infinite5mal

[sylvieserene]

I wonder how Sho learnt of his father's apparent demise due to a landslide like...did he witness it first hand or was maybe told by his mother (Masumi) later? Because if it's the former, it must be very traumatising for a 5-8 year old child and even if it's the latter, it must have been extremely hard to explain to a child like him who was very young and very attached to his father. Like it's hard to explain the concept of death to someone so small-

I wonder how he moved on and I kinda also wonder how his mom allowed him to go back to the mountain since a lot of people won't actually let their child play in an area which is prone to landslides and where their spouse died due to it :(

It's something I can't help but wonder a lot of times.

@idaten-jump what are your thoughts on this?

[binxiboo]

The Frenchier Mistake

(aka Dean meets his celebrity crush: Actress!Reader)

Supernatural Masterlist // Full Masterlist

A/N: @princessmermaid1289 you'll never guess what I've only gone and done... I finished it! (we'll ignore it being well over a year later)

Actress!Reader x Sam and Dean

Clatters fill the bunker as all sorts of equipment and tools get dropped on the closest surface to the bottom of the staircase. Both Winchester brothers are incredibly over this last hunt. They were meant to be home days ago, thinking that they’d killed a whole nest of vamps; turns out these vampires were the vengeful kind, and when they found out that their friends had been savaged… well they didn’t take it lightly. It didn’t take them long to find the ’67 Chevy Impala on its route back to the bunker.

The respective hallways echo with heavy footsteps as the tire brothers silently bid each other goodnight before slinking behind their bedroom doors, each leaning their weight against them, unknowingly synchronised across rooms. It’s a miracle either of them even got their clothes off before collapsing into bed, finally getting a comfortable night’s rest they’d not had all week.

The two had a shock, however, when they were awoken by… clapping? Sam and Dean both shoot up in their beds, instantly trying to place what could be happening in their heads. As they’re processing the information around them, they begin to realise that the beds beneath them no longer feel like the comfortable ones they fell asleep in the night before. Hell, they’d had nicer motel beds than these. What are they? Solid wood? Dean runs his hand alongside his leg, pushing down on the barely-there mattress. Well, there’s some cushioning at least.

“That was a good one, guys!”

“Yeah, I think that’s us done for the night.”

The bodies in front of them slowly filtered out of the room while the two men made their way out of the prop beds. At a certain point, the wall separating their apparently-not-a-room ‘rooms’ ended, and the two brothers found themselves side by side. They turn to look at each other, then around what they’ve now realised is a tv set.

“Sammy?”

“Dean.”

“Tell me it’s not happened again.”

Sam swallows, hard. The lack of verbal response has Dean running a hand over his face. The next few moments are spent considering what actions may have led them to being stuck in this universe again. Several things get ruled out. They haven’t pissed off anyone with the ability to transport them across universe lately. Neither of them was messing with magic, or any practices to be clear, that could’ve gone wrong like this. It isn’t a dream that they’ve both ended up conscious in. There’s no way for anything to be an imminent threat. It is at this conclusion that Dean gets the best idea he thinks he has ever had in his life.

He's going to go flirt with some babes.

Dean quickly locates the door everyone had walked out of previously and practically drags his brother through it. Sam doesn’t quite process that he’s moving until his head almost hits the door frame on his way out of the building and his face screws up as he processes the information.

By the time Sam has gotten out of his own head Dean has already surveyed half the studios surrounding their own. As soon as a question begins forming on his tongue, Sam is pulled in another direction by Dean’s, arguably tight, grip on his forearm. Dean is on a mission as he glances around at the postered walls of each building. Honestly, Sam doesn’t understand how Dean even knows what he’s seen with how short the glances are. The sniffer dog act ends abruptly though when Dean receives all power of the moose that is his brother slam straight into his back, eliciting a grunt from the older, shorter brother.

“Not my fault you don’t come with brake lights.” Sam says with a shrug in response to Dean’s glare. “Why’d you stop so suddenly anyway?”

Dean simply turns around and gestures at the poster on the building directly in front of them. Sam, confused once more, delivers an expression to encourage elaboration.

“Dean, am I supposed to know what this is?”

“It’s a TV show. With doctors in it. Very dramatic. Heavy stuff.”

“And that’s supposed to help me how… oh. Is this that med show we got stuck in before?” An air of exasperation arrives by the end of Sam’s sentence.

Dean purses his lips and keeps his face hidden from Sam. He tries to tell himself that there’s nothing embarrassing about watching what is, frankly, just good television.

“Yeah, well… there’s… hot chicks.” Sure, that was convincing enough, Dean decides.

With a roll of his eyes, Sam follows Dean in through a door, slipping behind the few crew members who have just exited through it. They stick to the shadows, Dean, not so gently dragging Sam into the darkness with him, determined to sleuth out the space rather than risk immediate expulsion. Once, deemed safe, Dean slinks forward, attempting to contain his inner nerd, but ultimately coming to a halt as he ends up turns to face with someone he could never have prepared for.

The older Winchester’s eyes widen, pupils absolutely dilating – in fact, if this was the Scooby Doo crossover, there’d be audible ‘AWOOGA’s filling the silence. Dean Winchester has been infatuated with this actress since she began her role, how could he not? She’s inarguably the most attractive woman going, the amount on unsavoury concepts his filthy man brain has conjured up over the seasons… well, they’re better off inside his head, he thinks. A mental note recorded to not let any of them slip.

It has him in shock that she’s somehow existing in this universe. He’s in even more shock when he realises that it’s taken him ending up in another dimension to be in her presence, he was sure that he’d have to somehow get himself to that fan convention a few states over without Sam finding out, and yet, she’s here. They’re both there. A loud yell to cut triggers him to collect himself.

She sighs, walking out of the set, towards the snack table- towards him. He goes to inhale deeply, to settle his excitement before making a fool of himself, but she speaks before he can.

“Jensen? Jared?” there’s a lilt of interest in her voice, even excitement on her part.

Dean does a double take. She knows him. No. She knows Jensen. Well, that solidifies the theory that this is the same universe from before. Jensen. He can work with that.

“Hi.” He responds, his best charming smile sliding onto his face paired with a small wave of his hand. It encourages her to come closer, Dean internalises his celebration.

“Um, why-” her brow furrows, as she struggles to phrase a sentence, “You’re on my set? This- our set.”

“Yeah...” Dean nods, processing how he can spin this, “Actually, I- we- we came to see you."

Her face flushes, eyes widening slightly before she catches herself. “O-oh. You did?”

Dean nods, smiling at her again. Sam offers her a slightly awkward, but still kind, smile as her eyes flick over to him.

“Well, I was going to head to a bar after this shoot.” There’s an air of confidence flooding through her words now, she looks back at her director for the evening. He looks exhausted as he talks to other crewmembers, shaking his head. He mutters something. Then there’s a loud statement, letting everyone know they can go home for the night, they’ll try to get the scene tomorrow.

“A bar, you said?” Dean can’t hide his smirk as he gains her attention again.

She nods, “Yep. I- actually, think you’ll love it.”

“Lead the way then, Doctor.” He adds a laugh to this, hoping it doesn’t make her cringe. It makes Sam cringe, which earns the taller Winchester a not-so-subtle smack to the stomach. She, thankfully, laughs. Man is it one of the sweetest things he’s ever heard. He almost lets himself get lost in the sound before he remembers that this is not his universe, and that he’s not even himself here. He’s Jensen instead of Dean. On that topic, he considered whether anything indicated whether Jensen was in a relationship. He knows Sam has to act married; Jared having married ‘Fake Ruby’ and all that. 

The two follow the actress.

They end up a street away from the studio. The lighting is low, but warm, almost comforting. Dean decides to be the gentleman and get the first round in. He asks the lady what she wants to drink, then hands his wallet to Sam, telling him to get him ‘a beer- no! No, a whiskey’. The two leave Sam at the bar to situate themselves in a more secluded booth in the back of the bar.

“Let's play a game.”

Dean’s head shoots around to her, eyebrow quirked and lips slightly smirked, challenging.

“I’m thinking... two truths, one lie?” There’s a playful tone to her voice as her lips morph to match his smirk.

“Oh, absolutely. We’re going to need shots...” Dean leaves the table just as Sam returns, earning him a confused look from his younger brother, but continuing with his mission regardless.

Once the older brother returns to the chosen booth with a tray of pre-poured shots, Sam takes one look and decides he wants no part, taking his chance to work out how the hell to get home instead. Dean, however, eagerly sits across from his celebrity crush, rubbing his hands after placing the tray down gently enough not to spill any nectar.

“Who’s up first?” he asks with a smirk, taking a swig out of his whiskey glass, he looks up to be met with a matching expression on the actress’ face as she begins to speak.

“I only got to where I am because I have a godparent high up in the industry. I speak multiple languages, aaaaand… I’ve been approached for… naughty modelling.” She finishes with a wink.

Dean’s biology serves him no favours as he processes her last insinuation, shuffling to obscure himself better under the table as he chokes a little on his whiskey.

“Well- I- The last one has to be a truth, there’s no way you haven’t. I mean, look at you.” His words met with a modest blush on her cheeks as she laughs a little. “There’s no way you can speak another language, well maybe for a role, but not fluently, so I call bull. Then that leaves the last truth to be nepo baby.”

“Take a shot. Or two… do you want to do a shot per wrong answer?”

“What? No- how’d I get that wrong?!”

“I’m not a nepo baby, just… either extremely lucky or someone was trying to get in my pants. Like the photographer that wanted me to pose nude for him… when I lived in France and spoke the language every day. Because I speak French. Fluently.”

Dean’s jaw drops open, sighing before he shoots two glasses back without a word. Y/N giving an approving nod.

“Your turn.”

It’s safe to say… Dean sucks at two truths and a lie. Or at least he does when any truths he could say sound crazier than any lies, especially when he reminds himself that he needs to play along as Jensen. In fact, he gets so many wrong that the night begins to blur, her needing to collect the next tray of shots as he fails to coordinate his way to the bar. By the time Sam returns, Dean’s slumped over in the booth, words barely English as they slur, and then, darkness.

When Dean sees the world again, he’s back in the concrete confines of the bunker. His brain struggling to work overtime to get his bearings and put memories in chronological order. Through his bedroom door comes Sam, acting as if nothing was wrong.

“Sammy- what- how’d we get home?” Dean’s voice comes out hoarse and gravelly as he speaks, rubbing his head.

“What do you mean? I drove.”

“Drove from… another universe?”

Sam laughs. “What?”

Dean’s face drops. “I- I- We were in that other place again- that- Ackles and Pada- Padalinski.”

Sam shakes his head, muttering to himself as he walks away, waiting until he’s around the corner before checking the photos remain on his phone. His brother blacked out the corner of the bar booth, his celeb crush posing next to him after covering his face with lipstick kisses.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

HI ITS ME gvxzggsgjfh ok look this is. i know this is a weird one it is SO specific and so obviously something i should just write myself if i want it👏but👏but👏BUT i decided to shoot my shot when a perfect chance has arisenderised for you to pick and choose from anything you like AND in any form, and to see if this one maybe by any chance just so happens to spark anything fun in u too xD

ssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooo RANDOM EVENT ROLL D20 mc gets bitten by a werewoof or some other kind of "contagious" monster species (....cant really think of anything else other than vampirs, now that i say it) but WAIT THERES MORE because. what if mc insisted that they dont want any potential existent cures, they just wanna stay monstery >:3 JVDTHGLN who's considering it, who would absolutely go in the "its either me or this" direction, who's enthusiastic🤣 this is silly as hell but in the case it sparks joy id love to hear ur any and all thoughts because this idea has been haunting me for forever lmao honestly the best way ive imagined it is like one of your own selfinsert pieces youve posted before where its just all of them together bickering heeheehee💘💕🩷💞💖

love u have fun!!

The Arcana Drabble: MC transforms into a "monster"

In the spirit of things, I though a long drabble/short oneshot would work best to keep the madness going XD

Asra's getting stuck in their "one focus and one focus only" mode and right now that focus is making sure you're okay. He'll decide how he feels later, which isn't being helped at all because Julian keeps calling on him to help him slow down the process and get you to think about this a little more. However, it's hard to tell what exactly Julian wants your decision to be because in between him trying to get Asra to make you think about it some more, he's having all kinds of medical epiphanies about how your anatomy is adjusting to the new monster form:

"MC, let's think about some more, shall we? I'm sure Asra agrees with me - don't you, Asra? Asr - oh, whats this?! Your finger's joints are rapidly adjusting to accommodate for - I need a pen and paper -"

"Right here, Ilya." It's Portia's dismissive tone as she digs a small notebook and pencil out of her pocket that keeps you grounded. Not for long, though, because she can't wait to see what happens next. "Accommodate for what, anyways? Are you growing another joint?? Are you going to get claws??? Talons???? Show me!"

Between Julian jotting down unintelligible notes while he studies your elbow's range of motion, Portia's excited exclamations, and Asra's attempt at soothing touch as they rub your shoulders and ask how you're feeling, it's a miracle you can notice Muriel's quiet mumble in the background. He's clearly overwhelmed and very concerned that the physically-altering substance in general got to your brain first, making you so seemingly okay with turning into a monster.

"MC, do you remember your name? Do you need to take a nap? You don't have to be okay with this -"

"I believe this may warrant far more than a nap to recover from." Nadia's doing her best to keep Lucio calm, holding him back from tackling you much like she might grasp a leash. You can practically see the headache building behind her eyes. "We have yet to determine what the extent of this transformation is and therefore whether our dear MC is even capable of fully agreeing to the current process. MC, darling, did the source of this transformation give you any indication of what the end result would be?"

You'd try to respond, but Lucio's excited yelling is too noisy to shout over. He's fumbling at the fastenings on his cape, distracted by your ongoing changes, and very annoyed at Nadia's interference.

"Where did it go? I want to see if it can give me powers too - OW! Dammit, Noddy, I'm trying to help here! You're keeping me from finding the monster and getting it to give me cool - I mean, getting it to tell us more about what's happening! Don't you want that? Don't you want to help MC, Noddy?! Let me go -"

It's with a loud RIP and subsequent "that was velvet, you know!" that Lucio finally breaks free and sprints off in the direction of your new monster friend. You can feel yourself slowly settling in to your new form as the process shows signs of slowing and reaching completion.

Nadia's facepalming. Portia's looking at you with eyes shining in wonder. Julian's still trying to nag Asra into reversing this as he takes notes. The magician in question is still ignoring him as they ask you how you feel for the nth time. Muriel's eyeing the nearby closet in hopes of taking a nap and waking up to it all being a dream. Lucio's a distant, spiky golden speck at this point.

Faust is quietly trying to sneak her knife into your hand, for crimes.

[baby-xemnas]

love reading ur thoughts always but just also thinking about bepo being somewhat attractive to others in their teenage years/some Other party expressing interest in bepo and law would have lost his entire shit. a miracle he didn't face sth like that, but the jealous rage for sure wouldve been so ugly...fierce and drastic realisation of how much he wants bepo and also how possessive he is. bepo is too special.

