’t help but feel split open and raw at the sight of him assessing her and thinking about the consequences she’ll have to face. 

“We all have secrets. We’ve all kept secrets from each other. Each one of us has a complicated history of regrets and shameful acts. Yours isn’t shameful- at all- but I want you to know that we aren’t perfect. None of them would judge you for this. None of us would feel unsafe with you here. I would feel much better if you were here.” She watches as his finger points directly in front of him at the ground to emphasize his wants. 

Her cheetah seems to take him literally, urging her forwards. She halts, though, not understanding why she would need to quell something like that within her. The last time she disobeyed her cheetah she ended up hurt. Really hurt. Maybe she is questioning it too much. Maybe her cheetah is trying to truly help her more than she realizes. 

She takes a few steps forward, watching as Namjoon waits for her. 

“I want to be here. I want to feel safe and- I want to stop feeling him on me.” She explains with her stilly misty eyes and shaky breaths. “I don’t want to rely on others all the time, least of all someone that pretty much got stuck with me. But I want to rely on you. I want to be with you all the time, and I want to find comfort in you whenever I need it. Because you comfort me.” She’s now right in front of him. 

“I don’t want to feel him on me anymore. I hate it so much, Namjoon.” 

Namjoon’s hands reach up for her, clenching in the air with questions and unsure placement. 

“What do you need from me?” He whispers. 

“Can you hold me?” She whispers back, just for him. Can you make him go away? Can you hold me together so I don’t fall apart? 

“Of course. Always.”

*

“So, Your contract already states that this decision will nullify the opportunity for rehoming services, but we still have a few papers for you to sign just to show this was finalized with your consent.” Mila shuffles through a few manilla folders in one of her drawers, finally pulling out a set of papers. 

“This one states the home you’ve picked is one that you’ve found on your own and is not under the organization. Meaning, it isn’t the organization’s fault if you chose this home haphazardly, and you have to find your next home on your own as well.” She slides the other paper on top of that one, “And this one is your consent form, saying that you are the one that is choosing this home that is not under the organization.” 

Y/N looks over to Namjoon with one more playful question in her eye just before she presses the pen to the paper. Namjoon can’t help but watch her with a content smile, playing along with her giddy emotions. 

After Namjoon held her with no qualms, no questions, it didn’t take long for the adrenaline in Y/N’s body to dissipate into mush and playful giggles. Namjoon made sure she was fine and then gave into whatever she wanted at that moment. She knows she needs to work on how she handles her ups and downs, and how she copes with everything. But Namjoon calms her so well, makes her feel so safe, he’s not too much for her right now- she’s afraid to make it a full-session of her talking about it. That would be too much too fast. 

She signs both papers confidently. 

“Perfect. Also, I wanted to apologize that your last doctor wasn’t well-equipped to handle hybrid patients. We updated the list we have to exclude her as well as went over all the ones we hadn’t checked up on in a while. We’ll cover all the doctor fees still and will be for any other medical, mental, or herbal health you seek out. Namjoon suggested his doctor’s office if you’d like to give that one a go.”

“I’ve tried a few out, this one I’ve been using for a couple years, though.” Namjoon explains. “The whole pack goes there.”

“If it’s trustworthy that’s fine.” Y/N gives her approval. 

“Okay, I’ll fill those papers out and send them to the healthcare team by tomorrow so that you can make your first appointment as soon as possible.”

“Thank you so much, Mila.” Y/N genuinely tells her. “I appreciate the work you put into everything, and I really appreciate that you’ve been caring through- everything.” 

“I want you to be safe, Y/N, I’ll make sure I can provide you with all the options you have no matter what, and I’ll always give you honest advice.” Mila gives her a smile she hasn’t seen before, making her feel shy under the attention, but Namjoon helps end the meeting with the attention on him. 

-

Y/N didn’t realize their day would end here after she watched Namjoon finish the minimal work he had for the day. A couple hours of meetings later, Namjoon is hauling her into the car with a borrowed jacket and clothes that fit her horribly. 

“The budget you get for clothing, essentials, and all that are your own to spend. But, I wanted to celebrate your decision a little bit.” 

“Namjoon.” Y/N warns. 

“It’s not that bad, I promise. But, you will need a new phone ASAP and you will need new clothes and stuff sooner than later just to help get you settled.”

