#and must that hurt !! for once in her life she was better at empathizing than someone else

[sunnydayaoe]

cutie patooties

[welcome-to-oslov]

Aw so amazing Ch.8 is already up! Thank you again for all your writing 🙌

Real quick before I read the latest, wanted to share my thoughts on Tilrey Ch.7 too 🤗

He is so tender! 🥹

His thoughts are spinning everywhere, even though he's calm. Whispering to Stefan, "It's okay, they're afraid to hurt you now." Empathizing with the bad memories he must have looking at their faces. Thinking of Ceill and how he must do this to protect him.

Hating himself for having been sad when upstarts don't see & treat him as a person, and hating himself for having been happy when they do -- like Davita is doimg now. The contrast between their rare good treatment of him vs. how his fundamental goodness is so natural to him: while they treat him terribly & only rarely care about him, he's the kind of person who could never leave Davita to die in that tunnel. The discomfort for him of that contrast.

I think when we think about & empathize a lot when someone else's feelings, a lot of us is trying to be kind to ourselves too - when it's too hard to be compassionate to ourselves, it's easier when we can see who we are/were through someone else.

Tilrey, who needs to believe they can't hurt him now. Tilrey, who's always felt so uncomfortable wity the memories their faces give him. Tilrey, who deserved to have been protected. Tilrey, who wonders if he's a fool for not being evil like them (spending his life worrying he is) -- while what's driving his courage is exactly that: that this world needs this evil removed and prevented from ever returning.

Tilrey!!!! 😭

I love what you say about how empathy is also a way of being compassionate to ourselves. I need to remember that thought! ❤️

And it’s so true for Tilrey. It’s easier for him to look at Stefan or Janta and say, “They deserved so much better” than it is for him to feel that way about himself. He’s still struggling with guilt and self-hatred. But his empathy is one of his strengths, I think, and it will help him in this final test.

It certainly confuses Davita—once she knows he’s a traitor, she can’t wrap her head around the fact that he didn’t leave her to die in the tunnel. But that’s just who he is.

[cosmama]

before his judge he stands : reaps chagrin for his crimes, the blasphemy committed by an heir of peacekeepers.  he spies your eyes, laden with a dolefulness towards your wayward child, who aimed to make use of the curse in his cells, the wrongness incarnated and crystallized in him, and with it, destroy what must be destroyed.  “ this rotten cycle needs to be broken, mother.  what good does it do with its mindless battle for balance going on an on ?  i’ve done my deeds for a new beginning, for hope, for all of us. -- i did it for you. ”

kinslayer ( noun ) : an individual who slays a member of their own family; kinslayers are believed to be cursed for eternity. // @apollynn

      the gauntlet had already been thrown between them centuries ago; her hands stained red with her own child’s blood from the very moment he had left the womb. the signs, as small and inconsistent as they were, had always been there ⎯ any doubt and suspicion drowned out by the sound of his innocent giggles or the warmth of his tiny hand intertwined with hers. he had always been a little too curious for his own good, too often in his own head but any concerns over it were fleeting and inconsequential. instead, in her ignorant, motherly bliss, she fully indulged every one of his oddities and quirks; filling his head with fairytales and sweet dreams about the wonders of the stars above over the cruel reality that hid in their depths. ( he is only a child. he is only a child. ) what harm could a little lie do when she, his mother and protector, had vowed that none of the violence and suffering she once endured would ever fall upon him as well?

      yet as she painfully stares at the man who called himself her son and listens as he coldly pleads to her about new beginnings and hope - she doesn’t know whether she should laugh or cry hysterically. he sounded...so much like her. back when she too stood at the galaxy's edge and pleaded to another to end the suffering before it could truly begin. but she had been wrong. usagi, the better her, had shown her the way. every part of her wanted to show him too, to talk him off the edge and convince him to be the boy she remembered rather than the man that had now nearly decimated the galaxy she had worked so hard to restore.

      but she says nothing. simply staring at him with remorse and hurt, a singular, unspoken question running through her mind while she unflinchingly hovers the blade of her own lance near the base of his throat: did i curse you by simply being your mother? the stars around them give no answer to her secret worry, only serving to act as a silent jury for this trial. their verdict, or was it hers, had already long been decided in truth. ( he is only a child. he is only a child. ) she and chaos, the untamable beast, had and will forever be linked in a toxic, delicate dance. it was deemed a necessary albatross across the many iterations of her life but when she had banished it to the depths of the cauldron once again, she never would've imaged that it would go so far as to plant itself in the star seed of her own unborn child, willingly grow within her, come to love her.

                                            i did it for you.

      ❛ i know archisei. i know. ❜ her voice is light and surprisingly even once she speaks at last, full of all the love and warmth she held for her son as she smiles softly at him - reminiscent to when she would tuck him in at night before he had deemed himself too old for such childish things. somehow, despite it all, she is still a god in all but name desperately trying to play the role of a mother all the way until the very end.

      ❛ but...we also both know the truth, don't we? ❜ she speaks almost in an empathic but scolding tone, watching as the eyes that so closely resembled her own in the past now burned with an intense fanaticism while he studied her in turn. her son, her supposed blessing, opted to remain silent, eyes only narrowing at her in understanding: she, both his mother and judge, had made her choice. his sentencing had begun. ❛ even after you destroy this cauldron, destroy our galaxy's very future, it would never stop here, would it? you would never be satisfied because it could never let you be. no, not until you've destroyed everything. ❜ she grew quiet after making her point, her own eyes closing when she lowers her weapon from his throat. it was never her intended target anyway.

      for a moment she hesitates, briefly wondering if whatever that drove him to go this far would actually be willing to kill her if necessary. the closest she gets to that answer is the twisted look of betrayal and hurt on his face when she reaches into his chest and snatches away his sailor crystal. she forces herself to look on impassively as he stumbles back from her in surprise, struggling to speak but choking on the air that still remained in his system now that his body, a lifeless husk, was rapidly disintegrating without its core. when he weakly reaches out his hand before he dissipates entirely, she's never quite if he was reaching for the crystal in her palm or the mother that had failed him. ( he was only a child. he was only a child. ) she had killed enough of her own throughout the war to learn the intricacies of how to shatter a star seed in one, swift motion. it was an act riddled in contradictions: an inherently invasive style of execution that could also be both merciful and painless if one chose for it to be.

or maybe that was just how she justified making killing another easier on herself.

      slowly, she walks towards the edge of the cliff that overlooked the galaxy cauldron and can't help but stare up at the stars for...something. anything. i did it for you, she nearly pleads to them like a child. yet they only blink back at her in indifference. she had just committed in their name and all she got was silence. swallowing the bile that threatens to build up in her throat, the mother clutches his sailor crystal close to her chest one final time before letting it fall from her hands and into the sea of stars below - the source of both of the endless cycle of her misery and happinesses.

      and now she stands at the very edge of creation alone once more, seemingly in a daze before the harsh reality of her actions begin to seep in - the mask she wore to hold herself together in the final moments between mother and child suddenly cracking. her knees start to slightly wobble before they finally buckle and collapse in on themselves, her body, a vessel of sorrow and ruin, crashing hard onto the rock below. her hands move to cover her mouth on their own, a fruitless attempt to silence the violent sobs that wreck her body as akari lets herself cry for the first time in centuries.

she hopes that next time, regardless of whatever form he takes, he hates her instead. maybe it will make the pain of all this easier.

[akagetsune]

You know, I've been thinking about some things recently. I've been reading fanfiction for several years and most of the time it's fluff. Sometimes angst. And quite often, the authors create an obstacle in the romantic relationship between the two main characters. Usually this is a girl / guy who is in love with one of the main characters or has some kind of feelings, but the feelings are obviously not mutual. Either this is a toxic asshole, less often it is an ordinary character who at the end admits that this is not mutual and if he is lucky, he also finds his soul mate.

But this is a rare case. And to be honest, it's a trigger for me. I was in a situation where love is not mutual. I was rejected. It happens. That's life. Dating someone out of pity is stupid, but if it's about love, not just crush, it's also absolutely not a situation where you say: “Well, it didn't work out and it's okay, everything is fine”. Because it’s not.

Speaking of fanfiction and "interference on the path of true love" characters, then I was in the place of a similar "interference" between true love. I fell in love with a guy who was in love with another girl and chose her. I wasn't a toxic asshole and I didn't hurt my rival in love. It just so happened that he loved her, not me. Maybe she even saw me as a some bitch who trying get her man for money, power or something (which is not truth), i don’t know it.

So sometimes I empathize with these side characters more than the main characters and sometimes I associate myself more with them. I was in their place. Therefore, sometimes fics with love triangle is a trigger for me. When the main character rejects a girl harshly because he is in love with a y/n/reader/main character i increasingly think: “He and (name) will live happily and have fun after that, while the other person must deal with all this pain like I once did”. And i get flashbacks.

I understand how much it hurts. Just imagine that you are a stray cat who lived quietly, loxal children played with you and you basked in the sun and then a person who is a dog hunter gives you food with poison. After a while, you feel pain in your stomach, you do not understand what is happening. You are scared and hurt. You don't know where to hide from this pain. I experienced the same thing, but in my soul and heart after a hard rejection. This is really something like death, only it is not a poor animal that dies, but a part of your soul. You can't trust anyone anymore as before. You understand that you are responsible for yourself, not the other person and only you can help yourself, but you don't have the strength to do it. Relatives and friends are not always there at such moments, you know.

Of course i understand that it's impossible to make someone fall in love, it's wrong. Dating out of pity is stupid. But none of this makes the pain of rejection less and helps you get through it. If in fanfiction the protagonist says "I'm sorry" to a side character after a rejection, most often it sounds insincere. Man, you're literally going to be kissing your girlfriend in five minutes, what kind of apology are you talking about? Most often it is just “I am sorry I can’t” and such a contrast only makes everything worse. And i think: “You're just apologizing because you don't want to be an asshole, not because you really care about the other person, dude”.

And who knows what is worse: not to apologize at all or to apologize as if you are doing a favor? Of course, this is not a reason to harm someone, this is obvious. If you freak out or harm your love or his girlfriend, you will only disgrace yourself. Accepting a refusal is the only adequate option in this case, but it does not make the situation any better anyway. You still hurt, you still feel scared, you still find it hard to trust other people, and you still don’t have the strength to help yourself. There are no guarantees that someone will ask: «How are you? Do you need help? How can i help you?”. Even if you assume that you will receive therapy and fix this trauma, you will still be afraid deep down that it will happen again in a new relationship. I am 28 y.o. and 10 years after being rejected, I'm still single and I didn't have a relationship with anyone. I still have trust issues and I'm still scared to tell people how I feel. Even now it seems to me that I can bring discomfort to someone.

So while trying to get away from triggers, I try to avoid fanfiction with love triangles. Because it's going to be toxic for someone anyway, and I know I'll get another flashback. Those heavy emotions that I described above are my personal experience, for whom it may be different. I'm not a fanfiction writer and I'm not trying to dictate what to write. It's just that if someone reads this, maybe it will prompt the authors or other peoples to some thoughts. It just my thoughts and feelings i decided to share.

And in conclusion, I want to introduce you to my favorite author @m-jelly. She is amazing person and (i hope) my friend. Her fics are amazingly good and wonderful ❤️❤️❤️ When i read her fics i feel happy and relaxed.

[blue-mood-blue]

I've been thinking a lot about what might happen next, with Jet. Specifically, I've been thinking about the execution and the what and why of Sasha's plans - plans that, I assume, have been in place since she started rising through the ranks in earnest. Because she absolutely has a plan.

The obvious assumption, and the assumption that Juno, Buddy, and Vespa are all making, is that the execution of the Unnatural Disaster is going to end with Jet Siquliak's death. And it could! That could be the extent of what Sasha is doing by capturing him and holding him: push drugs into his system to coax the Unnatural Disaster out so he's a prime example of the worst of what space criminal activity has to offer, put him in front of the cameras, and show the world Dark Matters' commitment to a swift and certain end that other law enforcement failed to provide. Unfortunately, as he is now, Jet is a good candidate - loud, brash, unrepentant, or so he would seem to a public who knows him better for the grandiose stories of who he was than who he's become. He's remembered specifically for the hurt he's caused, and right now he's leaning into the "monster" in him - exactly what Sasha would want for her demonstration. Dark Matters already has a reputation. Sasha could mean an end to crime in the sense that the shadow organization is no longer in the shadows, an intimidation tactic that she can follow through on.

I could be making more of it than it is, but that feels too simple. Buddy talked to Juno about his ability to empathize, to understand - according to her, that's where his skill as a detective comes from. So if Juno still doesn't fully understand what Sasha is going for, and his assumption based on the information he has now is execution = death, maybe there's more to it than what it looks like. Maybe execution isn't death, but Sasha's own version of rehabilitation.

After all, she picked Palomine Aurinko's prison for this demonstration. He was known for shaping people into what he wanted them to be - he was also known for experiments that fell outside of what Dark Matters asked of him, and while previous Dark Matters directors weren't interested in those results there's nothing to say that his research wasn't kept by the organization, somewhere. Prisoners are kept in separate locations, two entirely different prison systems with completely different methods and presumably different end goals. Something I've found telling from the beginning, too, is that the "Unnatural Disaster" was going to be executed - not "Jet Siquliak" - even though that name is tied to the same reputation.

What if the truth is this: Sasha isn't looking for a way to kill all criminals. She can and will if she must, but that's not a long term solution to crime in the way Sasha is apparently looking for. What if, instead, she had the technology to alter the mind? Excise the problem area, remove the pieces that cause people to make bad choices - addiction, risk-taking, anger, fear? What if she replaces the parts that are hard to predict and even harder to control with something more… understandable? Logical? Is it worth the sacrifice of the extraneous, the roller coaster of highs and lows of a person's life, to put humanity on an even, stable baseline? Sasha might think so. "Sasha" might have done so already, proof of concept (and she did mention, more than once on the Carte Blanche, the sacrifices she'd made personally towards her goals), and now she's ready to remove everything dangerous and unpredictable from Jet Siquliak - everything that's the Unnatural Disaster.

Like the Theia, in concept, but more.

Maybe, if Juno had cooperated - if Juno had been who she'd predicted him to be - she would have offered him the chance first. Maybe she would have been confident that she'd know exactly what to take from him, to help him - to save him.

I don't think what's about to happen to Jet is what anyone's expecting, and I don't know what the end result will be if Sasha manages to go through with it. No matter what Jet thinks about the monster in him, that part of him is him and I can't imagine losing that part of him wouldn't meant losing everything.

[hannahhook7744]

In defense of the Doug and Ben;

Disclaimer; Mainly about Doug. If you like Mal, this isn't for you. If you ship Malvie, not for you either.

Okay, this is gonna be long and ranty, but I am so done with all this Ben and Doug slander and hate! They are two of the most wholesome characters in this series (especially Ben) and do not deserve this crap. So, I am gonna be explaining their actions from the common complaints I see. But first, let me start off by saying you can ship whatever you want as long as you aren't disrespectful towards others and bashing characters for the stupidest reasons. If you don't like this, than don't read it and go on. Now, let's start with Ben since their reasons are the PETTIEST;

The reasons people dislike Ben and discredit his relationship with Mal;

He yelled at Mal for using magic, not telling him, and trying to turn back time. He must be abusive and controlling.

He doesn't spend time with her friends.

He is naive and dumb and tried to bring Uma to Auardon.

He forgot the isle kids.

He hurt Audrey so he'll hurt Mal too.

He is fake and it's his fault Mal has been unhappy all her life.

Mal is a much better person than him (I have seen all of these reasons personally and it's infuriating).

These are all bullshit reasons and I'll tell you why, one by one;

Ben had EVERY FUCKING RIGHT to be mad at Mal. He thought she was trying to adjust to Auardon and if you didn't notice, Magic is a no-no in Auardon. He doesn't give a fuck about the magic. He doesn't want her to get in trouble or too reliant on it. Magic can work like a drug you know and if she got caught using it before he got the council to agree to him changing the rule, it can cause a scandal and her more pain. He's also just as stressed as she is and upset she didn't tell him she was using it still or struggling. Because HELLO she's lying to him AGAIN. and what does she do instead of talking it out with him and dealing with the consequences of her own actions? She tries to fucking use magic to turn back time so he wouldn't REMEMBER the incident at all! Do you know how many problems her magic has caused in the books, series, and movies? Look at things from Ben's point of view. He's a 16 year old boy who's been trained to be a king his whole life by controlling parents, his people disrespect him constantly and thought and still think his proclamation is a bad idea, and now he's king and has to FIGHT for a whole generation of kids who are trapped with abusers. As well as the core four and Freddy who are in Auardon. All 6 of them have eyes on them at all times and he's trying to make sure nothing messes it up. His dad was cursed along with his staff as a child on Christmas. He probably feared the same happening to him as a child and he's been spelled once before. And ended up hurting his now ex who was a childhood friend by breaking up with her in front of two whole schools by singing a song about another girl. He knows if he tells anyone, Mal and her friends could get shipped back to the isle and his entire plan ruined. And then she tried to make him forget about this moment-- their first argument as a teenage couple-- while he is stressed as all living fuck, having to drop tourney and swords and shields to run a kingdom while still in school, while she's been abusing her magic to make things easier for her. Wouldn't you be pissed too ? And who's to say she hadn't done that before? He was probably terrified that she'd do it again or that she had before. And he felt horrible for blowing up at her and went to the isle to bring her home. He is not abusive.

He is a 16 year old king. He has barely any time to himself and their is 6 month long time skips between the movies. He probably has spent time with them. Alot more than we do see in the movies and he and they clearly care about eachother. They can't show us everything on screen you know.

