#and how funny it would be if you were like instantly in real time tormented into inhumanity and/or death by infinity & beyond of the Quality

[unproduciblesmackdown]

kept remembering this retweet from a few weeks ago which also had me like “hey yeah let me check in on that podcast” as one does, as it was a Sensible Chuckle(tm) to me then & now & i’m filing away the [the fun stephen king short story “the jaunt” ending] Bit of “[comparative adjective] than you think!” x2

“They’re more spacious than you think! They’re more spacious than you think!”

— kevinbiegel (@kbiegel)

August 25, 2022

[allthatyoulove]

Dance With Me

Loki / Reader

Summary: You’re at Tony’s masquerade party, when Loki asks you to dance.

Warnings: cussing and dirty talk maybe? nothing too bad

Words: 1.5k

A/N: The summary is pretty short just b/c this is more of a drabble that I had the idea for like an hour before I wrote it. Also, sorry the gif is so big I’m not sure how to fix it but he’s hot so it’s ok; Hope you enjoy the story! Feel free to leave any feedback and please let me know of any warnings or errors I missed! Thanks for stopping by :)

----

I ran my hands down the sides of my dress, smoothing it one last time as I looked in the mirror. I grabbed my mask and tied it at the back of my head, checking myself out before I headed back out to the ballroom.

Tony was throwing a masquerade ball and all the avengers were forced to go. He didn’t even really have a reason or cause for this ball, this was all a last minute cover-up party for the kinky stuff Steve had found in Pepper’s laundry the other day. Regardless, Thor wouldn’t let it go after Tony said it was for “party purposes” and insisted that he throw a masquerade.

So, here we are.

Tony rented a gigantic elegant ballroom, ever the billionaire, with only the most expensive alcohol, food, clothes, and people.

The avengers were spread throughout the room. Thor was flirting with some women by the bar who looked uninterested, T’Challa was on the dance floor with Steve and Sam while Bucky stood with them subtly moving to the music, Vision and Wanda were sitting at a table flirting like highschoolers, and Natasha was on her way to steal the hearts of the girls Thor was talking to. Bruce was talking with Tony and Clint. Pepper and Shuri were sitting with me, across the table from Wanda and Vision.

I was searching the crowd for the dramatically dark and mysterious avenger that has yet to be seen.

I’d think he would thrive in a setting like this, being able to dress with flair and saunter all over the dance floor terrorizing people from underneath a mask. Or, maybe he doesn’t want his face to be covered at all, instead wanting all the attention on his prominent cheekbones. Either way, the function was in full effect and he was nowhere to be seen.

It’s not that I’m purposefully looking for him, because I’m not, I just feel…. an absence from the room.

Don’t get me wrong, Tony threw some good parties, and I was having fun, I was just missing out on tormenting my least favorite avenger.

I must have been deep in thought, because I found myself having to refocus my eyes on the room and come back down from my mind when I heard his voice.

“Looking for someone, darling?”

I sighed as I turned around in my chair, seeing Loki straightening after crouching so he could whisper in my ear.

“That’s funny actually, I was just wondering when you would come to ruin the night”

He let out a deep laugh, closing his eyes. I took this second to look at what he was wearing before he made some smart remark about it.

He was in an all-black suit, head to toe. Not a splash of color. Black blazer, black tie, black shirt….black mask.

“I’m glad you decided to bless us all tonight and wear a mask. I would’ve guessed you’d hate to have to hide your brooding underneath something so elegant and pleasing.”

He instantly replied, as if he knew what I was going to say from the beginning.

“Well, I do love to please.”

He paused for a beat before continuing while I smirked and shook my head in disbelief. The song changed from something upbeat and more-danceable, to a beautiful, slow, dancing ballad.

“And, speaking of pleasing,” He made a gesture of looking me up and down in my chair with my legs crossed.

“You look enchanting.”

My face warmed, but I kept my expression as I replied in a flirtatious tone.

“Such a charmer, aren’t you? Is there something you want, Loki?”

He smirked and didn’t take his eyes off of mine.

“Dance with me.”

He held one hand out to me, keeping the other behind his back in proper fashion.

I picked up my glass of wine I had sitting in front of me and chugged the rest of it before grabbing his hand.

Shuri and Pepper laughed, going back to their conversation they were having before as Loki and I walked to the dance floor.

“I should tell you I have no idea how to dance.” I told him as we reached the dance floor.

He let go of my hand and stood in front of me, never dropping his smirk.

“You seem to know how to dance pretty well at Tony’s other parties”

I jokingly rolled my eyes, “Well I can’t exactly shake my ass in a ballroom, can I? No matter how much you’d like it.”

He laughed and grabbed my hand, resting his other hand delicately at the small of my back. I immediately stopped smirking and stiffened a little, not sure what to do with my hands.

“Relax” he whispered, guiding the hand that wasn’t holding his to the back of his neck.

I let out a breath and relaxed into this new position we were in, waiting for something to happen. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what to do, so I was going to let him lead with everything.

We stood still for a second, staring at each other. His eyes roamed my face for a second before he softly cleared his throat and began to dance.

My feet followed his to the sound of the music as we started to waltz across the dance floor. The song was a slower song, and I found my feet interesting as we started to dance.

“Look at me”

I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows in a silent question.

“I meant what I said earlier”

“And what was it you said earlier?”

“When I said that you look beautiful”

I smiled at him as I spoke, “I believe the word you used was ‘enchanting’”

He laughed, switching his gaze from my eyes to my lips briefly.

“Well, there’s quite a few different words that could describe how you look”

I leaned in a little closer, wrapping my hand that was around the back of his neck a little tighter, and whispering like I was telling him a secret.

“Like what?”

He didn’t reply right away, instead dancing a few more seconds before he lightly twirled me, bringing me back to him closer than before. His arm was fully around my waist now, and our faces were centimeters apart when he spoke again.

“I don’t know if some of the ones I’m thinking are appropriate here, with people around.”

He looked at my lips as they slightly parted, in shock of how bold he was being tonight. I didn’t want him to read too much into my pause, so I quickly got myself together and responded.

“Well now I have to know”

He let out a deep chuckle, looking around the room as he thought of what to say next. I smiled a real smile at him, at how he looked. At how we were right now. I smiled up at him, looking at his eyes, waiting for his reply.

He brought his face back down to meet mine, his eyes dark. He had a sly look on his face. The face of the god of mischief. I was even more excited to hear it now. This was going to be good.

“Why don’t I show you? Tonight, in your room? I would offer right here, right now, but seeing as you already brought up the fact that we’re in a ballroom isn’t appropriate, I’m willing to wait.”

I froze, my feet stopping in their place as I looked up at him in surprise. Or shock, maybe? My mouth stayed slightly parted. He didn’t waste any time when I stopped dancing, picking me up with his arm that was around my waist to slowly spin us around. I was completely off the ground, and he picked me up as if I weighed nothing.

His eyes never left mine, as if he was searching for my answer in them. I was scared he would find it, too, with the intensity that he had in his eyes.

After looking at him in shock for a couple of seconds and not saying anything, I gave a dry laugh before I responded.

“Okay then, pretty boy. I guess we’ll see if you’re worthy of being a god after all.”

He smiled at me, setting me down on my feet as the song slowly came to a close. Our faces were still so close, if I leaned in just a little…

Everyone around us clapped for the live performers as the song ended. I was snapped out of my little haze as I took a step back from him, out of his arms. My waist felt cold, felt empty without his touch.

I gave him a mock curtsy, holding my dress out to him. He smirked and did the same to me, holding out his arms as if to show me off.

“I’ll see you tonight, darling.”

He walked off the dance floor and into the crowd, leaving me standing on the dance floor to relive everything that just happened.

[arcadejohn127-9]

I just thought of what I think is a genius idea: What if MC was in the Devildom, but they had an identical twin who was in the Celetial realm’s exchange program, and one year, they get mixed up? Like, imagine the demon bros and others if they get this person that LOOKS like MC, but is definitely NOT MC.

I've finally gotten to this ask, this second ask reminded me that I haven't posted this yet

I'm really sorry I haven't gotten to all of you yet, I'm currently in abit of a writer's funk after not writing for a while - the flow was disturbed 😂😭 I do think it's noticeable in this prompt and I just wanna apologize for that, I always want to give my best but I'm struggling with ideas & fuel at the moment

I will be closing requests until I get these asks done - sorry!

demon brother's + undateables reaction to Twin MC's

Lucifer:

When you didn't come to him when you got home he was very curious

Sure, you could just easily have forgotten or focused on your own thing

But you always came to his office when you got home to say hello and that you were alive, if he wasn't the one to escort you home

His questions only grew when he noticed small habits change and you seemed forgetful of things you know and do everyday

It was as if you were here for the first time

"Come with me, we need to talk."

"No, I'm fine where I am, Lucifer, I'm actually heading to my room so see ya."

Immediate reg flag

Even if you were busy you would always figure out a compromise

You weren't you

He followed the imposter back to your room, they didn't seem to notice him at all

"I know you're not them, who are you and what have done to our human?"

They sighed, putting their hands up in surrender

"I'm their twin, something happened and now we're mixed up."

He did remember you talking about your twin, he agreed to help them back to the celestial realm

He needed the real you back

Mammon:

Mammon is not known for being the smartest guy around

He's doesn't always pick up on things and isn't one for brilliant ideas

But when it came to this; he immediately noticed something was off

You looked like you

You sounded almost like you

But you didn't act like you

'You' always jumped and yelped whenever he approached; never expecting his arrival

'You' mentioned areas only known to the celestial realm and whilst you have been there to visit you shouldn't know anything outside of the central hub

He immediately cornered 'You' when he realized something was up

"You're not my human, who are you?"

"don't hurt me! You- you demon! I'm their twin!"

He didn't realize that twins could be identical! but then again his only example of twins were his brother's; twins weren't common and only meant they were birthed the same time back in the celestial realm

"Come on, We're sending ya back, I want my human home again"

Levithan:

You always played video games with him! You always did levels that he had trouble doing and vise versa!

'You' wanted to play chess

Chess was fine if it was against one of the more mature members of the Devildom but with him???

That wasn't right

He felt like he was playing Amongst us (I changed it because copyright changes the game makes are funny)

But in real life!

He lured 'You' into his room with an invitation to chess, a water gun at the ready

As soon as the imposter opened the door he shot at them

"What's that all about?! Why did you shoot me?"

"Imposter!! You're not who you're trying to be! Reveal your true form or I'll keep shooting you!"

They just sighed, wondering about what you deal with everyday before explaining

"I'm their twin, there's been a mix up, I'm apart of the celestial exchange program."

He shot your twin whenever they were being rude or just too suspicious but did end up helping them back home

Satan:

Knew straight away

He's a smart lad and knows you enough to know when something isn't right

At first he thought it was mammon disguised as you to steal things but when he saw Mammon close by bothering you being himself

It crossed off that idea and possible body swap

He made sure he was able to get alone with 'you'

As soon as he was

He striked

"You're not them, who are you? What did you do to them?!"

He needed to find you

"There's been a mix up, my twin is in the celestial realm and I'm here."

He was aware you had a twin; he can't believe he didn't even think of that as a possibility

Quickly got your twin out of the Devildom

Asmodeus:

You were acting different

You didn't seem like you were having a hard time so he couldn't understand why you were being so stand off-ish

You didn't even know his plans with you for today!

That wasn't like you at all

"Dear, are you feeling alright? You're not acting like yourself."

'You' immediately tried to avoid him

He loved your attention; it made his entire day so knowing you were avoiding him- it was the end of the world!

He corned you when he couldn't stand it anymore, asking why you were avoiding him

"You're a demon! I can't trust you, I'm just trying to get back to my home."

"You're their twin, aren't you?! I've heard so much about you! Let's go, shall we? I can help you get home."

Beelzebub:

Sensed something wasn't right but didn't think too much of it

You were avoiding the brothers especially him

He thought he has done something to upset you but didn't went to pressure you to be around him

Your twin actually had to come to him for help

They got him alone and started to ask how to get to the celestial realm

Which he found odd as you have been to the celestial realm already to see your twin; this was when he knew 'you' wasn't actually you

"I need to get back to the celestial realm, (Y/N) seems to be in my place at the moment, we somehow got mixed up."

He just nodded, already texting Simeon to come pick you up

"it was nice to meet you but I want my human back."

Belphegor:

He went into attack mode as soon as he realized it wasn't actually you

He was almost fooled because of your twins looks but the personality was too different

"You're going to tell me where my human is or I will tell everyone you're a fake, they will be be happy."

He had your twin pinned to the floor by their throat

Your twin quickly explained the situation

"I'm not meant to be here! They got us mixed up!"

He made it his priority to get you back home and send your twin back

He is a twin himself but he couldn't appreciate meeting yours

UNDATEABLES↓

Diavolo:

When 'you' refused to meet him at the castle, he got worried

He began messaging Lucifer if 'you' were okay, he did notice 'You' was acting strange

Tried to get Barbatos to tell him what was won't with 'you' but he stayed vague and refused to tell him what was wrong

Diavolo insisted 'You' came to his castle

Lukcily, your twin did

They weren't sure how to respond to the Prince of the Devildom on his knees, taking their hand and asking them what's wrong

"My dearest, you've been avoiding me, is there something wrong? Anything I can do for you?"

They felt awkward and decided to tell him what happened

"I'm actually their twin- I've been trying to find a way back home."

When they said that he immediately stood up, embarassed

"You only needed to ask, I can get you there in an instant!"

He made your twin promise not to tell you his affection display

Barbatos:

Knew instantly, he can see timelines

And he wasn't too surprised that this was the timeline you and your twin got mixed up

He wanted to humour your twin so he didn't move to stop it

Your twin did try to act like you but they didn't seem to realize how much you've changed aswell as your relationships to the demons

Their celestial realm manners was obvious

"I know you're not (Y/N), I can help you get back to your exchange program - you should ask for help immediately instead of trying to be your twin, it's embarrassing to watch."

Your twin wasn't happy, not one bit

But it was true, the sooner they reached out the sooner they could of gone home

Luckily, he was able to greet you back into the Devildom

Solomon:

Was the one to mix you two up

He knew who was who but he wanted to see what would happen if you were swapped

Disappointed it didn't give a big reaction but was glad he got to see how quickly they got you back home

He loved listening to the stories of your twin trying to be you

The difference and sad attempts were fulfilling his wants

"What a shame it ended so quickly but it just shows the connection you two have."

Simeon:

He's met you plenty of times

He immediately recognised you to be you instead of your twin

"Ah! It seems there's been a mix up, that won't do, though - it's been awhile since we've been able to talk, perhaps we can wait until they notice?"

If you agree to wait, he will be giving you a tour and catching up

Asking you about how the Devildoms been recently

Wanting to know all the gossip about the brothers and what he's missed whilst doing this program

You two agreed to do this more often

But if you didn't want to wait, he'd respect that

"I want to go back to the devildom, I'm sure their not pleased being there."

He agreed and instantly got you home and took your twin

Luke:

When you called him a puppy, he immediately knew you weren't your twin

He was complaining that you were here to torment him and demanding you get your twin back

"You're just like the demons!! Tricking us like that!"

"I don't even know how this happened."

It took him a little to believe you

But when he did, he agreed to help you get back to the devildom

He rushed you over to Simeon and you explained there's been a mix up

You were rushed back home and you got to see how your twin enjoyed the Devildom

They promised they were never going back

[inkandpen22]

Beautiful Angel of Darkness (2/?)

Pairing: Spike x Female! Reader 

Warnings: Swearing, violence, angst, mentions of death 

Word Count: 2k

Part Summary: Y/N considers Spike’s offer, but for obvious reasons she’s hesitant. However, she can’t deny the pull feels toward him. 

Masterlist

“Forever is an awfully long time,” I state quietly, torn between the options of life or living forever.

“Um yeah, that’s sort of the whole point,” the stranger retorts as he pulls out a cigarette for himself.

“aw yes, that’s the way to get a girl’s permission to bite her,” I remark sarcastically. “Sass her to death!”

“I don’t need your permission, Pet,” he so ominously reminds me.

“I suppose not, but you prefer my compliance. Am I wrong?” I challenge. 

He glares at me while lighting his cigarette. “You’re such a tease, you know that?” He mumbles bitterly.

“And you’re a hard ass,” I fire back, unfazed. He stares at me with raised brows. “Oh I’m sorry, are you the only one who can name call?”

His eyes roll dramatically with a huff of annoyance. “I couldn’t pick a mute girl to be interested in.”

“I imagine she’d bore you,” I predict, crossing my arms over my chest.

He shrugs, “you’re probably right.” Casually, he hops up onto one of the nearby headstones and sits down.

“Get used to saying that sentence frequently,” I snicker, moving to sit on the headstone across from his.

“So, you want to be vamped out?” He waves me along, growing impatient.

“Oh, so I do have a choice?” I tease, pretending to be surprised.

“Not if you keep talking,” he grumbles, taking a hit of his cigarette.

“I have family and friends I have to consider,” I state matter-of-factly.

It’s true, I have a mother, my siblings, friends from school, all of whom will wonder what happened to me. I can’t just let that go.

“They won’t be a thought once you’re mine,” he claims, smirking at me mischievously.

“Why the sudden interest?” I inquire, genuinely curious. I imagine he could have anyone in the world, why me? Why now?

“I lost someone,” he answers, avoiding my gaze as he focuses on tapping his cigarette against the tombstone. “My girl, Druscilla.”

“So I’m the rebound,” I clarify, nodding in understanding.

His head snaps up, meeting my eyes directly. Apparently, I’ve hit a trigger point. He hops down from his tombstone and rushes over to me. The man pries my legs apart and stands between them. He cups my face in his hands, making me stare into his emerald eyes. “You will be far more,” he assures me with such certainty in his voice I can’t help but believe it. “You will be my reason for existing.”

My chest rises and falls at a rapid rate as I process it all. The longer I stare into his marble-like eyes, the more convinced I become. How could I ever deny him? “Okay,” I finally grant him my answer.

An amazing glimmer appears across his features and he steps closer. “Okay, what?” He repeats as if he isn’t sure he heard me correctly.