“I don’t find this celebratory.” Y/N moans into the air, her head leaning against the headrest of the car’s seat. 

“Oh, that’s more because it’s extra time you get to spend with me.” Namjoon says with absolutely no sarcasm. He buckles himself in and doesn’t give a second glance to her. 

“You’ll be the death of me Kim Namjoon.”

“Don’t die on me yet, that ruins the fun.” He coos. 

-

It shouldn’t be anything special- Namjoon doting on Y/N like an experienced pack leader, suggesting this and that and making sure she’s on their phone plan even. Shopping for socks and toothbrushes isn’t something fun at all. It’s far from special or romantic but it’s- domestic. Domestic in a way that makes Y/N speechless until Namjoon turns to ask her a question with his gaze on her, obviously not having asked the question just once. She can’t pay attention to anything when his hand brushes against her with silent comfort. The touch doesn’t make her recoil or think of anything else but the butterflies in her stomach. She doesn’t understand why people call them butterflies, though. They feel thunderous, like dragons more than anything. 

“Are you hungry?” Namjoon is stopped in front of her, looking down at her with concern. “Are you alright? You seem a little out of it, I’m sorry if I rushed this, I just didn’t want you to be overwhelmed when the guys got home and needed my attention suddenly.”

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” She speaks the first thing she can think of. Her cheeks pink, causing her to dip her head so he hopefully doesn’t notice. 

“I just have one more stop, is that okay?”

“Of course.” He turns to walk with her again, making sure to keep in time with Y/N as she wants to walk slower to prolong her time with him before-

‘He has a pack’, she thinks. He has a family and people that need his time and attention much more than you do, more than you deserve to have it. 

You could be pack. I’m not. You could be, I want to be. 

Dread washes over her at the realization, and suddenly her limbs feel heavy, her skin not something that’s her own. Butterflies and dragons are long gone. She follows alongside him, this time with more space in between them. How could her cheetah want that, how could she think she has any place such as that in their home. Y/N needs to stay in her place to be able to keep her spot there, she needs to be a guest. A good one. What would they think of her if she tried to wiggle into their lives for good?

“Go ahead and look around, I’ll just be a few minutes.” Namjoon cuts her out of her thoughts, now standing in front of an electronics store. She listens, fascinated with all the little things in display cases that let her head ponder in wonder instead of that dread. Maybe she’s been staring at something for far longer than she realizes, or maybe he took less time than he’d thought- Namjoon is already ready to go with a sleek black bag added into the pile of bags. 

“Let’s go home and eat, yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

Home. 

-

Y/N is surprised to find she isn’t as nervous to see the pack this time around. She’s much more nervous with the fact that she still doesn’t know her place around them. Without Namjoon or Taehyung doting on her, what is the relationship supposed to be comprised of?

“Hyung!” Jungkook runs up to Namjoon who enters in front of Y/N, she hides behind him, her head down and hoping her bruises and cuts aren’t something they want to focus on. Jungkook clings to Namjoon, obviously having missed his wolf after not seeing each other all day. ‘I missed you.’ Y/N can hear the younger whisper as she hastily puts on her slippers. It all seems to weigh on her more now that she can hear them, smell them, and put excited or content expressions onto the pack’s faces. 

“Y/N,” Jungkook draws her attention away from the floor, her surprised expression matching his own. “It’s nice to see you again.” He shyly admits- his bunny ears dropping to cover his pinking ears. 

“It’s nice to see you as well, Jungkook. Thank you for, um, letting me be here.” She slips in before he can turn away. She needs to tell them, all in her own ways at the right time, whenever they offer her the time. She wouldn’t want to intrude on their unknown schedules. 

“It’s safe here.” He says quieter, as if he knew she wanted to hear why he allowed her to be there, in his home. She gives him a shy smiling nod. 

“Y/N, if you’re hungry, we are all going to eat right now.” Seokjin pulls both of their attention to him. Jungkook moving out of her way allows her to finally see the open living room and all the eyes setting on her. She immediately looks down again, not wanting to see their reactions to her. 

“I, uh, I-”

“She said she was pretty tired, hyung, I’ll get her settled and grab her some to eat up in her room.” Namjoon jumps in to help her.

“No worries. Have a good night.” Seokjin says with a smile in his voice. 

��Goodnight.” Y/N says in their direction, not knowing what else to say. 