He is not dumb. Naive yes. Dumb no. He is an empathic, intelligent young man who wanted to give every kid on the isle a chance. Even the girl who kidnapped him. Does that make him naive? Yes. Does that make him stupid. No. He is a good, smart kid who understands that Uma is hurt and rightfully angry that the core four were chosen first and that no other kids other than Freddie have been removed from the isle. He understands she's mad about the 4 at a time rule and wants to help her and her crew without any blood being spilled. He tried to negotiate so she could have a say without having what he thought was the real wand. Mal has taken the real one before. How was he supposed to know that it wasn't the REAL one? Especially since he probably wouldn't have thought of printing out the wand with a 3rd printer? Most people wouldn't have. Why does that make Ben dumb?

The whole idea of him forgetting the vks is also ridiculous. Auardon has a system and a council of heroes who don't want to listen to him. He's probably been working his ass off negotiating and writing out scenarios and plans attempting to get more kids off the isle in bigger numbers while also attempting to show how well and adjusted the other vks are so the public would agree and make it easier for him. Not to mention the whole running the kingdom part has probably been drawing the whole thing out longer than he planned/assumed it would. That doesn't mean he forgot them.

The whole fucking 'Did I mention' break up thing with Audrey is absolutely NOT HIS FAULT! That whole thing is the core four's fault--mainly Mal's for coming up with the idea! They drugged him with a love potion -- one thay was WAY TOO STRONG-- and that is what lead to Ben breaking up to Audrey in front of two whole schools. Yes, he should have apologized and that is his fault but the whole Audrey heart break thing isn't his fault. And he will not hurt Mal. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised If things happened the other way around due to Mal's track record that all of YOU seem to keep forgetting!

No, it is not his fault. It's his parents fault that the isle was made, not his and he is trying to fix their mistakes, so why exactly does everyone blame him for the vks' terrible childhood and their suffering? And why exactly is it his fault that the girl who drugged him and lied about the reason is miserable being queen? Especially when she hasn't communicated this with him! Ben is alot of things but he is NOT a fucking mind reader at the best of times-- and being stressed as all living fuck at 16 with no free time for himself does not turn him into ONE for godsake! And he isn't fake. He loves her for her and stands up for her and what he believes in all the damn time.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 uh, no she's not. Dude, have you read her wiki? Did we watch the same movies? Ben is a sweetheart who wants to help the isle kids. Mal terrorized the isle kids nonstop. She stole candy from a baby. In the wicked it is stated that "But she does enjoy coming up with evil plans and is the most feared at her previous school because of her reputation." She got Evie banished for 10 years because she didn't get invited to her 6th birthday party (her mother probably sent the invites, mind you). She used Jane's insecurities against her and manipulated her, causing her to try and steal the wand. She tried to push Evie into Cruella's fur closet that she knew was filled with bear traps knowing that it could kill or maim her. She was gonna go along with Maleficent's plan and let Evie grab Maleficent's scepter so she could take a 100 year nap. She forced Carlos to throw a party at Hellhall despite knowing how dead he'd be if Cruella found out. She spelled Ben and lied about why she did it, and didn't apologize to Audrey for a long time. The apology she gave Uma was weak as fuck. She tricked the sea three and Celia into working with her and lied to her friends. She was gonna close off the isle forever and not tell her friends about it until it was too late. She was gonna let a ton of kids die. She dumped shrimp on Uma's hair and got her stuck with the nickname 'Shrimpy' and still calls her that when she is a hero. Mad Maddy had purple hair but before Mal ruined it with lye which forced her hair to be aqua green as Mal felt like she should be the only purple hair girl on the Isle. And she also destroyed Maddy's dolls and so much more. Mal is not a better person than Ben at ALL .

Now enough about Ben. Let's move on Doug and the bullshit people are spewing to justify their hatred of Devie (and his character) even though they could just say 'I don't ship them' like reasonable people. Reasons they hate Doug;

He's boring and has no personality.

He's a stalker.

He's a jealous prick who assumed she was cheating on him 'for no reason' yelled at her and that's 'abuse'.

He pretended that her true love's kiss didn't work .

He only likes her for her looks.

They have nothing in common.

He forgets his own family members names so he'll forget important things for Evie too.

He didn't support or defend her at Family day.

All of these reasons can easily be explained away and are also complete bullshit and here's why;

He is actually pretty interesting when you pay attention to him. He knows Spanish, he's a band nerd who can play guitar and a trumpet, he's great at chemistry, and he's good at accounting and helps Evie because he cares about her and wants to help her. And he is fine with Dizzy living at Evie's cabin where he presumably will move into when he graduates. He also seems to have a bit of mischievous streak and isn't blind to Chad's bad habits. He's also kind and was nice to them from the beginning-- not just Evie. And he's not against magic and actually seems interested in it and history. He is not boring and y'all need to stop blaming the writers' lack of expanding and showing his character more on him being boring and bland when that is not the case.

That whole stalking thing is complete bullshit. He followed her once that we know of and eavesdropped on one conversation. Is that a bit creepy? Yes. But he only did it after he saw Chad-- a boy he's known his whole life and knows can't be trusted-- slip her a note. He followed her to warn her about Chad, fully admitted that he followed her and listened to the conversation, seemed embarrassed, and told her info she wanted to know. He is not a stalker for any of that shit. It was one time and he was just looking out for her, which is why Evie wasn't too mad or freaked out in that scene by it.

Have you guys not seen descendants 2? He had every reason to think she was cheating. She was acting werid and secretive, keeping things from him, and he's an insecure teenage boy from a big family in a land where everyone values looks and manly things. He knows she's out of his league and he's probably heard one too many jokes about how she'll leave him for someone better, how his princely classmates will steal her from him, and how she's probably using him or dating him until she finds someone better because kids are cruel and tactless. He's probably been convinced by everyone that he isn't good enough for Evie. He's been overlooked and ignored by teachers, adults, his peers, and girls before because he isn't a handsome, manly prince. So of course he'd suspect she was cheating and that stupid lie the boys told about her camping most certainly didn't help. Sure, she could have been throwing him a surprise party but he knows when his birthday is and if it isn't close than he knows she isn't doing that. She told him nothing and acted suspicious. Her friends avoided him and acted suspicious, and told him a lie that made no sense. As far as we know, Evie doesn't like camping but if she did and was going camping, she would have told Doug that and not been acting suspicious. And y'all forget the most important thing. He asked if she was (by yelling, but still) and took her word for it when she said no. Most people wouldn't have believed her. Does he get credit for that? No. He gets hate.

Dude, he's a fucking teenager. Yes, it is a dick move but he only pretended for like a minute and stopped afterwards. Teenagers do shitty pranks at the wrong time. That doesn't make him abusive or awful. It was a one time thing. Y'all telling me you weren't a dick once as a kid or teen?

False. He loves every single piece and part of her, including her looks, and isn't surprised when she does well on her test without the mirror. Next.

Lies again. They are both incredibly smart people who love chemistry and their friends and history and so many other things. They love and support one in several ways, and I will not stand for this slander.

It is obvious that some of y'all ain't come from big families. He has at least 6 uncles and presumably they all have spouses and kids. He has one brother that we know of and 8 known cousins. That does not take in account cousins-in-law, grandparents, and over extended or unknown relatives. I come from a big family and let me tell you, it is hard to remember names and dates when you have that many people to keep track of. That doesn't make him neglectful or a bad person, and it won't make him a bad boyfriend.

He may not have defended her at family day but he did defend her and stand up for her to Mr Deley. A teacher. When he is literally a nerdy kid with no sporty talents, good looks, or known royal blood. He risked his own neck to advocate for her there and stopped her from ratting herself out and getting in trouble. And as for family dad, he apologized to her for having to go. He is a scrawny nerd who could get beat up by Chad or others if he ignored Chad to talk to her and yelling at an adult, let alone a royal adult, in front of several other adults (family included) in Auardon would not ended well for him. He would have gotten in trouble and wouldn't have been able to help her later on and Evie clearly knows this, or else she would have been angrier.

These are two inexperienced teenage boys who were nice to these kids who they had heard nothing good about with no ulterior motivates. They're kind hearted souls who want the best for those they care about and they see the best in people and neither of them turned on the vks when they showed no interest in them. So stop the fucking slander and stop claiming any characters who yell and argue with their partners are abusers. These two aren't and are probably some of the best things to happen to Evie and the others. Humans make mistakes and shouldn't be defined by them when they aren't that fricking big of a deal.

Requested by @descendants-extended . Hope you enjoy.

[write-like-wright]

u asked for requests so im here to comply😳could you maybe do a ”should you date them” with the defense attorneys in the series?? or just generally some other characters?? bc the prosecutor one added like 20 years to my lifespan lmao. hope u have a great day!!

I'm so glad you liked it!!! Here's the sequel, just for you <33

Original post here

Should you date them: Ace Attorney defense lawyers edition

Phoenix Wright

yes, you really should

probably one of the best, if not the best, boyfriends in the series

wanna get married? husband material

wanna have kids? father material

has a tendency to casually adopt children actually, could be an issue at some point

worships you

you know how some guys brag about how they'd die for you?

Nick would unironically die for you

may even come close a few times but I'm pretty sure he's canonically invincible (eating poisoned glass and falling off a burning bridge, who?? tis' but a scratch!)

massive gossip

gets home after an investigation and immediately starts like "you won't believe what I found out about Gumshoe today"

somehow surprisingly mature and good at keeping secrets in spite of everything

has a lot of really cool friends!!! and larry

have you seen those shoulders tho?? mans built like a dorito, smashing through massive wooden doors n stuff

biggest monthly expense is hair gel

claims his hair is natural but you know better

don't be the big spoon, he will poke your eyes out

can somewhat read your mind tho? a bit off-putting but ok

marry him before Edgeworth someone else does

Mia Fey

hell yeah, dude

cool, calm, collected

has literal superpowers

successful business owner at 27!!! unironical #girlboss

went from being a lame rookie to a literal legend with her own practice and an apprentice in, like, three years

she's so smart, I fear her

has the fashion sense of a female character drawn by a cis man... oh, wait

god help whoever tries to hurt you

will literally kick their ass to hell

family-oriented

believes in second chances

took phoenix under her wing after everything, mia has the patience of a saint honestly

drops cool oneliners in everyday speech like a marvel character

curve lovers rejoice

doesn't mind being called dorky nicknames

major wife material

Diego Armando/Godot

I already covered him in my prosecutors list,, literally did not occur to me to split Diego and Godot into two lists

but to sum up, if I had to choose between the two, I'd go for Diego

i like my men like i like my coffee - tall, dark and bitter

^^ eats up pickup lines like those

Apollo Justice

Polly is such a sweet babey boy, please be nice to him

short king

low on confidence, makes up for it by being loud

*voice cracking* HE'S FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!

your neighbours will hate him

such a pushover, will do anything you ask of him

sensitive boy, not afraid to cry

pretends not to be dorky - is very dorky

consumes nerdy media almost exclusively (canonically a Whovian! but Capcom can't say that)

bikes everywhere and is apparently good with a hula hoop

Polly got cake is what I'm saying

have you seen his cool street style clothes?? sk8er boi

very grounded, literally

might play around and hold your hand for comfort

won't come to visit you if you live on a high floor, sorry

cat dad!!! cat pics!!! yes!!!

about 7 different tragic backstories

new secret family member drops every week

stares at you when you speak sometimes

is he jealous of Klavier?? does he have a crush on him??? who knows but it's funny watching them interact

bicon

spends way too much time on his hair

someone please date him, he deserves some love

Athena Cykes

holy childhood trauma batman

been through a lot

total empath

if you're sad, she's sad

can kinda read your mind... why is this such a common thing in AA games?? I like my privacy

super energetic

will drag you to the gym, take you on hikes, practice wrestling moves on you...

you will always be sore but also in the best shape of your life

has minus 25 chill

incapable of keeping secrets from you

her weird goth convict uncle threatens you every once in a while

she promises he means it in a friendly way

loves europop

way too accomplished for her age, everyone in this game is so smart, help

i feel like she'd enjoy theme parks idk

date her, she's baby and she needs some TLC

Kristoph Gavin

no

he's scary

thinks he's better than you

thinks he's better than everyone

has the audacity to wear white shoes with a blue suit??? are you going to prom????? sir????

obsessed with phoenix wright to an alarming degree

perfectly manicured nails!

the kind of guy who warns you never to go into his basement

nice on the outside but it's all fake

deeply rooted issues even he's unaware of

if you like drillbit hair consider Klavier instead

Ryunosuke Naruhodo

world's biggest baby

secretly a bitch

loves to clown on people

fake it till you make it

has no clue what he's doing most of the time

very determined in spite of that

everyone loves him

so many cool friends

cries at the thought of your bare ankles

physically incapable of walking by a shop and not buying something he doesn't need

"look, i got you a gift!!" "awh, how sweet! ...what is it?" "i don't know, i'll ask Mr Sholmes when he gets home!"

good with his tongue

may be somewhat trapped in the closet

has literally zero chill

remember when he just casually chased armed robbers??

must be a family trait

Iris interrogates you about your intentions with her brother

she has a gun

you have no privacy at his place

Sholmes crashes your dates

his bromance with Kazuma sometimes drops the "b"

becomes ultra cool eventually

hop into that time machine and date Ryu's ass, but be prepared to deal with period-appropriate homoeroticism and misogyny lol

Extra little shout out to Kazuma Asogi for that one time where he was a defense lawyer for, like, an hour and a half and somehow managed to cram 50 of the horniest one-liners in the game in that very limited time. Date him.

[inamindfarfaraway]

@nerdasaurus1200 Actual plot ideas for my Dog Owner Cass AU:

They still get the ‘one of Rapunzel’s party will turn against her’ message, but it really is just Eugene. Also, they don’t ever seriously suspect Cass because yes, she hasn’t forgiven Raps for the hand thing and the constant-oblivious-devaluing-of-her-wants-and-needs thing and is actually able to say that here, but she keeps doting on her puppies and it’s impossible to think that way of her watching that. Since the puppies have catalyzed the group’s emotional communication, Raps actively takes steps to reaffirm their friendship, like fully, sincerely apologizing for the many ways she’s hurt her. You know, the both logical and nice thing to do if at all worried your friend will betray you over a grudge?

I know it’s been theorized that Rapunzel would have been killed by the cosmic power overload if she as the Sundrop had touched the Moonstone, and in a more angsty AU I would subscribe to that theory because the show doesn’t really give any alternative and instead supports it with Zhan Tiri’s demise. But this isn’t an angsty AU. This is the ‘puppies make everything better’ AU. So while the successful moment of contact in “Destinies Collide” is very dramatic, Raps survives. She rises into the air, the two powers’ magic crackling around her, her floating, glowing hair streaked with bright yellow and blue, one eye a solid luminous blue and the other similarly burning yellow - that kind of dramatic. The black rocks all grow toward her. Eugene and Cass look on in awe and fear. Then the blue and yellow light concentrates into twin beams that shine from her eyes and combine. Twisting together, they blast straight through the roof and up into the stars. Raps drops to the ground, hair brown. Every black rock disintegrates. Eugene has just enough time to carry his girlfriend’s unconscious body back across the black rock bridge before it too is gone. Raps is now entirely devoid of magic.

Raps may have survived, but that doesn’t mean she’s okay. The experience - channeling two opposite, primordial cosmic powers at once and then having them ripped out of her - was extremely painful and terrifying. It helps her empathize much better with how Cass felt when her arm decayed. Another major source of pain is that she’s no longer the Sundrop. She’s always been the Sundrop. Even once Eugene cut her hair, its magic remained passively within her. Now she has permanently been stripped of a previously fundamental part of herself, that’s defined her whole life and caused her immense happiness and suffering alike. And now that it’s just gone and her “destiny” is completed, she isn’t sure who she is or what to do. Overall she’s left shaken, afraid and lost. This turmoil is her emotional drive in “Rapunzel’s Return”. She first tries to bury it and act chipper; then she runs off attempting to retake the kingdom alone to prove she’s still just as capable and useful (keeping her hair long consciously so she can fight and stuff with it, subconsciously because she can’t accept the change). Rather than grieve Cass’s betrayal, she must confront her trauma of fearing and resenting her own destiny. The final scene of the episode is her cutting her hair to reach her ankles in acceptance that she can’t hold onto a version of herself she’s moved beyond, even kinda forcibly.

These identity/change acceptance issues continue throughout Season Three, dealt with in a gradual, non-linear process. This arc parallels Eugene’s similar issues about being the prince of the Dark Kingdom, and later Cass’s about discovering she’s Gothel’s daughter. It’s like, the big external adventure is mostly done, on the ‘destiny’ front. Now the heroes have to face… the psychological fallout! Dun dun dun! A much more character and relationship-based story than canon. Not that there won’t be proper villains, like the Separatists, the Stabbingtons, the Baron, Hector (who gets a proper resolution and reconciliation with Adira and Edmund), but no huge Zhan Tiri-scale ones.

The presences of Cass and the dogs allow Raps to defeat the Separatists in spite of her lack of magic. How? I don’t yet, some cunning plan. Cass helps get through to Varian. She understands and validates his grudge against Raps and desire to erase everything and move on, but teaches him the importance of seeing from different perspectives, and that internalizing all his guilt and shame forever is… not good. Do you want to stroke the puppies, Varian? Why don’t you stroke the puppies for a bit and then you’ll calm down. (For comedy points, the Separatists, being the weird combination of terrorists and flower children they are, drop everything to gush over the dogs in the middle of a battle. Then instantly go back to trying to kill the protagonists - possibly even cheerfully assuring Cass they’ll look after the dogs once they kill her.)