I place my hands over his that caress my cheeks. “Make me like you, but under one condition.”

He rolls his eyes, “should’ve known this was coming,” he grumbles. “What is it?”

“Tell me your name,” I request simply.

“Spike,” he answers without hesitation.

“What’s your real name?” I clarify, almost certain that ‘Spike’ couldn’t be it. “And not just your first name either, I want to know the whole thing.”

He frowns, evidently growing frustrated with the subject. “Why does it matter?”

“Because it does!” I argue.

“But why? It’s stupid,” he dismisses sharply, removing his hands from me, but remains between my legs.

“Because if we’re going to spend forever together I’d like to know your real fucking name so just say it!” I snap at him, earning a look of surprise.

Visibly, there’s a strong debate occurring in his mind. He sighs, shaking his head as he glances around the cemetery then back at me. “William, alright? My name is William Pratt, happy now?”

“Over the moon,” I joke with a giggle, reaching up and holding his cheek in my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Will.”

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too,” he pretends to be hard and disinterested in the charm of it all, but I can tell by the way he subtly leaned into my touch that he truly longs for it.

____________________________________________

Becoming a vampire is by the far the most freeing experience of my life or should I say undead life? Either way, Spike has broken me free of all torments and has opened the gates to the world. There is nothing we can’t do together. The entire world belongs to us. All we have to do is reach out and take what we want. Each night, I wake up with a strong urge to destroy and devour. I’ve never felt more powerful and entrancing.

I’ve been a vampire for a few days now, but Spike has kept me confined to the crypt for safety reasons. He claims I’m fragile in the early days until I become used to my new status. To build my strength, he brings me humans to feed on and is teaching me how to defend myself. I’m still learning how to fight in case I ever run into the Slayer or her team of misfits. Her very existence is annoying, such an inconvenience. According to him, I’ve been adjusting rather well, better than usual actually. So, to celebrate my growing strength and swift adaptions, Spike is taking me to The Bronze tonight. It’ll be the first time I’ve been outside the crypt in a week! There’ll be so many people to feed on and every opportunity to terrorize, I’m so excited!

Spike grips my hand protectively as we travel through the crowd of the club. I rarely had enough time to visit this place when I was human. Taking care of my mom and siblings all while balancing school consumed most of my days.

“Oh great,” Spike grumbles, tossing his head back.

I grip his forearm and squeeze his hand worriedly. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The Slayer and her clan of party killers are over there,” he growls, his eyes directed sharply at a nearby table.

I purr, watching the table of oblivious teenagers hungrily. I spot the blonde Slayer as she chats with her friends naively happily. So, that’s the infamous Buffy Summers. Spike has described her to me frequently. Apparently, we go to the same high school, different grades. I never really branched out of my grade or friend group for that matter. Immersed in the idea of snapping the Slayer’s neck for myself, I move to approach her. Imagine what her friends would do if I killed her right here and now.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Spike repeats quietly in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist to stop me. “Not here, Love. Wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

“But I thought you loved the dramatics, Darling,” I mutter, keeping my eyes on Buffy with a pout.

“I do, but we mustn’t yet.” He brushes my hair away from my neck slowly, planting a pattern of kisses on my neck. “Let’s go dance.”

I smile, spinning in his arms to face him. Spike takes my hand, leading me to the dance floor. We pass the table of goody-goodies and chatter ensues amongst them. I whip my head around and find the Slayer. Her eyes narrow at me, a confused expression across her features. I turn my attention back to Spike right as he stops in the middle of the dance floor. He brings his hands to my waist, pulling me in closer. I drape my arms over his shoulder loosely and meet his exquisite emerald eyes. God, he’s gorgeous.

Seductively, Spike and I dance as though we’re alone in the building. I see no one else but him. He stares into my eyes so deeply that I can feel it in my soulless body. I would wreck the world for him. I would do anything if it brought him pleasure. Spike is now my purpose in this undead life. My purpose is to make him happy. If we were to ever be parted, I don’t think I’d survive it.

“Get away from her, Spike,” a voice interrupts us.

Our heads whip to our side in unison. The little blonde Slayer stands with her arms crossed. A serious expression plaguing her face. Aw, why the frown Buffy?

Spike snickers, tossing his head back mockingly. “Won’t even wait five minutes, will you?”

“Get out of here,” she commands sharply to him. Then, Buffy turns to me with softness in her eyes. She grips my forearm pleadingly, “he’s not who he says he is.”  

Oh, this is funny, she thinks I’m human. She assumes I’m an innocent defenseless victim. Okay, I could work with this. This may be the opportunity Spike and I was looking for, the perfect charade.

My eyes go wide and I step back from Spike anxiously, “what... what do you mean?” I move to stand beside Buffy.

Spike frowns at me as though I’ve lost my marbles.

The Slayer takes my hand, ready to pull me away, “he’s-”

“Must we cause such a scene?” Spike rips me away from Buffy, grabbing my wrist roughly. “Come on, Y/N, let’s go,” he instructs, wrapping an arm around my waist and escorting me to the door. I interlock my hands instead of leaning into him as I usually would keep up the act. Once we’re out of hearing range of the Slayer and her team, he whispers to me harshly. “What the bloody hell was that?”

I suppress a snicker, “you’re far too simple-minded sometimes, Baby. Buffy is going to follow us and I need you to just go with it.”

As he opens the door for me leading out into the alley, he glances at me in amazement. Finally, the pieces are coming together. “You’re trying to pull one on her.”

“Precisely,” I confirm with an evil grin.

Alone in the dimly lit alley, Spike squeezes my waist and tugs me into his chest. He bites down on my lip, peering down at me with a pleased smirk. “You are by far the most miraculous woman I’ve ever met.” Eagerly, he leans down and smashes his lips to mine. My fingers comb through the back of his hair and grip the edges in a fist. He growls against my lips and it only drives me crazier. Will, it ever subside, the wanting him?

The metal door to The Bronze squeezes and I instantly shove Spike off of me with a scream. He stumbles back, still in a daze from our kiss. “Help!” I scream, “someone helps me, please!” I pretend to be distraught and soon Buffy is by my side, ushering me behind her safely.

“I’m not going to let you take her!” She yells at Spike bitterly.

“Well that’s really up to her, isn’t it?” Spike mocks with a cheeky grin on his lips.

“She’s human, Spike! She doesn’t know what you are,” she argues, acting as the big-bad defender of man.

“What is he?” I squeak, sounding all poor pitiful. Honestly, it’s kind of annoying playing the victim. I sound like such a cry baby. Plus, if I were human, I definitely wouldn’t follow a strange man into an empty alley. I’d be asking to get murdered. No, I just talk to them in empty cemeteries in the middle of the night.

Buffy turns to me urgently, doing everything she can to keep me safe, how sweet. She grips both of my forearms, leading me away from spike. “Look, Spike isn’t a good guy, okay? He’ll hurt you or worse! You need to run!” She urges, gesturing down the alley to the road.

“But-” I stutter, glancing at Spike. Then, in one swift motion, I yank my arms free of Buffy’s hold and leg sweep her. She falls to the pavement with a smack. I tower over her with a giggle. “You know, grabbing people without their permission isn’t nice. Where are your manners?”

Spike jogs over and pulls me into his chest. I rest my arms over him around my waist and he places his chin on my shoulder with a cheeky grin. “Beautifully done, My Love.”

Buffy pants, staring up at us in confusion, “what the-”

“Surprise! Didn’t see that one coming, did you?” I laugh wickedly, steadily approaching her like a snake going in for the kill.

______________________________________

Masterlist 

Tags: @currently-obsesed-with-spike​

[intomymindspace]

Video Games ✰ Tendou Satori

Video Games covered by The Young Professionals

tendou satori x gn reader

Through the Summer and the Fall // Haikyuu!! Songfic Series

a/n: hi everyone, I'm sorry for a posting a week late! I’ve been really unmotivated as of late for personal stuff but also because I'm lowkey still a little bummed that my Bokuto fic (definitely totally am not plugging it rn - totally do not click the link, ahaha 🥺) didn’t do as well as I hoped it would. But no matter! Here is the Tendou insert, as promised! It’s not the best, and I definitely have a bit of writers block and am behind schedule. I wish I could write his character and for him better considering how much I love him. Next will up be flattykawa 😌 and I will be posting it hopefully soon to help make up for last week’s missed post. I've also changed up this blog and have given it hopefully a better look - there is a new theme on desktop!

Warnings: part 3 spoilers for jojo’s bizarre adventure that include character death, my bb tori being insecure about him and his body but I love him and his flat a$$ so much, and as always, we clown on flattykawa in this household but all in good favor

It was a rainy day, and Tendou was quiet and content as he sat on your bed, reading the new Weekly Shonen Jump magazine that he had just been mailed. He had let Ushijima read it earlier - but as always, he only read the advertisements. You sat beside him on the floor, his long legs dangled off the edge of your bed, his foot brushing your arm every now and then. You were playing the new otome game you had bought a week ago on your console. On days like this, the two of you often fell into comfortable silences when hanging out with each other - and today was no different. There was nothing to do other than school work and go to practice - but even then, it wasn’t necessary for the third years to attend anymore. Not since they lost in the finals against Karasuno. 

He was pulled away from the panel he was reading when he heard you gasp - his crimson eyes flitting to your monitor to see what had happened.

“What happened?” You turned around to look up at him, an excited look on your face.

“Murasame Jinnosuke confessed his love for me! I didn’t expect it to happen so fast into the game.” He looked back at the screen to see a handsome samurai on your screen. Snickering, Tendou ruffled your hair.

“Good job, now just see if you can get a real guy to confess his undying love for you.” Squinting at him, you slapped his leg playfully.

“You’re supposed to be nice to me, Tori-kun.”

“When am I not?”

Ever since you had taken the place of Shiratorizawa’s volleyball club manager two years ago as a first year, you quickly bonded with the strange amalgamation of players. It had been a running gag between the third year players to find out what type of guys you liked. You could always be found on your phone during breaks playing otome games - and that was the beginning of the years of playful torment from your fellow classmates.

It wasn’t that you weren’t attractive or that you didn’t gain attention - every Valentines Day you always received several confessions and chocolates, but you always rejected them as kindly as possible. For someone who played as many otome games as you did, they were surprised to say the least when you had always declined the advances of many classmates, saying that they just weren’t your type with a kind smile on your face.

It was Tendou’s turn to squint as he turned his attention back to your screen as you continued to play through the game. He scoffed at some of the things the fictional samurai said to you - what was so special about him anyways?

This is my idea of fun

Playing video games

Tendou shut his manga volume, and he noticed your curious eyes looking at the cover. Smirking playfully at you, he poked your forehead.

“Suddenly interested in pirates?” You sat back, rolling your eyes.

“Maybe. Who’s the character on the front?” He stared down at the covered, humming.

“Shanks. Say, I never thought you were one to go for a tough-looking guy.” He held a mischievous grin on his lips.

“Ha! Sure. Keep thinking that, Tendou.” He feigned a gasp.

“You used my last name too? With no honorific? No nickname? The rudeness! I’m so hurt!” You couldn’t help but egg your friend along.

“Hmm, maybe I should start watching One Piece if he’s in it…” But before Tendou could clap back, Yamagata slid into the seat next to you, a teasing smile on his lips.

“Ah, so that’s your type, huh? Tough-looking guys with scars?” You rolled your eyes at the libero. “I’m pretty tough too, aren’t I?”

“As if.” But it didn’t stop them from the teasing.

So what if you maybe did prefer more muscular guys? Tendou didn’t understand why the thought hurt his feelings so much. He may not have the bulging muscles, but he was just as strong. He sighed to himself, watching you from across the table as you shoved Yamagata playfully. Why would you want to like someone like himself anyways?

It's you, it's you, it's all for you

Everything I do

Tendou entered your dorm room unannounced as he always did - but this time he was surprised to see you in tears as you huddled in your blanket, staring at the tv. The first thing you usually did was banter with him about his bad habit of not knocking, but all he could do is stand shocked in your doorway.

Instantly, his gleeful eyes turned blood red. Shutting your door behind him, he quickly made his way over to you, his eyebrows furrowed, a scowl on his lips.

“Who do I have to beat up?” A million thoughts were running through his head - were you made fun of? Did someone reject you? Did you receive a bad score on an exam? He wrapped his arms around you the second your tear-filled eyes looked up at him.

“Who did it? Who hurt your feelings?” His genuine care and questions only made you cry harder into his chest.

“Dio.” You said, but it was too muffled for him to hear. Pulling back, he gave you a quizzical look. You pointed at the scene that was unfolding on your tv.

“Dio killed Kakyoin.” Tendou immediately smacked a hand to his face. His eyes flickered to the screen to see a tall, muscular character slumped against a water tower, a hole in his torso with text on the screen saying “Kakyoin Noriaki has died.” He couldn't help but laugh.

“You want me to beat up the mighty and powerful vampire lord and stand user, Dio Brando? For killing the guy who licks cherries weird?”

Slapping his arm, you pouted at him through your ugly tears. “Don’t make fun of me! I really liked him.” Tendou kept on snickering as he rubbed your back.

“I know, I’m sorry. But it’s just too funny to just not tease you.”

As ridiculous as it sounded, Tendou wondered if you would ever cry for him the way you cried for Kakyoin. He smiled to himself as he stared down at your face that was still buried in his chest - he hoped you wouldn’t notice how fast his heart was beating at the notion of you coming to him for comfort.

Maybe your type was animated men.

I tell you all the time

Heaven is a place on earth with you

Tendou put his jump comic down and just watched your gameplay - he was too distracted by his thoughts of you to focus on the new chapter of My Hero Academia.

He couldn’t help but pine over you. You had been so open and kind to him from the first time you met him - he remembered that day with ease. You had looked so confident walking into the volleyball gym, introducing yourself to the players as their new manager.

He was genuinely surprised that you weren’t turned away by his quirks - and he was thankful that above all, you treated him just like you treated everyone else.

It seemed so easy for you to become friends with the other first years at the time. You found commonalities with each of them, and you even managed to break Ushijima out of his shell by the time you all first went to nationals. Tendou remembered the hours upon hours that the two of you spent together - whether it was hanging out in the dorm watching animes, giving him tips and encouragement on the court during timeouts, or quality conversations on long bus rides to and from games. If you had never joined as manager, Tendou would’ve never guessed that the two of you would become as close friends as you were now. And he had always been a good guesser.

As he stared at you, controller in your hand, he remembered why he realized he liked you so much - it wasn’t because you shared a strong love for manga and anime. Okay, well, maybe it was, but it wasn’t the commonality. It was because you understood and even empathized with escaping through these fictional stories.

He knew what it was like to want to escape - to want to find paradise away from everyday life. On the court, Tendou could sneak into the small slice of heaven that he visited when he played volleyball. Off the court, he wanted nothing more than to have you safe in his arms as the two of you escaped into the world of whatever show you had chosen to binge that day.

To him, you were just as heavenly as the defeated looks on his opponents’ faces that he craved to see - maybe even more.

Tell me all the things you want to do

I heard that you like the bad girls, honey, is that true?

You squealed excitedly as you waved the game in front of Semi’s face after practice had ended.

“Semi-semi! Look what just came in the mail!” He pushed your hand out of his face, scoffing.

“I can’t see it if you’re rubbing in my face like that, idiot.” The setter had a smile on his face nonetheless, making you laugh as he took a look at the game. His eyes widened.

“No way, Castlevania Judgement?!?!” You nodded proudly, smiling at Tendou and Ushijima as they walked over to see what the commotion was about. The middle blocker gawked at the game you held in your hands - the third years had been talking about the release of it for at least a few months now.

“You jealous? If you want, we can play after dinner.” Semi quickly nodded, and you looked at Tendou and Ushijima for their answers.

“What, when have I ever said no to wanting to play video games with you?” To his reply, the captain simply nodded.

“Thank you for your invite. I am happy to attend as well.”

Tendou and Ushijima sat on the edge of your bed as you and Semi sat in front of your tv, switching the controller after every chapter of the game. Ushijima had no interest in actually playing the game - and Tendou knew he would get a chance to play with you later. Semi was more excited for the game than he was anyways.

You couldn’t contain your excitement as you gushed over one of the main characters, Simon Belmont. From the looks of it, he was a powerful fighter - and Tendou sighed once again - he was super muscular and tough-looking too. You were too invested in the gameplay with Semi, that you weren’t paying attention to the conversation Tendou sparked with Ushijima.

“I don’t get what’s so special about him anyways.” The redhead had a pout on his face, his arms crossed. Ushijima was very aware of the middle blocker’s crush on you - his friend often coming to the captain for his advice. While Ushijima had almost no experience and knowledge at all in terms of dating, he was always observant of the people around him, and was very blunt.

“Tendou-kun, if you like them so much, it would just be better to ask. It is pointless to be jealous over every fictional character they like.” He couldn’t help but gawk at the monotonous tone and the serious look on his captain’s face.

“I’ll raise you a better one. It’s pointless to ask because their standards seem to be so high anyways.” Ushijima couldn’t help but stare at his friend.

“And why should that stop you? They’re not real.” Tendou sighed, exacerbated.

“I get it, I get it! I know they’re not just going to pop out from the screen or anything.”

“But?”

“But that doesn’t mean those aren’t their same standards to people they prefer in real life,” Tendou admitted, and Ushijima knew he hit the reason why. Tendou may be tall, but he was lean and lanky. The muscle he had was nowhere near that of any of the fictional guys you crushed on. What could you possibly want from someone way weaker - someone like him?

“They are not the type of person to go completely for the way someone’s body appears. If that were the case, they should’ve confessed their attraction to either myself or Yamagata by now, based on your logic. Besides, they told me they liked you.” Tendou couldn't help but roll his eyes, placing a hand over his heart.

“Wakatoshi-kun, you wound me. Of course they like me - they wouldn’t be my friend if they didn’t. Couldn't you at least sugar coat your advice sometimes?”

It's better than I ever even knew

They say that the world was built for two

Before the prefectural qualifiers in the fall, Shiratorizawa managed to snag a practice match with none other than Aoba Johsai. While there was clear tension throughout the entire time, the teams kept interactions outside the court lines as light-hearted as possible. Seijoh managed to snag victory during the first match, but Shiratorizawa hit back just as hard, winning the second match.