THANK YOUUUUUUUU and thank you for giving me more food to ramble about haha ♥♥

OH GOD YEAH ABSOLUTELY there have to have been an INCIDENT or two of that. law wouldve gone through a lot of emotions in that moment, especially when it happened for the first time

(id imagine the mob chara would presume that bepo is gonna be a good aggressive fuck lol, just judging by the looks. oh they couldnt be more wrong)

>first glance law assuming someone is talking to bepo because they are being either quirky racist (wow a walking talking bear!!) or actually negative sort of interest - that they all experienced and are kind of expecting at that point (expecting it so they can jump to bepo's aid and comfort him)

>seeing that its NOT. THAT. but instead someone standing uncomfortably close clearly trying to flirt, seeing so much discomfort on bepo's face - who in turn wouldnt be a crybaby in the face of a stranger no, he is stronger than that now! but he would be surprised and not really know how to handle THIS situation...bepo never got this kind of attention before he has no idea how to handle it. hes trying to answer semi-politely because he isnt aware that he needs to be very curt and direct..he feels SO strange hes just standing there taking unwanted sexual advances LOL

honestly be it a woman or a gay man i would picture law would act the same - the few words he would spare them before dragging bepo away would be laced with SO much venom and contempt, it would scare the shit out of bepo who's just standing there. technically being saved so he is in no way is the target of captain's anger (even tho bepo would think in those seconds that law is mad at him too, he would feel bad that he ended up in that situation even tho its not his fault at all. whatever discomfort he felt previously than fear of upsetting law, now THAT actually makes him want to cry a little)

law wants to take his hand but thinks that this person doesnt deserve to see how important bepo is to him... so he says that they are going back and walks next to bepo who is more shaken by seeing law's reaction than he is by the initial incident he thanks law the moment they go outside and its quiet and him saying "thank you captain" somehow sounds too formal to law's ears. somehow this "captain" sounds like his actual rank and not the usual cute way bepo calls him like its a nickname or a familial title.

its so jarring to hear bepo sound like a detached subordinate and not his treasured best friend, law has to look up at bepo who ofc is just looking at the ground in front of himself as he walks. law's mind draws a blank for a few long moments because he still needs a little time to calm down. he havent processed his own emotions yet it happened too fast. Yes of course he was reacting to that nobody making bepo uncomfortable of course. But...he the possibility that someone who is NOT HIM could be intimate with bepo shot through him like a lightning.

whole time law is having his crisis bepo is thinking about how he should apologize without making law even more angry..he is so scared to break the silence. poor thing. he forgot all about that mob chara thats lightyears away, its all law now

law would get his attention by calling his name and it suddenly feels so awkward...its so cringe but he asks if bepo wants to talk about it - curses himself that he isnt penguin and shachi who would laugh a situation like this off, they are much better than him at handling these things

bepo didnt hear the question he immediately goes IM SORRY CAPTAIN and law is surprised what on earth are you sorry for bepo: you...um. well you had to come in and save me so im sorry for causing you trouble law:...............its not troublesome for me to help you so dont apologize.. (and he says it kind of in a soft unsure tone because??? what the hell....bepo its not about him.ffs)

and bepo feels so relieved because he was holding on that tension for so much of their walk not knowing what law is thinking about (he was thinkin about eating you whole, boy) that he smiles and it snaps the rubber band of tension law was holding onto himself and he gets so full of affection for bepo it kind of goes to his head and all the way south making him horny...its somehow ended up being a romantic scene that he wants to take him apart now...reaffirming to bepo that nobody would ever be better than him. law was challenged he has to prove himself now.....

law knowing but now staring straight in the face to the fact that bepo is SO special and so important. noone has the RIGHT to know because they could never understand JUST HOW SPECIAL AND VALUABLE HE IS

[weebsinstash]

HONESTLY just male concubine being obsessed with Empress gives me life. Like he takes one look at her wardrobe and hires a seamstress so they can coordinate matching outfits, he escorts her by the arm wherever she goes when the Emperor isnt around to do it himself, wants to take fancy baths together, brushes her hair, likes to have sleepovers... And the Emperor is like See?? Why would you treat him so coldly leaving him in the rain like that, he absolutely adores you >:( oh he punished a servant? He must have had a good reason, he only has your the Empress best interest in mind.

OOOH BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE. Like yk how in some manhwa concubines can be given as gifts to establish good diplomatic relationships? Imagine if a foreign sovereign sent a male concubine but for the Empress. And like. Its not like they can straight up refuse the gift, because that would be seen as extremely rude/hostile, but it is clear that as soon as they come in with a handsome dude saying he is for the Empress the temperature in the room just DROPS. Male concubine literally goes from 😊 to 🙂 to 😐 and the Emperor is FUMING on the inside. Ofc they accept the gift and the new concubine is put in the Empress palace, but now Male Concubine needs to think of a way to solidify his position (ummm.... baby?) without being found out by the Empress, cause he would hate if she got angry at him again, and just turns into even more of a menace along with the Emperor who all of a sudden has time to visit the Empress every single day and night.

And imagine if the new concubine is just an overall sweet guy :( like maybe the Empress doesnt necessarily like him in a romantic way, but he is a breath fresh of air as she can feel at ease with him, laugh with him, etc. Oh that would drive them insane.

I meant to swing back to this ask much sooner because it has such supreme drama potential 🤌 because really, I'm starting to wonder if I feed off of the satirical toxic energy lmao (also this ask can refer to the Saintess Reader/Emperor scenario with or without specific characters but I answered this as the bakugou/izuku thing people have been sending asks in for out of habit

So what I've considered before is, is, having our gifted male concubine be either from a specific culture or be practicing a certain religion where he holds the Reader who is the Saintess in extremely high regard if not an outright holy figure, like Reader is basically the Pope except you know she can actually perform miracles. He's essentially devoted his life to the concept of serving the Saintess in every way possible that his body has to offer ( 😏 ) and considers it his duty. And to round out our main protag trio I thought, it would be pretty appropriate to have this concubine be Shoto (can literally never remember if it's Shoto vs Shouto vs Shōto). Maybe Shoto even has extra privileges or protections: perhaps he's not just a gift from the ruler or leader of the land he hails from, perhaps he's even a prince, making him even more immune to any potential threats or dangers

I just imagine Bakugou being initially dismissive, kind of laughing at the concept. A man to be akin to a handmaid to his Empress? He might as well be a lowly slave, or a dog. I wonder if he'd be so full of himself that he doesn't even consider Shoto any sort of threat until a certain lil marimo boy is whispering paranoid suggestions in his ear

Really though, the drama would be absolutely dripping from Izuku and Shoto, because you have an obsessive clingy needy dweeb who wants to devote himself to you vs someone ALSO in his own way much more subtly obsessive and clingy and devoted to you AS A LIFESTYLE. I can just picture so many different scenarios where the two of them go head to head. Like, can you imagine that Shoto notices you're looking stressed and tired, and he encourages, no, insists that you lie down and take a rest, and who else but the green embodiment of so many of your troubles is trying to barge into your palace right after you've finally fallen asleep? You wake up to the pair of them basically trying to slug each other out in the courtyard because Izuku refuses to leave and Todoroki refuses to let him inside

Then there's the added drama of "is Reader or isn't she allowed to sleep with him?" Or if they decide to risk it for love or lust or what 👀 you're just all extremely stressed and bent out of shape and Shoto consoles you, and he sees you and hears you and you feel so understood and he comforts you, and you start feeling like he's literally the only person in this awful country you can trust. I can only IMAGINE the chaos if, even if Reader was allowed to have "connections", if Reader sleeps with Shoto and Izuku finds out, full on barging into your bedroom to find the two of you naked if not still in the middle of the act outright. Izuku just rushing to the Emperor in tears because, it's terrible, you'll never believe it, he can't even believe someone would do something so terrible as to DEFILE you (even if he wants Bakugou to do the same and also maybe himself as well), can't you do something Katsuki, Shoto is DIRTY and WRETCHED and he will TAINT YOUR HONOR obviously

It really has it all. You've got the potential angst for Bakugo just outright having Shoto executed (maybe he's perfectly innocent and just a good friend, maybe he's another yandere), you've got Izuku and Shoto being catty and trying to backstab each other and get the other in trouble, you've got drama between Reader and Bakugou as an arranged marriage couple/"I actually do love you but I'm emotionally constipated and fucked up and can't communicate without being a raging prick"

Deadass, I bet Bakugou goes from maybe seeing you once or twice a week to, once Shoto is in your palace, every single day if not multiple times a day. Obviously he has to keep an eye open in case that stupid monk tries anything with you or tries to trick you into something. You're so soft hearted and nice and stupidly naive that of course you need someone rough like him to balance you out and keep you on track (or so he rationalizes). This is just... a temporary setback! Clearly you love him, and you're HIS wife, no one else's. You're just being a brat and throwing a tantrum for some reason he hasn't figured out yet, but he'll sort this out and get you back on his side, even if he has to kill your new friend to do it. You'll come around. After all, you've stuck with him this long haven't you?

[princess-of-the-corner]

I always wonder how an ML civil war would go because I feel like most everyone would be inclined to side with Ladybug? They don't really have any particular connection to Chat Noir, aside from Felix who would do it both out of loyalty to Adrien and distrust of Maribug. Alya would pick Marinette, Nino hates Chat Noir. Kagami MIGHT go with Chat if she knew it was Adrien but given her whole "I love Marinette I trust Ladybug with my life and ALSO Felix's and Adrien's" thing idk; Luka and Alix are both toss-ups who'd try to stay out of it- Luka because he wants to look for a peaceful resolution and Alix because she probably literally can't intervene. Everyone else is kind of just there

Honestly I think that, given what's happening at the end of Season 5 with Ladybug keeping everything all secret, we could have a better reason for some of the team to go against her.

Because if all this comes out, if they find out how much she kept from them, how much she kept from Chat, how badly she handled certain situations like everything the day of Miracle Queen.... I could see it.

I could see it happening with that. Remember we mentioned the idea of Mari tells Alya and Alya tells Nino and Nino goes 'oh hell no' and tells Adrien? That could kick it off.

Nino finds out about the whole 'Adrien is a Sentimonster, Gabriel was Monarch, we're not telling Adrien' thing and, well, tells Adrien. Adrien has a breakdown about That™, spills the beans that he's Chat Noir because he's trying to say that Nino's lying because 'surely Ladybug wouldn't lie to Chat? Surely she'd tell me of all people?!' but whoops she didn't.

And he's hurt and pissed and confronts Ladybug on the whole thing because he can understand somewhat lying to 'Adrien' but lying to 'Chat'? (And telling Rena).

They have a big blowup fight which starts the fracturing of the whole thing.

Nino is on Adrien's side because the boy should've been told shit. Alya stays on Mari's because like. She gets why she hid that shit and how she was under so much stress and the full scope of the whole 'she thinks telling Chat will fuck things up because it has in other timelines'.

Toss in both Chloé and Zoé for Chat's side. Because maybe they have a blowup fight too at first when Chloé finds out that Zoé replaced her, but the fight turns into telling Zoé what happened during Miracle Queen in its entirety (the threats, the betrayal, etc.). Zoé realized that Maribug REALLY fumbled that whole situation and blamed Chloé for it in the aftermath after basically sabotaging her attempts in the first place(not to mention the double standard of Mari telling Chloé that she should do her best to imitate Audrey and earn her love while telling Zoé that she shouldn't have to appease Audrey to earn love)

So they both hop on over to Team Chat and switch off the Bee.

Kagami and Felix are leaning more Team Chat because they agree that Adrien should've been told about the fuckery of his existence and Felix in particular is kinda pissed about Gabriel being remembered as a Hero instead of a bastard. Kagami I think the tipping point would also be learning the full scope of the Miracle Queen incident because she learns how Maribug broke the 'if your identity is known you're benched' rule so that she could interrupt Kagami and Adrien's date(like yeah it didn't work out with Adrien but DICK MOVE GIRL)

Luka and Alix are probably the most sensible in the 'she made some bad calls, but for the most part she was trying to do the right thing. It's okay to be hurt by that anyway. But we're friends, we're a team, we need to work this out'.

The rest of the Team could go either way because like. No offense but they don't have the most fleshed out personalities. This could flesh them out more with how they react to hearing what all went down.

[unseelie-robynx]

Cult AU Snippet

So this is a snippet from my Curse AU (breakdown can be found HERE) placed somewhere midway through Xiaotian’s backslid into his cult upbringing, where he still doesn’t believe that what the cult wants is good, but he doesn’t not believe that either. This snippet is about the gang finally starting to learn what’s actually going on with the cult, (courtesy of a certain pair of demon brothers), beyond just the basic ‘there’s a creepy demon worshiping cult that wants to maybe destroy the celestial realm but also maybe destroy Yama / we know they think there’s some king that supposed to do all of this and-slash make things quote-unquote ‘better’ by taking over’.

It is under read more because long, please enjoy.

(No real warnings apply I don’t think, beyond mentioning a cult)

Xiaotia- MK was twitching. He was trying really hard not to be, but he was. He’d had to shove his hand behind his back, to hide the fact they were shaking, and it was taking more self control than Xaio- MK knew he had to keep from just throwing the demon twins out of Pigsy’s shop altogether.

Because that would be suspicious. In like, the worst ways.

So instead, he was stuck, listening to the twins spill information they had NO BUSINESS KNOWING and he was going to have to tell Shifu about- no. No he wasn’t involved with them anymore. He was MK, was the Monkey Kid, and he didn’t know anything about anything Yin and Jin might be babbling on about. He didn’t.

And man did the two of them have a lot of things to go on about. It was like they’d never had a good meal in their lives with how savagely they were tearing apart the noodles Pigsy had given them, and while their manners were atrocious and Xiaotian ignored the suspiciously familiar voice in the back of his mind that was wrinkling its nose as said behavior they were appreciative, and dumping out a lot of information between bites.

“So like, I really don’t see how you don’t know this-“ Jin said around a mouthful of noodles.

“-like *really* don’t see how you didn’t know.” Yin added around his own.

“I mean, honestly-“

“-considerin’ the subject matter-“

“-the fact that you don’t-“

“-almost seems like-“

“-could be an oversight on their part. But then again-“

“-might be a reason, you know? Don’t want you findin’ out before the ‘end game’ or whatever. Although-“

“-how that would work-“

“-considerin’ how said ‘end game’ is supposed to go-“

“-kinda goes back to that oversight on their part thing, ya know?”

At least Xiaoti- MK, wasn’t the only one getting annoyed. He could see Xiaojiao’s eyebrow starting to twitch, and honestly the fact that Red Son hadn’t flipped his top yet was a minor miracle. Maybe, if he was lucky, one of them would get fed up first and throw the twins out preferably before they spilled anything that was actually important or made sense without preexisting context that the others didn’t have, so that MK didn’t have to be the one to break character and do it.

But of course, Xiaotian was never lucky.