Wait! If there’s no Moonstone magic, so no Decay Incantation, Quirin can’t be freed! No! Why is the PUPPY AU turning out so angsty? Hmm… this is also the Magic Out, Therapy In AU, all about learning to live with pain and change and things you at first think you could never accept. Varian and his friends continually working on freeing Quirin and in the meantime getting/giving him the support he needs might work, thematically? They do free him eventually! I promise! But how? Varian stays at the castle until then, by the way.

At the end of “Rapunzel’s Return” Cass is promoted to be Rapunzel’s official bodyguard due to her service on the road. She naturally receives a new uniform: with the main colour a brighter red and Coronan sun embroidery, similar to Eugene’s captain uniform, but still incorporating some of the old armour (unhealthy emotional coping mechanisms symbolism) and the red offset by a substantial amount of black. It also has a special brace and compression glove for her bad arm. She trains the dogs to be police assistant dogs throughout the season, their progress or struggles frequently symbolic of her own competence at dealing with her trauma and dismantling her toxic coping mechanisms that day.

Snarl, Scratch and Bite complete their training after six months, halfway through the season, and Cass joins the royal guard, promoting them to Captain Snarl, Colonel Scratch and CO Bite. “Why do they have different titles if they’re doing the same job?” Eugene asks. “Not now! Let them have this!” says Lance, tearful with pride. She wears an individualized guard uniform with golden armour (mature, healthy emotional coping mechanisms symbolism). And a new and improved glove and brace system.

As mentioned above, Cass does find out about her biological mother. She’s looking through her really old childhood things to see if she can regift any toys to the puppies. Among the miscellaneous keepsakes she finds the green dress the Captain found her in, kept to remind him of how small she used to be. The dogs are eagerly sniffing everything, but that dress makes them extra excited. Cass doesn’t understand why. Cap realizes they’ve got the lingering unfamiliar scent off it, but before he can stop them or explain to Cass the trio are racing after the scent’s source and Cass is chasing them. Raps and Eugene join him chasing Cass. Hijinks ensue. Raps has a subplot so the primary plot doesn’t get boring, somehow connected to the themes of family, dishonesty and trust. Maybe Frederic’s returning memories of the bad things he did is reopening those wounds and she’s revising her quick forgiveness of him in “The Secret of the Sundrop”, but also doesn’t want to add to a recovering amnesiac’s pain and thus won’t communicate that? And Frederic knows she’s upset and wants to fix it, but her avoidance isn’t letting them get anywhere. The hijinks end up getting Cass very suspicious about her origins and angry at her dad for keeping that she was adopted secret and his hasty half-explanations (Raps’s presence makes it doubly awkward) without letting him tell the whole truth. Right when she’s losing her temper at him, they see dogs lead them to the cottage. Cass trails off and stares at it. Her eyes shift from mystified to haunted. Everyone else, who had been in the middle of an argument over the morality of family secrets, stops dead to watch her in concern. She wades through the stream and wanders inside in a trance of awakened memory. Examining the dusty remains of the music box triggers a full flashback, with “Waiting in the Wings (Reprise)” and everything. She’s left sobbing on her knees. While the others and dogs all comfort her, Cap explains everything and profoundly apologises for hurting her in his attempt to protect her. Coincidentally, the exact type of apology Raps wants from her father. Cass needs time to process and hides deeper in the cottage. She begins to recall details of her mother’s abuse and, finding her, Raps shares some details of her abusive childhood with Gothel. She confirms it wasn’t that Gothel didn’t love Cass because she was unlovable and Raps was. Rather, Gothel was always incapable of love, and both her daughters worthy of it. She assures Cass that this doesn’t make her a different or bad person. If Raps knows one thing for certain, it’s that how Gothel makes you feel about yourself is not true. Family is more than blood, it’s choosing to love and listen to and understand and help someone over and over again, even when it’s uncomfortable and messy… [internally] ohhh shit, she needs to talk to her dad. Cass is heartened and admits she already thought of Raps as her sister. The episode ends with Cass embracing her real family, knowing she deserves them.

This episode makes Cap realize how badly his focus on his career and emotional distance has damaged his and his daughter’s mental health. He retires to engage in self-care and be more involved in Cass’s inner life. Eugene takes the mantle, and though Cass mocks him to no end and may hold a more serious jealousy, she recognizes his worth when they work together on a case and ultimately agrees he’s the best choice her dad could have made and congratulates him. She still mocks him, however. He’s relieved - he didn’t want this to mess up their dynamic.

I’ve got it! Gothel’s alchemical and magical resources are what finally melt the amber. She had that corrosive chemicals in her catacombs and we know she could do magic because she enchanted her mirrors. Varian gets his dad back, and Raps and Cass get some closure about Gothel by making something good come out of her selfish pursuits! And not just anything, but specifically the restoration of a loving parent and child relationship, the exact opposite of everything she represented! Friendship, love, healing, altruism, a dash of spite at Hell’s Mother of the Year, and the symbolism that what Gothel left behind (which includes Raps and Cass themselves) can overcome her dark influence and do good.

In the finale Raps cuts her hair to its neck length after she concludes her character development. Cass’s happy ending in “Happily Ever After, After All (Reprise)” is opening a police dog training academy.

[make-me-imagine]

Red Roses: “I Love You” - Natasha Romanoff Ending

Valentines Special: Day Nine

Day One: Morning Glories  //  Day Two: Blue Salvias Day Three: Sunflowers  //  Day Four: Pink Camellias  Day Five: Yellow Tulips   // Day Six: Violets Day Seven: Lisianthus  //  Day Eight: Daffodils (Post with rest of the character endings)

Plot: It’s finally Valentines Day, the day the reader will finally learn who it is that had been leaving them flowers and notes expressing their secret feelings.

Notes: Thank you again @trashywritestrash​​ for helping me hash out this ending!! ❤️ And thank you to the anon who gave me the funny idea of the roof-clinging flower delivery. <3

 Pairing: Gen!Neutral Reader x Natasha Romanoff

Triggers: Brief mention of alcohol/drinking; but I wrote it so the readers “favorite drink” could be anything.        

Words: 1,396

Requested Taglist: @aquariuslavenderhoney​​, @thebookbakery​​, @fablesrose​​, @kitkatd7​​, @thefallenbibliophilequote​​, @beksib​​, @destynelseclipsa​​, @criminaly-supernatural​​, @tammythompson-singslikea-muppet, @belloangelus​​, @snarky--starky​​, @saintbootlegloras​​, @wecallhimbrowneyess​​, @empath-bunny​​, @okkulta​​, @katinthemoon,  @ravennight41​​, @youcancallme-rae , @radhumandragonclam, @unfortunateidiotinadilemma, @past3l-w1ngs​​ ,  @goinggoinggonzo​​, @mxxnmocha​​, @username23345​​, @theofficialzivadavid​​, @justejuste727​​, @normanijauregui​​, @euphouriaszn2​​, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all (still couldn’t tag, sorry), @messhup​

February 14th

You continued to breath out steadily as you tried to keep your pace, Steve and Bucky half way around to meeting you already, and Sam in pace next to you as you ran around the large monument again. “Damn super-soldier bullshit” Sam muttered breathlessly as you laughed at his joke, trying not to lose step. 

Listening carefully and peaking behind you, you smiled “You’re right, it is bullshit. Maybe we should stop.” you said with an air of amusement as you glanced at Sam. 

Who smiled “You know what, you’re right. Let’s stop.” 

As both of you stopped quickly in place, you turned to face behind you, just in time to see Steve and Bucky’s eyes widen as they stumbled to a stop before slamming into the two of you, which they managed to do, barely. 

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s what you get for trying to humiliate us again.” Sam said with a laugh. Steve and Bucky sharing a look of mixed disdain and amusement as you chuckled. 

“I think we were done anyway” Steve said as he turned to walk towards where you set your water bottles. 

As you all sat underneath a large tree you checked your watch, the morning had been going by so slow. You wanted the evening to come quickly, but just as much, you wish it wouldn’t come at all. 

“You alright?” 

You looked up to see the three staring at you, you must have zoned out “Yeah, I’m fine.” you smiled at them, trying to play it off. When you turned to grab a granola bar out of your bag the three of them shared a mutual look of understanding. 

You were definitely not fine. The anxiety and curiosity that had built up over the last week was killing you. You were glad it was almost over, yet terrified at what that would bring in itself. The more you thought about each of the other’s and the possibility that it might be them who has been leaving you the flowers and notes, the more you didn’t want it to be any of them. Well, that was a lie. There was only one, you really wanted it to be. And unfortunately, they seemed to be the least likely. 

- - - 

Your thoughts proceeded to run wild as you continued on throughout your day, only occasionally being able to distract yourself with work. And the anxiety had built up once again as you got dressed about an hour before the party. You paced restlessly around your room as you fiddled with your hands. 

Finally growing tired of circling around the room, you decided to leave, maybe you would head down a bit early, distract yourself with some of the others who would probably already be down there anyway. 

This was proven incorrect, as you entered into the bar area, seeing only Natasha behind the bar as she made herself a drink. You hesitated as you looked around, was there really no on else down here yet?

“Hey” Natasha greeted, earning your attention again as your heart pounded in your chest.

“Hey” you replied walking into the room “I thought the others would be down here already.” you commented as you sat on a bar-stool. 

“Me too actually, but, at least I’m not alone now” she said while smiling at you “Drink?”

"Sure.” you said as she immediately started getting you your favorite drink. 

“You alright? You’ve seen a bit off all day.” she commented as she slid you your drink and leaned on the counter watching you. 

Taking a sip you eyed her, wondering how much you should tell her. You had already figured it wasn’t her. Even though she was the one you wanted it to be. So, you figured it wouldn’t hurt anymore than it already does if you told her. 

“I...I’m, supposed to find out who’s been leaving the notes and flowers today. Which I’m sure you already figured by now.” She gestured her head as you continued “But I...I’m just not sure, what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“The notes, and everything they’re so....genuine and beautiful, and I just don’t know if I deserve someone like that. I mean, what if I can’t see myself loving them? What if I don’t deserve that kind of devotion?”

Natasha looked down at her hands before taking a breath “You do deserve it Y/n.”

You let out an amused scoff “You’re just saying that because your my friend” you said with a bit of doubt and disappointment in your voice.

“No, that’s not why I’m saying it.”

“Then why?” 

“Because...” she reached out and placed her hand on top of yours “Because of  your grace, and elegance, your compassion, kindness and bravery. There is no way they could not absolutely adore every fiber of your being.”

You stared at her as you recognized the words, the words that had been typed out on third note that you had received. Words that you repeated to no one. Your heart began beating rapidly again as you remained speechless as a small smile formed on her face. “How- I never read you any of the notes.”

“No, you didn’t.” she straightened up before reaching for something underneath the counter “The whole, notes and flowers thing were a bit cheesy, especially for me, but...” she pulled out red rose from below the counter “I couldn’t help myself. I’ve always wanted to try some big grand gesture of admission.”

Staring at the rose as she leaned back on the counter taking your hand in hers as she placed the rose between your fingers and looked back at you “All these years being as close as we are...I guess it was inevitable.”

Finally getting a hold of yourself again you cracked a smile “Yeah, it really was wasn’t it. And...you knew didn’t you? That I felt the same?”

She gestured her head and smiled “At first I thought I was just imagining it, but...Clint knocked some sense into me and made me realize that I wasn’t, and that you did, actually feel the same way.”

You closed your hand around hers, as you continued to smile at her “It was pretty damn bold of you to deliver those flowers to me in the gym yourself.”

“Yeah, well. I wanted to see your reaction myself.” 

“Who else knew? I mean besides Clint?” 

“No one else.” 

“Then...who delivered the camellias?”

She laughed “Well, I did.” you gave her a look of confusion as she continued “I thought I was being quiet enough, but I should have known better, so when I heard you coming to the door I put my assassin skills to the test.” she said with a sense of amusement.

“But...I looked everywhere?” she shook her head and you thought to yourself for a moment “I looked everywhere...except up. Please tell me you were not clinging to the roof above me?”

“Luckily the halls aren’t too wide.”

“Wh- Nat, oh my God” you started giggling at the thought as you facepalmed “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

She laughed as well “The things we do for love.”

You stared at her, still smiling in amusement “You were wrong Nat, I don’t deserve you.”

She leaned further over the bar as she stared into your eyes “After everything I’ve done, trying to make things right with SHIELD and the Avengers. You have been the only constant happiness in my life. I think I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. ”

“Agree to disagree” you countered as you grinned at each other, as both of your eyes began flicking to the others lips before you both leaned forward meeting in a kiss you had both been dreaming of.

As you pulled away, you heard voices approaching from the hall, recognizing it as the others. She glanced to the door and then back at you as you asked “Do you think they’d be surprised?” 

“Probably not. But who cares either way.” she smiled, making you grin.

The others were in fact surprised, but happily so. Especially Clint, who, for the rest of the night, told the others about how painstakingly he had been trying to get you two to confess your feelings for one another for years now. While Tony insisted that he had known the whole time and had been debating setting you two up secretly. 

xx xx xx xx xx

I struggled with how to end this, as I did with the others too, but this one especially. 

Anyways, if you liked this, please consider reblogging it and checking out the other endings :)

[cherienymphe]

Best Friends Forever (Fratboy!Peter Parker x Reader)

This is my entry for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor​  What’s Old is New Again Challenge! This fic is inspired by #18, “A gentleman is simply a patient wolf. – Lana Turner. Hope you all enjoy!

warnings: NON-CON, manipulation, roofie 

DNI IF THIS OFFENDS YOU

summary: Peter Parker is your best friend. Peter Parker is your only friend. Peter wants to keep it that way.

~

Peter Parker was your best friend. In fact, Peter Parker was your only friend. The two of you had been inseparable for as long as you could remember. You grew up together attached at the hip, and therefore, you did everything together.

He was there, watching in awe when you pulled your first loose tooth. You did the same when he pulled his first one weeks later. You helped each other learn how to ride bikes, double dutch, and even attempt to skateboard once. The two of you had broken so many bones together that you had lost count.

You weathered middle school together and the absolute insanity that was high school. You two had been best friends all your life, and it had never been anything more than that, so you both were equally confused when catty high school girls and bored high school guys would constantly accuse the two of you of dating. It was a thought that had never crossed your minds, and it was something you often laughed about.

There were absolutely no secrets between you two, and despite that, you still found yourself completely frozen in shock as you watched Peter slip in through your bedroom window one night during sophomore year. He was covered in bruises, and the oddly familiar red and blue fit he wore had some tears. You had stumbled off of your bed, running to grab him as he struggled to stand.

Realization hit you as he leaned against your wall, chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath, and your eyes almost popped out of your head.

“Y-you’re Spider-Man?”

It had come out louder than you had intended, and he was frantic as he covered your mouth, begging you to keep quiet. Neither one of you slept much that night as you demanded answers from him. You remembered feeling upset and betrayed that he had been hiding something so important from you, but even worse, you felt worried.

Your best friend had been put in danger so many times while you had been none the wiser. From then on, you demanded that he pass through your house to change out of his suit before going home. Not only for it to be safe for him to get home, but to put your own heart at ease too. It gave you a sense of comfort to see for yourself that he ended the night in one piece.

It was a tough secret to keep, incredibly trying to keep your thoughts to yourself as you watched his crime fighting be reported day in and day out. It was difficult to keep your worry at bay when he was late sneaking into your bedroom or to keep yourself from crying out when he was especially hurt. You were the only one who knew the truth, and the gravity of it served to further isolate the two of you.

Peter was literally your only friend and had been for as long as you could remember. What did it matter that you had never had any girlfriends, even now during college? Sure, you had always envied that special bond some girls seemed to have with each other. Of course, it bothered you a little that you had never experienced what it was like to have a best friend who could relate to you in every single way, but Peter was plenty. Yeah, there were some things that as a guy, he would never fully be able to empathize with, but his sympathy and well intentions were enough.

Besides, having a guy best friend came with its perks. Peter understood guys way better than you could ever hope to, and he was always more than eager to give you advice. Thanks to him, you could probably call yourself an expert on them, but in the end, it never did any good. You had never had a boyfriend, never even anything remotely close. Sure, it bothered you, a lot, but in the end you were grateful.

Peter saved you from regret more times than you could count. Every guy you had ever vocalized interest in turned out to be absolute garbage. At least, that was what Peter told you, and you trusted him. He was never wrong about these things. Tristan, an upperclassman that you’d had a crush on during your freshman year, had apparently been a racist creep. James from your junior year was a party animal with anger issues. Your first year of college, you’d fallen head over heels for a literature major named Logan, but Peter had to be the bearer of bad news when he informed you that the guy had a girlfriend back home and about three more on campus.

After that, you had just given up completely. You saw no point to any of it when every guy you had ever liked turned out to be awful. In the end, Peter was truly the only one you could trust. You were beyond thankful for him, and the day you could bring a guy around with Peter’s approval was the day you would know you found a good one. Unfortunately, you were starting to think that day would never come. You dreaded the day Peter would finally get a girlfriend, because then you would truly be a lonely wreck.

You found it odd that Peter had been single all this time too. This wasn’t high school anymore. In college, girls liked guys who were smart and who read and knew how to have conversations outside of sports. Add the fact that Peter had grown to be quite attractive and had even joined a fraternity, he was a catch. So it was safe to say you didn’t get it, and told him so one night.

“I’ve just never met the right girl,” he said with a shrug, distracted.