The boys were currently loading their bags into the bus as you supervised them, reminding them to triple check that they had everything. You were almost caught by surprise when a volleyball rolled towards you, hitting the back of your foot gently.

“Sumimasen.” You heard from several meters behind you, making you turn around. It was the Great King himself, Oikawa Tooru, that was slowly jogging towards you - it almost seemed like he was doing it in slow motion. Your fellow teammates heard the setter, their eyes sneakily following him as he got closer to you. They couldn't help but snicker at their so-called sworn enemy - it was obvious by the way that his aura sparkled around him and the smoulder on his face that he had rolled the ball your way to get your attention.

“I’m so sorry, could you get that for me?” You nodded, a polite smile on your face. The great Oikawa was definitely handsome, to say the least - and Tendou couldn't help the childish frown that filled his features. As you picked up the ball and handed it back to the setter, he flashed you a heart-stopping, pearly white smile.

“Thank you,” he said, taking the ball from you, brushing your fingers in the process. “You are the manager for Shiratorizawa, right? I didn’t catch your name earlier.” Oikawa ran a hand through his silky hair as you gave him your name.

“Wow,” he flashed you another smile, “such a beautiful name for someone just as gorgeous.” Semi couldn’t help but let a snort out at Oikawa’s compliment.

“Thank you.” You took the complement in stride, deciding it would be nice to say something back. “You played great today, Oikawa-san.” He laughed jovially.

“Thank you, you’re very kind. And cute. Would you be interested in catching boba with me sometime? I know a cute place that has good milk tea and milk bread.” Tendou rolled his eyes at Oikawa’s words. It probably was his plan all along - to try to bewitch the manager of Shiratorizawa. When Tendou saw a smile grow on your face, he couldn’t help but feel defeated. Were you actually going to say yes to him?

“I’m very flattered Oikawa-san. But I’m sorry, I must decline your offer.” Oikawa’s eyes widened in surprise. The Great King? Being rejected? “You’re not really my type.” You turned around, making your way onto the bus, leaving Oikawa with his jaw on the ground, the ace on Seijoh’s team as well as your teammates laughing their asses off at the scene that had just unfolded in front of their very eyes.

“That’s what you get, Crappykawa! You should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa!”

“Iwa-chan, that's not funny! I feel like my heart has been broken into thousands of pieces!”

“Well, if they’re gonna hit it, they better hit it til it breaks!”

“Pfft, I’m actually not surprised they didn’t say yes to him.” Semi commented, placing his duffle bag into the storage compartment. Tendou’s head quirked at the statement.

“Why’s that?” Reon asked, storing his things as well, making Semi and Yamagata snicker.

“Did you see how flat his ass was? I’m 100% sure their type is thicker guys. Like their ace, or something.” The three of them burst into laughter, Tendou only slightly laughing along as well. Ushijima only grunted in disagreement as he shut the compartment’s door.

“I believe their type is actually redheads.” All of the third years looked at their captain with wide eyes and dead silence - before laughing even harder. Semi slapped Ushijima’s bicep lightly, bending over. Tendou’s eyes widened - Ushijima was not the type to joke around, right?

“I didn’t think you actually knew how to crack jokes, Ushijima-kun!” The olive-haired man only looked down at his fellow third years in confusion.

“I am not joking. I simply just decided to ask them earlier, and I am only relaying the answer they gave me.” They couldn’t help but bend over, Yamagata even wiping tears from all the laughing.

“Stop! Your bluntness is only making it worse!” By the way the rest of his teammates reacted, Tendou believed Ushijima really must have been joking - in his own way. He had just picked a hair color different from Oikawa’s, right?

“Good one, Wakatoshi-kun.” Tendou let out a chuckle, giving his friend a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Only worth living if somebody is loving you

And baby, now you do

Tendou’s eyes widened as he relieved all the memories. Was Ushijima actually serious? He had never asked his friend about it - but perhaps it was because he was too scared to actually know the truth. Quickly, Tendou pulled out his phone and googled each of the characters - Shanks, Kakyoin, and Simon. The samurai was still on your screen, and he flipped through the tabs on his internet browser, trying to find the similarities.

Obviously, they were all built rather strong - but Tendou couldn’t get what Ushijima said out of his head. They were all redheads, after all. Why hadn’t he noticed this before? He looked back at you, your attention still on the otome game. Should he ask you? Would it be weird? Tendou thought about texting Ushijima, but he quickly decided not to. He already knew what his friend would say. Right after he called your name gently, you set down the controller and turned to look up at him.

“What’s up, Tori-kun?” He had never felt this nervous before - it wasn’t even like he was going to confess to you or anything either.

“Uh - what’s your type? Like, in guys? I promise I won’t tease you this time, I just want to know.” Surprisingly, you smirked at him. What were you thinking?

“You gonna brag to Eita and Yato that you finally found out after all these years?” The apparent blush on Tendou’s cheeks only spread further.

“What? No, I wouldn’t do that… Unless I had to,” he said, trying his best to come off as his usual teasing self. This only made you snicker at him.

“I’m surprised you guys haven’t beat it out of Toshi-kun yet. I already told him a few months ago.” Tendou’s eyes widened at what you said.

“Huh?” You rolled your eyes at him.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t believe how casual you were about it. You were always so hellbent on keeping it from them - but perhaps it was because they made such a big deal out of it in the first place. Tendou didn’t exactly know how to respond to you - he was still trying to process the realization. So he had guessed wrong this whole time?

After sitting in silence for a couple of seconds, you gave him a playful smile. “Redheads,” you said, turning around and picking up your controller. Ushijima’s words echoed with yours in his brain.

Besides, they told me they liked you. Tendou let out a choked noise.

“I’ve made a mistake!”

You burst out laughing at Tendou’s exclamation. Setting your controller down once more, you stood up and turned, leaning your elbows against your bed. “You guys really are that oblivious, huh? Even Toshi-kun saw that I liked you. He went so far as to ask me about it too.” You propped up your head with your hand, staring at him. Getting past his initial shock, Tendou settled back down.

“How shallow of you,” he teased, leaning his head closer to yours. “I can’t believe the only reason why you like me is because my hair is red, yanno?” In return, you inched your face up closer to his as if you were challenging him.

“I know,” you said smugly, your eyes flickering down to his lips, “I’m such an awful friend. I’ll only break your heart once I replace you with another redhead.” He smirked as he noticed where your eyes had glanced. Tendou may have been oblivious, but he wasn’t called the Guess Monster for nothing.

“I’m guessing that you want to kiss me right now, hmm?” He asked quietly, dangerously moving closer to you - your faces now only mere inches apart. A blush crept onto both of your cheeks. You answered back, your voice nearly a whisper.

“Why don’t you find out for yourself, Guess Monster?”

Immediately, Tendou closed the distance between the two of you. Your lips were warm and soft, making him wish he had at least put on chapstick earlier. His heart was beating so hard inside of his chest that he was afraid you’d hear it, but you said nothing as the two of you pulled away. Saying nothing, he only smiled as he traced his fingers up your neck, cupping your jaw. Pulling you into a deeper kiss, he sighed contentedly as he felt your hands trail up his torso.

Kissing you felt like paradise.

As always, thank you so much for reading!! please like, reblog, and follow 🥺

~ Crystal

through the summer and the fall masterlist

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buy me a ko-fi! (but only if you want to and can)

BONUS

The following day, Tendou met you at your door to walk with you to lunch. With your hand in his, the two of you took your sweet time making your way to the cafeteria to meet up with the other third years. Today, Coach Washijo had asked for them to play a practice match against the Miyagi first years he was holding a training camp for. You decided to tag along since you had nothing planned to do for the weekend.

As you talked about a weird dream you had, Tendou couldn’t help but gaze adoringly at you - he couldn’t believe that you liked him, or that you were actually dating him now even if it had only been about twelve hours. The two of you waited in the lunch line, his chin resting on top of your head as he held both of your hands from behind you - it felt so natural to touch you. He could tell that people were staring - but none of it mattered when all he needed was the sound of your excited voice and the blatant look of love in your eyes.

Stepping away from your back slightly, he moved forward to gently place a kiss on your cheek - and that's when he heard the yells. The both of you turned to find your fellow third and second years staring at the two of you with wide eyes and mouths catching flies. Goshiki accompanied the team as well, his face beat red. Ushijima was behind the flustered first year, a rare half-smile on his face.

“Afternoon guys!” You had said it so casually as you leaned back into Tendou’s arms, allowing him to place a cheeky kiss on your temple - making Semi gag and Yamagata nearly tear up.

“I did tell you all that they preferred redheads.”

[stereostevie]

"The United States vs. Billie Holiday" is so misguided that it's hard to know where to start griping about it. It wallows in cruelty, misery, and degradation without providing insight into the historical personages who are so thoughtfully depicted by its cast. In the title role, singer Andra Day inhabits Holiday with such intensity that she partially redeems the movie. But there's a major caveat: you'll likely spend the whole running time wishing Day had been given a vehicle with more to say about Holiday than this one, the gist of which can be summed up as, "That poor junkie sure could sing."

Directed by Lee Daniels and written by Suzan Lori-Parks, "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" is a film about a brilliant artist and drug addict that seems less interested in the art than in the pornographically exact details of the addiction (and the self-damage that often comes with it, such as alcoholism, self-destructive/abusive relationships, and sexually compulsive behavior). If you called the movie up on Hulu, its debut streaming platform, hoping to watch facsimiles of Holiday and her bandmates, lovers, and hangers-on tying off and shooting up, often with closeups of needles going into arms (and in one case, blood spurting from an injection hole), you won't be disappointed. This is also your movie if you want to watch men beating each other up over women, men beating women up over men, Black people selling out and exploiting other Black people for clout or money, and an array of cardboard cutout white authority figures tormenting the Black characters.

The poker-faced Caucasoid sadists in the film (led by Garrett Hedlund's Harry J. Anslinger, the first chief of the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Narcotics, an outspoken racist who believed jazz was jungle music and a corrupting influence on whites) don't so much incarnate the ugliness of white supremacy in mid-20th century America as give viewers heels that they can boo. Anslinger even makes a point of showing up in person at key points in the narrative of torment that he has authored for Holiday, as punishment for daring to continue singing her anti-lynching ballad "Strange Fruit" after being warned not to. Holiday lost her cabaret license in a drug bust, and was targeted again in a subsequent bust that biographers agree was based on planted narcotics.

This film's version of Anslinger might as well be Elmer Fudd chasing a wascally wabbit. The cartoonish depiction of Anslinger (drawn from the film's source material, Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs) is reminiscent of the otherwise excellent historical drama "The Hurricane," which made it seem as if Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a champion boxer railroaded on a phony murder charge, was victimized not by appendages of an American government that had been around for centuries, but by a lone, bad white cop who hated him for being Black.

This is, of course, a familiar and regrettable tendency in Hollywood biopics dealing with race and inequity—a dramatic shortcut. It's easy to make viewers despise the sort of melodramatic movie villain who would twirl a mustache if he had one, and hard to make them care about systemic and institutionalized racism, or the unequal enforcement of drug laws that disproportionately hurt entertainers of color, and still do. (The drug habits of white stars like Judy Garland were treated more sympathetically by law enforcement.)

Even more unfortunate is the decision to divide screen time between Holiday and a Black junior FBI agent named Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), who is based on a real man who regretted his role in Holiday's persecution but didn't have the kind of longstanding love affair with Holiday depicted in this movie. A condensed excerpt from Hari's book says Fletcher set up one of Holiday's busts (though apparently not one that sent her to prison, as depicted in Daniels' movie). He was seen dancing with her at a club a while later, and many years after that was sent a signed copy of Holiday's autobiography with a note from the singer that read, in part, "Most federal agents are nice people. They’ve got a dirty job to do and they have to do it. Some of the nicer ones have feelings enough to hate themselves sometime for what they have to do." But Daniels and Parks go several extra miles beyond that, showing Fletcher not just falling in love with the singer but tanking testimony to make amends for that early bust, then becoming a constant, nurturing presence in her life, up to and including her dying days in a hospital following her final overdose (along the way, Fletcher also becomes a junkie, like nearly everyone else in Holiday's orbit).

What's questionable here isn't the lack of veracity (if infidelity to history were a deal-breaker for audiences, Shakespeare wouldn't have lasted five minutes) but the message it conveys. What we come away with here is the story of a race traitor who expresses his guilt about setting up one of the century's greatest singers by entering into a redemptive affair with her, and becoming so adored and trusted that he learns her bleakest secrets. Two of these—witnessing acts of racist violence and getting turned out by her own mother in the brothel where she was raised—are dramatized in a tour-de-force, single-take, Grand Guignol tracking shot that turns Holiday's trauma into a theme park ride. It's as if the Haunted Mansion at Disney World had been replaced with a tour of Richard Pryor's childhood.

And what, the reader may rightly ask, does any of this have to do with "Strange Fruit"? It's hard to say. The film is so poorly structured and ineptly edited that I often wasn't sure what I was looking at, when it was taking place, or what the filmmakers wanted me to take away, other than that Holiday had a wretched early life; that her adulthood was an equally miserable slog, filled with self-medicating that made things worse; and that despite it all, she was a crackerjack song interpreter who left some classic recordings behind. Natasha Lyonne shows up as Tallulah Bankhead, Holiday's maybe-lover, and disappears instantly. Years bleed into other years. Much dope is shot.

Holiday's indefatigable spirit gets buried under misery porn that's a bit much even by Daniels' standards. At least "Precious" was audacious. You could tell Daniels was going for a semi-satirical, Todd Solondz-like vibe, where you were supposed to ask, "Is this meant to be funny, and am I a bad person for laughing?" There's no such tonal cheekiness here. The film is solemn as can be, hammering nails into Billie Holiday's ankles and wrists and raising her up on the cross at the end. Daniels frames Holiday in a tight closeup and watches her sing as she stares into the middle distance through glazed eyes. He crosscuts between Holiday singing onstage and getting shtupped backstage by a smooth criminal. He stares at her defeated, puffy face as she lies in a hospital bed with a catheter snaking from her hospital gown, talking to her pals about how her liver has failed. There seems to be no dramatic objective to scenes like these other than to remind us yet again, "Billie Holiday was a junkie, drugs are bad."

Over the course of two hours that feel like three, "All of Me" loops in and out of the soundtrack in varied arrangements, including a rumbling funereal version that may very well show up in a trailer advertising an R-rated, dark-and-gritty reboot of, hell, who knows which early 20th century cartoon property. Maybe Betty Boop. The film itself seems strung out, and not in an interesting way. It needed an intervention.

[vermillionflames]

hi... idk what this is hehe :)

nozel x oc

word count: 2k+

warnings: language, mention of blood and self-stabbing (non violent)

PROLOGUE

“There, there, Your Highness,” the guard said as he wiped away the princesses tears, “It must’ve been so scary down there. I’m sorry you had to go all alone this time. If I had permission or the strength to go with you I would. But you’re alright now. I’ll be standing guard outside your door all night if you need me.” 

The guard had a smile so small you would only see it if you knew to look for it. The princess didn’t need to see the smile to know he meant what he said. Out of all the soldiers in the Kingdom hers were the most loyal. 

“Please don’t tell my father I was crying… or the King!”

“I would never, it will be our little secret, alright, Princess Seraphina,” he stuck out it pink to show he meant his promise.

“Thank you,” the young girl crawled back under her blankets as her guard headed towards the door, “Goodnight, Dante.”

REAL TIME I GUESS

You know when you tell your husband for days to not do something because there will be a negative outcome, but he does it anyway? And what you told him would happen, does? And yet he still acts surprised and upset? Sometimes takes his anger out on you via a cold shoulder and glare? No admittance that you were right? That’s what it’s like to be married to the Captain of the Silver Eagles. 

I love Nozel dearly but he is more annoying than my father-in-law and the ladies of the court asking about babies. Actually, now that I think about it, the whole Silva family had something about them… 

“Vice Captain? Are you alright?”

That’s one way to snap me out of a scheme

“Oh, Nils, I’m sorry. A thought crossed my mind and I got lost in it… What were you saying?” Will probably get scolded for that later.

“I was just telling you how I’d improve myself before my next mission with what I learned on the previous one… Do you think Captain will be pleased with my plan?” 

Royalty always wants to improve themselves without much training, but I can’t say that to him without it causing a rile so I just smile at him.

“I think Nozel will be very pleased. Now if you wouldn’t mind, I do have a lot of work to get to,” I gesture to some papers on my desk. 

He nods and takes his leave. I sigh and turn my chair to face the window. Noelle should have gotten her grimoire by now, surely. I do not want to do this paperwork or deal with the hell my in laws will unleash on their baby sister, but if anyone had a chance of redirecting their attention to another failure it was me and my womb. 

I play with the ring on my left hand. It was his mothers, in fact Nozel had gifted me with more jewelry than I could ever wear that had come from Lady Acier’s collection. Sometimes I wondered if he got it all or first dibs and took it all because he was the oldest. Perhaps her collection had just been so expansive I could have a shit load and the other kids could do. The girls didn’t ever bat a lash when I wore her crowns and necklaces. 

There’s a firm knock on my door, they don’t pause before opening it. Husbands, ya know? I looked over my shoulder to see he’s entered my office, not bothering to shut the door (to avoid scandal though I’ve never understood how married people can be scandalous with each other? The policies of this country were difficult to understand). 

“Yes,” I ask, raising my brow at him.

“Noelle has received her grimoire,” his face was bleak.

“And?”

“And she still cannot control her magic. She’s still a shame to House Silva.”

The fluctuation in his mana told me all I needed to know.

“Nozel-”

“Don’t try to coddle me, Seraphina. You don’t understand what this means for my family and our reputation.”

I wonder in our 14 years of marriage if he’s ever learned that I can read his mind and emotions. He kept on the mean big brother act and never shut it off. However, I like to take opportunities to argue when I see them. I turn my whole body to face him and cross my arms.

“Like how we don’t have an heir?”