She can’t help but feel a bit defeated at her failed attempt to be normal. She was less nervous before walking in. But, the second she realized that only Seokjin had seen her that morning, she immediately deflated into an anxious ball. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispers at Namjoon as they enter her room. 

“What for?” He genuinely asks. 

“That you had to save me, and that I didn’t greet them properly, or- I don’t know.” She wants to tell him more, but after the realization earlier, she has to put some type of distance between them. She can’t just give into her cheetah now that she knows what she wants. 

“You don’t have to worry about any of that. They know you need time, and I know you are trying. You are strong for doing all of this and even stronger for letting me know how you feel.” Namjoon explains, separating the things in the bag he dragged in for her. 

“I’ll do that. You should go have dinner with them.” She urges a little, still slightly timid from her earlier interactions. He pauses, not immediately responding to her or giving in. But he soon faces her with a smile. 

“Just take the tags off and then we can wash everything before you wear them. And I’ll bring you food before settling in with them.” Namjoon almost rushes out after instructing her. 

Suddenly, every layer she has on is itchy and suffocating. She strips off the oversized clothes Namjoon found for her, immediately heading for the shower to try and melt off the gross feeling coating her skin- she chooses a pair of new sleepwear she doesn’t care to have cleaned beforehand.. The water isn’t overwhelmingly hot, but a temperature that numbs her well. It’s nice not feeling anything, being scrubbed clean and warm. Afterwards, she’s dressed and leaving the bathroom to find the tray of food Namjoon promised, set on the side table near the space she sleeps. 

‘I’ll wish you goodnight after everyone’s settled.’ A note near the bowl of porridge similar to this morning’s sits. A side of veggies and cooked tofu sit on a plate next to it, accompanied by a chilled glass of water. She doesn’t deserve the attentive gestures. Not when she knows deep down how she really feels about this home. 

She takes to brushing her own hair and wrapping it up into a bun similar to how Namjoon did for her. She eats quickly, listening for the sound of five or six sets of footsteps to make their way to a bedroom down the hall. Then, she’s slipping out of her room with slippered feet, careful not to drop the tray with empty dishes. The coast seems clear, a way for her to clean up after herself without bothering anyone or getting in their way during their nightly routine. The kitchen light above the stove is one of the only things that lights up her path. It’s enough to get her to the sink, setting everything on the counter before slowly opening the hot water. 

A light clicks on above her, causing her to squint up at the entrance she came in from. 

“I didn’t realize you’d finished up, I’m sorry for getting to your room too late.” Namjoon. 

“It’s okay. I can finish up by myself.” She starts her work on the dishes, following the steps she remembered Namjoon and Hoseok took to clean the dishes. She basically ignores Namjoon as he rounds the island to meet her at the sink, watching intently as she washes and rinses, setting them aside to dry once she’s done. He’s too close, practically breathing down her neck with something primal and new she hasn’t felt from him before. 

Just as she’s finished washing and rinsing, Namjoon nudges her a little to the side. She doesn’t budge as easily, though, set on finishing her task. Namjoon gives an unfamiliar huff, and takes to gripping underneath her shoulders. Suddenly, her feet are off the ground and she’s set down butt first onto the counter near the sink. Namjoon wordlessly dries at the dishes she just washed. Her bewildered expression goes ignored. A scoff leaves her at the happenings. 

“Aren’t you gentlemanly?” She bites out. He doesn’t answer, in fact, he seems to not care at all for answering. It’s not until he’s finished and the dishes are put away that Namjoon finally gives her attention. His hands land on either side of her legs, bracketing her in on the counter. 

“I told you I’d take care of you.” Is all he huffs up at her. It’s an unfamiliar look for him- but not entirely uncomfortable or foreign feeling. 

“I can do simple things. I told you I’m not living here to be a cub you can dress up and buy things for as you fancy.” 

“I want to do everything. Right now, while you’re not feeling well, I want to do it.” He gives with another huff. 

“I don’t want to be a bother, especially during the time you should be with your pack.”

“You are-” He stops himself, cutting off what he was going to say to calm himself a bit. “I told you I’d care for you. I need to, Y/N.” He sounds pained in some way, his gaze not on her face anymore. Y/N remembers their conversation from before. His wolf. 