“Oh, come on,” you scoffed in disbelief. “So many great girls have shown interest in you. What about MJ? She was tall and funny and her hair-! God, her hair.”

He snorted, a faint smirk on his lips.

“I just wasn’t into her.”

“Why not?” you wondered.

MJ was practically perfect, and you had never known Peter to be nitpicky. He just shrugged, eyes focused on his laptop as he typed away.

“Peter,” you whined. “This is just sad. One of us has to start dating soon or we’ll just end up staring at each other in our old age.”

“I’ve dated,” he said, offended as his eyes cut up to you.

You rolled your eyes, flicking your pencil at him.

“I mean dating dating, not whatever it is you and your “frat bros” do every weekend. That house has seen more girls than a gynecologist clinic,” you complained.

“You know I’m not like that,” he said, shutting his laptop and setting it aside.

While he was somewhat right, he’d still had his own fair share of fun with some of the girls who went to their parties.

“You may not be as bad as the rest of them, but you can’t fool me, Peter. Remember, there are no secrets between us,” you replied, leaning back into the couch. “When are you going to get a girlfriend?”

He didn’t answer, and you continued.

“I know you want one. You’ve mentioned it several times, and I know dozens of girls that would be thrilled to be given the chance.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, giving you his full attention now.

“I just…haven’t found the right girl,” he lamely repeated.

You opted to leave it alone, skeptically eyeing him before reaching out to turn on the tv. You could feel Peter’s eyes on you, but he fortunately spoke before you had a chance to ask him what was up.

“To be honest…there was a time when I thought…you’d be my girlfriend,” he quietly confessed, almost like he was afraid of your reaction.

You looked at him, shock and disbelief coursing through you. A humorless chuckle left your lips.

“You’re kidding…”

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were completely serious.

“No, I’m not. It was senior year of high school and… I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I know we were teased about it for years and the idea was crazy to us, but one day…I realized that you were the person I was closest to in the world…and I wanted to be closer.”

Your eyes were wide, lips parted in awe as you listened to this confession. You had never known, and you wondered how you could have missed it. What kind of friend were you?

“It was the only secret I ever kept from you…”

You turned to fully look at him.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

He shrugged, dark eyes studying you.

“I knew you didn’t feel the same way, so I just forced myself to let it go. And I did,” he answered.

He was right. You had never felt the same way, and you started to wonder what would have happened if he had confessed his feelings to you. How awkward that could have been… It could have ruined everything.

“Peter…I can’t believe you did that. That must have…sucked,” you whispered.

He chuckled.

“I’m not going to lie. It kind of did, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. You’re special to me, and nothing would have been worth making our friendship weird or just destroying it altogether. It turned out to be nothing more than a crush, anyway. Just…teenage hormones.”

You felt your heart clench, wondering if you would have done the same. It must have been torture for him to swallow his feelings just to keep things comfortable between you two, no matter how fleeting the whole thing was for him.

“Really, it’s no big deal, Y/N. I’m long over it, now,” he waved you off.

You chuckled, moving past the brief shock you’d just experienced.

“I’m glad for that. If you told me you still had feelings for me, I probably would’ve accused you of sabotage all these years.”

“Sabotage,” he scoffed. “Listen, every single guy you’ve been into was downright awful. You literally have the worst taste in men-.”

“I do not!”

“You do, Y/N. Honestly, if it wasn’t for me, who knows what you would have gotten yourself into.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Just for that, you’re paying for the takeout, tonight.”

 ~

“Botany? That’s crazy! I want to go into agriculture,” you said with a laugh.

The guy before you, Harry, chuckled with you. The two of you were tucked into a quiet corner of the kitchen. The rest of the house was vibrating with a deep bass, the sound of noisy college students filling your ears. Parties weren’t your thing, but frat parties especially were definitely not your thing. Somehow, Peter had finally talked you into attending one of his house’s infamous parties, and you hadn’t even been in the building for five minutes before you grabbed a drink with as little alcohol as possible and hid in the kitchen.

It was miraculous really that you bumped into an attractive guy who was equally uncomfortable with these things. He was funny and charming, and he wanted to study plants. You tried not to get ahead of yourself, but someone else might say it was fate that you two ran into each other. Hell, you ran into each other at Peter’s frat house, so the chances that they knew each other were high. Maybe Peter would have good things to tell you about him.

As if he was summoned by your thoughts, your eyes connected with familiar brown ones as he poked his head into the kitchen.

“Peter!”

You waved him over, and his eyes flitted between you and Harry as he approached you.

“Hey, Parker. I didn’t know you knew Y/N,” Harry chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, Peter and I go way back. He’s my best friend,” you said, pulling Peter over.

Your best friend was being unusually quiet, and you frowned. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye, noticing the way his eyes had hardened. Was he okay?

“Y/N was just telling me that she wants to go into agriculture. We’ll probably be taking a lot of classes together in about two years,” Harry threw out.

Peter chuckled at that, but it sounded off, and he turned to look at you.

“I figured you’d be hiding in the kitchen, so I came to find you,” Peter said, wrapping an arm around your waist.

A shudder passed through you at the unfamiliar gesture, but you brushed it off.

“Oh, you know how I am. I’m glad I ran into Harry though! He’s been keeping me company, so you can just go back to the party if you want. Your friends are probably looking for you,” you replied.

Peter had become quite popular since you two started college, and you knew that the demand for his attention was rather high. You often felt bad about dragging him down with you. You weren’t really the social type.

“Yeah, Parker, I can look out for Y/N for you,” Harry offered, a friendly smile on his lips.

You returned it and noticed the way Peter’s jaw ticked, and confusion filled you.

“Actually, I came to find Y/N so that we can go,” Peter bit out.

Your frown deepened, but you didn’t question it as Peter gripped your hand.

“Oh, okay. I guess we’re leaving. See you around, Harry!”

He waved back as Peter pulled you out of the kitchen. His grip was tight on your hand as he weaved through swaying bodies and drunk students. Again, you wondered if he was upset about something. It was Peter, so you hardly ever saw him upset. You breathed in the fresh air when the two of you made it outside, and you took the time to eye him.

“Peter…you alright?”

He took a deep breath, chest heaving before he looked at you with a smile. He looked more like himself and you returned it.

“Yeah, I’m just…not feeling too good,” he answered.

“Oh,” you sadly said. “Are you getting sick?”

He shrugged, hand in his pockets.

“I don’t know. I probably had too much to drink. Mind if I crash at your place?”

You chuckled, shaking your head.

“You’re always welcome to sleep over, you know that.”

It was quiet for a while between you two as you walked back to your apartment. His hand was soft on yours, and the way his arm kept brushing against yours brought comfort to you. You were so used to his presence, borderline dependent on it, and just knowing he was beside you was reassuring.

“I love you, Peter, but please don’t invite me to anymore parties,” you suddenly whispered, a hint of mock fear in your voice.

He barked a laugh, and you joined him.

“All of them aren’t that bad, I promise,” he chuckled. “Did you really hate it that much?”

You hummed, releasing a sigh.

“Maybe I didn’t hate it all that much,” you admitted after some time.

He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye as a wistful smile fell over your lips, eyes gazing at the sky.

“So…how do you know Harry?”

His hand tightened around your own just the slightest.

“He’s in another frat,” he answered with a scoff. “He’s a spoiled rich kid who thinks he can get anything he wants by throwing money at it.”

You rolled your eyes with a shake of your head.

“Somehow, I’m not shocked by that, but… You know what? I don’t care.”

He stopped walking, pulling you to a halt with him, and he stared at you with a frown.

“What? What do you mean?”

You shrugged.

“I like him. We have a lot in common and he’s hilarious and so cute. Maybe… Maybe I’m expecting too much, you know?”

Peter looked even more confused, jaw clenching as his frown deepened.

“What are you saying?”

“I mean… Yes, I’m a huge romantic and I want a boyfriend, a serious boyfriend, like I have for years, but… You have always been a girlfriend kind of guy. It’s no secret that you’re open to a serious relationship, and you claim the only reason that hasn’t happened yet is because you haven’t found the right girl, but… Peter, that’s never stopped you from having fun,” you elaborated.

He didn’t respond, and you sighed.

“I’m just saying that maybe I should do the same. Maybe I should stop trying to make a boyfriend out of every guy I’m into and just have fun. Like you!”

He forced a chuckle past his lips.

“That’s…that’s not like you…”

“I know, but… I’m tired of being alone,” you shrugged. “We’re in college, now, and the chances of me finding a boyfriend are pretty low. Let you tell it, a good portion of the guys here are trash, but that only matters if you’re looking for something serious, and I don’t think I want that anymore.”

Peter was uncharacteristically quiet…again, and you tilted your head at him.

“That’s…a big change for you,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” you sighed. “…but I’m really into Harry. You’ll help me, right?”

Your pleading gaze met his dark one, slightly frowning at the way he was looking at you. He pursed his lips.

“Please, Peter? I really like him, and you know him so well.”

He looked away with a small sigh. He briefly closed his eyes before eventually nodding, and you smiled. He looked at you with a grin on his lips, taking your hand again as he continued the trek down the sidewalk.

“Yeah. Leave it to me, Y/N, and I’ll help you get laid in no time,” he relented.

You squealed, reaching up to shake his shoulders as you pushed him along.

“You’re an angel!”

He chuckled.

“What are best friends for?”

 ~

“Okay, I’ll admit, that was much better than I was expecting,” Harry relented.

“See! I told you, I am an excellent judge when it comes to these things,” you replied as the two of you walked out of the theatre.

It was the sixth date the two of you had been on in 4 weeks. True to his word, Peter had helped you out, and that next morning after the party, you’d woken up to a text from Harry Osborn himself. A huge grin had spread out over your face, and you didn’t hesitate to reply.

The two of you had been talking nonstop since then about practically any and everything. It turns out that you hadn’t been premature in thinking the two of you had so much in common. It was true! It was almost suspicious how much of the same things you liked, including horror films.

“Listen, the storyline didn’t seem all that original, and when I had watched the trailer, I felt like I’d seen the entire thing in less than 2 minutes,” he defended.

“Okay, okay, that I can understand, but ever since I’d missed out on seeing both Insidious and The Conjuring in theatres because I thought they were going to suck, I vowed to myself ‘never again’.”

“Yikes! Both of those films were great. I just know you still kick yourself over that one,” he laughed.

“It literally haunts me,” you groaned. “I know experiencing both of those in the theatre must have been amazing.”

Harry seemed to find your regret amusing, and he stopped to look at you with a smile on his face.

“Hey, so uh, my frat is throwing a party this weekend. I mean, we do just about every weekend, but I was thinking maybe you could come…as my…date this weekend?”

Your eyes widened a bit, and you felt your face heat up. He seemed nervous to ask you, like he didn’t know how you’d feel about it, and it was wild to you. You really liked Harry, and you thought you had made that more than obvious over the past month. Sure, Peter was right when he said he was a bit of a snob, but it wasn’t overbearingly so to the point that it became a turn off. Crazily enough, you could see Harry being more than just ‘fun’.

“I’d love that,” you honestly replied.

The corner of his mouth pulled upwards into a smirk, and he stepped closer to you on the deserted sidewalk.

“Yeah…?”

You nodded, looking up at him as he got closer. Neither one of you said anything as he reached up to gently grip your jaw, leaning in until his lips pressed against yours. You sharply inhaled, closing your eyes as you savored this. His lips were soft, and the way he moved them against yours told you that he was experienced.

That didn’t bother you. Truth be told, you had always wanted to be with someone who knew what they were doing, because honestly, you had no idea. You felt flutters deep in your stomach, and you shuffled closer to him when a cool breeze blew by. He pulled away just a little, opening his eyes to look at you as you did the same.

“Come on. Let me walk you back to your place,” he offered.

You happily gripped his hand as he did just that.

You felt giddy, absolutely on cloud nine as you leaned your head on his shoulder. Maybe you were getting a bit ahead of yourself, but a nice and rich frat guy was asking you to be his date to his house’s party. In context, this whole thing was showing a lot of promise. Guys like him normally liked to keep their options open, and him actually claiming you as his date was making somewhat of a statement.

You waved him goodbye as you made your way inside the complex, lips still tingling from the second kiss he’d given you just outside. You were still smiling when you rounded the corner that led to your hall, pausing as your eyes fell on a familiar figure outside of your door.

“Peter, hey!”

He pulled himself to his feet with a small groan, stretching as you fished your keys out of your purse.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting here for over an hour,” he said, glancing at his watch.

You gave him a sheepish look as you let him go in first.

“Sorry. I went to go see a movie with Harry,” you answered.

“Oh,” he said in a small voice. “You’re still seeing that guy?”

“That guy,” you scoffed with a small chuckle. “Isn’t he your friend?”

“Yeah, sort of, I guess…”

“You staying over tonight?” you asked, glancing over your shoulder.

“I really wasn’t planning to, but since I’ve been waiting this long, I don’t want to go back to the house in the dark.”

You hummed, opening your drawer of takeout menus to figure out what you should order.

“So…how are things going with Harry?”

You couldn’t stop the smile that fell over your lips.

“Great actually,” you said, sounding surprised. “He asked me to be his date to the party his frat is throwing this weekend.”

Peter’s eyes were wide as you glanced up at him, dark eyebrows raised as he looked at you.

“Really…”

“Yeah! I don’t know… I wasn’t exactly planning for this to be anything serious, you know? I wanted to experience some light fun for once in my life, but now… I think I can see us actually being something,” you whispered.

Peter didn’t reply right away, only humming in response.

“Are you going to the party?”

He blinked, heaving a sigh before shaking his head.

“Nah. I’m not really a fan of the kind of parties they throw,” he said with a shrug.

“What do you mean?”

He waved you off.

“They can just get pretty wild. They regularly get noise complaints and don’t really monitor how much alcohol people are drinking until it’s too late and there’s throw up everywhere,” he explained with a frown.

“Oh…”

You were a bit disappointed that Peter wasn’t going to be there, but you had to remind yourself to stop being so dependent upon him. The two of you couldn’t stay attached at the hip forever, and at some point, you had to start making a social life for yourself…by yourself.

 ~

Friday night came much quicker than expected, and you were all dressed and ready to go. The house wasn’t far from your place, and since it was still daylight, you didn’t mind walking. You’d worn comfortable shoes, so it didn’t bother you.

Even though you would probably be considered an early arriver, the place was already lively when you stepped through the door. Everywhere you turned, you were met with someone’s back or chest, and you struggled to maneuver yourself through the bodies. You didn’t recognize anyone, and almost wished that Peter had come with you, growing nervous until you spotted a familiar head of dark hair.

You approached Harry with a smile, reaching out to grab his arm. His eyes were wide when he turned to face you, and you frowned when he maneuvered his arm out of your grip. Your frown only deepened when he stepped away from you, glancing away, and that was when you noticed the girl at his side.

She hadn’t been paying attention, gaze elsewhere, but she smiled when she finally turned to look at you. She was blonde and beautiful and had perfect teeth, dazzling you as she grinned. Her perfectly manicured hands wrapped around Harry’s arm as she leaned into him.

“Hey! Are you a friend of Harry’s?”

She seemed sweet, and confusion filled you at their familiar body language.

“Babe, this is Y/N. She’s super close with my friend Peter,” Harry answered, barely sparing you a glance.

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you eyed them.

“Oh! I’ve yet to meet Peter, but I’ve heard you mention him sometimes. I’m Scarlet, Harry’s girlfriend,” she introduced herself.

If it all possible, you probably would have thrown up, but you hadn’t eaten anything all day, too nervous about tonight.

“Oh, wow! I don’t think Peter ever mentioned Harry having a girlfriend,” you responded, hoping it sounded casual.

You could feel the man in question’s eyes on you, but you didn’t spare him a glance.

“Well, I’ve never actually met Peter, and Harry and I only recently go back together…what was it? Two months ago?”

“Two months ago…wow…”

You didn’t know what to say, and you finally understood the full meaning of ‘speechless’ in that moment.

“Yeah, Harry didn’t have any plans this weekend as far as I knew, so I decided to come down and surprise him. You should have seen his face when I showed up on the doorstep an hour ago,” she laughed.

You joined her, feeling like you were going to be sick.

“I’ll let you two catch up. It was nice to meet you!”

“You too,” Scarlet said, waving goodbye as you turned and pushed yourself through the crowd.

There were tears in your eyes, and your body was shaking. Were you on the verge of a panic attack? You stumbled over your own feet as you attempted to make your way to the door. So focused on the baby pink polish on your toes, you didn’t notice the figure before you until your head was colliding with their chest.

You stumbled back, almost falling had it not been for a familiar pair of hands. You looked up in shock, and everything crashed into you as your eyes met Peter’s. His gaze was inquiring, worry coloring his features as he studied you.

“Y/N? What’s wrong?”

You shook your head, letting it fall against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you.

“What happened?”

“H-Harry has a girlfriend,” you whispered.

You felt him tense against you.

“…what?”

“I mean… I thought… You said he was just some spoiled rick kid. You never mentioned a girlfriend,” you said, looking up at him.

“I didn’t know. Honest. They broke up forever ago,” he replied, pulling you against him.

“Yeah, well apparently, they got back together two months ago. The whole time we’d been talking and going out together he…,” you trailed off, shaking your head. “He treated me like I was practically a stranger.”

Peter’s jaw ticked, and he moved to go past you, but you stopped him. His dark eyes were focused on Harry no doubt, but you pressed your hands into his chest.