“Don’t start this right now,” his voice was low and serious, “Nebra, Solid, and I will be having dinner with our father and grandparents tonight.”

“Then I’ll join you,” I shot up out of my chair, “It would look bad if I stayed here.”

His stare was cold. I started to prepare an argument in my head.

“Fine. But wear something nice,” he moved his attention to the deep cut of my dress, “Maybe we should get your robes adjusted.”

“Oh darling, I think that’s the most attention you’ve given my breasts in our whole marriage.” I bit my tongue, a little too late for that, Sera. Oops. 

“Tsh,” Nozel turned and headed for the door, “You should probably have the maids at the castle help you get ready… We both know you won’t be able to braid your own hair.”

“I beg your pardon?”

The door closed and I was alone again. The mother fucker. He was right, but that mother fucker. If he knew what kind of foul language I had stored in my head for him… Maybe tonight will be the night all chaos explodes. Dinner and a show with me as the main actress. 

I started to make a mental list of things to bring up during our argument as I made a spacial magic gate to my quarters at the Silva Castle. 

----

I opted for an emerald gown with silver jewelry for tonight. Rule number one of House Silva: all the jewelry is silver. If you happen to have gold it was either a gift from House Vermillion or House Kira and you only ever wore it to fit a dress code House Vermillion made for a ball. Same thing for red and blue. Do not wear red or blue unless you want to piss off your husband, which I’ll admit is fun but he threw the poor dress into the fireplace the next morning. We don’t even share a room, he had to wake up early, come in, and find it to do that. 

Rule number two: be very, very good at keeping your thoughts to yourself. Especially when it comes to Noelle, Acier, and your lack of offspring. 

“Seraphina, perhaps you decided to join us because you and Nozel have some good news to share,”  if Nebra was anything it was blunt and to the point. 

I gave Nozel the side eye.

“No,” He said while lifting his wine to his lips, “Just didn’t want to bother socializing with the rest of the squad tonight.”

I gave her a meek smile.

“Well, Seraphina, I have something to show you, Solid rose from his seat and walked over to Noelle who was staring at her food with tears in her eyes. He pulled her grimoire out from her side while she winced. “Look at how thin this is. You’re more a Silva than Noelle could ever be.”

I dropped my shoulders and focused on my plate in front of me.

“I guess...” 

----

If I got anything from that dinner it’s that I needed to find a way to sneak Noelle out of the castle and get her away; at least for a day. I was sat at my vanity removing all the tiny gems the servant had insisted on putting in my hair. If I couldn’t stand up to her to my in-laws the least I could do was get her away. God how many gems were there? I started at the bell to call a maid… I really hate doing this but if there’s one thing I cannot do it is my hair. 

After a few moments a young girl came to my room and went right to work undoing the braids and taking out the gems. I watched her in the mirror, she never took her eyes off my head.

“So, what’s the hot gossip from the servants quarters?”

She paused.

“I’m sure nothing would be of interest to you ma’am.”

I purse my lips. 

“If I say you can keep all the gems in my hair?”

“That wouldn’t be necessary, the masters pay us kindly.”

“Oh… well surely you heard something that would be of interest to me?”

“Ma’am, I know you don’t stay here often, but typically you wouldn’t speak to me so casually…”

“Who cares about that? It’s late. It’s just you and me here. Everyone else is probably settled into bed,” No budge. Oh. “Lord Nozel won’t be visiting my chambers tonight. It’s alright.”

“Surely the Captain visits his wife every night… You two are in love and you’re so beautiful.”

Great. Not the can of worms I wanted to open. And now I gave her shit to say about me!

“He stays in his room when I am bleeding.” And now I have to stab myself or else she’ll know I lied. Dammit. 

“Oh, the other servant didn’t mention you were… Would you like me to get you some warm towels?”

“No, what I would like is some information that only someone in your position would know.”

“Really, ma’am. There’s nothing happening these days.”

“Please?”

“Um… well I have a friend that works for House Vermillion and she said they’ve been preparing Lady Mereoleona’s room for her return. They expect her to arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

Oh god.

“And Lord and Lady Vermillion had to have meat brought in from the town! The chefs don’t even know how to cook meat!”

“Surely they can just give it to the girl and let her cook it herself…”

“You’re funny, Lady Seraphina.”

“Well, ya know, someone in the family has to be! Thank you for your help. You’re dismissed, go off to bed now.”

The girl bowed and left.

And she had the right fucking idea.

I need to leave too. Mereoleona? No thank you. God only knows what kind of torment she has planned for me. Actually, probably not God. Probably no higher being.

I need to hide somewhere and take Noelle with me. I throw off my dressing gown and scramble to put on clothes, throwing random shit I think I’ll want in a bag. Real manic style. Now if there’s one thing I am not it is a bad liar. I throw the blankets off my bed and lay as if I’m going to sleep. Crossing my leg so it sorta comes to wear my center lays and take out a knife and cut my leg… which heals pretty quickly given my abilities. I’m almost certain it’s not enough to be convincing but I am far more concerned in avoiding the Vermillion to care. 

Next stop, Noelle’s room. I knock on the door. No answer so I help myself. She’s asleep, dry tears around her eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, wake up. Noelle.”

She gasps and her eyes fly open, instantly putting her arms in defense. I take a step back… They didn’t wake her up to hurt her… did they?

“Pack a bag, we’re going into hiding.”

“What?”

“Lady Mereoleona is coming back for her yearly visit. I’m taking you and we’re gonna go hide at the beach castle.” Yeah, I married into a two castle family. Had its perks.

“Why?”

“Because you’re my baby sister by marriage and I think we both could use a little vacation. Don’t you agree?”

“Really? But what about Nozel?”

“I’ll deal with him if he notices. Chances are no one will know. So get up, grab your stuff, and let's go.”

She got out of bed quick. I sat at her vanity while she gathered some things. 

“Also, no servants.”

“No servants?!” She turned me so quick she almost snapped her neck.

“You’ll live. This is about survival. Now,” I stand to make a portal to the beach castle, “let’s go.”

[makaylajadewrites]

What it Means to be a Fish

Summary: Spencer Reid wasn’t known for being the most social creature alive. He struggled with most social situations and was quite awkward in his every day life, and if he told his night time companions that he worked for the FBI, they would most likely laugh at him or simply dismiss him outright. But it was true. An FBI agent by day, a drag queen by night — who would have ever thought?

Potential tws: N/A

--

Spencer Reid wasn’t known for being the most social creature alive. He struggled with most social situations and was quite awkward in his every day life, and if he told his night time companions that he worked for the FBI, they would most likely laugh at him or simply dismiss him outright. But it was true. An FBI agent by day, a drag queen by night — who would have ever thought? Certainly not him. He had experimented once with makeup when he was still a boy, but from there, it had simply evolved into an outright fascination, that he was incredibly good at too. Even Garcia would be jealous if she knew how well he could rock a cat eye.  

Any drag queen would know that Spencer was experienced with the way he owned the stage and held himself with a pride that was absent in his daily life. He wasn’t nearly as confident at the bureau as he was in gay nightclubs, strutting around like a peacock with his feathers on display for all to see. He was good at it though, and it had been a hobby of his ever since he was able to get into nightclubs legally. Who would have thought that the awkward genius kid completing his third PhD at the age of eighteen would be a drag queen? Absolutely nobody, and that was why Spencer didn’t put extra effort into hiding the fact; because he was almost certain nobody would ever find out.

In the drag community, there were different types of queens. Eleven, to be exact; faux, androgyny, fish, club, goth, pageant, camp, transdrag, fluid, tranimal, and activessle. Spencer fit into one of those categories perfectly, and he always had: fish.

A fish drag queen was the type of queen who summoned every bit of femininity in their body and accentuated those features. They were determined to be the authentic woman, to the point where people wouldn’t think twice about her gender because to them, she was a real woman. Fish were polished, clean, and certainly weren’t shy with their makeup.

Now to be clear, Spencer was not gender dysphoric. He was comfortable with his masculinity as a gay man, but breaking the gender lines was always something that excited him. Dressing up in skirts and dresses and slipping a pair of heels on was empowering, and in Spencer’s opinion, any open minded person could feel like they ruled the world if they just slipped some stilettos on.

With the ever expanding appearance of drag queens in popular culture and media, Spencer wasn’t hesitant to join them. His colleagues wouldn’t ever suspect this from him, so there was no reason for them to go snooping. Garcia would never possibly consider this as a possibility, so why should he even bother to hide it? It would only prove to stress him out if he focused on the ‘what ifs.’

So he created a social media account. Just an Instagram at first, nothing too flashy, although as the follower count rose and rose, he began to feel like maybe he was just asking to be discovered. But apparently that wasn’t enough of a warning for him, because he went on to create a YouTube account on which he did makeup tutorials, for beginners and for the most experienced queens. It was a nice way to get rid of some stress, and after all, he liked to feel pretty: Who didn’t?

If his team had ever suspected anything, they would have found out by now.

But Spencer wasn’t really helping his case.

The first time he slipped, it had been a long night, and despite his initial plans to head home immediately after his show, he ended up staying with the girls a little longer than he expected, and hadn’t made it home until nearly three that morning. He was usually thorough when getting rid of the evidence, specifically with removing his makeup, making sure his hair wasn’t sticky from the wig-cap glue or tape, and taking off fake nails or nail polish. But he had failed that morning, and had completely forgotten about the bright pink polish on his fingers because of his sleep deprivation. What a shame. This wasn’t missed either. Because as soon as he was in Morgan’s line of sight in the break room, the older man looked somewhat shocked and began his torment.

“Well, well, well, Pretty Boy. You let your girlfriend do your nails last night?” He teased, innocent enough. Reid was confused at first, doing a quick, mental self-assessment before his eyes widened, his face glowed red, and an expression of absolute mortification took over. Instead of responding and embarrassing himself any further, he simply stuffed his hands in his pockets and treaded to his desk with faster steps, ignoring the sounds of laughter behind him and completely neglecting himself of coffee. Damn. So much for secrecy.

“What is it, Reid?” Prentiss questioned upon seeing him, a sharply tuned brow raised slightly. Spencer’s could look better though.

“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he stammered, internally cursing himself for his unbearable nerves. Emily looked humored but didn’t push it, thank god, and dropped it, not bringing it up again. Spencer kept his hands out of sight for the rest of the day.

The second time was completely Spencer’s fault. It had been a normal day, he had a show coming up that Friday, unless of course they were called on a case, and nothing was out of the ordinary. In short, it was a paperwork day and Reid was completely fine with that, simply because he usually finished early and the last hours of work were reserved for preparing for his upcoming performance. So, when his teammates thought he was simply staring off into space with some complicated equation taking over his existence, he was in truth thinking of outfits for the drag show.

He didn’t get to attend that show unfortunately, because a case came in right as he was packing up. He wallowed all the way to the roundtable room.

But when Penelope came into the room, it was over. A tight, somewhat outdated polka dotted dress fitted her curvy form and four inch pink heels that didn’t at all match the pink fabric of the dress nearly threw Spencer into a conniption fit. He was used to her bright and eccentric outfits, but this… How could she forsake the name of fashion so rudely? He nearly gasped at the sight, but he didn’t let it happen until his eyes had finished scanning over her body and rose to her face. What… What in gay hell?

Her eyeshadow was turquoise in color, the wings were sharp, and the contour… Oh god. Spencer was feeling nauseous already. It wasn’t blended. It wasn’t blended. It wasn’t blended. It was just straight blocks of color on her cheeks. He tried to hide the horrified expression on his face, but she saw right through him immediately since when Reid showed emotions, it was usually a big deal.

“Alright my furry friends, we have a—Why are you looking at me like that?” She said, stopping herself mid sentence and looking at Reid accusingly, the rest of the team instantly looking to him, clearly having missed the situation because nobody seemed as outraged as he was about the makeup disaster. He tried to look innocent, shaking his head quickly.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,” he said dismissively, but Garcia didn’t buy it. Profiling wasn’t in her job description, but she knew when someone was lying to her, especially Reid. But JJ beat her to it, tilting her head slightly and smiling in his direction.

“What’s wrong, Spence?” She asked. She was too sweet for her own good, her pretty blonde waves tumbling over her shoulders so naturally. Funny how his wigs looked just as pretty.

“Oh it’s… Something on your cheek, that’s all,” he said, Garcia looking horrified immediately and whipping out a pocket mirror, seemingly from thin air, and overlooking her plump face in confusion when she didn’t seem to notice the problem.

“What is it, what is it? Get it off,” she said frantically, approaching the young doctor with a tatter of heels and leaning down towards him. Reid did a quick glance in JJ’s direction who regarded him with a shrug, and Morgan seemed interested now. Spencer hesitantly rose his hand, a slender finger working the edges of her contour on either cheek until it was smooth and not just a straight line. JJ giggled beside him, quietly, and Prentiss looked incredulous at his actions, but when he deemed her fit, Spencer couldn’t resist the little pat he gave to her cheek. Penelope looked both pleased and surprised, thanking him before standing and returning to the front of the room where she reported the case as if nothing had happened. But the little sparkle in her eye made it clear he wasn’t going to be let off for this incident.

That had been four months ago now, and Spencer hadn’t let up at all in his pastime activities and instead began to embrace it even more. He had come out as gay a couple of weeks ago to JJ who was both excited for him and eager to help him get into the dating scene, but little did she know, he was somewhat infamous in the D.C. gay community. He had a following on nearly every social media platform, and whenever he looked at himself, he felt so happy to realize that that beautiful person was actually him. He had so many issues with his self esteem when he was younger, ranging from his physical appearance to his awkward sociality, but when he stepped into the shoes of his drag persona, he was no longer Supervisory Special Agent Doctor Spencer Reid of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He didn’t have to try, because something about wearing a leotard and high heels was freeing.

He had a show that Saturday night; nothing unusual about it, pretty routine and just what he expected. But the moment he saw his female colleagues walk into the club with a hesitant Morgan following suit, he was doomed. He had been on stage when it happened, strutting down the mini catwalk effortlessly yet suddenly feeling very exposed. He never hesitated, but the slight stumble in his step wasn’t missed, and as soon as his and Morgan’s eyes met, he knew the man had to have seen right through him. The eye connection was long and somewhat awkward, and soon, Spencer realized he was looking at a very confused man.

Spencer turned without incident though, leaving the stage the same way he entered it: confident. He couldn’t let them know, and if he had to go all night convincing them he wasn’t Spencer Reid, he would. He didn’t interact with them when he wasn’t on stage, and it was almost like he was daring them to identify him. His second time on, in a completely different outfit which consisted of a tight, mini dress and heels as high as the sky, he winked at Derek, and the handsome grin he received in response was enough for him to smile back, innocently enough.

At the end of the night, the other queens huddled around him and chattered about the handsome man who kept looking at him. He made a comment about getting the man in his pants, and they giggled away as if nothing strange had even happened. Hopefully nothing had, and tomorrow would be a completely normal work day.

But that was not the case. Not at all.

As soon as he stepped off of the elevator, something felt off, but before he could even make it into the bullpen, two hands landed on either of his arms, and he was whisked away into Penelope Garcia’s office by JJ and Prentiss. The resident of the office was there, but so was Derek, and he instantly felt uncomfortable.

“You have some explaining to do, Pretty Boy,” Morgan said first, arms crossing over his broad chest and suddenly Spencer felt naked. He mimicked the other man, a frown taking residence over his full lips as he looked back, overcoming his initial fear of intimidation.

“About?…” he asked, seemingly confused, but internally, he was panicking. Oh god, they knew, they knew, they knew, they knew.

“Well,” Garcia butted in, typing rapid-fire on her keyboard before an image of him popped up on her monitor, “Maybe we can start with this.”

It wasn’t a normal image. Sweet Jesus, he wished it was. He would prefer any high school picture over this. Instead, it was his most recent Instagram post: a selfie of him in drag. It was from last night, in fact. A bubblegum pink wig looking as natural as real hair falling straight over his shoulders, framing his done up face prettily. His makeup was perfect, a pink rosy blush dusted over his high cheekbones, glitter in all the right places. His eyes were winged, falsies set in place, faux brows arched high. But his lips were the attention grabber. A full burgundy pout, a touch of highlight bringing out a glossy accent. Dark eyes looked ahead with no hesitation; bedroom eyes. Fucking Christ.

“Who’s that?” He questioned immediately, having prepared himself for a moment like this in his moments of paranoid. He doubted himself in his panicky moments, assuring himself that nothing was going to happen, but here he was, living out his worst nightmare. He would quite literally prefer to be stabbed by an unsub than be stabbed with those accusatory looks.

“Reid…” Prentiss started, her hand coming to his shoulder. He looked down at her, trying to keep up the confused act, but the knowing look in her eyes he received was what made him realize he couldn’t hide it anymore. He had been completely and utterly busted.

“That’s you, man,” Derek said, a smile curling his lips upwards, although it was awkward and somewhat confused. Spencer had a tendency of making people question their sexuality when he was in drag.

“You’re so pretty, Spence,” JJ was quick to add in, a smile brightening her face. Spencer practically melted, his brows curving inwards and a hesitant smile curling his own lips upwards.

“You think so?” He said in response, nearly a whisper, as if he didn’t already know the power he possessed with makeup and a wig on. JJ rubbed his bicep reassuringly.

“Bria Monique, huh?” Garcia said his drag name aloud, beaming up at him from where she sat, beginning to scroll through more of his pictures, gasping quietly at one that was somewhat… suggestive. Not for a drag queen, but especially for Dr. Spencer Reid.

“Whoa, kiddo! I didn’t know you had it in you!” She applauded. It was a picture of him, a pair of high black stilettos on his feet yet he was crouched down, the supple curve of his bottom quite apparent from the tight black jumpsuit. His head was tilted back, exposing his bare neck and upper chest while those eyes looked directly towards the camera; bedroom eyes again. It had been a recent photoshoot he did, just for the fun of it. But he wasn’t having fun as of right now.

“I-I…” he started, stumbling over his words and debating on whether he should run or own up to it. He was left with one option; stay. But his friends didn’t look any less impressed with him than they were before. In fact, they looked somewhat proud, but the way Morgan looked at him within those few minutes was definitely enough for him to notice. He didn’t say anything though.