“Namjoon,” She tries to pull his attention up. He grumbles with an animalistic sound she hasn’t heard yet. She tries harder, finally allowing herself to touch him once again. Her palm gently pushes up on his chin to catch his gaze. “Is your wolf wanting this? Or are you?”

“My wolf is me, Y/N. We are not separate things, but two parts of one whole. Just as your cheetah will want and not want, and it will be connected to you with more intent than you realize.” It’s as if he knows. She shrinks under his words, a dry gulp being heard from her in the silence. 

“You really don’t mind caring for me like this? Like I’m something that needs- deserves- all this extra stuff?” 

“Even if our fates were different- I know I’d always want to care for you. Let me, just so my wolf can be satisfied a while longer, okay?” 

“Okay.” She whispers into the space- or lack thereof. He doesn’t back away, instead staying there to make sure something in him is quelled. 

“Okay.” He whispers back. “Let’s get you to bed, it’s cold out here.” He stretches out his arms for her, his want to carry her obvious and unforgiving this time- unlike this morning when he didn’t show his obvious want to soothe her. She could feel him against her once again. A feeling she’s growing to want more and more of. You would think that the constant small touches and the one-off hugs would put an end to her want. But, really, it just makes her yearn for more. It’s dangerous and bound to get her hurt. 

She clings to him still. Her arms tight around his neck, his arms tight around her back, her legs tight around his waist. 

“Don’t drop me.” She whispers, a little nervous once he starts up the stairs. 

“I won’t.”

[shadowed-dancer]

BNHA 426 Thoughts (based on leaks)

I feel conflicted. There's a lot about this chapter that I like, and a lot about this chapter that bothers me. So the best way I can think to explain the jumbled mess of thoughts I have is to separate them into positives and negatives. This is mostly to help me organize my thoughts and to get it off my chest

Positives

I LOVE Touya liking soba. I could go into a whole analysis about the importance of soba (and food overall) in the Todoroki family but the fact that it's his favourite is so right. And the way he reveals it

Natsuo going no-contact YES THAT'S MY BOY. Natsuo was always the sibling who hated Endeavor the most (yes, really) so it would have felt weird if he suddenly forgave him

I'm glad Touya is still giving attitude to his dad and I'm so happy he's calling Enji out for doing this after everything was over. I'll talk about Enji in the Negatives part, but the fact that Touya acknowledged the cowardice is very positive (my boy is smart. Let him use his analytical skills). Like, he's probably happy based on his heart monitor, but he still recognizes Enji's behaviour

Touya apologizing to Shoto AND CRYING??? Ugh my heart. He's able to cry again

Negatives

The biggest negative is the context that came later into leak-night: TOUYA IS DYING. Just as this family is starting to crawl their way to a happy future Horikoshi has to kill him off? Really?

The fact that there's 4 chapters left of this series really puts this chapter into a whole new context, and this in combination with Touya dying really sours the chapter

So with limited time left, there's a good chance that this will be the last time we ever see Touya. And it makes Endeavor's promise a lot more hollow because we don't even know how much time he'll have to honour that. If Touya were fine, I'd be able to write it off and say "well, even if we never see them again, we know that this is the trajectory for the future". But now the future might literally be a week. We don't know! And it frustrates me because Touya deserves better than that

The rest of the family doesn't get to say much to Touya, which wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that the series is ending in 4 chapters. There's a very real possibility that this will be the last time we ever see the ice-wielding Todorokis as well, and they didn't get any closure with their brother

The fact that this chapter has to share screen time with Hawks, Nagant, Gentle, and La Brava isn't the worst thing but it's also not the best. If this is the last time we'll see the Todoroki family, I'd have loved one last chapter dedicated entirely to them

Speaking of them, yeah all their endings are fine. Makes sense for all their stories. Back to the Todoroki family

Let's talk about Enji. On a personal level, I'd have loved to see Touya realize he doesn't need his dad's attention. However, I recognize that Enji giving Touya his acknowledgment is the point of their backstory, so Horikoshi was likely going in that direction. But that fact that Enji's only doing this now when it's convenient is so frustrating! Touya deserves better!

I've touched on it before, but the Todoroki plot would have been better if it stayed between Touya and Shoto (even if it meant Endeavor dying). So seeing Endeavor take up so much screen time and not giving the ice-wielders a chance to speak... yeah. Just stop man. The only good thing is Shoto got the last word to Touya but Endeavor really stole his son's whole plot line. Unbelievable.