“Peter, let it go. Please! Just…stay with me? I don’t think I want to go home…”

The last thing you wanted was to lay in your bed and remind yourself of what a disaster tonight was turning out to be. Peter heaved a sigh, hands tightening on you before reluctantly nodding. He pulled you along towards the door.

“Come on. We can just go to the party at my house,” he offered.

You nodded, leaning against him as he walked you out. You wiped at your cheek, unsure of when a few tears had spilled over. You had fooled yourself into dreaming of more with Harry and look where it got you. Even if you had still only wanted something casual, there was no way you would have knowingly got involved with a guy who had a girlfriend. That wasn’t who you were.

“I thought…I thought you weren’t coming,” you whispered.

“I wasn’t, but… I didn’t want to leave you at a party where the only person you knew was Harry. I’m glad I did come,” he murmured. “What an ass…”

“Don’t worry about it, Peter. Really. Maybe this is just a sign that I should stop trying to force something with every guy I like. It never turns out well,” you sighed.

Peter’s frat house was just as lively when you guys moseyed inside. A few of his brothers recognized you, and you waved at them. Peter’s arm tightened around your waist, but you didn’t mind it. You knew what other guys at the party would think, but you didn’t care. You were done with guys, and all you wanted was to hang out with Peter, the only guy you had ever been able to trust. So if they mistook you as Peter’s girl, and left you alone because of it, that was fine with you.

The two of you were attached at the hip throughout the night. Peter had gotten both of you drinks, and hours later, you were still nursing that same drink. This was never your crowd, and the more you made your way around the room with Peter, the more obvious it became. He didn’t seem to mind your company though, arm still at home on your waist. You noticed a few disappointed glances being thrown your way, and you chuckled with a frown.

“Peter, I think I’m ruining your chances of getting laid,” you finally said.

He glanced around to see what you meant before he chuckled too.

“It’s fine. You’re my best friend. I’m not just going to ditch you,” he responded.

You smiled but still felt a bit guilty that you had affected his night again. You pulled away from him, letting him know that you were going to be in the kitchen. He understood and promised to join you. To be honest, you wanted him to have fun. You didn’t exactly take pleasure in knowing that he sacrificed his usual routine at parties just for you.

You leaned against the counter, pressing your fingers to your temples as you rubbed circles into your skin. You didn’t know how the night had gone so wrong. How had you been so clueless? No, no! You were not going to do that. It wasn’t your job to watch and hunt for signs of an untruthful man. You weren’t supposed to be suspicious of a guy you were seeing. This whole situation was completely on Harry.

You finished your drink, tossing the red cup into the trash with a sigh. It was amazing that in the span of 3 hours, your life had done a complete 180. You had gone from having the time of your life to being alone and miserable and feeling absolutely foolish.

You heard footsteps make their way into the kitchen. You glanced up, face contorting in a frown as your gaze connected with that of the last person you wanted to see.

“What are you doing here?” you scoffed.

He was holding two drinks, eyes apologetic as he approached you.

“I’m sorry-.”

“I don’t want to hear it, Harry. There’s nothing that you could say that can fix this.”

“Y/N, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. Scarlet and I… We’ve been having problems for a long time, now, and we both thought getting back together would make them magically go away, but they didn’t. The night we met, Scarlet and I had gotten into a huge fight, and I was under the impression that we were over…for good.”

You eyed him.

“Then she wanted to work things out, but I had already met you, and I really liked you…”

You looked away with a sigh.

“We were never exclusive, I guess, but it doesn’t matter because you have a girlfriend. You had a girlfriend the whole time we were hanging out, and I’m certain that you and she have an agreement that you guys are exclusive,” you harshly replied.

He glanced down, and you chuckled, but it lacked humor.

“You were cheating on her…with me… Never mind the obvious of how she would feel if she found out, but how do you think that makes me feel? Do you think I like being that kind of girl?”

He shook his head.

“No, no, you’re not the type-.”

“Exactly.”

He at least had the decency to look ashamed.

“I know I messed up, okay? I just wanted to apologize and bring you this… You said it’s your favorite, the only drink you actually really like, and I thought maybe it could soften the blow of you chewing me out,” he confessed.

You eyed the cup, glaring at him before taking it. You took a sip before sighing.

“Well, thanks for the drink,” you saluted him with it. “…but I don’t see us moving past this Harry. It was fun, but I don’t even want to be friends with someone like you. I’m sorry, and I mean it when I say I hope you and Scarlet work things out.”

You brushed past him, taking another sip of the fruity mixture as you went in search of Peter. It was easy to find him, following the sound of his familiar laughter. He didn’t mention anything as he wrapped his arm around you, and you figured that he didn’t know Harry was here yet.

“Hey, I was coming, I swear I was-.”

“Peter, it’s fine! You know I don’t care about you keeping me company or not. I’m a big girl.”

He returned your smile, pulling you closer as his hand tightened on your waist.

You didn’t plan to stay much longer, and about an hour later you decided that you would head out…after you used the bathroom. You found it much more difficult to weave through the sweaty bodies this time, and you blinked as your vision spun for half a second. You stopped to steady yourself, pressing your hand to your head in confusion.

You eventually made it to the bathroom, and you took some time to look at yourself in the mirror. You looked alright, for the most part, but you felt so…off. Your fingers were tingling just the slightest, and the bass in the houses sounded incredibly far away. By the time you were done in the bathroom, you were stumbling out.

You had to hold onto the wall for support, and confusion filled you. You’d only been drunk a handful of times, but this time felt different. Even worse, you had only had two drinks. You dreaded making your way down the stairs, and you had to pause and lean your back on the wall halfway down. You heard someone call your name, and they too sounded so far away. You jerked when a pair of hands landed on your arms.

“Y/N? Y/N, are you okay?”

You stared at Harry for the longest time, wondering what he was still doing here when it clicked. You frowned at him.

“Did you put something in my drink?”

Your words were slurred, but he understood you nonetheless, and his eyes widened.

“What? No!”

“You did, didn’t you? I…I only had two drinks, and this didn’t start until after-.”

“Y/N, I wouldn’t do that! Come on, let me-.”

“No!” you jerked away from him. “Is this your way of getting in my pants, anyway?”

He frantically shook his head, concern and worry and disbelief all rolled into one in his gaze.

“Y/N, you have to believe me! I wouldn’t do this!”

You scoffed, pushing against him, but it was weak.

“Believe you? How could I trust anything you say?”

He blinked, something clicking in his eyes as he looked down the stairs and back to you.

“Y/N, I didn’t get the drink for you. Did Parker not tell you he saw me? He gave me the-.”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

You both turned to look just as Peter came up the stairs. You stumbled towards him, fighting off Harry’s hands as Peter wrapped his arms around you.

“He put something in my drink,” you whispered, on the verge of passing out.

“What?” Peter demanded, tightening his hold on you.

“Y/N, listen-!”

“You’ve done enough, don’t you think? Get out of here, Harry, because if I tell my frat brothers you’re drugging girls they aren’t just going to let you walk out of here,” he threatened.

Harry stumbled over his words as Peter helped you back up the stairs.

“Leave,” you heard him snap at the other brunette.

Your fingers dug into his arm as he helped you walk down the hall, arms tightening around you.

“P-Peter…”

“Hey, hey… It’s okay. You can crash in my room, tonight, yeah?”

You’d only been in his room a handful of times, the both of you usually hanging out at his place. It was always clean and always smelled good, and you had thought to yourself before that it was no wonder girls kept coming back. He sat you down on his bed, and you struggled to sit upright.

You heard him fumbling around in his drawers and looked up just in time to see him coming over with a huge t-shirt. You didn’t mind when he helped you out of your clothes, welcoming it during your inebriated state. His fingers grazed your skin as he slid the shirt over you, resting his hands on your shoulders.

“Y/N, can you hear me?”

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered, blinking at him.

He took his thumb to widen your eyes, getting a good look at your pupils. You felt like you were having an out of body experience, and you were grateful for Peter. You didn’t like feeling like this, and you shuddered to think about what would have happened to you had Peter not been here.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

He ran his eyes over you before resting them on your fogged-out ones.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said with a small smile. “What are best friends for?”

You struggled to return the smile, and he brushed his hand along the side of your face. Your eyes fell closed at the gentle feel of his ministrations. You were somewhat in shock that Harry would do such a thing. A rapist was a big leap from cheater and liar, and you wondered what drove him to do it. He had a girlfriend, but maybe he was truly that greedy and disgusting?

You forced your eyes open when you felt Peter’s hand on the side of your neck. You blinked, eyebrows furrowing as you watched him lean in.

“Peter-.”

You were cut off when he pressed his lips against your own. Your eyes widened, and you reached up to press your hands into his chest, but you had no strength. His hand slid to grip the hair at the back of your head, tightening his grip as he leaned into you.

You mumbled incoherently into his mouth as he laid you down, his lithe frame immediately settling against yours. His other hand was on your naked thigh, his t-shirt riding up to brush against your underwear. You turned your head, gasping for breath.

“Peter…stop,” you panted. “W-what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer you, opting instead to pull away and reach behind his head to pull his shirt off. You blinked as you were met with the sight of his bare chest. He leaned down again, pressing his lips against yours. He simply swallowed all of your protests, and you turned your head away again.

“Peter!”

“I’m doing what I’ve wanted to do for years, now,” he whispered against your cheek.

Your eyes widened, and confusion filled you.

“…what?”

You tried to scoot back on the bed, but he only followed, his frame still caging yours in as you both moved. His eyes were hard as he looked at you, and you felt tears collect as you fought not to cry.

“Harry gets everything, you know. It’s all just so easy for him, but I’d never let him have you,” he murmured, pressing kisses to your neck. “Not after I worked so hard to save you…for myself…”

You pushed against him again, but he didn’t budge.

“No, no. Peter, what…what are you…?”

Nothing was making sense, and your head hurt and your body felt heavy and the room was spinning. Nothing he was saying was making sense.

“Peter, you’re my best friend… This doesn’t make any sense…”

Your head lolled, much too heavy to lift as you heard him fumble with his pants. Panic gripped you, but you could hardly move. You groaned when he pressed himself against you, and you could feel him hard and throbbing between your thighs.

“Peter,” you mumbled.

“I’m going to be the only person who gets to be inside of you. The only one to know what it feels like to have you wrapped around them. God, I’ve always wanted to know what you feel like,” he whispered, kissing you again.

His fingers made their way to your core, rubbing you through your underwear. You reached up to grip his arm, but you were sure that your hold was featherlight. You let like your body weighed a ton, and the smallest of movements took so much out of you.

You whimpered as you felt your underwear grow damp, and Peter wasted no time in pushing them to the side before pushing a finger inside of you. Another soon followed, and you were panting beneath him as he worked his hand in between your legs.

“Please…stop,” you begged. “I’ll scream…”

“Can you?” he wondered, lips brushing against yours.

Tears spilled over at his question. He was right. Could you even scream? You could barely speak.

“Even if you could scream, Y/N… There’s a party going on. Who’s going to hear you? Hmm?”

He was dragging your filthy underwear down your legs, now.

“Peter, please. I’m your best friend… Please, don’t do this to me,” you pleaded.

Peter’s eyes met yours.

“It’s just been us our entire lives. All we ever needed was each other. I want to keep it that way,” he said.

You yelped, pressing your nails into his back as he slid inside of you to the hilt. Your legs were limp around him, a scream caught in your throat. He leaned down to kiss your wet cheeks, shushing you as you struggled to adjust beneath him.

He took his time as he pulled out of you before sliding back in, groaning at the way you clenched around him. You pressed your nails harder into his back, and he hissed before reaching back to grip your wrist, pinning it to the bed. He did the same with the other and kept a steady pace.

You panted beneath him, eyes fluttering closed. Whatever was coursing through your system made it impossible to focus on anything other than the way his hard length felt dragging against your walls. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he thrust into you, never taking his eyes off of you as he watched your face.

His grip tightened on your wrists, and you gasped at the pain.

“Peter…”

“It’s okay. Just enjoy it, Y/N…”

You gasped again as he picked up his pace, forehead dewy with sweat. He buried his face in your neck again, chest pressed against yours as he pinned you to the bed, unrelenting in his thrusts.

“You’re mine,” he murmured. “You’re finally mine…”

Something that was a cross between a choked moan and a sob escaped you.

“I want everyone to know it-.”

“No, Peter-!”

“I’m going to fuck you until the sun comes up, so everyone in this house will know you belong to me. You’re my girl, Y/N. You always have been,” he moaned. “…and when you limp out of this house with my marks on you, everyone will know it.”

He came in you with a low moan, and you sobbed into his chest as he rolled over, curling you against him. He ran his fingers down your back, lips brushing your forehead.

“I’ll make you come before the night is over,” he whispered. “I’ll be the only one to ever touch you like this.”

You shook your head, and he rolled you back onto your back, still inside of you. His dark eyes bore into your own, fingers trailing over your trembling body.

“You know exactly what I’m capable of, Y/N… You know the things I can do. I’d hate to have to hurt someone for touching what’s mine.”

~

tags: @sherrybaby14​ @kellyn1604​ @xoxabs88xox​ @mcudarklibrary​ @darkficreposter​ @villanellevi​ @sebabestianstan101​ @harringtonsblackgf​

@opheliadawnwalker3​ @jtargaryen18​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @readermia​

[johannas-motivational-insults]

Jo’s Top 10 of 2020

I see lots of artists doing that thing where they post a piece from each month of the year... unfortunately my content creation isn’t necessarily consistent and it’s hard to track what month individual fic chapters were posted in, but I figured I’d do something similar and post my Top 10 pieces of content I created in 2020, what they’re about and why I love them. I actually did get a fair amount done this year thanks to the lockdown, but I’ve narrowed it down to these ten that I’d like to reflect on. (To be fair, I’m probably forgetting something huge. Feel free to leave comments if you think I passed over something important lol.)

10. Friendship in the Horde (meta): This is something I’d wanted to write for a while but finally got around to finishing in February. It’s basically a sociology paper lmao, an analysis of the social hierarchies and systems of the Horde. It was also a convenient excuse for me to gush about Catralonnie, an underrated (friend)ship. But honestly this was an important piece for me because I have always identified with the Horde characters way more than any of the rebels (other than Adora, who grew up in the Horde) and part of why is how they are in an unsafe environment and end up forming relationships that are helpful for survival but hinder them psychologically. And I think to understand the Horde characters and really evaluate their motives and choices you need to understand this first.

9. The Sting in My Eyes: On the surface this is just a run of the mill hurt/comfort oneshot, but it was a really important post-canon processing fic for me. I had a lot of feelings about Catra’s relationships with Shadow Weaver and Melog in season 5, particularly about how Catra must have felt really conflicted after Shadow Weaver told her what she wanted to hear all those years but in a way that felt unearned and out of the blue. It was really cathartic for me to write a scene where she struggles with those mixed feelings but has Adora and Melog to help her process them. And I had long associated the song the title is from with Catra and Shadow Weaver’s relationship, and the way she died trying to redeem herself really solidified that connection.

8. Hail Mary, chapter 6: This was supposed to be a short chapter mostly about the backstory between Catra and Scorpia in this au, with some Catradora yearning thrown in. It evolved into a massive, sprawling thing that is very atmospheric in terms of how the setting and vibes are described and how in the moment it feels. Hail Mary is like that sometimes but that type of narration is usually about football games rather than parties, so this chapter was a fun change of pace in many ways. It was really nostaglic for me to write too, the nerves of being a teenager at a party with your crush and how intense everything feels. And the Scorptra stuff really is delicious, it was nice seeing them have that conversation they never got to have in canon and truly make up, and the tiny sliver I added of Catra’s earlier history was heartbreaking in the best way. So this was not what I intended to write, but it turned out way better for it.

7. A Better Son or Daughter (AMV): I’ve done other Adora AMVs, but this one is really my iconic piece. The song is perfect for Adora, so perfect it’s on Noelle’s Adora playlist. The vid itself is a character study about Adora’s mental health struggles and the way she represses them, as well as a tribute to her resiliency and her eventual triumph of getting to a better place in her life. This is a song that gives me a lot of feelings and once I was making it about Adora it gave me even more, so this was a very satisfying piece to complete. I wish Noelle had gotten a chance to see it but oh well, maybe down the line.

6. Hail Mary, chapter 12: This is the chapter that much of the fic had been building to, Catra and Adora in conflict because Catra finally got the chance to be Adora’s hero and Adora shot her down. It’s painfully analogous to canon, both in terms of how (I suspect) Catra felt in Thaymor and Adora’s tendency to victim blame because she’s so pragmatic. There’s definitely some tones of Taking Control in there but Lonnie does a much better job of examining Catra’s psychology and needs than Glimmer did in canon (a writing error imo, Glimmer should have had more insight). Adora just wants to help but sometimes in her quest to do so she disenfranchises others, and this was a much needed look at that aspect of her character. It’s also an excellent illustration of what it’s like to play a peacekeeping role in an abusive household and how stressful it is trying to protect others while also protecting yourself.

5. Unstoppable (AMV): This is not my favorite Catra AMV I’ve ever done, but it might be the cleverest. The soundtrack is a song about mental illness masquerading as a song about being a bad bitch, which is basically Catra in a nutshell. The lyrics are incredibly fitting for her and her arc as it develops over seasons 1-4. The vid itself takes a hard turn in the interpretation of the lyrics, going from talking about how no one can stop Catra to how she can’t stop herself because she’s in such a terrible sunk cost fallacy spiral, and I think I got several death threats over that twist lmao. As someone who primarily deals in angst, there’s hardly a better compliment to be paid.