“You have got to show me how to do my eyeshadow like that,” Garcia piped up again, now on his YouTube channel, watching one of his quick makeup tutorial for advanced artists, specifically on a sunset eye. He nodded hesitantly, and the smile he flashed towards her was enough for her to giggle excitedly.

“A-Alright…” he said softly, Emily and JJ also adding in their own questions of makeup techniques and styles.

They let him go eventually, not without requesting invitations to his next show of course. Morgan was quick to catch up to him when he left Garcia’s den though, a large hand splaying over the small of his back as they headed towards the bullpen. Reid came to a gradual stop in the middle of the hallway though, and a shiver ran pleasantly down his spine as Morgan leaned in and whispered flirtatiously.

“I can’t wait to see you perform again.”

Spencer’s eyes widened, and he looked towards Derek with both confusion and subtle excitement on his features. All he got in return though was a quick wink and a gentle pat against his ass. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Part 2: Girls’ Night->

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Melvin Moody

(Not my gif)(Requested via message)

- You met Moody in your gym class. As a friend of Clifford's, you’d heard a lot of rants about the boy but you’d never actually met him until you walked into class on the first day of school. 

- Joining all the other girls on the bleachers, you watched your friend and the rest of the boys in class play a game of basketball. That was when Moody began pushing the smaller boy around. 

- Clifford was thrown to the floor and you promptly rushed out onto the court to check if he was okay, feeling your blood boil as Moody and the other kids laughed. Obviously, Moody was shocked to see you at the boys side; he couldn’t understand how a loser like Clifford managed to get a hot chick to be around him, let alone care about his well being. 

- For the most part, your first meeting was pretty anticlimatic. You took Clifford to the nurse and that was that. ...Except Moody began to constantly flirt with you, so much so that it was beginning to annoy the hell out of you. 

- Overtime, Clifford noticed that Moody was always looking at you whenever the two of you were together. For a while, he thought that he was the reason Moody was looking, after all, the boy would glare at Clifford half of the time he caught him watching. 

“He’s staring y/n. He wants to destroy me, I just know it.”

- Then he realizes it wasn’t him Moody was staring at. He asked you to get him a drink, watching the bully who was now focused on your moving form. When you returned, he had this nervous, almost embarrassed look on his face. 

“Y/n... I have another favor. Now this one is incredibly important, okay?” He was speaking like he was in pain. 

“Geez Clifford, you’re scaring me.” You replied worriedly. 

“I need you to date Moody.”

“What the fuck Clifford.”

“No really y/n. He’s constantly staring at you. If you go on a date with him you can convince him to leave me alone.”

- You called him insane, refusing to even entertain the idea as you began to finish your lunch. He told you to look over at the boy who; when you turned, was in fact looking at you. After a significant amount of begging and pleading, you sighed and finally agreed, telling him that he owed you. 

- And so, you stood up and made your way over to Moody who instantly locked his eyes on you with a smirk plastered across his face. 

“Hey there doll.” You could already tell he was enjoying this. You had to give him credit, he could be pretty smooth when he wanted to be. 

“Moody...It’s come to my attention that you find me attractive.”

- Your comment wiped the smirk right off his face. He gulped; hoping that you didn’t notice his nervousness, and tilted his head with a questioning glance. 

“Is that so?”

“Sure is. Now Moody, if I agree to a date with you will you leave Clifford alone.” 

“Kissing included on this date?” A smug grin made its way onto his face. 

“...We’ll see.” You gritted your teeth. For Clifford, this is for Clifford. 

“I guess you have yourself a deal then sweetheart.”

- So after school, the two of you walked to the sandwich shop that everyone went to when class ended. At first you just about wanted to kill yourself, doing everything in your power to stick it through. That was until he dropped his cocky exterior; noticing that you really didn’t enjoy it. 

- Once he started acting like himself, you actually found him charming and funny. You actually began to like the boy which made you feel evil in a way. 

- He walked you home, asking when he could take you out again as you stepped inside your front door. You thought about it for a moment. This was the school bully, your friends bully. 

- As much as it made you feel like you were missing out on something and like you were a horrible, fake person; you turned him down, saying goodbye and shutting your door on him. He took it well, if well mean’t storming off and bullying Clifford even worse after that. 

- The boy seemed to be perpetually angry, glaring at the people around you and being even more of a menace than he usually was. You still felt horrible weeks after the situation but what could you do?

- Then it happened. After class one day; one you unfortunately had with Moody, another boy came up to you as you were leaving the room, complimenting you and confessing that he liked you as he asked you out on a date. You replied that you would get back to him, quickly excusing yourself and heading to your next class. 

- You thought nothing of it until you found Moody tormenting the kid in the hallway later that day. The boy didn’t back down which was the worse thing you could do when Moody picked a fight with you, especially with his goons around. 

- You cringed as Moody’s fist connected with his jaw. He would’ve thrown another punch if you hadn’t stepped in and gotten between the two. Moody; already sporting a few bruises and a bloody nose, was panting angrily as you put your hand on his chest to keep him from moving forward. 

- Curses and insults were hissed at the boy as he got up behind you. Before you knew it, Moody had seized you by your wrist and wrapped an arm around you, smashing his lips to yours in front of everyone. 

- He made a few comments to the boy about how “you were his” as you stood there stunned. He then proceeded to grab your arm, dragging you away from the crowd and outside the school doors. He did ask you out properly after that, and you finally agreed with a promise from him that he wouldn’t beat up anymore people. 

- You’re pretty much known as the school’s saving grace. With you around, Moody actual makes an effort to be nice, or at least not bully anyone. 

- Constant pda, this boy does not leave you alone at any given time.

- He’s actually a really soft guy, even if it’s just with you. In public he might act like a jerk but you’re his girl and the only one he knows really likes him without having to be threatened so, to him, you’re an angel that should be treated as such. 

- He’s definitely pulled a fire alarm to get you out of class so that he could see you or because he knows you don’t want to be there.

- You’re basically his mirror 90% of the time.

“Babe does my hair look fine? What about my jacket?”

- You’re called a lot of pet names; babe, sweetheart and hotstuff are just a few.

- Since he was one of them, he knows how playboys think which usually results in him being jealous of any guy that tries to flirt with or compliment you; or just about anyone who looks at you a little too much for his liking. 

- Wearing his jacket. 

- His arms draped loosely around you as you sit between his legs. 

- Your poor neck is constantly attacked. He’s constantly kissing and teasingly nipping at it. You do the same to him, thinking it’ll get him to knock it off a little but he genuinely enjoys it so you just have to put up with it.  

- Getting pushed up against deserted hallways walls. 

- Any class you have together, you can rest assured that he’s going to have the seat next to you. He will not allow someone else to have it; he just won’t. 

- Teasing poking his chest or dragging a finger along it whenever he wears one of his unbuttoned shirts. It gives him goosebumps every time. 

- Cute conversations while cuddling. The two of you cuddle either spooning or in the “honeymoon hug” position.

- You force him to work things out with Clifford. His apology isn’t the least bit sincere but Clifford accepts it since he knows it’s the best he’s going to get out of him. 

- He acts all cocksure in public but blushes and stutters if you hold his hand or hug him. He’s a total nerd but only you’re allowed to know that. 

- Innocent affection; in general, makes him nervous. He isn’t used to it though he knows he likes it; at least when it’s you. 

- Getting surprise gifts; most of them are little and inexpensive but you adore them all the same. Just don’t ask where he got the money. 

- Calling him Melvin just to annoy him. 

- Getting flexed and winked at during gym class. You bend over in his line of vision in retaliation. You’ve genuinely made him get trampled during basketball because of said retaliation; he stopped and stared as the ball came towards him then BAM. 

- Affectionate insulting. 

- Jokingly making fun of each other. 

- He’s usually gets pretty bored when you’re not around. Before you started dating, he was fine, but then you came along and showed him how much fun he could have, now he knows he could be having a better time and it annoys the hell out of him. 

- You can actually tell the moment he sees you because he instantly straightens, his eyes lightening up and a smirk gracing his features. 

- He’s pretty protective in general but god forbid you get sick or injured. He’s at your side in an instant, threatening people and making demands as he looks you over. 

“Stop breathing, she needs more air.”

- No one dares mess with you so it isn’t very often that you have problems with people. Most of them tend to treat you like you have some kind of disease, keeping their distance as much as possible. 

- He’s not a very open person but you can tell that he trusts and loves you, even if he isn’t keen on using his words to express it. 

- Small prank wars. 

- Occasionally he’s just going to have to act like an asshole; even to you, just to try and keep up his touch guy reputation. You don’t know how many times he apologizes when the two of you are finally alone together. 

- Most of the girls in school are envious of you, you think it’s sort of funny since they don’t even know the real him. 

- Sexual innuendos. 

- Sometimes you’ll just grab his hand and doodle on his arm. He pretends like he hates it but he wears his sleeves up for the rest of the day. 

- He’s sort of jealous of Clifford and very jealous of Ricky. He fucks up a lot and figures that one day you’ll just get sick of him and give up, moving on to one of them. He never lets you know this but you can tell from the bitterness in his voice when he asks if you “had fun” while you tell him who you were hanging out with. 

- When you’re alone together, he’s really interested in what you have to say and actually likes hearing about your day. 

- He kind of hates when you ask him about his because he’s self conscious, thinking he’ll seem boring, dumb or just like an asshole to you. He tends to just brush off the question, hoping you’ll just let it go. 

- Teach this boy how to handle his emotions and feelings, just please teach him. He’s so used to being a jerk-off and pretending to be someone he’s not that he doesn’t know how to functionally be himself. 

- He doesn’t really like not being in control, it makes him sort of uncomfortable because he’s completely out of his element. Like he’s fine with affection when it’s him doing it to you but how is he supposed to act when you do it back??

- Him jokingly acting all tough with you, especially while doing something particularly affectionate. 

 “Love you.”

“Love you more.”

“Now listen here you little shit. I love you most, do you understand me?”

- He just tells you when you’re going to go out. No asking what you’re doing, no proposal; no nothing. 

“Dinner with me today. Six o’clock.”

 “Cafe after school. Meet me in the front.”

- He’s the type of asshat to flirt with and gawk at other girls while he’s with you,  then not understand why you’re mad at him. You do the same with different guys just to prove a point and this bitter realization hits him so hard. He doesn’t do it anymore after that. 

- Fights are awful arguments that result in the both of you avoiding each other. He purposefully tries to make you jealous by flirting with other girls; hoping it will make you talk to him first, while you don’t really have even try to make him jealous. 

- He definitely rants to Clifford while the boy tries not to look entirely dead inside. He literally has his head in his hands the entire time and is sighing every other minute. 

- Apologies are made a few days later when he can’t stand not having you constantly at his side. He’s grown accustomed to your company and everything just feels off without you around. 

- Is he too much of a dick to be a long term boyfriend? Maybe. You’ll just have to find out won’t you!?

- It’s fun while it lasts, even if it’s only for a year or two though I’ll be the one to tell you that he’s not too keen on letting you go anytime soon. 

[sjjdkdkwo]

A sort of continuation of this? (Because reading this alone doesn’t make sense otherwise) But I ended up liking the idea and thought a little more on it.

Stephen panted as he ran through the labyrinth of tunnels and rooms that made up Tony’s hidden lab beneath the cabin. By now he knew the entirety of the workshop like the back of his hand, and after about thirty minutes had come to the conclusion that every exit in the lab had been sealed shut from the inside. That had left him with only one option, get to the mainframe and figure out a way to shut down Tony from there. Reaching the clear solid doors of the control center Stephen reached out to see if the door would open and found no success. Realizing that Tony must’ve figured out his plan and had sealed the door accordingly, Stephen muttered and incantation. To his growing horror however, nothing happened.

 “No…” Stephen uttered, voice unsteady under his growing panic.

 He granted himself another attempt and again produced nothing. He growled in frustration as he tried again, watching as his hands shook harder under the pressure that took over his mind and soul. After six or so futile attempts he straightened and decided to forgo magic all together and take another route in getting in. Stepping back about 30 paces he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath before heading toward the door at full speed, and rammed his shoulder right into it.

 He cried as the cuff on his shoulder produced a striking bought of pain then trailed down to his hands causing them to tingle and twitch. Sliding down the door he heaved a heavy sigh before getting back up to try again. This time when his shoulder met the door, it opened. And sent him barreling into the room only to collide with the floor and smack his head hard against the surface. He groaned from his spot on the ground, head throbbing along with a terrible ringing in his ears. Before Stephen could even attempt to get up though, the door behind him sealed shut with a soft hiss, before the distinct sound of a lock clicking in place could be heard. Stephen’s eyes widened as he whipped his head around to stare at the door in silent dread.

 It had been a trap.

 “Please. You don’t have to do this.” He called out weakly to the empty room around him. “We can talk it through, I promise I’ll listen to you.”

 “That’s funny, that’s exactly what you said last time.” Tony’s hollow voice echoed throughout the lab. Stephen shuddered at the sound. “Only to ignore me for five months straight after.”

 “I’m sorry, I lost track of time I—I didn’t mean to neglect you. “ Stephen said.

 “And yet you did.”

 “Please…” Stephen pleaded again.

 “Please what? Please let you go on with your useless research—” Tony’s voice sneered. “—Just you can turn everything back to normal and get rid of me in the process? Did you really think I’d take that sitting down? You brought me here Stephen, now your stuck with me.”

 “This wasn’t how this was meant to go!” Stephen grit out and clenched his fists tightly. “I should’ve read through the spell better. But I didn’t, and I’m sorry for that.”

 “Not sorry enough to let me live.”

 “We can find a way. I can try; let me look through it again. There has to be something there!” Stephen said, his voice frantic even to his own ears.

 “I don’t know, Stephen, you really hurt my feelings.” Tony’s voice said, something akin to mocking underneath the dejected tone he used.

 It was enough to snap something inside Stephen, causing him to abandon any thoughts of parleying and bargaining with the hologram and instead fueling him with anger and hate.

 “Your feelings were a mistake!” Stephen snarled. “All you are is a cluster of lens and lasers that got up and walked!”

 Stephen laughed scornfully into the open space, wobbling into an awkward standing position as he leaned over workbench beside him. “The only reason you can do anything else is because of me.”

 Before Stephen could blink, the hologram appeared in front of him. Stephen tried not to let his uneasiness show as he took him in. Unlike before, the once steady image of Tony faltered sporadically in blinding white sparks now. In between every few seconds that passed, there would be a sudden glitch, altering the image of Tony into something more sinister and grotesque, almost monster like—something completely inhuman. Stephen wondered if it was purposeful.

 “And here I thought you’d lost that ego of yours after your little accident.” Tony made a string of tsk noises as he came closer. “I guess some things never change.”

 “What do you want?” Stephen asked, exhaustion overlaying his words.

 Tony shrugged, his whole body morphing with the glitch this time and revealing a gaunt haunting figure to Stephen.

 “I thought that was obvious by now. All I want is you.”

 From somewhere in the lab Stephen could make out the sudden noise of something slithering and buzzing toward him. As he looked all around him for the source of the sound Tony chuckled. There. Inching c loser and closer was a small black pool of nanobots. Stephen didn’t have time to move away before they were instantly crawling onto him, wrapping around his neck, arms, and legs before solidifying completely into tight restraints. There was something wrong about them though. There was an odd energy around them, dark and forbidding, like a hazy mist around the nanobots. Almost suspiciously like…

 “Magic.” Stephen breathed out in shock.

 Above him Tony hummed, chuckling again as he paced the area surrounding Stephen.

 “Oh yeah. Neat, huh?” He said, “Who would’ve thought the use of magic and science together could be so…right. Certainly not the real Tony Stark, I’ll tell you that much.”

 “How?” Stephen whispered.

 Tony sighed and Stephen looked at forward to find him reaching out a hand before making a tight fist. Stephen let out and agonizing cry as pain resonated through him from the sudden electric shocks the restraints ran all around his body. But there was something else, a deeper, more stifling pain, coming from somewhere inside Stephen himself—as though it was emitting from his very being. For a brief second Stephen feared he was going to be torn apart from the intensity of being tormented both externally and internally. He could hardly breath when it stopped all together and let his head loll forward. There was a long moment of silence before he found he could speak again.

 “I don’t understand.” Stephen mumbled.

 Tony groaned loudly and titled his head back in one swift movement. If he’d been a real person, the angle would’ve snapped his neck in half. Rolling his head back forward he shook it as made his way in front of Stephen, and looked at him with a dull expression.

 “I can’t believe I thought you were smarter than this.” He said.

 “You shouldn’t be able to do that, it’s not possible.” Stephen said through gritted teeth. “How are you doing it?”

 “I had a lot of spare time to catch up on my magic reading.”

 “Stop messing with me! Tell me now!” Stephen yelled, trying to squirm out of the nanobots hold to no avail. Tony only watched, his blank stare boring into him. It seemed he decided he’d had enough of Stephen’s struggling, as he crept back and lifted a hand again to produce a ball of energy above him palm. Stephen cried as a sharp stabbing sensation passed through him when he did.

 “All magic has a source. Every magic user worth their salt knows that.” Tony began. “Your magic comes from the Vishanti, Cyttorak and a number of other sources, some of it even from within your own energy.” He toyed with the energy ball in his hand, twirling it idly between his fingers. “Your late master drew magic from the dark dimension… my magic has a source too, albeit a rather unique one.”

 Stephen said nothing as he followed Tony’s words and movements closely. In the back of his mind he tried to sort out exactly what the other meant as he spoke, drawing blank every time he reached for any sort of explanation.

 “When you gave me sentience, the spell you used didn’t just require you to use your magic, Stephen. Something had to be given in return, like always.” Tony turned to look at him, a cold and calculating look on his flickering face. “Something already alive that could produce enough energy to create an entirely new life. Something from inside of you, something like—“

 “A soul.” Stephen answered quietly, eyes wide and unblinking in his new understanding.

 “Exactly.” Tony replied nodding. “In order for you to give me a soul, you had to give up your own. Part of it at least.”