But… was that true? He’d been lucky that Shifu found him, had taken him in and raised him and given him a home and the truth but- NO. Because… because it wasn’t… it was a c-… was a… that. His friends all said so, MONKEY KING, said so. So it… it was and he was right to try and get away but then Shifu reminded him that Monkey King couldn’t really… that he… Xiaojiao’s sword came down in a streak of lighting, halting right above Pigsy’s counter (which was good because he would have killed her, resurrected her, and then killed her again if she’d actually broken it). It was enough to both snap MK out of his thoughts, and shut the twins right up, and the both swallowed HARD before turning in jerky unison to stare at the glaring (and glowing) girl.

“So since Pigsy was kind enough to convince me to not chop you into little pieces despite you trying to break in and steal his stuff, why don’t you get to the POINT, m’kay?” Xiaojiao hummed out, tone entirely too cheery for the murderous expression on her face.

The demon twins both swallowed in unison, turning to look at each other and doing that silent ‘twin communication’ thing with their eyes before turning to the group and moving in eerie synch to point… at Monkey King.

Shit.

(He should have taken the opportunity to throw them both out the door when he had the chance)

There was a bit of confusion as everyone looked between the pointing demon brothers and Monkey King and back again, which was only compounded when Monkey King himself raised a confused finger, pointing at his chest as if to confirm ‘Me?’, while still looking just as lost as everyone else about what was going on and what Yin and Jin were talking about. And this was bad, this was really bad Monkey King couldn’t know. It’s not like he didn’t know but THEY couldn’t know that he knew and they were watching (because they always were) and if Monkey King ‘found out’ they would know that he knew and probably do something even worse than what they already had and!

 “Yah um, we’re going to need a bit more than that, actually.” Mr. Tang’s voice cut in his voice was so similar but so wrong and even after all these years Xiaot- MK had still never fully gotten used to it, gotten over the way the similarity felt so wrong.

MK knew he needed to do… something, but he didn’t know what and the more he panicked the less chance he had to do anything, just like now because the twins were speaking again and-

 “Well it’s obvious, aint it Yin?”

“Totally obvious Jin.”

“I mean, It’s not like they even tried that hard, what with the name and all.”

“Nope, didn’t try hard at ALL Jin.”

“Great King-“

“-Great Sage-“

“-Equaling Heaven-“

“Uniting Heaven and Earth?”

“Use the same kanji and everythin’-“

“-really aren’t trying all that hard to disguise it.”

“Plus I mean, with all their ’natural order was disrupted’-“

“-’the new age where the heavens are PROPERLY overthrown’ and all that-“

“-makes it hard not to reference what they’re takin’ ‘bout, you know?”

“Not that WE want anything to do with any of that.”

“Oh absolutely not. We done saw what it was like the first time-“

“-and if they’re planning on any sorta carnage like the last time, Whoooooh boy.”

“Nope”

“Nu-uh.”

“Not happenin’.”

“No offense-“

“Mr. Great Sage-“

“-but you was terrifyin’ back than-“

“-not that you aint now-“

“-oh no, you’re still plenty terrifyin’ now-“

“but like, you get it, yah? There’s like-“

“-levels of terifyin’ and you used to be on a whole different one.”

“And not that the Celestials are all that great-“

“- I mean we definitely jumped ship soon as we got a good chance-“

“But like if that’s the kinda thing these guys are seein’ as the ‘ideal’-“

“-that just gonna be like, slaughter for most people.”

“You understand?”

 There was silence around the room for a few long moments as everyone sort of… digested what the twins had said. Everyone but him. Finally though, Xiaojiao broke the silence.

“Wait. So you’re saying that the creepy doomsday demon cult, and their whole ‘evil demon king to destroy the three realms’ and all of that, that they’re talking about Monkey King?”

The disbelief and incredulability in her voice was blatant, but not in a way that she disbelieved the twins, oh no. That would be to easy and nothing in Xiaoti- MK’s life could ever be EASY. Instead it was disbelief at the quote unquote ‘stupidity’ of this ‘cult’.

And a part of him rankled at that tone. What did she know after all? Nothing. Nothing true, anyways, nothing important. She didn’t understand, had never been shown how things would be better, why they would be better. She only knew the painful reality they were stuck with, and the layers upon layers upon layers of masks that Sun Wukong was compelled by enchantment and self-preservation to wear. She’d never learned the truth of who the Great Sage truly was. (But Xiaotian had. And he’d learned it sitting in the lap and by the side of one who had managed to catch glimpses of the truth for himself)

“So, um, gonna have to actually agree with the twins on this one.” Monkey King pipped in rubbing at the back of his neck. “Never thought I’d say that one.” He added in a softer tone before continuing. “Just, I feel like if I’m supposed to be like… important, to this cult, they probably should have like, you know, told me, or something. I mean, I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to be this ‘Great King’ of theirs if I, you know, don’t know I’m supposed to be doin’ the job and all that.”

It was clear that Monkey King was trying to be funny, to play the whole thing off. To distract the celestial realm, to not let his watchers know that he already knew.

But it was also clear that it… wasn’t working. All that well.

This whole thing was making Monkey King anxious, and it showed.

And Monkey King being anxious was making him anxious, because what terrible thing was going to happen to his mentor (slash kinda father figure but he was really trying not to think too hard about that right now) because of this? What ‘punishment’ would the celestials come up with simply for the crime of other people knowing the truth and wanting to see justice done?

Not that, that he thought it was justice, or anything. Because he… he didn’t. But he also knew that what the celestials did certainly wasn’t justice, and Monkey King didn’t deserve any of what they would probably end up doing to him because of this.

“So wait,” MK finally found his voice to cut in. “Do you guys like actually know that it’s Monkey King, or do you just think that it���s Monkey King based off stuff you’ve heard?” (Please let it be the latter, please let it be the latter)

“Oh no, it aint speculation-“ Yin quickly pipped up to defend his honor, or something.

“Not at all!” Jin agreed.

“What do you take us for?”

“Charlatans?”

“You think we’d just go ‘round,”

“Givin’ out fake information like that?”

The twins were giving their own incredulous looks, while everyone else in the room suddenly had something else to look at.

“Well we aint!” Jin declared, evidently incensed by the unspoken accusations.

“We most certainly aint!” Yin agreed right on cue.

“We’ll have you know that we got his bona fide information the hard way!”

“That’s right! And it was a real mess of a situation believe you us!”

“Why when that Monk came in I thought for sure we was-“

 CrAsH

 MK had never been more grateful for a demon attack on the city in his life.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch. 146 thoughts

[3-For-1 Deal]

I mentioned a while ago that Undead Unluck operates on the one plot point per chapter principal, but there’s an exception to every rule, as we saw a few weeks ago leading into the Void battle

Much like said chapter, this one covers three separate events, so I guess that’s Tozuka’s method: if he can’t stretch out one event into a whole chapter, he might as well cram in three. I like it, it’s an efficient use of time

So as I guessed, Yusai is one of the Negators that Fuuko mentioned recruiting last week. I was admittedly wrong about Feng, but I was iffy about him anyway, and we did already get some insight to his character this arc, so it’s only right that we get the previously underutilized Yusai

We see Yusai facing down an unnamed UMA, who based on the black spikes I would think is some kind of iron UMA. Yusai defends her village from this UMA by presumably tricking it into piercing its blades into trees then holding it in place with Undraw for an entire week. Christ, no wonder she’s literally about to die! She had to stay conscious that entire time without food or water; the fact that she’s only just NOW about to die is nothing short of a miracle, as that’s literally the maximum time the human body can go without water. Granted, staying perfectly still that entire time while also in a life-or-death scenario would likely mean that a lot of her metabolic processes literally stopped, so perhaps her water consumption was minimized? Either way, it’s a perfect recipe for keeling over, hence why she looks so emaciated

Fuuko arrives just in time to save her, which means one very important thing: this is where Yusai was at this time last Loop. So, how did Yusai survive last time? If I had to guess, I’d say there happened to be a certain shirtless amnesiac passing by last time, wouldn’t you?

Fuuko defeats the UMA, though I’m not entirely sure if she killed it and eliminated its Rule or just incapacitated it, but the story doesn’t care so neither do we. She brings Yusai back to base and gets her some much needed food, though given that she’s EATING A FULL MEAL AT THE GOD DAMN SPEED OF LIGHT by all rights she should be dying immediately anyway from rupturing her malnourished stomach. She should be taking that rice and mashing it into gruel with lightly salted water, not jamming it into her gullet

Also, Tozuka seems to have slightly altered Yusai’s design; her hair has a much softer look to it this time compared to how she looked in Akira’s flashback, being drawn more rounded instead of spikey, and with what looks like a much higher ponytail. I’m not sure if Tozuka just wasn’t satisfied with the original design, but honestly this one feels like it has more personality, so I appreciate it

Yusai apparently can’t draw her own sword, nor can she remove anything that she views as being inside something else, rendering her unable to draw her own sword or even her chopsticks out of her mouth between bites. How she gets them out later, I have no idea, but this does illustrate an important factor of Undraw’s Rules: it does not target the user, it targets the object. We’ve seen her negate Spring’s cherry blossoms, the unnamed UMA’s blades and even Sun’s feet, so it’s clear that she’s an external targeter. Preventing herself from drawing her weapons implies that she’s targeting herself as well, but since a Negator can only be external or internal, not both, she must be negating the objects ability to be drawn, not the person’s ability to draw. It’s not even limited to weapons! She could probably prevent an enemy from “drawing blood” if she thought about it, making Undraw a much more versatile ability than I originally gave it credit for. Can’t wait to see how far Tozuka pushes it!

Nico comes in and informs Fuuko that he can’t locate Kasuga Village, which Yusai is apparently familiar with, so presumably she guides Fuuko to it. As it turns out, Kasuga Village is Isshin’s home, so I wonder if perhaps Yusai’s family is familiar with the Isshin clan? I hope we’ll get to see a more in-depth explanation of their ties, this plot point unfortunately felt a little glossed over

Kasuga Village is attacked by the same UMA that killed our Isshin’s father in the previous Loop, but this time it’s met by Isshin the 12th, her grandfather. Whether this means that this is a Junior and multiple attack the village or it’s attacking earlier in this Loop, I’m unclear, but either way, Yusai steps in to kill the UMA using the iconic iaido that we’ve seen Andy use so often, only she has to do it without actually drawing her blade. Frankly the fact that she destroyed a UMA’s core with her sheathe is pretty damn impressive, imagine how strong she’ll be once she learns how to overcome that limitation like the previous Yusai did

They ask Isshin 12 to join their cause, but he declines on the basis that he can’t leave his home unprotected. In comes Isshin’s dad with who else but little baby Isshin on his back! She’s so cute, and I am reaffirmed in my decision to name my Tinkatink after her in Pokemon Scarlet. She’s even got her hair in a little knot! Seeing her bap away her loving grandpa is super endearing, this is the kind of thing I want to see more of

Fuuko immediately clocks that this Isshin, referring to her by her true name of Haruka, confirming for Isshin 12 that Fuuko’s story about the timeloop is true. Moved by Fuuko’s tears of joy and the tale of Haruka’s exploits as the next Unbreakable, Isshin 12 changes his mind and decides to accept Fuuko’s invitation

I did mention Isshin as a possible recruit last week, but somehow I forgot to mention the logical inconsistency at the time: see, I knew that Isshin was 23 in 2020, meaning that she was born in 1997, making her only two years old in 1999. I knew that, and I knew that her grandfather should still have been alive at this time, but I just...didn’t bring that up last time. Can’t remember why. BUT I did say we might get Unbreakable and we did, so there

So there you have it, an attacker and a support, that’s both of the recruits Fuuko said she wanted, so now we’re ready to go to the South China Sea, yeah? Well surprisingly, no! Because somehow Fuuko has been made aware of a third recruit she wants: everyone’s favorite guy, SEAN DATZ!

Wait, Sean Datz? In 1999? But he was 18 in 2020 last time! He’s not supposed to be born for another three years, but here he is, about...what, 15? He seems younger than in 2020, but it’s a bit hard to tell, so maybe not. Either way, he’s clearly a 90′s kid now, but how can that be? Well according to Fuuko, he was actually born early somehow, and she attributes this to everyone’s souls actively trying to help her reunite them all

That’s...a little odd, since Sean seems to be the only one who was explicitly born early, but...maybe that’s why Fuuko thought she had till 2003? Maybe everything is happening earlier...? I don’t know. Maybe Sean is just that cosmically unimportant that he can be reinserted into the timeline anywhere and it doesn’t matter. What a loser, the flow of time doesn’t even care when he’s born

I also love that Nico conjectures that the souls trying to help Fuuko is a sign that they all love her, but Sean literally had one interaction with her: he tried to kill her and got cut in half for it! If anyone should want nothing to do with her, it’s him! He’s just the weirdest one to use as an example for this, I really hope this gets expounded upon next week

The team tracks Sean with infrared as he’s only unable to be seen by light, not heat, though perhaps he’ll be able to remove that weakness later, and he’s able to run through the streets of Brazil with his eyes closed without any issue. It looks like he’s memorized the layout of the city, but it’s more impressive that he hasn’t bumped into anyone. Maybe his senses are pretty sharp? Not sharp enough not to bump into Void, though, who paralyzes him with Unavoidable. Naturally, this only keeps him from continuing to run or close his eyes to become invisible again, but does not keep him from drawing his iconic butterfly knife

Fuuko sees this coming though and brings him to the ground, knocking his knife out of his hand and embedding it just like what happened last time. Of course this time he’s not cut in half, so maybe this is the beginning of Sean’s redemption arc. Maybe this is his Bellamy moment where after suffering a parallel defeat to his previous one, he shows that he’s actually pretty likable and endearing?

I wanted to make a joke about how I’d hate this series for making Sean likable, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I actually really like the idea of Sean becoming an actual character, and Tozuka has done a great job so far of endearing us to previously one-note characters, so I’m excited to see what kind of dynamic Sean brings to the table

All in all, this wasn’t a mind-blowing chapter since it’s mostly set up for what’s to come next, but I don’t think it needs to be a banger every single week. I saw someone say on twitter that this arc feels stale because the stakes are so low, and while they went on to write a nice analysis of Undead Unluck as a metaphor for trauma and grief, I just couldn’t get behind their initial premise. We already know what the stakes are for this arc, they were illustrated for us quite clearly not twenty chapters ago: we saw everyone and everything reduced to ash and rubble. We saw all of our friends give their lives with tears on their cheeks and blood on their hands to ensure Fuuko made it to the next world to prevent this from ever happening again

These people are what’s at stake. Their lives, their loved ones, their happiness, all of that is on the line here, and this person thinks it’s stale? Sorry pal, that’s just a bad take all around. I think they’re mistaking “stakes” with “an immediate threat.” No, there’s no major arc villain to face right now, only the abstract knowledge that one wrong move will result in someone repeating the tragedies of their past, but that’s a pretty key concept in narrative fiction: character-driven storytelling

See, Undead Unluck is a character-driven story disguised as a plot-driven one. Fuuko and Andy’s involvement in the Union is 100% motivated by what they want: to stop being Negators so they can live (and die) normally. Every action they take is motivated by what they want or their morals, not by their immediate needs as the plot demands. However, the story is FRAMED as being plot-driven because Apocalypse literally tells the cast what to do and where to go next. Go capture Spoil to get Unrepair’s location, go kill the Seasons to prevent Ragnarok; these are plot points that decide the literal next step in the story, giving the illusion of a plot-driven narrative, but now? Fuuko’s calling the shots. Fuuko’s only going on Quests that she wants to go on that further the agenda she’s decided on, the narrative is no longer driven by the needs of the plot but by the desires of the characters. Fuuko and co. aren’t fighting with the goal of killing God, they’re fighting with the goal of living how they want. They’re explicitly rejecting the plot-driven narrative to replace it with a character-driven one, changing the rules of the world to those of self-determination if you will

Seeing the previously unused characters become more fleshed out in their personalities and their interactions may not be the kind of hard-hitting, pulse-pounding action you’ve come to expect from fights like the Union/Under vs. Sun, but to me it’s everything I ever wanted from this series and from manga as a whole. I want to get to know these people, I want to see how they get along with each other. I want to know what they’re actually, literally fighting for, not the contextual reason why they’re fighting, and watching Fuuko cry over meeting her friend as a baby? That tells me so much more than an all out brawl against some monster ever could

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Survival of the Fittest. 