4. Demons, chapter 31: This one got real dark on me. The concept of this chapter was originally an examination of how comparing abuse can get really dicey but you also have to respect that other people have had different experiences from you and you have to be careful not to equate things or make it sound like you’re talking over someone else. I guess it’s also a bit of a look at how autistic people (like myself) will often explain why they can empathize so others know they understand rather than saying empty platitudes, but that can come off as insensitive or like they’re making things about them. I mean, in this case Adora kinda was making things about her, but she was provoked into it by a parade of comments insinuating she didn’t suffer at all, which was also unfair. Anyway it’s one of the more important Catradora fights in Demons and something I’d written bits of over a year prior, it was that important to the plot, but it also took a turn I was not originally planning. I finished the chapter when I was in a really bad depressive and self-loathing spiral and that bled onto the page, but it worked perfectly for Catra in this scenario... that push and pull of feeling like the world has hurt and victimized you mixed with knowing you’ve done some bad things yourself and feeling like you don’t have a leg to stand on when mourning the ways you’ve been hurt. It’s intense as all fuck but it’s excellent.

3. Hail Mary, chapter 11: Speaking of dark Catra content, this chapter... whew. It was really something else, to read and to write. I have written flashbacks in Demons that are more detailed and even include explicit violence but because those scenes are always in flashback form I never really got the chance to sit in the head of an abuse victim waiting for the other shoe to drop for an entire chapter like I did here. It’s quite different from the rest of Hail Mary stylistically and is both highly sensory and extremely internalized. It took me back to some terrifying moments in my own life so it was difficult but also extremely cathartic to write. It’s important too because it really sets up where Catra was at mentally heading into her big fight with Adora, and that chapter is in Adora POV. This chapter is ranked so high simply because it’s... polished, as @malachi-walker put it. It almost is its own story within the story and really noteworthy as a piece all its own.

2. Demons, chapter 26: This chapter is very similar thematically to Hail Mary 12, just based in the canonverse. It deals with one of the core (but highly neglected by fandom) conflicts between Catra and Adora, where they both need to feel like they can take care of and protect the other but also detest feeling weak or vulnerable themselves. It leads to Adora’s ego making Catra feel disrespected and Catra’s behavior confusing Adora and making her think she’s an ungrateful brat rather than someone who needs so badly to be needed, just like her. There’s definitely some power struggles in this chapter but finally they’re able to get to the heart of it and seeing them talk it out is so satisfying. Getting this chapter published was also important to me on a personal level because, like I said, this aspect of their conflict and relationship is rarely acknowleged for how important it is when really it’s one of the deepest conflicts between them in the series. It’s a scene I started writing pretty much as soon I knew I was extending the fic into something longer because I just needed them to have this conversation, so finishing it was so satisfying.

1. Satisfaction, chapter 3: This chapter took me a really long time to write, both in terms of time to get it published and time I actually spent working on it. It’s the crown jewel of a fic that’s really important to me and I had to get it just right, so I spent more time agonizing over every detail and rewriting things to get them absolutely perfect than I usually do (I’m a perfectionist anyway, but this took it to a whole other level). But in the end it was worth it, because this chapter is damn fine. It’s really hot, as you’d expect from a smut fic, but it’s also an excellent character study of how both Catra and Adora were affected by their abuse and trauma and the issues it raises for them in terms of sex and intimacy. Also, come on, we need more BDSM fics out there that focus on the actual point of it all (the trust involved) and promote communication and do the character work to explain why they might be into it in the first place.

BONUS (from December 31, 2019): One of my favorite pieces of 2020 technically came out in 2019, but I posted it on New Years Eve so most people first saw it in 2020. It’s an absolute banger of an AMV called I’m Not Jesus that’s all about Catra and Adora’s anger towards Shadow Weaver and their refusal to forgive their abuser. Funny enough this came out before Adora’s iconic “I will never forgive you” line, and Shadow Weaver definitely made things more complicated with how she went out, but I think the sentiment still applies.

[singingforthepromises]

fruits basket manga lb (chs 131 - 133)

CH 131

We’re learning about the origins of the curse now. Oh boy. 

The cat went to God first ;A; 

omg the cat died first.... 

God saved it!

Oh, the cat didn’t want to have eternal life... and the others and God took that as rejection.... seriously? So petty, honestly. I love learning about how it happened but I’m just like... wtf. It’s like all of this generational trauma could’ve all been avoided if God and the animals hadn’t misinterpreted shit LOl

YUKI’S CRYING ;A;

I totally understand Yuki’s feelings here. It must be hard. You’re free, but you’re also letting go of something that was a part of you for so long, something that helped shaped who you are, no matter how negative a situation. 

AH AJSFJSJF HE CAN HUG HER NOW OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT IM SOBBING

MACHI IS SO CUTE 

She’s calling him by his first name KSFJSJFJSF

AHHH THEY KISSED! ENDGAME YUCHI! <3

“When did that promise turn into a curse?” What I’ve been asking since since the very beginning rofl

AKDGDKG KYO’S SHOWING KAZUMA HIS BARE ARM IM ;A;

KAZUMA IS SO HAPPY SJJDG

Haru and Rin!! <3

omg look at Tohru pulling on Kyo’s shirt how cute

is Tohru gonna see Akito? <3

SHE’S HUGGING HER! I LOVE THIS! I love that Akito can see that even after the curse has been lifted, Tohru wasn’t lying about being there for her, about being her friend. Akito needed this, honestly. I’m very happy with the resolution of their rivalry. I’m happy with how the curse broke. 

“The Cat’s wish... wasn’t granted... until much, much later.” IM CRYINGGG

CH 132

Starting the last volume... this is so depressing, I don’t want this story to be over. 

Akigure time, lol. 

Oh is this the final banquet? 

IT’S SO NICE TO SEE RITSU AGAIN!! <333

“Things might be a bit tense.” Oh, I’m sure. I don’t think it’s all going to be sunshine and daisies. Akito may be behaving a hell of a lot better and changed her ways, but there’s still a lot of pain here, pain that she directly caused. I’m interested to see how this is going to go. 

LOL @ momiji calling Kyo a cheater we love to see familial teasing!

I love that they’re not all awkward around each other. It just goes to show that a lot of their genuine personalities poked through even among the curse. They all do have a bond, curse or no curse. And it’s very nice to see Kyo being actually included in that bond. 

lool fucking Ayame, man. I love him. 

Aww is Yuki kinda sorta looking out for Kyo around Ayame? I love this. 

HAHA 

“Akito’s ready to see you.” sfjsjfsj

OH WOW.

Look at her? She looks so pretty? 

RITSU LMFAO

Oh, Shigure got her that kimono. 

Yeaaah, this is what I’m worried about with Akigure as a ship. Akito’s better, but she still has a tendency to fly off the handle if she thinks she’s being slighted, and it makes me worried about how they would handle dispites and arguments without getting physical like that, you know? I’d hope that she’d do it less and less as time goes on. 

“All of you are free. And this may come too late, but for everything... I’m...” Oh my god. Is she trying to apologize? 

She can’t, though. It won’t come out. I bet she probably feels like sorry isn’t enough, in some ways. How do you apologize for a lifetime of suffering that you’ve caused, the trauma inflicted on other people? 

I guess Akigure are official, lol. I mean, I’m glad that Akito’s getting a somewhat happy ending. Shigure, I still don’t like him but he’s a fantastic character. 

Akito’s gonna stay at the estate and be the head without keeping anyone shackled to her. That’s as good of an ending as I could’ve anticipated for her. I’ll be honest: I still feel like she got off a little easy. She should’ve faced some legal consequences, at least. But I don’t dislike her like I used to. She’s definitely come around and I’ve partially forgiven her. 

I’ll talk more about my feelings about Akito and everything once I’ve finished, but that’s where I am right now. 

CH 133

AHHH KYORU. THEY’RE OFFICIAL! 

loool who is Mayu talking about? 

OH Yuki and the others know about Akito being a female now? Nice!

“I can’t believe I was so violent... to a girl.” KYO. MY BOY. Omg what a sweetheart? Honey, she was violent to you, too. 

“The last thing I wanted was another guy interested in you.” LMFAOOOO 

YUKI’S DYING

“The mood between the two of them has become somewhat gentler than before.” Somewhat? Girl, they’re friends now, and I’m loving it. It’s so cute. 

“He beat the crap outta me.” YES LOL

“Kyo-kun smiles more than he used to. I’ve come to realize that this is his true self.” ;A;

oh my gosh THEY’RE SO CUTE.

How are they even cuter now that they’re dating?!

“Walking together, hand in hand, isn’t something that I’ll ever take for granted.” I’m cryinggggg. ;a; My babies. 

NOT TALK OF A KYORU BABY MY HEART CAN ONLY HANDLE SO MUCH.

AND GRANDPA KAZUMA!! HE’D DOTE ON THAT KID!

What’s wrong with my bby girl Isuzu? :(

“Not everyone... is in the same situation.” Ah, yeah... 

“How can you act like nothing ever happened? She did all kinds of nasty stuff to Kyo. And she hurt you a lot too. Those wounds will never disappear, will they?” I 1000% understand Rin here. I was waiting for this to be brought up!

Oh, Isuzu, my poor girl. 

This might change later on, but as of right now, I don’t fully forgive Akito, either. There’s just too much that she did to too many people. Like Rin, like Yuki, like Kyo. Even Hatori. I’m generally a forgiving person, but I have a hard time with abusive characters. Maybe it’s from my own past, being a survivor of abuse. Being around it and knowing how they are just impacts you differently, I guess. I don’t know if it’s right to say that maybe people who haven’t experienced abuse are able to forgive easier. 

I haven’t forgiven my abuser, and I never will. Do I still understand why they did it, why they are who they are, and do I still empathize? YES. I feel a lot for people. I feel a lot for Akito on a positive note, and I’m so proud of her progression. She’s a hurt woman who deserved better and who hurt people because she was in so much pain herself. She hasn’t been able to break free of her abuser or heal yet. She needs a safe space to do that, and she’s beginning to learn to be better and be a sweeter person. Tohru showed her that. 

But like Rin, I can’t fully forgive her. If Tohru hadn’t done what she did, hadn’t reached out to Akito, Akito never would’ve changed. She would’ve continued to be horrible and not feel regret for the things she’s done. I appreciate that she was trying to apologize, though. And there are things that I’ve forgiven her for. It’s the worst indiscretions that I can’t. How she treated Rin and Yuki, specifically. I know that she was projecting with Rin. But Rin was a child and an abuse victim herself. Out of all of them, Akito could’ve related to her. Akito knew. She used that instead to hurt Rin, and that is the one thing that I’ll never be okay with. 

“They’ll need time. A whole lot.” Yes. And even then, it may not be enough. Some scars run so fucking deep that even time doesn’t help. I’ve healed from my trauma. It doesn’t impact me anymore. I’ve learned how to cope and move on and now utilize those skills to help others. I think time will help, though, and it may allow others to forgive Akito later. 

Distance is the key here, I think. If they’re not around her, maybe forgiveness will come easier. 

Wow, Akito taking what she learned from Tohru and reaching out to the maid? We love to see it. 

[isnt-it-loverly]

little birdie (4)// five hargreeves

Warnings: blood

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline. 

Word count: 1800

Author note: sorry if this is bad, ive been in a rut as of late. Once again thank you so much for all the love and support. I hope you enjoy :)

part one, part two, part three part five

You knocked softly on the door of apartment 217. An elderly lady opened the door with a bright smile on her face. 

“Hello, my little birdie! It's been so long!” She said while pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. The wool of her sweater scratched against your skin, and the smell of freshly baked cookies and wild flowers filled your nose. She pulled away and placed her gaze on Five. 

“Oh, you’ve brought a friend!” She added gleefully. 

“Yes, Granny, this is um… Aidan! We met at the karate class my father has me in,” You explained. You hated lying to such a sweet old lady, but you knew the truth would be too much for her to understand. Plus you really didn’t have the time to explain everything. 

You turned back to Five and have a shrug of your shoulders. He was right, he didn’t need a normal name. Five was just too fitting. She moved closer to him and grabbed his cheek, making him very uncomfortable. 

“You’re father is just terrible for making you kids do that! Look how roughed up the pair of you are, come inside and we’ll get you cleaned up” She said solemnly. 

Five walked beside you and grabbed your arm firmly. Pulling you to the side he whispered a quick “what the hell” in your ear. 

“She thinks she’s my grandma,” you replied bluntly, “just go along with it.” 

Five sighed in exasperation, this was not helping him find his siblings. He followed you into the apartment begrudgingly, trusting that you were not just yanking his chain. The old woman excused herself and said she would bake a fresh batch of cookies. After she left you grabbed his sleeve and whispered, “follow me.”

You lead him into a side bedroom. It was small and quaint, very homey compared to the academy. 

“Remember when I said that I’ve lived a million lives? Gertrude was one of my first, I got stuck in her mind for weeks, and I learned a lot about her. Her husband died right before I got trapped in her noggin, so I switched some memories then added some new ones. I’ve been visiting ever since,” You explained. 

“Do your siblings know?” He asked, worry dripping in his tone. 

“Not to my knowledge, I don’t think they’d appreciate me having a life outside the academy,” you answered with a shrug. 

Five was utterly perplexed by you. You were an enigma, so eager to trust others, so kind, and selfless. How did you end up so different from the others? He watched as you opened a drawer of the cedar chest that was in front of the bed. 

“Sometimes, I like to take things from the people I’ve been. Just as little reminders. I think I have some clothes in here that might fit you,” you said with extreme focus. You pulled out a tee-shirt and jeans, something Five was not accustomed to. He turned his nose slightly.

“I’d rather choke on my own tongue than wear that,” He groaned. 

You shook your head in annoyance, pulling out a set of clean clothes for yourself as well. You enjoyed civilian wear, it made you feel normal and secure- something your academy uniform could never. 

“Just put on the damn clothes before I make you short stack,” you snapped back. Your eyes glowed s brighter blue for a moment and Five now knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter. 

“At least turn your back,” he grumbled in response. 

You gave him a small laugh and did as you were told. You crawled to the other side of the bed and slipped on your new clothes as well. After a few minutes, Five gave you the clear. 

“Wow, unknit that eyebrow and wipe that frown off your face, and you look almost normal,” You said with a smile. 

It was true, he looked like a regular ole teenager. Something you know that he has never been. You give him a look over before your eyes stop at his forearm. An umbrella tattoo, of course, he would have one. 

Five noticed you staring, he followed your gaze to his arm. He lifted it so you could see it better, and an ever-present scowl on his face. 

“Do you have one?” He asked. 

You nodded solemnly and pushed up your sleeve. You placed your arm against his, the bird and the umbrella practically touching. You wondered why your Father loathed them so much and then it was quiet for a moment. 

“The houses of Capulet and Montague,” you spoke up in a mocking tone. 

“I didn’t ask you to betray your entire family,” He said. His voice was deep and rough, a sense of anger could be detected. 

“No, but you really twisted my arm showing me the whole apocalypse thing. I’m an empath idiot, your feelings became mine,” You were quick to snap back. 

Five liked that about you. You were nice and helpful, but you also knew when to stand your ground. He could compare you to a coin, two different sides yet well balanced. A perfect equilibrium. 

“I’ve helped you,” you murmured, “now I think you owe me.” 

He raised an eyebrow at you, curious and intrigued at what you were going to say. 

“I’ve only done this once and it didn’t end well. I need you to keep me grounded, do whatever it takes to get me back. My father believes that I can project my consciousness onto someone without looking into their eyes, so I’m going to try to do that to your sister, Allison,” you explained. 

“You said it didn’t end well? What happened?” Five asked, very concerned. 

“It takes a lot out of me, I couldn’t get into anyone’s mind and it almost killed me,” You confessed. 

“I’m sorry, did you say killed?” He responded wide-eyed. It warmed your heart that he was at least concerned about you. 

“Look, do you wanna find your family or not? Unless you have a better plan?” You asked with a slight raise of your voice. 

Five shook his head, knowing that this was the best plan You sat on the plush bed, curling your fingers around the soft comforter. You took a shaky breath and closed your eyes tightly. Running the fabric between your fingers you counted every stitch. You pictured his sister’s face in your mind, paying extra intention to her eyes. Five watched intently as you did, he was worried about you- you were an important asset and a powerful ally. It would be a shame if you died. Your eyes opened abruptly and to Five’s amazement and horror there was just white and a soft blue emanating from them. 

When you opened your eyes again to find yourself sitting at a kitchen table. Looking up you see Allison sitting across from you, intently reading the newspaper. If she was there, then who were you? Looking down and the palms of your hands the words ‘hello’ and ‘good-bye’ were splayed across them. 

“Well shit, I’m the pretty one,” You mumbled to yourself. Although you were very glad and very surprised that you had managed to pull this off, you would have to thank your father for the extra training the past few months. 

“What are you on about now, Klaus?” Allison said utterly unamused. 

“Actually it’s number five. Not your Five, the other five. Sparrow Five. Ya know what I’m rambling, I’m (Y/n),” You spit out quickly. Holy shit this man’s brain was fried. Everything was happening at a million miles an hour, you couldn’t keep up.

You watched as her expression changed, she stood up abruptly in the same fighting stance Five had used earlier. Her eyes watched you like a hawk and if looks could kill you’d be dead. 

“Your family killed my brother, now I swear if you harm one hair on Klaus’ stupid head. I’ll end you,” She spat venom dripping in her words. 

“He’s not dead! Five is very much alive, and we’re looking for you guys. So all we need is an address and we will be on our way,” You replied with a smile. 

“Yeah right, why would I trust you?” She questioned. 