 Another realization struck him then, and a cold chill passed through him as he looked at Tony.

 “That’s why my magic has been failing.” Stephen murmured disbelievingly. “Because you’ve been draining all of it.”

 Tony smiled then, something wicked and sick taking form on his face. “Bingo. Friday, tell our lovely guest what he’s won.”

 “You got it, boss.” Friday’s voice called out, lacking trace of personality from her tone.

 Stephen felt his stomach sink. She wasn’t supposed to be here, she’d begged him to shut her off until Tony had returned safe and sound. And even if she had been activated against her will, she shouldn’t have sounded the way she did. Stephen had made sure to grant her sentiency too, after all.

 “No, you can’t—”

 “Doctor Strange has won the lovely company of some new companions.” Friday said.

 Stephen couldn’t another word out as he stared in terror when Tony began to produce dust like particles seemingly from thin air. A wave of pain washed over him as he looked on, and he could feel something run down from his eyes and nose but couldn’t give it a second thought in that moment. He chocked back a scream as the meager fragments floated through the air and circulated around one another before coagulating into a sickening mixture of flesh, bone and nickel-titanium alloy.

 “Stephen, allow me to introduce you to Mark III, Mark VII, Mark XLII, and last but certainly not least, Mark LXXXV.”

 Tony spread out his arms as he stood in front of the, what should have been, once destroyed Iron Man suits. Stephen fought the urge to retch as he processed the abominations before him.

 “You shouldn’t be able to do that—even with my magic, you—“ Stephen gasped out, shaking his head as the figures behind Tony moved in a maladroit manner. “The only way you could is if you had—“

 “The infinity stones?” Tony countered.

 From behind him more nanobots appeared and swarmed around him, stacking atop each other in a structured manner as they began to form an unstable suit around the hologram. To his side more of the nanobots came, this time carrying the source of Stephen’s nightmares for the past fifteen years. Creeping over each other the nanobots lifted the harrowing gauntlet toward the suits hand before resting over it and clicking into place.

 “Surprise.” Tony said, laughing when he noticed Stephen’s despairing look. “What’s wrong? Are you upset that I managed to do what you spent years trying to accomplish, in just…oh I don’t know, seven months?”

 “How?” Stephen found himself asking again.

 “I simply followed in the footsteps of my predecessor, only this time I added a little magic.”

 A thought passed through Stephen’s mind.

 “Friday.”

 Something cold flashed through the holograms eyes.

 “You know how the soul stone works, yes.”

 “Then you loved her too.”

 “Maybe, but I loved you more.”

 Stephen let out a pitiful noise, curling in on himself as he fought the urge to cry for the AI he’d come to befriend in many other timelines.

 “Don’t tell me you feel bad, Stephen. What happened to being nothing but a cluster of lens and lasers that got up and walked?” Tony sneered.

 Stephen didn’t dignify him with an answer, and if he found that it was because he actually couldn’t think of one, Tony didn’t need to know.

 “So what? What’s your plan now?”

 “I’m going to give you everything you want.” Tony said, smiling at Stephen before the flow of magic and energy from the stone surrounded him. “Starting with bringing back all your friends.”

 Beneath them, the floors shook violently before they cracked open from the pressure and uncovered the dirt that lay before them undisturbed. It wasn’t long before that stirred too, clumps up dirt pushing out from the ground as a string of decomposed arms flung out after. They reached out to grab onto the earth around them and pulled themselves from the ground, rotting heads and bodies following them and out into the open air. One by one every fallen hero Stephen had seen brutally murdered crawled out from the grot and trudged up to meet them. At the front, the skeletal remains of Tony Stark trekked forward and directly to Stephen. When he reached him he settled in front of him and let out a blood-curdling shriek. His Hologram howled with laughter.

 “Maybe I was wrong, Stephen. I think he does still like you after all!”

 Stephen craned his back as the corpse inched closer, the nauseating smell of rot making Stephen gag as it tried to grab at him.

 “Enough.”

 The corpse went still, just before it could get at Stephen’s face.

 “I told you I’d give you everything you wanted, Stephen.” Tony said, floating above the carcasses. “Why don’t we try this again? Starting from the beginning.”

 Before him, Tony began to change. The hair he lacked began to grow, and his sunken face began to round with fresh tissue and muscle, along with the creation of new eyes. Stephen stared mesmerized as the man before him became revitalized with newfound cognizance as the light behind his eyes flickered back to life. Only to be shrouded in confusion and panic at the sight of Stephen.

 “Stephen? What’s going on? Where’s Thanos?” Tony asked frantically, shouting when he turned around and was met with the horrible sight of his own hologram and it’s creations. “What the hell is that!?”

 “What do you think, Stephen?” The hologram asked, staring soberly at him.

 “I think you’re a monster.” Stephen said hollowly.

 The hologram shook his head. “No, Stephen.”

 He paused before speaking again.

 “I’m human.”

[mousehole5000]

wow i made this draft on november 1st i really took a break from this huh anyway tgcf chapters 121 - 142

i realize now this coffin scene was inevitable. feel kinda weird about hua cheng  back and forth from Teen to Big Man but it is very funny that theyre having their “dude dont look at my boner” moment while in the jaws of a water dragon

pei ming: why didnt you guys make a bigger coffin so you didnt have to squish together like that? xie lian: haha yep!! anyways what brings you here?

“In the grand, spacious centre of the entrance hall sat a person. And this person, dressed in all black, its face snow-white—was a corpse! Instantly Xie Lian shut the doors soundly.” - king of minding his own business.

okay this is where i stopped putting notes here for a while but i did save some in my e-reader so here’s some of the highlights

“Guzi used to have a good sleeping form, but perhaps with his cheap dad’s bad influence, now he was also spread out on top of Qi Rong’s stomach like a dead fish. Lang Ying himself was curled neatly in the corner, and was covered by a few shirts. Xie Lian lifted the blanket covering Qi Rong, suppressed the urge to smother his face, and covered the two small children.” - xie lian funny moments. also it would be really funny if qi rong redeems himself by learning love through these misfit chiildren and it might actually endear me to him but i hope that doesnt happen

Every heavenly official was yelling, and even Ling Wen was throwing a fit. “DON’T THROW EVERY BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION MY WAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY? DON’T YOU ALL KNOW TO USE YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE BEFORE ASKING ME?!” - ling wen marry me right now

“An expression like “seen a ghost” that only mortals experienced was now showing on his face for the first time. Shi Wudu’s pupils shrank to the smallest they could, and he blurted, “You’re still alive?!” “I’m dead!” He Xuan said coldly.” - okay everythings going tits up rn but i did laugh

i did see spoilers re: ming yi/he xuan reveal + shi wudu’s fate beforehand so i dont have a genuine reaction other than oh shit

“He slowly enunciated each word. “I won’t touch your fate. But, here in this place, chop off your brother’s head for me.”  CLANG! He threw a rusty blade onto the ground. Shi Qingxuan stared at that blade, his eyes wide. He Xuan continued, “Then, never show yourself before me again, and I will pretend you’ve never existed in this world.” - okay idk what else is going to happen but rn im concerned that this is like the 2nd biggest ship. i guess we’ll see?? i mean i am really curious whats going to happen to them. shi qingxuan keeps calling he xuan “ming-xiong” and i... sad

shi wudu im not really invested in you as a character but these next two bits... interesting

“If I don’t die but have nothing, then that’s truly a fate worse than death. If I’m not the Water God, I can’t take care of you. I won’t even be able to protect myself. I’m scared that we won’t even last two days…TAKE IT!” - damn. something about the wealthy losing everything and not knowing how to live without it bc thats their entire life and identity

“EVERYTHING I HAVE TODAY, I FOUGHT FOR MYSELF. I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT I DON’T HAVE. I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!” - okay so the whole committing spiritual fraud by tormenting a man and his family to get your brother a cushy title thing aside this was kind of badass. heretical? possibly. but still. also is he intentionally riling up he xuan so sqx doesnt have to kill him? if so damn...

also okay as long as im here im just gonna say it. the choice that he xuan gives shi qingxuan is fucking brutal but i actually think its probably as fair as it could be. sqx didnt know about or participate in what happened to hx but they did benefit from it greatly while hx lost EVERYTHING and i can understand he xuan’s thinking of “if you really feel bad for what happened to me then you have to make a sacrifice and understand the suffering and this is as clean as its going to get” and theres a bit where sqx is trying to beg for mercy but cant get the words out which im guessing is bc theres no good argument!! what happened was fucked up!!

“When Pei Ming saw that reinforcements had arrived, he didn’t appear particularly delighted; instead he threw the sword into the ground, then rubbed his nose and said, sounding grim, “You all just had to come just as I finished making these, what the heck.” - pei ming making coffins chopping down trees with his sword i love it #wastehistime2k17

“Xie Lian brought that basket of eggs along, and gave them away as souvenirs from the mortal realm. Many who received the eggs were overjoyed; some deciding to eat it along with their own blood, and some proclaiming they would hatch an eight-foot monster.” - GHOST CITY GHOST CITY

“Placing the brush down, he blew lightly at the ink and smiled. “If I like something, then my heart will not have room for any other, and I’ll always treasure it. A thousand times, a million times, no matter how many years, this will not change. This poem is the same." - thats nice and all but king... get therapy. i actually have further thoughts but tbh i dont want to put them into words bc they are simply too personal! moving on

didnt take any notes but somewhere in here was the bit with mount tong’lu opening and hua cheng losing it and kind of um. hm. that scene. thats another trope i really hate tbh i dont care for it as a way of including physical intimacy between characters and idk if it really ever adds anything but whatever moving on

The Half-Maquillage Woman - kind of interesting monster idea bc women and aging…. yeah. however i think this would be a lot stronger if there were a) more girls and this was b) discussed or illustrated at all prior to this moment. still interesting that its included knowing the author is a woman tho and there’s been comments on how ling wen is perceived vs pei ming. this book does keep giving me hope for interesting female character arcs i really want it to deliver something

quan yizhen..... i get u

lmao i have a note on a bit with lang ying that says “please dont be hc in disguise” and..... my clown nose was on but at least i knew that. for real this is bothering me how much he’s just. always. there. i know he’s a lead but we didn’t really need him around for a lot of this. oh well.  okay now to my current notes

“Yet it was precisely because it wasn’t cooked that it had to be eaten quickly. Once Xie Lian cooked it, it wouldn’t be edible anymore” - fucking fantastic

“Xie Lian hugged his belly. “Of course! Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy, hahaha…” Hearing this, Hua Cheng blinked. Xie Lian’s laughter quieted a bit, realizing what he just said was a little too revealing.” - okay i know i said what i said about being tired of hua cheng being everywhere but... the line…. the fact that theyre laughing together…. :pleading:

“It’s not,” Ling Wen said. “At least, I believe, there will definitely not be another in history who can create a dish called ‘Incorruptible Chastity Meatballs’” - and truer words were never spoken

“I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS. “I, AM GOD!” - this was every bit as badass as i hoped but no one told me it was immediately followed up by a little bit of the ol dinner theater fjalkdsfjsd. also puqi shrine noooooooooo

“Xie Lian sighed as he thought, “Qi Rong has taken Guzi away, who knows if the poor child was eaten or abandoned. Wind Master...... ..... who knows if Black Water took him away. Pray they’re both safe.” yeah hey are we going to fucknig. find out what happened to the child???

and yeah i dooooont really care for the age regression? thing thats going on. i just dont like that trope tbh. but tiny hua cheng whipping out his fat ghost king wallet in the store was funny tho. it is really funny that hualian are just like wandering around some random towns while the heavens are in an uproar. i guess theres not much else to do but its funny

“Me too, me too. You all know of my shixiong, right? Talented, with an infinite future! He only had one small vice: he loved playing women. Decades ago, a little prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry into human jerky, and that Hua, Hua, Hua, that ghost king dared shelter her.” - yes omg give me the forbidden hua cheng lore i love this for him for real it goes along nicely with xie lian’s principles about giving another cup. god i love shared values

“Hua Cheng poked again, and a small hole appeared on the wall, as if the wall was made of tofu.” - how’d he do that. why is this a ghost king power. its useful tho

*me shaking qi rong when he pops up* WHERE IS THE CHILD

mu qing fu yao is here okay im happy now. once again no one has a good grasp on their secret identity and i love that. this inn has descended into chaos and im delighted and im glad lan chang is back

“The good ol’ kitchen was suddenly squished and crowded, loud and noisy. Fu Yao was chasing that fetus spirit leaping up and down, Lan Chang was chasing after Fu Yao like she had gone mad. Half of Qi Rong’s face changed shape by the way Xie Lian was pressing him down on the chopping board, his back turning into a target for those yellow talismans Fu Yao hurled while being observed by a crowd, and Lan Chang would step on him from time to time.” - this is pure chaos. i love that mu qing was in that room when the mob checked and he didnt say a word didnt open the door just sent out a talisman as a warning. king your disguise is transparent

“Xie Lian remembered the way Feng Xin laughed until he was hoarse when he first heard that verbal password all those years back, and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, even though it wasn’t the right time.” - awwwww omg im emotional about this... faithful friend feng xin laughing at xie lian’s stupid joke password and remembering it!!! ;_;

“They have, but they’re not effective,” Feng Xin said. “Usually they’re the most diligent in scorning the Palace of Ling Wen, like they could do the job way better if they had the position. Now that we need them to take up the task, not a single one can do even half of what she does.” - typical... typical typical typical

also emotional about the fact that feng xin contacted xie lian at all.....

also!! emotional about lan chang as a mom and wanting to help out sick lil guzi.....

xie lian forcing “fu yao” to let him help “his general” is making me.... what is friendship if not playing along with your buddies little shenanigans while also making them accept your help

“Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…” ”Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.” - XIE LIAN PLEASE AFJDLKSFJDL omg ive seen this quote before but i figured he was talking to someone else not actually to mu qing himself fgjasdkfjsl. god thats amazing. hey im gonna help you out because i care but i will roast you first <3

waaaaaait so is lan chang aka jian lan that girl from book 2 we took a page to talk about and then disappeared? that has to be it why else would we have stopped to discuss her

“Jian Lan spat on his face, then choking his neck, she slapped him twice again. “WHAT SHITTY SUPREME! YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO BLOW YOURSELF UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THINK YOU’RE EVEN WORTH TO BE THOUGHT OF AS EQUALS WITH THE OTHER THREE SUPREMES? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOOD AT? YOUR THICK SKIN? OF COURSE I DARE HIT YOU!” - oh this feels so good i cant lie. YES GET HIM!! CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE YES!!!!

okay this description of cuocuo.... im... that sure the hell is a creature

this book is so entertaining bc i already saw spoilers for the feng xin/jian lan/cuo cuo reveal and yet i could never have predicted the circumstances that brought it about. imagine being feng xin. the heavens are in an uproar and your only friend/enemy has been jailed for possible fetus spirit-related crimes but he escapes along with this female ghost who keeps causing problems. you figure “fuck it lets see if dianxia kept his old phone number” and he has but then he hangs up on you. you’ve got fuckall else to do so you go find him. mu qing is there but he’s in his disguise the two of you were using so you could watch over his highness while staying aloof. you think you see hua cheng only he’s a chiild for some goddamn reason but who knows at this point. the female ghost is also there and theres a fetus spirit climbing trees and biting your arrows in half. you realize the female ghost is your ex and the little demon is your son. it bites you. what do you do

amazing that despite everything going on everyone is still playing along with the “fu yao” persona when it would probably be easier to drop pretenses at this point. then again tbh if i could explain my actions to my friends while pretending to be a third party.... i probably would so.. carry on

“With all his devotees gone, only Feng Xin still treated him like the Flower-Crowned Martial God and His Highness the Crown Prince. ” “...his protection charms were all seen as trash. However, Feng Xin was still determined and tireless in handing them out; telling Xie Lian, look, you still have devotees.” “After all, he was the darling of the heavens since birth, high and mighty. Feng Xin so naturally spun around him like he was the world, so how could he possibly have his own life, his own heart” “Whether or not that fetus spirit was Feng Xin’s son, if it was that period of poverty that made Feng Xin lose the girl he loved, Xie Lian wouldn’t be able to forgive himself no matter what." ohhhh my god this relationship i. im...

oh my god i still have 30 more chapters until book 4............ its naptime now i think

[elena-reina]

Mudblood Part 2 - Draco Malfoy x Reader

Request: I read your Draco Malfoy x Mudblood Reader oneshot and was wondering if you could do a part 2 to it? I don't care what it is about, just make it have a bunch of fluff in it! I really need something to read before the ACT tomorrow. Love your writing! - hopefulprofessoreggsathlete

A/N: I’m so sorry I took long to get to this, but I’m sure you did great on your ACT!

Warnings: fluffffff, fluff, and more fluff

Part 1

A soft rubbing on your back woke you up from a dreamless sleep as an arm glided across your waist and pulled you close. Draco leaned forward, lightly nudging his head into the crook of your neck, leaving peppering kisses on your jawline, leading up to your cheek. Stretching, you turned around and met his gaze. Draco’s stormy eyes blinked slowly, watching you in admiration.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered in his raspy morning voice, pulling you closer by your waist. Your hands were on his chest and your legs were tangled with his, as both your heads were laying on the pillow, facing each other.

You, still waking up, gave a weak smile. “G’morning.”

You could not believe that this is actually happening right now. In less than 24 hours, Draco was one of the most horrid boys to walk the Earth, and now here you are in his bed... cuddled up with him... in only your underwear and his t-shirt.

I know what you are thinking, no you did not have sex with him. You cannot move that quickly with barely finding out about his nice side. A little part of you still does not really believe that he “loves you,” especially after what was spoken just the night before. Feelings cannot change that quickly, and well for someone who is as well known as Draco, others are definitely not going to take it lightly. After all, it was just last night where he called you all those horrid names...

“You honestly think a nobody like you would be able to reach someone as famous as my father? You truly are pathetic!” he hissed, “I would gladly call him over to Hogwarts just so he can look at your pitiful, mudblood self. You are a disgrace to pure blooded Slytherin’s.”

Tears pricked in your eyes as he stared back at you.