Pairing: Yandere!Bakugo/Reader/Yandere!Kirishima (BNHA).

Word Count: 3.6k.

TW: Apocalypse/No Quirks AU, Unhealthy Codependency, Non-Consensual Touching, Mentions of Death/injury, Non-Graphic Violence, Imprisonment.

You were lucky Kirishima had been the one to find you.

‘Find’ might’ve been the wrong word. It implied that he was looking, that he wanted to discover you, bleeding and battered and bruised, cowering in a grimy corner of what used to be a grocery store. It must’ve looked pathetic, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be embarrassed by your torn clothes, your matted hair, the way you’d whimpered as he first approached, all wide eyes and open arms. Survivors were few and far between, and it’d been weeks since you saw another living, breathing person. Kirishima hadn’t seemed like a god-send, not in the moment, but he was a miracle. You’d been too shocked to thank him properly, as he pulled you to your feet and practically carried you out of the city, but you should. You wanted to. You owed him that, if nothing else.

You were lucky it’d been him, rather than Bakugo. You were grateful it hadn’t been Bakugo.

You’d probably still be rotting in that corner, if it had been.

He didn’t seem to like you very much, even if he had begrudgingly moved aside when Kirishima asked if he could bring you inside. It was a bunker, judging by the sparse furniture littered around the common area, plain cement walls only adorned with the occasional hunting knife or bat left to lean against them. The bench Kirishima had left you on was wooden, too stiff to ever be comfortable, but it was a practical choice. Fabric was a luxury to be stowed away and treasured, saved for things more important than a stranger’s comfort. You’d do the same thing, if you’d been in his shoes.

That didn’t stop Bakugo from glaring, though, perching himself on the edge of a nearby crate and refusing to take his eyes off of you, as if you’d already earned and lost his trust. “There’s no fucking advantage,” He started, but he wasn’t talking to you. You weren't worth his time, just yet, not while you were still just a stray Kirishima was too much of a saint to turn away. “We’re not a damn food bank. It’s not out responsibility to babysit every dumbass on the verge of death.”

“Don’t listen to him.” At least Kirishima was kind enough to address you as he slipped back into the common room, taking his place at your side and handing you something – a mug, cremated and unchipped and filled to the brim with something watery, steam still rising off the top. Your first sip was hesitant, but you couldn’t stop yourself from draining the cup once you recognized the taste. Coffee. Cheap, bitter, heavenly coffee, the kind you didn’t have enough clean water to risk trying to make. You could’ve kissed him. You might’ve, if the calm levity in his voice hadn’t snapped you out of it. “Katsuki’s just a little defensive, when it comes to guests. We’ve got plenty of supplies to go ‘round, and…” He trailed off, glancing over you. To the bruises circling your wrist, the stained bandages peaking out from underneath your shirt. To the spot where your ankle twisted just a little too far to the left for the angle to be natural, the evidence of a fall you tried and failed to break with something besides your own body. “I don’t think we can kick someone out in good faith with those kinda injuries. Not with all the crawler activity, lately.”

You flinched at the name alone. Crawler, creatures, the things that used to be people and weren’t, not now, not anymore. You used to think of them as zombies, but that wasn’t right. Calling them zombies would be an injustice, even if they did tend to rot if left to their own devices. Zombies weren’t that fast. Zombies weren’t that distorted. You’d encountered three or four, but you tried to avoid attracting them, when you could. It was easier, when you were on your own.

Bakugo groaned, bringing you out of your thoughts. You tried to stop your hands from shaking, as he spoke. “You’ve got a group to run back to, right? Nobody survives that long without one.”

You tried not to sound as small as you felt. Judging from the way Kirishima glanced away, it was a futile effort. “Nobody survives that long with one, either.”

Kirishima’s hand came to rest on your shoulder, and Bakugo crossed his arms, a sign that must’ve meant submission, judging by Kirishima’s optimistic response. “Just until your ankle’s healed up,” He promised, a compromise you hadn’t asked him to make. “You’ll stay until then, right? ‘d be a shame if we had to lose another person because of Katsuki’s bad attitude.”

There was a sharp ‘hey’, a barely stifled laugh, and slowly, you forced yourself to nod, immediately receiving a bright grin from Kirishima by way of reward. It was a practical choice, honestly – they had food, they had shelter, they didn’t seem to be grasping at threads just to get by. Even if Kirishima was a little too friendly and Bakugo wasn’t nearly friendly enough, you could life with that, you could get by. Once you’d worn out your welcome, you’d leave. As soon as you were fixed up.

You didn’t want to wait for things to go bad, this time.

~

Despite his reluctance, Bakugo didn’t take long to warm up to you.

Kirishima was still the approachable one, obviously. He was who you went to when you needed to find something, when you had a question about their ration system or weaponry or the parts of the bunker you weren’t allowed to go in, rooms with steel doors and deadbolts on the handle and a raw, metallic smell emanating from the other side, but Bakugo always seemed to be lingering just behind him, ready to scoff and roll his eyes before he took you by the wrist and explained that, if you expected to reap the benefits of their hospitality, you had to at least try to pull your weight. He was helpful, like that, his help less patronizing than Kirishima’s, albeit twice as easily frustrated. Still, he didn’t hate you. If anything, he seemed to—

“If you slow down one more time, I’ll feed ya to the damn bears myself.”

You sped up, reflexively. He didn’t hate you, but it wasn’t too late for him to start.

It’d been Kirishima’s idea for you to go hunting. You were still in a splint, the majority of your calf an abstract blend of medical tape and cloth padding, but you bit back the pain as you followed Katsuki down the rough, unpaved trail, gritting your teeth past the ache forming under your skin. It wasn’t a raid. If anything, you were only getting further from the city, working your way up the mountain their bunker was carved into the base of. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t been concerned about the crossbow in Katsuki’s hands, the weapon already loaded and poised, but the hunting knife strapped to your thigh eased your nerves, as did his disinterest in doing anything but trudging forward. If he didn’t take the time to call back to you every few minutes, you might’ve thought he’d forgotten you were there entirely.

But, silence never suited you never well. Not with a near-stranger, at least. “You’re not afraid of crawlers?”

“This far out? Fuck no.” It was an immediate answer, quick and shameless. Like an amputation, if an amputation left you nursing a bruised ego rather than bleeding out. “There’s enough fresh meat in the city to keep ‘em occupied. Only the runts ever bother coming out here to look for scraps.”

“I would’ve been that meat,” You mumbled, absent-mindedly. It was an idle thought, more of an admission than an accusation, but judging by the way his posture slackened, how quickly his attention shifted to the foliage, he wouldn’t have cared either way. “If Kirishima hadn’t found me, I mean. God knows I look like an easy target.”

“You are an easy target. Just be glad he’s got a weak spot for charity cases.”

You opened your mouth, ready to ask what he meant, you lost your footing before you got the chance, slipping on the damp leaf litter as a spike of something agonizing ran from your heel to your knee. Bakugo didn’t flinch, letting you catch yourself on his shoulder as he raised his crossbow, barely taking a moment to aim before firing. You could feel the kick-back, a jolting reverberation that only seemed to make the wet thunk that followed a little worse, the sound of an arrow piercing skin and flesh.

You expected that. You were ready for it. But, you hadn’t been prepared for the deafening scream that came afterwards, heart-piercing and human. You moved to rush toward its source, but Bakugo only caught your arm, shaking his head. Like he’d missed, like he’d only killed a deer. Like there wasn’t a person thrashing in the underbrush, still crying out as he spoke over them. “Looters,” He explained, like that was an excuse. “We’ve been dealin’ with them for a while, now. ’s just a scout, but he would’ve been back with reinforcements if we let him run off untouched.”

Bile rose in the back of your throat. For your own sake, you chose to believe him. “So? We can’t just—”

“Yes, we can.” It wasn’t a question. He didn’t need your permission, and he didn’t want your compliance. He didn’t even bother to justify himself before he turned away, starting back on the trail as you stood, still too shocked to move. “C’mon, we’ve already lost enough sunlight, and I’m not wasting arrows on scum. The fucker can drag himself back to his hideout, for all I care.”

You could’ve argued. Bakugo didn’t seem to think the blow was fatal, but you could’ve checked, made sure, offer what might’ve been a dying man a few last seconds of company before he bit the bullet. You could’ve, part of you wanted to, but…

But then, Bakugo tossed a glare over his shoulder, and your attention was brought back to the crossbow in his hands, to the machete strapped to his belt, to how pitifully small your knife was, in comparison. You didn’t want to lose the trust you hadn’t really gained, just yet. You didn’t want to take that kind of chance, not when Kirishima wasn’t around to give you the benefit of the doubt.

So, you shut your eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the quiet sobbing in the background as you followed in his tracks.

~

Surprisingly, Kirishima was the first one to slip into your bed.

You told yourself it was a mistake, when he let himself into your room in the middle of the night, closer to sunrise than it was to sunset. None of the doors locked, thin plywood serving as more of a source of comfort than an actual barrier, and beyond your small collection of personal possessions and the bedside table you’d commandeered from storage, your room was identical to any of the eerily unoccupied barracks on the lower layers of the bunker. Still, you expected him to turn around, to see your sleeping form curled up in a corner of your cot and realize he had the wrong room. It was late, and he made a mistake. It didn’t have to be anything more.

But it wasn’t that late, and Kirishima never really made mistakes. He was too careful for anything like that.

At least he was being careful now, too, as far as you could tell with your eyes clenched shut, your breathing restricted to slow, shallow inhales that left your lungs feeling just a little too tight. He was gentle, if nothing else, wrapping a strong arm around your waist, pulling you against his chest and burying his face in the nape of your neck. You didn’t squirm, you didn’t push yourself away, but you must’ve been too stiff, too still, too rigid. He didn’t seem to buy the act, however desperate it was.

“’suki’s real proud of you.” His voice was tired, weighted down by exhaustion. Clearly, he wouldn’t be leaving. “He told me about yesterday. Says you were good, cooperative and all. He likes that kind of thing.”

You didn’t respond, digging your nails into the sterile, medical sheets. Your ankle throbbed, and you tried to focus on that, to justify it. To remember why you could still convince yourself to stay.

“He’s a big softie, though. We both are, but I don’t try to hide it.” There was a light squeeze to your side, the ghost of his lips over the crook of your neck. His breath was warm, compared to the bucker’s constant chill, and you tried to think of his smothering body heat as a small silver lining. “I think it’s sweet. Gets lonely ‘round here, y’know? You’re a good fit.” There was a pause, a chuckle. For a moment, you thought he might push a little further, hold you a tighter, but Kirishima only shook his head, going on with that same careless, tired lilt. “I knew you would be, when I first saw you. A fragile little thing like you could never survive out here, not all alone.”

He was half-asleep. He didn’t know what he was saying. He’d probably apologize tomorrow, if he even remembered. “I’m not going to stay for much longer. I’ll be on my own again, in another month.”

“We’ll see.” The cot’s barred frame creaked as he shifted, his weight coming to rest against your back – a constant, oppressive reminder of his presence. A memory flickered to life in the back of your mind, a familiar intimacy that’d been earned and asked for, but you pushed it away quickly. You didn’t want to think about things like that, not here, not when this was so one-sided, in comparison. “Get some rest. You haven’t been getting enough sleep, lately.”

You’d leave when it was safe to. When you healed. When you’d worn out your welcome and become more of a burden than a benefit.

You wouldn’t stick around long enough for things to get suffocating, this time.

~

It was a mutual decision, when Bakugo and Kirishima stopped you from leaving the bunker.

They didn’t ask. That was the part that stung, really, the thorn that started working itself under your skin the moment you caught them standing in the threshold, an empty duffle bag slung over Kirishima’s shoulder and a baseball bat tucked under his arm. Bakugo had his crossbow, a pistol you’d never seen before holstered at his hip, but that bothered you less than the way they were muttering, keeping their voices purposefully low. Like they knew how you’d feel, if you saw them. Like they wanted to avoid the tension.

You’d never been very good at picking up hints, though. Much less those you were desperately trying to ignore.

“You’re going out?” You called, approaching them before you could stop yourself, suppressing a yawn as you made a show of rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. It was early, and you didn’t want Kirishima to know you’d already been up for hours. If he thought you were tired, he’d assume you were losing sleep, and if he thought you were losing sleep, he’d take it as an excuse to visit you at night, again. You… you didn’t like it, when he did. “Let me grab my stuff, it’ll only take a minute. If I knew you two were planning a raid today, I would’ve—”

Bakugo was the first to shut you down. “Sit this one out, alright?” It was a question, this time, but barely, his usual bluntness wrapped in a layer of kindness so thin, you could practically see through it. “’s just a quick supply run. We’ll be out and back before you notice we’re gone.”

“We’ve done this a thousand times,” Kirishima added, offering a small smile. At least he was trying to be nice about it, in his own, patronizing way. “It’s starting to get boring, honestly. It‘d be a shame to ruin all the progress you’ve made for something so minor.”

Right, your ankle. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d complained about it, the last time you’d been in enough pain to limp, even if Bakugo still insisted on tending to your ‘injury’ once a day, at least. The truth was glaringly obvious, even if they still made a half-hearted attempt to hide it, to let you avert your eyes and pretend you believed them.

You didn’t bother trying to hide your disappointment, your expression dropping as your nails bit into the meat of your palm. “You don’t think I can keep myself safe.”

In their defense, neither tried to deny it. Bakugo only looked away, and Kirishima smiled apologetically, his hand already pushing against the bunker’s metallic door. “We don’t want to risk it,” He explained, like you were a liability. Like you hadn’t survived out there for months without their help, injured or uninjured. “If something happened to you, if someone got to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. We both care about you, even if Katsuki doesn’t want to admit it.”