“Look, Five is hurt really badly. This astral possession thing is gonna knock me on my ass, I won’t be able to protect him from my siblings. If you don’t help us, well, we’re both already dead,” You said in a somber tone. 

 You could tell that the gears we’re winding in her head. You felt a pain in your head that radiates in your chest, you coughed slightly and blood appeared on your hands. Shit its starting, you couldn’t stay much longer. You felt blood begin to slowly drip from your nose. Double shit with a cherry on top.

“What are you doing to him?” She yelled.

“Allison,” you choked, “he needs you.”

“Fine, just stop whatever you are doing to him!” She yelled in fear of her brother, Moments later she revealed the address, perfect that’s all you needed. Now you could get back and share your triumph. 

You closed your eyes tightly and the world began to spin. Round and round, faster and faster.  Until finally, you felt your legs give out but you didn’t hit the floor. You opened your eyes slowly to find yourself in Five’s arms. He was looking down at you, fear present in those emerald eyes. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God, you started pouring out blood like a fountain. I thought you were dead,” He scolded. He sounded like an old man when he spoke, it was almost endearing. 

You touched your nose and wiped away some of the fresh blood, staring at it intently. You felt so weak, that was too much and you vowed never to do that again. The cost was far too high. You sat up and you felt Five’s hand on your back- ready to steady you if you need it. You had really scared him, he didn’t know why. He had just met you, so why did the thought of losing you hurt so badly.

“I did it,” You mumbled hoarsely. 

“Did what?” Five whispered in a soft voice. The tone was foreign even to him, but right now he felt like you needed a friend and not a sarcastic asshole. 

“I found them, I found your family. They aren’t far from here,” You breathed out. 

Five hugged you tightly and gave you a sincere thank you. You hugged back gently, you couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged you. It was a feeling you could get used to, warm, secure, and safe. You also couldn’t remember the last time you felt any of those things. Perhaps these umbrellas weren’t so bad after all.

“Come on,” You said breaking away, “let’s get some of those cookies, hit the road, and get you back to the right timeline.”

Taglist: alexander-hamilhoe

[animeyanderelover]

I saw the immortal s/o ask for Sebastian and undertaker and I was wondering if you could do that but with Wendy and Peter (together) and dagger

Wow! I wrote some stuff about Dagger, but never about Wendy and Peter before. How exciting!

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, paranoia suicidal mention, suicidal try

Immortal s/o

Wendy & Peter

🤸‍♀️It is definitely an advantage that you have Wendy in here. She’s the more caring and empathic than her partner here. She cares for your happiness and was worried when noticing how down you always looked. Peter was a bit different. Being the more harsh and possessive Yandere he acted like he didn’t care. But he did deep down.

🤸‍♀️Wendy tried to get their darling to talk to the both of them, being gentle about it. With her partner it looked a bit different. Peter was a lot more forceful with it, ready to use fear and a bit violence to get their s/o to just finally talk. He was fed up with their behavior. If it wouldn’t have been for Wendy he might have actually hurt them.

🤸‍♀️Peter is someone who prefers to keep you somewhere locked up, it makes him feel at ease. But Wendy was someone who wanted to be near you and wanted to go somewhere out with you. For that reason she sneaked into the circus wagon to get you out. And only seconds later the whole circus suddenly heard a terrified and shrill scream. Peter, instantly knowing that this was Wendy, knew that something must have happened and rushed towards the direction of the scream. As soon as he reached the wagon he already knew what Wendy had tried to do and stormed angrily in with the intention to yell at her and you. But his thoughts were thrown out of the window the moment he stepped in.

🤸‍♀️Wendy was crying and sobbing, sitting with their darling in her lap on the floor which looked nowhere near alive. Dark marks on their neck telling Peter instantly what had happened. At first he didn’t even know how to react. Wendy was a mess, in denial, crying and begging for you to wake up. And as soon as Peter snapped out of it he instantly ripped you out of Wendy’s arms and started shaking you and yelling at you to stop pretending and waking up. Wendy was clinging onto him, sobbing at him to stop. It took Peter a few seconds before the information that their darling was gone finally reached his brain. And that’s when he started crying as well.You were dead. At least for a few more seconds. That’s when it happened. The bruises on your neck started suddenly to pale, more and more until they were completely gone. And that’s when you suddenly shot up, coughing and gasping for air. Wendy and Peter on the other hand jumped startled back and let both a short scream out in progress.

🤸‍♀️The next moment Wendy was already hanging around your neck, crying and stuttering that she couldn’t believe that you were still alive. You on the other hand looked...sad and disappointed. Wendy was in that moment too overwhelmed with the fact that you weren’t dead. But Peter was more composed and the fact that you had just rises from the death told him pretty much everything.

🤸‍♀️Both of them are rather clueless about how to act that. You are immortal and they aren’t. And you still want to die? Especially Peter would has problems with this situation since he isn’t the most sympathetic guy. Wendy on the other hand will have an easier time here. She’s rather soft with you. Their past wasn’t very pretty. But they could die if they wanted too and you can’t. So both of them will have a hard time to try to at least try to understand you.

🤸‍♀️Wendy will keep Peter’s actions under a close watch. You’re immortal, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t nearly have a heart attack when seeing you once again. And given Peter’s rather impulsive nature she’s afraid that he will use that to his advantage or say something wrong to you which might trigger you to try again. Peter is sadly really someone who might use that to his advantage if he’s angered enough. After that incident he will try to hold back with his temper. You can’t be left alone anymore. That’s something both of them agree with. Wendy will get to spend more time with you after this because she really doesn’t trust Peter with you. And as frustrating as it is, Peter understands that. Whilst Wendy focuses more on helping you getting mentally at least a bit better, Peter focuses more on getting rid of everyone who makes you upset.

Dagger

🗡Dagger is sadly a delusional one and it is rather easy to trick him into believing that his darling is happy. When they look sad he’ll be sad too, but if his darling is good at pretending he’ll most likely remain oblivious to what is really going on.

🗡If he ever noticed that his darling seemed empty he instantly took it as a sign that he hadn’t given them enough attention and love which would most likely end in him smothering his s/o even more in affection.

🗡You might think that you’ll be able to do it with a knife? You’re wrong. Dagger keeps every sharp objects out of your way, scared that you might accidentally cut yourself. He was sure nothing would ever harm you. That was at least until he came one day home and didn’t find you in your room. He freaked out and instantly started searching for you. Maybe you were in the bathroom? He slammed the door open and instantly noticed how the whole bathtub was filled to the brink with water. But no sign from you. Only when he stepped closer he saw you. Completely motionless laying on the ground of the bathtub. You looked so awfully peaceful.

🗡Dagger on the other hand freaked out, instantly pulling you out of the water and trying to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But it didn’t work. You weren’t breathing, nor had you a heartbeat. And he had only been gone for less than an hour! He just bursted out in tears, not wanting to accept it. A world without his darling was not a world he wanted to live in. He just sat there, crying whilst rocking with your corpse back and forth. That was at least until he suddenly felt you shifting inside his arms.

🗡He pulled surprised away. You on the other hand were startled that he had seen all of this and tried to get away. But that wasn’t anywhere in Dagger’s plans. Overjoyed would be an understatement about how he felt when he saw that you were still alive. In that moment it wouldn’t even come to his mind to what had just happened. Only later on he would realize that you had been dead only to come back to life shortly after. And that’s when things will get really bad.

🗡Dagger is a delusional and sees his darling already as perfection. So when finding out that you’re immortal? You just gave him a reason to obsess even more. You must be some kind of angel. Dagger doesn’t even understand why you would ever think about doing something like this. Someone perfect and beautiful like you deserves to live more than any other human on this planet.

🗡Dagger is one of the most terrible to deal with this. He still adores you, but his paranoia will increase after this and he will chain you to the bed in order to prevent you from trying this again. If he frees you from the chains he won’t let you alone anymore and even follows you to the toilet. He’ll feed you, bath you, dress you up. He does everything. He wants to make you realize how beautiful and perfect you are and thinks by doing this he’ll reach that goal. He already didn’t let you under other people before, but now it has just gotten worse. He views them as the fault why you even became this way and can’t see how amazing you are. An increased paranoia like he’s makes quite the high body count. One wrong glance is already enough to trigger him.

[linkspooky]

The Kids Who Can’t Cry

Plenty of people besides myself have pointed out this pattern, but what does it mean? Why are Dabi, Himiko, and Shigaraki essentially the main trio of the league of villains all drawn making this face? Analysis underneath the cut.

1. Shigaraki

What’s important is all three of these scenes where Dabi, Himiko and Shigaraki are all drawn smiling in the most inhuman and unsettling manner possible are all parallels to one another. In those scenes the villain is talking with the heroic foil, and trying to express themselves some way only to be misunderstood. Shigaraki is with Deku. Himiko is with Uraraka. Dabi is with Hawks. 

The common point between all three scenes is that these three characters are fumbling, trying to express something inside of them. The first scene happens between chapter 68-69 when Shigaraki wonders lost in the crowds trying to find an understanding with himself. 

During the scene Shigaraki genuinely talks to Midoriya and asks him what he thinks. He expresses the feelings inside of himself. 

However, Midoriya describes Shigaraki as someone he can neither understand nor accept. He rejects him entirely. 

We, as the audience know all of the similiarities between Shigaraki and Midoriya. We know that Shigaraki was once Shimura Tenko, a boy with a dream of becoming a hero who was told by everyone he couldn’t. We know that Tenko once stood up to bullies and tried to make friends. It’s understandable that Midoriya doesn’t understand this, he’s not a mind reader, but there’s still a great deal of ignorance in the way Midoriya acts. 

Shigaraki shows clear signs of trauma and mental illness, especially in his connection to All Migt, and yet Midoriya’s understanding of him is shallow and two dimmensional. He can’t possibly conceive of Shigaraki having any othr motive for hurting people besides “Wanting to destroy them.” 

Shigaraki is trying to express himself to somebody unwilling, and unable to understand him despite all the similarities between them. This is a pattern in hero society, immediately after the UA attack nobody can conceive of a reason why Shigaraki would want to attack UA besides him being a man-child who enjoys destruction.

When Midnight suggests that somehow Shigaraki might not have gotten the same quirk counseling as everyone and that’s why his quirk is out of control and he uses it so dangerously, Vlad even directly questions why they should even bother talking about his motives. 

Does Deku have to go out of his way to try to understand the motives of him and his friends? No, not necessarily. However, Deku is somebody billed as an empathic and caring character. It’s a character willing to empathize with anyone before this point showing a complete lack of empathy. To a character who shows clear signs of instability and mental unwellness. Shigaraki’s genuine signs of trauma, his itching, his fickleness, his inability to process his emotions in a healthy way just get him demonized as a man-child. 

The kid who was able to see the kindness, in Eri’s quirk. 

The hero who says that he can’t call himself a hero unless he saves a crying little girl in front of his eyes. The hero who says he wants to save everyone, just sort of treats Shigaraki like he’s a one dimmensional monster even though his circumstances are literally exactly the same as Eri’s. Just because Shigaraki can’t cry the same way Eri can. But some people smile when they express trauma. 

When Shigaraki experienced the worst trauma of his life, he smiled and tried to ask for help when his family just died five minutes ago, and this was used to deahumanize him and as an excuse for everyone else in the busiest intersection on the road to ignore him. This didn’t just happen to him as an adult, it happened as a kid as well, nobody helped because he couldn’t beg and cry for help, because he looked ugly instead of like a perfect helpless victim in need of saving.

Shigaraki smiles in response to his trauma. He remembers his worst trauma, literally his family dying, and he grins. It’s literally an attempt to distance himself from his own emotions and process them because he has no healthy way of doing so otherwise. He’s trying to express himself in the only way he knows how and he gets ignored. 

2. Toga

Toga acts similiarly to Shigaraki. She tries to express herself to Uraraka, tries to compare the two of them. As Himiko is much more emotionally intelligent than Shigaraki she also gives a voice to Uraraka’s innermost feelings.

Once again Uraraka doesn’t see her as a human, or try to listen to anything she’s said. Himiko isn’t a person with feelings and her own reason for doing things, she’s just a psycho. 

Even though Himiko is really perceptive of Uraraka’s own hidden feelings the same is not true the other way around, even though we know that Uraraka is a very kind, emotionally intelligent girl who is always noticing the pain on other people’s faces she loses all that perceptiveness when dealing with Himiko.

Does Uraraka have to empathize with a girl literally trying to stab her and suck her blood? No, not necessarily. However, at the same time this is a character we are told always goes the extra mile to understand people, notice their pain, and always being motivated to help just kind of ignoring Himiko. 

This relates to Himiko’s backstory as well. What was Himiko explicitly told to do by her parents? Always hide her pain. Always keep herself hidden for the sake of blending in. Wear a fake smile and be a nice, normal girl. 

Himiko couldn’t even cry when she was sad and alone. She had to repress everything for the sake of being normal, for the sake of being acceptable to others, and now she doesn’t know how to anymore. 

Himiko at least tried to be normal, tried to express herself in normal ways only to be misunderstood by everyone around her and is continually misunderstood and dehumanized even now. The easy life she wants is just the normal life that everybody else has, the one a normal girl like Uraraka has. But she doesn’t know how to express that, and Uraraka who has not been traumatized in any significant way doesn’t really understand what she’s been through. She can’t. 

3. Dabi

We finally get to Dabi and his foil Hawks, where we can see not only is Dabi misudnerstood like in the previous two examples but his feelings are outright denied. Uraraka and Deku are ultimately both children, it’s understandable they don’t get the feelings of villains who have tried to kill him but this. 

Hawks is not any better than Dabi in this situation. He just murdered Twice in cold blood right in front of him, but even though Hawks is actively the agressor in this situation look how he treats Dabi.

He accuses Dabi of nearly killing Twice, even though not only did Dabi show up to intervene for Twice’s sake, but he showed up to rescue Twice, from Hawks. The sheer gall of Hawks to try and kill twice but at the same time accuse Dabi of being the one to put Twice in danger. 

The way they interact is completely different. Twice is someone who trusts Dabi. Dabi literally  puts himself directly in between Hawks and Twice so Twice won’t get harmed any further. Yet, Twice still sees himself as the hero in this situation. Even while actively harming, and trying to kill Twice in his head he still thinks of himself as saving him. 

Then after murdering Twice in cold blood after going on and on about how he was avoiding his vitals, and how he was going to carry him out of here and save him, when he’s directly confronted with Dabi’s anger over his dead friend, Hawks invalidates those emotions. 

You’re not sad because you’re smiling. Hawks says. Hawks, literally the person who killed Twice, right in front of Dabi, then criticizes Dabi for not being appropriately sad about it. This is when Hawks has expressed no remorse for what he has done. 

In his own head, Hawks is the hero and Dabi is the villain. Hawks feels guilty for his own actions. His own inhuman ability to shut off his own emotions and do what must be done. However, Heroes don’t kill people. Hawks must somehow remain the hero. He must be the one who is right. Therefore, he blames Dabi as the villain. Dabi is the scapegoat. Dabi is the one who was wrong. Dabi is the cold blooded killer even though he has done nothing more than try to protect his friend. 

Dabi must be evil, must be a villain so that Hawks can be good. Hawks has to justify his actions and emotoins by dehumanizing the person in front of him. It’s not about Dabi at all. Dabi’s emotoins don’t even factor in or matter. It’s all Hawks self justification and the narrative he tells himself where he is the hero doing the right thing. And this is something that appears in Toga’s fight against Curious too, the villains literally have to fight for control of their own narrative, to be able to tell their story about their trauma in their own way because the heroes will always try to render it in easily digestible forms. They can’t be people, complex, messy people they must either be categorized as hero or victim. 

Toga can’t be a normal girl, she has to be a martyr. Toga’s own feelings or opinions don’t matter. Hawks goes one step further and suggests that Dabi doesn’t even have feelings, he’s not even properly sad that his friend is dead. 

Which Dabi finally replies with what is true for Himiko and Shigaraki. It’s not that he doesn’t want to cry, he can’t cry. Heroes continually confront villains with their actions and act like they feel no guilt at all, like they’re heartless psychopaths and treat them as such when the manga has shown us again and again the opposite. 

Even if Dabi was crying his eyes out it wouldn’t matter though. Jin was crying, and that did not stop Hawks. The heroes who view themselves as heroes, who view themselves as empathic and good people who would never ignore a cry for help all stop acting that way when confronted with Shigaraki, Himiko and Dabi.

It eventually crosses a line into deliberate ignorance. It’s not seeing those on the other side as human beings, which is dangerous because it can literally turn murderous in the case of Hawks and Twice. It’s cries for help that go ignored because they’re not presented as easily digestible narratives. It’s a breakdown in empathy in a story where the stated goal of the main character is to be a hero who “never loses, and saves everyone.” There are people not being saved. There are people who are not being helped because they can’t ask for help. 

Thanks to @savetenko​ for pointing out this parallel to me here!

[messwriting]

Summary: “There’s an animated tone on her voice that worsens his mood. It’s close to eleven at night, they’re plotting an undercover mission, why the hell is she so cheerful?” -- Or Aizawa begrudgingly helps in a undercover mission and meets someone he didn’t anticipated. Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five Warnings: Reader is a hero involved in intelligence work, with a specific quirk. No other warnings, other than maybe talking about human and drug traffic? I’d like to pinpoint there’ll be canon-type violence and eventual smut. N/A: GUYS I’M AWFUL AT SUMMARIES BUT THIS IS GOOD. /// This is MY FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER FIC, omg you guys. I was going to go crazy and just publish the whole 20k in one go, but i’m a bit behind on the smut part, so I decided to go slow. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Like usual, thanks to @mixedhell​ for reading (and beta-ing) this and telling me it doesn’t suck!