“But by all means, call him. I’d love to see you make a fool of yourself. And while you’re at it, you mind as well go and kill yourself since that seems to be all that you’d be good for,” he spat.

Those words played over and over in your head. Even though Draco swore he did not mean it, a little part of you believes there must be some kind of truth to it. And yes, you said you forgave him, but did you really? Can one measly apology out-rule all the other times he has tormented you?

“Are you hungry? We can go to the Great Hall and-”

He paused noticing your face grimacing into displeasure.

“What’s wrong?”

You avoided eye contact and instead looked down at your hands on his chest. “I don’t know,” you muttered.

“Y/N, tell me what’s wrong.”

You shook your head.

He leaned down and kissed your cheek. “Please,” and then he kissed your ear, “Please.”

You got shivers just from that, and tears pricked in your eyes. You did not know how to feel. A part of you wanted to let go of everything and just enjoy the moment of you feeling loved by somebody you never thought in a million years would happen, and another part of you wanted to scream and cry and let it all out, telling him off.

“I just.. I don’t believe you,” you whispered.

Furrowing his eyebrows, he leaned back a bit to get a better look at you, but you refused to look at him.

“You don’t believe me? Believe me about what?” he asked genuinely confused. You huffed and sat up, swinging your legs over his bed. Your feet danged as you had your back facing Draco. You looked down at your bare legs swinging back and forth.

“About you and me,” you said.

“What about us?” he spoke, sitting up and scooting over towards you. He placed his hands on your shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. You could feel his breath fanning on your neck and he placed a soft kiss to it. “You don’t believe my feelings for you are real?”

You quickly stood up and walked to the opposite side of the room, and turned to face him with your arms crossed. Draco watched you attentively, waiting for you to speak.

“I don’t know, Draco! I find it weird that I am even calling you by your first name and not your last name! Just yesterday you were calling me fat, and useless, and,” you paused, taking a shaky breath, “A mudblood who should just kill herself.”

Hearing those words come out of your mouth, made Draco hurt on the inside. He had called you those names, and he instantly regretted it. He stood up from his bed and walked towards you. He stood towering over you and took your hands into his. He brought them up to his lips and pressed a chaste kiss to your knuckles. Pulling away, he looked into your eyes and spoke.

“I know, and I am so sorry for everything that I have said or done to you-”

Tears threatened to spill from your eyes. “Stop it! How do I know if you are even telling the truth, or playing with my feelings, be-because you can’t just switch up on a person and-”

He quickly bent down and pressed his lips to yours, shutting you up. The kiss was gentle and passionate, the opposite of Draco’s hard exterior. He pulled away and lifted your chin to get a good look into your eyes.

“Listen to me when I say this, Y/N, I know how I’ve acted before-”

“Literally yesterday, Draco.”

He took a breath. “Yesterday,” he corrected, “But, I swear to you on Merlin, I did not mean to go as far as I did. I utterly regret treating you the way I did. Is there anything I could possibly do to make you forgive me?”

You chewed on your bottom lip and a smirk slowly spread across your face. “Perhaps.”

“What is it? Anything for you,” he reassured.

“Get on your knees,” you began. He furrowed his eyebrows but eventually bent down on his knees and gazed up at you, waiting for your next command. “Hm.. now dance.”

He rolled his eyes. “Dance? Really, Y/N?”

You folded your arms around your chest and turned to walk away. “Well if you’re not gonna do it then I guess I could just leave-”

“Ah ah ah, stop. Not like that you aren’t,” he motioned towards what you were wearing. Still being in just your underwear and his t-shirt, you didn’t care. You could walk out into the common room and just flash everyone. But deep down, you didn’t have to worry because you knew Draco was going to do what you say.

“Then dance on your knees,” you smirked. He huffed, running his hand down his face.

“The things I do for you,” he muttered under his breath. He stuck his arms out and began to move them in a rhythmic way of which you guess resembled some kind of odd dancing. It honestly was very cringe, but he was trying his best.

You bit harder on your lip to try and suppress your laughter. “Okay, now you have to go and do that in front of Harry Potter.”

He immediately stopped and shook his head. “No bloody way. I am not-”

“So you don’t care about me then?” you frowned cutting him off. He let out a loud groan and stood up, walking towards you.

“I care about you so very much, I just... ugh. I will only ever do this once and don’t you dare ask me to do it again,” he huffed, not believe what he was about to go do. He was actually going to do it. This brought a blush to your cheeks. You laughed and shook your head.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, unamused.

“I’m just joking, Draco. I’m not going to make you do that in front of your worst enemy,” you smiled.

He let out a breath of relief and wrapped his arms around your waist lifting you up. Squealing, you quickly wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist for support. You pressed your nose to his and gazed into his silver eyes.

“I love you, Y/N. I mean it,” he spoke, “And I don’t expect you to say it back. Say it whenever you are ready, okay?”

This time, you pressed your lips to his and pulled away. “Okay. But what about your friends and me being a mudblood.”

“Don’t you worry about them, and forget I ever called you that. You are perfect in my eyes. If any of them ever give you any trouble, you come straight to me and let me handle it, alright?”

You smiled warmly. “Alright.”

Walking back over to his bed, he sat down with you on his lap. “Now,” he spoke, “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

[nekomassetters]

Twenty Five

"Shut up she's gonna hear you!"

You find yourself waking up from whatever dream you have after hearing a small "click" and giggles from the voices of your teammates.

"Shhh she's waking up!"

As your eyes flutter open, you make out the figures of Ritsuko, Namakura, Mito, and even Taka standing over you and smiling like idiots while looking at someone's phone.

"Is that my-"

"Oh Y/N!" Ritsuko exclaims as she passes the phone to Nakamura, "you're up! By the way, did you ask Kenma out yet?"

"Seriously Ritsu why are you making me ask him out. I don't want to give him the wrong impression," you say groggily as you start to sit up.

Nakamura then passes the phone back to Ritsuko who shows you the phone. You see a picture of you asleep from just a few minutes ago before Ritsuko turns the phone back to face her.

"Not funny," you groan as you reach out your hand, expecting them to give you back the phone.

You watch as the girls crowd around your phone once more. Their eyes widening in excitement as they watch Ritsuko do something on your phone. Taka lets out a gasp which forces you to reflexively jump up and grab the phone from your teammate's hands.

"What the hell did you do?" you groan as you unlock the phone.

As the girls giggle, you open your phone to see the same picture of you asleep in your text conversation with Kenma.

"What the fuck?" you growl at the four girls before you.

"Once you ask out Kenma, we'll leave you alone," Nakamura teases as she sends you a wink.

"You're all the worst," you grumble as you try to push past them.

However, Ritsuko and Mito's hands on your shoulders halt you from getting past.

"Fine!" you shout out as you push them away from you, "I'll do it at lunch."

📷

"Sooo," you hear someone call from behind you.

As you're trying to get your lunch, your friends are already waiting for you to do as they wish.

You roll your eyes and turn around to see your four friends smirking in anticipation at you, waiting for the show to begin. After not getting a response from you, they once again remind you of what you promised would happen during today's lunch.

"Oh my god, I know! You are all bitches," you say as you shove your lunch towards Taka, "I'll do it and get it over with so you can finally leave me alone."

Without putting much thought into what you are going to say, you scan the room until your eyes meet with Kuroo's wild black hair. You begin to approach him, seeing Kenma sitting across from him as the pair begins eating.

"Hey Kuroo," you greet as you put your hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Y/N where's your lunch?" he asks sweetly as if he's genuinely concerned for your eating habits.

"I just came over here super quick don't worry," you reply as you tousle his hair.

This instantly catches Kenma's attention. The male across from where you stand now locks his gaze into yours. For a brief moment, you're at a loss of words as your heart skips a beat from nerves.

"Kenma I was gonna ask if you were okay with going out with me, Akaashi, Ritsuko, Taka, and Rooster-head here," you say with a smile.

Fukunaga and Yaku, the two sitting on either side of the setter, begin shaking him in excitement. You hear them mutter small cheers and answers for him to repeat back to you in case he isn't sure of what to say. However, for the longest time, Kenma just stares back at you.

As you observe Kenma, you think you see the smallest bit of pink cross his cheeks. It quickly dissolves though once he nods and agrees to your proposal.

Immediately, Kenma goes back to eating to avoid embarrassment from his friends who are staring at him in shock.

"Cool," you say as you once more mess up Kuroo's hair, "see ya later then."

You begin to walk towards where your annoying friends have chosen to eat. You can't help but feel a bit weird about the way Kenma reacted to your question considering that he's typically more verbal around you, but quickly shake it off as you sit down.

"Oh my god, how did it go!" Nakamura squeals as you sit beside Taka.

"Fine," you shrug, "it's seriously not a big deal."

"But it is!" Taka chimes in, "you're literally the best for setting this up for us and I'm so glad you're going!"

Taka gives you a side hug as you stare at the rest of your friends who are looking at you as if you're a homeless puppy.

Remind me not to let Taka spend too much time around these jerks.

"Alright losers," you hear your coach's voice boom across the gym just in time to save you from the conversation you were having, "once you're done eating make your way into the boys' gym. We're finally going to have our real match!"

You look across at the table where Kuroo and Kenma were eating. You watch as Kuroo's face lights up in excitement and say something to Kenma, resulting in his face turning bright red. The rest of the table stares between Kuroo and Kenma at the weird exchange, waiting for a response from either party.

Instead of responding, Kenma stands up and makes his way out of the gym. Your eyes follow him until the doors close. Once you turn your gaze back to the table, you see a few pairs of eyes already staring back at you.

📷

"Yo," your coach beams excitedly as she walks up to your team, "you're all gonna be competin' against the boys so Tamura-sensei from the Fukurodani girls' team and I came up with our best possible starting line up."

Your coach begins explaining to your big collective team who will be starting as well as those who aren't. When she arrives at the setter position, you look over at Taka who's face is already showing clear defeat.

Trying not to feel too bad, you look away and listen to your coach as she explains that Akaashi is the starting setter for the other team.

"I dunno," she grumbles, clearly having a different opinion from the other coaches, "something to do with the damn ace."

Your coach then reveals that you will be the starting setter for your team. You and Taka both thank your coach for her evaluation and proceed to warm up.

"Too bad Kenma won't be setting," Ritsuko nudges as she walks over to you, "but at least you know where his eyes will be the whole time."

Instead of letting your emotions get the better of you, a brief flashback takes over your mind to the weird way that Kenma responded to you asking him out before.

I thought he was going to get the wrong idea from it, but maybe he really is fine just being friends with benefits too.

📷

For the majority of the game, both sides were pretty much tied. Currently, one set has been awarded to each team.

As you get ready to block a ball from Fukurodani's ace, you hear a loud cracking noise that brings everyone's focus to one person.

"Shit," you hear Akaashi's low voice complain as his legs give out, landing him on the floor.

At almost the same time, you hear a small, high-pitched squeak coming from behind you. You recognized the voice of Taka right away as everybody witnesses Akaashi's fall to the ground.

Once Akaashi gets escorted off to a bench by Fukurodani's ace, Kenma gets substituted in. Kenma then takes his position nearby you, sending you a quick smile before going into game mode.

His brief grin takes you back for a moment as it sinks in that he actually smiled... at you. It wasn't the first time he'd done that, but lately you felt as though Kenma was becoming less interested in you which means he'd have no reason to give you a friendly smile.

📷

Now three points behind the boys' team in match point, the next ball will decide your teams' fate.

Keeping your eyes fixated on Kenma as he decides who he should set to, you guess that he will be sending the ball to Bokuto, who had just gotten out of his emo mode.

Rushing to block the ace, you swiftly turn to see Kenma jump up and set the ball over the net himself

The whistle blows, resulting in the end of the game. You feel as though time is passing in slow motion as you keep your eyes glued onto the setter who's now being bombarded by his teammates.

The deep yells of the boys rushing towards Kenma ring in your ears as Kenma ignores them all to keep his gaze on you. Once more letting his lips curve upwards, you realize his smile isn't friendly at all. It's a sadistic grin meant to torment you over the loss you just caused.

"Don't worry bout it sis," Mito says as she pats your back, "none of us saw that coming either."

The two of you stand in silence as the boys continue to cheer on Kenma for their victory.

However, as you turn back to face the rest of your team, you fail to notice Kenma trying to shake his teammates off of him so as to walk in your direction.

[oswildin]

Don’t You See? {Part One} ~ Dhawan!Master x F!Raeder

~ I KNOW IM BEING REALLY BAD AND WRITING IMAGINES THAT I HAVE STUCK IN MY HEAD BEFORE POSTING THE REQUESTS YA’LL HAVE MADE, I PROMISE ONE IS COMING TODAY! ~

Summary: You’ve known the Master for years. You’ve fought him with the Doctor time and time again, yet he always comes back.

Warnings: Some crude implications hahahaha

Part Two - https://oswildin.tumblr.com/post/610934402369880064/dont-you-see-part-two-dhawanmaster-x

You had known the Doctor a long time. She was your best friend. You were always the one that stood by her. You watched her as she lost her companions one by one. You would feel her pain every time she showed up to your door, defeated once more. It was the curse of living such a long and reckless life.

You’d met her in her tenth form. She’d just lost Rose back then, and was quite withdrawn and lonely. You were there ensuring she was ok. Although you didn’t know it at the time, you would be one of the lucky ones that stuck around. Many died or left the Doctor. You on the other hand decided to keep a healthy balance between life on Earth and life with the Doctor. Maybe that’s how you survived for so long with her.

You also knew the Master. You’d met him when he was Harold Saxon, trying to destroy the Earth. He’d kept tabs on you, knowing you were on the Doctor’s loyalist friends. You were aboard the valiant as Martha travelled the planet below. You had hated the Master, hated what he had done. He was selfish, cruel and most of all cowardly, everything the Doctor taught you not to be.

Of course, he would never admit he was cowardly. But you saw behind the mask, the hard cold exterior. You knew deep down he was just a scared little boy who went mad. You saw what the Doctor could see. Not many humans were able to do that. It interested him, but most of all frustrated him endlessly.

You watched him die in the Doctor’s arms. You watched the Doctor burn his body as you stayed with the Doctor, comforting them as they mourned for their oldest friend. Life was never simple, and neither were the people in it.

You saw the Master again as Gallifrey tried to return into the universe, crushing Earth with it. You watched as the Master finally stood beside the Doctor, sending the Timelords back into the Timelock. You were also there when Missy showed up, trying to stand with the Doctor, but ending up being abandoned. You couldn’t help but somewhat feel for the Timelord. All that torment they had endured, and really all they wanted was their friend back, in their own twisted way of course.

When you were offered a job at MI6 due to your previous work with U.N.I.T, you were shocked, confused and wondered how on Earth they’d even considered you for a job. You weren’t an agent, nor a specialist in any field of any kind, you were a regular person, just with experience of alien life; not that MI6 even believed in any of that. You reluctantly took the position, deciding perhaps it was time for a change within the world of MI6. Perhaps this was a change to reform U.N.I.T or maybe even Torchwood.

Your first day was not what you had expected. You were sat behind a desk, filing paperwork and getting agents their coffees. One small step for mankind, you suppose. You sighed to yourself as you tapped your pen against the paperwork in front of you.

“Hey-“

You jumped slightly at the new voice as you peered up, pretending to look somewhat busy as you saw who the voice belonged to. It was a darker skinned man, with brown eyes and dark hair with slight stubble. He was quite attractive you noted as you gazed up at him. Not quite. Scrap that. Very attractive. What? You were allowed to look weren’t you?

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to make you jump.” He commented as you shrugged, slowly picking your jaw off the floor as you shook your head, waving him off.

“My fault. Daydreaming.” You told him, a small smile on your lips. “Bad habit of mine. I don’t always pay attention to my surroundings.” You muttered as you began to idly move the paper work in front of you about.

“Guessing you’re the newbie?” He asked as you noted he also had a file of paper work in his hands.

“I prefer the term sucker.” You teased as you realised how it had sounded, face palming. “I mean, sucker because I’m getting dumped with the paper work, not because I didn’t anything- You know- To get here.” You awkwardly cleared your throat as you mentally cursed yourself. The man wore a small smile as he stared down at you. “Sorry.” You coughed as you felt your cheeks warm up.

“I understood what you meant.” He laughed lightly, before handing you the file that he was holding. “Sorry. If it helps, I was you a few months ago.” He told you. “Fetching the drinks, doing the work no one wanted to do...” He trailed off as you took the file from him, standing from your desk.

“And now look at you.” You raised a brow. “Giving your unwanted paperwork to the new you.” You joked as he almost awkwardly began to apologise as you waved it off. “I’m joking. Don’t worry.” He instantly relaxed as you gave him a comforting smile. “I’m K.” You held out your free hand for him to shake.

“O.” He told you as he shook your hand.

“Unlucky.” You commented at his name. “So every time something goes wrong, and someone mutters ‘oh for gods sake’, do you think they’re talking to you?” You joked as he almost rolled his eyes at your comment. “Sorry, needed to get it out my system.”

“K.” He nodded sharply as you smirked at him.

“Nicely done.” You laughed lightly at his retort.

You didn’t know why, but something about this man felt oddly familiar, but you couldn’t place it. You would often find yourself glancing at him from across the office as you zoned out. You would have to snap yourself out of it as you tried to press on with your duties.

“K-“ You looked up seeing one of your colleagues staring down at you. Ugh, M. You hated M with a passion. He was cocky, arrogant and just downright irritating. How you wished you could wipe that smile off his face... “I need you to get me a coffee. Black, two sugars.” He went to turn away before turning back. “Oh, and be a doll and grab us a sandwich whilst you’re there. Preferably a BLT.” He added as you forced a tight smile. “Pronto.” You groaned to yourself as the man walked away. He was always sending you on stupid errands. The worst part was, he didn’t even do anything that important. He would just sit there and flirt with as many women around the office as possible, and there wasn’t many women around either, so it was a quick rotation every few hours of rejection.

O watched you closely as you grabbed your coat and bag, seeing the irritation on your features as you huffed to yourself. You’d been there a month and still hadn’t been given anything good to work on. Why bother hiring you if they just wanted a coffee girl? You missed O’s stare as you exited the office.