“It’s practical.” Bakugo didn’t look at you. It was a small mercy, really. At least he was self-aware enough to be ashamed. “You need more time. You fucked yourself up bad before Eijiro found you – all that doesn’t go away overnight.”

Expect, it hadn’t been a night. It hadn’t been a day, or a week, and you were starting to question if it’d even been only two months. It was hard to keep track of time, but the weather was already turning, every scrape and bruise Bakugo could’ve concerned himself with was already healed, and you���d already let yourself get comfortable. You’d stayed too long. You’d let them get attached, and you’d failed to make it clear that you weren’t.

You had to get out. Now.

~

Or, you could try to get out, at least.

You’d waited too long for Bakugo and Kirishima to just sit back and let you walk away.

They were stronger than you’d assumed. It was easy to forget what the human body was capable of, when you were so used to be exhausted and half-starved, but it wasn’t difficult to remember, not with Bakugo’s hands wrapped around your wrists, one of Kirishima’s arms splayed over your knees, stopping you from thrashing as they shoved you against a bed, a real bed, the frame wooden and the mattress more than just sponge and stuffing. It was one of theirs obviously, and if you’d stumbled onto it at any other time, you might’ve felt insulted, left out.

Right now, the only thing you could feel was terrified.

“Fucking bitch.” It was a grunt, a growl, followed by something close to a snarl as your elbow connected with his check. He was the one who’s caught you gathering up what little you had to take with you, a canteen already filled and strung across your back. It was on the floor, now, the metal dented and the contents spilling out, but if either of them minded wasting clean water, you couldn’t tell. They were busy, now, too busy dealing with you to worry about something so minor. Too angry to care, leaving you as the center of their rage. “We tried to be nice. We tried to give you a choice. You just couldn’t take the fucking hint, could you?”

“Let me go.” You couldn’t bring yourself to raise your voice, but you tried to come across as frantic, desperate, as betrayed and as disgusted as you really felt. “You’re both fucking crazy. I don’t want to—”

Kirishima didn’t let you finish, he’d never really bothered to. He was already shifting, leaning on one of your calves while grabbing at the other, calloused fingertips pressing into your newly-healed ankle, the remaining bruises still raw and tender. You cried out, more out of instinct than agony, but Kirishima only grit his teeth, rubbing circles into your skin, like that would be enough to soothe you. “We’re just taking care of you, alright? We’re just doing what’s best.” It was pointless to say, but the didn’t stop him from going on, rambling like he was going to convince anyone, including himself. “It’s dangerous, out there. You just need a little more time to realize that. You just need to see that ‘suki and I are your best option.”

They weren’t. They weren’t your best anything, but you didn’t have a chance to retort before Bakugo cursed under his breath, gathering your wrists up with one hand and forcing the other over your mouth, cutting you off before you could protest further. “Just do it,” He spat, all-but ignoring you as he spoke to Kirishima. “There’s no point in trying to explain this to someone so irrational. Let’s just get it over with before we have to do something worse.”

For a moment, you went still, a series of worst-case scenarios flashing before your eyes before you could rationalize them, before you could tell yourself to stay calm. For a moment, there was panic – pure, unadulterated, brutal panic.

And then, something cracked under Kirishima’s hand, and you forgot how to think of anything at all.

You let out a stilted, faltering sob, something akin to liquid fire running from your thigh to your calf to the point where everything stopped – everything below your ankle numb, disconnected, dead meat that still managed to hurt. The rest of your body went limp, your survival instincts gone and replaced with the unbearable desire to curl into yourself and cry, but Bakugo was still holding you, his arms strung around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest as Kirishima slotted himself against your back, cooing soft nothings as you fought not to break down completely. They were talking again, both of them, but you couldn’t seem to listen. It didn’t matter.

Your ankle was broken. Not sprained, this time, not bruised, but broken. Shattered. Dislocated. Forced into a position that meant you’d be forced to stay, voluntarily or otherwise. Whether or not you could still stomach looking at Bakugo and Kirishima, let alone living with them.

You couldn’t leave, and you were beginning to think they were never going to let you.

[aerimomo-mellon]

Skz as Boyfriends!

Paring~ SKZ x Reader

Genre~ informative lol

A/N~ yep it was requested! Enjoy 친구 <3

warnings? none. (idk mention of bed related things haha)

SKZ M☁List II Main M☁List

시장……..

✿ Bangchan

We all know this guy and you all have read enough of him I think, to know what imma say. (But for special purposes why not..)

This guy is really really serious about relationships and you are probably the one because he just can’t help loving everything about you.

The fact that he is yours even with all the responsibilities and work he has as a leader and idol is a miracle itself. Therefore consider yourself LUCKY to have the most caring and loving man anyone could have.

Dates- He likes movies hence movie nights and date to the theater are often. If not then he likes taking you to a sports event or the beach cause yeah. ( that vibesssssss you know? )

PDA = 3/10 why?, because as mentioned earlier he is responsible for many important things and he doesn’t want to have any misunderstandings about you and dislikes hate in general. That 30% I gave him was because he would only do PDA if really needed.

In Bed things? Umm not often actually but once in a while yes WHILE he would like it I’m sorry I mean LOVE it..

Con? Yep time! Sorry girl but that time you need, it’s hard for him to fulfill every time.

Cute extra info- Doesn’t mention it but secretly likes when you poke his dimple and say he’s cute.

✿ Minho

There are these majority conceptions, as I said majority but not all cause there are stays who know that he is a sweet guy deep deep down.😉

If you’re his s/o he will give every bit of him to you and expects the same for you. I would categorize him as a boyfriend wo acts like a mom lol. It maybe hard to digest that information but trust me this feeling I have from my gut I can say that he is also very caring. Although he might not say things like I will be there whenever you need me or even I miss you, care for you, but he doesn't need to say this anyway. As action speak more than words our Minho is the same.

Dates- He likes to balance it between what you like and what he likes as well. If you are a new couple he straight up asks what you prefer. Plus point he likes to take you to cat café if you like cats too.

PDA = 0.5/10 why? honestly speaking this guy literally hates to express his feelings. That .5 is literally him agreeing that he is yours and that's it. (when someone asks that is)

In Bed things? I personally think it depends on his mood and not yours. Yup. Somedays he wants you a lot and somedays he likes his space. I'm not saying he hates cuddling but more than that on days he is either tired or stressed he likes to keep that little limit to what happens next.

Con? Attention... you would literally take his cats away from him to get his attention.

Cute extra info- likes it when you call him and yourself Appa and Eomma to his cats.

✿ Changbin

Changbin being the puff/ strong guy(sorry that sounded disturbed lol) We all know how babied he likes to be.

Him as a boyfriend is just very natural, I mean from the way he takes you on a fancy date to even putting nail polish on your left hands. Everything is very genuine and he loves it. The Boyfriend to always apologize first.

I find him as someone to take attraction and the next step which is relationship very seriously. ( the person to be very calculative, it can beat Chan honestly..)Knowing that he is afraid to hurt people in any kind of way, to hurt you even as an accident breaks his heart.

Dates- Our Dwaekki loves taking you on dates with loads of food or snacks. A typical Korean restaurant or even food stalls, he loves seeing you eat than to be broken when you might have some kind of sickness due to eating problems.

PDA = 5/10 why? Because he likes your opinion. He is okay with either if you insist on a particular one but slightly leans on less public knowing. Holding hands and probably hugging you wouldn't be a huge problem for him.

In Bed things? he loves it anytime honestly... if he is horney he is getting what he wants and when you are same goes to you.. you'll get what you want..

Cons? Too much aegyo which makes you do things you don’t necessarily want to. (Stay blessed)

Cute extra info- Praise him! (x100) loves it when you say things like " my boyfriend is so strong.." or even " those arms mmm..."

✿ Hyunjin

I mean do I need to say how into he is with this??? Damn this man is the most prepared man a girl could have. The type to know everything about relationships... from trending couple fashion to even special not important but cute couple events..( that he probably found randomly scrolling through google)

He knows your anniversary, birthday, your moms birthday, dads and basically your whole family knows him too. He also keeps track of your monthly cycle too cause he likes being responsible for you..

He is the type to get jealous very easily BUT wont admit it when you ask. Likes to braid your hair while learning from YouTube.. Likes to buy you so many colorful cute hair accessories. (loves your hair..)

Dates- we all know this guy is fancy so he likes fancy dates but he can also be the complete opposite.. Fancy~ maybe to a art restaurant or even on a fancy boat cause why not.. Normally though~ likes to take you to an art museum or at night to take you on the roof for star gazing..

PDA = 2/10 why? I've probably given hints on my fictions with Hyunjin about this in particular. He prefers keeping this in private and that 20% is with his members (barely)

In Bed things? This guy couldn’t be more romantic lol. Loves being prepared for this buys every thing you both need… and yeah loves it.

Cons? He buys Kammi more hair clips than you sorry….

Cute extra info- likes when you get mad when he cut his hair lol. I apologize to all the stays I know he is cute every time but that long hair just hits different….

✿ Jisung

The craziest boyfriend you could have and will only have. You would low key love your relationship with this man I’m telling ya…

You two would have so much fun like toddlers. He is honestly the cutest, funniest, talented etc.. man you get all in one.. ahaha..

Likes to buy you the most stupid things that actually works for a daily living..( that thing he bought to watch on his phone while laying down 😵)

likes to joke around and talk to you a lot.. gurll listen to him he loves it. He likes to value your problems as well so listens to you too.

Dates- likes to watch anime so you two usually have this anime night cuddle sessions but if he were to plan something outside he would prefer to take you to the amusement part lol.

PDA = 8/10 why? honestly he likes showing you off cause he is fond of you. Basically doesn't care what others think... his parents know you, members, friends outside the group, and stays know you exist lol.. 20% i kept for a reason because he doesn't like it when things get out of handle so he wont do anything to the extent..

In bed things? yes he likes it but that turns up into a tickle fight or even a complete cringe but cute moment..

Cons? He might be very sensitive leading to him being upset and you having to apologize...

Cute extra info- loves it when you kiss his cheeks or just play with them in general..

✿ Felix

I had to bring this up at some point lol.. stays probably know the video where he says his clothes are boyfriend material lol...and yes i agree hands down!

A boyfriend material in his own way ahaha.. i mean we all know he loves to be cared for and loved. That Bangchan! spoiled little youngbok.. i personally feel or think two ways. Either he likes being cared for by you or he takes care for you since now he gets to be the older one..

Felix likes speaking in English so if you know English he would speak both languages as well. Likes to give you blowjobs cause he fell in love with you lol..

Dates- Shopping malls, window shopping, UNO on a picnic lol all these are his favs and so are yours .. Personally speaking he likes to take you to places where he can take lots of pictures of you..

PDA = 4/10 why? I don't know haha yup its just a feeling where I'm in between of two opposite thoughts.. I fell like he shows you to his members and family but not more than that.. (Olivia is most likely to love you)

In bed things? Likes being pampered and loves it when you lead.. happens pretty often actually..

Cons? yes! he like being touchy and so do you but he does it too much which beats ya.. and jealous really easily! and he lets you know that..

cute extra info- compliment him on his freckles and he will blush literally a tomato 🍅..

✿ Seungmin

Sweet really sweet.. he is the typical Korean boyfriend you'll get haha even better than that.

He just likes to talk to you or even look at you all day and keep that puppy smile on him.. The type to sing you a song to sleep or whenever you ask him to. likes to hear you sing too.. attempts to make you laugh but ends up, giving up.

He likes kissing your eyes when they are closed.. or when you just fell asleep after the song likes to give your eyes quick pecks..

Dates- He likes walks and that's why you go on evening walks and return when it's dark.. likes holding your hands. He likes grocery shopping with you, takes you to the rooftop to talk about life and its shitty problems.. Basically effortless things that make your relationship happy for what it is.

PDA = 1/10 why? I mean do I need to tell you this? he is like Minho but just a little bit more obvious.. Prefers to express his love when you two are alone..(that's it)

In bed things? umm yes but no.. i mean he gives in to your begs but I feel like Seungmin is just too into cute cuddling and these things are only when he is very desperate ..

Cons? not much but maybe ignoring you when you ask if he can buy you ice Cream for the fifty-sixth time..(but gives in anyway)

Cute extra info- He likes when he sees you in his clothes.. but doesn't say it and acts like he doesn't..

✿ Jeongin

Baby, baby, Baby..... he is our baby boyyyy but his savage ass towards his Hyungs just breaks it all hahaha…

Jk he is actually really cute, caring, sweet and likes to be protective. It may not suit him but yes he likes scolding people if done wrong to you..

You might be older or younger honestly he doesn’t care.. he is very respectful to you either way. He loves you and is very shy too which you find cute.

Dates- Asks you for your opinion or his Hyungs. He still is very inexperienced so he doesn’t know but sometimes likes it when you two spend time on the swings of some random park with fruit juice 🧃..

PDA = 0/10 why? Cause no no no no not even to his members haha he is just too shy and likes to keep his relationship in its own boundaries.

In bed things? Nope please! I’m sorry stays but I just can’t with Jeongin… (no further details he is just so precious to me)

Cons? He understands very late.. like you trying to say you want to cuddle, kiss etc.. without words he won’t get it. Just fucking be straight forward with our baby.

Cute extra info- honestly everything is cute about him so I can’t fit it here sorry… stays use your imagination here…

끝…

[esamastation]

Xerxes au snippet

The first official political overture the small desert nation of Xerxes makes towards Amestris in over fifty years is a year after the end of the Ishvalan Civil War. Though it is expected to concern the war, and the border between Amestris and Xerxes, or perhaps even Amestrian use of Alchemy in the war, is has nothing to do with the bloody conflict, or it's relation to Xerxes' famously pacifistic view on alchemy.

It is a simple, polite appeal to the Amestrian Government – an invitation for an Amestrian automail mechanic to join the Xerxesian court.

"Bit odd," Havoc mutters, after a copy of the letter has gone around the office a few times. "What do they need an automail mechanic for – isn't Xerxesian medical alchemy, like… world famous?"

"For given the value of fame, yes," Roy agrees, fingers crossed together and a thoughtful look on his face. "They say early Amestrian alchemists learned from Xerxesians. We still use a lot of their symbols in our alchemy – but if Xerxesian alchemists are world famous about anything these days, it's their reticence. No outsider has seen much about the way they go about things these days, if they even practice alchemy anymore."

Of course there are rumours, there are always rumours, and there's history – the great and wealthy kingdom of Xerxes, alchemically on top of the world and widely known for their wisdom and knowledge and the miracles they achieved… who reached too far, tried to achieve the power of gods, and got struck down by said gods for it. How accurate that is, no one knows, but it's known that some disaster hundreds of years ago devastated the kingdom, killed most of its people, and it never fully recovered. Now it's people can only barely scrape by, living in huts and caves and underground, and they don't treat with outsiders much beyond the absolutely necessary.

Beyond trade routes established to get Amestrian goods through Xerxes to Xing, there's never been much interest for Xerxes, except maybe for it's grand history and it's many ruins. It doesn't help that Xerxes, as far as anyone knows, has never really reached outside, keeping to its isolationist values – and since it has little to offer to other nations… no one reached back, either. As far as anyone knows, Xerxes hasn't advanced at all scientifically or technologically in the last hundred years.