All the light that illuminates the minimalistic decorated room is so clearly artificial that it hurts his eyes in a slow burn sensation that has his already diminished humor dropping several points. He already hadn’t wanted to be present for this meeting and now the nagging voice in his head is on an extensive rampant on how he was right and should have declined this specific consultation. Blinking repetitively to coach some kind of relief, Eraser Head is surprised to notice how many people are already present in the meeting. And even more when he notices the Chief of Police presence.

He sends a small nod of acknowledgment that is quickly returned. On his side is the police officer and on the other side of the room is Centipeder… and a woman he doesn’t quite remember having met, and he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t have forgotten such a presence. Dragging his eyes from her form, he forces himself to look at Centipeder, who seems to be starting the meeting.

“Now that all of us are present. Let’s begin.” While the mutant pro-hero is always polite and thanks Eraser for having agreed with consulting on this matter, he’s fast and right to the point. Eraser notes that Bubble Girl isn’t present, but quickly focuses on the explanation being given.

The former Nighteye Agency has been investigating some shady business about drugs and quirk-related human traffic, and the possibility of discovering a small shipment of enhancing drugs has been presented. Though they think it won’t be over thirty unities, it’s still thirty triggers in the streets and they’re concerned about how to manage the apprehension without hurting the intelligence operation they have invested so long on.

The Chief of Police nods along with the explanation and when Centipeder finishes, he’s the first to speak.

“I agree that any chance of getting our hands on any triggers before they’re on the streets is valid. That being said: how much is the chance of it hurting the current operation your agency has going on and what would our losses be if it happened.” It doesn’t go unnoticed by Eraser Head that both the Police Chief and the Pro-hero seem to risk glances over to the woman by the wall and Eraser concludes she must be involved in the intelligence operation.

“Our chances are very good, or this possibility wouldn’t be presented today. While we also agree very much on the matter about getting our hands on the triggers, we’ve been investing years in this operation and the risks would outweigh the good – since we’re almost closing a traffic ring that operates in three continents.” Centipeder explains calmly, his eyes glancing only slightly to the woman.

A small silence falls on the room like the rest of the people are expecting something.

“Don’t worry about the risks – if we conduct this correctly, there won’t be any.” It’s the first time she speaks and Aizawa swears someway he can feel her voice; like a caress, it scoots over his neck and slides through his ear like a velvety sense that creeps him out. He ponders if that’s her quirk – something about seduction and discretion going around in his mind. Maybe. After all, he’s no stranger to the concept of some quirks being used in the seduction kind of espionage and Eraser can definitely sense the appeal of someone like her.

If he adds it to the strange fact he doesn’t know her in any way, it seems even more likely.

She seems uncomfortable with the shift in attention, which prompts Centipeder to assume the leading of the meeting once again.

“We have a plan designed. We wanted your input in it.”

It’s a simplistic plan, if Eraser tries to be kind. It puts all of the pressure on the woman, that’s being called Dream for whatever reason, so he supposes that's either her nickname or hero name. She’s going to enter the club where the group they’ve been investigating has been conducting their business and slide her way into the negotiation with the power of charm and eyelashes, apparently. While Aizawa doesn’t doubt it can work perfectly, he’s skeptical about the whole thing. After she saunters her way into the negotiation and follows the suitcase with drugs, she’ll give Eraser a heads up about who to follow and he’ll make his heroic apprehension. Why it couldn’t be someone else? They didn’t want to involve the agency and Eraser has a low profile as a hero that when added to his quirk made him the better choice – it was that simple.

By all that mattered, he didn’t even needed to be a pro-hero at all – as long as he had his quirk. It was a bit… disheartening to be so coldly chosen. But, so was life. He lit his cigarette when no one objected to it and sucked a breath.

“It seems like you guys barely even need me.” He lets a breath out. “She’ll be the one doing all the work.” Eraser nods in the direction of the woman and somehow he swears he can feel her smirk creeping up on the back of his neck like a fucking curse. She’s bad news and he sucks a renewed wave of nicotine.

“Does that worry you?” Her voice is calm and collected but the sound of her voice is all the fucking shades of sultry sin. He does a double-take in her direction before he can take a hold of himself and is thankful that the attention of the other men in the room isn’t on him. Somehow, she doesn’t look anything like she sounds. She’s dressed normally in jeans, dark shirt with boots and jacket over it all. Her looks seem… forgetful. While Eraser is wondering, she’s smirking at him, and the feeling of impending doom cracks on him again. Damn. “I assure you that my work is reliable. I have been watching them for a long time. It won’t be a problem.”

“I would feel better in my position as a backup if we were more honest about ourselves.” He drags another breath of nicotine and feels somewhat better. Her eyes are on him and he swears he can feel them – on his face, his neck, down his arm… Despite himself, Eraser has never been a fan of strong eye contact but it dawns on him that it isn’t displeasing. It’s a strange feeling, but he’s begrudgingly okay with admitting to himself it isn’t a bad one.

“I’m sure we both know honesty isn’t very present in my line of hero work.” The connotation on hero is self-depreciative and makes him wonder. “But if it’s about my quirk and where I’ll stand on the operation, I’m sure we can talk about it more privately.” She sends a look to the Police Chief that is supposed to be apologizing but has him adjusting in his chair. “You understand the problem with revealing my quirk at any job I do, right, Sir?”

The Chief nods and Centipeder seems to be wondering about what to fucking do with his agent. Aizawa empathizes; muses about ending her playtime with a blink of an eye and is surprised with the discovery that he doesn’t want to. The smile she sends his way this time has a feeling of friendly secrecy that has his hands flying to lightly massage his eyes. She’s good.

The whole interaction is somewhat tiresome. He feels drained, but hasn’t really done anything. The thought that her quirk can have something to do with it passes through his mind while Centipeder recalls the attention of the trio.

“Well, since we all seem to be up to speed, we’ll leave Dream and Eraser to assert last details and organize the operation for this Friday.” Centipeder ends the meeting, but the Chief takes more than a few seconds to refocus and agreeing. While he’s getting up and quietly excusing himself to leave along the insectoid pro-hero, Eraser swears he listen to a small comment of “she’s that good, huh?”.

When Eraser looks at the woman again, his mouth seems to dry out. She’s close by the door, directly under an emergency light and looking stunning – long locks, beautiful lips and eyelashes over big, bright eyes. Damn. He thought her forgetful? How?

“Do you mind if we do the rest of the meeting over dinner? I haven’t eaten yet and I’m starving.” She’s holding the door open for him and he sucks a smoke just to have something else to do than look at her while he walks over.

“Dinner? Where?”

“Don’t worry. I know a place.”

-

The “place” is a small bodega in the middle of a dirty street by the center. It’s clearly an inadequate place to be at night, with barely a single soul wandering the dirty streets, where commercial places are closed. He’s certain it can only maintain itself by appealing to regulars. That aside, the place itself is nicely clean, small, decorated with trinkets that make no sense unless mixed together in that messy, homely design. There are light bulbs and fairy lights and all the tables seem self-made, but with quality wood. The stalls are mismatched like the tablecloths. Putting it all together, it’s like a small home business that the owner was improving a bit at a time and it’s… oddly endearing.

“I knew you would like it.” She announces when they sit by one of the windows after she had ended her chit-chat with the owner about how things were going. The moment they entered, he had come by and happily greeted her. Aizawa doesn’t know what to make about their friendly interaction. With her line of work, what she seems to like or dislike can’t truly be trusted.

“I enjoy being away from crowds.” Eraser takes the moment to light another cigarette. She doesn’t seem to mind, since he’s been smoking since they left as a way to keep himself busy and focus on something else than… her. Now, with the woman right in front of him, there’s little he can do about it. He barely can remember the ride here – what she looked while driving, what she did on the elevator, or even the way she walked while coming to the place. It’s weird – he does remember looking at her from time to time and her looks are imprinted in his mind now that she’s in front of him, so… why?

“Are you uncomfortable?” She’s the first to break the small silence. Aizawa’s a bit lost in thought while musing about her features – the forgetful looks and the brazen ones, weirdly both in front of him. But, honestly, aside from the questions burning in his head, there’s little tension in him. It’s quite… fine.

“Why would I be?” Like on cue, something in the air itself around her seems to change in front of his eyes. There’s a perky shine in her eyes and an interesting appeal in the small, upwards curve of her lips. Her hair seems shinier, and so does her skin. It’s a bit unsettling, but even her bosom seems to be more noticeable and Eraser looks away while sucking a new breath of nicotine. He’s completely weirded out by the sudden change.

“Sexual tension.” She deadpans and her voice does that thing again. Where it creeps up his neck like fingers in a caress. While his blood runs a bit faster, the approaching doom Eraser feels with every second that extends in her presence quickly diminish it.

“It’s under control, don’t worry about me.” He’s displaying such a detached tone and unimpressed look - what some people may even call his every day face - that it makes him a bit proud,  not letting her gauge any reaction from him. Another trip of the cigarette to his lips and he presses the more urgent matters. “Now, didn’t you mention organizing the last details?”

“It’s essentially about the limits of my quirk and things we need to take care before I go in.” She looks like a daredevil, her eyes boring in his like she’s expecting something. While her voice still has every bit the same influence, he’s more focused and somewhat less surprised by the sensation. The silence extends and there’s an amused smile in her lips when she reclines on the chair.

“You don’t seem so curious.” It’s a soft accusation, like a taunt, and in turn Aizawa just… looks at her. He muses if that’s what makes her unease. By this time, the owner comes back with a bottle of sake and green tea, puts two cups on the table and leaves.  “You could just end it in a blink of an eye.” She’s pouring the sake on her cup; Aizawa accepts it with a nod and she pours a bit for him, too.

“I would prefer if you did it on your own accord, rather than force you to it.” That has her looking at him like he just surprised her and while he doesn’t know why, she sends him a tender smile.

Then, she changes completely.

It isn’t a gradual change, like her body starts shifting and then there’s a completely different person in front of him, no. It’s like a second pass and suddenly there’s someone different sitting in front of him. Nothing has changed, no time passes between the moment where she was somehow enticing and the moment where she… seems someone else. The brilliant hair isn’t the same as before, less shiny, messy and frizzy, shorter and… they’re of a deep color, paired with a lightly round face with tired eyes and still long lashes but none of the charming curve, none of the… weird shine.

Her eyes are… of a different shape. Her lips are a bit chapped, no lipstick, even if they’re still… nice? He’s not sure what to say about it. She’s still somewhat attractive, but it’s like a filter has been removed between what she was and what she seems like now. He notices her body seems to fill more of her clothes. He’s also glad to notice her bust is normal, the attraction pull it had before gone.

It barely takes a second for the new image to dawn on him, but minutes go by while Eraser notices her, every little bit of detail that was different and now is presented to him. When the silence extends into an uncomfortable feeling, she breaks it.

“Damn, I thought it would draw a better response than this.” Her smile curves into a bit of an annoyed one. He huffs out a puff of smoke he didn’t realize he had dragged in.

“Illusion quirk? Those are rare.”

“Nope.” She takes the sake to her lips and Aizawa catches himself watching it sliding down her throat. …What? “It’s more mind-oriented.”

“Aren't you altering my perception?” He questions, his right arm supported on the chair on his side while he lazily scoots back in the chair he’s sited.

“Yes. But not by an illusion or anything alike, I’m essentially hacking your brain.” Her expression is… cheerful, pretty lips in an upwards motion and bright eyes looking expectantly at him. Like she’s very satisfied with her analysis, despite the fact he’s certain she must have done this explanation hundreds of times. Aizawa does not share her high spirits.

“You’re… what?”

“I can alter the perception of people close to me.” She loses a bit of the weirdly animated vibe she was wearing and it pleases him. His cigarette is coming to an end on his fingers. When he doesn’t speak, she just continues her explanation. “Essentially, I can change what you think you’re seeing; make me-- or others, more thin, tall, blond with blue eyes, foreign… The possibilities are endless. I can make you think you smell something, feel something.” Her voice drops an octave and it has him squirming upright in his chair. “I can change your senses – touch, vision, sound, smell…and taste.”

“That’s why they call you Dream.” It wasn’t a question. With a power like that, that was exactly what she could become. Suddenly he understands the sultriness of her voice, the appeal of her looks. While it wasn’t exactly what would make him do a double-take, it certainly was… something. “How do you do it?”

“Now, that’s too much information you don’t truly need for this case.” She waved her hand while dismissing his question. Maybe it was hormonal? Bio-chemicals in the air? It didn’t depend on contact, clearly. Maybe strictly psychological? Eraser thought about the possibilities. “I can see you’re musing about it, good luck.”

The owner shows up again, two steaming hot bowls of ramen being set in front of them. It smelled amazing and looked good too – and he questions himself if that was true, his eyes darting to her on cue. She was already slurping carefully, blowing air on it before eating with a pleased look on her face.

“Best ramen ever.” She murmured while tasting a mouthful, looking up to him and trying a smile. The exchange was… He wasn’t sure. After the first bite, Eraser was quick to talk.

“Psychogenic powers are even rarer.” She simply shrugs and keeps eating, content. He eats a bit too, agreeing that it tastes very good. That’s why the place even has regulars; they aren’t coming back for the tacky embellishment. After some moments, she goes back to business.

“The video cameras have to be taken care of. While I can alter perception, I’ll look the same on video and to those watching it. My identity can’t be risked, for obvious reasons.”

“Can’t you do something about them?” Aizawa deadpans. She looks at him with an arched eyebrow that has him feeling judged.

“I could, but you mentioned thinking the plan was too much me-oriented. Wanna throw that on my plate too?”

“Fair enough.”

“They don’t have someone watching it, it’s merely for show. There are several men spread around the club, mingling with the clients, providing ‘safety’.”

“Anything else?”

“I’ll leave with the man that’ll take the drugs. Where do you prefer doing the apprehension? His house? Car?”

“We can’t do it close to the club, or it’ll spook the seller. You could fake some problem inside his car and then I’ll intervene? Let’s do our best to look unrelated.” She mused about it and seemed to agree.

“Yeah, I can make a scene. That’ll have some consequences later on, but I’ll deal with it then.”

Eraser didn’t ask because he knew she wouldn’t give him more information than needed. Somehow, it felt like she was proud of him for it. He changed the subject because her now perceptible tired eyes made him wonder if she took care of herself; her job was draining and too close and directly in harm's way. They finished eating in silence and it was… not bad.

“You still haven’t told me your name.” Eraser says when they finish eating, his eyes on her face, staring at the possible tells.

“You can call me Dream.”

“I don’t want to call you Dream.” Aizawa deadpans immediately, his eyes sustaining hers. She blinks, her lips pressing in a line and she looks away when she answers with: “Y/n, then.”

The owner came to retrieve the bowls and before Eraser could risk paying, the older man quickly denied it. Dream laughed softly and when he had left, she dropped some bills on the table when they were leaving, signaling him to be quiet. She yelled a quick goodbye and proceeded to push him out of the bodega, snickering.

“I helped him out a few years ago and now he almost never lets me pay.” She vaguely explained and then they walked in silence to the car parked a few meters away. Now he understood why every other interaction before she stopped using her quirk seemed forgettable and weirdly vague. Everything during dinner seemed glued to his memory, fresh like a burn. The way she blew on the hot ramen and her happy expressions when eating; the way her lips softly swelled with the hot food; the concentration look and the well designed, full eyebrows.  He could clearly remember it all.

Even now, while walking side by side, Aizawa could notice things that had been occult before; the way she relayed more on her right leg when walking, the curve of her bottom and how her jeans embraced her appearance. Her hair is shorter than he thought too. And the tired expression she held seemed like it had been carved on her skin permanently – as his.

The heels of her boots click on the asphalt, the only sound they hear and she doesn’t avert the dirty parts of the streets. He wonders if she even notices them. While she drives, a soft tune plays on the radio. They talk about things he would prefer not, like pro-hero rankings, the attacks of the League of Villains at the U.A., especially his class and Endeavor’s efforts as the new #1 hero. Nothing that revealed anything about her, while showing quite effectively she knew lots about him and when he squirmed around in his seat again, this time it was of clear discomfort.

If there was something Aizawa quite disliked, it was being blindsided. It happened quite commonly on the work as a hero, and it did nothing to diminish his feelings toward it.

By the time she pulls around at U.A. entrance to drop him, he’s in a sour mood. Dream has kindly (and annoyingly) pinpointed facts about him during the whole trip and assured a fair knowledge about him and Eraser has nothing on her. Before he leaves the car, he turns to her and carves her face in his brain.

He barely knows if her name is truly Y/N. His bad mood is probably showing, because she has a wide smile on her lips and before he can be out of the car, she’s putting a card in his hand.

“Call me so we can talk about the plan, equipment and backup. I don’t wanna involve the cops in this.” There’s an animated tone on her voice that worsens his mood. It’s close to eleven at night, they’re plotting an undercover mission, why the hell is she so cheerful?

“I thought we had finished the details over dinner?” Aizawa asks, blank expression in a most annoyed tone. He eyes the entrance of the school in longing. Even the unbelievable drag of a class of thirteen years olds sounding more delightful than another minute with this woman.

“And pass up the chance of taking you out again? No way.”  He’s surprised at the way in which the hairs on the back of his neck get up with the flirty intention. There isn’t a caress, no sultriness or glow. Aizawa looks at her and knows there’s no quirk involved, which makes it worse. She’s rolling her window up and leaving before he even moves.

That woman, Aizawa thinks and sighs, is a clear troublemaker.

-

[to be continued]