You returned as quickly as you could, almost out of breath by the time you had reached the office. You walked up to M’s desk as you placed down the coffee and sandwich on his desk. He peered up from his paper work as he looked down in front of him. He sighed as he picked up the sandwich packet.

“I said BLT.” He muttered out as you fought the urge to roll your eyes.

“They didn’t have any left. This was all they had.” You told him sternly as he went to grab the cup, feeling the luke warm coffee through the paper cup.

“Why isn’t this piping hot?” He raised a brow as you bit your tongue. By this point, O had peered up from his desk, watching the interaction.

“Because I had to walk 5 minutes back with it, then up the stairs because the lift is out of order. Plus it’s not exactly summer outside if you hadn’t noticed.” You told him, folding your arms over your chest. You turned away from him, feeling your anger rising.

“No wonder they haven’t given you any assignments yet. You can’t even get a lunch order correct.” M muttered as you stopped in your tracks. That was it. You had had enough. You turned back on your heel, marching up to his desk as you grabbed his coffee from off it, opening the lid as you threw it all over his expensive suit. You crushed the cup, slamming it down on his desk. He looked up in shock, swearing at you as you walked away. By this point, everyone in the room had been watching. The women were smirking as the others looked shocked. O tried to suppress his smile as you took your seat back down at your desk. He liked the fire inside of you.

After that, M never asked you for lunch orders again. You began getting real assignments, and was slowly making your way up the ranks. You hadn’t seen the Doctor for a while. You felt bad, but knew she was with the fam, as she liked to call them. You would occasionally get a WhatsApp message from the traveller, usually a very bad selfie with her wearing a stupid hat. You had to laugh at that. You and O had began to work on assignments together. You didn’t know why they paired you with him. He wasn’t exactly a very experienced agent, no offence to him. Either way, you were thankful. O was lovely. He was kind, funny and even a little bit sexy.

You weren’t field agents, but that was something you wanted to work up to. That adrenaline and adventure, the same things you experienced with the Doctor. You couldn’t stay away from that life forever, normal life was boring.

So when you received a voice note from the Doctor saying there was a crisis, you were happy to drop everything and help. But what you didn’t realise was, O had received a very similar voice note.

“Wait-“ You looked at him confused, hearing him play the voice memo aloud at his desk. “How did you get that?” You inquired, raising a brow.

“It’s from a friend.” He furrowed his brows, looking confused at you.

“Yeah I know. My friend.” You narrowed your eyes.

“What? You know the Doctor?!” He whisper shouted as you widened your eyes in surprise.

“You know the Doctor?!” You asked in return, pointing at him. He quickly stood from his desk as he took you into the corridor, away from all the prying eyes. “How do you know her?”

“I met her once years ago. Never mind that, how do you know her?” He asked, raising a brow. You sighed, rubbing your forehead with your hand.

“I travel with her.” You told him truthfully. No point in hiding it now.

“You what?!” He asked, excitement evident in his eyes as you hushed him, people walking past, giving you both strange looks.

“Yes! I travel with her in her blue box. Have done for years.” You folded your arms. “Why is she messaging you?”

“I don’t know. Something about a crisis and she needs my help?” He shrugged, seemingly as clueless as you. “All I know is, we need to go to Australia.” You furrowed your brows in confusion.

“How does that come into the equation?” You asked quietly.

“I’ve been doing some work on the side... C told me to drop it, but I knew there was something up with it!” You’d never seen him so ecstatic. “I knew it was alien.” He smiled widely as you couldn’t help but smile with him.

“Welcome to my life.” You breathed out. “Right. Come on then. Show me these findings of yours.”

The next thing you knew, you were in the outback. Good old Australia. Luckily O had more tricks up his sleeve. He had told you he’d been on the case for years, even living in the outback, taking trips there to further his research. You were impressed at his commitment to say the least. He was determined.

Then, before you knew it, the Doctor showed up, Graham following behind. The Doctor looked confused as she spotted you behind O, furrowing her brows and scrunching up her face in thought.

“Yeah, so... I kinda work for MI6 now.” You told her shortly as Graham whistled in shock.

“Not bad, eh Doc?” He commented as he grinned at you. “Hey, I bet the pays good ennit?” He joked as you smiled at him. It had been a while since you’d seen her and the fam. It was nice to see them again.

You sat at the computers, trying to trace the signal of the creatures somehow. After your close encounter with multiple of them, you wanted to get to the bottom of where they had come from. But nothing. There was no trace whatsoever. The Doctor was having the same trouble.

“How’s it going?” O asked as you peered up at him, looking somewhat defeated.

“Great. That’s why I’m bouncing off the walls with excitement.” You sarcastically commented as he gave you a small comforting smile.

“So... the Doctor...” He folded his arms, leaning against the table. “How much do you know about her?” He inquired as you raised a brow at his question.

“Enough.” You told him shortly. “More than what those guys do at least.” You nodded to the fam as they chatted with their alien friend. “And I don’t mean that in a ‘I was here first’ kind of way either.” You reassured him as he nodded.

“I may have lied to you... a little bit.” He told you as you looked confused. “See that shelf over there.” You turned to where he was pointing, seeing a shelf stacked full of files. “That’s information, all about the Doctor...” He told you. “Been collecting it for years.” He said as you slowly realised what he was getting at.

“You know who I am.” You told him quietly, turning back to him. “All along, you’ve known who I am.” You looked confused, and somewhat upset.

“It was just coincidence you joined MI6 after I did. You know what they say about a small world...” He told you as you slowly relaxed, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, I suppose.” You hummed. “Or something else is going on...” You thought aloud. “I’ve learnt that people don’t just meet each other without reason... Especially in the situation we met...” You trailed off as he watched you intently. “Oh well!” You exclaimed, getting up from your seat. “Guess we’ll find out eventually!” You forced a smile as you walked back towards the others, missing the dark expression that had made its way onto O’s face.

“Come on, son!” Graham exclaimed as O ran towards the plane that was about to take off. You were just in front as you managed to board the plane, holding your hand out for O. Luckily for you all, he made it in time, being helped up by you and Graham as the Doctor closed the door.

“Sorry. I've never been good at sprinting.” O breathed out, trying to regain his composure as the Doctor furrowed, looking confused.

“What?” She asked as everyone ignored her, trying to move away from the back end of the plane.

“Come on, Doctor. We're about to take off.” Ryan exclaimed as everyone tried to catch their breath.

“In the main cabin!” The Doctor told them all as they made their way through all the seats. You sighed as you threw yourself down on one of the front seats, feeling your chest hurt from your heavy breathing. God, you didn’t realise how long it had been since you had been running into danger.

“Never been good at sprinting?” The Doctor looked over at O as he leant on the seats. He shook his head.

“I was the last one in every race at school.” He huffed out, causing the Doctor to scrunch her face in confusion.

“No, no, no. I read your file. You were a champion sprinter.” She commented as you peered over at the pair, seeing O zone out for a brief moment, before a darker expression replaced his once soft features.

“Mmm. Got me. Well done.” He almost smirked, as his voice even changed, turning darker, more confident.

“What’s going on, Doc?” Graham asked, confused as everyone else. You narrowed your eyes, seeing the utter confusion on the Doctor’s face, something that often happened, but this time it was different. It was like she had a feeling about it all.

“You'd best take a look out of the window.” O said as you gazed at him, before turning towards the window on your left, looking out as you saw the shelter you had called home for the last month or so.

“How's your house out there?” Graham furrowed his brows, turning to look at O for an explantation. Yaz and Ryan stayed quiet as they tried to understand what was happening.

“Bit Wicked Witch of the West, but you get the gist. Maybe. Maybe not.” O said casually, placing a hand on his hip dramatically as he twirled back round to face the humans. You looked over at the Doctor as she shook her head. There it was again. That feeling of familiarity around the man in question. “Oh, come on, Doctor, catch up.” O encouraged, snapping his fingers. “You can do it. Come on.”

“Oh!” The Doctor gasped, her mouth agape as she held onto the seats beside her for balance.

“That's...that's my name, and that is why I chose it.” O grinned, taking a breath. “Oh, so satisfying.” He raised his brows. “Doctor, I did say look for the spymaster. Or should I say spy...” He paused, his smirk falling. “Master?” You felt fear creep up inside of you. It couldn’t be. Could it? “Hi.” He waved at the gang as you furrowed your brows. O was a lie. It was a mask... You had fallen for it... and him. You felt your heart shatter as you tried to clear your mind, but thoughts proceeded to race through it.

“You can't be.” The Doctor said quietly, looking almost annoyed at the fact he had come back into her life.

“Oh, I can be. I very much am.” The Master stepped forwards as you felt fear being in such close proximity of the Timelord. You almost shuffled further away, as far as you could.

“But I met O!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Years ago.” She narrowed her eyes, trying to wrap her head around everything.

“I know!” The Master cried, before manically laughing. There it was, that sound that had haunted you for years. You shivered are the sound. But it was all starting to make sense... Why you were employed by MI6... Assigned to cases with O... or the Master you should say. You held your head in your hands. “And I had so much fun playing O! So much!” He exclaimed, grinning. “Had a helping hand with (Y/N) getting her little job there.” He commented as the Doctor glanced over at you. “Playing the supportive friend.” He continued as you looked up at him, eyes sad. “The nerdy heartthrob.” He smirked, sending you a wink as you shook your head at him in disbelief.

“Why?” The Doctor narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t need to drag her into it!” She exclaimed, feeling protective over her friend.

“Oh but I did Doctor...” He stalked towards the fellow Timelord. “To get to you of course... The easiest way.”

“I need to warn Barton.” The Doctor realised, pushing her way past the Master as he balanced himself on the seats behind him. “He’s not here!” She called back to the others. “Where’s Barton?!” She exclaimed, popping her head back into the main cabin as the Master faked panic, twirling around as he muttered to himself, before throwing himself down next to you.

“Who’s flying the plane?!” Graham asked, furrowed brows.

“Wrong question.” The Master told him, as you looked at him as he sat beside you. “Check the seat.” He told the Doctor as she quickly turned, seeing the bomb that was sat once where Barton was. He looked over at you as you felt your body freeze under his intense stare.

“What have you done?” You asked him quietly, shaking your head. He smirked at you before pushing himself off the seat.

“Cockpit bomb. Short fuse. I can relate to that.” He smiled as the others watched from afar. The Doctor tried to sonic the bomb, much to the Master’s annoyance as he flipped instantly. “Now, do you really think that I would not make that sonic-proof, Doctor?” He exclaimed. “Come on!” He body shook as he shouted, causing your eyes to widen. “Deadlock sealed. And I made sure - no parachutes on board.” He smirked, leaning against the overhead storage.

“But where’s Barton?!” Yaz asked, growing impatient with the Master’s game.

“Called away before takeoff. By me!” He grinned, glancing over his shoulder at the girl. He then turned to look at you as you looked at him from around the seats. “Stick with me (Y/N), cos I control... everything.” He breathed out, relaxing his body. “Even these guys.” He whistled, clicking his fingers as he twirled around, two of the creatures appearing behind him as he smiled madly.

“I can't do it! Get away!” The Doctor’s voice called as she ran back into the main cabin, closing the door behind her as she used her body to shield as much of the blast as possible. She flew forward as it exploded, landing on the ground beside you as you also flew down, with the others.

“Ha!” The Master cried, the chaos around him thrilling him. He looked down at the Doctor, standing over her threateningly. “One last thing. Something you should know in the seconds before you die.” He leaned down to the Doctor, looking her in the eye. “Everything that you think you know... is a lie.” He breathed out, his expression looking tired and saddened for a second before returning to his hard gaze. “Got you, finally.” He smirked, before vanishing, the creatures rushing at the Doctor, leaving the four humans alone on the crashing plane.

~

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[ask-toa-hahli]

Noctilio

Part 3: The Torment 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Hahli’s head jerked up when she heard the sudden request. She was sitting on her knees in her side-garden as her head turned to see Gavla leaning heavy against the bamboo gate. The small Boggarak took advantage of this distraction to tug the rest of her rope toy out of the Toa’s grip, retreating with it to a more darkly clustered group of plants.

It had been just over a week since Gavla had started coming over to Ga-Koro nearly everyday. By now, the Toa felt  mostly comfortable enough to leave her to her own devices here and occasionally checked in on her. This however, was the first time the Av-Matoran approached the water Toa on her own accord, which Hahli was quick to mentally note. Already she was feeling excited over Gavla’s progress so far, but she attempted to keep her voice from sounding too eager.

“Of course. You can ask me anything,” Hahli replied.

Idly, Gavla glanced at a plant growing by the base of the gate.

“Well, everyone here mentioned that you’re close friends with some fire Toa.” She threw out in a rather straightforward manner.

Caught off guard with that remark, Hahli hoped her mask was blocking any hints of color on her face. While she was realistic enough to know that as a Toa her village would be talking about such private things, she still very much wished that they wouldn’t.

“Um… yes…” Hahli coughed and tried not to look away. “They’re probably referring to my friend Jaller, my team leader. He and I have been good friends since we were Matoran.” She explained, trying to be appropriately open and honest.

Gavla listened, she then reached down and started to slowly tear off small pieces of leaf from the nearby plant. “So then… how do you know if it’s real?”

The Toa paused.

“...What?” Hahli asked, unsure of where this was going.

The Av-Matoran began tearing off bigger pieces. “I mean, how do you know that he’s really your friend? How do you know he’s not pretending and faking it?”

This puzzled the water user; but she did her best to give a genuine answer. “I guess the best I can describe it… you see it’s sorta something you both know and feel in a way… Like I’ve said, I’ve known Jaller for a long while and we’ve been through a lot together, just like I have with my other friends-”

“But how do you know for sure? That they aren’t just doing it to get back at you later?” Gavla insisted as she shredded the last parts of the plant’s stem.

Hahli looked on at the Matoran perplexed. “...Gavla,” she said finally as she shifted and stood up. “Is there a reason you’re asking me all this?”

Absently, Gavla continued to snap apart the now pulled up roots. For a few moments she was quiet before she uttered a strong “No.” Pushing herself from off the gate, she then quickly trotted down the walkway back towards the center of Ga-Koro.

The Toa watched carefully till the Matoran was out of sight. She then began to ponder if Gavla had been asking anyone else those same questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“You guys can quit it!”

Hahli turned around as she heard Gavla’s accosting voice. It had been hours since she last saw the Av-Matoran and she was just in the middle of returning home with a bag full of fish.

“Gavla, what are you talking about?” The Toa asked.

“This stupid game of your’s and everyone elses here! It may be funny to you, but I already had it drilled into me before, I don’t need it again.” The Matoran growled.

Hahli just felt more confused. “Really Gavla, I don’t know what you mean-”

“Don’t play dumb!” Gavla nearly shouted. “I know you and everyone here is just pretending to be nice for now… I already know that I can’t have friends, I don’t need you to set me and rub it in again!”

“That’s not true,” Hahli immediately responded back, feeling troubled by the accusations. “Believe me, no one is trying to trick you.”

“No, stop it!” The Av-Matoran’s bat-wings started to twitch and fidget heavily.

Increasingly concerned, Hahli quickly dropped her bag and slowly began to approach the girl. “Gavla,” she said, her voice level. “Calm down, there’s nothing going on…”

“I said stop it! Stop pretending!” Gavla yelled as she backed away from the Toa.

“Gavla…”

“I’m not going to let you hurt me!”

“Gavla-”

“I’m not letting you do that again!”

“Gavla, stop.” Hahli interrupted with a loud stern voice as she grabbed the Matoran’s shoulders, keeping her still. Once Gavla’s sudden silence assured her attention, the water Toa bent down so she could be at eye level.

“No one here is going to hurt you,” Hahli relayed in a softer tone. “I promise you that you’re safe.”

Stunned, Gavla stared back at the Toa, her breathing starting to come down. “But everyone being nice…”

“Is because they want to be nice and because they probably want to genuinely get to know you.” Hahli finished with reassurance as she relaxed her hold.

Gavla hesitated as her wings finally stopped their sporadic movements. “...Are you sure…”

“You have my word as a Toa,” the water user responded affirmingly.

The sounds of the village now seemed to amplify around them as the Av-Matoran became quiet, her eyes were still locked on the Toa.

“Look, I know it’s hard, but I’ve known these Ga-Matoran my whole life.” Hahli continued on with sympathy. “If there’s one thing you can ever trust me on it’s this, no one in this community would ever do something so horrible and cruel like that… They- we just want to help you.”

Gavla remained quiet, her breathing returning to inaudible levels again. “...Okay,” she let out in barely a whisper.

Taking her hands off the Matoran’s shoulders, Hahli gave the girl a warm smile. “Okay then.” As Gavla continued to stand still, the Toa added “I’m glad you’re here by the way, I just want you to know that.”

The Av- Matoran gave half a nod as she turned to look back at the center of the village, Hahli didn’t move from her side, but left her to think over whatever she needed to for several minutes.

Then gently as she could, Hahli brought it up. “Gavla, if there’s anything you need to talk about… if there’s anything that you’ve gone through or want to go over-”

Instantly Gavla tensed and she shot a glare back at the Toa.

“-I don’t mean now, whenever you’re ready to,” Hahli interjected quickly. “I’m just letting you know that I’m here if you ever want to talk.”

Galva settled back down a little, her gaze turned toward the ground. She mumbled, “... I probably should be heading back home now.”

“If that’s what you want,” Hahli replied. “But you’re also more than welcome to stay a little longer if you’d like.”

Slowly, Gavla looked back up towards the center of the village, where giggling and laughing Ga-Matoran were getting on with their chores and talking about the day's events. She then eyed the entrance that led up down the beach. After some indecisiveness, her wings flapped and she headed in the direction of the gathered Ga-Matoran.

Hahli watched as Kai waved over to Gavla eagerly, bringing her into the group.

Satisfied, the Toa got back up and returned to the front of her hut to address the current issue of Iara pulling the still live fish all out of her bag on the ground.

She hummed a light tune as she started the task at hand, even as a spark of fire burned within her.

Mata Nui, whoever hurt that girl better pray that I never come across them!