Which makes the fact that they want specifically an automail mechanic, an craftsman of one of Amestris' most advanced technology, rather interesting, doesn't it?

"I hear they took a lot of Ishvalan refugees during the war," Fuery says – he's the one holding the letter, reading it through.

Roy hums grimly. There's that, though took in might be stretching it a bit. Xerxes didn't do much to protect its borders – there was no need, with a desert all around their kingdom. So, when Ishvalan refugees sought to escape the conflict and set out to the desert, there was nothing but the terrain itself to stop them. Who knows how many Ishvalans made it through the desert, on foot and probably hurt…

"Why'd they send this to our office?" Breda asks, casting a look at Roy.

"They sent it to Grumman who sent it to us," Roy sighs and leans back in his chair. "The Lieutenant General wants us to find a suitable mechanic and then escort them – along with the Fürher's greetings – to Xerxes. The mission isn't exactly time sensitive, but since we're in the East…"

There's probably many reasons it was thrown their way, really. Way to keep those uppity brats from East busy, easily justified with them being closest to the matter at hand. It also wasn't exactly vital as diplomatic missions go – but it was still a diplomatic mission to a foreign nation, which means that Roy would want to handle it himself instead of leaving it to any of his subordinates. Especially since it's to Xerxes – what Alchemist wouldn't give an arm and a leg for a glimpse at how Xerxesian alchemy is these days? So, it was expected that he'd go himself. Which would get him out of people's way for a while, and maybe open up a slot for someone else to be promoted to his place, depending how long it would take.

How annoying. Grumman can be one clever son of a bitch when he wants to be.

"Right," Roy says while his team exchanges looks. "I want a list of all automail mechanics of East on my desk by the end of the day – if you can figure out their feelings about Ishval and if they have any history with the Ishvalan Civil War, that'd be a plus. Get to work."

"Sir!" his team answers, and immediately get to it, Fuery and Fallman both heading out to probably check records, while Havoc fishes out a phone book and Breda gets the phone. Beside Roy, Hawkeye gives him a look.

"Should I start preparing for travel?" she asks mildly.

"If you please," Roy says, turning to his paperwork. "We'll take Breda with us."

"Understood."

-

Over the course of next two days, they list and investigate various automail shops in the east, Roy privately wincing at how many there are, and how many of them are less than a decade old. The Ishvalan Civil War had been a boon to the business, and a lot of mechanics from the south moved in to take advantage of the situation. Lots of new up and coming mechanics, cutting their teeth in on a lot of freshly traumatised soldiers.

It left a lot of them… unsuitable for a mission likely to involve Ishvalan refugees.

"Known for his Anti-Ishvalan sentiments," Breda says, crossing out another potential automail shop. "This one has a No Refugees sign on his shop front, which probably means the same thing. This one has a pretty high record of automail rejection syndrome. This one has had two patients die on the operation table…"

Roy rubs a hand over his forehead, already imagining having to reach for the Southern District to find someone sensible in Rush Valley, when Breda offers him a potential. "Rockbell Automail, in business for decades before the Ishvalan Conflict even began."

"Rockbell," Roy says, lifting his head. "Any relation to the two late Doctors Rockbell?"

"Yep. Son and daughter in law of Doctor Pinako Rockbell, the head mechanic of the shop," Breda says and lays the file on his desk. "Their daughter is currently an apprentice mechanic in the shop, too."

Roy grimaces at that, but accepts the file, leafing quickly through it. Old, well established shop, known for their skill and efficiency, with very high praise from a lot of former customers and no known record of either deaths on operation table, auto mail rejections, or any anti-Ishvalan sentiments. There is a slight issue of the head mechanic being an old woman and the only other mechanic being a young girl, but…

It's promising.

"Phone," Roy says, and Hawkeye quickly lifts it on his desk, turning it toward him so that he can dial easily.

"Rockbell Automail, Pinako Rockbell speaking," a woman's voice answers the phone promptly, her tone brisk.

"Doctor Rockbell, my name is Roy Mustang, I'm a Lieutenant Colonel from the East Area Headquarters – may I have a moment of your time?"

"Certainly," Doctor Rockbell answers, no noticeable change in her tone. "What can do for you, Lieutenant Colonel? Aside from automail, presumably."

"I am currently looking for a skilled automail mechanic to take part in a diplomatic mission, likely to involve Ishvalan refugees," Roy says. "Your shop came up as highly recommended."

"Hrm. What kind of diplomatic mission? Don't the military have their own automail mechanics?"

"There are some, but none in the Eastern Headquarters," Roy admits – probably because the East has such surplus of civilian mechanics these days. "And I'll be frank, the likely length of this mission makes it difficult to use any of our military mechanics. The mission is to Xerxes, and will likely take weeks, if not months."

"… Xerxes?" now the old woman's voice changes, growing a little incredulous.

"Yes, the Xerxes Royal Family sent the Amestrian government an appeal for a skilled automail mechanic to join their court, and I was tasked with the mission of finding one," Roy explains and leans back, turning to look out of the window while he talks. "You would be well compensated for your trouble, however long it would last."

"Is this… a permanent position? In Xerxes?" Still incredulous.

"We don't know as of yet, the treaties are yet to be drawn. You would naturally be part of the negotiations and your wishes and needs would be taken into account," Roy assures her. "I understand this is a bit much so suddenly, and I will hold it in no way against you if you refuse outright – though I am hoping that if that is the case, then perhaps you, as a well established mechanic, might be able to point me in the way of more suitable candidates…"

Honestly, with a shop as old and as well established as hers, Roy doubts very much she would take him up on the mission – she probably has a whole lot of regular clients and steady stream of income, and no need to move. But, it never hurts to ask.

The phone line is quiet for a moment as the old mechanic thinks. "I need to talk with my apprentice for a moment, can I call you back in, say, two hours?"

"Certainly," Roy agrees, and gives her his office number. "We'll be looking forward to your call."

"Right – one more thing. You said it's likely to involve Ishvalan refugees," Doctor Rockbell says. "How'd you mean?"

"We don't know for sure, the appeal didn't explain the need for a mechanic. But during the Ishvalan Civil War, many Ishvalan refugees fled to Xerxes. So we thought it safe to assume the two are connected."

"Ah," the mechanic says knowingly. "And they put a State Alchemist in charge of finding a solution."

Roy swallows. Ah. She knows about him. It's not entirely surprising, but… "They did indeed," is all he says. There's no real explanation he can give, no excuse. It is what it is."

"Hm," Doctor Rockbell answers, noncommittal. "I will call back in two hours."

And she does, accepting the mission with two conditions. The military would help her pack up her entire shop and all the materials and tools would be transported with them – which was understandable, even if it tripled the estimated convoy size. The other condition was that she was taking her eleven year old apprentice with her. Both conditions Roy readily agreed to, tasking Havoc and Fallman with her packing while the rest of the team arranged the convoy.

"Guess we're going to Xerxes then. We're going to need a lot of camels," Breda muses.

"Yes," Roy agrees and sighs. It would be a hard journey and probably a hard mission, and likely one for very little gain in the end. Still. Xerxes. His alchemy master would've killed for the opportunity. Might as well take full advantage of it, and learn whatever he can, even if it's only from broken murals on ancient ruins.

-

Hmm... not sure I’m getting Mustang’s voice right.

Edit: Also tumblr eats italics for breakfast apparently.

[peachiimilquetea]

hello it is i back again with another dom reader request akshskdja i also just read the player bf one and oh 😩👌 delicious.

It's a university student setting and a little bit of enemies to lovers trope i might say 👀 in this one its your choice if u want a specific character or your own for the sub boy.

So reader and the guy aren't really in good terms. Tho you two aren't like the extreme enemies type but you just don't get along. It's more on like the personality, i suppose. You, reader being the quiet type of famous that has a specific group of friends and are the type to be more private on personal matters, and then him being the noisy kind of famous, the guy that almost everyone in the university knows and could talk to anyone and literally knows every rumor there is.

You can decide whatever reason the guy has for not liking the reader as I've just thought that it's because they're personalities as well as their group of people are literally the exact opposite. Though one thing they have in common is that they're pretty known students (as well as sleep around 👀) anyways, a birthday party comes up and the guy gets drunk and the reader takes it as a chance to play with the guy hehe tho reader wouldn't do it to the extreme ya know the deed as he is drunk but that doesn't stop reader from teasing him at least 👀 long story short the general idea is that they don't like each other, but when the guy got drunk and reader pleasur--played him ehem, he woke up sober the next day remembering everything that happened that night and got super flustered aAAA. Days passed normal until when you were alone planning to go somewhere, a hand suddenly grabbed you and pulled you in an unused classroom and there the guy is glaring at you with his red face. Turns out he can't forget whatever you did back then and couldn't focus so he didn't have a choice but to seek you out and do it agai--help him out 👀 so in a way the guy is a tsundere since he doesn't want to admit that he likes whatever reader is doing while reader likes teasing him hihi

This sounded way more understandable in my head i hope it makes sense kajdlajdlaksak

𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫

a/n: ok this has been sitting in my ask box for so long (IM SO SORRY I JUST DIDNT KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT) bc it felt like a multipart fic, but it could also just be a very very long one shot, so i decided to go the one shot route. its honestly not that long either which is a miracle in itself but it definitely took a lot longer than i thought to write it. i hope you don't mind me making the character kuroo idk it felt like it fit

contains: dom!reader, sub!kuroo, a lil bit of switch action, every single cliche known to man BDHSBSHEH, oral (both!receiving), facesitting, cowgirl, rivals to lovers, afab/fem!reader (mostly gn except for a mention of wearing panties), dubcon if you squint, light degradation (kuroo gets called a dumb slut n some other stuff), light choking (m!receiving)

disclaimer: this was lightly proofread so... pls let me know if you find any errors lol

length: 2.2k

popularity was never really your strong suit.

as a kid, your goal was never to be popular. you had your head screwed on right, as most of the adults in your life would say and so you made no room for silly competitions among your peers. for what? approval? baseless approval would get you nowhere, so you set your sights on being smart, competent, and reliable.

and it worked. you got into your college of choice with a full ride, giving you the freedom to pursue your degree with virtually no worries.

but somehow through a twist of ironic fate, you had become well known around campus, not for your intellect, but for everything else. you never considered yourself out of the ordinary in your own right, but after a few conversations in a few classes, people began to treat you as such.

it was a natural charm you possessed, a calming disposition that made people around you feel seen, and as a result, your friend group rose to popularity.

but as with every cliche, things would never be so calm all the time. there was a secondary group of popular people on campus, a group of sports stars to be specific. the school specialized in volleyball of all things and so the D1 players on the team were treated like gods. most of them were tolerable, but one always managed to get under your skin,

with him it was obvious as to why he was so popular. he was attractive, talented, and very smart. a biochemistry major of all things but you would never know it by observing how he interacted with others.

with him it was obvious as to why he was so popular. he was attractive, talented, and very smart. a biochemistry major of all things but you would never know it by observing how he interacted with others.

the only thing you two had in common was the raunchy reputations that preceded you. just because you were reserved and diligent in your studies, didn’t mean you weren’t allowed to let yourself go every now and then. what could you say, men were easy, and more often than not they got the job done.

kuroo tetsuro, however, was a whore. and you were next on his list.

he made it very known that he had set his sights on you, teasing you very openly whenever you found yourself in the same vicinity of one another. he was relentless, never giving you a break and relishing in how flustered his attention made you. it was infuriating.

so more times you opted to avoid him.

you felt the walls and floors vibrate under you from the heavy bass of the music. the frat party that your roommates had dragged you to wasn’t your preferred way of spending your friday night, but there was free alcohol and how could you say no to that?

you stayed on the sidelines for most of the night, mingling with a few of your acquaintances and trying to blend into the crowd of intoxicated college students that were scattered across the house.

“_____! hey how are you?” one of the frat boys asked, coming from around the corner.

“I’m doing ok! happy birthday!” you beamed up at him.

the two of you talked for a few minutes, catching up on all sorts, but you couldn’t shake the feeling of intense eyes on you. it was him, it had to be him, but you ignored it, trying your best to enjoy the night

disinterest had never been a deterrent before, and kuroo felt your body tense as he came behind you and threw his arm over your shoulder.

“how’re you doing tonight, gorgeous? i haven't seen you all night.”

you sighed and smiled apologetically for cutting your prior conversation short. the faint smell of alcohol wafted off kuroo as he leaned over you, spewing all sorts of slurred pickup lines at you, much to your dismay.

you moved out from underneath him, slightly amused as he wobbled on his own two feet, and decided to head towards the bathroom. you didn't notice him follow you.

“running away from me so soon?”

you sighed and rubbed your temples, “can you just leave me alone, please? im not in the mood for your incessant talking tonight.”

he smirked at you, coming up behind you to rest his hands on your waist, “don't lie to me, baby. I've seen you looking for me around campus. you're curious about me, i can tell.”

your breath hitched as he touched you, even in this state careful not to go too low or squeeze too hard.

“if you want me to stop just let me know,” he whispered, as he pushed himself up against you, letting your head roll back to rest on his chest as he explored your body.

in an instant, you had flipped around and pinned him against the cool tiled bathroom walls. he swallowed as he looked into your eyes, surprised at just how strong you were.

“don’t think by giving me an out you can weasel your way out of things. you want me? you’ll have me on my terms.”

and he did have you. in multiple ways. in a flurry of hands and lips groping and teasing, the two of you enjoyed yourselves that night. afterward, kuroo had made himself scarce, almost seeming to avoid you around campus.

it seemed like all he wanted to do was make you a notch on his belt, claim his proverbial prize and leave you high and dry. you didn't mind that he was finally leaving you alone, but it irked something in you, because in reality, he hadn't really claimed you at all.

he had submitted to you that night, and the both of you knew from the way he acted when you were done. you had never seen him so quiet, so unsure of himself, and before you could say anything to him he was already gone.

you decided to take his newfound absence in stride and act as normal. at least a week went by before you were walking back to your dorm after a late afternoon lecture and felt yourself being pulled into a nearby empty classroom.

“what the-”

elbowing whoever grabbed you in the chest, you turned around to fight, only to be faced with none other than kuroo tetsuro himself.

“what the fuck, kuroo?”

“testuro,” he corrected, and you quirked your eyebrow at him. taking your stare and silence as a cue, he continued, “can we- uh.. can we talk about what happened? that night?”

he was stammering as he talked to you, light blush dusting his cheeks and you almost thought he was going to tell you he regretted it, but you knew better than that. you could easily see through his useless facade, noticing the half chub he sported in his pants as he stumbled over his words. he was utterly enamored with you and the things you did to him. it was cute.

“tetsuro..” you purred and the sound of his voice fizzled out, “why did you really pull me in here hm?”

“well i-”

“actually, i know why. we’re all alone, nobody comes in here on a regular basis. and youre blushing like mad for me, tripping over your words like a dumb slut.”

you almost missed hit, but he whimpered at your choice of name for him, avoiding your gaze as you moved closer to him.

“well?” you asked, “you don't want to answer your mistress the way you did before?”

“no mistress! i…”

“ah so i was right,” you grinned, putting your hands on his shoulders and pushing him down to sit on one of the seats, “you missed me didn't you?”

slowly, he nodded, shame radiating off him in waves. the poor boy was so confused. he didn't know why he had felt such a pull to you, such a desire. he didn't even realize you had awakened something new in him until he woke up the next morning, aching and hard from dreaming of your touch all night.

he tried to avoid you for as long as he could but, resistance was futile. he needed this… and you wanted to give it to him. you pulled him closer to the edge of the seat by his belt loops, running your hands over his thighs and lightly dragging your nails over them. he squirmed above you but you held him down, reminding him who was in charge.

his pants pooled around his ankles in an instant and he watched with baited breath as you watched his cock strain in his briefs.

“i feel so bad for you baby. you've been so pent up without me, hm?”

tetsuro’s hands scrambled to find purchase on something as you grabbed him suddenly. the sloppy way with which you stroked him had him keening, softly bucking himself further into you and panting like a dog. your hot breath fanned his exposed dick and he whined, beside himself with how good it felt to let you do all the work.

his bit his lip hard as you sucked him into your hot mouth. balls in one hand, base of his cock in the other, you swirled your tongue around, hollowing out your cheeks around him. he could feel the pressure building in his lower abdomen, but couldn't even string together the words to tell you he was close.

his mind was so fuzzy and everything felt so good he just couldn't take it-

“m’sorry mistress im- hngh”

kuroo came down your throat, gripping your hair to steady himself. his mind went blank for a second, groaning lowly and almost forgetting where he was.

you were straddling him again in an instant, hands roaming around underneath his shirt and tweaking his nipples. he cried out, thrusting up and making you bounce on him over your panties.

“do you want to make mistress feel good?” you asked, moving up the length of his body. he moaned out a shaky yes as he watched your dripping core hover over his face.

he nudged you with his nose, straining his neck to taste you, but you kept yourself just out of reach, teasing him. at this point, any embarrassment or shame that still remained had disappeared, and kuroo whimpered desperate pleas for you to just sit on his face and smother him. you obliged, lowering yourself onto him slowly.

his tongue moved in long languid strokes, licking up the expanse of your cunt, and teasing your entrance. you understood why the entire campus couldn't stop talking about his skills, as you felt high off the way he payed attention to your clit, and ate you out with care.

“t-tetsu- baby im so close keep going,” you moaned and he groaned back, gripping your thighs to pull you down harder onto him. you ground your hips against his face, teasing your nipples to bring yourself closer to the end.

the coil in the pit of your stomach wound itself tighter, until it snapped, making you cry out and quickly slap a hand over your mouth to muffle yourself. kuroo continued to lick and suck and you felt your thighs burn and hips spasm from slighter overstimulation.

“p-please, no more” you rasped and he let you move back down, sitting on top of his ever-growing cock once again.

he smirked at your disheveled state, a bit of his cockiness coming back. lets remedy that, you thought and grabbed him swiftly, prodding his tip at your entrance.

“aH- mistress wha-”

you swiftly sunk down on him, chasing your next high with fervor. surprised, his hands found your hips and thighs, and he watched you as you moved up and down on him. you looked like an angel to him, a vision of beauty matched by no one else, but he couldn't say that and so he just moaned, feeling like he was in heaven.

your hand snaked around his throat, taking him by surprise once again as he choked out wait.

you didnt wait to him as you softly squeezed the sides of his neck, making kuroo tense and arch his back. he had never reached such a state of euphoria or ever been so close so fast. he was convinced you were magic.

“c-cumming- gon- hah- cum again!- m’gonna-”

his hold on your hips tightened as you helped him ride out his second orgasm. his entire body slumped down in the seat, and you held him close as the two of you calmed your breathing.

“so this whole time you just wanted me to put you in your place?” you giggled breathlessly and kuroo held you closer.

“i didnt even know i was into that to be honest,” he mumbled into your skin.

you stayed cuddled up together for a little bit until you checked the time, realizing they were going to start locking up classrooms soon. he winced as you dismounted him, throwing your clothes on and making sure you didnt leave anything behind. he just watched you as you moved, still in a bit of a poist coital glow,

“did you ever want to do this? again i mean?” he asked, voice small and hopeful.

closing the gap between you, you caressed his face, “ill see you around tetsuro.”

[lyraeeee]

to protect || xiao

part one - weak

series masterlist

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

pairing : xiao & gender neutral!reader themes : mostly fluff, i guess? word count : 1.3k

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Xiao remembers the day he first saw you.

It was clear from your attire that you weren’t from Liyue at all.

Did you hail from Mondstadt? Sumeru? Inazuma?

He did not know, nor did he care enough to find out.

All he was aware of was the screams that came from your mouth as a group of hilichurls attacked you for disrupting their camp.

...You’re foolish.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He was beautiful. This man that you held no familiarity with whatsoever... he looked like a being out of this world. The blood dripping down your bare arm was forgotten; you didn't feel the pain as all your attention was directed to the handsome young man meters away from you. Your throat hurt as you continued to pant. The tree that you were currently leaning on dug itself further into your back, only causing more blood to seep out into your clothes. None of that mattered however. Of course, why would any of it matter in the first place? Not when you’re sitting awkwardly in front of the most beautiful person you've ever laid your eyes on. You’re pretty sure that you just came face to face with a literal god. A pair of striking amber eyes bore into your own. He saved you. Averting your eyes, you suddenly found the dissipating bodies of the already dead hilichurls much more interesting. Even their blood that stained your rust-covered weapon along with the stranger’s beautiful jade spear, it began to slowly fade away. A faint huff can be heard from the man, “What did you think you were doing?” His voice held authority; he wasn’t asking you for an answer, no, he was demanding to hear one from you. It’s only deserving that you give him what he wanted, really, seeing as if it weren’t for him you would’ve been dead by now. “I…” raising one of your arms to shield your eyes, you choked out, “I just needed ten arrowheads for a commission...” You hear him scoff; it wasn’t really a surprise considering how trivial your explanation seemed in exchange for such chaos along with a few bruises and cuts here and there. Despite the fact that you had trouble breathing, you let out a laugh at his response. Your chuckling was cut short however when sudden coughs erupted from your throat. The coughing fit made you groan in pain as you leaned further into the tree. All of your energy was spent finishing the previous commissions you took as well as from the intense fighting with the group of hilichurls earlier. Given your situation, you realize that sooner or later the fatigue will get to your already weak body; it won’t be long before you finally lose consciousness. Thinking back to it, maybe you shouldn’t have declined that certain traveler’s offer to come along with you in your journey. Truthfully speaking, it was even a miracle that your cries were carried by the wind, delivered to this handsome individual you’re fortunate enough to call your savior. You moved your arm away from your face when you felt a looming presence in front of you. A gloved hand obscured your vision of your current surroundings. Glancing towards his eyes, you notice that he’s staring directly at you. “Get up. I’ll take you to somewhere safe.” You quickly shift your gaze to the side as you reach over to his hand. Surprisingly, he was really gentle with you, pulling you carefully towards him to help you up your feet. Once you find yourself upright, his grip lingers for a short while before he eventually lets go and turns to face the other direction. “Follow me.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He’s only a few steps away... yet it definitely feels like he’s trying his best not to stay too close with you. It’s almost like he’s avoiding you. You attempted to walk faster to keep in step with him, not bothering with the way you visibly limped. Yet it seems like the said stranger would also walk a couple steps further, maintaining the distance between the two of you. This is honestly getting ridiculous. You breathed in deeply and sighed. Glancing at the back of the man’s head, it was only then did you notice the multiple black dots that danced around the corners of your vision. Slowly, everything around you began to be a bit more blurry than what you last remember. You struggled to keep up with your savior. In a haste, you grabbed the sleeve on his left arm before he could once again try to leave you behind. “What are you-” both of his eyes glared at you before they widened after looking into your own.

“Please,” you stumbled on one of your feet before trying to regain balance, “protect me while I rest for a while…”

His arms wrapped themselves around you when your legs finally decided to give out. You had trouble with trying to keep your eyes open; you could only let the darkness take you into the land of dreams while the last thing you can recall is him positioning you so he could carry you on his back, the wind around you gentle and did its job to make you feel like you were floating.

He finally found you.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Yes, just climb the stairs until you reach the highest floor. Either place it on the floor or at the table, any is fine really.”

The manager of the inn you were staying at, Verr Goldet, you believe her name is, she was really kind and understanding of your current predicament.

You weren’t sure if it’s because she was in a good mood or perhaps something else happened that you entirely weren’t aware of, but she has been very accommodating considering how you only have literal scraps and a few mora left, not enough to actually pay her for taking care of you.

It was certainly generous of her as well to request one of the healers staying at the inn to do a check up on you after you passed out and awoke from your sleep.

Clearly, your luck has been good to you for a suspiciously long amount of time now.

The only problem is that you haven't had a glimpse of your unnamed savior for the past two days that you’ve been awake.

Since you finally have the energy to move around and do the stuff how you normally would, you asked Verr if there was anything that you could do to help around the inn as payment for how you’ve practically stayed there for free for five days.

Funnily enough, she didn’t ask you to do anything for her, but instead suggested that you offer a bowl of Almond tofu to one of the adepti that was apparently residing around the inn.

“Do you think they will appear to me after I offer this to them?” you inquired the woman while gesturing to the bowl that settled in between your hands.

A laugh came, “Well I can’t guarantee you myself that they’ll appear to you right away,” she sent you a knowing look, “I guess you’ll just have to find it out for yourself, no?”

You chuckled and shook your head.

Trudging up the stairs, you failed to notice a pair of golden eyes that watched your every move in the darkness.

Once you reached the highest floor, you headed towards a small table right beside a rock model and placed the bowl of tofu down.

You went ahead to get closer to the railings of the balcony, the view of the beautiful green lands of Dihua Marsh greeting you.

The gentle wind passing by brushed your face, making you smile, “Whoever you are out there...”

Your eyes glanced down to your hand, the same one that held your savior’s, “...I wish to see you again.”

Suddenly sensing another presence beside you, you forgot how to breathe as you saw none other than the man who saved you from before, taking his time admiring the view from the balcony.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hello once again traveler! You finally found Alatus Nemeseos! Unfortunately, you will still have to wait for a while to finally see how the main story will work out. The story is kinda slow, don't you agree? Ah! No need to worry! I'm sure things will work out soon... well, hopefully as least. The story is already written in the stars! Still, I'm excited to see how things turns out myself.

[nationalharryleague]

Christmas in Holmes Chapel

Pairing: Harry Styles x Y/N

Genre: Christmas fluff on top of Christmas fluff

Word count: 1.7K 

A/N: Hi everyone! This is something I wrote super quick because I was in the Christmas spirit! I was/am also quite drunk (so be nice)!! More of my better writing can be found in my masterlist and I would love to hear what you think ab this in my ask! Also shoutout to Liz (@kiwicherryallaboutharry​) and Morgan (@soullikestyles​) for beta-ing and being sweethearts!! Thank you for reading <3

***

Shouts of “they’re finally here!” were the first things she heard when Harry opened the door to his mum’s house. After two delayed flights, ten hours on a plane, and bumper to bumper traffic the entire way to Anne’s, they were in shambles. This was the first time the pair were spending Christmas with Harry’s family, and this was definitely not the way she wanted it to start. She almost started crying when Gemma took her into her arms after nearly running across the house to greet her.

“I’m so happy you two made it,” she smiled, rubbing Y/N’s tired back when she didn’t release from the hug right away. “I was afraid that you weren’t going to make it tonight.”

“I could cry, Gem. I'm so happy to be here right now,” she confessed honestly, exhaustion clear in her voice.

Gemma released her from the embrace when Harry tapped her on the shoulder. “Hello? I’m here too. Do you not miss your baby brother?” His voice dripped with sarcasm and his dimples were deep on his cheeks, as they always were when he was home.

She rolled her eyes at him, muttering sarcastically “not as much as I missed your lovely girlfriend,” before he pulled her into a hug of his own. The two were the spitting image of each other, both with their exceptionally similar smiles and adorable noses. He squeezed the smaller woman tight, enjoying their reunion after not seeing each other for at least three or four months. They were still so close, even after Harry’s move to LA to be closer to his girlfriend. Y/N had pretended more than once that she hadn’t overheard them when he would call her for relationship advice.

Looking away from the Styles siblings, she was met by Anne's bright smile paired with her wide open arms extended for a hug. “Sweetheart, it’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed with a Santa hat sitting snugly on her head, pulling her close to the woman’s warm and kind body. “There are plates of dinner made up for the two of you in the kitchen and plenty of leftovers in the fridge if you want any more.” She was naturally so caring about those around her and tonight was no different.

“Thank you so much, Anne,” she said graciously. “I’m so sorry we’re so late.”

“Oh, stop it. It’s a Christmas miracle you made it at all with the snow,” she brushed away her apologies, her voice taking a more serious turn as she locked her eyes with hers. “I’m so happy you’re here, Y/N. You’re just as much a part of our family as Harry is now.”

Y/N’s heart warmed with the kindness behind Anne’s words. There was so much love surrounding her right now, too much for her to comprehend without getting teary eyed. She was so thankful for the tenderness and care Harry’s family had shown her over the last three years. She felt at home in what used to just be a house to her; like she was a part of the family.

“Oi, stop hogging her,” Harry teased Y/N, bumping her hip lightly with his and nudging her out of the way so he could hug his mum.

“Harry Edward, I raised you to be polite. Leave the poor girl alone,” she scolded, but opened her arms up wide to receive her son. He was so much bigger than she was, seeming to swallow her body whole in his arms. Y/N couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips as she watched the two interact.

The pair of travelers were passed around the living room, giving hugs and kisses to the various aunts, uncles, cousins, and stragglers that were attending Christmas Eve dinner at Anne’s. The room was full of loud boisterous laughter and Christmas music that played off an antique record player and it smelled like wine and the remnants of a large dinner that had been eaten when they just couldn’t wait any longer for the two to arrive.

Y/N’s stomach growled without permission as soon as she saw the plates of food resting on the counter that had been waiting for them. The pair stood hovered over the plates and ate like they hadn’t seen food in weeks. At the moment, she could only think of two things she knew about Anne for sure: she knew how to raise children and she was a fantastic cook.

When she looked up and saw a spot of gravy hanging on the edge of Harry’s mouth, she just couldn’t resist. She tiptoed and pressed a short kiss to the corner of his lips, taking the gravy with her in the process. He looked down at her with a slightly surprised, but mostly loving, look after she pulled away. The edges of his lips turned up, asking “What was that for?”

“You had something,” she mused, jokingly twirling her pointer finger in the direction of her own mouth.

Before she could process it, his lips were back on hers, kissing her slowly and with so much love. His lips were soft and pillowy as always, but there was something more behind them that she just couldn’t place.

“What was that for?” she asked breathlessly when he released her, using his own words against him.

“I know I have been kind of on edge all day and I just wanted to thank you for dealing with me. I love you so much.” She couldn’t fight the grin that found its way onto her face every time he told her that he loved her. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe she had nabbed such a good one.

“I love you too. Are you alright?” She asked worriedly, noticing the way his eyebrows were nervously knit together and how his posture was slightly worsened like it always was when he was stressed.

“I’ll be okay soon.” There was more behind his words, she knew it for sure, but Harry was very good at playing it cool when he wanted to. She knew he would either tell her soon or it would resolve on its own; she trusted him to tell her what was going on if he really needed her.

Her train of thought was interrupted when Gemma stuck her head into the kitchen and announced that the annual Charades tournament was beginning. Y/N had only heard about the myth of the Charades tournament before and she was excited to find out why her boyfriend raved about it so often. Harry excitedly grabbed her hand, leading her into the crowded living room, watching as the first teams had already begun acting out and guessing.

Before long, it was Harry and Y/N’s turn to go, matched up against Gemma and her husband. She sat on the couch, assigned to play the guesser after he cockily told her ‘there's only one actor in this family,’ and watched closely as both Harry and Gemma read the clue written on the small slip of paper. Gemma gave him a playful and excited smile before extending a friendly hand for him to shake.

“You ready for this, H?” she asked, but once again, Y/N felt like there was more behind her words than friendly competition. Y/N began to think she was being kept in the dark about something, but before she could think too hard about it the pair had begun their miming.

Harry took the approach of creating a circle with his pointer and thumb, repeatedly slipping the whole he had created over his left ring finger.

“Wedding ring!” she guessed excitedly from the couch, only to be met with a shake of his head.

He then moved to get down on one knee, pretending to hold a ring box in his hands. “Asking someone to marry you!” she questioningly yelled again, only met with another shake of his head, but she could tell she was getting closer.

It was when he performed the same ring gesture while on his knee that she got it. “Engagement ring!” She nearly screamed and jumped off the couch, twirling in celebration (a symptom of always being a bit too competitive) after Harry’s face lit up and signaled they had won.

She was confused for a split second when she came back around and Harry was still on his knee, but it all made sense when she saw the real ring box that was now in his hands. Her hands flew up to her face in shock and she was unable to form coherent thoughts, let alone words.

“My love,” he began softly, “I knew I wanted you in my life forever from the moment I met you at that stupid bar. I fought Mitch so hard that night, but he dragged me along and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She remembered that night fondly, but it had admittedly been a mess. She had just gotten dumped and so had Harry, when they found each other at the end of the bar, far away from anyone who was actually having fun, they had started talking and never stopped.

“You make me a better person,” he went on as tears had begun to roll down her cheeks, “and I never want to be who I was before I met you ever again. I love you so much and I never want to live without you. So,” he took a deep breath with hopeful eyes, “will you marry me?”

A shout of “Yes!” let her lips before he even finished, throwing herself at him and bringing him into a kiss.

It all made sense now. She understood why Harry had been so upset when their flight had been messed up, and why Gemma and Anne had been so excited to see them, and especially why he had been on edge all day. He was nervous to ask her, in the most charming and endearing way.

The crowd around them cheered when they finally stood up and their eyes locked as Harry delicately slid the ring onto her left hand. His eyes were slightly teary, but held an excitement that was unmatched. The ring was giant and beautiful, exactly what she expected from him when the time came, and she could barely tear her eyes away from it.

“This is the best Christmas present ever, H. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Thank you for reading! Reblogs/feedback are much appreciated!! 

[stitchwork-madness26]

*GENTLY HOLDS SMOL LOVE*

Paring:mag agent torture x scientist!reader

Warning:mentiones of gore and murder with swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Working under a being made of shadow in nevada isn't so bad once you look past the occasional threats and murder...and lack of breaks....and the occasional breathing down your neck........and the lingering dread of you becoming a experiment if you don't do as your told - ok its terrible.

You kinda forgot how you got into this mess in the 1st place or how it started, as the distant memory of the time before Nevada went to shit was a big blur, almost like it was all just a dream. You tend to keep looking at the bright side even if its really hard to do that in this place, its almost a miracle that your still standing as most kind hearted grunts don't live long in this blood stained world. Maybe its because of your brilliant ideas? That you are to valuable to become a experiment? A ray of sunshine thats still around after the suns disappearance? You'll never know...

But enough of the depressing thoughts, you had a job to do. You stood up from your chair with a grin, a pen and clipboard in hand. Its time to meet someone very special to you.

Walking out of your office and down the hall you stopped at a large metal door shut tightly, on one side of the door displays a warning sign telling anyone who reads it that they must be a certain rank to enter such room while the other is a card reader. Pulling the card thats dangling around your neck you inserted the card in the card reader and the door pulls itself open allowing you to enter inside, with a grin still on your face you walked inside and the door slides shut behind you. You looked up at the mag agent that sits infront of you "hey big guy" you said in a sweet tone, followed by a hum in response. The large nails in his head preventing him to speak to you normally.

Mag agent torture was his full name but you call him tor or big guy for short, he was a special case practically one of the best agents the facility has. However in some certain tests to make him more powerful to defeat the infamous hank j. Wimbleton he gets really aggressive and had caused a massive massacre among the staff a few times because of this (see incident: 011A for details) but for some odd reason he had a soft spot for you. You made him calm, almost peaceful, he would not lash out or hurt you in any sort of way even if he was in pain from experiments. That is one of the many reasons why you and only you had to do the experiments on him, not like you wanted to do that to him but it was your job.

It was either do your work, or be 'fired'. And frankly. NO ONE WANTS TO BE FIRED.

"Head still hurts?" You asked, pressing down the top of your pen and once again getting another hum in response, yet somehow knowing exactly what hes saying with only a simple hum or gesture. "I hear you tor" you sighed, checking out a box on the paper "luckily theres not much to do today...so it'll be done quick" you attempted to reassure him, you know he would never harm you, yet somehow you still had this tingling feeling at the back of your mind that one day he will turn on you, paranoia and over working tends to do that to you though.

You smiled after noticing torture reached over and pat your head as gently as he could, almost like he had sensed your worry. "Im fine tor really" you said with a smile still on your face and set the clipboard and pen down on a nearby desk "lets go ahead and get started kay?" You continued, returning to your normal mood and tone. You didnt mind that you felt his eyes on you, he tends to observe what you and used to be others too on what they are doing. Almost in a curious manner.

It was and still is kinda cute.

You was just about to fill a large needle with a serum of some kind before you was suddenly scooped up by a large hand, you practically dropped the needle "what the fuck!?" You squealed in surprise before being pressed against fabric and hear the sound of a loud rumble resembling a purr. Honestly you kinda blanked for a minute before you realized what was happening.

Torture had picked you up and gently pressed you against his chest in a large hug, he continued to purr as he held you in place with his hands. You smiled warmly, your face growing warm, and tried to hug him back as best you could "love you too tor" you chuckled, enjoying this peaceful moment in the giants embrace as all your previous worries faded away...

[megumisbimbo]

Y/N (27) Athletic Trainer*

Ushijima x fem!reader

warnings: fluff, smut, little bit of oral

word count: 1.7k

minors dni please!!

all characters are aged up! (timeskip! ushijima)

a/n: this is my first smut so please be kind HAKDJ

Ushijima’s blunt manner could be seen as frustrating and at times, annoying. But you couldn’t help but appreciate the way he would simply tell it like it is. Like right now.

“I know this is sudden, but I’m interested in you y/n. Would you allow me to take you to dinner?”

Your heart races as you stare into the eyes of one of Japan’s greatest athletes. You were just a lowly athletic trainer, working under the equally as entrancing, Iwaizumi Hajime. Your hands are clammy as they clutch the clipboard that’s pressed against your chest. You had no clue this man had any kind of interest in you, you just worked for him. After all the interactions, the trainings, attending to his injuries, and basically being his personal trainer, he eventually caught feelings.

“Oh um- sure Ushijima-san, I would love to join you for dinner.”

You couldn’t lie, the thought of going out with such a prestigious and revered man sounded amazing, and it’s not like his feelings weren’t reciprocated. You’ve had eyes for Ushijima ever since Iwaizumi-san assigned you to him. It’s truly a dream come true that he developed feelings for you, and you were not going to pass this opportunity up.

“I’ll pick you up around 6 then.” He says, face straight and confident.

Your voice is caught in the back of your throat, but you manage to muster out a quick “sure.”

You race home eager to doll yourself up for the occasion. You finally had a date with the one guy that made you feel like more than just an employee. He was always so attentive. Constantly caring about how you were doing. He would greet you without fail, even if you weren’t working with him that day. Iwaizumi seemed to notice as well, always poking fun at the thought of losing “his best trainer” to a “very handsome, and very interested man.” You brushed off his teases, denying any sort of feeling for the ace. Deep down you knew your feelings. How your face felt 100 times hotter when he stood next to you, and how hard it was to keep your composure when you tended to his injuries. You were a mess around him and it was a miracle you were able to keep your job for this long. But not anymore. You didn’t need to hold back any longer.

You had picked out the perfect dress, not too fancy but not super casual either. It hugged your body in exactly the right ways, and showed off your assets a bit more than you wanted it to, but you couldn’t complain.

A knock at your door startles you. You quickly grab your purse and phone and run to go answer it. You’re met with the sight of Ushijima’s tall, stocky body leaning against the side of the entrance of your apartment. His olive eyes rake up and down your body taking in your perfect features.

“You look beautiful y/n, as usual.”

You blush heavily at his comment and curse the gods for making him so damn blunt.

“You look wonderful as well.” You say, your voice barely audible. You don’t see the slight blush that creeps across his tan skin. He takes you to his car and drives you back to his penthouse. He was rich of course, but you already knew that. This was not the first time you’ve seen his home, many meetings between the two of you were conducted in his home office. You never felt unsafe or out of place with him, so you were quite comfortable going to his house for various reasons. Although this time, the reasoning was a bit more...intimate. He pulls into the garage and leads you up to his place, which he has minimally decorated.

“I hope you don’t mind that it’s at my place, I couldn’t seem to find any reservations at the restaurant you like.”

“No! of course I don’t mind, I’m honestly glad you invited me at all.” You say, your voice once again trailing to a whisper. You were surprised he remembered what your favorite restaurant was, and that he would go out of his way to find reservations.

“You’re awfully quiet today y/n, that’s not like you. Am I making you uncomfortable in any way?”

“Not at all Ushijima-san! I just...haven’t been out on a date in a while and I’m not quite sure what to expect.” You answer, instantly feeling bad for leading him to feel this way.

“That’s a relief, I am pretty nervous myself. I also haven’t taken someone out in a while, but rest assured I will take good care of you tonight.” He says, his usually hard and focused eyes softening at the sight of your shaking hands. Your demeanor immediately changes and you’re back to how you usually feel around him, safe and protected.

The dinner goes smoothly. Ushijima insisted on cooking for the two of you, and the sight of him being so domestic definitely made it harder to hide your feelings for him but it was over sooner than you had hoped. He politely walks you to the door, but as soon as your hand makes contact with the handle and the door opens slightly, something in him snaps. His large hand slams against the door closing it abruptly.

“Forgive me for being so forward y/n...but I don’t want you to go just yet.”

His opposite hand rests on your waist as his lips attach to your exposed shoulder. His kisses were light and feathery, leaving a hot trail in its wake. Your body felt like it was on fire and you could feel the arousal pooling in your thin lace panties. You turn yourself around and grab onto the collar of his white dress shirt, pulling him flush against your body. Your lips smash against his and your tongues intertwine as his hand trails down the curve of your ass down to your thigh lifting your leg. You instinctively wrap your leg around him as he leans down to grab your the other one. He carries you into his room, and lays you down on his bed. The soft silk sheets he uses only add to the arousal as they crease slightly under your tight grip.

“y/n, can I take your dress off?” He asks, panting heavily.

“Please...”

He carefully removes your dress, his fingertips trailing down your body as his lips press sweet kisses across your chest.

“You have no idea what you do to me y/n. Can I take your panties off? Let me make you feel good.”

Your body gets impossibly hotter at how careful and considerate he is.

“Please Ushijima-san..take it all off..”

He obliges, pulling them down and off your body then reaching around your arched back to snap off your bra, throwing them both on the floor. He stops, giving himself a moment to take in your fully exposed body before he buries his face into your neck.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He says as his thumb slowly circles your clit.

“Gonna make you feel so good.”

You moan loudly, your hands finding purchase in his olive locks. You tug slightly, eliciting a soft groan from him. His face is red and flushed, embarrassed at the sounds he was making.

“I like your sounds Toshi...mmm don’t stop.”

He moans at the use of his first name, loving the way it sounds coming out of your mouth.

He slips a finger into your sopping wet entrance. You moan from the slight stretch. Noticing that he was still clothed, you reach out and unbutton his dress shirt. Your hands trial down his chest, finding the buckle of his belt and skillfully undoing it. He shakes his shirt off, letting it drop on the floor next to yours, his pants finding themselves in the same place. He inserts his finger into you again, accompanied by a second, and then a third. The knot builds in your stomach and threatens to snap.

“hngg- Toshi...more- please more!”

His quickens his movements pulling you closer to your release. In between moans and cries of his name, you come undone. He slips his slicked fingers into his mouth tasting your sweet release.

“You taste so good y/n...here taste with me.”

He reaches up and sticks one in your mouth and you diligently suck, tasting yourself mixed with his hot saliva. He pulls his fingers out, making a lewd popping sound.

He pulls his black boxers down and throws them in the clothing pile, his erect cock springing free. He lines himself up with your entrance and leans forward to kiss you.

“Tell me if it hurts. I’ll make you feel so good angel I promise.”

He pushes himself inside slowly, paying close attention to your body language and the way you squirm under him.

“mmm ‘s big Toshi- feels so good.”

“Yeah? Tell me how good you feel pretty girl.”

“Feel so full- ughh”

You moan and squirm as you feel the knot tighten a second time. His thrusts are slow and gentle, every move targeted towards your pleasure.

“Fuck Toshi- ‘m coming- hngg”

“Come for me y/n. Wanna feel you around my cock.”

His lewd words send you tumbling over the edge and towards your release. He pulls out giving himself a few quick strokes, his release soon covering your lower stomach.

He falls next to you, sweating and out of breath. You turn and cup his cheek in your hand.

“Thank you Toshi, you’re always so good to me...wanna make you feel good too...”

He chuckles, “Next time you can, but for now let’s sleep. Stay with me tonight?”

“Of course.” You respond, your cheeks starting to hurt from smiling so much.

After a few moments of catching his breath and stealing a few kisses, he climbs out of bed and grabs a warm, damp towel. He gently wipes your sore body down, massaging your aching hips in between. He pulls the sheet up and over your body and climbs into the bed next to you.

“Goodnight beautiful.” He says, softly pecking your lips.

“Goodnight Wakatoshi.”

<3